Gaining Confidence?

You might expect the leader of Canada's Green party to write little more than a book on how the government has failed on the issue of climate change. After all, the misconception that the Greens build their platform solely off one specific niche issue does persist today, as is evinced by dismal election results.

But in Losing Confidence: Power, Politics, and the Crisis in Canadian Democracy, Elizabeth May inadvertently quashes that assumption. Her book conveys considerable knowledge of the mechanics of the Canadian political system in drawing attention to the dangerous path Canada is headed down.

Although her message is hardly alarmist, she does spell out in concise and accessible prose a number of signs that the quality of our democracy is in sharp decline: the lack of respect among parliamentarians, the prevalence of blindly partisan attack ads, the shrinkage of Canadian media, declining political literacy and voter turnout, and others. At times, the opening and closing of each chapter reminds me of essay structure we learned back in grade twelve; in other words, May opens the odd chapter telling the reader something she already made crystal clear on the previous page. To her favour though, this structure does make it easy to read each chapter in isolation from the others. What this comes down to, as far as I'm concerned, is accessibility at the slight expense of style.

To May's credit though, her arguments about the decline of transparent democracy in favour of partisanship and buzz-language supersede stylistic concerns a bit. If Canadians have become the victims of the silver-tongued partisans, clarity is a priority first and foremost. She draws on the knowledge of politicians, officials, insiders, and columnists from all political persuasions to make a strong case for the crisis in democracy, one that holds in store praise and blame for members of all different federal parties.

I hope that, given the accessibility of this book, more people will read it, and, if not take Elizabeth May more seriously as a politician, at least become more aware of some of the issues at stake in democracy. The 40.1% of Canadians who did not vote in the previous election could have made a significant difference in the way in which government has been run for the past two years. Losing Confidence is on to something, and though its writer may never be prime minister, her message has the potential to open Canadians' eyes to the political world we live in.

Team Alcide: True Blood 3.8, "Night on the Sun"

At risk of giving something away here, I have to say that this episode began and ended with Sookie screaming. Overall, Sookie was very loud this episode. What we have here is an interesting turning point in her character development; she's louder and badder than ever before. As this third season continues to ratchet up the violence, with the many "stakings" and twisted sex scenes portrayed, our favourite characters change accordingly.

As I've made clear, the most obvious change in character can be seen in Sookie here. Although the series opened with her beating up the Rattrays with a chain (if you remember), that scene shies in comparison with her recent skirmishes with Lorena and Debbie. Consider: "You wouldn't know love if it kicked you in the FANGS!" and "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, BITCH!"

Sookie is, of course, quickly becoming more and more aware of her own powers, and there can be little doubt that awareness is spurring her development into something bold and bad. Towards the end of the season, I think the person she's becoming will land her in some new conflicts and possibly force her to take a step back and look at what she's becoming.

Still, the ultimate ego boost is inevitable. Important people, like Russell, want her. As he says to Bill, "I'll trade you the red one for the blonde one."

Speaking of the red one, Jessica too is becoming quite a violent young lady, as Bill schools her in blurry vampire martial arts and trains her to sink her fangs into a few werewolves. At one point, she reflects that the person she's become will never deserve someone as good-natured as Hoyt.

"Who...?" seems to be the recurring theme these last few episodes. Who are the characters becoming?

Who is the British lady in Sookie's dream?

Who are the Norrises?

Who is Jesus, really, and who for that matter, is Lafayette?

Who will Arlene's baby turn out to be? Will her anxieties turn out to be a source of more comic relief, or is there something more sinister about the fact that Drew Marshall is the father?

The exception to these Why questions is Where did Alcide go, driving off in his contracting truck like that? Doubtless he'll be back, at least in time for the seasons's finale, but for those who see him as a potential alternative to Bill (who is bland) and Eric (who seems to find more at stake with his relationship with Talbot than Sookie...), that isn't soon enough.

Mark Zuckerberg, PR monstrosity

If you went to the movies this weekend to see either Salt or Inception, you would have seen this trailer.

It's for The Social Network, which is based on how a hoody-wearing average student who happened to attend Harvard founded Facebook.

Now, don't get me wrong--I like hoodies, especially zip hoodies. But when you're being questioned by privacy commissioners, government officials, and the media about how your software violates people's rights to privacy, when people are making public complaints about your company, when your reputation may very well be at stake, you might consider suiting up, so listeners and viewers start taking you a little more seriously.

Perhaps that's what this film will do. Perhaps after seeing The Social Network, due to be released on October 1st, people will feel sympathy for Mark, and appreciate all the equations written with window-writers, the all-nighters, the exclusivity of Ivy League school clubs, etc., etc.

But then again, Jesse Eisenberg is playing him, so probably not.

Truly, True Blood's bloodiest

Last night's episode of True Blood was probably the goriest and most sadistic to date. If Sookie's dependence on Bill had you scrambling for evidence that this show is any different from Twilight, you need only watch "What Do You Know About Love?" for reminder.

Tara finally regains her old attitude. Remember that scene in the pilot, during which Tara tells off the woman with "the ugly ass clothes." Well, after a season of angst and suicide attempts, the old stubborn, angry BADASS Tara is back, and as she says to Sookie, "killin vampires and savin your ass."

Lorena tries, more successfully than last time, to get her say in. It seems like she's always in the way, and is always being pushed back to the margins in favour of more important things, like rescuing Godric, killing maenads, or usurping Sophie-Anne. This time around, Russell recognizes her value, and equipping her with a shiny set of Cool Tools, orders her to do... something I don't think she can possibly do.

Speaking of what I think is going to happen, I really think we should be keeping our eyes on Nan Flanagan. The trailer for the second half of the season shows her coming back, and she's been appearing on national television again recently. Could she have a significant role to play??

Also, we definitely haven't seen the last of Franklin.

"FANTASTIC!"

This week's True Blood was definitely a vast improvement from last week's. If you saw "9 Crimes," but haven't yet had the chance to see this week's, simply named "Trouble," I pity you. Seriously.

In "Trouble," the burner turns up, the heat rises, and the cherry tomatoes start to sweat; things are starting to get urgent, and conflict is bringing out an intriguing array of new emotions in characters. With Pam at the mercy of the Magister and time running out, Eric's game face is starting to budge. After a brief face-off with an uncharacteristically sharp Bill (sharp, perhaps, because he's been so well-fed lately), Eric appears to be running out of steam. And then he shows up with this baby-blue... sweater. It looks good on him, but what the hell? Does Eric actually have the potential to be... sensitive?

Then again, when he rebuffs flirtatious jabs from Talbot as coolly as he does, his smooth ice king personality returns, and our suspicion that Eric might actually have feelings is averted... for the time being.

The other character who starts to unravel this episode is Franklin Mott. Now you knew he was a psycho from the beginning, right? Hello?! He's into Tara. She's a nut-magnet, and not in the good way. When Franklin first swept onto the True Blood stage, he was reserved, calm, and of a steel will. Then his snoopy private eye side was revealed in episode three, "It Hurts Me Too," in which he started glamouring and threatening and saying things like "TellmeeverythingyouknowaboutBillCompton." And THEN he decided to tie Tara up to a toilet seat, at which point his horribly unhealthy attraction to her is made obvious.

James Frain, who plays Franklin, could play this role differently; he could make Franklin creepier, and make him the sneaky slips-in-through-your-window kind of creepy, but he doesn't, and that is where the uniqueness of this character comes into play. We have enough in the way of calculating, fork-tongued creeps from the other vamp characters, and so the obsessive histrionic who waves his hands in the air and stamps his feet when things don't go his way really appeals in terms of its uniqueness. I love what Frain has done with this character, and since, on TV, abusive and emotionally unstable characters tend to have short shelf lives (for a number of obvious reasons), I'm going to savour every scene with him in it.

As characters unravel emotionally, the sexual tension winds up. Jason follows his latest interest, the mysterious Crystal Norris, into a romantic moonlit scene. What set this moonlit scene apart from others though? Well, the fact that, for what might be the first time, Jason takes an interest in something or someone that doesn't lead him to any of the following:

1) recreational drug use

2) religious fanaticism

3) priapism, or any other form of sexual dysfunction

4) witnessing, or becoming the suspect of, a murder that may or may not have been based on a slight degree of racial profiling

5) generally, inadvertent degradation of self or others

Also, Tommy Mickens takes an interest in Jessica, and refers to Hoyt as a mutant overgrown sixth-grader. Lorena takes the sidelines again. Sookie and Alcide? Nooo. Sookie and Alcide? ...Hmmm.... Noooo. Lafayette meets Jesus. No, not the one you're thinking of. Not a Jesus-Lafayette relationship his mom would approve of.

And finally, worthy of mention this episode, Sookie gives someone--I won't tell you who--a well-deserved electric slap in the face. No, it isn't Bill. But I wish it was. Still, it was such a brilliant slap in the face it had Russell proclaiming, "FANTASTIC!"

Forgiveness, please

Why hello there!

Long time no see. Erm, rather, long time no post? Hmm. Actually, I feel like there isn't an equivalent for "long time no see" that really suits this context. Anyway, suffice it to say, I haven't posted for you, whoever you are, in a while, and I feel kind of guilty for that.

My brief absence or lack of activity or whatever you want to call it may very well have something to do with True Blood's little (unacceptable) hiatus. Not that I don't write about anything other than True Blood... I'm just using it as an excuse right now, and am subsequently undermining the attempt.

On that note, so, True Blood? True Blood? What the hell?

There've been quite a few twists lately, and by that, I don't mean plot twists. I mean it in a more literal sense. The following are some twists I should note, and don't worry. Believe it or not, none of them are spoilers, really:

1. Lorena's head.

2. Lorena's use of the English language, e.g. "between you and I" [incorrect]

3. Eric's new mode of transportation

4. Janice, harbinger of make-overs

Going with point 2, actually, there's another language-related technicality I've become aware of. The so-called "magister" vampire played by Zeljko Ivanek, I'm pretty sure, would be more appropriately called magistrate, because that would be more specific. Consider, magister is Latin for "master," whereas magistrate is an official title that always implies judicial power. Just sayin'...

"The hypothetical hardware store..."

This is basically the best photo I could get of Joe Manganiello as werewolf Alcide Herveaux, this episode's newbie character. So far, the three words that most accurately capture him are "amiable," "pliable," and "hot." This does not at all mean he can be counted on to just stand there and look scruffy.

My reasoning here draws on the example of recent newbie Franklin Mott (James Frain), who started to pull a few strings this episode. Shaping up to be a cunning and resourceful detective, Franklin is beginning to emerge as a potential challenger.

Still losing sleep over the accidental shooting of Eggs, Jason's daydreaming lands him in trouble... with other characters who are beginning to notice his bizarre behaviour, and with viewers, who may be starting to tire of the same bullet-in-head trope used to portray his anxious guilt. We get it already. Jason is guilty and paranoid. This episode just barely nudges the table as far as this plot arc is concerned, but we have good reason to suspect something crazy when the shit hits the fan, so to speak.

Sookie is still on the trail of the Nazi-werewolves, which produces an interesting déjà vu of a situation: Sookie at a supernatural creatures bar looking like "dinner," viz., a plucky virgin who buys all her evening wear at SmartSet.

What else happened? ...Hmmm, I can't really recall because 1) I'm tired and 2) the storms today caused me to lose my satellite, so all I got were large gaps throughout the first 15 minutes. There was some shit-shooting between Eric and Sookie, but nothing too sleazy. There was some shit-shooting between Eric and Lafayette, but nothing nearly as intense as last season, when Lafayette drank Eric's blood and suffered the consequences.

Overall, there was a moderate amount of thumb-twiddling, whilst a few minor characters, including Franklin, and good old Lorena, sharpened their fangs.

A storm brewing? I certainly hope so.