Toronto Mike

Habs Fans Resort to Prayer

The Catholic Church of Montreal has Habs fans praying for a miracle.  In an ad run in La Presse and Le Journal de Montreal newspapers, they've printed the hopeful final NHL standings with 8th place occupied by "Pray". With the Montreal Canadiens currently sitting in 14th place, it's going to
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The Only Argument Required

For my visually challenged friends, here's the quote from Sam Harris. Water is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. What if someone says, "Well, that's not how I choose to think about water."? All we can do is appeal to scientific values. And if he doesn't share those values,
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IN THE HEIGHTS Review

I've just returned from opening night of In The Heights at the Toronto Centre For The Arts.  Excuse me, DanCap Productions has just advised me it's to be written IN THE HEIGHTS.  That's not me yelling, just me following orders. I didn't think I liked these musical things, but this
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You'll Never Walk Alone

"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.  You might know it best from soccer football matches, particularly when they involve Liverpool, or maybe as the song Jerry Lewis used to sing at the end of his Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. I've
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The Last WWI Vet Has Passed Away

Florence Green has died.  She was the world's last surviving First World War veteran.  Florence would have turned 111 in a couple of weeks. She signed up to the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) 93 years ago in September 1918, when she was aged just 17.  She was the last
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Is Nicki Minaj a Sped Up Jay-Z?

I watched the Super Bowl half-time show yesterday.  I was underwhelmed by yet more lip syncing by an artist I actually liked when I was ten.  Flanking her for part of the show was Nicki Minaj, who grimaces too much for the camera, and M.I.A. who flipped us
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The Freebird of Pro Audio

Clive Young tells a great story about Donald Fagen's "I.G.Y." from his 1982 solo effort The Nightfly. Everyone does play “I.G.Y.” It’s become the “Freebird” of pro audio—visit a linecheck at a major concert venue or a speaker demo at AES or InfoComm, and
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Ben Gazzara, Dead at 81

Ben Gazzara was 81. He was an intense actor best known for starring in the John Cassavetes films "Husbands", "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" and "Opening Night".  I remember him best as Jackie Treehorn, the pornography mogul and loan shark in the Coen brother's cult classic, The Big Lewbowski.
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Mad Men and The Falling Man

I love Mad Men.  To promote the new season that kicks off March 25, they've released artwork showing a man in a suit falling. If you've ever watched Mad Men, you know that falling man is from the title sequence.  Here it is: Some are suggesting the new Mad Men
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