Monday, February 25, 2013

A path for trucks

With today's  slightly improved weather, I ventured out for a walk around the neighbourhood. As I walked West along the Boardwalk at Lee Ave, noticed the city had been busy with a small construction project. The city now posts signs indicating how the project is 'building a great city'.

This propaganda is somewhat annoying - but one learns to ignore it. What caught my eye was the documentation on the sign. This indicated that the project was to build a '3 metre wide path' from the foot of Lee Ave to the lake. This seemed odd, since there is already a path from Lee to the Boardwalk. From the Boardwalk to the lake is beach - so sand or snow depending on the season.

Out of curiosity, I stepped around a muddy puddle to be able to read the fine print. To my amusement, the 'path' is for trucks to be able to access the lake in case of heavy rains. (There is an outflow from the storm sewer at that point of the shoreline.)

The purpose of the project became clear - it was to build a access road! Only in Toronto would official purposely obfuscate in calling a 'road' a 'path'.




Monday, February 18, 2013

Movies from the past while

I make a habit of seeing a movie every other week or so. By that, I mean going to the theatre.

Withe Academy Awards fast approaching, I'd thought I'd write up by two cents.

Movies I really enjoyed:

(1) Celebration Day

This films presents the Led Zeppelin (*) concert from the O-2 Area a few years back. All in all, it's a better concert films than The Song Remains the Same from the 70's. In part that's because the band had more material to work from - especially tracks from Physical Graffiti. Kashmir brought the house down! In My time of Dying was great.

The band was tight, and Jason Bonham filled in admirably for his father. Film and sound quality is better than TSRTS.

This having been said, the performance of Stairway to Heaven and Since I've been Loving You were better in the TSRTS.

The biggest issue was that the theatre did not play the soundtrack at anywhere close to the proper volume. I guess that why people install home theatres.

(2) Life of Pi

A gripping story portrayed in an excellent film. I don't read many novels, but I'm tempted to read this one. I've never heard anyway say 'the movie of x, y or z is better than the book'. If that holds true for Life of Pi, then it must be every bit the book people say it is.

(3) Silver Linings Playbook

Great acting and a though-provoking yet touching story. I saw this one twice.

(4) Argo

Gripping movie.

Some idiot in the Globe and Mail wrote that he felt that the movie didn't present the Iranian side of things. This proves - as I've long suspected - that people write about movies without actually having watched them.

Ben Affleck may well have been overlooked in terms of the Best Director nomination. I'm never quite sure what a director is responsible for in the finished product.

(5) Lincoln

This was an excellent film. I had a problem with the sound quality - which made some of the quieter scenes hard to follow.

Movies to skip:

Actually, only one film from the past year deserves a complete skip, and that film is The Master. This films was BORING with a capital B. The film revolves around a cult - perhaps intended to be Scientology. Some people love to hate the Scientologists - and probably got there jollies on that account. (These people are usually leftists worried about competition!)

For people like me - who have other things to worry about - the movie had no real plot: no build, no climax, no ending of any note.

Get real Warren!

I'm starting a new blog. This effort will be for whatever comes to mind - be it on food, wine, politics, movies, Scrabble... - you name it!

We'll begin with politics. This Saturday I learned something. I learn something most days. However, on Saturday, I learned never to be imbibing milk (or any other liquid for that matter), when reading one of Warren Kinsella's columns in The Toronto Sun.

Warren was dutifully criticizing Thomas (Tom) Mulcair. I'm ok with criticizing Mulcair. Mulcair is angry. Leftists are generally angry and self-hating. (Jack Layton hid it well.) However, near the end of the column, Kinsella asserts that the Conservatives and NDP are guilty of trying the claim Canadian values to themselves.

This is when the milk started to spurt through my nose. Warren, I guess it's OK for the Liberals to do that - but not for other parties?!

Get real man!