I wanted to write something about the amazing Grey Cup victory this afternoon, but an accident with my dog has distracted me. It seems Oliver cut his eat on another dog's studded collar. According to my wife, blood was pouring out of the cut. She took him to the vet and he's in surgery now. There's a good chance he'll lose a bit of his ear and will have to wear a cone for a few weeks. Poor little guy.

Anyway, about the Grey Cup: after watching most of the pre-game stuff and the game (which was one of the best football games I've ever seen, not in terms of excellence of play but back and forth) I have two thoughts. First, the Roughriders beat themselves. Leave the miscue that resulted in the repeat kick aside for a second, Saskatchewan was unable to capitalize on a couple of key Montreal mistakes, particularly the 7 yard punt. When they needed to get a time-killing first down, they couldn't.

Second, the Montreal coach, Marc Trestman, is a stand up guy. From the pre-game speech to his team, to his candid comments before the second half, to his post-game speech, I was completely struck with his soft spoken humility and sportsmanship. Reminding his team that they're entitled to nothing and praising the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Trestman exuded class. Hotheaded Winnipeg coach Mike Kelly could and should take a page out of Trestman's book.

Hey, hey, hey, goodbye

With the Winnipeg Blue Bombers officially (and perhaps not surprisingly) out of the playoffs, I need to find another CFL team to cheer. I'm leaning towards the Hamilton Ti-cats: the dramatic, late-season turn around; the impressive win over the Roughriders; and the fact that their current starting quarterback, Kevin Glenn, should have never been traded by Winnipeg. On the other end, I could cheer for the Roughriders: my in-laws are Roughrider fans and will likely invite me over to watch the games. For the sake of family unity, maybe that's the way to go.

Should you go with hated rivals who have a good shot at the Grey Cup or the team that put your team out? Or do you just watch as a detached observer, cheering for the game itself? What's the usual course of action for the fan of a losing team? I figure I'd toss this one out there and let people chime in with their two cents. Some of my friends who are Leafs fans and will have had DECADES dealing with this problem might have some interesting insights.

Can't get next to you

I know, I know. Months have past by without so much as a "how-dya do." I'm a terrible friend and a horrible person. Please forgive me.

Rather than going on and on about the mundane events of my average life I thought I'd list a couple of websites and their stories that have brightened my dark days.

My Life Is Average

Last night, after I thought all of the trick-or-treaters were gone, a boy of about 14 years of age came to my house. He was dressed all in red. Instead of saying 'trick-or-treat', he said 'I'm your period, sorry I'm late.' He got my last jumbo bag of candy, and he restored all of my faith in his generation.

Shit my Dad Says

"Just pay the parking ticket. Don't be so outraged. You're not a freedom fighter in the civil rights movement. You double parked."

Also good for a laugh: People of Walmart and Awkward Family photos, similar, but, because people send in photos of themselves as opposed to strangers, less mean.

Harrison Ford has been talking up Indy 5 and his plans to redon the fedora. He claims he, Spielberg and Lucas have figured out what the story will be and are in development.

I can't wait to see what new adventure Dr. Jones will stand around and watch conclude. Maybe they could make that stupid CGI gopher his new sidekick.

So, who am I to judge?

Was watching Entertainment Tonight in glorious HD in the middle of the night. Truly HD is the only way to watch Mary Hart and that steaming pile of faux-important celebrity worshipping tripe masquerading as hard-hitting journalism (have you seen the way they present the Michael Jackson story?)

I'm finding it hard to care about celebrities these days because they just seem so incredibly stupid. Do I can that Gordon Ramsay, who must be one of the worst human beings alive, is faced with bankrupcy? A man who has made is money insulting, screaming at and reducing people to tears might lose it all?

Do I care that another not-a-thought-in-her-pretty-little-head "actress" has had nude photos she took of herself leaked on to the internet? What did she think was going to happen when these photos were taken? Seriously? I think young celebs should have to take a course in "Just 'cause it seems like a good idea at the time doesn't mean it is."

The problem is I think that there are some very real lessons that young and not-so-young people can learn from the missteps of the rich and famous. And perhaps the most important of those messages is this: your actions, even if you think they are private and secret, have consequences; you have to thinnk about the things you do. But that message never quite becomes the focus of the story for an industry that needs celebrity scandal to survive.

It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday

I'm always a little sad when Fringe comes to an end. For the 12 or so days that the Festival is one much of my time is spent in the Exchange (and now Osbourne Village and the Forks) seeing plays, wandering between play venues and queuing up for tickets and plays. And the quality of shows was so good this year, I wish the Fringe was on for another couple of days.

Of the 20-25 shows I saw, there was only one stinker (the previously mentioned "Blitz Kids," a play so bad my blood STILL boils). There were a couple of "mehs"; but most shows were good, very good and excellent.

One of the mehs was the highly tauted and critically praised "Gimbel the Fool." This play thoroughly bored me. I had a hard time (mostly because I didn't care all that much) discerning whether the problem was story or characterization.

Other fantastic plays:

Jake's Gift: We got advance tickets for this after it sold out its second performance of the festival. Peopl lined up for hours to see this and I doubt anyone left disappointed. I have never seen a Fringe show as emotionally charged as this one.

Bloodless: An original Winnipeg musical. Very smart, intelligently staged.

52 Pick Up: I'm aware of two previous stagings of this play at the Fringe, but Gemma Wilcox's version adds a more physical element. I loved the almost dance-like way the two actors picked up the cards.

Fruitcake: Rob Gee's show about his time as a psychatric nurse combines stories and rapid-fire poetry. We saw this on the very last show and I'm so glad we got tickets.

Blue is the Water: South African storyteller Eric de Waal comes to the Fringe every year and every year I go to his shows and I have yet to be disappointed. His voice is hypnotic.

Homeless: Autobiographical show about a young man's job at a homeless shelter. He weaves into the story his own faith story and abandonment of traditional Christianity.

Jerry Finnegan's Sister: I'm always nervous about seeing shows with people I know in them, but I liked this play quite a bit. I thought the direction was a little flawed, but I enjoyed myself.

A quick one while hes away

I know some people still read this blog and if you're reading it during the Fringe Festival 2009, I thought I'd do a quick list of recommendations of the stuff I've seen so far. I'm hoping to have a little bit of time this week to do a more concentrated review post, but I won't make any promises.

Highly Recommend:

Fall Fair: The guy who did Giant Invisible Robot puts on an amazing one-person show. This was one of the best Fringe shows I've ever seen and I was embarrassed that there were only 12 people in the audience. See this show.

archy and mehitabel: A high-concept one person show based on the writings of Don Marquis, a newspaper columnist who wrote as a cockroach and cat.

Sound and Fury present Vaganza: Good, funny S&F show. If you like their humour, it's a great 60 minutes

Molotov Circus: Bizarre and wonderful family of gypsies deal with the coming of age of a teenaged daughter.

Like Father, like Son? Sorry: Chris Gibbs is one of the funniest people on earth.

Ryan Paulson: I'm Uncomfortable: A few "too graphic" moments but the sing-along was fantastic. I met him the day before the show and remembered my name and my wife's name when he saw us at the venue.


Avoid

Blitz Kids: Realizing that I'm a total jerk for slamming a bunch of children:this is a terrible show. I see a lot of people have "disagreed" with my (I think) even tempered, heavily censored analysis on CBC.ca. I can only imagine that these people are related to members of the cast. The mere presence of child actors does not make this show "sweet," "gentle-hearted" or any other innocuous phrase you want to use to sugar coat the harsh reality: this story about two British evacuee children in WW2 will have you rooting for Hitler.

People have commented on the (obviously talented but out of their depth) Winnipeg kids' inability to do London and Scottish accents, but I think there are more basic problems with story, characterization and pacing. Plot lines that could have been quite interesting are dropped and undeveloped. For example, the evacuee children are Jewish, but after one scene it's never mentioned again, even when the kids are invited to a Saturday matinee. The whole "let's put on a music-hall show" plot dominates the last half of the show and the show-within-a-show went on way too long.

Looking Forward To:

These are shows I'm going to be seeing and have the fullest confidence will be worthwhile.

52 Pickup. I think I've seen this play before, but the actress putting it on (Gemma Wilcox) is first rate. I'd see her in anything.

Under the Glacier.

Jem Rolls' Leastest Flops.

Blue is the Water

In other Fringe thoughts, I was thoroughly disappointed with Ryan Gladstone's show The Seven Lives of Louis Riel. I suspect that by the middle of the run he'll at least have his lines memorized, but at his second show he needed a lot of prompting. He confessed that he'd only finished the show a few days before the Winnipeg Fringe and that was all too apparent. If you're going to workshop a show (which is essentially what this was), fine, but don't charge full-price or use deceptive, out-of-context praise (for what can only be for previous shows). More than the lines, I found the pace disjointed. The first three vignettes took almost two thirds of the show, leaving 4 "lives" to crammed into the last twenty minute.

Yes, the show is very funny and I think it likely will be worthy of Wab Kinew's ludicrously generous 5 star review (how can you give a perfect score to something you ADMIT IN YOUR REVIEW IS FLAWED?!?!?), but it's not there yet. And i feel so strongly about this, I'm recommending people avoid it.

Please stop ruining my childhood, George Lucas.

First, you killed Stars Wars with The Phantom Meance and the Greedo-shoots-first re-edit. Then you pooped on Indiana Jones with The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and its monkeys, shrugging gophers and unfathomably employed Shia Lebeouf. Now you've decided to poop on Indy again?

Fifth Indian Jones movie planned

Filling out forms, standing in line

Well, I'm back from southern Ontario. All in all, it was a good trip. The conference was really good; my paper seemed to be well recieved by the small audience. Made some good connections and met some interesting people.

I was particularly glad to be able to see my very first best friend and his family. I first met Dave Row when I was under 4 and we basically grew up together. We went to Beavers, Cubs and Scouts togther. We played baseball; we did EVERYTHING together. He lived down the street from my parents and I probably spent as much time at his place as I did at home. When he moved away in Grade 7 we only saw each other occasionaly, but he did come to my wedding in 1997.

Dave lives in Ottawa now and I got to meet his wife, Alison, and their brand new baby daughter, Kate. Dave's mom was also there. I don't think I'd seen her since I was a kid. We dined on lobster, remenisced and I left knowing that if Dave and I were in the same city, we'd still be the best of friends.

What isn't the internet good for?

So tomorrow, May 23, is my birthday. It's not a big deal, and will, in all likelihood, slip by with little hoopla. May 23 is a date marked by intrigue, illlicitness, death, murder, and cartoons. Here are just some of the literally dozens interesting things that happened throughout the years on my birthday:


On May 23, 1430 Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians during the Siege of Compiègne. In 1498, Dominican priest and book burner Girolamo Savonarola was burned at the stake on the orders of Pope Alexander VI on May 23. And on May 23, the marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void in 1533, paving the way for Henry string of wives and the plotlines for "The Tudors." On May 23, 1929, "The Karnival Kid," the first talking cartoon of Mickey Mouse, primered. May 23, 1934 saw the end of American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde, who were ambushed by police and killed in Black Lake, Louisiana. On that day in 1945 Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, committed suicide while in Allied custody. May 23 1995, was the day of the Oklahoma City bombing.

May 23rd is the shared birth date of clarinetist Artie Shaw; crooner and aunt of George, Rosemary Clooney; boxer Marvellous Marvin Hagler; singer/poet/cutie Jewel; and professional irritent, Drew Carey.

Feels like I'm walking on broken glass

Until I was walking a dog two or three times I day, I didn't really pay attention to how much broken glass there is on the streets of Winnipeg. Some of it is in front of businesses on Portage Ave, broken beer bottles after late-night carousing; some of it is in front of people's homes. I guess I can understand (that's not to say I like it) the former, but the later just baffles me. Who doesn't sweep up broken glass on the sidewalk in front of their house? It's been there for over a month!

In other news, I finally watched the first season of "The Flight of the Conchords." Ridiculously funny. I highly recommend it.

Here's sample.

Like moths on a stale yellow light...

My first year of university was what can only be described as a watershed year. I moved out of my parents' house; I struck out on my own; I met the woman who became my wife; I developed a love for literature and began on the path to my current career. Some of these new things were inconsequential - like learning to use chopsticks; others were considerably much more substantial.

One of the substantial discoveries I made that first year in Waterloo was the work of Leonard Cohen.

Someone on my residence floor played "The Future" a lot and I was drawn to the dark and witty imagery and hypnotic voice. I soon owned every Leonard Cohen and had purchased a large collection of his poetry. I got obscure out-of-print documentaries and television specials. I wrote strange dark love poems in Cohen's style. In my only public as a singer, my friend Doug and I belted out a pretty snazzy rendition of "First We Take Manhattan."

Last night, after 15 years, I finally saw Leonard Cohen in concert. And it was magical. At 75 years old, I wasn't sure what to expect, but when the man danced on to stage in his traditional black suit, I knew I was in for a magical evening.

With the exception of some lesser-known favourites, Cohen, in an almost 3 hour concert, sang almost every song I hoped for: "Suzanne," "Closing Time," Who By the Fire," "Tower of Song, "Famous Blue Raincoat," and "Hallelujah, which got its own standing ovation.

I dreamed a dream

I wasn't sure that I would post anything about the whole Susan Boyle phenomenon. I mean, I haven't posted in eons and why should that be the thing to inspire me to break my silence?

I first saw about this story on one of the local news programs. The dowdy little woman with Martin Scorcese eyebrows belting out a difficult song with gusto and style. I watched the youtube clip and saw the look of shock and awe on the judges' faces, the standing ovations, the teary-eyed audience members. And I was moved too.

But why was I moved? Why was the audience? Because we can't imagine that unattractive people can do anything well. And really that's what it all boils down to: we have come so brainwashed into thinking that only people with perfect bodies and perfect hair and perfect faces can do anything worthwhile and the unattractive are just there to be laughed at.

Some people call me Maurice

A few posts back, Tom asked about podcasts and I figured I'd take a few minutes and write a little about what I'm listening to on the ol' Ipod these days.

First of all, it's important to note that I listen to my Ipod a lot. I walk over 2.5 hours a day (30 minutes to work, 30 minutes home, at least 1.5 hours of dog walks) and, as I almost always walk listening to something, I go through podcasts pretty quickly. I'm always on the look out for new and interesting podcasts to pass the time.

At Internet Radio Archive I've recently discovered a series of Sherlock Holmes stories produced in the early 1960s by the BBC. Carlton Hobbs makes an excellent Holmes. His dry, almost whimsical delivery anticipates the stellar performance of Jeremy Brett, who played Holmes on television in the late 1980s and is considered by many (myself included) to be the very best Holmes. Unlike the more well known radio series that starred Basil Rathbone, the Hobbs series is remarkably faithful to Conan Doyle's original stories. The only major change I've found in the handful of episodes I have is the inclusion of Watson in "The Lion's Mane," a late story which Conan Doyle has Holmes narrate himself.

Did Heath deserve an Oscar?

I loved Nolan's The Dark Knight and thought Ledger was great, but was he really the creepiest Joker?

I tried to find the key to fifty million fables

25 Random and (not really that) exciting things about me:

1) I know the words to a ridiculous number of lame late 80s, early 90s rap songs. "All right, stop what you're doin'..."

2) My favourite movie is Casablanca. I've seen it over 50 times and can recite the dialogue.

3) I'm addicted to "Lost."

4) I drink an obscene amount of coffee.

5) After learning that people who drink a lot of coffee are more prone to seeing ghosts and experiencing hallucinations, I worry that my life is one vivid (and lousy) day dream.

6) I like my dog more than I like most people.

7) My encyclopedic knowledge of television annoys my wife.

8) I read every book I was supposed to read during undergraduate. It took me ten years to do it.

9)Every Christmas I have to watch A Christmas Carol at least once.

10) People tend to hate me 'cause I never smile.

11) If I could get away with one eccentricity, I would wear a fedora and always dress in black.

12) I reread the Sherlock Holmes stories once a year.

13) I used to have a pet rat. His name was Fred.

14) I have never seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I have no desire to see it.

15) I could never live in a small town.

16) I didn't attend a real concert until my first year of university.

17) I made a short movie.

18) My favourite novel is Tom Jones. I'm also love Death of the Heart, Notes from Underground, and High Fidelity.

19) Growing up, I had a huge crush on Mallory Keaton.

20) I still tear up when I think of Brad.

21) My Ipod is full of old-time radio dramas and podcasts.

22) I read Shakespeare in grade 6.

23) I used to collect comedy lps and tapes. I still have a number of them.

24) Gorillaz's "Clint Eastwood" is the perfect "walking down the street" song. The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony" can also get the job done.

25) I enjoying wasting time with these sorts of things...

I come from the land of the ice and snow

I feel bad about not writing more this semester, but things are quite busy. Not much to report in the way of updates as the things I'm busy with are pretty dull admin type things. I don't see that changing any time soon, so perhaps I'll have to try harder to see the amusing bits in the very, very mundane.

I have read some interesting novels in the past little while that I quite liked. The novels of Ron Hansen, who wrote The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, continue to impress me. I read Hitler's Niece over the holidays and am about half way through Margerite in Ecstacy.

She probably lives in Tahiti

Bad weather breeds camaraderie.

Steady rain and temperatures hovering around zero have made sidewalks of Winnipeg are a virtual skating rink today. Walking to work took an extra 20 minutes because I had to do the straight leg shuffle most of the way. As I passed the other people silly or desperate enough to brave these condition, our eyes would meet, we'd share a smile and, in a few instances, an inane verbal exchange.

"Pretty bad out here, eh?"
"Yeah, it's sure not fun."

I'm not someone who likes strangers talking to me on the street. Growing up in Toronto I learned pretty quickly that talking to people on the streets was something only the craziest of the crazy did. To say hello to a stranger was an invitation to abduction or assault. But for some reason I found these acknowledgements comforting. It's like we were saying, "I know what you're going through. I'm going through it too, and we're going to be alright."