No words are needed

Saskatchewon

Typo alert! Sound the alarm! If it's intentional, is it still a typo? Anyway, on to the good stuff...

Watched the nail-biting, heart attack-inducing, too-close-for-comfort semi-final last night against Slovakia. I feel, like the rest of Canada I'm sure, that I aged a few years in those final few minutes. I had plans to go out after the game, but I was exhausted when it was all said and done, and called it a night. I slept like a baby. Looking back at the game, there were things I loved about it, and things (mainly the last 7.5 minutes) that caused some mild cardiac issues. Let's focus on the good.


Putting all of Canada on it's shoulders
and getting us all free health-care.


Saskatchewan. All the goals scored for Canada in last night's game... you got it. The boys from Canada's bread basket (lamest nickname ever, btw) were the ones lighting the lamp. Patrick Marleau - Aneroid, SK. Brenden Morrow - Carlyle, SK. Ryan Getzlaf - Regina, SK. I was skeptical of the addition of Morrow to the team, but he's more than dispelled that notion with his hard work and level of compete. Another effort like that from those 3, and a step-up from the Crosby line, and we should be golden.

And after the last 2 fantastic days in terms of medals, we just need a few more medals to eclipse what we managed in Torino in '06. Which is great news, and while I already consider these Games as a success, beating the previous mark would be all we need to bring sexy back.

Martin bringing sexy back

Men's curling is a biggy, and as much as I want to see Kevin win for Canada, I want to see him exorcise those previous Olympic demons, and what better way to do it than against Norway and their delightful pajama-pants. And congrats to the Women's Curling team, I know it wasn't the result we were all hoping for, but I think a silver is pretty damn great.

4man Bobsleigh is another event we've got a few medal chances in - both Canada sleds are in position to make some noise, so hopefully that will boost our totals. And did anyone catch the interview with Pierre Lueders after their first run? It lasted all of 5 seconds, so don't be alarmed if you missed it. He was rather pissy, and I thought that was pretty funny. Kind of like how Jared Leto gets when nobody's paying attention to him. I'm sorry people crashed in front of you and it affected your run, but that's a fairly common thing Pierre...

And a great show put on by the relay team in the Men's Short-Track event last night. I had no qualms about turning away from the hockey game to watch that final. It was really entertaining, and the fact that we busted out a secret strategy to win was awesome. Finally our skaters grabbed some hardware for us, and in convincing fashion too! Loved the moment before they received their medals, and all kissed the podium.

I'm gonna take tonight off from the Games and my TV, to go watch a much bigger screen that will be showing Shutter Island. The book is fantastic, written by Dennis Lehane, and the movie is directed by Martin Scorsese (who's fantastic when he's not delivering essays about film preservation at the Golden Globes - what a snoozefest that was), and starring Mr. DiCaprio, and a great cast. I cant wait to see what they do to make the book come alive, and hopefully it's as good as I think it can be.





Totally worth a read






Hopefully this evening will I'll be able to decompress and relax, then gear back up tomorrow for the fantasticalness that is going to occur in the afternoon. Or at least it had better.
Go Canada!

Vonn now synonymous with Jerk

What a coincidence, both are 4 letter words!

Pictured above : Jerk

Okay, here's the deal. Watching the morning Olympic coverage today, the ever-annoying Dan and Jessi from MTV were hanging out with Gino Reda discussing something Lindsey Vonn did during her medal ceremony, the one where she won Bronze for the Ladies Super-G.

What the hell is a Super G anyways?

When Vonn was awarded her bronze medal, she promptly pulled out her gold medal from within her coat, and held both up. On a scale of 1 to Dick Move, she pulled a Dick Move. What a classless thing to do. Gino Reda described it as 'getting married a few days before your friend, then showing up at her wedding still wearing your wedding dress'. Haha. Percy Jackson could learn a thing or two from Vonn about stealing thunder.




Hey Linds, the Jerkstore called...





Karma, much like show business, appears to be a Hideous Bitch Goddess. In the first run of today's Giant Slalom, Vonn crashed, and possibly broke her hand.

Pictures are worth two words. Not 1000.

For an awesomely fitting quote, we'll go to Conan. "But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. And if you're an ass, you'll fall and break your hand". (Okay, I might've added a bit on the end there...) I find it ironic this class act of an athlete will be one of the first guests on the class act of late night TV's return to the Tonight Show.

So, I guess the whole point of this blog entry was that Jay Leno sucks.

Breaking News Update : Confirmed that she in fact broke her hand. Justice!

I Believe

Another Gold for Canada in Men's Skeleton last night. Awesome job Mr. Montgomery! I figured the Latvian guy had the top of the podium, but what a run! Jon seems like quite the character too, he's a guy who looks like he genuinely enjoys hurdling down an icy track face-first at over 140kms. Or at least the giant toothy grin says he does.






And why wouldn't you smile?
This looks perfectly safe...





If there has to be one repeated disappointment of these games, it's shockingly not from our Alpine Ski Team - it seems the President's Choice Blue Menu isn't quite cutting it for Eric Guay (two 5th place finishes), damn you Galen Weston! - no, it's not that at all. It's winning medals.

Say whaaaaaaaaaa? Well, let me finish. I love Canada winning medals, that's not the problem. The problem is "I Believe". Great slogan, no problem there. But whoever the CTV Braintrust was that decided they needed to flog this awful song should be strapped to a chair, and forced to listen to it on repeat for hours on end. Because that's what they are essentially doing to all of Canada.

Isnt this against the Geneva Convention somehow?

But seriously, the song is awful. And now I kind of feel bad for this Nikki girl.
Yes, this is a tonne of exposure.
Yes, this great thing for her.
Yes, this makes her a household name.
Yes, I dislike like her a lot because of this song. And I know I'm not the only one.

I feel bad for her because this song reminds me of the first song that the person who wins American Idol has to put out. You know, the terrible ones that they are forced to smile through at the finale, and then release it's awfulness to the world.

What do you mean he didn't win?

I'm still loving the Olympics, but this song is beginning to really grate on my nerves. Just like how Lady Gaga loves quirky clothes, WE GET IT ALREADY. There's no need to keep on shoving it down our throats. Cease and desist please. Pretty please?

If they tarnish our gold medal in Men's Hockey with this song, I'm gonna lose it. I guess at this rate, I should change that 'if' to a 'when', but I hold out hope that they wont ruin it with the auditory torture that is "I Believe". But I believe they will.

Golden Moment

Watched the Men's Moguls finals last night.

Welcome to Awesomeville
population : all of Canada.

Those freestyle skiers are cra-eh-zy. But this is why the olympics are so cool - it's an event I've watched a few times, and every 4 years it seems more impressive to me than it did last time. If I was a young kid, or someone who liked to ski, I'd want to do that. Twists and spins, breakneck speeds and their poor knees. As it stands now, I cant even get up off a couch without wincing.

They fly - more often than not, upside down.

The best part of Alexandre Bilodeau winning the gold medal was that it was our first gold on home soil. I didn't think that would be a big deal, but it really was. But the things that went along with that fact made it so much sweeter - the crowd noise, the spontaneous outbreak of 'Oh Canada' in downtown Vancouver, and the collective sigh of relief heard around the nation.

Upside Down mayor of Awesomeville.

I was pumped when I saw that the French skier missed his grab, I dont normally like to revel in other people's mistakes, but that was fantastic. Way to just walk away when Alex tried to shake your hand buddy. And the expression on the Canadian guy who skies for Australia's face was awesome. He didn't appear overly happy with the results.

Well done Alex, you made us all proud, and although you were the one who won, that medal belongs to all of Canada - and we couldn't be happier. The only downside to the entire experience was the fact that CTV keeps playing that "I Believe" song. Ugh. But even that couldn't tarnish this moment!





We have one of each now!






I think Olympic fever has got it's hold on me now, and last I checked, even more cowbell wont cure this bad boy. Alpine Skiing is finally a go for today, and I'm gonna be stoked if we add to the medal totals! And is anyone else loving Jay Onrait during this Olympic coverage? He even makes Dan and Jessi from MTV Canada tolerable. This morning they were talking about the short program from the Pairs Figure Skating, and they had me laughing at 6am, which was a feat in and of itself.

Opening Ceremony

I cant say I've ever sat and watched an entire opening ceremony for the Olympics before, but last night was pretty well done. There were a lot of things I liked about it, and a few things that I thought were a little over the top, but hey, it's a showcase for Canada, so I'm gonna say it's okay to go a little over the top.

The lack of these 3
was refreshing.

Not that I particularly dislike the mascots or anything, in fact, I find Quatchi's boots and earmuffs hi-larious, but I was glad they kept it classier than that. Speaking of class, the Georgian team choosing to march and honor their fallen teammate to a standing ovation was great.

Having grown up in BC, I found a few things about the opening ceremonies a little suspect, but I'm gonna let it slide and not talk about those aspects. Because all in all, it was a spectacle, and I'm glad I sat down and watched the thing from start to finish. What they were able to accomplish visually in BC Place, having been inside BC Place a few times, it's not exactly esthetically pleasing at the best of times, was unbelievable - I had to shake my head in disbelief a few times as the cultural part of the ceremony was taking place. Although, I did have to laugh a little during the giant ho-down, mostly when Brian Williams said Ashley MacIsaac was playing his hit song "Devil in the Kitchen". Honestly Brian? I liked that song, but I'd hardly call it a hit, and furthermore, it came out almost 15 years ago.

Aaaaanyways, I thought the final part of the ceremony, regardless of the problems (you know, the part where the 4th cauldron didn't rise up, and the top-notch close-up of Steve Nash's WTF face) was cool - that's the first time they've ever lit an olympic cauldron indoors, so we got to see some history. I was hoping for someone a little more off-the-board to do the final lighting duties, but how can you go wrong with Gretz? You cant.

Speaking of things going wrong though, apparently the Men's Downhill that was scheduled to go this morning has been postponed due to the inclement weather. I know everyone's worried about the weather in Vancouver, and I know this is one of the warmest winters on record, but it's not that much warmer than normal. Normally there's very little snow in the greater Vancouver area, and when they were originally awarded the games, everyone knew this could be an issue.

This guy isn't worried.

And neither am I.

I wasn't feeling my usual Olympic spirit earlier this week, but after the opening ceremony last night, I'm totally geared up for the Games, and I dont think I'll be doing much of anything - except for watching all the coverage. Come on boys and girls, do us proud and bring home the hardware!

The Super Bowl

More like Superb Bowl!

I have to say, that was one of the better Superbowls I ever remember watching. Normally the game drags, the score is somewhat lopsided, and I'm stuck with the same ol' boring Canadian commercials. Not yesterday though!

One of the better games from start to finish - I figured New Orleans was done for after the Colts went up 10-0. I could go on about how The Saints took inspiration from their city and it's previous events, but I wont. They played the better game and won.

I'm sure this image is copyrighted somehow, but I figured if I could find it on google, then it was fair game.

It was nice to finally watch a Superbowl on an American feed so that I could enjoy all the commercially deliciousness. It wasnt all I had hoped it would be, but it was definately more entertaining (when it wasnt boring car commercials).

Doritos clearly won the best commerical award

The only major letdown of the festivities that was known as Superbowl Sunday was the CSI-medley performed by The Who at halftime. Yes, I know, those were hit songs long before they were the theme-songs for the television franchise that wins the Emmy for 'Series that abuses lens-tinting to the Nth degree'. (may or may not be real category) I still have respect for The Who, but I found the whole thing very lackluster.

The best part of the Superbowl? The fact it was on CBS, and got me totally jazzed to watch How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory tonight. It's gonna be legen - wait for it...

Would you like $100 cash?

I know it's a silly question, but I had to ask. There's an easy way to win yourself not only $100 cash, but also a pair of Reba tickets... "But How"? you ask. Eeeeeeasy like sunday morning. Just come see any of the Big Country Announcers when we're live on location, and fill out an entry form. Only one per person though! I like to make things as simple as possible, so I created a step-by-step instruction list that's easy to follow!

Step 1 : Listen to hear where we're on location.
Step 2 : Go there.
Step 3 : Find us and fill out an entry form.
Step 4 : Continue on with your day!


All this could be yours!
(Well, only one of the $100 bills to be exact, the rest are just there for emphasis! And you dont actually get Reba, but I couldnt find any pictures of actual Reba tickets, so that's what I came up with.)
To sum up again, if you come see us and enter to win this stuff, you could be enjoying Reba and that cash! We're around town a lot over February, so get out and enter the draw!




You know if you won the cash and Reba tickets, it'd be cause for celebration.

Note : Winning will not turn you into Borat.
But you will be giving two thumbs up!

In fact, you can enter as early as today (Feb 6th)! Go see Lyle or Big Jim over at Evergreen Park's Tec Centre until 5 tonight, or catch up with Kristi at Computer Trends until 1! And you can chat with Kristi about her thoughts on the new ketchup packets, or find out on her blog!

Oscar Noms

So, the 2010 Oscar nominations were released earlier this week.

And I might add, I'm not very impressed.

Let's tackle the (few) categories that I'm actually interested in.

Best Supporting Actor:

Matt Damon Invictus

Woody Harrelson The Messenger

Christopher Plummer The Last Station

Stanley Tucci The Lovely Bones

Christoph Waltz Inglourious Basterds

In my opinion, Christoph Waltz is a lock for this statue.

His portrayal of Col. Hans Landa was superb, and made Inglourious Basterds the thoroughly enjoyable movie that it was.

However, that being said, I've only seen one other movie out of the 5 in this category - that being The Lovely Bones. And Tucci was creeptastic in it, but I dont think he's got a chance. If it's not Waltz winning, then expect to see the grizzled, Canadian vet up there with an acceptance speech. 50/50 Waltz/Plummer.

Best Actress:

Sanda Bullock The Blind Side

Helen Mirren The Last Station

Carey Mulligan An Education

Gabourey Sidibe Precious : Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

Meryl Streep Julie & Julia

To be perfectly honest, I havent seen any of these movies. I've heard good things about The Blind Side and An Education, however I have little interest in seeing the other 3. That being said, Best Actress is not usually a category in which the Oscars picks a darkhorse, or newcomer (that's more of the Supporting Actress thing to do). I'm going to go with Helen Mirren in The Last Station, but dont be surprised to get another long-winded acceptance speech from Ms. Streep either.

Best Actor:

Jeff Bridges Crazy Heart

George Clooney Up in the Air

Colin Firth A Single Man

Morgan Freeman Invictus

Jeremy Renner The Hurt Locker

I enjoy Jeff Bridges in pretty much everything he's in (I mean, he was The Dude!), and I'd really like to see Crazy Heart, but it hasnt come to GP yet, so no luck there. Clooney was solid in Up in the Air, but I'm giving the nod on this one to Renner. He was fantastic as a very broken, adrenaline-seeking, bomb-disposing-of specialist in Iraq. Definate Oscar-worthy performance. And I think the fact that he hasnt been nominated for anything major before will be a strength, rather than a hinderance.

Best Director:

Kathryn Bigelow The Hurt Locker

James Cameron Avatar

Lee Daniels Precious (et all)

Jason Reitman Up in the Air

Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds

Reitman did a great job with Up in the Air, and Bigelow surprised me with The Hurt Locker - and yet again, James Cameron disappointed. I didnt see Precious, so let's talk a little Quentin.

Tarantino did a great job (I still maintain it's not his best however) with the Basterds, and I think this will be the Denzel Washington/Training Day Oscar win. Not his finest work, but he's missed out before, so let's give him a statue. I'd like to see Quentin win, but to be honest, as long as Cameron doesnt win (his acceptance speeches/gloatings are ridiculous), I'm content with whoever they give the statue to.

And finally, Best Picture:

Avatar

The Blind Side

District 9

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious : Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

A Serious Man

Up

Up in the Air

As long as Avatar doesnt win, I'm happy.

I havent seen all of these movies, in fact, I've only seen half of them. But in a year when the Academy decides to up the Best Picture category to 10 nominees, I dont honestly feel any of these movies is the clear-cut favorite to win the award. Which probably plays to Avatar's strengths (unfortunately). The movie was amazing visually, I'll give them that. But the story was recycled, the dialogue was sub-par, and they named the unobtainable rock that they are trying to mine, UNOBTAINIUM. arghhhhh. Who approved that? Either way, if you loved Avatar, I wont hold it against you, we can still be friends... but I reeeeeaaaaaaally dont want it to win Best Picture.

I'm going to hold out hope that either Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air, or the Hurt Locker (or the ultimate animated darkhorse - Up) wins best picture - but I get this sucky feeling that it's going to be Avatar.

And all I can say to that is, Boo-urns.
You can check out a full run-down of all the categories here!