Relax, don't do it

By Philippe Gohier - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 8:01 PM - 0 Comments

I got a kick out of this story in today’s La Presse about how Quebec politicians have been kickin’ back and takin’ ‘er easy for the past year:

From April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008, the 125 parliamentarians spent 1,102 hours in the House and in parliamentary committees (254 and 848 hours, respectively). It’s a 29% decrease from the year before, when MNAs spent 1,557 hours at work (319 in the National Assembly and 1,238 in committee).

The previous year wasn’t exceptional. The National Assembly and parliamentary committees have often worked 1,550, even 1,800 hours a year over the last decade. For committees alone, the average over the past 25 years has been 1,200 hours.

Continue…

The Commons: Way to go, Skippy

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 6:22 PM - 0 Comments

And so the day of apology begets its own apology

The Scene. It couldn’t last. Or at least we knew it wouldn’t last. And, in some ways maybe, it shouldn’t last.

But who knew yesterday’s spirit of common good and cooperative effort was so null and void before most of us had even gotten around to feeling good about ourselves?

Indeed, before the Prime Minister had so much as spoken the first words of this Parliament’s most remarkable hour, exuberant Conservative Pierre Poilievre had put forward a revolutionary, if rather insensitive, reading on the politics of healing. Speaking with the “Lunch Bunch” on an Ottawa radio station, he suggested that compensation for the victims of physical and sexual abuse should be treated as investment. A full accounting required. A proper return demanded.

Worse still, he made gratuitous and silly use of the term “partook”—speaking, as it were, several classes above his weight.

The only surprise in what came next was that it took the Liberals a full 24 hours to formally demand Poilievre’s resignation. Continue…

It Could Work

By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 6:19 PM - 0 Comments

I’m not convinced that the live-action/animation hybrid The Smurfs movie is destined to be terrible. It’ll probably be terrible, but it doesn’t have to be. The original Peyo comic books are very good, smart, often political. If you’ve read the one where the Smurf village devolves into civil war over questions of whether to use “Schtroumpf” (or, in English, “Smurf,” because that’s totally a real English word) at the beginning of a phrase or at the end of it — a sly reference to Belgian politics — you can see why Sony thinks there’s a Shrek-like franchise somewhere in there, because Peyo essentially created an escapist fairy tale with a streak of hip contemporary relevance. That describes what all non-Pixar animated movies aspire to be.

And a live-action Gargamel probably makes more sense than trying to create him in CGI animation; it’s a lot easier to find an actor who fits the part (any suggestions?) than to make a human character look convincing in 3-D.

As the guy at the link says, it will probably suck because the guys who did Shrek 2 and 3 are writing it. But there is real potential for something that doesn’t suck.

Unsurprising

By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 5:49 PM - 0 Comments

It’s a shame that CityTV seems set to get rid of Speakers Corner, the Toronto booth where Regular People (and even some celebrities) could go to try and get their message on TV.

The word “YouTube” does not appear anywhere in Rob Salem’s article, but you feel its presence nonetheless: Speakers Corner was invaluable when it was really hard for people to be heard and seen by anyone but the people who knew them. Now people not only have the means to distribute videos of themselves, but they have the technology to make better-quality videos of themselves than a booth could provide.

Still, that implies that YouTube is an adequate substitute for the “average folks on TV” concept, and I don’t think that’s true. The fact is that it’s still really tough to be seen and heard, even on YouTube, unless your video is one of the lucky ones that go viral. Most people could get much more exposure on TV than they could with a YouTube video.

The Most Cut-Down Theme Song Ever?

By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 5:24 PM - 0 Comments

Until I read the comments on Noel Murray’s great “Commentary Tracks of the Damned” piece on The Hottie and the Nottie, I did not realize that the perfectly attractive person who played the supposed “Nottie,” Christine Lakin, was the third girl on Step By Step. (Aka “The Brady Bunch, only nastier and sappier at the same time.”) Everybody hates the whole “Hollywood Ugly” convention where pretty people are presented as ugly wallflowers. It was one thing for her to be presented as a wallflower compared to Staci Keanan and Angela Watson, but expecting us to believe she’s less attractive than Paris Hilton is utterly insane and stupid. Much like The Hottie and the Nottie is utterly insane and stupid.

But at least this drove me to YouTube to check out the Step By Step theme song, and to discover that it was an example of how the length of time available to theme songs shrank rapidly in the ’90s. The show started in 1991 (which is the only thing that leaves it off that “corniest theme songs of the ’80s” list) and its theme song lasted almost two minutes, even longer than those HBO title sequences that run long so as to pretend that the show is actually a movie. By the final season, it was down to 30 seconds. And even that would be long for a theme song now. Also, Wikipedia says that there were some seasons where they didn’t even have a theme song at all and just started with a title card and the first scene, but even if you don’t count that, getting the theme song slashed by 1:20 is a pretty big cut.

Any other shows that got their theme songs cut by a minute or more? And if the show is supposed to take place in small-town Wisconsin, why are they at a Six Flags with a fake ocean added?

Bonus trivia: Neither of these title sequences include the show’s breakout performer, Sasha Mitchell, because the first season was before he was added to the show and the last season was after he was fired from the show for allegedly beating his wife.

Haven't I seen you somewhere before, Gary Goodyear? Liveblogging the Ethics committee Again. Forever.

By kadyomalley - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 4:43 PM - 0 Comments

It’s only been two days since the threatened all-night Ethics filibuster came to a confusing and cranky temporary halt, but it feels like so much longer. Not that anything was actually accomplished—not at that meeting, dutifully chronicled by ITQ, or since, but so much has happened outside this committee room.

3:31:13 PM
With the meeting having just – as in, this minute – gotten underway, David Tilson moves to adjourn. Well, I guess that gives us some idea what the chances are that we’re going to get out of here anytime soon.

The motion to adjourn is handily defeated, thanks to the serendipitous arrival of the all-important NDP voting bloc in the form of Pat Martin, who was a minute late, thus giving the government a fleeting moment  in which they would have been able to win the vote.  Quick thinking by David Tilson, but not quite quick enough. That’s okay, though—he has a backup plan: a sub-amendment. Unfortunately, what he doesn’t have is a copy of it in both official languages, which he was told, in no uncertain terms, he had to have.

3:37:16 PM
Somehow, Tilson manages to avoid being struck by the lightning of the irony gods when he accuses Carole Lavallée of “delaying tactics” for requesting that the motion be made available in French as well as English. Continue…

Number 1 in my books

By Michael Friscolanti - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 4:28 PM - 0 Comments

Last year, Charles McGrath of Play magazine penned the perfect description of Phil Mickelson, golf’s perennial Number 2: “Tiger plays a game we can only marvel at, with that perfect physique and unwavering focus. Phil, flabbier and streakier, plays one we can almost recognize — he’s just like us, only better. And on a tour where the key to winning these days seems more and more to be to turn yourself into a zombie, Mickelson’s occasional failings are welcome proof of humanity. He may be an idiot sometimes, but he’s our idiot.”

This afternoon, Lefty reminded us—yet again—why he’ll always be our idiot. In the opening round of the U.S. Open, Mickelson found his Titleist buried in some deep rough, but instead of playing the safe pitch to the fairway, he pulled out a wood and went for broke. Like the rest of us “idiots,” his ball flew about three feet. (The video still isn’t online anywhere, but it will be soon enough).

Thank you, Phil. You can squeeze in my foursome anytime…

Oliphant: Is this judo?

By Paul Wells - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 4:03 PM - 0 Comments

Remember Stockwell Day and Judge Silcoff? To say the least, the comparison to Judge Oliphant and the Mulroney inquiry is imprecise, but it may be worthwhile boning up on the background of that case. Here’s some more refresher.

McCain In Canada

By John Parisella - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 3:41 PM - 0 Comments

Today we hear that John McCain will speak in Canada in a few days. It is obvious McCain will indicate his support of free trade with his country’s northern neighbour. The political class will welcome his statements and Mr. McCain will clearly show a greater appreciation of Canada and its role in the world.

It seems that there will be some in Canada who will wish that Barack Obama visit Canada. It is my view that Canada is not a battleground for an American electoral campaign. Obama will instead concentrate on issues within the campaign and it’s unlikely free trade with Canada will be at the top of his agenda.

Still, while McCain will be a very sympathetic figure in terms of content, the Obama phenomenon will clearly remain an attractive consideration for the many Canadians following the race.

Film Reviews: 'The Happening,' 'Young People F——'

By Brian D. Johnson - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 3:41 PM - 0 Comments

Once again, circumstances beyond my control have conspired to keep me from seeing the weekend’s designated blockbuster, The Incredible Hulk. So on that one, you’re on you’re own. But here’s my take on two other new releases, an unintentionally funny Hollywood thriller and a tame Canadian sex comedy, both of which have provoked some local controversy, and neither of which I can recommend.

The Happening

I’m afraid M. Night Shyamalan’s latest attempt to spook us out is a real clunker. At a Toronto press screening this week, the lame dialogue drew such howls of derisive laughter from one particular clump of critics, that a number of their colleagues made complaints to the publicist who hosted the screening for 20th Century Fox. As president of the Toronto Film Critics Association, I’ve already fielded some email complaints about unprofessional conduct by our members. The question: at what point does derisive laughter curdle into outright heckling, thus souring everyone’s view of the film without allowing critics to make up their own mind in the dark? A valid concern, to be sure. But I, too, found myself unable to resist the odd unsolicited guffaw. And if The Happening wasn’t so damn silly in the first place, critics wouldn’t be having a debate about the ethics of trying to contain their scorn. They were laughing at dialogue that was laughable. How do you expect to get an audience to believe in a a spectral force of nature that’s driving people to kill themselves, if you can’t portray a simple human interaction with a modicum of plausibility?

Like his other work (The Sixth Sense, Signs), Shyamalan’s new thriller is designed to take us into a Twilight Zone limbo and chill our blood with an unfathomable mystery. It’s “I see dead people” all over again. Except the dead people aren’t ghosts or hallucinations. In The Happening‘s apocalyptic scenario, they’re real victims of a mysterious airborne toxin that is paralyzing people within seconds, turning them into zombies infected with an irresistible desire to commit suicide right on the spot. This pandemic, which begins in Manhattan’s Central Park, is soon afflicting much of the Northeastern U.S. And I’m not giving anything away to say that the toxin seems to have something to do with plants and wind—the idea crops up early in the story. In fact, it would be difficult to give away the plot , because unlike the director’s earlier films, The Happening one doesn’t have a brain-teasing plot twist. I kept waiting for it. But, in this case, the twist is that there is no twist.

Instead, Shyamalan has constructed a rather conventional thriller wrapped in a soft-headed morality tale about our overwrought eco-system. Like many a disaster flick, it’s the story of a makeshift family on the run. As everyone flees the unseen environmental scourge, the media first interprets it as a terrorist threat (of course). Cities are evacuated. Folks high-tail it to the countryside, where things just get worse. Horror is achieved through shock images of mass suicide. A man lying down in front of a large tractor lawnmower. Bunches of bodies hanging from trees, like victims of a viral lynching. The actors have little to do but react and ask each other dumb questions. I don’t know if this was intentional, but even those who are as yet unaffected by the scourge are zombie-like. Mark Wahlberg, who’s been impressive in recent outings, is unusually wooden.

Wahlberg stars as a high school science teacher who flees with his girlfriend (Zooey Deschanel) along with his friend (John Leguizamo) and their eight-year-old daughter (Ashlyn Sanchez). Looking for safe haven, they end up the farmlands of Pennsylvania, finally taking refuge in the house of an eccentric old recluse played by Broadway legend Betty Buckley. And she’s the scariest thing in the movie. Forget airborne pathogens. As Notorious and Psycho have taught us, there’s nothing more frightening than an old woman who’s a little off her rocker. And Shyamalan is still capable of giving us an electro-magnetic chill by cutting to a shot of an old woman you didn’t expect to be there, with a loud sound effect basically saying “Boo!” . But in this case, you just feel you’ve been conned by a cheap trick, and an old one at that.

Young People F——

Speaking of cons, this clever title, which has attracted so much controversy, is a masterpiece of false advertising. It gives quite the wrong impression of the film. If you spend money on YPF expecting something sexy, erotic, raw or even mildly provocative, I’ve got a dewy patch of unspoiled land in Florida that you might be interested in.

YPF is nowhere near as dirty as its title. With no genital nudity, and a lot of light comic titillation, it’s no raunchier than an average episode of Sex and the City (the TV series, not movie). This ensemble piece weaves the unlinked escapades of four heterosexual couples and a threesome, following their parallel storylines through various sexual stations of the cross, from foreplay to post-coital reflection. It has a few moments of sweetness and mirth. Some of the actresses are strong, especially Kristin Booth and Sonja Bennett. And everyone is attractive and, uh, young. But the script, is no more than a series of sketches that don’t add up to much. Tracking each relationship on parallel time lines, with the prosaic logic of a self-help manual, it unfolds as a chapter-by-chapter evolution from foreplay to climax. The sexual politics are simplistic and lopsided (women are smarter than men, duh). And the situations seem so contrived that, despite the actors’ noble efforts, I had trouble believing a moment of it. A game ensemble cast and a devious title are not enough. In the end, this ostensibly groovy independent film about cutting-edge issues in the bedroom is less convincing and more square than a mainstream romantic comedy like Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

First-time director Martin Gero, who co-wrote the script with Aaron Abrams, has penned a lot of TV episodes of Stargate: Atlantis. And YPF‘s view of sexuality seems like another breed of science fiction. You have to admire the marketing, though. The filmmakers have milked the title for all it’s worth. Around the premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, lofty American outlets took the bait: New York magazine headlined its TIFF coverage with a breathless report about the Toronto Star agonizing over whether to bleep the f-word in articles about the film. New York illustrated the item with a shot of sweet-faced Canadian actor Josh Dean grinning between a woman’s parted legs. Since then, various journalists—notably Mark Steyn in Maclean’s—have awarded the film more free publicity by fulminating about Bill C-10, and pointing to YPF as an example of the sort of smut we don’t want see publicly financed. The debate over Bill C-10 brought Young People F—— onto the floor in the august chambers of the Senate.

Bill-C10—in case you’ve been nodding off in cultural politics class—would allow Ottawa to revoke tax credits for Canadian movies that federal bureaucrats find offensive, after these movies are made. (Absurdly, tax credits to American movies shot in Canada would be exempt.) It’s astonishing that such an innocuous movie as YPF should be controversial in the first place. Although YPF has become a poster child in a rearguard battle against censorship, the only thing that’s offensive about this film is its smartly crafted, squeaky-clean mediocrity.

Well Played, Heigl

By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 3:40 PM - 0 Comments

You may have heard that Katherine Heigl withdrew her name from Emmy consideration this year because “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination.”

The speculation everywhere is about whether she actually wanted to, as she put it, “maintain the integrity of the academy organization,” or whether this was just a stunt to call attention to how under-utilized she has been on Grey’s Anatomy. It sure seems like the latter to me, and if it’s a stunt, it’s a really smart one. If she’d gone to the press complaining (with some justification) that she’s not getting enough to do, most publications wouldn’t consider that major news, and those publications that did run the story would portray her as kind of whiny. This way, she gets top-of-the-page entertainment news coverage for a story that basically amounts to the exact same thing — Katherine Heigl feels she’s not getting enough to to on the show. And so the story about her under-utilization and the crummy material she has to work with is now getting wide play, without the “Hollywood actor complains” angle that would otherwise be placed on it. Well played, says I.

Change Is Inevitable

By John Parisella - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 3:33 PM - 0 Comments

With Hillary Clinton’s departure from the Democratic race, the battleground is now clear. This will quite possibly be the most exciting race since the 1960 battle between Kennedy and Nixon. Barack Obama, already in the process of making history, represents both transformational and generational change. John McCain, an authentic national hero, represents a Republican party whose appeal will go beyond its current electoral base. Obama energizes young people, McCain appeals to independents as no other Republican has since Ronald Reagan. Already the race is tight and no one can predict the outcome with any certainty.

What is most promising is the fact both candidates wish to conduct their campaigns with an emphasis on issues and values. They both share a disdain for politics as usual and wish to elevate the political discourse to a level more closely allied with the ideals of America. Granted, this campaign will have both high and low moments. But, the top of the tickets are giving a direction that can help restore greater faith in democracy and in participation.

This blog will continue to identify the issues, comment on the events, and analyze the course of the campaign. Between now and September each nominee will have chosen his running mate and both parties will have adopted their electoral platform. The choices will be clear and this campaign promises to be unlike any other in history. With the Internet, breaking news, and candidates committed to making political campaigning a noble part of the democratic process, we can be optimistic that this will be a political show like no other and that change will be inevitable.

Mulroney judge to judge Mulroney

By Paul Wells - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 3:04 PM - 0 Comments

Kady is a few minutes faster than me in pointing out the screamingly obvious conflict of interest that should immediately disqualify the commissioner in the Mulroney-Schreiber inquiry.

..

Mulroney Inquiry – The Oliphant in the room?

By kadyomalley - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 3:00 PM - 0 Comments

From the PMO backgrounder on Justice Jeffrey Oliphant, just appointed to head up the Mulroney/Schreiber Commission of Inquiry:

Justice Oliphant was appointed on August 22, 1985 as a Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba.  On December 24, 1990 he was appointed as Associate Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba.  He was appointed a Deputy Judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice in October 2002 and is a former Chair of the Judicial Inquiry Board of Manitoba.

Not in the PMO backgrounder on Justice Oliphant, just appointed to head up the Mulroney/Schreiber Commission of Inquiry:

Oliphant was appointed a Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, and later, Associate Chief Justice, by then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney

That won’t be a problem, though, right? I mean, I’m sure the PM didn’t even know that he was appointed by one of the people he’ll be investigating — it doesn’t say a word about it in the press release, after all.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Mulroney Schreiber Inquiry!

By kadyomalley - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 2:47 PM - 0 Comments

Hot off the PMO presses:

PRIME MINISTER HARPER ANNOUNCES COMMISSIONER FOR INQUIRY INTO DEALINGS BETWEEN THE RIGHT HONOURABLE BRIAN MULRONEY AND KARLHEINZ SCHREIBER

June 12, 2008
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced the appointment of Mr. Justice Jeffrey J. Oliphant as a Commissioner to conduct an inquiry into certain allegations respecting business dealings between Karlheinz Schreiber and the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney.

Mr. Justice Oliphant, Associate Chief Justice, Court of Queen’s Bench for Manitoba, has been appointed as Commissioner under Part 1 of the Inquiries Act, with all the powers set out in the Act, including the authority to hold hearings, summon witnesses and gather evidence needed to conduct the inquiry.

“The Government is acting on its commitment to establish a public inquiry into this matter,” said the Prime Minister. “A number of questions remain unanswered and it is in the public interest to investigate further and to find answers.”

As Commissioner of the Inquiry, Mr. Justice Oliphant’s mandate will be to investigate and report on the 17 questions raised by Professor David Johnston in his report to the Prime Minister of January 9, 2008. The report resulting from the Inquiry will be submitted to the Government on or before June 12, 2009.

Megapundit: You say tomato, I say diarrhea

By selley - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 2:47 PM - 0 Comments

Must-reads: James Travers, Don Martin and Margaret Wente on the residential schools apology; Lawrence Martin on the carbon tax; Rosie DiManno on following the money in Afghanistan; Terence Corcoran on the Great Tomato Crisis of 2008.

Now what?
Yesterday’s apology for Canada’s aboriginal residential school system was much-needed and well-executed, all agree. How it translates into tangible improvements remains to be seen.

Considering how recently the Conservatives were “warning an official apology was five years off and dismiss[ing] talk of hefty compensation packages,” the Calgary Herald‘s Don Martin says the apology proves “just how motivated a minority government can be to deliver damage control ahead of what could become a fall election.” Nevertheless, he hastens to add, yesterday was a “goosebump-raising,” cynicism-dissolving affair. And while the apology “won’t fix a single aboriginal home, add one faucet’s worth of clean drinking water or prevent even one young native person’s suicide or incarceration,” he concludes, it’s reasonable to hope the past will now be “a little less difficult to bear” for forward-looking aboriginal communities.

If nothing else, the National Post‘s John Ivison believes “Harper may have addressed some of the concerns about his fitness to be Prime Minister. He showed leadership … in his willingness to confront a trauma that was never treated properly.” And that may help him regain some measure of support among Canadians who’ve grown tired with his and his ministers’ appalling (our word, not Ivison’s) attitude towards governance. More importantly, Phil Fontaine’s “impressive,” appreciative response suggests the apology may well help Canadian aboriginals move beyond victimhood.

Continue…

NY NY

By Andrew Potter - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 1:37 PM - 0 Comments

I watched Cloverfield last night, and I loved it, partly for the reasons that Tyler Cowen gives but also because it is such a great portrayal of lower Manhattan. The more I think about, the more convinced I become that  routinely portraying its destruction or descent into chaos is the greatest flattery you can pay a city.

Cloverfield actually spurred me to pick up and delve back into Luc Sante’s Low Life, his rough-love history of New York’s seedier sides. Re-reading the first hundred pages, I now realise how much of a debt Sante is owed by Richard Price for Lush Life, which I just finished and highly recommend.

She scores

By Paul Wells - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 11:51 AM - 0 Comments

My column from the new print edition, which attempts to discuss the Hockey Night theme, not as commerce or broadcast strategy, but as music.

Uninvited guests, unintended consequences

By kadyomalley - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 11:37 AM - 0 Comments

Canada appears destined to be dragged into the centre of the U.S. presidential debate once again.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain has sought and received an invitation to Ottawa to give a speech next week on free trade.

[...]

McCain’s choice of topic and venue is unlikely to be coincidental. Even if the nominee himself makes no mention of NAFTA-gate, the planeload of American reporters travelling with him will undoubtedly make the link, prompting yet more grief for Obama. His appearance may also provoke some additional awkwardness for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. –

Canadian Press (via CTV News)

I’m sure he means well – or, at least, means no specific ill will towards the Prime Minister. But honestly, you’d think John McCain, or someone on his team, would have realized this may not be quite the right time for an extraterritorial campaign swing through the neighbouring nation’s capital, at least from the point of view of the current Canadian administration.

After all, even under ordinary circumstances, a Prime Minister really isn’t supposed to play favourites in a US presidential campaign – a lesson that you’d think Stephen Harper, of all people, would have taken to heart in the aftermath of the NAFTA/Obama/Clinton/Brodie/PMO/CTV/Wilson Leak Debacle.

Harper, however …

Continue…

Open Sesame

By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 11:33 AM - 0 Comments

This is exciting: The Sesame Street video archive is now functional.

The site, which (thankfully) seems to work in Canada, includes many clips from the long history of the series; they’re sorted by character, but there’s also a search engine. There are a lot of clips that aren’t there yet, especially ones involving the live-action characters; I can’t find Mr. Hooper’s death in there anywhere. But it’s an opportunity to show your kids lots of great moments that, thank the Lord, don’t involve Elmo.

And here, from YouTube, is the classic Mr. Hooper death episode, preceded by some very timely election-year talk (it’s from 1984).

Small Balls: Thursday June 12, 2008

By Cameron Ainsworth-Vincze - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 11:30 AM - 0 Comments

La première étoile: Despite the fact that he ruined the summer of ’94 for me when he captained the Canucks to a five-game romp over my beloved Maple Leafs in the Western Conference Final, Trevor Linden deserves a huge round of applause for his leadership, longevity and commitment to the game of hockey. Thanks for a wonderful 19 seasons Trevor.

Two minutes for … nose diving. Former world cycling champion Tom Boonen has been barred from this year’s Tour de France for testing positive for cocaine. Apparently the Belgian icon somehow justified that it was better to get wicked high and jeopardize his entire career than to just say “no” and have a couple of brown pops.

Who’s got tickets? This weekend’s 108th U.S. Open at Torrey Pines has all the ingredients to be a tourney for the ages. Tiger’s back from surgery, Phil’s playing well—and looks like he’s finally stopped eating those tasty Twinkies—and the course is in pristine shape. Let’s hope these two are paired in the final grouping come Sunday.

Fun police: I know it’s only June and I should probably stick this comment in a sack, but if Chipper Jones continues to hit the cover off the ball he might become the first player to hit over .400 since Ted Williams’s legendary campaign in 1941. The 1999 National League MVP definitely has the grit and hitting acumen to keep this dream season afloat.

Extra bases: I want you to try something this weekend. On Sunday, grab a six-pack of your favourite brew, plop yourself in front of the TV at 12:30 p.m., and watch the LifeLock 400 NASCAR race at the Michigan International Speedway. Then come back to this posting and explain to me what the hell is so damn exciting about a sporting event that appears to consist of nothing more than a giant left turn that lasts five hours.

Cohen wore earplugs to a Dylan show?

By Brian D. Johnson - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 11:24 AM - 0 Comments

Here’s the full transcript of my backstage interview with Leonard Cohen last week at Hamilton Place. Watch the video here.

Q: Tell me about the hat.

A: I’ve been wearing a fedora for a long, long time. This particular hat is from a little hat store just opposite my daughter’s antique store in Los Angeles. They have a very good hat store there.

Q: You never used to perform with a hat.

A: I’ve never performed with a hat. But I always wore a hat. I started wearing the hat more and more, independent of these preparations. I stopped wearing a fedora after 9/11. I didn’t think it was appropriate to wear this kind of hat, and I switched to a cap.

Q: Why?

A: I don’t really know. It seemed to be too dressed up for a situation that was closest to mourning than any other situation. So I didn’t feel like getting dressed up. I always wore a suit, but I stopped wearing a fedora after 9/11. Continue…

Fletch is da' boss

By Steve Maich - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 11:04 AM - 0 Comments

The Toronto Maple Leafs, in their infinite institutional wisdom, have decided that uncertainty is a bad thing. So, they have made a bold statement by keeping Cliff fletcher on for one more full season as “interim general manager.”  The statement is this: we don’t want any more uncertainty…so we have decided to let everyone know, definitively, that the uncertainty will last for another 12 months. Now that we have that all cleared up, we can get on with losing a lot of hockey games, and getting ourselves a nice high draft pick to present to our new GM next summer as a welcoming gift.

Mind you, it is also a bad thing to do the exact opposite of what you said you were going to do. Continue…

Double Justin

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 10:52 AM - 0 Comments

Justin MacKinnon, the Liberal candidate for Carleton-Mississippi Mills (the riding currently held by the Minister of National Revenue Gordon O’Connor) held a fundraiser at Philthy McNasty’sBar and Sports Grill. The guest of honour was another Justin – Justin Trudeau.

Justin Trudeau with Justin MacKinnon.

Continue…