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Adam M. Anklewicz

Juliet, Naked

Duncan is a fan of Tucker Crowe, a singer-songwriter from the ’80s who’s last record Juliette was critically acclaimed. Out of the blue, Crowe abandoned his career. Duncan, and Annie are touring the United States on a pilgrimage to the homeland of his beloved1. Duncan spends much his time evaluating, critiquing, and discussing Crowe’s brief artistic output along with a small fanbase on the internet. I am a fan, or at least was, and have spent way too much time on an internet message board dedicated to this band. The fictional message board in Hornby’s novel is filled with middle-aged men who are constantly discussing the work of a long… Read More »Juliet, Naked

I’m not too fond of Bell Canada

Got home yesterday, saw a brick propping open the door to my building. Then walking down the hallway, I saw a panel removed from the wall, and inside were telephone cables. I assumed Bell was there doing some work. I went to my apartment, noticed that I had no internet, not only that, on my modem, the DSL sync light wasn’t even flashing, it was just off. I assumed my dry loop was just inactive, as the Bell guys were doing work. I left my apartment, as I had stuff to do, but the Bell bozos were nowhere to be found. When I returned half an hour later, the Bell… Read More »I’m not too fond of Bell Canada

Music Monday

The Oscars just happened, and as usual, the good films lost. Here’s the greatest loser in all of Oscar history. This man, one of the greatest songwriters of the 1990s, lost to Celine Dion. What the fuck? I never knew until now that there’s a video for this song, which is perhaps my favourite song by Ron Sexsmith. Did you know that the song’s also on my favourite record of Ron Sexsmith’s? Now you do. I’m not so jazzed about it, I just get razzed about landing on your front door in Toronto. When I’m King of Canada, I will be a patron of the arts, and Matt Murphy will… Read More »Music Monday

Best Picture Nominees

Avatar (20th Century Fox) I didn’t end up seeing Avatar, honestly I’m not disappointed by  this fact. It looks kinda shitty and I have better things to spend $20 on. Also, I’m slightly bitter that Celine Dion won the Oscar over Elliott Smith. I blame James Cameron for that. The Blind Side (Warner Bros.) The feel-good movie of the year that will make you want to puke. Oh, fucking god! Another sports film. Not even that, the worst sport in the history of man, football. So, some random bloke drops two kids off at a private school, says, “here take them.” They take them, his wife doesn’t want one of… Read More »Best Picture Nominees

Fear of Fighting

I used to work at a computer store. It wasn’t a great job. I worked in corporate sales. My then-coworker Vince1 used to befriend his clients, he really liked them. I didn’t get it. Customers were the bane of my existence, they came in, asked stupid questions, wanted better pricing, took up time that could be better used drinking, or reading, or what-have-you. Maybe this is why I wasn’t a very good salesman, I never understood the joy of sales, to me, the job was a means to an end, not a career, but a stop-gap until I figured out what the hell I wanted to do with my life.… Read More »Fear of Fighting

Overqualified

Overqualified tells the story of a troubled soul. The protagonist loses his brother in an accident with a drunk driver. Then the remaining parts of his life seem to crumble around him. The narrative is told through over-informative and awkward cover letters. The author, Joey Comeau, might be known to you as the man behind the words of A Softer World, an online comic known for its strangely depressing sense of humour. Though the novel is short and only took me a couple hours to read, it’s wonderful. The dark humour is a great way to spend a sick day in bed. I’ll leave you with another strip from A… Read More »Overqualified

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side (Warner Bros.) Really? Her performance is boring? There’s nothing interesting in this performance, or the character. She’s a spoiled rich white chick, who feels bad for a boy, and lets him live with her. Good for her. Quinton Aaron, however stole the film. His performance as Michael Oher was wonderful. Thumbs up to Mr. Aaron, meh to Ms. Bullock. Helen Mirren in The Last Station (Sony Pictures Classics) I didn’t want to post any of these without having seen all of the films, the torrent I found for The Last Station wasn’t a real copy of the film, and I’ve been home sick the… Read More »Performance by an actress in a leading role

Our Home On Natives’ Land

Why would Canada want to change the lyrics to “O Canada?” It makes very little sense, especially right now at the end of one of the most patriotic events in Canadian history. There’s not too many times I’ve been in a bar and suddenly had the entire establishment break out in the national anthem, but that happened at the end of the gold medal Men’s Hockey game. The 2010 Olympics, while not as patriotic as the 1972 Summit is a close second. This move seems to be more of a play for the Government of Canada to get sympathy votes from women voters, when the nation has more pressing concerns,… Read More »Our Home On Natives’ Land

Gordon’s dead

I recently finished reading a book which I bought for my mother’s birthday in August. When I gave it to her, I told her that I’d have to borrow it when she was done. My mother, a former English teacher, is one of those people with a list of books to read as long as her arm, so it did take some time to get to it. The book, Heaven is Small by Emily Schultz, begins with: Moments after his death, an event he had failed to notice, Gordon Small sought new employment. That first sentence immediately captures the audience, and the story of Gordon, a recently deceased writer whospent… Read More »Gordon’s dead

February 2010, in review

In December, I set goals for myself, how many films to see this year, how many shows to attend, how many records to purchase, and how many books to read. This is the standings, as of the end of February… Books I read (2/10 – 20%): Heaven Is Small by Emily Schultz | Originally published 2009 Films I saw (19/52 – 36.5%): Whip It | Originally released 2009 24 Hours On Craigslist | Originally released 2005 The Princess And The Frog | Originally released 2009 The Secret of Kells | Originally released 2009 An Education |  Originally released 2009 Invictus | Originally released 2009 The Blind Side | Originally released… Read More »February 2010, in review