Hebrews 11:17-19

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called,"

19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

(New King James Version)

Breaking with my tradition of quoting scripture without comment on this blog, I feel that a few clarifying statements are required here. Firstly, the God of the Bible does not condone human sacrifice even though Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac in this particular instance. The sacrifice was never carried out as God who never intended it to happen stopped Abraham before he could complete the act. There is a deeper issue as to whether God ever commands immoral acts, in effect contradicting his own nature. God generally does not do so, but we certainly observe an exception in this case. There is clearly no benefit in extracting any moral precedence from a situation so outrageous, but the enigma serves a purpose here, for it indicates the existence of a spiritual lesson beneath the literal plot. The promises of God in the life of the faithful, like Isaac is to Abraham, are in each case to be surrendered and put to death only to be kept alive by the grace of God. Lest we co-opt his promises and make them our pride instead.

Funk n' Crawford

So much for the plan to go to Montreal for the Just for Laughs festival. Maybe next year. As a consolation, comedy in Ottawa is not bad. Absolute Comedy along Preston Street in Little Italy is a nice place for acts. In fact, Funk n' Crawford were absolutely hilarious. Highly spontaneous, creative, intelligent, musical and literary, the improv duo proved to be extremely entertaining indeed. www.hahaha.com www.absolutecomedy.ca

Why I rent instead of own a car

Five reasons why I rent a car on the weekends instead of buying one:

1) Save on parking: Weekday daytime parking is expensive in downtown Ottawa where I live and work.

2) Free exercise: Downtown Ottawa is nice and compact. I walk to work.

3) Enjoy free parking: Weekend parking in downtown Ottawa is free.

4) Save on insurance: For some inexplicable reason, although I have over 10 years of driving experience from my home country, not a single second of that is counted when it comes to auto insurance. This means that my insurance costs will be really high if I were to own a car.

5) Test drive the latest cars: I get to drive really nice cars each week. Admittedly, this involved finding the right place to rent from. :) This week I got a brand new 2006 VW Jetta with the 6-speed Tiptronic. Cool!

First bridge game in 2 months

In 10 minutes, I'll be going for my first bridge game in almost 2 months. It's about time.

The Mexican Wedding Shirt Minister

Stone-faced Dolly's at Bronson and McLeod is a pretty nifty place to have breakfast on the weekends, especially when an Ontario born and bred United Church minister wearing a mexican wedding shirt joins you at the next table together with his ethnically east indian wife (both Canadians). By the time we left at 11.30 am, the place had surprisingly emptied out. I hope it wasn't due to our conversation filled with dialectic observations.

Food served too fast - must have been reheated

The burger at Hard Rock Cafe was served really fast. Almost too fast. Makes you wonder if it was prepared in advance and reheated.

Stopping in Montreal chinatown for lunch = bad idea

So much for trying to stop in Montreal chinatown for lunch. Unless you are willing to pay as much for parking as for your food, that's not an option on a weekday.

Gite Le Roupillon

Roland Bergerat and his wife runs this rather inexpensive but nice bed and breakfast conveniently located in Quebec City. It is located near a hospital in a well-maintained and reasonably quiet lower middle class neighbourhood. There is no air-conditioning but the rooms are well-ventilated and equipped with ceiling fans. Private off-street free parking is provided next to the house. Breakfast is a generous display of muffin, croissant, bread and jams, fruit salad, cereal, coffee, tea, orange juice and milk.

From there, you can drive to Vieux-Québec in about 15 minutes, and the bus will take only slightly longer. The only issue I had with this place was that it was situated at an intersection with a 4-way stop (not the most busy but there was traffic), which meant that there was noticable car noise for most part of the evening before midnight and in the mornings (on weekdays). http://www3.sympatico.ca/leroupillon/

Things to do and not to do while visiting Ville de Québec

Other than the obvious attractions in Vieux-Québec itself, do...

1) Visit l'île d'Orléans. Give yourself lots of time to discover the local produce, to look for art, to go antiquing, or whatever suits your taste. There is an amazing sculpture garden at the east end of the island (furthest from the bridge) next to the church. www.iledorleans.com

2) Visit at least one waterfall.

La Chute Montmorency which is closest to town is the most accessible. You have the choice of taking the cable car (for $6 one-way or $8 return) or walking up the steps. The fun of getting all wet near the base of the falls is entirely optional. Although it's one and a half times higher than Niagara Falls, it's obviously not one and a half times as impressive, so one should not expect too much, but it's fun nonetheless.

For a short (45 min) family stroll in the woods, Canyon Ste-Anne is more enjoyable. The fact that the trees are marked telling you what they are (e.g. eastern hemlock, yellow birch) can be quite educational. www.canyonste-anne.qc.ca

If you have more time, Les Sept Chutes nearby is another family friendly location offering more to explore. www.septchutes.com

Do not...

1) Get your left rear-view mirror busted by a passing vehicle while parallel parked on the right side of the street. This happened to me.

2) Have too high expectations if you have come from or have visited Europe before. Vieux-Québec is old and historic but not that old. This is North America after all. All the things about it being like Europe are true, but only to an extent. Remember that it's only 400 years old.

3) Be surprised that Québec is referred to as the national capital. The sign on the way into the city clearly states you are entering "la région de la capitale nationale". My first reaction was, "Isn't that the same thing they put on the sign on the way into Ottawa?" In fact, the sign on the way to Ottawa tells you that you are entering "la région de la capitale du Canada". A small but subtle difference indeed.

4) Be shocked that many establishments such as restaurants do not accept credit cards, or accept only certain credit cards. There appears to be a strong preference for vendors to collect payments in cash in Québec which would make it harder to keep track of revenues accurately I suppose.

la fête du Canada Day

Aujourd'hui, le 1er juillet est la fête du Canada.
Today, the 1st of July is Canada Day.

In typical Ottawa fashion, just as the road signs say "rue Metcalfe Street", a merging together of the French and English forms, today is "la fête du Canada Day".

Have fun!