The Tashme Project (reflections)

I've seen the Tashme Project twice. Mom, Kathy and I saw it at the MAI in its original production and I've just seen it again (2018/11/18) at the Centaur Theatre. Matt Miwa and Julie Tamiko-Manning have added some movement and physical attributes to the presentation of some of the characters. The stooped gentlemen that Matt presents and elderly ladies that Julie acted, add to the believability and bring the characters to life.

Let me back up and provide some background. The Tashme Project is a verbatim play created by Matt and Julie based on a hundred interviews that they conducted with Japanese Isseis and Niseis. This is a labour of love. Matt and Julie met in Ottawa while working on a theatre project. They discovered that they were both hafu and after some conversation, they realized that another common bond was the Tashme internment camp. They both had relatives that had been interned there. As it happens my Dad was interned there as well.

This production is simple and heartfelt. Julie and Matt transform themselves into 80-year old people and allow us to look into what it was like to be in Tashme, what happened before and after as well. The set is simple, a table and two chairs. The props just as basic, but there are a lot of tsuru on the set. I wondered if Matt and Julie folded them all.

Seeing The Tashme Project the first time opened up my Mom and we had many discussions about her time in New Denver and what Dad told her about Tashme. And Mom met a friend that she had not seen since those days at the show.

Perhaps it's because I'm becoming an emotional old fart, but I found both performances extremely emotional, there were moments of humour, sadness and you felt that you understood why there was such reluctance to talk about the internment days.

In the lobby, there is a poster with the map of the camp and a list of people interned there (last name only). It seems that my Dad was in building 1022 at the edge of the camp, perhaps this is why there are so many stories of him escaping to fish and roam the woods. There is also an Uno in another bunkhouse, but I'm not sure if that person is related.

Thanks to Matt and Julie for making this happen.


Japanese terms:

Hafu: Someone who is half Japanese

Issei: People who emigrated from Japan

Nisei: The first generation of Japanese descent who were born in Canada

Tashme:

Tsuru: Crane, in this context, origami cranes

The Beatles 50th Anniversary White Album and Esher Demo (first glance)

I've had it confirmed. I'm still a teenager! I just received The Beatles and Esher Demos, thank you Amazon. This is the 50th Anniversary of the "White Album." I was excited to open it up and hear it for the first time. It reminded me of the first time I opened the vinyl of Sgt. Pepper's (51-years ago). Back then, I carefully opened it up and put it on my turntable. Placed the dust catcher on the platter and carefully lowered the needle to the pristine vinyl. I remember falling back on the bed (the speakers were either side of my bed) to wait the few seconds until the first note played. Things have changed, but not too much. This time, I sat at my computer desk, put the disc in the CD player, started ripping the disc while simultaneously listening to the music.

Giles Martin (George's son) has remastered the first disc. More base than I remember, but I didn't have a sub-woofer in those days. The vocals seem clearer and the left-right separation is less distinct but you still get the vocals on the left and guitar on the right in Rocky Racoon. Disc 2 uses the 2009 remaster and is identical to that release, no new stuff there.

Kevin Howlett gives some background and colour to the original recordings and the atmosphere at that time. This leads into the 3rd disc, the Esher Demos (The Beatles Unplugged). They were recorded immediately after The Beatles returned from a sojourn in India where they wrote all of these songs. Most of the recordings in the White Album are more natural, just the guys playing together, less orchestration, less production and post-production. e.g. Yer Blues was recorded in a Storeroom next to the studio. The 4 guys, no separation between the instruments, much more simple.

You get a new set of liner notes and the poster with the words on it (CD sized, not LP sized). The liner notes are great and worth reading. Lots of inside info, fun to read. If the album is 50 years old, we are 50 years older, they should have provided a magnifying glass to read the lyrics.

Some of my favourite Beatles songs are on this album: Julia (the demo and the final recording are very close, not many changes), While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Savoy Truffle. There's a lot of variety on this album, you see their personalities and how simple songs can be great, unplugged.

Edmonton bound

This is a story of a travel day gone wrong, and how Air Canada (the corporate entity, not the employees) doesn't care.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012 flying YUL - YYZ - YEG. The YUL - YYZ was where things started to go wrong. We pushed back on time, de-iced and went back to the terminal as YYZ was closed due to fog. Finally left but landed as our YYZ - YEG flight was taking off.

We were standby on the 14:55 Embraer 190. No seats available. The agent says they are overbooked by 5 people.

Mill Street Brewery for a late afternoon meal. Cobblestone Stout very good, close to, but not exactly a Guinness, less after taste, not as heavy, but very good. Kathy tried an Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon, not bad. I had their California Club, grilled chicken club with avocado and a little BBQ sauce, nice and Kathy liked the fish & chips. Highlight of the day so far.

Next we were standby on the 18:00 Airbus 321. We must have been well down the list as many were called, but not us. We were definitely bumped further down the list  by 2 AC employees who walked up while I was talking to the agent. They managed to get on the flight and not us, we had been at Pearson for 8 hours, in airports for 11. If I had been working, I would have been home by now. As a matter of fact I could have been in Hawaii, and I was only trying to get to Edmonton.

Finally we were standby on the 20:40. We made it! Thanks Judy Air Canada agent, we were worried for a while. We did have boarding passes for the 22:50 flight, arriving in YEG at 01:30, but didn't need these tickets.

The story's not over yet! Pleasant flight, slight turbulence, a little rough on landing. Entertainment system didn't work properly. It crashed several times during the flight. Of course our luggage never made the flight. It was ticketed for 22:50. Reported it and it was delivered to the hotel overnight. At least that's better than out Amsterdam trip, it took 4 days to get our luggage.

So what is the problem? Overbooking? Sure. Surly staff, not this time. The AC staff were great, everyone did their job as well as could be expected. Competition, or lack of it is the only explanation. In most markets AC id's the only game in town, in others Westjet doesn't have enough frequency to be a real threat to AC.

We need more competition in our skies. Between YUL and YTZ the addition of Porter has improved service in all areas, frequency, quality of in-cabin service and price. Porter has managed to get Air Canada's attention in every market they enter. If you don't believe me you haven't flown Porter.

Westjet has shown the same in other routes as well, and the Westjet agents seem to care more. Yes, if I have a choice I would fly either of AC's competitors, happily, willingly. I'm going to start driving to Plattsburgh!

Google Nexus 7

So as you may know I've taken to eReading in a big way. So I purchased the Sony PRS-600. It was a great reader, but I wanted a single device that could be used as an eReader and tablet, so I purchased the Kobo Vox (See an older blog entry on that device). That was great when I got it, but I always found the performance as an eReader very good, but occasionally sluggish. As a tablet, it fell short in the performance department. My latest purchase is the Google Nexus 7, purchased online as there were no local stores that had it in stock, and I tried. It arrived about 3-weeks ago and it is great.

The quad-core processor and 12-core are amazing. If used for reading and web-surfing and email processing the battery lasts about 3-days. I use the Nexus Calendar, People, Aldiko, Chrome, Hotmail and GMail. When I play games (Angry Birds) the power consumption increases so that I have to recharge daily if not more often. Normal business use allows me to recharge every second day at the most.

The unit is thinner, lighter and the screen is superior to the Kobo Vox. I can't compare it to other tablets as I haven't bothered to do a serious comparison, the processor convinced me to just buy the Nexus. The most noticeable difference between the Nexus and the Vox or my Android phone (Acer Liquid) is the speed that it connects to my home wifi network. By the time I power it up and open Chrome, it is connected. Where my other devices had a measurable delay. Jelly Bean is neat with the voice support, similar to Siri. I prefer the Nexus to the iPad as I prefer the format for eReading books. I don't often read magazines, but I do read Laptop Magazine and Wine Access on the Nexus.

I did sell my Kobo Vox ($100) and an HP 110 Netbook ($125) to subsidize the Nexus. So far so good.

A different Japanese restaurant: Big in Japan

A restaurant that serves Japanese comfort food, updated. The soba was excellent and it made an yummy bed under the soft shell crab. That was one of the specials today and it's worth waiting for. Their poutine has mozzarella cheese and scallops with a little curry, very good. The mackarel special was very good too, but quite large and the salmon dish was enjoyed as well. The desserts were very different and delicious as well. The mochi ice cream and the green tea cake were wonderful and enjoyed by all.

Paul McCartney - Kisses on the Bottom

Paul McCartney - Kisses on the Bottom

This is a fun album, brings back memories and will appeal to grand-parents too.

At the 2011 Montreal Jazz Fest I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Diana Krall sing songs from her childhood. Songs that she used to hear at home. Now Sir Paul is doing the same on this album. You almost think that his time as a Beatle was a waste, he could have been a crooner.

Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder and a host of others join Sir Paul singing and playing songs that I heard when I was a kid. This album is a hoot, give it a listen, but be prepared to fly backward in time about 45 or 50 years.

BNO at Ettinger's Deli

Apparently the formatting is screwed up on a Mac on Safari. I don't know if it's Safari or the Mac. If you have a Mac, go buy a PC. Ha Ha!!


A few guys get together several times a year for dinner. This week it was Ettinger's Deli in Lasalle. We've been doing this for a few years now and aside from the good eating, we get together for the laughs, revelations on getting older, we try to keep up-to-date on Dave and Norman's curling exploits and what's going on at Trinity United Church. On this occasion we were missing one regular. Sorry Dave, you missed a good one. The goal is to visit new restaurants (like Ettingers) and old favourites (those that are still around from our youth). There are dietary restrictions and/or preferences to take into consideration, so a deli is never a bad idea. We plan the dates around our schedules (which is a problem during curling season) and meet every 4-6 weeks.

Ettingers Deli is a new restaurant, 2nd generation family in the Montreal restaurant scene. The previous generation (Saul Ettinger) owned Briskets, Il Etait Un Fois and Linguini. With that heritage we had to check it out. 

The decor is subdued, almost dark. It was a quiet night in January, but it was busy enough. One of the co-owners stopped by and he mentioned that Thursday and Friday are much busier, but this is the quiet time of the year.

They have been open for a few months and are concentrating on preparing small quantities of high quality smoked meat. Their deli counter is not yet open and large quantities must be ordered in advance. On one occasion, a customer ordered 10 platters (5 lb. of smoked meat) and wiped them out.

Gary T., Tony, Gary K. and Norman hoisting a few at Ettingers.

Tony's choice, The Classic Luxenburger. Reminds us of Il Etait Un Foi 

I think Tony was impressed. As the web-site says:  In a standalone building in heart of Old Montreal at a time when it was a relative ghost town, Saul pioneered a new phenomenon. When McDonald's was selling burgers for as little as $0.60, Saul decided it was time to introduce Montreal to a gourmet half-pound burger at $5. In those days, the thought of a burger for $5 was ludicrous. Yet, within a short few weeks, Il Etait Un Fois attracted huge line-ups and rave reviews.  


Gary K remembers this as a good date restaurant. I just remember it as one of the best burgers I had ever eaten. We weren't sold on the idea of a basket and paper, but it is a deli and even Gordon Ramsey does that at Laurier BBQ.

Gary K's choice, the platter. Looks like Gary's wall of condiments protects his smoked meat from Tony's burger.  He also had a starter of Gravlox. 

 To which one of the guys asked, "What's a gravlox?" (Swedish style, cured salmon) Gary ordered a platter with no fries. This is 1/2 pound of the "fat" cut. The smoked meat is made by Ettingers following the Brisket's recipe. Again from the web-site: Brisket's smoked meat was not only homemade, but it was NEVER pumped. What does this mean you ask? Most smoked meat in Montreal and elsewhere was and still is prepared with briskets that are pumped with phosphates and a preponderance of nitrates and sodium. ... Briskets' smoked meat was made with UNpumped briskets using a tightly-held secret recipe. They were dry-cured the truly old-fashioned way over a period of 2 to 3 weeks producing superior smoked meat. This tradition continues at Ettingers and results in mouth watering smoked meat.

Norman and I both had the Reuben.

Norman had a starter of light battered, calamari with a spicy sauce for dipping. Thanks for sharing! I had a side of onion rings, I had to taste the Guinness beer batter. Both the calamari and rings were fantastic, worth going back for. I've had Reuben sandwiches in almost every deli in Montreal and this is the best. In some places they add another slice of bread between the meat and the sauerkraut, who needs the extra slice of rye. Norman and I both thought this sandwich was great. 

Here's a picture from Gary's side of the table.

I didn't get a picture of Gary T's smoked meat sandwich (Saul's Original Home Made Smoked Meat Sandwich), but it looked every bit as good. I'll let Gary post a picture and comment, maybe he's already done that in Facebook. 

This is one place we will return to:

• Better than Lesters (we all agreed on this one)
• Closer (geographically) than Smoked Meat Pete's, better decor. I wouldn't be shy to take a date here.
• Better than Jarry Smoked Meat (comment from Gary T needed here)
• Better than Dunn's
• Better than Chenoy's (but they've really been terrible for a while)
• Service was better than all of the above places and so was the decor. A slightly upscale deli is the way I'd describe it.

I'd ask Tony to comment on his burger, but I'm not sure he w/could.

I forgot to mention that there were plenty of TVs around so that you can watch your favourite sporting event or Food Channel show. Whatever Food Channel show was on had Paris as a backdrop, so that held my attention. Of course the sports stations had continuous Cammalleri video clips as he had just been traded back to Calgary. I liked him and hope he has a better end of the season than his beginning.

Guys, it's your turn to wade in and let me know how you feel.

Web site:  http://www.ettingers.ca/en/index.php 

Next BNO is scheduled for Leap Day, the venue is Restaurant Jane in Little Burgundy.

My new Kobo Vox

I picked up a black Kobo Vox on Wednesday and have been playing with it. My goal was to buy an eReader first and a tablet second. I didn't want to spend $500 on a tablet. I don't need 3g, wifi is good enough.

What I like:

1. Great reader, clear type, no need for an external light
2. Price $199
3. $40 cover that doubles as a leaner / stand, I had a choice of black or violet, I chose the black cover
4. Main screen with your 5 last books and 10 apps, the 5 books allows you to read a couple at a time and not have to search for them in the library
5. Not too heavy, lighter than an iPad
6. 7" screen is ideal
7. You Tube video is great
8. You can thumb type when you're in vertical mode

What bugs me:

1. Can't use the normal Android Market Place
2. Android Market Place doesn't recognize the Vox
3. Calibre (PC desktop ebook manager) doesn't recognize the Vox (there's already a ticket open)
4. Adobe Digital Editions doesn't recognize the Vox
5. You can't use the USB connection to charge the Vox
6. Had to sideload Aldiko
7. No native file manager, downloaded Files
8. Can't upload Gmail Contacts and Calendar entries

Update: Kobo issues an update to the system early in 2012 and that fixed a lot of problems. The reader is no faster, but the battery now lasts significantly longer. I've also added Battery Booster and the battery life is about 40 hours in Airplane mode.

Another player DQ'ed due to a phone-in

Win McMurray's post on Padraig Harrington's disqualification at the 2011 Dubai Open: http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=15199&select=41149&select2=176.

Too bad for Paddie, he's one of my favourite players. This is the second DQ this year due to someone phoning in to the officials. I have very mixed feelings about this, and I do agree with Win that the rules are the rules. I think the issue here is one of application of the rules. If an official who is on the course notices the infraction that is one thing, but I don't know about someone watching on his big-screen TV, reviewing the video to see if the ball moved one dimple's worth. (This may be a slight exaggeration, but maybe not.)

I feel if the on-course official, or someone else who is there and sees / notices the infraction and reports it before the round is closed, then that should be it. Someone outside of the venue who sees an infraction and phones it in is going too far. I read in another post that the ball rolled forward 3 dimples and only rolled back one and a half. Most of us would be DQed every round we play if that were the case. Win says that pros should be held to a higher standard and I believe that they are and that the pros are very honest. Golf is a gentleman's game, it still is and I believe that almost all of the golfers wouldn't knowingly break a rule and try to hide it. Perhaps the infraction should result in a 2-stroke penalty (whatever the penalty is for the infraction), but not a DQ.

Whether you're kneeling on a towel or picking up a ball marker, if the infraction is not noticed by an on-site PGA official or a participant, than the score should stand. It's a shame that a score of 65 is lost to a DQ on a a phone in.

Andrew introduced this to me: http://www.freerice.com/index.php. Pretty neat, try out some of the quizzes and donate rice to some poor country.