Tomorrow, When the War Began

Okay, Janelle and I watched a movie last night called Tomorrow, When the War Began. I just have to say it's one of the best movies I've seen in a while! Afterwards, we looked it up on Wikipedia, and it turns out, the movie is based on the first book of a seven book series called the Tomorrow series by author John Marsden.

After I am finished with Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, I intend to begin reading these Tomorrow books. Have any of you read them? If so, what do you think?

I think the relationship between books and films is the same as the relationship between a product and its TV commercial.

sick christmas, janelle is my hero

So, on Christmas Eve, my parents had a bunch of the extended family over for a big dinner and some games and nice stuff like that. I ate some generous portions of turkey, mashed potatoes and turnip, stuffing, salad, and delicious Christmas food. Afterwards I had a huge slice of cake for dessert, and then I sat around visiting and playing games with the family. It was nice. I got to reconnect a little bit with my long lost cousin, Josee.

About two hours after dinner, my stomach started acting up. I had to excuse myself three times to have some violent diarrhea. Yeah, not at all pleasant. But otherwise, it wasn't really stopping my enjoyment of the evening until a little later, when my I started getting really clammy and shaking and feeling really nauseous. I tried to ignore it, but the frequent trips to the bathroom for diarrhea weren't making the stomach cramps and nausea go away anymore. It was actually getting much worse and I was worried that I would have to throw up, something I hadn't done in... well, ten years or more. So I started hanging near the washroom, just in case.

I was beginning to feel like I should head for the washroom and, with my stomach making some violent noises, I turned to go... and was passed in the hallway by another celebrant. I didn't want to take any chances so I headed to the bathroom downstairs. Going down the stairs must have disturbed my stomach even more because the contents of my stomach started to come up...

So I dashed to the washroom only to find that it was occupied... I could hear someone singing softly to himself inside. In a panic, I turned around and went into the adjacent office and immediately spewed forth into the garbage can... Well, I had aimed at the garbage can.

Uncle Louis, coming out of the bathroom, saw me and bravely lifted the garbage can to catch the tail end of my upheaval, then sent me into the washroom to clean up. Then, he must have told my dad what had happened because when I came out of the washroom, dad was starting to clean up... because my vomit had gone EVERYWHERE. It was so disgusting. There was so much of it. It was like all the vomit that I hadn't vomited over the past ten plus years had built up and exploded out of me all across my parent's office... Having thrown up, I was feeling a little better, so I sent Dad upstairs and got some paper towel rags to start cleaning up... Janelle came down with a clean shirt for me shortly afterwards and took command of the clean up. Upstairs, the visitors were evacuating.

I was starting to feel sick again. I stuck around until we finished cleaning up... And then I dumped my clothes into the washing machine and headed for the shower. I had more diarrhea before I could make it into the shower. And after that I was so exhausted that showering seemed like an insurmountable task and I ended up standing under the water for what seemed like forever because I didn't have the energy to consider getting out and drying off and getting dressed and going to bed... besides, I was freezing.

I did make it to bed without any significant events, and fell asleep quite quickly. And I think Janelle joined me soon afterwards. By this time, it was well after midnight.

In Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time books, there are these women called Aes Sedai. They're kind of like wizards like Tolkien's Gandalf, but they're women and they have way more drama. Anyways, they've all taken an oath to never use their wizard power as a weapon, so they have these men with them, called Warders, to do all their dirty work. Each Aes Sedai is bonded to her Warder so that when one feels anything, the other feels it too. Anyways, sometimes I think Janelle and I must be bonded the same way because during the night I suddenly woke up with the realization that I was about to vomit again and there was Janelle, already shoving my head inside the bucket so I could vomit in it. Afterwards, I asked her how she knew I was going to throw up. She said she didn't know how it happened, she just knew she had to get around the bed and hold the bucket for me... Janelle is my hero.

Which, in retrospect, makes me a little ashamed of myself. I don't get sick all that often, but when I do, Janelle takes famously good care of me. When Janelle gets sick, I usually just sleep through it. Like one time, I woke up as Janelle was getting back into the bed and she said, "I just threw up." Instead of offering sympathy or anything like that, I said, "In the bed!?" I was horrified, apparently. (Now I know that the odds of Janelle throwing up in the bed are much smaller than the odds of Patrick throwing up in the bed.) And then I just went back to sleep! Can you believe how ridiculous I am?

Anyways, I was up off and on for the rest of the night with diarrhea and then I stayed in bed all Christmas morning. Sometime in the afternoon, I moved to the livingroom couch and lay down under a blanket so we could open presents. (Mom and Dad spoiled us rotten with Christmas gifts.) Afterwards I fell asleep and slept for most of the afternoon. I got up in the late afternoon to supply an answer to some kind of multiple choice question thing. I was feeling a little stronger. I ate some Jello and drank some water. A little later, I read a little and ate some chicken noodle soup... which I pooped out immediately afterwards. By this time my LBM had gone from brown to green to yellow to clear.

Thankfully, the next morning I was feeling quite strong. Strong enough to go to meeting in the morning and to eat some Chinese food in the afternoon and had only minimal diarrhea.

Now I am all better, and back in Thunder Bay. And Janelle is my Hero!

Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan

Summary


Faile and her women have been kidnapped by renegade Aiel running wild in a place where they should not be. Learning of this, Perrin goes after her, preparing for a deadly battle. To make matters worse, he is forced to bring The Prophet with him.

Mat is still trapped in Ebou Dar and the Seanchan have occupied it. Apparently the Return has begun and Seanchan are coming off boats by the thousands. He discovers that he isn't the only one trapped in Ebou Dar and he begins devising a scheme that will take him and them out of the city. Now, if only that boyish looking Seanchan woman would stop following him.

Rand, meanwhile, has taken off on a wild adventure. He jumps all over the place, Jumping Travelling between Rhuidean and Chachin and Cairhien and Caemlyn to finally stop in Far Madding, a city where no one can channel the Force Power. At all. Along for the party are some of Rand's Jedi Asha'man Gedwyn, Torval, Kisman, and Rochaid... but they tried to kill him in book eight. What could he possibly want with them?

What I liked


This book was suspenseful enough to make me keep reading and the story developed well. I really loved the prologue, it contained one of the most interesting events of the story so far.

What I didn't like


The book was boring far too often. Things just took way too long to happen. Also, the book I happened to have was the hardcover edition and it was FULL of typos, which was annoying to say the least.

Conclusion


A fair addition to the series. The story developed well. Suspenseful and boring by turns. A decent book, overall. 4/5 massively huge magical sculptures.

The Glory of the Revolution

Oh, in the beginning, our hopes were so high,

When a man was only a man

And every man, my brother.

What then? When the cold sets in?

And the hunger reduces to bone?

I have seen far too much of starvation.

Oh, the glory of the Revolution!

What do we do then,

When the system is good

But the people are wicked?

Ah, but you. I still have you.

I will always have you—

Thank God for you.

A Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan

Summary


This book begins where book seven, A Crown of Swords left off. Nynaeve and Elayne finally get their play date with the Bowl of the Winds and fix the weather. And the the Seanchan show up to ruin the party and send them running through a Gateway to Andor, where they face a two week journey to Caemlyn, where Elayne hopes to claim the throne. But, because they fixed the weather, it starts to snow, which hampers their journey. And then no one gets along and Elayne has a bad feeling that it's going to turn messy and someone might get killed.

Meanwhile, Egwene and her rebel Aes Sedai and the army they've put together is marching north. The only problem with that is that they've got to cross Andor and some disgruntled lords have moved an army into their way to prevent them from entering. And, with the weather fixed, the snow is seriously hindering her progress. And the Hall of the Tower is really giving her a hard time, trying to strangle her power and control her, but she'll have none of that! As if that wasn't bad enough, two of her maids have disappeared. Now where could they have gotten off to?

Meanwhile, Rand is about to move against the Seanchan who have taken Ebou Dar and are moving west towards his newly conquered kingdom of Illian. To protect his holdings, he marches against them. But something's going wrong with the Force One Power, it's behaving strangely and that's making some of his Asha'man nervous. Oh well, he's never let a small thing like that stop him before, why let it stop him now? So, he goes ahead with his attack on the Seanchan. If he's lucky, he might make it to Ebou Dar.

Perrin is about to meet up with The Prophet, like Rand ordered, but I have a feeling he'll soon be wishing he hadn't left his wfie, Faile, behind.

What I liked

Fairly good writing. Not quite as stellar as book seven, but definitely good. And a little interesting, with some very suspenseful parts. And foreshadowing expertly woven in totally adds to the suspense. I liked that.

What I didn't like


This is easily the most boring book of the series so far! The first hundred pages are all about who's more powerful in the Force One Power than who and what that means about who's more important than who. And nothing happens! They just talk about that for over a hundred pages! And then the book is all politics and manipulating and working behind other people's backs, which is kind of interesting, but not really exciting. So, it makes the six hundred or so pages of this book go by really, really slowly.

Conclusion


Unfortunately, you can't skip this book without missing some important plot points and character developments, so this book is worth reading for what it adds to the story. I don't think the boringness is forgivable, though. So 2/5  disgruntled, powermongering women.

This cover art is pretty cool, though:

A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan

Summary

Picking up pretty much where Lord of Chaos left off, this book begins after Rand has been freed from the Aes Sedai who kidnapped him and has returned to Cairhien. Perrin is with him and is a little restive and worried over the fate of the Aes Sedai Rand has captured.

Rand is still planning to take on Sammael in Illian, but he's taking his time with it. He may have a plan, but he's not letting anyone know. And he sure seems to like having Min around.

Also, the Sea Folk are still waiting for his visit and they've shown up in Ebou Dar as well.

Speaking of Ebou Dar, Mat thinks he is babysitting Nynaeve and Elayne in Ebou Dar and they're trying their best to keep him out of the loop. But they still haven't found the giant bowl they're looking for and it eventually becomes apparent that they aren't the only ones at work in Ebou Dar.

The action in this novel covers about two weeks, maybe a smidge more...

What I liked

... So the novel is pretty fast paced. It's got plenty enough action and ties up one or two loose ends that have been dangling for some time. Never mind that it dangles a few more loose ends of its own, but, I have every expectation that those will be tied up before the end of the series (this isn't Lost).

Also, the writing in this book is fantastic. The writing in previous books has been pretty decent, but this book definitely rises above the rest so far, as far as writing quality goes.

And the story telling is pretty good, even if it slows down quite a lot in places for explanations.

What I didn't like

As always, the drama. But it's toned down a bit in this book, I think, compared to previous ones.

Conclusion

This book provides the conclusion that was lacking at the end of Lord of Chaos. This book is that conclusion. Lord of Chaos kind of left it all hanging, this one ties that up nicely. It's more like an appendage or an extra forty two chapters to Lord of Chaos than its own story. But it works well. The suspense keeps me reading. 4.5/5 man eating fogs.

Professor Bernard on Lots of Other Stuff

Final class in Cold War History with Professor J-I Bernard was yesterday. Here are a few gems from the past two weeks:

"I'm not an admirer of 'Tricky-Nick' but Nixon was wise--and Kissinger too, even though he had some hare-brained ideas about linkage."

"The Americans thought that China could be a partner in solving the world's problems, or more accurately, American problems in the world."

"The US had landed... or 'mooneded' a man."

"France had always been restive and worrisome--annoying."

"The French were upset by what they saw as the United States and the Soviet Union playing at nuclear dice."

"What you see in WikiLeaks is the daily bread of diplomacy. Diplomats are professional liars. It seems scandalous to some people but it is what they do."

Here's a joke he told in class:
Charles DeGaulle dies and goes to heaven. He appears in the presence of God, who remains seated as the former French President approaches. DeGaulle says, "Most people stand up to greet me." And God replies, "I'm afraid that if I stand up, you will take my seat."

"It's a cultural tradition in the US to assassinate presidents. It's a national sport."

"To the Spanish Communist Party who proposed Euro-Communism, Soviet Communism was outdated, prehistoric, and, you know, not valid."

In Defense of WikiLeaks and its Founder, Julian Assange

please excuse this politically motivated post. i like to refrain from discussing politics in general, but this is an issue i feel strongly about, and i believe it deserves everyone's attention...

Headlines this morning report that Interpol has put WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange on its "Most Wanted" list in connection with rape and sexual molestation charges in Sweden. I must say that, in principle, I doubt the charges. As professor Bernard put it this morning, if Assange had not been charged with rape and sexual molestation, he would have been framed with something else, underlining the simple fact that it has become necessary to get rid of Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks.

Tom Flanagan, a former senior advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said Monday night on CBC's "Power and Politics with Evan Solomon," that Assange should be assassinated, that President Obama should put out a contract for his murder, or use military assets (such as drones) to neutralize him. Tom Flanagan, a professor at the University of Calgary, claims that some of the secrets exposed by WikiLeaks "could conceivably lead to war" and concluded that "this is really not stuff that should be out," citing for example the revelation that Arab diplomats have asked the US to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

I am a strong proponent of Full Disclosure and I believe that WikiLeaks is a great stride towards Full Disclosure. By Full Disclosure I mean a system that places all affairs of state under public scrutiny. What this might look like is an independent press with unhindered and unlimited access to all government proceedings. The result would be, no government secrets and no state secrets and no personal secrets among government officials. Full disclosure is total transparency.

This is not good for states, but it is good for people.

I believe Full Disclosure is necessary because of the anarchic nature of the international system. There is no system of accountability in international politics. The United Nations Organization does not provide accountability, does not police the international system. The United Nations Organization is a forum for discussion between states. States with sufficient power can ignore the United Nations and lesser states are controlled by more powerful states through the United Nations. There is no accountability in the international system.

Furthermore, domestically, we have no true democracy. We do not live in a democratic state, in Canada. Rather we have a form of a representational republic, or a parliamentary republic, where the people are not the choosers, rather, the people choose the choosers. This is not, as we claim, democracy. I will not say this is a bad system of politics. It is, compared to many other systems, a good system of politics that I am content to live with. Nevertheless, it is not a true democratic system.

Full Disclosure holds governments accountable to the voting public and holds states accountable to one another within the international system. What results is greater democracy within states and greater democracy between states; governments are held accountable for their perfidy not only by the voting public within their own borders but by the people of all states.

If states are embarrassed by the information disclosed, they should be! They have conducted themselves in a way that is embarrassing both in foreign and in domestic policy. No state is not guilty of perfidy. As long as there are state and government secrets, there will be perfidy; as much perfidy as possible. Full Disclosure will not end perfidy, but will certainly restrict it.

Professor Raffo, in a lecture this morning, said that Full Disclosure will result in the breakdown of diplomacy and will ultimately cause chaos in the international system. I contend that Full Disclosure will result in the breakdown of secret diplomacy and a new open diplomacy will replace it. Something like what President Wilson envisaged: Open treaties of peace, openly arrived at. There will be chaos for a time. But out of that chaos will emerge a better international system based on something more closely resembling democracy. Not the current international system of dictatorship by Super Power, where global domination is shared among a few Super Powers who dictate policy to lesser states.

The Internet has brought about an age in which every individual has a voice. So, every individual ought to be informed as much as possible.

I doubt we will ever see such a system of Full Disclosure exist. Nevertheless, it is worth striving for, in the hope that some day there will be wisdom and justice in the international system. Until then, I believe that Julian Assange should be harboured and allowed to continue his work.