Online music swapping legal: court

"Making files available in online, shared directories is within the bounds of Canadian copyright law"

Hooray! Metallica still sucks. Napster.ca has a nice ring to it!

Apparently file sharing isn't a threat to record sales anyway. What's all the fuss about? Some fat cat music exec may not be able to afford a gold plated toilet seat.

Check out Condi Rice is Angry!! I don't know what Jackson sees in her frankly.

Now there's written proof printed on the label.

Message to the chicks in those dumb commercials: Don't talk with you mouths full.

Now I can listen to Beavis do his thing whenever I like by clicking away at The Great Cornholio Soundboard.

Do you have TP? TP for my bunghole?

Check out The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman. Jackson scores again.

The Canucks went to town on one of crappiest teams in the league last night. A relief really as they were beaten just over a week ago with Chicago and Columbus another pair of extremely shitty teams.

The team did last night what they should have done to those other teams. There were 13 of 18 players dressed involved in the scoring. Included in the scoring were favourites of mine Geoff Sanderson and Jason King. Even Naslund scored after a ten game drought.

Nice to see the team win a gimme. However, the last three games of the season are Anaheim, San José and Edmonton. According to the Canucks record against these teams these are not going to be easy.

Here's the official Canucks.com - Game Recaps

GO CANUCKS GO!

And as a sidenote to a particular Leaf Fan, please save your comments until the story is posted at least. Do that or I'll buy you a shirt from here, give you roofies and force you to wear it and nothing else at a Chinese food restaurant at Metrotown. After that I'll tie you to a chair and force you to listen this CD over and over. LEAFS SUCK... so do the Wings, Calgary, Dallas, the Avalanche and the Oilers ... and anyone else who wants to fight about it. :)

I love The Evil Pictograms. I must get a T-Shirt. Specifically this one.

Elliot sent five things that sucked about Lord of the Rings.

Carol and I were talking about this site the other day as she has interviewed people who have had to move from Chernobyl. so I thoughtThe website is not the best designed one ever but if you can struggle through it's oh-so primative contruction it's well worth a look. Ghost Town photographically chronicles a woman's motorcycle ride through the Chernobyl area. It's rather strange to see large apartment blocks completely deserted. It's so very post-apocalyptic. Like scenes from Escape from LA or a zombie film.

I guess I will. Since that's what you're ordering me to do.

Ustinov was a talented man. He will be missed.

He was once asked what would be his ideal epitaph.

With a familiar twinkle in his eye, he swiftly decided on the perfect inscription for his tombstone: "Keep off the grass."

That's more like it.

The Canucks came out looking a little sluggish and were down 2 - 1 after two periods of play. In the third, however, they were a team posessed outshooting the Stars 15 - 6. Geoff Sanderson blistered up the ice and blasted one by Ron Tugnutt's right shoulder at 9:38 in the frame. The Stars, who were short a few defensemen and their star goalie, Marty Turco, suspended for 4 games for high sticking, could not recover.

In overtime Pitt Medows native Brendan Morrison scored on a breakaway to give the Canucks a much needed emotional lift.

Naslund has been struggling with an apparent elbow injury, has been unable to score in a number of games and seemed very frustrated at times throughout the game, the other forwards were looking great. Brad May and Brian Allen left the game with injuries and we're not sure when we'll see them again. Hopefully they won't be out too long as there are only a few games left before playoffs begin!

Here's the Canucks.com - Game Recap

I came to work this morning and my boss had put this copy of Playboy containing Girls from the Big 10 colleges in the US on my desk:


Why? For 'research purposes' of course. We are about to do a photo shoot for a swimsuit calendar, which may see me going to Costa Rica as Art Director on the project. The magazine has the type of girl we would like to see in our calendar. Not so much skin mind you, but the same look and build etc. I 'have to' look at softcore porn at work. What a drag... not.

Also, upon my arrival this morning, I noticed I now have dual LCD monitors on my desk. The dual head video card kind of sucks but after a minute or two of ranting it looks as though we'll be getting better cards later on today.

Did I mention that we're having a bonus party at Capone's Restaurant & Live Jazz Club next Wednesday? No? We are.

On top of all that, the other projects I've been working on are really fun too. Especially one Jackson and I did. You'll all see it soon.

Someone has to do these kind of jobs. It might as well be me. I'm such a martyr.

Finally, the Canucks won a game in regulation at home. Okay, so the score was only 1 to nothing againse a crappy team who probably won't make the play offs and Cloutier only saw 15 shots all night, but hey a win is a win. No one needed a win more than Vancouver did (except teams like LA who aren't really in the running any more).

Even though it doesn't sound like much of a game it was well played by the Canucks defensively at least. They were hard hitting had had lots of jump for the whole game. Thank God. There may be hope for them yet. Bertuzzi or no Bertuzzi.

Cloutier still worries me though...

Canucks.com - Game Recap

By da lard tunderin' Jaysus! Have a look me son. It's LTV aka lobster trap video! You need to put that there quicktoime onto yer computer ta see it roight. Looky dem fellers go...

A gas station in downtown Arendal, Norway was robbed around 5 a.m. Tuesday by a person dressed as a Japanese ninja, armed with a sword and a knife. He took off on a bike.

This reminds me of another story from my oh-so checkered past. Some other guys I knew when I was younger were busted after they broke into a local school and stole some computers. They were caught because they pulled off the caper dressed as ninjas. Then, instead of using the noted ninja stealth they walked down a busy highway carrying their booty out in the open for all to see. Someone called 'the man'. You know the rest...

They all went to jail. Morons.

There seem to be a lot of anti-cat types who frequent my site. Joining Pauly and Jackson in their mistrust of the feline race is Donnie Mac with this bit of conspiracy theorist's bunk.

The photo was obviously doctored. Cats don't have thumbs. How could he hold a rifle? Let alone the fact I don't think they make them that small. I do not believe this cute little kitty was anywhere near Dealey Plaza that day. Poor cat should sue for defamation of character.

Dude, my Dell is sick and am I ever sad. Poor Lappy the Laptop. I had noticed that the power input from the AC adapter had been separating from the coverter for about a month. Today it gave up the ghost. I saw that even though the computer was plugged in it was still on battery power. I checked all the plugs and everything was plugged in properly. Still nothing. The next step, naturally, check along the power cord for breaks and there it was the line out was separating from the box. I wiggled it and zap (15kb Wav) I gave myself quite the shock. Yeow! (7kb Wav)

I took a picture of the evil part and where it is broken for you all to see.

I called Dell and explained how my year old Dell Inspiron 5100 notebook computer had a busted AC adapter cord and they said, as my machine is still under warranty I'll get a brand spanking new adapter in the mail in only 2 business days. As it's already Thursday I won't get it until sometime next week, but at least I don't have to spend any cash. I had to give my address twice to the obviously new to English gentleman in the service center and have him read it back. It was wrong of course and I had to correct him. LOL. Anyway, a new part is on the way and Lappy will be back in action soon. I'll have to use him sparingly for the next little while. I don't want to kill the battery entirely because have no way of charging it now. ARGH!

Can you spare a power cord for a laptop? ;)

Bill sent me the link to eBay item which just happens to be the coffin that Courtney Love actually laid in during the video 'Mono' from her new CD America's Sweetheart.

With the way she's been behaving lately you would think it prudent for her to buy it herself. It's almost the tenth anniversary of her husband's death, and if you listen to his music he was crying out for help all along prior to his death. maybe she's doing the same. Who knows?

Still miss you Kurt.

Night of the Living Dead is now public domain. What does that mean? The 1968 George A Romero classic is downloadable legally and for free at the above link. That's right ... free!

This movie is the first in the trilogy of 'dead' movies and my favourite. I have it on DVD already but I'm going to download it to use bits and pieces of it in my zombie flick. Fun! Fun! Fun!

As well as films like Night of the Living Dead the Internet Archive's movie archive has other downloadable classics like The Three Stooges in Sing a Song of Six Pants, the film noir classic D.O.A. and oddities like Reefer Madness.

Looks like my bandwidth is going right out the window this month... and I don't even have to feel guilty about it.

Once again, a link from Jackson. Check out Oral Disco. Not exactly attractive nor what I expected, but fun all the same.

There's a part in your mouth and everyone's invited!

... Suspended for Mooning Students.

You can all than Jackson for this little gem.

Erase your bad memories at Lacuna Inc.

Not really, it's just a companion site to the new Jim Carrey ans Kate Winslet movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Jackson saw it and liked it. I've liked writer Charlie Kaufman's other films, Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. Maybe we'll gice this one a shot too.

...can kill you.

I can imagine eating myself to death on chicken wings. I love them so. Something tells me that the prize at the end of that chicken wing eating contest wasn't worth the pain and suffering this dude had to endure. Yikes! Thanks to Bill G for the link. I'm busy as hell today.

I wonder why I'm still hungry after eating almost the whole thing?

Thanks to Lance for the link.

40 things every drunkard should do before he dies. Remember A man is, ultimately, the sum of his accomplishments.

Carol and I saw Dawn of the Dead on Saturday night. We give it two very enthusiastic undead thumbs up. This was a fun remake flick. If you like horror movies, especially zombie movies, this one is for you. I was grinning like a tool from the first zombie filled moments. The updated zombies were scary as hell. If you're a fan of the original films you'll take note of a few familiar lines and faces.

In short, I loved it. Count on me seeing this one again. Not something I do often but definitely this one. Apparently I wasn't the only one who liked it. Dawn of the Dead was number one at the box office this weekend.

Yes, the title of this article is right. What a friggin' stinker. The Canucks once again squandered a 4 - 2 lead allowing Columbus, a god-awful team who had one only 5 road games this season, 3 straight goals in the third period. Emotionally the team was flat and uninspired right off the hop.

Star defenseman Ed Jovanovski was back and assisted on the first two gaols. He played pretty well all night but was pretty much the only Canuck really doing his job other than tried an true Trevor Linden and Chubarov who scored the other two Canuck goals. If this team were a horse I'm pretty sure it would have been put down and buried by now.

As far as goaltending goes Cloutier (out with an apparent hip injury) and Hedburg (out for a walk when he's supposed to be tending goal) have both sucked lately. If you cannot count on your goaltenders who can you count on?

Your defensemen?

Not on this team you can't. Brent Sopel, obviously with other things on his mind, continues to play atrociously giving the puck away constantly. He should sell Sopel 'turnovers' to McDonalds because Canucks fans aren't buying them.

Every game since the Bertuzzi incident (there were even hints prior to) has been about the forwards on the team having to beat Cloutier/Hedberg and their band of clownishly bad defensemen who are scoring on their own net. With Bertuzzi the chances were better to stay ahead of them. Now that he's out taking his very well earned anger management classes, saying 'I think eskimos are smug!' (42kb wav) the team just can't keep up. The new additions really aren't doing much and there's already talk of Sanderson going back to Columbus for next season. I think he forgot which team he was on last night.

Someone needs to light a fire under these guys or there will be NO playoffs. I'm not sure Crawford is the man for the job as he never seems to give a shit that they're losing. He gives his press conferences in the same monotone voice - win or lose.

Thank God the right teams ahead of the Canucks have been losing or else the team would be in even more of a mess and out of the running altogether.

I know the Berrtuzzi thing has affected the team in many ways, but come on. It's over. Let's move on and get going again. I don't want to have to cheer for another team in the playoffs... Flames - yeesh ... Leafs .... argh ... Detroit ... not in a million years. I'd rather cheer for Colorado for God's sake.

Here's the official recap of last night's game. A caveat: read only on an empty stomach unless you're a bulemic who needs to purge.

I went to the DV Production Techniques at Cineworks on Saturday. The instructor for the course was cinematographer Robert Fresco, an interesting guy to say the least. With his 40 years of experience in the film industry he was able to give a fascinating talk. He's worked on a ton of shows, assisting on cinematography for the TV series the Twilight Zone and some other films as well as directing and producing. I got a lot out of it even though before going I thought I wouldn't learn much in only one day.

Also attending the course were about 20 other independant filmmaker types who taught me a lot as well. Of note in the crowd was Vanessa King, a local actress who's credits include a number of films and popular TV shows, namely the teen drama Edgemont and Honey I Shrunk the Kids. She told me she was interested in seeing things from the 'behind the camera' rather than in front of it just for a change of pace and perspective.

It's still kind of a thrill for me to meet people who have had some success in the Film and TV industry even though I have met some of the biggest and the brightest stars. I actually feel like I'm doing the right things and am definitely more inspired since this weekend. I'm looking forward to learning and doing more.

One word: sucked.

Tie and lose to one of the shittiest teams in the league in OT? ARGH! Bertuzzi isn't in front of the opposition's net and apparently no one is in front of ours.

Still a fan... must keep the faith... breathe in ... breathe out...

*shuffles off to perform voodoo rituals and sacrifice a goat to the gods*

Canucks.com - Game Recrap

According to MSNBC Zombies are the ultimate movie monster. I would have to agree wholeheartedly. I'm very excited to see the remake of Dawn of the Dead. It opens today! It's getting great reviews for a zombie movie.

I'm also glad they are declaring the longevity zombie films as I am writing one myself. It's called UNdeadTV and I hope to be ready to begin shooting this fall. I'll reveal more later, but it's coming along nicely. I know making it is going to be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it.

I'm off to Cineworks for a course in DV production techniques tomorrow. I got my associate membership there this week. I'm too cheap to pay for the full membership. Plus, I can't see myself renting any equipment yet, so I don't really need it.

Oh yeah, and brain eating kitty zombies are funny too...

Pee wee says he's guilty of possessing obscene materials. Suprise he's a perv!

The game was pay-per view so I had to listen on the radio. I have one word: ARGH! The Canucks were outplayed, plain and simple. Marty Turco was spectacular in goal for the Dallas Stars (the name sounds like rats salad backwards) and one line did all of the scoring. Clutier didn't play the 3rd period as he has an apparent 'lower body' injury.

My bet is a lower confidence injury. Anyway, Alex Auld has been called up from Manitoba to back up Hedburg in goal for the Canucks this evening.

This does not bode well for the playoff only 9 games away.

Here's the official Canucks.com - Game Rec(r)ap

Anyway, GO CANUCKS GO!

Leafs Suck... Avalanche Blow... Red Wings bite wang...

Check out the 100 Most Often Mispronounced Words from yourdictionary.com. Carol is a big stickler for the correct pronunciation of words, especially words like library and pumpkin (which is not on the list). I have a few pet peeves as well like Old-timer's disease, nucular and Febyuary. Yet, it appears, after reading the list, that I'm guilty myself.

Personally I have said: supremist, spitting image, parlament, Tijuana, masonary, preemptory, persnickety and perogative. Hopefully I have learned something and will speak properly from now on.

Expecially there will be no more punkin and mannaise samwitches at the nucular plant whilst watching a fillum in Febyuary. Irregardless of whether or not the battries in my flashlight supposably flounder.

Check out HBO: Deadwood. Another series from HBO for me to get hooked on. I don't usually go in for westerns but this one looks good. It's created by David Milch who also was the brains behind Hill Street Blues. Thanks to Jackson for the link.

That's quite a shock. She's been arrested again for being a violent tool. Also, she Flashed David Letterman last night on Dave's show. How pathetically unoriginal. Drew Barrymore already did that years ago.

Microsoft: Europe 'iPod Killer' Debut in 2nd Half of '04
This sounds kind of cool. I like the whole idea of being able to take my entire music collection with me. I can now with my laptop, but it's kind of hard to jog with a computer slung over your back. Not like I ever jog. What the hell am I talking about?

Dress code: Pants optional
This story about a man being released from jail in just boxer shorts after a night in the slammer reminds me of another tale.

What I am thinking of is a man (and you know who you are oh reader of the blog) spending the night in the tank for suspected DUI in nothing but a green speedo and flip flops. Apparenlty the drunk tank's floor is cold and people are not nice to you when clad thusly in such a situation. ;)

It's St. Patrick's Day today. I've got my green sweater on. I don't plan kissing the Blarney Stone or drinking any green beer. I guess I'll go looking for leprechauns and watch Spongebob (who looks as though he needs a pee) dance a jig instead. Thanks to Jackson for the Spongebob link.

Here's a wallpaper I did that you can download and use too:


Click on the above picture or right here to download your copy of the 1024x768 version for your desktop.

Now you can use a webcam and this piece of software to solve your Rubick's cube in 20 minutes or less. I guess if you want to you can cheat at everything. *sigh*

We had to be somewhere last night and could only listen to the first period of the game on the radio.

Jovo didn't play. He may not play until the game in Chicago on Friday. Shite!

The predators scored first early in the period. Soon afterward Trevor Linden got an assist on a Ryan Kessler goal and then, 38 seconds later with the same line on the ice, Linden himself scored.

Things stayeed pretty much exactly that way for the entire time we were away from the game. We got back into the truck and listening to the game again with 10 minutes left in the thrid period. At 19:38 of the third frame Nashville's Adam Hall jammed one past Dan Cloutier to tie the game at 2. What shitty luck.

In overtime the Canucks didn't fare much better as the game ended 2 all. Rucinsky came close with 9 seconds left in OT, but was stonewalled by Tomas Vokoun.

One point for the Canucks and one for the Predators. Don Taylor, the Sportsnet anchor, said it best, "A tie is like kissing your sister". The Canucks are still a few points behind Colorado and have other teams like Dallas and Calgary nipping at their heels.

Oh boy! Here come the play-offs.

Thanks to CKNW's awesome audio vault I can listen to the game and follow up shows in their entirety after the fact. I never have to miss a game.

Check out the official Canucks.com - game recap

Oh yeah, and the Leafs lost to the Bruins (my favourite US team). What's up with that Pauly?

Check out the Tipito Chili Beans site. Make sure you have the sound turned on. Refresh to hear it again and again. Be sure to click around the site. You'll be pleasantly surprised, especially with what appears to be a recipes page. There's even games to play. The site's in Finnish so don't expect to be able to read it, but you'll understand pretty much right away. That is unless you're deaf or don't think flatulence is funny.

Speaking of flatulence. Maltitol is is bad. We had maltitol (a sugar substitue) chocolate bars for dessert tonight. It makes us fart uncontrollably. The house smells like a sulphur mine and sounds like a whoopee cushion factory.

We're growing so fast here that we had to move offices for the second time in four months. Above is my space. Finally, a window!

This guy has the longest ear hair in the world according to Guinness.

You can thank Elliot, the newly returned, for this grim link.

Star Canucks defenceman Jovanovski could return Tuesday night
The Canucks sure could use a lift like Jovo returning. Injuries (and one far too mentioned suspension) have made for difficult going of late. Here's hoping...

GO CANUCKS GO!

And in news from Florida (of course) a self professed 'vampire slayer' shot his Dominoes Pizza co-worker in the face as he thought the man was a vampire. The suspect is reportedly fascinated With zombies and vampires. The victim is in critical condition at a Jacksonville hospital.

Zombies I can understand, but vampires are so latently homosexual. *sigh*

Motive sought for slayings of 9
The spooky gentleman in the story above definielty has a screw or two loose. So much so he murdered 9 of his family members, most of whom were children, and stacked them neatly in the lving room. Apparently it was no secret what a nut he had been as is suspected that two of the children murdered were offspring of incestuous relations Marcus Wesson, 57, had with two of his daughters.

MSNBC - The 10th planet? Ice world revives debate
Sedna may be solar system's most distant observed object

That's kind of cool. Very cool actaully. The temperature never gets above 200 degrees below zero Celcius. Not a place to park your car without a block heater. I guess it would be like Edmonton.

The night started off right with another standing ovation for Trevor Linden. He was presented a limited edition lithograph and plaque for his surpassing Stan Smyl's records for points, goals and games played in a Canucks uniform.

It was a tight game on Saturday night. Even the the Canucks were playing their second game in as many nights they played well and with passion. Midway through the third period, as the 'Nucks were running out of gas a bad bounce put the puck on to the stick of Sens' Captain, Daniel Alfredsson, (who I think looks like The Greatest American Hero) and into the net. After that the Senators put on a clinic about how to protect a one goal lead.

The Canucks players and fans sure did miss Bertuzzi's presence on the ice. His big body and physical style will be impossible to replace, and if his suspension holds in the face of appeals, may just be the deciding factor that costs the Canucks a long playoff season.

Here is the official game recap.

Up next: Nashville Predators on Tuesday night

Check out this story from 1998 about a flame thrower option on South African cars. Can you say BBQ'd car-jacker? I knew you could.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to live in a place that requires one to have a flame thrower built into their vehicle. Don't tell me that it's because of the weather.

Other than Bertuzzi hitting Moore there has been some of the other violent events in hockey.

I guess it's all in how you pose when snapping that picture.

This little flash movie is obviously not for kids. If there are no little ones around turn it up.

Thanks to Jackson for the link.

The Canucks came from behind to tie the Oilers at 3 late in the third period. Finally, with 33 seconds left in overtime, in a two on one, Markus Naslund passed the puck to Geoff Sanderson streaking up the left wing. Sanderson kicked the puck onto his stick and backhanded it into the next. What a beautiful goal.

All night long the team looked great even though they were behind most of the time. Especially of note were Sanderson and Rucinsky. Both had goals and assists. The new guys are already paying dividends. One Sanderson plus one Rucinsky may not equal one Bertuzzi, but they sure looked great.

Here's the official Canucks.com - Game Recap.

Senators tonight!

GO CANUCKS GO!

Check out this ad. Thanks to Holly J for the funny video. Shades of a life past...

Ken Foree, who played Peter Washington, one of the survivors in the original Dawn of the Dead, was answering questions at the Zombie Army Fansite for the remake of Dawn of the Dead. I submitted a question.

It was chosen and answered! COOL!!!!

I absolutely love Dawn of the Dead and have watched it tons of times. Ken Foree's Peter Washington was one of the coolest characters in Zombie flicks. Awesome!

Zombiefreak: What was your most memorable behind the scenes moment from working on the original Dawn of the Dead?
Ken: The cool winters in Pittsburgh. And a certain zombie in his underwear turning blue but refusing to cover himself to avoid the zero degree weather.

Carry on!

First came September 11th 2001, a day we'll all remember for the rest of our lives. Yesterday Al Qaeda claims it has attacked again, this time in Madrid, the date was March 11, 2004 (I know it's in Spanish but there's a link to translate it to English on the site).

Note to self: Walmart doesn't take counterfeit one million dollar bills.

I wonder if the woman in the above story had gotten away with it before? She had another three of the fake bills in her purse.

Thanks to Lance for the original link and to Angel for the reminder.

This all reminds me of a story. When I was just 19 my friend, also 19 got a settlement from a car accident he had been in injured in as a child. He cashed the check and asked for six one thousand dollar bills only. The first thing we did was go to the local McDonalds drive thru in my shitty little car to buy two 45 cent ice cream cones using a thousand dollar bill. The people working at the restaurant were not amused but they managed to make change for us anyway. They had to go downstairs and open the safe to do it but they did it anyway. After that we drove back to the slummy apartment that my buddy, Ian, was living in. We saw the creepy dope smoker lady from upstairs just getting into her dilapidated Omni Horizon with no floor (like Fred Flintstone's car). Wanting a car, Ian bought it from her on the spot for $400. We were partying quite heavily at the time, and even though $6000 is still a lot of money today, it was even more 16 years ago. Still we managed to blow through it in a little better than a week and not two weeks later the car was in the junkyard. I'm not sure Ian ever insured it.

Those were the days. LOL!

Overshadowed by all the Todd Bertuzzi / Steve Moore stuff is the fact that the Canucks actually played a game and tied the Wild, the team who knocked them out of the play-offs last year and have been giving the trouble ever since.

With 4:17 left in the game newly acquired Geoff Sanderson scored to tie the game at one all. The Canucks ruled the third period and overtime, but couldn't put another shot past Dwayne Rolosen to win.

I was a little tentative about watching at all after Monday night's insanity, but did anyway. I'm glad I did. Although not looking like the most confident team (for obvious reasons) the guys played a good game. The brand new Canucks, Sanderson, Rucinsky and Bergevin, all skated well and look like great additions to the team. Here's hoping!

There are twelve games left. Let's turn on the afterburners.

GO CANUCKS GO!

Chuff, Vince and myself went to the new Vera's Burger Shack location on Davie for lunch. Hands down the best hamburger I have ever had.

Todd Bertuzzi has been suspended for the rest of the 2003-04 season, including the final 12 (13 if you count last night's game against the Wild) regular-season games plus the entire 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs. If the Canucks do go deep into the play-offs, Bertuzzi's suspension could be more than even Marty McSorley's two handed slash on Brashear at GM Place in February 2000.

Bertuzzi's elegibility for the 2004-2005 season (if there is one) will be determined by Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner, before training camp. Whether Bertuzzi plays will be contingent on the progress of Steve Moore's recovery.

Personally, Bertuzzi stands to lose more than half a million dollars in salary, not to mention the product endorsement deals this event has trashed. Already, Gatorade is talking about dumping him.

Also, thanks to heated remarks and promises of revenge made by other Canucks players and coaching staff, after Naslund was hit by Moore, the team has been assessed a fine of $250,000. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

As far as Todd Bertuzzi, I agree, the punishment does fit the crime. However, the NHL hasn't really solved anything. Other teams recently have promised violence in retribution for perceived wrongs and received no fine and the players received no supensions. Why? No one got hurt. The only reason that things have turned out this way is due to the injury to Moore. If Moore had fallen on his side and ended up with no more than a fat lip, we would not have this to deal with this. Bertuzzi would have received a match penalty and one game for his dirty hit.

The NHL says it doesn't condone this kind of violence, but doesn't seem willing to take responsibility for their part in legislating the violence out of their version of the game. The league only ever reacts when someone is hurt and that always appears to be for face saving. Bottom line, violence sells tickets. It's sad but true. A lot of the fans (myself included) enjoy the gladiator mentality to a point. When someone gets hurt it becomes 'real' and we're 'disgusted'. Hypocrisy? You betcha!

The culture of violence in hockey, especially the NHL needs another look. A solution would be to rethink the rules of the league entirely. A hard hitting, physical game base more on the International/Olympic version of hockey which is more about sportsmanship and finesse might be the way to go. You fight and you're out.

I've loved watching the Olympics (especially when Canada won the gold) and, honestly, was not bored. I didn't miss the fighting at all. I can enjoy watching hockey without violence. Can you?

In this case, I pray the Steve Moore recovers fully and goes on to have a long career in professional hockey. I hope that Todd Bertuzzi can come to terms with this event, and that he does get to play again.

Bertuzzi's a great player, regardless of this incident. This mistake will follow him for a long time. If he is entitled to return to the game, who knows what effect it will have on his play. He is an asset to the Canucks and will definitely be missed no matter how long he's out.

Hopefully, the Canucks can rally from this, put it behind them and go and win that cup.

GO CANUCKS GO!

UPDATES: Audio of suspension press confeerence and some comments from Brian Burke.

Before the game tonight Todd Bertuzzi held a press conference just to make a statement about Saturday night's events. He was pretty contrite. Here's the audio (1.88 mb mp3) of his remarks.

It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow morning at 6am when the desicion comes down from the NHL brass.

Check out The Museum Of Bad Art (MOBA). I just hope none of my stuff shows up there.

It was just a matter of time before Willaim Hung got a recording deal. Cranky American Idol judge Simon and his cronies may have missed a 'diamond in the rough' in the form of Hung. Sure, the guy can't sing without his think Chinese accent and dances as though his feet were glued to the floor, but he has tons more potential than many of the others still in the contest. He makes people laugh at least.

If we have to see too many more horrifically banal projects like From Justin to Kelly people are going to revolt.

Rise up against the bland!

The NHL's disciplinary hearing for Todd Bertuzzi is scheduled for today in Toronto. It should be interesting to see what his punishment is. I know I've calmed down considerably since yesterday as I'm sure many others have. You know that they've watched the video of the hit (3.65mb mpeg) over an over again from every angle. I guess we'll hear what they 'saw' sometime today. Hopefully we'll hear from Todd as well very soon.

UPDATE: The meeting is over but there won't be a decision until 6:00 am tomorrow morning.

Yahoo! News - D.C. Sniper Muhammad Sentenced to Death
Just to cheer you all up. :/

Carol sent this. No she didn't write it. Yes it's a joke:

Opening Ceremony: The opening ceremony will feature a re-enactment of the history of the government of British Columbia, performed by a professional clown troupe and a used car salesman. A flock of peace doves will be released to celebrate Canada's freedoms. The doves will then be available in local ethnic dining establishments, shortly after the ceremony.

Next will be an exciting display of synchronized SUV parking, and then the SUV's will be stolen.

This will be followed by a large variety of performances celebrating the diversity of Canada's culture. Riot police will be in attendance to keep the performers apart.

A separate, simultaneous opening ceremony will be held in French. This event will be lavishly funded by the federal government, and will receive extensive coverage on CBC. It is expected to have a total of 7 viewers.

On probably the most stressful trade deadline day ever (thanks to the idiocy last night) Vancouver Canucks have made some moves. The Canucks acquired Martin Rucinsky from the Rangers, veteran defenseman Marc Bergevin from the Penguins as well as Geoff Sanderson from Columbus. As well in lower level trades the Canucks acquired knuckle dragger Sylvain Blouin from the Canadiens and Sergei Varlamov from St. Louis.

There are some 'veteran' (emphasis on the old) players in the mix but not the power forward the team may require to take them deep into the play-offs. What about goaltending? Didn't we look at that? All these trades throughout the league could make for an interesting end to the season and a firey post season. We'll see how the Canucks do...

I was so looking forward to last night's game and after watching what transpired I wished I had never seen it. It was a horrific game in so many ways. What a disgusting display. The only bright spot of the night was Trevor Linden passing Stan Smyl for the all time scoring record by a player in a Canucks uniform with assists on the only two Canucks goals. The ever humble Linden received two standing ovations for reaching the milestone. Too bad it had to come during such an otherwise pathetic game.

After a first period that saw 5 (yes five) goals in total. The first four came on Dan Cloutier on the first 10 shots of the game and within 2 minutes! This, of course, set records of the notorious variety. After Hedberg came into tend goal he didn't fare much better allowing a goal after only two shots.

Things had already gone awry fight-wise at that point as the frustrated Canucks began settling scores and generally being poor sports. At 8:41 of the third period one of the the most disgusting things I have ever seen during a hockey game took place. Todd Bertuzzi, who I used to cheer for, made perhaps the biggest mistake of his career. I truly felt sick watching replay after replay of what took place. Steve Moore, who had already answered the bell with Cooke (and won) for his questionable hit on Naslund weeks ago, was punched from behind by Bertuzzi. Moore, who was clearly unconscious before he hit the deck, had big Bertuzzi ride him all the way down driving his head hard into the ice face first. Making it worse were other players, Avalanche and Canucks, piling on top of the other two players. The gore was horrific. Moore did not move for 10 minutes while he received medical attention. He was taken by ambulance to Vancouver General Hospital.

It was stated on the radio that he still didn't know who he was or where he was upon arriving at the hospital. In breaking news right now on Sportsnet's TV news it appears that Moore has fractures of his C3 and C4 vertebrae and a broken jaw. Not good. The Broken jaw probably came from the original hit and the spinal injuries as a result of the fall to the ice.

And now the VPD is getting involved.

Canucks GM Brian Burke says Moore is going to be okay, but we're still waiting to hear from the Avalanche. If the above is true I'm not sure what Brian Burke is smoking.

Nor are we clear on what will happen to Todd Bertuzzi, as of last night he has been suspended indefinitely (and deservedly so) pending investigation by the league. As the hit was most likely premeditated he may be suspended for the rest of the season, which is 13 games, and possibly into the first round of the play-offs.

If Bertuzzi were completely banned from the game I wouldn't be sad. Hitting someone from behind like he did was wrong, no matter how you slice it. Whether or not Bertuzzi intended to injure Moore in the way he did, he still did and will have to suffer consequences as a result. His actions had nothing to do with bolstering his team even though in his neanderthal brain he may believe that. He may have, with one punch, dashed the hopes of his teammates and fans alike ruining any chance of the Canucks going anywhere in the play-offs. How can that help morale in their dressing room and on the ice. The Canucks will probably be booed off the ice no matter where they go for the while.

It is a dark day for Canucks fans like myself. Who cares that the team lost last night? It's the other stuff that happened that makes me feel sick to my stomach. Just bad...

I expect the usual comments from the Leafs and Red Wings fans. Along with your usual stuff, why not try to contribute to the discussion it would be interesting to hear what other hockey fans have to say.

Check out Ming the Merciless. It's pretty weird stuff, but worth a peek all the same.

A man has admitted to cutting up and selling the parts of at least 800 cadavers used in UCLA's research department to large medical research firms.

Over a six year period Ernest Nelson went to the university's body freezer and hacked off body parts to sell with his trusty handsaw. He collected "knees, hands, torsos and other body parts needed by his corporate clients, which he said numbered between 80 and 100." Ugh!

After admitting to the actually doing he claims, "It was not done in secret." He also said cryptically, upon further investigation, "my name will be cleared."

Regardless of that, selling body parts is pretty low. Lower I think even than working in Internet sportsbetting. ;)

Episode 53 "Two Tonys"
The first episode in the NEW season was written by series creator David Chase along with Terence Winter and was directed by Tim Van Patten. A flood of organized-crime parolees change the landscape of the Soprano/Lupertazzi alliance. Janice carries on the family's Sunday-dinner tradition; Carmela and AJ commune with local wildlife; Christopher balks at footing the bill on "goomar night"; and Tony tries to introduce Dr. Melfi to his "other" self. A highly recognizable face is added to the regular cast. Steve Buscemi will play Tony Blundetto, Tony Soprano's newly paroled cousin who finds going straight easier said than done.

2004 - Sunday March 14 @ 8 pm Pacific on Movie Central

POST SHOW UPDATE: Awesome! I'm so glad it's back!

The Exorcist in 30 seconds (and reenacted by bunnies)

It was a second out for Hedburg in as many tries. Not too shabby. Lots of fights, points and a little better morale after the trouncing on Friday at the hands of the Red Wings.

Full recap right here.

One word: Ugh!

I know Schlemiel. I know...

Where do you get your news? From blogs? It may not be the best idea as most bloggers (including myself) are full of poop.

Martha Stewart guilty on all counts
Get your plans for a shiv cozy knitted and bone up on your cell decorating skills, Martha. Things have taken a turn for the worse.

Homeless couple uses sex demonstration to protest lack of Stockholm shelter
Yuck!

Thanks to Matt for the disgusting link.

I miss tortillas. The low carb diet I'm on has left me wanting the odd taco. Now I can have one in the form of a flaquita. The claim is that they only have 2 per cent of the carbs a regular tortilla has, so I could have a couple and not blow up like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon again.

Thanks to Jackson for the link.

What a cute cartoon Happy Tree Friends is. Or is it?

NOTE: For big 'kids' only!

Holy smokes! What an exciting game that was. I thought about dialing 911 an number of times as a pre-emptive move against the heart attack I knew I was going to have. The Canucks didn't play that well defensively, but neither did the Avalanche. Last night was all about offense. The Steve Moore hit on Naslund seemed all but forgotten as the teams went nuts scoring a total of ten goals. Burnaby Joe Sackic had three of his own.

Entertaining to say the least. The Canucks plyed catchup all night but the Avs couldn't kill us no matter how they tried. An gaming buddy of mine, and stinkin' Avs fan to boot, was at the game last night. His voice was hoarse from screaming when I spoke with him after the game.

The rivalry between these two teams in this division is shaping up nicely.

Here's a full recap from Canucks.com.

After the recent spending sprees that our Governor General has been on I think a Monarchy-Free Canada is on a lot of people's minds. Also, the Citizens for a Canadian Republic site is interesting as well. Please don't think I'm endorsing the ideas presented on either site I just find them worth looking at and thinking about.

Our next door neieghbours are gearing up for an election. What happens in the US always seems to affect Canadians as well so I can't help but take an interest. I've watched George W's TV ads. Some people are up in arms over the fact that his campaign has used images of the 9/11 tragedy, but I'm not so sure it would have made sense to leave it out. It happened during this term of his presidency and, for better or worse, he did rise to meet the challenges presented by that awful day. I'm not exactly turned on by the administration's foreign or domestic policies. They're a little too far right for me especially of late. However, I don't believe the alternative in the form of John Kerry could be much better. How would he have handled the same events? Would he have what it takes to make the tough descisions that Mr Bush has?

Thanks to Vince D for what I hope is the last picture of the Nova Scotia snow storm aftermath I'll be getting. It pretty much says it all. It looks like this guy made the best of being completely snowed in:

I'm not sure if this is the real thing or not, but it's as funny as hell.

Yes they're doing it again. You have exactly one day left to submit your video entry to be on this piece of crap. Carol likes it, perhaps for the cheese factor, but I depise it. The worst in reality TV. The Donald serves as 'you're fired' puppet to Mark Brunette. The retards taking part in these 'business' challenges are the biggest bevy of idiots I've ever seen jockeying for an executive position. My bet is that they'll all go on to successful careers in ass-licking and back-biting and make way more money in a year than I'll ever see. *sigh*

I should apply. I doubt they'd take me (too ugly) and I have original thoughts.

Sick of all the politics that go along with big awards shows like The Oscars. Check out Razzies.com - Home of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. Every year just before the Oscars they give awards for the worst films over the past year. This year's big winner was (of course) the horrific ben-nifer offering, Gigli!

I'm actually considering a membership in the voting body for the Razzies. Membership comes with two tickets to next year's gala in CA. If we can't get to the Oscars why not go where we're wanted?

Now that the whole planet is super-sized on massive serviings of sliced potato and sugared carbonated water McDonalds is admitting supersizing ain't such a healthy idea. So now they're dumping supersize portions.

Why do you think that is? Is the corporation is genuinely concerned for their patrons? Uh, no. It's more likely the fact that people, like myself, who have taken an interest in our health have stopped eating what they offer. I can come up with no better way to lure us back than with feigned 'concern' for our health. Balderdash I say! If you haven't yet read it and continue to gorge yourself with Wretched Ronny's junk food you could check out Fast Food Nation. I haven't thought the same way about food since.

Interesting news regarding findings by the Mars Rover, Opportunity, announced today. Could it be that this is only the beginning of findings on the red planet? Is there still any water in liquid for left on the planet? I guess we'll find out as NASA explores further. The possibilities for future findings are exciting.

All the pictures here are safe for work, but imply something else entirely.

WARNING: Don't bother with the "Other excellent stuff" links they are the real thing. Ugh!

With the popularity of Mel Gibson's movie Aramaic is making a resugence. You can learn some Aramaic phrases for yourself right here.

One of my faves:

Baseem, ellaa saabar naa d-etstebeeth yateer b-Lebeh d-Gabaaraa!
Not bad, but I think I preferred Braveheart.

Here's the list of winners from last night's Oscars. There were no really big surprises. I was wrong about my pics for best picture and adpated screenplay, the Lord of the Rings - Return of the King won them both. I can't say I was disappointed to see Peter Jackson and the rest of New Zealand accepting Oscars for absolutely everything they were nominated for. They were snubbed for the two years previous but you got the feeling all of these Oscars were not just for the third film in the trilogy but for all three. It's nice to see a filmmaker who's work I've followed for quite some time truly make the leap from independent horror films to the biggest and most ambitious film project to this point in film history.

Sophia Coppola got her one, sad little Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Though I thought her film was best this year, I do understand why it didn't win.

Sadly, I nailed the acting categories in a previous post. Having to listen to the unprepared and often arrogant Sean Penn stumble through his speech was irritating to say the least. Hey Sean, when you can't come up with anything else to say, sit the hell down and spare us your drivel. Sean Penn should have received an Oscar for his portrayal of Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, then never been allowed to work (or speak again).

Poor Bill Murray looked as though he were going to cry, but Johnny Depp looked truly happy for Penn. Renée Zellweger pretended to look surprised when she got the nod for Best Supporting actress for Cold Mountain, as did Tim Robbins as Best Supporting Actor for Mystic River. Charlize Theron was very gracious and also unsurprised by her win as Best Actress in Monster. Sigh! It's all over for another year.