Believing in ghosts

When I was younger, I occasionally watched a popular daytime television program about a man who was a medium. During each half hour episode, the man would stand in front of an audience and call on specific individuals whose dead relatives were trying to make contact through him. I didn’t believe this program was legitimate, but like so many other people, I watched it nonetheless.

A few evenings ago, I encountered the new TLC program Long Island Medium. It is similar to what I watched as a child, except it follows the modern and highly-popular reality TV format. A camera crew follows Theresa Caputo – the medium – through her everyday activities, including appointments with customers, errands, trips to the gym and evenings out with her husband and friends.

Unfortunately, spirits seems to follow Theresa wherever she goes. As a result, she ends up talking to random people on the street about their dead relatives. It’s an interesting show, and I would like to believe that it’s real, but I have such a difficult time accepting supernatural television shows as legitimate.

First of all, anything can be edited out. We may see the occasions when Theresa gets it right, but there could be a thousand more occasions where she gets it wrong.

Second, any encounter can be edited to look different than it really is. The audience may think the recipient of the reading is satisfied, when in reality he or she is highly disappointed with the results.

Last, it is quite possible that the entire program is set up. The staff could research each person who receives a reading ahead of time, and provide Theresa with information.

Note: I’m pretty sure this last point isn’t true, because TLC is a reputable television network. I don’t think they would intentionally mislead audiences, but one never knows…

So why am I writing a blog post about a television show, you might wonder. Good question. I’m not really sure either. All I know is that I want to be a believer in mediums and spirits, but I’m definitely a sceptic. And, when I see television programs like Long Island Medium, I think it makes it even more difficult for me to believe that a medium could be legitimate.

Theresa Caputo, I guess you’re going to have to pay me a visit in person before I believe in your “gift.”

I forgot about Philippa Gregory!

In my haste to graduate, find a job, buy a car and start a little life, I neglected to resume reading the work of one of the greatest historical fiction writers of this generation.

Known primarily by non-historical fiction readers for her widely-popular The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory has written eight additional novels including The Constant Princess, which I just finished last night. This novel chronicles the life of a character I haven’t really thought about previously – Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife – and shines light on her life.

Tudor England is the period Gregory focusses on in most of her novels. The illustrious reign of King Henry VIII is infamously filled with love, sex, drama, violence and vengeance. Throughout his 38 years as ruler, women were constantly vying for his affections – and, of course, the title of Queen. It was a time when one woman could be unceremoniously dumped onto the street with a whispered word from another, which makes any story from this period fascinating reading.

The Constant Princess provides a fictionalized account of Katherine’s life, beginning when she was five years old and continuing until the beginning of the end of her marriage to Henry. The novel is filled with rich details and descriptive paragraphs, making it all too easy to believe that the Katherine portrayed in the novel was really what the Queen of England was like.

Throughout her career, Gregory has received quite a bit of criticism. Historians especially have chastised her for not sticking to history as much as she claims to. When I read accounts of people complaining that “it couldn’t have really happened like that,” I just laugh. We’re talking about people who lived in the 15^th century. We have no IDEA how it “really” happened.

I think that Gregory writes fantastic historical fiction. She does her research to ensure people, places, major events and incidents are correct and factual. Then, she takes everything she has read about a person and creates a character.

Katherine of Aragon’s character in The Constant Princess is believable and interesting. It makes me want to learn more. Next, I plan to read The Boleyn Inheritance, and I’m sure it will be just as fantastic – if not better.

October 17th in history

On this day in history a few important events took place…

1931 – Well-known gangster, Al Capone (“Scarface”), is found guilty of income tax evasion. One week later, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison in addition to a fine of $50,000.

1933 – Dr. Albert Einstein and his wife – who are fleeing from Nazi Germany – arrive in Princeton, New Jersey, where he will continue his scientific work at the Institute of Advanced Study.

1943 – The 415-km Thailand Burma railroad between Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma is completed. During the construction of the railway, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war and 100,000 civilians died as a result of the living and working conditions.

1979 – Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of the poor and destitute in Calcutta, India.

2006 – The United States population reaches 300 million.

Da Vinci definitely was a genius

Last night, I visited the Da Vinci Exhibit with a few friends. It was a completely random, last minute adventure, but I had been dying to visit it for months. I’ve made a point of attending every exhibit that is showcased there, and so far, they all have been fantastic.

The Da Vinci Exhibit was no exception. I knew that he had been both painter and inventor, but to what extent is incredible. In addition to creating prototypes for hang gliders and parachutes, Da Vinci was the man behind the tank, the life preserver, the light box, scuba diving gear and the submarine. He developed pulleys and hydraulic systems, as well as tools for warfare, including cannon transportation devices and ladders to scale buildings.

A replica of the tank Da Vinci created...

He was also interested in human anatomy, and is rumoured to have dissected over 30 cadavers throughout his life. This I found to be slightly creepy – especially when faced with a wall of his drawings of human parts – but it was the only way to learn about the human form at the time.

This all came from the man who painted both the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper – two of the most famous paintings in the world today.

The Mona Lisa - the real painting is tiny, but that doesn't stop millions of people from travelling to the Louvre in Paris to see it every year...

Da Vinci kept a collection of detailed journals throughout his life (five of which are featured in the exhibit). He was also always drawing, and making notes on the pages. Any time he would write, Da Vinci would write backwards. By using a mirror, one could read his text properly.

Some people believe he was dyslexic; others believe he was paranoid, and didn’t want his words to be easily read by competition. Either way, the backwards style of writing is uniquely Da Vinci, and adds yet another level of mystery and intrigue to an already interesting man.

I guess a person can create many, many things throughout his or her lifetime when they lack modern amenities such as television, the Internet and the radio…

Check out the exhibit soon, because it’s only in Winnipeg for a few more weeks!

Leonardo da Vinci:

- Born April 15, 1452, near Florence, Italy

- Died May 2, 1519, at Clos Lucé, France

Facebook updates from beyond the grave

This morning, a friend on Twitter posted the following: “I hate getting Facebook birthday reminders from friends who are dead. It’s creepy.”

Immediately, I responded with: “Ack! I really hate that too.”

I continued with my morning, but there was something about the brief Twitter exchange that I couldn’t erase from my mind. When I started to really think about it, I realized that I have wanted to write this blog post for a very long time…

Many people have the unfortunate experience of losing a loved one. Now, with social media being so prevalent in our world, the loved one who passed was probably a Facebook user. The family left behind is faced with the daunting and uncomfortable task of contacting Facebook, explaining the situation and asking for the profile to be removed.

No one wants to do that, and I can’t imagine it’s an easy process.

As a result, some families leave deceased Facebook profiles as they are. Friends can continue to post for days, months, or in some cases, years after the person has died. And, friends also receive pre-set updated from that person – including birthday reminders.

Currently, I am friends with two deceased Facebook users. I refuse to delete them, because I feel as though that action would dishonour their memories in some way. Eventually I will delete them, but for the moment I am stuck receiving their notifications.

This brings me to the question that lies at the heart of this blog post: Is it okay to ask the family of the deceased person to have the Facebook profile removed?

If I am not particularly close to the family, I wouldn’t ever think of asking. But what if the person who died was a best friend, a relative or an ex-lover?

I don’t know if there is a “right answer” to this question. I guess I just had to get that out.

Bad publicity: does it exist?

On October 3, 2011, Amanda Knox was acquitted of the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher. The two girls had lived in an apartment in Perugia, Italy, where they both were completing an exchange program at the university.

In November 2007, Kercher was discovered dead in a pool of blood in her bedroom. Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were arrested a few days later and charged with the murder.

In 2009, both Knox and Sollecito were convicted of murder. They were sentenced to 26 and 25 year respectively for what the press called “cold-blooded murder.” A third defendant, Rudy Hermann Guede, was also convicted. His 16-year prison sentence is still being upheld by Italy's highest court.

Today, Knox is back home in Seattle. She plans to eventually return to university and complete her degree. She also has started writing a memoir about the experience, which is based on the journal she kept throughout her four-year incarceration.

An emotional Knox during a brief press conference in Seattle after returning home...*

There is also talk that Knox is considering offers from U.S. television networks to give an interview in a deal that could run to millions of dollars.

Ex-boyfriend Sollecito will apparently travel to Seattle to visit Knox in the near future, and rumours are circulating that she has also reunited with a pre-Perugia boyfriend.

All in all, things aren’t looking too bad for Knox at the moment.

This brings me to the question that has been bothering me since I heard about the verdict last week: Is there such a thing as bad publicity?

I’m not saying that Knox hasn’t gone through hell over the past few years. I can’t imagine how horrible prison, a guilty verdict and a potential 26 years behind bars must have felt for her. But now that she’s free, Knox will be able to make millions of dollars as a result of her experiences.

Some people believe she is guilty; others always professed her innocence. Either way, Knox is now a public figure who will be written about, followed and asked to appear in interviews for years to come. Even though the reason for the publicity is negative, she still will be getting attention.

And some people will accept attention of any kind…

I plan to continue following Knox’s story as it unfolds in the United States. Most importantly, I want to see how Knox handles herself, her re-entry into life, and of course, the publicity she is offered.

*Image taken from Google.

Today in history: Ghandi was born

On this day in 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – the political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement – was born.

A pioneer of satyagraha – resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience – Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma or Great Soul. In India, his birthday is a national holiday. It is also celebrated worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.

Probably the most famous photo of Gandhi...

On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was shot while he was walking to a platform from which he was to address a prayer meeting. The assassin – Nathuram Godse – was a Hindu nationalist who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by insisting upon a payment to Pakistan.

Even today, Gandhi is known to be one of the most influential individuals that ever lived. Today’s marks the birth of a truly wonderful man, and I hope we meet many more just like him in the future.

Today in history... John Lennon died

A few nights ago, I watched the documentary The U.S vs. John Lennon. It was fantastic, and provided insight into the life of a man simultaneously known as a musician, activist, poet, and father.

I have loved The Beatles since I was little. I remember my parents playing records in the basement of our house in Calgary when I was as young as seven or eight. I guess I grew up on The Beatles, and John was always my favourite.

He's just so cute!

One winter, I was looking through a bookshelf in the basement of my house when I stumbled across an old scrapbook. It was my mom's, and it was filled with newspaper clippings from when John Lennon was shot. Mom kept track of the story as it progressed, and I was fascinated by the number of clippings she had. It seemed that every single day there was another story about the shooting for months after his death, and the entire world seemed to be hanging onto every word.

On this day in 1980, John Lennon was shot four times on the steps of his New York apartment by Mark David Chapman. He was rushed to hospital, but was pronounced dead at 11:07 p.m. The world mourned, and 30 years later, we still mourn.

Play a Beatles song today in remembrance. I suggest Happy Xmas (War Is Over).

Impressive artist takes own life

It isn’t new news to anyone that Vincent van Gogh was a troubled individual. Most people are aware that he cut off part of his own ear. Some also know that he struggled with depression and mental illness throughout most of his life. But underneath his haunted exterior was a brilliant and dramatic artist that deserves to be remembered.

On this day, in 1890, van Gogh died. He walked into a field in France and shot himself two days earlier- on the 27th – but didn’t survive his injuries. He was 37 years old, and sold only a few paintings during his lifetime. His loving brother Theo was at his bedside when he died, and he claims that van Gogh’s last words were “the sadness will last forever.”

Today, van Gogh’s work is among some of the most easily recognizable in the world. It’s also the most expensive. He used thick, swooping brush strokes and focused on things like starry skies, cypress trees, and self-portraits.

The first time I saw a van Gogh painting was in London. My brother and I were walking around Trafalgar Square, and stumbled across the National Gallery. We hadn’t really planned on visiting museums until we reached Amsterdam, but Chris convinced me to go inside. I’m so glad he did, because among other famous van Gogh pieces, I saw Sunflowers.

Photos weren’t allowed, but that didn’t stop Chris from snapping a few shots when the museum staff wasn’t looking. “It’s the first time you’re seeing the work of your favourite artist,” he had said to me as I looked around nervously. “I have to capture this moment for you, even if I’m thrown in jail.” Thanks, lil’ bro.

My encounter with van Gogh didn’t end there, and I have been fortunate to visit a few other museums around the work that carry his work. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam was amazing, and I couldn’t believe that I was surrounded by three floors of his stuff. In Paris, Musee d’Orsay has a huge collection of van Gogh pieces, including Starry Night over the Rhone, one of my favourites. The Art Institute of Chicago was also impressive, and that was my most recent experience.

But throughout all of my travels and museum encounters, there is one painting that I have never had the opportunity to view in person.

The one and only Starry Night.

The one painting that has been my favourite since I was a child is the one that I have yet to see. I’ve tried – trust me – but something always happens to deflect me from my goal. The permanent location of the painting is the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and one day I better get there. Starry Night is currently sitting in my apartment in a place on honour, above my sofa, and before that it held a spot above my bed.

Vincent van Gogh, in my opinion, was a tormented genius. It’s too bad that he couldn’t live long enough to see himself become famous, but many artists living during that time didn’t.

Here are a few of my favourite van Gogh quotes:

“I am not an adventurer by choice, but by fate.”

“There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”

“We spend our whole lives in unconscious exercise of the art of expressing our thoughts with the help of words.”

"To do good work one must eat well, be well housed, have one's fling from time to time, smoke one's pipe, and drink one's coffee in peace."

1853 – 1890

Whatever happened to Audrey Hepburn?

Today I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's, and fell in love with Audrey Hepburn all over again. I decided to do a little bit of research about her, and here are the highlights:

• Born May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Belgium
• Died January 20,1993 in Tolochenaz, Switzerland
• Some of her most popular films include: Roman Holiday (1953), The Nun's Story (1959), Sabrina (1954), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), and My Fair Lady (1964).
• Her last film appearance was in Steven Spielberg's Always in 1989.
• She received $1 million for playing Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, making her the third actor ever to receive that amount for a role in a film.
• In 1999, she was ranked as the third greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute
• She started working for UNICEF in the 1950s.
• She married twice: first to Mel Ferrer (an American actor) and second to Andrea Dotti (an Italian doctor).
• She turned down a role in the film The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) because, as a young girl in Holland during the war, she had witnessed Nazi soldiers publicly executing people in the streets and herding Jews onto railroad cars to be sent to the death camps. She said that participating in the film would bring back too many painful memories for her.
• Her measurements in 1953 were: 34A-20-34
• She has won an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy.
• She has two sons, one from each marriage.

Whatever happened to Nora Jones?

I decided to look up Norah Jones after I saw her perform on The Colbert Report a few months ago. As it turns out, Jones is a singer/songwriter with a very interesting background! She was born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar in Brooklyn, New York. The part that really interested me was that Jones' father was Ravi Shankar, the famous Indian sitar player. It was Shankar who taught George Harrison of the Beatles to play the sitar. Her half sister is Anoushka Shankar, who still plays with their father today.

It's always interesting to learn how people are connected to one another, especially when famous parents have famous children who have made an individual namde for themselves!

Whatever happened to Edith Piaf?

I was watching the movie Public Enemies the other day, and the actress who played Billie Frenchette caught my attention. I knew that I had seen her before, but couldn't pinpoint where. So, the the trusty BlackBerry was pulled out, and another fascinating Google search began.

I first searched for the movie. On its web page I found the name of the actress. Marion Cotillard. I knew that I recognized her! Cotillard won an Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying Edith Piaf in the film La Vie En Rose. I haven't actually seen the film (though I will now), but have heard the 1946 hit song. Curious, I clicked on a link for the actual Piaf, which led to yet another interesting Google trail.

Edith Piaf was born Edith Gassion in 1915 in Belleville, Paris, France. There is a great deal of mystery surrounding her life, and even biographers have had difficulty putting together all of the pieces. She grew up in a brothel her mother owned in Normandy, and was raised by prostitutes. In 1933, Piaf was discovered by Louis Leplee, who owned Le Gerny nightclub off the Champs-Elysses. He persuaded her to sing (despite her extreme nervousness), trained her to perform (even though she was only 4"8) , and told her to wear a black dress on stage (which would later become her trademark attire).

Leplee was murdered in 1936. Piaf was accused as an accessory, but was later acquitted. During the Second World War, Piaf frequently entertained German forces in Occupied France. Many considered her a traitor because of this, but she did help a number of people escape Nazi persecution.

After the war ended, Piaf toured Europe, the United States, and South America. She appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show eight time, and at Carnegie Hall twice. Piaf achieved everlasting fame by performing a series of concerts at the Paris Olympia music hall between 1955-1962. The music hall was founded in 1888 by Joseph Oller, the creator of the Moulin Rouge. Other famous individuals who have performed there include Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland, Luciano Pavarotti, the Beatles, and Madonna.

Piaf died in 1963 at age 47. She is buried in Pere-Lachaise cemetery, the same cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried. Their graves are among two of the most visited. Below is a video if her singing her most well-known song, La Vie En Rose...

I love learning about interesting people, and Piaf was no exception. It is especially interesting learning about famous individuals from other countries. Sometimes we don't hear about someone in North America, but overseas, they are huge. Who knows what Google will lead me to next!

Whatever happened to Jim Morrison?

A few weeks ago I caved, and purchased a BlackBerry. I figured it would make my life easier, and boy was I right! The only downside is that I now have access to the Internet twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When I can’t sleep at night, I have started randomly “Googling” people. Usually, I Google a name, place or event I heard about during the day. One site usually prompts me to connect to another, and before I realize it, two hours have elapsed and it’s 2 a.m. This has happened quite a few times as of late. But, instead of running away from this waste of time, I have decided to embrace it. Each and every time I stumble upon someone or something interesting in my late night Google sessions, I will blog about it. The first blog of this section is Jim Morrison, front man for The Doors.

I found the DVD “The Doors” starring Val Kilmer and Meg Ryan in my basement yesterday. It still had the plastic on, and I don’t think anyone remembered it was there. My boyfriend and I love watching movies about rock stars, so we brought it over to his place. I also had my BlackBerry handy, and Googled additional information while the movie was playing. Needless to say, I feel I am well-versed in Morrison's life story, and have a few things I would like to discuss about him.

Jim Morrison was an interesting character, to say the least. Both the movie and the websites I visited talked about his off-kilter mannerisms and insightful, slightly crazy outbursts. Much of his extreme character can be attributed to copious amounts of drugs and alcohol, but I like to believe that he was naturally a "different" kind of guy. In addition to writing music and singing for The Doors, he wrote poetry. When asked about it once, Morrison replied: "If my poetry aims to achieve anything, it's to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel."

Morrison was born in 1943, and he died in Paris, France in 1971. Pam Courson, his long term girlfriend, found him dead in a bathtub. There was no autopsy performed because French authorities did not suspect foul play. The cause of death on his birth certificate was listed as "heart failure." There are still a number of conspiracy theories surrounding his death. There is also a picture on the Internet that features "Morrison`s ghost," but I don’t believe it's real and refuse to post it for that reason. Morrison in buried in Pere-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, and his grave has become both shrine and tourist attraction.

It's tragic, but many people around Morrison commented later that he seemed like he always knew he was going to die young. He died at 27 years old, the same age Courson was when she died three years later of a heroin overdose. Also, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain were 27 when they died in similar drug and alcohol related circumstances.

I will end this post with a video of The Doors performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967. They were performing their hit song Light My Fire. The show wanted Morrison to alter the line "Girl, we couldn't get much higher," because drug references were not allowed on public television. Morrison – true to form – ignored the request, and sang the song as it was originally written. Sullivan was so furious he refused to have The Doors on his show ever again.

Unfortunately, I could not copy the video directly into this post. Visit the website below, and check it out for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LtPVBqQsf8