Trailing Phoenix by one with twelve seconds to play, Toronto called timeout to set up the final shot. The Raptors inbounded to Hedo Turkoglu, who endeavoured to penetrate, lost the handle, and forced a fadeaway jumper. The poor shot was the result of Turkoglu’s slip, not the set but the shot still lacked viable alternatives to the primary option. Posting Chris Bosh against Amare Stoudamire would have been definitely feasible but how could coach Jay Triano better incorporate the Raptors’ young players into these pressure situations? During climatic moments, mental and somatic anxiety heightens. The latter can be controlled by …
Capitalism: A Love Story
Michael Moore curses capitalism as “evil” and suggests it be supplanted by democracy. Such rhetoric is incendiary and inelegant. Capitalism is not a political system but an extreme on the economic spectrum. Capitalism and democracy are neither complements nor opposites. One does not preclude the other. To me, the economic spectrum is a medium with capitalism (supply and demand) one on side with socialism (a pure command economy) on the other. Society has become so complicated that only a mix of both concepts will satisfy every individual’s indulgent wants. I think that the political spectrum can range from democracy to …
Guarding Manu Ginobili
Manu Ginobili always seems to beat down the Toronto Raptors like they are a bat at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Whether it is off the dribble or from outside the arc, he seems to perform as well in the first quarter as he does at the end of the game. Although he plays on a roster of superstars, he seems to excel even more when he must carry the Spurs’ load by himself. The Argentine proves to be a model all aspiring players should wish to emulate and a nightmare for defenders across the Association. Fundamentals: When open, …
A Serious Man
When the truth is found to be liesAnd all the joy within you dies When your names become a film typeAnd it’s hard to match all the hype Then you have reached the same paradox that the Coen brothers have found while making A Serious Man. The film is technically tremendous, one of the best directed films that I’ve seen this year. The screenplay is also superb, the audience was entertained for the entire film. But after Fargo and No Country for Old Men, what’s next? This is better than Burn after Reading by far but there is a lingering …
A Good Fella or a Wise Guy?
Both sides of a tragic tale – the glitz and glamour and the nuts and bolts – are told by Martin Scorcese and Nicholas Pileggi, retelling Henry Hill’s journey from hijacker and street tough to drug dealer and gambler to federal informant. The two works exemplify the difference between film and literature; Goodfellas enables you to visualize the events and see how a character chooses a course of action and Wise Guy recounts exactly what happened and how it was done. In retrospect, Goodfellas will be recognized as one of the top three films of the 1980s, although stylistically it …
Cleveland-Boston, Again
Based on the most miniscule sample, I can report that nothing has changed in the Association’s Eastern Conference. Cleveland is too one-dimensional to be a threat to seize the championship and Boston – when healthy – should prevail in the post-season. The two sides clashed last night; the former was incredibly cavalier in their execution and the latter performed superbly under pressure. Cleveland’s side-out consisted of a player coming to the ball and handing off to LeBron James, who would then attack one on three. Cavalier guards made five out of fifteen three-point shots when the defence collapsed. However, it …
Star Trek Leadership, Part I: Humans and Klingons
When Commander Riker volunteered to serve aboard the Klingon vessel “Pagh”, he encountered several challenges as he adapted to the new environment. Star Trek frequently used a utopian vision of the future to show how humans can better interact the episode “A Matter of Honor” is no exception. As a participant in the Officer Exchange Program, William Riker enters a new culture and must judge when he must adapt and when he must stand for his convictions, as a Benzite named Mendon does likewise as the Enterprise’s science officer. At first, he displays a tough exterior to his new shipmates …
Skills We Should Teach More, Part III: Reaction Time
Introduction: Initially, it was believed that the body and mind were powerfully connected; once a human mind made a decision, the body acted immediately. Galileo Galilei, endeavouring to prove that the speed of light was finite, estimated a human reaction time of 0.5 seconds in the seventeenth century, which was lowered to 0.2 seconds in 1905 by Edward Titchener (Foschi & Leone, 2009, pp. 1255-7). Within the confines of a basketball court – ninety-four feet long and fifty feet wide – both players receive information at the same time and it becomes a matter of who reacts better. Before: Body: …
Dynasty’s End
Celtic Pride – the character, concentration, and commitment – which defined the Boston’s teams when Red Auerbach proved to be integral to the two championships under Player-Coach Bill Russell. Dynasty’s End chronicles the final title in 1968-69 before the team ceded the spotlight to the squads of the 1970s. When Auerbach was the coach from 1950 to 1966, the Celtics were the most talented team in the Association. Under Russell, the team often finished second or third in its own conference and needed to win multiple tough playoff series. Wilt Chamberlain led his teams (Philadephia and Los Angeles) to better …
Why Do We Watch Documentaries?
According to their definition, documentaries seek to document and retell a story with video, interview, a narrator, and other facts. Some have brought an issue into the public eye (“An Inconvenient Truth”), some follow a character (“Hoop Dreams” and “Invisible City”), and others have a political viewpoint (“Bowling for Columbine”). Many lie somewhere in between. Paying five dollars at the Bloor Cinema does not ensure the unbiased truth; it is incumbent upon the viewer to decide what is real and who is telling the truth. Crude: The Real Price of Oil debates Chevron-Texaco’s (in partnership with the government of Ecuador) …
Saboteur
The climax on top of the Statue of Liberty’s torch is silent: there are no explosions or yells, no chaos or confusion. Simply the drama of two men fighting followed by the villain clinging to the landmark as the hero attempts to help him. The tension is enormous. Saboteur may be one of Alfred Hitchcock’s weaker films but it is still very dramatic. Barry Kane, a reluctant hero, is wrongfully accused of sabotage and must travel across the country to clear his name and prevent a greater act of terrorism. On the way, he meets many people – a chance …
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, named after the infamous headline on the Harvard Crimson paper, is a basic but thorough documentary. There is the original game footage, supplemented by commentary from players – including Tommy Lee Jones who played Guard for Harvard – and some simple photos and cartoons by a pre-Doonesbury Gary Trudeau who was enrolled at Yale. The beauty of the documentary is how the directory Kevin Rafferty used simple storytelling to transport the viewer to a game which was played over forty years ago. Firstly, Rafferty establishes the context of the game. Vietnam and civil rights were issues …
1993 Is a Long Time Ago
The Toronto Blue Jays organization is certainly a wicked problem to which there is no clear solution. The problem has many symptoms: inconsistent performance, poor performance under pressure, and high rates of injury. Rumours suggest that some workout habits that leave a lot to be desired. On-field results appear to have impacted the balance sheet and the team suffers from low attendance and a budget where revenues hardly approach expenses. This all stemmed of a leadership failure, endemic throughout the entire chain of command. Perhaps the best case scenario for the team was a .500 season, but the Blue Jays …
The Hidden Fortress
The Hidden Fortress is a great action comedy movie that puts all others to shame. It’s scandalous that today’s audiences have to tolerate clichéd Lethal Weapon-type dialogue and excessive explosions; this film shows that a director can do both well, along with the usual Akira Kurosawa theme of how does one act morally in an immoral world. Is the ultimate goal profit or the greater good? Each character tries to discover this during the film. Is the ultimate goal DVD sales, audience enjoyment, or greater a work that stands out as one of the greatest of all time? Kurosawa accomplishes …
Red Beard
Akira Kurosawa’s last black and white film, Red Beard, follows a storyline similar to Bernard Émond’s La Donation. The themes are similar, although the Japanese work develops more slowly and is more lyrical. A doctor with aspirations of serving Japan’s royal court is sent to a small clinic in a poor village. Unlike Dr. Dion, who chose to accept a one month posting in Normétal, Dr. Yasumoto is tricked into reporting to the iconic Dr. Niide (a.k.a. “Red Beard”) and initially refuses the position. Over time, he comes to respect Red Beard, his pragmatic viewpoint, and his effective manner of …
Double Bill at the Bloor Cinema, Part I: Late Hitchcock
One of the prominent aspects Vertigo and Psycho, as with all Alfred Hitchcock films, is the musical scores by Bernard Hermann. It’s not so much the intensity of the music during climatic moments – although that aspect is present as well – but the many other scenes when a more low-key score builds the tension and foreshadows what is to occur later. For every scene at the top of a church bell tower or in a shower, there are several scene on the roads of California that serve as rising action. The audience knows something is about the go wrong …