Through My Eyes

Vacation Time

2005-08-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

As of 3:00 pm today I'm not working for ten days straight. I'm heading to Vancouver tonight for a few days and then after that I'll just be chillin' in town. It'll be a nice break.

J Holiday

Delusional Old Man

2005-08-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

This guy needs to be put in a nut house. A televangelist is calling for the assassination of the Venezuelan President. This is the same guy who previously has stated that feminists encourage women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."

I never thought there would be a guy that makes Dubya look like a rational man.

J Shaking My Head

Throwin' Punches

2005-08-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

I was watching UFC 54 this past Saturday and saw Tra Telligman for the first time. This guy incredibly is still able to fight at such a high level even though he is missing his right pec as a result of major car accident when he was one year old. It is quite something to see. Even though he ended up losing the fight after taking a huge kick to the head, I was quite impressed.

In this picture you can kind of see what I'm talking about, but it doesn't show up nearly as well as it did on TV the other night.

On another UFC related note, I'm really looking forward to season two of the Ultimate Fighter which starts tonight.

J TKO

Good Idea

2005-08-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

Some scientists down in the U.S. have introduced a plan to move African animals to the U.S. to help save some species from extinction. Here is the full story to prove that I'm not making this up. Did these guys get their degree through the mail?

J Tiger

Try This

2005-08-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail yesterday telling me to:

1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction!

It's frickin' impossible!

J Frustrated

Friendly Skies?

2005-08-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

Almost 400 total dead in two seperate plane crashes just two days apart in Greece and Venezuela. What are the odds of that happening?

J On Solid Ground

Stay Away!

2005-08-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I thought I'd go and take some empties back to the bottle depot. That was a mistake. Holy Skids! I had to wait in line for about 20 minutes with some, shall I say, sketchy characters to collect my $3.75. Apparently, this is the norm for Sunday mornings. Lesson learned.

J Bottle

Bad Gas

2005-08-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

I'm getting tired of hearing people whine about the price of gas. You can't listen to the news on the radio or watch it on T.V. without hearing someone complain about the high cost of gas.

Sure it's expensive right now, $1.089/litre, but does it really effect the average person that much? I know I don't suffer much from it at all. The worst is when some fat old guy driving around a huge SUV complains. If you don't want to pay so much for gas then don’t use as much of it. Pretty simple.

Now, I do realize the high gas prices hurt people who drive for a living and I can see why they would be upset. Everyone else just needs to suck it up. Our fuel prices are still about half of what they are in Europe, so we are not that hard done by.

J Annoyed

This Guy Rules

2005-08-10T20:10:00.000-07:00

This guy pulled off an awesome grad prank and it was all caught on tape.

I can't believe the teachers didn't notice before hand.

J Hawk

Own Backyard

2005-08-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think to myself that there is nothing to do is this city. Then I go out and discover that is just not true.

Yesterday, I was sitting around doing nothing, so I decided to go for a bike ride. I had never checked out the Galloping Goose before and thought it was time I did. I didn't really have any idea how far along the trail I would go. I just packed a lunch, through a book and a beach towel in my backpack and went.

After about 45 minutes of riding I came out at the Juan de Fuca Rec Centre where they were holding what I think was the Junior National BMX races (or something like that), so I spent about 10 minutes watching them. That was pretty cool and something I would never have found if I were in a car. From there I decided to head down to Esquimalt Lagoon where I ate my lunch and read my book for an hour on the beach. I then headed back home the same way I came.

This whole adventure took a little over three hours and it was one of the best days I have had this summer. I know it's a cliché, but it sure is amazing what you can find in your own backyard.

J Exploring

Fight Night

2005-08-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty excited about how the UFC is becoming more mainstream. In a few hours Spike TV will be will be showing the Ultimate Fight Night featuring fighters from the first season of the Ultimate Fighter against veteran UFC fighters. This is the first time a full UFC card is being show on basic cable. That means I don't have to fork over $30.

Some people dismiss ultimate fighting as being nothing but senseless violence and barbaric. The truth is actually quite opposite. These fighters train day in and day out and every fight is very technical. These guys are amazing athletes and I'm glad it is becoming easier for the public to see them.

J Brawlin'

Hit List

2005-08-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a funny list with the 5o people who most need a beating.

There are quite a few there that I would have in my top 50. It's quite slanted towards Americans, so some of the people I don't know much about.

On the top of my list would be that annoying couple from those Canadian Tire commercials on the tube. I can't stand those guys!

J Vicious

Wedding Crashers

2005-08-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

I went to see Wedding Crashers this weekend. The first hour or so was absolute hilarious. Then the movie started to go from a raunchy comedy to a chick flick. I wish they would have just kept the movies going as a comedy. The second half isn't bad, but after the first half I wanted more. Overall, I still thought it was a great movie. If you enjoy movies like There's Something About Mary and Old School, then you'll like this one. If you don't like raunchy movies then you probably shouldn't go to see Crashers.

J Crashed

Powerless

2005-07-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

On the way back from the movie theatre last night, where I saw Wedding Crashers (I'll write more about that tomorrow), I noticed that it was unusually dark. There were no street lights and all of the houses were dark. It turns out that 20,000 homes were without power due to a fire at a substation. Since there wasn't much to do at home I decided to drive around for a bit. Probably not the safest thing to do since there were no traffic lights, but it was still pretty cool. It's quite surreal driving through neighbourhoods that are completely dark except for a few candles burning in windows. After we got bored of that it was time to come home. I started to read with the light from candles and a flashlight. It was very quiet and quite relaxing. When the three hour power outage ended and all of the appliances came back to life, I was actually a little disappointed. I was enjoying having no background noise and little light around. I'm thinking about moving out into the woods and becoming a hermit. Well, maybe not.

J Darkness

Continuing Theme

2005-07-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

Continuing on the theme of my last post, I've got to vent about another pungent smell I came across today. While at the gym this morning some old dude nearly knocked me on my ass with the amount of Old Spice he had on him. I swear he must have bathed in the stuff before leaving home for his workout. It might work at the bingo hall, but I doubt he was picking up many chicks at the gym with that scent.

J Choking

Patchouli

2005-07-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

I don't understand patchouli. Why do some people want to smell like mold? If you want to save a little cash I have some 8 month old lettuce in the back of my fridge. You can rub it all over yourself if you want.

J Yuck

I'm Sick

2005-07-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

Why can't colds be limited to the winter season? It's too damn nice outside to be stuck inside with some Kleenex and Neo-Citron.

J Sniffles

Moving On

2005-07-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

I have officially given up on reading The Hitchhiker Trilogy. I made to about half way through The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe. I just never really got into it. Douglas Adams' writing was funny, but just too out there for more.

Yesterday, I started to read Will Ferguson's Happiness. The book was referred to me by someone I work with and so far I have really enjoyed it. I'm having fun reading it as opposed to the Trilogy which felt more like a chore.

J Happy

Peacap of the Concert

2005-07-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a recap of the Black Eyed Peas concert last night. Overall it was a great night. Surprisingly, it wasn't quite a sold out. The stage was nothing special which was kind of disappointing. There were also a tonne of twinkies doing their thing and that's always amusing.

The opening act, Jully Black, sounded dreadful. I'm not sure if it was the sound system or her, but it was painful. The worst part was when she wanted the crowd to yell out "Black" after she yells "Jully". Yeah, I get it, your name is Jully Black. Thankfully, she was only on for about 20 minutes.

Next up was Talib Kweli. I have been a fan of his for quite a while. I was excited when I read a few weeks ago that he was one of the opening acts. I like how he is one of the few rappers who actually has smart rhymes and doesn't just go off about his bling, bling and bitches. Unfortunately, during some parts of his set last night I found it very hard to hear what he was saying. It might just have been where I was sitting, but I've heard the same thing from others that were at the concert. I still enjoyed him, but it could have been a whole lot better.

The whole crowd was fired up to see the Black Eyed Peas. They have so much energy on stage and really work the crowd into a frenzy. They played all of their popular songs from their two most recent albums. They only played one song, Joints & Jam, from before they were a huge success. One of my favourite parts was when one of them (I don't know their names) did a bit of James Brown's I Feel Good. All of them are amazing dancers which really adds to the performance. The bad is also very cool. They had a live acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, saxophone and trumpet, plus a few more instruments that I can't remember right now.

I ended up having a great time after the shaky start. TGIF because I had to stay up past my bed time last night.

J Def

Pea Break

2005-07-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

Black Eyed Peas tonight. Should be a blast. I'll write about it tomorrow.

J BEP

Monkey Tunes

2005-07-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

I recently got the new Gorillaz CD Demon Days. I liked the first single, Feel Good Inc., that was on the radio, so I thought I'd give the rest of the CD a shot. Well, I'm glad I did. It's hard to define their style of music. There are many different genres mixed together on this CD. It's been playing loud in my car for the past few days. Perfect for cruising around in this summer weather that we are finally getting.

J Ape

Chuck And His Chocolate

2005-07-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

I caught Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this Friday night. I went in not expecting too much and left with a smile on my face. Johnny Depp was awesome as usual. Thank God they didn't put Jim Carrey in as Willy Wonka. The interior of the factory is quite amazing and the humour throughout the movie is great. The theatre was mostly full of kids when I went, but I think the movie actually entertained the adults more.

J Wonka

Sunderland AFC Game

2005-07-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Last nights game between Sunderland AFC and the BC All-Stars was way closer than I had expected. The game ended in a 1 to 0 victory for the visiting Premiership team and that was fairly indicative of the game. This was only a preseason game for Sunderland, but much credit has to be given to the BC team.

I was sitting three rows up from the field pretty close to midfield. It was awesome to be so close to a top flight English team. The game was sold out with just under 2,400 fans attending. I'm not sure why the city didn't put up temporary bleachers on the far side.

For two different views on the game you can check out the write ups from the Sunderland website here and from our local paper here.

J Impressed

Premiership Footie

2005-07-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

I'm just about to head out the door to go watch Sunderland play a BC all star team comprised of some of the best amateurs in the province. I doubt the game will be at all close, but it is still pretty awesome to have the chance to watch a team from the top English league play in our city. I'll post a brief report tomorrow.

J Real Football

Game On

2005-07-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

I looks like the NHL and NHLPA have finally agreed. I can't say I really care. I barely noticed that there was no season last year, but I was never a huge NHL fan to begin with. I will be interested in seeing some of the new rules take effect and how the fans will react.

J Ice

Redneck Olympics

2005-07-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the 10th annual Redneck Games were held. Here is a sample of some of the events:

the hubcap hurl
bobbin' for pigs feet
seed spitting
mud pit bell flop
toilet seat horseshoes

If I drove by this gathering my first guess would have been that it was a rally in support of George Dubya. Them his kinda people.

J Pigs Feet

Canada Can't Play Soccer

2005-07-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Seattle earlier today. Unfortunately, I didn't have that much time down there, but I did have a great time.

The main reason of the trip was to watch a couple of Gold Cup games. The first game I saw was Costa Rica against Cuba. The first half was quite slow and ended tied 0 - 0. The second half saw four goals with three of them going to Costa Rica. Not a bad game. The highlight of that game was the group of about 50 Costa Ricans sitting a few rows up from us. They were singing and dancing the entire game. I think 50 Costa Rican soccer fans are louder than 10,000 Canadian fans would be. Canadians and (Americans) just don't know how to have be soccer fans, me included.

The second game was Canada versus the U.S. Canada actually played quite well in the first half and kept the game scoreless. Things all went downhill after an own goal by a Canadian defender. We lost all shape and got outplayed badly. The 2-0 final score was quite flattering for our boys.

The rest of the day was spent drinking and eating (in that order). I really like downtown Seattle. It's big, but not too big. We got around everywhere on foot. I just wish I had another day or two to do more stuff.

J Starbucks

Damn Rain

2005-07-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

It's July.........it's not supposed to be raining!

On the news the other night I heard that since the beginning of June we haven't had at least three straight full days of sunshine. Yuck. August better be nice.

I'm off to Seattle in a few hours to watch a little footie. The rain won't to stop me from having fun this weekend.

J Wet

Awful

2005-07-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sure there will be tonnes of people voicing their opinions and thoughts on this morning's bombings in London. I don't really have much to add other than I hope the people of London fair as well as possible.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, there were huge celebrations in London after the news of them winning the right to host the 2012 Olympics. Today, this happens. Shitty.

J Sad

Bob Geldof

2005-07-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure why, but Bob Geldof, the organizer of this past weekends Live 8 concerts, really annoys me. I think he is fighting for a great cause, but for some reason he bothers me. I'm getting sick of seeing his mug everywhere. Oh well, I guess I will survive.

J Annoyed

Mac Daddy

2005-07-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

My brother recently purchased a Mac computer, more specifically this one. When he first told me he was buying a Mac I was pretty skeptical. I have always used a PC and ignorantly thought they were superior. I think the last time I used a Mac was back in elementary school and it looked something like this.

After playing around on the new Mac for a while it turns out I really like it. Everything just seems more user friendly. I can see why Mac owners always rave about their computers. My next computer might just be a Mac.

J Apple

Good Idea

2005-07-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

These guys should be up for a 2005 Darwin Award. There's nothing like a good old fashioned fire fight. Water fights are for wussies.

J Fire

War of the Worlds

2005-07-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last night, I went to see War of the Worlds. Overall, I can only say that the movie was O.K. The special effects were cool, as expected. Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning both were good in the lead roles. All of the other actors were decent, if not good.

The only thing that really bothered me was the ending. I won't get into the details since I don't want to ruin the film for those that haven't seen it yet, but it seemed rushed and one thing in particular left me wondering how the hell did that happen.

For what it is though, a summer blockbuster, I thought the movie was good enough. Nothing spectacular, but it is pretty cool.

J Alien

Happy Canada Day

2005-07-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

In honour of Canada day, I thought I'd post the rant by Joe Canadian made famous by the Molson commercials.

"Hey, I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader....
I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dogsled....
and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada,
although I'm certain they're really really nice.

I have a Prime Minister, not a president.
I speak English and French, not American.
And I pronounce it 'about', not 'a boot'.

I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack.
I believe in peace keeping, not policing,
diversity, not assimilation,
and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch,
and it is pronounced 'zed' not 'zee', 'zed' !!!!

Canada is the second largest landmass!
The first nation of hockey!
and the best part of North America

My name is Joe!!
And I am Canadian!!!"

J Canada

Look Out!

2005-06-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

I have to say I would be pretty damn scared if I was standing on the dock and saw the ferry heading towards me. As of now, it looks like amazingly nobody was hurt. I hope it stays that way.

Click here for the full story.

Unfortunately, I'm sure we are now going to be hearing a LOT of whining and complaining about how run down our ferry fleet is. Ah, the joys of living on an island.

J In The Water

MLB All Stars 2005

2005-06-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

This Sunday night the starting lineups for the 2005 MLB All Star game will be announced. Since I'm bored, I thought I'd list the players I think deserve to start the game.

American League
C - J. Varitek
1B - M. Teixeira
2B - B. Roberts
3B - A. Rodriguez
SS - M. Tejada
OF - M. Ramirez
OF - G. Sheffield
OF - T. Hunter
SP - R. Halladay
RP - M. Rivera

National League

C - R. Hernandez
1B - D. Lee
2B - J. Kent
3B - M. Ensberg
SS - R. Furcal
OF - C. Lee
OF - B. Abreu
OF - A. Jones
SP - P. Martinez
RP - C. Cordero

J Coach

Suing Wally World

2005-06-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

I wonder if I can sue Walmart since I was stung on my pinky finger by a wasp while shopping there this past weekend. It was probably just karma for setting foot in that store. I guess it could have been worse. I could have gotten between the 300 pound lady and the last jumbo bag of Cheetos sitting on the shelf. Yikes.

J Stung

On Again, Off Again, On Again......For Now

2005-06-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

So, apparently the Battle of Hockey Enforcers is on again after Prince George city council reconsidered their decision to cancel it. Man, I wish I hadn't brought this topic up in the first place. What a joke! Although, just think about how much free publicity this event is getting. Maybe this was all a part of the master plan.

J Punched In The Head

Bend It Like Mr. Posh Spice

2005-06-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

I finally watched Bend It Like Beckham last night.

Being a big soccer fan (although definitely not a Beckham fan), I'm not sure why I hadn't caught this movie earlier. Anyways, I'm glad I did watch it because I thought it was a great movie. I thought the characters were awesome and they were very easy to get attached to. The movie does an excellent job of showing how two cultures can come together. For those of you that haven't seen it yet, I would highly recommend renting it. It doesn't matter if you are a soccer fan or not.

Oh yeah, Keira Knightley is in it, which helps any movie.

J Bent

Iron Mike

2005-06-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

Nut job? Yes. Washed up? Yes. Rapist? Maybe. Would want to take a punch from him? Hell no!

Check out this clip of his greatest knockouts.

J Ouch

Associate

2005-06-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm now officially an associate of Amazon. Yippeeee! I'm gonna be rich. Not.

I know I'll never make any money from the links now on the right hand side of this blog, but I do think it is a cool way to show what I'm currently into. It was fairly easy to setup and I think it's a nice addition.

J Amazon

Brawl Update

2005-06-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like the Battle of Hockey Enforcers which I had wrote about earlier this month is off again. City councilors in Prince George have voted 5 to 3 against it. I wonder where they will try next. Maybe they should try Umingmaktok, Nunavut.

J KO’d

Top Movie Lines

2005-06-22T15:56:00.000-07:00

Last night I caught about 15 minutes of the AFI's top 100 movie quotes. I fell asleep sometime around number 50. From what I saw, it was quite a good show.

This morning I checked the list on the net. Old movies seem to have dominated the top half of the list. Even though I don't recognize all of the lines, most of them are familiar. It's a fun list to have a look over if you are at all interested in movies.

J Cinema

Pleasant Surprise

2005-06-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I got a phone call from my bank. They left a message on my phone asking me to phone them back. Usually, a phone call from the bank means they are trying to sell me some useless service that I don't need. An even worse thought of having had my Visa number stolen also crossed my mind. It turns out they were actually calling with good news. They had noticed that my account activity fees had been high the last few months. To remedy this they switched my banking plan to an unlimited transaction account and the monthly fee is actually still the same as it was before. On top of that, they put $25 back into my account. I guess banks aren’t 100% evil. More like 95%.

J Gettin' A Refund

Gold Cup

2005-06-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend I started planning a trip down to Seattle to watch a couple of opening round games of the Gold Cup in early July. I'll be watching Canada play the U.S. and Costa Rica play Cuba. I didn't even know that these games were be being played so close to home until a friend told me about it on Friday. Just goes to show how little coverage soccer gets in our media.

A couple of summers ago I went down to Seattle watch Manchester United play Celtic. At that game there were over 70,000 fans. Last summer, I went down to see Chelsea play Celtic and there were only about 30,000 fans. I really hope a good crowd turns out for this year's Gold Cup games, so we can get some more top flight soccer over here.

J Footie

Excuses

2005-06-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

It sure is harder to find time to blog when it's hot and sunny out. Yeah Summer!

J Tannin'

It Begins

2005-06-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

I went to see Batman Begins last night and I've got to say that it was far and way better than the previous three. This movie is totally unrelated to the previous ones. It is actually quite a dark and serious movie, unlike the cartoonish films before. I'm kind of surprised that the movie was only rated PG.

I thought Christian Bale was a good Batman. My only complaints of him was his awful Clint Eastwood voice when he was Batman and when he was Bruce Wayne, I couldn't stop thinking of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. The rest of the cast was filled out with good actors, but my favourite was Michael Caine as Alfred. He was perfect for that role.

At the end of the movie they set it up for a sequel featuring the Joker. I hope that the director, Christoper Nolan, does get to make a few more of these movies. I look forward to seeing how the rest of his vision of Batman pans out.

J Popcorn

Fight Night

2005-06-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

It now looks like the Battle of the Hockey Enforcers is all set to go. I'm not at all against the idea of the event happening. If people don't want to watch they don't have to and all of the participants are doing so on their own will. Although, the fact that the event is being forced to take place in Prince George does say a lot.

I was watching a clip on TV last night where the promoter of the event, Darryl Wolski, was justifying it by saying that there is no fighting in the NHL skills competition, so this in fact was a skills competition for the hockey tough guys. Whatever. Why even bother trying to come up with lame explanations like that one?

I doubt I'll watch the event on pay per view, but I'm not going to lie and say I won't be curious about what happens.

J In The Penalty Box

Trash TV Heaven

2005-06-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

Last night, I think my brain officially became oatmeal. As I settled down to watch a little TV before bed all I ended up watching a wonderfully mind-numbing trifecta of programs. I kept flicking between The Real Giligan's Island, Hit Me Baby One More Time, and Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. I could feel myself getting dumber and dumber as the evening wore on, but I just couldn't turn away.

The Giligan show was actually pretty entertaining, except for the one dude that said "it's on like a chicken bone" about fifty times. The highlight of Hit Me Baby was seeing Vanilla Ice perform. As for Chaotic, well, I'm not quite sure what to say.

That's two hours I'll never get back. Oh well.

J Duh

Top Dog

2005-06-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

Since I don't have anything original to say about the Michael Jackson trial, I thought I'd leave it up to Triumph. Here he is hanging out with some of Jackson's supporters during the trial. Too funny.

Now, it's time to move on to the next big celebrity trial. Any guesses on who it will be?

J K9

That's Embarrassing

2005-06-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

A 20 year old man (I use that term loosely) trying to rob a 91 year woman ended being fended off with her purse. This must do wonders for his street cred.

My favourite quote:

"I didn't have my hearing aid in, and I thought he said that he was going to take my pulse," Woodworth said. "Then he said it again, that he was going to take my purse, and I said, 'No, you're not.'

Click here for the full story.

J Shakin' His Head

Mr. Dude

2005-06-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. Dude,

While at the gym........

Why must you wear sunglasses inside? Why must you wear half a bottle of Hugo Boss cologne? Why must you leave an oil slick on the bench from all of your hair gel? Why must you spend more time talking than lifting? Why must you stand a half foot in front of the weight rack? Is it so you can admire your "guns"?

I'm sure you already know this, but I and everybody else at the gym think you are really totally awesome. You da man!

J Sarcastic

Tight Security

2005-06-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

It seems that the Americans like to blame to us for the poor security along our border, yet they let a guy carrying what looks like a bloody chainsaw to enter their country. Click here for the full story.

Check out his picture. He looks like he is straight out of a horror click.

I wonder what would have happened had his skin been brown.

J Border Patrol

Concert Wrap

2005-06-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

Last night's Sarah McLachlan concert was great. I really enjoyed The Perishers. They were on for about a half hour and the highlight was when they were joined on stage by Sarah for a duet. By the end of their set the audience really seemed to be into it. I ended picking up their CD at the concert for $10. It will be interesting to see how big they make it.

After about a thirty minute break Sarah came on. I thought her stage was quite impressive with kind of a 'foresty' theme going on. She must have sang for two hours straight. I wouldn't have really called myself a fan of hers before, but after last night I would consider myself one. I never realized how many of her songs I knew. My favourite song of the night was when she covered The Beatles' Blackbird.

All said, I had an awesome time. It was well worth the price of admission. Although, I'm a little tired today since I stayed up past my bed time.

J Fan

Sarah McLachlan

2005-06-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'm off to see Sarah McLachlan at our new (although still unfinished) arena. It will be the first concert I have seen there. Her music isn't really my cup of tea, but I am still really looking forward to it. The opening act is a Swedish band called The Perishers. I don't know much about them, but from what I have read (and the little I have heard) they are kind of similar to Coldplay and Radiohead, two of my favourite bands.

J Singin'

Bait Cars

2005-06-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

I was watching a news story last night about the bait car program we have here in British Columbia. After watching the clip I thought I'd go and check out their website where you can watch actual video of the thieves going to work in the cars. The next time you go to steal a car make sure you have done your hair and makeup. You have to look good for the cameras. Seriously though, according to the stats the program seems to be working.

On a blog related note, there is one on the site done by the webmaster.

J Candid Camera

A Blog Is Born

2005-06-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

I'd like to welcome Frank (Honker) to the blogsphere. I have been trying to convince him to get a blog going for months now and I'm glad he finally has. Knowing Frank, I'm sure it will always be an interesting read. I really hope you stick with it.

J Welcoming

Row Row Row Your Boat

2005-06-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our corporate rowing challenge team placed third in the top flight of the competition. I've now got a bronze to go along with two silvers from the previous years. It easily could have been a gold or silver but our oars got tangled up with another boat at the start. The team we got tangled up with were quite the poor sports and were complaining and tried to protest the race to no avail. It was quite funny since their team name was the "Row Models" and they were from the local Christian school. Way to make the kids proud.

It'll be nice to have my Monday and Wednesday evenings back. I'm not sure if I'll do it again next year since it is a pretty big commitment. We'll see though because the regatta is always a blast.

J Rowing

The Man

2005-06-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

I'm sure just about everybody has met or seen one of these guys. As Homer would say "it's funny because it's true".

*WARNING - LINK CONTAINS SOME NAUGHTY WORDS*

J Wearin' A Striped Shirt

Lost Luggage

2005-06-02T16:04:00.000-07:00

The last two times I have flown out on vacation with United Airlines they have lost my luggage. The first time I could understand since I had no time between connections, so it would have been very tough to get my luggage to the second plane. However, this last time they managed to lose my luggage even though my connecting flight was on the exact same plane, plus there was about an hour and a half layover, so I'm sure they had plenty of time to sort it out. Both times the luggage showed up at the hotel fairly shortly after I had arrived, so it's really no big deal, but still a bit of a pain.

J Suitcaseless

Back Home

2005-06-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

I just got home a few hours ago and am completely bagged.

Anyways, I thought I'd post a some random observations from my trip south of the border:

Everything is supersized (meals, buildings, highways, waist lines, airports).
There is a lot better shopping down there.
Americans really do know very little about Canada.
For the most part, Americans are very friendly.
It is possible to enter the U.S. without your passport or birth certificate (oops).
The Twins definitely need a new stadium.
Even with the exchange rate, gas is a lot cheaper, so you Americans don't complain too much.
Minnesota is actually a very nice place this time of year. A lot more green than I expected.
Minnesotans have cool accents. Reminds me of the movie Fargo. Yes, I know Fargo is not in Minnesota.
I was down there for Memorial Day and it sure showed a lot of American pride.
I'll never understand the appeal of NASCAR, but it is everywhere down there.

Alright, that's enough for now. Vacation over. Back to work bright and early tomorrow in the AM.

J Jet Lag

Cow Town

2005-05-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

Today I'm coming to you live from Calgary. One big thing I noticed about this city is how much cleaner it is than Victoria. They do a real good job of keeping their downtown streets clean. The people here also seem friendlier. With that said, I know I could never handle the winters.

I got in at about 9:00 pm last night and have to be at the airport by 5:15 am tomorrow, so my stay here is a brief one. Well, I guess I better get out there and enjoy the city and the sun while I can.

J Cowboy

Taking Off

2005-05-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

In a few hours I'll be heading to the airport to catch a flight to Calgary where I will be spending a day and from there I'm off to Minneapolis for 5 days. It'll be nice to get away. Depending on what the internet access is like I might not be blogging for the next week.

J Outta Here

Paranoia

2005-05-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

I just finished up reading Paranoia by Joseph Finder. The main theme of the book is corporate espionage. The main character (and narrator) of the novel is Adam Cassidy. I found him quite easy to relate to, which probably made the book more enjoyable for me than if I had been unable to relate. The first 200 pages or so moved rather slowly, but once I got hooked I couldn't put the book down. I was a little disappointed with the way it ended, but not enough to ruin the whole book for me.

While reading I thought to myself that this would make an awesome movie. Sure enough, when I went to Amazon.com after I finished the book to read other people's comments I discovered a movie is in the works. I'll definitely check that out in theatres when it arrives.

Next up, on my reading list is Douglas Adams' The Hitch Hiker's Guides: a Trilogy in Four Parts (The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy). I'm really looking forward to this one.

J Reading

Settin' The Mood

2005-05-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

I've just added my current mood to this blog. I found a few different sites that I could do this through, but ended up going with Unkymoods. I chose them because I thought the had the coolest looking icons and there is a wide variety of moods to select from. I think this is a great way to personalize a blog and it is really easy to setup.

J Moody

Contender Winding Down

2005-05-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

I'm about to watch the second semifinal of The Contender. I'm looking forward to the live final this Tuesday night. It's too bad that it won't be back next year. I've really enjoyed it. Oh well....

J Boxing

P.S. long weekends rule.................................................

Store Wars

2005-05-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

I had this link e-mailed to me the other day. It takes a while to load, but it is worth the wait. I guess this is my way of getting caught up in the all of the Star Wars hype going around this week.

J Vader

Chaotic

2005-05-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

The other night I caught the second half hour of Britney Spears' new reality show called Chaotic. It was like a car accident, awful, but I just couldn't look the other way. The show is all about Britney and her husband, Kevin Federline. Britney comes across as clueless and arrogant, plus all of the close ups of her reveal an unflattering complexion. Kevin does a very good job of living up to his trailer trash label. These people are just painful to watch. That said, if I'm at home flicking through the channels and see this show on, I'm sure I'll watch.

J Mindless

Election Prediction Follow Up

2005-05-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

My predictions from yesterday look like they were a bit off with the Liberals taking 46 seats and the NDP 33. A pleasant surprise. I was also shocked with how well the STV did, although it looks like it will come up just short.

There has been too much political talk here this last little while, so we will now return to regular scheduled blogging. That is unless we have another Federal election next month.

J Changing Topics

My Prediction For Today's Election

2005-05-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

My uneducated guess as to how the provincial election will end is the Liberals with 50 seats and 29 seats for the NDP. Unfortunately, I think the STV vote will also fail.

Both outcomes are not what I'm voting for, but at least there will be an official opposition in the Legislature for the next four years. It's too bad that there wasn't much of an effort to educate the voting public on what STV is. I really think it would make for a more fair representation in government.

I guess we are stuck with this guy running the show in B.C. again......

J Politics

Jesus Christ In Tights?

2005-05-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

A church in Winnipeg decided it would be a good idea to put on a WWE style wrestling show as a way to updates its image.

Apparently:

"When you go to church, you want to strengthen what's right, you want to push away what's wrong"
"When you watch wrestling, you're cheering for what's right"
"Wrestling and God mix because everybody is struggling within themselves – good and evil – and we all know in the wrestling business there is a good guy and a bad guy"

There's a Dubya joke in here somewhere, but I don't want to offend the friendly folks in "The Peg".

J In The Squared Circle

Black Eyed Peas

2005-05-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

I just finished buying a couple of tickets to go see the Black Eyed Peas at our new arena in July on-line. I'm sure glad we got this new building, otherwise we would never get to see performers like them in our home town. I'm just as fired up to see them b-boy as I am to hear their songs. They are supposed to be amazing break dancers.

J Peas

More Election Talk

2005-05-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

This morning in my work e-mail inbox I had a message waiting for me that was sent by the VP of the company to all of the company's BC employees. In his e-mail he was strongly suggesting that we should all vote for the BC Liberals in the upcoming election.

In short, he claiming that because of the Liberal government our provincial economy is flourishing and thus so is our industry. Call me crazy, but I didn't know that the Premier had the power to drive the prices of our natural resources through the roof, which is why our economy is booming.

The fact that I don't agree with his point of view is beside the point though. I just feel it is completely wrong for a VP of a company to even send out an e-mail like this telling his employees which way he thinks they should vote.

J Livin' In The Corporate World

STV

2005-05-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

With the provincial election only one week away, I am amazed at how little most people seem to know about the Single Transferable Voting system, which we have to vote on. It's our responsibility to do a little research and make a decision on what we feel is best for the Province. Come on people, it's not that hard.

J Steppin' Off The Soap Box

Victoria Bloggers

2005-05-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

This blog has had a fair bit of local content lately and I am going to continue with that theme today. It was pointed out by a fellow local blogger in this comment he left on my blog that he had created a super blog for all Victoria bloggers. I think this is an awesome idea. Nice work Jonathan.

J Checkin' Out The Local Scene

Not A Bad Week For The Victoria Sports Scene

2005-05-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

To go along with the awesome news of this city receiving the World Youth Soccer Championships (see previous post) it now appears that our very own Steve Nash will win the NBA's MVP award. I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about him not deserving the award, but all of that won't really matter. He'll be bringing the hardware back to the Island.

J Livin' In A Sports Mecca

World Youth Soccer Championships

2005-05-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

I think it is awesome that Victoria has been selected to host some games for the World Youth Soccer Championships. This is second largest soccer tournament in the world, behind only the World Cup. Canada will be host to 24 of the top under 20 teams in the world. Screw hockey, it's time for soccer night in Canada. I plan on going to as many of the games in both Victoria and Vancouver as I can.

J Excited

Shoe Snobs

2005-05-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

How is this for a slap in the face? Nike has decided to pull its products from Sears following their merger with Kmart. It does make sense since Nike wants to keep their name associated with premium shoes and Kmart is a low end retailer. Still, I can't imagine this news makes the Sears / Kmart executives feel too good.

J Shoes

Hitchin' A Ride

2005-05-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night I went to see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I have not yet read the book by Douglas Adams, so I can't compare the movie to that, but I did really enjoy it. The screenplay (and most likely the book) was well written and you can really tell that Adams has a very sharp wit. I definitely would like to read the book now.

There aren't really any big name actors in the main roles. The biggest name is probably John Malkovic and he is only in film for a few minutes. I thought Mos Def was awesome as Ford Prefect. If Mos Def wants to I think he could have great acting career. He's definitely better on screen than another rapper turned actor, Ice Cube.

My favourite scene of the movie was when Ford Prefect kept the Vogons at bay with his towel. Apparently, when traveling the universe one must always have a towel handy.

J Galaxy

The Dump

2005-04-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

I just got back from mountain biking at "the dump". I haven't really ridden a bike for years before today and I am beat. I had a great time riding the trails. The guy I went with took me straight to some of the intermediate trails. No rookie trails for me. There was one nice bail and quite a few spots where I had to get off the bike completely to make it through. I made out in one piece with only a few cuts and bruises. It's now time for me to go pass out in front of the tube. Goodnight.

J Bikin'

10 Pin

2005-04-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

Any activity where you can drink beer and eat chicken wings between turns can't be considered a sport, but bowling sure is fun.

Man, I'm hung over.

J At The Alley

Pulp Hockey

2005-04-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

Maybe if the NHL had more coaches like Jules they wouldn't be in so much trouble.

Check out this clip.

J Hockey

Welfare Wednesday

2005-04-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

Walking the streets downtown is always quite an adventure on welfare Wednesday. You would think there is a better way to hand out money to the needy instead of just giving out cash, so they can go spend it on booze or other drugs. I'm not saying that everyone that collects welfare does this, but it is apparent to me that there are quite a few that do. With all of the technology available to us there must be a way to setup some sort of account system, whereby the money given out can only be spent on items such clothing, food and shelter. This would be kind of like a "food stamp" system, but since it would all be all done electronically the stamps would not be able to be sold on the street.

J Downtown

Baby Got Back

2005-04-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

I couldn't get Sir Mix-A-Lot's classic song Baby Got Back out of my head yesterday. It's one of those songs that you listen to once then end up singing it to yourself for the rest of the day.

The lyrics to this song are pure genius. I guess that's how he got the title "Sir".

J Got Back

Single-Transferable Vote (STV)

2005-04-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

In our upcoming provincial election we have to vote on whether or not we should adopt a STV voting system. I had no idea what this was and I'm sure I wasn't alone on that.

The CBC website is running a great feature to help educate us British Columbians on what we are actually voting for. They are also running a mock election where you can vote for your favourite ice cream as an example of how a STV system works. If you want to participate you have until Monday evening.

On another website I came across this and thought it did a good job of showing how STV works.

J Votin'

UFC

2005-04-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

I ordered my first ever UFC Pay Per View event last weekend. I never really had much interest in the UFC or in mixed martial arts at all until I watched the The Ultimate Fighter reality show. The more I understood what was going on during the fights the more I realized how highly trained and skilled this athletes are. I was impressed enough that I'll be shelling out another $30 for the next UFC in June.

Here is Chuck Liddell finishing off Randy Couture for the Light Heavyweight Championship.

If you want more information about mixed martial arts this is the best site I've found.

J Figthin'

Gimme Five!

2005-04-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is National High Five Day. I'm sure all of you are wired like a kid on Christmas Eve right now, but I thought I would remind you just in case you somehow forgot. This really should be a stat holiday.

J Got Five On It

New Pope

2005-04-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today it was announced that Joseph Ratzinger is the 265th Pope. Here are a few random thoughts.

He's 78 years old. That's pretty old. Wouldn't they want to elect someone that should be around longer?

He has already been criticized as being too conservative. To be labeled "too conservative" by people within in the church is saying something. Hopefully, he will be enough in touch with the world as it stands today.

The Pope has it good. He gets to spend all day in a luxurious bath robe. It looks comfy.

Congrats Pope Benny One Sixer!

J Vatican

Rowing

2005-04-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had our first practice for this year's corporate rowing challenge. This will be the third year doing it for me. Both of the previous year's have been a blast. We have two silver medals so far and hopefully this year we'll be able to add a gold to that collection.

J Rowing The Boat

Pet Peeve At The Gym

2005-04-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why, but it just bothers me when people workout in their jeans at the gym. It's not like it affects me at all. It just looks goofy. Even more goofy than the people in spandex.

J In Shorts

E-mail Hoax

2005-04-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

I was going to post about this e-mail that I had received the other day.

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than
300 employees and has the following statistics:

-30 have been accused of spousal abuse.
- 9 have been arrested for fraud, 14 have been accused of writing bad cheques.
-95 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses.
- 4 have done time for assault.
-55 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit.
-12 have been arrested on drug related charges.
- 4 have been arrested for shoplifting.
-16 are currently defendants in lawsuits.
-62 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year.

Can you guess which organization this is?

It is the 301 MP's in the Canadian Parliament. The same group
that cranks out hundreds of new laws designed to keep the rest
of us in line.

Which one did you vote for? TAKEN FROM THE OTTAWA CITIZEN.
Pass this on to every Canadian you know.

I thought it would be a good idea to try to find the source of the story before I made any smart ass comments about our MP's. Well, it turns out the whole story is false. Just goes to show that you should be wary of believing these kinds of e-mails. Snopes.com is a great website if you ever want to find out if something like this true.

J Not Gullible

New Look

2005-04-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days I looked into changing up the look of my blog, since I wanted to have something a little different from the cookie cutter template that I started with. I was thinking of revamping it completely by finding a new template. That turned out to be too much for me. Next, I tried playing around with the html code in my existing template and as a result you will notice some different colours and a few other changes. I might try to play around with inserting some images next. We'll see.

J Playing With Colours

Prison Fish

2005-04-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading You Got Nothing Coming: Notes From A Prison Fish last night. The book is the author's, Jimmy A. Lerner, personal memoirs from his first twelve months in a state prison for manslaughter. They way he writes makes it feel like you are right there beside him. He is very descriptive and has a great sense of humour. The way he incorporates the convict language into the book is brilliant. The last section of the book deals with his "fall" and the events leading up to him being imprisoned, which I didn't find as interesting as hearing about the prison life, but still captivating. He does describe certain events in graphic detail and uses harsh language, but I think he does a good job of using this to get a point across and not just to glorify prison life. With that said, this book isn't for everyone. If you liked the TV show OZ you will really enjoy this book.

J Got Nothing Coming

Bloc Party

2005-04-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

I picked up the new Bloc Party CD, Silent Hill, last week after hearing one of their songs and reading a very positive review in the local paper. My first time through it, I wasn't all that impressed, but after a few more listens it has quickly become one of my favourites. They are similar sounding to Franz Ferdinand, but I think they have more depth and won't get played out as quickly. The new CD is definitely worth a listen.

J Listenin'

Sin City

2005-04-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

I went and watched Sin City last night. For a movie that is over two hours long it didn't have any boring moments. I've never read the comic (graphic novel) so I can't compare it to that. I thought all of the characters were great, especially Marv, played by Mickey Rourke. Jessica Alba is also very easy to watch. There is a tonne of violence, but the way the film is shot makes it feel more cartoonish than real. Cool is probably the best word I could use to describe the movie.

J Sinning

C is for Cookie

2005-04-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

With the obesity problem in the U.S. growing larger than ever, Sesame Street has announced that Cookie Monster will now be advocating a healthier diet. Mr. Monster will now be telling kids that "a cookie is a sometimes food".

Click here for the full story.

I wonder if Oscar The Grouch will move out of his garbage can and into a high end condo as way of fighting poverty in America.

J On The Street

Brush With Curling Fame

2005-04-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

This afternoon as I tried to find my seat at the curling I started going the wrong way down the row. Once I realized that, I turned around mid-row to go the other way. All of sudden, two women started to make fun of me for being lost. Turns out they were the wives of Randy Ferbey and Marcel Rocque, two of the Canadian team members.

J Goin' The Wrong Way

More Curling

2005-04-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

I scored a couple of free tickets to this afternoon's draw, so I'll be hanging out with the world's best curlers again today. Canada will be playing Australia. I'm shocked that the Aussies even have a team. I don't imagine they have many curling rinks there.

J In The Rings

Curling Recap

2005-04-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a recap of my experience at the World Curling Championships last night.

First off, I was fairly impressed by the new arena. It felt a lot smaller than I imagined it would, but it does seem that there are no bad seats in the place. The place definitely doesn't seem finished.

The building was just about sold out for last night's draw. It was a big game for Canada. They play one country's national anthem every draw and last night they played Scotland's. I think the guy playing it screwed up because the Scottish fans stopped singing and then they repeated the music two more times. This caused quite a bit of laughing in the crowd. Speaking of the Scottish fans, there were about thirty or forty of them sitting together and they were singing, dancing and chanting the whole time. They looked like they were having a blast and were by far the loudest group there.

The actual curling itself was OK. Following four games at once can be a bit much. I lost interest with the Canadian team early on. They were the only team leaning against the boards during the Scottish anthem and were the only ones I saw throw their brooms after a missed shot. I found it was hard to cheer for them. They ended up losing to Norway. The Italian team was playing the New Zealand and both of these teams looked like they were having a great time. Italy ended up winning and I think they really won over the crowd. One German guy tripped and fell over some rocks. A person falling is always a good time. I was at the arena for over three hours, which was too long for me.

All said, it was worth my $15 and I am glad I went to check it out.

J Sweepin'

Throwing Rocks

2005-04-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

In a couple of hours I am going to check out the World Curling Championships (sorry about the song) being held at our new arena. I'm not really a huge curling fan, but at least I know how the scoring works. I can't really pass up going to any sports world championship if it comes to town. So, I'll be there cheering for the Maple Leaf.

Hurryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, hurryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy harrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd!

J Curling