Martin Heavisides's Blog, page 3
February 14, 2015
Views on an Election Win That Wasn't
Rob Ford’s back on the airways, saying on a talk radio show that if he’d run for Mayor in the most recent election, he’d have won.
If I were the citizens of Toronto (and as it happens I’m one of them), I’d be offended. A putatively reformed crack head and alcoholic with a monotonous ongoing spiel about fiscal responsibility to accompany as fiscally irresponsible a term as any of us have seen in our lifetimes, a man in whom you never knew where the mendacity left off and the hyperbolic braggadocio began, a man who claimed a billion dollars saved by his administration by the interesting expedient of counting losses and gains indiscriminately on the credit side, would have won a second term as mayor after serving a first term which was, first to last, a campaign against Rob Ford as Mayor? I don’t think so. The numbers of Ford nation had shrunk appreciably, and Ford was elected originally (by a little over a third of the electorate because of the number of candidates and the first-past-the-post rule in our elections) largely as a gesture of protest. He’d given the protest vote plenty of reason to come out in favour of any candidate, very nearly, so long as that candidate wasn’t a Ford. He might have done marginally better than his brother (who’d been parachuted into the race by means many considered irregular), because he’s more likeable and personable, but he wouldn’t have pulled a single vote away from any of the other candidates, and his deflating hard core of supporters wouldn’t have been enough. Since he would only have continued to contest the election if he were cancer-free, it’s very likely he would have had a relapse of his other condition, binging on booze or free-base cocaine very loudly and publicly in the few weeks remaining before the election. (The first stages of recovery are the most delicate, and require calm and some degree of isolation from stress—not easy to come by in the heat of a mayoral race.) There would still be a hard core of support this wouldn’t have lost him, but it would shrink a touch more. It might have won him some sympathy (as the cancer diagnosis certainly did) among voters like me who favoured other candidates in the last election, but it wouldn’t have won him any of our votes. I felt sympathy, in spite of his belligerence (who knew how long and hungry a day he’d put in?), for the man begging at the Grenview exit to the Royal York Subway last night, and if I’d been a little more flush myself would have helped him more than I did. I wouldn’t have given him my vote for any elective office.
October 8, 2014
A Vacation from Cigarettes
I should've started smoking years ago. According to an ad posted in the washroom of my favourite pub, if I quit smoking now I can visit Thailand. Not necessarily my first choice, but if you can visit Thailand, practically speaking you should be able to visit any place that's the same distance or less. I could go for that, but unfortunately I've never smoked so I'm unable to quit. Why didn't somebody tell me about this years ago? Now if I start, who knows how long it'll take to earn travel reward points by quitting. Hey! What's to stop somebody from taking the habit up again and again, like Mark Twain: "It's easy to give up smoking. I've done it a hundred times." Surely there can't be many easier ways to become a traveler to faraway places on a regular basis, if this ad is to be believed.
February 26, 2014
Rob Ford; math skills
Rob Ford has pointed out that neither of his most recently declared rivals in the upcoming mayoral race “has the record of Rob Ford”, an unusually generous endorsement of two opponents, but surely this could be fine tuned further. One of them must have a record less like Rob Ford than the other, and if somebody could perform the necessary differential analysis we’d have one reasonably efficient measure of who might make the best mayor. (Should we want an anti-Ford who’s also a better saxophonist than Bill Clinton, we should get behind Richard Underhill.) John Tory and Karen Stintz both differ from Ford in possessing basic math skills---neither imagines a loss or break even on city revenues accompanied by steep cuts in basic services is a saving in the neighbourhood of a billion dollars, and I doubt either one even imagines such a thing as a city being “ten times better off than it was” after three years of a mayoral term distinguished mainly by chaotic governance, bullying and mendacity—or for that matter after three years of sober, industrious, socially and fiscally responsible leadership, things simply don’t change that radically and dramatically, over so short a time span, in a sprawling metropolis with over two million citizens—some of whom, incidentally, are getting tired of being referred to all the time as customers. On a related subject, how do you stop a rhino from charging? Take away its credit card.
Speaking of math skills, a settlement in a class action abuse case brought by inmates judged to have suffered abuse, physical, sexual or both, at Rideau and Southwest regional centres (David McKillop recalls being beaten and sexually abused at the age of 4 ½) yielded a collective settlement of $32 million, which, doled out amongst 4,300 plaintiffs, works out to a little under $7,450 apiece. One’s obliged to say, I suppose, that it’s better than nothing.
November 6, 2012
&nb...
Notes on a Glib List
http://listverse.com/2012/11/04/top-10-things-people-believe-without-proof/>
(Unfortunately, this link takes you to the current page, but if you go into the Archive you can find the list, "10 Things People Believe Without Proof", in the entry for Nov 4)
My reply, which they haven't let me post yet at Listverse (said they'd send me an email with a password, but haven't yet.) Aliens strike me as remarkably plausible, not necessarily walking among us, but there's a lot of room in the universe for extraterrestrial life. (As for whether they're walking among us, I recall reading once that the one 'hard fact' we had was that they weren't; but that's as difficult to prove as any negative--how would we know for sure?) Cryptids--I don't know, we're discovering new species all the time, many of them passing strange, with very solid empirical evidence--do they count? I don't believe in Astrology, but then I wouldn't--I'm a Taurus on the cusp of Gemini. Ghosts? Psychic mediums? Never seen any persuasive evidence. (Apparently the traces ghosthunters find in spooky mansions that turn up in photographs are traces of their own activity.) I'm pretty sure if you don't believe in Karma something bad's liable to happen to you. Intuition doesn't strike me as even controversial unless you spook up its definition the way this piece does. To some extent it's the subconscious sorting through evidence too rapidly for verbal reasoning to process. It has a few other acceptable meanings, none of which is hard to verify in action. Fate's a commonplace belief of scientists these days, but it's called determinism and opposed to free will. A man named Harris wrote a book expounding the idea recently--that what people do is absolutely determined by the conditions of their lives and the actions of the universe around them. It isn't a scientific idea because it's embraced by science, and so far as there's evidence, it leans both ways. It makes more sense, if you intend to do anything, to hold out some realistic hope that you're not going through motions that are totally determined by genetics and environment--the modern dress of fate--but allow for the wiggle room of some effective input from within yourself. There are so many nuances to religious belief--whether in a God gods, God in nature or the agnostic faith of the Buddha--that it's ludicrous to sum it up as belief in a Holy book whose words are regarded as true and sacrosanct. That level of Fundamentalism is relatively commmon in Christianity and Islam, less so in Judaism, much less so in poly- or pan-theistic faiths.
http://listverse.com/2012/11/04/top-10-things-people-believe-without-proof/>
(Unfortunately, this link takes you to the current page, but if you go into the Archive you can find the list, "10 Things People Believe Without Proof", in the entry for Nov 4)
My reply, which they haven't let me post yet at Listverse (said they'd send me an email with a password, but haven't yet.) Aliens strike me as remarkably plausible, not necessarily walking among us, but there's a lot of room in the universe for extraterrestrial life. (As for whether they're walking among us, I recall reading once that the one 'hard fact' we had was that they weren't; but that's as difficult to prove as any negative--how would we know for sure?) Cryptids--I don't know, we're discovering new species all the time, many of them passing strange, with very solid empirical evidence--do they count? I don't believe in Astrology, but then I wouldn't--I'm a Taurus on the cusp of Gemini. Ghosts? Psychic mediums? Never seen any persuasive evidence. (Apparently the traces ghosthunters find in spooky mansions that turn up in photographs are traces of their own activity.) I'm pretty sure if you don't believe in Karma something bad's liable to happen to you. Intuition doesn't strike me as even controversial unless you spook up its definition the way this piece does. To some extent it's the subconscious sorting through evidence too rapidly for verbal reasoning to process. It has a few other acceptable meanings, none of which is hard to verify in action. Fate's a commonplace belief of scientists these days, but it's called determinism and opposed to free will. A man named Harris wrote a book expounding the idea recently--that what people do is absolutely determined by the conditions of their lives and the actions of the universe around them. It isn't a scientific idea because it's embraced by science, and so far as there's evidence, it leans both ways. It makes more sense, if you intend to do anything, to hold out some realistic hope that you're not going through motions that are totally determined by genetics and environment--the modern dress of fate--but allow for the wiggle room of some effective input from within yourself. There are so many nuances to religious belief--whether in a God gods, God in nature or the agnostic faith of the Buddha--that it's ludicrous to sum it up as belief in a Holy book whose words are regarded as true and sacrosanct. That level of Fundamentalism is relatively commmon in Christianity and Islam, less so in Judaism, much less so in poly- or pan-theistic faiths.
May 14, 2011
Movie Quiz Who Do You Like As the Killer?
{Match the line quoted to the movie it's from. (The clips are clues, though the passages don't include these quotes.) Lines 12, 15 and 18 are subtitled translations, from the German and twice from the French, respectively. Line 11 is a dialogue subtitle from a silent film. Post your guesses in the comment thread below, in fact feel free to post comments on any of the live or archived film discussions on this site.)
1."The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river."
2."There's a high speed pursuit, we got a shooting and then this execution type deal."
3."I'm the only thing that stands between you and darkness and night, son. The other side of me is chaos."
4. "There's always room at the top for brains, money or a good pair of titties."
5. "Shoot then, if it pleasures you."
6. "A pity he exists."
7. "So these faked suicides of yours are for your mother's benefit?"
"No. . . . I would not say benefit."
8. "Kit's the most trigger happy person I ever met."
9. "And what magazines sell best?"
"The ones with ladies on the front covers and no front covers on the ladies."
10. "Try to break into my house—I ought to blow you away. I got to tell you the truth—the only reason I don't is 'cause someone might hear me."
11. "Can you lend me a rope so I can swing a fellow out where I can get a better shot at him?"
12. "What are they saying?"
"Meat, meat, fresh meat, coming up the river."
13. "Mister Hickok, that man's really dead."
"Got him through the lungs and heart both."
14. "Success to crime."
15. "So now white people wait 'til they're dead to talk to black folks? Well it's too late!"
16. "Hospital hallucination scene, take two."
17. "Mister President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I am saying ten to twenty million dead, tops. Depending on the breaks."
18. "If we don't eat. . . we won't die."
19. "There's nothing urgent here. Redundant."
20. "All right then, who do you like as the killer?"
1."The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river."
2."There's a high speed pursuit, we got a shooting and then this execution type deal."
3."I'm the only thing that stands between you and darkness and night, son. The other side of me is chaos."
4. "There's always room at the top for brains, money or a good pair of titties."
5. "Shoot then, if it pleasures you."
6. "A pity he exists."
7. "So these faked suicides of yours are for your mother's benefit?"
"No. . . . I would not say benefit."
8. "Kit's the most trigger happy person I ever met."
9. "And what magazines sell best?"
"The ones with ladies on the front covers and no front covers on the ladies."
10. "Try to break into my house—I ought to blow you away. I got to tell you the truth—the only reason I don't is 'cause someone might hear me."
11. "Can you lend me a rope so I can swing a fellow out where I can get a better shot at him?"
12. "What are they saying?"
"Meat, meat, fresh meat, coming up the river."
13. "Mister Hickok, that man's really dead."
"Got him through the lungs and heart both."
14. "Success to crime."
15. "So now white people wait 'til they're dead to talk to black folks? Well it's too late!"
16. "Hospital hallucination scene, take two."
17. "Mister President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I am saying ten to twenty million dead, tops. Depending on the breaks."
18. "If we don't eat. . . we won't die."
19. "There's nothing urgent here. Redundant."
20. "All right then, who do you like as the killer?"
February 13, 2011
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus/Nine: "The Eye Altering Alters All"
February 5, 2011
The Ruling Class/The Eye Altering Alters All
New this week at The Moving Picture Writes
http://themovingpicturewrites.com/ind...
I don't often feel huge enthusiasm for the film that wins best picture at the Oscars.They seem to me mostly such timid and compromised choices.
I'm rarely quite so pissed at them as I was in 1972, when I thought it scandolous that The Ruling Class didn't sweep every major category.
Best adapted screenplay? There certainly wasn't one that year--few any year--so brilliant and incisive as Peter Barnes' adaptation of his own stage play--just as there've been few plays in English that come close to the wit intelligence emotional-philosophical range of The Ruling Class--and five at least of those that did were written by Peter Barnes.
(A couple were even written by Shakespeare.)
Best lead actress? Coral Browne, hands down. Lead actor? Peter O'Toole. Supporting actress? Carolyn Seymour. Supporting actor--Alastair Sim and Arthur Lowe would have to duke that one out.
(Nigel Greene as the Electric Messiah, Harry Andrews as the 13th Earl and Graham Crowden as the Master in Lunacy were each brilliant in their turn, but in a single scene only. And while you could also make a case for William Merwin as Uncle Charles, Michael Bryant as Dr. Herder and James Villiers as Dinsdale, even if all five best support actor noms had come from the same film, which would be somewhat unusual, only one could win.)
Direction? Editing? Soundtrack? Cinematrography? Set design, costume design?
Nothing else that year came anywhere near The Ruling Class in any of these categories and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting. But I was angry at a larger injustice than an Academy snub: the loss to a wide popular audience of a genuinely great popular classic.
Also new this week, in the Video thread of About Us ("The Eye Altering Alters All"
http://themovingpicturewrites.com/ind...
I don't often feel huge enthusiasm for the film that wins best picture at the Oscars.They seem to me mostly such timid and compromised choices.
I'm rarely quite so pissed at them as I was in 1972, when I thought it scandolous that The Ruling Class didn't sweep every major category.
Best adapted screenplay? There certainly wasn't one that year--few any year--so brilliant and incisive as Peter Barnes' adaptation of his own stage play--just as there've been few plays in English that come close to the wit intelligence emotional-philosophical range of The Ruling Class--and five at least of those that did were written by Peter Barnes.
(A couple were even written by Shakespeare.)
Best lead actress? Coral Browne, hands down. Lead actor? Peter O'Toole. Supporting actress? Carolyn Seymour. Supporting actor--Alastair Sim and Arthur Lowe would have to duke that one out.
(Nigel Greene as the Electric Messiah, Harry Andrews as the 13th Earl and Graham Crowden as the Master in Lunacy were each brilliant in their turn, but in a single scene only. And while you could also make a case for William Merwin as Uncle Charles, Michael Bryant as Dr. Herder and James Villiers as Dinsdale, even if all five best support actor noms had come from the same film, which would be somewhat unusual, only one could win.)
Direction? Editing? Soundtrack? Cinematrography? Set design, costume design?
Nothing else that year came anywhere near The Ruling Class in any of these categories and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting. But I was angry at a larger injustice than an Academy snub: the loss to a wide popular audience of a genuinely great popular classic.
Also new this week, in the Video thread of About Us ("The Eye Altering Alters All"
February 3, 2011
January 28, 2011
About Us/Little Big Man
I wondered whether I should let people know I've added a new feature to About Us on The Moving Picture Writes or let them gradually discover for themselves the film clip I've added below the bio (which will change roughly once a week. Decided I'd compromise and limit my disclosure to facebook and my blog.
http://www.themovingpicturewri...tes....
While I'm at it, since I didn't post this week's new page yet:
http://www.themovingpicturewrites.com...
http://www.themovingpicturewri...tes....
While I'm at it, since I didn't post this week's new page yet:
http://www.themovingpicturewrites.com...
January 18, 2011
Robert Boyle
I only became aware of Robert Boyle--one of those names that tends to disappear in the scroll of final credits however many films of note he might be associated with--when I was looking for YouTube clips to link to for a Linnet's Wings essay, Death House Comedy.
I particularly wanted a clip for Winter Kills, which I continue to think one of the finest and most underrated movies in the history of cinema (for reasons I'll go into in another piece at a later date).
Sorting the possibilities I discovered this gem, the perfect quick introduction--a conversation, with illustrative clips, between production designer (or art director--the titles are interchangeable) Robert Boyle and screenwriter/director William Richert:
Read on here:
Robert Boyle
I particularly wanted a clip for Winter Kills, which I continue to think one of the finest and most underrated movies in the history of cinema (for reasons I'll go into in another piece at a later date).
Sorting the possibilities I discovered this gem, the perfect quick introduction--a conversation, with illustrative clips, between production designer (or art director--the titles are interchangeable) Robert Boyle and screenwriter/director William Richert:
Read on here:
Robert Boyle
