Despite my ambivalent feelings about Winnipeg, there are times when I really love being here, and I feel like this city is never better than it is during the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.

( Fringe Factory )

That's the great thing about the Winnipeg Fringe, though--there are so many random things to encounter, in and out of the performance venues. You can start out one night talking passionately about the world of theatre in a pub when all of a sudden, a spontaneous Eighties Dance Party breaks out, followed by a rousing game of Intercourse-Handjob-Farts (a variation on Rock-Paper-Scissors developed by the aforementioned Luke Falconer...I'm sure you can figure it out), before ending up in another conversation where you staunchly defend your favourite critical theorist, without missing a beat.

Twelve days never feel like enough.

Before I completely neglect to mention it, Zack Morris made an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this week to update us all on what he's been up to since his days at Bayside:


I was surprised at the attention to continuity in his interview, referencing everything from Zack's (impossible) SAT score to his Wedding in Las Vegas--even addressing the retcon of Good Morning, Miss Bliss (the precursor to Saved by the Bell where some of its characters debuted), which was set in Indiana--and I have to say that The Roots can rock out that theme music rather well. :) It's also a little disturbing how easy it is to make Mark-Paul Gosselaar look the part again...

I'm glad to see Zack's kept his brick of a mobile phone (no text messaging, alas), but sad to learn of his divorce from Kelly Kapowski...although of course, that all depends on whether this appearance could be considered canon. ;)

I'd like to offer my sincere congratulations to Mr Alan Shore and Mr Dennis Crane on the happy occasion of their nuptials, joined together in a marriage ceremony performed by United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia in Nimmo Bay, British Columbia on December 8, 2008.

May the loving couple enjoy many years of wedded bliss.

While I work on the post(s) about my trip and the election, and catch up on the many posts from others which I missed when I was out of town, I'll just make a timely note that tonight's episode of The Office features Michael, Andy, and Oscar going on a business trip to that most exotic of foreign destinations...Winnipeg. ;)

Americans who aren't around tonight (and/or aren't in the habit of recording the series) can watch it on NBC's website, and Canadians can do the same on Global's website.

Destination Winnipeg helped out by sending the show some authentic local paraphernalia, so hopefully, they don't make too many egregious errors...

A few years ago, I attended a seminar moderated by Lawrence O'Donnell where I asked him, as someone who'd both written fiction and engaged in punditry, which one he felt was more effective for getting a political point across. He answered in favour of the former, since the people who are going to watch pundits in the first place will generally gravitate towards those they already agree with, but you might be able to sneak in and make someone think about something differently by using a fictional character.

Why choose, though? Maureen Dowd and Aaron Sorkin don't believe you need to, as they teamed up this weekend to depict Ex-President Josiah Bartlet's advice to Senator Barack Obama.

(Shout-outs go to daytonward, kradical, and tiggerallyn, all of whom beat me to the punch in posting the link.)

I had a few different reactions to reading this, beyond agreeing with the politics. It was great to have Jed Bartlet's voice jump out so clearly (I had no trouble at all picturing Martin Sheen delivering the dialogue), but that made me miss The West Wing all over again. Clearly, Sorkin wishes he had kept writing the show, and I'm wondering how long it'll take before he just admits that to himself and creates another politically-themed series.

(Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was increasingly frustrating for me to watch because he seemed to be shoehorning unusued West Wing ideas into it, where they came off as jarringly out-of-place, and I kept waiting for the series to really become about sketch comedy, which never quite happened. Ironically, in light of my saying that, the episodes of Studio 60 I liked best were the last few, after Sorkin himself stopped pretending that shift was ever going to happen...)

This piece also made me want to see more like it, although I realise that's unlikely. Bartlet's self-awareness might be my favourite part, as evidenced by his response to Obama asking how he overcame the American public's perception of him as arrogantly superior to them:

"I won't lie to you, being fictional was a big advantage."