"Hotline" a Canada Reads Nomination

 Canada Reads is an enjoyable CBC program that once a year draws attention to some of the best Canadian books.  In 2023 I already posted about the winner, but more recently checked out another of the nominations and was pleasantly surprised.

There often is curiosity about where and how an author gets inspired to write a novel.  Dimitri Nasrallah had already written a few books and received some literary awards.  An idea he had considered for years was about his mother.  She had come to Montreal as an immigrant who overcame common obstacles for newcomers.

At the same time Dimitri was part of that experience, but admits he didn't really appreciate his mother's perspective.  The actual details can only be guessed, but Dimitri often found himself alone while his mother tried to deal with many difficulties.  Getting inside her head was a challenge and a reader can't be certain how close he came, but  it is believable.  There is a lot of psychology as his mother ended up being a sales consultant dealing with a lot of unhappy people.

A key part of any immigrant story is where they came from.  Muna Hedad came from Lebanon during a civil war during which her son Omar was born.  In the book she is widowed, although her husband's death (after a kidnapping) was not concluded.  She had been trained to be a French teacher and it was suggested her skills would fit well in Quebec.  As it turned out (in reality) they were not looking for foreigners to teach French in Quebec.  What to do?  As many newcomers learn their foreign credentials do not pay the bills so you need to find an alternative.

The alternative in her case was to become a sales consultant for a diet program.  The company did ads offering a solution to dietary problems with a hotline number.  At that point trained consultants would listen to the problems and steer the callers to a diet program.  Unhappy marriages or those unable to marry steered many to comfort food and then weight problems.  There was a high turnover of trainees, but Muna (who called herself Mona for a her sales persona) was very good at listening to sad stories that drove people to bad diet habits.  Most readers will soon see this as a scam, but many callers felt better understood and followed the program of buying packaged food and even lost weight.

Her relationship with her son is awkward.  She is very concerned about him and early on was worried that he didn't fit in.  Some of her efforts resulted in Omar befriending another newcomer, a Chinese boy named Chang.  One thing leads to another and Chang's mother, another overqualified immigrant has problems learning French and convinces Muna to give French lessons to a group of Chinese immigrants which turns out not only a significant source of money but also a boost to her sense of purpose.

She is offered a promotion with the company and is able to move into a new better apartment and spend more time with her son.  The process is not unusual, but is painfully gradual.

The book was published in English, but we are to assume that most of the actual dialogue was in French.   There are a few Arabic words.  One that got my attention was "habibi".  At one time trying to sell ads I encountered an Arabic speaking fast food owner who wanted to change the name of his business to "Habibi" because he said it meant "Sweetheart", but in this story it was used as a frequent endearment for Munu's son.  

Dimitri gifted this book to his mother who apparently commented that it was easier to read than his previous books which seemed to have been written by an "angry young man".  In an earlier book that he won an award for he delved into the background of power brokers in the Middle East. 

Quebec is a unique part of Canada.  There are many who feel their French culture is under assault.  At the same time immigrants are arriving and trying to fit in.  This book reflects some of the tension, but as an outsider it seems the situation is progressing.  When I say it is unique I mean it in a positive sense, one of my favorite places to visit.   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-3-quebec.html

My wife had persuaded me to attend a Toronto Blue Jays game so we could get a giveaway.  From previous experiences the process can be tiring and boring.  Read a book was suggested and I thought "Hotline" might fit the bill.  It eased the two plus hours of agony, mostly standing up.  Hopefully you will get a chance to read it in a more relaxed circumstances.  

You can read about the actual winner of the 2023 Canada Reads contest:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/09/ducks-my-first-graphic-novel.html

2024 Paralympics

What is the appeal of the Paralympics?  It certainly captures attention every two years (counting the winter Paralympics).  All sports is entertainment.  We admire skills and  love the drama of competition.  The Paralympics offers that and more.  Glad to see some realize it is well worth promoting.

The athletes are inspiring not only for those with similar afflictions, but also for the rest of us to appreciate our own good fortune.  One simple example was explained in a running race where the contestants had one arm that had been amputated or otherwise defective.  They all had balancing and co-ordinating problems, something most of us don't think of. 

Fans could get very excited when their team won The French had the hometown advantage.  

Classification is detailed to ensure fair competition.  To ensure fair competition some sports have set up weight divisions as it is no fun to watch a 250 pound man beat a 110 pounder.  A few years I watched a game in a new professional basketball league that required a team to maintain an average height.  And of course we have separated the sexes.  Competition is most enjoyable when opposing sides are fair.

My 1st acquaintance with Paralympics was back in 1976 when Etobicoke hosted the Paralympics as Montreal had hosted the Olympics, but didn't want to bothered with another lesser event.  I was able to get a press pass and watch some of the events.  Not nearly as grandiose as the 2024 version, but  I will never forget watching Arnie Boldt set a record for an amputee high jump.  I was actually there to watch  wheelchair basketball.  At that time Israel was a dominant team for two reasons:  wars had created a lot of amputees and secondly the government wanted to support these casualties and wheelchair basketball was seen as a useful tool. 

China once claimed they had no defective people and declined to participate.  However in their desire to host the Olympics they got tied into the Paralympics.  Since hosting their own Paralympics they have come to dominate.  

Some things I found fascinating for the 2024 Paralympics.

 Runners with guides.  The guide has to be at least as fast as the contestant, but has to restrain from dragging or diverting the runner.  Trust (and practice)is essential.

Some team sports allowing greater participation that were fun to watch included sitting volleyball (never saw the 8'2" Iranian), blind football (soccer) and wheelchair basketball . 

Sheetal Devi, an armless archer from India demonstrated using her feet she could hit a bullseye.  Another armless woman, Sumeyye Boyaci, a swimmer from Turkey showed she could win against lesser handicapped women. 

Nicholas Bennett provided a highlight.  When he turned for the last 50 meters of the 100 breaststroke he was third and I thought he might accept that, but he didn't.  He dug down and and won.  A good choice for flag bearer

Political interests did play a role.   A Palestinian commentator pointed out when he was younger there were not a lot of handicapped people in his area, but with Gaza having erupted there will be many more.  There were athletes congregated representing refugees and they won some medals.  Another group represented athletes from countries barred, but if agreed to no presence in the marching parades, no national anthems they could participate.  This last group was not as noticeable in other Olympics and Paralympics, but did win a few medals.  Another group did receive extra attention was Ukrainian who got loud chairs as they marched in during the Opening Ceremony.

Paris has always been touted for romance and artistic pursuits and they lived up to their reputation.  They had a lot of historical buildings, but also some impressive modern structures. 

Both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies put on a mesmerizing show.  Choreography may have seem to be restricted, but actually a clever use of canes and wheelchair added excitement.  An old voice got my attention as favorite Charles Aznavour was heard on tape.  Live was Lucky Love who is a popular singer who has only part of one arm.  I loved the background of piano and cello music.

In a previous blog "Chandu Champion" I avoided the movie ending to encourage people to watch it.  The truth revealed in the movie is the medal that was hidden was for the 1972 Paralympics.  Furthermore during the credits the real Murlikant Petkar is shown and more of a description. of winning a gold medal at the Paralympics.  See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/08/chandu-champion.html

One does not wish more handicaps on humanity, but one positive thing is recognition that everyone has abilities and is entitled to enjoy life as much as possible. 

Read about the 2024 Olympics http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/08/olympics-2024.html

Kamala Harris The Truths We Hold

 I read "The Truths We Hold" over the time of Kamala Harris' first official interview as the Democratic presidential candidate.  After the interview one of the criticisms concerned that she "kept" her same values implying that she has flip flopped and can't  be trusted.  In reality she is a politician who has realized although still striving for ideals has to get power in order to make progress.  Her ideals are well worth supporting.    

This book was published prior to her taking part in the Democratic primary for the 2020 election.  A lot of interesting things have happened since, but the reader will appreciate how she has fitted in.

She feels that solving problems requires getting to the roots.  Learning that 80% of California prisoners failed to complete high school she delved further realized that most had truancy habits in the elementary grades.  Up until about grade 3 the focus was to learn to read and then to read to learn.  Truancy had many causes, but bottom line poverty was a major factor.  The solutions revolve around improving child support in their formative years.  

 I have been a big fan of hers for over four years, but have been mostly mispronouncing her name.  Easy to remember "comma la".

I admired her for some spoken words of hers that seemed more to the point than others.  Reading this book helps to understand what she has been through and what she is striving towards.  She tackled a wide range of problems with tenacity.

Sex crimes were an early responsibility as Attorney General.  She was concerned about abused wives, women forced into prostitution as well as rape.  She was criticized for putting so many young black men in jail.  This helped draw attention to bail laws which make it difficult for poor people to get out of jail to defend themselves and take care of family obligations.  More criticism resulted.

She worked with Beau Biden on major assault of banking mortgage abuses.   She was able to stand up to wealthy bankers who had been taking advantages of consumers, especially poorer ones.  The positive relation with Beau Biden was noted by his father Joe Biden.

She also dealt justice to fraudsters (like Mr. Trump).  Always on the alert to protect consumers that were too often seen as prey by some wealthy people. 

California as a border state was a major target for drug traffickers.  She developed contacts in Mexico  and found ways to curb the traffic.

Same sex marriage  was legalized in California, but then revoked and then renewed.  Kamala fought for the legality.  She performed a ceremony in 2013.

Doug Emhoff entered Kamala's life though a friend who encouraged a blind date.   He had two children and an ex wife and Kamala was more than accepted by all.  She noted discreetly that a single woman in politics had to be careful as critics were on the prowl.  She married Doug and he has proved to be a very supportive partner. 

Kamala noted that Russia finds racism together with LGBTQ and immigration issues are American weaknesses that they are able to exploit.  Divisive politics are hurtful for all Americans.

The upcoming debate between Trump and Harris will show how she deals with unreasonable criticism which so far has been very good. 

IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack

"IC 814:  The Kandahar Hijack" (2024) is a film series depicting a real hijack in 1999 just over the Christmas week.  The film makers did their best to maintain historical accuracy.  Several components took part, the hijackers, the airplane staff and passengers, military personnel, politicians and journalism.  The story starts in Nepal and travels to India, Pakistan, Dubai and Afghanistan.  Negotiations are very difficult, partly because they had no real experience and little leverage.

 There are threats and violence.  The pilot and his assistants are confronted with guns and the threat of a bomb.  The captain is only able to convince them they do not have enough fuel to get to Kandahar and directs to refueling efforts.  Indian authorities plan a counter attack, but the timing is messed up.  

Intelligence is first blamed for not picking up some obvious information.  Before too long the politicians at various levels are discussing and trying to minimize blame.  There is no easy solution.   The ordeal stretches over 7 days.  The passengers are constantly stressed.  The toilet cannot handle the increased load which might seem trivial, but the passengers didn't think so.

There is no secret.  In the end three terrorists were released and went on to enact other acts of violence.  The Taliban consolidated their power.  A change in government.  Security arrangements have been enacted that affect millions of airline passengers every day.  Understanding what happened

The impact of this film comes from the cast and crew.

Anubhav Sinha created the idea, directed, wrote most of the script and was a co-producer.  He has 15 credits for directing, 13 for writing and 12 for producing including "Tum Bin...Love will Find  Way" (2001), "Article 15" (2019), "Thappad" (2020) and  "Anek" (2022).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/09/article-15.html. 

Richard Harvey wrote much of the music.  In 1972, when only 18 graduated from the Royal College of Music.  He is noted for the wide range of musical instruments he can perform on, well over 600.   He has 93 credits for composing, 53 for the music department and 47 for sound track including "The Lion King" (1994), "The Da Vinci Code" (2006), "Interstellar" (2014) and "Little Prince" (2015).

Ewan Mulligan was one of two cinematographers.  He has 49 credits for cinematography and 14 for camera and electrical department including  "Article 15" (2019), "Anek" (2022) and "Kaali Paani" (2023).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/10/kaali-paani.html  

Mukesh Chhabra was in charge of casting.  This film required cast to include many non speaking roles such as terrified passengers, airplane staff and crowds trying to impact politicians.  After studying acting he spent over six years teaching and acting.  He is noted for bringing such faces as Rajkummar Rao, Sushant Singh Rajpt, Mrunal Thakur, Prateik Gandhi, Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh to the screen.  He has 227 credits for casting (+ 29 for the casting department and 29 for acting) including "Amal" (2007), "Kai Che Po" (20130, "Wrong Side Raju" (2016), "Mom" (2017), "Sacred Games" (2018-19), "Sanju" (2018), "Notebook" (2019), "The Family Man" (2019), "Dil Bechara" (2020), "Laal Singh Chaddha" (2022), "Jaane Jaan" (2023), "Dunki" (2023) and "Amar Singh Chamkila.  For a film where Mukesh had a lasting impression check  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/05/kai-che-po.html

Naseeruddin Shah played a political role.  He has 257 acting credits and 6 for the music department including.  He once formed a traveling theatre group and has done a Hollywood movie.  His films include "Hey Ram" (2000), "Monsoon Wedding" (2001), "Maqbool" (2004), "Omkara" (2006),  "Amal" (2007) and "Gehraiyaan" (2022).

 Pankag Kupur  played another politician.  He has 74 acting credits and 3 for directing including "Gandhi" (1982), "Roja" (1992) and "Jersey" (2022).  In the English international version of "Gandhi" Pankag played Gandhi;s secretary, but inthe Hindi version he dubbed for Ben Kingsley.

Arvind Swamy played another politician (there was a lot of conflict and hesitation).  After an education in India he went to Wake Forest University in North Carolina for a Master degree in internatonal business which he was active in overlapping with his film career.   He had a serious injury and took years off from acting, coming back in 2013.  He has been a playback singer and a dubber (in Tamil).   Arvind has 34 acting credits including "Roja" (1992), "Bombay" (1995) and "Kadal" (2013).  That last one has a song by A.R. Rahman that is number one in my collection.

Vijay Verma played the pilot.  He has 32 acting credits including "Gully Boy" (2019), "She" (2020) and "Jaane Jaan" (2023).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/10/jaane-jaan-from-devotion-of-suspect-x.html

Dia Mirza played Shalini, an editor  in conflict with an ambitious journalist.  Her father was German and her mother Bangali.  A model and a beauty queen winner.  She has 60 film credits including "Parineeta" (2005), "Hum Tum aur Ghost" (2010), "Sanju" (2018), "Move to Heaven" (2019) and "Thappad" (2020).  See and http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/05/thappad-or-in-english-slap.html

Anupam Tripathi played a RAW agent in Kathmandu.  Born in India and took part in some theatre plays, but then went to Korea to study acting.  In two years he became fluent in Korean.  He has 17 acting credits including "Squid Game" (2021) and "King the Land" (2023).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/10/squid-game.html

It will give you a feel for how hijackings work and the behind the scenes activities.  None are the same, but unless you have been involved directly we cannot really appreciate the dynamics.  Available on Netflix with subtitles.