Cloud Atlas (The Book), and Why I Want its Last Line Tattooed Permanently on my Skin

Hold this book. Feel its weight, the five-hundred pages that are bound together by glue and pulp. Flip the pages and marvel at how thin and light each leaf is, and how the sun makes them transparent enough to read the words in reverse on the other side.

Marvel because this near weightless, hand-held, simple object carries the burden of civilization, leaves you burnt with passion, and inspires the genius of humankind.

This book is why literature should exist.

If I were to make a list of books that writers should read, this would be at the top. Anyone who loves literature - real literature, this book should have priority to move to the top of the to-read list.

It starts in the late 19th century with a San Franciscan on a boat leaving from Sydney writing a journal, but then it stops mid sentence.

Suddenly it's the 1930's and the main character is a (slightly mad) composer writing letters to his past lover who's still in England about this half-finished travel journal that he wants to finish reading - "a half-finished book is a half-finished love affair", as he writes.

This idea starts to permeate the rest of the story as his narrative ends halfway through as well and suddenly it's the 1970's; it turns into a mystery thriller, and the journalist protagonist meets the now elderly lover to the composer who has kept the letters for his whole life.

Continue this pattern of ending part-a-way through another two times, and it's moved into the future where the patterns start to weave themselves out of the threads of all the stories, and come together to face birth, life, and ultimately death - and what those even mean at all.

It's an exploration of humanity and the rise and fall of empires and what makes a person blaze with spirit at their very core. 

It sounds ambitious, but when the reviews say that every page moves forward with the force of molten lava, they don't exaggerate: it may be hard to penetrate the surface, and it may move slowly (in the beginning at least), but it burns with the kind of writerly genius that can only erupt a handful of times a generation.

This one's for the love of reading.

This one's for the writers.

This one's why literature should exist.

Normal Coloured Eggs and Ham

My Omi makes delightful ham and my family snatches whatever we can of her leftovers.

Her generous six slices of ham results in none other than a salty, smokey, juicy slab of ham along side a sunny egg freckled with pepper.

And I know butter's bad for you...but eggs in butter has my heart a-thumping, even if it is just from cholesterol build-up.

Eat breakfast as a king, they say.

How to Eat Your Daily Veg:

Drink it instead.

Watching a Room with a View

On the topic of film adaptations of books again, I just had my last class of Late Victorian and Early Edwardian literature (I will sorely miss this and my wonderful professor) and we finished up the semester with watching the 1985 A Room with a View movie.

It is glorious.

First off, the cast: Maggie Smith, Daniel Day Lewis, Judi Dench, and a 19-year-old Helena Bonham Carter. Marvellous.

Written originally in 1908, it's a story about a moody young Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), who goes on a tour du monde to Italy with neurotic, woebegone chaperone Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith).

To their mutual dismay, they discover the room they had booked has no view. At dinner, however, a kind but low class father and his romantic son, George, offer to switch their room with a view for theirs. Cue romance! ...of the creepy, stalker, leering sort.

After that, it's just a hilarious early 20th century, 80's infused, rom-com satire. Granted, Forester's A Room with a View is a belly full of laughs itself, but it's rare that a translation between mediums can capture the essence of humour from an author as well as this was able to. (On a slight tangent, Lord of the Rings does this flawlessly also).

Anyhow this movie is worth watching for so many reasons. The editing, the acting, the scene structure with mildly surreal actions that are deemed only slightly unnatural by the actors, and of course the transition blocks with dramatic medieval-esque drawings, operatic music, and various chapter headings announcing the upcoming action of the scene. Whether or not this is to forewarn audiences so they don't get in tizzy of knicker wetting or just because it's the 80's, I've no idea. But it's awesome.

Also the costume designs are lovely. The Edwardians really knew how to dress.

Last but not least, there is a marvellous, prolonged naked-men-bathing-and-frolicking-and-wrestling-in-the-sun scene. Three full frontals. Our undergraduate class of 21+ year old students tittered like we were twelve.

It's overwrought and exaggerated and definitely not everyone's cup of Earl Grey Tea, but if you're a lit nerd or just someone with a good sense of humour, then I highly recommend this for one of those Friday nights where instead of sulking because your plans got cancelled, you rejoice in the opportunity to pop corn and wear slippers and enjoy this classic turn of the century adaptation.

Porn – A Depressive or Incentive for Your Sex Life?

[Here's my article for this week's issue for The Concordian. My first time writing about something using actual opinions other than mine yay!]

Anxiety over the negative effects of extensive porn-watching is not something new, but it begs the question, what are the negative effects, if any?

A recent article in Men’s Health, “Is Porn Harmful?” linked watching porn with depression (in men) based on a study in Arkansas, but also found that porn was more commonly used when stressed or bored rather than lonely.

Telecommunications professor Byant Paul of Indiana University states that there definitely is a negative bias when presenting porn in the media, implying that there might be a positive light to consider.

Men’s Health’s article “Is Porn Bumming You Out?” explores this very subject. Duane McBride, Ph. D of Andrews University says that porn may be a cause of metal health problems because of the isolation it involves, but admits that there isn’t necessarily a correlation between the two. Rather, as the article’s writer Kiera Aaron puts it, “Porn might not cause isolation but rather be a symptom of isolation—meaning those who are already antisocial tend to rely more on pornography”.

So let’s look at porn in that positive light suggested by Paul while removing the isolation factor.

A Norwegian study observed relations between couples and porn habits. Hands down, the most dysfunctional relationships were the ones where only one member used it. Surprisingly the most satisfied couples were the ones who both incorporated it into their sex lives.

Why? Researchers found they were more capable communicating their fantasies to one another, experimenting, and being open minded when romping around the sheets.

A study done in the University of Denver also concluded that couples who are open about and even join the other in their X-Rated movie nights are more likely to keep relationships going strong.

To find out how Concordia’s students feel, The Concordian interviewed Chris Herbert* and Melissa Park*.

When asked if porn ever made them feel depressed, Park disagreed, but Herbert answered yes, and that he only watches it if in a good mood. “Masturbation is not substitute for actual sex,” he says, “and will often make me feel lonelier afterwards.”

They both agreed that porn was definitely a good educator and felt it never diminished their sex lives. If anything, Herbert says porn has helped him appreciate his partners more. “I’ve learned a lot about how much better real-life sex with a real person can be,” he added.

McBride of Andrews University addresses this opinion, stating, “Experts believe that face-to-face social interactions improve mood and perceptions of physical health while social isolation has the opposite effect”.

The application of the open-porn relationship expressed in the Norwegian survey, however, seems easier said than done.

“I’ve never watched porn on a regular basis with a partner,” says Herbert, although he adds that this was for no other reason than the fact that his partners were not interested in watching it. Park seconds the importance of the partner’s personal preference. “I’ve talked about it pretty openly with past partners,” she says, “but it really depends on how they feel about it.”

According to the studies, the bottom line seems to be intimacy and connection, something Herbert and Park both feel is most important as well. Herbert states, “My relationship with porn definitely affected myself personally, but never my relationships in a direct way.” He feels porn neither improves or diminishes his sex life, stating instead, “Chemistry and communication affect this much more than pornography ever could.”

Park’s experiences have been mixed among partners. “One boyfriend was really not cool with [porn],” she says. “Others were a lot more receptive and adventuresome.”

She ends optimistically, though, with a smile: “It’s all about communication.”

*For the privacy of the participants, names have been changed.

La Guerra del Taco

[Since my article for this week got pushed to next, here's a food review from a couple of weeks ago!]

Though Montreal isn’t exactly a capital for the spicy food of our southern North Americans friends, there are a few hotspots around to satiate cravings for a more authentic Mexican food experience than 3 Amigos. The faceoff: Tequila Taco House vs. La Matraca.

Round 1: Tequila Taco House

           

Their interior may be small, but the high ceilings with tall shelves supporting earthenware pottery and desert plants make it feel comfortable and open. Festive Latin music dance salsas in the background and a waitress arrives instantly with water, menus, and preemptive bowls of hot sauces.

Before sinking teeth into the main course, try the guacamole nachos: the guac is homemade with the summery tang of lime that goes great with the oily bitterness of the thick cut corn nachos. For colder weather, there’s the Aztec soup – while salty, the taco shells lining the bottom do well to offset this, and the cheese and sour cream swirled on top are irresistible.

Guacamole and Aztec soup with spicy sauces

For the indecisive, the waitress enthusiastically recommends the Tequila Taco special. It has a little of everything, and is perfect for sharing. It comes with four soft tacos with two shrimp balls each that are fried in cornbread. Served with spicy mayo, a corn-herb-rice medley, chunky tomato salsa, and a side of nachos speared into a dollop of refried beans and cheese, it is positively filling. As an aside, their food presentation gets an A+.

 Taco Tequila special

As for drinks, the marguerites are where it’s at. The lime was maybe a bit salty, but the fabulous Jamaican marguerite is reminiscent of an amaretto sour with tequila.

In all, it’s not exactly cheap, averaging at $12 a dish, but the food is quality enough to make it worthwhile.

9/10

Round 2: La Matraca

Anyone looking for the Mexican equivalent of a Belle Province, look no farther! La Matraca is a diner with quirk, from its signs about la etiqueta del taco, to its corkboards crammed with photos of satisfied customers, to the “I <3 Tacos” t-shirts for sale.

The menu is a DIY checklist allowing for a mix-and-match of different dishes. While there isn’t any guacamole, they do have a savoury bean and Mexican sausage entrée soup (highly recommended!). The flautitas – taco-cheese rolls with a bean dip – are great for a group of friends to split.

Mexican sausage and black bean soup

Main dishes are a wide array of tacos, sandwiches, and burritos. The guera is the highlight of the menu, a flour tortilla with seasoned beef and cheese improved only by copious amounts of the three types of spicy sauces provided. For dragon-people who like to feast on fire, La Matraca’s hot scale for these sauces starts at around a 6 and hovers comfortably at a 9.

Their unique beverage selection includes milky sweet Agua de Horchata, Agua de Jamaica (a homemade ice tea), and fizzy apple soda.

Spicy sauces and (left clockwise), apple soda, Agua de Horchata, and Agua de Jamaica

To cap it off, there is a small selection of desserts, but the only one you should have eyes for is the flan which is surprisingly one of the best flans to be found in Montreal.

Prices range from $5-8, but the portions are small. Also the service was leaning on the frigid side and they charged for something that wasn't bought.

7.5/10

Winner

The quality of Tequila Taco House gives it first place, but both are worth checking out – take a date to Tequila Taco House, and go with friends to La Matraca!

Joy to the World, Hot Drinks Have Come!

Tis the season for inventive drinks at cafes, aww yea! It's possibly the best thing about the holiday lead-up.

It's a toss up right now between the Candy Cane latte and the Nog latte at Second Cup...

Also, their gingerbread powder. Om nom nom.

Any cozy coffee preferences from the rest of you chilly Canadians?