Batman The Long Halloween

     Originally published in 1996 and 1997, Batman: The Long Halloween, is a 13 part limited series written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale. The story takes place early in Batman's career (Harvey Dent has not yet become Two-Face) and features a great noir style murder mystery featuring the Holiday killer.

     While Batman, Gordon and Dent try to solve the enigmatic Holiday killings we are also treated to scenes from Gotham's two biggest competing mob families and Bruce Wayne's life. Each of the 13 books takes place on a different holiday and features a different villain from batman's rogues gallery. We get to see appearances from Catwoman, Solomon Grundy, Joker, Mad Hatter, Calendar Man, Penguin, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and Two-Face.

     Jeph Loeb's story is tight and engrossing and Tim Sales art is original and cinematic, making great use of black and white, colour and shadows. I would not hesitate to suggest this series to any comic fan and give it a 9/10.

Lucas Brunelle's Line Of Sight

     Last night I watched Lucas Brunelle's film Line Of Sight. The documentary (directed and edited by Benny Zenga) shows a first person view of underground bike messenger street racing in cities such as New York, London, and Tokyo. The film also visits the bottom of the ocean, the streets of Mexico City, the jungles of Guatemala, and the Great Wall Of China.

     The video is often exhilarating and entertaining at the same time with tons of traffic and pedestrian dodging footage. However, I can't help but see these riders as a danger on the road. They ride the wrong way down one way streets, cut off cars, blow through busy red light intersections and break pretty much every rule of the road that exists. At one point Brunelle is being interviewed and he explains that he feels safe riding the way he does around New York. He believes that if you stay where you are he'll take care of everything else. However, no matter how good you are, you can never predict the actions of pedestrians, drivers or other riders.

     Within the first minute of the film a rider smashes the side view mirror of a car and almost gets doored. In another scene Lucas himself rides directly into a pedestrian who is trying to get away from the rush of oncoming cyclists. And in yet another scene a rider is hit by a car driven by an elderly woman. On one hand Brunelle is trying to tell us that this type of reckless riding is no danger to the public, yet he shows us footage of property damage, and collisions with pedestrians and cars.

     For me Line Of Sight is at its best when we get to see the scenes in Guatemala and in China. The footage is beautiful and there is a short action scene filmed in Guatemala that while showing irresponsible riding is staged so there is no danger to the public. As for the music I enjoyed the soundtrack which featured bands such as Van Halen, Guns N Roses, Motorhead, M.I.A, White Zombie, Neurosis, Lightning Bolt and Holy Fuck. If this were a choreographed action film I would give the movie a 9/10 for the stunt riding but since this is a documentary and the riding is simply dangerous I give Line Of Sight a 3/10.

Fail Compilation Video For July 2012

     TNL does it again!

The Tour De France 2012 In 100 Pictures

     The website TotallyCoolPix has put up a collection of news service photos from the 2012 Tour De France. Check it out at http://totallycoolpix.com/2012/07/the-tour-de-france-2012-in-100-pictures/

Brunch Review - The Drake Hotel

     This morning I met with some friends for brunch at The Drake Hotel. Brunch starts at 9:00AM and we lined up at about 10:00. The place was almost full but we got a table on the inside of the diner.

     The menu is short but everything sounds good. One of my friends and I ordered the Southern Fried Chicken and Waffles (herb waffle, maple syrup, creme fraiche, fried chicken and Niagara cherry jam) and my other friend ordered the Drake Breakfast (3 eggs, Perth bacon and Cumbrae's sausage, home fries and marble rye toast).

     As we waited for our food we could see plates being delivered to the other tables and everything looked delicious. The Southern Fried Chicken and Waffles were great. I was expecting the chicken to be on the bone but instead I received 3 moist, breaded and crispy fried chicken breast strips. The waffle was absolutely huge and took up most of the plate. A reasonable amount of maple syrup (not too much or too little) covered the entire dish and it was all topped with the Niagara cherry jam and creme fraiche.

     After eating the dish I was completely stuffed so I didn't feel like any desert but that was fine because the meal was both savoury and sweet so I got my sugar for the morning. My friend and I were very happy with our chicken and waffles and my other friend said that he also enjoyed his Drake Breakfast. I would totally go back to The Drake Hotel for brunch again. Next time I might consider ordering the Eggs Caleb (2 poached eggs, smoked salmon, arugula, toasted english muffin, hollandaise sauce and home fries) but the Southern Fried Chicken and Waffles were so good it would be hard not to order them again. After we left the hotel we noticed that Julianne Moore was waiting in the brunch lineup. Not only do you get a delicious meal at The Drake Hotel but you may also see a celebrity! I give brunch at The Drake Hotel a 9/10.

This Heat!

     I am a naturally warm person so I absolutely love cool days. I also like to wear jeans and black t-shirts so the extreme heat that Toronto (and most of North America) has been experiencing this summer has been fucking brutal on me. Add on the fact that the second floor of my apartment is not air conditioned and I'm dreaming of a white winter.

  
      Today was around 29 C° and it was a pure joy compared to recent weather. Looking at the upcoming forecast it looks like another hot week on the horizon. Pity me.

   

80's BC Rich Bich And Guitar Refinishing

     Two guitar posts in a row! What am I thinking?

     This NJ Series BC Rich Bich was my first electric guitar and for that reason alone I'll never sell it. However, that doesn't mean that I won't mod the hell out of it. I liked the way the guitar played, the funky bastardised strat headstock, and the wacky body but I was never a fan of the lipstick red colour. I originally tried to change the appearance of the Bich by using electrical tape. I applied black and white tape in a Van Halen style but the tape started to peel off after a while where my hand would rest.

     My next design was a white tiger stripe but once again it didn't stick for very long.

     So... about a decade ago I decided to do a complete body refinish. I dismantled the guitar, purchased some chemical paint stripper and several different grits of sandpaper. I tried to use the paint stripper in the garage but it wouldn't eat through whatever BC Rich used to coat the paint. I was forced to take the body into the backyard and start sanding away.

     It was some HARD work (two or three evenings) as the sandpaper didn't even want to go through the paint but I eventually got it done. I was expecting the body to be made of several pieces of wood but was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a fairly nice single slab.

     Once sanded and completely smooth I attached a plank of wood to the neck pocket (using the existing screw holes) so the guitar would be easy to handle. I picked up some walnut coloured stain from Home Depot and applied it according to instructions. I used a think layer on the front and back and went much thicker on the bevels and sides.

     After the guitar was stained to my satisfaction I taped off the pickup cavities and neck pocket then used spray lacquer to seal and protect the body. It took about eight thin coats to get it where I wanted it.

    I then installed some GFS Power Rails humbuckers, the rest of the original wiring and some chicken head knobs on the controlls.

     I don't use the guitar often because I prefer many of my other guitars and the Power Rails are a bit more overdriven and darker than I prefer but I am very happy with the way the refinishing project came out. I give the guitar itself a 6/10 but the refinishing that I did a 9/10.