Doodle, a website scheduler or poll-maker that creates a web link which people can answer to but don't have to create an account for.
Thanks to Little Buddy for introducing it to me. I recommend you try scheduling an event with your friends or for work. Super easy to use. It is easy to see who is available for what times, especially if you are trying to get a big group together. Click the link below to see the website.
www.doodle.com
Click this link below to try it out:
Who is your favourite current Vancouver Canuck during this drive to clinch the Stanley Cup?
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Trailer
This was a far better book than the last one where Harry Potter was a whiny brat. Let's hope that the movie is as good as this great looking trailer:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/harrypotterandthehalfbloodprince/
Enjoy.
This summer has some spectacular movies coming out, Star Trek, Up (does Pixar make a bad movie?), and this HP are the ones I am most excited about.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/harrypotterandthehalfbloodprince/
Enjoy.
This summer has some spectacular movies coming out, Star Trek, Up (does Pixar make a bad movie?), and this HP are the ones I am most excited about.
Friday Night Lights & The Wire: The Best TV Shows You Are Not Watching
I thought I would write something quick to burn some time on this Sunday, 45 minutes away from the start of Game 3 of the Canucks vs the Blue (14 wins away from the Cup and I am already trying to figure out where I want to sit/stand during the Stanley Cup parade down Robson Street).
The TV season is wrapping up and the only series that still commands my attention and that is running is LOST (two more episodes left and still so many questions to be answered makes me wonder if they can truly wrap things up in one more season). With rerun season approaching, I have two shows that I highly recommend to those looking for something new. (Actually, looking at my previous paragraph, I would be remiss not to plug "The Office" and "30 Rock" if you are a fan of brilliant comedy.)
I sometimes want to adopt a smug "I-told=you-so" to many of my friends when I recommend a show that I say is good, but they don't listen to me until two years later. It has happened with LOST and Entourage (although that show sucks now). My wife finally is a believer in 30 Rock. And her favourite show now is Friday Night Lights, which she was also reluctant to start watching in the beginning.
After finishing another fabulous episode of "Friday Night Lights", the second last episode of the season, I almost got a bit angry thinking of the lack of accolades that should be heaped upon this show. I get angry thinking of the quality of acting and writing in this show that fails to draw even a tenth of the ratings seen in shows like "Big Loser" or "The Apprentice" or any other reality show for that matter.
I highly recommend if you want to try something new to watch this summer, do yourself a favour and rent season 1 of Friday Night Lights (FNL). Connie Briton and Kyle Chandlar represent a great depiction of what it means to be a couple in love and in marriage. The scenarios are sometimes a bit contrived, but not really that far removed from the realities that I see in high school. More than any show, there is an emotional connection to all of the character as we get to see them make mistakes, learn, and grow. A surefire sign of how good the show is? Some of the characters that you are first dislike are now not as one-sided as you thought and you actually like them even though they are imperfect.
Friday Night Lights has something for everyone.
Let's play the stereotypes: For the guys?
Improbable football victories? Check. Sweet slow motion plays? Check. Quite possibly one of the hottest female ensemble TV casts? Check.
For the ladies?
Relationships? Check. Emotional arcs that will leave you in tears? Check. Quite possibly one of the hottest male ensemble TV casts? Check.
Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Go see Friday Night Lights, Season 1.
Season 2 was a bit of a travesty. Very uneven and some silly plots. You still need to see it though, so you can enjoy the payoff of this season, season 3. Season 3 brings it back. There are some episodes that make you feel like part of the family. There are not always happy endings in this show, but it is impossible not to get sucked into it.
Please give it a chance.
The other show I love is HBO's "The Wire". The content may not be for everyone, as it is graphic, violent, and unflinchingly looks at inner city Baltimore and its problems related with policing, drugs, and schools. I think the reason it did not get more popular was because if you watch it, it is makes you feel guilty, because you realize that these problems exist and we are almost helpless to make a change. I really think that watching this show will make you realize the problems in Vancouver surrounding all of the gang-related shootings will not change by simply throwing boatloads of cash and police at it. United States has already proven with their infinite resources in comparison to Canada's, that their little "War on Drugs" did little to stem the tide. "The Wire" shows how the war on drugs is intertwined on so many different levels. It shows that even when people want to do right, their quotas or budgets or other people's agendas will trump what should be done. Season 1 sets up the characters and the police work that they do to try to take down a gang. What is weird is that as a viewer you are shown both sides, the police and the gangs, and you get to see that neither group area a bunch of angels. You actually get to know the gangs as well as the police. Season 2, brings the action to the docks of Baltimore. Season 3, follows the gangs again. Season 4, which we just finished, looks at the school and political system. I heard Season 5 looks at the newspaper media.
I know the synopsis doesn't sound great, but the show is a challenging and engaging series. You really need to stick with the series, because it is a slow burn and it doesn't necessarily leap of the screen. The characters are realistic, they mean well, they make mistakes, and you can't help feel their pain or revel in their small victories. I certainly think that some people need to see how a life of crime and drugs is not something that should be sensationalized. The brutality, poverty and unfortunate settings that some of the characters are born into breaks your heart. Life is cruel and unfair to so many people. The Wire is an education, an education about the inequality that exists in all major metropolitan cities.
But from a pure entertainment standpoint, The Wire is one of the best TV shows ever. Humour is wrapped up into the details of the every day life of these gangsters and police officers. The joy comes from watching a show that is so well done. You will recognize many of these actors who obviously got their recognition and start from this series.
Do yourself a favour and watch a series that is challenging and pushes the medium of television beyond the blah blah blah of most of the network shows out there.
Go Canucks go!
The TV season is wrapping up and the only series that still commands my attention and that is running is LOST (two more episodes left and still so many questions to be answered makes me wonder if they can truly wrap things up in one more season). With rerun season approaching, I have two shows that I highly recommend to those looking for something new. (Actually, looking at my previous paragraph, I would be remiss not to plug "The Office" and "30 Rock" if you are a fan of brilliant comedy.)
I sometimes want to adopt a smug "I-told=you-so" to many of my friends when I recommend a show that I say is good, but they don't listen to me until two years later. It has happened with LOST and Entourage (although that show sucks now). My wife finally is a believer in 30 Rock. And her favourite show now is Friday Night Lights, which she was also reluctant to start watching in the beginning.
After finishing another fabulous episode of "Friday Night Lights", the second last episode of the season, I almost got a bit angry thinking of the lack of accolades that should be heaped upon this show. I get angry thinking of the quality of acting and writing in this show that fails to draw even a tenth of the ratings seen in shows like "Big Loser" or "The Apprentice" or any other reality show for that matter.
I highly recommend if you want to try something new to watch this summer, do yourself a favour and rent season 1 of Friday Night Lights (FNL). Connie Briton and Kyle Chandlar represent a great depiction of what it means to be a couple in love and in marriage. The scenarios are sometimes a bit contrived, but not really that far removed from the realities that I see in high school. More than any show, there is an emotional connection to all of the character as we get to see them make mistakes, learn, and grow. A surefire sign of how good the show is? Some of the characters that you are first dislike are now not as one-sided as you thought and you actually like them even though they are imperfect.
Friday Night Lights has something for everyone.
Let's play the stereotypes: For the guys?
Improbable football victories? Check. Sweet slow motion plays? Check. Quite possibly one of the hottest female ensemble TV casts? Check.
For the ladies?
Relationships? Check. Emotional arcs that will leave you in tears? Check. Quite possibly one of the hottest male ensemble TV casts? Check.
Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Go see Friday Night Lights, Season 1.
Season 2 was a bit of a travesty. Very uneven and some silly plots. You still need to see it though, so you can enjoy the payoff of this season, season 3. Season 3 brings it back. There are some episodes that make you feel like part of the family. There are not always happy endings in this show, but it is impossible not to get sucked into it.
Please give it a chance.
The other show I love is HBO's "The Wire". The content may not be for everyone, as it is graphic, violent, and unflinchingly looks at inner city Baltimore and its problems related with policing, drugs, and schools. I think the reason it did not get more popular was because if you watch it, it is makes you feel guilty, because you realize that these problems exist and we are almost helpless to make a change. I really think that watching this show will make you realize the problems in Vancouver surrounding all of the gang-related shootings will not change by simply throwing boatloads of cash and police at it. United States has already proven with their infinite resources in comparison to Canada's, that their little "War on Drugs" did little to stem the tide. "The Wire" shows how the war on drugs is intertwined on so many different levels. It shows that even when people want to do right, their quotas or budgets or other people's agendas will trump what should be done. Season 1 sets up the characters and the police work that they do to try to take down a gang. What is weird is that as a viewer you are shown both sides, the police and the gangs, and you get to see that neither group area a bunch of angels. You actually get to know the gangs as well as the police. Season 2, brings the action to the docks of Baltimore. Season 3, follows the gangs again. Season 4, which we just finished, looks at the school and political system. I heard Season 5 looks at the newspaper media.
I know the synopsis doesn't sound great, but the show is a challenging and engaging series. You really need to stick with the series, because it is a slow burn and it doesn't necessarily leap of the screen. The characters are realistic, they mean well, they make mistakes, and you can't help feel their pain or revel in their small victories. I certainly think that some people need to see how a life of crime and drugs is not something that should be sensationalized. The brutality, poverty and unfortunate settings that some of the characters are born into breaks your heart. Life is cruel and unfair to so many people. The Wire is an education, an education about the inequality that exists in all major metropolitan cities.
But from a pure entertainment standpoint, The Wire is one of the best TV shows ever. Humour is wrapped up into the details of the every day life of these gangsters and police officers. The joy comes from watching a show that is so well done. You will recognize many of these actors who obviously got their recognition and start from this series.
Do yourself a favour and watch a series that is challenging and pushes the medium of television beyond the blah blah blah of most of the network shows out there.
Go Canucks go!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Random Thought about LOST (& Benjamin Linus)
For those of you who are still following Lost (Season 5 has been stellar... absolutely mind-warping episodes), should recognize that Michael Emerson, who plays Benjamin Linus, is a character that gets better with every episode. You can never trust the guy and his acting makes you feel uncomfortable whenever he is on the screen.
Tonight it hit me why this character makes me squirm... he speaks and talks like Gary Bettman, commissioner of the NHL. Gary Bettman is a weasel that has done much damage to our beautiful game of hockey. I am not a violent person, but I think I might want to kick Mr. Bettman. I can't stand it when he starts speaking with his lawyer-ese talk.
Benjamin Linus is much like that. What a character. To think he was supposed to be just a character to be used for season 2 and now has developed into a central figure.
Read Noel Murray's great Lost recap of last night's episode.
Tonight it hit me why this character makes me squirm... he speaks and talks like Gary Bettman, commissioner of the NHL. Gary Bettman is a weasel that has done much damage to our beautiful game of hockey. I am not a violent person, but I think I might want to kick Mr. Bettman. I can't stand it when he starts speaking with his lawyer-ese talk.
Benjamin Linus is much like that. What a character. To think he was supposed to be just a character to be used for season 2 and now has developed into a central figure.
Read Noel Murray's great Lost recap of last night's episode.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Greatest April Fool's item ever OR "And I thought they smelled bad on the outside."
So this website, created this April Fool's item, but it became so popular that there is a movement now by the website to see if it can actually be made.
I would buy one in a second.
I would buy one in a second.
Slow Clap
Was watching the movie "Definitely, Maybe" the other day. Not very good. I would say, definitely, maybe, no.
In the middle of this "rom-com" (and I would use that term very loosely), the movie throws in a completely unearned slow clap.
Now don't get me wrong, I am the biggest fan of the slow clap. I often like training my class to do the perfect slow clap. Nothing is greater than pulling the slow clap on someone who enters the classroom. However, in a movie the slow clap should only be pulled after some sort of stirring inspirational speech. Not for selling some seats to a fancy pants dinner like in Definitely, Maybe.
If you are not sure what the slow clap is I found a good slow clap montage from a bunch of movies. Great splicing. Love the Cool Runnings shot.
And that's that.
In the middle of this "rom-com" (and I would use that term very loosely), the movie throws in a completely unearned slow clap.
Now don't get me wrong, I am the biggest fan of the slow clap. I often like training my class to do the perfect slow clap. Nothing is greater than pulling the slow clap on someone who enters the classroom. However, in a movie the slow clap should only be pulled after some sort of stirring inspirational speech. Not for selling some seats to a fancy pants dinner like in Definitely, Maybe.
If you are not sure what the slow clap is I found a good slow clap montage from a bunch of movies. Great splicing. Love the Cool Runnings shot.
And that's that.
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