I Just Posted a Million Photos and My Phone Number

Everyone is concerned with privacy settings on Facebook, social networks and the internet. We all wanted to know how to update our Facebook settings. Maybe we went about it the wrong way. Here is another theory.

Happy Birthday and Welcome

As we approach the first anniversary of the launch of stubbornfool.com I got to thinking of how to take the site to the next level. In doing so, I looked back at the last year and what drove people to the site in the first place. I figured the best places to start were Google Analytics and Blogger Stats. Both provide similar resources for tracking visitors.

I launched Stubborn Fool in February of 2010 with a few ideas but no real plan. I had dreams of this site erupting on the blogosphere. I imagined my brilliant posts going viral. At best perhaps, they have gone bacterial. I have a select few "old" friends that visit the site. I have a number of "blog" friends that are regular visitors. I wanted to know about the semi-regular and random guests. What brought my new readers, my occasional readers and random viewers to Stubborn Fool? I thought of presenting my favourite posts but did not have the patience to read everything I wrote. Some of my personal favourites are posts with random thoughts strung together.

The first thing that I looked at was which sites drew the most people to Stubborn Fool. It turns out it was Google. From there I was hoping to find some odd or funny search terms. But this was not exactly the case. I should probably improve my SEO. I did get the few people looking for sex or sex related items, and they ended up here mostly because of my post called My Friend Andy Had Sex.

I then spent several days studying the search terms that brought my most welcomed guests to my site. I dumped all the results into Excel and started plugging in my formulas. Part of my job involves analytics and Excel so this was right up my alley.

I have had two posts that have brought a huge number of visitors, relatively speaking. I will get to those in a moment as they weren't the largest search term entries according to Blogger Stats. The most commonly searched item that drove people to my site? 'Best Looking Man' or some variation of this. I have to think that many people were disappointed with their end results. Unless of course they were fans of Kids in the Hall or have a sense of humour. Watch that video and tell me that isn't the best strutting you have ever seen.

The next most commonly searched item was 'What should I eat for supper'. I had a lot of hits but the only comments were from Cardiogirl. Thanks to her comments, I had a several additional hits from people searching for Humphrey Bogart, Pork chops and Applesauce, W.C. Fields and James Cagney.

The next big item was my run down of the top upbeat breakup songs. I found over twenty and had to split the post in two. Springsteen, Paul Simon, Gloria Gaynor and Frank Black.

Next on the list, garnering 8% of the Google search terms was The Top 60 Ghetto Names or Top 60 Jewish Ghetto Names. I still chuckle when I watch the video.

One of my favourite writers of all time is Raymond E Feist, a fantasy author with over 25 published titles, of which I have read every single one. Feist was next on the list with 7% of the total search items. Feist shared this feat with his last book titled At the Gates of Darkness. Feist had a knack for political intrigue while staying true to the fantasy genre. His world of Midkemia was probably the most detailed and descriptive since Tolkien. Alas, Feist has not been as strong in his later works, but at this point, I am so addicted, I will have to read his final three novels as he wraps up the series. The next one, A Kingdom Besieged, is due for release in March 2011.

How many people searched for my email address in the last year? Enough to make it to the top 10. A whole bunch of people were looking for my contact information. Kind of creepy.

I was surprised to find the movie Inception so low on the list at number eight just because my post about the film is my second most viewed. It is hardly a typical film review but I had fun writing it.

Zombies are big. They are better than most other monsters. The only monsters that are better are those vampires in the early Anne Rice chronicles. I wrote a bit about the amazing new TV series, The Walking Dead. But what had more hits was my review of the online game Road of the Dead. It's a pretty cool driving game where you get to run over Zombies. Yes, just like a Monday morning drive to work.

Another one of my favourite authors sits at number nine on the list of most searched items. Jean Auel, the less then prolific writer of Clan of the Cave Bear is set to release her first novel in nine years. Auel's writing is captivating in its descriptive nature. The reason for the delay between releases is largely due to the amount of research she puts into her novels. Land of Painted Caves is due for a March 2011 worldwide release.

Rounding out the top ten of most searched items that drew readers to my site is Red Dawn. The 1984 film was a success in the box office and its long delayed remake will finally be released in 2011.

The post with the most hits doesn't even make it into the top 20 of Google searches. The Expendables was a wild movie, mostly for the action stars that made an appearance.
Most of the remaining search terms were related to videos I posted, the Batman fan film and music or film reviews. Quite a few were interested in my home projects and my bathroom stories.
Google Analytics and Blogger stats continue to be great resources for understanding your readers. With their help in the coming days, I plan on taking a look at where my readers live, from whence they come and how else they ended up on my site. All visitors and comments are welcome.

The Great One

When I found out it was Wayne Gretzky's birthday yesterday I didn't think much of it. I read a couple paragraphs over my morning coffee and went on with my day. It didn't cross my mind again until my drive home from work listening to the Team 990 all sports radio station. Mitch Melnick had a couple guests speaking about their experiences covering the Gretzky era of the NHL. The interview started triggering my very own memories of The Great One.

Gretzky was the most dominant hockey player, for the longest period of time. This made him the greatest player ever. My biggest memory of The Great One is not about what he did on the ice but what he did off the ice and goes back to when he was first starting out.

Gretzky had built a reputation for himself in his first year in the WHA. In the NHL he became the legend that his is today. 1981 marked the third year in professional hockey for the 20 year old and with his name finally becoming one of renown, his second career as a spokesman was launched. As an impressionable kid in 1981 I had heard of Gretzky, heard everyone talking about him and had seen him play hockey on TV. And then I saw his TV ad for GWG Scrubbies jeans.
Wayne Gretzky wears GWG Scrubbies? Gretzky is cool. I need a pair of GWG Scrubbies. As the tag line said, GWG Scrubbies fit wear it counts.
Within moments of seeing the ad I ran upstairs and told my mom that I wanted GWG Scrubbies. I needed GWG Scrubbies. She questioned why GWG all of a sudden? I told her that I heard that they were good jeans and popular. I was surprised as all hell when my mom bought me a pair.

So, it was back to school and after a couple months of wondering why I was the only one wearing GWG Scrubbies it suddenly dawned on me, GWG Scrubbies aren't cool. And Gretzky? Not so much either. And I was stuck with a pair of GWGs. Who cares if they fit where it counts?! And to make matters worse, I didn't grow much that year and was stuck with the same pair for both semesters.

More time passed and it hit me that good old Wayne was a geek. A great athlete but a geek. 1982 brought the Mats Naslund era to Montreal and Gretzky commercials no longer spoke to me. What's more the only local hockey related ads on TV starred the long retired Maurice Richard. And I wasn't in the market for Grecian Formula. I was able to recognize that Gretzky was a great talent but it was a little overkill. And, above all, he didn't play for Montreal.

Later, much later, my opinion of Gretzky changed again. When the news spread of him dating, and then later marrying Janet Jones, hmm... maybe he was cool. But that's still no excuse for making me buy GWG Scrubbies.

 I can't find the English language version

Blind Date (or Why Don't I Ever Learn?)

I thought of so many alternative titles for this post. Bind Date Mistake. Fool Me Once. Coffee, Tea, or Flee. A Bad Date Compendium. Things not to say on a first date. I was even thinking of creating a weekly series focusing on the bad dates I have had over the years.

I have been a bad first date. So if you wish, wherever you read 'she' in the post, replace it with 'he' and it should apply somewhere or sometime for you. I have never hit anyone up for cash though.

There was the time on my way to pick up my date I went to the wrong address. Twice. In the time before cell phones I had to find a phone booth and call my date to get the correct address. Twice. If the date went well it would have been a cute story to tell our kids. As it didn’t, I’m the idiot who showed up an hour late and went to the wrong house. Twice. By the time we got to the coffee shop she was so annoyed, there was no chance for recovery.

What does it mean when a lady tells me before we meet, 'I saw a picture of you. You don't know what I look like. Don't run away when you see me.' What am I supposed to think? Is this low self esteem? Is she unattractive? I've heard this or something similar more than once.

Things not to say on a first date:
-My parents are parking the car. They'll be here in a minute.
-How much does your mum weigh? I want to know what I am getting myself into.
-Can you give me a minute? I told my dog I would call him.

What about blind date set ups? The idea is to match personality and looks. And by looks I also mean body type. Say, for example, Party A – Male, athletic, 5'10", 165 pounds. Party B – Female, 5'3", 270 lbs.
I was told that she was cute. The scowl on her face sort of ruined that. I was told, she was really sweet. Personality? Nooo. Blood sugar? Perhaps.

My point has more to do with compatible characteristics than looks. You don’t match someone who works out four times a week with someone who may take the stairs four times a year. I am no longer 165 pounds. Come to think of it, I’m no longer 5'10".

Another time I gave a friend of mine hell because his wife made him set me up with a friend of hers. I didn’t appreciate the fact that he wouldn’t stand up and say this was a bad match.


Met a lady one New Year’s Eve. Funny, quirky, pretty and a little odd. We talked (only), exchanged phone numbers and went our separate ways. I called her up a couple days later to go on a date, which went well enough, her quirky personality came out a little more but nothing extreme. The deal breaker? I leaned in to kiss her goodnight and she quickly pulled back saying, “I haven’t had my test results back from my doctor yet, so I better not kiss you,”
Huh?!
What!?
She called me two days later wanting to know if we could meet up.
At this point I didn’t care if she got good news, didn't want to know about the test results, what she was being tested for, or ever seeing her again.

So, back to my blind date of the other night. No horror stories. Nice lady, ten years younger than me, similar background, a few things in common, just not my type. Back to the drawing board. I could try eharmony, or lavalife or jdate, a bookstore, or move to another city. Did you ever worry that you would run out of people to date? I'm no Charlie Harper but the thought occurred to me when I got set up on a blind date with a girl I had dated two years prior. Yes, it went just as bad as the first time around.

Most Anticipated Movies of 2011

See my 2013 list here: http://www.stubbornfool.com/2013/01/new-movies-2013.html
See my new 2012 list here:  www.stubbornfool.com/2012/01/new-movies-2012.html

Ever since Tron hit the theatres, and with the ongoing delays to Red Dawn's release, I had to focus on the other films coming up in 2011. After a little bit of thought, very little thought come to think of it, I compiled a list of movies that I think will be big important film releases in 2011. Important for me. Important in that I want to see them. How did I come up with these titles? What were my criteria? Glad you asked. For each one I asked myself, out loud, do I want to see it in the theatre or do I wait until it's on one of my movie channels. The list of films below are those I am willing to pay at least $8 (but probably $10) to see in the theatre. as the way things go in Hollywood these days, most of the films below are not original scripts but sequels and remakes. 

The Hangover Part II - I watched the original this week. The first time I saw it, I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. I listened the hype. With the second and third viewings of the film it just got funnier. In the sequel the boys travel to Bangkok for Stu's wedding. I noticed that Heather Graham is not reprising her role. As much as I like Graham, it would have been too easy a plot. Best line from the original? "I didn't know they gave out rings at the Holocaust." (May 2011).


Paul - I wrote about this a few days back. The third film starring Nick Frost and Simon Pegg and it's not a sequel. They first worked together on the brilliant Shaun of the Dead and again on Hot Fuzz. More funny comedy. (March 2011)

Scream 4 - The Scream franchise launched a sub genre of spoof horror films. The third was to be the last but I have no issues with another sequel. I like Courtenay Cox. Too bad Dirt went off the air. Also reprising their roles are David Arquette and Neve Campbell. (April 2011).


Cowboys & Aliens - The only three things you need to know about this movie, 1 - extra-terrestrials arrive in a spaceship in the old west of Arizona 1873 to take over the Earth, b - it stars Harrison Ford, 7 - it stars Daniel Craig. Just in case you need more, it's directed by John Favreau and it's based on a comic book. (July 2011).


Hall Pass - The one thing you need to know about this film is that it's by the Farrelly Brothers. Christina Applegate, Jenna Fischer, Owen Wilson, Alyssa Milano. (February 2011).


Unknown - I haven't hear much about this one except that it stars Liam Neeson, one of my favourite actors. It's a thriller where a man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, not even his wife, believes him. (February 2011).

Tintin & Snowy (Milou)

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn - This was supposed to be live action but in the end to stay true to Hergé's vision it is animated. Simon Pegg, Daniel Craig and Jamie Bell as Tintin. There is no indication of who stars as the unicorn. (December 2011).


The Adjustment Bureau - an adaptation of the Philip K Dick short story. Maybe you haven't read his stories but you have seen the films (Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report). (March 2011).


Conan the Barbarian - Having been a fan of the Robert E Howard stories I have been looking forward to this one. And not since the 1982 Arnie and James Earl Jones film have we seen a proper adaptation. Not that the '82 film stuck to the original story but it was fun. (August 2011).

The most sensational, inspirational

The Muppets - An all-star cast and written by Jason Segal. It's the Muppets!!! (November 2011).


Red Dawn - I been blogging for a year and I have been writing about this movie for a year. Nuff said. (? 2011).


A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas - If I have to tell you anything about this movie, it ain't for you. (November 2011).

Zombieland 2 - The number one rule is good cardio. No official word if the entire cast will be back. Or if any of the cast will be back. Only freaking rumours. (postponed until 2013).


Super Troopers 2 - The first ST movie is one of the funniest movies ever. The guys from Broken Lizard are back. I am hoping Brian Cox reprises his role. Original plot ideas had this set up as a prequel, but it in fact picks up months after the last film left off. (Postponed to 2012).

One reason I liked Zombieland

300: Battle of Artemisia - Prequel to Frank Miller's 300. The first one was great so the second has to be great also. Right? Right? Anyone? (postponed to 2013).


The Raven - Having read everything ever written by Edgar Allan Poe, and a few stories about him, I was intrigued by this fictionalized account of Poe's life. Poe the person was not a happy man and was hardly the hero. In this film the poet is in pursuit of a killer whose murders mirror those of the characters in the stories. John Cusack stars. (postponed to 2012).


Battlestar Galactica - A remake of the 2004 movie? NO. It's a remake of the 70s TV show. This makes no sense whatsoever. The prequel TV series Caprica is already out there. The re-imagined TV movies and series were hugely popular and so well done. A remake of a remake that just got off the air? It turns out the re-imagining of the show wasn't enough. This is a remake of the original TV series. Make sense now? No? Didn't think so. (? 2011).


Speaking of remakes, Warriors is the retelling of the amazing 1979 film. The Baseball Furies may be back and maybe some fan fury if this movie sucks. (? 2011).


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - The film adaptation of the Jane Austen parody novel written by Seth Grahame-Smith. More zombie fun. (postponed, now 2013).


There is very little out there about Auschwitz. Never forget. The film is set for a German screening in February but no word on a North American release. This is a must see. (2011).


Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, X-Men: First Class, Green Lantern. Too many super hero movies. Although the 2012 Avengers looks pretty good.

High School Reunion

I received the long expected invitation this week. The high school reunion. Twenty five years. Twenty five years! TWENTY FIVE YEARS! I am having trouble believing it. And I also realize it will be difficult to hide my age after revealing that I graduated 25 years ago.

I went to the 20 year reunion. I was curious and I had to go. I did not renew any old friendships. It was fun. I drank. I also remembered why I cut ties with everyone. 

Do I go again? Do I care? The first time I did not know what to expect. Now, I do.

I was a 16 year old when I graduated in 86. The 80s were an eclectic mix. The school was made up of so many social and cultural cliques. Punkers, mods, rockers, geeks, jocks, JAPS, Greeks. I wanted to see all the girls I was crushing on 20 years before. I wanted to see the guys I played basketball with. I wanted to see what happens to punkers when they grow up. A Mohawk with a receding hair line? Safety pins in their jeans bent and corroded from wear and tear?

I had this thought that the girls I was crushing on, the girls that came up to my shoulder in high school, now weigh more than I do, are taller than me, and lost more hair than I did.

I was curious to see the bball players.

How did the tall lean athletes get short and fat?

How can people from 25 years ago have such an impact on our lives today? More time has passed since graduation then the time we actually knew each other.

Fat people got skinny, skinny people got fat.

Do I look different? Changed? Sure. Do I care what people think of me? Hell no.

We know looks change. We forget that people change. I don’t mean just their looks. Are you not a different person now than 20 years ago?

Some old personality traits start coming out though. One old friend asked me if I was married. I told him no, not yet. He then made some derogatory comments towards my sexuality.

5 Years later I find out my tie was crooked.

I reminded him that I used to date his wife. The conversation ended there. But you see, I have matured. And here is proof. In the old days, I would have said, "I used to date your wife, and I still can any time I want to.”


Oddly enough, some of my favorite people, are those that I became friends with right after high school. We went to the same high school but as fate would have it, we became friends later. A couple of them even write a blog. 
Do I go to a class reunion to hang out with a handful of people and ignore another 100? Is it worth it? $100, open bar, food, music. Can I drink $100 worth of alcohol? Hell yeah. Do I want to with these people?


I don't have a moral, or a punchline to end with. Over the next month or two I will speak to friends. I will find out who is going. I am curious how many people go to their high school reunion. Does the class reunion mean that much to everyone? Does the reunion bring back good or bad memories?

Sometimes Trying Isn't Good Enough

Sunday was the big family outing. My brother's son and daughter performed in their school play this weekend. They are 8 and 7 years old. It is a big musical production at their school, 40 kids and 10 or so parents. Even my brother was in it, acting and singing and even dancing. He is the musical one in the family. Notice I didn't say talented one, just the musical one. I am almost too excited to finish typing this because I cant wait to send him the update to read my blog.
Perhaps it is not fair to compare the kids to Shakespeare in the Park but I cannot help but to judge this elementary school performance and compare it to any number of shows I have seen. Not that I have seen too many musicals but, I compare the performances to any adult performance and, to tell you the truth these eight year olds need more seasoning.
Let's put things in perspective. If an eight year old serves you lunch and it tastes terrible, you do not say, 'Oh, okay, they are kids, it's not supposed to taste like real food.' You think, this sucks, and you say , 'Thank you very much for the eggs, but next time you should use less blue crayon.'
You can watch the stage play of Les Miserables and be terribly impressed. And then watch some kids sing Master of the House, recognizing that they are kids say wow, that's so nice. But really, they suck.

The kids show was awesome - for kids. They put in a lot of work. The staff that trained and coached them were also great. I am impressed with anyone who can get up in front of an audience and perform. That being said, if I were to rank talent it would go like this, from worst to best, four being the worst, one being the best.

4 Nickelback
3 Static
2 A group of 7 year old children
1 Adults

Listen kid, you're no Robert DeNiro. But you may be a Chris Makepeace.

Not the actual show but what I imagine it would be like if it were good.

I Hate Nickelback

I was driving home from work today and I reached a moment where I was able to verbalize a thought, a feeling that existed all along but of which I was never fully conscious. This awareness awoke and I was able to speak the words aloud, "I hate Nickelback". I was driving home from work listening to the Montreal Canadiens pregame show on the radio. As the games are broadcast on the AM band, I had to change the station as I entered the tunnel along my route. I flipped over to the local classic rock station on the FM band. Nickelback was playing.  Three seconds later, I changed the station back to the AM signal preferring to hear static over Nickelback. Static is better than Nickelback.

I hate Chad Kroeger's voice. I hate that I know his name. I hate that they are one of the most commercially successful modern Canadian bands. I hate that in 2009 Billboard Magazine named them to their Top 10 artists of the decade list.

What the hell kind of douchey look is this?

As a proud Canadian, I want all Canadians to succeed. There is a fierce feeling of pride when any Canadian is recognized. I can go one step further to say that if a Montrealer is recognized across Canada, I am thrilled. Alanis Morisette is from Ottawa and has been a huge success worldwide since Jagged Little Pill was released. I am a fan of Neil Young's music, I love Rush, they are Canadian. I don't like Anne Murray or Celine Dion but they are Canadian and I am proud of their success. But Murray and Dion can retire now, they have made their mark. Enough already. Nickelback? I want them to disappear. I want them to have never existed. I want their song Hero to removed from the Spider-Man soundtrack.

Here is a little test. All you need is a writing instrument and paper. And a hammer. Listen to five seconds of Nickelback. Take notes on your feelings. Be descriptive but brief. Now, take a hammer and smack yourself on the forehead. Take notes on your feelings. Take both items that you wrote and compare them. You will notice that in both, the end result is a throbbing headache.
And since you have the hammer you can now smash the Nickelback song to pieces. Even if it is an MP3. Since you have Nickelback on your player or PC or floating in iTunes, your system has been tainted and possibly infected by a virus that is only communicable through Nickelback music. The virus is called Packed.Generic.316.Nickelback. It is a trojan, virus, worm, malware, spam, backdoor, rootkit and tracking cookie all rolled into one. This variation of the virus is so powerful it is known to infect MAC and Linux systems simply by being within audio range.

I hate Nickelback.

UN Home Security System

The United Nations now offers your home the same security that countries have enjoyed for years. UN Home Security System...

Gerry Rafferty Right Down the Line

The Scottish singer and songwriter Gerry Rafferty died earlier today following a long illness. Perhaps most famously known for his song Stuck in the Middle With You he recorded as a member of Stealers Wheel, Rafferty also had an extensive solo career releasing 14 albums. His 1978 LP City to City hit number 1 on the U.S. charts and number 6 on the U.K. charts producing the top 12 hit Right Down the Line and the number 2 song Baker Street. Bars with the name Baker Street popped up world wide in the late 70s.
Jerry Rafferty - Baker Street


You're goin'
You're goin' home.

All is Quiet on New Year's Day

Eleven hours into the new year and so far? Booooring. We should have stuck with the old year. My brain is a little foggy today. I was welcomed this morning by a similar dense fog outside. I usually have a good view of the mountain and St Joseph's Oratory, but this morning visibility is only 150 feet or so.

Foggy in 2011

Foggy in 2011

Rainbows in 2010

I got a got idea from Dilbert yesterday. Rather than making our own resolutions for the New Year, we should impose resolutions on people we know. For instance, my colleague should bathe more, my boss should stop lying, or become a better liar, my neighbour should throw out her garbage more often so that the hallway doesn't smell. Any suggestions?

And from Bizzaro.com or bizarrocomic.blogspot.com

Click the picture.. "Help me put an end to zombies..."

All is quiet on New Year's Day.
A world in white gets underway.
I want to be with you, be with you night and day.
Nothing changes on New Year's Day.
On New Year's Day.
-U2 - New Year's Day