dear markus zusak,

just read the book thief and while it's still fresh in my mind, i have to tell you that it didn't reeeeally live up to my expectations. maybe if i let it simmer for a bit, i'll end up studying it and mulling it over in my mind to the point where i actually like it, but for now, i've read better.

maybe it was because this is a book for young adults. maybe it's because my favourite book in the entire world takes place during the holocaust so, really, i have extremely high expectations and standards when it comes to books like these. but, at the end of the day, i don't really know.

i will say, though, that i did come to love liesel. i did come to appreciate her relationships with hans, max, rudy, rosa and ilsa. in fact, all her relationships were enticing and beautiful in their own unique ways and every time i thought of how much this book was not living up its hype, i was drawn in by her friendships and the characters you created. rudy's my favourite.

thanks for this. i think i've come to realize that perhaps i shouldn't let my expectations be dictated by hype.

CML

p.s. i won't say much about the fact that Death narrated the story. i will say, though, that he and max spoke some pretty beautiful words.

new york city checklist

Drink eggnog on a Central Park bench


Go to Serendipity and try their famous frozen hot chocolate


Browse 5th Ave. 


Take a picture by that ginormous tree at Rockefeller Plaza


Visit the NBC and Nintendo store.

3 more sleeps

finally starting to get excited to cruise on over to paradise. i'll see you in approximately 3 more sleeps! and here i was starting to get worried that i wasn't getting excited. 

i'll be wearing sunglasses and flip flops in december. life is gonna be good.

our liberty is bound together

This masterpiece was done by my friend, Kim Villagante and man, is it a beauty. It was based on the quote: our liberty is bound together and after listening to music and reading numerous quotes that I threw out to her, her vision came together and manifested into this. It's so beautiful and so inspiring. The orange and yellow stand out so nicely from the blues and the struggle for peace at the top is exactly what I wanted to capture. It's amazing. I could probably talk and write about it of hours, but alas, time is difficult to find nowadays.

Never forget: our liberty is bound together.

in the news: 121211 edition

Mexico: Shootout Kills 11 Gunmen

This drug war is legitimately scaring the shit out of me. The news tends to report crimes as if they exist as far away and not close, but the Mexican drug war brings this fear to North America. Although we know this problem exists, not hearing it in the media somehow makes it easier. Now that it's making it onto major news outlets and is actually being written about it, the fear and the panic is growing larger and larger. While I think it's great that people are becoming more and more aware of the drug war and its effects on Mexican, Canadian and American governments, I fear for reporters and bloggers who are constantly being abused, tortured and killed in Mexico. Stay brave.

december slacker progress list

movies: 

50/50 - tear-jerker & all-around awesome

hunger

like crazy  - underwhelming.

drive - killer cast. ryan gosling and carey mulligan are fantastic. killer story. OOH wordplay.

crazy stupid love

network

books: 

a mad desire to dance - elie wiesel - i have underlined almost every sentence i have read.
the book thief - markus zusak

tv: 

community season 2 

new girl
once upon a time

in the news: 121011 edition

"You can unlock the potential of India's most oppressed girls, but where are they going to use it?" (Globe and Mail)

 this article hits all the right heart strings for me. a woman educating girls who WANT to be educated, who WANT to learn but who struggle every day to gain this luxury i tend to always take for granted. that's the dream right there; teaching girls like them is the dream.


i empathize with their struggle though. being educated is a luxury and choosing whether to use what you've learned to benefit yourself or to benefit your community is difficult. 


all i can say is that let these girls cross that bridge when they get there. i agree that their futures are in question and they will struggle making choices usually reserved for wiser and more mature. can we first, however, focus on helping them shape and sharpen the tools with which to make these decisions?


my favourite parts: 

She decided to bring in one or two girls from each community in a four-hour radius. When they first come to her they are shy and hunched, like the parents who waited at the gates. But six months later, they have begun to learn that they have every right to take up space – to have ideas, expectations and ambitions.
Yet Sister Sudha's anxiety as the girls leave for Dushera hints at the deep fissure that runs through her experiment: Her girls are now caught between their old lives and their new potential. They have learned to dream, but their families, their villages and India itself have little place for a Mushahar girl with dreams. Now, they stand out – and when you are Mushahar and female, that's rarely a good thing.

She is immensely proud of her daughter, who is now in charge of reading any paperwork the family needs for government welfare programs. The sole decoration on their walls is a clock Poonam won in a debating competition. 

Other people have their ideas, but caste isn't going to stop her from doing what she wants – going to university, getting a job, having an independent life. “It's just about what you have in your mind,” she says quietly.

one month off...

and i can't wait to divide my time between TV shows, movies, books, video games and unit plans.

i'm stoked for you, december.