A Conversation With The Peach 5

(After we'd spent the afternoon of Mother's Day hanging out with my parents.)

Me: What were you smirking at earlier?
Peach: When your parents were bickering earlier.
Me: Right.
Peach: Your mom told your dad to take out the garbage, and he gave him a smart-ass comment, and then she gave him "The Look".
Me: Oh yeah?
Peach: I thought it looked funny.
Me: How do you know what "The Look" even looks like when you're never the one on the recieving end?


And then I got "The Look".

What's Up Wednesday - May 14, 2008

My life is just a cavalcade of stuff. Here are three examples of the most notworthy things that have come into my life this week.

The Video Game: I upgraded the computer's memory and video card with some of my income tax rebate, and since I had quite a bit left over from my alloted budget, I picked up a copy of Civilization IV: The Gold Edition as icing on the computery cake. I love the Civilization series of games; I started with II, and when III came out it was just such a giant leap forward I was in shock. I wasn't expecting that kind of shock again, though. But I really should have. Seriously: Civilization IV is one of my favourite video games ever, which puts it in a very small list with the likes of EarthBound, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Tetris. It is a joy to play; it doesn't come with a manual so you basically have to figure it out as you go along, something that I find both frustrating and exciting. There are so many different aspects of the game, I don't think I'll explore all of them for at least a year. Plus, there's an expansion I'm itching to try. But I'll wait for this experience to sink in first. If you haven't already played it, people, get Civ 4. You'll be glad you did.

The Book: While reading up on the Summer and Fall movie slates, I came across a brief summary of a movie called Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It was billed as "High Fidelity for the iPod Generation" and is going to star Michael Cera, which piqued my interest, so I tracked down the book to give it a whirl. It's a young-adult book, which made me a little nervous, but I've read YA books before and enjoyed them just fine. This one, though, I didn't. The plot was kind of lame, full of teenage problems I couldn't identify with and probably couldn't have fourteen years ago either. And the fact that it was co-written gave me another headache; while I liked the style of Norah's chapters (written by Rachel Cohn), I really disliked Nick's (written by David Levithan), so much so that I came to dread the last page of Norah's chapters. Overall, I would NOT recommend it, but maybe if you're an emo-loving teenager or early-twenty-something, it will speak to you.

The Real Life: I went to see the soccer match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the LA Galaxy yesterday, along with about 37,000 other people. Unlike most of those people, though, I did NOT go to see David Beckham. Which wasn't too bad, actually. After a gong-show-like first five minutes (the Galaxy's goalie was laughably inept), it all settled down for a good match. We mocked the crowd who cheered every time Beckham went close to the ball ("Oh my god, a famous person is touching the ball!" "Posh Spice's wife is going in for a free kick!"), and had a good time. Until the 75 minute mark, when Beckham went off the field and people started leaving the stadium in droves. It made me a little upset, but then again, I went to the soccer match to see the soccer match. I must have been crazy.

What's Up Thursday - May 8, 2008

Offered without comment.

The Book - I've had the novel If Beale Street Could Talk (by James Baldwin) on my bookshelf for a while; it was one of the many books I rescued from my parents' storeroom before they gave them all to Goodwill. I just read it this week, and it was not what I'd expected from the cover. "A masterpiece about the love between a man and a woman..." it said on the cover: not my idea of a great read, if you want to know the truth. It made it seem like a high-class romance novel. It is decidedly not. It is about love between a man and a woman, but it is also about race and family bonds in lower-class New York City. It wasn't something I really liked, per se, but it was a well-written book. While I can't speak for the book's authenticity, it really seemed like Baldwin had captured the setting rather well, and the dialogue was top-notch. A good book, but not something I'd necessarily want to read again.

The Movie - GO SEE IRON MAN. Yea, it is good. Like I said to The Ninjas (Stolz and Stan), "Wow, who would have known that all you need to do to make a good superhero movie are good actors and not taking yourself too seriously?" Take THAT, Spider-Man 3.

The Drink - The Peach and I went to the Farmer's Market last weekend, and on the suggestion of a friend of mine I checked out Catfish Coffee Roasters, a local company that (surprisingly) roasts coffee. I picked up some coffee that was roasted the day before, and it did taste very good. I couldn't necessarily say that I found it so much more delicious than coffee that had been roasted in countries farther away and longer ago, but it was delicious and I would get more. But probably not the "Way Too Dark Roast". It's a clever name, but I don't like dark roasts that much in the first place.

The Podcast - I checked out the Most People Are DJs podcast when it was mentioned on Warren Ellis's mailing list, and it's rather good. The guy has good taste in music, and I found out a few good bands that I'd like to check out more. Worth exploring if you like off-the-beaten-track rock or electronic music.

The Real Life - I got a letter in the mailbox on Monday telling me that I passed my CASLPA exam. Funnily enough, I wasn't exited. I was just "not worried" any more. I didn't jump up and down, or say "YES!", or do a little happy dance. I just let out my breath and said, "Thank god." It was anticlimactic, but it's still good news.

A Conversation With The Peach 4

During a phone call earlier this afternoon:

Me: By the way, the guys are trying to organize a big group going to see Iron Man tomorrow night. I know I said we had plans, though.
Peach: So? You should go!
Me: You sure?
Peach: Yes!
Me: Okay, I just thought I should check and see what you thought. Not that I was asking permission, just getting your input.
Peach: Right.
Me: I don't have to ask permission, right?
Peach: Whatever helps you sleep at night.


For what it's worth, I sleep like a baby.

What's Up Wednesday - April 30, 2008

Not much to update with this week, but I will keep this up until I close this shop down for good. What did I like this week? Good question!

The Comic: I listened to an episode of the Comic Geek Speak podcast yesterday, and they did an interview with Raina Telgemeier, who writes a number of comics, including the extraordinarily popular Babysitter's Club series of graphic novels. And no, I've never read them, but I have seen them in the shop and have always admired her art. During the interview she mentioned her webcomic, called "SMILE (A Dental Drama)", which is the true story about how she lost her two front teeth in the sixth grade. It's a really good read: she's got a great cartoony style that's really good for action and for emotional moments, and the story of her dental escapades combines with the other adventures in her life in such a way that I get really invested in the main character, namely her. It's cute but not fluffy, and if you can handle very mild dental horror stories, I really really really think you should check it out. I was surprised at how much I liked it.

The Movie: What an odd movie, Monsieur Verdoux. The story of a former bank clerk who takes up marrying rich women and murdering them in order to provide a comfortable living for his crippled wife and young son. Based on an idea by Orson Welles and written, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin, it's definitely not the feel-good fare of The Kid or City Lights. Panned when it was first released - and I can understand why, but not quite agree with, the reasons - Monsieur Verdoux is perhaps Chaplin's best performance, and with this movie he finally took a firm command of the techniques of the talking picture. It's got comedic moments, but this is a decidedly black comedy, and Chaplin is surprisingly good when the charming persona starts to fade away and the hard killer starts to emerge.

The Real-Life: I'm getting excited for the Sasquatch music festival at the end of the month. My tickets came in the mail the other day, so now I'm just making up a budget for the weekend that includes gas, food, merchandise, and whatnot. From the lineup it should be a VERY good time; will keep everyone posted when I can.

My Literary Albatross

In 1998, a friend of mine who worked in a bookstore told me that I could get a copy of the book Infinite Jest from their online store for less than three dollars. "I've never heard of it," I said. "It's supposed to be great!" he said. "And over a thousand pages for three dollars: it's good value." I was young and foolish, and so a high page-per-penny ratio seemed like a good reason to read the book.

I've had this book on my shelf for ten years now. And I haven't read more than a hundred pages of it. At the beginning, it was a bit of a challenge; now it seems like an impossible slog. And it's not because it's too long, because I've gone through The Count Of Monte Cristo, which is even longer and it's one of my favourite books. It's just that it has generated more psychic mass the longer it's stayed, unread, on my bookshelf. If you could project my mental representation of this book onto a wall, it would be twenty feet tall with muscly arms and, somehow, fangs. I've started reading it, and it's not bad, but I just hate opening it up. It feels like it takes a great deal of effort just to open the front cover every time.

Anyone else have anything like this in their lives? A book, or a movie, or something else, that they have to carry around like a giant, smelly seabird.

What's Up Wednesday - April 23, 2008

Non-mandatory post tomorrow or Friday I hope. But for now, let's check in with what's been on my plate for the past week.

The Movie: I saw Jim Jarmusch's Down By Law yesterday, and I am surprised I haven't seen it sooner. I'm not a huge Jarmusch fan or anything, but I really liked Dead Man and told myself I should search out more of his work...and then I never did. But really: the adventures of John Lurie, Tom Waits, and Roberto Begnini in and out of prison in New Orleans? That's something I really should have checked out. It's not a prison movie or escape movie in the traditional sense - nothing is terribly traditional with Jarmusch, I've been noticing - but it's a great character piece, with some great acting. I liked it so much I immediately went to the library and took out another Jarmusch movie, Broken Flowers; haven't seen it yet but it's my plan for tonight.

The Album: I downloaded Let's Stay Together on a complete whim a couple weeks ago. I'd never heard of Jimmy McGriff, but I thought an album full of jazz versions of R&B songs done on the Hammond organ was just quirky enough to be listenable, at least once. And it's exceeded my expectations. Each song works individually and as part of an album, and I've listened to it three times in the past week alone. I'm sure I'll get it out of my system soon and relegate it to single entries on playlists, but for now this is a hell of a find.

The Real-Life: Went to the Edmonton Toy & Comic Fair on Sunday with Morgoid and The Dorklord, and it was pretty fun. I got me a lot of comics AND a Dalek figure (I know, I know, but it's a DALEK!), and I got to see Ernie Hudson. He looks good for a guy his age, or as Morgoid said: "He looks good for his age. Wow. I mean, really good." I left before there was awkwardness or drooling, but yeah, it was interesting.

The Food: The Peach and I made Rosemary Cookies on Saturday, and they are REALLY good. Basically, a modified shortbread cookie with fresh rosemary in them, and topped with an egg wash and sugar on top. Sweet and savoury is always a good combination, and this one has impressed.

The Job: Today I had a girl do a tiger impression for me. She also did an entire language subtest in a Scottish accent. Sometimes, my job is AWESOME.

What's Up Wednesday - April 17, 2008

Another week where I'm a day late, but I was hanging out with my brother and his ladyfriend yesterday, something I don't get to do very often, so I hope you'll forgive me. What did we do, you ask? Well, we had delicious chilli and caught up on each others' lives. But we did one more thing...

The Video Game: We played Rock Band. I'm a Guitar Hero fan, and I'm not too shabby if I might say so myself. And while I still like the GH series, it pales in comparison to Rock Band. The singing's the weakest link, as far as I've found. I don't know enough of the songs, and I like to play around with the tune, which makes me a fairly average player. So I suppose that's my failing, not the game's. The drums are REALLY fun, though, and while I've barely scratched the surface of Medium, I can see them getting ridiculous later on. I've been invited back another day to play for a longer time, and I have plans. Ooooh, I have plans...

The Movie: I picked up Akira last week, not expecting to enjoy it very much. I watched about ten minutes of it at an Anime Festival about ten years ago, and walked out. That one convention has tainted my view of anime (and, to a lesser extent, manga) for years. But after watching Akira all the way through, I have to say: it is much, MUCH better than the ten minutes I caught out of context. Certainly not for everyone, but if you can handle mild psychedelia and graphic cartoon gore, then I'd recommend Akira. Then again, I'm probably recommending it to a readership that is very likely to have already seen it.

The Drink: Monday I tried Rickard's White Ale for the first time. I have to say, it's not terrible, but it's not that great either. It kind of reminds me of Hoegaarden beer, just more expensive. I wouldn't buy it again, but I wouldn't turn it down if it was offered to me. Actually, I probably would unless if it was the only beer in the house. Ah well, it's not a complete loss. I got a variety pack when it was on sale, of Rickard's Red, White, and Honey Brown: I like their Honey Brown (not as much as Sleeman’s, but it'll do in a pinch), and the Red is decent (and good for poached eggs and beer bread). So, you know what they say about two out of three. Anyhow, I needed some beer for...

The TV Show: The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yes, I'm rekindling my love for Hockey Night In Canada. Specifically, the Habs/Bruins games (I missed the team falling apart this evening, thankfully), but I've also seen some of the Senators/Penguins series and snippets of a few others. I'm not really keen on some of the new personnel or technical developments at the CBC, but there's good hockey being played right now and I'm loving it.

The Real Life: Kow had a massive recording session on the weekend, which seemed to go on forever, but we got a few things accomplished and took another big chunk out of the things to do. Just...three or four more of those kinds of sessions and we’ll be done. Ugh. Three or four. I know we’re further along in the process than we’ve ever been, but right now it feels like this will never end.

The 50 Greatest Sketches (Plus Ten More)

Last week, the brainy hedonists at Nerve teamed up with the film fanatics at IFC to co-present their list of the 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time. All lists like this suffer from the same kinds of problems: overrepresentation of a certain groups or styles, people complaining that they're too mainstream or not mainstream enough, token inclusions, and so on. And while this list isn't flawless, they overcome a lot of potential problems by including sketches from the Golden Age of Television & radio through to the 2000s, and from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. (obviously they're the 50 greatest English-language sketches). Nearly all of them are brilliant, some of them I'd never seen before, and yes, the sketch you were hoping/fearing would be number one is. And here in the second intermission of the Habs game (GO HABS GO!), I've decided to make a list of my own. Most of them don't have video links, but some do. Just consider these my own addendum to the list, from a guy who likes to think he knows a little about sketch comedy.

The Doc's Top 10 Comedy Sketches NOT on Nerve's/IFC's List:
1. "The Audition", Mr. Show, 1998. This sketch takes absurd to new levels of absurdity. (Video link.)
2. "The Funniest Joke in the World", Monty Python, 1969. My favourite Python sketch of all time. (Text link.)
3. "Shakespearean Baseball Game", Wayne & Shuster, 1958. Wayne and Shuster were completely shut out of the Nerve/IFC list, which is kind of understandable but I've always loved these two guys, and this is one of their most well-known bits. (Link to text & video.)
4. "Adultery", Mike Nichols & Elaine May, 1960. I've already talked about Nichols & May on the blog before, but it bears repeating: these guys were brilliant. (From An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May.)
5. "Scrapbook", The Upright Citizens Brigade, 1999. Initially a fairly pedestrian sketch that quickly detours into the absurd, then disgusting, then metahumourous. UCB brilliance. (From the Season 3 episode "Mafia", no link anywhere I could see.)
6. "Nervous Break(fast) Down" (aka "Whole Lotta Milka"), Kids in the Hall, 1991. I could probably have put any number of other Kids sketches here, but this one really speaks to me because it makes great use of the often-underrated Kevin McDonald. (Text link.)
7. "8-in-1 Super Pan Infomercial", Mr. Show, 1996. From the first show of the second season, this show makes you laugh and then gasp. And then laugh again. (Text link; about 1/3 the way down, under "Thrilling Miracles".)
8. "Ben Hur", SCTV, 1982. The only memory I have of SCTV when I was a kid was John Candy talking in a weird high voice in a toga. And as an adult, it's just as funny for other reasons. (Review link.)
9."Spies One", A Bit of Fry and Laurie, 1989. A great send-up of Cold War spy stories, one of my favourite Fry & Laurie bits. (Text link.)
10. "Cheese Shop", Monty Python, 1972. Palin and Cleese have a few different clerk/customer sketches, and all of them are comedy gold; this one is a classic. (Video link.)

Anyone else have any suggestions? That's what the comments are for, baby!

What's Up Wednesday - April 9, 2008

Special Edition! Now with 50% more headaches!

The TV Show: So I finished up Veronica Mars Season 3 and it was good-ish but not great, kind of like I'd expected from the first few episodes. However, the other DVD set I picked up was Hockey: A People's History, and it was pretty good. It's not supposed to be terribly deep, just examining the history of the game and its impact on the country, and it has some interesting vignettes and trivia. Some of the sections really got to me in a nostalgic kind of way, particularly the sections on Maurice Richard and the start the Oilers' dynasty in the 80s. It's also made me excited for the playoffs this year, which I'm sure my Peach will just be ecstatic about...

The Real Life: The Peach and I just got our new couch delivered today. We picked up a two-piece from Leon's for a very good price, and while we definitely don't regret our decision, it was slightly surprising how much bigger it is than we'd remembered. It didn't look that big when we picked it up. Not that it's too big for our apartment, but it is a bit of a shock to see it. It is very comfortable, though, and deliciously chocolate brown. The only bad thing about it so far is that it's a really good static electricity generator.

That's all for me; my head's killing me. Maybe I'll check in later this week and surprise us all, but for now, I'm out.