Looks like Disney is giving their Canadian exhibit a much needed facelift...or at least the most popular part of it.
Let me give you the whole backstory.
Of course, one of Disney's best-known theme parks is Epcot. Epcot contains 11 pavillions, each one showcasing the culture of a distant land. And one of those distant lands is Canada.
The Canada pavillion contains a replica of the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, some totem poles, and, the centrepiece is the Hotel du Canada, which is a replica of the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.
The main attraction has always been an 18-minute film called O Canada!. Using a special process called "Circle Vision 360," the film completely encompasses your field of view, dropping you in the middle of some striking Canadian vistas.
Just one problem. O Canada! was filmed in 1979. Besides being laughably out of date, it also presents a very stereotypical view of Canada. The film contains "outdated footage of the RCMP musical rides, flannel-wearing fisherman, and voiceovers by actors affecting bad Newfoundland and Quebec accents." It also features Canadian folk music and a 1980's style pop song called Canada, You're a Lifetime Journey.
The Canadian Tourism Commission receives a constant string of complaints about the film. Jim Watson, Canadian Tourism Commissioner back in Y2K, tried to get Disney to change it, but to no avail. But now, it looks like Disney has finally listened.
Disney has said that the theatre that shows O Canada! will be closed for refurbishment from Augusts 20 to 24. This has lead many Disney nerds to speculate that a new, updated version of O Canada! will premiere on August 24.
Disney has made no official statments about a new O Canada! yet. However, over at her official website, Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila has announced that she's recorded a new song for it. And, the Disney nerds are reported that Canadian comedy icon Martin Short is the narrator of the new film.
Disney has long sought a Canadian coroporate sponsor for the pavillion. Only one of the Epcot pavillions - Morroco - is sponsored by the home country's government. The Canadian government has long declined to sponsor it.
But it looks like Disney will be showing a slightly-less stereotypical view of Canada to the world.
Here's the complete story at the Edmonton Journal
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Latest Targ's Up!
OK, so by now, you've seen the picture here on my blog and over on my Facebook page. I got to meet my hero, "Weird Al" Yankovic, get my picture taken with him, and enjoy his concert.
On this week's episode of The Targ, entitled Episode 58: The Second Weird Al Show, I tell you how it all happened.
At least listen to the first 10 seconds, so you can HEAR WEIRD AL SAY MY NAME!!
What are you waiting for? Listen now!
On this week's episode of The Targ, entitled Episode 58: The Second Weird Al Show, I tell you how it all happened.
At least listen to the first 10 seconds, so you can HEAR WEIRD AL SAY MY NAME!!
What are you waiting for? Listen now!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
The Latest on the new Star Trek movie
This is a couple of days old...I can't believe I haven't posted it yet.
It was announced a couple of days ago that Heroes star Zachary Quinto has joined the cast of the eleventh Star Trek movie. Quinto will be playing none other than...young Spock.
But that's not all! Old Spock will be played by...Leonard Nimoy!
As your little refresher, the next Star Trek movie, called simply Star Trek is due out Christmas 2008. It's being directed by JJ Abrams, who created Lost and Alias and made his directorial debut last year with Mission: Impossible III. And, it's being written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who wrote this year's #1 film, Transformers.
Oh, and they also unveiled that nifty new movie poster you see in this post.
Friday, July 27, 2007
The Clown Prince of Crime
Ladies and gentlemen, behold the first teaser for what will be one of the biggest movies of the summer of 2008.
The Dark Knight
I'll give this to Heath Ledger...he's nailed the voice.
Allegedly, you'll see this on the big screen in front of the Simpsons Movie.
The Dark Knight
I'll give this to Heath Ledger...he's nailed the voice.
Allegedly, you'll see this on the big screen in front of the Simpsons Movie.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Your Link of the Day
John Kricfalusi is a world-renounded animator. Perhaps his best-known contribution to animation was creating Ren and Stimpy. I watch some Ren and Stimpy in re-runs, and I'll confess, I don't find it funny at all anymore, but there's one thing I have to agree to.
John Kricfalusi is a master at what he does.
John Kricfalusi has a blog called all kinds of stuff, in which he talks about some of his upcoming projects, discusses pop culture in general and how it applies to animation, and, most of all, he teaches the fundamentals of animation to aspiring young animators.
For a guy like me, who loves cartoons but can't draw worth a lick, I find it endlessly fascinating.
In today's entry, he talks about "real cartoons" vs. "fake cartoons." If I understand his definition, "fake cartoons" are drawn by artists specializing in realism who attempt to draw cartoons...they try to bring more realism to cartoons, and the end result is...well, not pleasing to the eye.
Just read it.
John Kricfalusi is a master at what he does.
John Kricfalusi has a blog called all kinds of stuff, in which he talks about some of his upcoming projects, discusses pop culture in general and how it applies to animation, and, most of all, he teaches the fundamentals of animation to aspiring young animators.
For a guy like me, who loves cartoons but can't draw worth a lick, I find it endlessly fascinating.
In today's entry, he talks about "real cartoons" vs. "fake cartoons." If I understand his definition, "fake cartoons" are drawn by artists specializing in realism who attempt to draw cartoons...they try to bring more realism to cartoons, and the end result is...well, not pleasing to the eye.
Just read it.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Latest Targ's up!
Got this week's episode of The Targ up!
This week, I've got Episode 57: Athabasca Pottermania. When I woke up yesterday morning and saw that it was the release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I hit the streets of Athabasca looking for signs of Pottermania. And holy moly, I found some!
Not gonna lie...I'm exceptionally proud of this one this week. It's probably the closest I've ever come to producing a CBC radio documentary.
And then when I saw it was coming in short, I dropped in this song called Turned 21 by a group called Fludd...and when I heard those opening lyrics, "You make me feel my life is over/although it's only just begun," I was like, "Holy crap, it works!"
So please, give it a listen!
Download it right here.
This week, I've got Episode 57: Athabasca Pottermania. When I woke up yesterday morning and saw that it was the release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I hit the streets of Athabasca looking for signs of Pottermania. And holy moly, I found some!
Not gonna lie...I'm exceptionally proud of this one this week. It's probably the closest I've ever come to producing a CBC radio documentary.
And then when I saw it was coming in short, I dropped in this song called Turned 21 by a group called Fludd...and when I heard those opening lyrics, "You make me feel my life is over/although it's only just begun," I was like, "Holy crap, it works!"
So please, give it a listen!
Download it right here.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Harry Potter Meets Small Town Alberta (Or, the Destruction of Expectations)
So I wake up this morning, and I immediatly go, "Hmm...what am I going to talk about on this week's podcast?" I think that just about every Saturday morning.
As I checked my morning news, I was reminded that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out today. The seventh and final installment in the adventures of that boy wizard. As they've been fond of telling us about it in all the build-up, "Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an imaginary tale! In this issue, someone dies!" I was reading about the launch parties across the country...clerks in costume...hightened security so no advance copies got out.
That's when I had a brilliant idea. I grabbed my handy-dandy clip recorder - Clippy, I call her - and hit the streets of Athabasca. I would chronicle Pottermania in Athabasca. Oh, it would be hilarious! Go to the drugstores - the only places in town that really sell new books - ask them about their hightened security, the mobs at midnight, and record their awkward silence. That's comedy gold!
How wrong I was.
I arrived in downtown Athabasca. I hit the streets at 8:30, a half hour before anything opened...and I noticed there were already a half-a-dozen fans camped out in front of Rexall Drugs. Apparently, they'd been there since 6AM.
I then walked down the street to Value Drug Mart. Value Drug Mart was the only place in town that was making a splash...and by a splash, I mean the lone poster in the window. And there was a father and a daughter standing outside. "Yup, we're out at our cabin on the lake this weekend," the father told me, "and [his daughter] just had to have it. We thought there'd be ridiculous lines...but there's nothing!" At that moment, the store opened up, and I watched them buy the first copy on sale in Athabasca.
I wandered back down the street to Rexall. Yup, they were selling them. They were making no fuss whatsoever. The clerks were hiding them under the counter. YOu wanted one, you had to ask the clerk for it, and they'd produce it from under the counter. It was almost like buying pornography, excpet for the fact that the one customer I spied buying one was a 14-year old girl.
At this point, I wandered over to the only other place in town that might be selling it...Extra Foods. Or, as I still affectionatly refer to it, the seventh circle of Hell. "Not 'till Monday," the surly customer service person told me.
I went back to Value Drug Mart. Value Drug Mart did have a bit tighter security than Rexall. They were keeping it behind the pharmacist's counter, where they keep all the hard drugs. "Can I help you with something?" the parmacist asked.
"Where's the book?" I asked.
She handed me a copy. I snapped that picture you see at the top of this blog entry, and then I handed it back to her.
"Are you sure you don't want it?" the pharmacist asked. "We just got word that Rexall sold out. And that's our last one."
"You mean to tell me...?"
"Yup. That's the last copy in Athabasca."
I write this at 10AM. I'm fairly certain all the stores are sold out now.
Tune in to tomorrow's episode of the Targ for all clips and details!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Today's Pop Culture Discussion Question
I think I mentioned several weeks ago that, to commemorate my new sound system, I fished the 2-disc special edition of Pulp Fiction out of a discount bin.
One of the bonus features that strikes me is this special episode of Siskel and Ebert. At the height of Pulp Fiction's popularity in late 94/early 95, they did this special episode all about Quentin Tarintino. I actually remember watching it when it was first on. It was all about Resevoir Dogs and True Romance and Natural Born Killers and how Tarintino was one of the hottest directors today and how Pulp Fiction was going to change the way Hollywood does things.
(Of course, cuz it's the Pulp Fiction DVD, they edited it down so it only has the Pulp Fiction bits.)
My question: has it? Has it really? 13 years later now, has Pulp Fiction changed and revolutionized the way Hollywood does things?
I think it hasn't. Really got no proof. Just a gut feeling that things aren't much different from when I first started watching Siskel and Ebert 13 years ago.
That, and I don't think that there's been an indie film that had massive crossover appeal...an indie film that burst into the mainstream the way Pulp Fiction has. Well, maybe Little Miss Sunshine last year.
But, I think that, 13 years after Pulp Fiction was going to revolutionize things, things are still pretty much status quo.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Latest Targ's Up!
Got the latest episode of The Targ up!
This week, it's Episode 56: Here I Am. I grow reflective upon turning 30, share some of the nifty gifts I got for my birthday, and tell you about new words in the dictionary.
Listen to it!
Sorry there wasn't an episode last week, but I was off at my 30th birthday bash and all that. I was going to make an episode early, but then I had to fill in for an announcer at work, and I find that after doing the morning show for 2 days straight, I get all "announcered-out."
This week, it's Episode 56: Here I Am. I grow reflective upon turning 30, share some of the nifty gifts I got for my birthday, and tell you about new words in the dictionary.
Listen to it!
Sorry there wasn't an episode last week, but I was off at my 30th birthday bash and all that. I was going to make an episode early, but then I had to fill in for an announcer at work, and I find that after doing the morning show for 2 days straight, I get all "announcered-out."
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Oh my God! Ten!
Wow.
Today, over in Japan, the tenth Pokemon movie comes out. The literally-translated title is Pokemon Diamond and Pearl the Movie: Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai.
Don't know much about the plot, but it's safe to assume that those three titular Pokemon, Dialga, Palkia and Darkrai, will be slugging it out. And also, as has been the trend since the fifth movie, the location is based on a real-life city...in #10, it's Barcelona.
It's weird...I haven't been able to watch the show in months, because it's on Saturday afternoons at 2 now, and I'm always out doing something...like today, I'm at work, making sure that you can hear our announcer live on location at the Athabasca Ag Society's summer fair. And it doesn't seem like it's worth taping, seeing as to how each and every episode is exactly the same.
but that's not going to stop me from buying the 10th pokemon movie, when it makes its inevitable straight-to-DVD release here in North Amercia this fall. Probably.
Hey! How's your Japanese? Here's the official website.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
In your face, Mrs. McDougall!
You may have heard the news by now, but yesterday, the good folks at Merriam-Webster announced some of the new words being added to the dictionary, and among them was "ginormous."
Ginormous, a combination of "gigantic" and "enormous", is roughly defined as "really, really big."
And suddenly I had a flashback to 1986, when Jazz used the word ginormous to describe Unicron in Transformers: The Movie. Following Jazz's example, I thus used the word ginormous in an essay I wrote in the fourth grade. And my teacher, Mrs. McDougall, promptly knocked a few marks off my essay for making up a word.
See, Mrs. McDougall? I wasn't making up a word! It's in the dictionary...now! Ah, sweet, sweet, 21-year-old vindication.
Other new words in the dictionary include "smackdown," "DVR," and "Bollywood."
And in other news, Vancouver actress Laura Vandervoot is joining the cast of Smallville this fall as Supergirl!
As previously reported, this will be the classic, Kara Zor-El version of Supergirl. Smallville's creators say that their Kara will be "a combination of beauty, warmth, intelligence, and attitude." Unlike Clark Kent on the show, Kara will have already developed the ability to fly. And, just like in the comics, Jimmy Olson's going to have a thing for her.
Vandervoot is currently one of the stars of Instant Star, that CTV teen soap about the kid who wins the Canadian Idol-like contest and then deals with the pressures of 15 minutes of fame. Vandervoot plays the big sister of the instant star.
Ginormous, a combination of "gigantic" and "enormous", is roughly defined as "really, really big."
And suddenly I had a flashback to 1986, when Jazz used the word ginormous to describe Unicron in Transformers: The Movie. Following Jazz's example, I thus used the word ginormous in an essay I wrote in the fourth grade. And my teacher, Mrs. McDougall, promptly knocked a few marks off my essay for making up a word.
See, Mrs. McDougall? I wasn't making up a word! It's in the dictionary...now! Ah, sweet, sweet, 21-year-old vindication.
Other new words in the dictionary include "smackdown," "DVR," and "Bollywood."
And in other news, Vancouver actress Laura Vandervoot is joining the cast of Smallville this fall as Supergirl!
As previously reported, this will be the classic, Kara Zor-El version of Supergirl. Smallville's creators say that their Kara will be "a combination of beauty, warmth, intelligence, and attitude." Unlike Clark Kent on the show, Kara will have already developed the ability to fly. And, just like in the comics, Jimmy Olson's going to have a thing for her.
Vandervoot is currently one of the stars of Instant Star, that CTV teen soap about the kid who wins the Canadian Idol-like contest and then deals with the pressures of 15 minutes of fame. Vandervoot plays the big sister of the instant star.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
New DVDs! (And the most anticipated DVD release of the past 5 years!)
It's just not my birthday unless I get DVDs. I do so love to sit on my butt and watch movies. Now, my family tends to avoid giving me DVDs as gifts, mainly because I'm very picky when it comes to single-disc movie-only editions and 2-disc special editions and 4-disc collector's editions and all that crap.
But my friend Chris Thiel knows no fear. So he got me some crazy cool DVDs. What did he get me?
Supergirl - Oh my God. The Supergirl movie. You can put this down in the "so bad, it's good" category. It came out in 1984, and it was made by the same folks who made the Christopher Reeve Superman films, looking to milk the franchise for all it was worth. It goes like this. We come across that last surviving Kryptonian city, Argo City, where Kara Zor-El, cousin of Kal-El, is a headstrong teenager. She's screwing around one day with an omnipotent power source, and this thing gets lost in space. She goes chasing after it, winds up on Earth, and becomes Supergirl. Meanwhile, the omnipotent power source has fallen into the hands of a cheezy sorceress wannabe, so Supergirl has to do battle with said sorceress to recover the omnipotent power source. I haven't seen it from beginning to end since I was 10...I wonder if its still as bad as I remember.
The Venture Bros.: Season 1 - This is just one of the funniest cartoons on TV today. Watch it, darn it!
And, of course, I was able to pick up something I'd been after for a long time. As I've blogged in the past, one of my favourite aspects of the DVD format is how just about ever really cool TV show that only lasted 6 episodes eventually gets released. And when I saw it at Wal-Mart, marked down to $14.95, I knew I could pick up one of the most infamous dead TV shows of all time. Of course, I'm talking about....
Harsh Realm: The Complete Series
For those who don't remember.... The year was 1999. Radio stations wouldn't stop playing All Star. Nerds all over the world were collectively disappointed by Episode I. And the Fox network was offering up a new TV show called Harsh Realm.
Harsh Realm was the latest TV show from Chris Carter. Carter was at the top of his game, still riding high on that pop culture phenomenon known as The X-Files, and the modicum of critical praise that came with Millennium. Needless to say, it was one of the most heavily-hyped shows of the fall of 1999.
And it was cancelled after only 3 episodes.
Carter went on a very public tirade against the Fox network, about how they screwed him over and they never gave the show a chance to find its audience. But, the deed was done. 9 episodes in total were produced, and the whole series was eventually screened on cable's FX Network. And, in 2004, it became the latest dead TV show to be released on DVD.
In case you've forgotten...Harsh Realm followed the adventures of Tom Hobbes. Hobbes was a highly-decorated Lieutenant in the Army, his tour of duty was almost done, and he was looking forward to getting married and settling down. But then, he was recruited for one last mission....
Turns out the US Government created this virtual reality training simulation called "Harsh Realm." The Government created an exact duplicate of the USA, people and all...and then they nuked New York City. The purpose was to train soldiers to fight in the world war that would result. Hobbes' final mission: go into the simulation and beat the high-scorer, Sergeant-Major Omar Santiago.
When he gets into Harsh Realm, Hobbes finds out the horrible truth. Santiago has, in fact, hijacked Harsh Realm, and rules this virtual world with an iron fist. Even worse, the Government fears that Santiago is using Harsh Realm as a dry run, to eventually take over the real USA. Hobbes' true mission is to assassinate Santiago...and he's just the latest in a long line of highly decorated soldiers that have been sent in to do it.
So the whole show was about Hobbes fighting Santiago, trying to bring down Harsh Realm, and find a way to escape the virtual world.
And speaking of dead TV shows on DVD, today they announced one of the most anticipated TV-shows-on-DVD releases. Circle October 27 on your calendars, because that's the day that we finally get...
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Volume 1
The folks at Lucasfilm have been working hard for the past 5 years to bring Young Indy to DVD. George Lucas has allegedly had an army of documentary filmmakers scouring the globe, making all kinds of documentary bonus material about the historical figures that Young Indy bumped into in his travels.
The plan is to release the entire series over three volumes. Volume 1 comes out October 27, no word yet on the rest of the releases.
But my friend Chris Thiel knows no fear. So he got me some crazy cool DVDs. What did he get me?
Supergirl - Oh my God. The Supergirl movie. You can put this down in the "so bad, it's good" category. It came out in 1984, and it was made by the same folks who made the Christopher Reeve Superman films, looking to milk the franchise for all it was worth. It goes like this. We come across that last surviving Kryptonian city, Argo City, where Kara Zor-El, cousin of Kal-El, is a headstrong teenager. She's screwing around one day with an omnipotent power source, and this thing gets lost in space. She goes chasing after it, winds up on Earth, and becomes Supergirl. Meanwhile, the omnipotent power source has fallen into the hands of a cheezy sorceress wannabe, so Supergirl has to do battle with said sorceress to recover the omnipotent power source. I haven't seen it from beginning to end since I was 10...I wonder if its still as bad as I remember.
The Venture Bros.: Season 1 - This is just one of the funniest cartoons on TV today. Watch it, darn it!
And, of course, I was able to pick up something I'd been after for a long time. As I've blogged in the past, one of my favourite aspects of the DVD format is how just about ever really cool TV show that only lasted 6 episodes eventually gets released. And when I saw it at Wal-Mart, marked down to $14.95, I knew I could pick up one of the most infamous dead TV shows of all time. Of course, I'm talking about....
Harsh Realm: The Complete Series
For those who don't remember.... The year was 1999. Radio stations wouldn't stop playing All Star. Nerds all over the world were collectively disappointed by Episode I. And the Fox network was offering up a new TV show called Harsh Realm.
Harsh Realm was the latest TV show from Chris Carter. Carter was at the top of his game, still riding high on that pop culture phenomenon known as The X-Files, and the modicum of critical praise that came with Millennium. Needless to say, it was one of the most heavily-hyped shows of the fall of 1999.
And it was cancelled after only 3 episodes.
Carter went on a very public tirade against the Fox network, about how they screwed him over and they never gave the show a chance to find its audience. But, the deed was done. 9 episodes in total were produced, and the whole series was eventually screened on cable's FX Network. And, in 2004, it became the latest dead TV show to be released on DVD.
In case you've forgotten...Harsh Realm followed the adventures of Tom Hobbes. Hobbes was a highly-decorated Lieutenant in the Army, his tour of duty was almost done, and he was looking forward to getting married and settling down. But then, he was recruited for one last mission....
Turns out the US Government created this virtual reality training simulation called "Harsh Realm." The Government created an exact duplicate of the USA, people and all...and then they nuked New York City. The purpose was to train soldiers to fight in the world war that would result. Hobbes' final mission: go into the simulation and beat the high-scorer, Sergeant-Major Omar Santiago.
When he gets into Harsh Realm, Hobbes finds out the horrible truth. Santiago has, in fact, hijacked Harsh Realm, and rules this virtual world with an iron fist. Even worse, the Government fears that Santiago is using Harsh Realm as a dry run, to eventually take over the real USA. Hobbes' true mission is to assassinate Santiago...and he's just the latest in a long line of highly decorated soldiers that have been sent in to do it.
So the whole show was about Hobbes fighting Santiago, trying to bring down Harsh Realm, and find a way to escape the virtual world.
And speaking of dead TV shows on DVD, today they announced one of the most anticipated TV-shows-on-DVD releases. Circle October 27 on your calendars, because that's the day that we finally get...
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Volume 1
The folks at Lucasfilm have been working hard for the past 5 years to bring Young Indy to DVD. George Lucas has allegedly had an army of documentary filmmakers scouring the globe, making all kinds of documentary bonus material about the historical figures that Young Indy bumped into in his travels.
The plan is to release the entire series over three volumes. Volume 1 comes out October 27, no word yet on the rest of the releases.
Monday, July 09, 2007
My Coolest Birthday Present
First and foremost, I've got my official reviews of Transformers and Ratatouille up over at my official site, so go read them when you've got a chance.
And now, I want to tell you about the coolest birthday present I got. It was given to me by my sister. Back when she was still learning to be a teacher, she had to make it as a project, and she started tailoring it with an eye towards giving it to me. The project was to choose a number, and then find as many facts as you can about that number.
So, what it is, is this poster, and in the centre is a caricature of me, drawn by a friend of mine. And, all around it, it lists the significance of the number 7 in various cultures, religions, mythologies, and pop culture.
Yeah, it had a lot to do with the fact that my birthday was on 07/07/07 this year, but that's just the half of it. See, the whole story is, I was born on 07/07/77 at 7:07 PM and I weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces. Ever since that weird coincidence, the number 7 occasionally pops up at weird times in my life.
Western superstition tells us that 7 is a lucky number. Numerologists will tell you that there's nothing special about 7. But this what my sister dug up.
7 is...
- the fourth prime number
- the smallest happy number
- the atomic number of nitrogen
- the number of heavens in Islam
- the number of stars in Ursa Major
- the number of islands that made up Atlantis
- the number of days in the week
- the number of notes on the music scale
- the number of colours in the rainbow
- the number of points on a sheriff's star
And let's not forget...
- a series of 7 is called a heptad
- 7 Deadly Sins
- 7 Virtues of Man
- 007
- Seven Dwarfs
- Seven of Nine
And, once you factor in all the revisions to the calendar, 7 BC is the most likely birth year of you-know-who.
I still need to find a good place to hang that poster....
Second-coolest gift I got had to be from my friend Jo. She's currently globetrotting, and with me loving the Olympics, I have a standing request for any kind of Olympic kitsch from any former host city she might wander through. She's in Australia right now, and she got me a special Australian $5 coin that was minted to commemorate Sydney 2000. (I also have a standing request for a hot Aussie surfer girl, but apparently, those are too hard to get through customs.)
Also worth noting is that it was heavily hinted that I'd be getting a digital camera. But, because I know so much about technology, I tend to be quite...selective when it comes to such things. So, I was given a $150 gift card for Best Buy and instructions to buy myself one.
And, since it's not a trip to the city unless I get a boatload of DVDs, I also got a boatload of DVDs. I'll tell you about those tomorrow.
And now, I want to tell you about the coolest birthday present I got. It was given to me by my sister. Back when she was still learning to be a teacher, she had to make it as a project, and she started tailoring it with an eye towards giving it to me. The project was to choose a number, and then find as many facts as you can about that number.
So, what it is, is this poster, and in the centre is a caricature of me, drawn by a friend of mine. And, all around it, it lists the significance of the number 7 in various cultures, religions, mythologies, and pop culture.
Yeah, it had a lot to do with the fact that my birthday was on 07/07/07 this year, but that's just the half of it. See, the whole story is, I was born on 07/07/77 at 7:07 PM and I weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces. Ever since that weird coincidence, the number 7 occasionally pops up at weird times in my life.
Western superstition tells us that 7 is a lucky number. Numerologists will tell you that there's nothing special about 7. But this what my sister dug up.
7 is...
- the fourth prime number
- the smallest happy number
- the atomic number of nitrogen
- the number of heavens in Islam
- the number of stars in Ursa Major
- the number of islands that made up Atlantis
- the number of days in the week
- the number of notes on the music scale
- the number of colours in the rainbow
- the number of points on a sheriff's star
And let's not forget...
- a series of 7 is called a heptad
- 7 Deadly Sins
- 7 Virtues of Man
- 007
- Seven Dwarfs
- Seven of Nine
And, once you factor in all the revisions to the calendar, 7 BC is the most likely birth year of you-know-who.
I still need to find a good place to hang that poster....
Second-coolest gift I got had to be from my friend Jo. She's currently globetrotting, and with me loving the Olympics, I have a standing request for any kind of Olympic kitsch from any former host city she might wander through. She's in Australia right now, and she got me a special Australian $5 coin that was minted to commemorate Sydney 2000. (I also have a standing request for a hot Aussie surfer girl, but apparently, those are too hard to get through customs.)
Also worth noting is that it was heavily hinted that I'd be getting a digital camera. But, because I know so much about technology, I tend to be quite...selective when it comes to such things. So, I was given a $150 gift card for Best Buy and instructions to buy myself one.
And, since it's not a trip to the city unless I get a boatload of DVDs, I also got a boatload of DVDs. I'll tell you about those tomorrow.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Back from the city with stories!
Sadly, no episode of The Targ this week, firstly because I was subbing on the morning show for Thursday and Friday, getting me all announcered-out. Secondly because I only just got back from the city where I had my 30th birthday bash.
As I mentioned, I went out to see Transformers. Ye gods, now I know what they mean when they describe a film as being a thrill ride. I came out of Transformers with the same feeling I get when I step off a roller coaster. the last part of the film just doesn't stop with all the Autobots beating the crap out of Decepticons...
Some of the dialogue was kind of cheezy, we really didn't get to know the Transformers as characters, and I felt that the ending was kind of abrupt. But other than that, holy crap, was it good.
And lots of geek-out moments for me...the best one being our all-too-brief flashback to the war-torn Cybertron. The use of the original transformation sound effect...Megatron actually using the term "fleshings"...Optimus being sure to use his old catch phrase of "Roll out!"
Absolutely fantastic.
I spent the night in the city, and then, rather than come home right away, I saw Ratatouille. I know, I know...I can hear you rolling your eyes and dismissing it as another talking animal film. But it's from Brad "The Iron Giant" Bird.
You know why I like Brad Bird? You know why I like his films? He's one of the few filmmakers whose films actually move me. All his films have had an emotional effect on me in one way or another. And Ratatouille is no exception.
Yeah, the story is a little cliched, but dude, I was feeling for the characters. And, not only that, it's funny. Not because of pop culture references, like all talking animated films, but because the characters' quirks work well together. The comedy organically grows from the characters.
And...and...in all of Brad Bird's films, there's always one scene in the first act that makes me go, "Whoa. That's different...how'd they let him sneak that in?" In The Iron Giant, it's when Dean stood up to unzip his fly and let the out the squirrel in his pants. In The Incredibles, it's when you realized that the man who didn't want to be saved and sued Mr. Incredible was actually attempting suicide.
In Ratatouille, Remy the rat is scurrying through an apartment building, and we get to see little glimpses of the people in this building through the cracks in the walls. We see this one...a crime of passion is taking place. A woman has a gun trained on her boyfriend. Remy continues on, and we hear a gunshot. There's a flash of panic on Remy's face. He scurries back to peer through that crack again. We see the man and woman. The shot missed. The gun is discarded, and the crime of passion turns into plain ol' passion and the two start making out. Remy rolls his eyes and continues on his way.
That's just a throwaway gag that lasts five seconds, but it's stuff like that that makes Brad Bird's films stand out for me.
I hate to say it, but I think I enjoyed Ratatouille more.
I'll have full reviews up on the website in the next day or so.
Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the coolest present I got.
As I mentioned, I went out to see Transformers. Ye gods, now I know what they mean when they describe a film as being a thrill ride. I came out of Transformers with the same feeling I get when I step off a roller coaster. the last part of the film just doesn't stop with all the Autobots beating the crap out of Decepticons...
Some of the dialogue was kind of cheezy, we really didn't get to know the Transformers as characters, and I felt that the ending was kind of abrupt. But other than that, holy crap, was it good.
And lots of geek-out moments for me...the best one being our all-too-brief flashback to the war-torn Cybertron. The use of the original transformation sound effect...Megatron actually using the term "fleshings"...Optimus being sure to use his old catch phrase of "Roll out!"
Absolutely fantastic.
I spent the night in the city, and then, rather than come home right away, I saw Ratatouille. I know, I know...I can hear you rolling your eyes and dismissing it as another talking animal film. But it's from Brad "The Iron Giant" Bird.
You know why I like Brad Bird? You know why I like his films? He's one of the few filmmakers whose films actually move me. All his films have had an emotional effect on me in one way or another. And Ratatouille is no exception.
Yeah, the story is a little cliched, but dude, I was feeling for the characters. And, not only that, it's funny. Not because of pop culture references, like all talking animated films, but because the characters' quirks work well together. The comedy organically grows from the characters.
And...and...in all of Brad Bird's films, there's always one scene in the first act that makes me go, "Whoa. That's different...how'd they let him sneak that in?" In The Iron Giant, it's when Dean stood up to unzip his fly and let the out the squirrel in his pants. In The Incredibles, it's when you realized that the man who didn't want to be saved and sued Mr. Incredible was actually attempting suicide.
In Ratatouille, Remy the rat is scurrying through an apartment building, and we get to see little glimpses of the people in this building through the cracks in the walls. We see this one...a crime of passion is taking place. A woman has a gun trained on her boyfriend. Remy continues on, and we hear a gunshot. There's a flash of panic on Remy's face. He scurries back to peer through that crack again. We see the man and woman. The shot missed. The gun is discarded, and the crime of passion turns into plain ol' passion and the two start making out. Remy rolls his eyes and continues on his way.
That's just a throwaway gag that lasts five seconds, but it's stuff like that that makes Brad Bird's films stand out for me.
I hate to say it, but I think I enjoyed Ratatouille more.
I'll have full reviews up on the website in the next day or so.
Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the coolest present I got.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
07/07/07: The Big 3-0
Today, I turn 30. When the hell did this happen?
Ever since my mid-teens, I've kind of been waiting for that birthday where I wake up to find I've magically become a responsible adult. What can I say? The "adult fairy" hasn't visited me yet. I've often joked that very little has changed since I was 9. I've still got a sprawling collection of Star Wars action figures, I'm counting down the hours to when I see that Transformers movie, and I still lie awake at night wondering what it's like to kiss a girl.
Although, at my age, I should probably start focusing on kissing women.
I've also been joking that "30 is the new 40," mainly because all my friends who've beaten me to 30 seem to be going through varying degrees of mid-life crises. It's like when they get past 25, they go, "Holy crap! Back in college I said I was going to change the world, and I haven't done it yet! I'd better get on that." Hey, I'm just as guilty. At 26, I decided to finally fulfill that dream of being a radio announcer. Two years of school, a year of looking for the first job in the industry, and despite working my tail off, just not quite there yet. Just something about seeing that odometer hit a zero makes you go "Whoa."
I still remember the first time I actually felt old. I was in NAIT, partways through the second semester. Me and a classmate were doing remotes from the South Lobby. when some Paula Abdul standard came on the air, I started singing along and dancing a bit, and my classmate looked at me like I was from Io.
I tried to explain my behaviour to her. "this song was a big hit in the summer of 1989! That had to be the greatest summer of my childhood! I was 12 years old, the Ninja Turtles were at their peak, and you couldn't spit without hitting Batman merchandise! C'mon, don't you remember the summer of 1989?"
She looked at me with a puzzled expression that bordered on annoyance. Finally she said, "In the summer of 1989, I was three years old."
Or as one co-worker said to me the other day, "You know all the babies born in that magical summer of yours? Well, guess what? They turn legal this year."
I can quite honestly say this is not where I expected to be when I hit 30. You know, I thought I'd own a house, own a car, and I definitely didn't think I'd still be a virgin. And yet, here I am. At times like this, the list of things you haven't accomplished seems to be longer than the things you have accomplished.
I've got to try to focus on the things I have accomplished. I have a degree in physics and math, something that people tell me is hard to get. I've been an insanely popular radio announcer. Yes, it was college radio, and I think it does count. I've worked behind the scenes on a reality TV show. I've even danced in my underwear in a music video, and everyday I thank God it hasn't popped up on YouTube.
Every day, I ask myself two questions: "Where am I going? What am I doing?"
Some day, I'll actually have answers.
Ever since my mid-teens, I've kind of been waiting for that birthday where I wake up to find I've magically become a responsible adult. What can I say? The "adult fairy" hasn't visited me yet. I've often joked that very little has changed since I was 9. I've still got a sprawling collection of Star Wars action figures, I'm counting down the hours to when I see that Transformers movie, and I still lie awake at night wondering what it's like to kiss a girl.
Although, at my age, I should probably start focusing on kissing women.
I've also been joking that "30 is the new 40," mainly because all my friends who've beaten me to 30 seem to be going through varying degrees of mid-life crises. It's like when they get past 25, they go, "Holy crap! Back in college I said I was going to change the world, and I haven't done it yet! I'd better get on that." Hey, I'm just as guilty. At 26, I decided to finally fulfill that dream of being a radio announcer. Two years of school, a year of looking for the first job in the industry, and despite working my tail off, just not quite there yet. Just something about seeing that odometer hit a zero makes you go "Whoa."
I still remember the first time I actually felt old. I was in NAIT, partways through the second semester. Me and a classmate were doing remotes from the South Lobby. when some Paula Abdul standard came on the air, I started singing along and dancing a bit, and my classmate looked at me like I was from Io.
I tried to explain my behaviour to her. "this song was a big hit in the summer of 1989! That had to be the greatest summer of my childhood! I was 12 years old, the Ninja Turtles were at their peak, and you couldn't spit without hitting Batman merchandise! C'mon, don't you remember the summer of 1989?"
She looked at me with a puzzled expression that bordered on annoyance. Finally she said, "In the summer of 1989, I was three years old."
Or as one co-worker said to me the other day, "You know all the babies born in that magical summer of yours? Well, guess what? They turn legal this year."
I can quite honestly say this is not where I expected to be when I hit 30. You know, I thought I'd own a house, own a car, and I definitely didn't think I'd still be a virgin. And yet, here I am. At times like this, the list of things you haven't accomplished seems to be longer than the things you have accomplished.
I've got to try to focus on the things I have accomplished. I have a degree in physics and math, something that people tell me is hard to get. I've been an insanely popular radio announcer. Yes, it was college radio, and I think it does count. I've worked behind the scenes on a reality TV show. I've even danced in my underwear in a music video, and everyday I thank God it hasn't popped up on YouTube.
Every day, I ask myself two questions: "Where am I going? What am I doing?"
Some day, I'll actually have answers.
Friday, July 06, 2007
The Ghosts of Birthday's Past
With my big 30th birthday tomorrow, I've been reflecting on my past birthdays. It has become a tradition with me that on my birthday, I see a movie. It all started when I was a kid, you know how it is. Birthday parties starting being about trips to the World Waterpark or Fantasyland. But me? I liked movies. So a birthday meant a movie.
It was somewhere in the mid-90s that it became a full-blown tradition. And now, as I get older, I find the list of birthday movies is becoming more and more difficult to remember. So, I'm going to put pen to paper and jot down the list for all time. Or, until this blog entry gets bumped off the main page. Either/or.
But yeah. These movies always have special memories associated with them, but I'm not going to share. That gets into the "way too personal" territory, and I'm really trying to steer the blog away from that.
But this is how it all began....
1988 - Short Circuit 2
1989 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [although, the original plan was for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]
1990 - Back to the Future part III
1991 - The Rocketeer
1992 - Batman Returns
1993 - Jurassic Park
1994 - The Flintstones
1995 - Ah, my 18th birthday. No movie this year. Even though I don't drink, I humoured my family and did the whole "going to the bar for the first time" thing. Only time in my life I saw my mother get truly shit-faced.
1996 - Independence Day
1997 - Ah, the infamous summer of night shifts on a gravel crusher. Still the most brutal job I ever had. Needless to say, no movie cuz the job got in the way. I spent my 20th birthday lying on top of a gravel stockpile, staring at the stars, with my Walkman tuned to the CISN Country midnight request show.
1998 - Mulan [but the original plan was for Armageddon]
1999 - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace...again.
2000 - Shaft
2001 - I was volunteered to help out at a family function on my birthday weekend, so no movie. I spent most of the day driving to said function in Lloydminster.
2002 - Men in Black II. Notable in that it was the first movie I saw in Japan. I'd only been in the country for two weeks, didn't know anyone or how to do anything...but darn it, it was my birthday and I was seeing a movie.
2003 - Only back in Canada for a week. Still jet-lagged. Called off due to extreme exhaustion. But it would have been Hulk.
2004 - Fahrenheight 9/11
2005 - Herbie: Fully Loaded [the original plan was for Fantastic Four]
2006 - Superman Returns
And the new addition....
2007 - Transformers
It was somewhere in the mid-90s that it became a full-blown tradition. And now, as I get older, I find the list of birthday movies is becoming more and more difficult to remember. So, I'm going to put pen to paper and jot down the list for all time. Or, until this blog entry gets bumped off the main page. Either/or.
But yeah. These movies always have special memories associated with them, but I'm not going to share. That gets into the "way too personal" territory, and I'm really trying to steer the blog away from that.
But this is how it all began....
1988 - Short Circuit 2
1989 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids [although, the original plan was for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]
1990 - Back to the Future part III
1991 - The Rocketeer
1992 - Batman Returns
1993 - Jurassic Park
1994 - The Flintstones
1995 - Ah, my 18th birthday. No movie this year. Even though I don't drink, I humoured my family and did the whole "going to the bar for the first time" thing. Only time in my life I saw my mother get truly shit-faced.
1996 - Independence Day
1997 - Ah, the infamous summer of night shifts on a gravel crusher. Still the most brutal job I ever had. Needless to say, no movie cuz the job got in the way. I spent my 20th birthday lying on top of a gravel stockpile, staring at the stars, with my Walkman tuned to the CISN Country midnight request show.
1998 - Mulan [but the original plan was for Armageddon]
1999 - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace...again.
2000 - Shaft
2001 - I was volunteered to help out at a family function on my birthday weekend, so no movie. I spent most of the day driving to said function in Lloydminster.
2002 - Men in Black II. Notable in that it was the first movie I saw in Japan. I'd only been in the country for two weeks, didn't know anyone or how to do anything...but darn it, it was my birthday and I was seeing a movie.
2003 - Only back in Canada for a week. Still jet-lagged. Called off due to extreme exhaustion. But it would have been Hulk.
2004 - Fahrenheight 9/11
2005 - Herbie: Fully Loaded [the original plan was for Fantastic Four]
2006 - Superman Returns
And the new addition....
2007 - Transformers
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Where I'm Going After Vancouver
I completely forgot that this was being announced today.
The International Olympic Committee has awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics to Sochi, Russia.
In case you don't feel like clicking on the link, Wikipedia says that Sochi is a resort town on the shores of the Black Sea. Stretching along 147 km of Black Sea coastline, they boast that they're the longest city in Europe.
Sochi beat out Pyongyang, South Korea, and Salzburg, Austria.
I'm still saving my pennies to go to Vancouver in three years.
The International Olympic Committee has awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics to Sochi, Russia.
In case you don't feel like clicking on the link, Wikipedia says that Sochi is a resort town on the shores of the Black Sea. Stretching along 147 km of Black Sea coastline, they boast that they're the longest city in Europe.
Sochi beat out Pyongyang, South Korea, and Salzburg, Austria.
I'm still saving my pennies to go to Vancouver in three years.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Latest Targ's Up!
Got this week's episode of The Targ up!
this week, it's Episode 55: Crime of the Double Dip. We journey into the seedy world of the home theatre entusiast, where we get into things like double dipping, extended cuts, and all other heinous things designed to get you to buy a DVD for a second time.
Listen to it!
Sorry it's a day late. Here in Athabasca, they had their big Canada day blow out, the Magnificent River Rats, so I was down there being an intrepid reporter, covering the festival.
Actually, just about every weekend in July is going to be like that. Maybe I should change it from having the new episodes up every Sunday to every Friday. Then you can groove to it over the weekend!
Something to think about.
this week, it's Episode 55: Crime of the Double Dip. We journey into the seedy world of the home theatre entusiast, where we get into things like double dipping, extended cuts, and all other heinous things designed to get you to buy a DVD for a second time.
Listen to it!
Sorry it's a day late. Here in Athabasca, they had their big Canada day blow out, the Magnificent River Rats, so I was down there being an intrepid reporter, covering the festival.
Actually, just about every weekend in July is going to be like that. Maybe I should change it from having the new episodes up every Sunday to every Friday. Then you can groove to it over the weekend!
Something to think about.
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