Month: January 2007

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Review: Silversun Pickups (Carnavas)

Lately in life, I’ve made it a point to open myself to a lot more music to fuel the creative beast in me. Sometimes, this isn’t a good thing as it makes me disappointed in my severe lack of ability to make sonic landscapes (but this will change over time). Anyhow, I’ve gotten into the habit of just downloading albums that people recommend to me and if I like it, I purchase their album.

Alright, this is what I would LIKE to do, but sometimes I just download a slew of stuff and then never get around to purchasing it. This is a BAD thing in the my personal views of supporting the artist. I’m putting it on the shelf for a day where I have a little extra cash on me and I can pick up a discounted album (like the new Metric album). Sigh…the Internet is WAY too easy to get music in my life.

A band I’ve been really digging is Silversun Pickups. I had originally heard of them on the Smashing Pumpkins MySpace website (YES, THEY ARE BACK TOGETHER, I AM IN LOVE ONCE AGAIN! THEY WILL MAKE YOUR EARS BLEED WHEN THEIR NEW ALBUM IS RELEASED.) as the Smashing Pumpkins like to highlight some of their favourite music at the time. I listened to the track and enjoyed it. But then my buddy Clive told me about this amazing album by the band that I had to listen to. That sealed the deal as he and I share the same musical tastes. I downloaded it and it is a killer album.

I am digging the bands of late that can create this other-worldly sonic masterpiece which just has you riding the music wave it creates. Think Mogwai, some Broken Social Scene…Silversun Pickups have some excellent fuzzed out guitar work which has you moving your body to it. James, I’m sending this review out to you as you enjoy the music I like. Pick up their album Carnavas and you will not be disappointed.

I have also perused their tour scheduled and they toured with WOLFMOTHER (awwww yeah!) but they are coming out on tour with Snow Patrol at the end of March in Montreal. I may have to check this out as Snow Patrol is…well, they are alright. I dig a few of their tunes, but I think I would be going more for Silversun Pickups.

Iplaying: Dream at Tempo 119 – Silversun Pickups (Carnavas)

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Hockey Star!

A woman at work just dropped by and said she had dreamt that I was a hockey star last night. She was part of a team who were watching me play and wondering why I wasn’t a professional hockey player.

I would like to think that dreams are doorways into alternate universes and that there is a ‘me’ out there that can skate.

On the note of dreams, they are funny creatures. Let’s take this example – I don’t even really know this woman but she has a dream of me. Why is that? Why does our mind plant images into scenarios? Is it all random? Is there a higher power at work?

iplaying: – The Dartmouth Soundsystem – Matt Mays (…When The Angels Make Contact)

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Price Protectr

If you are a smart shopper (not like me), you keep an eye out AFTER you make a purchase to see if anywhere has reduced the price. A lot of stores have a policy that you have so many days to go back to the store and say “Hey! That other store just put their item down by $50!” and they will refund you $50.

Maren pointed this out to me the other day and I think this little tool will help her out immensely. It is called Price Protectr. You just plug in the item you ordered (by finding it on their online catalog) and they will let you know within ‘x’ amount of days if another competitor has reduced the price.

Coolness! Obviously, it can’t cover all merchants websites, but I’m sure it has a few you shop at.

May I just point out that I find it amusing that everyone with a cool idea wants to get on the Flickr bandwagon and leave a letter out of their name at the end and even take the same colourscheme as Flickr? Granted, maybe this tool is MADE by Flickr and I don’t even know about it!

iplaying: Why Bother – The Trews (House of Ill Fame)

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Best Unknown Mac Apps

This is mainly for my own reference, but feel free to explore yourselves!

http://dbachrach.com/blog/2006/02/the-best-unknown-mac-apps-1/

iplaying: Octopus’s Garden – The Beatles (Abbey Road)

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Reviews

Review: Chicken Cordon Bleu

By far, the best thing that happened to me yesterday was arriving home, and after shoveling the snow in the driveway, being treated to an amazing supper by Mike’s sister who is staying with us for the week! She made chicken cordon bleu which was a first for me. I was mesmerized by its succulent taste and I couldn’t figure out what I like better – the ham or the cheese! It was the best of both worlds! Topped off with a salad, this was the supper of kings after a long hard day of rocking.

I was also impressed by the actual formation of the chicken cordon bleu which deals with cutting the breast down so you can roll it back up. I can’t say I fully understood it and will need to see it in person to believe it, but the end result was divine and it topped off my day.

Samantha, you are allowed to stay as LONG as you like!

May I also say that Sammy has the most amazing job in the world right now? So far, her work trip to Ottawa has consisted of one day off due to snow, and supposedly she goes into work around 11 today. AS IF!

iplaying: Be Yourself – Audioslave (Out of Exile)

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Review: Thunderball + Ultimate Edition James Bond

Hey hey! I finally went into Best Buy to pick up my James Bond DVDs as their warehouse still hadn’t sent them from my Boxing Day purchase. Sure enough, the store honoured the price I ordered them online for ($45 bones each!!!, down from $80) and I managed to get Volume 2 with a bonus 007 Scene It disc! Excellent day yesterday was.

So after realizing that my Xbox wasn’t making the cut in the DVD playing department (the Special Features disc had Japanese menus and I couldn’t figure out how to get rid of them) I switched my old DVD player on and it worked! I then rewired my entire home theater system so I don’t use my Xbox for watching DVDs anymore. It will only be used for gaming and watching files on the network (read: TV shows we download).

I was thinking of watching them from the beginning but am toying around with the idea of having ‘Nights of Bond’ again so I decided not to start with Dr. No, but to watch Thunderball as I had just read the novel last month and wished to see how it related.

Considering the novel had ideas from the producer, Kevin McClory, it stayed pretty true to the novel. I was very impressed and have realized that I’ve only seen Thunderball one other time in my life back in Long Sault with my buddy Regan. That was…13 years ago? Wow, it’s been awhile.

What’s the big deal with the Ultimate Editions of James Bond films I picked up? The digital restoration my friends! It was amazing. The picture…oh my…it looks like something created in 2007. The sound…the glorious DTS soundtrack…the bombastic horns when an action scene in in full tilt. This is what James Bond is supposed to be like.

Thunderball is an epic Bond film (actually the first filmed in Widescreen) and it makes use of the new technology (1965ish). The spanning vistas create a painting of exoticism. I never realized how great of a film Thunderball really was. It may be up there in my Top 5 Bond films. I believe From Russia With Love takes the Number One slot but I’ll have to watch it again to see if it holds true today.

The special features disc was pretty great also. Chock full of documentaries, I watched what the world was like back in ’65 when the movie was released – commercials spawning James Bond ‘Action Slacks’ for purchase were hilarious, as well as other oddities.

I am most impressed with the Ultimate Editions of James Bond and no doubt will have rave reviews for the rest of the series.

iplaying: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is – JET (Shine On)

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Fiscal Genius

If I were in charge of making money off of a hit show, what would I do?

Well, first I would put it through the regular channels, aka sell it to a network, make the mucho buckos.

After that, heck, there are DVD sales.

The question is, how can I squeeze a little more money out of this TV show I have?

Season 6 of the show 24 started this week, and even though I have never seen this show (one day I will, one day), I am impressed with the marketing gurus who came up with this idea: Premiere the show on television, but before that, sell the first four episodes of the season on a $10 DVD.

Bingo. Those craving more just have to rush over to Future Shop and lay down the equivalent of eating out in a cheap restaurant and pick up the first four episodes of their favourite TV show before the slowpokes have to wait an entire month while watching it on television. Suckas.

Brilliance. I would like to think that there are people who would be fiscally-responsible and realize they are already paying for their TV cable connection, just wait and good things will come to you, but I have a feeling sales on this may be decent and will start a new trend in the serialized tv show/dvd craze which has taken our generation by storm.

Anyhow, I hope that I have provided some knowledge to those who didn’t know the first four episodes of 24 are available for sale and they are rushing out right now!

iplaying: Lovedrug – Mobile (Tomorrow Starts Today)

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Sens Vs. Canadiens

Saturday brought Vero’s Christmas gift to life – a hockey game! Saturday was Hockey Day in Canada, so what better way to celebrate than to head on out to the ScotiaBank Place?

Well, that must have been the thought of every other soul in the area as traffic sucked heading in there. We got there in time to see the puck drop, so that’s what counts.

In the ‘no-knowledge’ zone of Palmer, I had picked up some tickets that were in Row S. “Great!” I thought. “At least it’s closer than those poor souls who have to stand up in the top of the bowl (aka, the 900 Level). Little did I know that the rows don’t go from A-Z in my section, they went from A-S! So we were sitting in front of the guys standing up. Not a big deal. Armed with a beer and some peanuts, life was good. Vero pointed out the fact that salted peanuts in the shell aren’t actually salted inside, it’s the shell that’s salted! You know…it makes total sense, but I had never thought about it before.

We had picked up some Habs jerseys from Benoit (thanks buddy!) and were prepared for the onslaught of torture we would receive inside the Sens Home. However, I must say that a good portion of the crowd are Canadiens fans and we didn’t have a problem. In fact, our entire row were Habs fans so whenever someone started a cheer of ‘Go Sens Go’, we dwarfed them with our vocal might yelling “GO HABS GO!”

Unfortunately for us, the Sens TROUNCED the HABS in an 8-3 score. I don’t really follow hockey anyhow so I just like going to the game and hanging out with my girl, my beer, and my peanuts. Annie, Eric and Mike were appalled that we were there cheering on the Canadiens. I summed their feelings up by asking the following: “Well guys, if we all picked up and moved to Toronto who would you cheer for? Not the Leafs? That’s what I thought.”

We laughed at the little guys (aka the Timbits) on the ice during the intermission and had high hopes to win the 50/50 draw (so I can buy a MacBook!) but it was not in our cards that night. Plus, the Zambonis are always a treat.

A good game nonetheless, and I felt a moment of national pride taking part in something that all of Canada was taking part of on Saturday – Hockey Day in Canada.

iplaying: Looking Out – Mobile (Tomorrow Starts Today)

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Mike G

I have a friend and his name is Mike. But because there are numerous Mike’s in our lives, we ended up calling him Mike G (well, at least this is what I assume to be the story…perhaps there is actually a grand story of how he was bestowed with this name which involves the Playboy Mansion, a dragon, and three wishes). His blog is here.

Now, I must admit that this is probably a pretty uncommon name to be touting around.

At lunch the other day, Krista mentions Mike G.

Me: “Wait, you know Mike G?!”
Krista: “Uh, yeah. He was your partner during euchre.”
Me: “Whaaa? I have a friend called Mike G!”

So there you have it folks. Two Mike Gs in this metropolis we live in. Do they share the same qualities? Well, they both dress nice and are lady-killers. So that would be an affirmative.

iplaying: Rough N’ Tumble Come Down – Matt Mays (…When The Angels Make Contact)

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The Thirsty Toad

I meandered over to The Thirsty Toad pub last night with Mike, Carrie, Michelle, Holly, Brian and Alex for a celebration of Michelle’s birthday. The Thirsty Toad used to be Stout Bros. which is a decent pub. I enjoyed their pub fare (aka, the potato skins) but was disappoitned that Holly never brought me back some chili from her house as she was picking up a birthday cake. Hey, I figured if we can bring some cake into the pub, why not some leftover chili?

Good times were had and I have been convinced I should attempt to grow the beard this year as Brian and Mike were both sporting some good face-guards. However, this may take me approximately 70 years to grow so I don’t know if I should start out with such a commitment to facial hair.

iplaying: Spoonful of Sugar – Matt Mays (…When The Angels Make Contact)