Al Q Bobson on 1/24/06 at 10:20 AM

Seats won by the parties:

*Conservative - 124
Liberal - 103
Bloc Quebecois - 51
NDP - 29
Independent - 1

Well, we've wound up with a Conservative minority government. As is fairly evident from the title, I dislike the Conservatives a lot. So yeah... it sucks, even if I'm really not surprised. I'm disappointed in Canadian voters, and especially in the voters of my province. Why do I even live in Alberta? Sigh.

Of course, I wouldn't have been happy if the Liberals had won either. I honestly don't know who I dislike more. I don't like the Conservatives for being conservative... being all, let's shoot down the gay marriage idea. Fiscal responsibility is all well and good, but we aren't on the same page on several of the issues. I also think Stephen Harper will make a bland leader.

And I don't like the Liberals because of the gun registry fiasco (do ya think criminals would actually feel compelled obey that law while being fine with murdering someone?) and the sponsorship scandal. They're mired in controversy, and while it's true that it had more to do with Jean Chretien than Paul Martin, he did little to stop it. There was the Gomery report, true, but who got punished? What was the result? That, and Martin had a ridiculous, paranoid campaign that made him come off like Bush.

The only somewhat good news to come out of this: the good (realistically speaking; I wish they had gotten more, but that would just be wishful thinking) showing of the NDP party. Ten more seats than last time! Score one for the party that actually stands for positive change! It keeps becoming clearer, especially this time around, that they're the party for me, if only because they aren't the Conservatives or the Liberals.

All in all, this really sucks. But that's just my opinion. What do the rest of you RCMTs think?

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Al Q Bobson on 10/22/04 at 8:56 PM

Corner Gas (created by Brent Butt, CTV)
Degrassi: The Next Generation (created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore, CTV)
Average joe comedian Brent Butt decided to return to his small-town Saskatchewan roots by creating the CTV comedy series Corner Gas, and by some sort of miracle he wound up creating one of the most sterling sitcoms and all-around triumphant pieces of entertainment now on the air. Like Seinfeld, Corner Gas is really a show about nothing: The show focuses on a seemingly dull, middle-of-nowhere Saskatchewan town named Dog River whose centrepiece is the only gas station for miles, and even its theme song proclaims that, "There's not a lot goin' on!" But what the show features is a more quirky, gentle, and Canadian brand of nothing - and a bevy of laughs. Corner Gas has got to be the most outstanding Canadian comedy series perhaps ever made.

Dog River's distinguished residents include Brent LeRoy (Butt), the likeable average guy who runs the Corner Gas; his parents, whipsmart Emma (Janet Wright) and crusty, dimwitted Oscar; his persistent but goofy friend Hank (Fred Ewanuick); the local coffe-shop owner, Lacey (Gabrielle Miller); and local police officers Davis (Lorne Cardinal) and Karen (Tara Spencer-Naim). By divying the show's zany and good-natured comedy up among this regular and appealing ensemble of characters and not having the spotlight shine only on himself, Butt's show is both extremely likeable and admirably generous. The scripts are never filled with too many sentimental moments, but it does have its heart in the right place. There are rarely any Very Special Episodes, but the episodes do glide along at a brisk pace without ever sacrificing hilarity.

There isn't anything bombastic or earth-shattering going on here - a catastrophe in Dog River is when Oscar gets addicted to The Claw game at the local bar, or the local coffee shop gets spruced up a little with some "prettier" colours ("They've turned it into a gay bar!" protests Hank). But then, that's life - just a series of little, sometimes weird joys and complications that Corner Gas manages to turn into warm, breezy, and brilliantly everyday comedy.

By huge contrast, Degrassi: The Next Generation is rarely funny and often dead serious, especially in the latest, well-handled school shooting episode. Yeah, the stuff that happens here can sometimes get a tad melodramatic (a troubled student getting covered with yellow paint and feathers is probably the pinnacle of this), but darn it all - I'm hooked on Degrassi! And I think this is mostly due to the truly phenomenal cast of real teen actors co-creators Linda Schuyler (of the original Degrassi shows) and Yan Moore have rounded up to play the large and diverse cast of high school-age characters going through... well, what real high schoolers often go through everyday. Well, granted, a little tinkering has been done to make the situations a little bit more exciting for television. But for the most part, realism is another one of the show's virtues. Degrassi is really plugged into and serious about the issues kids are really facing today (homosexuality, sex, drugs, violence, self-esteem problems), and approaches them with an appropriate tone.

Degrassi's greatest achievement is in handling such a large number of characters (and topics) with ease, and lavishing more than enough time and depth on all of them, a feat that would be tricky in a medium other than serial television. We've gotten elaborate peaks into the lives of, say, Marco (Adamo Ruggiero) and his struggle to accept and declare his homosexuality; Ellie (Stacey Farber) and her coping with pressures at home and school with cutting; precocious Manny (luminous Cassie Steele) and her pregnancy and subsequent abortion; popular cheerleader Paige (Lauren Collins) and her life-shattering rape; sweetheart Emma (astounding Miriam McDonald) and her romantic misadventures; and, most tragically of all, bullied bully and outcast Rick (Ephraim Ellis), whose character has recently attained an almost Shakespearean heft. And as far as the serious, newsy issues go, I bow to Degrassi's superb handling of school gun violence: The event unfolded with plenty of shock and drama, but little artifice, the terror and sadness in the eyes of the witnesses looking all to heartbreakingly real. (The perpetrator's life leading up to the event was handled with way more depth than in feature films like, say, Elephant.)

I can't wait to see where the show's writers will go from there, but I'm happy to see that viewers down in the U.S. will be watching along with me, as it seems the show has achieved quite a devoted following even below the 49th parallel. The more viewers who get to watch this engrossing, top-notch teen-oriented show, the better. Now if only American viewers could get to experience the delights of Corner Gas. Sigh. Corner Gas: A; Degrassi: A-

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Al Q Bobson on 6/17/04 at 8:37 PM

Here's a Canadian documentary that everyone should see. It's a Canadian movie, so I thought I'd post my review of it in this group. It's a real information-overload and very intellectually stimulating. Go see it

THE CORPORATION
Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, Joel Bakan, 2003
Rated PG

It seems appropriate that Michael Moore has a significant speaking role in The Corporation:This is a left-leaning piece of political propaganda about on par with Moore's own popular Bowling for Columbine. I'd argue, though, that this Canadian documentary from Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, and Joel Bakan is a better, tighter film than Columbine: It has more focus and doesn't ever get off-topic like Moore sometimes did in that movie.

Whereas Moore's non-fiction polemic asked, 'Guns: Why do we dig them so much?', The Corporation asks 'Corporations: Do they have too much power?' It zeroes in on its points like a smart bomb: Corporations have too much power; their recklessness harms the biosphere; they oppress people in their ruthless pursuit of the bottom line; they even exhibit symptoms of psychopathy (the movie offers up a mental health checklist as a handy reference) - if a corporation can be considered a person, that is, which, legally, it can. As extensive proof, the movie gives us examples of the privatization of water in a Third World African country, cases of tainted milk being sold to the public, and of corporations trying to tamper with the news. We also get comments and ruminations about the whole affair from business experts and philosophers (Moore included), evidence of deals between the Nazis and Coke and IBM, and investigations into the downside of cloning and the insidiousness of today's advertising.

But even though the film digs deep and offers well-documented proof of the evil nature of corporations, it's also fair and even-handed. It shows the major flaws in corporations, but it also shows them trying to reach out to the community and better themselves. It shows that many corporations lack compassion and are greedy, deceitful, heartless, and careless, but it also shows some companies trying to turn over a new leaf and do some good. Pfizer has set up housing establishments for low-income families. One executive has a major epiphany about his company's questionable practices. And Kathy Lee Gifford, whose name appeared on clothes shadily manufactured by Wal-Mart, publicly apologized after learning of the terrible conditions in the company's sweatshops.

The Corporation is timely, important, remarkably well-researched stuff; it's tough but fair, making strong points and then backing them up with comprehensive evidence. Despite being a tad longish and generally lacking the snappy populist appeal of Columbine, it's a shame that the movie hasn't gotten a wide release yet. (I had to go downtown to see it, and I don't even think it has been released in the US yet.) Sharp, focused, and well made, The Corporation is a movie everyone should see.

B+ :fresh:

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lotr_addict on 6/7/04 at 5:55 PM

Go Flames go!

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lotr_addict on 5/5/04 at 5:10 PM

It should be cool, a sort of Canadian Embassy for tomatoes. We will tell stories, play games (can you say polar bear mafia?) and (most importantly) discuss Canadian current events and movies. I'll start. As a project I have to debate the merits of same-sex marriages in Canada. I'm on the pro (yay gay) side. Can anyone direct me to some good resources?

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