Trip to Ottawa, looks good so far. Plan to stay @ the hostel downtown, go check out the sites and scenery, and party it up on Canada Day!
So don't expect any postings for another week until I get back.
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Election Time
Lost in all the Flames hoopla over the past few weeks is the fact that our country is in the middle of campaigning for the national election. Heck, I even watched a bit on the debate tonight (nice hairdo Harper). I've voted in every election since I turned 18 (except that I missed the most recent municipal one). With three of the major parties having new leaders and the polls citing that this is going to be a close one, I hope everyone uses their democratic right and votes as this is one of the most pivotal elections in the past decade.
I'd never tell anyone to vote for a particular party but I know that in some ridings (like mine), the winner is pretty much a foregone conclusion, so most people wouldn't bother casting their ballot if they thought the vote would be a wasted one. But with new election rules in place, your vote would be actually be worth $1.75. So even if your candidate and party doesn't win, your vote could support them with funding for the next election. And if we end up with a minority government, that could happen a lot sooner than most people think.
So on June 28th, do the right thing and vote.
I'd never tell anyone to vote for a particular party but I know that in some ridings (like mine), the winner is pretty much a foregone conclusion, so most people wouldn't bother casting their ballot if they thought the vote would be a wasted one. But with new election rules in place, your vote would be actually be worth $1.75. So even if your candidate and party doesn't win, your vote could support them with funding for the next election. And if we end up with a minority government, that could happen a lot sooner than most people think.
So on June 28th, do the right thing and vote.
Monday, June 14, 2004
Rainout and Car Watching
Vball was rained out, so no beach doubles for me for the past three Mondays (games 4 & 7 of the Stanley Cup taking me out of the other two). I then ended up @ Rally Pointe to have some popcorn shrimp with my fav sweet chili sauce.
On the drive home I noticed a girl actually brushing her teeth in the car. I seen a lot of people talking on the mobile or eating, I even caught a ride with a guy to work that used to drink his soup and I mean not soup in a mug, but actually scooping it out with a spoon. Oh yeah, he drove with his knee too. I first noticed the car as I rounded Canyon Meadows Drive by the restaurant when I saw the driver door go shut. She must have had to spit there or something...
Just a short one today on a weird observation of mine... Later, O.
On the drive home I noticed a girl actually brushing her teeth in the car. I seen a lot of people talking on the mobile or eating, I even caught a ride with a guy to work that used to drink his soup and I mean not soup in a mug, but actually scooping it out with a spoon. Oh yeah, he drove with his knee too. I first noticed the car as I rounded Canyon Meadows Drive by the restaurant when I saw the driver door go shut. She must have had to spit there or something...
Just a short one today on a weird observation of mine... Later, O.
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Shrek 2 & Chronicles of Riddick Reviews
Caught both movies on Friday. I think the last time I caught two movies in the same day it was @ Chinook when I saw The Punisher and Kill Bill Volume 2. I'd rate these movies between the two.
I enjoyed Shrek 2 about the same as the first one. Ups the ante from the original by bringing in more main characters: Puss-in-boots, Fiona's Parents, the Fairy God Mother and Prince Charming: voiced by an all-star cast to join Myers, Diaz, & Murphy. Animation looked great as expected from PDI. More adult jokes & references compared to Pixar releases, look for a shot of Cameron's boy JT, the M:I dropdown and a few fart gags. They showed a trailer of PDI's upcoming Shark's Tale which visually looked weak when compared to last year's Finding Nemo.
If you haven't picked up the first Shrek yet, grab the DVD re-release which includes Shrek 4-D: a 15 minute short from the new amusement park ride and includes those old school red/blue 3-D glasses.
Never finished seeing Pitch Black but was looking forward to this just for the fact that it looked like a good ol' sci-fi flick and it had Thandie Newton who single-handedly almost got me watching E.R. again. For those that haven't seen PB, don't worry as all you need to know is that Riddick is one total badass that can see in the dark. As my roommate said think of it as the Hobbit for Riddick (and upcoming sequels). Decent storyline as Vin Diesel goes up against Pierre Trudeau, er I mean, Colm Feore's evil empire and delivers one-liners, in a most deadpan manner, like "There's only one speed: mine. If you can't keep up... Don't step up. You'll just die".
If you're looking for deep complex characters go see something else, but it does have good casting tho with Thandie, Judi Dench, Alexa Davalos, and Karl Urban (from LOTR). The ending totally sets up more sequels, so this is a must see for any sci-fi fan. There's even a animated DVD coming out Tuesday, that like the Animatrix for the Matrix Trilogy, fills in what's happened between the two movies.
I enjoyed Shrek 2 about the same as the first one. Ups the ante from the original by bringing in more main characters: Puss-in-boots, Fiona's Parents, the Fairy God Mother and Prince Charming: voiced by an all-star cast to join Myers, Diaz, & Murphy. Animation looked great as expected from PDI. More adult jokes & references compared to Pixar releases, look for a shot of Cameron's boy JT, the M:I dropdown and a few fart gags. They showed a trailer of PDI's upcoming Shark's Tale which visually looked weak when compared to last year's Finding Nemo.
If you haven't picked up the first Shrek yet, grab the DVD re-release which includes Shrek 4-D: a 15 minute short from the new amusement park ride and includes those old school red/blue 3-D glasses.
Never finished seeing Pitch Black but was looking forward to this just for the fact that it looked like a good ol' sci-fi flick and it had Thandie Newton who single-handedly almost got me watching E.R. again. For those that haven't seen PB, don't worry as all you need to know is that Riddick is one total badass that can see in the dark. As my roommate said think of it as the Hobbit for Riddick (and upcoming sequels). Decent storyline as Vin Diesel goes up against Pierre Trudeau, er I mean, Colm Feore's evil empire and delivers one-liners, in a most deadpan manner, like "There's only one speed: mine. If you can't keep up... Don't step up. You'll just die".
If you're looking for deep complex characters go see something else, but it does have good casting tho with Thandie, Judi Dench, Alexa Davalos, and Karl Urban (from LOTR). The ending totally sets up more sequels, so this is a must see for any sci-fi fan. There's even a animated DVD coming out Tuesday, that like the Animatrix for the Matrix Trilogy, fills in what's happened between the two movies.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Flames Closure
They came within one win of the Stanley Cup. Not bad for a team that was not even considered playoff-worthy when the 2003-4 preseason began as Vegas gave out 100-1 odds for the Flames to win the Cup. But Coach/GM Sutter's drive to give his team an 'identity' would payoff as the season progressed. Naysayers were just waiting for the Flames to go into their mid-season tailspin like two years ago but it never happened. Fans, even the players themselves, were watching the out-of-town scores in March as the team continued it hunt for a playoff spot. On April 4th, the team ended up a remarkable 12 games over .500, a 19-point improvement from last season. Peter Maher had dusted off his "Yeah Baby" to declared that after 7 long painful years that the Flames had made the playoffs.
At this point no one was driving around with the car flags and 17th Ave didn't have a nickname. Four out of five Canadian-based teams were facing each other in the first round giving Canadian TV & ad execs joy to know that at least two of them would be still playing in the Conference Semi's. The Flames stole game two in Vancouver and after winning games 4 & 5 had a chance to progress into the second round for the first time since 1989, the team's most glorious year. In front of the packed and now noisy Saddledome, they dug themselves into a 4-0 hole midway through the game but kept plugging away to actually force overtime. Even though the Canucks did score in the winner in the third session of OT, the Flames pronounced that they were for real and in game 7 proved so with Gelinas' quick OT killer.
The next two rounds would each take six games to finish and as each match ended, more and more people turned their attention to Canada's team; more and more people jumped on the Flames bandwagon; more and more people believed. Now for the first time in fifteen years, the Flames were back in the spotlight after knocking out all three Western Divisional winners becoming the first Canadian-based in ten years to be in the Stanley Cup finals.
I was able to personally experience 7 playoff games in the ex-library. The crowds didn't need any free t-shirt gimmicks to become the 'C' of Red. Suddenly a ticket to the Saddledome was a hot commodity with folks paying absurd amounts on eBay to forego watching the game with family and friends or a bunch of strangers at a local pub or sports pub. Everyone had a Flames jersey, as CCM had to chip in to meet the demands, making it the all-time top selling debut jersey.
With the final series and game seven still fresh in everyone's mind, there's a lot of disappointment of how we lost. But I think the Flames won the pride, respect, and joy of all Canadians. With so many accomplishments this season and to come oh so close, it just shows how far the 2003-4 Calgary Flames have come and what we have to look forward to in the upcoming seasons.
At this point no one was driving around with the car flags and 17th Ave didn't have a nickname. Four out of five Canadian-based teams were facing each other in the first round giving Canadian TV & ad execs joy to know that at least two of them would be still playing in the Conference Semi's. The Flames stole game two in Vancouver and after winning games 4 & 5 had a chance to progress into the second round for the first time since 1989, the team's most glorious year. In front of the packed and now noisy Saddledome, they dug themselves into a 4-0 hole midway through the game but kept plugging away to actually force overtime. Even though the Canucks did score in the winner in the third session of OT, the Flames pronounced that they were for real and in game 7 proved so with Gelinas' quick OT killer.
The next two rounds would each take six games to finish and as each match ended, more and more people turned their attention to Canada's team; more and more people jumped on the Flames bandwagon; more and more people believed. Now for the first time in fifteen years, the Flames were back in the spotlight after knocking out all three Western Divisional winners becoming the first Canadian-based in ten years to be in the Stanley Cup finals.
I was able to personally experience 7 playoff games in the ex-library. The crowds didn't need any free t-shirt gimmicks to become the 'C' of Red. Suddenly a ticket to the Saddledome was a hot commodity with folks paying absurd amounts on eBay to forego watching the game with family and friends or a bunch of strangers at a local pub or sports pub. Everyone had a Flames jersey, as CCM had to chip in to meet the demands, making it the all-time top selling debut jersey.
With the final series and game seven still fresh in everyone's mind, there's a lot of disappointment of how we lost. But I think the Flames won the pride, respect, and joy of all Canadians. With so many accomplishments this season and to come oh so close, it just shows how far the 2003-4 Calgary Flames have come and what we have to look forward to in the upcoming seasons.