I was listening to The Vinyl Cafe today and they had a show all about various covers of songs, good, bad and ugly. The show led off with this tune and it knocked my socks off. I'm still not sure if I really like it or if I'm just drawn to it the way gawkers are drawn to a 30-car pile-up, but it's definately something to behold.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
I Hope Garrett Doesn't Learn To Read Before Christmas
Thanks to my good friends over at the Johnny Gigawatt site, I just saved myself a chunk of money.
Garrett (and I) really like the Warner animated series, esp. Teen Titans, the original Batman animated series stuff and the Justice League Unlimited series. Unfortunately, the cost of the Batman: TAS seasons is insane ($40-50 per season in most cases) so I've resisted buying them.
It turns out that, come November, the entire series will be available in this gorgeous box set and the price is actually quite reasonable... $75 at Amazon.com... Now to see if Amazon.ca will carry it.
I'm really glad I didn't pick up Season 1 yesterday while I was out. It was $30 at HMV (normally $55) and I came THIS close.
Now if only Batman Beyond came in a nice set like that...
Garrett (and I) really like the Warner animated series, esp. Teen Titans, the original Batman animated series stuff and the Justice League Unlimited series. Unfortunately, the cost of the Batman: TAS seasons is insane ($40-50 per season in most cases) so I've resisted buying them.
It turns out that, come November, the entire series will be available in this gorgeous box set and the price is actually quite reasonable... $75 at Amazon.com... Now to see if Amazon.ca will carry it.
I'm really glad I didn't pick up Season 1 yesterday while I was out. It was $30 at HMV (normally $55) and I came THIS close.
Now if only Batman Beyond came in a nice set like that...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
[Insert Awesome Headline Here]
I went out with some friends to see the late show of The Dark Knight on Monday.
Holy crap, (Batman), that was an awesome movie. Easily the best film I've seen this year, hands down. For once the hype was actually surpassed by the actual movie instead of letting us down.
I'm not going to spoil anything as I believe that the movie is best watched when you know as little about the plot as possible. I'll just say that Heath Ledger was as good as the critics have been making him out to be and has become the de facto Joker in my mind. Bye bye, Jack Nicholson!
My only complaint was that we didn't get out of the theatre until 1:10am and by the time I got home it was just after 2am... And then I had to chat with some friends about it, so by the time I finally crawled into bed it was around 3am. Suffice it to say, I spent most of yesterday just stumbling around at home and work! At least I got a good night sleep last night and am rarin' to go today.
I had a great headline that I thought up yesterday in my post-movie rush but for the life of me, I can't remember it. If I do, I'll amend this post title.
Holy crap, (Batman), that was an awesome movie. Easily the best film I've seen this year, hands down. For once the hype was actually surpassed by the actual movie instead of letting us down.
I'm not going to spoil anything as I believe that the movie is best watched when you know as little about the plot as possible. I'll just say that Heath Ledger was as good as the critics have been making him out to be and has become the de facto Joker in my mind. Bye bye, Jack Nicholson!
My only complaint was that we didn't get out of the theatre until 1:10am and by the time I got home it was just after 2am... And then I had to chat with some friends about it, so by the time I finally crawled into bed it was around 3am. Suffice it to say, I spent most of yesterday just stumbling around at home and work! At least I got a good night sleep last night and am rarin' to go today.
I had a great headline that I thought up yesterday in my post-movie rush but for the life of me, I can't remember it. If I do, I'll amend this post title.
Showing Some Dedication
On Sunday, Kara was dedicated at church. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures yet but we'll get some from one of the people who were there... HINT HINT!
A huge thanks goes to everyone who was able to make it out and, as bad as it sounds, a huge thanks also goes out to those who COULDN'T make it, as we had just enough people cancel or not come to our house afterwards to allow us to have the luncheon in our place without looking like a Tokyo subway car. It's a shame the weather was so crappy as we had planned a lovely picnic lunch but I think that the spread we put on in our cramped abode was enjoyable, if nothing else :)
At least I was able to show off our new comfy chair, that we got for FREE!
A huge thanks goes to everyone who was able to make it out and, as bad as it sounds, a huge thanks also goes out to those who COULDN'T make it, as we had just enough people cancel or not come to our house afterwards to allow us to have the luncheon in our place without looking like a Tokyo subway car. It's a shame the weather was so crappy as we had planned a lovely picnic lunch but I think that the spread we put on in our cramped abode was enjoyable, if nothing else :)
At least I was able to show off our new comfy chair, that we got for FREE!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
La De Mwahaha
Go check out Dr. Horrible, the sing-along blog starring Doogie Howser and written by Joss Whedon.
All three parts are up but they're getting pulled down on Sunday, so watch them while you can!
All three parts are up but they're getting pulled down on Sunday, so watch them while you can!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Deep Sea Blogger
I think this may be the second time I've linked to the Dark Roasted Blend blog, but given my reluctance to delve into photoblogs, this one is simply awesome for the quality and variety of pictures.
This list of gorgeous ocean creatures is a must-see. I had this one up on my desktop
but I think it would scare Julie, so I put a cute snail up there instead.
This list of gorgeous ocean creatures is a must-see. I had this one up on my desktop
but I think it would scare Julie, so I put a cute snail up there instead.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Appendix Of The Car
I took the day off today to both take my car in for an operation and to get a doctor's appointment done. I figured it would be worth it to take care of both things on the same day AND I got a day off with the house to myself. WoO!
Doctor's appointment went fine. I swung by the shop to pick up my car on the way home only to find out that the part that Saturn had shipped to the local garage WAS THE WRONG PART!
So they took the air intake regulator out of my car and are letting me drive around without one for a few days until I take it in on Friday (which is when the proper part should be in).
Which begs the question: If I can drive around without this part in my car, why am I paying ~$350 to replace it?
Doctor's appointment went fine. I swung by the shop to pick up my car on the way home only to find out that the part that Saturn had shipped to the local garage WAS THE WRONG PART!
So they took the air intake regulator out of my car and are letting me drive around without one for a few days until I take it in on Friday (which is when the proper part should be in).
Which begs the question: If I can drive around without this part in my car, why am I paying ~$350 to replace it?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Garrett: Movie Psychic
Sometimes I worry about my kid.
For whatever reason, Garrett started saying, "Uncle Buck. Uncle Buck. Uncle Buck..."
I gave him a look and said, "Uncle Buck?"
"Uncle Buck makes pancakes for the kids. Uncle Buck makes pancakes for the kids."
"Where did you watch Uncle Buck? At the babysitter's?"
"No. I didn't watch it there."
"Well, where did you watch it then?"
"Nowhere!"
"You must have seen it somewhere."
"No. I didn't see it. Nobody made pancakes for the kids."
And that was that.
Garrett is strange.
For whatever reason, Garrett started saying, "Uncle Buck. Uncle Buck. Uncle Buck..."
I gave him a look and said, "Uncle Buck?"
"Uncle Buck makes pancakes for the kids. Uncle Buck makes pancakes for the kids."
"Where did you watch Uncle Buck? At the babysitter's?"
"No. I didn't watch it there."
"Well, where did you watch it then?"
"Nowhere!"
"You must have seen it somewhere."
"No. I didn't see it. Nobody made pancakes for the kids."
And that was that.
Garrett is strange.
12 Years Till Doomsday
I traded in my copy of Ratchet & Clank: Tools Of Destruction for the PS3 today as I beat it a few days ago and the likelihood of replaying it isn't going to happen any time soon. The upside was that I was able to pick up a copy of Motorstorm for about a dollar. Woo!
Garrett has spent more time playing it this afternoon than I have though. He just lays on the horn, fires up the boost and rams his bike/car/semi into the nearest cliff and cackles as it smashes to pieces.
I'm never letting him drive my car...
Garrett has spent more time playing it this afternoon than I have though. He just lays on the horn, fires up the boost and rams his bike/car/semi into the nearest cliff and cackles as it smashes to pieces.
I'm never letting him drive my car...
Sunday, July 13, 2008
We Survived The Journey
Not to sound like too much of a shill, but holy smokes, Journey To The Center Of The Earth was probably the most fun I've had at the movies this summer. Best movie of the summer? No. But it was definately the most fun.
Garrett had a goofy grin on his face the whole time and I know I saw him jump at least two or three times, though he swears that nothing in the movie scared him, not even the dinosaur or the giant fish with the pointy teeth that ALMOST LANDED IN HIS LAP!
If you have kids and want to give them the ride of their summer without standing in line in the hot sun, get them to see this movie. But make sure that you see it in 3D on a Real3D theatre screen. Garrett actually kept his 3D glasses on for almost the whole movie, which is a feat in itself. The few times he took them off, all it took was a "if you don't put them back on, the dinosaur won't come" and voila! He was wearing his glasses again.
I knew it must have been a hit when he talked about all the cool parts on the way out of the theatre... and then in the car... and then when we got home... and then when I was reading him stories at bedtime. Well worth the extra few bucks to see it in 3D.
Of course, it probably wasn't as awesome as this...
Garrett had a goofy grin on his face the whole time and I know I saw him jump at least two or three times, though he swears that nothing in the movie scared him, not even the dinosaur or the giant fish with the pointy teeth that ALMOST LANDED IN HIS LAP!
If you have kids and want to give them the ride of their summer without standing in line in the hot sun, get them to see this movie. But make sure that you see it in 3D on a Real3D theatre screen. Garrett actually kept his 3D glasses on for almost the whole movie, which is a feat in itself. The few times he took them off, all it took was a "if you don't put them back on, the dinosaur won't come" and voila! He was wearing his glasses again.
I knew it must have been a hit when he talked about all the cool parts on the way out of the theatre... and then in the car... and then when we got home... and then when I was reading him stories at bedtime. Well worth the extra few bucks to see it in 3D.
Of course, it probably wasn't as awesome as this...
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Journey To The Center Of The Theatre
I'll be taking Garrett to see Journey To The Center Of The Earth (IN 3D!) tomorrow afternoon in Guelph if anyone wants to join us. We'll be seeing the 5pm show.
See you there... or not. I'm cool with just seeing it with Garrett.
See you there... or not. I'm cool with just seeing it with Garrett.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Don't Start Your Door-To-Door Salesman Career Here
This is a very cool list of 20 abandoned cities from around the world. Sadly, neither Chernobyl or Centralia are on the list, but there are a lot of other cool cities that deserve their time in this very depressing spotlight.
That's One Stop Crossed Off The List
We're taking some time off at the end of the month while our babysitter is on vacation. I have been thinking about going to Niagara Falls and taking Garrett to the Marvel Superheroes Adventure City thing for a while and decided to check into it last night.
Well, I'm sure glad I looked into it before we made the trip down there. It turns out that Marvel has pulled the licensing (or the hotel that ran the attraction dumped it) and it's now just Adventure City, with most of the Marvel likenesses just gone.
You've gotta love the chutzpah of a place that renames the Spidey & Friends Playground as the Spikey & Friends Playground.
Granted, lots of these images are now old, but why not at least spring for a few extra dollars and put a new sign up instead of just blanking out the Daredevil in the Daredevil Obstacle Course?
I'm also glad I looked into this as it seems that it was an extraordinarily overpriced and crappy arcade that happened to have some Marvel licensing attached.
Now to invest that money on a trip to the ROM!
Well, I'm sure glad I looked into it before we made the trip down there. It turns out that Marvel has pulled the licensing (or the hotel that ran the attraction dumped it) and it's now just Adventure City, with most of the Marvel likenesses just gone.
You've gotta love the chutzpah of a place that renames the Spidey & Friends Playground as the Spikey & Friends Playground.
Granted, lots of these images are now old, but why not at least spring for a few extra dollars and put a new sign up instead of just blanking out the Daredevil in the Daredevil Obstacle Course?
I'm also glad I looked into this as it seems that it was an extraordinarily overpriced and crappy arcade that happened to have some Marvel licensing attached.
Now to invest that money on a trip to the ROM!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Shirt Shopping
I need some new t-shirts.
I was poking around on Cafepress.com and they have some awesome shirts. Then I saw this and wished that I'd found it about a year ago...
I found a few shirts that I'm thinking about getting but I don't want to have to pay the international shipping. I'm trying to remember the name of the company that operated out of Quebec and does shirts for some of the webcomics that I read... Grr...
I was poking around on Cafepress.com and they have some awesome shirts. Then I saw this and wished that I'd found it about a year ago...
I found a few shirts that I'm thinking about getting but I don't want to have to pay the international shipping. I'm trying to remember the name of the company that operated out of Quebec and does shirts for some of the webcomics that I read... Grr...
Smells Like Fun
I found a very cute, very funny and very smelly game on the internet today. Puzzle Farter.
Yup. Puzzle Farter.
It's actually a great little puzzle/platforming game (in flash) and the little fart noises never get old. I'm going to show it to Garrett in the morning. I bet he'll laugh his head off for hours.
Yup. Puzzle Farter.
It's actually a great little puzzle/platforming game (in flash) and the little fart noises never get old. I'm going to show it to Garrett in the morning. I bet he'll laugh his head off for hours.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Soup Du What?
On Sunday evening, we managed to finagle a babysitter and Julie & I went out to Kitchener (ptooey!) for her father's retirement dinner. It was a very nice evening and the food was top notch.
The only thing that was strange was the soup. Given that we had a choice of three appetizers, two of which were salad, I knew I was going to end up with the soup du jour. I prayed and wished that it would be something like Potato Leek or Beef Barley and figured that I'd end up having to order Cream Of Broccoli or some such foul concoction.
Then the waiter (yes, we ate somewhere fancy enough to have waiters, not servers) announced that the soup of the day was... wait for it...
Cold watermelon soup.
I think the sound of a table full of necks cracking as they did a double-take drowned out all conversation for a few seconds.
After I regained my composure at being blindsided with the strangest soup I had ever heard of, I decided to chance it. Not being a fan of cold soup in general (I usually would stick it back in the microwave, thanks), I didn't know what to expect. Imagine my surprise when the soup was actually very good! I think it had some mint in there somewhere and it was overall a very pleasant bowl of, well, puréed watermelon and a few mystery spices.
So happy retirement Ralph, and may you have many bowls of cold watermelon soup now that you're finished working!
The only thing that was strange was the soup. Given that we had a choice of three appetizers, two of which were salad, I knew I was going to end up with the soup du jour. I prayed and wished that it would be something like Potato Leek or Beef Barley and figured that I'd end up having to order Cream Of Broccoli or some such foul concoction.
Then the waiter (yes, we ate somewhere fancy enough to have waiters, not servers) announced that the soup of the day was... wait for it...
Cold watermelon soup.
I think the sound of a table full of necks cracking as they did a double-take drowned out all conversation for a few seconds.
After I regained my composure at being blindsided with the strangest soup I had ever heard of, I decided to chance it. Not being a fan of cold soup in general (I usually would stick it back in the microwave, thanks), I didn't know what to expect. Imagine my surprise when the soup was actually very good! I think it had some mint in there somewhere and it was overall a very pleasant bowl of, well, puréed watermelon and a few mystery spices.
So happy retirement Ralph, and may you have many bowls of cold watermelon soup now that you're finished working!
Saturday, July 05, 2008
More Batmo-fun
I was just reading Garrett a Justice League Adventures comic at bedtime and he pointed at the Batsignal and said, "Look! The Batmomoon!"
"No, Garrett. That's not the Batmomoon. It's the Batmosignal."
"Ohhhh..."
I'm evil...
"No, Garrett. That's not the Batmomoon. It's the Batmosignal."
"Ohhhh..."
I'm evil...
A Mind Is A Terribl(y fun) Thing To Warp
A week or two ago we went to some garage sales in the area. At one of them was a pristine Batman on the Batcycle that we picked up for Garrett for $2. That's when the fun started.
You know how there's the Batmobile? Well, now, thanks to my careful ministrations, Garrett calls all of the various Batman vehicles using the following nomenclature:
Batmobile
Batmo-sub
Batmo-plane
Batmo-cycle
Batmo-blimp...
The list goes on, but he is convinced that Batmo-whatever is the proper prefix for a Batman vehicle.
Mwahahahahaha...
You know how there's the Batmobile? Well, now, thanks to my careful ministrations, Garrett calls all of the various Batman vehicles using the following nomenclature:
Batmobile
Batmo-sub
Batmo-plane
Batmo-cycle
Batmo-blimp...
The list goes on, but he is convinced that Batmo-whatever is the proper prefix for a Batman vehicle.
Mwahahahahaha...
Friday, July 04, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
When Good Deeds Go Bad
We got home from our walk around town this afternoon (I had to take the Saturn into the shop to see if they could extricate the weasel that has wrapped itself around my engine) and Garrett wanted to play in the backyard.
No problem, I thought...
The basketball net in the backyard had tipped over so I tried to stand it up. When I did so, I noticed that there was a wasp flying around near where the kids would be playing. Not wanting my wee ones to get stung, I took off my hat and gave it a swat.
That's when the screaming started.
It turns out that my well-intentioned swatting ended up sending the wasp on a trajectory right into the collar of Garrett's shirt. It took far too long to figure out a) why he was screaming and b) where the wasp was. We eventually got the wasp out but by then Garrett had been stung not once, not twice, but six times.
Poor guy. At least I know he's not allergic to wasp stings! I figure that since he's running around and being his usual self and the fact that the sting areas aren't swelling very much means he'll be fine.
No problem, I thought...
The basketball net in the backyard had tipped over so I tried to stand it up. When I did so, I noticed that there was a wasp flying around near where the kids would be playing. Not wanting my wee ones to get stung, I took off my hat and gave it a swat.
That's when the screaming started.
It turns out that my well-intentioned swatting ended up sending the wasp on a trajectory right into the collar of Garrett's shirt. It took far too long to figure out a) why he was screaming and b) where the wasp was. We eventually got the wasp out but by then Garrett had been stung not once, not twice, but six times.
Poor guy. At least I know he's not allergic to wasp stings! I figure that since he's running around and being his usual self and the fact that the sting areas aren't swelling very much means he'll be fine.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Happy Canada Day!
I wonder how many gamerpoints that's worth?
We went out and had breakfast first thing this morning. Unfortunately, Smitty's was closed (doh!) but we stopped at this little family restaurant in Georgetown that was open and had a yummy breakfast. It's kind of strange to be out and about and back home before 9:30am...
Spent the morning attempting to start one of the various lawnmowers in the board shed so I could do some yardwork on the common areas. After about half an hour of yanking on the pull-cords of various yard implements, I gave up and just used my push mower to mow our own front lawn. I also did a lot of weeding (those triffids won't take over my yard!) and put our fancy new solar lights up in the front of the house.
Julie took care of rearranging a large portion of the house while I was outside getting mad at small engines. It's amazing how much difference it makes when you move a few (large) pieces of furniture around and get the toys all arranged in one spot!
Happy Canada Day everyone! May it not rain long enough for you to be able to see some fancy fireworks.
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