The kindness of evasion

I find it odd and rather insensitive when I watch others get interrogated with intrusive questions during events. Every crowd has one or two individuals who constantly aim for the soft spot. "Have you gained a few pounds?" "Any children, when are you going to have children?" "Dating anyone yet?" "Married yet?" "What do you do?" "Grandkids?" "How old are you?" "How much money do you make?" "Did you find a job yet?" The list goes on and on. A friend of mine detests the question "What do you do?" the most.

Every question is a loaded one. All of it applies to societal pressures and living inside the box.

Judgement. What everyone does, but shouldn't do. Because in the end, we don't know what the next day will bring, and it's nobody's business but their own.

Silence is golden.

Scavenger hunts for adults

A group of overheated teammates pounding the concrete through the scorching hot midday sun passed us by today. With matching t-shirts and large numbers plastered on their backside, I almost thought I was watching the Amazing Race. The Great Urban Race was passing through and next week it'll cross over to Madison.

It's a great way to really test a relationship as you navigate through the urban jungle hunting for random clues.

Click on the website to see if it's heading toward you.

Return of the Prodigal

Netflix has struck gold.. well.. they'll be shelling out the gold but they will likely see it pouring back... and hopefully with a profit. Rumour has it that Dave Chappelle is working on another comedy show. One season .. two seasons... whatever.. I'll take what I can get.

Dave Chappelle's New Show: Comedian Working On Subscription Network Show, Report Says

Dave Chappell's sell out San Fran performance

lame

Well Vancouver lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, boo-hoo. I was pretty impressed they made it to the end in the first place, most Canadians wish the Leafs, Habs or Oilers could get so far.

It's a weird town, I've seen photos from so many onlookers, posting images of cars burning and horrifyingly... a few people getting beaten to a pulp. Toronto Star posted a live viral of a good samaritan protecting a shop front. First I thought, who was this ass**** filming it rather than helping the guy when the lynch mob struck him, and second, what the hell?

Over a game? Destroying a city when Japan survived a horrific earthquake with quiet dignity, and Syria riots for their freedom? Some blame it on only a select few, but from the scores of photos and now... videos posted, it's apparent that a few thousand of Vancouver Canuck fans are nothing more than playground bullies. Goading on others with their chanting and watching others get hurt in the process.

A poor woman reported that as she was trying to get to her car an angry fan jumped on her roof smashing it down. She was quickly engulfed into the crowd when she tried to pull him off.

Surprised? If you've lived in Vancouver, you wouldn't be. Vancouver has a large downtown area that closely resembles "Children of Men" ... is a city with a large prostitution ring (especially considering the small size of the city), and has such an overinflated housing market (jacked up prices by the non-resident wealthy foreign money), that locals can't afford a decent home. The Olympics may have created a beautiful veil of serene calm, but in reality the city is no better (or worse) than any other North American town.

Think small, become small.

Gone but not forgotten

A friend has been blathering on about the cancelled LIFE series starring the talented Damian Lewis, and indeed, it was worth the time. The first few years can make or break great quality material, and in many cases, at no fault toward the creators, it doesn't survive.

Here are a few gems in the rough.

Arrested Development

Despite Fox's bad rep, they have a pretty impressive record for quality shows (Firefly, Wonderfalls, Undeclared), unfortunately couch potato America didn't think so.

Firefly

What more can I say? It's worth every dime.

Dead like me

I didn't even hear much about this until it was already off the air. Pity.

Twin Peaks

Why do people even care about Lara Flynn Boyle? This is why... David Lynch's masterpiece.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Before the Social Network, Aaron Sorkin's biting dialogue walked the perfect line between humour and drama.

Pushing Daisies

I don't know if it was the writers strike that gave the final blow to this artistic endeavor, however it will be sorely missed.

My So Called Life

For all those angst ridden young teens that detest the Twilight crowd, this show will provide a much needed change of scenery.

Bigger and better

As much as I enjoyed X-men First Class, or quietly waiting in anticipation for David Fincher's remake of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, their success will continue the trend of franchise material. With a great deal of bandwagon jumpers joining the buzz surrounding HBO's Game of Thrones or AMC's Danish remade series: The Killing, my interest has slowly ebbed and I've been sniffing the air for something new.

It's a dangerous road attempting a well loved classic, most remakes flourish when the original's shadow has long faded. There will be another Wizard of Oz, a few Snow White interpretations, numerous Vampire spinoffs, and invariably a flood of zombie pictures (Walking Dead, World War Z, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies...). The more that people feel out of control, the greater the need for a way to escape.

If Hollywood wanted to attempt a comic/anime translation, why not veer toward the lesser known? Darker than Black, Mushi-shi, Baccano!, Fullmetal Alchemist, or Samurai Champloo all have in-depth story lines (Not to mention some of them do not feature Japanese protagonists). Taking a cue from the break out success of Game of Thrones there is the impeccable twin novel epic adventure by Guy Gavriel Kay, The Sarantine Mosaic. Or perhaps the lesser Disney spun tales such as Rumpelstiltskin or even Robert Munsch's Paper Bag Princess? For now, we'll have to be content with board games ... wholly original storyline and famous in name only.