tarts, dvds, and haikus

the sun came up today. the birds were still chirping. they still can't vote in china or somalia (interesting comparison, eh?).

but i'm still depressed over the election.

so, i made up a batch (41 to be extact) of buttertarts...

mmmmmmm...i'll make this a short posting so i can have a snack.

just a co-winky-dink?

the liberals were corrupt. neo-cons campaign on greater accountability. canadians vote for a neo-con government.

the fatah party of palestine was really corrupt. palestinians vote for a massive Hamas majority government. the same Hamas that is an outlawed terrorist group, that calls for the destruction of israel, that sponsors the occasional suicide bomber...

movies and dvds...

i was kind of surprised that i got some grief from qtlibrarian over my review of war of the worlds. i didn't read any reviews when it was out in general release, but i liked it. maybe i've just been watching too much mediocre TV lately.

anyway, i've just polished off the Trailer Park Boys Season 4 dvd set. it was simply outstanding. this has got to be one of the best canadian tv shows ever. really. i put it up there with wayne and shuster, the beachcombers, and the newsroom.

if you haven't seen the show, TPB takes place in the sunnyvale trailer park (ha!) and involves a small but lovable group of petty ex-con artists. done as a mock-umentary, a camera crew follows the boys as they struggle to make it in the world by legitimate means. however, with each attempt, they eventually revert to their criminal past to make ends meet like growing the wacky or committing the "greasiest" of crimes like stealing bbq's from "the rich folks". there's alot, i mean ALOT, of swearing. but, they've elevated the cussing and cursing to an art form, adding to hilarity of the show.

there's definitely a TPB cult following. i suggest you climb on the bandwagon before too late.

looking for a few brave writers...

i was talking to soapydave last week about starting a blog community. you know, having a blog with multiple contributors...

i've got a new blog. it's called haikus from hell. why haikus you say? well, i know everyone's living in the fast lane these days. so, how difficult is it to write down 17 syllables every day or two? think concisely, my friends... right now, i'm thinkin' haikus. maybe i'll add in limericks and other poetic forms later. drop me a line and i'll add you to the list o' poets...

luv and prognosticating...

Your Heart Is Green

Love completes you, but that doesn't mean you seek it out. When love comes your way, you integrate it peacefully into the rest of you life. Your flirting style: Laid back Your lucky first date: Walking around aimlessly and talking Your dream lover: Is both enthusiastic and calm What you bring to relationships: Balance

What Color Heart Do You Have?

prognostications...

i haven't prognosticated lately (who has, eh?). so, here it goes...

there will be an election soon perhaps before xmas 2006. to tell you the truth, it will depend on when the liberals select their new leader and what the polls are like in quebec. after all this, if it looks good for the liberals, count on them forcing the election... so, to them sumbitch neo-cons watch yo backs.

the ndp will not be able to work with the neo-cons. it's like poking a box-like shape into a round hole or something like that...

the candidates for new liberal leader will include: stephane dion, ken dryden, the harvard prof-guy, and frank mckenna. all french canadian candidates have a chance (according to the rotation of liberal leaders alternating between french and english). but, i hope its mckenna. i like that guy.

jack layton will go to hell (eventually). i will be joining him there (eventually).

the pittsburgh steelers will win superbowl XL. it will be a close game. steelers 28 seahawks 25. or, more than likely, it will be a XL blow out, in fine superbowl tradition, 28 nothin'.

ralph klein will quit this year.

maria sharapova will play martina hingis in the 2006 australian tennis open. it will be the highest rated tennis match in the history of TV. the clear winner will be the viewing audience.

there will be a civil war in canada. liberal urbanites vs. neo-con country bumpkins. the bumpkins will have more guns but the winners will be determined by playing trivia pursuit. urbanites will win hands down.

these biscotti aren't for scottie...

well, i don't feel very well tonite. i feel rather depressed. a bit angry.

the results of the election were not good. wait...i'll give the neo-cons a chance.

it hurt to say that.

more analysis in the coming days...while i contemplate my canadian citizenship.

in the meantime, to blow off some steam... i made a batch of almond-orange biscotti after "the decision desk" declared the minority government. funny thing is, i'm weaning myself off caffeine for awhile. too much bloating.

in case you wanna make up a batch here's the recipe:



i got this from the Cooking for Engineers.

i love it when a rock hard baked product is considered a success. you can't go wrong.

non-stop election coverage...

"...tonight... a monumental 'mao-thusian' shift in the canadian political landscape. the cbc election desk has declared a majority government led by stephen harper and the conservative party of canada..."
- peter mansbridge @ 8 PM tonite.

ok, that's enough to shake any "thinking" voter from his/her deepest slumber...

i was in bed this morning dreading this more than likely scenario tonite. what's "mao-thusian", you say? well, think about it. the gang of four: stephen harper, jason kenney, rob anders, and myron thompson... i've been cringing for a month now.

as i stepped out the door, i got excited all of a sudden. it's not so bad, eh. it's going to be a good day! a good day for me! a good day for canada! i'm exercising my right to freely vote. a right that thousands of canadian soldiers died for. a right that is denied to billions of other fellow earthlings in places like nepal, china, zimbabwe, somalia or burma.

damn, i'm lucky.

well, i voted. i knew exactly who to vote for. suffice to say, it was for a loser. i always vote for a loser.

maybe, i'm a loser...

get out there and vote. i marginally respect a neo-con voter more than a non-voter.

young voters...

i was watching a news story on apathetic young voters. apparently, a local high school was encouraging eligible students to vote by simulated the process. they set up a mock polling station complete with fake ballots in an effort to lessen the anxiety of voting.

my advice? SUCK IT UP KIDS...SHUT OFF THE PLAYSTATION AND GO VOTE. IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. I DON'T CARE IF YOU VOTE FOR THE NEO-CONS. JUST VOTE!!!!!.

well, let me take back that last bit about voting for the neo-cons... enough of this handholding. just vote...

the 106,800 dullah blog...

i sensed some distress in soapyDave's post on the evil empire the other night. i called him immediately to coerce him into continuing his blog. it was a false alarm.

instead, he informed me of the million dollar homepage.

erected by a down-and-out university kid in the UK desperate to pay down tuition fees, his page is quintessential to the ideals of the internet.

it's all about money... all to a good cause of course. at $1 per advertising pixel, the guy paid off the cost of his "Uni" education for the remaining 3 years (about $37,000 USD), within 3 weeks of selling pixels.

it's rather ironic that he's quit school now...

interestingly, i figure the bigtubofgoo is worth at least $106,800 USD at the going rate. once again, i'm under-valued by da man.

but then again, beggars can't be choosers, eh.

the habs...

i cashed in on another xmas gift last night. i was lucky enough to attend the calgary flames-montreal canadiens game at the saddledome.

very entertaining game.

i'm a habs fan. we lost 3-2. not surprising though. i'd like to call out some players on my team: radek bonk, mike rebeiro, michael ryder, alex kovalev...

man, you guys sucked.

good news though. jarome "iggy" iginla might be back in form. goodie for da pool, eh.

movies and dvds...

war of the worlds...damn scary. spielberg gives tripods a really bad name. excellent (regardless of whether you think tom cruise is a freak in real life). 5 stars.

firefly... took awhile to watch the only season it was on FOX. slow start. picked up as the season progressed. interesting ideas. it's supposed to be cult favourite now; however, i can't understand how. there was so little of it shown on air... certainly, it FOX didn't cancel it i could see it blossum into something special. i'd recommend it if you were obsessed with sci fi. will have to watch "serenity" - the movie sequel to the TV show.

"foreign political saboteur..."

nikon quits film (almost)...

this is old news but nikon, inc. (the brand of photo equipment i use), has announced that it will discontinue the manufacture of all but its high-end professional film-based cameras. instead, it will concentrate its energy on the development of its digital cameras.

i'm not surprised. i'm a little sad. having said that, find myself shooting more and more digital pictures with my nikon D70. digital is an addictive process. "film" is cheap. i love the little screen at the back.

ahhhh, the age old film vs. digital image debate will rage on though. i'm keeping my trusty nikon 801s film camera until it implodes with old age. after that, maybe buy a mechanical camera? that should last me forever...that's if they keep making film.

election report 2006...

this is not a scare tactic!!! but desperate times call for desperate measures.


i never thought this guy's pic would make it onto the bigtubofgoo.

according to rick mercer, stephen harper's minister of state (multiculturalism) will be rob anders (calgary West).

i found mr. anders' biographical blurb on the cbc election 2006 website:

Career background: He spent two months as a professional heckler for a Republican in the 1994 Oklahoma senatorial race and was labelled a "foreign political saboteur" by CNN. From 1995-1996, he was director of Canadians Against Forced Unionism, a project of the National Citizens' Coalition in Calgary, and in 1997 was director of International Commodities Trading, an Alberta-based commodity trading company.

He is spokesperson for the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Speaker's Bureau. He has been supportive of a number of groups, including the Royal Alberta United Services Institute, the Fraser Institute, the Alberta Taxpayers' Association, the Progressive Group for Independent Business, the Canadian Property Rights Research Institute, the National Firearms Association, Responsible Firearms Owners of Alberta, National Right to Work Committee, Focus on the Family and the Canada Family Action Coalition.

i can imagine rob anders, as a youngster, telling his mommy and daddy that he wants to be a professional heckler when he grows up... ha!

as for the rest of the resume, dude, this guy is cuckoo conservative, eh...

i pray for all non-republicans residing in the riding of calgary West.

after thought...

colts vs. steelers

steelers prevail.

yay.

refreshing o.j.

yep, mystery #41 was a juicer. congratulations len!

it's a long winter. it's a good idea to avoid getting a bout of scurvy. had some old, wrinkled oranges lying around. so, i squeezed them.

podcasting gem...



regardless of whether you own an ipod or not, you should do yourself a favour and download the ricky gervais podcast. it is high-larious... you'll luv karl...hahahaha.

best listened to with itunes...

my arms really hurt...

len, good guess on mystery photo #41. i'll give you this clue...

election report 2006.

more silly media stuff:

the use of the Survivor theme on Calgary's channel 2&7 news, where "normal" people vote party leaders off "the island", is kind of silly. i won't tell you who usually gets voted off.

i guess it's an innovative and fun segment. instead of shamelessly flogging "Survivor" they should of used an Apprentice theme instead where participants fire paul martin while donning really bad hair pieces... oops, did i say paul martin?

the cbc news had another brilliant idea last night. they invited hacks from each of the parties to "produce" a 3 minute "investigative" segment. not surprisingly, i couldn't tell the difference between these clips and the usual cbc election spin coverage.

bata bata bata bata...swing baaaattttttttaaaaa

mystery photo #41. good luck.

i was listening to the jim rome show on 960 AM radio this morning. he was talking about the lone 2006 inductee into the baseball hall of fame, bruce sutter.

interestingly, inductees must win 75 percent of the votes cast by the baseball writers of america for that particular year. if you fall short of the 75 percent you go back into the mix and hope for next year.

it took sutter, inventor of the vaunted split-fingered fastball, something like 12 or 13 years to gain entrance to the hall of fame.

i agree with jim rome that this selection process is stupid... if sutter wasn't hall of fame material 13 years ago, what makes him an inductee this year? the guy hasn't pitched in the MLB or invented any crazy pitches since he retired.

did he get voted in because other players in eligibility were a dismal lot in comparison?

i think not... one of my favs, andre dawson, didn't gain baseball immortality this year. what's with that?

don't get me started on the hockey hall of fame, eh.

it's time to hand the selection process over to the fans.

election 2006 word of the day...

progrum.

wax on... wax off...

How grammatically correct are you? (Revised with answer key)
brought to you by Quizilla

You are a MASTER of the English language!

Huzzah. While your English is not exactly perfect, you are still more grammatically correct than just about every American. Others admire the way you speak and could learn a lot from listening to you. Still, there is always room for improvement...


3753 other people got this result!
This quiz has been taken 13009 times.
29% of people had this result.

why i need to lose 40 pounds...

large man dancin'



election report...

according to rick mercer, the honourable Art Hangar, quoted as saying, "Immigrants are choking welfare systems, contributing to high unemployment, and many cannot read.", will be named as minister of citizenship and immigration in the new conservative government.

i'm related to Mr. Hangar in a distant but familial way. 2 degrees to be exact...

hey, y'all right there grandpa...

mystery photo #40 - what body part are we looking at? side note: looks like i need a little moisturizer...

i fell, for the second time in the last 6 months, while out for a run today.

no, it wasn't because of slipping on ice. it was the ol' crack in the sidewalk that did me in this and the last time. damn those cracks.

running is a pretty painful activity. sometimes you focus on the pain and you forget to look where you're placing your steps. funny, anytime i trip on a crack the subsequent spill happens in slow motion. in the case of today, i thought i could've saved myself. instead, my attempt at regaining my balance resulted in a longer slide (maybe 2 metres). luckily i ran off the sidewalk and slid mostly on the grass. damage? well i caught my hand on the chainlinked fence adjacent to the sidewalk and horrendous scrapes to my knees and both forearms...

who says running's a safe sport?

once in a while the kids at the hi-school i run by yell out, "hey gramps, y'all right?". i'm beginning to understand why they say that...

funny thing happened on the way to the liberry...

i was riding my bike to the calgary public library the other day. just as i was crossing the street, i spotted a lil' ol' lady sitting at the bus stop close by. she kind of looked lonely sitting there wearing her toque.

i looked closer.

it was my mama!!

i rode on over. she didn't recognise me right away so i rode right up and startled her. ha!

i asked her where she'd been that day.

she went to the stupid store. the walnuts were really expensive...

we parted ways after she complained the bus was late...

canadian election redux...

well i caught the last hour of the debate tonite.

my conclusions on tonite's proceedings:

1) politicians really don't like answering pointed questions...
2) politicians really like hearing themselves talk...
3) i'm still never going to vote for harper's conservatives. ever... if they ever got in office, i'm leaving the country... i'll move to america!
4) how much are all these promises going to cost?
5) if gilles duceppe was running in calgary SE, i'd probably vote for him. too bad he's a separatist fascist bastard.
6) vince carter was a hump in a raptor's uniform. why did they let him go?
7) we're getting really sick of cbc reality checks...
8) ralphie klein has jumped the shark...
9) chachi loves joannie. chachi doesn't love joannie...
10) i've made up my mind on who to vote for based on tonite's debate

next election report: party leaders' fashion sense or nonsense?

first blog of MMVI

mystery photo #39.

my groundhog day...

saw this hi-larity on george stromboulopolous' show on CBC Newsworld last night.

it pretty sums up my life...

lights, camera, action!

just finished filming the latest thinsoapy production. another credit under the ol' belt... don't want to give away the ending, but has to do with minors and illegal gambling...

thanx dave and gina for a fun afternoon...

canadian election report.

i've been trying to ignore the national news broadcasts. i find the coverage excruciatingly painful to watch. i find the news coverage is based mainly on poll results, sound bites and photo ops. totally useless. we need analysis!!!

on the cbc tonite they sent one of their correspondents and a "staunch" liberal supporter into the south of alberta to defend her position. i don't think i have to tell you what opinions she encountered down in them thar hills. yawn. zzzzzzzzz...

the cbc finally did one of their "reality check" segments tonight. brief as it was, i thought the piece was rather refreshing. too bad they're far and few between...

the other day, my bro was pointing out the pro-anyone-but-stephen harper bias in my writings. i begged to disagree with him.

without further delay, the interim leaders' report card.

paul martin - liberal: D (rather tepid, meek performance so far. does this guy want to prime minister?).
stephen harper - conservative: F (if i have to listen to anymore promises from this guy i'm gonna puke. someone please tighten the bolts sticking outta this guy's neck).
jack leighton - NDP: D (enough walking the tight rope jack. tell us what's really on your mind - you had your chance in making parliament work, eh).
the bloc-head guy: F (only because i can't vote for you... why do they let this guy participate in the national debates yet refuse the green party guy?).
green party guy: B (i dunno your name but i can tell you that i saw one of your lawn signs in the neighbourhood while i was running the other day. yahoooooooooo!!!!!!! i fell to my knees and cried like a blathering idiot!!!!!).

now did you see any bias in my reporting? i think not...

i can't wait to gnaw on my ballot...

finally...

good luck to mike in taiwan. i checked my hotmail way too late for his bye bye party. my apologies...