Enjoy.

A lot of what was discussed on Sunday concerned plot and continuity. While those are certainly key differences between dramas and sitcoms, we didn’t discuss one aspect that bugged me till now. I find that a large difference between dramas and pure sitcoms is how each major character is motivated. Dramas, I find, have characters that are highly motivated towards a specific goal, be that of saving the world, protecting the border, or what have you. On the other hand, I find that many sitcoms nowadays feature characters that have an inherent lack of motivation [other than to be renewed for another season]. Is this one of the key defining factors for a sitcom? I’m not sure. What do you think?

Insert Thought Here.

That aside though, the WGA strike has definitely hurt more than it will relieve. For now, and for many months. The immediate impacts are real, and it speaks loads to the state of how we entertain ourselves in this brave new digital world that we’ve created. Reality TV and Game Shows rule the airwaves [or rather the fibre optics that line our streets], and while I may love to watch Howie Mandel as much as the next guy, the entertainment value provided by these shows is cheap and they sodden our already-mushy minds to more of this tripe.

Perhaps I am being a bit too harsh towards these quick-fix genres. Afterall, millions tune in each week to live vicariously through the lucky contestants in their quest for hundreds of thousands of dollars [post-tax]. Maybe that is the problem. Now, if you’ll bear with me for a moment, suppose I come home from a hard day’s work; what would you want to do? Have some food…pop open a beverage…hunker down and try to forget how hard my day has been so that I don’t have to remember that I’ll have to do it all over again the next day. Escapism in its finest hour. The problem isn’t so much that we crave Must See TV, it’s rather we need a way out, and TV is the cheapest and most mindless way to do so. Perhaps we need to re-examine the way we live and make adjustments so that we might need less of the mindless escapism, and more of the mindful escapism [reading, learning, thinking, to name a few]. However, I digress. Let’s hop back to the current state of things in TV-land.

The WGA strike is simply hurting everybody involved, including the general public. The studios are airing more crap than ever before, and with more viewers tuning out, the advertising money will inevitably go elsewhere. The actors are out of work [which I guess is a good thing for tabloid writers], and the directors are worrying themselves silly as their contract is up for negotiations. Let’s not even imagine the drought in the theaters when film production finally catches up. All of this adds up to one simple fact – viewers will get fed up and slowly migrate to other interests. [Remember when baseball went on strike over a decade ago? They've barely recovered since.] On the other hand, professional sports will probably see a dramatic rise in viewership in these months. Good news for the NHL and the NBA.

There are other winners as well, of course. DVD and CD sales/rentals are probably doing well, as the general public needs a find some way to kill time. College sports may get a bit of a boost [not that they need any as March Madness slowly crawls to our doorsteps]. The Video Game industry can leverage their fantastic holiday sales and keep riding their high, as long as they keep making decent games [signs, however, point to maybe; did you know that GameStop, the US video game retailer recently made it into the S&P 500?] Of course, you can also make this a winning situation for you by doing any of the following:

• Spend time with your family – Yes! They exist! They’re probably as bored as you are! Spend some quality time with them. Board games work, so do multiplayer video games.
• Grab a book – Any book will do! As long as they don’t have pictures in them.
• Go outside, get some exercise. The holiday season has come and gone, and how did your bathroom scale judge you? Naughty or Nice? I hear the skiing is nice out there.
• If you really need to get a dose of TV, try some Vintage TV shows, or maybe some Foreign Flicks. Watching old Sci-Fi shows like Babylon 5 is a good way to re-live your youth, and nothing says geekery like watching all of Star Trek in chronological order. The BBC [yup, the Brits strike again] isn’t on strike. Damn good TV from across the pond. Check out the following to kick start you: Hustle, Spooks, Dr. Who. In either case, the writing and story here will be better than anything that is currently on TV or any time in the near future.

It’s nice to see that the TV industry is getting a kick in their bloated pants. While we are suffering now, hopefully, TV will only improve after this setback for them. [My gut feeling, however, is telling me otherwise.] Perhaps, one day, TV will be able to inspire us once again. Until then…I’ll be happy to keep my TV in the box.

Those who have had some fortune in eating food I have prepared know that I am not a bumbling fool in the kitchen. However much I can broil, roast, steam or grill though, there is one elusive culinary art that has eluded me for years. This is the dark art of which I speak, and its name is Baking.

I’m never sure why I have had such troubles with baking, but all I know is that the typical result of my using the oven is charred, indistinguishable lumps. [Mind you, there were spots of successes every now and then...like that time I hand whipped meringue...] Still, with little to do during the days, I have started tackling the oven…and the results have been…mildly positive.

I baked not one, but two loaves of banana bread last week [using 2 different recipes], and I must admit, both of them turned out alright. They were even good enough to bring to her party this past weekend with some non-negative reviews. Needless to say, this has stoked my inner desire to continue this successful trend, and I am proud to announce that tomorrow night, I will attempt to make cinnamon buns. It’ll be so gooey and sticky…it will be simply scrumptious. If it’s successful, I might even take some to my sister when she moves in to UofT next week (and help her make a few friends that crucial first week).

Hell…if I’m successful with that…who knows what else I’ll make… Breads…pies…muffins…maybe even a cake… No! A Two-Tiered Cake! It will definitely be a new age for me and my kitchen.

Look out world! Things are only going to get sweeter from here on out.

They like their things big. In all sense of the word.

They also tend to concentrate on the big picture, which unfortunately lets the details fall by the wayside.

That is all…please continue with your daily schedules.

• McDonald’s offers so many cooler food items here (can anyone say Curry Porkchop Sandwiches?)
• Starbucks is still pretty much the same, but I may say it’s slightly more successful than its Canadian counterpart.
• Console gaming has gotten a lot of profile here. Many of the places I used to go to for manga and Japanese trinkets have been converted to game stores.
  • Yes, the Wii is still outselling the PS3…but not by much.
    • No, there are plenty of Wiis here for purchase.
    • No, you can’t play any North American games on them.
    • No, I can’t get one for you.
    • Yes, I can get you peripherals if you want them.
• I’m finding piracy to be less and less prominent here.
• Chinese New Year is still pretty important, but it’s been diluted a lot with Western influences.
• Electronics are everywhere here. Almost everybody is a technophile and there are a lot of cool stuff that you can’t get in North America. Too bad the prices aren’t better though.
  • I really really wouldn’t mind getting a cooler phone. (Can someone say new LG Chocolate or a MotoRizr?)
  • Nokia is seen as a pretty solid brand here…unlike other parts of the world.
• Apple’s made a pretty big influence here with the iPod. I’m just not sure if anyone’s biting because of a highly saturated market.
• Surprisingly, I can’t seem to find any Zunes.
• Microsoft has done a very good job in pushing the XBox 360 here. Most major electronics dealers carry one…either a Gears of War bundle or a hotter Dead or Alive 4 bundle.
• I’m not sure if it’s smog or low hanging clouds out there in the distance.
• Have you seen My Life as McDull? It’s a relatively old HK cartoon featuring a family of pigs. They’re using that a lot in advertisements and such this year, seeing as it is now the Year of the Pig.
• 300 – 400 thousand people are apparently a smallish number.
• Network news channels here are just as bad as CNN. They just carry fewer stories and keep repeating them over and over again.
• Why don’t Canadian cable companies carry the Cartoon Network?
• The reason why people look so in shape here? It’s because they walk everywhere.
• People here have very little respect for North American copyrights and intellectual property. (I saw a sign advertising for a Charlie Brown cafe…yes, that Charlie Brown featuring a certain beagle.)

I think I’ll stop here for now. I’m sure there’ll be plenty more of thoughts to put down later.

Here are my thoughts on the talk and the policy overall.

Inflation Targeting initially involves the central bank stating a target for inflationary growth for the country. They then use macroeconomic tools such as interest rates and monetary tools to influence the economy to produce the desired inflation. In this way, the economy can be controlled and shaped for a specific purpose.

The Canadian approach in Inflation Targeting is to create a slow and sustainable rate of economic growth (at 2% inflation). In this regard, the Bank of Canada has been successful in doing so since the early 90’s, when the policy was implemented. In support of this, Longworth presented many pieces of empircal evidence which indicates that economic growth rate is, indeed, slow and stable. Overall, Longworth presented a very compelling story to illustrate the effectiveness of the system.

Still, one question lingers (one which was asked in the extended Q&A after his talk) and it deals with the rationale behind a desired 2% growth rate. Why did the Bank of Canada choose 2% over other possible small percentages (like 1% or 3%)? In my opinion, Longworth was not able to fully justify this. A 3% rate would offer the same security in “slow and steady growth” but would allow for the country to prosper at a higher rate than other nations. On that particular train of thought, why don’t all industrial countries aim for a 3% (or higher) rate of growth?

If you would like to contribute an answer, feel free to comment below.

The weekend has been somewhat ok – wish I had gotten more work done. However, since a number of classes I’ve prepped for this past week has been postponed to this week, I find myself content with my current lazy state.

I decided to skip FASS again this year (like I do every year), and instead hit up the UpStart Festival. While I usually don’t try to be snobbish about things, I find myself being completely snobbish with theatre. I think I’ll blame my high school upbringing.

I attended the Saturday night show, which allowed me to catch a few good shows including The Wrong Play and my good friend Mike K’s work Interviewing Stu. It was a pretty good night of student productions. They still have another weekend left in production, so I encourage you all to check it out.

Fortunately, it is about baseball…I guess it’s not so bad afterall.