posted 05-16-2018 11:54 AM                       

quote:

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There’s a whole mess of Blu-rays at Walmart right this minute with Deadpool slip covers. These DVDs all come from Fox Home Entertainment, and would generally be on the shelf anyway, so they decided to slip some new covers on them before the release of Deadpool 2 in theaters. Today we’ve got a peek at the whole collection.

Again, these are the SAME Blu-ray disks on the inside, and the DVD on the inside has the same cover. But the most external case – the card stock exterior – has a new take on graphics. Deadpool sits in the place of the main characters, characters get Deadpool additions, and Deadpool sneaks in in one way or another, on the whole mess.

• Assassin’s Creed
• Cast Away
• War for the Planet of the Apes
• Edward Scissorhands
• Logan
• My Cousin Vinny
• Office Space
• Predator
• Revenge of the Nerds
• Speed
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• The Terminator
• X-Men Apocalypse
• X-Men Days of Future Past
• X-Men First Class

Above you’ll see a list of all the Blu-ray disks in this promotion. These covers should be on the shelf right up near the front of the store. They’ll have taken over the stand nearest the self-checkout area – or the checkout aisles themselves, if that’s how your Walmart works.

Either way, cross your fingers – as not every Walmart seems to be running this promotion. It would likely be up to the local distributor whether they’d like to head out and put the covers on – but it is a nationwide promotion.

These Blu-ray releases cost right around $6-8 USD apiece. Unless you can convince someone at Walmart that they should let you just take the covers – which definitely won’t work. Assuming you don’t have these movies in your collection already, now might be the best time to pick em up.

Also you’ll find a $5-off a ticket coupon for the release of Deadpool 2, which begins this Friday. Deadpool 2 will hit theaters this week, as early as Thursday, May 17th – if you’re lucky!

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posted 05-22-2018 07:14 PM                    

quote: NY Daily News

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Oregon man on meth fights off cops while masturbating in bar: police

An Oregon man high on methamphetamine told police he had no recollection of the events that led to 15 officers arresting him for masturbating at a bar.

Andrew Frey, 37, told officers with the Marion County Sheriff's Office he took the drug on Saturday and proceeded to have quite the weekend.

Authorities were able to track it to Sunday afternoon where Frey— after refusing to pay a locksmith he called to his home — went to a local shopping center where an employee escorted him off the property.

Frey then went to Iggy's Bar & Grill, took a seat then exposed himself to a bartender, police said.

Then he allegedly started to pleasure himself.

Police were called to the scene and Frey moved to the bathroom where he continued to touch himself. A deputy officer attempted to arrest him a few times and even used a Taser multiple times but it had no effect on Frey, police said.

The deputy then got into a fight with the suspect and tried to radio for help but it didn't work inside the restaurant.

A dispatcher tried to radio the deputy for an update and realized communications were not going through. The dispatcher then radioed for backup and 15 officers descended onto the bar and finally arrested him.

Police noted it took several officers to finally get Frey under control.

Frey said he took the drugs Saturday and did not remember anything that happened since. He was treated at a local hospital and then transported to county jail on charges of public indecency, resisting arrest and theft of services.

An employee at the bar declined comment on the incident Tuesday night.

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posted 05-30-2018 11:43 PM                       

quote:

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A driver looking at an Apple Watch while stopped at a traffic light is still guilty of breaking Ontario’s distracted driving law, despite the trendy device’s new technology and her claim she was only checking the time.

Even with its miniaturization and trendy technology, an Apple Watch is no safer “than a cellphone taped to someone’s wrist,” said a justice of the peace, while convicting a Guelph woman this month of holding or using a hand-held wireless communication device while driving.

Victoria Ambrose was stopped at a red light on South Ring Road in Guelph in April when a University of Guelph police officer, beside her in his cruiser, noticed the glow of an electronic device. The officer testified he saw her looking up and down about four times, court heard.

When the light turned green, two cars in front of Ambrose promptly moved forward but she remained stationary until the cop shone a light into her car and she began to drive, court heard.

He pulled her over and gave her a ticket.

Ontario amended its Highway Traffic Act in 2009 to counter distracted driving by prohibiting driving “while holding or using a handheld wireless communication device.”

Ambrose argued this didn’t apply in her case.

Justice of the Peace Lloyd Phillipps rejected Ambrose’s testimony that, despite the multi-function of the electronic device that straps to the wrist and sometimes referred as an iWatch, she was only checking the time, which requires her to tap it once to activate and again to deactivate the display. Phillipps rejected her argument the watch wasn’t connected to an external communication device and that the Apple Watch being on her wrist satisfies an exemption for devices securely mounted inside the vehicle.

“Checking one’s timepiece is normally done in a moment, even if it had to be touched to be activated,” said Phillipps.

“Despite the Apple Watch being smaller than a cellular phone, on the evidence, it is a communication device capable of receiving and transmitting electronic data. While attached to the defendant’s wrist, it is no less a source of distraction than a cellphone taped to someone’s wrist,” Phillipps said.

In the end, it was not the technology of the watch that doomed Ambrose, but human failing.

“The key to determining this matter is distraction. It is abundantly clear from the evidence that Ms. Ambrose was distracted when the officer made his observations,” said Phillipps.

Cody Lawson, a Guelph paralegal who represented Ambrose in the Ontario Court of Justice, said Ontario’s laws must keep up with changes in technology.

“It’s new technology and technology keeps moving,” said Lawson.

“There is Google Glass (wearable computer eyeglasses) and much more wearable tech is coming. There is no strict law on using an e-watch or an iWatch. They need to determine if it is the same level of distraction as a cellphone. They really need to be specific on what you can and cannot do.”

Ambrose was fined $400.

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posted 05-31-2018 10:52 PM                       

quote: Daily Mail

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The end of an era for photography as Canon kills off its last film camera - 82 years after it first began selling them

One of the giants of the photography world has killed off its last film camera.

Canon has revealed it is ending sale of the EOS-1v, the last remaining model of film camera that the company sells.

The Japanese giant began commercial sales of its first film camera, known as the Hansa Canon, in 1936.

The news comes days after Leica revealed it was stopping sales of its M7, a hugely popular film camera - although it still sells two other models.

'By the way, we finally decided to end sales for the film single lens reflex camera 'EOS-1V,'' Canon said in a statement.

It said it will continue to repair the camera until 2025.

Although the firm stopped making new units eight years ago, until now it had been selling old stock.

The EOS-1v was 18 years old, the fifth generation in the high-end series that was Canon's first professional digital range.

However, Canon's current digital camera lineup still carries the EOS name, and has done for over 30 years.

The EOS, which stands for Electro Optical System, created the first electronic connection between the body and the lens.

As the line expanded into digital, the electrical connection allowed the camera lenses' metadata to be included in the image's EXIF data.

Canon didn't say just how many EOS-1V bodies were left after manufacturing was discontinued, or if they ran out of the camera or just decided to end sales.

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posted 06-01-2018 01:03 AM                       

quote:

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Some employees at the Regina Public Library are raising concerns over struggles with unruly, intoxicated and troubled patrons whose abusive behaviour has left several workers feeling unsafe on the job.

The library’s central branch, across from Victoria Park, is at the epicentre of their concerns. Staff at the branch’s adult section filed 659 incident reports in 2017, pointing to frequent disruptions, verbal abuse and problems with drugs and alcohol. Twenty-eight of the reports mentioned physical assaults, as did 29 in the first four months of this year — although management said there are sometimes multiple reports over the same incident.

In 96 reports last year, employees said abuse was directed against them. Verbal outbursts or swearing are the most common forms of abuse staff face, according to management, often as fallout from altercations between customers. But a few library workers told the Leader-Post they also endure threats, harassment, unwanted touching or worse.

“I’ve worked at bars and restaurants and I’ve never been subjected to the type of behaviour and the comments that I’m subjected to at the library — ever,” said one employee. “It’s shocking.”

Kevin Saunderson, the library’s senior manager of corporate services, acknowledged “challenges” with staff morale. He said verbal abuse is common, while intoxicated people are “pretty much constantly” in the central branch. That behaviour isn’t allowed, he said. But he wants the library to remain a space that welcomes “the full spectrum of the citizenry of Regina” — even those with addictions or behavioural issues.

“We’re not going to close the doors and not let people in,” said Saunderson. “We are open to the public.”

The central library’s adult section saw 357,128 visitors last year. The overwhelming majority were amicable, according to communications manager Colleen Hawkesford, who said a group of 10 to 20 hardcore troublemakers drive a large portion of the incidents.

But some employees blame senior managers for the problems. A group of mostly frontline workers, who spoke to the Leader-Post under condition of anonymity citing fear for their jobs, said management seems unsupportive and unresponsive to their concerns.

“When there is an issue, it feels like it’s greatly minimized,” said one employee. “It feels like the response is terrible.”

“It feels like the relationship has soured to the point where repairing it is impossible,” said another.

“Morale is just so bad,” said a third.

Dale Mitchell, president of the CUPE local representing the library workers, said the situation at central branch has been “bad for a long time.” He said the union fields a lot of complaints from staff about security issues, including some who feel that not enough is being done to maintain a safe workplace.

He was far more reticent to criticize management, however. He instead traced the problem to a dysfunctional occupational health and safety committee and noted that important reforms are on the way.

In Mitchell’s view, the employees who say they feel unsafe are a minority — even at the central branch. Saunderson agreed, saying a group of critical employees have been “undertaking a campaign of fear-mongering.”

“We do an awful lot to support our staff and try to give them the tools that they need,” he said. “In my view, there are some people that won’t be happy in that area until there’s a piece of bulletproof glass between them and our customers.”

Books at the Regina Public Library. Don Healy / Regina Leader-Post
EMPLOYEES WARN OF FISTFIGHTS, NEEDLES, INDECENT ACTS

The staff members who spoke to the Leader-Post said they’re just as concerned for the library’s customers as for themselves — but some argue that management’s open-door policy is driving families away.

“I tell my friends with kids to not come to our library,” said one staff member. “And it hurts me because it’s supposed to be a great place.”

It’s a view Mitchell understands.

“Sometimes, by being all-inclusive, you’re excluding some of the people that you would like,” he said.

The employees say patrons wearing gang colours bring their disputes into the library, sometimes prompting fistfights. Some staff members report finding knives. A security guard spotted a BB gun last fall. Hawkesford confirmed that weapons do show up on occasion, but “are by far not an everyday occurrence.” Gang colours have been an issue “a couple of times,” she noted. But they’re against policy.

The library bathrooms have sharps containers — but syringes have on occasion surfaced elsewhere. Late this winter, needles were found in upholstered furniture, according to Mitchell and others. A staff email from March revealed that a bag of syringes were found in a scrap paper holder. Saunderson called the needle findings “extremely isolated incidents.”

The concerned employees say problem patrons often push boundaries, especially with female staff, with one saying they face “constant sexualization.”

“They continuously flirt with you,” said an employee. “It has escalated to a point where someone has been stalked or followed.”

Others described unwanted touching, even grabbing. One described serious threats of violence. They felt that offenders often ignore requests to stop inappropriate or threatening behaviour.

“Sometimes it gets pretty extreme and things will be thrown at us,” said one employee.

Mitchell said that kind of extreme behaviour is rare, but it does happen. In a documented incident from 2016, a supervisor at central branch was punched in the face. Another woman was kicked after inserting herself into a conflict, according to Mitchell.

The person who punched the supervisor is no longer allowed in the library, managers insist. But the group of concerned employees express little faith in the system used to enforce bans. They say it’s difficult to check who is banned from the library. One employee called them “unenforceable.”

“The bans are inconsistent,” said another. “There is no protocol.”

Mitchell agreed that bans aren’t very effective. Statistics show that 257 incident reports involved repeat offenders last year. Saunderson said that some of those people were under a ban at the time — but found a way to enter the library building despite it.

Some of the employees felt that grossly inappropriate conduct often leads to minimal bans. In documented incidents this spring, a man was caught masturbating in public, while another was seen hugging a boy he didn’t know before threatening staff and fighting with another patron. According to documents signed by the library’s CEO, both were barred for one month.

From the written reports, it was unclear whether those bans were ever extended. Managers would not confirm whether the two men are now allowed back, citing privacy issues. Police were called in the hugging incident. Saunderson said staff are advised to do likewise in public masturbation cases. He said that staff are “absolutely” encouraged to call police whenever children are at risk.

But he explained why management often tries to resolve problems without resorting to lengthy bans. He noted that many of those who cause problems in the library have “significant” needs — including mental health issues — and may not be able to easily control their conduct.

“We prefer not to leverage long-term bans to address short-term behavioural issues, because we start to get into the grey area of human rights,” he said.

The interior of the downtown branch of the Regina Public Library Bryan Schlosser / Regina Leader-Post
TRUST BROKEN FOR MANY, BUT CHANGES ON THE WAY

There’s little agreement on the extent of the safety issues inside the central branch. There’s even less on how things got to this point — but it’s clear that the relationship between management and many staff members has frayed, with one employee calling it “severely toxic.”

Eighty-one per cent of employees across the entire library system responded to an engagement survey in 2016. Just 41 per cent would recommend RPL as “a great place to work.” The same proportion had an unfavourable view of senior management, according to a composite measure drawn from questions on their respect for and confidence in the executive leadership of the organization.

For the anonymous employees who spoke to the Leader-Post, much of the problem stems from poor communication and unclear direction from management. That view accords with the results of survey, where 50 per cent of staff members responded unfavourably to questions about whether necessary information is readily available and “shared in an open and uninhibited manner.”

“We don’t have consistent rules for behaviours,” said one employee.

That confusion makes it difficult to control unruly patrons before behaviour escalates to an actual threat, another employee argued. Some feel that managers aren’t sufficiently present on the floor, leaving them unaware of how things play out in real-life conflicts.

Hawkesford said the library formed a committee to respond to the survey, and accepted all six recommendations. A new layer of branch managers are improving communication channels, she said. As for clarity concerns, Saunderson insists that staff have clear guidelines on how to approach situations where there’s a potential for conflict.

“They should seek the support of either another staff member or a security guard even before entering that situation,” he said. If a threat of violence arises, he wants them to call 911.

That’s also how Mitchell understands the policy.

There are widely different views on the quality of training. The concerned employees noted that it’s been about two years since their last de-escalation course. Some said they don’t feel prepared for the situations they face.

Saunderson acknowledged that the training is not “complete.” But he pointed to recent staff meetings featuring Regina Police Service officers — and said there are more improvements to come. The library is now developing an orientation and core training program for new employees, due later this year.

Mitchell had far more positive views of the existing training. His concerns focus more on reductions in security coverage, which he calls “inadequate.”

“From the union’s standpoint, I think we should have more security guards,” he said. Security hours were changed about a year ago, management confirmed, while the number of guards was cut back even earlier. Saunderson explained that the security coverage is based on statistics, which show that they are needed more at some times than others. Mitchell said he’s never seen that data.

He agrees with the frustrated staff members that management isn’t always responsive. But he casts some of the fault on employees — and on the union local he leads.

“We’ve filed complaints. We’ve had our members file complaints, but we haven’t really followed up on them,” he said. “I think a lot of the blame is on the local.”

Mitchell said convincing employees to sit on the occupational health and safety committee is “like pulling teeth.” For a long time, the committee “hasn’t been proactive in preventing violence in the workplace.” He said the union is now taking steps to change that.

He’s seen recent progress. Walkie-talkies, a key employee demand, are coming to the central branch “imminently,” in Saunderson’s words. The library is now waiting on approval from the CRTC, a federal regulatory body. They also recently hired a counsellor to address the root causes of troubling behaviour on site.

The employees who spoke for the Leader-Post still have their doubts. They signed up to work in a library — but one employee said it feels like they’re running a “day shelter.”

“A large part of what we feel, as well as threatened, is helpless. What can we do?” another asked. “We’re not social workers.”

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posted 06-04-2018 10:19 PM                       

quote: Chronicle of Higher Education

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Michigan State U. Employee Is Charged With Bestiality

A Michigan State University health physicist was charged with two counts of sodomy on Monday, with authorities alleging that he had penetrated a dog, the Lansing State Journal reports. Joseph Hattey, who works in the university’s division of environmental health and safety, would face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty, the Journal reports.

The charges do not appear to be related to an investigation by the state attorney general, Bill Schuette, into the university’s handling of the Larry Nassar scandal. The Journal reports that the new charges arose out of an investigation by the county’s animal-control department. The crimes that Hattey is accused of did not occur on the campus, authorities say.

The allegations against Hattey are the latest sordid news involving a Michigan State employee. On Sunday the Detroit Free Press reported that Lou Anna K. Simon, the institution’s former president, told the police last month that she knew in 2003 of sexually inappropriate remarks by William Strampel, the former dean of osteopathic medicine who supervised Nassar. Strampel has been charged with criminal sexual conduct, among other things.

Simon was scheduled to testify before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday. She resigned earlier this year after the dramatic public testimony of victims of Nassar, who sexually abused hundreds of women and girls when he was a professor of osteopathic medicine.

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posted 06-11-2018 04:06 PM                       

quote:

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Wilf Runge continues to savour the taste, tantalizing smell and staccato sounds of popcorn popping in movie theatre concessions.

The buttery morsels have been a staple of his job for most of his life as the 69-year-old has changed theatre marquees, ushered and managed movie theatres and drive-ins for 54 years.

While managing silver screens at numerous theatres in Regina and Moose Jaw, he’s experienced some golden moments.

Soon the manager of Rainbow Cinemas at the Golden Mile Shopping Centre will say a bittersweet goodbye to the evolving entertainment business that has seen monumental changes since he started working behind the scenes of the big screens in 1964.

Though many people opt to stay on their couch to take in a flick, theatres are the place to watch a movie, he says.

“Not like now when you can stream it or get it on DVDs,” Runge says. “Managing a theatre was a much more prestigious position at the time. You had what people wanted.”

Back in the day of single-screen theatres, lineups often started indoors at the box office and wound outside the building.

On New Year’s Eve in 1963, Runge remembers being part of the crowd attending a midnight screening of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World at Regina’s Capitol Theatre.

The epic comedy attracted hundreds of moviegoers to the theatre at the corner of Scarth Street and 12th Avenue. The long line snaked down 12th Avenue, up Rose Street, down Victoria Avenue and back down to Scarth Street.

“I believe everybody got in, but it was sold out,” Runge says.

From there, he was smitten by the allure of movies on the big screen.

His movie career gets rolling

Runge could not have predicted a job he took in 1964 at the behest of his girlfriend would stretch over decades.

That girlfriend, Shirley (who later became his wife), encouraged the then-Grade 11 student to apply for a job at the Metropolitan Theatre where she worked in the concession.

“She told me there was an opening for what they called marquee boys at the Met and I should see if I could get a job there,” he says. “That’s where it started.”

For the first three years, he changed marquees and ushered before being promoted to assistant manager.

He was sad when the Metropolitan Theatre had a date with the wrecking ball in 1987 and the Capitol was demolished in 1992.

The Metropolitan theatre in Regina, formerly located at 11th Avenue and Broad Street, was 68 years old when it was demolished in December 1987. REGwp

Each theatre catered to different audiences, Runge says.

The Metropolitan was booked with popular action-type movies that ran for three days, which meant he changed the marquee twice a week.

“The Met had a lot of marquee,” Runge says. “There were five different panels so we’d usually get them done in two hours. We thought we were doing great — getting paid for three hours and doing two hours worth of work.”

In its heyday, it wasn’t unusual for the Met’s single auditorium to be packed to capacity with 750 moviegoers.

Its sister theatre, the Capitol, catered to Dr. Zhivago and Sound of Music-type fans.

At its 1921 opening, the Cap was touted as “one of the finest theatres in the Canadian West” by the local newspaper, The Leader.

Runge bemoans the fate of the prestigious building that seated 1,500 people, had two balconies and reserved seating and featured an ornate ceiling with gold leaf and multi-coloured patterns.

The history buff notes the Capitol presented the world premiere of North West Mounted Police, which was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille — the famed filmmaker’s first film in technicolour.

“They had parades, the stars came to town and the exterior of the theatre was done up like a fort with wood block — it was an all-out promotion,” Runge says.

It was unusual, but all four Regina theatres ran the picture on Oct. 21, 1940.

The Capitol Theatre in Regina in the early 1920s. Leader-Post archives / REGwp

A popcorn machine wasn’t considered fitting for the Capitol’s luxurious decor so popcorn was made at the Met theatre and stored in plastic bags. A Capitol theatre usher picked up the popcorn from the Met and placed the bags in a popper warmer at the Cap.

When multiplex theatres were emerging across the country, the Cap was divided into two theatres in 1975. A wall was run down the middle and sprayed flat black.

“Unfortunately, the architecture was lost due to revenue needs,” Runge says. “You could split an auditorium and double your income basically because then you could play two movies.”

A number of Canadian theatres were split including the Capitol theatre in Moose Jaw, which became a three-plex.

“It was really sad in most cases because they destroyed the beautiful interior of these places,” Runge says.

He took a break from the action at movie theatres and, for one season in 1970, managed the Queen City Drive-In. Built in 1950, the big screen was located in Albert Park until it was demolished in 1981.

“I’m sure people are still digging up beer bottle caps,” Runge says laughing.

Throughout his career he worked at numerous theatres and drive ins — in and out of Regina.

He managed the Starlight Drive In, located on Regina’s east side, and ran Moose Jaw’s Capitol Theatre and Golden West Drive-in for six years before returning to the Queen City to manage the theatre where it all began — the Met.

Runge stayed at the Met until he opened the four-screen theatres at Cornwall Cinemas in 1981. He was at the theatres in the Cornwall Centre until 1998 when Rainbow Cinemas opened and he was made manager.

Changing times

Over the decades, Runge witnessed many changes, including the opening of movie theatres on Sundays.

In keeping with the Lord’s Day Act, all theatres and retail outlets were closed on Sundays until legislation changed that in 1968.

“Sunday was the only day I got off,” Runge says. “In the first years, I worked a 60-hour, six-day week.”

Hard to believe now, but when he started in the business, only half of movies were in colour.

“We’d put words ‘In colour’ on the marquee so people would know it was a big deal,” he says.

Another major change was the light source for the projectors, which went from carbon arcs to a type of enclosed bulb that is still used today with digital projectors.

The silver soundtrack on the edge of 35 mm film was replaced by cyan sound, which was picked up by a light source beaming through it. The environmentally-friendly change meant silver was no longer buried in the ground after the movies were done.

As a result of the most recent change, going from 35 mm to digital, theatre patrons no longer see scratches on a movie.

“Obviously, with 35 mm, if a movie held over for several weeks, you had a deterioration of that film and you’d see scratches,” Runge says. “With digital, it’s as crisp after a month as it is Day 1.”

On the big screen

As retirement beckons, Runge reflects about the classics he’s watched in movie theatres and drive-ins, now torn down.

Huge crowds at theatres were the norm for movies such as the 1967 prison drama, Cool Hand Luke, and the 1975 blockbuster Jaws.

The story about man pitted against a killer shark had a lasting impact on some viewers — particularly if they watched it on the big screen, Runge says.

“People weren’t even going into the water at the beach after that one played,” he says.

Every time a new movie opened it attracted a new audience looking for something different.

“The atmosphere changed from movie to movie,” Runge says. “It didn’t become boring.”

A James Bond fan, Runge has all of 007’s movies on Blu-ray, but prefers watching them on the big screen because he feels part of the action in the theatre.

“You don’t have that at home — no matter how big your screen might be,” he says. “Certain movies, like horrors or comedies, are much more scary or funny with a crowd. Laugher is contagious.

“Movies that bring out emotions are always more successful. If people leave crying, you probably have a hit.”

Movie gazing under the open sky

Working outdoors at drive-ins — particularly on warm summer nights with the soundtrack coming through the speakers — was incredible, Runge says.

Movie-goers enjoy a film at Regina’s Cinema 6 Drive-In. Bryan Schlosser / Regina Leader-Post

But managing drive-ins brought a unique set of challenges — weather, gophers and mosquitoes among them.

“Towards the end, when I worked at Cinema 6 Drive-In — the last drive-in theatre to leave the city, a lot of vehicles had daytime running lights that couldn’t be turned off,” he says. “We found ourselves taping cardboard over the headlights so the lights wouldn’t interfere with the movie.”

Inevitably, he was kept busy foiling attempts by people trying to sneak into the drive-in. He laughs recalling how he made one group of teens sweat it out on a sultry summer evening.

He became suspicious when a single woman drove up to the ticket booth in a huge, 70s-style Lincoln.

“She was driving by herself so that was a dead giveaway that there was someone in the trunk,” Runge says. “Fresh dust prints on the trunk was another indication so we stood outside of the concession building and watched this car. We let them stew for a while.”

Shortly after parking, the trunk lid of the Lincoln opened a crack.

“I’m sure they wanted some air because they weren’t getting out like they’d hoped,” Runge says. “After letting them suffer a bit, we went over and asked if we could check the trunk.”

Inside the cavernous trunk were two guys and a girl stretched out beside each other. In a good mood that night, Runge let the teens off with a warning and told them to buy show tickets.

Wilf Runge, manager of the Rainbow Cinema, stands in the lobby with a bag of what he calls the best popcorn in Regina. TROY FLEECE / Regina Leader-Post

The good, the bad and the ugly

Rainbow Cinemas has attracted moviegoers and residents from across the city to buy popcorn that Runge maintains is the best in town.

The theatre has also attracted vandals.

The theatre’s marquee has disappeared with the opening of Superstore, but about three years ago it was a headache for the manager and mall management.

Vandals re-arranged movie titles into R-rated words on the sign, which sat atop the Golden Mile Shopping Centre.

Even pigeon spikes and covering gas lines and piping couldn’t keep vandals from climbing on the roof to continually besmirch the titles of movies.

“They finally caught the two fellows that were doing it and they were over 19 — it was just for kicks,” Runge says. “What they were doing was quite dangerous because they were climbing up on the glass of Smitty’s solarium and actually cracked the glass. If they would come through the glass, it could have been bad news.”

A real hardship for the industry has been the piracy of movies for distribution before they play in theatres.

“I helped form some of the protocols as president of the Saskatchewan Motion Picture Theatre Association,” Runge says. “With that position came a seat on the board of directors of the national association, which basically looks after the well being of the theatres in Canada.”

On the eve of his departure, he has many great memories, including the staff he’s worked with over the decades.

Now and again he’s been jolted by reminders of how long he’s worked in the movie theatre business — particularly when someone applies for a job and he realizes the applicant’s grandmother worked for him at one theatre or another.

Officially, his last day at Rainbow Cinemas will be June 28 — his wedding anniversary, but Runge plans to take holidays so his last working day at the theatre will be mid-June.

Runge knows of just one other person — a manager working for Cineplex in British Columbia — who might have spent more years managing movie theatres.

“I don’t know if he’s retired or he’s still going, but it’d put me in second place as the longest running theatre manager in Canada,” he says. “I guess that’s an accomplishment these days. It certainly doesn’t feel like it — 10 years here, 20 years there and 15 years somewhere else and before you know it a lifetime has gone by.”

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posted 06-13-2018 07:46 AM                       

quote: Article above

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Over the decades, Runge witnessed many changes, including the opening of movie theatres on Sundays.

In keeping with the Lord’s Day Act, all theatres and retail outlets were closed on Sundays until legislation changed that in 1968.

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posted 07-10-2018 06:57 PM                       

quote:

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When Constable Tommy MacKay got the call that an elderly woman had tried to return a stolen car to an Ontario rental car company, he knew he wasn't dealing with a normal case.

"My initial thought was, 'I'm going to have to find out where she got this vehicle from, or my God, how am I going to put cuffs on this elderly female?'" The Cornwall Community Police Service constable told As It Happens guest host Rosemary Barton.

The saga began in late June when a woman rented a black Nissan Sentra from Enterprise Rent-A-Car company in Cornwall, Ont., about an hour west of Montreal.

After renting the car, MacKay said the woman drove three or four minutes to the local Walmart where she did some grocery shopping.

"Shortly thereafter she exited, walked over to the area where she had parked her vehicle, saw a shiny black vehicle, hopped in it and drove away," he said.

It turns out the car that she thought was her rental vehicle was actually a 2015 black Infiniti QX50, a hatchback — not the sedan she had originally rented.

Both cars use a key fob, which doesn't require a key to start the car. The owner of the stolen Infiniti, an elderly man, had accidently left his key fob in the vehicle.

This allowed the woman to drive off, completely unaware that it wasn't her rental.

"She drove around and did her daily business in this stolen vehicle for two weeks," MacKay said.

It was the manager at the car rental company who finally pieced together what had happened.

The man whose car was stolen came into the same Enterprise to rent a car after realizing his car was no longer in the Walmart parking lot.

"In conversation with the manager of that establishment it came out that he was the owner of a black Infiniti that was recently stolen," MacKay said.

Two weeks later, when the woman tried to return that very same vehicle, the manager clued in.

At first he tried to tell her that the company didn't even rent that model — but she was having none of it.

"She was upset because the ashtray was dirty, there were papers in the glove box, and there were golf clubs in the back. And she was giving the manager the business on renting her a dirty vehicle," MacKay said.

None of this tipped her off, until the manager drove with her over to the Walmart parking lot where the Nissan she had rented was still parked.

That's when the manager called the police.

MacKay said he has been an officer for 11 years and has never experienced anything like this, but is glad that it had a happy ending.

He said the woman, who won't face any charges, was a "bit embarrassed" but shrugged it off, and the man whose car was stolen "had a good chuckle."

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posted 07-10-2018 08:40 PM                    

quote: Frank Cox

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Over the years there has been a few times where someone has found a loophole so they can have strippers in their bar, and immediately after that there will be a dozen tiny rural bars that suddenly offer "entertainment" but it never seems to last long before the law is amended once again to stamp it out.

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I, once, read a story which said that, in some Florida towns, dancers in strip clubs have to wear underwear but the law says nothing about WHERE the underwear must be worn. As the story goes, in certain towns in Florida, you can go to strip clubs where the girls dance naked except for a pair of panties wrapped around their wrist or ankle like a bracelet.

Aah! Creativity!

posted 08-25-2018 09:56 PM                       

quote: IFL Science

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The Hilarious Reason One Couple Couldn't Get Pregnant After Trying For Years

Pregnancy is strange, messy, and – depending on where you live – unbelievably expensive. It’s complicated. There are so many misconceptions about it, as well as so many unanswered questions that researchers are attempting to solve, that science really has its hands full.

The most rudimentary mechanisms that humans need to engage in to lead to conception, however, have been so thoroughly nailed down by this point that they are about as mysterious as the President is an erudite scholar. There are various difficulties relating to getting pregnant, but the very first step in the program is surely ubiquitous knowledge, for both scientists and non-scientists alike.

As spotted by the Metro, perhaps not: it seems that at least one couple, for four years, remained ludicrously unaware of the basics. This recent case of a twentysomething couple from China, who couldn’t quite understand why they were unable to create another human being, does nevertheless have a happy ending, so do hold out for that if you can.

During a discussion with an obstetrician, in which they complained about regular sex having failed to lead to a pregnancy, it transpired that the wife was finding sexual intercourse to be particularly, perhaps unusually, painful. Initially thinking that the wife had a gynecological affliction, an examination was conducted.

Evidence suggested that the couple had never once had vaginal intercourse, which obviously raised a rather profound question mark. This query quickly found an answer after the obstetrician found out the couple were having anal sex all the time.

It’s not clear if they were unaware of the specificity of their friskiness, mistaking one orifice for another, or if they thought that this method was in fact the proper way to conceive. Either way, trying to get an egg fertilized in this way is like attempting to pump up car tires by whispering into the rear-view mirror.

After getting some advice and being handed a pamphlet, they were sent home. A few months later, they managed to successfully conceive, and sent the obstetrician 100 eggs and a live hen as a thank you.

Every day’s a school day, we suppose.

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