How to Make Toast...

...No, really:

From The Late Great..

...Leonardo Michelangelo (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564):

Wise words

"Educated men will look at what I do and say it is useless work, but the words they breathe from their mouths are as wise as the wind they fart from their asses."

Not much has changed.

Wait For It...

...there will be a statue of Osama bin Laden right beside Michelangelo's David and La Pieta.

Amazing Photos...

...some of which are very cute:

The 60 Most Powerful Photos Ever Taken

Oh Yah!!!

That'll help.

Writers, filmmakers to demand Egypt free detained Canadians

But they're Canajun, don't ya know. You know. Peace keepers. They are also artsy-fartsy types. How dare anybody not listen to them.

Luv It!

I've seen that painting. You simply cannot appreciate the interplay of light and darkness until you see it first hand. Absolutely amazing!

He's Finally Dead

I've been thinking about this for a while now. We haven't had any Elvis sightings for quite some time. At least none have been reported and laughed at. I guess people have finally accepted that he's really dead.

Should I post a few videos? (Go for it, Stubble Jumper):









I guess Elvis impersonators have gone out of business, too.

This brings back another memory from long, long ago. At school, the girls would gather in the girls "cloak room" at noon and jive to Elvis records.

Yup

Like I said...

Go make it (sorta) big in the USA, then come back to Saskatchewan where they make Grade-B movies.

Would You Go...

...to see this exhibit? Would you be afraid that someone you know might see you there? How would that person gossip afterward that they had seen you there?

What I found rather funny is that the City of Ottawa seems more prudish (or afraid) than Regina?

BTW, y'all must know that the word Regina rhymes with a certain part of the female anatomy. Must have something to do with this difference. Or maybe it has something to do with Saskatchewan's long, cold winters.

Saskatchewan's Very Own...

...entitled to my entitlements fiasco:

Saskatchewan filmmakers not happy with province's new non-refundable tax credit

Dozens ride from Saskatoon to Regina, rally against cut of Saskatchewan's film-tax credit

Supporters of Saskatchewan's old film tax credit rally outside legislature

Actor Kim Coates leads ride to protest Sask. film-tax credit cut - Film and TV industry fans ask gov't to reconsider

Kim who? Never heard of him. And that's the point

And yup. Fans of the industry. Not fans of the actual output/product of the industry.

The whole thing is enough to make your head spin, but here's what I think.

There is a place where Canadian talent goes to make it big. That place is called the USA. Those with real or at least half-assed talent go there. Those without, stay put and expect government handouts, because, after all, what would we do without them.

Not with my tax dollars, thank you very much.

Where did these artsy-fartsy types get the notion that they are God's gift to Canada/Saskatchewan and the rest of us, who couldn't care less, have to pay for their very existence, else the sky will fall in on us? This whole thing is just a wealth redistribution scheme.

Tell you what folks. If you have a good idea that you want to make into a film, you should be able to get private financiers to back you. If you are as good as you think you are, people will flock to your movies and tune in to the telly when the series airs. You and your industry will make the necessary money.

If you can't find private money or if your "art" is a big flop at the box office, then tough. There is no reason to expect that Saskatchewan MUST HAVE a film industry despite the fact that there is neither the talent nor a willing market. If you really have something to give to the world, go where the money is and leave us alone. Our tax dollars should go where it really makes a difference. Maybe you could learn something from this.

So.....

....this qualifies as news?

8 Canadians to watch at the Cannes Film Festival

No doubt their trip will be covered by the taxpayer.

I'll Scream...

...for a lot less than that. Any takers?

Who the Hell Cares??

Filmmakers collect names for tax-credit petition

Why should we be paying one thin dime for the production of films that nobody will watch?

A Short Film About Egypt After the "Revolution"

The Noise of Cairo (Trailer) from scenesfrom on Vimeo.

What strikes me, in the opening scene, is the forest of satellite dishes on the rooftops of Cairo. It is technological revolution that, more often than not, creates the conditions that bring about political revolutions. It's not over yet.

(Oh yeah, and in the film, there are many scenes from Cairo that I remember from the time I was there doing the touristy thing.)

Weird Art

I don't know if I've provided a link to my son's weird art before, but even if I have, he's got some new work posted. Take a look. He's my Salvador Dali, my Picasso, but even stranger. But that's my boy!

And speaking of family, my daughter and her man have decided to have their wedding in Canada, not Las Vegas. Yeah!!

Slow. Agonizing. But long overdue.

The death of the left.

"It's not just that Canada has become a more conservative country over the past few years -- which it has. It's the discipline imposed by the blogosphere (including blogs run by this and other newspapers), which immediately point out and mock hysterical, or incorrect information contained in other media. A decade ago, The Star and CBC could get away with running commentary by whichever conspiracy-theorist Marxist they liked. What was the average reader or listener going to do about it? These days, there is plenty people can do about it -- including sending notes to people like me, so the offender can be outed and duly mocked within hours of his or her column appearing.

As Zerb's breed of radical leftist sails into retirement or other forms of journalism, I confess to a little bit of nostalgia. Many conservative and centrist pundits who write in this country -- including not just me, but Robert Fulford, Chris Selley, Kelly McParland, Dan Gardner of the Ottawa Citizen, Wente, Barbara Kay, George Jonas, Conrad Black, Ezra Levant and, especially, Mark Steyn - have carved out a cottage industry mocking the latest nonsense from the left's clowns and carnival barkers. Now that their carnival is leaving town, I guess we'll just have to find something else to write about."

And once we ax the CBC, it'll be all gone. Faster, please. The blogosphere rules!!

We are free citizens in a almost free country. We can listen to, read or watch whatever we please. And if Fox News pleases us, there's not a damn thing the CBC or the Toronto Star can do about it. And while we're at it, lets take a good long look at other Liberal Party created propaganda machines like the Canada Council, Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board. If they can't make stuff that we want to consume, why should Ottawa spend our money on them. If they can make stuff we want to consume, the private sector should be willing to fund our arts productions. They have a far better sense of what will draw an audience than any Liberal Party hack appointee/devotee.  Even faster, please!