Monday Musings - Wednesday January 5, 2011 Edition

As good of time as any to wheel this out again...

• Reason #1 why large lottery groups are not a good idea. It's a truth that there's a tipping point to every group of people where you end up with too many involved and it just becomes a cluster. In this case, 19 people might have been too much.


• Really, St. Joseph's Catholic High School? This is the battle you want to fight? Welcome to ridiculous levels of pressure from people who would otherwise have been uninterested observers.


• Guy Giorno leaves the Prime Minister's Office, then chooses to fight all those who he feels wronged him on his Twitter feed. Way to reinforce people's perceptions of the work you did.


• Cool link - Moe Dorion, Globe and Mail photographer, explains how to photograph hockey games


• Dirk Hayhurst, writer of The Bullpen Gospels, says goodbye to Toronto Blue Jays fans. Dustin Parkes of the fantastic Getting Blanked blog, says goodbye to Dirk.


• Speaking of books and Getting Blanked, their first book club meeting on January 31. Don't now if I'll be able to make it, but it sounds like a fantastic time. Details here.


• Finally, in honour of Roberto Alomar's election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, I present the two videos that most people will remember him for.
  First, a link to Alomar hitting the 2 run home run off of Dennis Eckersley in the 1992 ALCS
  Second, well, I shouldn't have to tell any Toronto-ite what this video is:
  

Monday Musings - November 1, 2010

It's back!

• I'm shocked it took so long for this to have been done: The Linux Credit Card. If you get it, the Linux foundation will get $50 for every activation, and a percentage of all purchases. This is a fantastic and no lose situation to support Linux, and is a creative way for Linux to make money.


• Dustin Parkes demonstrates how to dress up like Brian Wilson (SF Giants version) for Hallowe'en. Granted, Hallowe'en has passed and next year nobody is going to understand the joke next year, but, uh, wear it when the Giants win the World Series! (Yes, I have decided to support the Giants in the World Series. #6org will serve as a consolation prize.


• The Rally to Restore Sanity produced some good signs and placards. Talking Point Memos compiles some of the best.


• The Edmonton Oilers announced they were going to introduce cheerleaders to their home games. Fans revolted against this idea. Sean Leahy decides to go to Carolina Hurricane Storm Squad members to find out their view, and they have interesting views on the value of a cheer squad.


• Things that make me happy: Geoff Molson talks about owning the Canadiens


• Tasha Kheiriddin has a good final takedown of the government's use of 10 percenters.


• Shockingly, Elmore Leonard - who doesn't own a cell phone or use a computer - doesn't like eBooks.


• Dave Perkins forsees a future where sports betting will be allowed in Ontario Casinos, thanks to internet betting. I welcome this sort of thinking.


• Grange has an amusing post on how to write an appeal petition. (BTW, start reading his blog if you are interested in poker, legislation, poker legislation, or just fun writing.


• And your (late to the party) video of the week...Gordon Pinset reads Justin Bieber's autobiography:
  

Monday Musings - October 11, 2010

So, no real list for this week's Monday Musings because there's only one thing I think you should be reading:

Favre situation makes us confront sexism by Jason Whitlock is the take on the Brett Favre sexting drama.

(Okay, I'll throw in Alphonso Smith's fantastic touchdown dance):

Monday Musings Addmentum - August 30, 2010

I felt really bad about not including a funny video in this week's Monday Musings. Luckily for me, the comic strip Luann came through with quite possibly the most horrible song/music video in a long time. May I present to you Hey Boy!

Monday Musings - August 30, 2010

• Little known fact about me - I'm a Star Trek: The Next Generation geek of sorts. So this casing note fascinated me in so many different ways. I mean, it's one thing to imagine J.D. Roth as the unintentionally annoying Wesley Crusher, but Reggie Jackson or Wesley Snipes as Geordi? Denise Crosby as empath Troi? MY MIND IS BLOWN!


• Most shocking thing about this Michelle Beadle profile at Fanhouse? She spent 3 years in Peterborough "listening to Our Lady Peace." Peterborough always struck me as more of a Tragically Hip town.


• I still have to write about the Montreal Canadiens' Mount Puckmore entry (cliff notes - I only have one complaint though I understand the choice). I can conclusively say that it was miles better than the New York Rangers entry. Jaromir Jagr, really?


• There is a lot of truth in this letter/article by Tim Rindlisbacher. My one fear is that he is singling out MMA only because it is the flavour of the week. When boxing still exists, it needs to be included in any discussion about concussions.


• This just in: The Western world is weird. It's actually an interesting article about different cultures react to the Ultimatium problem, and how that might reflect upon our cultures.


• Playstation designer explains what the symbols mean on the button, disappoints geeks around the world with lame explanation.


• PokerBob provides an interesting wrinkle to the "poker is a skill game" discussion.

Monday Musings - August 23, 2010

• I don't care what you do CJ Spiller, I refuse to get excited about this Bills' season and your fantastic team oriented attitude.


• Adventures in bad headlines, part XVII...
  Headline: Sexy video gets Shakira in trouble.
  Story: Shakira was filmed dancing in a Barcelona fountain for a promo video for her latest song. She failed to get a permit from city hall and now has been fined.


• The Toronto Star brings up a valid comparison of Chicago's waterfront to Toronto's.


• Hugh MacIntyre makes a valid point about there being no majority government in Canada in the near future. However, he misses the mark when he says that playing to the soft nationals in Quebec won't work because the Harper government tried that in 2006-2008 and the soft nationals still voted for the Bloc. Harper did himself in by cutting funding to the arts, which ended up killing him in Quebec. We don't have a good test of whether the soft nationals would be amenable to the wooing of the federal government.


• I can't wait for Cougar Life's response to this.


• Vivid is trying to make a 3D porn parody of Avatar. It's actually a good (SFW) article which helps to lay waste to the claim that porn drives advancements in technology.


• Ryan Durling at Something's Bruin puts together a summary of what has happened between the Toronto Sun and the Pension Plan Puppets, explaining why it's so infuriating.


• Jay Mariotti was arrested on suspicion off domestic assault on Saturday. Sports by Brooks compiles many of Mariotti's columns on the subject of athletes and domestic abuse.


• And finally, how to catch a foul ball like a man. (h/t: Dustin Parkes at The Score)
  

Monday Musings - August 16, 2010

• MTV tries to explain whythe Expendables topped box office while Scott Pilgrim vs. the World failed. They basically nail it, but I can't believe I missed the obvious comparison: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.


• The Mill-town looking to steal from the Steel Town!


• When the Joe Posnaski/David Cameron war of words was raging, I was going to post something. But the folks at Fire Jerry Manuel sum up my feelings here


• David McKee reads the tea leaves and comes to the conclusion that the Rio is going to be sold to Colony Capital. While the Star Trek convention move to the Rio does seem to indicate that something is up there, I'm not sure that it means that the Rio is sold. It could just mean that Harrah's is going to move the World Series of Poker, and they don't want to announce it until the November Nine, when all the attention will be on them. (Of course, now that I've committed this to the interwebs, the Rio sale will be announced tomorrow.)


• Will Carroll contemplates the dichotomy of being categorized as a blogger, but not actually having a blog.


• News that I might be too excited over: Johnny Carson's Tonight show footage is hitting the web.


• One of the best Toronto Star headlines ever: Hello girls! Bounce is back


• The Ontario government seems to be trying to lock up my vote. First, they start down the path of legalizing online gambling, and now they're allowing MMA events in Ontario.


• And finally, a tribute to the Montreal Expos (h/t Toronto Mike)
  

Monday Musings - August 9, 2010

• If only Law and Order wasn't cancelled - can you imagine what they'd do with this ripped from the hedlines story?


• John Moore enables crime and is personally responsible for the spending of $9 billion to build new jails.


• Speaking of Canadian Crime, Colby Cosh destroys the latest Conservativ plan to get tough on crime


• This new feature makes me want to go to Disneyland.


• Las Vegas is finally getting tough on the scourge of society: The Hula-Hoop


• And finally, the hit that's sweeping the nation...See My Dong! (Video from Deadspin; back story here.) (Also probably NSFW)
  

Monday Musings - July 26, 2010

• Leading off, we've got a fun and interesting article by Stephen Marche explaining how Conrad Black and the Black Bloc are similiar


• Speaking of Conrad Black, it takes a lot for me to agreee with a Toronto Sun editorial (especially in these days of utter lunacy), but I agree with this one.
  One thing that's been bugging me about some Black supporters is their insistence that he was forced to give up his Canadian citizeship by Jean Chretien. Chretien did put barriers in front of Black when Black wanted to become a member of the House of Lords. But ultimatly Chretien forced Black to choose what was more important to him: being a Canadian, or being a member of the House of Lords. Black chose the House of Lords and thus to renounce his citizenship, showing where his priorities lied. I'm not sure why Canada should bend over backwards for him now that he's decided it's more convienient for him be in Canada.


• Damn you Joey Lawrence, why do you have to come across as a nice guy in interviews? (Also, how are you younger than me?)


• This profile of Abdullah the Butcher in the New York Times is a bunch of awesomeness. You get Abdullah essentially mocking a promoter, Tommy Rich working the reporter and Abdullah working the marks for more cash. (In a related note, I own the referenced DVD and will probably review it once I actually watch it.


• Give the Daily Star credit: When they screw up, they don't half ass it (Daily Star website might be NSFW)

Monday Musings - July 11, 2010

Not a true Monday Musings this week, as I'm still reeling from the news that the Internet is over.

For the counterpoint, here is Mike Howlett explaining how Prince isn't giving away his new album for free.

Monday Musings - July 5, 2010

• The rumour of Pacquiao/Mayweather happening at the Thomas and Mack arena is mindboggling if true. You would think that they wouldn't want what might be the major Vegas sporting event of the year somwhere which is awkward to get to from where 90% of the hotel rooms are. But hey, I'm not a genius, like Steve Wynn.


• Puck Daddy has the breakdown of when Jonatha Toews met Snooki


• I'm not sure what Chris Selley's point is with contrast and compare. The situations are nowhere close to similiar.


• Trolls on the internet: Read this and learn lessons from a master.


• And finally, I prove my immaturity by giving you this video:
  

Monday Musings - June 28, 2010

• If Robin Leach is right, the much fabled dragon show could be coming back to Excalibur! This would be a great idea to try to draw in more customers, and even if it's supposed to be incredibly lame, I welcome it!


• I agree with Michael Geist that the new copyright laws proposed in Canada for the most part are terrible. However, there are benefits, such as not having our Industry minister break copyright laws by digitizing his CD collection.


• Note to self: should somebody offer me a change to play a 7 year old heads up for rolls, make sure it's not Alexa Fisher.


• The Glee cast is a bunch of horndogs. Who knew?


• Norm! has an interesting blurb about somebody who unsuccessfully attempted to imitate Amy Winehouse to get entrance into Tao (See "NICE TRY"). It's also interesting to note who else has unsuccessfully been imitated; it's a list of people whose name you know, but you're hoping they do not know what they look like.


• Kudos to the NHL Awards voter who decided to give a Georges Laraque a vote for the Lady Byng trophy


• Attention cybersquatters: Get your GoDaddy accounts ready!


• In the wake of the latest failed Bachelor relationship, the question is asked: Why are you still watching the Bachelor?


• And finally, a computer is trained to take on humans in Jeopardy. (h/t to Grange95.):
  


• Wait, it's a bonus video, this time coming via the Drunk Jays Fans. Kathy Anderson with The Doc Halladay Song:
  

Monday Musings - June 21, 2010

• The problem with complaining about 6:5 Blackjack payouts is that there is no easy way to change the casino's mind. (For reference 6:5 Blackjack means whenever a player is dealt a blackjack, they will receive $6 for every $5 they bet. The more normal standard is $3 for every $2 bet.)
  
  As mentioned in the article, 6:5 blackjack is almost 3 times as profitable for a casino than 3:2 blackjack. That by itself is enough to ensure it's existance. Throw in an unwitting public who just wants to gamble and doesn't know what are "good" rules and what are "bad" rules, and you have a giant hill to climb. What more knowledgable players might have to do is compromise - take 3:2 blackjack while playing at a continuous shuffle machine (especially if they are looking for lower stakes); or accept dealer hitting on a soft 17. This doesn't help those advantage players, but those players are most likely to be betting at high enough levels to get all of the best rules. For everybody else, the choice is to either compromise or boycott.


• Want a box of kids' Superman pyjamas? Visit the Government's take on eBay.


• Let this be the final word on the "Dressed too Sexy" story. Please.


• Every movement needs a backlash to truly be a movement. Shut Up Foodies is the backlash to the foodie movement.


• How to tell that the real estate market was out of wack: A drug dealer gave up dealing drugs because real estate was more lucrative.


• Archie comic books will be parodying the Jersey Shore in July, just in time for the second season of Jersey Shore.


• Do yourself a favour and catch a replay of the WEC event from Sunday, if only to see the Yves Jabouin vs. Mark Hominick fight. WEC never fails to produce at least one great fight, and this might be the second best they have produced all year.


• And finally...
  

A link that deserves it's own post

What Would Tyler Durden Do? delivers a vicious verbal beating to Perez Hilton. (Site is probably NSFW).

Monday Musings - June 1, 2010

• The events that unfolded at the Ladies Event of this year's WSOP have been talked to death already. I tend to come down on the side of those who think it was terrible for the men to enter. If you wish to tear down the event and have it not exist, try petitioning Harrah's directly. Don't mock the women who are trying to enjoy themselves and did not sign up to be a part of some sort of political movement to stop poker playing men from being opressed.
  
  But I have a special douchebag award for Shaun Deeb. Initially, Deeb claimed that he entered the tournament while dressed in drag because he lost a prop bet. Then, after he busted and took some abuse for his making a mockery of the event, he claimed he was doing it to protest the event. Perhaps there was a miscommunication and Deeb made it clear he was protesting. If so, this interview with him, published 3 days prior to the ladies' event is interesting...
  

  Snoopy: What would you like to see change in the World Series?
  
  SD: There’s a lot of problems with the buy-ins. They’re too polarised. They have really small buy-ins and huge fields for the public, then the really high buy-ins for the high roller pros. There’s got to be a middle ground, because there are so many financial stages of poker player. Who cares if you only get 600 people for a $5,000? Do a lot more of them. Yes, $1,000 events are successful, but don’t have six of them every weekend. A $5,000 would do really good on a Saturday, but now it has to be on a Wednesday. They’re just focused on getting these really big fields, but it kind of hurts a lot of the professionals. Who are they really going after? I think they need more of a balance.
  
  Personally, I’ll be playing various buy-ins, including the $10,000 events. I think I fit into the category of any tournament and have an edge in almost all fields in all games, so I’ll take a shot whenever I can. I will play a lot of the mixed games this year for sure.

  
  
  You'd think if he was that concerned about the Ladies' event, he would have suggested that as an improvement when asked.
  
  Let's be honest here: Shaun Deeb thought he was being funny when he entered the Ladies' event in drag. He thought it might get him some extra attention. When he got busted for the stupidity of what he did, he tried to deflect criticism from himself to the political statements that were being made by other people. Instead of accomplishing that, his actions just revealed him to be a bigger douchebag than when he was the guy who thought it would be funny to mock the ladies' event. Now he's the guy who can't own up to his own actions.


• Free suggestion: If the Smithsonian doesn't want that Frank Sinatra memorabilia, why not put it in a Las Vegas casino? One of the highlights of Encore is Sinatra restaurant and the various pieces of memorabilia outside of the restaurant. Get the people who did the amazing We Want Miles exhibit in Montreal involved and you could have a winner of an attraction.


• Not that anybody is really interested in McCarran International's construction update, but I link to it as it is the goofiest "official" update I have seen. It is complete with bad jokes and a cartoon character by the name of "Dusty Mac".


• Aside to Boyd: You weren't the only one who's expecting to get hit by a bus at a young age


• In a twist of fate, Darth Vader is rebelling against the Empire.


• In case you didn't get the memo the first time: Don't post pictures of a felony you allegedly committed on your Facebook page.


• And finally...the BP Oil Spill reinated by cats.
  
  (h/t: David McKee)

Monday Musings - June 7, 2010

• We've all been there before. A guy writes a completely sarcastic post about Jim Joyce after the Armando Galarraga perfect game fiasco. Of course, he starts reading about Joyce's reaction afterwards and feels like a heel. Read all of his reactions, including the updates at the end.


• Woman sues, alleging she was fired for being "too sexy". So many jokes. (Also a nice way to break into modelling.)


• If it's possible to miss the mark while getting it right, the Toronto Star pulls it off. Trying to claim that MMA hasn't moved past it's "no holds barred" origins is possibly the most ignorant thing I have heard in a long time. At the same time, putting the piss to the thought process that cheerleading is more dangerous than MMA is much needed, especialy for MMA advocates to hear. If a claim is ridiculous at it's surface, you need to do better than just quoting general injury percentages. Otherwise people are just going to ignore what you are saying. The $40 million in tourism dollars claims are also suspect, and somebody needs to question them.


• Light reading for the week: Why Bad Beliefs Don't Die
  
• Tao of Stieb nails what it feels like to be a Jays fan right now, and wants everybody to kow that it's okay to feel that way.

Monday Musings - May 31, 2010

A bit different this week, a list of a few of my favourite podcasts...

• Rob Has A Podcast: Rob Cesternino, former Survivor player, and his fiancee Nicole Palmeri talk about Lost, Celebrity Apprentice and of course, Survivor. Over the summer they will also talk about Big Brother


• Five Hundy by Midnight: Tim and Michele Dressen enjoy going to Las Vegas. They also enjoy talking about Las Vegas on their podcast.


• The Strip Podcast: Also kinda Las Vegas related, Steve Friess is a freelance journalist who regularly interviews people in the entertainment industry. Not just a Las Vegas centric podcast though - it is great for anybody interested in interesting interviews.

Monday Musings - May 24, 2010

• The new Miss USA has some pole dancing videos surface. And here I was thinking the lingerie photo shoot would be the yearly scandal.


• Stephen Harper continues to attempt to make the piano rocking and cool


• Jays Stat - for when you miss the Jays game because you don't get the Sportsnet Alternate channel.


• Tip for everybody looking into cheating on their significant other: Get a different cell number


• While I'd appreciate the irony of the Perez Hilton website being run without the vermin Perez Hilton, this isn't going to happen


• Your next wacky movie


• Richard Abowitz scathingly kicks Steve Wyrick while he's down.


• Flipping a coin might not be as random as you think


• Bill Rini gives sober second thought to the theory that legalizing and regulating online poker will be smooth and easy sailing.


• The Montreal Canadiens as a beacon of the Quebec separtist movement?


• And finally, a news anchor misunderstands the term G-Shots

Monday Musings - May 17, 2010

• With the finale running yesterday, here's a Survivor quiz as asked by the cast from Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.


• Also, Jeff Probst gives love advice!


• New blog to follow Keith Beardsley, who is a former advisor to Stephen Harper, but is also a great analyst who doesn't feel the need to tow the company line, so to speak.


• Only in Canada is this news: Sidney Crosby moving out of Mario Lemieux's home


• You can count on Steve Friess to have an interesing take on Vegas related items. For example, here's his thoughts on Steve Wynn's musings about moving his headquarters to China


• Cougars vs. Sugar Daddies. I will say that Cougar Life does not imply itself to be a site where you go looking for a long-term relationship. The sugar daddies sites at least have that going for them (though a lot more creepy.)


• A great post by Chris Boyle on why there might be thoughts from Habs fans that this is like 1993. His main point can't be emphasized enough - in 1993, the Montreal Canadiens were a 100 point team who happened to be in a very strong division. (They finished third in their division.) The 2010 Habs are the worst team, pointwise, to have made the playoffs. They backed their way in and beat the two best teams in the Eastern conference, which the 1993 team did not have to do. The similarities end at the "hot goaltender" comparison.


• Bar Refaeli is not above the law


• And finally, one of the greatest two part SCTV shows...Maudlin's Eleven (h/t to David McKee):
  
  
  

Monday Musings - May 10, 2010

• James Warren is probably trying to make a point when his cynically suggests that Rod Blagojevich should follow Conrad Black's lead to the National Review, but it's not exactly obvious, and the punch line payoff at the end is very weak.


• The younger generation learns that it might not be the best of ideas to put every piece of personal information available for everybody to see. Every other generation suffers from losing 80% of their sources of humour.


• Paul Wells destroys Newsweek in the face of it being put up for sale


• In the most powerful thing I have read in a while, Steve Friess writes about his aide in having his uncle arrested. His blog post gives a bit more detail on why he didn't say anything before his article came out.