Guelph Politicast

End Credits - August 15, 2018 (The Meg)

It may not be safe to go back into the water on this week's End Credits... Yup, we're reviewing the new giant killer shark movie The Meg, which may or may not be the perfect late summer movie. We'll also tackle some of the pressing pop culture news of the week, including award show controversies, a new spy (maybe), an old classic has a birthday, and what you might be watching after midnight this September at TIFF.
This Wednesday, August 15, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson, and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Oscars So Fight. Oscar controversy season came early this year when the Board of Governors announced some key changes to the annual awards show including a three-hour cap on running time, and, most controversially, a new award for "Achievement in Popular Film." This is the latest attempt by the Oscars to get people watching the Oscars again, but what about the artistic question: Can't a film be both popular and good?
Bond in Black. London bookies are taking bets as to who the next James Bond might be, and the leading candidate is Idris Elba. Elba has been associated with being the next Bond for several years now, but a new rumour pushed him to the front of the pack even as Daniel Craig gets ready to shoot what's likely his final movie as the super spy. While Elba would make a fairly captivating Bond, is it in the realm of possibility he's the next 007?
Watching After Midnight. The Toronto International Film Festival released its line-up of Midnight Madness movies last week. Among the announcements were a couple of the usual suspects, Halloween and The Predator, but the fun of Midnight Madness are the films you don't know much about, or that you don't see coming. Sadly, only one of those films is directed by a woman, but we'll look at what offerings will be available at this year's fest.
One-Armed Fan. This week's anniversary discussion is focused on The Fugitive. It was 25 years ago that the movie based on the cult classic TV series was released, and The Atlantic marked the occasion by calling it the "last action movie for adults." That might be a bit much, but there's no doubt that The Fugitive is better than it had any right to be, and with more than a little longevity too. We'll remember the iconic pursuit of the One-Armed Man.
REVIEW: The Meg (2018). The megalodon is the biggest shark that ever lived, but they all died out millions of years ago. Or did they? Well, of course they did, but for the purposes of The Meg, a megalodon has existed deep in the ocean's depths and once freed it could mean the Earth's beaches are an all you can eat buffet. The only thing in its way is the ultimate human predator, and his name is Jason Statham! In the battle between man and shark, who will win? Hopefully, the audience.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #134 - Building the Cycling City

A few weeks ago, the new Ontario government cancelled $93 million of funding for something called the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling (OMCC) program. The money, which was raised from the cap and trade agreement, was for cycling infrastructure in towns and cities across the province, and the move is proof of just how hard it is to make cycling a priority for governments, but there is hope!
This week on the podcast, we're joined by Chris and Melissa Bruntlett, the authors of a new book called Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality. The book takes the reader to the Netherlands, and describes how that country has become, in their words, “an important model for moving the rest of the world toward a more human-scale, bike-friendly future.” It also goes to other places around the world, and across North America, to talk about how those lessons from the Dutch are transferable.
The Bruntlett's themselves walk the walk; they advocate for a "car-lite lifestyle", and live that lifestyle themselves in their home in Vancouver. The book is their latest project to promote multi-modal transportation infrastructure, which is a way of saying every form of transportation but the private automobile: walking, biking, transit, and car sharing included. Can Canada make the jump?
Well, the Bruntletts think so, and Building the Cycling City will show us the way. Before the book comes out though, the Bruntletts this week will talk to you about their own car-lite story, what they wanted to say in the book, and what cycling is like for people in the Netherlands who’ve never been. They also talk about the politics of developing the multi-model city, and what a bike utopia might look like if we follow in the Dutch example.
So let's go Dutch and dream about a better biking future on this week's Guelph Politicast!
Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality will be available in bookstores on August 28, but you can pre-order it now on Island Press, as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indigo Books. The book tour rolls through Guelph on August 27 at the eBar hosted by the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation, and you can find details here. You can also visit the Bruntlett's website ModaCity here.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday's episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - August 9, 2018

This week on Open Sources Guelph we gaze into the terrifying future. Sort of. Yes, we look ahead to maybe having an NDP leader in the House of Commons again, and what the election might look like a year from now, but there's also plenty here in the present to be worried about. In Portland, violence seems to be the name of the game as ideologies clash in the streets, and there's plenty of ideological clashing online too between new enemies, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of Canada.
This Thursday, August 9, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Brawlin' Kingdom. When Canadian Foreign Affairs tweeted that they were concerned about the arrests of activists in Saudi Arabia, including noted women's rights activist Samar Badawi, who would have guessed that it would begin a power struggle of epic proportions. The Kingdom expelled the Canada ambassador and staff, and they recalled all Saudi students studying in Canada, and then they upped the game by posting a picture on social media that evoked 9/11 imagery on the CN Tower. So is there any real diplomatic fallout from this? Did the Saudis overplay their hand, or did Canada?
Singh for the Moment. Although he's spent most of the last year saying that he doesn't need a seat in Parliament to rally the NDP, it seems that leader Jagmeet Singh is having a change of heart. Burnaby MP Kennedy Stewart resigned from his seat to run for mayor of Vancouver, and apparently Singh is looking at Burnaby "very closely" as a place from which to launch himself to Parliament Hill. Sounds good, but it's worth remembering that Singh is an Ontario politician who sat in the legislature representing a Brampton riding. Can Singh overcome the parachute, and does he need a seat to make himself more viable as leader?
Liberal Pious. This time next year, we'll be waiting for Justin Trudeau to take that walk to Rideau Hall for the dissolution of Parliament, and the beginning of the next Federal Election. So what does the political landscape look like one year out? Well, the Liberals still have their fans, but they also have a whole lot of work to do. Some polls are indicating that the Trudeau government is vulnerable on the issue of border security, an issue that seems to favour Conservatives for those voting on it. So looking at the issues and the electoral field, who has the most work to do in the next 12 months?
Thwartlandia. Portland has long been considered one of America's most liberal cities, safely ensconced in the very liberal Pacific Northwest, but something very wrong has been happening there lately. On Saturday, an alt-right protest including members of Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys clashed with Antifa counter-protestors. Portland has been a hotbed for such clashes since the 2016 election of Donald Trump, but this time the police took action to try and stop the violence, including pepper spray and flash grenades. What do the Portland protests tell us about the character of America in the Trump era?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - August 8, 2018 (The Spy Who Dumped Me)

We follow up last week's episode of End Credits, which was about a high-stakes spy movie, with a review this week about a low-stakes spy movie. Yes, girls just want to have fun and save the world with The Spy Who Dumped Me. Speaking of dumped, we check in with a well-known firing from the House of Mouse, and in more Disney drama we look to China. Also, we talk about the man known as SBC, and that festival with the initials T.I.F.F.
This Wednesday, August 8, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson, and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Gunn and Done. It seems that the controversy about James Gunn's firing from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just won't go away. Last week, the entire cast of the Guardians films came forward with a joint letter asking Disney to rehire Gunn, but there's no sign that Disney's budging. Can the Guardians of the Galaxy save Gunn? Can their fans? Or is Disney now just too powerful to have to take the views of fans and cast members into account?
Pooh d'Etat. Last weekend, Christopher Robin opened in theatres everywhere, but there's one place it won't open, and that's China. Now Disney hasn't had the greatest luck with China lately, A Wrinkle in Time was banned there, and the Star Wars movies have seen a series of diminishing returns. But what, oh what, do the Chinese have against Winnie the Pooh and friends? We'll talk about the surprising answer.
Who is America Helping? Every Sunday night for the last few weeks, a number of U.S. politicians have been watching and worrying about what they were about to see on Sacha Baron Cohen's new series, Who is America? Still, who is this show for? No one doubts Cohen skills as a satirist, but is he actually doing any good exposing Republican politicians in a comedy show? Is he maybe just preaching to the choir?
No Fest for the Wicked. The first films to be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival this September have been announced, and among them are some of the usual suspects: Jason Reitman, Denys Arcand, and Steve McQueen to name a few. But more generally, it seems like TIFF is using its platform to amplify female directors, and First Nations films, both surprisingly underrepresented for Canada's "Festival of Festivals." We'll talk about the flicks so far.
REVIEW: The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018). Last week we reviewed Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and now it's time for something sort of a little different. Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon play besties that suddenly find themselves with their own impossible mission when they find out Kunis' ex is a spy with world saving, or world destroying, information. The Spy Who Dumped Me proves that you don't need to jump out of a high-altitude plane to save the world, but that doesn't mean you can't still have a little fun!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

Open Sources Guelph - August 2, 2018

Open Sources Guelph is always looking for efficiencies, so just like Doug Ford we're going to cut everything in half! Half the time, half the issues, half the hosts... Just kidding, we wouldn't do that to Scotty! In all seriousness, we're going to spend half the show this week taking a serious look at the municipal elections this fall, both the things that Ford has done and the things he hasn't done. In the second half of the show, we'll talk about the latest, and sorta surprising #MeToo development, and whether owning the libs is a smart political strategy.
This Thursday, August 2, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
City Brawl. The news broke late last Thursday that Premier Doug Ford was going to make an announcement Friday that elections for four regional chairs would be canceled, and that the composition of Toronto City Council would be reduced from 47 to 25. What was more shocking, other than the fact that Ford had never said that this was a priority, was that this announcement was made four hours before the close of nominations for this fall's municipal election. So what's the urgent urgency? Is Doug Ford really that passionate about municipal politics? I mean, it's not like he was getting revenge on political rivals, right?
Ballot Treasure. Speaking of revenge, Ford's move to cancel the Peel Region Chair elections forced Patrick Brown to seek new political opportunities by running for the Mayor of Brampton. No, it totally makes sense, his dad used to practice law in Brampton! Meanwhile, in Toronto, white supremacist Faith Goldy announced that she was opening up a new revenue stream by running for Mayor, which makes her the second white supremacist trying to defeat John Tory. We'll talk about some of the interesting races across the province, and what the Guelph ballot looks like for this fall's local election.
The Edifying Nun. The Catholic Church is in the midst of its own issues so far as the #MeToo movement is concerned. Yes, the Catholic Church. Although the sexual abuse of children by priests has been well known and covered by the press for years, there has been a number of silent victims: the sisters of the faith. Nuns. Many nuns are now coming forward with stories of rape, abuse, and harassment, by priests, which opens up another new avenue of controversy for the Church, which is still struggling with all that other controversy. Can the Vatican rise to the occasion of its #MeToo moment?
On Owning Libs. A CBC Opinion article this week tried to make the case that "owning the libs" might be a good political strategy. That if Conservatives want to shake off the image of being uptight and stolid, then they should break out the meme generators, craft their insults, and troll baby, troll! Hey, it worked for Republicans in the U.S. but is it sensible political strategy to promote the concept of being mean and pithy in order to win elections at the expense of policy? Are we not creating an electorate that puts image first, and substance second, and isn't that everything we hate about Trumpism?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - August 1, 2018 (Mission: Impossible - Fallout)

Good morning, Mr. or Ms. End Credits listener. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to listen to this week's episode of the show, which is all about the Mission: Impossible franchise. One of the most unique and organic franchises of our time, there's been a lot of good stuff in this series so far, and a lot of good stuff in its latest entry, Fallout. Shall we discuss? This internet post will self-destruct in five seconds...
This Wednesday, August 1, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson, and Jesse Mellott will discuss:
Mission: Completist. See Tom. See Tom Run. Run Tom, Run. That, along with cool gadgets and globetrotting, pretty much sums up the Mission: Impossible film series, which has featured dozens of actors, five directors, but only one star/producer in the person of Tom Cruise. Still, the M:I series offers some surprisingly interesting directions and complications that you don't find in other blockbuster franchises. We'll run down the first five Missions: Impossible.
REVIEW: Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018). For the first time in franchise history, a director returns to pick up his own baton for the further adventures of Ethan Hunt and the Impossible Missions Force. In the sixth film in the series, Hunt and his team must track down some missing plutonium before it can be used in three doomsday devices in an attack on an unknown target. Joining the fun this time is Superman Henry Cavill, who may prove more than a match for our old friend Ethan. Nothing's impossible, except Tom Cruise's good luck!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

Open Sources Guelph - July 26, 2018

THIS WEEK ON OPEN SOURCES GUELPH... Sorry, this week on Open Sources Guelph, we're going to walk softly and carry a sarcastic tone. Yes, we need to talk about Trump's foreign policy, such as it is. We're also going to talk about how it's going with Doug Ford and Justin Trudeau on a pair of tricky portfolios. (Hint: It's not going well.) And to wrap it up, we're going to not get on the bus. Because in certain places in the country, there are no more buses.
This Thursday, July 26, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
"BE CAUTIOUS." Not even a week after a "summit" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which no substance of the conversation has was released, President Donald Trump thought it would be a great idea to issue an all-caps treat/tirade against Iran. Granted, he was responding to a poke from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, but it's been Trump and the United States that have been taking aggressive actions against Iran by, in part, cancelling the nuclear deal. Of course, this outrage might have something to do with the fact that his "tremendous" North Korea deal has gone to putt. So what is the "Trump Doctrine" on foreign policy now?
Sex Ed Drive. We're nearing the end of the first month of the Doug Ford era in Ontario, and it's been a heck of a ride so far. The latest developments have seen the minister of community safety and correctional services, Michael Tibollo, get accused of being a racist, along with a series of fumbles and walk backs about the revised sex education section of the new health curriculum. In fact, the latest article from the Toronto Star notes that it's six weeks before the start of school now, and teachers are still not sure what they're teaching, and now hundreds are taking to the streets to protest the government's reactionism. So where do we go on sex ed next?
Kinder-Barter. A deadline has come and gone, and there are no new buyers for the $4.5 billion Trans Mountain pipeline that the Federal government picked up from Kinder Morgan. That leaves the government on the hook for the full cost of developing a pipeline that they say is so vital to the national interest, but for which they can't find an investor, and they're getting serious backlash on it from their own supporters too. Meanwhile, protestors in Burnaby could be rousted any time now after defying an eviction order. So where do we go from here, and can the Liberals even convince themselves that this project can move ahead?
Bus-ted. Greyhound's announcement that they are cancelling several routes through rural areas in Western Canada has been met with surprise and outrage. There's wide spread concern for Indigenous women, who are themselves already a particular prey for predators along Canada's byways. There's also concern for victims of domestic violence, for whom a bus ticket is the quickest, cheapest form of escape. And there's concern for the poor, for students, for seniors, and anyone else that relies on public transportation. Is there anything though that the governments of Canada, provincially and federally, can do?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - July 25, 2018 (The Equalizer 2)

Let's get ready to equalize! This week on End Credits, we return to sequel town with the another action flick about a bad ass older man that can break whippersnappers in half. Before equalizing The Equalizer though, we'll tackle some news items from the week that includes items about older guys behaving badly. But first, do you want to know how we got these scars...?
This Wednesday, July 25, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson, and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Have Gunn, Will Twitter. In a surprise move Friday, Disney fired James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 after some extremely distasteful tweets surfaced thanks to conservative activists looking to embarrass Gunn after some anti-Trump remarks. Yes, the jokes were offensive (including references to rape and pedophilia), but did Gunn deserve to lose his position, especially when he took the rare step and actually apologized? And what did Disney know, and when did they know it?
Dead Wringer. Canadian director David Cronenberg is getting a lifetime achievement award next month at the Venice Film Festival, and just after he said in a new interview that "If movies disappeared overnight, I wouldn’t care." Dark, but he may have a point. If every movie theatre were to close tomorrow, would you notice? Would you care? We'll look into the Pandora's Box that Cronenberg opened, and ponder if he may be right.
The Blow-verine. There was one movie that the British Board of Film Classification heard more complaints about than any other last year, and it was the Academy Award nominated superhero film Logan. About 20 complaints were received, mostly in regards to people believing that the movie being rated for people 15 and up was too lenient for such a violent film. So was a movie about a man with knives in his hands too violent for the average teenager?
The Bat Wave. It was 10 years ago this month that The Dark Knight opened, and to quote one of its main characters, it changed things forever. The film got a posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger, it got comic book movies to be taken seriously, and it let Christopher Nolan write his own ticket for over a decade. Looking back 10 years though, what is the lasting legacy of The Dark Knight? How do we consider it now when we look at the legacy of another 2008 CBM, Iron Man?
REVIEW: The Equalizer 2 (2018). Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington reunite again for this sequel to the big screen remake of the TV series about an ex-CIA agent that helps the average, everyday normal folks. So of course, Washington's Robert McCall gets dragged back into the spycraft as he must avenge, or equalize (I guess), his friend's brutal murder while she was investigating the mysterious death of an agency asset. Can McCall solve two murders, turn the life of a teen around, and make five-stars as Boston's deadliest Lyft driver?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #133 - Cathy Downer on AMO

At city council this week, a resolution from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) to support the North America Free Trade Agreement and stand with governments across Canada against Donald Trump's aggression on trade was passed unanimously. You may be asking, "What good does that do?" You may also be asking, "What the heck is AMO again?"
This week on the podcast, we dig into the deal with AMO, an organization with an important function and a long history. For the record, AMO describes itself as "a non-profit organization representing almost all of Ontario’s 444 municipal governments" that "supports strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and promotes the value of municipal government as a vital and essential component of Ontario and Canada’s political system."
That sounds rather dry, doesn't it? What we need is someone on the inside to translate that for us!
Fortunately, we have the perfect person locally to talk about the benefits of AMO, and to lend insight on the what, why, and how of the organization. Earlier this month, Ward 5 City Councillor Cathy Downer was acclaimed to AMO's board of directors for a second term as a member of the Large Urban Caucus. She has a seat at one of AMO's biggest tables, and also knows a thing or two about governance given her council experience.
So with Councillor Downer's assistance this week, we talk about the ins and outs of AMO: How is it organized? What does it do? And how influential is its work on people in higher levels of government? We talk about AMO's past, it's present, and yes, it's future, including what might be a difficult four years with a new government in Queen's Park that might not want to hear from 444 cities and towns looking for more money.
So let's get the 4-1-1 on the A-M-O on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about AMO and its various initiatives at its website here. The annual AMO conference will take place in Ottawa from August 19 to 22 and you can stay tuned for some likely news to come out of that gathering later next month.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday's episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - July 19, 2018

This week on Open Sources Guelph we have a very good relationship with Russia. Just kidding! Unlike the U.S. President in a press conference, there will be no butt kissing of the Russian Republic, and it's not so benevolent dictator here. Once we get these shocking developments on the international stage out of the way, we're going all-Canadian with news from Ottawa, British Columbia, and Guelph.
This Thursday, July 19, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The Russia Grouse. U.S. President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The "summit" was held in the shadow of new indictments from the Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller of several members of Russian intelligence who interfered in the 2016 Presidential election. But any sliver of hope that Trump might hold Putin account vanished in a post-meeting press conference when Trump suggested that the Russians can assist the investigation by interrogating American suspects. What?!?! When it comes to U.S./Russian relations, abandon all hope ye who enter here.
Shuffle Retreat. In his last summer off before the looming spectre of an election, it seems that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still having election thoughts. Rumours of a cabinet shuffle started making the rounds at the beginning of the week, which is a standard move for a government thinking about re-election. With most agreeing that key figures like Bill Morneau and Chrystia Freeland will be staying put, all eyes will be on who will step down from cabinet, as well as who will be stepping up, thus informing on where the Liberals will put the emphasis on their re-election efforts. So who's staying, and who's going?
Proportion Contortion. Looking to fulfill an important campaign promise, the B.C. government has laid out the rules for a referendum to determine if the province keeps the present First-Past-the-Post system, or whether a change will be coming to some form of Proportional Representation. Two groups have been formed to promote the 'Yes' and 'No' sides, and and a mail in ballot sent out to all eligible voters will determine the future of elections in British Columbia later this fall. Of course, the eyes of all PR supporters nation-wide will be watching this, so is the PR revolution finally here?
Talk the Vote. It's almost one week until the close of nominations for the 2018 Municipal Election, and if things are unchanged since this writing, then Cam Guthrie remains unchallenged for re-election as the Mayor of Guelph. Though there are a lot of big issues for the city - Clair-Maltby, the Alectra Merger, the Xinyl glass plant in Guelph-Eramosa, and more - Guthrie might sail to election victory without even really needing to campaign. Here's the thing though, Guelph's is not the only city where the mayor looks to be walking to re-election. What are we to make of this election year development, is it satisfaction of voter apathy?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.