Monthly Archives: May 2022

ITV DI Ray fans have been left divided by the opening episode - but all are in agreement: Birmingham has stolen the show. Fans have commented saying they love the Brum backdrop to the new drama.

But some think the series if off to a dull and boring start. Bird said: "#DIRAY anyone else bored already? Was hoping it would be a good drama but its so slow." But Rebecca shot back: "We really enjoyed it fail to see how people thought it was boring... was fab."

Gavin Evans said: "Finding #DIRay really boring." Dennis remarked: "#DIRay shes being followed so she leads them to her home .... not exactly the most intelligent thing for a detective inspector to do surely."

READ MOREAnne Robinson quits Countdown and issues lengthy statement

But Cleo said: "#DIRay enjoying the first episode and love the premise. Promoted to tick a box but only speaks English and GCSE Spanish, made me smile, Real. Filmed in Brum and mainly West Mids cast.." And Excuse Me said: "I'm quite enjoying the slower pace, with no one being shot or exploded body parts scattered across a car park yet. Bit different from the Line of Duty team #DIRay."

LJ Kaboom said: "Im not enjoying #DIRay and not for reasons the old racists on here are banging on about such as political correctness. I just think the story is lacking and there hasnt been enough investment in the characters. Its good to see a show filmed in Birmingham though."

Another "Good lord, this plod drama is, well, plodding." Another said: "Anyone else bored already? Was hoping it would be a good drama but it's so slow."

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ITV DI Ray fans left divided about show but all in agreement on one thing - Birmingham Live

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In case you dont know old John A., hes the dude you see on some of the $10 bills.

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Well, Sir John A. Macdonald is on the hot seat again.

The Calgary Board of Education is looking at scrubbing the name of Canadas first prime minister from a city junior high school.

The public school trustees formed something called a name review committee and the group will ponder historical research and analysis related to the school name.

The school board says the group will consider the diverse perspectives of students, staff, families and community members.

They say there is complex history attached to the name.

They do not say it but theyre talking about Macdonalds establishment and strong support of residential schools back in the day.

You dont need a PhD in connecting the dots to know where this story is likely headed.

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Two schools in Ontario have recently scrapped the Macdonald name.

One is in Kingston, widely recognized as Macdonalds hometown.

The new name will be either Butternut Creek, Forestview, Maple or Mapleview. None of those names appear to cause any offence.

But here in Alberta, mention getting rid of the name of Macdonald and Premier Jason Kenney would give you an earful.

When a statue of Macdonald bit the dust in Montreal, Kenney said he would be happy to take it off their hands and put it up on the grounds of the Alberta legislature in Edmonton and protect it and defend it.

The premier said this countrys first prime minister was an imperfect man but still a great leader and a great man.

For him, without Macdonalds efforts and vision, this country would not exist and we should honour his vision.

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Kenney would go against the tide and say if the new standard is to cancel any figure in our history associated with what we now rightly regard as historical injustices then essentially that is the vast majority of our history.

Other names have been taken off of schools but they were lesser lights. Now its Macdonald.

Yes, talk about getting rid of Sir John A. from a school and the premier didnt hesitate to push right back.

Kenney would acknowledge the injustices in residential schools and say we had to face up to the darker moments in our history, but he rejected the radical, out-of-control political correctness.

On Monday, I was looking for some kind of statement from Kenney. This stuff is right in his wheelhouse.

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Throw the pitch and see him swing.

Kenney was approached through five different routes. Crickets.

Guess the premier is busy with just a little over two weeks to go before he and the rest of us finally find out his political fate, a verdict delivered by his own UCP members.

Adriana LaGrange, the Kenney governments education boss, is in the batters box.

LaGrange, a former school board trustee of many years, says renaming a school is a very serious issue.

There is no ambiguity in where the Kenney government stands.

Im not in favour and our government is not in favour of erasing or cancelling our first prime minister, she says.

He was instrumental in ensuring we have the Canada we have today.

LaGrange says no one is perfect, including our first prime minister, but he did do many great things.

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Kenneys education minister calls Macdonald one of our founding fathers.

Do you eliminate your founding father or erase the work he did?

Erasing the good Sir John A. Macdonald did in creating this great country I love and serve does not, in any way, do justice to where we should be.

LaGrange says neither she nor the Kenney government has a role in whether or not to deep-six the Macdonald name from the Calgary school.

She also makes clear residential schools promoted by Macdonald were a terrible, terrible time of our history, a terrible legacy.

She reminds us the city public school board was thinking of dropping Macdonalds name in 2018.

I believe at that time It was not successful. The vast majority were in favour of retaining the name, says LaGrange.

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Four years ago, the Calgary Board of Education said no definitive decisions had been made but they were having ongoing conversations with their Elder Advisory Council about school names and their importance.

The issue is back.

Does LaGrange feel most people agree with her, that Sir John A. Macdonald should stay on as the school name?

I believe the vast majority of people will. I believe the average Albertan understands Sir John A. Macdonald was a great leader but he was not without his faults.

So here we are.

Is LaGrange prepared to take the heat, to be a target as shes been many, many times before?

Im always prepared to be vilified, she says.

rbell@postmedia.com

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Bell: Kenney government wants hands off old John A. - Calgary Sun

The British chess grandmaster Michael Stean, who was there, described the 1978 World Chess Championship (held in Baguio, The Philippines, between July and October) as a surreal experience and the most bewildering and dirty world championship match in the history of chess.

In their film The World Champion, director Aleksey Sidorov and producer Nikita Mikhalkov have reproduced the legendary game in which 27-year-old Anatoli Karpov, a young Soviet champion, faced off against Viktor Korchnoi, 20 years older and a Russian exile.

A game of science with a dose of art, chess was a geopolitical weapon of the first order in the last years of the Cold War. At the end of the 1970s, the Soviet Union had winning basketball and ice hockey teams, virtuoso soccer players like Oleg Blokhin and exceptional athletes like Viktor Sarteieve. It also had chess.

Karpov had regained the world champion title three years before the match in the Philippines, thanks to American Bobby Fischer forfeiting the title due to a dispute over the match format. Fischers win in Reykjavik in 1972 was a serious affront to the Soviets, who had had a countryman hold the title since the end of the Second World War.

With Soviet hegemony restored and Karpov, a young chess player, still on the rise, the Kremlin did not expect to face a threat like the one posed by the defection of Viktor Korchnoi in 1976.

Korchnoi had taken advantage of his participation in the Amsterdam tournament to apply for political asylum in the Netherlands. More than ideological dissidence, he was motivated by professional ambition.

Korchnoi had been the last rival defeated by Anatoli Karpov in his race to the title in 1975. At his age (he was already 45 years old when he defected), being world champion again seemed like a pipe dream. The Soviet authorities came to suggest that the time had come to step aside so as not to hinder the generational change that Karpov represented.

Korchoi had also not ingratiated himself with the regime particularly well - temperamental and impulsive, he lacked the docility and political correctness required for survival at the upper echelons of Soviet society.

From his exile, first in the Netherlands and then in Switzerland, Korchnoi continued to compete at the highest level. Prior to the 1978 world championship he defeated two former world champions (Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky) and a third player from the Soviet elite, Lev Polugaievsky at the Candidates Tournament.

But the truth is most pundits considered Karpov the clear favorite, even though they recognized that Korchnoi was in excellent form, his flight to the West having had a revitalizing effect on his game. In the duel between the two, bets were tilted towards the first. Michael Stean, who was part of Korchnois team of analysts, said we dreamed of beating Karpov, but it seemed unlikely to us.

To win the title you had to win six games, not counting draws. After 17 games, Krpov had already obtained four victories, to Korchnois one.

What happened next was watched with growing astonishment by the international press.

The World Champion portrays a desperate Korchnoi wanting to resort to foul play to destabilize a superior rival. The reality is likely more nuanced than that.

It started, one could say, with the sunglasses. Karpov alleged that Korchnoi used them to blind him, deliberately catching the reflection of the spotlights in the room with the sunglasses, to project against his eyes. Korchnoi retorted that he wore the shades to protect himself from the icy look of defiance with which Karpov tried to intimidate his opponents.

Head referee Lothar Schmidt and his team tested the glasses, sitting in the same position as the players, to determine to what extent the blinding mirror effect denounced by Karpov was true. They concluded that the sunglasses were not interfering but even so, they asked Karchoi to remove them as an act of goodwill, which he did in the final stretch of the match.

Which flag Korchnoi would play under - that of the Netherlands (the country that had granted him asylum) or of Switzerland (his place of residence) was also a subject of controversy. The Soviet delegation insisted he was a deserter and a stateless person who should display a white flag on his part of the gaming table. Korchnois representatives countered by offering, somewhat playfully, that the exile play under the Jolly Roger, the pirate flag. In the end, it was decided that no flags would be displayed on the table.

It was the second game that brought the most surreal moments. The players began a Byzantine dispute over the types of chairs they would sit in while playing - Korchnoi insisting on a certain model for reasons of comfort, Karpov demanding that it be disassembled and X-rayed to ensure it did not include any listening devices; Karpov spinning in his chair while his opponent was thinking, which Korchnoi said was extremely disruptive.

Korchnoi also protested the blueberry yogurt that waiters served Krpov during the second and third games, claiming it could be used for coded communications from his analysts. The referees decided that the Soviet player could continue to be served the yogurt, on the condition that it be always at the same time and that the referee be informed, prior to the yogurt being served, of what color it was.

A further issue was the presence of Vladimir Zhukar as part of the Russian delegation. Zhukar was a neurologist at the Moscow Psychology Laboratory. Korchnoi insisted that he was a parapsychologist - a kind of sorcerer who hypnotizes people to control their actions. Zhukar was forbidden from sitting in the front five rows and Korchnois team would have people sit next to the neurologist and stare at him in order to break his concentration.

Then came the complete breakdown of courtesy between rivals, the most elementary protocol of chess. Krpov stopped shaking hands with Korchnoi, while, according to the Soviets, Korchnoi started muttering insults under his breath. Any verbal interaction between the players had to be prohibited and even draw offers began to be made through the referees.

The atmosphere only grew more delirious. Korchnois partner, Petra, began to attend proceedings with two members of Ananda Marga, a sect of Indian origin that was then popular within the American counterculture. Korchnoi explained that they were his yoga instructors, but they were denied access to the room when it was discovered that they both held criminal records and were using the opportunity of international exposure to demand the freedom of their groups leader, who had been imprisoned for attempted murder. The Soviets took advantage of this blow to Korchnoi by having Dr. Zhukar returned to the front rows, where he sat close to the then-Philippine president, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and First Lady Imelda Marcos.

The World Champion also references unverified incidents used by Krpovs team to claim there was a CIA operation underway to favor Korchnoi, evidenced by the appearance of a snake in the hotel room where Krpov was staying and that, when he moved to a private residence, noises of helicopters flying overhead or sprinklers starting up in the middle of the night prevented him from sleeping. Stean recalls that every day there was a new press conference with mutual accusations and the referee team was forced to intervene to put out fires.

The film also shows Korchnoi showing up at the gaming floor with a Geiger counter to monitor radioactivity levels, saying, Believe it, the Soviets are capable of that and more.

Amidst the geopolitical circus that now defines this match, we will never know for sure if there was really any foul play at work. The final chapter began at the end of September, with both rivals tense and not playing at their best. Karpov was leading the scoreboard by a comfortable 5-2 when his game entered a deep slump, leading to three losses in four games. It appeared the crown could return to the West.

The decisive game was played on October 17. With the confidence of his recent victories, Korchnoi adopted a high-risk defense aimed at deciding the match, but Karpov rallied, achieving a winning position in 41 moves and five hours of play.

Karpov was the epitome of everything Viktor Korchnoi hated about the Soviet Union, said Stean, recalling the unusual level of acrimony and personal and ideological hostility expressed during the match. To him, Karpov had voluntarily chosen to represent the regime.

Viktor was a fighter. I imagine facing Karpov felt like a member of the French resistance would have felt facing someone who had collaborated with the Nazis.

For the Soviets, said Stean, retaining the title was like winning a version of the space race, with Karpov as their man on the moon.

Karpov beat Korchnoi a second time three years later before being beaten himself by Garry Kasparov in 1985, still keeping the crown in Russian hands.

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Parapsychologists, sects and secret services: Remembering the most tense chess game in history - EL PAS in English

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, one of the most popular comedies of the 1990s, arrived in May of 1997, 25 years ago this week. The film, which stars Myers as both hero Austin Powers and villain Dr. Evil, spawned a pair of sequels, as well as a half-dozen catchphrases, from yea baby, yea, to do I make you horny, baby?

The film, in which Myers played Powers as a horny secret agent of the 60s transposed into the slightly more politically correct 90s, was part of the trend towards 60s nostalgia, 30 years later. Written by Myers himself, the film drew a lot of inspiration from plots in the James Bond series and featured Elizabeth Hurley (in the first film) in her first major starring role.

Hugely influential at the time but getting old relatively quickly Austin Powers-mania was a major force in the late 90s and early 2000s, especially when the sequels arrived in 1999 and 2002.

Here are a few things that you might not know about Austin Powers:

Myers once said in an interview that the origin of the Austin Powers character was, as he drove home from hockey practice one night, hearing the Burt Bacharach song The Look of Love, and wondering whatever became of 60s swinger culture. The Canadian-born Myers was also inspired, in some ways, by the culture of his British-born parents; his father also had Scottish heritage, which inspired everything from Myers All Things Scottish sketch on SNL to his father character in So I Married an Axe Murderer to his voice of Shrek.

While Myers played lots of recurring characters on Saturday Night Live, Austin Powers didnt come from there. The character actually started in Ming Tea, a mock band Myers formed along with a group of musicians, including Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, in the mid-1990s. Hoffs husband, Jay Roach, directed all three Austin Powers movies.

About a third of the film was improvised, Myers said in an interview around the time of its release, although its hard to say how significant that is when the credited screenwriter is also portraying both the hero and villain.

Cool Britannia was a cultural moment in the second half of the 1990s, coinciding with Tony Blairs arrival as prime minister, in which British culture became cool around the world again. Austin Powers was a key part of this, as was Four Weddings and a Funeral, as were bands like Oasis and Blur, and of course the Spice Girls. Both Austin Powers and The Spice Girls heavily featured British flags in their iconography.

Myers originally wanted Carrey to play the villainous part, but ultimately Carrey was busy with Liar, Liar, and Myers took the part himself.

If youve ever heard Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels speak, its hard not to notice that Dr. Evils speech patterns and mannerisms are clearly meant as a homage to Lorne, the fellow Canadian who was Myers boss for many years on SNL. This was acknowledged out loud on a Saturday Night Live anniversary special.Myers SNL and Waynes World co-star, Dana Carvey, once accused Myers of stealing his Michaels impression, although he later said he had forgiven Myers.

Everyone likely remembers Austin Powers as a huge phenomenon, but it actually took a while to get going. The first movie, when it came out in 1997, had a box office figure of $53.8 million, while many fans discovered it on DVD or home video months later. The two sequels, however, both made more than $200 million, per Box Office Mojo figures. And while Verne Troyers Mini-Me was a huge part of the franchise, you may have forgotten that he was not in the first film.

Austin Powers is well-known for having lots of references to the James Bond series, from its secret agent plot to punny names like Alotta Fagina to what Roger Ebert called The Fallacy of the Talking Killer. But the film is full of other cinematic references and homages. The films of Peter Sellers are referenced constantly, especially with the stars multiple roles, and there are also nods to everything from other British spy films to the Beatles cinematic oeuvre.

Powers says this line at one point, which is a direct reference to Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the 1970 Russ Meyer film that was the lone screenplay credit by Roger Ebert. Ebert noted this in his review.

This is always a silly question to ask, and especially silly with this film. A big part of the plot, after all, is that an unreconstructed 1960s man is dropped into the 1990s when standards of political correctness are very different than they were 30 years before. Despite more than a decade of rumors, a fourth Austin Powers movie has yet to be produced- but that likely has more to do with those catchphrases having gotten tiresome over time than any modern notions of wokeness.

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Austin Powers: 10 things you didn't know about the landmark '90s comedy - Tilt Magazine

D. Allan Kerr| Columnist

Right-wingers in the Republican Party apparently think keeping their base fired up over what they consider wokeism is the formula to take back power in Washington DC and elsewhere. They might want to consider how foolish their antics may seem to those who are more rationally minded.

The more strident if not downright shrill GOP members have launched counter-attacks on so-called woke positions with what I consider "stokeism,"intended to stoke outrage among their constituents and not really accomplish much else.

One of the more bizarre aspects of this effort has been an apparent obsession with iconic kiddie-culture characters. Last year Ted Cruz complained about Sesame Streets Big Bird encouraging people to get vaccinated against COVID. Now Ron DeSantis has declared all-out war on Mickey Mouse for the Disney corporations advocacy for the gay community.

In fact, recent legislation pushed through by Floridas governor may be among the most transparent examples of stoke policies to date.

The so-called Dont Say Gay law signed by DeSantis in March outlaws classroom instruction in kindergarten through third grade on sexual orientation or gender identity. Now, Im pretty sure theres not a lot of sex ed in those early grades, but the legislation is vague enough so teachers could face punishment if they, say, share a book about a kid who has two dads.

Apparently, kids should not be made aware that sometimes kids have gay parents.

The Disney corporation opposed this legislation, which some say ostracizes the gay community. DeSantis, in a pretty clear case of retaliation, promptly sought to strip Disney of a special self-governing status in place for more than 50 years. However, the action was taken so hastily it isnt yet clear who will wind up footing the bill for the services previously provided by the corporation.

Ironically, DeSantis has claimed hes making this move because he wants to protect children from indoctrination. Which is funny, because I first became aware of the guy when a 2018 gubernatorial campaign ad featured him reading to his infant son a book from everyones favorite childrens author, Donald J Trump.

So now, Disney which has defined the term family-friendly for multiple generations is being portrayed as a woke corporation out to brainwash kids, and DeSantis is concocting stoke legislation to cast himself as a defender of the masses. But hes not alone. In fact, its been downright entertaining to watch some of these hard-right folks try to top each others anti-woke histrionics.

One particularly surreal episode occurred just a few weeks ago when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin presented the Pentagons national defense budget before a congressional committee. Florida congressman Matt Gaetz (what is it with Florida Republicans?) questioned him about some obscure lecture previously given at the National Defense University, then embarked on a tangent about wokeism in the military.

Weve seen some curious moments of political theater in recent years, but watching Eddie Munsters frat-boy kid brother try to lecture a retired combat-tested four-star general a guy who served multiple stints in the 82nd Airborne and was awarded the Silver Star for leading troops in battle in Iraq about military preparedness is one of my all-time favorites.

Now, lets be honest; Matt Gaetz will never be the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he knows a classroom lecture on socialism isnt going to make our armed forces any less lethal. Nothing of significance was accomplished by his grandstanding, but Im sure he was able to stoke the indignation of those being told they are victims of wokeism.

Just as this clown heading Oklahomas Republican Party, whos now running for Congress, doesnt really believe Dr. Anthony Fauci should be tried and placed in front of a firing squad, as he said just this week. But his outrageous line drew cheers and applause at a campaign rally, and hell no doubt get some of the spotlight he clearly, desperately wanted.

Likewise, DeSantis taking away Disneys status of self-sufficiency doesnt make life any better for his constituents or their community. Its not going to repair roads or build bridges or reduce health care costs or make higher education more affordable. It doesnt lower taxes or make people safer or improve their situation in any tangible way. If anything, this move could wind up increasing taxes for neighboring towns who may have to pick up the bill to pay for services previously covered by the corporation.

But that was never the point. These political opportunists are playing to a particular segment of the population who have been persuaded smaller segments are getting special treatment. This is what drives a lot of folks now.

The Republican party I remember stood for small government, big business, a strong national defense, love of country and minding your own business (unless you were gay, or a woman). Now there seems to be an ever-growing faction simply terrified of losing their place in line.

Many of todays Republicans sound like the crybabies they always accused Democrats of being. Theyve flipped the script so much the GOP of old has become the POG the Grand Old Party is now the Party of Grievance. I dunno, maybe it's always been this way, but during the most recent heyday of Republicanism, the Reagan era, I don't recall quite so many whiners.

And all you have to do to win their support, apparently, is loudly bash what I believe used to be called political correctness. You dont even have to actually get anything done you just have to stoke to fight the woke.

D. Allan Kerr of Kittery is the author of "Silent Strength: Remembering the Men of Genius and Adventure Lost in the World's Worst Submarine Disaster."

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Kerr: GOP's 'stokeism' is replacing substance with the surreal - Seacoastonline.com

The 21st century finally has its Moose Murders.

As if her two stage collaborations with Mel Brooks werent enough to make her the Vulgarian of Broadway, director-choreographer Susan Stroman followed The Producers and Blazing Saddles with Big Fish, which featured dancing elephant buttocks, and Bullets Over Broadway, which featured dancing hot-dog penises.Its fitting that Stroman should direct Selina Fillingers new comedy, POTUS, which opened Wednesday at the Shubert Theatre. Its a play that finds humor in suppositories, an anal abscess, dildos, scat, pus from that aforementioned abscess and a character who vomits blue puke. The blue-puke projectile happens twice, maybe three times. After that, the character just dry-heaves a lot for our amusement.

No surprise, POTUS is set in the White House. The big surprise is how much its subtitle Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive misleads. Here, its not the president but his wife (Vanessa Williams), lesbian sister (Lea DeLaria), paramour (Julianne Hough), a female reporter (Lilli Cooper) and his female staff (Rachel Dratch, Suzy Nakamura, and Julie White) who are the real incompetents.

Beowulf Boritts massive West Wing set goes round and round, featuring everything from the chief of staffs office to the ladies loo, but its ultimate effect is to scatter the comedy all over the place. Williams has the least to do and doesnt look happy doing it. White tries especially hard, screaming to the point that she gives a pretty good vocal imitation of Harvey Fierstein. And Cooper may be the first actor to use breast pumps on a Broadway stage.

Dratch has a fun moment early in Act 1 when she accidentally ingests a lot of hallucinogens and cant find the ground shes walking on. In Act 2, shes still tripping but now covered in stage blood and multi-colored Post-Its, and wearing a big pink innertube. Since Boritts spinning set wore out its novelty in the previous act, Stroman sends Dratch into the audience to distract, followed by a few other actors, who look as if theyre really trying to escape the theater.

Hough also manages to entertain. Its refreshing to see a character break through the glass ceiling of political correctness with such determination. Maybe only a female director and a female playwright would have the courage to feature a pregnant character vomit repeatedly, then perform (offstage) fellatio on a couple of Secret Service men, who turn out to be disabled war veterans (one blind, the other an amputee), before performing cartwheels and the splits on stage. As a critic, I live to write sentences like that.

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POTUS Broadway Review: The President Cant Be Held Responsible for This Mess - Yahoo Entertainment