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New York Times – Welcome To The Magical Friendship Squad! http://michaelmurray.ca Michael Murray Writes Things Mon, 07 Dec 2015 19:16:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 David Wright, human interpreter…. http://michaelmurray.ca/david-wright-human-interpreter http://michaelmurray.ca/david-wright-human-interpreter#respond Sat, 31 Oct 2015 16:35:47 +0000 http://michaelmurray.ca/?p=5535 Last night at Citi Field in New York City, the New York Mets fought back from a 2-0 deficit against the Kansas City Royals in this year’s World Series. The Mets starter was the brilliant, young Noah Syndergaard, also known as Thor to his fans.

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Tall, powerful and with flowing, blonde locks and a fastball that exceeds 100 mph, he has the distinct aura of the divine about him. He had a tough time early in the game, but seemed to gather confidence and strength as it wore on.

David Wright, veteran third baseman and captain of the Mets served as his human interpreter at the press conference after the Mets victory:

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Alice Gwyn, Yahoo Sports: “Thor, you seemed a little confounded on the mound out there as the game started. The Royals kept getting hits off you no matter what you threw. How did you adjust?”

David Wright, human translator:

Thor says, “I could not believe that even as I shattered their puny mortal weapons, sundering them like match sticks with my offerings, they still managed to get little, dinky hits! It was black magic, I tell you! I looked to my captain and said, “What dark arts are these? Surely Loki is behind such enchantments!”

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But in truth, never once did I stop believing in my mighty immortal powers, powers which you can see were reflected in the final score.”
Joe Ainsley, New York Post: “Good effort out there, Thor. The first pitch of the game was quite an eye opener. Was the high and tight fastball that levelled Royals lead-off hitter Alcides Escobar meant to convey a message and change the tone in the series?”

Oct 30, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar reacts after being knocked back by a pitch in the first inning against the New York Mets in game three of the World Series at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

David Wright, human translator:

Thor laughs heartily! He throws his golden locks behind his head, saying, the pitch was meant to convey that Alcides is a pitiful mortal and I am the immortal Thor! The Royals, a team that little changeling girl Lordes wrote a song about, needed to know they were in New York now and that things are very different in New York. I smote him. He will not be a factor in this series again. The pitiful human mewling from the Royals dugout after that, little kittens scared of a thunder, made Thor laugh. Verily, it was a good time.”

 

Benedict Summers, New York Times: “Thor, I have to say, it was good to see the God of Thunder so in control of things tonight, and wow, you are really, really crazy numinous tonight, blinding. Anyway, what would you say was the single most important thing to you being able to pitch such a gritty, consistent and powerful game?”

David Wright, human translator:

“Being a God and immortal status, for sure. I just reached deep into my well of divinity and kept throwing pitches of fire that I knew mortals would not be able to hit. Just stuck to my game plan. Also, the presence of the great Billy Joel at the game, and the playing of Piano Man,

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was both touching and inspirational! It was like I was back in Valhalla at the hall of Bilskirnir! Thor, God of Thunder, thanks you all very much, but he must now go and feast and ice the immortal arm!”

 

( Thanks to Yael Friedman for the idea!)

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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford: What The Mayor Was Thinking http://michaelmurray.ca/toronto-mayor-rob-ford-what-the-mayor-was-thinking http://michaelmurray.ca/toronto-mayor-rob-ford-what-the-mayor-was-thinking#respond Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:50:14 +0000 http://michaelmurray.ca/?p=3202 Toronto Mayor Rob Ford calls it getting ahead of the envelope. Ever since our days drinking together when we were both enrolled at Carleton University in Ottawa, Rob has been almost preternaturally media savvy. He likes to get ahead of the story, predicting where a problem might arise and then defusing it before it catches fire in the media. Unfortunately for Rob, he’s never been a particularly photogenic man, and many of his enemies seek to exploit this vulnerability and cast him in the least flattering light imaginable. With this in mind, Rob contacted me late one night and asked if I could help him “get ahead of the envelope” when it came to the anti-Ford paparazzi.

Based on the old New York Times Photo series, What They Were Thinking, I came up with an idea to post the unflattering picture of Ford before it made a splash, and have the Mayor, in his own words, tell the public exactly what he was thinking the moment the photograph was snapped. This way, we would be ahead of the envelope and we could see the inner, vulnerable Mayor.

This photograph, taken late Thursday night at a CJPAC event, shows the Mayor kindly posing for a photograph with a fan.

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What The Mayor Was Thinking:

“Well, it was International Woman’s Day, so I was thinking about all the amazing contributions women have made to the world. If it weren’t for women, I don’t think that there would be any cookies, babies, or lingerie football, and I bet Cute Overload would have tanked. There’s tons of other stuff, too, and I was thinking about that, also. I mean, women have written books and starred in movies, there have even been lady Mayors! It’s amazing, when you think about it, and I was considering all of it, the sorts of make-out music they like and how they’re scared of spiders. I was really feeling the lady vibe right then. Like, the way that they smell, the way they feel, and the way that their voices are higher and softer than your own—it’s just so cool. You know, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Aniston, The Kardashians, Jennifer Lawrence, Pamela Anderson, hell, even Lindsay Lohan, and Scarlett Johansson, yeah, her big time…The list just goes on and on. Women are fucking awesome, and I really like it when they’re around, especially when I’m feeling a little lonely, and believe me, even a big, cool Mayor like me gets lonely from time to time.”

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*Late on Thursday night while at a CJPAC event, Sarah Thomson, a former candidate for Mayor, posted the photograph of Rob and her at the function, stating that he said she should have been in Florida with him last week because his wife wasn’t there and then grabbed her ass.

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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford: What He Was Thinking http://michaelmurray.ca/toronto-mayor-rob-ford-what-he-was-thinking http://michaelmurray.ca/toronto-mayor-rob-ford-what-he-was-thinking#respond Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:30:18 +0000 http://michaelmurray.ca/?p=3161 As many of you know, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and I were accidental drinking buddies back in our College days at Carleton University in Ottawa. We’ve kept in touch over the years and recently, after a series of boozy, late night communications, I’ve begun to work with Rob in an effort to help rehabilitate his image. Inspired by the old New York Times photo series, What They Were Thinking, where people who had candid photographs taken of them were asked what they were thinking at that moment, Rob and I have taken on a similar project in which the Mayor gets an opportunity to reveal what was in his heart when the media snapped a shot of him. These are the preliminary results:

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“In this picture I was thinking about the colour of the car, how it was like the bottom of one of those above-ground swimming pools that the poor people put up in their backyards. I grew up with a real pool. We were rich. Pools are a good way of excluding people and creating pecking orders. The football guys liked to hangout at our pool, but without the pool, who knows? I was also wondering about all the sex that took place in that car. A lot, I bet.

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“ In this photograph I was thinking about what it would feel like to shoot a monkey, the Ikea Monkey in particular. What was his name? Genesis? Something stupid. Anyway, ever since that monkey became a big media story I’ve been having fantasies about shooting it. Not sure why. It might be the little, gay coat that bugs me. It’s not natural that a boy monkey is dressed that way. “

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“ Blow Jobs and the way that pets look at you funny when you’re having sex.”

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“I don’t want to sound vain because I’m a man of the people, but I was thinking that I look good in hats. A lot of people say that you can measure a politician’s success by how natural and at ease he looks in different hats. (Don’t know what the policy is for chicks). I think a lot of my political success has to do with my ability to look good in a hat.

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“ I probably should have been thinking about the owl, but I was deep in thought right there considering the works of Roman poet and philosopher Lucretious and his views on Epicurean principles and Atomism. I think that a lot of people misunderstand hedonism and I was trying to untangle that philosophical quandary and than suddenly I was like, “Oh fuck, an owl!”

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