review - The Constant Gardener

3.5 /5

The theatre was packed tonight, a Wednesday night, for what looked like a film that promised relief from the stream of duds and shallow movies as of late.



Ralf Fiennes plays Brit diplomat Justin Quayle, on location in Kenya. His wife, 24 year-old Tessa (34 year-old Rachel Weisz) , tags along with handsome Dr. Arnold Bluhm as he visits the villages, dishing out medical aid. Tessa is a committed social activist, critical of conglomerates who hand out free medicine, etc., and pieces together her observations with the Dr. to come up with a conspiracy theory that she submits to a respected higher up in the British High Commission. Of course, big trouble later ensues.

Shot in flash backs, the film is about Justin's one-man investigation of his wife's murder and the greedy players in the busines and political world who promise to profit enormously from the shady pharmaceutical industry's practices.

Some of camera work was disorienteering, as it is shot with a shaky hand-held camera. Some of the footage seems pointless. What's the point of having the scene with the bandits raiding the remote village? It's a bit disturbing to see the fleeing villagers being chased, shot or captured, while the huts burn to the ground. With a couple of scenes, you really get a sense of how little life is regarded over there as compared to the first world.

The main problem with this film is that it felt so unfocused. It's too long and drawn out. It's not a clear, succinct thriller. The sound in some of the room scenes is full of echoes. If you thought this was going to be anything like The English Patient, which also starred Ralf Fiennes, you will be surprised. The romance is played up but this is not a romance film. Fiennes, who is usually reserved in his roles, is surprisingly smiley with some boyish charm. Overall, the acting was quite solid.



It's based on a book by celebrated spy novelist John le Carré and directed by Fernando Meirelles, who was nominated for an Oscar for City of God. One of the best scenes is saved for last when Tessa'a lawyer steps up to give a eulogy at the church.



The Constant Gardener falls short of being one of the year's best films. It's not as good as The Hotel Rwanda but it strives to be above most of the cookie cutter releases and it somewhat succeeds on that count.

Soundtrack - Wedding Crashers

Wedding Crashers
New Line Records
released: July 12, 2005



Billed as "Music From and Inspired by the Film", this soundtrack features mostly indie pop music from some bands who are not really house-hold names among the masses. The Wedding Crashers soundtrack also falls short of being an essential album, with too many weak tracks. You almost get the feeling that they decided to pick certain bands for their names rather than for their music.

Rip off alert! What's even worse is that most of the songs here were not used in the movie. If you were expecting the CD to have The Faces "Stay With Me," "Sweetheart" by Jont Wittington, "Sparks" by Coldplay, and "Blue Rondo A La Turk" by Dave Brubeck, you'll be out of luck.

Death Cab for Cutie, Spoon and Jimmy Eat World offer lacklustre songs.

The album's best material includes "Aside" from Winnipeg's Weakerthans, one of the most celebrated indie rock bands around who have yet to make it big (by that, I mean to headline arenas.) No doubt, some of their fans will cry "sell out" but it's in thier interest to maximize their exposure. Guster's "Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today" is a decent ballad, as is the innocence sounding pop of "This Modern Love" by Bloc Party. Rilo Kiley are getting better known with each release and while not a pure pop song, the country tinged "More Adventurous" is quality singer-songwriter flavoured. While it's not indicative of what they sound like, it's refreshing. The 70's classic "In The Summertime" by Mungo Jerry is always a welcome treat for me since I don't listen to AM pop radio. A lot of people despise this song, but I like it as it reminds me of one of my friends.


Stephen Carroll of the Weakerthans

Probably the most celebrated new track on the CD is the rare "Mr. Ambulance Driver" by indie darlings The Flaming Lips. It's just dull soft rock track, best left unreleased, to be honest!


Rilo Kiley's vocalist Jenny Lewis

As a bonus, you get a video of the the Isley Brothers' "Shout!", as well as the song in the form of the "Matter Music Remix." Finally, this underwhelming album is completed by Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson and the Klezmer Juice Band performing that seminal favorite, "Hava Nagilah," taken from the movie.

Soundtrack - Fantastic Four

Soundtrack - Fantastic Four

3.5 / 5



The movie was really lousy, but the soundtrack compilation album (not to be confused with the John Ottman score soundtrack) is suprisingly strong. You also get a whopping twenty tracks which clock in at 73 minutes of music.

The swaggering vocals of Scott Weiland propels Velvet Revolver's frantic "Come On, Come In" the lead track. This is muscular, strutting, cocksure rock'n'roll and it's instantly appealing. And this comes from someone who generally doesn't like VR.

Omnisoul's "Waiting (Save Your Life)" and Ryan Cabarea's "Always Come Back To You" sound like they are from an O.C. soundtrack - safe, semi-ballad corporate rock. Bland enough to have a wide appeal.

"Everything Burns" by Ben Moody featuring Anastacia and Meagan McCauley's "Die For You", sounds like this year's stabs at instant Evanescence soundtrack success, calculated to duplicate the breakthrough single from the Daredevil soundtrack. Not quite. Sure enough, Ben Moody is the guitarist / songwriter who left Evanescence after they made the big time.

Alter Bridge's "Shed My Skin" sounds familiar, with his slow cooking, heavy guitar modern rock sound. Sure enough, these guys are essentially the new band Creed became with new vocalist Myles Kennedy. Kennedy sounds like a deriveative rock vocalist, rather than someone who has an identifiable sound. Still, it's got the huge sound of Creed, Pearl Jam, etc., that launched these bands into super-stardom.


Alter Bridge

Japan's hot 6-man band Orange Range offer a mishmash of hip-hop and electronica with razor sharp and crunchy guitars. It's the most adventurous and risk taking song here. Actually, I wouldn't call it a song as much as just a musical collage. I can see some people finding this track a dog's breakfast. While I enjoyed it, it's not something that hits the spot for me.

Highlights:
Taking Back Sunday's "Error Operator"
"New World Symphony" by Mari Ven Ari- featuring Pharaoahe Monch (hip-hop)
Sum 41's "Noots (very catchy)
Simple Plan "Surrender" (yes, the Cheap Trick cover. Not as sweet as the original, however)
"On Fire" by Lloyd Banks (hip-hop)
"Goodbye To You" by Breaking Point(power ballad that will stick in your head, if you like this sort of song)
Loser's "Dispossible Sunshine" (instantly appealing, butt kicking rock, worthy of the repeat button and a radio hit in waiting, if they every play it...features former Marilyn Manson guitarist/writer John 5)



Megan McCauley is featured on two tracks and emerges as a strong but not unique sounding, singer.


Megan McCauley

There is a sense of sameness among the rock bands, however. So many bands sound like they are part of the Pear Jam lineage and while that may be seen as a sign of quality, it is a weakness in my books. If you like modern corporate rock, however, this CD will be right up your alley.

golfing Hecla Golf Course ( Gull Harbour)

Four of us played Manitoba's # ranked golf course today (as of Score Golf's 2002 ratings.) This was my first time playing it in about five or six years.

I started off fairly well, with a double-bogey 6, followed by a birdie three and two pars. Unfortunately, things began to fall apart after that. I shot 49 on the front nine. My problems involved not adjusting my aim for my usual slice / fade. On the challenging par 5 number ten, for example, you might be able to reach the green in two, or you could lay up. I chose to fire a three-wood shot since I was about 221 yards away and I just had to go for it. It flew the right distance but ended up fading to the right of the green and into the bushes. I was disappointed with myself since I could have greened it in two, had I only aimed more the to left.

For some strange reason, I had a lot of trouble with the par 3's. My tee shots were dreadful, usually going less than 30 feet. I kept on missing the ball,even though I teed up fairly low. I may actually just use no tee at all since I get really good contact with several of my irons, from the fairway. Take away the horrible scores on the par threes, and I would have shot under 100.

I also got greedy on one hole. My tee shot ended up on the right side of the fairway, in the rough. I could either hit the ball towards the hole and advance it several yards and risk hitting a tree or I could play it out in the fairway, and gain no yards, but have a makeable shot to the green. I foolishly tried to advance the ball and missed it. Then, when I did hit it, it hit a tree and ended up in an unplayable lie, in the trees. Right there, I wasted three strokes! And, had I advanced the ball, I would still be hitting an iron into the green. Whether I played it safe or tried to advance it, I would still be shooting for the green with my next shot. There was no advantage to trying to advance the ball, but my greedy self got the better of me.

A couple of drives slipped out of my hands, but overall, I was very pleased with the distance I gained from my new 440 CZ Cobra driver. One of my foursome is totally in love with his oversized driver and hit some remarkable shots. One of them lined him up for an easy 60 degree wedge shot to the green, followed by a putt for birdie.

I left my "new" used Cobra 5-iron at home and opted for my regular oversized 5-iron, which is noticeble heavier and easier to hit. Good choice. I may never use that Cobra iron again.

If there's one thing that I didn't like about the golf course, it was the huge amount of goose poop on the fairways. It's everywhere!

The cost of walking Gull Harbour Golf Course was $35 - a great deal for such a beautiful course. The fairways are wide and varied. You see Lake Winnipeg on several holes. This course is the best course that I have played and it makes a lot of my regular places to play seem so "Mickey Mouse" in comparison. Maybe next year, I can convince my friends to arrive early enough to play two rounds instead of just one. It's a two hour drive to get there from Winnipeg and well worth it.

"The J.A. Thompson-designed Hecla golf course has been a major draw since 1975 when it first opened for play. At 6,696 yards from the blue tees and covering nearly 195 acres, Hecla has lots of undulating land in which to strategically place its 75 bunkers. Water hazards come into play on seven holes, while water views over scenic Lake Winnipeg appear on 12 holes."

3 rounds at La Verendrye Golf Course

Located about ten minutes away from Steinbach, La Verendrye Golf Course offers the best deal for Manitoba golfers, when you can golf all day long for $31, including a shared power cart. Yes, this is the home of the 751 yard-long par 6, the longest hole in Canada.

Yesterday, we ended up playing three rounds of 18 holes. This was my chance to try out my new driver on a course that has wide fairways. In my first game, I shot 100, then 103 then 90! In the final round, I actually had two birdies on the front nine. The driver works like it is supposed to. On one of the holes that was 278 yards, we had a group of six 20-something guys in front of us. They were raking the sand trap as I teed off. My ball rolled into the trap. I actually had lots of problems with the driver until I figured out the problem was ball placement. That fixed my slices. I also managed to get some help with my wedge problems. I realized that I wasn't following through with the club. Once I began to do that, I began to hit them short and high. I sank several one putts and discovered that I really like the feel of my "new" used Ping demo 4 and 7 irons. They are so easy to hit. I also discovered that I really don't care for me "new" used demo Cobra 5 iron. It is so light that it doesn't inspire much confidence. I also didn't have any really good hits with it. Between the three of us, I had the best score over 54 holes. It was a memorable day with perfect weather - overcast and cool with a refreshing breeze.

This is the fourth hole, a par 4. If you hit a good tee shot, you would end up about 150 yards to the hole, which has water in front. You have to hit a high enough shot so that the ball will hit the green and not roll away. It's one of my favourite holes in all of Manitoba.

Ten years of the net

Just a decade ago this week, the $3bn flotation of Netscape signalled the start of the mass internet age. Danny Bradbury explores how the web conquered the world - and changed our lives

1995: BROWSERS AND PORTALS

On 9 August Netscape floats, ushering in a five-year dot.com boom. The $3bn flotation is the most spectacular in a series of commercial landmarks that includes the launch of Amazon.com (in July) and direct internet services from CompuServe (April) and AOL (October), which allow subscribers to the different services to exchange e-mails. But it is the mass availability of Netscape's user-friendly browser (launched in 1994) that brings the internet to ordinary people with PCs and Macs rather than specialists with Unix terminals.



* Annual fee introduced for the registration of domain names.

* Microsoft starts giving away Internet Explorer 1.0 with its Windows 95 operating system.

* RealAudio launched.

* The Vatican releases a web site.

* AltaVista search engine launched.



1996: ONLINE TRAVEL TAKES OFF

Expedia and Travelocity launch their online travel services in the US. Pioneers of the internet phenomenon of "disintermediation" (cutting out the middleman), these sites pave the way for no-frills airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair (which go online in 1998 and 2000 respectively) to sell their services at hitherto unimaginably low prices. The ease, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of internet booking has subsequently brought scores of once exotic locations within financial range of British travellers, transforming local economies around the world.

* Israeli company Mirabilis introduces instant messaging with its ICQ service.

* Yahoo floats. Company value hits $1bn.

* Netscape's share of browser market peaks at 87 per cent. (Internet Explorer has 4 per cent.)

* Tesco begins Tesco Direct service.

* Ebay's AuctionWeb receives its millionth bid and is renamed eBay.

1997: THE SHOP.COM BOOM

AOL's subscriber base reaches 10 million (up from 5 million in 1996), while amazon.com records its millionth customer. The latter's initial public offering (which raises $54m) highlights the potential of e-commerce. The scramble for web "presence" accelerates. Its importance had already been seen in December 1996, when Harrods won the right to use the harrods.com domain name from a cybersquatter who had tried to charge it £100,000 for the privilege. In January the business.com domain sells for $150,000. Two years later it sells again for $7.5m.



* NASA's website receives 46 million hits when Pathfinder sends back pictures from Mars.

* First recorded use of the term "weblog" to describe an online journal.

* NASA's website receives 46 million hits when Pathfinder sends back pictures from Mars.

* Members of online Heaven's Gate cult commit mass suicide.

1998: RISE OF SEARCH ENGINES

Google, started by two Stanford graduates, initially serves 10,000 queries per day, but within a year is answering 3 million. Today it serves over 250 million per day - almost half of all US-originated queries - and indexes 8 billion pages.



* Online Drudge Report breaks story of Clinton-Lewinsky relationship. When the Starr Report into the scandal is released online eight months later, the internet has its busiest day ever.

* Launches of Egg online banking, amazon.co.uk, easyjet.co.uk and lastminute.com.

* Every nation in the world is online.

1999: FILE-SHARING

Student Shawn Fanning launches the Napster peer-to-peer service, enabling computers to share files directly with each other. Within months, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has begun legal action for copyright infringement. Further lawsuits follow, and, although its user base reaches 26 million by 2001, Napster dies out, selling its name to Roxio.

* SETI@Home service launches, using spare computing power on PCs worldwide to analyse radio signals from space for signs of alien life.

* BlackBerry launches in US.

* Melissa virus infects 1 million PCs worldwide.

* A list of MI6 agents is released on the web.

* Tesco launches online shopping.

* Egg launches UK's first internet credit card.

* US Department of Commerce describes online sales as "a major indicator of [US] economic health".

2000: THE BUBBLE BURSTS

AOL agrees $350bn merger with "old media" giant Time Warner. The Nasdaq new-tech share index peaks at 5,048.62. By the end of 2002 the index has fallen to 1,114.11 - and AOL/Time Warner posts a loss of $99bn. Time Warner drops AOL from its name the following year.

* The "I Love You" worm becomes the costliest in the history of the internet.

* Popbitch celebrity gossip website launches.

* The scientist Laurence Godfrey wins £15,000 in damages from Demon Internet for failing to remove "squalid, obscene and defamatory" remarks about him.

* Lastminute.com is valued at £800m on flotation.

2001: PORN, WORMS & VIRUSES

The web's dark side asserts itself. Following the spread of the VBS/Loveletter internet worm in 2001, a spate of other worms are released including Sircam, CodeRed and Klez. Meanwhile, an FBI investigation into paedophile websites identifies 250,000 suspected users, including 7,200 in the UK. More than 1,200 people are arrested. Today there are 4.2 million pornographic websites - 12 per cent of all sites.

* Napster is banned from distributing copyrighted music.

* Apple launches the iPod.

* Microsoft launches Windows XP operating system, with its built-in support for wireless networking.

* Wikipedia starts.

* BlackBerry launches in Europe.

* Taliban bans internet use in Afghanistan.

2002: ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS

Friends Reunited began reconnecting old school friends in 2000, growing from 3,000 members in its first year to 4 million at the start of 2002. Meanwhile, a new generation of social websites including Friendster.com and EveryonesConnected.com develops the theme. Today there are more than 300 such sites, including Google's invitation-only service, Orkut.

* Popbitch withdraws unfounded rumours about David and Victoria Beckham after the couple threaten legal action.

* Video of the murder of Daniel Pearl is shown online.

* Internet Explorer's share of the browser market reaches 96 per cent.

* Internet's global "population" reaches 428 million.

*Apple sells its millionth iPod.

2003: SOUND & PICTURES

Apple launches the iTunes Music Store, selling 20 million copy-protected tracks in seven months. Microsoft's response - the MSN Music Store - isn't ready until 2004, but research firm Forrester predicts that by 2008 one third of all music sales will be made online. Digital cameras outsell film cameras in the US for the first time.

* Kazaa, a file-sharing program, becomes the most downloaded software ever.

* Howard Dean's internet-based presidential campaign threatens to revolutionise US politics (left).

* Wireless hotspots take off, freeing internet users from their desks. BT promises to establish 4,000 such hotspots across the UK by the summer of 2004.

* Recording Industry Association of America sues 261 people for distributing copyright music files over the internet.

2004: YEAR OF THE BLOG

Although the term "weblog" was coined in 1997, 2004 is the year the blog achieves critical mass. Salam Pax, the "Baghdad blogger", becomes popular during the Iraq war, while in the US, Fox news anchor Dan Rather resigns after bloggers discredit one of his stories. AOL begins to include blogging tools in the latest versions of its software, while Microsoft launches its MSN Spaces blogging service. Today there are an estimated 14.7 million blogs, with a new one created every 7.4 seconds.

* Google goes public for $1.7bn.

* Cherie Blair is noticed using eBay.

* MyDoom worm becomes internet's worst-ever virus.

* US film industry serves lawsuits against sites hosting BitTorrent-based files.

* The global online population reaches 934 million.

2005: ONLINE NEWS

Citizen journalists are now appearing daily, not just on the big news sites. Nowpublic.com and Scoopt.com offer people the chance to be photojournalists, while podcasting (a grassroots internet radio movement akin to audio blogging) is hugely popular after just one year. A report by the Carnegie Corporation shows that 18- to 34-year-olds in the US are twice as likely to use an internet portal as a printed newspaper for daily news.



* Skype Internet telephony service handles its ten billionth minute of voice conversation.

* Fraudsters send 19.2 million "phishing" e-mails in July alone.

* More than half of British internet subscriptions are through broadband.

* 87 per cent of the world's e-mail is spam.


http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...sp?story=656282

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take
any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing
one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's winners:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly

3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

4. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting
laid.

5. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

6. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

7. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

8. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

9. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consumingonly things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

And the pick of the literature:

18. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole

The West, Islam and invalid argument

Here's an interesting article from the Winnipeg Free Press.

Mon Aug 22 2005
The West, Islam and invalid argument
by Tom Ford

I got off on the wrong foot with Islam. My father, a kindly Christian gentleman, told me Muslims converted people by the sword. You became a believer or they lopped off your head -- conversion by coercion.

My father was guilty of a sweeping generalization -- not all Muslims went around threatening infidels with death. He comes to mind because a lot of people, perhaps because of recent suicide bombings, are attacking Islam with sweeping generalizations.

They usually take three forms: Islam is suspect because Muslims are taught it is the one true religion; Muslims, throughout history, have been intolerant of other religions; Islam fosters violence.

These sweeping generalizations are the seeds of what could grow to be an all-out religious war, which is exactly what Osama bin Laden wants. He wants Jews and Christians to take on Muslims in a fight to the death. In such a war, he says, millions of Muslims would defeat the Jews and Christians.

Maybe not. But it would be a long, bloody and unnecessary war.

Certainly, some Muslims -- a small percentage -- do hate Jews and Christians and Muslims who refuse to do the same. Many of them are members of the Wahhabi sect which is based on the rigid 18th century teachings of Mohammed Ibn Abdul Wahhab. The Saudi Arabian government, in order to keep peace at home, has helped promote this sect in many parts of the world.
What Jews and Christians need to do is become friendly with the majority of Muslims, the moderates. And a good way to start is to strike down those pernicious sweeping generalizations.

Sweeping generalization No. 1: Islam is suspect because its followers think it is the one true religion.

Nearly all major religions think they are the one true religion. The Roman Catholic Church proudly asserts it is the only true religion. Some Jews think they are the "chosen people," although as a Jewish friend told me: "Given our sad history, you have to ask: Chosen for what?" The sweet little old lady who sits next to me in the pew of my United Church thinks her religion is superior to all others.

What's important is whether these religions tolerate one another.

And that brings us to the next generalization: Muslims are intolerant of other religions.

Thomas Friedman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and a writer whom I admire, said in one article: "Although there is a deep moral impulse in Islam for justice, charity and compassion, Islam has not developed a dominant religious philosophy that allows equal recognition of alternative faith communities. Bin Laden reflects the most extreme version of that exclusivity and he hit us in the face with it on 9/11."
I've just argued that most of the world's major religions do not give other religions "equal recognition." The best we're going to get is tolerance -- and the Muslims showed they could do that more than 500 years ago in al-Andalus, the southern part of Spain. The Moors tolerated Jews and Christians and with their help created a nation of grace and luxury light years ahead of London and Paris, with their muddy streets.

The intolerance came from Ferdinand V of Castile and Isabella I, who used the Roman Catholic faith as a tool to unite Spain. They defeated the Moors and booted the Jews and the Muslims out of the country. They did not, however, destroy some of the biggest mosques. Inside a particularly beautiful one in Cordoba they built a huge, garish church. Years later, to add insult to injury, the Spanish set up the Inquisition to have another go at Jews and Muslims.

A more recent example: A Guelph doctor tells me about the terror he felt when he and his family had to crawl around the floors of their house when they were threatened by a Christian anti-abortionist who wanted to shoot them through the windows of their house.

These and hundreds of other examples lead me to believe that most Muslims are at least as tolerant as most of the rest of us.

Finally, there's this generalization -- that Islam fosters violence.

Let's go directly to the Qu'ran: "Whoever kills a human being, except as punishment for murder or other villainy in the land, shall be regarded as having killed all humankind."

Irshad Manji, a Canadian writer who is a powerful and useful critic of her Islamic religion, argues in Maclean's that militant Muslims could easily deploy the clause beginning with "except" to justify their rampages.

And so could United States President George W. Bush, a Methodist, who says he can wage unilateral, pre-emptive strikes on those committing villainy.

The supposed connection between Islam and violence runs deep. A Christian cleric tells me: "We say God is Love. Muslims say God is Great, and the Jews say God is One. Christians have engaged in violence but there's a brake on our behaviour that Muslims don't have because we believe God is Love."
Nice theory. But there have been countless examples of violent, Christian attacks with no evidence of any braking action.

An end note: A belated thank-you to Robert Sibley, my University of Manitoba philosophy professor, who taught me all about invalid arguments, including sweeping generalizations.

Tom Ford is editing manager of The Issues Network.

DVD - The Michael Schenker Group - Live in Tokyo 1997

The Michael Schenker Group - Live in Tokyo 1997.
3.5 / 5
Metal Mind Productions, 236 minutes.
released July 12, 2005



Legendary hard rock / metal guitarist Michael Schenker celebrates his 25th anniversary as a recording artist on this 2005 DVD release. Born on January 10, 1955 in Sarstedt, Germany, truly he is one of the chief architects of hard rock and heavy metal and remains a vital guitarist and songwriter. I've never seen him live, mostly due to the fact that he was always overshadowed by the groups that he used to be in and wasn't given a chance to form his own foothold in North America. He's big in Japan, though. I don't recall him every playing my city, Winnipeg.



From reading the back of the DVD case, I was immediately impressed with the huge number of songs included - 40! Schenker was a founding member of The Scorpions and recorded on their 1972 album, Lonesome Crow when he was 15. He then joined the British band UFO from 1973 to 1979, before rejoining the Scorpions for 1979's Lovedrive, and then heading out on a solo career. Schenker's output with UFO coincided with their most popular recordings, including 1977's Lights Out and 1978's Obsession and the massive hit, "Only You Can Rock Me."



Despite the fact the Scorpion' Love Drive album contains several notable tracks, such as "Loving You Sunday Morning", "Coast To Coast", the title track and "Holiday," only "Another Piece of Meat" in included on the DVD.



It's hard to believe that someone of Schenker's status would release such a bush league DVD. What do I mean by that? There's only one camera used to film the 30-song Tokyo concert!!! Sure, it zooms in once in a while, but it's not as good as a full film crew with multiple cameras.



On the plus side, the sound is acceptable. Schenker's guitar is razor sharp and vocalist David Van Landing is clear as a bell. Due to his classical sounds, you can hear why Schenker was an influence on Yngwie Malmsteen. The guitar playing is glorious. Listening to this DVD as I type away or surf the Internet, I feel like I am reliving the glory days of 70's hard rock, before thrash metal came along and placed more emphasis on speed than melody and whose seriousness took the fun out of music. This music "breathes" and feels less congested than much of the metal that came later and I love it! Obvious non-MSG highlights for me include the UFO classics "Doctor Doctor", "Lights Out", "Only You Can Rock Me" and Contraband's "All The Way From Memphis" (a Mott the Hoople cover.) Even when the songs aren't so hot and sound rather like pedestrian hard rock, Schenker's guitar playing drew me in.




I have a wide screen stereo TV but not surround sound decoder so I can't tell how great the sound is, but I think once you're into the music, none of that will really matter.



If you're a fan of Michael Schenker, UFO and The Scorpions, you will want to drop the $18 US price to buy this. How does it compare to last year's "Michael Schenker Group - World Wide Live 2004" DVD? I can't say, since I haven't seen it. That DVD is 105 minutes long and contains 15 tracks along with some interviews. In one interview, Schenker recalls how Chris Logan quit in the middle of a tour and how the group frantically searched for a repalcement for that evening at an Internet cafe, and ended up with Leif Sundin. He flew in and had only 30 minutes to prepare for the show. He sang from sheets and they pulled audience members on stage to sing, in addition to getting the opening band's singer join them, as well. The subsequent shows were better received than the Chris Logan shows. Schenker also spoke about how he was asked to join Ozzy Osbourne's band, right after the death of guitarist Randy Rhoads and how he was asked to audition for the Rolling Stones.




1. In the Search of the Peace of Mind (Scorpions)
2. Doctor Doctor (UFO)
3. Let it Roll (UFO)
4. Natural Thing
5. Lights Out (UFO)
6. Only You Can Rock Me (UFO)
7. Another Piece of Meat (Scorpions)
8. Into the Arena (Michael Schenker Group)
9. Are You Ready to Rock (Michael Schenker Group)
10. Assault Attack (Michael Schenker group
11. Captain Nemo (Michael Schenker Group)
12. No Time for Losers (McAuley Schenker Group)
13. Save Yourself (McAuley Schenker Group)
14. All the Way from Memphis (Contraband)
15. Pushed to the Limit (UFO)
16. Written in the Sand (Michael Schenker Group)
17. Back to Life (Michael Schenker Group)
18. Love Never Dies (Michael Schenker Group)
19. Essence (Michael Schenker Group)
20. Never Ending Nightmare (McAuley Schenker Group)
21. Bijou Pleasurette (Michael Schenker Group)
22. Positive Forward (Michael Schenker)
23. Lost Horizon (Michael Schenker Group)
24. Too Hot to Handle (UFO)
25. Attack of the Mad Axeman (Michael Schenker Group)
26. Love to Love (UFO)
27. On and On (Michael Schenker Group)
28. Armed and Ready (Michael Schenker Group)
29. Feels Like a Good Thing (Michael Schenker Group)
30. Rock Bottom (UFO)


Bonus Footage - The Unforgiven World Tour, Japan 2000:

01. Cry for the Nations
02. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
03. Rock My Nights Away
04. 3 Fish Dancing
05. Pilot of Your Soul
06. In and Out of Time
07. The Mess I've Made
08. Hello Angel
09. Fat City
10. Looking for Love


Interviews
01. Football vs. Music
02. Scorpions
03. UFO
04. The Rolling Stones
05. Phenomenon
06. Force It/ No Heavy Petting
07. Leaving UFO
08. MSG
09. Chris Logan / Leif Sundin
10. Tales of Rock'n'Roll
11. All-Stars Band
12. Looking Back, Looking Forward...


1997 line-up:
Micahel Schenker lead / acoustic guitars
David Van Landing vocals / percussions
Barry Sparks bass / acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Seth Bernstein rhythm / acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Shane Gaalaas drums / acoustic guitar
Leif Sundin vocals / rhythm / acoustic guitars

2000 line-up:
Michael Schenker lead and rhythm guitars
Keith Slack vocals
Shane Gaalaas drums
Barry Sparks bass guitar
Wayne Findlay keyboards/ rhythm guitars

Also see:
Michael Schenker Gives Fans A Concert Momento by MuzikMan. All his Blogcritics.org postings.
Schenker's Greatest Hits by Marty Dodge. All his Blogcritics.org postings.
UFO Regenerator by Tim Hall. All his Blogcritics.org postings.

review - The 40 Year-old Virgin

3.5 /5

This is a lowest-common denominator film, full of swearing, etc., but also very funny. I found it to be the funniest film that I have seen in a while, and funnier than Wedding Crashers.

Steve Carrell (42) is Andy, a 40 year-old guy who works in an electronics store, who lives alone and who is very much like the nerd Comic Book guy. He has a huge collection of action figures that are still in their original packaging, paints minature action figures, and plays gladiator-type video games. He sort of gave up on women after a few failed relationships.



Steve's co-workers figure out that he is a virgin and set out to help me get over it. Meanwhile, he meets up with Trish (45 year-old Catherine Keener, playing a 40 year-old), a businesswoman from across the street, who he really, really likes. At the same time, other ladies come into his life, in ways that are not too terribly convincing, but with hilarious consequences. During one lunch hour, they convince him to join them for turns out to be a speed dating club. Of course, he meets nothing but misfits while one of his co-workers meets an ex who he is still hung up on. We later this see this guy melt down.

In one scene, he goes for a hot waxing to remove his chest hair. There's no special effects here, they really do rip out his hair and it's both painfull and very funny at the same time.



He relationship with Trish is not totally honest, however, as she doesn't know that he is a virgin. Of course, along the way, she thinks he's some kind of deviant.

When you scrape away all the crudeness, this film does have enough of a heart to make you not feel like you've watched something totally juvenille.



The 40 Year-old Virgin isn't a film to take the whole family to, but it will be popular among a lot of people.

Loney's Golf in receivership after 22 years in Winnipeg

I must admit that I never set foot in Loney's Pembina location until today, based on this article from the Free Press.

My goal was to find a Cobra driver at a really good price. Mission accomplished. When I arrived just after 11 am, they had been open since 9 and there were two Cobra drivers to be found. I selected the larger one, the 440 SZ, which normally retails for $399. I was told it was going for half price. At the till, they said it was actually half price from $288, so it was mine for $144. I also bought some oversized irons that were demo models: Ping G2 4 and 7, and a Callaway Big Bertha Fusion 6, for $25 each. The complete iron sets (8 clubs) of the Ping G2 and Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons cost about $1500 each. I thought this would be a good way to try out some higher end irons until I buy my next set of clubs. I also bought a used Cobra five-iron, also oversized.






Loney's Golf in receivership after 22 years in Winnipeg

Sat Aug 20 2005

By Nick Martin
LONEY'S Golf Shop has gone into receivership after 22 years of operating in Winnipeg.

Inventory at the Pembina Highway store will be sold off beginning this morning, receiver Lazer Grant LLP Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors said yesterday.

Regina businessman Loney Anderson, who opened the store in the early 1980s and sold it 12 years ago to Dwayne Couldwell, said from Regina yesterday that the opening of big box golf stores such as Golf Town, combined with "brutal" weather the last two summers, have hurt the small golf retail business.

"The year 2004 was absolutely brutal for golfing. This year hasn't been much of a better start," he said.

Anderson said that he was unaware of exactly why Loney's Golf Shop had gone out of business, but said the opening of large golf stores would be a factor. Couldwell could not be reached.

Anderson pointed out that Nevada Bob's had closed down stores in Winnipeg earlier. "The market was over-retailed to begin with," he said.
Anderson still has two Loney's outlets in Regina, but has also sold the outlet he opened in Saskatoon when he built his small chain in the 1980s.

He said that the original Loney's was on Regent Avenue and Couldwell had moved it to Pembina Highway. There was also a store which operated on Portage Avenue for about five years in the 1980s.

Dave Comaskey, executive director of Golf Manitoba, said he was saddened to hear that Loney's is going out of business.

"The merchandising side of golf has been extremely competitive, with big box stores, and also the Internet," Comaskey said. "There's thousands upon thousands of websites people can go on and buy anything.

"I remember going into Loney's to look at equipment, and that would be 20 years ago," Comaskey said.

"It was great service, and that was what appealed to people," he said.
Officials at Lazer Grant were unavailable to elaborate on the receivership.

Golfing the Steinbach Fly-In Club

Still on a high after shooting an 85, may best game ever, the day before, I had high expectation for my round at the Fly-In Club. Without a doubt, they have the nicest fairways that I have played on this year. You can take divots very easily and the grass feels very plush.

I hit some nice drives, but overall, I played poorly. My wedge shots were awful. I topped several shots from the fairway. I failed to have that one spectacular shot to keep me going, but I place all the blame on myself. You can either play this course the smart way or the risky way. With the risky way, you are hitting driver as often as you can, and you try to reach the par fives in two. The smart way is to think of where you want to play your second shot from and tee off accordingly. There's a lot of water in the form of creeks so you can easily lose balls if you hit or roll into them. The next time I play this course, I will try to play it smarter and shoot for lower than 106!! While not huge, the club house has a buffet for less than $9 that goes until 2 pm and is a good way to get a hot meal.

DVD - Give 'Em The Boot

You have to wonder if Joe Strummer knew that he would be used to help sell a DVD og punk artists when he appeared with Rancid's Tim Armstrong in the opening scene. The footage is very grainy and the audio is assisted with subtitles. You can't actually hear Strummer's final words, but a clean take would have been so cynically corporate, right?

Rancid are the main feature here, but there's oodles of concert footage and rare performances of several Hellcat Records artists. Rancid is up first with their insanely catchy "Ruby Soho" track from 1995's ...And Out Come The Wolves. It consists of live footage from several shows around the world and also introduces all the groups who appear on the DVD. Some of the bands just don't do anything for me. Tiger Army's "Never Die" (from 1999's Tiger Army)was an exercise in power and speed, but the song didn't grab me at all. Still, the live scenes show pools of kids bopping along and having a ball. The same can be said of the female-fronted F-Minus.

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros offer up The Clash's "Rudie Can't Fail" (1980's London Calling) which only makes me wish I had actually seen The Clash, or Strummer.

One of the treats is an acoustic rendering of Rancid's "Roots Radicals", complete with an explanation about how it's a song about taking the bus.

Nekromantix have some of the coolest haircuts you can imagine, and are an eye-catching band live. On "Gargoyles Over Copenhagen", the bass player sports a coffin-shaped upright bass. The song itself doesn't quite do the band justice, however. Iggy Pop and Davey Havok (from AFI)show up, as well.



What's the purpose behind this DVD? Was it a tribute to Joe Strummer? No, although they do have one for him towards the end. It just seems like "Give 'Em The Boot" is meant to market Hellcat Records' artists on the shoulders of the popular Rancid. There's not enough discussion with the bands about their songs or the inspriation behind their music. And, unless you are a serious Rancid fan, you might the footage of them overwhelmed the other groups. There are ten Rancid performances out of 25 songs. Among my favorite performers were The Slackers, and The Dropkick Murphy.



Rancid - Ruby Soho
Tiger Army - Never Die
F-Minus - Light At The End
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Rudie Can't Fail
Rancid - Roots Radicals (acoustic)
Rancid - Maxwell Murder
Nekromantix - Gargoyes Over Copenhagen
U.S. Boms - U.S. Bombs
Transplants - One Seventeen
Guitar Joe
Rancid - As Wicked
Rancid - Old Friend
Rancid and Iggy Pop - No Fun (acoustic)
The Slackers - And I Wonder
Horrorprops - Julia
Roger Miret and The Disasters - CrucifiedDropkick Murphy - Good Rats
Rancid - Red Hot Moon
Rancid - Rate In The Hallway
Rancid - Bloodclot
Lars Frederiksen and The Bastards - SkunxNerve Agents - Evil
Joe Stummer tribute
Tim and Davey Havok - Knowledge
Rancid - Radio
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Minstrel Boy

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/20/024944.php

Windsor Park Golf Course - my best round ever!

Today, I took the afternoon to play the Windsor Park Golf Course with three of my co-workers. This is one of the easiest courses in town due to its short length, but we played it since it is located not too far from one of my co-workers.

I ended up shooting 41 and 44 for 85, my best round of golf ever. I should really always break 90 on this course, since it is fairly short. I putted fairly well. I mostly drove the ball well. Once again, my approach shots to the green with the pitching wedge, were really lousy. I simply don't get under the ball as well as I should.



Everyone agreed that the shot of the day came on the 12th hole. The ideal drive is with about 150 yards, to the 150 yard marker. From there, you will have a clear shot to the elevated green. I duffed my 5-iron drive and landed it on the side of hill. I was about 160 yards away, but my side hill shot flew high and straight at the green. It landed less than ten feet from the hole. I just barely missed getting a birdie.

The first hole was a huge surprise. There is a temporary green that you can see from the tee box, but you can't see how flood damaged the fairway was. It looked like most of the grass had been scrapped away. I'm not sure I would have played this course if I knew the first hole was so damaged. The other holes were in fairly good shape. Yesterday, we thought it was supposed to rain all afternoon, but it didn't rain at all on us. However, it was really humid. We would have welcomed cooler weather. The cost to walk 18 holes was $24.

catching up with a cousin for the first time...

Yesterday, one of my uncles from Trinidad called me. We spoke briefly before I ended up chatting for a while with his 21 year-old son, for the first time. In this age of instant and relatively cheap communications, it's amazing how easy it is to not keep in touch with certain people. Out of site, out of mind, I supppose.



Turns out my cousin is trying to get into the IT field. He's certified in A+ and Network+ and is going for some other certifications.


Coconut trees in Mayaro.

Let's see if I can remember my cousins on my Dad's side:
Riaz, Tariq and Idris.
Ferraz, Fazee and Farah
Sayyed
and there's a few more whose names I can't remember. I really have to learn their names!

Gaza, Israel, and Me

Here's an interesting post from one of my Blogcritics colleagues.

Gaza, Israel, and Me
Posted by gypsyman on August 16, 2005 10:35 AM (See all posts by gypsyman)

Israeli security forces clashed with protesters in the largest Gaza settlement on Tuesday in the run-up to the midnight deadline for Jews to leave the occupied territory. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem.

For over a thousand years, Jewish people throughout the world have commemorated their escape from Egypt and the pharaohs with the observation of the Passover holiday. The name’s origins lie in God’s orders to the Jews when he sent down the angel of death to smite all the first sons in Egypt. If they put lamb's blood on their doorframes, the angel would pass over their houses.

The first two nights of the seven-day festival are highlighted by the ritual meal, the Seder. (I have always contended there are two Seders to ensure family peace; couples go to one set of parents one night, the other set the second.) Throughout the evening, the story of the exile is read, and foods symbolizing aspects of the journey are eaten - unleavened bread called Matzoth represents that they were in such a hurry there was no time to wait for the bread to rise, salt water symbolizes the tears shed on leaving their homes, and bitter herbs express the bitterness of the journey.

After these and other foods are eaten and the story is told, there comes the final ritual event of the evening. All of those assembled stand facing east, raise a glass of wine, and proclaim "Next Year in Jerusalem!" For Jewish people scattered across the continents of the world, this statement epitomized their longing to return home out of exile. Like Moses and the Israelites, they saw themselves as wandering the desert searching for their promised land.

One can only imagine the poignancy of these words for people walled up in the ghettos of Europe in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; or even worse, those people trapped in the camps of Nazi Germany or the soulnessness of Stalinist Russia. How empty they must have sounded echoing off the walls of Auschwitz and Belsen.

The creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948 was supposedly the answer to the years of exile. When the creation of the Israel was first being discussed, the first geographical location that was considered was actually where modern day Uganda is located. However, it was obvious that any Jewish homeland would have to include Jerusalem, as it is the heart and soul of their faith.

There was a slight problem. There happened to be people living there already. Some of them were Jews who had continued to live there through the years of conquerors dating back to the Romans, and others were Arab who had lived there since the time of Mohammad and before.

Both groups of people, along with Christians, consider Jerusalem their holiest city. For the Jews, the Wailing Wall is the last remaining piece of the great Temple. For the Muslims, The Dome of the Rock is the holiest Mosque in the world, because it’s here that Mohammad is said to have ascended into heaven.

The months leading up to the declaration of statehood were marked by acts of terror aimed against both Arabs and Jews. The Stern and Irgun gangs of Zionist terrorists blew up a major hotel in Jerusalem and wiped out a whole village of Arabs, which would have been within the boundaries of the new state of Israel. Whether it was true or not, Arabs, justifiably, inferred from these attacks that they would not be welcomed in Israel.

When the first war of survival was won by Israel, the Muslim population became the displaced. When they left Israel looking for succour in the arms of their fellow Arabs they were turned away by all except Jordan. They were allowed to set up camps in the territory bordering the new state.

It was not until 1967 and the six-day war that the present day boundaries of Israel were created. In what was called a preemptive strike to prevent war, the Israeli armies occupied the territories now known as the West Bank and The Gaza Strip, including East Jerusalem. These incursions created the massive amounts of refugees that flooded the camps in Lebanon and Jordan.


The Gaza Strip, which is the territory being ceded to the Palestinian Authority, was part of the original cease fire agreement between Israel and the Arab nations in 1950. Home to the Palestinians who fled Israel after its creation in 1949, it remained under Egyptian rule until 1967.

Since the war of 1967, Israeli settlers have been forming armed enclaves in the Gaza Strip. Sometimes in opposition to government policy, other times with their tacit support. The current prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, was a proponent of the settlements, but has since changed his tune.

Although it is not often reported in our press, the majority of Israelis support the withdrawal of the settlers from the Gaza Strip. These settlers have long been seen as provocateurs that make life more difficult for those living in the rest of the country. Ariel Sharon has finally bowed to the demands of the majority of his people and world pressure to finalize complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, settlers and military, paving the way for Palestinian autonomy.

Israeli soldiers and police have spent the last few days delivering eviction notices to all of the settlements in Gaza. Thousands of settlers and their supporters have tried to thwart them through a variety of means such as tire fires and physically obstructing them with human blockades.

Like many other people of Jewish descent, I have often struggled with the costs involved with the creation and maintenance of Israel. How can our people justify treating any other people in a manner similar to that which motivated the creation of Israel? Our continued ghettoization of Palestinians is reprehensible and irresponsible.

Just over sixty years ago, the majority of the world turned a deaf ear to the cries for help issuing from Europe as millions of our family members were exterminated in the camps. How can we turn a deaf ear to the cries for assistances from our neighbours, especially when we were responsible for their plight.

The suicide bombers and the Hamas rocket attacks are not going to stop no matter how security conscious Israel gets. Instead of continually meting out retribution against innocents, why not isolate the terrorists from the rest of society by acting in a manner which in no way can be construed as coercive?

Ridding the Gaza Strip of all illegal squatters is a first step. Pressure must be kept up on Israeli governments to continue to treat its new neighbours with respect. We need to take the words “Never Forget” and start applying them to others as well as ourselves. We insult the dream of “Next Year In Jerusalem” if can’t carry out that simple task.

--------------------------

Comment on this post and/or leave a message for the author here.
Comment 1 posted by dietdoc on August 16, 2005 01:27 PM:

g-man,

Thanks for this informative analysis of the crisis that is Israel. I learned more in this small piece than I have in some time on BC. It is so refreshing to read something that is not cluttered with radical venom - be it liberal or conservative - but simply a personal, informed analysis.

I appreciate your insights and thoughts.

Cheers,

Ron

Comment 2 posted by Nancy on August 16, 2005 02:14 PM:

I have a question for anyone who cares to dredge this one up: in both the bible & the archeological record, it's pretty clear that the original inhabitants of Jerusalem were not Jews (or Israelites) but a whole 'nother group. Going by the bible, the Jews moved in, massacred the originals, & settled themselves into the territory as "theirs" by right of divine gift, as they justified it. How do the Israelis/Jews or anybody else consider Jerusalem to be 'theirs' when they stole it by genocide to begin with? Not that this is a unique situation; lord knows it's how most of us ended up where we are, somewhere down the line in history, especially here in the US. But I wonder, as especially the O.T. is pretty specific about wiping out the originals owners & taking the city, is that just then 'disregarded'?

Comment 3 posted by gypsyman on August 16, 2005 02:27 PM:

You know I almost mentioned something about the cannites(I think that's who it was or at least some variation on that spelling) I've often wondered the same thing myself about the historical accuracy of that whole exodus story and what ever became of those who were there before the people Moses was leading out of the wilderness.

Probably, as is so often the case in these insidences, they were some form of godless heathens, like the snakes of Ireland who St. Patrick had destroyed. Horror of Horrors they could have been godess worshipers.

It seems that everybody's claim to right of possecion is made on the backs of somebody else. Just goes to prove that we are all immigrants.


Comment 4 posted by ss on August 16, 2005 03:10 PM:

I've heard a theory that the Exodus didn't actually happen all at once, but in successive waves, and that the earlier waves had the god that became Yaweah, the unnamed, whatever, but also a female diety, and they more willing to accept local gods, so they were more accepted by the locals.
So much so that the later waves were seen as interlopers, even by their (pre?) Hebrew cousins. So the last waves seperated and had to live on the marginal lands, with ealrlier inhabitants who worshipped differnt god/goddess pairs, and that all these people living on the fringes of Ancient Palestinian society came together under a new monotheism, and the reason our god is named, basicly, 'don't say his name', is because that was the easiest compromise to ditch the goddess, and to call all the polydeists (I think is the word), whether they came fom out of Egypt or not, heathens with unclean sexual practices, etc.
According to this theory Hebrew, as something that can be traced genetically, (if there's even any truth to that claim) started at that point.
It's kind of far fetched and it doesn't really change the violent take over I guess, but it makes our western (relatively recent) obsession with tribal descent seem a liitle silly.
So I like that about it.

Comment 5 posted by Nancy on August 16, 2005 03:20 PM:

Canaanites? Mmmm...yeah, I read that, too, one of the Archeology mags about 2 yrs ago, I think. "God" originally had a wife. Actually, if the O.T. is any indication, the ancient Israelites were pretty tough customers, quite given to genocide whenever it suited them, then justifying it by claiming 'God' made them do it. Where have I heard that one before...? As for the exodus, the bible also has an interesting detail there: when Moses has led everyone out, & they start whining, they moan about the fish & garlic & onions they had to eat in Egypt, the living was easy, & how they wish they were back there. Isn't that a odd reaction for people who purportedly were escaping slavery & genocide? Plus, the Egyptians were maniac record-keepers, and aside from the Hyksos, there is nothing said whatsoever about Israelites, or Semites, or Jews, let alone about an entire population enslaved. You'd think something would be posted somewhere.

PGA Championship rain delayed an extra day

Fans file out of Baltusrol after play was called Sunday evening.

Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III started the day tied at -6, but Mickelson gained two strokes while Love picked up four. Steve Elkington, the 1995 winner, was +1 today, while Thomas Bjorn and Vijay Singh were +2. Tiger Woods finished at 2 under, and also shot two under for the day. I would be quite surprised if there was a playoff involving Tiger Woods, but you never know.


1 Phil Mickelson -4 13 +2
T2 Steve Elkington -3 15 +1
T2 Thomas Björn -3 14 +2
T4 Tiger Woods -2 F -2
T4 Vijay Singh -2 15 +2


This will be the first time the PGA Championship has gone five days since Bob Tway won at Inverness in 1986.

Thomas Bjorn shoots record 63 at the PGA Championship

Thomas Bjorn shot a record 7 under par 63, and vaulted himself into contention.


A 63 gave Thomas Bjorn a great reason to enjoy his golf again.

Sweet 63
The following players shot 63 in a major championship:

PGA Championship (9)
Bruce Crampton 1975 (2nd rnd)
Raymond Floyd 1982 (1st rnd)
Gary Player 1984 (2nd rnd)
Vijay Singh 1993 (1st rnd)
Michael Bradley 1995 (1st rnd)
Brad Faxon 1995 (4th rnd)
Jose Maria Olazabal 2000 (3rd rnd)
Mark O'Meara 2001 (2nd rnd)
Thomas Bjorn 2005 (3rd rnd)

The Masters (2)
Nick Price 1986 (3rd rnd)
Greg Norman 1996 (1st rnd)

U.S. Open (4)
Johnny Miller 1973 (4th rnd)
Jack Nicklaus 1980 (1st rnd)
Tom Weiskopf 1980 (1st rnd)
Vijay Singh 2003 (2nd rnd)

British Open (7)
Mark Hayes 1977 (2nd rnd)
Isao Aoki 1980 (3rd rnd)
Greg Norman 1986 (2nd rnd)
Paul Broadhurst 1990 (3rd rnd)
Jodie Mudd 1991 (4th rnd)
Nick Faldo 1993 (2nd rnd)
Payne Stewart 1993 (4th rnd)


Phil Mickelson's lost two strokes and fell to -6, tied with the rising Davis Love III.


After struggling Saturday, Phil Mickelson faces more of an uphill journey to the PGA Championship title.

Tiger Woods shot 4 under par 66 and put himself at even par. By all accounts, this wsa something he should have been happy about, but he refused to talk to reporters after the round. Still, he was 12 strokes behind Phil Mickelson and is now 6 back.

From CNN SI:

"He again tried to reach the 650-yard 17th hole in two, but his 3-wood was so far left that it went beyond a bunker and settled under a fan's portable chair. He chipped weakly to 35 feet and made par. On the 18th, Woods hammered another tee shot down the middle and hit a towering 7-iron that settled 30 feet behind the hole. He gunned his eagle putt some 12 feet by, then missed that coming back."


John Daly's pitching wedge had to do double duty on Saturday.

From PGA.com:

"John Daly has so much power, he could probably drive with a putter. At the PGA Championship on Saturday, he proved he could putt with a wedge.

Daly made the unorthodox move after the head of his putter came loose on the back nine of his third round, and he putted with his wedge on holes 11 through 18.

"I rolled it pretty good. I couldn't get it to the hole, but the other putter was knocking it 10 feet by," Daly said with a laugh.

He did manage to birdie the 650-yard 17th, becoming the only player to reach the green in two shots for the second time in two majors at Baltusrol. He missed his eagle chance and had a tap-in birdie with his wedge.

Daly was the only player to reach the green in two shots during the 1993 U.S. Open."

review - Broken Flowers

3/5

Broken Flowers is the latest film from director Jim Jarmusch.



Don (Bill Murray) is a seemingly retired person, who made a fortune in the computer business. One day, he receives a letter with no return address or signature, claiming that he fathered a child with the writer and that the child, almost 19 years old, is now one his way to find his unknown father. With the help of his would-be detective novelist neighbour (Jeffrey Wright, someone we should see more of in film), Don embarks on a trip to unexpectedly drop by a few former girlfriends, to try to figure out who sent the letter and who his child is.



There are too many quiet, contemplative moments that worked in Lost In Translation , that don't quite work here. It's true that sometimes less is more, and that much can be communicated without relying on a lot of dialogue. But after a while, the numerous quiet moments made the film seem tedious. There are also parts that are meant to titillate, always involving females, but they don't really add to the story in any germane way, with the exception of playing on men's interest in attractive women. Was this some type of social commentary on the director's part? Probably.



The real estate agent former flame (Frances Conroy)looked embarassed and the dinner scene was painful to watch. However, it was also realistic. We've all been in situations with that type of tension. Jarmusch also tried to juxtapose the dry real estate agent and her bourgeois lifestyle with the hippie that she used to be when Don knew her. The change is apparent without having it trumpeted. The animal communicator on one hand seemed loopy and self-imporatnt, but on the other hand, stand-offish. Real people are like that: more complex than mere stereotypes. The redneck former girlfriend (Tilda Swinton)and her reasons for reacting to him upon his surprise visit, didn't develop any intrigue and didn't contribute to the story in a positive way.



Broken Flowers is not predictable, and that is one of its strong suits. It's slow moving pace and ending may turn off mainstream audiences, however. Those with different tastes may find this to be one of the best films of the year. I can respect this film for trying to be different, but I don't think I would see it again or recommend it to everyone. Winner of the Grand Prix prize at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

Mickelson surges, Tiger Woods barely makes the cut

After shooting a 5-under 65 in Friday's second round, Mickelson took the clubhouse lead with an 8-under total.

The big drama today at day 2 of the PGA Championship, was whether or not Tiger Woods would make the cut, which was projected to be at +4. Woods ballooned from begining to day at +5 to +8. Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, finished his round before Woods began his, at held the lead at -8. Mickelson was five under for the day. He had seven birdies and one eagle.


Defending PGA champion Vijay Singh (R) of Fiji tees off on the 17th hole as Davis Love III of the U.S. looks on during second round play.

On the 17th hole, Woods boomed a huge drive. This hole is 647 yards long and has only been reached in two once before, by John Daly in the 1993 US Open. He had about 260 yards to the green and took out his three-wood. Golfing fans around the world held their breaths. He hit what looked like a perfect shot. Woods initially thought it was going to fly over the green. In ended up in a bunker, on the far lip. He had no choice but to shoot it out, and put it back into play. With his back turned to the flad, he rolled it out to the rough, with bunkers to the left and right. He wedged it and rolled it about ten feet past the hole. If he sank his next shot for par, he would make the cut. He missed.

Number 17



Onto the final hole, number 18, which he had to at least birdie to make the cut. He drove it long and straight, leaving himself maybe just a seven-iron to the green. His second shot on the par five landed on the green, about ten feet away. He could use two shots to finish the hole and make the cut. But, he had a chance to go out in style with an eagle. He missed and settled for a birdie. Over the first two days, his putter has really let him down. On number two, he three=putted from 7 feet! The final two days will be quite exciting. Will Phil hold onto his lead or fold like he done many times before? Will Woods manage to shoot under par enough to have a shot at winning? Or, will someone else make a dramatic run for victory?


After dropping to 8-over early in the second round, Tiger Woods responded with four crucial birdies in a 10-hole span.

Three men were injured, one hospitalized with a broken left leg, when a huge branch of an oak tree snapped loose and struck them.

South Interlake Golf Course

Located about 20 minutes north of Winnipeg on highway 6, South Interlake Gof Course is a wide open course that can be very susceptible to the wind. It was windy today and my drives sliced more than usual and some of them ended up lost.

My most memorable shot was a short one from a sand trap. I gently lifted the ball out the sand with just enough height. I don't think I've hit such a good bunker shot in years. None of us putted well. The greens were fast. They also did not bite. One of our playing partners has a membership there and recommended that we land some of our approach shots before the green to allow the ball to run up. I did this on one hole and it worked just fine. I was quite surprised to see one of my high 9-iron approach shots hit the green and roll off.

I had one really good pitching wedge shot. I took a full swing and followed through properly, resulting in a high shot. Unfortunately, I was tentative with the wedge for most of the day and ended up skulling it several times.

My game was so bad that I shot 20 shots worse than last week's game. Such is golf. The cost for today's round was $25 to walk it.

Thoughts about the 87th PGA Championship

Prior to the start of the 87th PGA Championship, being held at the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., there was speculation that Mike Weir was being seen as being a flash in the pan, since they had him scheduled to play with two other golfers who haven't lived up to expectations. Here's what Sports Illustrated had to say.

"THE LOST MOMENTUM GROUP: Since winning the 2003 Masters, Weir has made 47 Tour starts and has one win to show for it. Since winning the 2001 British Open, Duval's game has made a wicked turn south; he's failed to win in his last 72 Tour starts. And since winning the 2003 British Open, Curtis has been shut out in his last 44 Tour starts ... and has missed the cut 27 times."



Two pars 4s over 500 yards in length!!



Arjun Atwal from India, playing in his second major, could bring golf to unheard of popularity in his home country, should he win. Michael Campbell won the US Open this year and is from New Zealand, a country of 4 million people. He's a huge sports hero there now. Imagine what an Atwal win would mean to 1 billion people in India!!

32 year-old Arjun Atwal


Tiger Woods off to a poor start, but six players are tied for the lead, including Calgarian Stephen Ames, at 3 under par. There are 27 players within two strokes of the lead - quite a log jam!

Stuart Appleby
Phil Mickelson
Rory Sabbatini
Stephen Ames
Trevor Immelman
Ben Curtis



Tiger Woods, the world's number one ranked player,is at +5, 8 shots behind the leaders. Vijay Singh is at even par. Mike Weir is at +2. Arjun Atwal is at +4.

SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless

SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless
by Steve Salerno
Crown Publishing, June 21, 2005



The type of people who buy self-help books are the kind of people who bought the same type of books 18 months ago. I just heard this auhtor on CJOB's evening talk show and felt compelled to make a note of his book. Some of what he said was absolutely riveting and I may buy this book or try to get my local library. Since I haven't read it, I can't draw any conclusions. You would have to read it and make up your own mind.

Here's a quote from an Amazon.com review. Many of the reviews of this book are slamming it, but given that the people posting reviews could have a stake in the self-help movement, it's possible that the reviews are meant to sand bag this book.

"The self-help industry was long overdue for a fall, and Steve Salerno is combative and tenacious enough to deliver the knockout punches.

If he had just pointed out how many emperors in the self-help universe have no clothes, it would've been a decent book. After all, we live in a world in which the overweight Dr. Phil is a weight-loss guru, the recently divorced Tony Robbins offers marital advice, and the profoundly screwed up Dr. Laura presents herself as a beacon of moral clarity.



But Salerno does more than land easy and cheap shots. He shows where the gurus present glib advice that actually contradicts scientific research. He shows how they build their personal "brands" by branching out into areas of advice and counseling in which they have no expertise. And he shows, first and foremost, how they enrich themselves by creating repeat customers. If they were legitimately helping people, why would anyone need to attend more than one seminar, or buy more than one book?

As an added bonus, this book is very well written. Salerno makes his points with style."

And from the Barnes and Noble site.

"A book, maybe THE book, for its times
In taking on the addle-brained sloganism of the past fifty years in American pop psychology, the author shows clearly, compellingly, and with biting humor just where the self-help train has gone off the tracks. More important, he does it in studious journalistic fashion, following the money and connecting the dots. This was not the case with earlier examinations of self-help, which mostly played the topic for laughs or merely as a launching point for the author's own biases. I was particularly impressed with the book's scope, in that it reveals all the subtle ways in which self-help's teachings have bled over into society-at-large and its most important institutions. I also enjoyed the striking and original way it brackets various developments in self-help as sub-themes or sub-movements in their own right: e.g. 'sportsthink,' 'contrapreneurs,' and the rise of 'BADASSE' (Blame All Disappointments And Setbacks on Somebody Else).' But the most powerful and original aspect of the book is its searing critique of today's so-called Empowerment Movement, which actually chains people to unrealistic hopes and leads them to substitute a never-ending series of 'goals' for meaningful action. (The author also argues powerfully that Empowerment may have much to do with today's flagging commitment to marriage and other long-term undertakings.) There should be a way of getting this book into the hands of every Oprah viewer. And by the way, there's a lot of cool, juicy stuff on the leading figures in self-help. You may never see Dr. Phil quite the same way again. Simply outstanding."

From the publisher:

FROM THE PUBLISHER
Self-help: To millions of Americans it seems like a godsend. To many others it seems like a joke. But as investigative reporter Steve Salerno reveals in this groundbreaking book, it's neither--in fact it's much worse than a joke. Going deep inside the Self-Help and Actualization Movement (fittingly, the words form the acronym SHAM), Salerno offers the first serious exposé of this multibillion-dollar industry and the real damage it is doing--not just to its paying customers, but to all of American society.
Based on the author's extensive reporting--and the inside look at the industry he got while working at a leading "lifestyle" publisher--SHAM shows how thinly credentialed "experts" now dispense advice on everything from mental health to relationships to diet to personal finance to business strategy. Americans spend upward of $8 billion every year on self-help programs and products. And those staggering financial costs are actually the least of our worries.

SHAM demonstrates how the self-help movement's core philosophies have infected virtually every aspect of American life--the home, the workplace, the schools, and more. And Salerno exposes the downside of being uplifted, showing how the "empowering" message that dominates self-help today proves just as damaging as the blame-shifting rhetoric of self-help's "Recovery" movement.

SHAM also reveals:

• How self-help gurus conduct extensive market research to reach the same customers over and over--without ever helping them

• The inside story on the most notorious gurus--from Dr. Phil to Dr. Laura, from Tony Robbins to John Gray

• How your company might be wasting money onmotivational speakers, "executive coaches," and other quick fixes that often hurt quality, productivity, and morale

• How the Recovery movement has eradicated notions of personal responsibility by labeling just about anything--from drug abuse to "sex addiction" to shoplifting--a dysfunction or disease

• How Americans blindly accept that twelve-step programs offer the only hope of treating addiction, when in fact these programs can do more harm than good

• How the self-help movement inspired the disastrous emphasis on self-esteem in our schools

• How self-help rhetoric has pushed people away from proven medical treatments by persuading them that they can cure themselves through sheer application of will

As Salerno shows, to describe self-help as a waste of time and money vastly understates its collateral damage. And with SHAM, the self-help industry has finally been called to account for the damage it has done.

FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
You! Yes, you! Are you addicted to self-help books? Do you require "empowerment" to reverse your "victimhood"? If so, relax-you're far from alone. The Self-Help and Actualization Movement (the titular SHAM) is, according to Salerno, an $8-billion-a-year industry that depends on legions of repeat customers. Salerno presents a carefully researched-and devastating-expos on SHAM's predatory and fraudulent practices and its corrosive effects on society. As former editor of Men's Health magazine's books program, Salerno knows the terrain from the inside. With judicious delight, he exposes the grandiloquent bluster and blithe hypocrisy of Dr. Phil (who, psychologists say, shames rather than helps his guests) and Dr. Laura (the preacher of family values who didn't know when her own mother was murdered), among many others. He cites examples of junk science, such as Tony Robbins's talk of "the energy frequency of foods," and charges that untested alternative medicine draws people away from proven medical treatments. In addition to detailing the raw facts, Salerno excels at pinpointing the self-abnegating strategy the self-help industry employs: namely, tearing you down in the name of building you up. And the positivity yields questionable results in any case. The self-help industry should not be dismissed as "silly but benign," says Salerno, and he documents how it has undermined psychology, education and health care in this blistering critique. (June 28) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Salerno, a freelance feature writer, essayist, and investigative reporter whose work has been featured in Harper's, the New York Times Magazine, and the Washington Post, minces no words in this evisceration of the self-help and actualization movement (SHAM). He takes on contemporary gurus like Dr. Phil McGraw, Tony Robbins, John Gray, and Dr. Laura Schlessinger-anyone, in fact, who dispenses popular advice or advocates psychological or alternative medical self-help (even 12-step programs take a hit). Ultimately, Salerno argues that SHAM, a multibillion-dollar industry, has fostered a culture of victimization that discourages people from taking responsibility for their lives, thereby undermining the character of our nation. This conclusion would have been much more persuasive if he had dispensed with the vitriol. Wendy Kaminer's I'm Dysfunctional, You're Dysfunctional: The Recovery Movement and Other Self-Help Fashions is a more effective critique; Salerno's book is recommended only for large public libraries.-Lynne F. Maxwell, Villanova Univ. Sch. of Law Lib., PA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.


Here's an article from National Review.

May 12, 2005, 8:10 a.m.
Overdosing on Oprah
The side effects of empowerment.

By Steve Salerno

Ever since America began to wean itself off the sociological junk-food of victimization and the much-maligned Culture of Blame, the landscape has been steadily overspread by an antithetical conceit — loosely bracketed as "empowerment" — whose preachments can be summarized as follows: Don't let anyone take away your dreams. Everything you need to succeed is right there inside you. Believe it, achieve it.

Today, Fortune 500 conglomerates draft optimistic business models in bullet points drawn from Stephen Covey's seven (highly effective) habits; families settle disputes using ameliorative diagnostics straight out of Dr. Phil; millions of everyday Americans owe their feelings of "personal power" to prow-jawed fire-walker Tony Robbins, the arguable father of today's mainstream brand of empowerment. And, of course, there is that daily dose of spiritual adrenaline from Oprah Winfrey, who is seldom categorized as a guru in her own right, but whose role as the movement's éminence grise cannot be discounted: The road to self-help's promised land — and a bite of its $8.56 billion-dollar fruit, as per the latest figures from Marketdata Enterprises — goes right through the vast king-making machine that is Harpo Productions. The guiding nostrums delivered via sundry channels by these and other self-help celebrities form a cultural given, an uncontested (and, one is led to believe, incontestable) foundation for the present starry-eyed Zeitgeist.

Lost in all the adulation is the downside of this tireless effort to uplift. The overselling of personal empowerment — the hyping of hope — may in fact be the great unsung irony of latter-day American culture, destined to disappoint as surely as the pity party it was supposed to replace. And in a far more insidious fashion.

Though many of the consequences here are easily missed or confound measurement, the literal and figurative poster children can be found in America's schools, whose crusade to imbue kids with that most slippery of notions, self-esteem, has been plainly disastrous. It was once theorized that a rose-colored self-image would itself help students achieve greatness, even if the mechanisms required to instill self-worth undercut traditional notions of scholarship. In the intervening years, declining SAT scores and the generally dismal performance of American students in global rankings of competency in math and the hard sciences have shown that academic greatness is not what self-esteem promotes. (In 1998, the Amsterdam-based International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement released its Third International Mathematics and Science Study, involving twelfth graders from 23 nations. In overall scientific literacy, the U.S. placed fourth from the bottom, besting only such historic hotbeds of scientific innovation as Lithuania, Cyprus, and South Africa. In advanced math, the U.S. outpaced only Austria. In physics, American kids finished dead last.)

No matter. America keeps filling its children with this faux self-esteem, passing them on to the next set of empowering standards, and the next after that. If you teach college, as I do, you are certain at some point to be confronted by a student who's upset over the grade you gave him and seeks redress because, he will say, as though his point were self-evident, "I'm pre-med!" Only if and when that student actually reaches med school does he encounter less elastic standards: a comeuppance for him, but a reprieve for the rest of us, who otherwise might find ourselves anesthetized beneath his second-rate scalpel.

The larger point is that, with the gods of empowerment cheering in the background, society has embraced concepts like confidence and self-esteem despite scant evidence that they're reliably correlated with positive outcomes. The work of legitimate psychology notables Roy Baumeister and Martin Seligman indicates that often, high self-worth is a marker for negative behavior, as diagnosed in sociopaths and drug kingpins. Furthermore, self-esteem may be expressed in the kind of braggadocio — "I'm fine just the way I am, thank you" — that actually inhibits personal growth.

Unfazed by pesky questions about whether happy thoughts can even guarantee results for any one individual, today's champions of positive thought unflinchingly portray their quest as the folkloric rising tide that lifts all boats, supposedly enabling America en masse to reach new levels of happiness and prosperity. A nice thought — but impossible barring a wholesale change in the way the free market operates. Many pursuits are zero-sum affairs. For each winner, there usually must be a fair number of losers. Nonetheless, I have been to sales seminars where the motivational speaker implied to 250 real-estate professionals from the same company that all of them could be the firm's No. 1 salesperson next year. One of them will be. The other 249 will not. Consider, then, the psychic costs of coming up short in a philosophical system that disclaims the role of luck, timing, or competition, and admits no obstacles that cannot be conquered by the sheer application of will. If winning is a straight-line function of "character," then what does that say about those who lose? Of course, one never really loses in this brave new world of hopeful euphemisms. "There is no such thing as failure," posits a core maxim of the neurolinguistic programming regimen from which Tony Robbins drew much of his patter. "There is only feedback."

But why settle for redefining mere words when you can redefine the very world in which you move? Hence, the solipsistic outlook that fuels today's empowered thinking: Reality becomes an arbitrary affair wherein each individual decides his personal truth. One is hard pressed to find a setting where such reasoning is deemed inappropriate. At a presentation to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Dale Walsh, vice president of Riverbend Community Mental Health, hailed the new resolve that mentally ill "clients" feel about playing "a significant role in the shaping of the services, policies, and research" that affect them — this, as part of "taking power back from the system." A second mental-health activist, Selina Glater, writes that "empowerment," in a treatment setting, is about "clearly stating what it is you need in order to feel whole again." Inmates running the asylum indeed.

Empowerment has left its fingerprints on other areas of health care, too. It's at least a contributing factor in America's startling exodus from traditional medicine. One omnibus study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association put the total number of patient visits to all types of alternative-medicine practitioners at 629 million per year, easily eclipsing the 386 million visits to conventional MDs. In theory, these defections from the mainstream represent a quest for "self-empowerment healing" that will "put people in charge of their health-care destiny," to quote the popular holistic-health portal, Oughten House. (Oughten's slogan: "Change your DNA, change your life!" Uh-huh.) In practice, the trend puts increasing numbers of Americans at the mercy of opportunistic charlatans who position themselves at the nexus of mind and body.

We will not know the ultimate impact of all this for some time; it's been barely a generation since the surreal optimism described herein first began to make the logic of victimization sound ugly and old. But common sense suggests that this relentless emphasis on personal satisfaction betokens grim news for marriage, workplace camaraderie, or unity of any kind. One wonders how a nation comprising 295 million individuals, each vowing not to let anyone take away his dreams, could arrive at a true sense of collective purpose, especially with humility now in such short supply. Pop-psychology once taught us to wallow in our faults and limitations. It now teaches us to deny them, if not revel in them (as anyone who watches early-season episodes of American Idol can attest). As a culture, we went from impotence to omnipotence, sneering at the more realistic middle ground we sped past en route.

If empowerment is a quasi-religion — which is how Oprah and some of its other champions seem to frame it — perhaps it could use an updated version of the serenity prayer made popular by the twelve-step regimens it disdains: Something like, "Lord give me the enthusiasm to pursue what I excel at, the modesty to admit what I stink at, and the wisdom to know that there is a difference."

— Steve Salerno's book, SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless, will be published by Crown in June.

New-home prices rocket

New-home prices rocket
Costs in Winnipeg rise at pace that's triple the national average

Thu Aug 11 2005

By Murray McNeill, from the Winnipeg Free Press.

WINNIPEG'S rising new-home prices broke from a canter to an all-out gallop in June, rising three times faster than the Canadian average.
New figures released yesterday by Statistics Canada show the cost of a new home in Winnipeg jumped 3.0 per cent from May to June of this year, compared to only 0.8 per cent for the country as a whole.


Gerry Trottier of Southwynn Homes Ltd. says rising labour and material costs have played a part in soaring new-home prices.

That meant Winnipeg homebuyers had to dish out $206,000 for a new home that was selling for $200,000 just a month earlier. And at the higher end of the market, a new home that was selling for $500,000 in May would have cost them an extra $15,000 in June.

On a year-over-year basis, where Winnipeg once again had the highest increase of the 21 urban centres included in the Statistics Canada survey, the price hike was even bigger, at 6.9 per cent.

Using the same examples, that meant a new home that was priced at $200,000 in June of last year would have cost $13,800 more in June of this year, while a $500,000 model would have set a buyer back an extra $34,500.

Randy Sterns, a senior analyst with Statistics Canada's prices division, said while June's 3.0 per cent increase wasn't the biggest month-over-month gain Winnipeg has seen since the local housing boom began about three years ago, "it's certainly one of the biggest in a while," he added. The soaring price of new homes mirrors what's been happening in the resale-homes market in Winnipeg, where average selling prices have been escalating at a double-digit pace for each of the past three years.

In the case of resale homes, prices are being driven up by a shortage of new listings and a variety of factors that have helped create a strong demand for housing. That includes historically low interest rates, strong consumer confidence, and healthy employment and population growth.

On the new-home side, it's strong demand coupled with rising costs for labour, building materials and land. And opinions seem to be divided on which of those factors is having the biggest inflationary impact.

According to Garth Steek, president of the Manitoba Home Builders Association, it's the skyrocketing price of land.

"Neither labour nor materials are the back-breaker here," Steek said in an interview, adding that in most cases, they've only been increasing at about the rate of inflation (less than two per cent). "It is the price of land that is taking this out of sight."

He estimated land costs in Winnipeg have jumped 30 to 50 per cent in the past year. That means a standard 40-foot-wide lot that cost $40,000 a year ago costs about $52,000 today, while a 50-foot lot that was $50,000 last year is $75,000 this year, he added. "I think it really underscores exactly what the MHBA has been saying for the past year -- there is a severe shortage of serviced lots in Winnipeg," he said. "That's what's driving up new home prices."

However, two custom home builders in the city -- Gerry Trottier of Southwynn Homes Ltd. and Steve Maric, of Maric Construction Ltd. -- said rising labour and material costs have also had a significant impact on prices.

"I think 80 per cent of our increase has been labour," Maric said in an interview. "It's supply and demand."

He said the housing boom here and elsewhere in Canada has created a big demand for skilled tradespeople such as carpenters, drywallers and cement applicators. That's allowed the tradespeople to charge more for their services, he added, and most builders have no choice but to pay the higher rates.

Because of that, plus the rising prices for land and building materials, Maric said a house his firm could build for $600,000 last year is costing between $670,000 and $700,000 this year.

Trottier said the cost of building materials such as asphalt shingles, PVC windows, drywall and insulation also have increased from four to 10 per cent since March of this year.

As well, some suppliers have started charging a delivery fee to cover the rising cost of gasoline, he added. He said while it's not a huge amount, it still adds to the cost of a new home.

Trottier said he's had a couple of prospective buyers who got cold feet after the price of a new home they were planning to have built for them jumped from $15,000 to $20,000 between last December and this past April. But the vast majority of them -- his firm builds between eight and 12 high-end homes per year -- have proceeded with their purchases because they figure prices will only get higher the longer they wait, he added.

Maric and John Daniels, vice-president of Winnipeg's largest homebuilder, The Qualico Group, agreed that rising prices don't seem to have significantly weakened the demand for new homes. "People are still buying," Daniels noted.

He and Steek said local developers and City of Winnipeg officials are working hard to try and bring more serviced lots on stream later this year and early next year.

And hopefully by next fall, some of the lots in the massive new Waverley West housing development in southwest Winnipeg also will be ready to come onto the market, they added.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

7 Product Mini Test of Car Waxes from Roadfly.com

I wash my car at least once a week. I try to keep it well waxed so that the water beads, but most products simply don't last a month before the water sheets. I became a user of Zaino products and found them to be the easiest to apply and the longest lasting. Lately, I ran out of Zaino polish and ended up using Eagle One's NanoWax. I don't expect it to last very long so I have ordered more Zaino polishes.

This test confirms my findings about Zaino compared to other products.

7 Product Mini Test:
Some of the latest products tested and reviewed
http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/detailing/forum.php?postid=5256389&page=1

Note: This was NOT an official Guru Reports Test. Your results may (and probably will) vary. All testing was performed on my own time and does not reflect Guru Reports or its testing methodologies - this test was 100% independent and conducted under blind conditions with 3 people providing their own, personal opinions of the waxes for their appearance, performance, ease of use and durability. Do not allow any portion of this test to influence your potential buying decision - it's simply a comparison based on observations, opinion and personal experience in my unique environment.


THE PRODUCTS

- Eagle One Nano Wax
- Einszett Glanz Wax
- Meguiar's NXT Next Generation Wax
- Tropi-Care TC-3 Premium Car Polish
- Turtle Wax
- Wolfgang
- Zaino Z2


THE PANEL

My trusty, red, late 90's GM deck lid. The panel was washed with Dawn, clayed twice (using Wayne's Towels new clay bar), washed, wiped down with PPG PrepSol, and washed with Dawn. A final wipedown with a 50/50 concentration of 91% Isopropyl Alcohol and water ensured there was no residue left on the panel. Old marker lines remained from a previous test, even after all of the prep work... gotta' love those Magnum 44 bold black markers! No other preparations were performed to the panel - no polishing, no glazing; just clean-clean-clean.


THE CRITERIA and CONDITIONS

All products were applied exactly per manufacturer instructions. Whenever possible, the supplied applicators and prep products were used as recommended by the manufacturer. All residues were wiped off with a microfiber cloth (a new cloth was used for each product to protect against cross-contamination).

The products were applied to the panel in segregated areas, meaning that each product had "bare space" around it. The bare space served as control areas to determine when a product had finished offering protection. It also served as a buffer space between products to further help prevent against cross contamination.

Products were initially applied on 5/31/04, weather conditions were perfect: 74F, 50% humidity, and partly cloudy. The products were allowed to "rest" for 1 hour after application and initial evaluation. The long-term panel was left outside, exposed to the elements for the duration of the test. Using a Raytek infra-red temperature gun, panel temperatures were taken periodically, along with ambient temperature readings and weather conditions.

Once a week, the long-term panel was washed with P21S Bodywork Shampoo and blotted dry with a microfiber towel. After washing, the panel was allowed to rest for 15 minutes before evaluation. No quick detailers were used during the test. Volunteers subjectively graded the appearance of the products, and objective measurements were taken to determine optical and durability qualities. Initial beading ratings were taken to compare for later in the test. Bead measurements were performed using my proprietary system of determining the average size (depth and radius) of water beads on a panel after a 1-minute cold water spray.

All grades are assigned on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest possible grade.


WEATHER & PANEL TEMPERATURES - WEEK BY WEEK

During the initial week, the weather was unusually warm, with temperatures in the high 80's during the day, and evening temperatures averaging in the high 60's. It was sunny and humid, with one very heavy rainstorm (including small hail) 36 hours after the products were initially evaluated. Panel temperature during the week averaged approximately 114-degrees during the day.

Week 2's weather included more rain, and more heat. Temperatures regularly hit 90-degrees during the day, which caused a slight increase in average panel temperature to 118-degrees. Rain was sporadic but heavy. It rained 4 out of the 7 days of the test.

Week 3 was a nice week, as far as the weather goes. It was sunny nearly everyday, with highs in the low 90's and lows in the mid 60's. It was rather humid all week, with a fair amount of dew being present in the morning (dew point was around 72F all week).

Week 4 saw some severe storms - one of which knocked out our power for 2 days and took down a tree. Temps were hot - low-to-mid 90's during the day, with a mixture of sporadic rain and high sunshine. As a result, many of the panel's sections became waterspotted/etched. Apologies for the picture "hue" - white balance was off, and I didn't want to use Photoshop to correct anything - pictures are *exactly* as they came from camera, save for resizing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRODUCT #1:
Eagle One Nano Wax (Optux Adv: Hate To Wax Your Car?, Guru Reports: Wax Test) $9.95, 16oz



Initial Notes: I liked the packaging of this product - it comes in a nifty little box that includes a microfiber towel and applicator. I didn't care for the "pump" nature of the product, and was surprised by its somewhat watery consistency. Eagle One did not recommend any specific prep process, so product was applied as directed - product did exhibit some cleaning ability as it removed most of the marker lines while applying. Had a nice, waxy aroma with just a hint of fragrance. Applied nicely and evenly, removed with some resistance and left a nice initial finish. Surface felt slick and smooth.

Application: 10
Removal: 7
Packaging: 7
Instructions: 9 2-week Notes: Unbelievably, the product seems to have all but expired after just two weeks. The test volunteers were left scratching their heads as we watched the water simply pool and collect on the panel. When we dried it, it was squeaky clean, and the optics had dropped significantly from original readings.

Overall Score:
5.28 Final Notes: I think it's safe to say that after 4 weeks the Nano is "no more." Despite spraying it with a fine mist of water to try and coax some beading from it, the panel simply held on to the water. Optics were down a fair amount, slickness was completely gone and there were waterspots that wouldn't remove with a wash. Officially "dead" and won't be tested any more in this test.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRODUCT #2:
Einszett Glanz Wax $13.95, 16.9oz



Initial Notes: I've used this product in the past but never "officially" tested it side-by-side against other products. The consistency of the product is very watery - almost like water itself. Noticed a strong cleaning effect while applying - and the aroma was very solventy, so my guess is that the solvents are acting as chemical cleaners. Product goes on "clear" and dries to a white-ish haze. Noticed some streaking after residue was removed. Initial shine wasn't as good as other products, and surface felt only moderately slick. Removal was only moderately difficult - slightly harder than Nano Wax (Optux Adv: Hate To Wax Your Car?, Guru Reports: Wax Test).

Application: 8
Removal: 6
Packaging: 7
Instructions: 9 2-Week Notes: Water is beading nicely, and the product seems to be doing its job. Optics remained steady, and the heat and rain hasn't had any apparent effect on the panel. Beads are consistent, small and deep - just what we're looking for. Has lost some slickness, but wasn't real slick to start with.

Overall Score:
6.40 4-Week Notes: Looks like it's going to be a slug-out between Glanz and Zaino. While the Glanz took a bit of a hit over weeks 3 and 4, it's still doing worlds better than any of the other "over-the-counter" products. Optics about the same - perhaps a slight decrease, but it appears to be protecting well. No waterspots noted when washing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRODUCT #3:
Meguiar's NXT $14.95, 18oz



Initial Notes: Nice creamy consistency, and I like the aroma of it, although some folks have complained that it's too strong. A tad pricey when compared to the alternatives. Applied nicely, about the same as the Nano Wax (Optux Adv: Hate To Wax Your Car?, Guru Reports: Wax Test), despite being a little thicker. Dried quickly, removed fairly easily. Had some light streaking after application. Also noted cleaning capability in the product, stronger than Nano Wax but not as strong as Glanz. Surface was darker than bare control panel, and left a fairly slick, smooth surface behind. Optics were pretty good, but a bit muted. Neighbors noted it looked deeper than bare control.

Application: 10
Removal: 8
Packaging: 9
Instructions: 9 2-week Notes: We had durability problems with NXT during our winter tests, and had higher hopes based on what we've read elsewhere about this product's durability, but once again, durability seems to be the weak point. After just 2 short weeks, our test panel was squeaky clean and water was clinging and pooling. :-(

Overall Score:
5.21 Final Notes: While it was mostly cooked after 2 weeks, it's clearly done after the 4 week period. Not sure how some people are getting such "long term" durability from the product - this is the second time I've gotten less than 4 weeks from it. No doubt the Booster Wax adds to the durability - that must be the key (same could be said for many other products). Sure does look nice at beginning - only wish look would stick around. Had waterspots after panel was washed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRODUCT #4:
Tropi-Care TC-3 $12.95, 8oz



Initial Notes: Relatively new product that I'd played with in the past but again, never really tested seriously. Decided to use the TC-8 Swirl Cutter ($15.95, 8oz) as a prep product just to prevent any problems or complaints with the test procedures. TC-8 worked well, was easy to apply and remove, helped clean the surface. Noticed that TC-3 has cleaning properties as well. Both products have a nice fruity smell, but solvents can be smelled underneath the fruity scent. TC-3 applied easily, removed with slightly more difficulty than NXT. Surface felt smooth and fairly slick, optics were ok but not what I'd expect from a true polymer. All in all, OK initally, but pricey.

Application: 10
Removal: 7
Packaging: 5
Instructions: 9 2-week Notes: Despite having heavy initial beading, the product appears to have died off rather quickly - panel isn't beading water; it just sits and pools on the panel - just like the non-waxed control portion. Testers couldn't detect any slickness, and optics were dropping off slightly.

Overall Score:
4.54 Final Notes: Sigh. Based on initial talk about this product, I'd hoped it would fare well, but it hasn't. Pictures speak for themselves - not much else I can add. Had waterspots after panel was washed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRODUCT #5:
Turtle Wax Platinum Series Ultra Gloss $7.95, 16oz



Initial Notes: If you're like me, you're sick of being beaten over the head with ads for this product. Product was very easy to apply and remove - perhaps the easiest of the bunch, but I do wish bottle had a pour spout. Did notice some moderate cleaning ability (about like Nano Wax (Optux Adv: Hate To Wax Your Car?, Guru Reports: Wax Test)). Decent aroma, but I noticed tiny "beads" of something (my guess is silicone?) in the product... perhaps it was exposed to moisture? Felt very slick when residue was removed, and left the panel looking deep, albiet a bit muted - almost like NXT.

Application: 10
Removal: 10
Packaging: 7
Instructions: 9 2-week Notes: From a personal standpoint, I had high hopes for this product, but after 2-weeks, it appears to have all but checked out. The panel wasn't beading water and it felt dry and clingy to the touch - definitely not slick like when we started. The testers were amazed with how quickly so many products "fell off."

Overall Score:
5.40 Final Notes: Again, from a personal standpoint, I'm disappointed. I really thought this product would perform better than it did for us. It was a dream to apply and remove, and it looked pretty nice during the first week. Noticed waterspots after panel was washed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRODUCT #6:
WolfGang Deep Gloss Concours Kit $49.95, 16oz bottles



Initial Notes: Definitely not for the thrifty - with shipping, this kit cost nearly $60, but thankfully it includes a few microfiber towels and applicators. Nicely packaged, and a decent aroma, but the hint of solvent was detected underneath the scenting. Noticed pretty good cleaning ability from the Pre-Wax Polish Enhancer, (which applied and removed easily) and it left surface clean, slick and glossy. Deep Gloss Paint Sealant applied and removed easily, left a slight amount of hazing, and surface looked and felt the same as before. Surface looked a little better than NXT, felt slightly less slick than the Turtle Wax Platinum.

Application: 9
Removal: 9
Packaging: 10
Instructions: 10 2-week Notes: Despite its high cost and the initial reviews, the product doesn't seem to be holding up as well as we would have expected. Lost almost all of its slickness and isn't exactly sheeting water - testers noted that it "would make a great reflecting pool," meaning that water clung. We'll see how it is next week.

Overall Score:
5.28 Final Notes: We were hoping that the 2nd week results were an anomoly, but apparently they weren't. No improvement in beading or slickness, and optics are dropping off. Neighbors liked this product for ease of use, packaging and smell, but performance wise it didn't hold-up as well as we hoped it would. Again, it may benefit from the wash and QD/booster products, so your results may vary. Noticed some waterspots after panel was washed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRODUCT #7:
Zaino Z2 $12.95, 8oz



Initial Notes: Since Zaino has ruled just about every other test I've ever done, I decided to try something to handicap it a bit - I applied it without using ZFX or Z1 - I just wiped on some Z2, let it dry and wiped it off. Noticed that without ZFX, it took about 30 minutes to dry completely, and it removed just as easily as always. No streaking or hazing left behind. Surface was slick and smooth. Optics were bright and clear, but Z2 alone does little to help the appearance of the paint. It looked only slightly better than bare control panel. Pleasant scent, and efficient - 8oz bottle should provide 20+ applications for average vehicle.

Application: 10
Removal: 10
Packaging: 9
Instructions: 9 2-week Notes: Testers noted some loss in slickness, but water beading and optics remained strong and consistent. After final spray test, water beaded and ran off the panel in less than 15 seconds. Testers immediately said, "This must be the Zaino?" And they were right. The stuff has quite a "fingerprint."

Overall Score:
7.63 4-week Notes: I don't know what to write that hasn't already been written. Nothing seems to phase this stuff. Optics down slightly, but not enough to really notice. Slickness down a bit as well, beading still doing great - watched water collect and run off the panel like it was on fire. Will continue to test until either Zaino or Einszett run out of gas. No waterspots present after panel was washed.

-Steve

DVD - The Rite of Strings - Al DiMeola, Jean-Luc Ponty & Stanley Clarke

DVD - The Rite of Strings - Al DiMeola, Jean-Luc Ponty & Stanley Clarke

Running time: 103 minutes
Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS audio
Full screen

(Eagle Rock Entertainment)




Filmed in 1994, The Rite of Strings (featuring Al DiMeola, Jean-Luc Ponty & Stanley Clarke): Live At Montreaux 1994 gives the viewer a taste of three virtuosos performing material for the first time together as a trio. How would they fare, given the unique dynamics and peculiarities of each performer, in an unrehearsed live session?

During the solo performances of Al DiMeola in the the first track, "Song To John,"
the camera closed in on his hands as if to suggest, "See, this is how easy it is." As if! In an extended solo duel between with Stanely Clarke, each leaned in towards the other, exchanging intense but friendly eye contact. Ponty and DiMeola constantly populated the music with bright, rich and silken notes. Ponty's notes seem almost to sing out on their own, the higher in pitch they climbed. Clarke, head bopping, eyes squinting as if they were squeezing out notes. He plucked his bass frantically, appearing almost as if he was in a trance-like state. This was all in the first track, in which applause erupted as it quieted to a close.

Ponty's solo began with him tapping the strings on his violin with his bow and having it quietly played back over and over again, thanks to the electronics employed. While not revolutionary, it added dimension to his performance and made you wonder, "Is he really playing all that music by himself?" Born in 1942 in Avranches, France, Ponty, came from a family of classical musicians. He began his career as a classical player, often playing jazz late at night in the clubs. The violin initially was a tough sell as a jazz instrument, but eventually, he won them over and released his debut solo album at the age of 22. He released 12 consective albums that reached the top 5 in the Billboard jazz charts in the 70s and established himself as a prime touring artist.



In one one of his quieter solos, DiMeola coaxed out the familiar wailing guitar notes for "Layla." DiMeola sat in the middle, and occaisionally, Clarke and Ponty, both standing would lock eyes and play off of each other.



One of the strongest examples of the group gelling together really well is in the DiMeola-written "Chilean Pipe Song." Everything Ponty plays seems to fit as if it was written specifically with him in mind. It's also very catchy.



In a light moment, after DiMeola introduced Clarke and Ponty, he proceeded to turn his sheet music over and over and upside down, not sure where to begin playing the new song.



In the fusion world, Stanley Clarke (1951)was the first bassist to headline sold out tours and have his albums reach Gold status. He essentially made it just fine to be a bass player, band leader and seller of lots of records and preceded the late, great Jaco Pastorius as the first prominent fusion bass player. Clarke was part of the seminal fusion group, Return To Forever, along with Chick Corea, Al DiMeola and various drummers. He's also an accomplished composer of film soundstracks, such as Boys N the Hood, Passenger 57, Higher Learning, and Poetic Justice. His solo performance piece was his famous "School Days" from his 1976 album of the same name. He is the pre-eminent fusion bass player of our time.



Born in 1954, Al DiMeola was lauded early on for his speed, technical skills, and complicated soloing. He became known for his Latin, flamenco and tango-influenced playing. He joined Return To Forever as the replacement for Bill Connors and helped them to achieve great commercial success. The 1976 album Romantic Warrior was a top 40 album. He went solo in 1976 and released a string of landmark fusion albums, such as Land of the Midnight Sun and Elegant Gypsy. Towards the early part of the 90s, he began to focus more on world-music influenced recordings, such as World Sinfonia Trio and Heart of the Immigrants.



Keyboardist Monty Alexander tickled the ivories for the encore of "Song To John." While he's a fine player, I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed the sound of the electronic piano. It just doesn't as good as a real acoustic piano. Still, Alexander's prescence adds to this number in a positive way. I almost wish the Jamaican-born pianist had been there from the begining.

It's to be expected that you can throw a group of experienced jazz musicians together and have them play as if they had been rehearsing and playing together as a group for years.



Fusion jazz very much flows freely, without the usual tension and counterbalance heard in straight ahead jazz. In many places, the players seem to wander off on their own, creating the lack of a common theme to bind the music together. For this reason, people who generally don't like fusion may find this recording tedious and may not be won over by it. On the other hand, some will appreciate the subtle spontanaiety and the result of putting three players, all dominant on their respective instrument, together to see what transpires.



Far from being a clinical or lifeless concert, the often flawless musicianship left me wanting more and wishing that I was there. Having seen Al DiMeola perform live with his acoustic guitar, in support of the Heart of the Immigrants album from 1993, I can tell you how downright thrilling it was to see him. He's one of the few musicians, as a friend noted, who's better live than he is on album.


In 1995, the trio recorded the Rites of String album, which peaked at #4 on the US jazz charts.

Set list
01. Song To John
02. Memory Canyon
03. Cancion Sofia
04. Summer country - solo DiMeola
05. School daz - solo Clarke
06. Eulogy to Oscar Romero - solo Ponty
07. Renaissance
08. The Chilean Pipe Song
09. Song to John (featuring Monty Alexander)
10. Indigo

Ibrahim Ferrer dead at age 78

Singer Ibrahim Ferrer with the hugely popular Buena Vista Social Club of vintage Cuban performers, died Saturday, August 6, 2005.



He was born on at a dance in the town of San Luis, near Santiago, Cuba, February 20, 1927. His mother passed away when he was 12, which resulted in him singing on the street to make money. The following year, he formed a duet with one of his cousins, and the two eaked out a living by playing private events.



Ibrahim Ferrer gained global attention when he performed on Ry Cooder's "Buena Vista Social Club" that won a Grammy in 1999. He was also among those appearing in the Wim Wnders film of the same name.

"I pinch myself all the time,” Ibrahim said at the time. “It is a dream come true. When I was younger I thought I was going to travel the world with my music. The only chance I got was when I came to Europe in 1962. Then there was the missile crisis. I played in Paris and Eastern Europe with Pacho Alonso’s orchestra and then I was stuck in Europe. I had to stay until everything settled down again before I could go home. Then nothing happened for thirty-five years. This has given me the will to live. I’m living the dream of my youth in the body of an old man."

The 78 year-old Ferrer toured Europe this year.



Discography.

2005 Ay Candela
2004 Que Bueno Esta
2003 Buenos Hermanos (Best Traditional Tropical album at the 4th Latin Grammy Awards)
2002 Tiempos Con Chepin y Su Orquesta
2002 La Colleccion Cubana
2002 Mis Tiempos Con Chepin
2000 Tierra Caliente: Roots of Buena Vista
1999 Buena Vista Social Club Presents: Ibrahim Ferrer (Best New Artist at the 1st Latin Grammy Awards, 1.5 million copies sold)

waxing again with Eagle One Nanowax

I ran out of my beloved Zaino Z2 Show Car Polish recently and decided to wax the car with what I had on hand, Eagle One Nanowax, from this spring.



Eagle One recommends you squirt out dime-sized portions of the wax, but it's very apparent that you need a lot of it to do the whole car. And it takes some elbow grease to apply it. The Zaino polish, on the other hand, goes on in easily in a very thin layer. It takes only 2 oz. Since it is so thin, it also comes off easier than just about anything else I've used.

After removing the Nanowax, I hosed down the car and removed the water with the chamois. You need to do this since removing the wax leaves so much dusty residue.

Z-2 PRO Show Car Polish for Clear Coated Car Finishes


The car looks nice now, but I'm going to order some more Zaino products in anticipation of waxing the car again once or twice before the snow falls.

I still cannot believe the number of car enthusiasts and industry people I come across who know nothing about Zaino products.

Here's a testimonial from the Zaino website.

Sal,

As I left work and went to my car I noticed something sitting near the rear quarter panel. As I walked closer to my car I saw it was a goose and it was acting strangely. I wasn't sure if it was sick or injured so I moved in for a closer look.




Upon closer inspection I saw that the goose was just sitting there snuggling with the reflection in the quarter panel. He/she was in love. As I went to get in my car the goose was alarmed, stood up and started to peck at the reflection quarter panel.




I tried to get the goose away from my car but it refused to leave and just hissed at me and kept pecking the car. So I got in and drove away leaving the poor goose with a broken heart.



The amazing part about this story is that my car had not been washed in about a month and had not been Zainoed since last year. The shine is incredible and the durability is even more incredible.

Brian C.
4/14/2004

Ehow's Automotive section.

review - The Great Raid

2.5 / 5



Inspired by the true story about the greatest rescue mission ever undertaken by the US military, The Great Raid tells how 125 mostly novice troops from the 6th Ranger Battalion embarked upon a very dangerous journey to free about 500 US POWs, held in a Japanese prison camp, in the Philippines, in 1945. The Japanese policy regarding POWs at the time was to let no one escape, kill them all off and leave no trace, to eliminate war crime witnesses. At the time of the war, the Americans were more focused on stopping Hitler in Europe, but once that was under control, they turned their attention to the Pacific theatre and the Japanese. As the Americans began to make a foothold in the Philippines, the Japanese would attempt to massacre all their POWs.

In one of the opening scenes, we see groups of American soldiers herded into abandoned snipers nests. Drums of gasoline wee placed at the entrances to barricade them in but to also burn them alive. Anyone who managed to escape, while on fire, was machine gunned to death.




New intelligence told the military that there were 500 souls languishing in dire straits, for about three years now, in a POW camp, and they would be in jeopardy of being wiped out. Could a relatively small contingent of troops plan a resue mission, travel undetected and pull it all off? Being spotted by even one Japanese scout would jeopardize the entire mission as thousands of Japanese troops were nearby. The tentative Captain Prince, played by James Franco, was charged with drafting the rescue plan and leading the men in the field, under the supervision of LCol. Mucci. Mucci spoke to men about how they were the finest trained Rangers yet to see action, etc., and that their actions will either mark them well historically or they will be forgotten over time if they failed. He hoped that his pep talk could get a lot of heart out of the troops who had no combat experience.



There is a parallel story here about the Philipine underground resistance, working to smuggle medication into the camp. Nurse Margaret Utinsky (Connie Nielsen) worked in one the cells. She was the former wife of an American officer, deceased, who fell in love with an American Maj, Maj Gibson (Joseph Fiennes.) Gibson ended up as prisoner at the camp and acted as the ranking officer for the POWs, and suffered terribly from life-threatening malaria. On one of the camp's shopping trips to the local market, in which they enlist the soldiers to replenish supplies (who knew?), Maj Gibson made contact with one of the Philippine underground to smuggle in some medicine, from Margaret. This is the film's only romance. Will it be spoiled by the Japanese military intelligence?

Meanwhile, the rag tag rescue party snuck their way towards the camp, evading the Japanese as best they could, although not without incident.

Is this like Saving Private Ryan, but on a larger scale? Yes and no. The aim, to rescue otherwise doomed POWs, is not unlike trying to save Pt. Ryan. Saving Private Ryan was a superior film, ironically, with a much stronger emotional impact, even though that film was about rescuing one person. Also, The Great Raid is not as good as the 1957 classic film Bridge on the River Kwai, which has similar subject matter.



By and large, the acting was very solid. I found it unfortunate that there wasn't enough character development of the rescue mission soldiers. Getting to know them a bit better would have increased my interest in their struggle. Joseph Fieness, honestly, was exceptionally miscast. He was dour and lifeless and just plain boring, showing not enough depth of humanity or emotion. Ironically, maybe he was too much like a real POW in that regard. Dale Dye is a name you may not be familiar with, but he shows up once again, playing a US military officer, this time in the form of General Kreuger. You'll recognize him when you see him.

At the end of the film, as the credits rolled against footage of POWs being liberated, ushered home on ships, reunited with loved ones and finally paraded in front of adoring crowds, the remaining audience sat in silence, absolutely transfixed by what they were watching. Some, I think, were likely thinking back to the war and their loved ones who participated. And the sacrifices never forgotten. No doubt, this film will stir deep feelings for some, particularly those who have loved ones fighting oversees. It's interesting to note that another film about LCol Mucci is apparently in the works - Ghost Soldiers, another Spielberg/ Tom Cruise effort, based on the book of the same name by author Hampton Sides.



The Great Raid has too many slow moving parts and not enough character development. No one person stood out as the protagonist. It's not the landmark film that it set out to be. The film was supposed to be released first in 2003, then in 2004, but it was delayed by the dissolution of the Disney-Miramax partnership. With the lack of advertising, I believe Miramax doesn't believe in this film. Opens August 12, 2005.


http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/07/011730.php

We're Canada's Red-hot province!

From the Winnipeg Free Press, Friday, August 5, 2005.


We're Canada's Red-hot province!

By Geoff Kirbyson

MANITOBA'S red-hot housing market shows no signs of letting up. The Winnipeg Real Estate Board announced yesterday that house sales through its Multiple Listing Service burst through the $1-billion mark on Wednesday -- six weeks earlier than ever before.
"Every single month this year we've been breaking records," Ruthe Penner, president of the WREB, said in an interview yesterday.

Also yesterday, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. predicted Manitoba will be the only province in the country to see increases in housing construction both this year and next.

In its third-quarter Housing Market Outlook, the CMHC forecast 4,600 new housing starts in the province this year, up from 4,440 in 2004, and another 4,800 next year.

"What we're dealing with is a great deal of pent up demand. Essentially, we're looking at trying to get growth in our housing stock to match our growth in population," Dianne Himbeault, senior market analyst for CMHC, said in an interview yesterday.

Both Penner and Himbeault said the underlying strength of the economy, growing consumer confidence, low interest rates, low unemployment and population growth have created an environment where people are increasingly able to make the most expensive purchase of their lives -- a house. Penner said the market isn't showing any signs of slowing down and even if interest rates start to rise, as is widely expected later this year, demand for houses still far outstrips supply.

She added another positive sign for the economy is, for the first time in the WREB's history, the luxury home segment -- those worth more than $300,000 -- is outselling the $60,000-and-under price range, she said.

"That's unprecedented in this market. It used to be 60 per cent of the homes in Winnipeg sold for less than $100,000 and 40 per cent sold for more than $100,000. That's completely reversed now," she said.

Perhaps the most promising indicator for the future is that Manitoba's population has grown by 11,000 people since 2002, including nearly 5,000 people in the past year alone. With more people invariably come more taxpayers, increased retail sales, higher government revenues and an increased ability for the government to provide services.

Wilf Falk, the province's chief statistician, said Manitoba hasn't had this kind of population growth in 20 years.

"(Since 2002) we've had more people coming (to the province) than leaving. That's obviously going to create more demand for housing," he said in an interview yesterday. He added Manitoba continues to have one of the best employment pictures in the country. As of last month, the unemployment rate in the province was 4.8 per cent, tied with Saskatchewan for second lowest in the country, and trailing only Alberta's 3.8 per cent.

The population trends are reflected in the amount of business headhunting firms such as David Aplin Recruiting are getting. Mark Shayna, one of its vice-presidents, said over the past three years there has been a growing demand for people to fill positions in sales, information technology and accounting positions at Manitoba companies.

"We're not replacing people, these are new positions," he said in an interview yesterday. "There's a huge trend of professionals moving back to Winnipeg. They've moved to Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary, but they want to move home for a better balance of life and a lower cost of living. A lot of them are coming here without jobs, but they've decided to make a commitment to their families."

Shayna said while it's still difficult to convince Winnipeggers to relocate, it's now getting easier to persuade people from outside the province to move here.

"We're on the phone dealing with guys out east who want a change of pace. They realize Winnipeg has a lot to offer and once they get out here, they don't want to leave. They're able to raise a family and do less travelling. It's a change of lifestyle for them," he said.


geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

film - Me & You And Everyone We Know

4.5 / 5

Oddball characters who are stragely familiar to real people we know, attempt to make personal connections with others in today's real but isolating world. This is almost the first sentence of the film's description but it is quite accurate.

Richard, (John Hawkes) freshly separated from his wife, pours lighter fluid on his hand and sets it afire, assuming that he won't get burned. His mistakes the non-buring trick with alcohol for the lighter fluid and ends up with a gauze-wrapped hand for most of the film. This scene was unsettling and made me wonder what I was store for.



Christine, (Miranda July, the film's writer and director) a lonely visual artist and cab driver for elderly folk, chances upon Richard at his job at the show store. Soon, she ends up paying him an unnatural amount of attention, making her look really creepy... Her face also reminded me of Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher infamous for having sex with one of her students.

Richard's 7 year-old (who looks a lot like the young Tiger Woods) innocently forms a relationship with a mysterious Internet chat room stranger, who assumes that he's an adult. He just innocently plays along since he doesn't know anything about kinky adult relationships, and then one day they meet in a park...



Two secondary school girls tease one of Richard's co-workers and he begins to leave dirty notes for them posted on his window. In a pathetic way, its his way to have some human contact. These same girls practice getting down and dirty on Richard's 14 year-old, Peter (reminds me of Eric Bogosian) to see if he can tell who is better at the act.

There are some interesting, romantic scenes, like when Richard and Christine walk down the street to their cars, and Christine describes the walk as being like spending a lifetime together, with the end being the final street they come upon together.



This film is refrshingly original because you simply don't know what is going to happen. There are delicate and raw, viceral moments. The acting is solid all around. Ask yourself if you haven't met people like some of the characters in the film. Winner of a Special Jury Prize (for Originality of Vision) at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and four awards at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. There was a healthy audience for it on opening night at the Globe. Excellent ambient soundtrack by Michael Andrews.

film - Must Love Dogs

2.75 /5

Diane Lane portrays Sarah, a divorced 40-something woman who her family is trying to find a match for. They show up at her house with photos of elligible men they know, as a kind of intervention, so that she gets back into the dating game. She seems to be the "go-to" woman at the moment for playing older, single women seeking a fresh start on romance.



Soon, she discovers that one of her sisters has created an online dating profile for her. She is supposed to meet recently divorced Jake (John Cusack) on a park bench. One of Jake's friends saw Sarah's online profile and set Jake up to meet her.

Along the way, she meets the divorced father of one of her students, the grey-haired PhD student Bob, played by Dermot (not Ben or Brian) Mulroney. Both men are smitten with her. She's interested in both. Things happen that sour both relationships, etc.



The acting was fine all around. Christopher Plummer portrays her dad, the single, poetry-reciting 70-something who is looking for companionship since he has already had the "love of his life." Liz (Wilma Flinstone) Perkins portrays one of her well meaning sisters. John Cusack (39) was excellent as the boyish, reluctant Jake. Diane Lane is impossibly beautiful at the real age of 40 and that is both part of what makes the film appealing but also less interesting. She's so attractive that you don't stop for a moment to pity her for being a single woman, eating small quantities of chicken at home by herself. On the other hand, her looks make her a very credible love interest for her two suitors. Still, there's not enough crisis to make this anything other than a lightweight, pedestrian, romantic comedy and certainly not one of the very best.



This film is clearly aimed at an older demographic than, say, Wedding Crashers, and some people will find it enjoyable. Based on the novel by Claire Cook.

best round of golf this year - Scotswood Links, Elm Creek

I wasn't planning on golfing today, but a friend called me up and asked to play a round. I called one of my regulars and the three of us played Elm Creek today. It turned out to be around 30 celcius, but I drank a lot of water.

Last week, I shot 90 at Sandy Hook. Today, I shot 88. I drove the ball really well. I often one-putted. I really took my time and just putted better than normal. By and large, the course was in good shape. To walk 18 holes for $15, you simply can't beat the price. I didn't have as much luck with my approach shots hitting greens in regulation. And my three-wood tended to slice everything big time today. But, I made up for it and shot bogey after bogey, often missing par by a hair. It felt really good to play without any major screw ups.

Make no mistake, Scotswood Links is a fine golf course. It's not as tough as Pinawa, Morden, Bridges or Kingswood, but it has some challenge to it. It's a perenial favorite of mine, and about 40 minutes away from the City on highway 2, 15 minutes past Bridges.

Blogcritics.org announces 10 million unique visitors

Today, Blogcritics.org had their 10 millionith uniue visitor, after being in business for almost three years. It's ranked as the 15th most popular blog on the Internet. It's special in that they have over 1058 bloggers who copy articles from their own blog paste them onto the Blogcritics.org site. They get around 60 new articles each day and, without having to register, anyone can leave comments to begin sometimes, fascinating threads with the authors and other readers and writers.

I kept on stumbling across the site as I searched for music and film reviews. One day, I pasted my own review of Collateral that I posted on Winnipegmovies.com. The author teased me for writing a better review than his and suggested that I submit it as its own entry. Soon after, I signed up at Blogger.com to get my own blog going, I posted the Collateral review to Blogcritics and I signed up to be an official Blogcriitcs writer.



One of the benefits of becoming a Blogcritics writer is that you can get on their mailing list to receive e-mails with announcements of new books, CDs, DVDs, etc., up for grabs, usually first come, first served. Most of my postings are new films that I pay out of pocket to see. Recently, I scoured their database of review material and received permission to review 18 CDs and DVDs that no one wanted...a lot of it well known jazz artists who I happen to like. I've probably been approved to receive about $500 worth of items in the last year, and that's without really trying. Of course, I'm going to make the time to review everying. That's the trade off.

So, how do they make money? Every single post needs to have a link back to Amazon.com. Whenever someone clicks on one of these links and buys anything, Blogcritics makes a small commission. The links to Amazon.com are essentially ISBN numbers. By entering this information into the Moveable Type data entry screen, it creates a graphic of the cover of the book, CD, DVD, etc., that you are reviewing.

Blogcritics has become so successful that they are an official news source for Google and Yahoo!. At Google.com, select the News link and you're taken to a rich website. Quite often, Blogcritics ends up being among the top hits here, and serveral times, I have noticed them end up as number one. That's a lot of exposure for your average blogger. I just did a search for "Wedding Crashers." I was not at all surprised to find that my review, which was posted on Blogcritics today, is the number three raked hit. My review for the recent Beulah DVD was the sixth ranked search for the word "Beulah" and the number one hit for "Beulah A Good Band Is Easy To Kill."

The tagline for Blogcritics is "A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, technology, and politics." What this really means is that you get a flurry of new articles and comments from savvy writers and the general public, who give honest opinions, and tell you why they have taken their particular stance.

I read Blogcritics several times a day so that I won't miss an article that might appeal to me. In fact, it's the website that I read the most.

Some people are suggesting that the next 10 million unique visits will take place in about six months. Reading and participating in Blogcritics has become a habit for me andI'll be around for the foreseeable future, watching the rest of the world catch on.

Read all my Blogcritics reviews.

Here are postings from Blogcritics regulars on the recent success.

"Over 10,000,000 Served" - Blogcritics Breaks Barrier by founder and Publisher Eric Olsen
Some of The Best Posts on Blogcritics by Aaman Lamba
Blogcritics and Me, Or How I Came To Be Here by Lisa McKay
Ten Million and Counting: Blogcritics.org Just Keeps on Coming by Eric Berlin
Blogcritics for me by Regina Avalos
Looking Back At 10,000,000 by co-owner and Site Admin. Phillip Winn
Blogcritics.org Reaches 10 Million Unique Visitors Mark by Margaret Romao Toigo
Milestones: On BlogCritics and Personally by Joan Hunt.
Blogcritics Hits A Blogging Milestone by Mark Saleski

Read all the Blogcritics posts by these fine folks.
Eric Olsen
Aaman Lamba, an editor
Lisa McKay, one of the DBAs for the Yahoo! db that tracks review materials
Eric Berlin, an editor
Regina Avalos
Phillip Winn
Margaret Romao Toigo
Joan Hunt
Mark Saleski

film - Wedding Crashers

2.5 /5

The premise is very funny...guys who crash weddings to have fun and meet girls. Women love them, guys want to be like them.

You know these guys will have to be taught lessons and change their ways, but how well the it's done determines how good a film this is...at least, that was my criteria.

I totally didn't buy the relationship between Vince Vaughn's character, Jeremy, and the young psycho chick.

It was also hard to believe that the normal chick would want to be with the Owen Wilson character, John, at the outset of the trip to the family vacation mansion.

I didn't buy that confession scene with Father O'Neil and his spilling of the beans.

Let's see now...they are using phony names and mention they are from a phony company. And this gives the private dick friend of the dough head boyfriend enough to figure out their real names and their modus operandi? Ah, no.



On the plus side, Rachel McAdams was very good as someone engaged but secretly, very reluctantly so, to a dough head from one of the "right" business families. Isla Fisher, last seen in I Heart Huckabees as Heather, is excellent as the young pyscho chick. Chris Walken and Jane Seymour were fine. Vaughn and Wilson make a good comedy team. They are superb to watch as they fake their way through one wedding and reception after another. They have it down to a science.

The friends I saw with this agreed that it wasn't the great comedy we were hoping it would be. It's really a lowest common denominator "guy" comedy.

It's silly fun and I'm glad I saw it, but don't expect real greatness here.

Winnipeg's own Weakerthan's open the closing credits with "Aside" from Left and Leaving.

DVD - Ray

3.5 / 5

This film felt a bit too long and unfocused. I kept wondering what it was building towards. Still, you get to learn a lot about the man that you may not have known. The acting was fine, all around. Sharon Warren plays Ray's mother, someone who seems really cruel but who forces him to find his own way. She tells him that she'll show him something twice, but the third time, he's on his own. This is what she says to a young, pre-pubescent boy, on the verge of blindness. Witness the scene where the blind young Ray trips and falls in the house and cries out over and over for his mother. Meanwhile, she is standing right there, in silence, not making a sound and not doing anything to comfort him. The tough talk served him well. Until he became a junkie.

Kerry Washington



His wife, played by the beautiful Kerry Washington, stood by him as he cheated on her and got in trouble for possessing drugs. She constantly berated him to stop the drugs, yet kept the family going.



It was interesting to watch him demand more from his record label. He ultimately left them when they couldn't match a better offer. It was also nice to see him meet a young Quincy Jones, and Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, the two Atlantic Records executives who encouraged him to find his own sound, rather than just imitate others. David "Fathead" Newman, is shown in Ray's band from the begining. He played the Jazz Wpg festival years ago.



You see the glory, and the scummy side of him. The film should have been just a bit more focused, and not as long. It covered the first 34 years of his life and flashed by the next 40. Jamie Foxx earned all the accolades that he received for Ray, including the Oscar for Best Actor.