Author: Dan Dickinson

D.Y.S.

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From the CBC: Accused Serbian robber sews up lips, tongue to avoid court hearing. Ow ow OW. Surely there was a better way to avoid a hearing.

.:.

From a letter to the editor of Toronto Life magazine (which they don’t post online, unfortunately), regarding last month’s condo story:

“If to be a hipster condo owner in downtown Toronto means saying things like ‘The very best thing about living here is Olivier at Clafouti’ without a trace of self-parody…then count me in as a renter who would rather put a bullet through his temple than live among these prats.”

I snorted my iced tea when I read this, and made a mental note not to be this kind of condo owner. If you ever hear me going on about how delightful so-and-so at Rosewater is, for god’s sake, punch me.

The new, new Hanson brothers

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The Toronto Star has alread begun fantasizing about bringing Sean Avery to the Maple Leafs. I think this is a brilliant idea; having Sean Avery, Darcy Tucker and Tie Domi would create some sort of critical cheapshot-artist mass who would form this ball of white hot goon light. It would be awesome to behold. Unless you were talented or French-Canadian in any way, and then they would stab you.

.:.

eMusic is really pissing me off. For the longest time they didn’t list the new Magneta Lane album in their catalog; now that they finally do, they’re telling me that I can’t download it because it’s not available to Canadians. Dan != happy. Now I have to buy the disc, which seems like a big waste of my monthly eMusic fee.

Just dial Hell and I'll answer

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I don’t know why everyone had such a hate on for Elizabethtown (imdb | rotten tomatoes). Nellie and I just watched it, and we both really liked it. Granted, we both seem to like Cameron Crowe movies more than most people (I like Vanilla Sky a great deal, for example), and I had a small problem with how Orlando Bloom seemed to struggle with his accent for the whole movie, but I just…liked it. I can’t explain it much beyond that.

Truer words…

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“Understandably Leaf supporters are on a high right now, with the team recording points in each of the past 9 games. It’s the same classic symptoms that Leaf Nation has been plagued with for too long now. A few wins and the Stanley Cup is now a sure thing, management is praised, contracts are extended, and everyone forgets that Jean-Sebastien Aubin isn’t Martin Brodeur.”

[Courtesy of {gasp} Torontoist]

Refreshment & variety

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After a long day of spring cleaning (well, not that long…I slept until 10 and Nellie didn’t get out of bed ’til nearly noon), during which we rearranged the bedroom and combed up enough cat hair to make a Chewbacca suit, Nellie has cracked open a bottle of 2005 Fielding Estate Pinot Gris that Duarte gave her. I went slightly downmarket: a diet pepsi. Ahh.

.:.

My Roku just played Blink-182, then Blind Willie Johnson, then the Rheostatics‘ cover of “Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald”, then Sugar, then Bob Dylan, then Sebadoh. Hooray for random.

.:.

From Listening Post: Neil Young to Take on Bush Administration in Upcoming Album.

[rubs hands together with glee, all Burns-like…]

.:.

A colleague and I were talking about Brick yesterday. He had the “You wanna take a swing at me, hash-head?” line in his MSN message. It’s funny, but we both noticed the same tiny little details about the movie, like the lamp in the van or what was written on the sign in the vice-principal’s office or the incomprehensible dialog between Brendan and Brain. Goes to show what a great job they did. I can’t wait to buy it; we’re considering going see it again in the theatre.

Clinch already

Dan Dickinson

Montreal beat Boston tonight, so they’re that much closer to the playoffs. Atlanta and Toronto both won as well, though, so a playoff berth isn’t assured quite yet. We were at The Rebel House when the Leafs scored in OT to win the game, and some yahoo yelled, “Bring on the cup!” Uh, make the playoffs first, pal, then win a playoff round or two. Then we’ll talk.

.:.

Speaking of The Rebel House, je suis tres full.

.:.

Je suis tres sleepy aussi. I couldn’t sleep last night , what with the cats doing the Lindy Hop on my head. Gonna try to watch the latest Sopranos episode before I crash. So early on a (pseudo) Friday night, but I just can’t stay awake.

Sunny days

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The weather forecast for the upcoming long weekend: 17 degrees, 16 degrees and 15 degrees. It might rain a bit tomorrow, but it should be mostly sunny Saturday and Sunday. It’s even supposed to be 20 degrees today. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.

.:.

Looks like Google Calendar is finally out. Pretty much; it’s a little clogged right now as all the geeks pile on for inspection. It’s pretty cool though; the quick add feature (where you just type something like “Movie with Fred at the Paramount on April 28th” and it puts the entry in the right spot) is nice.

Smooth, shaky and anxious.

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The 72% cocoa chocolate we got from Suite 88 (the chocolate boutique we visited in Montreal) might just be the best thing I’ve ever tasted.

.:.

Montreal lost again tonight, for the second time in three nights. I’m not too worried; they can basically clinch a spot with one win in their three remaining games or a loss by Atlanta. Still, I wish they’d just get it over with so I can breathe a little easier. And I’d almost rather see them finish in 8th if it means playing the Senators in the first round instead of the Hurricanes…

.:.

I’m still waiting for the 2006 album that blows me away.

How long can grooming take anyway?

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Today’s IndieTits was very funny. And I heartily agree with Neko Case being #1. Wrong Wainwright at #5, but it was funnier that way.

.:.

Some movies that I/we watched lately, but which weren’t very good:

  • Domino (imdb | rotten tomatoes), because it was an interesting story, but not interesting enough to require the frantic pace and annoying echo chamber of this great big hackey music video.
  • Out Of Order (imdb), because Showtime tried to pull off some kind of scam by cramming an entire season of a show into a 97-minute movie. It did, however, alert me to the fact that Justine Bateman has become rather hot at the age of forty.

.:.

I’ve been slowly working through Saturday’s Star after returning from Montreal, and was particularly interested in this article by James Travers about how the front runners for the Liberal party leadership are flexing a little more IQ muscle than has been seen in Canadian politics for some time. My favourite line: “With Michael Ignatieff and Stéphane Dion opting in yesterday and Belinda Stronach dropping out a day earlier, the collective leadership IQ is soaring.” The other entrants or potentials — Bob Rae, Gerard Kennedy, Ken Dryden, Scott Brison, John Godfrey, David McGuinty, Maurizio Bevilacqua — are no slouches either. Whether or not you dig the Liberal party, it can’t be a bad thing to have smarter people trying to run the country.

.:.

One last thing about our Montreal trip: I have to comment on the travel particulars. We flew Westjet this time, as I used up the Airmiles that find their way into my account without my really knowing. Anyhow, it was my first time with them and I was pretty impressed; the thing I liked the most was that they didn’t take 45 minutes to “groom” the plane like Air Canada does; it landed, they let the passengers off, and they let us on seconds later. Much faster turnaround time than I was used to.

And finally, about the Hotel Gault…I know I’ve already gushed about it, but it bears repeating: stay there if the opportunity presents itself.