dan's big long weekend of pain and fun

ok maybe "pain" is an overstatement, but this was a hard weekend -- i think mostly due to a general lack of sleep incurred. chrystal came out to visit these past few days and we did lots of walking, and lots of movies.

first things first though: day of the dead: not a bad flick -- if you don't mind movies centred around gore and absolutely no plot. freaky-deeky though. enough to make it hard for me to get to sleep. we saw scooby doo 2 as well. funnier, more entertaining, but really not a good flick. you know how you can make a movie for kids thats good for adults too? (shrek, harry potter) well this isn't one of those movies. if you're not under 12, i recommend that you stay away.

which brings me to my first gripe about stupid people... i can't believe i've taken this long to get to one on my blog. i can only assume i've not been paying attention. i went to see this stupid movie (scooby doo) and having already seen dawn of the dead earlier that day at the same theatre, i am caught by surprise when the very large and underpaid attendant, tears my ticket to let me in then stops me at the door and says: "sorry, you can't bring that in here" pointing at my $1000 camera slung over my shoulder.

"but it's not a video camera" i responded.

"it doesn't matter", the large guy continues, "you'll have to leave it with customer services if you want into the show".

now i'm not the type that likes to be forced into something -- i don't think anyone is. the fact of the matter is that (a) the camera is only capable of a whopping 3minutes of poor-quality video, and (b) i hadn't come to that theatre to break any copyright laws (no matter how ridiculous, archaic and restrictive). i'd come to blow $13 on a very bad movie. and after having already blown another $11 earlier that day (not to mention the cash chrystal was into this) i was understandably pissed that his halfwit at the door couldn't stop and think for a few seconds about what rules he was enforcing and what he was actually doing.

i talked it over with chrystal and while she was more than willing to walk all the way home to drop off the camera and catch the late show, i wasn't going to do that to her (she doesn't do late shows well). i walked over to the "customer service" desk and handed my $1000 camera to the $6.50/hr kid who took my name and number and offered me nothing with which to reclaim my stuff.

after the movie, i bitched out the idiot in the suit at the desk and told him that there were enough theatres in toronto that i will be able to make it a point to never come back -- his only defence was that it was the rules and that the company loses $40million a year on piracy -- a crime, i reminded him i had no intention, or ability to commit. but he didn't care -- fucking tunnelvision idiot.

but what's the real problem here? is it the fact that he's an idiot? not really, there's idiots everywhere. i think the real problem is the fact that this idiot was the best i could find to address my problem. these theatres are owned by big american companies and run by underpaid morons who follow the rules or get replaced. therefore, a big lick me today goes out to the rich assholes at paramount, and to a greater extent, the mpaa. i'll be sure to pirate my movies from now on 'cause it beats the hell out of putting up with this shit.

the rest of the weekend included a nice trip to the cn tower, where we "admired the view from the ground" since just going up the elevator would have cost $18 each, and a few good meals at local food joints -- eggspectaion obviously among them.

overall it was a very nice visit from an old friend turned x-girlfriend turned old friend... it's going to take me a while to get used to the whole thing, but i have faith that it will all be ok.