A few nights ago, I took part in the first-ever Kindlings Muse Canada West, a panel discussion that took place at a nice little restaurant in South Surrey; the discussion is now available as a podcast here.
The evening was hosted by Bill Hogg, a charming and witty Scotsman who had a radio talk show in Seattle until fairly recently (I was a guest on his program three years ago), and who now pastors a church in Surrey. And my fellow panelists were: Kevin Miller, co-writer of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008); Murray Stiller, director of Nailin’ it to the Church: Religious Satire and the Gospel According to the Wittenburg Door (2008); and Allyson Jule, co-director of the Gender Studies Institute at Trinity Western University.
It was a fun evening, all told, though I was a little surprised to see that our discussion focused almost entirely on the Oscars, which took place two months ago. (And the films that we zeroed in on were, for the most part, films that I had seen even earlier — like, five or six months ago.) I knew there would be some Oscar talk, but hadn’t realized there would be quite so much of it — so I, for one, was feeling a little off my game, because I had to rely on quasi-distant memories a lot more than I am used to when speaking “on the record” like this.
Assuming the entire evening is included in the podcast — I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet, for the same reason some actors say they can’t bear to watch themselves onscreen! — there is also one moment where I forgot one of two points that I was going to make. I remembered it afterwards, though, so just for the record: I was going to refer to something G.K. Chesterton once wrote, about the unique power that films can have, compared to books — and as it happens, I quoted the relevant bit from Chesterton’s essay at this blog three years ago, so you can check it out there.
Lastly, if the name “Kindlings Muse” sounds familiar, it may be because this Western Canadian version is a spin-off, of sorts, from the Kindlings Muse hosted by Dick Staub in Seattle. It’s a franchise now! The next Western Canadian event takes place at Belle’s restaurant May 25, so feel free to stop on by if you’re in the neighbourhood. I know I’m looking forward to it.
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