Monday, March 31, 2008

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I don't care if it's "just wrestling", but right now I'm watching the "farewell" show to Ric Flair, the greatest wrestling entertainer of all time. With the possible exception of Bret Hart, there will be no one else like him. Yeah, all this wrestling stuff is fake and scripted but so are movies and musicals and soap operas. Just as people can idolize actors and singers, I can idolize a wrestler. The Nature Boy was an amazing performer. Thank you Nature Boy. One more time, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

"To be the man, you have to beat The Man" -- Ric Flair (and no one will ever beat you)

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Bandwagon

I was fortunate enough to be able to go the hockey game tonight. I got to watch Calgary against the on/off Vancouver Canucks. It looks like the bandwagon jumpers have hopped back on. I can never understand the Canuck fans. I bet if you did a poll around the league and asked which fans jump on and off the bandwagon the most, it would be the Canuck fans.

That's why I cheer for the Habs.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Family First?

So you are in the middle of a tight playoff race. Your wife just had a baby (C-section too) at 4:30pm the day before. You spend the night with her.... then you fly from Florida to Minnesota the next day just so you can play a game of hockey? And you lose 4-0? Maybe Roberto Luongo should think about what is more important in his life, LIKE HIS FAMILY? If anything it looks like he'll be spending the rest of spring in Florida because the playoffs sure don't look too good for the Canucks.

But who cares, the Habs are first in the East again! Vive les Habitantes!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Moment of Truth

Here is a TV show that demonstrates perfectly what is wrong with American society. What would possess a woman to go on national TV and admit in front of a whole country (and her husband) that she had an affair, all to try to win $500,000? And the funny and ironic thing is in the end she won nothing. Whatever happened to shows about family values?

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Movies Movies Movies

It looks like my good friend Johnny and I disagree on our desires to see 21. That's OK, he's still cool (and always will be).

That being said, here are the movies that I am truly looking forward to see in 2008 (and listed in order of importance to me):


Mamma Mia!
How can you go wrong with a musical with all ABBA songs in the soundtrack?
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Welcome back Indy!
Quantum of Solace Bond, James Bond
The Dark Knight
May Heath Ledger rest in peace.

Who's in First?

Canada has always been one of the teams to beat in curling (that would be the sport as opposed to anything to do with one's hair). Other teams that have made great strides are Sweden, Germany, Norway and even the United States. But anybody who's watching the Women's World Curling Championships knows that the team that is 7-0 is....China. Who would have thought?

So Much For My Hero

Back in the mid 80's to mid 90's the Habs had a goalie in net by the name of Patrick Roy. While Ken Dryden had been my hero for a long time, it seemed that he'd been replaced. Watching Patrick Roy in the 1993 playoffs is something I'll never forget.

Fast forward to the new millenium. Patrick Roy's coaching has been questioned. His temper often got the best of him. And now, seeing what he told his son to do makes me sick. Yes, there is no proof that he told his son Jonathan to go after the other goalie, but let's not be stupid here. It's so obvious. To Mr. Patrick Roy, I'll never forget your performance in 1993, but unfortunately it will also take time before I forget your performance in 2008. Even though I don't condone what Jonathan Roy did, he only did what his father told him to. Mr. Patrick Roy, you make me sick. Mr. Ken Dryden, you are once again my hero.

LOLZ BECOZ LAR LAR

I think I could almost change my blog to some sort of a daily rant thing, but something has been irking me as of late (actually, as of a long time ago). Text messaging has become a way of life for a lot of people. I can understand that you may wish to keep your message short (to save money perhaps) and so you would use certain abbreviations. Shortcuts such as "lol" and "thx" have become part of language. Writing "lol" instead of "laughing out loud" does save time. But is it really necessary to shorten a word such as "because" to an ugly replacement such as "becoz"? Does saving two letters really change the world? And to confuse matters more, some folks like to put "lolz" instead of "lol". And permit me to take a stab at my own culture but please stop adding crap like "lar" and "lor" at the end of every sentence. If you're going to keep your email or text message short, don't add stupid combinations of letters that don't even make a word. Don't waste my time.

It's no wonder today's education is in such a disarray. Nobody can spell correctly now. I was once known at work as the guy who writes too much in his emails. I guess correct spelling and grammar is a crime.

Monday, March 24, 2008

21

It's not a good practice for someone to review a movie before he/she has seen it but I already have an idea of what this movie will be about. They are modernizing something that happened 20 years ago. I can't wait to see a bunch of yahoos come to the casino and try to cheat the casinos like Ben Mezrich et al ALLEGEDLY (still not proven) tried to do way back when. As much as I like Kevin Spacey as an actor, this movie will not be on my "to see" list (well maybe for a good laugh).

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Farewell Vancouver

At the moment I won't be buying a place to live. Instead I found a place to rent in Richmond for the time being. This will give me time to shop slowly for my new home. My landlords are a very nice old couple. More details to follow.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Who Cares Part 2?

What is wrong with America? The PROSTITUTE (or CALL GIRL -- whatever) is getting offers from stupidly greedy Americans. Why is she not charged with prostitution? It's a joke. That is why I will never live in the United States. I'm sorry to my American friends.

P.S. Somebody please remove Nancy Grace from the airwaves. Her show is nothing but a vehicle for her to spout her ridiculous views. Her stories are interesting but listening to her gives me a headache. You disagree with her and she ignores you. I used to respect her as a great attorney but now she is nothing but a skank. Maybe put her on The View and she'll make Rosie O'Donnell seem like Snow White.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Who Cares?

Here is a list of people and topics I really don't want to read or hear anything more in the news about:

1) Heather Mills (please go away now)
2) Britney Spears (you serve no purpose on this planet)
3) Paris Hilton (obviously you forgot all those things you promised to do after you went to jail; obviously you have no brain)
4) New York government officials sleeping around (is it that big a deal in this day and age?)

Just a rant before bed.

The Other Boleyn Girl (Again)

Avy wanted to see the movie so I went to see it again. You can't go wrong seeing Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson onscreen, even if the movie was average. I did enjoy the film a bit more this time as I was able to understand the characters more. Mary (Scarlett's character) was a virtuous person who meant no harm to anyone. Kristin Scott Thomas played a strong role as the mother of the Boleyns (maybe even a slim possibility come Oscar time).

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Priorities

The rest of the month will be quite busy for me (aside from work). I have a lot of projects and other things that must be completed. I need to prioritize everything so hopefully everything will be done on time. I hope I won't be too terribly stressed. I came across a book, Crosswords to Keep Your Brain Young. Obviously it is a book about crosswords but it is also a book on how the brain works, and how one can keep it working throughout one's life. I found it quite educational.

Monday, March 10, 2008

I Need a Holiday

I've been back a week from my unforgettable trip to the Big Apple. Everything has slowed down and it's back to the cycle of sleep-work-sleep. My 4am-2pm shift on Saturday was very tough (it probably didn't help that I was out until midnight the night before), especially the drive home. And of course we had daylight savings time so my sleep cycle is a bit out of whack at the moment.

I need a holiday.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

That's It?

And so one of the most memorable holidays in my life is coming to an end. It is back to work at 8:30am tomorrow. I've had such a wonderful time. I got to sit in a room with 700 other people sharing the same passion. Even though I knew that I had no chance of winning anything, it was a most enjoyable experience. There are a lot of people that I would love to meet next year. In the meantime, I have a year to "train" for the 2009 tournament.

As for New York itself, what more can I say but "WOW". I'll be back, hopefully very soon.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Definitely, Maybe

This wasn't my first choice for a movie but my date decided on it, so I decided to go. It was the standard romantic tale which seemed to have shades of Mamma Mia! in it. While the ABBA musical involved three prospective fathers, this movie involved three prospective mothers. That's all I'll say for now. I will add that Abigail Breslin is a very talented young actress who will go far. It was an OK movie.

Monday, March 03, 2008

The Other Boleyn Girl

One thing I didn't get a chance to do in New York was to catch the premiere of this movie starring two very beautiful women, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Even before the movie started I got a wonderful treat, the trailer for Mamma Mia! It was a pleasant surprise.

As for the movie itself, if you take away the two beautiful women, I'll have to say the film was a bit of a disappointment. The story was confusing and it was hard to decide who was good and who was bad. Eric Bana started as a compassionate Henry but then couldn't decide what to do. I respect Natalie Portman as an actress (and incredibly smart woman) but she didn't seem to belong in this movie.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

I have returned from perhaps the best vacation of my life. My result in the tournament was insignificant compared to the amazement I felt seeing 700+ people in one room just doing crosswords. It was a varied group of people from many walks of life who happened to share the love of one thing. I do plan to return next year.

As for New York itself, I think I truly like the city more than Vegas. And those who know me know that this is a bold statement to make. But just standing in front of Times Square I realized what an amazing town this New York is. I have to come back to see some shows, visit museums and explore the city in detail. I have actually figured out the subway system.

The downside to this trip is that I did take a hit in my pocketbook but a trip to Vegas would probably have done the same. Now I must go back to work and recover.

P.S. The link to the tournament is at Crossword Tournament

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Half Full or Half Empty

The current standings are up and of course I am nowhere near the top (and fairly near the bottom). Currently I am in 622nd place out of 727 players. I am also in 9th place among the foreign solvers, which sounds better than saying that I am in 9th out of 12 foreign solvers).

There is one more puzzle for everyone tomorrow, then the leaders faceoff in a final puzzle before the awards and closing ceremonies.

I also had a chance to have dinner with some people I met through the ABBAMAIL mailing list; Laura, Ron and Bill. We had dinner near Greenwich Village and it was delicious (although the service left something to be desired).

I must return to New York shortly, can it be I don't want to go to Vegas anymore?

So Far So Bad

Here's a quick update as Rounds 1-3 have just been completed. I knew from the start that I would have no chance of being anywhere near the top of the standings and today I proved my point. Puzzle had a 15-minute time limit. The pros were leaving the room (aka finished) after 3 minutes. I stuck around trying to complete the puzzle; I had most of it done at 7 minutes but spent 5 minutes trying to figure out one word. It's too bad I don't know my Jewish terms or I'd have filled in MAZELTOV instead of the incorrect MAZELTOF. Puzzle 2 was a mess and I (as well as many others in the room) were nowhere near finishing. I managed to complete Puzzle 3, but I had to guess some of the words so we'll see. The festivities continue in 30 minutes.