It's hard to believe that it's been months since I've posted anything. Well, maybe not that hard. I mean, it's not like anyone bothers to check this thing.
So, what's new?

Let's see: semester's over (finally); all my grading's done and submitted. I'm currently trying to figure out what books to put on my courses for next year; I'll be teaching Academic Writing (which I've never taught before), 20th Century Lit and Representative Lit (both of which I've taught many times before).

Currently reading: Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Supposed to go see the film, tomorrow, so I thought I'd try to figure what the heck supposed to be happening.

Listining to: u, nothing at the moment, though I had the Beatles cd in the car for the past few trips. I'm seriosuly considering putting the Sgt Pepper disc on my 20th Century lit course. Maybe...

So... here I am, sitting in my study (where I've spent the better part of my day). In just a few short days, I leave for England. Now anyone who knows me knows I'm a bit of an anglo-phile - love Sherlock Holmes, Blackadder, Monty Python.... so, for me, this trip has evolved into a kind of Mecca-seque pilgrimage. The problem is there's just SO MUCH TO SEE and time's limited.

FIRST RECORD BOUGHT: Fat Boys, Crushin' - man, I was such a geek.

FIRST CONCERT: ummm... actually I think it would be Spirit of the west, with Great Big Sea and Philosopher Kings.

FAVORITE CONCERT: Squeeza in Buffalo was great (especially eatin' with the band afterwards), but Glen Tillbrook at the Horseshoe in TO was the greatest. He led the audience out into the streets, singing Pulling Mussells From the Shell. Unforgetable.

CONCERT YOU WISH YOU'D SEEN: Dylan goes electric, Beatles on the roof, Waits in his Nighthawk days, any concert by the first Miles Davis quintet or Velvet Underground

FAVORITE MUSIC MOVIE: Talking Heads-Stop Making Sense, Almost Famous (I'm counting it), Don't Look Back

BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A TV SERIES: Freaks and Geeks - movie-like in its use of musical cues

FAVORITE MUSIC BOOKS: Lester Banks' book, Zappa's autobio

FAVORITE SONGWRITERS: Dylan, McCartney/Lennon

FAVORITE ALBUM COVERS: Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool; Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the moon; LZ: Houses of the Holy

LEAST FAVORITE ALBUM COVER: Let it Be - always felt like a bit of a cop out; S&G: Parsely, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme - what's up with those stupid flowers, Garfunkel?

ARTIST YOU WILL ALWAYS DEFEND: Johnny Cash - some people take the"I-hate-country-music" stance too far; Kenny Rogers is JUST a country singer, Johnny Cash is the man in freakin' black!!!

ALBUMS THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS DEFEND: Tom Waits' Closing Time, and Leonard Cohen album

SINGER WHO MAKES YOU SWOON: Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, Nico

ARTISTS YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LIKE BUT DON'T: depends on who's telling me I should like them. Much music seems to think I should like Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan and a slew of pretty, airbrushed teenagers... and I just don't.

SONG YOU CAN'T STAND BY AN ARTIST YOU LIKE: Octopus's Garden... the Beatles should have been shot for this crap.

FAVORITE TEEN IDOL: Fabian

BAND THAT SHOULD BREAK UP: Metallica... KISS - once and for all. Rolling Stones - Mick, Keith, it's time to go home, boys.

BAND THAT SHOULD RE-FORM: can't think of any- reunions are almost always inferior to the original.

GUILTY PLEASURE: my inexplicable love of Dr. Hook's "Cover of the Rolling Stone"

So I went home to visit my parents. It's been a little over a year since the last time I was home, and this visit, while better than most, followed the same disturbing pattern of previous visits. I spent the majority of the day at the mall. I swear, I didn't spend that much time there when I was a kid. But when parents/friends work, what else is there to do in Oshawa?

Of course there's a nit of a hidden desire that accompanies my mall treks: I secretly hope to run into people I went to school with. This is both a thrilling and terrifying prospect; kind of like watching a horror film. I'm genuinely curious about some of my former schoolmates, but I dread ACTUALLY running into them and trying to explain what I do. So far though I haven't had much to worry about. Apparently not many ex-Robertonians frequent the mall Tuesday mornings.

Following a freak May snow storm Tuesday, I spent yesterday at home, in my pajamas. I know I live in Winnipeg, which is well known for it's frigid winter tempatures, but spring is USUALLY nice and warm. Of course, no matter how bad it is, you just can't win with Winnipeggers. I have learned since moving here that one of the features that distinguishes true Manitobians is the inability to admit the weather is bad... by citing how bad it's been in years past. Example: I've lived here for almost five years and have seen some ungodly winter lows: -40-45 C! But no matter how cold it gets I'm reminded that I have yet to experience a "true Winnipeg winter". Even this past winter, which saw the coldest of cold tempetures and more snow than the past 30 years, didn't suffice. "That's almost a real Winnipeg winter".

On Tuesday, a mere day after I contemplated wearing shorts to work, as nearly 30 cm on snow fell, this old guy told me, "Well, of course it's no where as near as bad it was 2 million years ago." Strangely, this did little to console me.

While enjoying a snow day, I finally seat down and watched Jackie Brown. Now I'm a huge Tarantino fan; have been for a long time, but for some reason, I've only ever seen the first 20 or 30 minutes of this film. When Pulp Fiction came out I saw in 13 times in the theatre, but this film I didn't even go once. Maybe it's that it was an adaptation of someone else's work (though it's Elmore Leonard, who I generally like). After finally watching the film in its entirety, I've come to the conclusion that it really is one of Tarantino's best films. Stylistically, it's on par with the phenomenally visual Kill Bill; the dialogue is as sharp as (sometimes even sharper than) Pulp Fiction. This is a great film, with stand out performances: Pam Grier has never been better; Robert Forester is brilliant, Michael Keaton is great, Sam Jackson... is Sam Jackson. There isn't a character who isn't note perfect, from DeNiro to Fonda; everyone is exactly as they should be.

Film Review:

Elephant (Gus van Sant)

My wife brought this home last night, and to be honest, I had completely forgotten that this had even been made. I remember thinking, when I first saw a preview, "this looks interesting"; but it slipped from my mind until I was confronted with the DVD case by the TV last night.

In an age of sensationalism and exploitation, it was refreshing to find Van Sant's subtle, thoughtful examination of a school shooting. In the hands of another director, this film would have been filled with blaring heavy metal music, trumped up "excuses" and rapid fire editing. We're not given much back story on any of the characters, but there's a remarkable sense of intimacy created nonetheless: snips of conversations and long tracking shots make us feel part of this world. Of course this is not a real intimacy and maybe that's the point, maybe that's highschool: a bunch of people with no real shared interests stuck together through circumstance. Though we feel for these kids, we only know as much about any of them as anyone in highschool knows about anyone else; we see what other students would see. We watch the kids who are picked on; we hear the rumours of teen pregancy; we see evidence of neglectful parents. Truly, almost any one of these kids could be the ones to snap...

Through a clever handling of time Van Sant brings us to the moment of crisis early in the film, but he respects us enough to flashback without the obvious "earlier that week" title. He expects his audience to follow the story, to participate in the story. There are no easy answers in Elephant.

Okay, so i completely screwed up the "post a day" thing, but I won't go on and on about how "I'm trying". Why bother?

I've been going through the episodes of the newly released to DVD "Freaks and Geeks". I really enjoyed this show when it was on TV, but didn't really appreciate how good it was because episodes were shown out of order; and some episodes weren't even shown on network televsion (probably delayed because of some stupid presidental address or something). Having gone through all 14-15 episodes, I can say without quesiton, this was one of the best American shows in recent memory. The characters were honest, not stereotypes; the shows were genuine, not cheesy "happy endings". Also, a kickass soundtrack!!!!

So, I've already screwed up my "post-everyday" thng I had going, but no matter; I'll just keep plugging away at it. If I screw up once, I'll just get right back on it and start again.

So exams are finished; I've marked my pile (and a steaming pile it was), and will submit my marks today. I was frankly a little surprised by some of the students who showed up to write: some of them I didn't even recognize! Man, that is not a good sign. You tell them, and you tell them that if I don't know who they are, chances are they won't do well in the course. At least I haven't had the awkward situations friends of mine have had (not yet any way): when those faceless students turn up a few years later for a reference letter. How do you tell someone you have no idea who they are?

The last few days have been some of the most dull of my life - and this is my life we're talking about here; it's pretty dull to begin with. I've been at home, watching the exams I'm supposed to mark by Monday gather dust. I watch fifteen minute segments of day-time talk shows, then become disgusted with myself for watching crap like Dr. Phil and come online. Once online I don't do anything productive or worthwhile; usually check movie trivia over at imdb.com or read through the spam in my junk mail just "in case" a message I want went in there by mistake.
Today was no different: Watched 34 minutes of Chasing Amy over four separate sittings; a few minutes of The View (which made me almost suicidal); and read through several emails promising the lowest mortgages, the largest erections and the fasted University degrees... somebody shoot me.

Right, so it's 10:05 pm here in the 'Peg, and I have two hours to compose today's blog entry if I actually keep to this one thing a day kick I'm on. To be honest I typically don't follow through with things...

Anyway, interesting story:

I'm on the bus yesterday and the guy in front of me is listening to bad bubblegum pop crap on his Walkman a little too loud for public transportation, but no biggie; everyone does this, right?
This goes on for a few blocks, then the music stops and he starts talking... to no one in particular: "Alright, it's 10:27 here at Q97. That was Shania Twain with "That Impress me Much". We're into hour number two of our all request..." When he started talking I looked up to see what was going on; everyone's eyes drop to their laps - probably out of fear this guy was going to go postal. And he just kept... announcing(?) for like five minutes; a quick weather update, a rehash of the songs he'd played.
The funniest part was when he announced a contest as he was signing off: "We have a pair of tickets to {insetr the name of any band no one wants to see} for the 4th caller who can tell me the name of the song I played in the last set. It started with a "B" and it's a fruit, not a vegtable." When he finished the guy sitting next to him, who was clearly assumed, looked at this lunatic and said, "Too bad I forgot my cell phone, cause I know the answer." I lost it at that.

You meet the freaks on public transportation!

See, I'm really trying here. Two days, three posts. Here's a little Friday Five on a Tuseday, 'cause I like it like that!


What was...

1. ...your first grade teacher's name? Mr Eddy... rumours on the playground had it that he ate spagetti

2. ...your favorite Saturday morning cartoon? there were so many... I really liked Spiderman and he amazing friends as a kid; as a 20 something, the X-men cartoon from a few years ago was good.

3. ...the name of your very first best friend? I don't know...

4. ...your favorite breakfast cereal? I love me some Cap'n Crunch. I love that they spell Captain "Cap'n"

5. ...your favorite thing to do after school? Take a nap... I am so old.

I suppose as a good will offering to anyone reading this, I'll post another new entry today (because that's the kind of guy I am). Here's an old Monday Mission from Promo Guy.

1. Who has authority over you?
My God, my wife, my obession with Seasme Snacks.

2. Where do you go to get a feeling of community?
Mmm, movie theatre. Everyone's there, but they're quiet!

3. What do you do, or have you done, in your life that "goes against the tide?"
According to my highschool friends, staying in school this long.

4. Guilt can be a powerful weapon. Those who have mastered its power can very good at getting what they want. Have you ever used guilt to get you what you want? Have you ever had it used on you? How did you react?
I have tried but without much success. Guilt is too mighty a weapon for someone like me to wield.

5. I was walking through the mall Friday night and saw a lot of teenagers who dressed really wild and just acted like idiots - not caring who was looking or what others thought. And I remember being that way, having that kind of freedom. I must have looked like a fool then too. Did you ever do anything in public with your friends as a teenager that you would never do today? Tell me about that.
I would never wear pastel colours - dude the 80s SUCKED! Sure there were other things I would do then but would never in a million years do now because it's embarrassing: hang out in front of a convience store (who thinks this is cool?); spend more then 45 minutes in a mall; go to Police Academy movies.


6. I don't watch the television show "Survivor," but I did notice they allow each contestant to bring one "luxury item" to the deserted island with them (make-up, a book, etc.). If you were to go to an island for three months, what five "luxury items" would you bring and why?
A knife, for stabbin'

7. If you would have had a choice, in which time period would you have like to have lived? Why?
1920s. I would have looked like a star in a feodra... if I tried it now, people think, "Joey Jeramiah."


BONUS: Where do you dare me to draw the line?
There. No wait, there. Actually... I don't care

Today's comment question: What is your favorite new/current song on the radio (or however you listen to new music)? I'm surprised to find I dig the new Blink 182 - haven't really cared for anything they've done before, but that new song is alright. Also, BEP's new one is pretty cool.

Okay, so it's been well over a year since my last entry here. I wish I could start this new entry off with some great revelation about my life: published a novel, sold a screenplay, found Waldo - but nothing, nadda, zip. Most of this year was spent teaching, working, eating and sleeping (not as much sleep as I would have liked mind you). Things roll on in my cinema vertie life.

Saw Eternal Sunshine of the Mindless Mind. Brillant piece of filmmaking. Michel Gondry is an incredible talent... if only we could strike Human Nature from his (and Charlie Kaufman's) C.V. As someone who is famous for my (cursed) ability to forget friends who are no longer an active part of my life (something I work on, really I do), the whole idea of whether our identities are constructed with the memories of loved ones struck me.

It's hard to know where to begin...

I suppose I should start with an explanation of my absence. I spent two weeks in Ontario. The first week was spent visiting family and friends; the second working in various soup kichens and missions in TO. The first week was wonderful; the second hard, exhausting, and ultimately humbling.

Upon my return (last week) I was greeted with piles of work that required attention. I spent last week trying to get caught up on all the work I missed the two weeks previous.

Rather than bore you (assuming that there is SOMEONE there) with tales of my Ontario "adventures", I'll just fill out a Monday mission.

1. When was the last time you were in the hospital as a patient? As a visitor?
As a patient? When I was four and had the whooping cough. As a visitor, about a month ago when I went to Edmonton to be with my father after his heart attack.

2. Have you ever been put under anesthesia or sedation? For what reason? Did it mess with your mind?
Yes, for dental surgery. It was wonderful, until the stupid dentist woke me up!

3. Have you (or someone close to you) ever had any major surgery? How did it go?
Not me personally, but I've had various family members "go under the knife," as it were. Most times everything went swimmingly.

4. How about the emergency room? Have you ever had to be taken there, or had to accompany someone else? What happened?
Once, on Christmas Eve. My sister had put grape seeds in her ears. The doctor had to remove them with tweezers. Everyone (well, me) hated her for ruining Christmas.

5. Have you ever donated blood (or other fluids)?
Blood, once. I'm not keen on it. Needles freak me out. Nobody wants panic-blood.

6. Are you an Organ Donor? How do you feel about having your organs being donated to those in need once you die? Have you or someone you know ever been the recipient of donated organs?

I know one guy who's had/or having kidneys donated. I am an organ donar, though a leery one. George Carlin once said, "You think that if paramedics see that card, they're gonna save your life? Bull*^%, they're looking for parts!"

7. Do you know any men who refuse, or are too afraid, to go to see a Doctor? Why are so many men like that?
I hate seeing the doctor, but I go because I'm more afraid of my wife than the doctor. I think men feel vunerable in the doctor's office. Think about, "turn and cough?" Don't tell me that not vunerable.


BONUS: Do you remember when we used to sing?
Sha la la, la la?

A Friday Five for the weekend...

1. What do you most want to be remembered for?

World class writer and fun, down-to-earth guy.

2. What quotation best fits your outlook on life?

"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need."

3. What single achievement are you most proud of in the past year?

Performance of my first play.

4. What about the past ten years?

Graduating with a BA and an MA; getting into the PhD program at the UM

5. If you were asked to give a child a single piece of advice to guide them through life, what would you say?

Never give a sucker an even break.

1. What's the worst thing about Mondays? School shooting (Boomtown Rats anyone?)

2. Do you believe in soul mates? Have you met yours yet?

Not sure. I think I bumped into her on the bus once. She has shoes made out of milk cartons.

3. What do you recall wanting to "be" when you were a child, dreams of what you'd do when you were an adult for work - who you'd live with... where you'd live... how many kids you'd have. How does the dreams you once had compare to your reality, same, much different? You have surpassed those dreams?

I wanted to be the regular things, cowboy, doctor, dictator. I teach Freshman English at a middle of the road univeristy in the Cdn Praries. Oh, I'm where I wanted to be!

4. What do you think of education in your town/city? In your country? How would you improve it?

It's there.... I'd improve it by getting smarter students. Put the idiots in a room somewhere and let them fight each other for money.

5. If you had to pick three songs to sum up your life what would they be and why?

"Hey, I love (Won't you tell me your Name)" by the Doors; "Something to Look Forward To", Spoon; "High and Dry" Radio head.
Why? Just because.

6. Do you believe in love at first sight? Can it really happen?

What am I, ten? No, there's no such thing. There's lust at first sight, sure, but that's it.

7. What's your greatest fear?

The voices in my head...

BONUS: Have you forgotten?

Of course not! Forgotten what?

Today's comment question: Did you do anything fun this holiday weekend?
This wasn't a holiday weekend in Canada, jerkface! But, yes, I did do a couple of fun things. I'm just not going to tell you what they were!

Well, here I sit, in my cubby-hole of an office, pretending to work. Actually I just dragged five boxes of catalogues half way across campus, so I'm not really pretending; I'm taking a breather.
I turned 28 on Friday and to be honest, I feel different. I can't remember a brithday when I felt signicantly older. Not 16, not 21, not 25. For some reason, though I FEEL like I'm getting older and that my life is, I don't know, slipping away from me. Maybe it's the gettting close to 30 thing. You know, don't trust anyone over 30. Well, what happens when I'm over 30? Of course the people who originated that expression are in their 50s and 60s. Does knowing that make turning less traumatic? Not really.

To be honest, birthdays don't usually do much for me. I don't enjoy celebrating them or making a big fuss about it, but this year I wanted something special. I wanted people to remember. And some people did, which was cool. Some people didn't, which is to be expected. I mean, I don't really know why I think people should remember or even know. How many of my friends and acquiantences' birthdays do I remember? A staggeringly lower number, I can tell you. Oh well. Perhaps I'll try to make an effort. You know, the ol' "Do onto others" thing. Maybe if I remember theirs, they'll remember mine. Maybe...

Friday Five....

1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?
Brita-filtered water, I guess. I really don't dig the H20

2. What are your favorite flavor of chips?
Sour Cream and Onion, Cheddar

3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most?
North African Chicken.. MmmMMM Good.

4. How do you have your eggs?
Don't really LOVE eggs, but I'll eat them poached, hard boiled, or scrambled

5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out?
Cooked for me, well the little old El Salvadorian ladies at the restraunt we ate at. The cooked burrito poderoso, and some potato-like root vegetable that came served with Coleslaw and salsa. Everything was delicious!!!

Mike's amazing mid-May movie review:

Okay, so I went to see the Matrix Reloaded on Sunday. And no, I'll refrain from making the lame "They mean Matrix Overloaded" joke that every critic on the PLANET seems to have made. Let me start with a confession: unlike most people, I was not that struck with the first film. Its smorgasbord offering of pseudo-intelligent, profundity and theology was like listening to that guy in high school who'd read one philosophy book (either Kierkegaard or Nietzsche) and sat in the lunchroom dispensing wisdom like Pez - tiny tablets without any real substance. But with guns, lots of guns.

Visually, the second film, like the first, was quite impressive; in fact, it was a little over-impressive. The opening sequence was so utterly CG'd, and so utterly logic defying, that I really didn't know what to expect from the much-hyped fights. Thankfully, with the painful exception of the Neo vs. 100 Smiths, most of the fights were cool. The 100 Smiths battle, which I have heard many people praise as the future of film fighting, was like watching a video game that some else was playing. It's like I didn't even have to be there. With all the other fights relying on intricate wirework and the actors doing their own marital arts, why do I want to see a computer generated Keanu Reeves beat up a bunch of computer generated Hugo Weavings? Why do I care?

But perhaps the most confusing scenes in a picture wrought with Keymasters, Ghost Twins, omnipotent beings were the church meeting/orgy in Zion and Neo's meeting with the Architect.

The overlong church meeting, with "prayers" to no one in particular and a lot of hot, sweaty semi-naked people gyrating around, seemed grossly out of place. When they started dancing, I thought to myself, "Oh, they're Pentecostal." Then I thought, "Are all Pentecostals this SEXY?"

Where were the old and sick looking people who offered Neo and Trinity gifts? Are only the young and pretty allowed to go to church in Zion? Do they worship St. Nelly and sing his familiar hymn, "It's getting hot in here, Lord. So take off all your clothes, Lord." This was just some teenage masturbatory fantasy, not something that added to the plot of the film I was watching. Pointless and stupid!

Also pointless and stupid was Neo's conversation with the Architect. This is where the film should have ended. But, no, the Wachowski Brothers needed to drag this story out into another film. So instead of answers, we get more questions. Personally, I was hoping to find George Lucas at the heart of the Matrix.

Worse than needlessly dragging this film out, was the ridiculousness of the Architect's language. It was like a first-year University student who has discovered the "Thesaurus" function in his word-processing program. Was his speech supposed to be the most convoluted piece of nonsense? Or was this a clever ploy to get all the geeks back to watch this film one more time in a futile attempt to understand this gibber-ish? This was the point in the film where I largely tuned out: multiple Matrixes (what's the plural?), multiple Neos, multiple crap. I can't wait to find out in the next film that Zion and its inhabitants are all part of a much larger Matrix. Boy, won't that be fun!

Finally, a Monday Mission that speaks to me...

1. This seems to be the year for movie sequels (Terminator 3, Matrix Reloaded, 2 Fast 2 Furious, LOTR: The Return of the King, etc.). Is there a movie you would like to see Hollywood make a sequel to?

No. Well, maybe Lethal Weapon... what are we up to? 7? 8? That movie NEVER gets old.


2. What movie sequel do you think should never have been made?

Exorcist 2, any of the Jaws films and the new batch of Star Wars films. BOO!!!!


3. Are there any books (comic, novel, etc.) that you would like to see made into a movie? Who should star in it?

Oh, of course. A new Lone Wolf and Cub series would be great. I always want to see Toshiro Mifune play the lead, but, alas, he's gone. Can't think of another Japenese actor, currently working, with the fericiousness and compassion needed for the role. Also, I have been a huge fan of films made from lesser known comic over the past few years - Ghost World, Road to Perdition, even From Hell. Any serious underground comics would be great.

4. When was the last time the you got a shot at the Doctor's office? Do you prefer them in the arm or your backside? Or would you rather just take a prescription?

What does this have to do with movies? I haven't had a needle in a while. I prefer my arm though.

5. Do you make friends easier in "Real Life" or online or is it about the same? Do you have closer friendships in "Real Life" or online? Why do you think that is? Are you ok with that or would you like to make a change?

Real Life, and I like that you put it in quotation marks.

6. When you first got your drivers license how did you feel ? Did you get it on the first try, second, third, more than that ? Do you have a license ? If no, do you plan to get one ? Why or why not ?

I don't remember feelings overly excited. I'm not a huge fan of driving, but I got my license on the first try, without much drama.

-byRebecca



7. Have you ever had your tonsils removed? Did you ever come close? Tell me about that.

No, no. ... NO!

BONUS: Who's that girl?

Where?

Today's comment question: How do you prefer to have your Ice Cream served? Cone (sugar, cake, waffle), cup, or something else?

In my hand.