The phrase “if I am wrong” or the related phrase ” if I offended anyone” is something that I am seeing or hearing far too often lately now in public. Mainly it is politicians or media personalities called out on some transgression they uttered, forcing to make amends in some way but many people in real life are now starting to do it. I call it the fake apology, saying you are sorry when you do not mean it and couched in a phrase that essentially denies that you are apologizing. It is always in some sort of defensive reaction as well as if getting caught is worse than what you actually said.
In the past week or so, we have had a few instances of that happening. Senator Jim Bunning(R) of Kentucky made a remark that he believed that Justice Ruth Ginsburg, who just completed surgery for the treatment of cancer, would be dead in nine months. Needless to say, people did not think highly of that remark and so accordingly he made an apology that lacked a certain sincerity:
I apologize if my comments offended Justice Ginsberg,” Bunning said. “That certainly was not my intent. It is great to see her back at the Supreme Court today and I hope she recovers quickly. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.
I am not sure how Justice Ginburg would not be offended by his comments. He did not even get the spelling of her name right.
Then there is the incident of the New York Post cartoon showing two cops standing over a chimp they just shot and refer to the incident as “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill”. It is pretty hard not to see the racist connotations in that cartoon as the recovery bill is closely identified with President Obama and for far too long people have made the associations between African-Americans and primates of various kinds. So after some demonstrations, the paper released an apology that was not really an apology:
To those who were offended by the image, we apologize. However, there are some in the media and in public life who have had differences with the Post in the past—and they see the incident as an opportunity for payback,” the editorial continues. “To them, no apology is due. Sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon—even as the opportunists seek to make it something else.”
Again, those words “who were offended” along with a line that anyone who had criticised the paper for its cartoon or stands, well, no apology to them. Of course, no one could accept an apology under those circumstances so it ended up being in the hands of the publisher/owner, Rupert Murdoch, to make his apology on behalf of the paper for the cartoon.
“Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted,” said the statement from Murdoch, who is also chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, which owns the paper.
“I can assure you — without a doubt — that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation.
“It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such. We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard, and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community.
By all accounts, people have apparently accepted it for now. Still…
” … who felt offended”.
This is really weaselly on part of these people and anyone who uses those words. It is like you can not commit either way of either apologizing or not apologizing and you come off an insincere. If anyone asks them about an apology , they can always say that they have apologized but they haven’t really unless it met some level of qualification. So they are trying to have it both ways, satisfying any third person demand for an apology yet take comfort in themselves that they did not really apologized because when these apologies are expressed is that it is never directed to the person receiving the apology. This is because the person supposedly being apologized to heard that sort of phrase spoken to them probably would never accepted the apology as expressed.
If you are person of character, say you are sorry or do not say anything at all. If you offer an apology, make it meaningful. Just say ’sorry’ without qualification or restricting to just a certain group of people. It is like these people never heard what their mothers told them when they were young: “Say it like you mean it”. Character still counts for something in this world. Yet by this very use of the fake apology we are not only debasing social norms but also our very language. This is one practice I would like to see gone from our lexicon as soon as possible.
Madeleine had perhaps the finest birthday party we ever had for our kids. For those who know us, birthday parties tend to be extravagant affairs with us as we celebrate the passing of another year for the children but also give us a chance to socialise with friends again. We do not do Christmas parties, New Year’s parties or any change of life parties. It is pretty much our kids birthdays.
We had a big group this year: thirteen girls came for a Princess party all decked out in outfits. Andrea co-ordinated the fun and games for them as I handled the meals upstairs. So for an hour, they played pin the mask on the princess, face painting, guessing games and so forth. Then upstairs for lunch.
My meals for celebrations are something else. Usually this is an opportunity for me to try a few new things as well as doing standby favorites. I provide more than just chips and drinks. For the parents, I put out a buffet lunch of Asparagus tart, chicken salad croissants, citrus salad, rolls while the kids had a specially made hot dog whereby I cut a long wiener in half and wrap it in a croissant roll and bake it for 20 minutes. of course, they still had their chips and drink too along with sharing the cake and ice cream which is the centerpiece of the whole birthday party for them.
We had quite a few parents staying with us as well. Many times, parents will just drop their kids off and return when it is all over. But we have good friends who stayed and help us out in keeping the girls under some control and having a lunch prepared for them was an attractive proposition for them as well.
As always, at the end, everyone went home happy and well -fed and we just spend the day after the party just resting up.
There is something to said for neighbourhood pizza joints. These little shops tend to have quite a personality on their own as compared to the national chains like Pizza Huts or Papa Johns. Usually , they have decor that is either some homage to the Old Country, i.e. Italy or they take on a very local look like one dedicated to a local sports team, high school, college or professional. But what makes them stand out is the usually the owner/chef behind the counter as he creates his version of the pizza pie in a style befitting the masters as he stretches the dough through tossing it into the air, slather it with a tomato sauce that can ranges from sickenly sweet to one with an acidic bite and then festooned with the standard toppings or ones of his own design.
In my neighbourhood, I have such a place. Bambino Brothers Pizza located at the corner of Old Salisbury Road and Pope Road in Winston-Salem. Decor wise, it is rather spartan with a few posters here and there. Divided into two sections for dining with one section have a collection of video games and pinball machines. Flat screen televisions abound tuned into the sports stations for the current games. In all, much like a neighbourhood hangout for young and old.
As for the food, it is not too bad. We had the cheese bread, a fluffy dough topped with garlic and plenty of mozzarella cheese to give it that stretchy consistency. As for the main dish, we went with the Bambino Special, a 19inch monster pie loaded with meats and vegetables. Hand tossed dough to a nice thickness that was acceptable to everyone as I am one that favors the thick crusts like Pizza Hut’s pan pizza while the wife likes the cracker style crusts. The slices were large, much like if you ordered pizza by the slice. The toppings were plentiful too and evenly distributed. As for the taste, it was very much like most other independent pizza joints which is to say it does not taste like a chain made pizza but something more akin to what you would make it you were doing it at home.
Price wise, it was comparable to most other places. The bread sticks, the pizza and two drinks went for $33 which is a bit more than I would get at chain pizzeria’s but the extra money was worth it I think to keep these local places running to ensure that these neighbourhood standbys will never go away.
On Saturday, I was able to attend my first Wake Forest basketball game at LJVM stadium courtesy of some free tickets from a friend. The seats were on the upper deck at the end of the arena but I did not mind as the stadium has great sights lines from anywhere within it and I was able to see the Deacons totally shred Florida State. It is a far different experience to see the game in person than on the television.
With that decisive win and another over Georgia Tech to make up for the earlier loss to the Yellowjackets, Wake Forest seems to find its footing again. For awhile, it appeared that Wake Forest could only get motivated to play its best against top ranked teams and seemingly left the weaker teams of the conference to get their key wins against the Deacons. These two wins will help restore the confidence of the team which seemed to be shaken since they fell out of the top ranked spot in the polls a month ago.
If credit must be due, it is to the play of James Johnson who set the tone early with key shots in the FSU game before leaving prematurely due to foul trouble and in the GT game as he lead all Deac scorers with 24 points. This is probably out of necessity as other teams are concentrating their attention on Jeff Teague which means less attention on other Wake players. This may work on some teams but the strength of Wake Forest is not having a superstar player dominating the game but rather the depth of the team at all positions along with a deep bench to boot. Wake Forest can burn its opponents in many different ways when they are motivated to do so.
Looking ahead to its next game, Duke in Durham on Sunday evening, Wake Forest has a chance to move back up in the polls and more importantly a more favorable position when it comes to the rankings for the NCAA tournament. In the end, that is what it is all about.
It takes a certain bravery to open a restaurant in the middle of a recession but that is what the owners of Ombu have done in St. Georges Square off Hanes Mill Blvd. Especially an upscale one that wood-fired cooking. So to reward them for their chutzpah, I decided to give a try.
The decor of the restaurant is striking modern with stained wooden walls and fixtures that have a certain Eastern vibe to them. Befitting enough to match a menu that seems to be well into the fusion cuisine. When we arrived, only a small crowd was present but it was early and later on in the evening, it would start to fill up. A series of booths were offered to us. There were some tables around but few in comparison to the booths. We were near the bar area, a must have fixture of these sort of restaurants.
The menu was definitely eclectic. There was section for personal appetizers much in the way of tapas. There were soups and salads, an entree section heavy on grilled meats along with a seafood and pasta section. From the description of the ingredients, quite a bit of thought went into the design of the dishes. Alas, there was just two of us on a fixed budget so we reserved ourselves to just a sampling from the innovative menu.
To start of, we tried the duck confit and crab dip from the nibblers. The confit was shredded and just placed into a small serving plate with a side of crostini. Not much to recommend it as it was just dry shredded duck meat. Could have use something to liven it up. By contrast the crab dip was excellent with hefty portions of crab meat in a cheese sauce that was well done. Needless to say, every bit of that dip was cleanedup.
Following the nibblers, a bowl of French onion soup was presented before us. It is a matter of tradition between us that no matter what restaurant we go to, we make sure we order the French onion soup on our earliest visits. A deceptively simple dish that requires a skilled hand in the execution. Now I know most restaurants these days rarely make soup on the premises, preferring to have that done by contract chops but at the very least I would expect that they had a good source. As well, much of the value of this soup is how it is constructed with the bread and cheese added just so and then broiled to the right melting consistency. In this regard, the soup was superb, full of flavour not masked by over saltiness.
For the main entrees, there was so much to choose from but I decided on the pistachio and macadamia encrusted lamb chops with the fig demiglace and skillet potatoes on the side. I believe figs are this year’s fruit as I see it more often in dishes as chefs are now rediscovering it. The chops were grilled just right and flavour was sublime. A great contrast in flavours and textures from all parts of the dish. The significant other ordered the grilled shrimp, hefty size prawns to be exact. She skipped the rice in preference for grilled vegetables and it worked out well. The cherry wontons on the side was an extraordinary pairing. Just wished they provided more of them.
All in all, a most excellent meal. The prices were not too bad. Without wine, the meal came to about $68 for the two of us which is a reasonable price for such fine food in a fine restaurant.
While I have been traditionally an avid movie goer, the past year or so, I have been notably negilient in seeing films at the theatre, only partly compensated by watching them on video. One of the things I promised myself was to see more first run films as much as I can and in the past week, I have been able to do that.
If anything can connect the following, it that in some way they reflect a certain fantasy that we the movie going public much appreciate in these times of distress. Gritty urban dramas or personal tragedies are not what people would see right now. What we need is escapism, a certain departure from our current reality. There may be a connection to the lives we live everyday but there is an element which takes it into a world not of our own, perhaps a bit dream-like or even nightmarish.
Coraline is a bit of both; a dream and a nightmare. An animated film shown in 3D, the story of a girl who escapes what she thinks is a boring reality and into a world of magic is something every child can dream about. The other world is full of color, interesting people and where is everything seems just right. Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) finds a mother who is willing to be with her and is able to cook. The garden is magical and behind every door there seems to be something even more so. But in time, the dream world reveals itself to be a nightmare one that requires all of Coraline’s ingenuity to escape.
As with every animated film I view, I am particularly interested in seeing how well the animators can extend their craft. With Coraline, the film is sharply divided between the grayish tones of the real world and the bright palette of the other world. The 3D effect is used in a way that subletely enhances the film but not overly dominates it with that ‘coming right at ya’ shot. I thought it was most vivid in the distance shots where you see the Pink Palace apartment house against the hills beyond. In other shots in the other world, it brightened the effects to some degree enhancing the magical feel of the place.
As a character, Coraline is effectively portrayed as the teenager she is and not as overly smart kid or one that is superior to her parents. Her thoughts are very much in tune what a real person would think at that age. Other characters, while mainly briefly drawn, do provide that necessary contrast and are vividly voiced.
All in all, a very satisfying film for all ages.
As for ages, well, that is the central premise of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the story of a person who ages backward from the day he is born physically as an old man to the day he dies as an infant.
As a story, there is not much there. He grows up and encounters many people. Experiences some adventure on a tugboat during the war. Marries the girl he met when he was chronically a child; has a daughter and then passes away eventually.
It does not try to place him in the context of world events as it pertains to him. His impact on the world around him is minimal yet he is able to experience the all of the changes in American culture for much of the century.
Yet this film is magical in way that few films ever can be. Seeing Brad Pitt’s portrayal of him is remarkable if all you have of him is an impression as a happy go lucky sort of guy. A man child in many respects, physically and mentally he is going in two different directions, you continually feel overwhelming sympathy for him from the onset as he tries to overcome his initial frailty and then as he grows younger, you wish that somehow he freezes at that age so that he can remain forever young and enjoy all of the privileges that come from it.
In a way, this film reminds us that the cycle of life does not change for any one.
It is a beautiful film to watch with much of it set in New Orleans. Everything seems authentic for a given era in Button’s life from the 1920’s through to 1970’s. The laid back feeling to the story probably is as a reflection of living in New Orleans can be. The effects work on Pitt’s character is amazing. I doubt that this film could have been done even 10 years ago in a way that made him look old on a child’s body but you knew that it was Pitt doing the role and not someone else or even CGI version of Pitt. Excellent makeup work and seamless computer work made us think that Pitt was actually 4 feet tall as he tried to walk out of his wheelchair and not his head superimposed on a small person’s body.
A fine film and deserving of all of the Academy Ward nominations it received this year.
Finally there is Push. On the face of it, it just another action -thriller albeit with a twist this being that certain people have special skills, like in Heroes, that everyone else what to control. It is the fanasty of day dreams that we all have a special power that somehow we can manifest to change our circumstances or our lives forever. Who does not want the ability to turn invisible or run fast or move objects.
So it is with these people in the film, each possessing one particular skill. Set in Hong Kong with its claustrophobic towering apartment buildings, it is a decent action film though the plot does have some issues in being able to understand what is going on.Chris Evans is the supposed lead of the film but in truth it is Dakota Fanning’s film as it her character’s actions and her understanding of what is at stake that drives the story. In contrast to some of her heavy roles of late (Hound dog, Secret Lives of Bees), this is a pleasant diversion for her as she starts to take on more adult roles now. For this is what the film is, a pleasant enough diversion to while away the time and not think of what is going on outside the theatre where bad news seems to be the only topic on everyone’s minds.