Politics Hates the Internet: Stephen Harper is a Phony

Check out this video from 2003 of current Prime Ministerial candidate Stephen Harper regurgitating nearly the exact same speech that then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard gave 2 days prior.

I wonder where these two li'l Amerifans got the copy for their political marketing to make a case for a hurried and unnecessary war. Well, Howard got run out of office in 2007 by Australians - and Canadians should do the same with Harper. Despite the act he's putting on during the last 20 days, Stephen Harper is not your friend, and he is does not represent the values of Canadians.

Sorry for the influx of politically-themed posts on popgunning these days. I'm trying to resist, but there's just so much absurdity infused into both the Canadian and American elections. As it happens the internet has the most adept tools for rooting out and highlighting all this insanity. I promise I'll at least try to balance them out with 2x as many fun posts about movies and such.

One last thing...Stephen Harper shakes his son's hand when he drops him off at school.

Poor John McCain: He's Not A President

Poor ol' Johnny. He doesn't know how to run a campaign, and he's increasingly showing it.

I predict a frazzled and unprepared McCain tonight who is decidedly crushed by Obama.

If McCain doesn't lose this election, it will be no fault of his own.

Let's play him one of his favourite songs. A classic tune, and appropriately, a bit of funeral march:



And yes, Obama picking Nina Simone's Sinnerman as one of his Top10 songs is the coolest thing a politician will ever do.

Canadian Game Shows: The True North Strong And Cheap

[contestants on Canadian game shows] “always seemed to have moles and goiters and were filmed with cameras that were won in games of Rock, Paper, Scissors with Fidel Castro.” - Douglas Coupland

Yes, they were definitely made on the cheap, featured homely contestants, and starred lame hosts, but Canadian Game Shows of the 70s, 80s, and even 90s had a charm and watchability unmatched by glitzy American shows of today and yesteryear.

Decide for yourself. Check out these videos of my favourite shows:

Just Like Mom:


Bumper Stumpers:


Kidstreet:


There's one I can't remember though. It featured a panel of "celebrities" who are handed an object and each offer their interpretation of what it actually is, then the contestants have to guess whose story is the truth. I think it aired around the mid-80s. It's maybe the best of them all - or perhaps the worst. Anybody know it?

One thing's for sure. The prizes on Canadian shows couldn't hold a candle to their American counterparts. It was always a set of luggage or maybe a train trip to Ottawa, or check out the fancy prizes "Guess What" offers up in the beginning of this clip.

Perfunctory Movie Review: Ghost Town - Actually Not That Bad

Yeah, after seeing the trailer, me and you both thought that Ghost Town was the new Ghost Dad.

Well, I saw it, and we were wrong.


Ghost Town is the new Heart & Souls. Check out a scene from Robert Downey Jr.'s pre-redeem movie past:



Yup, Ghost Town made me crack up and tear up more than Heart & Souls and Field of Dreams put together. Ricky Gervais is hilarious as always and it's a simple and nicely directed picture. Best feel good movie since The Dream Team.

Best Song Ever of the Week: Why?

WHY? - The Hollows [click for MP3] from the album Alopecia. Kaleidoscopic folk rap for nerds and music nerds alike.

This song just kills it. Perfect fall listening. Right up there with the best work of TV on the Radio and Menomena.

"Oh no, those Gypsies probably got knives."

Style Over Substance: Mad Men Wins an Emmy

So yeah, Mad Men won Emmys for Best Drama Series and Best Writing for a Drama Series last night. Not that these kind of awards necessarily signify any measure of actual 'bestness', but it confirms that Mad Men is becoming one of those shows that "you have to watch". I don't know about that.

Yes, it's okay not to like this show.

Sure, Mad Men has a place in this new golden age of TV drama, but I think the praise the show is receiving of late is a bit confused.

There is a definite allure to the show, but the more I watch, the more it seems like all gesture and posture, but no significance. Maybe that's what happens when set and costume design take the forefront ahead of characters and story.

Don't get me wrong, there are some great characters in the show (Don Draper and Peggy Olson for example). But the show relies on suggestion and subtelty to the point where ambiguity becomes meaninglessness. Sometimes haunting stares and vague (a/imm)moralisms aren't enough to forge characters and stories that an audience can connect with or get lost in - rather than just admire or pity.

Worsening this effect, the sheer number of characters further dilutes storylines and creates another (unintended) layer of ambiguity - and that much ambiguity, that's not narrative tension, that's surplus.

There's a lot of other flaws to Mad Men, but I'll let you revel in the rest. Just remember though, you don't "have to watch." It's not that we're not "getting it" - sometimes there's just nothing to get.

Plus, Revolutionary Road is coming out soon and it looks like it might better satisfy our hunger for some mid-20thC soul crushing blues. Directed by Jarhead's Sam Mendes (his other movie doesn't exist in my world). Starring Kate and Leo. Yes, that Kate and Leo!