Thank you to everyone on Remembrance Day
With this being Remembrance Day, it’s only appropriate to begin on a serious note by thanking our many brave men and women in the Canadian military, both past and present, for their service to our country.
To all of our military veterans, those who came home and those who fell in combat, thank you for your sacrifice to this country.
Thank you to all of those who organized today’s Remembrance Day ceremonies and special events, up and down the valley and to those who volunteer tirelessly for veterans’ organizations such as the Royal Canadian Legion and Army Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada.
It wasn’t even Remembrance Day yet and The Daily Courier received its first Christmas card of 2017. Thanks to Bill Trewhella from Trail for the best wishes sent to our newsroom.
Roy Halladay was gone too soon. What was great during the Halladay era in Toronto was even when the Jays were lousy, you knew you were going to see a great game once every five days when Doc took to the mound.
I’ve enjoyed the series on CBC Radio about violence in junior hockey. I get a kick out of those who justify dropping the gloves because hockey “is such an emotional game,” where “frustrations can run high.” Then why don’t they fight in football? That’s a sport where they hit on every play.
Two years ago, much of the Academy Awards ceremony was spent apologizing for a lack of diversity among nominees. How will producers react this coming year to Harvey Weinstein? They simply can’t ignore it. It will be difficult for Hollywood to celebrate what’s been a lousy year. I’m also wondering if they will begin taking away Oscars to former winners who have since been deemed inappropriate.
Speaking of Hollywood, I think they’re running out of ideas.
Murder on the Orient Express, one of my favourite movies, is being remade.
The 1974 original, which stayed true to the Agatha Christie novel, was the perfect who-done-it (although the solution is fairly obvious and improabable). Albert Finney as famed Belgian detective Hercules Poirot was unrecognizable in the role which required him to memorize 28 pages of dialogue for the solution scene, done in one take. Ingrid Bergman won an Academy Award for what was five days of filming. So back to my original point. There’s no reason to remake a film when it’s done well the first time. Psycho, Planet of the Apes, and The Pink Panther (with Steve Martin), would have been OK had they not already been done... and to perfection. Remakes are best when the originals were so-so to begin with. Cape Fear, The Fly, and True Grit all fall into that category. I went to see the new Blade Runner movie. I’m surprised I’m still not sitting there.
In Boston this week, incumbent Marty Walsh won a second four-year term beating out several challengers including runner-up, Tito Jackson, a Boston city councillor. No, it’s not the Tito Jackson and, for the record, I like Jackie and Marlon better.
If you check “Happy Birthday” on Page D4, Tonya Harding, 47, is listed as a former figure skater and boxer. When I last heard, Tonya had bought a tourist resort in the Caribbean. It’s called “Club Nancy.” James Miller is Valley Editor and Director of Conent for Okanagan Newspaper Group.