Archive for January, 2006
American Idol contestants are idiots!
Posted by admin in Entertainment on January 31st, 2006
I watch American Idol during the screening episodes and pop in again sometime during the end of the season. This is the 5th season of American Idol and I cannot believe that idiots who try out!
These people ACTUALLY think they are good. I have news for you rejects… there’s a LOT more to singing than you will ever comprehend.
24 Hours on Craigslist
Posted by admin in Entertainment, Fun on January 29th, 2006
I went to see the movie “24 Hours on Craigslist” last night. It’s a talking heads style documentary with lots of short clips, some of which were rather entertaining.
How it worked
An ad was posted on Craigslist looking for people who were willing to film Craigslist ad posters and follow their adventures (or lack thereof). This is fitting since the very nature of Craigslist is to post free classified ads! Craigslist then added a small feature where users could check off a box that said something like “include me in the Craigslist movie” and these people were filmed, the best of which made it to the big screen (or smaller big screens since it played in smaller theatres in select cities).
Film clips
They took clips from various posters in various categories around Craigslist. As expected, there were a lot of kuh-ray-zee people who were loving their 15 minutes of fame and took the opportunity to provide a brief synopsis of their odd lifestyles.
Some of these included a nutbar complaining that too many thin women in their early 20s were contacting him when all he wanted was 270 pound hook up. Groups of all types were shown briefly. Flash mobs were filmed (I’ll probably blog about those in the future). Couples who met directly or indirectly on Craigslist dating personals or other ads discussed their story. Other stories included people offering their services (such as maasages from a male adult video star), some guy trying to sell his boat, people looking to rent their apartments (reason for vacancy: former roomate killed in car crash - ouch.), and so on.
I’m impressed that the movie opened in minor theatres across North America from Montreal to LA. It was filmed mainly in San Francisco where Craig’s list began.
Overall, it was worth checking out, especially since Craig and his list have helped me on so many occasions I can’t count’em all.
Craigslist: The Movie
Posted by admin in Entertainment, Fun on January 27th, 2006
I first heard about the movie “24 Hours on Craigslist” in 2004. I followed up on it but the film’s website had apparently disappeared. It took a long time to get released but it’s finally coming out! I’ll go see it and get back to you…
Superman’s pa Jonathan Kent is dead and I called it!
Posted by admin in Entertainment on January 26th, 2006
Hmmm… sounds like I’m celebrating but it was a sad episode of Smallville. Ok, so I sound like a hero because I called his - death by heart attack right after the Kent versus Lex Luthor election - a few months ago. Too bad I wasn’t blogging back then. It was actually easy to predict since he died in the 1938 comic book. We all knew it was gonna happen. Well, maybe just the smarter Superman fans.
So Jonathan Kent was played by John “Bo Duke” Schneider. His role was kinda fitting and I liked him, except for the fact that he has barely aged in 20+ years!
How should I humidify my apartment?
My apartment gets unbearably dry during the winter months. I have tried a humidifier but to no avail. The humidified air becomes stuffy and I inevitably open the windows and let cool winter air flow through the place.
Keeping the shower running with hot water seemed like a great idea but would be a total waste of massive amounts of water.
So I had a brainstorm of an idea. What would happen if I left bowls of water around my apartment? In theory, that should reduce the volume of dry, correct? I have never heard anyone speak of such an approach. Any degree of success may make it worthwhile of course, but I don’t know if it will work.
A couple days ago, I poured water into a bowl and have noticed that it has gone down at least a few millimeters since then. So far, no big difference in my life.
The Conservatives are in and we have a more balanced Canada
It’s not surprising that the Conservative party got so many seats in the Canadian parliament. The Liberals got the boot all over the place. Paul Martin has been replaced by Steven Harper as Canada’s Prime Minister.
In Quebec, both the Bloc Quebecois and the Liberal Party lost a few seats. People were just tired of “separate, no separation, separate, don’t separate” and I don’t blame them one bit.
It’s a bold new day in Canada. This fresh government is balanced across Canada. Let’s see what happens.
Why you should vote in the 2006 Canadian federal election
This post is for Canadians around the world…
January 23rd, 2006 marks the second Canadian federal election in 2 years. Unlike the United States, elections in Canada can be called at any time to make sure the government gets a vote of confidence from the people. A seriously brilliant idea and one that is far more democracy-like than anything the US has going on. This election was called in December 2005. Not much time to prepare and shmooze with the people but it’s still a great free world move.
So why should YOU vote?
An election is the free world’s way of flexing the muscle behind the REAL idea of freedom (not the George W. Bush definition). Put simply: The day you are not allowed to vote, you will likely be involved in some sort of revolt to get that power back. Millions of people are going through that revolt this very second. And this second. Now too.
Voting makes us free.
Craigslist stories
I’ve been using Craigslist since early (~March) 2002. As thousands of others before and after me have done, I initially used CL for apartment hunting purposes. I then slowly discovered the many, many categories of what was to become one of my top 10 favorite websites ever. Ever? Yes, ever!
I have lots of Craigslist stories to tell. Some are my own, others belong to friends but all are worth discussing. Coming to this blog sometime soon.
Subway restaurant & the alcohol guy
I was in line at Subway the other night, about to pay for my “usual” meal, when an elderly black (or African-American for those of you in the politically correct world) man came stomping into the restaurant. He had several large bags and I noticed they were filled with bottles of alcohol.
The man butted into line and ordered a coffee. It was time to pay for my meal and I was hungry! But alas, I had to wait for this guy to find his loose change to pay for the coffee. He finally pays and proceeds to sit down. I sat down behind him, sure to get a glimpse into his life.
This particular Subway restaurant tends to hire somewhat disorganized staff and my table had a small plastic cup, surely left there for hours. I moved it over which caught the attention of the alcohol guy. He then went to the cash and requested a small cup while pointing to the one on the table. He brought his cup to his table and looked around in a way that rivals Morgan Freeman’s Shawshank Redemption scene when he is looking around to see if anyone is watching him open the box that was left for him under the tree.
The alcohol guy then proceeds to pour his Grand Marnier Triple Orange Liqueur into the cup. He took a swig and then poured it into his coffee. I sat there watching this take place and was almost Shawshank-Redemption-Morgan-Freemaning myself as I wanted to see if anyone else had noticed this unusual consumption.
A few minutes went by and I got up to refill my cup of diet coke. Alcohol guy noticed that I was getting seconds for FREE and was intrigued. The machine did not offer coffee so he asked at the cash if he could get a refill. He was told “no” and so he complained that it was “cold” and deserved a second one. He got it, sat down, and added more alcohol into the cup. I watched in amusement, finished my meal, and left.
The Catwoman movie was not THAT bad!
Posted by admin in Entertainment on January 20th, 2006
I’m an independent thinker and I’m scarcely biased by what others say, do, or comment on. Here’s a perfect example. The movie Catwoman was totally trashed by EVERYONE, yet after watching it, I see that it really wasn’t THAT bad. It was more pop Hollywood and less Tim Burton Batman Hollywood but it was not terrible. Sure the fight scene with Sharon Stone’s make-up as a protective “super power” borders on genious/idiotic but there have been much worse releases lately.
I’m a huge comic book fan (something I’m sure to mention many times in the future) and I’ve read thousands of them. So, having a bit more of an informed opinion on the topic, I can assure you that Punisher 1st, Punisher 2nd/re-make, and Elektra were all FAR worse movies.
In fact, I don’t even understand why they were made! (Money I know, but I was being rhetorical. Yes, BEING rhetorical). Elektra was probably one of the worst movies in the history of big budget films.
X-men 1, X-men 2, Spider-man 1, and Spider-man 2 were all outstanding movies. They were based on and in many respects true to the comic books. Fantastic Four was ok. Catwoman was not that bad (I can’t say this enough).
I don’t like Halle Berry as a superhero (in Catwoman or X-men) but Catwoman was…