Book review: Irresponsible Government

Irresponsible Government: The Decline of Parliamentary Democracy in CanadaIrresponsible Government: The Decline of Parliamentary Democracy in Canada by Brent Rathgeber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the most depressing book I’ve read this year.

Rathgeber, now sitting as an independent in Parliament, is free to write without repercussion from political masters on what exactly he feels is wrong not only with the current Conservative government, but with the fundamental structure of Canadian government in general.

His main contention is that the federal government has become little more than an elected dictatorship for two reasons, the first being the concentration of power around the Prime Minister’s Office (a trend greatly accelerated by Stephen Harper, who prefers absolute control) and the second being the failure of MPs to act as a balance against the government/PM by being little more than cheerleaders for the governing party or powerless members of opposition who simply rail against everything the government does to better position themselves as a “government in waiting.”

He offers some solutions, some of which already exist in BC (recall and citizen initiatives), most of which make MPs more accountable to their constituents and less so to party leadership. One can argue about the details of his suggestions but it’s difficult to deny the reasons calling for reform.

Rathgeber even surprised me by presenting persuasive reasons for reforming the Senate rather than just shoving it into the ocean, my previously preferred solution.

One of the biggest problems we face in Canada or any democracy, is a disengaged electorate. It lets politicians–and governments–get away with too many things. Politics is depressing and this book, despite presenting solutions after laying out a disheartening litany of problems with our system, is also depressing. But it’s short and whether you’re a fiscal conservative (like Rathgeber) or a tree-hugging socialist (I’m somewhere between the two extremes), you should read it. And tell your MP to read it.

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UPDATE: Here’s a story CBC posted to its site today that perfectly captures the kind of indifference and contempt the Harper government has for Parliament. They should be ashamed of such behavior but they don’t give a damn: Leona Aglukkaq admits reading newspaper was a ‘bad idea’ during question period

Book review: Bag of Bones

Bag of BonesBag of Bones by Stephen King

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is what I’d call a mid-tier King novel, not as good as the classics but better than others. I actually preferred the first third of the novel where it’s mostly about the writer struggling to overcome the sudden death of his wife and the early stages of a child custody case. It’s still a decent read once the spooky shenanigans kick in but becomes less interesting somehow.

There’s also a graphic rape scene that, while vividly depicted, struck me as unnecessary. I think any rational adult understands rape is awful without having the act described in explicit detail.

Still, it had a better ending than Cell. 😛

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NaNoWriMo 2014: Days 16 through 23 with bonus winning

Another batch of updates for my National Novel Writing novel writing thing:

  • Day 16: none (due to illness)
  • Day 17: 3625 (+1,958)
  • Day 18: 2296 (+629)
  • Day 19: 2151 (+348)
  • Day 20: 2153 (+448)
  • Day 21: 2056 (+389)
  • Day 22: 2009 (+342)
  • Day 23: 2051 (+384)

As you can see, Day 16 was less than productive due to a bout of the flu. I made up for it by writing over twice the required text the next day while recovering. After that I maintained a 2,000+ word pace through to the 23rd when I officially passed 50,000 words and was declared a winner and got an imaginary ticker-tape parade. It’s impressive because ticker-tape isn’t easy to come by any more. My word count on Day 23 is 50,562, though the NaNoWriMo website counted a few words WriteMonkey did, so my total there is 50,677.

My current plan is to keep forging ahead and do some thinking about the plot, which is still a tad on the loose side. I’m not going to stop writing to get the plot into better shape, though, as that seems fairly begging for trouble.

Plus I’m curious to see what my word count will end up on come November 30. If I stay on pace it should be around 65,000 or so, which will still be well below what the first draft will ultimately be, for the story is a bloated and meandering thing. Come second draft it will go on a crash diet. One Cheerio per day, no more.

NaNoWriMo 2014: Days 9 through 15

Another bunch o’ National Novel Writing Month updates as I chug along:

  • Day 9: 1,769 (+102)
  • Day 10: 1,717 (+50)
  • Day 11: 2,304 (+637)
  • Day 12: 2,015 (+348)
  • Day 13: 2,603 (+936)
  • Day 14: 1,924 (+257)
  • Day 15 (halfway point): 1,806 (+139)

At the halfway point I have written 34,221 words, which is 9,221 above the minimum of 25,000. Much of the prose would make [insert name of any beloved, well-known author here] either weep openly or roll in her/his grave as appropriate, but that’s what you get when you steamroll through a novel in 30 days without any editing along the way.

I’ve come to terms with editing, though, so the thought of having to go over this sloppy story to hammer it into shape is, in a weird way, kind of exciting.

Onward to the second half of the month and a hopeful Big Finish™.

NaNoWriMo 2014: Days 4 through 8

Despite the lack of updates, I have been working diligently away at NaNoWriMo 2014. I’ve stopped updating daily because it feels like post-padding without having something unique to say about a particular writing session, like “I was writing today when my left foot suddenly fell off and the stump starting gushing blood all over the place.”

Note that my feet are currently intact and otherwise fine. Here is a summary of the last five days. The number in parentheses is how much I exceeded the minimum of 1,667):

  • Day 4: 1,668 words (+1)
  • Day 5: 1,720 words (+53)
  • Day 6: 1,801 words (+134)
  • Day 7: 2,257 word (+590)
  • Day 8: 1,966 words (+289)

Total after 8 days: 20,083 (+6,747)

The story is still a bit formless and I have little doubt the pacing is all wrong but I’m content to keep pushing and letting it find its own way, with the thought in the back of my mind that a lot of revision will be needed to get it into shape afterward. Such is the way of putting the emphasis on quantity over quality.

NaNoWriMo 2014, Day 3

Still on track on Day 3, with 2,003 words written and a total of 10, 671 (minimum to stay on track after three days is 5,000). The story is flabby and slowly warming up, with most of the primary characters introduced and there broad hints of spooky shenanigans to come.

I’m not sure what I will write on Day 4 but that’s all part of the nutty fun. Just writing regularly again feels good, like rolling naked on a furry carpet. Or so I’ve been told.

Book review: Odd Thomas

Odd Thomas (Odd Thomas, #1)Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought a couple of Dean Koontz hard covers a hundred years ago when they were on sale cheap. That was back when he still had the “R” in his name.

I never read them.

I can’t say why, exactly. He had been compared to Stephen King back then (the 80s and early 90s) and as prolific as King is, he couldn’t write more than I could read, so Koontz seemed like a natural alternative. It was even easy to find his stuff in the bookstore–it was right next to King’s. But for some reason I waited and waited until someone suggested I watch the movie version of Odd Thomas, as it combined a light tone with dark happenings, something I’ve done with much of my own writing. The movie doesn’t seem to have gone over well so I dove into the original 2003 novel instead.

I liked it. It’s told from the first person perspective, which can be tricky at times, especially at novel-length, but Koontz does a fine job in keeping Odd’s tone, outlook and actions consistent. He comes off as fragile, yet practical, sentimental but resolute–a likeable schmuck with the unenviable gift of seeing dead people.

Odd Thomas is a quick read and at times the dry, even droll delivery of Thomas is at odds (ho ho) with the grim events of the story. Koontz also leans heavily on the ol’ unreliable narrator shtick at the end, but the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and it all hangs together somehow. While the novel is ultimately a downer and I have no idea if the rest of the series keeps the same tone, I am now a little curious to find out, which I hadn’t expected going in.

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NaNoWriMo 2014, Day 2

Success!

I trimmed away 200 words from my previous day’s writing, which is a big no-no in NaNoWriMo but I’m a rebel. It meant that while I wrote more than the daily minimum (1749 words–the minimum is 1667) it calculates the total for the day at a shameful 1549 words.

I’m not entirely sure where the story is going next but I am sticking with my guiding principle of “go nuts.” On to Day 3!

National Novel Writing Month 2014 begins today: 50,000 words or doom (or both!)

National Novel Writing Month 2014 begins today and the first pep talk of the month has been posted by author Chuck Wendig. It can be read here: Pep Talk from Chuck Wendig

Wendig misses being an awesome name by a mere single letter. But would I actually consider clicking “Buy” on an Amazon book by a Chuck Wendigo? Possibly. I imagine Chuck has long ago weighed the pros and cons of this.

Here are two things he writes in his pep talk, completely taken out of context, because they better serve as bizarre totems of inspiration this way:

Crack open your chest and plop your heart onto the page.

Donuts in an empty field.

The first brings to mind the ritual seen in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. That ritual did not end well for the heart-offering participant. I recommend plopping out a less vital organ, like your appendix, if you still have it. I’m not sure what kind of story you would write after looking at your appendix soaking into a sheet of paper on your desk. Probably not a romance.

The second conjures an image of abandoned donuts, stale and windswept. What kind of monster would abandon donuts in a field, anyway? Possibly a monster watching its waist. Those poor donuts, left to the uncaring elements or ravenous coyotes. Now imagine running into a pack of coyotes hopped up on these donuts, their blood racing thanks to the ingestion of deliciously smooth Boston creams and sticky honey crullers. Is this what Chuck Wendig wants? For would-be writers to be eaten by coyotes fueled by bakery treats? I don’t know, I can’t peer into Chuck’s heart. Mainly because he’s yanked it out of his chest and put it on a sheet of paper on his desk.

Anyway, here’s hoping I work on my novel today instead of watching clips of all the Indiana Jones movies.

Book review: You Are Now Less Dumb

You Are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart YourselfYou Are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself by David McRaney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a follow-up to David McRaney’s previous book You Are Not So Smart, You Are Now Less Dumb not only has a more positive spin to the title, it’s an overall better book. While the former reads much like what it was–a collection of blog posts assembled into book form–the latter is a more fleshed-out examination of how and why we act the way do, with tips on how to be “less dumb”, even if some of the tips amount to little more than “Here is some awful behavior you may find yourself engaging in, try to be aware of it.”

While the book follows the light tone of the first previous entry, each chapter offers more detailed analysis and studies covering many aspects of our social behavior. Some of the things revealed are not exactly revealing (most of the confirmation bias material) while others are downright chilling, like the chapter describing mob mentality, complete with examples of people yelling at potential suicide jumpers to jump–and then the jumpers doing just that, resulting in their deaths.

This isn’t a book that will change your life or make you overhaul the way you conduct yourself around others but it is informative, insightful and may make you that much more aware of the way you act, both positively and negatively. And that’s not a bad thing.

Recommended.

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The slower but faster run

Run 364
Average pace: 5:25/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:13
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 8-11ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 365
Total distance to date: 3029
Device used: iPhone 5c

Various factors contributed to me missing both runs during the week so today’s effort was the first in a week and the first after my appalling tortoise time of 5:38/km. I was confident that unless I got eaten by a bear on the trail I could manage to beat this slothful pace, even with a week of stuffing potato chips into my face.

And I did! My pace was still very slow for a 5K at 5:25/km but it was still good enough to knock a lucky 13 seconds off last week’s run. I had no issues on the run and though my left foot started getting cranky after the run I still managed to walk the rest of the way home (about 9K) at a brisk pace.

The weather was the coolest it’s been since early spring, starting around 8ºC and rising to 11ºC by the end. It didn’t feel particularly cool, though. It was actually kind of nice and though I wore my long sleeve t-shirt, I think I would have been fine in a regular one.

With the rain of late there was a certain amount of puddle-dodging required, though the run itself remained dry. I also remained dry until the very end and I mean this literally. Just moments before I hit the 5K mark I hit the tree-lined section adjacent to the athletic fields. The drainage here has basically stopped functioning so when we have heavy rain it tends to flood from the edge of the field and across the entire width of the trail. I tried skirting the edge but the water and muck was unavoidable.

It didn’t actually matter because farther up the trail was again flooded in an impossible-to-avoid way. Such is the way of running in the fall once The Rains have started.

I also nearly had a dog incident just prior to the first boardwalk (about 1.5 km in) when a couple had let their spastic canine scamper off ahead of them. Judging by the insane way it was capering about I surmised that they keep it locked in the basement most of the time and now that it was out it was determined to enjoy its precious freedom to the full. I keep a wary eye on it but sure enough it abruptly changed direction and cut right in front of me, causing me to do a sudden detour. Had this happened on the boardwalk the detour would have been into the swamp and I would have been rather displeased.

As it was I turned my head back and barked (ho ho) a curt “Leash your dog!” I have no doubt they thought I was rude and some kind of rules Nazi to boot. the rest of the run was free of further incidents of either a two or four-legged nature.

I’m not sure what will happen on Tuesday. It looks like we may get the remains of the season’s first hurricane rolling in, which will make things very windy and wet, plus the sun is now setting before 6 p.m., making it a challenge to complete even a 5K before darkness descends. If I had a mutant power I would want super-awesome night vision. Plus the ability to fly. And invisibility. But only those three. Yes.

If Tuesday looks like a no-go I may try running on the treadmill (bleah) at the Canada Games Pool, try the elliptical there instead or see if the track at a nearby high school keeps the lights on in the early evening.