The Toque's In The Mail

Thanks, Mrs S.

The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas

As I work my way though the library audio book collection, the selection du jour is The Man In The Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas. When I got the book, I had heard of it, and I think at one point I had seen part of the Richard Chamberlain movie version. But, I was unaware that it was the conclusion of the Three Musketeers series. I read The Three Musketeers when I was in high school, so it would be a challenge to see how much of it I could remember. As for the other intervening books, it appears that the divisions between the volumes varies, but in one division, they are entitled, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, and Louise de la Vallière. The section I'm reviewing (Iron) filled 14 CDs, so Dumas must have been a voluminous writer.

The book is one for which it is difficult to give a detailed plot synopsis without potentially giving away too much of the story. But, suffice it to say that the three musketeers, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and d'Artagnan, are back and older than ever. I think it was mentioned that Athos was in his early 60s, and, while d'Artagnan may have been a few years younger, there are many references to gray hairs and the like. All four of them are either weathy or in a position close to the king.

When the book started, I had the impression that it was part comedy and part the story of a plot to overthrow King Louis XIV of France. But a great deal of the book concerns the plot's aftermath, along with other intrigue inside the French royal court. Time and distance have drawn the old friends physically apart, but not out of each others' hearts or minds. This is, then, a story about friendship. Despite finding themselves on different sides with respect to the king, they can still manage to do their duty while keeping their loyalty to each other. Oh, and they can still put up a fight, too. Mere mortals had better not mess with them.

Like some other classics, the book is long and somewhat uneven. It takes a while to get into the story, and then, after gaining familiarity with the style of the author and the characters, it gets good. However, this book is also troubled by references to all that has taken place over the past 35 or so years that was detailed in the middle volumes. Of course, Iron Mask is a must-read for Three Musketeers fans. And it's not bad at all. But when it comes to classics, you can probably do better.

Why Don't I Smile For Photos?

I never feel comfortable smiling for photos -- and when I do, I usually manage a small grin without showing my teeth. To do more on cue feels "fakey" to me. When asked to smile for a photo, I'll sometimes try to think of something funny to laugh about naturally. Why do I have an aversion to smiling for photos? Way back in Kindergarten, I smiled for my school photo, but my friend didn't. He looked so much cooler than I did, or so I thought, and I wanted to be like him. So, the next year, I didn't smile. It was becoming a habit when, for Grade 3 when I didn't have any front teeth, I displayed a big smile for my school photos -- and everyone made fun of it. So, it's rare that you'll find a photo of me smiling with my teeth in view.

I think I must have some flour or something in my beard.


And, who could be more cool than that? That shirt; the hair; the smile. Wonderful!


Here's the non-smiling friend. While no teeth are displayed, that does look like a smile to me. I seem to remember it more as a frown or glare. R., if you're out there, send me an e-mail.

It's Never Too Early for a 2008 (US) Elections Poll

After seeing it at THEJESZONE, I took still another survey: the 2008 US Presidential Candidate Selector. I won't comment on this in detail, but I'm not surprised that Ron Paul is #1. Also, aren't Clinton and Romney supposed to be two of the leading contenders at the moment? As I noted in April, Hagel is still kind of high on the list.

Percent

Rank

Item

(100%) 1: Rep. Ron Paul (R) Information

(84%) 2: Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) Information

(82%) 3: Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) Information

(82%) 4: Sen. Sam Brownback (R) Information

(79%) 5: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R) Information

(71%) 6: Ex-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R) Information

(71%) 7: Gov. Bill Richardson (D) Information

(69%) 8: Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) Information

(69%) 9: Sec. Condoleezza Rice (R) Information

(69%) 10: Sen. John McCain (R) Information

(66%) 11: Sen. Barack Obama (D) Information

(66%) 12: Sen. Joseph Biden (D) Information

(64%) 13: Ex-VP Al Gore (D) Information

(61%) 14: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) Information

(61%) 15: Sen. George Allen (R) Information

(58%) 16: Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) Information

(56%) 17: Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) Information

(56%) 18: Gov. George Pataki (R) Information

(56%) 19: Sen. John Kerry (D) Information

(53%) 20: Ex-Sen. John Edwards (D) Information

(51%) 21: Sen. Christopher Dodd (D) Information

(48%) 22: Retired Gen. Wesley Clark (D) Information

(46%) 23: Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) Information

(41%) 24: Gov. Mitt Romney (R) Information

It's About Time We Got Some Snow!

"Daddy, we're done shovelling our driveway and sidewalk. Is it OK if we shovel the neighbour's house, too?"

What American Accent Do You Have?

Here's another quick web poll for you. What kind of American accent do you have? I suppose this would be especially interesting (or not) to a non-native English speaker, or a non-USAian English speaker.

• A friend from Southwestern Ontario, Canada, got "North Central", which probably makes sense.
  
• The proudly Australian DFV got Northeast/New York City(!).
  

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

2007 Favourite Literary Character Day

Different classes chose their own "dress up" themes this year. One was literary characters, one was television or cartoon characters (which my child chose not to participate in, not being all that familiar with the genre), and the third was "International", of which I don't have a photo. So, here's the photo I have (for now) of the rental costume:

Sir Elton

Nice glasses. His other hat is a family-size ice cream tub.

Wrong Answer

In a reviewing a recent school test by my daughter, I noticed that she had an essay question where she had to describe three rights guaranteed by the (US) Bill of Rights, and three corresponding responsibilities. Setting aside the need to think in terms of responsibilities along with rights, she listed the right to vote as one of her three. When I read it, I said, "Oops, wrong answer. There's no mention of the right to vote in the Bill of Rights" (even though it is a reasonable guess). However, her answer wasn't marked wrong on her test. She also said her textbook mentioned that Bill of Rights guaranteed a right to vote. Since I doubt that the textbook authors had the Ninth Amendment (The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.) in mind when they made this claim, it looks like we'll have to add textbook authors to the list of people who haven't read the Constitution. :-(

Or, am I missing something, legal scholars?

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Here's a book that has inspired a wee bit of controversy, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. When I was in school, a good friend of mine's brother was named Dan Brown -- not the same guy. Anyway, even though I'm sure you can find more and better information on this book elsewhere, I'll cut to the chase and get to the story:

American professor Robert Langdon is visiting Paris when he's awaken from his hotel room and summoned to the Louvre, where he discovers that he's a suspect in the murder of the museum's curator, Jacques Saunière. With the help of police cryptologist Sophie Neveu, he escapes the Louvre. Langon and Neveu try to stay ahead of the police and a mad monk while investigating clues and trying to determine who is the real killer. With the help of historian Sir Leigh Teabing, they find themselves on a quest for the Holy Grail, which is also sought after by the mysterious "Teacher" who seems to be pulling all the strings.

Apart from flashbacks, and a short epilogue, the entire book takes place over the course of a day; most of that over less than 12 hours.

As an action novel, it's not bad. I've read better though, and I haven't read a lot of the genre.

What the book is most known for, however, is the stance its characters take on Christianity. Basically, the characters claim, everything you have been taught about Christianity is false. This gets tedious at times. It seems to me that it's a sign of less than stellar writing when you have professors and historians whose role seems to be explaining things to other characters. In this case, poor old Sophie is usually the vicitim having to endure Teabing's and Langdon's long-winded explanations concerning the supposed marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, their descendants, how this "truth" was hidden, and what the Holy Grail has to do with all of this.

What's my take? It's basically that the author has a good imagination. What if history was really like this, and there really was a 900-year old "Priory of Sion", he seems to asking. Critics of the book apparently think that readers will take Brown's characters' claims as the truth, or an equally valid telling of history. I don't know anyone like this, but I suppose they're out there. If you don't feel comfortable with your knowledge of early Church history, I recommend a book like Exploring the Da Vinci Code by Strobel & Poole (but not necessarily that one).

Since there is so much baggage associated with this book, I can't really give it a rating or a recommendation. If you're looking for a fast-paced action novel, I'd prefer something by Michael Crichton. But if you feel comfortable with your knowledge of history and want to see what the hubub is about, I won't try to dissuade you.

2006 Cycling Recap

Opening music: Purple Toupee by They Might be Giants.

The fact that I've waited until now to post about my 2006 bicycling distance can be taken as evidence that my interest in cycling has declined. That's not really the case. I still find it interesting and enjoyable. It's just that I didn't use as much time in 2006 to bicycle for fun and exercise. I didn't even find or schedule the time to go on an overnight (or single-day) organised group bike ride. Indeed, a larger percentage of my biking was for transportation, and not just pleasure. As an aside, I think my kids think I'm mean because I made them bicycle home from football and cheerleading practice. When I was a kid, even from a young age, I enjoyed the independence that having a bicycle and my own transportation provided. Alas, my kids don't seem particularly interested in providing their own transportation or in independence.

So, what did I do in 2006 to make up for the lack of biking? Well, I got back into regularly running (or at least jogging), after taking a few years off from that. I don't have any real data (since I don't have an odometer in my shoes) but I probably ran for the sake of running more last year than in any other. I think I had my fastest (albeit s l o w) 5K time last year as well. I hope to continue this trend in 2007. As long as my body and joints can handle it, running seems to be a better workout for the time than is biking.

Speaking of biking, how bad were the numbers in '06? Not really all that low, actually. I did ride 642 miles. Last year ('05) I rode 1004 miles. This year ('06) I rode 1033 kilometres. At least it was a thousand something!

Year	Distance Bicycled (miles)	Distance Motorcycled (miles)
2002	1168
2003	855
2004	700	410
2005	1004	223
2006	642	297

Look for the '07 bicycling numbers to decline further. :-(

Closing music: Paranoid Eyes by Pink Floyd

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore

Subtitled The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It.

It seems that lately I've been writing primarily about books I've read or listen to, but here's one I read that I wanted to comment on. Maybe "read" is not the correct term for this book, because it is filled with cool photos and graphics, and also has a bit of prose by Al Gore, the former #2 man in the U.S. government. The photos are one of the main reasons why I bought the book. Don't we all love images of ice caps, glaciers, hurricanes, and the like? The book is also timely. In the future, we can look at it and see if the predictions are accurate and if the trends continue.

But, I think the book is best summed up by the following paragraph: (Italics are Gore's)

The climate crisis also offers us the chance to experience what very few generations in history have had the privilege of knowing: a generational mission; the exhilaration of a compelling moral purpose; a shared and unifying cause; the thrill of being forced by circumstances to put aside the pettiness and conflict that so often stifle the restless human need for transcendence; the opportunity to rise.

I get the impression that if I ride my bicycle to work, cut my carbon emissions, or whatever, that will not be good enough. Gore wants me to be compelled by moral purpose and have global warming be my generational mission. Not only does he want to change how I act, which I can go for to some degree. He also wants my heart and soul. I can't go for that.

Also, what's with you, Australia? Only two "advanced" countries have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, the United States and Australia.