Semester 2 Has Begun!

Yesterday was the first day of 2nd semester. I'm currently teaching grade 10 English, and two sections of ESLE.

I was very apprehensive about the grade 10 English class, becuase I haven't had a large class above 28 students since last September. I was afraid that I wouldn't know how to conduct myself in front of such a large group. It turned out to be fine. The students seem very friendly and cooperative. There doesn't seem to be any behavioural problems, as yet. The tip I got from DR, who taught this course last semester, is that the students must be kept busy for every minute of the class. Otherwise, they will start slacking and chatting and go out of control.

My 2nd period class of 18 students was lovely. Just lovely. When I entered the class, I realized how relieved I was. I felt like I had come home. "This is where I belong." It was a very surprising reaction.

My last period of the day was after lunch, and it was with seven students. SEVEN!! There were supposed to be nine, but two of them didn't show up. It was so quiet and so dead. There was no energy. I think I'll have to come up with a lot more group activities for this class to get them to know one another first, and build some comeraderie.

At the end of the day, I was so wiped! All of us were telling each other how tired we were, it was kind of funny.

That's all for now.

Kashgar's Desert Willow 喀什葛爾胡楊

Song & lyrics by Dao Lang (click on title)
Arrangement by Mac Chew

From the beginning, I never considered where
in my heart you should be placed.
From the beginning, you called to my imaginations.
At that moment when I was about to give you a special place there,
You had forgotten me already,
I, in turn, had to look hard and deep into my memory
for every little bit of our love,
hoping that your heart would turn to me again.
You told me that " 'Till death do us part" means one's entire lifetime,
and you would not give it up for me.

I felt that I should find other ways to see you,
yet fear that we shall never be together.
I'm willing to wait until our next life,
when we'll hold each other in our arms,
and you'll renew your love for me.

I will silently pray that when Heaven remakes this world
to pay you special attention so that your appearance will not be altered,
Then no matter in however impoverished a village or however noisy a city,
I'll see you and recognize you immediately.

Let me wander through this earth for three thousand years,
and grow as old as the Kashgar desert willow.

I will search carefully for you for centuries onwards,
and find you in any reincarnated form.
I do not fear the gusting of the wind,
nor the thrashing of the rain,
nor the burning under the sun,
nor any harm this sandy desert may do me;
I'll lay down my heart and my love plainly for you to see.
I would that my body be eroded over the ages by the wind,
and hope that then, you'll feel my true love.

Our love stopped in this century,
from the moment we arrived to the moment we left.
What landscape has it transformed into?
Our love is hidden under the soil, which has made it suffer so,
and become such a lament.

Kashgar page on Wikipedia
Desert Willow (Huyang) on Wikipedia in Chinese only

Rice Paper: Restaurant Review

Last night, my friends and I went to the new Rice Paper restaurant located at Leslie and Finch, inside Leslie Square Plaza. It is a new restaurant that just opened up about a month ago. It serves Vietnamese/Thai cuisine.

We got there nearly at 8pm, and we had to wait another 40 mins. for a table. The restaurant has a lounge area near the entrance for this reason. The couches were very comfortable to sit in, and they were also arranged in a pattern that allowed patrons to sit facing one another and chat while we wait. I really liked this touch. The 40 minute wait did not feel like it because we felt comfortable and cozy. This was a very nice touch.

The restaurant's interiors look very modern and very clean. By clean, I mean the view of the dining room from where you're sitting. The glass strips that divide the various sections of the dining room makes it look much roomier than it already is, being a big space. The glass strips also create a lot of optical illusions because of the reflecting light and images. Strangely, this creates a sense of privacy.

Unfortunately, the most important thing to a restaurant is not the appearance and the atmosphere, but the quality of the food. And Rice Paper's food is truly not worth the price ($20/person). Here's why:
1. "Bo Koh" - Vietnamese tomato and beef stew. The beef was so chewy, it was impossible to eat. This tells me that the chef doesn't know how to cook this cut of beef properly. Secondly, the soup in the stew did not taste anything like the authentic "bo-koh," which is made using a particular blend of spices. Without these spices, it will only taste like spicy tomato soup. This is my favourite stew of all stews, and I, needless to say, was tremendously disappointed.

2. "Bei-rgoong" - Shrimp wrap. This is another one of my favourites of Vietnamese cuisine. My family makes this occasionally, and I like to do the wrapping. When eaten fresh, the rice wrapping is soft, yet chewy. This restaurant "bei-rgoong" was not soft at all. It was, again, VERY CHEWY. This tells me that they were not made fresh.

3. "Chicken with Red Curry". The sauce was very good, excellent for dipping. They did not go cheap on the spices for this dish. The chicken was moist and succulent. The only drawback to this dish was that they put chicken wings in it, instead of meatier parts of the chicken. For a stew, that's a disappointment for me personally, but those who love chicken wings will love this dish.
NOTE: This dish comes with 1 small French baguette. To order the rice, it costs $1 extra. For another piece of baguette, it'll cost $1.50 extra.

4. "Thai Glass Noodles." This was the spiciest dish of all. That wouldn't have been bad at all, if not for the fishy tasting shrimps and squids. That tells me that they used very low quality seafood to make it. The seafood must have been the low-grade frozen type. I don't like seafood because of the fishy taste, and seafood that isn't fresh has a very strong odour of that fishy taste. This was the worst dish of all and that's why more than half of it was left uneaten on the table.

5. "Roat Pig's Neck with fake 'Fish Sauce'". This was one of the best dishes, but too bad it was only an appetizer. Thin strips of roast pork sat on a bed of lettuce with a fake "fish sauce." The FISH SAUCE is another major flop. It can't even qualify as fish sauce, which is the most basic dipping sauce to Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. Like ketchup to western dishes, and soy sauce to Chinese dishes, the fish sauce must not be compromised.

6. The Drinks. Very tasty, but you can't go wrong with drinks.

For the service, it was quite good. The servers were all very cordial and accomodating.

Atmosphere and service: 4 stars out of 5.
Food: 2 star out of 5.

Nuyen's B-day

Last night, the Gang went out to celebrate Nuyen's birthday. First, we had dinner at Rex Saigon Buffet. I had lots of mango salad and curry chicken. At one point, "Cathy" was chatting with Nhan, and he responded with "Nuyen is good to have a girlfriend like you...but he's not worth it."

OUCH!!! Nhan just killed two birds with one stone, and the funniest thing is that he didn't even know it. I just sat there laughing my ass off as Clare tried to explain to Nhan what he just did. "You just dissed me by saying Cathy's a good gf, and then you dissed him by saying he's not worth it!" ROTFLMAO!!!

After dinner, we went to a driving range in Vaughan. On the way there, I rode in Nhan's car with Clare and Leung. We played the cd that I had just burned for them, full of TVB theme songs from the 80s. The three of us were on a high, and Nhan kept muttering "God help me...for the love of God..." and so on. Obviously, Nhan is not a fan of 80s kung fu movies from TVB, nor is he willing to fall in love with the music. Too bad!

The song that got us the most was

劍伴誰在（倚天屠龍記主題曲）
作詞：黃霑　作曲：黎小田　演唱：梁朝偉/梅艷芳

（女）倚天劍何在
（男）寶刀出鞘期待
（女）期待劍開
（男）問蒼茫大地上　劍伴誰在
　　　為你尋遍八方路　想你心開
（女）心已隨風中笑影　偷偷投夢內
　　　迎入你全部豪放姿采
（合）不知你不知我　誰武功厲害
　　　劍是龍　劍是虹　騰躍萬年萬代
　　　一招了　千招了　良將知良才
　　　以熱誠以熱愛　衷心喝采
（男）望江湖七洲四海　劍在人在
　　　仗劍行遍八方路　胸襟放開
（女）撫劍攜心中笑聲　輕輕投夢內
　　　尋覓你全部流放的愛
（合）以熱誠以熱愛　放盡異彩

Upon First Meeting Zhao Min

Top to bottom: Alyssia Chia, Gigi Lai, Kitty Lai

After reading the book , I realize that none of the actors who have played Zhao Min in the TV series match well with the book's descriptions. When we first meet Zhao Min, she is dressed up as a man, holding a fan with a handle that is made of white jade. "The hand that held the fan was so pale they matched (23, p.1075). Even in male dress, she looked very pretty. When she spoke, she did so delicately and did not try to conceal her true gender.

At the Green Willow Villa, Zhao Min wined and dined with Zhang Wuji and the rest of the Ming Sect desciples. After a while, her face developed a blush from the alcohol, and this actually made her look even prettier. She is still dressed up as a man to boot!
What makes her so mesmerizing is not just that she's pretty, but in her beauty there is an underlying current of the heroic and the noble.

I have seen 3 versions of HSDS, and I think that Gigi Lai looked best as Zhao Min, but Kitty Lai played the payed the role the best. Alyssia Chia, as pretty as she is, looked a bit too gentle, and acted the part with too much delicate childishness. Now, after reading the descriptions, I realize it's foolish to picture any actress as Zhao Min because she is described in such a way that she could never appear in the flesh.

I wish Jin Yong had spent equally as much paper on describing Zhang Wuji's appearance.

Funniest Scene So Far

Ch. 22, pp. 1032-1033

"宋青書心中大駭，偶一回頭，突然和周芷若的目光相接，只見她滿臉關懷之色，不禁心中又酸又怒，知道她關懷的絕非自己，當下深深吸了一口氣，左手揮掌猛擊張無忌右頰，右手出指疾點他左肩 ‘缺盆穴’，這一招叫作 ‘花開並蒂’，名稱好聽，招數卻十分厲害，雙手遞招之後，跟著右掌擊他左頰，左手食指點他右肩後 ‘缺盆穴’。這兩招 ‘花開並蒂’ 並成一招，連續四式，便如暴風驟雨般使出，勢道之猛，手法之快，當真非同小可。眾人見了這等聲勢，齊聲驚呼，不約而同的跨上了一步。"

The above is a description of a set of Wudang kungfu called "Blossom and the Receptacle". It is made up of four manouvres that are executed in rapid succession. First, you use your right hand to press on an acupressure point in your opponent's left shoulder area, and then you hit the left side of his forehead. You repeat this with your left hand and strike the right side of your opponent's shoulder and forehead. It is executed with such speed that your opponent will be immediately immobilized by your pressing on those two specific acupressure points. Then, he is also disoriented because of being struck on the forehead twice.

When Zhang Wuji was heavily injured by Zhou Zhiruo's sword, he couldn't even stand up straight to fight his opponent, Song Qingshu (son of Song Yuenqiao). Song thought that this would be his best and probably only chance to humiliate Zhang Wuji in front of Zhou Zhiruo. So he attacked Zhang Wuji with the "Blossom and the Receptacle." Little did Song know that Zhang Wuji had already mastered seven levels of Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi. Zhang Wuji used this to "return" whatever Song wanted to use on him back onto Song himself. When Song wanted to press on Zhang Wuji's acupressure point, Zhang pushed his hand back and Song ended up pressing on his own acupressure point. When Song wanted to strike Zhang Wuji on the forehead, Zhang pushed that back, too, and Song ended up hitting his own forehead. Because these four manouvres are executed with such speed, Song Qingshu ended up immobilising himself completely, became disoriented , and fell over backwards "with a bang."

"只聽得拍拍兩下清脆的響聲，宋青書左手一掌打上了自己左頰，右手食指點中了自己左肩 ‘缺盆穴’，跟著右手一掌打上了自己右頰，左手食指點中自己右肩 ‘缺盆穴’。他這招‘花開並蒂’四式齊發，卻給張無忌已 ‘乾坤大挪移’ 功夫挪移到了他自己身上。倘若他出招稍慢，那麼點中了自己左肩 ‘缺盆穴’ 後，此後兩式便即無力使出，生他四式連環，迅捷無倫，左肩 ‘缺盆穴’ 雖被點中，手臂尚未麻木，直到使全了 ‘花開並蒂’ 的下半套之後，這才手足酸軟，砰到一聲仰天摔倒，掙紮了幾下，再也站不起來了。"

ROTFLMAO!!!

In the 1986 TVB version, the martial arts choreography looked so cool when Tony Leung acted this out. I didn't know that the novel description would actually be so hilarious.

Notes Ch. 21, pp. 974

When Zhang Wuji battles Kongxing, one of Shaolin's three "divine" monks, there are hints as to the difference between kungfu that is jiang 剛 versus kungfu that is yinrou 陰柔. Jiang kungfu is more agressive and uses clear methods of attack. Yin kungfu is more sly, and attacks by first drawing your opponent into a trap.

"三十六式得招數，一瞥之下，似乎其中破綻百出，施招者手忙腳亂，竭力招架，其實這兩招似守實攻，大巧若拙，每一處破綻中都隱伏著厲害無比的陷阱。龍爪手本來走的是剛猛的路子，但到了最后兩式時，剛猛中暗藏陰柔，已到了返璞歸真，爐火純青的境界。"

In wuxia novels, the kungfu used by females is usually of the yinrou nature, while men use the jiangyang kungfu. My guess is that females rely on a more sly strategy when they fight because they don't have the physical strength nor the muscular stature of the males. Of course, this attitude is very sexist, and wuxia novels by Jin Yong do display this prejudice.

Notes: Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi

Ch. 20. Zhang Wuji and Xiao Zhao are in the secret chambers of the Ming Cult Castle. It is here that Zhang Wuji finds the sheep skin with the instructions of Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi written on it.

Qian Kun means heaven and earth. Da means big. Nuo Yi means to move around. I interpret this name to mean "move heaven and earth." A wugong that teaches one's neigong (inner energy) to become so powerful as to be able to move heaven and earth, that must be some incredibly powerful stuff.

In actuality, it is a neigong that releases all of the inhibitors inside a person's body. The novel description uses the example of a man who is trying to save someone in a building that has caught on fire. Normally, one man's strength is very limited, but when he is in a critical and dangerous situation, he can exert an abnormally large amount of strength. Such a man could lift a fallen wooden beam to save his brethren. In western medicine, this might be described as simple adrenaline. When you're in a dangerous or critical situation, you will be able to achieve things that you would not normally. One real life example of this is Olympic athletes. When it's the gold medal race/competition/match, some athletes are able to shine and deliver their very best, far surpassing their own personal best results to beat the rest of the competitors to win the gold medal.

Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi simply allows a person to use and exert all of the inner strength in one's body. Everyone has this inner strength, but nobody can control it. Only during moments of dire urgency will people accidently discover how powerful we are. QKDNY allows one to control one's inner strength, so that one can be as powerful as a giant at any moment.

Notes: Jiu Yang Shen Gong

Chapter 19, p. 897-898. Here, it's revealed how Zhang Wuji was able to completely master the Divine Powers of the Nine Suns. When he was tied up in the Baggy Monk's magical bag, he tried using his power of the Nine Suns to break out of it. While he was doing this, the magical bag became a pot, and the power of the Nine Suns was building up, almost like steam. Inside this cloth "sauna", Zhang Wuji's power of the Nine Suns grew more and more potent. Like steam to raw flower to make a bun, all of the pressure points on his body were "opened," so that he was able to master the powers of the Nine Suns even sooner, and with greater potency. The result is that Zhang Wuji is now the most powerful of all the heroes of wulin.

p. 901-02. In the book, Xiao Zhao (brightness) first appears to be a very ugly girl. This is because of a birth defect, which is feigned. In the 1994 TVB version of this story, Kong Hay-man acts this part like the novel describes. In the 1986 TVB version, Siu May-kay doesn't.

--EDIT--
Chapter 21, 960-63. The 1994 version portrays the batthle with Zhang Wuji and Song Weixia at Bright Shining Peak fairly faithfully to the novel. Song Weixia is one of the elders of the Hong Dong school for martial arts. He had been practicing the school's highest and most powerful set of wugong called the Fists of Seven Wounds, and he slowly began to injure his own physical health. He had been feeling some pain, but because he was afraid of facing these injuries, and at the same time he didn't want to lag behind his brethren in mastering this set of fist-combat arts, he ignored the pains and continued.

When he meets Zhang Wuji at Bright Shining Peak, Zhang Wuji tries to educate Song Weixia, but Song is too proud to consider the advice of a man more than half his age. Moreover, he attacks Zhang Wuji to show off how powerful the Fists of Seven Wounds are. Zhang Wuji, however, was able to absorb the force of the fists, neutralize it and surprisingly, returns the force of the attack to Song Weixia in the form of jinqi 九陽真氣, pure energy of the Nine Suns.

Song Weixia then realizes that Zhang Wuji was sincere in his advice, so he praises and graciously thanks Zhang Wuji for returning Song's hostility with kindness.

In the 1986 version, this is scene is omitted. One reason I could think of is because the scene is not crucial to the main conflict of this battle at Bright Shining Peak. I believe it was written more to reveal the forgiving nature of Zhang Wuji.

Mie Jue Vs. Xie Xun

Reading chapter 18, I realized that there is a parallel between these two characters. Mie Jue is a nun, and the master of O-Mei. Xie Xun is a blind old man whose wugong is very powerful. Earlier on, the story of Xie Xun and a Shaolin monk is told. This Shaolin Monk is the teacher of Xie Xun's mortal enemy. He tells Xie Xun to strike him thirteen times, and if he lives, Xie Xun must give up his vengeful quest. If he dies after the thirteen strikes, then Xie Xun's enemy will appear and they will have to resolve all enmity between them.

After Xie Xun strikes the elderly monk 13 times, the monk cannot withstand the force of the attacks anymore and dies. At that moment, he also realizes that he had been tricked. Even as he lay dying, his pupil did not appear. Instead, Xie Xun was so moved by this monk's act of love and forgiveness that he realizes how wrong his past actions were. It is in Xie Xun's arms that the elderly monk breathes his last breath. From that day onwards, Xie Xun promised never to kill another innocent person to force his mortal enemy out of hiding.

About twenty-five years later, Zhang Wuji meets Mie Jue on the way to Bright-Shining Peak. There, Mie Jue and her desciples capture a group of followers of the "evil" Ming Sect. She commands them to abandon their evil past and become good people. They refuse, and she allows her desciples to cut off each person's right arm. After that, if they still refuse to turn against their "evil" Ming Sect, then they will have to suffer the loss of their left arms.

Zhang Wuji begs Mie Jue to stop this torturous mutilation of these warriors, and agrees to accept three strikes from Mie Jue. If he survives, then Mie Jue must release the Ming Sect followers. At the end, Zhang Wuji survives and prevails, yet Mie Jue only grudgingly releases the prisoners. She doesn't even realize that what she and her desciples did was cruel and inhumane. She arrogantly refuses to admit any wrong-doing on her part.

This is one of the prevailing themes of many wuxia stories: followers of an organization that is accepted as "noble and good" in the eyes of wulin may not actually live what they preach. Ironically, followers of "evil and corrupt" organizations may act more chivalrous and more gallantly.

Yin Liting's Sword

One of the things I love about reading HSDS are the descriptions of the Seven Wudang Heroes. Each of them have their own strengths and weaknesses. Of the seven, the fifth brother, Zhang Cuisan, is the most famous and the favourite of Master Zhang Sanfeng. The sixth brother, Yin Liting, also has an important part to play in the story.

He was in love with one of O-Mei's desciples, Ji Xiaofu. Unfortunately, his love for her was unrequited. In chapter 18, Zhang Wuji has grown to an adult, and in one scene, he meets his sixth uncle again. Yin is fighting a daoist monk, and here is the description of how skillful Yin is with his sword.

"Suddenly, the green flash of a long sword flew out from Yin Liting's hand, piercing through the wind like lightning through air towards the daoist monk. When the daoist monk realized what was coming and wanted to dodge aside, the long sword pierced right through his heart, then through his body completely; and still onwards it flew. The injured monk kept running, however, and after a few yards, he finally fell to the ground. Three more yards beyond him, the flying sword began to descend, and in another flash of green it struck the earth in an upright position and lodged itself there; an ordinary sword, but ever so divinely powerful."

Being an ordinary sword, but from Yin Liting's hand, it is divinely powerful. This is how Jin Yong shows the reader just how skillful skillful Yin is with his sword.

Description of the O'Mei Priestess, Mie Jue

Mie Jue: to exterminate

"Approaching, she appeared to be about forty-five years of age and quite attractive, too, if not for two long eyebrows that slanted downwards, thus making her appear odd and strange, a bit like the theatrical ghosts you see on stage who died by hanging."
-p. 583, Chapter 13.

---------------------------------------------

Update on Ji Xiaofu's Rape

When Mie Jue finally found Ji Xiaofu in Butterfly Valley, Ji finally had a chance to explain what exactly happened to her. Apparently, she was stalked and harrassed by Yang Xiao for several weeks before he finally kidnapped her. She was forced to stay with him for several months. When his enemies came looking for him, that's when she was able to escape. After that, she found out that she was pregnant, and so she decided to have the baby.

When Ji asked Mie Jue if Yang Xiao and O'Mei had any previous encounters, Mie Jue explained that it was Yang who drove another O'Mei disciple to death. Upon hearing this, Ji actually felt proud of Yang, that he was able to accomplish this.

Following this conversation, Mie Jue still wants Ji to be her successor at O'Mei, but before she transfers power to Ji, Mie Jue wants Ji to do one more thing to prove her loyalty to O'Mei. That is, kill the evil Yang Xiao. Ji, surprisingly, refuses. Because of her disobedience, Mie Jue kills Ji as punishment.

Rape in Jin Yong Novels

"Child, I did not intend to betray your Uncle Yin's love; at the time, there was nothing I could do, but...but then, I don't feel any regret." She (Ji Xiaofu) looked at Zhang Wuji's face and saw only a naive innocence. She thought, 'this boy's heart is like a sheet of white paper. Such matters about the love between men and women should better be kept out of his knowledge. Besides, all these details have nothing to do with our current troubles."
-p. 551, The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre Saga
Original Chinese text can be read here.

Currently, there is a discussion at a prominent discussion forum for wuxia novels here.

The main scope of the discussion is centred on the observation that Jin Yong likes to write about rape, or sexual violence against women. Some prominent examples of this include Ji Xiaofu's supposed "rape" by Yang Xiao in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre Saga, as well as Xiao Longnu's rape by Yun Ziping in The Return of the Condor Heroes.

I personally have not read RCH, so I don't know how Jin described Xiao Longnu's rape, but I have read Ji Xiaofu's account, and in this case it is most ambiguous! I think the question with regard to Ji Xiaofu's rape shouldn't be whether or not it happened. The question is WHAT does she not regret? Her daughter, the result of the supposed "rape" is named "no regrets." Yang Buhui: Yang is her father's surname, and her first name is Buhui.

When she says that she doesn't regret it, does that mean that she consented? Or, does it mean she doesn't regret having her daughter and raising this daughter? Or, does it mean that she doesn't regret breaking away from O'Mei and her family? By breaking away from her social and filial obligations, she escaped having to be married to Yin Liting, which would have resulted in another rape because Jin makes it clear in the novel that Ji Xiaofu never loved Yin Liting, that their marriage was arranged without her input. Perhaps what she doesn't regret is being able to escape such a fate, and live her own life away from the politics, hipocrisy and bigotry of the many Wulin organizations and sects.

I am interested in finding out if she had any opportunity to elope with Yang Xiao, which is the logical thing to do if she loved him and consented to have sex with him. This way, they could raise their daughter together. But, the other side of the question is, what kind of man is Yang Xiao? Was he a playboy? Was he being unfaithful to Ji Xiaofu? This is how some films have portrayed him, making Ji Xiaofu appear weak and gullible. I'm waiting to find out one way or the other.

This issue of rape in Jin Yong's novels is a contentious issue for further examination on how the struggle between women and power are portrayed in wuxia literature.

1 More Week to Go

It's been three weeks since my parents left Toronto for Europe for a month-long trip. So far, I've managed pretty well on my own. I miss them though.

One thing I noticed is that it takes me very long to go through the food that I've bought. I've decided that this week, I will only buy fresh foods, and maybe some Vietnamese meats. I'd rather work hard and cook fresh meals rather than buy pre-packaged ones.

At school, everything is going well. I'm only bothered by the allergies, which can't be helped. It's ragweed season, not to mention all that chalk I have to inhale all day long in the classroom.

So far so good. =)

Foie Gras now banned in Chicago

I saw on the news today that this delicacy is now banned from production and sale in Chicago, IL. The City Council was the one who passed this law. Their reason is that the process of making foie gras is inhumane to the geese and ducks.

Animal rights activists are thrilled. Many in the public are not.

When I went to Quebec 3 weeks ago, my friends and I visited a duck farm that produces and sells foie gras. We were given a private tour and the owner spent nearly 30 minutes explaing the history of this French delicacy, and how it is made. It was an eye-opening experience. And one that made me resolve never to eat it again in the future. I agree with the animal rights activists and the Chicago City Council that the process by which foie gras is made is inhumane. It is downright cruel.

Do I agree with the ban on the production and sale of this food on the basis that its production methods are inhumane? NO. If this were so, then shouldn't the KFC chicken be banned as well?

I think this is where personal preference comes in. If Joe Schmoe thinks that foie gras tastes good enough that he can ignore the suffering that the ducks and geese are subjected to, let Mr. Schmoe enjoy his food. Who am I to tell Mr. Schmoe how he should act on his conscience? To each his own, I say!

Unlike some psychos who torture and kill pets for pleasure, foie gras is a food that tastes delicious. To make it is a labour-intensive process. It was refined by the French and has become a part of French culture.

Trying to Understand the Roadblocks to Providing Generic Antiretroviral Drugs

I just read this article on the CBC website (click title above) to try and understand the complex issues surrounding the push to export cheap generic antiretroviral drugs to poor African countries that are in dire need of them.

This is how I understand it. The roadblocks include:
a) a clause in the law that the Cdn. gov't passed that says Canada can only export a drug to a country if the country makes a request. African countries are reluctant to do this becuase they are afraid of offending the major pharmaceutical companies, the ones who are on the front line inventing and testing for new and better drugs. That's an understandable concern.

b) In order for any Cdn. drug company to export generic antiretroviral drugs, they must first get licensing permission from the major pharmaceutical company that invented that drug, and who owns the patents for that drug. To do this means that the Cdn. drug company must negotiate with the major drug company. This is easier said than done, and it takes a lot of time and resources. Apotex is reluctanct to devote itself to this process, and that is understandable. It is merely a company that manufactures drugs. It's not a politician.

c) Doctors Without Borders is pursuing these negotiations with fervor, but unfortunately the clause in the Cdn. law says that it must be a country that makes the request for the drugs, not an NGO (non-governmental organization). The article says: "The initial WTO ground rules, which Canada followed, included: Brand-name patent holders must first be invited to negotiate voluntary licensing agreements with generic manufacturers before they could be compelled to hand over their patents for humanitarian use. If there was to be compulsory licensing, this had to be on a one-shot contract with an identifiable country as purchaser (royalties were to be based on a specific country's ability to pay, among other criteria). As a result, the deal couldn't be made through an NGO."

So, in essence, Canada wrote a legislation based on the guidelines set by the WTO, and that very law includes a lot of brickwalls that prevents Cdns. from accomplishing what the law originally set out to accomplish. What a shame!

Pics from Quebec

Saint James Resto-Bistro - Review

1110, rue Saint-Jean
Québec, QC G1R 4H8
Canada
1 800 463-6283
(418) 692-1030, poste 7002

Our first night in old Quebec City, we went looking for a restaurant. Many of them were full and had patrons waiting in line at the front door. We entered a few and asked for a table for 5, and they all told us it would be a 20-30 minute wait. One said it would be an hour long wait; of course we by-passed this one. Finally, we came to the Saint-James Resto-Bistro, located underneath the Hotel Manoir Victoria. The menu looked different from what the 5 of us were accustomed to, so we were very interested.

J. asked for a table and he was told we were 5th in line after 4 other parties (small and medium sized). We figured that would be about 20-40 minutes, just like all the other restaurants. So we decided to stay and wait. Thirty minutes later, we were still waiting, except that by this point, not only were the four parties ahead of us seated, but 2 other parties behind us were also seated and served. Granted, they were only parties of 2.

The maitre d' came out a few times, and this time found someone in line behind us whom she recognized. They were a group of 6 and they went inside no problem. We had to wait another 15 minutes and watch another part of four move ahead of us to a table inside. When there was no one else waiting behind us, that's when they gave us a table. To our horror, we were not seated at a table for five. We got a booth table and a bar stool was added at the end. This meant that T. had to sit in the aisle.

We sat there for 10 minutes before the waiter came to ask if we wanted any drinks. When he came back later to take our orders, he asked us: "How are you doing with the menu? Do you have any questions? Shall I give you a few more minutes?" He asked all three questions without pausing in between to give us a chance to reply. This made me wonder, DID HE REALLY WANT TO SERVE US AT ALL? 'Cause it sure as hell didn't sound like it.

The food was very good. This was some of the best pasta I've ever had. I couldn't finish it all, as much as I wanted to. The iced tea was so sour, I wonder if they made it that way on purpose just to spite us for reasons I do not know.

This has to rank as one of the worst restaurant experiences I've ever had. Next time a similar occurrence arises, I will bitch and insist we go elsewhere. Why should I let someone treat me like that?

I give this restaurant ** out of five for the food. But, I'm compelled to take away these ** because of the horrible way we were treated.

Home Sweet Home

Returned from Quebec last night after an 11 hour drive stuck in traffic a lot of the time. Still very tired.

Got this in the mail from Grace: http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp Try it, it's fun.

Updates and Comments

Emma
I've started reading Jane Austen's classic. I really disliked Emma at the beginning. I thought she was selfish and snobby. Now, after reading the first volume, I find her a compassionate person who has a very good understanding of human nature and nurture.

Fidel Castro & Cuba
Anyone who knows me knows what I think about communist governments. However, anyone who knows me also knows what I think of American Imperialism. Yesterday, I read an article on CNN that contained quotes by George W. Bush Jr. Basically, he said that it's now time for the Cuban people to be liberated. It's time to bring democracy to Cuba.

What a foolish mindset. Who is Bush to decide that the Cuban people need liberation in the first place?