Sunday, May 26, 2013
One Dave At A Time: Ford Nation is Still Alive and Well or How the Med...
One Dave At A Time: Ford Nation is Still Alive and Well or How the Med...: If I was a resident of Toronto during the last election I would have been part of Ford Nation and voted for the Honourable Rob Ford. Why? He...
Ford Nation is Still Alive and Well or How the Media Industry in Toronto Has Gone to Hell in a Handbag
If I was a resident of Toronto during the last election I would have been part of Ford Nation and voted for the Honourable Rob Ford. Why? He is an honest guy who just wanted to help the average taxpayer and was sick of the gravy train of entitlement that enveloped the miasmic Toronto City Hall.
Many people ask me why I care what happens in the City of Toronto if I don't even live there. I tell them because it's the capital of this great Province of Ontario (at least what's left of it since the Liberals have been in power) and what it does effects all of us. Case in point: David Miller and his cabal of socialists brought in the five cent bag rule at Toronto grocery stores. The idea was supposed to help save the environment. It hasn't done that at all. What it did do, however, was to allow the corporations, yes the same entities that those socialists dislike so much, to make much more money. When the corporations saw this profit the five cent bag rule spread like wildfire across the province. Now I can barely go anywhere without having to pay five cents for the right to carry the $100 worth of groceries, I just bought, back to my car. Next thing you know this green idea that makes taxpayers lose money will take off with other governments. Next thing you know the Ontario Liberal government will be paying over the market prices for green energy and sticking it to the taxpayer. Oh wait - that's already happening.
But I digress. Let's get back to Rob Ford. Unlike the slick politicians we are used to Rob Ford is a real guy with real guy faults. So what if he isn't as politically correct as most people? So what if he isn't exactly coordinated like most people? Does this have anything to do with the running of the fourth largest city in North America? I think not.
Unlike most politicans Rob Ford tells it like it is and keeps his promises. Unlike the Liberals who lie on a regular basis yet keep getting re-elected primarily due to Toronto voters. Let's look at some of Rob's accomplisments. He's gotten rid of the sense of entitlement previosuly mentioned in this blog. He has taken on the unions and won. He didn't back down like his predecessor David Miller did - remember the garbage strike that ended Miller's career as mayor? Ford brought in private garbage collection for half the city and if all goes as planned the whole city will have private garbage collection. The condo market is the highest it's ever been as is tourism in Toronto. Sure you could say that Ford isn't solely repsonsible for that but if it wasn't up he'd be blamed entirely by the likes of rags like the Toronto Star.
Yes the good ole Toronto Star. This paper has been after Ford since his campaign to run for mayor. One of it's first stories was a story about Rob Ford assaulting a high school student on the football team he coached. The story was quickly proven to be wrong. Speaking of wrong Ford has successfully won three lawsuits against him - lawsuits brought on by the leftist cabal of sore losers who can't stand someone to be in office who won't gladly hand over money willy nilly no matter what the cost. The worst part of the whole lawsuit fiasco is that the court says that the plaintiffs don't even have to pay for Ford's court costs. This decision will allow frivilous court cases to be brought against Ford or any other politician - all at the taxpayer's expense. Yes the taxpayer - that's what this is about. The so-called 99 percent that sociliasts love to defend in speeches but not in actions.
The latest Toronto Star story has caused quite the stir throughout the Western world. A story based on allegations of an alleged video that allegedly was seen by three people, two of them Toronto Star reporters, but can't be produced. I think Jerry Agar of Newstalk 1010 said it best when he tweeted, "I would prefer Rob Ford drunk & stoned compared to Miller or McGuinty." Here, here!!!
If Rob Ford is smoking crack and doing the job he is presently doing then imagine what he could do if he wasn't smoking crack. As a reovered crack addict/alcoholic I can truly say that would be unbelievable. Also as a former crack addict/alcoholic I can honestly say that it would be highly unlikely for someone to keep up such a pace and be smoking crack at the same time. But hey what do I know? I'm just a well wishing, taxpaying, blogger.
Now the Globe & Mail has come out with some story about the rest of the Ford family but primarly about Doug Ford. It alleges that Ford was a bigtime hash dealer in the 80s. Who gives a rat's ass about what happened 30 years ago? If this were the case he has certainly cleaned himself up. Once again I am pulling out the recovered crack addict/alcoholic card and saying I believe in second chances. If I didn't I'd probably be dead right now and unable to write this blog.
The most sordid thing out of the most recent articles is the unamed sources. Can we at least have a couple of named sources? Maybe someone should do an article on how the media in this country has seemed to lower itslef into the same sludge that it's accusing the Fords of being in.
Although I would have advised him to come out a helluva of lot sooner than he did, Rob Ford, has finally denied his crack use. As soon as I heard his press conference I knew the criticisms would start coming out. With the constant barrage of media attention since he first took office I'm surprised Ford hasn't had a nevervous breakdown causing him to have to take some of the finer, legal drugs, our pharmaceutical industry can produce.
Ford said today he plans to keep on trucking and to run again in the next mayoral election. Good for him. If I didn't hate Toronto so much I would move there just to vote for him.
Dave the Dude
Many people ask me why I care what happens in the City of Toronto if I don't even live there. I tell them because it's the capital of this great Province of Ontario (at least what's left of it since the Liberals have been in power) and what it does effects all of us. Case in point: David Miller and his cabal of socialists brought in the five cent bag rule at Toronto grocery stores. The idea was supposed to help save the environment. It hasn't done that at all. What it did do, however, was to allow the corporations, yes the same entities that those socialists dislike so much, to make much more money. When the corporations saw this profit the five cent bag rule spread like wildfire across the province. Now I can barely go anywhere without having to pay five cents for the right to carry the $100 worth of groceries, I just bought, back to my car. Next thing you know this green idea that makes taxpayers lose money will take off with other governments. Next thing you know the Ontario Liberal government will be paying over the market prices for green energy and sticking it to the taxpayer. Oh wait - that's already happening.
But I digress. Let's get back to Rob Ford. Unlike the slick politicians we are used to Rob Ford is a real guy with real guy faults. So what if he isn't as politically correct as most people? So what if he isn't exactly coordinated like most people? Does this have anything to do with the running of the fourth largest city in North America? I think not.
Unlike most politicans Rob Ford tells it like it is and keeps his promises. Unlike the Liberals who lie on a regular basis yet keep getting re-elected primarily due to Toronto voters. Let's look at some of Rob's accomplisments. He's gotten rid of the sense of entitlement previosuly mentioned in this blog. He has taken on the unions and won. He didn't back down like his predecessor David Miller did - remember the garbage strike that ended Miller's career as mayor? Ford brought in private garbage collection for half the city and if all goes as planned the whole city will have private garbage collection. The condo market is the highest it's ever been as is tourism in Toronto. Sure you could say that Ford isn't solely repsonsible for that but if it wasn't up he'd be blamed entirely by the likes of rags like the Toronto Star.
Yes the good ole Toronto Star. This paper has been after Ford since his campaign to run for mayor. One of it's first stories was a story about Rob Ford assaulting a high school student on the football team he coached. The story was quickly proven to be wrong. Speaking of wrong Ford has successfully won three lawsuits against him - lawsuits brought on by the leftist cabal of sore losers who can't stand someone to be in office who won't gladly hand over money willy nilly no matter what the cost. The worst part of the whole lawsuit fiasco is that the court says that the plaintiffs don't even have to pay for Ford's court costs. This decision will allow frivilous court cases to be brought against Ford or any other politician - all at the taxpayer's expense. Yes the taxpayer - that's what this is about. The so-called 99 percent that sociliasts love to defend in speeches but not in actions.
The latest Toronto Star story has caused quite the stir throughout the Western world. A story based on allegations of an alleged video that allegedly was seen by three people, two of them Toronto Star reporters, but can't be produced. I think Jerry Agar of Newstalk 1010 said it best when he tweeted, "I would prefer Rob Ford drunk & stoned compared to Miller or McGuinty." Here, here!!!
If Rob Ford is smoking crack and doing the job he is presently doing then imagine what he could do if he wasn't smoking crack. As a reovered crack addict/alcoholic I can truly say that would be unbelievable. Also as a former crack addict/alcoholic I can honestly say that it would be highly unlikely for someone to keep up such a pace and be smoking crack at the same time. But hey what do I know? I'm just a well wishing, taxpaying, blogger.
Now the Globe & Mail has come out with some story about the rest of the Ford family but primarly about Doug Ford. It alleges that Ford was a bigtime hash dealer in the 80s. Who gives a rat's ass about what happened 30 years ago? If this were the case he has certainly cleaned himself up. Once again I am pulling out the recovered crack addict/alcoholic card and saying I believe in second chances. If I didn't I'd probably be dead right now and unable to write this blog.
The most sordid thing out of the most recent articles is the unamed sources. Can we at least have a couple of named sources? Maybe someone should do an article on how the media in this country has seemed to lower itslef into the same sludge that it's accusing the Fords of being in.
Although I would have advised him to come out a helluva of lot sooner than he did, Rob Ford, has finally denied his crack use. As soon as I heard his press conference I knew the criticisms would start coming out. With the constant barrage of media attention since he first took office I'm surprised Ford hasn't had a nevervous breakdown causing him to have to take some of the finer, legal drugs, our pharmaceutical industry can produce.
Ford said today he plans to keep on trucking and to run again in the next mayoral election. Good for him. If I didn't hate Toronto so much I would move there just to vote for him.
Dave the Dude
Sunday, May 19, 2013
One Dave At A Time: Even More Star Trek (caution Spoiler Alert for Int...
One Dave At A Time: Even More Star Trek (caution Spoiler Alert for Int...: As some of you know I am an avid Star Trek fan. This weekend I went to see the latest installment in the re-branding of the original Trek as...
Even More Star Trek (caution Spoiler Alert for Into Darkness)
As some of you know I am an avid Star Trek fan. This weekend I went to see the latest installment in the re-branding of the original Trek as envisioned by J.J. Abrams. I could try to sum up the sheer awesomeness of this flick in one word but that would do it injustice. A few words to describe it would be: awesome; terrific; amazing; riveting; and truly EPIC.
The movie opens on an away mission on a far away planet. The crew of the Enterprise have decided to save a civilization, still in it's infancy, from the devastating effects of a volcano. It opens with Kirk (Chris Pine) running away from a group of these individuals who are chasing him and soon Dr. McKoy AKA Bones (Karl Urban) as well. Meanwhile Spock (Zachary Quinto) is entering the aforementioned volcano to neutralize the threat. Of course, something goes wrong, and Kirk has to save Spock. In order to save Spock he has to break the Prime Directive (no interference in an evolving civilization). Spock is saved and shortly thereafter admonishes Kirk for breaking the Directive. Kirk answers by saying, so they saw a starship for a few seconds what harm could it do? Cut to the civilization drawing a picture of the Enterprise in the sand and bowing down to it.
This opening scene re-introduces us to the trio that set the tone of the original series and their enduring friendship. We have Kirk's wild west attitude, Bones' dry and metaphoric sense of humour and Spock's irritating logical nature. Ahh the memories abound. Yet each of these actors and the ones who play the other characters we are used to Zoe Saldana (Uhura); Simon Pegg (Scotty); John Cho (Sulu); Anthon Yelkin (Chekov), bring a whole new dimension to the characters so that their depictions do not turn into comedic mockery.
Cut to a few scenes later - back on Earth a Federation facility is blown up and its headquarters attacked by a mysterious stranger. The stranger turns out to be the infamous Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch). The references to one of my favourites (and I'm pretty sure most Trekkers' fave) Trek flick, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan abound. The timeline has been altered but the character traits have remained the same. Khan is a genetically enhanced human, created in the late 20th Century, out to have his revenge on the Federation. Kirk captures Khan on the planet Cronos (Klingon home world) and vows to bring him back to Earth to face trial. Kirk soon finds out there's more to the story than first meets the eye. Conspiracy, intrigue and action packed scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat abound in this movie. Some of the same things occur in this flick as they did in Wrath but with a slightly different twist that will have any Trekker drooling in his/her seat. The infamous screaming of the name Khan is even replicated. When this occurred I shouted, much to the dismay of my fellow movie watchers, aloud in glee. I think I might of even had an erection.
Speaking of which there is the traditional screwing scene with Kirk and some hot aliens, this time donning tales. The unexpected romance between Spock and Uhura continues in this film with humorous commentary on relationships in general. Scientist Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) who was in Wrath is in this movie too, albeit in a slightly different role (as per the new timeline angle). She has one hot body but I'm still a Uhura fan. This flick was even better than the previous one and ends with the crew of the Enterprise setting upon a five year deep space mission.
Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It's five year mission to seek out new worlds, new civilizations. To boldly go where no one man has gone before. (Yes the kept the original scripted words to this infamous opening).
I give this flick five coffees out of five,.
Live Long and Prosper
Dave the Dude
The movie opens on an away mission on a far away planet. The crew of the Enterprise have decided to save a civilization, still in it's infancy, from the devastating effects of a volcano. It opens with Kirk (Chris Pine) running away from a group of these individuals who are chasing him and soon Dr. McKoy AKA Bones (Karl Urban) as well. Meanwhile Spock (Zachary Quinto) is entering the aforementioned volcano to neutralize the threat. Of course, something goes wrong, and Kirk has to save Spock. In order to save Spock he has to break the Prime Directive (no interference in an evolving civilization). Spock is saved and shortly thereafter admonishes Kirk for breaking the Directive. Kirk answers by saying, so they saw a starship for a few seconds what harm could it do? Cut to the civilization drawing a picture of the Enterprise in the sand and bowing down to it.
This opening scene re-introduces us to the trio that set the tone of the original series and their enduring friendship. We have Kirk's wild west attitude, Bones' dry and metaphoric sense of humour and Spock's irritating logical nature. Ahh the memories abound. Yet each of these actors and the ones who play the other characters we are used to Zoe Saldana (Uhura); Simon Pegg (Scotty); John Cho (Sulu); Anthon Yelkin (Chekov), bring a whole new dimension to the characters so that their depictions do not turn into comedic mockery.
Cut to a few scenes later - back on Earth a Federation facility is blown up and its headquarters attacked by a mysterious stranger. The stranger turns out to be the infamous Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch). The references to one of my favourites (and I'm pretty sure most Trekkers' fave) Trek flick, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan abound. The timeline has been altered but the character traits have remained the same. Khan is a genetically enhanced human, created in the late 20th Century, out to have his revenge on the Federation. Kirk captures Khan on the planet Cronos (Klingon home world) and vows to bring him back to Earth to face trial. Kirk soon finds out there's more to the story than first meets the eye. Conspiracy, intrigue and action packed scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat abound in this movie. Some of the same things occur in this flick as they did in Wrath but with a slightly different twist that will have any Trekker drooling in his/her seat. The infamous screaming of the name Khan is even replicated. When this occurred I shouted, much to the dismay of my fellow movie watchers, aloud in glee. I think I might of even had an erection.
Speaking of which there is the traditional screwing scene with Kirk and some hot aliens, this time donning tales. The unexpected romance between Spock and Uhura continues in this film with humorous commentary on relationships in general. Scientist Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) who was in Wrath is in this movie too, albeit in a slightly different role (as per the new timeline angle). She has one hot body but I'm still a Uhura fan. This flick was even better than the previous one and ends with the crew of the Enterprise setting upon a five year deep space mission.
Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It's five year mission to seek out new worlds, new civilizations. To boldly go where no one man has gone before. (Yes the kept the original scripted words to this infamous opening).
I give this flick five coffees out of five,.
Live Long and Prosper
Dave the Dude
Saturday, May 11, 2013
One Dave At A Time: Television to Shape a Nation
One Dave At A Time: Television to Shape a Nation: Starting from when I was kid and up until present day I've loved to lose myself in television shows. Today we have so many options due t...
Television to Shape a Nation
Starting from when I was kid and up until present day I've loved to lose myself in television shows. Today we have so many options due to so many networks and channels but when I was young the options were limited yet good shows were made. Here are some memories of some of my faves throughout the years (in no particular order).
There were the classics when I really little. Canadian masterpieces like Mr. Dressup. Who didn't love Casey and Finnegan and the Tickle Trunk? I remember when I was a bit older and driving to Toronto with my parents in the car. They were listening to CBC and Ernie Coombs was one of the guests on some panel. When they informed me that he was Mr. Dressup I was amazed. Mr. Dressup had a different name? Kinda of like in grade school when you run into a teacher outside of school. You're whole world is shattered. Another mind blowing fact I just learned when googling Ernie Coombs (wanted to make sure I spelled his name correct) is that he was born in Lewiston, Maine. A fave I had as a child was the Canadian classic The Friendly Giant. I also was an avid viewer of Uncle Bobby (I know, I know, "did you know he was an alcoholic?". There was Romper Room which I still think was based on drugs. You had the mascot Doobie and a magic mystical, smokey, mirror that allowed the lady holding it to see you through the TV set. Mind blowing indeed!!! Of course, you had the ever classic Sesame Street with Big Bird, Mr. Hooper, Kermit (before the Muppets), Oscar, et al. To this day I'm upset that they made Snufflelufpagus visible to everyone.
As I grew my tastes changed. The aforementioned Muppet Show was a classic and when I became a fan of Alice Cooper's music in my teens I was amazed that I had viewed him on the show. There was Eight is Enough, The Donny and Marie Show (I'm a little bit rock'n'roll) and who could forget Miami Vice. I had a Miami Vice, Don Johnson, suit - wish I had it today. That show was awesome who can forget that pilot with Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight playing int he background? I still get shivers.
One of my all time favourite shows of the mid 80s was The A-Team (loved the movie too with Liam Neeson taking on George Peppard's Hannibal role - back when Hannibal was a good guy). My brother, always the sarcastic realist, didn't like the show and argued with me over the items they made to get out of their situations. One such argument involved them using a hair dryer to blow up garbage bags, with hot air, allowing them to escape a prison by floating over its walls. He said that was impossible. I bet him that I could float off of our roof using the same method. Unfortunately (or perhaps in hindsight fortunately) I couldn't get the garbage bags to seal tight enough for the air from the dryer to go in. I was very disappointed. Hannibal would have been upset that my plan hadn't come together.
I have fond memories of watching reruns of shows upon returning home from school. I grew to love such shows as Barney Miller, Taxi, Mary Tyler Moore, Wonder Woman, WKRP in Cincinnati and Cheers (which was still running). Cheers would become one of my favourite shows of all time. My first year of university the majority of people on my floor in residence would gather in the TV room to watch the show. Beer in hand we would all sing the theme song and yell out "NORM" whenever was appropriate. I went to the SkyDome to watch the series finale and knowing that with everyone screaming and the bad acoustics in the Dome I wouldn't be able to hear properly I taped it at home to watch again. Thursday night was the big night back then with The Cosby Show, Night Court and Cheers. Then there were the dramas. I loved NYPD Blue with Sipowicz (with his short-sleeved dress shirts) and his ever changing partners. It was great but it wouldn't have come to fruition without NYPD Blue - "hey, hey - be careful out there". ER which skyrocketed the career of George Clooney (who started off on Facts of Life and then was on Roseanne). And yes I did watch the original Beverley Hills 90210 and Melrose Place - "oh that Michael he's so smug" - classic Seinfeld episode.
Seinfeld now there's one of my all time favourites. It would spawn another show that I love Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seinfeld, a show about nothing, had one of the best ensemble casts ever. Other ensembles that I love (and have not mentioned yet) are All In The Family and Friends (yes Friends!).
I've already done a whole blog about Star Trek so if you're an avid reader of One Dave At A Time you know where I stand, if not go back and read it you green blooded fool.
I've gotten into many shows over the last few years. I think one of the best cop drama shows ever is The Wire. I love Omar!!!! The Wire had the best series finale I have ever seen - and I've seen a lot. Speaking of which here's a few series finales that I was disappointed in: the aforementioned Cheers; Lost (what the heck?); St. Elsewhere; Roseanne (why did they kill of Dan and not her?). Those are just a few. Dexter is awesome. Way better than Six Feet Under which I stopped watching after a few seasons because I sincerely hated every character. They were a bunch of whiners. Loved Rescue Me - somehow I watched all the seasons but didn't realize it was over. Sons of Anarchy rocks. Arrested Development was great and I am awaiting enthusiastically for NetFlix to finish filming the long awaited fourth season. Fringe was a modern day X-Files (loved them both - except the last season of the X-Files and all of the movies). Love Duchovny's show Califnornication. I didn't pay much attention to the name of that show until I was into about the fifth episode and said to myself, "they sure do have a lot sex". Cue music of enlightenment - ahh that's where they get the name from. Breaking Bad was interesting. I liked the first few seasons of Sanctuary but then it became just plain silly.
Shows I've enjoyed watched recently are The Mindy Project (starring Mindy Kaling from The Office); New Girl; Happy Endings; The Following (although even that started to become silly); Seed (dumb but funny - you need that once in awhile); The Middle; Mr. D. I love The Big Bang Theory and feel it's still growing strong,.
I know I've missed a bunch so feel to leave me comments on your favourite or not so favourite shows. I'm going to end here because I after much humming and hawwing I've finally decided to watch Shameless (the American one). I know a bunch of the awesome shows we watch were first made in Britain but that's a whole different blog.
Dave the Dude
There were the classics when I really little. Canadian masterpieces like Mr. Dressup. Who didn't love Casey and Finnegan and the Tickle Trunk? I remember when I was a bit older and driving to Toronto with my parents in the car. They were listening to CBC and Ernie Coombs was one of the guests on some panel. When they informed me that he was Mr. Dressup I was amazed. Mr. Dressup had a different name? Kinda of like in grade school when you run into a teacher outside of school. You're whole world is shattered. Another mind blowing fact I just learned when googling Ernie Coombs (wanted to make sure I spelled his name correct) is that he was born in Lewiston, Maine. A fave I had as a child was the Canadian classic The Friendly Giant. I also was an avid viewer of Uncle Bobby (I know, I know, "did you know he was an alcoholic?". There was Romper Room which I still think was based on drugs. You had the mascot Doobie and a magic mystical, smokey, mirror that allowed the lady holding it to see you through the TV set. Mind blowing indeed!!! Of course, you had the ever classic Sesame Street with Big Bird, Mr. Hooper, Kermit (before the Muppets), Oscar, et al. To this day I'm upset that they made Snufflelufpagus visible to everyone.
As I grew my tastes changed. The aforementioned Muppet Show was a classic and when I became a fan of Alice Cooper's music in my teens I was amazed that I had viewed him on the show. There was Eight is Enough, The Donny and Marie Show (I'm a little bit rock'n'roll) and who could forget Miami Vice. I had a Miami Vice, Don Johnson, suit - wish I had it today. That show was awesome who can forget that pilot with Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight playing int he background? I still get shivers.
One of my all time favourite shows of the mid 80s was The A-Team (loved the movie too with Liam Neeson taking on George Peppard's Hannibal role - back when Hannibal was a good guy). My brother, always the sarcastic realist, didn't like the show and argued with me over the items they made to get out of their situations. One such argument involved them using a hair dryer to blow up garbage bags, with hot air, allowing them to escape a prison by floating over its walls. He said that was impossible. I bet him that I could float off of our roof using the same method. Unfortunately (or perhaps in hindsight fortunately) I couldn't get the garbage bags to seal tight enough for the air from the dryer to go in. I was very disappointed. Hannibal would have been upset that my plan hadn't come together.
I have fond memories of watching reruns of shows upon returning home from school. I grew to love such shows as Barney Miller, Taxi, Mary Tyler Moore, Wonder Woman, WKRP in Cincinnati and Cheers (which was still running). Cheers would become one of my favourite shows of all time. My first year of university the majority of people on my floor in residence would gather in the TV room to watch the show. Beer in hand we would all sing the theme song and yell out "NORM" whenever was appropriate. I went to the SkyDome to watch the series finale and knowing that with everyone screaming and the bad acoustics in the Dome I wouldn't be able to hear properly I taped it at home to watch again. Thursday night was the big night back then with The Cosby Show, Night Court and Cheers. Then there were the dramas. I loved NYPD Blue with Sipowicz (with his short-sleeved dress shirts) and his ever changing partners. It was great but it wouldn't have come to fruition without NYPD Blue - "hey, hey - be careful out there". ER which skyrocketed the career of George Clooney (who started off on Facts of Life and then was on Roseanne). And yes I did watch the original Beverley Hills 90210 and Melrose Place - "oh that Michael he's so smug" - classic Seinfeld episode.
Seinfeld now there's one of my all time favourites. It would spawn another show that I love Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seinfeld, a show about nothing, had one of the best ensemble casts ever. Other ensembles that I love (and have not mentioned yet) are All In The Family and Friends (yes Friends!).
I've already done a whole blog about Star Trek so if you're an avid reader of One Dave At A Time you know where I stand, if not go back and read it you green blooded fool.
I've gotten into many shows over the last few years. I think one of the best cop drama shows ever is The Wire. I love Omar!!!! The Wire had the best series finale I have ever seen - and I've seen a lot. Speaking of which here's a few series finales that I was disappointed in: the aforementioned Cheers; Lost (what the heck?); St. Elsewhere; Roseanne (why did they kill of Dan and not her?). Those are just a few. Dexter is awesome. Way better than Six Feet Under which I stopped watching after a few seasons because I sincerely hated every character. They were a bunch of whiners. Loved Rescue Me - somehow I watched all the seasons but didn't realize it was over. Sons of Anarchy rocks. Arrested Development was great and I am awaiting enthusiastically for NetFlix to finish filming the long awaited fourth season. Fringe was a modern day X-Files (loved them both - except the last season of the X-Files and all of the movies). Love Duchovny's show Califnornication. I didn't pay much attention to the name of that show until I was into about the fifth episode and said to myself, "they sure do have a lot sex". Cue music of enlightenment - ahh that's where they get the name from. Breaking Bad was interesting. I liked the first few seasons of Sanctuary but then it became just plain silly.
Shows I've enjoyed watched recently are The Mindy Project (starring Mindy Kaling from The Office); New Girl; Happy Endings; The Following (although even that started to become silly); Seed (dumb but funny - you need that once in awhile); The Middle; Mr. D. I love The Big Bang Theory and feel it's still growing strong,.
I know I've missed a bunch so feel to leave me comments on your favourite or not so favourite shows. I'm going to end here because I after much humming and hawwing I've finally decided to watch Shameless (the American one). I know a bunch of the awesome shows we watch were first made in Britain but that's a whole different blog.
Dave the Dude
Saturday, May 4, 2013
One Dave At A Time: Why Star Trek is Better Than Star Wars
One Dave At A Time: Why Star Trek is Better Than Star Wars: In honour of the upcoming Star Trek: Into Darkness' release this month I thought I'd write about my favourite subject Star Trek. I&#...
Why Star Trek is Better Than Star Wars
In honour of the upcoming Star Trek: Into Darkness' release this month I thought I'd write about my favourite subject Star Trek. I've been a fan since my older cousin Rick showed me his original Star Trek action figures Kirk, Spock and Scotty. He gave them to me when I was in high school and, unfortunately, I only have Kirk left (without his utility belt, et al). When I was in high school I taped the three action figures up in my locker. Spock was taken out of it by my buddy Neil who put it up in his locker at our rival high school. One of his acquaintances somehow squeezed Spock so hard his head popped off and that was it for him. I managed to hold onto Kirk and Scotty through university and into the time I was living in Toronto at Yonge and Lawrence in this great two bedroom apartment. During a party there Scotty somehow fell into a candle and his leg melted into it and that was it for him,. Kirk is presently safe.
I've watched all the Treks - Star Trek; Star Trek: The Next Generation; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Star Trek: Voyager; Star and Enterprise (although this one was the only one I haven't seen all the episodes of). I've seen all of the movies and enjoyed them all, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - which most people didn't like. The new franchise is awesome and JJ Abrams is a genius. I do feel that he shouldn't take on the Star Wars franchise as well because one can either be a Trekker or a Star Wars person but not both. Which brings me to why Star Trek is better than Star Wars. There are many reasons. The first is that everything in Star Trek is based on real science and real scientific theory. Today's cellular phones were inspired by the communicators used in the original series. When Stephen Hawking appeared on TNG as a holodeck character, playing poker with Data and other noted physicists such as Sir. Isaac Newton, he was on the set wheeling by the warp engines and was heard to remark that he was working on those.
A second reason why Star Trek is better is that it's based on real life politics and real life events. Many episodes in the original series were inspired by true life events. The one with the two guys whose faces were half black and half white but were fighting for 50,000 years because one thought he was superior because he was white on a different side than the other (interesting tidbit: actor Frank Gorshin aka The Riddler played one of the characters) was inspired by the civil rights movement taking place in the U.S. in the 60s. There was an episode in TNG about an asexual society where no one had sex but those who were attracted to others were shunned. This was inspired by the gay rights movement. Another TNG episode took place on a planet where the women were physically dominant over the men it was a matriarchal society. Don't think I need to make the connection here. Even the ridiculous aliens in Star Trek are based on science. The Horta (which looked liked two guys walking around with a blanket on them) was based on the theory that there could be a silicon based life-form as opposed to our carbon based lifeforms. The Gorgon was based on the fact that lizards could have developed into an intelligent, sentient, life-form.
The politics of Star Trek is indeed brilliant,. Star Fleet could be said to be based on our United Nations but a far superior one that actually has power, is without the current state of hypocrisy and accomplishes things. The Klingons of the original series could be seen as the former Soviet Union. They are the enemy but they have a conscience. The Cardassians (nothing to do with our current Khardashians) could be said to be like the intelligent, yet evil, Nazis. I won't go through all of the aliens and am not even saying I'm correct in how I see it but it does spark intelligent conversation. My friend Stefan and I used to discuss such topics long into the night at our favourite pub. Now if you're into philosophy who is a better example of Plato's philosopher king than Captain Jean Luc Picard? I dare say Captain Kirk could be compared with John Kennedy - a superstud leader who is fair but not afraid of kicking ass when needed. Marilyn Monroe would have done Kirk - now that would have been a great episode!
Star Trek is also one helluva entertaining franchise. You've got hot guys, hot chicks (anyone can see that Lt. Uhura is way hotter than Princess Leia), explosions and great one liners - "I'll call you next time I'm in this star system." Commander Riker to alien chick he did.
In closing no matter if you agree with me or not: Live Long and Prosper.
(...and yes I do have a girlfriend - had one in high school too)
Dave the Dude
I've watched all the Treks - Star Trek; Star Trek: The Next Generation; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Star Trek: Voyager; Star and Enterprise (although this one was the only one I haven't seen all the episodes of). I've seen all of the movies and enjoyed them all, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - which most people didn't like. The new franchise is awesome and JJ Abrams is a genius. I do feel that he shouldn't take on the Star Wars franchise as well because one can either be a Trekker or a Star Wars person but not both. Which brings me to why Star Trek is better than Star Wars. There are many reasons. The first is that everything in Star Trek is based on real science and real scientific theory. Today's cellular phones were inspired by the communicators used in the original series. When Stephen Hawking appeared on TNG as a holodeck character, playing poker with Data and other noted physicists such as Sir. Isaac Newton, he was on the set wheeling by the warp engines and was heard to remark that he was working on those.
A second reason why Star Trek is better is that it's based on real life politics and real life events. Many episodes in the original series were inspired by true life events. The one with the two guys whose faces were half black and half white but were fighting for 50,000 years because one thought he was superior because he was white on a different side than the other (interesting tidbit: actor Frank Gorshin aka The Riddler played one of the characters) was inspired by the civil rights movement taking place in the U.S. in the 60s. There was an episode in TNG about an asexual society where no one had sex but those who were attracted to others were shunned. This was inspired by the gay rights movement. Another TNG episode took place on a planet where the women were physically dominant over the men it was a matriarchal society. Don't think I need to make the connection here. Even the ridiculous aliens in Star Trek are based on science. The Horta (which looked liked two guys walking around with a blanket on them) was based on the theory that there could be a silicon based life-form as opposed to our carbon based lifeforms. The Gorgon was based on the fact that lizards could have developed into an intelligent, sentient, life-form.
The politics of Star Trek is indeed brilliant,. Star Fleet could be said to be based on our United Nations but a far superior one that actually has power, is without the current state of hypocrisy and accomplishes things. The Klingons of the original series could be seen as the former Soviet Union. They are the enemy but they have a conscience. The Cardassians (nothing to do with our current Khardashians) could be said to be like the intelligent, yet evil, Nazis. I won't go through all of the aliens and am not even saying I'm correct in how I see it but it does spark intelligent conversation. My friend Stefan and I used to discuss such topics long into the night at our favourite pub. Now if you're into philosophy who is a better example of Plato's philosopher king than Captain Jean Luc Picard? I dare say Captain Kirk could be compared with John Kennedy - a superstud leader who is fair but not afraid of kicking ass when needed. Marilyn Monroe would have done Kirk - now that would have been a great episode!
Star Trek is also one helluva entertaining franchise. You've got hot guys, hot chicks (anyone can see that Lt. Uhura is way hotter than Princess Leia), explosions and great one liners - "I'll call you next time I'm in this star system." Commander Riker to alien chick he did.
In closing no matter if you agree with me or not: Live Long and Prosper.
(...and yes I do have a girlfriend - had one in high school too)
Dave the Dude
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