Posts

Showing posts from June, 2010

Downhere - You're Not Alone video

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Some thoughts from someone who has read the entire book series and seen all the movies (except Half-Blood Prince - actually watching it tonight, and I quite enjoyed the book) and generally been a fan of the whole Harry Potter thing: I'm staking my claim that the two-part gimmick for this movie is going to be a gigantic box-office success but an artistic mistake. My recollection of the Deathly Hallows book is that there's a lot of downtime between action and that there just isn't enough content to stretch this to two movies. And the result of this will be two "good" movies padded out rather than one "excellent" movie. Or maybe just two "meh" movies, as I cringed when I saw at the end of the trailer that the movies are going to be in 3D. I hate to sound like an old geezer, but I still really despise this whole 3D craze. Frankly, 3D is off-putting for me - I see it as a gimmick to excuse lazy film-making and a method of ensuring that the dir

Sunday afternoon humor

Image
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Fedor's first real loss to Fabrico Werdum comes via triangle armbar on June 26 in Strikeforce

Image
This article cross-posted from MMA Junkie Fedor's first real loss to Fabrico Werdum comes via triangle armbar on June 26 in Strikeforce : " The world of mixed martial arts has been forever changed. Fabricio Werdum has accomplished a feat that 28 fighters before him could not. He handed former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko his first real loss. And 'The Last Emperor' did most of the work. After an initial flurry that put 'Vai Cavalo' butt-first on the mat, an overly aggressive Emelianenko rushed in for the kill -- against one of the sport's most decorated grapplers. The Russian made a rare error in judgment. Werdum was not dazed, nor was he tired. He just happened to lose his legs while defensively backpedaling. Simply put, he was just as fresh and coherent as he was the moment he entered the cage. And Fedor was in his world. Emelianenko wanted a finish and he got one. But if the single, angry tap from the wrong side of a

All a-Twitter

I figured out the other day that I regularly use at least 9 different Twitter applications over 5 different computers/devices: Twitter website Hootsuite Tweetdeck Twitter for BlackBerry UberTwitter OpenBeak Twitter for iPhone Hootsuite for iPhone Tweetdeck for iPhone (Well, not anymore, see edit below) I can actually justify all of them, considering some are for personal accounts and others are for corporate/work-related accounts that I either manage or have access to. Perhaps surprisingly (or maybe not), the one of those I use the least is the actual Twitter.com website. JUNE 28 edit: Well, this list actually shamed me into deleting TweetDeck for iPhone off my iPod Touch. I know that fairly recently I was singing the praises of TweetDeck's superiority over the Twitter for Iphone app, but in the last few weeks the Twitter for Iphone app has been getting about 90% of my total Twitter use on the Touch, so I figured why have TweetDeck sitting there taking up screen real

The making of Downhere's Your Not Alone" music video

"Record block signal detected"

I tried to DVR the season premier of Wipeout! last night from the ABC affiliate carried by our cable company. My DVR would not record Wipout!, instead popping up a message that said "Record block signal detected." What kind of sorcery is this? Why on earth would a TV network deny people the ability to actually watch their show, albeit not in real time? Do they not realize that denying people the ability to record their show will just push them into pirating the content on the Internet?

WEC from Edmonton!

Image
My play-by-play is here . And some pics: WEC in Edmonton

Monday Morning Music - What Faith Can Do

WEC live in Edmonton results

Check out my ongoing live report at http://wrestlingobserver.com . Pics posted tomorrow sometime.

Sunday afternoon humor

WEC in Edmonton tonight!

Image
World Extreme Cagefighting makes its Canadian debut tonight and I'll be there along with my wife and older daughter. Here's the card, courtesy Figure 4 Online : Jamie Varner vs. Kamal Shalorus as the main event, plus Mark Hominick vs. Yves Jabouin, Josh Grispi vs. L.C. Davis, Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Downes and Will Campuzano vs. Eddie Wineland. Plus I'm sure about a dozen preliminary matches, as the card starts at 4 p.m. and the live show on The Score doesn't begin for several hours after that.

Got trapped in a car wash this morning. Yes, really.

Went to my local gas station this morning to fill up and get a car wash. Went through the wash, and the exit door didn't open (and, of course, the entry door closed behind me when I drove in). Backed up and moved towards the exit door slowly. Still didn't open. Tried again. Nothing. A brief wave of panic washes over me. Turn off the engine and ponder my strategy. I consider calling home to have someone in the family give me the phone number for the store so I can call them from the car wash. Then I look around and see a steel door that looks like it may go outside. It works. I walk around to the gas station where the clerk at the counter is busy texting away on her phone. I stand right in front of her and she continues to text. Finally she looks up at me. I calmly explain to her that my car is stuck in the car wash and the exit door didn't open. "That really sucks!" she says. Indeed. "Well let's go talk to the guys." We walk outside where the t

Working lightsaber ‘the most dangerous laser ever created’

Working lightsaber ‘the most dangerous laser ever created’ | Posted | National Post Star Wars fans rejoice: someone has finally succeeded in creating a working lightsaber. And it can be yours for only US$197.97.   Hong Kong company Wicked Lasers has manufactured “the most dangerous laser ever created,” a lightsaber with a blue beam that can burn retinas and set skin on fire.

Tuesday evening humor

Image
Because I really need a laugh right now. see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Monday Morning Music: Mighty to Save

Contrary to what the Weather Network says ...

It's not raining in Edmonton. Not a cloud in the sky in fact. But my Weather Network app insists it's drizzling outside. EDIT 2:17 pm: The Weather Network has updated its current conditions to say it's now clear in Edmonton.

Sunday afternoon humor

Image
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Cold brewed iced coffee

I'm not sure if I've posted this or not, but in case I have not, here's a great recipe for making cold-brewed iced coffee . While the post says to drink it straight over ice, I use it as a base for other drinks. Going to make some right now!

On a blanket in the sun

It's a grand and glorious day in Edmonton. And I'm blogging about it from a blanket in the backyard. Which is both a testament to technology and my nerdiness.

Where to watch UFC 115 in Edmonton and Calgary

Image
UFC 115 is tomorrow, and this may be the very definition of a "no buys" show. Given that my blog stats have turned up no searches for this show yet, I don't think it's going to do very well. However, if you do want to watch it, here's the usual link on where to find a bar .

Baby ducks!

Image
My younger daughter spotted some baby ducks literally wandering down the sidewalk this evening outside our house. We followed them for a little while until they decided to sit down in front of a neighbor's house and take a break. No idea where Mommy Duck was. Hope the little guys make it.

Dear WWE Fan Nation YouTube channel:

Image
Screenshot of WWEFanNation YouTube As a longtime wrestling fan and social media geek, I appreciate the WWE's embrace of new technologies to have your product seen by more people. The new WWEFanNation YouTube channel, with its tremendous collection of clips from Raw and Smackdown, is a major step in giving wrestling fans another alternative to keep up with the product. At least, I assume it is, because I CAN'T WATCH IT! Almost every video comes up as "unavailable." Is the channel not available to non-American viewers? If so, why? What benefit is there to the WWE to prevent non-American fans from watching this channel? And can you fix this, please?

The Letter Black - More To This

Mercy Me - All of Creation - Live!

Sunday afternoon humor

Image
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Going out and getting lost

Image
Some pictures from today’s bike ride. This is where I ended up today after about an hour of riding. As it turns out, it was down near Blue Quill (although I didn’t know that at the time) in a lovely “valley” between two pretty steep hills. The street address would be somewhere around 30th Street and 109th Avenue, I think. That’s Rabbit Hill Road and downtown Edmonton.   There’s a military helicopter in that picture. Really. It landed in the field next to the school. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a better shot.

Speed limit sign. On a bike path. Going uphill.

Image
I laugh every time I pass this. Who can hit 30 kmh on a bike path going uphill?

Me in Motion - Seek Justice, Love Mercy

Midweek musing

Yeah, I've been light on posting of late. I know. It's summer. (Kind of.) At any rate, one thing I've been meaning to mention here pretty much every week of this season of Ultimate Fighter: Why does Tito Ortiz insist on yelling "UP!UP!UP!UP!UP!UP!UP!UP!UP!UP!UP!UP!" every time one of his fighters gets taken down during a fight? Does he think that somehow the fighter is unaware that he needs to get up? Does Tito think that maybe yelling "UP!UP!UP!UP!" in machine-gun staccato will somehow will his fighter to stand?