Hard To Hate The Patriots

As a Miami Dolphins fan, with the New England Patriots in the same division, I have always *hated* the Patriots (and the Buffalo Bills, and NY Jets, and even the Indianapolis Colts [who have since moved out of the division]).  It is my duty to hate these teams and I do hate them with all my ability.  Yet, if the Dolphins ceased to exist, I’d likely become a fan of one of those division rivals.  Probably the Patriots, since they’re on free TV every weekend here in the Maritimes.
It used to be easy to hate the Patriots, especially that time they used the snowplow to remove snow from the field so they could kick a field-goal against the Dolphins.  It is really hard to dislike this current crop of  Patriots, though.  More than any other sports team I’ve seen, they are the epitome of "Team".  They win every way they can.  They win easy, they win hard, win pretty and ugly.  They just win.  Normally, such a team would be easy to hate because they’d appear so full of themselves.  But not this Team.  They are dignified and humble in victory.
They are the greatest football team I’ve ever seen.  Not necessarily the best ever, but the greatest.
And I hate them.

Some SuperBowl thoughts:
During the pre-show entertainment, some woman (who on closeups looked much older than she appeared from a distance) sang some song (just before Charlie Daniels, who performed "Devil Went Down To Georgia" way-too-fast).  I found it odd that the "fans" that they assembled on the field around the stage were all women/girls.  Many of them were screaming (instructed to, I’m sure) at her like girls screamed at John and Paul during the height of Beatlemania.  Just found that odd.
SuperBowl XXXIX – I’m not an authority on Roman Numerals, but can a Roman Numeral have more X’s in it than the number 39?
Was Alicia Keys lip syncing "America The Beautiful"?  While the lips were actually well-synced with the vocals, It kinda sounded like the emotion and quality in the vocals didn’t quite match the physical effort.  If she was lipsyncing, well, that’s a shame.
The plate that the vegetables get scooped onto in the Cunard Restaurant plate is exactly the same style of plate my mother had for years and years when I was growing up.  Cheap Corelle plates.  Also, I miss how the voice-over used to (a couple of years ago) say:  "reck-anized in Where To Eat in Canada".
The game was pretty good, I guess.  I enjoyed the defensive performances in the first half, but as soon as the Pats took the lead, I figured that was it.  It was good (but not really exciting) that the Eagles were able to come back to within 3 points.  But, from midway in the third quarter, the game was over.  With four minutes or so left, the Eagles looked spent.
Paul McCartney sounded better than I’ve heard him sound in the last decade.  It’s such a shame that he’s such an innocuous performer now.  While his songs are better than their comedy, I see him as the musical equivalent of the Royal Canadian Air Farce.  Actually, I take that back, the Air Farce is never enjoyable to watch and he can be.  He’s more like Saturday Night Live.  Long past prime and only occasionally shows flashes of past ability.

“Erp” thought Curious George

Curious George meets the man in the white lab coat.
flash required

"Erp" thought Curious George

Curious George meets the man in the white lab coat.
flash required

Laughter Encircled


Annekenstein – Audience (5)
Originally uploaded by annekenstein1.

When we did our first year of Annekenstein, in 1990, one of the sketches involved DaveM, as an ignorant American Tourist, who was to take a picture of his wife on vacation. Part of the joke was that he accidentally sets the camera off, wasting film, to his wife’s dismay. We thought it would be cool if Dave actually did take pictures, and this is one of the shots he took.
This is one of the first audiences to see the first season of Annekenstein. Not a very big crowd. I particularly like the hard-laughers in the midst of the audience. They’re honestly enjoying something.

On The Buses

Further to the notion of Charlottetown getting a usable public transit system, I was thinking about what type of service I could live with.
Here are some thoughts:
-I live in Winsloe.  It currently takes me 15-20 minutes to drive (to the downtown waterfront) to work in the morning.  I leave my home at 8:40 to get to work for 9.  I would be willing to catch a bus at 8am and be content with whatever time I actually got to work (as long as it was before 9).  If the schedule forced me to take anything earlier than an 8am pickup and I would say the schedule is not going to work.
-If I missed the 8am (or whatever time it ended up being) pickup in Winsloe, I would expect the next bus to arrive at my stop within a half hour.  I wouldn’t expect the ‘every half hour’ schedule to continue in Winsloe throughout the day.  I would expect, after morning rush, that a ‘once an hour’ schedule would suffice throughout the day, until evening rush.
-I finish work, on the waterfront in downtown Charlottetown at 5pm.  I would expect "the Winsloe Bus" to be at my downtown pickup spot by no later than 5:20.  I would hope to be home by 6pm, but would accept 6:15, probably.

Basically, I’m thinking I’m willing to add an extra 45 minutes each way to my commute.

What about evenings and weekends?
I would expect that public transportation to/from my Winsloe stop would be much more infrequent on  weekends and evenings.  What would I expect?  Perhaps every 2 hours, with the final ‘downtown to Winsloe’ pickup around 11pm, home before midnight?

I would be willing to pay $2 per one-way trip.  I would expect there to be a discount for pre-purchasing X number of trips.

What would you be willing to accept?

The Annekenstein Monster Oscar Pool

Think you know the movies of 2004?  Think you can guess better than anyone else?  Want to be able to brag that you won The Annekenstein Monster Oscar Pool?

Then enter the contest.  Just click on this link, fill in your picks, enter your name, click the submit button and that’s it.

The winner will likely win something.  Probably a mix CD of Annekenstein Monster approved tunes.  Perhaps a couple of Original Annekenstein postcards.  Perhaps even a Collector’s Edition Annekenstein T-Shirt.  If I can find them.  Please note:  "probably" and "perhaps" subject to the vagueness they imply and the whim of The Annekenstein Monster remains in full effect.  In other words, the awarding of a prize is not guaranteed.  But probably will happen.

I Wonder, did Jeff Stay Cool?

When Mr.T gives someone props like this, you just have to pay attention:

Jeff was the hippest kid in town.  Ain’t no doubt when Jeff’s around.  With pants pegged tight, and hair and fitness, he’s the 80’s nod to fitness splendour.
Stay Cool, Jeff

And man, can that Jeff dance!  Wonder what he’s doing now?

Monday Morning – To The Keyboards, Canada!

Get ready for it, Canadian SuperBowl fans, because it’s coming.  The annual post-game complaint is nearly upon us.  That complaint?  How come we in Canada aren’t able to see all the SuperBowl-premiered advertisements?  Instead of seeing the premiere of the latest and greatest new SodaPop ad featuring SexySinger, or that hilarious, irreverent new ad from HipBusiness.com, or the further adventures of the large-hooved alcohol-transporting equine-slaves, we are stuck with countless airings of (at least here in The Maritimes) the ad for The Cunard Restaurant.
Yes, the yearly migration of disappointed Canadian sports and/or advertisement fans to their keyboards is almost here, the time when so many take to their blogs and/or forums to post angry complaints that Global Television has yet again highjacked the American stations carrying the SuperBowl telecast, causing us to miss out on an essential element of SuperBowl Sunday – The New TV ads. 
Since so many will be too incensed to type clearly their displeasure, I offer the following missive, which you may feel free to copy and paste as your own angry diatribe:

This sux!  I watched the Superbowl expecting to see all those cool and funny ads and didn’t get to see many of them at all.  Every station carrying the game was the same channel.  It was all showing Global TV coverage.  What’s up with that?  I’m paying money to get the American stations and the commercials they show too.  But how come I’m getting Global broadcast on the American station?  What a rip!!  I’m gonna complain to my local cable provider and demand that I not pay for the American stations I’m not getting when I should be getting them.  Everybody should write and complain.  I wanted to see what that insurance duck was up to and I get some crappy ad for a local restaurant?  Poison!  I’m never eating there!  That place sux!

I’m Never Watching Global Again!!!1!!!

A City In Transition?

Please, Charlottetown, if you have any life left in you, you will provide your citizens with a viable, working public transit system.
Please.

Here is a link that takes you to a Charlottetown transit survey.  Please fill it out in support of public transit.
Please.

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Singizzle in the Rizzle

Singing in the Rain meets Hip Hop meets computer wizardry.
Check out this quicktime video.  The coolest thing I’ve seen so far today.
I must say, I was disappointed at the end when I discovered it was an automobile advertisement.