Bob of Montreal
Monday, April 17, 2006
Participant Films Fulfils Its Promise
Participant films was a new production company in 2005, with the goal to produce films with social goals. It was probably the most ambitious entertainment/social project undertaken since the the 1930s and 40s, when Hollywood cared big about speaking truth to power, until they were red-baited down in the McCarthy era.
Participant had a great year, making three feet-forward films, with great critical reception and fantastic box office. But, while their films raised issues, and sent some people home to talk to their neighbors, they had not yet made a film which would change the world.
Until now.
Participant films has teamed with Al Gore to bring a documentary movie which will be bigger than FAHRENHEIT 911.
The movie, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, covers global warming, and tells, in graphic terms, and with the credibility of an earnest man with nothing to gain and who has already lost everything, why we should all be very, very afraid.
Check out the Trailer on the Apple Website.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Judas Writes Tell-All: "Jesus told me to sell him out to the Authorities!"
No joke! 'Gospel of Judas' Surfaces After 1,700 Years - New York Times: "An early Christian manuscript, including the only known text of what is known as the Gospel of Judas, has surfaced after 1,700 years. The text gives new insights into the relationship of Jesus and the disciple who betrayed him, scholars reported today. In this version, Jesus asked Judas, as a close friend, to sell him out to the authorities"
Thursday, September 09, 2004
The First Tree of Fall
I have a view of the Parc Mont-Royal from my front room. I would say that, in a sweep, IU'm looking at about 40 trees. Today, the one closest to my window began to change color -- it's now a greenish-red. I can see a tree further back, which has sprinkinglings of red.
Fall is coming, the trees are changing color.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Violent Crime as Weather
In discussion: a recent violent crime wave, apparently, there's a gang turf war, and there have been 10 violent crimes in the downtown area in the past week.
Now, in Los Angeles, crime is a constant thing. Hundreds of people are killed every year. Here, they talk about violent crime waves like weather. A criminology professor at UToronoto:
"Most weekends are nonviolent. You kind of just have to wait these things out and see," he said.
"If it starts happening next weekend and the weekend after that, that's a profound shift. But one weekend doesn't make a trend."
Wortley said there's always a particularly violent weekend every now and again. In February, he noted, there was a string of four killings in the span of three hours in Toronto. There haven't been any similar cases since then.
"These random events can happen once in a while," Wortley said. "We shouldn't let it paralyze us with fear."
I'm so used to crime being a constant overwhelming wash, that it's hard for me not to read this and laugh. Indeed, a week in which there are 10 violent crimes shouldn't paralyze Montreal with fear. Ten violent crimes is a bad five minutes in LA.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Beer Money
In societies where we consume brand-names to say who we are, then who the brand is makes a big difference. Thus, if you
don't think the announced merger between Adolph Coors and Canada's Molson is a big deal to Canadians, think again.
Molson sells beer in Canada by showing ads of people drinking Molson and announcing, "I am Canadian". And what is the over-riding characteristic of the elbow-bending Canadians? Politeness. That's right, my fellow Americans: Molson sells its beer not on loutish hollaring and leering jiggly-chasing (tongue-in-cheek ads featuring lots of mammalian beavers aside).
A recent ad shows a midling-looking 25-year old man in a bar, next to a striking young man. The striker is snaping his fingers, trying to get the bar maid's attention amongst the din. And the midling young man turns to the camera and rhetorically asks: "Why don't I try to get the bartender's attention by snapping my fingers?" Cut to the midler's home bathroom: "Why don't I flush the toilet while my room-mate is taking a shower?" (he hands a comely room-mate a towel). Answer: "Because I am Canadian".
And here's a few other "I Am Canadian" ads.
So, I'm curuious to see what happens when a company which has branded its beer with "I am Canadian" merges with a very US-based beer company.
Monday, July 12, 2004
New Things
I just started dating Courtney Love. I know, I know, I've heard it already from my friends: "She's high maintainence", "an emotional nightmare", "hard to shop for on Birthdays and Christmas." Also: "Wanted on a Bench Warrants in two states," say judges in Los Angeles, New York. "Just look what happened to an otherwise stable boyfriend" say millions of fans. Cassandras, all.
And, to be sure, her fortieth Birthday was tough -- a severe gynecological problem according to her lawyer; either a miscarriage or abortion if you believe the papers. But, from her bedside, at the right hand of her press agent, I can tell you that it was none of those things, but as traumatic as all of these things.
Most men of my age -- 36 years old now, single, professor, in Montreal -- would probably give the girl a pass. Too immature for her age, not knowing where she's going, planning for the future. But I suppose I've been guilty of that myself -- we have that in common, and we laugh about it together. We chuckle, Courtney and I.
At least, we have so far. We've only been out three times together -- four, if you count the hospital. Two dinners, one movie and drinks.
I was surprised the first dinner when she suggested that new Olive Garden in Chelsea. But, of course, Courtney Love is exactly who the Olive Garden in Chelsea is for. She couldn't put the breadsticks down. All of our waiter's stations were aflame when we left. In the back of a police car. She overtipped. We talked about politics, movies, all my favorite topics, late into the night in that holding cell, until the sun came up and we made bail.
Oh, but Courtney talks with her fists. Not that she beats me. It's a fair fight -- ground rules set ahead of time, no metal below the elbow. And I have the defensive bruises to prove it.
We'll see how it goes. Also, I bought an ice cream maker and two outstanding mantle clocks in Vermont.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Come Apart
In 2000, the provincial government of Quebec forcibly joined some tens of cities (I think the number is ~30) near Montreal into a single mega-city. The purpose of this move is, as it is when it happens in the us, to enlarge the tax base of the central city, which provides a lot of centralized services to the municipalities. A drive downtown tells you that this is a good idea -- the roads are potholled like you wouldn't believe. Wouldn't believe. Would not believe.
What else is there? Water and electricity are provincial monopolies, so that's out. Same with education -- and, unlike in the US, the schools here are apparently uniformly outstanding; it's an irrelevancy when looking for a place to live. Fire services and police services -- those are two things which must be paid for by each city (and which they grudged offering each other), and which was centralized under the forced merger.
Well, now there are ~23 cities which are in the process of voting themselves back into cities. See, unlike in California, where once the city has been merged, it has to vote itself into de-merging, here, the individual cities can vote themselves as demerged. That way, they can each get their own little tax base, have their own mayor and elections, run fire houses and police departments.
The city is coming apart.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Even more spring
Spring hit a stride this past week in Montreal, and it's a wonderful thing. I was pretty sure it was spring when the temperature finally tipped up 75, but it definitely happened when I noticed that that hill -- excuse, mountain -- across the street from me was a wide emerald plane (excuse, mountain). A walk on Friday evening down St. Laurent found the place mobbed -- the whole sweaty street -- as restaurants and cafes filled to overflowing. Restaurants I had dismissed as cramped and dismal dives exploded onto the Main with enormous patios that previously I thought was simply abandoned public space, now teeming with people.
And quite suddenly, the clothes changed. Gone, the 5 winter layers, culminating in wool scarves capping every neckless profile, and suddenly here were legs and arms -- the miniskirts and crepe tops I remember from Los Angeles. The path across the way up the hill (excuse, mount) has joggers every minute, bicyclists every two.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Springtime
It's definitely spring. The temperatures got into the high 60s today, according to Yahoo weather, but it felt warmer than that. No need for the jacket anymore. The spring-like weather was most obvious this weekend, when streets and parks I had been used to seeing completely vacant were suddenly mobbed with thousands of people. It turns out people live in the city in places other than the insides of restaurants, bars, and coffee houses.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Right on Red
Woody Allen once said: "I wouldn't want to live anyplace where the main cultural advantage is that you can make a right on red." This was a joke, because at the time, New York City was the only city in the US which banned the practice.
Right on red has been illegal in Montreal. Last year, the Quebec government permitted some areas to go right on red, but the island of Montreal remains a no-right-on-red zone.
(An article on the subject is here). Apparently, there's the perception that right-on-red poses a threat to pedestrians and bikers, because drivers would just plow them down in the sidewalks. That's very different from what I remember in California, where pedestrian is King (for example, if a pedestrian crossing between two corners without a traffic light is struck by a car, it's the driver's fault, automatically).
So far, I've been able to restrain myself from making a right on red. I don't mind it so much, but it seems silly -- an anachronistic restriction based on perceived, but non-existent, danger. I will pull to the stop-light, and start tapping my wheel, waiting, slightly annoyed -- like a muzzle has been slipped on after learning my internalized driving reactions in elsewhere. Even more annoying, however, is the fact that many signals first have a green arrow pointing straight -- so that even when the light changes, at first, you can only go forward, again, to give pedestrians opportunity to cross. What's annoying about this is that it assumes that without the light, pedestrians don't have the right-of-way, and they do! But if there are no pedestrians there, I sit, I wait.
On the other hand, I ate poutine at three new places last month. After I eat one more at LaFluer, I'll be ready for the poutine review.
