.
Monday, 31 December 2007
Sunday, 30 December 2007
High Bear Nation
They're culling polar bear populations in the Canadian territory of Nunivat. (A 'Territory' is a state which is too tiny or broke to be a Province.) There are too many polar bears in the area; overall, there are five times the number there were in 1960. The one that keeled over photogenically for Al Gore's movie was doing Canadian park rangers a favour.
I don't care enough about polar bears or climate change to write a whole spiel about it; I really wanted to call this post 'The Winter of Our Discontent', but found out that the hoary phrase has the opposite meaning to the way it's usually used. So I settled for a bad pun and found some news to back it up, hence my first paragraph.
"Now is the winter of our discontent" is taken completely out of context. It really goes like this (my line breaks):
"Now
is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer
by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,"
RICHARD III
...so the discontent is the active bit, while the winter is just enlisted as an illustration, the weaker part of a metaphor. Instead of saying that the situation is cold and depressing, it says that bad, uncertain times are over. It's the hunchback schemer Richard opening the play by saying, yay, my brother's the king so things will be OK now. (And yes, that says "alarums".)
Laurence Olivier does it best, shown here. He snaps the lines with a clipped, bat-faced bitterness.
My curiosity was piqued, so I went looking for other Shakespearean mis-takes.
"Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war."
This is from Julius Caesar, and by itself suggest a kind of gung-ho '300'-style martial enthusiasm. That's not really the case. Here's the context:
"Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial."
JULIUS CAESAR
Antony gives the speech after Caesar has been assassinated (a word Shakespeare invented). He's horrified by the very real possibility of a hideous, wholesale slaughter in the wake of Caesar's death.
I don't care enough about polar bears or climate change to write a whole spiel about it; I really wanted to call this post 'The Winter of Our Discontent', but found out that the hoary phrase has the opposite meaning to the way it's usually used. So I settled for a bad pun and found some news to back it up, hence my first paragraph.
"Now is the winter of our discontent" is taken completely out of context. It really goes like this (my line breaks):
"Now
is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer
by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,"
RICHARD III
...so the discontent is the active bit, while the winter is just enlisted as an illustration, the weaker part of a metaphor. Instead of saying that the situation is cold and depressing, it says that bad, uncertain times are over. It's the hunchback schemer Richard opening the play by saying, yay, my brother's the king so things will be OK now. (And yes, that says "alarums".)
Laurence Olivier does it best, shown here. He snaps the lines with a clipped, bat-faced bitterness.
My curiosity was piqued, so I went looking for other Shakespearean mis-takes.
"Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war."
This is from Julius Caesar, and by itself suggest a kind of gung-ho '300'-style martial enthusiasm. That's not really the case. Here's the context:
"Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial."
JULIUS CAESAR
Antony gives the speech after Caesar has been assassinated (a word Shakespeare invented). He's horrified by the very real possibility of a hideous, wholesale slaughter in the wake of Caesar's death.
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
How To Get A Canadian Work Visa
Canada has tons of immigrants from all over the world. More people want to move to America, but their immigration policies have grown more and more difficult, and their officials meaner and weirder since 9/11 (metal detectors, shoe searches, bizarre questions, passport surrender, bomb-proof windows for all clerks, even in New Zealand). But Canada is the pleasant neighbour to the north and is crying out for the tired, the poor, the huddled masses (with some qualifications).
Note that with all the ways listed below, you're supposed to have about CAD$4000, but they usually don't bother to check. (This can be access to Visa credit, or money sitting in your account at the time which you'll transfer back later.)
The easiest way is to be young. If you're under 31, you can get a Working Holiday visa, which allows you to work in any field anywhere in the country for one year. Generally it's easier to get if you're from a English-speaking OECD country like Ireland or Australia. This is a fairly rapid rubber-stamp kind of deal. Companies like STA Travel package this deal for you with a lot of hand-holding that can save you time and hassle. (They deal mainly with college kids who want to work the ski fields for minimum wage.)
The next way is to be educated and experienced. Applying for the Skilled Worker visa falls under a points system you can find the test here (overview here). This visa is expensive to apply for ($1000+). Generally if you speak English, have a qualification and 3+ years experience in one of these fields, you'd expect to make it. Bonus points for having a well-qualified partner, too. This visa makes you a Permanent Resident. It takes at least six months to complete.
There's a loophole for some trades, because there's a great need for them in some provinces. For Alberta, they are shown here. These fields are called 'Occupations Under Pressure' and visas for people who work in these fields are much cheaper and faster.
Yet another way is to rock on up and grab a visitor visa on your way in, then get a job and apply for a temporary work visa once you've got a job offer. This takes "four weeks" (note quotations marks). You could just start working and get your money back-paid once your visa is approved, but this requires collusion with your boss, and most Canadians are pretty straight-arrow.
The whole list of ways is shown here. Most are specific to business types or whole families though. If your English is weak or highly accented you'll have a harder time finding a job than if you're from England or America, but generally Canucks are accepting and interested in travellers.
Oh, and bring a pair of these:
.
.
.
Note that with all the ways listed below, you're supposed to have about CAD$4000, but they usually don't bother to check. (This can be access to Visa credit, or money sitting in your account at the time which you'll transfer back later.)
The easiest way is to be young. If you're under 31, you can get a Working Holiday visa, which allows you to work in any field anywhere in the country for one year. Generally it's easier to get if you're from a English-speaking OECD country like Ireland or Australia. This is a fairly rapid rubber-stamp kind of deal. Companies like STA Travel package this deal for you with a lot of hand-holding that can save you time and hassle. (They deal mainly with college kids who want to work the ski fields for minimum wage.)
The next way is to be educated and experienced. Applying for the Skilled Worker visa falls under a points system you can find the test here (overview here). This visa is expensive to apply for ($1000+). Generally if you speak English, have a qualification and 3+ years experience in one of these fields, you'd expect to make it. Bonus points for having a well-qualified partner, too. This visa makes you a Permanent Resident. It takes at least six months to complete.
There's a loophole for some trades, because there's a great need for them in some provinces. For Alberta, they are shown here. These fields are called 'Occupations Under Pressure' and visas for people who work in these fields are much cheaper and faster.
Yet another way is to rock on up and grab a visitor visa on your way in, then get a job and apply for a temporary work visa once you've got a job offer. This takes "four weeks" (note quotations marks). You could just start working and get your money back-paid once your visa is approved, but this requires collusion with your boss, and most Canadians are pretty straight-arrow.
The whole list of ways is shown here. Most are specific to business types or whole families though. If your English is weak or highly accented you'll have a harder time finding a job than if you're from England or America, but generally Canucks are accepting and interested in travellers.
Oh, and bring a pair of these:
.
.
.
Friday, 21 December 2007
Calgary in pictures
Back when the weather was in positive figures I took a few shots, walking around Calgary with fresh eyes. After you've been somewhere a few months you tend to take things for granted and let details slip into the background. These were taken when my eyes were open, aware, slightly alarmed, gently optimistic, and not covered in two inches of snow and whatever the hell it is they put on the roads that turns it into brown, sandy sludge.
While 7th Ave is a blasted wasteland of train tracks and homeless drug dealers, 8th Ave--shown here--is a pedestrian arcade, filled with restaurants, clothing stores, museums and malls. It is called Stephen Avenue for a few blocks, then it goes back to being called 8th. The walkway above street level is part of the +15 system, as walking outside will, for six months of the year, turn your jacket into a frozen spinnaker.
Since the oil boom began, Calgary has transformed from a shitty cowtown like Hamilton into something more like a Christchurch/Auckland combo. Construction is everywhere; what's not being torn down is being put up. This is the information centre at the base of the Calgary 'Tower'.
A few miles to the east from where I live is a strip of old-school stores, pawn shops, porn shops and fast food outlets. This sign has borne a missing letter for at least a month.
Near the local library is a Chinese supermarket, full of 2-lb packs of MSG, unrecognisable soft drinks and this stuff. Did you know New Zealand made liver spread? Or that other countries wanted it? Or that Australia is competing with us in this red-hot market? Or that Canada imports enough that packaging is printed in French and English? This is a day of learning for you, I can tell. These facts probably pushed other, useful ones out of your brain.
Preserved Duck Eggs will set you back four bucks. Personally, I'd go with the liver spread and save $1.50.
Calgary Zoo, which is on an island, has buffalo. Whereas the city of Buffalo in New York state has no buffalo. Suck it, America! Where's your God now?
...
While 7th Ave is a blasted wasteland of train tracks and homeless drug dealers, 8th Ave--shown here--is a pedestrian arcade, filled with restaurants, clothing stores, museums and malls. It is called Stephen Avenue for a few blocks, then it goes back to being called 8th. The walkway above street level is part of the +15 system, as walking outside will, for six months of the year, turn your jacket into a frozen spinnaker.
Since the oil boom began, Calgary has transformed from a shitty cowtown like Hamilton into something more like a Christchurch/Auckland combo. Construction is everywhere; what's not being torn down is being put up. This is the information centre at the base of the Calgary 'Tower'.
A few miles to the east from where I live is a strip of old-school stores, pawn shops, porn shops and fast food outlets. This sign has borne a missing letter for at least a month.
Near the local library is a Chinese supermarket, full of 2-lb packs of MSG, unrecognisable soft drinks and this stuff. Did you know New Zealand made liver spread? Or that other countries wanted it? Or that Australia is competing with us in this red-hot market? Or that Canada imports enough that packaging is printed in French and English? This is a day of learning for you, I can tell. These facts probably pushed other, useful ones out of your brain.
Preserved Duck Eggs will set you back four bucks. Personally, I'd go with the liver spread and save $1.50.
Calgary Zoo, which is on an island, has buffalo. Whereas the city of Buffalo in New York state has no buffalo. Suck it, America! Where's your God now?
...
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