...And The Oscar Pool Goes To...

I had 24 contestants in my Oscar pool.  I had a pink highlighter and 12 sheets of paper (2 contestant's lists per)  on which I checked the correct guesses.  I found that it would pretty much take me the entirety of an acceptance speech to check through all 24 guesses for each category.  This made watching the Oscar ceremony much more of a task for me than it was in years previous.  However it made the 3+ hours fly by.
First, before I get to the results, a few comments on the entertainment value of the broadcast:  I was a bit disappointed in Chris Rock's monologue.  I didn't find it that funny, and I didn't appreciate the "wait for A-list actor" jokes.  While I didn't really find him all that funny, I did appreciate the pull-the-pants-down-on-Hollywood tone of his performance.  His "streeter" video where he got the opinion of black theatre-goers was not very good, but I did like the surprise of Albert Brooks showing up at the end of it (although I didn't think what he said was all that funny).  After the monologue,  Chris Rock was pretty much invisible.  While I appreciated him keeping things moving briskly, I could've used a few more attempts at jokes throughout the broadcast.
I was disappointed in the choices for Best Songs, and the performance of each was pretty much unremarkable.  All five songs were pretty blech and having Beyonce sing three of them seemed like an odd thing to do.  Five opportunities for bathroom breaks, as far as I was concerned.  Having YoYo Ma perform live for the memorial video was nice.  I am always saddened for those who appear on the list and then the applause dies down to nothing, only to resurrect itself for the next person.
As a watcher of the Oscar broadcast, I appreciated the efforts to speed up the evening.  Having all the nominees (of "lesser" categories) on stage was a good move, however as a human being with empathy, I felt bad for all the losers who were shuffled quickly off the stage.
That's about it.  A fairly bland show, I thought.  Now, on to the results:
While I certainly don't think I made any mistakes in my tabulations, I certainly don't guarantee my results, since I'm not going to double check them (I was kind of double checking as I went anyway).  If you have a problem with your score as compared to what I proclaim it to be, too bad.

I was disappointed in my picks.  I submitted my picks early.  In fact, mine was the first submission.  If I had waited until this week, many of my picks would have been different, after checking with odds-makers and getting a feel for the buzz of the awards.  Still, I stayed with my original choices and only got 10 correct.  Usually I average about 13-15 correct.
Rather than list all the contestants by name and their results, I am going to go this way:

2 people got 5 right
4 people got 7 right
2 people got 8 right
4 people got 9 right
3 people got 10 right
4 people got 11 right
2 people got 12 right
1 person got 13 right
3 people got 14 right
2 people got 15 right

and, the winner, with an amazing 17 of 24 guesses correct...

Matt Rainnie

Way to go, Matt.  You nailed it, my friend.  Your mix-cd is being conjured up in my brain as I type and live and breathe.  I'll get it to you shortly.

If you entered this contest and would like to know your score, just make that request in the comments of this post and I'll post it there, for all to see.

Lorty Lorty Look Who's Forty Times Two

 

On this date in 1925, my father was born.  Today he is 80.  I wonder if his parents had any idea of what a wonderful, solid man he would become.  Whatever dreams and hopes they had for him, I expect he's outshone them all.
In 1947, when this picture was taken, my dad was just embarking on adult life.  He'd be married a year later and a father not too long after that. 
I didn't meet him until 1965, when he was 40 (the age I am now), and only in the last 15 years have I come to "know" him and appreciate what a great influence he's been on me.  My experiences with my father have been almost exclusively happy and pleasant.  He's taught me innumberable things in innumberable ways, comforted me always and has always been a shining example of what a good father should be.
Growing up I was always amazed that my father knew how to fix pretty much anything that needed fixing in our home (except eggs over easy) and I am amazed that he still is able to keep his home in excellent working order. 
Whatever goodness and humanity I have, I learned it by seeing it continually practiced by my parents.  They both are my example of what kindness and goodness should be.
I wonder if my father considers his life thus far to a successful one.  All I know is that if I make it to 80 years of age and there is even one person in that future world who has the amount of respect and admiration for me that I presently have for my father, then I'll consider my life to be a great success.  The greatest thing he's taught me is to be the example of that which you'd like others to be.
It likely sounds foolish and a bit grandiose to say, but my dad is my hero.   I want to be just like him.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

The Finger Of Chicken Factor

For the past few months, I've been once-a-weeking for lunch at a take-out place, ordering their chicken fingers and fries.  I notice that there are two people who work there, however only one at a time.  The guy who works there gives me five chicken fingers and a heaping helping of crispy fries.  The girl who works there gives me not so many fries that are not so crispy and only four chicken fingers.
The discrepency in the amount of fries, I don't worry about.
My dilemna is this:  do I mention to the girl that the guy gives me five chicken fingers?  If I do, then there is a possibility that his extravagence of an extra finger will be exposed and may be stopped.  Is there a store policy on the number of chicken fingers one gives out per customer?  If she's short-changing me, then I'd definitely like that rectified.  My hunch is that the de rigueur is four fingers, though I have no solid proof of it.
I don't know how many chicken fingers he gives to others.  I've never witnessed it.  I've thought about lurking around, waiting for a chicken fingers and fries order to come up, but it's not ordered that often.  It's not even on their regular menu.  I have concocted a story that this guy somehow appreciates me for some reason and as such is favouring me with an extra chicken finger and heaping fries.  I look for subtle clues like a wink or a nod or him saying "I'm giviing you an extra chicken finger, you know" but I can gather no hard evidence.
At first I thought that perhaps he gives me smaller chicken fingers and she gives bigger, but today's five chicken fingers from him were huge. 
It sure would be nice to get that fifth chicken finger from that girl.  I think, though, that it's best that I not tempt it.
One of the factors leading me to think it's better to leave things as they are is this:  she only works about a fourth of the time he does at lunch.  So, I get his five chicken fingers about every three times to her single serving  of four chicken fingers.

What would you do?

Jew-ard

Does anyone know if the practice of pronouncing the first name "Gerard" as "Jew-ard" is a PEI-centric phenomenon, or does it occur in other places too?  Also, does anyone have an explanation as to why it occurs?

Fee, Fye, Ho Hum

Blockbuster has been annoyingly advertising their "No More Late Fees" policy ad naseum. 
Too bad it's a lie.  Yes, they've changed their policy but they still charge a late fee.  Only now they call it a restocking fee.  Whatever.
You rent a movie or game.  After 8 days of not returning it, Blockbuster charges your credit card the full cost of purchase.  You now own the movie or game.  You still have a 30 day grace period to return the movie for a refund, but they do charge you a nominal (I think it's $1.50) restocking fee.
Isn't the restocking fee just another name for late fee?
I have no problem with the new policy, in fact I think it's smart.  I just don't the misleading terminology.

But I don't care.  I don't rent anymore from Blockbuster anyway.
Here in Charlottetown, it's That's Entertainment all the way!

Everyone Into The Oscar Pool

{Submissions to the contest are now closed.  To those who entered:  Good Luck!!!}
This is your final reminder.  If you want to enter The Annekenstein Monster Oscar Pool, click on this link:  The Annekenstein Monster Oscar Pool.  Fill in your picks and name and click on the submit button.
I will be accepting submissions until this Thursday.
If you've already sent in your submission, then ignore this.
For the record, from the 19 submissions, the Best Picture picks so far look like this:
The Aviator:  8
Ray: 5
Million Dollar Baby: 4
Sideways: 2
Finding Neverland: 0

Winner will likely (I'm not making any promises) win something, like a mixed cd or something.  Whatever.

10 Right-On, Random Songs

Time for a semi-irregular random sampling of the musical tastes of your host.
Here, then, are the next ten (good or bad, cool or embarassing) songs (and a comment on each) that go through my iTunes, set to shuffle:

1. Girl Wants (to say goodbye to) Rock and Roll Music - Go Home Productions:  One of about 100 mashups I have in my collection.  This combines the music of the Velvet Underground's "Rock and Roll Music" with the vocals from Christina Aguilera's "What A Girl Wants".  I have mixed feelings (no pun) on mashups, some work, some don't, some are just meh.  This one takes a great song and an okay song and makes the okay song a different great song.  Seriously, it's like Lou Reed's guitar riffs were made for this song, three decades earlier.  I rate it 4 stars out of 5.
2. Fruits of My Labors - Lucinda Williams:  Homer Simpson talks of dogs with bees in their mouths.  Lucinda has some sweet aged honey in her throat on this song.  Slow and soft and sad and sexy.  As soon as you hear this song, you go "yeah, this was born to be a classic." Another rating of 4 out of 5.
3. Take These Chains From My Heart - Hank Williams: I love how Hank sings "care" like "kee-air"  You no longer kee-air for me.  This gets 5 stars.  Try and talk me out of it.  You kee-an't.  Hank Williams has the voice of a grand-father, the soul of a prisoner.  Beautiful song.
4.  (What's So Funny) 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding - Yo La Tengo:  I'm more familiar with the Elvis Costello version of the Nick Lowe song.  This Yo La Tengo version is a bit rough.  This is from a live recording.  Good energy in the music, but the lyrics just fall a bit flat, especially early, but come around by the end.  I waffled between 2 or 3 stars.  I went with 3.  Giving it 2 would have hurt its feelings.
5. Flower Duet (from the opera Lakme):  If you haven't heard this beautiful song, you should really seek it out.  My wife (who has a voice like an angel) sang it with her friend one time at their church, and I was emotional and teary listening to them.  This version is not my wife's version.  I give this 5 stars, though.
6. Charm - Wild Colonials:  One of the ways I find new music is by visiting various music blogs, sites that post wide assortments of songs to download and discover.  This is one of those songs.  I am hearing this for the first time right now.   A pretty good song with a good female lead vocal.  I'll give it 4 stars and wait to pass final judgement on it whenever the next time I hear it will be.
7. Ask Me Why - The Beatles:  I have all The Beatles music in my rotation.  This is one of those songs from them that is kind of forgettable.  Pleasant when you hear it, but would be below middle of the pack if I was picking my favourite Beatles songs to take on a desert Island.  3 stars.
8. Terrible Angels - CocoRosie:  This song starts off with pig squeals and only gets better.  Two sisters singing together, one kinda operatic, the other kinda coquettish sex-kitten 4-in-the-morning raspy.  Uh huh.  4 stars.
9. Mental - Eels:  The lead singer of Eels has a voice you either will like or you won't. I like.  Another 4 star song.  Easily 4 stars.
10. Welcome to Paradise - La GDT:  Imagine The Beach Boys but slowed down a bit, and a bit drunk.  I don't know anything about this group, and I'm hearing this song for the first time.  Some of the harmonies sound a bit off, but it all works in a late-night should-we-go-home-or-stay-for-anoth - - hey some guys are singing!  shh, listen, cool, hey get me a beer wouldcha kind of way.

The Nation We Want To Be

Here is an excellent speech, by our Prime Minister, given to the House on Wednesday, on the issue of same-sex marriage.
Whomever wrote it deserves kudos.  Very smart and straightforward.
Read it, why don'tcha?

Songs:Illinois

There are a number of music blogs that I visit daily, searching for new and interesting music to sample.  One that has become my favourite lately is Songs:Illinois.  It specialises in country/folk/bluegrass/lofi/antifolk type stuff.  If you lean towards the lesser known singer/songwriter/honest song type of music, I think you'll like the stuff this site posts.

Two Degrees of Separation from Nomi Malone

Annekenstein - American Tourists   Poor quality photo

In the first year of Annekenstein, we were priveleged to have Rick Roberts as a writer and actor.  In one of the scenes, I kissed him (as seen in photo above).  Even though I haven't seen him since, and we only spent a summer together, I consider him a friend, and enjoy any successes he has in the entertainment industry.  He is also my main 'in' when I try to figure out my degrees of separation from famous people.

This weekend, I watched most of  the TV movie Student Seduction, starring Elizabeth Berkley of Showgirls Infamy.  Rick was in that movie as Elizabeth's husband, and had a bedroom scene where he kisses her.

Rob kissing Rick kissing Elizabeth...

So, in a way, I kissed Elizabeth Berkley.  I feel so dirty.

The movie, by the way, wasn't very good.  Bad script, but I thought  the acting was okay.  Rick, I biasedly feel, did a great job playing the supportive, caring husband.  Not much there to do, really, but  he did it well.

Scared By Stereo - Twice

Today, I had two separate moments when I got scared, both due to the effects of stereo.  The first was this morning, when I was driving my wife to work.  We were listening to music, when on the far right side of the car, came a spooky "oooooh" sound.  It startled me, and I thought my wife had seen something on the road and was "oooh"ing me to avoid it.  Turns out it was Emmylou Harris singing backup harmony on a Ryan Adams song.
The second time was at lunch.  I was walking back to work, with my headphones on, when deep in the back of the sound came a strange sound, which I interpreted as footsteps of someone behind me.  I knew there was nobody behind me, so the thought that all of a sudden someone was behind me was a bit unnerving for about half a second. 

Damn you Stereo and your two-channel spookings!

Thoughts - 1 cent each or 5 for a nickel

The Setting:  The drive-thru at Robin's Donuts on the Trans Canada Highway in Charlottetown

The Dialogue
Female Server (pleasantly, thru speaker):  Welcome to Robin's.  Can I take your order.
Rob:  Yeah, I'll have an extra large double double.
Female Server (thru speaker): Extra large double double.  Is that everything?
Rob:  Yeah.
Female Server (thru speaker):  Dollar Seventy-One.  Drive through please.
Rob:  Thank you.
{Rob drives up to window)
Female Server:  That's a dollar seventy-one.
{Rob gives Female Server a Toonie.  Server gives Rob 30 cents change - a quarter and a nickel)
Female Server:  That's enough for a phone call!  (pause)  And five thoughts!
Rob:  You're right!
{Female Server gives Rob his coffee, says "Have a nice day" adn Rob drives off, smiling}

It takes such little effort for people to amuse others, yet it so rarely occurs.
Thanks Female Server for making my morning a little more pleasant.

One thing, though.  Why is an extra large double double at the Robins in Winsloe $1.69, while at the TCH and Stratford locations it's $1.71??

Horses or Whores?

This is a public message for anyone who may have recently, um, "come in contact" with a cute N.S. filly named "Hundred Bucks To Win":  She's got Herpes!!  If you're looking for some equine action in the Truro area, just say 'neigh' until the situation stable-izes.
Horse-screwers, please, for the good of all, get yourselves checked out.

It's getting almost so that a deviant can't be a deviant anymore.  It's like that old World War II quotation about indifference:  When they came to take away the {fill in the blank}...I did nothing.

When the priest gave my best friend a quarter to touch his holy place, I did nothing.
When his girlfriend started fooling around with another chick, I did nothing.
When HIV made it dangerous to screw gays, I did nothing.
When the whores started charging more for blowjobs, I did nothing.
Now that horses have herpes, etc...

And Do You Take This Tampon...?

The Man Whom God Himself Has Chosen To Rule The English is marrying Camilla Parker Bowles.  Raise your hands, who here will be getting up at 4:30am to watch the wedding?
I won't, but I am guessing this will occur at the wedding:  The question will be asked, "Does anyone here have any reason why these two should not be wed?", all heads in attendance will first turn to Queen Elizabeth, who will subtly shake her head, long ago having given up trying to separate the two lovebirds.  Then heads will turn to that Dodi Fayed's father, who will be too busy writing in his Big Book Of Conspiracies to raise his 4003 objections.  Finally, all heads will turn to the People of Great Britain, hoping they don't pick this moment to say "The Monarchy is Bollocks!!" as the Commoners begin to take away the titles, castles and jewellery.  But the People of Britain won't choose this moment to take up arms against The Royals, and a collective sigh of relief will be heard in the church.
Then, just as everyone turns back to the front, and the ceremony is about to continue, Princess Dead (she wasn't dead after all!) will appear in the balcony at the back of the church, pounding on the Common-Folk-Repelling plexiglass window (the same strength plexiglass that the Pope uses in his Pope-Mobile), screaming "J'accuse!!!"
In the ensuing melee and craziness, Elton John will try to temper the crowd by beginning his one-time-only performance of  "England Bowles", his latest lyrical alteration to England's Rose (which, only he knows, he'd also sing this summer when he opens the National Lawn Bowling Championships).
The roof of the church will then flip off, and a hot air balloon will be hovering overhead.  From the balloon's bucket, Michael Jackson's chimp Bubbles will motion for Charles and Camilla to ascend the Golden Rope of Scrutiny to the balloon and freedom.  Debating whether to do that, or listen to the second verse of Elton's song (nervous about his recent Knighthood and how that would have him fair in the upcoming uprising, Elton would mis-sing the second verse, singing "England Blows!!"), they decide to climb the rope to the waiting chimp.
Camilla goes first, followed closely by Charles.  As he climbs the rope he looks up, and being provided a clear view up Camilla's dress, sees she is not wearing any panties (and since Charles is wearing a Prince-Cam, the entire viewing audience also can see this spectacle).  Here, suddenly, he silently regrets that "I wish I was your tampon" line from a decade ago.
They climb in the balloon and Bubbles sails them off to freedom, never to be seen again.  Princess Dead turns out to have been a mass-hallucination, but Papa Fayed is unconvinced.  The Archbishop of Canterbury, who was presiding over the ceremony, asks if there's "anyone here who's gonna get hitched today, dammit!"  And if not, will he still get paid?
Baby-Spice stands up and declares that she'll "marry anyone with a ten inch schlong. Right here, right now!", but sadly, nobody in attendance meets the requirement.
Right at this moment, a high-school student, angry that Baby-Spice demands a full ten inches, presses the button that begins the mechanism that revolves the floor, revealing the Thames that flows under the church.   The two QE's (Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elton) are the first into the water, and having their blessing, everyone else jumps in too.

No, I'll not bother watching.  See one wedding, you've seen them all.

Madly On

I just found out that Sketch 22 will be on CBC Radio 1's Madly Off In All Directions this Sunday, Feb.13. 

In Charlottetown, it airs at 1pm.   I cannot tell you when it airs in your part of the world.  Well, I could, I suppose, if you told me where you lived, and if I took the time to find out, firstly, if CBC radio even  broadcasts to your area, and secondly, if Madly Off is part of the schedule for your area.  But I choose not to offer that service.  So, I will change my statement to this:  I choose not to tell you when it airs in your part of the world.  Unless, of course, you live in the same part of the world as I do, that being the Maritime provinces of Canada, in which case I've already told you.  So, I'll change my statement to the following:  I choose not to offer any more information than this:  Sketch 22 will be on CBC Radio's Madly Off In All Directions, for many, but not necessarily all, people who are able to receive the station and the program, this Sunday, Feb.13.  If your radio is on (and plugged in, and your home/apartment/vehicle has power) at the appropriate time, and is tuned to the correst frequency, and if you listen to it, you will be able to hear it.

Assuming that you're not deaf.

Schedule your Sunday around it.

But I Only *Kissed* The Ass!!!

The Ayatollah's Book of Etiquette

Number 2,631:  It is loathsome to eat the meat of a horse, a mule, or a donkey if someone has had coitus with the animal.

Graham, this would have been good to know BEFORE we went to that Beastiality, Butchery & BBQ party the other night, don't you think?

One Tonne a Miel

Cub Scout sells 10 tons of popcorn.

This feel-good story got me wondering:  Say you have one pound of unpopped popcorn kernals and then pop them all.  Would the popped popcorn also equal one pound?
My brain tells me that the popped popcorn would weigh slightly less (due to the evaporation of the water contained in each kernal).
Does anyone know?  Where would one find the answer?

Technorati Tags: popcorn, science, scouts

Developing Arrested Development

This week's The Onion AV Club has a fantastic interview with Mitchell Hurwitz.  He's the creator of Arrested Development.  It's one of the best insights into the work and effort and talent that goes into creating a television sitcom.

Oscar Pool Update

Just to let you know, there are so far, over a dozen who have submitted their Oscar Picks to The Annekenstein Monster Oscar Pool.  If you're wondering if I received yours, I likely did.

If you want to join in, click on the link above, fill in your guesses and click the submit button.
Apart from the prestige of being the best guesser amongst the competitors, the winner may actually receive a prize.  Probably a mix cd of tunes that I hope you would like.  Maybe a couple of items of nostalgic Annekenstein paraphernalia.  In the event of a tie, the winner will be the tied-person who was first to send in their picks.

NFL Picks Equal Coin Toss

Early on in the season, I gave up posting my NFL picks on this site because I figured it'd be pretty boring to most people.  That doesn't mean, though, that I stopped trying to pick which teams would win each week.  I submitted my picks each week to The Weekly NFL Picks Page.  In my opinion, it's the best free pick'em site around.

Rather than a straight-ahead "pick who you think will win the game" approach, The Weekly NFL Picks Page prefers having people pick against the spread (for instance, in the SuperBowl, the spread was the Patriots by 6 1/2.  So, to pick the Patriots correctly, they'd have to score 7 points more than the Eagles.  They didn't, so even though the Patriots won the game, the people who picked the Pats in this game would have lost).  This makes it much more difficult to pick correctly.

My record for the season:  129-122 which is 51.4%.  I think I was somewhere in the 49% last year (and my career record at the site is 48.8%).  So, basically,  I am about as successful using my method (which is mostly gut-feeling mixed with my limited knowledge of the teams) as I would be flipping a coin.  This would indicate that the spread that the odds-makers come up with for each game are pretty accurate.

For the record, the winner of the season on The Weekly NFL Picks Page had a winning percentage of 58.4.

The Amazing Race Finally

Well, this season of The Amazing Race winds down on Tuesday, and I must say that I've been disappointed in this season's production:  too many hard-to-distinguish actor/model couples; too many couples who too-easily snap and bitch at each other for silly things; not enough couples to actively cheer for;  too many to actively cheer against;  and a couple so awful that it was no fun to hate them, they were that terrible.  I was also disappointed that the show seemed to turn towards more "Fear Factor" type challenges this time around.  The challenges this season were definitely not the cream of the crop.  And, too much bunching up of teams within episodes.  Too many chance for teams that made mistakes to catch up to the rest, due to everyone having to wait for something to open the next day.
With four teams and one two-hour finale left, here's what I hope happens:
-I hope Kris and Jon win.  They have been pretty inconspicuous throughout the run, but have time and again, performed well and have continued to be classy and positive and upbeat. 
-I hope that Adam and Rebecca are the next team to fall to the wayside.  I don't know, honestly, how they are still in the game.  I am so very tired of Adam threatening to quit at every turn.  Before he leaves the show, I hope it is revealed to him that he is gay.  It is important for him to come to terms with that.
-Of the other two remaining teams, Aaron and Hayden and Freddy and Kendra, I would prefer F&K to succeed over the other.  For the longest time, the participants in both couples were interchangable to me, and only in the last two episodes was I able to begin to distinguish between them.  Mostly because I thought Kendra started showing a bit more spunk, making her team the more memorable of the two "actor/model" type teams.  I hope that Hayden gets at least one more chance to bemoan her situation of being immersed in the poverty and lifestyle of another culture.

Go Kris and Jon.

Hard To Hate The Patriots

As a Miami Dolphins fan, with the New England Patriots in the same division, I have always *hated* the Patriots (and the Buffalo Bills, and NY Jets, and even the Indianapolis Colts [who have since moved out of the division]).  It is my duty to hate these teams and I do hate them with all my ability.  Yet, if the Dolphins ceased to exist, I'd likely become a fan of one of those division rivals.  Probably the Patriots, since they're on free TV every weekend here in the Maritimes.
It used to be easy to hate the Patriots, especially that time they used the snowplow to remove snow from the field so they could kick a field-goal against the Dolphins.  It is really hard to dislike this current crop of  Patriots, though.  More than any other sports team I've seen, they are the epitome of "Team".  They win every way they can.  They win easy, they win hard, win pretty and ugly.  They just win.  Normally, such a team would be easy to hate because they'd appear so full of themselves.  But not this Team.  They are dignified and humble in victory.
They are the greatest football team I've ever seen.  Not necessarily the best ever, but the greatest.
And I hate them.

Some SuperBowl thoughts:
During the pre-show entertainment, some woman (who on closeups looked much older than she appeared from a distance) sang some song (just before Charlie Daniels, who performed "Devil Went Down To Georgia" way-too-fast).  I found it odd that the "fans" that they assembled on the field around the stage were all women/girls.  Many of them were screaming (instructed to, I'm sure) at her like girls screamed at John and Paul during the height of Beatlemania.  Just found that odd.
SuperBowl XXXIX - I'm not an authority on Roman Numerals, but can a Roman Numeral have more X's in it than the number 39?
Was Alicia Keys lip syncing "America The Beautiful"?  While the lips were actually well-synced with the vocals, It kinda sounded like the emotion and quality in the vocals didn't quite match the physical effort.  If she was lipsyncing, well, that's a shame.
The plate that the vegetables get scooped onto in the Cunard Restaurant plate is exactly the same style of plate my mother had for years and years when I was growing up.  Cheap Corelle plates.  Also, I miss how the voice-over used to (a couple of years ago) say:  "reck-anized in Where To Eat in Canada".
The game was pretty good, I guess.  I enjoyed the defensive performances in the first half, but as soon as the Pats took the lead, I figured that was it.  It was good (but not really exciting) that the Eagles were able to come back to within 3 points.  But, from midway in the third quarter, the game was over.  With four minutes or so left, the Eagles looked spent.
Paul McCartney sounded better than I've heard him sound in the last decade.  It's such a shame that he's such an innocuous performer now.  While his songs are better than their comedy, I see him as the musical equivalent of the Royal Canadian Air Farce.  Actually, I take that back, the Air Farce is never enjoyable to watch and he can be.  He's more like Saturday Night Live.  Long past prime and only occasionally shows flashes of past ability.

"Erp" thought Curious George

Curious George meets the man in the white lab coat.
flash required

Laughter Encircled

Annekenstein - Audience (5)
Originally uploaded by annekenstein1.

When we did our first year of Annekenstein, in 1990, one of the sketches involved DaveM, as an ignorant American Tourist, who was to take a picture of his wife on vacation. Part of the joke was that he accidentally sets the camera off, wasting film, to his wife's dismay. We thought it would be cool if Dave actually did take pictures, and this is one of the shots he took.
This is one of the first audiences to see the first season of Annekenstein. Not a very big crowd. I particularly like the hard-laughers in the midst of the audience. They're honestly enjoying something.

On The Buses

Further to the notion of Charlottetown getting a usable public transit system, I was thinking about what type of service I could live with.
Here are some thoughts:
-I live in Winsloe.  It currently takes me 15-20 minutes to drive (to the downtown waterfront) to work in the morning.  I leave my home at 8:40 to get to work for 9.  I would be willing to catch a bus at 8am and be content with whatever time I actually got to work (as long as it was before 9).  If the schedule forced me to take anything earlier than an 8am pickup and I would say the schedule is not going to work.
-If I missed the 8am (or whatever time it ended up being) pickup in Winsloe, I would expect the next bus to arrive at my stop within a half hour.  I wouldn't expect the 'every half hour' schedule to continue in Winsloe throughout the day.  I would expect, after morning rush, that a 'once an hour' schedule would suffice throughout the day, until evening rush.
-I finish work, on the waterfront in downtown Charlottetown at 5pm.  I would expect "the Winsloe Bus" to be at my downtown pickup spot by no later than 5:20.  I would hope to be home by 6pm, but would accept 6:15, probably.

Basically, I'm thinking I'm willing to add an extra 45 minutes each way to my commute.

What about evenings and weekends?
I would expect that public transportation to/from my Winsloe stop would be much more infrequent on  weekends and evenings.  What would I expect?  Perhaps every 2 hours, with the final 'downtown to Winsloe' pickup around 11pm, home before midnight?

I would be willing to pay $2 per one-way trip.  I would expect there to be a discount for pre-purchasing X number of trips.

What would you be willing to accept?

The Annekenstein Monster Oscar Pool

Think you know the movies of 2004?  Think you can guess better than anyone else?  Want to be able to brag that you won The Annekenstein Monster Oscar Pool?

Then enter the contest.  Just click on this link, fill in your picks, enter your name, click the submit button and that's it.

The winner will likely win something.  Probably a mix CD of Annekenstein Monster approved tunes.  Perhaps a couple of Original Annekenstein postcards.  Perhaps even a Collector's Edition Annekenstein T-Shirt.  If I can find them.  Please note:  "probably" and "perhaps" subject to the vagueness they imply and the whim of The Annekenstein Monster remains in full effect.  In other words, the awarding of a prize is not guaranteed.  But probably will happen.

I Wonder, did Jeff Stay Cool?

When Mr.T gives someone props like this, you just have to pay attention:

Jeff was the hippest kid in town.  Ain't no doubt when Jeff's around.  With pants pegged tight, and hair and fitness, he's the 80's nod to fitness splendour.
Stay Cool, Jeff

And man, can that Jeff dance!  Wonder what he's doing now?

Monday Morning - To The Keyboards, Canada!

Get ready for it, Canadian SuperBowl fans, because it's coming.  The annual post-game complaint is nearly upon us.  That complaint?  How come we in Canada aren't able to see all the SuperBowl-premiered advertisements?  Instead of seeing the premiere of the latest and greatest new SodaPop ad featuring SexySinger, or that hilarious, irreverent new ad from HipBusiness.com, or the further adventures of the large-hooved alcohol-transporting equine-slaves, we are stuck with countless airings of (at least here in The Maritimes) the ad for The Cunard Restaurant.
Yes, the yearly migration of disappointed Canadian sports and/or advertisement fans to their keyboards is almost here, the time when so many take to their blogs and/or forums to post angry complaints that Global Television has yet again highjacked the American stations carrying the SuperBowl telecast, causing us to miss out on an essential element of SuperBowl Sunday - The New TV ads. 
Since so many will be too incensed to type clearly their displeasure, I offer the following missive, which you may feel free to copy and paste as your own angry diatribe:

This sux!  I watched the Superbowl expecting to see all those cool and funny ads and didn't get to see many of them at all.  Every station carrying the game was the same channel.  It was all showing Global TV coverage.  What's up with that?  I'm paying money to get the American stations and the commercials they show too.  But how come I'm getting Global broadcast on the American station?  What a rip!!  I'm gonna complain to my local cable provider and demand that I not pay for the American stations I'm not getting when I should be getting them.  Everybody should write and complain.  I wanted to see what that insurance duck was up to and I get some crappy ad for a local restaurant?  Poison!  I'm never eating there!  That place sux!

I'm Never Watching Global Again!!!1!!!