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The other day, I received in the mail a notice of public consultation for the proposed Etobicoke-Finch West Light Rail Transit. Light Rail Transit picked my interest, but soon afterwards I realized they’re talking about streetcars. The rational for moving to streetcars from buses isn’t well defined apart from the fact that they run on electricity. Even in the planning study notice, City of Toronto writes:

Modern, environmentally-sustainable LRT service will support the growing travel needs of people who live and work in the Finch West Corridor and beyond, and will also make the street livelier, more attractive, and more people-friendly.

It is tough to argue streetcars wouldn’t be environment friendly (as long as the supplied electricity came from environment friendly power generation): however this proposal falls flat on other levels. Continue reading to find out why.

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Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is not a typical musical, nor a movie. Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly taps his own pocket to write, produce and direct this 42 minute musical. Neil Patrick Harris stars as Dr. Horrible, a shy but still mad scientist who tries really hard to get into the League of Evil, who works on his evil laugh with a vocal coach, and who secretly longs for a girl he meets at the laundromat. He vlogs about his plans and feelings, and ends up discovering it is watched by both his nemesis Captain Hammer (played by Nathan Fillion) and the police.

Joss Whedon showed his musical talent in a special musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in its 6th season, and the music through this series is pretty outstanding. Just like a traditional musical, every major character suddenly bursts into songs to express their feelings. Dr. Horrible finally musters up the courage to talk to the girl of his dreams, only to watch Captain Hammer save her and start dating her.

Neil Patrick Harris is perfect as Dr. Horrible, and Nathan Fillion plays Captain Hammer to its campy fun. He is almost parodying himself in other heroic roles, and it is great fun to watch him sing about how much of a self-absorbed cocky superhero he is. The movie is available on iTunes (at just $3.99) and will soon be released on DVD. This internet mini-series should not be missed by all Joss Whedon fans as it is hilarious light summer fare.

Rating: 75%

RECOMMENDATION: Watch The Dark Knight, although young children may have problems with the violence and dark gritty visuals of the movie, as well as Heath Ledger’s haunting performance.

The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger’s final performance as The Joker elevates the sequel to Batman Begins.

Mamma Mia!
Another Broadway musical turned movie, listen to ABBA songs and feast on gorgeous visuals of the Greek islands.

Space Chimps
Monkeys in space movie tries to win over children this weekend, with questionable theme choice and even more questionable visuals

Read on for last week’s box office results:

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When it comes to easy-to-use and even easier-to-program universal remote, Harmony products always rank high. Logitech Harmony One is a worthy successor to last year’s 880 model, improving upon virtually all aspects.

One look at the remote and you’ll realize the button placement is more intuitive than ever before. Gone are the tiny buttons next to the screen, and instead there is a full color touchscreen (220 by 176 pixels). The screen makes using the remote even easier and even more customizable. Some of the odd shape buttons (like “A”, “B” and “C” buttons on cable box) look just like they do on the unit remote, making them easier to spot on the screen. Another great use of the screen is to customize favorite channels when you’re watching the TV. By downloading and configuring your remote to display channel logos, just press the logo and you’ll be taken to that channel. TV station logos for virtually all channels in the world can be downloaded here.

What hasn’t changed is the software. As always, Harmony One requires you to set up the device online, which means if you don’t have an internet connection, you can’t set up the remote. On the flipside, you don’t have to read through rows and rows of device codes and trying each one to find what your devices respond to. Instead, just type in the brand and the model number, Harmony website will figure out what codes to use.

Harmony One still uses activities which is another way to describe macro. Default configuration will work for most users, but the option is available for you to tweak to your heart’s content (such as delay between button presses, order of devices power on…). For example, press “Watch TV” activity and, based on your programmed devices, the remote will automatically turn the TV on, set it to the proper input, turn the cable box or other audio devices on, and even set it to the favorite default channel.

In the end, Harmony One is a worthy successor to last year’s model, and it improves upon the Harmony 1000 which also featured a touchscreen. Harmony One is better looking, with better button placement, more comfortable to hold, and features a better screen. Even the recharging dock is improved with customizable LED brightness. Chances are, you have multiple devices in your home theater setup, and Harmony One will make controlling them much easier.

The original “Evolution of Dance” video by Judson Laipply all the way back in 2006 was a sensation as he was able to feature many diverse dance stylings in a compact non-stop 6 minute routine. Now the makers of MechRC robot has programmed its upcoming robot to do the routine (and arguably better than the real human in some of the moves). Watch the original video after the jump and compare:

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If the latest insider rumors are to be believed, InBev has finally acquired Anheuser-Busch, making Stella Artois as American as Budweiser. Anheuser-Busch has agreed to a $50 billion takeover by the Belgian brewer InBev, and the combined company to be named Anheuser-Busch InBev will be the largest brewer in the world. Last week, InBev raised its offer for Anheuser-Busch to $70 per share, making it a 27% premium over the record stock price set in October 2002.

Anheuser owns 50% of Grupo Modelo, maker of Corona as well as 27% of Tsingtao Brewery based in China.

RECOMMENDATION: Go for Hellboy II, for family-friendly fare, skip the Journey to the Center of the Earth and instead take a trip to the outerspace with WALL-E.

 Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Director Guillermo del Toro helms the sequel in which the blood elf prince breaks the truce between the elves and the humans, and amasses his Golden Army.

Journey to the Center of the Earth
This time in 3D, Brendan Fraser must survive his trip through the prehistoric world in the center of the Earth.

Meet Dave
Eddie Murphy is a spaceship (yes, a spaceship) as aliens land on Earth and try to blend in with, hopefully, humorous consequences.

Read more for last week’s box office results:

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Latest movie from Pixar is set in the world where humans have abandoned Earth and left in a posh spaceship as refugees while robots remain behind to clean up the mess. Post-consumerism world run by a big conglomerate Buy ‘N Large has turned Earth into a wasteland, and it’s up to WALL-E robots to compact the trash. 700 years pass, and the last functioning WALL-E robot on Earth has struck a friendship with a cockroach, has developed a somewhat of a personality and is obsessed with Hello Dolly.

Unlike previous Pixar efforts, the movie’s grandiose visuals at the beginning, and then the antics of WALL-E who can’t technically speak dominate the beginning. For close to 40 minutes, there is no discernable human dialog in the movie, and you won’t miss it as you’re too busy marveling at the visual creations of Pixar.

And when humans enter the picture after WALL-E grabs a leaving rocket, humanity has devolved into a fat and lazy consumers where they use hoverchairs to avoid walking, and all their needs are attended to by robots. WALL-E and EVE overcome their prime directives, and will end up saving the world (as usual). This movie also marks the first time a human has appeared in a Pixar movie as Fred Willard plays the president of Buy ‘N Large.

The movie is another winning effort by Pixar. If the simplistic and charming story doesn’t win you over, the lush visuals will keep both children and adults glued to their seats.

Rating: 97%