Holy sheep shit did this blog ever die the quick abrupt death. So today its back to life, but now in a slowly dragging, thoughtless mindless, zombie sort of way. Moan....
I was looking at my stats this year. 12 posts. And my last one was in August. It looks like I got divorced from my one post a month minimum. Shot it dead in the head apparently. I do feel sorry about it, the compromise of one of the few standards and commitments I have left, but in actuality? Im little numb to it. And about that numbness, the numbess which in itself makes me quite sad. Its the close friend you use to hang out with all the time, but just never see anymore. I really hate that, every single time it happens. Its never good, although we seem to eventually acccept it and live with it.
In 2004, and starting half way through the year, I posted 51 times in 6 months. I was PROLIFIC!! And this year, only twelve. Well 13 including this one, once I hit the publish post button. How the not even mighty have fallen. But dude, that was also 6 years ago. Scary.
So anyways I just watched the last episode of the Walking Dead, hence the whole Zombie theme. What an awesome show. Loved it. Ive been thinking alot about the eventual zombie apocalypse lately; what i would do, how i would fit in, what skills I would bring. Where I would go first, what I would do to survive. I recently met someone that has actually taken up Archery to boost her zombie apocalypse CV / Resume. Now how impossibly cool is this chick? She had me at hello.
And its perfect timing because like I said, Ive been really really really into zombies lately, maybe its because of my morbid year this year, who knows (see all previous posts this year, Ive been infinite sadness all 2010 so far). So yeah Zombies. They're the new vampires. And they are better. Because its scarier. Whats scarier in real life? Dracula? Or a uncontrollable unstoppable wave force of scary walking dead that cannot be abated? Dracula cant bring down the world. Zombies? They dont call it the zombie apocalypse for nothing, they bring down governments, societies, civilization. Just as long as there are no new age fast zombies. I like the thought of being able to out run zombies. Those fast zombies are complete bullshit. Like really... I just want to be able to out run the next slow fat guy to survive. I dont like the idea of having to be like Usain Bolt in order to survive. Id be dead too.
Monday, December 06, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Useless laziness
Its exactly 2:30AM on a Tuesday night and Im suppose to be packing. I was suppose to start packing at 10pm, the time I woke up after an ill advised late evening nap, but 4.5 hours later, Im still doing anything but. Score one for the blog though, since apparently avoidance of packing is the sole trigger that can drive me out of my blogging funk. Who would of thought. For the blog's sake, I should avoid packing more often. Hell, the original Japanese Grudge movie (Ju On) is on TV, and Im watching it. Its night time, Im alone in my apartment, and Im watching one of the freakiest movies to come out in the last decade? Im biggest chicken shit in the world, what exactly am I doing?. Thats how much of a state of avoidance Im in.
I fly off to Vancouver on Thursday, and Im back in lovely Vancouver for 3 and a bit weeks. I plan to do S.F.A. too. Well, that is, apart from my motivation to getting back on track, P90X-wise (this unreal work schedule this whole summer has been the bane of my existence, its brought me down to a basement state of personal well being). Ive gained an additional 10lbs this summer because of working late constantly, doing insane hours and consequently eating nothing but shit. 10 lbs! And its not like I was in a position to gain anything before that... i was already 10 lbs over my ideal weight.. so now Im 20 lbs over. Wrong direction, Noy. I have a double chin now. I need to start getting rid of it while in Vancouver, because I disgust myself right now. At least there, Ill have time. Its my goal to work out or run or be involved in activity at least once each day. In life, Ive learned only now, that its good to set goals.. HA! so thats where Ive gone wrong all this time..
So anyways Ive contributed to blogspot this August. One accomplishment. Now pack Noli. I wont be able to do it tomorrow, my last day... Im playing soccer and then going for drinks with friends from out of town before I fly off. Otherwise, Id be procrastination late into the night tomorrow instead.
I fly off to Vancouver on Thursday, and Im back in lovely Vancouver for 3 and a bit weeks. I plan to do S.F.A. too. Well, that is, apart from my motivation to getting back on track, P90X-wise (this unreal work schedule this whole summer has been the bane of my existence, its brought me down to a basement state of personal well being). Ive gained an additional 10lbs this summer because of working late constantly, doing insane hours and consequently eating nothing but shit. 10 lbs! And its not like I was in a position to gain anything before that... i was already 10 lbs over my ideal weight.. so now Im 20 lbs over. Wrong direction, Noy. I have a double chin now. I need to start getting rid of it while in Vancouver, because I disgust myself right now. At least there, Ill have time. Its my goal to work out or run or be involved in activity at least once each day. In life, Ive learned only now, that its good to set goals.. HA! so thats where Ive gone wrong all this time..
So anyways Ive contributed to blogspot this August. One accomplishment. Now pack Noli. I wont be able to do it tomorrow, my last day... Im playing soccer and then going for drinks with friends from out of town before I fly off. Otherwise, Id be procrastination late into the night tomorrow instead.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Kewel
My longest serving crush, the one that is as secure and valid today as it was in the beginning, is Jewel. Jewel she will save my soul. She was and is my age, and I didn't really even think about it until just now, while writing this, but that beginning was 15 years ago. I was barely out of my teens. And back then, there was that something about her, maybe the slightly imperfect teeth, the round face, the innocent shy smiles, the alaska upbringing (which Prince Rupert relates to so much, more so than any other town outside of Alaska), and even the championship level yodeling, but she had me at the moment she looked up from her guitar and smiled. My old roommate Jessica B. thought this crush was amusing, even in 1998, when it had been 2 years since she had a hit. Hell, she hasn't been on the radar since then, either. But still, even now, when she appears those rare times and media stumbles upon her, I still surprisingly lose my train of thought, and suddenly cant feel my toes.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
I love the Klaxons
These last 4 months, I admit, have been quite pathetic form, even for my standards. Disappearance. The culprit this time though, is a very strange reality to be faced with: My Engineer side of life has been bonkers insane, not necessarily in a good way. Not in a bad way either, because at least it occupies my time, and predominates my thoughts, saving me from incessantly day dreaming and meshing idle thoughts. Its actually not good when you have too much time to think. But its definitely not in a good way either because Im constantly spent now for months on end. Working way too many hours, 60-70 range American style, which is almost not acceptable when one lives in Rancho Relaxo Europe. Its thrown me for some much of a loop that I havent worked out in 4 months, and have only gone for one run that whole time. Probably in the worst shape of my life, at current... just because Im even more driven to, ummm.. not be bothered. Way more so than my usual and Ive lost balance. So all in all the work occupation has just been too overwhelming. The gains from the week off with Morris along with another weekend escape to London have long been eclipsed.
So Im going away. I need to cheer up! That previous paragraph was too darkish. I just sound too many shades of gray. Soooo... Tomorrow.. Im heading back to an Empire state of mind, for a week. Maybe Ill blog there. When my mind is straight. Or straighter... Im already looking forward to easy access to Magnolia Bakery. And New York Deli Sandwhichs with loads of roastbeef and pickle, and wrapped really nice and tight in wax paper... its always the little details.
In the mean time. Here is easily the best album cover Ive seen in my life. It makes me giddy. With this cover, from their new album Surfing the Void, the Klaxons got even more awesomer.
So Im going away. I need to cheer up! That previous paragraph was too darkish. I just sound too many shades of gray. Soooo... Tomorrow.. Im heading back to an Empire state of mind, for a week. Maybe Ill blog there. When my mind is straight. Or straighter... Im already looking forward to easy access to Magnolia Bakery. And New York Deli Sandwhichs with loads of roastbeef and pickle, and wrapped really nice and tight in wax paper... its always the little details.
In the mean time. Here is easily the best album cover Ive seen in my life. It makes me giddy. With this cover, from their new album Surfing the Void, the Klaxons got even more awesomer.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Just a taste
After a life long search, I have now definitively found the greatest video of all time. This music video is in a rare category where it is actually phenomenal enough to make gays straight, and make all girls lesbian. The director is a pure genius... apart from the inclusion of the un-necessary dude..
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
The Ghost Whisperer
Oh gawd I wish I wrote this. Click Here Instead the closest I get is almost shitting my pants while going out on Thursday night in Dublin.
Wierd thing is, this is actually written by the same guy who writes about the shit his dad says on Twitter, quite possibly the best Twitter account known to man. No exaggeration there, Im not over selling. His tweets are that funny.
Wierd thing is, this is actually written by the same guy who writes about the shit his dad says on Twitter, quite possibly the best Twitter account known to man. No exaggeration there, Im not over selling. His tweets are that funny.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Only Fools and Horses
Just so I can say, this was suppose to be typed up on Friday, just before my Once per Month deadline, but I was knackered to fuck that day, to be completely honest. MWai and I had just arrived back from pretty much almost 8 days straight of being off the grid. He was over for his Afghanistan home leave; and its trippy to think Im actually saying that, I know somebody on Afghanistan home leave. Wierd. And he's not even in the military; just look at his hands, does it look like he'd be in he military?
Met up with Morris in London last weekend in LDN for two things: 1) Get out of Ireland for a little bit. 2) See LCD Soundsystem at the Brixton Academy, effectively ticking one box on my bucket list (See a concert at London's world famous Brixton Academy) Its been well document how the Iceland volcano with the weird unpronouncable name threatened many things over the last 2 weeks and wrecked havoc over Europe, but I didnt really care about any of the hundreds of millions of dollars lost in the airline industry, or the absolute crippling of general business in Europe alone (for example, no one could even courier anything at work.. no one was flying), the only thing I really cared about, selfishly i do admit, was this trip. Hell I needed a vacay.. what can you say. For anything else I deeply wanted to see this song live, my declared summer song for 2010.
Oh yeah, I also wanted a week of Morris' Afghanistan stories. Because they are amazing. I wont spoil them here, he owns copyright, so youll have to ask him yourself next time you see him. But lets just say he had the intimate undivided attention of everyone we met. Huong and I ceased to exist. And he didn't even get a chance to use his "Im a UN medievac pilot stationed in Kabul" line.
Met up with Morris in London last weekend in LDN for two things: 1) Get out of Ireland for a little bit. 2) See LCD Soundsystem at the Brixton Academy, effectively ticking one box on my bucket list (See a concert at London's world famous Brixton Academy) Its been well document how the Iceland volcano with the weird unpronouncable name threatened many things over the last 2 weeks and wrecked havoc over Europe, but I didnt really care about any of the hundreds of millions of dollars lost in the airline industry, or the absolute crippling of general business in Europe alone (for example, no one could even courier anything at work.. no one was flying), the only thing I really cared about, selfishly i do admit, was this trip. Hell I needed a vacay.. what can you say. For anything else I deeply wanted to see this song live, my declared summer song for 2010.
Oh yeah, I also wanted a week of Morris' Afghanistan stories. Because they are amazing. I wont spoil them here, he owns copyright, so youll have to ask him yourself next time you see him. But lets just say he had the intimate undivided attention of everyone we met. Huong and I ceased to exist. And he didn't even get a chance to use his "Im a UN medievac pilot stationed in Kabul" line.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
This is what youre supppose to do with iPhones
I have to concede, I have a new crush. Watch the next two videos. This applegirl002? She wins me with her technical and musical playfulness, done in a geeky messin-around kind of way. Any chick this adorable that can just conceive an idea this nerd-awesome to begin with, let alone put in the work to get organized, plan, practice, perform and see it through, like, wow, how can I not be forever smitten after someone puts such inventive and ingenious effort like that ? Of course her singing is not money maker worthy, but she's obviously ESL afterall and still sings better than 90% of the people I know. Plus any girl that thinks creating music off of a few iPhones apps is fun, well, color me delighted, thats a complete winner winner chicken dinner in my books. Of course if a dude did this exact same thing, he'd be the hugest Dweeb. Dont blame me, I didnt invent double standards.
Heres more: I love the way she says 'high hat', and how she cups her hand to her ear when she says 'Listen!', like shes channeling Hulk Hogan. Shes so lovely. lol..
Now if she can only get rid of the sinewy wire cat: scary.
Heres more: I love the way she says 'high hat', and how she cups her hand to her ear when she says 'Listen!', like shes channeling Hulk Hogan. Shes so lovely. lol..
Now if she can only get rid of the sinewy wire cat: scary.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
An essential criterion to live by
Im slowly working my way to improving one critical facet of my life, and its a correction process that involves an exorbitant amount of patience. What is this most important thing? How good I look in the photos on all my picture ID, thats what. Yes indeed, this is very important. It is! Especially when you are passively vain as I am. Like who wants to look like JM in her Drivers Licence, where her face looks like someone just stole her french fries? (Sorry JM, but when the Motors & Vehicles branch attendant says no smiling, they mean 'use a neutral face', not 'go ahead and start frowning'. Its quite entertaining though. If you don't believe me, check through her purse sometime, when she is not looking. Why does her pic seem so sad?)
See I dont have the self confidence to pull off bad pictures, intentional or not. My buddy Hermes actually prefers to make funny faces in almost every picture taken of himself... because to him, its a funny momento that lasts as the years are long. He's a great photographer as well, who is is just as comfortable in front of the camera as he is behind it, and most importantly he doesn't give a shit, so he can completely pull it off. Morris is the exact same way, he actually prefers being goofy. And he has that type of moxy that makes it totally completely okay. I bet his Passport has him looking like a Hong Kong film triad gangsta avec his Cobra Kai- Johnny Lawrence scowl and he'd be proud of it. It those of us with weaker minds that fall victim.
And at least personal pictures you can eventually scrap, delete, and forget about. Bad pictures do happen, even when you are a wee bit handsome like me. (Im glad I dont have the same problem that ugly people have, for them pulling off a good photo is a lot of heavy lifting. But it is what it is) The matter compounds quite badly though for ID photos... since they last 5 years or more, and you are forced to display them to identify yourself again and again and again; they get a lot of repeat play action. And therefore a lot of self-reflective groans when its time to display them, if they are bad. Lets not forget, ID photographers are bad photographers by prerequisite, its part of the job description. Its takes a lot of hard work, favorable genetics and out right dumb luck to avoid the kisses of deaths they like to dole out on a daily basis.
One caveat though, I am not saying Im a big a proponent of the glamor ID photos either. YUCKS. Thats completely over acting, unnecessarily over the top. This is not your Facebook photo, you are not suppose to try so hard. Im more from the pure and unrefined school: I love candid photos, I love sans makeup photos. Its because they are natural and real. And thats the ideal look you want to pull off in any ID pic. Those that spend 2 hours in the bathroom to make themselves look good for a Passport, practicing their Zoolander look, and then pose for ID photos as if they are headshots for an auditioning call in Hollywood; those are just as offensive. I wont go there, so don't worry. The aim here is to hit a 7.5 on the dot; 5s and 10s are equally dreadful.
Now my Photo ID history has been a mixed bag of take some, leave some: never ever really achieving the consistency that should be the essential criterion to live by. My first Drivers Licence I was 16 years old, yet I looked twelve. Not good. Following that was the replacement when I was 18, which was better, and by better I mean I looked at least 15 by then. My UVic Student ID was next, which is more of the same, but during those years, I really cant help that I looked at least 4 years younger than everyone else my age. Since then I've been quite happy with my BC Drivers License, including the most recently renewed one last Christmas. And my Irish Drivers licence you may wonder? Its barely alright, but its only a laminated piece of pink flimsy paper, so no one takes it seriously anyways.
My Passports however were an area that was definitely left wanting, highlighted by the 2003 to 2006 stretch where in my passport pages, I looked mildly retarded. And I mean it. My true handicap? My eyes cant focus worth shit when I take my glasses off and dont have contacts, which has the same effect as hitting me with an ugly stick; my eyes go bug-eyed and wander in different directions. A picture was taken during this state. I would of rated it a 3 at best, which is an awful thing to carry around for 3 years. Thankfully it wasnt a full 5; Id been traveling so much, I quickly filled every page with Visas and stamps, requiring an early replacement. It was as if I done that by design, all in an aim to get rid of that abomination of a photo. The next two replacements have been quite good though, especially my current one, which nails a 7.5. Cant get better. Ive got to make this one last, which will be easier now since I have a jumbo size Passport with double the pages.
Now this leads me to my most current ID photo session, a renewal of my Irish Immigration card this past Friday. This was a sore spot as well, and for the last 5 years, Id been dealing with a photo that looked like my face had been stretched horizontally, making me look like Jabba the Hutt. Why in the world would they stretch my photo? Its yet another reason why I loath the Irish civil service: even if they do take a good photo, they manipulate it until it turns bad, which is the worst form of photoshop cheating. Luckily the stupid guy Ive dealt with the last few years is long gone, and the new officer at the Immigration office took a nice picture of me, and did not manipulate it this time. A saint. And I was wearing my black Banana Republic wool hoody contrasting with grey jacket, which Im now convinced is a awesome combo for IDs. Happy days.
So for the first time in my life, all my major IDs are decent. Phew!! Its a great accomplishment, probably one of the most under-rated accomplishments of all. Like how many can say they dont mind people rummaging through their wallet / purses anymore? At least I dont, not since Friday.
See I dont have the self confidence to pull off bad pictures, intentional or not. My buddy Hermes actually prefers to make funny faces in almost every picture taken of himself... because to him, its a funny momento that lasts as the years are long. He's a great photographer as well, who is is just as comfortable in front of the camera as he is behind it, and most importantly he doesn't give a shit, so he can completely pull it off. Morris is the exact same way, he actually prefers being goofy. And he has that type of moxy that makes it totally completely okay. I bet his Passport has him looking like a Hong Kong film triad gangsta avec his Cobra Kai- Johnny Lawrence scowl and he'd be proud of it. It those of us with weaker minds that fall victim.
And at least personal pictures you can eventually scrap, delete, and forget about. Bad pictures do happen, even when you are a wee bit handsome like me. (Im glad I dont have the same problem that ugly people have, for them pulling off a good photo is a lot of heavy lifting. But it is what it is) The matter compounds quite badly though for ID photos... since they last 5 years or more, and you are forced to display them to identify yourself again and again and again; they get a lot of repeat play action. And therefore a lot of self-reflective groans when its time to display them, if they are bad. Lets not forget, ID photographers are bad photographers by prerequisite, its part of the job description. Its takes a lot of hard work, favorable genetics and out right dumb luck to avoid the kisses of deaths they like to dole out on a daily basis.
One caveat though, I am not saying Im a big a proponent of the glamor ID photos either. YUCKS. Thats completely over acting, unnecessarily over the top. This is not your Facebook photo, you are not suppose to try so hard. Im more from the pure and unrefined school: I love candid photos, I love sans makeup photos. Its because they are natural and real. And thats the ideal look you want to pull off in any ID pic. Those that spend 2 hours in the bathroom to make themselves look good for a Passport, practicing their Zoolander look, and then pose for ID photos as if they are headshots for an auditioning call in Hollywood; those are just as offensive. I wont go there, so don't worry. The aim here is to hit a 7.5 on the dot; 5s and 10s are equally dreadful.
Now my Photo ID history has been a mixed bag of take some, leave some: never ever really achieving the consistency that should be the essential criterion to live by. My first Drivers Licence I was 16 years old, yet I looked twelve. Not good. Following that was the replacement when I was 18, which was better, and by better I mean I looked at least 15 by then. My UVic Student ID was next, which is more of the same, but during those years, I really cant help that I looked at least 4 years younger than everyone else my age. Since then I've been quite happy with my BC Drivers License, including the most recently renewed one last Christmas. And my Irish Drivers licence you may wonder? Its barely alright, but its only a laminated piece of pink flimsy paper, so no one takes it seriously anyways.
My Passports however were an area that was definitely left wanting, highlighted by the 2003 to 2006 stretch where in my passport pages, I looked mildly retarded. And I mean it. My true handicap? My eyes cant focus worth shit when I take my glasses off and dont have contacts, which has the same effect as hitting me with an ugly stick; my eyes go bug-eyed and wander in different directions. A picture was taken during this state. I would of rated it a 3 at best, which is an awful thing to carry around for 3 years. Thankfully it wasnt a full 5; Id been traveling so much, I quickly filled every page with Visas and stamps, requiring an early replacement. It was as if I done that by design, all in an aim to get rid of that abomination of a photo. The next two replacements have been quite good though, especially my current one, which nails a 7.5. Cant get better. Ive got to make this one last, which will be easier now since I have a jumbo size Passport with double the pages.
Now this leads me to my most current ID photo session, a renewal of my Irish Immigration card this past Friday. This was a sore spot as well, and for the last 5 years, Id been dealing with a photo that looked like my face had been stretched horizontally, making me look like Jabba the Hutt. Why in the world would they stretch my photo? Its yet another reason why I loath the Irish civil service: even if they do take a good photo, they manipulate it until it turns bad, which is the worst form of photoshop cheating. Luckily the stupid guy Ive dealt with the last few years is long gone, and the new officer at the Immigration office took a nice picture of me, and did not manipulate it this time. A saint. And I was wearing my black Banana Republic wool hoody contrasting with grey jacket, which Im now convinced is a awesome combo for IDs. Happy days.
So for the first time in my life, all my major IDs are decent. Phew!! Its a great accomplishment, probably one of the most under-rated accomplishments of all. Like how many can say they dont mind people rummaging through their wallet / purses anymore? At least I dont, not since Friday.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Vancouver Going Back
Bill Simmons just wrote this:
"Speaking of Boston... Every time I go back, there's something new about the city that flabbers my gast. This time, it was a gigantic W Hotel that sprung up out of nowhere on the same block as the Wang Theater, which was always a top-five "Don't stumble around there drunk at 2 a.m. looking for pizza or a Store 24 or you might never be seen again" area that every city has, though it was near some genuinely fun areas and always seemed like it should have been cooler, and they always talked about making it nicer, though it never happened. We drove by that W on Sunday and I yelped in disbelief.
That got me thinking: Someone should start a blog for people who moved away from their hometowns that only features posts with pictures that make you say, "Wow, when the hell did they build that?" or "Hold on, you're telling me that they renovated that (fill in: restaurant, bar, block, neighborhood, building, hotel, apartment complex), and people now want to go there?" I'm tired of being blindsided every time I go back."
It bugs me when someone writes something, and you kick yourself because you feel like why I didnt think of it first, thats exactly how I feel. That is unless Im returning to Prince Rupert. Its always the same.. lol.
Then he tops himself by writing this:
"Speaking of songs, I spent the past few days in New York City and decided that Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" was one of the five most brilliant songs ever made. It's like Jay made the decision: "It's 2009 … I've made enough money, I've cemented my legacy, I married Beyonce … really, I guess the only thing left would be to supplant Sinatra with the No. 1 New York-centric go-to song that (A) goes through someone's head every time they walk around Manhattan, and (B) gets played before and after every New York sporting event for the next 25 years, and if that's not enough, becomes a mortal lock to get played at Manhattan clubs once an hour for the rest of eternity. Tough task, but I think I can pull it off. I'm Jay-Z."
Um, I swear he is stealing from my mind. Even though, I did already mentioned it briefly in my October jaunt to NYC. Listening to Empire State of Mind makes you go absolutely Ape Shit when you walk the streets of Manhattan. For me, I don't even remember the last time I ever listened to one song over 30 minutes straight on repeat. Well, maybe since 1986 when I got my 45 of "Glory of Love" Peter Cetera. I think that was the last time.
"Speaking of Boston... Every time I go back, there's something new about the city that flabbers my gast. This time, it was a gigantic W Hotel that sprung up out of nowhere on the same block as the Wang Theater, which was always a top-five "Don't stumble around there drunk at 2 a.m. looking for pizza or a Store 24 or you might never be seen again" area that every city has, though it was near some genuinely fun areas and always seemed like it should have been cooler, and they always talked about making it nicer, though it never happened. We drove by that W on Sunday and I yelped in disbelief.
That got me thinking: Someone should start a blog for people who moved away from their hometowns that only features posts with pictures that make you say, "Wow, when the hell did they build that?" or "Hold on, you're telling me that they renovated that (fill in: restaurant, bar, block, neighborhood, building, hotel, apartment complex), and people now want to go there?" I'm tired of being blindsided every time I go back."
It bugs me when someone writes something, and you kick yourself because you feel like why I didnt think of it first, thats exactly how I feel. That is unless Im returning to Prince Rupert. Its always the same.. lol.
Then he tops himself by writing this:
"Speaking of songs, I spent the past few days in New York City and decided that Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" was one of the five most brilliant songs ever made. It's like Jay made the decision: "It's 2009 … I've made enough money, I've cemented my legacy, I married Beyonce … really, I guess the only thing left would be to supplant Sinatra with the No. 1 New York-centric go-to song that (A) goes through someone's head every time they walk around Manhattan, and (B) gets played before and after every New York sporting event for the next 25 years, and if that's not enough, becomes a mortal lock to get played at Manhattan clubs once an hour for the rest of eternity. Tough task, but I think I can pull it off. I'm Jay-Z."
Um, I swear he is stealing from my mind. Even though, I did already mentioned it briefly in my October jaunt to NYC. Listening to Empire State of Mind makes you go absolutely Ape Shit when you walk the streets of Manhattan. For me, I don't even remember the last time I ever listened to one song over 30 minutes straight on repeat. Well, maybe since 1986 when I got my 45 of "Glory of Love" Peter Cetera. I think that was the last time.
Friday, March 05, 2010
10 Things I Like About You
Let me try and get back into this thing...
Ive talked about this before, how some highlights in life are the simple things like, say, stumbling upon of your favorite movies on TV. Its golden: mostly because it wasnt premeditated, and you'd be hard pressed to find people that dislike pleasant surprises. Like a personal favorite song playing at someone else's house party, or running into a close friend while gallivanting around somewhere unusual and unlikely, like say Surrey. Wayne feels this way everytime Top Gun finds its way onto TBS, for example. He may already have multiple repeat plays on the DVD he already owns, but its still nothing like this. Its the best version of repeat viewing, its that much more special.
I mention this again, well, because of a movie I haven't seen in maybe 6-7 years. 10 Things I Hate About You. It just finished on Channel 4 and I love this movie. See these are the things that excite me nowadays. Im a simple guy, and I dont ask for much anymore at this current station of life. Im a sucker for late 90s, early 2000s teen movies, for me its like Eat Mores and Haribo Jelly Bears- I cant stop consuming. There's no need to defend it really, its just good movie making. Marty and I spent a whole year watching these things. In this particular case, how can you go wrong? Its Shakespeare, a modern re-imagined Taming of the Shrew (which is one of my favorite Willie S. plays btw). And, get this, I like it even though Im having no time for Julie Styles, the so called marquee star of this vehicle. She sucks, shes terrible, shes not believable in anything she plays, yet I still like this movie, thats how good it is. Its also Heath Ledger's first movie, and he acts with his Aussie accent, which is unbelievably rare, if you think about it. Unless your watching Ned Kelly, its not like you can get that again.
So its the simple things. And I felt I got lucky. Judging from the pathetic calibre of my Friday nights lately (and lately as in a scope of measure not in weeks, or months, but years), I cant help but be more content than usual. Up until Cant Hardly Wait comes on, or She's All That.
Ive talked about this before, how some highlights in life are the simple things like, say, stumbling upon of your favorite movies on TV. Its golden: mostly because it wasnt premeditated, and you'd be hard pressed to find people that dislike pleasant surprises. Like a personal favorite song playing at someone else's house party, or running into a close friend while gallivanting around somewhere unusual and unlikely, like say Surrey. Wayne feels this way everytime Top Gun finds its way onto TBS, for example. He may already have multiple repeat plays on the DVD he already owns, but its still nothing like this. Its the best version of repeat viewing, its that much more special.
I mention this again, well, because of a movie I haven't seen in maybe 6-7 years. 10 Things I Hate About You. It just finished on Channel 4 and I love this movie. See these are the things that excite me nowadays. Im a simple guy, and I dont ask for much anymore at this current station of life. Im a sucker for late 90s, early 2000s teen movies, for me its like Eat Mores and Haribo Jelly Bears- I cant stop consuming. There's no need to defend it really, its just good movie making. Marty and I spent a whole year watching these things. In this particular case, how can you go wrong? Its Shakespeare, a modern re-imagined Taming of the Shrew (which is one of my favorite Willie S. plays btw). And, get this, I like it even though Im having no time for Julie Styles, the so called marquee star of this vehicle. She sucks, shes terrible, shes not believable in anything she plays, yet I still like this movie, thats how good it is. Its also Heath Ledger's first movie, and he acts with his Aussie accent, which is unbelievably rare, if you think about it. Unless your watching Ned Kelly, its not like you can get that again.
So its the simple things. And I felt I got lucky. Judging from the pathetic calibre of my Friday nights lately (and lately as in a scope of measure not in weeks, or months, but years), I cant help but be more content than usual. Up until Cant Hardly Wait comes on, or She's All That.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Olympic Edition
Ive been depressed for the last fortnight. Im not talking sad like its raining again type sad, or even its my last day in Australia I need to work tomorrow type sad... but really messed up Lindsay Lohan type, clinically depressed I need powerful pills type sad. I really think so. I've had a tough time reconciling the fact that where I am is almost the last place I want to be, on my couch in my pajamas, up late at night every night. I don't want to be in Ireland right now. Not this February. But here I am, while the biggest party in the whole world happens in my home city. Thats what I call pathetically bad planning, gold medal worthy.
Maybe I was fooling myself but I didnt think I would be in this bad of shape, missing out on the Olympics. After all, up until a month ago, I still think I had a chance of being back. There was still a chance. When it really started hitting me was the week leading into the first day, when the excitement began to build as the torch got closer and closer to Vancouver. The torch relay was broadcast in realtime on CTV.com and of course I watched online. And as soon as it hit the Vancouver streets that I was very familiar with, even though the weather was miserable and damp, my poor heart filled with delight.. and completely sunk at the exact same time. How is that even possible? I got hit with an intense range of emotion and strangely enough, it was the first time I have ever felt homesick in my entire life.
Moments of weakness often lead to irrational decisions and in this case I broke down on something I held off valiantly for almost 5 years... I decided to pay for cable / satellite TV. I have a fairly big HD TV... so I might as well use it to its full potential and get HD SKY. I upgraded from 4 channels to 400... or whatever ridiculous number it is. If i wasnt going to be there, I might as well watch in such detail that I can count the nose hairs and facial pimples. Eurosport HD and BBC HD, the coverage holders of the Olympics were going to be my best friends for 16 days.
So the situation isnt close to being ideal, but Ive tried to make the most of the circumstances. Considering I watch alone in my apartment well into the late hours of the night every night, like some loser, Ive been living and dying on the success of the Canadian contingent. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. My mood has mirrored the sorrow and success of Canadians each day. Off to a slow start, as the Canadian team always seems to be at every Olympics, i fully felt in touch with our national collective insecurity, the ridicule we've received, lead by the British and American media, for initial hick-ups and the under performance of our "Own the Podium" Program. Funny enough, we have been sneakily crawling back into the picture and now half way on this saturday, with only one day to go, we lead the Gold medal race, we ARE owning the podium, and have a good chance of matching or surpassing the all time record for golds in an Winter Olympics, 13. Sure USA and Germany have more medals, but that only means they have more Silver and Bronze medals, which at the end of the day, are really just 1st and 2nd place for the losers. Calling a spade a spade, they are the measure for any tie breakers, at best. Ive jumped and screamed and died all by myself multiple times during the midnight to 3am time slots; I pumped my fist GTL style on Alex Bilodeaus mogul run for our first ever home gold, raised my hands on Maelle Ricker's Snowboard cross gold, I had a huge lump in my throat after Joannie Rochettes short program, and have celebrated every single Gold medal we got, which has been a lot. Not bad for being half a world away, I guess. Itll have to do. Ive been zombie useless at work... but who cares about that.
Heres a few notes;
- BBC and Eurosport UK have great Olympic commentary on the most part. I dont know if its the accent or not, the eloquent vocabulary or not, but they do excel in making things exciting just as long as they dont cheer for British athletes, and since the UK has a shitty Winter Olympics team, they tend to back Canada alot. It is bad though when they have British contenders, because it becomes over the top. And the BBC does get annoying when they cover sports they have no clue about. Hockey coverage is atrocious, it makes me so upset, I dont even want to talk about it. At least Eurosport has Paul Romanuk doing Hockey for them (apparently he moved to London 4 years ago)
- I love that BBC has no commercials. And Eurosport hardly has any. This is the way TV is meant to be. Socialist style.
- Curling has been the emerging darling of the tournament. Especially on the women's side. And viewership not by just Canadians, who naturally understand and appreciate curling more than any other nation, but also by the Americans and the European viewers as well. Why? Well the curlers are miked so we hear everything they say, the pace is slow enough that it gives the curlers loads of camera close ups. Thats a big deal because we get intimate facial time with the concentration on the faces of the curlers, and we hear them strategize, so as we watch more we get to understand how they think and help us understand the game. Then of course, on the women side, there are some hotties. Nicole Joraanstad, the 2nd of the US team, the sisters on the Danish team, the 2nd on the Swedish team, Cheryl the Canadian Curlgar Bernard, and Eve Muirhead the hot blonde with brunette streaks skipping the UK team. Ohh.. she is so bossy.. its hot. There is no hetero guy alive at any age that will change the channel with cuties like them yelling " Hard.. HARD!... HAARD! HURRAY! " repeatedly at the top of their lungs. No way.
-I have huge appreciation for the fashion involved in the Winter Olympics. The summer Olympics has nothing on the Winter. Almost everyone looks like a super hero! Full body lycra in almost every sport. When everyone looks like they are straight out of Marvel Comic books, everyone is happy.
-I love the sounds of sledding events. It has the loud screeching jet sounds of Top Gun. They make us think these things are about the break the sound barrier.
-The olympics is the only international competition where spectators that know nothing about the event they are watching eventually become experts after 1 hour watching and think they know what they are talking about. Only in the Olympics.
- As cute as Torah Bright is, the womens moguls dont hold a candle to the men moguls. Its not even close.
-The best thing about the Slalom events? The NFL Kicker jaw guards and the Michael Jackson Shin pads... Grab you crotch, HEEEE HEEEE!!
-Since this is Europe afterall, there is an unfair balance of coverage spent on the traditional nordic events. Cross country skiing, biathalon and ski jumping. Like loads, pre-empting some of the stuff I want to see like, say, Hockey. That being said, I have the utmost respect for the cross country sprint events because holy shit do they work hard to ski. I get tired just watching them. Forget Ironman, they would have to be the fittest people on earth, I swear.
- "Thank you, its been a pleasure working with you, its very rare for us to be working with the insight of an Olympic Alpine Champion" BBC commentary team Clare Harding thanking Canadian skiing Gold Medalist Karin Lee Gartner, who was doing primary color commentary for BBC. I find that immensely amusing.
OH YES JACEY JAY!!! LES GOW!!! Down .7 seconds from the first run, and he makes up for it in the Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom Final.. LETS GO!! CAN NA DA! CA NA DA! Gold Number 12.
The curling is about to start... hold onto your butts.
Maybe I was fooling myself but I didnt think I would be in this bad of shape, missing out on the Olympics. After all, up until a month ago, I still think I had a chance of being back. There was still a chance. When it really started hitting me was the week leading into the first day, when the excitement began to build as the torch got closer and closer to Vancouver. The torch relay was broadcast in realtime on CTV.com and of course I watched online. And as soon as it hit the Vancouver streets that I was very familiar with, even though the weather was miserable and damp, my poor heart filled with delight.. and completely sunk at the exact same time. How is that even possible? I got hit with an intense range of emotion and strangely enough, it was the first time I have ever felt homesick in my entire life.
Moments of weakness often lead to irrational decisions and in this case I broke down on something I held off valiantly for almost 5 years... I decided to pay for cable / satellite TV. I have a fairly big HD TV... so I might as well use it to its full potential and get HD SKY. I upgraded from 4 channels to 400... or whatever ridiculous number it is. If i wasnt going to be there, I might as well watch in such detail that I can count the nose hairs and facial pimples. Eurosport HD and BBC HD, the coverage holders of the Olympics were going to be my best friends for 16 days.
So the situation isnt close to being ideal, but Ive tried to make the most of the circumstances. Considering I watch alone in my apartment well into the late hours of the night every night, like some loser, Ive been living and dying on the success of the Canadian contingent. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. My mood has mirrored the sorrow and success of Canadians each day. Off to a slow start, as the Canadian team always seems to be at every Olympics, i fully felt in touch with our national collective insecurity, the ridicule we've received, lead by the British and American media, for initial hick-ups and the under performance of our "Own the Podium" Program. Funny enough, we have been sneakily crawling back into the picture and now half way on this saturday, with only one day to go, we lead the Gold medal race, we ARE owning the podium, and have a good chance of matching or surpassing the all time record for golds in an Winter Olympics, 13. Sure USA and Germany have more medals, but that only means they have more Silver and Bronze medals, which at the end of the day, are really just 1st and 2nd place for the losers. Calling a spade a spade, they are the measure for any tie breakers, at best. Ive jumped and screamed and died all by myself multiple times during the midnight to 3am time slots; I pumped my fist GTL style on Alex Bilodeaus mogul run for our first ever home gold, raised my hands on Maelle Ricker's Snowboard cross gold, I had a huge lump in my throat after Joannie Rochettes short program, and have celebrated every single Gold medal we got, which has been a lot. Not bad for being half a world away, I guess. Itll have to do. Ive been zombie useless at work... but who cares about that.
Heres a few notes;
- BBC and Eurosport UK have great Olympic commentary on the most part. I dont know if its the accent or not, the eloquent vocabulary or not, but they do excel in making things exciting just as long as they dont cheer for British athletes, and since the UK has a shitty Winter Olympics team, they tend to back Canada alot. It is bad though when they have British contenders, because it becomes over the top. And the BBC does get annoying when they cover sports they have no clue about. Hockey coverage is atrocious, it makes me so upset, I dont even want to talk about it. At least Eurosport has Paul Romanuk doing Hockey for them (apparently he moved to London 4 years ago)
- I love that BBC has no commercials. And Eurosport hardly has any. This is the way TV is meant to be. Socialist style.
- Curling has been the emerging darling of the tournament. Especially on the women's side. And viewership not by just Canadians, who naturally understand and appreciate curling more than any other nation, but also by the Americans and the European viewers as well. Why? Well the curlers are miked so we hear everything they say, the pace is slow enough that it gives the curlers loads of camera close ups. Thats a big deal because we get intimate facial time with the concentration on the faces of the curlers, and we hear them strategize, so as we watch more we get to understand how they think and help us understand the game. Then of course, on the women side, there are some hotties. Nicole Joraanstad, the 2nd of the US team, the sisters on the Danish team, the 2nd on the Swedish team, Cheryl the Canadian Curlgar Bernard, and Eve Muirhead the hot blonde with brunette streaks skipping the UK team. Ohh.. she is so bossy.. its hot. There is no hetero guy alive at any age that will change the channel with cuties like them yelling " Hard.. HARD!... HAARD! HURRAY! " repeatedly at the top of their lungs. No way.
-I have huge appreciation for the fashion involved in the Winter Olympics. The summer Olympics has nothing on the Winter. Almost everyone looks like a super hero! Full body lycra in almost every sport. When everyone looks like they are straight out of Marvel Comic books, everyone is happy.
-I love the sounds of sledding events. It has the loud screeching jet sounds of Top Gun. They make us think these things are about the break the sound barrier.
-The olympics is the only international competition where spectators that know nothing about the event they are watching eventually become experts after 1 hour watching and think they know what they are talking about. Only in the Olympics.
- As cute as Torah Bright is, the womens moguls dont hold a candle to the men moguls. Its not even close.
-The best thing about the Slalom events? The NFL Kicker jaw guards and the Michael Jackson Shin pads... Grab you crotch, HEEEE HEEEE!!
-Since this is Europe afterall, there is an unfair balance of coverage spent on the traditional nordic events. Cross country skiing, biathalon and ski jumping. Like loads, pre-empting some of the stuff I want to see like, say, Hockey. That being said, I have the utmost respect for the cross country sprint events because holy shit do they work hard to ski. I get tired just watching them. Forget Ironman, they would have to be the fittest people on earth, I swear.
- "Thank you, its been a pleasure working with you, its very rare for us to be working with the insight of an Olympic Alpine Champion" BBC commentary team Clare Harding thanking Canadian skiing Gold Medalist Karin Lee Gartner, who was doing primary color commentary for BBC. I find that immensely amusing.
OH YES JACEY JAY!!! LES GOW!!! Down .7 seconds from the first run, and he makes up for it in the Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom Final.. LETS GO!! CAN NA DA! CA NA DA! Gold Number 12.
The curling is about to start... hold onto your butts.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Late Night.
When I cant sleep I cant blog. Its not my fault. Watch these though. Interesting how this actually played out in these past few weeks.
Other posts are coming! I swear! Give me a few more days..
Then watch this eerily foreboding Norm Macdonald appearance on Late Night from last year, just after The Jay Leno Show at 10PM was announced. Im sure everyone said WTF? 10PM all week, Jay Leno? Thats just stupid! Well I know I did.
Then a little bit of craziness and fun with Gordon Ramsey.
Other posts are coming! I swear! Give me a few more days..
Jay's 2004 Announcement - watch more funny videos
Conan's 2004 Announcement - watch more funny videos
Then watch this eerily foreboding Norm Macdonald appearance on Late Night from last year, just after The Jay Leno Show at 10PM was announced. Im sure everyone said WTF? 10PM all week, Jay Leno? Thats just stupid! Well I know I did.
Then a little bit of craziness and fun with Gordon Ramsey.
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