Year Of Rat Festivities Cancelled

The Dumpling House reopens.

"We make dumplings in the front window. We kind of showcase the food, we don't hide anything from the public," said Michael Chu, the manager of the [restaurant].

We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful

No Beautiful Shore, the debut novel by our friend Beverley Stone (as previously mentioned) has been delayed at the printers but should be available around mid-March at your local.

Bev will be doing her first public reading as part of the Harbourfront Weekly Reading Series on Wednesday, March 5. It's not on their sked yet but I assure you 'tis so. So go. No heckling, unless it's in dialect.

And gents--she's single (with cats)!

Black DSH Showing Blonde Roots

Our pusscat refused to eat his salmon- and trout-flavoured cat food today because I put...salmon oil in it.

Post About Post-Rock Band Post-Iraq

Efrim Menuck, erstwhile of Montreal's maestros of the maudlin (de)crescendo Godspeed You! Black Emperor, talks about the band's demise in an upcoming interview. Unfortunately, Babelfish doesn't speak Gibberopseudish:

The last American tour that Godspeed did was in the run up to the current war in Iraq. For what Godspeed did, it was very difficult for us to work out a way for us to communicate directly with the audience about what was going on. We would talk to people after the shows, or we could make announcements from the stage but so much what Godspeed was, was one-way communication.

“And I had an existential freak-out about that. That those tactics aren’t valid anymore.

“People didn’t need a rock band pointing in the direction of [how the world was at that point]. Maybe what they needed is some clumsy words, a presentation that was a little more human.

mp3: GY!BE--"Moya" (from the ep Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada)

We're An Urban Village!

...wrote C. Hume in The Star the other day.

I must say it helps having rail lines a couple of blocks north, a commercially depressed area to the east, and a fucking great hill to the south.

Although they lack excitement, the tree-lined roads make up for a lot. Wandering around here one is reminded of the critical role trees play in a city like Toronto, which would otherwise be one mean-looking place.

Oh, pooh.

Hitchens Refuted

God exists.

Time Lapse

Dec. 16



Jan. 13



Feb. 1

Not From Sligo

....but his accent was impeccable.

Madness In The Atlantic

Feeding my recent obsession with adventure tales, I've just finished reading this book.

In the end, Donald Crowhurst didn't do much adventuring, as he never made it out of the Atlantic Ocean and didn't see many storms. However, his story serves as a warning against solo sailing, or, for that matter, doing any remote exploration by yourself. (Look what happened to Chris McCandless, subject of Into The Wild.)

I'm not talking about the obvious physical perils of solo adventures:
Sailing up and down the Atlantic for 243 days, alone, with limited radio contact and only one shore visit (with non-English speakers), is a sure way to push an unstable person around the bend. And in Crowhurst's case, it did. Heck, it probably could push a well-balanced person over the edge.

This isn't a book report; I'm not going to give you a synopsis of what happened to Donald Crowhurst. His story is widely available online. Plus, there's now a documentary about him, Deep Water. I hope to see it some day.

What's saddest about Crowhurst's story is how trapped he felt, how he boxed himself into an impossible situation. It's like watching the proverbial train wreck; you're unable to stop it happening. He had many opportunities to stop before it was too late. He could've even sailed to the West Indies, declared himself a renegade and never returned home. For him, too shameful an option perhaps. But at least he wouldn't have gone mad.

Happy New Year

Best wishes to all. We're staying in, as Jo is coming down with the flu.

Who am I kidding--we'd have stayed in anyway.

Perhaps watching this.

X

We're off for a few days, so best wishes to one and all.

Enjoy responsibly.

Or else.

Newf For 2008

The debut novel by our friend Bev Stone (Beverley for ahh-thorial purposes) will be released by Cormorant Books on Valentine's Day.

I order you to pre-order.

Bev has a wicked and weird sense of humour and a soothing voice that could talk down the most determined jumper.

An Aversion To Publicity Bordering On The Bransonesque

When making fun of Ann Coulter, we Canucks should always remember that we spawned Rachel "Play Misty For Me" Marsden.
Thorough backgrounder here, for those of you who didn't read Frank regularly during the late '90s.

...And Featuring Jack Warden As Nerva

Pretty Linus Roache joins the cast of Dawn Of The Dead L & O.

Is there a major shortage of American actors or something?

Kiwi Kwasi Konfection Konquers Kanuckistan (Kraftily)!

Mmmm...butteroil-sugar blend.

Big In Iran

Nice to hear that Chris de Burgh is still alive.

"Lady In Red" will not be performed, authorities say, and if she shows up she'll be politely asked to adhere to Islamic dress codes.

Jehovah's Dandruff

Winter arrives next week.

Red Hat, Ding Bat

The Joe Horn case in Texas, commented upon by Guardian Angels principal breakdancer Curtis Sliwa (zip to around 1 minute in).

Catch Curtis live in Halifax this weekend.

Waiting For The McCaw

Buy me one for Antitheistmass.

Palate Cleanser

Rid yourself of the taste of the Piano Man with a bit of the Bald Synth Man: