|
Thursday October 20, 2005
Housekeeping
Been a little lax on updating things around here lately (busy week), so a bit of a mixed bag – a little something for everyone.
If Ontario politics is your thing, the second of last week’s two Sorbara-related columns is now here. If hockey and/or race relations are more your thing, there’s the Brashear/Avery/Nat X op-ed (sort of an extended version of a recent posting here) that ran on Saturday. And on the music front, my review of the Broken Social Scene disc is now up in the usual place.
Did I say “everyone”? Okay, maybe not quite. But if I follow through on my plan to write this week’s column on the scintillating topic of productivity, you’ll all be able to consider yourselves very lucky.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Note: That’s too much Pornographers. You can’t have too much Pornographers.
I missed the New Pornographers’ Toronto gig on Thanksgiving weekend, which means I also missed opener Immaculate Machine. I’m starting to regret that, because having finally gotten around to listening to their disc, I’m pretty taken with it.
Admittedly, there’s something a bit familiar about it. I’m not sure how much of a role co-vocalist Kathryn Calder’s uncle – that would be Carl Newman – played, but there’s a serious New Pornographers Jr. thing going on here. Not that I’m complaining. You can’t have too much Pornographers.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Saturday October 15, 2005
Fight the power, Urquhart-style (alternative heading: Last Sorbara post. Promise.)
Good for Ian Urquhart.
Amid the feeding frenzy on Ontario’s deposed finance minister this week, which I’ll admit to feeling slightly guilty for taking part in, it’s about time somebody took a step back and considered the possibility he’s not gotten a fair shake.
Not to say that he shouldn’t have had to resign. Nor that he’s necessarily innocent. Nor even, as I’ve said previously, that he necessarily should’ve been in cabinet to begin with. But it’s a dangerous thing to interpret an investigation as an indictment – especially, as Urquhart points out, when you consider the RCMP’s history on some of these things.
(Incidentally, I have no idea what Norman Spector is talking about. Unless I’m missing something, Glen Clark was indeed acquitted of all criminal charges. See?)
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Random music notes
A few weeks ago, I interviewed Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. We wound up talking about religion and death quite a bit, mostly because he likes singing about it. The write-up appeared in yesterday’s Post, to precede tonight’s Kool Haus show, and is now here.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I really, really dig K’Naan. His show at Revival the other night had a more relaxed vibe to it than his Pop Montreal gig, possibly because Toronto audiences just don’t get jacked the same way. But he played If Rap Gets Jealous, one of my favourite tracks of the year even though I barely listen to hip-hop and one that he skipped over in Montreal, so I’m happy.
Speaking of favourite tracks this year, is there anything more perfect than Wolf Parade’s Shine a Light? I remember thinking, “Hot damn, that’s a great song!” when they were opening for Arcade Fire last April, but I couldn’t remember what song it actually was. Now I do.
Where’s the love for Ryan Adams? Seriously, Jacksonville City Nights deserves better.
Anybody else noticing a bit of a local anti-Broken Social Scene backlash? Maybe it’s just in my circle, but the compulsion (self-inflicted or otherwise) to laud their latest as a masterwork seems to be rubbing a few people the wrong way.
Are there any Toronto shows that Ron Sexmith does not attend?
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Friday October 14, 2005
McGuinty's secret weapon (II)
Further to yesterday’s post, the Ontario Tories need a new strategy, fast.
I don’t think I’ll be mistaken for a Sorbara apologist, more because I think he was too erratic to be in finance than anything else. But this just cries out desperation.
Sorbara’s resignation was damaging for the government. But as an ongoing story, at least until there are any more revelations from police, it’s dead. It was obvious he had to go, he went, and that’s pretty well it. The frantic way the Tories are trying to stretch it out is a sign of just how minimal their attack plan is.
For somebody generally as classy as John Tory, I gotta say this is also pretty classless. Sorbara’s down and out, even though, as Tory himself acknowledges, none of the allegations against him have been proven. I may be wrong, but I’m inclined to think that keeping on kicking him will hurt the Tories more than anyone else.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Paging Nat X
On the evidence so far, the NHL has improved so much it’s virtually unrecognizable from what we saw two years ago. Too bad we can’t say the same for the goofy panel shows that devote way, way too much time to it in this country.
I normally avoid those things like the plague, and catching a few minutes of Sportsnet’s yesterday reminded me why. Near as I could tell, both Bill Watters and Nick Kypreos weren’t particularly bothered by the allegation that Sean Avery called Georges Laraque a “monkey”; they were just pissed that Laraque had the audacity to still be embarrassing the league by talking about it.
Off the top of my head, I can think of maybe eight black players currently employed by NHL teams. And considering that many of them have been on the receiving end of racist taunts from other players and fans, it’s small wonder there aren’t more of them. I doubt the game’s extreme whiteness is top on Kypreos’ or Watters’ list of concerns, but they still might want to consider what kind of hockey culture they’re promoting.
(If the obscure SNL reference didn't quite register, here you go. Third paragraph. You're welcome.)
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Thursday October 13, 2005
McGuinty's secret weapon?
Yesterday’s Sorbara column (not to be confused with today’s, which I’ll post shortly) is now here.
One thing I haven’t focused on, in either quality, is the degree to which the Liberals are benefiting from the quality of opposition they’re facing. But much as I like John Tory a lot as a person, it has to be said: His stewardship of the party looks like a mess right now.
It’s already been well-documented that he’s thin on policy and suffering from bad messaging. But even the day-to-day operations are bad – a point driven home yesterday during one of my admittedly rare visits to Queen’s Park.
It’s shortly after the Throne Speech, and Tory has a good opportunity to get his face all over the evening news talking about Sorbara and the lack of fresh initiatives the Liberals have served up. But with everyone expecting him to scrum after the Premier, he inexplicably starts doing it minutes before McGuinty is set to start. Confused reporters cluster around him for a minute – then most of them quickly scurry away to McGuinty.
I don’t know if the Tories were just sloppy and impatient, or if they were trying to upstage the Premier – which rarely works when you’re in opposition. But whatever they were trying, it mostly just reinforced that this is not a well-oiled machine.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Wednesday October 12, 2005
Initiation by fire
My take on the Sorbara fallout in today’s Post, which will be up here later today or tomorrow, focuses more on how we got to this point than what it means for the provincial cabinet from here on out. But that doesn’t mean I’m not intrigued by McGuinty’s choice to replace him, and even more so by his choice to replace the guy who’s replacing him.
Just as I would’ve preferred Gerry Phillips over Sorbara, I’d prefer Phillips over Dwight Duncan. There’s something about Duncan that’s never quite sat right with me – possibly the reputation he has for dealing with people, particularly his own staff – and I’m not sure the biggest political animal in caucus is necessarily the best choice for Finance. But considering he managed to keep his head above water in Energy, arguably a more challenging ministry at this point, I suspect he’ll manage to stay out of trouble.
Can the same be said for Donna Cansfield in Duncan’s old job? I have no idea. She’s evidently shown quite a bit behind the scenes, and is familiar with the files from having served as Duncan’s parliamentary assistant. But throwing a rookie into the minefield that Energy has become could prove to be pretty cruel. I’m inclined to think someone who’s spent the past couple of years running a different ministry would’ve been a better fit, but perhaps she’ll prove me wrong.
In any event, if she has a bad couple of weeks coming up, Cansfield should have a lot of company on the Liberal benches. With the Throne Speech today, this whole thing couldn’t have blown up at a worse time for McGuinty & co.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Tuesday October 11, 2005
Reality check
Rather a fun weekend, notwithstanding computer problems that may slightly screw up my blogging. A bit of music, a lot of (spectator) sports, and a little too much food. If we're going to give thanks, though, nothing drove home the reasons more than a short cab ride.
It's Sunday night, and I'm on my way to a bar to watch some football with a couple of friends. The radio is on pretty loud in the back of the cab, and though the chatter in a foreign language I can't place isn't bothering me, the cabbie seems genuinely worried that it will. Finally, he enlightens me as to what he's listening to: Information on the earthquake back home in Pakistan, and where he can send money to. And then he apologizes, again, for the volume.
All I can think is, what kind of a jackass does this guy take me for to think I'd actually object to him listening to this? Answer: The kind of jackass lucky enough to live somewhere where the volume of the radio in the cab taking him to a sports bar might actually qualify as a genuine concern.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Proof that the long weekend has left me with nothing important to worry about
Is anyone else suspicious of the rave review the new Broken Social Scene disc is getting?
Not to say it isn't a good album. But the thing is, critics tend to have to listen to a lot of different music. That means that many of them, particularly south of the border where a BSS release isn't a major cultural event, would only have been able to listen to this particular disc once or twice. And frankly, I don't see how you could possibly get much out of it without three or four listens, minimum.
We're not talking about all reviewers, here. Possibly just a few. All I'm saying is that, for the occasional pack animal, the need to conform might sometimes be a little more pressing than the need to actually do your job properly.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Friday October 7, 2005
What exactly does one have to do to be considered dangerous?
I don’t pretend to be much of a criminal law expert, but if this doesn’t make the case for reviewing our dangerous offender laws, I’m not sure what does. >> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Yes, obsessive Torontonians, you'll have time to watch the Leafs/Habs first
Anybody else going to the Silver Dollar tomorrow night for the Sadies/Deadly Snakes/Hidden Cameras gig to raise cash for New Orleans? Only $20, it’s for a good cause, and that really is a pretty nice lineup. Tickets are still available, I think.
Incidentally, my takes on the Deadly Snakes’ Porcella and a few other recent discs are over in the usual place.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Warning: incestuous blogger-talks-about-blogs posting ahead
So Wells is done with the Comments Please site. Can’t say I entirely blame him - the forums, despite the occasional flourish of intelligent debate, are mostly just the same guys insulting each other. But that said, I’ve got no intention of pulling my stuff off there. I may take the plunge into the comment threads increasingly infrequently, but if people want to comment on stuff I write – or use it as a pretext to hop on their hobby horses – I’m not going to stop them.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
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
Site best viewed using Internet Explorer
Reproduction of material from any AdamRadwanski.com page without prior explicit permission is strictly prohibited.
© Design and Content 2004
All rights reserved.
|
