Alienation Dept: By Ying Chen Les Editions du Boreal, 216 pages, $22.50, according to Montreal Gazette. In the latest novel from Ying Chen, Especes, a woman wakes up one day to find out that she has been turned into a cat. The plot of this French-language novel is reminiscent of that of Kafka's Metamorphosis replace cat with beetle , but the effect is not derivative. There is always more to be said on the theme of alienation and eSPECES - - - As reported in the news.
@t french language, kafka

Pay Cable Dept: All of the above converge in Atlantic City, on the Jersey shore that is not to be confused with the TV reality show of the same name with Snooki and The Situation and JWoww. Safe to s-ay that the aforementioned pos eurs would be quickly rendered fish-bait in Boardwalk Empire, the 12-part series that kicks off - literally -tomorrow at 9 p.m. on HBO Canada, according to Montreal Gazette. The battle between pay/cable and network TV is over. With the exception of sports, news and t-he occasional drama and sit com, network TV has long since cried uncle. It just can't compete with pay/cable's loose censorship, lack of commercials and ability to draw the biggest names in the business and let's see: corrupt politicos; bloodthirsty gangsters; a Bible-thumping, self-flagellating fed; floozies; bootleggers; a crime boss called Nucky; and a director called Scorsese. Yum. Talk about your snap, crackle and pop, with a body count to boot. Based on catching the first three shows in the series, this one lives up to all the advance heavy-duty hype -and then some. As reported in the news.
@t crime boss, montreal gazette

Sense Of Humour Dept: But that's for good reason, according to Montreal Gazette. A torn anterior cruciate ligament has done nothing to scar Markov's wicked sense of humour and canadiens defence-man Andrei Markov hasn't been working in rehabilitation seven days a week to rebuild his surgically repaired right knee. "I'm a Canadian now," he said yesterday through a sly grin. "I'm working five days." As reported in the news.
@t andrei markov, montreal gazette

Yogurt Drink Dept: For instance, I walk into Alborz Fine Foods, a small but bright new Persian food store that recently opened in Park Royal Mall South. I indulge, one or two bites at a time, in unknown foods whenever I'm in an ethnic store. This time, I walk around and wait for something to grab me, according to Vancouver Sun. At home, I wonder if the beverage called doujh will be bitter, and I'm prepared for it. But no, it's a carbonated yogurt drink with a bit of saltiness and a bit of mint and really refreshing. My sister, who's visiting from Ontario, loves the crispy dried okra. The cashews are salty, but with a citrusy edge You'd need to lock yourself up and swallow the key to remain parochial in multi-flavoured Vancouver. I notice bottles of a milky beverage in the cooler. It looks healthy, so I buy one. I also note some large and crispy okra, deep-fried, displayed in a brown bag. I ask for a sample, and it's as delicate as a potato chip and has a mildly spicy taste. I buy some of that. And from the display of nuts, I buy a bag of cashews. As reported in the news.
@t spicy taste, persian food

Vote Counts Dept: Sometimes we really need to convince people that their vote counts, says Woodnutt, a volunteer with the advocacy group ACORN Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now . There s a certain amount of apathy, and, according to The Star. Woodnutt wheels to face the man who interrupted him. His name is Mohamed Gedi. As it turns out, he is not at all apathetic and mark Woodnutt stands outside a Toronto Community Housing building in St. James Town. As he speaks to a reporter, a man with an unkempt beard and a baseball cap watches him intently. You here for the election? As reported in the news.
@t gedi, toronto community

Debut Novel Dept: But for the past nine weeks Gowda’s Secret Daughter, the story of a mixed-race California couple who adopt a baby girl in India, has been No. 2 in Canada, just behind The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest , and it has been near the top of the list for six months. With sales of about 6,000 copies a week and still climbing as the gift-giving season gets going, its surprise success is the juiciest mystery in Canadian publishing, according to Globe And Mail and published by HarperCollins in New York, the debut novel by San Francisco author Shilpi Somaya Gowda is barely findable in U.S. bookstores and currently ranks at No. 22,824 on Amazon.com’s list of best-selling books. Speaking from her busy family home in San Francisco, author Gowda happily admits the experience of being No. 2 in Canada is “a little bit surreal,” as mystifying to her as it is to her publishers. “But a royalty is a royalty,” she said, preparing to crisscross Canada on a recently planned publicity tour. “I still have to pinch myself to really believe it’s happening. It’s very gratifying, it’s very humbling.” As reported in the news.
@t best selling books, publicity tour

Nicolas Sarkozy Dept: Sarkozy and commission president Jose Manuel Barroso had a lengthy and heated exchange of words during a discussion over lunch with EU leaders about France's removal of 8,000 Roma migrants from illegal camps, diplomats said, according to Montreal Gazette. He said he was particularly irate that EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding had evoked memories of the Second World War when accusing France this week of breaking EU law over the expulsions, and said her insinuation was unacceptable and french President Nicolas Sarkozy clashed angrily with the head of the European Commission yesterday over Paris's expulsion of Roma migrants, overshadowing other issues at an EU summit. Sarkozy later hit back at criticism of his government by the executive commission, telling a news conference that commission officials had been vicious in their handling of the matter, and said he would not stand for it. As reported in the news.
@t commissioner viviane, french president nicolas

Current Resources Dept: The revelation came during a Federal Court hearing into the government's challenge of the release of a handful of migrants earlier this week, according to Vancouver Sun. "The society's immigration funding is limited, and the arrival of the 490 Tamils who are currently detained has placed us in a position where funding their detention reviews ... will, very shortly, exhaust our current resources allocated to immigration matters," the letter reads and funding is quickly running out for lawyers who have been representing 492 Tamil migrants who arrived in Canada aboard the MV Sun Sea last month. Douglas Cannon, one of the lawyers representing the migrants, gave reporters copies of a letter from the Legal Services Society of B.C. informing duty counsel that money for the case is quickly being depleted. As reported in the news.
@t immigration matters, duty counsel

Liberal Leader Dept: Parliament reopens Monday to a slightly different dynamic than when it adjourned in June and the revamped lineups of the main parties reflect that change. Here is a look at some players to watch in the fall session, according to The Star. Gerard Kennedy and Justin Trudeau: As environment and immigration critics, each will be getting more ice time and that comes not a moment too soon. Throughout the recent Liberal leadership wars neither had been an Ignatieff fan and, as leader, the latter mostly reciprocated. But Kennedy and Trudeau make up a high-profile progressive duo that the party absolutely needs in the window of the next campaign and mONTREAL Michael Ignatieff: On a CBC interview this week, the Liberal leader looked less like an academic awkwardly auditioning for a political role and more like a politician auditioning for the job of prime minister. That s part of a summer makeover that has reversed the party s decline in the polls and bolstered caucus morale. But will the Liberal leader s summer tan endure through a stormy parliamentary fall? As reported in the news.
@t summer makeover, cbc interview

Sun Sea Dept: "The society's immigration funding is limited," Legal Services Society manager Rod Holloway said in a letter Thursday to lawyers who have been representing the migrants, according to CBC. Most of the 492 migrants who arrived on Vancouver Island on Aug. 13 aboard the MV Sun Sea remain in detention in the Vancouver area and the organization that provides legal aid in B.C. says it's running out of money in its efforts to represent the Tamil migrants who arrived in August. "The arrival of Tamils who are currently detained has placed us in a position where funding their detention reviews will, very shortly, exhaust our current resources allocated to immigration matters." As reported in the news.
@t vancouver island, current resources