The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia

I've been watching The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia since February, part of a trend where I seem to not be able to get enough UFC. I'm not even sure why I'm into MMA a lot of the time, and sometimes I even feel guilty about enjoying the sport.

On last week's episode, Chad Laprise had to face teammate Kajan Johnson. In past seasons, when teammates had to fight in the semifinals, their team's head coach would remove him or herself from the fight preparation, separating the coaching staff for the fight, and usually the fighters would be cornered by other members of their team.

For Laprise vs. Johnson, that's not how things went. Laprise was proactive, seeking out a coaching staff for the fight well in advance. He got two Team Canada coaches and one of the Australian coaches to be in his corner, he was being given advice (quietly but not inconspicuously) by head coach Patrick Cote, and he gave his coaches instructions to be super loud to damage Johnson's confidence.

Bill Burr in Winnipeg

I had the good fortune to see Bill Burr perform last night at the Burton Cummings Theatre. He's one of, if not the best, currently-working stand-up comedian. It was an inspiring show, one that has my mind deep into stand-up in the hours since.

Bill's opener was Paul Virzi, who was hilarious. They'd been in Canada for ten days already, so of course they had some spot-on observations and jokes about Canada and Canadians, but the pandering was minimal.

I listen to Bill's Monday Morning Podcast occasionally, but I avoided his material for the months leading up to the show so I could get a full, fresh dose of what's on his mind, and it was a treat.

Shout out to Just For Laughs for producing the tour. It's Bill's first Canadian tour and he claims he'll be coming back.

Sargent & Victor & Me (& Me)

While technology advances, live entertainment holds its value. The immediacy of being in the room for a performance captures a shared humanity whether it's in the form of theatre, music, comedy, sports, or even juggling.

There are many possible pitfalls for a one-person show, and many things need to go just right in order to pull it off well. I saw the one-woman version of Sargent & Victor & Me at the University of Winnipeg on March 4th, and found it a powerful experience at times. Debbie Patterson plays all the parts with equal commitment but varying results.

I found myself tearing up several times during the performance, but it was more to do with my personal experience with people living with multiple sclerosis than anything else.