So here’s the sitch: Now that Wade, LeBron and Bosh are all on the same team, people are expecting them to go 82-0 and waltz away with the NBA Championship. That ain’t gonna happen. And the other day, all Wade said was that it wasn’t necessarily going to be like that and that fans and media were apt to overreact if the Miami Heat couldn’t clobber Professor Farnsworth’s team of Atomic Supermen.
Now, here’s the other thing: Wade’s smart. Not that Bosh is a dummy, or LBJ is a dummy (though The Decision revealed the real decision should have been to let someone else make all his non-on-the-basketball-court choices). Wade knows that he didn’t say anything wrong, and, that anyone who said that he did is a reactionary little baby who wants to make a big deal about everything. And instead of walking back his comments like some PR jerk was calling the shots, he did what a man does. He apologized to anyone offended by what he said but simultaneously chastised those who took his comments out of context and/or misreported the whole shebang. continue reading...
No, I didn’t make that up. The deal is for 17 years and $102 million.
Kovalchuk, 27, is arguably one of the best 8 players in the NHL and he was an attractive free agent to many teams, including New Jersey and the Los Angeles Kings. In the end, however, it was all about signing with a team that was closer to winning a Stanley Cup, even though no one is saying that (especially not his agent, Jay Grossman). continue reading...
Despite the fact that most people would have to admit that yes, they’ve thought about killing Kanye West with a sword at one time or another in their lives (it goes double for Taylor Swift, I’m guessing), the cover art for the single “Power,” off his forthcoming release Good Ass Job (September 2010) is still pretty amazing. In a way, it’s exactly what the highly-predictable, kind of boring music industry needs every now and again — a conversation piece.
Created by artist George Condo, the art works on so many levels. In fact, let’s count but 5 ways that you can understand/enjoy this album cover. continue reading...
TV Guide editors (they have editors?) recently unveiled their picks for the shows to watch on this Fall’s docket. Among them is a rehashing of Hawaii Five-O (Jack Lord must be spinning in his grave), a rehashing of La Femme Nikita, a show where former Dirty Sexy Money star Blair Underwood is the president and a show where Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell play — get this — lawyers.
Read the whole list here, at TV Guide. continue reading...
Sure sucks to be Mel Gibson.
I mean, it must suck to be a huge jerk, and an anti-Semite, and a racist (of the “Out of control” variety, according to the NAACP), and what seems to be a really, really mean-spirited guy prone towards violent fantasies, and it sucks that the rest of us are somewhat subjected to that. But still, you have to have pity for a guy whose worst moments seem to have this bad habit of becoming very, very public. continue reading...
Interesting piece in today’s Globe & Mail that, no joke, is about the Commuter Pain Index.
Yeah, you read that right. continue reading...
And now, something from the lighter more bizarre/awesome area of the interwebs.
It’s been around for a while, but I only just stumbled upon Nic Cage as Everyone yesterday. I’d write something amazing, and hilarious, but such things would be unnecessary. If you haven’t figured out what this blog is about by way of the title of this post (and it’s not 100% obvious right off the bat), it behooves you to visit niccageaseveryone.blogspot.com. continue reading...
Roger Ebert, the legendary Chicago Sun-Times film critic, has spoken. And while many, including myself, have thought that he’s been getting soft and cuddly and way too nice in recent years, he put a ton of venom into his pen this week. It was like the good old days of Jay Scott, it was.
Both The Last Airbender and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse are going to do massive bank. Films like this aren’t necessarily critic-proof, but it stands to reason that their target audiences, respectively, ain’t gonna give a good whoop about what some erudite expert thinks about film. That said, they should. Ebert, in outright destroying both M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender and the latest chapter in a story where no one has sex, pointed out just how little people expect from either of these films. Which is to say that if there are people in your life that enjoy these films, either of them or both of them, you are more or less morally obligated to offer them a look of slack-jawed amazement, and then ask, in your most serious of tones, “Why?” continue reading...
Like many, I’m a sucker for when professional athletes play for one franchise their entire career long. Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Derek Jeter, etc, are immortal names because of their brilliance on the ice/diamond/whatever but also because they represent a dying breed.
Dallas Stars centre Mike Modano, the second American-born player ever drafted 1st overall (Brian Lawton was the first, in 1983, and since Modano there have only been three more: Bryan Berard, Rick DiPietro, Erik Johnson, Patrick Kane) and the NHL’s all-time leader in both goals (557) and points (amount) for American-born players, will not suit up for the Stars again. Ever. continue reading...
I’m kind of sorry but also not sorry I keep talking about this (a point evidenced by my previous blog posts here, and here). Many of the things that transpired last week in Toronto went so far against what should be considered good, right, and just that it would be against my sensibilities to not write something about it.
Last week in Toronto, people’s rights were trampled. Journalists were assaulted and peaceful protesters were treated like criminals. Also, Black Bloc jerks made anyone with legitimate political dissent look bad. Police overstepped their bounds; politicians secretively passed ordinances which allowed them to do so. Fires were started. People rioted, looted, and otherwise acted like asses to the point where many, myself included, were ashamed of being Canadian. continue reading...
In the same vein as this, which I posted earlier.
I believe this video speaks for itself. continue reading...
Of all the ugly stories, and there are many, that are slowly (or otherwise) emerging from the muck and ooze after the riots, looting, and overall MASSIVE CIVIL RIGHTS FAIL that was Toronto during the G20 last week, this is perhaps the worst.
If you haven’t already hit play, the above video shows Amy Miller, an indie journalist from Montreal, describing her detention during last week’s G20. continue reading...
The world looked on in horror (not really, but…) at the calamity in and around Toronto during the G20 protests last week, a week that saw Torontonians more or less stripped of their civil rights and freedoms. To be frank, it was a bad time in Canadian history.Lost in the myriad stories of what the police should have done, how peaceful protesters and journalists were treated less than humanely and all those that amount to little more than finger pointing is this video, which, in going viral, is going a long way towards healing some of the still-gaping psychic wounds Torontonians are walking around with.
To the guy who wrestled this would-be looter to the ground, relieved him of his ill-gotten gains, and then chided him: Bravo, sir. continue reading...
The first of the two matches today, and decidedly the one that people are less interested in watching comes up in just under two hours. That said, the tussle between Paraguay and Japan is not without its points of interest.
(Aside: My brother has lived in Japan for most of the last 10 years, and as my sister-in-law and my nephew Tariq are Japanese and half-Japanese (shout out to Weezer, yo) respectively, my loyalties are with the Samurai Blue. This isn’t to say that I’m telling you to back a team that’s supposedly overmatched, today. Just that I’m making an emotional decision instead of a rational one, here.) continue reading...
As tonight’s NHL Entry draft nears closer, the question on everyone’s mind is Taylor or Tyler?
To put it more plainly, the question revolves around who the Edmonton Oilers, who have the first overall pick, will select, and if the Boston Bruins, who hold the second overall selection (received from Toronto as part of the Phil Kessel trade). The consensus 1-2 picks are Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires and Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers. A case can easily be made for both OHL standouts. continue reading...
The greatest match in Wimbledon/tennis/sports history is over.
American John Isner finally outlasted France’s Nicolas Mahut in an epic match that lasted 3 days. The final score was 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. Yes. Seventy to sixty-eight. continue reading...
In case you missed it, the Wimbledon match pitting American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut is the greatest tennis match ever contested. It might be the greatest sporting event ever contested between two individuals. It is a staggering, incredible, awe-inspiring battle that unfortunately, will have a winner, which is to say that it can’t have two.
In almost thirty years of watching and following popular sport, I’ve never seen anything remotely close to as extraordinary as this (unless Lance Armstrong really didn’t dope, and even then…). continue reading...
If you didn’t read it, Yankees fan Lady Gaga caused quite a stir at a Mets game a few weeks back when she flipped off a photographer, and then got moved over to comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s private box at Citi Field (which he wasn’t using).
The story, from MSN, here. continue reading...
I’ve worked in and around the music industry for a while and, as such, I’ve had the pleasure of reading ridiculous things on tour riders. Nothing crazy like “we don’t want any brown M&Ms” or anything (if you don’t get this reference, read this and/or get better/more interesting friends), but crazy enough stuff.
Iggy and the Stooges’ rider for their recent performance at Toronto’s Yonge/Dundas Square is one of the best reads you’re likely to have this month. Toronto’s NOW Weekly published it, and it includes a request to make Iggy’s personal dressing room look interesting by having a gay man design it and to build a Starbucks if one isn’t immediately accessible. continue reading...
Abbotsford, British Columbia’s You Say Party! We Say Die! suffered an unimaginably tragic blow when drummer Devon Clifford died in April. People openly speculated whether the band would carry on, and, if so, if they’d change their name.
Yesterday, word came down from the mountains. continue reading...
Why do I care about this? Why should you?
First of all, when people on a large level get an earful of Ólöf Arnalds they’re going to collectively lose their sh…minds. The Icelandic singer/songwriter is one of the most singular talents going these days, and to boot, she’s an incredibly neat person with neat friends and band mates. continue reading...
In a game that was heavily influenced by the card-happy referee, Spain’s Alberto Undiano, Serbia pulled off a massive upset and bested multiple World Cup champions Germany 1-0 today.
Germany played well enough to win, however they were dealt a mighty blow in the game’s 38th minute when star striker Miroslav Klose, the Golden Boot winner from four years ago, was sent off following a second yellow card. They had a chance to draw even with a penalty shot in the 60th minute but Serbian keeper Stojkovic stoned Germany’s Lukas Podolski’s shot. continue reading...
The wait for Tom Izzo’s decision is over.
On Tuesday, the longtime Michigan State Spartans basketball coach officially decided to stay in the college ranks, spurning the Cleveland Cavaliers. continue reading...
The lineup for SappyFest 2010, which will take place from July 30 - August 1 in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada is set.
For those of you not in the know, SappyFest is one of the hidden gems of Canada’s summer music festivals, a music festival that seems to fly under the radar to all but those in the Atlantic provinces and the more savvy Quebeckers/Ontarians. Considering the vast array/amount of talent assembled for the 2010 incarnation of the three-day fest, however, that might well change. continue reading...
I must admit that my eyes popped out of my head, a bit, when I saw the new unibody Mac Mini.
The Mac what? continue reading...
My Morning Jacket, a band which, if you haven’t seen them live, you cannot claim to have lived a righteous moment in your life, are offering people a pretty unique experience this coming October.
It was just announced that MMJ will play five dates at Terminal 5 (610 W 56th St) October 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, and that the five shows would have the band playing each of their records, individually, live. That means that the show on October 18 will have Jim James and co. playing The Tennessee Fire, beginning to end. continue reading...
For music nerds, September 14, 2010, will be a day that will live in infamy. No, wait, the opposite of that. Famy. No, that doesn’t sound right. Okay screw it. Let’s just say that music nerds will be pretty stoked on September 14, 2010.
That, after all, is the date the new Vaselines record comes out. Titled Sex With An X, The Vaselines’ second LP arrives over two decades after their first, Dum Dum. continue reading...
James Lawrence raises money for Tri And Give a Dam. He does so by racing in half-Ironmans.
Recently, on a trip back from Hawaii, Delta charged him $200 to ship his (snazzy) bike, wrecked it, and won’t pay for it or even refund the $200 he paid to have it shipped. Essentially, this is the Delta-specific version of United Breaks Guitars, but it hurts just that extra little bit because Lawrence got screwed while trying to help people. continue reading...
Looking outstanding in a knee-length leather dress, Sandra Bullock emerged from the shadows to accept her “Troops Choice” Entertainer of the Year award at the Spike TV Guys Choice Awards. This constituted her first public appearance since news broke of now-estranged husband Jesse James’ numerous infidelities over the course of their marriage.
Standing onstage with servicemen (and I think Robert Downey Jr.), Bullock was gracious and funny in accepting the award. She also very honestly (and humourously) asked the question on everyone’s minds: “Did I win this for being entertainer of the year, or did I win this because of the spectacular I.E.D. [improvised explosive device] explosion that became my personal life?” continue reading...
I know a ton of people who swear by the Netherlands as a travel destination. Most of these people weren’t cosmopolitan, Pinot-drinking Prada-wearing city-dwellers as much as they were more green, grass-rootsy buds of mine who like bicycling a whole lot. Judging by the above video, Utrecht may well be their Shangri-La, and maybe yours too. continue reading...
I must admit, I really do like this commercial for the iPad. Why? Aside from the obvious reasons (i.e. the iPad is dope), it’s the copywriting that gets me, especially the first bit of it that makes the iPad sound like a woman I want to meet: Thin, beautiful, and able to last all day. continue reading...
The Twilight actress, 20, in an interview with British ELLE, suggested that being famous and followed everywhere by the paparazzi was akin to being sexually assaulted. Commenting on paparazzi snaps of her, Stewart said to her interviewer “I feel like I’m looking at someone being raped. A lot of the time I can’t handle it. I never expected that this would be my life.”
Unsurprisingly, people jumped all over her shortly after the piece was published. From a Cinematical post: continue reading...
A few weeks back I wrote a little post on how Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine” was turning 25, and how it was one of the most enduring and successful pop songs in history (not to mention one of my favourites). What I forgot to add was that this video of the Soweto Gospel Choir doing the song existed.
Enjoy. continue reading...
Students at Ottawa’s Carleton University just got some good news. This coming fall some of their hard-earned (or, more likely, their parents’ hard-earned) money will be allowed to be used for things other than books.
(Read: Beer.) continue reading...
All of the pertinent information regarding the song’s creation and who’s involved is in the video. To donate to the cause, visit http://GulfAid.org. continue reading...
If you didn’t know, Sex and the City 2 is getting destroyed by critics.
DESTROYED. continue reading...
This just in: House hottie Olivia Wilde, who I’ve been lusting after since she played Jenny Reilly on The Black Donnellys, is set to play a stripper in Butter (but not “a stripper in butter,” which I’d have liked a whole lot more), a film which might be among the neater-sounding satires to come down the pike in quite some time.
Butter, from Jim Field Smith, is a film about what happens at a butter-carving competition in Iowa. Sounds great, right? Actually, it does…when you mix in that the butter-carving competition (something they actually do in Iowa) is actually the 2008 Democratic primary. Allegorically, Wilde’s stripper is Bill Clinton’s mistress. I think. continue reading...
Okay, not really, but wouldn’t that be funny? It would? Yeah, we think so too. Why? Oh, because Michaela Watkins already showed us what it’d be like if the comely yet terrible actress rocked the mic for some observational, topical humour.
The ex-SNLer literally brought tears to my eyes, so knowing that she and Carey Wilson got fired before this season of SNL bothers me even more. Still, it’s nice to know that Watkins is still in the game. continue reading...
Monty Python’s Eric Idle was kind enough to record yet another video of himself responding to “your fatuous comments” yesterday, May 24. He tackled subjects including but not limited to having sex with Dan Aykroyd and his man breasts. Enjoy! continue reading...
Vampire Diaries hottie Nina Dobrev (who’s excellent in Jeremy Podeswa’s film adaptation of Fugitive Pieces) and Twilight second/third fiddle Kellan Lutz are going to be in a movie together. As a result, teen heartbeats from here to Honolulu are beating rapidly.
Calm down teens/tweens/undersexed housewives/pervy older dudes — the movie looks like it’s going to suck. continue reading...
“I don’t see what reason I would go to prison for. I’ve been more than compliant with everything having to do with the court system,” said troubled actress Lindsay Lohan today. continue reading...
I’m not sure when the whole notion of making items of clothing out of food (check out this, but more importantly, this) started, and, more to the point, I’m not sure I really want it to stop, but the people over at RizzoTees really outdid themselves.
In creating a bacon-related shirt that parodies the Dos Equis commercial(s) featuring The Most Interesting Man in the World (and, more specifically, his tagline “Stay Thirsty My Friends”) Rizzotees may have created the single-most desirable thing for straight men the world over to look at. continue reading...
It’s usually the case that you think of NASA as that group that wants to explore up, up, up and out there and such. But, as any bright person would understand, a massive part of the reason that they go up there is so that they can look down at us all judging, like concerned and such.
You may have heard, recently, that our lovely globe is facing (yet another) ecological disaster due to the BP Deepwater Horizon Rig explosion/spill, (image above courtesy of NASA). Thing is, you might not know the extent of said spill. Certain Republicans are (predictably) suggesting this little oil thingy ain’t a big deal. continue reading...
It’s nice to read gaming reviews by people who, while being serious gamers, aren’t mouth-breathing fanboys every once in a while.
From USA Today, read the full review of the game, which once again features “Nintendo’s favorite hero,” Link, here. continue reading...
Been wanting a PS3 or a Wii? Join the club.
However, I’m willing to bet that unlike these guys, you actually want to play your game system. These guys just like smashing things. Or something. continue reading...
Many thought something like this couldn’t happen, but I recently saw proof that Shawn Wayans, who I’ve always kind of liked, wears UGG boots.
Ugh! continue reading...
First off, how does one decide that they’re going to get competitive about things like how fast you can write text messages?
ANYway, it is pretty cool that Nuance has created voice recognition that, you know, actually works and doesn’t force you to talk. Extremely. Slowly. And. Deliberately. continue reading...
PLAY
