Wax Off

Things have been so busy lately, I haven’t had time to blog. Although there are many things on my mind right now, there’s little for me to say about anything that wouldn’t be obvious or slightly incriminating. So I’ll sound off on a couple of slight issues.

First, Pat Morita. Morita-san , who played Arnold in “Happy Days” and Mr. Myagi in “The Karate Kid” was a very sweet, funny man. Or at least he seemed to be. He had a difficult life and it makes me sad that he passed away. Rest in peace, Myagi-san.

Next, I’d like to point out how difficult the authorities make it for a person to do things legitimately in this world. “Things” is a broad category, but let’s just say that if one were trying to operate fully within the law, the law goes out of its way to make it difficult for one to do said activity legally.

One quick example: setting up your own business. If I were to build a company, I would certainly register it as a business and pay taxes and do everything in my power to do things right because it’s the right thing to do. But there are so many obstacles to this, and many other legal enterprises, that it’s very enticing to go the illegitimate way; a bend in the law here, a slight deceit here. The evils of bureaucracy are made clear to me now as I try to dance the wicked dance of the civil service and it seems another cruel way to keep a good man down, while creating all kinds of opportunity for cheaters and lawbreakers. Way to go.

My beautiful bride-to-be has picked out a dress and I’m sure she looks lovely in it. The countdown is on until I see her.

My family is adapting to Toronto life. As much as my parents are foreign to the culture of cosmopolitan Toronto, I think it’s good for them to be in such a different neighbourhood than they were before. Toronto is so much different than small-town Barrie, and it will be interesting to see where they are in a year. Perhaps they’ll become beatnik poet/painters with a penchant for swinging and, dare I say, liberalism. Or perhaps not. All the same, I wish them the best and I think about them all the time.

I saw Chicken Little today. It was a great film, story wise, with some very clever bits and a smartly written script. Even so, it fell a little short of the mark. Disney’s first real foray into digital animation was a clumsy one, with the backgrounds and some characters looking like third-rate TV advertisements. I kept expecting a rousing chorus of “let’s all go to the lobby….” Besides the animation, the characters were a mixed bag with Chicken Little (played by the always wonderful Zack Braff) in fine form, while the other characters were limp and uninteresting. I think Disney had a good story on their hands; they could have had people out in Shrek-like numbers if they could only realize that adults watch these movies, too. On the other hand, my niece Emma sat through her first full movie and that can only be a good sign. Two out of five chickens for “Chicken Little.”

As I write this, I’m coming to you from my new laptop, which I’m very excited about. All in all, a good day.