I really need to stop reading the L-P

As someone who despite everything actually does love Regina--so much so that I wouldn't cheapen such a love by advertising it on a t-shirt (a mug, meanwhile, totally classy)--I'm incredibly disheartened to read the Leader-Post's Kevin Blevins's blog post about critics of the proposed domed stadium in Regina.
Sure, he's not the first L-P opinion writer to combine a small and dim worldview with unimaginative and lazy prose, nor is he the only Reginan who seems to think that anyone who criticizes the Queen City's abysmal record of dealing with urban issues like sprawl, poverty, addiction, housing, transit, business development , etc. is a hare-brained communist.
"A city is many things," Blevins writes in response to Regina activist Jim Elliott's criticisms, "And it can't just be about trying to solve poverty issues, which seems to be Elliott's position over and over again."
Maybe, just maybe, if Regina actually did something to address its poverty issues, Elliott wouldn't have to stand up for them over and over again.
I'm not going to fume too much over this here, because Wade already did and the Jurist already boiled it down. If you want to read how a real journalist blogs about Regina's dome of destiny, here's Will Chabun on the matter.

If I've had Regina on the brain lately, it's because I'll be there during the first two weeks of August. I mean, isn't there enough urban blight in Vancouver to keep me occupied?

mp3: "The Place Where We Lived" by Hayden

Four thousand.

That's how many complaints Jason Hall and the Regina Landlord's Association have filed under the City of Regina's Property Maintenance Bylaw since Dec. 22, 2008. Hall's letter to the City's Executive Committee is here (pdf).

The document is curious for several reasons, least among which are the writer's curious word-processing choices. It's impossible to tell if this is a Fratboy prank or a cry for help from someone suffering from a serious and possibly dangerous persecution complex.


The Community and Protective Services report on the RLA's deluge of complaints is here (pdf).


The whole sad biz should come to an exciting head tomorrow at 11:45 a.m. in Henry Baker Hall at Regina City Hall (here's where we pause to reflect on the dunderheadedness of having a hall within a hall, never mind that a Hall will likely be in attendance). This is civic politics at its best and worst. (Thx to Paul Dechene at prairie dog magazine's blog for keeping tabs on Regina City Hall).

While I'm talking 'bout Regina, and while I'm ripping off other folks' blogs, I was super-excited to read about the Lazy MKs on SoundSalvationArmy last week. The most excellent instrumental trio gets their post-(country) rock groove on like a back forty Precious Fathers. One question though: Do you say "the Lazy em-kays" or "the Lazy Marks"?

mp3: "Young Sad" by the Lazy MKs
mp3: "Burgess Lake" by the Lazy MKs

EDIT: SSA link fixed, and bonus Jason Hall quote (via CBC, last September): "At one point, and I would probably say two years ago, we were desperate to put anyone into a place just to make the mortgage payment," Hall said. "Now, what we're seeing is, we have a lineup of people wanting to take places — a better brand of tenant. And, you know, landlords can be a little more fussy now."

If you're not the new Dylan, who are you?

A week ago, Sound Salvation Army's Pat bemoaned the, well, Dylan-ness of Dylan. That ultimately punk rock way that Dylan has always managed to command respect and contempt at the same time from the same people. I didn't see the current tour, so I don't know. I saw him ten years ago at what was then called the Agridome, and, well, it was pretty damn cool. It was Dylan, knocking out hot guitar and plowing through a bunch of songs that half the world knows at least some of the words to. This tour saw Dylan play keyboards, which is less hot than guitar, as everyone knows, and also, according to the Winnipeg Sun, Dylan wore leather pants. Which, y'know, not cool, Bob. Leather pants, if you're not actually riding a motorcycle, only put your judgment into question. That's all they do. So this is not to call Pat out for being wrong. He's probably right.
But it got me thinking, I might have a higher tolerance--or even preference for folks who don't sing right. Off tune, off beat, oh yeah, give it to me! And truthfully, there's a case to be made that these singers who aren't blessed with a naturally redolent voice are actually better singers than the ones who were mellifluous to begin with. To create something aesthetically pleasing out of something unpleasant is true craftsmanship, and I'll roll my eyes at anyone who says otherwise.
All of which is just preamble to praise Andre Ethier, who sometimes sounds so much like Bob Dylan that you almost think he's trying to be Leonard Cohen.
Last summer, when I was in Regina, Dave and I were catching up on good records that had come out since last we spoke, and Andre Ethier's On Blue Fog album was one of them. Any Andre Ethier album is a good one and will definitely scratch yr nu-Dillung fever, but still give you a lot more. An Andre Ethier album you might not know about, unless you live in Peterborough (which sounds like a made-up place--I've never met anyone from there), is Dear Stranger, which is actually a Silver Hearts album. The Silver Hearts are a big folk/country band from Ptrbrgh (it looks more authentic w/o vowels) who have made some albums of note (I do remember hearing about that Rain Dogs remake), but seemingly have not toured beyond their little corner of the country, despite playing country/western music. Go figure.

mp3: "Nothing Is Written In Stone" by Andre Ethier
mp3: "Last Real Poet" by the Silver Hearts

EDIT/UPDATE: mp3 link fixed
bonus mp3: "Last Days of Chez Nous" by the Silver Hearts (not an Ethier tune, but 100% worthwhile if you love cruel honkytonk break-up songs)

Need vs. Want

The good people of Shazhmm look at Herbie Archives Vol. 1 and make my mouth water. The Fat Fury! Frankenstein! Possible multiple Frankensteins! Hubba 2x.
Of course, the last thing I need right now is $50 collection of comics from the 60s. But a boy can dream, can't he?

mp3: "Sweatshirt Cowboy" by the Woodsmen
mp3: "I Been Rich All My Life" by the Woodsmen

flashback: 1997

A great couple of posts by Wade regarding the nineties. Which is an interesting coincidence, since I'm currently knee-deep (just one knee) in composing a weird remembrance of 1992 that has something to do with something but has also become a thing of its own.



mp3: Live in Toronto, 1997 by Bluebeard

Proof that I'm not making good use of my 'free' time

Sometimes, I just sit at my computer with Vic Chesnutt on my headphones, following one link to another until I don't know how I got where I am, but I'm glad I've arrived. This is where I ended up tonight.

SHAZHMMM... - An extremely likable comic review site with a winning he said/she said thing going on. It's like Siskel & Ebert but you read it. And it's about comics. But, y'know, two intelligent, articulate people with broad tastes discussing new releases (and sometimes older stuff).

Areas of My Expertise - You know John Hodgman. But did you know he wrote a book? But did you know he wrote another?

mp3: "Wallace Stevens" by Vic Chesnutt

Because you don't spend enough time thinking about comics

Two new comic blogs to tell you about. One of them is hilarious, the other one is Canadian. Not that those are necessarily exclusive concepts, but, um, too often they are.

You Don't Know From Hurt doles out oracle-like opinions on comics before they even come out! They read, or plan to read, a lot of the same comics I plan to read and share a lot of my conflicted feelings on being a grown-ass man reading funnybooks.

Four-Colour Words (note the U) is hosted by The Walrus (again, note the U), and is therefore a little more, um, Seth-positive.

mp3: "Intentions Alone" by the Olympic Symphonium

"We had to endure it and want our revenge."

Ebert again. On the role of The Critic. Right now The New is more in need of discovery and defence than ever before, as our politicians try to score points by railing against imaginary elites they fear secretly rule the world.

And there's no bigger secret elite the rockers of Saskatoon. They're so secret, hardly anyone's ever even of heard of them, let alone heard 'em. So consider yourself priveliged. You're about to get Saved By Saskatoon, which is the name of a brand new compilation from Saved By Radio/Saved By Vinyl, a Calgary record label that puts out some of the finest CanRock this side of the Canadian Sheild.

mp3: "Class Action Lawsuit" by Junior Pantherz
mp3: "My Ghost Your Ghost" by Pearson

Dear Regina: Don't Eff This Up

Some good news to share:

-Former Regina Police Service Chief Calvin Johnston (not to be confused with Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and Dub Narcotic Sound System) is running for the Liberals in Regina Palliser. During his service as Regina's top cop, Johnston repeatedly proved himself to be a stand-up-guy with a keen understanding of a broad array of justice-related issues. He should have a decent shot, especially since the incumbent MP, Conservative Dave Batters, is stepping down to deal with a benzo addiction. Those conservatives...the rhetoric sure falls short of, y'know, real life. Dave, you have my sympathy. If I had to work for a boss whose only consistency was general incompetence, I'd suffer "anxiety and depression" too. Said Batters in his press release, "There is still a stigma attached to such illnesses and I want to make sure people realize these are conditions that can strike anyone and need to be treated." I'm not sure which "conditions" he's talking about, but if he means drug addiction, then he's off the party line, according to Harper's promise of "a short and miserable life" for drug addicts.

-Frances Bula is back! The former Vancouver Sun civic affairs reporter and blogger now has a blog under her very own name that is every bit as essential to unpacking life in Vancouver as her old Sun blog was.

mp3: "Monkey Hips and Rice" by Dub Narcotic Sound System

Clement officially on the offensive re: supervised injections sites + Advertising on the Prairies

I'll give this to Health Minister Tony Clement, he doesn't seem to be interested in preaching to his choir. After telling the World Health Organization AIDS Conference that curbing the spread of diseases like HIV and Hep C through supervised injection sites are actually "harm addition" over a week ago, today he told the Canadian Medical Association that they're a bunch of unethical quacks.
"Is it ethical for health-care professionals to support the administration of drugs that are of unknown substance, or purity or potency, drugs that cannot otherwise be legally prescribed?" Clement asked out of one side of his mouth.
Out of the other side: "Already there are advocates saying that injection sites are not enough, that government should hand out heroin for free."
So, um, let's see... Clement recognizes the dangers of allowing people to use illegal street drugs of dubious origins, but then he scoffs at removing the criminal element from the addiction equation, the very element which seems to cause the greatest amount of harm not only to those addicted, but also to the communities they live in.
The Vancouver Sun had a very strongly-worded editorial last Tuesday on Clement's words to the WHO. And Barbara Yaffe commented the previous Saturday on how ridiculous the Tory war on drugs has become.

In more fun news, Wade at Signal Response has hooked us up with hours and hours of fun by linking to the Random Image Page of Persuasion: Print Advertising and Advocacy on the Prairies, a digital exhibit from the University of Saskatchewan.

In a similar vein, I don't know if I've linked to this before, but Todd Klein's blog is thirty kinds of fun. Klein was pretty much THE letterer for DC Comics during my heyday as DC nut. While Bob Lappan is my favourite letterer for the outstanding work he did on the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League series, Klein is pretty much the Bob Dylan of lettering. He still does some stuff, but most comics these days are lettered by computers and robots. He has a series on his blog where he talks about logos, many of which he created.


UPDATE (19/08/08): Dr. Gabor Mate lays it down solid on Clement's "repugnant" comments. (Via Globe & Mail)

mp3: "Oh, Sinnerman" by Black Diamond Heavies

Local Yokels

Sad news...for Vancouver newspaper fans, at least. Frances Bula, formerly of the Sun, has moved on to other things in her life. Don't ask me what, for I do not know. But I'm sure going to miss her blog, City States. During my last five years in Regina, I was borderline obsessed with municipal politics, and City States helped get me up to speed in the who's who and why should I care of Vancouver. Bula's blog complemented her reporting perfecting. The news was news, straightforward and informative. The blog offered insight, background and depth. Blogs are a pretty new feature of the CanWest newspaper line, and most of them aren't worth the paper they're not printed on. But Bula's City States was pretty ace. Hopefully her successor will be up to the standard.

In happier Vancouver news, local cowboy singer Cameron Latimer is finally putting out his debut album, Fallen Apart on Black Hen Records. It's been a long time coming!

mp3: "Empty Saddle" by Cameron Latimer

Cities: Addenda

February's theme here at Bulldozer/Wreckingball was CITIES. Too late we noticed that Caleb Stull of Vancouver's Parlour Steps has posted an interesting essay on his blog regarding The Myth of the Creative City. This is why his band calls themselves thought rock. The Steps have just released their Ambiguoso album in the USA on Nine Mile Records. It's a pretty hot album, full of hot romance, and also "Hot Romance".

mp3: "Hot Romance" by Parlour Steps

All the (Blog) Critics Love U in New York

Don't mean to brag, but they read me in NYC. Yeah, I'm a big shot. I'm awesome. I know. And I'm going to see Jim Gaffigan on Saturday night. Jealous? I don't blame you. And y'know what's weird? I almost never get to watch Conan O'Brien anymore, but I did on Monday night. And y'know who was on? Jim Gaffigan. And you know where Conan is filmed? New York. It's a fact. I don't even have to make this up because it was already true before you even read it.

In the Bad-News-For-Formerly-Balding-Guys Dept., Guy Lafleur plans on turning himself in to authorities on Friday morning.

In the Shit-You-Might-Already-Know Dept., the Moutain Goats are going to be playing at Richard's on Richards on Feb. 22. That's in Vancouver, yo. You can check out the video (speaking of questionable haircuts) for "Sax Rohmer #1" (from the MGs forthcoming album Heretic Pride) RIGHT ABOUT HERE.

mp3: "Up the Wolves" by the Mountain Goats

Things To Do With A Million Dollars in Saskatchewan

A Wheatland librarian made off with $1 million in a fake book scheme. Just think of what he could have done with all that loot!

I'm gonna put on my Ron Petrie hat (which would be a non-ironic--well maybe ironic, but more sarcastic-ironic than hipster-ironic--farmer hat with a patch from an Ituna bait & tackle shop) and list all the things you could in Saskatchewan with an ill-gotten million dollars.

• Bedazzler two blocks of 12th Ave. in Regina and rename it Bedazzlergina.
• Put a down payment on a Yaletown loft.
  
• Hire one-twelfth of the Rolling Stones to play 2-nights at the Vibank curling rink and civic centre.
  
• Secure the naming rights for Moose Jaw's WHL team. New name: the Moose Jaw Cuddlers

That's all I got.

mp3: "Mail Fraud" by the Minor Thirds

2007: The Year That Was

Here's looking at you, dear reader. Even though I didn't start tracking visitor statistics until mid-July, I'm going to pretend that the following data represents all of 2007. Just cuz I can. And because I just rode the bus with Tegan and/or Sara. Of the semi-popular musical group. That's right. Celebrities on public transit.

• Most popular day: Dec. 24th
• Most popular search terms not affiliated with my name: shammes, howling hex, pat fiacco, dome land development, I'm not man or machine I'm just something in between
• My favourite search terms: 2007 are moustaches fashionable, famously nearsighted people, high class in borrowed shoes, how do I act surprised for my party, list of movies about bulldozers
• Favourite search term that was probably just me goofing off: Superman rock & roll hair
• Times I feel like the stats tracker is just a big waste of time: all of them

10 Great Songs 2007 #4: Failure to Some

It feels like it wasn't that long ago that I was posting another song from Cuff the Duke's new album (their third, I think), Sidelines of the City. I remember seeing them open for the Sadies about a million years ago, right after their first album had come out on the sorely-missed Three Gut record label. I had walked in late and CtD was already mid-way through their set. While I heard their album Life Stories from Minimum Wage at that point and was impressed, I wasn't prepared for what I saw. A bunch of kids, a bunch of peach-fuzzed, wide-eyed kids, just pouring out, overflowing soulful country-rock. I was floored and have been a fan ever since. In the time in between then and now, Cuff the Duke have only gotten better and this epic tune from their new album showcases everything that they do well. It's got a solid grounding in that The Band-esque Can-Rock I was talking about earlier, but manages to simultaneously reach for both pop and experimental impulses. It's adventurous and satisfying, like a peanut butter sandwich in a sharktank.

mp3: "Failure to Some" by Cuff the Duke


and hey, check out Minneapolis Fucking Rocks for a jazzed-out Sabbath cover from the Bad Plus that will blow your freaking mind.

Comics Shouldn't Necessarily Be Good

I did something I'm not proud of. I posted a snarky message on a blog about comics. Comics Should Be Good is usually a pretty good blog, though quite often it loses the plot or displays questionable judgment.

To tell the truth, I have no problem with good comics, or even comics that aspire to be good. It's just that the bad ones are usually more fun. Take for example one of my all-time favourite issues, Challengers of the Unknown #87 from 1978. With early, unremarkable art from future awesomizor Keith Giffen, the Challs team up with Deadman and a pre-Alan Moore Swamp Thing in the year 12,000,000 AD to pit battle against the fearsome-sounding Sunset Lords and their hordes of mutants. It was the last issue of the series (the Challs wouldn't be seen again until 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths--another exhilaratingly fun awful comic--and wouldn't get their own title again until future comics superstars Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale did their first work for DC on good-aspirant miniseries in 1991) and included the awesome cut-away map of Challengers' Mountain similar to the one seen here (which is from the 1980s Who's Who). The dialogue is winceworthy and most of the concepts are lifted (as was the trend between '78 and, oh, '86) from Star Wars. It is not, by any sane definition, a "good comic". But I highly recommend it.

Douglas Wolk in his recent Reading Comics, made a case for bad comics in his chapter on The Tomb of Dracula called "The Cheap, Strong Stuff", which jibes with what British comics fans have come to call thrillpower! Most of the stuff in the Showcase Presents line of reprints from DC fits under this umbrella. It was knocked out quickly and cheaply, full of gimmicks, and never aspired to transcend any ridiculous notion of what a comic book should or shouldn't be. They simply were. Comics weren't, and didn't want to be, good until Alan Moore's Watchmen. Oh sure, there were pretentious comics before that, most famously the O'Neil and Adams Green Lantern/Green Arrow run from the late 60s. But even those were, at least, still gimmicky. After Watchmen, comics didn't just want to be good, they wanted to be Important. Yechhh. They wanted to be BIFF! POW! NOT JUST FOR KIDS ANYMORE! And, in that, they succeeded. Not only weren't comics for kids, but they weren't even for human beings anymore.

There's a lot of bad comics out there, but none so willfully awful as All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. Even the publishing schedule of the mag (a full year once passed between issues) makes you want to blow chunks. Blow. Chunks. With each new issue it becomes more repellant, exaggerating the most excruciating elements of the previous issue. It's pretty rad.

Its direct opposite, the Bizarro All Star Batman, if you will, is All Star Superman. Tenderly written by Grant Morrison and gorgeously rendered by Frank Quitely, ASS edifies and revels in the Silver Age gimmickry and goofiness that ASSBATS pretends to abhor and bulldoze over with unchecked MANLINESS.

Compare any issue of All Star Batman with the nearly-universally praised Criminal, a noirish caper mag by generally pretty good Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (who for some reason keeps turning up as an inker on shitty DC superhero books). Even though you may feel more, um, intellectually satisfied after reading Criminal, you'll feel even more intellectually satisfied after reading Crime & Punishment. But All Star Batman touches you in that sick, venal way that only comics can.

All the Kreskin You Can Handle

WFMU's Beware of the Blog is pretty rad, and today (or TOMORROW as the case may be, time zones equalling TIME TRAVEL in this imperfect universe) is no exception. I love the paranormal, even though I don't believe in it--which is possibly what allows me to love it. I do believe in TIME TRAVEL, however, which is why it confounds and disappoints me like an unambitious son. So if you're on the West Coast, and you read this in the next hour TIME TRAVEL with me to WFMU and dig some vintage Kreskin.

Sometimes I Miss Television: Tracking Readers

So there's a new Gordon Ramsay show, and I missed it. It's a US-version of Kitchen Nightmares, and the part of Ramsay is played by Steve Carell. OR IS IT???

Checking in with the reader-tracker for the last week:

Favourite search term leading visitors to this blog: (tie) "rhetorical
terms/comics" and "steven jesse berstein [sic] and explanation of face"
Favourite city to have been read in: San Dimas (excellent!)
Cities in which I continue to be more widely read than my hometown of Regina: Taegu, Kobe, Brooklyn, Viroflay, Calgary, South Gate, Dublin, Pohang
Search term most likely to have led to disappointment: "wrecking ball sound
bites"

irregular service to resume momentarily

So, like, my computer is no longer busted. I no longer have any real estate worries. I finally got the new Howling Hex alb (more on that soon). And my all-time favourite superhero Green Arrow is getting married tomorrow. My take on it is pretty much the same as Batman's.