In 2013, I wrote the following: At first this seemed to me like an arbitrary combination (something which I generally dislike) but for some reason the two works seem to mesh well together, and it’s not just because they were written within five years of each other. They seem (at least on my first listens) …
Month: March 2013
Jarome Iginla Trade to the Penguins
Iginla used to be my favourite player back in the day, even though I am not a Calgary fan. So I am glad to see him move to a contender, even though it certainly would have been nice to see a player who entered the league more recently than Lidstrom finish his career with one …
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
I get this, I appreciate it intellectually, and I often find it amusing, but I have to say that, as someone who had a love-hate relationship with George on Seinfeld, I have trouble watching parts of this show. My problem is that I don’t like people like this and I have trouble relating to the …
Did Boardwalk Empire Jump the Shark at the end of its third season?
The Conservative Party of Canada is now officially the Party of Willful Ignorance.
Last week, the Government of Canada voted against “Science.” Quite literally, it turns out. Here is the text of the motion the Conservatives voted down: That, in the opinion of the House, a) public science, basic research, and the free and open exchange of scientific information are essential to evidence-based policy-making; b) federal government scientists must …
Treason is what you make it
I am a regular viewer of the Amazing Race, the only “reality” show I can handle which isn’t cooking-related. I am aware that the show is not exactly what it seems, as I am aware that it is edited and that the crew manipulate the results. I don’t care. I enjoy the “race” aspect of …
Dvorak Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2 (1989) by the Raphael Trio
This collects Dvorak’s two least-regarded piano trios. I didn’t know that while I listened to it, and, now that I know, I’m not quite surprised. The music is certainly pleasant, but one can understand why people haven’t gone crazy over this music, which seems to me as if it could easily have been written in …
Dvorak: Violin Concerto, Sonata and Sonatina (2009) by Jack Liebeck
This is a good summary of Dvorak’s violin music. Dvorak isn’t my favourite, but I enjoy him enough. As usual, I cannot really comment on the performance and how it relates to other performances as this is the first time I have heard these pieces. But the sound is good and Jack Liebeck sounds like …
The Campaign to fire Dave Nonis: Komisarek
Mike Komisarek got waived yesterday. It’s about time. Hopefully somebody takes him. But it doesn’t really matter as the Leafs can afford to pay him in the AHL anyway. $4.5 million per year for:
The Campaign to Fire Dave Nonis: David Steckel
Anaheim Ducks get: David Steckel, 31, C Leafs get: Ryan Lasch, RW/LW; 7th Round Pick Before I knew who Steckel was, I was really upset when the Leafs traded a 4th round pick for him back in October of 2011. This is because I looked at his hockey-reference.com profile and not his NHL.com profile and …
The Songs of Henri Duparc (1989) by Sarah Walker, Thomas Allen, Roger Vignoles
For reasons I can’t quite articulate, I find lieder tough to get into. My first reaction is to be a little surprised that this guy’s status in the canon rests on this.
New NHL Divisions
The NHL Board of Governors just approved this realignment plan. I am, for the most part, all for it. The plan was necessitated by the Thrashers moving from Atlanta to Winnipeg. Back in May of 2011, I discussed the problems for the current six-division system. Since the move, the Zombie Thrashers have been playing in …
Journalism and Democracy
We are at a time when journalism – or at least the potential to perform journalism – has become democratized in ways previously never thought possible. There are more “journalists” and outlets supposedly performing “journalism” than ever existed in history before. There are more people and outlets posing as journalistic. There is more coverage of …
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012, Timur Bekmambetov)
Based on the title and on some moderately positive reviews I read at the time of its theatrical release, I was actually kind of looking forward to this despite – perhaps because of – its poor box office performance. But I don’t really know where to begin.
Nazem Kadri’s 2013 NHL Performance
Based on nearly half of this bastardized “season,” the remarks I made about Kadri were wrong. And, provided he keeps up this point-per-game pace – and there is no guarantee that he will or won’t – his emergence as a legitimate top 6 forward in the NHL stands as a reminder to people like me …