TAKE EIGHT

  

JACOB WEISBERG

THE BUSH TRAGEDY
This is probably the best anti-Bush
book ever written, and coming from a
conservative that’s high praise indeed.
Early on in The Bush Tragedy, author
Jacob Weisberg makes it clear that he
doesn’t hate Bush, but merely thinks
the man should never have become
president. His reasons take the form of
a detailed and lengthy biographical and
psychological analysis of the president,
creating a portrait that is far more
complex, tragic, and troubling than
most of the shrill left-wing rants we
usually hear. The book’s conclusions are
not particularly profound—Weisberg
argues that Bush at his core is a very
weak and insecure person, easily
dominated by others and trapped in a
depressing Oedipal narrative—but the
eloquence and insight in the way the
points are argued gives his arguments
a level of maturity that even the
president’s backers will be forced to
take seriously.

- J.J. McCullough

 

 
 

&y

ELI SOPOW
CORPORATE
PERSONALITY
DISORDER

Eli Sopow, PhD. of organizational
behaviour from Roval Roads
University in Victoria, and a senior
communications strategist to the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police, takes a
detailed look at the corporate psyche
in our modern world. He approaches
organizations as biological beings
that behave like humans precisely
because they were invented by
humans. According to Sopow, many
organizations suffer from a kind

of personality disorder. The way

to understand and cure this illness

is to look deep in the roots of the
organizational family tree and change
the corporate behaviour by changing
its culture. This book may not appeal
to everyone, but it’s an interesting and
thoughtful examination of corporate
culture.

- Siavash Rokni

   

SUPERBAD
(DVD)

Superbad, starring Jonah Hill, Michael
Cera and written by two Vancouver
boys, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen,
finally gets the DVD treatment.
Superbad, which Rogen and Goldberg
began writing when they were 13 years
old, follows two high school seniors,
Evan (Cera), and Seth (Hill). The two
are preparing to head off to different
colleges and want to hook up with the
two girls they like before high school
ends. The two-disk, unrated DVD is
packed with special features, including
footage of the cast auditions, the movie
soundtrack, on-set diaries chronicling

the making of Superbad, deleted scenes,

cast commentary, and much more.
Despite having already seen the movie
in theatres, I was cracking up from start
to finish the second time around. 10 out
of 10!

- Garth McLennan

 

CADBURY MINI-EGGS

up... it’s that time of vear again.
| hat clucking rabbit has invaded our
television screens and Cadbury’s
Mini Eggs have arrived on our store
sheives. | don t reaily understand the
ype. Peopie (my girlfriend especially)
verywhere are crazy tor the little
ags of mediocre chocoiate wrapped
in an equaily mediocre candy shell.
Personally, I’ve always preferred
the original Cadbury Créme Eggs to
their diminutive cousins—the sticky
fondant filling, the meit-in-your-mouth
texture, and the possibly messy eating
experience all add up to a better form of
candy. Anyway, | suppose the real story
is how that stupid rabbit will afford to
eat after Cadbury gets sued for price-
fixing in the chocolate industry. Happy
Easter!
- Luke Simcoe

 

MUTATE

 

PHILLIP PULLMAN
HIS DARK MATERIALS

Are you struggling under a pile of
homework, and irritated with your
student loan office? Take a break from
early adulthood and restore your inner
child with the new boxed set of Philip
Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy,
beginning with the now-infamous The
Golden Compass. The full set includes
everything you'll need in order to dream
away the weekend pretending to be
inside Pullman’s steampunk, parallel-
universe of Oxford. If you skipped
these books when you were actually a
kid (and not just acting like one), make
sure you catch them this time around.
Not only are they an easy read and a
compelling diversion from adult life,
they’re also intriguingly smart, and not
just smart “for a kid’s book.” Pullman is
no J.K. Rowling; his books are likely to
appeal to your adult intelligence, as well
as your inner ten-year-old.

- Aimee Oullette

   

JAPANDROIDS
LULLABY DEATH JAMS

With Lullaby Death Jams, Japandroids
further solidify their status as one of
Vancouver s most dynamic new acts.
On “Darkness on the Edge ot Gastown,’
the record’s standout track, the looming
spectre of a past relationship haunts

the streets of the Downtown Eastside,
but instead of rattling chains, it sounds
an absolutely crushing guitar nff.
Elsewhere, the two-piece take aim at
the monarchy (“No Allegiance to the
Queen’) and almost write a love song
(“Sexual Aerosol”). The EP closes with
the lengthy “Lucifer’s Symphony,”

in which guitarist/singer Brian King
offers a scathing indictment of the baby
boomers by crooning, “Our daughters/
Our Sons/Their future is your fun.”
Anyway, it’s an excellent twenty-one
minutes of post-teenage angst, and it’s
available at Scratch, Zulu, and live
shows everywhere for a mere $5.

- Luke Simcoe

February 25, 2008

K Bol ROE Ta loathe)

 

DAVID MICHAELS
TOM CLANCY’S
ENDWAR

Based on the video game of the

same name, Jom Clancy’s Endwar

is a fabulous novel set from various
viewpoints in World War III. The book
was released February 5 in paperback
only, and it’s now available at Costco
for only $8. For that price, the book is
a steal. Although it’s written by David
Michaels, the book is a real page-
turner in true Tom Clancy form. The
characters are intriguing and the plot
will have you up for hours saying, “I'll
just read one more chapter.” Published
by Berkley and 400 pages long, Endwar
is a great read. I don’t want to reveal
too much about the plot because the
book is loaded with suspense, and it
paints a scary picture of the near future.
- Garth McLennan

 

Seeotaiaticns sina
NN etnias edna

TIMES NEW VIKING

RIP IT OFF

Despite a shining 8.4 review from
Pitchtork, this record gets old really
fast. The lo-fi recording techniques,

the fuzzed out girl/boy harmonies,

the seemingly contrived youthful
exuberance—uit all adds up to yet
another fourth-rate Sonic Youth. It’s
too bad; | kind of had high hopes for
this record. I was actually on board

for a positive review until singer Beth
Murphy shouted, “let’s do something
that hasn't been done before” in the
intro to “Faces on Fire.” It kind of

hit me that such a statement—said
without a hint of irony—is the exact
antithesis of the album. Rip /t Off traces
a pretty picture from the Sex Pistols to
Pavement, but at no ume 1s it willing to
colour outside the lines.

- Luke Simcoe

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