Where are Dave's heart pills?

Dave and I watched last night's Patriots game amid the snow, sleet, and driving rain that was hammering against my house in our first real snow storm of the winter.

Despite the natural phenomena occurring outdoors, we were both glued to my TV, as the Patriots finished their closest game yet, against the Baltimore Ravens.

Here is Sports Illustrated's boxscore and recap of the game.

It was a game of catch-up for the Pats, something they are not used to this season, with an average winning margin over over 25 points per game in their so-far flawless year.

One observation I made last night was about the Pats' defensive line. With potential -- and almost all likely -- future Hall of Famers like Tedy Bruschi, Junior Seau, Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas and Roosevelt Colvin (who did not play last night due to injury), their combined 58 years of NFL experience showed in that they are all over 30 years old. I wondered aloud if not having any injuries (except for Colvin last week) means that the D-line is just getting worn down. Still healthy enough to play, but not at their peak.

Pats' fans may recall that in recent years, injuries have provided backup players a chance to shine and they have not disappointed, providing a few of the best and most successful seasons in the franchise history. For better or worse, these backups are not getting the opportunity to make their presence felt on the field because the starters are just so darn healthy!

Now, I am not saying I hope the Pats start getting injuries -- far from it. The starters are in those positions for a reason: they are really, really good. But when I watched the tired D-line march down the field at the end of the third quarter, as opposed to the Ravens' O-line pump fists in the air and call for the crowd to cheer them on, I realized that although these men are elite athletes, they are still men.

The last 10 minutes of the game were real nail-biters, especially for Dave who has adopted the Pats as his team. Dave hasn't watched much football before, so he was unaware of Tom Brady's history of 20 fourth-quarter come from behind game-winning drives. Last night made it 21. It was great to see Dave's enthusiasm (he will never be known as a wallflower), jumping up, yelling, cheering, high fiving, sighing, and generally enjoying the game, while Tom did his thing and got the Patriots up the field to score the game-winning points.

The craziest part of the game was the end to this drive, in which the Pats survived 3 fourth down attempts, two of which were stuffed by the strong Ravens' defence. In fact, if the Ravens' coach hadn't excitedly called time in an effort to "ice" the Patriots first attempt at fourth-and-short, the game literally would have been over. The Ravens stopped the Patriots short of converting their fourth down. If not for the call of timeout by the Ravens sideline, Baltimore would have received the ball and could have taken a knee to let the clock run out, giving the Ravens the victory and ruining New England's dream of a perfect season.

The second attempt at fourth-and-short was called back due to a penalty against the Ravens. New England is too good to let a reprieve like that go to waste. The Tom and Randy show came through and put the Pats ahead.

The game wasn't over because there were still 44 seconds left on the clock and Baltimore was receiving a kick-off. Many games have been decided in less time than that. Unfortunately for Baltimore, lack of discipline led to two unsportsmanlike conducts penalties as well as an offside penalty on the TD conversion. This led to New England kicking off on Baltimore's 35-yard-line!!! I have never seen that before and it was unreal. Usually kickoffs after scoring are from the scoring team's 30-yard-line. The three Baltimore penalties of 15, 15, and 5 yards put the New England kicker in a position that he merely booted it through the Ravens' end zone to force them to start at their own 20-yard-line.

The game still wasn't over, as Kyle Boller played one of his best clutch performances and actually completed a Hail Mary pass which was caught on the Patriots' 3-yard-line. Thankfully, there were three Pats' defenders who were immediately on the receiver and they forced him to the ground as the clock ran out.

It was quite possibly the most exciting game ending I have seen for a while. This is what happens when the Patriots' opponent puts all of their effort into winning, trying to be the ones who knock off the kings' crowns. I expect to see more of the same from Pittsburgh, who are the next team for New England on this Sunday. More on that after the game.

Now that we have that out of the way

The Patriots will go undefeated. I was hopeful of this before last night's game. Since they withstood some of the most one-sided officiating known to the NFL and came back from the edge of defeat to gut out a win, I think they really can go all the way.

Wes Welker is now my favourite Patriot. How the Dolphins traded this guy who led their team in most offensive statistics last season to their division nemesis is beyond me. Welker showed the multi-dimensional rushing, returning and receiving skills at key times in yesterday's game, as he has a number of times already this season. It should be noted that Troy Brown (even though he isn't playing right now), Tom Brady and Randy Moss round out the top 4 of my favourite Patriots. That's just on the offence! Then there's Junior Seau, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel... OK, OK, they have a lot of good players, we get it.

The Patriots built their team with the best combination of acquisitions ever, with Moss, Welker and Donte Stallworth and Adalius Thomas rounding out the talent that the Pats needed and didn't have for the past few years.

I still hope that Brady gets the TD passing record and league MVP, he is well on the way with 33 so far and 7 games to go. That is on pace to complete 59 TDs which would obliterate Peyton Manning's 2004 record of 49 passing TDs. Randy Moss has 12 TD receptions this season. This is slightly below the pace he needs to break Jerry Rice's 22 TD reception record, but I figure the Pat's second half of the season will provide more than 10 TDs for Randy. This will go well with Randy's rookie TD reception record from 1998 of 17 scores. Those milestones will really complement the Super Bowl rings that I expect these gents will have, come next February. Not to mention the 19-0 season and playoff record that they will produce.

How will I get through the next 2 weeks with no Patriot games?!?

Better late than never

It seems like I have a problem in following up on the concerts that I have been going to see this year.

Without a doubt, the Van Halen concert was my favourite concert ever. The seats that were 10 rows from the stage and about 20 feet from the runway that extended into the floor seat area helped a great deal, but just seeing one of my favourite bands of all-time, playing with their first -- and best -- singer, David Lee Roth was exhilarating.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Jonathan knew most of the songs and we sang along to a few of them together. The atmosphere of the show was thrilling and I was able to get about 170 photos and 20+ minutes of video (the entrance, first song, drum solo and 2 guitar solos) on my camera.

There was a brief crazy moment, when I got into a bit of a scuffle with some drunk guy who insisted on falling on top of me while mistakenly trying to get in my seat. I dealt with hom and then turned back to enjoy the show, then waited for the punch or knife to my back. It never came, but you don't know about these things when they are happening. I later saw him in the row behind me, a few seats over. I guess he did have a ticket for a seat, but his drunkenness got in the way of being able to count to eleven (his seat was in row 11).

We had a good time visiting Cheryl's aunts and uncles, who were all nice and friendly (this was my first time meeting 3 of the 5 of Cheryl's mom's siblings). The weekend went by so quick, although I am glad we stayed until Monday to give us that extra day to visit with family.

I posted a couple photos on my Facebook page. I don't want to put a lot of them on the internet because they are for my enjoyment, not for some stranger to re-produce them for a profit. Let me just say, there are some pretty good shots among them. My favourite is the photo of Eddie leaning on his son Wolfgang as they play together. You can tell that Eddie loves his son very much and he told us himself that night that he loves having Wolfgang in the band.

If you can do the thing you love for money AND have your family work with you, can you ask for anything more?

The Patriots will go undefeated if...

They can get through the next few games. This Sunday, the Pats play the Cowboys (who are also 5-0) in Dallas, where the Pats have never won. Having said that, the current era Patriots have beaten the Cowboys in their last two meetings, in 1999 and 2003. The Pats have had a good record against NFC teams, with 7 straight victories since 2005, including going 4-0 last season with a combined score of 111-41. I think Tom Brady can continue to air it out all over the field, with a number of targets including Randy Moss (who I hope gets the TD record as well as a long-waited-for Super Bowl ring this year), Donte Stallworth, and Ben Watson. The Pats defence should be able to take it to Dallas QB Tony Romo, who is almost like Rex Grossman with his interceptions and collapses amidst some great plays. The difference between Romo and Grossman is that Romo can get it together with confidence, which Rex just doesn't seem to have. Anyway, I can see more interceptions than touchdowns for Romo on Sunday, courtesy of Asante Samuel, Junior Seau as well as some bone-crushing hits by Adalius Thomas. If I was Tony Romo, I would not be looking forward to this game.

The week after that, the Pats play the Redskins, who seem to be doing well this year. The Redskins's demolition of the Detroit Lions last week may say more about the Lions than it does the Redskins, since they are now 0 for 21 in Washington, a record that dates back to 1934. The Lions's number-one passing offence had made up for its woeful 29th-ranked passing defence, until the game against Washington. The Redskins kept Jon Kitna to 144 total offensive yards! It's hard to win a game when you only cross the 50-yard line twice. Redskins QB Jason Campbell had a fine showing, but I think the Pats will eat him up for breakfast (or maybe supper, since it is a late-afternoon game).

In between is the classic "trap" game, that the Pats may go into thinking they have already won it, since the Miami Dolphins are winless this season. However, the Patriots have had trouble beating the Fish on occasion, so with the bookends of the Cowboys and Indians (Washington Redskins), the Patriots may choke on a bone they find in the Fish.

After Washington, it is off to Indy, to face the next-strongest team in the AFC, if not the NFL. The Patriots have some revenge to exact on the Colts, after the loss in the AFC Championship game last year, if they have the fire in their belly(-chick), the Pats can get past their toughest challenge of the season.

After Indianapolis, the Pats have a rest with their bye week. The second half of their season looks to be fairly easy, with only Pittsburgh standing in their way of a perfect season. At that point in the year, injuries will have taken their toll on players. I think New England has the deepest pool of talent in the league and they have proven themselves flexible enough to substitute position players and have strong enough second-string guys to be able to finish strong.

Bottom line for the next few weeks, I am glad that Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison are back in the lineup. Those defensive players haven't been missed too much, but they can only add to the force that is the Pats's D-line and secondary.

I think the off-season additions of Randy Moss (who is the most talented receiver in the NFL, even at the ripe old age of 30), Wes Welker (who is now in contention for my favourite player on the team), and Adalius Thomas (who provides a menacing threat to any QB) were all genius, adding even more rounds in the gunbelt that Belichick wears each week.

As strong as the past Super Bowl champion Patriot teams were, I believe that this year, they are the most talented they have ever been. If they don't go all the way, I will be shocked -- shocked! -- and deeply disappointed.

Once the Patriots go undefeated this year, it will finally knock off one of the oldest and hardest streaks to beat: the 1972 Dolphins won all of their 14 regular season games as well as three post-season wins, including Super Bowl VII, in what has been called the Perfect Season. The urban legend is that the '72 Dolphin players still get together to celebrate when teams are now beaten late in the season, like the Steelers and Colts were a few years ago. They deny the rumour, but I wonder if these contemporary streaks go completely unnoticed by the '72 Dolphins players.

One may argue that the 16-game season is harder to complete without a loss, and one would be correct in that assertion, but it remains that unless a team goes without a loss in their regular season and through to win it all, the '72 Dolphins will always have that bragging right as the sole owners of the Perfect Season. I think this is the Patriots's best chance for the Perfect Season. Let's hope that it come true!

T.O. Twice in 3 months!

Follow up on our trip to Toronto to see The Police:
- Good concert, although this experience taught me that if one is going to fly to another city to see a concert, the concert tickets are only a fraction of the total cost of the trip. Therefore, it makes sense to pay extra to get good seats.

- Philson and I enjoyed our brief visit to Toronto, including Philson's first visit to the CN Tower Observation Deck. It is freaky to stand on a glass floor at 1,122 feet above the ground! Fortunately, the glass floor can withstand 595 psi pressure, so there was no need to worry. It is counter-intuitive to look past your feet down to the earth over a thousand feet away!

- We shared a hotel room with Dave Dawood and we three were the youngest people in the hotel pool when we went there and generally horsed around, much to the chagrin of the older patrons.

- Philson and I saw the Blue Jays from great seats behind home plate, thanks to Dean (who couldn't join us due to double-booking himself).

- We had breakfast with an old friend of mine from Sigma Chi - Sully Ahmed. Sully is doing well, has a beautiful little daughter and works for Apple. It was great to see Sully after so many years.

- We saw a disturbing scene on Yonge Street as we walked to our hotel. An obviously mentally disturbed man was sitting against a building across the street. At first glance, he appeared to have a red long-sleeve shirt on under his white short sleeve shirt. Then we realized he was slashing his foreamrms to the point of being completely bloody from his elbows to his wrists. Philson and I kept an eye out for police to tell them about this man, but he got up and walked away, behind the building and out of our view. Philson had never seen anything like that before and he was shaken up by the experience.

- Philson and I went to both Hard Rock Cafe's in Toronto. We watched batting practice from our table in the Skydome HRC, which was fun. At the other HRC on Yonge Street, we took advantage of the deal they offer on HRC glasses by purchasing a beer in the signature pilsner glass. Philson paid for the glass and I paid about two bucks for my beer! I saved about five dollars versus buying the beer alone and the glass in the souvenir store. Every little bit helps!

- Porter Airlines is the best way to fly to Toronto. You land at the City Airport, they provide a shuttle bus to Union Station, plus you get free booze and food on the plane as well as in the terminal while you wait for your flight! How cool is that? Air Canada needs to take a page out of Porter's book and remember the the passengers are the reason that they are in business, not the shareholders.

On Friday, Cheryl, Natalie, Jonathan and I are flying to Toronto (Air Canada, since we are using Air Miles)so that Jonathan and I can see Van Halen in concert.

Van Halen-with-David-Lee-Roth Van Halen.

I am so excited! They are one of a handful of bands who I absolutely want to see in concert and I didn't think it would happen because of the band members's internal fighting over the years. So it turns out 2 of my must-see-before-I-die bands -- the Police and Van Halen (the others are AC/DC, U2 and #5 changes between Beastie Boys and James Taylor, believe it or not) are both touring this year, so I get to see two shows in the span of three months.

I will post again after we return!

Bachman Cummings

Sunday: Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings

The third concert of the weekend was probably my favourite overall, maybe because it was such a great surprise. Cheryl and I scored some floor seats which got us fairly close to the stage and luckily the audience was generally of an age that they may stand up to applaud a song, but they are very quick to sit back down, either out of respect for people behind them or because their hips are about to give out (I am not sure which it was). This was the first concert that I attended where I saw two different men in the audience wearing suspenders -- in a non-ironic way. Cheryl and I also enjoyed seeing the stage lights shining through one lady's blue-rinsed hair in front of us. We felt like youngsters in this crowd!

I was blown away by Burton Cummings's vocal ability, even after his 40 years in the biz; I don't think they keyed down any songs (which is typical for older singers to be able to sing the songs) and he was able to sustain high notes for a long time. Burton's piano playing was extraordinary and I appreciated his showmanship and the gratitude that he and Randy expressed numerous times during the performance. Randy did not disappoint with his performance either, playing his guitar flawlessly and enjoying the songs that he sang, both with The Guess Who and with BTO. The whole band seemed to really enjoy themselves and so did the entire audience. The opening act was a female solo singer/guitar player who had quite the impressive voice. As with the Joel Plaskett concert, we were late getting to the show and only heard the opening act's final song, but it was quite good.

Randy and Burton talked quite a bit in between songs, about their careers together and as independent acts, their relationship was music partners that had its ups and downs, and the stories behind the songs, which was neat for the fans to hear. For the finale, everyone was on their feet for the whole song and there was a definite feeling of love and admiration going both ways to and from the stage. Good times.

Dave and Jenn's Wedding

Cheryl and I went to the reception for Dave and Jenn Finlayson's wedding on Saturday, July 21. It was held at Pier 21 on the Halifax waterfront. I have been to a few functions there and it is a good space to hold large events.

It was great to see Dave and Jenn so happy and it was also fun to see so many Sigs, especially some whom I haven't seen for year. As I mentioned at the time, this was the most successful Ball that Dave has ever organized! There were probably about 30 Sigma Chi's in attendance out of a few hundred people, so when we gathered together to toast the bride, the other guests must have been surprised.

Big Fish were not as spectacular as I remember them, maybe because they changed their male lead singer since I last saw them in concert. As with most bands, changing the singer (surprisingly even for a cover band like Big Fish) substantially alters the sound of the music, so that was disappointing.

Since the reception, Dave and Jenn have bought a house in Bedford (a few doors away from Tony and Liz), so they are well on their way to building their life together. Cheers, you two!

Update on the concerts

It's funny how fast time goes by when you are busy with life. I have a lot to catch up on, so I will post a few items to get my thoughts and recollections on the record.

Friday: Joel Plaskett concert

Philson and I took our time getting to the show because we weren't too excited to see Jenn Grant, the opening act, plus it had rained heavily all day and we weren't sure watching the show would be all that fun, standing in pouring rain. As it turned out, it stopped raining so we headed down to the Dartmouth Landing.

Unfortunately, we missed almost the entire set of Peter Elkas and his band. We only caught the last song for that set (which was really good) and then waited for over half an hour for Joel Plaskett to come on. The two opening acts must have only been on for less than 30 minutes each, because we weren't that late. Joel and his band put on a great show, with Peter Elkas helping out on the keyboard and guitar for some songs and Gordie Johnson (the producer of Joel's latest album), looking cool in black and a cowboy hat, added to the show by playing rhythm guitar.

The Emergency played almost all of the songs from the new album Ashtray Rock, which is good because it is full of good songs and it is a concept album, so to fully present the concept you kind of need to play at least most of the songs. They also played Bo Diddley's song near the end of the show (as they did last summer at the show for the Lunenburg Exhibition that Cheryl and I attended); I think Joel was really moved by his meeting Bo Diddley a while back. They slowly turned the Bo Diddley song into a tribute to the deceased Bob Switzer who owned Taz Records in Halifax. "Hey Bob Switzer" fits in nicely instead of "Hey Bo Diddley". They also played a Big Sugar tune, which was cool since that was Gordie Johnson's band, and finished the night with "Come On Teacher" and "True Patriot Love", two earlier hits for The Emergency. Overall, great show on an open-air stage and the weather held off just for the show, which was lucky for us.

I will post my thoughts on the other concerts in their own messages.

Three concerts and a wedding (with a concert)

Wow. I am going to see three concerts in four days. First up, Philson and I are going to Dartmouth's Alderney Landing Theatre to see Joel Plaskett Emergency with openers: Peter Elkas and the Elkaholics (great name!) whom I read about in Exclaim! -- I picked up the magazine for Joel and learned about Peter too. Check out his website!, local Jenn Grant, and ex-Big Sugar's Gordie Johnson. What a start!

After my eardrums recover from that, Cheryl and I are attending Dave and Jenn Finlayson's wedding reception. They got married today, but Saturday is the big bash at Pier 21. They are having a local band named Big Fish who are a favourite of Sigs since they performed at a few Sweetheart dances (sorry, I can't call them Sweetheart Balls). They mostly do cover tunes but they mix it up and put their own stank on them!

On Sunday, Cheryl and I are going to the Halifax Metro Centre to see Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, the two creative forces behind The Guess Who and BTO. We have floor seats in the "Gold Circle." Oooooh! I saw these guys at the Sarsfest concert on TV a few years back. At that time, I thought, "I should really go see these guys if I ever get the chance." Originally, I was planning to head up to Toronto on Sunday night to see the next concert, but it was almost $400 cheaper to fly up on Monday, so I decided to do that and spend part of the money I saved on these concert tickets for Cheryl and myself. I am looking forward to this show because I hope they talk about their inspirations behind writing the songs that they perform.

Monday morning sees Philson and me jetting off to T-Dot to see The Police!!! This was one band that I never even thought about going to see since they had already broken up by the time I was of concert-going age, not to mention the fact that they never came close to Halifax. Now that I am older and have discretionary income, I have taken the opportunity to see one of my all-time favourite bands perform live (perform live -- is that redundant?). As I mentioned to a friend a few weeks back, this concert will be better than most since The Police broke up when they were at their best, with only strong material behind them, no unfortunate creative lapses or disappointing albums here, so the songs should all be fantastic.

Philson and I will be in T.O. until Wednesday. On Tuesday, we are going to see a Blue Jays game and I am going to the Skydome Hard Rock Cafe to add another shot glass to my collection. We have no other plans for the 48 hours we are there, but I am sure some adventure will present itself.

Originally, Alistair was supposed to attend the show with Dave Dawood, Dean and me, but Alistair got double-booked by work and I took the opportunity to bring my oldest son to see a band that I am not sure he really likes, but it is the chance of a lifetime. Alistair's loss is Philson's gain, although Alistair has the chance to see The Police elsewhere and I hope he does. Plus, I think Alistair likes the idea that Philson is getting this chance and that he was part of it.

So four concerts and a wedding reception! I think I will be tired next week...

In Memory of Ruth Bernard

My mother-in-law Ruth passed away suddenly on Saturday, June 16, 2007. While she had been diagnosed with leukemia last year, she had undergone treatment and had made it through the initial period of time after diagnosis.

On Saturday, she told her husband Joe (Cheryl's Dad) that she wasn't feeling well. Joe took Ruth to the hospital and she passed away that morning.

Ruth always had a kind word and a smile for everyone in her life. She was also tough, much tougher than I would probably be, given the same circumstances. I think she would like to be remembered as a mother and grandmother who loved her family more than anything in the world.

Here is the text of the last e-mail she sent to us, on May 29, 2007. It is particularly moving, considering the short time she had left with us after she sent the e-mail out.

"Let's see if you read your mail.

What would you do if every time you wanted someone they would never be there?

What would you do if for every moment you were truly happy there would be 10 moments of sadness?

What would you do if your best friend died tomorrow and you never got to tell them how you felt?

So, I just wanted to say, even if I never talk to you again in my life, you are special to me and you have made a difference in my life.

I look up to you, respect you, and truly cherish you.

Send this to all your friends, no matter how often you talk, or how close you are, and send it to the person who sent it to you.

Let old friends know you haven't forgotten them, and tell new friends you never will.

Remember, everyone needs a friend, someday you might feel like you have NO FRIENDS at all, just remember this e-mail and take comfort in knowing that somebody out there cares about you and always will.

In times of trouble,
In times of need,
If you are feeling SAD,
You can count on me.

I will give you a wink,
Until you smile,
Give you are hug,
And stand by your side.

I'll be there for you till the end,
I'll always and forever, be your friend!"

We love you and we miss you, Ruth.

Snakes & Arrows

Just thought I'd write a quick note about the new Rush album, Snakes & Arrows. After hearing the first single, "Far Cry" on the radio, I wasn't sure if I would buy the album when it came out, but then the Rush completist fan in me prevailed, and here we are (plus the $11.99 price helped in the decision-making process).

The album is better than I thought it might be, but not as good as I hoped it would be. It has 13 songs; most of them sound similar to one another, although the 2 instrumentals are kind of neat (I wish one of them had been a drum instrumental instead).

The coolest part about the album is the artwork in the liner notes, which is not a great compliment. I guess I like the album overall, but I stand by my earlier comment that I made to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law (both Rush fans, she is actually nicknamed The Rush Goddess) that the album probably didn't need to be made. Snakes & Arrows sounds a lot like Rush's last few albums, which have been fairly ho-hum. This is too bad, considering their first decade was amazing, their second decade was good with a few so-so moments, while their third decade has been largely disappointing (to me).

OK, I'll say this much: At least there are no lyrics like the song Virtuality (on the album Test For Echo). Good music on that album, uninspired lyrics -- sorry Neil. That chorus of that song is second only to the rapping on Roll The Bones as Rush's Worst Moment Ever for me (and I like rap, I just think that middle-aged white Canadian guys shouldn't do it).

I'm going to give Snakes & Arrows a 6.5 out of 10, which is a solid C. I wish I could give them a higher mark, but they didn't show their work. (Math class joke for you out there) ;-)

On a brighter note, I also purchased a photograph print retrospective that was autographed by Neil Peart. I am lookng forward to receiving it and putting it up on the wall.

Rock on!

Same Sex Marriage

Here is a new article on a very serious matter facing the Anglican Church.

It appears that this response will anger those who are on polar opposite sides of the debate. The bishops either (a) went too far in recognizing same-sex relationships or (b) didn't go far enough in recognizing same sex relationships.

To me, the response seems right. No one should be excluded from taking communion, nor should any child be declined baptism simply because of their parents' relationship: gay, straight, married, divorced, whatever. The fact is that we are all God's children and we all deserve the relationship with Him. On the other hand, it is fairly clear in Scripture that marriage is for a man and a woman and one of the primary purposes of marriage is to have children. Therefore, same-sex marriage is not Scriptural.

I think the main purpose of marriage is for two people to become one and build each other and help each other become more Christ-like, better people. Having children is an excellent way for parents to join together, because sooner or later, your kids will outnumber you! ;-)

Seriously though, anyone who has children recognizes (or should recognize) that they are a blessing to parents. It is normal and preferable to have children, and it helps one to achieve self-actualization. Someone who has no children cannot fully understand the concepts of sacrifice and altruism. There is a deep-seated pull to give of yourself for your kids that is unlike any other relationship. This also gives one a better understanding of God's relationship with us as our father in heaven. How much did He sacrifice to give His son to us, so that we might live in eternity with Him? How much did He suffer, to give Jesus up to suffer for our sakes?

Jesus is the type for us. He is the best example of how we, who are created in God's image, all have the capacity to become like Christ, to reflect God's image, to love God and to love one another as Jesus commanded in Matthew 22:36-40 (NKJV):

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

It is the very reason that we should all strive to be more like Christ that no one should be denied communion simply because of their sexual orientation. None of us is perfect, we all fall short in the Judgment, even bishops! Yet it is because of God's grace and our relationship with Him that we can be saved. It is not our place to judge others:

John 8:7 (NKJV) - So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."

Matthew 7:1 (NIV) - Do not judge, or you too will be judged.


All of us sin. All of us need forgiveness. All of us deserve a relationship with God. But all of us must live in a manner that is in accordance with how God wants us to live, and that is without sin. All of us must all try every day to become more like Christ. I pray that all of us are given the strength to do so. Amen.

The Last 20 Years!

1987
1. How old were you? 17
2. Where did you go to school? Cole Harbour District High School
3.) Where did you work? Kempton Appraisals Limited
4.) Where did you live? With my parents and sister in Seaforth
5.) Where did you hang out? Home, Richard Saurette's house, rugby field, Burger King
6.) Did you wear glasses? No
7.) Who was your best friend? Richard Saurette
8.) How many tattoos did you have? None
9.) How many piercings did you have? None
10.) What car did you drive? 1981 Chev Malibu
11.) Had you been to a real party yet? Yes
12.) Had your heart broken? No
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Single

1992
1.) How old were you? 22
2.) Where did you go to school? Saint Mary's University, graduated with B.Comm.
3.) Where did you work? Kempton Appraisals Limited
4.) Where did you live? Halifax, Sigma Chi Fraternity house on South Street
5.) Where did you hang out? Sigma Chi house
7.) Who were your best friends? Alistair Croll
8.) Who was your crush? My girlfriend at the time
9.) How many tattoos did you have? None
10.) How many piercings did you have? None
11.) What car did you drive? 1991 Plymouth Laser
12.) Had you had your heart broken? Broken heart from not seeing my son every day after the divorce
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter? Divorced and I'll admit to being bitter

1997
1.) How old were you? 27
2.) Where did you go to school? Associate of Insurance Institute program
3.) Where did you work? Kempton Appraisals (I sense a trend)
4.) Where did you live? A condo in Dartmouth, the first place I bought
5.) Where did you hang out? My house, Sigma Chi house
7.) Who was your best friend? Alistair Croll
8.) Who was your crush? Married again at that point
9.) How many tattoos did you have? None
10.) How many piercings did you have? None
11) What car did you drive? Still the Laser
12.) Had your heart been broken this year? No
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter? Married

2002
1.) How old were you? 32
2.) Where did you go to school? Was working on my AACI appraisal designation
3.) Where did you work? OK, OK I've only worked at one place, all right?!?
4.) Where did you live? Jeep Crescent in Eastern Passage
5.) Where did you hang out? My house, Cheryl's house on Caldwell Road
7.) Who was your best friend? Cheryl Atwell
8.) Who was your crush? Cheryl Atwell
9.) How many tattoos did you have? One
10.) How many piercings did you have? None
11) What car did you drive? 98 VW Golf
12.) Had your heart been broken this year? Hmmmm
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter? Taken

2007
1.) How old are you? 37
3.) Where do you live? Violette Court in Cow Bay, we built it last year
4.) Do you wear glasses? Only for distance, when I think of wearing them
5.) Who is your best friend? My wife Cheryl
6.) Do you talk to your old friends? I try to make the time to call them
7.) How many piercings do you have? Still none, no plans to do so
8.) How many tattoos? Still one, no plans to add any more
9.) What kind of car do you drive? 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
10.) Has your heart been broken this year? Nope, no plans for that either
11.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Married to my best friend, we have 5 kids, life is good!

Ron Burgundy Anchorman 300

This video is just awesome.

VoodooAppraiser.com

I work with a guy named Paul. One of my nicknames for him is The Angel of Death. He holds the dubious distinction of having more than one of his clients dying within a month to 6 months of his appraisal of their property. His power doesn't stop at real estate. Back in the 90's, his old band closed down rural NS bars. In fact, their ability to kill a bar was so great that once when they travelled to Kentville to play at The Wooden Nickel, and when they got there, they found that it was closed. Closed as in chains across the front door. They had rented a PA and spent money on gas, etc. so they decided to head to The Anvil in Wolfville and try to convince the owner to let them play there so they could recoup some of their costs. Somehow they convinced him to let them play there, and I think he must have built up good karma by doing the band that favour because The Anvil is still open.

Want to bump someone off? Get Paul to appraise their house.

He is the Voodoo Appraiser.

I need to set up a website VoodooAppraiser.com!

Government departments

Here is an example of government efficiency. I think it is next door to the Federal Department of Redundancy Department.

Cool actors

I read one of my friends Jason Macdonald's Facebook notes and I commented on it. Then I figured I may as well post it on here. The question he asked is: Who is cooler than Steve Buscemi? The inference here is "out of the people who were matched to Jason's image". This included Richard Clayderman, (who I suspect paid to have his image put on there - this is the most publicity he has ever received in North America, although apparently he is huge in countries whose people love elevator music. He's sort of a Kenny G for pianists.), Elijah Wood (who I think approaches cool, but he is too pretty), Clark Gable, Steve Buscemi, and wait for it....Kirsten Dunst! Hahaha! Anyway, such is the question that was posed.

Remember that cool is defined as "calm self-control".

In my opinion, Clark Gable is much cooler than Steve Buscemi. Watch some of Gable's movies - he is Mr. Cool. Steve plays characters that are so uncool it gives him a level of coolness (cool in the sense that he is an excellent actor), but for the real deal it's Gable, or Bogart, or Cary Grant, or Steve McQueen. I'll even throw in James Dean, although he was only in a few movies.

James Bond is cool, personified. So are the actors who played him, except for Roger Moore. Grrr! How could they let him play Bond! A farce, if you ask me.

Cool actors from our time? Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Pierce Brosnan, Denzel Washington, George Clooney, Liam Neeson and of course Jack Nicholson (although he has been around for 40 years). They have that self-confidence that is evident, no matter the role or the medium (film or TV). My favourite "new" actor for coolness is Christian Bale. Check him out in Batman Begins (by the way, Batman is the coolest superhero.)

Without winter, we would not appreciate spring

Without the ugly, there is no beautiful.

Thank you God, for creating a planetary weather system to give us early spring days that feel glorious and make me happy to be alive and feeling the sunshine! If our weather was always the same year-round, would we relish the warmth of the sun as the snow melts from our lawns and our hearts?

While I love the autumn and the summer (the winter is just OK with me), this early part of the spring in Nova Scotia is my favourite time of year. We are blessed with a gift of a warm sunny day, or even a cool sunny day. Yes, I will take the mud on my shoes and the uncertainty of how to dress when we go out, for the surprise that we can strip down to shirtsleeves in the park and breathe fresh air without our nostrils freezing shut and eyes watering from the sub-zero wind.

After being cooped up for months, we can finally stretch our limbs and remember what it is like to enjoy nature without the silent sheath of snow deadening our feelings, our footfalls, our fingertips.

OK, I'm going to stop now. I can't top that last bit of poetic alliteration.

P.S. Apparently, Anne Bradstreet felt the same as I do about spring:

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

A Fitness (Fatness?) Haiku

In shape, out of shape,

What does that mean? I'm in shape --

Isn't round a shape?


- I have got to get back to the gym. This working overtime is getting to me.

The Arrogance of Intelligence

or How The Unready Abuse Their Gifts.

Those of us with extraordinary gifts can get caught up in ourselves, and our pride (although we may insist we are not overly proud) gets in the way of our vision. We can't see the forest for the trees, even though we may be able to tell someone the scientific name for each of the trees in that forest.

It is easy to fall into the trap of pride. Our ego is powerful, our inner talk to ourselves is always "on", and we can rationalize our behaviour many, many times a day to convince ourselves of our opinions or judgments. If we are honest with ourselves, we can see that we hate to be wrong, either factually or morally, so we sometimes mask the truth to be able to live with ourselves, guilt-free.

I remember many times when I looked down on someone because they were not as intelligent as I was. I also remember how I hurt people's feelings because of my arrogance and changed relationships with those I hurt. So when I say these things in this post, please realize that I have come to these conclusions through self-analysis. I have done all of these things and have held these views myself. I sometimes like to think of myself as a recovering "intellectual".

Why do some intelligent people insist that everything that may be true or real must be understandable? Is it because they understand more than most people and this has worked out well for them in many instances in their life? This is a logical fallacy since why does someone have to understand something for it to be true? Personal incredulity or "since I don't believe it, it can't be true" is not a valid basis for an argument, just as ignorance of the truth does not mean it is not true. If that were the case, most things would not be "true" since many people don't understand a lot of things, including most scientific concepts as well as philosophy, yet they are believed by intelligent people more than those who do not understand these things, e.g. people denouncing evolution because they cannot reconcile the facts with their beliefs that everything was created at once and nothing has changed because it was perfectly made; conversely people denouncing a Creator because they do not have scientific evidence that was proven by humans, therefore they cannot reconcile this fact with their beliefs that everything must be proved to be believed.

As humans, there is so much that we do not understand. To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, there are things that we know we know, things that we know we don't know, and there are things that we don't know we don't know. It is this third category that some intelligent people ignore when they make judgments about things they either don't agree with, or believe in. Simply because it is not yet proven does not mean it does not exist or is not true. To quote Carl Sagan, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. There is so much of the universe and of our world that we don't enough know about yet that to dismiss an idea out of hand because it doesn't fit into our particular way of thinking is wrong.

Think of how much we humans did not know, even 100 years ago? 500 years ago? 1000 or 2000 years ago? And yet these time periods are a blink of an eye, compared to the age of the universe, our planet and even our species. Imagine how much more we will know in another 100, 500, 1000 or 2000 years from now. I am sure people of the future will view us much the same way as we picture people from the past: on the whole, quite ignorant.

The subtitle of this post refers to the phenomenon of people who are blessed with gifts that they are not prepared to correctly use. Not just the gift of intelligence, but other blessings such as family members and friends who love us and whom we love.

Take the story of the Prodigal Son in the gospel of Luke. He asked for his inheritance from his father and then squandered it on a lifestyle that is so common, then as now, all about having a good time all the time and not being mindful of the consequences, both short-term and long-term. The son was not prepared for the gift and it was wasted.

The story is a parable about humans and God. Those of us without a right relationship with God can squander the gifts that He has given us: life itself, our senses, our blessings of health, family, friends, appreciation for beauty and joy, to name but a few. If and when we realize how low we have made ourselves (the Jewish prodigal son resorted to feeding pigs to get by, pigs are considered unclean in the Jewish tradition), then we return to our Father in repentance. I came to this realization 4 years ago when I accepted Jesus Christ as my saviour. This realization usually comes to us when we are feeling like there is no lower we can go, that we have failed at being the captain of our ship on the journey that is our life, and often we have been dashed against the rocks of despair before we finally give God the helm and admit that we can't do it all alone.

Of course, as in the story our Father in heaven forgives us and celebrates our returning home to Him. Why does He do this? Because He loves us, as fathers love their children and as the father in the story loves his prodigal son, even though he wasted his inheritance and rebuked his father in leaving home to do so.

The story is also effective because it relates the humanity in the elder son, who stayed on the farm and worked there all his life. The elder son questioned the father as to why he made such a big deal about the return of the younger son, and the father answered that all that he had was the elder son's and don't worry about that anyway, just be happy for his brother's return home. This can happen so easily to those of us who are in the church and yet can feel envy or bitterness to others for their happiness or gifts. The father in the story reminds us all that we should be happy for our brother's successes and not jealous. We all have what is the Father's: His love and grace that saves us, if only we accept it. We should revel in His gifts to us and be glad for them, not criticize or be jealous of others who also receive them.

The prodigal son and other allegories in the Bible are still alive today because they speak the truth about human nature. We can all learn lessons from the Bible when we read it as something more than just a great piece of literature. If we open the Bible expecting nothing, we may get nothing more than a bunch of historical facts and stories. If we open our minds to the possibility that the Bible is more than merely a collection of documents written by men hundreds and thousands of years ago, that it is the word of God, written by men who were inspired by God, then all of a sudden it can be so much more and can add so much more meaning and understanding to our lives.

Jesus said that He spoke in allegories so that those who were open to hearing the message would hear it. Everyone takes in information slightly differently, so allegories can have certain aspects that resonate with some people, while others take another part of the lesson that the story teaches the listener/reader.

Faith, Hope and Love. If we don't have these three things, then what happiness can we have? If we don't have happiness, then why are we here? I will explore this in another post.

My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.

Some mornings arrive too early

Before the photos get posted on Alistair's site, let me say this: I had fun last night.

Dinner, drinks, cigars and conversation with two of my closest friends and I met Tony Schellinck, one of Alistair's friends who was his prof at Dal.

We started with dinner prepared by Alistair, including his handmade pasta. Then Tony showed us the deep space photos he took using a Canon SLR camera, a tripod for extended exposure time, a telescope and a webcam. Pretty cool, really. Who knew Orion had a scabbard under his belt? These are not Tony's photos, but you get the idea.

Then it was cigars on the beach while sitting on Alistair's Beachcombers log. We knew it was time to go back inside when the conversation turned into pirate jokes.

We continued the evening with more conversation and drinks until Tony left around 11 PM. Then it was on to Guitar Hero, a PS2 game that Alistair had been selling me on all week. I have to say, I don't know why I doubted Alistair. I am sure Alistair is reading this, saying, "Why do you ever doubt me, Phil?". The game was really fun and I think it helps if you are familiar with the songs and/or have some background with a musical instrument. Alistair wants Philson and me to come over this weekend so we can play it. I think I will take him up on that invitation.

After playing the video game, Alistair, Dave and I had a serious conversation about Sig and how to solve its problems. Solving the world's problems will have to wait until another night, I suppose.

The alarm went off at 7:30 this morning. I think some mornings arrive too early.

In Hoc Signo Vinces, my brothers!

2014 Commonwealth Games Bid

It is a real shame that the provincial and municipal governments withdrew their funding for the 2014 Commonwealth Games bid. They claimed that $1,700,000,000 was too much for what we would get. Forget that $400,000,000 was promised by the Feds and another $300,000,000 was promised by the province and $200,000,000 by HRM. The bid committee said they had the bid figure estimated at $1,300,000,000. That leaves $400,000,000 and 7 years to raise it. Vancouver was able to get enough funding to host the 2010 Summer Olympics. I guess the powers-that-be Out West recognize a good chance to grow when they see it. All we have to do locally is look at how many companies Moncton is wooing away from HRM to see that growth and long-term prospects are not in the politicians' viewplane.

In my opinion, it was a short-sighted decision to withdraw funding without giving the committee an opportunity to present the revised numbers. It is a question of the chicken and egg: do we build infrastructure for a growing city like Halifax before we host a games event, or do we need a games event to get the infrastructure that a growing city like Halifax needs? I believe that an international games event is needed to provide politicians enough political points with voters before they commit to providing and money to build such infrastructure.

We will likely be another 20 years before we see any large-scale sporting/recreational infrastructure built in HRM. By that time, we will be in dire need of it and we will waste another generation of athletes before our facilities and our athletes' needs for such facilities match up and we can provide the number of world-class athletes that we are capable of producing, given our population.

These facilities would not only be for HRM, but Nova Scotia as well as the other Maritime provinces. A population of 2,000,000+ within a few hours' drive is enough to support larger facilities. Unfortunately, it appears that the current political leaders are more concerned with not taking any chances and protecting their own future than looking forward and seeing what a legacy they could leave for future generations.

The Woman You Should Marry

You should marry the woman who:

- has her own mind but you both agree on fundamentals like how to treat each other, long-term goals, family plans, how to raise children, spiritual beliefs
- wears your T-shirt to bed because she misses you when you are away
- smiles when she wakes up next to you
- knows your favourite things and makes an effort to give them/make them for you
- laughs at your jokes
- is physically attractive to you
- you can talk with her about any subject, usually at length. Note: When you like talking with her for a long time, this is a good sign!
- tells you she loves you often and you know she means it
- has her own goals and desires from life and recognizes she can achieve them with you as a partner and as a supporter
- inspires you to be the best man you can be
- you want to give her everything and fulfill her dreams the best that you can
- is gentle with you and others
- is a giver, not a taker
- respects you
- believes in you and your abilities
- understands that you need some time 1. alone, 2. with your friends, 3. to be a Dad to your kids, 4.to strive for your own goals with her help and support

After many years of searching, I have found such a woman. Cheryl and I were married 2 years ago after 3 years as a couple and years of friendship before that. I thank God every day for my blessings of Cheryl and our children.

Snow Crash, here we come!

In the interest of looping my online contacts on each other until I eventually become my own avatar, Facebook me!

Allitopoeia

I made up a new word: Allitopoeia. It is a portmanteau, although apparently that word has been eliminated from common usage, such morphemes are now called "blends".

A portmanteau or blend is a word that combines the sounds and meanings of two different words. An example would be spork, which is a spoon and fork combo that is used in camping. Another example is cyborg, a blend of the words cybernetic and organism.

I came up with the word the other day and I figured I should post this to make a record of it, although I think the average readership of my blog is similar to the surveyed average of the 1,000,000+ blogs out there: the blogger themselves.

I coined the word Allitopoeia to describe words that sound like they are spelled and also have a repetitive sound to them. Some examples:

ping pong
splish splash
beep beep
woo-woo!
hee-haw
choo-choo
blah blah blah
yadda yadda yadda
clickety-click
chuga-chuga

Now I have to find out how to get this word registered to me, then the royalty cheques start coming in!

Work "hard" or get lucky? How do you get ahead?

Working "hard" is often how you perceive the situation. One may feel like they are working "hard" at a job they hate but they are really goofing off and getting no work done at all. Other people find an occupation that they enjoy and never "work hard" a day in their lives.

In terms of working many hours and not having much to show for it, I think that either comes down to making decisions either before or after the fact. I had a baby while I was in university. That decision forced me to work harder for the next fifteen years to get to the same financial position as if I didn't have the child and just graduated and got a job in five years.

Other people spend the money they earn on stuff that will make them feel good now, rather than investing it in assets like real estate or stocks, that will take care of them financially in the future.

In conclusion, I find that the harder I work, the better prepared I am to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves in my life. Call that luck, or what you will.

Monopoly strategies

I know I will live to regret giving away all my Monopoly strategy secrets (maybe not all of them! heheheh) because my sister Michelle will use every advantage to beat me.

Here are some methods I have learned over hundreds and hundreds of Monopoly games. Yeah, we played it a lot. So sue me, we were both entrepreneurially-minded children since both of our parents ran their own companies. Plus there were only 2 channels on TV.

Here goes, they're worth their weight in gold (or orange $500 bills):

Buy railroads and utilities - they are cash cows, especially once you get more than one.
Light Blue (Connecticut) is a good set to own early in the game because it's cheap to develop.

Light Purple (St. Charles) and Red (Illinois) are really good because Light Purple is cheap to develop and both sets have cards that send people to one of the locations in the set.

Orange (New York) is effective for much the same reason as Light Purple. People get sent to jail and when they get out, they are likely to land on Orange.

The Green (Pennsylvania) and Dark Blue (Boardwalk) are expensive to develop but can put someone out of the game.

Don't go to 4 houses or hotels unless you have a lot of extra money or cannot develop any other sets.

3 houses is your best value for cost to develop versus rent revenue.

Those are land ownership strategies. Other strategies include:
- being able to trade well to complete sets -- think more than one trade away if playing with more than one other person. You may be able to put together a 3-way deal that hopefully benefits you at least as much as the others, if not moreso.
- Mortgaging to buy houses to take advantage if your opponent's coming up to your properties. If your opponent just passed your houses and you are getting near theirs, don't buy houses. Wait until the chance of them landing on you is higher, as they get closer.

Sometimes the dice rolls work for you, sometimes they don't. By following some of these strategies that I developed by playing many, many games of Monopoly growing up -- we only had 2 TV stations to watch when I was a kid and we lived out in the boonies with only my sister and I around -- you can reduce the effect of luck in the dice rolls. Have fun!

De Niro vs. Pacino. A tangentially-related post to the Sporadic Series of Movie Reviews

Who was better in the 70's: Robert De Niro or Al Pacino? Who is better now?

Reasons why De Niro was great in the 70's:
Bang The Drum Slowly
Mean Streets
The Godfather 2
Taxi Driver
The Deer Hunter
and I'm gonna throw Raging Bull in there, although it was from 1980.

Reasons why Pacino was great in the 70's:
Godfather 1
Godfather 2
Serpico
Dog Day Afternoon
And Justice For All
and to be fair I'll throw in Scarface although it is from 1983.

It is a very close call, but I'm going to go with Pacino since he was the star in each of his great movies. De Niro was great, but he was also in some movies that had a bunch of other excellent actors in them.

One might say, "But two of Pacino's great movies were The Godfather 1 and 2 that had ensemble casts." Of course, the counterpoint could be made for Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, two of Scorsese's New York movies, where De Niro was the star.


Since the 70's both actors have had some hits and misses:

De Niro Hits:
Once Upon A Time In America - another ensemble movie, great film
The Mission - all Bobby
The Untouchables - ensemble cast
We're No Angels - some say is a miss, but I liked it. Also had Sean Penn and Demi Moore
Goodfellas - WOW
Cape Fear - much better than the original. I don't get Robert Mitchum's brand of scariness
A Bronx Tale - check it out, good even though it has Chazz Palmintieri
Casino - it's not Goodfellas 2 unlike what many people say, it's awesome in its own right
Heat
Sleepers
Analyze This - surprisingly good comedy with Billy Crystal
Meet The Parents - He plays a bit of a cartoon of himself, kind of like how Christopher Walken is getting work now

De Niro Misses, though some would disagree with me:
Stanley & Iris
Backdraft
Mad Dog & Glory - OUCH
Frankenstein - Huh?
The Fan
Cop Land
Wag The Dog
Analyze That
Meet The Fockers. Sadly, these last two are sequels that beat the life out of the one-liners and situations that made the originals so good

Pacino Hits:
Sea of Love - any movie that makes Ellen Barkin a sex symbol must be good
Glengarry Glen Ross - ensemble cast, but Pacino makes himself known on the screen
Scent of a Woman - I can't tell if his character is overblown or just typical Pacino
Heat
City Hall
Donnie Brasco - a different role for Al in that it is obvious that his character is a small-time loser rather than a bombastic "offense is the best defense" type guy
Devil's Advocate - Al makes up for Keanu (which is Hawaiian for "wooden acting").
The Insider
Any Given Sunday
Insomnia - Al's shar-pei look convinces us that he hasn't slept in weeks
Merchant of Venice - I think Pacino is in his element in Shakespeare
Looking For Richard - excellent documentary following Al in his pursuit to make Richard III

Pacino Misses:
Author! Author!
Dick Tracy - Ugh
Godfather 3 (though not his fault. Sofia Coppola ruined that movie)
Frankie and Johnny
Simone
The Recruit - did this movie have to be made? Haven't we seen Al in enough badass guy roles and Matt Damon in enough newbie secret agent roles?
Gigli? I had no idea he was in this one!


So pretty even so far. How about Oscars? Pacino: 9 nominations (5 in the 70's) and 1 win for Scent of a Woman. De Niro: 6 nominations and 2 wins (both wins in the 70's).

I think De Niro has spread out a bit, doing the comedies since the 70's which have been hits and misses. Pacino still knocks our socks off with his performances, while flexing his thespian muscles with some Shakespeare. I guess after all this, I have to stay with Pacino. De Niro is in cooler movies, but Pacino gets my pick as the better actor.

I guess I needed to reason out something I never knew that I needed to know.

The First in a Sporadic Series of Movie Reviews

Napoleon Dynamite: Dumbest Movie Ever? Your Mom's the dumbest movie ever! Yesssss!

This was one of the best movies I have seen to capture the discomfort that most teens have just being in their own skin. Napoleon and Kip were excellent.

I realized after Uncle Rico was complaining that his ex-wife said he was stuck in 1982 that the whole movie is stuck in 1982! Check out the cars, the clothes, the hair styles - all of it! Watch the movie with that in mind and it is even funnier.

This movie needs to be watched a few times to pick up all of the nuances.

A few of favorite scenes of mine:
- Napoleon's phone call home to Kip
- Deb and Napoleon when she was at his front door
- Uncle Rico selling the tupperware and the couple with the promotional model boat. Everything about that scene is too funny!

Check out this page for quotes.

In closing, I think this movie was so universal that it was loved by people like Napoleon and Deb and it was so quirky that it was hated by people like Don and Summer. Peace out!

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Another of my favourite poems. Especially suited for reading out loud. Here is Dylan Thomas (the author) reading it. Wow! He might have been a drunk, but Wow!

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.


Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.


Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


Dylan Thomas, 1951 or 1952

The Man In The Glass

One of my favourite poems:


When you get all you want and you struggle for self,

and the world makes you king for a day,

then go to the mirror and look at yourself

and see what that man has to say.


For it isn't your mother, your father or wife

whose judgement upon you must pass,

but the man, whose verdict counts most in your life

is the one staring back from the glass.


He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest.

For he's with you right to the end,

and you've passed your most difficult test

if the man in the glass is your friend.


You can fool the whole world down the highway of years,

and take pats on the back as you pass.

But your final reward will be heartache and tears

if you've cheated the man in the glass.


by Dale Wimbrow, 1934


If we are honest with ourselves, we will know if we have truly done our best in all things that we do. This tenet is central to many organizations that I belong to, including Sigma Chi Fraternity and Scouts Canada. It is also crucial to happiness, in my opinion. The regrets about the things we did fade away much faster than the regrets about the things we never did. Don't cheat the man in the glass!

Aristotle versus Kant! Philosophical battle!

I answered this question on Yahoo Answers some time ago: "What would Aristotle and Kant think about stealing? What would they argue?"

My answer was:

They dealt with opposite sides of an ignorance coin. Aristotle dealt with the ramifications of whether the thief knew he was stealing whereas Kant focussed on whether the victim knew he was being robbed. They would be separated by their respective perspectives and would probably kill each other in a dual fit of rage, both yelling at the other "Why won't you listen to me!" ... Aristotle in Greek and Kant in German, which doesn't help matters.

According to Aristotle, ignorance of the major premise results in an evil act, but ignorance of the minor premise results in an involuntary act, i.e., it is not stealing if one does not know the property belongs to someone else. It is a serious moral flaw if a man does not understand what stealing is, but it is possible to know that stealing is wrong and still take someone else's property in ignorance. This is the sort of ignorance of particular circumstances that results in an involuntary act for which one is not morally responsible.

Kant argued that any action taken against another person to which he or she could not possibly consent is a violation of perfect duty interpreted through the second formulation. If a thief were to steal a book from an unknowing victim, it may have been that the victim would have agreed, had the thief simply asked. However, no person can consent to theft, because the presence of consent would mean that the transfer was not a theft. Since the victim could not have consented to the action, it could not be instituted as a universal law of nature, and theft contradicts perfect duty.

Full disclosure: I referred to cliff's notes and wikipedia for my answer, although I particularly like my first paragraph in the answer.

A few thoughts about Oscar

I replied to my friend Alistair's mention of Tom Hanks blowing off one of the "hosts" who verbally attacked Tom as he was walking by backstage with William Monahan, the writer of The Departed.

Those award show "hosts" are the most superfluous part of an over-the-top back-self-patting extravaganza. Hmm, come to think of it, that last phrase was a little over-the-top, too. Over The Top, by the way, was an arm wrestling(!) movie starring Sly Stallone back in 1987. My friend and I were 2 of 3 people in the theatre for that one. It makes The Long Kiss Goodnight seem like Lawrence of Arabia by comparison. I think Alistair, Dean and I were 3 of the 5 or so people in the theatre for The Long Kiss Goodnight. You remember that one A.? Not that I'm bitter. ;-) It was Geena Davis's follow-up to Cutthroat Island. I think that one-two combo was the death knell for her career, a cameo in Stuart Little and a few TV appearances aside. Speaking of aside, enough of this aside: back to the Oscars!

Good on Tom Hanks for totally snubbing that "host" whose lameness with his attempt at comedy with the wooden horse race board (he called it "the latest in technology", or some such foolishness) that he held in his hand was only exceeded by his blind toadying/insinuation into Tom's life, which was going along just fine without that host (who shall remain nameless; OK, I don't know his name).

I am happy that Scorsese finally won Best Director. I think it was one of those body-of-work awards, although I really enjoyed The Departed. On another note, I agree with Alan Arkin who said that he hoped that his 10-year old co-star Abby Breslin would not win Best Supporting Actress. While he was joking by saying she would have to follow it up by winning a Nobel Prize next year, I have to agree with him. What could she do after winning the top award in her field at age 10? Best to simply get a nomination and not peak too early.

Speaking of peaking too early, you read it here first: Jennifer Hudson will never again achieve the acting success she currently has, with a Golden Globe and Oscar. Her role in Dreamgirls was her dream role and while she probably won't be back on cruise ships singing Disney tunes anytime soon, I wonder if she should quit while she's ahead. Unfortunately, I think her career will be disappointing to her and to her fans. I hope I'm wrong.

P.S. Here is a site that lists some other young hopefuls that never re-attained their Oscar peak. I guess most stars shoot across the sky in Hollywood.

Appraisal Groupies

OK, so this is the first time anyone has said this to me at a property. I was appraising the Esso/Tim Horton's in Brookfield (near Truro). After I was done, I went in to the Tim's to get a hot chocolate as it was pretty cold outside. While I was waiting for my drink, one of the Tim's girls asked me if I was an appraiser. I guess she looked at my coat with Kempton Appraisals Limited on it -- no snarky comments! I answered that I was an appraiser and she responded sincerely(!), "Cool! How do you become an appraiser? Do you have to go to a special school?" I answered no, and then listed some of the qualifications to become an appraiser. By this time a couple of the other workers joined in the conversation and they were pretty impressed at the depth of knowledge one needs to be an appraiser. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't believe their reaction, but this was a pretty laid-back place and I think they were actually impressed. Maybe this girl sees it as a way to get out of Brookfield. Not exactly Hollywood, but maybe Halifax is a big city to her. I guess there's a first time for everything. It made me feel pretty good about myself, which is nice considering some of the clients we have had lately.

ROXANNE...

You don't have to put on the red light.

Possibly the most recognizable opening lines in late 70's rock, as well as the most interesting backing vocals in a hit song. Take a listen again to hear what I am saying.

I bought 4 tickets to The Police's second show in Toronto, happening at the Air Canada Centre on July 23. My three closest friends are joining me: Alistair, Dean and Dave D. I tried calling the Air Canada Centre at 11 AM on Saturday, got a busy signal time after time and about 10 minutes into it, thought I should look for an online box office. I found it at Ticketmaster.ca and bought 4 tickets. It was a pretty easy experience and I would recommend it. I tried buying tickets for the first and what was the only show at the time, but it was sold out basically right away. Then I looked at all of the various pre-sale sales and I realized that people were able to buy tickets as early as Tuesday. No wonder it was sold out! I am glad I took the time to get the tickets when I did because I heard on the radio this morning that all of their shows sold out in a matter of hours (I am guessing minutes).

We are planning to meet in T-dot for the show, with Dean hosting (right, Dean?) Dave is scheduled to be in Brockville, visiting his inlaws with his wife Lauren and their to-be 2 kids, Oliver (Cheryl's and my godson) and Baby to be named later when s/he arrives in the next week or so. Alistair will fly in from wherever he happens to be at the time, and I will use Air Miles to go up from Hali.

I bought upper bowl seats for $95 - plus about $17 in various charges per ticket!! - rather than the lower bowl for $225. I am somewhat torn by it because in the long run an extra $130 would probably be worth it, but on the other hand if you are not on the floor near the front, it is much different? Would it be worth 2.5 times? I don't think so. anyway, just being in the arena will be the thrill, although there were $60 tickets available but I wonder if they are nosebleed seats or standing room tickets, dunno.

I saw The Police on TV the other night when they opened the Grammys. I thought they looked happy and healthy and ready to tour, so I am looking forward to the show.

Not so much a football post...

Here is a link to Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith's inspiration as coaches who are able to achieve so much and get their players to do the same. I was touched by Tony Dungy's comments after the Super Bowl when he was presented with the Lombardi Trophy. So many athletes thank God for their success, but this time it felt real. Congratulations to a Godly man - Tony Dungy - and his team.

Thanks to Matt Whitman for the link.

Pardon me? Please?

Great cartoon by Mr. Fish in Harper's Magazine. By the way, Harper's is my new favourite magazine, with thought-provoking pieces about current events. Good brain food.

Manning can get rid of that monkey now

Quite a game, especially the 4 turnovers in the first half. I was on the edge of my chair for most of it. Watched the game with my brother-in-law Gord, we ate way too much (OK, just me) but that is part of the ritual with Super Bowl.

I figured Manning would get MVP because the voters love Manning and want to help him dispel those critics of the past 9 years. Certainly his stats show he deserved it, although I don't think the would have won without the Addai-Rhodes show.

I was not surprised by Grossman's performance. How he has stayed in the starter position for this long is beyond me. I guess this is one case where the QB is saved by his team again and again and the coach is staying with "the one who brung" him, even though "the one who brung" him actually had a 0.0 passer rating in a game earlier this year. You want your QB to have a passer rating of at least 80. Over 100 is good. The highest possible rating is 158.3, while 0.0 is ridiculous. More on Passer Rating.

One of the reasons that both football fans and non-fans watch the Super Bowl is for the advertisements. A bonus feature of having HD cable -- beside watching the game in HD -- is being able to watch the American ads and not have to sit through innumerable airings of Greco Pizza and Perma-Crete foundation repair ads. Here is a fun way to decide which was the best ad during the Super Bowl. I ended up choosing CareerBuilder "Jungle", although the Emerald Nuts "Goulet" ad was pretty good too. Of course the Bud ads were funny, especially "Slap".

Even though the Pats weren't in it, I had a good time. Enough with the football posts for a while now.

Not Exactly "An Inconvenient Truth"

My friend Ingo just sent me this!

A short movie on what will happen if we don't get rid of nukes. It will be so bad that even the giant meteor heading for Earth will figure it's not worth hitting us.

Hardly going to be a "Super" Bowl now

Well, the Patriots' defence blew the AFC Championship game yesterday. Giving up an 18-point lead to lose 38-34 was pretty hard to watch. With the Chicago Bears and Indy Colts in the final, it hardly seems like it will be a Super game. While both teams have good regular season records, the Chicago QB Rex Grossman is uneven and could turn in a terrible game. Indianapolis has its own shortcomings too, but I suspect they will prevail because they are the better team of these two.

The Patriots' weakness of so much player turnover from last year -- losing their two main receivers (Deion Branch and David Givens) as well as key defence players such as Willie McGinest -- was amplified last night as their receivers didn't make much happen and their defence was run off their feet by Joseph Addai. What would have happened if Junior Seau hadn't been injured a few weeks ago? His talent on the D-line would have made a big difference. I have not seen too many opposing RB's get as many yards as the Colts' Addai (a rookie, no less!) managed to get on almost all of his rushes; he was able to bust through the Pats' defence time after time.

Indy's offence was able to throw short passes because New England was worried about the long bomb. Chicago's Cover Two defence and MLB Brian Urlacher should get rid of that threat. I figure it will be a close game, with Vinatieri winning it with a late field goal like he did for the Patriots.

Colts 23 - Chicago 20

Patriots beat the Chargers!

How great was the game last night? As usual, Belichick and Brady had us on the edges of our seats and they came through in the end. While not the literal last-minute field goals that have won them two Super Bowl championships as well as other games, Tom Brady looked every inch the chosen one to lead the Pats to another victory, despite being behind in the score. Here is Peter King's article on how the Pats beat the Chargers.

The more I read King's stuff, the better I like it.

Here's to another drubbing of the Colts this Sunday as a warm-up to Super Bowl Sunday with my new 42" plasma, with HDTV hooked up today! OH YEAH!

Super Bowl XLI - Patriots vs. Saints

You read it here first. The Super Bowl teams will be the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints. The Saints will win, but not because they are the better team.

Just like the Patriots won the Super Bowl after 9/11 and boosted American morale after the first attack on their soil since Pearl Harbour, and the first winner of Survivor was named Richard, who Jeff Probst called "Rich" for the first time in the season finale so it would sound better "The winner of Survivor is Rich", the New Orleans Saints will win the Super Bowl to restore pride in the city after Katrina. I know this isn't the first Super Bowl after Katrina, but it's the first one with the Saints in the Superdome since Katrina.

What with U2 and Green Day selling (out) a single of their song The Saints Are Coming at the Saints' home opener at the start of this season, and a legitimate chance at winning the Super Bowl thanks to Reggie Bush and Drew Brees (to name but two players who have got them to where they are) it's too good of a feel-good story for the Men Who Control Media to pass up. Also, the U2/Green Day song will sell even more copies. I wonder what MWCM had to give Bono for U2 to make that song? Maybe MWCM had to live up to the promises they made to Bono while on the campaign trail regarding foreign aid? But that's another story.

Final Score: Saints 28, Patriots 24. I would say the Saints will win it in a last-minute touchdown, similar to how the Patriots have won two of their Super Bowls.

That is my conspiracy theorist speaking. My Pats fan in me says Patriots 27, Saints 17. Let's watch and see...

Hinterland Who's Who

This is great for those of us who grew up in the 70's and only had two TV channels, so we watched anything that was on, including Hinterland Who's Who. The pan flute opening notes are enough to perk up any Canadian's ears who is 30 to 40 years old.
Enjoy!

Love and Loss

So I'm talking with my co-worker Paul and I mention how pets and helium balloons teach children the same lessons, one is long-term and the other is short-term.

Pets teach kids about personal responsibility because the kids learn to take care of the animals, unless the parents do it once the kitten turns into a boring and less cuddly cat; unconditional love that animals -- except for cats, and I guess reptiles and fish -- give to the ones who feed and care for them; and eventually loss when the pet dies, usually suddenly, if the kid lives in a rural area. Country roads and dogs don't mix. Neither do foxes and housecats. Personal experience with both for me.

Helium balloons teach kids basically the same thing: personal responsibility, in that you have to hold onto the string to keep your balloon; unconditional love or joy, at the time of ownership of the balloon because they are fun and novel to kids; and loss, in that if you don't hold onto the string, you will watch your balloon ascend to its freedom in the sky ("Shadow has gone to doggie heaven").

How we got on this topic was that Paul doesn't have any pets and he has no plans to get any for his kids. I asked him if he was OK with his kids not learning any of these lessons and he said that he was. I don't think he takes this as seriously as I do. ;-)