Montreal

Snarky Puppy Live in Montreal

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This Tuesday, I witnessed something pretty spectacular. I went to see Snarky Puppy perform live at Metropolis. Not only was this one of the best live shows I have seen in a while, there were other things I found quite surprising. First of all, the show was sold out. Yes, a jazz fusion show sold out. I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised by this, as Snarky Puppy has been around for 10 years now, so they have managed to grow a pretty decent following. However, this audience wasn’t the typical ‘old dudes’ type audience I was expecting. Instead, it was largely people in their early to mid twenties, and a fairly good representation of women as well (jazz fusion, like progressive rock has long been a good way to ensure you don’t get any dates or attention from the ladies). The band was very warmly received, and they were […]... Read More

Dear voters, Please stay home.

Posted on by Christopher 11 Comments
As unpopular as this view might be to some, I will not be encouraging people to show up and vote. I think the arguments behind encouraging a greater voter turnout are flawed and unsound. Disclaimer: It’s no secret to most of my friends, that I am not a huge fan of democracy. This doesn’t make me a communist, nor does it mean that I support some other authoritarian or tyrannical government. For the moment, I would still say that democracy is our best option but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I just dislike it less than the other options. In my view, the biggest problem with democracy is not the concept of democracy itself, in fact, like many forms of government, it would probably be fantastic for Utopia. (An interesting aside on Sir Thomas More’s invention of the term Utopia — the word comes from the Greek: […]... Read More

Cher SPVM/Dear SPVM,

Posted on by Christopher 10 Comments
(English text follows the French) Chers membres du SPVM, En 2008, il vous en souvient peut-être, à l’invitation de votre estimée Fraternité déçue de l’offre salariale de la Ville de Montréal, vous protestiez en portant un jean et une casquette de base-ball rouge… Nous, nous en avons gardé un souvenir très précis. Même si vous exigiez alors une plus grande part de nos impôts, nous n’avons pas répondu : en vous aspergeant violemment de poivre en vous pourchassant comme des chauffards avec nos voitures, au risque de vous renverser; en vous attaquant alors que vous étiez attablés à la terrasse d’un bar. Même si une infime minorité d’entre nous avait agi ainsi (il y a toujours quelques pommes pourries…), la dernière chose qu’il nous viendrait à l’esprit serait de défendre un comportement si honteux et d’en rejeter le blâme sur vous! Alors, soit vous n’éprouvez aucune honte, ou vous croyez […]... Read More

Nightly ‘Casseroles’ (pots and pans) Protest

Posted on by Christopher 3 Comments
Yet another awesome thing about Québec culture. This is right outside my apartment door: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCVfeKM7vRM] Every night, my neighbours are protesting the Charest government’s tuition increases. To make matters worse, Charest has been totally inept and incapable of coming up with a compromise. So these protests have been happening nightly, and they last for about 10-15 minutes. Here’s a snippet from list night: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Mv1cTFh4s] This is a wonderful way to protest, and it makes me love where I live even more! There are a bunch of these on YouTube as well, they’re easy to find if you search the French term ‘manifestation casseroles’ Charest, yoouuuuuhooooo!... Read More

Why I Love Québec Culture

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There are actually many reasons why I love Québec culture (including the music, which is an amazing mixture of French Troubadour and Irish Trad), however this photo highlights one aspect of Québecois culture that I really appreciate: This photo was taken by David Champagne, and is on his blog here. Here’s a video of the events leading up to that photo: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnAw5wBYdzk] What this image reminds me of is the sense of humour and joie de vivre that permeates Québec culture. While there was chaos and violence (on the part of protesters and police) there was someone willing to poke fun at it all and have a laugh. All in a completely non-violent, non-provocative way. This is why I love living here.... Read More

Montreal under siege (video)

Posted on by Christopher 2 Comments
An uprising against law 78, a law that requires protesters submit their protest plans 8 hours in advance to the authorities. A law that is considered by many to be draconian (French only) and over reaching (including the Quebec Bar Association and the Canadian Association of University Teachers). [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMXzsbaMY9g] A couple of things were painfully obvious here: the police were not in control of this situation a small group of troublemakers were responsible for most of the violence the crowd (wrongly in my view) allowed these troublemakers to take control of the situation although this was clearly a very difficult and dangerous situation for them, the police behaved very unprofessionally. They were overly aggressive and were taunting and mocking the protesters, further instigating violence. This is sowing disrespect for authority and the law. The people hired to protect us are becoming the enemy, which is toxic to the fabric […]... Read More

Montreal under siege

Posted on by Christopher 1 Comment
Last night, things got way out of control. There was a small group of trouble makers who were doing everything they could to get the police’s attention – they succeeded. To make matters worse, the crowd was supporting the instigators rather than denouncing it. The regular police force arrived first, and had to deal with barricades of pylons and road signs left by the students to block emergency vehicles. These police tried to get things under control, and failed miserably. They were out numbered and had no support from anyone – their presence was not welcome, despite the fact that some of the instigators set a pile of pylons on fire. Behind me, I heard the sound of someone pounding on a car. It was another instigator smashing the windows of what appeared at first glance to be the car of a civilian. This was unusual, since the protesters seemed […]... Read More