Marcel Marceau, the world’s most famous mime, has died. He was 84. Most people either role their eyes or recoil in horror when you say the word ‘mime’. But Marceau was a brilliant innovator and artist, the so-called ‘poet laureate of silence’. Throughout his career, he was France’s biggest theatrical export. A French Jew, Marceau survived [...]
On this date in 1937, JRR Rolkien published The Hobbit. Yes, the Middle Earth crew is now a connivial 70. Now, I like The Hobbit. But it’s definitely not my favourite. However, without The Hobbit there would’ve been no Lord of the Rings, which kicks all kinds of ass. Tolkien himself had a softspot for [...]
He’s a nice guy. A smart guy. You want to like him. But man alive, is Stephane Dion on course for a spectacular flame-out. The clearest sign yet is his frank admission that, in the wake of the Libs’ punishing by-election losses, his image may need a makeover. Well, duh. Said Dion: “I’ll do so and [...]
Interesting piece in the Nation about how to fix The CBS Evening News in the wake of Katie Couric’s spectacular failure. The article suggests returning to the ‘less objectivity, more analysis’ format pioneered by the greatest TV journalist ever- Edward R. Murrow. I agree with this prescription. In today’s media wasteland, ‘objectivity’ is used to demand [...]
…If only briefly. According to Bloomberg, the US dollar traded at $0.999 relative to the Canadian dollar at 10:58AM this morning. It has since rebounded, but the Loonie seems breathtakingly close to overtaking the greenback. To all my American friends: yes, I know this will decimate our export economy. Nevertheless, I’m going to take some [...]
Some of you may have been following the story out of Peru concerning a suspected meteorite and a rash of unexplained illness. Here’s what we don’t know: Whether or not it was actually a meteorite; and Whether the object is actually making people sick. The basic uncertainty of the case is reflected in most headlines [...]
The Rational Response Squad, an entertaining if somewhat shrill anti-creationist group, is reporting that their thread has been returned to YouTube after being yanked earlier in the week. The videos were pulled after the Creation Science Evangelism Ministries complained they violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Since the act requires immediate takedown of any copyright-questionable material, [...]