What is Toronto to Me

I am a Torontonian.

I just picked up the September issue of Toronto Life (thx SRS) and flipped through the first few pages - does this mag and this city fit for me?

I am older now, but I’ve enjoyed a lot of what the city has offered up over the years from days clubbing at Nuts & Bolts and the after hours at the Big Slice, wakin’ up after noon and being a regular at The East Side Cafe, meeting life-long wait staff at the original Amsterdams on John Street, taking over Silver Crown from the pizza lovin’ business folk, watching many obscure foreign movies at the Carlton cinemas, embracing the roar of IndyCar, fighter jets over the CNE and staying up for the wee hours of Nuit Blanche.  And yes I call it the SkyDome and I was there opening season for the Raptors.  I was one of 450,000 people rocking it for the massive SARSfest concert and went WTF when Noel Gallagher got tackled on the V festival stage.  

When did the High Park cherry blossoms become a thing?  Did the Distillery and Liberty Village become destinations the same year?  When did Sam’s close and the sign get taken down (it’s up again right)?  When did Sherbourne get bike lanes and is that King Street thing still a thing?

And my neighbourhoods, those corners and intersections I called home for a few years - downtown when the high rise condos stood out, the Beach when the track was kind of still there, Bloor West but in between the dodgy part and the good part, midtown when restaurants changed every few months and the parking problems around Casa Loma.

Intermission: my wife and I got busy raising a little boy and girl as young Torontonians.  

And social circles expanded when we found out about a new sport called ultimate.  We were members of TUC when it was 24 teams and played at the same 3 fields all the time - now it has games 5 nights a week (in non-pandemic times) with a healthy membership of 3,500 players.

But in recent years I’ve been south of Bloor far less often.  I’m lucky to live uptown and my view of Toronto today is quite different.  I love walking my dog in our beautiful treed neighbourhood and window shopping on Yonge Street.  It’s a comfort to know a good pub and a great restaurant are a short walk away and when we’re closer to normal, I’ll be back on the subway to head to a concert on The Danforth, reminisce at an old favourite restaurant or explore new flavours in the urban landscape.  

Have Torontonians changed or have we just got older?  There’s no doubt the diversity has increased - I don’t ever recall hearing Spanish on the streets in the 80’s.  I love it, this town, this big smoke, hogtown, TO.  I’m not ready to unsubscribe to Toronto Life just yet.

Know your audience

I recorded a vlog on Monday called He’s Rambling and Not Even Dressed for It.  I finished editing and uploaded the vlog last night.  I’m up early now on Wednesday thinking about new vlog ideas and one of them is about my audience.

One of the most memorable complements I ever received was a good friend saying she thought I was a Renaissance Man.  I’m not certain if I’d heard the term before, but I think it may have gone to my head a little - I wrote a blog about it and the related term polymath.  Anyway I’m rambling again.  The point is I have lots of different things that interest me, quite a few things that I know something about and there’s a small list of specific things I know a lot about.   You can also see this from the newer format of this blog where I’ve tried to compartmentalize topics into chapters.

Back to the vlog and this morning’s thoughts.  I was going to share my vlog, but I wasn’t certain which channels to use.  It’s certainly not related to business, so I can scratch Linkedin off the list. Twitter was the obvious channel as it is public and has the chance of finding a new audience as well as popping up in friends’ feeds.  The most active channel for friends and some family is Facebook but I’m a little conflicted with the platform recently and feel my frequent sharing of photos and travel videos is perhaps “too much” (need a better word here) for some friends.  

I perhaps watch more YouTube vlog content that read blogs today and I have noticed that a few of my favourites like Peter McKinnon are able to handle multiple audiences. For example, he’ll specifically say in the first part of the vlog that it will be more for photographers using Lightroom than for a audience looking to improve their Instagram channel.  So, I need to keep my audience in mind - a good lesson indeed for many situations, work, family or social.

So, I’m still a little uncertain of the audience for yesterday’s vlog.  So here’s the trick - I’ll use this blog post as a Trojan horse - for those that prefer to read the ramblings of amateur polymath, here you are.  And for Instagram, I like to use a collage to spike a little interest and I’m going to also use the trick where people embed a link into their profile as a path to a different channel.  How’s that?  Enjoy hump day Wednesday everyone.

Pandemic Times

I don’t think 2020 will be forgotten for a very long time by anyone who’s old enough to remember the global COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s the first truly global event in our lifetime that is impacting the entire planet.  (For the record, I wouldn’t call global warming “an event” - yes, it has global affects, but it’s also not as immediately impactful as COVID-19).  For the most part, it has made us feel a little closer as global citizens and as close we’re ever going to be (hopefully) in defending the planet from a alien invasion.

But it does affect people in different ways.  I consider myself very lucky: I have a job that I can continue to do effectively while working from my home office; I’m happily married to my best friend and enjoy our home life; we have a nice home that has a deck, a porch, and a backyard with a cabana so we can get out of the house.  I’m also free to walk my dog around our beautiful urban neighbourhood which also gives me a chance for frequent front yard visits with my oldest university friends.  My parents are well and I’m in touch with them on a regular basis and my children are healthy and managing to work and study and enrich their lives.  I feel connected to my entire family and friends via the myriad of electronic channels and we have the convenience of grocery pickups, well organized restaurant takeout and delivery options for almost everything we need.  I’m healthy and not overly stressed out and I have a lot of hobbies to keep me engaged when I’m not working.  I’m a lucky man.

But there are many people truly suffering in these pandemic times, those that have lost their jobs, or are being financially impacted by lost business, those feeling very alone from not being in psychical contact with their friends and of course, those that have have fallen ill or lost loved ones to COVID-19.  I also feel it’s very important to keep thinking of the front line workers and anyone that is helping us get through these hard times.  As I said in a personal video thank you I put together early on in the pandemic, thank you to so many that are going beyond the call of duty and in many cases, putting their own health in danger to keep the rest of use healthy.

What I’ve been struggling with is understanding the psychological impact of these massive global, as well as local, changes - how the isolation, travel and visiting restrictions and health concerns are affecting me.

Like many people, I miss going to a restaurant or having a pint at the pub, I’m missing having friends over for dinner parties or planning a weekend getaway or the next vacation with my wife.  I miss playing ultimate frisbee - for the exercise as well as for its social aspects.  I miss visiting my mom and dad and even miss my business trips south of the border.  

And some of these things intersect with my hobbies and in some degree reduces the material for my hobbies and creates more introspection rather than relying on external factors.  Let me explain - If I’m not traveling, then I’m not seeing so many new places and therefore the amount of travel photography and videos I'm making is cut down.  This also makes it hard to justify that next camera upgrade :).  Likewise, if I’m not going to any live sporting events, concerts or documenting family visits, I’m experiencing far less moments that need remembering.  If I’m not traveling for business, I’m far less concerned about my wardrobe and hardly have any reason to shop for clothes.  While at my desk the other day I absentmindedly kicked my suitcase (tucked away under the desk) - I actually contemplated buying new luggage just 6 months ago - ha.  This week on a group work call, I was informed about the stringent approval requirements for business travel.  Does anyone at my company actually believe business travel is going to happen any time soon?  My colleagues on the call felt similarly and the consensus appears to be that no one will be visiting customers until at the earliest 2021.

When every week day and weekend is the same, I find I’m struggling for inspiration for my photography, filmmaking and writing.  I’m having to think more carefully about my choices and a different way to value my time.  Pre-pandemic times, so much of my life was driven by external factors and by other people and daily activities were much more reactive and unpredictable.  For saying there are so many restrictions of what I can do when I step on the sidewalk, my agenda is more in my control at the moment. As restrictions ease a little and we get more comfortable wearing a mask and getting closer to other people, opportunities are starting to open up for little gems of adventure.   This past week we sent to see the Van Gogh Immersive Exhibition.  It was wonderful creative art and I welcomed the old feeling of awe and inspiration.

At many times over these last 6 months, I’ve recognized that I’ve enjoyed this change forced upon me. It’s given me the time to enjoy more moments, pay closer attention to my art, more carefully choose what TV and films to watch.  I’ve had time to read more (although I still find it tiring and I have little patience for a slow plot).  My house is a little cleaner, some (small) home projects are getting done a little quicker.  And luckily I’m not completely bored of our home meal menus.

Enjoying this?  Really?  Do I prefer this than life before the pandemic - no, I definitely cannot say that.  But I’ve tried to make the most of a bad situation and I think I’m learning something about myself and about what’s makes me happy.  It’s given me a little breathing space and much needed time for contemplation and study. 

But maybe it’s taken this long for the new reality to settle in - I do miss being in a space with other humans - whether it’s a simple pub lunch with my wife or an excuse for an after-party with a old friends at a new found hot spot.  Or a stroll around the Art Gallery of Ontario (without a mask and seeing the deep thought on people’s faces), rubbing shoulders with food shoppers at the St. Lawrence Market, or soaking up nouveau European trends at Eataly.   What about sharing a groove with an intimate concert crowd or singing out loud your favourite rock anthems with thousands of fans.  I’m beginning to miss that more often now.  

So I balance a little sadness of missing old times with new-found introspection and a more gentle pace of life.  Or maybe I’m just showing my age.

The younger man in me just found this track that collects a lot of what many people are perhaps thinking about these days.  For the record, “new-found introspection and a more gentle pace of life” sounds pretty Zen to me.  Apologies and warning about the expletive in the chorus.

Sunday evening in pandemic times

Originally drafted in May, 2020 - who would have thought we’d be getting almost used to these weird times...

Weird feeling late on a Sunday.

Like most people in the world, I am physical distancing from other people.
Over the weekend, my wife and I have kept busy, chatting with friends and family and making our home life comfortable.

I felt I worked hard around the house this weekend. And I legistamately felt I worked hard a my real job this week. But as the weekend draws to a close, my personal life seems very out of sync with what’s happening “out there”. There are so many people suffering in so many ways - but I’m not seeing it in person. 

These are truly vey weird times. A time that is creating new extremes and divides. I’m a lucky man.

Friday night music: Time machine friends and family

How’s this for a Friday night music thread...

There’s a two artists that are in my head

The first modern Aussie who I found in the last week or so - I’m really diggin’ and chillin’ to - Dope Lemon (aka Angus Stone).  Thinking his vibe is perfect for a blistering heatwave.   

The second is Stephen Stills.  I’m far from knowdegable about CSNY but I really liked watching him and listening to his stories in Echo in the Canyon.  I then found an album of his called Manassas and really dug it man.   

I can picture a hot night in Laurel Canyon in ‘72 and Angus and I jump in a time machine, grab some icy brews and laze around watching Stills and inspiring great new music.  

Whoa.   That’s a trip dude.  

50 year gap connection.  

Theme: Time machine friends and family.

——————-

I tagged about 25 of my music friends on Facebook and got quite a few comments and contributions, including:

• Parquet Courts and The Animals
• Elvis Presley and Lewis Capaldi
• Milk Carton Kids and Simon & Garfunkel
• Chance Waters and then connected to The Housemartins and The Jam

And I also added:

• Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse
• KC and the Sunshine Band and Scissor Sisters.
• Beatles and Oasis
• Katie Melua and Nancy Sinatra
• H.E.R and Buffalo Springfield

A tender moment

Just getting some blood work done yesterday and experienced a very tender moment.   Literally.  While drawing blood the lab lady in full PPE gently rested her gloved hand on my hand.  Such a simple contact but in these pandemic times it was so nice to be in physical contact with another human outside of the immediate family.

More than a deleted Tweet and then some early thoughts in pandemic times

I began writing this back in May.  The background had familiar elements, I was feeling a little miserable, maybe sorry for myself for some stupid reason.  I had drafted a Tweet that I decided to delete.  I then had a glass of wine and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with my wife.  I fond some new music and we watched some YouTube faves and the new connections made everything alright. 

No. 1 - Tom Misch - can’t get enough of his groove and bits on YouTube are just what the doctor ordered.  

No. 2. Casey Niestat on Ashley Graham’s show - I’m a massive fan of Casey’s creations and loved the natural interview with the magnetic Ashley Graham.

No 3. Then my wife has a share moment.  Out of the blue - fantastic family friendly creativity from the Holderness family.  

I then went out to walk my dog, Kooper.  A few ideas came to mind:

a) what’s the first thing you want to do after the lockdown begins to relax?  We all have things we miss and can imagine that time, but my flowchart decision point is time - how quickly you can you answer that question.  I’d argue that the people most affected by this global pandemic wouldn’t hesitate with their answer.  But perhaps for some, they would hesitate, contemplate their options and reveal something about themselves in this weird time.  This isn’t so bad for some of us that have the comforts of home and someone close to share things with.

b) Kooper.  My dog.  He has no idea what’s going on.  He’s perhaps a little confused why we’re home all the time, but except for some weird distancing going on on the street, life’s pretty good.  He’s good with the day-to-day ritual, the closeness of family and simple pleasures.  We can learn a lot from dogs like Kooper.

c) When Harry Met Sally is our favourite movie.  There’s a bit in there when Sally talks about the freedoms she’ll enjoy with her boyfriend without the burdens of kids.  It came to me tonight on the dog walk.  We’re all envisioning that day when we’re all free from this lockdown.  But in reality, for many of us, what will be that drastically improved.  Sure, we’ll get to shop for things we perhaps don’t need, we’ll enjoy (and pay heavily) for dinner and a night out with friends, we’ll risk going on the subway to a concert and we’ll be able sweat it out at the gym or on the ultimate field.  But for some of us, perhaps older folk, the best parts of the day are sitting in the living room discussing world problems with the one(s) you love.  We have that now.  Enjoy it.

Movie reviews - summer 2020

Little Women - far from linear nor expected in its form.  Silly.  Confusing timelines.  Comical at times.   Fairy-tale sweetness and melancholy mush.  But for some odd reason I liked it.  Lots of likeable characters portrayed by top notch talent.  The beauty of a period piece unsettled by modern sensibility.  Far from dull, subtle yes, but worth a shiny shilling.   7/10

Late night - although in retrospect it felt a little engineered around personal drivers, it was still entertaining, relevant and well produced.  Solid acting, poignant humour and a well paced plot.   7/10

The Wife - Shakespearean. Expecting a twist. Slater dinner scene was exotic - was that deliberate - how awkward he is versus her story. Incongruent at times. Much more lively than the billing. Complex lives and love. Beautiful cinematic art.  8/10

The Assistant - hard work with the slow pace, sombre tone and a heavy subject.  Garner was perfectly cast but even her buoyancy couldn’t really rescue this one.  Disappointing.  5/10.  After a little further thought, I’m changing this to 6/10 based on the non-transparent Jane - Garner’s portrayal is so good we can’t easily read her.  

Mudbound - heavy and relevant and really well done.  Solid acting and enough creative scriptwriting to weave a thoughtful tragic tale with a glimmer of humanity.  8/10.  

Expedition Happiness - a wonderful journey that was not purely care-free.  A wonderful range of casual video with grand drone landscapes.  Beautiful scenes of nature, culture and love.  Really liked Mogli’s soundtrack and was truly touched at many emotional turns.  Special, personal filmmaking with simple storytelling.  8/10

The Kid (the original Charlie Chaplin silent B&W film from 1921) - I think the first Chaplin movie I’ve watched in full - heartwarming story, twists and turns, heroes and villains, touching moments and frantic action.  It has it all.  Lovely old stuff - really old, like 99 years old.  IMDB fun find: Jackie Coogan who played the kid was Uncle Fester in The Addams Family.   7/10.  

American Son - Wow, very very good.   So much in here, beautifully complex characters tied around a tragic modern tale.  The screenplay was so strong and it definitely felt like a stage play.  Surprising moments that kept twisting the tension.  I watched it alone and tears were shed.  Kind of baffled by the poor reviews.  8/10

Uncut Gems - Wow.  Quite the ride.  Hard to describe and so different to what I expected.  Sandler was truly phenomenal.  Heart racing pace.  Headache tension.  Why Howard why?  Solid contribution from KG and bit part from The Weeknd.  Head spinner like a KG move with no subtlety, very little style, nor mood, but emotion aplenty.  Rich in character, story and drama.  A hint of the comedic but lost among the wreckage left behind.  8/10. 

I didn't write reviews of the following, so just noting things that have stuck with me since seeing them and a reminder from the trailers.

Fyre - crazy entertaining doc. 7/10

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - heartwarming, super performance by Hanks and strong messaging from real life. 7/10

Bombshell - riveting, expose-based-on-the-true-story wretchedness of Fox news.  7/10

Where I find new music: Part 15 - festival listings

I'm chilling to the smooth sounds of BadBadNotGood while enjoying a lovely summer afternoon on our cabana in our urban back yard.

It’s July 4th, 2020 and I compiled a commemorative playlist this morning based on some favourite US places and their fabulous musicians, the order is Hawaii - California - DC - Tennessee - NY - Michigan - Texas - Louisiana - Colorado. Some appropriate titles too, including: Better Together, Take it Easy, History, Life During Wartime, Don't Get Around Much Anymore and Caution - YouTube playlist and Apple Music playlist.

So I'm revisiting some of my faves this afternoon, including Rodriguez.  There’s a fantastic performance of his at a festival called Best Kept Secret.  I was curious about the festival and what kind of lineup would include him.  It's an annual festival in The Netherlands and appears to have an interesting combination of alternative bands and musicians.  Assuming the 2020 dates were cancelled in this year of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had a look at the 2021 line-up.  You can of course, see the headliners and you work the way the list, assuming more popular bands are toward the top of the list.  There's an unusual name there BADBADNOTGOOD that kind of rings a bell.  I Google them and notice a Tiny Desk post and take a look - nice.  I look a little further and there's a full length concert available.

And it's posted by the CBC!  These young musicians are from right here in Toronto.  Wow, great find.  Their music would perhaps fit on CBC's evening show, but I'd be surprised if I've heard them before.  

Now to see what else I find from the line-up listing.

Where I find new music: Part 14 - my son

Wow, the following was drafted about 6 years ago.  It’s a problem I have - drafting some ideas and never completing the piece and posting it.  There’s so many that they could make up a new chapter.  Sadly, I didn’t write down the name of the band he’d found - do you remember buddy?

My son found a great new song on CFNY today and came downstairs to tell me about.   I could tell he was excited about a new find that he thought I'd like.  And he was right.   Unusual opening, catchy beat and melodies and champion-like rhythms.  Happy to see the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.

Kind of related to part 1 of this series.

I found this draft while chilling to the smooth sounds of BadBadNotGood while enjoying a lovely summer afternoon on our cabana in our urban back yard...

A Reason to Share

Some friends may feel I share too much.
I’m not shy about sharing my opinions on important matters.
Recently, some friends have said it’s important to speak up about racial injustice.

This is one way I can share my voice - through these strangers. Wonderful, friendly and beautiful people who I met while doing my 100 Strangers project. When I talked with them we did not talk about their personal experiences in this racially biased world - I didn’t think about it as we talked about a variety of other topics. Did we treat each other differently because of the difference in our skin colour? I'd like to think not, but maybe. I look into their faces now and wonder about how different their lives must be and suspect they have all faced racial prejudice. I can try and relate but my white privilege is a barrier to truly understanding. I hope these words do not offend anyone who is black, I’m not pretending to know what your life is like. Actually Newt Gingrich says it clearly in Ava DuVernay’s 13th “ virtually no one who is white understands the challenge of being black in America”. But I am on your side and I believe #BlackLivesMatter.

All I know is that these strangers, these people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting matter to me. Friends here in Toronto, acquaintances I’ve made south of the border and the stories that sadden me dearly like George Floyd - they all matter to me. I truly hope there’s a way forward that makes their lives and their families lives safer and fairer.

There’s another part in 13th where Cory Greene says “...we don’t need to see pictures to understand what’s going on”. But Van Jones says “you have to shock people into paying attention”. I do pay attention and I’m paying attention now.
But just this week, I caught myself being racist. When I was talking with a work friend about another person in our company, I said a “black guy” in the East.  Why did I have to say he was black.  I’d say that is an example of racism, of being racist.  

I called the man in question and apologized. We had a long chat about racism as well as work.   He was hesitant to say that what I said was racist but did say that people don’t realize the impact of their words.

I also apologized to my friend and they reflected on the fact that they heard me say it and didn't say something. They said they are working on speaking up more often.

I think that’s what we can all do. In addition to making sure we are accountable for our own words, we need to be responsible for speaking out when others are racist.

I apologize. As it’s said with many problems, the first step is recognizing the problem.

Movie review catch-up just in time to answer everyone asking for recommendations for something to watch during global pandemic shutdown

The Platform - you may have seen this get promoted onto your Netflix feed - it was extremely good, but definitely not for everyone.  It has a premise similar to Snowpiercer with a simple graphic puzzle like Cube, with the deeply disturbing psychology of The Stanford Prison Experiment.  I was a little worried about how I'd sleep, but I survived.  Brilliant concept and execution.  Brutal violence but rationed out carefully.  A lot to think about and you could spend a lot of time reading the deeper hypotheses on IMDB.  But first, tighten your seatbelt for quite the mind ride. It is a Spanish language film, but that shouldn't stop true movie fans from having a taste. 8/10

The Irishman - So good.  Maybe the opposite of 1917.  Sure, I little gun violence but such deep storytelling and character exploration.  So much that isn’t just communicated like one of those brilliant restaurant scenes (some in Italian too).  Loyalty personified.  The characters came first, the actors (for the most part) were secondary.  Brilliant acting and direction.  The dialogue was almost poetic.  It was very long and I did glance at the clock a few times (now 12:51 on a Thursday morning), but the pacing was spot on - I guess there was just a lot to tell.   Very little humour, but so much Scorsese potion to soak in.  The makeup was a little off-putting at times but once you’re on-board there’s no real turning back.   Hard to choose which of three super stars are worthy of an award but I really liked Pesci.  9/10

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Well the story was pretty much a straightaway with a nasty cruel element that I thought was too severe.  The acting wasn’t a big stretch, but most characters were likeable.  I was going to give it a 6, but for a lover of dogs and motor racing, I’ll give an extra star for a decent 7/10.  Good soundtrack, nice track scenes and historical F1 moments.

Taylor Swift: Miss Americana - Really well done.  Maybe not for misogynists or Trump supporters, but I felt it was heartfelt and real.  The challenges of stardom and being a successful female in any industry,  Then you add the genius of her creative process and the unusual life she lives - fascinating stuff.  Behind the curtain wonder, human tension and the mystery of stardom, well worth watching.  7/10

Motherless Brooklyn - Really liked this classic gumshoe mystery with a twist or should I say twitch.  Super portrayal by Norton Jr, but I couldn’t see past Baldwin.  Great moods, especially with the jazz soundtrack.   Funny and touching at times.  7/10

Wonder - Wonder  = wonderful.  As per the book(s) structure, I really liked the multi-POV sub plots.  Although there was massive star talent, the young actors stole the show.   From the lead Jacob Tremblay to the complexity of school stereotypes and on to collateral damage, the characters were so vivid. 8/10

Dolemite in My Name - A very unusual hero movie.  I suspected it was true but still came as a welcome surprise during the credits (I hope that's not too much of a spoiler) with comparisons to the real Rudy.  Sure, Murphy was in familiar territory but it took some deeper acting to balance the comical with the storytelling.  7/10  

From further back

Woodstock (2019 version with tag Three Days that Defined a Generation, available on Netflix) - this documentary of the famous event paid less attention to the music and more to the people.  The guys that made it happen, the people who attended and all that happened in between.  What were they thinking?  Loved the storytelling and what the event became. 7/10

The Rolling Stones Ole Ole Ole!: A Trip Across Latin America - (from Twitter) Wow. Found The Rolling Stones Ole Ole Ole: A Trip Across Latin America doc on the PVR (Feb 2019 CTV) - sums up the passion & joy of live music & The Stones beautifully; watch it if you can find it & if you’re on the same team #ItsOnlyRocknRollButILikeIt 9/10 Since posting that on Twitter, the movie is now available on Netflix.

and Parasite - watched it again.  Wow.  Again.

The Aeronauts

My daughter and I started watching this historical drama a while ago and found its beginning quite odd.  For whatever reason we didn’t continue to watch it on that day.  

Forward wind a few months perhaps and I resume the film.  

The movie approximates real life events of early hot air balloon expeditions but the film had a lot of fun with many dangerous adventure action scenes.  The film took many artistic liberties, but it didn’t take away from an interesting time of exploration and science discovery.  

I found the action scenes rather stressful and wasn’t certain of the future of the protagonists.  The chemistry between Jones and Redmayne worked nicely and the stunt work demonstrated the perils of high altitude balloon flight very effectively.  

I really enjoyed the mix of history, science, aeronautics, adventure and heroic pursuits.  Throughly entertaining for an inquisitive, adventurous type.  

Watched a few YouTube bits afterwards - Redmayne’s interview on Colbert was delectable and provided some juicy insight into the making of the movie.  

7/10

I was planning on using a beautiful still from the movie in this post, but I couldn't find a image that appears clear from copyright.  Instead I chose an image from The Smithsonian.

I'm Going to Break Your Heart

This one may be a little difficult to find - I watched it on an Air Canada fight under the Canadian Content section.

This is a documentary about the emotional and creative relationship of Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida.  You may recognize her name from Canadian music fame and perhaps his because he is the lead singer of the band Our Lady Peace.  My wife is a big fan of their new music duo MOON VS SUN and we saw them play live a while ago here in Toronto.


 

The movie is difficult to watch at times - I definitely felt he was real and she was a little theatrical.  But maybe that’s just how they are.

Uneasy because of similarities to my relationship with my wife.  Or dare I say many husbands and their wives.  Sure he’s a dope at times, but she’s also appears difficult.  Maybe extremes of us?

Interesting to see what went into the songs.  We saw them perform many songs from the album a few months ago.

Their therapist was too weird for me and I felt created some disingenuous interaction.

I’m not certain I believe it and I’m worried for them.

It feels wrong to even comment about these real people.

Maybe their expectations for writing in Saint Pierre et Miquelon were too high.   Sunny California had far less friction and seemed to warm their hearts.  Saint Pierre et Miquelon was just too damn cold.

But the tension and times of tenderness and love makes for some good music.  And that’s how they deal with their challenges by singing about it out loud.

7/10 for putting it all out there.

Ford v Ferrari

First off, yes, I'm a fan of motor racing (but not auto racing - that sounds too American).

My father is a big fan and many friends and members of my family share the love of the sport, albeit for perhaps different reasons.  For me, I love witnessing the pinnacle of engineering, seeing highly talented drivers pushing the limits of a machine to the breaking point, buying into the drama and controversy year after year and all of that wrapped up into a beautiful adrenaline rush.  I do enjoy go-kart racing on occasion, but that's as far as I've gone past the point of driving a family car over the speed limit.  So when a big movie like Ford v Ferrari comes out with top-draw acting talent wrapped around motor racing and real life sporting events, that's hard to resist.

You can read all the history and background yourselves and there's lot of it and there's some great YouTube bits about what they got right and wrong in the movie and there's a full length documentary about the event's 50 year reunion and the associated new technical challenges of repeating Le Mans 1966.  Superb stuff.

I really enjoyed this historical drama, it followed a true-to-life plot, but made some creative turns along the way.  The race sequences were perhaps a little overdone, so there was no lack of noise, power and track drama to get the heart racing.  I thought Bale and Damon were spot on and seemed to really love their characters.  I know a little history of Ford and Le Mans, but the movie filled in lots of interesting historic notes.  Probably not for everyone, but someone who is drawn to stories about the competitive drive for victory, historical innovation and technology and getting to know a little about some very interesting real people, you'll will be very entertained.  

8/10 

The photo above is the revamped version of the GT-40 that I saw at last year's Detroit Auto Show.  The one below is an older model in the neighbourhood back in 2008.

Does polling provide an accurate reflection of what we think - who do you trust to explain what is important to you?

Three examples of polling figures that at first glance could be surprising:

From Today's USA Today:

Which seems to conflict with one from a YouTube video I saw recently from one of my new favourite YouTubers: Johnny Harris on his latest vlog called Why People Think the World is Flat, Johnny shows a poll from Yougov...

Wow.

And finally, I found this while searching for Sanders  (funny many links to belt sanders were mixed with the politician) on DuckDuckGo this morning. 

Source: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_sanders-6250.html

I'm sure behind each of these are other stories of question bias, statistics and assumptions.  For example, I quickly found an article explaining the extraordinary flat earther numbers - "No, One-Third of Millennials Don't Actually Think Earth Is Flat.

These are all contributing artifacts to what I've been paying attention lately - we live in highly complex time and place and very few people truly understand the things they see in the news, see on their favourite YouTube channels, or skim books about economics or the reasons why they have such strong opinions about science, religion, politics or Lizzo.

Who do you trust to explain what is important to you?

Joker

Playing Joker was a masterful job my Phoenix.   A gutsy project for all involved.  Although the complexity of character was the main draw, I loved the sets, cinematography and even the soundtrack.  The tension was cut with a naughty, playful mix of a madman’s smile and style.  Phoenix disappeared into his character as he has done in so many excellent past performances.   It fits well with the Batman story, it’s a strong scary companion of the Dark Knight and has a lot of uncomfortable reality.  

Long sentence ramble warning: The mix of DC comic fantasy storytelling and setting with serious modern day concerns about mental health and accessibility of guns could have tipped a viewer to safer ground, but there was a level of believability of Joker’s world that left no doubt we were beyond comic book fantasy and forced to face the real dangers of today’s unfair and uncaring world. 

8/10. 

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Brittany Runs a Marathon (Amazon) is good enough to deserve it's own post.  A simple story with some clever sub plots and colourful characters, but what made it a very entertaining and worthy of some award nominations was Jillian Bell's solid hold of her role that made Brittany someone to care about.  I feel there's a place for movies that can provide genuine inspiration for people that need little lift, a friendly reminder something better is possible and to enjoy the good things in life.  7/10  

Michaela Watkins, Paul Downs Colaizzo, Jillian Bell, and Brittany O'Neill 

at an event for Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019)

Blood Ties. This is not a positive review. And there are spoilers

I’m not exactly sure how I found this recent fictional podcast. But I recall it ranked quite high and was narrated by some film and TV actors.  I don’t think I’ve listened to any fictional podcasts before but it was from the same producers of Dr. Death (non-fictional) that was very well done.

So Blood Ties.  Tasty setting, modern plot, evil theme and good audio atmosphere (hey, there’s probably a foley guy that deserves some credit).  That’s it.   Sorry.  It did kill some time while walking my dog, heading to the gym and doing dishes, but come on...give me a twist at least.  It was truly soap-operaish.   I’m not sure what they were aiming for or who this was intended for, I’m just glad it was only 6 short episodes.  But wait, there’s more...a cliff hanger.  You could see it coming a mile away, oh please.  

I don’t know how I fell for this, genius marketing, boredom, social-media AI, doesn’t matter.  Don’t waste your time, there’s so much real and worthwhile entertainment available.  Or you could just write your own better story.

Generator Toronto 2020 with Chris Hadfield

My wife saw this event last year and got tickets for both of us for this year’s version.  Although main draw, headliner Chris Hadfield only had three appearances, the variety, depth and quality of the other presenters and artists was top notch.  From leading edge science, maths comedy and societal commentary, there was so much I enjoyed.  The venue was the still awesome Roy Thompson Hall, the setting was casual and quirky, but the content was delivered with a strong level of integrity and relevance.

Accompanied by the techno groove of TWRP, Chris’ son Evan Hadfield started off the evening and relayed the themes of positivity, scientific integrity and the value of honest dialogue (I didn’t take notes, but that’s what I took from his opening and the presentations). Rob Ince was the fast-paced humourous Brit host and kept the series of speakers and artists moving along nicely.

It wasn’t all serious science, and Second City (with some sing-a-long), Aaron Chen (from Australia) and Matt Parker (loved the math laughs and now recall I’ve seen him on YouTube previously) interjected a good amount of comedic material and even Jae Rhim Lee (of mushroom death suit fame) and Shari Forbes (with an explanation of a body farm) lightened the heavy topics of mortality and human remains.  Some of the presenters had appeared on Ted Talks, including Adrian Owen and Brendan Frey who enlightened the audience with their important and innovative advances in health sciences.  The night concluded with Simone Giertz adding youthful fun with personal seriousness in a conversation with Chris Hadfield.

But it was Chris Hadfield that we all came to see and he didn’t disappoint.  He delivered a nice acoustic rendition of The Animals’ House of the Rising Sun after the break, but his main contribution was on the topic of map history and science.  His is one (rare) of those people that can make any topic interesting in his passion, delivery, humour and intellect.  Those few minutes were worth the price of admission alone.