TV Star or Scar?

Just a quick update on my friend S.
On Monday, CTV news aired an interview with S to give details of her attack that occurred over a week before. S (CTV does give her name, but to give her some privacy, I won't here) and a friend were out to rent a movie (at that video store in the photo) and they were swarmed by a group of girls, they proceeded to kick, punch and jump on her head saying they would kill her and break her neck. To try to escape the beating, she ran into oncoming traffic only to have cars swerve around her and avoided the call for help for someone in trouble. A family with kids finally did stop and the attack ended, leaving S with various injuries. The good news is that S looks and sounds really good and she seems to be taking this whole thing quite well.

What kind of bugs me is this incident wasn't mentioned on any other media (newspaper, radio or other TV networks) and it probably only aired then because of the death of Erin Pawlowski, the 35 year-old North Ender that was returning home from work and was beaten at a bus stop on Selkirk Ave two Thursday's ago (he died of his injuries this Monday). The suspects of S's case are 5 girls estimated to be 14 years old, my question is, have the police been investigating this before the news report or do they consider this a waste of time?

Another Fine Week

Earlier this week I was suppose to meet a friend of mine for lunch to discuss plans for a project this summer we are co-coordinating. Well, I was shocked to hear she couldn't make it because she was the victim of an assault, she and a friend were attacked as they took a Sunday evening stroll down Main Street. This wasn't the scary part of Main St. near the Northern Hotel (close to Selkirk Ave.) or downtown, nope, this was north of Inkster when it turns into one of the Kildonan's, a seemingly quiet area. Twenty years ago I used to hang out at the North Main Sals for late night coffee, pie and card games (as well as watch my girlfriend and her pals chain-smoke) for hours.

She was attacked by a group of teenage (probably underage) girls who proceeded to beat and kick the crap out of her, totally unprovoked. Before I go on I should mention she (I'll call her "S") had no crap in her to start with, S is a sweet, kind person who is not threatening in any way, probably all the more reason to target her. S was left with a broken leg and multiple facial injuries, she felt she was lucky because she wasn't killed, as they tried to snap her neck and smash her head. I'm sure she has never experienced anything like this before, physically she'll recover, but emotionally it will take longer, but I know she has a real strong character and drive, so she'll be alright. Oh, and of course they took her purse, I'm not sure if this was the incentive, the reason they attacked her or if it was the added bonus after they satisfied their thirst for blood. All week this incident has caused much bitterness in my mind, If I feel all this anger towards this stupid senseless act, how does her family and friends feel?

Like many Winnipegger's, there is a feeling of frustration with our justice system. S's uncle told me that the police said to her it was pointless to pursue any action against the assailants because the law (yet again!) can't touch them. Too young, means at most a slap on the wrist. Our city has been plagued with a huge rash of car thefts by young offenders and the public outcry hit it's peak after a stolen car of boys aged 13 to 16 ran down a jogger on Wellington Cres. It's one thing to repeatedly steal cars, but now attempted murder is added to the game. Obviously these kids treat the law as a joke with no clue of how their actions affect the lives of others and until they face some cold hard reality, they won't stop. If the police force's lackadaisical attitude towards young offenders continues, we shouldn't be surprised when citizen's start to take the law into their own hands. On the same day I talked to S, I watched a report on the news about a website that was letting it's viewer's express their anger towards crime in our city. The site Winnipegtheft.com had published the names of the youth that ran over the jogger (actually someone posted a news clip on YouTube that posted the names, the YouTube video is now unavailable), and technically since there is a law that prohibits the publication of the names of criminals under a certain age, the police are thinking about taking legal action. So I'm wondering, should we name all criminals no matter their age or at least name repeat offenders that didn't learn the first time? Try to guess which way I'm leaning? Let me know what you think.

NHL Playoffs = Red Eyes At Work

Did anyone watch all the Canucks/Stars game on Wednesday? This game ended at about the 18 minute mark of the Fourth overtime with the Canucks taking game 1. I ended up watching the 3rd and 4th overtimes in bed (I have a TV there), but drifted off just enough to miss the goal. When I opened my eyes at 4:00am CST, I saw Mansbridge reading the (old) news on the National. How can I dedicate watching 7 periods of hockey and then miss the overtime goal? It's like reading most of a mystery novel without finding out who did it cause the last pages are missing. Oh well, that's why they have highlights on the Sports News and for the modern fan, YouTube.

Got to warn you, I may talk about the Playoffs a lot on this blog, so if you have any predictions or observations thus far, please leave a comment. Also the Moose start their Playoff run next week..GO Moose!!

War Games - The Complete Version

I know this is a stupid post, but I found this in my Inbox:

To all viewers who contacted us about the movie WarGames
Please note that Programming has rescheduled the movie to air in its entirety on April 19, 9 pm ET: http://www.visiontv.ca/Programs/movies.html

Thank you for watching VisionTV

VisionTV
Audience Relations
www.visiontv.ca

This is in reply from my January 30th posting about how VisionTV cut the last few minutes of that 80's classic WarGames. Yup, it's not groundbreaking news, but I thought you all should see this update. Kudos to VisionTV for listening, but unfortunately for them watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs is taking priority in my TV watching schedule for the next few months.

Canada vs US- Was There Any Doubt?

The Women's World Hockey Championship has been taking place here in Winnipeg for the past week and it all comes to a close Tuesday night with the Gold Medal game featuring Canada and the US, yet again. I went to the playoff round robin game between those two teams and it was without doubt the most exciting game I've seen this year at the MTS Centre. Canada won that game 5-4 in a shootout, it was a back and forth see-saw battle that should add to the fire for Tuesday's sold-out final. I hate to say this, but Canada and the US are so dominant that they both have shutout all their other opponents, except when they've played each other (actually the US let in one goal against China 9-1), problem is that it leads to fairly boring one-sided hockey games. Maybe they should skip all the preliminaries and have just a Canada/US best of 7 final, I think that's what the people really want.

During the intermission at Saturday's Canada/US game, they brought out the 1990 Gold Medal team (Vicky Sunohara is the only current Canadian player from that team) for a reunion to celebrate the first World Championship that was played in Ottawa. Back then Canada beat teams 17-0, 18-0, in the preliminary round (3 games) they out-scored their opposition 50-1. They went on to beat the US in the final 5-2. To commemorate this event the 2007 Canada team wore their original Pink style jerseys from 1990, I guess the idea back then is it had to be girly so Pink it was, it is now the much more intimidating RED. If you want to own a game-worn jersey from that game, the individual player jersey's are up for auction from Hockey Canada on eBay.

For all you hometown Jennifer Botterill fans, I found her High School grad photo circa' 1997 from St. John's Ravenscourt, before she attended Harvard. She is definitely the best female hockey player to ever come out of Winnipeg.

Good Luck! go Canada!!

Please, I Need A Laptop!

Sorry for the long hiatus, it was Spring Break, yet I didn't go to Mexico or Fort Lauderdale or take any time off work. My excuse, I got less computer time. Yes, the kid's have nothing better to do on their Spring Break except chat on MSN, check their e-mail's continuously, update their postings on Facebook/MySpace and play endless hours of computer (video) games. They stayed up later, which meant less time for my late night ramblings, I've gotten so tired waiting for a turn that I've been going to bed in record time.

One solution is portability. A laptop I could take into my room or take to a coffee shop or take to work (maybe not a good idea?), somewhere where I can write and post instantly instead of waiting until 2am. It doesn't need to be too fancy, some basic bells and whistles, the ability to still download and burn music would be good and I already have a external hard drive for extra space. Any donations or recommendations for a cheap laptop would be graciously appreciated.

Live At The Academy, Winnipeg Style

I've posted a quick review and some mp3's of Jesse's show from last Thursday night March 1 on my other blog, Teenage Dogs In Trouble. If you love indie (and not so indie) music this might be the site for you, I try to keep that blog exclusively about music and music related stuff. I listen to music on a daily basis, so my Ipod is full of the newest releases (..and leaked upcoming releases), so it gives me great pleasure to share my thoughts and recommendations with the world. If there's any bands or upcoming shows I might be interested, please let me know..I'm a bit of a music geek.

Thursday Night Live!

If your in the mood for some live music on a Thursday night (March 1st), drop by the Academy Bar and Eatery before 8:00pm as Jesse Miki and friends will perform. Jesse's friends' will probably include his sister, Alex and Leif, from Locker 369,( who he's opening for) and it promises to be an interesting mix of rock, jazz, folk and whatever.

There's probably a minimal cover charge, but get there early as both these groups have a large (student) fan following. Hopefully I'll have some photos to post in the next few days, as well as some sound samples if I record the show.

Kibo - The Wrap-up! Part 2

If you don't know what the Kibo concert was all about or you don't live in Winnipeg here's a some background. I know this might be boring some people (sorry), so this is the last post on the subject, then I'll get on with my life.

On Saturday, rehearsals began at 10:00am and ran through until late afternoon. I arrived at the Theatre around 10:30am and drank as much coffee as I could before practicing our piece. The finale rehearsal ran smoothly despite many changes and add-ons on how to finish the finale. The whole show seemed so surreal, I never felt any panic or nervousness, but instead an almost serene feeling. I guess this was in part because our piece was so close to the beginning and it didn't have time to let the anxiety build. It sure felt nice that I didn't have to stage manage or worry about other performers.

One of my favourite parts of the evening was the intermission, I went out to the lobby to see if there was anyone I knew that came to watch. Apart from the usual family, I spoke to my ex-prof from University, artist Ivan Eyre, he was shocked to see me on stage. Not only is Ivan one of Canada's most well-known artists, he's a great person, teacher and very humble. I also briefly spoke to a few of my sister's friend's, Kathy and Tannis, as well as a bunch of customers' from the store I work at. After the intermission, Shayna and I grabbed some drinks and returned to the balcony to take in the second half of the show.

After the concert, the performers were invited to the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre for some Chinese food and drink. When I say drink, I don't mean beer or wine but Sake! This was a great way to wind down after a long tiring day, I of course resisted the urge to indulge too much (the weather was a little rough that night), but instead enjoyed blasking in our brief triumph. While the Taiko performers noisily chugged Sake, I sipped Coke's and enjoyed catching up with my pal Sumi, from the Aurora Dance group.

As I said yesterday, the show went off pretty much without a glitch, it would have been nicer to have a full house, but at least we had the opportunity to perform in the grand Pantages Playhouse Theatre. The big stage, the blinding lights and the crystal clear sound could become addictive for a performer, I had never appeared on a stage larger than the West End Cultural Centre (unless you count grade 8 band at the Centennial Concert Hall), and I would welcome the opportunity to do something like this again. It was fun, but it's time to move on to the next project.
The photos on stage are from the rehearsal in the afternoon, while the group photos were taken before and after the show.

Kibo - The Review? Part 1

Since the Winnipeg Free Press has their continued fascination (ass-kissing) with celebrities, giving washed up actor/wannabee rocker, Dennis Quaid yet more front page exposure in Sunday's paper, of course they failed to mention anything about the Kibo concert. Not that I was really expecting much, but since the Free Press was one of their major corporate sponsors, I thought they might write a review or at least publish a photo from the show.

The audience was told before the show, "no photos will be allowed during the performance!", so any quality pictures from the show will be rare and hard to come by (let me know if you have any good photos from the show, especially during the Brent/Geoff/Shayna song). I remembered to bring my camera, so I attempted to take as many photos as possible. After performing my piece with Shayna and Brent, I snuck up to the front row of the balcony and snapped away... sans flash, the result was some very blurry shots. The zoom on my camera doesn't really have much zoom, so the least blurry shots are the more distant looking. Earlier in the day during dress rehearsal, I took the opportunity to take some closer-up photos as well as some casual candids. My regret is that I didn't get any decent shots of the out of town performers, Kaoru Watanabe, Shoji Kameda and Chieko Kojima. All the other performers in the show had to make their way backstage for the finale piece, so I missed virtually all of their dance, drum and flute performance, I was told their piece was incredible, and I managed to get a glimpse of Chieko's dance from the side of the stage.

Overall I think the show was a success, I'm not sure how much money was raised or how many seats were sold. The middle section on the floor was full, but the left and right sections were only full half way up, then there was several rows of empty seats, but the last couple of rows ($35 tickets) were occupied. The balcony was closed to the public, but many of the performers found their way up from backstage. Rumor has it the show was being video recorded (from the balcony beside the sound/lighting table) and may be distributed to the performers which I'm surely looking forward to.

There were many highlights, as previously mentioned Chieko, Shoji and Kaoru were great, Hinode Taiko were busy with their own numbers (including one I haven't seen before, Stress, which even drew some laughs) as well as a collaboration with the Aurora Dancers on V.

The Aurora Dancers probably had the most stage time from beginning to end. The beauty of their pieces and the calm gentleness of their movements always finds a soft spot in my heart.

Musically, the show was solid, Michael Oike is truly gifted, a professional pianist who performed some Schumann as well as accompanying his niece, Alex Allen, who danced to a piece called, Hitori Botchi, Yuugata no uta.

Singer Shayna Paulicelli belted out First Love, a song in Japanese and English, she has an amazing voice and look for big things from her in the very near future (can we say Canadian Idol?). Shayna also joined Brent and myself for Okaasan no uta, which is a fairly haunting, yet quite lovely song. It was a pleasure to play guitar for these two talented singers, I think it sounded okay, except for when the sound cut out at the beginning of the guitar intro. I had accidentally pulled the cord out of the DI (direct input) box at the side of the stage when it snagged on one of the layers of curtains. Special thanks to Pam Okano for thinking of me for the guitar part.

An interesting element to the evening was the readings that members of the community gave in honor of a grandparent or relative. As Wayne Sato, Karleen Manchanda, Russell Kunz, and Kristen and Stacey Matsumoto each read their relative's profile, images flashed behind them to give some insight and perspective to the audience. The use of the images on screen were most effective in the first piece of the night, Hajime ni ("in the beginning")- "out of hardship and dislocation, a community is born and thrives. The roots of Manitoba's Japanese-Canadian community are outlined in this multi-artist, multimedia creation developed for the concert" (as quoted from the program book).

The photos posted today are from the actual show (again I apologize for the blurriness), in the next posting I'll display some group shots and some behind the scene rehearsal photos.

Can't Get Enough Of The Office

Always seem to jump on the bandwagon late, I watch movies from rental stores that are already on 7 day rental and finally watch Oscar award winning movies years later. Same goes for TV, I have never watched Lost, 24, Grey's Anatomy, House, Heroes, or Dancing With Stars.

One show that has me completely hooked is the Office (US version). This Christmas I received the first season on DVD (only one disc) and I couldn't stop watching it, I ran out and rented a disc from season two and then luck would have it, my daughter traded (borrowed) the complete season 2 for me to burn (oops, I mean make a back-up copy). I've been attempting to watch as many new episodes as possible, but you know how it is to try to find time, every week. I presently have the first ten episodes from season 3 on my computer to catch up. If you haven't seen this show, trust me it's addicting, it's one of those shows where the awkward silences and eye-rolls will have you busting a gut with laughter, it's brilliant! Steve Carell is perfect as the goofy boss of the Dunder Mifflin paper supply company in this mockumentary-style parody of water cooler culture. Check out the NBC-The Office site for highlights, previews, episode guides, webisodes and other goodies if you have lots of time to kill.

Here are some select Fansite's for The Office
Dwight Shrute's Schrute-Space
LITO:Fansite for the Office
OfficeTally: the Office Fansite of the Office

These are some of the character (actor/actress) myspace.com sites. (very cool!)
Pam Beesley/myspace (Jenna Fischer)
BJ Novak/myspace (Ryan the Temp)
Kevin Malone/myspace
Creed/myspace
Toby/myspace
Melora Hardin/myspace (Jan Levinson)
Meredith/myspace

Kibo: Special Deal

Remember I was concerned about the high ticket prices for the Kibo fundraiser concert on February 24th, lo and behold Ticketmaster has now offered a student rate for $20 per ticket. I don't know if there are any students that read this blog (or anyone for that matter?) or any students that are interested in this type of show. When tickets are discounted the week of the show, I always have mixed feelings. How about all the people that paid the full price, will they feel ripped off? If you buy a $50 pair of jeans then find out it's on sale for less than half price, I would feel slightly pissed. Usually when shows try to sell off seats it's the last row corner's or the back of the balcony. These discounted seats are still the best available, as good or better than the $50 version. It's clear that sales haven't gone as well as predicted, so plan B is to get as many bodies as possible to fill the building. Which isn't a bad idea, as who wants to perform to a half empty hall. On Ticketmaster's site you just have to type the words, HUMANRIGHTS in the special offer box to receive your special price. To be honest, if I wasn't a student I would still try to get this offer because how will they know if your a student or not. As of Wed. 7:00pm, the available "special deal" seats are still outstanding (row 10 middle). Good luck!

Practice, Practice, Practice!

There are only 4 days until the Kibo concert and all I can think about is practice. It seems quite simple, play one three minute song then I'm done, I can pack up and go home if I want, but really it's more complicated than that. I'm playing guitar for vocalists Shayna and Brent, both youngster's with years of stage experience, I haven't been on stage for over a year and I have never performed in such a large venue, like Pantages Theatre.

Shayna was the lead in Grant Park High School's (my old school!) production of Ragtime this past December at the Burton Cummings Theatre, and she has many musical theatre shows and singing competition's on her resume.

Brent recently performed (acted) in the play Arcadia, as part of the StoppardFest and in early March he is off to the New York Frigid Fest to perform his play, Jesus Christ, I'm Sorry. The three of us played the song only once on Sunday during the Kibo show rehearsals and we won't have a chance again until the day of the show, as Brent is away until Friday.
My guitar part is fairly simple and repetitive, but I have to set the speed and tempo. The challenge for both of them is the language, they have to sing this song in Japanese and harmonize together, a lot trickier than singing solo to recorded music.
Oh well, I suppose I should return to my bedroom and play Obaachan No Uta again and again, I tend to practice it a couple of times then proceed to play other stuff for hours. I guess that's a good thing, I'm starting to write songs again and I'm getting the urge to find some gigs and perform again, either with Zamboni Joe or solo...stay tuned.

Our Hope, Our Future?

One project I'm involved with is the upcoming KIBO concert on Saturday February 24th at the Pantages Theatre in downtown Winnipeg. Kibo ("Our Hope, our future") is a celebration of Nikkei spirit and artistry that features international performers from Japan and Los Angeles, as well as local artists. The Manitoba Japanese Canadian Citizens' Association, with the combined efforts of the Manitoba Japanese Cultural Centre and the National Association of Japanese Canadians are hosting this gala event to help raise funds for the proposed Canadian Museum Of Human Rights.

If you love Taiko drums you should enjoy this show, Winnipeg's Hinode Taiko will be joined by Chieko Kojima and Kaoru Watanabe of Kodo from Japan as well as Shoji Kameda from On ensemble from Los Angeles.

Local performers include the Aurora Dancers, pianist Michael Oike, singers Brent Hirose and Shayna Paulicelli and myself on guitar. I have previously written about Brent, Shayna and Aurora in past postings on this site (August archives), while there is info about Michael on the Kibo page. I'm not totally sure about the overall format of the show, but I know there will be photo images projected in the background that follow the history of the Japanese Canadian journey from the end of WWII to the present. There will be a lot of familiar faces flashed on the screen combined with drums, dancing, music, martial arts and spoken word, so brace yourself for a complete multi-media extravaganza.

I almost forgot to mention tickets! They are available through Ticketmaster or better yet call or drop by the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (180 McPhillips) as they are selling a limited number of tickets, so you can avoid the ridiculous "Ticketbastard" agency fees. As of right now, there are great seats still available and prices are $50 and $35. A quick check at Ticketmaster tells me that the first row left and right sections are still open, $35 seats are only the last three rows on the floor and that balcony is not open, this may change if they sell out the floor.

I don't know if I'm just cheap, but the ticket prices are a bit on the steep side, I don't like to even spend twenty dollars to see a band I like a lot, so to spend fifty it has to be special. I suppose people spend upwards of 40-80 bucks no problem for mid-range popular acts and over a hundred for classic rockers such as the Who, Eric Clapton or Van Morrison. This Kibo show is different though, it's a fundraiser/showcase, a reflection of the talents within our community. I'm not sure if her highness Ms. Asper will be in attendance, as I really hope she can experience in person the efforts this organization has put forth and I hope we can at least raise enough money to maybe pay for one window on that grand Museum at the Forks.

VisionTV Sucks!!!

As I was flipping channels, I stumbled upon the 1983 movie WarGames starring a pre-Ferris Bueller's Matthew Broderick as a young computer whiz kid who starts a countdown to World War 3 when he accidentally hacks into a secret super computer. Is it a game..or is it real? A movie that gives young viewer's a glimpse of how much computers have shrunk in size since the 80's.

I thought what the hell I should watch this, I've never really seen the whole thing, and the 2 hours won't kill me, yet it was pretty lame by today's "high standards". As this movie reached it's climax, as it counted down to mass destruction (missile attack), 4, 3, 2, 1...then the TV screen splits the screen in half. On the left side, it plays advertisements for this station's upcoming programs, much like when they show the credits at the end of movies on TV and they shrink the credits so you can't read them. On the right side of the screen, the movie played on...it seemed everyone was celebrating, but I couldn't completely tell because the audio was cut for the commercials. A minute later the screen returned to full size and the movie resumed. Celebration turned to panic when the computer tried to launch the missile's itself, but first it had to crack the military's 10 number code. It was another race against time as David (Broderick) played tic-tac-toe against the computer to confuse it into a draw...the final number was cracked by the computer, David typed something, then....ZING! The next program started! Emily Of New Moon, it was 10:00pm! They completely cut the film right at the most climatic point of this whole movie! I was outraged. It was like cutting off a hockey game in overtime with a team on a breakaway. I ran to the computer and fired off this actual e-mail to VisionTV.

subject: your station sucks!!!

Hey, what the hell happened to WAR GAMES!! During the climax of the movie (at the top of the hour) your crappy station CUT the end of the movie, not the credits but the CLIMAX of the movie. What type of two-bit, second rate station are you running...better stick to Sunday school programs instead of "real" movies!! Maybe if you guys didn't interrupt the program with SO many commercials you can show a WHOLE movie.

I have a vision your station won't last very long!

So long forever,
Your dissatisfied ex-viewer!!!

I know, I probably overreacted, but someone has to say something, I hate it when TV or radio stations take their audience for granted, does someone in Toronto flip a switch at the top of the hour or is everything automated? What's with this VisionTV anyways? According to their website, it's Canada's (and the World's) only multi-faith network, their "cornerstone" programs shown during prime-time focus on "spirituality" in it's broadest possible content, and their shows range from Neon Rider, Little House On The Prairie and for some reason, Party Of Five (a photo of Neve Campbell always makes me feel better).

I urge you to take action when you feel riped-off, this might be minor, but I'm pissed!! Ask VisionTV (audience@visiontv.ca) what happened to the end of WarGames, I bet they don't have a clue about what you're talking about.