The Good Old Days...

The new version of the Canada - Russia summit series kicked off today with Canada rolling out to a 4-2 win. The fact that this is on the 35th anniversary of the greatest sporting series of all time allows us to look back and see how much the world really has changed since then. First off all, the hockey universe and the world itself has become much smaller and so many of the players in this series are familiar with one another or have played against one another in competition before, with many Russian players now playing Junior hockey in Canada. Also many of the Canadians have played together before, at least more so than was the case in 1972. The thing that made the 1972 series so great was the political implications that it carried. The mind games that were carried out, and the bitter distane and yes even hatred that existed on the ice. It was a war as had been said time and time again, and right from the get go fans knew they were in for a close series. Though when Phil Esposito scored very early in the first period of the first game it didn't look that way, but the Russians went on to win that one showing Canada they were not as invincible as they thought. This series is a classic and no matter what they try to do, they will never be able to recreate the intensity and feeling surrounding it.

The fairer sex...

I watched blades of glory the other day and seeing the many cameos by female American figure skaters got me thinking about the nature of women in sport. The age old question arises to this day, does a female athlete loose some of her femininity? Sasha Cohen, or her likeness, were displayed in blades of glory as was Nancy Kerrigan. Both very attractive women, Cohen winning sexiest female athlete several years ago, and for good reason. Then there are the tennis beauties such as Sharapova and Ivanovic who are tall and good looking, any guy would jump at the chance to be with them. So, what does their athletic ability have to do with it? Danica Patrick could easily drive circles around most men she would meet on a day to day basis, so does this intimidate? I know that most of my buddies, and I will say myself included, would not want to get our asses kicked in any sport by our girlfriend, wife, significant other, whatever...There still exists that notion of the masculine strength and superiority in physical tasks and endeavours. And lets face facts, speaking strictly scientifically men are more adapt at such events because of their genes, though I would have to question this in many cases. There is no reason that women can't be good at sports, but I doubt many would jump at the chance to get into a full contact sport with their male counterparts. This is not to say that there aren't those who couldn't handle it, or wouldn't relish the though, I know many that would hand me my lunch any day, but we are talking about the norm here, the average person. So while being able to be athletic is not the most girly girly thing in the world, I have no problem with it, and hell I'd even go so far as to say in some cases its hot...

Every Dog has his day...

By far one of the strangest stores of the year has to be the Michael Vick dog fighting scandal. And seeing as how he is pleading guilty, I can talk about him without fear of a lawyer coming after me, unlike Barry Bonds, but anyway I think it is a sad situation that he has got himself in and pleading was the right thing to do, admit that he was wrong go serve his time and hopefully start setting a better example for the community upon his release. The gambling issue had the league concerned but they were not betting hundreds of thousands of dollars on these dogs, so there was no risk of him throwing any games for such small amounts. The fact that they were getting dogs to fight in the first place is unsettling, and so they will be punished. I don't feel sorry for Vick, and this doesn't make him the worst human being on the planet, but it was certainly in bad taste and bad judgement on his part to become involved in this, in any respect no matter how little or deeply he may have been behind it. let this be a lesson to us all that no matter what, animals being used for profit will not be acceptable...

Thinning the herd...

The recent crop of movies that have been released, specifically this summer, have actually not been to bad. I am looking forward to going to see the Bourne Ultimatium and Superbad, but like anything else in life you have to take the bad with the good, and there has been more then enough of that in the past few months to make us wonder who makes these decisions. There are many many many...you get the idea...more movies put out now than there were in the 60's, 70's and so on, and as a result the general overall quality has slipped. True, the improvements in technology have allowed films to look better, and get more adventurous with the CGI and effects, but this doesn't necessarily make the movie great. So here's a thought for those producers in Hollywood, instead of giving all your friends and relatives a break, go by what they actually bring to the table, judge the quality of their work alone, make less movies, and make sure you produce only the best. You will still make money and be able to afford all those fancy extras you are used to but now you will have the added benefit of public respect for producing quality work. Though you don't care about that do you, the money is what counts for you guys isn't it...oh well, one day I may come knocking, here's hoping you'll listen to reason...

This just in...No one cares!

Those of you who are familiar with the Ottawa Sun, or most likely most of the Sun papers in Canada, I don't read them all, will know that they run a letters to the editor in the sports section covering all things sports. Many of these are informative, insightful and strongly based in facts or at least grounded in some sort of reality well others are about as insightful as a blind guy watching you through a brick wall. My point is that recently there have been a lot, and I mean a lot of letters on soccer at with the U20 World Cup and David Beckham around soccer interest has certainly peaked, but the point is that they are debating it compared to hockey, questioning the ability of the athletes in one sport vs. another and so on and so forth. Yes, hockey players are generally physically tougher and more rugged than soccer players, and yes I love that about hockey, but the point is that's a part of the game. The unnecessary diving and flopping around of these soccer players has garnered them a reputation for being weak little girly men from many fans, and I do admit these shameful displays do nothing to improve the games reputation, but calling their manhood into question is taking it a bit far. The fat is many people like hockey better than soccer, my self included, but that doesn't mean I hate soccer or don't think the players are athletic. The point is they are games, and you can debate all you want which is better and which is more entertaining and so on and so forth but the point is, who cares. You prefer soccer, or lacrosse or bowling, good for you. I don't care. I know what I like so why must those who like something else judge those who don't like it? The letters are entertaining and I will not blame Sun Media for publishing them because they are encouraging it certainly, but they are running a business. I blame those with nothing better to do then write in just to make fun of someone else or feel the need to defend the honour of their game over and over. Let's just agree that people like sports, maybe we don't all like the same one, but who cares, that's why we have so many...

A blast from the Past...

The reality of Hollywood is that it is a business and so they try to make money however they can. The recent rash of rehashing old concepts and nostalgic 80's memories proves this theory, at least for me. The release of the live action Transformers movie, the upcoming Reboot and Thundercats movies also will try to cash in on series past. There was also the release of the animated TMNT which I thought was a nice addition to the franchise as was actually a pretty good movie. This being said I do like thinking about these fond memories from childhood, I was only very young when the first Transformers movie came out, but nonetheless I still remember these series and I hope that they will be done justice on the silver screen. Which brings me to another point, I have spent a lot of time lately watch the spiderman animated series and X-men animated series from the early 90's that Fox did, and I wonder why the movies were no where near as good as the show. These were great shows and I think Marvel should make some animated films, other than the Avengers and Iron Man ones they have already done to help boost their image. The other thing that should be mentioned is that technology has allowed for them to do live action movies of subjects they never would have dreamed of before which is why they are now revisiting ideas long past...maybe they aren't as dumb as we think.

The Weekend That Was

There was much happening on the weekend, here are some notes of interest:

Sports: Predictable and Unthinkable
- Tiger Woods held on at the PGA Championship and won his 4th Wanamaker trophy and 13th career major meaning within the next four year - at the very most - he will pass Jack Nicklaus for first on the all time major's win list.
- Roger Federer was defeated by Frank Danjovic in the finals at the Master's Series event in Montreal. Good for the 20 year old up and commer.

Film: Money Talks - wait, that was his other movie...
- Chris Tucker and Jackie returned for Rush Hour three and surpassed the Bourne Supremacy at the box office despite receiving terrible reviews from critics, and I mean really terrible.

News: They are still trying to dig miners out of an industrial accident but after a week the outlook cannot be expected to be positive, but I do hope it ends well, my thoughts and prayers go out to friends and family.

Enjoy your week.

Another list of unimportance...

Once again, daydreaming at work, trying not to let the dirty thoughts conquer my mind and I started thinking about things I would like to do (No people will be on this list, we'll keep it PG) before my time here is done. So anyway here's a few suggestions...

1. Travel to Europe
2. Sky Dive
3. Bungee Jump
4. Drive the Autobahn
5. Get a Screenplay Purchased
6. Play a Professional Golf Course
7. Go on a Safari
8. See the Amazon Rain forest
9. See a Space Launch at Cape Canaveral
10. Play Hockey with the Greats

Brain Cramp...

Ok, so here are some things that floated through my mind during a very slow day at work...

1. TMNT was actually not a half bad movie, maybe I just miss being a kid, good memories
2. Rob Schneider is real ugly, and makes real bad movies
3. Adam Sandler needs to make better movies...I miss Billy Madison and the like
4. Gary Betman is useless..repeat...
5. Why do people feel the need to call it a graphic novel...it's just a big ass comic book, I enjoy them and I am ok with that, but let's be honest...it's a comic book just real real big.
6. Kevin Smith is everywhere these days...good for him
7. Casey hasn't been keeping up with his blog...Film school must be intense
8. Racoons make lousy neighbours...
9. My neighbours are lousy neighbours...
10. Jim Carrey should get a hair cut
11. Barry Bonds gets to much attention - case and point
12. Global warming is a problem, but stop harping all the time, we are wasting all kinds of trees printing stories telling people about the dangers of global warming!
13. I wish I had a dog
14. I miss hockey...it should be played year round
15. Tiger Woods will win the PGA this weekend
16. I need a nap...

756..and counting

The milestone reached last night in San Francisco CA. by Barry Bonds who became the all time home run king passing Hank Aaron will no doubt have its share of commentators, so I figure what's one more. Barry is not Mr. Nice Guy, he is not someone who seems, at least, to care what you think about him, and he is not in the shape he was 20 years ago. That being said this chemically built machine, presumably, is still going and has managed to break one of the games most storied records. Did he take steroids...possibly. Why haven't they caught him, maybe they don't want to. Baseball is so full of problems that they seem almost afraid to look and see what they might find with an honest effort. Barry did this as did many many many others. Should he be criticized for this, yes, should the rest, yes. Why did they do this? Us. They wanted to put on a better show for the fans, and for their big fat paychecks so they did whatever it took to be at a high level night in and night out. And as a result they felt a lot of pressure and made some stupid decisions. But, what would you do if that was the only way to keep your job? That fine line in professional sports causes people to do some drastic and ultimately stupid things, including performance enhancers. Regardless of what he has done or hasn't (snicker) Barry Bonds' accomplishment is still nothing to be ignored. He is a talented ball player and one of the best home run hitters in the game. Looking at him now, and looking at his rookie card, you may never know it was the same guy, but this aside he should be congratulated on what he has accomplished regardless of how you feel about the guy, Do cheaters prosper...sadly in our world yes. Is he one, perhaps. But all I know is that they are counting home runs either way, so for now he is number one and mark it if you like ****

Disturb-ing-ia

I watched Disturbia the other day, and while it wasn't a bad movie, the acting was actually fairly good, the cookie cutter plot and been there done that sense I get from these kinds of movies keeps me from saying it is actually a good film. Though it is not below average and not a complete waste of time, there are many other things I would find more interesting to occupy myself with. The lack of any sense of creativity in Hollywood these days seems to stem from movies like this one which did fairly well at the box office and got decent critical reviews. People have actually come to expect less seemingly and are not wanting to be challenged when they go to see a movie. True, that the mainstream Hollywood film is meant to entertain it is sad that few actually challenge or create any sense of having to engage the movie. There is no sense of I wonder what that would be like, or relation to the character on the viewers behalf. This makes no sense to me where there are many talented people out there who could do much better. The is not such a lack of creativity and ideas that we have reached the bottom of the barrel. So please challenge yourself to try and do better, think smarter and realize that the all mighty dollar is a curse to this industries actual achievement as an art form.

Laugh it Up

With the release of Hot Rod today, and Rush Hour 3 and Superbad later this month there will be no shortage of comedies this month. Also, the Simpsons movie and Knocked Up which also supplied a lot of humour thus far means that this is one of the funniest summers I can remember...at least in the theater. These movies are not always loved by the critics and lack a lot of what the art types deam make a movie good. There is often not many complex characters and the interaction and motivation for the various characters is very surface or explained then quickly glossed over. However, this is missing the point, these movies are there to entertain us, give us a laugh, make us not have to think about other things for a while. Perhaps the increase in number of comedies is a sign of the declining nature of our society, the lack of intellectualism in our world, true making someone laugh is not easy and writing a funny, successful movie is no small thing, but writing a though provoking, stimulating movie requires more effort, and careful planning. This is not to take away from comedies such a knocked up which are hilarious the whole way through, and try to at least hit some dramatic notes, but they seem very contrived and like everything is a line...if you are a critic. So for those who put to much thought into these things I say forget about it, go watch the movie, have a good time and realize what you were there for in the first place...to be entertained.

Dropping the gloves

The news released yesterday that the Nashville Predators have a new local owner who intends to keep the franchise is good news for the few loyal fans that reside there, but to the rest of the state, most wouldn't even notice. It is also unfortunate that the franchise had a fire sale and the team will not be anywhere near as competitive this year. That being said, the most interesting part of all this is the drama between Craig Leipold the current owner and Jim Balsille the man who tried to buy them. Leipold criticized for his attempts to take the franchise away and the slick behind the scenes dealings of the lawyers trying to make this happen. The truth is that Balsille didn't really go about getting the team the right way and pissed some people off. This doesn't change the fact that there are at least half a dozen better, more competitive markets in Canada for this franchise. I know it would suck for Nashville to loose this team, well, a few thousand may care, and that Leipold was pissed off, but the fact is Gary Betman and his American friends who unfortunately run the league these days are to blame. They never should have moved here in the first place. Or many of the other southern markets for that matter. It detracts from the fact that people down there generally don't care about the game. Not all, obviously or these franchise wouldn't be there in the first place, but you cannot tell me with a straight face that there are not better markets out there, even within the United States, and that Gary Betman has not turned his back on Canada. He wouldn't have a league if it wasn't for Canada yet he continues to ignore us. It is pitiful, sad and shows no real leadership or foresight. He loves money, not hockey and no amount of slick word play on his part will ever ever convince me of this. He is not the right man for this job, but has somehow managed to maintain power. He must have some real powerful friends because it makes no sense to me. And yes, while the on ice product was good this year, that was the doing of the competition committee, not Gary. So, I will once again be forced to watch games with empty seats this year, and another team in a market far away make a run to a cup that the city doesn't know exists...sigh...and they wonder why Canadians like beer so much.

Feelin' Fine

I recently watched the movie Saint Ralph, a small Canadian production from a few years back, and it was one of those movies that is very simple, yet touching and honest. The characters are likable and though not overly adventurous the movie is entertaining and leaves you with a sense of the everyman's accomplishment in life. You want to like these people, and dislike those who oppose them. In the simplest of terms, the characters are not always complex but at least easily understood and the reasons for their actions clear. This is the beauty of this film and others like it such as Miracle, Remember the Titans and Friday Night Lights. These films show people at their best, and often worst and help us to get to that emotional well. True at times they try their hardest to get that well to over flow, to the point of almost being cheesy, but only almost. These films work and though you know what to expect going in, the fact is comforting movies like this please us because if nothing else they give us hope in a world that often lacks in this department. They serve a certain need and offer something for everyone.