剛看過電視 rerun, 2000 舊片, 由 Nicholas Cage 與 Tea Leoni, 領函演出的”住家男人” (Family Man), 不其然想起了 President David 的俄羅斯愛情故事 。
電影一開埸, 就是 Jack 和 Kate 在機埸告別, Jack 要飛往倫敦, 去追求他的事業夢想。十三年後, Jack 巳是一位成功的投資銀行家, 但還是吊兒郎當, 過着王老五的生涯。有一晚, 他遇到一位天使, 醒来時, 發覺自己郤置身在一個 Parallel World 裡。在這裡, 他沒有在倫敦留下, 卻立即飛了回来, 與 Kate 結了婚, 還有两個孩子。Jack 並不是位成功的銀行家, 而是 Kate 父親車呔店的一名顧員。當然, Jack 想盡方法, 希望能回到他的原来世界。漸漸他領悟到, 金錢地位不是一切, 擁有美滿家庭, 能享天倫之樂, 才是人生最終目的。但是太遲了, Jack 又被遣回原来世界, Jack 到處尋找 Kate, 在這裡, Kate 巳是位成功的律師, 要搬到巴黎去發展業務。故事結局, Jack 在機場咖啡室, 希望盡量能説服 Kate, 繼續他們在 Parallel World 的命運。
命運弄人, 很多人都會不滿現實, 以為能回到未來, 改寫歷史, 人生就會十全十美。根據這信念, 很多小説, 電影 (例如Michael J Fox的 Back to the Future, 現在上演的Hot Tub Time Machine), 都是認為, 第二次機會, 一定會比原来的更美好。其實在 real life, 又有誰能肯定, 俄羅斯愛情故事中的男女主角, 又一定會有個羅曼蒂克的結局?
1. For the own good of the reporters. Keep them away from the real danger of ground zero. No need for any iron fence. Stay with the fake lake, and keep out of trouble.
2. We have money to burn, the taxpayers don’t mind and the oppositions can’t touch us. Just follow the example of China, building our own brand of 民族自豪. We cannot again lose face in the world. To compensate, have to do everything in excess.
3. To top the list of Harper’s Follies, that includes “perogie/ prorogue”, Our Great Musical Leader/Pianoman — the later day Beatle, Pick & Choose Women Health, Redact to Retard, “No Staff Allowed” gag, EMP ……… and now Fake Lake.
4. To create a transcendental atmosphere for all pregnant ladies to relax and meditate, in those Muskoka chairs, to better their maternal health, no need for abortion after all.
5. Pre-emptive damage control. Reporters are all nosy fellows, can’t let them out of our sight. Unexpected digging will definitely ruin our perfectly scripted stagings. Keep them away from the real conferences, create a quiet virtual environment to calm their urge and curiosity. No more bad publicity.
6. It is a Marketing Pavillion, stupid. “There are thousands of visitors from around the world,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the House of Commons. “This is a classic attempt for us to be able to market the country.”
7. Prop for our first TV soap series, produced exclusively for our very own big C new TV channel, “Fox News North” — tentatively named the “Faux Muskoka”.
8. A new travelling trend: Virtual Reality Travel, sponsored by Tourism Canada — “Be There Without Being There” (神遊) and lots of Photo-op moments. We will throw in the self-cleaned public washroom for good measure.
9. “Put a fake lake in every Canadian backyard” — this is going to be our next election slogan.
10. Artistic Inspiration — a new song is born: “If I have a Billion Dollars”
“Wavin’ Flag” is a song by Somali-Canadian musician K’naan, from his album “Troubadour”. He performed it at the Canadian Winter Olympic, the for Haiti telethon and other events. The song was also remade by a supergroup of Canadian artists, credited as Young Artists for Haiti, and became a charity single. The song was chosen as the anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup of this month, to be held in South Africa.
As for the lyrics, it was originally a memoir of K’naan’s childhood in the streets of Mogadishu during the Somali civil war, a life he escaped for Toronto at age 13 on what was, reportedly, the last commercial flight out.
Cut with poignant images from Haiti, the Young Artists for Haiti video begins with K’naan saying, “It started out as my song. But then it became their song. All of these artists’song. Now it’s really going to be Haiti’s song.”
The Young Artists for Haiti performance brought together some of the hottest Canadian acts in the business, including Drake, Hedley, Avril Lavigne, Nelly Furtado, Sam Roberts, Jully Black and, last but not least, the latest pop-ups Justin Bieber and Nikki Yanofsky.
Wavin’ Flag
K’naan
When I get older, they’ll call me freedom
Just like a Waving Flag.
[Chorus]
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
And then it goes back, and then it goes back,
And then it goes back
Born to a throne, stronger than Rome
but Violent prone, poor people zone,
But it’s my home, all I have known,
Where I got grown, streets we would roam.
But out of the darkness, I came the farthest,
Among the hardest survival.
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Except no defeat, surrender retreat
So we struggling, fighting to eat and
We wondering when we’ll be free,
So we patiently wait, for that fateful day,
It’s not far away, so for now we say
[Chorus]
So many wars, settling scores,
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor,
I heard them say, love is the way,
Love is the answer, that’s what they say,
But look how they treat us, Make us believers,
We fight their battles, then they deceive us,
Try to control us, they couldn’t hold us,
Cause we just move forward like Buffalo Soldiers.
But we struggling, fighting to eat,
And we wondering, when we’ll be free
So we patiently wait, for that faithful day,
It’s not far away, but for now we say,
[Chorus] 2x
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And everybody will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And you and I will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And we all will be singing it
(Ohhh Ohh Ohh Ohh)
[Chorus] 2x
When I get older, when I get older
I will be stronger, just like a Waving Flag,
Just like a Waving Flag, just like a Waving flag
Flag, flag, Just like a Waving Flag
“Sir, Mission Impossible IV accomplished. Commandos Paradise, Goodyear and I, stormed the Jaffer-Guergis Parliamentary Inquiry Flotilla, captured the forum by force, with shouting matches; disrupted and dismantled the whole proceedings. We created a smokescreen of bickering, chaos, and left them in total disarray. Unlike the Israeli, we did that without raising any Canadian outrage.”
“Well done, Commando.”
“Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. We did it again. First we circumvented the attack of the Gang of Three by perogation of parliament. Then we redacted the Afghan detainees documents and perogation. Our sudden dumping of Guergis left the opposition stunned and stared in the dust, with their mouths opened. Now we did it again, by refusing to let our staff to testify. This is a cunning move, if I may say so myself, ha, ha.”
“Yes, Commando. The opposition raised the war with the club of Parliamentary Inquires, using these Inquiries to get at us. I like your idea of throwing the parliamentary rule book at them. An eye for an eye. Don’t expect us to give them the other cheek, or any cheek at all, as a matter of fact.”
“Yes Sir. We are going to continue this Democracy Blockade, to isolate them, to prolong our survival. Divide and conquer. We’ll keep them disorganized. We are fortunate to have such weak characters in opposition, to tell you the truth.”
“They are talking of forming an alliance without the Bloc this time.”
“Don’t worry, the Liberals are falling apart, the visiting professor just announced he is dead set against such marriage proposal. Their window of opportunity to do such is closing fast on them.”
“Losers don’t get to form coalitions. Winners are the ones who form government.”
“Yes, we wish. Sleep tight.”
“Excellent, Commando. Carry on, with our political games, better than my son’s Nintendo.”
