Screw you 2009! Hello two zero one zero!

So long 2009, I barely knew you and that's fine.

People love to make a huge deal about celebrating New Years Eve, but maybe its because I never really have anyone to make out with kiss at midnight because even though I do go out year after year I don't consider myself I'm one of them.

Sure, its nice to clink glasses, dress up fancy and drop a ton of cash at the bar, but the whole wait until the last day of the year to do so ain't that big of a deal. But you know what happens if you don't make a big deal of it right? You get the, "Oh really? That's too bad. You should have went to [INSERT LAME CLUB HERE]. There were tons of people and it was awesome." Sure it was.

Maybe its because of the fact that as of this moment I still haven't decided on what to do yet, but I can safely say that for the last 5+ consecutive years I have not had a bad NYE. I guess the streak has to end sometime? We'll see tonight. I'm probably just a grouch... But anyway, it is nice to get tomorrow off though.

I hope your resolutions are in order because this is it. SEE YA'LL IN 2010.

Apparently girls wear more makeup than I thought...

While watching this...



I somehow ended up watching this related video...



10 minutes of that? Seriously? Mang, throw some Keri lotion on that and call it a day. I'm glad I'm a guy when it comes to that kind of thing.

As to why I was watching SNSD...please don't judge me, lol.

Shoplifters will be prostituted..

Normally I would say that when you buy stuff you want, you win. Forget about gambling at the casino or playing the lottery, when you straight save up and make a good purchase you come out on top.

But this year, I guess you can blame it on the recession or whatever, boxing day was 100% bust. Sure there were some deals out there but did anyone else notice that the sales leading up to Christmas were better than the Boxing Day ones? Have fun waiting in line for one of the 5 TVs per store, its only -10 outside after all. If the folks are Red Flag Deals say its a deal, then it is. When they complain, there's probably a reason for it. Seriously, those guys are amongst the cheapest most frugal shoppers out there and they all agree that the sales this year were nothing to phone home about.

You know what else was nothing to phone home about? Moon. The movie is about clones. Done. Save yourself the hour and a half. BTW, the director was dating a Korean at the time, which is why the station is named Sarang (translated "a love" or "a loved one"). Only interesting thing about the movie...

Instead watch Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea in high definition. It will blow your socks off and make your Saturday morning cartoons look like Cyanide & Happiness.

Music Mondays: Forget this shitty year and move onto the next

Vampire Weekend - Cousins (impressed with this video)



Travis Barker Remix "Forever" Drake Kanye Lil Wayne Eminem (just because)



Stars - Your Ex-Lover is Dead (best opening live ever)



And one for the ladies...Taeyang - Wedding Dress (if you're into that kind of hairstyle)



I hope all you hip kids had a great Christmas because its back to work tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

I woke up this morning at 9am and couldn't go back to sleep, I wasn't pumped for presents, I was too lazy to turn off the alarm clock that was keeping me awake.

When I finally got out of bed and wobbled down the stairs to see our 2 foot tall Christmas tree lit up with all 22 light bulbs, I started to feel that old Christmas feeling. I know I said the Christmas spirit has long since left me, but every year when we open the presents and then my parents inform us we have to go to some relative house that we hate, I can't help but feel all Christmasy inside.

Being forced to do things and see people you don't like is all part of Christmas. Christmas is that one time of year you can't get out of these painful social obligations, but an odd thing happens, no matter how much you don't like the people you are with and no matter how much you just want to spend the day in your underwear, you are having a good time and before you know it memories are being made. It must be the Christmas spirit holding you in its tinselly grasp.

Christmas isn't about the presents you unwrap that came from the fat man at the North Pole. Christmas might actually be the only time you can get a present that absolutely sucks but you and your family can laugh at it and not have it ruin the occasion. Christmas is spending time with your loved ones and making memories that last a life time.

Enjoy the day. Get your re-gifting wrapping paper ready!

Good luck you poor saps

To all those who haven't finished their Christmas shopping yet, good luck....including myself. It's a good thing I have no problem throwin bows on them elderly and small children at the mall, or else I'd be in real trouble.

I will now leave you with these two awesome pieces of media.

Toronto on Ice from Sam Javanrouh on Vimeo.

Adventures in China Episode 3

This is the last video from the China Series...and for 2009.

I tried to squeeze a lot into the 10 minute limit so ended up dropping a bunch of scenes to fit. It was either that or make another part, but I think my computer would have exploded and flung red hot fan blades into my eyes if I tried.

Filming sort of fell off during this period as well, something in the back of my head was also telling me that scenes of us walking around places like the Nanjing Massacre Memorial to a Weezer soundtrack would be a little inappropriate. I don't want to call that place a buzz kill, but we went from playing around in a park to being super solemn at a place where tens of thousands of people were murdered in less than an hour.

Solemn low five? I don't think so, that piece of history must be seen in person to be understood.

We finally got some of the other people on the trip to make some appearances as well, so instead of being those weird boys who talk in third person, narrate everything they do and seem to take a lot of pictures, we became the weird boys who think they are making a movie.

This is definitely different style of edit from the others, didn't use a lot of whole songs because there were so many short clips from everywhere, so it jumps around a lot. Don't know if its the best edit but its a nice conclusion to the trip...I think. Anyway, enough blabber just have a look...please have a look...

Music Mondays: Get your week started off right

Silversun Pickups - Substitution



Dirty Goods - Honest



And for good measure...Wondergirls - Nobody

I would love to hate them...

..But I can't!

There are people in this world that you envy, but not matter how hard you try you cannot hate them. They are the people who are so insanely talented and successful you can't help but be in awe of them. Here is my short list:

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter, as his mother knows him, may have a geeky name but nothing about his success is laughable. He is worth in excess of $150 million, 30 + million records sold, he has several Grammys on his fire place mantel and is married to Beyonce! There is a resume to envy. I cannot hate Jay-Z for the simple fact that he is so obviously gifted in all areas I cannot wait to see what he will do next. The man has written and performed some of the greatest hip-hop tracks of all time and is still coming out with more! Prime example: Empire State of Mind. Easily one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. I can't even think of anything insulting to say about the man, and that bothers me.

Dave Grohl

David Eric Grohl. Even his name is cool! Except the Eric part but even that is over shadowed by his hair! I mean, LOOK AT IT! Amazing! Anyway, He has been part of or performed with some of the greatest rock groups of all time, check 'em: Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and Queens of the Stone Age, The Killing Joke, Nine Inch Nails and The Prodigy. You would this he would be happy with that legacy but NO! He has to go out and get together Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and make the super group; Them Crooked Vultures! When will this guy stop? I dunno. Six feet under? I can bet you any sound he makes with his last breath will be better than any song I could ever write and compose. He plays the drums like he invented them and like my friend Denise says "He can scream with the best rockers in the world or bring it down and make sweet love to your ear drums". Also, if not disgustingly talented already, he is funny and seems like a genuinely nice guy. I would love to hate him but I know if I ever met the man I would fall to pieces like a high school girl meeting Justin Timberlake for the first time. Speak of the devil...

Justin Timberlake

Here is the man that EVERY MAN IN THE WORLD loves to hate or at least tries to. Justin Randall Timberlake deserves the respect of every man on the planet because he is the ultimate male. He is an extremely talented actor, song writer, composer and dancer. He has dated some of the hottest women in the world. He pretty much pisses excellence. People will bring up 'N Sync and to them I say, so? I mean yes, the wardrobe and hair style choices were questionable but they made some genuinely enjoyable music. Even if you want to hold that against him his solo career is more than enough to make up for it. "SexyBack" made me take notice and by the time "Love Stoned" came onto the airwaves I was sold. Who hasn't caught themselves singing the lyrics to "What goes around...Comes Around"? No one, that’s who! I could go on for hours but I think you guys get the point. Basically when this is all over I want Justin and me to get an apartment together, preferably his place because it is nicer than my parent’s basement.

Time to get festive!

I must say it’s hard to feel festive with a lack of snow and no Christmas decorations in my apartment because I’d rather buy groceries than a tree. But last weekend, me and my new Vancouver friends (who are from the UK and Ireland and have delightful acents) took advantage of some of the free Christmas festivities happening around town.
Our first stop was Robson Square for some outdoor skating. I learned that this place had been closed for 9 years for reno's and with the Olympics coming soon there was a push to get it ready. It will be the International Hockey Centre during the Games. It's a great outdoor rink. They covered it which is smart with all the rain. Skating was free and it was cheap to rent skates. We had a really fun time. As a Canadian, you're pretty much born with skates on. This is not the case overseas. None of them had been skating for a good 15 years, some never skated. I hadn't skated since earlier this year and I was having a bit of trouble while kamakazee children weaved in between us.
They even had Christmas music playing and dimmed the lights as it got darker...so romantic, even more so when Caitriona and I held hands for balance while we skated. I had to laugh at the couples with the guy all good on his skates, and the girl - not dressed for skating at all - holding on for dear life and carrying her giant purse while she skated. It was good times. Glad they are keeping it free.

After skating the group split and the girls went to get crepes. delicious. Next, we hit Stantley Park for their Christmas lights display. We hoped to go on the train but it was sold out until a few hours later and we didn't want to hang around. So, we enjoying all of the lights that decorated the children's area of the park. There were tons of displays set up, even South Park had a scene. The best part was when we heard one kid say "Oh man, Jesus again" while passing a nativity scene. My camera sucked at taking pics of the lights for the most part, but this one turned out.



My night was made with this picture. I love Frosty.

All in all it was great to experience some of the free festivities going on around the city.







ps. I hope everyone reading this appreciates the positioning of the pictures...it was quite an effort...I was even editing the code! I feel pretty badass right now.

Top 5 blacklisted foods (that I've tried)

It's not every day that you eat something so vile that it makes you gag and causes your body to malfunction when you try to ingest it, but it happened to me recently. It was so NOT-enjoyable that I created a blacklist just so I could put it as number 1.

Believe me when I say that there are few things that I wouldn't eat, or try to eat (provided that I have the necessary shots) so this list was ridiculously hard to make. If I can help it, I will avoid eating these foods at all costs.

1. Halva

Maybe this was a one off, but there's a reason why this dish is traditionally served at funerals: there is nothing good about it. Say that maybe it was THE one off, I don't know, but I had to spit it out camel stylez because I think I died a little trying to chew it. And believe me I tried.

2. Tequila

The word alone makes me shiver. There is only 1 alcoholic drink that I won't order and this is it. Sometimes, like on your birthday, you can't avoid drinking something like this (because noting says friend like rejecting something they just bought you in celebration) so you have to...but at least it gives everyone a kick when they see you struggle...for life.

3. Ambrosia Salad

Why? The only reason marshmallows were invented was to be roasted at campfires, to be put in warm drinks and Peeps. There is nothing delicious about taking a hand full of marshmallows, dumping in a can of mixed fruits and then putting sour or whipped cream in there for good measure. Nothing.

4. Raw Ramen

Maybe its a white people thing, but other than this Korean drama actor I randomly found when googling for pictures of it, they're the only people I've seen enjoy doing this.

I'm pretty sure the 5 year old factory worker never expected for someone to crush up a sack of ramen of their hard work, pour in the flavor pack(s), shake it around and then eat it sans hot water...and neither did I.

5. Poutine

Just because I'm Canadian doesn't mean I like to eat 5 pounds of super salty thick cut fries covered in dirty cheese and instant gravy. I'm all for heart attacks from delicious food but not this way...not this way.

6. Urine

Dear Lyoto Machina, Bear Grylls and R Kelly,

Please stop unnecessarily drinking/playing with your own urine. Have a Fanta on me.

Sincerely,
I hate you all

Seriously. Not even Survivorman Les Stroud drinks his own urine and that guys is hardcore. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hes practically struggling for life most of the time and I've never seen him take in a cup of his own pee pee. People will argue all sorts of things about it, but come on. I barely even want to hold the hot cup when I do my yearly physical...I know the receptionist doesn't want to either when I hand it to her.

OK, just to make things clear, I've never drank my own urine before which is why the list only goes up to top 5, but I threw this one in there as a bonus. Lucky you.

Boom! Merry Christmas to me.

Apparently I've been doing more Christmas shopping for myself than anyone else. Only about a week left until the big day and I'm now starting to feel the Holiday spirit...just barely. To tell you the truth, we haven't even put up the tree yet.

SCI-FI AND DISCO 4 EVA!



Yeah, I know I've been posting a lot of videos lately but I've been finding a lot of goodies. For example: Weezer & Sara Barellis on Jimmy Kimmel...and River does some rad jumps and screws up the lyrics, probably because he was checking her out...and by "her" I mean "her nose".

The best marketing team ever?

I watch a lot of TV; actually, I put on the TV and listen while I write awesome blog posts. In my many hours of TV listening I developed a weird habit, I don't watch the TV shows but I am drawn to watch the commercials.

I was once like you, I hated commercials because they took away valuable time from the shows I was watching. Now, with all of TV being so cookie cutter, the only ones doing anything interesting are the ones trying to sell me something I don't need.

I now have hundreds of hours of commercial watching under my belt, and I have determined that the Skittles people have the best marketing team in the biz. Skittles commercials make little sense but always make me laugh, or gross me out but either way they keep me coming back for me. Tell me you don't love these.

I think I have a new hero: Fabrizio

Here's one for the ladies. This has to be one of the most entertaining YouTube channels ever created by an a mere mortal (well, other than mine of course).

I swear, there's absolutely nothing un-enjoyable about watching this guy try to get some digits. Look out girls, he's a heartbreaker for real, eyetie styles.

Why The Phantom of the Opera was an awesome movie

Kick of your socks, crank the volume to 11 and book 2.5 hours of your life off, because you need to watch this movie. Yeah, I've seen the musical live and believe me it wasn't anything to phone home about. Even when that chandelier came flying down, the intensity level was still only at a 4/10. It wasn't until I found the DVD in my parents collection did I realize that a musical other than Mamma Mia! could be awesome.

Its only when you have King Leonidas himself belting opera lyrics like a jacked Pavarotti do you feel the power of The Phantom. And think about it, the poor guy's had a hard life. He worked construction, lived in the sewers, has a hard time with the ladies and has the face of a monk fish, yet he's still able to pour it on like Jon Bon Jovi.

Give the man a break, even in the end when you find out he's a real gentleman and a scholar, he still can't get lucky with the ladies. It's too bad really, because Christine didn't realize he had hot sweaty abs underneath his tux waiting to protect her from crazy Persians. Her loss...bitch.