David Simon on the NSA Outrage →

In the fleury of panic and outrage that sprang from last week's revelations in The Guardian over the NSA collecting huge amounts of telephone and online user data many have largely stopped discussing the topic rationally. Obama is now George W. Bush! and the government is listening to every phone call you make to Pizza Hut! and 1984 is here! Joking aside, much of this story is troubling but the hysteria is an unnecessary impediment between it and truly understanding a complex issue.

David Simon wrote a piece on his blog on Friday, that I largely agree with, that sparked some interesting debate in the article's comments section. As well, he added an additional piece on Saturday copping to the fact that he did not fully understand the online side of the story.

Privacy is important. The discussion in which we weigh the need for secuirty with the protection of civil liberties is important. It's something that needs to occur everywhere, not just in the United States. But the important issue, which is oversight, gets lost when we derail the conversation from the word go by confusing the facts or by playing the hyperbole game.

This American Life on the Climate Change Debate

Although we're stuck with a government with its head in the sand regarding climate change, the vast majority of Canadians agree that human-influenced climate change is happening. In the United States, the public opinion landscape looks very different. Public Radio's This American Life looks at where things stand right now, the difficulty in discussing the issue, and possible solutions.

If you want a bit of insight on the Republican bubble that exists south of the border, this is worth a listen.

Saying Goodbye to The Office

It probably should have ended a couple of seasons ago. Its writing over the past few seasons has been less than stellar and at times has appeared to have no direction. And the Pam & Jim story arc this season had many people pressing the panic button. But even with all those bumps & bruises when NBC's The Office signs off for the last time tonight it will be a sad moment.

At its best it took the awkwardness we loved from the Ricky Gervais original and mixed it with an energy and heart that made it something entirely new. The writing could've been more consistent over the latter seasons but the characters are what kept people coming back for more. Michael's awkward but always good intentioned management style, Dwight's oddball intensity, perhaps the best couple to ever grace our television sets in Jim & Pam, and the diverse & hilarious mix of co-workers over the years, they all made sure there was never a dull moment at Dunder Mifflin Scranton. Few shows have ever had such tremendous mix of actors and chemistry.

Fans will be checking off the laundry list of lasts, scene by scene. The last time Creed says something ridiculous, the last time we get to see those loveable accountants, the last visit to the annex to see what Toby (and Plop) is up to, the last time we get to see Dwight being Dwight, and the last wink to the camera by Jim. It's going to be a night of bittersweet moments.

We'll miss the antics, we'll miss the jokes, but most of all we'll miss the characters.

And it didn't just have an impact on the fans.

2012 Year-End Review: Film

A Brief Note on Criteria

For release dates I use IMDB. There's a shocking lack of consistency with year-end lists when it comes to release year. A movie that was released at a film festival in 2011 is a 2011 movie, whether or not you were at that film festival is irrelevant. The first time I saw "To Kill a Mockingbird" was in December, it will not appear on my Top 10 list for 2012.

The Top 10 Films of 2012

1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Holy Motors
4. The Master
5. Skyfall
6. Django Unchained
7. Lincoln
8. Amour
9. The Avengers
10. The Imposter

Honourable Mention (Alphabetical Order)

Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, End of Watch, Prometheus, Safety Not Guaranteed, Searching for Sugar Man, Silver Linings Playbook.

The Awards

• Best Picture - Moonrise Kingdom
• Best Animated Feature - Brave
• Best Documentary - The Imposter
• Best Foreign Language Film - Holy Motors
• Best Director - Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom)
• Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
• Best Actress - Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
• Best Supporting Actress - Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)
• Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
• Best Cinematography - Roger Deakins (Skyfall)

More Awards

• Worst Movie - The Dictator
• Best Worst Movie - Battleship
• Biggest Surprise - Safety Not Guaranteed
• Biggest Disappointment - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Best Opening - Dr. Shultz meets Django (Django Unchained)
• Best Ending - Where Do You Want To Go? (Zero Dark Thirty)
• Best Scene - Freddie & Lancaster Dodd in Jail (The Master)
• Best Performance in a Bad Movie - Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)
• Worst Performance in a Good Movie - Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)

Don't Blame the NHL Lockout on Donald Fehr →

There's been lots of talk about how horrible it is to be a fan of a league where millionaires are fighting billionaires, and the result is we can't watch hockey. To say that is unfair. This isn't a fight where both sides are equally to blame. There's a narrative that's been masterly put out there by the NHL (and some sports journalists), that NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr is hurting the league like he hurt baseball. Which is total baloney, and Grantland's Charles P. Pierce does a great job of illustrating that:

“This prompted the most hilarious piece of impromptu theater yet, when Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner in charge of coat-holding, declared that a five-year limit on contracts was “the hill we will die on.”

Of course, Daly was hoping that people wouldn’t notice that the NHL already has built a lovely Tudor-style manse on that hill, with an Olympic-size pool and a five-car garage. For example, the Minnesota Wild celebrated the Fourth of July last summer by signing Zach Parise to a 13-year deal. Suddenly, five years is Cemetery Ridge? The owners, who got practically everything they wanted the last time they blew off a season, once again are asking the players to bail them out because (a) they were stupid in the way they sited their franchises, and (b) some of them were stupid enough to offer deals so long that the contracts will reach puberty before they expire”

— Charles P. Pierce

This is essentially what this lockout boils down to. The NHL owners want the players to bail them out of a mess they created. They know Donald Fehr won't allow that to happen so there's been a publicity campaign to paint him as the problem. There's even reports that Fehr just being in the negotiating room is now a no-go for the league.

With all the talk about Fehr's past in MLB. I think it's important to remember something. MLB is far from a perfectly run league, as illustrated by the existence of Jeffrey Loria, but they've had labour peace now for longer than any other league has. Why? Because the players won a major victory during the 1994-95 work-stoppage. Fans might still be mad about about the 1994 strike, but at least we're not looking down the barrel of another missed World Series. When the owners realize that the expiration of current and future CBAs are not just another opportunity to fix their mistakes by penalizing the players, we won't have to live through more seasons like this. That's why Donald Fehr scares the owners, and that's why they continue to blame this mess on him. We shouldn't buy the nonsense they're selling.