A Golden World

All things shall pass

2006-03-26T00:46:00.000-08:00

And too, the ever futile reign of A Golden World has come to an end here on Blogger. I just got frustrated with the template, it's too crowded, and just wanted an overall change. As such, I've moved over to wordpress. The new link for my blog is here:

http://agoldenworld.wordpress.com/.

See you there soon.

That is all.

I've been tagged... again...

2006-03-25T12:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, my dear beloved bride to be has tagged me with this meh-me.

So, as such...

Accent: I'm Canadian. I don't have one.

Booze of Choice: Well, in the past it has been Rye and Coke, though I'm cutting heavily back on the Coke to keep my teeth healthier. Damn being in my thirties and thinking more health consciously. As such, my booze of choice is an ice cold Stella Artois.

Chore I hate: Anything to do with cleaning.

Dog or Cat: Well, in our current apartment, could be neither. I do prefer cats. They're much more evil.

Essential Electronics: A Mac G5, which is still on the long term wish list. Still working on getting out of Best Buy. Then I'll be able to save.

Favorite Perfume: Erm... how do I bring this to your attention. I'm a GUY. I don't wear perfume.

Gold or Silver: Gold. Something we sorely missed in Men's Hockey this year, though our Women held up the fort admirably.

Hometown: Montreal, PQ. Though being in British Columbia now, Burnaby feels just as much like home now. Too bad for that 20 odd year stint in Ontario.

Insomnia: I did suffer with bouts five years back, but Dawn takes good care of me now, and I do get at least some rest on a night.

Job Title: At Best Buy, it's Home Theatre Specialist. In IATSE, it's Lamp Operator. Can't wait for some calls in April.

Kids: None that I know of.

Living Arrangements: A one bedroom apartment, renovated from a garage. As odd as it sounds, it's quite comfortable (though the circuit breaker for the heater trips more often than is convenient). I'm still working out how I could fit in a Mac G5 spacewise into the place as it's a better option for editing than a Powerbook.

Most Admired Trait: I didn't know I had admired traits. Though, keeping everything in perspective, probably my resiliency.

# of Sexual Partners: At one time, one. Lifetime, more than one.

Over Night Hospital stays: Too many that I care to remember. Most recent one? In Windsor, eight years back, after I had my two front teeth knocked out in a street fight outside a club. Yes I was a cocky little hellraiser.

Phobia: Heights, and yes I'm in film lighting. Wonder if I have any motivation to shift into editing and post production. Though at times it can almost paralyze me, I do force myself to do more with heights, and have pushed my barriers a ton.

Quote: How ironic? Rogers... it almost rhymes with... eliminate.

Religion: Well, I don't think that Sith Lord counts, and I'm definitely not amalgamated into Christianity, so I'd have to say some odd spiritual cross between indigenous North American beliefs crossed with Zen Buddhism, sprinkled heavily with a strong tendency toward scientific thought.

Siblings: None biologically. A sis in Quesnel who I swear we were seperated at her birth, and my best mate, who's been like a brother since the days back in diapers in Montreal.

Time I wake up: Too bloody early. Every. Single. Day.

Unusual Skill: Too many. Can wiggle my ears. Can perform complex arithmetic in my head. Can climb up almost anything.

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Most of them, especially cooked.

Worst Habit: Worrying too much about everything and taking responsibility to the point I blame myself far too much.

X-Rays: Head, chest, knees, mouth (at the dentist), wrist, elbow, shoulder, ankles.

Yummy Food I Can Make: Swiss Chalet sauce for chicken (though that's in a packet), Pasta, and I can de-ketchup canned pasta sauce.

Moment of Zen: My first day on set here in Vancouver, surpisingly on Smallville. Made up for all the shit of the past year and a half.

Now, who to tag, who to tag...

All ten people who read this blog regularly. You know who you are.

That is all.

Rick Mercer's Photochallenge

2006-03-25T02:10:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to do this all year, but finally got the patience to sit down and get one done.

Enjoy!!

Linked with:
The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns

That is all.

Balance to the Dark Side

2006-03-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

Having watched EVERY SINGLE STAR WARS FILM a bare minimum of 200 times each, and read hundreds of forums arguing philosophical points of the story, most notably the argument as to whether Anakin is truly the Chosen One. Some people say no, because he turned to evil, that the chosen one is his son, Luke, whose hope sways Vader to destroy the Emperor. Other, George Lucas included, argue that Anakin is the chosen one, and he ultimately brings balance to the force by, surprise, surprise, destroying the Emperor.

However, this post is not about that argument. If you begin to debate any of the above points without reading beyond, you are then dumber than one Peter Gilligan Griffin. This post will start with this point. That most people's argument about balance to the force is, well, out of balance.

It seems many debaters arguments as to balance is rather askew. When you get to the meat of their argument, "balance" ends up meaning "the end of evil." Call me crazy, but I thought that equal proportions of good and evil would be balance, not the absence of one or the other. In the beginning of the saga, Good far outweighs evil. Anakin, as Vader, destroys almost all the Jedi in the galaxy, slanting it toward evil. Vader, seeing his son die at the hands of the "friend" who promised to help him protect his family (and utterly fail in the process) sees what a "friend" he is, and in one final act, rids the universe of this strong force of evil, leaving the universe with one Jedi and a whole lot of evil characters in different corners of the universe, hence Anakin's transformation to Vader is key to bring balance, otherwise there would be far too many Jedi.

To stay away from ultimate dorkdom on my own blog presence (well, okay, there's about 10 of you who read consistently), my own life has been filled with an odd kind of balance. To summarize:

1. Liverpool FC lost to Benefica in the Champions League, then lost more and slid further into third in the Premiership, behind Chelsea and [sic] Man U.

2. Liverpool then rebounded earlier this week by hammering Birmingham City, in Birmingham, 0-7.

3. Vancouver, after the Olympic break, sucked ass, and slid into 9th in the NHL Western Conference.

4. In a do or die match, beat Edmonton on Tuesday, then repeated the victory in the second of three consecutive matches winning 4-3 after a shootout.

5. The Toronto Maple Leafs start to show life late in the season and may make the playoffs [may I vomit yet?]

6. Montreal (my town of origin) tonight spanks the Leafs 5-1 in the first of two games dans la Centre Bell.

7. Dawn and my wedding plans for Barkerville go askew as they do not offer the $1000 package anymore.

8. We learn we can have the wedding at Grouse Mountain here in Vancouver, which is a favourite spot for the both of us.

9. The wedding will cost well upwards of $6,500.

10. It will be worth the price of admission to see my Mom take the airtram to the peak, as she's deathly afraid of heights.

11. Best Buy still just plains sucks.

12. Film work is coming in full force soon.

13. Money is tight.

14. One show is calling me regularly trying to get a hold of me.

15. They're calling me when I'm at work, and the voice at the other end speaks so low that Dawn can't make out the phone number.

16. I think I have a story now I feel confident I can shoot.

I could go on, but hopefully you get the point at this stage.

That is all.

M.C.F.A.T. Episode X - Dieter Joins the Sith

2006-03-20T22:42:00.000-08:00

And here we go...

1) You loved it, but critics hated it, or vice versa. Who's right?

Well, before I even get into the answers for this, I just want to leave a side comment. My opinion is ALWAYS in contrast to the critics. So who is right? Frankly, I am. For this one reason. Because I watch movies for just one person. Me. So my opinion matters to me much more than some critics. Hell, I use their bad reviews to select films I want to see next. Unless it's a shitty remake. Then I could very well agree with them almost every time.

2) What's the most expensive hobby you've had?

Well, when I lived in Windsor, Ontario, which, incidentally is right across the river (or detroit) from Detroit, Michigan, I had desires to go see baseball games. Every. Single. Weekend. But the Tigers were just total shit. So I travelled to Cleveland, Ohio, most weekends to see sets of two or sometimes three games. I must have dropped $500-1000 per weekend easily. Oops.

3) What sports, if any, have you played as part of an organized team? What sports, if any, have you played for fun?

As a part of an organized team, I have played baseball, softball, volleyball, giant slalom skiing, freestyle moguls, and of course hockey. For fun, in addition to the above, I've played football, Canadian rules North American rugby, basketball, horseshoes, ping pong, golf, full contact golf, ethanol based boat racing, caps, quarters, dice, and of course the most difficult of all drinking games, the Smurfs^TM drinking game.

4) What would you do if you had a pet monkey?

Simple. Change my name to Dieter, then command people to touch my monkey. Touch my monkey. Touch him. Love him.

5) Which is better: extreme heat or extreme cold?

Extreme cold. It provides more excuse for gratuitous shagging with your partner. Good night everybody!!!

Thanks to MCF for another good sequel.

That is all.

My Favourite type of People

2006-03-20T00:17:00.000-08:00

Leave it to a week of writer's block to begin to open up the floodgates of posts. I would like to make two remarks in this short post.

Firstly, to Samantha, yes, I am aware you made a why Conservatives should become Liberals post too. I just didn't find it quite as funny as mine.

Secondly, to the mystery person (or would it be feline) Cat. It seems my bashing of Country Music (is that an oxymoron) struck a chord with the mystery person. And I say mystery person because Cat did not leave neither a blog/website address nor did he/she leave an email. Now fair enough, not everybody on the 'net publishes a blog, nor maintains a website. However, almost everybody has an email address. Who on here doesn't at least have a Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail addy anyhow?

So yes, Cat fits into my favorite category of people. Those who put their two cents of poison pen in, but leave no contact as to who they are or how to find them. Cat, you showed about as much courage as a big schoolyard bully beating up a skinny weakling.

Now, for those of you who have been reading from the beginning, the first post of this blog was this disclaimer. For the follow the click impaired, it makes a couple of points. First, most posts on here are JOKES, though I can't guarantee the humour will be all that funny. Secondly, if you can't take a joke, DON'T BE ONE.

To all of that, I'd like to add a little. I post what I like, when I like to. Not that any of my work is in high demand. No, I will not delete anything from a post because someone may find it offensive, nor will I delete a comment. Comments I hate will be subjugated to flaming by my poison pen at will. I support freedom of speech. If you don't like it, instead of whinging, I suggest just not tuning in.

As for Cat, I hereby award you...

That is all.

Top 10 Reasons Conservatives should become Liberals

2006-03-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

Inspired by this post at The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns.

Enjoy! And notice the top ten list is done 10 to 1, a la David Letterman.

10. You can finally stop listening to whiny Country and Western music, and realize that Swing, Jazz, and Rock & Roll are actually accepted art forms. Heck, if you ever get creative, you can play your old Country music backwards, causing your truck to get fixed, your dog to come home and reconciling your relationship with your ex spouse.

9. If you are white, and being Conservative, the odds of that are very high, you will suddenly begin to realize that we're all equal regardless of creed, colour, gender, sexual orientation and the like. Character becomes more of an issue. Stephen Harper suddenly begins to look like a fraud, and you realize you're worse off under his economic plan than you were under Paul Martin's.

8. You realize that weenie eco-cars save you a shitload of money on gas, and instead of wasting your money on gasoline to make Bush and his buddies richer, you pocket your savings and buy a kick-ass home theatre system, so you can brag to your egotistical rich friends that Star Wars looks and sounds just as good at your house as it does in the theatre.

7. You don't have to walk around all day wearing brown shirts and red armbands. Oh wait, that's ten years in the future if the likes of Bush and Harper aren't stopped.

6. For women, you can actually go after your professional dreams without some Neanderthal wearing a wife beater forcing you to stay at home and make his meals and wash his home and clothes.

5. You stop spending $50+ on the night to take the family to see Dukes of Hazzard and the like on the big screen. Instead, you buy the box set of the original television series and watch it on your kick-ass home theatre system, and only spend money at the theatres when something good comes out. Like X-Men: The Last Stand. Not that I worked on it or anything.

4. You can still shoot guns with your Conservative friends. You actually realize there was much more to the theme of Bowling for Columbine than the gun issue. Hi Todd!!

3. Conservatives don't like to think about how other people are, but rather that if those other people become an inconvenience, the Conservatives just go to war against them to end the threat. Once you're a Liberal, you recognize that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole, and try to integrate people with backgrounds different to yours into your communities without compromising their rights.

2. You'll be able to smoke pot guilt free. You begin to realize that cigarettes are more dangerous and addictive, and that alcohol is more of a gateway drug than marijuana is.

1. You're life will have more meaning.

That is all.

Where is this man?

2006-03-18T19:46:00.000-08:00

For close to a week, the 'umble writer of this ~~utter piece of shit~~ wonderful blog has not managed one single post, thus affecting his typical average of one post per day. Well, his absence has been, well, completely overlooked as he was not missed one minute, less his beloved Yorkshire Girl, who unbeknownst to many has suceeded into reclusion, only appearing to check webcams at Ordsall Hall.

As many of you readers (what, about 10-12 of you now?) know, this eccentric mid-thirties dweeb spends his summers working in the film industry in Vancouver. What many of you may not know, however, is how many people associate his appearence quite strongly to several celebrities in current pop culture. As such, he may be hiding under one of five aliases:

Yes, Jeff too secretly devised world domination plans, only to be thwarted by his ever vigilant mother. Embittered for the nine-month prison term he spent in her womb, his world conquest included his mother's demise. Those plans disappeared about the same time he trekked out west to work in film. Though Stewie Griffin is too young an alias for Jeff now, it does seem that the rumours are true. Seth MacFarlane got a hold of an old baby picture and based the character on Jeff. How Jeff's head ceased to be rugby ball shaped is still a mystery.

During Jeff's grand experience in University, he learned the true meaning of Tom Petty's Last Dance With Mary Jane, and to boot, had flatmates who believed I was a near clone of the great rock star. Mind you, not many people see the resemblance. Maybe there was too much Mary Jane involved to make an accurate match.

Later in University, Chris Carter began production of The X-Files. With that, David Duchovny's career was born, and many friends of Jeff's (yup, in his universe, five does qualify for many in this category) were able to not only see the physical resemblance (less the hair colour), but also noticed shocking character similarities between Jeff and Fox Mulder. It became very little surprise then that Jeff chose Mulder as his online pseudonym for various chat and sci-fi forums to bitch about the lack of quality in film. Well, the bitching about film does qualify as one of the internet's two true purposes, doesn't it?

Yes, after graduation, one of Jeff's close friends consitantly reminded him that he was the spitting image of Beck. Jeff fought this notion tooth and nail, though during a freak appearence at a Hallowe'en party near Lester B. Pearson Airport in 1997, a gaggle of teenage girls at the event were convinced that not only did Jeff look like Beck, but rather that he WAS Beck. Freaky.

This one is just recent, but it does seem the management at Jeff's current job seem to think that Jeff looks a lot like William H. Macy. It's another one that's tough to see, but maybe it's just the hair.

Coincidence? Maybe. Those close to Jeff, however, feel he's on another of his delusions of grandieur. The most likely occurence from Jeff? Probably roaming around the lower mainland, force choking his foes, his identity concealed in this disguise:

Beware, in this state of mind, he is highly delusional, and may be prone to reciting the entire Star Wars Saga to you, line for line.

That is all.

Blue Velvet

2006-03-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic movie... and this trailer makes me want to watch it again.

I want to see a Twin Peaks trailer made in the same light.

Fire walk with me.

Mmmm... Beer

2006-03-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

And dayum... the liquor store is closed tonight...

Anyway...

You Are Guinness

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world.
Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them.
When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well.
But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

What's Your Beer Personality?

That is all.

The grief over a paper cup

2006-03-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Now this isn't any ordinary paper cup. No, this was a RRROLL UP THE RIM TO WIN Tim Horton's cup. For those of you non-Canadians out there, the wonderful coffee and doughnut chain, Tim Horton's, has an annual contest they run, called, surprise surprise, RRRoll up the Rim to Win. On millions of cups nationwide, there is text printed under the rolled up rim of the cup, indicating as to whether you win or not, and what prize you have won if so. 99% of the time, it depresses the hell out of us because we get the all too familiar phrase Please Play Again. Occasionally, we win a free coffee, doughnut, or cookie. And the elite few lucky of us actually win a real prize, whether it be a television, automobile, or considerable sum of cash. No matter what, it's definitely worth your while to bear your teeth, nibble at the rim, and roll it up to see if you win. It costs you nothing as you'd probably have bought the coffee anyway. Tim Horton's is among the more inexpensive cups of coffee that can be bought in Canada.

Makes sense right? Well it does for all of Canada, less this one person in Montreal, Quebec. He tossed his cup in the bin before rolling it up. Later on, a ten year old girl found the cup, rolled up the rim, and won a $28,700 Toyota RAV 4. Well, the alleged purchaser of the coffee is seeking a legal route, claiming that he has legal ownership of the discarded cup. The debate has risen to the point that legal counsel are debating the possible use of DNA testing to validate the man's claim. More about the issue in this article over at CBC.

At this stage, can you say "what the fuck?" To prevent any futher debates as to idiotic displays of not participating in free contests designed to create a little extra traffic in retail outlets, I propose the following guidelines.

1. The finders keepers rule. If you get a free cup/sticker/ticket/whatever that a restaurant/retail chain uses for a contest or promotion, and without seeing if you win, and thusly bin it, you lose all claim to the potential reward within. If someone else picks it up, and wins, I have two words for you. Tough shit.

2. Due diligence. Upon purchasing an item that quailfies you for a free contest, you are hereby required to take the three seconds (or less in most cases) and discover whether you win or not. Failure to do so will result in a swift, painful smack upside the head. Further infractions may result in Wedgies, Indian Sunburns, and the dreaded Rear Admiral.

3. Legal pursuit of lost winnings. Any attempt to legally pursue any winnings a potential participant discards, for whatever reason, immediately subjugates the potential participant to a stay of no less than 6 months at the nearest local mental health facility, and must successfully pass testing to determine if brain activity is still present within their cereberal cortex. Failure to pass test will compoundly double the legally required stay.

As for the ~~village idiot~~ Plantiff in Montreal, I hereby award you

That is all.

So long Boom Boom

2006-03-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

Most of the readers of this blog will equate me as a Canucks fan, Vancouver being my new home. My orignial home, however, est ma ville, Montreal. For hockey, I am conflicted on one game per season, Vancouver vs. Montreal, and in the rare occasion that Vancouver may play Montreal in the Cup final.

As such, being a Habs fan, I am saddened to hear of the passing of Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion. He was the second player to score 50 goals in a season (teammate Maurice "Rocket" Richard being the first), won six Stanley Cups avec les Habitents, and amassed 393 goals, 429 assists, and 689 penalty minutes in 883 games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

My condolences go to his family and friends, Montreal alumni, and the faithful fans of the Habs. Keep his spirit alive.

To you from failing hands we throw the torch. Be yours to hold it high.

M.C.F.A.T. Episode IX - Family Sith

2006-03-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

Wow... either I'm incredibly busy, or these are coming by faster and faster. I still enjoy taking them though.

Feeling the hate flow through me...

1) From any current television series, who is the last character you'd want to see killed off? Who's the first?

Well, very simply, by reading my blog regularly, looking at my banner, or ever having talked to me, you would know the one character I'd hate to see killed off would be one Stewart Gilligan Griffin from Family Guy. One would think that Lois Griffin, by default, would be the one I would like to see killed off first, but frankly every great character needs their nemesis around. Though I am getting tired of the "nobody cares about Meg/Ron" jokes (Meg had a sex change in Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin, the Untold Story), having Meg killed off would just open up room for better parodies and retarded Peter humour, amongst Stewies never ending plans for world domination and the head of his mother.

2) What are the best and worst finanacial investments a person could make?

The best financial investment someone could make? Well, you could argue between bonds, mutual funds, stocks, and so on. The best move of all of them? Getting a financial plan set out and ACTIVE at a young age in life. The longer money has in an investment, on average, the more money it will yield. As for the worst financial investment one could make? Waffles. Tasty Waffles, covered in plenty of syrup...

3) Think of the worst superpower you could have, either from an existing character or one you make up, and explain how you would learn to live with it.

Sorry Anna Paquin, but it's Rogue's ability to absorb the lifeforce (and mutant powers, where applicable) of others. Having to restrict most to all of your physical contact can be very isolating, along with living with the horrors of those who you have contacted can be vererodingng to the soul. Being isolated mostly already, except for Dawn, the lack of contact would not be much of a change. As for the dark parts of other's souls, I'd just create more excuses to let the hate flow through me. A close second? When the Griffins fell into the puddle of toxic waste, and gained super powers, Meg gained the ability to grow and shrink her finger nails. How redundant. It makes here even more socially awkward.

4) What's the worst dating experience you've ever had?

Well, as many of you know, Dawn and I met over the net. Before Dawn and I got together, there were a couple of "others" that I actually have met. One, we'll just call G. When I was in Ontario, G was living in New York State. After a couple of visits, I invited G to my cousin's wedding. Well, because G didn't want to drive to Ontario, as she felt she'd fall asleep at the wheel, I drove 5 hours there to pick her up, then worked upon reaching home, worked the Friday, wedding Saturday, spent time with her and the family Sunday, and drove her back Sunday night and came back Monday morning to go back to work. After all that she broke up with me the very next day.

5) Would you ever appear on television? In what capacity? Sitcom star? Dramatic actor? Talk or game show host? Reality contestant?

Well, I have appeared on television (well community access anyhow). Back when I lived in Canada's armpit, Windsor, Ontario, I appeared several times on a local sports talk show, a take on Off The Record. As for future appearancesnces, I would love to guest voice on Family Guy, as well if I ever produce television programming, I'd love to show up from time to time as a background or minor character, a la Kevin Smith or Alfred Hitchcock.

Hat tip to MCF for a good round of questions.

That is all.

Post for Todd #1

2006-03-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

Well, seeing as Jimmy and I are on the west coast, but I used to be out east where Todd, who has been such a good sport in our sparring match about a rather overweight Michael Moore and his documentary, Bowling for Columbine. As such, I shall post this email he sent me earlier today.

HYDRO ALERT - ONTARIO

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Hydro One are warning customers of the rotating winter power blackouts that are expected to occur on:

Saturday March 4, 2006
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006

This is a Province wide alert. The lack of power seems to consistently occur just after 7 pm on Saturday or 7:30 pm weekdays and is attributed to the excessive power required to run the goal judge light behind the Toronto Maple Leaf net.

Sincerely Yours,
Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One

Too bad the Lamp was lit for Leaf goals tonight. Well, the curse continues. When the Habs are in playoff contention, they suck ass against the Leafs.

Go Canucks Go!!!

I would like to snub the Academy

2006-03-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

Because, frankly, they snub most good movies out there. With few exceptions, such as accepting fantasy and giving the nod to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the Oscars^TM are nothing more than a "I'm in the club and you're not" kind of festival.

Cripes, it reminds me too much of film school and all the cliquey gits that went there (and taught there). But I'll save the film school rant for another day.

As for the Oscars^TM, and my contempt for commercial Hollywood, here are my top ten hated Oscar^TM moments:

10. In 1994, Best Picture went to Forrest Gump, as opposed to Pulp Fiction. Nothing like the middle finger to independent film. Again.

9. This year, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was limited to one Oscar Nomination. Best Makeup. And lost. Now, say what you want about character development and acting, but Star Wars still is technologically groundbreaking. But yet, no Editing, Sound, or Special Effects nominations. Yet War of the Worlds, with asexual hunk Tom Cruise, gets nods in the holy saga's place. It seems Tom fucked Star Wars more than he did Katie Holmes.

8. In 1979, Apocalypse Now loses out to Kramer vs. Kramer. I wonder which film had more longevity?

7. In 2003, Kill Bill vol. 1 didn't get a single nomination, yet [yawn] Seabiscuit gets 7: Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Best Picture, Sound Mixing, and Writing. What the duece? It's a remake of a film about A HORSE for crying out loud people.

6. How on Earth could Dances with Wolves ever, in a million years, be considered a better film than both Goodfellas or The Godfather, Part III?

5. This one I really need an explination for. How does one think the editing in Terms of Endearment (1983) is worthy of an Oscar^TM nomination over Return of the Jedi? The editors did such a good job in Jedi that they made a sneaker look like an Rebel battle ship.

4. Ordinary People does better than The Elephant Man? I wonder when Blockbuster Video last rented a copy of Ordinary People anyway? Hell, both Elephant Man and Raging Bull are much better movies.

3. No Kubrick films won for Best Picture or Direction. No Irving Thalberg award. Yet he insprires many to pursue his craft. His groundbreaking films still resonate to this day.

2. David Lynch loses out to Richie Cunningham/Opie Taylor in 2001 for Best Director. I know the genius of Mulholland Drive is lost on many. Including EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY.

1. Michael Moore's tirade after winning Best Documentary for Bowling for Columbine is cut short, because his comments are not entirely pro-America. Well, I guess the industry, at least on the Hollywood level, is far from being about freedom of speech.

That is all.

How Stephen Harper regards our freedoms

2006-03-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems the David Emerson saga just won't go away, much to the chagrin of the incumbent Conservative party. Yes, Ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro is conducting an investigation into the events and circumstances surrounding the defection of Liberal elected, now Conservative MP and Minister of International Trade David Emerson, as to wether Emerson, Harper, or both have been involved in any conflict of interest.

David Emerson, still reluctant to engage heavily with the press, remaining secluded, agreed to whatever terms were set out by Mr. Shapiro.

Stephen Harper, however, took an all too familiar stance toward the investigation. As per Sandra Buckler, the Prime Minister's director of communications has stated today:

"The Prime Minister is loath to co-operate with an individual whose decision-making ability has been questioned, moreover who has been found in contempt of the House,"

"This Liberal appointee's actions have strengthened the Prime Minister's resolve to create a truly non-partisan ethics commissioner, who is accountable to Parliament."

Well, it's becoming increasingly apparent that the Prime Minister's accountability has lasted as long as newspaper in a lit fireplace.

Isn't it funny how it's Conservative types who supported more investigative rights for the authorities in the wake of 9/11, when us liberal types complained about the comprise? Their response? "If you have done nothing wrong, what have you to worry about?"

Well Mr. Harper, what have you done wrong? Simple. You comprised you're own values, where in the past you slammed MP's such as Belinda Stronach for crossing the floor when it detracted from your party, but then endorse it when the crossing of the floor benefits your party. You sir, are a two faced liar with no accountability.

Instead, you attack the freedom to investigate these actions, discrediting the Ethics commissioner by linking him with the corruption of the Liberal governments of the past. Is that your only card, Mr. Harper. "We're not as bad as them?"

At your current rate though, and thankfully for Canada, your current pace won't allow your recent surge in popularity, based on an artificial sense of accountability, to last to the next election.

I am just wondering what Mr. Harper's response would be to a thorough investigative piece of journalism by Canada's most daring location reporter, Marg Delahunty...

I just wonder how Harper will respond to the creative freedoms of our press?

That is all.

Source: CBC article.

Post for Jimmy #8

2006-03-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

Found at Heather's site:

Your Career Type: Artistic

You are expressive, original, and independent.
Your talents lie in your artistic abilities: creative writing, drama, crafts, music, or art.

You would make an excellent:

Actor - Art Teacher - Book Editor
Clothes Designer - Comedian - Composer
Dancer - DJ - Graphic Designer
Illustrator - Musician - Sculptor

The worst career options for your are conventional careers, like bank teller or secretary.

What's Your Ideal Career?

That is all.

Post for Jimmy #7

2006-03-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

Another meh-me. Sorry Jimmy, I can't think of something both creative AND short.

You Are 80% Open Minded

You are so open minded that your brain may have fallen out!
Well, not really. But you may be confused on where you stand.
You don't have a judgemental bone in your body, and you're very accepting.
You enjoy the best of every life philosophy, even if you sometimes contradict yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

That is all.

Definitely not the hot cuppa I like in the AM

2006-02-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

I must say it took me a bit of time mulling this one over in my head before I could even negotiate a suitable response to these wonderful pieces of propaganda cropping up all over the last bastion of freedom in the world, the internet. To save a rather boring, lengthy history lesson, many of our freedoms we take for granted are depleting rapidly under the dogma of "fighting unknown terrors."

And on that note, brings me to my point. And yes, I promise I will keep this short and sweet. Based on virtually every election I can remember, a certain pattern occurs. Party A makes a set of promises. Party B makes a seperate set of promises. Party C makes a third set. And so on for all the different parties running. The people elect one of these choices based on what policies and promises fit their mood at the time. Once in power, the elected party tends to reneg on some to all of the campaign promises they made. Voters become apathetic. People lose faith in the system. Politicians become more corrupt.

Nothing here should be a shock. If so, then I suggest you LEAVE AMERICA NOW! Anyhow, fast forward to Harper's election campaign. Accountability. Hit the Liberals when they are down, the guilty finger pointed squarely at them in the wake of the Gomery report. Suggest legislation to hold the government more accountable for their actions. Of course, Harper's accountability went flying out of the window only two weeks after being elected. See David Emerson if you have any questions. Or, if you're from the USA and don't know Mr. Emerson, Google him. It is obvious Mr. Harper was not sincere about political accountability, at least beyond using it to make Mr. Martin look bad in comparison. What a fucking shock.

So how can governments be held accountable. Put simply, by us, the electorate. It is not only our right to be able to excersise our right of freedom of speech, it is our responsibility to use it to keep those ~~lying bastards~~ politicians accountable, be they Conservative, Liberal, New Democrat, Bloc, or the like. Only by encouraging an atmosphere of free thought and free voice can we all have the courage to question our elected public SERVANTS, to keep them honest (well, at least relatively honest), and we can progress as a truly free society.

As for the poster and those like it, they simply do one thing. Inspire fear. Fear of questioning authority. Fear of the machine. Just shut the fuck up and you won't get hurt. But consider this. What can be accomplished without any risk?

Post for Jimmy #6

2006-02-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

A couple of meh-me's. Enjoy. Hat tip: Clayton.

YOUR TYPE OF GIRL

The Girl Next Door
52% Sexy-Cute, 46% Dark-Light, 40% Artsy-Stylish

Cute, neither Dark nor Light, and neither Artsy nor Stylish. This
sounds like a blah category, right? Oh, my, no. The Girl Next Door has
been the subject of more dirty fantasies than you could possibly count.
She's so sweet, and innocent, and infinitely corruptible. Every
morning you glance out your window hoping she'll have forgotten to draw
the blinds. You may feel bad about it, but you know you'll be doing it
again tomorrow.

If you liked my test, Please rate it highly! Thanks!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 52% on Sexy-Cute
You scored higher than 33% on Dark-Light
You scored higher than 27% on Artsy-Stylish

Link: The Your Type of Girl Test written by dgc20e on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

And number 2:

BEAUTIFUL FACES TEST

Jennifer Garner
42% Eyes, 52% Nose, 51% Mouth, 50% SexyCute

You seem to enjoy bigger noses and lips, but smaller eyes, and a sexy demeanor. Jennifer definitely skews more toward sexy than cute.
Her smaller eyes rest above a more dominant nose and mouth. Jennifer is
successful both on television (Alias) and in the movies (Daredevil,
Elektra).
Similar: Famke Janssen (smaller mouth), Jessica Biel (cuter)
If you liked my test, please remember to give it a decent score, and of course I'm always happy to hear feedback. Thanks!
Also, you could check out my Your Type of Girl Test.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 12% on Eyes
You scored higher than 71% on Nose
You scored higher than 55% on Lips
You scored higher than 39% on SexyCute

Link: The Beautiful Faces Test written by dgc20e on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Post for Jimmy #5

2006-02-27T21:46:00.000-08:00

WHAT KIND OF COFFEE ARE YOU?

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated
You're a low maintenance kind of guy... who can hang with the girls
Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites.
And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Hat tip: Samantha

[edited slightly as it seems the meh-me was intended for girls, so as such, modified it for my... wait, let me check... yup, still in place... my gender]

That is all.

Don Cherry's Nightmare

2006-02-27T01:16:00.000-08:00

Happened early Sunday morning (well Sunday morning to the point of view of us types living on the west coast). Yes, for the second time in olympic history, Sweden won the gold medal in Men's hockey. Maybe I'm showing my age, but I just have this feeling the whole situation is not sitting well with Grapes.

Yes, I can remember when Grapes got big. Back in the late 80's, in my high school days (gawd has it been that long?) Coaches corner was a fixture for Hockey Night in Canada, and the first in many Rock'em Sock'em Hockey volumes (which have now morphed into Don Cherry volumes). Amongst his support for fighting, good hits, and great plays, the other thing that constantly came out of his mouth was the word "Swede". Cherry hated the Swedes. At that point, a much higher percentage of players were born in North America, most in Canada, and some in the USA. And there was a small, but growing faction of European players joining the NHL, with Swedish players being the largest number in the group. As such, all the problems of the league were blamed on the Swedes by Grapes.

But it didn't stop there. If you were from Finland, you were a Swede. If you were from the former Czechoslovakia, you were a Swede. When Russian players started flocking to the NHL, they too were Swedish. With their chippy play and rat-like behaviours (in Grapes' opinion), it was undermining the great game of hockey.

Maybe Cherry has changed his ways. Or maybe he's just cleaned up his act. At 72, it could be a safe bet that the dog can't learn new tricks, and has just been muzzled by the CBC in this age of political correctness.

Though it's a bitter pill that the Canadian Men did not finish with a medal, let alone the gold we were all expecting, it must be an especially bitter pill for Grapes to swallow that Sweden won gold as well. But maybe that's what happens when you sell out all of Canada to support the dollars and Toronto, aka New York Junior.

That is all.

I'm Evil

2006-02-25T23:45:00.000-08:00

What a shock...

You Are 62% Evil

You are very evil. And you're too evil to care.
Those who love you probably also fear you. A lot.

How Evil Are You?

Boredom post # one for this night

2006-02-25T23:38:00.000-08:00

So a meh-me

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
You're totally weird and very proud of it.
Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way.

Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

What American City Are You?

Hockey Players I Admire Episode I

2006-02-25T00:27:00.000-08:00

As you may (or may not, depending on your state of consciousness or sobriety) have guessed, I haven't posted consistently this week (well for the about ten of you that come here somewhat frequently). Being in a funk, for lack of a better way of putting it, I'm literally aching for some film work to return to the lower mainland. Luckily though, working my two days off on a construction site, the General Contracter and I got off on the right foot, seeing as we have the glorious game of hockey and a mutual dislike of the Make Beliefs. Anyhow, our conversation reminded me of something my late Uncle and I always got kicks out of...

Talking about our favourite hockey enforcers, great fights we saw in the NHL, which was topped by fits of laughter, followed by the phrase "God I love hockey!!" As a note for those across the pond, just the tough guys fight. We fans don't riot, we just drink beer in the stands.

Anyhow, one of the names from the past that just keeps coming up is this one.

DAVE "THE HAMMER" SCHULTZ

b. October 14, 1949 in Waldheim, Saskatchewan.

NHL Career Totals:
Games: 535
Goals: 79
Assists: 121
Penalties in Minutes: 2294

God I love hockey! And Uncle Dave, I will always remember our hockey discussions/arguments. And we all still miss you.

Canadian Hockey wins Olympic Gold!!!

2006-02-22T22:31:00.000-08:00

Many Canadians will look at that title and say "What the fuck? We didn't even win a medal?" Yes, today, the Canadian Men's Olympic hockey team lost to Russia 2-0 in the quaterfinals. Not even a bronze medal for the boys of hockey from Canada. But yet, Canadian Hockey still won gold. Yes, the Canadian Women's Olympic hockey team. Yet here in Canada we immediately relate hockey success with the men's team only. In a country with such socially liberal values, it seems we are still quite sexist.

Let's set the way back machine for, oh, let's say four years ago. Both Women's and Men's hockey teams won Olympic gold. Living in Canada's armpit, being Windsor, Ontario at the time, I remember two distinct responses. After the women's gold medal win, most people I talked to had the response of "Cool. The women won gold. First time. Wow." A few days later, when the men won gold, however, the response was a bit different. As the game was on, the normally bustling streets of that little border city were nearly dead with the vacancy of people and cars, all the residents tucked inside somewhere watching the game. The moment the game was over, horns honked, people started to flood the streets. This culminated into a near 12 hour street party, making it's way to the redundantly named Detroit River. Yes, a definite difference in the overall response.

But isn't hockey Canada's game? I know, officially Lacrosse is our national game, though realistically, most Canucks will bond with hockey more strongly, and in greater numbers than Lacrosse. But bearing this in mind, the response to the genders is far different, the men getting more accolades for success, and in the case of the 2006 Torino games, more criticism for failure. But it doesn't stop there. I've never seen a street party for the World Juniors either. So what is it really about?

It seems this equation is embedded within us. NHL = Hockey. Period. Even after the greed of the players and owners caused us to miss an entire season, we are collectively enslaved by the league. It is really apparent in my former "home", though it never really felt like home. Too many "hockey" fans are just Leaf fans, and complained there was no hockey during the lockout. Not that Toronto has an AHL farm team, three OHL clubs within a very reasonable commute, amongst many other junior leagues.

Lets face it though. Canada did win gold in Torino for hockey. Being a true hockey fan, I shall celebrate the win for Canadian hockey, not just for Women's hockey. It is our sport, which our athletes are world class.

That is all.

How to tell you played too many RPG's in your day

2006-02-22T17:38:00.000-08:00

Well, one way is to do a quiz like this.

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

No use trying to fight it, you're an eight-sided die, a d8. A fine example of simple elegance, the d8 is one of the least appreciated types of dice, and is often neglected. You are known to be quiet and shy, outward traits that conceal viscous sarcasm and mean wit. You are very smart, yet wise enough to hide your intelligence the quicker they found out how smart you are, the sooner they'll put you to work, which is something you can do without. People call you dark and pessimistic, or moody and cynical. You find little point in arguing.

Hat tip: Wendy.

M.C.F.A.T. Episode VIII - Suck my Sith

2006-02-21T22:17:00.000-08:00

Yes MCF, boredom is a terrible curse. So here we go.

1) From any television show past or present, which character would you wish to have as a sidekick in real life? Valid answers include but are not limited to talking vehicles, intelligent animals, ghosts, sassy maids and more.

Why, why, why, WHY does this have to be limited to the world of Television, the domain for commercial value, thusly suffocating any and all hopes for artistic merit in this strain of media?

Well that goes for American programming. So, once again, my answer will come from the realm of Canadian Television. And my pick???

Yes, none other than Marg Delahunty, in her recurring role as Marg, Warrior Princess. Yes, the one lady who would march up to Parliament a la Xena (though not in the same physical condition as Lucy Lawless) and question the Prime Minister and other MP's about their various gaffs and blunders. Marg, come back to This Hour Has 22 Minutes already!!

2) Guns 'N Roses might be releasing a new album this year. If you could hear a new CD from a band that's no longer together, possibly with deceased members, what band would that be?

Very simply, the greatest band ever to grace the face of this planet.

PINK FLOYD

Roger Waters reunited with the band for Live 8 last July, now it just makes sense that they release something new.

3) What's the worst thing a person could ask you on a job interview, and how would you respond?

Well, seeing as my career field of choice is not so much about having job interview, but much more about networking, and for the union, dispatch via seniority. As such, anytime I have a job interview, it really is for the day job at the times film work tends to slow down.

So for the worst thing I could be asked, "Why are you leaving the film business?" tops the list. Normally being an honest person, it breaks me to have to lie and say something to the effect that I have an issue with heights, and really am rethinking lighting. Heights do marginally bother me, though I have learned to deal with it. I am not, however, rethinking existencence in film. I wouldn't get hired at McDonalds (and I tried last winter in desperation) being honest saying that my prime motive is employment in film and television. Hence I must be devious in that regard with my employers, else I would not survive the winters, which is the slow season for the film industry here in Canada.

4) What do you consider your greatest weakness, and greatest strength?

My greatest weakness and strength is the same thing. My intellect. I do love my Zen answers about things. It is a weakness because I overthink virtually everything I do, which affects my confidence and response time. It is my greatest strength because in any situation I face, I know I can think my way through things.

5) Who is your favorite game show host and why? If you don't watch game shows, you can skip this question or choose some random individual youÂd enjoy as a host.

Well, I have to go Canadian again here (big shock by this point in the equation) and pick none other than Monty Hall. Nothing beats a man who can convince someone to trade hundreds and thousands of dollars in cash, vacations, or appliances for a tricycle.

That is all.

Yeah, okay, I jumped on the bandwagon...

2006-02-20T23:41:00.000-08:00

So here we go. My Johari Window can be found here. Visit and see how much (or how little) we mutually know about me.

That is all.

Post for Jimmy #4

2006-02-20T22:22:00.000-08:00

Current iTunes playlist

1. Viva La Raza WWE - Eddie Guerrero (1)
2. Weapon of Choice Fatboy Slim (2)
3. You Were Always on my Mind Pet Shop Boys (3)
4. Romantic Traffic The Spoons (4)
5. Give It Up KC and the Sunshine Band (6)
6. The Lonely Shepherd Zamfir (5)
7. Kyle's Mom's A Bitch Eric Cartman (10)
8. Interstate Love Song Stone Temple Pilots (8)
9. Keep On Rocking In The Free World Neil Young (11)
10. Cannonball The Breeders (14)
11. Crazy Train Pat Boone (15)
12. Papa's Got A Brand New Pig Bag Pig Bag (7)
13. Comfortably Numb Pink Floyd (17)
14. Bigmouth Strikes Again The Smiths (12)
15. Connection Elastica (16)
16. Killing In The Name Rage Against the Machine (20)
17. The River The Tea Party (9)
18. Chemical World Blur (23)
19. Sycamore Trees David Lynch & Jimmy Scott (18)
20. You May Be Right The Grapes of Wrath (NR)
21. There's No Other Way Blur (21)
22. The Bazaar The Tea Party (13)
23. The Globe Big Audio Dynamite (19)
24. Boulevard of Broken Dreams Green Day (24)
25. Sin Nine Inch Nails (NR)

Post for Jimmy #3

2006-02-20T00:05:00.000-08:00

Right after writer's block weekend (not an official A-Golden-World-a-verse holiday, just a condition of the mind), I need something to break the ice here. As such, a meh-me I found over at Heather's MySpace:

WHAT'S YOUR SLOGAN

Go to this site & enter your name in the box & hit the Sloganize button. DON'T CHEAT, KEEP THE FIRST ONE THEY GIVE YOU.

http://www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi

My result??

How Do You Eat Your Jeff?

What really grinds my gears... The work edition

2006-02-15T23:19:00.000-08:00

And surprisingly enough, this starts with Best Buy, though isn't directed at them. Well much.

Anyhow, as the major impulse purchase season has come and gone, and sales revenues are down, management has seen fit to cut hours. As such, I'm down to a good 4 days per week, and this coming week another 30 minutes has been trimmed from my schedule. What kind souls.

As such, my name is back in the hat for IATSE. Hopefully next month I can get some calls. It's still too slow to really expect anything in the next few weeks. So, my days off are filled with pure fun at Labour Unlimited. Yes, nothing like spending a day jackhammering and only getting paid for 4 hours worth of it. Why only four hours? Because I'm not returning, and the tightass English foreman, named Colin (Dawn, that was just for you), took it as a personal insult that I had commitments outside of a temp labour agency. Gits. In retrospect, it's only a $3 difference in pay, but what kind of a company is really that cheap (working on a home in Shaugnessy, a very to-do neighborhood) to shortchange a guy working hard labour just to make their budget.

Well, it is the age of Harper. Cut costs and taxes on the backs of the poor. As such, to all the corporations cutting costs by fucking employees, and to Mr. Harper, who is fucking the poor to give tax cuts that really only benefit the rich, I hereby give you

That is all.

You know what really grinds my gears - Olympic Edition

2006-02-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

You know what really grinds my gears? The hippocritical, double standard that exists within sport, as it applies to our neighbour south of the border, the ~~Good Ol'~~ lying twats, the USA. Just check out the remarks made by USA defenceman Angela Ruggiero about Canada's first two matches, which, if you haven't been following, have been won 16-0 over Italy and 12-0.

"I'm upset that Canada has been running up the score, especially against the host nation," Ruggiero was quoted Monday on SI.com, Sports illustrated's website. "There was no need for that. They're trying to pad their stats . . . Canada is running up the score for whatever reasons - personal, short-term."
Source: TSN

Now, I don't know about you, but I've always regarded the Olympics as a showcase where athletes bring their best over 16 days. So guess what? Sometimes the medal calibre athletes defeat rookies and athletes definitely not considered medal hopefuls by large, convincing margins. To this I ask just this question. Is it still not a great honour to be chosen to participate in the games, and to share the world stage in an event ultimately designed to encourage peaceful activity between nations? One where the only international competition is to garner the best score or time, not to wage war. Well, there is one difference to the typical American attitude.

As to certain logistics of to how the hockey tournament works, tiebreakers can come to goal differential. And seeing as how Canada is a team who is legitimately vying for a medal, we have to win by the largest margin possible to ensure entry into later rounds. Angela, if you can't handle that, then get off the ice and let the real hockey players compete.

And Angela, it might be wise to look at recent history. The pinnacle event that led to pro athletes universally being allowed to participate (yes there was a time when Olympians were required to be Amatuer) was Basketball in 1992. Yes, this allowed you Americans to play your pros, making your world team a literal collection of the best athletes on the planet, head and shoulders above the rest. And here were your results:

USA 116 Angola 48
USA 103 Croatia 70
USA 111 Germany 68
USA 127 Brazil 83
USA 122 Spain 81
USA 115 Puerto Rico 77
USA 127 Lithuania 76
USA 117 Croatia 85

Yet Angela, I'm sure you didn't complain one bit when team USA was pounding the hardwood with the rest of the world. It seems America has a double standard when it comes to running the score. It's okay if they do it, but when America's chances to win gold are comprimised, thus misproving their dominance to everyone, if not use it as a propaganda point to their own populace, point running is then deemed "unsportsmanlike". This is based on an assumption that being American could be akin to sportsmanship. To Angela, I hereby award you

And that's what really grinds my gears.

Torino 2006 - Day 2 Highlights

2006-02-12T22:06:00.000-08:00

Well, Canadian women's hockey still shows it's worldwide dominance, as Canada beats Russia 12-0, outshooting the Russians 43-17. I wonder how the USA would stand to such a thrashing. It should make for an interesting final.

As for medals today, unfortunately Beckie Scott, expected by many to win a medal in the Women's 15km Cross Country, fell a bit short and finished 6th. However, on the oval, world record holder Cindy Klassen, expected to win gold, settled for bronze in 3000m speed skating.

As for the medal count, it is as follows:

1 GOLD
0 SILVER
1 BRONZE

Oh Canada!

Torino 2006 - Day 1 Highlights

2006-02-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

First off, there was a stunning Women's Hockey game today. Yes, host nation Italy played Canada in the first round. The end result? A 16-0 win for the Canadian Women, who also outshot the Italians 66-5.

YEP. 66-5.

I wonder if we can get more shots against Team USA (if we end up playing them).

Also, in a sport near and dear to me, Freestyle Moguls, the last skier in the medal round, Jennifer Heil, got Canada our first gold in these olympics.

As such, the current medal count for Canada is:

1 GOLD
0 SILVER
0 BRONZE

Oh Canada!

Post for Jimmy #2

2006-02-11T21:57:00.000-08:00

And suprisingly, another meh-me. This one ~~stolen~~ borrowed from Wendy.

Pictures Meme

Instructions: Use the picture you like best from the first (no clicking around for 44 pages) page of the search results on Google Image.

1. The city and province of the town where you grew up, no quotation marks.

2. The town where you currently reside.

Wow, a sunny day here. How odd.

3. Your name, first and last, but no quotes.

Gawd this picture blows big fat goats. I'm a little disappointed that this is the first picture that showed up for me... on the fifth page.

4. Your grandmother's name.

It was rather bizarre that most of the pictures returned were scans of old photos for this one.

5. Your favorite food.

Hey, wasn't this supposed to be food?

6. Your favorite drink.

7. Your favorite smell.

8. Your favorite song.

Okay, it's long, but it's pictures, so it's all good.

That is all.

Conservative Accountability

2006-02-11T01:18:00.000-08:00

See Oxymoron. Other examples of an oxymoron?

Jumbo Shrimp
Civil War
Military Intelligence
Defensive Forward (see Frank J. Selke Trophy)
Microsoft Works
President Bush
Canadian Dollar

Well, it seems that the residents of Vancouver Kingsway are definitely showing disdain toward the defection of their re-elected MP David Emerson. Ironically (or maybe not ironically) it seems the entire web presence of the traitor to his people has vanished. How do his constituents contact him?

Well, as such, I have found two petitions calling for his resignation. They are here and here. If you, like I, do not feel that is enough, and want to hold Harper accountable to the values he held true as the opposition leader, email him:

Stephen Harper

And keep at him until something is done. It is our responsibility to keep these fucktards accountable. Don't buy into their propaganda, else we will suffer the same fate as our neighbours to the south.

Canada's 3 signs of the apocalypse (4 to go)

2006-02-09T23:04:00.000-08:00

And seeing as both Canada and the USA are electing religious, brain dead morons into power, we are now seeing signs of the apocalypse, which are signposts that we are near the end of the world.

For your approval, I submit the following signs:

1. Stephen Harper, the man who has about as much personality as a brick wall, gets elected as Canada's 22nd (shudder again... my number in hockey was 22) Prime Minister, on a platform that guarantees accountability in the government. Do keep in mind that the Conservatives (well, the old Progressive Conservatives) last held office some 13 years ago. Here's a hint Canada. None of these guys have experience running the country. How on earth can they be accountable. Funnily, this theme will continue.

2. Stephen Harper and the Conservatives, now in power, defy their pledge of accountability right off the bat (not that this is a shocker) by luring David Emerson of the riding of Vancouver-Kingsway from the Liberal opposition to the official government, allowing him to hold his post as Minister of International Trade. Some say this was in spite of Belinda Stronach's defection to the Liberals late last spring. However, Stephen harshly criticized the change, demanding she go back to the electorate to get a mandate from the people. Simply put, have a bi-election. That's what they are there for. To replace MP's who step down or make changes. But surprise, surprise, in the eye for an eye philosophy, Harper now endorses such actions. Will Emerson go back to his voters? Probably not. He knows he'll lose. But Harper now won't force the issue. Accountability is not his priority. Accountability made the Liberals look bad. Haper's true priority: his conservative social agenda: banning gay marriage, reducing arts funding, militarization, and being a doormat to the USA are his true priorities. Not that any of this should be a surprise now.

3. Sadly, Wayne Gretzky has been linked to Rick Tocchet's alleged involvement in a gambling ring in New Jersey. To paraphrase a cliche from 1920, involving the Chicago White Sox and Shoeless Joe Jackson, "Say it ain't so Wayne. Say it ain't so!"

Well, three down, four to go.

That is all.

On the eve of the Olympics

2006-02-09T22:50:00.000-08:00

A meh-me (okay a cheap cut and paste quiz) on winter sports:

You Are Hockey

Tough, athletic, and not afraid of a fight.
You don't mind putting your body on the line!

What Winter Sport Are You?

And cheers to Canada kicking America's ass in hockey. Yet again.

That is all.

Post for Jimmy #1

2006-02-08T19:49:00.000-08:00

Well, my dear work colleague and friend Jimmy Rock said he didn't read my blog that often because my posts tend to become to long (and in the writing process, to long to easily). As such, and to attract readers who like smaller posts, I'm starting posts for Jimmy.

The first one, a quiz from Blogthings:

Your Job Dissatisfaction Level is 94%

Your job is a disaster - it's surprising you've lasted this long.
You need to quit if you can, even if you don't have another job lined up.
As far as stressful work situations go, yours is off the scale brutal.
Almost any job would be better than what you've got!

Should You Quit Your Job?

Well Jimmy, Science^TM has now dictated I need to leave Best Buy. Should you?

That is all.

M.C.F.A.T. Episode VII

2006-02-07T14:04:00.000-08:00

Well, one attempt and one loss has taught me one thing. On such a long post, save as draft numerous times. D'oh! Anyway, here we go...

1) On Friday, [MCF] wrote about The Physics of Superheroes, and cited the example of Schrodinger's cat. What do you think of that theoretical example? Does lack of an observer allow for the simultaneous existence of contrary realities? In other words, if a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it both make a sound and not make a sound?

As to the example of Schrodinger's cat, I do not think the lack of an observer constitutes the existence of contrary realities. I think his theory proves applicable in systems in which transition between the two contrary realities is mutual, not unilateral. Excluding the argument of wether or not the cat is aware of it's own mortality, and if the cat is aware of the impending doom that could be impaled upon it by the "macabre" device, the cat cannot exists within both realities as death is ultimately irreversible. As such, the eventual observer is left with the question if the cat is dead or alive, with a 50% chance of either result. The cat's mortality does not bounce back and forth like a solution in a state of equilibrium. And due to our own knowledge of mortality, it would take someone with extreme ignorance of the nature of life and death to truly believe that the cat could simultaneously be both dead and alive.

The example that comes to mind that more accurately defines this apparent paradox of reality is the theory of duality between matter and energy, initially developed by Albert Einstein, and his famous equation, E=mc². One of the more current models of the atom defines the space in which an electron exists around it is not a fixed orbit, but in fact a probability space termed an orbital. Even the electron in many instances is described not as a spherical particle, but rather a standing wave of electromagnetic energy, that at times exhibits properties of matter, most importantly, mass. This equilibrium of duality can suggest that matter at instances exhibit properties of energy, and energy, contrarily, can exibit properties of matter. Thusly, matter can allow for the simultaneous existence of contrary realities, as can matter.

As for the tree falling in the forest, I feel this example is irrelevant due to the simple difference between physical sound and percieved sound. Physical sound is simply the compression and expansion of air molecules, which occurs every time a tree falls (provided there is the presence of an atmosphere). Percieved sound, however, is the effect on the observer (well okay, listener) who is present while the vibration is produced and radiated. If the observer is in the forest, there is percieved sound. If the observer is absent, there is no perceived sound. Since the two concepts of sound are distinctly different, they are therefore not contrary forms, and do not create the discussed paradox.

Q.E.D.

2) What is your favorite color? Why?

Erm... black maybe? For the longest time, I thought it was because of my love of industrial music back in my university and post university days, being a gigantic fan of Nine Inch Nails, and dressing very consistently in all black, even while working professionally. I can still remember that "little talk" where I was asked in not so polite a fashion not to look like a depressed soul when GM and Chrysler were in shop to visit. However, upon further self reflection, it really boils back to one date. May 25th 1977. When I first saw this figure on the big screen.

Yes, you can say obsessed at any time now. But still, looking at all six movies, I see too many character similarities. Creepy.

3) Choose an actor or actress whose work you enjoy. What is the first project you recall him or her starring in? Next, check IMDB. What was their first starring role, and have you seen it?

Well, to be increasingly awkward, I'm going to pick an actor I have actually worked on set with. As such, I shall pick Hugh Jackman. Sorry Tom Welling, I just can't pick you with a clean conscience. Besides, I don't like your roles. Or acting. Or lack thereof. As for the first role I recall him working in, it was the original film which spawned the sequel I worked on, X-Men, the sequel being X3. As for the IMDB result, I shall post two. Television and Film. As for television, it was Correlli, an Australian prison/romance drama. He had one small role on television previously, but as it isn't starring, it's not mentioned. For feature film, the first was Paperback Hero, an Australian feature. It seems I need to brush up on my cinematic viewing from down under. However, I shall still avoid Crocodile Dundee like the plague.

4) Who is your favourite corporate mascot? Who is your least favourite?

Well, I definitely have not sold my soul to the coporate world. I'm sure reading this blog can attest to most of that. As such, unlike the Simpsons, my soundtrack is not the Oscar Mayer hot dog theme. So what corporate mascot could I like? Hmmm. Being Canadian, hockey is a high priority, and the most corporate version of hockey would be the NHL. So wouldn't a team mascot be a corporate mascot then? As such, my favourite corporate mascot would be....

Yup, none other than Fin.

As for my least favourite mascot, it's a toss up between two. One for personal reasons, one for professional reasons. Personally, the Burger King King

creeps the living shit outta me. As for the professional, it has to be the idiotic Best Buy Price Tag

What an unimaginative, unnamed mascot. It represents the same creativity existing in the higher ups.

5) How would you deal with being a superhero? Would you maintain a secret identity, lying to even those closest to you to protect them, or would you operate publicly as a full-time hero?

There's only one faulty assumption here. That I would naturally use my powers completely for the cause of good, on the basis of that old cliche, circa 1950's American values represent true good. My perspective on good and evil is unique to my personal point of view, and how I act on good may not be politically correct to the majorities viewpoint. As such, I wouldn't have the secret identitiy thing going. Rather, I'd probably operate with an association not afraid to hide their prowess, such as the Brotherhood of Mutants, which ironically is led by my all time favourite comic book character, Magneto.

That is all.

One of my all time favorite "live action" pictures

2006-02-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

Just brings back memories of a better time. Here's to a short lived Harper government.

Hell is slowly freezing over

2006-02-06T23:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, today is a confirmation that a nightmare is starting. But not a nightmare in a sleep like state. A nightmare existing in plain reality. Stephen Harper officially got sworn in as Canada's 22nd Prime Minister earlier this day. Excuse me while I vomit. This is a double edged sword, as I wore the number 22 in hockey.

After the official ceremonies appointing the new government, broadcast live (and repeated throughout the day ad naseum) on CPAC, there was a veritable plethora of press interviews with various newly appointed cabinet ministers. Amongst the ones that sparked my interest were:

1. Gordon O'Connor, Minister of Defence. The first question asked of him by the press was regarding his past as a lobbyist, and how it related to part of the Conservative platform in the election campaign not to give into lobby groups, thus creating government accountability by staying true to issues and concerns for the whole. Well, Gordon failed miserably in his first grilling by the press. When the heat of questions rose, and believe me, it was quick, Gordon's trump card was saying "why don't you just read my records?" In the words of Michael Kelso... BURN!!!! God Gordon, you just can't hide your back doors in the military contracting industry, can you?

2. David Emerson, Minister of international trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics. The winning candidate for Vancouver-Kingsway, who in the most recent election ran for the Liberals. Yes, David Emerson can now officially be compared to an American ~~Patriot~~ traitor named Benedict Arnold. Nothing like sticking to your guns through thick and thin, standing by your beliefs. When Emerson was at the podium, he was assaulted with more questions than all the former 21 Prime Ministers faced through the duration of their careers. David became flustered immediately, sticking by the "constituents voted for me, not the party" line of bullshit he was prompted to relay by mandate of his party. I don't think David will be welcome back in Vancouver for quite some time.

3. Last but not least, the face smashed in by a bag of spanners, Stephen Harper, Prime Minister. Even the recently cool and collected Mr. Harper was rather flustered amongst the barrage of questions, challenging his stance of accountability in the context of his apparent failure to meet certain campaign promises. In a weakened state, it seems that disallowing same sex marriage will hit his agenda fairly early, dropping the GST from 7 to 6%, as well as instituting their new child care program, paying parents $1200 per year per child under the age of six. Wow, abolishing a child care system for an automatic payout. This one is a cheap shot at the lowest common denominator.

Think about it. Without child care, many parents will now have to stay at home with their children. In essence, let's say a parent making $20,000 per year before their blessing came along. Now they essentially have to take a pay cut of $18,800 under Mr. Harper's new plan. What a nice guy you have voted into power Canada. Kudos.

What wonderful accountability to Canadians. Excuse me while I vomit. Again. As for this whole Conservative Cabinet, I hereby award them

As for me, I just hope the Conservatives raise the same sex issue early. They still need a vote to get it past. Layton and the NDP will not bend in favour of the Conservatives under issues of civil or equality rights, the Liberals who brought legislation approving same sex marriages will definitely not vote in favour. Ahh, what a short lived minority government this may be.

That is all.

Dumb Question of the Day

2006-02-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

Oh boy. Today in ~~hell~~ Best Buy, for Home Theatre, it's touted as one of the busiest days short of boxing day. Why, you may ask? Simply put in two words. Super Bowl. Though these days, there's nothing super about it. Most matches I remember were rather lop-sided, it really sits as a stage for commercialism, and to trump it all, the game played is so incorrectly named football. The game bears more resemblance to rugby than football, though to aggrivate North American "Rugby" supporters, I like to tell them they should rename their sport "Soccer". And for the Canadians, why aren't you passionate about the CFL (or should that be CRL) in the same way you are about the NARL?

But that's just my pet peeve.

As our joyous day of non-commission though buy all the accessories because we have to encourage you to and acheive results sales began, the phone started ringing off the hook. The very first caller (which was perfectly in sync with the front door opening, I might add), simply had a technical question.

"I bought a Toshiba LCD television, and I looked at the back, but there's nowhere on the TV to plug my cables into? What do I do?"

Well, after a good fit of laughter, while the customer was on hold (okay I'm not as mean as I make myself out... well always) I picked the line back up and informed the customer there is a panel that covers it up, and needs to be removed. The customer followed my instructions and then remarked, in some last ditch attempt to save face that "I thought I'd break the panel if I did that."

I would just naturally assume this is what she ended up seeing after removing the cosmetic, cable tidying panel:

So, just as a note, be sure brain is in gear before assembling television.

As a sidenote, the day got exponentially worse from that point on. I'm just curious as to how many people on Monday take advantage of the 30 day return policy and not actually have to pay for the big TV they probably dirtied, in some cases broke, while watching "the Big Game." My comment to those? The big football game that day is at Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea plays host to Liverpool.

Go Reds!!!

I should check my LJ more often

2006-01-31T00:46:00.000-08:00

I keep running into these "is love" graphics.

Here's the one I relate to best. Enjoy.

Star Wars is love
Made By:

That is all.

Bejeezus... I haven't posted in a few days

2006-01-30T14:44:00.000-08:00

Nor had I responded to an email sent by my mother, 4500 km away, in well over a week. Upon further reflection, after coming home from work, I have very little energy these days. Then it begins to hit me. In the summer, when I was working 14 hour days, on an average week about 3-4 days, I came home and had loads of energy. It was just my body that refused when Dawn wanted us to go to somewhere like Lynn Canyon or Barnet Marine Park, though the latter became great when I got my sea fishing licence and we went crabbing (though over a month we got two of legal size). But now, only working 8 hours, it a much lower physically demanding position, I come home just spent.

Why? Well, as I emailed a response finally to my worried mother, it DAWNed on me (no pun intended. Okay, maybe there was). I'm just simply not enjoying selling televisions in the same way I enjoy making films. Hell, I felt better coming home from the shit festival that is production on Smallville than I do from Best Buy.

But it's just a retail job, so many say. It's crappy, but it's straightforward, isn't it? Well, to give a bit of insight, Dawn made this post, based loosely on things I've gone through from time to time at the "Big Blue Box". Then one night I came home rather down, having not suggested something on a big sale, that mind you did have an overall good margin for the store. Sure enough though, in my enbittered mood, I stumbled on BestBuySux.org, and started to read the negative comments posted by current, but mostly former employees.

Wow. I really mean it. There's so many parallels amongst all the stores. I'm not going to go into real details here, but if you want some kind of idea, follow the link from above. To the few friends I've shown the site to, they've been shocked.

Anyhow, I do want to make a couple of broad points here. First off, sales associates do NOT get paid commission. Yes, the adverts from TV are true. Non-commission. However, it isn't like a grocery store or Wal-Mart or the like, where the associates just help you find things. We are required to suggest service plans, cables, batteries, etc. They do put a lot of pressure on us to perform. But here's the kicker. We don't make much more than minimum wage. We get paid next to nothing, but are expected to perform like a salesperson making $35,000+ with commissions.

McDonald's isn't looking so bad now, is it?

Secondly, it appears that management and the like are more focused on finding mistakes as opposed to looking at the good people are doing. Having managed a sales force in the past, I know from my experiences that coming from the negative side of things yeilds negative results. Surprise, surprise, surprise. And you wonder why you read so many things at BestBuySux.org.

As for me, I'm just counting the 60 remaining days until April, when a great many films and TV shows will be back in town. I don't have to slice the budget with a razor, and will have my energy back.

That is all.

Another Meh-me I've Been Tagged With

2006-01-27T22:39:00.000-08:00

Yup, thanks completely to My Babe.

Here we go...

Seven Things To Do Before I Die:

1. Win an Oscar^TM some offbeat film, then completely snub the Academy while wearing a Canadian Flag draped over me like a poncho. I am accompanied up the stage with a hockey great, bearing the Stanley Cup. The end of my speech rings to the tone of "Oscars, like the Holy Grail, are now ours.... Bwahahahahaha." Okay, maybe I'm a bit bitter. Meh.
2. Direct one of Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellan, or Hugh Jackman.
3. Hang with Michael Moore in our old age and piss on George W. Bush's grave.
4. Visit Rome and Palermo with Dawn.
5. Guest voice on Family Guy. Maybe the Simpsons, if they start writing better episodes again.
6. Semi-retire by fifty, and live in the film off-season in Revelstoke, BC.
7. Watch the Canucks win the Stanley Cup.

Seven Things I Cannot Do:

1. Smoke cigarettes. Over one year smoke free and still counting.
2. Teach Dawn HTML.
3. Sing. Though Dawn has delusions that I can at least sing New York, New York at karaoke, I would like to present to the court that both her and I were drunk.
4. Drink coffee without spilling it. Just like anybody who graduated from university, we can drink loads of beer, hit an inebriated state, bounce off walls, and not spill a precious drop of sweet beer. But coffee first thing in the morning, without shaking, and it just jumps out of the cup on your hand.
5. Tolerate utterly retarded drivers.
6. Watch Family Guy without splitting my sides laughing.
7. Live my life without Dawn.

Seven Things That Attract Me To...Blogging:

1. Just plain writing whatever comes to me.
2. It's the best outlet I know of that most closely supports freedom of speech.
3. Occasionally, and just occasionally, this ACTUALLY GETS READ.
4. Flaming ignorant people who leave assinine replies to posts, demonstrating that they really aren't reading the subtext, just misquoting me and getting the soapbox out.
5. Hockey war posts with Peter. Canucks are up 2-1 (gamewise) against the Wings buddy!
6. Occassionally, some friends come out ot the woodwork and reply. You know who you are. And I know it tends to be more convenient than email.
7. A good, free web presence.

Seven Things I Say Most Often:

1. "The thing you have to understand here is..."
2. "Right!"
3. "At the end of the day..."
4. "I have an elegant solution. Why don't you kill Lois?"
5. "Wuv Woo", this one only to Dawn.
6. "Meh."
7. "Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way to save your friends."

Seven Books That I Love:

1. The Art of War - Sun Tzu
2. Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
3. Leading From the Heart - Mike Krzyzewski
4. Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Have A Nice Day - Mick Foley
6. In the Blink of an Eye - Walter Murch
7. Lynch on Lynch - ed. Chris Rodley

Seven Movies That I Watch Over and Over Again:

1. The Star Wars Saga
2. The Godfather Trilogy
3. Mulholland Dr.
4. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
5. Blue Velvet
6. Eraserhead
7. Bowling for Columbine

Seven People I Want To Join In Too:

Well, I rarely get a actual result from most of these, so the first seven to do this from reading mine will get some linkage here (and for newer visitors, a linkback).

YES. YOU TOO CAN BE A LINK WHORE.

That is all.

* UPDATE

Seven Bloggers who did this.
1. Peter
2. Your Name and Link Here
3. Your Name and Link Here
4. Your Name and Link Here
5. Your Name and Link Here
6. Your Name and Link Here
7. Your Name and Link Here

That is all.

Link Whoring

2006-01-25T02:42:00.000-08:00

Dayum, still bored, still awake. So I'm following this idea from this post.

Death Star.

That is all.

One last Meh-me

2006-01-25T02:10:00.000-08:00

You are Darth Vader, you are the most powerful
being that the legends speak of and your
destiny will guide you to bring about the
true fate of the galaxy.

Which Sith are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

I was just wandering

2006-01-25T01:53:00.000-08:00

Both doing the last blogthing, and over at dotdotdot reading this post about being beautiful OR smart, I ran into this quiz. So without further adieu, a Meh-me.

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Can you tell I'm bored yet?

That is all.

Meh. I'm bored.

2006-01-25T01:34:00.000-08:00

Therefore, a Meh-me.

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this world
So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time
You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all...
But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult

You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you.
Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses.
Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others.
Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life.

Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

That is all.

What a 24 hours that it was

2006-01-24T22:46:00.000-08:00

Why can't I just have the bad days limited to work? Seeing as I'm not currently working in my chosen field (as current readers can attest, the film industry in Vancouver tends to be a tad seasonal), I tend to take the Red Forman attitude towards work:

Work isn't about fun. It's about work. It's about how much crap you take from the bossman, then, taking some more.

But, nevertheless, the last 24 hours haven't been executed to plan.

The Canucks lost. Twice. To the two worst teams in the Western Conference. St. Louis and Columbus.

Mario Lemieux retired. Again.

Chris Penn died. Farewell Nice Guy Eddie.

And of course, the Liberals were defeated last night in the wake of a Conservative minority government. I'm not going to do a specific link. Learn to use Google.

Yes, Stephen Harper finally became Prime Minister. So what can we expect? Well the good of it is he's determined to lower taxes. Though ethically it may not be the wisest decision as I worry about our valued government programs, such as health care, may have to undergo cuts as well to save us some tax dollars. Is it worth my case of beer I can now buy each month? Probably not.

As for the down side, I worry immensely about the neo-Conservative social agenda which magically was hidden (under muzzle restraint) during the election Campaign. A ban on gay marriage. Reduction in women's rights. Us going to war in Iraq, or any country other than Afghanistan, under the guise of fighting terror, where the real purpose is to trade blood for oil profits, due to the declining indigenous American oil industry. Reduction of minority rights. Thankfully, it is a Conservative MINORITY, and as such, they can't push the envelope too far, less being defeated too soon. Just like the man with no spine, Joe Clark.

With Paul Martin announcing his resignation as Liberal leader, the thought is that Harper won't have any major threats to his minority for over a year. So he's gotta watch his P's and Q's if he wants to be re-elected. If that social agenda comes on too strong, he's in deep deep trouble.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

This is looking too much like two situations. 1968 and 1979. Liberals facing a new leader, with no obvious successor. In both instances, we came out of both situations with Pierre Trudeau, the greatest leader of the 20^TH century, Prime Minister with a majority government.

Now we must bide our time, and wait for Harper to fuck up. It's bound to happen. His big fat mouth, attached to his face, ploughed through with a bag of spanners, will open and shock the electorate, mandating a drastic change.

Until then, I shall do my utmost to hold Mr. Harper accountable for the promises I LIKE.

That is all.

It's the end of the world as we know it

2006-01-24T01:54:00.000-08:00

But more about that later this morning... gawd it's almost 2am.

As such, a meh-me:

You Are 60% Abnormal

You are at medium risk for being a psychopath. It is somewhat likely that you have no soul.

You are at high risk for having a borderline personality. It is very likely that you are a chaotic mess.

You are at medium risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is somewhat likely that you are in love with your own reflection.

You are at medium risk for having a social phobia. It is somewhat likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement.

You are at medium risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is somewhat likely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.

How Abnormal Are You?

That is all.

What Type Of Drunk Am I?

2006-01-23T00:32:00.000-08:00

It's turning into a Liquid Generation night for me.

So here we go...

Get Your Drunk Personality at LiquidGeneration.com!

Another surprise?

That is all.

How Fucking American Am I?

2006-01-23T00:14:00.000-08:00

Found at The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns. Not that this should surprise.

Take the test here.

Surprise, surprise, surprise. I'm definitely not like Samantha. Based on this, I think she may be voting ~~fascist~~ ~~loser~~ erm... umm... Conservative, yeah that's it.

It's funny. Being French, Canadian, and hippie are such bad things down South. I wonder if anyone ever told Bush that Jesus was a Liberal?

That is all.

One day to go

2006-01-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

And this one was inspired by Laura, who felt my recent political posts were just a little bit one sided.

As such, I'm posting here a reasonable cross section of the parties and their stances on the issues. I am, however, restricting my party cross section to just the Liberals, NDP, and Conservatives. The Bloc is not being included as their goal is NOT to form the next government, but rather to be a strong voice for Quebec as the Bloc and Parti Quebecois continue along their sovereign agenda within the oppostition.

I would also like to state I'm staying away from the long debated issue of the economy, as the Gomery Inquiry and the various ecomomic plans have been done to death. Do a google search if you really have to.

So, without further adieu...

ON THE MILITARY

Liberal
Support the military as a peacekeeping force, support rebuilding our forces, but are opposed to American plans such as ballistic missile defence.
My two cents: The Liberals believe our forces are a peacekeeping force first, not a war mongering tribe. However, there may be some pressure from the Conservative to appease the military supportive voters.

NDP
Reorient Canada's defence procurement to support the priorities of peacekeeping, peacemaking, humanitarian and environmental support operations (quoted from the NDP site).
My two cents: The NDP doesn't believe in war, but instead would prefer our force be fighting alongside Greenpeace.

Conservative
A strong Canadian military that has the resources to protect us at home and meet our obligations abroad (quoted from the Conservative site).
My two cents: This should read: "We really wanted to go to war in Iraq, and with us in power we'll be nothing but puppets to the United States, our kings and gods."

Winner: Close between NDP and Liberal, but frankly the Liberals are the better of the two.

ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS

Liberal
Nothing too specific is posted, though there is a section about Respecting Charter Rights. 26% of MP candidates are women.
My two cents: The Liberals don't see any major threats to women's rights as there are other groups that suffer more discrimination.

NDP
Have outlined a number of initiatives, including support for pay equity, more money invested into child care and child poverty programs, and increasing minimum wage. 35% of MP candidates are women.
My two cents: The most compassionate stance toward women I've seen in some time.

Conservative
No plans are identified throughout the whole site. 12% of MP candidates are women.
My two cents: The Conservatives are under mussel, as gaffs in earlier elections have been fatal blows. Why aren't they saying anything? Let's go back to Rick Mercer's Blog for some words from Conservative hopeful David Sweet:

"There's a particular reason why Jesus called men only. It's not that women aren't co-participators. It's because Jesus knew women would naturally follow. Men, on the other hand, had to be called."

Winner: NDP, hands down.

Now, one last topic:

GAY MARRIAGE

Definitely a touchy point, and a definite gauge as to how "equal" people may be treated in a society. So lets go:

Liberal
As in the previous point, here's the blurb from their website:

Respecting Charter Rights

The people of Canada have worked hard to build a country that opens its doors to include all, regardless of their differences; that respects all, regardless of their religious beliefs or sexual orientation; that demands equality for all, regardless of the color of their skin.

The Civil Marriage Act is an affirmation of our commitment to protecting minority rights and guaranteeing equality for all. Extending the right to civil marriage for same-sex couples protects the rights of minorities but does not take away the rights of anyone else, be they religious communities or opposite-sex couples.

My two cents: You can't fault the Liberals here. They legalized gay marriages, and are not dinosaurs like other nations impeding freedoms because of archaic, ancient religious beliefs rooted in fear, or priests shagging choirboys.

NDP
Nothing that I could find immediately, though with their stance on minority rights and equal rights, they are supportive of gay unions, not against it.
My two cents: They don't want to fight the Conservatives, they feel their major opponent is the Liberals.

Conservative
Again, suprise, surprise, the Conservatives are musseled. From the past, we know this is the one big group, politically, who stands united against gay marriage.
My two cents: While trying to win former, now undecided Liberal supporters, the Conservatives are hiding their real agenda by promising tax breaks to woo the voters. What's surprising is how quickly voters forget. We'll be sold by tax breaks and economic promises, only to unleash a hardcore, racist social agenda. Remember many Reformists (predecessors to the Conservatives) were also KKK members. Those ideologies still are rooted in the current incarnation of the party.

Winner: Tie (Liberal/NDP)

And the grand result: I'm split between the NDP and Liberals. Both have more compassionate views and their programs involve more money up front as opposed to tax breaks which tend to favour mostly wealthy Canadians. I just hope we can see through the whitewash and do what's right for Canada.

That is all.

One of my favourite quotes

2006-01-20T19:48:00.000-08:00

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this." -Dale Cooper

Ahh, a fine quote from the best show in the history of television, Twin Peaks.

In a related note, Happy Birthday David Lynch.

Has it been sixty years already?

So 36% of Canada is going to vote Conservative

2006-01-20T18:13:00.000-08:00

Yup, at the point of this post, 36% of Canadians are likely to vote for Stephen Harper and the Conservatives.

What can it mean? Well, to keep things simple, Mr. Harper, amongst all the fine print, has outlined the following key issues.

1. Accountability, seeing there is no governmental corruption.
2. Cutting taxes, most specifically, the GST.
3. Being tougher on crime, while reducing restrictions for gun ownership, and developing a DNA registry program.
4. $100 per month for child care for parents of children under six, though the critics claim the money will go to beer.
5. Stand up for communities, which doesn't detail anything and looks like a pile of bullshit being fed to us to make us think they're nice.
6. Stand up for Canada, which really means having more money in the military.

However, where are their stances on other key issues? Rights for minority groups? Rights for women? Health care? The majority of websites are suspiciously silent about such issues, like the party and their candidates have been told to shut their mouth. Maybe the Tories finally figured out about the gaff Harper made last election, when he declared that he'd have supported George W. Bush in the illegal war (well, by United Nations standards) they waged in Iraq, which was supposed to be about nuclear weapons, then freedom. We all know it was about military contract and oil money.

Anyway, back to business. What about the social issues? Well, from my post here, we know they are dead set against gay marriage. Maybe a bunch of the candidates were choir boys, loved by the priests in their churches?

As for other issues, I have to reference this post at Rick Mercer's Blog.

Health Care

"I do support the idea of private health care."
Jason Kenney, Calgary Southeast.

Multiculturalism

"Nelson Mandela is a terrorist."
Rob Anders, Calgary West

Immigration

"Immigrants are choking welfare systems, contributing to high unemployment, and many cannot read."
Art Hanger, Calgary Northeast

I think you get the point. However, do take the time to read the post before you vote Monday. I don't know about you, but this is definitely NOT the Canada I want to live in.

Choose your Canada.

That is all.

M.C.F.A.T. Episode VI

2006-01-19T22:42:00.000-08:00

Ahh, selling service plan at Best Buy has caused me to put off filling this in until now, and it has also reduced my ability to argue with MCF's inconsistency in numbering (well okay, the first wasn't a true MCFAT).

I'm babbling. Here we go.

1) As you all no doubt remember, back in October [MCF] wrote about popular bands picking up former vocalists of other popular bands. If you could choose any one band and any one singer that have never collaborated, and put them together as a new entity, who would you choose? Have fun with this one. You can mix and match styles and eras, and choose artists living or dead. You might even NAME your creation.

Wow. This is interesting. My brain wants to put together a band just on the basis of various artists, both vocal and instrumental. As such, this band would consist of Trent Reznor on vocals and keyboards, David Gilmour and Pete Townshend on Guitar, Roger Waters on Bass, and Neil Peart on drums.

As to properly answer MCF's question though, I would like to see the godfather himself, Mr. Bob Dylan lead sing in front of Kurt Novoselic and David Grohl, singing a cross between folk and grunge.

2) How would you react in a hostage situation?

I am taking it this question is implying that I'm one of the hostages. As such, I would play along with the hostage takers, waiting my time to be able to make a move and defeat them. I'd probably die the tragic hero in the effort.

3) What is your favorite board game?

Well, this is a tie between Monopoly and Risk. Monopoly is a little more fun, and can be enjoyed a bit more easily, win or lose. Risk, however, in my experience, can get so competitive to the point that I've nearly lost friends over the affair. Hence why I've limited my participation to simply online versions.

4) Which is worse, being buried alive or getting locked in a freezer? Include reasons and potential methods of escape.

Buried alive, hands down is worse. If enough dirt/debris is on top of you, there's very little hope you can even move within the dirt on top of yourself, as you suffocate, alive. Locked in a freezer, you still have possible chances of banging on the door to get some attention for help, and perhaps there may be an implement in the freezer you could use to get yourself out of the freezer.

5) In light of by the "Draw Batgirl" meme [MCF] linked to yesterday, what other characters do you think would be appropriate for a similar meme? Hundreds of people with varying artistic abilities have rendered versions of the character. Some have been cartoonish, some amateur, and others professional. There have been countless variations and deviations, and all have been fun. [MCF isn't] asking for drawings(yet), so don't feel intimidated. Just name a comic character and at a later date I may choose one and invite readers to post their interpretations--and stick figures WILL be welcome.

Well, having worked on X-3, I'll say my favourite two mutants: Magneto and Wolverine. The nice thing with the films is now there's a celebrity face attached, so I would add the condition that some of the comic book is used in combination with the actor (Ian McKellan or Hugh Jackman) only if either incarnation forms some basis of the final drawing.

More filler

2006-01-19T18:51:00.000-08:00

Bwahahahahahaha

Your Scholastic Strength Is Innovating

You are the master of new ideas, techniques, and ways of looking at things.
You are talented at structuring thoughts, decision making, clarifying, and making deadlines.

You should major in:

Marketing
Psychology
Desgin
Cognitive Science
Economics
Photography

What Should You Major In?

Maybe I should get some writing done. Meh.

That is all.

Post #300

2006-01-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

Which in itself, is complete and utter filler.

Which Typical Anti-Hero Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

That is all.

Hidden Agenda's

2006-01-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

And this wonderful post was inspired by my best mate, Todd. He emailed me this link.

Ahh, yes, Rondo Thomas. Your true colours shine. And it's a constant reminder of where the Conservative Party really stands. In the midst of the economic scandals, they hide their true values with standard political promises of economic reform.

For the history lesson, the Conservatives are a union of the old Progressive Conservative Party and the neo-Conservative movement from western Canada, the Reform Party. The PC's self destructed after the fall of Mulroney, and never really recovered. The Reform Party suffered mistake after politically incorrect mistake. Having MP's who doubled as KKK members. Slamming gays. Firing MP's because they weren't white. The list goes on.

So the Reform Party renamed themselves the Canadian Alliance. Stockwell Day, the avid water sportsman, was petitioned by Rick Mercer to change his first name to Doris. The name change helped them hide their radical social agenda behind the promise of economic reforms. But tiering Health Care was their Achilles heel.

What to do? The mistakes of the past still haunt them. So they merged with the PC party. A last ditch hope to shed the shame of the past. And they still couldn't beat Paul Martin's Liberals. But still, the strength of the "new" Conservatives resides in western Canada, old Reform country. So surely, in the fall of 2004, a large push against gay marriage was made.

But now, the Conservatives only talk money. How money was misappropriated by the Liberals. Tax cuts to improve prosperity (though it truly only affects the rich). Tougher on crime. Education in the trades (while ignoring the arts, which fosters independent thought).

So when you vote on the 23rd, remember the cost of these fiscal reforms. They are, in no particular order:

1. Government revoking the rights for gay marriage, which will lead back to the criminalization of homosexuality.
2. A looser stance on ethnic and diversity relations.
3. Tiering of our health care plans to income brackets.
4. Less money invested in Telefilm Canada and the arts in general in Canada, which will make our young artists more dependent on American productions for work.
5. Involvement in American nuclear weapons programs.
6. Fighting in pointless American conquests like Iraq, which was NOT sanctioned by the United Nations.

I could go on, but I hope you get the point. For further reference, review High School (or University) history regarding World War II, and read 1984 by George Orwell.

Choose your Canada.

That is all.

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

2006-01-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

The Movie Of Your Life Is An Indie Flick

You do things your own way - and it's made for colorful times.
Your life hasn't turned out how anyone expected, thank goodness!

Your best movie matches: Clerks, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

I think I might have a fan club

2006-01-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the wonderful people at Sitemeter, I can track what refers people to my site. Even though I don't do that much blog surfing, it seems blog referral services constitute the majority of my traffic.

Hence my typical snipe at my own lack of popularity, saying I only have 4 or 5 readers. That should probably read that I have 4-5 consistant readers.

But it seems any time I post anything about X-Men 3, all the X-Men fanatics over at Superhero Hype picked up on this meh-me, where I made it rather clear I'd rather be shooting X-3 than helping explain High Definition to customers at Best Buy.

Well, the last time I posted about X3, it seemed I was barraged by questions asking me to reveal the plot, to which I firmly denied. Now I just find it amusing that my meh-me, which has but one X3 reference, has gotten me several hits already today.

Yippeeeeee. Dawn, I'm catching up!!!

Though what I really found amusing was the response to the "update from crew member" entry, posted by ElectriX, somewhere in the UK, that the film isn't way behind schedule, and there's only a few more shots to do.

Now bear this in mind. X3 was supposed to be wrapped early December, and I believe it wrapped early January, one month later. To make a long story short, I'm sure 20th Century Fox didn't need those millions of dollars for extra cast and crew wages, equipment and truck rental, craft and catering, and so forth. Frankly, a show that's even just a few days over schedule is way over schedule.

It's amusing how the hardcore fans just tend to overlook such details.

That is all.

What Kind of Fruit Are You?

2006-01-15T18:50:00.000-08:00

More meh-me's to fill the void of what should be a good post.

Wait, I don't have good posts...

Anyway...

You are a Pomegranate...unconventional, unique, and
just a little bit tart...you know how to make a
lasting impression and often do so with your
zest for life...

What Kind of Fruit Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

That is all.

Which David Lynch movie are you?

2006-01-15T00:25:00.000-08:00

I get the feeling I did this on my Livejournal... but meh... here it is again.

Long live David Lynch!!

you are: twin peaks

Which David Lynch movie are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

That is all.

I shall really try NOT to get political here.

2006-01-14T18:18:00.000-08:00

So, as such, we'll start out with what was the beginning of my day. My Sportchek gift cards arrived via post on Friday, and as such, I finally got my long-awaited birthday present. A Vancouver Canucks jersey, which you can see here...

And, as a sidenote, as it stands as I'm posting, Vancouver is decimating the Islanders of New York by a whopping 8-1 mark (sorry Wendy, but you can't mess with the Northwest Division). And, for some extra joy, Phoenix is beating Toronto 4-3 (sorry Laura, and I won't use that wink tonight if Toronto ends up short... though I should).

Anyway, back to my story. After me getting my jersey finally, and Dawn getting a button up top on sale, we went to A&W for lunch. And this A&W is right near the corner of Gilley and Kingsway, which, ironically, is near both the Smallville sets, and also beside incumbent MP Peter Julian's election office. After a filling lunch, and still running our Saturday errands, we passed by a number of young NDP's, very excited, toting handheld signage encouraging drivers by to vote NDP. But, for whatever reason, these same young NDP supporters seemed to be right up to the edge of the curb. Furthermore, when I drove past, they were holding their signage right out over the road, and just barely missed hitting my automobile.

This led me to silently ask myself this poignant question.

HOW THE HELL DOES THE NDP EXPECT TO GARNER SUPPORT FROM CONSTITUENTS OF A RIDING BY CREATING BODY DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLES OF THOSE RESIDENTS WHO ARE INTENDED TO ELECT YOU?

As for some answers, these are just a few that I have managed to brainstorm:

1. That this sidewalk rally is actually an attempt to stop vehicles in order to properly pitch the values of the NDP to motorists while still in their cars before they can get out to asses the vehicular damage.

2. To scare motorists just enough that the sight of Peter Julian's election poster will remain in their subconscious so that come election time he is the only name we can relate to and thusly garner more votes.

3. These young people are just completely ignorant of the works of Sir Isaac Newton and basic principles of physics.

Any which way this discussion may go, I am posting an email to both Jack Layton and Peter Julian as so that I can express my concerns regarding this effort I was a direct witness to today.

So here it is...

To Jack Layton and Peter Julian:

I am a resident of the constituency of Burnaby-New Westminster, and today I was witness to something rather unique. After a lunch at the A&W right near Mr. Julian's office, I drove past his offices to witness dozens of young NDP supporters waving signage showing support for the NDP and for Mr. Julian. Being in my early thirties, I find many of my peers, friends, and acquaintances of my age and lower are somewhat dis-enchanted by the democratic process and are rather cynical about it. As you can then deduce, seeing such enthusiasm is quite refreshing.

However, I feel their enthusiasm went just a little too far. As I drove past them, in the far right lane, I noticed they were holding their signage out over the open road, and as I was beside them, I felt the signage was dangerously close to my vehicle. As such, I am worried about two things.

Firstly, damage to my vehicle. I was always taught respect, and in the matter of automobiles, never to mess with someone's car. This is definitely not an action that I feel would be condusive to encouraging more Canadians, in this case residents of Burnaby-New Westminster to vote for Mr. Julian. The last thing most of us need is an ICBC claim over this.

Secondly, I am curious as to the quality of the science program in British Columbia. Being a transplant from Ontario to work in the film industry, I underwent all my formal education in that province. As such, I wonder if Newtonian Physics is taught in high schools here. If not, I think it may be a wise idea to impress this equation onto your roadside supporters:

E=0.5xMxV²

Where E is energy, M is the mass of the object, and V is it's velocity. Since a car on the road both weighs more than a person and is travelling much faster, the energy emparted from the car to the person is great enough to implement severe physical damage, and possibly death. I surely hope your supporters are aware of this.

I sincerely hope this issue can be resolve, as I, and many other motorists, do not want damage to their vehicles or the injury or death of a young supporter of yours on their conscience and/or record.

We do share a common goal. I am somewhat impartial to the makeup of the government, lest one true goal. Stephen Harper cannot be allowed to win. His neo-conservative values do not make sense for the majority of working class Canadians, and I do not believe he supports the growth of the arts in Canada. I sincerely hope that more people can be encouraged to not buy into his whitewash.

Regards
Jeff Vickers

And as an update, Toronto lost to Phoenix 4-3, and Vancouver defeated the New York Islanders 8-1. So, as such, no extra goal scoring. Cha Gheill!!

If you would like to email Mr. Layton or Mr. Julian, you may do so via these emails:

jacklayton@ndp.ca
peterjulian@telus.net

That is all.

This just can't be me...

2006-01-14T02:22:00.000-08:00

But, I'll let you be the judge.

Brain Lateralization Test Results

Right Brain (68%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain.
Left Brain (26%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

That is all.

Jeff's Top 25 Songs to Start off 2006

2006-01-13T01:53:00.000-08:00

Well, not much of a change overall, but a bit of shifting in the ranks.

And here we go...

1. Viva La Raza WWE - Eddie Guerrero (1)
2. Weapon of Choice Fatboy Slim (2)
3. You Were Always on my Mind Pet Shop Boys (4)
4. Romantic Traffic The Spoons (3)
5. The Lonely Shepherd Zamfir (5)
6. Give It Up KC and the Sunshine Band (14)
7. Papa's Got A Brand New Pig Bag Pig Bag (11)
8. Interstate Love Song Stone Temple Pilots (8)
9. The River The Tea Party (6)
10. Kyle's Mom's A Bitch Eric Cartman (12)
11. Keep On Rocking In The Free World Neil Young (16)
12. Bigmouth Strikes Again The Smiths (13)
13. The Bazaar The Tea Party (20)
14. Cannonball The Breeders (10)
15. Crazy Train Pat Boone (7)
16. Connection Elastica (9)
17. Comfortably Numb Pink Floyd (21)
18. Sycamore Trees David Lynch & Jimmy Scott (15)
19. The Globe Big Audio Dynamite (17)
20. Killing In The Name Rage Against the Machine (18)
21. There's No Other Way Blur (19)
22. Home For A Rest Spirit of the West (NR)
23. Chemical World Blur (22)
24. Boulevard of Broken Dreams Green Day (NR)
25. Suck My Kiss Red Hot Chili Peppers (NR)

That is all.

Pierre, what has happened to this country of ours?

2006-01-12T01:24:00.000-08:00

Looking at the election polls out, reading all the commentary, watching the mudslinging ads and rallies to try and draw more support in the dwindling days before we all go to vote, the campaign is looking more and more what our loud, brash neighbors to the south experience as an election.

What the hell happened to Canada? Is this whole campaign designed to amalgomate ourselves even more with our increasingly totalitarian neighbors? Now I don't have any issues against our neighbors to the south, just major fundamental differences with how their country is run. I'm still open to bets as to when Bush and company starts encouraging book burnings in town squares.

Where have leaders like Trudeau gone? Or was Pierre's ideal just too strong even for the majority of Canadians to uphold? All Trudeau wanted was a Canada in which we all respected each other, regardless of all the differences in Canada's rich diversity.

Of Trudeau, John Lennon summed it up best:

If all politicians were like Pierre Trudeau, there would be world peace.

Now, am I wrong, but isn't it pretty much a given that the vast majority of people wish to live peacefully within the world? And given that, wouldn't the main principles that Trudeau guided his life, and that of his children, be a good model for both we people to live by, but also, as a guide for our selection of leaders for the direction of the country.

Now, since the Conservatives are leading the polls, let's pick on them first. The party whose electorial strength resides within western Canada, their platform is based on tax cuts and stronger enforcement against crime. The latter I agree with, in part. But before I get to their platform, I feel the need to bring up a ghost from the past.

We take the position that there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, on the position of decriminalizing homosexuality.

Stephen Harper has played his cards right here. Not too long after the Martin minority government took office, Harper spent millions of dollars on ad campaigns, appealing to religious ethical values, that Canadians unite in banning gay and lesbian marriages. In a fair and peaceful society, Trudeau is right here. What business is it of the governments, or the peoples for that matter, what goes on in a couple's bedroom?

To all you Neo-Conservative-Flanders-Wannabe's out there, GET THE FUCK OVER IT. There is scientific evidence that shows that same sex orientations are in fact biological in nature. And yet you are ready to discriminate against others due to very minor biological differences? That sure as hell isn't my Canada.

As for tax cuts, I'll break it down based on my income. As film work is thin, especially for a permittee such as myself, I'm working at Best Buy, making a sliver above minimum wage. I barely make ends meet. As for the taxes I pay, we'll break it down this way. It's about $100 every two weeks, for income tax. That's $2,600 per year. A 1% tax break would save me, surprise, surprise, $26.00. Wow. I can't even buy a two four for that. Thank you so much Stephen Harper. As for the 1% GST I'll save, because I don't spend much, it will save me around $12.00 extra per month, which works out to $144.00 per year. $170 Total. Thank god I have something to go to in the summer. For the majority of Canadians in this income bracket, they don't have that option. And $170 per year isn't going to help them make significant differences in their lives, Mr. Harper. Mr. Martin was right about that.

Which brings me to the Liberals. Far removed from Trudeau's glory days, Paul Martin is trying to win another election in the aftermath of the findings of the Gomery report, where millions of tax dollars were misappropriated. Though I do generally support the Liberals, there is no ultimate way Liberal minded people can justifiably keep the Liberals accountable without a major comprimise of our basic values. The NDP is truly that other option, though many still consider them like the team that barely missed the playoffs, playing spoiler.

Jack Layton has ressurected a near dead party into a potential threat to our polar view on politics. Unfortunately, very few take him seriously. Do remember it was Tommy Douglas, the Greatest Canadian, as the leader of the NDP, who brought us our prized Health Care plan.

Not to leave the Bloc out, Gilles Duceppe is still the most honest politician on the planet, though he opposes Trudeau's one fundamental goal for Canada. United with Quebec as a whole, not seperated as two halves.

So, after the millions of tax dollars spent on this election, we'll have yet another minority government. And the trend isn't stopping. We need fresh blood now. And we need Canadians to wake up and realize we don't have polarized elections like they have in the States.

That is all.

I'll say this again...

2006-01-10T23:12:00.000-08:00

I am really embittered that whomever was the decision maker for this, that after a lockout cancelled NHL season, that the NHL has the audacity to put some games on a Pay Per View basis.

What a load of bollocks. And I missed the only meeting of the season between the Leafs and the Canucks, to which, I might add, just one thing.

VANCOUVER WON!!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!

As for the Leafs, there's always NEXT millenium.

That is all.

Lois finally dies...

2006-01-09T02:05:00.000-08:00

Go here and see for yourself... and command Stewie while you're at it...

That is all.

What Famous Leader Are You?

2006-01-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

Found over at Vicks Junkbox

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

That is all.

The World's Smallest Political Quiz

2006-01-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

Found at Dawn's site, which she found via Nugget.

And without furhter adieu...

LIBERAL

LIBERALS usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, but tend to support significant government control of the economy. They generally support a government-funded "safety net" to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

All I can say is... SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE...

The quiz can be taken here.

That is all.

Blogwards 2005 Episode VII - The Sith Reborn

2006-01-07T23:54:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are. The end of the week. And time for the Final Blogward of the year. To all those who didn't get one, I have this to say.

'Dems da brakes. Meh.

Here we go...

BLOG WITH THE MOST REBORN SPIRIT

Well, with firsthand experience from last year, I can only think of one whose spirit was rekindled from dust in the last year.

Me. Maybe I'm self promoting, but meh, you will ALL get over it. To avoid completely re-uttering myself, backtrack through various posts here or on my LJ, or a brief summary can be reached here.

As such, I won't indulge myself in praise, but rather, award myself a button, with one of my favorite movie characters in a reborn state.

That is all. May the force be with you all.

Okay we're a few weeks late for this...

2006-01-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

But here we go

Your Birthdate: December 19

You are resilient, and no doubt your resilience has already been tested.

You've had some difficult experiences in your life, but you are wise from them.

Having had to grow up quickly, you tend to discount the advice of others.

You tend to be a loner, having learned that the only person you can depend on is yourself.

Your strength: Well developed stability and confidence

Your weakness: Suspicion of others

Your power color: Eggplant

Your power symbol: Spade

Your power month: October

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

That is all.

It appears I am "It"

2006-01-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

Cuz Dawn tagged me with this meme. So here we go...

FOUR THINGS MEME

Four jobs you've had in your life

1. Park Attendant/Lifeguard. The job I definitely have the most experience doing. See, my dad runs a private recreation park, and as such, took pity on the young Star Wars geek and employed him, trying to make me more "normal" by making sure there was more CH₃CH₂OH in my system than blood. This concept, however, had one intrinsic flaw. By the time University rolled around, I discovered Clark Hall Pub, where all that drinking skill just made me dorkier, allowing me to understand fluid mechanics extremely well.

2. Sales Rep/Associate. The job with my second highest level of experience. I've sold almost everything under the sun, and am currently still doing it right now to make my way through the slow winter here in British Columbia.

3. Mechanical Engineer. Yup, for two years, I put my first, overvalued letters and education to practical use. Too bad I liked the academic aspect, but hated the work side of the equation.

4. Film Lighting Technician. My current job (well in the summers, when Vancouver has enough shows to employ the lot of us). I've loved film all my life, yet it took nearly 30 years to realize that it was what I should do with the rest of my life. Or it took too long for all the booze I drank as a kid to wear off.

Four movies you would watch over and over

1. The Star Wars Saga. The original I saw on opening day in 1977, and I became hooked. Since then, I've seen all six (including re-releases of the original three) on all their opening days. God I'm sad, but alas, this one is strong with the Dark Side of the Force.

2. The Godfather Trilogy. I was made an offer I couldn't refuse. Again. And again. And again. Plus Pacino just plain kicks ass.

3. Mulholland Drive. David Lynch is a sheer genius, as it is clearly shown in this surrealistic film.

4. The Breakfast Club. Getting high, in school, on Saturday, while serving detention? What else do you need? Okay, the phrase "eat my shorts" was also coined in this film.

Four places you have lived

1. Montreal, PQ, Canada. My hometown. 'Nuff said.

2. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Let's put things this way. Comparing Montreal to Toronto is like comparing heaven to hell. I'm so glad to be away from there.

3. Ocala, Florida, USA. I liked the warmer winters, but the summers were so humid you couldn't go outside without losing 20 lbs of bodymass due to sweat. And I'm thin. I don't have the weight to spare.

4. Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Nowhere since Montreal has a place felt like home.

Four TV shows you love to watch

1. Family Guy. I honestly believe Seth MacFarlane used me as a model to develop the character of Stewart Gilligan Griffin. Or Snake. I quite like that. Snake Griffin.

2. Trailer Park Boys. Only on Canadian television can you see a father and 10 year old daughter doing the patch together to try to quit smoking.

3. WWE Raw and Smackdown. It's fake, the outcomes are pre-written, but at times, wrestling has some great moments.

4. The Rick Mercer Report. Rick's humourous take on Canadian and World news and events is heads and shoulders better journalism than we experience here in Canada, and is light years ahead of the ~~propaganda~~ "news" networks they have down south.

Four places you have been on vacation

1. Los Angeles, California, USA. What a fun, exciting yet laid back kind of city. What's really funny is during a 60 degree winter night, bar patios have propane heaters. No wonder Hollywood types don't shoot films in the winter here in Vancouver.

2. Cleveland, Ohio, USA. I've seen my fair share of Indians games, plus, Sandusky is not too far away, as so to ride the coasters at Cedar Point.

3. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Ahh, nothing like skiing, winter Carnival, le Bonhomme de Carnival, est chaud Cariboooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

4. Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Great skiing in the late autumn, winter, and through the spring. Along with British Columbia, it's the prettiest part of Canada (especially after driving through Saskatchewan the day before).

Four websites you visit daily [not including my blog!]

1. The Derringher Portal. Though Will has been low on the posting side of things for a while, it's great for sheer random conversation.

2. The Majority of my Blogroll. Well, at bare minimum, the ones that show some level of an update. It's weird. I have more energy to check posts while working 14-16 hour days on film sets.

3. Sportsnet.ca. I'm on two remaining online free pools, and the third, for the NFL, aka the National American Rugby League (as football is a term more apt to what North Americans call Soccer) just wrapped up, and I finished second place overall in the final week with a 14-2 standing.

4. StarWars.com. Yes. I'm a sad Star Wars fan. But deal with it, before I get Sith on your ass.

Four of your favourite foods

1. Pasta. Any shape of noodle. It doesn't matter. I just miss homemade sauce. Mom, send me some. PPPPPPLLLLLLEEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEEE!!!

2. Yorkshire Puddings. But only the way Dawn makes them. She's from Yorkshire, you know.

3. Chicken. Especially from Swiss Chalet. With their special dipping sauce. But dammit, I can't find any in the grocery stores anymore. Gits. Stock it back up again already.

4. Pancakes with real Maple Syrup. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Maple Syrup. I just wish Dawn let me have it with more than just pancakes.

*Update*
Four places you'd rather be:
Well, I am rather happy being here in Vancouver, BC, though it rains nearly every day here during the winter. I know I can deal with it, because it is both so beautiful here, and also there is so much work in film here. Though there is a subset I'll make to give four answers. Where would I rather be than Best Buy.

1. Vancouver Film Studios. Shooting X-Men 3, which typically is way behind schedule.

2. Whistler Blackcomb. Only two hours away, and world class skiing. Though getting Dawn to ski the extreme areas may take some convincing and a whole load of lessons first. Thank god I used to instruct skiing.

3. Quesnel, BC. To spend time with my sis Jana.

4. Revelstoke, BC. On our way out here, we spent the night there. I don't know why, but it was a really cool little town along the way. Feels like somewhere we may retire.

Four albums you can't live without:
Well, as it seems, we're here in BC without my hundreds of CD's, so it appears we can live without all our actual albums. But for actual individual songs, I can't live without these four.

1. Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim. BEST. MUSIC. VIDEO. EVER. PERIOD.

2. Give it Up - KC and the Sunshine Band. For all the Queen's plumbers out there, I'm sure we all remember the Bus Stop Dance.

3. Sycamore Trees - David Lynch and Jimmy Scott. A chilling reminder to the end of the best television show ever, Twin Peaks.

4. You May Be Right - The Grapes of Wrath. The best song from the band from Kelowna, BC.
*End of update*

Four bloggers you are tagging

1. Laura. She likes memes (I think).
2. Todd. Though I bet he won't do it.
3. Wendy. I'm interested to see her answers.
4. Jimmy Rock. Who knows which blog this will really show up on though.

That is all.

What Element is Your Love?

2006-01-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

Your Love Element Is Metal

In love, you inspire and respect your partner.
For you, love is all about fusing together for one incredible life experience.

You attract others with wit and a bit of flash.
Your flirting style is defined by making others want and value you.

Greatness and optimism are the cornerstones of your love life.
You may let go too easily, but you never get weighed down by your past.

You connect best with: Earth

Avoid: Fire

You and another Metal element: will control and smother each other

What Element Is Your Love?

Hmm... I wonder if I connect best with Dawn?

That is all.

Blogwards 2005 Episode VI - Return of My Babe

2006-01-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

Ahh, the joys of not working on a Friday. That being having time to really do a good job on this Blogward.

BLOGGING BABE OF THE YEAR

One would think that this would be a very difficult one to pick. One can only fathom the sheer ~~delight~~ horror that Maxim, Stuff, FHM (and the like) staffers in narrowing down the list to just 100.

Well, I had no problem widdling this list down to just one. My babe, my partner, my one and only Dawn. You may say that I am blinded by love. Well, frankly, I am, and SO BE IT. I'm sure anyone reading this will get over it. If not, here's some advice:

GET OVER IT.

As such, for my Dawn, for having a wide array of subjects, for her creativity and passion, I hereby award you this button:

That is all. Until tomorrow. Now you may say that Lucas isn't intending to make any more Star Wars films, which the titles have been following, but alas, there's enough fiction extending beyond Episode VI to justify just one more chapter. Which will be tomorrow.

[mechanized breathing]Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha[mechanized breathing]

Blogwards 2005 Episode V - The Meh-me Strikes Back

2006-01-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

Ahh yes, my new spelling for the more commonly spelled meme. My "new" spelling comes from the often coined word Meh, which, to my knowledge, is the sound of the first two letters in meme.

Hence, Meh-me.

As such, here's tonight's Blogward:

MOST INTERESTING MEME'S POSTED

Now, for those of you who have been following this holy saga (or those of you fully capable of scrolling down), Laura has volunteered to be my next ~~victim~~ recipient of the ~~not so~~ coveted Blogward.

Now Laura, instead of being bored and posting a Meh-mes just to fill space, filling some self induced requirement to post daily, actually posts the Meh-mes that she actually likes or relates to, not just modifying stupid chain emails into posts. For your perusal, I give you

The Ultimate Canadian Test
Inside the Actor's Studio
My Loser Score
My Weird Quotient

Now, for being a good sport, and actually volunteering, I hereby present Laura with this award and Blog Button

Only two more to go.

That is all.

Until tomorrow.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

M.C.F.A.T. Episode V

2006-01-04T22:24:00.000-08:00

Well, okay, he says Volume V, but being the Star Wars freak job that I am, I prefer Episode to volume. Also, with the confusion between 5th or 6th incarnation (yes I know it's the fifth one named the M.C.F.A.T.) and I missed number 4, I have no beefs now complying with MCF's numbering system.

As such, here we go.

1) I'm not on DVD, and I may never be on DVD as much as you wish I was. What am I?
Well, up until Fall 2004, I would have said the Star Wars original trilogy. Now, with all films available on DVD, I have to say this. One, the original trilogy far outdoes the new prequels, with the exception of Episode III, which is what we wanted out of all three prequels.

As to now answer the question without any more rambling, I would have to say the second season of David Lynch's television classic, Twin Peaks, along with the pilot episode. Due to several mergers and takeovers in the Hollywood film studio world, the second season, the strange but enlightening season, still remains, to this day, unreleased. Yet drivel like SeaQuest DSV is getting released to DVD.

2) It's going to be cold and gray for some months to come. There are no good movies playing. You don't want to venture far or spend a lot of money, but sometimes the four walls of your home conspire to drive you mad and you just need to go SOMEWHERE. What do you do?
This is almost identical to the situation right now. We're in Vancouver, land of eternal rain, which makes the skies grey. There are just a few good films out there, but with film work dried up, ventures to the cinema are few and far between. Aside from watching hockey on the TV, our big outs are to spend some time up at Mount Seymour Provincial Park or at Cypress Provincial Park.

3) If you had to give up one of your senses, which would it be?
Probably taste. I don't have much left after having eaten too much spicy food already. Hence it wouldn't be losing much.

4) This sitcom will NEVER be made into a major motion picture, not in a million years. Then again, it wouldn't be that unprecedented. What's the WORST case scenario, from sitcom choice to casting, that you could imagine?
Wow, this is a toughie. There's not too many sitcoms that I'd watch to begin with. I'd like to say Trailer Park Boys, but the movie is coming out, though, in the tradition of the X-Files, the movie is just part of the ongoing series, not a spin-off.

I guess to avoid clickish, I'll go with Made in Canada. Nobody should fuck with the funniest man in Canada, Rick Mercer. As for the worst possible cast, here it goes:

Richard Strong - Jack Black (he's really not that funny)
Alan Roy - Tom Cruise ('Nuff Said)
Victor Sela - Will Ferrell (he's even less funny than Mr. Black)
Veronica - Jennifer Lopez (uuuuggghhhhhh)

5) Now you're a supervillain. Why? What has motivated you to use your powers for evil, what are your powers, and what are your methods and goals?
Why am I a supervillain? Plain and simple. For being outcast, because I'm different, because I pose a threat, because I'm misunderstood, and due to people's fear of my natural abilities, I am segregated from the normal. Well, my methods are pure and simple. To quote Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious, "let the hate flow through you." Focused amounts of rage combined with my mental prowess will leave my enemies begging for mercy. To which I will demand of them they treat all as equals, to end this oppression.

6) Name one artist, in any discipline, who has affected your life in some way.
David Lynch. Though Lucas and Spielberg fostered my love for film, Lynch inspired my drive to create my own films. I love the way he leaves open ends, how he creates intrigue by mere implication, and the sheer depth of the story and the many subtexts.

That is all.

Which Celebrity Do You Look Like?

2006-01-04T21:57:00.000-08:00

As per stolen from my babe Dawn at this post, I have been asked kindly, yet bludgingly, to follow suit, and do the photo comparison at the site here.

Having done the test repeatedly, I ended up with a consistant result. David "Mr. Posh Spice" Beckham. For fuck sakes, he played for the ~~evil empire~~ ~~enemy~~ worst team in football, Manchester United. What a twat. However, there was a better result. Look at the scree capture:

And to zoom in a bit, here's me:

And here's my celebrity look alike:

And it's a wonder my nickname was Mulder in the 90's.

That is all.

Blogwards 2005 Episode IV - A New Hope

2006-01-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, so Lucas can sue me for that one.

Meh.

As such, on to tonights Blogward:

STRANGEST FORM OF BLOG PROMOTION

Well, we have Blogs Canada, Blog Explosion, Blogazoo, Blogwise, Blog blah blah blah. What an absolutely boring listing for many people's exciting (maybe) lives. Enter Teh Blogfather. Eric, the man who runs the free blog promotion, has a rather askew view of the world, which is, in itself, refreshing. Check out his review of A Golden World:

Yeeeee-haaaaah! And we are off, ladies and gents, with another totally shway, totally blogadelic round, huzzaaaah! Now, no self-respecting Star Wars fanatic can call himself a jedi until he has met Neooolithiiiic "Tha Dark Lord" Sidiuuuuus! [And the ladies go: helloooooo jedi!] I battled Tha Dark Lord in the smoky peaks of mount Doom so I could reclaim my preciooouussssss! Hmmmmm...that may have been another movie. Anyway, his dark lair attempts to be funny and promises a golden new world where ketchup and mayonaisse shall dwell in harmony, forever and ever, amen. Show him looove!

What the duece? To re-quote what Stewie said to 50 Cent on MTV, LAY OFF THE DOOBIE. And while we're at it, I have an elegant solution to things, why don't we just kill Lois?

Oh wait, the Blogward. Well, for being wacky, and original, I hereby award Eric with the following button:

And remember, being strange is good. It's the so-called normal people who are really frightening.

That is all. Until tomorrow, with Laura, our first "volunteer" award recipient.

Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Resolution Meh-me

2006-01-04T18:06:00.000-08:00

As per Dawn's relentless whinging, here is my first meh-me post of the year.

The 2006 New Year's Resolution Generator

In the year 2006 I resolve to:

Cause more road rage.

Get your resolution here

That is all.

Blogwards 2005 Episode III - Revenge of the Jimmy

2006-01-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

Has it been 24 hours already? Well, actually, it feels longer. Our dear friend Jimmy wasn't at work today :(

As such, this is the next award:

MOST COMPLETELY RANDOM BLOG

And, in case you haven't guessed, this award goes to the same Jimmy I work with, for his completely random yet hilarious blog, Jimmy Rules the World. To give some highlights of his entries, he includes the following topics:

His review of Dance 360, which in itself looks more like wanting to watch booty based on the pic.

A combination of Linux with S&M.

A Klingon Christmas card, along with some commonly (well okay, not so commonly) used Klingon phrases.

And the best yet, a self revealing look at what Jimmy is like drunk.

This blog is so random, it has several incarnations elsewhere in the blogosphere. But, for being a good sport and a ton of fun to work with, I hereby award Jimmy with this button:

But, for not updating hyperlinks to his other blogs, I hereby award Jimmy

That is all. Until tomorrow.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

Blogwards 2005 Episode II - Attack of the Posts

2006-01-02T21:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, round two of seven. Tonight's category:

FEWEST BLOG POSTS IN THE YEAR

Well, as for my almost daily reads, you are definitely exempt, as you update very regularly. And if you follow those clique types who want to impose rules to qualify for the status of a blogger, by posting once a day (or whatever other daft value they put in just to make themselves proud of their own drivel), you too do not qualify for this award.

2005's winner of this prestigious award is my best friend, Todd, who at his blog, made a grand total of seven posts for the year. As such Todd, I hereby award you with this button^TM

No yellow cards or red cards though, as Todd hasn't changed his addy or his hosting a dozen times over the year.

That is all. Until tomorrow.

Bwahahahahahaha!!!

Blogwards 2005 Episode I - The Phantom Blog

2006-01-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

Well, as it seems that many blogs are doing various best of lists to bring in the New Year, I am going to issue "awards" celebrating the various quirks that exist out here in the blog-o-sphere. As such, here we go:

MOST BLOG ADDRESS CHANGES IN THE YEAR

Yes, this species is absolutely the most FRUSTRATING of all bloggers, as this annoying beast of burden, unhappy with the state of his or her address, needs to constantly change their look. I wonder if those types of people ever heard of the phrase, the grass is greener on the other side. This year's winner is one Mr. Will Derringher, whom changed his blog url and hosting a good five times since I started reading his posts. Five. And he doesn't seem to lose readers either. Somewhere, the math does not make sense. As such, Mr. Derringher has earned the award, along with this button.

And, for being annoying, and because I can, a yellow card

for dirty play irritating readers changing addresses, but not a red card because he's funny.

Runner up: My babe Dawn, who has deleted her blog twice, in anger, and is now on it's third blogspot incarnation.

That is all, until tomorrow.

So this is 2006

2006-01-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

Well, it's still not a milestone New Year, but meh. Along with birthdays, it's another sign to let us know that time marches on, and is another excuse to overindulge and drink. Now keeping in mind the notion of time moving on, I can remember (well, kinda) the New Years past, where going to a club and partying until the sun rose was the standard. Maybe age, maybe lack of funds in the film offseason, maybe the increasing distance between me and my friends from the past. Who knows really.

2005 was definitely a year for transition. At the start of the year that has now passed, things could not have been worse. Graduated from film school, unemployed, living in downtown Toronto, and fighting to get Employment Insurance from the government, who likes to take their sweet-ass time, Dawn and I wondered where our next meal would come from. Not only was it so incredibly difficult to get a job in film or television, it was equally difficult to get an ordinary job to boot.

By the time April hit, the plug fell out of the bottom, and Dawn and I did the unthinkable to survive. We moved back in with my parents, under the demand that I find some form of work immediately. Well, my lack of luck continued, and my only option was to work with one of my father's best friends. Oops. That was a big mistake. For the month this lasted, I endured more verbal abuse than my whole existence as a high school nerd/dork/geek/whatever other name you can think of. I've had jobs where I hated going in, but when I was frightened to show up, well, something had to be wrong there.

Then some terrible news. My father's cousin (which I think is a second cousin to me), Freddy, passed on due to a stroke. There still isn't a day I don't miss him. His nickname was "Fearless", and frankly, I think I get my crazy streak from him. Sad as it was, it led to the most incredible change. I found out I had family out here, WORKING IN FILM. Less than two months later, Dawn and I packed our belongings (where she'd whinge that I packed way too much, but meh) and crossed the country to Vancouver.

Since then, I've been able to make about 1/2 the days I need to be fully accepted into IATSE as a Lighting Technician, having worked on Smallville, Like Mike 2, The Dead Zone, Intelligence, John Tucker Must Die, Dungeon Seige, Stargate Atlantis, X-Men 3, Scary Movie 4, Supernatural, DaVinci's City Hall, and Killer Instinct.

Looking back, the change is unbelieveable. I am very thankful that Dawn has been with me every step of the way, and also thank the help of my parents, where we may disagree on a consistant basis, stood behind me and believed in me when I was in doubt.

Now, to see what 2006 brings...

Branching off some more

2005-12-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

Well, this isn't a change, just an addition. As a few of you know, I have delusions that I can actually take a photo or two. And I needed a forum to more appropriately display my photographs, and frankly, the purpose of this blog does not suit it. To add to things, Blogger really isn't the greatest forum to display artistic photographs. As such, I have set up a deviantART account here.

Check it out. I just hope you laugh more at my posts here than my pics there.

That is all.

Ugghhh @ the holidays

2005-12-30T01:48:00.000-08:00

Now, don't let the title of this post completely fool you. I'm not raining on the parade of the good qualities of the holiday season. Rather, based on the experience I have had working in retail this Christmas, I am reminded of a theorem I discovered about 17 years ago, when I first started to drive, having earned my licence during a road test conducted in a blizzard.

The presence of snow on any driving surface, wether it be paved road, dirt road, driveway, or parking lot, causes an instantaneous rejection, by the human body, of it's own brain, in regards to, but not restricted to, common sense rules of the road.

Well, this past week of ~~Hell~~ sheer fun, selling to, and observing, typical electonics consumers acting under heavy impulse, I have developed the retail corollary for it.

During December holidays, consumers looking to show their love by throwing money at those whom they "care" about, immediately turn off all reasoning centers of the cereberal cortex, only to re-engage during boxing week, to realize the mistakes of their purchases, only to then blame everyone but themselves.

Can you say ugghh yet? Or are you in such denial that you are still arguing that the associate who sold you your wares was just trying to make a buck?

Either way, I just shake my head at the sheer idiocy of some of the complaints I have run across this week, just because others can't be bothered to care for their loved ones, substituting merchandise and bling for love. For your consideration, I give you some plum examples from the week:

1. Repeated phone calls from customers who purchased televisions well past the no hassle return date, having realized there was some problem with it, having not purchased in-store service, having lost the manual, expecting us to fix the problem over the phone. After 10 minutes of explaining it's not our problem anymore, it took an additional 10 to effectively relay the manufacturers telephone number, as the parties (yup, this was a multiple event) had extreme difficulty realizing that an 866 toll free area code was only three digits long, not four or five.

2. Being treated like toe jam because I won't put a $29.99 DVD player on hold, as it is a quick moving item, as putting items on hold is not store policy. This attitude is gauded over by the "potential loss of a customer". This coming in a department where a complete home theatre system could bring in $15,000 revenue to the store. Yet the parties (again many who thought this) don't realize their purchase is peanuts in comparison. Hmm. I wonder if they yet realize the sun does not revolve around them yet?

3. This one is technically specific. People who can't grasp the concept of High Definition. This is really easy. High Defiition has either 720 or 1080 lines of resolution. As such, for a High Definition TV to be playing a High Definition picture, the input, surprise, surprise, must be High Definition. Everyone who looks at high definition are told that by every Home Theatre rep in the store. Yet we are blamed after Christmas because many angry customers are awakened to the fact that these televisions don't magically make regular TV High Definition. I wonder how these people who can throw $6000 around for a TV got rich on an education that practically does not stretch beyond the third grade.

I could go on, but I think the point is becoming very clear. One, that most of our customers, left to their own devices, are barely able to swallow their own food, let alone make decisions based on thousands of dollars. Two, that, maybe, the secret of success is to be as stupid as possible. Don't believe me? Just look at Bush. He's the dumbest of them all. And he's the most powerful man in the "free" (though America ain't that free) world.

That is all.

Yankee propaganda strikes again

2005-12-28T22:44:00.000-08:00

Well, from that ~~accredible~~ horrible source of ~~news~~ gossip, CNN, it seems that we, the free-spirited Canadian, seems to blame our southern neighbour for the increase in violence we have in our communities. Funny, how this is news to me, that America is the source.

The ~~article~~ piece of shit which is supposed to resemble reporting can be found here.

I thought the only people playing the blame game were the politicians, looking to substitute blame for personality in the upcoming federal election.

Meh. Once again, America gets sucked in by this fear mongering, anti-everything-not-100%-American dogma that is shoved down their throats, hopefully substituting the governments revocation of the public's basic rights.

It's a shame our neighbours from the south do not recieve Canadian news, to counter the opinion that's constantly spread to them as fact.

As such, read news from CBC, BBC, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and the Rick Mercer Report for different viewpoints. Then seperate fact from fiction. And enjoy the odd chuckle.

Hat tip to Ang.

That is all.

I've just decided...

2005-12-28T01:42:00.000-08:00

That our opponents in the Northwestern Division can kiss my ass. We dominate weaker teams like Ottawa and Detroit, but yet our division rivals are owning us.

Calisse Tabarnacle!!!

Anyhow... the Bert analysis will come at some point tomorrow. As for the Bert-accu-score^TM for tonight's game agains the Predators (thank fucking God, a non-division opponent) shall be

Vancouver 4 Nashville 1

Cha Gheill!!

The true meaning of Christmas

2005-12-26T17:50:00.000-08:00

Yup, last night I was re-united with a certain episode of a Canadian classic, the Trailer Park Boys Christmas special in which Ricky

had an epiphany about Christmas. To quote (well, adlibbed):

Christmas is about getting drunk and fucking stoned.

Ahh yes, the true meaning of life. I just always wondered how the Trailer Park Boys would be if they were in British Columbia, not Nova Scotia. And in the Trailer Park Boys holiday calendar, only 420 is more holy.

However, I get the feeling the Canucks had celebrated a few 420's after all the Olympic team candidates they have. Bertuzzi and Jovanovski for team Canada; Naslund, Ohlund and the Sedin twins for Sweden; and last but not least, Salo and Ruutu for Finland. And surprisingly enough, NOBODY for team USA. Okay so it's not surprising.

As such, after Jovo and Bert got named as Team Canada teammates, and future gold medal winners, too many 420's were celebrated, not on April 20, but rather at 4:20 pm, thus impacting the game, giving four more to Edmonton's goal total of three, giving them seven. Once the buzz wore off, Vancouver found themselves behind by 2, and put themselves in gear, getting one more goal, making the score 7-6, giving us

Utter Golden Perfection^TM.

Then with the six Swedish and Finnish players named, the Canucks were inspired to score two more goals, for the Fins. However, the Flames decided to burn us, by supporting their own Finnish goalie Kiprusoff, and scored a goal for each opposing Swedish olympian, making the score 6-5, giving us again,

Utter Golden Perfection^TM.

As for tonight, the Canucks are hungry for revenge, and the score of the game shall be

Canucks 4 Flames 0

Cha Gheill!

How Canadian am I?

2005-12-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

Well, let the following speak for itself.

Very Canadian
You scored 90 Canada speak and 94 Canadianess!

Nicely done! You could be one of us. You probably know someone who owns a Ski-Doo up at their cottage.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 65% on Canada speak
You scored higher than 86% on Canadianess

Link: The Ultimate Canadian Test written by echox2 on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

And, as a public service to those neighbours south of our border who would like to try the quiz, one of these two links will help you with one question.

Either here or here.

That is all.

Tonight's game

2005-12-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

Well, the Christmas rush is delaying the accu-score for that horrible Edmonton game Wednesday. But, as such, tonight, the Flames are in town, and as such, the Bert-accu-score^TM for the game shall be

Canucks 3 Flames 2

Cha Gheill!!

For the rest of us

2005-12-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

Well, being as I am working the afternoon shift at ~~hell~~ Best Buy *cough cough*, I've had the opportunity to do a little recreational blog surfing today.

I got to Peter's blog, at which I read this post, to which Peter makes a strong argument to the Christian origins of America, and voices his displeasure of beliefs that are contrary to the Western concept of God. To wit, this brings two thoughts to mind.

1. Something my father told me ages ago. Don't talk about religion or politics amongst friends. Tempers flare up too much all based on belief structures. Meh.

2. Such a powerful belief structure, coupled with everything that's going on in the middle east, is becoming increasingly remeniscent of another dark element of the Christian past. Yup, I'm talking about the crusades. Can Dubya say woops yet?

With the multicultural diversity that exists within North America, our neighborhoods are becoming potential battlegrounds. All over stubborn, bullheaded beliefs. As Rufus (Chris Rock) said in Dogma, "It's better to have ideas. Changing an idea is easy. Changing a belief is trickier". Which leads me to this major idea.

One of the assimilative aspects of North American culture, is, as one yellow skinned, ten year old, cartoon boy once said, "Christmas is the time where people of all faiths come to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ". Yes, most of us celebrate Christmas in some fashion, usually dominated by the exchange of gifts. In my household, growing up, there was absolutely no relation to the actual religious significance of the birth of Christ. And our family was far from the only one.

As such, I suggest this. That we, as North Americans, celebrate Festivus. That's right, the Seinfeld inspired Festivus for the Rest of Us. A non-religious holiday, which, surprise, surprise, is December 23, which is today. As such, we are not just able to join together free of belief, but as well, we can clean the slate with the traditional "airing of grievances".

As such, here are my grievances aired.

1. To all my "friends", who have since migrated on to better things, leaving me and my friendship behind. I thought your friendship meant something, but obviously, something else meant more to you.

2. To all the creationists. Fact supports the Darwinian notion that we evolved, and disproves the Biblical notion of divine creation. Fact. As Superintendant Chalmers said, "prayer has no place [between school walls], just as fact has no place within organized religion".

3. Those people who manage, but know not how to lead. Get a clue.

Now I'm not saying to leave Christianity. For those whose faith is strong, I still suggest to follow your doctrine. I just suggest to take the commercialism out of Christmas, and allow people of all faiths to follow their spiritualistic needs uninterrupted with nauseating Christian assimilation. And to all...

HAPPY FESTIVUS

That is all.

Just adding fuel to the fire

2005-12-21T23:49:00.000-08:00

And in that title, I so hope we mop the floor with the US hockey team. My good buddy Jake (no blog that I'm aware of) sent me this, which really boils my blood. If any of you wonder why I hate neo-conservative, Flander-ised right wing American borg designates, this video should give you some insight.

And for those people aforementioned, please, WAKE THE FUCK UP.

Click here to see why.

That is all.

Canada Repeat Gold!!!

2005-12-21T18:01:00.000-08:00

Well, okay, I'm jumping the gun. But, I can come up with two reasons why Canada has the best shot of all countries.

One being Ed Jovanovski. The other being Bert himself, Todd Bertuzzi. Nice to see the two top Canuck Canucks (alliteration, I love it) are Olympians.

Hmm... where are the top Canuck Leafs. Oh, McCabe is an alternate. Excuse me while I laugh. For the whole roster, click here. And look, no Los Angeles Kings.

Even Bertuzzi and Jovanovski have alliterate jersey numbers. 44 and 55, respectively. Now since the 4 and 5 are doubled up, so to speak, we should take one away from each, giving us 3 and 4. And since the Kings don't have Canuck players up to scratch, the Kings stole the 4 for their goal total, making Monday's total score being 4-3, Kings over Canucks, giving us...

Utter Golden Perfection^TM.

For tonight's contest, the Oilers come into the garage to try to gain more wins from the Canucks. Vancouver will be uber-pumped from the news they have two Canuck Olympians, and the Bert-accu-score^TM for the game shall be

Vancouver 5 Edmonton 3

Cha Gheill!! And Oh Canada!!

The haze is gone

2005-12-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

And another [sic] birthday has come and gone. But alas, it was a quiet one, watching WWE, hockey, and drinking beer.

Meh. I'm getting too old. Make the clock stop already!!

That is all.

America announces their roster

2005-12-19T20:45:00.000-08:00

Like this would ever inspire fear in any Canadian. Looking through this list, I have still no fears that Canada will have no problem with the American *cough* Team *cough*.

As such, here it is...

GOALIES
Rick DiPietro
Robert Esche
John Grahame

DEFENCE
Chris Chelios
Derian Hatcher
Jordan Leopold
John-Michael Liles
Aaron Miller
Brian Rafalski
Mathieu Schneider

FORWARDS
Jason Blake
Erik Cole
Craig Conroy
Chris Drury
Brian Gionta
Scott Gomez
Bill Guerin
Mike Knuble
Mike Modano
Mark Parrish
Brian Rolston
Keith Tkachuk
Doug Weight

Wow. Talk about your no-name team. It looks like team USA will be a non-factor in Torino. Hell, the Swedish, Finnish, Czech, and Russian team seem more impressive.

And by the way, OH CANADA!!

That is all.