Marketing people are not very smart

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Whoops…haven’t blogged in two days. Right then. Tally ho.

.:.

The Canadiens game last night: fugly. The Hurricanes played a mediocre game, but the Canadiens played like old women at 3 AM. Every loose puck, every fight along the boards, every dump-in, every scrum…Carolina seemed to win it. If the Canadiens play like this again tomorrow night, it’s all over. Whatever happens, I don’t see either of these teams moving on against Ottawa, New Jersey or Buffalo (assuming the Sabres win).

.:.

The blogosphere (ugh…hate that term…hence, my Bomb The Blogosphere t-shirt is on the way) is afire with talk about Stephen Colbert’s bit at the White House Correspondent’s dinner. It was, indeed, very funny. It took balls to stay in character and subtly trash the administration with the President sitting a few feet away, and to heap ridicule on the press corp with them staring him in the eye.

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Good news on the condo front: we now have a closing date. April 9th is what we’ve been told, which means we should be able to move in some time before that (since we’re about halfway up the building). I guess. I don’t really know; I’m a homebuying rookie. Still, it’s great to have a date, even if it’s 11 months away.

.:.

I’ve watched a pile of movies in the past few days, some from the PVR (which we’re now calling the TiFaux) and some at the Hot Docs festival.

  • Thirty-Two Short Films about Glenn Gould (imdb | rotten tomatoes) was just what it sounded like. Some were throwaways, some were very interesting. My favourite was the interview that he wrote for himself, where he questions the very nature of music and performances. It made my head spin, but Gould was known for turning things on their ear. I’d like to find out more about the man, and this was a decent place to start.
  • Speaking of throwaway, City Hall (imdb | rotten tomatoes) had all kinds of potential with all kinds of great actors, but it never really went anywhere. It’s a decent afternoon timekiller if you should flip by it on an afternoon, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to rent it.
  • Our second Hot Docs movie was An Unreasonable Man (hot docs), about Ralph Nader. For an audience that knows vaguely of Nader as a customer crusader and mainly as the man who’s been painted as responsible for George Bush winning the presidency, it was enlightening to see a more in-depth history of such an interesting figure. Nader took on the automotive industry — specifically GM — and won, forcing them to improve car safety, made seat belts and air bags mandatory, and effected dozens of other changes to protect consumers. The hoopla surrounding the 2000 election was discussed at length, with opinion on both sides, and showed how hard the powers that be worked to keep him out of the race when it mattered. My favourite quote was from Nader himself: “Personally, I think Al Gore lost me the election.” Five stars out of five, sez I.
  • The next documentary was OilCrash (hot docs), a fairly scary picture of a) how incredibly valuable oil is to the very operation of our society, b) how perfect and efficient a solution oil is to our energy needs, and c) how terrifyingly fast we’re running out of it. I felt they did an amazing job of staying neutral: there was no (to steal Don Rumsfeld’s favourite line) “henny-penny, the sky is falling”, oil is evil, the president is a petroleum-thirsty savage, etc. They simply showed how incredibly reliant we are on oil, how none of the primary alternatives are viable replacements, and how we’re deluding ourselves into thinking there’s more left than there is. I only rated it three out of five, though, since the presentation wasn’t in the same class as the content.

An interesting note about Hot Docs: they’re sponsored in part by Cadillac, and so before each documentary there’s an ad for the Cadillac Escilade…by all accounts, one of the most egregious offenders in terms of gas guzzling and consumer excess. You can imagine, then, the audience reaction when such an ad plays before DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT RALPH NADER AND OIL CRISES!! I mean, for the love of god, what fucking idiot in marketing at Cadillac/GM thought that up?

.:.

Finally, as promised, I have more to say about United 93. As I said on Saturday, I found it very moving and powerful. It’s been quite a while since I need a few minutes at the end of a movie to compose myself, and I think Nellie and I had walked halfway home before either of us uttered a word. The tension starts in the first few seconds, and by the halfway point of the movie I could feel myself trembling a bit. I thought it was the cold (the Varsity is often freezing) but by the end — right around the time the passengers figure out what’s going on and start calling their families — I was practically shaking the chair. I realized it was my nerves. That was something I’ve never experienced before.

I’d find it hard to recommend the film to anyone, just because it felt like such an ordeal and I wouldn’t want to necessarily put them through that, and yet I still feel like everyone should see it. I thought it was a brilliantly crafted and exceptionally told interpretation of what happened, a perfect escalation of the speed, tension and confusion of the day as it developed, and as unbiased as it could be (the terrorists, though zealots, are just scared human beings, which makes them more and less terrifying at once; there’s even a brief scene where both they and the passengers pray, to different gods, but no one more fervently than the other) while still portraying the unfathomable bravery the passengers showed.

I remember thinking the same thing I thought that day four and a half years ago when I heard the first reports about the plane that had crashed in Pennsylvania, just for a split second before my brain refocused on all the carnage unfolding on CNN: what courage. What fucking courage. To charge the terrorists, to storm the cockpit, to attempt to re-take the plane, knowing full well that they could die in an instant. Were they trying to save other lives in New York or Washington? Were they just trying to save themselves? Did they just want one more chance to see their families? Were they angry? Scared? Altruistic? Selfish? Probably all of those things, and more. And they did what not many people would have done: they fought back. They did everything they possibly could, and whether they knew it or not, they might have saved hundreds of lives.

What...courage.

.:.

[tags]Canadiens, Hurricanes, NHL, Stephen Colbert, condo, Hot Docs, United 93[/tags]

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Weird…I was looking for a sample menu from Dooney’s, a cafe/restaurant in The Annex, and found their site…which is like some kind of left-leaning editorial/news service. Lots of literary news and books reviews (not surprising; Dooney’s is a known writer hangout), but I’m still looking for that sample menu.

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Congratulations to the Senators for making it to the second round. As my second favourite team I’m hoping they win it all should my beloved Habs falter. This would also have the added benefit of sending Leafs fans into a state of catatonia.

.:.

[tags]toronto, dooney’s, canadiens, ottawa, senators[/tags]

"We're at war with somebody"

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We went to see United 93 (imdb | rotten tomatoes) this afternoon. I’ll write more later, but I need some time to let it all sink in. It was one of the most powerful, moving, masterfully crafted films I’ve ever seen. But I can’t imagine that I’ll ever want to watch it again.

.:.

Speaking of important films, Cinematical pointed me to this Roger Ebert article about the 102 movies you must see in order “to have any sort of informed discussion about the movies.” To my embarassment I’ve seen only 40 of them.

.:.

Let’s say Via and Amtrak announce a joint plan to introduce a new super-highspeed train. It would reach from Goose Bay to San Diego, from Anchorage to Miami. It could get someone from Halifax to Vancouver in 3 hours, and passengers would travel in private rooms with stereos, comfortable chairs and great views. The trains could also be used to transport goods at high speed, reducing inventory costs for companies and improving the flow of trade across the border.

However, the VIA and Amtrak consortium warn that based on their projections approximately 45,000 passengers would die every year in derailments and other accidents. They also warn that the combustion of the special fuel used in the trains and maintenance of the tracks would cause substantial environmental damage. Further, maintenance of the rail system (which would break down very easily) would cost taxpayers several billion dollars every year.

Would the government allow something like this to go ahead? Would the public be interested in riding such a destructive and unsafe vehicle? Of course not.

So why do we still have cars?

It amazes me sometimes, the compromises we will make for our own convenience.

.:.

[tags] movies, united 93, ebert, cars [/tags]

Try and understand it

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We saw our first Hot Docs selection last night: The Railroad All Stars. It was about a group of prostitutes from the worst slums of Guatemala who form a football team and enter a tournament in the hopes of drawing attention to their plight (they’re beaten or killed by their clients, harassed by police, etc.), and the hoopla that followed. We saw the whole range of backgrounds that brought the women there, and marvelled at the conditions they live and work in. I was flabbergasted by the attitudes some of these women had…an old woman who’d lost a house to a rainstorm — and an eye to an old boyfriend’s drunken rage — thanking god for all her blessings because her boyfriend had built her a wood and aluminium shack in the slum, or the woman who said “I’m not ashamed of what I do because I don’t hurt anybody; in fact, doing what I do, I probably keep young girls from being raped.” This didn’t strike me as temporary self-delusion on the part of someone in denial about her situation; this woman knew where her life had taken her, and seemed at peace with it.

And yet, somehow, the whole movie was funny. So there you go. Kudos to the director.

.:.

Because of the timing last night, I could only watch the first half of the hockey game; I watched just long enough to see Montreal tie the game at 2, but when I got home I watched the remainder on the PVR and saw them lose 3-2. While the officiating was still wonky (Justin Williams high-sticked Andrei Markov in the face with no call; Rivet also got hit in the face with a high-stick sans penalty; on the flip side, though, the Hurricanes had a goal called back when the ref at the blueline overruled the ref behind the net…it was the right call — Brind’Amour kicked the puck out from under Huet — but it was just weird that no penalty was called if the goal was waved off) but at least the Hurricans deserved their win this time. They just beat the Canadiens, pure and simple. The Habs just couldn’t recover from the loss of Saku Koivu, it seems, with their top line completely ineffective, and their second line just as useless. I’m hopeful Gainey will make some line changes — like, say, putting Plekanec on the top line with Higgins and Ryder — but in general I really fear for their chances in this series now. It’s a best of three, with two of the games in Carolina. Montreal’s lost their captain and best centre, and the Hurricans have all the momentum. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but Montreal’s going to have to find some kind of reserve their didn’t know they had to take this series.

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By some unholy twist of fate, I’ve had “You’re The Voice” by John Farnham stuck in my head for the past 24 hours. It was playing in Green Mango yesterday when I picked up my lunch, and I haven’t been able to shake it (except for the hour or so when my brain had “I Wanna Drive The Zamboni” on repeat).

.:.

[tags]hot docs, canadiens, hurricanes, NHL, koivu, zamboni[/tags]

Deeeeee-lish

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I just picked up a brownie from Camros, the new organic food store that’s opened up near my place. Yes, it was over $3, but it was so big that I had to split it with T-Bone.

And lest you think an organic brownie would taste like muddy sawdust, it was a damn fine brownie. Not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly a good brownie. Put it this way: if you haven’t told me it was 100% organic, I wouldn’t have known.

Well…I suppose they're experts at ball handling…

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Stephen Brunt, in yesterday’s Globe column (it requires registration, but if you search for ‘Stephen Brunt’ through Google News you can get the full content) is all too happy to jump on the reduced expectations of a Stanley Cup win in Montreal, recounting a friend’s observation that the city, content with winning a round or two nowadays, has become like Toronto. In this he may touch on the truth, but he’s more wrong that right. Montreal doesn’t have the same expectations now that they did, even as recently as 10 years ago (once Patrick Roy, who was known to single-handedly win a cup, left town just two years removed from their last cup win, the expectations began to drop), but become like Toronto? Not quite. Having lived here in Toronto for the past few, I’ve had plenty of chances to roll my eyes at LeafsManiacs. Yonge street doesn’t fill with honking cars when the Leafs win a playoff series, it fills when they win a playoff game. When they win a series, the mayor begins planning the parade route (at least, Mel Lastman did; David Miller seems a bit less frantic. Lastman actually wanted to throw them a parade for getting to the third round, for chrissakes).

There’s also a difference between the cities in the sports demeanor come October. Montreal fans are hopeful that their team can win it all, and passionate about the season’s outcome, but will grudgingly admit that their chances aren’t good. Toronto fans, on the other hand, seem genuinely convinced that their team will win it…each and every year. I’ve never experienced anything like it. They like to claim it’s devotion and dedication, but it smacks mainly of delusion. It’s kind of creepy. Like being in a sports bodysnatchers town.

.:.

Hot Docs starts tonight. Our first documentary is about soccer-playing Guatemalan prostitutes. Seriously.

"Continental integration by stealth"

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“[N]othing less than the complete integration of Canada’s military, security and foreign policy into the decision-making and operating systems of the U.S.”

Sounds scary, no? It’s how Michael Byers opens his editorial in today’s Star, in which he says that close scrutiny of a report by a Canada-US military committee called the Bi-National Planning Group would lead us to a state of mild subjugation rather than cooperation.

Four years ago, when they began their study, it seemed a fairly laughable suggestion, but with Harper’s conservative government in power as they release their findings (which is a little too convenient to be a complete coincidence) it’s suddenly not quite as funny.

A rope. A tree.

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The referees just handed game 3 to Carolina. First they didn’t call a penalty in the second period on a high stick that, by the look of it, carved Saku Koivu’s eye out. You’d think that an injury causing blood to stream from the eye socket and requiring a trip to the hospital would draw, oh I don’t know, a minor penalty or something? Then they gave the Hurricanes a four-minute penalty at the end of regulation time (on a high stick, which they must have decided to start calling again). Finally, in overtime, they didn’t call Vasicek when he checked the Montreal player into the boards from behind, but seconds later called the Canadiens on a marginal trip. Carolina scored on that power play.

It’d be one thing if Carolina had actually beaten Montreal, but they didn’t. The Canadiens dominated the whole game, much more than the shot clock showed. Cam Ward held the Hurricanes in it, Carolina scored a flukey one and the refs took over from there.

Congratulations, Dan Marouelli and Dennis Larue. Go home, watch the videotape of the gore pouring out of Saku Koivu’s eye and congratulate yourselves on a job well done.