Man On Fire

 Well, here I am, plugging another spy thriller, and another Netflix series. This time it's Man on Fire. I started it very recently, so I'm not sure if the series will hold on, but so far so good. It's about a former CIA operative who has to protect the orphaned daughter of his assassinated mentor from terrorists. It's set in Brazil and, like I said, so far so good. Nothing terribly original, but nothing horrible either, the plot keeps me invested in it. I know it's freely adapted from a novel from A.J. Quinnell and that it was already adapted in a 2004 movie, which I haven't seen, so the story is all new to me. If I am still satisfied when I finish it, I might buy the novel. Anyway, if you read the source material, or watched any of its adaptations, let me know in the comments. Please no spoilers.

Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing (and Krav Maga?)

 We got a leaflet through the door today, for a local business. It was advertising Brazilian jiu-jitsu (or jujutsu, or ju-jitsu) and kickboxing classes. One side for the martial art, the other for the contact sport. No, I'm not interested into doing either. Too old, too out of shape, too sendentary, not really into sports or martial art. But it reminded me that I have long stopped training in Krav Maga. And that's not good. Now, why would I still do Krav Maga and not kickboxing or a martial art? Because KM is completely a self defence and this is what I would need in a threatening situation. Maybe it should be a new year's resolution: go back into training.

Anecdote olympique haïtienne

J'ai une tante (par alliance) qui est haïtienne. Ce qui fait que j'ai un certain attachement pour ce pays même si je ne l'ai jamais vu. Ça veut dire aussi que je m'intéresse à ce qui s'y passe et que parfois, j'apprends des nouvelles d'Haïti. Or donc, la délégation haïtienne pour les Jeux Olympiques de Rio est arrivée troisième... pour sa tenue vestimentaire selon Yahoo Style. On va s'entendre, ce n'est pas comme gagner une médaille, mais c'est quand même cool. Et dire que j'ai manqué la plupart de la cérémonie d'ouverture par désintérêt pour les Olympiques. Je m'ennuie facilement des Olympiques. Dommage que j'aie manqué leur entrée. Ils ne sont que dix athlètes, mais au moins ils ont de la gueule.

South American private eyes

Fellow blogger and fellow expat Montrealer Kevin Burton Smith of the Thrilling Detective website fame (great website by the way) recently brought my attention to an article in the Guardian about the booming private investigation business in Brazil. The article talks about "an army of Sherlock Holmes", but it is more honestly an army of Philip Marlowes. The reason for this growing industry is apparently due to increasing insecurities and a loss of trust in official police and the justice system. I recently read that the private eye was a dying character in crime fiction, which saddened me greatly. I have seen in various work that it might be changing. Of course, the rise of private investigation agencies is not a good omen: at the roots are the least likeable of human traits, such as fear, distrust and a lack of solidarity. Still, what a subject of inspiration for crime fiction! Here is the description of one of these detectives from the Guardian article: "a chubby, teetotal Kung Fu expert who never leaves home without his MP3 recorder or his palmtop computer." How can crime fiction miss this? Completely contemporary, twisting a classical, often cliché character, you can see in thissingle line  the potential for a new breed of private eyes.