Simon Pegg and Nick Frost give you Star Wars

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have been brilliant together in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Paul. While filming Paul they put together a shot by shot re-enactment of Star Wars. Sort of...
A few days ago in a desert not so far away...

Nick Frost, Simon Pegg

Dress Code : I Need Help

On Monday morning, I woke up, showered, dressed and went to work. On Monday night, while at a Passover Seder someone pointed out to me that my clothes did not match. Somehow I put on a blue shirt, brown dress pants and blue socks. It did not work. I did not notice. I should stop getting dressed in the dark. Especially, since I live alone.

I had a moment of self reflection these last few weeks. To raise money for charity my office allowed the staff to wear jeans to work. Those who wished to participate, donated ten dollars. During this sustained casual dress period I realized I no longer know how to dress. My favourite clothes used to be jeans and a T. My style has shifted towards workplace attire. I remember a Dilbert cartoon where he faced the same dilemma. Unlike him, I was not sent home.

Dilbert. My jeans are blue.

I wear dress or golf shirts and dress pants to work. I seriously need help though. I need a girlfriend. There are the obvious reasons why anyone would want to be in a relationship. In my case at least, there are also the less obvious reasons. I need someone to tell me, ‘Shawn, you can’t wear that, you look like a dork’.

Been there.

Office dress codes have relaxed considerably. In our current relaxed environment, t-shirts are allowed, sandals aren’t and neither are spaghetti straps or tights for women. I have always said, whether you work at McDonald’s or an office, you are required to wear a uniform. In the case of an office the uniform is a little more subtle.

There is always someone like Wally.

Speaking from the perspective of someone who has had to, not only respect a work place dress code but also create and implement one, office dress codes are never an easy thing. I’ve worked in places where I had to wear a suit. I have also worked in places where the only rule of the dress code was ‘Don’t wear torn jeans’. Even with jeans allowed I find myself sticking with the dressier look. On weekends though, its jeans all the time. 

Quotes of the Year : Best So Far

Browsing through various Tweets and Facebook status updates I have here the funniest quotes of 2011. I was going to wait until the middle of the year to post this but there are just too many funny quotes. I will publish another list in a few months. I grabbed these from people I follow on Twitter or in one or two cases from Facebook status updates. Speaking of which you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, feedburner... click the buttons to the right.

"Children shouldn't talk to strangers. Not because strangers are dangerous, but because children are incapable of meaningful conversations."
Alison Agosti January 1

"Great idea for CNN, who's tanking and who's demo is 90% elderly: Replace all programming w videos of grandchildren."
Sarah Silverman January 18

"The cashier at Costco asked me "wanna box?" so I punched her in the face. I don't know what she was crying about, she started it."
Glenn Mallen Feb 8

"Can’t wait to watch the Superbowl tomorrow. GO ROUGH RIDERS!"
Steve Martin Feb 12

"Justin Bieber is on our Valentine’s Day show tonight! So legally, Andy has to sit 50 feet from the couch."
Conan O'Brien Feb 14

"Computers may beat us at Jeopardy, but us humans are still better at racism and smoking."
Seth MacFarlane Feb 23

"Would you freak out if I told you I was tweeting this from inside your closet?"
Conan O'Brien Feb 24

"My thoughts and prayers are with Charlie Sheen tonight, as he's been diagnosed with Full Blown Busey."
Sarah Silverman March 3

"Great, I just texted my uncle that I’m still mad he “roped” me. Thanks a lot, AutoCorrect!"
Seth MacFarlane March 4

"Puppy Mill is too cutesy for what it is. It's like saying hawacaust."
Sarah Silverman March 29

"A guy cut me off in traffic, and I called him a stupid f***. My kids asked what that meant, and I told them it means he can’t f***ing drive."
Conan O'Brien April7

"The NBA playoffs are about to begin and no one is more excited than the Cavs who can finally stop losing."
Norm Macdonald April 14

"Someone should make a beer called Mondays, then getting a case of the Mondays would not be so bad."
Beer Advocate April 19

Click here for part two.

The Election Nobody Wants

Watching the English language federal election debate tonight I have a growing fear. I fear that Michael Ignatieff could be elected the next Prime Minister of Canada. I fear that the man trying to break up the country, separatist party leader Gilles Duceppe could be named the leader of the official opposition. You may not like Stephen Harper but what other options do we have? Jack Layton as leader of the NDP has returned the party from the point of near obscurity but stands no chance of leading this country.

At worst we will face a minority Conservative government. At best, Stephen Harper will be re-elected with a majority, Canada can continue to climb out of the worldwide recession as a leader in economic revival.

What Canada needs is a government to speed up its progress towards a balanced budget. There are times when it would be appropriate for a minority government to fall. Issues of urgency are obviously lacking, and as such, the elected officials have an obligation to the citizens of Canada to work together, setting aside partisan divides. This alone should be enough reason to vote against the opposition parties that brought down the government. This election is a waste of money, and a waste of time. The Liberal, BQ and NDP parties have yet to identify a critical public interest to justify an election.

Polls suggest today that 40% of the population will vote for the Conservative Party. The Liberal party is showing 31% of the nation's support. The NDP follows at 17%. The separatist BQ party follows with 7.8% (all from Quebec) and the Green Party settles in with 4%. The numbers have swayed slightly since the start of the campaigning with each party gaining or losing a percentage or two.

Does popular vote translate to getting officials elected? The BQ received 1.37 million votes in the 2008 election or only 38% of the popular vote in Quebec, yet managed to elect 49 officials out of the 75 available seats in Quebec. The vote split between federalist Liberal and Conservative parties, allowed the separatist BQ to back themselves into the House of Commons.

As for the actual debate, the opposition party leaders threw questions and accusations at Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper mostly concentrated on defending his strong economic reform and appeared to be addressing himself to the cameras, and therefore speaking directly to the people. 

Ignatieff may be a stronger candidate than was Stephane Dion, but he is hardly the man to lead Canada. Aside from his repetitive refrain, his accusing the Prime Minister of "stiffing" Parliament was not appropriate. Ignatieff's scowl and repetitive accusations of lying, paints him as nothing other than a one trick pony and hardly prime ministerial in bearing. 

Aside from Harper, the only other candidate who may have improved his numbers was Jack Layton. He was not perfect but a couple good lines (offering his cane to prop up the government) and his overall presence may present as an alternative to some.

It seems the participants changed tactics in the latter portion of the debate. Perhaps figuring that those viewers with short attention spans have since flipped channels and are now watching NCIS, or perhaps, The Biggest Loser. (There is a joke there). With the more serious and interested voters tuned in, the leaders stopped slinging insults at Prime Minister Harper and debated amongst each other.  As I mentioned, I have issue with some of the language Ignatieff used. I can't tell you how to vote. But I will leave you with the old adage, vote early and - vote often.

A Kingdom Besieged - Feist Novel Released

Raymond E. Feist's long awaited follow-up novel A Kingdom Besieged has finally hit the bookshelves in the U.K. and will hit the stores in North America April 12th. Feist's 29th novel follows At the Gates of Darkness, a book considered a major disappointment by many readers. A Kingdom Besieged launches the final story arc, the Chaoswar Saga, and is the first of the final three novels in the Midkemian universe. This release comes almost 30 years after the publication of the first novel Magician: Apprentice. Stay tuned to this very space for a personal review. I will have my hands on the novel tomorrow morning.

A Kingdom Besieged

Broken Water Main and I'm Getting Thirsty

No water for you. No water for me. A broken water main or drain pipe caused a mini flood in my neighbourhood. This is a regular occurrence on the Island of Montreal. While there have been fewer reported breaks in the water system this year compared to last, the underground water works is ancient by most standards. Age and neglect has caused pipes to burst numerous times in recent years.
The city workers have been at it all day digging, plugging, sewing and melding. And still I have no water. I was out for most of the day so it really hasn't been much of a problem. My brita is half filled and on the way home I picked up two 4 litre jugs of water. I had a harder time in the winter when the power went out for 12 hours. I couldn't watch TV and couldn't post to my blog. It is not all that easy reading by flashlight and candlelight.

At least City Works is close

No water!

Dig Faster!

I've become a little paranoid after the H1N1 and various flu scares of the last few years. Every time I arrive home I wash my hands. It felt a little strange not being able to wash up earlier. So far, the lack of water has not forced me to resort to barbarism. Although, I did have to slay two of my neighbours as they tried to loot my stores of water. I have their heads up on pikes in front of my door to ward off any other potential aggressors.

Frank Spadone - Drinki Da Wine

Comedian Frank Spadone just happens to be performing in Montreal this weekend. Here is Frank Spadone's comedic song Drinki Da Wine.

Drinki Da Wine

Frank Spadone | Myspace Video

Frank Spadone

Mah na ma na

An execution takes an unexpected turn... but ends with a bang. I've seen this one bouncing around the web. From the short film Tune for Two. Mah na ma na.