Pick of the Day: Clearing a Path

This exhibit's been kicking around for a few years, so you may have already seen it somewhere. It opened at First Nations University of Canada in 2005, and features work by contemporary Aboriginal artists executed using traditional media like carving, quill and bead work. Since then, it's travelled to 20 Saskatchewan communities. Until March 6, it's on display at the RCMP Heritage Centre.


This latest venue offers an interesting juxtaposition of cultures and histories. The RCMP, of course, were founded by the federal Tories under Sir John A. McDonald in 1873 for the express purpose of facilitating the settlement of western Canada. In 1998, in fact, the very first article I wrote for prairie dog under then editor Mitch Diamantopolos was on the RCMP's "celebration" of its 125th anniversary. While the Force has made numerous mis-steps over the years, historians generally credit it with offering a degree of protection to First Nations in Canada and helping to avoid the type of Indian Wars that occured in the U.S. in the mid-19th century where tens of thousands of aboriginal people and settlers lost their lives.


Be that as it may, the RCMP were still a force of colonization in western Canada. So this exhibit, in the context of a museum dedicated to celebrating the proud history and exploits of one of the most famous police forces in the world, carries extra-special meaning. If you're looking for something to do this holiday season, check it out. And to offer a reminder of how the legend of the RCMP has been romanticized over the decades, here's a famous scene from the classic 1954 Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald cheesefest Rose-Marie (YouTube)

Pick of the Day: Jesus Christ Superstar

In February 2007, I interviewed a Jesuit priest who was a visiting scholar at Campion College about a lecture he was scheduled to deliver at the university on the subject of the representation of Jesus in film.

I attended Sunday school when I was a kid, and was an intermittent church-goer until my late teens, so I was familiar with most of the Bible stories associated with Jesus. Still, my denomination was United, and this guy was a freaking Jesuit priest, so it was somewhat intimidating to sit down with him to talk about the most important figure in Christian theology especially when, in recent decades and centuries, in my opinion anyway, so many powerful people have corrupted the ideal of Jesus to further their own putrid agendas.

During our talk, the priest made the point that since the dawn of cinema in the late 19th century Jesus had been depicted in many different ways by filmmakers. Invariably, he added, these depictions were misleading because, depending on the political zeitgeist of the time, they tended to focus on select aspects of who He was to the exclusion of His totality as an historical/divine figure. Even in the New Testament, the priest added, the portrait of Jesus drawn by the apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in their respective gospels was inadequate. To truly appreciate the Jesus of Christian faith, he added, it was necessary to read the four gospels together.

"If you had to recommend four films then that you felt, together, best captured who Jesus was," I asked him, "what would they be?" The films he ended up picking were The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Jesus of Montreal, The Chronicles of Narnia and an Italian film named I Giardini dell'Eden.

When I asked the priest about satiric portraits of Jesus, he replied: "We live in a culture that allows and promotes free expression. In addition to being a historical and religious figure, Jesus is also a figure of world culture. So I would allow someone who wants to make Jesus Christ Superstar to make it. If you want me to comment on your play, well ... great songs, great music. But theologically, disastrous."

I mention all this now because the travelling production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, with Ted Neely in the title role, is at Conexus Arts Centre tonight. Here's the trailer for the 1973 movie version. (YouTube)

Dipshits Of The Day: The Peons At An Unspecified Regina Multiplex

I just called an unnamed Regina first-run movie theatre to do a fact check. I wanted to know what cinema, specifically, Alvin And The Chipmunks was playing in, for a dumb joke in our movie listings.

So I get someone on the phone and do my professional "I'm calling from prairie dog magazine to do a fact check for something we're running in an upcoming issue. Can you tell me what cinema, specifically, Alvin and the Chipmunks is playing in?"

First peon goes off to check. Then I get a second peon. I ask again. "What do you need this information for?" she asks, sounding pleasant. I explain: it's a fact check for a film listing in prairie dog. We run movie blurbs with dumb jokes every issue, I explain. I need to know what theatre this movie is in to make one of the jokes funnier.

"I'm sorry," the helpful-sounding but not helpful-acting movie minion says, "we can't give out that information unless you buy a ticket."

"That's completely nuts, but thanks," I say, not meaning the "thanks" part.

What is this, homeland security? Are these peons afraid I'm some kind of terrorist and it's not safe to give me information that I could get just by going there? They don't have call display telling them I'm calling from a legitimate (if disreputable) local publication?

What are they afraid we're going to do to their stupid movie that scored a bile-raising 24% on Rotten Tomatoes, anyway? Make fun of it?

Peons. Geez.

Pick of the Day: Homecoming 2009

Throughout the year, the Regina Jazz Society hosts regular concerts by local and touring jazz bands. For several years now at this time, it's presented this gig which features a rotating roster of musicians with roots in Regina who have moved to other cities to play/teach, but who are home for the holidays. When they get together, they're probably a little ragged around the edges, but what better art form than jazz to accommodate a bit of individuality and improvisation? The fun kicks off tonight at the Regina Inn at 8:30 p.m.

R.I.P. Vic Chesnutt

On Christmas Day, Athens, Georgia-based singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt passed away at age 45. Rendered a quadrapelgic by a car accident at 18, Chesnutt nonetheless was able to carve an impressive niche for himself in the genre of folk-rock alongside the likes of his hometown colleagues Michael Stipe and R.E.M. In 2004, Chesnutt played a Saturday night gig at the Regina Folk Festival. Headliners that night were The Sadies. Here's a link to a news story on his death (Music-Mix), plus video of him performing his song "Robots" (YouTube)

Boxing Day of Christmas: The Silent Partner

I know that techinically this makes 13 Days of Christmas but what the heck.

This excellent Canadian film from 1978 was directed by Daryl Duke (who directed the Thorn Birds mini-series) and was a remake of a Danish film Think of a Number (1969). This adaptation was written for the screen by a young Curtis Hanson who gone on to direct L.A. Confidential.

Elliott Gould stars as Miles - a bank teller in a shopping mall in Toronto. It's Christmas time and Gould discovers that the bank is going to be robbed. He then comes up with a plan to steal a bunch of money and blame it on the robber - a psychotic Christopher Plummer. When Plummer comes to rob the bank in a Santa Claus suit, Gould gives Plummer some of the dough and keeps the rest for himself. Plummer discovers that he's been taken and a deadly cat and mouse game begins between the two men.

This movie has many twists and turns and to reveal any more of the plot would destroy the fun of watching the movie. This was one of the earliest films from Canada to take advantage of the Canadian government's "Capital Cost Allowance" plans. And it won the Canadian Film Award for best film that year. The cast is stellar and even John Candy has a bit role in it. The film is one of hidden gems that nobody ever really knows about - in fact I can't even find a trailer or a clip of the film but it is finally available on DVD.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

It's Boxing Day so in the spirit of the season I present several cartoons with the literal theme of boxing.

First up it's the short lived I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali. The show ran from 1977 to 1978 on NBC.



A little Popeye the Sailor.



And finally we have Mickey Mouse managing a robot to fight a gorilla.

Pick of the Day: Boxing Day Bashes

I've written on the origins of Boxing Day before. It's a British tradition, and relates to the practice of wealthy people giving gift boxes to servants, labourers and other less well-off members of society on the day after Christmas (which is also known as St. Stephen's Day).

Long recognized as a civic holiday in Canada, Dec. 26, in recent years, has become notorious as day where people line-up in the frigid pre-dawn, the cash they received for Xmas evidently burning a hole in their pockets, to engage in an orgy of shopping in the hope of scoring mega-bargains on clothing, electronics and other merchandise. Crass, I know. But such is life in our consumer culture.

Over roughly the same period, another Boxing Day tradition has developed where young adults, having spent the preceding two days with family, escape to their favourite watering hole after supper to blow off a little steam and partake of yet more festive cheer. Boxing Day falling on a Saturday this year presents something of a double whammy, guaranteeing that the bars will be packed. If you're in the mood to party, here's some stuff you might consider checking out:

ORBITAL EXPRESS with Bloodwork, In Darkness and Prophets of the Dead at the Exchange. $10.
DANCE PARTY at O'Hanlon's Pub. Free.
NANCY RAY-GUNS at the Abbey Restaurant. $5.
LET THERE BE THEREMIN at the Fainting Goat Restaurant.
DAN SILLJER BAND at McNally's Tavern. $5.
And Dec. 27, THE EXTROVERTS play the Distrikt. $7 at the door.

Remember, no drinking and driving okay?

Friday Afternoon Christmas Kitties!

Merry Christmas!







And, of course...

12 Days of Christmas: Die Hard

"Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho."

It's Christmas Eve at the Nakatomi Plaza in L.A. and for New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) it's going to be a long night.

Terrorists lead by Alan Rickman have seized the building and one of the hostages is McClane's estranged wife Holly.

Based on a novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever. The book itself was a sequel to Thorp's earlier novel The Detective which was made into a film starring Frank Sinatra.

John McTiernan directed Predator the year earlier and with this film secured his position as one the best action directors for a brief period. He followed this film up with The Hunt For Red October. It slowly went down hill for him there, Medicine Man, Last Action Hero, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, The 13th Warrior, The Thomas Crown Affair and then the terrible remake Rollerball.

The movie uses Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 throughout the film, terrorists hum it, and it plays through out several big scenes that I won't spoil.

Alan Rickman is brilliant as Hans Gruber, the leader of the terrorists and Bruce Willis is the perfect everyman action hero. He can get hurt (one particularly nasty scene has Willis pulling glass out of his foot) and he can crack wise with the best.

This film is one of my favorites and considered by many to be one of the best action films of all time.