How far is Winnipeg from Montreal?

The answer is 1424 miles. At least according to Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. Something we learn on the very first scene, set in a music-hall. In the movie adaptation, Richard Hannay is no longer a Scottish returning to the UK from South Africa, but a Canadian, probably because John Buchan who of course wrote the original novel was then General Governor of Canada. It felt strange and actually quite pleasant hearing my city being mentioned (I mean Montreal of course, not Winnipeg) at the start of the film, and in a Hitchcock movie on top of that.

Art, moral and an aphorism

Quick blog post about a controversy and a great unknown line my brother wrote on Facebook about it, very close to Oscar Wilde's aphorisms. Anyway, a ballet dancer from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet was sacked because he played in a porn. My initial reaction: so what if he did? It's not like he raped anyone. My second reaction is: shame on the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, it is a wrong decision in so many ways. That said, my brother summed it up in a great unknown line: "Artists aren't there to promote some silly morals. Artists should stay away from morals. Managers should stay away from everything." Worthy of Oscar Wilde, I say.