First of all, let’s look at the Electro-Motive plant closing…and the farce it makes of the Conservative government’s “tax cuts make jobs” program. The Harper Creature visited the plant during the 2008 election campaign, touting his ridiculous plan while pretend-driving a big diesel train. with a song in his heart, his government gave the parent company $5 million in tax cuts…

…and they have now left to spend their new found wealth in Indiana, where they can make more profits by paying Chinese slave wages to Americans desperate for work. In Indiana, you don’t have to worry about uppity Canadians who want a living wage.

Did you see the jobs report for January? BOTH of them? The USA produced a quarter of a million jobs…high quality jobs, no less. We produced virtually nothing…AND our unemployment rate rose to a nine-month high!

The economy is stalling…but tax cuts will not only go ahead, so will austerity cuts that will vaporize EVEN MORE JOBS from the civil service. Watch that unemployment ticker go higher and higher…unless all those super-prisons the government plans to build employs all those without a job.

A moribund economy — a singular achievement. But Harper Creature’s government isn’t finished with us just yet.

His solution to health care funding? Lump sums that will makes some provinces richer at the expense of others…and will ignite more inter-provincial conflicts.

Improving living conditions for native peoples? Well, I don’t think there’s any plan there…as Attawapiskat proves…

You might also recall we’re spending BILLIONS on jet fighters that even the Americans are worried they can’t afford! Details, details…

Oh, and let’s not forget the blatant international moralizing about economics in Davos, or lectures to the Palestinians on what they are doing wrong. Is it any wonder that the Harper Creature’s minions were unable to secure for Canada a UN Security Council seat? We are irrelevant to most of the world at the best of times. There is nothing more pious and sanctimonious than the irrelevant feeling that they can lecture others across the globe…uninvited!

Did I also mention our government’s increasing obsession with turning us into a petro-state? Nothing else matters except pipelines and protecting the dirty reputation of the oil sands. Oh…and as for that issue of exporting asbestos to the world, in spite of its cancer-causing qualities…well, let’s not bother that man behind the curtain. Just count the dollar signs, and ignore the patients in the cancer wards.

I wonder when Canadians will wake up and see what kind of conservative government they have elected. Conservatives have NEVER created jobs in this country. Bennett kept us mired in the Depression, without a plan. Diefenbaker destroyed our aerospace industry, without a care in the world. Mulroney left the country with a double-digit unemployment rate, seemingly blind, deaf & dumb. And now they wish to add lashings of pious moralizing on top of everything else?

I think we’re heading for a precipice…and I’m not sure most of the country has clued in. It will be a little late to wake up to this fact when we all soar over the edge…but I’ve always said that reality is the best teacher of all.

Boy, isn’t it a cheery weekend?

PROGNOSTIC-HATER

NEW RULE —> Americans must choose: either they believe in science, or they believe in Punxsutawney Phil. You don’t believe in evolution or global warming? In that case, you have to base every decision in your life on a rodent coming out of a hole and seeing its shadow. “Should I get that lump in my testicle looked at? Punxssutawney Phil says no!”

Ron Clark, author of “The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck — 101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers,” has been named “American Teacher of the Year” by Disney and was Oprah Winfrey’s pick as her “Phenomenal Man.” He founded The Ron Clark Academy, which educators from around the world have visited to learn. Here are some of his recent wise words, which every teacher wishes many parents would take to heart…

This summer, I met a principal who was recently named as the administrator of the year in her state. She was loved and adored by all, but she told me she was leaving the profession.

I screamed, “You can’t leave us,” and she quite bluntly replied, “Look, if I get an offer to lead a school system of orphans, I will be all over it, but I just can’t deal with parents anymore; they are killing us.”

Unfortunately, this sentiment seems to be becoming more and more prevalent. Today, new teachers remain in our profession an average of just 4.5 years, and many of them list “issues with parents” as one of their reasons for throwing in the towel. Word is spreading, and the more negativity teachers receive from parents, the harder it becomes to recruit the best and the brightest out of colleges.

So, what can we do to stem the tide? What do teachers really need parents to understand?

For starters, we are educators, not nannies. We are educated professionals who work with kids every day and often see your child in a different light than you do. If we give you advice, don’t fight it. Take it, and digest it in the same way you would consider advice from a doctor or lawyer. I have become used to some parents who just don’t want to hear anything negative about their child, but sometimes if you’re willing to take early warning advice to heart, it can help you head off an issue that could become much greater in the future.

Trust us. At times when I tell parents that their child has been a behavior problem, I can almost see the hairs rise on their backs. They are ready to fight and defend their child, and it is exhausting. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I tell a mom something her son did and she turns, looks at him and asks, “Is that true?” Well, of course it’s true. I just told you. And please don’t ask whether a classmate can confirm what happened or whether another teacher might have been present. It only demeans teachers and weakens the partnership between teacher and parent.

And if you really want to help your children be successful, stop making excuses for them. I was talking with a parent and her son about his summer reading assignments. He told me he hadn’t started, and I let him know I was extremely disappointed because school starts in two weeks.

His mother chimed in and told me that it had been a horrible summer for them because of family issues they’d been through in July. I said I was so sorry, but I couldn’t help but point out that the assignments were given in May. She quickly added that she was allowing her child some “fun time” during the summer before getting back to work in July and that it wasn’t his fault the work wasn’t complete.

Can you feel my pain?

Some parents will make excuses regardless of the situation, and they are raising children who will grow into adults who turn toward excuses and do not create a strong work ethic. If you don’t want your child to end up 25 and jobless, sitting on your couch eating potato chips, then stop making excuses for why they aren’t succeeding. Instead, focus on finding solutions.

And parents, you know, it’s OK for your child to get in trouble sometimes. It builds character and teaches life lessons. As teachers, we are vexed by those parents who stand in the way of those lessons; we call them helicopter parents because they want to swoop in and save their child every time something goes wrong. If we give a child a 79 on a project, then that is what the child deserves. Don’t set up a time to meet with me to negotiate extra credit for an 80. It’s a 79, regardless of whether you think it should be a B+.

This one may be hard to accept, but you shouldn’t assume that because your child makes straight A’s that he/she is getting a good education. The truth is, a lot of times it’s the bad teachers who give the easiest grades, because they know by giving good grades everyone will leave them alone. Parents will say, “My child has a great teacher! He made all A’s this year!”

Wow. Come on now. In all honesty, it’s usually the best teachers who are giving the lowest grades, because they are raising expectations. Yet, when your children receive low scores you want to complain and head to the principal’s office.

Please, take a step back and get a good look at the landscape. Before you challenge those low grades you feel the teacher has “given” your child, you might need to realize your child “earned” those grades and that the teacher you are complaining about is actually the one that is providing the best education.

And please, be a partner instead of a prosecutor. I had a child cheat on a test, and his parents threatened to call a lawyer because I was labeling him a criminal. I know that sounds crazy, but principals all across the country are telling me that more and more lawyers are accompanying parents for school meetings dealing with their children.

I feel so sorry for administrators and teachers these days whose hands are completely tied. In many ways, we live in fear of what will happen next. We walk on eggshells in a watered-down education system where teachers lack the courage to be honest and speak their minds. If they make a slight mistake, it can become a major disaster.

My mom just told me a child at a local school wrote on his face with a permanent marker. The teacher tried to get it off with a wash cloth, and it left a red mark on the side of his face. The parent called the media, and the teacher lost her job. My mom, my very own mother, said, “Can you believe that woman did that?”

I felt hit in the gut. I honestly would have probably tried to get the mark off as well. To think that we might lose our jobs over something so minor is scary. Why would anyone want to enter our profession? If our teachers continue to feel threatened and scared, you will rob our schools of our best and handcuff our efforts to recruit tomorrow’s outstanding educators.

Finally, deal with negative situations in a professional manner.

If your child said something happened in the classroom that concerns you, ask to meet with the teacher and approach the situation by saying, “I wanted to let you know something my child said took place in your class, because I know that children can exaggerate and that there are always two sides to every story. I was hoping you could shed some light for me.” If you aren’t happy with the result, then take your concerns to the principal, but above all else, never talk negatively about a teacher in front of your child. If he knows you don’t respect her, he won’t either, and that will lead to a whole host of new problems.

We know you love your children. We love them, too. We just ask — and beg of you — to trust us, support us and work with the system, not against it. We need you to have our backs, and we need you to give us the respect we deserve. Lift us up and make us feel appreciated, and we will work even harder to give your child the best education possible.

That’s a teacher’s promise, from me to you.

Written by Steve Thompson

Directed by Toby Haynes

“I knew you’d fall for it. That’s your weakness. You always want everything to be clever. Now shall we finish the game? One final act. Glad you chose a tall building nice way to do it.”

Definite, imperative, and monumental SPOILER alert…you have been warned most emphatically!

It’s the ending that’s making me feel…ambivalent.

Up until the climax, The Reichenbach Fall is content to present the destruction of Sherlock Holmes with devastating, surgical precision. It’s full of magnificent twists and turns, as Moriarty seems to have anticipated every (and I do mean EVERY) situation, every contingency, every move that Holmes makes. It is the story of an insane genius, unwilling to live in a world full of “ordinary” people…yet unwilling to depart until he has eliminated the one rival he has among the dross he calls humanity.

In fact, Moriarty’s suicide is the greatest shock of the series. Madness and Holmes machinations notwithstanding, I simply didn’t see it coming…and I can’t decide if Holmes was surprised or aghast by the madman’s decision.

In every respect, 90% of this episode is brilliant, and I’m not going to waste any more time trying to come up with a list of superlatives…especially when I’m still dealing with my ambivalence over the conclusion.

It’s too clever for its own good. It should have been solely about the emotion. It should have been told completely from the point of view of Watson, as he pieces together everything that happens, and watches the new world he has built for himself tossed into the rubbish bin. The genius of Conan Doyle’s original “Final Problem” is that Holmes WAS killed, no questions asked. The equal brilliance of “The Empty House” was to demonstrate the ultimate “get out of that” without sacrificing or compromising any of Holmes’ genius & courage.

But Reichenbach Fall has one problem: I can SEE the machinations. I can SEE the beats where explanations, solutions, tricks, sleight-of-hand & illusion can (and no doubt will) be added after the fact. All the clues as to what type of preparations have been made are TOO clear…and now it’s only a matter of next-season explanations. And I HATE HATE HATE the fact that Holmes shows up in the final moment. This episode should have ended with Watson at the graveside, dealing with his crushing emotional damage…NOT such an in-your-face statement that everything about Sherlock’s death was an obvious put-up job. It’s an ending that wants us to pat the production staff on the back and say “well done“…which is the LAST thing I desired. It’s a slap in the face.

The ending is salvaged by Martin Freeman, single-handedly saving the final moments with his best acting of the entire season. It’s a great pity it was employed for such a dubious conclusion.

So that was The Reichenbach Fall: an utterly mesmerizing & sublime final episode, sabotaged by an ending that feels so much less than what Sherlock is worth, as a character and as a series. Sherlock is all about genius. Simply being clever reduces the series to what Moriarty hates about everyone else in the world: being ordinary.

9

So…an hour ago, a friend of mine informs me that the title of the next Star Trek film is TALOSIAN JUSTICE.

My brain, naturally, heard this as: WHAT THE HELL?!?

I haven’t (so far) found any confirmation of this, anywhere reputable on the net…other than a brief mention in an unrelated article on Ain’t It Cool News.

I hate it. I’m repulsed by it. It makes my right eye twitch.

It’s too fanwank. It’s heir to the kingdom of fanwank!

It’s too B-movie. In fact, it’s so B-movie, it belongs on the video shelf next to a host of other made-for-DVD-films such as Megalodon & Killer Bees!

It’s too much of a sop to fandom…and a movie works best when it’s appealing to a wide audience base, not fandom alone. That’s why christening the title of the previous reboot as simply STAR TREK — sans numeral — was a stroke of genius.

Pay glorious homage to Star Trek’s rich history, by all means; the first film did that with much grace and deftness. By all means, adapt the plots of The Cage & The Menagerie for a film…it honestly never occurred to me, and holds great potential for epic expansion. But please PLEASE choose another title, for the sake of everyone & anyone with a modicum of taste.

Memo to J.J. Abrams: Talosian Justice is NO justice at all.

Directed by Phyllida Law

“Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character…and watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. What we think we become. My father always said that…and I think I am fine.”

This is not a political biography, and you shouldn’t expect one.

This is not a straightforward historical examination of one of the most titanic characters of the 20th century. That will be for another film, one day…

This is an astonishing piece of work…and completely unexpected. More unexpected that anything I could have anticipated.

I did not expect to see a movie where half the screen time was spent witnessing the actions and thoughts of Margaret Thatcher in the present day. I didn’t expect to see the story of an 80 year old’s fight to maintain her dignity and independence, in the face of mental & physical infirmity. I didn’t expect the hallucinogenic nature of the memory of her husband, Denis. Above all, I didn’t expect a performance of such power and chameleon ability that it mesmerized and transfixed the audience for 100 minutes. Watch the opening five minutes, involving what appears to be an old woman buying milk in a loud, rough corner store…looking for all the world like the opening of some gritty BBC docudrama. Expectations are shattered from the beginning, and The Iron Lady never looks back.

To say this film is an acting showcase is to state a severe understatement. Meryl Streep doesn’t simply create Thatcher…she embodies her spirit, her physicality, her deleterious effect on the people around her, and on the country at large. I have never EVER witnessed such an astounding portrayal of anyone — on TV, on film, or on stage. This could well count as one of the greatest performances in acting history…and if Streep doesn’t win the Academy Award for here achievement here, then there is no justice in the world. Frankly, most of the superlatives I can think of seem paltry and unworthy for what I witnessed on the screen.

It seems to have also inspired the rest of the cast to aim for a level of extraordinary that borders on the unbelievable. Some actors bury themselves in their roles (such as the magnificent Anthony Stewart Head) to such a degree that they seem to be in direct competition with Meryl Streep for the title of greatest transformation artist. Others simply embody their role with such energy and verve that they take something that could be the height of cliche and elevate it to a sublime level. Harry Lloyd in particular is stunning to watch. He impressed as Baines in Doctor Who, and now he’s taking it to new heights. No wonder Russell T. Davies believed we were watching a potential future Doctor-in-waiting…

Film critic Roger Ebert seemed irritated that this film doesn’t come down one way or the other on Thatcher’s legacy as Prime Minister. But I believe he’s completely missing the point. First of all, this movie isn’t interested in making conclusions about Thatcher’s political legacy — it’s perfectly happy to leave it to the audience. But far more importantly, this is a film that is interested in Thatcher’s humanity: her fragility, her crumbling mental defences, her feelings, and her womanhood. This is a film that is quiet and contemplative, and prefers to engage the audience with personal sympathy, personal understanding, and private convictions. It’s an exercise in intelligent, gripping, fascinating, poignant film-making…and it ends up becoming one of the greatest films I have ever had the privilege of watching.

The Iron Lady is a small film about a titan lingering after her time, and plays the contradictions of her life against each other with all the delicacy of a string quartet. It’s a film of crystalline beauty and poetic soul…and I say this, in spite of the fact that I violently disagree with everything Thatcherism represents as a political ideology. In the end, none of that matters. This is the simple story of a complicated, fascinating, astonishing woman coming to terms with all those superlatives. That’s more than enough for me.

10+

Written by Mark Gatiss

Directed by Paul McGuigan

“Your mind…it’s so placid, straight-forward, barely used. Mine’s like an engine, racing out of control. A rocket, tearing itself to pieces, trapped on the launch pad. I need a case!”

A complete change of pace from the previous episode. If A Scandal in Belgravia was the ultimate in psychological warfare and the flaying open of the human soul, then Hounds of Baskerville goes in the opposite direction: it exists to sell out-and-out chills and thrills, and leaves the dark psychology as an undercurrent.

If there is one thing that Mark Gatiss is superb at, it’s creating atmosphere. Whatever one thinks of his many Doctor Who episodes, the one thing everyone can agree on is that his scripts create authentic feeling/smelling/sounding worlds and time periods. Environments & locales directors and designers can go to town with…and The Hounds of Baskerville is no exception. This is a world that suitably meets Conan Doyle’s description of Dartmoor: a place “where the powers of evil are exalted” — where the rocks, sunsets, fogs, forests, and phosphorescence combine to make an almost Lord of the Rings-style playground. As counterpoint, the clinical white-and-glass labs of the military base are stark and brutal…yet these opposites seem to fit together like a Picasso painting. Disparate elements that slot together almost subliminally & seamlessly.

As for the psychological underpinnings of the episode, they are handled with more upfront bluntness than was demonstrated by the previous outing…but it suits the story, as fear & terror push people to feel and say things that they keep to themselves…especially Sherlock. He is faced with fear and doubt for the first time in his life, and finds that the only person he can turn to is the one constant truth in his life: his friendship with John Watson. That isn’t to say Holmes avoids playing mental games with his friend (albeit under — ironically — laboratory conditions). But in spite of the mental gymnastics and one-upsmanship, the friendship between Sherlock & John has never been made more explicit — or affirmed more readily — as it is in this episode.

The Hounds of Baskerville stockpiles numerous elements to keep us happy: top flight performances (especially from Russell Tovey, who offers a magnificent glimpse into a mind crippled by paranoia), a seductive puzzle that begins with what appears to be a fascinating detour involving a pet rabbit, a unique & outside-the-norm use of Inspector Lestrade, and a climax where the special effects for the hound are deployed with great subtlety. It’s not quite in the same league as A Scandal in Belgravia, but that’s simply comparing the divine to something that accepts simply being sublime…and sublime in the Sherlock universe continues to put the series at a level far above 99.9% of television and film currently in production. Witty, frightening, and fascinating…you simply can’t ask for any more.

8.5

I was planning on writing something witty, profound & sophisticated…perhaps something wise & political about the Republican primaries…or something snooty about the ridiculous Tim Tebow & his belief that the Almighty has a vested interest in his NFL career…

…but at the moment, two days of insomnia have turned me into a large lump of exhausted, half-functional nonsense. Perhaps I’ll have something more to say on Friday…once I sleep!

Written by Frederick Kempe

Forget the Cuban Missile Crisis…THIS is the moment when the world nearly tipped into war. Berlin 1961 captures a time and a place that defined almost two generations, and cemented a reality no one thought would ever be deconstructed…certainly not in their lifetimes. It’s also the best damned book I have ever read on the Cold War…and there is quite a competitive selection to choose from.

There are two particular reasons to appreciate this glorious book. The first is the picture it offers of Berlin…and it’s one that is fading, the further we get from that time. The popular imagination is full of images & dreams about the bunkerized, police-zone of East Berlin post-1961, rubbing up against the island of efficient German democracy on the other side. But we rarely peek at the Berlin between the 1948 airlift & the time of wall’s rising. It’s a place of bureaucratic limbo, avante-garde artists, wannabe-ideologues in full flower, militarism run amok, and sensual pleasures of all sorts. It’s a city that doesn’t know what it is anymore, adrift in a universe that no longer seems to have a place for this once-imperial capital. It’s a toxic AND intoxicating mixture…and it’s endlessly fascinating.

The other reason to appreciate this glorious book is Kennedy. Never has there been a keener analysis of the early failures of the Camelot administration…and how its chief executive learned from his mistakes. Amidst the boozing, medicating, partying and womanizing…in this personal swirl of private craziness, the public Kennedy was shrewd and bold…and terribly naive about how his first year was going to proceed. From his own mouth he condemns his own performance: his hesitation over dealing with Berlin, his shame over the Bay of Pigs fiasco, his dumbfounded shock at being brutalized by Kruschev…and how a world hurtling towards nuclear war consumed his conscience. The Kennedy that rises from this disastrous year — the Kennedy of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy of the speech at the wall — the Kennedy that was ready to emerge…only to be cut short by an assassin’s bullet. THIS Kennedy rarely comes through in other works…but is exquisitely analyzed and examined in this magnificent volume. The ultimate “what could have been“…accompanied by substantial, impeccable scholarship.

Berlin 1961 is so wonderful it borders on the astonishing. Just when you think it’s all been said, it’s all been written…someone comes along to prove otherwise. Every student of history — every lover of well told, thrilling adventure — will adore this book.

BEWARE! SPOILER WARNING, for the internet deficient…turn away now!

A SCANDAL IN BELGRAVIA

Written by Steven Moffat

Directed by Paul McGuigan

“I don’t understand.”

“Try to.”

“Why?”

“Because you cater to the whims of the pathetic and take your clothes off to make an impression. Stop boring me and think. It’s the new sexy.”

Would you like to watch something that completely kicks A Game of Shadows into the dark corners of Sherlock Holmes pretenders? What A Scandal in Belgravia — one of the finest pieces of drama & and television — I have seen in some time.

It’s not enough that Steven Moffat’s bottomless talent is at the disposal of Doctor Who — with Sherlock, he takes labyrinthine plots & witty dialogue to new levels of sublime pleasure. Here, his brilliance shines through by taking the original plot points of Conan Doyle’s original A Scandal in Bohemia and dispensing with them in a matter of minutes (about 20,unbelievably). It’s just a showcase of warp-speed acting, rapid fire lines, and comic timing of incredible proportions. It’s capped off by a little artistic nudity and the famous “goodbye Mr. Holmes”. Sheer, unadulterated genius.

Speaking of dispensing with things, watch the resolution to the cliffhanger from last season. The standoff between the terrifying Jim Moriarty and Holmes/Watson (already the bromance “couple” that Downey Jr. & Law can’t touch) could have ended in the ultimate cop-out Instead, a single phone call offers a segue into the main plot of this episode in the most subtle manner imaginable…and the entire confrontation simply becomes a pleasure deferred.

But we’re STILL not finished with dispensing things…as we are offered six months in the life of Holmes and Watson, presented in the most astonishing series of vignettes and fast-forward flashes. Each one of these moments eventually folds into the episode’s underlying mystery in the most shocking manner imaginable. I’m using that word “imaginable” quite a bit…because this episode is simply sucking my imagination dry.

And only THEN do we get to the main plot!

A Scandal in Belgravia is a work of byzantine complexity & lustful power games. It’s an examination of what stirs within the main character — does Sherlock really feel anything for anyone? Does he have friends? Loves? Is he really a virgin? Is he capable of passion for anything but his work? This episode smashes every possible assumption we could make about him, such as his relationship with John Watson — perhaps the only man insane enough to be his wing man. Then there is the relationship with Mycroft — their scene in the morgue corridor, sharing a cigarette, full of silences, and few direct gazes — speaks more to what type of brothers they are than any conventional drama scene could possibly provide. As for Irene Adler…here we remain baffled. Is it love? Is it the curiosity of the emotion of love? What DOES she stir within Sherlock? Her façade cracks in the end…yet his…did it ever crack? Was there anything to crack in the first place? Well…you’ll have to answer those question for yourself.

It’s all anchored by the beautiful performances of Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman. They embody Holmes and Watson as if they have played them all their lives — their camaraderie, their by-play (the punch in the face sequence really does show much much Watson cares), their perosonal habits…this could be the greatest non-sexual relationship ever portrayed by two people of the same gender. They are easily matched by Laura Pulver as “The Woman” — she radiates power in a way that would wash away lesser actors. These performances anchor the entire episode, and the entire series…and it’s worth a thousand Guy Ritchie movies.

10

THE MADMAN AND THE BUTCHER

Written by Tim Cook

This was fantastic and exceptionally well written piece of biographical scholarship. The First World War has always fascinated me, far more than the Second World War. This was a time when the empires of the old world were crumbling…when the romantic & patriotic realities of the 19th century fell apart in a manner so sudden and shocking, that the only comparison I can make is the feeling of my own generation, watching the Berlin Wall fall, and shattering a reality everyone thought would exist forever. Tim Cook’s prose brings out the excitement and terror of this time, and the book was nearly impossible to put down.

For such a great hero of WWI, Arthur Currie doesn’t have a great deal of scholarship on file to back him up…and this book rectifies that problem. A concise, straightforward, detailed examination of his life, his abilities as a general, the insurmountable problems that threatened to bring him down, and his dogged ability to come through such difficulties & prosper. I was especially fascinated by his post-war career as principal of McGill University, and how this second life seemed to completely invigorate him…and how he helped to maintain that school’s monumental reputation, almost single-handedly. A true Canadian hero, finally given his due.

My single irritant about this book lies with the other protagonist of the story: Sam Hughes. The man is one of the most infamous creatures ever spawned by Canada, and Mr. Cook presents his story in a very even-handed manner…but I do think he occasionally grasps at straws. Mr. Cook tries a little too hard to find salvation in the apparent madness of Hughes — he tries to place his foibles, his bigotry, his borderline insanity in the context of the time. But the bottom line is that some people are simply reprehensible, no matter how balanced the historical coverage. It would be best to simply admit this regarding Sam Hughes, and move on. Some people are beyond salvaging…

CANADIAN PIE

Written by Will Ferguson

It makes me sad to admit this: not everything Will Ferguson writes transforms into gold.

The author of such amazingly funny yet pointed books such as Bastards & Boneheads and How to Be a Canadian does hit some of his marks in this book. A gorgeous essay on a surviving kamikaze pilot, a wistful examination of PEI, a hilarious trip through Vancouver Island…worried about cougar attacks the entire time. Such essays are full of gentle humour and fascinating thoughts that leave you thinking long after you’ve finished reading them…

But as a collection called Canadian Pie, this fails. This is just a rehash and republication of much of his past magazine work, and I find it very hard to rationalize this as worthy of a book with such a single theme…it simply doesn’t work. At least one third of the book is writing that has little to do with Canada, and other writings seem so dated that you can’t get past the curiosity factor of examining them as dusty parchments without any relevance. No coherence, and little connectivity.

Sorry Mr. Ferguson. But for every essay I enjoyed, for every piece of writing I found hilarious, there was an equal amount of bland & dull prose to work through. Perhaps it’s just my whacky personal taste…but you were more focused and a great deal funnier in previous volumes. I can understand being too tired and lazy to come up with something new…but I’m very glad I didn’t have to pay to own this particular book.