Tag: postaday2011

“Tintin” Review

On By WinstonIn Film Reviews, Personal, Pop Culture1 Comment

My friend Jason gave me screener passes to the new Tintin film as an early birthday present.  So bright and early this morning, Lynn and I dragged ourselves out of bed and headed off to the ten a.m. show.  It couldn’t have been more worthwhile.

I have been a been a fan of the iconic red-headed trouble magnet for years.  I suspect that Spielberg and Jackson have as well.  That is the only way they could have done such a fabulous job of interpreting it for the screen.

Going in, I was slightly worried.  These two industry giants are best known for massive blockbuster pictures and Tintin has never been a blockbuster character.  My worry was that he and Snowy (his loyal and absolutely adorable dog) might get lost in it all.  To their credit, that was never a concern.  No matter how impressive the location, or over the top the action the focus always stayed firmly on the characters and story.

The casting is similarly impeccable with Tintin played by Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock and Daniel Craig rounding out the main characters as the villainous Sakharin.  As note perfect as they were, I have to give a quick shout-out to one of my favorite comedy duos.  Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul) play bumbling Interpol inspectors Thomson and Thompson.  They are in fine form and just added that extra touch to my enjoyment of this movie.

Visually stunning, well written and brilliantly played, Tintin stayed true to it’s source.  In my opinion a brilliant movie that could serve as a guide for a different sort of animated movie experience.  Sadly, it probably won’t.  Based on the quietness of the exiting crowd, I don’t expect it to get much box office.  As much as I loved it, much of the audience seemed indifferent to it.

The sequel is already in the works (surprise, surprise), set to be directed by co-producer Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings).  I’m not sure if this movie will grab enough audience to get the sequel green-lighted, but I certainly hope it does.  It’s a rarity these days.  A movie chasing the mainstream that isn’t just another cookie-cutter clone of the last big box office hit.

Here’s hoping it makes it!

Cheers, Winston

A New Low For Christmas Greed

On By WinstonIn Pop Culture, Rants, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

I recently read an article on the Ottawa Sun app that makes the impending zombie apocalypse look downright appealing.  It all has to do with a teenage girl’s letter to Santa.

At first glance, it seems sweet that thirteen year old Mekeeda Austin still writes letters to Santa.  That warm, fuzzy feeling comes to a screeching halt the moment you learn what it is she has actually written to him.
“This Christmas, I don’t ask for much, so if I don’t get at least two of the things I want I want, I will literally kill you!  Do you understand?  Oh, also, I’ll hunt down your reindeers, cook them and serve their meat to homeless people on Christmas Day.  None of us want that, so here’s what I want.”

She then lists a Blackberry, cash, a dress, high top Converse shoes and the real Justin Bieber.  “Remember, two of these things or you die.”  She then signs it, “Love from Keedy.”

Her mother, who found the letter, thinks it’s just humorous.  She then goes on to say that she will try to get her everything she wants but admits that the Beebs might be difficult as he will likely be busy with his own family.  She seems not to see anything wrong with her daughter’s letter, but does add that “… you  don’t want to get on the wrong side of her.”

When asked by a reporter about the letter, Keedy replied, “I want all these things and I don’t see why I shouldn’t get them.”

Now you see why I’d prefer the zombies.  They might try to eat Santa because that’s what zombies do, but at least they won’t shank him for a pair of Converse high tops.  Nope for that, you need a regular living, breathing sociopath.  In this case in the form of a thirteen year old girl.  But the truth is, they come in all shapes and sizes.  Keedy just happens to be a textbook example.

If you look up “rampant, amoral consumerism” in an encyclopedia, you should see this kid’s face.  She’s pretty much the poster child for everything that is wrong with our “things over people” approach to life.  That’s right, OUR approach to life.

Most of us are horrified by the idea of capping the jolly one for some cash or a new outfit, even more so by the thought of Blitzen Burgers down at the shelter.  The fact of the matter is, we aren’t that far removed from the self-absorbed little girl who wrote that letter.

We like to think we are, but that is demonstrably not the case.  If we were so much better than her, we wouldn’t be watching our widescreen HD TVs while someone else is watching people walk by where they’re sleeping in an alley.  We wouldn’t be worrying about staying warm in a hockey arena while others try to stay warm by huddling in a doorway.

Keedy isn’t all that special.  She’s just at a more advanced stage of a global malaise.  She may be the poster child, but we all suffer from it to some degree.

Just something to think about.

Cheers, Winston

Writer’s Block, A New Job And The Holiday Season

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, PersonalLeave a comment

Hello again everyone.   As you can see from the title, I figured I’d get all the excuses out of the way right off the top.  I won`t bore you with all the details, but it`s been a busy and occasionally frustrating week.  `Nuff said.

In other news:

In a rare fit of something  I`ve never managed before, my Christmas shopping is almost finished.  We`ve just got to pick up one or two small things for our daughter and then it`s just Lynn`s parents and we`re officially finished!  To put that in perspective, I`m normally closing the mall Christmas eve looking for some last minute item for Lynn, so this is cause for some major celebration.

There is of course another reason that I won`t be shopping Christmas eve.  I`ll be at work enabling all the other procrastinators who put off their shopping.  Should be an interesting experience.  (He said hopefully.)  I`m also going to be working Boxing day which should be even more interesting.  (He said sarcastically.)  But at least I`m working again and the hours are good so I`m not complaining.  Not too much anyway.

Speaking of Christmas, there`s one bright spot to my new job.  Blockbuster was open Christmas day, and because Lynn`s family does dinner and gift exchange Christmas eve, I always worked Christmas day so other`s could be with their families.  Game Stop is closed Christmas day, so I will be with my family all day.  Life doesn`t get better than that.

Speaking of the new job, I have to go and start my day.  Hopefully I can get past the writher`s block thing and get back on track.  Time will tell.

Cheers, Winston

Season Of Giving… What, And To Whom

On By WinstonIn Personal, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

So here we are once again.  It`s that time of the year when the malls fill up with people desperately searching for`the perfect gift`.  It goes on every year, but let`s stop and think a moment about what that perfect gift is.

It`s something you put some thought into.  It`s not just an I want that you throw some cash at.

It`s something that connects you to the person you are giving it to.

It`s not how much money you spend, it`s how much joy you create.

It`s not an obligation, it`s a pleasure.

Gift giving should be personal, it should have meaning to both giver and receiver.

That`s it.  That is my simple guide to giving the perfect gift this year.  Give from the heart….. not the wallet.

One more thing.,  Unlike Scrooge`s day, we don`t have workhouses anymore.  Let`s all try to remember those less fortunate than ourselves.  If you`ve got more than you need, maybe one less gift under your tree to put one more under the tree of someone who doesn`t have enough.

Cheers, Winston

Something That Made Me Think

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Personal, Self AwarenessLeave a comment

I was watching a presentation about science, magic and quantum mechanics (much more interesting than it sounds), and it gave me  a couple of things to ponder.  He makes the argument that science actually makes the universe more magical, not less so.  Here’s an example.

Any time you look out a window anywhere on the planet, you are looking at something magical.  It doesn’t matter where you are.  That window is framing a view containing more life than the entire known universe.  That is magical.  Think about it for a moment.  If you make a pinhole in a piece of paper and set it on your table, the piece of table you can see through that hole contains more life than the rest of the known universe.

The next time you start thinking your life sucks, remember that your one life is more than there is anywhere else in the known universe.  The simple fact that you have a life is amazing enough.  The most miniscule, inconsequential microbe is infinitely more than we have found anywhere else we have explored.  Your life is exponentially greater than that of a microbe so you are by the simple fact of your existence, a truly magical wonder.

This is the magic of science.  Magic is just another way of explaining the world around us.  If a person from a non-technological society saw an aeroplane, they might easily ascribe it’s ability to fly to magic.  I understand how the shape of a wing creates lift, but that doesn’t undermine my sense of wonder.  Rather I am amazed at the process required for anyone to figure it out.

That to me is where the magic lives.  It lives in that spark of understanding.  That moment when someone looks at something they have seen a hundred times and for the first time see it in a new way.  It is in the intuitive leap.  That moment when we understand something we have never understood before.  That is magic.

Science is just another way of reaching that moment.

That’s something that makes me think.

Cheers, Winston

Why Caring Has Gone To The Dogs

On By WinstonIn Rants, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

My brother sent me a link yesterday to a cute little video. In it, an animated squirrel loudly laments an allegedly lamentable fact: Change jars for dogs collect more change than similar jars for kids in retail settings.

The squirrel, or more accurately it’s creator is outraged by this. Really, really outraged. The inference is society’s blatant preference for homeless dogs over homeless children. It’s wrong, but who could blame us if it wasn’t?

My dog love’s me unconditionally. He loves Lynn unconditionally. He feels the same about Cynthia. If I go out to shovel the drive, he is thrilled when I come back inside. Lynn goes to the store and he misses her and fusses ’til she gets back. Then he loses his little puppy mind.

If I tell him to clean up the mess from his treats, he doesn’t pout at me for hours. Nor does call me an a**hole when my humor is a bit dodgy.

Dogs don’t sell crack, liquor, junk food or weapons to live off other dogs suffering. Dogs don’t practice genocide or slavery. As far as I know, no dog has ever leveled a forest.  So yeah, dogs are a lot more sympathetic than humans.    But that’s not the reason they get more change than kids.  Nope, we’re not that thoughtful,  it’s all about implausible deniability.

The truth is both simpler and more complex.  We don’t want to think of ourselves as members of a society where children will go hungry without our charity.  None of us wants to acknowledge our role in that society.  We want to pretend that we would never leave a child in that situation.  Child poverty, child hunger, child labor, homeless children, these things are inhuman.  That’s the key.  We humans couldn’t possibly allow this type of horror.

We can’t reconcile our internal worldview with the truth of the external world so we ignore it.  If it doesn’t exist, it can’t be a problem.  So we look at the jars on the counter and the voices in our heads tell us needy children aren’t a real issue.  If they were, we’d be doing everything possible to fix it.  Since we are good people and we aren’t actively fixing it, it mustn’t exist.  Needy dogs we can handle.  Giving them our change seems like an appropriate response to needy dogs.

So there you have it.  It’s not that we actually prefer dogs to children.  The fact is we prefer our sanity over reality.  We want to keep our little delusions.  We want to keep believing that we are good people.  We can’t believe that if we know there are children going to bed hungry every night, and going t o school scared every day.  If we were good people we’d do more than drop some change in a jar for them.  Because we want to keep believing in our own goodness, we drop some change in the jar for the needy dogs.  It’s the right thing to do after all.

That’s why our caring (and our change) is going to the dogs.

Cheers, Winston

Sorry For The Absenteeism

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, Personal, Video GamesLeave a comment

I realize that my posts have been a bit sporadic lately to say the least.  It’s kind of a good news, bad news thing.  I’ve started a new job, which is a good thing.  On the other hand, the learning curve has been eating so much of my energy that it hasn’t left a lot for my  blog.

I’m starting to get on top of the new job, so I should be able to refocus and get back on track here as well.

For the idly curious, I’m working at Game Stop now.  It’s a pretty cool gig.  I love video games, and gamers tend to be pretty laid back people so it’s a good fit.  Also, some of my former Blockbuster customers are finding me which is way cool in it’s own right.  There’s just one problem with the job.  I’m like a cannibal working in a morgue, I tend to want to take my work home with me.

Speaking of which, it’s that time of the day again.  Off to feed the cravings again.  Not mine, all the others coming in to join the Christmas Horde.  When I listen to the screaming and shouting and see the crowds shuffling through the mall, it gives me preview of the Zombieapocalypse.  I wonder how sturdy those foldy gates really are.

Cheers, Winston

The S**w Is Here Again!

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, Personal1 Comment

That’s right folks, it’s that time of the year again here in the National Capitol Region.  Time to break out the toques, mitts, shovels and Tylenol Back pills.  I’ve just shoveled my drive for the first time this year.  Yay!

Don’t get me wrong, I love the s**w.  I just love it a lot more when it’s somewhere else.  It’s beautiful.  It’s just a lot more beautiful when seen on a nature documentary.  There’s some absolutely gorgeous shots of it in the Planet Earth series from the BBC.  Also their Wild China series has some beautiful s**w in it as well.

When I was a kid, I went sliding, and skiing and such.  I built s**w forts and had s**wball fights with my siblings.  I also didn’t have to shovel a driveway either.  Or clean off a car before going to work.

On the other hand, I did have to tramp through the s**w carrying firewood or water.  I did have to drag wood out of the bush through thigh-deep s**w.  Hmmmmm…… maybe that starts to explain why this is not my most favorite time of the year.

Did I mention our house was poorly insulated so I routinely woke up with white frost on every exposed piece of metal in my bedroom?  No?  How remiss of me.  Did I mention that once we started high school, we were expected to walk just under a mile to the highway to catch our bus… regardless of the weather?  No?  Perhaps now you begin top understand my antipathy towards s**w?

Yes, it’s decided.  I shall blame it entirely on my childhood. Unfortunately, that still doesn’t get the s**w out of my driveway.  Nor does it keep my little tosies warm while I do it.  On the brighter side, it’s done for today.  So far, no Tylenol, but I think I’ll take it to work….. just in case.

Cheers, Winston

The NCC Rolls Over, The Occupation Rolls On

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Occupy Movement, Personal Responsibility, Politics, Pop Culture, Society, Values2 Comments

Here in Ottawa, the National Capitol Commission (NCC) issued an eviction notice to the Occupy My Last Nerve crowd in Confederation Park.  The official midnight deadline passed and the Occupiers are still Occupied Occupying a park they have no right to camp in.  Kudos to the NCC for being spineless bureaucrats worried about offending a couple of dozen campers while ignoring the rights of every other person in the city.

We all have the right to use and enjoy Confederation Park.  My tax dollars help pay for that park, and I don’t enjoy having it full of tents and the twerps who put them there.  Seriously, these people have got to have reality explained to them.  The longer this idiocy drags on, the more annoying they become.  As witness this gem from Paul Boudreau the group’s spokesperson.

“We decided that we would politically resist eviction.  What that means is the NCC’s eviction notice is wrong and we don’t consent to it.”

Really?  You don’t consent to the eviction order?  Really?  Go to jail.  Go directly to jail.  Do not pass go.  Do not collect two hundred dollars.  Who exactly do you think you are?  This isn’t Libya, or Egypt or Syria.  You aren’t protesting a repressive and unjust regime that refuses to let you choose your government.  Hell, they’ve allowed you to camp in a public park for two months.  That’s pretty much the opposite of repressive.

An un-named protester shared this bit of genius. “I’m graduate of the University of Ottawa and I lost my job and I’m about to lose my apartment.  The system is wrong and we have to get it fixed.”

Really?  A university graduate?  Really?  If the best plan you’ve got in the face of unemployment and imminent homelessness is to camp in a park, you should ask for you money back from U Ottawa.  It’s pretty obvious they didn’t teach you anything useful.  Just out of curiosity, was the system wrong before you lost you job or only after?  It’s a fair question.

Speaking of fair questions, here are a couple more.  Are you politically active?  Not camping wise, but actually campaigning for these dearly held values of yours.  That’s how you we fix systems in this country by actually working at it.  Not whining and hoping someone will fix it for us.

Now this second question is the tricky one.  Have you considered going out and getting a job?  I realize that with your grand education and all it’s a bit beneath your dignity but you might give it some thought.  I lost my job because of greedy, stupid people at our U.S. parent.  If anyone should be out there camping and protesting the system, it’s me.  The difference is, I’m a grown up.  I don’t believe the Fairness Fairy is going to come along and evenly divide all the money in the country.   That’s why I went out and got another part time job where I’m scrambling to get every hour I can to help pay my mortgage and hydro and keep a roof over my daughter’s head and keep her in college.

Everywhere I go, I see help wanted signs.  Is there some reason you can’t take one of those jobs instead of joining the walking waste of skin which is the occupy movement?  I’ll grant they don’t pay as well as your chosen field, but I bet they pay better than the Occupy Idiocy people do.  I’m getting that if you did get an actual job, you might have better things to with your free time than camp in a public park and say stupid things to the press.

As for the other half of this debacle, the NCC needs to get it’s act together and deal with this now.  I realize that in our media centric society you have to be very careful not to be perceived as trampling their democratic rights.  The short version is, they should never have been allowed to set up tents in the first place.  Sure they have a right to freedom of speech and peaceful protest.  I’m all for those things so let them have at it.  What they don’t have a right to do is build a tent camp on public property.  I understand that sometimes the squeaky wheel get the oil, but I think this one just needs to be removed.  Their squeak is really getting on my nerve.

Cheers, Winston

“Hugo” Is Brilliant, But Not For Kids

On By WinstonIn Film Reviews, Media, MoviesLeave a comment

Last night, I had the opportunity to see the new Martin Scorsese film “Hugo”.  I had no idea what the storyline was, only that a friend had scored passes for it and invited my family and I along.  I made a point of not looking it up so as to approach it with fresh eyes.  I’m very happy that I did.

Before I go any further, I have to say that I am not generally a Scorsese fan.  In fact, I generally dislike the mob/crime films for which he is perhaps best known.  Rather, I prefer his less mainstream works.  Until tonight, my favorite amongst his films was “The Aviator”.  It’s an incredible bio-pic covering the life and eventual downfall of Howard Hughes.  If you’ve never taken the time, I highly recommend it.

But enough about the past, on to the present.  Or in this case the further past.

Despite the look of the commercials, and despite the young leading characters, this is not a children’s movie.  There is nothing in it to terrorize children.  There are scenes of mild peril, but no graphic violence or nudity.  Indeed visually, it is about as family friendly as it gets.  It is in the last third of the movie that the young ones will lose interest.  About the time the film’s actual raison d’etre is revealed.

I won’t give it away, because I hate spoilers myself, but it didn’t go where I expected it to.  I have to say that I was greatly relieved by that.  I went in expecting another kids outwitting the adults to save the day movie.  What I ended up with was a well told story filled with interesting and fully developed characters.  The casting was absolutely brilliant.

What pleased me the most, was the casting of Chloe Grace Moretz in the role of Hugo’s friend Isabelle.  Given that the only films I had seen her in were “Kick-Ass” and “Let Me In”, I was concerned she would end up being type cast as an innocent looking killer.  Isabelle couldn’t be further from those previous outings and has provided her a vehicle to display a wider range than those emotionally stunted characters.

Asa Butterfield is outstanding in the title role, and it is a pleasure to watch his character’s evolution over the course of the film.  With Sir Christopher Lee, Sir Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone and Jude Law in supporting roles, there was no shortage of talent when the two young stars were off-screen.

As I said at the start, I won’t tell you what it’s about.  I don’t want to spoil the surprise.  I will tell you this however.  I don’t expect it to have a large box office past opening weekend, but I do expect it to receive a lot of nominations and maybe take home some hardware during the upcoming award season.

“Hugo” is a brilliant film, and one that will definitely end up on my shelf.  I hope you take a chance on it and enjoy it as much as I did.

Cheers, Winston