Food: Burnt

Instahype fuelled hipster meat houses seem a dime a dozen these days, and where I would usually ignore them Burnt seemed to capture my attention by virtue of being only down the road from my old house (damn nostalgia). 

Given the queues it was quickly becoming famous for, we decided to arrive at 4:30pm for its 5pm opening. It turned out that we didn't need to - for the entirely of our visit there was covers available so it now seems perfectly possible to arrive at a reasonable time and still be fed.

I was immediately enamoured by the menu - or rather the size of it. Seven items (including the veggie option) was all it had for the headlining items, with a splattering of the usual sides.

The flagship offering appears to be the smoked brisket, which although novel didn't really seem that great value for money. Do it once I guess? A much better option as a snack were the links, being more substantial and tasty than the cut of meat before.

Sandwiches-wise, Burnt offers the now traditional smash burger, but what you should really go for is the Ribwich - a fulfilling amount of pulled meat sitting between two sliced of brioche bread. Make sure you thoroughly confirm its availability - we were incorrectly told it wasn't available and over-ordered as a result.

Prices were good. We did overspend today, but repeat visits should bring the bill to under 20 a head which is reasonable for what you get. Service was what you would expect from a place that relies on Instagram for marketing, so don't expect the world. Oh and make sure you wear some of your least favourite clothes - you'll be smelling of smoke for a few days after this.

Film: The Expendables 4

Or maybe Expend4bles? Either way after three previous films we should all know what to expect - and I'm pleased to say that the fourth iteration of the film carries on with the upward trajectory of improving films. It's just about hard to believe how bad the first one was.

We have the usual core actors, although this is clearly a Statham show now, with a scatter of b-list action heroes bringing up the rear. The action is better (although still with questionable CGI), the humour gun ho and the overall package delivering what it's supposed to.

I'm not sure if any of that is worth a recommendation though, but if you're a fan of mindless action films then you really can't go wrong here.

Film: The Equalizer 3

My first surprise is that neither of the previous two instalments of this series have been mentioned here before - the first I do remember watching at home (which disqualifies it for review) which the second I hadn't seen until catching up for this latest chapter. You could say I'm not quite the Equalizer fan then.

Like the first two films, the third holds no surprises. That's not to say it's not a good film - it was actually pretty good - it's just not one to watch expecting great things. You'll cheer the hero, you'll boo the baddies, and just like with the movie itself the stakes in the plot aren't too high. That just means it has to try hard to fail, and I'm pleased to say it didn't do that.

Recommended for that rainy day.

Food: Afghan Grill

When it comes to restaurants, generic names mean one of two things: either the place is so good, that its the defacto default option for such a generic term, or the food is so generic, any other name would miss the point. Afghan Grill falls firmly into the latter.

There just wasn't anything special about the place. It was adequate, if a little cramped, service was passable and the food nothing not seen elsewhere. We kept the menu simple with some chapli kebabs, lamb kharai and kabuli rice... and it was all okay.

Given the competition and options available closer to home, I see no reason going out of my way to revisit Afghan Grill - however it is now a known and solid option if I'm ever in the area.

Film: Oppenhiemer

I don't think that films should be about who directed them. For sure, this is a personal take, but for me good direction is invisible and more about the actors, script and production than the direction. Of course this is a wholly personal opinion (and one with obvious exceptions), but it does mean I tend to be somewhat sensitive to films whose first billing is the person sitting in the directors chair.

As Oppenheimer was a Nolan flick, the film was always going to be more about him than anyone in it. And yet I was interested in how Nolan would deal with non-fiction - with no time travel or dream walking gimmicks to rely on, this could have been as great as The Dark Knight. Alas it was not.

My primary issues with the film were with its direction. I felt that the pacing was very off, Nolan's use of time confusing and distracting. He made what should have been a straightforward story into hard work, and I think I left the theatre understanding only 90% of the film (although that might have been due to the typically obnoxious sound staging Nolan insists on).

What resulted was something that felt like a 3 hour trailer, although I did enjoy the tail end of the movie as things finally became more linear and consolidated.

Ultimately though Oppenheimer was an okay film, but one that could have been great had Nolan not made it.

Book: Drive, James S. A. Corey

Two novellas in a row is slightly irritating, but as I'm a slave of release order it's something I have committed to. Thankfully Drive really is a novella - blissfully short at 35 pages, this was a a quick joy to read.

Throwing back to the initial stages of the lore - namely post-Mars but pre-outer Solar System - we get a taste of where things actually started, the event which opened up the wider Expanse to the human race. It's the perfect basis for a novella and entirely optional to the main story, but gives some essential flavour and basis to some of the deeper rooted politics that have developed since.

A great stint, but I'm glad that there's a real book next.

Film: Blue Beetle

Anyone would think that a superhero movie about a super powered boy dressed up as an insect is either a sign of oversaturation or satire. Blue Beetle is not the latter, but neither was the film as bad as its odd concept.

Overall though there was nothing special nor new in this paint-by-numbers origin story. We had the evil corporation, the overpowered villain, the naive heroes and the coming of age and redemption. Yawn etc.

The action was decent though and some of the super powers fun. The hero himself was whiny and annoying, but I suspect that was by design. The film itself was genuinely charming and funny at times. Overall it fell short of something truly great, but managed to be a decent timepass nonetheless.

Nineteen

Another year, and one would hope that the stats would confirm the theory that COVID had caused a bit of a drought. I haven't exactly sat down to count, but it certainly doesn't feel like I have had anything to write home about. Not much travel, not much eating out, films a little under the pre-pandemic par.

One thing I wish I did (and can still do I guess) is start writing about a larger passion that's developed over the last decade or so - that of boardgames. It's my number one activity right now, and 20-something Shak would definitely have started posting about that - and here I am without even a label.

It says a lot then that the content is there, just not being written about. But still on I go, this place having become way too much of a habit to kick now.

Book: Gods of Risk: James S. A. Corey

The second novella in the series and this time we have less of a directly relevant tale and more of one which looks to describe the world being built across the Solar System in the book's universe.

Set on Mars, we follow a period in the life of quite the dumbass teenage kid as he tackles what seems to be the same problems most dumbass kids face growing up - just on a planet other than Earth. I suppose the point is to show that humans are gonna human wherever they live in the universe, but the story was of value in setting the context of life on Mars and some of the technological and sociological issues they face in terraforming a planet.

Easily forgettable, you'll not be missing much if you skipped this. That it's quite a long short story makes that even more tempting. But for those who want to lap up as much of the space soap opera as possible this novella delivers.

Book: Caliban's War, James S. A. Corey

Book two and like before I immediately noticed a gear change in both pacing and storytelling. More stuff seems to happen in this book, although there remains a similar structure in comparison to the first. We once again have a missing person, a lot of back and forth, many parallel stories that eventually merge, and once again the unveiling of a shadowy conspiracy.

So maybe this is just Leviathan Wakes v2? To be honest I don't feel too cheated - it's still a romp, and perhaps a better one. However I might be annoyed if The Expanse is just the same story told 9 times or so.

Film: Meg 2: The Trench

Meg 2 is a very different film to The Meg. Not that the first was particularly sensible, but this sequel appears to have gone full Fast & Furious, with more action based around the characters kicking and punching than actual large sharks.

This doesn't make it a worse film, just a different one. It definitely held its own, provided you could look past the ridiculousness of it all.

The acting sucked, the plot trundled along, the action preposterous. I don't think I can in good conscience recommend this film - but you'll already know if you'll enjoy it or not. I did!

Food: Zerozero

The hook of Zerozero is the zero alcohol policy - something that would have been suicide as less as a decade ago, but more than sustainable in a world where the Muslim pound is easily spent on just as expensive mocktails. Then again, with the lack of alcohol comes halal meat (although in this case they only offered chicken so again not really as big an achievement as the tagline suggests).

So ignoring the novelty, what we have left is a decent enough Italian restaurant offering pizza and pasta at a standard post inflationary cost. Picking what to eat was a little more difficult than I expected, mainly seeing how everything sounded so... bland, but what we did get was passable (if not a bit salty).

The restaurant itself was clean and open and the staff friendly. Costs were a bit higher than I would have liked, coming to £20 per head for a main and shared dessert (although that tiramisu was pretty good).

Overall though, there wasn't much here to warrant a return visit. Zerozero would have been a great place to eat ten years ago, but in the 2020s its just one of many options, many of which I'd much prefer to attend instead.

Film: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Incredibly, it's been a whopping 16 years since the excellent TMNT came out. For me this was the standard of TMNT movies - pure and to the point, even though it was set in a post-Shredder world.

Mutant Mayhem brings the same purity to audiences in 2023, at a time where Spider-Man has shown what an action comic cartoon can be. Not much has changed - our teens now have mobile phones, and April is also a teenager. Some of the lore has changed but not enough to be problematic and the overall story and action are great.

But the real genius in this movie is in the acting and the script. These turtles really came across as a bunch of hormonal and emotionally immature teenagers - I'd even go as far as calling them annoying in all the ways teenagers are. Top marks to the creators of this film for capturing it all so well.

Otherwise the film is second only to that other superhero cartoon this year... which is no real criticism really.

Film: Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

My issues with this film are slightly more profound than whether it was good or bad. The truth is that I enjoyed it for what it was: a showcase of set pieces supporting some strange plot that I didn't really care much about. It did all that action stuff well, and threw in some decent charm and comedy too.

At times I did feel that I had seen some of it all before (haven't we done the BMW car chase in a European city already? And was that Tom Holland in the background of the train scene?), but that's not what spoiled the movie. It just felt like something was missing. It took me a while to figure out what that was - an ending.

Which I suppose shouldn't have come as a surprise considering the title of the film, but I guess I'm still reeling from how Infinity War managed to pull it off. So although the acting, production, stunts and action was as fine as any Mission: Impossible film has offered, Dead Reckoning doesn't quite make my top three or even four of the franchise. That doesn't make it a bad film, just a disappointing one, and it's still some of the best action you'll see on the screen this summer.

Film: Barbie

If anything, the idea of a Barbie movie solicited a range of reactions, which broadly fall into the following categories:

1. Those girls (and boys and men and women) who were hugely looking forward to a film about their favourite doll/merchandise;
2. Those who hate everything about Barbie (and women, and men and the world) who felt it a duty to protest;
3. Those who wanted to watch the film out of some kind of irony for the 'gram (we call these the barbenheimer crowd); and
   
4. Those who had faith that this film was going to be genuinely great, self aware and knew exactly who its various audiences were.

And if a film is judged by how it fulfils the expectations of its audience, well then Barbie is one of the greatest films of all time, since all the, quite disparate, groups above seemed to have come away relatively satiated.

Of course it's not one of the greatest films of all time, but Barbie is a good movie - or as good as a movie about Barbie can be. Like any good family movie, it manages to entertain on various levels, and although the social commentary does labour at times the film knows it and even calls that out. Put another way, it takes the audience with it.

It's well produced, and everyone manages to pull off the kind of plastic acting you'd want from a Barbie movie. And of course everyone is so pretty. Yes, the plot is thin, but it does the job.

The point is that Barbie is a good movie and only offensive and problematic if you really spend the time and effort looking for that - and even then it does a good job. Recommended.

Film: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

After the disappointment that was Crystal Skull, my expectations for the fifth Indy film was as low as you could get for someone who nevertheless felt obliged to go see it. So it was with a pleasant sense of surprise that I left the cinema actually having enjoyed this movie - and in many ways for the reasons that were lacking 15(!) years ago.

First things first - Harrison Ford was not too old to reprise this role. Of course de-aging tech was featured (and not too badly either), but not to lean on and the majority of the film was indeed about our favourite adventuring octogenarian, albeit supported by some youthful co-leads.

But it was mainly the return of fundamental Indy ingredients that made this film so fun. We had Nazis, we had magic, we had clues and graves. We had satire and fun and quips and banter. We had swooshing action. It just got all the basics right.

That said I do recognise that this is it, that there won't (and shouldn't) be any further Indiana Jones movies after this. And as sad as that is, I'm glad that the series goes out on a high note rather than what we were left with last time.

Edmonton 2023

Coming back to Edmonton after so soon was weird. It feels like yesterday that we were last here (and given that my Shredded Wheat was still in the larder, that's not too far from the truth), almost as if it was the stay in London in between that was the trip. In some ways this reduced the sheen, the holiday vibe, of the trip - similar to Karachi which I no longer look at as special either. But that's not a bad thing: it shows that my relationship with the town and the people in it has evolved into something deeper and intrinsic.

Still, this trip was special - mainly due to Eid pulling in so many people. This gave the trip its own party atmosphere, with lots of socialising and activities going on - and in many ways it balanced the normality of the trip otherwise.

Otherwise the usual things held true: I ate too much, I was even less impressed by West Ed Mall, we played lots of games, and we were well looked after by uncle and cousins. We even managed to visit Bianca Amor's Liquidation Store (although it said a lot about how long we've been away seeing the same stock on the shelves).

All that's left to see is when we'll be back to continue our with our time here. Given my diminishing enthusiasm for general touristic travel, I wouldn't bet on it being too long.

The BBQ at Long Lake

The second mass family get together was held on the shores of Long Lake, a regular event on the Edmonton calendar, but this time generously scheduled to coincide with our visit.

Quite frankly I wouldn't know where to start in organising a self catered 100-person picnic BBQ like this (apparently there was a spreadsheet somewhere) but it all worked with the experience and "all hands" mentality of those attending - at one point there were three fires going.

The lake itself was nice, and I managed to get my feet wet for a good while. One of the attendees even brought an inflatable dinghy to take us out in which definitely was beyond the call of duty.

As with all good picnics, the day only ended once the sun set. Heading toward the end of our visit to Edmonton, it was definitely a great way to see the trip out.

Jasper

I often make a silly, non-serious oath that I will never go back to Jasper or Banff again. They are places I've seen and done and have had some amazing memories of, but I also find them to be inefficient and, let's face it, it's not like the mountains change much over time.

But as there were a critical mass of out-of-towners, it did make sense to make a trip out - and for various reasons (not least of which was the cost of accommodation for 26 people) it was decided to make it a day trip. Which essentially meant an early start and a late end. Oof.

Otherwise as expected there wasn't any surprises here - we saw wildlife and mountains and ate some great BBQ'd food. We visited the Maligne and Pyramid Lakes and of course stopped by the Athabasca Falls (which in some ways are more significant to me than Niagara).

So yeah, despite my faux-protestations, our 24-plus-hours stint to Jasper was actually pretty great and another example of how sometimes things turn out much better than as promised on paper.

Book: The Butcher of Anderson Station, James S. A. Corey

I quite like the whole novella idea. I first came across it in serious use during my reading of The Cosmere, although The Wheel Of Time also had a single novella to include in any OCD binging of the series. These short stories serve as a great pit-stop between heavier novels, a bit like palette cleansers, but also serve a great purpose in filling in some of the details washed over in mainline stories.

The downside is collecting them all. But in the case of The Expanse that's been solved with the publication of Memory's Legion, a complete set of short stories from the series. Rather than read this volume as a book, I'll use it as a reference to plug away at its stories in publication order.

First up then is the story of Colonel Fred Johnson, covering two major events in his life. The first you might be able to guess, the second is more about his attempt at redemption. It's a decent story to tell and I found the flavour helpful... but it was also a useful exercise as I found it an easier read than Leviathan Wakes, somewhat subduing the fears I had of Corey as a writer.

Other than that there's not much to say about this particular short story. If you're going for a complete Expanse reading then it's just as essential (and easy to read) as the rest.

A Day of Fun and Games

Due to the narrow window in which people were visiting, today was marked down for a bunch of activities and promised to be a loft of fun.

First on the agenda was attending an escape room. Now I've done my fair share of rooms now so tend to skip them these days but it turned out that there was space for one more and so I found myself with 8 others solving pretty straightforward puzzles - we got out later than we should have due to what we considered to be an artificial obstacle (basically a code input that made us wait 60 seconds between tries), otherwise it was decent enough. We followed this up with some bougie coffee and dessert, in a region of Edmonton I hadn't seen before.

In the evening a much larger group took over the Activate facility to play various tech assisted room games, including Mega Grid - something you may have seen on various social media. Now this was a lot of fun - although perhaps some rooms were better than others, and due to the way it worked (6 to a room) we tended not to see much of the wider group we were with.

We then went for dessert which was a great way to detune (and get some vital calories back) after which we went for a drive downtown - something I rarely see at night. But the day didn't even end there as a bunch of us regrouped to play Telestrations (of all things) till way too late.

Eid in Edmonton

The main reason for timing of this trip was to celebrate Eid.

Eids in London tend to be quiet affairs for us, so we were looking forward to spending it with such a big local community, both throughout the day and during organised gatherings like the Eid salaat (which was wonderfully efficient and took around 30 mins) and the community party at a banquet hall (arranged for 100 heads).

It all paid off, and we finally got to see what a busy and varying "all-day" Eid could be like. The party had the double benefit of allowing us to greet our extended family in one place. A bonus was that others from outside Edmonton had also chosen this period to visit, giving the whole time more of a party vibe.

Given many of us would be together, we also set today for our game of "Don't Get Got" which kept us on our toes throughout, and even managed a couple of games of Clocktower late into the night.

It was a good time and very dossy... although at times overwhelming as it stretched my social battery.

Book: Leviathan Wakes, James S. A. Corey

Yes, if you think you've read this review before then you're not wrong. But rather than this being a cheap way to generate content, I have actually restarted The Expanse, almost six years after dipping my toes the first time. The plan was to interleave the series with The Cosmere, but I found that way too confusing, and now that I'm fully caught up with that I'm left to binge The Expanse at my leisure. That the series is now complete is a bonus - and I'll be reading the novellas in publication order too via the generous Memory's Legion compendium of Expanse shorts. More on that to come.

On starting the book it became clear to me that I really didn't remember much of it. This was good (as I get a newish experience) but also bad (how forgettable was this?). Either way it'll be interesting to see how my opinion has changed, if at all.

Leviathan Wakes is not a great book. I put this down mainly to the quality of writing, and there was a few passages I had to reread to parse correctly, if not giving up altogether and moving on. The author's use of voice and tone jars with expectation, which hopefully means I'll get used to it eventually.

The story itself is fine. Solid. Okay. It manages to present a classic sci-fi trope in an accessible manner, while supporting it with decent characters and subplots. It's not amazing but lays the foundation of what's to come. Most importantly, I'm invested and looking forward to seeing how it plays out. That alone is a reason to recommend it I guess, although it really does depend on how the whole thing hangs together.

Toronto Day Five: Waiting for Departure

When we were planning this trip we thought that five days would be too tight and we'd have to sacrifice compromise on certain needs and requirements to get it all to fit. Well in what is a classic example of over-planning, today turned out to be a pretty dead day in which we pretty much we left waiting for our flight back to Edmonton. Sure, we managed to visit the mall (again) and had a decent lunch with another uncle, but aside from that it was clock watching and administrative, and a bit of a shame as an alternative plan would have gotten us into Edmonton at a far more decent hour than we actually did.

But I guess having more time that required was better than having our trip cut short, and as a cheap quick stint, our time in Toronto was actually quite the success. We managed to see all of the touristy stuff we wanted to, while spending some quality time with the family and friends we have here. That we had to spend a few hours twiddling our thumbs was a small price to pay really - especially given that we don't know when we'll return to this city.

Toronto Day Four: Going Downtown

After Niagara, heading to downtown was the second "must do" we set ourselves for this trip - although what we wanted to actually do there was pretty much up in the air till this morning. The default obvious choice of heading up the CN Tower was not taken due to a variety of reasons including partial closure, the weather and a general disinterest, and so we decided to stick to culture. And of course, food.

We began our wondering at Graffiti Alley, spending the ten minutes or so required to take in the art. For brunch we headed to Kensington Market for some dirty chicken and waffles - we were planning to come back here for lunch so we exited the area and after a quick exploration of Spadina Avenue (including a visit to the delightfully nerdy A&C Games) headed along College Street to Queen's Park, taking in the university vibe along the way.

It was there that we were picked up by my cousin and her husband, now native to downtown. Now with a car we were wheeled back to Kensington Market where we gorged ourselves on churros, tacos and burgers. It was a good time.

With our insiders' help we were taken to the port area (via Yonge-Dundas Square) for some excellent (and free) views of the city. It was there that we parted ways with the family, returning to moving around on foot - which in turn allowed us to meander through the Distillery District and St Lawrence Market on the way to Union Station for our train home.

Getting home was a piece of cake, and I'll always be amazed at how the locals underappreciate the availability of a well designed and integrated transport system. We bought a single ticket from Union that allowed us to take the three stops on the double decker train to Port Credit where a waiting bus took us the three further stops to our apartment. It was a pleasant and efficient experience and makes me wonder why we're repeatedly told to take lifts and taxis.

The evening was spent celebrating the 50th anniversary of an uncle here, where we chilled with more great food, family and fun.

Toronto Day Three: Chilling in 'Sauga

Since we have a reasonable amount of family here in Toronto, time and space had to be reserved to spend with them. Jummah was the ideal day for this, and so today was always going to be less touristy and more familial. So the morning was spent using the apartment's pool facilities, including the hot tub and sauna, while a later Jummah start even allowed us to visit the nearby Square One mall for an hour or so.

With prayers done, we had lunch with an uncle, after which I met a friend for dessert. That took us to dinner with another aunt at which point I pretty much accepted that I was going to put on more than a few kilos before my return to the UK. Sad times.

Toronto Day Two: Niagara Falls

Of course no (tourist) trip to Toronto would be complete without a visit to the world famous falls here in Niagara. On the other hand, I've visited both Iguazu and Victoria falls since my last visit here and I think it's reasonable to say that Niagara didn't impress as much as those one.

But what Niagara lacks in scale, it makes up in accessibility. Being able to walk along a paved road to a well situated view made today a piece of cake, and that's before we even talk about the boat ride to the base of the falls - which was both far better than I remembered and expected.

With the main things ticked off, we grabbed a doner lunch at the excellent RG Kitchen on the way to the flower clock after which we made our way to Mississauga where we were staying for the remainder of our trip here.

Toronto Day One: Twenty Four Years Later

The oddest thing about this Toronto trip is knowing it's been 24 years or so since I was last here. I was a different person, Toronto was different, the world was different. As a marker of the passage of time it's pretty crazy to think about it, but otherwise I considered this a new place to explore - I can't imagine returning to any place I've visited after such a gap (although perhaps Islamabad ranked up there).

Today was just logistics. Canadian budget flights tend to be on the inconvenient side, but we managed to find a decent arrival to Hamilton which allowed us to pick up our rental and drive to Niagara in good time - enough to see the falls at night and then have a chicken wings and pizza dinner. The sleazy motel in which we're spending the night was just the icing on the cake.

A Record Return

When I promised my family here in Edmonton that I'd be "back soon", I didn't expect it to be a year later. Last year's trip had definitely been a paradigm shift in my relationship with Edmonton (for various reasons) so coming more often was always the plan, but I consider it fortuitous to have had the opportunity so soon.

It's nice to be both familiar with and by Edmonton. I think Canada has now cemented it's place as the third most country I've visited, bested only by Pakistan and Saudi, so it's probably something worth getting used to.

That said, as quickly as we have arrived, we are due to leave - as our little stint in Toronto starts as soon as tomorrow.

Film: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Has it really been five years since we first met Miles Morales and travelled the animated Spider-verse? That alone is frightening.

The second fear was that the sequel would not live up to the promises made in the first film. Well, I can confirm that Across is not a bum film. In fact it's even more fun, polished and coherent than the first, and manages to address almost all of the issues I had with it... albeit in non-straightforward ways.

The sometimes labouring animation style is still there, but refined and less of a headache. Character development is here in spades, but mainly in the form of annoying children being annoying children and making Bad Choices. The plot is great - an achievement in itself given the complexity that comes with multiverse shenanigans.

So top marks so far, and yet I can't help but see this as a Spider-Verse v1.5, the same film but done over. That it leaves room for a further sequel underlines this feeling, but on the bright side the eventual trilogy has the potential to be one of the best. And for that reason alone this instalment becomes pretty essential to watch.