Doctor Teeth's Electric Mayhem

Day 13 - A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure

2011-10-09T22:14:00.000-06:00

I try not to have guilty pleasures. If I enjoy something, I rarely feel guilty about it. But I suppose, if I had to try to embarass myself, I really do enjoy "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" by Fall Out Boy. I know, conceptually, that Fall Out Boy is not a band that I should like. But that song is a lot of fun, despite some unfortunate lyrical issues for radio play. It's surprisingly smartly-written and catchy, okay?

Day 12 - A Song From A Band You Hate

2011-10-09T22:12:00.000-06:00

"Burn It To The Ground" by Nickelback. Awful song, awful band. That's all I have to say.

(I wrote this yesterday but didn't publish it. So sue me, me.)

Day 11 - A Song From My Favourite Band

2011-10-07T16:49:00.000-06:00

My favourite band, even more than The Beatles (which is just a hair’s breadth away at number two), is NoMeansNo, a fantastic Canadian punk rock band with jazz and funk influences. I don’t know what the best song would be that would best represent them to other people, but “Now” is a pretty good choice. It’s got a lot of the loud angry energy that they portray so well, as well as some really creative musical choices that you wouldn’t expect from a punk rock band but come so naturally to NoMeansNo. I love it.

Day 10 - A Song I Fall Asleep To

2011-10-06T23:05:00.002-06:00

I haven't fallen asleep listening to music in a really long time. It's mostly been Old Time Radio shows, standup comedy, or Bob Ross for the past few years. But if I had to I think one song that might be fairly nice to fall asleep to would be "Blue in Green" by Miles Davis. It's a soft little ballad and while Miles' trumpet can be a little loud to drift off to, Bill Evans' piano work is really beautiful and soothing, a lovely cloud to sink into. I don't really know, but you can judge for yourself. Whether you could fall asleep to it or not, it's a beautiful song.

What's Up Wednesday - October 5, 2011

2011-10-05T21:18:00.000-06:00

So did you know that since the reign of Queen Victoria, the last Wednesday in September has been given the name "Second Tuesday"? That's because it's not true. I missed a week. Oh well! Let's see what I found interesting in the past two weeks.

* * * *

Music
I love The Muppets and am a big fan of off-beat covers, so when I saw The Green Album I knew I would eventually have to give it a spin. It starts off really promising: OK Go!'s cover of "The Muppet Show Theme" is weird and groovy, although it goes on a little too long. Things pick up with Weezer & Hayley Williams's cover of The Rainbow Connection, which gives us a harp doing the traditional banjo riff and a beautiful two-part harmony for the last verse. The Fray's "Manah-Manah" sounds nearly the same as the TV version, which is okay but nothing special. And then there's the Alkaline Trio's version of "Movin' Right Along" which could be my favourite song on the album: it's a fusion of the band's sound with the spirit of the original, where the band plays with it just enough to make it interesting without completely destroying the song. My Morning Jacket's version of "Our World," a song I've never heard before, is a nice little song that would be easily performed by both Muppets and rock stars.

And then...things start going downhill. Amy Lee does a creepy version of "Halfway Down The Stairs," which needs that kind of interpretation like Archie Andrews needs a goth-style makeover. Another lowlight is a really awkward version of one of my favourite Muppet songs ever, "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along" - a human should not sing lyrics like "What could be better than a saucy Irish Setter" straightforwardly. An adequate version of "It's Not Easy Being Green" almost pulls us out of the nose-dive, but then the album closes with Rachael Yamagata's version of "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" which seems weirdly-orchestrated just for the sake of being weird, and is truly unfortunately mixed (I don't need to hear the soft tisues of your mouth sliding against each other when you're singing). I like about half the album and the rest either underhwlmes me or makes me frustrated thinking about how much better it could have been.

* * * *

Comics
I have been curious about Matt Wagner's Grendel comics for a few years, so last week I got off my ass and took Grendel: Behold The Devil out of the library. If I had done my research I would have discovered that this was one of the last books in the series, but I decided to try it anyhow, figuring every comic is someone's first and that it might hook me hard enough to want to seek out the other comics. And boy, did it. In this volume Grendel is Hunter Rose, bestselling author by day and brutal crime kingpin by night. Behold The Devil is an examination of a "lost" episode in his life, and if this is anything like the earlier comics then I am in. Beautifully illustrated, perfectly paced, this tale of violence unfolds step by glorious step until the surprise (to me) ending. The violence is absolutely exq$uisite; the first five pages of Chapter One completely blew me away. I will be back for more, definitely, and will re-read this one with relish when I get back to its spot in publishing continuity.

* * * *

Movies
I saw Drive yesterday and it is GOOOOOOOD. It's not the big dumb action movie they're trying to sell it as, although sharp-eyed viewers would probably have figured that out by the use of pink font on the posters and trailers. It's a thoughtful, suspenseful action film, more along the lines of a Point Blank or To Live& Die In L.A. than a Fast & The Furious. I've heard a few people say the 70s & 80s homage is slap-dash and unsatisfying, but I really feel there's a lot to like. There are a number of very quiet moments, nearly TOO quiet, and there are a lot of very subtle performances that would have been completely extinguished in a lesser film. And when things go bad, they go really bad. Shocking, grotesque violence, with one scene that had me squirming in my seat. And the cast is great, too. Ryan Gosling's stoic performance may go a little too far towards stone-faced at times, but Carey Mulligan is note-perfect, Ron Perlman is fun and intimidating, Bryan Cranston is great as usual, and Albert Brooks is TERRIFYING as a crime boss. No seriously. I was shocked too. If you like film in general and action films in particular, then you need to make a trip to see Drive, and soon.

* * * *

Books
After months of struggling to read, I broke into Grant Morrison's Supergods for Nerd Book Club and it is a really fun and fast (but uneven) book. I enjoyed his (admittedly skewed) examination of the Golden and Silver ages of superhero comic books, with a little bit of examination of how these books represent spiritual archetypes that have been with us for centuries, but these analogies didn't really going anywhere other than "Did you notice that? I did, it's amazing." Which is okay, I guess, and I enjoy seeing someone else's perspective on these familiar characters. And then about halfway through, it became less about an exploration of the character archetypes & how they could inform us about human nature and became part-history, part-memoir. I understood why: Morrison felt he needs to explain his motivations for writing, which are based on his life experiences, including his metaphysical ones. And while that fits into the theme of the book, which I won't completely reveal because I think finding that theme is part of the journey,

I think the memoir aspects could have been toned down and the thematic aspects given more direction and follow-through. The book is in some pretty desperate need of an editor, as things get a little meandery about halfway through and almost spiral completely out of control towards the end. (There are also some pretty obvious typos and things being mentioned out of sequence.) For me, though, being familiar with Morrison's style, I find the lack of direction is a trap he sometimes finds himself in, and I was able to climb out of it with him and bring something worthwhile along with me. So I ended up liking it and will probably re-read it in the next couple of years, but I would be really interested in a non-fan's perspective on the book. I don't know if it would be easy to follow or impactful for someone who doesn't have strong connections to the characters or the writer like I do.

* * * *

DVDs/Blu-Rays
Two weekends ago I went to visit a friend and we had a marathon of all 25 episodes of the first season of Community Season 1. That marks the seventh time I've gone through the first season in under 12 months. Which probably sounds silly but it really is that good. I noticed jokes and references this seventh time that had completely passed me by the first time, which means that either a) I am not very observant or b) these are some amazingly great episodes. I would like to think that the answer is b). Regardless: if you haven't seen Community, you really should. It is one of only a handful of shows that represent the pinnacle of television comedy, and I have no doubt that it will be remembered very fondly in the coming decades.

* * * *

TV
This "week," I would like to take a moment to talk about...The Playboy Club. When I first heard that there was going to be a prime-time drama about The Playboy Club, I was dubious. I thought that it was just a lame way to grab ratings by cashing in on the Mad-Men-60s-style-chic and parading beautiful women around in Bunny costumes and their underwear. And I will admit: it was partly that. But honestly, only partly. By the end of the first episode I thought, despite myself, that there was something more there. They introduced a lot of characters, and involved a lot of interesting themes: politics, race relations, organized crime, sexual orientation, gender roles, and a handful of interesting mysteries. And there were musical numbers! And did I mention a half-dozen beautiful women? Sure, some of the characterizations were groaningly broad, and the "Hugh Hefner in the shadows" bits were pretty awful, but I thought there were things to grow on. I felt even more positive about the show after the second episode, where things felt a little rushed and some plots were given more time to breathe. And that meant, of course, that it would be cancelled. I just didn't think it would have been by episode three! I thought for sure I'd get a half-season out of it at least, where they could wrap at least a couple of plot threads up. Instead I got three episodes of what was a pretty promising show. I guess most viewers didn't see it the way I did, but I really think that The Playboy Club is up there with American Gothic as one of those promising shows cancelled way too early.

* * * *

Life
Last Monday my brother got me royally drunk, tied some training wheels on me, and set me up in his hockey draft. I apparently did okay, stealing some players out from under some of the other guys, and I walked away thinking I did okay. And then three days later he sent me a text saying I had drafted someone who had already retired. And nobody noticed. So I have a lot more to learn, I guess.

* * * *

And that's it. More song updates to follow, for sure, but now it's time for me to get on the exercise bike. Curse you, bike.

Day 9 - A Song I Can Dance To

2011-10-05T19:20:00.003-06:00

I am putting this song on because it is a newly-discovered song and it is incredibly dance-able while also being funny, creative, and a surprisingly good pop song. That song is "(Rockin') All Nite Long" by the folks at Bad Lip Reading. They took a Taylor Swift song that I have never heard, watched the video, figured out other lyrics she could have been singing by watching her lips, and then wrote an entire new song about it. And then added a rap by doing the same thing to a Wiz Khalifa song. And the funny thing is? It's actually a really well-crafted pop song and you can dance to it to boot. So yeah. I was surprised too, but really, you have to check it out. (And then find Gang Fight on YouTube by the same folks.)

Here it is. Marvel at its majesty.

Day 08 - A Song You Know All The Words To

2011-10-04T20:20:00.003-06:00

So, so many songs fit into this category. But I think that I will cheat and pick a song I sing in my a cappella group, Apocalypse Kow. And my favourite song to sing lead with them is "Uniform Grey" by Sarah Harmer. It's a sweet, beautiful little song that I think everyone should hear, and it makes me happy and sad at the same time.

Here's Sarah's (superior) version. You could find ours if you looked really hard.

Day 07 - A Song That Reminds You Of A Certain Event

2011-10-03T21:22:00.000-06:00

Took me a second (again, all the stuff that immediately comes to mind is either negative or makes me more depressed) but R.E.M.'s "Begin The Begin" reminds me of the happiness EXPLOSION that poured out of my lungs and throat when I finally got to see my favourite rock band play live for the very first time. I was in Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver with my then-future-ex-wife and when the opening guitar riff started the crowd and I roared as one, and I just felt the relief and joy flood out of me as I prepared myself for an amazing concert. I still remember that feeling when I hear the album version. (Don't know if it's cheating if the event is a rock concert or not but I'm going with it.)

Couldn't find video of the Thunderbird stadium show but here's the album version:

Day 06 - A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere

2011-10-02T20:24:00.000-06:00

John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" always reminds me of the highway into Jasper just as you make it into the mountains. My parents loved John Denver (and I did too when I was a kid) and my mom loved singing along to that song on our road trips to the mountains during summer vacation. Just thinking of the chorus invokes the giant snow-capped peaks and the highway winding in between them.

Not much to say about this song: it's cheesy and not everyone's taste - it even grates on my nerves at times - but there are times that I find it almost transcendent. Weird how nostalgia and memory works like that.

Day 5 - A Song That Reminds You of Someone

2011-10-01T21:30:00.000-06:00

There are a lot of songs that could fall into this category. And after a while, I actually came up with a positive one! "Bring The Noise" by Public Enemy always reminds me of my good buddy @worstninjaever. Not just because it is our karaoke song (and we ROCK THE HELL out of that song live). But it's part of the reason we're friends, I think we really started becoming better friends when we found out we were both PE fans, and that happened when we both started singing that song at a party once. It was a big deal in my life. And also: we are AMAZING. I am the Chuck D to his "Flava Flav and dude from Anthrax."

While he prefers the Public Enemy w/ Anthrax version, I prefer the original (although I do like the guitars on the remake). A little slower delivery makes for a better song. I'm presenting this live version (starts at about 2:00 on this video) because he and I were actually both at this show. Me at the front of the stage, him sitting way at the back at a table. Because he's a gimp. And if you check REALLY closely, you can see me in the crowd. Just look for awesome sideburns.

Day 04 - A Song That Makes You Sad

2011-10-01T00:36:00.000-06:00

“You Were Here” by Sarah Harmer. Nearly the entire album is about the end of relationships and every song is some variation of sad, but this one is hauntingly beautiful and makes me bittersweetly sad. Partly because it’s sad on it’s own and partly because it reminds me of the two breakups that define my life. So yeah. It’s a beautiful song and I love it, but it makes me very sad. Not “crying while driving the car and trying to hold it together so as not to crash” sad, the good kind.

Day 03 - A Song That Makes You Happy

2011-10-01T00:30:00.000-06:00

Definitely one of the best songs that fits this criteria is "Move On Up" by Curtis Mayfield. That song is over eight solid minutes of happy. The killer drum riff (boom-boom-CHACK-ba-boom-ba-boom-CHAK), with a beautiful layer of guitar and a cool quasi-funk bass line. Hell, it has both a horn section AND a string section! And Curtis Mayfield’s smooth amazing voice singing those uplifting lyrics (Hush now child/And don’t you cry/Your folks might understand you/Bye and bye). Just thinking about the opening section (DRUMS! HORNS! GO!) makes me smile and sets my toes to tapping. A good antidote to a foul mood.

Here’sthe full length song, a solid eight minutes and forty-nine seconds of funk soul goodness. There are radio edits out there you can search for, but for me this is the version.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 02

2011-09-28T22:40:00.002-06:00

Your Least Favourite Song

Not many songs can make the bile rise in my throat like “You Were Meant For Me” by Jewel. Insipid lyrics, inane delivery, inexplicably popular when I was in my youth and hearing it sets my teeth on edge. Even thinking about the lyrics hurts me. “I crack the eggs and make a smiley face…” I am literally shuddering with frustration as I type this.

(Also: my What's Up Wednesday will be delayed as I wrote a very long entry for it that promptly got erased. Because I am dumb. It'll be up tomorrow for sure.)

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 01

2011-09-27T19:02:00.002-06:00

Decided to do something CRAZY and do a two-year-old internet meme to try to improve my writing ability and frequency. Look at me keeping up with the times.

Your Favourite Song

As a man with over 700 physical albums and even more downloads, "My Favourite Song" is really, REALLY goddamned hard to think of. A number of them come to mind right off the top of my head, all battling it out. However, I think at this very moment, the only one that is coming out as the king of the hill is "If I Had A Boat" by Lyle Lovett. When I first heard the chorus of this song, I groaned aloud at how stupid I thought it was. And then less than three minutes later when I heard it the last reprise of that same chorus, it gave me chills. It's a poignant, whimsical, slightly cheesy song about the desire to be free that breaks my heart and makes me choke up just thinking about it. Ask me tomorrow and it might be "Maggot Brain" by Funkadelic or "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" by Louis Armstrong or "Coffee Stain" by Sarah Harmer or "Swan Swan H" by R.E.M. or "The Graveyard Shift" by NoMeansNo or "Move On Up" by Curtis Mayfield or any number of other songs. But today it's "If I Had A Boat." And I have no problem with that.

(Here's a live performance of this song. The mix isn’t perfect - some of the instruments are a little loud - but it’s the best version of it I can find.)

What's Up Wednesday - September 21, 2011

2011-09-21T20:44:00.002-06:00

Just a short one this week. Why? Good question!

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Life
My weekend was full of wedding-related things. My good friend's bachelor party was on Saturday, and then Apocalypse Kow sang at a wedding of two very nice and appreciative gentlemen on Sunday night. I am surprised I made it through Sunday though, because I was feeling kind of sick, and when I got home after the wedding I turned into VERY sick. So sick that I missed work Monday, Tuesday, and today, although stuff finally turned around today and I'm feeling well enough to go in to work tomorrow. But yeah. Watched a lot of TV and read some comics, so that was an okay way to spend my sick days I suppose...

* * *

Comics
Read a lot of these this weekend but the best of the bunch was probably one I read today: Batman #1. Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo put out a first issue that has EVERYTHING I want from a Batman book: villains, fight scenes, skulking, detective work, sidekicks, plot twists, and a ton of style. It doesn't skimp on the alternate identities, either: by the looks of this issue, Bruce Wayne will be playing important roles both as the billionaire and the bat. As much as I liked Action Comics last week, I think I liked Batman even more.

(And yes, I know that the past 2 weeks have been nothing but new DC books. I promise to do something different next week, both for variety's sake and to stretch my own reading & writing habits.)

* * *

TV
The only premiere I caught last week was Ringer, and whoah BABY was that a flawed episode. Even with some pretty great actors (Buffy AND Batmanuel!?!) I can't overlook the absurd script and blatantly awful special effects. I mean, when the twin Sarah Michelle Gellars were on the boat together I almost vomited, not because I was sick but because I cannot BELIEVE that made it on television. It's a mildly interesting premise, with a few cool plot twists, and I am of the opinion that one mediocre episode doesn't doom a series, but really, that show needs to seriously pick up in the next few episodes or it is getting cancelled and fast.

* * *

Scotch
At the aforementioned bachelor party a handful of us went out to The Bothy, a local wine & whisky bar, to do some Scotch tasting. I got myself a sampler of three one-ounce selections from the Glenrothes distillery, and they were TOP. NOTCH. I was particularly fond of the Glenrothes Select Reserve, my Twitter review of which was: "Glenrothes Select Reserve: sweet, vanilla, spice. A Scotch you could give anyone, especially your awesome Grandma."

(For the record, I do have an awesome Grandma who drinks whisky, but she is a Nana and generally prefers rye to Scotch. I might just be able to convince her to try this, though.)

If you like Scotch, or even if you just like whisky and aren't 100% sold on Scotch, this is one to try. I am going to get a bottle of it very, very soon.

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DVDs/Blu-Rays
Watched a LOT of these in the past few days. Finished up Castle Season 2 (still a lightweight show but packed full to the brim with charisma) and Community Season 2, which would make that my sixth time through that season. But only the first time through with commentaries! And a few interesting movies, including the fascinating Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, which is pretty much mandatory watching if you are interested in standup comedy. However, the thing I want to take more than one sentence to talk about is Ichi The Killer.

I'd heard about this movie, obviously, but my interest in seeing it turned *way* up after I saw another film by Takashi Miike, Zebraman. (And yes, you need to see Zebraman. But that's slightly off-topic.) Ichi The Killer is based on a manga series and it is bloody, disgusting, and hard to watch. I don't know if I liked it, in fact, I'm pretty sure I didn't. If there's one thing that I learned from watching Ichi The Killer it's that splatter movies aren't really my thing. If there's a particularly good one I'll probably watch it, but the level of violence and gore in Ichi The Killer was enough to make me want to turn off the movie. I finished it, though, and I'm glad, because there are some fantastic performances and...let's say interesting themes. In the future, though, I'm going to try and make sure my Miike films are more Zebraman than Ichi.

And that's it for now. I might be feeling better but I'm not feeling great. Hopefully next week I'll have more links, more reviews, and more wellness.

The Return of What's Up Wednesday: September 14, 2011

2011-09-14T22:40:00.005-06:00

Hello! In efforts to find more ways to distract myself that aren't "sit on couch and eat too much while watching movies," I'm pulling out the What's Up Wednesday semi-feature I tried about a year back. This should get me writing more regularly, and should provide me with a "deadline" and reason to dedicate some blog time every week. This week's update is going to be long, as I figured I should dive in headfirst, so let's see what struck me as interesting, fun, and or important about the previous week!

* * * *

Movies

I got to see Contagion with @Morgoid last night. The trailer had me mildly interested until I saw that it was directed by Steven Soderbergh, and then I knew I had to see it. Soderbergh's one of my favourite modern directors, and although he's helmed a few clunkers he's also put together two of my favourite movies: Out of Sight and The Limey. And since he is apparently retiring from the movies to paint, I thought I should see what might be his last movie in the theater.

Overall, I thought Contagion was a good film. First of all, it's a hell of a cast: Lawrence Fishburne, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Enrico Colantoni, Chin Han, Elliott Gould, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, and Bryan Cranston all do remarkable work. I thought it would be distracting having so many recognizable faces because the presence of so many stars might pull you out of the story, but ultimately having so many names helped because they were all really good performances. Each character was given moments of weakness and of strength, so the characters weren't all paragons or villains, but people with varying degrees of greed, hope, selfishness, passion, and fear.

The pacing, sparse score, and naturalistic dialogue help the film to be very matter-of-fact without being boring: it really does feel like this is what would happen if there was a worlwide outbreak of a devastating disease, which makes the horror very real. You get to see the impact of the outbreak from varying levels: international tensions, national political issues, state and family emergencies. It's a very thoughtful and well-researched film that some others might find cold and unengaging but I appreciated the lack of sensation and sentimentality that you might find in a lesser "Hollywood-style" thriller.

* * * *

Books

Still finding it really hard to read lately - apparently stress plays havoc on my concentration - but I am trying to finish The Lost City of Z that I started reading for Nerd Book Club. It's adventure non-fiction, the story of explorer Percy Fawcett and his doomed trip into the South American jungle in search of a fabled lost civilization. I'm enjoying it but I don't like the author putting words and thoughts in the character's mouth: it's one thing if you're quoting from journal entries and letters, but inventing dialogue whole-cloth is where I draw the line in my non-fiction. Your mileage may vary, but if you enjoy exciting and interesting non-fiction then I think this is up your alley.

* * * *

DVD/Blu-Ray

Speaking of Elliott Gould: I watched a lot of DVDs this week (including the fascinating I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale which is a must-see documentary for people who love acting and/or movies, and the entire first season of Castle which was just as fun as I remembered), but the DVD I really want to rave about is The Long Goodbye. I read Raymond Chandler's novel when I was in University and really liked it, and was a little hesitant to watch a re-imagining of the story directed by Robert Altman, who I knew had taken a number of liberties with the story and the setting (updating it to the early 1970s, contemporary for the time). Finally sitting down to watch it, though, I was really pleased: although it does feel like an Altman film in the same vein as M*A*S*H or McCabe & Mrs. Miller (meandering storyline, chunks of improvisation, moments of unintelligible dialogue, constantly moving cameras), it works as a movie in its own right.

Elliott Gould's Marlowe is really terrific, and it's because he doesn't do a version of Humphrey Bogart, although there are similarities in the characterizations. I love the contrast between Marlowe's 1950s aesthetic and the rest of the characters "contemporary" attitudes and styles; his straightforward hard-boiled nature and older-cut suits play beautifully off the ambiguous characters and sometimes outrageous outfits. Gould is funny and wry when he needs to be and tough and cold when the situation calls for it, and another awesome standout is Sterling Hayden, sporting a Hemingwayesque beard, as a troubled writer that Marlowe is hired to find. Plus: Arnold Schwarzenegger in a non-speaking role sporting a moustache. Yeah. That happened. I can't stop thinking about it since I watched it three days ago, which to me is the mark of a good movie. Watch it: you just might be surprised.

* * * *

Podcasts

I'm going to shine a spotlight on what is not just one of my favourite comedy podcasts but one of my favourite podcasts period: Doug Loves Movies. (Fun Fact: I saw a taping of Doug Loves Movies when I went to California in July and if you listen to this episode you can hear me laughing in the background and catching a monkey.) The premise is that comedian Doug Benson sits around a table with a bunch of his friends, ostensibly talk about movies, then play movie-themed games such as "Build a Title" (where you add movie titles together to make things like "Wait Until Dark City of Angels in the Out-Field of Dreams" and "The Leonard Maltin Game" (think "Name That Tune" but with movies and actors). In the past two days I've listened to five episodes and they're all very funny; three of the most recent episodes were recorded live from the Bumbershoot festival and feature great guests such as Scott Aukerman, Kyle Kinane, Eugene Mirman, and Paul F. Tompkins. I think the Bumbershoot episodes are a good intro to the show because you get a lot of content and a lot of great guests without a lot of self-promotion (which, let's face it, is why people do the podcasts). If you like movies, standup comedy, and tangents: Doug Loves Movies is for you.

* * * *

On Monday the last episode of So You Think You Can Dance Canada aired and while the show itself felt kind of like filler, Mary Murphy's breasts shocked and terrified, and Leah Miller's special brand of anti-charisma threatened to break my spirit, I enjoyed it. Not only did the "right" dancer win (in both my and @DanicaHere's opinions), it featured some of my favourite routines. If you're curious as to what I thought, or what you can expect, here are four of my favourite routines of the season in glorious low-fi YouTube quality! (You can skip through the judges at the end, I usually do.)

Melissa & Shane in a Hip-Hop routine (choreographed by Luther Brown; the music is awful but the dance is really fun; starts at about 0:50)

Jordan & Joey in a Jazz routine (choreographed by the great Sean Cheeseman; starts at 1:16)

Shane & Lindsey in a REALLY fun disco routine (choreographed by Melissa Williams; starts at about 3:08)

And because I want EVERYONE to see this last one, embedded video! Jordan & Christian in a breathtaking Jazz number (again by the brilliant Sean Cheeseman):

* * * *

Comics

I read quite a few comics last week, but the ones I'm going to focus on are the ones from the DC relaunch. For those non-comics people who read my blog, DC Comics (they who make Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc.) decided to revamp/relaunch their line of superhero comics by streamlining continuity, making the characters younger and more modern, and releasing 52 new titles starting all over at #1. It's an attempt to bring in new and lapsed readers, and as someone who is neither of those two things I'm still excited to see what they do with their titles. The four titles I liked best from last week were:

Swamp Thing: The list of talented creators who've worked on this title in the past is about as long as my arm, and this first issue lives up to those expectations. This is more of a supernatural thriller than a superhero book, but it's definitely grounded in the shared universe thanks to featured appearances by a number of recognizable DC characters. Swamp Thing features really lush art from Yanick Paquette, which is some of my favourite art of the books I read. I've never read anything by Scott Snyder but he has sold me on this Swamp Thing and I will be going back to pick up some of his Detective Comics run as well.

Animal Man: I have a soft spot for Animal Man; I have almost the entire run of single issues from 1-89, and even when it got really weird and sloppy it was still interesting. Writer Jeff Lemire does a good job of holding the tradition of the title while still breaking new ground, and while I wasn't always affected by Travel Foreman's art there were a number of sequences that blew my mind. Definitely a companion book with Swamp Thing, bringing supernatural and horror elements into the superpowered DC Universe, and despite a few reservations I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.

OMAC: Something I thought would be disposable and easy to pass up ended up being my favourite book of the week! I love 70s Jack Kirby and OMAC is some of the best stuff he did in my opinion, and Dan DiDio, Keith Giffen, and Scott Koblish make this new iteration SING. Part of the reason I love it so much is that it reminds me of those old Kirby books, with many tips of the hat to the King's legends, but the other part is because it is BIG LOUD FUN which is sometimes all I want out of a superhero book. Evacuate your expectations because OMAC is going to destroy them!

Action Comics: The new origin of Superman from writer Grant Morrison, penciler Rags Morales & inker Rick Bryant is probably the most new-reader-friendly of the bunch, and despite some online brouhaha is a very good comic. This new Superman feels like he's going back to his 1930s roots: a working class hero with a sense of social justice. He doesn't fly: he leaps tall buildings in a single bound. He's faster than a speeding bullet. As for the locomotive...well, you just have to read the issue. It tells a complete story but ends on a cliffhanger, daring you not to pick up the next issue.

* * * *

Life

Is about as positive as a Morrissey song. I'm not getting into it. But the possibility of more #yegprov (a Twitter-enhanced improv experiment) is an exciting development. And I hope to have a new creative project to ignore starting on Monday, so keep your eye on this space.

How I Am Doing

2011-07-17T18:23:00.006-06:00

(Note: this was written on Thursday evening before I went to see Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Parts 1&2. I wrote it because I was trying to make some sense of what I was thinking, feeling and doing in my life. And I put it up here because I need to try to be accountable, and also because I am getting really sick and tired of answering the question "How are you?" If you're interested: this is how I'm doing. If you're not, just wait a couple of days/weeks and something better will be up here. Probably about comics or vacations or both.)

"I don't get what I want. I get to pretend things are going to be fine because people tell me they are going to be."

It’s been two weeks since my wife left. And since then life has kind of ground to a halt for me. I’m still making it to (almost) all my appointments, generally keeping up with my responsibilities, and seeing my friends and family. But if I had the choice I would be doing as close to nothing as I possibly could. Most days I can barely hold myself together.

Physically: I’m falling apart. I have stopped exercising entirely, and I have been putting absolutely no effort into eating well. Which means that I’m eating stuff with lots of cheese melted on top, and my diet has become about 35% take-out or delivery. I’ve gained 5 pounds since she decided to leave (the end of May), and probably another 10 pounds since the beginning of July. My lower back, which was feeling okay in May and the beginning of June, is starting to ache again. I know I should be more active and conscious of what I eat, I just don’t have any motivation to do so. (Also, I don’t have anyone to hold me accountable and provide me with healthy dinners, which was a big part of my progress in the first place.) And no matter how much sleep I get, four or seven or ten hours, it never feels like enough.

Mentally: I can’t concentrate. I can barely focus my attention on a single episode of 30 Rock let alone a movie of 90 minutes or more. And considering I am spending almost all of my downtime (when I'm not packing) watching movies…I get tired pretty quickly. Let’s repeat that for emphasis. I get tired. Because I need to focus. On watching a movie. That is just horrible. I can’t read any complicated prose, although I did manage to get through 50 pages of a new book at breakfast time. Usually the most reading I do in a day is when I absent-mindedly check my Twitter feed. This is the guy who used to read about 5 books and 15 comics collections in a month.

Emotionally: I am numb. The most powerful emotions I feel are sadness and anger, and since I don’t really have any solid person to blame for anything I am just spewing them into the void. I try to keep those under control whenever I can, although sometimes I can’t. And those are the days that seeing a scrap of paper with her writing on it, or a bottle of her favourite drink in the fridge, or a piece of mail addressed to the both of us, will set me off on a crying binge. I wake up from dreams where we're still together and I can barely bring myself to get out of bed. Dozens of times a day I forget that no, she won’t be home when I get back, and I won’t be able to tell her the good/bad/indifferent news of my day, and then I feel like I lose her all over again.

And when I’m not actively trying to deaden my emotions, I am passively numbed by exhaustion. I barely get excited to see my friends and family. After spending an hour with people I generally want to crawl into a corner and die, but often I soldier on. I can think of exactly three times in the past fourteen days that I felt real happiness, and that was all in the same weekend.

In two hours I will be going to see a group of my friends to watch movies. Normally that would be something I would be very excited about. But I am going to be surrounded by people who love me, in various forms, and the best I can muster is “attendance.” In five days I will be going to San Diego for Comic Con, something I have wanted to attend since I first found out about it over ten years ago. I am objectively looking forward to it, but that is in danger of being smothered by a startling amount of dread. And I can’t live the rest of my life, even if it’s only half a life, underneath a curtain of fear.

So I will try. I will make a list of things that I need to do in order to live, only pick a couple of them so I don’t get overwhelmed, and take it from there. And most importantly I will try REALLY hard not to beat myself up if I don’t succeed. I have a feeling that this upcoming chapter of my life will be dominated by failure. That’s something I don’t deal with very well when I’m at my prime. Hopefully it’s a short chapter. Hopefully it is big on character development and low on whining. And hopefully in the next chapter I get a jetpack.

Project 365: A Photo A Day Keeps The Doldrums Away

2011-07-07T20:47:00.002-06:00

Lots of changes lately. Lots of things to think about. Ideas for creative projects are popping up and I'm trying to throw myself into a lot of them and see what sticks. Hopefully one or two will.

Something I've decided to sign myself up for is the 365 Challenge. Basically, you take a picture every day for 365 days, which sounds easy until you are like me and sometimes go through long inspiration droughts. It's supposed to be helpful at getting over the fear of photography, help you compose shots, unlock some creativity. And even though I have only my tiny iPhone camera, I will do my very best to be interesting, at least once out of every four photos. On average. I think that's a reasonable goal.

If you're interested, the link to my profile page is here. And my favourite photo so far is just below. So that's all for now. Until next time, where I will likely either dissect the Green Lantern movie or talk about Batgirl comics (oh yes, I am actually feeling the urge to write about something), enjoy the photos and let me know what you think.

This one actually impresses me a little.

Last Night A Mixtape Saved My Life

2011-06-08T19:57:00.004-06:00

So you may be wondering to yourself, "I wonder what kind of music Devin likes to listen to when he's ignoring his blog?" Well, aside from Sloan, I mean. Wonder no further, friends. Because through the magic of the internet, I am going to make a mixtape...for YOU. (That's right, other people might listen to it. But that mixtape is yours alone, gentle reader.)

In the old days, back when cars had cassette decks and people knew who David Schwimmer was, I would make mixtapes all the time, because I was excited to share music with my friends. Mixtapes with collage covers made from my mom's old celebrity & decorating magazines and liner notes that were pages long. But as technology expanded the mixtape fell out of fashion, and I never really caught up to making mp3 playlists or anything like that. Until now!

I currently have 3 mixes on 8tracks, and I keep wanting to get inspiration for more. So I am seeking suggestions from YOU. The reading public. If you want to hear a sampling of my music library, have a suggestion for a theme mix, or just want to throw down a mixtape challenge, please leave me a comment telling me just what you're looking for and I will do my damnedest to put together a mix tailor-made just for you. If you're interested in the kind of thing I've come up with so far, you can play the mix below for a little sample. When I have enough I will probably put up an 8tracks "Mix of the Moment" in the left-hand side of the blog. (I am thinking about giving the entire site an overhaul, but I think actually getting up content would be a good idea first.)

So check out the site, leave me a message, and enjoy the music. I will talk to you...eventually.

Albums That Changed My Life: Volume 1

2011-05-25T21:46:00.012-06:00

I have a weird memory for pop culture , particularly music. I might not remember the first time I met some of my best friends, but I remember the first albums I ever bought with my own money. (For the record, they were Nirvana MTV Unplugged In New York and Crash Test Dummies’ The Ghosts That Haunt Me.) But very rarely do I remember the exact moment I found an album that I was looking for. In fact, I can only recall doing that once.

In Grade 11, I was a kid who was very unsure of himself. My friends were all very confident and outgoing, or at least, they appeared to be. If I only knew then what I know now, high school would have been far easier. But at the time they all seemed so much larger than life, and as a quietly terrified young man I hung on their every word. I thought that if I could somehow take on aspects of their personalities I would become more like them, and less afraid of everything.

So when my friend Craig told me about the new album by his favourite band, I went to find it at the HMV. I didn't know what it sounded like, I just knew that Craig liked it, and that was good enough for me. I remember nervously going to the Alternative section of the store (Hey, remember when record stores had "Alternative" sections? Remember when they were called record stores?), sure that some Cool-Dude-In-Charge was going to discover me, realize I didn't belong, and cast me out. But it didn't happen. I walked into the store and, if anything, I was ignored. Thank goodness for apathetic retail employees; I think if anyone had come up to me to see if I'd "needed a hand finding anything" I would have shut down. Hands trembling, I flipped the CDs down until I saw the cover. Four guys up against a black background, and hand-lettered above them in gold-yellow ink floated the name of the band and the album. Sloan -- Twice Removed.

Damn those handsome young devils...

I grabbed it and walked up to pay. I avoided making eye-contact with the greasy-haired facially-pierced guy behind the counter while I paid, then rushed quickly out of the store.

When I listened to it for the first time...well, I don't recall exactly what I thought of it. Chalk it up to my weird memory: I remember buying it in such vivid detail, but I don't remember actually listening to it . I know I liked it, although I don't know how much of it was due to the fact that my friends all liked it so I pretty much had to. I listened to it over and over again, memorizing the lyrics to every song probably within the first week. It became my favourite album. I made my little brothers listen to it, and they liked it, although I think my youngest brother's taste was still more to the pop radio. And in a slow, almost imperceptible way, that album changed my life. The almost-grunge-but-not-quite sound, the rough edges with a pop sensibility, completely won me over. Every song was my favourite at one point or another.

I felt like each of the band members had something to say to me that made me a very different person than I was before I'd heard Twice Removed. Their personas seemed to be perfectly encapsulated by the album photo. Jay Ferguson, stares straightforward and earnestly at the camera. With his deceptively simple and sweet songs, he reminded me of me only smarter. Andrew Scott, standing in the background and obscured by shadows, was the mysterious drummer with the "weird" songs. Patrick Pentland, looking downward with his hand covering part of his face, seemed shy and a little sad. His songs were alternately haunting and hopeful, and gave me my first taste of a punk-rock sensibility. But it was Chris Murphy who really struck a chord with me, head cocked to the side, staring straight ahead as if to say, "Go on. Show me something." And with his sarcastic and bittersweet lyrics about love, something I hadn't even begun to believe in at that time (and will never understand), combined with his love of wordplay, Chris was the guy I aspired to be.

It feels strange writing all this down. But I really think that I wouldn't have been the person I am today if it wasn't for Twice Removed. I think some of it was the harrowing trip to the HMV. In retrospect it seems ridiculous: a fourteen-year-old boy afraid to walk into probably the most non-threatening record store you could find. At the time, though, it was incredibly intimidating. But somehow, I survived my trip into the dragon's den and emerged victorious. A small, insignificant challenge, but one I had done completely by myself. I did something that my "cool" friends had done and learned that it wasn't nearly as terrifying as I'd made it out to be. That was a big step on my journey from timid, quiet teenager to loud, friendly, boistrous man.

It was more than that, though. It was the music. It spoke to me in a way I didn't understand, in a way I still don't understand. When I listen to really good music, I feel something pulling on my chest. Like an invisible cord stretching out of the speakers and tugging, gently but urgently. My chest expands and I feel connected to something else. Something bigger. And that's how I felt when I listened to Twice Removed: not for just one song, but for every song. I felt connected to the men who had made that music, and to the people who I just knew had to be listening to it at the same time. That one album made me feel less alone.

When their next album, One Chord To Another, came out, I was shocked, disappointed, and furious. It sounded clean! It looked more polished! It had horns! What the hell was going on? It felt like Sloan had abandoned me. And so I abandoned them, pretending that album didn't exist. My younger brother bought the album and played it all the time, but I took the fact that he liked One Chord as yet another sign that he was inferior to me. As far as I was concerned, Sloan ended with Twice Removed.

Until one summer afternoon. I had just finished up my third year of university, in my summer job as a house-painter. I was listening to the radio to pass the time as I finished up a wall just before lunch. It was another moment I remember with great clarity: I was covering a house's stucco exterior with blue paint, and even after soaking the walls with water they soaked up paint so much I had to do three coats. (And a few days later I almost fell off the roof because they wanted me to paint their stucco chimney blue as well. But that's another story.) A siren came on the radio, and then this driving base note repeated over and over, and then a crazy rock hook. A series of chords that hit me right in the gut. I said to myself, "Who the hell is this?" and stopped working for the length of that song, just listening transfixed. When it was over, the announcer told me who it was: Sloan. Of course. The song was "Money City Maniacs," and in that moment I realized what a fool I had been. And Sloan has been a part of my life ever since.

This year marks Sloan's 20th anniversary, and they're touring with a new album. I am, of course, going to their Edmonton show, which will mark the seventh time I have seen them in concert. To prepare myself, I have been listening to all their previous albums pretty-much non-stop in the car for the past week. And every time I slide the next disc into the CD player, I remember things about who I was when I was first discovering those albums.

The young man confronted by his high-school ex-girlfriend one lunch hour, telling him she felt guilty because she made out with his best friend, all because of a song from Smeared he'd put on her "I'm Glad We're Still Friends" mix-tape.

The grad student who was pushing twenty-seven and thought he had life all figured out when Never Hear The End Of It came out.

The smarmy, stuck-up man-child just about to graduate from high school who thought he was a misunderstood genius and could have used a reality check the first time he heard a song off One Chord To Another.

The recent University graduate who was just discovering what it felt like when you get your heart broken for the first time, all to the soundtrack of Pretty Together.

That summer I spent driving from my parents' acreage to my painting job in the city, listening to Navy Blues and realizing that I couldn't stay at home for much longer.

And it all goes back to the day that an unsure high school boy swallowed his fear and went into a place he knew was dangerously too cool and off-limits, to find the mystical item that he hoped would transform him into someone else. Someone better. For Arthur it was Excalibur; for me it was Twice Removed. I could have done a lot worse.

(Thanks to my TwitEditors @DorklordCanada, @MrBalls, @Xeryfyn, and @AmyRhoda!)

Mini-Regina Piles: May

2011-05-17T19:57:00.007-06:00

I know, it's been a while. I've been a little preoccupied, life has thrown me a couple of curve balls and I haven't dealt with them well. I don't want to say anything more about that, and I don't want to make excuses, lest this become a blog where I post once a month and say "I promise to be better" every single time. So let's make a deal: pretend I put this up at the beginning of the month, and I'll try and get better. Okay? Okay.

Here's what I made it through last month:

Essential Super-Villain Team-Up, Volume 1
Incredible Hercules: Assault on Mount Olympus
Samurai Executioner Volume 1
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume 2
Love And Capes Volume 1
Why I Hate Saturn
No Hero TPB
Bones, S3
The Dick Van Dyke Show, S1
The Aviator
For a Few Dollars More
Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (Technically I'd already seen it, but that means it counts to me!)
Dark Passage
The Circus

And here's what I plan on trying to get through this month (with new colour codes for comics, television shows, and movies):

Golden Age Flash Archives, Vol. 1
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn
Crisis on Multiple Earths, Vol. 1
Lone Ranger, Vol. 2
Samurai Executioner, Vol. 2
Samurai Executioner, Vol. 3
Atomic Robo, Vol. 2
Astro City, Vol. 2
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, S1
Homicide: Life On The Street, Season 3
Bones, Season 4
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 1
Batman: The Brave & The Bold, Volume 1
Doctor Who, S3
Scrubs, S1
The Godfather, Part III
A Day At The Races
Zack & Miri Make A Porno
Dick Tracy (I've seen it before but not since I bought it)
Kung Fu Hustle (same as Dick Tracy)

Nothing new that's depressing this month, unless you count bleak samurai stories as depressing (which I don't). I'm trying to have nothing but upbeat stories, because honestly, between the way Homicide and Alfred Hitchcock Presents aligned with my mood last month, I didn't want to have anything more to do with them. Hopefully I can get through them with some sitcom breaks to take the edge off. I'll be back later; right now it's time for a little Scrubs.

Mini-Regina Piles: Late April Edition

2011-04-07T23:14:00.007-06:00

Two months in a row I have given myself the Mini-Regina Pile Challenge: make a small but manageable pile of pop cultural matter and try to burn through it in a month. The point of this exercise is twofold. First of all, it was supposed to get me to actually watch, read, and consume my way through my vast bought-but-untouched collections. Second of all, it was supposed to kick-start my writing again by making reviews and blog entries.

The first part of the challenge is going pretty well, I must say, with a couple of small hiccups. While there is some room for improvement, I am ploughing my way through over 75% of the stuff on in my pile. The writing thing? Not so much. I don't think I wrote a single review on an external site, and NOTHING on this here blog. But I keep telling myself: baby steps. Keep making the lists, making tiny improvements, and things will turn around. So, let's look at what I actually made it through last month, shall I?

Through March 31, I managed to consume the following movies, comics, and TV series:

Kelly's Heroes
Three The Hard Way
Angels With Dirty Faces
Bones, Season 2
Showcase Presents: The Haunted Tank, Volume 1
Superman: Escape from Bizarro World
R.E.B.E.L.S., Volume 1: The Coming of Starro
Put The Book Back On The Shelf: A Belle & Sebastian Anthology
20th Century Boys Vol. 3
Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology
Marvel Boy
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (Volume 2)

I also made some progress on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Homicide: Life on the Street, although my Alfred Hitchcock Presents remained untouched. And I made a decision about my Star Trek box set. Even though I put it on my first list, I realized that it's the kind of show I want to savour, not gorge on. Particularly as I only have the one season right now. That's not the kind of thing I want to burn through. So I replaced it with Doctor Who: Season Two. Which isn't as long but I felt good about it (and had a LOT of fun watching it). Plus there were a couple of my DVDs that I didn't put on the list that I watched, for one reason or another (Highlander, The Marx Brothers' Room Service, Alfred Hitchcock's Number 17), which would have EVENTUALLY made it on a future pile...so it's about even.

For April I want to accomplish two main things: get rid of all the stuff that's left over from my previous two lists, and make at least one update entry every week. I also want to switch out Star Trek: Season One for something thematically appropriate and with a similar time commitment. It's going to take a little more effort, but it's all part of my process. My nerdy, nerdy process. Here's the pile for this week.

Essential Super-Villain Team-Up, Volume 1
Incredible Hercules: Assault on Mount Olympus
Samurai Executioner Volume 1
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume 2
Love And Capes Volume 1
Why I Hate Saturn
No Hero TPB
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, S1 *
The Dick Van Dyke Show, S1 *
Homicide: Life On The Street, S3 **
Bones, S3
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, S1
The Aviator *
For a Few Dollars More **
The Godfather, Part III
Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster
Dark Passage
The Circus

* Continued from February
** Continued from March

So here's hoping for more reviews, more blogging, and a higher success rate for the first month of Spring! (And yes, I know it's already 10 days into April. I am nothing if not tardy.)

Mini-Regina Piles: March Edition

2011-03-02T22:24:00.003-07:00

One month ago, I started a challenge to myself: making my way through my massive pop culture collection, one tiny Regina pile at a time. I gave myself what I thought was a reasonable yet achievable challenge: four movies, five television seasons, and eight comics collections. Big enough to be daunting, but not so big that I would just give up on it. My plan was to update all through February with every item I removed from my pile, but being out of top blogging shape, I managed to review exactly zero items on this site. But I did give it a go, and I wanted to take a moment to examine my progress and give myself another challenge for March. So, first things first: how did I do?

Not terribly, I have to say. I got through all but one of the comics, and finished two of the television series and made small dents in two more. The movies...I'll get to those in a second. But here's what I finished in February (with some links to the reviews I did manage to post on Goodreads):

Gon, Volume 3
NewsRadio, Season 5
Mad Men, Season 2
Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus
Superman: Last Son
Nexus Archives, Volume 1
Absolute Planetary, Volume 1
American Flagg: The Definitive Collection, Volume 1
Scud The Disposable Assassin: The Whole Shebang

And the movies...well, I didn't watch any of them. Partly for a reason that I'm going to keep secret for another week or so, and partly because I watched over a dozen movies from my PVR in the month of February. (Oh, Turner Classic Movies, you are an amazing resource, but it is impossible to watch all the movies I impulsively record.) Still: I read 7 of my 8 comics, and over 100 pages of the massive Haunted Tank phonebook, and cleared off some shows that had been sitting unfinished for months. So I'm putting one in the wins column.

For March I want to continue to challenge myself and stretch a little bit, while taking advantage of the increased amounts of free time (32nd birthday, Spring Break, slightly reduced late worknights). So I'm keeping all the incomplete items from last month, as well as more than enough new ones to make up for things:

Kelly's Heroes *
Three The Hard Way *
Angels With Dirty Faces *
The Aviator *
For a Few Dollars More
Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1 *
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Season 1 **
The Dick Van Dyke Show, Season 1 **
Homicide: Life On The Street, Season 3
Bones, Season 2
Showcase Presents: The Haunted Tank, Volume 1 **
Superman: Escape from Bizarro World
R.E.B.E.L.S., Volume 1: The Coming of Starro
Put The Book Back On The Shelf: A Belle & Sebastian Anthology
20th Century Boys Vol. 3
Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology
Marvel Boy
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (Volume 2)

* Continued from February, untouched
** Continued from February, unfinished

I'll update more regularly as I get through them, and probably post a picture of my pile in the next few days. But that's enough to do me for now. I really hope I can tackle EVERYTHING on this list, because I have plans for this little experiment. That's right, I have even MORE stuff I want to pile on. Because apparently I have way more free time than I think I do.

Nerd Book Club: The Strange, Strange World of H.P. Lovecraft

2011-02-19T17:51:00.003-07:00

About a year ago now, I was lucky enough to be invited to join a book club that is basically populated by a bunch of genre nerds. I'm not saying that all they read is sci-fi, fantasy, and horror fiction - not all of them, at least - but the club has a definite slant in that direction. And so I affectionately refer to it as Nerd Book Club. We meet once at the beginning of the month to eat at an unnamed family restaurant, talk about the book (and other related and not-so-related things), and frustrate the waitstaff. It allows me to hang out with gentlemen I might not otherwise see on a regular basis, and it gets me to read things I wouldn't normally read.

February's book was my choice, and I chose to go to something well outside my comfort zone: H.P. Lovecraft. Before selecting this book, what I knew about Lovecraft came from playing the Call of Cthulhu RPG and the Arkham Horror board games, but I had always been vaguely interested in discovering more about the man's work, seeing as how it influenced many modern fantasy and horror writers, as well as some of my friends. So I checked The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories out of the library and ploughed my way through three hundred pages of psychological horror. And what were my thoughts? Conflicting.

(Ooooh, spooky waterfall!)

Let's get this out of the way: I did not love this collection. I found many of the stories, particularly the ones in the first half of the book (which were also the earliest-written stories) poorly-executed and only half-thought-through. Lovecraft is widely-praised for his ability to create a new kind of horror, one of slowly-creeping insanity often due to the realization that the main character and/or mankind in general is an insignificant speck in the face of the unknown and unknowable universe. That being said: he was often a lot better in the idea phase than in the execution.

The biggest issue that I have with this collection is that many of the stories are very, very dated. Many of the stories are peppered liberally with what seem like cliches, except at the time, they weren't cliches: they were new and fresh ideas. I don't know why I can't get over early genre cliches the same way I can get over early film cliches - I watch classic silent and early sound movies and really enjoy them - but that's a big stumbling block for me. It also doesn't help that he re-works ideas from his earlier stories into (usually) much better and longer later stories; the repetition of themes and ideas in this collection sometimes gave me the feeling that he lacked depth and imagination.

(Another thing that doesn't help is his not-so-subtle xenophobia that borders on racism. It's not there in all the stories, but when it is there, hoooo BOY it is not pleasant. And this isn't just the Mark Twain, "a product of his times," uncomfortable-yet-important kind of writing. This is a man who is clearly afraid of and distrustful of other cultures and who incorporates those fears and dislikes into his stories. It's the kind of subtext that can kill the sense of paranoia and terror that he's trying to craft.)

That being said, however, there are some really good stories in this collection as well. Some of the earlier stories, such as "The Rats in the Walls" and "Herbert West -- Reanimator" are absolute gems, excellent studies in tone, genre, and creepiness. "The Rats in the Walls," in particular, was a standout: when you start a story by saying that you wish you had never learned about to the house of your ancestors, and now it is being BLOWN UP, that is a pretty damn great hook. The fact that he completely delivered on that promise made for a really great story, one that kept me going through the rest of the collection, hoping for a story that might even exceed it.

And a number of the later stories are very good too; although longer and sometimes overstuffed with flowery descriptions, I think Lovecraft became a more skilled writer over time, and his descriptions of the places and the eerie feelings that slowly begin to overwhelm his narrators are more effective towards the end of the book. My two favourite stories are from the end of the book. The first, "Shadow Over Innsmouth," featured terrific descriptions of slowly mounting unease and a narrator that was actually active and dynamic (well, active and dynamic by Lovecraft's standards), and it had a great ending that actually raised the hairs on my arms. The second and the best of the collection, was "The Color out of Space," is a very languidly paced but vividly described tale of a mysterious meteor that crashes on a patch of farmland and releases an indescribable "color" that slowly begins infecting the land...then the animals...then the people. Even now, weeks after reading the story, I can recall Lovecraft's unsettling descriptions of the images and events of the story and get subtly creeped out.

So overall, I would say that The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories was worth reading. Although the colleciton is definitely uneven, the ideas he put forth in some of his poorer stories are still powerful upon reflection. There were also a handful of truly excellent stories that I would love to re-read again in the future, and it was a decent introduction to a writer whose influence stretches beyond his time and genre, even if many readers (including a younger me) don't realize it.

Mini-Regina Piles: The Lamest Journey Begins With A Single Step

2011-02-02T23:26:00.005-07:00

Testing...testing...is this thing still on?

*ahem*

Okay. I had an idea the other day, and I figured blogging about it would be an interesting way to go about it and it might might keep me on-task in the bargain. So if there's anyone still here, or if anyone stumbles across this place: thanks. Hopefully I'll make it worth your while.

So, for those of you who don't know me: I am a big fan of popular culture. Movies, comics, television, and books both fiction and non-. I love to watch and read and listen (to music, standup comedy, radio plays, and audiobooks). And because I love these things so much, when I go out shopping, I see a LOT of stuff I want. "Oh man," I'll say to myself, "Quantum Leap DVDs are only $14.99 per season. I think I should get ALL OF THEM." And then I do just that. It's a kind of madness, I think. A madness that has no cure.

Which leads to my home having a higher-than-average amount of shelves, all of them full and overflowing with movies, cds, and (as The Rhino would say) "paper DVDs". I have always wanted to make my way through these chunks of unconsumed pop culture, but every time I feel like I'm making a dent, the madness takes over, and I find myself with three new Discworld books and a bunch of back issues. And so, no progress is made.

Now, one of the podcasts that I listen to - 11 O'Clock Comics - has developed this concept of the "Regina Pile," which is their name for your pile of unread comics that stacks up. I really don't want to get into the reason why it shares its name with the capital city of Saskatchewan, but that's jist of it. And as far as comics go, I have a very, VERY BIG Regina pile. But I never thought about applying it to the other "stuff" that I own. And when I was sitting in the basement last weekend, trying to find the next thing to read, it hit me: I could make Mini-Regina piles that I could work on every month, small enough to be manageable but still a challenge.

The first thing I had to do, though - because I am incredibly anal retentive and love making lists - is compile all my unwatched and unread items together. This was a tougher task than I'd initially thought, so I focused mostly on my DVDs (both film and tv) and my comics trade paperbacks. And while I was both surprised and SHOCKED by the sheer mass of my unconsumed junk, I think I can make dents in it. A number of tiny little dents.

For February, I'm actually tackling two challenges: first of all, my regular Mini-Regina Challenge, and second of all, the "My Wife Will Delete All The Movies Older Than 3 Months Old On My DVR By The End Of February" Challenge. And considering I have about...20 movies that I need to either watch or abandon in 27 days, I'm making my Mini-Regina Pile rather small to start: 4 movies, 0 TV Boxed Sets (because I'm already in the middle of 5), and 4 Comics Trades (plus the 4 that I've already started).

I took a look at my lists and tried to make things as varied as possible. And finally, I ended up with the following for my February pile:

Kelly's Heroes
Three The Hard Way
Angels With Dirty Faces
The Aviator
Mad Men, Season 2 *
Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1 *
NewsRadio, Season 5 *
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Season 1 *
The Dick Van Dyke Show, Season 1 *
Gon, Volume 3
Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus
Superman: Last Son
Nexus Archives, Volume 1
Absolute Planetary, Volume 1 *
Showcase Presents: The Haunted Tank, Volume 1 *
American Flagg: The Definitive Collection, Volume 1 *
Scud The Disposable Assassin: The Whole Shebang *

(* - Denotes something I'm already in the middle of.)

And that doesn't count my PVR movies. Something tells me this first month is going to be a spectacular failure, but at least I'm going to try, dang it. I'll try and put at least a little something on this blog whenever I finish something, which should make me more of a presence here and might actually kickstart my Creativity Experiment of 2011 (slogan to be determined). See you soon, internet pop culture fiends. And pray for my sanity, because that is a LOT of stuff to get through.

My Undead Christmas Playlist

2010-12-04T15:26:00.004-07:00

NOTE: This post is NSFW - Not Safe For my Wife. She doesn't often read this, but in case she does: Hi honey! I love you. Please don't read any further.

Okay, everyone else. Let me tell you about Christmas music and video games, and how the two go together in awesome ways.

I am an unabashed fan of the Christmas season. Well, I suppose you should say the secular "Christmas" season, but still: I really love it. I love the food: Christmas baking and the eggnog and the hot buttered rum (I really like the hot buttered rum). I love going to Christmas and New Year's parties and seeing people you might only see once a year but still it's good to re-build those connections. I love the lights and the tree and the giving presents to everyone. But most importantly: I really like the songs. And there are some pretty awful songs out there, and there are some pretty awful versions of good songs. But I definitely have my favourites, and I play them a lot. (Only in December, though: I hate hearing "Jingle Bells" in November as much as the next guy.)

Last year my buddy loaned me a copy of Dead Rising for my xBox 360. I am not very good at shooter games, and I'm not the biggest fan of zombie anything, but I liked it quite a bit. I wasn't very good at it, but I liked it. And I when I was playing it last October, I realized: "In this game you're trapped in a mall killing zombies. And you can play whatever music you want through the Media Library. What if...I made a Christmas carol playlist, and it was like I was trapped in a mall during shopping season?" I may not necessarily be the brightest bulb on the tree, but I have my moments. The idea of chopping into a zombie with an axe while Bing Crosby crooned about a White Christmas was something I immediately latched on to. I made a playlist that had some of my favourite songs on it, with the condition that I liked them enough to be played over and over again - just like they do in real malls - and that they were either upbeat or hilariously out of place. I only came up with about a dozen songs because I don't own that many Christmas albums, and I added a few more as I found them on the internet or borrowed them from friends.

I didn't end up playing the game much last December - mostly because I had other games on my mind - but this year I decided to give it another shot, and hopefully I'll be able to finish it and finally give it back to him. So for your amusement and elucidation, I present to you my zombie-killing Christmas carol playlist, or as I like to call it: Red Christmas.

Bing Crosby - Jingle Bells
Jackson 5 - Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Burl Ives - Rudolph
Jose Feliciano - Feliz Navidad
Bing Crosby - Here Comes Santa Claus
John Denver & The Muppets - Little Saint Nick
Burl Ives - Holly Jolly Christmas
Vince Guaraldi Trio - Skating
Boney M - Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord
Bing Crosby - White Christmas
Funk Brothers - Winter Wonderland
Prince - Another Lonely Christmas
Burl Ives - Silver & Gold
The Supremes - My Favourite Things
Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby
Bing Crosby - Sleigh Ride

So that's my list. I've tried it out again this afternoon and it is still a lot of fun. If you have any suggestions for fun and quirky Christmas songs that I can add to my playlist, please let me know. Until then, I'll get back to trying to keep myself alive. Not an easy thing to do when you're surrounded by undead shoppers and have heard "Winter Wonderland" for the fiftieth time.

Rambling: My Surprisingly Apathetic Thoughts On The Film Industry

2010-11-22T16:53:00.003-07:00

This has been percolating around in my head for a while, and I don't necessarily know if I'm 100% pleased with my conclusions, but it's as close to an opinion as I'm going to get on this subject. Ramblings about movies, culture, society, and economics ahead, some thoughtful, some grossly under-researched, some original, some not. Forge ahead with me, won't you?

There's a commercial I've seen on television for a video phone, and the tagline absolutely grinds my gears:

"Cinema quality picture - in the palm of your hand."

And every time I see it I want to yell at the screen. No. No. NO. That is not possible. Unless you are holding the phone DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES so that it is taking up 80% OF YOUR VISION, then it is not cinema quality. Because part of cinema quality is cinema SIZE. And the absolutely insane theater prices and the relative ease of pirating movies over the internet means that more and more people - and here I am thinking of "young people" but really people of any age - are watching movies exclusively on their television screens or smaller.

I love movies: I go to the movies at least twelve times a year, and often more. I am one of the butts in seats. One of what I think is a dying breed: the MOVIE fan. Originally I think I loved movies for the spectacle, and then I went for the story. What happened to the spectacle? If all you care about is ingesting a story, then why see the movie? Just read the screenplay. The cinematography, the set design, the lighting: that's all important, and you need to be able to SEE it.

And really, if it's just about knowing what's happened in the story, then you might as well watch your DVDs at 4x speed with subtitles on. Because that way you get the story. But you miss everything else: you miss the delivery, the timing, the acting, and the mood. If all you want is the story, go to Wikipedia. If you want the experience, you need more than just a 3 inch screen. (Or better yet: just read the summaries on Wikipedia, save yourself an hour and a half. It's the same thing, right? You know the plot points; you've basically seen the movie.)

I'm not saying you can't watch some movies on the small screen. Anchorman doesn't need the full-screen surround sound experience, particularly if, like me, you've seen it ten times or so. But you shouldn't see Inception or Fellini Satyricon or Citizen Kane for the first time on your iPod.

And yes, I know that movies are expensive, yeah, but there are ways around it. Discount theater tickets, discount theaters, etc. But I make a decent wage, and I can afford to go out to the theater more than a couple of times a year. But I think about people who are just struggling to get by, and want to have a fun experience for them and their families. What are they going to do: shill out thirty bucks for their family of four to go out on Discount Tuesdays or rent something for five bucks at Blockbuster or Netflix? Or just go to a torrent website and download something for free? I don't have a large family, it's just me and my wife. But if I had kids, and money was tight, I know what option I'd pick.

And it sucks, because the movies used to be the refuge of the working classes: you'd go to a double feature for five, ten cents, meet up with your friends or take someone out on a date and make a whole day of it. Even with inflation you can't go from five cents to twelve bucks in less than a hundred years. Movie companies are trying to recoup their losses from people who are renting or pirating, but really, they're forcing the very people away that they want to keep. Which "forces" them to drive the prices up, and now the snake head is eating itself. (And 3-D isn't the answer: people are already getting wise to that scheme. Like they did in the 50s.)

I really do feel that it's important to see movies in the THEATER every once in a while, and not just the big explosive blockbusters, because if you only patronize the mindless explosion-and-shotgun-blast movies that is all that people are going to make. Go see a comedy, or a drama. You might think that it's not going to be worth your investment, but if it's a movie you're interested in, no matter what the genre, then I truly believe it will be. Because it's not just about knowing what the story is about. It's about a social experience. A social experience that is being slowly eroded by greed and laziness. Which I think is sad. Maybe movie theaters will eventually run themselves down; maybe the death of the drive-ins was the first step towards complete extinction. And I'll be sad if that happens. And I'll keep pulling out my old favourites on DVD or watching Turner Classic Movies and watching them. But it won't be the same as being in a theater full of people gasping, laughing, or crying at what they're seeing on screen.

Rambling: My Changing Thoughts On The Self-Help Industry

2010-08-31T18:13:00.003-06:00

When I was a child, I thought that one of the things that defined being a "grown up" - aside from the ability to order Big Macs and Peanut Buster Parfaits without having to ask your mom - was being able to do things on your own, without having to ask for help. I mean, as a little kid, you need help with pretty much EVERYTHING. Or at least, I did. Before I turned ten, I did almost everything with at least cursory supervision and guidance: driving (the tractor), making food, doing chores, etc. I don't know if that is because I was bad at a lot of stuff, or if my parents were a little overprotective, or if that's what happens to most kids. But I always felt that I grew up with every little task that my parents deemed me capable of doing on my own.

(As an brief aside: this mindset is likely why I don't like doing anything I'm not immediately good at, particularly sports & other physical activities. If I can't do it successfully the first time, then I generally don't try again. I think that has some kind of basis in the "you shouldn't need help" mindset; if I need to ask for help or guidance, then I obviously shouldn't be doing it.)

When I graduated University, I kept that idea in my head. Being an adult means that you don't need help with anything. Or at least, you shouldn't. Particularly in your field of "expertise." I mean, you have a degree now, doesn't that mean that you should understand pretty much everything about it? And if you don't, all that means is that you need to read more, study more, and figure it out for yourself. And that's pretty much the way I've operated my entire life. Until this afternoon.

I'm not going to go into the fine details, but to sum up: there was a motivational speaker at my school division's big meeting today, and he was talking about changing your life by changing your outlook. I've never put much stock in motivational speakers, new-age gurus, or self-help books. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, The Purpose-Driven Life, How To Win Friends & Influence People: all of these smacked of people who were just trying to make you feel good while taking your money, psychological snake-oil salesmen at best and spiritual saboteurs at worst. I equated Steven Covey, Dale Carnegie, et al. with televangelists like Jim Bakker and Peter Popoff. Besides, who has the audacity to tell you what to do to "improve" yourself? You live your life, not some guy with a business suit and sandals who wants to talk to you about "realizing your own potential." I wouldn't trust a guy like that to mow my lawn, let alone organize my life.

And yet...

...today, those thoughts were tested a little. Not by anything specific the speaker said, but by a thought I had while listening to him. A thought that was basically: "Why NOT ask for help?"

It's hardly a breakthrough, I know. But it had never honestly entered my mind before. I had half-heartedly entertained the notion of getting a financial advisor, but never actually acted on it. The truth of the matter is, though, that the world I live in is incredibly complex, and there is no way I can possibly make all the decisions I would like to, correctly, the first time. I still believe that most of the self-help gurus out there have done more harm than good. But there are experts in varuiys other fields that I respect, and I seek out their guidance and trust their opinions. And there are people who have already done the things that I am going to do, and they might have insight into my current situation. So why NOT ask them? Why NOT brainstorm with them and try to be better?

I'm not saying that I'm going to start spouting aphorisms and trademarked catchphrases; it's unlikely that I'll buy into any of the self-help cultures out there. I can't stand new-age spiritual claptrap, I almost ripped my copy of The Alchemist into tiny pieces as I read it so no-one else would have to read it EVER, and the metaphors and figurative language that most book authors use make me feel nauseous. I'll never be the guy with the life coach, telling people to live their lives according to the Four Directions. But maybe I can feel comfortable asking for other people's opinions, and maybe branching out. Because I know now that I honestly can't do everything on my own.

I know. Not really mind-blowing stuff. But something I think I needed to consider.

Blatant Self-Promotion: Apocalypse Kow Fringe 2010 - LAST FIVE DAYS UPDATE!

2010-08-03T18:55:00.005-06:00

That's right folks: Apocalypse Kow will be making their SEVENTH straight appearance at the Edmonton Fringe Outdoor Stages. This year at Edmonton International Fringe Festival 2010: We'll Show You Ours (yes, it's a double-entendre!), Apocalypse Kow proudly presents: Apocalypse Kow: Live and in ~~Prison~~ Person. With new songs, old songs, old members, new members, and pretty much entirely old jokes, the show will amuse and delight people who love music and/or laughter and/or both. When can we see this wonderful show, you might ask? Well, just look below, my inquisitive friend, for the schedule!

Friday, August 13, 1:15 pm – 2:00 pm (TransAlta Power Stage)
Friday, August 13, 7:15 pm – 8:00 pm (Edmonton Journal Stage)

Sunday, August 15, 3:15 pm – 4:00 pm (TransAlta Power Stage)
Sunday, August 15, 9:15 pm – 10:00 pm (Edmonton Journal Stage)

Monday, August 16, 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm (TransAlta Power Stage)
Monday, August 16, 10:15 pm – 11:00 pm (Edmonton Journal Stage)

Tuesday, August 17, 12:15 pm – 1:00 pm (Edmonton Journal Stage)
Tuesday, August 17, 5:15 pm – 6:00 pm (TransAlta Power Stage)

Wednesday, August 18, 1:15 pm – 2:00 pm (Edmonton Journal Stage)
Wednesday, August 18, 6:15 pm – 7:00 pm (TransAlta Power Stage)

Thursday, August 19, 2:15 pm – 3:00 pm (Edmonton Journal Stage)
Thursday, August 19, 7:15 pm – 8:00 pm (TransAlta Power Stage)

FINAL FIVE DAYS! Special offer: everyone who attends one of these shows will get a personalized HIGH FIVE from YOURS TRULY!!!! (If you come up to me after the show, I'll be the one with the cowboy hat).

Friday, August 20, 3:15 pm – 4:00 pm (Edmonton Journal Stage)
Friday, August 20, 8:15 pm – 9:00 pm (TransAlta Power Stage)

Saturday, August 21, 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm (Edmonton Journal Stage)
Saturday, August 21, 9:15 pm – 10:00 pm (TransAlta Power Stage)

Sunday, August 22, 5:15 pm – 6:00 pm (Edmonton Journal Stage)

We'll be performing on the outdoor stages, rain or shine, unless the techs fear that we will be electrocuted (curse you Edmonton thunderstorms). Seventeen shows, an Apocalypse Kow record. But why no shows on Saturday the 14th, you might ask? WHAT, ISN'T 17 SHOWS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU??? Ha ha, that is just my tension getting the better of me, internet friend; that was not directed at you. Despite our absence on Saturday, we will be around the Fringe pretty much all week, so if you see a group of young men handing out playbills for an a cappella extravaganza, or with ridiculous antics on the outdoor stage, come and say hello, won't you? We'll be glad you did.

Apparently, I am a Constant Source of Amusement to Chuck D

2010-07-21T15:09:00.005-06:00

As you might not expect from a thirty-one-year-old white guy who grew up in the middle of conservative, redneck Alberta, Canada, I am a big, big fan of Public Enemy. As an adolescent, I had a pretty closed-minded view of music: the music I liked mainly consisted of Weird Al, John Denver, and The Beatles. It was only in junior high that my musical tastes slowly began to branch out.

It was during junior high or high school, probably at least sixteen years ago, I discovered "911 Is A Joke," a song done by P.E.'s high-energy hype man Flavor Flav. Which, in retrospect, could possibly be the best P.E. song for a Weird Al fan to listen to. Flavor Flav's delivery was funny, even though the material was serious, and that pulled me in. It was only later that I really began to appreciate the sound that The Bomb Squad and Terminator X produced: the multiple samples that in other hands could have just been noise but actually became something beautiful. And of course, there was the main voice of Public Enemy: Chuck D. The man's lyrics were amazing and his delivery was powerful. I got sucked in. I loved it. I even turned my younger brother on to them, although if you ask him he would say he was the one who introduced me to the group. No matter. The point is: Public Enemy was a big deal. I played Fear of a Black Planet over and over again all that summer, and It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back became my all-time favourite album for quite some time. Public Enemy slapped me out of my musical complacency, and became one of the most influential artists or groups on my musical and personal development. And all because of one silly-sounding song.

* * * * *

Eleven years ago, a friend of mine said that Public Enemy was going to be performing in Edmonton, and asked if I would like to go to the concert with him. I immediately said yes; after all, I lived in Edmonton. What were the chances that Public Enemy was ever going to come back to Edmonton, for crying out loud? This was probably my only chance.

We went to the show, and it was pretty packed; a lot of people were standing on the floor, and we pushed as far as we could from the foot of the stage. And when Public Enemy came out, they were everything I wanted them to be: loud and enthusiastic and amazing. Chuck D announced that Terminator X wasn't able to make it across the border, but they'd found someone to replace him for this leg of the tour, DJ Lord, and although I was a little disappointed I found that he was a very acceptable substitute. I don't remember much about that night, only that my friend and I danced as hard as I could, so hard that we hurt for days afterwards. At one point during the show, I bumped into someone who used to go to high school with me: he looked shocked at first, his face incredulous, as if to say, "Really? You're here?" But I just smiled and shouted "Isn't this GREAT?!", and he smiled and nodded his head. At some point during the show I even caught an autographed LP that Professor Griff threw into the audience, and somehow managed to keep it in good condition through the rest of the concert. When it was all over, I was so excited that I immediately ran to the merch table and bought a concert t-shirt to commemorate the event. I was on an incredible high all night; I couldn't get to sleep, and my younger brother - who was my roommate at the time - stayed up late with me as I told him all about the show. I actually got to see Public Enemy. I could die happy.

* * * * *

Five years ago, I was listening to CJSR - the local campus and community radio station - and they announced that Chuck D would be doing a reading at the University as part of their visionary speakers series. I asked Ninja Stan if he wanted to go to the lecture with me, as he loves Public Enemy almost as much as I do (the two of us have been known to do a mean "Bring The Noise" at karaoke nights). He immediately said yes. We were extremely excited; I wore the shirt I'd bought at the concert years before, and yes, I know that's kind of a nerdy thing to do, but I couldn't help myself. I was very excited. I also brought a couple of P.E. CDs for him to sign; one for me to keep and one to give to my younger brother as a Christmas present. We arrived early in order to close to the front of the line, and when they let us in to the hall, we made it down to the very front of the rows of seats. We were both so giddy that you could feel our entire row of seats shaking from our bouncing up and down. Chuck was set to be introduced by a local author and CJSR radio personality, someone whose work I rather enjoyed, and when he came out to make the introductions, my breath caught in my throat for a second.

The speaker talked about how important Chuck D was on music in general, and on himself in particular. It was very obvious that he was a fan, a bigger fan than me, obviously, but that's okay. It wasn't a contest. We were all there to listen to the man and enjoy the evening. And then, just before he introduced Chuck, he said something that almost ruined the whole evening for me. I can't remember his words exactly, but he said something about how "Chuck D and Public Enemy were there to take hip-hop back from the middle-class white kids that had co-opted it."

It was like a punch to the gut. My blood ran cold. I didn't know what to do. I was sitting there, in the front row, ready to hear one of my idols talk about music, society, and anything else he felt like, and all of a sudden I was thinking, "Do I even belong here?" I felt like getting up and leaving. But I didn't. Because then he brought Chuck out and the place erupted, and I remembered why I was there. I remembered that it didn't matter what people thought of the chubby white guy in the front row wearing a concert t-shirt. All that mattered is that I got to see Chuck D.

He talked for over 2 hours. At first, he just spoke, but later, he took questions from the audience and then used them to springboard onto new topics. He talked about race, about music, about culture, about politics, about Canada, about the economy, and on and on. After the two and a half hour mark, he was told that he was going to have to wrap it up, because he had a plane to catch in the morning and they wanted to make sure he made it to his hotel and had a decent amount of sleep. So he said that anyone who wanted an autograph should come up and stand in line, and he'd keep talking until the line was done and/or he ran out of questions, whichever came first. I immediately got in line, clutching my CDs, and waited.

When I finally got to the front of the line, he took my CDs from me without really looking, very businesslike, which made sense: he had to hold a number of things in his head to sign stuff and keep lecturing. I asked him to sign my "Revolverlution" album to me, and my "It Takes A Nation of Millions" album to my brother. He looked up at me to ask how to spell his name, and then when he was done, he handed them back, and was about to go back to his speaking, but I somehow blurted out, "Thanks for making great music and for being an inspiration for this middle-class white kid." Then he looked back up at me, then at my shirt, then back to me.

"Were you at the concert?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Yes, I was. It was great."

He cocked his head, frowned amusedly, and looked at me, like he was thinking, "Really?" Then he asked, "You want me to sign your shirt?"

I must have lit up like a candle. "Sure!"

He laughed, and said "What's your name, man?" I told him, and after he was finished signing my shirt, he shook my hand, smiled again and said, "Thanks, man," and he seemed really genuinely grateful, if a little confused, that I liked him and his group. I turned and went back to my seat, shaking a little. I couldn't believe it. I had shaken hands and talked to Chuck D. I could die just a little bit happier.

* * * * *

A couple of months ago, I was walking down the street, and saw a poster that said that Public Enemy was coming to Edmonton. I freaked out a little bit, and resolved to go to the concert. That resolution was made considerably easier when Ninja Stan said that he would take me to the show for my birthday. I was very on-board. And I know what you're thinking: no, I did not wear my concert t-shirt. I didn't want to look like a giant dork. I wore my Strong Bad t-shirt instead.

We showed up early, because Ninja Stan is a big gimp who walks with a cane and can't stand for a show, so we got a table to the left of the stage and watched the opening acts, who varied from "not bad" to "screamingly hilariously awful, seriously, this has to be a joke, right?" We sat and ate some pizza and talked, but then, it was time for the show. And I wasn't going to sit for it.

I made my way to the middle of the group that had gathered at the stage, and then, BAM! DJ Lord, who had since become a permanent member of the group, started playing, and then Chuck D and Flavor Flav came out, and then the BAND came out. They had a three-piece band with them as well, and they played the whole show. Chuck had a sore throat at the beginning of the set - "I blew out my throat in Saskatoon!" - but after he spent twenty minutes sipping on some hot tea and drinking some medical concoction in between songs, his voice popped back in, and they played for another TWO HOURS AND TEN MINUTES. Nothing but songs off of "Nation of Millions" and "Fear of a Black Planet," my two favourite albums; I danced, I shouted, and I cheered with every song.

When it was finally over, I made my way to the left side of the stage to get Flavor Flav's autograph on my ticket stub. It took a while, as there were a lot of people there who had obviously become fans through his "work" in reality television. After about five minutes I finally got a signature and a quick handshake, and then I made my way to the right of the stage to get Chuck's autograph. When he took it from me, I somehow got the urge to say, "Chuck, I was here at the concert the last time you came through, and I saw you speak at the University, and I wanted to say thank you very much, man, I really really enjoyed the show."

And he looked down at me, head cocked, amused frown on his face. "You were here ten years ago?"

I smiled. "Yes."

His frown turned into a small smile. "And you were at the University?"

I smiled. "Yes."

He smiled a little more and nodded his head in approval. "What's your name, man?"

I told him, and he held out his hand. "Thanks for coming to the show, Devin." I shook his hand, thanked him, and then ran back to the table to show off my ticket to Ninja Stan, happy to have come to the concert, happy to have my autographed ticket stub, and happy to once again have been a source of amusement for Chuck D.

How I'm Reading, What I'm Reading, And Why

2010-06-09T22:05:00.004-06:00

I was talking to my teaching partner at work the other day about one of the books that I was reading, The Devil in The White City by Erik Larsen (no, my nerdy compatriots, not that Erik Larsen). I was telling her something interesting - or at least, something I thought was interesting - that I had learned when reading it. And she looked at me a little confused. "I thought you were reading a book about evolution?" she said.

"I am. I'm also reading this book, though."

"I can't read two books at once," she said.

"I can read way more than two books at once," I said. "In fact, I have...six on the go right now? Not including comics."

She looked at me with a mixture of astonishment, awe, and yes, a little pity. "How can you DO that?"

I shrugged. "I always have," I said.

And it's true. I started reading I was a young man of four years old, and I can't really remember a time I didn't own a library card. My first library card was made out of yellow cardboard: it had Stony Plain Public Library printed on it in black letters, and my name and account number was written blue ink. I still remember my account number: 2222. Almost every weekend my parents drove fifteen minutes into town to do some errands, and I looked forward to these trips beause I got to go to the library, and find four new books. I started out getting kids books, but even by the age of nine or ten I was wandering into the adult non-fiction section to take out reference books, yes, REFERENCE BOOKS. Books about movies, science, music, history, whatever. I must have checked out The A-Z Encyclopedia of Movie Monsters over a dozen times.

I was always constrained, though, by the number of books I could take out. My child account stipulated that I could only have four books out at a time, so I had to choose wisely. I generally took out two books that I'd have done in one week, and two that would take me longer, so I would always have the excuse to go back to the library every week. This worked out okay, but soon I was asking my dad to take out a couple of books for me on his card because I couldn't take out enough on mine. I still remember the day I got my "adult" membership. It was on blue cardboard, and I could take out as many books as I wanted. I ran around the room like a kid in a candy store, except that, at twelve, I was still basically a kid at the time. I think I walked up to the corner with fifteen books. The librarian looked surprised, but I was elated. I had been waiting for this moment a long time.

So even back when I was a kid, I was reading multiple books at once. I never got confused, never forgot anything from a previous selection while I was reading something else. I never understood how anyone could be confused by reading too many books. After all, my mom watched more than one television show concurrently, and she never was confused about why David Suzuki wasn't talking about Dr. Sam Beckett's controversial time-travel theories, nor did she think that Heathcliff Huxtable was going to show up in the Cheers bar after a hard day's work of delivering babies. People don't get their television shows confused: why would I get characters or plots confused in the books I was reading?

So, what am I reading now? Well, I have since finished White City (which was very interesting, if a little jarring at points where the author switched narrative viewpoints). But if you take a look at my statistics on GoodReads, you'll find that I'm reading 18 books right now. But really, let's remove four of them right away, because I started them a LOOOONG time ago, and haven't made any progress on them in at least six months at best. And of those that remain, four of them are comics trade paperbacks, so let's take those away as well. That leaves me with ten books currently "on the go." And what are they?

1. The Third Chimpanzee - A non-fiction book about the evolution and development of the human species.
2. The Avenger #1 (Justice Inc. and The Yellow Hoard) - A collection of pulp stories about The Avenger, a man who suffers nerve trauman which makes him able to sculpt his face, and who uses this new ability to fight the mob.
3. The Dead Man's Brother - A book by acclaimed sci-fi author Roger Zelazny (my friend Mike would take issue with this one, methinks - it's a previously-unpublished crime novel, no robots or flying cars or anything).
4. How To Read Superhero Comics And Why - A non-fiction book about the literary and artistic merits of the superhero comic book.
5. Lady Chatterly's Lover - A novel by D.H. Lawrence that was banned in the U.S. and the U.K. when it was first published (and that I am now reading as part of an iPod app - oh, how things have changed in 80 years).
6. A Princess of Mars - The second book in the Barsoom Chronicles by Edgar Rice Burroughs (hopefully I've redeemed myself in Mike's eyes).
7. Sometimes A Great Notion - A re-read of a personal favourite, in fact, a book that is on my shortlist for the Greatest American Novel.
8. The Crime Writer - A novel by the crime writer Gregg Hurwitz, an audiobook version that I got through Audible.
9. The Film Club - A memoir about a man who home-schooled his high-school dropout son by watching movies.
10. A Gentleman's Game: A Queen & Country Novel - An espionage thriller and the first novel in the Queen & Country series (all previous stories were comic books).

All of these books are in various stages of completion, but I don't get confused when I pick them up. Sometimes I might forget, for a moment, the particular plot details or the hypotheses in the previous chapters, but generally I can get up to speed within a few minutes. I'm not always at TEN books at once, but generally it's between five to eight. What can I say? Does that make me weird? How do YOU prefer to read: one book at a time, or a hodge-podge that you can pick through at your leisure and/or convenience? Let me know, readers.

Drinking: My Latest Concoction

2010-05-21T21:57:00.006-06:00

So I am going to visit two of my great aunts tomorrow; they live in Quebec (like most of my family) and are coming out to visit their sister, my Nana. One of my favourite memories of my great-Aunt Corrine dates back to when I was nineteen years old and she came out to visit. I was so proud that I could drink back then, I offered to mix her favourite drink: the Caesar. I mixed it up exactly the way I had learned, and delivered it with panache. She took one sip, then turned and said, "Oh no. Let me show you how to make this." And then poured the vodka RIGHT INTO THE GLASS. Eyeballing it to about 1/4 full. Then adding about five times as much Worcestershire sauce as I had, then gently floating a little Clamato on top. "THAT," she said, "is how you make a Caesar." I have never forgotten.

When the duties were being given out for dinner tomorrow - who was bringing what - I was told to make up some kind of delicious beverage for everyone to try. I am, for those of you who don't know, enamoured with the art of the cocktail. Not in a "let's get everyone drunk before dinner" way, but in a nostalgic kind of way. I like the idea of having a party where I as the host can say, "What would everyone like to drink?" and being bombarded with a half-dozen different suggestions: a Rob Roy, a Gibsons, two Martinis, an Americano, and so on. My Nana sometimes tells me about the parties she would host, and the alcohol seemed to flow like water, and sure, some people would get sauced, but others just had their favourite drinks. I like the idea of any guest of mine being able to have "the regular," whether that be iced tea, a gin & tonic, or a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, and am trying to do my best to keep that weird tradition alive.

So my mother suggested I come up with something interesting, involving rum, as it is one of my great-Aunts' favourites. And after about five minutes, I came up with the following:

1/2 oz. Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
1/2 oz. vodka (Absolut is what I have on hand)
1/2 oz. spiced rum
1/2 oz. lime juice
2 drops Angostura bitters
Coca-Cola
Shake whiskey, rum, vodka, lime juice, and bitters together with ice. Pour into an old-fashioned glass with ice, and top with the cola.

I call it the Cuban Missile Crisis. I tried a couple of versions tonight before settling on this version, and I rather enjoy it. Hopefully a couple of people like it, too.

EA Sports Active: Come Along On With Me On My Sweaty Journey

2010-04-13T21:20:00.005-06:00

As those of you who know me in real life know - and those of you who don't could probably guess - I am very overweight. Lately, though, I have been losing weight. A little at a time, generally a pound a week. Most of it has been due to my purchase and use of Wii Fit (and the update, Wii Fit Plus). That system had been useful for about half a year, but I eventually got a little disappointed with it, because as much fun as the Wii Fit (and Wii Fit Plus) are, they weren't exactly time-efficient. I generally spent 40 minutes doing 30 minutes worth of low-impact, low-intensity exercises, and while they were sometimes fun, I didn't really feel like I was doing my best.

I do not look anything like this guy. Except for the facts that I am white and am always sitting on a big blue ball.

So, in February, I got an EA Sports Active Kit, and started one of their 30 Day Challenges, which is a series of exercises designed to ease you into the "personal training" program and introduce you to the exercises. But about 12 exercises in, I began to tear the resistance band, and every time I exercised with it, I kept tearing it a little more. I couldn't keep going with the exercises, so I couldn’t complete my challenge.

...and then it took me a month before I got another resistance band from a medical supply store. Why so long? Because I am a lazy, LAZY procrastinator. But I started a new 30 Day Challenge today, and I have to tell you: it was a LOT rougher than I had thought it would be. I think it has a little bit to do with the fact that this band has a little more tensile strength than the one that came with the kit, but a lot more to do with the fact that I have been inactive lately. I’m starting again, though, and I hope I have enough motivation to get me through. I am also keeping my difficulty at “Easy,” at least for this go-around, because I want to make sure I go through every exercise, and don’t get tempted to skip a day. I can always try again on a harder difficulty in the future, right?

So. Thirty days. Twenty exercises. One man. Can it be done? We will see, my friends. We will see.

(Also: I am back from my Uncle's funeral service in Montreal. I will talk about that later.)

Eastervision

2010-04-04T13:19:00.003-06:00

Earlier this week, I decided to set up a mini-project for myself. My wife is out of town, my family's Easter dinner happened on Friday, and I was going to have a lot of time on my hands. I also have a LOT of un-watched DVDs on my shelf (and in a box...). Putting all that together, I decided that I would try and watch an entire television DVD set in one day. Most shows are 22 episodes, and at 45 minutes an episode, that's about 18 hours. It would be tough, but I figured I could do it. I had a couple of ideas about where to start, but I was going to decide the day of.

Cut to today, where I got some upsetting news (more on that later), and I lost a good four hours from my day dealing with that. So I decided to go another angle: The Unit, Season 3. There's 11 episodes in that set (thanks to the Writer's Guild strike), so I can get through that without breaking a sweat. And then, when that's over, I will try to finish as many of the DVD sets that I have on the go as possible. Which, based on what I have, is going to be MAYBE 1. But at least I have beer and television to keep me occupied today. That's an okay to spend a lazy Sunday.

100 Years of Kurosawa

2010-03-23T18:20:00.006-06:00

That's not exactly accurate, but it's a good title. Today would have been Akira Kurosawa's 100th birthday. Well, technically it is his birthday, he's just not alive to celebrate it. But we sure as hell can.

Kurosawa was a brilliant director, and has directed some of my very favourite movies. I certainly haven't seen ALL the movies he's directed, but in my eyes, he's kind of like John Ford or Martin Scorsese: picking through their filmographies at random, you have a better-than-average chance of picking a masterpiece. If you want to celebrate his birthday by watching one of his movies, or are just looking for a recommendation, here are my top five Kurosawa films:

5. Yojimbo - The movie that inspired both A Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing, and probably one of actor Toshiro Mifune's most famous roles. Mifune made sixteen movies with Kurosawa, and this is the one that made him famous in the West. If you haven't seen it: remember how awesome Clint Eastwood was in Dollars. Now, multiply that by about a factor of a thousand, and make him a samurai. Yeah. That's how good Mifune is. A deceptively simple story, masterfully told.

4. Stray Dog - The only movie on my list that isn't a samurai movie, Stray Dog is a contemporary (for post-War Japan) crime movie, about a young detective (Mifune once again) who loses his service revolver to a pickpocket and needs to hunt it down after it was used in a murder. It's both a Japanese "film noir" (or close enough) and a fascinating look at Japan in the aftermath of World War II, and a gripping suspense to boot.

3. Rashomon - It's probably Kurosawa's most well-known movie, but just because it's popular doesn't mean it's bad (a lesson that would have served me well in high school...). A simple story complicatedly told, Rashomon is a master-class in filmmaking, and it has Mifune chewing scenery like a pro. It's probably the most accessible of Kurosawa's movies, too, a good movie to watch if you're just starting out.

2. Throne of Blood - As much as he influenced Western filmmaking, Kurosawa took his influences from all over, and did no less than three adaptations of Shakespeare's plays: Ran (King Lear), The Bad Sleep Well (Hamlet), and my favourite of the three, Throne of Blood (MacBeth). This is a brilliant adaptation of the story, and Kurosawa was using all his techniques to brilliant effect. It made me sit up and gasp at a number of times, and I thought I was immune to all that trickery. Just a brilliant movie.

1. The Seven Samurai - Not just my favourite Kurosawa movie, but my favourite movie of all time. Yes, it's got Mifune, but the standout performance is from another one of Kurosawa's frequent collaborators, Takashi Shimura (a.k.a. Dr. Kyohei Yamane from Godzilla). Sure, it's over three hours long, and the pacing and style might take a little getting used to, but it's well worth watching. Particularly if you have an afternoon to kill.

Well, there you go. My idea for a Kurosawa film fest might bore some people to tears, but I honestly believe that if you give him a chance, I really believe that any stereotype you might hold of of black-and-white foreign movies. Or at least you'll understand the Rashomon joke in The Simpsons. Any other thoughts on Kurosawa are highly encouraged!

Three Hundred Sixty Eight Days Later

2010-03-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

So. That was a year.

It's not like I didn't have anything to say. True, I didn't have a LOT to say. But things happened. Good things, bad things. But I had to think: what is this "blog" thing all about? In the era of Twitter and Facebook, what's the point? I gave myself some time to think about it, and to be honest: I don't honestly know. But I think I want somewhere that I can put down my thoughts, somewhere that I could actually take a little time and flesh them out. And I have some ideas. What I want to do, and what I don't want to do. So I'm back for a while. Maybe it'll stick. Maybe I'll abandon it again. But at least I have good intentions.

(In other news: no. I did not die of dysentary. My car died again later that night, though. I have a much nicer one now.)

How My 30th Birthday is Likely To Shape Up

2009-03-10T07:45:00.002-06:00

1. I was supposed to carpool to work today, but the girl who was supposed to pick me up didn't set her alarm and just woke up when I called her three minutes ago.
2. When I get back into town from work, I will have to spend over $2000 on car repairs (on top of the $500 I spent two weeks ago), and hopefully my car will start more dependably.

Extrapolating from those two things, I believe my day will end with:

3. I will catch dysentary and spend 8 hours in agonizing, sleepless pain, which will abate 40 minutes before I have to go to work on Wednesday.

My 30th Birthday = wake up, buddy, it's grown-up times.

Great Moments In Spam History, Part 1

2009-02-23T23:34:00.003-07:00

I don't get a lot of e-mail spam, and normally I just delete them without reading. But for some reason, I looked at one tonight and I was compelled me to share it with other people.

"Your woman will be shocked by your fang's astonishing progress."

First of all, that is just a great sentence. Second of all, "fang"? Really? I know there are a lot of euphamisms for that part of the male anatomy, but "fang" gives it an edge that I'm not entirely comfortable with. Anyhow: just needed to share. Now I'm off to have nightmares about teeth growing in inappropriate places.

All Times Are Valentimes!

2009-02-09T22:01:00.004-07:00

I thought about doing a traditional "I hate Valentine's Day" post, but I've decided against it. Not saying I actually Valentine's Day, because I really don't. If you're curious, it has to do with the whole "societally mandated day that you must prove your love" angle of the day. And while I still believe that, I think I've mellowed a little in my old age, and my opinions aren't as ABSOLUTE and UNYIELDING as they used to be. So I'm willing to loosen my stranglehold on that opinion a little in order to make things tolerable around my house. The Peach knows I don't like it, but she still likes the whole idea, so I'm willing to swallow my pride - and my tongue - and meet her halfway. This 14th I will be getting her a tiny present with a card, and we will have a romantic meal of champagne and cheeseburgers, followed likely by some movie with Cary Grant in it.

And that's it. That's about all I can handle at this stage in my life, and luckily The Peach isn't super-high-maintenance about it. I'm very glad I'm not with someone who would be like that about Valentine's day, but then again: a relationship like that would have fizzled out long before the first February reared its ugly head. And I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what the kids in my class will be doing for Valentine's day. God, I'm actually looking forward to something V-Day related? I must be losing my bile. The Young Doc would be mortified.

Pop Quiz

2009-01-26T23:25:00.004-07:00

When one's significant other mentions in a casual moment of conversation that he or she is thinking of becoming a vegetarian, do you:
a) stare shocked into his or her face and say nothing for a long time?
b) nod your head understandingly and begin a sensible dialogue?
c) become bombarded by images of dozens of your favourite meat-based meals flash through your head?
d) become filled with remorse that you realize that you may never have any of those delicious meals again?
e) a, c, and d?

If you answered anything except e), you are a better person than I am.

Get Some Leverage

2009-01-14T22:46:00.001-07:00

There are a few things swirling around in my brain right now, but if I don't put something down now, and I mean right now, I probably won't write again for another few weeks. A busy, sometimes stressful job only compounds my procrastination.

First of all: happy 2009, ye few and mighty readers. Anyone get anything good over the holidays? Or have good New Year's stories? My holidays were SLOW AND RELAXING. Which was a blessed relief.

Secondly, anyone who is able to should be watching the TV show Leverage. It's a smart, funny series written & created by John Rogers, who I first discovered as the writer of Blue Beetle - one of my favourite comics series of the past couple years. (Link to his groupblog here.) The show is about a team of theives and crooks who get together to pull off crimes that screw over evildoers and help the little people who have been stepped on. Great cast, well-written, stylishly directed, and you get a great heist every week. Sadly, it also feels like just the kind of show to get cancelled before its time, or air for one season and then not get renewed. So I'm doing my part to spread the word. Leverage: it's a good thing.

Back later.

Occupational Hazard

2008-12-03T16:31:00.003-07:00

My first official job as a Speech Pathologist has been going pretty well; I'm part of a good, supportive team and I really like the kids I'm working with. Most of my job involves planning and delivering treatment directly to the kids in the class, but every Wednesday I have meetings and check-ins with family members. Today I met a few mothers in a book-learning workshop that a colleague was running, and the conversation started running, as it invariably does, to their other children. I'm usually fine with this, as I think part of being a parent (particularly of a special needs child) is venting about their kids, so I nodded and smiled along with them, not having much to contribute myself, since The Peach and I have no kids. One of the mothers turned to me, and said, "What are your kids like?" That sometimes happens: people assume, since I'm at the end of my 20s, married, and involved with education and children's development, that I have kids of my own. So I tried to pull out a stumper for an answer.

"They're quiet," I said.

All I Am Is All You're Not

2008-08-29T16:47:00.004-06:00

My brother took off for London, Ontario yesterday. He got accepted at the University of Western Ontario to study for his Master's degree, and he jumped at the chance: partly to study, partly to get out of Edmonton. I saw him off at the airport; I had dropped The Peach off there an hour earlier, so I figured I would just stick around and say goodbye to him. My mom and his girlfriend were there too, and I didn't want to steal their time with him so I just gave him a hug and said I'd send him an e-mail some time soon.

I've broken down crying four times today whenever I think about it. I didn't see him very often while he was here, but at least I did see him sometimes. And it hurts to know I can't just call him up or bump into him randomly any more. I didn't realize it was going to hit me this bad. And with no Peach around, I have been distracting myself as best I can, with beer and comic books. But there's nothing sadder than a grown man sobbing with a can of Black Label in his hand while reading an old issue of Excalibur. Anyhow. I just had to vent.

Secret Messages From The Picture Box

2008-07-22T21:50:00.003-06:00

Sometimes while I'm flipping through the channels on my television, snippets of dialogue from different stations merge together to create odd, quirky sentences. A few days ago I was flipping down through the channels, and I heard the following message:

BBC News: Just beat-
Food Network: -a juicy steak-
Nancy Grace: -for several hours.

I know you need to tenderize your meat, but that seems like a long time.

What's Up Wednesday - Special The Dark Knight Edition

2008-07-16T23:08:00.004-06:00

So I got back from seeing an advance screening of The Dark Knight about forty minutes ago, and I thought I'd give you guys my thoughts. First of all, yes, I liked it. Which is strange, because I wasn't really expecting it to. I thought it wouldn't live up to the expectations, probably be good but not as good as Batman Begins. And I was wrong. I think that Dark Knight was much, much better than the first movie, for a number of reasons. First of all: the first movie had about fifty minutes of unneccessary origin story, while Dark Knight had zero. You started in with Batman as the status quo right away, which was good for the momentum of the storyline. Second: the science in this movie, while still kind of bad, wasn't nearly as bad as the science in Batman Begins. (Seriously. Microwave generators creating steam in water pipes but not cooking ANYONE? That's bad, BAD science.) Third: excellent, EXCELLENT foils. While The Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul were passable in the first movie, Heath Ledger's Joker is really very good. He's been getting a lot of praise in the media, which I had chalked up the hype machine going into overdrive due to his death. His performance in this movie, however, is in fact very good. Chilling, hilarious, and dare I say even honest? His Joker may not be the one fans are familiar with, but it fits the Nolanverse (a term I just coined, thank you very much) very well. The buzz that he might get an Oscar nomination seems a bit much, but "not getting an Oscar nomination" does not equal "poor performance". Ledger did a teriffic job, showing you just how good an actor he really was.

In fact, as good reason number three-point-five, the acting of nearly everyone in the movie is rather good. Gary Oldman gets a lot more to do in this movie, and he does it very well, playing the one good cop in a city gone crazy and giving the audience a solid anchor. Aaron Eckhart, an actor I've never been particularly fond of, is really quite engaging as Harvey Dent. Of course, Maggie Gyllenhaal is a vast improvement over Katie Holmes, and Michael Caine & Morgan Freeman round out the cast with their trademark gravitas and a couple of light comedic touches. The actor I had the most problems with is sadly Christian Bale, who does a very good Bruce Wayne but grates on me whenever he's Batman, thanks to the ridiculous voice he affects whenever he puts on the cowl. You don't need to sound like you're gargling chunks of hot asphalt* to disguise your voice or sound intimidating. Less is more, man.

Bale's vocal antics as Batman are one of only a few minor quibbles, though. The story starts off as fairly straightforward but then gets as twisted and turned as it becomes more affected by The Joker's influence. There are many good moments in this movie that I could harp on, but it's getting late. The point is, even if you're not a comics fan but liked Batman Begins, I think you'll like this even better. Not that you need me to sell you on it. I just think it's worth your time.

* - Who am I ~~ripping off~~ homaging with this line?

What's Up Wednesday - July 9, 2008

2008-07-09T22:53:00.002-06:00

Capsule reviews today due to insomnia and overwhelming urge to sleep.

The TV Show: I blazed through the last half of How I Met Your Mother Season One and ALL of Season Two while my Peach was away. That show is good stuff. Definitely above the level of your average sitcom; nearing Coupling levels, but not quite there.

The Book: I finished The Perks of Being A Wallflower in a span of 24 hours and it was pretty dang good. Certainly above what I've come to expect from some of the YA (Young Adult) books I've been reading. Also: why did I start reading YA books? I didn't read them when I was a young adult; why read them now?

The Album: Sly and The Family Stone's A Whole New Thing is really, REALLY good. But then again, I'm mostly basing that on how awesome the first track, Underdog. SO AWESOME. I think I may have found my new theme song. I will be sad to see you, Theme From The Andy Griffith Show, but you are not funky enough. (Yeah yeah!)

TrivInsomnia

2008-07-09T00:45:00.004-06:00

I'm unable to sleep, which is going to wreak havoc on my day tomorrow (I'm supposed to meet people at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast). But I thought I'd use this time to look up some things that I was curious about earlier this week and share them so as to improve the breadth of knowledge of my readership.

1. There is no difference in makeup or size between a symphony orchestra and a philharmonic orchestra. Both are made up of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion sections, and have a large number of musicians (about one hundred; compare that to a chamber orchestra, who has about forty members). Philharmonic (from the Greek for "music-loving") and symphony (from the Greek for "sounding together") orchestras do differ in one sense, though. It's a matter of semantics. Symphonic is a general term, while philharmonic is a specific term that only occurs as part of a name. So you could say that the London Philharmonic Orchestra is a symphonic orchestra, but you couldn't say that the London Symphony Orchestra is a philharmonic orchestra.

2. Chicken Tikka Masala, an Indian-style dish that features roast chicken (chicken tikka) in a tomato and curry sauce, wasn't created in India at all. It was created in Great Britain. The most famous story was that it was invented in a Glasgow in the 1960s, when a customer in an Indian restaurant ordered roast chicken and when it arrived, asked where the gravy was.

3. Speaking of gravy: poutine, the famous French-Canadian dish of French fries, cheese curds, and gravy, caused an international incident last week. A poster celebrating the Canada Day party at the Canadian Embassy in the U.S. featured Samuel De Champlain, founder of Quebec City (whose 400th anniversary is this weekend), holding a plate of poutine. This is apparently insulting and in bad taste: Jean-Paul Perreault, spokesman for Impératif Français, was quoted as saying "If they wanted to make a joke it's a really bad joke and if it wasn't a joke, well, it's worse then." Then, he likened the poster to using a hot dog to pomote English Canada. I'm not Quebecois, but I think that's overreacting. First of all, although it's unclear where hot dogs were first created, it was probably either Vienna or Bavaria, and was likely refined in New York City to look like the hot dogs we know today. Second of all, poutine is a well-known French Canadian food, and it has instant recognition: putting it on the poster makes sense to me, and I don't see how it's insulting. Also: if they make the English Canadian poster, I think John Diefenbaker should be holding the hot dog. It would look really funny.

That's all folks. Good night; hope you can get to sleep.

What's Up Thursday - July 3, 2008

2008-07-03T21:47:00.004-06:00

I completely forgot about this yesterday, because - and I wish I was making this up - because comics weren't in yesterday (due to the Canada Day holiday), I forgot it was Wednesday. Wednesdays have a very particular rhythm to them: go to work, get comics, go home. The pattern broke and apparently I lost all track of time. I know, I know. But let's not dwell on it, shall we? Let's instead take a short trip into the black hole of my week's experiences.

The Movie(s): I've been plowing through The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection, which contains the first five Marx Brothers movies (before Zeppo left the group). Their first feature, The Cocoanuts, is really uneven, partly due to the ridiculous romantic subplot and partly because the directors couldn't frame a scene if you gave them a right angle and a level. But the brothers really pull it off, particularly due to a great scene where Groucho and Chico go over a map of Florida. Monkey Business is a lot better, and it has some great moments (particularly Groucho's scenes with Thelma Todd, and Zeppo even gets a fairly decent part). Horse Feathers, which was my first Marx Bros. movie, is still a sentimental favourite of mine. But my very favourite, sentimental or no, is Duck Soup, which is a work of sheer comedic genius from start to finish. (I haven't watched Animal Crackers yet, but it would have to be pretty damn good to be better than Duck Soup.) The movies might get hokey at times, but they are classics for a reason.

The Book: I'm getting back into my Wodehouse, and am currently trying to polish off Very Good, Jeeves. It's another great example of very British writing, and hilarious to boot. I laugh out loud every two pages or so (often every page), particularly due to exchanges like this:

'[...]Well, as I was saying, I maintain that the rank is but the ghinea stamp and a girl's a girl for all that.'
' "For a' that", sir. The poet Burns wrote in the North British dialect.'
'Well, "a' that", then, if you prefer it."
'I have no preference in the matter, sir. It is simply that the poet Burns--'
'Never mind about the poet Burns.'
'No, sir.'
'Forget the poet Burns.'
'Very good, sir.'
'Expunge the poet burns from your mind.'
'I will do so immediately, sir.'

The most curious thing I've found about reading this book is that I had read two other Jeeves books before seeing the television series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, and I had completely different images of them in my head. Now, after seeing all four series, I can't get Laurie's foppish Wooster or Fry's cool Jeeves out of my head.

The Real-Life: The Peach and I went out and wandered The Works arts festival on Friday, and I saw a few exhibits that were interesting but on the whole I was underwhelmed. Probably because we were on a schedule and could only stop in at locations that were on our walking path. Then we went out for dinner at Sofra, a Turkish restaurant downtown, and it was delicious. We had yaprak sarma, spicy feta dip with fresh-baked flatbreads, rack of lamb, chicken and lamb kebabs, bulgur wheat pilaf, grilled vegetables, and finished it all off with baklava (which were delicious) and Turkish coffee (which The Peach HATED, but not surprising). I would definitely recommend that restaurant to anyone looking for a nice place to eat in Edmonton.

The Doc vs. The AFI, Part Four

2008-07-01T16:24:00.002-06:00

(Previously in our saga: Parts One, Two, and Three.)

I had been doing pretty well so far with the lists so far; sure, I'd had my stumbles, but my guesses were much better than average, and even better than I'd expected myself to do. I'd also had a fair number of problems with the lists, what they'd included and excluded as films and genres. I hadn't expected much, but I had expected a little better. With the Epics, though, it was about to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Epic:
Official Definition: AFI defines "epic" as a genre of large-scale films set in a cinematic interpretation of the past.
My Thoughts: On the surface it's pretty good, but it does leave some things a little too open to interpretation. "The past" is too broad, I think, because it opens this definition up to encompassing another genre entirely, one we will be noticing in a little bit.
What I Got Right:
10. The Ten Commandments.
6. Titanic. (And I'm sad that I got it right.)
5. Spartacus.
4. Gone With The Wind.
2. Ben Hur.
1. Lawrence of Arabia.

What I Missed:
9. Reds. Wow, that's cool. Didn't see that coming. Wait a second. An often overlooked film that more people should see? Good job, AFI.
8. Saving Private Ryan. Okay, this is where I got mad. This is Grade-A b.s. You want to put this on a list, you make a Top Ten War Movies list. You can remove Courtroom Drama and replace it with an ACTUAL genre.
7. All Quiet on the Western Front. I love this movie, but see above.
3. Schindler's List. I don't see this as an epic. It's a drama. (Or even, depending on your definitions, a war movie.)

What I Guessed:
Braveheart and Gladiator - They're the epitomy of the epic film (long, sweeping, historical, "important", expensive), and made boatloads of cash. I thought these were both shoe-ins. Not that I think they're any more deserving than some others, I just thought they were AFI material.
The Greatest Story Ever Told - Kind of a shocker to be excluded. Big and historical, but I guess one Biblical epic is enough.
Giant - This was just a placeholder, really. I couldn't think of anything else, and I was running out of time.

Other Thoughts: 60% on the Epics, but a lot of my picks were home runs anyhow. And now I can talk about the problem with the Epic film. It includes the War film genre. And I don't know why the AFI didn't include a War genre in their categories. There are a lot of great war movies, and unlike some of the other genres on the list it's a real genre. (I suppose you could argue that a list of ten great war movies would be kind of depressing, but that's something for public relations people to look at, not me. I'm just interested in the movies.) I actually liked their definition, until I realized that it didn't exclude war movies, something that you could easily do. They at least attempted it with Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

My Final Thoughts:

At long last, I can give you a brief (too late!) summary of the AFI show. First of all, it was an incredibly boring show. Other AFI shows I've seen have had interesting interview segments from writers, producers, politicians, actors, directors, and film historians, all talking about how the movies on the list affected them. Most of the people on this show were celebrities that talked about movies that they were in or helped make. I don't care what Steven Spielberg has to say about Schindler's list, or George Lucas about Star Wars. I want to hear Lucas talk about Ben Hur, or Spielberg talk about a director like Hitchcock. THAT would be interesting. John Ratzenberger talking about Toy Story, or Rob Reiner talking about When Harry Met Sally? That I can pass on.

As I've already said, the genres ranged from great to awful. I know the AFI has already done lists of dramas, comedies, and "thrills" (which covers a great deal of genres, actually), but they still could have put together a better list than this. In fact, let me give it a whirl. What about these for the Ten Top Tens?
Fantasy; Sci-Fi; Horror / Suspense; Gangster; War; Historical Epic; Romantic Comedy; Mystery; Western; Sports.
Replace Courtroom Drama and Animation with two more well-defined (and in my eyes, legitimate) genres: Horror/Suspense and War. Beef up your definitions of Fantasy, Romantic Comedy, and Mystery. Narrow your Epics to movies that focus on history more than war (not that they can't involve war, just that the war isn't the focus of the movie). There's a better programme already. And I'm even going to throw them a bone for Sports. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean it's not a "genre", per se. (Plus, if you have the stones to put Caddyshack on it, I'm good.)

And finally, my biggest problem with the list? Predictability. I went sixty percent overall, with an average of ten minutes to prepare each list. And even the ones I didn't pick didn't usually surprise me. I think that lists like this should point people towards deserving movies that they wouldn't normally rent or go to see. I had only three of these surprise entries that I thought fit the genre and that most people watching the show wouldn't have heard of: The Thief of Baghdad, Harold and Maude, and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. If the point of these lists is to put even more plaudits on well-respected movies and help the traditional Hollywood machine make more money, congratulations AFI, you've succeeded. Just don't try and make it look like you're trying to find the "best" movies.

Thanks for reading along, folks, those of you who have. Anyone who wants to make suggestions for the genres, or any comments at all, feel free. I'm just glad I've got this off my chest.

Hot Times, Summer In The City

2008-06-30T23:12:00.002-06:00

It has been really hot the past few days. Yesterday I didn't mind so much as I was at Pigeon Lake, being hauled around in an inner tube behind a motorboat being piloted by a maniac, drinking cool beers, and sitting in the shade - not simultaneously, of course. But today was a scorcher. Even in my basement apartment, it was hot. In the afternoon it was over 30 degrees (Celcius, naturally), and I have felt sick and gross all day. I'm hoping it's better for Canada Day tomorrow, because if it's not I fear there will be great mayhem and mischief perpetrated by overheated muscleheads who've had too much alcohol.

Anyhow, tomorrow I should hopefully have cooled down and have Part 4 of the AFI saga up. And then I don't know WHAT I'll do for material.

What's Up Wednesday - June 25, 2008

2008-06-25T17:51:00.004-06:00

We take a quick break from my entirely too-thought-out series of posts about the AFI to spill the beans on what I've been liking - and not liking - for the past seven days. Some have been good, some have been bad, but they've all made their way here. Let's give them a warm welcome, shall we?

The Movie - Morgoid and I went to see Young People Fucking last night. It's a Canadian-made comedy film that's been under a bit of scrutiny in recent months thanks to its connection to the controversial Bill C-10. (I'm not going to comment much on the bill or its questionable clause, except to say that I disagree with it.) Aside from the controversy, the movie is actually pretty good: funny and thought-provoking. It's five different stories of love and/or sex, split up according to different points in the act (Prelude, Foreplay, etc.). The movie actually plays both sides very well, using controversy and the promise of titillation to get butts in seats, and then makes very well-thought-out and important points about how sex and love are seen in modern society. Well, mostly well-thought-out: there was one point in the movie (no spoilers here) where both Morgoid and I just gasped and were flabbergasted by what we saw as cheap trickery and bad writing. But four out of five good stories makes for a good film overall, one I can recommend with one notable reservation. So if you're anti-censorship, pro-sex, or interested in Canadian film, go see it. (And if you see it - or have seen it - please let me know if you think you understand which scene I disliked.)

The Album - I popped Funkadelic's America Eats Its Young on the mp3 player yesterday and was really surprised by how good it was. The first time I listened to it I remembered being unimpressed, but this time I was really pleased. A really pleasing mix of funk, soul, and r&b; not as hard as Let's Take It To The Stage and not as sprawlingly brilliant as Maggot Brain, but a good little album to have in your collection.

The Drink - When I saw billboards for Sleeman's No. 20 Anniversary Ale popping up, I went to a number of my local liquor stores looking for it, but they didn't have any in. I finally found it when I was looking for wine on Father's Day, and I had my first bottle the other day. I really like Sleeman's Honey Brown and their Amber Ale is pretty good too, so I was expecting good things, especially from an anniversary brew. Sadly, this is pretty pathetic. Nothing special at all about it; in fact, it's actually bad. It feels bad in the mouth, smells a little off, and tastes worse than Pabst Blue Ribbon. Just dreck. The only way it's drinkable is if you either a) drink it really fast or b) turn it into a Dillinger. Never agin.

The Book - I cracked open The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time yesterday on my way to work and finished it up today. I will say that, while it's good, it's not exactly what I was expecting. The book starts off as a murder mystery with a twist: the investigator - and author of the book - is a fifteen-year-old boy with Autism, and the murder victim is his neighbor's dog. But the book is about much more than that. Author Mark Haddon's technique is really good, bordering on too tricky-cute sometimes, but it really helps the reader get into the mindset of someone with Autism as best one can (though some people would disagree). It's good, but a lot different than I was expecting, and I don't think as deserving of some of the hype it had recieved when it was released. It's good, but not life-alteringly so.

The Doc vs. The AFI, Part Three

2008-06-24T14:30:00.004-06:00

(Confused? You can find parts One and Two here.)

At this point in the show, I felt that the AFI lists were okay but not anything to write home about. But I wasn't going to give up on my challenge. I'd challenged myself to make my predictions for these lists, and I was going to see that challenge through. Besides, it made watching the show more fun. Unfortunately for me, the genres and movies selected just got more and more ridiculous.

Mystery:
Official Definition: AFI defines "mystery" as a genre that revolves around the solution of a crime.
My Thoughts: Not so good. First of all, a traditional mystery could be about solving a crime, but not all movies about solving crimes are mysteries. Heat, for instance. Part of it is about solving or preventing crimes, but there's no mystery to it. And then there are mysteries that aren't about crimes at all. There are fewer of these, but movies like Shamalyan's Sixth Sense and Unbreakable are good examples. They're mysteries, but not about solving crimes. I'm not sure my definition will be flawless either, but how about "The Doc defines "mystery" as a genre that deals with a puzzle that must be solved." Not perfect, but I think it's better.

What I Got Right:
10. The Usual Suspects. (And nice to see.)
7. North by Northwest.
6. Maltese Falcon. (I think this should be higher, but at least it's not any lower.)
5. The Third Man.
1. Vertigo. (I picked this over Rear Window. I figured there was no way there would be more than 3 Hitchcock films on the list, and one of my other picks wasn't considered - see below.)

What I Missed:
9. Dial M for Murder. Okay, this movie? IS NOT A MYSTERY. I know it's Hitchcock, and it's good, but it's not a mystery. There's a difference between mystery and suspense.
8. Blue Velvet. I left this off because I thought it was too weird for most people to even consider. Shows what I know.
4. Laura. Don't know anything about this movie.
3. Rear Window. Okay, seriously. I love the guy, but this is too much Hitchcock on one list (3/10 seemed reasonable, but 4/10 seems like too much.).
1. Chinatown. Well this one was on my gangster list, so...I'm taking it as half a win for me.

What I Guessed:
The Sixth Sense - I just assumed it'd be on the list because it was popular and I hadn't read the definition ahead of time (it's not about a crime to be solved). I'm kind of glad it's not, though: there are better mysteries out there.
The Big Sleep - However, I am surprised this wasn't on their list. It's a classic Hollywood picture, with the immortal Bogey/Bacall pairing, and pretty good to boot.
Murder on the Orient Express - The film version of one of the best-known murder mysteries ever made doesn't make the cut? I don't like it. It could be because it too "British", but if Lawrence of Arabia is "American", then this should be too.
The Thin Man - I really thought Nick & Norah Charles would get some love.
Rebecca - This just gets so much good word of mouth, I figured it would be on the list. (Plus, this was my third Hitchcock pick.)

Other Comments: 50% on this list, 55% if you subscribe to my Chinatown theory, but I'm feeling pretty good about that considering one of the ones that I missed isn't a mystery. (Still a little miffed about that.) Some really good movies on the list, though, with Blue Velvet and The Usual Suspects making a good showing for some more modern mysteries.

Romantic Comedy:
Official Definition: AFI defines "romantic comedy" as a genre in which the development of a romance leads to comic situations.
My Thoughts: So close. In a romantic comedy, the development of a romance does not need to LEAD TO comic situations. The romance can COME FROM the comic situations. As long as they're not independent, I think it's okay.

What I Got Right:
10. Sleepless in Seattle.
7. Adam's Rib. (I knew there had to be a Spencer/Tracy vehicle, and I picked the right one.)
6. When Harry Met Sally. (One of my favourites.)
5. The Philadelphia Story.
3. It Happened One Night. (My favourite.)
2. Annie Hall.

What I Missed:
8. Harold and Maude. Awesome. In this case, I'm not angry I guessed one wrong.
7. Moonstruck. Well, that explains why we've been seeing Norman Jewison this whole evening.
4. Roman Holiday. I feel stupid for not even considering this one.
1. City Lights. Oh, AFI. Your definitions astound and delight me. It's a comedy, and it's romantic, and it is an amazing movie, but it is so different from the rest of the movies on this list that it's like seeing a zebra in a horse race. This is the odd man out on this list.

What I Guessed:
Pretty Woman - Thank you, AFI, for having some taste.
Tootsie - Was just a fill-in spot. My dark horse.
The Apartment - Really? The AFI decided that the needed no Billy Wilder zaniness?
The Lady Eve - And no Preston Sturges? The man was a genius!

Other Thoughts: 60% on romantic comedies, something some guys wouldn't be too proud of but I'm just fine with it. And about City Lights. All nine other movies have their roots in screwball comedy. City Lights has its roots in vaudeville and melodrama. I love City Lights, but I don't think it's a romantic comedy in the strictest sense of the word. A lot of the comedy has nothing to do with the romantic subplot; they aren't as intertwined as in the other selections. It's a comedy movie with romance in it, but not a romantic comedy, if that makes any sense. Other than that, not much to say (besides the fact that Annie Hall is WAY too high on the list).

Courtroom Dramas:
Official Definition: AFI defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice plays a critical role in the film's narrative.
My Thoughts: More than Animation, more than Sports, this is the biggest genre stretch of the night. You might as well have picked "police procedural" or "diaster" as genres, which are about as valid and narrow. With all the other genres they left off, this one just seems insulting. I needed to use the IMDB just to THINK of ten courtroom dramas.

What I Got Right:
10. Judgement at Nuremburg.
7. Anatomy of a Murder.
6. Witness for the Prosecution. (Needed IMDB for this one.)
5. A Few Good Men.
2. 12 Angry Men.
1. To Kill a Mockingbird.

What I Missed:
9. A Cry In The Dark. The only reason I've even heard of this movie is because when I was in Junior High, my friends would shout "A DINGO ATE MY BABY!" randomly at the top of their lungs. I've still never seen it.
8. In Cold Blood. Never seen it.
4. The Verdict. Never seen it.
3. Kramer vs. Kramer. Okay, this one I can see. Didn't even think of it, which is silly.

What I Guessed:
Paths of Glory - One of the best legal movies I've ever seen, plus it's Kubrick. I'm really shocked this wasn't on.
Caine Mutiny - No reason, mostly a placeholder. I used IMDB to think of this one, too.
The Firm and The Client - I just picked them because John Grisham's popular and I figured I'd score with one of them.

Other Thoughts: I'm really surprised I could come up with 8 courtroom dramas on my own, let alone predict 60% of them. And that's the problem: how many courtroom dramas spring to mind compared to, say science fiction. Also, I know I'm going to take a little flak for this, but I don't think To Kill A Mockingbird is a courtroom drama. To me, the movie's about Scout, not Atticus and the trial. The trial's an important part of the movie, but not THE MOST important part. Your mileage may vary. Overall, though, I think this genre is a ridiculous choice and should be tossed.

I was 58% accurate on these three lists, bringing me up to 59% overall. I was really depressed at how predictable these lists were: why bother making a three-hour television special about it at all (aside from the obvious answer: money)? At this point I was on my way to trying to overhaul the whole list, and the last category clinched it for me. Check back in a couple more days for Part 4: the last Top Ten list, my proposed facelift, and more random thoughts.

Obit: George Carlin

2008-06-23T10:24:00.005-06:00

George Carlin died yesterday. He was one of my favourite comedians, and I will be listening to a lot of his albums today. He was funny, crass, and brilliant, and even though his later work left a little bit to be desired, his early stuff is justifiably well-loved and well-respected. If you liked George Carlin, then here's a link to one of my favourite bits. If you don't, well, there's not a whole lot I can say to convince you otherwise. Except: how can you not like Mister Conductor?

George Carlin: 1937-2008

The Doc vs. The AFI, Part Two

2008-06-22T09:41:00.003-06:00

(Part One here.)

So, huddled at my computer during the commercial break, I frantically made up my lists . I tried my best to predict what the AFI's lists would be, which meant that I wasn't making my own Top Ten lists based on what I think are quality movies, but rather trying to think like an AFI member and pick the most obvious ones. Sometimes I failed and went for my own personal favourites, but I tried to use their criteria over mine. Like I said, I figured I'd get 30%, maybe 50% depending on how well I knew the genre. How did it go?

Sports:
Official Definition: AFI defines "sports" as a genre of films with protagonists who play athletics or other games of competition.
My Thoughts: That sounds good, I guess, but I think it's a little too open of a definition. If your protagonist plays a sport, but the movie is mostly about their problems outside the sports arena, then it's still a sports movie. Which I disagree with.

What I Got Right:
10. Jerry Maguire.
9. National Velvet. (I almost guessed Seabiscuit, because it was the first horse-racing movie that came to mind, but I quickly changed it to National Velvet.)
5. Bull Durham.
1. Raging Bull. (Here's where my problem with the definition comes in. Raging Bull is about a boxer, but I don't think it's a "sports movie".)

What I Missed:
8. Breaking Away. Never heard of it.
7. Caddyshack. Really? That is awesome. Don't think it's worthy of a Top Ten mention, but it's kind of a shallow category, so throw the sports comedies a bone.
6. The Hustler. I was this close. (See below.)
4. Hoosiers. I vaguely remember seeing part of this movie on cable once. It seemed okay.
3. The Pride of The Yankees. Haven't seen it so it didn't spring to mind, but I can see this being on the list. Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig? I might even rent it one day.
2. Rocky. I can't believe I didn't pick Rocky. I am dumb.

What I Guessed:
A League of ther Own - I'm very surprised that this was excluded. It was incredibly popular, stars Tom Hanks, and was actually decent. How can you not vote for "There's no crying in baseball!"?
Tin Cup - I thought they might pick a golf movie, but the fact that it was Caddyshack makes me laugh and laugh and laugh. It's definitely better than Tin Cup, anyhow.
Eight Men Out - Haven't seen this movie but it was the only other baseball movie that sprung to mind. This would have been Field of Dreams if I didn't know it was already on another list.
Color of Money - Instead of picking The Hustler, I picked the sequel. I thought the AFI would go for Tom Cruise & Paul Newman over Paul Newman & Jackie Gleason.
Chariots of Fire - I haven't seen it, but I thought it was vaguely about running. That's the only reason I picked it.
The Natural - I haven't even seen the movie, but I know the scene where the guy hits the home run and the lights go out in the stadium. Plus: Randy Newman awesomeness. I thought that might be a good pick.

Other Comments: I was 40% on this one, which was kind of expected because I'm not a sports movie enthusiast. Don't love this category, but I suppose it's a decent American genre. I don't see many French or Italian or British sports movies, but I know of tons of American ones.

Western:
Official Definition: AFI defines "western" as a genre of films set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier.
My Thoughts: Only the second definition (after sci-fi) that I have zero problems with. It's hard to screw up the definition of a Western, though.

What I Got Right:
9. Stagecoach.
6. The Wild Bunch. (I really do love this movie, but the fact that it beats out a few of the other ones on my "Missed" list kind of rubs me the wrong way.)
5. Red River.
4. Unforgiven.
3. Shane.
2. High Noon.
1. The Searchers. (Pretty obvious, because it's brilliant. Probably the best Western of all time, and yes, I know how film-school-y that is.)

What I Missed:
10. Cat Ballou. I've never seen it, I'd never even HEARD of it, so I can't really comment. But it had better be pretty damned good to beat out any of my other three.
8. McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Wow, that's actually a really good choice. A surprise nod, but a pleasant one.
7. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. I guess I shouldn't be surprised: it's very well-loved and seen as an American classic, which means . I think it's overrated myself: it's okay, but it's not great.

What I Guessed:
The Magnificent Seven - The fact that this was not on the list is a big shocker to me. So many classic actors, good performances, and a very successful movie. I thought that this would be AFI material for sure.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - They left this off but they had Cat Ballou!?! I call "no way".
Treasure of the Sierra Madre - I figured this would have been classified a Western by the Institute's sometimes-screwy definitions, but I guess not. Because if it was a western it really SHOULD have been on.

Other Comments: I was 70% this time, but I do like American Westerns. And by American Westerns, I generally mean "John Ford, John Wayne, and John Huston". Which is a fairly good definition, anyhow.

Gangster:
Official Definition: AFI defines the "gangster film" as a genre that centers on organized crime or maverick criminals in a twentieth century setting.
My Thoughts: Wow, this is a pretty good definition, too. No complaints. The AFI is surprising me.

What I Got Right:
10. Scarface. (The Al Pacino version from the 1980s. I picked this to be on their list even though I think the Paul Muni version was better.)
9. Little Caesar.
8. The Public Enemy.
7. Pulp Fiction. (I just barely picked this over Reservoir Dogs; it's a better movie, but it's not as good a "gangster" movie.)
5. Bonnie and Clyde.
4. White Heat. ("Middle of the pack, ma!")
3. The Godfather Part II.
2. Goodfellas.
1. The Godfather. (Part II is a better movie, but you can't have Part II without Part I, so I don't really have a problem with their relative placements.)

What I Missed:
6. Scarface: The Shame of A Nation. Oh wow! That was a pleasant surprise.

What I Guessed:
Chinatown - I thought this was a sure thing. After looking at their definitions, though, since it focuses more on the cops than the criminals, I can see why they left it off.

Other Comments: I expected to do well on the Gangster movie (since I took a course on it in University), but 90%? Things were looking good for me. I think there are better gangster movies than some that are on the list (like Miller's Crossing), and the fact that there were no films noir is a little disconcerting, because lots of film noir protagonists could be thought of as "maverick criminals". A good list, probably my favourite so far in terms of quality.

So far, so good; averaging them all together, I'm batting 60% (stupid "sports" genre). Four more categories to go, and this is where things get kind of screwy for me. Check back in a couple of days for Part Three (and, if these lists stay as long as they are, probably Part Four as well, in an attempt to stay moderately readable).

The Doc vs. The AFI, Part One

2008-06-19T14:47:00.007-06:00

On Tuesday night, the American Film Institute presented their annual celebration of American films. In the past, they've had the best 100 American films of all time, the best 100 American movie stars, the best 100 heroes and villains, and so on. This year, being their eleventh, I think they were running a little low on ideas, so they came up with the AFI Ten Top Tens. The top ten films in ten different genres. Being the movie and list nerd I am, I decided to see what they would come up with.

Before I go any further I should say that I find the AFI's lists an exercise in frustration. They make lists full of movies that either made a lot of money, won a lot of Oscars, are incredibly popular, or a combination of all three. This makes for a great orgy of self-congratulation, but not necessarily for lists of really great movies. Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum has said of the first AFI celebration:

"Just about everyone I've spoken to about the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American movies...has been depressed about it--partly because the list was so lackluster and partly because the show failed to offer an interesting justification for any of the titles."

I'm inclined to agree with him. If you're going to make a list of the best movies, sure you're going to get some obvious entries, but I think you should also throw in quite a few surprises, underrated movies that may not have been huge moneymakers or little-known masterpieces. The AFI doesn't really do that: it's mostly middle-of-the road, obvious movies. I also have problems with the way they define things. Because what makes a movie "American"? Director, actor, producer, studio? The AFI's definition of American includes movies like Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai (which I think are fairly British movies), and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (mostly made in and by people from New Zealand). However, these problems aside, I still do like seeing what makes the list, so I sat down to watch. Here are my impressions of the first three categories.

Animation:
Official Definition: "AFI defines "animated" as a genre in which the film's images are primarily created by computer or hand and the characters are voiced by actors."
My Thoughts: Okay, sure. I don't have a big problem with that definition, although I like that they threw in that "voiced by actors" bit. You know, because all those voice synthesizers and animals were hogging the acclaim. My big problem is: I don't know why this is a genre. Animated films are themselves made up of many genres: fantasy, science-fiction, musical, horror, and so on. By reversing this logic, "live action" is also a genre.

The List
10. Finding Nemo
9. Cinderella
8. Shrek
7. Beauty & The Beast
6. Toy Story
5. Fantasia
4. The Lion King
3. Bambi
2. Pinnochio
1. Snow White & The Seven Dwarves

My Thoughts: Wow. Anyone else see a pattern here? I know that Walt Disney is the father of animation, and that his company made most of the American animated feature films, but 90% of the Top Ten seems a bit high for me. Sure, you can make a case for most of them (although I think that Sleeping Beauty would have been a better choice than Pinnochio), but ALL of them? Why couldn't the Institute have thrown a bone to Don Bluth's and/or Brad Bird's non-Disney work? And the fact that some great Warner Bros. animation work was excluded simply because they were shorts, or that some groundbreaking stop-motion animation work from live action movies (Ray Harryhausen, anyone?) can't make this list, is ridiculous. And then there's the whole "animation=genre" problem. What a waste of a category. They should have just made a "great moments of animation" special for next year, included short films and stop-motion stuff from live-action movies, and freed this spot for something better.

Fantasy:
Official Definition: "AFI defines "fantasy" as a genre where live-action characters inhabit imagined settings and/or experience situations that transcend the rules of the natural world."
My Thoughts: This is a really awkward definition. Okay, why does it have to be live-action? I mean, aside from the fact that "animation" is it's own category, and if they were eligible here that list would be even more laughable. Also, on it's own merits it doesn't really exclude some movies that would otherwise be considered "Sci-Fi"; like Star Wars, for instance, or many superhero movies like X-Men or Superman. It sounds good at first but falls apart under scrutiny (which means it makes for some surprising choices on the list).

The List
10. Big
9. The Thief of Bagdad
8. Groundhog Day
7. Harvey
6. Field of Dreams
5. Miracle on 34th Street
4. King Kong
3. It's a Wonderful Life
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
1. The Wizard of Oz

My Thoughts: Whoah nellie. What a wide range of movies. You have the traditional sword-and-sorcery as well as a bunch of movies that are only loosely related. There are some interesting choices here, but I think the overall impression reflects the poor definition. (Although it is cool to see The Thief of Bagdad on the list - Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckly goodness.) I can't really critique this list, because it's just a Mulligan Stew of ridiculousness. I don't know if you CAN do a great definition of fantasy in movies, though, unless you stick to the traditional model, and in that case, I don't know how helpful a definition it would be. (Probably because you couldn't really make a Top Ten American Sword&Sorcery Films list.) Another example of a questionable category. And let me point out that The Wizard of Oz is on this list, but there is NO Top 10 Musicals list. THAT is a genre. Animation...it's questionable.

Science-Fiction:
Official Definition: "AFI defines "science fiction" as a genre that marries a scientific or technological premise with imaginative speculation."
My Thoughts: This one actually sounds pretty good. And actually, this definition explains, in part, why Fantasy's is so bad. Fantasy's definition basically includes any fantastic situation that isn't sci-fi.

The List
10. Back to the Future
9. Invasion of the Body-Snatchers
8. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
7. Alien
6. Blade Runner
5. The Day The Earth Stood Still
4. A Clockwork Orange
3. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
2. Star Wars
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey

My Thoughts: Okay, not bad. This is actually a fairly good list, although I think some of them might be blurring the line between Sci-Fi and Horror (which was also not included as a genre, oddly enough). Back To The Future was a pleasant surprise, although I don't know if it's Top Ten worthy, and Clockwork Orange is stretching sci-fi a little for my liking (I see it more of a dystopian movie than a sci-fi movie). I thought Empire Strikes Back should have been on this list: it was a better movie than Star Wars, if not as "groundbreaking". I was surprised not to see Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but I also don't feel too bad that it's not here. Otherwise: the list is full of standard, middle of the road fare (E.T., Terminator 2) and obvious choices (Alien, Blade Runner, The Day The Earth Stood Still, 2001). Aside from Doc Brown and Marty, the list is nothing too surprising.

By this time in the show, I was thinking to myself, "I'm a little disappointed. I could probably come up with the rest of these lists in the commercial breaks." And then I stopped. "You know, I probably could." So, I sat down at the computer, opened up a WordPad file, and started making my own versions of the lists. It took me about 20 minutes overall for seven Top Ten lists, all done in the commercials, all made before the list first aired. I figured I'd get an average of 30%, based on my knowledge of film, the AFI's strange definitions (which I didn't know at the time I was writing the lists), and the obscurity of some of the genres. I wasn't prepared for how well I would do.

Tune in in a few days for Part Two!

The Return of What's Up Wednesday

2008-06-18T21:20:00.004-06:00

I let it slide for two weeks, but no more! All must know of the various minutiae of my life! However, since I'm working on something sizeable - at least, for this little blog - it's going to be fairly short.

The TV Show: When Survivor dawned, I laughed at it and said "Why would anyone waste their time with this crap?" When American Idol arrived, I rolled my eyes and even though I could not escape the music of Clay Stutters and that girl who sings "Since You've Been Gone", I did not care. But I am sad to say that I have fallen hard for a reality-competition-television show. I, The Doc, love So You Think You Can Dance. I don't much care for the voting parts, and the eliminations aren't that heartbreaking for me (although I do get a little sorrowful when someone I like leaves). I don't really pay much attention to the behind-the-scenes looks at the contestants. And I friggin' HATE that Mary woman. But I love to watch the dancing. For most of the show, I read my book or I knit, basically ignoring the screen. But when they start the routine, I am rivited. I am not ashamed. I am, however, worried that this might carry over to So You Think You Can Dance Canada. I only have so much time in my day.

The Movie: Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was, in a syllable, meh. It was exciting in parts, and really disappointing in others. I loved every scene with Karen Allen in it; she and Harrison Ford have a lot of chemistry. But although there were hints of adventure, the movie sagged, not because Indy seemed old, but because he seemed above it all. He seemed like it was obvious he was going to get away: all the references to his past adventures and all the knowledge he had right at his fingertips without having to bother researching, it just made him seem too good for the movie. And, in a sense, he was.

The Music: If you like punk-rock-ish music and r&b, then you should check out The Carps. I heard these guys a couple of weeks ago and I can't stop playing their The Young & Passionate Days of Carpedia EP; I probably listen to it once every day. Definitely recommended.

That's it, folks. But tune in tomorrow for part one of a two- (or three-) part article on movies and my reactions to them. You won't want to avoid waiting to not miss it!

Update

2008-06-12T09:40:00.002-06:00

I found out last night that the reason that all the police were in my neighborhood was that there was a shooting in an apartment building about half a block away. Three guys were drinking, an argument broke out, one shot another in the leg. The police responded to reports of gunfire, and when I finally poked my head outside they were looking for one of the guys who had left the apartment. So not nearly as scary as I'd thought it might be. For anyone (like Justice) who was worried, no need. It was just my imagination overreacting.

It's all nothing but cold calculations

2008-06-10T19:21:00.002-06:00

There were lights flashing red and blue on the walls of my living room about ten minutes ago. I stepped outside and saw ten police cars and two EMS vans on the street and avenue around my place. People were gathered on the corners, looking down the avenue Westwards; a few TV and still cameras were setting up. As I was asking the people on the corners what was going on, nobody seemed to know; "They're looking for someone" seemed to be the best that I could get from anyone. And the police officers didn't look like they were going to take any time out to explain things to me, moving around with quiet, determined efficiency. One officer walked by me, not two meters away, with an assault rifle strapped to his chest. I'd never seen an assault rifle up close before. That one gun made me more scared than all the police cars and all the quiet put together. Something was happening right outside my window and nobody could tell me what was going on. I'd never felt scared living here before. And I'm sure it'll go away, this feeling, but right now I don't think I've ever been so unsettled in my whole life.

And Now, An Information Snack

2008-06-06T18:07:00.005-06:00

You know those paths in a field or a park or a woodland trail, where enough people have walked and worn away the grass, leaving a line of exposed earth that is just one pair of footsteps wide? Those are called desire lines. I just thought that was a great name for them, and thought I'd share that with you. The lawn in Corbett Hall where I work is just littered with desire lines, and every time I see them I smile because of their excellent name. And now maybe you will have a lift in your day - or at least in your etymological knowledge - too.

(Above is the lawn of Corbett Hall as seen through the sattelites in Google Earth. The tuning-fork-shaped path is the actual paved path; all the other paths branching off from it are desire lines.)

What's Up "Wednesday" - Special Sasquatch Edition!

2008-05-30T15:52:00.005-06:00

Well, yesterday was kind of a write-off, what with me sleeping for 15 hours and feeling like crap when I wasn't sleeping. But today was better, so here's a little update on my activities this weekend.

Best Show: The Flaming Lips. The opening of the show had a giant light rig that was made up to look like a UFO come down from the rafters, at which point the lead singer came out of the top of the UFO in a giant hamster ball and rolled around on top of the audience for a bit, and then came out and shot streamer cannons into the audience while giant balloons were released. And then things got WEIRD.

Best Performance: Rodrigo Y Gabriela. I only caught the last half of their set, but it was amazing. Two former members of a thrash metal band playing acoustic guitars and rocking the roof off the place, if indeed there had been a roof to rock off. Such a good performance that I had to buy their album; we listened to it on the way home and their music was as good as I remembered.

Favourite Performance: R.E.M. (I never said I was impartial.) The performance wasn't as varied or as exciting as the time I saw them in Vancouver, but Michael's voice was much better, and they did play a few songs I was surprised and delighted to hear ("Harborcoat," "Drive," and "Ignoreland" in particular). I stayed out through the rain and enjoyed every bit of it.

Biggest Surprise: The Presidents of the United States of America. I know, I wasn't expecting very much, just some guys being goofy and playing around on stage. But these guys were TIGHT. And they had so much energy, and made such a great sound from their limited, weird instruments, by the end of their set they had the crowd in the palm of their hands. I would DEFINITELY see them again if they came to town. Just a great, great performance.

Biggest Disappointment: Built to Spill. They weren't really bad, per se, but they were a big letdown after the previous band (The Hives), barely interacted at all with the audience, and a lot more mellow than I wanted at the time. I really enjoyed their last song, though, but if that was because I was slowly coming around to them or because it was just a really great song, I don't know. I'll still check them out, though; I have a feeling that they're not a great band to see if you're five hundred meters away from them.

Best Discovery: The Cave Singers. Great folk trio from Seattle; their mix was a little too loud (as was almost every performance on the secondary stage), but their music was really compelling and I downloaded an album from eMusic when I got home.

Best Moment in the Comedy Tent: Jerry Minor talking about how funny monkeys were. I've been into Jerry since his time on Mr. Show, where he delivered the immortal line, "Life is precious, and God, and The Bible." His performance on the comedy stage was so funny, I teared up numerous times. Plus, he asked my what my favourite monkey was. I was enormously happy to be a (very small) part of the performance.

Best Discovery in the Comedy Tent: Rich Fulcher. His first set was a little dead, but his second set, if I might, killed. Talked to him after the show and told him how much I enjoyed the set, and he gave me permission to watch The Mighty Boosh illegally because the DVDs weren't available here yet. So that was cool.

Biggest Disappointment in the Comedy Tent: (Well, technically it was outside the tent.) Not getting to see the Upright Citizens Brigade's ASSSSCAT show. Long-form improv comedy featuring Matt & Matt from the UCB, plus Jerry Minor, Rich Fulcher, Sean Conroy, and Tim Meadows. Would have been great to see, but the tent was at capacity and the line was going nowhere, so we walked away, a little disappointed but ready to see something else.

Best Purchase at the Festival: Chocolate-chip-cookie ice cream sandwich just before the Flaming Lips show. It was DELICIOUS and exactly what I needed.

Worst Purchase at the Festival: An $11 can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Seriously, it could have been the most disappointing beer I've ever had, and I've had beer that tastes like mushrooms before. That was entirely unneccessary, made even worse by the exorbitant price.

Hello Again Folks!

2008-05-28T19:06:00.002-06:00

I am back from the Sasquatch festival, ladies and gentlemen of the Internet, and I am still exHAUSTed. Plus, I developed a wicked head cold somewhere along the way and I am stuffed up and woozy and feel like I should be lying down. So I will talk all about it tomorrow, but tonight, I am going to be comforted by Spirals and Ginger Ale. Hope everyone else's week was good.

Goodbye Folks!

2008-05-23T08:21:00.001-06:00

Start spreading the news; I'm leaving today. I'm gonna be a part of it, SASQUATCH SASQUATCH!

(No, not this sasquatch. This Sasquatch.)

Yes, I leave in a few minutes to go down to Washington state for the Sasquatch music festival, and I am super-excited. It's gonna be a semi-expensive vacation, but the lineup this year was too good to miss out on, plus Vic got two of the three tickets for my birthday. I’m going to be able to see dozens of awesome performers, and I'm particularly looking forward to: R.E.M., The New Pornographers, M.I.A., The Cure, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Tegan & Sara, The Flaming Lips, Flight of the Conchords, The Hives, The Breeders, Kathleen Edwards, Destroyer, and Mates of State. And of course, seeing some of the great comedy (Upright Citizen’s Brigade!!) and discovering a few new bands to boot. Should be awesome, will give the full lowdown when I get back.

What's Up Thursday - May 22, 2008

2008-05-22T17:20:00.003-06:00

Whoah Nellie, is tonight ever going to be busy. I'll let you know why tomorrow, but for now, only the briefest of brief reviews.

The Movie: Last night I watched Repulsion by Roman Polanski on DVD. It was a study in mood and psychology I guess, but I found the first hour sleep-inducing and the last thirty minutes riveting. So I guess on a different day I would have liked it before, but as it is, it was just okay. Could see how it would have become a cult classic at the time, though.

The Album: Oh man, this news is about thirty-five years too late, but Talking Book is awesome. I must acquire more Stevie Wonder albums with all speed.

The Book: Trying to get through Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (it was due on Monday and I want to get it done by tonight so as not to accrue ridiculous fines). It is RIGHT up my street, as it combines a number of subjects that I'm interested in: psychology, neurology, language, and music. I keep telling The Peach about interesting stories and concepts from it, like the musician who had a stroke and then lost the ability to percieve music as music, just noise, or theories of how absolute pitch works in the brain. I think she'll be as glad as I am when I finish the book, but for different reasons.

The Real-Life: I had a lovely relaxing long weekend. It started with The Peach's birthday on Saturday, continued with an awesome shopping excursion on Sunday, and was capped off by a French picnic in the park where The Peach and I relaxed and painted watercolours (that she got for her birthday). I'd never painted before (aside from art in school), and it was kind of relaxing, actually. I'd still prefer oils, but that's just because I love Bob Ross so much.

A Conversation With The Peach 5

2008-05-16T11:40:00.002-06:00

(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

2008-05-14T21:00:00.003-06:00

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

2008-05-08T16:30:00.003-06:00

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

2008-05-01T22:31:00.002-06:00

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

2008-04-30T18:42:00.005-06:00

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 S peak 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

2008-04-29T21:31:00.002-06:00

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

2008-04-23T17:59:00.003-06:00

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

2008-04-17T22:31:00.003-06:00

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)

2008-04-15T18:07:00.006-06:00

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

2008-04-09T19:36:00.002-06:00

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.

What's Up Thursday - April 3, 2008

2008-04-03T18:21:00.006-06:00

The Film/DVD: I am a big sucker for Akira Kurosawa. I've seen six movies he wrote and directed - The Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood, Stray Dog, Rashomon, and Yojimbo - but I love all of them. And after watching Ran on Tuesday, he's batting seven for seven. It's got a more theatrical tone, which might turn some people off, but considering it's based on King Lear and a Japanese folk legend, the long takes and far shots make a lot of sense to ground it in a more theatrical, less cinematic context. But there's still a lot of great cinematic technique: the battles are epic and there are some really breathtaking moments (especially in the final 15-20 minutes) that could only be done in cinema. I'm sure I'll eventually find a Kurosawa film I don't like, but I'm going to be enjoying myself while I look for it.

The TV Series: I got Veronica Mars, Season 3 out of the library (slight aside: the public library is a LOT more hip than it was when I was a kid), and have started devouring it in large chunks, like I had the previous seasons. This season, though, is rubbing me the wrong way. Unneccessarily updated theme music, a meandering plot, and a ridiculous romantic subplot. There's still clever dialogue, and Kirsten Bell & Enrico Colantoni are stellar as usual, but it's definitely much lower on the quality scale. After the first season, I thought to myself, "Why on earth did this series get cancelled?!?" About 1/4 into the final season, though, I'm starting to see the faults. I still don't think it was bad enough to cancel, though. Just not great any more.

The Food: I wanted to have sushi while I watched Ran because, well, I sometimes get odd cravings that I cannot explain nor deny. So I ordered a few small dishes, one of which I'd never ordered before: spider roll. Soft-shell crab, mayonnaise, cucumber, and avocado rolled up in a delicious rice roll. I'd never had soft-shell crab before, and it was definitely a new experience - like eating a whole shrimp if the shell was more edible - but in the end, spider rolls go in the "awesome" column. And there are only three columns in my sushi rankings: "aweseome", "excellent", and "fair". I have yet to find a sushi I did not like.

Two great tastes!

2008-04-01T20:22:00.006-06:00

On Sunday, The Peach and I were cleaning out the fridge and we came across a pickle jar that had about 1 pickle in it and about 1/3 full of juice. She was going to dump it out, but then I said, "You know, I bet you can make all kinds of things with pickles. Leave it for me and I'll see what I can make with it." She looked at me with that look she gets when I say something weird but she wants to see what the results will be, so she agreed. On Monday night I typed "pickle juice recipes" into the search engine and came up with a number of hits, including the excellently-named www.ilovepickles.org. That site has a page that had recipes involving pickle and sauerkraut brine. I looked through them, and I saw a few things that I would like to try but didn't have all the ingredients for. And then I saw the final entry:

You've heard of squeezing a wedge of lime into your beer. Now, adding some dill pickle juice to your brew could be the next craze. Stir 1/8 cup dill pickle liquid into 12 ounces of your favorite beer and garnish with a pickle spear or baby dill.

At first, I will admit, I was shocked. But then I thought: hold on. There's a history of adding things to beer. You can add limes to beer. There are boilermakers; in fact, there are all kinds of beer cocktails. Why not try it? What's the worst that could happen? So I did. And it was good. But it was lacking something. And then I realized what that thing was: Louisiana Hot Sauce. So let me present to you, my friends, a drink recipe that you will think is awful, but is actually surprisingly good.

The Dillinger
1 can beer (I used good ol' Pil, but I'm sure any pale beer would do)
2-3 tbsp dill pickle brine
hot sauce to taste
dill pickle slice for garnish

And no, this is not an April Fool's Day joke. I am drinking it right now and it is dill-icious. Oh, the things I get up to when my wife's away...

Revenge of The Test Fear

2008-03-28T19:01:00.005-06:00

I'm not having a good night, folks. I write my CASLPA certification exam tomorrow (four hours, two hundred questions) and The Test Fear is setting in. A headache is creeping up on me, I can't concentrate on anything, and with every page or note I review or re-write, the words "there's no WAY you're going to do this" keep echoing in my head. I'm doing my best, but it's just so daunting; for every fact or theory I remember there are five more I need to review. I know it's almost pointless to keep studying, but I kind of have to. I normally don't react like this to tests, but this one's a BIG one, and unlike any other test I've ever written (except maybe the GRE), my entire life pivots around this test. I don't know. Maybe I should have started studying earlier, even though I did start at the end of January; maybe 2 months wasn't enough. Maybe I should have dedicated more time to it. Maybe I should have tried harder to get a hold of some other people who were studying for the exam too. I don't know that any of that would have helped my mood right now. I'd still be worrying, probably just as bad. But maybe then I'd at least be prepared and feel unprepared, as opposed to what I think I am now. Let's hope I'm not flushing $400 and the next year of my life down the drain.

(Sorry. I'm not normally this pathetic, but the stress is getting to me.)

What's Up Wednesday - March 26, 2008

2008-03-26T16:42:00.004-06:00

The Book: I borrowed The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz about two months ago and I didn't get around to reading it, but I figure I should read it and return it before I'm known as the black hole of non-returnables (I just returned a bunch of stuff Diego lent me over eight months ago.) Anyhow, that's not the point. This book is interesting, positing the theory that even though we as a people might want as much choice as possible, the fact is that we as a society have so much choice that it's causing us distress. Wasted energy from trying to find the absolute best choice, spending too much time on meaningless decisions, mental distress from worrying about things after the fact, and the real danger of making a bad choice that shouldn't have been wholly yours to make in the first place. I came in a skeptic but found myself agreeing with Schwartz's points a lot more than I thought I would. I have barely spent any time reading it and I'm 75 pages in, so it's that rare find I like so much: a well-researched, thoughtful book that's not painful to read.

The Movie/DVD: I watched a LOT of movies last week, what with my Peach being away and needing breaks from studying. I could talk about any of them, but I think I'll focus briefly on The Phantom of the Opera from 1925. It's melodramatic and the print is understandably faded, and I wouldn't say I particularly enjoyed it. But the sets are GORGEOUS, and even though it's more quaint than spectacular you do get a sense of awe from some of the larger scenes. And Lon Chaney, Sr. is magnificent. Just a wave of his hand or a shrug of his shoulders and you don't need anything else. A classic more in the remembering than in the re-watching, but still worth a watch for film nerds like me.

The Food: The McRib is back, baby! (Warning: Flash.) Not a hoax, not a dream, not an imaginary story! I know some people are vegetarians and some others wouldn't set foot in a McDonalds if you paid them, but to me, there's something special about delicious pork meat on a bun with pickles and onions. Oh, McRib. Why can't you stay forever...

The Real Life: Yeah, still with the studying. It's a killer, and I'm sure how well it correlates to the exam, but it is kind of nice to know how much stuff I remember, and how much is coming back to me with so little memory-jogging. I actually find myself liking Resonance and Speech Science a lot more than I did during the classes, and am almost interested in re-reading some of my old textbooks purely for enjoyment's sake. Yes, I know. Nerd. What else is new?

Hidden Treasures of Wisdom

2008-03-21T12:22:00.005-06:00

When I study, I often get distracted. When I'm writing out my notes I will sometimes start a sentence, realize it makes no sense, and then try and make it make sense somehow. Other times I start writing out something that is painfully obvious, so I try to just wrap it up quickly and move on. When I go over my notes, I usually find one or two of these "gems', that are so inane or ridiculous or incomprehensible they usually lighten my studying mood. Here is one that I discovered just a moment ago:

"Feeding is good for child development; disruption can suck."

Future health care professional, folks. Future health care professional.

What's Up Wednesday - March 19, 2008

2008-03-19T17:21:00.003-06:00

Amidst the preparation for crazy choral jazziness, I have had some time to ingest a few choice items of pop culture, most of them great, some of them just okay. Can you figure out which is which?

The DVD: I cannot think of anything bad to say about The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. This movie is enchanting: the music, the colours, the beautiful beautiful actors, the gorgeous fluid shots. A French musical from the 60s that puts makes the Hollywood musicals from the era look like they were slapped together with sawdust and plywood, and that goes for the actors as well as the sets. I wanted to watch it again immediately after it was over, but unfortunately I couldn't. But I am keeping it out a few more days to watch over the long weekend. Astounding.

The Album: I love Horace Andy's work with Massive Attack, so I decided to check out one of his better-reviewed albums, Dance Hall Style. It's a really good album, but I don't know enough about reggae to say much more than that. Andy's got a great and distinctive voice that adds a lot of great colours the lyrics, and the tunes are slow, groovy, and perfect as background music or for when you need a bit of spring in your step.

The Comics: Re-reading some of my old stuff in a nearly-impossible attempt at culling the heard. Some were surprisingly as good as I remembered (Warlock & The Infinity Watch), some were first-reads of things that I'd picked up over the past few years (Suicide Squad, which is amazing), and some were just awful (the 1993 Metal Men miniseries; I love the Metal Men but this series is TERRIBLE). A mixed bag, and there are SO many more to get through. I'm going to have to lay off the superheroes, though: start in on my stash of Ape Entertainment books and see what they're all about.

The Video Game: Noah's Ark is a great little break-creator for studying. I liked the free version you can play through PopCap's site, but the official expanded edition is even better. I'm Noah's Wife right now!

The Real-Life: I've already talked about ChoralFest, and between that and work it's hard to get some time in for studying, but I'm getting through it. I just finished up re-reading an article about male-to-female transsexual voice therapy and surgical options; I don't know if that'll be on the test but it was fascinating! If it does come up on the test I'll have all the answers.

Brief State of The Weirdness Address

2008-03-18T21:48:00.003-06:00

This evening, Apocalypse Kow performed at the ChoralFest Jazz Spotlight Concert. Basically, the Spotlight Concert is an event where some of the more unique or interesting acts are asked to put on a show for the rest of the participating choirs, as well as the general public. Apocalypse Kow opened the show with our regular brand of hilarity. And then we were folowed by two very snazzy, very vocal-jazzy, very tight groups. I don't want to overstate how odd it felt, but imagine if The Clash circa 1977 opened for The Duke Ellington Orchestra circa 1943. (Not that I'm saying we're as good as The Clash, just using them as an example.)

The weirdest concert I've ever been part of. Just weird.

What's Up Wednesday - March 12, 2008

2008-03-12T20:58:00.004-06:00

After being slapped solidly on the face by sweet Lady Daylight Savings Time, I'm apparently having difficulty with my sleeping. It's like having really really really inconveniently small jet lag. But that doesn't mean that I didn't get up to some mischief this past week! Well, it wasn't really mischief. But I did stuff. Let's see what it was!

The Book: After finishing Heir to the Empire, I started on Born Standing Up, Steve Martin's memoir on his years doing standup comedy. It's a deceptively short book: it's sizeable but the font is pretty big, so I'm moving through it on a fair clip. It's interesting to see what influenced him in his standup career, as I've been a big fan of his writing and acting but only discovered his comedy albums about three or four years ago. And he's a good writer, so even when it's more personal material it's still interesting. I'd recommend it, but then again, I'm a fan.

The Movie: About a half-dozen of us went out to see Be Kind, Rewind for Jago's birthday (yes, we're all aware his birthday was a month ago). I liked Michel Gondry's music video work and really liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, so I went in expecting good things. And it is good. But it's not great. I know that's a small thing to complain about, but it's true. There are moments of greatness, but there are moments of mediocrity too, places where the story seems to drag or things get a little too twee. The performances are really good: Jack Black's somewhat restrained, so the other actors really get a little space to stretch, and Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, and Mos Def all really sparkle in this one. So overall it's good. I was just expecting more, I guess.

The TV Show: I found my favourite game show! I know lots of people like Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune or whatever, but for me, the cream of the crop is QI (also known as Quite Interesting). It's a British quiz show hosted by Stephen Fry (awesome!), with a rotating panel of guests including Alan Davies, Clive Anderson, John Sessions, Bill Bailey, Richard E. Grant, and Hugh Laurie (awesome again!). The questions are really difficult to get right, so the whole point of the game is less about answering the question right and more about being interesting while answering them, throwing out trivia and showing how clever/funny/stupid/witty you can be (the awesome trifecta!). Brilliantly entertaining and fun, and actually rewatchable because of the quips and the really quite interesting things you learn. So try and track it down, somehow; I think you'll be rather impressed by the whole thing.

The Real Life: On Monday I celebrated my 29th birthday. I'm now as old as my dad was when I was born. You know. So no psychic pressure there.

What's Up Wednesday - March 5, 2008

2008-03-05T17:51:00.003-07:00

I'm full of enchiladas and I'm ready to go, people! What was new with ME in the last seven days? I'm glad you asked.

The TV Show: I finished up Dead Like Me, Season Two this past week and, unsurprisingly based on my impressions of Season One, I really liked it. Until the last episode, which was weak overall, and dreadful in the last few minutes. Seriously, I felt bad after watching the last episode. I think the second-last episode would have been a really good one to end on, as it tied up plot threads and just felt like an ending. The last episode felt like a middle-of-the-road episode that they tried to make into a season-ender and failed. So it was worth watching, but I'm going to try and forget the last episode. Sort of like I try to forget most of Season Seven of Buffy, and most of Season Four of Angel.

The Comic: This one was Powers, Volume 1: Who Killed Retro Girl? Which I really should have read much much earlier than this, considering I've read every other collected volume and have the first 25 issues of the new series. I really liked this book: Mike Avon Oeming's art style's not quite as solid as it has become over the years, but it was good to see him taking risks, and it was really good to see the introductions of the characters that I've come to know over the years. And for those of you out there who don't read comics, I have my one line pitch of this book to you: It's Law & Order, Special Superpowers Unit, heavy on the Law & Order. You should read it.

The Book: I've always felt good about myself because I've never bought a single book from the "For Dummies" series book. Until this week, when I bought Knitting for Dummies. I took it out of the library a few times and found it really helpful to a long-time beginner, and since it was 30% off I had no problem bringing it home. Hopefully this will lead to a regrowth in my knitting career, something I need because of...

The Real Life: The Peach and I set out a budget. It was nerve-wracking and I hated it, but it got done. We laid out plans for paying down our student loans, my car, and our credit bills, and for saving up for a down payment on a house. Sure, that all sounds good. But it's at the cost of my good times NOW, dammit! I'm losing the good times! "The good times are over. A bug flew in my mouth." * It's not that bad, really, but for a guy who's used to instant gratification, it's a big change. But maybe knitting will be my salvation. Instead of going to movies, renting DVDs, and watching cable TV, I could knit. Wool's cheaper than Hollywood.

* - I'm thinking about starting up the Geek Points tally again. Any takers on where this is from?

A nice G 'n' T

2008-03-04T21:53:00.004-07:00

I discovered my favourite drink rather late in life, oddly enough on a whim. I ordered a Gin and Tonic at a wedding, the first wedding I'd ever been to where I was eighteen and could actually order drinks. It sounded like something a pretentious adult would order at a bar, and since I was kind of pretentious and pretending to be grown up, I ordered it. It was served in a little plastic cup with a little wedge of lime in it, and I was hooked after my first sip. My Peach doesn't like gin or tonic water, as she finds them too bitter.

This weekend she had mentioned her dislike of tonic water again, after bemoaning our lack of soda water, something she drinks quite a lot mixed with a little juice. So I looked it up on the internet, and I came up with a few interesting things that I wanted to share. First of all, tonic water was initially created by the British East India Company; it was just soda water mixed with quite a bit of quinine, which was very good at preventing malaria. Since malaria isn't usually an issue we don't need nearly that much quinine any more, but there's still a little in there for flavour - and since quinine fluoresces under ultraviolet light, your cocktail will glow if you're at a particularly good party with black lights.

Anyhow. Initially, the British soldiers found tonic water far too bitter, so they added gin to it to make it more palatable, a strategy I think more people should use in their daily life. Are you dealing with something that's particularly hard to swallow? Just add alcohol and you're saved!

And finally, if you find tonic water a little too bitter but that's all you have in the house, you can apparently cut the taste by adding a pinch of salt, which should mask the bitterness. I haven't tried it myself, of course, but I'm thinking it's something I might spring on The Peach when she asks for a cocktail. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? She'd dislike tonic water even MORE?

(Personally, I recommend you make your G'n'T with an ounce of good gin, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of tonic water, ice, and a wedge of lime. Good any time, but especially good to cut the heat of a summer day, whether you're in India or not.)

My REAL Last Exam?

2008-03-03T16:01:00.003-07:00

At the end of this month, I'm going to write my national exam, that will make me a member of the the national college and make me clinically certified. This will help me out in many ways: most places won't hire you unless you're nationally certified, plus you get a big reduction in your insurance rates and access to a lot of resources for professional improvement. It's also a big chunk of money and time. The money's been taken care of, thankfully, but for the next four weeks I'm going to be studying for a four-hour, 200-question exam that is on every class I've ever taken in my Master's program and decides whether or not I can hold a clinical position. Plus, the last class I took was over two years ago, so some of this stuff is like dredging up nearly-forgotten information. So, no pressure. Wish me luck, folks: I think I'm going to need it.

(At least looking through all my old textbooks and notes has reminded me how much I like my chosen career, though. If only I can re-remember it all...)

What's Up Wednesday - February 27, 2008

2008-02-27T20:33:00.004-07:00

Not feelin' that great tonight, folks, so it's going to be a short one.

The Album: Raising Sand by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss. It's produced by T-Bone Burnett so I knew it was going to be SLOW, but this album is really growing on me. A lot of different stuff, maudlin and upbeat and bluesy and folky. Plant's & Krauss' voices blend really well together, and she even gets to play the fiddle a little - to particularly great effect on my favourite song, Nothin'. It's an odd combination of artists, but it's good.

The TV Show: 24, Season 4. Jago, Ninja, and I have been watching it for the past few Monday evenings, and have been royally shellacking it for the first five episodes. Yeah, it hadn't been very good. But then, in Episode 6, something great happened, and the show turned a corner. I don't want to spoil anything for people who haven't seen S4 yet, but let's just say that it had an infusion of leather-jacketed, dark-handsome-and-moody awesomeness. I hope it stays good for the next few weeks, anyhow.

The Real Life: Had the choir concerts on Saturday, and after the festival of bad planning that were our rehearsals (you can't call it a "dress rehearsal" if you don't actually rehearse the whole show, dammit), I actually found myself enjoying myself at times. The first concert, not so much, but the second one, it felt a lot better. And I actually had a few moments where I got the shivers because the music was so beautiful, and even one when I actually got choked up. So I didn't end up hating it like I thought I would. I didn't love it either, but "not hating" equals progress.

What's Up Wednesday - February 20, 2008

2008-02-20T21:38:00.002-07:00

The Movie: Took Jago out to see There Will Be Blood for his birthday. He's probably the biggest P.T. Anderson fan that I know, so I figured that it would be a good present for him, and that we wouldn't have that many people we could have taken to see it anyhow, as most of our friends don't really like him. But we took Diego and the three of us sat through all two and a half hours of it, and my GOD is it good. Daniel Day-Lewis is amazing, pulling off both sliminess and genuine emotion, and wrapping it up in about fifteen tons of charisma. The story's unexpected and really powerful, and while it sure doesn't feel like your "typical P.T. Anderson movie" (much different than when I think of Boogie Nights or Magnolia), I can see how he would be interested in this kind of project. Really really good; I don't think it's going to beat No Country For Old Men at the Oscars on Sunday, but it might have a chance.

The DVD: I rented a few this past week, but I'm going to give the nod to Gone Baby Gone. I knew I would have to watch it because it's based on a Denis Lehane novel and I do like his books (and I liked Mystic River too). I was a little put off by the fact that it was directed by Ben Affleck, but he actually did a fairly good job. He made a perfectly good movie, with competent shots and he didn't let any obvious style get in the way of the story, but sometimes I felt that there could have been more exposition, as some things were even more confusing and unexplained than they needed to be. Casey Affleck was good, and Amy Smart (the other reason I watched it) was AMAZING. So, definitely worth a rental, particularly if you like a smart little mystery.

The TV Show: I got The Peach Whose Line Is It Anyway? The Complete Seasons One and Two as a random gift, and we've been working our way through it. It's...really uneven. Some episodes are brilliant, some are painful, and some are both at once. But it's good to see how the original series started, and there are some really nice scenes. We're most of the way through Season One, and while it was okay, I hope that Season Two picks up the quality a bit.

The Video Game: I've been playing our home version of Zuma a lot the past few weeks, but last Saturday night in a fit of insomnia, I finally finished the damn thing. Even though I finished the adventure level, I still like playing the other levels. Just a fun time-waster, and the last level's a DOOZY!

The Job: I'm slowly gearing up to be working another part-time job, just eight to ten additional hours a week. Still working with kids with ASD, and still doing research instead of clinical work, but it's a fun grind interacting with the kids. And I'm meeting a few families I used to work with five and six years ago, so it's really interesting to catch up with them. Plus, the extra income will be useful.

The Real Life: My grandmother's birthday was Valentine's day and I gave her a call to give her best wishes. For the first two minutes, she thought I was my dad. "I thought things were strange," she said when I cleared it all up. "Your dad doesn't sing that well!"

What's Up Wednesday - February 14, 2008

2008-02-14T17:06:00.004-07:00

Well, that "weekly Wednesday entries" thing ended quickly. Yes, yesterday was full of work and a really long night in the recording studio, and when I got home I just went right to bed. But I figured a day late's nothing to be too worried about. So, a day late but easily a dollar more worth your time, here's what I've been up to.

The Book: This weekend I decided to pull Star Wars: Heir to the Empire off my bookshelf. It's one of the books I've had for a really long time but have never gotten around to reading. It was because the concept warded me off: I read a few licensed Star Trek novels as a kid and, whoooooo they were bad. But this isn't. It's not nearly as self-conscious and insular as I was expecting; the characters act exactly like I expect them to and the story moves along at a quick pace, introducing interesting characters and situations that, unlike those the movie prequels, I actually want to learn more about. So this is a surprisingly good read. Not great, but good.

The TV Show: The Peach and I started watching Doctor Who: Series Two last year, but she didn't like it very much. I think she missed Christopher Eccleston a lot, and she didn't like some of the early episodes, so we stopped watching about six episodes in. But I've been watching it by myself lately and I've been enjoying it. Sure, I definitely miss Eccleston (he's my Doctor, always will be), but David Tennant is good in a very different way, and there are some really good stories in the episodes. I particularly liked Episode Four, "The Girl In The Fireplace", a time-jumping story involving clockwork aliens, pre-Revolutionary War France, and a horse on a spaceship. Fun, wacky, exciting times.

The DVD: I like James Stewart's lighthearted, comedic performences in movies like The Philadelphia Story or It's A Wonderful Life. But I really like his darker stuff: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Vertigo, Rear Window, and my latest favourite, Anatomy of a Murder. It's BRILLIANT. Slow-paced and perfectly written, it's packed full of great performances from Eve Arden, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, George C. Scott, and of course Stewart. It's his best performance by far. A perfect legal drama for a lazy afternoon. Put it on and get sucked in, it'll be over before you know it.

The Real-Life: Getting ready for my choir concert. I initially joined this choir to improve my musical knowledge and beef up my voice, which I felt had lost some power and precision over the past few years, and so many people I know who've joined have really liked it. Well, I've been in it for a few months now, and I'm really beginning to regret joining. I don't want to get into much detail, but I don't like the conductors' methods, I get extremely irked by some particularly annoying people, and I'm not getting the guidance I feel I need to learn the pieces well. I'm sticking it out until the end of the year, but if things keep going the way they are, I'm going to seriously reconsider my membership. Don't get me wrong, I think the concert's going to be really good, I just wish that I felt satisfied or content or anything other than upset and frustrated after a rehearsal, just once.

LolaWatch: Update

2008-02-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

Over the holidays, it became very apparent to The Peach and I that our little bird, Lola, was in desperate need of some companionship. We tried to hand-tame her and give her as much affection as we possibly could, but it just wasn't working given how skittish and paranoid she was. So we went out to get another bird to be her friend. After a few days of searching we finally settled on a blue budgie, which I was initially allowed to name but after 98% of my real suggestions were rejected outright, she settled on Zoe. (I still maintain that Zeppo would be a great name for a bird.)

So as not to pass any unknown diseases or infections between them, we kept them apart on opposite ends of the living room for 3.5 weeks. That's a little less than we were technically supposed to, but The Peach just couldn't wait, and really neither could they. Every time we let Zoe out to wander she immediately went to the other side and tried to figure out a way to get up and into Lola's cage. Once they were put together, though, they became great friends, despite their differences: Lola is quiet and terrified, Zoe is loud and excitable. After a few days they became pretty much inseperable: when one left or accidentally fell out of the cage (from a very low height, don't worry), the other would immediately join them.

Last week, when The Peach was giving them some food, she called me over to look at Zoe's beak. Her sear, which is the area just above the nose, was turning bright blue. "Huh," I said. "I think Zoe's a boy," she said. "You sure?" I asked. "I don't know, but I think so." Later that week, we had NinjaStolz and Fi over, and he took one look at our new bird and said, "Oh yeah, that's a guy." So that explains her loud personality and relatively large size. She's actually a he.

I've tried to suggest a few new names that would fit a male bird better (seriously, what's wrong with Miles?), but in the end, we have a boy named Zoe. And we've been assured that as long as we don't give them any nesting materials, we won't have any baby birds in our future. I'm still a little worried about that, but when I see how happy they are together,
I think it's a risk I'm willing to take.

(photo credit The Peach)

I just wish Zoe had been a better influence on Lola's constant terror. Now they're BOTH jumpy.

What's Up Wednesday - February 6, 2008

2008-02-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

A short segment this week, as my evening has been full of other chores and tasks and I have very little time to hammer this out.

The Book: Picked up The Commitments, which is a short read that I'm trying to stretch out into short spurts of reading because I'm liking it so much. I've seen the movie, but the book's a different enough experience that I'm not reminded of the film too often, and I like how Roddy Doyle "writes the music", as it were. Really creative, and just a fun romp about the rise and fall of The Hardest Working Band In Show Business.

The DVD: Out of all the movies I saw last week, the most important one was Tod Browning's Freaks. I was expecting a tasteless, exploitative movie, and I actually got one with a little bit of heart and creativity. Plus, you know, a tight-knit band of sideshow performers. The story's a little melodramatic: a trapeeze artist tries to seduce a rich midget away from his fiancée so that she and her strongman boyfriend can collect on the money. Yeah, it's weird, but it's really good.

The Video Game: Our friend Lisa brought over her copy of Cooking Mama (danger! YouTube link!) for the Wii and The Peach just LOVES it. I've played it, and it's cute: you get to make scrambled eggs, or pan-fried lobster, or creme brulée, by moving the Wiimote around to stir, chop, crack eggs, broil, fry, and what have you. I like playing it, but I like watching The Peach play more. She's just nuts about it.

The Real-Life: I've been going to a few schools doing testing on some kids for my research project at work, and I have to tell you: as boring as it is doing the same assessment over and over again, four or five times a day, I really like kids. I mean, I knew that I liked kids, but the best part of my workday is cracking jokes with them or playing games. Sometimes they're laughing at me, sometimes I'm trying my best not to laugh at them, but however you look at it: I'm a sucker for an earnest, good-natured kid. Not enough to kick-start my fatherly yearnings, mind you, but enough to kick-start my uncle-y ones.

Fall Playlist

2008-02-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

It’s about a month and a half late, seeing as we’re well into winter by now, but I did want to put up a little something about the music that I’d enjoyed over the fall months. It’s not as long as the Spring/Summer list, but I think there are songs here that are just as good as the ones on that list. I loved Let’s Take It To The Stage and Radiodread, and would have put on more than one track from them if I could, but them’s the breaks. So search the songs out if you’re so inclined, and let me know what you think if you do. I think some of these will warm up your wintry bones.

The Doc’s Music: The Fall Singles Collection

1. The Else (They Might Be Giants) – Contrecoup
2. Radiodread (Easy Star All-Stars) – Let Down (nice video here)
3. Living With The Living (Ted Leo + Pharmacists) – Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.
4. Let’s Take It To The Stage (Funkadelic) – No Head, No Backstage Pass
5. A Catalyst For Change (Clock Work Army) – Can’t Hold It Down
6. Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse (Besnard Lakes) – Disaster
7. Nia (Blackalicious) – Do This My Way
8. The Reminder (Feist) – My Moon My Man (because 1234 would have been too predictable)
9. Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (Funkadelic) – Red Hot Mama
10. Songs of Faith and Devotion (Depeche Mode) – I Feel You
11. Repeater (Fugazi) – Shut The Door
12. Cold as the Clay (Greg Graffin) – One More Hill
13. Phrenology (Roots) – The Seed (2.0)

What's Up Wednesday - January 30, 2008

2008-01-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

It's later in the day but it's still Wednesday. What's been on my radar this week? Glad you asked.

The Book: I tried but failed to get through The Cold War: A History by Martin Walker before I had to return it to the library today. It's a really dense read, but still somehow readable thanks to the straightforward prose. It's my first foray into the history of the Cold War, a subject I find really fascinating but something I never learned about enough in school. So I'm going to take it out again and try to finish it. After all, I lived through the end without understanding what was going on; I'd like to revisit it knowing a little more about life.

The DVD: I caught Dog Day Afternoon for the first time this weekend. Oh wow, it's so good. High-tension drama with a real emotional core, as Al Pacino tries to deal with a bank hold-up gone wrong. Yeah, Pacino screams a lot, but in this movie it's absolutely necessary at times. And the supporting cast is amazing, John Cazale and Christ Sarandon in particular. Director Sidney Lumet really grounds you in the scenes while allowing the actors to do amazing work. Much better than I was expecting, and I was expecting pretty good things.

The TV Show: I caught the first episode of The Border, which is a show about The Canadian Immigration and Customs Security Squad. The trailers make it look really slick and it's certainly a novel idea. I was really intrigued by the storytelling possibilities, but I found the first episode fell really flat: the dialogue was clunky and stilted at many times throughout the show, and there was WAY too much hand-held camera work. I know that "shaky-cam" has become shorthand for "cop show", but it's often not necessary, and in The Border, it was really distracting. I'm willing to give it another shot, as the next few episodes have a lot more potential (dealing with Canadian-American relations), but I have much lower expectations.

The Video Game: After the fiasco that was Harvey Birdman, I decided to go old-school and download Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Wii Virtual Console. I played through the first level last night with The Peach watching, hoping that she'd get interested in it. As it was, she just got more depressed about not being able to play her Game Boy games, and went online to look for an A.C. adaptor. So, mission half-accomplished. The game's still great, but the display's a little wonky: there's a line of pixels on either side of the screen that don't match the rest of the background. It's a picky complaint, I know, but it's also really annoying. Still: Super Mario Equals Super Fun!

The Food: Avocados. Seriously, if you told eight-year old me that I would eventually love avocadoes, I would have thought you were an idiot. But this weekend I've made guacamole and a delicious avocado-shrimp salad, and had sliced avocados on a BLT. Avocados: I've come around on them. Add them to the list of "foods you hate when you're a kid but like when you're an adult", along with brussels sprouts and dark chocolate.

The Real-Life: It's been UNBEARABLY cold here! Minus 43 degrees overnight at times, which for you Americans, is almost exactly the same in Farenheit as Celcius. It was so cold that my car refused to start after Kow practice on Monday night, which blocked Jago's car and thus necessetated his taking a bus to work the next day. I finally got it out thanks to the help of a few of my friends, which is a lucky thing because the A.M.A. was so backed up in the city that they had a more than 24-hour wait time for non-emergencies, and a 12-hour wait time for actual emergencies. It was a little warmer today, but still really cold, and it's a good time to stick around inside and keep warm. Which you kind of have to do when you're waiting a day for a tow truck.

That's my week in three or four nutshells. How's everyone else doing?

The Doc On Ice

2008-01-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, the only two “sports activities” I really liked were soccer and skating. (Hey Natalie, I'm a skating kid too!) In fact, I was in skating lessons for YEARS, and the only reason I quit is because I would have needed to get boys’ figure skates with picks, and my parents couldn’t buy them. As I got older, I still liked to go skating, but it became harder and harder to get second-hand skates in my size. Now, at a size 13, I think it’d nearly be impossible. But after this evening, I might just try looking for some.

The Peach and I went skating today, outdoors on the lake. It was pretty dark out when we got on the ice (about 6:00), but it was nice and quiet, not too many people out, and great weather. It took both of us a little while to get our bearings again, but within five minutes I was doing just fine, turning and stopping and having a great time. For a guy my size and fitness level (i.e., big and poor), it was really exhilarating whipping around at speeds that fast. Sure, I almost lost my balance a few times, and I'm still a little shaky on left-over-right turns, but otherwise, it felt great. I never imagined it'd be so amazing to be out there, but it was.

Seriously, for $5 an hour to rent skates, I don’t know whay I didn’t do this before now. I had a great time, and she did too (until her legs started to hurt). It’s going to get really cold in town in the next few days, but I think once it gets back up above -10 we’ll go again. That was the most exercise I’ve had in a long time, and I actually liked it. Maybe we can get a few more people out next time.

What's Up Wednesday - January 23, 2008

2008-01-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

In a completely spur-of-the-moment decision, I’ve decided to add at least one weekly feature to increase my blogging frequency. It’s not really the end of the world if I don’t put up something life-altering every day, but getting at least one thing out a week would be good. So every Wednesday I’ll check in here and talk about some of the things that have happened to me in the previous week, in a number of categories. Categories may change, disappear and reappear without notice. And I’m going to limit myself to one thing per category, to make things simple.

“Why Wednesday?” you might ask. Well, for one thing, I like the phrase “What’s Up Wednesday”. Also, today’s Wednesday, and today’s the day I came up with this idea. I’m not very complicated.

So, what’s been up with The Doc this past week?

The Book: I've started The Fortress of Solitude audiobook. This is basically Jonathan Lethem's fictionalized autobiography, the story of a white kid growing up in a black neighborhood in New York City in the 70s, and his experiences with the children on the block and his dysfunctional parents. Jonathan Lethem's a good writer with a lot of pop culture references that you need to know a little about in order to enjoy and understand the book; luckily, he and I like the same Marvel comics and jazz albums, so I get it. And David Aaron Baker reads the story rather well, giving each character a distinct voice. I approve, although it's not for everyone.

The Movies: Starting to get obsessed with the Oscars list. I've seen two of the five Best Picture nominees, and I definitely want to get out to the cinema and see as many of the rest of the nominees as I can. Time to break out my spreadsheet!

The Comic: I started reading Heartbreak Soup, the first collection of Gilbert Hernandez' Love and Rockets stories. It's really good. The cartoony style reminds me a little of The Yellow Kid, and the sparse style works even though there are lots of characters. Just finished the first chapter; it's dense but worth the read.

The DVD/TV Show: Finished up Dead Like Me, Season 1. I started watching this almost a year ago, but then got out of the habit; not that it was bad, but I stopped watching it with Ninja & Jago and so it fell by the wayside. But both seasons were available fore $15 each this Boxing Day, so I picked them up and started watching again. I really like Dead Like Me: the stories aren't always even (hard to strike a balance between the family and the reapers), but the stories are quirky and clever, which hooks me every time. Plus, the actors are great, Mandy Patinkin and Jasmine Guy in particular. Great stuff, looking forward to Season 2.

The Album: Another Boxing Day purchase, So Jealous by Tegan and Sara. I didn't really care for their first albums, but So Jealous has them dipping into pop and a little heavier rock. There are a lot of catchy hooks, and I really dig their close harmonies. Probably listened to the whole album 4 times last week alone.

The Video Game: Jago lent me Harvey Birdman for the Wii. he told me it was kind of fun, but too short. I've made it through 2 of the 5 levels in just under an hour and fifteen minutes, and so far it's just like I'm helping make a few sub-par episodes of Harvey Birdman. It's mildly entertaining, but...yeah. Not as funny as it should be, really. Also: no Stephen Colbert, which is another strike against it. I just hope that when they make a Space Ghost: Coast To Coast video game - and if they don't should - it's better than this.

The Job: Now that I've technically graduated, I was looking for another part-time job to fill up my schedule and my bank account. I just signed a contract to be a research assistant for a Ph.D. student, doing some assessments here and there, which not only pays rather well but solidifies one of my special talents (I'm one of a very few people in the city who know how to do one particular assessment). Plus, she mentioned that there might be another casual position she could try and secure for me doing, yes, that same assessment. So even though I haven't applied for any clinical jobs, it looks like this research/assessment thing's going to work out nicely for me for the next little while.

The Real-Life: The Peach and I realized over breakfast on Sunday that we had been married exactly six months, which was a bit of a shock to us. We sat there in stunned silence and then grinned at each other. Then, we finished up our breakfast and went shopping for pants. Ah, the life of the married guy.

So that's it. Anything new and/or exciting happen to you? Let me know. I'm interested. No really. I care about YOU.

The Peach and I Go Shopping!

2008-01-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

This Sunday The Peach and I went out to the Old Strathcona Antique Mall to blow off a little steam and enjoy the sights. I will admit, I never thought I'd be a fan of "antiquing", but it's fascinating to see what people have in their little corners. There were old Whiz! comics from the 40s, framed original nudes of Marilyn Monroe ("tastefully" censored and untouched), old birdcages, tobacco cans, firearms, and signed sports equipment, to name but a handful. There are also really bizarre and ridiculous things there as well. So when we went this Sunday I brought my camera, and here are some of the real finds.

For when you really need to crack a hard case.

A Fonzie Fun Fact from this book: Henry Winkler once kicked a stray dog on the set of Happy Days. It was played on TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes. *

The only creature powerful enough to contain eight bears? Tony the Tiger, of course!

In the Great Depression, the best option for many labourers was to try and hitch a ride on the Cookie Train.

A great gift for kids! (That you don't like very much.)

Those aren't all the pictures, but they're the ones that turned out the best. Who knows, I might make a semi-habit of this photojournalism. Because ther are some WIERD things afoot at the Antique Mall.

* - This is untrue.