Author: Dan Dickinson

"I can't think of one reason big enough for him to lie about that's small enough to matter."

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We went to see Gone, Baby, Gone (imdb | rotten tomatoes) last night. It was really good. I would’ve been surprised by how good it was if I hadn’t heard all the great reviews first. I’d add my voice to the choir of people saying Ben Affleck makes a better director than actor, and his brother’s turning some heads as well. I’m always been a fan of Casey Affleck, but with lead roles in this movie and The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, and indie cred from films like Gerry and Lonesome Jim, I think he’s one good role away from becoming very big.

.:.

Drowning people will often flail their arms wildly in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. Just ask SOCAN.

.:.

Not that I’m complaining, but the Toronto weather’s been crazy warm for late October. We went for a walk today and it felt like a spring stroll. Sunny and 17 degrees…it’s supposed to be 22, 23 and 18 for the next three days. Guess I’d better enjoy it while I can…apres (ce) mois, le deluge.

[tags]gone baby gone, ben affleck, casey affleck, socan, music download tariff, toronto weather[/tags]

Scotchgard the credit card

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I live in constant hope that Les Savy Fav will record another song as good as “Tragic Monsters” but so far it hasn’t happened. However, their latest release Let’s Stay Friends (pitchfork | metacritic) is pretty good.

If you like yourself some heavy-ish indie rock, check it out. And for the love of the Fiery Furnaces (who sing along on one track) go download “Tragic Monsters” with all possible speed.

[tags]les savy fav[/tags]

ReTwitterated

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I think that if I were to win the lottery I’d still want to work. I’d go crazy if I didn’t. I mean, I’d take a few months off and do whatever, but I’d take a nice relaxing job. Probably part-time. Maybe at a book store, a small classic one like Nicholas Hoare where the floors squeak.

What would your lottery job be? Would you have one at all?

.:.

Speaking of books, a new one called The Top 100 Canadian Albums lists…well, I’m pretty sure you don’t need my help here. The Toronto Star lists the first twenty, and I don’t have much to argue with. It’s pretty hard to dispute Neil Young‘s Harvest at #1, and they include some albums — Music From Big Pink, Fully Completely, Funeral, Moving Pictures, Whale Music — that, while less obvious, are completely deserving of inclusion. Even Bryan Adams wasn’t completely horrid back then.

.:.

The old commerce building at Dalhousie, where I spent four years of my life, is being demolished. Sitting in the dank basement case rooms, walking up the rickety stairs, dashing through the waterfall that fell through the seam between the buildings when it rained, rolling across the uneven computer lab floor…ah, what fun. Cough, cough…

.:.

7 months ago I mocked people who used Twitter, having tried it and not thought much of it. Today I fired it up again, as much as an outlet as anything else. If anyone’s on (other than those of you I’m already following) let me know. I’m LtDan.

Most of my readership is now scratching their head, wondering what unholy nerdquest I’m on about now…

[tags]lottery job, nicholas hoare, top canadian albums, neil young, dalhousie university, twitter[/tags]

It's that last 0.28% that'll kill you

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Last night’s loss by the Canadiens almost killed me. Watching Montreal completely outplay Florida for 58 minutes and then give up the tying goal with 10 seconds left, finally losing the game on the last shot of the shootout…it was almost too much to bear.

After the game Alex Kovalev couldn’t hide his displeasure with coach Guy Carbonneau, re-igniting rumours of Kovalev’s imminent trade to Calgary. Keep it up, Kovalev, sez I.

.:.

Key strategic takeaways from today:

There will be a quiz next month.

[tags]canadiens, esquire magazine, iran, darth vader harmonica, matador parking lot, stephen colbert[/tags]

Sonny, je t'aime…even if you do wake me up in the middle of the &%@# night

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I’m much too tired to function. My cat woke me up twice last night because he wanted to play. It’s a long story. He’s a very demanding cat. Anyway, I wasn’t functioning well enough to run today but the plan’s on for tomorrow. Just to be on the safe side I may build myself one of those Hannibal Lecter carts that fits an 18-pound wookiee.

.:.

We haven’t been to a theatre in months, and it shows. The movies are piling up again. The following movies are in the theatre right now:

  • Into The Wild
  • King Of California
  • Michael Clayton
  • Paris, Je T’aime
  • The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
  • The Brave One
  • The Darjeeling Limited
  • The Kingdom
  • We Own The Night

And then there’re these, which come out in the next two weeks:

  • Gone, Baby, Gone
  • Rendition
  • Reservation Road
  • Dan In Real Life
  • Control
  • Fugitive Pieces
  • Rails & Ties
  • Run, Fat Boy, Run

I especially want to see Paris, Je T’aime now that we’ve been to…well, Paris.

[tags]into the wild, king of california, michael clayton, paris je t’aime, the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford, the brave one, the darjeeling limited, the kingdom, we own the night, gone baby gone, rendition, reservation road, dan in real life, control, fugitive pieces, rails & ties, run fat boy run[/tags]

What's wrong with Danny Glover?

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Just because I like them so much I’m posting the lyrics of “Thou Shalt Always Kill” by Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip.

Thou shalt not steal if there is direct victim.
Thou shalt not worship pop idols or follow lost prophets.
Thou shalt not take the names of Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Johnny Hartman, Desmond Decker, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix or Syd Barrett in vain.
Thou shalt not think any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a pedophile. Some people are just nice.
Thou shalt not read NME.
Thou shalt not stop likin’ a band just ’cause they’ve ‘come popular.
Thou shalt not question Stephen Fry.
Thou shalt not judge a book by its cover.
Thou shalt not judge Lethal Weapon by Danny Glover.
Thou shalt not buy Coca-Cola products, thou shalt not buy Nestle products.
Thou shalt not go into the woods with your boyfriend’s best friend, take drugs and cheat on him.
Thou shalt not fall in love so easily.
Thou shalt not use poetry, art or music to get into girls’ pants – use it to get into their heads.
Thou shalt not watch Hollyoaks.
Thou shalt not attend an open mic and leave as soon as you done your shitty little poem or song, you self-righteous prick.
Thou shalt not return to the same club or bar week in, week out, just ’cause you once saw a girl there that you fancied but you’re never gonna fucking talk to.

Thou shalt not put musicians and recording artists on ridiculous pedestals no matter how great they are or were.
The Beatles – Were just a band.
Led Zeppelin – Just a band.
The Beach Boys – Just a band.
The Sex Pistols – Just a band.
The Clash – Just a band.
Crass – Just a band.
Minor Threat – Just a band.
The Cure – Were just a band.
The Smiths – Just a band.
Nirvana – Just a band.
The Pixies – Just a band.
Oasis – Just a band.
Radiohead – They’re just a band.
Bloc Party – Just a band.
The Arctic Monkeys – Just a band.
The Next Big Thing – Just a band!

Thou shalt give equal worth to tragedies that occur in non-English speaking countries as to those that occur in English speaking countries.
Thou shalt remember that guns, bitches and bling were never part of the four elements and never will be.
Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music, thou shalt not make repetitive generic music, thou shalt not make repetitive generic music, thou shalt not make repetitive generic music.
Thou shalt not pimp my ride.
Thou shalt not scream if you wanna go faster.
Thou shalt not move to the sound of the wickedness.
Thou shalt not make some noise for Detroit.
When I say “Hey” thou shalt not say “Ho.”
When I say “Hip” thou shalt not say “Hop.”
When I say, he say, she say, we say, make some noise – kill me.

[Ah, forgot where I was, hang on]

Thou shalt not quote Me Happy.
Thou shalt not shake it like a Polaroid picture.
Thou shalt not wish your girlfriend was a freak like me.
Thou shalt spell the word “Phoenix” P-H-E-O-N-I-X, not P-H-O-E-N-I-X, regardless of what the Oxford English Dictionary tells you.
Thou shalt not express your shock at the fact that Sharon got off with Brad at club last night by saying “Is it.”
Thou shalt think for yourselves.

And thou shalt always, thou shalt always… kill.

[via OnlyLyrics]

21.622% left to go

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Sunrise was a fun color this morning, as you can see. That’s one thing about this place…I’ve seen more sunrises in the past six months than in my previous ten years in Toronto.

.:.

Want to see the history of the world’s major religions played out in 90 seconds? It’s impressive to see Christianity linger quietly in western Europe for the better part of 2,000 years, then a big jump, then whammo…world domination.

.:.

I have 311 days left in my MBA. This is problematic. I have no energy or patience left. I find I can devote, at most, an hour at a time to it without losing interest. At this point I’m majoring in apathy.

Really, I just have to push through the next fifteen days. After that I can downshift a little, and after my course in January I’m just coasting into the summer.

[tags]toronto, sunrise, world religion, mba, apathy[/tags]

Without your donations, this post-rock would not be possible

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If you live in Canada you probably have access to a PBS station. Here in Toronto we get the feed from WNED-Buffalo. I find it useful for two things: Ken Burns documentaries and, more importantly, Austin City Limits. It’s a pretty steady source of good music, and this week it’s even better than usual. I don’t mind the first band — The Decemberists — but it’s the second band that’s really worth watching. Explosions In The Sky (who’ve I’ve twice seen live) burn the stage with three songs, including “Yasmin The Light” and “Memorial”, probably my two favourite EITS tracks.

You have until Friday. Check it out.

[tags]austin city limits, decemberists, explosions in the sky[/tags]

"A misanthrope is a bugger who hates every other bugger."

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Oh dear.

  • Original weight: 233
  • Weight last week: 222
  • Weight this week: 223

Not so good. All that talk last weekend of exercising and healthier eating devolved into working long hours and going out for drinks every night. Today I ran three miles as a sort of penance. Shame is a great motivator; ever wonder why I blog about how fat I am?

.:.

For the last couple of months, after I’d complained for the umpteenth time about UpCountry not delivering our bed, I started to get hits on my blog from people querying “upcountry bankrupt” and the like. I guess that was early warning; yesterday The Toronto Star reported that UpCountry has declared BankRuptcy. Glad we finally got our bed when we did; I guess our problems may have been less about their stellar incompetence than about their desperate attempts to remain solvent.

.:.

We spent the afternoon watching a couple of movies:

  • The Proposition (imdb | rotten tomatoes) was violent and dark and moody and beautiful and jarring. Written by Nick Cave and starring some awesome talent (Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce, Danny Huston, Emily Watson, John Hurt), it was as artful as it was bloody. Reminiscent of the final scenes of Unforgiven.
  • Still on the dark side, Half Nelson (imdb | rotten tomatoes) is all Ryan Gosling, carrying a movie about a drug-addicted junior high teacher on his back. There were other good performances as well, but Gosling just owned this one, and it was a tough one to handle. He seemed just desperate enough to make it painful, and just caring enough to make it tragic.

Nellie’s now watching Mallrats just to shake off all the downer.

[tags]fatblogging, upcountry, the proposition, half nelson[/tags]

Once more with litigation

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It’s gray. It’s cold. It’s fall!

.:.

Apparently my blog post from Thursday night made CBGB hanker for the beerbistro, but when we got there last night at 5:00 it was jammed full. Plan B ended up being the Jason George, just down the street, where we started drinking a variety of beer but were all drinking Blanche de Chambly in the end. They came back to ours for one of the bottles of wine that followed us home from France.

.:.

My new musical obsession: the song “Oh My” by Office. Here’s the video.

By the way…girlfriend du jour: Jessica.

.:.

Your daily dose of dumbassery*:

(* apologies to Sam Javanrouh)

[tags]autumn, beerbistro, jason george, blanche de chambly, office, oh my, ian curtis, joy division, control movie, buffy, once more with feeling, lapel pin, bill maher, daily dose of imagery[/tags]