Justin

Happy Canada Day. I had a lovely day picnicking in Maple Ridge with Ashley, her husband, her two children and her mother. I would be concerned that I had intruded on family time, but picnicking at Allouette was my idea, so I take it in stride. Actually, I quite love spending time with Ashley’s family.

Anyways, back to Canada Day. While I don’t necessarily consider myself patriotic (I have unconventional ideas about the modern Nation-State), I am certainly glad I am Canadian. To celebrate this most Canadian of birthdays, I think it’s appropriate to discuss some Canadiana.

Justin Bieber.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about this kid. On the one hand, it’s pretty obvious that he’s talented. On the other hand, there are a lot of “artists” out right now who are only famous because they appeal to small children and their mania. I figured that Bieber’s success could mostly be attributed to the latter. There are tons of talented people out there. Justin Bieber probably just got famous through a combination of luck and his girlish good-looks.

Something about me. I am not usually quick to admit I am wrong. But in this case, I was definitely wrong.

After our picnic, Ashley and I rented Never Say Never, which is the Justin Bieber movie. We’ve been meaning to watch it since it came to theatres and we ended up missing it by a day. Ashley loves the Biebs, and listens to him in the car because Li loves to sing “Baby”. I’m just intrigued. While I had heard good things about it, I was a little skeptical.

First off, this is probably the best new movie that I’ve seen all year. In general, it’s a really good movie. I found it inspiring in a way that is usually reserved for musicals and other live theatre. It’s the inspiration that accompanies people making everything they want a reality. Not to mention working hard.

Back to Bieber himself. The video is a combination of interviews, recent footage of his shows and prep for Madison Square Garden, and old home videos. Even from the video of him drumming on a hair at 3 or 4 years old, it is apparent that this kid is indeed extraordinary. To be honest, it looks like he’s good at everything. He’s athletic, he sings, he dances, he plays 4 instruments. I turned to Ashley at one point and said “he MUST be dumb” because no one can be that good at everything and still be smart. It’s just not fair.

This is not a kid who whored himself to Disney. He worked hard, was discovered on youtube, and it paid off. Beside all of that, he seems surprisingly grounded. He’s just a good kid.

Not to mention that he’s talented. His music isn’t really my thing. It’s catchy and nice for the summer time, but I don’t know if I’d buy his CD. But his voice? C’mon. I don’t care who you are or what you think of him or his career. You CANNOT deny that his voice is amazing. It’s like butter.

Anyways. I don’t know if there’s much more I can say about this kid. I’m definitely a convert. And quite honestly, I think that he’s the next JTim. Also, I’m considering a purple American Apparel hoodie myself.