2005 Top 10 Singles

This is a prelude to my annual Top 10 Albums list, as I usually give it a few more months before I announce that to allow the late season releases some time to simmer or allow the cream to rise to the top. I don't think that even makes any sense. But I don't care, it's Christmas, so happy holidays everyone. Here's my gift to you (and a cheap one at that....):

Best of You - Foo Fighters
Finding Out True Love is Blind - Louis XIV
Fix You - Coldplay
Gold Digger - Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx
I'm Not Okay (I Promise) - My Chemical Romance
Middle of Nowhere - Hot Hot Heat
Once Again - Moka Only
Portions for Foxes - Rilo Kiley
The Comeback - The Shout Out Louds
When the Day is Short - Martha Wainwright
You're Beautiful - James Blunt
Your Ex-Lover Is Dead - Stars

Heck, I even threw in two extra ones for ya... Who luvs ya, baby?

Beer Not Kids

Gotta dig that Rick Mercer. He doesn't even blink when they move his show, Rick Mercer's Monday Report, to Tuesdays over the summer after the CBC strike (show is now just called the RMR). Now he mocks the first major ruckus of our Canadian election by creating the Beer Not Kids petition (which actually has more signatures that the real petition by Rona Ambrose).

For those that don't catch the show even tho it's on three times a week, should check out the show's website or his blog. It's not always about politics, but very Canadian. For those that stay up late or have a PVR, make sure to catch another Report show, The Colbert Report (note the T's are silent), which is a brilliant spinoff of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

iPod mini gone

So by the time I get around to writing an blog on my iPod mini, you can't even buy one of these anymore. But back in mid-April, I took the plunge and got a green 6 GB one. Ordered it off the Apple website so I was able to get it personalize with "Who's Down With OPP?" and my email address (in case I ever misplaced it and whoever found would actually try to return it to me rather than keeping it). I remember following the tracking order as the shipment started from Shanghai, China and then to Alaska, Texas, and Toronto before finally reaching Calgary.

The iPod is definitely a great music experience. With playlists, I can whip up mixes in no time. I'm able to transfer all my MP3s and CDs and even buy some exculsive singles off iTunes with ease. I can listen to it while I play the drums. The interface is quite simple, but I find that it does what I need. I am disappointed with the music gaps between songs, especially when I listening to a DJ/dance set like the stuff by 2 Many DJs. A simple buffering mechanism would take care of that... I went for an iPod that's smaller in both size and storage space as I usually listen to new stuff all the time, but even with the mini I do find that I keep some singles lying around (like Europe's Final Countdown). I have had to reset the mini a few times and after half a year's near constant use I do notice that I have to charge more often Don't know if I would get the new iPod for it's video capability. The screen is about the same sized LCD on my new digital camera, but it is definitely thinner than even the mini.

What's an iPod without the accessories? Getting a radio FM transmitter also allows it to be used in the car, which is great when I'm driving around all day. I got a transparent cover over the screen and got a glow-in-the-dark radiation logo to protect the wheel cover. No need to get a case yet...

Vegas Baby!

Managed to pull over another Vegas trip. Yes, that makes it three times this year if you are keeping track. There was a big group of us with representation from San Diego, Toronto, and London, England in addition to Calgary. Stayed at a great timeshare condo right off the Strip by the MGM Grand. Didn't do that much gambling (I think I'm even for the year), enjoyed a few good meals and was able to catch Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity at NYNY and a preview of the broadway play Avenue Q at the Wynn. Will post some pictures sometime.

Summer Movies

No theme this time (unless someone else can think of one):

• Batman Begins - an apropos title for relaunching a great movie series tarnish by Joel Schumacher despite the all-star casting.

• Wedding Crashers - Hilarous moments but the ending dragged down. Will still pick up the DVD tho.

• The Longest Yard - Ok, predictable but still Adam Sandler funny. Chris Rock rules!

Caught up on an old one too:

• Final Destination 2 - didn't pay to see this... but I'm just a fan of Ali Larter since Varsity Blues and her Dawson's Creek days (don't ask me about what Katie Holmes DVDs I have)

Concerts

I always enjoy going to live shows and it seems the planets all aligned for the past month as I went to four of them, held at various venues across town:

• David Usher: Club gig at the Whiskey. Played a lot of stuff from his upcoming album, so the crowd wasn't able to get into it and he never played anything from his old band, Moist. Did somehow insert the chorus from the Bloodhound Gang's Bad Touch as he sang his latest single, Love Will Save the Day.
• The Killlers: With only one album in tow, they played a few new tunes, which hopefully they'll put on their next record. Cool to see them on SNL and then in person a few weeks later! I even recognized the redecorated synthizer. Drummer was cool, which got me thinking about picking this up as a hobby. Cause it's all about being cool, right? :-p
  
• Snow Patrol: Finally caught a show at the new Mac Hall Ballroom on campus. This guys did not disappoint. Sounded great live, got a new fav concert tshirt, and a good crowd too.
  
• Green Day: They do put on a great show, I still remember the last time I saw them @ Edgefest. Both times, we got up pretty close into the mosh pit which got pretty crazy. They even picked people from the crowd to play all the band's part. The guitarist got to keep the guitar and the drummer got to stage dive. He went feet first (insane?!?) and landed right in front of me. Security was a mess which cause us to miss the first few tunes.
  

So I'm all done for shows for now. Missed out on the Rolling Stones tickets. For $350, I should have bough t a pair just so I can scalp them. Could have paid for the next batch of concerts...

PS. Sorry it took so long... Took awhile to get the pics off my mobile phone. Got tons of things I need to blog about, so hopefully I can get them off my chest soon. Later, O.

Final Star Wars Installment

Got to see RotS in a former imax theatre. Wasn't the same gigantic Imax screen, but the movie sounded great. So this is the ultimate flick that was supposed to link this trilogy the the classic trilogy? It does accomplish that, but unfortunately without any surprises. Anyone could have written this plot to connect the dots in the plot lines and Lucas doesn't throw any curve balls in showing us how Anakin transforms into Darth Vader.

I'm sure over the next few weeks that all the plot holes will be revealed by the geekdom. I wasn't looking really close for any, just sat back and enjoyed the visuals. Great battle scenes both in space and in the Wookie homeworld. All the CG shots and special effects looked incredible. A few of the environments had me wondering if they were CG or not-to-scale models. Light sabre duels were quick and not as epic as I had hoped for. Still, the dark and serious tone of the movie made it enjoyable rather than trying to turn it into a comedic farce like previous tries. Yeah, Jar Jar does appear but doesn't ruin anything by trying to speak.

Top three moments:

1. Seeing all the starfighters that would eventually evolve into the X-wing, Star Destroyers, etc
2. Chancellor Palpatine transformed into the Emperor, only decent acting in the whole movie
   
3. Shot of Darth Vader in full costume staring out into the construction at the end of the movie
   

Worse moments:

1. Unaspiring death of all the Jedi Masters. Order 66... That's it!?!
   
2. How Padme's character is totally wimpy this time around
   
3. Obi-Wan beats Anakin in a light sabre duel !?! But gets knocked unconscious by Count Dooku?
4. The numerous product tie-ins on TV. Most are pretty good... the Darth Vader BK ones are great, but there are just too many with Verizon and Pepsi in on all the commercials as well
   

By Owepa Lahon (my generated SW nick)

Movie Reviews - Episode V

Not sure why, but there seems to always be a general theme around my last couple of movie reviews. Here's my latest watery (groan) batch:

• Finding Nemo - Finally got around to finishing this one off. Tried watching this with my niece when it first came out, but with her short attention span I never quite got past the beginning. Quite entertaining and the Pixar folks really made it feel like it took place in the coral and oceans, unlike Shark Tale.
• Ocean's 12 - Yeah, this one's kind of a stretch to the theme, but it was a good popcorn movie. A fun ride, but when it's over, there's not much that I recollect. The skip-thru laser scene was a total ripoff off Entrapment and I definitely prefer (pre-Douglas) Zeta-Jones. Heck, even Britney Spear did it better in one of her music videos.
  
• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - The latest creation from the mind of Wes Anderson. You really have to be able to appreciate the dry (pun intended) humour in order to sit through this one. A lot of visual gags against the straight lines delivered by the talented cast. Did Cate Blanchett just use her Kate Hepburn persona from The Aviator, but without the zany accent?
  

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I do have three big blogs coming out soon. One of my recent string of concerts, another that wraps up the TV season, and finally another one of some movie that comes out this Thursday. So check back soon, ya hear?

TV Shows

Best Drama: 24 (The Kief can do no wrong! How will they pull it off again next season?)
Best Comedy: Arrested Development (Makes me want to see the Blue Man Group the next time I'm in Vegas)
Best New Show: Lost (Honorable Mention: Grey's Anatomy... check out their soundtrack)
Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Las Vegas (The Fear Factor episode scene with Sam was the best 30 seconds of TV all year)

A year of blogging

Well it seems that I've been trying this blog for a year now. It's tougher than I thought to keep posting entries regularly. Last month seemed really busy or was it just March Madness? I was posting on average about once a week, so hopefully I can keep that pace up for year two. Remember tho, I'm a sprinter not a marathoner.

I don't really know who even checks out my blog, but I hope you're enjoying it. For me, this is just a virtual venue where I can express and organize my thoughts on all the different facets of what's going on in my life. By publishing them, it keeps me honest and also gives me a creative outlet.

This Weekend @ the Movies

I didn't even plan it, but I saw three very different perspectives on robots this weekend.

• I, Robot: Takes Asminov's three basic laws and then turn it into a popcorn fest starting the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Really, I wonder how much they paid just for the geek cred and so that they could have a cool title.
• Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence: Took eighteen years to release the sequel, but it was worth waiting for. An interesting mixture of hand-drawn and CG animation that ponders how close man and machines really are.
• Robots: My first babysitting experience with my three year old niece. It was entertaining but nothing really too memorable.

Sorry for the delay, I'm having some firewall issues with my new server. Updates should be more regular now that this year's March Madness is over.

Grammar checking

So I type:
"Gaining access to the MTA is done by contacting the Regional Distribution Unit (RDU)."

But MS Word suggests:
"Contacting the Regional Distribution Unit (RDU) does gaining access to the MTA."

Didn't realize that I had the Yoda grammar check turned on! Reminds me to catch the Revenge of the Sith trailer on The O.C. tomorrow night.

Oscar 2005 Weekend

Finally got around to watching a few more movies, including two nominated for Best Picture this weekend. I'm sure you'll figure out which one of the three won't be taking home an Oscar.

Ray - Didn't realize how messed up Ray Charles was... But his music was very inspirational and Jamie Foxx'es portrayal was dead-on. Didn't realize "Georgia on my Mind" had was related to the racist views of the aforementioned State back in the 60s. Just thought it was about a gal or something... Totally changes my perspective of this song and many more that he sang...

The Aviator - Scorsese touched on Howard Hughes quest for perfection in all faucets of his life: business/money, flying, and women. Blanchett's and Beckinsale's acting seemed larger than life, but I don't really have any reference to go on for Katherine Hepburn and Ava Gardner respectively. If I knew the latter actress was in this flick, I would have popped in the DVD a lot sooner.

Ong Bak - Take two handfuls of Muay Thai kickboxing, sprinkling in liberally some Jackie Chan, and add a pinch of Van Damme. Let simmer for five minutes... Voila... Ong Bak! Pretty crazy stunts, which they reshow from multiple camera angles to make sure you didn't miss it. Like did he really slide underneath a running van? Some of the killer moves were a bit lame, but you do have appreciate most of them. The acting was quite horrible overall, I did notice that the subtitles in the movie and the DVD (released two years ago) differ in a few places.

NHL Closure

Well, its official. No NHL hockey this year, that includes having no Stanley Cup playoffs either. Not sure why it took me so long to actually blog on this. One would think I'd have an oppinion on this since I've been a Calgary Flames season ticket holder for 5 years (does this year count?) and am a hockey pool enthusiast.

So what does it say when a fan of the game like me doesn't have much of anything to say? How I can't relate to either the millionaire players or billionaire owners? That it seems more of a PR war than actually trying to get both sides to come to an agreement? I guess it just shows I have more questions than answers or comments on the strike.

I tried to come up with an analogy on why the season should have been cancelled months ago just after the new year and it's even not sports related. It's like that guy/girl that you were dating and was supposed to call you back (and never does), makes you keep waiting by the phone, hoping that everytime it rings, that he/she finally returns your call. It takes awhile for you to realize, but one day it does suddenly clicks in that...

IT'S OVER.

And that when I finally wrote this blog.

Top 10 Albums of 2004

Here's my best of list, for full details check it out here.

10. College Dropout by Kayne West
9. Confessions by Usher
8. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (Deluxe Edition) by U2
7. LoveAngelMusicBaby by Gwen Stefani
6. All of Our Names by Sarah Harmer
5. In Between Evolution by Tragically Hip, The
4. Hopes And Fears by Keane
3. Hot Fuss by Killers, The
2. Final Straw by Snow Patrol
1. Futures (Limited Edition) by Jimmy Eat World

Song of the Year

With the Grammy's being awarded this weekend, I usually have a few friends compile their "Best of" lists. Here are my picks (in no particular order) for Single of the Year.

• Ch-check it out - Beastie Boys
• All Falls Down - Kayne West
• My Boo - Usher featuring Alicia Keys
• Work - Jimmy Eat World
• Almost - Sarah Harmer
• Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
• Somebody Told Me - The Killers
• Button My Lip - Elvis Costello
• How to be Dead - Snow Patrol
• What Are You Waiting For? - Gwen Stefani

Do any of these artists have a strong enough album to make the cut into my Top 10 CDs List? I have my picks tentitively set, but until then here's the link to last year's submissions.

Movie Reviews Part Deux

Caught a few more flicks and DVDs lately:

• The Grudge - Very creepy and sinister as "The Ring". SMG solidifies her scream-queen status.
• Friday Night Lights - Based on the book that covered a small-town revered high-school football team's season of highs and lows. Football, even high-school football, in Texas is reverred like hockey here in Canada.
• National Treasure - Great popcorn movie, predictable plot twists but still very entertaining. A toned-down performance from Cage.
• Seinfeld Vols 1 & 2 - All the cast and writers interviews are very comprehensive. Popup video-like trivia is a bonus for those that remember every line.
  

Have a few Oscar-related pics (Ray, The Village, The Aviator, Saw... yeah the last one doesn't count) to watch for the next batch. Enjoy the Super Bowl, O.

Movie Reviews

Catching up on my movies & all the DVDs that are piling up:

• House of Flying Daggers - I'd suggest watching Hero, but both have Zhang Ziyi. A little slow getting started, but the fight scenes are impressive, especially the one in the bamboo forest.
• Harold & Kumar go to White Castle - What do you expect from the writer/director of "Dude... Where's my Car?"? Has a few hilarious moments complimented by good casting. Doogie Howser makes another comedic appearance after Undacover Brother.
• Dodgeball - caught this in the theatres, but I just had to watch this one again with the commentary. Ben Stiller's totally over the top while he passes his straight-man role to Vince Vaughn.
• Anchorman - not sure why I missed this one from the theatres, but Will Ferrell solidifies his lead actor status. Borrowing heavily from his Robert Goulet impersonation, he creates this "Ron Burgandy" character. Look for a steady stream of cameos from Jack Black, Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller and even Tim Robbins. Plenty of one-liners that will have you laughing out loud... even afterwards.
• King Arthur (Director's Cut) - Clive Owen does a fine job in this supposed historical fiction (my roommate coined that) potrayal. Good casting, but little characterization, shot in good locales along with decent battle scenes.
• Team America (World Police) - What do you expect from the creators of South Park? A lot of marionette sex. Didn't catch as many ripoffs except for Star Wars & Kill Bill. The musical numbers are hilarious, like "what we need is a montage" and "America... F*ck yeah" as they take a poke at American patriotism.

Only went through about half the stash, so will have another review for the remaining flicks soon.

Tsunami Disaster Aid

Sorry for the lack of posts, I will start up again soon. But in the wake of the biggest earthquake in 40 years, here are a few places you can submit donations via online or phone:

• Canadian Red Cross - online or phone 1-800-418-1111
• Unicef Canada - online or phone 1-877-955-3111
• Oxfam Canada - online or phone 1-800-466-9326
• World Vision Canada - online or phone 1-800-268-5528
• Doctors Without Borders - online or phone 1-800-982-7903

I'm challenging everyone who comes across my blog to match my $25 donation via Oxfam. Please comment or let me know on any other ways that we can help... It's good for plenty of karma points and will give ya a warm fuzzing feeling : -)