Flush with Birthday Cash

I've been feeling good lately.  I know I've been panicking quite a bit about my personal finances, but, after balancing the books and paying bills a few days ago, I noticed that I'm a little bit ahead.  It's mainly because I got a little bit of birthday cash.  That, and I've mentioned that summer is a busy time for us radio folks, as we're live on location from all the festivals that come around.  It's the only part of the job I get paid overtime for, and that's starting to show up on my paychecks.  I know such a reprive is temporary, but it's making me breath a bit easier.

New Week Means New Podcast!

Pluggin’ along at the ol’ podcast, and we really are in the dog days of summer.  I’m running out of fascinating things to talk about, as there’s not much going on.  But still, I battle my stuffy nose in these finals days of fighting a cold to bring you Episode 8.16: All Stuffed Up.  What are my rants?

• With my love of superhero films, I just got home from Ant-Man, so I share my thoughts.
• I came home without any new Blu-Rays, and somehow that gets me ranting about the secret origins of special editions
• I share my fascination with Charlie Brown cartoons, as I picked up a lot on DVD lately.

That, and a few other digressions and rants await you in Episode 8.16: All Stuffed Up.

Give it a listen on the main site!

Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Here we go again, with Fishing in the Discount Bin.  I watch a movie I own, and blog about it.  Sometimes I have to question why own some of movies...such as that hot mess that is The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  This shows up in my notes at August 24, 2014.

Netflix Nonsense - Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird

Sunday morning, I was finally able to do what I'd been wanting to do all week:  lie on the couch, binge on Netflix, and fight this cold that's been plaguing me all week.  Looking for something to watch, I stumbled across the first Sesame Street movie, 1985's Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird.

A Wild Podcast Appears!

I almost skipped doing an episode of U62: The Targ this week. It's another busy weekend, but, I did find a few moments to myself, so I decided to throw together a mini-sode! It's shorter than the typical episode, where all I really do is ramble about the awesome trailers that were released from the San Diego Comic Con this week.

 You know, that Star Wars: The Force Awakens featurette:
 


And that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer.
 


Here my ramble on Episode 8.15: Waitin' for the Pizza!

Download over at the official site!

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Toy Story of Terror!

Here we are again, on Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I ramble about one of the many movies I own.  This time, we get into Pixar's first foray into animated TV specials with Toy Story of Terror!  This was originally watched and blogged about on August 23, 2014.

Reflections on the Great Canadian Taste Adventure

So I was out for my evening constitutional last night.  Taking a walk, enjoying the sunshine, listening to my favourite podcasts, when i get a text from my best friend.  "So, with that McDonald's Taste of Canada thing, did you ever have more than the McLobster?"

See, I do this bit on my podcast from time-to-time called Mark Tastes Random Things.  I'll grab some food item that's caught my eye (90% of the time it's whatever promotional item a fast food restaurant currently has), eat it live on my podcast and offer my thoughts.  I hate doing it, mainly because I don't know how to fill the dead air while I chew.  I should find a good music bed for it so the music fills the dead air.  But my best friend loves the bit.  I joked on my podcast where I speculate as to why he loved it.  About 10 or 15 years ago, he developed a strong activist streak, and as part of that, he swore off all fast food, declaring the fast food corporations to be among the most evil of the evil corporations.  It was nothing but all organic, locally sourced, Mom & Pop sandwich shops for him!  I, however, developed no such convictions.  So I think he enjoys Mark Tastes Random Things so he can vicariously enjoy fast food through me.

Anyway.  The last time I did Mark Tastes Random Things, I did the McLobster.  And I had to tell him that, yes, I tried all of McDonald's Tastes of Canada.  He then asked if I could give a rundown on all of them and my thoughts.  He then said that such a thing might be more appropriate as a blog entry.  So, here we are.

For those who, like my best friend, have cut the cord and don't watch TV anymore, in the month of June, McDonald's was running a promotion called The Great Canadian Taste Adventure,   Each week, they had another burger representing a region of Canada, trying to reflect the regional tastes.  They also had a few side dishes and deserts that were available for the whole month.  And yes, I sampled them all.  So here's my thoughts on The Great Canadian Taste Adventure, from the worst to the best.

#5:  Representing Ontario, the Cottage Country Chicken Sandwich

A photo posted by Mark Cappis (@chaosinabox) on Jun 3, 2015 at 11:04am PDT

This chicken sandwich was topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a special sauce designed to "invoke the flavours of Ontario cottage country."  I was unimpressed.  Pretty much just a McChicken with a zestier sauce.  And, as my Ontarian co-worker told me, "When we're at the cottage, we're not having chicken.  We're firing up the grill and having steak."  Easily the least.

#4:  Representing Western Canada, the Western BBQ Burger

A photo posted by Mark Cappis (@chaosinabox) on Jun 10, 2015 at 11:03am PDT

This cheeseburger was topped with onions and BBQ sauce.  Good lord, the onions.  Two different kinds:  grilled onions and deep fried onions.  Fast food really has discovered the deep fried onion, as they seem to be an a lot of burgers these days.  Too much onion for my tastes.  It reminded me of A&W's short-lived Grandma Burger, as that was another one that had a lot of onions it.  That aforementioned Ontario co-worker had one with no onions, and said it was much better.

#3:  Representing Quebec, Maple Bacon Poutine

A photo posted by Mark Cappis (@chaosinabox) on Jun 13, 2015 at 11:00am PDT

Poutine is still a relatively new addition to McDonald's regular menu.  For this promotion, they just took the poutine and tossed on a handful of bacon bits with a drizzle of some kind of maple flavoured BBQ sauce.  The sauce kind of gets drowned out by the gravy, but the bacon is a nice touch.

#2:  Representing the Atlantic provinces, the McLobster.

A photo posted by Mark Cappis (@chaosinabox) on Jun 17, 2015 at 11:17am PDT

If the Internet is to be believed, Western Canada went absolutley nuts for this.  This seasonal item, typically only available in the Maritimes, was made available all across Canada for the first time.  I've got a colleague who's a Maritimer telling me that she and her friends always mocked people who had the McLobster, dismissing it as pure tourist garbage.  When I ate this on my podcast, I noticed that you never realize how much of McDonald's unique flavour comes from their buns.  I opened up the box, and even though this was a cold sandwich, it smelled just like a McDonald's burger.  I took a bite, and right away, it tasted like imitation crab meat.  If you've ever had the Seafood Sensation Sub at Subway, it tasted pretty much just like that.  And I must say, I got lucky with the amount of lobster salad they scooped on their.  My Maritimer friend, curious by the hype, had her first one, and she easily got 1/2, maybe 1/3, of the lobster stuff that was scooped on mine.

#1:  Representing the West Coast, the Chocolate Nanaimo Sunday

A photo posted by Mark Cappis (@chaosinabox) on Jun 23, 2015 at 7:06pm PDT

It's just a McDonald's Chocolate Sunday, but I don't know what kind of magic cookie crumbs they sprinkled on top, but they tasted just like nanaimo bars.  And nanaimo bars and ice cream make a good combination.  The only way I can think about making it better would be if McDonald's did a nanaimo bar McFlurry.  This was just so good. 

And that was my trip across Canada, from the comfort of my local McDonald's.  I hope McDonald's does this again, and make it the tastes of the world.  I'd just like to have a Teriyaki McBurger again someday. 

New Week Brings New Podcast!

Here we are again, with the good ol’ podcast.  Not much to talk about, but there’s enough out there to get me talking.  At least, to fill 20 minutes of airtime.  So what ramblings to I ramble in Episode 8.14: Funghi Pizza?

• I tell you how I spent my birthday this year, including having a pizza at Famoso and seeing Inside Out.  (Complete review here, in case you haven’t seen it yet.)
• The latest Star Wars news, including my thoughts on the upcoming Young Han Solo spinoff film.  (I do so much rambling about Star Wars I should turn it into its own segment.)
• I ponder whether I own a lot of DVDs or whether the DVDs own me.
• And hey!  You ever see the “special thanks” in the end credits of a movie?  Ever wonder what people did to get those special thanks?  Well, I share some special thanks stories I recently heard.

And that’s what you’ll find in this week’s podcast!

Oh, and I didn’t realize I accidentally gave the date as April 12 until I got home from recording it, re-listened to it, and noticed it.  But trust me, it’s July 12.

Head to the main site to listen!

The Traditional Birthday: Pizza and a Movie

Well, it was my birthday a few days ago.  I'm now the ripe old age of 38.  I'm as old as Homer Simpson.  That is a very frightening thought.  And I've been celebrating my birthday the same way I've been celebrating it since I turned 11:  pizza and a movie.

Mom wanted to treat me, so of course I let her.  I met up with Mom down in Spruce Grove.  There's a newish pizza chain that's sprung up called Famoso.  They're part of the new trend in dining known as "fast casual."  It's a step up from fast food, but still not as ornate as casual dining.  If you read the financial pages, you'll know it's the trend that's currently killing McDonald's.  Anyway, Famoso specializes in your very traditional Italian pizza...Neapolitan pizza is the official term, according to their website.  Very thin crust, baked in a stone oven, and very good.  As I've always been fond of mushrooms, I went with the Funghi Pizza.  It's good stuff.  I recommend them.

And then the debate was on as to what movie to drag Mom to.  At first I was thinking Terminator Genisys, simply because it was an early show, and Spruce Grove is about an hour's drive home for each of us.  Didn't want us to be on the road too late.  But, dang it, I just wanted to see Inside Out more, even though it meant a later show.  So we saw Inside Out.

Holy moly.  Inside Out is so good, you guys.  After being in a bit of a slump with their past few films, Pixar is back in a beautiful way.  What Pixar's last few films lacked was heart...the emotional gut-punch that kept me trying very hard not to cry.  Well, Inside Out gave me that gut punch.  The emotional wallop that Pixar films used to be guaranteed to provide was finally back.

I think you the know the premise right now.  It is a tad complicated.  It takes place within the mind of an 11-year old girl named Riley.  We see that she's influenced by five personified emotions.  Joy kind of runs the show, and Anger, Fear, and Disgust play their roles, but they've never figured out what Sadness is supposed to do.  But then, one of Joy's attempts to keep Sadness in check goes awry, and Joy and Sadness are soon stranded away from Headquarters in the deepest recesses of Riley's mind.  Joy and Sadness are soon on a dangerous trek back to Headquarters.  But, they have to hurry.  For the longer they're away, the more Anger, Fear and Disgust mismanage things, and soon various aspects of Riley's personality begin shutting down.  Will they make it back before Riley does something drastic?  Will they find out the role of Sadness in everything?

At the end of the day, Inside Out is a coming-of-age story told from a very unique point of view, as Riley's emotions learn that it's OK to feel certain things and it's all part of growing up.  The setting allows for a very unique landscape.  The characters are very imaginative.  Everything about this film is just so good.

Of course, a few quibbles.  As you can see from the premise, it's also a road movie, a formula which has worked very well for Pixar.  But it's easy to overlook that and just get caught up in the journey.

I give it a full 4 Nibs.  Full review is over on the main site.

And, as I've done in recent years, for my birthday present to myself, I went nuts on iTunes and bought some music.  But rather than spend $5 on some singles, I went a little overboard and bought two complete albums.

First up...the Inside Out soundtrack.  I think Michael Giacchino is one of the finest composers working today, and I find his score for Inside Out is haunting me.  Some of the themes in it are so unique.  It really does sound like the music you hear when you dream.




And speaking of Michael Giacchino, he's done the score for another very popular movie in theatres right now...Jurassic World.  And hearing Giacchino slip in and reinterpret John Williams' original Jurassic Park themes in the soundtrack always made me smile throughout that film.  So I also bought, well, not Giacchino's Jurassic World soundtrack, but John Williams' original Jurassic Park soundtrack.  I mean, I've been wanting it ever since I saw Jurassic Park back for my birthday movie in 1993.  This is truly some of Williams' best stuff.




And that main theme has always had a great "emerging from the wilderness" vibe to it. 

So that's what I'll be rockin' out to for the rest of the summer.  Well, this isn't the kind of music you rock out to.  This is the music I'll be quietly chillin' to for the rest of the summer. 

All in all, not a bad birthday. 

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Gotham Girls

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly rant about one of my old DVDs that I just re-watched.  This time out, we get to a forgotten chapter of Batman animation called Gotham Girls.  This is in my notes at August 22, 2014.

New Week, New Targ!

Well, gang, summer is here, and with that, things are slowing down a bit, leaving me with very little material in this week’s episode of U62: The Targ.  So, I scrape the bottom of the barrel a little bit, but I find some scraps for Episode 8.13: Dog Days of Summer.

• Rambling about Star Wars is always good, so I continue the countdown to The Force Awakens
• The Raccoons looks to be the next reboot coming down the line, so I rant about that.
• I got the latest issue of the Augustana alumni magazine the other day, so I share some tales of the good ol’ days
• And taking a minute to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future.

Head over to the main site to give it a listen!

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Birds of Prey: The Complete Series

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of the movies I own and blog about it.  Once again, I need to remind you that I write these months in advance.  This one was originally written on August 21, 2014, and that's why you'll see me talking about how I can't wait for the premieres of The Flash and Gotham.  Such anticipation was what inspired me to binge on Birds of Prey: The Complete Series.  

Movie Time!

So, over on this week's podcast, I promised a bunch of home movies demonstrating what occupied my time for the past few weeks.  As I mentioned in the podcast, I did have to go up to Athabasca to fill in.  I was on location from the Bryan Mudryk Golf Classic.  One of the events at the golf classic was the ball drop.  You buy a ball for $50, the drop all the balls out of a helicopter onto the green, and the closest one to the hole wins the pot.




And then, on Father's Day, my Dad said he wanted to go to Fort Edmonton Park.  I hadn't been in a few years, and since it was Father's Day, I gladly obliged.  My sister brought along her family, and we had a grand day at the park.

As is typical when you visit Fort Edmonton Park, the popular strategy is to take the steam train to the far end of the park, and then walk from the old fort, through the years, back to the beginning.  At the fort, there was this one voyageur demonstrating the usage of a cross-cut saw.  So, Dad my brother-in-law gave it a go.




Then, we traveled up to 1895 Street.  Dad's always been a fan of fine fiddle music, so when he heard a fiddle player playing on 1895 Street, Dad had to go up to the guy and find out more.  And then, in one of those weird coincidences that govern this universe, the guitar player accompanying the fiddle player turned out to be one of Dad's old colleagues from his government days.




And then, after all that, and with a weekend to myself, I headed into the city on my own.  It felt different going into the city this past Saturday.  I wasn't on the verge of tears like I'd been my last few visits.  Granted, money is still pretty tight for me right now, and in another month or so, I'll be facing the very serious problem as to how I'm going to pay my rent, but for a few brief moments on Saturday, in the city, I was happy.  Maybe it's because Fatburger is finally coming to West Edmonton Mall.  Or maybe it's because I was just super-excited to see Jurassic World.

Jurassic World is so good.  This is the Jurassic Park sequel I've been wanting since 1993.  Rather than just the usual "dinosaurs on a rampage" formula that the Lost World and Jurassic Park III gave us, this actually takes the concepts introduced in the first film and explores them in interesting ways.  The first and most obvious is, "What if they learned from their mistakes and a viable and successful dinosaur theme park/zoo actually opened?"  The second is, "OK, they filled in the gaps of dinosaur DNA with frog DNA...how hard would it be to start mashing together all different kinds of DNA to create monstrous dinosaurs that never existed?"  And the best concept of all:  "What if the velociraptors...were on our side?" 

I was bouncing up and down in my seat at how exciting it was.  Granted, Jurassic Park is an old enough franchise that there's a formula in place and the formula was at play, but by exploring some of the sci-fi concepts, and some wonderfully likeable leads in Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, and I had a hell of a good time. 

The complete review is over at the website.

The Targ Returns! And Returns! And Returns!

Wowee wow!  I’m back!  In my last episode, I said I’d be back in two weeks.  But then, life got in the way, two weeks turned into four, and I finally had a weekend to myself to sit and record a podcast!  So, what do I have for you on Episode 8.12: The Coffee Can of Destiny?

• As is tradition, I explain where I’ve been for the past few weeks.  Lounging in a hot tub, my aunt came to visit, I went back to Athabasca and Fort Edmonton Park!
• Thanks to the various streaming video services, I’ve been binging on Quantum Leap and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
• Another installment of “Mark Tastes Random Things,” as I sample the McLobster for your pleasure!
• And, a few quick thoughts on Jurassic World

And that’s what’s in store on Episode 8.12: The Coffee Can of Destiny!

Check it on the main site!

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Good Morning, Vietnam

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I blog about the movies I own on DVD and my thoughts upon rewatching them.  Again, I need to remind you that I tend to work about 6 months ahead or so on these.  For example, I wrote this one on August 17, 2014.  We had just heard the news of the death of Robin Williams, and that's what inspired me to re-watch on of my favourite films of his, Good Morning, Vietnam.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Batman: The Animated Series Volume 4

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I rant and ramble about one of the DVDs I own.  It's time to return to the world of Batman, as I binge on Volume 4 of Batman: The Animated Series, which encapsulates the series The New Batman Adventures.  This was jotted down in my notes on July 24, 2014.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Gargoyles: Season 2, Volume 2

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly blog about one of the DVDs/Blu-Rays/VHSs I own.  It's rare these days that I binge-watch a TV show, but here we are as I finally complete my collection of the classic Disney cartoon Gargoyles.  Here, I binge on Gargoyles: Season 2, Volume 2.  This was originally in my notes at July 20, 2014.

Netflix Nonsense - Big Trouble in Little China

I was chatting with a co-worker the other day, and the latest news of remakes came up.  Last week, the big remake news was that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was going to do a remake of the 1980s cult classic Big Trouble in Little China.  I confided to my co-worker that I'd never seen it.  He just glared at me and said, "If we weren't working right now, I'd drag you over to my place and make you watch my Blu-ray."  Well, the weekend rolled around, I saw it was on Netflix, so let's get this gap in my geek film history filled in.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Lego Movie

Welcome once again to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly blog about one of the many DVDs, Blu-Rays, and odd VHS I still own.  This time out, we get to one of the surprise hits of last year, The Lego Movie.  I originally watched this and jotted down my review on July 5, 2014.

Netflix Nonsense - Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome

And it looks like we're at the end of my voyage through the original Mad Max trilogy.  For those just joining us, after coming out of the theatre for Mad Max: Fury Road, I realized that I'd never seen any of the original Mad Max movies, and thus it's a rather noticeable gap in my personal film history.  Luckily, I just reactivated my Shomi account, and they're all on there.  And we get to the end of the Mel Gibson Max Max trilogy with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.