Not to rub it in, or anything....

........but, check this out.

Woo!

A Last Word

Just one more thing before I go pick up Jon and Mike from the train, and I fall into oblivion...

This is what makes Spring Training great....just marvelous. :)

Blatant Rip-Off

As I am in no shape to put several coherent sentences together this morning, I’m going to blatantly rip-off Bill Simmons’ “Ramblings” column with a similar type posting of my own…. I hate packing, and so historically, I drink while I pack. Yesterday was possibly the least effective attempt at packing I have ever had. I did one load of laundry, dug out a bunch of shorts and stuff, and put it beside the suitcase on my bed….

I ended up having to dump it all on the floor in order to go to bed.

Anyway…here are some of the things that have been going through my head this morning as I contemplated the murder of the guy that somehow managed to bud in front of me in the Drive-Thru line at Tim’s this morning…

Turns out that with a profanity-laced tirade, even the biggest asshole will find a way to move over and let you back in front of him.

Little does he know, it may have saved his life.

I have the most obnoxiously big sunglasses ever, and I love it.

Yes, you might notice that the background it blurry…that’s not because my camera-phone is crappy. It’s cuz I’m driving.

Safest driver ever? Clearly me.

I had to hold off drinking until after 7:30 last night, because of the little used, but strongly enforced, rule of “No wine while watching Sex and the City”.

I ended up drinking a Cold Shot that has been in my fridge for months because I couldn’t wait…

I am NOT an alcoholic.

PTI…short attention span theater at its best!

Tony Kornheiser has not gotten any less annoying.

The fact that Kirsten got her 9-month chip kinda creeped me out… as I sat there getting shitfaced.

I couldn’t be happier that Ryan chose Sadie over Marissa…but doesn’t it seem like Ryan and Marissa have reversed roles a bit? Going to the bus station was about the first redeemable thing she’s done in months.

Well, except getting to see her in her underwear…

Memo to Mischa Barton: It’s called food. Try it sometime. You might like it.

Greg asked what kind of money they use in Mexico, as he still has some American left from his trip to Lake Placid and Vermont this week and he doesn’t want to have to convert it back and forth more than necessary….trying to contain excitement.

Turns out he was about 30 minutes from Justin in Vermont this week, and they both had extra passes…but neither knew the other was there.

Iain: “Go fist yourself.”

Greg: “I’d rather be fisted than fucked….at least there’s a chance it’s by a woman that way.”

Iain: “I can’t believe you put that much though into it.”

[Editor’s Note: Thanks to Justin for entering that phrase into my vernacular…and by “Thanks”, of course I mean “A Curse On Your House”]

Understatement of the Century: “Um, don’t bring Jon by the curling club too early….he’s not exactly subtle.” – Greg

Whenever someone carrying a case of cans comes in, be weary when they ask if you want a “quick beer”….very weary…

Nothing beats getting to work 24 hours before you’re going to be in Cancun.

Well, maybe not having to go to work….but play along here..

Uh-oh.

Talking to Jon last night, and he told me how he and Mike spent their weekend.

I had thought previously that there was nothing that could rank as a worse idea than going to Cancun with two guys from Englehart and another from Poplar Hill.

I think I was wrong... There IS something worse.

It's called going to Cancun with two guys from Englehart.

I am fucked...

Being Impolite

I've heard it said that polite people don't talk about religion or politics...and I've tried to keep to that here, as those are two things that people tend to have very rigid ideas about, and since I say a lot of things without thinking, it just gets me in trouble....a lot.

That said... (here it comes!)

I heard a pundit this morning ragging on the Prime Minister for (among other things which I'm not going to discuss here, as I'm not in a position to say anything intelligent about them) the fact that he doesn't allow his cabinet ministers to issue Press Releases without them going through his office first...and this after campaigning on a platform of transparency, etc.

Well, I gotta defend my homie, on that one. If you were from Ontario, and you knew how people here think...would you want your gun-toting cowboy MPs (proverbially) shooting off their mouths unchecked when you know your support here is tenuous at best?

I thought not.

Things I'm Missing

I know the last thing you want to hear is some dick who's going on vacation complaining about....well....... about anything, really...

Well, I'm going to bitch, because that's what I do, damnit. So bite me.

First off, DC and a few of the guys we work with and went to high school with have bought quasi-season passes to the Blue Jays. Yeah, I guess we're getting sucked in by thr hype....Boston and NY are still really good....whatever. I'm likely one of the last dozen actual baseball fans left in Canada, so I'm excited. Now the annoying part. The home opener? Tuesday. Those bastards.

Secondly, on Monday the new Much VJ will be announced (vote for Rebecca here) and it's also a big big week on Prison Break (incidentally, I heard this morning that Fox has picked up their second season, which will be called Prison Break: Manhunt ...woo!).

Now, as for real reasons, I'm going to miss the Melissa-Amanda-Pat birthday extravaganza. Which this year is actually just the Melissa-Pat birthday extravaganza, as I have no idea what Amanda's up to, but there seems to be some doins a'transpirin' in O-town this weekend.... If you aren't overly familiar with these people, it's worth noting that Melissa, Amanda and Pat's birthday are the 1st, 3rd and 4th of April, respectively. Anyway, these dates being so close together beg to be morphed into one big Birthday-a-palooza...which they always were over our 4 years at Queen's (Melis and Panda are both former floormates of mine, and we met Pat in frosh week...)...and wow was that always a bad idea in retropect. A few particular incidents stand out, and if you know how things usually went down with us, when something stands out, it's a good story! Let's set the scene...each of these incidents took place during the last week of class, as that's when these dates always fell...

In first year, Pat got so drunk at Shoeless Joe's while we were there under the guise of "wing night" (read: cheap beer, too...) that he wasn't sure he could make it to bathroom without falling down and getting kicked out....so he peed under the table.

In second year, we had partied for the girl's birthdays on Tuesday, and so Wednesday (Pat's specific day) was a rough morning. He didn't even make it to class, actually. So, so reward him for his laziness (and missing a joke of a Dynamics quiz that had such fill-in-the-blank gems as F = m_ ), Justin, Jon and I (the make-it-to-class troopers that we were) decided to go back to their place and wake Pat up with shots...and a 60 of rye. Well, he was up...but huddled checking his email wrapped in his comforter. He didn't look too impressed with the bottle and the shot glasses...but he took it like a man. :) We then proceeded to kill that 60 (and another one) over the afternoon in their backyard (if memory serves, it was a gorgeous day, much like today) between us and the rest of the house, and a few others that came by.... Then we went to the 'Nog to see the (original) Shores and some cheap-ass Keith's. Highlights include Pat being told that if he got up one more time, he'd be kicked out...so Amanda (different Amanda fom above, actually...) sat on his lap to keep him in his chair.......only he bit her. It also took about 20 minutes the following morning to piece together how exactly the gf at the time and I had gotten there. Yes, we were unsure how was GOT TO THE BAR...

Yay us!

Anyway....I'm sure good times will be had by all this weekend in the Big 'O'...wish I was going to be there!

Kinda............ ;)

Kindness Shouldn't Make Me Angry

So after another trip to Tim's yesterday, and another cursing fit when I rrrolled up the rim to NOT win... one of the guys I work with rrrolled up his rim, and the fucker won. Actually, he wins about two or three times each week.

I want him killed.

Anyway, he wins another coffee yesterday morning, and apparently takes enough pity on me to give me the cup.

Lord, I feel pathetic....

Now I'm Just Linking To Things That Make Me Laugh...

Like THIS!

The highlights from the related story on wwtdd:

• Jesus, what does Star Jones have to do to get fired from that show, slaughter the last unicorn on stage during Girl Scout day? The producers better fire her before then, because if I remember Biology class right - and I'm pretty sure I do - Star becomes immortal once she eats the unicorns heart.
• I couldn't find any decent video from yesterday, so until I do, here's Star Jones before she had her stomach stapled waddling around and getting hit in the face with a football. Good luck finding something better than that. Ever. (see above)
  
• I realize that banner picture of Jessica Simpson has nothing to do with anything, but looking up pictures of Star Jones would have required looking up pictures of Star Jones, and as it turns out, I'm not gonna do that.

Sweet Jesus

I am speechless. I am without speech.

This is why.

Bernard Chan: Living, Breathing Gold Mine

As if the gem below wasn't enough....


I've never been more aroused by a cheerleader in my life...... maybe I've said too much...

Can't put my finger on it....

I was trying to figure out why I was cheering for Wichita State in the NCAA Tournament.

Big underdog? Sure, 7-seed...but there were bigger.

Surprise team of the year? Nope, while they did make the Sweet 16, it'd have to be George Mason (a #11) getting to the Final Four.

I was really dumbfounded... until it hit me like a ton of bricks.

The nickname. The Wichita State University Shockers.

I wish I was kidding.....no...wait...... I couldn't be happier that I'm not! :D

No idea what I'm talking about? First off, shame on you. Secondly, see below for further explanation....

(thanks to Berns for the pic....totally made my day, and I had to fabricate this entire post to be able to put it in here...I'm not kidding....I couldn't care less about Wichita State....although it's all true)

A week early, but oh well..

I had been planning to write a little something on April 5th with regards to the passing of Kurt Cobain...but as you are well aware if you read this with anything vaguely resembling regularity, I'm going to be away next week getting sunburnt and drunk (tho not necessarily in that order) in Cancun. Thus, I'm writing today. A full list of things I'm going to miss out on will follow, and while I'm sure you're not exactly crying for me, this is my blog, so nuts to you....

Anyway, I know I've posted here that Nirvana's popularity and supposed influence on the entire "grunge" movement is mostly revisionist history when you look closely at the details, and their comparison to Pearl Jam, for example....but that's not to say that their influence is imagined, by any means. It's just that the curious circumstances surrounding his demise have greatly propegated the legend.

Digression: I couldn't help but chuckle when I heard yesterday that an investment group headed by U2's Bono is actually looking to purchase much of the Nirvana catalogue. Countney Love apparently needs the money, and it just makes me happy to know that that talentless hack (who never wrote a decent song without either Kurt or Billy Corgan) won't be getting any more royalties off of her dead husband's work....but I can't help thinking that Cobain's rolling over in his grave knowing that Bono would have the rights to his music...

Anyway, if you're not overly familiar with the details of the supposed conspiracy theory regarding how incredibly unlikely it was that Cobain's death was suicide, and care to know, then I strongly suggest that you check the link above out. Little details I found interesting include the medical evidence (which qualifies more as overwhelming than "little"), as well as the Lollapalooza headlining gig that they were about to turn down... and just the general vibe that he was actually planning to "retire" and fade back into obscurity. Struck me as interesting.

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to point out one the first quasi-defining moments of my generation, as most people my age just barely qualify to be able to discuss Nirvana in any tangible way. When they came through TO for the tour following In Utero, a guy in my class went to the concert, and it was a big deal that he could stay out that late on a school night...give me a break, tho....we were like 12 or 13 at the time..... ;)

I think this should inspire me to actually read the Kurt Cobain Journals that I got for Christmas a few years back... I can't really place why I haven't sat down to read it yet, I guess it just got put in a box when I moved away from Kingston and I haven't looked at it since.

Meh...

Mental Note:

STOP DOING THIS!!!
STOP ADMITTING THE AWFUL TV YOU WATCH!!!

Okay, fine....I'm not even going to listen to my own advice........... and I'm going to admit to both watching the Muchmusic VJ Search, and also to having strong opinions about the finalists.

As for the people still on:

Erik is a douchebag...but I'm sure he'd do a good job, cuz he's a douche like that.

Sean can climb down of the stereotype bandwagon anytime he wants, and just be normal. He's actually a cool guy when he doesn't pull the "Flaming Diva" act... I'm sure he'd be excellent.

Nikki is alright...she strikes me as exactly the type of not unattractive, in fact pretty cute, but not my type kinda girl Much usually hires.

From the "Loser Loft", one of which gets voted back on this week:

Frank is just a cool dude. He'd be a party to go drinking with, but I'm pretty sure he'd be a complete and total fuck-up as a VJ cuz he's basically anti-social.

Casey-Jo is a fiesty little hottie, and I like her a lot. Like, a lot. I enjoyed how she asked Erik if he was going to ask Theory of a Deadman how to "not be a douche". And yes, I blatantly ripped her off above. I think that she holds a grudge against Erik because he said that he kinda liked her on one of the very first shows.

(Details like that I retain...but somehow anything important eludes me?!? I wish I understood my brain sometimes...)

For as much as I like Casey-Jo, I absolutely adore Rebecca. And when they were showing them what the eliminated contestants were up to, and she tried on that leather dress? Wow. I sat up pretty quick. And no, that's not a euphamism...I have generally awful posture, and was lounging on the couch until she showed this strappy leather thing, and she said: "I'll try that on!" I bolting right up to the edge of the couch. Everything else stayed where if was. I hate that I know you people well enough that I have to be clear about things like this. Anyway, I think she'd be a great VJ, bitches.... :P

As for Tim, he actually reminds me of my friend Pat a lot. Like, a lot. He seems like the kinda dude I could hang out with.

Norm and Nathalie were two of the first ones eliminated. I have nothing of any consequence to say about either one.

Now, back to attempting to be a contributing member of society....

Just in case there was any doubt....

Jenna: what goin on?
Iain: just recovering from getting three needles this afternoon..........
Jenna: been there
Iain: ugh. stupid pretty countries and their diseases.....
Jenna: exactly!
Iain: so has carrot cake made you smarter?
Jenna: no..but happier...which is a smarter way to be?
Iain: I'd rather be happy... have you ever seen a sad retarded kid? but geniuses are always tortured, and shit...
Jenna: lol... maybe they are sad inside and don't know how to do anything but smile...but they think they are frowning?
Iain: lol
Jenna: oh I ruined it for you....
Iain: I'm not smiling....I'm a retarded kid frowning!
Jenna: lol
Iain: now....explain why that's funny??? cuz I'm killing myself laughing......
Jenna: it shouldn't be but I can't stop laughing
Iain: I think we're both evil.
Jenna: very
Iain: do you think anyone else would find that as funny? or should we keep this to ourselves?
Jenna: I think they should...unless they were retarded....and in that case...at least they'd be smiling?
Iain: LOL

so here it is....and I think we're both going to hell.................

See you there!

Why they call him....

...the Red Rocket!

My Day

Today started out like any other....but I was excited. Why? Today, I had basically been given permission by my boss to give a grown man shit on behalf of the company. I am a sick and twisted person, so this practically overjoyed me.

Alas, it was not to be.... I was to do this on behalf of our client, who ended up beating me to the punch and grilling the guy first. I was so disappointed I barely listened to the rehearsed bullshit excuses and backfilling that I pretty much knew he was going to give..... but somehow they were so much less satisfying since I wasn't the one that brought them on.

I really need a new hobby....

Anyway, later on in the afternoon I swung by my doctor's office to get a Hep. A/B shot (for Cancun) ......and I should have known that she would be in a bitchy mood, but when she opened with the "huh...haven't seen you in 5 years" I knew she was going to find more things to jab me with than you could possibly imagine.

I'm overjoyed to say that I was able to get past the "how much do you drink" question without the obligatory lecture. Of course I also lied through my teeth (remembering my friend Melissa's experience in about 3rd year, where she answered with about half the number of nights per week, and about a third of the drinks per night, the doctor still suggested she cut down), seeing as she was prepping needles while asking me, and I didn't want to anger her....however the "so...do you do any intravenous drugs?" question did kinda throw me.......

Now, I'm actually okay with needles in general, as I had literally hundreds of shots through high school, because it turns out I was ridiculously allergic to yellow jackets (type of wasp you see around garbage cans), and had to get venom therapy for fear of dying, and such, in the form of a half dozen or so intramuscular needles in an afternoon of gradually increasing dosages once a week.

But when in comes to sticking needles in my veins? Fuck right off... and while I'm quite sure I know where my phobia came from (Quick Aside: The day I found out I was allergic to Yellow Jackets, the skin break out was so bad that the Emergency Room nurse had to go in through my wrist for the IV. Yes, I just got chills even typing that. But that's not the best part! She hit a fucking valve of something, and so instead of pulling it out and trying again, she fucking wiggled it around in my goddamned wrist attempting to get away from the valve.......I've never been so close to throwing up, fainting, and homocide all at once), it still creeps me out to no end.

I guess I'll just never be able to say "Yes" to the intravenous drug question.....

Shucks....

It's fun when people play along...

The following is a verbatim conversation with my friend Craig, who is starting a new job soon, so has some time off, and I tried to tap to potentially fill Greg's spot on our trip to Cancun (long story....but in short, the strike being over might screw him now).

It's worth noting that Craig was my frosh buddy when I was in third year (he's an '05 Mech), and I introduced him to Queen's somewhat forcefully at the Buddy Smoker... then, when the Buddy Boatcruise fell on a weekend when I was away with Bands, I left him in Jon's care...... he ended up hiding from him in the bathroom.... True story. But, we only knew that Craig had somehow disappeared from the boat until this year at Homecoming, when we met up at Ritual and he spilled the real story...

Iain: When do you start work?
Craig: i thought it was gonna be the 3rd but they pushed it back to the 10th... here we go again
Iain: you want a fun way to kill a week?
Craig: sure
Iain: you wanna come to Cancun?
Craig says: lol
Iain: seriously....
Craig: now i didn't see that coming
Iain: my roommate likely can't make it b/c end of strike = exams next week....
Craig: oh shitty. as interesting as it sounds, i don't think i'll be able to go
Iain: ah...poo....
Craig: i owe too much money to go on a trip and i want my new car so i gotta save up all the money i make... when i eventually start
Iain: haha....right......you and your "priorities"
Craig: :)
Iain: anyway....if you think of anyone, let me know....we've booked it, so we're going for sure....
Craig: ok. how many people are going?
Iain: 3 right now....but we've booked 4... did I mention one of the others is Jon?
Craig: so you're planning on a nice conservative week
Iain: tea and crumpets
Craig: nice
Iain: maybe jam if we're feeling adventurous
Craig: wow, count me out... that's just way too much
Iain: would marmalade have been more your speed?
Craig: yeah that'd probably be ok
Iain: then we'll tone down our condiments just for you...... don't want to get all outta control with the spreadable products...
Craig: sweet

Okay, so it's not that funny...but I went to the trouble of copying and pasting it, so fuck it....

People need to calm the fuck down

Now that the Final Four is set, I think it's time to take a deep breath.

Everyone takes this time of year to poke holes in or diefy the games of various NBA prospects...and really, has anyone heard of something called a "Sample Set"?

There are certain players who have beendoing well all year, or even for a number of years now...and suddenly becuase they lay an egg in a big game, or come through unexpectedly, that's what they are now? Get real.

A few examples that really got under my skin:

J.J. Redick - Duke
You know what? J.J. is a better shooter than most guys in the NBA right now. How does having an off night when he is the focus of the defence make him suddenly a bad shooter? He will never be a Franchise Player, but when was that the expectation of medium height whote guys fm Duke? He will make a great player, as he has almost unlimited range (he can apparently shoot his "normal" shot anywhere over half-court) and ultimate confidence. Almost any team could use a guy that will make 50% of his threes, just as long as there's another scorer to take the defensive brunt of things.

Adam Morrison - Gonzaga
Okay, so maybe he's not first-overall-caliber, after all....but exactly when was that the consensus? He's likely to become a perfectly good 2nd or 3rd option....but for fuck's sake....stop calling every white kid that can shoot a little the next Larry Bird, okay? He can't pass or rebound like Bird....not even close. If he could, the Zags wouldn't be headed home....they'd be in the Final Four like Larry Legend took his Indiana State team!

Rudy Gay - UConn
Lazier than a cut dog....that's all there is to it. Maybe he needs to lay off the reefer, or something, but the dude is supremely talented if he cares to try. But he doesn't. If I'm drafting, I'd much rather someone like....

Joakim Noah - Florida
He is just the ultimate "try hard" guy....and while he'll never be a superduperstar like KG, or even a particularly big deal like CB4, I think he'll end up filling up the box score a lot like an Andrei Kirilenko, owner of one of the coolest pseudo-nicknames in the NBA: AK-47.

"Who To Do"

So with St. Paddy's Day not too far in the rearview mirror, and the pending Cancun Catastrophy on the horizon, I decided to slow things down this weekend to catch up on some much needed sleep, laundry, excercise and TV....in that order. But since the first three are boring as all shit to write (and read) about, I will have to go with TV.

As I am sitting there on Saturday night, with Toronto @ Montreal well in hand (Hip Hip Huet! ...by far the best sign I've seen in a while), and Memphis absolutely killing themselves again UCLA to the point that I am honestly wondering if the "fix" was in (dangerous length of the court passes are ALWAYS the best way to come back from 10 point down, aren't they??), I started flipping around....and lo and behold, what do I find on Much? A rerun of the 2005 "Who To Do" list. Thankfully, it was the women they were listing...and so my sports watching for the evening was officially over... on to the list, with appropriate catty remarks as necessary:

1. Rachel McAdams: Seems about right...but I honestly fell for her in Wedding Crashers when she was a brunette. Maybe that's just me, but I like her WAY better with dark hair.
   
2. Jessica Alba: Again, exactly zero complaints.
3. Hilary Duff: Um, WHAT?!? You're kidding, right?
   
4. Avril Lavigne: Nope, apparently NOT!
   
5. Ciara: Is it too much to ask to have some people in at least their 20's?!?
   
6. Rachel Bilson: Fair enough. She seems fiesty...but is apparently an L.A. Clippers fan...I'm not sure what to think anymore...
   
7. Jessica Simpson: Blah. Starting to remind me of Pam. And no, that's not a good thing.
   
8. Gwen Stefani: Thank you. She's just the type that always makes me stop flipping past...even though I tend to agree with her hubby Gavin that her music is shite.
   
9. Sienna Miller: Jude Law, you stupid, stupid, stupid man....
   
10. Lindsay Lohan: She was WAY hotter when you couldn't count her vertebrae. Apparently she has reacquainted herself with food, but I haven't seen any real proof of that yet... Oh, also not nearly as attractive as a blonde.
    
11. Evangeline Lilly: I had no idea who she was...but wow. I clearly need to get out more.
    
12. Scarlett Johansson: Just fabulous. Should most certainly be higher!
    
13. Rihanna: Music, excellent. But again with the verging on too skinny.
    
14. Ashlee Simpson: Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that likes the younger less talented (and that's saying something) sister... Not to sound like a broken record, as I do not discriminate between hair colours, but she should have kept the black. Seriously.
    
15. Keira Knightley: One of Britain's greatest exports! And a pretty damned good actress, to boot!
    
16. Jessica Biel: She can kick my ass anytime...
    
17. Fergie from Black Eyed Peas: Again, I will always stop flipping when I see a BEP video. She would likely qualify for "Hotter because she's talented" if she wasn't so damned hot to begin with! Sometimes life is unfair.
    
18. Mariah Carey: Oh, I didn't notice it was 1993 again.
    
19. Natalie Portman: Did they maybe get 3 and 4 mixed up with 19 and 20?
    
20. Beyoncé: I'm thinking they did.
    

And now so that nobody bitches about equal time, and at the risk of sounding gay, this is how the guys went...

1. Jake Gyllenhaal: I'll buy it.
2. Ryan Gosling: Sure, why not.
3. Pierre Bouvier (from Simple Plan): You have to be kidding me.
4. Usher: That's fair.
5. Adam Brody: Seriously? Since when does "Who To Do" count "funny but awkward" as a big plus? I don't get it.
6. Brandon Flowers (The Killers): Kinda out of leftfield, but I can dig it.
7. Kanye West: Apparently an enormous attitude is "in" these days....like, the guy's talented, but hot? Really?
8. Ryan Reynolds: Solid choice.
9. Joel Madden (Good Charlotte): What? N'uh uh.
10. Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance): No idea...and fuct if I'm going to Google him.
11. Chad Michael Murray: Ditto.
12. Jared Padalecki from Supernatural: And that makes three in a row.
13. Orlando Bloom: Okay, seriously......13? Who was asleep at the switch here?
14. Jesse McCartney: Talk about a guy who just strikes me as a pussy. But, he does do a couple of decent tunes... I'll bet James Blunt could kick his ass, tho.
15. Johnny Depp: See my comment for Mr. Bloom, but replace "13" with "15".
16. Justin Timberlake: Is he really relevant anymore?
17. Jacob Hoggard (Hedley): No clue.
18. Massari: Always struck me as funny looking.
19. Pharrell Williams: Seemed to me like he could get any woman he wanted. Apparently only #19. Maybe this is why I'm a guy.
20. Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day): Bad teeth rule the day, I guess...?

Good Question!

On Friday, one of my co-workers (Sonya) asked me why this thing is named what it is.

At the time, I had no idea how to answer...and if you haven't figured out by now, when I don't know the answer to something, it tends to rattle around my giant melon until I figure it out.

So...

I guess the best answer is that at the time I was asked for a name, I hadn't thought about it for one second...and so I started to wonder...... "What am I going to call this stupid thing?" My thought process at the time was that I would likely end up just using it to rant about stupid people I ran into that day, be it at the grocery store, or wherever....or about the metal midgets you encounter on the road in Toronto that somehow obtained driver's licences.

Turns out I was waaaaaay off.....

As you can see, if you have ever read anything in this space before, that is a long way from the general tone of what I post here. Which, I guess is a good thing, as it means I'm in a far more positive headspace than I had thought... but, I'm also clearly not clever enough to come up with a more "à propos" title, so I've just left it...

I hope that answers your question......tho I'm pretty sure it didn't.

Breaking News!

This just in:

Jon, Greg, Mike (Jon's friend from home) and I are going to Cancun for a week starting on April 1st.

There will be 24-hours drinks.

Wish us luck.

That is all.

CB4 is 22

I'd like to wish Chris Bosh a very Happy 22nd Birthday. Why? Because he is about the only thing making the Raptors remotely relevant these days...

Like, honestly. Look at their roster... Bosh is about the only guy who could start and play major minutes on a playoff team right now. Granted MoPete, Mike James or Charlie V. could probably crack a 9-man rotation for a decent team, and maybe in a couple of years you could say the same about Jose Calderon (if he learns how to shoot or play defence...ideally both) and Joey Graham (once he matures a bit, could be a lot like MoPete) ....but otherwise? Yikes.

Take Pape Sow.....please.

Moving on, there are a couple of things I actually liked about CB4. First of all, that nickname is genius. I just wish more people "got" it... It's not just his initials and his number (a new wave version of an A-Rod-esque nickname...which isn't a nickname....it's just being lazy...but I digress), it's actually a reference to a hilarious but not widely known Chris Rock movie, also titled CB4. It's a great spoof on Gangsta Rap where Chris Rock's character, Albert, usurps an identity of this guy named Gusto who was sent to Cell Block 4, and forms the group CB4, becoming MC Gusto in the process. His equally naive suburban friends become the other members of the group, and anyway....it's fucking money...I suggest you pick it up if you find rap lyrics or Chris Rock funny in any way.

Anyway, it bothers me that nobody knows this, so let's get the word out!

Also, while I can't seem to find anywhere what he studied at Georgia Tech, I swear I read in SI once that he was in some kind of Electrical or Computer Engineering at GT. Which is a pretty decent accomplishment for someone who is bound to earn a living playing basketball. Makes me a little more impressed with him as a person.

Okay, so Maira is bugging me to publish this already, so I will....

I'll let you count

I'm not exactly sure how many signs there have been that this little sojourn that Greg, Jon and I have been planning may turn out to be an unmitigated disaster (an incredibly fun disaster, granted), but just recently, the count seems to have been escalating rapidly.

I'll give you a sampling from the last 3 days...

Sunday, about 4pm, I get a call from Jon...we have this exchange:

Jon: Hey, whatcha doin'?
Iain: Staring down a pint in a bar.
Jon: Damn...I just came down off a real tear...
Iain: Me, too...hence more staring, less drinking...
{beep, beep}
Iain: Hold on, that's Greg... {somehow operating call waiting} ...Hey.
Greg: Hey, where are you?
Iain: Pub, after practice...just grabbing a pint....
Greg: You have a problem, man...
[Editor's Note: Greg dragged me out the previous night, as noted below, when his buddy Chris came to town]
Iain: Yeah, I know...Jon's on the other line, tho...call you back?
Greg: K, bye..
Iain: Later... {again, somehow operating call waiting...I'm a little stunned at this point, myself} ..Hey...
Jon: You didn't cut me off? I'm impressed...I always cut people off...
Iain: Usually I do, too....but anyway.....
[Editor's Note: Yes, these are two graduates of the Queen's engineering program marvelling that one of them managed to operate his cell phone with the vaguest proficiency.......perhaps worth noting that neither of us were in Elec, but I'm not sure that's much of a defence...]
Jon: Yeah, so...you haven't booked anything for the trip yet, have you?
Iain: No....
Jon: Good, cuz my buddy who's coming doesn't have a passport.
Iain: You're kidding, right?
Jon: No, seriously....I guess we have to go to either May-hee-ko or Domincan, huh?
Iain: I assure you I have no idea....

In other news, as of this post, I have only seen Greg for about 5 or 10 minutes since we left the bar Saturday night (I went straight home, what with band practice and all....but he wanted to continue to party with his friends from home)...and it was at about 6 this morning, just as I was getting up, and he was getting home from work...............perhaps it's worth noting that this isn't the first time this has happened...

Also, for the record, we have gone upwards of a week not seeing each other in the past, while still both sleeping in our apartment.... we were just on such ridiculously different schedules that we just didn't cross paths.....it actually got to the point Greg called from work one night to make sure I was actually around, and my door wasn't just closed on its own!

But I digress..........

Jon called again tonight...which I suspect had to do with the fact that he found me in a bar last time and didn't trust me to recall the incident..........which I can't really blame him for... it wouldn't be unprecedented..............

Jon: Whatcha up to?
Iain: Just finished dinner...
Jon: Good?
Iain: Yeah, the Subway lady outdid herself this time.
Jon: Nice.
Iain: You?
Jon: Just trying to decide between doing dishes and cracking a bottle o' rye.
Iain: Tough call.
Jon: Not really....the dishes have been there for a week.....one more day won't hurt 'em...
Iain: I like your thinking!

Believe it or not, that was the high point of the conversation....we proceeded to recall (with amazingly vivid detail) when Jon, Justin and I "Rode the Bull" at QP (that's four 40 oz. Schlitz bottles in 4 hours), leading to the comment from Jon: "And that double rye to top it off? I couldda killed Justin for that one....but that was a good night!" Believe it or not, this came up because of a picture Greg took of Jon in Cuba in 4th year (with Jon's digital camera he hasn't used since, but will be bringing with him........bad, bad idea...but whatever) which he used as his picture in a blood pressure study Greg was doing at the time, for which Jon was a subject. The major issue with that was finding Jon sober enough to get a useful reading, but anyway... the next topic was various pros/cons relating to "locals" vs. "other vacationners" in Mexico (which I will most assuredly NOT post in detail).....and then continued on to discuss various times the Cops have pulled us each over (to use the term loosely) while we're just walking down the street:

Jon: So the Cop comes up to me, asking where I'm going...pissed as hell, I say I'm headed home....he tells me that they don't like people wandering around town after 2am...so I say "Since you're not doin' fuck all, d'you mind giving me a lift home?" and hop in the back of the cruiser...
Iain: So...let me get this straight.......hammered as all shit, you swore at a Cop and jumped in the back of his cruiser?!?
Jon: Yup!
Iain: You are retarded...
Jon: Hey, he gave me a lift!
Iain: Get the fuck out....... Wow.

My story wasn't nearly as interesting (or blatantly dumb), but it had a funny exchange:

Officer (at about 4am): Where're you headed?
Me: Home.
Officer: Why are you walking?
Me: I'm outta money.
Officer: Where are you coming from?
Me: Apache Burger.
Officer: Is that a bar?
Me: No, sir. It's a burger place.

Yes, you read that correctly....I took a cab all the way from downtown, to Apache (very much NOT on the way home), and then blew my last $10 on a burger and onion rings....leaving me at Kilping and Bloor at 3am in the rain with about eight cents in cash.........

I never suggested I was bright....and somehow I don't see a week in Mexico with these guys is going to help that much.........

Oh well. :)

I want my Monday nights back!

So tonight, Prison Break started up again...

I got hooked on it in the fall, and while I will admit that I was royally pissed that it went on such a ridiculously long hiatus (what was it, like 4 or 5 months??) I was sucked back in...and fast!

While yes, the cliffhangers are contrived (and annoying!), the acting is mostly dubious, the "outside the prison" storyline is garbled, and the female lawyer should have been cuter, I think I actually managed to figure out what I like about it so much!

And no, it's not a secret crush I have on Wentworth Miller (tho I have to admit, the fact that he plays an engineer is kinda cool...), but it does have to do with his charachter. Michael Scofield displays the kind of incredible (if reckless) loyalty to his brother that I can't help but admire. Now, while I'm an only child, I do think that I can appreciate where Michael is coming from. If you haven't seen the show, I'm not going to get into it here, but suffice it to say, he leaves little doubt as to how deeply he cares for his brother...

Everyone pays lip service to loyalty to friends and family, and while I hope and pray I'll never have a loved one in a comparable situation as Michael Scofield found his brother, Lincoln...I'd like to think that I could find it in myself to go to such lengths for them.

(pardon me while I wax poetic for a moment)

You rarely get a chance in this life to truly show someone what they mean to you...if such a situation presents itself, I strongly suggest you take advantage...

(now back to your regularly scheduled frivolous ramblings)

Easily Amused, or Mild Narcissism?

Now, I feel I have to ask other Bloggers out there:

Do you re-read your own posts?

Cuz I do all the time...

Partially because I'm paranoid about looking dumb due to misspelled words and typos, but also for general editing purposes. I'm rarely 100% happy with anything I write the first time, so I will often revise things...change words, perhaps try to make myself more clear...or re-word something to give the feeling intended.....often within the first few hours, but sometimes days later.

And, okay.... I'll be honest. Once something's exactly how I like it? I just like reading it...

I swear I was just flipping past...

...but sometimes you can't help but notice.

Now, I'll admit that I used to watch a fair bit of WWF..er....WWE ...whatever.....but it was a stupid point in my life, and I was hanging out with some unstable people.....so anyway, I actually almost know what I'm talking about, so hear me out...

I remember John Cena as a complete B-grade wrestler, a real nobody. He was basically a white hip hop guy. Meh. It was alright...but he wasn't anything special. Well, apparently got a big "push" within the last couple of years...and it turns out now he's a champ of some sort.... But the part that gets me is that they clearly just stole "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's shtick, and gave it to Cena. Only he's less "beer swilling hick" and more "freestyling urban".
















For some reason this annoys me...but I can't figure out why. Especially since my favourite wrestler from the WCW-era (back in about 1998, when Monday Nitro used to kill Monday Night Raw) was Goldberg....a blatant rip-off of Stone Cold if there ever was one....


As always, I no longer have a point...so I will just shut up.

Somebody up there hates me...

Okay, I'll freely admit that I deserve the pain I'm feeling today.

It's 6:38pm as I type this, and I'm still hungover. That's fine, and I'm as okay with it as one can be while considering a bath with toaster just to make the hurting stop.

But it gets worse....

I had basically written today off weeks ago. Went to the Galway, then met up with Greg at the curling club. I believe I managed to drink roughly the equivalent of the amount of water that would be displaced by the Titanic. I'm not boasting, I'm just giving a frame of reference for how much this next part sucks.

So, I'm happily lying on the couch stuffing my face with peperoni sticks and ice cream which I purchased this morning (okay...this afternoon.....) while possibly terrifying a few "normals" at Sobey's. Because it was sunny, I was walking around in jeans and a t-shirt with my flip flops (which was odd, seeing as it was about -1 at the time) and a hat pulled down pretty low...I think the only way I could have been more clearly hungover is if I had a sandwich board saying as much. The capper, of course, was that I noticed when I got home that my fly was undone the whole time.... :)

So, anyway...as I'm gorging myself on impulse food, Greg and I are happily watching the NCAA Tournament and the Brier. Then his phone rings.... Turns out his buddy Chris is coming down tonight from London.

Fuck.

This qualifies as bad news...

So as our livers recoil, we recover from this news and go back to the TV. Around 3, I go and check the GTAA website to make sure my mum's flight is on time, and call my dad to let him know (he's driving in to pick her up).....as I'm talking to him, he says that after he picks a few things up, would I have time to meet for a pint? Well, I'll be honest. At that exact moment I would have likely had a better reaction to him suggesting we take in a gay cabaret show than consume any more booze..........but what can you say?

So I met him for a pint....and Chris should be here shortly. I might die sooner than expected.

It really was nice knowing you all.......

Calling a Spade a Spade...

Okay, I'll come clean.

I'm not Irish. Not even close. Not a single drop of Irish blood that I'm aware of. Basically, the only difference between me celebrating St. Patrick's Day and me celebrating Caribana is that I might have more trouble blending in at Caribana....

Anyway!

That said, I plan to drink like it's going out of style.

Why? Because I can. Bite me. :)

I am stunned.

Wow.

I have nothing else to say, but ..... wow.










Okay, I do have something to say: Who's gonna be Horshack? Humpty from Digital Underground??

This is a big week!

With March Madness stating tomorrow, and Pi Day and Steak 'n Sex Day yesterday (see below), I already thought this was a big week....but now Ian tells me that today is also International EATPETA (Eat an Animal for PETA) Day!

So while I didn't celebrate much yesterday, and have an afternoon meeting tomorrow (and will thus miss the opening games in The Tournament), I feel it's my duty to do something today....

So, just for the sake of it:

'H' is for Hot

...even when you have no hair!

Judging from the trailers, Natalie Portman shaved her head for her new movie "V is for Vendetta"...and while this might come across as creepy on my part, I think she still looked fabulous.



Oh, and as an added bonus, she pulls the "cute little semi-fauxhawk" thing really well, too...













In the immortal words of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar: "Sha-wing!"

I am a bad Math Geek

I can't believe I had to be reminded about Pi Day...

To atone for my omission, I present the following images:

Fuck You Tim Horton's!

Okay, I've been nice about this for too long...

I am either the unluckiest guy in the world, or someone at Tim Horton's is fucking with me. I haven't won ANYTHING on this ridiculous Roll Up The Rim game in like 3 years! I can't place a time that I've won even a friggin' cookie since I graduated in 2003....

I am not impressed.

But I'm addicted to your coffee, Mr. Horton, so I'm going to keep taking it like a bitch...

I hate you.

Coincidence?

Last night, Cristobal Huet's shutout streak ended at 163 minutes, 11 seconds. He represensts the most recent goalie who has come off the Montreal Canadiens assembly line for French-Canadian Goaltenders.

Think about it... Just in the last 10 or so years, Montreal has had Patrick Roy, Jocelyn Thibault, Stéphane Fist, José Théodore and now Huet.

They've done pretty well with Québecois D-men, too, but wow....if only they had the same monopoly on forwards....as a Habs fan, I can't help but imagine how different they'd be with Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, both from the Montreal area, no less! They basically kill them every time they come to town, and coincidentally, those exact two players were responsible for ending Huet's streak.

On that "completing the circle" note, I will stop typing...

Happy Steak and Sex Day!

It occurred to me why this morning why this is such a great idea...depending on which "H" word is ruling your life, you can just buy which ever aspect you want most! :)

Say it's so, Barry....

...so we can move on in our lives!

As opposed to that kid on the front steps of the courthouse who famously uttered the line "Say it ain't so, Joe...say it ain't so..." (or at least did in the movie Eight Men Out) to "Shoeless" Joe Jackson during the Black Sox inquest, I'm not really sure why any of this matters when we're talking about the allegations brought up in an upcoming book that will reflect on Barry Bonds' legacy in baseball.

He is the single season record holder for home runs. He is about 14 or so short of passing Babe Ruth, and if he stays healthy this season and hits another 47, he'll even pass Hank Aaron for the all-time lead.

Okay, so apparently he was taking enough steroids that Ben Johnson might have had to organize an intervention. Maybe he barely resembles the physical stature he was even as recently as 1998...but who cares? Yes, most of the drugs he took were illegal without a prescription...but people are talking about not letting him into the Hall of Fame, or even putting the dreaded asterisk beside his record (and likely subsequent records). It's not like no professional athelete has ever done drugs before...like, let's be serious. As far as Major League Baseball is concerned, he wasn't breaking any rules. Should we put disclaimers in the record books for all Babe Ruth's homers because he was drunk and/or hungover for most of them? If anything, we should pro-rate the Babe's numbers....imagine the records he'd have if he was sober??

But back to Barry...

I just don't see how you can compare him to Pete Rose or the members of the Black Sox (the only people currently banned from the Hall of Fame), as they either bet on baseball (and denied it for years) or took money to throw the World Series. Gambling being the one unforgivable sin in baseball, for whatever reason. The most clear point being that Barry Bonds didn't break any rules! MLB had no steroid testing policy, and certainly no penalties, so why does everyone have their collective panties in a bunch? Not to mention the fact that more muscle won't make you hit the ball better (farther, yes....but not better)...that's all timing and hand-eye co-ordination, which if anything is impeded by being musclebound. Granted, the recovery ability between workouts, and late in the season when you have nagging injuries is greatly helped by many steroids, which assuredly contributed to Barry's ability to get better as he now moves into his 40's, at an age when his dad was long retired, but the fact remains....the dude was a first-ballot HOFer before he went on the juice and hit all these homeruns! And also keep in mind that half of his ability comes from his keen batting eye, which makes pitchers have to throw him strikes, and when someone of his ability (three NL MVPs before taking a single steroid) gets in a zone, watch out...

Anyway, I guess my point is that the guy didn't really break any baseball rules, so who cares?

Maybe if he was nicer to reporters over the years, they'd cover for him more....

Late Night Introspection

Now, first off...this is by no means alcohol fueled. My antics last night kind of precluded my taking "full advantage" of the celebration this evening....maybe I am in fact getting a little older...

But anyway.

This week I was able to speak live (okay, MSN, but hear me out...) with my friend Chris, who is living near Manchester right now, for the first time since I bid he and his exceptionally cool friends (Kat and Elwyn) farewell as I caught my flight back to London from Ibiza in August.

Now, this was without question about the coolest trip I have ever taken, but I don't think I've given it due as the truly life-altering experience that it was. Now, I was the first person in two summers that Chris spent in the party capital of the world that ever visited from Canada, and he reiterated this week how great it was to have someone come all that way...but for as cool as it was for him to have someone to "talk Canadian" with again, it couldn't have possibly been better timing for me.

Flashback to August 2005...

I am working a crappy job that I had long since started to actively hate, I have found myself single again (not of my own doing, for the record), and things had really fallen apart with the pipe band that I had wanted to play with.

So what does Iain do? He decides that before ditching his shitty job, he had best use up the vacation that they begrudgingly grant him... Now, as with most crappy jobs, Iain isn't exactly rolling in money, and he also has nobody to travel with, so it's time to seek out friends in cool places. Luck would have it, that he had friends currently residing in London, England and on the island of Ibiza, off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea.

(I will now return to first person narration)

So, natually, I plan a trip to spend a week in London with Myalee, and another week in Ibiza with Chris. I had kind of unintentionally planned to spend two weeks with quite possibly the two most incredibly positive people I have ever met. Nothing gets them down, and the stories from their travels are nothing short of inspiring when you consider all the crap they have both been through, while still keeping their heads high. The total positive energy from the two of them was beyond contagious, and to make a long story short, I haven't been the same since I got back from the trip.

Not coincidentally, DC submitted my resume to my current employer while I was physically in Ibiza, and I was able to set up an interview from an internet cafe near the beach (talk about good karma!)... and the rest, as they say, is history....

While yes, the change of job and the new pipe band have had an influence on my day-to-day life, I don't think that any of it would have panned out as well as it did without the new outlook on life that I was able to absorb from Chris and Myalee. I really owe them both a tremendous debt of gratitude for just being who they are, and being in my life.

There truly is nothing that positive thinking and a little perseverance can't achieve...

More After-Hours Adventures!

Last night I finally darkened the door of the curling club where Greg works.

After the other patrons had all left, and I helped him clean up (okay, I mostly watched him do it while I lounged in front of the big screen, but I did do some sweeping...), we had a couple more pints, I got to try something new. I got to actually curl!

Now, I stunk, of course....but not as bad as you might think. Especially when you consider that Greg swears curling is arguably one of the most difficult drunken activities around. The fact that I didn't crack my head open on the ice is a rather major bonus, seeing as I haven't skated in like 10 or 15 years. Hell, I didn't even fall! Go me!!

This morning (we'll call noon "morning" as it is the period directly after waking up), I even got to have a little roll-reversal with Greg. He had to get up to go back to work, while I got to lounge and watch TV. Good times...

In other news, earlier this afternoon on my way back from Starbucks, my hangover finally broke, and I looked around at the sunny 10º day realizing how much I love the spring. And then I just kinda walked for about 10 minutes grinning like a fool....

Life is good. :)

Meaningless Epiphany

I'm pretty sure I've been watching way too much MMM, but last night I saw some useless show about punk music, which for some reason I couldn't turn away from. So along comes this "expert" (never has the term been used more loosely that in these "Behind the Music"-esque shows), who proceeds to kinda trash the Sex Pistols.

She noted that they weren't the first, they weren't the best, and they certainly weren't the most talented punk band...but somehow, they just connected with their audience the way no other bands from their era did. And they had "The Look."

Now, throw in the untimely death of a member before they had a chance to really ruin their legacy by becoming "kitsch" or a sold-out parody of themselves (see: Rolling Stones, The), and she could have just as easily been discussing Nirvana.

Yes, I know...as epiphanies go, that wasn't much...but hey... It's been a long week, and I need a beer.

Attention Simpsons Fans!

I assure you that this is really cool, but if you are a big Simpsons fan, do NOT go to this site while high...

(with thanks to Erin...)

Dolphin Adventures in Tuna Nets

In his infinite boredom (during which he actually posted a comment in this space, thus showing just how bored he was) my friend Amr recently re-sent me the following link:

http://www.seanbaby.com/nes/egm04.htm

This is #4 in a series of reviews for the 10 worst video games of all time. Now, I'm not suggesting that Captain Novolin should have been the #1 worst video game of all time, it's more that it's the review that makes me laugh out loud every single time I read it...

There are few things that make me laugh as uncontrollably as The Peach can, but this is one of them.

Read either of these at work at your own peril...

Greatest Idea Ever

For those of you who don't listen to Flow 93.5, you may not have heard of them pushing for a new national holiday. Loosely based on "evening out things" between men and women, they are pushing for a male-centric counterblanace to Valentine's Day. That is, to make March 14th Steak and Sex Day.

Directly from their website:

FLOW 93.5 PRESENTS...STEAK N' SEX DAY ON MARCH 14, 2006!!!
Valentine’s Day is usually considered “a day for the ladies”… but now it’s time to celebrate a day for the guys! FLOW 93.5 presents… Steak N’ Sex Day and we will be celebrating on March 14, 2006. You could win a delicious steak dinner at Autogrill Resturant, a copy of Neyo’s latest album, “In My Own Words” and condoms (of Course). Plus, we’re trying to make Steak N’ Sex Day a national holiday (Like Valentines Day)! Click here to sign the Steak N’ Sex Day petition! Make sure to include your full name to make it official. FLOW 93.5, the station giving you Steak N’ Sex Day!!

International Sporting Karma Evens Out

In the very likely event that you missed yesterday's stunning upset by Canada at the World Baseball Classic (8-6 over the Americans!), I thought it represented the most telling proof that baseball is clearly the most statistically based of the major sports, and thus the sport that requires the largest sampleset in order to truly determine who is the better team. In short, one game in baseball is as meaningless with regards to the relative skill level of the team as one at-bat is to the skill of a single player.

Just as the best players can strike out and looked bad in any given at-bat, every top team loses games they shouldn't. The beauty of baseball is in its 162-game season which evens all these things out, and so the best teams are the best teams, and after hundreds of at-bats, you can tell who the good players are.

That said, I stand by that yesterday's result was karmic intervention for Canada losing in hockey to Switzerland at the Olympics.

On the World's Stage, everything's even now...

Another Musical Rant

Okay, so I know I went on record saying that Rock in general stinks these days...well, I guess my more precise point was that the tripe they play on the radio stinks... Through many helpful avenues, I've become aware of the pretty decent stuff out there right now...but I had also totally spaced on one of my favourite segments of the non-radio world. Hard rock.

SlipKnot

Now, I had never really had much time for heavy stuff back in the day, but I did learn to appreciate it on a "humourous" level. For example, SlipKnot's lyrics....they are comically glorious. Stuff like "I wanna slit your throat and fuck the wound" is beyond hilarious! (assuming, of course, you just ignore the maladjusted teenagers who take the shit seriously) And honestly, I'm still not sure Trent Reznor wasn't joking. Like, maybe he saw a market and just knew how to write stuff that appealed to pissed off teenagers.... "I wanna fuck you like an animal"??? Get real....he can't be serious...

Mudvayne's Kud a.k.a Chad Gray

However, more recently (tho still a few years ago), I was introduced by someone who honestly liked stuff like the Deftones and old Staind (back when they were harder than fucking nails...before they turned into ballad writers...an admirable niche, which they are very good at, but not within the scope of my larger point here) to a band called Disturbed. Now, their name implies that they were in on the same joke as Mr. Reznor, and later Mudvayne (did you see whatever the hell award show it was when they showed up with bullet holes painted on their foreheads?), but their music was just plain cool...and so I was sucked in.

This led to me attending Summer Sanitarium a couple summers ago, which had a line-up of Mudvayne, The Deftones, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit on the undercard with Metallica headlining. Well, we missed Mudvayne completely cuz we were having a few afternoon beverages at Neil's cousin's place, and Deftones didn't much interest us, so we mostly missed them, too. Linkin Park was actually startlingly good live (I had them pegged as a "harder Good Charlotte" or something, but they're pretty decent...more of a lighter/poppier Prodigy, really, with the two guys going back and forth...). Now, Limp Bizkit tore the fucking roof off the Skydome...it was IN-sane... Pat and I were right in the middle of the mosh pit, close enough to practically get singed by the fire, but it was worth it...the place was going berserk after just two tracks, and then just as you got the feeling they were going to calm down, Fred Durst (one of those "can only be referred to by both names" celebrities) went around to the band, whispering in their ears...then yells into the mic: "Fuck the setlist...it's time to BREAK STUFF!!" And somehow it got crazier from there.... Anyway, Metallica was good, but they just couldn't keep up.. comparable to the Stones following AC/DC at Sars-stock, I'd imagine...almost unfair....

Now, more recently Disturbed have actually started to gain commercial acceptance with their third studio album, Ten Thousand Fists, and the track "Stricken" (granted on 97.7, about the hardest mainstream station you can find, but still...) tho they haven't really changed much of what they've been doing....so I have to give them "mad props" for making it while "keeping it real".


Wow. Do I even have a point anymore?

Meh...

Another Damning Confession

I really have to stop admitting to the positively dreadful television I watch, while in the meantime championing the fact that I don't watch things like Survivor or 24...but I have a forum to say it here, so I will...

Last night, my favourite Muchmusic VJ hopeful, Rebecca, was kicked off... For those of you with only a passing awareness of the show, she's the one with the "bitches" tagline on all her pieces and the crazy quasi-mohawk thing going on.... For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about....well.....you're likely better off.

Anyway, she probably wasn't the best for the job...but she seemed like a pretty cool chick, so I was pulling for her. Her stunning eyes (NOT a euphamism) didn't hurt, either...

My guess is either Tim or Casey-Jo wins....but what do I know?

Or perhaps more to the point....what do you care??

This is the end...

This is my friend, the end...

The truth is: I don't stand a chance.

Okay, enough melodramatic lyrics...let's cut to the chase:

Iain is screwed.

Lightbulb Goes ON!

I have repeatedly used this place to go on (and on, and on) about Katherine Heigl's character, Izzie, on Grey's Anatomy.


This past weekend, after getting pepperoni and bacon pizzas and thereby neglecting a certain Jewish late night co-snacker of ours, we let Greg's gf choose what movie we'd watch to make up for it. Theory being, that with ample pizza, Frank's Red Hot and a bottle of wine, we wouldn't overly care what we watched. Oh, that and we had recently watched all five movies in the DVD player, so we'd have to get up.... Anyway, she chose Season 1 of Scrubs, then I see Sarah Chalke a.k.a. Dr. Elliot Reid....and it hit me.

Turns out I just have a thing for blonde doctors.

I did not see that coming....