Monthly Archives: December 2007

Dec 31 2007

Guitar Hero 3

As a consumer of popular culture in all its various forms, I have an acute sense that I am missing out on something significant by not owning a gaming console. The last time I had a video game in my house was back in 1995, when Patrick had a Sega Genesis and the 308 Boys played NHL ’94 for hours on end. Apparently things have changed considerably since then.

There are times I regret not having a machine in my house. I have never punched a hooker (Grand Theft Auto III), tortured a prisoner (Manhunt 2), scored the winning touchdown (Madden NFL), designed clothes for a girl (Barbie Fashion Show), or raised a family (The Sims). Actually, I guess I have raised a family, although something tells me the video game version is a lot easier than the real life version.

Over the holidays, I had the opportunity to try my hand at Guitar Hero 3, a little-known video game that was recently released without fanfare. It was awesome. After the first ten minutes, I was immediately reminded of the first time I tried cocaine – that feeling of euphoria, hyperactivity, and gnawing paranoia.

The amazing thing about the game is you get the sense you’re actually playing guitar. Of course, that’s ridiculous, as it takes at least an hour to learn how to play a real guitar while you can be up and running in just five minutes with GH3 (that’s what the cool kids call it). Guitar makers should take note, though, that brightly coloured buttons are much easier to use than those pesky strings and frets.

I would love to play GH3 again, but it would cost about $600 for an Xbox, the game, and two controllers. Call me old-fashioned, but for that kind of money, I think I prefer the real thing.

Aidan and Kieran entertaining the family with their version of Suck My Kiss.

My little Yngwie Malmsteen.

Dec 30 2007

There’s No Place Like Home

After our seven day pilgrimage to Southern Ontario to visit family for Christmas, it was great to arrive home safe and sound. Although we spent a lot of time in the car, the travel gods looked favourably upon us, blessing us with good weather, patient and well-mannered children, and fast-moving traffic (mostly). Although the Christmas season can be stressful for any number of reasons, there’s no denying that it’s nice to settle down with family at this time of year, especially when distance makes such visits less frequent than you’d like.

Rather than regale y’all with tales from the road, I thought I’d post a few pictures from the past few days.

B and K after a bumpy toboggan run.

K riding his snow cat at Gerry and Claudette’s.

My nephew Ian enjoyed his first Christmas.

A enjoying some quiet time with my mom.
Dec 21 2007

The Last Post

In the last couple of days, I’ve been reflecting on this little blog, and I’ve decided to make some changes.  What started out as a lark almost two years ago has potentially become a future liability, and it makes me uncomfortable.

For those who know me, I think it’s clear that a lot of what I write is cynical or tongue-in-cheek.  Strangers, however, may not share that belief, and I worry about opinions new colleagues, friends, or future employers may form.  I can just see the headline now – “New Orchestra Director Loves Professional Wrestling and Juvenile Humour”.

I’m not going to stop writing, as it has become something I really enjoy doing.  Instead, I’m going to take steps to make this blog a little more anonymous.  This will probably mean removing my name from all posts to date, as well as those of B, A, and K.  It also means I have to come up with a new name for the site, and I’m open to suggestions.

It’s time for us to embark on a little tour of Southern Ontario.  I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, and send best wishes to anyone else who is traveling over the holidays.  Take care.

Dec 18 2007

All I Want for Christmas

Just like Steve Martin, all I really want for Christmas is for all the children of the world to join hands and sing in the spirit of harmony and peace. Wow, that would really be something. Logistically challenging, but totally cool and inspiring.

Truth be told, there are some other things on my list. I don’t want to appear materialistic, but I thought it might be revealing to share my list. It’s not that I’m expecting anyone to buy me anything – just an acknowledgement that it’s likely someone will have the unfortunate task of getting me a gift, and I wouldn’t want them to waste a minute worrying about what to get me.

Christmas lists are hardly rare these days. The Globe and Mail had several of its columnists post their top picks recently, and the list was filled with ridiculous things like $700 Hermes beach towels, $1,000 cashmere sweatpants, and an $18,000 watch. You won’t find me padding my list with unrealistic items just to appear trendy – Santa sees right through that kind of stuff.

So, here it is…

Books
Bill Buford – Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
Cormac McCarthy – Blood Meridian, No Country for Old Men, The Border Trilogy
C. Hitchens – God is Not Great:  How Religion Poisons Everything
Daniel Levitin – This Is Your Brain on Music
Bret Hart – Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling

DVDs
Extras: Season 2
Kenny vs. Spenny: Season 3
Planet Earth:  The Complete Series

Music
The New Pornographers – Combat, Twin Cinema
The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour
Allison Krause and Robert Plant- Raising Sand 

Other
Gap Project (RED) hooded sweater
Nice knit scarf, preferably with stripes
Moleskine 2008 Daily Planner
Tivoli Model One radio
Audi R8 in mugello blue pearl

Dec 17 2007

The Christmas Rant

I’ve had a Christmas rant building inside me for months now. It began when I saw Christmas trees in Costco in August and picked up strength with the unpleasant arrival of Christmas carols in retail stores on November 1st. The sudden proliferation of tiny kiosks peddling kitsch in the malls bothered me, as did the self-imposed pressure to find the perfect gift. I’ve had Norm McDonald’s line from Weekend Update running through my head for weeks – “Happy birthday, Jesus. Hope you like crap”.

Yesterday, however, a miracle happened. It snowed and snowed and snowed, and the world was forced to slow down. I have this romantic notion that yesterday’s storm changed us from stressed-out consumers to blissed-out children, at least for one day. I marveled at the height of the snowbank in front of our house and loved seeing people ski down our little street. I pulled Aidan around the neighbourhood on a sled over roads that were otherwise unusable, and was thankful for the chance to share the experience with him.

So far, December has been a nice throwback to the winters of my youth, or at least the way I pictured them through young eyes. Sure, driving hasn’t been fun at times, and my back seized up a few times today after I strained it while shoveling the driveway, but I feel so, well, Canadian. Recent winters have been characterized by a remarkable absence of snow and drama, so it’s nice to be reminded of the unforgiving environment that our founding fathers (and mothers) braved when they chose to settle here. There’s the feeling that we’re witnessing something special, a once-every-thirty-years kind of winter that people will talk about for years to come. Come on, Mother Nature, show us what ya got.

I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures of Aidan. In this one, he’s almost hidden by our little snow mountain.


Here’s my little sherpa perched on top of our personal Matterhorn.