"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe go f*** yourself"

Bonnie, Poonam and I went to see The Departed on Tuesday: brilliant, brilliant movie. I'm inclined to agree with Peter Travers about this movie: "Each new [Scorcese] film absorbs the others, creating a body of work that can stand with the greatest. Scorsese tops the list of American directors because, even when he fails, he strives passionately to make movies that matter. The Departed, a defiantly uncompromised vision of a society rotting from the inside, is one of his best." I loved every minute of it. It was intense, suspenseful, emotional, brilliant. I hope this time he gets his Oscar. Of course, he didn't make Flags of Our Fathers, so who knows. Another great point - the music. Rolling Stones, Lennon, Van Morrison singing Rolling Stones; all the songs (and the score) were perfect.
In light of this new favourite movie, I'm releasing my top five favourite movies of 2006:

1. The Departed
2. Thank You For Smoking
3. Nacho Libre
4. Little Miss Sunshine
5. V For Vendetta

Two movies that have yet to come out but could very possibly be on this list are Stranger Than Fiction and Borat. This list will undoubtedly be revised in a couple of weeks. Oh, and I'm looking forward to seeing The Prestige as well. Finally, another great part of The Departed involves Leonardo DiCaprio drinking cranberry juice. You'll have to see the movie to find out what it is because it's too risque for this publication. Or you can ask Bonnie.

Snubbed by the Pres

Last night Bonnie and I went to a U of S Alumni reception featuring... President Peter MacKinnon. He gave the usual rah rah go research speech, culminating with a statement something like "I love Synchotron". We thought it was all very standard. He is a very good speaker, though, and as such we were impressed. Until, that is, he showed his true disdain for the Humanities by snubbing two English graduates. After the speech, I politely stopped President MacKinnon to ask about maintaining the balance between the sciences and humanities. He began another stock response and I thought he was happy to have a real dialogue about his university. In no way were Bonnie and I critical of his speech or his vision of the U of S. However, he is a busy man and soon enough his attention was diverted by a former MP from Saskatoon. Bonnie and I thought that we would politely wait for him to finish his greetings with the other (more VIP-like) alumnus; we waited while he spoke with four other people, with his back turned the whole time. Then, we left. While the role about the humanities within science-based institutions will always be a hot topic, I felt that Bonnie and I were two concerned Alumni with a genuine concern. I suppose that we'll get the President's attention 20 years and $20,000 from now.

World Container can't hold them

Well, another Tragically Hip album is out! World Container is not so much a departure as a progression for the perennially great band. I don't have to sing their praises too much; just get this one. My favourite songs so far are the title track and "In View". You can listen on iTunes - if you don't already have the album, of course. I think this album will make an appearance on my top albums list of 2006 - coming soon!

Yay Amie!!

Congrats to Amie Shirkie, M.A!

Ban This

Although it's the last day of Banned Books Week, check out the American Library Association list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000. The Canadian Library Association's website does not have such a list, and although books certainly have been and continue to be challenged in Canada, oppostion to certain works seems to be more vehement in the States. PEN Canada presents the Canadian version with Freedom to Read week. The ALA list is quite interesting, as is the list of those who initiate challenges. I haven't read all of the books on the list, and I admit that I will likely never read many of them (including numbers 58, 60, and 87), but there are many titles which are undeniably important in both the cultural and the literary sphere. So, screw the censor and read a banned book in support of Banned Books Week.

Happy Birthday Garry!

And we're back

We've finally been hooked back up to the outside world. We had to go 17 days without phone or internet, but now we're back!! Look for more posts - We've had a terrible summer for blogging. Good summer overall, though. Anyhoo, email us for our new address and phone number. The old ones won't work.

For all you wanna be cult leaders...

I was interested to learn that Warren Jeffs, the leader of a polygamist sect, was arrested today in the US. Jeffs has ties to Bountiful, a community in BC, which has been under scrutiny for some time. Winston Blackmore, former leader of the Bountiful sect, was interviewed earlier this year by Hana Gartner. The Canadian case certainly exposes the difficulties of adhering to freedom of religion while also trying to protect individuals, namely women and children. I'll be interested to see what happens to Jeffs, and I truly hope that he ends up in jail, where he will experience a whole new kind of polygamy.

Finally

Happy to come home and see this on the wire:

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/08/14/macleans-universities.html

I always felt that the University of Saskatchewan was particularly affected by the insufficient evaluation criteria. Hopefully this will change Maclean's's tune. Then again, the feature story of the latest issue is an expose on the Playboy mansion. Perhaps if Maclean's hired some actual journalists we'd see some changes. Of course, the highly entertaining Paul Wells is exempt from any complaint about Maclean's. His contribution is almost worth the cost of the subscription by itself.

Off to Saskatchewan!!

I'm off to Saskatchewan! I'll be visiting friends and family for 11 wonderful days but I'll soon be back to tell you all about it. Have a good week!!

So, so hot

Okay, so I'm not just complaining anymore. I'm actually fascinated by the current weather. Last night was the region's "hottest night": 27 degrees or thereabouts for an overnight is crazy talk. In addition, from 11pm to 4 am it was non-stop lightning show. It was so bright it woke me up! It was like someone was turning the lights on and off in my room, even though the curtains were closed. Just incredible. And now, today, this:

Ottawa (Kanata - Orléans)
Currently
Observed at: Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier Int'l Airport 1 August 2006 4:00 PM EDT
Sunny
Temperature 36°C Pressure/ Tendency 100.5 kPa↓ Visibility 24 km Humidity 50% Humidex 47 Dewpoint 24°C Wind WSW 24 km/h gust 33 km/h

So it's close to 50 degrees - isn't that crazy? As I write this I'm expecting the power to go off due to Ontario's infamous brownouts. Apparently we've already set records for power usage. Peak time is five o'clock. It's a good thing I've made it up the elevator! It would suck to have to walk up all those flights today. Stay cool everyone!

Furthermore...

It's still hot. But really, here's an interesting article on the history of sport doping from CBC:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/photoessay/top10-doping/index.html

You'll find all the usual suspects: East Germany, China, USA Track and Field, and, of course, Ben Johnson. Surprisingly, the article is somewhat sympathetic to Johnson, claiming that while he did indeed shoot up, he was the only one caught and so he's not really a cheater, just not a very good doper. Even 20 years later, after all the fiascos surrounding the occasion, he still will not say he was wrong. And, just in case you're still feeling the need for more drug-related scandals, Justin Gatlin, Olympic and World Champion in the 100 metre dash and co-record holder, has failed a drug test taken in April. Turns out humans really can't run that fast. At least American humans can't. Have a good Sunday. Hopefully there are no positive drug tests today.

Another Hot Post

First and foremost - it is hot!! Moving on: things are pretty slow around here with Bonnie gone. It's only five more days until I join her in Saskatoon! I'm excited. We are moving in September to a better place - closer to downtown, ten-minute walks to work and school, respectively, close to coffee shops, pubs, theatres; anything, really. It took us all of two days to realize that our current apartment was way out the way of anything fun (except Tim Horton's - no end to the fun there). It will be nice to be able to make decisions on a whim - "let's go grab a beer" and then five minutes later we are having said beer.
In the news, how does Floyd Landis sleep at night? He makes up an impossible time difference from one stage to the next - 8 mins - and the next day he wins the Tour de France. Guess which day the sample in question came from? That's right, his "impossible day". Coincidence? "Oh, my testosterone just happened to be high that day. If he has a naturally high level of testosterone, wouldn't that be factored in to the testing? The circumstantial evidence is too much. With Lance, he is just a machine. Seven years of dominance is proof of that. For Landis, to have one day of dominance combined with suspected doping is just too much. By the way, he coincidentally pulled out of an event in Belgium last weekend. Perhaps he felt the heat. Who is this guy? Okay, I got a little hot under the collar there. I'm better now. Stay cool, everyone.

Halfway Home!!

Well, it's been twelve days since I saw Bonnie last. I know, I know, suck it up. But it is hard! I'm finding that I don't do very much, even though I've got a lot to do (like cleaning the house). Don't worry Bonnie - I will clean up before I leave town. I leave for Saskatoon on the 4th. And then I will not let her out of my sight, not even once. We are travelling to Wynyard for the Dunville wedding on the 12th. I hope it's not brutally hot like it has been for the last few weeks. I might need some creative cooling tactics to keep me sane. I am excited about the trip home, to see friends and family, to see familiar places once again. It will have been almost an entire year since I saw the great plains of SK. I am looking forward to it. Look forward to more posts, for now that I have reached the halfway point my spirits are up.

Canada Day on the Hill

Well. Saturday was a great, great day, despite the spattering of rain during the fireworks. Bonnie and I got up "early" to see the RCMP Musical Ride - we made it there by 10:30 just in time to be about a hundred metres back - behind a thousand other people who have a different conception of early. We didn't actually see the show - we had to rely on the massive video screens at various places. Still, it was interesting to be there - especially when we realized that we didn't need to see the horses to smell them. There were a lot of obnoxious people about, and we couldn't stay there long. We watched the PM and GG come in and then the Snowbirds flew over top - so low I felt as though I could touch them if only I reached. Not really, but they flew pretty low. And they patched one of the pilots into the PA system so he could say "Happy Birthday Canada!" as they flew overhead. Such pride in the Snowbirds!!
We then walked around downtown for the rest of the day, after stopping at a pub to watch England lose in a shootout. The pub, located directly across from Parliament Hill, charged $2 for water!! We were appalled. They also asked for payment up front, which is a little more understandable. At about five, we went to the Canal to curl up under a tree and take a nap. Then we met some friends from Bonnie's class and went for supper before heading over to see the 'works. We managed to see the band Stars, but we couldn't get close enough to hear them, oddly. They were the last act on the main stage, a hefty honour if I say so myself, yet the lead singer chose that occasion to protest our gov't. He wore a shirt (pretty clever, actually) that read "Harper's Bizarre". I'm all for free speech and he is certainly within his rights to express himself, but I also feel that class and respect count for something. Call me old fashioned (Scott, I know you will). Then the fireworks. Like I said, it rained a little, but that did not dampen our spirits. The show was impressive - going for what seemed like an eternity but was actually only 12 minutes. That's a lot of fireworks. It was a show befitting the National Capital, to say the least. We managed to wrangle ourselves out of the crowd and made it home by 11:30. And then straight to sleep. We were bushed. What a great way to spend Canada Day!

Pre-Canada Celebrations

The city was abuzz today in anticipation of tomorrow's festivities. Seriously, everyone seemed to be on edge. It didn't help that continuous rain showers kept everyone running for doorways and such. Bonnie and I took in the downtown this afternoon - after, of course, watching Germany dispose of Argentina in penalty kicks. I had the day off (huzzah for stats!) and decided to enjoy myself. We went to the mall, grabbed a coffee at The Second Cup, ate lunch at Dunn's Famous Deli. I had the famous Smoked Meat - just like in Montreal that time after CIs. We walked home, getting rained upon three separate times in the process. It was a great day. Tomorrow begins with the Musical Ride at 10:30 and then chock-full of Canada Day activities, ending with a most spectacular fireworks display (one hopes). Oh, and Go England!

Good News!

Bonnie and I are pleased to report that we are getting married! We are very happy and excited!

Do Not Watch This Movie

Last weekend I watched Nacho Libre, which was fabulously hilarious. Go watch it - now!! But unfortunately there was a preview for another movie - Barnyard, which seems to be the story of a young party cow's adventures. There are two problems with this movie, as you can see from the trailer. First, the protagonist is male, yet he has an udder. A male is either a steer or a bull (if you don't know the difference between those two, shame on you), not a cow. I'm not sure that cartoons should be anatomically correct, but they should not give the audience the impression that cattle are some sort of hermaphroditic animals. Second, the movie suggests that cow-tipping is real. People, you just can't tip a cow. Trust me. I will no longer tolerate this nonsense.
I am extremely aggravated by the misrepresentation of our bovine friends, so stand up for cattle and boycott Barnyard.

Will Ferrell - Bush on Global Warming

Here's something I saw on CBC's The Hour. It's Will Ferrell in old form imitating the president. I won't write any commentary, since Bush is too easy a target. Anyhoo, have fun with Will Ferrell.



Will Ferrell - Bush on Global Warming

New Additions

As you can see, I've added some new links to the blog. I've begun to enjoy checking out music blogs, as they can get you excited about a song and then let you listen to it. So check them out and maybe you'll find some music you'll like. At the very least you'll be able to hear "what all the kids are listening to" these days. In other news, the Oilers begin their quest for the Stanley Cup tonight against the Hurricanes (I am extremely confident that the Oilers can pull this off). Also, I have started biking to work. It's great excercise and it really wakes me up in the morning. It also beats having to pay $71 for a monthly bus pass. I guess I am doing even more for the environment. Anyhoo, having fun.