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Vancouver 2010

It’s Thursday morning, and I’m most likely asleep in recovery, reluctant to leave my bed. To most “Vancouver 2010” is a representation of the 2010 Winter Olympics which were held in the beautiful city of Vancouver, British Columbia. To me, it represents Five Days In July in which I took in so much of this west coast beauty. Much like most of my posts, I’m writing this well in advance. I’m actually writing it so far in advance, that I’m still in Vancouver. It’s Sunday night, and I’ll be popping on an airplane in the next few hours to head back home to Toronto. I thought I’d fill you in… Read More »Vancouver 2010

Canada & Mr. Diefenbaker

[The Liberals]1 bit the dust because they treated Parliament with contempt.2 BT Richardson’s Canada & Mr. Diefenbaker is a book which isn’t so much about the then-Prime Minister, but is more about Canada in 1962. I thought it was really ambitious to write a biography of a sitting Prime Minister, but I was mistaken, Richardson wasn’t talking about Diefenbaker’s childhood and early years, he was talking about Canada. Even in the few chapters that did discuss Diefenbaker was more interested in painting the picture of a family living in rural Ontario3 and moving out to Saskatchewan to start a new life with free land and the great opportunities of this… Read More »Canada & Mr. Diefenbaker

Jasper Sloan Yip

I spent most of today wandering around Vancouver with my sister, or my sister-in-law, maybe my ex-sister-in-law, my Kelly. We had fun, as it had been a long time since I last saw her. We visited Gas Town, China Town1, Red Cat Records, was joined by Bryan2 for nachos3, and then finally we headed over to Granville Island4 to see a handful of bands, mostly Jasper Sloan Yip. It was about a month or so ago when I first heard of Mr. Yip’s songs. I really liked the two or three I had come across and wanted to hear more. The next day at work, one of my coworkers asked… Read More »Jasper Sloan Yip

The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee by Sarah Silverman

Judging by the time, I’m going to guess that I’m somewhere over Saskatchewan12, and so far I’ve read more than half of Sarah Silverman’s debut book The Bedwetter. Last night3, I took a walk along the Danforth in Toronto to visit the bank, and on my way back, I popped into Book City. I had two books to take with me on my trip, and though my trip is only five days, I tend to pound through the reading while on vacation, and if I’m going to attempt to visit a beach, I’ll need to find a way to not get bored, because beaches are boring. So here, I sit,… Read More »The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee by Sarah Silverman

Ben Gunning (with Matt Murphy)

A long time ago, in the mythical 1990s, there were a couple bands who took my heart by storm. The Flashing Lights and The Local Rabbits. The two bands would frequently play shows together around Toronto. Sunday night the frontmen from those two bands played two sets at The Drake Hotel to kick off Ben Gunning’s residency. Matt Murphy started off the night, he who was formerly in The Flashing Lights, was playing along with his acoustic guitar, and though I’ve seen this man perform countless times and in many different genres and band setups, I had never before seem him performing alone, with a guitar. Murphy started off the… Read More »Ben Gunning (with Matt Murphy)

Alice in Wonderland

Well, that was weird. Alice In Wonderland felt more like a Disney film than it did a Tim Burton film. It wasn’t terrible, but kind of boring and adolescent. I expected a much darker film based on Burton’s history. One of the more disappointing aspects is the digital animation. The characters aren’t nearly the level of quality you’d expect, it looks like it was made in the late nineties.

G20

Dear Mr. Harper, Toronto has long been proud of our women and men in uniform who protect our city, and provide an invaluable service to its people. The security of the G20, however, has soured the People’s view of the Toronto Police Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Ontario Provincial Police. With videos and photographic displays showing what appears to be excessive force and an abandon of the Charter, Torontonians cannot trust their Police or feel safe. Obviously these videos and photos only show one side of the coin, and I do hope, along with all of my fellow Torontonians that the Police are honourable and were only… Read More »G20

Futurama is back!

After a long absence, Futurama has returned to our television screens. For those unfamiliar, Futurama is about a man named Fry who at the turn of the millennium accidentally freezes himself and wakes up in the year 3000. The first two episodes have aired, and in the first one we find they’re just trying to quickly resolve any issues that existed from the previous direct to DVD film. It’s slow and sloppy and isn’t really worth your time. First Leela’s a robit, then Fry is a robit. Who cares? Also, who cares about those two loving each other. Boo! The second episode, however, is a return to form, as it… Read More »Futurama is back!