:: Cindi posted about this on her site. If you're still not convinced that US Media are in Dubya's pocket, read about the Big Three networks refusing to air ads for the Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD during "news programming", because of the closeness of the release of the DVD to the US federal election. From the article in LA Weekly:
ON ANY GIVEN DAY, the major TV networks rarely demonstrate good judgment, much less morality, when it comes to accepting a litany of nauseating advertisements. Hemorrhoid creams. Vaginal ointments. Erectile dysfunction. Army recruiting ads that portray war as a gee-whiz video game. KFC’s claim that fried chicken is the new health food. And, lest we forget, Bud Light’s farting horse during the Super Bowl.Amazing. Fair and balanced? You bet! Not. | TrackBack (0) | Comments (4)But ads for the October 5 release of the new Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD?
Now that makes Big Media gag.
L.A. Weekly has learned that CBS, NBC and ABC all refused Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD advertising during any of the networks’ news programming. Executives at Sony Pictures, the distributor of the movie for the home-entertainment market, were stunned. And even more shocked when the three networks explained why.
“They said explicitly they were reluctant because of the closeness of the release to the election. All three networks said no,” one Sony insider explains. “It was certainly a judgment that Sony disagrees with and is in the process of protesting.”
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:: Commenting on the last post, Derryl suggested that I take one for the team, and try to see a movie tonight or tomorrow, to keep "the streak" alive. Tonight didn't happen, but I'm planning to see Shaun of the Dead tomorrow night. I'll be in pain, however.
:: You see, last night, in the midst of another coughing fit, I felt a sharp, stinging pain in the front of my left rib cage, in the region the last rib. The pain was incredible, and it hurt every time I coughed after that, or anytime I had to do anything involving the muscles in that area. This morning, I had four x-rays, which revealed clear lungs, and no evidence of rib problems. However, a radiologist needs to study the x-rays closely to determine if I cracked a rib. If not, then the pain is due to cartilege damage from that one particular cough.
I'm on a steriod inhaler to try to quiet the cough, which the physician said is residual from whatever virus I had, and is taking a long time to leave my lungs. No anti-inflammatories yet. And of course, no workouts, now for over five weeks.
All of this is really making the fall suck badly. As Dr Smith would say, "Oh the pain, the pain..."
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:: Picked up the widescreen edition of the Star Wars DVD set today. Costco is charging $55.59Cdn, undercutting Amazon.ca by $1.30, so I deleted it from my wonderful wishlist. I'll watch them sometime, don't know when. Mike sent a note today, reminding me of the time in 1977, when we were a group of sf geeks, and went to see Star Wars (it wasn't titled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, until 1981) in Winnipeg:
I was thinking about you and the guys watching SW; when we saw it back in the Grant Park theatre (was it Cinerama?) and went back to your place to debate whether the movie meant the end of sci-fi as we know it.Amazing how seriously we took that shyte back then. It certainly wasn't the end of "sci-fi", but it did have a lasting impact on the movie industry. BTW, in case you missed it, Chewbacca is touring Italy these days.
As for DVDs, their days are numbered. In the Edmonton Journal today, I read about MODS: Multiplexed Optical Data Storage discs, able to hold a terrabyte of information, or 1,024 gigabytes, roughly the equivalent of 472 hours of broadcast film. Research to develop MODS was led by Peter Torok, a photonics researcher at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London, which he describes as "the replacement for the replacement technology for DVDs." Oh, joy. The Edmonton Journal article did have a piece of good news for those of us slow to replace our rapidly outdating home entertainment equipment:
And MODS players would be backwards-compatible with existing optical formats, meaning it could also play CDs and DVDs, said Torok, who conceived the technology with colleagues from the Institute of Microtechnology, University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.The final line of the EJ article reads, "The first MODS products could be ready for sale by 2010." Er, won't that give all the other researchers a six-year start to build the technology to replace the the replacement for the replacement technology for DVDs?
:: This month, I will not do something I have not not done before. Did you follow that? What will I not do? I will not see a movie inside a movie theatre in September 2004. This will be the first month I will have not seen a film inside a theatre since, oh, probably the late 1970s. The only two movies I watched this month were on DVD and/or VHS. I'm still dealing with a cough that is annoyingly persistent, and slow to embark on its departure from my lungs and environs. I don't want to sit in a theatre and cough 300 times during a movie, annoying both myself and everyone near me.
The world, as I know it, will continue, despite the end of the I-saw-at-least-one-movie-in-a-movie-theatre-every-month-since-the-late-1970s streak. Now I know how Cal felt when he sat out that game.
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:: Some months ago, a story appeared in The Edmonton Journal, stating that a Krispy Kreme store would be opening in Edmonton later this summer. Summer is over, and in the location in South Edmonton Common where the Krispy Kreme store was to be built, or so we were led to believe, yet another Tim Hortons store is under construction. When complete, I think it will bring the number of Tim Hortons doughnut shops in Edmonton to 1,233. Certainly there are more important things in life, yes, and I know I don't need to eat more doughnuts, but having tasted Krispy Kreme products in NYC and Spokane, well, they blow Tim H out of the water. Just my opinion. And Calgary has the only store in Alberta.
A few weeks ago while at SEC, I noticed a number of cars parked around a small storefront with the name, Marble Slab Creamery. Intrigued, I drove across the parking lot to discover an amazing ice cream shop. I ordered a waffle cone with strawberry ice cream, mixed in with real strawberries. When you buy ice cream, it is put on a frozen marble slab, and you can choose from a number of "mixins" to be added to your flavour. The ice cream is made in the store, as are the cones. The business began in Houston TX in October 1983. There are two stores in Edmonton, one in Calgary. What's intriguing to me is that South Edmonton Common is not an area designed for walking traffic, being nowhere near any homes or apartments. When complete, it will have 2.3 million square feet of gross leasable area on buildout. To get to Marble Slab at SEC, you need transportation. Yet the two times I've been there, it's been busy. So the word must be spreading about this place. I wonder how it will do when winter arrives?
It's getting harder to deal with my sweet tooth. Marble Slab doesn't serve my favorite ice cream, butterscoth, but you can choose vanilla and have the staff mix in ingredients to create different flavours. Tonight I had a strawberry milkshake - loved it, and probably absorbed way too many carbs. But life is short.
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:: Cat Stevens on security "watch list", refused entry to the US.
:: I wasn't aware that bloggers were responsible for recently dragging down CBS. Earlier this month, CBS aired a piece regarding documents they said cast doubt on Dubya's National Guard service in the 70s. Apparently within hours of the broadcast, bloggers were casting doubt on the authenticity of the documents. CBS relented this week, and apologized. Is Dan Rather's career over? (Do any of us blog in our pajamas? Who owns pajamas?)
More importantly, who gives a rat's ass? The US federal elections are bizarre. There is no focus on the issues, just on the candidates, and it goes on for months and months and months and months. The media continues to lose their credibility in the midst of it all. There is something to be said for living in a country wherein elections last no more that about a month at a time.
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:: I am a Canadian living on my home soil, but many of my friends and family are Americans living in the USA, and will be voting in the upcoming election. One of my good friends, Cindi T in California, has written a disturbing, passionate, heartfelt plea for a change in government in America on November 2nd, 2004. The rest of the world may see Americas as myopic, unable to see past their own borders. After you read "Our Growing Unease", you will see that this is not always the case:
I've tried not to pay attention to government, trusting that the people seated there are good people and have good intentions, even if they don't agree with my beliefs. I no longer believe this. This is no longer a simple philosophical difference; the future of our country and of our very way of life depend on things changing. We can no longer simply hope that they do; we have to make it happen.
:: In today's NY Times is a short piece revealing that Kerry and Dubya are related - 9th cousins, twice removed. Good grief.
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:: I haven't been posting this week, mostly due to lack of energy. I'm not feeling 100% these days. A tickle in my throat, which began on August 26th, became a prolonged cough by the long weekend I spent in Vancouver, and it still hasn't left my chest and throat. As such, I haven't been exercising either, and I feel like a complete slug. I'm hoping it subsides this week so I can get back on the cross-trainer again, and I have to teach eight classes next week - coughing is not an option! Also, my left lower jaw has been quite sore for a while, as if a wisdom tooth can't decide whether it wants to pop through my gums. It feels like I've been punched on the left side of my face. So...I'm a hurtin' unit.
Last weeks Sunday NYTimes featured its annual fall look at the arts - music, movies, dance, theatre, etc. I read through the list of upcoming musical events and albums, and was surprised to learn that Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone had reunited and earlier this year, released As Far As I Can See..., The Zombies' first album since the band broke up in 1967. The Incredible String Band, with two original members, are touring for the first time in 30 years. The Clash's London Calling has been repackaged for its 25th-Anniversary edition, including extra tapes from the recording sessions found by guitarist Mick Jones, plus a DVD. Brian Wilson is releasing a newly rerecorded version of the most famous album that never was, Smile. British music fans weigh in with their opinions. Based on a few tunes from album made available for listening online on his web site, I like what I hear. Purists may ignore it, wishing to hear the original versions recorded in the mid-60s.
R.E.M.'s new album, Around the Sun, appears in October. The video for the new song, Leaving New York, is available on the VH1 site. I like the song. Helmet, a band I thought was long gone, releases Size Matters, after a seven-year recording hiatus. Rob Halford has reunited with Judas Priest after 12 years, and yes, a new album follows, so lock up your parents. U2's new album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, is out in November, and includes a track called Full Metal Jacket. Tears for Fears new album, Everybody Loves A Happy Ending, reunited Roland Orzabal with Curt Smith, after a thirteen year split. You can see TFF's live performance of Everybody Wants to Rule the World, taped for KTLA Morning News on Monday, Sept 13, 2004, by visiting KTLA's web site - once there, click on "Music" in the upper left hand corner, then find "Tears for Fears" at the bottom of the screen. I'll get this album.
Many other artists were listed in the article. It's overwhelming. I'm waiting to buy Folker, the new Paul Westerberg album, maybe in two weeks, after payday. Interesting article in the Mpls Star-Tribune about new albums being released almost concurrently by Westerberg and Tommy Stinson, both members of The Replacements in the 1980s. It's pouring rain outside.
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:: I am fortunate to call Leo & Diane Dillon friends. I have known them since 1989, and each time I go to New York, I take the F Train to Brooklyn to visit them, over wine and dinner. They are my favorite illustrators, and those who have visited my home know that my walls are covered with their prints and posters, in addition to some of my Dad's paintings.
My last visit with them was in June 2003, and have been negligent in checking out their latest work. Two new illustrated picture books have appeared since that time, with a third due in October, 2004. Between Heaven and Earth: Bird Tales from Around the World, is the title due out next month. The author is Howard A Norman, with whom they collaborated previously, on The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese, and Other Tales of the Far North.
Margaret Wise Brown died in 1952, yet her poems and stories continue to reach new generations of children and preschoolers. Leo & Diane previously illustrated her wonderful poem, Two Little Trains. They have collaborated again on Where Have You Been?, a poem that answers a child's questions about animals and how they live.
Their other recent work is One Winter's Night, a story by John Herman about a cow named Martha, on a cold winter's night, searching for a safe and warm place to give birth to her calf. A parallel story is told in "art spots", about a man, woman and donkey making their way across the same fields, in the middle of the cold winter night. Martha follows a star, that leads her to a shed, where the man, woman and donkey have also sought and found shelter.
Forthcoming, also in October, is Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes, by Susan V Bosak, with illustrations by 15 internationally acclaimed artists, including the Dillons: "A celebration of living and dreaming for all ages, Dream brings together remarkable artwork, inspiring quotations, and a beautifully poetic story."
Without having seen these books, I can recommend them without hesitation, if you are looking to treat yourself to something special, or for a gift for a special someone else. These titles will be welcome additions to my Dillon collection. If you are interested in more Dillon work, including that of their talented son, Lee, check out Fusion Designs. Fusion Designs sells Lee's creations, including boxed note cards, posters, jewelry, and magnets. Many of Leo and Diane's posters are also available.
Leo and Diane Dillon have won two Caldecott Medals, the "Oscar" of illustrated children's books. The award winning books are Ashanti To Zulu: African Traditions (1977), and Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears: A West African Tale (1976).
Leo and Diane have illustrated children's books, book covers, and other works, for over 40 years. The titles they illustrate are always written by other authors. In 2002, this changed, when they wrote and illustrated the marvelous story about Bill Robinson, aka Bojangles. The book is called Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles - Think of That. With Real Player, you can listen to Leo and Diane talk about and read from Rap A Tap Tap, and how they work as the "third artist".
This entry was also posted to Blogcritics.com.
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:: In 1956, when I was 3 years old, my family moved to 564 Gareau Street, in St Boniface, Manitoba, then a separate city, east of Winnipeg. Our next door neighbours were Mr and Mrs Leeder, or as I called them, Auntie Phyllis and Uncle Bill. They were wonderful neighbours, and my Mom and Auntie Phyllis became good friends for a lifetime. Her son, Ron, and I, were also friends when we were little.
Yesterday, Auntie Phyllis passed away, from congestive heart failure and other complications. Earlier, she asked my Mom to deliver the eulogy at her funeral. Some years back, Mom had done the same for Uncle Bill at his service. My mother is now working through the pain of losing a dear friend while composing a reading that will honour her memory.
Two years ago, when visiting Winnipeg, I asked my mother to arrange a visit with the neighbours with whom we had become good friends, when we lived on Gareau Street from 1957-1969. It was nice to see them again, all my adopted "Aunties" from the old 'hood, including Mrs Leeder.
A life well lived, she is now at peace, and reunited with Uncle Bill. God Bless always, Auntie Phyllis.
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:: I am still fighting the cough and sore throat. I stopped in at the U Health Centre before work this morning, and the doc prescribed a few codeine tablets to help surpress my cough. At 3:00 pm, I lectured to 155 Chem Eng 200 students, and was able to get through without too many interruptions. I used a lapel microphone, and each time I had to cough, I hit the "Mute" button on the display console. I think the codeine helped as well. I am not a happy puppy right now.
Tomorrow I see my physician, and will discuss this and other assorted ailments with him. Lovely stuff, getting old. *grumble*
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:: I'm in Vancouver for one more day, leaving tomorrow at 7:00 am. I've had a nice time, the weather has been good, and I've visited with old friends. The surprise birthday party for my friend Lea was a blast. She was totally blown away by the event, completely caught off guard. I've been fighting a bad cough I developed last week in Edmonton, and my rib muscles are sore from coughing all day and through the night. I'm looking forward to healing from this latest episode. I hope the coughing subsides in the next 48 hours, as I am lecturing on Tue afternoon at 3:00 pm.
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:: I'm flying to Vancouver tomorrow to attend a surprise birthday party for a friend (who doesn't read this site, btw!), and to visit a few other people I haven't seen since 1997, the last time I was in Vancouver. I'm bringing with me a bad cough that I picked up last weekend. I'm doubling up my COLD-FX dosages again. In Vancouver, I will rent a car at the airport, and stay one night in Coquitlam, the other two nights in Vancouver. The return flight on Monday will leave at 7:00AM - ouch.
:: A number of items of interest happening in September: 1) The Star Wars Trilogy DVD package arrives in stores on September 21st. Episodes IV, V and VI are included, plus a bonus disc of material, including the following:
The fourth disc is packed with bonus material, the most notable being Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy. This two-and-a-half hour documentary traces the evolution of the saga, from a low-budget labor-of-love space saga to the movie phenomenon that defied the odds and reinvented the rules.The Star Wars Trilogy DVD Details page explains everything.This comprehensive documentary features all new interviews with George Lucas and more than 40 members of the cast and crew from the original trilogy, as well as a host of filmmakers and media personalities. Empire of Dreams includes some never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the three films.
2) The 2-hour premier of Season 15 of Law & Order is on September 22, featuring Dennis Farina replacing Jerry Orbach - big shoes to fill for sure.
3) I don't watch The Tonight Show, but the 50th Anniversary of its first broadcast is on Sept 27, 2004. The show was developed by Pat Weaver. Weaver's daughter, Susan, is better known by her other name, Sigourney.
:: I'm reading sporadically these days, occupied with other things. I've been sifting through Sharon Butala's book, Coyote's Morning Cry: Meditations and Dreams From a Life in Nature, a small volume of spiritual writing, and finding it a comforting read.
:: I'm looking forward to new albums by Paul Westerberg, and Joseph Arthur.
:: What's th-? Is SETI close to confirming the existence of extra-terrestrial intelligence?
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