Thank You, Lady Justice

Despite my earlier protestations against censorship, I am delighted that O.J.'s book is not going to be released. I do not feel that he should be prevented from doing what he wants; if he wants to write a book and someone wants to publish it, more power to him. However, every aesthetic and moral fibre in my body cringed when I heard about this endeavor. Personally, it disgusts me. I am glad that others feel the same way as I do and further pain and exploitation cannot result from this man's sad delusions.


Murdoch pulls plug on O.J. Simpson book, TV special

Deep Thoughts

There's a few things that I wanted to blog about this week, so this post's going to be multifaceted:

1. Stranger Than Fiction. Bonnie and I went to see this movie on Thursday. It was extremely enjoyable and satisfying on many levels: great music, great acting, great writing, and, most of all, one of the main characters was an English prof. So you know it's gotta be good. Seriously, though, check this movie out.

2. Accordingly, here's my revised top 5 movie list of 2006:

1. Stranger Than Fiction
2. The Departed
3. Thank You For Smoking
4. Borat
5. Little Miss Sunshine

3. Huskies in the Vanier Cup. This weekend the Saskatchewan Huskies beat the Ottawa Gee Gees to make it to the Vanier Cup - the fifth time in six years - against Laval, the other powerhouse team in the CIS. It will be an epic battle and I am pleased that the Huskies will play in front of the hometown crowd. It looks as though the money to bring the Vanier Cup to Saskatoon was well spent.

4. "How I Met Your Mother". This is a great show. I'm pretty sure it's narrated by Bob Saget, and Neil Patrick Harris is in it. Check it out here.

Now it's personal

So now Iran has my attention. I felt before that they were deliberately provoking the Americans for fun or to unify its citizens and lionize the president, but this is one scary step. They've banned books and music. I can only think of Hitler's infamous bookburning ceremonies and the dire consequences. Is Iran ready to take on the world? I don't think that many nations will stand for this type of behaviour if it escalates into human rights violations. First, it's the ideas that are the problem; next, the people who have those ideas will be removed. Soon, anyone who has any independent thought at all will be removed. As much as I wish to avoid cliche, can anyone say 1984? Opponents of western hegemony will argue that America and Bush are just as evil, but because we agree with those policies we don't see it as such; I tell you this: Americans will fight tooth and nail for their rights. No one can argue that Americans suppress the rights of individuals within their country (of course, within legal and reasonable circumstances). For proof of this, go out and buy O.J.'s new book. The potential apocalypse aside, I feel that banning books in particular is a violation of human rights. Can you imagine not being able to read a book as a child? How do you expect children to grow as thinkers? Iran doesn't: they want robots fighting tooth and nail for their president. I recently had a discussion with a co-worker about the fact that Mein Kampf is not available for sale at Chapters stores. Aside from my personal feeling about the book, I feel that it is the fundamental right of private business owners to sell what they want. The CEO of Chapters-Indigo, Heather Reisman, who is Jewish, decided that she did not want to offer that particular book within her stores; it is her right to do so. If the government said that citizens were not allowed to read that book, that's another matter. And that's what's happening in Iran. So now it's personal.

Iran bans books

Boratmania

Bonnie and I went to see Borat this afternoon. I was utterly speechless upon emerging from the theatre. But now I have found my tongue. It is a brilliant comedy, complete with scenes of obsurdity and immense discomfort. Sacha Baron Cohen made everyone alternate between squirming in their seats and laughing uncontrollably. How he kept a straight face the whole time I'll never know. Yes, there were some unsuspecting people who were seemingly victimized, but it wasn't that bad (except, maybe, for the frat boys in the RV). And the surprise ending truly made the movie an event. If you're uneasy about seeing other people in impossibly uncomfortable situations or offended my male frontal nudity, do not see this movie. Otherwise, laugh away! I give it my highest rating, four Baywatch babes out of four.

When the Deal Goes Down

Last night Bonnie and Poonam and I went to see Bob Dylan! We had floor seats and no one in front of us and it sounded great - couldn't ask for a better show. Foo Fighters opened with an acoustic set; they're a really, really good band. Dave Grohl is not only a great musician but one of the funniest as well. He had people in stitches all night. The highlight of the FF set was Grohl singing "Best of You" solo - and he yelled it. Literally, he yelled as though it were an electric performance, yet it was just him and an acoustic guitar. It was truly awesome. Then Bob came on. People after the show complained that he didn't acknowledge the crowd, but he never acknowledges the crowd - that's been his thing for, like, 40 years. It is the music that mattered. But he almost danced on more than one occasion. What more can you ask for? There was almost a fight a couple of rows in front of us between two young dudes smoking pot and an old dude who should've been smoking pot, there was a crazy guy behind us screaming "Free Ruben Carter!" and an old guy kindly asked me if I would mind sitting down (I did). Bob's band was impeccable, as always, and the new arrangements on old songs like "Maggie's Farm" and "Tangled Up In Blue". He played two new songs, "Nettie Moore" and "Thunder on the Mountain," and a lot of old ones; in fact, the first six songs were all from 1966 or earlier. "Just Like a Woman" was awesome, as was "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine," "She Belongs to Me," "Watching the River Flow," and "Ballad Of A Thin Man". He closed with "Like a Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watchtower": an awesome end to a fantastic concert. I was truly satisfied. It will definitely hold me until he comes back this way again. Oh, and I bought a t-shirt.

Welcome Trudy Bear!

Welcome wishes are in order for Trudy Bear, the newest blogger to hail from our old neighbourhood west of the Great Lakes. Welcome!

What A Girl Wants

But you can't go home again, at least not if you're planning to eat there

Slate does it again! Such passion, such expectation for every single thing. This week's target: The Joy Of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition. It is a treat to see seemingly trivial matters blown up into news. It's like high school all over again, except this time I'm laughing a lot more. And I'm not as awkward around girls.

The latest edition of Joy of Cooking falls short