Simpsons Did It!

By Jaime Weinman - Monday, October 11, 2010 at 2:27 PM - 0 Comments

The purpose of the Simpsons couch gag has changed in the YouTube era. It used to be a quick gag to reward us for sitting through the opening (just like the blackboard gag). Now it’s often a self-contained mini-cartoon, obviously intended to go viral — even if the Fox lawyers eventually spoil everything by pulling the clips off YouTube. It’s really become the Simpsons answer to the very YouTube-friendly Family Guy cutaways.

Still, maybe it’s because I’m used to the Simpsons era where a long couch gag was just a sign of an episode that ran short (remember the dancing/circus one that was intended to be the longest ever? Now it’s not even close), but I’m not always blown away by these long gags. Mainly because they are just that, long, and I like The Simpsons best when it’s most concise. So they’re getting a lot of attention for last night’s couch gag, outsourced to the provocative British artist Banksy:

[vodpod id=Video.4643674&w=640&h=385&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

But they already did essentially the same gag in the fourth season episode “Itchy and Scratchy the Movie,” and they did it in only a few seconds. The great thing about The Simpsons in its prime is that it could pack a tremendous amount of satire into a very short joke. Just as they could sum up all the absurdity of the entire MacGyver series with one line of dialogue (“Don’t thank me, thank the moon’s gravitational pull”), one shot and one line from Kent Brockman could say about five different things about the outsourcing of American animation to overseas studios. Today the only show that can do that kind of gag, sometimes, is 30 Rock, which has taken up the Simpsons mantle when it comes to making large points in apparent throwaway jokes. (One recent example is “Outsourced is the new Friends,” which sums up all of NBC’s Thursday night troubles, as well as its unhealthy obsession with its own glorious past, in five words.) Certainly The Simpsons doesn’t do it as well.

By the way, on the DVD commentary for “Itchy and Scratchy The Movie,” director Rich Moore remembers that the Korean animators were so offended by this scene — specifically, by the implication that they were sweatshop workers, which they were not — that they almost refused to animate it.

Zuckerberg's mission to make friends

By Chris Sorensen - Monday, October 11, 2010 at 12:20 PM - 0 Comments

Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg, the 26-year-old CEO of Facebook, is one of the most important people in Silicon Valley these days. The social networking site he launched six years ago from his Harvard dorm room boasts more than half a billion members and there are predictions it could be the next Google. But there have also been rumours and bad press for years suggesting the meteoric rise was no fairy tale. And only lately have Zuckerberg and company been taking steps to put Facebook in a friendly light once again.

Last weekend the Hollywood film The Social Network, about the founding of Facebook, was the top box-office draw. It has won positive reviews from critics, but isn’t flattering for Zuckerberg. It portrays him as a nerdish, scheming outsider with questionable loyalty to his friends. In real life, Zuckerberg has been targeted with lawsuits, including one that accused him of stealing the idea from three former Harvard classmates—charges he has publicly denied. While some have suggested he may be able to sue the filmmakers, a more likely course of action is for Facebook to try to burnish the image of its founder.

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When life goes U-shaped

By Kate Lunau - Monday, October 11, 2010 at 12:00 PM - 0 Comments

Daniel Rousselot/Corbis

Everybody knows the stereotype: a person hits age 40 and trades in the minivan for a red convertible. Maybe they quit a high-paying job, leave a long-term spouse for a younger partner or obtain an unusual piercing. They’re the classic signs of a mid-life crisis, and the punchline for countless jokes.

But jokes and stereotypes aside, there’s some truth to the notion that our middle years can be tough ones: studies have found that happiness levels dip down at mid-life, and it seems to be affecting baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1965) more than previous generations. In Canada and the U.S., the boomer experience can be starkly different: one survey found that, while middle-aged Canadians felt relatively in control of their lives, Americans were close to panic. There, boomers have contributed to a startling rise in the suicide rate. Still, a number of studies show that, after age 50, happiness levels begin to climb, a period many boomers are now entering. In the third and final instalment of a series examining the well-being of baby boomers, Maclean’s takes a look at the “mid-life crisis,” and how baby boomers—who make up nearly one-third of our population—may well redefine it.

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The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 4:14 PM - 0 Comments

Our weekly, and wholly arbitrary, ranking of the ten most worthy, or at least entertaining, MPs, excluding the Prime Minister, cabinet members and party leaders. A celebration of all that is great and ridiculous about the House of Commons. Last week’s rankings appear in parentheses. Continue…

This week has four sketches

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 4:37 PM - 0 Comments

Our weekly look back at all we saw and heard.

Monday. There once was a woman from Montreal
Tuesday. A keen eye for the lowest common denominator
Wednesday. Delighting in the missteps of one’s opponent
Thursday. Off we go with no idea where we’re headed

Meet your kids' new roommate: The Bedbug

By Colby Cosh - Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 12:20 PM - 0 Comments

David P. Hall/Corbis/ Mark Rightmire/Zuma/ Keystone Press

Imagine you’re a bedbug—a creepy nocturnal creature, maybe no bigger than an apple seed, that craves human blood. Times are good for you right now in North America. DDT once rendered your species a distant memory, a revolting relic found only in children’s rhymes. But you’ve evolved immunity to the short-lived, environmentally friendly insecticides of today, and you’re on the march. So where would you prefer to nest and spread your progeny? You’d look for a communal setting, one where people are frequently moving and swapping furniture. Tidiness is a minus; substance-induced inertia a plus. The ideal host population would include sheltered young people who have never seen a bedbug or learned to recognize its excreta.

“Universities are in the line of fire,” declares Don McCarthy, president of Braemar Pest Control in Bedford, N.S., and board member of the Canadian Pest Management Association. “You’ve got transient populations. You’ve got a lot of the social aspects that come with being at university—your buddies come over and sleep over; everybody’s going back and forth to parties and study sessions. There is not a major university anywhere in North America that does not know this is a major problem, whether or not they have it.”

There is no evidence bedbugs can transmit disease, and their whole modus operandi is to be noticed as little as possible. But news of their presence can ward off visitors and clients as effectively as any plague—as retailers are discovering in New York City, where flagship stores for franchises such as Niketown and Victoria’s Secret have had to close temporarily to address infestations, and as Toronto learned in August when a mere Internet whisper had Toronto International Film Festival organizers double-checking venues.

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Behind Robert Semrau's dismissal

By Michael Friscolanti - Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 12:20 PM - 0 Comments

Robert Semrau arriving at the court this week with his wife, Amelie; Photograph by Blair Gable

Two years after shooting a severely wounded enemy fighter on the battlefields of Afghanistan, Capt. Robert Semrau has finally received his punishment: a demotion in rank, and dismissal from the Canadian Forces. The 36-year-old infantry officer—whose controversial case sparked a furious, nationwide debate about the ethics of mercy killing in a war zone—will not spend any time in a prison cell. But his career in uniform is now over.

Well, almost over.

It will take a few weeks to fill out all the paperwork, and until then, Semrau (now officially a second lieutenant) will continue reporting for duty at CFB Petawawa—setting the stage for what is sure to be an awkward farewell tour. The judge may have said that he “failed as a leader” and behaved in a “shockingly unacceptable” fashion, but the Moose Jaw, Sask., native remains a respected figure within the rank and file of his regiment, as evidenced by the dozens of fellow officers who lined the gallery at his Oct. 5 sentencing hearing. And sometime over the next month, when he leaves the base for the last time, there will be plenty of hugs and handshakes to go around.

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Caption challenge for a long weekend

By Scott Feschuk - Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 7:44 AM - 0 Comments

WINNER: Honourable mentions to MostlyCivil, craigola and Jeff Rose-Martland. Our winner is WDM, for his entry below. WDM, send me an email and a prize shall descend upon you.

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David Akin started this on Twitter, but let’s pile on. Captionize this photo of our Prime Minister – an actual prize awaits the actual winner.

*sigh* For the LAST time Mr. Prime Minister, I am NOT Rahim Jaffer.

They're all out to get us

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 8:14 PM - 0 Comments

The Prime Minister explains opposition concerns to the F-35 purchase during a radio interview today, a transcript of which was distributed to the press gallery this afternoon by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Liberals know full well that they endorse this approach, and now to satisfy their allies in the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois, they are doing something that simply is not in the interest of Canadian taxpayers, not in the interests of Canadian industry, and certainly not in the interest of the men and women in the Canadian Air Force…

Everything they do is to appeal, in this case, to the anti-military types that are in the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois. It’s all part of the coalition that they want to put together, hopefully … in their mind, hopefully after the next election, and it is just a blatant attempt to appeal to that element of the Canadian spectrum, and do it in a way that is simply not in the interests of Canada.

Opening Weekend: 'Secretariat,' 'It’s Kind of a Funny Story,' 'Howl,' 'Basquiat'

By Brian D. Johnson - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 4:54 PM - 0 Comments

Diane Lane and John Malkovich in 'Secretariat'

After last week’s passel of raves reviews, I can’t get too excited about any of this week’s major releases. (And if I trip over a few typos, it’s because—pause for shameless self promotion—I’m rushing off to the Vancouver International Film Festival, which is screening my short film, Yesno, with Ron Mann’s documentary In the Wake of the Flood Oct. 8, 9 and 11.)  But I do recommend two small movies about dead bohemian visionaries, both opening only in Toronto for now, and both playing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox: Howl, starring the chameleon-like James Franco as the young Allen Ginsberg, and Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, a wonderfully rich documentary about New York’s incandescent art star. More on those in a moment. First, a quick look at the wider releases: Secretariat, a square, feel-good Disney drama about a legendary thoroughbred, and It’s Kind of a Funny Story, a hip, feel-good indie drama about a troubled teen who receives some gentle life lessons in a mental institution.

Secretariat

We all know how this true story is going to turn out given that, in 1973, Secretariat made history as the first horse to win racing’s triple crown in a quarter-century, setting two records that have yet to be broken. The story has an unbeatable momentum, harnessing an entire team of underdog heroes—Secretariat’s stubborn owner, Penny Chenery (Diane Lane); its flamboyant Québécois trainer, Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich); its daredevil Canadian jockey, Ron Turcotte (Otto Thorwarth), and, last but not least, the horse itself. Yes, the team includes two Canuck characters, which gives this slice of history some purebred Canadian pedigree.

The story is couched as a moral tale, presenting Chenery as a feminist-lite Virginian housewife who mildly neglects her husband while bucking old-school prejudice in the boys’ club of thoroughbred racing. Her rivals are cast in an almost villainous light, as if she were Muhammad Ali striking a symbolic blow for social justice.  But Chenery gets to have it all, serving both her horse and her family, who rally around her as the drama comes down to the wire.

Randall Wallace (The Man With the Iron Mask) directs this thing with a broad brush. He is, after all, the man who wrote both the screenplay for Braveheart and its novelization. But Diane Lane, an actress who habitually rises above the material she’s saddled with, does a fine job in the lead role. She’s a treat to watch. The most annoying thing about the movie is Malkovich’s show-boating performance as the dandified Laurin, a character used for comic relief. As if to give his character some Québécois colour, the actor bursts into bouts of French. Sadly, it’s Parisian French, which only adds to the inauthenticity of the performance. Malkovich, who’s taken to brazen mugging in one film after another (stay tuned for Red), tries to steal every scene he’s in. But that doesn’t work when the intention is so transparent. And no one can steal the movie from its true star, the horse, who appears to be a method actor. Continue…

High stakes

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 4:11 PM - 0 Comments

Stephen Harper. “To do what Mr. Ignatieff and his allies suggest now is to put in jeopardy every single job in this room and every single job that depends on it in the Canadian aerospace industry with no possible upside whatsoever for the Canadian air force … Their position here is playing politics with the lives of our men and women in uniform and the jobs of the people in this room.”

Michael Ignatieff. He told a crowd of 150 people that Harper failed to explain why the contract for the fighter jets wasn’t tendered, and why the country needs to spend $9 billion on planes. ”That’s undemocratic and I will fight it all the way,” Ignatieff said, adding: ”We’ve got a government that I don’t think respects the institution of democracy.”

Protesters demand affordable AIDS drugs

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 3:52 PM - 0 Comments

Protesters hit the Hill to push MPs to pass Bill C-39. This bill would make it  easier for generic drug companies to produce affordable AIDS medications for the developing world.

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Idea alert

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 3:03 PM - 0 Comments

Shortly before Question Period this morning, the NDP’s Bruce Hyer proposed a game of musical chairs.

Mr. Speaker, I am dismayed and embarrassed by MPs heckling and catcalling here in the House. Canadians do not like it. It does not have to be this way.

In Scandinavia I have observed firsthand the way in which proportional representation leads to rational discussion and debate, mutual respect, workable compromises and much better governance than we have here. Our constituents are looking to us for statesmanship, leadership and effective government that represents not just regions and factions but all Canadians.

I have an idea that could help us achieve some of that mutual respect and co-operation that is needed to desperately right now. We could choose to change our seating charts and abandon the hockey bench blocks of seating in the House by party. We could randomize seating here in the House. Some time spent in the House next to members from other parties will lead to recognition of us all as people with whom we can share ideas with more mutual respect.

Our constituents want better. They deserve better. Let us act now to improve our system and our behaviour.

TV and Religion

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 2:26 PM - 0 Comments

Apart from being Coma Week on Glee, this was Religion Week on U.S. broadcast TV. At least three shows, including two of the biggest hits, had stories revolving around issues of religion and spirituality: first Glee, then Modern Family, finally Community (which has another religion plot coming, according to episode descriptions). When three shows deal with religion in three days — on three different networks, yet — something has to be in the air, particularly when you factor in the rampant religious overtones on many science-fiction/fantasy shows. It’s like religion episodes ae to 2010 television what Soviet defector episodes were to 1980.

Nearly all TV episodes about religion wind up offering the same message: “Everybody has to believe in something.” It’s done in different ways on different shows, of course: on Glee, it was presented sort of seriously (people need something “sacred” in their lives even if it’s not God); on Community, which is a genuine comedy, it was comic (everybody is entitled to their insane beliefs). But it usually comes down in the same area; even if the creator is an atheist or a believer in a specific religion, the episode will end up telling us that a) Everyone believes in something more or less spiritual and b) It’s all good.

Part of this is, of course, the middle-of-the-road tendency of all Hollywood entertainment, the need to be fair to both sides and all sides. The “everybody believes in something” message on religion is of a piece with the message of most TV episodes about politics, which is that all the political parties are essentially the same and it doesn’t really matter who you vote for — but you should still vote. It’s hard to use an expensive, collaborative, advertiser-supported television episode for advocacy, even if this were desirable, and I’m certainly not saying it is.

But I think this genuinely reflects the thinking of many people in Hollywood. Hollywood, remember, is a place where a large number of people do believe in a generic “something.” It’s not a very religious town, but the number of outright non-believers is still pretty low; non-traditional religious beliefs run rampant, and people who don’t believe in religion may take up some vague form of spirituality. The idea that you have to have some form of faith may not just be a truism, but what Hollywood writers frequently believe themselves. Part of the point of that Community episode was that you have to live and work with people even if they believe in nutty, cultish things; that’s undoubtedly something you have to accept to work in Hollywood (or anywhere, really, but especially Hollywood, where your co-worker’s beliefs may be known to the entire world).

And, secondly, Hollywood is a place where a lot of people really do consider themselves middle-of-the-road, centrist, open to all views. That seems like a strange thing to say, I know. But because it’s their job to please the masses, Hollywood people can become convinced that they do in fact represent the midpoint between the extremes. Jon Stewart isn’t “Hollywood” geographically, but his “Restore Sanity” rally is a perfect example of what I’m talking about: there are people out there on the left and right who are equally bad, and here I am, the voice of centrist sanity. Given that many show business people think of themselves this way, it’s not surprising that their views on religion, as expressed in their work, tend to be very vague.

This kind of thing has a long history in Hollywood, of course. After the power of the Catholic Legion of Decency was broken in Hollywood — meaning that writers and producers no longer had to be on the side of Christianity at all times for fear of risking a boycott — anti-religious views became more common than they are now, but pretty rare unless they were balanced out in some way. By the end of the ’70s, with the rise of generic spirituality (celebrated most famously in Star Wars, the ultimate “you have to believe in something really vague” movies), we were moving toward the modern status quo where devout religious belief and convinced disbelief were rare on TV.

So for example, in this episode from 1980, the year of Russian Defectors, there’s only one character who doesn’t seem to have at least a bit of religion. And her lack of belief his soft-pedaled by having her say that she believes in some non-religious, humanist conception of God.

Outright TV atheists still continued to exist into the ’80s (Maddie on Moonlighting came out as one), but there was almost some kind of spiritual belief attributed to them. What’s rare on TV is the opinion expressed by Dwight MacDonald in response to Ingmar Bergman’s religious angst: “I don’t believe in God and am not much interested in whether I am right.”

Stimulus cash hits a dead end

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 1:57 PM - 0 Comments

About $12 million in United States stimulus payments is probably collecting dust, or interest, in the bank accounts of dead people. In May 2009, the Social Security Administration was asked to distribute one-time payments of $250 each, worth about $13 billion in total, as part of the economic-stimulus package passed in February 2009. As it turns out, about 89,000 of those stimulus payments went to dead or incarcerated people. Of the total $22.3 million in mistaken payments, about $12 million hasn’t been returned. The majority of those payments would have been legitimately issued, according to a report by the inspector-general, if the target recipients had still been alive. As for the incarcerated recipients, a legal loophole caused the error—the provisions for preventing stimulus money from going to inmates only barred payment to people incarcerated in the three months prior to the plan’s passage.

Wall Street Journal

Government accused of setting up pay-to-play contract scheme

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 1:54 PM - 0 Comments

The Bloc Québécois claims at least three Conservative party donors were handed federal contracts by the Public Works department in recent years. One of those contracts went to Montreal businessman Paul Sauvé, who says he gave $140,000 to Conservative insider Gilles Varin to lobby on his behalf. (Varin denies receiving the bonus and says all he did was pass along a resumé.) Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis, who previously held the Public Works portfolio for the government, defended attending a fundraiser at which he congratulated Sauvé. “I can congratulate them, I can say good job,” the minister said in French. “But never did I discuss the contracts with the individuals.”

CBC News

Generation gap

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 1:18 PM - 0 Comments

Eric Grenier from threehundredeight.com compares how young and old voters would divvy up the House of Commons and gets the following standings.

Young
Liberals 104
Bloc Quebecois 60
NDP 53
Conservatives 46
Greens 43

Old
Conservatives 192
Liberals 106
Bloc Quebecois 9

CPAC reception holds court

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 1:00 PM - 0 Comments

CPAC held a reception in the East Block Courtyard. Below, CPAC’s Martin Stringer.

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Ken Stein, Chair of CPAC’s Board of Directors.

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Liberal MP Siobhan Coady.

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'Once again, sir, is your government TOTALLY crazy?'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 12:37 PM - 0 Comments

The Canadian Press obtains census-related e-mails sent to the Prime Minister’s Office during the last week of July.

A Canadian Press analysis shows more than four-fifths of 293 email messages to Stephen Harper during a single week last summer were critical of the change. Seven per cent supported the government’s move, three per cent were neutral and nine per cent expressed no clear opinion…

Several who sent emails took issue with the notion the mandatory form was intrusive, calling the privacy argument a “bogeyman” and “balderdash.” ”I am a lifelong Conservative, a loyal and generous supporter and one of your staunchest advocates … with extensive training in statistics and research methodology, I cannot understand why our Conservative government would decide to make elements of the census voluntary,” wrote one dismayed correspondent.

Some worried it would prevent Harper’s team from ever winning a majority in Parliament. ”You are losing sight of the big picture,” wrote one.

One More Cartoon-Related Clip

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 12:33 PM - 0 Comments

A local news channel did this report on the creator of that “Donald Duck Meets Glenn Beck” cartoon. I wish it had more on the actual process of making the video and selecting the clips — obviously the biggest part of making a video like this is simply watching every Donald Duck cartoon available, picking the right scenes, and figuring out how to edit them together.

Also, in an era obsessed with nit-picking it sort of warms my heart that few people seem to have harped on the only major “continuity error” in the cartoon: since Donald had a white hat in some cartoons and a blue hat in others, his hat keeps changing colour throughout the video.

Med students at high risk of burnout, suicide

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 12:17 PM - 0 Comments

Studies have shown for decades that physicians have higher rates of suicide than the general population (for male doctors, it’s 40 per cent higher; for female doctors, it’s 130 per cent), the New York Times reports. Contributing factors are unclear, but research has traced the roots of it back to medical school, where students enter with mental health profiles similar to their peers, but eventually experience depression, burnout and other mental illnesses at higher rates. They have better access to health care, but are more likely to cope by drinking excessively or other dysfunctional mechanisms. Despite student wellness programs and confidential mental health services now offered, up to one-quarter of doctors in training still suffer from depression and more than half might be feeling burnout, numbers that are relatively unchanged. Two new studies shed some light on it. In one survey of more than 2,500 medical students across the country, researchers found that students who suffered from burnout were more likely to admit cheating on tests, lying about the status of a patient’s lab tests or physical exams, and feeling less altruistic about their role as a physician. They were more susceptible to self-centred behaviour. The second study showed that medical students who are depressed, or prone to depression, often believe they’re viewed as inadequate or incompetent. More research is needed, all agree.

New York Times

Hey look: Ignatieff hugs the new centre

By Paul Wells - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 11:49 AM - 0 Comments

From the latest (actually unusually good in many ways) print edition, my column about shrinking policy ambition and its uses. It features a wee error: I say Ignatieff “voted against” a Bloc bill on EI reform. In fact he scrummed against it but missed the vote, at which 40 Liberal MPs voted in favour of a bill the Liberal leader said was “dead on arrival.” The absence of the 30-odd others was enough to ensure the bill’s defeat.

Anyway, that’s not really what the column’s about, so, um, enjoy.

Men are better at sweating: report

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 11:27 AM - 0 Comments

According to Japanese researchers, men are more efficient at sweating, while women who aren’t used to physical exercise have the worst sweating response, which could mean women suffer more in hot temperatures (sweating helps the body cope with heat). In the study, researchers asked 37 people to cycle continuously for an hour in a controlled climate; intensity intervals were increased. Participants were grouped into four categories: trained and untrained females, trained and untrained males. The rate at which they produced sweat was measured. Physical training boosts sweating in women and men, but more so in the latter, they said. It’s known to help the body perform longer while exercising.

BBC News

Canada and U.S. jobs numbers disappoint

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 8, 2010 at 11:24 AM - 0 Comments

Canada and the U.S. both lost more jobs than anticipated in September. In Canada, analysts predicted a gain of 10,000 jobs, but the country shed 6,600 instead. The unemployment rate dropped slightly to 8 per cent as summer workers headed back to school. In the U.S., more than 95,000 jobs were lost and the unemployment rate remained stuck at 9.6 per cent. The bright spot in the U.S., say analysts, is that most job losses were government jobs, including temporary census position; the U.S. private sector actually gained 64,000 jobs. In Canada, the good news was that highly-prized full-time jobs increased. The negative overall number was due to a steep decline in part-time jobs and self-employment.

Financial Post

New York Times