I’m Still From Canada, Eh

Yes, as many know, I’m now officially an America– and damn proud of it– but it’s not like I’ll ever forget where I came from (Canada) and my ethnic heritage (India). In the case of the former, there’s been a few things lately that remind me where I’m from.

• GTA– as many of you know, GTA generally stands for Grand Theft Auto, the popular video game series, but that acronym always makes me think of “Greater Toronto Area,” since that’s what they call the suburbs around Toronto.
• OPP– whenever I hear “OPP” in that song you know you’ve all heard, I think “Ontario Provincial Police”, not the real meaning.
• Z– It’s “Zed” not “Zee”, though I must admit that saying “Zed” on the phone sure confuses people.
• Hockey apparel– to me, it’s something you can wear year round, whereas people here have a lot more sports to support (and wear apparel for) than I did in Toronto.
• Victoria Day– I joked about taking it off tomorrow…but know one knew what the day meant– learn here.

Random Encounters In NYC

I’ve written about strange encounters around New York before and figured I’d update everyone on some of the more recent interesting meetings in my life. The above image from The Dark Knight (the sequel to Batman Begins) has no relevance to anything in this entry– I just thought it looked cool.

1. My buddy Mike and I went to the Yankees game on Friday night, which turned out to be quite a fun time, since the Yanks finally snapped a three game losing streak. The weather was a bit miserable and I wore a long sleeve Yankees shirt to keep warm, which I was still wearing when I went to my favorite local bar. As soon as I entered the bar, I noticed a woman staring at me and ignored it—I figured I was just imagining things. The bartender came up to me, smiled and said the woman had asked if I was a player for the Yankees. Later, once a few other guys there learned I recently became an American citizen, they started asking me to flex and saying, “America’s got some more muscle now!” while squeezing my arms. Just an odd night overall.
2. On Saturday, I was in Central Park and ran into one of the many cartoonists who hang around, offering to do caricatures for the many tourists passing by. He tried stopping my by getting very close to me and saying “You like your picture? You very good looking. I draw you.” Maybe it’s just me, but even if I were inclined to sit and be drawn, I’d be creeped out a bit.
3. No matter where I go in New York, as long as I’m wearing a Montreal Canadiens hat, someone stops to talk to me about hockey. Some friends at work have joked that the logo looks a bit like the logo of the Chicago Cubs, but I’ve always dismissed it as them joking with me. This weekend, I was stopped by numerous people who said, “Oh, you’re a Chicago fan?” to me and really meant it.

Go See Iron Man

By now you’ve probably heard of– if not seen– Iron Man, the newest super hero film abot a Marvel Comics hero (and the first film from Marvel Studios). The basic plot, as described on most sites is “Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who builds a high-tech suit of armor to escape captivity” though there’s much more to the film than that. In a nutshell, this is an action-packed film with superb acting, a thrilling plot (that does have a few speed bumps) and is really one of the few adult super hero films in some time (the other than comes to mind is Batman Begins).

Let’s begin with the special effects. This is a film that begs to be seen on the big screen because of the dazzling visuals, which amazingly enough, never draw you out of the film. Sure, you’re watching people in high tech armor battle it out, but it all looks very real. When Iron Man soars in the sky, you see him move in a very realistic way complete with the appropriate additions on his armor to show just how he’d cope with these fast speeds and turning quickly at high speeds. Little details, like the complicated process of putting on his armor to the often humorous results of the armor development process, make Stark’s transformation into Iron Man seem completely plausible.

Now, onto the the rest of the film, which is similarly excellent. Tony Stark has always been an atypical hero not only because he’s an alcoholic and not much a nice guy, but because his transformation into super hero happens later in his life. He’s not Spider-Man, going through changes in high school, or Batman, nursing childhood anger that will transform him later in life. For Tony Stark, it’s coming face to face with his own choices, and their inherent consequences, that forces him to change. Add in stellar performances from a top notch cast, plotting that doesn’t waste a minute with a surprisingly mature ending and you’ve got the reason why Iron Man set the box-office on fire this weekend.

I’m keeping this short because I don’t want to spoil much for anyone, but make sure to check out this film. Don’t like super heroes? Don’t worry– this isn’t your typical super hero film. It’s a fascinating look at a man realizing what he’s meant to do by confronting the sins of his hubris and trying to embrace his nobler intentions, all wrapped up in an exciting action film.

Here’s a look at the trailer if you need further convincing:

Thank You Canadiens

As many people probably know, the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, thus ending their playoff run. Yeah, it’s not fun to see your team lose, but I can’t be too mad. I know some people are probably livid, depressed or some other not-happy emotion, but I think this article sums it up well:

No one gave them a chance. Few expected them to even reach the playoffs. Even following a second-round defeat to the Flyers, the Canadiens couldn’t help but hold their heads high after proving so many critics wrong this season.

I’ve never been one of those guys to boo my own team or curse them for losing. Chances are they’re working hard and are hard enough on themselves without the fans giving them hell. Last night’s loss sure as heck didn’t make me happy– I haven’t been able to look at hockey websites till now– but it doesn’t depress me either. We gave it our all. We did our best. As a fan, my team gave me a great regular season, worked hard in the playoffs and lost to a team who played phenomenally. Only one team can win and it wasn’t our year. Doesn’t mean I don’t wish they weren’t going to win it all, but sometimes life happens and I don’t see an upside in trashing the same people you’ve cheered for when they’ve played their hearts out.

To everyone on the Canadiens, thanks for the great year and all the great memories– you’re the best to me. Next year, during the 100-year anniversary of the Canadiens, let’s bring the Cup back home!