Brian’s Comments (group member since Jun 03, 2009)

Brian’s comments from the Oh Canada group.

Terry O'Reilly
One of the few radio shows that have been made into a book. I loved listening to show and I enjoyed the book as well. A major theme is how technology changed advertising.

One of the interesting vignettes tells the story that YouTube didn't take off until the Mentos mints and Diet Coke experiments were put on the site. "Videos showed the two element s combining,causing a high-powered, sticky geyser. By 2008 the top three Mentos-Diet Coke videos had drawn more than eleven million hits."

"Advertising is never a science but rather an art. From our mistakes we’ve learned many directions not to go. It’s an intuitive process. There are no solid set in stone rules, or paint by number. There is no diabolical witchcraft at work, just people tyring to wrap the best message around a product."

It is a fun read.

BENJAMIN ERRETT

I like the humour of Improved as well as learning Hebrew and learning about Judaism. One of Errett’s first call to convert was how much he appreciated Jewish tradition in mourning the dead and funerals. He says he was converting for his fiance but truly it was for himself. Several of his future relatives-in-law tried to talk him out of converting, one cousin joked, “Anyone can eat bagels these days.” And about God, both Ben and Sarah were indifferent, he admits in Chapter 3, “Religion, Shmeligion.” In a way, explains Errett, that was part of Judaism’s appeal for him. “Judaism puts an emphasis on action over belief,” he says. “At my shul, there’s a sizable contingent of atheists who are members.” It was the tests of faith that drove Errett away from his Christian upbringing, he says. In contrast, “I’m glad that Judaism says, ‘Okay, you know what? You can believe what you want, but let’s move on!’”

In an interview with a rabbi he was tole, “You can be a good Jew and not believe in God. Judaism is bout what you do and how you live your life. We have members who don’t believe in God and are quite open about it. The important part is to act in a was that’ consistent with Jewish teachings.”

Ian Brown
Parenting, especially parenting well, is the hardest task imaginable; but I've wondered often how parents of disabled children manage the pain, the heartache, the endless work. "Through [the hard work, the smells, the intense emotion, the crises:], you hold your child's body, hold its flesh and heat close to you, like a skin of fire, because our need to make us shamelsess,but touch is our truest hunger. Just hang on. Just hang on. Just hang on. Just hang on." The intense fatigue caused by sleeping with his boy caused"my wife and I to fight a lot."

A doctor stated, "The Buddhists say the way to to pure being, is by getting your mind out of the way. Walker already knows how to do that. He is pure being. He may be developmentally delayed or moderately retarded, but in that way, he's already miles ahead of most of us."

"Walker had given my life shape, possibly even meaning. Bug Walker had also made our lives hell."

Brown is best when he is describing his life with his son. It's an incredibly touching work that centres around how much a life — and especially a severely physically and intellectually disabled life — is worth. When he digress to talking about other parents and children the book looses moment, but picks up nearer the end of the book. Well written. It is a must read with a small amount of skimming.

Good comment. I hadn't realized.

WADE DAVIS

The essays in this wonderful collection were written for the celebrated Massy Series for CBC. Davis looks to the San tribe who live in the Kalahari desert, as how our ancestors lived before they migrated out of Africa and spread out over the world. The Kahari is one of the most hostile environments in the world. "In English we have 31 sounds. The San have 141, a cacaphony of clicks and cadence that many linguists believe echos the very birth of our language."

In Australia: "Knowing the extraordinary reach of the Aboriginal mind, the sublets of their thoughts and philosophy and the evocative power of their rituals it is chilling to think of this reservoir of human potential, wisdom, intuition, and insight that very nearly ran dry during those terrible days of death and conflagration."

"Genocide, the physical extermination of a people, is universally condemned. Ethnocide, the destruction of a people's way of life, is sanctioned and endorsed as appropriate development policy." In Borneo, "Penan explicitly perceive wealth as the strength of social relations among people."

"Canada is leading the way, not only as a model of a successful multicultural country, but a s nation-state prepared to acknowledge past mistakes and seek appropriate means of restitution in a pluralistic society. I am reminded of this every time I travel in Nunavut which is now under the administration of the Inuit people."

Wade Davis points out that ancient peoples lived on Earth for millennia without destroying it. So why can't we? “By their very existence, the diverse cultures of the world bear witness to the folly of those who say we cannot change, as we all know we must, the fundamental manner in which we inhabit this planet.”

A wonderful book. A must read!

by Michael Davis
Fishing is a seriously funny novel. I can’t think of another book where even sex scenes are laugh aloud funny. When we first meet Bacon he is finishing high school. He is looking for his someone. As Kenny Rogers sings, “there is a someone for everyone.” Bacon is an awkward teen, not part of the in crowd. The new girl Sara drags him kicking and screaming into the circle of popular kids. She also steals his cherry. Sara could be Bacon’s “someone.” But she is wild. Bacon’s adventures in love and life are exciting and hilarious.

It’s a fun read.

http://bevd.edublogs.org/

Right On!