Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Guess Which Political Genius Said This...

"Like A thief who yells fire in a crowded restaurant". What the F*** does this even mean?

Is it:

A George W Bush

B Stephen Harper


Both are the really the same but the answer is below:












Tuesday, November 29, 2005

A Bloodless Coup pt 2

The opposition was able to bring down the government yesterday. I am disgusted by the politicians of this country. All of them. This is all about ego and has nothing to do with making Canada a better country. The PC, NDP and Bloc are all complaining about waste in the government and yet elections are extremely expensive and do little to improve our way of life. And what exactly is going to be accomplished with this election? The results will show another Liberal minority government and we will be right back were we started. And with seperatism raising its ugly head in Quebec again, a minority government does not help Canada in any way.

Did anyone notice the kiss that my MP laid on the leader of the opposition yesterday during the vote of non-confidence? Don't tell me their is nothing going on there.

On a lighter note, the Edmonton Eskimos won the Grey Cup. It could have been the most exciting game ever played in the CFL. I am proud to say I am a fan of the Green and Gold but I did not feel the level of anxiety that I usually feel when my favorite teams are playing. I guess the CFL just doesn't work that much for me.

IA is off to LA-LA land. He needs to remember to ask for "Whiskey and Coke" not "Rye and Coke". Many Americans have no idea what rye is. Weird?

Thursday, November 24, 2005

A Bloodless Coup

Now I know I have ranted about this before but the whole issue of the Conservatives trying to bring down the government of Canada with a non-confidence vote really bothers me. I know I live in Alberta and it is a given that I must support the PC party but I just can't. I wrote this piece at the beginning of November and I am bending in my beliefs at all. In fact, I think my stance is getting more solidified against the PC party and all their lackeys. The pure arrogance of Harper to preach about ethics and the such is bordering on ridiculous. I mean c'mon, does he really expect Canadians to believe that their party will be any less corrupt than the Liberals? Airbus, patronage, and theft were some of the many stories the PC's had come to the forefront during the days of Brian Mulroney. And I was Mulroney supporter.

I understand that Harper has to say these to be elected but is Canada really any better off with a right wing hack controlling the country? No is the simple answer.

I guess this is all moot any how. There is no way that any party in Canada will carry a majority and we will have another election and be right back where we are now.

Funny thing I noticed today. I think my MP is sleeping with the party leader. I am a pretty good reader of people and her longing looks today in the House seemed a little more than just ones of respect. Can I verify this? No so I will end this note by saying this is merely my opinion and not meant to slander Ms Ambrose or Mr Harper. Of course, this is the same MP that seemed to take huge pride in advertising in her quarterly report to the masses that she spoke the third most amount of words in the House this session. Yikes.

VK and IA are going to Vegas. More details later.
VK

Monday, November 21, 2005

Late Shift

Today I start two weeks of working the 10-6 shift at my job. There is nothing worse than working this shift. Now I imagine there are actually worse jobs and shifts to work but I have my reasons.

I wake up an hour and a half before I needed to go to work. So I get up, have breakfast, watch some CNBC, chase Marmie around and then wait. And wait. And wait some more. Finally, 9am comes along and I drive to the mall to catch the bus.

Now it is one thing to roll out of bed, shower, eat Cheerios and then catch the bus all in the space of about half an hour. Not a lot of time to reflect on how you don't want to work that day. The time I waited this morning made me think about how nice it would be to stay at home lounging on the couch.

In other words, this is going to be a long two weeks.

Thoughts of the day:

1 Colts beat the Bengals. bengals4ever is lucky he is on vacation or the mocking would never cease. No defense but it sure was exciting.

2 The Esks pulled it out last night. I went Moe's to watch the best part of the game with IA.

3 I went to BBY this weekend looking for 4 items (Sinatra CD, Rome computer game, House season one on DVD and Nip/Tuck season two on DVD). They were sold out of each item. I wandered around for half an hour looking for something to spend my money on and could find nothing. How sad.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Time to talk a little TV

The new TV season is a quarter of the way through so I thought it might be to do an evaluation of shows I am watching. Enjoy.

Before I get to the TV talk just a couple of notes about other stuff.

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. All of our soldiers should be honoured. The Canadian military is a great institution that we all take for granted (even our government). We should put more money into defense and pay the soldiers like they should be. Also it is my late Grandparents anniversary. I miss them dearly and wish they were still around.

The public transportation note of the day: This morning, a holiday, I was the only person on the bus for almost the whole trip. I am thinking that ETS would have been better off not running my route this morning.

If you will remember I did a rundown earlier this season of what I was going to watch. There have been a couple of additions but several subtractions. Here we go:

Sunday night:

The Simpsons has been just okay this season. Granted we have only seen a couple of episodes due to the break for the baseball play-offs. The "Treehouse of Horrors" episodes was probably the weakest one ever. Grade C+
The West Wing has been good at times and terrible at others. I thought the live debate was interesting but the outcome of the election is pretty apparent when Jimmy Smits is under contract through next season. Grade C
Desperate Housewives was a bore the first couple of episodes and I stopped watching. I have heard it has gotten better but I will probably never watch this show again. Grade D
Law & Order: CI has tried something different by alternating stars of the show from episode to episode. I like it. It has been a strong season and the 2 hour movie last week was pretty good. Grade B
Rome has been excellent. As with most HBO series it has been full of good writing and interesting plot work. Too bad there are only 3 more episodes left this season. Grade A-

Monday night:

Arrested Development has been put on hiatus by FOX and this is a disgrace. I still think this show is the funniest on TV. Charlize Theron has been a guest star for the past few eps and hilarity ensued. Hopefully the show will be back later this season but it seems it is gone for good. Grade A
This season of Prison Break has been up and down. I love the prison scenes but the conspiracy stuff seems a little over the top. I think the producers are unsure of going the 24 route of improbable plot twists and such is achievable. I enjoy the show but I am worried it may be taking itself a little to seriously. Grade B+
Las Vegas started off a little slow but seems to be picking up the pace. The retro episode this last week was great. And Vegas Sam is as hot as ever. Someone dies during sweeps. Ideas? Grade B-
CSI:Miami has bored me a bit this season. Maybe I am watching too many crime shows. This weeks episode had a plane crash in it. If my math is correct, this is the 3rd plane to crash on CSI:Miami in 3 seasons. Note to self: drive to Miami, do NOT fly. Grade C+

Tuesday night:

The season long mockery of those on anti-depressants on Rescue Me has been pretty funny. See Dennis Leary take Prozac, see him write poetry. See Leary off Prozac, he start brawls in the FDNY vs NYPD hockey game. Good stuff. Watch this show. Grade A
Commander in Chief has been different than I originally expected. I thought it would be like West Wing but it has been more of a "family in the White House" kind of show. Steven Bochco has taken over the producing of the show so I expect it to become a little grittier. Grade B-
House is a riot. This could be my favorite show on TV right now. It is like a medical detective show. I had no idea that all these maladies existed. Grade A+
NCIS is poorly written and the acting is mediocre, at best. And yet I continue to watch it. Car wreck, anyone? The stories are at least interesting. The repeats I saw during the summer were definitely better. Grade C+
Bones is a new show on FOX starring David Boreanez (from Buffy and Angel). I am not sure how to describe this show but it keeps getting better each week. Grade B
L&O:SVU had an excellent episode last week involving American Nazis. This could be the best season on SVU since its first. Grade B+

Wednesday night:

How could they kill Shannon? Poor IA! Lost keeps bringing out the surprises. The new group of survivors has added a new dynamic to the show. This season is as strong as last and looks to keep being the best drama on TV. Grade A+
Invasion has been a little disappointing to me. I am not sure if I have ADD or not but I can't seem to sit through an entire episode. I think the show is moving to slow for me and I find myself fast forwarding through it. Will I keep trying to watch it? Probably, but I hope it picks up the pace soon. Grade C+ (but something tells me I should rate it higher)
I watched one episode of Law & Order this season and stopped watching after that. I can't explain why. Maybe I have way to much TV to watch. Grade N/A
Note to NBC: Please cancel E-Ring. Grade D-
Who would have thought a show about a soccer mom selling pot would be funny? Apparently the writers of Weeds. And you know what? I agree. Watch this show. Showcase in Canada. Grade A-

Thursday Night:

The OC has been a huge let down for me this season. The writing is weak and the story lines suck. Marissa goes to a new school and falls in with a crowd exactly like her old friends only poorer. It kind of reminds me of when Elaine found the bizarro crew on Seinfeld. I hope it gets better but I am not holding out much hope. Grade C
Like The OC, Alias has disappointed me this season as well. Perhaps it is the death of Vaughn or Sydney's pregnancy, but the show seems to lack the spark it once had. This is the last season of Alias so hopefully they turn it around and allow the show to go out with a bang and not a whimper. Grade C
CSI continues to plug along. I think the show needs a new character or two just to spruce things up. Grade B
And I finally gave up on ER. I made it through one episode and abandoned the show. It is just pure crap now. Grade F (it should only be a D but I really liked this show in its prime and it is just a pale copy now)

Friday night:

I have a tough time following all the math talk in Numb3rs. And I am not sure if math would really even help solve some of the crimes they are investigating. But, the show is fun and fills a void on Saturday mornings. Grade B-
Threshold continues to intrigue me. The show is not as slow as Invasion but needs to pick up the pace a little. Carla Gugino is good in her role and is a smokin' hottie as well. Grade B
Bernie Mac is predictable but funny at the same time. Grade B-

Saturday night:

Nip/Tuck is probably my second favorite show on TV. It is bleak and disturbing yet also, highly entertaining. Where else on TV are you going to see a firm marketing a facial mask whose main ingredient is semen? Or Joan Rivers? Or a porn star with a heart of gold? Grade A
Saturday Night Live is terrible this year. Even the return of Tina Fey has not salvaged this season. It almost makes one long for the days of David Spade and Adam Sandler. Almost! Grade D-

That's it.

VK is out!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Monday, November 07, 2005

Dangers of Hi-Def TV

I briefly watched the Category 7 show last night on CBS. What did I learn? Well, apparently there is such thing as a Cat 7 storm. I don't think this is true but if it is on TV is it a lie?

The second thing I learned is that Hi-Def is not friendly to women (and maybe men) who are not aging well. Shannon Doherty (90210) and Gina Gershon (Showgirls) did not look all that good. Maybe too much HD is a bad thing.

And thirdly, Washington DC, New York and other US cities look remarkably like Winnipeg.

Cheerleaders who have sex with each other are good. Cheerleaders that beat up bar patrons are not so good. I think!

VK and IA are going to Vegas this winter. This looks like a great place to stay. I think it is the old San Remo, I wonder if you can get wings and beer from room service. Maybe some Gibsons 12 year old for IA.

And on that trip we are going to Needles, CA. WTF is in Needles you ask? A memorial to the late, great, profane Sam Kinison.

Time to watch the game.



Go Lakers

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Sunday Morning


Last night I went to the movie with Bentley and Dirty Dan. Good times. Dinner was excellent at Joey's and part of the fun was watching Indian Assassin drink Crown instead of Gibson's. Is IA selling out?

We went and saw Jarhead. It was pretty good. It was an interesting war film that didn't actually have any fighting in it. There were some very funny scenes and some very disturbing images as well. I had read reviews saying the movie really never went any where. I agree but I didn't necessarily think this was a bad thing. The first Iraq didn't really go anywhere and barely accomplished anything. I gave the movie 7 out of 10.



Disappointing Customer Service Moment of the Week:

This morning I went through the drive-thru at McDonald's and ordered my breakfast. The first total the girl gave me was about 50% higher than the bill normally is. (I usually order the same thing for breakfast every time I go). I politely told the clerk that this total seemed quite high. It turns out she had tried to charge me for two super sized orange juices. I actually order apple juice but whatever. So the girl changed the order and still was charging me too much. I explained that I had just ordered the same thing two weeks ago and it was about $2.00 less. She argued with me saying she had done it right. I said "fine" and went through to pick up my meal. After going through the drive-thru I parked and went inside to get to talk to the manager. End of story: I was credited the difference by the manager with a half-hearted apology. Why is there such a lack of competence in retail today?

Big game tomorrow. The Colts are playing the Patriots. Go Colts.

And go Lakers!

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Gomery Report

Back to the hard commentary you have all come to know and love.

Yesterday the Gomery report came out and essentially said that a bunch of senior Liberal Party guys were responsible for the "theft" and "fraudulent activities". No blame was placed at Paul Martin's feet however there was some blame assigned to former PM Jean Chretien.

Here is what I am thinking: Who cares? I mean really, what difference does this make to any of us? VK's dad said that "stealing is stealing" and those who commit such crimes should be "punished". I, obviously, have a slightly different take on things. It is so funny the way people react when they realize that politicians and their cronies have had their "hands in the cookie jar". Every government has had scandals and such, yet every thing it happens you would think it was the first time someone in power have done something wrong. Time after time, politicians do something unethical, or worse, illegal and we let them off. At what point does this whole process become like the story of the boy who cried wolf.

The theft in question was valued at approx $1-2 million and yet the Canadian government spent $74MM to hold this damn commission. The result of the commission, something we all knew would happen all along. The former PM would be implicated somehow and Martin would not be. Well, PM Martin is guilty but not of what you think. He is guilty of ignorance. If he did not know about the theft (since he was finance minister) then he is quite possibly the most incompetent world leader since GW Bush. Should Martin take responsibility? Sure, why not. It would not make any difference. We have an election and the Liberals win again and we wait 2 or 3 years until the next scandal. God forbid that Harper and his gang of Nazis get into office. Imagine the corruption then. And this is coming from a former PC Canada party member. (for the record, I canceled my membership the day the Reform Party joined with the Conservatives).

Just be thankful we don't live in the US. It appears that the Chief of Staff for the Vice President may have committed some sort of treason. And yet the VP escapes smelling like a rose even though there are documents that states the CoS and VP spent hours together every day.

I would like to know what you think so make some comments.

VK

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Say it Ain't So Jessica

Jessica Biel may not be as cool as I thought.
And this is some funny stuff!

Hello Everyone

So for the lack of posts. I kept putting off updates and then I realized it had been nearly 10 days without a note. Well here we go.

First off, mad props to Perogy Power. He has changed jobs here at the Firm and is now a Resource Officer. He will be missed from our team.

Today I sold my soul to the Devil for a ride home from work. In order to get a ride home today, I had to agree to say nice things about the Los Angeles Lakers to the Indian Assassin for a month. This will be very difficult for me but I am sure I can do it.

Last week I was on vacation. It was not as relaxing as one might expect. I went to the dentist 3 times and took the Trailblazer into the shop for an oil change and such. I had not been to the dentist in at least 7 years. Just one of those things you try not to do without insurance. Long story short, I had to get three fillings. This was not as bad as I thought it would be. Very painless procedures and I would recommend my dentist to anyone who needs one.

My truck needs a little work. Tire rod ends, I think is what they said. I was quoted $560.00 plus tax to fix this. Obviously I will be getting a second opinion.

I played a little PS2 over the week off. I bought two new games from EA for cheap. Good times.

I promise I will post more later on today or tomorrow.

I love the Lakers!

VK