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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-01-21, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016. PAGE 5. Other Views Nothin to fear but Trump himself tt ourscore and seven years ago, our F fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." —Abraham Lincoln "You know, it really doesn't matter what they write as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass. But she's got to be young and beautiful." — Donald J. Trump The scariest prospect in writing about Presidential hopeful Donald Trump is that you stand a good chance of being, well, trumped. The odds are that he will do or say something so ignorant or repulsive that it will eclipse his already scum -caked litany of ignorant and repulsive words and deeds. No, I take that back. That's not the scariest thing. The scariest thing is writing `Trump' and `Presidential' in the same sentence. How can this bloated blowhard bigot with the piglet eyes, the perpetual sneer and ever - snarling mouth grimacing under an orange cantilevered verandah of lacquered faux -hair — how can he exist outside of a circus side show, never mind at the head of the polls? He's not the first oaf to run for public office (Rob Ford, take a bow) — but he's probably the most egregious since Caligula. Consider his genius strokes so far. He has insulted Mexicans ("drug dealers, criminals and rapists"), China ("They've taken everything. One of the greatest thefts in the history of the world"), John McCain ("He's not a war hero...I like people who weren't captured."), one and a half billion Muslims ("They're not coming to this country if I'm president."), and women interviewers asking uncomfortable questions ("There was blood coming from her eyes, blood coming from her...wherever."). Sound like presidential material to you? Everything that comes out of Trump's pie -hole is a lie, but it works. The deeper he wades into the swamp the higher he polls. That's because we are living in the Post- Factual Age. Thanks to the internet, anything you want to believe is absolutely true. You think climate change is a hoax? Obama is Kenyan? Canada is a hotbed of ISIS terrorists? Justin is a zombie undead reincarnation of his old man? There are umpteen talk -radio loonies and websites to confirm it. And nobody exploits those crackpot `references' more artfully than Trump. Since 9/11, an astonishing number of normally sane citizens have been skittering around the American corral like panicked sheep, buying assault rifles, stocking up on emergency provisions, bowing reverently towards Fox News and yes, taking Trump seriously. Here is a fun fact: since 9/11, an average of 30 American citizens have been killed by terrorists each year. That's about the same number as are annually killed by collapsing furniture. That's reality. But fear is a witches' brew that breeds paranoia and confounds common sense. Fear doesn't respond to logic. All it needs is a spoon — or a demagogue — to stir it. Abraham Lincoln, that other Republican, also said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time. But you can't fool all of the people all of the time." Question is: Can Trump fool enough of the people enough of the time? Bidding farewell to far too many The end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016 has been a pretty sad one for the entertainment industry as fans have bid farewell to Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead late last year, David Bowie earlier this month and actor Alan Rickman last weekend. Rickman has always been a favourite actor of mine since I saw him in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. A lot of people may raise an eyebrow when I claim that Rickman is among my favourite actors. He may not make that list for many as he didn't often play the protagonist. Sometimes he played a support- ing character and other times he was the villain. Whatever he did, however, he brought a level of acting ability to it that has always made me believe he was one of the best at what he did. Some actors are amazing at certain roles. Robert Downey Jr., for example, was the perfect choice for Tony Stark/Ironman. Hugh Jackson was such a great choice for Wolverine in the X -Men films that he has stuck for more than half a dozen of them. Sylvester Stallone was perfect for the Rocky and Rambo series, Bruce Willis was perfect for John McClane in the Die Hard movies (regardless of how well-received the more recent additions were) and Eddie Murphy made a perfect Axel Foley in the Beverly Hills Cop flicks. I'm not saying it's easy to pick the perfect actor for the leading role, but, in my mind (one that has next to zero experience with casting or making movies) picking the right supporting actors and actresses has to be extremely tough. Not only do you need someone who will be able to support the main actor/actress, but the supporting actors need to be able do it without overshadowing the stars. You need someone who realizes his/her role in the film is to play second fiddle to a main character. I would imagine that's not an easy task for anyone, especially a classically trained theatre actor like Rickman I'm being completely serious, however, when I say that every film I have ever seen Rickman in (that I wasn't forced to watch like those Harry Potter movies), there has been a quote that has stuck with me that has summed up those films. Take, for example, the comic gold of his portrayal of the Sherriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The Sherriff (to Robin Hood): "Locksley! I'm going to cut your heart out with a spoon!" Guy of Gisbourne (some time later): "Why a spoon cousin? Why not an axe?" The Sherriff: "Because it's dull you twit. It will hurt more." The half -deadpan, half -infuriated delivery of the line takes something that could be seen as sadistic and actually makes it pretty funny. While that's a popular one, I have to say that my favourite flick featuring Rickman is Dogma. For those of you not familiar, Dogma is a tongue-in-cheek look at the Christian religion by "Silent Bob" Kevin Smith featuring angels, dead prophets and Rickman, who portrays the Metatron, the one true voice of the almighty God (or so he says when he bursts into the bedroom of Bethany, the last descendant of Christ's bloodline, in flames.) What follows is Bethany, brought to life by Linda Fiorentino, putting the fire out that represents the Metatron with a smoke detector (kind of like if Moses took a bucket of water to the burning bush instead of listening to what was being said). The resulting exchange will always be, in my opinion, one of the funniest in film history. Metatron: "Sweet Jesus! Do you have to use the whole can?" Bethany: "Who the ---- are you and what the ---- are you doing in my room?" Metatron: "I'm the one that's soaked and she's the one that's surly. That's rich." [After some back and forth, Bethany realizes the Metatron isn't human.] Bethany: "What are you?" Metatron: "I'm pissed off is what I am. Do you go around drenching everybody that comes in your room with flame-retardant chemicals? No wonder you're single." Looking back, maybe a translation of the script doesn't really show the comedy gold of the scene. However, the fact that it's an odd thing to say further proves my point. Rickman was given a ludicrous exchange which predicated upon him being an angel and pulling down his pants to reveal himself to be, as he puts it, "as anatomically correct as a Ken doll." Despite the odd circumstances, the odd characters and being drenched in some kind of liquid, Rickman's dead -pan delivery of the lines makes the entire scene one that will always stick in my head as hilarious. Rickman's first big role, Hans Gruber opposite Bruce Willis in Die Hard, is also a favourite of mine and I try to watch it every Christmas (because yes, it is most definitely a Christmas movie). His turns as the voice of Marvin the depressed robot in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus on Galaxy quest were a comedic gem in a fantastic movie and a comedic gem in a pretty good movie, respectively. He is likely best known by the younger audiences for his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. His character, who goes from a minor antagonist in the first film to an anti-hero in the last, is portrayed without much of the comedy that I think he excels at, however he is still widely recognized and respected for the role. Rickman may be overlooked in the next little while because of Bowie's death (and trust me, that's not sour grapes, Bowie was an amazing artist) as other artists have been overlooked when several stars pass at once and that's the sad reality of the age we live in. However, Rickman's star will never diminish in my mind. He was an amazing actor responsible for many great roles. Shawn ornal Loughlin Shawn's Sense A real people person The discussion surrounding a potential new Huron County office last week has turned into a real forecast session for the future. And if that discussion is any indication, the future, to me, seems bleak. Of course, I don't mean that the actual future seems bleak, it was the discussion that made me feel like the future might be bleak. With five non -efficient (both in terms of energy and use of space) buildings on the books, the county is currently reviewing whether they should maintain the current five buildings or build one big office to house all of its departments. Over a proposed 40 -year life span, Huron County Director of Planning and Development Scott Tousaw says that a new building would pay for itself in 10 years and it would be much cheaper than maintaining the current five - building model over that same period. Costs and projections are one thing. If it were cheaper to have one big building instead of five over a 40 -year period, then it's hard to argue with that. It was councillors' projections, however, that made me conjure up the word, bleak. Several councillors spoke against one big office, citing improving technology as a reason not to build the office. The office of the future, perhaps, they argued, may not really be much of an office. Instead, with video chat capability, employees can be wherever they want and can connect to other employees, wherever they may be, via the internet when necessary. To me, the further this discussion went, all I could think about was a dystopian future where employees essentially occupy pods, but, thanks to the wonders of the internet (if only there was a font to communicate my sarcasm on this point), they can be connected to whomever, whenever they want. It just made me sad. Sure, a lot of work can be done on computers and e-mailed around to other employees for one reason or another, but what, if these councillors are to be believed, is to happen to the physical office? Some of the best friends you will make in your life will likely be co-workers, because, as many studies have told us over the years, you actually spend more time with these people than you do your friends or family. In my mind, it's a little tough to have an impromptu casual conversation with a co- worker when you're not in the same building. There is a certain comradery that occurs when people work together. Sure, there can be drawbacks to the office setting at times, but does the internet really have to replace everything in our lives? What will the Christmas party look like for the county in a few decades? A few hundred screens in one room all listening to some crappy recording of a crappy band while everybody is actually sitting at home in their pyjamas? Sounds like fun. I already marvel at how many times I go to a restaurant or a bar and see two people sitting together, and staring down at their smart phones, communicating with whomever while ignoring the person physically sitting two and a half feet across from them. Let's not let this virus infect the workplace too. There are a number of benefits to working alongside others and, unfortunately maybe for some, they don't all show up on the bottom line. So while it's fine to look ahead to the future, let's not treat people like they're batteries, stowed away from the light, powering something else. Let's treat them like people.