Looking to God

Jess Bhamra

Posted on July 2, 2014June 29, 2014 by Jack Flacco

When I saw Bend It Like Beckham for the first time ten years ago, I laughed so hard, I never thought I’d recover. Thankfully, I did and now I’m able to tell you about the star character for Women Who Wow Wednesday. Her name is Jesminder “Jess” Kaur Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) and she likes football—soccer here in North America. She likes watching it. Playing it. Breathing it. She’s a regular fan.

One day, Juliette “Jules” Paxton (Keira Knightley) watches her play against the boys and she decides to approach her about an offer that may very well change her life. Jules wants Jess to come along and have a trial with the Hounslow Harriers, an all-girls football team. Jess doesn’t know what to say. She asks Jules if she thinks she’s good enough. Of course Jess is good enough, otherwise Jules wouldn’t have asked her.

There’s one problem. Jess is Indian playing English football. Under normal circumstances, this would be acceptable, but Jess’ parents are very strict about what their daughter can and can’t do with her life. One thing she can’t do is play and horseplay with the boys in the park. This is off limits. They also do not like their daughter to wear shorts, which amounts to revealing too much of herself to the opposite sex. In other words, they do not like her “running around half naked in front of men”. Did I mention her parents are strict? Yeah.

Adding to Jess’ list of “things I hate my parents do to me when I want to do something else,” her mom wants her to learn how to make a full Punjabi dinner—meat and vegetarian. Her parents wouldn’t be able to show their face in the temple otherwise. Did I mention that her parents also forbid her to continue with her football career? They want her to start acting like a real woman, settle down, think about the future and kids, just like her unhappy sister who also follows their traditions in these modern times.

So what does Jess do? She sneaks around, going against her parents’ wishes in order to fulfill her dream of playing in an all-girls football team. Why? Jess feels that if she didn’t try her best with achieving her dream, despite her parents’ wanting her to keep their traditions, then she’d feel like a total failure for the rest of her life with nothing else to live for other than cook, clean, do the dishes, laundry and look after the kids.

Remember, all this is on top of her being the only Indian girl on her team.

If anything’s certain, Jess has a will to overcome. She doesn’t allow the negativity in her life to rule her sanity or her motivation to accomplish her goals.

Jess is a true achiever who is better than “good enough”.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

Have you ever heard of the movie Bend It Like Beckham? If you have, what did you like about Jess?

Monday Mayhem

Zombie Herd Mentality

Posted on June 30, 2014June 29, 2014 by Jack Flacco

Mob mentality has been around since the beginning of time. Ever since humans could form tribes, colonies, villages, towns, cities and nations, mob mentality has been alive and well. Have a look at the biblical story of the tower of Babel. Everyone was busy building a tower to the heavens that they didn’t stop to ask if they should have built it in the first place.

Today, for Monday Mayhem, I want to have a look at how zombies contrast with humans regarding herd mentality. I would like to compare similarities and differences in order to understand zombie and human behavior—besides one species being undead.

Have you ever gone Christmas shopping? I enjoy doing it in November when the store shelves are full, people’s attitudes are easy going, and parking spaces are aplenty. Try hitting the malls anytime in December and you’ll be out of luck. That’s why I avoid at all costs, if I might add, Christmas shopping in December. You’re taking your life in your own hands.

Without fail, every Christmas a toy or gadget comes out that becomes the hottest thing on the market to get for the holiday season. Advertisers make a big deal of it, stores make a big deal of it—and this is where it gets interesting—friends make a big deal of it. They especially fall for the carrot and ride the wave of peer pressure to that once-in-a-lifetime deal they think they’ll never have the chance in getting any other time, ever.

Thus the herd mentality is born. The inciting incident, the carrot, is the deal. If the advertisers can convince one person, that person can become their agent to secure the loyalties of others tempted with the same deal. The worst offenders of this practice are those stores that offer the gadget at half-price for one day only. You want to see death on the doorstep? Show up during that one-day sale. The herd mentality will reign supreme.

What about zombies? Easy, they work on the same principle. Show them what they couldn’t live without and they will follow it to the ends of the earth. The undead could be the most docile creatures in their dormant state. Once a human enters their world, they become ravaging beasts, filled with greed and violence. Well now, not much different from Christmas shoppers, are they?

And that really is the trick to the zombie herd mentality. The undead would have to see what they lack for them to go crazy, storm buildings, tear apart storefronts and kill for the sake of their selfish desires. It’s greed, really, that drives a mob mentality to commit the awful atrocities in the streets.

Thankfully, humans don’t have to worry about zombies interfering with their Christmas shopping. Wait a minute. Perhaps I’ve spoken too soon. Even if human toys and gadgets don’t appeal to zombies, humans themselves do. I take it back. Humans have a lot to worry about with zombies interfering with their Christmas plans (even if it is six months away).

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

Have you seen instances of herd/mob mentality in real life? What are some examples?

Getaway

Posted on June 27, 2014May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

A few weeks ago, my wife and I left the northern climes of our small town and travelled to Mississauga, Ontario for our annual getaway. No kids. No family. And no responsibility. Just the two of us. We settled on a small inn off the highway where close by we had access to a huge commercial center featuring a movie theater, restaurants and a mini golf place. We were in our element. For Freedom Friday, let me tell you how it went.

For those of you who may not know, we’ve had our share of travelling and this time around, we wanted to stick around our own province. Nothing quite compares to exploring the surrounding region and having fun doing so.

Arriving at the inn, we unpacked quickly and that evening, we headed to an all-you-can-eat sushi bar. My wife’s never been to one and it was an experience for her. I knew exactly what we were in for, so I walked her through it. This particular sushi bar provided customers with iPads at the table to order their food. The uninitiated would find the food choices overwhelming. Folks, the point of a sushi bar is not to order everything in one shot, but to experience a relaxed atmosphere while eating at a leisurely pace. Customers tend to make the common mistake when they enter an all-you-can-eat restaurant to load their plates and then they have a table full of food they can’t finish. Guess what? The restaurant charges for leftovers. Surprise.

I’m happy to say, I taught my wife to pace herself. We ordered light at first, going for small avocado salads, headed for medium dishes such as maki and sushi, then we hit the big dishes like Salmon Teriyaki and chicken fried rice. By the time we were done, three hours had passed and we were ready for a movie. We took a long walk talking about our life together, the kids, our family, then went to see the new X-Men: Days of Future Past on opening night in 3D. Wow. Wow is all I can say. Great movie.

For all you romantics out there, yes, we held hands and yes, we snuggled.

The next morning, the inn provided a free continental breakfast where we had a chance to relax without the stress of being somewhere, having to do something or needing to finish quickly. We—wait for—took it easy. I’ll tell you something, whenever I hit vacation mode, something happens in me that always makes me want to sleep. A switch in me says, “Jack’s in vaca mode, time to shut down the factory.” I’m quite all right with it, too, since my wife’s the same way. It feels as if all the stress washes away like a blanket pulled from a bed.

Later that morning I hopped into the pool and had a nice one-hour swim, and followed it up with a long stay in the Jacuzzi. When I got back to our room, we hit a local Greek restaurant and talked for a long time about our future. I don’t know about other couples, but for us, we’re always thinking about what’s next in our lives. We purposely have long conversations mapping our destiny with little interference from anyone’s influence. If this is what freedom is, then I’m all for it.

After the restaurant, we went to see the new Godzilla movie in 3D. You can tell we’re avid moviegoers. Boy, were we surprise. Incredible movie in 3D is all I can say. By the way, the theater that afternoon was, how should I say, ice cold, it felt like I had walked into a meat packing plant. Do theaters really have to be that cold? But maybe it was me. After all, I had a T-shirt and shorts on, but I’m not complaining.

Yes, more snuggle time with my baby.

That evening we stayed in and had fun playing video games together on my tablet while sitting on the bed watching TV. Nothing beats that alone time I spend with my wife away from the stresses of the world.

The next morning, we woke up late, had breakfast, packed our things and left the inn refreshed and feeling great about the coming months. From there, we ended up at the glow in the dark mini golf place. My wife cleaned up the game. Eighteen holes of pure defeat for me as she pounded par or strokes under par to blow me away. She had her game face on and totally trashed my game. Gosh, I’m proud of her.

From there, we popped over to the same sushi bar from a couple of nights ago and feasted for hours until we left to pick up the kids that afternoon. By the time we got home, we had all we could do to keep from going to bed early. That’s when I knew we had an incredible time.

Writing this today, I can’t wait until our next getaway. I’m not sure where we’re going, but we’re certainly again going to have the time of our lives.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

Do you take getaways with your significant other? Where’s the last place you’ve gone?

Women Who Wow Wednesday

Beca

Posted on June 25, 2014June 19, 2014 by Jack Flacco

Do you know who Mike Tompkins is? I know, strange way to start Women Who Wow Wednesday. He’s the brainchild to the brilliant music videos featuring his mouth. I know, again, strange way to describe what he does. The best description I can come up with is he creates music—vocals and instruments—entirely with his voice and mouth. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s his cover video he produced for Pitch Perfect called Starships by Nicki Minaj. So far, his YouTube channel has had 180,000,000+ views. Yeah, popular guy. Did I mention he’s a fellow Canadian?

The reason I bring him up is his connection with Pitch Perfect, the 2012 musical comedy starring Anna Kendrick in the leading role as Beca, the outcast who’s trying to find her way in college. I won’t spoil the movie—it’s too good to spoil. You’ll just have to see it yourself.

In the film, Beca has a tough time on campus. She doesn’t really fit into any of the student cliques, and the only person who could appreciate her talent happens to ignore her work. But she trudges onward and doesn’t give up on college life. In fact, in an awkward scene reminiscent of Psycho, someone finally recognizes her talent, but she manages to thwart the stalker’s advances. The word stalker is such a harsh word. Let’s replace that with the word admirer.

Pitch Perfect's Beca — Pitch Perfect’s Beca

Not sure what she’s gotten herself into, Beca manages to blend into her surroundings as one of the Barden Bellas, an acapella group specializing in making music with their mouths. She soon befriends the other girls in the group, except the lead, Aubrey (Anna Camp). This is no secret because Beca finds Aubrey doesn’t really get along with everyone in the group anyway. Beca decides to roll with it and works her buns off to make the Bellas a success.

Only, what no one counted on is that the Bellas lack of originality. This, in turn, suppresses Beca’s creativity and makes her regret joining the group. Adding to her misery, she grows quite close to Jesse (Skylar Astin), a lead singer with her competition, *spoiler begin* but then devalues his friendship in a fit of annoyance *spoiler end*.

What drives Beca is her willingness to be different. She observes everyone through the eyes of an outsider and can never really reconcile the fact that others can’t see their inability to break free from their cliques. If Beca had her way, they’d all wear different things. They’d all talk different. And they’d all sing different.

Pitch Perfect is a funny movie and Beca fits perfectly as the black sheep welcoming the audience into her world.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

Have you seen Pitch Perfect? What did you think of the movie and of Beca?

Monday Mayhem

Top 10 Most Horrifying Parasites

Posted on June 23, 2014June 19, 2014 by Jack Flacco

Welcome to Monday Mayhem where today, I will be talking about parasites. I was browsing YouTube the other day and came upon a video that’d caused me to delve deeper into the creepy world of parasites. The video goes by the name 10 Horrifying Parasites That Might Be Living Inside You. As I watched, a thought passed through my mind and it went something like this: With all these terrifying parasites on the loose, it’s a wonder why we don’t have zombies running around wreaking havoc on the planet.

Leishmania [Photo credit: CDC Public Health Image Library]

If you haven’t seen the video, here’s a breakdown of its contents. You may want to hold your stomach, as these may get gruesome in description.

10. Leishmania—Transmitted by sandfly bites, this parasite can cause hideous and painful sores. Up to two hundred lesions can form on the body leading to disability and scars. [Source: WHO]

9. Loa Loa—Lives inside the host for up to seventeen years, moving under the skin and causing swelling. Adult worms visibly move across the surface of the eyes. The treatment can result in personality changes. [Source: CDC, Popular Science]

8. Ascaris Lumbricoides—Over one billion people might be hosting these worms that grow up to thirty five centimeters in length. They can live for two years in the intestine and can block it. Victims often show no symptoms. [Source: CDC]

7. Onchocerca Volvulus—A worm that lives inside humans for fifteen years and grows half a meter (over one and a half feet) long. Disfigures skin and causes “River Blindness” resulting in sight loss. Up to eighteen million people are afflicted. [Source: WHO, CNN]

6. Toxoplasma Gondii—Up to fifty percent of human brains are infected with this this parasite spread by cats. Increases risk taking and depression. It might also explain national cultural differences. [Source: NY Times, Huffington Post, Scientific American]

5. Trypanosoma Brucei—Victims have trouble sleeping, poor coordination and are confused. Often fatal, symptoms of “Sleeping Sickness” can take years to appear when it’s already too late. [Source: WHO]

Entamoeba Histolytica [Photo credit: CDC Public Health Image Library]

4. Entamoeba Histolytica—One of the biggest parasitic killers on earth, claiming seventy thousand lives annually. Causes disease amoebiasis that can lead to chronic diarrhea and liver abscesses. [Source: New Scientist, CDIPD]

3. Trichuris Trichiura—Resides in the large intestine and is said to infect eight hundred million worldwide. Leads to diarrhea and anemia but in extreme cases the rectum can protrude from the anus. [Source: Scientific American]

2. Wuchereria Bancrofti—Over one billion people are at risk from this parasite that causes Elephantiasis. Victims suffer from enlarged body parts and resulting disability. [Source: WHO]

1. Naegleria Fowleri—Found in freshwater, the “Brain-Eating Amoeba” targets the brain and nervous system. Can cause PAM, a form of meningitis with a ninety-eight percent mortality rate that kills in weeks. [Source: National Geographic, Stanford University, CDC]

Now that you’ve read the Top 10 Most Horrifying Parasites list, it certainly provides another opportunity to look at other Top 10 lists. How about: Top 10 Ways to Kill Parasites? Or this one: Top 10 Cures for Parasites. If those lists exist, I’m sure I’ll be the first one to see what they have to say. For the time being, these Top 10 parasites have left me to wish I hadn’t known about them. Perhaps they have done the same for you.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

What other parasites are there that I haven’t mentioned?

Freedom Friday

1999

Posted on June 20, 2014June 19, 2014 by Jack Flacco

I am convinced that 1999 was one of the best years in film. I didn’t notice this until one night when I was looking through my DVD collection and came upon The Matrix, a movie about a reality within a reality. Flipping the box, I came upon the date and remembered Fight Club came out that same year. This led me also to note American Beauty and Magnolia released that year, too.

I have a few minutes, grab a chair, and let’s talk movies for Freedom Friday.

Did you know The Mummy and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace came out in 1999? Both mega-blockbusters took in just under $1.5 Billion. That’s a lot of money, especially for back then.

What thrills me, though, is not the blockbusters, but the movies that have become annual events here at my home. Movies like Drop Dead Gorgeous, Analyze This, and Payback get a yearly viewing from me. Why? They’re fun movies! Whenever I’m bored, which happens more often than you think, I grab one of these movies, ease into my couch and let the story carry me away. I’m like a little kid wanting to watch the same movie again, even after having watched it twice already in a row. I never tire of these.

Anyway, about 1999—the world held its breath wondering if the lights would go out because of that supposed nasty Y2K bug that would have otherwise crippled North America’s very capable power grid. Of course, Y2K came and went with not even so much as a whimper. But the movies remained and the stories tempted their audience to be different. The majority of films imposed the message on us that we humans are unique, different, and filled with hope, and that we should go ahead and fulfill our dreams.

Here is a list of movies that hit theaters that year and why I feel they merit more than an once-in-a-lifetime viewing:

January—The Thin Red Line: A military movie gone crazy. So many cameos hit the film that I can hardly keep up including George Clooney, John Travolta and John Cusack.
February—Payback: Mel Gibson as the bad guy out to settle a score. Notable mentions go to October Sky, Office Space and 8mm.
March—Analyze This: Robert De Niro spoofing his mob boss roles from the past. Hilarious. Notable mentions go to Cruel Intentions, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and The Matrix, of course.
April—Go: One drug deal, three different points of view. Incredible.
May—The Mummy: A mummy comes back to life and eats people’s body parts. Sounds like a modern zombie movie. Notable mentions go to Election, and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
June—Tarzan: Disney’s animated version. Great song by Phil Collins.
July—Drop Dead Gorgeous: A mockumentary about teen beauty pageants. Notable mentions go to American Pie and The Blair Witch Project.
August—The Sixth Sense: The kid sees dead people. Scary as heckfire. Notable mentions go to Dick and The Iron Giant.
September—American Beauty: Kevin Spacey has a midlife meltdown. Awesome! Notable mention goes to Double Jeopardy.
October—Fight Club: Don’t talk about Fight Club. Notable mentions go to Mystery, Alaska, Three Kings, and Bringing Out the Dead.
November—Dogma: A loophole in Catholic dogma may undo creation. Hey, anything with George Carlin is funny. Notable mentions go to The Bone Collector, The Insider, Sleepy Hollow and Toy Story 2. You didn’t really think I was going to forget this one, did you?
December—Magnolia: Multiple plotlines that all intertwine somehow. Notable mentions go to The Green Mile and Man on the Moon.

Quite a list, isn’t it? Can you believe these great movies came out all in one year? I suppose the fear of the Y2K bug consuming civilization made for a situation where creative juices flowed freely.

Speaking of which, I have to head off. I think later tonight I’ll pop in Fight Club and have Jack’s complete lack of surprise engulf me.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

What 1999 movie do you remember as the one you cannot forget?

Women Who Wow Wednesday

Jamie Sullivan

Posted on June 18, 2014June 18, 2014 by Jack Flacco

I don’t talk about God much. If anything, I sometimes hint at what I believe, but I don’t make it a personal mission to preach. I leave that job to the preachers. I’ve had folks, though, who have asked me what I believe, and it’s with some reservations I tell them.

In the movie A Walk to Remember, Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore), however, doesn’t hold back. She loves God, and she’ll take every opportunity to show it. You see, Jamie comes from a strict Baptist background. Her father (Peter Coyote) is the town’s minister and her mother passed away some time ago. She enjoys lending a hand at the orphanage, working with animals, and taking care of her father. No one’s ever asked her out on a date, but she’s quite fine with that. She’s happy living a quiet life away from what the other teens at her school are doing. Her most prized possessions are the sweater she wears every day and her bible.

When Landon Carter (Shane West) walks into Jamie’s life, she doesn’t think anything of it. After all, he’s part of the popular crowd and to other girls, he’s worth falling over to get his attention. If anything, she’s happy to have a new friend, regardless of his troublemaking ways. Jamie considers him an accomplished goal. Her number forty-two on her to-do list—to befriend somebody she doesn’t like.

Jamie’s to-do list also contains some other notable goals such as spend a year in the Peace Corps, make a medical discovery, be in two places at once and get a tattoo. Her number one goal is marry in the church where her mother grew up and her parents were married.

Aside from Jamie’s lofty ambitions, she’s also not shy with speaking her mind. Thinking Jamie to be a pushover, one of Landon’s friends stands on the receiving end of her quick wit:

Dean: If there is a higher power, why is it He can’t get you a new sweater?
Jamie: He’s too busy looking for your brain.

Another aspect of Jamie’s character is having the wisdom to see where things are going with her friendship with Landon. She asks him to promise he won’t fall in love with her. A silly request, but she asks it anyway given her circumstances.

The funny thing is how can Landon help not falling in love with Jamie? The truth is more powerful than fiction as is Jamie’s friendship with Landon. They can’t run from feeling what they feel for each other, but more importantly, Jamie sees Landon’s love by everything he does for her. His actions speak more than words.

And this is where I have to stop. I can’t continue without revealing spoilers. Suffice it to say, Jamie is selfless in every way a person can be selfless. She loves Landon more than words can express. And she is more of a woman than anyone could ever imagine hadn’t it been for Landon walking into her life.

I’m proud to feature Jamie Sullivan for this week’s Women Who Wow Wednesday post because she represents freedom—freedom from the typical Hollywood love story, and freedom from the heroine stereotype often posed in stories like this.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

What do you think of A Walk to Remember? What do you think of Jamie Sullivan?

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