Lists

It's the end of the year which means it's time for "Best of" and "Top Ten" lists. I'm not going to post any myself, although I do love a good list. No, I'm just here to complain about the fact that so many people deem it necessary to contribute a "Worst of" list. What's the point of these? I can see absolutely no good reason for compiling a "Worst of" list. I hate them. They represent the worst in the reviewing system we have. Why does a reviewer feel the need to remind us of the worst things they saw that year? Not to mention singling out the people who were involved in those pieces. It's, well, just plain mean.

Actually, I think our whole reviewing system needs to be...um, reviewed. We need to get rid of the star rating. It's ridiculous to try and rate a piece of theatre, film, or dance or even a restaurant, out of five stars (or four if you're The Globe and Mail or The Star). Just give us the written reviews. We should be able to surmise ourselves what was thought of the show from the body of the review, shouldn't we?

We could even go a step further and only publish the reviews that are positive. I'm not sure about this one, although it would get rid of those reviewers who only seem to be able to write anything negative. You know the ones. They get a kick out of being clever and bitchy and like to make the review more about themselves then the piece they saw. Worst kind of reviewer is the kind that thinks they're more important then what's being reviewed.

I realize a change in the reviewing system isn't going to happen but it'd be nice to not see any "Worst of" lists next year. Too much to ask?

Reasonable Compensation

Due to the recent auto industry bailouts offered by the Canadian and U.S governments there's been a lot of talk about an auto worker's hourly rate. There's a good blog post here debunking the $70/hour wages and benefits rate as quoted by the New York Times. But what is a fair hourly rate?

Personally, I feel that the the wage (for all fields) should be related to the importance of work being done. Of course, there are a bucket of issues here on who decides what's important and how does that compare to other professions. In my mind education and health care are two of most important and essential professions/industries in Canadian society and as such I feel the people working in these essential fields should be compensated accordingly. I'm pretty sure you'd be hard pressed to find someone who disagrees with me.
And yet...

Profession and its Average Hourly Rate

Auto Worker - $34
Registered Nurse - $29.55
Teacher (Secondary School) - $27.60
TTC Operator - $26.58 (starts at $20.86 with yearly raises to $26.58 after 30 months)
Teacher (Elementary) - $26.40
Social Worker - $26.05

Sources:
The Auto worker is the average CAW wage at Ford and I took that from this CBC article.
The Nurse, Teachers and Social Worker wages came from the City of Toronto website.
I took the TTC wage directly from the Local 113 ATU Collective Agreement.

Christmas Songs

I have two favorite Christmas songs. The first is Fairytale of New York by the Pogues with Kirsty MacColl. I love this song. It's probably on my favorite song list of all time, but it's definitely my favorite Christmas song. I love it.

My second favorite is Baby It's Cold Outside. There are loads of versions of this song out there but it was originally written by Frank Loesser in 1944. Despite my love for this song I've always felt a little bit off about the fact that it basically seems to be a song about a date rape.

Never noticed before? Take a gander at the lyrics (these are from the Dean Martin version). For those who don't know the song it's a male/female duet and the man's lines are in brackets.

I really can't stay
(But baby, it's cold outside)
I've got to go away
(But baby, it's cold outside)

This evening has been
(Been hoping that you'd drop in)
So very nice
(I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice)

My mother will start worry
(Beautiful what's your hurry)
My father will be pacing the floor
(Listen to the fireplace roar)

So really I'd better scurry
(Beautiful please don't hurry)
But maybe just a half a drink more
(Put some records on while I pour)

The neighbors might think
(Baby, it's bad out there)
Say what's in this drink
(No cabs to be had out there)

I wish I knew how
(Your eyes are like starlight now)
To break this spell
(I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell)

I ought to say, "No, no, no sir"
(Mind if I move in closer)
At least I'm gonna say that I tried
(What's the sense in hurtin' my pride)

I really can't stay
(Oh baby don't hold out)
Ah, but it's cold out side
(Baby, it's cold out side)

I simply must go
(But baby, it's cold outside)
The answer is no
(But baby, it's cold outside)

Your welcome has been
(How lucky that you dropped in)
So nice and warm
(Look out the window at the snow)

My sister will be suspicious
(Gosh your lips look delicious)
My brother will be there at the door
(Waves upon the tropical shore)

My maiden aunts mind is vicious
(Gosh your lips are delicious)
But maybe just a cigarette more
(Never such a blizzard before)

I've gotta get home
(But baby, you'd freeze out there)
Say lend me a coat
(It's up to your knees out there)

You've really been grand
(I thrill when you touch my hand)
But don't you see?
(How can you do this thing to me?)

There's bound to be talk tomorrow
(Think of my lifelong sorrow)
At least there will be plenty implied
(If you got pneumonia and died)

I really can't stay
(Get over that old out)
Baby, it's cold
Baby, it's cold outside

Its a brick.

Every year at Christmas my Dad would pick up a present that was rectangular in shape and a little on the heavy side and he's shake, smell, weigh, and thoroughly examine it and then make the joke - "It's a brick."

Every year.

One year my brother and I wrapped up an actual brick and gave it to him. He went through his annual routine and ended with the usual proclamation - "it's a brick." We swallowed our smiles as he opened it revealing the actual brick. I remember him being most pleased.

In other pleasing brick news there's this...

A journal of short non-fiction and poetry by amazing writers both famous and non. It's only published twice a year - Summer and Winter - and we just received the latest edition, Winter 2008, in the mail so that likely means you can now go pick up a copy at any quality book shop.
I highly recommend it and, for those of you who are writers, they accept submissions.

Works well as a Christmas present too.

Venice is sinking

There's been record rainfall in Venice resulting in flooding in almost all parts of the city. I think there's a marked difference between how the Venetians are handling the flooding and how we'd handle it. If you cut the bottom off of this photo nothing would look out of place...

Nice day to sit on the patio and relax with a glass of wine...

Awesome.

Messenger Bags

In May of last year, during my first ever trip to New York, I bought a new messenger bag from J Crew. I really like it and I've pretty much used it everyday since then. Unfortunately, it's now starting to come apart at the seams - actually it's got three fair sized tears.

So I've been looking for a new bag and I have to say, it hasn't been an easy. At first, it seemed like there just weren't too many out there that had what I was looking for- which is a simple messenger bag with good looks and in leather for durability - but then Shira, and her amazing surfing skills, came to the search and rescue. Here are my favorites...

First off we have two fine looking bags from J Crew. The first one is awesome. It's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for and its price at $225 is the most reasonable.
The second entry from J Crew is in the running as my favorite however, it's also $795. But just look at it...
The next bag is from APC and it's $420. I think this is my least favorite of the group. I'm not sure why...maybe it looks a little too pursey. Still, it made the list.



This one is from Reiss. Unfortunately they've decided to not give the price on the website. Lame. The bag looks fucking great though.



Next up is this fine little number by Ferragamo. I like the simplicity of it. It's cool and crisp. It's also called the Toronto Messenger Bag, so there's that. It's $750.

Marc Jacobs has following two offerings for us. The first is $387 and it's got a great vintage look to it, although I'm not wild about the handle at the top. The second is up mainly cause of the awesome green/gray colour it comes in, but again it's starting to look a little on the pursey side and you have to watch out for that. Unfortunately no price was listed on the site.





Roots has their Urban Editor's bag and it's pretty stylish and the many pockets give it camera bag feel. It's also the only one selected without a cover flap. Not sure what that means, but there it is. It's a cool $298

And lastly we have my favorite. This gorgeous bag comes to us from John Varvatos and it's quite something. It's also $895.


If I had my way I'd have the Varvatos, but I'll gladly settle for the first J Crew bag - they're actually quite similar.

I just want to note that this search has been strictly for messenger bags, but there are also some damn fine satchels out there that are worth checking out. Personally I find once you get a laptop and an umbrella in a satchel that's pretty much it - they're packed - and I need to lug more stuff.

Hidden Cameras

Last week while walking to and from work I started to notice a few hidden cameras being set up in and around the Yonge and College area. It took me a couple of moments to realize that it wasn't Big Brother going from watching to full on gawking but a very elaborate film set up. I'm not sure what's being filmed but my theory is that this is an action shot and they want to cover multiple angles without the other cameras getting in the shots. After checking the City of Toronto's website for current productions filming in Toronto the only possible option would be Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. I'll try to ask one of the people in the fluorescent vests who guard the cameras to confirm.

They're subtle and the props/set people have done a damn fine job of camouflaging them.

This one gets hidden inside a corner notice board.

This one's on Alexander Street and made to look like a nest.

Another gets hidden in the helmet case of a scooter. I also saw three cameras placed in the rear of a Volvo.

It seems to be a night shoot and during the day the cameras are put to rest and the opening simply covered over.

I also saw cameras hidden in air conditioner units, blue garbage bins, and fake newspaper boxes. That's a whole lot of cameras. They've been set up for almost a week now. I'd love to watch the shot actually getting filmed just to see how elaborate it actually is. In my head it's a massive thing. It'll be interesting to see the final film and see if I can spot any cameras.

A different era

We went away to a lovely B&B this past weekend for a much needed break. Shira brought her toy camera which had some black and white film in it. The look this combo gives is really cool. I look like I'm from the 40's...

And the trees have a German expressionist feel...

Here's what they look like with my basic digital, along with what Shira looks like while taking the pictures...


This last one wasn't taken with the toy camera but I think it fits.

What's the buzz?

A couple of years ago Progress Lab in Vancouver (a coalition of 11 theatre companies) produced Hive, a collaborative theatre event featuring 11 intimate performances for audiences ranging from one to twenty. The performances at Hive were site specific and occurred all over The Chapel, a former funeral home that is now a venue and an art gallery. The event was incredibly successful, and was re-imagined/re-produced for this year's Magnetic North Theatre Festival as Hive2.

Well, Brampton's Rose Theatre is giving the idea a go with B-Hive and The Ministry is going to be apart if it. Our piece, The Machine, follows two scientists as they unveil their latest invention for the first time. It's still early days right now, and the piece is very much in the initial stages of creation but we're pretty excited about it. I'll keep you posted.

The film itself...

We wuz robbed

On Friday I attended the screening of the film The Patient, which The Ministry made for the Toronto Film Challenge's Fall 2008 24-hour competition. I was petrified going into the cinema. I had no idea what the projection was going to look like - would the big screen make the film look really pixelated, would the production values make our film look amateurish compared with the others - I didn't know. A lot of my friends had generously donated their time and energy to this little project and I wanted them to be happy (and not embarrassed) with the results.

As it turns out I had nothing to be worried about - other than the usual worries one has when putting yourself out there creatively -as the film went over really well. In fact, ours was definitely one of the better ones. Maybe some others had higher production values, but The Patient held it's own, and I was quite proud. Unfortunately we didn't win any of the kick ass prizes, and I have to say I was a little disappointed by that. Not because the winning films weren't good - the second and first place films (Monster Face and Prom Day 1981, respectively) were both really well done - but because all of the winning films were comedy-horror films. This was suppose to be a horror film challenge, not a comedy horror film challenge and there is a substantial difference. The Patient was definitely the best true horror film screened, and I feel a little bit robbed that that wasn't officially recognized. I say "officially" because one of the members of the winning team said during his thank you speech that "the film The Patient was one of the best things he's seen in a while."* I thought that was incredibly nice and classy of him to say.

I don't want this post to make it sound like I had a bad experience as that's totally not the case. It was a fun, and a little stressful, night and overall the entire experience was encouraging and, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I learned a lot about film making.


*despite the quotes that might not be exactly what he said, as I can't remember word for word, but that's definitely the gist of it.

The Patient

The Toronto Film Challenge was this past weekend, and The Ministry (my team's name) wrote, shot and edited a 5 minute short titled "The Patient." It was a crazy 24 hours.

Here's a summary...

10am Saturday - we received our challenge pack which consisted of a surprise theme, prop and phrase.

This is Dave and I enjoying the first of many many coffees while waiting for the 10am start...

10:15 to 2pm - we hammered out a basic story as a group before splitting into smaller teams to write it, find costumes, prep locations and a create shooting schedule.

Our story all cue carded and laid out, with a machete thrown in for mood...

2:30 to midnight - filming at three different locations

Shira at one of our locations...

Despite what this photo seems to suggest, that is not the craft services table and I am not reaching for another donut....

James, myself and the other team members on route to another location...

Midnight to 8am - editing, editing, editing

Here I am editing with crazy stress hair...

8am to 9am - sound editing

9am to 9:30 - transfer the film to the submittable format - a stress filled half hour full of computer re-boots and curses

9:30am-9:48am - a mad rush across the city

9:48am Sunday - handed in our short film with 12 minutes to spare

My team was made up of some ridiculously talented and dedicated people, and although I personally made some mistakes during the actual filming, they all brought their A game. I'm incredibly proud of them and thankful they were apart of this little film.

The screening of all the films is this coming Friday and I'm petrified. I'm obsessing over the things I would have done differently, which, I know, isn't helpful. But I did learn an awful lot about my strengths and weaknesses as a filmmaker, and about film making in general, which was really the whole point. Overall it was a great experience, and I'm glad I entered.

All pictures by Mike.

24 Hours

The Ministry has entered the Toronto Film Challenge. Starting Oct 4th at 10am we will have 24 hours to make a short horror film. I'm excited and petrified - both good feeling to have when dealing with horror. So far I've assembled 6 of my 8 member team, and I have to say I've got a good crew. It should be a crazy, stressful, and fun 24 hours. The only unfortunate thing is that the challenge falls on the same night as Nuit Blanche, which is a bit disappointing.

I'll keep you posted.

Guest Blogging

I've been invited by the fine people over at the Institute of Canadian Enthusiasm to contribute to their blog on the current Federal Election.

Click on the Institute below to come have a look.

Shorts

TIFF is almost done and, sadly, I've only been able to attend two screenings so far. This was mostly due lack of time and money, as each screening is over $20 - which isn't that high all things considered but it's too high for me right now. Anyway, I managed to see Programmes 3 and 4 of Short Cuts Canada. I specifically chose to see the Short Cuts programmes because I'm currently in the final stages of editing my first short, and pre-production for my second, and I was excited by the opportunity to see what else is out there. And, honestly, I wanted to see if, based on these films, I would have a shot at getting into a festival.

The answer is...I don't know. The range in quality, both technically and artistically was so vast that it's hard to tell. Technically speaking a lot of the films looked more polished then mine, and I think that comes down to my abilities but also my technology, as I have very limited resources. That's one thing that really stood out, the resources most of these filmmakers had/have are far greater than I. During one film's credits when the sponsors and crew just kept going and going, I believe Shira's comment was, "wow, we're so ghetto." There's nothing wrong with this of course, as story and character are what matter but the production values can't distract from those elements. I don't believe they do with my work, although I'll have until they're completed to fully judge.

So what did I think of the shorts? There were some that were great - my favorite from Programme 3 being the documentary Forty Men for the Yukon directed by Tony Massil and from Programme 4 the charming Mon nom est Victor Gazon directed by Patrick Gazé - but overall I left feeling a little disappointed both nights. I wasn't really engaged by most of them. I don't think this was because of the nature of short film - i.e. is it harder to get attached and care for characters in such a short period of time - nor was it primarily due to stories and themes being explored. Visually, of course, some were more beautifully shot and had a definite visual style then others, and only a couple had elements - usually sound - that drew me out. I think it mostly came down to the acting, writing and pace of the films - not to say that these elements were all bad but just inconsistent, both within the films and throughout the programmes. This inconsistency made the extremes more noticeable.

Of course, experience plays a huge part, as the short film genre is generally the playground of emerging filmmakers. That's why I'm here.

What he said.

So the election here in Canada has been officially called for Oct 14th. Everyone is super thrilled about it. Especially since the current Conservative government said that we would only have elections every four years. Yet, here we are only two years later. Hurrah. It's hard to muster any enthusiasm for this thing, since we're likely to end up with the same government we have now, except maybe they'll get a majority. Wouldn't that be fun.

Granted a minority Government is a fragile thing, but it's not like the Conservatives were being challenged on anything they put forward. I guess, this is probably seen as the ideal time to strike and obtain that majority. But with the cost of an election is sitting somewhere around $300million mark it's hard to justify it. Why not take that money and do...hell, almost anything else with it. Instead they make cuts and call a costly election. Hopefully it will be costly for them politically.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the fact that the $48million cuts to the Arts came right before an election speaks volumes about how much weight the current government puts on Arts and Culture. Harper himself tries to avoid using the term "Canadian Culture" whenever possible, preferring to call it the "Canadian Entertainment Industry." No wonder there's a misconception about the arts and artists.

I know not all Tories agree with their fearless leader and, in fact, The Globe and Mail's Simon Houpt - who is blogging during TIFF - happened upon one such Conservative, ex-PM Brian Mulroney who, surprisingly, had this to say about the Arts and Culture...

"We expanded the aid to the arts enormously. In spite of what is said, we increased the budget of the CBC by 3-and-a-half per cent a year for 9 years, and it reflected my view that culture is indispensable to the well-being of Canada, to our unity, to the manner in which we're perceived in the world, and the manner in which we perceive others. It adds to our confidence, our maturity, and to our self-respect.”

Not exactly an indictment of Harper's cuts but it's pretty clear where he stands. I can almost forgive him for this...

Almost.

Re-buttoning

A little while ago I got a new vest, unfortunately the buttons on it were the same blue as the trim which was a little boring. So, taking my cue from The Sunday Best, I re-buttoned it. Well, Shira re-buttoned it, but I picked out the buttons - which is easily the hardest part. I think the new buttons make it look pretty sharp.

The vest is from Club Monaco and the shirt (my current favorite) is from Brooklyn Industries - and, yes, those are pigeons on it. Delightful.

New Swag Vol. 1

So far this summer I've been to two weddings - which really isn't that many - however, there's isn't a better excuse then a wedding to go out and buy new swag. Well, in all honesty, I don't really need much pushing to buy new gear but sometimes my bank account requests the justification, especially since, sadly, I don't really wear suits too often.

So what did I buy? Well, actually a whole bunch of stuff, and I'll try to blog about all the goodness soon, but the most recent purchase would be a crisp, white, cufflink-holed shirt (from H&M), and cufflinks to go with it. That's right, cufflinks. My first pair.

And here they are in action...

They're called Blueberry Tea and they're from an awesome new store on Queen West called Green Shag. They've actually been around for a bit and located in the 401 building, but I only just heard of them during my quest for the cufflinks. I believe their speciality is bespoke shirts but, since there's no way I'm going to be able to afford bespoke anything until sometime after 2020, I'll have to settle for the odd pair of cufflinks, or a cool T-shirt. Thankfully they've got plenty of of both.

What can I do?

I think the majority of Canadians feel an incredible inability to affect change. There is a wealth of issues and subjects for which I just can't understand why things are the way they are. I believe many people feel the same way I do. Perhaps we don't share the same views on the way things should be but I'm pretty sure we share the same sense of impotence when it comes to what we can do to change them. It is difficult though to feel like I'm making a difference - forget difference, making any impact at all.

Case in point, the most recent arts cut by the Federal Government. The Feds have just cut millions of dollars from arts and culture spending and I feel like I can't do anything about it. Even with the looming election this fall they still cut the funding, essentially saying we don't care about the arts and there's nothing you can do about it. And I have to say I feel like they're right, there isn't anything I can do about it. I know there are people out there right now who are saying absolutely there's something that you can do about it, call your Representative, go to a rally and so on. And I will, I have, I do and yet stuff like this still happens.

Honestly, I would be happy with a 50% tax rate, so that schools, health care, social assistance and arts were well supported and covered. I know that makes me a socialist, but I also believe in a market economy. I just want certain, fundamental, things covered. The arts is one of them.

There's an excellent article in the Globe and Mail regarding the recent cuts in arts funding, you should go HERE and give it a read.

Also check out the Department of Culture.

I hate comparing times but I'll throw one out anyway - during World War II it was suggested that Winston Churchill should make cuts the Arts and Culture portfolio and his response was, we have to remember what we're fighting for.

Best. Show. Ever.

I just finished watching the final episode of the fifth and final season and the whole thing is amazing. I'm not exaggerating here when I say it's the best thing I've seen on T.V. It's just brilliant storytelling. It's so layered and rich and realistic - granted I've never worked for the police, in the drug trade, down at docks, in inner city schools, as a politician or at a newspaper (although I did have a paper route when I was eleven), so maybe I don't know if they actually got those things right. But I do know that it's like nothing else I've seen and it feels realistic, and I'm not talking about the camera work here. The stories, the characters, the frustration, the day to day, it all feels...familiar. I really can't say enough about it. Seriously, I feel like if you watched this series and then told me you didn't like it, I'd honestly have to re-consider our friendship.

You can read more about the series in this New Yorker article (among other places I'm sure), but I'm warning you, if you haven't watched the full series yet there are some plot points given away - I read this article before I finished season three and was not pleased to be told the fate of some characters. So on second thought, forget the articles and just go buy, borrow or steal this series.

It's worth it.

Editing is hard

A little while ago I filmed my first real short film, it's got the working title La Mano Des Dios. The filming went great, all the actors were wonderful, the location was perfectly, the weather held and we got it done in a day. Since then I've been huddled over my mac editing the thing together and it's a lot harder then I expected. Granted I made some errors in the filming - too much coverage on this scene, not enough on that one, etc. - but I completely underestimated the difficulty of editing. I'm enjoying it though, even if the learning curve (for me) is a bit steep.

Here's a couple of images from the set.

I'm really excited about this little piece and hopefully I can make it look on the screen like it does in my head.

The Ministry Establishes Itself

Here I am becoming a citizen of, the very populated, blogland. As usual I'm late - that's a lie, I'm usually very punctual but for this I am late. Very late.

I could go into what this blog will be about but really I don't fully know yet. In the description I've given myself the very specific parameters of film, theatre, fashion and thoughts. Which pretty much sums up my major interests - except for thoughts, I really have no interest in those...that.

My only pledge is to not have this blog join the others in the vast "I've started a blog" purgatory that takes up much of the blogosphere. I visited many a blog with only one post that was created and abandoned in 2002. I will try my damnedest to avoid that being the fate for The Ministry of.

Here's an image of what I've joined, and, if you're reading this, what you're likely apart of...



I'm pretty sure that this blog is the big white spot in the centre right next to the number 1. Pretty damn sure.

Illustration of blogosphere by Matthew Hurst