Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
September 1, 2009
Entertainment Weekly did another fun bracket tournament with 32 Guilty Pleasure musical artists. I thought it was an interesting collection of choices…some actual guilty pleasures, some real great acts, and some real Grade A cheese. (click on the picture to enlarge to full-size)
Take a moment and figure out, based on the brackets, who your favourite Guilty Pleasure is, and then give your result in the Comments section. If you feel so inclined, include your Championship Match, or even your Final Four.
My (non-shocking) result, along with my full Final Four in the Comments section below.
*Bonus trivia* - The first person in the comments section to correctly identify which THREE of those 32 musical artists I've seen live in concert will win a six-pack of Coke Zero.
Take a moment and figure out, based on the brackets, who your favourite Guilty Pleasure is, and then give your result in the Comments section. If you feel so inclined, include your Championship Match, or even your Final Four.
My (non-shocking) result, along with my full Final Four in the Comments section below.
*Bonus trivia* - The first person in the comments section to correctly identify which THREE of those 32 musical artists I've seen live in concert will win a six-pack of Coke Zero.
September 1, 2009
Today, my friend Dwayne texted me while I was at work. The text message said, "Can you email me, please? I need to email you something."So I emailed him, and a few minutes later, an email came back from him that said, "If you have a second, can you call me?"
So, let me get this straight...you texted me...to email you...so you could email me back...to ask me to call you?
I should have faxed him to tell him I was busy.
September 1, 2009
I took Lucas to the Waterloo Busker Carnival on Saturday night. There were a couple of things we wanted to check out, despite the apparent alarming ‘coincidence’ of approximately half of the acts being some sort of acrobatic routine. Lucas wanted to see The Pogo Dudes, and Phil had recommended that we check out Charlie Caper, a magician from Sweden. We headed to Uptown Waterloo around 7:00 pm on Saturday night, so that we could catch Charlie Caper at 7:30 and then The Pogo Dudes at 8:15. (we had checked the schedule on the website)
We got there and picked up a program from the information booth, and saw that Charlie Caper was going to be performing on Pitch E, in front of Starbucks, so we headed over there to get a good seat up front. We watched the finale of The Phantastyks (kinda cheesy), and then were mulling around waiting for him to show up. 7:25 rolls around and no one is there, so I try to find someone to ask. I figure I’m not just asking any volunteer, I’m looking for someone with a headset so that if they don’t know, at least they can find out. I find someone and ask if he’s still performing there at that time, and he just shrugs and says, “He’s supposed to be.” Obviously this guy doesn’t care, so I go back to the information booth, which is now inaccessible because they’re doing a show on Pitch C right in front of it.
Why on earth would you set it up this way, so that people who need information can’t get to the booth? It was ridiculous. I went around to the back of the tent and asked about the show, and another woman with a headset told me, “He generally shows up right when the show starts. He should be there soon.” without checking anything. Obviously, no one was interested in actually providing information at the information tent. She also told me that “he doesn’t have much equipment, so it doesn’t take him long to set up.” Well, I know for a fact from my friends who are street performers that you don’t just ‘show up’ and start your show with no crowd. He has to build his crowd. And if he’s not there now, he’s not coming.
Now I’m pissed off because this is the one show we really wanted to see, and it’s obviously not happening. Plus Lucas doesn’t understand what’s happening and I’m trying to explain it to him. I ask another person that I run into, and they just shrug again. Then I run into a fourth person (it is now about 7:40), and when I ask him, he tells me “Oh, he’s on the Public Square stage doing his show now. He’s just finishing up.” I mention that he’s listed at a different time and location in the program and on the website, and he looks at me like I’ve said the dumbest thing he’s ever heard, and tells me “We haven’t been following that schedule all weekend.”
Oh, I see. You just make up a schedule and then ditch it? Why even make it in the first place? The worst part of this entire situation is that there is a big white Dry-Erase board at the information booth that says “Schedule Changes”, and I made a point to look at it when we picked up our program…and it was blank.
We never got to see Charlie Caper. That was his last show of the night. Well-organized as usual, Waterloo Busker Carnival.
We got there and picked up a program from the information booth, and saw that Charlie Caper was going to be performing on Pitch E, in front of Starbucks, so we headed over there to get a good seat up front. We watched the finale of The Phantastyks (kinda cheesy), and then were mulling around waiting for him to show up. 7:25 rolls around and no one is there, so I try to find someone to ask. I figure I’m not just asking any volunteer, I’m looking for someone with a headset so that if they don’t know, at least they can find out. I find someone and ask if he’s still performing there at that time, and he just shrugs and says, “He’s supposed to be.” Obviously this guy doesn’t care, so I go back to the information booth, which is now inaccessible because they’re doing a show on Pitch C right in front of it.
Why on earth would you set it up this way, so that people who need information can’t get to the booth? It was ridiculous. I went around to the back of the tent and asked about the show, and another woman with a headset told me, “He generally shows up right when the show starts. He should be there soon.” without checking anything. Obviously, no one was interested in actually providing information at the information tent. She also told me that “he doesn’t have much equipment, so it doesn’t take him long to set up.” Well, I know for a fact from my friends who are street performers that you don’t just ‘show up’ and start your show with no crowd. He has to build his crowd. And if he’s not there now, he’s not coming.
Now I’m pissed off because this is the one show we really wanted to see, and it’s obviously not happening. Plus Lucas doesn’t understand what’s happening and I’m trying to explain it to him. I ask another person that I run into, and they just shrug again. Then I run into a fourth person (it is now about 7:40), and when I ask him, he tells me “Oh, he’s on the Public Square stage doing his show now. He’s just finishing up.” I mention that he’s listed at a different time and location in the program and on the website, and he looks at me like I’ve said the dumbest thing he’s ever heard, and tells me “We haven’t been following that schedule all weekend.”
Oh, I see. You just make up a schedule and then ditch it? Why even make it in the first place? The worst part of this entire situation is that there is a big white Dry-Erase board at the information booth that says “Schedule Changes”, and I made a point to look at it when we picked up our program…and it was blank.
We never got to see Charlie Caper. That was his last show of the night. Well-organized as usual, Waterloo Busker Carnival.
Monday, August 31, 2009
August 31, 2009
For those of you that read my posts on Big Brother, you will obviously have noticed my about-face with regards to Natalie. Based only on the first episode, I chose her as my pick to win the game, but it quickly became apparent that she was a follower, and didn’t really have much game play in her. Yes, she’s somewhat athletic, but it has become painfully obvious that being a trophy-winning tae kwon do fighter does not mean you can hang from a toilet seat, run on a greasy walkway with a leaky cup of hot chocolate, or swing around on a giant carousel…longer or faster than your opponents.
As I mentioned recently, Natalie has become one of those reprehensible Reality TV stars that every show needs. I mean, let’s be honest…how boring would Survivor Tocantins have been without Coach Wade? Jessie, Lydia, Chima, and Natalie have been the classless class of Summer 2009 for Big Brother 11. The astounding thing about these types of reality stars is their utter delusions about themselves. Natalie has spent two months in the Big Brother house, and made it to the final 5…without winning anything! But in last week’s marathon hot chocolate globe-filling race, when she gave up, and put it all on Kevin’s shoulder’s, she used her token line in the diary room, “I’m not going to show the rest of the house how strong of a competitor I am.”
There are only five of them left! If her ‘master plan’ is to hide this strength she claims to have in all of these challenges…well then, well done Natalie! Because that is the best job of concealing strength that I’ve ever seen…an untrained eye would just think that you sucked at everything. I can just imagine when she gets voted out, she’s going to turn to them as she’s leaving and say, “Ha! I fooled you all!” And run out and tell Julie how she was clearly the strongest player in the house, but chose to never win a challenge.
As I mentioned recently, Natalie has become one of those reprehensible Reality TV stars that every show needs. I mean, let’s be honest…how boring would Survivor Tocantins have been without Coach Wade? Jessie, Lydia, Chima, and Natalie have been the classless class of Summer 2009 for Big Brother 11. The astounding thing about these types of reality stars is their utter delusions about themselves. Natalie has spent two months in the Big Brother house, and made it to the final 5…without winning anything! But in last week’s marathon hot chocolate globe-filling race, when she gave up, and put it all on Kevin’s shoulder’s, she used her token line in the diary room, “I’m not going to show the rest of the house how strong of a competitor I am.”
There are only five of them left! If her ‘master plan’ is to hide this strength she claims to have in all of these challenges…well then, well done Natalie! Because that is the best job of concealing strength that I’ve ever seen…an untrained eye would just think that you sucked at everything. I can just imagine when she gets voted out, she’s going to turn to them as she’s leaving and say, “Ha! I fooled you all!” And run out and tell Julie how she was clearly the strongest player in the house, but chose to never win a challenge.
August 31, 2009
Are we really still in the midst of an economic crisis when:
A) 19,300 people paid between $40 and $85 in Calgary last week to watch a Red/White scrimmage featuring the 44 players who are ‘trying out’ for Team Canada for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Nineteen thousand people! To watch a makeshift game…that wasn’t really a game…and didn’t even feature another team! A glorified shirts vs. skins matchup with ticket prices upwards of $100? (On a side note, a shirts vs. skins hockey game would be hilarious.)
B) The Jonas Brothers played in front of 56,000 people at Skydome (oops…I mean Rogers Centre) last night, and there was an estimated two thousand scalpers outside the venue selling tickets, some for as much as $500.
C) Disney announced today that they are paying 4 billion dollars to buy Marvel. Which can only mean that in the future, we can expect Iron Man to have Pluto as a sidekick, and for the Marvel soundtracks to stop featuring bands like Snow Patrol, The Killers, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Dashboard Confessional, and now instead have Miley Cyrus and the aforementioned Jonas Brothers.
Economic crisis? You tell me.
A) 19,300 people paid between $40 and $85 in Calgary last week to watch a Red/White scrimmage featuring the 44 players who are ‘trying out’ for Team Canada for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Nineteen thousand people! To watch a makeshift game…that wasn’t really a game…and didn’t even feature another team! A glorified shirts vs. skins matchup with ticket prices upwards of $100? (On a side note, a shirts vs. skins hockey game would be hilarious.)
B) The Jonas Brothers played in front of 56,000 people at Skydome (oops…I mean Rogers Centre) last night, and there was an estimated two thousand scalpers outside the venue selling tickets, some for as much as $500.
C) Disney announced today that they are paying 4 billion dollars to buy Marvel. Which can only mean that in the future, we can expect Iron Man to have Pluto as a sidekick, and for the Marvel soundtracks to stop featuring bands like Snow Patrol, The Killers, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Dashboard Confessional, and now instead have Miley Cyrus and the aforementioned Jonas Brothers.
Economic crisis? You tell me.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
August 30, 2009
This week's Sunday music selection is Breathe Me by Sia. I had heard this song on the soundtrack to Six Feet Under before I saw the show itself, and I really liked it, but when I saw how they used it in the show, it became legendary. I highly recommend both soundtracks to the show.
Most of you know that I'm a TV junkie, and I can say without exception that the series finale of Six Feet Under is the greatest hour of television ever. This is the song that was used for the end of that episode.
I've embedded two options below for you to watch/listen. The first one is just an audio version of the song for those of you that have not watched Six Feet Under. I've also put a clip of the final 10 minutes of the series, including the song, below that for those of you that have seen it and would like to enjoy it again. Make sure you have your Kleenex nearby if you do. If you're ever planning on watching Six Feet Under, just watch the first one.
Most of you know that I'm a TV junkie, and I can say without exception that the series finale of Six Feet Under is the greatest hour of television ever. This is the song that was used for the end of that episode.I've embedded two options below for you to watch/listen. The first one is just an audio version of the song for those of you that have not watched Six Feet Under. I've also put a clip of the final 10 minutes of the series, including the song, below that for those of you that have seen it and would like to enjoy it again. Make sure you have your Kleenex nearby if you do. If you're ever planning on watching Six Feet Under, just watch the first one.
Friday, August 28, 2009
August 28, 2009
I was trying to hold off on writing about Quentin Tarantino’s new film Inglourious Basterds until I got a chance to see it again, but looking at my schedule, I’m not going to be able to go for a while. Since I promised to have something up this week for those of you that were waiting, I figured I would go ahead. Now, as with the ‘review’ on District 9, I’m going to refrain from talking about any major plot points or reveals, and trust me, that is going to be difficult. Once again, the conversation is fully open in the Comments section, so for those of you who want to discuss the movie fully, we’ll continue in the Comments section. I can’t stress this enough…If you haven’t seen the movie, do not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES read the Comments section until you have.In Random Thoughts format:
- To start off with, I’m listening to the soundtrack while I’m writing this. Great mix of instrumentals from Ennio Morricone along with some other tracks, like David Bowie’s Cat People. Fantastic soundtrack.
- I’ve always been a fan of Quentin Tarantino, so this was one of those movies that I was looking forward to for quite some time, and was accelerated even more after all of the buzz coming out the Cannes Film Festival this year. Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and both Kill Bill movies are all high on my list of all-time favourites, and I think that after a second viewing and some more thought, Inglourious Basterds may top them all.
- I was never really a Brad Pitt fan until I saw him in Burn After Reading last year, and it really opened my eyes to how entertaining he can be. His turn as Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds is nothing short of spectacular, and he is definitely the comic highlight of the film. Perhaps the greatest horrible Italian accent in the history of film.- I had a good conversation with my friend Caesar about the level of violence in the movie. It wasn’t over the top, but there are some things that stay with you. For me it was some of the sounds that came along with the visuals. You’ll understand more when you see it, I’ll expand in the Comments section. The violence isn’t necessarily cringe-worthy, like in Reservoir Dogs, or over-exaggerated, like in the Kill Bills, but it fits. And not because it’s a movie set during WWII. I can’t stress this enough…THIS IS NOT A WAR MOVIE.
- Christoph Waltz is going to win an Oscar for his role as Col. Hans Landa. Period. If you didn’t see the entire movie, you could argue that it was earned based on the opening scene alone, but throughout the film, you see a blend of comedy, drama, intelligence, sophistication, and pure, sadistic evil. All while being a character you will find yourself ‘liking’ while not rooting for.- As with Pulp Fiction, a multitude of parallel storylines progress individually, culminating in a common resolution. I love the pacing of the film, broken into five chapters.
- Great cameo from Mike Myers. Not what you’re used to seeing from him.
- Newcomer Mélanie Laurent shines as Shoshanna, an endearing survivor with (justified) malice in her heart. I love how Tarantino has filled his cast with relative unknowns from Europe, almost all of whom are fantastic in the film, and lend an authentic feel to the characters and story.I’m gushing, I know. But Inglourious Basterds flat-out blew me away. Come along with me to the Comments section for a more in-depth discussion
Thursday, August 27, 2009
August 27, 2009
I saw the previews for District 9 when they started on TV a few weeks ago, and I didn’t really give them a second glance. But after the movie was released, I started hearing about the box office numbers (which generally don’t mean that much in terms of quality), and the spectacular reviews it was receiving. Next thing I know, I’m hearing from friends how good it was, and seeing comments from some of my friends on Facebook (whose opinions I respect) commenting on how amazing it was…so when Phil called me and asked me if I wanted to go see it, I said yes.I went into the film knowing absolutely nothing other than the fact that there were aliens in it. That’s it. Not that it was set in South Africa, not that there were aliens living on earth, not that it was in a mock-documentary format (for some of the film)…nothing. It was great watching everything without having any expectations, and for those of you that haven’t seen it, I’ll do my best not to reveal anything major to you.
As far as science-fiction goes, it was fantastic, but it was a great movie on its own merits as well, without having to be classified as sci-fi. To find out that the budget for the film was only $30 Million was astounding to me, and I recently read a review with the star of the film, Sharlto Copley, who explained that most of his dialogue was improvised, and that he wasn’t working from a script.
Sharlto Copley was definitely one of the highlights of District 9, evolving from a nerdy office worker to a desperate hero (anti-hero?) in the span of 90 minutes. This is his first major performing role, but I would expect that you’ll see a lot more from him in the future. The parallels between humans living with aliens, and their reactions to them, is an obvious parallel with South Africa’s history of apartheid…you’d have to be borderline retarded not to see that…but I thought they did a good job of not bashing you over the head with it.I don’t want to give to much of the movie away, so I’d like to continue the conversation in the Comments section for those of you that have seen the movie. I’ll add some additional thoughts to begin, and hopefully it will stimulate some discussion. If you haven’t seen the movie, and are planning to see it…stay away from the Comments section.
And to those of you that haven’t seen it, I highly recommend that you do.
August 27, 2009
I’m on a bit of a hot streak with movies lately. The last 3 I’ve watched on DVD were all quite good, as well as the last 3 I’ve seen at the theatres. It has inspired me to do a ‘review’ of each of them since I really enjoyed all of them, and can’t recall a time in the past where I’ve seen 6 consecutive movies that I would recommend to others. Now, I’m not planning on doing a traditional ‘review’, but rather a basic post on what I thought of the movie. Don’t expect Roger Ebert. But having said that, this post will cover the 3 movies I saw on DVD in the last couple of weeks.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
I’m really hot and cold with Kevin Smith. I generally like him and his movies, but it’s hit or miss…love it or hate it. The previews and the press surrounding the release of this film made me want to see it when it was in theatres, but I ended up watching it on DVD 2 weeks ago. I’ve enjoyed Seth Rogen since I first saw him on the under-appreciated TV show Undeclared, and tend to enjoy the movies he’s been in. When you add in the fact that I have a mad crush on Elizabeth Banks from her role as Kim on Scrubs, then it seems like a pretty good combo.
I thought Zack and Miri Make A Porno was hilarious, and Rogen and Banks were a great team working together. Justin Long and Jason Mewes were highlights as well, and their scenes were very memorable. The movie itself was enjoyable, but I had the two-disc edition and watched most of the special features as well. With just the deleted and extended scenes, there was an extra 110 minutes…that’s essentially a whole other movie! Add to that the gag reel, the footage from the panel discussion at Comic-Con, and a documentary on how the film was made, and it was a lot to watch. But it was worth it. Interesting to hear Kevin Smith talk about his battle with the MPAA over the rating, and how he has successfully appealed in the past. If you want the laughs only, then just watch the movie, but if you liked it as much as I did, then watch the special features as well.
I Love You, Man
The previews made it look like a typical farcical comedy, but this was actually a pretty good movie, without being one of those silly yuk-fests. It was definitely funny, and the story was decent, but I really liked the characters. Paul Rudd initially seemed out of place as the straight man, since he’s proven he can be pretty spectacularly funny at times, like in Anchorman and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. He has definitely come a long way since I first saw him in Clueless and Romeo + Juliet, both of which were nearly 15 years ago! His awkwardness ended up being pretty endearing, though, and played well off of Sydney’s (Jason Segel) carefree attitude. I enjoyed the movie, and thought they both were great, although there was far too much Rush for my liking. No movie needs to feature that much Rush music…and a cameo of the band in concert.
Adventureland
I just watched this movie a couple of nights ago, based on a recommendation from a friend. We’ve jokingly (and accurately) referred to Jesse Eisenberg as ‘a Michael Cera clone’, and the only other thing I had ever seen him in was The Squid and The Whale. I had never seen Kristen Stewart in anything before, because I may be the only human being on the planet who hasn’t jumped on the Twilight bandwagon. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, it’s basically the story of Jim and Emily as they spend a summer working at an amusement park in Pittsburgh. The poster and the DVD packaging proclaims that it’s ‘from the director of Superbad’, and the artwork would lead you to believe that it’s another goofy comedy, but don’t be fooled. It’s a smart, coming-of-age story, with complex characters and relationships. I was impressed with Kristen Stewart, especially with all the press I had been hearing about Twilight, and how she is capable of so much more. I’m now looking forward to her role as Joan Jett in the upcoming biopic.
If any of you have seen these 3 movies, feel free to comment below. Did you like them too? Why or why not?
Zack and Miri Make a PornoI’m really hot and cold with Kevin Smith. I generally like him and his movies, but it’s hit or miss…love it or hate it. The previews and the press surrounding the release of this film made me want to see it when it was in theatres, but I ended up watching it on DVD 2 weeks ago. I’ve enjoyed Seth Rogen since I first saw him on the under-appreciated TV show Undeclared, and tend to enjoy the movies he’s been in. When you add in the fact that I have a mad crush on Elizabeth Banks from her role as Kim on Scrubs, then it seems like a pretty good combo.
I thought Zack and Miri Make A Porno was hilarious, and Rogen and Banks were a great team working together. Justin Long and Jason Mewes were highlights as well, and their scenes were very memorable. The movie itself was enjoyable, but I had the two-disc edition and watched most of the special features as well. With just the deleted and extended scenes, there was an extra 110 minutes…that’s essentially a whole other movie! Add to that the gag reel, the footage from the panel discussion at Comic-Con, and a documentary on how the film was made, and it was a lot to watch. But it was worth it. Interesting to hear Kevin Smith talk about his battle with the MPAA over the rating, and how he has successfully appealed in the past. If you want the laughs only, then just watch the movie, but if you liked it as much as I did, then watch the special features as well.
I Love You, ManThe previews made it look like a typical farcical comedy, but this was actually a pretty good movie, without being one of those silly yuk-fests. It was definitely funny, and the story was decent, but I really liked the characters. Paul Rudd initially seemed out of place as the straight man, since he’s proven he can be pretty spectacularly funny at times, like in Anchorman and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. He has definitely come a long way since I first saw him in Clueless and Romeo + Juliet, both of which were nearly 15 years ago! His awkwardness ended up being pretty endearing, though, and played well off of Sydney’s (Jason Segel) carefree attitude. I enjoyed the movie, and thought they both were great, although there was far too much Rush for my liking. No movie needs to feature that much Rush music…and a cameo of the band in concert.
AdventurelandI just watched this movie a couple of nights ago, based on a recommendation from a friend. We’ve jokingly (and accurately) referred to Jesse Eisenberg as ‘a Michael Cera clone’, and the only other thing I had ever seen him in was The Squid and The Whale. I had never seen Kristen Stewart in anything before, because I may be the only human being on the planet who hasn’t jumped on the Twilight bandwagon. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, it’s basically the story of Jim and Emily as they spend a summer working at an amusement park in Pittsburgh. The poster and the DVD packaging proclaims that it’s ‘from the director of Superbad’, and the artwork would lead you to believe that it’s another goofy comedy, but don’t be fooled. It’s a smart, coming-of-age story, with complex characters and relationships. I was impressed with Kristen Stewart, especially with all the press I had been hearing about Twilight, and how she is capable of so much more. I’m now looking forward to her role as Joan Jett in the upcoming biopic.
If any of you have seen these 3 movies, feel free to comment below. Did you like them too? Why or why not?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
August 26, 2009
For this week's mashup, I've chosen a track that mixes The Beatles with Nine Inch Nails. No, don't worry, you read that correctly. Closer meets Come Together.
Lyrics not suitable for work.
Lyrics not suitable for work.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
August 25, 2009
A follow-up story to the Roaming Wolverine of St. Agatha post from last week.
I was at Brantford and sitting with a friend at a table, along with Sean, one of our favourite dealers, who was dealing at the time. We were talking about the blog post from last week telling the story about when my friend and I saw a Wolverine at Foxwood golf course. Someone asked what we were talking about, so Sean said “Tell them the story”. So, I’m starting to tell the story about ‘the wolverine’, and this 19-year-old punk kid at our table starts laughing.
I say, “You’re going to start mocking the story before you even hear it?”
He says, “Please! Like that’s even a real animal!”
You could literally hear the crickets chirping as we all looked at each other and I said, “Um….what?”
“A Wolverine isn’t a real animal. That’s from the comic books”, he continues.
Well, needless to say, we had a bit of a field day with this kid from that point forward, and it led to a new game I introduced to him, called “Real Animal or Fake Animal?” I would name an animal, and he would tell me if it was real, or if I was making it up.
The very first one I ask him is Narwhal – real or fake? He asks what it is, and I tell him (truthfully) “It’s pretty much a cross between a dolphin and a unicorn, essentially a porpoise with a big spike coming out of its head.”
He points at me aggressively and shouts, “HA! That’s how I know you’re making it up! Because unicorns aren’t real!”
Oh…the innocence of youth. The look on his face was priceless when my friend Norm pulled up a picture of a narwhal on his blackberry.
To honour this future rocket scientist, please enjoy this classic Narwhal scene from Elf.
I was at Brantford and sitting with a friend at a table, along with Sean, one of our favourite dealers, who was dealing at the time. We were talking about the blog post from last week telling the story about when my friend and I saw a Wolverine at Foxwood golf course. Someone asked what we were talking about, so Sean said “Tell them the story”. So, I’m starting to tell the story about ‘the wolverine’, and this 19-year-old punk kid at our table starts laughing.
I say, “You’re going to start mocking the story before you even hear it?”
He says, “Please! Like that’s even a real animal!”
You could literally hear the crickets chirping as we all looked at each other and I said, “Um….what?”
“A Wolverine isn’t a real animal. That’s from the comic books”, he continues.
Well, needless to say, we had a bit of a field day with this kid from that point forward, and it led to a new game I introduced to him, called “Real Animal or Fake Animal?” I would name an animal, and he would tell me if it was real, or if I was making it up.
The very first one I ask him is Narwhal – real or fake? He asks what it is, and I tell him (truthfully) “It’s pretty much a cross between a dolphin and a unicorn, essentially a porpoise with a big spike coming out of its head.”He points at me aggressively and shouts, “HA! That’s how I know you’re making it up! Because unicorns aren’t real!”
Oh…the innocence of youth. The look on his face was priceless when my friend Norm pulled up a picture of a narwhal on his blackberry.
To honour this future rocket scientist, please enjoy this classic Narwhal scene from Elf.
Monday, August 24, 2009
August 24, 2009
- Lucas’ birthday party was this past weekend and we held it at Laser Quest for him and 8 of his friends. They had a blast, but the oddest thing about the day was what I saw in the parking lot. There were three guys out there, probably 20-22 years old, smoking at their car and strategizing for when they would go in and play. What the best way to hold your laser gun is, how to cover one of your sensors while shooting, and how there are a bunch of really young kids that didn’t know what they were doing, so they should just follow them around and keep shooting them to rack up the points. If this is the highlight of your weekend, hunting 7-year-olds in a Laser Tag maze…you really need to re-evaluate your life.
- The one-week Coke Zero trial is complete. The good news is that while I didn’t have a single Coke over the course of the week, I didn’t really miss or crave it that much. The bad news is that Coke Zero still tastes like Coke Zero, and is not a suitable replacement, despite what my friends suggested. I’ll keep going another week and see what happens.
- I saw two great movies in the past week, and felt rewarded after not being to the movies for over two months. District 9 and Inglourious Basterds are highly recommended and will both be featured in posts later this week.
- I was reading a news story about a teacher in Arizona who went to McDonald’s and picked up some breakfast, and in the bag with his Egg McMuffins, he found a scorpion! My favourite part of the story, however is the manager’s response, saying that it couldn’t have come from the restaurant, and that “he's willing to pay for the cost of the Egg McMuffins, or replace them.”
- The readers on the blog are steadily increasing, so thanks to all of you once again. An interesting thing is happening, though, and that is that people are commenting…but not here. When I post a link on Facebook, many people are coming here, reading the post, and then heading back to Facebook to leave a comment there. Feel free to comment here by clicking on the Comment link at the bottom of each post. You don’t need to register with Blogger to post, you can post anonymously, or even sign your name to an anonymously named comment if you like. Thanks to all of you who are commenting, it makes for some good discussion on here.
- The one-week Coke Zero trial is complete. The good news is that while I didn’t have a single Coke over the course of the week, I didn’t really miss or crave it that much. The bad news is that Coke Zero still tastes like Coke Zero, and is not a suitable replacement, despite what my friends suggested. I’ll keep going another week and see what happens.
- I saw two great movies in the past week, and felt rewarded after not being to the movies for over two months. District 9 and Inglourious Basterds are highly recommended and will both be featured in posts later this week.
- I was reading a news story about a teacher in Arizona who went to McDonald’s and picked up some breakfast, and in the bag with his Egg McMuffins, he found a scorpion! My favourite part of the story, however is the manager’s response, saying that it couldn’t have come from the restaurant, and that “he's willing to pay for the cost of the Egg McMuffins, or replace them.”
- The readers on the blog are steadily increasing, so thanks to all of you once again. An interesting thing is happening, though, and that is that people are commenting…but not here. When I post a link on Facebook, many people are coming here, reading the post, and then heading back to Facebook to leave a comment there. Feel free to comment here by clicking on the Comment link at the bottom of each post. You don’t need to register with Blogger to post, you can post anonymously, or even sign your name to an anonymously named comment if you like. Thanks to all of you who are commenting, it makes for some good discussion on here.
August 24, 2009
Big Brother is winding down, and as much as I couldn’t stand Chima and Lydia, everything is kind of boring without them. Aside from Natalie still being a whiny complainer, everyone else is somewhat likable. I’m hoping it’s an interesting final couple of weeks. I’m regretting that I didn’t choose my other potential pick for my Swiss Chalet bet with Cheryl, as I was considering Michelle. I think it’ll be her and Jeff at the end. The good news is that they have added a second hour to the Big Brother season finale, and will be doing a full reunion show with the cast. Expect fireworks…with or without Chima there. (I predict ‘without.’)
Let’s talk strategy for a moment. The prevailing thought this week is that Jeff is going to take out Russell, and I think this is a bad decision for him. If you think about it, the house is essentially broken into 3 pairs: Jeff and Jordan, Russell and Michelle, and Kevin and Natalie. Jeff and Jordan will remain intact next week due to Jeff being HoH, but one of those other couples will be cut in half. What that creates is 2 pairs, and a floater who is essentially an asset to either pair…that would give them a 3-2 advantage.
Think about it. If Russell is evicted, that tells Michelle that Jeff and Jordan has severed the ties on their Final Four alliance, and she would obviously side with Kevin and Natalie, putting them at a numbers advantage, and leaving Jeff and Jordan alone as a pair. If Jordan doesn’t win HoH on Thursday, they would obviously be nominated for eviction. However, if Kevin OR Natalie is eliminated, the surviving member of that pair would need to align with one of the other pairs. Neither Kevin nor Natalie would align themselves with Russell, so they would obviously attempt to attach to Jeff and Jordan.
So, in short, keeping Russell and eliminating one of Natalie and Kevin, gives Jeff and Jordan either a 4-1 advantage (if they keep their Final Four alliance intact), or a 3-2 advantage (if they split it up and gain Kevin/Natalie.) Both scenarios are good for them, while the other one puts them at a severe disadvantage if they choose to get rid of Russell. I know these two are likable while not being so bright…but I sure hope they’re not so dumb as to not see what a huge mistake it would be to get rid of Russell at this point.
Also, for you Big Brother fans, follow this link for a hilarious video from Dalton Ross and Josh Wolk at EW.com. Any Big Brother fan will enjoy this...it's hilarious.
Let’s talk strategy for a moment. The prevailing thought this week is that Jeff is going to take out Russell, and I think this is a bad decision for him. If you think about it, the house is essentially broken into 3 pairs: Jeff and Jordan, Russell and Michelle, and Kevin and Natalie. Jeff and Jordan will remain intact next week due to Jeff being HoH, but one of those other couples will be cut in half. What that creates is 2 pairs, and a floater who is essentially an asset to either pair…that would give them a 3-2 advantage.
Think about it. If Russell is evicted, that tells Michelle that Jeff and Jordan has severed the ties on their Final Four alliance, and she would obviously side with Kevin and Natalie, putting them at a numbers advantage, and leaving Jeff and Jordan alone as a pair. If Jordan doesn’t win HoH on Thursday, they would obviously be nominated for eviction. However, if Kevin OR Natalie is eliminated, the surviving member of that pair would need to align with one of the other pairs. Neither Kevin nor Natalie would align themselves with Russell, so they would obviously attempt to attach to Jeff and Jordan.
So, in short, keeping Russell and eliminating one of Natalie and Kevin, gives Jeff and Jordan either a 4-1 advantage (if they keep their Final Four alliance intact), or a 3-2 advantage (if they split it up and gain Kevin/Natalie.) Both scenarios are good for them, while the other one puts them at a severe disadvantage if they choose to get rid of Russell. I know these two are likable while not being so bright…but I sure hope they’re not so dumb as to not see what a huge mistake it would be to get rid of Russell at this point.
Also, for you Big Brother fans, follow this link for a hilarious video from Dalton Ross and Josh Wolk at EW.com. Any Big Brother fan will enjoy this...it's hilarious.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
August 23, 2009
I was flipping around TV on a commercial tonight and came across this at the exact moment it happened. It was on the anniversary edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and this guy is on the million dollar question. He decides to go for it and is wrong, but the reason I'm posting it here is because of the cocky way he answered the final question: "C - Final Answer. Give me a million dollars!"...to which Regis responded, "You just lost a lot of money."
I may be a jerk for posting it on here and taking pleasure in it, but I'm ok with that. Fast forward to 5:40 for the payoff.
I may be a jerk for posting it on here and taking pleasure in it, but I'm ok with that. Fast forward to 5:40 for the payoff.
August 23, 2009
Today's music selection is one of my all-time favourites, Danny Michel. From his days back with The Rhinos in the early 90's, to selling his first indie solo releases when I was still working at HMV, to his fantastic New Year's Eve concert at the Starlight in 2003, to now...he's still one of the best live shows you'll ever see, and all of his music is fantastic.
There's not a lot that I can post on here simply due to availability, but below is a music video of the title track from his last album, Feather, Fur And Fin. I highly recommend you check out his website at www.dannymichel.com for more info and more music. If you're not a fan now, you will be soon.
One of my favourite songs of Danny's is a live version of I Will Love You For Miles, which he performs at a much more upbeat tempo than the album version. There's a great video on YouTube, but the ability to embed it here has been disabled, so you can go here to see it. It's worth it.
There's not a lot that I can post on here simply due to availability, but below is a music video of the title track from his last album, Feather, Fur And Fin. I highly recommend you check out his website at www.dannymichel.com for more info and more music. If you're not a fan now, you will be soon.One of my favourite songs of Danny's is a live version of I Will Love You For Miles, which he performs at a much more upbeat tempo than the album version. There's a great video on YouTube, but the ability to embed it here has been disabled, so you can go here to see it. It's worth it.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
August 22, 2009
Lucas is eight years old today, so I have to take a moment to acknowledge my best friend in the whole world. Here is a picture of me walking with Lucas on his very first day of school in junior kindergarten, and another of us last month at the zoo. I love these two pictures together.
Happy Birthday, I can't believe how fast you're growing up!
Happy Birthday, I can't believe how fast you're growing up!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
August 20, 2009
The Zehrs supermarket by my house has a bunch of signs up that advertise how they've reduced 3000 prices in the store, and there's a sign at the road that they've put up to mention it as well. It's one of those black stand-up signs with the neon letters, and when I drove by it the other day, the sign said:
I had to laugh because the 'Your' vs 'You're' mistake is one of my favourite spelling/grammatical errors. I went in the store, and was going to mention it to someone, but I figured I would just leave it and see how long it lasted.
Today I drove by the store and obviously someone had said something because it was amended to now read:
Seriously...I have to ask...just how dumb is the person doing the signs for them?
(P.S.- I just love how the apostrophe is in the wrong place in the picture above, thus creating a third, and even more idiotic example.)
"3000 Prices Reduced Because Your Important To Us"
I had to laugh because the 'Your' vs 'You're' mistake is one of my favourite spelling/grammatical errors. I went in the store, and was going to mention it to someone, but I figured I would just leave it and see how long it lasted.
Today I drove by the store and obviously someone had said something because it was amended to now read:
"3000 Prices Reduced Because Yo're Important To Us"
Seriously...I have to ask...just how dumb is the person doing the signs for them?
(P.S.- I just love how the apostrophe is in the wrong place in the picture above, thus creating a third, and even more idiotic example.)
August 20, 2009
Not many things make my jaw drop when I watch them, but I highly recommend you watch what this guy can do with his bike. Great choice of music, as well, Band of Horses' "The Funeral."
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
August 19, 2009
A few weeks ago, I told you that the inspiration for Mashup Wednesdays here was the Girl Talk album, Feed The Animals. I figured I would feature one of the tracks from that album. Now keep in mind that the audio is from the album itself, but the video is a fan creation splicing all the original videos together, and a great job, I may add!
I like the transition from Ghetto Superstar to Donna Summer to The Carpenters, and then right into Metallica. Sweet.
I like the transition from Ghetto Superstar to Donna Summer to The Carpenters, and then right into Metallica. Sweet.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
August 18, 2009
I just finished watching Big Brother, and I have to say that this season has the craziest cast by far. Apparently there is some sort of psychological evaluation that CBS uses when screening potential houseguests, but this season whatever they were using failed miserably.
Chima was an absolute nutcase, and it was clear that she needed to be removed from the house for her actions. I'm glad that they went back and showed the repeated offenses from earlier in the season, so that Chima's ridiculous claim that she quit the game instead of being removed from the house could be exposed as a lie. Kevin brought up the best point about her actions, though, that she was potentially screwing her friends left in the house out of the prize by being removed from the game, as her vote in the Jury house could mean the difference between winning and losing should Kevin, Lydia, or Natalie make it to the final.
Natalie is an infantile moron. The whole scene about how Chima's microphone 'dropped' into the hot tub showed what an idiot she really is, and her rant about how Michelle forced Chima;s actions is typical point-outward blame behaviour. It's always someone else's fault. I was so disgusted by Natalie in this episode that I have decided to forfeit my bet with Cheryl at work. Even if by some strange chance, Natalie outlasts Jeff, I don't want to win the bet. It's official...I forfeit...I lose. I couldn't in good conscience accept a prize that I won on behalf of someone as reprehensible as her.
Lydia is insane. Flat out insane. The whole scene with Jordan at the HoH competition was idiotic, and her drunken ranting just made no sense. I won't even waste any more words on her.
Jeff is proving to be a real class act. He keeps his word, and he pretty much handed HoH reigns to Russell and Jordan so far. He has put his trust in them, and I don't think it will backfire. He's playing the game really well, and if he makes the Final Two, he can't not be voted the winner.
I'll be interested to see Chima's next press release after watching the show tonight. More fireworks I'm sure.
Chima was an absolute nutcase, and it was clear that she needed to be removed from the house for her actions. I'm glad that they went back and showed the repeated offenses from earlier in the season, so that Chima's ridiculous claim that she quit the game instead of being removed from the house could be exposed as a lie. Kevin brought up the best point about her actions, though, that she was potentially screwing her friends left in the house out of the prize by being removed from the game, as her vote in the Jury house could mean the difference between winning and losing should Kevin, Lydia, or Natalie make it to the final.
Natalie is an infantile moron. The whole scene about how Chima's microphone 'dropped' into the hot tub showed what an idiot she really is, and her rant about how Michelle forced Chima;s actions is typical point-outward blame behaviour. It's always someone else's fault. I was so disgusted by Natalie in this episode that I have decided to forfeit my bet with Cheryl at work. Even if by some strange chance, Natalie outlasts Jeff, I don't want to win the bet. It's official...I forfeit...I lose. I couldn't in good conscience accept a prize that I won on behalf of someone as reprehensible as her.
Lydia is insane. Flat out insane. The whole scene with Jordan at the HoH competition was idiotic, and her drunken ranting just made no sense. I won't even waste any more words on her.
Jeff is proving to be a real class act. He keeps his word, and he pretty much handed HoH reigns to Russell and Jordan so far. He has put his trust in them, and I don't think it will backfire. He's playing the game really well, and if he makes the Final Two, he can't not be voted the winner.
I'll be interested to see Chima's next press release after watching the show tonight. More fireworks I'm sure.
August 18, 2009
Before Lucas was born, I used to golf about 25-30 rounds a year, and was really enjoying the game. My friend Phil and I used to try and take off early from work at least twice a month in the summer and go golfing somewhere around town. One day about eight or nine years ago, we had taken the afternoon off and headed out to Foxwood Golf Course, near St. Agatha, just outside of Waterloo. We were able to golf alone that day without being paired up with other golfers, and had just completed the front nine on the white course. The first hole on the blue course is a par four with a forest/woods along the right side of the fairway, and a pond near the green with a tiny creek in front. We were both in the fairway, and as I stood above my shot ready to hit, I heard Phil exclaim, “What the hell is that!?” I look up and he’s pointing towards the green with his club.
Coming out of the creek about 200 yards away is some sort of animal. It’s big, probably coming up to mid-thigh if you were standing beside it. It’s brown, with what appeared to be a horizontal stripe along its side, thick legs and feet that appear to be very hairy as well, a pointed nose, and a long bushy tail. It starts to move towards the woods, and then begins to run. Well, ‘lumber’ is probably a more appropriate word, because it looked like this thing was moving in slow motion. In short, it essentially looked like a small bear with fox-like features. It clearly wasn’t a bear because of the long tail, but we couldn’t identify what it was. So it heads off into the woods, and Phil says “let’s go after it.” I said, “Are you nuts!? Did you see the size of that thing?” He says it’ll be fine if take a club with us, and I told him that as bad as I wanted to know what it was, there was no way I was going anywhere near those woods looking for it.
So we play our shots and head to the hole, stopping to look at where the animal came out of the creek. There’s a small culvert going under the walkway over the creek, and that’s where it came from. It was too big to be actually inside the culvert, so we guessed it was just taking a drink in the creek, which is why we wouldn’t have seen it until it came up out of the ditch. Not much else to really examine, so we continued on our way playing the back nine, talking the whole time about what it might have been. We have no idea. At the end of the round, I mentioned it to the guy in the pro shop, and ask if there are any large animals that have been seen around the area, and he says that it’s pretty much foxes and raccoons and the occasional deer. It clearly wasn’t any of those things.
As I mentioned, this was 8 or 9 years ago, and it wasn’t yet the norm to just hop on the computer and Google something, so we headed back to work, where we knew we had an encyclopedia of animals that was going out to a library later that week. We searched through the mammals, trying to find out what it was, explaining to our co-workers what had happened. And then we saw the picture, and both agreed “That’s it!”
Yes indeed, folks…that’s a wolverine. Needless to say, we were both a little shocked, but all the features were exactly what we saw, and described. I looked at the map of where they are found, and Southern Ontario was a little out of the range, but not much, so it seemed like something was amiss. Well, to be blunt, if I saw a wolverine in St. Agatha, then something was definitely amiss!
We decided to call the University of Guelph, which has a Veterinary College and a School of Zoology. I spoke to someone about what we saw, and they said if it was a wolverine, it was indeed out of place. They asked me a bunch of questions, including if we were drinking on the course (we weren’t, but I suppose it was a fair question considering what I was telling them.) They said they would send someone out to the golf course to check it out.
Pat, one of our co-workers said that his dad golfs at Foxwood all the time, so he would ask him if he had ever seen anything like that or heard about it. The next day when Pat came in to work, he said to me, “My dad says that there is a family of minks that lives in that culvert.” I said, “Pat, please tell your dad that I’m not retarded, and while I didn’t know yesterday what a wolverine looked like, I’m pretty sure I can tell the difference between a wolverine and a mink.”
We never heard anything back from the University of Guelph, and we never saw it again. Our friends tend to scoff at us (as I’m sure many of you readers will, as well) when we tell the story, but I know what we saw. It was 100% what we saw in that picture.
Beware the roaming wolverine of St. Agatha.
Coming out of the creek about 200 yards away is some sort of animal. It’s big, probably coming up to mid-thigh if you were standing beside it. It’s brown, with what appeared to be a horizontal stripe along its side, thick legs and feet that appear to be very hairy as well, a pointed nose, and a long bushy tail. It starts to move towards the woods, and then begins to run. Well, ‘lumber’ is probably a more appropriate word, because it looked like this thing was moving in slow motion. In short, it essentially looked like a small bear with fox-like features. It clearly wasn’t a bear because of the long tail, but we couldn’t identify what it was. So it heads off into the woods, and Phil says “let’s go after it.” I said, “Are you nuts!? Did you see the size of that thing?” He says it’ll be fine if take a club with us, and I told him that as bad as I wanted to know what it was, there was no way I was going anywhere near those woods looking for it.
So we play our shots and head to the hole, stopping to look at where the animal came out of the creek. There’s a small culvert going under the walkway over the creek, and that’s where it came from. It was too big to be actually inside the culvert, so we guessed it was just taking a drink in the creek, which is why we wouldn’t have seen it until it came up out of the ditch. Not much else to really examine, so we continued on our way playing the back nine, talking the whole time about what it might have been. We have no idea. At the end of the round, I mentioned it to the guy in the pro shop, and ask if there are any large animals that have been seen around the area, and he says that it’s pretty much foxes and raccoons and the occasional deer. It clearly wasn’t any of those things.
As I mentioned, this was 8 or 9 years ago, and it wasn’t yet the norm to just hop on the computer and Google something, so we headed back to work, where we knew we had an encyclopedia of animals that was going out to a library later that week. We searched through the mammals, trying to find out what it was, explaining to our co-workers what had happened. And then we saw the picture, and both agreed “That’s it!”
Yes indeed, folks…that’s a wolverine. Needless to say, we were both a little shocked, but all the features were exactly what we saw, and described. I looked at the map of where they are found, and Southern Ontario was a little out of the range, but not much, so it seemed like something was amiss. Well, to be blunt, if I saw a wolverine in St. Agatha, then something was definitely amiss!We decided to call the University of Guelph, which has a Veterinary College and a School of Zoology. I spoke to someone about what we saw, and they said if it was a wolverine, it was indeed out of place. They asked me a bunch of questions, including if we were drinking on the course (we weren’t, but I suppose it was a fair question considering what I was telling them.) They said they would send someone out to the golf course to check it out.
Pat, one of our co-workers said that his dad golfs at Foxwood all the time, so he would ask him if he had ever seen anything like that or heard about it. The next day when Pat came in to work, he said to me, “My dad says that there is a family of minks that lives in that culvert.” I said, “Pat, please tell your dad that I’m not retarded, and while I didn’t know yesterday what a wolverine looked like, I’m pretty sure I can tell the difference between a wolverine and a mink.”
We never heard anything back from the University of Guelph, and we never saw it again. Our friends tend to scoff at us (as I’m sure many of you readers will, as well) when we tell the story, but I know what we saw. It was 100% what we saw in that picture.
Beware the roaming wolverine of St. Agatha.
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