More Obama

Whether you like the man or not, you can't deny the fact that he is one of the most brilliant orators of our time. Here's another proof, perhaps the most eloquent yet:

Watch the video

Obamamania

You can't deny it. Barack Obama is hot right now. Five wins in as many primaries this weekend. Wow. Heck, he even won a Grammy on Sunday night ( for Best Spoken Word Record: "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" ). He genuinely seems like the real deal, but the criticism you often hear about his campaign, mainly that it's "more about style than substance", stuck in my mind for the longest time. That is, until I saw this video. It's long. 40 minutes, to be exact. But, in my humble opinion, it is the most sensible thing I heard any politician speak about faith, religion, freedom and the first amendment of the constitution of the United States of America. Those in a rush can skip the first 25 minutes, but do yourself a favor and watch the whole thing. You won't regret it.

Watch the video

Sundance shorts

Last Monday I was at Prends ça court's "Best of Sundance 2008" screening and there were some impressive films which I thought I might share with you. Enjoy!

1. History of America by the MK12 collective. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pxnixTnEGY



One of the most visually inventive shorts I have seen in a long time. Funny as hell too. Be sure to check the last three parts on Youtube if you like it.


2. Spider by Nash Edgerton.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgYykXgwl20



Edgerton is a top Aussie stunt man, and without giving the movie away, let's just say his technical skills help give extreme realism to this well crafted short.

Oscar Peterson

This week Oscar Peterson, one of Jazz's last greats, passed away. Peterson, one of the greatest artists to ever come out of Montreal (he was born here in 1925), might be gone, but his music lives on forever. Rest in Peace, Oscar.

Oscar Peterson Trio Live at Newport



Oscar Peterson - You Look Good To Me

Saboter la stupidité

"Eille ti-gars, pas icitte!" Je l'ai souvent entendue, cette expression, sur les pentes laurentiennes sur lesquelles j'ai appris à pratiquer ce si beau sport qu'est la planche à neige. En 1991, ma première année de planche, il n'était pas rare de se faire refuser l'accès à certaines pistes ou carrément à tout le domaine "skiable". Cette ségrégation (je n'aime pas ce mot évocateur, mais dans ce cas ci, je n'en trouve pas de meilleur) était toujours justifiée par toutes sortes d'excuses boiteuses. "Les snowboards, ça endommage les pistes", "les snowboarders sont dangereux et ne respectent pas les autres", "les planchistes sont tous des saouls ou gelés" ou encore, ma préférée, "le snowboard, c'est une mode, un fad qui ne durera pas six mois"; si on m'avais donné 10 cennes à chaque fois que j'entendais ces excuses au cours des 20 dernières années, je serais un homme riche aujourd'hui. Heureusement, le bon sens a prévalu et aujourd'hui, rares sont les centres interdisant la pratique de la planche à neige sur leur territoire.
Rares, mais pas complètement disparus. En Amérique du Nord, ces bastions du ski alpin se comptent sur les doigts d'une seule main. Même les plus irréductibles de ces stations finissent par se plier aux demandes de leur clientèle (surtout leur lucrative clientèle familiale, qui décide d'aller ailleurs si un des membres se met à pratiquer la planche). C'est pourquoi la nouvelle campagne marketing de la compagnie Burton, "Sabotage Stupidity", me plait bien. Le concept est simple: achetez-vous un billet de remontée dans une des stations irréductibles nommées sur le site de Burton, faites une descente en planche et filmez votre exploit de la façon la plus originale possible pour le bénéfice de tous (et un peu d'argent...). Le président de cette compagnie, Jake Burton, est un des pionniers du sport et il a grandement contribué à la reconnaissance sociale et économique de celui-ci. Un des acteurs importants de l'économie de l'état du Vermont, Burton est depuis longtemps un critique de la dernière station de l'est de l'Amérique du Nord interdisant toujours le snowboard, Mad River Glen. Même si des abus sont à prévoir et pourraient renforcer les préjugés négatifs des dirigeants de ces stations irréductibles, j'ose croire que la majorité des planchistes qui répondront à l'appel de Burton le feront en respectant les règlements et la sécurité des autres.
J'ai donc bien hâte de voir les vidéos qui seront retenus parmi tous ceux envoyés à la compagnie par les planchistes de partout. Et qui sait, si jamais je me trouve dans les Green Mountains du Vermont avec une caméra vidéo...

The Hype Machine

Damn, it seems like you can't get away from the computer for more than 2 minutes without missing something important, significant, life-altering, tremen... well, you get my point. This week, this special moment is related to my favorite band this side of Arcade Fire, Radiohead. Man do they ever piss me off sometimes (I'm still bitter about striking out on concert tickets when they came to Montreal at the Place des Arts last year). So I'm here, casually browsing, when I read the bombshell: the new Radiohead album is ready and will be released next week. As the kids say, !!!OMFG!!! While I respect the fact that not everybody cares about Radiohead, the way which they will distribute their new record could have a tremendous effect on the music business as a whole. As you might have heard already, the band has decided to shortcut the record label by selling their music straight to fans on their website and has decided to let them decide how much to pay for it. So, how much is a Radiohead record download worth? The music biz is dying to find out. 20 dollars? 10? Zero? That right, zero can be a valid answer too. The band won't stop you from downloading it for free when it is released on October 10th. Oh, sure, they'll still request a valid email address from you, with which they could spam the hell out of you for the next few years, but hey, free is free, right? And what about the diehard fans, those who must have it all? This is where the band infuriates me: for 82 canadian dollars, you can get the super deluxe, exclusive, "you'll die if you don't get this" box set, complete with vinyl and CD copies of the new record. In short, spend a large sum to get the full experience or get the digital download and wait for a "traditional" release (regular CD in a record store) sometimes next year. This way, Radiohead can't lose. Brilliant. But it raises many questions which the music industry has been asking for years and which Radiohead is pushing to the forefront more than ever, such as how much is music worth? Or what is the state and future of the art form known as the album? But you, how much would you pay for a Radiohead record?


Now, where's my credit card again...

Les ficelles du pouvoir

Chapleau mise encore dans le mille... (La Presse, 3 octobre 2007)