I looked into it, Westmount has a showing of spiderman at 10:10pm tomorrow, which is what gets my vote. Failing that, Galaxy has shows at 9:45 and 10:40, and South Edmonton has shows at 9:45 10:15 and 10:45.

as far as I know, it was Ralph Nader sending that letter. I got it through the Edmonton Small Press Association. It disappointed me too. I mean, really, the man ran as a Green, and said nothing of the Greens in his letter to Canadian voters. At least we've got the benefit that this election granted $1.75 per vote if the vote for a party was greater than 2% of the total votes cast. (Hooray for the Greens! over 4%!). But Ralph didn't say a single stinking word about the greens, or the other "other" parties. Maybe he's learned a lesson from his last presidential run, but I'd have hoped he wouldn't end up as cynical as all that. ... although it is good to be reminded of the evils of the Fraser Institute... I always forget... the fact that they're in BC makes me think they're a friendly lovable animal, and then someone shouts at me about their vehemently pro-capitalism stance and I start to remember...

Well, anyway, maybe he was just trying to raise some alarmist ire amongst Canadians, to warn us of where we could end up (always good to hear somebody say), and to suggest we smarten up (or maybe he should've said Think Twice, Vote Once for all it was worth... probably made more people vote Liberal, or just stay home...).

oh, speaking of elections, did anyone else experience the ease of voting that I did with those handy little cards they sent in the mail? No checking of ID or anything. Do you realize how easy it would be to defraud that system? Sure, the ballots are all pencil marks in circles, but if you stole a bunch of those voter cards and only had to present that, no ID, you could travel to EVERY polling station in the city and cast a vote... I think Al Capone said it best: vote early and vote often; perhaps the new mantra of the federal election... Even if mail theft is a federal offense, it'd be damn hard to track... all one day, all piles of paper, you'd just have to make sure your "victims" weren't going to vote anyway...

doesn't anyone do work at their jobs anymore? at least this link is related to my job...

yeah shit Alison!! Moore totally should made more mention of comparing the United States with Japan! i just totally said the same thing to my brother on the weekend. Moore's justification for this was that Canadian and American culture are similar JUST enough that the one control variable, attitudes towards guns, was the only real difference between the two. Thing is though the gun stats don't compare properly- who's to say that if Canada had the same number of big cities with similar problems of racial segregation that our numbers of gun deaths wouldn't be comparable? if he wanted a more fair comparison, why didn't he just compare two major cities- my segestion Buffalo and Toronto. then we'll see who really locks their doors.

ooo things are getting political on the board. time to pull out the Me-esque styles- kidding, thanks Tom

Moore. Beckers, i think i sorta know what you mean when you say "everything in that movie is 100% factual" as in, all the events and characters are real and not fictional.
Yes, he has a whole legal squad triple checking his work- the facts of the film specifically and as far as i know he's never been sued for presenting incorrect facts. but as Alison and gang pointed out you have to remember that Moore does take liberties (you can call them chances too) with the way he edits the film (and i agree with Tom, film's got to be entertaining at least). for example in Bowling for Columbine Charlton Heston is seen raving about "prying the gun from his cold dead hands" while Moore narrates over top that the NRA showed up in Columbine ten days after the shooting- now Moore doesn't actually say THIS footage was taken of that NRA meeting 10 days after the shooting- in fact it was taken a year afterwards- but the former is the impression that Most people got. Moore doesn't actually deliver incorrect or False facts, but he does use real ones to his own advantage (also Heston's speech was SORTA taken out of context- i emplore you to check out the original transcript) Lots of people kinda felt cheating by this kind of editing- but that's where you have to make up your own mind. though its assembly is question i frankly think there's nothing particularly wrong with it- so fuckin' what if Heston didn't say what he said 10 days after the shooting- he said it anyways. he might say that shit at every meeting. i for one agree with Moore that the NRA has become the mouthpiece of a gun crazed nation, instead of the remotely respectable organization it once was (remember Moore grew up and still is a member of the NRA)

The thing that Moore would probably disagree with you Beckers is, if you remember Moore's interview from the Corporation, is the fact that the film WOULD have survived this long and gotten the same distribution Even if it had more questionable inconsistencies because ultimately it's about the bottom line, and plenty of people are going to see it. It's all just about the money. Miramax doesn't give a shit that this film could ruin the tax breaks for parent Disney in Florida- they're just looking at the returns for shareholders and profitability. and this is all well and good for Moore, because well fuck, maybe it will do some good in ousting Bush- which is ultimately the real intent of the film. to return to Tom's sentiment i think this discussion should not devolve into painting Moore simply as a propagandist- Moore's giving you his (granted, slanted) point of view, and AT LEAST you know what that point of view is. his recent films have been openning points for discussion which is more than can be said for every other film maker right now (fuck you Goddard), so i think that's a major difference from being a propagandist.

Tony: oh yeah shit. Count me down for your party. it's gonna rock.
back to Moore. so the film gets really graphic? shit- see this is a trademark for Moore that i sorta take issue with. Bowling's execution scenes, the rabbits in Roger & Me - he always just fuckin' throws that shit in there.. i think of these scenes in the same way Finkleman thought of Saving Private Ryan- the violence is pornographic. i guess there's greater justification for the Roger & Me scene, but yeah i thought some of the stuff in Bowling for Columbine was questionable.

Moore related: What the fuck is up with Ralph Nader?! was that actually a real letter from the man himself? Four years ago Michael Moore tried to convince Nader to urge his voters to vote Gore (a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush), but Nader held his ground saying that in a system of democracy persons should not sway from voting for the candidate they believe in. i think that was the right move, and i don't see how it would have made much difference in the end either way. but what's this i see: "Don't indirectly vote for the Fraser Institute and its positions of anti-law and order for corporations -- policies threatening to become your future government's policies." What the fuck? so now it's all good to go try out some strategic voting? i HATE strategic voting because it's the elimination of your real choice by most often single factors. if one party (or even one candidate running for PM) can disrupt your choice, where does your choice really stand?

Lastly, Bullshit filters, Subjectivity and trust of Self. i won't go into it very much since it would take much too long, but the Post-structualist would argue that you Cannot even trust yourself. if the Self is born and developed within culture and a system of knowledge, how can the Self be any more reliable than an outside source (science, religion) ? i think it's an important question because when people think of what they know they don't normally consider that they're actually instilling faith in themselves. i mean after all, how is it that one decides Where the boundaries of their Bullshit stand? and how can we trust ourselves that these are the right places to keep them

all this "alison is right" stuff could really make my head swell...
but thanks all the same


new topic!
it's a good thing my bullshit detector does work, honest. There's so much crap going around, it's important that you realize what's actually real, and what's not. It's like watching TV news: stories are different from station to station (even if it's the same event), and the same goes for the newspaper and radio (for damn sure). So how much do you actually take for being the "truth" to begin with? Michale Moore aside, there are always people out there who want to make you believe they're right above all else (from every side of the spectrum) but you still need to see their opinions, and the "facts" they are presenting and take from them what you want to gain for yourself. Even I have a filter through which I see things and decide what's right or wrong, or what I don't believe... and I spit as much bullshit right back out anyway.

I sometimes feel like I'm being indoctrinated by the cult of anti-capitalism, or anti-americanism or something, but even that I can see through most of the time... though not all people can. Just the idea of "preaching to the converted" is kind-of ironic in that sense. These movies: Bowling for Columbine, The Corporation, etc. etc. while "true" are also filtered and directed in a certain way, just like people who write sermons for church, or whatever, filter and direct their messages in a certain way. Think about that the next time you go to one of those things. Those people who haven't been "converted" to the Michael Moore (example) view yet are the same as those who haven't yet been converted to Christianity, (or whatever other religion you wish) yet. You can "see the light" of religious conversion the same way people are hoping these movies will have you "see the light" of their movements. Sure some of the revelations (in any of these conversions) are based on pure fact, but it's done in a sensationalist way to make you feel like it's absolutely special, even if you already knew the answer.

I still love the comparison in Bowling for Columbine between Canada and the USA in their gun deaths statistics... total gross numbers, regardless of the fact that the US is 10 times larger than us, and those numbers were totals, not a per capita, or per 100 000 or anything like that. What really blew me away were the totals for other large-population countries like Japan, why didn't he compare Japan to the States? It would've make a much more dramatic statement, except that Canada is so much like the United States... (we're just too spread out to actually have as many deaths... it's too far to shoot!)

anyway enough for now...

"And back to the Michael Moore thing... you've got to know that everything in that movie is 100% factual."

Holy shit, are you for real?!! I think you're joking, right...? But if you're not...

"You have to remember that he's taken editorial/artistic licence with the film, and that although maybe everything is true, he's not giving you the whole picture."

EXACTLY, Alison. Thank-you.

"Alison is right... you have to take Moore's work "with a grain of salt". Just because someone can have something published/printed/produced doesnt mean the work will be defacto truth. You have to think about why they are saying it and how they say it."

Thank-you to you also Ed. I'm relieved to find out there are some people left in this world who have their bullshit filters intact. Never take this for granted; most North Americans really DO believe what they see.

Just saw Fahrenheit 9/11, and I too share Beck's fears that it'll only preach to the converted, 'cause all those damn Tories here and conservatives in the States should definitely watch it and see if they're so confident in their convictions afterward.

Word of warning to those planning on seeing it: there are moments when it gets really graphic (ie. the lynched Americans)

On a much more positive note, as you all may/may not know, this coming Friday is my 22nd birthday and this time around I'm actually choosing to celebrate it somewhat. So clear your schedule for this Friday and come down to Elephant & Castle on Whyte. I'm trying to get everyone there a tad early (between 7:00 and 8:00) so that we can get the most room possible. Hope to see you all there!

Alison, how could you even ask how to initiate a Paradigm shift? The half hole! My God, I'm so disappointed in you. You could have been one of the shining stars of the new universe (and you still can). Repent! As for assassinations, wasn't that Al's dept? Drive-bys always involve guilty bystanders. Horrible scenes of destruction where fast moving vehicles are spotted stopping randomly, it's passengers tossing bags of cookies at unsuspecting lunatics who are still willing to walk the streets. Crippled or mortally wounded under the crushing weight of the carefully prepared treats, those who survive the onslaught are forced to eat their way through the debris in order to receive medical attention. Only then do they realize that they will be forever afflicted with diabetes from the horrible intake of chocolate and sugar. Such is the fate of those who stand idly in the face of tomorrow.

You move them to the other side of the nickel...

The cooling power of sound

ESPN McCall

On the nose

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