This article on libertarianism says pretty much what I was trying to say in my book, only more rigorously (and with zero sense of humour). However, I think the general point of this article – that something like libertarianism is empty theory ignorant of human behaviour and human history – is actually a point that …
Baseball (1994, 2010 Ken Burns, Lynn Novick)
Burns and co.’s constant mythologizing is a lot more appropriate here than it was in The Civil War, and as such I feel like this effort is the more successful one, despite the greater historical importance of the first series. And to their credit, they only mythologize about certain things. For some examples, the game’s …
Symphony No. 8; Ballade; Slavonic Festival (1988) by Alexander Glazunov, performed by Various Artists
I really don’t like these arbitrary compilations, where there’s one major work fleshed out with other smaller works, and when the performances are by different orchestras / performers, it’s all the more frustrating.
Your Movie Sucks (2006) by Roger Ebert
I used to read Ebert a lot while he was still alive. It’s not that I necessarily agreed with him all the time – I find that he both overrates some well-made children’s movies, and falls into that typical critic’s cliche of thinking the values of his generation are universal (more on that in a …
The Complete Concertos (2011) by Alexander Glazunov, Performed by the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Jose Serebrier
I can be quite picky about compilations, especially when there is a supposed theme to them, such as “violin concertos.” I generally want my music to be at least of the same era – and performed by the same people – rather than a hodgepodge that some record exec thought was a good idea.
Your 2013-14 Toronto Raptors
A little while ago I wondered aloud whether or not this Raptors team would rank among the best ever. [Editor’s note: Post since deleted because a) it was just a listicle of good Raptors teams and b) 2019 happened.] Now that they have been eliminated by the Nets, I think we can say that they …
Complete String Quartets (2008) by Philip Glass, performed by the Smith Quartet
First off, this is no longer ‘complete’ if it ever really was – Glass has apparently written a 6th quartet. (Also, there are other pieces he has written for string quartet that do not appear here, but they are not numbered among his string quartets, apparently.)
Stolen (2012, Simon West)
This is a very stupid movie that tries to mash two genres together – the bank heist movie and the kidnapped child movie. The writer spent very little time worrying about whether or not the plot made much sense and the director doesn’t make the script any more convincing. (I would expect nothing less from …
Einstein on the Beach (1976, 1979) by Philip Glass
I am a very big fan of John Adams’ Nixon in China from pretty much the moment I heard it. It seemed impossible to me that two seemingly diametrically opposed styles of music could be merged s seamlessly. It’s safe to say it changed my (musical) life.
2013-14 Toronto Maple Leafs Review
I must admit, I am pretty much done with the Leafs at this point. Not so much the team, but management. Both Burke and Nonis have made numerous avoidable mistakes – Nonis is making Burke look practically visionary so far – and the Leafs haven’t been a playoff team in a decade. (We should regard …
An Open Letter to the Conservative MPs of the Greater Toronto Area
Have you no sense of decency?
Pain and Gain (2013, Michael Bay)
I don’t like Michael Bay’s movies, at least I haven’t since I grew up. Some people have tried to defend him, claiming he is some kind of modern Godard-esque stylistic rebel. I have never felt that way. I usually feel like his films don’t defy internal film logic because of some kind of deep-seeded artistic …
Birks Works: the Verve Big Band Sessions (1956, 1957, 1993) by Dizzy Gillespie
I recently listened to this band’s performance at Newport and was underwhelmed. It just goes to show you the power of mood. I guess just wasn’t in the mood and I imagined the Newport show as some kind of semi-modernist response to Ellington’s Newport show of the year before. I think I was over-thinking.
Mennin: The Cycle, Ginastera: Milena (Release date unknown) by Various Artists
It’s really hard to like compilations like this, even though I like the music. This compilation contains no information about its release date or the dates of the performances. The composers and artists are listed, but the reason for such an arbitrary combination of two pieces is never given. (The one commonality: both are orchestral …
The Complete New York Town Hall and Boston Symphony Hall Concerts (1947, 2006) by Louis Armstrong and his All Stars
So this box includes both the complete concerts of the title and some additional performances from around the same time, including a performance held before a movie premier for a movie Armstrong was starring in, and some other miscellaneous recordings Armstrong features on that don’t really feel apiece.
Live Reading of Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996) at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, March 11, 2014
Last night I went to my first “live reading” of a movie script, this has become something of a trend. I wasn’t going to go initially, but my cousin was already going and the girlfriend wanted to go. I had some slight reservations, but I had enjoyed their show in the fall so much that …
Riley Goes to Turkey (February 2014)
You may have noticed the lack of blog posts from me during part of February. That’s because the wife and I went to Turkey. What follows is a summary of what we did.
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Battlestar Galactica, the reboot, is probably the greatest science fiction TV show of all time. (That obviously depends on what we mean by “science fiction”, as if I included the original Prisoner in that genre, maybe I would be forced to rethink my position. And no, no version of Star Trek has ever particularly impressed …
The Campaign to Fire Dave Nonis: Mark Fraser
Edmonton Oilers Get: Mark Fraser, 27, D: By any stretch of the imagination, Fraser had a career year last season. He had been a depth / AHL D for his entire career before Burke picked him up for minor league depth. He was one of Carlyle’s two experiments on the back-end last season (the one …
The Complete RCA Victor Recordings 1937-1949 (1995) by Dizzy Gillespie
Gillespie is probably the greatest trumpet player ever, but this is the first time I’ve really gotten into his discography, a major oversight on my part.
Passion – Sources (1989) by Various Artists, curated by Peter Gabriel
On the one hand, this is a fine collection of “world” music, featuring all sorts of interesting pieces from different cultures. Moreover, it was released in connection to an “event” Hollywood film, meaning that this type of music got unprecedented exposure in North America.
I won the internet lottery!
I’m sorry I’ve been so bad about updating this site lately. Life has sort of gotten in the way; we got a puppy I have been working on a new book, and I published my second book. Also, I have been working a little too hard at making sure my pop culture blog is in …
Warm Bodies (2013, Jonathan Levine)
From the very beginning, this movie – and presumably its source, the novel – violates many if not most genre conventions. So maybe it shouldn’t judged on the terms of those conventions. Because if it is judged on the conventions of the genre, it is bad. But I guess if it willfully violates the genre’s …
Call it Sleep (1934) by Henry Roth
I have finally finished Call it Sleep by Henry Roth, but it isn’t just the book’s fault – at least some of the responsibility lies with our new puppy who, especially in November, did not leave me with enough energy to read. Anyway, I’m finally done and I’m glad I read it.
Franck: String Quartet; Violin Sonata (1978, 1995, 2006) by Fitzwilliam Quartet; Pierre Amoyal, Pascal Roge
I am a sucker for a good string quartet and I like to think that this is a very good string quartet. It’s certainly interesting for its era and, though not as ballsy as so many of the great quartets of the early 20th century, I think it would probably bear comparison with other notable …
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011, David Yates)
For one brief, incredible moment they had me: I thought I was about to witness the ballsiest act in movie franchise history – because I don’t read much fantasy, I know nothing about where it would fit in fantasy franchise history – and I was in the process of being blown away when, of course, …
2014 Canadian Men’s Olympic Hockey Team
So obviously the biggest question on every Canadian’s mind right now is ‘did Steve Yzerman et al. pick the right players to give Canada its second men’s hockey Olympic gold medal in a row…on international ice.?’ (The international ice caveat is important because at the Olympic level Canada hasn’t won a men’s hockey gold medal …
Carlo Gesualdo Madrigaux a 5 voix (1988) by Les Arts Florissants conducted by William Christie and Tenebrae responsories for Maundy Thursday (2004) by the King’s Singers
How we remember the past is always fascinating. They say the winners write history and that’s fine when it comes to political violence, but how relevant is that to art? Why exactly was Gesualdo forgotten for a couple centuries? Very briefly, the story with Gesualdo is that he was considered a minor Renaissance composer and …
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, Concerto in F (1960, 200?) by Various Artists
I’ve heard the Bernstein “Rhapsody” before, and I still like it perhaps more than any other version. His version of An American in Paris is also good. Don’t really know why the Concerto features Andre Previn instead, but it’s also a good version. If I didn’t like the music so much, I’d probably be annoyed …
The Campaign to Fire Dave Nonis: Dion Phaneuf and the Liles Trade
On New Year’s Eve the Toronto Maple Leafs extended Dion Phaneuf. On Year’s Eve they traded John-Michael Liles and a prospect for Tim Gleason.