APPRECIATION

Wading Through Uncharted Waters (or Is There Any Water and Are We In Fact Wading)

NOVEMBER 26th, 2015

By LANA CARBON

I remember back to when we started writing our blog and thinking that if anyone at all (outside of family) even read it, I would be amazed. This was something that John and I wanted to do primarily for ourselves. It was just a fun way to keep track of our little trips, vacation time and the interesting places that we might pop into along the way. We enjoyed the adventure of not only reaching our destination but the actual journey itself. We are intrigued by the paranormal and so we threw in a little of that. We added a few little tidbits about days that were special to us…the holidays, Remembrance Day and, of course, Hallowe’en.

We joined social media with our new aliases and started chatting with a lot of interesting people and out of the blue one day; I thought it might be an interesting post to have an interview with a real life paranormal investigator. John was a little surprised, to say the least, having the news of our impending interview sprung on her. (Sorry John.) We had no idea what we were doing and it was so unlike what we had been posting up to that point… but we did have a lot of fun with it. Our horizons were slowly expanding. We hoped to do more interviews some day (after we had time to recover from this one of course).

Time passed and we continued writing about the things we love. Our social media accounts kept growing at a slow but steady pace. We had no idea, however, that the friendships we were building online would lead to such an interesting month as the one we have just had. It is no surprise to our readers, that we are huge fans of the Haunted Walk and we try to support them in any way we can. They contacted us to help them out with their Hallowe’en Haunted Talk podcast episode with their guest, psychic/medium Chris Medina. It turned out we were invited on the episode to receive a (truly accurate) reading. There was only time for one of us on the episode and I somehow managed to coerce John into being the one because I knew she would do an excellent job…much better than I would have in my opinion (despite John’s fervent disagreement to this point).

When our spooktacular friends Diane Student and Denise Moormeier from the History Goes Bump podcast were putting together a research crew, we knew we would like to help them out. In September, we joined our hosts and a few other new researchers to record the anniversary round table episode. Just this week, another episode we worked on, Ottawa’s Carleton County Gaol, was released (which we happily discovered featured an interview with the Haunted Walk’s Jim Dean - also host of the podcast Haunted Talks - and an actual excerpt straight from our blog).

Finally, due to our 31 Movies and 31 Songs in 31 Days of Hallowe’en article, Patrick Keller of the Big Séance podcast asked if he could interview us. He had been following our progress every day as we would post which movie we had watched and which song we had listened to. We couldn’t believe it… Someone actually found our little project entertaining and interesting enough to want to share it with their listeners. We are still flabbergasted. The Big Séance episode should be out within a few days of us posting this entry. Patrick was gracious enough to be our second guest for the blog, allowing us to interview him as well. (Watch for that interview in an upcoming post.)

For two introverted bloggers getting their feet wet in a sea of wonder, it has been a roller coaster ride of nerve wracking, sweat-inducing, butterfly-in-the-tummy craziness…and I, for one, wouldn’t have traded it in for anything. So thank you very much Patrick, Diane, Denise and Jim for giving us an adventure of a new kind. We can hardly wait to see where the road takes us.

National Theatre Live: Hamlet at the Cinema

NOVEMBER 23rd, 2015

By LANA CARBON & JOHN LILIES

[Lana] Sherlock Holmes, Imitation Game, Star Trek: Into the Darkness, The Hobbit…

Frozen, Excalibur, The Woman in Black, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows…

Alice in Wonderland, 28 Days Later, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo…

American History X, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Water for Elephants…

What do all these movies have in common?

They all featured one of the actors from National Theatre Live’s recent presentation of Hamlet. 

I know, when most people think about the works of William Shakespeare, they let out a groan. In their minds, they see prim and proper actors like in those old movies we saw in our English Lit classes (if they aren’t simply stuck with an image of the words jumbled together on the page as they struggle to find meaning in those words). 

I understand it, to a point. The old style English can be challenging when you aren’t used to it and a lot of people find the old black and white movies cheesy these days. At the same time, who isn’t at least a little familiar with some of these great lines from this play? 

“To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and, by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub.”
William Shakespeare, Hamlet 

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
William Shakespeare, Hamlet

“This above all: to thine own self be true.”
William Shakespeare, Hamlet

“Conscience doth make cowards of us all.”
William Shakespeare, Hamlet

While I am not like one of the people I mentioned above (I quite enjoy reading Shakespeare and have no difficulties sitting down to an old black and white classic), I think that seeing a play at your local theatre will open your eyes to the masterworks of The Bard. 

[John] I’m a huge fan of Shakespeare myself though I have not a drop of the dramatic ability that Lana holds and I cannot remember lines and character names in the same way. Despite this, there is magic within the world of Shakespeare and the privilege the audience is granted to watch and to enter that dynamic if for a brief few hours, is emotional, confusing, wonderful and exhausting. It can be compared to nothing.

[Lana] Let’s take the name Shakespeare out of the equation for a moment.

Picture, if you will, the son of a king who was murdered by his own brother…the brother then marries the son’s mother to become the new king. Enter the ghost of the fallen king to spur on the son to avenge his death; friends-turned-spies, madness, treachery and more murder.

It is a movie anyone who enjoys action films would love.

Photo by Johan Persson

Photo by Johan Persson

Now add Ciaran Hinds who is no stranger to playing the villain. Add one of the hottest actors today in Benedict Cumberbatch to play the lead to perfection, and you have a blockbuster in the making…and it was written by William Shakespeare. 

I am not going to say that the performance is for everyone but I would implore you, if you have never seen the play live, give it a chance. Who knows, you may just be surprised.

[John] You know, I’ve honestly never thought about it in that way. I have never placed one of his plays in a different light. I suppose I’ve never felt the need to look at Shakespeare from a perspective other than it simply being Shakespeare. What sense it makes to look at it as a story separate from the author. It really is just a story… a plot with characters that experience joy and loss and anger and success. Yet the name Shakespeare does instill a sense of fear and dread in so many people.

I was in grade six when I first read Hamlet. At eleven years old I know I did not grasp everything but I also know it hooked me. Hamlet was my first Shakespeare experience and it stuck. How many times I’ve read the play, I have not a clue. I’ve only see it performed maybe six or eight times and I’ve never been touched by its performance the way I was with this particular cast.

[John] Hamlet made me cry this day. A performance so intense - so riveting that Lana was on the edge of his seat for most of the time and I cried.

This presentation of plot and human ability brought everything together for me and I gained a new understanding of the story. I don’t remember another performance allowing the words to form their own meanings and the pauses drawing their own breaths. I made an emotional connection and it sparked in me a new dimension of appreciation for Shakespeare.

[John] I suppose it didn’t hurt that for a time, Hamlet wore a David Bowie t-shirt, Guildenstern had on running shoes with his tux and Horatio wore a plaid shirt while carrying a canvas backpack. Obvious subtleties that brought through an awareness of drama occurring throughout generations and helping one understand that family is complicated regardless of the era and location. We are born of specific times and certain experiences whether wished or disregarded. We react and plan and react again. We question and accuse, reflect and question some more.

We live. In whatever way we choose and however we feel we must. We live.

Remembrance Day: Feeling the Importance of the Day

NOVEMBER 12th, 2015

PART 1 - By LANA CARBON

This November 11th, I made a discovery… 

Every year, around the first of November, I would buy my poppy to pin to my jacket and then I would continue about my business as though nothing had changed until the 11th day when we would stand for our two minutes of silence at 11:00 a.m.

When those seemingly long two minutes came to an end, it was back to work. Please don’t get me wrong, during this time I did contemplate everything those brave men and women sacrificed for our freedoms but then it was back to the daily grind as if this was merely a blip on the radar.

This all changed for me this year.

For the first time since we have been together, John took the day off from her regular gig to truly honour those who had fought so valiantly for their country. Ordinarily, she would attend a ceremony close to where she works but would then have to return to the office, quite emotional and not wanting to be there. We decided we would go to a ceremony together as I had never been to one (I am not including those school functions where we all crammed into the gymnasium and didn’t have the maturity to realize it was more than just an excuse to get out of class).

It was so interesting for me to see how serious John became about the planning. Did she have enough poppies, which was the best of the three local ceremonies, were we going too far considering she wanted to visit the cemetery where her grandfather (who fought in the Second World War) lays buried…

I started to contemplate how it must be for those people who had someone in their family who served or is serving. It started to sink in how frightened a person would be everyday that their loved one was away fighting, not knowing whether they were hurt or even alive. It made me think about the loss. The most profound realization was that it was for all of us.

This year, I watched a parade with literally hundreds of men and women in uniform gathering around one small cenotaph as veterans and community leaders laid wreaths in memory of those who died to keep us all safe and free. When it came time to bow our heads for two minutes of silence, I truly felt the waves of emotion crash over me and cried for those who came before and gave the ultimate sacrifice for all of us.

I get it now.

Thank you, John, for helping me to open my eyes. This is more than a short two minutes once a year. This is something I shall always…

REMEMBER!

PART 2 - By JOHN LILIES

November 11th is deeply important to me.

As Lana explained, my maternal grandfather fought in WWII. I don’t know where he fought. I don’t entirely know what he did though I have an idea. I don’t know what he saw but I can imagine. I don’t know whom he lost but I know he survived.

He didn’t speak of his experience in the war. Most don’t and I likely wouldn’t either.

The not knowing has plagued my adult existence thus far. I’ve tried in the past to find details on his service but have as of yet been unsuccessful.

I was 13 going on 14 when my grandfather died. I loved him dearly though I hardly knew anything about him. He was a man of few words and great love. He squashed our rib cages with the strongest bear hugs imaginable. Every ounce of love he had for his entire brood of grandchildren, showed in his eyes without any guard. He was beautiful.

He survived the war but I’m positive he lost a significant portion of self within the experience.

Growing up, my Remembrance Day involvement was much like Lana’s… Memorize and recite In Flanders Fields, stand at attention for the two minutes of silence, listen to a recording of Taps, kids sing war-related songs – and few of us truly understand what it all means.

I was in high school when it started making more of an impact on me and by college, I was wishing my grandfather had been around long enough for me to reach a mature level of awareness and ask the questions now burning a hole in my heart. To this day I feel confident he would have opened up to me.

For years as an adult, my Remembrance Day ritual consisted of a visit to my grandfather’s grave and leaving my poppy behind at his stone. Then I began incorporating a ceremony close to my office. In the two minutes of silence, I thank each person who fought and still fights. I thank my grandfather for volunteering with no guarantee of success or survival. I ask him to help me understand what he went through.

After the tragic events in Ottawa last year, shortly before Remembrance Day, I decided I would no longer work on November 11th and instead dedicate the day to attending a service or two, and continuing my tradition of hanging out with my grandfather and giving him my poppy.

This year was even more special, having the opportunity to introduce Lana to the rich and emotional experience. This year it felt more emotional than ever with the large number of participants and uniforms. This year I didn’t know if I could ever stop my tears. This year… I knew not the impact it was having on Lana and that impression has made the day immensely more important.

Thank you, Lana, for joining me and finding true meaning in the ritual of Remembrance.

Remember Them

NOVEMBER 11th, 2015

By JOHN LILIES

November 11, 2015 – Remembrance Day

“Their courage, service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.” 

What they give in battle and peace keeping… what they gain and what they lose… what they live with when they return home – if they return home.

We remember and we will never forget.

Thank you all for your service and dedication. 

Veterans Affairs Canada – 2015 Remembrance Vignette

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

Google images

Google images