FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
SPLICE
by FFWD staffSigns of the Apocalypse
Pat Boone doing metal? No More Mr. Nice Guy, make room for the Tough Metal Guy in Leather. If you see something that stops you in your tracks, send it in! It could be an ad, billboard, photo or whatever - if we use it we'll give you $15.
Life for Real Dummies
Life for Real Dummies by Richard Sandomir and Rick Wolff (HarperPerennial) is among the latest in a series of self-help books for the thinking-impaired. The book (marked Parody! for those who really are real dummies) is a reference for the totally clueless on the fun and easy way to get through life. The introduction, which tells you how to actually turn the pages to read the book, leads to chapters on sex, religion, television, golf and more.
For example, on determining your sex: if you find yourself breathing heavily and staring at bikini-clad women, chances are you are MALE; if you find yourself dreaming about hunky guys, chances are you are FEMALE; if you find yourself attracted to earthworms, which are born with both male and female sexual organs, chances are you are BISEXUAL; and, if you find yourself attracted to tricycles, chances are you are TRISEXUAL. There is also a section featuring Windows '96 - how to open a window, how to close a window, how to wash a window....
Odd Adventure-Zine
According to Zamboni Press, it has blown up (as in, enlarged) the Odd Adventure-Zine to comic book proportions using a secret process powered by its cold fusion reactor. "For the first time, the adventures of Moe, Investigator of the Odd can be fully documented and annotated for the public," reports Ian and Ty Smith, the brothers who are the Zamboni Press. Ian does all the writing and Ty does all the art in the secret underground bunker in Portland, Oregon where they live as they await the "Big One." Each quarterly zine features a complete Moe story, reviews, letters, odd articles and guest casefiles - this issue has a guy with moose horns, a guy in a Thor hat and a lot of weird situations....
To learn more about Moe, visit the Zamboni Press Galactic headquarters or, to request more information about ordering, contact the brothers at Zamboni Press, 16842 NW Joscelyn St., Beaverton, OR, 97006 (e-mail to megalon@teleport.com).
Web watch
Freedom to Read Week is being celebrated in Canada from February 24 to March 2. Even in Canada, considered to be a free country, books and magazines are banned at the border. To find out more information about the 13th annual campaign, sponsored by the Freedom of Expression Committee of the Book and Periodical Council, check out their site on the web.
A highlight is a link to Chronology of Freedom of Expression in Canada, which lists the books and events which have been banned over the years since 1914. For example, did you know that Lady Chatterly's Lover was banned in 1930? Or that the principal of Lakefield High School, in Margaret Laurence's backyard, pulled The Diviners from the Grade 12 reading list in 1976? In the arts community, the Dorothy Cameron Gallery in Toronto was raided and seven paintings removed in 1965. Also, director Louis Malle's film Pretty Baby was banned in Ontario in 1978. And in 1989, Canada was the only western country to seize The Satanic Verses (the ban was rescinded after 48 hours). More recently, during Freedom to Read Week in 1991, Canada Customs seized or detained 580 books on route to Glad Day book store, some of which were already available in mainstream book stores. And in July, 1996, the Calgary Herald publisher refused to include the latest issue of Saturday Night with the newspaper because it included naked pictures of an 80-year-old woman (the magazine had run full nudity before, but the models were younger). The Internet is being watched as well - in 1995, a Guelph University student faced disciplinary action for starting a "tasteless jokes" computer conference.
The site also features: Canada Custom's hit list; a pamphlet called When the Censor Comes, with a foreword by June Callwood, including tips on how to spot a would-be censor and what to do if Canada Customs detains or prohibits a publication ( such as make a real nuisance of yourself); a list of Freedom to Read Week events in Canada; and links to other sites.
Free stuff
Fast Forward has five double passes to each of the two films showing at the Deep Freeze midnight film festival this weekend at the Globe Cinema. This week's movies are Hard Core Logo and Crash showing at midnight on Friday and Saturday. To win tickets, see the ad in this issue for details.
To win double passes to the premiere of the film subUrbia, showing Wednesday, February 26 at Westhills, look for the ad in this issue for details. The movie is about a group of suburban 20-year-olds who get together to welcome an old friend returning from a successful national tour of his rock band.
Fast Forward also has a limited number of free tickets to Winter Beat '97, Calgary's annual Caribbean Carnival Party being held Friday, February 28 from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Westin Hotel. The event features Inner Circle as well as Lorraine Klassen and Soweto Groove. See the ad in this issue to find out how to win.
The Uptown Screen has provided 10 double passes to Palookaville, showing February 21, 23, 25 and 27 and 9:30 p.m. and February 22, 24 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. Inspired by three short stories by Italo Calvino, Palookaville details the attempts of three friends to relieve the hopelessness of their lives by making a "momentary shift in lifestyle" and committing the perfect crime. To win, drop by FFWD with a donation for the food bank and name one of the four starring actors.
Also, we still have passes for the premieres of Hotel de Love and Unhook the Stars, both showing Thursday, February 20.
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