|
Thursday April 28, 2005
When looking to win back respect, always make sure someone is quoting saying you have “a fat belly”
God. Now the dieticians are beating up on him.
For the record, I did South Beach last year. Lost about 15 pounds. But it did give me headaches for a few days…and I didn’t even have to worry about keeping Jack Layton happy.
Thanks. I’ll be here all week.
Update: As you may have noticed, I screwed up the link originally. Or, more accurately, forgot the link entirely. Anyway, it's up now, so you can enjoy my robust humour the way it's meant to be enjoyed.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Wednesday April 27, 2005
They got the Jack
What the NDP was looking for, when it elected its new leader a little over two years ago, was someone dynamic enough to make the party a player again. Whatever you think of Jack Layton, say this for him – he gave them what they wanted this week.
Not only has he somehow found a way for the NDP to significantly impact on public policy despite too few seats to really be of much consequence; he’s also succeeded in casting himself as the only federal leader who’s actually trying to work through the Adscam mess to get things done.
All that said, I don’t think any of this will be a huge vote-getter for the NDP whenever the election rolls around. If I’m Layton, I’m narrowing my message to cater to disgruntled left-of-centre urbanites who suddenly find themselves without a party. Make yourself relevant to them, and there’s three extra seats in Toronto, and at least a dozen across the country.
More on this in a column, likely this week’s.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Burning down the house
How good were the Arcade Fire last night at the Music Hall? Good enough that, if you’ve got any extra cash lying around, I heartily endorse spending it on whatever it costs to get a ticket for tonight or tomorrow night. That good.
I’ve written a fuller review, but it won’t turn up here till sometimes after it runs in tomorrow’s Post.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Random celebrity encounter of the day
Hey, did you know the other guys in U2, not just Bono, are on the anti-poverty kick as well? Me neither. But I rather accidentally found myself interviewing Adam Clayton yesterday, and he assures me it’s so.
So there. Live and learn.
Anyway, pleasant fellow. Bit of a strange moment when he asked me, apparently in all seriousness, if I’d heard of one of his favourite young bands – an obscure little group who call themselves “the Killers” – but I won’t hold that against him. Besides, he also cited Razorlight among his favourites, and they deserve some love.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Saturday April 23, 2005
You're no Matsumoto, Perkins, and you never will be...
A rather craptacular piece by Dave Perkins in today’s Star on the Argos stadium situation. Perkins used to be a rather good baseball columnist, but he seems to have developed a bit of a lazy streak since he moved off the beat. To wit:
York is left holding a big bag of nothing after this brush-off from the Argos, who once again are playing both ends against the middle, issuing statements yesterday that they sure like the fine folks at York, but they also have this little rent-free deal at Ted's Turtleshell downtown. When they broke up with the U of T, they sure liked that deal, too, but this better offer came along up in mattress-selling country.
What about next week? The people at Esther Shiner Stadium haven't been heard from yet.
Dude. The Argos didn’t pull the rug out from under U of T; U of T pulled the rug out from under the Argos. It wasn’t that a better offer came along – it was that various eggheads around the university decided they didn’t want a stadium with more than 5,000 seats.
I know it’s complicated, but when you’re paid to write about sports, and you have some weird obsession with this particular topic, you should at least try to do a bit of your homework.
Anyway, in case you’re wondering what I think of the apparent backtrack on the York site (and maybe you are, since I seem to get the most response when I write about CFL stuff), I’m mixed.
I hate the Dome/Rogers Centre, and I’m not going to get suckered into thinking the Argos will consistently draw enough fans to match the buzz that was in there at the end of last year – the first time in my dozen years of season-ticket holding that it actually felt like a fun venue. But rent-free is a pretty sweet deal.
I just wish it wasn’t being offered by someone whose main goal in life is to bring an NFL team to Toronto. It would be easier to trust that way.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Random music notes
Notice the weird, slightly eerie silence surrounding the White Stripes’ new single? It probably has something to do with it being pretty strikingly mediocre. I’m still holding out hope for the album – but if Blue Orchid were released by most other bands, we wouldn’t be talking about it at all.
Speaking of singles, I don’t particularly like Coldplay. In fact, I have a tendency to rant about them and the horrible wave of piano-driven Britpop bands they’ve inspired – which I sense can be a little irritating to those subjected to it, so apologies for that. But I’ll give them this: Speed of Sound is miles ahead of the schlock put out by all the imitators that’ve popped up the past couple of years (Keane, come on down). In other words, it’s superior schlock.
I couldn’t help but download the three tracks (other than Lyla) that have been leaked from Oasis’ new disc this week. I’m very pleasantly surprised. Mucky Fingers, in particular, is one of the more interesting tracks they’ve put out since their early days.
Family Guy: Live in Las Vegas turned up on my desk the other day. I was hoping it would be a nice warm-up for the series’ return next weekend. It’s not. It’s a Seth MacFarlane ego trip, and it’s uncharacteristically unfunny to boot. Avoid.
I plugged Mando Diao’s Toronto gig in yesterday’s Post, in advance of the piece I’ll be doing on them this coming week - which was probably a bit predictable of me, since I’ve been prattling on about them a lot lately. Anyway, here’s the plug:
Hey, Britrock fans. Despondent over the Libertines' breakup? Can't wait for the new Oasis album? Fear not - relief is on the way, even if it comes with a Swedish accent. One of Mando Diao's front men, Gustaf Noren, sounds quite a bit like Pete Doherty; the other, Bjorn Dixgard, sounds almost exactly like a Scandinavian Noel Gallagher. Both of their albums, including this year's Hurricane Bar, are a winning mix of punky attitude, catchy riffs and carefully constructed melodies. And with Noren promising that they're "10 times better" live, their storming of the Horseshoe promises to make any anglophile proud. April 29, The Horseshoe. Tickets available at The Horseshoe, Rotate This.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Friday April 22, 2005
Mission accomplished: Martin can now go back to governing. Oh, wait...
It’s no fun commenting on the same thing everyone else is, but since it’s obligatory, a quick take.
Whatever his goals for the evening were, I guess Martin achieved them. His text was well-crafted, delivery was okay, and he succeeded in adding a bit of pressure on Harper to hear out Gomery, or more realistically in bettering his case against the Conservatives for jumping the gun once the election is called.
But - and this is a big but - I think his goals are all wrong. What he’s still trying to do is win the Gomery debate, which is impossible. The only way for the Liberals to win the next election is to make it about something other than the Adscam. But what he’s effectively done is ensure that, whenever the election is, it’ll be almost exclusively about the scandal. Hell, he more or less promised as much.
The way the debate is being framed – and the PM is playing a big role in framing it – the Liberals will lose. Period.
On a slightly different note, I thought we were past the creepy daddy stuff, which means I’d almost managed to forget the whole weird Freudian subtext to Martin’s prime ministership. But old habits die hard, apparently.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
In other news...
Could someone explain to me why accounts of our parliamentary committee proceedings now read like NME reports of obscure music feuds?
All we needed was for Dosanjh to start dissing the Bravery, and we’d have been all set.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
And now, the moment your local music retailer has desperately been waiting for...
CD reviews have been updated with writeups of Louis XIV and Garbage. More interesting stuff will come next week, I think, including my tale on the Eels’ latest. >> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Licence to thrill (if you're very, very easily thrilled)
Whereas I occasionally pass myself off (however dubiously) as a music expert, I don’t even bother pretending with movies. But I am a massive James Bond fan, so I had a lot of fun joining this week’s “Popcorn Panel” in the Post’s Arts section. I won’t post it on here, since I can’t figure out where the hell I’d put it, but keep an eye out for it in print if you’re so inclined. >> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
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.
|
