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Radwanski's Ramblings... War as entertainment My friend Milan has hit the nail right on the head, whichever side of the Middle East mess you're inclined to come down on (at least up to the last two paragraphs, which are a bit more contentious). As in the lead-up to the Iraq war, it's not Western commentators' positions I have any problem with; it's the utterly callous manner in which they argue them. It's a lot of fun to sit where I work, or in the thousands of other places like it on this continent, and treat war like it's a board game. And it's amazing how easy it is to achieve moral certainty when it all seems like theatre rather than real life. But considering how quickly most everyone I know would crumble under a tiny fraction of what civilians in war zones go through, I have as much trouble accepting those dismissive "Hey, that's war" lines as Milan does. Entertainment as entertainment It's funny. With most of my pet bands, I know at least one other person who shares my affinity. But I'm not sure I know anyone who's into Razorlight nearly as much as I am. Except for an awful lot of Brits, of course, who in this case are actually onto something. In hindsight, critics who dismissed Johnny Borrell as a post-Libertines poser following the release of Razorlight's first album might've had a point. Don't get me wrong - Up All Night was one of the most fun albums of '04. But Razorlight's poppier self-titled sophomore disc, out this week (in the UK at least), is such a natural fit that it's pretty obvious he was trying to be something he's not the first time out. Anyway, no matter. For my money, the new album is 35 minutes of catchy, chorus-heavy perfection. And I'm looking forward to their inevitable North American tour, because the guy's a born rock star. Now if I can just find someone equally excited to go with me… Fun with Uncle Joe and Jimmy K (I) Such a heartwarming story in the Star the other day. So nice to hear about the kinder, gentler Jim Karygiannis. and the "personal touch learned as a Greek-born kid growing up on the Danforth.” Just one question: How does this square with the complaints I keep hearing about the same kinder, gentler, people-friendly Jimmy K making threatening calls to supporters of other candidates? Fun with Uncle Joe and Jimmy K (II) Same article, different question - this one about the letter Volpe reportedly received from the Canada Arab Network, celebrating that he "expressed that he would work with the democratically elected government in Palestine without preconditions.” Now, I'm no expert on the Middle East, which is why I generally don't write about it here. But I'm having a little trouble seeing how that particular position squares with Volpe's past status as an unusually pro-Israel Liberal MP. Near as I can tell, when Volpe is campaigning in his home riding, which has a large Jewish population, he's pro-Israel. When he's running for the leadership, and courting the "allophone” vote, he's pro-Palestinian. Which brings us to our next question: Just how willing is Joe Volpe to tell people what they want to hear? Al-Qaeda, this ain't This guy may well have done us all a major service, helping protect our security. But he's also provided further evidence, if there wasn't enough already, that the Toronto 17 were never exactly major players on the international terror scene. Honestly, if these guys were in any way connected to major terror groups, do you think the guy who helped bring them down would be going on TV to tell everyone about it? Serving your CFL needs... As a longtime Argos fan, it's been amusing to hear Jays supporters grousing lately about the lack of media attention afforded to the team. Welcome to the club, guys. This is a hockey town, first and foremost, and no matter how exciting or deserving your team, the best it can ever hope for is to play second fiddle. That said, you can bitch and moan about it all you like…or you can do something about it. And so, for the benefit of the many CFL fans in Toronto (have a look at the ratings sometime) and those across the rest of the country, we bring you Boatmenblog. Our aim isn't to analyze the Argos to death, although there'll probably be a bit of that. It's to capture a bit of the flavour of what makes the CFL unique - the personalities, the anecdotes, the afterparties. And to generate a few laughs (or at least moderate chuckles) for fans of all teams. From now on, most of my football-related stuff will be over there. And without getting too ambitious, we're hoping the site will be a regular stop for anyone with an appreciation for the Canadian game. So much as it's still in its fledgling stage, pop on over. Post some comments. Tell your friends. And if you're from Hamilton, try to keep your sense of humour. Random music notes Anyway, point is, Surprise - his new comeback album, though I'm not entirely sure what he's coming back from - is rather good. Not as good as what he's done in the past, necessarily, but pretty consistently interesting. And Wartime Prayers is pretty great. As of right now, Simon's not scheduled to hit Toronto on his summer tour. I'm hoping that'll change, if only so I can try (probably in vain) to score an interview. That'd totally blow my mind. And yes, I know that's weird. This raises an interesting question. How many bands or artists dramatically improve mid-career, pulling out something their previous work wouldn't lead you to believe they had in them? I can think of a few, but I'm opening the floor to nominations. Let's make a list. Monday July 10, 2006 Must be too busy signing up committed Liberals I was kinda hoping Friday's column would prompt Jim Karygiannis to bust into my place and leave some sort of dead animal on my pillow, but no such luck. Maybe I'll have to do one more directly on the frightening prospect of Joe Volpe actually being a player in the Liberal leadership. But for now, here's what I've got. >> Send your comments to Adam RadwanskiFriday July 7, 2006 On columns (recent) past and present Wednesday's music column on the Polaris shortlist is, as promised, now here. And I stand by my initial take: It's a damn good list. Failure to be consistently cynical and superior may get me kicked out of the indie snobs' club, but I never paid the membership dues anyway. On to another column I stand by, this one on politics rather than music. It's in today's Post, so if you're too cheap to buy one you won't quite understand what I'm on about till I post it here in a couple of days. But the gist of it is that, however much they try, the Liberals - or any other party, for that matter - will never be able to run a clean race under the present leadership selection system. If that seems unduly harsh...well, too long around politics will do that to you. But I do want to differentiate between the process and the people involved in it. For all I criticize them, there are some very good people in each of the parties, doing what they do because they geninely want to contribute to the country. I include in that group at least some of the candidates seeking the Liberal leadership, and many of the activists working on their behalf. I just wish they had a better political culture to work in. >> Send your comments to Adam Radwanski Radwanski's Ramblings from June 23-July 6, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 9-22, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 12-June 8, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 28-May 11, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 14-27, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 7-13, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from March 24-April 6, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from March 10-23, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from February 24-March 9, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from February 10-23, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from February 3-9, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from January 27-February 2, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from January 20-26, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from January 13-19, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from December 30, 2005-January 12, 2006 Radwanski's Ramblings from December 16-29, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from December 2-15, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from November 18-December 1, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from November 4-17, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from October 28-November 3, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from October 21-27, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from October 7-20, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from September 23-October 6, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from September 9-22, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from September 2-8, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from August 19-September 1, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from August 5-18, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 22-August 4, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 15-21, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 8-14, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 1-7, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 24-30, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 16-23, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 10-16, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 3-9, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 20-June 2, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 13-19, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 29-May 12, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 22-28, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 8-21, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 1-7, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from March 25-31, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from March 18-24, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from March 11-17, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from February 25-March 10, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from February 11-24, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from January 28-February 10, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from January 14-27, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from December 31, 2004-January 13, 2005 Radwanski's Ramblings from December 17-30, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from December 3-16, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from November 19-December 2, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from November 5-18, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from October 22-November 4, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from October 8-21, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from September 24-October 7, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from September 17-23, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from September 3-16, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from August 20-September 2, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from August 6-19, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 23-August 5, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 16-22, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 9-15, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 25-July 8, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 18-24, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 11-17, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 4-10, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 28-June 3, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 21-27, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 14-20, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 7-13, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 23-May 6, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 16-22, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 9-15, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 2-8, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from March 26-April 1, 2004 All rights reserved. |