Duck Sauce - Big Bad Wolf

You know them for Barbara Streisand. I love them for Big Bad Wolf. This Canadian-American tandem follow up their 2010 summer anthem with this instant video classic.
And with the weekend fast approaching this video made me thinking of the Stormy Monday lyrics, "Eagle flies on Friday, and Saturday I go out to play." (By the way, YouTube considers this video 18 and over, so probably NSFW).

Five Guys Named Moo

All Dressed Cheeseburger

Five Guys Burgers and Fries has opened in five locations in and around Montreal to little fanfare, advertising by word of mouth. Setting up in Old Montreal, the West Island, the South Shore and Laval as well as in Dorion, the boys picked their prime locations for an early breakthrough into the Montreal market.
With over 600 locations in the United States and now 60 in Canada the guys are making their mark. First thing you should know, Allergy alert! As per their website, Five Guys uses peanut oil only. And nothing is frozen, they also only use fresh ground beef.

There is nothing new about Five Guys. They serve hamburger joint burgers and greasy fries with a selection of fountain drinks. The Old Montreal location was hopping busy and the staff were friendly and helpful, answering all of my questions.
I ordered a cheeseburger, fries and a Coke and had plenty to eat. The food is fresh, the portions were big and I was full. Unfortunately, I wanted less food. Personal preference aside - I like my meat more well done - the hamburger was not anywhere near the best I have ever tasted. The fries were soggy and drenched in oil and under-cooked. A sign that the oil was not at the correct temperature. Or is this their style?
If you are looking for a burger joint burger with greasy fries at double the usual price than Five Guys is for you. Let's call it a 5 out of 10 for Five Guys.

X Factor

As I started typing this I realized I was being apologetic for watching the TV show the X Factor. I did not plan on watching the series. I watch American Idol (and it's poor cousin Canadian Idol before it was cancelled). I did not want to get into a new show, thinking it would be the same old same old. The promos worked. There are three singers that really caught my attention for their singing abilities. Josh Krajcik from Columbus, Oh., 60 year old LeRoy Bell from, Seattle, WA., and 14 year old Drew Ryniewicz from Chino Valley, Az. The results are in and all three have moved on to the final group of 16. There are a lot of great singers of all ages trying for a second chance, last chance or in the case of Ryniewicz, her first chance. Here is Ryniewicz's terrific and haunting performance of Must Have been Love, a Roxette cover. The song starts about 1:15 in.

X Factor

Josh Krajcik sings Up to the Mountain. Krajcik's got a Joe Cocker voice with less whisky and smokes. The songs starts about 1:20 in.


LeRoy Bell sings the Bob Dylan song popularized by Adele, Make you Feel My Love

The Walking Dead Year 2

TWD: Walker

Season 2 of The Walking Dead kicked off Sunday night and picked up where season 1 left off. Oh, just the usual. Panic, disaster, gore, death and mayhem. The group of survivors are heading down the highway after having just left the Center for Disease Control. Led by former Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes, the group includes his wife, his partner Shane and the others that first met up in Atlanta. The opening sequence features Rick's monologue over a walkie-talkie to Morgan, a survivor he encountered weeks before, who may or may not be on the other end.

Is it just me? What is happening to Rick's accent? Andrew Lincoln, the actor who plays Rick Grimes is from London, England. During his conversations with the other characters, his interpretation of an American accent was near flawless. In his attempt at a southern drawl during the monologue though, Lincoln was all over the place, moving in and out of the Kentucky-ish accent.

Grimes and his Zombie Friend

The show picks up similar in tone to last season, if not a little slower. With a full 13 episode arc for this year, expect more character development to go along with the action. If episode 1 is any indication, this season will up the gore factor, so that it more closely resembles the graphic novels on which they are based. And so far we are getting to know some of the secondary characters as both Daryl (played by Norman Reedus) and Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) both had moments to shine.
If I had a critique of the debut season was that it did not stick close enough to the novels. Too many new characters were introduced. That being said, Frank Darabont did a wonderful job and he was a major reason the show was such a hit. With Darabont gone from the series, it is left to be seen how the second time around will fare.
From the preview for episode two, it looks like The Walking Dead will move ahead with more excitement. And typical of the books, the first episode ends with a doozy of a cliffhanger.

And here's the Trailer for Season Two of The Walking Dead.

Real Steel Review

Evangeline Lilly

Real Steel is a near gritty action film that brags a script which is fun, corny and exciting all at once. The movie is a mix between Big Daddy and Rocky - from the father and son reunion to the underdog fighter rising through the ranks. Futuristic robots or not, Real Steel features some of the most realistic fight scenes in any boxing movie to date. (Let's exclude The Fighter, and Million Dollar Baby). The motion captured fighting scenes are impressive and so immersing to the point where I was ready to get back into the ring myself.
Jackman plays a former and washed up boxer who makes a living pitting his robot against other robots in a sport that has replaced boxing and MMA.

Product placement galore, the movie will have an appeal to any video game junkie or fan of  boxing. Based on the short story Steel, by Rchard Matheson (I Am Legend) Real Steel is not just a great boxing movie, this is a truly enjoyable film. The story was first put to film in 1963 as a Twilight Zone episode, starring none other than Lee Marvin. A side love story between Hugh Jackman and the beautiful Evangeline Lilly, and the growing bond between father and son adds enough drama to make this film enjoyable to all audiences.  Scroll down for the trailer.

Real Steel

Kids in the Hall Zombies

In honour of the long awaited season 2 premiere of the acclaimed AMC TV series The Walking Dead, I give you the Kids in the Hall skit, Zombies.

A Race Around the Globe

Bob tells the story of a little hamster that tries to follow his true love around the globe. Can he catch up?



Make sure to watch the film past the credits, enjoy!


From the director:

This was the first time we created an 3d animated movie during our studies at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg and we would have never thought that it became that successful.

There are a lot of things we would have done differently nowadays but for a small team, six months and almost no knowledge of the software, we are proud with the result and finally want to share it with everyone.

Best Penis

Some people wonder how to get rid of spam. I use my spam folder to help sort my email. There is some "spam" that I actually read. Some are subscriptions others are from websites that I belong to. I keep them in the junk folder because I don't want them to clutter up my inbox. Most though are unwanted emails. And occasionally, I get an email that crosses the line.

I just got an email in my spam folder that really caught my attention. It was from some guy who calls himself Best Penis. Well, I assume it is a guy. But seriously, Best Penis!? Of all the nerve! How dare he? He's never seen my penis.

And what criteria is he using to decide his is Best Penis? Weight, size, shape? Maybe colour or texture? Taste?

But then I read the rest of the email and he wrote, "resale it the of good full now is value. future retail you are and an you be previous the able little decide generations said, if their will be this products if you back new plateau on Apple iPhone prices a prices it 10." And then everything became clear. (??) The rest of the email talked about a male enlargement supplement. I think he is referring to doughnuts.

Before and After

Before and After Doughnut Supplement

FOOTBALL!

There are three things most associated with Thanksgiving. Turkey, beer and FOOTBALL! Oh, and family, and being thankful, yada yada, yada. But today was football day in Montreal and I was right there in the thick of things at McGill's majestic Molson Stadium to watch the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes hand it to the Toronto Argonauts. Today marked an historic moment. Not only did Montreal's starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo lead the Alouettes past Toronto 29-19, Calvillo also became the all-time leading passer in professional football history.

I am not talking about a Canadian record, I am talking about a professional football record. Calvillo passed all the pro-ballers that came before him and moved to first on the list.
The Top 5 are
5 - Dan Marino - (NFL) 61,134 yards
4 - Warren Moon - (CFL/NFL) 70,553
3 - Brett Favre - (NFL) 71,838
2 - Damon Allen - (CFL) 72,381
1 - Anthony Calvillo - (CFL) 72,384+

The next active QB on the list is Peyton Manning, who is approaching 60,000 yards. Just before the start of the 4th quarter CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon and Damon Allen were on hand to congratulate Calvillo in person. Over the giant screens, videos of Dan Marino, Warren Moon, and broadcaster Chris Berman played, congratulating Calvillo on this feat.

The Als take to the field

It was an amazing day for football in Montreal. Sunshine and 24 degrees, well above the average temperature for this time of year. Hell, it often starts snowing by the end of October. My friend Elena won tickets and invited me to the game. She knows I have a blog and as far as I know doesn't read it so I have some latitude here in what I write. I'll expand more on her driving habits another day, I'll leave it for now by saying, I drove today because she scares me when she drives.

She has never watched am North American style football game before so I spent most of the game explaining what was going on. I was tempted to explain things wrong but didn't. (Eight quarters, 6 hour game, cheerleaders double as special teams).

So, the Montreal Alouettes won, Toronto Argonauts lose, Calvillo breaks a record, it's Thanksgiving, I'm drinking beer, and I will now go eat some turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Als and Argos lining up

The Princess Bride Reunion

Start to finish, The Princess Bride is a wonderful film. From the acting of Billy Crystal, the beautiful Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, and Cary Elwes, and the comic delivery of Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, and Peter Falk to the Mark Knopfler composed soundtrack, the song Storybook Love, sung by Willy DeVille this is a perfectly crafted film. Based on William Goldman's novel of the same name, this fairy tale adventure is a must see for its comedic genius, strong performances and ability to both celebrate and parody fantasy - swashbuckler convention. The cast of the Rob Reiner gem sat down for a reunion on Good Morning America.

The Princess Bride

My VHS

In case anyone needs sticker labels for their VHS videotapes or the cardboard cartoons in which to place their videocassettes, I have a couple that I am not currently using. Extra quality! If you are in a pinch they can be used to store your Betamax tapes.

Superheroes Make Terrible Bosses

The ongoing adventures of Superman, Batman, Flash and Wonder Woman. And why Superheroes make bad bosses. A cartoon by Teen Tiger Awesome. Oh yeah, this is not your usual Saturday morning cartoon.

Superfriends: Justice League

I Had A Great Idea

At work the other day I came up with the greatest topic for my latest blog post. For hours I sat at home staring at the screen trying to remember what it was. I even tried going through my day, step by step, to jog my memory. My buddy Sal has his office near mine. I was tempted to call him up now so that we could re-enact our conversation word for word because, it was while I was speaking with him that the light bulb appeared over my head.

I have intermittent photographic memory. On the other hand I also have intermittent memory lapses. I have always been that way. As a kid, my parents couldn't understand how I could forget to do the simplest things, accusing me of not caring. Thinking back, I probably did not care. But it was more than that. Last week I forgot to watch one of my favourite shows, Bones. I also forgot to go to dinner at some friends on Tuesday. It is most likely linked to a short attention span, a lack of sleep, and a couple concussions too many.

Don't get me wrong. I am not feeble minded. I do write everything down. Mostly because I do not try to memorize anything. I have realized that with enough repetition I will eventually memorize the important things. On the other hand, I could also quote you passages from a book I read two months ago. That trick came in handy when it came time to writing my final exams in university. If I remembered to read the book.

A couple months back I wrote that I needed a girlfriend to help me pick out a wardrobe. What I also need is a girlfriend who can tell me what to do, and remind me where I have to go.

I like routine. During my work week I like to get up at the same time everyday. I like to start work at the same time everyday. There is already too much to think about, that I do not want to try to remember that, on such and such day I have to be in the office for 8:00 and the following day 10:00. No, I start at 8:30 every day... And I still can't remember my great blog idea.