300

I managed to go see another film today, using a pass I got from sending in a coupon (and likely getting myself on someone else's mailing list).

I did enjoy it, although I could certainly see why various people have had political objections to the portrayals of the Persians. Still, I might just have an affinity for what others see as evil, because I thought Xerxes looked fabulous, had some lovely outfits for his various legions of soldiers, and they all seemed to be having quite a good time back at camp (we got to see this when the Spartan exile was being seduced into betrayal). Most of all, I just want to be carried around on one of those magnificent throne-litter thingies by a horde of muscled and pretty men! (Surely that doesn't make me shallow!?!)

Getting back to the Spartans, their outfits, while more minimal, were just as lovely, perhaps even for their minimalism!

I guess I wouldn't have done too well in an ancient combat situation, because seeing the men and the costumes on each side, I'm not sure that killing would have been uppermost in my mind.

Come now, Leonidas, is there really anything wrong with a little submission from time to time?

Fascinating Election

We had an election here in Québec two days ago, and the results were fascinating.

The easy thing to notice would be the moderately scary final numbers, where our most right wing party, the Action Démocratique, managed to vault itself into second place, with 41 of the 125 seats, in comparison to its 5 seats from before the election. Also a little scary is the reduction of the most left wing mainstream party, the Parti Québécois, to third place, with a reduction in seats of under 10 to a new total of 36. I don't really care that the governing Liberal Party lost its majority and is now at 48 seats, but I never like a centre or centre right party to be criticized from the right — it tends to make them even more right wing.

What is most interesting is the stuff you have to look closer to see: wild differences in how the parties did in different parts of the province, even in different parts of Montréal. Interesting, but not very indicative of future paths of harmony.

The Liberals (PLQ) came first in 48 ridings, second in 33 and third in 44. The Action Démocratique (ADQ) came first in 41, second in 45, third in 33, fourth in 4 and fifth in 2. The Parti Québécois (PQ) came first in 36, second in 42, third in 44 and fourth in 3. That's a really strange kind of outcome, especially considering that some of the wins by each of the three parties were not really all that close, and others were extremely close three-way races.

Then there are our two 'new' parties without any wins. The Green Party (PVQ) came second in 3, third in 3, fourth in 78 and fifth in 24, but none of their finishes was particularly remarkable, just a new, higher percentage spread out all over the province (their final total was about 3.89%). Québec Solidaire (QS) came second in 2, third in 1, fourth in 40 and fifth in 80, but scored quite well in those three ridings they did the best in — 29.38%, 26.04% and 23.7%. The overall total for QS was 3.65%.

The other thing I feel quite heartened by was the rejection of being bought by our own money. The Liberals tried to promise a big tax cut in the last week of the campaign after the province was allotted extra money in transfer payments by the federal budget. These transfer payments are supposed to be helping us pay for things like health and education, things this government has been rather bad at supporting since they took power, always claiming lack of funds. Their reaction to getting funds? Cut taxes! The voters' reaction? Vote for someone else!

I'd like to think that this is indicative of the kind of consensus we have in Québec that yes, we do pay higher taxes, but we expect that certain things will be done or paid for by the government. Don't give me a couple hundred dollars while you are charging families more for daycare and students more for their educations. I have no children and my university days are behind me, but I expect to live in a society where my taxes help keep those costs low for others, just as I benefitted from the lower tuition fees when I was in school.

The best part of all of this election outcome thing is having the first minority government in Québec in more than 100 years. I like the oversight and the impetus to negotiate that this imposes on the government. I am also secretly thrilled with the idea that the government could fall at any time if they have a misstep. If only we can ensure that things remain that way at the federal level, too.

So Is This a Lion or a Lamb?

You know that whole thing about the month of March: in like a lion, out like a lamb, or vice versa.

Well, here is another lovely photo with my web cam out my front window:


Yes, another big snow storm just to make a liar out of everyone (that would be me) who like to say that once March gets here, it's pretty much over for the year.

In Montréal, there are little signs on every street that no one from anywhere else can figure out, but which relate to the two one-hour no parking times each week to allow the street sweeper truck to pass. These parking restrictions come into effect on March 1 each year and last until December 1.

Why do I think that the street sweeping truck might start a little later this year?

(And, just to underline the wisdom of anyone I might happen to know who is, say, in Mexico at this moment...our temperature is also supposed to dip below -20°C on one or two nights next week.)

Hope you haven't run out of sun screen ... you wouldn't want to prematurely age your skin!

The End of My Clinical Trial!

Last Tuesday marked the end of my year-long participation in a clinical trial of a substance that is supposed to treat lipo-accumulation.

The substance itself is a precursor to human growth hormone and involves all of those things that airport security wants to see in your carry-on baggage: syringes (2 per day), little vials of powder that must be kept refirgerated by a gel pack, and little bottles of sterile water to mix with the powder before injecting it each day.

I am quite thrilled to be done with the injections; it seems like I have added a bunch of free time to my mornings! The results, however, have left me less hopeful about a pharmaceutical solution to all this weight I have gained over the last two to three years, due in part to my previous regime of HIV meds. (Notice how I am not so silly as to rule out my own responsibility for some — if not most — of my weight gain through the combined effects of aging, sloth and a fondness for cheese and chocolate. I don't think any of those things, however, would be responsible for the strange ways in which I have gained this weight: buffalo hump (yes, the source of the blog name), trunk fat, but no love handles and next to no fat on legs or buttocks).

In terms of the results, I seem to have lost weight during the first half of the study, when I seemed to be on the placebo, and gained a bunch of weight in the second half on the study drug. I have two words that describe the result in my eyes: échec total!

Just to make sure that my whole experience was rounded out well, the doctor cancelled my appointment for my final day, leaving me with a giant gap in my day between dexa scan and CT scan, which were themselves done in different locations. I still have to see if I can free myself from other obligations to go to the next proposed appointment time with the doctor (I am working and have responsibilities, after all).

But I was able to take advantage of my midday gap to go see a movie that I had not found the time to see until then:

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would recommend it highly. The best thing for me was the lack of "innocent" characters: no complete angels; all the main characters had done something of which others could disapprove, which is more like real life than most popular films tend to be.

I won't likely sit still if Dame Judi Dench sits next to me on a park bench, for fear of being drawn in!