End of June Headlines
School is out, suckers. And now “School’s Out” is stuck in my head. Why do I do this to myself?
And of course, a number of Edmonton Public School Board schools are out forever because the EPSB says they’ve got to go.
Continuing with our Oilers/Katz vibe from yesterday…The Daryl Katz empire is indeed expanding beyond pharmacies, real estate and ownership of sports teams, it’s looking into managing sports and entertainment facilities. First stop, Hamilton, Ontario.
Hamilton’s been in the sports news in recent months because another billionaire, Jim Balsillie (of the BlackBerry) has been trying to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and thinks Hamilton would be a nice place for a new Canadian NHL team. Katz and crew operating the arena (Copps Coliseum) might bolster those hopes and dreams.
Now, the Katz co. has come out, after the news was officially announced, and said this has nothing to do with the Oilers. It’s not a veiled threat to set-up a potential place to move the team, it’s just an expansion of business interests.
I think, just like the team had to actually come out and say that Joey Moss’ lifetime contract was intact, after they fired people left and right, it says something that you need to come and say this. Since Katzy (Can I call him Katzy?) is trying to build a downtown arena and entertainment district here in Edmonton, and it’s not gone according to plan, it sets some people off to see him looking at arenas in other cities.
Ah, sports and arenas, never a dull moment.
By the way, the Oilers continue making moves with their roster. And the Katz Group has been invited to City Council’s July 21 meeting.
Also today, the Alberta health budget gets shot in arm (It’s going to help seniors and emergency rooms. Though the NDP doesn’t think it’s really explained how it will help.)
from the Edmonton Journal:
Solving winter dilemma is an all-season project (What to do about all our winter.)
Substitute pilots leave local trains unsafe: union
The Calgary Herald has been providing some really interesting, important, stories on Alberta workplace deaths. Now, the Employment and Immigration Minister is ready to start naming names of the worst, most unsafe, places to work.
Butterflies are early warning system for climate change
High cost of Energy KOs playoffs (That’s too bad.)
from the Edmonton Sun:
Controversial road project stalls
City resurrects cemetery tours (It will be helpful in the efforts to watch for zombies.)
Escort sting nets $90K in fines
from Metro Edmonton:
Extra police out for Canada Day events
from CBC Edmonton:
It’s a post-Conan world
I know that Conan O’Brien is a smart cookie and he’ll land on his feet. I also know he’ll be missed on The Tonight Show, around these parts. It’s back to Letterman/Kimmel/Lopez for the first round of late night TV.
I think my love of Carson Daly has also been noted.
For these reasons I may bounce over to Original Joe’s-Varisty Row (109 Street, north of Whyte Avenue) for the last Coco-Tonight Show. They’ll be showing it at the restaurant/bar and they’ve got specials on Red Ale and Coco Martinis (clever). Maybe I’ll see you there.
On a more serious note, there will be a march and rally in Old Strathcona tomorrow (when isn’t there?) as Canadians against Proroguing Parliament hit the streets. Let’s see if the Facebook protest transitions to the real world.
I bet this show won't be a "big wreck." (It's Monday at Union Hall.)
Edmonton’s Winter Light festival continues this weekend, with the Baba Yaga Trail Adventure.
Ice on Whyte also continues.
There are zombie-literary discussions happening Saturday afternoon (2-4pm, in the Edmonton Room) at the Stanley Milner Library. It’s about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
There are also ways to enjoy the party-scene of the weekend and help Haiti. Check this Metro-Edmonton story for details.
Dave Attell is at The Comic Strip this weekend.
You can take your tummy out to the second round of Fork Fest.
Maybe you’d rather try not to get trampled by brides looking for deals and other items for THEIR SPECIAL DAY. There’s an event for that.
Or you can attempt to keep your head from exploding due to an abundance of cuteness at the Edmonton Pet Expo. Aww…
The Edmonton Rush have their home opener Saturday, against the Buffalo Bandits. Hey, they’ve got more of a chance of winning than the Oilers. (Thanks for the reminder, Derjs.)
Whatever it is you do to make it to Monday, have fun.
DEDfest: Thrills, chills, laughter and booze make for a great night!
It is that time of year again. Halloween is right around the corner. Horror films are beginning to take over the cinema world for a few weeks and if you live in a city big enough, you probably have a horror film festival that you could attend. Some are world famous, others, not so much. Last Friday night I attended DEDfest (Day 2 of 4), Edmonton, Alberta’s horror film festival. To be fair, this is the first year of the festival, although it is run by some of the same group that ran last year’s Deadmonton festival.
The Friday showing consisted of two big showings: Neighbor and Return of the Living Dead. It is the first time since 1985 that Return of the Living Dead has been seen in Canada on 35MM. Like many horror fests, short films were spread throughout the two marquee films. Here is a quick review for each film I saw that night.
To get the crowd in the laughing mood, Clowning Around was unleashed on us. It was a terrible looking trailer that really just played off the title of the film, essentially it was just like the faux trailer Don’t, in front of the Grindhouse double feature. I am still not sure if this is an actual film or just a trailer made for laughs.
Next up was the short film, Thirsty, based on a Joe Knetter story. It was directed by Andrew Kasch and stars Wrong Turn 2 director Joe Lynch, Michael Bailey Smith (The Hills Have Eyes) and Tiffany Shepis (a scream queen herself of many horror films!). Lynch is on a cross-country drive when he starts to crave a frozen slushy. His destiny seems to not want him to get his slushy, as it keeps providing complications attempting to thwart his slushy efforts. This is full of laughs from the start and was one of the best shorts at the festival.
Next up was a few trailers of older films, Savage Streets, Punk Rock and another I cannot recall. These looked terrible but the Linda Blair exploitation/revenge flick Savage Streets is supposed to be quite good.
Every year Adam Green makes a Halloween short film. The Tiffany Problem, King in the Box and last years The Tivo are fantastic. This year’s film is Jack Chop. It is a real short short, running just over two and a half minutes, but it is so entertaining. Jack Chop is just a parody of the Slap Chop infomercial but I can say I was laughing (and so was most of the audience) for the entire two and a half minutes. Take a gander at it here!
Finally we reached our first feature film, the debut (at least to Edmonton) of Neighbor. This movie prides itself, with the tag on one of the posters, as the film that “caused its own editor to vomit.” (more…)
Edmonton ex-pat is greatest mind of our time
I don’t want to blow this out of proportion, but Benjamin Tippett could be working on the most important science of our time.
Namely, how Superman’s powers work and how you can maximize zombie-killing. (Among other genius explorations.)
And if you think this is just some friend of a friend I’m trying to get attention for, you’re only half correct. Wired talked about Ben. There. Now you know he’s a big deal.
This guy is awesome. We salute you, sir.
