Monday, July 16, 2012

Hey, It's ''That Guy''

We've all done it while watching a movie - ''Hey, it's that guy, I love him''! I studied in film (3 goddamn degrees from 4 different schools!) and sometimes can't remember some of the best supporting actors' names...


Lucky for us, someone at BuzzFeed made a list (you know how lists go, they're imperfect by nature) of the 25 best ''that guy'' actors...


Some freakiness is contained, as there are lookalikes in the bunch (24 and 25, 18 and 19 with maybe 16 although he looks more like 6, 7 usually plays roles meant for Andy Garcia.. you get the idea), and I'd say I'd take Tom Wilkinson out of the list because when you're nominated for Oscars, you're no longer a nobody.

Then again, I'd take Mark Pellegrino off the list because he's too much of a nobody. I've seen a lot of his work and have never noticed him. Ok, fine, The Big Lebowski, but he's the 55th most memorable thing in there, and it's mainly the ''suit'' he's wearing and the way he's running...

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Yesterday's Poutine

If you know me a little bit, you know I have habits. Like watching hockey games, drinking beer, cooking, collecting cards and autographs.

If you've been around me for the past 3-to-5 years or so, you'd know I'd gained a lot of weight (100 pounds) in the few years prior and decided to control the situation by eating just one poutine per week, and it was to be on Tuesdays because that's when the La Belle Province next to my workplace had a special I liked: the city's best poutine (two layers of curdled cheese, cayenne pepper in their sauce, amazing fries), a burger and a drink for $6 - can't beat that.

It was my Tuesday Poutine ritual, usually at lunch time.

But the place closed down two years ago, because the owner got caught cheating on his taxes.

Tuesdays, however, remained my Poutine Day. And yesterday, I went to Poutineville for some high-class junk, and here's what I ordered:


Aside - or rather, on top - of the usual fries, cheese and gravy, were generous portions of ground beef (hamburger meat), bacon, and hot dog wieners. The best $15 poutine I've ever had, though a bit on the salty side, but nothing a beer (Cheval Blanc, Blanche) couldn't wash down.

4.5/5

Monday, July 9, 2012

Sign Of The Times



I talk a lot about how Montréal's changing, how every week a store closes, every month some low-rent housing is torn down to make room for condos that look like they're made of plastic.

It's like that all over, in all places where it was good to live, in an attempt to take every last penny out of whoever still pines for a taste of The Life.

Jeremiah's Vanishing New York puts it in perspective today with a comparison from 1984, thanks to the Woody Allen film Broadway Danny Rose:




Zombie Apocalypse Sign Of The Day

You know what? there are far too many Zombie/cannibalism stories in the news these days, and I seem to come across all of them - about a dozen so far.

This time, at a Sacramento motel...






Then again...



Sunday, July 8, 2012

Video Of The (Upcoming) Week: Albert

Albert is 6 years old - don't get me started on child stars and how fucked up they become - check Macaulay Culkin (USA) and Jordy (France) for proof - and, at age six, is already a playa. He hangs around in pools surrounded by bikini-clad chicks shaking their asses and wants them to ''Booty Pop'' their way into his cheesy YouTube videos. He is well on his way to Bang Bros and Bang Bus...

And his life will probably end up ruined because he'll never escape the public personae he displayed before even finishing first grade.



Oh, and he's from South Florida and claims to be ''the baddest boy in town'', which probably explains why the chicks ditched the legal-age rappers to play in this toad's pond and hang at his (literally) crib.

USA! USA! USA!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

The Dangers Of Being Teachers

A teacher who survived a shoot-out a week ago was stabbed in her home.

Her husband, who teaches at the same school, found her body.


After the recent strings of zombie-attacks (at last count, 9 in the last month), we're down to same-victim violence attacks.

All things odds should be working against. So either buy a lottery ticket, or this impending Apocalypse shit that worried George W. Bush so much is on its way.

On Government Funding One Side Of The Bullshit

This is why they separated Church and fucking State in the first place: because of stupid partisan assholes who want freebies so much they can't see past their own schemes:


Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Watson, says she had no idea that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s overhaul of the state’s educational system might mean taxpayer support of Muslim schools.
“I actually support funding for teaching the fundamentals of America’s Founding Fathers’ religion, which is Christianity, in public schools or private schools,” the District 64 Representative said Monday.
The Friendly Atheist pretty much says everything I could write about this, especially in his conclusion:
Rep. Hodges made the mistake of saying out loud what most conservative Christians only say to themselves to private: When they say they want “religious freedom,” they’re only referring to their own faith. Everyone else can fend for themselves.
But I'd like to add this:

Separation of Church and State is but one of the fail-safe ideas protecting the modern democracy. It is made to ensure that those in power keep preserving the interests of The People above all else, whether the elected officials do it out of evilness or stupidity.

Every time one of them overreaches the boundaries for his side's personal gain, for lobbies or self, to favour one kind of folk over another, they will always open the door to abuse on the other side. ALWAYS. Just because you don't feel like others could doesn't mean a fresh set of eyes won't see opportunities.

That's why quickly-spun-together, half-assed emergency laws should never pass. We have an example here in Montréal, a law written just after 9/11 about ''making believe a terror act is happening'', that the ministers who passed it at the time said was subject to ''common sense'' in its application, is being used for the first time ever, on four teenagers who allegedly released ''smoke bombs'' in the subway that were dissipated in less than a minute.

It's also why the conspiracy theorists and fear freaks go out of their minds when the government starts acting ''like fascists'' and restrict free speech, or sustain the right to imprisonment without the right to a lawyer or trial and start their ''Hitler'' comparisons: because 30, 50, or 100 years ago, society decided even one step in that direction should never be allowed, and yet loking back, we're more than halfway there.

''But we would NEVER''.

Uh huh.

One way to ensure that, is to just... NEVER go in that direction. Keep our safeguards in place. Treat everyone equally. Protect the innocent, the majority. Take care of the poor and unlucky.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Explosion Day In San Diego

Twenty minutes of fireworks explode in... 20 seconds, because of simple miscommunication.

Gotta love humanity!



This was at the San Diego 2012 Independence Day celebrations... Happy Fireworks!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Video Of The Week: Outernational

Again, a repeat artist in this feature: Outernational, once more featuring Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman) and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chickenfoot).

This time, for their flagship song, We Are All Illegals / Todos Somos Illegales, where they asked fans to send in footage of them singing, miming or acting out to the song's lyrics, a concept Cake has also explored of late but makes for fun, entertaining and cheap film making. And that's good for everybody, and helps level the playing field.

Ain't No Thang But A... Pussy Ring?

Montréal singer Grimes co-launched a new set of rings with sculptor Morgan Black, in the shape of... vaginas.



In the vein of ''what will people do to get others to talk about them?'', but also fitting in this ''women can't say the word vagina anymore'' era...

Even my friend Nick from Pop Montreal got one: