Kicking Air v.2: "The Blog Wars"

A streak will end, a heart will break & the fans will go home happy; My Wrestlemania 25 Predictions

2009-04-05T02:35:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe it is Wrestlemania time again already.

Intercontinental Championship, JBL (c) vs Rey Mysterio

At first I was expecting this to open the show, but JBL was used in that role last year against Finlay. It still might though. Anyway, JBL continues to promise something historic will go down with him at Wrestlemania. Rumours are abound that he intends to retire as IC champion, which is about the only real "historic" thing I think he could do here, unless Mysterio pins him in 5 seconds... I think he'll announce this will be his last match beforehand, and we'll see Mysterio ruin the Texan's ambitious plans. What with Tazz leaving the announce booth, I think they might squeeze JBL back into his commentator's role. I doubt they have confidence in Striker to step up to Smackdown. Maybe with the draft so soon, we'll see Cole/Ross return to their original shows, reuniting announce teams. Anyway, that has nothing to do with the result of the IC title match.

Winner, New IC Champ: Rey Mysterio

Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Finlay vs Mark Henry vs Kane vs CM Punk vs Koffi Kingston vs MVP vs Shelton Benjamin vs Christian

The insane spotfests have been toned down a bit the past few years and downgraded to controlled chaos. You can see the big spots coming, and how they're being set up. Notwithstanding, it'll still be fun to watch. You could make some good arguments for and against several of the competitors. Shelton Benjamin has been stuck in Money In The Bank for several years, and I don't ever see him winning it. They wouldn't repeat themselves with Punk winning. I doubt Henry could logically climb the ladder fast enough to get to the briefcase. Kingston & Benjamin are most likely to take themselves out via an insane big highspot. Easy money is on Christian or MVP. I think storyline wise it would be great for MVP to continue his comeback trail by picking up Money In The Bank so soon after reclaiming the U.S title. But giving the chance to cash in to Christian would give him the opportunity to rise out from ECW and challenge for one of the big two belts.

Winner: Christian

I'll also go out on a limb and predict that *IF* Christian wins, he'll be the first person to cash in but not win a title...

25 Diva Battle Royal, winner is crowned Miss Wrestlemania

I won't bother listing everyone involved in this one. I like the idea of bringing in divas of yesteryear to make it more of a big deal, although if any casual fan really cares to see Miss Jackie come back, I'd be surprised. I'm pumped to see Molly Holly return. I was never fond of Torie Wilson, but she was around for quite a lot from her WCW days to The Invasion, to her dad marrying Dawn Marie. So despite any real in-ring skills, she had an remarkable run. They haven't announced Trish Stratus as a participant, although I fully expect her to show up. With all the build they've been giving him, I also expect to see Santino Marella compete in drag. Should be comical to see all of the divas gang up on him and toss him out. Everyone knows my love of all things Melina, so I'm rooting for her... but I don't see it going down that way. I think Beth Phoenix is going to have an opportunity to shine (further) as the dominant force of the women's division. Plus I expect some hilarity as a jealous Santino must stand by and watch his girlfriend be crowned Miss Wrestlemania. I smell another Wrestlemania break-up for poor Santino. Should be good.

Winner: Beth Phoenix

Chris Jericho vs "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper & Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

I'm interested in the novelty of seeing Steamboat wrestle. We've seen Snuka & Piper pop up for one-shot deals several times over the years, but never The Dragon. Hell, Piper even had a cup of coffee with the World Tag Titles... I'm not expecting much wrestling wise out of the three Legends, and fully expect Jericho dominate. I'm guess Jericho will go through Snuka first, and then get a cheap pin on Piper. Enter the Dragon. I doubt Steamboat has the stamina to go long, so by this point I expect Mickey Rouke & Ric Flair to get involved. Maybe Y2J lays out Flair, and it about to do something dastardly to Steamboat, but in comes Rourke with the save. Either way the match ends with Rouke costing Jericho. Post match Jericho could try to have it out with Rourke, but the star of "The Wrestler" & Legends get the better of Jericho.

Winner (s): Steamboat, Snuka & Piper

On a side note, I was just thinking about how great a feud Chris Jericho (circa 2009) would have with Roddy Piper (circa 1991). That would be something wildly entertaining.

WWE & World Tag Title Unification, Morrison & The Miz vs Carlitto & Primo Colon

I'll assume each of the Bella twins will accompany their team to the ring barring no major ankle or knee injuries stemming from the Diva battle royal. I honestly don't know which one is which and who likes who. Which is kind of sad, because I've actually enjoyed this feud. It's drawn out longer than most and I've been very entertained by the in-ring work and outside the ring work. There was something wonderfully campy and old school about Miz & Morrison taking the Bellas to a restaurant only to have Carlitto & Primo dress as the waiters and make asses of themselves. I think we'll see some great fast paced, high flying action in this one. The unification of the tag titles makes sense considering Miz & Morrison have been on all three shows on a continuous basis for the past ten months. What brand extension? Anyway. Miz & Morrison seem to be the pinnacle of what WWE wants from a tag team. Might as well give them the historic win.

Winners & Unified Tag Team Champions, John Morrison & The Miz

I completely forgot this is supposed to be a lumberjack match, so they can get the rest of the roster out in front of the crowd for a Wrestlemania payday. There are some odd choices for lumberjacks in this. Especially Vladmir Kozlov. This guy was JUST in the Elimination Chamber at No Way Out in Feb. This is quite a step down for him. The Great Khali is a former World champion, and he's stuck on lumberjack duty. Chavo Guerrero who is somewhat involved with the World title story is relegated to lumberjack status alongside Funaki and Hawkins & Ryder. I dunno, it doesn't make much sense to me. Anyway, regardless of the lumberjacks, I don't see them having any significant impact on the match. So moving on....

The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels

Mr. Wrestlemania attempts to disrupt the streak and make it 16-1... That should be good. HBK has gotten the best of Undertaker repeatedly every week since the matchup was announced. Hrmmm. Let's think about that.

Winner: 17-0.

Extreme Rules, no DQ; Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy

In anticipation of this match, I threw in my DVD of Vengeance 2001 featuring the first take on Matt vs Jeff. That match was heavily crapped on by the IWC and wrestling critics. Upon watching it again many years later, it wasn't as bad as I remember it being. Lita's involvement though was the biggest downside. Now it's strictly brother vs brother. I think making it extreme rules is WWE's way of preventing this from being another Vengeance. Weapons always keep things fresh. When Matt first turned on Jeff, I was expecting them to still reveal that Christian was behind the accidents... Looks like that is not the case, and it was Jeff's evil brother all along. All right, I'll buy that. Jeff can lose without losing any heat with the crowd, as has been documented again and again. A win for Matt here would be really huge, as his heel persona is still taking off. I'll go with the dark horse, and let Jeff get his at Backlash.

Winner: Matt Hardy

World Title, Edge (c) vs John Cena vs The Big Show

This has had an interesting build coming into Wrestlemania. John Cena blackmailed his way into the match. Big Show sleeps with Vickie Guerrero to get into the match. Edge... well. Dunno what to say about Edge at this point. I don't have high expectations for this match. Cena vs Edge has been done to death. There' s not much else they can do with them. So I expect Show to figure heavily into the scheme of things. Floyd Mayweather, Undertaker, Mankind, Akebono, Kane, Triple-H... What do they all have in common? They have all beat The Big Show at Wrestlemania. In face, The Big Show has yet to score a win of his own on wrestling's grandest stage. He did win a tag team match at 'Mania 22, but it was Kane who scored the pinfall, so I'm going to ignore it. In ten years of being with WWE, Big Show has never won here. All I can say is that someone is due their Wrestlemania moment. The streak shall end.

Winner, The Big Show

Although what I would give to see Edge win and Christian cash in Money in the bank... Damn.

WWE Title, Triple H (c) vs Randy Orton

This has had the most personal build of the bunch... Triple H vs Randy Orton has been brewing for years since Orton's departure from Evolution. Let's ignore the fact that they both competed last year in a triple threat with Cena, shall we? I don't know what I can say about this match. Despite the build, I have little to no interest in it. The leader of Legacy has been on a giant roll, culminating with winning the Royal Rumble. Most Rumble winners move on to win the big one at 'mania. Not this time, the McMahons will see to that. Oh, and HHH hasn't won at Wrestlemania in six years. I doubt that fact is lost on anyone in the booking commitee.

Winner & Still WWE Champ: Triple H to send 'em home happy

Scrubs: Joshua Radin - Sesame Street Song (HD)

2009-01-29T12:18:00.001-05:00

A Camp - Stronger Than Jesus

2009-01-15T18:44:00.001-05:00

Wrestlemania 24

2008-03-28T13:45:00.004-04:00

WRESTLMANIA 24 PREDICTIONS

Well, we are once again upon another Wrestlemania, this time taking place from the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The superbowl of wrestling will be happening in an outdoor venue for the first time since 1994. I am in favor of anything that changes the standardized look of WWE broadcasts. So the outdoor ring is cool with me. And if it rains? It will be just one of many Wrestlemania memories that stand the test of time…

Okay, dramatics aside, I’m pretty excited for Wrestlemania this year. They’ve done a phenomenal job at marketing it. They set the majority of the card up early giving lot’s of time for build.

Unfortunately for you dear reader, I’m bored. So I’m going to go with an in-depth look at each of the matches. I apologize for the lengthiness.

Here we go…

Money in the Bank:
CM Punk v. John Morrison v. Chris Jericho v. M.V.P v. Shelton Benjamin v. Carlito v. Mr. Kennedy

Seven men? I kind of wish they put Matt Hardy in this match to even it out at eight. Not because I want to see him in another ladder match. I firmly believe that Matt Hardy v. M.V.P should have been on this card, and interjecting Matt into Money In The Bank would be a way to see that. That match had some of the best build I have seen in years (If you forget the pizza eating contest). I guess I’ll have to wait for Backlash. Let’s look at the actual participants:

Chris Jericho – Making a return to the match that he created, the Intercontinental champion also makes his return to Wrestlemania after several years off. Jericho has shown his worth in ladder matches in the past, without taking insane bumps (ala Jeff Hardy).

Mr. Kennedy – Proved that the company is willing to get behind him by winning it last year. If it weren’t for an injury that took away the briefcase, who knows how Kennedy would have cashed in? This year we know. He’s told us. He intends to cash in Money in The Bank at this very Wrestlemania.

Shelton Benjamin – The Gold Standard of ECW was interjected into this match because of his ability to shine in matches like this. Doesn’t have a hope in Hell of winning, but is sure to create a Wrestlemania moment or two.

John Morrison – I really don’t have anything to say about Morrison. I would have much rather seen him defend the Tag Team titles with the Miz, but that is a moot point. Much like Benjamin, “The Shaman Of Sexy” shall fulfill his duty of being a spot monkey and nothing else.

CM Punk – I’m not blindly behind CM Punk because of his ROH/Indy work, because frankly I haven’t seen it. However, I do think he is a character that the crowd can and will get behind, and if it weren’t for the glass ceiling in WWE, I would expect big things from him. I thought we’d see more from him in last year’s Money In The Bank, so this could be a second chance to steal the show. Personally, I am rooting for Punk although I am not optimistic. Prove me wrong WWE.

Carlito – Adrift in the directionless mid-card of Raw, he’s been spending his time teaming with Santino Marella. With Santino’s split from Maria, I see these tag team partners drifting apart as well. Which leaves Carlito open for new endeavors. Winning Money In The Bank would be a good way to start rebuilding the credibility that Carlito once had.

M.V.P – Since defeating Chris Benoit, M.V.P has held onto the U.S title for close to a year now for one of the longest reigns in many years. Sure he rarely defends it, but that’s irrelevant. He’s shown his worth by competing against some of Smackdown’s biggest names, and proved to be very entertaining in his feud with Matt Hardy. What better way to add more bling to M.V.P’s career than to give him the coveted opportunity that awaits inside that briefcase?

Winner: M.V.P

Belfast Brawl
Finlay v. J.B.L

All right, a street fight. I mean Belfast Brawl. To-ma-toe, tom-at-oe. After months and months of build with the Mr. McMahon’s son storyline, it finally comes to fruition and pays off with Finlay and J.B.L.

Yeah, I didn’t see that coming either.

If you asked me six months ago how the Hornswoggle storyline would play out, I’ll admit I couldn’t have come up with this. That’s a good and a bad thing. At least it was unpredictable. These two have big reputations for being stiff workers, and the match stipulations give a lot of room for them to live up to it. It really does feel that there are more layers to this story, so I expect more to happen post Wrestlemania. What better way to continue on a feud than by letting the heel win?

Winner: J.B.L

Bunny-Mania
Ashley & Maria v. Melina & Beth Phoenix

What exactly does Bunny-Mania consist of? I’m not entirely sure, but I know it involves Snoop Dogg as master of ceremonies, the roster of divas at ringside as Lumberjills, and a lot of Playboy tie-in’s and references. Essentially, this match is an excuse to parade around the WWE Divas and not much else. You know of my love of all things Melina, but I am afraid that she is no match for the promotional powerhouse that is Playboy.

Winners: Maria & Ashley

After all, we have magazines to sell.

And as a side note, I REALLY hope we see some Santino Marella involved with Bunny-Mania.

24 Man Battle Royal

Winner gets a shot at ECW Title

Raw
- Brian Kendrick
- Cody Rhodes
- Hacksaw Jim Duggan
- Hardcore Holly
- Lance Cade
- Snitsky
- Trevor Murdoch
- Val Venis

SmackDown
- Chuck Palumbo
- Deuce
- Domino
- Festus
- Jamie Noble
- Jesse
- Jimmy Wang Yang
- Kane
- Mark Henry
- Shannon Moore
- The Great Khali

ECW
- Elijah Burke
- Kofi Kingston
- Matt Striker
- The Miz
- Tommy Dreamer

Time for another much maligned Pre-Wrestlemania battle royal. Originally slated to be on the card, the match was pushed back to the pre-show and will be broadcast live on WWE.com. Personally, I am all in favor of another battle royal at Wrestlemania. Why? Because it gets just about everyone on the card. Not only does it give the wrestlers a nice Wrestlemania payday, but it showcases the depth of the roster. In the “showcase of the immortals”, the underappreciated mid-card gets to have their moment. Plus, I really like battle royals. Call it a guilty pleasure I guess.

How do you accurately predict a battle royal? With 24 choices, it ain’t easy. But using a little bit of “booking logic” can help weed out the possibilities. Let’s be realistic. Lance Cade doesn’t have a hope in Hell. Shannon Moore? Not going to happen. With the winner receiving a shot against Chavo Guerrero for the ECW title, it’s going to be someone who can justify having that spot at Wrestlemania. Realistically speaking, it comes down to a handful of guys, all whom the WWE has been pushing in that direction.

Smart money is on The Great Khali. He won a battle royal for the World title, why couldn’t he win here? Defeating Stevie Richards in 10 seconds a few weeks back on ECW TV landed Khali in headlines across India. WWE is said to be pushing heavily for more of a presence in that market. I’m sure Khali winning the battle royal and beating Guerrero for the ECW title would be good for business there. So logic wise and business wise, Khali is a smart choice. I don’t see it happening though.

Will it be Kane? Potentially. A perennial player at Wrestlemania, Kane has a long history participating in the event and it is kind of sad to see him relegated to preshow battle royal status… Nonetheless, challenging Chavo would be a giant mountain for the champ to climb.

Wrestlemania has a history of giving due to the underdog. Eddie Guerrero. Chris Benoit. Rey Mysterio. So why not the heart and soul of ECW, Tommy Dreamer? Chavo defeated Dreamer in three minutes on TV this past week which doesn’t help, but more importantly they raised the idea of Dreamer challenging.

And what about the world’s strongest man, Mark Henry?

Okay, I doubt they’d give the shot to Henry, but logically it would make sense. The Silverback (does he still go by that?) is built like a wall and would be very difficult to toss over the top rope. To be honest though, I just don’t see it happening.

So who is it going to be?

If I were booking it, I would want someone that fans could rally behind. So eliminate the heels. I would want someone capable of putting on a great show. Surviving a 24 man battle royal and competing for a title later on makes someone an underdog.

Winner: Tommy Dreamer

And to be fair, I thought that BEFORE ECW tv this week...

ECW Title match
Chavo Guerrero v. Winner of aforementioned battle royal

Winning a battle royal and winning an ECW title match require defying many odds, especially when you consider that Chavo will be fresh having not competed earlier. All in all, I don’t see all three titles changing hands, and this is the one title that doesn’t appear to be a foregone conclusion. I think having Tommy Dreamer win the battle royal and compete for the ECW Title would be a Hell of a story… But I didn’t say the story had a happy ending.

Winner: Chavo Guerrero

Brand Supremacy
Umaga VS Batista

… another fight for brand supremacy? How many of those have we seen over the years? Sadly I think both of these guys were afterthoughts when drafting the Wrestlemania 24 picture. Bastista stole the show last year with Undertaker, and Umaga is consistent if anything. Word has leaked online that they intend this feud to be a bridge to bring Umaga to Smackdown for other purposes, and it makes the most sense to me. I don’t expect much from this throwaway match.

Winner: Batista

The Biggest Battles The Best
The Big Show v. Floyd "Money" Mayweather

I’m not a boxing fan, but even I know of Floyd Mayweather. Sure, I didn’t know his name, but I knew him as the obnoxious loud mouth that I would love to see get knocked out. I don’t know how much of Floyd Mayweather is a character he portrays, but he certainly comes off as a dislikable heel in the world of wrestling. Sometimes the arena fans see it, sometimes not. I know I’d boo him… No one seems to be too certain of the rules of the match I’ve heard rumblings that they’ve announced that it will be no holds barred. So that puts Mayweather’s posse into the mix of things.

I don’t really know what we’re going to see out of this match. A part of me wonders if this is redemption for Big Show after an unsuccessful attempt at cross brand promotion when he faced Akebono at Wrestlemania 21 in a sumo match. Will Floyd Mayweather fufil his promise of breaking Big Show’s jaw? Will Big Show end Floyd Mayweather’s pro-boxing career? I don’t know. But I know the end result and will sum it up in as simple terms as I can put it.

There is no way that a boxing world champion would agree to do this gig if he wasn’t going to look good doing it.

Winner: Floyd Mayweather

Career Threatening match
Shawn Michaels v. Ric Flair

Is it really such a foregone conclusion that Ric Flair’s career will be ending at Wrestlemania? I don’t think so. Of all people to end The Nature Boy’s career, I just don’t see it being Shawn Michaels. In the long list of accomplishments in HBK’s career, I don’t think we need to see that. Michaels is pretty choosy about whom he puts over, especially at an event like Wrestlemania… But I think Flair would be on that short list. If both men’s careers were on the line, that would drastically change the complexion of this match. The bigger story here is if Ric Flair wins. People seem to be calling for this match to go on last, and for it to steal the show. I disagree with both. I don’t think Ric Flair is important enough today to warrant closing the biggest PPV of the year, and I’m not sure he has it in him any more to keep up with Michaels and compete at that level. Sorry ‘Natch fans, it’s how I feel.

But remember what I said earlier about underdogs? Flair is about as big of an underdog as can be, and this is where I think we’ll get that happy ending as Ric Flair lives to fight another day.

Winner: Ric Flair

World Title match
Edge v. The Undertaker

There is a lot of history contained within this match. Whether WWE chooses to acknowledge it or not remains to be seen. As far as recent history goes, this one started when Edge cashed in Money In The Bank to rob Undertaker of the title last year and “injured” Undertaker, sidelining him for months. Everyone knows of Undertaker’s storied 15-0 Wrestlemania win streak which to me is more significant than the WWE title in this match. I don’t consider this a streak v. streak match because in my books Edge lost last year. He wasn’t pinned, but he didn’t win either. Generally, I’m not a big Undertaker fan, but I have to give him credit for pulling out an amazing, show stealing match with Batista last year… I haven’t watched a lot of Smackdown lately, so I don’t know all of the build to this aside from Taker continuously squashing Edge’s minions, Hawkins and Ryder… But I don’t see Edge winning. The streak is too important to end at the hands of the Rated-R Superstar.

Winner: Undertaker, 16-0

WWE Title Match
Randy Orton v. Triple H v. John Cena

Okay, seriously. Who expects Randy Orton to win? It comes down to Cena or Triple H. Either way, I think there is enough story between the two that we will end up seeing Cena v. Triple H over the next few months. Whether Triple H will turn heel for it, I don’t really know. It’s possible. Cena made a Hell of a comeback by winning the Royal Rumble. No one saw that coming. I'm no fan of Cena's, but I can't deny that he turns it on much like Triple H and HBK when it comes to big time shows. I don't know, somthing about this match comes off as too formulaic for my liking. I feel like we’ve seen it before, at Wrestlemania 20. But this time, Triple H plays the role of the face and gets to celebrate in front of 60,000 fans as we close Wrestlemania with the King of Kings reclaiming his throne.

Winner: Triple H

…. And if Mr. Kennedy should win Money in the Bank, will we see him cash it in as promised and win the World title? I highly doubt it. If they decide to tack on an ending like that, it like so many others, will end with a boot to the gut and a pedigree. Hail to the king.

So.

Remember my predictions are not based on what I want to see, but rather what I think we shall see. If I were betting in Vegas, these are my picks. I’ve been REALLY wrong sometimes, usually at the smaller, lesser pay per views. But to use a word twice, Wrestlemania has become really formulaic over the years. Good guys will win, titles will change hands, celebrities will look good (Except Pete Rose…), Undertaker’s streak will continue. All amongst a sea of thousand of screaming fans, a high tech ring set up, and millions watching at home live on Pay Per View.

For some alternate takes on Wrestlemania, check out my wrestling cohorts Crosblog or Crimson Joe's livejournal. Beebs, get posting...

Danny Boy, muppet style

2008-03-18T16:02:00.002-04:00

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I bring you this... It combines my love of all things Muppets, and the Irish.

Enjoy.

Dynamite Walls - Hayden

2008-03-17T18:17:00.001-04:00

Song of the day. It's nothing new, but it's been stuck in my head the last 3 days.

Enjoy.

Italian Spiderman Trailer - 1964

2008-03-04T19:40:00.003-05:00

Un fantastic trip de spider.

Straight out of my WTF bookmarks, comes Italian Spiderman.

Enjoy.

Obligatory Photos

2008-02-20T09:34:00.004-05:00

Caught Neelix in mid yawn... or in the middle of a wicked belch.

Madtv - 24 with Dan Oster and Johnny Sanchez

2008-02-20T00:31:00.001-05:00

Damn it~!

Return to Jericho

2008-02-13T06:26:00.002-05:00

Well, last night was the much anticipated return of Jericho on CBS. I've been preaching about the show for almost a year, since it was canceled last May and sub sequentially brought back thanks to 40,000 pounds of nuts that viewers graciously "donated" to CBS.

CNN.com has an excellent article up about the show's resurrection that sums things up perfectly.

The episode was great and really kicks the conspiracy story into high gear. The show picks up 4 weeks after the Jericho - New Bern war, and focuses on the rebuilding process. Jericho finally gets their lights back on so to speak. I can nitpick and say that it is unfortunate that season two is only 7 episodes long, because the show has to devote most of its' time to the main storyline and we won't be seeing much of the side characters such as Gale or Gray Anderson. I suppose that will wait until season 3, which is looking more and more likely due to the low number of pilot projects expected for the Fall season (Thank you writer's strike).

The first 3 episodes of season two have leaked out onto the internet somewhere. While downloading them means you're not watching them on tv where the ratings count, if you're curious about the new direction the show is taking, you should try checking them out.

Who knows, if I haven't swayed you yet, maybe you'll become a fan....

What the cluck?

2008-02-13T06:19:00.003-05:00

A Halifax woman is bringing an important issue up with Halifax City Council.

The right to raise chickens in the city.

She even had support from a few dozen protesters as they handed out hardboiled eggs and danced the chicken dance to draw attention to their cause, which just goes to show you that there are people in this world that exist solely just to protest. It doesn't matter what they are protesting, as long as they can ruffle a few feathers (Ha!).

Jericho - The Napalm Scene

2008-02-08T16:29:00.001-05:00

So, Jericho Season 2 starts up on Tuesday, Feb 12th at 10:00pm EST on CBS (or CTV here in Canada). I think I've mentioned Jericho once or twice on here before...

Here is a behind the scenes look at a napalm explosion scene from episode one of the new season. It gives me goosebumps thinking about the episode.

At the end of season 1, we were left with the start of a huge battle... war even, between the town of Jericho and New Bern, and this picks up right after that. It really was the ultimate cliffhanger, and you can check it out on CBS.com.
Give this show a chance, particularly the last 3-4 episodes of season 1, and you'll see why the Jericho fans were so passionate about getting their show back.

Anyway, here is the clip. Enjoy!

50 cents above minimum wage

2008-01-29T22:08:00.001-05:00

$8/hour. That is what the minimum wage is in Ontario. It's going up to $8.75 on March 31st, but that is not what this post is about. I always peruse the job boards, sites and classifieds because you never know what is out there until you see it. I came across a job today on a government job bank site, and I am quite bothered by it. Here is the gist of it.

Title: Sorter, recycle materials (30 Min's outside of city)
Salary: $8.50 Hourly for 40 hours per week

Specific Skills: Check and weigh materials and products, Sort, pack, crate and package materials and products, Clean work areas and equipment, Perform other labouring and elemental activities

Own Tools/Equipment: Steel-toed safety boots

Work Conditions and Physical Capabilities: Fast-paced environment, Repetitive tasks, Physically demanding, Manual dexterity, Attention to detail, Hand-eye co-ordination, Standing for extended periods

Work Site Environment: Odours, Hot

Transportation/Travel Information: Own transportation

Essential Skills: Reading text, Numeracy, Oral communication, Working with others, Significant use of memory, Continuous learning

Other Information: MUST be able to work in a very dirty and odorous environment. Vehicle is required as facility is outside of city limits. Looking for serious, reliable candidates only.

Why would people want to do this for such little money? Essentially, we're looking at a tough, physically demanding job that requires ownership or usage of an automobile, and practically guarantees that you're going to be working at a dirty, smelly job site and are quite likely to take that stench with you when you go.

I'm not saying people shouldn't do "dirty" jobs. There are some real dirty jobs out there that have to get done. But I am assuming that the vast majority compensate fairly for that. But at a quarter above minimum wage, I can't understand the motivation to apply for this. I have worked a similar position to this in Ottawa, and people were paid a lot more than minimum wage in order to overcome their objections. At that rate of pay, I would rather save myself the hassle, and get a menial retail job or work in a restaurant. At least they sometimes get tips.

To me, this reeks of the working force being taken advantage of by the employer, which is what bothers me so much. All too often companies phase out full timers and replace them with cheaper, part timer laborers. Corporations phase out benefits in favor of an additional .50 cents
an hour instead of a health plan.

Anyway, maybe I'm just missing something. But I'm bothered by this. A lot.

Made me think of this Jarvis Cocker song. It's not the most interesting video, but seems appropriate.

What are you willing to do for two quarters above minimum wage?

Jericho - Tick Tick Boom Season 2 Preview

2008-01-03T08:20:00.001-05:00

With a little over a month away from the much anticipated Jericho Season 2 premiere, CBS has released this little gem of a teaser. Hopefully this will get you wanting to watch Jericho...

Mad TV - Heroes Parody

2007-11-17T08:01:00.001-05:00

After These Messages : Harmonica Hero

2007-11-14T18:29:00.000-05:00

Amber & I picked up Guitar Hero III this weekend and haven't been able to really put down our axe... We like it so much that I am already looking onward and upward to the next Hero sensation that we can rip into.

Thanks to my best friends at Black20.com, I have found the answer.

Folks, I present to you... Harmonica Hero

Best lapcat ever.

2007-10-19T01:26:00.001-04:00

You'd think a cat owner's bias would be directed towards his own cat, but not in this case. Neelix is a jerk of a lapcat. He doesn't want to sit on you, just near you. I think it is because he thinks he is one of the guys, just hanging out with everyone.

The best lapcat ever was Simba.

Simba was my parent's cat, who has seemingly been around forever. Close to fifteen years to be precise. Cleverly named after the lead character in "The Lion King" which came out at the time, I always liked to think about how Simba bridged every pet I ever had together... He came after Teddy my 1st and only dog, and my first cat Smokey. Next in line was Crackers the hamster, Dusty the cat and "The Rock", Rocky. Simba was around to see them all. He never did meet Neelix though. They could have... Simba made the move to Ontario this summer with my folks. Simbubba was definitely the alpha male of the group. He wouldn't take crap from anyone. If you rubbed his belly the wrong way, he'd let you know about it... But then 5 minutes later, he'd be sitting in your lap, purring like nothing happened.

I remember looking after Simba for 4 months in our apartment in Ottawa. I was so happy to have a cat in the place, but he and Amber had some battles. I'm surprised she let us get Neelix after the way she and Simba got along... But I didn't care. He was my cat and he loved me. That was all I needed.

I got to spend last weekend house sitting for my parents, which meant I got to see Rocky & Simba. Just like 10 years ago, he slept at the foot of the bed and woke me up when I tried to snooze through my alarm. He chased me around the basement like he was a 6 month old kitten full of life and energy. In retrospect, I'm glad I had one last weekend with him.

Unfortunately, he is no longer with us as of this week. Rocky is without a partner in crime and his big brother. Mom & Dad have lost a companion, and I'm missing the best cat I ever had. I'm sure Neelix won't mind sharing some of the cat pic spotlight with his predecessor.

See? A great lap cat, right from kittenhood.

Never met a sunbeam he didn't love.

Yes, that is my shoe, and that really is a look of disgust on his face.

Simba's car.

This is the last picture I have of Simba, sitting with Rocky and looking out the front door. This is about a week and a half old. Their tales were swinging in unison. I wish I had video of it.

I Am A Building :

2007-10-04T10:28:00.000-04:00

I first exposed you all to Black20.com when I posted a link for "Wheels: The Movie". I don't even remember how I stumbled across it, but I knew what it was; Good stuff. Since then, I've been a regular viewer of Black20.com's shows. They have a series of newsbytes, virals and a great series called net_work, and usually are all under 5 minutes in length (thus retaining my short attention span).

Two things have popped up this week that I want to share with you. First, is the newest episode of net_work, titled I Am A Building. The reactions are priceless, and... well... Just watch to see what I mean.

Second is Get a Load of This Guy 3. I'm not sure if they just went out and took advantage of a whacked out homeless dude willing to sign a release paper.... But there is a tonne of wisdom in his words, and perhaps has history's greatest quote when he says "I don't follow sports, I follow my nose.", and then proceeds to sniff the air. Wow.

Anwyay, check out black20.com, my new favorite site.

... next to Crosblog of couse.

Free Earl

2007-09-10T11:51:00.001-04:00

NBC is just providing me with lot's of things to stea... I mean post on the blog.

This video won't make a lick of sense if you don't watch "My Name Is Earl", but if you do, hopefully you'll find it funny. I had forgotten that the season finale of Earl had him going to jail for the crime that Joy committed. I like how the actors are singing in character... The NBC website has a funny behind the scenes look at the making of Free Earl.

I hope that if I ever go to jail, my friends will round up in similar fashion and kick out a kickass tribute video.

"And I swear I once saw him fly...". Classic.

The Office returns soon

2007-09-10T11:42:00.001-04:00

Picked up Season 3 of the Office last week, so now I'm all caught up and set for the beginning of Season 4 in a few weeks. For anyone looking for a taste, check out what the Office workers did during their summer. Creed rules.

It's ba-a-a-a-ack

2007-08-25T07:24:00.001-04:00

That's right. After taking last season off, the Kicking Air Official "Illegal"Online International Betting Pool is back. Survivor kicks off on CBS on Sept 20th, 2007 and this time emanates from China!

"The reality show that started it all continues to raise the bar with its exotic locations and high-risk challenges on SURVIVOR: CHINA. The new competition unleashes an eclectic group of castaways on the ancient south central province of Jiang Xi, where they are prepared for adventure, danger and surprises in the hopes of winning $1 million and becoming the ultimate Survivor." - CBS web site

So standard Survivor fare, and it looks like they are back down to sixteen competitors instead of twenty. The producers have done away with the Exile Island concept, but the hidden immunity idol is still present and "right under their noses" according to Survivor producer Mark Burnett. This time around we have the usual mix of backgrounds. Some notable professions of the contestants are school lunch lady, WWE Diva, gravedigger, pro poker player and chicken farmer. And of course your usual waitress, student and musician are representing as well.

So. Sixteen spots open for the taking. Previously, we played it with $10 per entry, but we're going to scale it back a bit and put it down to $5. I'm not against the idea of having multiple entries if you want to. Since the field is back down to sixteen and we're lowering the pot, I'd like to reinstate the "Winner takes all" concept towards the pot. So that would be an $80 pot for the winner. The fairest way to assign players a Survivor is to do a random drawing like we did last time... We draw names of a player and a Survivor at the same time. That way, it is best for everyone and no one gets an unfair advantage with any possible insider info. I'll remind you that Amber and I won't make a red cent out of the deal, thus making it legal.

In the past, it was a little difficult to keep up to date with all of the Survivor happenings through this blog site. That is why Amber & I will be heading up a Facebook group devoted to the Betting Pool and Survivor China. If you don't have Facebook, I recommend giving it a try. It is great for things like this. We can also post video to the group of the random drawings to confirm their authenticity.

So at this point in time, little is known about the next season. We know there are sixteen contestants, each one getting a personal copy of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War". The tribe names Fei Long (飛龍) and Zhan Hu (戰虎) mean Flying Dragon and Fighting Tiger respectively. For a look at the contestants, check out CBS.com's Survivor page. Here is a look at the tribal breakdown.

FEI LONG	ZHAN HU

Aaron	Ashley
Amanda	Dave
Courtney	Erik
Denise	Jaime
James	Frosti
Jean-Robert	Peih-Gee
Leslie	Sherea
Todd	Chicken

As soon as I get some more people confirmed (right now we have myself, Amber & Beebs), I'll get that Facebook group started and I'll keep you all posted on the blog as well.

To quote the Simspsons... "Keep gaming..."

*UPDATE*

Okay, so we've been up for a little over 24 hours and have 7 spots filled, which is great. Almost half way there, and I haven't even begun to bug people yet... yet. Anyway, I started up the facebook group which can seen here... It is still in the early stages, but check it out and join the group if you want in on the posting. Here's who I have as being "in": Mike B, Lori C, Brenda B, Tari L, Amber B, Mike S, & myself.

Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time

2007-08-24T17:42:00.001-04:00

A little while ago I dusted off Pulp's video "Disco 2000" and posted it here as some retro goodness. I was kind of surprised to see that Jarvis Cocker (Pulp's lead singer) has resurfaced with an attempted solo career... Not sure how that is working out for him, but it has produced this great song and video. It looks like it was a barrel of laughs to produce, and reminds me of the opening sequences for The Naked Gun movies. And that ain't a bad thing. So here is Jarvis, ten years later. Enjoy.

Summerslam '07 Predictions

2007-08-24T17:26:00.000-04:00

I won't be seeing Summerslam this year. I'm working that night, and frankly the lineup doesn't warrant ordering on PPV anyway. I'll watch it when it comes out on WWE 24/7 in three months.

Speaking of WWE 24/7, if anyone has it, I am "featured" on it this month. They're airing a Raw is War from July 1997, to hype Summerslam 97. While showing clips from the previous week's Raw from Halifax, NS, John DeWolfe and I can be seen at ringside. But that's if you look really hard. If you watch the Patriot promo though, you'll see a nice long slow-mo, black and white clip of me and my friend Joe C holding a sign that says Americans Disrespect Canada. It was at the height of the USA vs Canada storyline. Anyway, that was fun for me to see. Good times. Hard to believe that was 10 years ago. Things have changed since then... Americans don't really disrespect Canadians, and I'm now allowed to cross the border again. All is well.

Onto predictions.

WWE Champion John Cena vs. Randy Orton

I was asking for this program at the start of the year, because Orton is one of the only people on the roster that hasn't gone down in defeat to the al'mighty Cena yet... yet. It has been a refreshing program to watch, because it isn't one that has dragged on for months so far. I'm no Cena fan, and I don't like Orton all too much, but the R.K.O on the chair from Saturday Night's Main Event was pretty sick looking. There are a lot of factors to consider when predicting the outcome... Cena's held onto the title for nearly a full year, and crowded the WWE title scene for the better part of three years now... Orton was recently punished for his "unprofessional" antics outside the ring while representing WWE... Triple H's pending return... But the one factor that has me sold is the fact that Orton is the only person left to take the title off of Cena.

Winner: Randy Orton, new WWE Champion

Triple H vs. King Booker

The "King of Kings" returns to take on the reigning monarchy of the WWE. Booker T has found a way to liven up his already entertaining persona with the "King Bookah" gimmick. Taking out Jerry Lawler due to his King persona was a good way to build up Booker for this match. unfortunately, King Booker shall serve as fodder for the return of the great Triple H. As much as I try to reason in my head different ways WWE could draw this out and make it an equal sided, back & forth feud, I keep thinking back to Wrestlemania 19. Booker T hit all of his signature moves, controlled the match, and then it ended with a kick to the nuts and a pedigree, 1 2 3 (Mind you, a heel Triple H match that didn't end that way was rare). This will be no different, aside from maybe no kick to the breadbasket. Triple H's return needs to be a big deal, especially if he is to take the title from Orton.

Winner: Triple H

Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero

Summerslam's other grand return, Rey Mysterio comes back to take on the man that "put him out" for 9 months. I think WWE got as much out of the Rey VS Chavo feud as they could last year, so I can't see them rehashing this for very long. Just like Triple H, Mysterio needs to return strong and take out the man that put him out. Hey, at least it gives Chavo something to do.

Winner: Rey Mysterio

Divas Battle Royal

I've seen a divas battle royal live once... Best weekend of my life. The only thing that makes me take this match seriously is that the winner will be #1 contender for the Women's title and the idea of ripping the belt from Candace Michelle's filthy waist has me elated. We all know of my love for Melina, and it usually biases me in these instances. Sadly, I don't see her getting it back yet. And it won't be a Smackdown diva, because I don't think they'd be interested in bringing the title over to a brand that has non-wrestlers like Krystal and Maryse. It is sad when Torie wilson is one of the better wrestlers. Anyway, it won't be a member of ECW's Extreme Expose, because I am fairly certain none of those ladies know how to even bump, let alone apply a headlock. So I have to focus on the Raw women's roster. Heels are Jillian, Melina and Beth Phoenix. Well... Jillian has been relegated to comic relief and Melina's already had the belt. So by process of elimination...

Winner: Beth Phoenix

On a side note to the divas, I can not tell you how annoyed I am that Leyla has seemingly forgotten her feud with The Miz last year on Smackdown, and is now swooning over him as if he were a shirtless David Haslehoff with a microphone in Germany... (yeah, I don't know about that one either). I know they sometimes like to forget certain points of history, but come on. That feud was about the only thing either one of them has done in the past year. That's just sloppy booking.

ECW Champion John Morrison vs. CM Punk

Ugh, ick, gag, the "New" ECW. Whatever. Instead of dwelling on the fact that the "new" ECW isn't like the old ECW (Because frankly I'm sick of hearing about it), I try to focus on the good. It gives WWE something new to do with some of their struggling stars (Viscera, Nitro... err.. Morrison, Boogeyman, Miz). This feud has been going on for a little while now, but I don't think we've seen all that it can be. Especially with Morrison reinventing himself into his new gimmick. The world is crying for CM Punk to win, as if he were the Holy Grail of ECW, but I'd like to see Morrison run with the gold for a while longer. It would be great if this feud could somehow branch out in and draw in Elijiah Burke, but that's another story. I'm going with the champion retaining, and then there being some sort of stipulation rematch at the next PPV. Ladder match anyone?

Winner: John Morrison, still ECW champion

Intercontinental champion Umaga vs. Carlito vs. Mr. Kennedy

This was an interesting addition to the PPV, and the match I personally would like to see most from the lineup. It's hard to decipher Umaga's new direction as a face... We all know Kennedy is destined for further and greater things, and Carlitto appears to be out of WWE's proverbial doghouse and is getting a decent push as the second runner to Cena's WWE title. To me, I'd say Kennedy should be the natural winner. Carlitto as IC champion is nothing new, and the IC title scene would be a good warm up for Kennedy's pending main event run. But what will they do with a face, beltless Umaga? Have him beat up Santino Marella every week? Well... Beebs would love that... Either way, despite Kennedy being the best bet, I'll go out on a limb and say that Umaga retains.

Winner: Umaga, still IC Champ

World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali vs. Batista

I don't enjoy Khali's matches. Good God, who could? But I don't object to him being the World champion. If they want to portray a more "realistic" title picture, then big bad ass freaks like Khali, Henry & Big Daddy V need to be pushed, regardless of their sometimes inept in-ring work. Having a 7" foot plus monster for a champion makes pretty good sense. I want Khali to retain, but I don' think it'll happen. We've seen Batista as champ for a long time now, but frankly his chase for the belt is rather weak and contrived. He's more valuable as champ than as challenger. I personally don't care to see it because Batista as a face champion continues to bore me. I'll give him credit for stealing the show at Wrestlemania with The Undertaker, but that's about all I can say for my interest in him. There are rumblings online of putting the belt on Batista to prep him to drop it to Edge, and I won't say I can't see that happening...

Winner: Batista, new World champion

Kane vs Finlay

There isn't much to this feud... Yet another one over spilled hot coffee. I actually think they are overdoing it by selling the burn as long as they have with Kane's ribs all taped up, but maybe that is just me. This is pretty much a throwaway match, which nothing much going in or coming out of it. Technically, this one could be a coin toss because either guy logically could win. My gut tells me to think double count out to continue the feud, but since I hate predicting count outs...

Winner: Finlay

Cute cat, but keep it away from me.

2007-07-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

Cute and cuddly & harbinger of death don't usually go together, but in a Rhode Island nursing home Oscar the Cat is both.

Jon Lovitz beats up Andy Dick

2007-07-19T09:14:00.001-04:00

I knew there was a reason I always liked Jon Lovitz...

Aside from his show "The Critic" and great line in the movie "A League of Their Own", I now have a whole new reason to look past the movie "High School High" and those annoying Subway commercials. Come on... Who HASN'T wanted to beat up Andy Dick?

Mandatory Jericho Promotion

2007-07-06T00:37:00.000-04:00

So what are you doing Friday, July 6th at 9:00pm?

I've posted before about my favorite show, Jericho. You know, that show that CBS canceled and replaced with a reality show about 40 kids forced to make a society for themselves after being deserted in a ghost town...

Yeah. Riveting, I know. Ugh.

Anyway, CBS wised up after they received literally thousands upon thousands of pounds of nuts from fans in protest. And we won. They're bringing Jericho back as a seven episode mid-season replacement. Jericho left viewers on the ultimate cliffhanger, because the producers were expecting to be back for season two. So at the very least, we'll get some sort of story resolution. And if the ratings are good, it'll be back for a third and hopefully more.

Jericho's second chance begins tonight when CBS re-airs the pilot at 9:00 pm EST. Please watch.
CBS sighted low ratings and viewership, but the Save Jericho campaign opened CBS' eyes to just how many people were really watching. The problem with America's horribly antiquated system of measuring ratings is the fact that only people who have a special box that monitors what they watch, will count towards the ratings. It doesn't take into consideration having more than one television in that household, people who record it on VCR or Tivo, or the people that stream the show online from CBS.com. I don't count, because I live in Canada and don't contribute to the U.S Neilson rating system.

So in order for people to make it count, they have to watch Jericho live. So please. Give it a chance, watch the pilot. If you like it, watch it next week when they have a special "Before the Bombs" episode. After that, I believe they'll be picking in the middle of the season all the way to the amazing season finale that will leave you wanting more... I admit, the series did have a somewhat slow start in some regards, but the story they built up by the end of Season 1 made it well worth the wait. Now you have the chance to watch it.

Tonight, give the pilot a chance. If you like it, tune in again. To catch up on episodes in between, check out CBS.com's streaming intertube site, where I believe all episodes are posted online. Sadly, the content is only viewable in the States, so I'll have to wait to buy the DVD this September when it gets released.

Let me know what you think.

Who wants Neelix pictures?

2007-06-28T01:02:00.000-04:00

Okay. So. I think we could use some much needed Neelix pictures. I recently purchased a new digital camera, so lucky for me I have a willing model who just LOVES to have his picture taken. The other day, he got into an empty Coke box and had a ball playing around.

Katie, por vou.

The second last one is utilizing the on-camera editing features. I like the look sepia gave this picture. Almost artsy fartsy.

A weird place as a fan.

2007-06-26T03:00:00.000-04:00

Tonight, I find myself in a very weird place right now as a wrestling fan. As you all know, I've been a big pro-wrestling fan for most of my life and just hours ago, wrestling lost one of its' biggest stars in "The Canadian Crippler" Chris Benoit.

More and more details are coming out by the hour, but as it stands when I write this at 3:12am , here is what is known:
- Benoit missed his commitments this weekend with WWE for what was cited as a family emergency
- Police were called to Benoit's homestead in Atlanta, Georgia where they found three bodies, Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and 7 year old son Daniel.
- Police believe Benoit killed Nancy Saturday, his son on Sunday and himself Monday morning.
- The means of which has not been released, but early reports indicate that no firearms were involved.

Tonight's Raw was a special three hour tribute show for Benoit, featuring many clips and stories about the life and career of Benoit accompanied by testimonials from friends and co-workers about how great of a person Benoit was. It is likely that tomorrow's ECW/Smackdown show will be a live tribute wrestling show where they scrap the storylines and just produce a pure wrestling show in dedication of the deceased. Chris Benoit's position in wrestling history is concrete and undeniable. Chris Benoit was one of the best ever, and has now joined an ever growing, shocking list of wrestlers whom have passed before their time.

But as more and more details are coming to light of this horrific situation, it makes me question whether Benoit is worthy of this kind of tribute, fanfare and admiration. I just watched a three hour tribute that preached how much this man loved his family, and then I check CBC.ca and CNN.com that are reporting that this same man murdered his wife and son before killing himself. It's unimaginable that these people are talking about the same person.

There have been two other wrestling "tribute" shows on Raw & Smackdown. The first was for Owen Hart who tragically fell to his death in an accident. The other was for Eddie Guerrero who sadly died of heart complications after a life of drug abuse unfortunately ended his life too early, despite becoming a reformed Christian and repenting his previous ways. Both Owen and Eddie had their lives ended tragically. Chris Benoit took his own life. The tragedy isn't in how he died, but what he did before he made the decision to end his own life.

Chris Benoit was one of my absolute favorite wrestlers of all time. I remember first seeing Chris in 1996 in WCW, and idolizing his hard hitting, technical prowess. Back when Chris was an undercard wrestler, I told people he was my favorite and I was proud to watch him grow and grow until he finally captured the WWE World Heavyweight title, cementing his legacy in wrestling history forever. It's a lot like following a sports team and watch them rise from mediocrity as underdogs to legendary status as champions of their sport. I'm not saying I was Benoit's greatest fan ever, but I was up there.

And I think that is why it is such a bitter pill to swallow, knowing the gruesome details of how his legacy has ended. Should Benoit be in the WWE Hall of Fame? Or should his name be shunned and legacy forgotten and uncelebrated for the way he chose to end it? I was to mourn the loss of one of my favorite wrestlers, but as the information pours in I find it harder and harder to keep this man in such high regard. That in itself is hard to digest, because we are talking about Chris Benoit. If it were anyone else, I think I'd understand a little bit better and not be so torn inside. As wrestling fans know, Benoit is known for being a straight edge, serious and respectful person in the ring, and backstage in the real world. "A man that loved his family". Those words just don't make sense to me at this moment.

It's difficult to see that this image of one of Wrestlemania's greatest moments has just taken on a totally whole new complexion.

I look over at the Chris Benoit t-shirt that I have, and I wonder if I'll bring myself to wear it ever again. The shirt is for the legacy of Chris Benoit; The Wrestler, but I can't help but feel guilty for wearing a shirt depicting Chris Benoit; The Killer.

I'm saddened, because I've lost one of my favorite performers. I'm devastated, because of a hero's fall from grace. And I am horrified because of how it all happened.

All I know is I'm in a very weird place as a fan right now, and as more and more information comes in, the less I think I want to know...

Video of the Day - Pulp "Disco 2000"

2007-06-12T12:23:00.001-04:00

In the mid 90's, I was introduced to a Brit band called Pulp, led by frontman Jarvis Cocker. Cocker is probably most well known for crashing the stage during a Michael Jackson performance at the 1996 Brit Awards. Anyway, Pulp has been around for a long time, with most of their success focussed around their 1995 album "Different Class", which featured this song. Cocker is venturing out on a solo career now, but I'd say hit glory days are behind him and centered around Pulp and this album. I'm downloading some of his new material now, so I'll let you know.

Anyway, enjoy this song. it is one of my favorites. It'd be a rare occasion if you took a trip somewhere with me and this song didn't pop up on my MP3 player in the car. It has aged well, unlike poor Jarvis.

SAVE JERICHO!

2007-05-19T01:21:00.001-04:00

Nuts

2007-05-17T10:07:00.001-04:00

Nuts is the one word reply that U.S Army General Anthony McAuliffe responded with when given the option to surrender and avoid further casualties at the hands of a German commander that had his unit completely and hopelessly surrounded.

I know this because it was referenced in the last episode of my favorite TV show, Jericho. In the season finale, the residents of Jericho are forced to fight to defend their town from the invading army of New Bern (A rival town looking to take over Jericho). Jake Green valiantly takes charge after his father and town hero, Johnston Green takes a bullet and dies while trying to defend his hometown. When speaking to New Bern's mayor & leader of the attacks, Jake has one word when given a final chance to surrender... Nuts.

Well nuts to you CBS, because you've screwed me again and I'm not happy about it.

It was officially announced this week that CBS would cancel Jericho, and unofficially light a fire under a very strong and angry fanbase. It has been a long time since I've enjoyed a show as much as I liked Jericho. The premise is intriguing and the characters are compelling. I don't know what I could say to make you want to watch Jericho; either you've watched it or you haven't. I'm not trying to sell you on the show. I'm trying to sell you on the support.

Even if you don't watch the show, there are a few things that you could do to help the cause.

- Send an e-mail to audsvcs@cbs.com with the word "NUTS" in the subject & message. They'll know what it means...

- Sign the online petition. I signed it yesterday and was signature #4095. Right now, they are at 25,755 signatures and climbing.

- Visit the website Jerichio Lives. It is full of useful information on how to fight the good fight.

- Send CBS some official feedback.

- And to see what all the fuss is about, why not watch the show? Episodes are available online.

Kennedy

2007-05-13T11:09:00.001-04:00

Wow. A three minute "Your Momma" joke done in a style that can only be described as 70's Disco meets Electronic Rock. The catch is, I like the song. It is undeniably smooth. White as vanilla ice cream, but that's the point. Lyrically, it is what it is. The video is great, with an obvious budget. The best is the cartoon Kennedy pushing away the kid's cartoon Daddy. So in spirit of Mother's Day, I thought I'd share this funny video as a Video of the day selection. I'd be interested in seeing more from this Mr. Kennedy...

I can't resist...

...KKKKEEEENNNEEEDDDDYYYY.....

Happy Mother's Day!

Canadian Mint meets high consumer demand

2007-05-04T03:06:00.000-04:00

The Royal Canadian Mint recently decided to produce massive 100kg (220lbs for my American friends) gold coins for the Canadian public. Each coin has a face value of $1 Million, but the street price is going for $2.5 to $3 Million.

And when asked why, the Mint had the world's greatest answer.

"Because we can."

Now imagine being stuck at a vending machine with only one of these...

Super hero quiz

2007-04-05T10:20:00.001-04:00

Your results:

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Spider-Man 60%
Robin 57%
Superman 55%
Hulk 50%
Green Lantern 50%
Iron Man 45%
The Flash 45%
Wonder Woman 35%
Catwoman 35%
Supergirl 35%
Batman 35%

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Wheels The Movie

2007-04-05T09:27:00.000-04:00

I stumbled across a movie trailer the other day, and feel the need to share with you. It is quite interesting.

The movie is called Wheels.

At first, I couldn't tell if this was a legit movie or not. I mean, we've seen much worse ideas crap out of Hollywood's brainhole... But there is a scene about midway through that kind of gives it away... At least I hope it gives it away. But either way, keep your eyes peeled for Wheels The Movie.

I smell money.

Unrelated (as always), here are some pictures of Neelix this morning. Now that Spring has sprung, he has taken perch in the windowsill above the bed. He didn't do it much when it was cold. What a wuss cat.

Manic Street Preachers - Your Love Alone is Not Enough

2007-04-03T07:27:00.001-04:00

I was just searching through Youtube for Nina Persson related songs and came across this. I'd heard about it on the Cardigans discussion board, but this is the first I've ever heard of Manic Street Preachers. I definitely like this song and will be checking out more from them. So this is my find of the day, and I thought I'd post it to ol' blog and share it with you all. Check it out, it's quite catchy. How's that for an endorsement?

MY Wrestlemania 23 Lineup

2007-04-01T15:52:00.001-04:00

So since I complained about this year's Wrestlemania lineup, I thought I'd draft up a fantasy lineup of what I would of rather seen. I tried my best to keep in mind current WWE wrestlers and storylines. With the exception of one, I think I did pretty good at working with what I have. Let me know what you think.

And with that, I give you MY Wrestlemania 23 lineup...

Opening Bout:
Cryme Tyme VS World's Greatest Tag Team

Open the show with a great tag team match. However ridiculous you may think Cryme Tyme's gimmick is, they are over with the crowd. I think WWE was really on their mark when they were starting a feud between these two teams that unfortunately fizzled out. Where in my reality, the feud never stopped and got heated enough to open Wrestlemania. Cryme Tyme wins the match to pop the crowd and get them excited.

Winners: Cryme Tyme

WWE Cruiserweight title match:
Gregory Helms VS Jimmy Wang Yang VS Chavo Guerrero Jr.

In my continuity, Helms didn't lose the belt at No Way Out. He's still the champ, and Chavo & Jimmy Wang Yang have been clawing at one another in an attempt to be #1 contender. After a double count out on Smackdown to determine Helms' wrestlemania opponent, Teddy Long decides to give both men the shot. Hard fought match, with Helms and Guererro working over Yang until they explode at one another. That gives Yang the chance to sneak in and get the pin and become the new cruiserweight champion which is a big deal because he finally ended Helms' record setting reign.

Winner: Jimmy Wang Yang

For the ECW World Title
C.M Punk VS R.V.D

Huh? What's going on here? This is the match I am taking the most creative liberties with. Back in December, RVD won the elimination chamber and is the ECW World champ. CM Punk had a good showing, eliminating Test and Sandman, but was pinned by RVD. Since then, RVD has proclaimed that he is the only good thing left about the old ECW and has turned heel. Between now and then, he has gone through his Original friends Sabu, Dreamer & Sandman. All the while, Punk has been gathering up an impressive list of victories and openly challenges RVD for the title. RVD ducks Punk at first, but is persuaded for revenge after Punk pins him in a tag team match. So we have RVD carrying the banner of the old ECW, and Punk is hailed as everything that is right about the new ECW. This match would likely steal the show and be match of the night. And to finally herald in the acceptance of the new ECW brand, RVD puts Punk over and passes a torch (not a doob) to the new generation.

Winner: C.M Punk

MNM vs Brian Kendrik & Paul London vs Rated RKO vs The Hardy's

In my continuity, Rated RKO didn't lose the belts to Cena & HBK and are still the champions. In fact, that Cena/HBK pairing never happened. Ever. Anyway. This match comes about because of the ongoing issues between Rated RKO and The Hardys. Matt & Jeff have been chasing the titles from Orton & Edge, but lost out due to interference from MNM. Nitro & Mercury (He didn't get fired in my continuity) are extremely bitter about not being able to beat the Hardys and end up doing Rated RKO's dirty work. Things come to a head with a #1 contender's match between the Hardy's & MNM. Rated RKO interferes and beat down both teams. On the video screen comes Kendrik & London who inform the Raw tag champs that they are hungry for competition after holding onto the WWE tag titles for so long. They challenge Rated RKO for a match at Wrestlemania to see who are the better tag team champions. On Smackdown Rated RKO show up to respond, but get taken out by an angry MNM. Cue a four way brawl between the four teams and we get our setup for this non-title battle of the tag teams.

Winners: Matt & Jeff Hardy

Battle of the Billionaires
The "Great" Khali VS Shawn Michaels

Yes, I'd still go with the Battle of the Billionaires. Why? Because of all of the media hype and attention they have received. Sure, Donald Trump isn't necessary an A-List celebrity so to speak, but he's certainly done a lot more than other celebs have in the past. So why Khali and Michaels? Well. McMahon would pick Khali to be his representative because Khali is a 7'0 unstoppable monster, the kind McMahon loves. And why would Trump pick HBK? After the past year and the angle with DX, who would be better to be a thorn in Vince's side than Michaels? They always say that HBK is so good that he can literally carry anyone through a match. Well. Khali is the best way to test that statement. Khali eats a superkick, and a we get to see Vince go bald.

Winner: Shawn Michaels

Bobby Lashley VS Marcus Cor Von

This is not for the ECW Heavyweight title, because Lashley isn't the champ in my continuity. Cor Von debuted in January and set his sights on the biggest target in ECW so he can make a name for himself. The feud is pretty much set to determine the next big contender to the ECW World title. The Alpha Male wins it with a poooooouuunnnnce for the upset.

Winner: Marcus Cor Von

Street Fight for the WWE TItle
John Cena VS Umaga

Anyone remember the last time we had an IC champ face a World champ at Wrestlemania? Despite his loss to Cena at the Rumble, Umaga has been unstoppable and been plowing through the roster, picking up Jeff Hardy's IC belt along the way. The build grows after Umaga puts the champ out for several weeks with a rib injury. Cena loses his Superman'like confidence and has to take Umaga as a serious threat to his title and his health. So Cena goes "old school", back to the street and issues the challenge to Umaga for a street fight at Wrestlemania.

Winner: John Cena

And I dislike Cena. But why a win? Because it's Wrestlemania and the samoan savage winning a main title on the biggest show of the year probably wouldn't hold up well.

Money in the Bank
Sabu vs Mr. Kennedy vs Chris Benoit vs Carlitto vs Chris Masters vs Ric Flair vs Tommy Dreamer vs King Booker

Flair proved he can hang in ladder matches last year against Edge and in the last Money in the Bank. Putting the ECW guys in adds an extra extreme feel to the match. I toyed with the idea of Kane being in the match, but heard that he needs knee surgery soon so I figured it'd be easier to just leave him off and let him have his surgery. You can pretty much expect the same product with a Money in the Bank ladder match. It's going to be a spot-fest. Since we need a heel to take on our face champions, I'm going to go with King Booker so that he can use the money in the bank contract to go after the World champion. Plus Booker has always deserved one big Wrestlemania win to compliment his legacy.

Winner: King Booker

WWE Women's Title match:
Melina VS Mickie James

Melina stole the belt from James the same way it happened on Raw. But instead of feuding with an irrelevant Playboy Bunny, James doesn't back down and vows to regain her Women's title. This way we get a decent women's match at a Wrestlemania, which hasn't happened since Molly Holly VS Victoria at WM20.

Winner: Melina... Do you need to ask why?

Undertaker VS Batista

I didn't change this because personally I feel the build for this has been near perfect. The Undertaker's win at Royal Rumble was well deserved. That is high praise from me because I'm not really a loyal fan of the Deadman. But the way his Rumble win played out was great, and he's been on a tear with his in-ring work as of late. I'm not actually a fan of either man to be frank, but again the match intrigues me. Honestly, there isn't much about the build for this match that I would change. Amazingly, I have no complaints and adding Batista to the list of the fallen is definitely welcomed.

Winner: The Undertaker

So there are a few people left off of the lineup... Kane, MVP, Finay... We can't get EVERYONE on the card, I'm aware of that. But I at least like to see a good majority on the card. I have it at ten matches. With 10 matches, I wouldn't feel the need for a pre-show battle royal or a pre-show match. 10 is enough. And I've certainly got the roster much more involved than the current WWE lineup. Ah well.

Any thoughts?

Wrestlemania Predictions

2007-04-01T00:51:00.000-04:00

I wasn't going to bother with predictions for this year's Wrestlemania. We're all pretty much on the same page as to what we expect. But, rather than be the odd man out, here we go with it.

World Title:
Batista VS The Undertaker

It pretty much seems that the general consensus is Undertaker will defeat Batista to make his Wrestlemania streak 15-0. I'd be hard pressed to find any plausible reasons to go against that belief. Batista has been stale since his return last year, and I think they've pretty much just run out of things to develop for him. A heel turn could be in order to help freshen him up but that is neither here nor there.

Winner: Undertaker

WWE Title:
John Cena VS Shawn Michaels

It seems they've been building the two title matches in complete opposite ways. With Cena and HBK the tension is teased, but nothing comes of it whereas Taker & Batista have just been flat out disrespecting one another. I'm sorry to say, but I really don't care about this match. Cena beating Michaels will be a huge rub for the champ. HBK beating John is pretty much unnecessary. I honestly don't think HBK should be in this position where he gets the title match. I also dislike the two main events being face VS face. There's actually quite a lot I dislike about this. Cena plays Superman and beats the show stopper.

Winner: John Cena

Battle of the Billionaires
Lashley VS Umaga

Absolutely no one expects Donald Trump to actually shave his head if Lashley looses. They are correct in thinking so. I've enjoyed the build between Lashley and Umaga. I'd rather see both men defending their titles instead of acting as Trump & McMahon's pawns, but whatever. Steve Austin being the ref does nothing for me. If anyone actually expects Trump to have his head shaved, you don't know wrestling.

Winner: Lashley

Women's Title Lumberjill (ugh) Match
Melina VS Ashley

Melina. Why? Because the belt would be meaningless on Smackdown. Melina. Why? Because while she is a step up from Christy Hemme, is a Diva Search winner that doesn't know how to wrestle without being led by the hand by an actual trained opponent. Melina. why? Because it's freaking Melina and I have to support her. The fact that it is a lumberjill match just means we get to see the rest of the divas paraded out to get the guys all excited. I guess everyone has a place at Wrestlemania. Except tag teams. And cruiserweights. And anything associated with midcard. Sorry. Go Melina~!

Winner: My girl, Melina

The "Great" Khali VS Kane

I'm a fan of Kane, but his chances of finally having a respectable Wrestlemania match are once again tossed down the drain.

Winner: The "Great" Khali in 2007's Match Of The Year

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Randy Orton VS Matt Hardy VS Ken Kennedy VS Finlay Vs Jeff Hardy VS Edge VS C.M Punk Vs King Booker

I have to commend them for really drawing a lot of interest to the money in the bank match. They have given it the perfect amount of build, which for WWE is pretty surprising. The standard expectation is that Jeff Hardy will do something crazy, which is pretty likely. Mr. Kennedy appears to be the favorite amongst net fans to win the match. Out of the bunch, I'd like to see Kennedy win it. But I'm trying not to predict what I *want* and more what I *expect*.

Winner: Randy Orton, because he's the only legit threat to any of the world champions. And he's heel. With having face champions regardless of the outcomes of the title matches, I'd say they need a heel to be ready to cash in. And I say that because Edge is hurt. If Edge was 100%, it may be a different story.

ECW Originals VS The New Breed

I wish this were four on four elimination, but I don't think that it is. I'd like to see the Originals win. They've pretty much been promoting it that the New Breed has been getting the best of the Originals... I believe in comeuppance, and I can't knowingly vote for a team with a teacher, a vampire, an Alpha Male and whatever the heck you want to Elijiah Burke on it. I dislike Matt Striker immensely.

Winners: The ECW Originals

U.S Title
Chris Benoit VS M.V.P

Yay! A secondary title match! What the Hell is that doing on Wrestlemania? Everyone seems to be calling for Benoit to jump to Raw soon, and are citing that as a reason for him to drop the belt to MVP. I don't see it happening on the biggest show of the year. MVP is getting over, but he's not there yet. I say Benoit retains, but will lose it to MVP in a rematch on Smackdown at some point in the near future. This is also my prediction for opening contest.

Winner: Chris Benoit

Ficticious 20 Man battle royal

I've heard about these things... I don't know if they actually exist or not because I haven't bought a Wrestlemania DVD since WM20. Having a Battle Royal and taping it as a DVD feature is way beyond me. I would much rather see a good battle royal than Kane VS Khali. And I'm a firm believer in trying to get as much of your roster onto the biggest show of the year. I don't know if they are going to actually be having this or not. If so, who's in it? I guess we'll have to wait to buy the DVD in May.

Winner: Ric Flair, because his being left off Wrestlemania is a crock.

Other thoughts:

- They have four frigging hours to fill, with only 8 announced matches. In theory, that leads to each match having approximately 25 minutes each (minus time for entrances). Never going to happen. One of my biggest piss-off's about WWE as of late is all of the replays and video packages. They've been cramming them down our throats more and more lately and I'm getting so sick and tired of seeing the same clip get replayed over and over and over. But what with the show being 4 hours, there's plenty of time to kill with those promo's and replays.

- I wish there were 10 matches. I feel it would justify adding that extra hour, just to make it differ from all of the other 3 hour PPV's they expect me to buy over the course of the year. When I look at the lineup, it just seems so incomplete. There is distinctly something lacking and adding additional matches would be a huge help. How about actually defending the tag team titles or the Cruiserweight title? There's a crazy idea for you.

- If I seem negative about Wrestlemania, it's because I pretty much am. The run down leaves me wanting more and I know I won't get it. Two face VS face main events bores me. The lack of midcard representation astonishes me. And the fact that everyone is pretty much coming up with the same predictions tells me that there is a serious lack of thought about the booking here. Hopefully they prove me wrong like they did with No Way Out, but somehow I don't see many of my predictions being off.

The Ongoing Adventures of Stupendous Girl!

2007-03-27T20:43:00.000-04:00

I promised John DeWolfe a while ago that I would give his new blog site some love on here, just to give it some exposure to my three loyal viewers (Bless you Amber, Katie & Mo). We all know what an endorsement by me means... I've been urging John to joing the blog scene for quite some time, because I think his creativity & wit would do the web some good, and I'm glad to say I'm correct.

Instead of the usual blog like this that anybody could do, John's been concentrating his efforts on telling a story, section by section. If you didn't read the title, the e-book is called "The Ongoing Adventures of Stupendous Girl". Chapter 1 has been completed as of March 26th, and it is divided into 10 parts. It takes a lot of guts to post a work in progress online for everyone to read, and I think John deserves some major props for that.

I admit, I'm on part 6 of the 10 part chapter, so I have some reading to catch up on. If you haven't been over to his site, follow the links and give the first chapter a read.

All right John, I gave you your shameless plug... Now give me my cat back.

The Everything Test

2007-03-23T11:21:00.000-04:00

I tried taking The Everything Test after seeing it on Bob's site, but I can't paste the fancy looking HTML coding in because it doesn't agree with my blog site. So, just gonna cut and paste the specifics. I don't like my results for "stereotypes", but who enjoys being called white trash? Stupid test.

The Everything Test

There are many different types of tests on the internet today. Personality tests, purity tests, stereotype tests, political tests. But now, there is one test to rule them all.

Traditionally, online tests would ask certain questions about your musical tastes or clothing for a stereotype, your experiences for a purity test, or deep questions for a personality test.We're turning that upside down - all the questions affect all the results, and we've got some innovative results too! Enjoy :-)

Personality You are more logical than emotional, more concerned about others than concerned about self, more atheist than religious, more loner than dependent, more lazy than workaholic, more traditional than rebel, more engineering mind than artistic mind, more cynical than idealist, more follower than leader, and more introverted than extroverted.

As for specific personality traits, you are adventurious (100%), romantic (71%), innovative (57%).

Stereotypes
Punk Rock 73%
White Trash 50%
Old Geezer 50%

Life Experience
Sex 31%
Substances 8%
Travel 15%

Poitics
Your political views would best be described as Socialist, whom you agree with around 83% of the time.

Socioeconomic
Your attitude toward life best associates you with Working Class. You make more than 0% of those who have taken this test, and 35% less than the U.S. average.

If your life was a movie, it would be rated PG-13.

Take the test

CAT User Guide

2007-03-21T23:05:00.000-04:00

Congratulations on your purchase of a CAT Unit!

Before Reading This Manual:Refer to Ode to Spot for further instructions.

This model contains the following features:
- User Friendly
- Mouse Driven
- Self Cleaning
- Energy Saving Standby Mode When Not In Use
- Self Portable Operation
- Dual Video and Audio Input
- Audio Output
- Auto Search Routines for Input Data
- Auto Search for Output Bin
- Instant Transition (2 nanoseconds) Between Standby & Full Power Mode

Production Details

After basic KIT construction, the unit undergoes six weeks of onsite ROM programming and burn-in testing. Listed features are installed during this period. Since MOMCAT uses local suppliers, there may be variations between units.

Transportation

A suitable transportation case should be used for transportation to the operating site. Failure to properly ship a CAT unit may result in loss or damage to the unit and/or serious injury to the end user.

Installation Procedures

Upon receiving the CAT unit, the user should examine the unit to verify that all I/O channels are operational. Look for minor bugs in or on the system. Bugs are indicative of the MOMCAT production environment. The user may manually remove any bugs. Bring the CAT to operation in an environment temperature at 20 deg. C (+/-3 deg tolerance). Use a quiet room with the primary user(s) present. Open the transportation case and let the CAT unit autoexit.

Initialize the self-learning program Katfind(tm) by displaying the input bins. These should contain H2O (liquid state, room temperature, 99% purity) and dry energy pellets. Immediately afterwards, display the output bin. If the user already has a CAT unit successfully installed, it may be possible to transfer BASIC routines to the new CAT. For the first day or two, the CAT will stay in self learning mode. When the learn buffer overflows, the CAT will autoswitch to sleep mode. This is normal. The MMU system will store the new information to permanent memory. After 72 hours, the CAT will be interacting with the operating environment.

New User Tips

The unit may be placed in direct sunlight. CAT units are operational in all axes: standing, sitting, or laying down. If all basic environment requirements are satisfied, the CAT system will produce a slight hum. This is normal.

A new CAT should not exit the primary site facility. Full portability comes after extensive burn in. Some users never let the CAT unit autoexit the site. The advantages are longer unit life and fewer bugs. Contact with pirate CAT units may lead to unplanned BATCH iteration. Contact with untested CATs may lead to virus infection. If allowed to exit, fatal errors may occur. If you decide to let your CAT out, it should have a READ_ME.TXT file with a system address and URL which identifies the host site.

Your CAT should have a system name. The name may need to be reinitialized repeatedly until the system can read it correctly. This lets you issue voice commands to bring the unit to an online state. Many owners give their CATs a secret password as well. You can also get the CAT's attention by booting the system. While this is effective, it is discouraged.

Applications

At present, there are few productivity applications for CAT:

MOUSE is a killer app. This is pre-installed. Most owners use their system for game playing. CATs play best when they are new. Older units suffer a system timing decay which leads to reduced response and flexibility.

Some CAT games are:

CACHE: The CAT will CACHE a data string. This is similar to the K9 unit game, but the object must be smaller.

JUMP: Move the data string through the air. The CAT unit will reach new heights of operation.

MIRROR: Place the unit in front of a mirror and watch it attempt to parse itself. Some units may ESCape. Reboot the system by calling its name.

CHASE: Played between two CAT units or a CAT and a K9 unit. Units take turns as one is the data and the other attempts to parse it.

DANCE and SING: Offer fishy data code to elicit a range of audio output.

Maintenance

CATs will self-recharge. This takes 20 hours in a 24 hour cycle. CATs are self cleaning and require little user maintenance. Do not clean the unit with alcohol or benzine-based solvents. This may lead to a violent explosion. A CAT unit should be taken once a year to a VET for a system checkup. Do not attempt to open a CAT. There are no user serviceable parts inside. If a unit emits unusual smells or sounds, it should be serviced immediately by a VET. You may examine the CAT system to determine if it has a male or female SCSI port. If the port is male, then the CAT unit may emit a non-toxic aerosol. The VET can remove this component.

CATs with female ports are plagued by periodic heating problems. The VET can fix this permanently by removing an internal part. Such systems should run unix.

Warning Notices

CAT systems are normally user friendly. However, in certain documented situations, a CAT may pose a danger to the user. Repeated jamming or obstruction of I/O ports may lead to deployment of auto-defense systems. Never attempt a first strike on a CAT system. Its CPU clock rate is made to milspecs and thus classified, but JANE'S FIGHTING FELINES notes that a unit was seen by ham radio operators to be apparently moving at500 mHz. Twin D-shaped five-pin connectors have an average seek rate of 3 nanoseconds. The manufacturer is not responsible for injuries to the user. Children should not poke anything into the CAT's I/O ports. CAT may BYTE. In dry, cold weather, a surface electrostatic charge may build up. To avoid electric shock, stand on an insulated surface. Do not operate the CAT above water. This may lead to end-user damage. Carry the CAT firmly. Do not swing it by its "tail". If you properly care for your CAT, it will give you years of loyal service. Many users get a second unit, to enjoy the ability to run complex simulation games.

User Groups:

CAT users can find other users and FAQ on the Usenet newsgroup rec.pets.cats.

Lifetime Warranty

The CAT unit is guaranteed against catastrophic failure. Nine coupons
are included.

Documented Problems

The Ctrl key on most CAT units is defective. This may lead to serious performance problems. Do not install a BIRD unit at a site which has an operational CAT unit. These tend to disappear.

System Features

Models = Main frame, desktop and laptop models (smallest footprint in the industry). Available in 15 inch, 17 inch, and 19 inch sizes. Interface = Touch sensitive interface for maximum user friendliness.
Memory = Not much. Upgrades available real soon now.
Expected Lifetime = 15 years (although 20 years is common).
Weight = 3-6 kilograms without optional cables.
Speed = 3 nanoseconds search/find with self-uprighting supertwist technology.
Color Graphics = Either paper white, monochrome (black/white), 64 grey shades, or maximum of 16 million colors with 40 terrabits of high resolution floating point pixels.
Sound Chip octaves, digital MIDI output (MI/OU).
Power Consumption = 250 grams protein daily (2 micrograms per second.)
Operating Range = -30 to +45 C (-22 to +105 F)
Vibration = 5-500 Hz, one octave/min, dwell at all resonance points.

Contacting CAT Technical Support

Our highly trained technicians are ready to help you. As soon as they wake up from their nap.

* Cats shown are Simba, Rocky, Dusty & Neelix

Talk about crappy reasons...

2007-03-21T09:06:00.000-04:00

Canada Post has decided to halt mail delivery to 13 families that live in a section of row housing in St. John's, Newfoundland. Citing it as a hazard much like ice or snow, the reasoning is because there is too much dog poop on the walkways for the mail-person to safely deliver to the mailboxes. Obviously the locals are disputing this crappy claim from Canada Post, but for now looks like Canada post is sticking to it...

*Rimshot*

State of Union Address 2

2007-02-22T23:34:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a while since I have posted...So I thought I'd just do a general check in, for people to get caught up on all things Steve.

Cat Vomit

So I will lead with an uninteresting Neelix story. He threw up for the very first time (that we know of) recently. There weren't any massive hairballs in it, so we're not quite sure what he was bringing back up. Amber was on Neelix watch for 24 hours afterwards, offering him the same comforts any overprotective mother offers her five year old child. She swears he was lethargic and lazy for the rest of the day. I say that isn't much different than any other day in Neelix's life.

Buff Muffins

Amber & I have joined the local wellness centre in town. When I first told my friend Josh that, he thought I meant we were going for some sort of relationship counselling. Silly Josh. We've been hitting the gym, although not as much as we should be. Hard to believe Feb is almost over. Our schedules have been all over the place as of late which makes it hard to go together. I'm still trying to time my workout session for when Raw or Hockey is on the tv's.

New Tunes

I bought a new MP3 player recently, because I had lost the one that I received for Christmas from my folks. This one was a bit of an upgrade... 2GB instead of 1GB and it has a 1inch video screen. So I wouldn't want to watch a movie on it or anything, but it's fun to put Simpsons episodes on it. It also has FM radio, so I can use it at the gym to tune into the audio for the TV's around the place. But the cool thing (well I think it is cool) and the biggest selling feature to me was a Line In Record feature. Essentially, I can hook this bad boy up to any audio source that has a standard headphone jack, and record whatever sound is coming out of it, and saves it in a good quality MP3 format. Essentially, I can make MP3's out of anything now. That is quite a handy function if I don't say so myself...

0 for 7 at No Way Out

Wow. Every one of my predictions was wrong. Right down to Melina doing something cool. I'm actually excited I was wrong on every one, because WWE's product has been horribly predictable for quite some time now. Maybe the fact that I couldn't guess a single match right is a good sign that they are trying to shake things up? I do think they wasted a great opportunity to showcase the cruiserweight title at Wrestlemania, and having Chavo relieve Gregory Helms of the title is a huge mistake in my books. Hopefully I'll be that wrong with my Wrestlemania predictions.

Paranoid People Shouldn't Own Technology

Seriously. I think paranoid people should take it upon themselves and do society a favor and live in the a shack somewhere in the mountains where they won't bother anyone. Sorry, this is a work related rant. I'm getting pretty tired of whiny people calling and whining about their computers and how if any little thing goes wrong they instantly suspect it is a hacker. Seriously, some of these people have serious problems if they really think someone is logging onto their computer and accessing the NFL website on Safari (web browser) and purposely leaving evidence behind. Yes, that was a serious call. Oi.

Go Sens Go~!

I'm heading to Ottawa this weekend to see my first (and probably only) hockey game this season... Sens are hosting Buffalo. And after tonight's wicked brawl, it should be a good game. Ottawa has developed quite a rivalry with Buffalo after being ousted from the playoffs by the Sabres last season. Should be fun to see how it plays out. Not sure what's up with Emery these days, but glad to see Martin Gerber finally step up and start performing.

Song of the Day

See the last post. That's right, I've discovered the means to youtube my blog up. Sweet.

Mellowdrone - Fashionably uninvited

2007-02-22T23:32:00.001-05:00

Song of the Day

This will go hand in hand with my next post...The chorus just gets in your head. You won't remember the lyrics, but it's that funky melody that I just can't shake. Interesting video, great song. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

No Way Out predictions

2007-02-18T08:34:00.000-05:00

PPV time again.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed this or not, but of the ten champions in WWE, nine of them are faces. The only heel champion right now is Gregory Helms. This can't be a good sign. WWE knows that the money is always in the babyface challenging for the belt... The fact that Wrestlemania's two main events are both face VS face speaks volumes about the roster problems. Anyway, just something I've noticed and is bugging the hell out of me. And look at the Royal Rumble. Faces won every match. Oi.

Shawn Michaels & John Cena vs. The Undertaker & Batista

- This is Smackdown's PPV, so it wouldn't make sense for the Raw guys to go over in the main event. Look for HBK/Cena to implode and possibly lose the titles tomorrow night on Raw to Rated RKO.

winners: Taker & Batista

ECW Title Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Mr. Kennedy

I can't believe they've made this match. They are steamrolling Lashley to be a "credible" champion. Kennedy has consistently been the best entertainer on Smackdown for quite some time, and it doesn't make a lick of sense to feed him to Lashley. I don't see Kennedy winning the belt, because it's highly unlikely they'd put Kennedy in ECW.

Winner: Lashley

WWE Tag Team Titles Match
Brian Kendrick & Paul London vs. Deuce & Domino

I've gone back and forth on this one... Obviously, I would have preffered the ladder match. Beebs brought up a good point to me and said they probably realized it's too close to Wrestlemania and if they run another money in the bank match, they wouldn't want a ladder match on the lead-in PPV. I've heard that the 4 way Armageddon rematch was pulled because Vince didn't want the Hardys or MNM teaming anymore. To me, the logical choice would have been to pull those two teams and replace them. But I'm a fan, so what do I know? Anyway, I really hope they don't put the belts on Deuce & Domino. I really don't like them. Maybe they will grow on me in time, but I'm not holding my breath. This one could go either way.

Winners: Deuce & Domino, because they need to mix up the title pictures sooner than later

WWE Cruiserweight Title Cruiserweight Open Match
Gregory Helms vs. Daivari vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Shannon Moore vs. Funaki vs. Jimmy Yang vs. Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Jamie Noble.

Why is Scotty 2 Hottie back on Smackdown after going to Raw two weeks ago? Is he back on the roster? And I assume Shannon Moore has been "called up" to Smackdown to help fill the gap in the thinning Cruiserweight division. They have been building Helms as the lonest reigning champ in Smackdown history, which is correct. If anyone is going to take it off of him, it will be Jimmy Wang Yang. But then WWE wouldn't have ANY heel champs, so I'm going with Helms.

Winner: Gregory Helms

Chris Benoit & The Hardy Boys vs. MNM & MVP

So... we pulled the ladder match because WWE no longer wanted MNM & The Hardys teaming... and then they add this match AFTER Smackdown airs, and has no build whatsoever? Makes perfect sense to me. Benoit & MVP aren't feuding, and there hasn't been any build whatsoever for any issues between them. That being said, I'd like to see it. It's fresh. Benoit has run out of new opponents as of late. I keep saying it, but MNM are EVENTUALLY going to win a match against the Hardys, and this is a good way to cap off a MVP VS Benoit program just in time for Wrestlemania.

Winners: MNM & MVP

King Booker vs. Kane

A lot of internet fans are crapping on this match. I have no issue with it. Not sure where it's going to lead, but it's a solid midcard match.

winner: King Bookah

Finlay & Little Bastard vs. The Boogeyman & Mini-Boogeyman

Okay. So they have given away Finlay VS The Boogeyman on Smackdown for like 3 weeks straight which really irritated me since they were announced to face off at the PPV. I find Little Bastard comical. So the addition of Little Boogey was a funny thing to see. As we were watching Smackdown, I said to Mike that if they made it a tag at No Way Out, I'd be interested in seeing it. And they did. So I'd like to see this match, just for the comic relief. Of course since I'm not ordering it, I won't see it until it comes on WWE 24/7 in 3 months.

Winner: The Boogeymen

Diva Talent Invitational

Ick. Sigh. Gross. It's not a match, so who cares? Prediction... a bunch of phoney, fake women will pretend to have talent whilst they strip and show off their clevage. Haven't we seen that before? Hrmm. Don't answer that. the only thing that will make this enjoyable for me is if we see Melina out there. I don't care what she does...

Have I mentioned I like Melina?

They did, now they don't... So I do for a better price

2007-02-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

For anyone faced with the heartbreak of having to hold on to an unwanted wedding or engagement ring, there is now some hope to at least retrieving some sense of closure. Instead of selling the ring back to a jeweler for a fraction of the price, there is now an online auction site that specifically handles the sales of "heartbreak" diamonds as they are called.

My only question is how do you explain it to the wife when she finds the receipt and learns that you bought a used engagement ring to pronounce your undying love? I can't see that going over well...

A post for Katie and no one else...

2007-02-12T10:39:00.000-05:00

Hey Katie.

I've been neglecting your appreciation for all that is feline and cute. I apologize. Neelix is being all mellow this morning, and it's allowing for some cool pictures. Enjoy.

Royal Rumble '07 Predictions

2007-01-26T19:38:00.000-05:00

I kind of got burned out a little bit with the predictions posts on
account that there seemed to be a pay per view every week there for a
while. Unfortunately, I don't use a nice and concise format like the
Crosblog. Curse you Gib.

MNM VS The Hardys

This was supposed to be a "dream" match for one night only. That kind
of changed. What started as a Jeff Hardy VS Johnny Nitro feud for the
IC title on Raw has developed into a cross-brand fued between the two
teams, and I am sure Matt Hardy is happiest of all because it gives
him something to do each week. The last time all four men were in the
ring together was at WWE Armageddon, where Joey Mercury had his face
completely re-arranged via a ladder shotcourtesy of Matt & Jeff. To
me, the blow itself didn't look to be particularly brutal, but the end
result sure was. As a result, Mercury has to wear a protective face
mask to prevent further injury. I think they'll kick off the show with
this match as a solid high flying opening bout. I'm a little ticked
that Jeff, Matt and Johnny Nitro are all still in the Rumble despite
being in a match. They could have opened those spots up to other
people to get them on the show. But back to the match, I think Nitro &
Mercury will take it. The Hardy's have been all over MNM as of late
and MNM need to get some heat back. Clusterf*ck ending with Melina
getting involved (And no complaints there, my love of Milena knows no
bounds).

Winners: MNM

Next up are the three title matches, each brand having their flagship
title on the line. Having the three main titles being defended makes
it hard for me to predict the outcomes. I doubt they would want each
title to change hands on the same show. I was really hoping they would
have some kind of tag team gauntlet featuring teams from all brands,
as a way to get them on the show too. London & Kendrick, Cade &
Murdoch, Cryme Tyme, Highlanders, 1/2 of The World's Greatest Tag Team
Charlie Hass, Taylor & Regal, and James & Stevens. I'm all about
participation. Ah well, I don't make the matches.

For the ECW Title
Lashley VS Test

I'm not sure why they made the last minute change of having Test VS
Lashley free on ECW tv this week. I hate it when they give away
matches right before they want us to shell money out to see it. The
fact that Lashley beat Test this week could signify that Test will get
his heat back on Lashley by beating him at The Rumble. Then again,
it's Test. What heat? Lashley just got the belt and they seem to be
building the brand around him. I don't see anything changing here.

Winner: Bobby Lashley

For the World Heavyweight title
Batista VS Mr. Kennedy

Kennedy has been the center of Smackdown as of late and rightfully so.
He has undeniable charisma, great in-ring skills and looks to be ready
to break out in 2007. However, not yet. It doesn't look like they're
ready to take the belt off of Batista yet, and are building up to a
program with the Undertaker. I think this match will make Kennedy and
give him a sense of legitimacy, much like what happened during Chris
Benoit VS Kurt Angle a few Rumble's ago. I expect Kennedy to bleed,
and bleed lot's, and I expect him to ALMOST take it. But somehow,
Batista triumphs.

Winner: Dave Batista

For the WWE Title
Last Man Standing
John Cena VS Uuuuuuuuuuuumaga

I wish they would let Armando Estrada work the mic more... They are
doing just about everything to back Cena into a corner in an attempt
to make the champ look better when he defeats Umaga, even as far as
faking an injury to make the champ look tough. I don't have much to
say about this one, I think it will mirror the New Year's Revolution
bout between the two, this time with last man standing rules. I can't
see them ever putting the belt on Umaga. Stranger things have
happened, but I doubt they'd want the Samoan Bulldozer as the face of
their flagship brand leading into Wrestlemania.

Winner: John Cena

So I am predicting that all three champs retain. Not sure what the
likelihood of it is, but this is me trying to figure out long term
booking plans. If it were up to me, I'd have Test & Kennedy take the
titles. Test, so that RVD can beat him for it next week and then turn
heel and work a program with C.M Punk leading up to Wrestlemania. And
I'd would give Kennedy a nice long run with the belt, because I think
he's got the skill to carry the brand with it.

30 Man Royal Rumble Match

Participants:

RAW
Viscera, Shelton Benjamin, Johnny Nitro, Jeff Hardy, Chris Masters,
Kenny Dykstra, Ric Flair, Carlito, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton,
Super Crazy, The Great Khali

SmackDown
Chris Benoit, MVP, Matt Hardy, Mike the Miz, Chavo Guerrero, Finlay,
The Undertaker, Kane, King Booker, Gregory Helms

ECW
CM Punk, Sabu, Sandman, Rob Van Dam, Hardcore Holly, Tommy Dreamer, Kevin Thorn

I think that list correctly displays the pecking order of importance
within WWE. Raw has 13 competitors, Smackdown has 10 and ECW only has
7. TECHNICALLY the fair thing to do would have been 10 spots per
brand. But that is nitpicking...

I'm looking forward to the Rumble. I do every year. Like many, it is
my favorite pay per view of the year. It's something different that we
don't see every week on the shows. I am also a mark for battle royals,
so that certainly factors into things. If I had to predict a winner, I
would go with The Undertaker. He was my pick several weeks ago, before
they really started teasing a feud with Batista. It's no secret that
Taker's career is winding down (although I think I say that every year
around this time). They appear to be building an Undertaker VS Batista
title match for Wrestlemania. But both men are face. What better way
to make them go at it then by having the Undertaker win the Rumble?
That way no one has to turn. I also think they will have Batista end
the Taker's streak, *IF* that is what they are building up for. The
trade off for the Deadman is getting the glory of finally winning a
Rumble. I'm not buying into HBK winning the Rumble. He doesn't need it
to compete for the World title. *IF* someone from Raw were to win the
Rumble, I would place my money on Randy Orton. He's the only one left
that is a main eventer on Raw that hasn't faced off with Cena.

On a side note, I really wish they would do away with the stipulation
that the winner gets a Wrestlemania title shot. It really eliminates
that aura of unpredictability that should be associated with the
Rumble. It could be anyone's match. Just getting tired of it always
going to the biggest names out there. I'd love to see Flair win a big
one, one more time. Or it could really make a guy like Carlitto. Also
the formula of the Rumble winner ALWAYS taking the title at
Wrestlemania is getting tired. And faces winning the Rumble... I guess
I'm just saying I wish they'd mix it up.

I'm expecting a good show. But I hope I am wrong with all of my
predictions. I want to be surprised and proven wrong.

I was tagged

2007-01-24T16:19:00.000-05:00

It appears that I have been tagged by the Crosblog. I accept the challenge.

A- available or single? - Un-available / Un-single

B- best friend? You can't argue with history, Joe Ciccolella. My first friend when I moved out to Nova Scotia back in '86. This guy got me my first ever detention back in grade Two and a whole heap of trouble ever since.

C- cake or pie? Cake. I've only recently started eating cake in the last few years. When I was a kid, I didn't like cake. Is that a crime? Still not big on pies.

D- drink of choice? - Root beer.

E- essential item I use every day: - Cell phone. Because it doubles as my alarm clock and keeps me from sleeping in and missing work.

F- favorite color? - Green, although 2/3 of my wardrobe is probably blue.

G- gummy bears or gummy worms? Why choose? They are both equally good.

H- hometown? Currently residing in Peterborough, Ontario. if you ask me where I'm from, I'd say Halifax, NS.

I- indulgence? Pop. I've significantly reduced the amount I intake, but I can't give it up cold turkey. I'm weak.

J- January or February? February because it is one month closer to spring

K- kids and names: Is this hypothetical? Right now, no kids and thus no names. I've had a few debates with the misses on potential names, so I'd rather not open that keg of worms.

L- life is incomplete without? Backrubs

M- marriage date: Errrr..... well..... To be announced.

N- number of siblings: One sister.

O- oranges or apples? Apples. In particular, royal Gala apples from New Zealand. Nothing beats them.

P- phobias or fears? Flying. Ask Amber about it.

Q- favorite quote? Favorite motivational quote - "In order to achieve great things in life we have to live like we're never going to die" - Bret Hart, although I am sure he got it from somewhere else. Fav Simpsons quote...
Marge's Mom: "Oh Monty, you're the devil himself."
Mr.Burns: "WHO TOLD YOU?!?!"

R- reasons to smile? Neelix the cat always provides a smile.

S- season? Spring. It's not cold anymore, but it's not hot either. Perfect temperatures.

T- tag: Since Gib tagged me, I shall tag Sonby, Beebs and Bob M.

U- unknown fact about me: When I was young, I had trouble pronouncing "th" words. Back in elementary school, they cast me as Tiny Tim in the school play and I had the infamous line "Thank you Father, thank you!". It came out like "Vank you faver, vank you!".

V- vegetable you don’t like: So many to choose... Broccoli, because the smell of cooked broccoli reminds me of when I worked in a produce department and had to clean the wet counter. Whenever I sprayed the broccoli trays with hot water, it always reeked of cooked broccoli.

W- worst habit: I can be a pretty paranoid person sometimes. I am sure it annoys those around me. In fact... I'm convinced it annoys them... It probably really annoys them. Ah crap.

Y- your favorite food? Hrmmm... Let's get real specific here. Thick crust, pepperoni, bacon & chicken pizza with Italian herbs and garlic dipping sauce. On the side, a glass of Alexander Keith's red amber ale.

Z- zodiac? Capricorn.

Passport issues lead to bigger woes for some

2007-01-24T11:29:00.000-05:00

With the recent change in attitude at the borders, Canadians will soon be required to have a legal passport in order to fly into the United States. It's been a hotly contested issue for many. Recently though, it has opened up a much bigger issue for some Canadians...

Or should I say Non-Canadians?

Many Canucks are finding out about an obscure provision in the Citizenship Act that was in affect between 1947 to 1977. The law states that if a Canadian citizen lived outside Canada on their twenty fourth birthday and didn't sign the right form, they would automatically lose their citizenship.

I can only imagine how horrifying it would be for some people who have spent the vast majority of their lives proudly knowing they are a Canadian citizen only to have that sense of security and belonging to be completely tossed to the curb because of some obscure side note that no one knows about. It completely opens up a world of yet to be decided legal ramifications... These people have been living in our country using the free health care they are rightfully entitled to. Do we suddenly turn around and slap them with a fee for using our health system?

It looks like they are speeding things up to rectify the situation. The normal amount of time it would take to gain citizenship is about a three year period. Things are being fast tracked for those affected by the provision, and should have things cleared up in eight months. But even still, that is a long time to go for most people. I can only wonder what kind of legal loopholes and troubles these people could potentially find themselves in while they wait for something they thought they had, and should of had all along.

Roster Cuts

2007-01-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's that time of year again. WWE roster cut time. At least Vinny Mac has the decency to wait until after the holiday season to make the cuts. As of this morning, there were three cuts. I didn't think much of it. But now, a few hours later, another three men have been let go. My guess is there will be more to come in the next week or so.

Tony Mamaluke - I feel bad for Tony, because he is someone that didn't get much of a chance to do anything other than put people over. Out of the ECW "Originals" Danny Doring and Mamaluke really got shafted. I haven't seen too much of Mamaluke to really say I liked him, but I'll give him his credit and say that he sold very very well. In my opinion this is a negative blow to ECW. If they want to present ECW as a legit brand, they need tag teams. The F.B.I were one of the few they had. Word of advice to anyone on the roster, don't be Little Guido's next partner. They always wind up unemployed soon after. Unless you count Vito, but he wears a dress. Enough said.

Doug Basham - They COULD have brought the Bashams in. I never liked the Bashams unit but I'll give them credit for being a legit tag team, something that is needed. They were sort of back as Heyman's security force. In the grand scheme of things, this release means nothing. Doug had as good a run as he could and might clean up on the indy scene.

Al Snow - This surprised me because I didn't know he had a wrestler's contract. WWE.com announced that he would stick on as a trainer, which is pretty much what I thought he was doing anyway.

Gangrel - Poor Gangrel... Think he hates Kevin Thorne? This isn't the first time they signed him back and then didn't use him. Wasted opportunity.

The Gymini - Meh. The best thing about these guys was that Simon Dean was their manager. They were like the Basham Brothers with a few more muscles and minus any personality.

So that's it for now, I am positive that there will be others. And I fear ECW will suffer the most because of it. But then again, ECW is suffering anyway.

Here's my list of people who should be thankful they still have their jobs (for now).
Jim Duggan, Rene Dupree, Snitsky, Layla, Vito, Viscera, Idol Stevens, Val Venis and Michelle McCool, Sylvan, Tatanka, C.W Anderson, Matt Striker, Shannon Moore, Stevie Richards and K.C James. You should also consider this my "who's next" list. This doesn't include people they have signed that aren't on the active roster.

Oh. And we can't forget Mark Henry. That crazy 10 year contract he signed has finally come up, and I think he' s been resigned to a much, MUCH shorter one.

*** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE ***

Been meaning to get to this, but haven't had any computer time this past weekend. So as I accurately predicted, there have been more cuts. Mostly people I kind of forgot existed or never knew to begin with.

Tatanka - I'm a little surprised they cut Tatanka to be honest. Although he wasn't exactly tearing up Smackdown (through no fault of his own), they have been using him as of late. I was a huge Tatanka mark back in the day, so I guess I carried over some of that love for him. Sad to see him go, but he didn't really have much of a place in today's wrestling scene.

Danny Basham - See comments on Doug Basham

Jazz - ECW doesn't have a women's division. Understandable. But they still could have called her back up to Raw and help fill a void left by Trish and Lita. They can't *ALL* be eye candy.

Rodney Mack - I don't know why they hired him back in the first place...

Sylvester Terkay - I'm not sad to see Terkay go, but I am confused since they've been pushing the man-bear pretty heavily. I liked he and Elijiah Burke as a tag team. He had the charisma of a snowshovel and he was kinda funny to look at... But he was unique. And with this cut, there goes Smackdown's only tag team left.

Christopher W. Anderson - Another guy I think was screwed of any opportunity to succeed. I don't think I saw Anderson wrestle once on ECW tv. He's someone I was looking forward to getting to see, because I've heard a lot of good stuff about him from his indie days and previous tenure with ECW. Anyone that takes on the Anderson moniker and masters the spinebuster should good to see. Feel bad about this one.

Bill Demott - Demott is well respected backstage, but since I don't know him in that kind of capacity, his termination doesn't affect me one way or another.

7 Developmentals - Mike & Tracy Taylor, Tony Salantri, Thomas Farra, Seth Skyfire, Jack Bull and Ryan Reeves - The only one I can put my finger on is Ryan Reeves, who competed in the last Tough Enough challenge on Smackdown. Out of the bunch, I liked "Silverback" Ryan Reeves the most and am sad to see he is cut.

And that appears to be it for now. Despite all these cuts, Josh Mathews has somehow managed to keep his job. Go figure.

We're not spying on you...

2007-01-11T19:59:00.000-05:00

Pay no attention to the coins that go beep.

"In a U.S. government warning high on the creepiness scale, the Defense Department cautioned its American contractors over what it described as a new espionage threat: Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside."

And you all make fun of Canadian money...

Eh.

2006 Year in review

2006-12-27T09:45:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is my 100th blog post. To celebrate that fact I shall... well... pretty much just carry on as normal. I've been meaning to do a post like this for a long long time, stemming back to the ol' geocities Kicking Air website. Never really got around to it. But I'm bored, so what the Hell. The following is the best, and worst that 2006 had to offer me.

Best Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Why Pirates? Who wasn't caught up in the Pirates craze this Summer? Truth be told, Dead Man's Chest wouldn't hold up to other movies of the past few years, but 2006 has been a quiet movie year for me. The movie had it all. Comedy. Action. A little bit of romance. Undead monkeys. And at the end, I was dissapointed it was over. They built up for the third movie quite nicely and left me wanting to see the next one. Keeping in mind it was kind of a slow movie year, I'd have to rank Dead Man's Chest as my favorite of the lot. Honorable mention to Will Ferrel's performance in Stranger Than Fiction. The third X-Men movie was good, but it differed from what I loved about the first two. There are two movies that came out that I didn't get a chance to see, and I have a feeling if I did see them (and I will eventually), they might have my vote instead of Pirates. They are Little Miss Sunshine and World Trade Center. I'm looking forward to giving those two a rent and see if I am right.

Worst Movie: Date Movie

Ugh. Ick. Gross. This movie was just a putrid steaming pile of Hollywood dung that shows it doesn't take intelligence or skill to make a movie in today's day and age. I like Alyson Hannigan, but man what was she thinking when she was agreed to that script? I honestly don't remember if I watched it all. I think I did, but I don't recall how it ended other than me walking out of the room and regretting the $3.99 I spent on renting that wretched film. I'm all for parodies and spoofs. Spaceballs is a classic. Not Another Teen Movie was hilarious. Date Movie and Scary Movie 4 are starting to make wonder if there's anything funny left to write.

Worst Moment: Amber sprains her ankle. Bad.

It happened early in the year. I worked night crew and there was really bad freezing rain that morning that coated Ottawa in a layer of ice. I pulled into my parking spot, but the car started sliding towards our neighbor's car. I was pretty much inches away from the side of it. So I called Amber on the cell and asked her to come out with a kitchen knife so she could cut one of the sandbags in the trunk and spread it around so I could get some traction. Well. Ten minutes went by and she never came out. So I managed to back the car up into another spot without harming the other car, only to carefully approach the front of the townhouse to find a downed girlfriend who slipped on the ice on the front step and badly hurt her ankle. So bad in fact, that she was on crutches for the first two months of the year and didn't really recover fully until April. I still say it's my fault because she would have still been in bed if I didn't call her to come out. She was just lucky she didn't stab herself with that knife when she went down.

Best moment: "I quit"

Finally being able to quit the grocery business after eight and a half years to persue a job in television... A moment I thought would never come, and could not be any more appreciative for. Amber was there when I let my boss know over the phone. I don't think I've ever been so proud to give someone a crotch-chop in all of my life, and likely never will.

Best Album: Philosopher Kings - "Castles"

In the past few years, I haven't purchased too many CD's. This year I think I've bought more music than I have in the past three. I had purchased The Philospher Kings' new album Castles without even hearing a track. I didn't even know they were back together and was pleasantly surprised to see the album when I did. It's not the perfect album. I don't enjoy every track on it, but it's a rare time when I find one I do (Ahem Cardigans). The first single from Castles has the same name as the album, and is a great song. I wish there was a video for it so I could post a link. I guess all I can do is create an awareness of it and tell you all to keep an eye out for it. The other two standout tracks for me are "Give Back The Love" and "I Want You".

Worst Album: Great Big Sea - "Courage & Patience & Grit"

When Amber reads this, there is a good chance she may kill me. Despite Great Big Sea being one of my favorite bands, this CD/DVD is nothing more than a money grab from the fans. It's a combo album that is a recording of a concert from this summer in Belleville, Ontario. We didn't go because tickets were nearly sixty bucks and that's a little much, even for GBS. Even Amber had the sense to know that. I don't have anything necessarily against live cd's. It's just this one is of questionable quality. Amber even said that if she had never heard GBS before, and listened to this cd for the first time, she'd think they were terrible. Maybe recording the album on one of the last legs of a long tour wasn't the best idea, but the hoarseness and lack of quality in Alan Doyle and especially Sean McCann's voice is undeniable. I wouldn't be proud of this performance if I were them.

Most Memorable Event:

Being in the room when my Grandfather passed. It was the first time I have had the experience of watching the death of a loved one, and it was emotionally hard and draining. It is something I could never forget, and would never want to.

Worst meal: Swanson's Chicken nuggets tv dinner

I'm not one to usually make TV dinners or anything of the sort because I generally hate my food being prepared in the microwave. But when I worked in the grocery stores, sometimes it was a necessary evil to be able to eat something while on break. I remember when these Swanson tv dinners were half price and I figured I'd give it a try. Ugh. What was I thinking? The chicken nuggets were rubbery, both in taste and texture. The fries were a soggy mess. The corn... well.. the corn was all right. And that brownie was cooked into the package and would essentially need a crowbar to pry it out of the hole it was encrusted into. Just nasty.

Biggest WTF Fact: "Hello, thank you for calling Apple..."

If you had of told me a year ago that I would be providing technical support for Apple computers, I would have laughed in your face. It's funny how far a year can take a person.

Best Match: Shelton Benjamin VS Johnny Nitro VS Carlitto @ Vengeance 2006

I had a hard time coming up with a match of the year suggestion, but I was really drawing blanks on this one. Some of the ones I think of, I was there to see live so I think it taints my perception of the actual match quality. I was going to say Trish Stratus VS Lita in terms of the crowd reaction... Or maybe Lance Storm VS Christian live at the BSE show, but no one aside from Beebs saw that one... keeping in mind I've seen a ladder match, Hell in a Cell, Retirement and Ellimination Chamber match all live this year, it makes it tough. That being said, I thought back to this triple threat, because it stands out as one of the most exciting triple threats I think I have ever seen, and it really doesn't get any due whatsoever. There wasn't a dull moment. Benjamin VS carlitto had been done to death to be honest, but the addition of Nitro just freshened things up for this match. I didn't expect to see Nitro win the IC title, and it gave me a chance to see Melina. So lot's of plusses there.

Worst Match: Punjabi Prison match

Ugh. Ick. Gross. And it would have been ten times worse if they had of let The Great Khali wrestle instead of subbing him with Big Show. I'll give them credit for trying something new. But instead of trying something new and ridiculous, I sure wish they'd try something old and tested... Like War Games. Bring back War Games.

Biggest Change:

Going from Ottawa, Ontario to Peterborough, Ontario. Things are just different here.

Best New Show: Jericho

I have never been able to get into any of these action shows that are so popular. Examples are 24, Lost and Prision Break. I attribute to the fact that I haven't watched any of these shows when they first started airring. Once they get started, it's hard to just jump in and know what's going on. I tried watching Lost from the beginning but just wasn't that interested in the premise. Post apocalyptic nuclear warfare? Now that's a premise! This show gets a lot of critism from the net "fans" who liken it to a train wreck where you can't look away. Sure, the townspeople of Jericho might not be the smartest cookies when it comes to having to survive in a post-nuclear attack USA, but damned if they aren't fun to watch nonetheless. We are halfway through the first season and there are so many great questions that need answers. What did Jake really do before returning home to Jericho? Who is Hawkins working with? "They" are coming. Who are "they"? This a rare show that makes me want to catch every episode because I don't want to be out of the loop. if you haven't watched it, I recomend giving it a chance. Amber, Mike and I are hooked and would love to get you all in on it so we can chat it up.

Worst New Experience: Albany, New York

Oh my God, our road trip to Albany to see WWE: New Year's Revolution will forever live in infamy. It had been nearly eight years since I was last in the states, and it didn't live up to the hype. As soon as we crossed the border, I hunted down a Cracker Barrel to go to for Breakfast, and it didn't live up to the expectations I had set as a child. Essentially, the root of our bad experiences all stem from eating food on this trip. The focus of this was Amber being served a raw hamburger at the pub across the from Pepsi Arena. Well, that and the near fist fight the cook almost got into with the waitress. On our way out, we ate at an Arby's at the mall. There was an actual fruit fly frozen in one of the ice cube's in the pepsi we ordered. "Going to Albany" has become an expression in our homestead. The runner up for this is Hamilton, Ontario. Worst laid out city. Ever. Beebs will agree with that point.

Best Blog: Crosblog

How Gib finds the time to update so frequently, I'll never know. But I do know is when I check out the ol' Crosblog, I usually find a funny or amusing story to read. Kudos Gib. I'm looking for DeWolfe to take this award next year when he finally creates the blog he's been putting off so long.

Most Embarassing Moment: "There goes 8 years of perfection..."

Alas, my perfect driving record finally has a blemish (Aside from a speeding ticket). I was rear ended last March on one of the coldest days of the year. I narrowly avoided rear ending the car in front of me as my car slid on the ice. You have no clue how thankful I was that I missed him by an inch or so. I even recall saying the words out loud... "Oh, thank God that didn't happen". As soon as I finished my words, an SUV slid on the same patch of ice and rear ended Ultra Magnus. If it were any other day, I bet there would just be a scratch and we'd be on our way. But since it was so cold, the plastic bumper was extra brittle and put a giant crack in it. The thing cost over $800 to repair. Luckily, the poor guy's insurance paid it and I got to drive a nice rental car for a day while it was in the shop. The damage was purely cosmetic. So this was the first accident I have ever directly been in. Pretty harmless with all things considered. Hopefully, I'm good now for another ten years... But my bragging rights at never being in an accident? They are over.

So that pretty much sums up 2006 for us. Amber and I have referred to 2005 as the "Year of the Black Cloud", as anyone that knows us can vouch that we had undeniable bad luck through the year. As for 2006, I think it's best to summarize it as the "Year of Change". Some good, some bad. A year ago from now, I never expected to be living in Peterborough working for a tv station and Apple computers. It's amazing how much can happen in the span of a year.

So how about you? What is your year in review?

Happy holidays

2006-12-21T19:06:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Happy holidays from us to you.

We only hope you can enjoy the magic of Christmas as much as Neelix does...

The Cerebral Assassin takes it all!

2006-12-21T18:31:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not talking about Triple H.

I am talking about Yul Kwon, Survivor's latest winner of the million dollar prize. I didn't talk much at all about Survivor this season on this blog. It's not from a lack of interest on my part, I follow each episode and pay close attention. I just didn't think anyone else (aside from Amber) was really paying too much attention to it this season. Not enough to post weekly about.

Anyway, it's all over. Survivor came to a screeching halt this past Sunday when Yul Kwon won a historic three way tribal council to become sole survivor. The idea of having three in the finals was quite a shock, that I am sad to say was ruined for me by an over-informative commercial I saw the day before the finale... I don't quite think it turned out the way the producers were hoping, but that's what happens when you have a tag-along in the finals. No one voted for Becky, and with good reason. (That's not saying I didn't like Becky, but she did ride the coat-tails too much for her own good.)

I was quite impressed with the way Yul played the game. It's rare that such a cunning strategist makes it all the way in this game, because historically once someone is made out to be the "brains" of the outfit, they are quickly removed as strategy by the lesser players. Did Yul lie? Sure. Was it blatant and awful about it? No. As he said, it's a part of the game. Overall, I think Yul kept the dignity and integrity he was trying so hard to keep in tack. And he really planned things out well. I was scared when he offered up the immunity idol to Becky at the last minute, because that would essentially be handing the million dollars over to Ozzy, and I was shocked as Hell to see him make such a careless move. It didn't pan out though, which was probably a good thing to Yul.

Finding the hidden immunity idol so early in the game was the key to Yul's victory. As much as I liked Yul, I was pretty angry that it was so easy to find that someone could find it on the second episode. They really need to make the clues a lot harder so that it's a real challenge for someone to find. The next Survivor is going to have two hidden immunity idols and another exile island, so I seriously hope they learn the past two that they need to try a lot harder at finding a good hiding spot for the prize.

Ozzy kind of annoyed me through out the game, because he is a lot more devious and cunning than people gave him credit for. I think he is one of Survivor's best players and deserved to make it due to his performances at challenges and at camp, but that doesn't mean I have to like him. I really thought he was pulling out every trick in the book to get the jury on his side, and I was shocked that no one really called him out on that. I got the impression he was just clutching at whatever angle could be thrown at him. He was just all over the place with his answers, and contradicted himself in quite a few areas. By the end of the finale, I was quite happy that he didn't walk away with the money. He did get the car though, and we all know the curse of the car. Mind you, it was after the fact, but the curse lives on in my books.

One thing I really hate is when the jury grills the two finalists, because I find its' usually filled with pent over anger and frustration that they were in fact eliminated from the game. Sure, some people get screwed and have a right to be angry. But not everyone. I was really expecting worse from Pavarti, Nathan and Candice. They seemed the most bitter about having the tables turned on them and being removed from the game. They were simply outdone by an underdog and outnumbered team. The fact that Raro was able to perform the way they did and turn things around was nothing short of amazing, especially after the infamous mutiny. I couldn't understand how people from Aitu could really get so bent out of shape. If anything, they should respect the way that Ozzy, Becky, Yul and Sundra played and how they were able to change things up. But as I said, I was expecting them to be worse than they were at tribal council, so I was glad to see that.

So that about does it. I'd like to say that I wish they would have more trivia based or knowledge based contests. Or even bring back the gross food challenges. I say this because everything it seems nowadays is physical, and gives the physically dominant players more chance to succeed over the others. And I know the water challenges means we get to see more bathing suits, but I'd like more challenges to be on land.

Congrats to Amber's mom who won the Survivor Pool and the $160 pot. Amber's friend Dwayne came in second place with $20 for Ozzy's 2nd place finish, and Amber's friend Peggy closed it up with $10 for third with Becky's placing. I guess it shows that it pays to know Amber. We've discussed the idea of a pool again for the next round of Survivor, but I don't think it seems too likely. We had a hard time rounding up twenty people this time around, and getting the money became an issue for some. I enjoy running it, but it does become a pain to hound people. And I'm sure you all could do without my urgent pleas to play the game (Yes Mo, I'm thinking of you).

If you enjoyed the illegal online international gambling pool, I'm glad you did. If you'd like to keep it up, let me know. If we get enough interest, MAYBE we'll do it again.

That is up to you.

Don't they make movies about this stuff?

2006-12-21T18:22:00.000-05:00

It would appear that our world could very much go the way of The Matrix or I, Robot if things keep up the way they are going with man's dependency on robots.

A new study reports that robots one day might be made smart enough to demand rights and equal treatment as a human may receive. The study even goes on to suggest that the robots could sue their human creators and demand robo-healthcare.

But this won't likely be problem for at least another twenty years or so.

Ah crap.

Transformers Movie Trailer

2006-12-20T13:08:00.000-05:00

Hey all.

Yahoo just officially released the Transformers Movie trailer. Figured I owe it to you peeps to post a link so you can check it out yourselves.

Click here to view the trailer

Enjoy.

Steve's Crappy Neighbor

2006-12-18T09:35:00.000-05:00

Anyone know this guy?

His name is Spike Feresten, and he has his own tv show.

It's on Fox at midnights (EST), right after MadTV. He's also famous for being the writer of the "Soup Nazi" episode of Seinfeld. The show so far has been hit and miss with me. I find some of the sketch comedy bits and routines to be refreshingly funny, but lacking on the in-studio performance. But I'll give the guy credit, he's all round pretty funny. Plus, the guy has a late night talk show on Fox. He knows he's doomed.

This past weekend, Spike pretty much devoted the entire half hour episode to his a-hole neighbor that would carry her dog over to his lawn and let it do its' business there. After all, what better revenge then publicly humiliating her on national tv, right?

For those that missed it (And I suspect that is the solid majority of you), there is a special website devoted to the episode featuring numerous clips of the sketches and that can be found here at Spike's Crappy Neighbor.

Anyway, it got me thinking about my history of crappy neighbors, past and present. It pleases me to know that I haven't had any particularly awful experiences... Especially when you compare it to some of the stories on that Crappy Neighbor website.

We live on the 2nd floor of a 3 story apartment building. We actually don't hear much from the people on our floor. We say hi whenever we pass people in the hall, but granted that doesn't happen all too often since it is a quiet building with only five apartments per floor. But we have no beef with the people we share a floor with.

It's the people above us and below us that we've had some issues with. Again, nothing drastic, but certainly annoying. Let's start at the top and work our way down. There is a family the lives above us, and I really suspect that the two kids actually share the master bedroom above ours because we hear them. Constantly. I hear them when they play tag, I hear their wrestling fights... I hear their endless stomping sessions which last all through the night.

... sorry. Was watching the Grinch Who Stole Christmas the other night and the rhyming is still in my system.

The walls in these apartments are pretty thick. The flooring however, not so much. Now we were warned by our landlord when we first moved in. Apparently the elderly woman that lived here before us would always be going up and banging on their door asking them to be quiet. I'd like to think we're above that and can put up with the occasional ruckus. Afterall, Amber and I both lived at College residence for a few years, I think we can tolerate some eight year olds. But I admit, sometimes it is a little much. Instead of going upstairs, I've chosen the more civil approach to just stand up on a chair and bang on the ceiling. That usually stops them, or at least lets the buggers know their annoying the heck out of me. The family appears to have a routine of everyone waking up and stomping about around 5:30 in the morning, so I'm not a fan of that. But... what can you do? Can't dictate when people should be up and about.

So that's a minor annoyance.

But the window.

Ooooooohhhhh the window.

There it is. This is the window that is on our floor and faces the staircase upstairs to the top floor. Looks harmless, right? Just like any other window. But look closer. See something?

That's right, it is open. It is the middle of December, and that f'ing window is open. I'll shut it. But ten minutes later, the damn thing is open again. I have seriously devoted a night of my life to checking the window every 15 minutes and shutting it each and every time. And every time I went to look, someone had opened it.

We can't figure out why the hell would anyone want this window open 24-7?

Our original belief was that someone was sitting on the stairs and smoking. I actually know this is a strong possibility, because I saw it happen once and it has occasionally smelled like cigarettes. We live in a no-smoking building, and it would be terrible for the poor person to have to go down another flight of stairs to exit the building. Truth be told, I don't care if they smoke. Just shut the damn window when you're done.

But we began to notice something. It stopped smelling like cigarettes. And if this were the case, then someone would have to be smoking 3 packs a day in order to justify this. And then one time when Mike was driving away on the street outside, he saw one of those bratty kids from upstairs open the window on their way up, for no reason.

So what is the big deal? Why do we want it shut? Well, Winter is almost upon us. We live in Canada, where it can get kinda cold, eh? The weather has actually been kind of mild as of late, but there have been some cold nights nonetheless. And that open window blows cold air onto our kitchen wall, and makes our apartment colder. Overall, our apartment is a nice temperature. So nice in fact, that we have yet to turn the heat on. It's a game with us. We want to see our breath in front of us before we turn on that heat (since we pay for it). That open window seriously jeopardizes our no-heat plan. So I'd say we have a valid reason to want it shut. But what about them?

I really honestly think they are just doing it to f**k with us. They know someone wants it shut, and they are getting a good laugh out of it. At least, I hope they are. Because if not, what is this all about, right?

I've been tempted to write a note and stick it on the window. But somehow I feel it's admitting defeat. It's like whining to a bully to stop taking your lunch money. We could inform the landlord. Afterall, I don't think they enjoy paying to heat the outdoors. But again, that's like going to tell the teacher. The only idea I have left is to sit on a stool in the hallway and wait to catch one of the buggers in action and pounce on them like COB on a Killians. But even that seems like a waste of time, and to be honest, I don't want to be known as the creapy guy that sits in the hallways waiting for children to happen by...

So how do we do this? I'm willing to try any logical suggestions (somehow I doubt I could get away with spraying them with a water hose). Suggestions are most welcome.

Oh yeah. Amber just reminded me about the DOWNSTAIRS neighbors. Truth be told, it's not too bad. There used to be a lot of karaoke singing. AWFUL karaoke singing. At 9 in the morning. Or 11 at night. It didn't matter when, sometimes the lad just felt the need to belt out the world's worst rendition of Celene Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". That and "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. Oh man, I can't tell you how awful he was at those two songs, and those were about the only songs he'd sing. Over and over and over... He's actually recently moved out and two new boys are in his place. So far so good, although we do hear some guitar playing. I personally have heard "happy birthday" and some Ozzy Osbourne, so can't get mad at that. And it's been at reasonable hours of the day.

Besides, if the downstairs neighbors ever get out of line, I know how thin these floors are and I could begin stomping if I so chose to. That, or put my stereo's speakers to the floor and blast some funky bass music. So at least I know I have options if they ever cross our paths...

Santa 1, Neelix 0

2006-12-14T00:54:00.000-05:00

So as you all know by now, Neelix is a big fan of Christmas. If anyone needs help wrapping (or is it unwrapping?) a present, Neelix is your guy. Last year was his very 1st. We took preventative measures by simply not placing any gifts under the tree. This year we're being brave and have all decorations strung out and a full ensemble of gifts under the tree. He seemed to get along with Christmas quite well.

That is until last Sunday.

That is when Neelix met Santa.

The day started out just like any other Sunday. 11:00 am, we're still in bed and Neelix doesn't understand the concept of weekends. His internal clock doesn't realize when we're trying to sleep in. So he's usually up and scratching at the bed by 7 am in a desperate plea for attention. Boy did he pick the wrong day to wake me up.

Pictures started at Noon, and Amber wanted to get him in early so we could try to avoid a large number of dogs. Neelix has had very limited contact with canines. So at quarter to twelve we dragged Beebs out of bed and brought Neelix out to the car. Amber decided to sit in the back so she could deal with Neelix. You'll see what I mean in a moment.

The trek to the mall started out okay. It actually took a full two minutes of driving before we heard a peep out of Neelix. A new record!

Yep, there's that crazy eyed look we all know and love. He kind of looks like some kind of gremlin, doesn't he?

Anyway, he was actually fairly calm compared to past treks. It was about a ten to fifteen minute drive and aside from heavy panting and constant begging for us to turn the car around, Neelix was actually fairly well behaved.

I won't even begin to tell you the difficulties she had getting the beast back into his cage. Here he is, on his way indoors. You could feel the excitement in the air. Santa was there. Neelix was there. And about twelve other crazy dog people were in there waiting for our arrival. Oh, and a pig.

Did I mention the pig?

The pig had little interest in the cat, and Neelix didn't seem to care because he was protected by that steel cage door. But the occasional dog bark seemed to rattle him. We had to back away from the crowd and attempt to bribe him out with treats, but he wasn't having anything of it. Eventually Amber just figured "to hell with this" and basically unhinged his cage and pulled the lid off. We kept Neelix on a leash & harness, but there was no way we were letting him walk around.

I put this picture up for proof that my cat actually does like me. You can see the relief in his eyes when I'm holding him, protecting him from the three border collies all dressed like elves. No, I'm not making this up.

Neelix's turn was drawing near. Amber happily brought him up to Santa's workshop where the happy elf was ever so eager to take the $10 bill from my hand. It's okay though because the money went to a good cause, The Peterborough Humane Society.

The hair on the back of Neelix's neck stood right up when he heard his first real life Ho Ho Ho. Neelix cautiously examined this bearded fellow as Amber slowly approached. On an unrelated side note, Amber's father is a mall Santa in his spare time. And he is great at it. This year her brother got in on it too and is the part time backup Santa for his Dad. How many people can say they have two mall Santas in their family, let alone one?

Santa seemed hesitant to call Neelix over to see him. I don't blame him. If a dog freaks out, he might bite your leg once or twice. If you freak a cat out, that harmless ball of fur will suddenly become your worst enemy. Just think how Neelix's claws could have their way with that long flowing beard. Eventually it was time for introductions, Neelix was called up.

I wish this looked a little more natural than Amber simply holding Neelix out overtop of Santa's knee. One thing about Jolly Old Saint Nick's gut is that it doesn't leave much room on his lap. I have a feeling Santa likely didn't want any fur on his nice velour red suit. Santa did his "best" to hold Neelix, but that only exposed Neelix's junk for the world to see. We decided it wasn't too pretty of a picture so Amber had to step in and do her best to reposition the beast

Santa really seemed reluctant to hold on to Neelix and support his weight. So the picture that we paid $10 for came out kind of awkward. It wasn't a digital camera, so it was pretty much a what you see is what you get sort of deal. Beebs and I did our best to get Neelix's attention, but there was too much going on around him to really care what we were doing.

And then there was the flash.

Yes, this special photo op lasted a total of 21 seconds. It was pretty much a "You ready-ok-here-goes" sort of thing. So Neelix had his first ever picture taken with the man, the legend, THE Santa Claus. Santa was quick to hand Neelix back over to Amber and be done with him. We put Neelix back in his cage, to which he gladly preferred over being out and about with the yappy dogs. We took him home, and he was a little quieter on the car ride home. I think after meeting Santa, Neelix suddenly realized the car ain't so bad.

I picked up the photo today, a few days later.

I didn't see it at the time.

Tell me if you see it.

Is Santa strangling my cat?

Look, he's got him by the throat.

What's up with that?

Ah well.

We may be getting coal in our stockings for Christmas, but I bet if Santa left his bag around long enough, Neelix might drop a few gifts for him too...

Stressed woman thought she was French

2006-12-13T00:07:00.000-05:00

There's a great Quebec joke waiting to be made here...

Poor poor Neelix

2006-12-11T00:12:00.000-05:00

"Get this crap off me. Now."

Well, the majority of posts as of late have been wrestling posts, and somehow I feel I've been neglecting the 34.6% of my audience that loves the cat pictures (looking at you Katie). So without further delay, I give you but a glimpse into our day today.

Yes, Neelix has a busy day today. We took him out for his favorite past time... a ride in the car. We all know how much Neelix loves the car. But this time the ride was for a purpose. The Humane Society was arranging pet pictures with Santa Claus at the mall today. Oh yes, we are crazy cat people.

So for $10 Neelix got thirty seconds of Santa's time, just long enough to glare at the camera and curse our names out in vain. And oh yes, we took pictures. Lot's and lot's of pictures. So as soon as we get the "official" Santa pic, I'll post all about that journey.

But what in tarnations is that pic above? Well, you'd have to ask Amber about that one. Last year we bought Neelix a Santa outfit (meant for a small dog) at Canadian Tire for like $4 on clearance (I wonder why???). It didn't really fit him last year but he's grown into it this year... Mike and I stepped out to go shopping and when we came home poor Neelix was dressed like this. I'm not quite sure how Amber got the hat on him. So I snapped up as many pictures as I could to further the public humiliation of my cat. Wouldn't you?

So the cat had a rough day today. Ah well. At least he's cute.

Happy Katie?

Five Second Pose

2006-12-04T23:54:00.000-05:00

Attended the Blood Sweat & Ears show yesterday which featured Lance Storm VS Christian as a main event. The first 10 minutes of the match was spent taking requests from the crowd. We saw Christian fold his entrance attire (That's how I fold), a 5 second pose, 2 spinaroonies and well... a kick ass wrestling match that really told us how much WWE dropped the ball with these guys.

Anyway, I promised a picture of the five second pose. In the foreground of the picture you'll see the ringrat that ruined our viewing experience... but that's a post for another day. Enjoy.

And ringrat, if you should ever happen upon this blogsite, I stand by what I say.

Wrestling PPV's, ECW & me

2006-11-30T11:07:00.000-05:00

Wow, is it time for another wrestling Pay Per View event?

Yep.

Didn't we just have one last week?

Yep.

That's ok I guess. It's not like there's one next week... is there?

Yep.

Geez. But that is surely the last wrestling PPV of the year. Unless.... is there ANOTHER one?

Sadly... yes.

The following month of wrestling has been PPV overkill. It started with Cyber Sunday. Then two weeks later we got the Survivor Series. One week later, we have ECW's December to Dismember pay per view. The week after that is a TNA Pay per view. And then after that, WWE is squeezing in Armageddon right before the holidays.

That is four weeks of straight PPV's, three of the four falling under the WWE banner. At forty bucks a pop, who the heck can possibly afford that? Even the most die hard fans I think would have a problem with spending $160 on PPV's in a single month. And if they don't, they should.

The original point of this post was to discuss my ECW December to Dismember pay per view thoughts and predictions. And it was going to be a very short post. Why? Because with only four days before the event, there are only TWO official matches announced. Just two.

How can they expect us to shell out money to see that? I understand that in the original ECW, a lot of PPV's only had a few matches officially announced, but they always set the expectation that there will be more added live. Or you knew something big was going to go down. They haven't rekindled that feeling here. Instead, they have announced that during the Elimination Chamber match, instead of a 2 minute wait time between entrants, it has been stretched out to five. To me this is cheap way of drawing out the length of that match so that it takes up more time on the show. That means they have less time to fill.

I know WWE has received a lot of criticism for bringing back the ECW brand. I'm trying to give it a chance and want to see it successful. But if they want it to happen, they really need to make it it's own separate entity, and not have "guest stars" from Raw and Smackdown coming in every week. The last PPV they had was back at One Night Stand, and Kurt Angle VS Randy Orton is *NOT* and ECW match in my books. They only have one hour a week of television content, unlike Raw & Smackdown. So you'd want to make the most out of what time you have.

We see CM Punk squash his opponent, and then they very next week we get a rematch that is an exact replica of the first. Why? I know we're trying to get Punk over, but it's already happened. So instead of having that second match, why not give someone like Danny Doring or the F.B.I a match so you can give them air time. Try to build a little credibility to your undercard. At this point, we've only seen the main eventers get a push, and anyone on the midcard is treated like enhancement talent *IF* they are lucky enough to get a match.

On this week's edition of ECW tv, they could have spent the time to build an undercard. Set up a few feuds that would make people care a little bit about ordering the PPV. Instead, we got more Hardy Boys hype and treated to matched involving the six competitors inside of the Elimination Chamber. The match they have already been hyping for weeks and weeks. Not good.

So back to the point... The ECW Pay Per View is live from Augusta Georgia. I've read that there are still floor seats available. The lack of advertised matches doesn't help, but look at the venue. The James Brown arena in Augusta. Georgia. That isn't ECW's old territory. Yet one week earlier, the Survivor Series was held in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. The original ECW's heart and soul beats within the fans of Phillie. The last two ECW PPV's were in front of a hot rabid crowd of ECW loyal fans in New York. All I can say is how did WWE not see this fact as a bad thing. ECW still isn't built up strong enough to be successful at touring across the country and selling out arenas. I guarantee you that had December to Dismember been in Philadelphia, it would at least come close to selling out the arena. Closer than Augusta Georgia, that's for sure.

So after all that, I am going to order the ECW Pay Per View.

Why?

Because it's ECW's last chance with me. If they want my money, they'd better damn well earn it. I am sure Paul Heyman gets it. But I don't think it really matters what he thinks these days. He is just a figurehead on tv, and that is about all. On a side note, for a company that employs Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman... arguably three of the greatest minds/promoters in wrestling history... you'd think the product would be a lot better. Anyway, this is ECW's last chance for me. Whatever matches they throw together for the undercard, they'd better blow away the main event. This is the time for the undercard wrestlers to "suit up" as Barney would say and make a show of themselves. Because I can honestly say if they don't, I'm not going to care about ECW anymore.

Anyway, I did promise PPV predictions. So let me bust them out. Don't worry, it won't take long.

Extreme Elimination Chamber Match

The Big Show VS Test VS CM Punk VS Lashley VS Sabu VS Rob Van Dam

I've seen an Elimination Chamber live. They can be fun. I figured adding it to this PPV was a desperate attempt to get it some PPV buys... Of course, now what will they do for New Year's Revolution? Anyway... It is "extreme" because the combatants will be allowed to have weapons with them and can bring them into the match once they are drawn. The weapons consist of a barb wire baseball bat, a crow bar, a steel chair, and a table. Yep, that is all. Not very extreme if you ask me.

I guess I'll play the role of fantasy booker here. First things first, I would have The Big Show eliminated first. By CM Punk. Because it would give Punk a huge amount of credibility as the future of ECW as they like to call him. And having Show go out first just adds interest to the match. You *KNOW* there will be a new champion crowned tonight. Next out would be Sabu because we need to keep Test around since he is the only heel left. Next I would have RVD eliminate CM Punk in a "Sorry kid, better luck next time" move . After all, Punk is still new. That leaves Lashley, Test & RVD. Now we can get rid of Test, and I don't frankly care how we do it. So it boils down to RVD and Bobby Lashley. I would set up Lashley for the win, but RVD uses a lowblow with the crowbar or barb wire bat, and scores a cheap pinfall on Lashley.

Rob Van Dam is your winner and new ECW champion. RVD carries some credibility with the belt and keeps it ECW. After this, I would actually turn RVD heel as the only ECW original that can carry the new ECW on his back. And I would feud him with the man he eliminated, CM Punk. The feud would be new, fresh and fun. I would love to see that match, and I can see it slowly building all the way to Wrestlemania.

But none of that will happen.

Winner and new ECW champ: Bobby Lashley, because WWE wants it that way

And now onto the only other scheduled match...

The Hardy Boyz VS MNM

OH MY GOD~!!! They reunited Joey Mercury with Johnny Nitro!!! I can't believe they did that! That's so shocking! That's so... well... actually, it's kind of disappointing. Didn't Melina & Nitro turn on Mercury a few months ago and beat the crap out of him, "putting him out" for months? Thank God Joey has the ability to forgive and forget, because this is a dream match I... can't really say I've ever cared to see. Oi vey. My only hope for this match is that Mercury turns on Nitro and leaves him for dead, and Mercury decides to stick around in ECW.

Winners: The Hardys

The only other match they have been suggesting may happen is Sandman VS Hardcore Holly. PLEASE let that one be extreme rules. That might make it worthy of PPV status. But God only knows.

My other fantasy booking thought would be that they should bring back the ECW Tag team championship belts, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Anyway, that concludes my predictions and thoughts. See, I'm not blindly loyal to WWE. But when I say it's a brand's "last chance" with me? There's trouble...

Anyone else have any PPV thoughts?

New look, same old crap

2006-11-25T10:34:00.000-05:00

Hey all... Long time no post.

First of all, you probably noticed a new look to the blog site. Let me know if you like it. I can easily change back, or find something else new if this layout happens to hurt your eyes for any such reason. Unfortunately, my HTML knowledge is limited, so I pretty much stick to the templates they give me.

I've signed this site up for the blogger beta thing... which means it's actually a lot easier to post to and modify. So far, I like the changes. Gib & Beebs, I recommend switching over. Or anyone else using blogspot for that matter. There is also the new feature of mobile blogging which means I could send a TXT message to the blog and it would appear. Or even better, a photo! How up with the times could I be if I could simply send a Neelix picture through the phone to the site... How boring would that be if that was the only time I used it? However, the feature doesn't appear to be applicable with Canadian cell providers so far, so you'll have to wait for that. Although I do look forward to sharing live up to date coverage of my life with you all. I suppose I'd better start doing something interesting then...

So what's new with me?

Not a whole lot to be honest. I haven't been working much at all at the station, so I've had to get a 2nd job on the side. And well... hours are so bad, I've had to make that 2nd job a full time job for the time being. So for the time being, I am an Apple computer tech support specialist. So if any one out there is using a Mac, let me know. I can chat the lingo now.

Amber and I went to a Jewel concert on Thursday in Orillia, Ontario. It was a solo acoustic performance, which is something I have wanted to see for nearly 12 years. For those that don't know, I used to be a very big Jewel fan. I've always been particularly drawn to her solo acoustic "coffee shop" music as I have dubbed it. I wasn't a fan of her 2nd last album, which was all pop beats and bubbly spice I don't quite care for. Her new cd "Goodbye Alice In Wonderland" returns back to her folky acoustic days, but backed up by full musical accompaniment. Some of these "new" songs are actually old old ones that have been given new life through the studio.

Anyway. I've waited a long time to finally see one of my favorite performers. I had tickets to see her several years ago. She was playing in Toronto when I was back in Halifax and I had planned a one week vacation to see Amber (back when she was @ school) and attend the concert. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see her because a member of her band died and she canceled the rest of the tour. That makes two times that my favorite acts/bands have canceled on me, which sucks because if I relate to the length of time it took me to eventually see a Jewel show live... Well... Let's just say I won't be seeing the Cardigans any time soon unless I plan to travel to Europe.

Our work schedule for the holidays is slowly forming and it looks like Amber and I will be missing Christmas this year with the families. She is working 11am - 7pm that whole week, so that makes it difficult to attend family functions. I don't know what I am working yet, but I *KNOW* I will be working. I guess the one nice thing about working on my birthday this year is that I am no longer in retail. December 23rd is the busiest day of the year when working in a retail store environment, so I won't be missing that. We're still going to set up Christmas soon though, so I'll share a pic or two of our tree once it's all up.

So aside from work, we haven't been doing too much. Next weekend we're heading to Hamilton so Amber can go to a surprise birthday party for a friend.... I hope Mary Button doesn't read this... Beebs is coming too, so he and I will have to find something to do down there for the Saturday night. But Sunday on the way back home, we're making a stop in Mississauga to attend an afternoon Indy wrestling card. Blood Sweat & Ears comes highly recommended to us by John DeWolfe and who could turn down an all Canadian main event of Christian Cage VS Lance Storm? Now that Storm is mostly retired, won't have many chances to see him wrestle live. The only other "names" on the show are Peterborough's own Bobby Roode and Traci Brooks. Should be good though. I haven't been to an indy show in a long time and this will be Amber's first. What is she getting herself into?

So that's the low-down from things on this end. The #notjustmighty crew need to hook up. Been a while since I've seen anyone online (honorable mention to Mo for attendance though).

Taker easy.

Let me know about the new look, good or bad...

Survivor Series predictions

2006-11-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

Due to the difficulty factor in trying to predict winners of Survivor Series matches, I've summarized my predictions a lot more than usual. Less reading, less opinion, no problems. Also, my last post was a detailed opinion on Cyber Sunday and you pretty much got my opinions there.

DX (co-captains) CM Punk, Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. Rated RKO (co-captains), Johnny Nitro, Mike Knox & Gregory Helms

Winner & sole survivor: Triple H (It's the safest bet in wrestling)

John Cena (Captain), Kane, Lashley, Sabu & RVD vs. Big Show (Captain), Test, MVP, Finlay & Umaga

Winners: Big Show & Finlay

Ric Flair (captain), Dusty Rhodes, Sgt. Slaughter & Ron Simmons vs. Kenny (captain), Johnny, Nicky & Mikey

Winners: Ric Flair & Dusty Rhodes

- We will see Kenny officially break off from the Squad... Or maybe Johnny... he's been the only visibly showing his anger with Kenny's ego

U.S. Champion Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero

If they want to keep pushing Chavo, he needs to win the title. I expect this to be another long drawn out feud like the one with Mysterio.

Winner & new U.S Champ: Chavo Guerrero

Batista vs. World Heavyweight Champion King Booker

So if Batista doesn't win, he never gets another shot again? What if he wins the Royal Rumble? Oh, nothing is ever definite. Oh well. I think King Booker's reign might be over. Which is a shame. Booker's been the champ for many months now, but it really doesn't feel like it, does it?

Winner, & new World Champion: Batista

Undertaker vs. Mr. Kennedy

A specialty gimmick match against a p-o'd Deadman? I love Mr. Kennedy, but I don't love his chances.

Winner: Undertaker

Women's Champion Lita vs. Mickie James

Hrm. So far I've predicted all titles to change hands... And they usually don't do that. But oh well. There is no way Lita gets to retire with the women's title like Trish did. If she did, what the Hell was the point of the tournament?

Winner: Mickie James

Cyber Sunday Predictions

2006-11-05T11:16:00.000-05:00

I don't even know if anyone bothers with these, but it's that time of the month again to chime in with my WWE PPV predictions and all-round general thoughts on the current Raw product.

WWE's Cyber Sunday

LIVE from Cincinnati, Ohio

WWE Champion vs. World Heavyweight Champion vs. ECW World Champion
John Cena vs. King Booker vs. The Big Show

The stipulation you are voting for is which title is on the line. I would vote for the ECW World title, because I would love to see King Bookah win it, but I don't think that the internet fans (and WWE employees) will vote that way. Instead, I think Cena's WWE title will be up for grabs. A few years ago, the idea of champion VS champion was a dream match, but I think the cross brand stuff has been done so much over the last year and a half, it has distinctly cheapened the significance of this match. I don't expect to see a title change. What I do expect is a giant schmoz at the end possibly envolving each brand's key players, because this match is setting up the Survivor Series main event, brand VS brand vs brand in a Survivor Series ellimination match. There definately won't be any conclusive finish here.

Winner: John Cena (ugh)

DX vs. Edge & Randy Orton

We get to vote in who we want to see as the special guest referee. We have al'mighty Vince McMahon himself, Jonathon Coachman and Eric Bischoff. No matter who gets in, I suppose we are supposed to think the deck is stacked against HBK & Trips. However if the past year of wrestling has taught me anything, it is that DX can get away with anything. Seriously, when was the last time these guys lost? It's funny. It looks like Triple-H found a way to pretty much go undefeated for the last eight months without putting a single person over, and yet still have the fans behind him. He is a sneaky bastard. That said, I don't argue about DX's reformation like a lot of the IWC. Because if you listen to the fans, they love it. They eat it up, and buy the shirt to prove it. As long as it is popular and making them money, why give it up? The feud with McMahon went on way too long, so I hope and pray that he isn't voted in because it is nothing we haven't seen before. No way anyone is voting in the Coach. So I expect to see Eric Bischoff in the match. BTW, Bisch being on "good terms" with WWE (storyline wise) still makes no sense to me given the fact that McMahon threw him in a garbage truck when he fired him last December (God, has it been that long?). ANYWAY. To no fault of their own, Edge and Randy Orton will be consumed and buried by the beast we know as Degeneration X.

Winners: DX

Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. ???

Our options to vote in are Carlitto, Shelton Benjamin and Johnny Nitro. But... but.... I voted for Chris Masters!!! Masters has mysteriously dissapeared from the voting as well as from the Intercontinental championship title scene alltogether. The IC title picture has been strong as of late, but I can't help but get horrible flashbacks of the last time there was a 4 man picture... Billy Gunn, Ken Shamrock, Goldust & Val Venis in February of 1999. At least Road Dogg snuck in and won the belt... But back to the PPV, Benjamin has been the fans choice in previous years, but now that he is heel I don't expect him to wrestle. It's nothing but a popularity contest, and people who are popular are also considered cool. And Carribean. He's got my vote and is my pick to win it.

Winner, and new IC champ: Carlitto

World Tag Team Champions Spirit Squad vs. Ric Flair & ???

You can vote for Dusty Rhodes... "Rowdy" Roddy Piper... and Sgt. Slaughter... Wait... Slaughter? WTF is he doing there? It feels like someone backed out on them and they just threw Slaughter in there. Anyway, I hope we see Piper get voted in. I wasn't around and exposed to the great feud Flair and Dusty once had, so I don't have that sentimental attachment. What I do remember is Ric Flair and Roddy Piper back in '91 when Flair arrived in the WWF. Plus, I just enjoy Roddy. I still find him entertaining. Dusty... not so much. So the Spirit Squad breakup is underway and it appears will come to a head here at the PPV. I'm assuming Kenny and Mikey will be the ones wrestling. If I had to take a guess, I'd say that there is some miscommunication between the Squad which ends up with Kenny being knocked on his ass. Kenny has a hissy fit, and takes off leaving Mikey the lone legal man for his team. While the Squad follows Kenny asking "What are you doing?", Flair & his partner are in the ring beating down Miky. By the time the remaining Squad members realize what is happening, Mikey taps to the figure four leglock.

Winners, and new Tag Team Champions: Ric Flair and ??? (PLEASE be Piper)

Oh... And as a footnote, Flair and ??? will promptly lose the titles in the following two weeks.

Umaga vs. ???

We get to pick the opponent in this one too... Who will end the Samoan Bulldozer's undefeated streak? Will it be his former rival Kane? Smackdown's U.S champ Chris Benoit? Or how about the ECW original Sandman? My guess is that we'll end up seeing Kane since he and Umaga have some unsettled history (Ie; Umaga defeated Kane in a loser leaves Raw match). I really don't think they're going to end the undefeated streak tonight. I wouldn't vote Kane based on the fact that we've seen it numerous times before and I have zero desire to see it again. Benoit might be more interesting, however we've seen Umaga face technicians before, and why have a champion lose to Umaga? That leaves Sandman. Truth be told, I never liked Sandman back in the original ECW. His stint as Hardcore Hak in WCW did less to change that opinion. But Sandman is one of the few I've been really enjoying in the new ECW, and I can't tell you why. I want to see Sandman thrown in there because we've never seen Umaga face someone like Sandman before, and it is unlikely we'll ever see it again. I would love to see Sandman wail away on UUUUUUUUUUUUmaga with the kendo stick. I still expect him to lose, but who expects him to win? I just want to see it. But like I said, I think this will end up as Kane vs Umaga. And here's hoping we get to see Armando Alejandro Estrada get to do some mic work. We haven't heard much from him lately.

Winner, and still undefeated: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumaga

Women's Championship Tournament Final
Lita VS Mickie James

It's hard to believe that we've been without a women's champion since September... oh... wait, no it's not. Not with the WWE Women's division. The lucky fans get to choose the stipulations of this wrestling classic. The options are no dq's, diva lumberjacks or submission. Phew. They left bra & panties match off the ballot. I personally would like to see submission, aagin for the sake of mixing things up. It'd be neat for Mickie James to finish Lita off with the sharpshooter like her idol Trish Stratus did at Unforgiven, but I don't think they have that much thought into the matter. We'll end up with a diva lumberjack match just so we get an opportunity to get the divas out there to bounce around and make an appearance. We all know that Lita is on her way out with the WWE, and I don't see her getting the belt and having the same send off that Trish Stratus did.

Winner (thank God): Mickie James

And if it is a lumberjack match, I could see Melina getting involved with Mickie afterwards to set up a feud. Their tournament match was about the best non-Trish Stratus women's match I've seen all year.

Four Team Tag Match
The Highlanders VS cade & Murdoch VS Cryme Tyme VS Viscera & Haas

The options for this last minute match are fatal fourway, tag team turmoil or texas tornado. Originally I was thinking I'd want to see a turmoil match, but with only four teams that idea seems weak. So I'm gunning for a texas tornado, just to keep the action interesting. Nothing says exciting like 8 people beating on one another all at once. Oh, and WTF are Viscera & Haas doing in this match? That just solidifies Raw's weak tag division if we are to buy those two as a serious team. Why can't they reunite the World's Greatest Tag team? WHY?!?! Anyway, it doesn't matter what the stipulation on this one is, the outcome has Cryme Tyme written all over it. Cryme Tyme may be offensive, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't find it entertaining. Yo yo yo yo yo... Hey, anyone care to tell me what happened to the Highlander's push? One week they are defeating the Spirit Squad with Roddy Piper in their corner, and the next they are jobbing to DX with the rest of the tag team division. Sloppy booking. Almost makes me wonder if Eric Bischoff has secretly taken over the booking for the tag ranks...

Winners: Cryme Tyme

All in all, I'm not expecting a great PPV. We're not ordering it tonight. Besides, we get WWE 24/7 on digital cable. Why would I pay $40 for this when it'll be on 24/7 in 3 months? Seriously, they've been replaying 2006's PPV's about 3 months after they aired live. Vengeance. Great American Bash. Summerslam. One Night Stand. I think this is a bad thing on their behalf because it discourages me from shelling out the forty bucks to see it live when I know it'll be on soon after... And they are coming out right when they are being released on DVD! Why wouldn't they wait a few months for after the DVD has already been sitting on the shelves? I don't expect it to be long before someone in Titan Towers realizes this.

Live From My Mp3 Player

2006-11-01T23:38:00.000-05:00

Keeping with Kicking Air tradition of doing whatever everyone else is doing, I present to you...

LIVE FROM MY MP3 PLAYER...

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?

So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

I used winamp instead of my mp3 player. More access to different songs. So on with the show!

Opening Credits: SR71 – “I Want You To Want Me (Live, cover)”

All right, kicking the movie off on a rocking note. Sounds like this could be some great driving music on my way to someplace cool while all those fancy credits flash by on screen. Maybe some highlights of a wild and crazy night…

Waking Up: Cobra Starship – “Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)”

Ooooh… I’m waking up with some danger. Perhaps snakes in my bed? Must be a spy movie…

First Day At School: The Crash Test Dummies – “The Pyshic”

Okay, this one is the first one that is kinda off. Mellow. Very mellow. I guess I don’t have the best time at school, but someone says something to me that foreshadows my future… Like… if I got in trouble from the teacher and told me to stop being such a comedian, and I grow up to become a rich and famous comedian… that kind of irony (Thank you Patton Oswalt~!).

Falling In Love: Queen - “We Will Rock You”

Sweeeeeeeeeeet. I must be playing some kind of sport and I’m playing up against my love interest. She’d probably rock me off of feet, and I’d be loving it. Since I’m Canadian, let’s say it’s playing hockey.

Fight Song: Lucas – “Lucas With The Lid Off”

Not really fighting music. Maybe it’s a comedic fight scene? Or am I fighting with that love interest? Either way, it doesn’t fit.

Breaking Up: Rich Price – "I’m On My Way"

I could see this being more of a “fight to get back together” song than a break up song, but maybe it’s a mutual friendly breakup.. Life is just taking us in different directions. Like, school is over and I’m going overseas to backpack across Europe and she’s going up North to Nunavit to rescue baby seals for 6 months…

Life is Good: Bubbles – “Bidibodi Bidbu”

Awesome. If you don’t know this song, it’s the funky german techno music used in Super Troopers when that Euro-trash couple was speeding. So I must have made it over to Europe and I’m partying it up at some German night club.

Mental Breakdown: Uncle Kracker – “Time After Time”

…Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick and I think of you… Oh no. I’ve partied too much and it’s all catching up with me… I miss my hockey girl! I’m probably sitting in my hostel room, looking at her picture or a letter she sent me, and I have that sudden realization that I gave up on the best thing in my life. Oh yeah, I’d be crying…If you're lost you can look--and you will find me time after time…

Driving: Ben Harper – “Waiting On An Angel”

This stuff writes itself. I’m catching rides… thumbing my way back to London so I can catch a flight back home to Canada… Probably a lot of train riding, and scenes of me getting stuck at the airport.

Flashback: Crash Test Dummies – “The Ghosts that Haunt Me Now”

Great track for a flash back. It’s me sitting on the airplane. Everyone else is asleep, but not me. I’m resting with my head against the window as I reminisce about the great times we had.

Getting Back Together: Johnny Cash – “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”

Hrm. Not sure how to explain this one. It sounds like kick ass fighting music. Maybe I make my way to Nunavit and I find that the illegal seal poachers have kidnapped her and plan to wed her against her will. I show up, get my ass kicked, and this music is for when I’m stalking them through the wild winter wonderland and eventually rescue my girl. Or maybe I have too much of an imagination?

Wedding: The Cardigans – “You’re The Storm”

I was wondering when a Cardigan song would make an appearance. Great song by the way, check out the vid. I take it maybe we get married up there in the North… Where the scenary is spectacular and my bride is just as beautiful (hey, it’s my movie, leave me alone). This music would play as we stand overlooking a scenic view of the land, and the camera pulls out to an aerial shot of us and the land. “…you fill my heart, you keep me breathing, 'cause you're the storm that I believe in…”

The Night Before The War: Joaquin Phoenix – “Get Rythem”

After the wedding, we made it back to our hometown and the family throws us a big party. This is good party music. Little did we know what war tomorrow would bring…

Final Battle: Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns – “Don’t You Just Know It”
Oh don’t worry… it’s not a real battle. We made it back just in time for hockey season and our teams are facing off in the season opener! Our teams are bitter, heated rivals. But we don’t buy into that and we just end up mucking around on the ice and passing the puck back and forth to one another as everyone tries to play a serious game. Trust me, if you know the song you’d know it’s happy feel good music. See the end credits of Snatch to hear it.

Moment of Triumph: Lipps, Inc.- “Funkytown”
Oh snap, we just totally won the Halloween dressup dance off at the roller disco in town.

Death Scene:TV Show Themes – “The Incredible Hulk (Ending)”

Thank you lord, for my life has ROCKED. I couldn’t ask for anything better than this for a death bed scene. I dunno how I died, but it was glorious.

Funeral Song: Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock – “It Takes Two”

Uhhmmm… why are people dancing at my funeral? And it will have Randy Hickey there so he can shout out “Oh no you didn't. You didn't just go Old School!”. Yes I did Randy. Yes I did.

Ending Credits: Jamie Kennedy feat Bob Saget – “Rollin' With Saget”

I don’t even know where to start with that one. I guess I wanted to send ‘em home with a laugh…

Well, I thought I was going to have a great Ferris Bueller meets James Bond kind of movie with the beginning. That changed. Turned more into a comedic romantic comedy with semi-serious overtones at the end. Honestly, I wouldn’t sit through this movie. Maybe worth a rental, if you’re bored and it is raining.

Rating: ** out of *****

If you watch any of the videos, make sure you watch Lucas With The Lid Off. Simply put, it's just an amazing video. Too bad he was a one hit wonder.

Witch ordered to refund fee for failed love spell

2006-10-31T00:43:00.000-05:00

MUNICH, Germany -- A German court has ordered a self-styled witch to refund a disappointed client her hefty fee for a spell that failed to win back the woman's partner....

Click HERE to read the rest of this amusing story...

Hope everyone has a fun Halloween. Not much going on here for the evening. Amber and I carved our pumpkins tonight, a day early since I know I'd be working till 5:30 tommorow and not have enough time to get it done before the trick or treaters hit the streets. We aren't expecting many, if any at all, given that we are in a small apartment building. But we have 2 Jack 'O Lanterns in the bay window and a hanging decoration on the door. The kids should come running...

By the way, don't buy your pumpkins the day before Halloween. Amber and I went to 4 grocery stores in search of pumpkins, and we couldn't find any. We ended up stopping at a small roadside farmer's stand and bought the last two decent pumpkins. Everything else was soft and mushy. We made the mistake of telling the guy that he has the last pumpkins in town, because we ended up paying six freaking bucks each. $12 on pumpkins~! I know, I know. You're supposed to buy them a week before and leave them outside. That wasn't an option for us though, given the apartment living.

Amber made a generic faced Jack O'Lantern and I chose to do Bubs from Homestarrunner. I'll take pictures tommorow and post. But here's pics of last year's pumpkins. Keeping with the Homestar theme, I tried to do a Strongsad, but if came off looking more like a generic ghost...

Click here for Homestarrunner pumpkin stencils.

*UPDATE*

Here's how our Pumpkins turned out this year... I think my Bubs is pretty accurate... Better than last year's attempt at Strongsad anyway.

Sorry to hear that there was a pumpkin shortage in the states... I blame you guys for coming up to Canada and wiping out Peterborough's pumpkin supply forcing us to pay $6 each.

Rowdy Parliament needs tough, new rules: NDP.

2006-10-25T07:02:00.000-04:00

I rarely get political. But as boring as Canadian politics have always been, I have to admit I am always intrigued when they show all the arguing and insults thrown by delegates when parliament is in session. Maybe because it gives a rare opportunity for our dry politicians to show some life and personality. Peter Mackay's recent comments about Belinda Stronarch have been all over the news as of late. It's getting to be a little much. So the NDP have proposed a fix for the growing unruliness in Ottawa, and I find myself supporting their latest pitch...

Rowdy Parliament needs tough, new rules: NDP.

Now given the boring nature of political posts, I'll tack this on here to keep your interest alive.

Well... Maybe Katie's interest, but that is good enough for me. And yes, that is Sir Beeby in the background. The bastard is trying to steal my cat with his comfy feather filled comforter.

Oh, and by the by... Go Sens Go~!

40 %White & Nerdy... that's me!

2006-10-22T10:17:00.000-04:00

Well, at least Gib beat me by 4%.

How White and Nerdy Are You?

My thoughts on TNA & Bound For Glory predictions

2006-10-21T11:35:00.000-04:00

This is going to be a long post...

Okay, I know a lot of wrestling fans are riding with NWA TNA these days and being a fan of Raw/Smackdown/ECW isn’t “cool”. But I’m Canadian. There were no Monday Night Wars here. TSN always showed Raw live and Nitro I think was thrown on late Wednesday nights. Canadians have always been pretty loyal I think to the WWE and a large reason is because for the longest time, WWE was the only show in town. I grew up watching WWE. I stayed up after midnight on school nights so I could watch our delayed version of Raw all through High School. WWE has been to my hometown more times than I can possibly imagine. WCW was never there. So yeah. I’m still a fan of WWE. I try to watch Raw/Smackdown/ECW when it’s on.

That having been said, do I love everything I see from WWE? No.

Do I hate everything I see from WWE? Hell no.

Now I’m not posting about what I like and what I dislike about WWE’s product. This post is about the wrestling alternative: Total Non-Stop Action wrestling. TNA.

I watched TNA Impact this past Thursday, start to finish for the first time in about two months. I’d catch clips of it here and there, but my general level of interest has been reserved to flipping to Spike TV during a commercial break in MadTV.

I wanted to be a fan of TNA. I actually would order their weekly $9.99 pay per views (remember those days?) from time to time when I was craving an alternative. When they decided to start airing their shows online before they could land a mainstream and permanent TV deal, is when I started losing interest. I didn’t care to download the episodes. Since then, I’ll catch it on SpikeTV now if there’s nothing else on or frankly if I even remember it being on. I think I’ve only ordered one of their three hour pay per views, and I remember the pre-show match just about ruined it for me. It was a triple threat between Alex Shelly, Austin Aires and Roderick Strong. I had read a lot of hype about these three from the internet and was excited to see what everyone was talking about…

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you what all the hype surrounding those three “up & comers” was about. The match basically played out as high spot – No sell – High spot – No sell. Seriously. We’d see this absolutely fantastic backbreaker from Strong only for Shelly to sit up from it and run and do a plancha two seconds later. The match had no flow, and honestly soured me away from the product. I always read how some WWE veterans get upset for the younger generation not “telling a story” and that was the first time I truly understood what they meant.

Maybe it was an off-night. Perhaps it was a case of the jitters for the three. I don’t know. I do know that at that time, I watched some more matches from those three guys and I kept seeing the same thing.

Now those three didn’t ruin TNA for me. But it seriously made me look at TNA with a more critical eye. I've noticed a serious lack of in-ring storytelling from a lot of TNA wrestlers. Like I said before, nowadays I’ll catch it if I see it, or if I know something HUGE happens. But that’s not saying I haven’t been following it. I read the results every week. I think I’m still in tune with what is happening.

Here is what I think about TNA, good or bad.

- Six sided ring is interesting, but doesn’t add or detract from the product in any shape or form. To me, it’s just a gimmick.

- I miss Team Canada.

- Hiring Kurt Angle was a great move by TNA management. Will he revolutionize TNA? No. But he does give them more credibility. Will he do more for the company than Sting? Absolutely. Sting is the same old Sting from 1998. People cheer for him based on who he is and what he HAS done. Not what he IS doing. Angle is different. The man main evented Wrestlemania this year. Kurt Angle is in the now, and the crowd loves him for his efforts. I am a big Angle fan. I think he’s going to put on some of TNA’s best matches ever. But I also believe he is going to seriously injure himself inside the ring. I just hope he doesn’t take anyone down with him.

- I’m tired of seeing Jeff Jarrett. I was tired of seeing Jeff Jarrett when he was in WCW. I’ll never buy into Jarrett as being a credible World Heavyweight champion and don’t waste your time trying to convince me otherwise. He should have never been WCW champ, but then again, a lot of people shouldn’t… Anyway, TNA is the JJ show. Sometimes I wonder why Jarrett doesn’t get as much hate from the net fans as Triple-H. To me, Jarrett is the HHH of TNA.

- I like seeing the New Age Outlaws together…. Sorry, sorry. I like the James Gang being together.

- I HATE Monty Brown. In the ring and out of it. And I don’t mean hate in the good way as in how we’re supposed to dislike the heels. We’re talking X-Pac level of hate here.

- I rarely watch the show on Thursday nights, and tend to catch the replay Saturdays. They will be moving to a 9pm timeslot soon on Thursdays and that makes it even worse for me because they are competing with the likes of My Name is Earl, Survivor and my favorite, The Office.

- This isn’t necessarily a negative, but TNA has become a dumping ground of WWE’s leftovers. Rhino. Angle. Outlaws. Dudleys. Gail Kim. Christian Cage. Kevin Nash. Ron Killings. Jackie Gayda. Scott Steiner. Raven. Kazarian. Christy Hemme. And now, Jake Roberts?!? And then there’s the guys like Konnan and Shane Douglas… And I think I saw Buff Bagwell in there too. Ick.

- I like a lot of TNA’s homegrown talent. Namely AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Chris Sabin, Petey Williams & Christopher Daniels.

- Their tag team division is better than any of WWE’s. But it doesn’t blow it away.

- WTF is with Brother Runt’s haircut?!?

- Why does that one referee wear bike shorts? I think I missed something.

- I don’t see what people see in Lance Hoyt, The Naturals, Senshi, Abyss, or Jay Lethal.

- I don’t know what to think about America’s Most Wanted. I like them, but at the same time, I don’t care about them. I think it’s great to see a legit tag team these days, but there isn’t much in TNA for them any more. If anyone were to go to WWE, AMW would be near the top of my wish list.

- Don West has come a long way since the start of TNA. I used to find him uniquely annoying, but now I accept hearing his voice as a commentator. I don’t like him or anything, but he’s improved and I’m just noting that.

- I STILL don't understand the Canadian Destroyer, and I don't want to. It looks too cool to critique and analyze.

- I once paid for a pay per view to watch an out of shape Shane Douglas dry heave in the ring during a match with Raven. That sure was money well spent… There are some things that I just won’t forget or get over. I never liked Douglas before, but that solidified him as one of my least favorites in wrestling, period.

- The “Ultimate X” match is not as innovative as they make it out to be, but I do enjoy them. Some of TNA’s best “HOLY SH*T” moments have come from Ultimate X.

- I find TNA tends to overhype things just a little… Signing Angle and getting a 9pm timeslot were big… but Earth-shattering.

- I’d like to see more of Jim Cornette. I like him in a figurehead role. WAY better than Larry Z.

- Why does Senshi walk around like he’s got something up his butt?

- They need a two hour timeslot. Or a second show on Spike TV. Something to get more exposure for those left off the one hour timeslot.

I’m not anti-TNA. But I’m not sold on it either. I’d watch Raw over Impact any day. Maybe that will change some day, but I wouldn’t bet on it. And if you think I’ve been unfairly negative about TNA, well… I have negative thoughts on WWE as well. I’m not blindly loyal. I just firmly believe you have to take the good with the bad.

So there. That’s the gist of what I think of TNA. This weekend, they are putting on their Bound for Glory pay per view live from Detroit. I believe this is the first ever PPV not held at Universal Studios (aside from the original PPV’s). Mike wants to get it, and I’m willing to give it a chance. So I think we’ll be ordering it. Since I give my WWE predictions, it’s only fair to give them for TNA. But keep in mind, I’m not 100% up to date with TNA, and some things just don’t make sense to me…

TNA Wrestling Presents….
BOUND FOR GLORY 2006

Pre-show Match
Bobby Roode VS Lance Hoyt

Weren’t they pushing Bobby Roode as the next Rick Rude? Why is he on the Pre-show then? Mike tells me they’ve been making a big angle out of who will be his new manager, and I guess he/she is supposed to debut at the PPV. Beebs technically spoiled it for me and all I can say is “Meh”. Maybe they should concentrate on him kicking ass in the ring if they want him to be a big deal. Lance Hoyt is as good a start as anyone I suppose.

Winner: The Man From Peterborough, Bobby Roode!

The Kevin Nash Open Invitational X-Division Gauntlet Battle Royal

The only person I know that is in this will be Alex Shelly. I was a little hard on Shelly earlier, and I’ll admit that the Paparazzi Productions gimmick has made him watchable for me. And I do love battle royals. I hope Nash doesn’t get involved and eliminates everyone himself, or ruin it with bad comedy somehow. I don’t have high expectations.

Winner: Shark Boy, just for the hell of it.

Four Corners Tag Match
America’s Most Wanted VS Team 3-D VS The James Gang VS The Naturals

Does Shane Douglas still manage The Naturals? Because that instantly makes me dislike them. Based on the promo I saw on Impact this week, I take it they are teasing a breakup between Kip and BG James, with BG taking Jeff Jarrett’s side on some matter. I dunno. I know that they have been teasing a split between America’s Most Wanted for like a year and a half, so I don’t expect it to actually go down on the PPV. I guess the Dudleys took some time off, but are back now and claim to be working their way to the top? I don’t know these things. I do know that ¾ of these teams are capable of having a great match. I think this one will be good, with a clusterf*ck ending which sees Team 3-D prevail.

Winners: ‘Dem Damn Dudleys, Team 3-D

Loser Gets Fired
Eric Young VS Larry Zbyszko

I thought Eric was fired? Again, I don’t know these things. I like the “Tweak” character that Eric Young has played, but I think it’s been played out. This match gives me memories of watching Jerry Lawler defeat Gregory Helms clean at New Year’s Revolution.

Winner: Eric Young

Monster’s Ball Match
Abyss VS Brother Runt VS Raven VS Samoa Joe

The concept that the competitors are locked up, alone and starved for twenty four hours does absolutely nothing for me. I think it’s because it’s a special stipulation that we can’t see and we know is unreal. Take that away from the match, and we have a hardcore fourway dance and nothing else. They just tell the wrestlers… Okay… now act tired and hungry. Meh. I have yet to see a Monster’s Ball match, but I’m not expecting anything out of the ordinary. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised? Raven looks like an overweight anemic and think he should consider retirement. I don’t understand Brother Runt’s hairstyle, and I can’t get over the fact. I do love me some Samoa Joe though, so seeing a chance for Joe to kick some ass is always welcomed. He’s the favorite I think, based on the fact that they are teasing something between him and Angle. Let’s not forget about Jake “The Snake” Roberts involvement in the match. He was supposed to be a referee, but now he’s going to be a guide? Whatever that means… I know Jake has been rapidly deteriorating over the years, but did anyone else think he looked one step away from death on Impact? He was walking funny, gasping for breath, and having difficulty standing in the ring. Either he’s on another binge or he has some serious troubles with his health… Even his promo didn’t make sense to me, and they usually do. I dunno about this…

Winner: Samoa Joe

Detroit “8 Mile Street Fight”
Rhino VS Christian Cage

One of my biggest WWE regrets is that they passed up on Christian and didn’t give him his due. This one should be your standard street fight, and nothing much else. I figure since its Rhino’s hometown and they’ve been giving him the run around as of late, they’ll let him score the win at home.

Winner: Rhino

X-Division Title
Senshi VS Chris Sabin

All I will say is HAIL SABIN~!

Winner & New X-Champ: Chris Sabin

NWA Tag Team Titles
Six Sides Of Steel
AJ Styles/Christopher Daniels VS LAX

I’ve never seen a six sides of steel match, but I assume it’s just a six sided steel cage. Given that it has Daniels and Styles in it, this will be the most spot-tastic match of the show. I haven’t seen enough of Hernandez & Homicide to form a real opinion of them one way or another. I honestly don’t know which one is which yet. Whoever hit that Border Toss on Gail Kim on Impact really looked good. LAX appear to be hot these days, but they are associated with Konan and thus, I cannot support them. Great theme music though.

Winners & still champs: Styles/Daniels

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Title VS Career
Jeff Jarrett VS Sting
w/ Special ringside Enforcer Kurt Angle

This match mirrors one that Sting was in about nine years ago. Anyone recall Sting VS Hogan with Bret Hart getting involved as a ‘special enforcer” right after Bret left WWF to go to WCW? I can’t help but think this one will go down much the same way. I dislike the fact that I am paying to see Jeff Jarrett in a main event, but that’s what you get if you order a TNA PPV. It’s pretty much a sure thing. I just looked up the PPV history of TNA. Bound For Glory will be TNA’s 24th official 3 hour PPV. Of those 24, Jeff Jarrett has main evented sixteen times. There were three where Jarrett wasn’t in the main event, but did get involved. There were only five PPV’s that Jarrett wasn’t involved with the mainer, but usually was in the 2nd last match. And he has never not been on one. What was that about Triple-H being the glory hog? ANYWAY. This match is billed as title vs Career. In fact, there are lot of interesting variables. If Sting loses, he retires. Sting will be debuting a new look (or something like that…And I am all for this since Sting has been pretty static for far too long)… Kurt Angle will make his PPV debut…. Jarrett might actually lose the title (Gasp!?!). Should be interesting. I’m curious if they might close with an Angle/Samoe Joe brawl much like they did on Impact…

Winner & new TNA champ: Sting

So, there you have it. My thoughts on TNA, all out on the line. Dispute me if you’d like, but I admit I’m pretty stubborn on many of these issues and you likely won’t ever sway me on people like Jeff Jarrett, Shane Douglas or Monty Brown.

Links du jour

2006-09-26T23:01:00.000-04:00

Teddy Bear Is A Killer - Funny story about a stuffed animal on a killing spree. I believe his tally was 2500 kills before finally being brought to justice.

Baby Buys Car On Internet - Geez, and I had to wait until I was 24 to buy my first car...

Transatlantic Childbirth Diverts Plane to Halifax - Not so much a funny read, just a nice story to close out on. Plus the baby couldn't have picked a better spot to land... Ha!

"The Day I Beat Up Crazy Mike"

2006-09-22T15:31:00.001-04:00

This morning I was looking through my photo albums fondly recalling my many adventures over the years with my friends. The Road Trip To Mahone Bay...  Our summer visit to Prince Edward Island... Molson Canadian Birthday Bash... and many, many others. But I came across a story that has yet to be told publicly. Only three people know of it's existence actually. But the mental scars will live on in one of us for years to come. Allow me to introduce someone.

This is Crazy Mike and I. Crazy is  a good friend of mine since high school, and we've been through many zany adventures together. We always teased one another and had quite  a ficticious feud between us. The kind of relationship where "You're a worthless sack of garbage" is actually a compliment and point of friendship. It all stems from the Colby VS Chreighton angle. To quickly summarize, some of us were from Colby Village, an upper class neighborhood known for it's snobby rich ways where the streets were paved with gold... Some from Chreighton, where the streets weren't paved at all and there were no laws. The Chreightonites couldn't be trusted and continuously attempted to infiltrate Colby to steal our tires and rummage through our garbage.

Now that you know the back story, let me share with you pictures from the day years ago that I beat up Crazy Mike.

Crazy Mike drew first blood. We were riding in Joe's car when Crazy jumped me from behind and attempted to steal my wallet. Crazy lil' bastard. He attempted to noogie me, hoping to spread his Creighton lice into my fine Colby hair.
Once Joe had to stop the car in order to alert security about the situation, Crazy dashed out with my wallet in hand. I couldn't let this injustice happen without a fight. That was *MY* money, not his. So I had to hop out and chase the Chreightonite through the hood and snow. It wasn't hard to track him, as the smell of the Chrieghtonite was unmistakable.
Utilizing my fine quality Colby footwear, I was able to catch up with Crazy Mike. After refusing my request to return my wallet, the creature came at me. I had to defend myself. Being a proud Canadian, I immediately initiated a hockey fight and pulled his shirt over his head.
Crazy struggled to get free. Chreightonites don't like to be captured. As foul and offensive as the Chreighton stench was, I continued my attack. I had to. I had Philharmonic Symphony tickets in my wallet and I wasn't about to let this street rat scalp them on the corner.
After wrestling Crazy Mike to the ground, I attempted to regain possession of my wallet. I figured dumping him in the snow could only be a good thing as I was sure it had been a while since he bathed. However he was able to break free of my grip after biting me in my leg. I had to undergo a series of rabies tests the next day to treat the wound.
After breaking free, Crazy ran to his home. He even skipped along the way, jubilant that he could now afford to eat. He took a moment to rest at his front door way, gloating in what he thought was victory over Colby.
However the fight was not over. I followed him and engaged the Chreightonite a second time. After asking politely for him to return my belongings, Crazy Mike spat at me and insulted my mother. Then he took a swing at me, which I had to dodge. As much as Colbyites deplore violence, I was forced to defend myself and struck back at my assailant.
Knowing that he was overmatched, Crazy Mike scaled the walls and flung himself at me in a suicidal kamikaze attack, hoping to knock me out.
The malnourished Chreightonite lacked the physical size and strength to take me off of my feet. However I had the incredible strength (thanks in part to a training regimen of lifting my numerous moneybags) to catch him. Wanting to end the battle, I shook the Chreightonite in an attempt to make him drop my wallet. Not only did my wallet fall free from his grip, but so did a diamond ring (presumably stolen), a cheese-whiz sandwich and a knife which I can only assume was used to hold up convenience stores.
With my wallet now free on the ground, Crazy Mike dove for it. I had to lunge forwards on top of him to detain him. I applied a sideheadlock and Crazy fought back the only way he knew how... by attempting to punch me in the breadbasket. By now Joe had alerted the proper authorities and they were closing in on the building. Crazy was soon arrested and I was rewarded with the keys to the city for locking up another Chreightonite and making our streets safer at night.
That was the best birthday ever. We later posted bail and set our friend free. He may have been a worthless two-timing street rat, but he was still our friend. Well... according to the conditions of his release, he was more like our butler now, but we treated him just the same. Look at him in the background, having the time of his life... or plotting my eventual demise. Either or.

A new Spaceballs???

2006-09-21T14:04:00.000-04:00

Could it be?

Could the holy grail of my childhood really be expanding??

Come on, I must have rented that video fifty times before finally buying it on VHS the first chance I had. I loved that movie.

Anyway... Sort of.

Check this out.

'Spaceballs' to become TV cartoon

2006-09-21T13:23:00.000-04:00

- Survivor night is tonight. Based on the previews, it looks like Cao Boi is really going to annoy his tribe meanwhile Billy's laziness is enough to make his tribe consider throwing a challenge, just to vote him off (Which History dictates is a stupid idea). Should be good. A lot of people are talking about this Survivor, albeit some good and some bad. I'm curious how Jonathon is going to act after spending two days on a very decrepit looking exile island.

- WWE Unforgiven was one of the best wrestling shows I think I've ever been to (And I've been to a lot). I'm not sure how it came across for the PPV audience, but it was a fun card that really delivered and cateered to the live crowd. Not having the Highlanders win the tag team titles was a mistake though, after all the build it seemed they were leading to a PPV title change. Randy Orton hitting the RKO on Carlitto as he was coming off the top was an act of beautiful timing. The Hell in a Cell match was pretty wild, although there was more ass in it than I wanted to see... For all of those internet fans that are whining about how DX is back, listen to the crowds. Been a long time since anyone's gotten that kind of livliness out of them. Trish Stratus wisely chose this event to be her last match, because she wouldn't have gotten such a loud, wild & emotional pop from the crowd if it were anywhere else other than her hometown. I enjoyed the ladder match, but it seemed to me that Edge was the one risking it all in there. Cena took one big bump, but that is about all. There didn't seem to be much give for all the take he was taking from Edge. Sadly after the PPV ended, there was no riot. Edge did receive a huge standing ovation from his hometown crowd and rightfully so. And on a side note, I loved what Edge had to say about Montreal the next night. Ha ha...

- Right now I am sick as a dog. I woke up yesterday with a runny nose and it progressively got worse as the day went on. By the time I got home from work around 1:00am, my head was just spinning. Managed to get a job interview in during the afternoon before it got really bad. Stupid sinus congestion.

- Oh, and I got the job. Starting monday. Woot. I haven't left the other job though. It's just hours are down, so I needed something to fill in the gap.

- Other than that, not much else is going down these days. I'll post thoughts on Survivor later tonight after it airs. I'm not one to do recaps though, so you'll have to check Survivor Fever for that.

WWE Unforgiven 2006 PPV Predictions

2006-09-15T13:20:00.000-04:00

Sunday is just around the corner, and the WWE is having one of it's anual PPV's in my own backyard of Toronto, Ontario. I'm going with Beebs and Joe C. I bought Joe his ticket as a birthday present because he once bought me WWE house show tix for my b-day and I'm repaying him the favor. On a side note, I ended up winning the 50/50 drawing that night and got just over $1,000. Best b-day present ever, although I did have to miss a Batista VS Hurricane match to claim my prize... I s'pose it was worth it. So anyway, karma dictates that Joe buys 50/50 tickets, and lot's of them.

This is the 9th Unforgiven PPV. The first started in 1998, headlined by the infamous Inferno match between 'Taker & Kane, and Dude Love vs Stone Cold. Traditionally, Unforgiven has always been one of WWE's "lesser" PPV's and doesn't have the hype/feel of a Summerslam, Rumble, Wrestlemania and so on.

Anyway, the WWE have done two rare things for this pay per view. 1) They released the full lineup more than two days before the show (the full lineup has been out for 2 weeks). And 2), They've actually given hype to each match, from top to bottom. So with that, on to the predictions...

Carlitto VS Randy Orton

I love Carlitto, but Randy Orton doesn't interest me much these days. I think WWE thinks this could be match of the night, but I have my doubts. I just don't see these two geling well inside the ring. I hope I'm wrong, but this my prediction for worst match of the night.

Winner: Randy Orton

For the Intercontinental Title
Johnny Nitro VS Jeff Hardy

Wooooo Melina. This match is very likely to be a crash'n'burn spotfest. I personally never expected to see Jeff in the WWE again, and it looks like he's cleaned up his act. I remember when he was burning out, his matches were getting sloppy and dangerous. BTW, that scene where Hardy likened watching paint dry to Melina & Nitro's press conference was gold. If their altercations and past matches on Raw are any indication, this one will be real good. I'm expecting Melina to get involved... And for that, I am thankful. I don't see any gold changing hands here. Hardy is still being tested and I don't think rewarding him with the belt would be a positive move.

Winner, and still IC Champ: Johnny Nitro

Umaga VS Kane

I'm a Kane fan, so I like this match. The Samoan Bulldozer UUUUUUUUUUUUUUmaga has been on an undefeated tear due to rare good booking. It is billed as the match to determine who the real Monster of the WWE is. This one won't be pretty and as J.R says, will be a slobberknocker. I'm not expecting a good match, but I do expect to be entertained. Especially if they give Armando Alejandro Estrada the mic, ha ha. The last time I saw Kane in Toronto, he chokeslammed Snitsky off of the ramp. Let's see if he can top that. I can't see Kane derailing Umaga's momentum though, so I'll go with the Samoan Bulldozer in this one.

Winner, and still undefeated: Umaga

For the World Tag Team Championship
The Spirit Squad VS the Highlanders

On Raw this past week, Rory & Robbie had the legendary "Hot Rod" Roddy Piper come with them to the ring and the three cut one of the most entertaining promos I have seen in months. And all they had to do was slap each other around. Piper giving the Highlanders some rub certainly helps the two "scots". Some people are saying Piper will be at Unforgiven in The Highlanders' corner, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. I think it was a one-shot deal. Anyway, the tag team scene on Raw is undeniably weak. Having the Spirit Squad as champs for so long hasn't helped, but it's hard to build a division when you have teams like Charlie Hass & Viscera and Val Venis & Snitsky competing. It is time for the Squad to go their separate ways. Well... not entirely. Kenny is obviously the standout star of the group, so let him break off and go to Smackdown where he can compete in singles competition. Leave Mikey & Johny as cheerleading dorks, but split Nicky and Mitch and go against their former Spirit Squad members. That gives Raw another tag team to mix things up. Anyway, future predictions aside, I'd bet money that the Highlanders are leaving Toronto with the gold, with or without Piper. I'm surprised it's taken this long.

Winners, and new champs: The Highlanders

For the Women's Title
Trish Stratus VS Lita

This is Trish's retirement match. Her contract expires soon and she is getting married. Can't blame her for choosing to have a normal life. Trish's contributions to the women's division are unmatched. In the history of women's wrestling (At least in WWE), the two biggest names are The Fabulous Moolah and Trish Stratus. It would be great for Trish to go out as the champion. It's the story book ending. And why else did they put the belt on Lita? Lita and Trish have had quite the history as their careers paralleled one another since they both arrived in 2000. I believe the last time these two faced on PPV, Lita ended up screwing her knee up bad and having to be out for many, many months and I don't think her in-ring work has been anywhere near that level since (Not that she was a 5 star wrestler to begin with). So I sense some hesitation on Lita's behalf, which is a shame for Trish since she can't have one last outstanding match... I am torn on predicting this one. WWE loves to screw with people in their hometowns, but given all that Trish has done for them, it makes sense to let her win the belt one last time. Besides, it's just the women's division. She can vacate it and let a new champ be crowned in a bra and panties battle royal or something. Sadly with Trish's departure, the women's division will lack a lot of credability. Something that few divas have worked hard for.

Winner, and new Women's champ: Trish Stratus

Hell in a Cell
DX (HHH & HBK) VS Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon & The Big Show

I'm getting real tired of seeing Big Show on Raw and Smackdown as of late. The man is supposed to be the center of the new ECW. I'm not complaining about Big Show. I think he's been entertaining since he's stepped up a notch performance wise as ECW champ. I just hate how they've been using him. I think it hurts the new ECW product. if they want him back on Raw, just put him back there and leave him there for God's sake. And onto DX VS McMahons. Getting pretty tired of it, as I am sure everyone else is. I wouldn't mind seeing DX feud with say... other wrestlers instead of the owners. The rumblings of an nWo VS DX feud has me interested, but it's unlikely. But, as tired as I am of seeing all five of these men, throwing it in a Hell in a Cell is about the best way to respark our interest in the feud. And if it continues past this match, I'll be mad. Expect a bloodbath. I don't expect anyone to go up on top of the cell... but as long as we have The Big Bossman VS undertaker hell in a cell match to reference, this one can't be bad...

Winners: DX

T.L.C Match for the WWE Title
Edge VS John Cena

Edge VS John Cena hasn't been fully played out yet, but it will be after this match. The feud has been on and off again since New Year's Revolution in January. The breaks in between have been enough to keep it fresh, and much like the Hell in a Cell match, needs the gimmick match to keep it fresh. There is an added stipulation that if Cena loses, he goes to Smackdown. Hrmmm... that would be nice. I'm sorry, but Cena is worn and tired with me and I would love nothing better than to see him lose in Toronto. I loved being a part of the New Year's Revolution crowd when they would boo Cena without mercy. Any time he hit a punch... "BOOOOO!!!". Carlitto hits a punch. "YAY!!!!!". Cena hits. "BOOOOO!!!" and so on and so on. And the Toronto crowd won't buy into Cena's crap. WWE refers to Toronto as Bizaro land for a reason and it's because TO doesn't stomache garbage. Hence the wave during the Taker VS JBL match at Summerslam. Edge is a hometown boy and he's said himself he's not going to bother trying to make the crowd go against him. What's the point? He's heel, he's a local guy and he is going against Cena. He's gonna get cheered no matter what he does. Of course, I am afraid. Because Summerslam was in Cena's hometown of Boston and he lost, so it kind of makes sense to even the score by having him lose in Toronto. I believe it is called karma. And Edge is boasting he's never lost a TLC match (Which isn't true but we're not supposed to remember such things... shhhh). I dunno about this one. In my gut, I think Cena will take it and stay on Raw. But I refuse to believe I paid money to see John Cena win the WWE title in Toronto against a Canadian.

Winner, and still WWE Champ: Edge

Random Notes:

- Anyone notice that 3 out of the 4 title matches have local people in them? Everyone knows that Edge and Trish are from Toronto, but the Highlanders are also from Ontario. We're just not supposed to know that.

- This will be quite a year for me. After seeing the Ellimination Chamber in January, I'll be seeing a Hell in a Cell and a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. They only seem to do these once a year as special highlights, so seeing three in the same year is pretty cool. I've seen world titles change, been to Wrestlemania. The only thing I have left to see is a Royal Rumble, and I'll be complete.

- If Cena wins, we riot.

1 down, 18 left to go

2006-09-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

Tonight was the first episode of the controversial Survivor 13: Cook Islands. You may have heard of it once or twice if you frequent the site.

So I now open up the Survivor discussion. Hopefully you watched the episode. If not, and you plan to, don't read this post. It's FULL of spoilers.

Random Thoughts On Episode 1

Ransack the ship! - The show started out with the twenty contestants being dumped off of their ship with two minutes to gather whatever objects they could find onboard. There were bananas, chickens, rope, machetes and various other great items for camp life. Things weren't in even amounts, so some tribes didn't get everything. They've done this before, but I enjoy it because it gives you a sneak peak into the mindset of the players. Nothing was better though than Survivor Pearl Islands where they were allowed to ransack a village and barter for their belongings. Rupert stealing the other tribes shoes was a priceless Survivor moment.

Dumbest Move EVER - The timing couldn't have been more perfect for Jessica... Oh, I'm sorry... "Flica". Rarotonga had gotten two chickens from the ship and "safely" stored them in an upside down crate. Our resident hippy-chick, rollergirl Jesssica was introducing herself to Jonathon when she walked over to the crate and lifted it (We think she was going to take a seat on it) when the two chickens high tailed it out there. The timing was just so funny. "My name is Jessica, but my friends call me Flica." Two seconds later, she did one of the biggest boneheaded moves I think I've ever seen on Survivor. A simple mistake, but one that cost the tribe dearly in the very early stages of the game. I wouldn't worry about her tribemates forgetting her name after that one...

Four Tribes, Four Problems - It seems each tribe each has one tribe member that stands out as the trouble-maker or problem causer. Representing Rarotonga, Sekou came across as sluggish and tired by having to stop for constant breaks. Aitutaki had Billy come across as not knowing as much as he thinks he does. The trailer for next week shows Aitu actually pondering throwing a challenge so that they could dispose of Billy. Any time a tribe considers that as an option, you know things are bad (and it never works the way they expect it to). Puka had Cao Boi making lot's of heated comments that annoyed his tribemates. Although zany, I do think Cao Boi has a lot to offer his tribe (aside from headache releif). Amber wasn't impressed with her pick's out-there attitude. Standing out this early in the game usually isn't wise. And of course we can't forget Flica's boneheaded mistake I mentioned above.

Exile Island - I enjoyed the Exile Island concept from the last Survivor, so I am glad to see that they brought it back. It looks even more desolate than the last time! I just hope that the secret immunity idle hidden on the island is a lot harder to find than it was last time. I also hope a dominate jerk doesn't get it again this time (Stupid Terry).

A Smart Move - After losing the challenge, Manihiki were presented with the opportunity to send any member of the three winning tribes to exile island. Nathan and Sekou communed and decided to send Jonathon as punishment for "stealing" Puka's chicken. This was a very wise move on their behalf, as it was a means of reaching out to the Asian Puka tribe. Puka won't forget it. Neither will Jonathon...

Sekou Elliminated - I don't agree with Manihiki's decission to elliminate Sekou. Yes, he came across as lazy, but he was a big lad and brought some serious strength to the tribe. Sekou & Nathan bonded. Rebecca and Sundra bonded. That left Stephanie out. Why sacrifice tribal harmony by elliminating Sekou? Now Nathan will feel out of place with his back to the wall, and say what you want but Stephanie does not compensate for Sekou's strength and leadership. Bad move by Manihiki in my books.

J.P All Right With Me - My pick is J.P, the professional volleyball player. I am afraid of an early ellimination for my pick because he is young, strong and athletic. Those guys never win. But so far, I was impressed. He didn't do anything stupid, and the tribe performed well in the challenge. Let's hope J.P does his best to not stand out.

All in all, I enjoyed the first show. You can certainly see where the rifts and drama will come from. Here's hoping the little comments ("Whiteys", etc) will die down after the initial shock of racial separation wears off.

Unrelated to Survivor...

Amber and I recently took a trip to RiverviewPark & Zoo here in Peterborough. It is a free zoo that you can walk around. Truth be told, there isn't a whole lot to do. But it's free! Who can beat that? I put up a photo gallery of our visit to see some animals here. Feel free to take a gander.

Obligatory Neelix Picture

Sleepy Kitty

So what did you think of episode one? Leave a comment and let's discuss.

- SC

Pool Update: Random drawings announced

2006-09-08T00:31:00.000-04:00

I received an update from the pool manager, Amber. So I thought I would post it here. We did the random drawings yesterday. I have pictures to prove it. Next post will feature pics of the famed and nerdy Survivor Wall!

"Hello Survivors! Thanks for signing up for our little pool... The random draw has been done and here are the results. The following shows what order your names were drawn in, your names followed by the Survivor you are rooting for.... 1. Leila V - Christina 2. Crystal S - Adam 3. Emily A - Stephanie 4. Peter M - Parvati 5. Corey B- Sekou6. John D - Rebecca 7. Amber B - Cao Boi 8. Joe C - Billy 9. Jay D - Jonathon 10. Dwayne G - Ozzy 11. Maureen K - Candace 12. Steve C - J.P 13. Matt S - Brad 14. Amanda A - Ceilia 15. Mike B - Jessica 16. Peggy B - Becky 17. Lori D - Nathan 18. Team Megan/Eric - Jenny 19. U.J MacD - Sundra 20. Brenda B - Yul
Go to www.kicktheair.blogspot.com for all your Survivor updates.. or to post msgs to your fellow poolers.
For those of you that already sent your $$ thanks! For the rest please get your $10 in ASAP. First show airs Sept 14. GOOD LUCK! Amber :)"

Lucky me gets the professional volleyball player... Yeah, I don't think I'm winning this year.

Pool update & two good reads

2006-08-29T11:07:00.000-04:00

POOL UPDATE:

We officially have 15 out of 20 spots filled, with two standby "if you really need someone, let me know"'s. So if you know anyone that would want to play, get in touch real soon. For those confirmed to play, start getting your money in. We're hoping to have it all ready for when the show starts in two and a half weeks.

Well, this upcoming edition of Survivor certainly is drumming up a lot of controversy. But as telelvision history shows, controversy equals ratings and I am sure that was a huge factor in the producer's decission to run with the racial division theme.

Personally, it doesn't offend me in the least. Maybe it is because I'm a Survivor fan and have faith in the show. Out of all of the complaints, I have yet to find a Television critic slam Mark Burnette for his decission.

I have come across two positive articles about the upcoming season, and I thought I'd share them with you as they are good reads.

Why Racial "Survivor" Is A Good Thing

L.A. Times - 8.26.06 By Tony Pierce, (Tony Pierce is the editor of LAist.com)

Reality show gimmick will force conversation and maybe show that skin color doesn't matter.

Who knew A stupid game show could launch a race war?

That's what nervous pundits and politicians from coast to coast are saying about the decision by the reality hit "Survivor" to divide this fall season's 20 contestants into four competing groups (or "tribes") — whites, blacks, Latinos and Asians.

"This could get ugly," warned a San Diego Union-Tribune columnist. New York City Council members said they'd launch a boycott. One Arkansas paper ran the headline: "Race wars are coming to a TV near you."

Click here to continue reading this article...

'Survivor' hype looks like a sure winner

New York Daily News - 8.29.08

Here's an idea: Let's create a new Emmy category - best marketeer.

If one were created, it would surely go to Mark Burnett, the force behind "Survivor," for the way he's played supposedly learned politicians over the new edition of the unscripted series.

Burnett and his pals at CBS caused a stir because "Survivor: The Cook Islands," which debuts Sept. 14, divides the teams by race.

Just the mention of race and "Survivor" was the equivalent of tossing a wiffle ball to Barry Bonds. Immediately, attention-hungry politicians stepped up to hit that ball out of the park.

One has to believe Burnett knew this publicity whirlwind would occur...

Click here to continue reading this article...

KA's 2nd Seasonal "Illegal" Online International Survivor Betting Pool

2006-08-23T12:49:00.000-04:00

Relax. It's just a name.

Survivor time is upon us again, and in KA tradition, we'd like to open up the 2nd round of our international online betting pool.

This season, Survivor takes us to the famous Cook Islands in the South Pacific. Instead of the usual 16 castaways, this edition of Survivor has bumped the starting number to 20.

And where's the twist?

Instead of two tribes, there will be FOUR tribes starting off, and here's the kicker... They will be divided by race. That's right. There will be a team of African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and White Americans. This is an attempt to stir things up a bit and allow some diversity for a game that has had very few minority conestants.

For more info, click HERE for an article by People Magazine Online or HERE for an article by CBS news where they originally announced the cast this morning.

I think the dude with the skull on his shirt looks too happy to be there...

So, with 4 extra contestants, we'll need 4 extra gamblers. Amber and I learned a bit from running the last pool, and we'd like to think we've made some improvements to the whole process that will make things more fun for everyone. Here's how the pool will work:

- $10 will be the entry fee. *IF* we get a full 20 people, the pot will be $200. If we can't find 20 people willing to play, we'll have to figure something out. Either open the pool up to multiple entries (pay $20, get 2 picks). Personally I hope we can avoid that and get a full 20 contestant field. So spread the word to anyone you know that likes the show. Or gambling.

- *ALL* picks will be randomly drawn from a hat. Two hats actually. One hat full of participants, the other full of show contestants. This will elliminate the tedious researching some of us did, and allow people to have an equal opportunity chance at the good picks. The Pick Drawing won't take place until we have a full field of participants (or have decided what to do in case we don't).

- This time around, it won't be "WINNER TAKES ALL". Instead, we will reward the TOP 3 PLAYERS. Whoever's pick wins the game, that player will take home $160. The 2nd place contestant will take home $20 (doubling their money). 3rd place will get $10, essentially getting their money back. But wait. That only tallies up to $190. Where's the last $10 going? As a special feature, we have also ellected to reward the first person elliminated. It's no fun going out first so we've decided to give back $10 to the first person out of the contest. Of course said person is still subject to poking fun and ridicule, but hey. It's part of the game. So. You have a 1 in 5 chance of at least getting your money back. Those are better odds than playing those lotto scratch cards.

- No profit is being made by us. All money received goes right into the Survivor Pot, and is issued out to the winners. This is purely for fun, not profit. Besides, if we WERE to take a cut, it would make our "Illegal" pool illegal.

- I am debating about opening an actual forum for people to post to in regards to the game. If not, we'll just do as we did last round and post in the comments section of the blog, but I think a forum might be a better place to do it. Even if you're not a huge Survivor fan, we'll post info so you can keep tabs on how your pick is doing.

- In grand Survivor tradition, Amber and I will also be drafting up a Survivor Wall that will go up in our living room. I know this means nothing to most of you, but we have fun being nerds and it's been going on for many seasons now. We'll post pictures.

So that's the gist of it. From the looks of things, it's going to be a very exciting season and I think we can have a lot of fun with this. If you're interested in participating, let us know. If you're on here, you should know how to reach us. If not, leave a comment and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

Right now we have 10 spots filled.

1) John De.
2) Leila V.
3) My sister Lori
4) Matt S.
5) Me
6) Beebs
7) Jay (brother inlaw)
8) Amber B.
9) Corey B.
10) Joe C.

So that leaves 10 spots left to go. The show starts up in three weeks, so let's get this show rolling.

Here's a look at the Survivors showing their names, ages and occupations.

Survivor Links:

Official CBS Site
Survivor Fever - A Great fansite
Honest Achmed's Middle East Guide To Survivor - A Non politically correct Recaps and Commentary

Last minute Summerslam predictions

2006-08-20T16:34:00.000-04:00

On paper, it looks like a stacked show. With names like DX, Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, Ric Flair and others, this could be considered a variable "who's who" of professional wrestling. Let's run down the matches before I give my overall expectations.

WWE championship Match
Edge VS John Cena
"If Edge is disqualified, he loses the title"

I'll give the WWE credit and admit that the whole Edge VS John Cena program hasn't gone stale; yet. There was a suitable break in the middle of the feud that allowed to keep the program fresh. Honestly, this one has been going on since January. The added stipulation of a DQ win for Cena gets him the belt was pretty unecessary. It doesn't change much about the match. I'm expecting Edge to get away with the title by somehow screwing Cena, as we all know heel champs (Minus the all powerful Triple-H) are incapable of keeping a belt without cheating... I have heard that Cena VS Edge will main event the next PPV, Unforgiven live in Toronto (Yes, we have tickets). Here's hoping they spruce that one up with a real gimmick match like ladder or Hell in a Cell.

Winner, and still champ: Edge

POST SUMMERSLAM NOTE: Excellent. I called one. 1/1.

World Heavyweight Championship Match
King Booker VS Batista

All hail King Booker! All hail King Booker! All hail... Okay, so I won't repeat that 39 times ala William Regal... They should keep the belt on King Booker. There's a lot more they can milk out of the angle. The build for this one has been moderate at best. Batista's spent more time against Ken Kennedy in the last month than he has against the king. As I said, I hope they keep the belt on Booker T, but somehow my gut tells me that Batista's going to get his title back. Batista without the belt seems kind of bland, as you know he's going to get it back soon. I dunno. I have my doubts that this one will be very good. On a side note, these two got into a real fight several months ago while taping the Summerslam vignettes. Maybe they'll take some shots at one another and we'll see some stiff blows. That's about all that would peak my interest in this match. Again, not a shot at Booker. I just have a feeling they only put the title on him so that Batista can destroy him for it a month later. Here's hoping I am wrong.

Winner, and new World champ: Batista

POST SUMMERSLAM NOTE: Although he didn't win the title, Batista still won by DQ. So I called this one. 2/2.

De-Generation X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) V The McMahons (Vince & Shane)

Now this is the one we paid $40 to see... If I have to say anything positive about this match, I'd say "Well. At least it's not the Spirit Squad". The Samoan Bulldozer Umaga will have a role in this match, I believe at ringside for the McMahons. And something on Raw makes me think someone else will be too... Who? Dunno. Don't care. Triple H and HBK both lost recently to Umaga. So I expect DX retribution tonight.

Winners: DX

POST SUMMERSLAM NOTE: ... we saw the Spirit Squad. Of course they had their asses handed to them. Nice touch by adding Regal, Finlay, Big Show & Kennedy to the mix. Called this one too. 3/3.

Hulk Hogan VS Randy Orton

Well, I know this is the reason my friend Joe wants to see the Pay Per View. He is one the world's biggest Hogan fans, has been since he was 2 months old, and nothing I ever say will waiver him from his undying loyality to all things Hulkamania. Poor guy. Okay, let me lay out my expectations of this match (My negative opinion of Hogan aside). Two weeks ago the match was in jeopardy as Hogan injured his good knee. Instead of opting for the recomended surgical repair of the injury, Hogan instead got a cortisone shot. Let's see... Necessary surgery... or medicate yourself. That sums up my expectations as to how limitted Hogan will be inside the ring (More so than usual, HA~!). As for the match itself, I don't see Hogan putting over the Legend Killer. Hogan will be the first legend to survive the RKO. Not because he's the better wrestler. Because he's the better backstage politician.

Winner: Hulk Hogan

I also predict that Hogan will receive his Summerslam pay check and dissapear once again until his daughter Brooke needs more media attention to plug her "promising" music career.

POST SUMMERSLAM NOTE: Ugh. We had a lot of laughs sitting around taking shots at Hogan. Joe, you're glad you didn't come to watch it at our place. And ended in typical Hogan fashion. No surprise there. 4/4. I'm doing good.

"I Quit" Match
Mick Foley VS Ric Flair

Now this is one I legitimately want to see. I've been intrigued with this story since day one. A quasi-retired Mick Foley has been putting out some of the best interviews we've seen in many years. Foley plays the intelligent villain role perfectly, and frankly, I'd agree with his points over Ric Flair's inane ramblings any day. That said, to give credit for Flair, for someone in his fifties (and unlike Hogan) the guy can still go. The backstory for this one has been years in the making for those of you that read Foley's books. Basically to summarize, Foley didn't have nice things to say about Ric during Flair's backstage reign of power in the old WCW. Flair responded in suite in his less sucessful book "To Be The Man". I've never read it so I don't know what he said. The whole situation reminds me of a high school jock going up against the captain of the debate team (who also happens to dive onto thumb tacks and fly off of Hell In A Cells). Flair, the jock, doesn't actually make any valid or arguable points. He just sputters out the same insults, wooooo, old man flop, wooooooo and a few more inane rambling without making any point. Meanwhile Foley is telling us exactly why he hates Flair and convincingly enough to make me side with him! The two fought at the last Raw PPV in a 2/3 falls match with Flair winning it in two, but that is because Foley gave it to him via disqualification. Flair left a bloody mess and Foley walked out the real winner. As enjoyable as the program has been, I don't see it going on much longer. I'm expecting the Nature Boy to go over Foley, who seems to have a reluctance to be put over by anyone these days. Oh, and I almost forgot that it was an "I Quit" match. Those never favor the heels.

Winner: Ric Flair, and my call for match of the night.

POST SUMMERSLAM NOTE: I think due to lack of competition, this one really was match of the night. It started out bloody & violent, right from the start. Nice touch by throwing Melina into the mix and have her try and throw in the towel. Foley quitting the match to save Melina was very much a good way for Foley to surrender. I almost thought we were going to have double turn here. 5/5 baby.

Rey Mysterio VS Chavo Guerrero

Does anyone remember when Rey Rey first debuted in WWE in what was basically a squash match against Chavo Guerrero? Kudos for Chavo for hanging onto his job all these years and for moving up enough to face the former World champion on a stacked card... (Namewise). Of course, all it took was the unfortunate death of his Uncle Eddie Guerrero in order to finally move up to that level. Personally, I'm not really a fan of the continued angle about Eddie's memory, but on the other hand it doesn't offend me either. Yet. Chavo finally turned heel on Rey after months of build and suspiscion, and he blames Rey for leeching off of the Guerrero family name. I'm very surprised to see Eddie's widow, Vickie Gurerrero involved in the storyline and I hope they are paying her a lot of money. I've heard rumors that Rey is taking six months off to have knee surgery, and that can't help but factor into my prediction. I really thought Rey was going to take this one, hands down as retribution for losing the title. Hrmm. I still think he will. They can always feed Rey to Khali or Sylvestar Turkay to explain the injury and required abscence.

Winner: Rey Mysterio

POST SUMMERSLAM NOTE: So for much for my perfect predictions. Chavo got the win via frog splash after Vickie accidentally knocked Rey off the top ropes. Pretty good match for both men, but Vickie's pressence at ringside kind of brought it down. 5/6. Still darn good.

For the ECW World Championship
Big Show VS Sabu

Maybe it is because I'm not in ECW territory, but I've never been able to get behind Sabu. The man takes hellacious bumps and to his credit, survives the majority of them. Sabu has been pushed down our throats in the new ECW and I say good for him. Nice to see him have a respectable run for once as TNA hardly knew what to do with him aside from feud with Abyss. Sabu could arguably fit into WWE nowadays. And give credit to Big Show too for stepping up his game since going over to the ECW brand. Due to the lack of ECW PPV programming, the title changes are going to have to come on the big shows like this as they don't want to give too many away on free tv. This one is a coin toss decission really, but I think I'll go with Sabu. The timing is right, especially to feud with RVD. They can argue over who's fault it is they got busted for drugs.

Winner, and new ECW World champion: Sabu

POST SUMMERSLAM NOTE: d'oh! 5/7, still a respectable and decent score.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Johnny Nitro w/ Melina VS Kane

I swear I thought they announced this one on Raw, but it's not listed on Summerslam's website. Either way, I'll predict it. Kane as #1 contendor came out of left field after they had been promoting Shelton Benjamin and Carlitto as #1 contendor for a while. There is no back story to the feud. In fact, there is no feud at all. I personally have no idea what the Hell they are doing with this one. So on that note, and remembering that they love to screw over Kane, I'll go with the champ retaining. I also mark for Melina.

Winner, and still IC champ: Johnny Nitro

POST SUMMERSLAM NOTE: Okay, I don't know why I thought this match was supposed to happen. I guess that shows how much I pay attention these days.

Summerslam notes

- No U.S title match. No World tag team title match. No women's title match. No WWE Tag Team title match. No Million $$$ Title match No Cruiserweight title match. I hate it when title holders get pushed to the side. On the other hand, I don't want every match to be for a title, but come on.

- No Spirit Squad, so that is a plus. I don't hate the Squad, I just hate them being crammed down our throats for the last six months. Time to split up gents.

- Despite the name value of the lineup, I have little expectations for match quality tonight.

- 4 raw matches. 2 Smackdown matches. 1 ECW match. There is your pecking order folks.

We'll see in about an hour how close I was.

Michael Moore presents Fellowship 9/11

2006-08-16T12:12:00.000-04:00

Fellowshop 9/11

"Michael Moore digs deeper than ever before and fights for the rights of those involved in the Fellowship of the Ring."

A hilarious spoof on Lord of the Rings and Fahrenheit 9/11. Check it out when you have a few.

Neelix Post #641

2006-08-11T16:22:00.000-04:00

Come on, give me some credit, it's been a while since I posted cat pictures.

Today the little bugger decided to get himself stuck up on top of the cabnets in the kitchen, inches from the ceiling. He leapt up to the counter, then up to the fridge and then atop the cabinets. Just like a cat in a tree, he decided he couldn't get himself down and called me in for backup. But I let him sit up there and think about what he'd done, hopefully discouraging him from ever climbing up there again. Of course, he waited a whole five more minutes before informing he was serious when he wanted down. I met him halfway, and waited for him to climb down to the fridge before I rescued the brave little guy.

And back to work I go, assembling Amber's new desk. Which of course is too big for her monstrous PC case. Minor details.

BTW, hopeisemo.com is back up and running. If you haven't checked it out, please do so.

Hope Is Emo

2006-08-10T12:06:00.000-04:00

I was just doing some random surfing this morning and looked up on MadTV. Last season, they added a cast member who I just get a real kick out of. Her name is Crista Flanagan, and I think she's one of the funnier female cast members they've had in many, many years. I like her style. It isn't slapstick, a lot of the humour is in her words and the way she expressed them. ANYWAY. So through looking her up, I stumbled across a side project she's been doing called Hope Is Emo.

It's an internet comedypodcast that satirizes the life of a struggling emo girl named Hope. It was created by the folks who brought us the classic Ask a Ninja. While the series is still new, it holds a lot of promise with its subject matter and the people involved. Crista plays Hope and answers emails from viewers of the podcast and gives a little insight into the life of a high school emo girl who can't endure "all of the misery in the world." Much of the material is improvised and I think really showcases her comical undertones. Mind you, I'm partial to anything that pokes fun at the emo/goth culture. Right now the website is down, but you can catch all three episodes up on youtube.com. I'll even do the search work for you.

Chapter One: The Words Are Dying

Chapter Two: Hiders and Seekers

Chapter Three: CH4NG3

Hopefully Hopeisemo.com will be up and running soon.

Let me know what you all think.

"Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll do that. Or maybe I'll just give myself a boob job with a rusty knife and two water balloons." - Hope

Stories of interest

2006-08-06T09:46:00.000-04:00

Handsome devil, ain't he?

- I can't help but think that WWE will be blamed for this one, instead of the three idiots that did it. When I was growing up, while playing catch I once accidentally threw a baseball through a front window. I'm sure I've seen that in a movie somewhere, so it's not my fault; it's Hollywood's fault. They should stop making movies. This is like Jackass. All those morons at home that tried to make their own videos and then blamed Jackass when they got hurt. Remember, it's okay to avoid personal responsability when you have entertainment to blame. "Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity." - Bullettooth Tony, Snatch

- Does anyone else think Microsoft is just asking for it by telling the hackers to bring it on?

Cardigans cardi-concert is cardi-cancelled.

2006-08-05T23:50:00.000-04:00

"2006-08-03
To all US fans

It is with sadness that we have to make the decision to call off the US tour which we all were looking forward to as we haven´t seen you guys for some time

At this stage we dont know when we will be back to entertain you guys, but rest assured we will be back.

Hang in there and we will see you all again soon.

Your favorite Cardigans"

I promised myself I wouldn't cry...

It's a real shame the tour fell through. I harbor no ill will towards the band though. They're in the business to make money, (It's refreshing to see a band so upfront about it) and if the numbers didn't add up, then so be it. I am mad that House Of Blues kept $18 woth of service charges after I got my refund, but there's not much I can do about it.

This tops the list of dissapointing cancellations of would-be concerts for me. Following behind The Cardigans is Bob Saget, whom I had two great seats for at the Centrepoint Theatre in Nepean, Ont, and Jewel about four years ago. She canceled due to the death of her base player. Little did she know but I had planned a vacation from Nova Scotia to come to Toronto to see her. Ah well. I really wish I saw Saget though.

And on that note, here's some Bob Saget goodness for you all to enjoy.

I hate you internet wrestling fans / GAB Review

2006-07-24T10:58:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I just hate the fans on the boards and websites. You know the ones... The "smarts" that think they know everything about the business. The one's that give us their opinions daily, filled with "Here is what they should do, and why they are idiots because they don't..." and the "I Want my money back" complainers.

Personally, I enjoyed last night's Great American Bash pay per view. It didn't blow anything out of the water, but I'd say it was a leveled, entertaining pay per view. Just remember, they can't ALL be Wrestlemania. Oh, never mind. People complained about that too...

Opening Match - Brian Kendrick & Paul London defeated The Pitbulls.

It seems the fans that are bitching and whining are forgetting about this match. This was one of the better tag team matches of the year. I may joke about the tag titles becoming the Cruiserweight tag titles, but at least that means it's more entertaining. Great showstealing performance by all four men with a perfect mix of highflying and ground & pound.

Finlay defeated William Regal

They are all complaining that Lashley didn't wrestle. "I paid to see Lashley". Well, if you're such a smart fan then you knew before you ordered it that Lashley wasn't wrestling because they announced it Friday on wwe.com. Not to mention the fact that "Card Subject to change" is always written on the bottom. Yeah, I would have liked to see Lashley too, but I'm not mad at WWE for pulling him. It wasn't an angle. Now I don't know what elevated enzymes in the liver mean, but fine. I'll accept the fact that it kept him from competing. I think they should have interjected a face in here, like Matt Hardy or Tatanka, but Regal and Finlay became an entertaining match, not your standard catch as catch can fare either. But now the net fans are complaining that it was booooooooooooring. Boo'urns, he's using technical wrestling.... It's sooooooo booooooooooooring. Sorry folks, not every match can be full of "Five Knuckle Shuffles" or crotch chopping. How *DARE* WWE give us a boooooooooooooooring ground and pound match. Hell, there was lot's of entertaining cheating in there for everyone. Another case of fans expecting the world of the performers.

Gregory Helms defeated Matt Hardy

I think they put Hardy in this match as a swerve because they were hyping a Super Crazy match against the former Hurricane. Good match between the two. Way better than the one they had for the European championship back in 2001 if you care to look back that far. Very solid WWE cruiserweight match and I am glad to see they are still behind Helms. I have a feeling this stint as "the longest reigning Cruiserweight champion" will continue for a while.

The Undertaker defeats The Big Show in the Punjabi Prison match

"Waaaaaaaaaahhhhh I didn't see Khali wrestle.... Waaaaaaahhhhh". I can't believe people are actually upset about this! Did you honestly expect Taker VS Khali to be a better match? Frankly, we should thank WWE for saving us from that trainwreck. The Prison structure was new and at somewhat unique. I give WWE some credit for trying something new, which they seem reluctant to do for the most part. Personally, I don't care if I see the Prison match again or not. I wasn't a fan of three things. I loved how Show threw Taker back in the first cage structure just as the final door was closing. But I didn't like how Taker easily scaled the wall and climbed over to the other cage faster than it took Show to climb up one cage. Just seemed too contrived for my liking. I didn't like Khali coming out to scale the cage, because that is a tease. They should have just killed him off backstage and let that be the last we ever see of him, but I suppose they are drawing it out till Smackdown. We'll see where that goes. The worst thing about the match was the ending. I understand what they were TRYING to do. Taker leaps off the cage and Show catches him, the momentum sends them crashing back through the cage. Unfortunately it didn't flow too well and the cell flung open like two gate doors. Not the impact they were going for. I didn't hate this match, because the uniqueness made it watchable. However, I didn't care for it either and as I said, I wouldn't be bothered if it's the one and only Punjabi Prison match we ever see.

Ashley Masaro wins the Bra & Panties match

Eh. It was what it was. The majority of fans like the t&a aspect of it, so I understand why it was on the card. There was actually more wrestling than I antiticipated and 98% of it was from Jillian Hall.

Mr. Kennedy defeated Batista by DQ.

"Waaaaaaaaaaah Mark Henry is faking it... Waaaaaaaaaaaahh." Give me a break. I was angry when I paid money for the Royal Rumble to see Mark Henry main event. The guy has a legit, surgery requiring injury. "Oh he should have wrestled". The net fans have been asking for a Kennedy push. So they put him in the biggest high profile match of his career thus far, and they complain about it! Hell, he won! They gave him way more offense than I was expecting to see. I thought t would be all Batsitsa. Batista didn't need the win. He just needed to come out, look angry and Batista Bomb the Hell out him, and the fans would be happy. But a win for Kennedy? They can do a lot with that. Now he has a legit claim that he defeated the #1 contendor for the World title. This can pave the way for Mr. Kennedy to jump into the main event picture. Will they do it? We'll see on Smackdown, but the Kennedy win opened a lot of doors. People are upset at the disqualification finish. DQ'ing Batista is the way to have him lose the match without losing any heat. Both men walked out of that as winners.

King Booker defeated Rey Mysterio for the World title

Wasn't a bad match. I don't have much to say about the match itself. I didn't like that they gave it away for free on Smackdown two nights before the PPV, but it was a decent match. Nothing bad sticks out in my head, but nothing good either. I am glad they finally turned Chavo Guerrero so now they can get on with it. I really liked the fact that Chavo's chair shot was not long and drawn out. I don't like it when the soon to be heel gets there, holds the chair and waits for the face to rise before hitting him. The chairshot was very solid and fluid. Having Booker T cover up his face was good too as he was expecting to get waffled. Very glad the King wasn't a part of the turn. I am glad to see Booker finally get a world title in the WWE, something I thought would never happen.

Summary.

What I liked:
- The opening tag team contest
- Kennedy getting a win over Batista on PPV
- King Booker finally getting some props

What I disliked:
- The ending of the Punjabi Prison match - Too contrived
- JBL groveling at King Booker. The "Wrestling God" character they have built up over the last two years really shouldn't be doing that.
- Bra & panties match

All in all, a solid pay per view. Not a fantastic one, not a blow out one, but there wasn't much to complain about either. I give it a 6.5 out of 10. And to the whiners and cryers that are demanding their money back, do us all a favor and stop ordering the Pay Per Views. And then when they read the results and want to complain, don't bother, spare us the same old crap and just don't watch. Yeah, TNA's PPV was better last week. But TNA has had a lot worse PPV's too. I've watched WWE for about seventeen years now, and I'm a WWE fan. I don't like everything I see, but I don't feel the need to complain about everything either. Don't like it? Don't watch it and shut the hell up because I'm sick of the close minded complaining.