A Golden World

All things shall pass

2006-03-26T00:46:00.000-08:00

And too, the ever futile reign of A Golden World has come to an end here on Blogger. I just got frustrated with the template, it's too crowded, and just wanted an overall change. As such, I've moved over to wordpress. The new link for my blog is here:

http://agoldenworld.wordpress.com/.

See you there soon.

That is all.

I've been tagged... again...

2006-03-25T12:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, my dear beloved bride to be has tagged me with this meh-me.

So, as such...

Accent: I'm Canadian. I don't have one.

Booze of Choice: Well, in the past it has been Rye and Coke, though I'm cutting heavily back on the Coke to keep my teeth healthier. Damn being in my thirties and thinking more health consciously. As such, my booze of choice is an ice cold Stella Artois.

Chore I hate: Anything to do with cleaning.

Dog or Cat: Well, in our current apartment, could be neither. I do prefer cats. They're much more evil.

Essential Electronics: A Mac G5, which is still on the long term wish list. Still working on getting out of Best Buy. Then I'll be able to save.

Favorite Perfume: Erm... how do I bring this to your attention. I'm a GUY. I don't wear perfume.

Gold or Silver: Gold. Something we sorely missed in Men's Hockey this year, though our Women held up the fort admirably.

Hometown: Montreal, PQ. Though being in British Columbia now, Burnaby feels just as much like home now. Too bad for that 20 odd year stint in Ontario.

Insomnia: I did suffer with bouts five years back, but Dawn takes good care of me now, and I do get at least some rest on a night.

Job Title: At Best Buy, it's Home Theatre Specialist. In IATSE, it's Lamp Operator. Can't wait for some calls in April.

Kids: None that I know of.

Living Arrangements: A one bedroom apartment, renovated from a garage. As odd as it sounds, it's quite comfortable (though the circuit breaker for the heater trips more often than is convenient). I'm still working out how I could fit in a Mac G5 spacewise into the place as it's a better option for editing than a Powerbook.

Most Admired Trait: I didn't know I had admired traits. Though, keeping everything in perspective, probably my resiliency.

# of Sexual Partners: At one time, one. Lifetime, more than one.

Over Night Hospital stays: Too many that I care to remember. Most recent one? In Windsor, eight years back, after I had my two front teeth knocked out in a street fight outside a club. Yes I was a cocky little hellraiser.

Phobia: Heights, and yes I'm in film lighting. Wonder if I have any motivation to shift into editing and post production. Though at times it can almost paralyze me, I do force myself to do more with heights, and have pushed my barriers a ton.

Quote: How ironic? Rogers... it almost rhymes with... eliminate.

Religion: Well, I don't think that Sith Lord counts, and I'm definitely not amalgamated into Christianity, so I'd have to say some odd spiritual cross between indigenous North American beliefs crossed with Zen Buddhism, sprinkled heavily with a strong tendency toward scientific thought.

Siblings: None biologically. A sis in Quesnel who I swear we were seperated at her birth, and my best mate, who's been like a brother since the days back in diapers in Montreal.

Time I wake up: Too bloody early. Every. Single. Day.

Unusual Skill: Too many. Can wiggle my ears. Can perform complex arithmetic in my head. Can climb up almost anything.

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Most of them, especially cooked.

Worst Habit: Worrying too much about everything and taking responsibility to the point I blame myself far too much.

X-Rays: Head, chest, knees, mouth (at the dentist), wrist, elbow, shoulder, ankles.

Yummy Food I Can Make: Swiss Chalet sauce for chicken (though that's in a packet), Pasta, and I can de-ketchup canned pasta sauce.

Moment of Zen: My first day on set here in Vancouver, surpisingly on Smallville. Made up for all the shit of the past year and a half.

Now, who to tag, who to tag...

All ten people who read this blog regularly. You know who you are.

That is all.

Rick Mercer's Photochallenge

2006-03-25T02:10:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to do this all year, but finally got the patience to sit down and get one done.

Enjoy!!

Linked with:
The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns

That is all.

Balance to the Dark Side

2006-03-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

Having watched EVERY SINGLE STAR WARS FILM a bare minimum of 200 times each, and read hundreds of forums arguing philosophical points of the story, most notably the argument as to whether Anakin is truly the Chosen One. Some people say no, because he turned to evil, that the chosen one is his son, Luke, whose hope sways Vader to destroy the Emperor. Other, George Lucas included, argue that Anakin is the chosen one, and he ultimately brings balance to the force by, surprise, surprise, destroying the Emperor.

However, this post is not about that argument. If you begin to debate any of the above points without reading beyond, you are then dumber than one Peter Gilligan Griffin. This post will start with this point. That most people's argument about balance to the force is, well, out of balance.

It seems many debaters arguments as to balance is rather askew. When you get to the meat of their argument, "balance" ends up meaning "the end of evil." Call me crazy, but I thought that equal proportions of good and evil would be balance, not the absence of one or the other. In the beginning of the saga, Good far outweighs evil. Anakin, as Vader, destroys almost all the Jedi in the galaxy, slanting it toward evil. Vader, seeing his son die at the hands of the "friend" who promised to help him protect his family (and utterly fail in the process) sees what a "friend" he is, and in one final act, rids the universe of this strong force of evil, leaving the universe with one Jedi and a whole lot of evil characters in different corners of the universe, hence Anakin's transformation to Vader is key to bring balance, otherwise there would be far too many Jedi.

To stay away from ultimate dorkdom on my own blog presence (well, okay, there's about 10 of you who read consistently), my own life has been filled with an odd kind of balance. To summarize:

1. Liverpool FC lost to Benefica in the Champions League, then lost more and slid further into third in the Premiership, behind Chelsea and [sic] Man U.

2. Liverpool then rebounded earlier this week by hammering Birmingham City, in Birmingham, 0-7.

3. Vancouver, after the Olympic break, sucked ass, and slid into 9th in the NHL Western Conference.

4. In a do or die match, beat Edmonton on Tuesday, then repeated the victory in the second of three consecutive matches winning 4-3 after a shootout.

5. The Toronto Maple Leafs start to show life late in the season and may make the playoffs [may I vomit yet?]

6. Montreal (my town of origin) tonight spanks the Leafs 5-1 in the first of two games dans la Centre Bell.

7. Dawn and my wedding plans for Barkerville go askew as they do not offer the $1000 package anymore.

8. We learn we can have the wedding at Grouse Mountain here in Vancouver, which is a favourite spot for the both of us.

9. The wedding will cost well upwards of $6,500.

10. It will be worth the price of admission to see my Mom take the airtram to the peak, as she's deathly afraid of heights.

11. Best Buy still just plains sucks.

12. Film work is coming in full force soon.

13. Money is tight.

14. One show is calling me regularly trying to get a hold of me.

15. They're calling me when I'm at work, and the voice at the other end speaks so low that Dawn can't make out the phone number.

16. I think I have a story now I feel confident I can shoot.

I could go on, but hopefully you get the point at this stage.

That is all.

M.C.F.A.T. Episode X - Dieter Joins the Sith

2006-03-20T22:42:00.000-08:00

And here we go...

1) You loved it, but critics hated it, or vice versa. Who's right?

Well, before I even get into the answers for this, I just want to leave a side comment. My opinion is ALWAYS in contrast to the critics. So who is right? Frankly, I am. For this one reason. Because I watch movies for just one person. Me. So my opinion matters to me much more than some critics. Hell, I use their bad reviews to select films I want to see next. Unless it's a shitty remake. Then I could very well agree with them almost every time.

2) What's the most expensive hobby you've had?

Well, when I lived in Windsor, Ontario, which, incidentally is right across the river (or detroit) from Detroit, Michigan, I had desires to go see baseball games. Every. Single. Weekend. But the Tigers were just total shit. So I travelled to Cleveland, Ohio, most weekends to see sets of two or sometimes three games. I must have dropped $500-1000 per weekend easily. Oops.

3) What sports, if any, have you played as part of an organized team? What sports, if any, have you played for fun?

As a part of an organized team, I have played baseball, softball, volleyball, giant slalom skiing, freestyle moguls, and of course hockey. For fun, in addition to the above, I've played football, Canadian rules North American rugby, basketball, horseshoes, ping pong, golf, full contact golf, ethanol based boat racing, caps, quarters, dice, and of course the most difficult of all drinking games, the Smurfs^TM drinking game.

4) What would you do if you had a pet monkey?

Simple. Change my name to Dieter, then command people to touch my monkey. Touch my monkey. Touch him. Love him.

5) Which is better: extreme heat or extreme cold?

Extreme cold. It provides more excuse for gratuitous shagging with your partner. Good night everybody!!!

Thanks to MCF for another good sequel.

That is all.

My Favourite type of People

2006-03-20T00:17:00.000-08:00

Leave it to a week of writer's block to begin to open up the floodgates of posts. I would like to make two remarks in this short post.

Firstly, to Samantha, yes, I am aware you made a why Conservatives should become Liberals post too. I just didn't find it quite as funny as mine.

Secondly, to the mystery person (or would it be feline) Cat. It seems my bashing of Country Music (is that an oxymoron) struck a chord with the mystery person. And I say mystery person because Cat did not leave neither a blog/website address nor did he/she leave an email. Now fair enough, not everybody on the 'net publishes a blog, nor maintains a website. However, almost everybody has an email address. Who on here doesn't at least have a Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail addy anyhow?

So yes, Cat fits into my favorite category of people. Those who put their two cents of poison pen in, but leave no contact as to who they are or how to find them. Cat, you showed about as much courage as a big schoolyard bully beating up a skinny weakling.

Now, for those of you who have been reading from the beginning, the first post of this blog was this disclaimer. For the follow the click impaired, it makes a couple of points. First, most posts on here are JOKES, though I can't guarantee the humour will be all that funny. Secondly, if you can't take a joke, DON'T BE ONE.

To all of that, I'd like to add a little. I post what I like, when I like to. Not that any of my work is in high demand. No, I will not delete anything from a post because someone may find it offensive, nor will I delete a comment. Comments I hate will be subjugated to flaming by my poison pen at will. I support freedom of speech. If you don't like it, instead of whinging, I suggest just not tuning in.

As for Cat, I hereby award you...

That is all.

Top 10 Reasons Conservatives should become Liberals

2006-03-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

Inspired by this post at The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns.

Enjoy! And notice the top ten list is done 10 to 1, a la David Letterman.

10. You can finally stop listening to whiny Country and Western music, and realize that Swing, Jazz, and Rock & Roll are actually accepted art forms. Heck, if you ever get creative, you can play your old Country music backwards, causing your truck to get fixed, your dog to come home and reconciling your relationship with your ex spouse.

9. If you are white, and being Conservative, the odds of that are very high, you will suddenly begin to realize that we're all equal regardless of creed, colour, gender, sexual orientation and the like. Character becomes more of an issue. Stephen Harper suddenly begins to look like a fraud, and you realize you're worse off under his economic plan than you were under Paul Martin's.

8. You realize that weenie eco-cars save you a shitload of money on gas, and instead of wasting your money on gasoline to make Bush and his buddies richer, you pocket your savings and buy a kick-ass home theatre system, so you can brag to your egotistical rich friends that Star Wars looks and sounds just as good at your house as it does in the theatre.

7. You don't have to walk around all day wearing brown shirts and red armbands. Oh wait, that's ten years in the future if the likes of Bush and Harper aren't stopped.

6. For women, you can actually go after your professional dreams without some Neanderthal wearing a wife beater forcing you to stay at home and make his meals and wash his home and clothes.

5. You stop spending $50+ on the night to take the family to see Dukes of Hazzard and the like on the big screen. Instead, you buy the box set of the original television series and watch it on your kick-ass home theatre system, and only spend money at the theatres when something good comes out. Like X-Men: The Last Stand. Not that I worked on it or anything.

4. You can still shoot guns with your Conservative friends. You actually realize there was much more to the theme of Bowling for Columbine than the gun issue. Hi Todd!!

3. Conservatives don't like to think about how other people are, but rather that if those other people become an inconvenience, the Conservatives just go to war against them to end the threat. Once you're a Liberal, you recognize that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole, and try to integrate people with backgrounds different to yours into your communities without compromising their rights.

2. You'll be able to smoke pot guilt free. You begin to realize that cigarettes are more dangerous and addictive, and that alcohol is more of a gateway drug than marijuana is.

1. You're life will have more meaning.

That is all.

Where is this man?

2006-03-18T19:46:00.000-08:00

For close to a week, the 'umble writer of this ~~utter piece of shit~~ wonderful blog has not managed one single post, thus affecting his typical average of one post per day. Well, his absence has been, well, completely overlooked as he was not missed one minute, less his beloved Yorkshire Girl, who unbeknownst to many has suceeded into reclusion, only appearing to check webcams at Ordsall Hall.

As many of you readers (what, about 10-12 of you now?) know, this eccentric mid-thirties dweeb spends his summers working in the film industry in Vancouver. What many of you may not know, however, is how many people associate his appearence quite strongly to several celebrities in current pop culture. As such, he may be hiding under one of five aliases:

Yes, Jeff too secretly devised world domination plans, only to be thwarted by his ever vigilant mother. Embittered for the nine-month prison term he spent in her womb, his world conquest included his mother's demise. Those plans disappeared about the same time he trekked out west to work in film. Though Stewie Griffin is too young an alias for Jeff now, it does seem that the rumours are true. Seth MacFarlane got a hold of an old baby picture and based the character on Jeff. How Jeff's head ceased to be rugby ball shaped is still a mystery.

During Jeff's grand experience in University, he learned the true meaning of Tom Petty's Last Dance With Mary Jane, and to boot, had flatmates who believed I was a near clone of the great rock star. Mind you, not many people see the resemblance. Maybe there was too much Mary Jane involved to make an accurate match.

Later in University, Chris Carter began production of The X-Files. With that, David Duchovny's career was born, and many friends of Jeff's (yup, in his universe, five does qualify for many in this category) were able to not only see the physical resemblance (less the hair colour), but also noticed shocking character similarities between Jeff and Fox Mulder. It became very little surprise then that Jeff chose Mulder as his online pseudonym for various chat and sci-fi forums to bitch about the lack of quality in film. Well, the bitching about film does qualify as one of the internet's two true purposes, doesn't it?

Yes, after graduation, one of Jeff's close friends consitantly reminded him that he was the spitting image of Beck. Jeff fought this notion tooth and nail, though during a freak appearence at a Hallowe'en party near Lester B. Pearson Airport in 1997, a gaggle of teenage girls at the event were convinced that not only did Jeff look like Beck, but rather that he WAS Beck. Freaky.

This one is just recent, but it does seem the management at Jeff's current job seem to think that Jeff looks a lot like William H. Macy. It's another one that's tough to see, but maybe it's just the hair.

Coincidence? Maybe. Those close to Jeff, however, feel he's on another of his delusions of grandieur. The most likely occurence from Jeff? Probably roaming around the lower mainland, force choking his foes, his identity concealed in this disguise:

Beware, in this state of mind, he is highly delusional, and may be prone to reciting the entire Star Wars Saga to you, line for line.

That is all.

Blue Velvet

2006-03-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic movie... and this trailer makes me want to watch it again.

I want to see a Twin Peaks trailer made in the same light.

Fire walk with me.

Mmmm... Beer

2006-03-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

And dayum... the liquor store is closed tonight...

Anyway...

You Are Guinness

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world.
Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them.
When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well.
But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

What's Your Beer Personality?

That is all.

The grief over a paper cup

2006-03-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Now this isn't any ordinary paper cup. No, this was a RRROLL UP THE RIM TO WIN Tim Horton's cup. For those of you non-Canadians out there, the wonderful coffee and doughnut chain, Tim Horton's, has an annual contest they run, called, surprise surprise, RRRoll up the Rim to Win. On millions of cups nationwide, there is text printed under the rolled up rim of the cup, indicating as to whether you win or not, and what prize you have won if so. 99% of the time, it depresses the hell out of us because we get the all too familiar phrase Please Play Again. Occasionally, we win a free coffee, doughnut, or cookie. And the elite few lucky of us actually win a real prize, whether it be a television, automobile, or considerable sum of cash. No matter what, it's definitely worth your while to bear your teeth, nibble at the rim, and roll it up to see if you win. It costs you nothing as you'd probably have bought the coffee anyway. Tim Horton's is among the more inexpensive cups of coffee that can be bought in Canada.

Makes sense right? Well it does for all of Canada, less this one person in Montreal, Quebec. He tossed his cup in the bin before rolling it up. Later on, a ten year old girl found the cup, rolled up the rim, and won a $28,700 Toyota RAV 4. Well, the alleged purchaser of the coffee is seeking a legal route, claiming that he has legal ownership of the discarded cup. The debate has risen to the point that legal counsel are debating the possible use of DNA testing to validate the man's claim. More about the issue in this article over at CBC.

At this stage, can you say "what the fuck?" To prevent any futher debates as to idiotic displays of not participating in free contests designed to create a little extra traffic in retail outlets, I propose the following guidelines.

1. The finders keepers rule. If you get a free cup/sticker/ticket/whatever that a restaurant/retail chain uses for a contest or promotion, and without seeing if you win, and thusly bin it, you lose all claim to the potential reward within. If someone else picks it up, and wins, I have two words for you. Tough shit.

2. Due diligence. Upon purchasing an item that quailfies you for a free contest, you are hereby required to take the three seconds (or less in most cases) and discover whether you win or not. Failure to do so will result in a swift, painful smack upside the head. Further infractions may result in Wedgies, Indian Sunburns, and the dreaded Rear Admiral.

3. Legal pursuit of lost winnings. Any attempt to legally pursue any winnings a potential participant discards, for whatever reason, immediately subjugates the potential participant to a stay of no less than 6 months at the nearest local mental health facility, and must successfully pass testing to determine if brain activity is still present within their cereberal cortex. Failure to pass test will compoundly double the legally required stay.

As for the ~~village idiot~~ Plantiff in Montreal, I hereby award you

That is all.

So long Boom Boom

2006-03-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

Most of the readers of this blog will equate me as a Canucks fan, Vancouver being my new home. My orignial home, however, est ma ville, Montreal. For hockey, I am conflicted on one game per season, Vancouver vs. Montreal, and in the rare occasion that Vancouver may play Montreal in the Cup final.

As such, being a Habs fan, I am saddened to hear of the passing of Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion. He was the second player to score 50 goals in a season (teammate Maurice "Rocket" Richard being the first), won six Stanley Cups avec les Habitents, and amassed 393 goals, 429 assists, and 689 penalty minutes in 883 games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

My condolences go to his family and friends, Montreal alumni, and the faithful fans of the Habs. Keep his spirit alive.

To you from failing hands we throw the torch. Be yours to hold it high.

M.C.F.A.T. Episode IX - Family Sith

2006-03-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

Wow... either I'm incredibly busy, or these are coming by faster and faster. I still enjoy taking them though.

Feeling the hate flow through me...

1) From any current television series, who is the last character you'd want to see killed off? Who's the first?

Well, very simply, by reading my blog regularly, looking at my banner, or ever having talked to me, you would know the one character I'd hate to see killed off would be one Stewart Gilligan Griffin from Family Guy. One would think that Lois Griffin, by default, would be the one I would like to see killed off first, but frankly every great character needs their nemesis around. Though I am getting tired of the "nobody cares about Meg/Ron" jokes (Meg had a sex change in Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin, the Untold Story), having Meg killed off would just open up room for better parodies and retarded Peter humour, amongst Stewies never ending plans for world domination and the head of his mother.

2) What are the best and worst finanacial investments a person could make?

The best financial investment someone could make? Well, you could argue between bonds, mutual funds, stocks, and so on. The best move of all of them? Getting a financial plan set out and ACTIVE at a young age in life. The longer money has in an investment, on average, the more money it will yield. As for the worst financial investment one could make? Waffles. Tasty Waffles, covered in plenty of syrup...

3) Think of the worst superpower you could have, either from an existing character or one you make up, and explain how you would learn to live with it.

Sorry Anna Paquin, but it's Rogue's ability to absorb the lifeforce (and mutant powers, where applicable) of others. Having to restrict most to all of your physical contact can be very isolating, along with living with the horrors of those who you have contacted can be vererodingng to the soul. Being isolated mostly already, except for Dawn, the lack of contact would not be much of a change. As for the dark parts of other's souls, I'd just create more excuses to let the hate flow through me. A close second? When the Griffins fell into the puddle of toxic waste, and gained super powers, Meg gained the ability to grow and shrink her finger nails. How redundant. It makes here even more socially awkward.

4) What's the worst dating experience you've ever had?

Well, as many of you know, Dawn and I met over the net. Before Dawn and I got together, there were a couple of "others" that I actually have met. One, we'll just call G. When I was in Ontario, G was living in New York State. After a couple of visits, I invited G to my cousin's wedding. Well, because G didn't want to drive to Ontario, as she felt she'd fall asleep at the wheel, I drove 5 hours there to pick her up, then worked upon reaching home, worked the Friday, wedding Saturday, spent time with her and the family Sunday, and drove her back Sunday night and came back Monday morning to go back to work. After all that she broke up with me the very next day.

5) Would you ever appear on television? In what capacity? Sitcom star? Dramatic actor? Talk or game show host? Reality contestant?

Well, I have appeared on television (well community access anyhow). Back when I lived in Canada's armpit, Windsor, Ontario, I appeared several times on a local sports talk show, a take on Off The Record. As for future appearancesnces, I would love to guest voice on Family Guy, as well if I ever produce television programming, I'd love to show up from time to time as a background or minor character, a la Kevin Smith or Alfred Hitchcock.

Hat tip to MCF for a good round of questions.

That is all.

Post for Todd #1

2006-03-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

Well, seeing as Jimmy and I are on the west coast, but I used to be out east where Todd, who has been such a good sport in our sparring match about a rather overweight Michael Moore and his documentary, Bowling for Columbine. As such, I shall post this email he sent me earlier today.

HYDRO ALERT - ONTARIO

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Hydro One are warning customers of the rotating winter power blackouts that are expected to occur on:

Saturday March 4, 2006
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006

This is a Province wide alert. The lack of power seems to consistently occur just after 7 pm on Saturday or 7:30 pm weekdays and is attributed to the excessive power required to run the goal judge light behind the Toronto Maple Leaf net.

Sincerely Yours,
Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One

Too bad the Lamp was lit for Leaf goals tonight. Well, the curse continues. When the Habs are in playoff contention, they suck ass against the Leafs.

Go Canucks Go!!!

I would like to snub the Academy

2006-03-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

Because, frankly, they snub most good movies out there. With few exceptions, such as accepting fantasy and giving the nod to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the Oscars^TM are nothing more than a "I'm in the club and you're not" kind of festival.

Cripes, it reminds me too much of film school and all the cliquey gits that went there (and taught there). But I'll save the film school rant for another day.

As for the Oscars^TM, and my contempt for commercial Hollywood, here are my top ten hated Oscar^TM moments:

10. In 1994, Best Picture went to Forrest Gump, as opposed to Pulp Fiction. Nothing like the middle finger to independent film. Again.

9. This year, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was limited to one Oscar Nomination. Best Makeup. And lost. Now, say what you want about character development and acting, but Star Wars still is technologically groundbreaking. But yet, no Editing, Sound, or Special Effects nominations. Yet War of the Worlds, with asexual hunk Tom Cruise, gets nods in the holy saga's place. It seems Tom fucked Star Wars more than he did Katie Holmes.

8. In 1979, Apocalypse Now loses out to Kramer vs. Kramer. I wonder which film had more longevity?

7. In 2003, Kill Bill vol. 1 didn't get a single nomination, yet [yawn] Seabiscuit gets 7: Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Best Picture, Sound Mixing, and Writing. What the duece? It's a remake of a film about A HORSE for crying out loud people.

6. How on Earth could Dances with Wolves ever, in a million years, be considered a better film than both Goodfellas or The Godfather, Part III?

5. This one I really need an explination for. How does one think the editing in Terms of Endearment (1983) is worthy of an Oscar^TM nomination over Return of the Jedi? The editors did such a good job in Jedi that they made a sneaker look like an Rebel battle ship.

4. Ordinary People does better than The Elephant Man? I wonder when Blockbuster Video last rented a copy of Ordinary People anyway? Hell, both Elephant Man and Raging Bull are much better movies.

3. No Kubrick films won for Best Picture or Direction. No Irving Thalberg award. Yet he insprires many to pursue his craft. His groundbreaking films still resonate to this day.

2. David Lynch loses out to Richie Cunningham/Opie Taylor in 2001 for Best Director. I know the genius of Mulholland Drive is lost on many. Including EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY.

1. Michael Moore's tirade after winning Best Documentary for Bowling for Columbine is cut short, because his comments are not entirely pro-America. Well, I guess the industry, at least on the Hollywood level, is far from being about freedom of speech.

That is all.

How Stephen Harper regards our freedoms

2006-03-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems the David Emerson saga just won't go away, much to the chagrin of the incumbent Conservative party. Yes, Ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro is conducting an investigation into the events and circumstances surrounding the defection of Liberal elected, now Conservative MP and Minister of International Trade David Emerson, as to wether Emerson, Harper, or both have been involved in any conflict of interest.

David Emerson, still reluctant to engage heavily with the press, remaining secluded, agreed to whatever terms were set out by Mr. Shapiro.

Stephen Harper, however, took an all too familiar stance toward the investigation. As per Sandra Buckler, the Prime Minister's director of communications has stated today:

"The Prime Minister is loath to co-operate with an individual whose decision-making ability has been questioned, moreover who has been found in contempt of the House,"

"This Liberal appointee's actions have strengthened the Prime Minister's resolve to create a truly non-partisan ethics commissioner, who is accountable to Parliament."

Well, it's becoming increasingly apparent that the Prime Minister's accountability has lasted as long as newspaper in a lit fireplace.

Isn't it funny how it's Conservative types who supported more investigative rights for the authorities in the wake of 9/11, when us liberal types complained about the comprise? Their response? "If you have done nothing wrong, what have you to worry about?"

Well Mr. Harper, what have you done wrong? Simple. You comprised you're own values, where in the past you slammed MP's such as Belinda Stronach for crossing the floor when it detracted from your party, but then endorse it when the crossing of the floor benefits your party. You sir, are a two faced liar with no accountability.

Instead, you attack the freedom to investigate these actions, discrediting the Ethics commissioner by linking him with the corruption of the Liberal governments of the past. Is that your only card, Mr. Harper. "We're not as bad as them?"

At your current rate though, and thankfully for Canada, your current pace won't allow your recent surge in popularity, based on an artificial sense of accountability, to last to the next election.

I am just wondering what Mr. Harper's response would be to a thorough investigative piece of journalism by Canada's most daring location reporter, Marg Delahunty...

I just wonder how Harper will respond to the creative freedoms of our press?

That is all.

Source: CBC article.

Post for Jimmy #8

2006-03-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

Found at Heather's site:

Your Career Type: Artistic

You are expressive, original, and independent.
Your talents lie in your artistic abilities: creative writing, drama, crafts, music, or art.

You would make an excellent:

Actor - Art Teacher - Book Editor
Clothes Designer - Comedian - Composer
Dancer - DJ - Graphic Designer
Illustrator - Musician - Sculptor

The worst career options for your are conventional careers, like bank teller or secretary.

What's Your Ideal Career?

That is all.

Post for Jimmy #7

2006-03-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

Another meh-me. Sorry Jimmy, I can't think of something both creative AND short.

You Are 80% Open Minded

You are so open minded that your brain may have fallen out!
Well, not really. But you may be confused on where you stand.
You don't have a judgemental bone in your body, and you're very accepting.
You enjoy the best of every life philosophy, even if you sometimes contradict yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

That is all.

Definitely not the hot cuppa I like in the AM

2006-02-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

I must say it took me a bit of time mulling this one over in my head before I could even negotiate a suitable response to these wonderful pieces of propaganda cropping up all over the last bastion of freedom in the world, the internet. To save a rather boring, lengthy history lesson, many of our freedoms we take for granted are depleting rapidly under the dogma of "fighting unknown terrors."

And on that note, brings me to my point. And yes, I promise I will keep this short and sweet. Based on virtually every election I can remember, a certain pattern occurs. Party A makes a set of promises. Party B makes a seperate set of promises. Party C makes a third set. And so on for all the different parties running. The people elect one of these choices based on what policies and promises fit their mood at the time. Once in power, the elected party tends to reneg on some to all of the campaign promises they made. Voters become apathetic. People lose faith in the system. Politicians become more corrupt.

Nothing here should be a shock. If so, then I suggest you LEAVE AMERICA NOW! Anyhow, fast forward to Harper's election campaign. Accountability. Hit the Liberals when they are down, the guilty finger pointed squarely at them in the wake of the Gomery report. Suggest legislation to hold the government more accountable for their actions. Of course, Harper's accountability went flying out of the window only two weeks after being elected. See David Emerson if you have any questions. Or, if you're from the USA and don't know Mr. Emerson, Google him. It is obvious Mr. Harper was not sincere about political accountability, at least beyond using it to make Mr. Martin look bad in comparison. What a fucking shock.

So how can governments be held accountable. Put simply, by us, the electorate. It is not only our right to be able to excersise our right of freedom of speech, it is our responsibility to use it to keep those ~~lying bastards~~ politicians accountable, be they Conservative, Liberal, New Democrat, Bloc, or the like. Only by encouraging an atmosphere of free thought and free voice can we all have the courage to question our elected public SERVANTS, to keep them honest (well, at least relatively honest), and we can progress as a truly free society.

As for the poster and those like it, they simply do one thing. Inspire fear. Fear of questioning authority. Fear of the machine. Just shut the fuck up and you won't get hurt. But consider this. What can be accomplished without any risk?

Post for Jimmy #6

2006-02-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

A couple of meh-me's. Enjoy. Hat tip: Clayton.

YOUR TYPE OF GIRL

The Girl Next Door
52% Sexy-Cute, 46% Dark-Light, 40% Artsy-Stylish

Cute, neither Dark nor Light, and neither Artsy nor Stylish. This
sounds like a blah category, right? Oh, my, no. The Girl Next Door has
been the subject of more dirty fantasies than you could possibly count.
She's so sweet, and innocent, and infinitely corruptible. Every
morning you glance out your window hoping she'll have forgotten to draw
the blinds. You may feel bad about it, but you know you'll be doing it
again tomorrow.

If you liked my test, Please rate it highly! Thanks!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 52% on Sexy-Cute
You scored higher than 33% on Dark-Light
You scored higher than 27% on Artsy-Stylish

Link: The Your Type of Girl Test written by dgc20e on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

And number 2:

BEAUTIFUL FACES TEST

Jennifer Garner
42% Eyes, 52% Nose, 51% Mouth, 50% SexyCute

You seem to enjoy bigger noses and lips, but smaller eyes, and a sexy demeanor. Jennifer definitely skews more toward sexy than cute.
Her smaller eyes rest above a more dominant nose and mouth. Jennifer is
successful both on television (Alias) and in the movies (Daredevil,
Elektra).
Similar: Famke Janssen (smaller mouth), Jessica Biel (cuter)
If you liked my test, please remember to give it a decent score, and of course I'm always happy to hear feedback. Thanks!
Also, you could check out my Your Type of Girl Test.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 12% on Eyes
You scored higher than 71% on Nose
You scored higher than 55% on Lips
You scored higher than 39% on SexyCute

Link: The Beautiful Faces Test written by dgc20e on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Post for Jimmy #5

2006-02-27T21:46:00.000-08:00

WHAT KIND OF COFFEE ARE YOU?

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated
You're a low maintenance kind of guy... who can hang with the girls
Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites.
And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Hat tip: Samantha

[edited slightly as it seems the meh-me was intended for girls, so as such, modified it for my... wait, let me check... yup, still in place... my gender]

That is all.

Don Cherry's Nightmare

2006-02-27T01:16:00.000-08:00

Happened early Sunday morning (well Sunday morning to the point of view of us types living on the west coast). Yes, for the second time in olympic history, Sweden won the gold medal in Men's hockey. Maybe I'm showing my age, but I just have this feeling the whole situation is not sitting well with Grapes.

Yes, I can remember when Grapes got big. Back in the late 80's, in my high school days (gawd has it been that long?) Coaches corner was a fixture for Hockey Night in Canada, and the first in many Rock'em Sock'em Hockey volumes (which have now morphed into Don Cherry volumes). Amongst his support for fighting, good hits, and great plays, the other thing that constantly came out of his mouth was the word "Swede". Cherry hated the Swedes. At that point, a much higher percentage of players were born in North America, most in Canada, and some in the USA. And there was a small, but growing faction of European players joining the NHL, with Swedish players being the largest number in the group. As such, all the problems of the league were blamed on the Swedes by Grapes.

But it didn't stop there. If you were from Finland, you were a Swede. If you were from the former Czechoslovakia, you were a Swede. When Russian players started flocking to the NHL, they too were Swedish. With their chippy play and rat-like behaviours (in Grapes' opinion), it was undermining the great game of hockey.

Maybe Cherry has changed his ways. Or maybe he's just cleaned up his act. At 72, it could be a safe bet that the dog can't learn new tricks, and has just been muzzled by the CBC in this age of political correctness.

Though it's a bitter pill that the Canadian Men did not finish with a medal, let alone the gold we were all expecting, it must be an especially bitter pill for Grapes to swallow that Sweden won gold as well. But maybe that's what happens when you sell out all of Canada to support the dollars and Toronto, aka New York Junior.

That is all.

I'm Evil

2006-02-25T23:45:00.000-08:00

What a shock...

You Are 62% Evil

You are very evil. And you're too evil to care.
Those who love you probably also fear you. A lot.

How Evil Are You?

Boredom post # one for this night

2006-02-25T23:38:00.000-08:00

So a meh-me

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
You're totally weird and very proud of it.
Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way.

Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

What American City Are You?

Hockey Players I Admire Episode I

2006-02-25T00:27:00.000-08:00

As you may (or may not, depending on your state of consciousness or sobriety) have guessed, I haven't posted consistently this week (well for the about ten of you that come here somewhat frequently). Being in a funk, for lack of a better way of putting it, I'm literally aching for some film work to return to the lower mainland. Luckily though, working my two days off on a construction site, the General Contracter and I got off on the right foot, seeing as we have the glorious game of hockey and a mutual dislike of the Make Beliefs. Anyhow, our conversation reminded me of something my late Uncle and I always got kicks out of...

Talking about our favourite hockey enforcers, great fights we saw in the NHL, which was topped by fits of laughter, followed by the phrase "God I love hockey!!" As a note for those across the pond, just the tough guys fight. We fans don't riot, we just drink beer in the stands.

Anyhow, one of the names from the past that just keeps coming up is this one.

DAVE "THE HAMMER" SCHULTZ

b. October 14, 1949 in Waldheim, Saskatchewan.

NHL Career Totals:
Games: 535
Goals: 79
Assists: 121
Penalties in Minutes: 2294

God I love hockey! And Uncle Dave, I will always remember our hockey discussions/arguments. And we all still miss you.