retro magazine: issue one

8/9/2019 Retro Magazine: Issue One

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BOWLINGIS BACK5-Pin Fever issweeping the nation

Retro Watches:

BRICKWhy you need

to see this movie

How To:

THE PERFECTVODKA MARTINIGet Sloshed in Style


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THEONEANDONLY

ASKFORIT BYNAMEABSOLUTVODKA

THE ABSOLUTE MATURITY: RESPONSIBLE ENJOYMENT

November

COVER STORIES4 The Perfect Martini

Its more then just throwing some vodka into a glass. So whats thesecret to making a great martini? We look at several classic drinks.

5 Film Review: BrickDirected by Rian Johnson and feauring a preformance by JosephGordon-Levitt. Now avaliable on DVD.

6 Bowling Is BackBowling is making a comeback all across the country. Read up onthis retro activity and get in the game.

Regul10 Editors

12 Letters t

14 Food

18 Gadgets

22 Fashion

26 Opinion

30 Contest


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November

Awise man once said Alcoholpreserves everything exceptsecrets. and in the spirit of

that, we share with you now a veryspecial one.

What makes amartini perfectthough? What

is the one be-allend-all way tomake a martini,perhaps the classiest of the classicdrinks you can make?

Well, the truth of the matter is thereis no perfect martini. A martini thatis perfect for you, however, is veryattainable. The best news? The onlyway to nd out what you like is with

tasting different mixes!

Your vodka should be stored in thefreezer. It wont turn to ice, dontworry. Alcohol has a much lowerfreezing point then water. The samegoes for gin if that is your preference.

Now, where most people run intotrouble is the vermouth. Many peopleseem to believe that vermouth isundesirable and less is better.Not true. You do however, need anequal balance of Dry Vermouth and

Sweet Vermouth. Didnt know therewere two kinds? You just learnedsomething today. Otherwise whatmakes it a martini instead of a pl ainold glass of vodka?

The exact measurement is wherepersonal preference comes into play,but start with 1/2 oz of each, and

another 2oz of your choice vodka.Dont skimp on quality here - thedrink is so much vodka, you wantyour favourite brand.

Mix with iceand straininto a chilledmartini glass.

Its importantthat the glass iscooled, you just

spent all this time keeping everythingelse cool, why mess it up at the end?

Garnish with an olive, or a slice oflemon if you prefer. Thats it. Keep itsimple and classic and you just cantgo wrong. Delicious!

RetroNovember 2007

BRICK

Director:

Rian Johnson

The Players:

Joseph Gordon-LevittNora ZehetnerNoah FleissEmilie de Ravin

Brick is a detective movie thatunderstands its good to feel just aslost as the protagonist. Why wouldwe have more information then thevery man trying to solve the problem?Whats the point in solving a mysteryif you know whats what? DirectorRian Johnson throws us into thedeep end of this 1950s-modern dayhead rst.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (TheLookout, 3rd Rock fromthe Sun) plays our fasttalking, sharp thinker of ahero, Brendan. When hisex-girlfriend Emily calls himin a panic with a crypticmessage and quickly turnsup dead, he takes it uponhimself to uncover the truth about thecircumstances surrounding it.

What follows is maybe the bestdetective movie since fedoras wentout of fashion. The look is modern,

like any highschool you see today,but the feel is very retro. Everyonein the lm a fast talker and oozing the

atmospheric retro slang.

Brick is gritty fun that will keepyou guessing until the nal frame.

Gordon-Levitt plays Brendanperfectly. Hes the classic hardboiled

detective, following the classicadvice from John Wayne Talk slow,talk low and dont talk too much.Okay, so maybe he ignores the slowpart Brick is full of fast talking jagonthat sets the mood for the lm.

You will notice almost right awaythat Brendan is at a disadvantage inalmost every situation, and this worksto excellent effect because everyoneloves to root for the underdog.

Nora Zehetner delivers a stunningperformance as Laura, the sultrywoman in the red dress, serving as

a mysteriousEveryone hitthis movie retro period be achieved

to work.

This look andconflict with

the characte26, save one

Assistant Vice Princip

its used to humorou

Maybe its because hstudents take minor so seriously, that whbecomes a murder m

mood feels very natu

You missed it in theaout on DVD now. Youyourself a disservice one of the most origidetective movies youand is something youagain and again with

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the foreground as Brendon. In the bac

Tug as played by Noah Fleiss. Photo courtesy of Focus

Brick is a hardboiled thriller from the past with a present day

RETRO REVIEWS

Brick is gritty fun that

will keep you guessing

until the fi nal frame.

Keep it simple

and classic

Its more then just filling a glass with vodka.

So whats the secret to the choice drink of 007?

THE PERFECTMARTINI

RETRO DRINKS

As voted by our alcoholic staff,these classic drinks both lookand taste great.

Vodka MartiniGin is for homeless people, andthe Russians know more aboutkeeping warm anyway. Ask for itdry to skip the vermouth. Servecolder then your mother in-law.

Jack on the RocksThe favourite of Frank Sinatra isgood enough for you too. Justdont assume you can sing likehim after a few. Serve with adank, smokey surrounding.

Rum & CokeSometimes we forget whatstraight Coca-cola tastes like.A drink thats a little sweet, alittle pirate, and all awesome.Serve with a couple of ice cubesand a wedge of lime.

BeerWe wouldnt be caught deadwith a Coors or Bud (unlessit was free, hint hint), but youcant go wrong with a pint ofsomething tasty. Try somethingfrom a local brewery for achange of pace. Perfect withpizza or wings or anything tasty,really. Serve out of a pitcher witha few friends, or a pint glass ifyou cant agree on a single brewbetween you.

White RussianThe Dude abides. What morecan we say? The perfect drinkfor everything from bowling tosolving an elaborate kidnappingmystery. Serve anywhereand everywhere under anycircumstances.


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November RetroNovember 2007

BOWLINGIS BACKWhen most people think ofbowling, they think of thepopular American game

of 10-pin. However, there is another,more difcult Canadian game known

as ve-pin. This isnt a kids game,

although it is enjoyed by both kids andadults alike.

Five-pin is a more challenging gamefor several reasons. First, the alleyis the same width and length as aregulation 10-pin lane. Having saidthat, there are obviously less pins onthe lane, and they are 75% smallerthen 10-pins. This, in combination

with the smaller balls (stop snickering)makes it much harder to knockeverything down with a single throw.

Bowlers call the act of pins flying

around as a result of the ball knockingthem over Pin Action. Less pinsmeans less pin action, which meansyou have to be more accurate. It isentirely possible to throw a 5-pin balldown the lane at a full set of pins andhit nothing but air.

Maybe its this challenge that is thereason why 5-pin isnt as popularas other bowling games. The larger

learning curve meansa perfect game is 450opposed to 300 in 10-more difcult to rack u

Here in Canada thoug

a very popular game. alleys accommodate

ten pin games, althoualleys that serve exclu

To get an understandgame, we went to RoBurlington, Ontario. Tlanes of 5-pin on two

is regular bowling and


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8 RetroNovember 2007

played one of these things in ages!Keiley knows Roseland Bowlwell, she was born and raised inBurlington. Its a bowling alley thathas been around longer then a lotof the people who go bowling there.Bowling in quite a retro activity.

But bowling isnt just about Roselandand Burlington - London OntariosPalasad has been voted Best Placeto Bring a Date for the last fewyears. And why not? Its not the mostintimate and romantic activity forsure, but you are renting out a littlespace just for yourself. Even whenan alley is crowded you have someroom all to yourself.

Bowling is such an interesting game

because its about consistency. Thisis especially true in 5-pin, where thevalue of a strike is dependent onyour next two throws. Fifteen pointsplus your next two throws (whichcan each have a maximum value of

fteen if they themselves are strikes)

is a massive 45 points. Four strikes ina row are required for two frames of45 points, and so on and so forth.

A single bad throw can muck all ofthat up. Even though a perfect gameis 150 points higher then in ten-pin(which is 300 points) its much harderto achieve that score.

With more points at steak and itbeing harder to score them, youwould think the game was easilyfrustrating. Youre not playing againstthe game, though: you play againstyou own record.

By keeping track of your scores andyour average, you slowly improve

your game against yourself. Youcan compete of course, but evenprofessionals keep track of theiraverage as a way of judging theimprovement of their game.The fact that the game can be played

both competitively omaybe why it endureTheres no sign of it sFive Pin bowling hassince about 1908. It rise of television, moall sorts of more highinteractive entertainm

Not to say bowling hof technology, as mecomputer scoring anmachines, but bowlina classic game that idigital. Though its hemaybe passed, therethe lasting popularitytime. It may never go

So grab a few friends

on down to your locaa few frames. Revel ientertainment and mat the same time.

can be switched over to do glow in thedark bowling. The pins, balls and lanesall glow under ultraviolet light for a uniquebowling experience unlike any other.

Like most bowling allies, Roseland offersleague nights for everyone young andold. Children up to 18 team up on theweekends while various adult and seniorleagues tend to meet weeknights. Its achance to have some fun with friends in aunique setting.

League Bowling is casual butcompetitive, active but

not exhausting fun foreveryone. Like any other

sport or hobby, thereare different levelsof commitment andcost. Children leaguebowl for less then

$10 a meeting, whilemore serious bowlers can

throw down extra for their ownpersonalized bowling balls, bagsor shoes.

A set of5-pin ballscan start at

about $100,and go up fromthere. says a

representative ofRoseland Bowl.If you do a lotof bowling, itsa nice investment since the weight

is familiar to you, and they tendto be less abused then alley ballsused and over used by the generalpublic. Interestingly enough,personalized bowling balls were

not legal in tournaments until1990.

Bowling shoes also canprovide a personalized

comfort and t, as well as being more

stylish then alley shoes. They are availablein as many styles as any other running ortennis shoe and are similar in cost.

But thats all extra. All you need to gobowling is a lane and a few friends. KeileyStuart went bowling with Retro Magazinethis month and took us to school.I dont want to worry you, but Improbably going to kick your ass. Keileydoes a lot of bowling, apparently. I wasnever in a league or anything, but school isnow in session.

Keiley wasnt counting on our editorhaving worked at a bowling alley forseveral years in highschool. What resultedwas a very close series of games duringthe photoshoot. Although well neveradmit defeat, Keiley was the only one wholooked like a winner.

We spoke with the owner, Greg Bond,about recent changes at the alley.Computer scoring was added downstairs,the pin setting machines were updated to

more modern string-pin systems and theyeven added a kitchen, cutting their reliance

on pizza delivery services for childrensbirthday parties and special events.

We had to take the arcade machines outto make room but nobody really playedthem anyway. says Greg. The core ofthe bowling experience remains. Keileydid have a great time with the one arcademachine left: the claw machine. I havent

Keiley wasnt counting on

our editor having worked at

a bowling alley.

THROWING STRIKESKeiley Stuart takes Retro Magazine to school at Roseland Bowl

November


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November 2007Volume 1 Issue 1

ON THE COVER

Keiley Stuart

EDITOR

Marc Fowler

ART DIRECTOR

Marc Fowler

PHOTOGRAPHY

Marc Fowler

SPECIAL THANKS

Keiley StuartGreg Bond

Dennis FowlerCarole Fowler

Rainer SchwartzCynthia Devenyi

Editorial opinions and reviews

expressed in this magazine

are those of the writer and in

not those of Retro Magazine.

Retro is published 12 times a

year; Visit retromag.com for

subscription information andback issues. Retro Magazine is

not responsible for the return of

unsolicited artwork or articles.

Letters to the Editor may be

edited for content and length if

selected for publishing.

o this is it, the very rst issue of

etro Magazine. Hopefully youvenjoyed our attempt to bring attle bit of the old school back into

modren day living.

What is withur fascination

with the old?s it nostalgia?he urgeo return tosimplerme? Maybe

we want too thingshe way ourarents andrandparentsid. They got by just ne without cell

hones and high speed internet.

Dont get me wrong though - thereso need to dump all of these modernonvinces to go back. A classic

movie, a familiar drink or food, or likeur feature story this month, why notgood old retro activity to relax with?

Our feature was shot at Roselandowl in Burlington, Ontario. The

24 lanes of 5-pin there ooze withclassic entertainment mixed withmodern connivence. Gone are thepin monkeys of old for modern stringmachines, and computer scoringis king. Theres something about abowling alley that will always be atime machine though. The shoes,the sounds, the smells. Some thingsnever change.

Bowling has been a part of my lifesince I was a kid. I wasnt much into

sports and leauge bowling got meinvolved in a team and out of mymothers hair once a week. Sure,its not as physically demanding assoccer or hockey, but it got me offthe couch.

There were so many things we di dntget to shoot becaue of time and

space that wemade noteof for futureissues. Beon the lookout for tonsof clothes,movies, foodand more!

Be sure tocatch our nextissue. Were

going to be talking about fashion.Why did fedoras and overcoats evergo out of style? They look so cool!

And dont miss our review of ZeroHour, a movie with a futuristic twiston the hard boiled detective story.

I hope youre with us for the longhaul. Weve got so much planned,everyone here is so excited aboutfuture issues. Its going to be fun.

HELLO, RETROMarc Fowler, Editor

0 RetroNovember 2007

A bowling alley

will always be a

time machine


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DESTORYER OF WORLD

You gotta do what you gotta do.Saving the world just happens to invodestorying these cute little things. Butfooled: Theyre bent on destruction in

Play classic arcade action and rack upscore. Save the world from the cutest ever to rise from the dead and haunt t

FowlerDesigns.ca/extras/squiddles

retro magazine: issue one

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