Weekly Playlist

1. Let Forever Be ~ The Chemical Brothers
2. These Days ~ Nico
3. Can You Hearing Me Knocking ~ The Rolling Stones
4. Johnny Too Bad ~ Taj Mahal
5. Mothers of the Disappeared ~ U2
6. Trench Town Rock ~ Bob Marley
7. Now Mary ~ The White Stripes
8. Shotover Hill ~ Supergrass
9. Here Comes Your Man ~ Pixies
10. Judy is a Punk ~ The Ramones
    

Hey, That's Hurley!

I really enjoyed last nights episode of LOST.
Did anyone notice that Hurley was on the TV in the house Jin went to "deliver the message" to? That didn't sound right but you know what I mean.

Here is the picture.

Not So Mr. Nice Guy

American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken may resemble one of Santa's elves but at a New Jersey high school recently, he acted more like a Grinch.
On December 2, the pointy-eared pop star invited Clearview Regional High's vocal Ensemble in Mullica Hill, N.J. to perform with him at a local stop on his Christmas tour. But when he arrived for rehearsal, his inner diva took over.

Aiken refused to have his photo taken or to sign autographs, despite prior guarantees to the contrary. The meal he promised the students was two hours late. Less than an hour before show time, McDonald's Happy Meals finally showed up.

When one faculty member-recently named New Jersey's State Teacher of the Year- complained, Aiken allegedly had security escort her from the theater. Another teacher said she was hesitant to speak out because Aiken had threatened to "make troubled" if anyone "called the newspaper." She did anyway, and was suspended for six days.

The triple-platinum-selling singer also promised to make a donation to the school's music program in a ceremony after the show. When students opened the envelope he left them, it was empty.

The school's superintendent did find one bright side. At least the kids, many of whom want careers in the music industry, "got a taste of real-life show business," he said.

Aiken declined to comment.

Josh Eels

Guess The Movie

1. "Hey, psycho, we're not going to talk about this. It's over. Now get out of my Van Halen t-shirt before you jinx the band and they break up."

The Wedding Singer ~ Carolyn

2. "You know, at one time, I used to break into pet shops to liberate the canaries. But I decided that was an idea way before its time. Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing... oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage."

Harold & Maude ~ Jessa

Engrish Pick of the Week

It's A Very Sad Day

One of my favourite people has passed.
Here are some of his great words.

~ I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours.

~ I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me.

~ The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.

~ We cannot expect people to have respect for law and order until we teach respect to those we have entrusted to enforce those laws.

~ Avoid being seized by the police. The cops are not your friends. Don't tell them anything.

He Should Get A Public Flogging

TORONTO (AP) -- Vince Carter's former teammates were dismayed Friday after hearing him admit he didn't always try his hardest when he played for the Toronto Raptors.

In an interview broadcast Thursday on TNT, network analyst John Thompson asked Carter if he pushed himself as hard as he should have in Toronto.

``In years past, no,'' said Carter, acquired by the New Jersey Nets on Dec 17. ``I was fortunate to have the talent ... you get spoiled when you're able to do a lot of things. You see that you don't have to work at it.

``Now, with the all the injuries, I have to work harder. I'm a little hungrier. Getting a fresh start has made me want to attack the basket.''

Many have questioned Carter's dedication, his commitment to offseason conditioning and his desire to improve, but some where were surprised to hear Carter acknowledge it.

``It's a reflection on him and his character,'' Raptors guard Rafer Alston said. ``Is he a guy that you can go to war with night in and night out? That's what a lot of people are going to be questioning.''

Alston also suggested that Carter cost the Raptors games with his lack of effort.

``It hurts,'' Alston said. ``I don't know if a player who is considered an All-Star and has so many fan votes going into All-Star week wants to have that on his rap sheet.''

Carter has played well since being traded for Alonzo Mourning, Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and two first-round draft picks. He is averaging 22.5 points in 40.3 minutes with New Jersey, compared to 15.9 points in 30.4 minutes with the Raptors.

Toronto guard Morris Peterson was shocked when he watched the interview on television.

``It caught me off guard, being a professional player that's something I always pride myself on,'' Peterson said. ``I can sleep better at night knowing I give it everything I can.''

``You could tell he wasn't playing his best,'' Peterson said.

Toronto coach Sam Mitchell didn't want to talk about Carter.

``That's between Vince and his conscience,'' Mitchell said.
Zir Taaghi

As an avid basketball fan who had the heartbreak of losing their home team (The Vancouver Grizzlies) I find this particularly appalling. I guess it goes to show Vince Carter's lack of character. I have long since suspected this along with him faking a lot of his injuries. I just can't imagine what a brat you would have to be to not do you best at whatever you do. Canada deserved better.


Here is a little tribute for the little Vince Carter.

What Kept Us Busy On Sunday

The satisfaction from steam cleaning rugs is unbelievable!
We got 10 of our area rugs done on Sunday.
They look bright and alive again.
The Rug Doctor is my new best friend.
I won't tell you what the water looked like though, utterly disgusting.

Scary

I got shivers from head to toe while reading this story. I've had a lifelong fear of rabies.

Guess The Movie

1. "You know, at one time, I used to break into pet shops to liberate the canaries. But I decided that was an idea way before its time. Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing... oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage."
Martin ~ Harold & Maude

2. "Jon Dillinger was killed behind that theater in a hale of FBI gunfire. And do you know who tipped them off? His fucking girlfriend. All he wanted to do was go to the movies."
Jessa ~ High Fidelity

Engrish Pic of the Week

Guess The Movie

1. "Never, never, interrupt me, okay? Not if there's a fire, not even if you hear the sound of a thud from my home and one week later there's a smell coming from there that can only be a decaying human body and you have to hold a hanky to your face because the stench is so thick that you think you're going to faint. Even then, don't come knocking."

Carolyn ~ As Good As It Gets


2. "Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."

Chelly ~ The Princess Bride

Weekly Playlist

1. Cause = Time ~ Broken Social Scene
2. I'm In Love With My Car ~ Queen
3. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore ~ The Smiths
4. Candy Says ~ The Velvet Underground
5. Crazy Fingers ~ The Grateful Dead
6. Help Somebody ~ Earth, Wind & Fire
7. Stop Breathin' ~ Pavement
8. If You Want Me To Stay ~ Sly & the Family Stone
9. Fall On Me ~ R.E.M.
10. Do You Realize? ~ The Flaming Lips
    

Guess The Movie

"Queen Elizabeth is a man! Prince Charles is a pervert! Winston Churchill was full of shit! Shakespeare's French!"

Chris ~ American Werewolf In London

Happy Valentine's Day

We miss you Nan.

Guess The Movie

"Aristotle was not Belgian, the principle of Buddhism is not "every man for himself", and the London Underground is not a political movement."

Chris ~ A Fish Called Wanda

Same Old Story

Anything to get us to beef up our military.
My favourite part of this article is: Celucci's term as U.S. ambassador to Canada ends in March.

Once Upon a Time...Pay Up Kid

First of all, I'd like to say: If you are too busy to read to your kids then you shouldn't have any.

Secondly: I think I've found my new career.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch children can dial phone lines to listen to recordings of fairytales like Little Red Riding Hood, but busy parents must be willing to pay about $7 a call, enough to buy the printed version of the classic tales.

"Sprookiebel" -- "dial-a-fairytale" in English -- says it is the first fairytale phone service in The Netherlands and has already had some 600 calls from children since its launch at the start of the month.

Callers can choose from a selection of four fairytales, which are changed regularly, and listen to them 24 hours a day for 0.55 euro ($0.70) per minute.

Guess The Movie

There are two quotes from two different movies this time because they are both short and sweet.


1. "Coke: It costs *money*. Planes: they cost money. This yacht, this perm, my kid's braces: it all costs money."

Poppy ~ Starsky & Hutch

2. "I just wanna know how one becomes a janitor because Andrew here is very interested in pursuing a career in the custodial arts."

Carolyn ~ The Breakfast Club

I Am NOT Happy! ~ The Amazing Race

Well, my instincts were correct, Freddy & Kendra have won a million dollars and I still feel ill.

I guess they ran a good race but I cannot feel happy for them, not one bit. They are awful people. They did not redeem themselves in my eyes at all and as a mother, I don't take kindly to people lying about a sick child just to gain a half an hour in a race where you already have a lead.

I was thoroughly disappointed that Kris & Jon did not figure out where the Watch Tower was before they got off the train. A truly lame way to lose the game and a million dollars. And what kind of final challenge is eating two (small) pieces of deep dish pizza? Although it looked like Kendra has a VERY hard time swallowing any kind of food. What's up with that?

I also don't think I would of taken the word of the American Airlines ticket agent when it came to asking flight times on another airline. But as my dear friend Poppy pointed out they probably weren't as close in the end as the editing made it look. You could hear the train whistle well after Freddy & Kendra were across the mat.

Hayden and Aaron. What to say what to say..... Hayden finally lost her mind completely. There was ugly face twitching, screaming, crying, blistering, the throwing of backpacks and yelling at poor Chinese teenage girls. It was not a pretty sight. After Hayden's breakdown after breakdown and "I'm sorry baby, baby" and the giving up on a million dollars Aaron decides to propose to this beast!?! Well, at least he knows what he's in for. If I was his mother and I saw what we all saw and then a proposal.... I'd have a heart attack!

I was very impressed with Rebecca & Adam. Unless they edited it out Adam did not cry, pee his pants or yell for his Mama when he had to jump out of the airplane. Someone has done a little growing. Maybe he will even be able to cut his own toenails now.

Oh yea, did anyone else notice how it seemed impossible for Kendra not to stick her chest out as soon as she reached Hawaii? Just wondering. She didn't even get into the water to wait for Freddy. What a princess.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a whole bunch of stuff but I'm just ready to put this whole season of The Amazing Race behind me. In three weeks we'll be watching Rob & Amber for the third time on a CBS reality show. It really, really bothers me that Poppy & I can't try out for the show because we are Canadian but any 15- minute-of- famer can be on? It looks like CBS is gearing up for a win for them due to the look of their competion. They'll win another million just in time for their televised April wedding on.... you guessed it: CBS. Gag me with a spoon!

Guess The Movie

"Ah. Well... I attended Juilliard... I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen the EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT... NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY... NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I'm qualified?"

Leisa ~ Beetlejuice

This Can't Be True, Can It?

Well, at Least He Won't Be Fathering More Fans...

LONDON (Reuters) - A Welsh rugby fan cut off his own testicles to celebrate Wales beating England at rugby, the Daily Mirror reported Tuesday.

Geoff Huish, 26, was so convinced England would win Saturday's match he told fellow drinkers at a social club, "If Wales win I'll cut my balls off," the paper said.

Friends at the club in Caerphilly, south Wales, thought he was joking.

But after the game Huish went home, severed his testicles with a knife, and walked 200 yards back to the bar with the testicles to show the shocked drinkers what he had done.

Huish was taken to hospital where he remained in serious condition, the paper said.

Wales's 11-9 victory over England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was their first home win over England in 12 years.

Guess The Movie

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."


Chelly ~ Say Anything

Weekly Playlist

1. Jo Jo's Jacket ~ Stephen Malkmus
2. Try a Little Tenderness ~ Otis Redding
3. Bettlebum ~ Blur
4. Trouble ~ Cat Stevens
5. Sugar on my Tongue ~ Talking Heads
6. Birthday ~ The Sugarcubes
7. Step into my Office, Baby ~ Belle & Sebastian
8. C'mon C'mon ~ The Von Blondies
9. Combat Baby ~ Metric
10. Very Rare ~ Jon Spencer
    

Draft The Twins

Draft The Twins
Originally uploaded by Mrs. H.

I thought this was a really funny picture.

Corpse Bride

I am really excited to see this.

Get A Grip!

Colorado Teens Fined for Giving Cookies to Neighbour

DURANGO, Colo Reuters- A Colorado judge ordered two teen-age girls to pay about $900 for the distress a neighbor said they caused by giving her home-made cookies adorned with paper hearts.

The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbor Wanita Renea Young, 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.

The girls baked cookies as a surprise for several of their rural Colorado neighbors on July 31 and dropped off small batches on their porches, accompanied by red or pink paper hearts and the message: "Have a great night."

The Denver Post newspaper reported on Friday that the girls had decided to stay home and bake the cookies rather than go to a dance where there might be cursing and drinking.

It reported that six neighbors wrote letters entered as evidence in the case thanking the girls for the cookies.

But Young said she was frightened because the two had knocked on her door at about 10:30 p.m. and run off after leaving the cookies.

She went to a hospital emergency room the next day, fearing that she had suffered a heart attack, court records said.

The judge awarded Young her medical costs, but did not award punitive damages. He said he did not think the girls had acted maliciously but that 10:30 was fairly late at night for them to be out.

Alternative Canadian Walk Of Fame

Inductee: Hammy Hamster

Kosher hamster: Canada's number one media rodent. Courtesy Hammytime Publishing Inc.

Reason for Induction:
For honourable service in the field of children’s entertainment and for giving buck-toothed rodents a voice.

Citation:
Before the dogmatic twaddle of Barney and Teletubbies, kids looked to Once Upon A Hamster for early-morning amusement. Unapologetically wholesome, the live-action serial followed a boot-dwelling hamster, Hammy, and his exploits with the Riverbank posse: GP the Guinea Pig, Martha Mouse, the Wise Old Frog, Turtle and Granny Rabbit. Tune in one week and you might find Hammy steering a raft or riding shotgun in GP’s car; the next, he’d be navigating a (miniature) hot-air balloon. That critter led a life of unequalled adventure.

Hammy Hamster was the invention of Paul Sutherland and David Ellison, who introduced him in 1959. The show debuted as Tales of the Riverbank, and was shot in a makeshift Toronto studio with a crew of two: Sutherland and Ellison penned the scripts, manned the cameras, did the voiceovers and even composed the accompanying music. The 15-minute segments were initially rebuffed by the CBC, but were soon picked up by the BBC.

People still speak wistfully of Sutherland’s gentle, artless narration, which was as integral to the show’s charm as the sight of twitchy, uncomprehending rodents scurrying across a simulated nature set. Sutherland and Ellison halted production in the mid-’60s when Hammy failed to attain the popularity they’d hoped for. The show experienced several revivals, however: first in the ’70s, when it was produced out of a British studio, and then in the ’90s, when it appeared on Canada’s YTV network.

At its pinnacle, Once Upon a Hamster was seen in more than 30 countries. It didn’t reach a U.S. viewership until the ’90s, where it delighted insomniacs and stoners on late-night television. That’s where it caught the notice of Alan Ball, creator of HBO’s Six Feet Under, who ended up using a clip of Once Upon A Hamster in an episode of his lauded series. The show was retired for good in 1998, but Hammy and his furry clan are syndicated in the hearts and minds of Canadian viewers.

Andre Mayer writes about the arts for CBC.ca.

Shanghai Surprise ~ The Amazing Race

Not a very exciting episode of The Amazing Race.
I wasn't surprised by the non elimination round.
I wasn't surprised by Kendra thinking Shanghai is beautiful.
I wasn't surprised by Freddy & Kendra yielding Adam & Rebecca.
And I definitely was not surprised by the cab drivers.

I guess I'm just ready for the finale. Maybe I'm bored because Bolo & Lori aren't in it anymore. I think I just have a feeling that Freddy & Kendra might win it and I just can't bare the thought so I'm trying to detach myself.

I did like how Adam commented on "never seeing Kris & Jon so angry" and I thought Rebecca was pretty funny this episode. Also, whenever Hayden gets to a clue spot the first thing out of her mouth is "where's is it Aaron?" Like he's not already looking for it, give me a break. She does is so often you could make a drinking game out of it.

So this is my preference on the placement of the final four teams.
1. Kris & Jon
2. Hayden & Aaron
3. Adam & Rebecca
4. Freddy & Kendra

We'll have see on Sunday night.

Have We Not Suffered Enough?

Abdul Looks to Restart Singing Career

Funny things in this article...
Abdul's use of the words: art, craft, performer etc.
Oh and now we have another reason to dislike her: Kylie Minouge.

NEW YORK (AP) -- "I miss my art," Abdul sighs as she looks out the window, looking like a classic '50s sweetheart, right down to her flowery, flared-out dress. "The great part about who I am is, I came into this business as a facilitator. I was a world-class choreographer ... I've always been able to help mold (other people) into their greatness.

"But there is a whole other hat that I wear as a performer that I need to infuse a little bit of energy into, so I've made a conscientious decision that after this season, I have to take some time to be mindful of my own craft."

While her singing career faded, Abdul didn't go away. "I'm responsible for helping Kylie Minogue come back," she maintains while talking about the song "Spinning Around," which she co-wrote for the dance music star in 2000. "She couldn't get signed to a worldwide deal ... She entered for the first time ever on the U.K. charts No. 1 on a song I wrote."
"People say they miss me out there as an artist because I'm very creative."

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
AP Music Writer

NO!

I am very worried about this.

Weekly Playlist

1. China My China ~ Brian Eno
2. Midnight Special ~ Leadbelly
   
3. Lip Service ~ Elvis Costello
4. Sugar Kane ~ Sonic Youth
5. A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow ~ Mitch & Mickey
6. Your Gold Teeth II ~ Steely Dan
7. Instant Death ~ Beastie Boys
   
8. Waterloo Sunset ~ The Kinks
9. Straight To Hell ~ The Clash
   
10. You Can Make it if You Try ~ Sly and the Family Stone