A lot of coming of age stories, rock stars, and films about hockey comprise my 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. No film knocked my socks off this year, but, unfortunately, there were some clunkers of the 13 films I watched this year. As always, I will discuss them chronologically and also, this is a SPOILER […]

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I should have seen it coming, but earlier this week, R.E.M. announced that it was breaking up. Going out with a whimper, not a bang, if you will. I know (and have already read) some people would be asking jokingly “didn’t they break up long ago?” No, they didn’t and while their best music was […]

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The Toronto Film Festival is over and I’m back with you. This year’s film festival recap is progressing; I hope to have it by the end of this week. In the interim, a few thoughts…. • Isn’t it hypocritical for the hyper-conservative Chicago Tribune to sensor last week’s Doonesbury cartoons? I went online and saw […]

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If it’s September, it’s time for the Toronto International Film Festival, which means it’s time for me to travel. I’ll be at the festival this weekend, my 10th, and as always, I’ll be putting together my thoughts on the movies, sights and sounds of this year’s festival shortly. Have a good weekend, everyone!

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Unlike previous years when there were band or bands that I wanted to see, this year’s Lallapalooza had little of note. I’m not a rap fan, so I didn’t want to see Emenem; Muse is big in Europe, almost unknown on this side of the pond. They featured the most boring huge “rock band” in […]

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• S&P downgraded the United States debt rating over the weekend, and just downgraded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is important, but aren’t these the same guys who gave AAA ratings to mortgage paper just four years ago that turned out to be worthless? Their credibility isn’t exactly the highest. • There has been […]

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Some of you may have seen the one song that I played with the Elvis Costello Ensemble back in March of this year. Let’s go back a minute; I am a mediocre guitar player with a lovefor Mr. Costello’s music and I have been taking classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music in […]

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