In Case You're Wondering

No I haven't given up yet. See what's happened this year. Did the Flyers give up after they lost the first two games against Boston? After they lost the first three games? You can feel it in the air, something magical is going to happen. So to all you bandwagon jumpers who decided to cheer for the Habs and have now given up, you may go back to your old team. It's far from over. The Forum Ghosts are waiting the arrival of Les Habitantes. Forever Proud.

Anthems

What really is the purpose of playing the national anthems at a hockey game? I can fully understand when it is the Olympics and you're playing for your country. But yesterday for example, when O Canada was being played, one of the Pittsburgh Penguins players was saying to it. And good for him. I can't remember who it was but obviously he is a Canadian. Just because his team is based in the States doesn't mean he can't be patriotic to his homeland. And I'm sure if any American-born players on a Canadian team would feel pride when the Star Spangled Banner is played. Maybe they should just have a generic "hockey anthem" and go with that.

Pedestrians

I complain a lot about drivers but sometimes pedestrians are just as bad. People who don't even look when they cross the street. Weren't they taught to "look both ways" when they were young? And is it that hard to wait when "flashing hand" lights up? It doesn't mean you can still cross at a snail's pace because chances are you're not going to make it across before the other light turns green. And there are the idiots who don't even feel like using the sidewalk, thinking that it's a lot more fun to walk along the road.

Driving Pet Peeves of the Month

1) If you're going to change lanes in order to turn right, could you please do it within a reasonable amount of time? Just because you put on your right-turn signal to come into my lane it doesn't mean you can just go right in. These double lane-changing SOB's should be shot.

2) Are you turning left? Please have the courtesy to turn on your left signal before the cars behind you start to bunch up.

3) It's not a law but please, if you're a bit slow could you PLEASE move over to the right lane so people with reasonable driving skills could pass you? This especially applies on the highway. I wish they would have the American law of "drive on right, pass on left" here.

4) HOV lanes are for cars with 2 or 3 people who WANT TO DRIVE FASTER. They are not for cars with 2 or 3 people who WANT TO DRIVE SLOWER.

5) See those left-turn or right-turn only lanes? They don't mean you can drive through the intersection; they mean you have to turn, nimrod. This applies especially on the corner of No. 3 Road and Bridgeport Road where people don't really know anything.

6) The River Rock parking lot should save money and take away all their "Exit" and "Parking" and "One-Way" signs because nobody ever reads them anyways.

Who's Next

Now that Dancing With the Stars is featuring actual stars again, it had me thinking. When this season is over and the public is eventually tortured with another season, who will be on. Which useless celebrities and non-celebrities will be on it? My ugly list:

Heidi Montag (if you don't know who she is, Google her. Yuk...)
Miley Cyrus (yuk)
Paris Hilton (yuk)
Britney Spears (yuk)
Lindsay Lohan (yuk)

Yuk...

The World is a Better Place

Kate is gone! Kate is gone! I can watch TV again! So my new idea, if she likes the spotlight so much let's put her on the next season of Survivor and make sure she doesn't get voted off for a while. But let's get her to do gross things like eat elephant testicles or cockroach larvae (is there such a thing?). Bring her kids along too, since she needs to remember to exploit them. Yes folks, all is well in the world. But now, hmmm, who has taken over the throne of most pointless non-celebrity on TV right now? That mistress of Jesse James is a good candidate.....

Puke

So today's news is that the mistresses of Tiger Woods (Michelle "Bombshell" McGee) and Jesse James (Jamie Junger) are now being offered their own reality show. Might as well put the Queen of Skank Kate Gosselin, throw in Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and have as a guest star Paris Hilton. The sick thing is people will actually watch this crap. No wonder America makes me sick.

Boycott

And so begins my boycott of ABC programming until further notice. Kate Gosselin just makes me sick. To each and every one of you who voted for her to stay on the show, you make me sick. To ABC for manipulating the judges to say what they did, and for manipulating the phone lines and voting, you make me sick.

TV makes me so sick right now maybe I'll just give it up altogether. Well, maybe after the hockey playoffs.

Favoritism

Tell me that Dancing With the Stars isn't fixed. Whether it's the voting (9 votes per voting method?) or the totally biased judging on the show, it's become a joke. Tonight almost all of the contestants, even the ones that seemed flawless, got bad marks from the judges and equally bad comments. But for some reason they decided that the Queen of Child Exploitation did a wonderful job even though the dancing was so fake. I am convinced of one of the following:

1) The judging is fixed and the results are planned in advance
2) America is really that stupid to keep Kate Gosselin on the show

Which one is true? The show makes me sick. ABC makes me sick. They might as well put Jon Gosselin on the show next season.

Dumb Parents

So yesterday Amy and I were driving back home after our trip when we dropped by the Starbucks on 54th and Kerr. While looking for a parking spot I had to avoid a little girl (about 10?) who was debating whether or not to cross from one side of the lot to the other. I assumed that her parent was somewhere nearby and she was catching up with them. But when I had parked and took a look behind me I didn't see any parents. She was standing beside a car which had the back window open. So I assume she'd been told to wait in the car or something and she got impatient. Either way, it's pretty foolish and stupid to leave your child unattended in a parking lot. It really irked me.

He's Back

Well after his little hiatus, some relatively unknown golfer named Tiger Woods is coming back to play some golf next week at The Masters. I hope the American public (the same Americans who voted for Kate Gosselin to stay on Dancing With the Stars) will just let him play golf. I feel really bad for whoever his playing partner is. Do you think there just might be a few more pictures taken than usual?

Why oh Why America?

How in the name of all that is sacred could Kate Gosselin still be on Dancing With the Stars? What possessed anybody to vote for her to stay instead of Shannon Doherty and especially Pamela Anderson? Are Americans really that lamebrained that they actually look up to this sorry excuse? She is not a celebrity, and she so obviously was the worse dancer. Even Buzz Aldrin did better than she did. And certainly Pamela Anderon's portrayal of Marilyn Monroe was worthy of a better fate than the bottom two.

But of course America is obsessed with winners such as Kate Gosselin, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears. Yuk. The dancing doesn't even matter. Maybe just have a Basket Weaving With the Stars show.

DWTS

I must admit I quite enjoyed yesterday's episode of Dancing With the Stars, especially seeing the almighty Kate Gosselin stumble through her dance. Even her dance partner was frustrated with her. Why is she on the show again? Did they change the show's title to Dancing With the People Who Have No Right to Be on a Reality Show?

Tiger Woods vs. Jesse James

What's the score now? 13-4? It looks like the press will lay off of Tiger now since he's getting ready for THE COMEBACK. I do wish he does well because at the end of the day, he's still one of the best golfers in the world. Jesse James, well, I guess he'll just go away now because other than being Mr. Sandra Bullock he doesn't have much to fall back on. Maybe he'll end up on some reality show other than that silly one he was doing.

Dancing With the Stars Season 10

Wow, this season of the fake reality show sure has a lot of media whores. We have Les Kwan's favorite person in the world, Kate Gosselin who somehow managed to make it on a show that features CELEBRITIES. Good thing her other show was canceled or right now it would be called "Nobody Plus 8". Thankfully she sucks at dancing so it will be a matter of time. Then we have Jake "I Need 15 More Minutes" Pavelsky, another non-celebrity. Unfortunately he'll probably stay on the show a bit because the dumb Americans will vote for him just because it's him. And of course the Grand Dame of Media Whoreness, Pamela Anderson. Yuk.

As for the people who are actually considered celebrities, how did the DANCER Nicole Sherzinger get on the show? Predictably she will probably get to the final stages. Hopefully she will win because she can actually dance, and not because people with a lot of email addresses vote for her just because she's hot.

Remember When.....

...that last president Bush was the laughing stock of the modern world and everybody thought he was an idiot who didn't know how to do anything? Remember when Barack Obama was considered the savior who would lead the US to greatness? How times change. This whole health care thing, boy, maybe they should have voted for the old guy and that Alaskan lady.

Coffee

Handy tip for the Tim Horton's guy that I got drive-thru from last week: If I order two coffees and ask for a tray, put the cups diagonally into the tray so the tray isn't tilted on one side possibly resulting in the spillage of the said coffee. If it helps, next time I will order three coffees so you really can't screw it up putting them in the tray.

Oscars

What happened to the Oscars this year? Was there anything worthy of remembering? I had high hopes when I heard that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were cohosting. But somehow things turned out to be a bore. The two hosts were so obviously reading from a script. There was no chemistry. The usually hilarious Robin Williams didn't say much. There was the usual silliness from Ben Stiller but that's about it.

As for the awards themselves, there weren't too many surprises. Avatar took home most of the "effects" awards. It was quite evident early on that The Hurt Locker would win Best Director and Best Picture. Maybe Meryl Streep should have been Best Actress for her uncanny portrayal of Julia Child. But Sandra Bullock was an OK choice I guess.

Reversal

Isn't it funny how quickly Jake (you know girls, THE BACHELOR) could turn from a really nice guy to the biggest idiot in America? Perhaps the show is fixed, or rather he decided to fix things for himself. Amy told me there were rumors that Jake did the show because he wanted to get into acting and he'd do anything for exposure. I guess picking the worst choice of all the bachelorettes would qualify. Immediately being announced as being on the next season of Dancing With the Stars would certainly affirm that. Ugh, what a disgusting lineup, led by the most disgusting of media whores, Kate Gosselin. How nice she finds time from exploiting her children to be on the show. Jake needs another 15 minutes before he fades into oblivion. Nothing like silly American "reality" shows to pollute our minds.... but then again Nicole Sherzinger is on the show too.

Not So Good Memories

I'd posted about my favorite memories in my other blog, but of course there's another side. While I did enjoy the last 17 days, my thoughts on what wasn't so good.

1) Hockey may be Canada's game but other than the goal, the team really didn't play to their potential. The Olympics are about trying your best, even if it doesn't result in a medal. If the NHLer's don't want to take this "tournament" seriously than perhaps forget about the Olympics. I still can't forget the game against Switzerland. Is that how Olympians are supposed to play?

2) The other problem with the Olympics is how NHL teammates seemingly become enemies. I found it disheartening that "Canuck" fans booed and made nasty comments toward Ryan Kesler. He was trying his best. Perhaps we should trade all the foreign players from our teams like the Sedins and Kesler and Demitra. Would that make the fans happier?

3) To this day I still haven't had a Japadog. The lineups were big before and during the Olympics they were up to 2 blocks long. Maybe soon.

4) And now, the $9 billion needs to be recovered.

5) So much for the easy driving on the not-so-busy roads. The streets of Richmond will be back to normal unfortunately.

This is Our Game?

I so wanted to congratulate the Canadian Men's Hockey Team's win on my other blog, but it belongs here. I was very disappointed. Yes, they won, yes they play the US on Sunday. But if this is supposed to be our game, then can we at least put in an effort for 60 minutes instead of turning it off after 52? I may hate the US with a passion but their team has played hard every minute. Do we teach our kids to play only as hard as we need to, then relax when it's 3-0? I don't want to use the word pathetic but that was not impressive. Overpaid hockey players trying only as hard as they want to. As much as I hate Gary Bettman I think it's time the NHL players take a break during the Olympics. Canada might beat the US on Sunday (and of course I hope they do) but they don't deserve the gold. I'm sorry if I don't sound patriotic. Maybe I'm more patriotic than anyone else.

Thought of the Day 3

Maybe this is a silly Pet Peeve but I've always thought flags are supposed to be flown and shown horizontally. Red stripe, white stripe with maple leaf, red stripe. But everywhere I go the flag is hung vertically, obviously for space but it just doesn't look right.

Letdown

Melissa Hollingsworth gave it her all for Canada and ended up fifth. Cindy Klassen gave it her all and wasn't close to the podium. But the two of them showed more Olympic spirit than the entire Canadian hockey team. Melissa's post-event interview was heart-wrenching as it was painfully obvious how much she tried in her event. Yes, she slipped and lost what was a fairly certain podium finish. But she tried her best. Cindy Klassen had fire in her eyes as she attempted to get on the podium one last time. To that I stand and applaud. To our medalists, a job well done. Jon Montgomery, Kristina Groves, Alex Bilodeau.... thank you.

And now let's talk about hockey. First off, I am not blaming Brodeur. He may have had a bad game, but hockey is a team game. Hockey is supposed to be Canada's game. But if those players can look into my eyes and say that they gave it their best against Switzerland and the United States then I can applaud them. But this is what Canada's greatest athletes have to offer? Money doesn't buy championships, heart does. The New York Rangers for years had a bunch of overpaid "superstar" players and yet they never made the playoffs. Am I supposed to feel confident about the team now? There are two scenarios that come to mind:

1) The hockey team did give 100% against the Swiss and the Americans. If that is the case then perhaps we should rethink if hockey is still our game, because the Swiss are catching up.

2) Canada strategically took it easy in the preliminaries in order to play it safe until the playoffs. Somebody remind me how this strategy worked 4 years ago? Gentlemen, if you are not going to give it your all every game, then please give your spot to players that will give it their all. I would rather see someone give it 100% and end up fifth. Maybe Gary Bettman (who I detest with a passion) is right about allowing NHLer's to play in the Olympics.

Losing is All Right?

I really don't understand reporting such as this:

Losing is All Right?

So it's OK to lose a game? When did this become part of sports? OK let's lose a game. You have got to be kidding. Whatever happened to 100%? Did Jon Montgomery say, "Well I think I'm not going to try as hard on the second run. Are they just getting ready in case we lose so it suddenly becomes all right? Please don't accept a loss.

Our Game?

I am a huge hockey fan, everybody knows that. I am normally against "fans" who do nothing but badmouth their own or even other teams. I respect people who cheer for other teams as long as they truly believe in them. My good friends Maureen and Brenna are diehard Flames fans who will cheer for their team for the next 100 years. Whether their team is on top of the league or struggling, they will still cheer for them. There is no bandwagon.

I've lost my train of thought in this post. I just want to say that as much as I like to be positive about our country, yesterday's performance against Switzerland in hockey was very confusing. Hockey is Canada's sport. We live and breathe it, it is in our blood. So you're telling me that a team with superstars like Crosby, etc., etc., could only score two goals against a Swiss team that consisted of a very good goalie in Jonas Hiller and...... Mind you, Russia lost too but the Slovak team at least had a few more NHL players. Go Canada Go but please make us a bit more prouder next game.

Women's Hockey

I'm not sure if there is a solution, but is there really a point in the preliminary round of the women's hockey tournament in the Olympics when Canada and US are going to win their games by an average of 10 goals? Mind you, Sweden did beat the States last time but still.

Crowds

I really enjoyed my time at the Pairs Figuring Skating Final except for the fact that some people were really restless and kept wanting to leave their seats. Now if we were at Silvercity it wouldn't be as bad as there is a lot of space between the seats. But at the old Pacific Coliseum, everybody has to stand in an already cramped space. And the fact that I had my thick jacket and mittens made it all the more annoying.

Protesting

Everyone has a right to their own opinion if it does not physically or verbally harm someone else. Most of my friends know I haven't had a positive outlook on the Olympics. But I respect those that are pro-Olympics. I respect people from different beliefs and religions.

Would have become an Olympic protester? It may have been a possibility a while ago, but ever since I saw what the "protesters" planned to do, I quickly changed my mind. They have now become an embarrassment to the city. They could have done so much with their cause if they had done it with half a brain. Instead they are nothing but hooligans who are now damaging innocent people. Put them away, and put them away for a long time.

Day 1

So what was the purpose of a dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremonies if they didn't make sure everything worked to a tee? So far it's been a bit disappointing. Originally I thought I would be getting emotional but the musical acts were OK at best. It wasn't until the "flag carrying ceremony" when I finally smiled. Anne Murray looked like she never aged, same with Donald Sutherland. And of course Betty Fox reminded me of perhaps the greatest athlete of them all. I hoped so much that the "rumor" of some sort of a Terry Fox hologram lighting the cauldron would be true, even though part of me was thinking it couldn't happen. But if not, then it had to be Wayne Gretzky.

The "group" that finally lit the cauldron was worthy of Canada. All were great athletes. But then some half-working contraption came out of the ground. Oops. Great preparation. Poor Catrina Lemay Doan.

That being said, I'm watching the Olympics for the sport and not the glitz. It is time for Canada to show everyone who we are.

Torchinator?

How does the governor of CALIFORNIA (which is in the United States) get to carry the torch at Stanley Park on Friday? Did we become part of the USA? Is Paris Hilton going to light the torch or perhaps Britney Spears? What did I miss here?

The Other Casino (not that one)

Even though the Edgewater Casino is a different company from mine, I really feel bad for them during this Olympic thing. I could be an impolite fool and laugh at their misfortune but instead I'm going to shake my head and once again question the worth of all this. As in my last post, businesses have been lost. People trying to make ends meet must put their lives on hold while road closures and lack of parking take over their lives. I have a lot of friends who work there who I hope can make it through this rough time for them.

Goodbye Vancouver (and most of Richmond)

No, I'm not moving out of town (unless I win the lottery and move to a remote island in the South Pacific where I can eat coconuts and....oh but I digress), but now that the road closures have started, I'm going to limit (and eventually stop) my driving into Vancouver (well downtown for sure) until the hell known as the Olympics are over. It's bad enough now and we're not even close yet. The city will survive without me. It will be hard enough getting to work.

News

I'm not trying to make a joke out of a tragic situation, but I was just wondering. If Michael Jackson had died on the same day that Haiti's earthquake hit, what would the networks be showing?

Yuk

Yesterday my morning drive from my girlfriend's place (near Metrotown) back home (Garden City and Francis) --which normally takes 30 minutes-- took 65 minutes. I didn't see an accident anywhere. I believe No. 3 Road in Richmond will be closed for the Olympics. That means Garden City will become the new No. 3 Road, which means traffic will be horrible (and that's assuming the traffic lights are working). Maybe I can go the long way and take No. 4 Road. Maybe I should rent a bike or scooter. The Skytrain I can forget because it will be packed with rude people. I'm so NOT looking forward to the next month and a half.

Screw CBC

It was bad enough early last year when CBC decided to give up the Hockey Night in Canada theme to TSN, angering hockey fans everywhere. And now what happenened on the weekend and turned me away from the station forever.

What gives Ron MacLean the right to give the most one-sided "report" in recent memory? It's a shame that Colin Campbell gets to sit beside him looking like an idiot. He's a joke, the whole Burrows-Auger situation has become a joke. Isn't it a shame that players and coaches have to shut their mouths for fear of fines, but the officials can say whatever they want? And it's not just Burrows, the bad officiating is everywhere. There, I've said it. Does Colin Campbell and the other loser Gary Bettman want to fine me too?

In the meantime, I hereby swear that I will not watch CBC for any hockey games and Coach's Corner until further notice.

Richmond Drivers

Ever get into an accident at a Tim Horton's parking lot before? I guess I've joined an exclusive club.

Late Night Wars

There was a time when my blog title would refer to the rivalry between Jay Leno and David Letterman. Back and forth they went, and both developed their fanbase. Now my blog title refers to people from the same station! It looks like Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and even Jimmy Fallon are part of some big fight.

Basically NBC made a huge mistake by moving Jay Leno to primetime. It was an experiment that obviously didn't work. But how do they fix the mistake? Conan was signed as the TONIGHT SHOW host. Now the idea is to start Jay's "new" half-hour show at 11:35pm (as his show once was) and then start the Tonight Show at 12:05AM followed by Jimmy Fallon at 1:05am. That's silly. And poor Carson Daly loses his show altogether. It looks like Conan is going to leave NBC, and he should. Jay Leno is starting to look like the Brett Favre of late night (and that's a negative connotation). Silly people.

Hockey Refs

Isn't it unfortunate that no matter how bad the refereeing is in a sporting event, whether it's hockey or football or baseball (not that anybody watches that). The players and coaches are not allowed to say anything or they get fined.

But this whole Burrows-Auger situation has nothing to do with the bad refereeing. That will happen. Calls are made for the home team, calls are made against the home team. Calls are missed and maybe even they didn't see exactly what happened. My problem (and I don't know why they don't concentrate more on this) is this whole "vendetta" thing. Did the referee go up to Burrows and say "I'm gonna get you" at the beginning of the game? Why is this being swept under the rug? I'm not defending Burrows, he's always been known as a diver and nuisance. But if the referee did say what is alleged, then he has every right to have said what he said in defence.

That being said, who's looking forward to the next time Auger refs at GM Place?

Olympics

No umbrellas allowed in the O-zone (in Richmond and I assume also at the Olympics Village). That's funny especially for this city.

Airport Security

"September 11" was a sad day in the world. Sure, you can talk about all the conspiracy theories but it was a day that got everyone to wake up and realize how unsafe the world can be. That being said, this "fear" and "paranoia" have gotten out of hand.

When I go on trips, I like to avoid checking in luggage as much as possible. This allows me to get off the plane and go directly to my destination. My past trips to Vegas have allowed me to bring a small carry on. Now things have changed (yet again). I haven't read the rules in detail but suffice to say there's almost nothing I can bring other than a "small bag". Is it true I can't even bring a book? Huh? My crossword puzzle magazine is a weapon of mass destruction?

I remember last summer when Joe and I went to Vegas. While there he had bought some refill blades for his razor. Coming back he was afraid that they wouldn't be allowed on the flight. He also had brought a bottle of mouthwash. Guess which one was confiscated? Stupid.

Cell Phone Ban

Granted, texting while driving is dumb and dangerous. I've done it in the past and granted I'm taking a big chance. But why is it that I don't think the cell phone ban (while driving) will make any difference? Whether you are talking on a handsfree or talking with the phone in your left (or right) hand, it's equally dangerous. If you're going to ban cell phone use while driving, then ban ALL cell phone use. It's not the cell phone that causes accidents, it's bad driving that causes accidents. Why don't they ban all stereos from cars or make it compulsory to have voice-activated controls? Why don't they ban babies from front seats because they are often a big distraction? And gee, all these SUV's with DVD players installed, um, why are they there?

Bad driving is bad driving, laws like this will do nothing for safety. The bad drivers will always be there.

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Restaurant Manners

I like to eat in peace. If I am having a meal by myself I would like to eat without having people blabber at Volume 11. If I am on a date, I would like to be able to talk to her without having to raise my voice.

I'm not asking other patrons to be quiet. They are of course more than entitled to talk. And if I am a bar or pub then I expect there to be more noise than usual. Even at a casual restaurant, I expect laughing and chatting. But I find it rude that people decide that they have to talk especially loud, without respect for their neighboring patrons. It seems that a lot of times there is always one person who has to be the center of attention, so he/she finds it necessary to talk louder than anyone else.