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Home » Blog This » October 2004 Archives

October 29, 2004

a call to arms

Posted by mason at 07:43 PM ET | Comments (2)

I don't think very many people out there question Eminem's anger, but who knew he had it in him to deliver such an inspiring and well-developed indictment of President Bush? In a video you won't see on MuchMusic (at least I doubt it), the rapper lets fly with "Mosh", a spit-and-venom song aimed at getting the kids out to vote next week. Incredibly, the video also shows a grassroots citizen's army of fed-up soldiers from Iraq and the poor classes of America with the intent "to disarm this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president". Powerful stuff.

(Lyrics available here.)

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Why we rarely ask philosophy professors to review films

Posted by john_d at 01:57 PM ET | Comments (3)

This is the first in what I hope will be a number of considerations of The Rebel Sell as I make my way through the intellectual landscape of this well-thought-out and very entertaining book. I’m just now beginning Chapter Three (Being Normal) – I read slowly these days.

Chapter Two, Freud Goes to California:

Okay, so I definitely must rent Pleasantville, which looked too precious by half to see in its first release, but now, with promises of endless black and white teen sex, I’m there (by the way, for more great black and white teen sex, rent the DVD of The Last Picture Show – very little counterculture analysis made available, but some of the best light on film in American cinema history).

Thanks to Potter and Heath for as succinct a summary of why I think Freud has been watching me my entire life, and laughing at all the most embarrassing parts.

Here’s my one complaint...

I like American Beauty just fine, and I resent the suggestion that I was somehow suckered by its naïve counterculture message. To begin with, it is a simplistic reduction to attribute the film’s popularity to its “message.” I would guess the startlingly naked Mena Suvari had as much to do with filling the seats (hers is the abdomen on the famous poster for the film) as any “stick it to the man” ideology inherent in the script. Suvari played Angela Hayes, the too, too young object of Lester Burnham’s raging id, and it is worth noting that Lester does not in fact despoil her innocence; rather he pulls back at the crucial moment, explicitly returning to the shackles of the life he had so dramatically cast off, accepting his responsibility to repress his pleasure drive in the name of being a good father and an upright citizen. This makes his smile at death much more mysterious than Heath and Potter suggest. Is he suddenly pleased that he was redeemed at least before death, redeemed by his willingness to re-accept the rules of boring old society?

Finally, the film has some stellar acting in it. Annette Bening shocked me with her depth, Chris Cooper is a frickin’ genius anyway (see John Sayles’ Matewan), but here his menace is overwhelming, and Kevin Spacey invents an entirely new type for himself – one he resurrects in the not so great The Life of Arthur Gale. American Beauty is not a great film, but it is good enough on lots of grounds; it was probably the best Hollywood film of 1999 by far (and that’s who gets the Oscar after all), and its counterculture message is, I think, a bit more complex than Heath and Potter suggest.

I fully expect to be shown to have jumped the gun on this as I read further into the book.

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Poor America

Posted by joyceb at 12:54 PM ET | Comments (2)

bushuncensored.mov

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Trusting writers under 30

Posted by joyceb at 11:00 AM ET | Comments (6)

Speaking of Dylan Thomas, who would have been 90 this week, the Swansea Dylan Thomas Prize was announced this week. The prize of GBP 60,000 (that's $150K of our funny money!) will be awarded bi-annually to a writer whose work is published in English, from anywhere in the world, who is under 30.

Much of Thomas's best work was written when he was under 30, hence the stipulation on the prize. I wish them luck, because I bet this will be a very controversial prize when it is announced in 2006. (By the very-much-over-30 Catherine Zeta-Jones.)

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October 28, 2004

Economics 101 – Spend Money, Save Planet; Save Planet, Save Money?

Posted by john_d at 03:11 PM ET | Comments (1)

An article in the Toronto Star focuses on the projected costs involved in switching all Ontario electricity consumers from traditional kilowatt-hour meters to something called a smart meter, which has by all accounts huge potential for energy savings and greater efficiency within the electrical grid – any Ontarians out there remember the big black out of 2003? As I understand them, smart meters will allow consumers a greater specific knowledge of their overall consumption as well as time- and appliance-specific consumption patterns. They can measure electricity in dollars and cents, even as prices fluctuate in the marketplace, so consumers have direct incentive to take control of their consumption and maybe sweat out a heat wave now and then instead of running their air conditioners all day every day April to October.

“Smart meters could cost $2.3 billion” shouts the TorStar headline, as though that number must be scraped up out of a single piggy bank and set on fire, with a net benefit of zero. What kind of simple-minded economic reporting is this? I searched and searched the article for any indication of the overall projected savings in energy costs not only once all the meters are installed, but even incrementally, as they are put in place, meter by meter. Perhaps a mention of the environmental impact of lower demand on all types of generation? No? Oh, wait, how about the economic benefit to electrical contractors who will be installing millions of new meters and removing millions of old ones? No?

Oh for the day when my media will understand context.

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"The winter was cold, and the English humiliated us again!"

Posted by andrew at 03:05 PM ET | Comments (3)

Headline in Le Devoir today:

"Ottawa a 'saigne' le Quebec pour satisfaire le Canada anglais

What is the humiliation this time? Under the equalization agreement, the new money the feds put in the pot will be divied up in proportions equal to what each "have not" province is alread receiving. So, if your province was receiving 1/3 of the old amount, you'll get another 1/3 of the new amount. Quebec went into the equalization negotiations with the following position: Quebec should get a disproportionate share of the new money. Why? No reason. Just cause it's Quebec and they feel entitled to it. The other have-not provinces predictably told Charest to forget it. Hence, Ottawa has "bled" Quebec.

Meanwhile, here's Senator George Baker, in today's Globe:

Senator George Baker said Newfoundland's exports have done much for Canada, and now it's time for the nation to pay the province back.

"We're been keeping the carpets on the floors in Ottawa since we joined Canada. Canada now owes Newfoundland big time," he said.

In Newfoundland, the prevailing wisdom is that when all the additions are done, about who has given what to whom, Newfoundland gets the short end of the stick. Why? Because of all the fish and, uh, other stuff they've sent "away" over the years. Add the value of the fish we've consumed here in the ROC, and you get a humiliation.

Except, the rest of Canada didn't TAKE the fish. We BOUGHT it. So, for every fish sent out of Newfoundland, goods equal to the value of one fish were sent in. That's why they call it TRADE.

But if you're a Senator AND FORMER FEDERAL CABINET MINISTER from Newfoundland, you get to say these sorts of things and nobody contradicts you. In Newfoundland, the humiliation lies not in taking almost a billion dollars a year from the residents of Alberta and Ontario. No, the humiliation lies in those residents saying, "fine, but as soon as your per capita income exceeds ours, we're going to cut back the payments."

God I hate this place.

And you just know the Headwaiter is going to cave.

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Conservative backlash

Posted by andrew at 03:02 PM ET | Comments (1)

Look who is endorsing Kerry

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This Magazine: Generally Excellent!

Posted by joyceb at 12:28 PM ET | Comments (0)

Readers of Utne magazine will be familiar with their Independent Press Awards, which they've been running now for 16 years. They're perfectly suited to administer such an award, since their digest-style has been highlighting the best of the independent press for 20 years.

This Magazine has been nominated for TWO awards this year, in the categories of General Excellence and Cultural/Social coverage. The complete list of nominees can be viewed here:

I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate our staff and contributors, who make us generally excellent. I'm always really warmed by the esteem in which our colleagues in the US progressive media hold us, and being singled out for the top prize, even as a nominee, is a genuine honour. (The ONLY other Canadian title in this category is Ascent, the fine spirituality magazine out of Montreal).

Congratulations This Magazine. The winners will be announced in the January issue of Utne.

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guest blogger wanted: k-os

Posted by joyceb at 12:24 PM ET | Comments (0)

hip-hop genius k-os is all over the alt-weeklies today because of his show tonight at that docks. i am sad because i don't have a ticket. post your reviews here tomorrow and tell me what i missed!

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October 27, 2004

Toronto election night fun

Posted by joyceb at 12:43 PM ET | Comments (0)

Toronto-based art/politics magazine Fuse is having an election party.

ELECTION PARTY
We'd rather be with friends than with Republicans

Tuesday November 2nd, 8pm
The Beaver Café
1192 Queen St W
Toronto ON, Canada
$5 or PWYC

... because Fuse Magazine feels your pain.
www.fusemagazine.org

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Rheostatics 2067 discussion continues

Posted by andrew at 12:28 PM ET | Comments (0)

Just to let everyone know, today we are finishing off our song-by-song discussion of 2067, the new album by The Rheostatics. Click here to go directly to fun without passing go.

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Dylan Thomas, age 90

Posted by andrew at 12:01 PM ET | Comments (0)

Well, if he hadn't been such a boozehound, he'd be 90 today.

Here's a poem he wrote on his 30th birthday. Grief-inducing.

Thanks to Marginal Revolution for the link

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On falsehoods, intentional and otherwise

Posted by john_d at 11:58 AM ET | Comments (4)

An editorial by Nicholas D. Kristof in the New York Times today directs our attention to a documented incident when President Bush stretched the truth to make a compelling point. That the incident involved his daughter Barbara and a stuffed toy matters little. He got the date, the animal, the outcome and a bunch of other details completely wrong – and this was no mere slip of the tongue; it passed by fact-checkers on the way to becoming part of his autobiography. It is refuted, not by Democratic hacks, but by Bush’s own mother.

This posting relates back to my last one, such a long time ago (I’ve been away), about cheating. How much tolerance do we, or should we, have for a world leader who doesn’t mind letting an obvious lie out of his mouth now and then. Yes, yes, politicians lie all the time in the service of their nations. But, I’m talking about character. Bush’s fib about his daughter was not in the service of his nation, it was to make his dad look like a loving grandfather.

I am reminded of a sweating Paul Martin, caught in the glare of a CBC town hall, struggling to justify the reflagging of parts of his CSL fleet and coming up with some lame-ass justification about business efficiency. Wouldn’t we all have respected him a little bit more if he’d just said, “yeah, okay, I avoid paying Canadian taxes because by doing that I make more money, and I want to make as much money as possible. Don’t you want a smart businessman like me running your economy?”

Oh, and finally, for those who haven’t yet seen it, I’m still trying to digest this eerily gentle “explanation” from Christopher Hitchens. No regrets, no admissions, but the bile quotient is low, low, low, and he even has some qualified praise for Kerry. What does it all mean?

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Biting the hand that fed

Posted by joyceb at 11:48 AM ET | Comments (1)

I can't wait for the new Saturday Night. Saw a television (television!) ad for the upcoming issue, featuring a cover story on a topic near and dear to the This Magazine bloggers, Lord and Lady Black.

An interesting opening parry from new editor, Gary Ross. It's an excerpt from Shades of Black: Conrad Black - His Rise and Fall by Richard Siklos (McClelland & Stewart), out in November. Black ran Saturday Night from its centennial year in 1987 through 2001, and the (late tenure) Robert Fulford(1968-1987) and (early) John Fraser (1987-1994) days are oft referred to as the best in modern memory for that magazine--a legacy that Ross is sure to challenge.

The cover features those wonderful pictures from that Vanity Fair shoot, you know the ones with Lady Barbara barefoot? Sadly, the cover ain't online yet, but keep an eye out. It features Babs strolling wanly through the grass at the mansion, which surely explains her filthy feet in the picture the Globe and Mail ran on their cover.

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An evening of political cabaret Nov 1

Posted by joyceb at 10:33 AM ET | Comments (0)

Our new issue hits the streets November 1.

Check out the story on Jason Sherman's latest project, The Wrecking Ball, and then make plans to head down to the Factory Theatre on the eve of the US Election (that's November 1 for those of you who haven't been paying attention in class). It's a PWYC project and includes Sherman and powerhouse theatrical friends Judith Thompson and David Young.

Finally, and answer to the question, "Can theatre deal with reality?"

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Does Frank Know?

Posted by andrew at 12:09 AM ET | Comments (0)

CanWest News Service
OTTAWA - Former prime minister Brian Mulroney and wife, Mila, are grandparents. Daughter Caroline, 30, gave birth early Tuesday morning to a baby boy.

"Mr. Mulroney is an ecstatic grandfather," said Conservative Senator Marjorie LeBreton. Weighting seven lbs., four ounces, Henry Lewis Lapham III was born at New York City's Presbyterian Hospital. Caroline married Andrew Lapham four years ago in a lavish ceremony in Montreal with former U.S. president George Bush and his wife, Barbara, among the high-profile well-wishers. Others in attendance included Queen Noor of Jordan, actor Alan Thicke, composer David Foster, and a who's who of Canada's business elite, including Jacques Desmarais and supermarket magnate Galen Weston and his wife Hilary Weston, the former lieutenant-governor of Ontario. Caroline made headlines herself beginning in 1991 when Fleet street photographers made much of her dark beauty when she accompanied her parents to the G-7 economic summit in London. She was in the news again a year later when her father lost his temper over a Frank magazine article that featured her in a lewd mock competition. Caroline is a New York University law graduate and also graduated cum laude from Harvard University. She met her future husband on Wall Street when she was working for an investment bank. Lapham is the son of Lewis Lapham who is editor-in-chief of the prestigious Harper's magazine.

thanks to sean for the tipoff

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October 26, 2004

Question:

Posted by mason at 11:01 PM ET | Comments (1)

Is George W. Bush the only president for whom a war has not been good for the economy?

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Newspaper theme issues: Friend or Foe?

Posted by annette at 02:54 PM ET | Comments (9)

Did anyone see the Globe and Mail on Saturday? It was devoted to reports from the Globe's team in China. The articles were for the most part quite interesting, but at the same time I missed the news from the rest of the world and the regular Saturday items. I was a bit overwhelmed by the "emerging superpower" coverage. Perhaps it may have been a better idea to spread out the China coverage over several issues rather than doing a theme issue. Any thoughts? Newspaper theme issues: friend or foe?

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Very sorry sir. Canada will pay to have that cleaned, of course.

Posted by andrew at 01:27 PM ET | Comments (0)

Looks like The Headwaiter is having trouble keeping all his customers satisfied.

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October 25, 2004

The Rheostatics' 2067: Discussion starts here

Posted by andrew at 12:06 PM ET | Comments (16)

UPPERDATE: Ok, we're finishing this baby off today. Comments on the last 1/3 of the songs are appended below.

UPDATE: Entries for songs 5-8 have now been added to the bottom of this post. Let's talk Rheostatics!

2067 is the 12th album from The Rheostatics, their first in three years. Last year, their album Whale Music was named by DNTO as the most essential Canadian album ever. So, expectations are high.

Now that you've all had a chance to give the album a few dozen spins, let's get down to talking about it. I think track-by-track might be a bit of an overindulgence, so what we'll do is divide the album into thirds, going through four songs a day for the next three days.

First, as a general point, I would encourage everyone to take the liner notes to heart and WEAR HEADPHONES. There's some pretty huge production on this thing. OK, Here we go with songs 1-4:

1. Shack in the Cornfields
Vocals and lyrics by Martin. A song about kids who get lost in a cornfield and a man in a shack who gets strung up for murdering them, this is a nice bit of pastoral Ontario Gothic to open the record. Some pretty guitar work throughout, a good rock section in the middle, and great singing. Martin seems to have developed a thing about kids and tragedy -- recall "Ship of Fire" off of his solo album Operation Infinite Joy, about a kid getting eaten by a shark.

2. Little Bird, Little Bird
Vocals and lyrics by Dave. A country-ish shuffle with an excellent sing-along chorus, the sweet tone of the song is given ominous shadings by the rather dark lyrics: "How strong am I, missing words, missing words, to tell you how scared I feel? Of an artists fake, of a sadist's rake, scars on a teenage girl..."

Wicked world indeed. Nice song, Dave. Neat mandolin work by Martin.

3. Marginalized
Tim song, which has been introduced live as the band's "song about George W. Bush". In his book "On a Cold Road", Dave Bidini remarks about how surprised they all were when Tim came up with the song "Bad Time to be Poor" (off the album Blue Hysteria), since Tim was in many ways the least political member of the band.

Well, Tim's done it again. This is the best song so far, urgent and angry, with a great opening lyric:

"All rise. The new king of the world just crowned himself tonight by the blinding light of cathode lies. Surprise, we've been muted, we've been marginalized. Unleashed, delusions of one human head, one tiny beast becomes the very air we breathe."

Smart production on this song as well, and the synth makes its first appearance. I also like the way it just stops, as if Tim was like, "OK, I've made my point."

4. The Tarleks
Martin song. Ostensibly about the Herb Tarlek family from Cincinnati ("The Tarleks came from the west -- they grooved. White belts shining in the pounding sun"), it quckly morphs into a slightly paranoid dreamscape, with Martin being approached by strangers in bathrooms and getting cryptic messages from above. Like a lot of Martin songs, there's no obvious structure to the piece, just a lot of gloriously weird excursions that eventually come back to somewhere slightly familiar.

Very fun, very catchy tune, and potentially the first single. But maybe too weird, and "just enough cryptic that the morons won't get it".

Overall, very encouraging start to the album. Everything you could want from 1/3 of a Rheostatics album -- quirky songwriting, soaring vocals by Martin, layers of guitars and plenty of rock. Can't wait for songs 5-9 tomorrow.

5. Power Ballad for Ozzy Osbourne

Ugh. Every songwriter -- indeed, every writer -- has certain tricks and ticks they fall back on when stuck for ideas. Dave likes to write about rock, name checking his heroes and narrating the mythology of the rock experience. To the extent that he's successful (in songs like Rock Death America), he's like a Canadian Pete Townshend. When he's not so successful (e.g. My First Rock Concert), it falls flat. This song's a panacake.

There's nothing rock with name-checking your childhood heroes; when done right (Weezer's "In My Garage") it can be very powerful. "Ozzy" could have been this album's "Fan Letter for Michael Jackson," using rock hero worship as a way of getting at the redemptive possibilities of the poower chord. Ozzy himself is a perfect foil, for meditations on aging and celebrity, and it might have spurred Dave to write something about his own feelings about being in a band for 20 years.

Instead, we get this half-assed novelty tune. Nice Ozzy screams by Martin at the end, though.

6. I Dig Music

Opinions are sharply divided on this tune. Some see it as a hyperactive, jazzy return to the days when Dave Clark was an integral part of the band. Others find it unlistenable. I'm in the second camp. Like "Full Moon Over Russia", I find myself hitting the song skip button whenever this starts up. I mean, come on. "I Dig Music"?

Every Rheostatics album has a few songs like this; bits where the band just cuts loose, has some fun, tries out a few tricks and tells a few jokes. I generally appreciate them, because it helps give a sense of the band's musical landscape. But most Rheostatics albums are 18-20 songs long, so there is plenty of room to stretch out on stuff like this. But this is a pretty short album as it is, and two consective novelty tunes by Dave, both "about music", in the middle of the album, is just too much to take. I'm going to burn myself a copy of the album with this song cut out.

That said, there are some decent parts in the song. I like MPW's "Polish Fog" vocal bit, and the rock part that kicks in after that. In fact, that whole section could have been usefully appended to the Ozzy song, turning it into a real power ballad.

7. Here Comes the Image

And here comes Tim to get things bad on track. This is a cool tune, with Tim doing his best Thom Yorke impression, lyrically:

Colours on the glass delight the eye.
There, in the desert night a-glow in the focal eye slow,
the computer screen warms until morning rain.

Nice laid-back pace, with a bitchin' synth break in the middle. The band is heading into Floyd/Radiohead territory here; looke like MPW is starting to have an influence on things.

Another cool thing here is that since Tim is playing all the guitars, Martin switches over to bass and Dave to drums, leaving MPW to play "piano, organ, and many synthesizers". I saw them play this live last year and it totally kicked ass.

8. Who is That Man, and Why is He Laughing?

OK, we're into serious Radiohead space with this instrumental. MPW laying on the keyboards and Martin doing weird shit with his vocoder, this is a really great piece. It sounds like an outtake from Dark Side of the Moon as commissioned as the soundtrack to a new David Lynch film about aliens descending on the St. Lawrence.

So here's where things stand 2/3 of the way through: A great first four songs, then Dave takes things into a rather unhappy place. I suggest fast forwarding past songs 5 and 6, then hitting pause while you roll up a big fat one. Then put on the headphones and chill for 12 minutes until Martin kicks it back up to speed (as we'll discuss tomorrow).

9. The Latest Attempt on Your Life
Martin kicks things back into rock with this nice bit of exuberant paranoia. Just because you're singing doesn't mean they're not out to get you. I love the deadpan backing vocals from Selina Martin and Jennifer Foster. "Everyone hates you/you sing like a woman" is a great refrain. Oh, Martin. We love you, and we love your singing.

10. Polar Bears and Trees
Redemption for Dave! I've heard them play it live a bunch of times, and it has kicked ass everytime. With Hinterland Who's Who lyrics and wicked gang vocals (HeyHeyHoHoHeyHeyHoHo!), this is a classic Rheostatics song, it could have been on any one of their albums since Melville. Love it. Of course, I'm a sucker for any song that has the line "the mighty beaver building". Go Shield!

11. Making Progress
Another slow one from Tim. Pretty, but a bit predictable. It reminds me a lot of "Remain Calm" off NOTSS. Not bad, but a bit of filler. More cool synth tho.

12. Try to Praise This Mutilated World
Oh man. This is one of the greatest tunes the boys have ever put out. It has the same industrialized grief of Little Bird, but the arrangement here is transcendental. When the chorus kicked in the first time I heard this ("Blaze the stars/Shake the bars for you/A sunlit room, we'll go there soon") I thought I was going to cry with joyful sadness.

The third act of the song has Ken Babstock reading a poem "the expected" (can anyone confirm if the poem is Ken's?), with lines that are totally sympatico with Dave's lyrics. This song alone is worth the price of admission. I can't wait to see how it works out live. Maybe Ken will be at the Fall Nationals?

13. Hidden Track!
This is fun. It's Record Body Count sung through a vocoder, with arrangement by Gary Numan. I saw the Rheos "play" this last year at the fall nationals -- well, it wasn't the Rheos, but "Tim Vebron and the Rheostars". Martin was wearing a lei and suspenders, MPW looked like an extra from THX1138.

****************
Summary:

A very good album, but IMO not the classic some of the fans on the rheostatics mailing list are calling it. I wish it were longer, and I wish there was more Martin on it. We know he's got hundreds of songs locked away somewhere, so it's disappointing to see only three Martin songs on the record. Maybe he's stretching himself out too much? The bonus though is that Martin has again done all the artwork for the record, and it's pretty sweet. It is a bunch of paintings of Canada Post stamps for Canada's bicentennial 18767-2067. Want to see Toronto flooded and a beaver knawing on a palm tree? By the album.

Buy it anyway.

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October 24, 2004

Culture Wars II

Posted by andrew at 11:41 PM ET | Comments (3)

Paul Wells thinks that Team America: World Police is "certainly the most insightful political movie of 2004."

Anyone agree? I thought it was pretty funny. As political satire, though, I was less than impressed. I did quite like the "dicks, pussies, and a**holes" speech, which is a better justification for the Iraq war than anything on offer from Bush or Blair.

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Culture Wars I

Posted by andrew at 11:32 PM ET | Comments (4)

I heard a weird little piece on the CBC tonight. It seems that the Germans, to counteract widespread conviction that they have an unpleasant-sounding tongue, had a contest to determine the nicest-sounding word in the German language.

The winners, as best I was able to determine (corrections welcome).

third place: Lieben (love)

second place: Geborgeheit (a word meaning "security", of the sort you get from a mother holding a baby)

first place: Habseiligheiden (a word meaning "having few possessions or belongins", but in a good way, like you've downshifted, not in a bad way, like you're just poor).

What to say? You have to love a country so insecure about its language that they have a contest to determine its greatest word. But isn't it ridiculous? Germany having a contest to determine its greatest word is like Canada having a contest to determine the greatest Canadian.

UPDATE: My friend Peter Dietsch, who speaks three languages better than I speak one, has informed me that these are the correct spellings of the words I heard on the radio:

1) Habseligkeiten
2) Geborgenheit
3) Liebe

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October 22, 2004

Steyn on Bigley

Posted by andrew at 11:44 PM ET | Comments (0)

Warren Kinsella calls this column by Mark Steyn one of the the most "cruel and callous" columns he's ever read.

I'm not so sure.

Look, I despise Steyn. I think he's intellectually dishonest, a poseur, and the master of what Mark Kingwell calls "the reverse sarcasm". In this piece, he goes after Kenneth Bigley, the Brit who was, sadly, decapitated in Iraq last week. While I don't much care for Steyn's tone (if you want to see a man turn hysterical when cornered, read his columns in 2000 between the November election and the final decision by the Supreme Court. Not much jocular high irony from Steyn then), I have to confess to being not entirely unsympathetic with his general point.

Read it, then let's discuss.

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2067: Are you ready?

Posted by andrew at 01:18 PM ET | Comments (1)

Upperdate: Here's a review of the new disk.

Update: We're going to start this Monday morning. Not enough net traffic on weekends; plus, it'll be more fun to waste work time talking about the Rheos.

Ok kids, the new Rheostatics album 2067 has been in stores since Tuesday, so I'm assuming you all have your copies by now. I'll give everyone 24 hours to get the necessary 10-15 complete listens in, then we'll start discussing it, track by track, tomorrow.

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Forget Mr Right. Calling Mr Right Thing to Do

Posted by joyceb at 10:14 AM ET | Comments (0)

So another Friday night in the big smoke. Number one curse of this Lady of the Left these days seems to be the lack of love connections. Oh who am I kidding, I'm EXTREMELY picky. So I've given up trying and have decided to do the right thing and solicit a marriage of political convenience.

Hell, I've taken it to the extreme: I've joined a movement.

Take the pledge. No American progressive should have to endure four more years of Dubya. Especially when there are so many hot, single lefties around here.

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"I shall serve drinks on the beaches, I shall serve drinks in the air, I shall never, ever stop serving drinks!"

Posted by andrew at 09:08 AM ET | Comments (0)

Update: I picked up a copy of the Wednesday Ottawa Citizen today. The front story was reaction to Stephen Harper's "trial Walloon" (Wells' joke, I think) proposing to turn Canada into Belgium. Here's The Headwaiter, doing his finest Churchill impression:

"I think the role of the prime minister of Canada is not to build a better Belgium, it's to build a stronger Canada."

Southam reporter Anne Dawson was too polite to write about it, but a mole on the Hill tells me that The Headwaiter proceeded to stand on the steps in front of the Commons, yelling ""I shall serve drinks in Salmon Arm, I shall serve drinks in Sherbrooke, I shall serve drinks in Corner Brook!"

Here's an indication of just what a set of utter fools we have passing for government in this country.

Listen to the Headwaiter, bragging about his ability to serve drinks without spilling any:

"I think that the health deal was a great triumph for Canadian federalism and it shows the provinces and the federal government can work together."

That's like a butcher arguing that the presence of veal chops in his meat counter is a triumph of interspecies cooperation, showing how humans and calves can work together.

And here's some anonymous kitchen help, wondering what all the concern is about:

"Even one of the prime minister's closest advisers, who spoke to CBC News on condition of anonymity, said the government did not foresee the fallout from making a special deal with Quebec."

Right. Ottawa is just a big restaurant where every special interest group in the country comes to belly up to the trough. What could be so wrong about making special orders?

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October 21, 2004

Life of a columnist Part II

Posted by andrew at 01:27 PM ET | Comments (0)

It's always nice to get a shout-out in the Globe and Mail. So I was initially pleased to see Russell Smith reference The Rebel Sell in his column in today's Globe (sorry, Russell's behind the new Globe firewall).

Smith was talking about the new American Apparel store on Queen St. in Toronto, making the point that an "anti-brand" like AA is still a brand. True enough. But then he goes and mentions both The Rebel Sell and Hal Niedzviecki's new book, in the same sentence, and notes that both books are equally skeptical of the sort of virtous capitalism exemplified by American Apparel, Adbusters, etc.

True enough. Except then Smith approvingly quotes Hal, who gives his usual "advertising is conformity" line.

Set aside the fact that Hal has been in the grip of a false ideology for lo this past decade or so, and that pretty much everything he thinks about our culture is wrong. Let's also hold off on the eye-rolling predictability of Smith interviewing Hal in Toronto's National Newspaper, Queen St. Section.

Let's focus on the simple fact that, from what he says in his column, Smith clearly hasn't read a word of either book.

Something Conrad Black once said about journalists is coming to mind, but I'm too lazy to look it up right now.

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The life of a columnist part I

Posted by andrew at 01:13 PM ET | Comments (1)

Conrad Black famously described journalists as "ignorant, lazy, opinionated, intellectually dishonest and inadequately supervised hacks". I think he was at least 1/5 correct.

For example, I see that that the slumbering beast that is the National Press Corps is gradually awakening to the unhappy realities of The Headwaiter's regime. Back in the summer, when Paul Martin called the tinpots together and appointed himself wine steward, the entire press corps insisted on treating the ensuing health accord as exactly that -- a health accord. Only a few journalists in the country noticed it for what it was -- Meech Lake by stealth. Fewer -- Andrew Coyne, Norman Spector, Jim Travers -- demonstrated any real concern.

But slooowwwwllly the rest of the Corps is clueing in to the dangerous realities of Martin's "asymmetrical" federalism. Here's Jim Travers in the Star today.

Wakey wakey, Jeffrey Simpson!

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Quick follow-up on yesterday’s posting.

Posted by john_d at 11:29 AM ET | Comments (1)

Turns out a courageous contender from Massachusetts made history yesterday by coming from behind to beat a strong and resolute incumbent champion.

Hmmmmmmm.

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October 20, 2004

What Championship Baseball Teaches Us About Paul Martin

Posted by john_d at 04:51 PM ET | Comments (1)

In the 8th inning of last night’s American League championship game 6, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees found himself staring at an inevitable tag-out on his way to first base. His solution—reach over and swat the ball out of the glove of the Boston pitcher. Initially, Rodriguez was called safe at first on a missed tag, the runners already on base advanced and the Yankees tied the game. But, when the Boston manager complained, the umpires had a confab and reversed their decision. One of the umps had seen what was clearly revealed by video replays, and Rodriguez was called out by interference. Boston remained in the lead, and that is how the game eventually ended. An exciting Game 7 tonight.

What’s even more interesting about this event (IS there something more interesting than baseball?), is the response of a) the New York crowd, and b) the Fox network commentators calling the game. The fans booed the reversed (and clearly correct) decision, screamed undoubtedly horrible things at the officials and littered the field with debris and souvenir baseballs, endangering all of the players and delaying the game. Eventually, riot police were called to line the field and play resumed under an eerie, enforced calm.

The commentators were disturbed by the near riot, but strangely tolerant toward the man who had caused it. Commenting on the obvious cheat, one announcer said something like “You can’t fault Rodriguez on this. I mean if it’s your only chance, and you think you might get away with it, you might as well give it a shot.” To which the other replied along the lines “Oh, absolutely, I mean it’s a sure out, so you have to do what you have to do, right?”

Well… wrong. In fact, cheating is wrong whether you have a compelling reason to do it or not. Yet these announcers very casually dismissed the idea that fair play is an admirable thing, that rightness exists.

I wouldn’t normally comment on something like this, except it struck me that this New York crowd and these announcers hadn’t invented this attitude; they were merely reflecting what has become the norm in the way we all interact with each other, especially on the level of public discourse. Cheating has become a question of interpretation, or spin. If it benefits you, and you feel you should have that benefit, how can it be wrong?

Elections are important, and winning them even more important, so lying, cheating, defaming, maligning, and distorting, while regrettable, are necessary in a way. Karl Rove isn’t evil to manipulate the American electoral process the way he does, he’s a skilled strategist, the best there is. He’s the Alex Rodriguez of politics. He’s K-Rov.

And so it is with Paul Martin these days. His hand and the sponsorship cookie jar look to be pretty much inseparable right now, but will he act on his pledge to step down if caught in the act? Doubtful. After all, if he thinks he might be able to get away with not stepping down, he’s got to take that shot, doesn’t he? I mean, you can’t fault the guy for trying, can you?

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Greatest This and That

Posted by joyceb at 01:50 PM ET | Comments (5)

Prospect magazine in the UK recently published their list of Britain's top 100 public intellectuals, then had a write-in poll and a vote, the results published in their next issue. I'm trying to get my online account working so I can link here for you and I'll update later.

So if the Greatest Canadian exercise isn't floating your boat, what list would you like to see?

My vote: The sexiest Canadian poet poll.

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October 19, 2004

More like lukewarm water?

Posted by andrew at 12:29 PM ET | Comments (3)

Interesting column from Richard Gwynn, in which he questions the conclusions of Michael Adams' book Fire and Ice. You will recall that Adams' book fired the hearts of nationalist Canucks last year when he claimed that polling data showed that our basic values are actually diverging from those of Americans.

Gwynn cites a new academic text, Regions Apart: The Four Societies Of Canada And The United States, which controls for societal extremes by culling the data from the ultra-religious and conservative American South and from "collectivist and social democratic Quebec."

Time to put this baby to rest. Regardless of any other conclusions anyone wants to draw from this stuff, Quebec is not significantly more collectivist and social democratic than the rest of Canada. In fact, on most scores, it is less so. Spend any time in Quebec, and the most striking ("distinct") feature is how individualistic the province is; the general culture of Montreal borders on the libertarian.

Three other examples:

1. Quebec was the third province in Confederation to adopt a provincial Bill of Rights, in 1975.

2. Quebec has the most private health care-delivery in the country, and it is the province that has always been in most flagrant violation of the Canada Health Act.

2b. Quebecers also demonstrate the highest support for 2-tier medical care in Canada.

3. Quebec has possibly the most regressive tuition fee structure in the country for university education.

Ok, let's add one more:

4. Quebecers consistently demonstrate the highest support for free trade in Canada, even ahead of those on the prairies.

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Rebel Sell launch party

Posted by andrew at 11:42 AM ET | Comments (1)

Bored? Nothing to do but sit at home and watch the Greatest Canadian? Come out to the Drake Hotel tonight for the (third) official launch of The Rebel Sell, the book I co-wrote with Joseph Heath.

All are welcome.

6-8pm
1150 Queen St. W
Toronto, Ontario

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Morning funny

Posted by joyceb at 11:07 AM ET | Comments (0)

Thanks to the anonymous reader who just telephoned me to tell me a joke.

What's George W. Bush's favourite drink?

Evil Dewars.

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October 18, 2004

New World Odour

Posted by john_d at 05:13 PM ET | Comments (1)

Chantal Hébert notes today that Paul Martin looked a bit like the pimply young kid at the old boys convention on his recent tour of Europe, trying to make headway with certain European leaders who may, just last year, have been laughing at the Paul Martin jokes their buddy Jean Chretien told them over dinner.

What’s worse, our leader allowing himself to be ridiculed behind his back while he tries in vain to define himself on the world stage, or a world leadership comprised of the Bush doctrine on one side of us, and a petulant bunch of back-stabbing jerks on the other.

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George Grant Memorial Column

Posted by andrew at 09:42 AM ET | Comments (0)

By my count, there are exactly three political columnists in Canada who a) understand, and b) care, that Paul Martin is doing incalculable damage to the legitimacy of the federal government and to the workings of responsible government: Andrew Coyne, Richard Gwynn, and Norman Spector. The ones who should know better are either weirdly insouciant (Paul Wells) or completely missing in action (Jeffrey Simpson -- phoning it in since 1997).

Coyne's been the most consistent on this. What I like about Coyne is his ability to distinguish partisan questions about policy or direction, from constitutional issues. That's always been a major problem with the way our federation (mal)function: Those who don't like the way the Liberals run the country have always preferred to deal with the problem by sucking power away from the feds, instead of working to gain office and wield that power differently.

But Norman Spector is in the game as well, and that's good. Unlike Coyne, Spector is an old Ottawa insider. If he still has friends on the Hill, maybe he can wander over and bash some heads together.

Here's Spector today.

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October 17, 2004

Greatest bore

Posted by andrew at 11:23 PM ET | Comments (3)

So, the Greatest Canadian debut was a crashing bore. Yeeeesh. Neil Bissondath was informed and passionate, and it was nice to see my old McGill chum James Stewart getting in some licks for Laurier. But good god, Murray McLauchlin? So much for the Corpse trying to cool up its image.

Anyway, let's get the discussion started right here. No women, which is a bit of a surprise. All told, a pretty uninteresting list. The predictable favourites are there: Pearson, MacDonald, Douglas, Banting, Fox, Trudeau, Gretzky, and a few who won't get anywhere, like Stephen Lewis and Romeo Dallaire. My own view is that it should go to someone dead. Call no man happy until he is dead, said Solon, until then he is only lucky. Ditto for great.

I want MacDonald, but it will come down to a fight between Pearson and Terry Fox, with Fox by a healthy margin. Let's see if Sook-Yin can do him justice.

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October 15, 2004

Ideas that work for Canadians

Posted by andrew at 10:57 AM ET | Comments (1)

Anyone considering picking up a copy of The Rebel Sell might consider this deal from Amazon.ca -- they're packaging it with Jack Layton's Speaking Out. Get both for $38.53

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2067

Posted by andrew at 10:42 AM ET | Comments (3)

All rise. The new king of the world just crowned himself tonight by the blinding light of cathode lies. Surprise, we've been muted, we've been marginalized. Unleashed, delusions of one human head, one tiny beast becomes the very air we breathe.

That's the opening verse to Marginalized, the third song off the Rheostatics new album, 2067. It's an urgent song, anxious and angry, and is a major highlight on a great new album. The penultimate song, Try to Praise This Mutilated World, is absolutely gorgeous, and it features transplanted Newfoundland poet Ken Babstock reading the poen "the expected" as the music swirls in the foreground.

So here's the deal. The album hits stores October 19. I'll give everyone a couple of days to get a copy, and then we'll go through it song by song.

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Enter The Ratrix?

Posted by joyceb at 09:03 AM ET | Comments (0)

The very cool blog of former This Magazine editor Clive Thompson was voted "Best blog to make you seem smarter at cocktail parties" by the Village Voice in October.

I like reading Clive's blog because it's full of geeky things I love too, like cool science/technology facts, design ideas and video games (even though everything is political, sometimes you need a break).

The October 12 entry, "The Ferret Matrix" is a perfect example of why once you start reading this blog, it becomes required reading.

It's quite rare for a scientist to stumble upon a bold new insight about cognition. It's even more rare to do so while experimenting with a bunch of ferrets that are being forced to watch The Matrix.

But Michael Weliky may indeed have won this surreal trifecta. Weliky, a brain researcher at the University of Rochester, had long assumed -- as do many cognitive scientists -- that the brain is somewhat inactive in the absence of stimulation. It's kind of like that old joke that we only use 10% of our brain. Cognitive scientists don't really believe that old saw, but they do generally assume that the brain is considerably less busy when it's deprived of stimuli.

Weliky, however, decided to test this assumption. He took a group of adult ferrets, wired up their visual cortexes with probes, and then subjected them to three different forms of stimuli: a) A pitch-black room; b) a TV screen displaying nothing but static; and, last but not least, c) the movie The Matrix. His findings? As you might expect, viewing the movie and the TV static caused the ferrets' visual cortexes to fire at 100%. But what was truly weird was the the pitch-black room registered 80% activity.

Read more.

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Greatest Canadian Pool

Posted by joyceb at 08:41 AM ET | Comments (23)

Anybody care to speculate on who gets the nod as Greatest Canadian on the CBC?

Interesting it will definitely be, since it wasn't up to the producers at the mothercorps to decide...

My money is on Trudeau. (And NOT that wretched Justin.)

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October 14, 2004

Shameless Cross-promotion

Posted by joyceb at 01:40 PM ET | Comments (0)

(Yeah, yeah, yeah. Remember: the Rebel Sell was an award-winning article that appeared first in This Magazine and I'm milking the google hits for all they're worth. Read the article then go and buy the book, ok?)

Peterborough's student newspaper The Arthur has an exclusive interview today with our own Andrew Potter about the book the Rebel Sell. It's a good read, mainly because it gives Potter a chance to address some of the half-baked notions about their critique that seem to be coming mainly from people who've only read the liner notes.

But those of you who know Trent alum, or have ever visited, will probably giggle at how Professor Potter describes his students and colleagues (and this lead quite succinctly describes the myth, that political change is somehow achieved through to what you wear or the coffee you drink):

Arthur: When I contacted you about a possible interview for Arthur, you accepted but also remarked with certainty that the Trent crowd would not be sympathetic to your book at all. What do you think is most "unacceptable" about it for the Trent crowd?

Andrew Potter: Well, at the risk of engaging in a gross generalization, it seems to me that the political and intellectual climate at Trent is dominated by what Joe and I call "the myth of counterculture." That is, at Trent there is a widespread commitment to the ideal of countercultural rebellion as a form of effective political action. To a large extent, this is not unique to Trent; every university has a large contingent of students (and professors) who believe that growing dreadlocks, listening to underground music, wearing clothes from Guatemala, traveling to exotic places etc., are all things that have political import.

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For those sleepless nights

Posted by patricia at 09:31 AM ET | Comments (5)

I was introduced to CBC Radio Overnight when I lived in Nunavut and was desperate for some news of the outside world. (Did you know that it is *impossible* to subscribe to the national dailies in many parts of Canada?)

The program probably gets very few listeners in its time slot of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., but it's worth staying up to hear the excellent Channel Africa and DW World out of Germany.

What I like best about it is that it's news produced for a local or domestic audience. For Canadian listeners, it provides international news without international filters. Even better, the voices are real and the accents are thick, unlike much broadcast news we hear in Canada, with voices often scrubbed clean of any trace of ethnicity.

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October 13, 2004

Queen of our hearts?

Posted by annette at 01:23 PM ET | Comments (1)

There's an article in this week's Economist about how great Adrienne Clarkson is and how much Canadians love her. The article is called "Madame Canada: A much-loved governor-general keeps things steady."

Did I miss something? I don't know anyone who particularly loves Madame Clarkson, but I do know many who fiercely dislike her and think she's nothing but a waste of money. Here's an excerpt from the article:

"Halfway through her five-year term she was earning extravagant praise from journalists for, in the words of one magazine, bringing 'new purpose and pizzazz to the office.'"

Don't get me wrong, I don't dispute that she has indeed brought some pizzazz to the GG's office, and I certainly enjoy seeing her snappy little outfits. But, I think calling her "much-loved" is a bit of a stretch. To be fair, the Economist article points out (briefly, in the last graph) that she faced criticism for her rather large budget last year, but overall the article is almost fawning.

Am I wrong? Is the Economist right? Is Madame Clarkson a beloved Canadian figure? Does anyone out there have any stories to share about how the governor-general has touched your life?

http://economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3273817

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Not Just a Mess; a Deadly Mess

Posted by john_d at 12:48 PM ET | Comments (3)

There’s been not a peep on this blog about Lt. Chris Saunders who died last week after battling a fire on board the HMCS Chicoutimi – and that’s a terrible oversight. Saunders’ funeral was held today in Halifax.

If everything is indeed political, then surely the unnecessary death of this brave young man is making some folks in Ottawa very nervous indeed. Reports today show a few extra billion in the kitty, our crappy subs are now all docked, and Paul Martin is touring Europe giving world leaders advice on democracy, while his name is raised during the probe into the sponsorship scandal (hey, didn’t he promise to resign if this scandal touched his former office? Can someone check on that?).

Well, this is not America, and we don’t just explain away the tragic losses of our defenders – though that seems to be a growing continental trend. If there’s even a chance Lt. Saunders’ death is in any way related to political decisions about spending, someone should be resigning, and why not start at the top?

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October 12, 2004

Why sucking up to the provinces doesn't work

Posted by andrew at 01:47 PM ET | Comments (0)

Couldn't have put it better than Paul Wells:

What does the Parti Quebecois mean when it promises Quebecers a "real country"? For one thing, it means a country whose government sees more in the world than focus groups and hospital waiting lines. Mayors can worry about plumbing; it is a national government's job to face the world. If the government in Ottawa can't be bothered, a government in Quebec City will fill the vacuum.

Or, I might add, Alberta. Or BC. Or Ontario.

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While the headwaiter's away...

Posted by andrew at 11:24 AM ET | Comments (0)

Now that The Headwaiter is out of the country for a few days, we can rest easy that he won't go and hand GST revenues over the Assembly of First Nations or something equally idiotic.

At any rate, while The Headwaiter is bent on disembowling the federal government, two of his Quebec ministers are behaving, well, like federal ministers. Yesterday's Globe reported how Justice Minister Irwin Cotler has a six-point list of priorities (priorities! Imagine that), including a much-needed overhaul of the mechanism for the appointment of federal judges. Full steam ahead at Justice.

Meanwhile, Stephane Dion continues his efforts to wrestle Environment out of the hands of the tree-huggers and turn it into a serious economic ministry. He went to Calgary (!) a few weeks ago to outline his goal to make environmental issues part of the strategic planning (national strategy! Imagine!) that comes out of the central agencies (Treasury, Finance, PMO). That is, environment would become just another element of the decision-making process.

At the same time, Dion continues to do the jobs of two other Ministers from Quebec -- Lucienne Robillard (intergovernmental affairs) and whatever it is that Jean Lapierre is supposed to be doing. The media obviously trusts Dion more than they trust these two to say something remotely intelligent on their files.

Any chance we can arrange to keep The Headwaiter out of the country for a while? Maybe we can convince him to hitch a ride back from Russia on a sub.

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October 10, 2004

Is Bush Wired? And does it matter?

Posted by andrew at 02:50 PM ET | Comments (13)

Finally, something fun has emerged out of the US presidential debates. It seems that there's speculation that Bush was wired up, receiving covert prompting from his handlers.

Check out this site for photos and stuff. It's pretty intriguing, if only because it would confirm that the frat boy Bush can't stop himself from cheating on tests. Here's a link to a sound clip apparently exposing Rove as his prompter.

But ultimately, does it matter? One blogger said that the US public has a right to know if the president is unable/unwilling to speak in public without handlers prompting him in an earpiece. I'm not sure it's that big a deal. Yes, it points out the fundamentally fraudulent nature of mass politics... but that's not really news.

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October 09, 2004

Death of the Author?

Posted by andrew at 01:19 PM ET | Comments (3)

Update: Here's the obit in Le Monde

Ok, this just calls out for grad-school witticisms. Come on, bring on the clever remarks, the ultra-in jokes, the high irony archness of it all. Andy Lamey, are you out there? Please help.

Philosopher Derrida Dies in Paris at 74
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 12:25 p.m. ET

PARIS (AP) -- World renowned thinker Jacques Derrida, a founder of the school of philosophy known as deconstructionism, has died, the office of French President Jacques Chirac said Saturday. Derrida was 74.

Derrida died at a Paris hospital of pancreatic cancer, the television station LCI reported.

The snowy-haired French intellectual taught, and thought, at universities on both sides of the Atlantic, and his works were translated around the world.

Provocative and as difficult to define as his favorite subject -- deconstruction -- Derrida has been a leading thinker for decades with a major impact on intellectuals.

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Does anyone care about the Giller?

Posted by andrew at 01:09 PM ET | Comments (4)

I'm not trying to be snarky, but the Giller nominees have just been announced

Alice Munro, Wayson Choy, Shauna Baldwin, Miriam Toews, and Paul Quarrington. Apart from one Quarrington (Whale Music) and the few Alice Munro short stories I was forced to read in grade 10, I've never read anything by any of these writers, so I'm totally talking out of my ass here. But don't these names just strike boredom into your heart?

Here's the last line of the review of Choy's book, in today's Globe:

"In delicate balance, Choy holds the ghosts of the past and the resolve to survive in the present, two countries, two cultures, two worlds."

Baaaaaarrrrrf.

Apart from Quarrington, that sentence could probably have appeared in any review of any book by any of the Giller nominees; indeed, it could have been cut-and-pasted into any review of any CanLit book from the past twenty years. Ondaatje? Check. Michaels? Check. Urquart? Shields? Mistry? Check. Check. Double check.

Who reads this stuff? Does anyone actually like it? Andy Lamey, if you're out there, please help.

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October 08, 2004

Who knew politics could be such a paaaartay?

Posted by john_d at 12:16 PM ET | Comments (1)

Columnist Chantal Hébert socks it to the NDP for being out of the loop in last night’s near-death experience for the Liberal minority government. Along the way, she gives Jack Layton a history lesson on how to get your way as an opposition party with clout.

All of which might be fair criticism if last night’s gamesmanship had anything to do with actual legislation that may or may not follow the new democratic path. Ms. Hébert, as you yourself say, it was a throne speech, and a pretty lame one at that. No one in opposition, not Harper nor Duceppe, and certainly not Layton was actually going to risk going into another election as the party that just wasted taxpayer time and money over face-time on the National and some pretty chintzy political points. Certainly not over a speech, which will more than likely prove meaningless as the real work of Parliament advances.

I would have liked to see Layton more forcefully denouncing yesterday’s exercise in political pants dropping – the National gave him all of three seconds to complain about “this mess” – but he was right to keep clear of such cheap tactics. There was a real frat boy quality to the smiles on the house floor last night, and the world is tiring of frat boy politics. Let’s get some work done.

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October 07, 2004

absolute copyright corrupts...

Posted by andrew at 05:48 PM ET | Comments (3)

Thanks to meredith for passing this on:

MANITOBA TO BECOME CARIBOU

Dan Snaith, who released the albums Up In Flames (2003) and Start Breaking My Heart (2001) under the name Manitoba, has changed his name to Caribou following a lawsuit in the US. Frontman for punk band The Dictators, Handsome Dick Manitoba, sued Snaith for trademark infringement, despite never having released music under the names "Manitoba" or "Handsome Dick Manitoba."

"My immediate reaction was total disbelief," says Snaith. "Most of the people I've talked to about it see this case as being utterly nonsensical. Unfortunately, US legal precedent didn't agree and faced with a court case that I couldn't afford to lose, I had no choice but to change the name."

Having spent the last year touring Up in Flames throughout North America, Europe, Japan and Australia with bands such as Stereolab, Four Tet, Broadcast and Prefuse 73, Dan is back in the studio working on the first Caribou album. Tentatively entitled The Milk of Human Kindness.

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Boring Canadian Politics

Posted by andrew at 04:51 PM ET | Comments (1)

I know this is a distraction from the fascinating US election campaign, but back here in meaningless ol' Canada, the government is poised on the edge of a knife.

The Bloc has tried to amend the throne speech with a call for Ottawa to address the "fiscal imbalance", this mythical idea that holds that the feds have too much money, while the provinces too little.

There is no way any federal government could accept this -- though I wouldn't put it past Mr. Headwaiter to cave and accept it. At any rate, Martin seems to be holding firm, and has declared the vote a motion of confidence. Stephen Harper has criticised Martin for making this a matter of confidence, which shows -- yet again -- what a complete bozo Harper is. He continues to hold fast to this fiction that a government, unable to govern, could still pretend to have the confidence of the house.

This is a matter of confidence. The Liberals should stick to their guns. If the motion passes, we'll be at the polls, and rightly so. It will be the Conservative's fault for making common cause with separatists.

The vote is tonight.

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Artists’ Rights Upheld in Court—Witnesses Report Pigs Flying Over Front Street

Posted by john_d at 03:07 PM ET | Comments (4)

A press release today from the Periodical Writers Association of Canada (my employer) delights in a landmark copyright ruling in Ontario. And I quote:

“…the Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court ruling in favour of PWAC member Heather Robertson, who is leading a class action suit on behalf of thousands of freelance writers against The Thomson Corporation and others regarding re-use of freelance work without permission or payment.

The suit revolves around the publisher’s re-use or repurposing of written content after it had initially appeared in the printed edition of a daily newspaper. Robertson filed her suit after finding a number of her articles in an electronic database used by the Globe & Mail for resale of their editorial content. Robertson had originally sold the work for one-time use only in the newspaper, and was not in line to receive any compensation for the unlicensed re-use.”

Read about the case in today’s, yes, Globe and Mail.

The opinion of writer and artist groups across the country has always been if we create it, we own it. If you want it, you have to pay for it. At the very least, you have to ask for it. This ruling supports the creator position.

Okay, so copyright issues are a big snore for most folks, but this is a real concern for artists and creators of all kinds, who are increasingly finding the steering wheel to their own expression wrenched from their hands. It is also an obvious concern for publishers who find themselves in a brave new electronic world with few guidelines or rules. For instance, who owns the words I’ve just written, me or THIS Magazine? I know the answer. Do you?

Good on the Ontario Superior Court for unmuddying the waters a bit, and bad on the dissenting judge for apparently not knowing the difference between a newspaper and a library.

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October 06, 2004

More American Politics – Sorry Andrew, It’s Unavoidable Right Now

Posted by john_d at 12:35 PM ET | Comments (3)

CNN’s Tucker Carlson writes a live-action blog during the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates. Few surprises in his responses to the Cheney/Edwards debate (the man wears a bow-tie), which most media concedes was a hard-fought draw between two tenacious, intelligent politicians. But one comment from Carlson starts the bells ringing for me, and I’d like some feedback on this. Here he is responding to Edwards from early in the debate:

Why the world hates the U.S.

Posted: 9:28 p.m. ET

What a ludicrous argument Edwards is making. The rest of the world hates us because Bush is a liar? Please.

It’s true that Bush is wildly unpopular in Europe. But the United States is distrusted abroad because of longstanding, bipartisan policies like support for Israel.

Thinking of all the reasons why I, or some other non-American might distrust the current American administration, longstanding support for Israel doesn’t even approach the long list. Clinton carried on eight years of bipartisan support for Israel and has never lost his worldwide popularity, despite some disastrous failings. If Carlson is reflecting a genuine right-leaning American belief about its position in the world, then that demographic in the US is even more insulated from reality than I’ve previously suspected.

My three responses to last night’s debate:

1. I thought the moderator’s use of the expression “a heartbeat away from the top job” was a bit insensitive to the angry man with the pacemaker sitting to her left. Then again, he didn’t seem to mind.

2. Edwards’ expansive discussion of Cheney’s gay daughter was a masterful performance of issue advertisement disguised as genuine admiration. He’s one slick dude – and he got away with it, because Cheney just about fell off his chair and never recovered on the point – and the same goes for every mention of Halliburton.

3. Edwards simply IS less qualified to be the on deck hitter for democracy. He had no good answer to the heartbeat away question and that was his worst moment in an overall strong showing last night. On the other hand, he made a scoring jab suggesting Cheney’s 30-year resume of public service shows the experience of time-served but does not in any way prove he is the VP America needs right now.

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Why I hate the Liberals

Posted by andrew at 10:33 AM ET | Comments (0)

I've been meaning for ages to comment on all this post-health care accord asymmetrical-federalism stuff, but every time I sit down to do it, I get a stomach ache.

The punditocracy is divided into two main camps. On the one side, there is Andrew Coyne, Norman Spector, and a small group of other federalists who see this as stealth Meech Lake, and a terrible precedent. On the other side, we get the pro-Meech crowd who keep telling the federalists to CALM DOWN, IT'S NO BIG DEAL. Examples are Paul Wells of Inkless Wells, and Andre Pratte at La Presse.

In the middle are those who agree with the Coyne-types that this is a step to the dissolution of the federal government, but think it is a good thing. Examples are John Ibbitson of the Globe, and the entire PQ brainstrust.

I'll just add my $0.02 by saying that I'm with Coyne. As he put it in a recent column: We're already on the brink of national dissolution. Now, a Liberal prime minister is trying to finish the job.

I am reminded, as always, of my favourite passage from George Grant's Lament for a Nation. (I'm quoting from memory, but it's close):

It may be that it is Canada's fate to be absorbed by the United States. Fate leads the willing, and drives the unwilling; the chief debt we owe the Liberal Party of Canada is that it is so willing to be led. The only condition the Liberals put on that willingness is that they should have personal charge of the country while our sovereignty disappears.

We can question the assumption that it is our fate to fall into the US. I think not. But the fundamental truth in Grant's words is unimpeachable: No matter which way the winds of fate are blowing, with a lee shore looming, a Liberal will always insist on holding the tiller as the good ship Canada cracks up on the shoals.

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The world's chance to speak

Posted by mason at 12:08 AM ET | Comments (1)

I’ve been away. Taking a blog break, actually. And this weekend I’ll be in New York City for the first time. Can anyone recommend a must-see attraction that doesn’t reek of foreign passports? I’ll be trying my darndest to get tickets to the Ramones tribute show put on by Blondie and The Strokes.

Anyway, this is what I wanted to blog: a friend sent me a nifty link to a pretty site which aims to gauge world opinion on the US presidential election. Of course it’s only going to reflect the opinion of those of us with a high enough standard of living to be computer literate, but for goodness sake, just play along.

The best thing about this, at first glance, is that the stakes are so low. No need for strategic voting here, so go ahead: if Bush is your man, vote for Bush. If Kerry floats your Swift Boat, vote for Kerry. If Nader gives you a grin, vote for… Other. And discuss.

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October 05, 2004

Politicians who rock?

Posted by joyceb at 03:31 PM ET | Comments (0)

Chart Magazine recently ran this review of the rerelease of the album by John Kerry's high school band. Having neither heard nor heard of this apparent abomination, I can offer no further comment...

THE ELECTRAS S/T (RCA)
Who's gonna care what rock critics say about the man trying to knock George Bush off his throne? John Kerry's high school band, The Electras, is exactly what you'd expect from a group of rich kids who went on to become politicians, lawyers and business men. The fact that they could only come up with one original and called it "Electra" pretty well says it all. Filling out this forced collectable is a bunch of lifeless covers including the most unconvincing version of "Summertime Blues" ever recorded. They can't even fake being disenfranchised, they're so freakin' rich. Unfortunately, this one doesn't even have any of that tasty William Shatner, "I'm in over my head," kitsch value. Dan "The Mouth" Lovranski

Thanks to Evan for this one.

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What rhymes with "speech from the throne"?

Posted by andrew at 12:28 PM ET | Comments (4)

UPDATE: Simon has dug up the link to the video. Apparently the CBC wants this excretion to live forever on the net. If you haven't seen it, I insist you drop whatever important work you are doing and watch this. Epic crapitude.

Did anyone else see that UNREAL rap video the CBC played at the end of the National last night? Celebrating the new Parliament? It was like a Monty Python cartoon with a soundtrack by Doug E. Fresh. I'm still searching for shards of my jaw that are presumably hiding under the couch. Come out, little jawbone, I promise not to put the National on for a while.

I'm serious: Are there any lurkers out there who work at the CBC who can let me know who exactly is reponsible for this? Reply offline to andrew.potter@utoronto.ca -- anonymity guaranteed.

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One price for us, another price for the world?

Posted by andrew at 09:19 AM ET | Comments (0)

In today's Post, Diane Francis declares that the idea of a "market" for oil is a joke. She calls for a Continental Energy Policy, to ensure that North Americans are self-sufficient in oil. She wants massive US government investment in the Alberta oil sands, which would not only "create jobs", but free us from the depredations of OPEC.

I'm really confused. First, I thought all right-thinking people had nothing but scorn for the idea that centralised government spending policies could "create jobs".

Second, can someone please explain to me how the CEP would be any different from the National Energy Program? That is, if the NEP was simply a sneaky way of transfering wealth from oil producers to oil consumers by creating an artifically low domestic price, how is this any different? Or, is this sort of thing OK when Washington does it, but an injustice of world-historical proportions when Ottawa does it?

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October 04, 2004

Ralph Klein Comments on US Election -- Kerry Quakes in His Fine Italian Shoes

Posted by john_d at 02:10 PM ET | Comments (2)

After many, many months now of fighting with the White House to lift the ban on Alberta beef, Ralph Klein has decided that the ban-man you know is preferable to a wild card.

In the slipperiest political endorsement ever, Klein expresses his displeasure with the idea of an anti-Canadian-beef Kerry presidency (Kerry has made recent ranch-vote gathering comments on the mad-cow crisis), while not being able to complete the circle on his reasoning. From the Globe story:

“Mr. Klein said he doesn’t know where Mr. Bush stands on the issue.”

Well, let’s see… Bush is the sitting President and, so far, there’s still a ban. So, clue number one. A Google search of “Bush AND Canadian beef” brings up this CBC story from last April in which Bush says not a discouraging word about our cattle. And, to repeat, there is still a ban. This is the same sitting President who just last week asserted, again and again, that the US is winning the war in Iraq, so why wouldn’t we trust his word that he’ll lift the beef ban soon, despite all evidence to the contrary?

Could this be just a simple case of one straight-talking oil-rich rancher-dude standing up for another who’s being threatened by an eastern intellectual with complicated ideas?

BTW, I happily report to Alberta that I personally witnessed the leader of the federal NDP enjoying a generous portion of delicious, organic Canadian beef last week—so if you’re looking for on-the-ground support, you can find it in the intellectual east.

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October 03, 2004

Conservative Opposition gets what it asked for, now regrets it

Posted by andrew at 11:00 AM ET | Comments (1)

Jane Taber had a nice little piece in friday's Globe about how the new federal ethics commissioner, Bernard Shapiro, is starting to flex his muscles. He's gone and demanded all sorts of crazy sorts of disclosure from MPs. He wants them to

disclose the value of their furniture, how much cash they have on hand, whether they pay off their Visa bills every month and the value of artwork hanging in their hallway.

The commissioner, Bernard Shapiro, needs to know all this and more: How much do they owe on their mortgages? Do they have a cottage, home or rental properties? These kinds of questions are part of his enforcement of the new conflict-of-interest code for members of the House of Commons.

It seems a few of them are a bit upset at how intrusive all of this is. Who is upset? Well, a bunch of the usual chicken-shit "unnamed" Liberal MPs, of course. But how about Conservative MP James Rajotte, and Conservative House Leader John Reynolds? They don't like it either. In fact, Reynolds has had a judge prepare a legal opinion on the new ethics code.

Just so we're all up to speed, I'll recap:

Starting in the late 1980s, the Reform party started spreading the word that Ottawa was Fat City; that most MPs spent most of their time trying to figure out how to fleece the taxpayer; that MPs were overpayed, their pensions too generous, the perks too perky, and so on. Remember Manning's promise not to reside at Stornaway? Deb Gray's promise not to take a pension? Oops.

Then, when Chretien's Liberals took a hammerlock on Parliament in the 1990s, the Reform/Alliance/Conservatives decided that the only way they were going to be able to control the Liberals was through procedural mechanisms. So, they started agitating for an ethics commissioner with real teeth, not the lapdog ethics counsellor Howard Wilson.

Again, the reasoning was more or less as follows: Liberals, in particular Liberal Cabinet members, were busy larding their pockets with cash, paying off friends, taking vacations with rich people, and generally living it up in a sea of conflicting interests. Ottawa needed to be cleaned up, and by gum, if the Conservatives couldn't do it by actually winning an election, they would do it by making sure the House of Commons had the tools to hold the Liberals feet to the fire. Remember the proposal to increase the Auditor-General's budget by a factor of 10?

So now we have an ethics commissioner who is taking seriously the Conservatives central contention, namely, that MPs, given the chance, will screw the taxpayer. That is, instead of assuming that most MPs are decent people who can be trusted to keep their affairs in order, he is assuming that they are bad people who need to prove their bona fides in the form of complete disclosure.

And still the Conservatives complain.

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October 02, 2004

warren kinsella punk? Mystery solved

Posted by andrew at 11:11 AM ET | Comments (5)

{Read right to the end, kids. NB: Nardwuar is the greatest -- I highly recommend this album)

January 24, 2004 Saturday Final Edition
It could have been better
The Leader-Post

RIPPLE ROCK

The Evaporators
Nardwuar Records/Mint Records

Rating three 1/2 (out of five)

Aside from his outrageous clips on MuchMusic and his long-running Vancouver radio show, Nardwuar the Human Serviette has assured himself a place in history for having prompted Jean Chretien's infamous quote about putting pepper on his plate. But what Nardwuar would really like to be known for is his punk rock band the Evaporators.

On Ripple Rock, Nardwuar and friends (including David Carswell of the Smugglers and John Collins of the New Pornographers) set the jinx on high and the brow on low. It's fast, silly, obnoxious and fun.

But for all the gleeful and worthwhile stupidity of songs like "Addicted to Cheese," "I Say That on Purpose to Bug You," and "(I've Got) Icicles on My Testicles," there's also an educational, if entirely irreverent, element to the record. The title track, for example, is about the explosive removal in 1958 of 700,000 tons of rock that had claimed over 100 lives in a waterway near Campbell River, B.C.

There's also an ode to Gerda Munsinger, the German woman at the centre of Canada's notorious sex-and-espionage scandal in the early '60s.

The biggest treasure on the album (not counting the bonus clips of Nardwuar's comical interviews) is "Barney Rubble Is My Double," which manages to combine the moronic and the fascinating. The song was written and originally recorded by the late-'70s Calgary punk group the Hot Nasties. The kicker? The Hot Nasties were fronted by Warren Kinsella, who, as all punk fans know, went on to become an advisor to Chretien.

-- Emmet Matheson

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October 01, 2004

One Step Closer to Potter’s Beer

Posted by john_d at 12:36 PM ET | Comments (2)

Like everyone else in the world, I watched the Florida debate last night. I especially enjoyed how the rogue camera operators ignored the rule about cut-away shots and caught George W. barely controlling his desire to lunge at Kerry’s eyes. When the latest JFK started talking about Bush Senior, I thought the president might lift his lectern above his head and smite his insolent challenger.

Kerry seemed to have a better eye for the little red light, because he was rarely caught with an off-camera face. He tended to smile and nod while Bush spoke, occasionally writing down his next withering rebuttal.

My sense from about the half-hour point was that Kerry was steady and strong while Bush was flat-footed and unprepared to give detailed answers. Anyone else notice how he’d finish up while the 15 second light was on and then nod to Jim Lehrer as if to say—Okay, I’m done. Can you ask the other guy something hard now?

Last night was supposed to be W’s chance to exceed expectations once again and put the final boot to Kerry’s face. He did neither. I checked a good chunk of the American media post-debate, including the Fox News website, and even they agree that Kerry won Round One.

And soon, very soon, Andrew Potter will be buying me a beer.

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With Apologies to Tom Wolfe

Posted by joyceb at 07:54 AM ET | Comments (0)

I got an email from my sister this morning:

Everyone should vote for JP's mom Friday after 10am. Her name is Judy.
http://www.therealbus.com/about.asp

Apparently JP's mom is a contestant on a Milwaukee reality TV program. What's interesting about this story is that it's a "bit" for the local Fox news channel that's going to run during their morning show. Each of the participants is usually a road hog, and has agreed to give up driving privileges for 10 days to ride the "Real Bus". Participants will document their experiences taking transit, and viewers will vote for their favourites.

Are we so screwed up that every piece of information we consume must be presented in the "reality style"?

All right, it's weird. But Judy can win a bunch of groceries and other cool prizes. So go and vote for her.

I am dying to know if when they eliminate a contestant, they scream, "You're off the bus!"

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