March 24, 2011
pitchfork: The naked baby on the cover of Biggie’s Ready to Die has finally revealed himself. Keithroy Yearwood is a laid-back 18 year old, and he recently talked to the Daily News about his unusual fame. This was so 3 days ago

pitchfork:

The naked baby on the cover of Biggie’s Ready to Die has finally revealed himself. Keithroy Yearwood is a laid-back 18 year old, and he recently talked to the Daily News about his unusual fame.

This was so 3 days ago

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Back at it

I stopped blogging when I got a real job.  I couldn’t get on youtube at work, so that took all the fun out of it.  Now I am going to try tweeting instead, mainly because I can do it from the toilet.  Better late than never, I suppose.  Follow me @calvealier.

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June 2, 2009
'Renegade' CliffsNotes

This week the first of what will end up being hundreds of books about Obama and the 2008 campagin will be released.  “Renegade: The Making of the President” by Richard Wolfe contains some very interesting details about the campaign.  The article linked has a few cliffnotes of the book.  My favourites include:

  • Bill Clinton was considered a loose canon
  • Obama’s adviser was reluctant to congradulate him on his election win because apparently someone did this to John Kerry.  That guy was never going to win!
  • The Obama campaign never attacked John McCain on his age but called him ‘Old Man’ in their inner circle
  • Obama beat Tiger Woods in golf on election day

Ok, the last one isn’t true.  I won’t be reading the book because much like in high school, the Cliffnotes have sufficed.

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I am a day late on this because I watched it a day late, but this video was about the only redeeming aspect of the MTV video awards (I also enjoyed the dramatic singing of various Andy Samberg tunes).  It is definitely an aspect of action movies that isn’t exploited enough (until now).

Other than a few comedic nuggets, the MTV awards are nothing but a series of promotions for awful summer movies and an opportunity to increase the profile of Twilight/High School Musical/Miley. I had no idea that MTV was for 14 year olds.  Thankfully I watched it on PVR and it took about 25 minutes to get through the whole grand production. 

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So Conan made his big debut last night in the Tonight Show.  I have always been a Conan fan and thought he did pretty well.  I guess it is easy when you have had 3 months to prepare and your guests are Will Ferrell/Pearl Jam.  Still, it was nice to watch an entire episode of Conan and not feel painfully tired the next day (or watch it on pvr). 

He had some good bits but his pre-monologue dancing was missing.  It will be very interesting to see how the ratings go.  His relationship with Letterman is vastly different than Leno’s was (as profiled here).  I hope Conan thrives but am skeptical (based on the past decade of Leno’s dominance) that his brand of intelligent humour will succeed in the long haul.  The general public is just too dumb.

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June 1, 2009
Main Page - Dickipedia - A Wiki of Dicks

Here’s another reason why the Internet is great - somebody started a site called Dickipedia and it is just like wikipedia, only it deals exclusively with people who are dicks.  I am not sure if anybody who likes can add entries (I imagine if that were the case then everyone would end up on it sooner or later), but their preliminary list, broken down by category, looks pretty good to me.

Dr. Phil, Bill O’Reilly, Perez Hilton…pretty accurate if you ask me.  Their sports list is spot on as well - Kobe, Brett Favre, the Olympics.  From Kobe’s entry:

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, a “rapper,” a “raper,” a husband, a father, and a dick.

Yes, his middle name is Bean. Also, if you were thinking that Bryant’s unique first name was a result of his parents’ diverse, multicultural interests, you would be incorrect. He is named after meat.

The Internet really is the best thing ever invented.

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Sigh. Lebron lost.  In one of the more surprising semi-lopsided series we have seen in some time, the Magic proved to be too much for Lebron and his vastly inferior teammates.  They were an awful matchup, his supporting cast barely showed up, the home crowd that gave them energy all year got nervous and Lebron ran out of juice.  Now we are stuck with a Magic-Lakers final that doesn’t even appeal to me and I love me some NBA.  Perhaps I am just dejected from losing Lebron and my tune will change come game 1, but as of now, yuck. Some commentators will say that Lebron didn’t do enough.  Others will say that it was a lack of supporting cast that did them. The reality is somewhere in the middle.  I think that the Cavs would have been whopped by the Lakers.  They are an even worse matchup than the Magic.  Lebron did some amazing things in this series but at times he lacked energy and settled for bad shots.  On the other hand, players 2-12 of the Cavs would probably be the worst 2-12 to ever win a championship (and probably are the worst 2-12 to ever win 65+ games).  Obviously they should have traded Wally’s expiring contract for something at the deadline.  Oops.  Poor Cleveland. And so it goes.  I will be cheering for the Magic, because when we lose the team we were cheering for, we cheer against the team that we hate.  The only thing in golf that makes me as happy as Tiger winning is watching Phil choke.  Here’s to hoping Kobe’s legacy takes a crushing blow at the hands of the Magic.  I don’t see it happening, but I didn’t see it happening with Lebron & Co.

Sigh. Lebron lost.  In one of the more surprising semi-lopsided series we have seen in some time, the Magic proved to be too much for Lebron and his vastly inferior teammates.  They were an awful matchup, his supporting cast barely showed up, the home crowd that gave them energy all year got nervous and Lebron ran out of juice.  Now we are stuck with a Magic-Lakers final that doesn’t even appeal to me and I love me some NBA.  Perhaps I am just dejected from losing Lebron and my tune will change come game 1, but as of now, yuck.

Some commentators will say that Lebron didn’t do enough.  Others will say that it was a lack of supporting cast that did them. The reality is somewhere in the middle.  I think that the Cavs would have been whopped by the Lakers.  They are an even worse matchup than the Magic.  Lebron did some amazing things in this series but at times he lacked energy and settled for bad shots.  On the other hand, players 2-12 of the Cavs would probably be the worst 2-12 to ever win a championship (and probably are the worst 2-12 to ever win 65+ games).  Obviously they should have traded Wally’s expiring contract for something at the deadline.  Oops.  Poor Cleveland.

And so it goes.  I will be cheering for the Magic, because when we lose the team we were cheering for, we cheer against the team that we hate.  The only thing in golf that makes me as happy as Tiger winning is watching Phil choke.  Here’s to hoping Kobe’s legacy takes a crushing blow at the hands of the Magic.  I don’t see it happening, but I didn’t see it happening with Lebron & Co.

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May 28, 2009
Do Hispanic and Latina mean the same thing? - Slate Magazine

I always wondered the difference myself.  Apparently Hispanics are people whose origins are in Spain (or countries that Spain colonized) while Latino/Latina are for people who are from Latin America. 

It is so confusing because wasn’t most of Latin America colonized by Spain?  If you are from Brazil, you could be Latino, but certainly not Hispanic.  Ditto for Guyana (then you are Dutch?). 

It really makes no sense.  Defining people by ethnicity never does.  We should just stick to calling them Spanish.  But then, what if they’re Jewish?

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If my Facebook is any indication of people’s reaction, this article in the Globe and Mail highlighting the City of Toronto’s plan to curb development on Ossignton, is quite a divisive story.  There is fear that if the area keeps developing at its current pace, real estate will become too expensive for small businesses and large clubs will dominate the strip. Personally, I think the people that run the city are morons.  As a free market supporter, I think that if people want to spend their money on developing something, that is something the government should encourage, not prevent.  While some of the fears of the city may be valid, their solution is not.  People that live in the area have experienced a substantial return on investment in their real estate.  The area is already so developed, they may as well just let it go all the way.  Then, small businesses and artsy folks will gentrify another neighbourhood, increase its value, lower its crime and improve the city.  That is how you grow and develop your city.  I guess they have never been to New York. Is it possible David Miller was born in Communist Russia?

If my Facebook is any indication of people’s reaction, this article in the Globe and Mail highlighting the City of Toronto’s plan to curb development on Ossignton, is quite a divisive story.  There is fear that if the area keeps developing at its current pace, real estate will become too expensive for small businesses and large clubs will dominate the strip.

Personally, I think the people that run the city are morons.  As a free market supporter, I think that if people want to spend their money on developing something, that is something the government should encourage, not prevent.  While some of the fears of the city may be valid, their solution is not.  People that live in the area have experienced a substantial return on investment in their real estate.  The area is already so developed, they may as well just let it go all the way.  Then, small businesses and artsy folks will gentrify another neighbourhood, increase its value, lower its crime and improve the city.  That is how you grow and develop your city.  I guess they have never been to New York.

Is it possible David Miller was born in Communist Russia?

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As far as I am concerned, the Internet can just keep making ridiculous sites that showcase photos with mean-spirited comments.  The photo above is from a gem called Hot Chicks with Douchebags.  It is a wonderful juxtaposition of something we like and something we don’t.  I can only imagine that there is an endless supply of these kinds of photos.  A quick run-through of the site leads me to believe the following characteristics are most common amongst the douchery (not that I needed to peruse the site to determine these traits): Sunglasses, usually worn indoors Excessive tattoos Steroid dudes Flashy shirts showing too much chest Graphic t-shirts Ridiculous face/hand poses Tanktops A grin that makes you want to punch the guy, right between the eyes Basically 3/4ths of the people you see at the Hard Rock pool in Vegas.  I am so glad there is no such thing as a female douchebag.  I love a good double standard.

As far as I am concerned, the Internet can just keep making ridiculous sites that showcase photos with mean-spirited comments.  The photo above is from a gem called Hot Chicks with Douchebags.  It is a wonderful juxtaposition of something we like and something we don’t.  I can only imagine that there is an endless supply of these kinds of photos. 

A quick run-through of the site leads me to believe the following characteristics are most common amongst the douchery (not that I needed to peruse the site to determine these traits):

  • Sunglasses, usually worn indoors
  • Excessive tattoos
  • Steroid dudes
  • Flashy shirts showing too much chest
  • Graphic t-shirts
  • Ridiculous face/hand poses
  • Tanktops
  • A grin that makes you want to punch the guy, right between the eyes

Basically 3/4ths of the people you see at the Hard Rock pool in Vegas.  I am so glad there is no such thing as a female douchebag.  I love a good double standard.

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