My Top 5 Favorite TV Comedies

I don’t watch a lot of TV… well, at least not regular cable. I usually buy the shows I like so that I can watch them in order without missing an episode, and can watch them more often than once a week. Here’s the list of my top 5 favorite TV Comedies:

5. Family Guy

Bringing this show back was one of the greatest decisions FOX has ever made. Such an incredibly smart and funny show. Seth McFarlane is a genius. How some of the stuff they have on this show is ever allowed to air, I have no idea. It’s so wonderfully offensive. I love it.

4. My Name Is Earl

I only started watching this show about two months ago, but it is great. Just a wonderfully original idea, and Jason Lee is so damn funny. I cannot wait for Season 2 to come out on DVD. I am really glad Jaime Pressley picked up a good role, as I’ve always found her to be really funny.

3. Trailer Park Boys

I was originaly drawn to this show because I thought, “hey, I could make this”. It may look like a simple concept, but it’s put together so great. The characters are all different and incredibly hilarious, and while it may be pretty out there, it’s always entertaining. It may be extra funny to me, as a lot of the characters remind me of different people I knew growing up. I just bought the movie… can’t wait to see it.

2. Scrubs

There’s not many shows that can continuously make me laugh out loud, but Scrubs is one of them. The banter between Dr. Cox and JD is some of the funniest stuff on TV, and I absolutely love Cox’s rants. JD and Turk have such great chemistry, you can just tell they are great friends in real life as well. Every character is funny, and it’s always exciting to see which movie star will show up next. The Colin Farrel appearance was one of my favorite episodes. I’m looking forward to Season 5, which comes out in May.

1. The Office

By far, the funniest show on TV. Possibly funniest show ever. Michael and Dwight are two of my all-time favorite TV characters. The relationship drama between Jim and Pam is a great on-going storyline. I haven’t seen Season 3 yet, and I can’t wait for it to come out. Rainn Wilson (“Dwight”) is going to be a star and he can even make bad movies funny (My Super Ex-Girlfriend). Steve Carrell is so perfect in his role, and some of the funniest parts about the show is just watching the background characters. The American remake easily out does the British version, something most people never thought possible.

Movie Review: The Prestige

Wow. That’s the first thing I want to say about this movie. The second, is that the critic’s quote, “You want to see it again as soon as it’s over” on the front cover of the DVD is completely true. I’d like to watch it all over again right now.

Christopher Nolan, the director of Memento and Batman Begins, creates another masterpiece in film making. The movie is superbly acted, directed and written. The script is great, and the writing style is very similar to the work done in Memento.

The film stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as rival magicians constantly battling and trying to one-up one another. Also making appearances are Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo and David Bowie.

There’s not much I can say about the film without giving away some type of spoiler, so I won’t say anything other than make sure you watch this movie.

One of the better movies I’ve seen in the past year. If you like smart, thought-inducing, intriguingly twisting films, you will love this one.

My Rating: 9.5/10

A whole new meaning to being “whipped”

Can’t find your balls? Umm, how about checking that jar on your wife’s desk.

It used to go without saying. When a man and woman got married, the woman took the man’s last name. It’s tradition, it’s just the way it’s always been. I can understand women not wanting to change their last name, and that is fine. It’s their choice. But this? This I just can’t understand…

From USA Today:

As Donna and Mike entered their wedding reception, an unwitting announcer told the expectant crowd, “Ladies and gentleman, put your hands together for the new Mr. and Mrs. Salinger!”

Some guests clapped, some chuckled at what they presumed was a joke and most looked at one another in confusion. The couple spent the entire reception and some of their honeymoon explaining to people what they had done.

The groom, you see, had started his day as Mike Davis and ended it by doing something precious few of his brothers-in-arms do: He took his wife’s last name instead of her taking his.

What kind of guy would go along with this? I can’t imagine the flak I would get from my friends and family. That alone would stop me from ever even considering taking my wife’s last name.

You should ask yourself what type of woman would request that her man do this. Did you not hear the warning bells going off? Before you know it, she’ll have you walking around the house wearing her favorite set of lingerie, telling you what a great little housewife you make.

“Three months later, I’m still taking (flak) from one of my college roommates.” said the man.

Seriously dude… what did you expect?

Remember This… ?

It was a simple, yet very popular invention. Stretch Armstrong. He could stretch, and he could… well, he could stretch. Still, millions of kids owned this toy. I had one back when they re-issued it in the early 1990′s.

Stretch Armstrong was originally introduced in 1976. The original toy was a lot different than the one I had, as it looked more like a “Ken” doll with rubber arms. The one I owned looked more like a cartoon character, but with the douche level turned up quite a few notches. (The picture to the left is of the 1990′s version).

There were also a few other stretch figures released. “Stretch Monster”, Stretch Armstrong’s arch-nemesis, and a dog version wittingly called “Fetch Armstrong”.

The Stretch toy still has a cult following today, even though it’s been quite a few years since production was stopped. The toy has been mentioned on TV shows The Family Guy, My Name Is Earl and Robot Chicken. It was even mentioned in the country song, “19 Somethin’” by Mark Wills.

Photo of the Day

When I’m bored, I often browse around on Flickr. There are lots of great photos on the site that people have uploaded, and every once and a while when I find one I really like, I’ll post it up here. Here’s a really cool image of goalie sculpted from ice:

Photo taken by: chrissyliz

I need one of these

“The alarm clock that runs away and hides when you don’t wake up. Clocky gives you one chance to get up. But if you snooze, Clocky will jump off of your nightstand and wheel around your room looking for a place to hide. Clocky is kind of like a misbehaving pet, only he will get up at the right time.”

It’s a cool idea, but I can imagine how impressed I’d be with it at 7:00am when I’m crawling around on the floor, reaching to the far corner underneath my bed trying to grab the little sneaky bastard. I’m sure it would work well at getting me up; but after a few days of playing hide n’ seek with “Clocky”, he’d probably look more like a heap of broken parts, than a cute little clock.

Link: http://www.nandahome.com/products.clocky.html

Movie Review: Fast Food Nation

“You will never want to eat fast food again”.

That is what everyone told me upon seeing “Fast Food Nation”. The film is adapted from the book by Eric Schlosser, and is somewhat of an acted version of the documentary “Super Size Me”. The film focuses on the fictional fast food company, “Mickey’s”. It examines the health risks, and unsanitary conditions involved in creating those fast food burgers we all enjoy so much.

So, would I still eat a fast food burger? I would say yes. The film didn’t gross me out quite as much as expected, and I’d say “Super Size Me” had a much greater effect on making me want to stay away from fast food. We all know fast food isn’t good for you for several reasons. This film pointed out some of the more disgusting aspects, and if anything it would make you want to be a vegetarian more than give up fast food.

It takes a lot to make me disturbed. Well, this movie may have one of the most disturbing scenes I’ve ever seen. Without giving away any spoilers, I’ll just say it involves the slaughtering of live cows. From what I can tell, it’s actual footage of cows being slaughtered, although I could be wrong. Either way, it’s extremely disgusting. Not for anyone with a weak stomach.

I had really big expectations for this film, and I would say I was somewhat let down. I was expecting a more informative film that gave me reasons why I shouldn’t eat fast food. This film focuses more on graphic images of how beef is prepared, and didn’t really attempt to inform me; instead trying to let the images do the talking.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s most definitely worth the rental. It just didn’t live up to my high expectations.

My Rating: 7.5/10

This just looks wrong

Add this picture to the list of things I never wanted to see.

I know it’s been nearly a year since Todd Bertuzzi was traded away in the incredible deal that fetched us Roberto Luongo, but I still find the picture above to just seem… wrong. This isn’t even Bertuzzi’s first team since the Canucks. However, in Florida he barely played (only 7 games) and well, it’s Florida… we never hear about them or see them play so it was like it never even happened. But Detroit? They are Conference rivals of Vancouver and Bertuzzi shouldn’t be playing for a team we’ve battled against for so long. Bertuzzi still feels like a Canuck to me, and seeing him wearing the jersey of the other guys… well, it just doesn’t seem right.

Six Games in Seven Nights

My hockey league’s regular season concluded last night, in a game that we won 9-0, giving me my third shut out of the year. I had a really fun year this year; one of my most enjoyable in recent memory. I played as many games as I ever have in a year, playing full time for one team, and part time for two more teams, and then sparing for a couple others.

In the past week, I have played six games. It’s been a good week, as we’ve managed to win all six games.

I ended the year with the best GAA (goals against average) in the league with a 3.23, most shutouts with 3, and the best winning percentage.

Our team finished first overall, and playoffs start next week. Hopefully we can cap off a successful season with the league championship.

My Top 10 Favorite Nicolas Cage Movies

Nicolas Cage, although he can sometimes be a bit too dramatic, has always been one of my favorite actors. He seems to always make entertaining movies, and rarely is he in a movie I don’t at least enjoy in some way. I didn’t know if I could put together 10 of his movies that I really liked, but while compiling my list, I realized it could have been a top 15 list quite easily. I was surprised at how many good movies Cage has been in.

Anyways, on with the list…

10. Adaptation

This movie is not for everyone. It’s quite different from most of Cage’s acting choices. It’s a movie you will either love or hate. I thought it had an incredible script, and was a very original film. Cage does an excellent job playing the two completely different characters. Also starring are Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper.

9. Matchstick Men

This film seemed to pass by most peoples radar, even though it was directed by the great Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Thelma and Louise). It’s a film about a con-artist (Nicolas Cage) and his young protege (Alison Lohman). Lohman is the stand-out in this movie, but Cage also puts in a great performance. An entertaining little movie, I highly recommend if you haven’t seen it.

8. City of Angels

A film popular among the general public, but not among the critics. I have always really enjoyed this movie. It’s a bit of a chick flick in a way, but it’s still a good movie that most guys can enjoy as well. Cage plays an angel on Earth, while the film also stars Meg Ryan as an ER doctor. This is the perfect movie to see with the girlfriend or wife.

7. The Family Man

A really great movie that explores what everyone has asked their selves at least once: “what if?” Cage plays a rich investment banker who has everything money can buy and enjoys his life as a single man, but one day wakes up married with kids, working at a tire shop. The film also stars Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle and Jeremy Piven.

6. Gone In Sixty Seconds

This movie is nothing, if not high-action entertainment. Cage stars as ‘Memphis’ Raines, a retired car thief that comes out of retirement to steal 50 cars in one night in order to save his brother’s life. The film is filled with nice cars, high speed chases and lots of explosions. It’s was never meant to win any awards, but it will entertain you. It also stars Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Scott Caan, Robert Duvall, among others.

5. The Weather Man

The Weather Man is somewhat of a dark comedy, and in this one, Cage is David Spritz, a man fighting to decide whether personal and professional success are both possible at the same time. It’s a quirky, enjoyable little film that I highly suggest. Like always, Cage shows he is capable of playing pretty much any role, and able to do it well. It was one of my favorite movies from 2005.

4. The Rock

These top four were really hard to decide on. The Rock was one of my favorite movies in the mid-90′s. An excellent action film, starring Cage, Sean Connery, Ed Harris and David Morse. Cage plays a chemist who, along with an ex-con (Connery), must break into the famous Alcatraz prison to stop a group of soldiers from using nerve gas to attack San Fransisco.

3. Lord of War

One of the more recent Nicolas Cage movies that I’ve seen. I was incredibly surprised and impressed with this film. A very interesting look into the world of illegal gun running. Cage is great in his role as a decent man who’s livelihood involves selling firearms to mostly third-world countries. It was not a box office success, but easily one of Cage’s best films. Highly recommended.

2. Face/Off

Two of my favorite actors at the time (Cage, along with John Travolta) go head to head in this great action film. The idea is somewhat logically ridiculous, but it’s a fun film none-the-less. Sean Acher goes undercover by changing his appearence (literally switching faces) with a major criminal in order to go undercover and infiltrate his organization. It’s a film that’s over-the-top, yet still great entertainment.

1. Con Air

It may have had the worst action one-liner of all time, but it’s still my all-time favorite Nicolas Cage movie. Like a lot of Cage’s movies in the 90′s, it was made for pure entertainment value, and in that respect, it is a great movie. It does exactly what it put out to do. The cast is great, as John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Monica Potter and Dave Chappelle all make appearances.

Honerable mention go to: Leaving Las Vegas, National Treasure, 8MM, Snake Eyes, World Trade Center, It Could Happen To You and Windtalkers.

Remember This… ?

They were so rich and having more than a few of them made you sick, but I still loved those wonderful little frost-dipped crackers known as Dunkaroos. How great it was to open my Transformers lunchbox and see a pack of Dunkaroos waiting to be devoured.

Dunkaroos were cinnamon graham cookies in the shape of a basketball-playing Kangaroo, and they came with a little rainbow sprinkled vanilla frosting dip. The cookies were your ordinary graham cracker type, but the dip was something else. So ridiculously rich, after dipping three or four crackers I felt like throwing up. But again and again, I would eat them up, and each time during those first few crackers, I was in heaven.

I haven’t seen these in stores forever, but apparently you can still buy them. You can even order them online at Amazon.

Ultimate Canuck Search

I hope my kids turn out to be just like this little cutie.

This is another entry in the search for the “Ultimate Canucks fan”. This particular one is of an incredibly cute little girl who probably knows more Canucks’ than kids twice her age.

I first saw this video a few weeks back, but I thought I’d post it for those of you that haven’t seen it.

Since when is self-interest a bad thing?

Today I read a good post over at a blog called, The Journey Out.

The author makes several points, but the one I agree most with is her comment on self-interest. These days, it seems everyone is brainwashed into thinking that if you act for yourself, you are being selfish, and are therefor not a very good person. What are we doing here, if not to live our lives to make ourselves happy?

A quote from the blog post:

“I find that rational self-interest is the only LOGICAL way to live my life. After living my life at the whims of others, I find that I am entitled to live my life now as I see fit. I am entitled to live a free life, loving my family, and living the way I want to. I’ve earned that right. Some people don’t get the concept of rational self interest because they have been brainwashed into thinking that we must always live for others.

What is it about our society where this concept of the rational pursuit of one’s happiness is considered suspect? In the evolution of mankind we all started out doing exactly this, keeping ourselves and our chosen communities alive, living for our own sakes, living to be happy. In what bizarre twist of evolution does self-sacrifice enter the picture? Sacrifice to further your familial line is logical, but sacrifice for a stranger, it’s not logical nor does it serve a purpose unless you are trying to earn some future reward or accolades from those who look back on the event.”

To read the article in it’s entirety, click here.

New film for Peter Krause

I was a huge “Six Feet Under” fan, and the work of Peter Krause (playing the role of Nate Fisher) was a big reason why. I’m always happy to see my favorite TV stars translate their careers to the big screen. Peter Krause has a new movie coming out this year, called “Civic Duty”.

IMDB.com’s plot outline:

An American accountant bombarded with cable news and the media’s obsession with terrorist plots in the post 9-11 world, receives a jolt when an unattached Islamic graduate student moves in next door.

The movie is being described as a “thriller with a lot of twists”. Also of note, the movie was filmed in Vancouver, BC.

Stop Clubbing Baby Seals

No, I’m not talking about Jason’s t-shirt.

I’ve always thought the whole “stop clubbing baby seals” protests were pretty funny. I mean, do people really club baby seals? Well, apparently they do, and I’m not talking about one or two seals. Think more like 300,000 a year. And… the men doing the clubbing are getting upset about their reputation as savages.

From Scotsman News:

Mark Small is fed up with being portrayed as a bloodthirsty killer for his part in an annual cull in which about 300,000 young seals are shot or clubbed to death on ice floes off Canada’s east coast. 

“It gives you a terrible feeling as a human being,” said Small, a veteran hunter in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland. “We’re not a cruel, savage race that came out of the forest somewhere.”

Umm, buddy… you club 300,000 baby seals a year. What would you rather be referred to as? A group of guys with “good baseball swings?”

What an idiot.

Trivia Question

This trivia question came to mind because of my prior post that listed my favorite fast food burgers.

What restaurant chain serves more full service meals than any other in British Columbia, with more than 15 million guests every year?

Any guesses? I’ll post the answer in the comments section.

Joke of the Day

Two elderly women were out driving in a large car – both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along, they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red, but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself “I must be losing it.. I could have sworn we just went through a red light.”

After a few more minutes, they came to another intersection and the light was red again. Again, they went right through. The woman in the passenger seat was almost sure that the light had been red but was really concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous.

At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was red and they went on through. So, she turned to the other woman and said, “Mildred, did you know that we just ran through three red lights in a row? You could have killed us both!”

Mildred turned to her and said, “Oh crap, am I driving?”

The Evolution of the Goaltender

One of the easiest ways to visually explain the changes to hockey over the years, is to use goaltenders. Their styles, their size and most of all, their equipment has changed so drastically over the years. This post will give you a decade by decade look at just how much things have changed in the past 50 years.

1950/1960′s

(Pictured: Gump Worsley)

 

1970′s

(Pictured: Tony Esposito)

 

1980′s

(Pictured: Patrick Roy)

 

1990′s

(Pictured: Bill Ranford)

 

2000′s

(Pictured: Marc-Andre Fleury)

Wow, have things ever changed. The equiptment has become larger, colorful, more protective and simply much, much nicer looking. The fact that goalies didn’t start wearing helmets regularly until the 1960′s is almost incomprehensible to me. Granted, players didn’t shoot nearly as hard, but still. Just incredible.

Needless to say, am I ever glad I’m a goalie here in 2007, and not back in the 50′s or 60′s.

My Top 5 Favorite Fast Food Burgers

I don’t eat fast food that often. Maybe it’s the fear of getting fat, getting sick and feeling like a piece of crap, or dying an early death from a grease-induced heart attack. I guess you could say those are slight drawbacks. However, when I do allow myself some fast food (usually on those grease-craving hungover mornings), these are the top 5 burgers I’m most likely to want:

5. The Big Xtra, McDonalds

I rarely order these, but they have always remained one of my favorites. It’s a beef burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, seasoning and a special mayo sauce. It’s the sauce that makes the burger. Unfortunately it also comes with a ridiculous 38 grams of fat and 42 grams of carbs.

4. The Whopper, Burger King

When I was younger, me and by buddy Hoff used to have “Whopper Wednesdays”. These burgers were incredible, and oh so huge. My boss and a fellow worker have these all the time, but remain skinny. How? Who knows. I’ve never been a big fan of Burger King, but their Whopper is damn good. It’s a lot bigger than the Big Xtra at McDonalds, but has a lower 25 grams of fat in comparison.

3. The Big Mac, McDonalds

Possibly one of the most popular fast food burgers on the planet, how could anyone not enjoy a Big Mac? With all that lettuce, it doesn’t seem as greasy as some of the other McDonalds burgers, and once again, it’s the sauce that makes the burger taste so good. However, it may seem healthier, but it’s not. The Big Mac with cheese comes in with a crazy 43.7 grams of fat. No wonder America is full of fat people.

2. The Spicy Chicken Burger, Wendy’s

I have always found Wendy’s to be the best fast food restaraunt. Their burgers always seem to taste less greasy, and actually better than most other fast food joints. They also have several options for sides, instead of the usual “with fries” option. The spicy chicken burger is excellent, and never makes you feel sick afterwards. Ok, so it tastes healthier, but is it? The answer is yes, as this sandwich comes in at only 15 grams of fat.

1. The Spicy Big Crunch, KFC

One of my favorite foods, there isn’t a better fast food burger than the Spicy Big Crunch. “Club it” (adds Bacon, lettuce and cheese), and it gets that much better. If you like spicy and you like chicken, I’m sure you love this burger. If you go without clubbing it, this sandwich comes in at around 25 grams of fat.

Ok, is anyone else craving a burger right about now? I know I am.

Happy Birthday Kazzidy!

Today is my little sister Kazz’s birthday. She turns four today. Wow, you’re growing up quickly Kazz! Happy Birthday!!!

 (Thanks to Vanessa for the picture)