A Very Addictive Game
Just try to walk in a straight line and you'll be just fine. Move your mouse in the opposite direction that he's leaning to compensate. Have fun.
George Bush's "Speechalist"
One of the best short videos of 2004!
I Can't Keep Up
Here are just a few:
- The animated "Pulp Fiction" (the sound sucks, but if you know the lines, it's funny)
- Terrifying ski masks from the 1960's.
- Meat-scented air fresheners for your car.
- People eat this stuff?
- Yummy, yummy, I got bugs in my tummy! (people eat this stuff? - part 2)
- Crazy Asian drinks.
Thanks to BoingBoing for the above links.
Here are a few from All Things Christie:
- Akiane (This is unbelievable!)
- It's a Burger King holiday!
- The Beastles are awesome! I already burned my copy.
- The Cheerleader Toss.
- Fatboy Slim: The Kitten Joker
- Power Solo: Oak Tree Girl (the video). I think I'll get this CD.
- The Chin Carolers. Try this site out.
- Foosball Acrobatics.
- The greatest dodgeball game ever!
- Challenge yourself with this shooting game.
- Obi Wan goes car shopping. This is a going to be a classic!
- Lick n' Bowl (I played this game for quite some time. Very addictive.)
- This proves that Santa is evil!
- The one and only "Capt. Picard Song"
A Smattering Of Silly Things
Everyone needs a subservient stickman.
Road signs that should be a lot more common.
A pretty cool college prank.
Thanks to "All Things Christie" for finding these.
A New Movie About George Dubya
George Bush's New Advisers
George Dubya and Bill Cosby discuss how to handle Iraq's interim leader. This is priceless!
Dubya then goes on to seek advice from Gary Busey. Beware the evil ferrets.
More Videos.....
Anna Nicole Smith drunk, stoned or both on the American Music Awards show (I love watching "stars" crash and burn).
Ever painted with a mop? This is a pretty pretty cool video clip.
A bunch of knobs and a video camera. It's so stupid it's actually kinda funny in parts.
Some crazy ass yo-yo's.
This extremely odd clip left me speechless. A short film about crazy German dwarves by Werner Herzog.
A couple of dough-heads turn their old Toyota Camry into a remote controlled car!
This guy plays the piano with his balls!
The truth is out there and I found it.
Some People Have Too Much Time On their Hands
Here's a cool time lapse video.
This Yoda Clock has to be the funniest and most useless thing ever devised for the internet. I like it.
The website for musician Billy Harvey is the most brilliant website I have ever seen. make sure you let it run and hear all he has to say, then click on different things like the masking tape to navigate through the site as well as the menu on the left side. Amazing site! He sings his songs for you as well. I love it! Wow!!
The internet is a very silly place
I found some pretty amusing stuff on "The Adventures of Accordian Guy in the 21st Century", "All Things Christie" and some other one that I lost the link for. Oh well.
They're great sites, so visit them often if you can.
Here are just a few examples:
- The " video of this dumb guy, his '69 Mustang and a shovel".
- A Tale of Dedication and True Friendship....
- The moon landing like you've never seen it before.
- Finally! Government signs that have been interpreted so we can all understand. A crash course in terrorism safety.
- This is an amazing dog!
- Be very careful of what you do!
- This is just plain odd.
- Busy beavers.
- Some things aren't meant to make sense I guess.
- A Batman movie made with nothing more than Lego blocks. Brilliant stuff.
- As a photographer, I find this amazing. That's a lot of stencils and spraypainting.
-Bushrag camouflage systems (probably on every redneck Christmas list this year).
Bear Guzzles 36 Beers, Passes Out At Campground
The hard-drinking bear, estimated to be about two years old, broke into campers' coolers and, using his claws and teeth to open the cans, swilled down the suds.
It turns out the bear was a bit of a beer sophisticate. He tried a mass-market Busch beer, but switched to Rainier Beer, a local ale, and stuck with it for his drinking binge.
Wildlife agents chased the bear away, but it returned the next day, said Broxson.
They set a trap using as bait some doughnuts, honey and two cans of Rainier Beer. It worked, and the bear was captured for relocation.
Don't You Just Love American Foreign Policy?
Proposed Dutch law would ban unsolicited toe-licking
A police spokesman said Friday a man had been detained after women sunning themselves in Rotterdam's parks and beaches claimed he had snuck up on them and begun to lick their toes.
Dutch press reports said the man, who is about 35, had been licking the toes of strangers for about three years but was only recently caught by police.
This morning, my wife and I attended a D-Day ceremony in our city. There were about a dozen or so veterans there who took part in the invasion of Europe on June 6th, 1944.
I was pretty disappointed to see that most of the people that showed up to watch it were mainly family members of the veterans. 90% of the people today don't know what D-Day is or they just don't give a damn. It's very sad. We owe everything we take for granted in our lives to these men and women that served under our Canadian flag.
Unlike the other nations of the Allied army, ALL of Canada's soldiers during the war were volunteers! We didn't have a draft system and didn't need one. The dedication of these guys willing to give up their lives, careers and home life to assist people of other countries across the ocean amazes me to no end. They are true heros.
One man I spoke with after the ceremony had told us about a few of his experiences overseas. He was part of the invasion force that had invaded France on D-Day. He fought from the beaches of France straight through to Germany the following year. He said he "had seen more front-line action than just about anybody".
When he was fighting in France, he was part of the force that tried to close the "Falaise Gap" (a corridor that the Germans used to retreat through when they left France. Many thousands of German soldiers were captured, but the bulk of their army made it through to fight another day). He had entered a house to find two German soldiers filling their canteens with French wine. He had surprised them so much that they had dropped their guns and spilled all the wine they were stealing onto the floor. They surrendered immediatley to him.
He had also experienced some very terrifying moments as well. One day in Holland during Operation "Market Garden", a German shell landed right in front of him. It had knocked him down and winded him. He was lucky because it had killed both men on either side of him. He suffered no injuries.
Another time in France, he had collected money from captured Germans who had stolen it from the French people. He kept the money in his paybook in his back pocket (he said the wad of money was about 4 or 5 inches thick). His commanding officer instructed them to give the money to the French kids in the town, but before doing so, he was hit with a piece of shrapnel. It tore through the paybook with the wad of money and slowed it down enough so that he only recieved a small cut and a bruise. If it wasn't for that money, he said he would have suffered a pretty serious wound or even killed.
Another time he wasn't so lucky, he caught a small piece of shrapnel that went though his bottom lip and broke two of his teeth. The scars are still visible today. He told us he had been wounded a couple of other times, but each time he had made it back to his unit and continued on.
It was a great experience and an honour to meet these men and share some of their stories. It's sad to know that most of the personal experiences these guys had will be lost forever when they leave us for good.
Tomorrow (June 6th, 2004) will be the 60th anniversary of D-Day. It was the beginning of the liberation of Nazi controlled Europe.
Just after midnight on June 6th, 1944, Allied planes had dropped approximately 20,000 paratroopers (the US 101st Airborne, 82nd Airborne and British 6th Airborne divisions behind enemy lines to assist with defending the beaches of Normandy as the invasion began later that morning. They also captured key bridges and roads that would be crucial for the re-supplying of the troops in the following days and weeks of the operation.
At 6:30 am, more than 150,000 soldiers aboard 7,000 ships attacked the French coast while 11,000 planes assisted from above. It was the largest invasion force in history. Operation Overlord as the invasion was called, lasted about 80 days and cost the Allies over 10,000 casualties on just the first day alone (D-Day).
If you have a chance, go attend the many ceremonies that will be taking place all over the world tomorrow and make sure to thank a veteran for the sacrifices they made. We owe everything we have to these people.
Note: The helmet pictured above was found near Wiltz, Luxembourg. It belonged to an American soldier who took part in the "Battle of the Bulge". The battle was the last major offensive by the German army before they were pushed back into their own country and were defeated. Many of the American soldiers (maybe even the one who wore this helmet) took part in D-Day and fought all the way through to Germany more than 8 months later.
The helmet is a part of my collection.
Moore Speaks Out On CNN
Michael was interviewed on CNN about the decision by Disney to block his film so that Americans will not be able to see it.
"On Monday of this week we got final word from Disney that they will not distribute the film. They told my agent they did not want to upset the Bush family, particularly Gov. Bush of Florida because Disney was up for a number of tax incentives, abatements ... whatever. The risk of losing this -- we're talking about tens of millions of dollars -- they didn't want to risk it over a little documentary."
"So Disney signed a contract to distribute this, they got cold feet, they're afraid. Yes, the Bushes will not like this movie ... they will really not like this movie. Because we're going to show things like they haven't seen before about the Bush family, about the war in Iraq and a number of other things."
"The good news is that internationally we already have distributors in much of the world. So it will be seen outside of America for sure some time this year. But I hope it doesn't happen where an American film maker makes a film about America and it can't be seen in America. "
I'm hoping we'll get to see it here in Canada, but I'm sure our distributing rights are held by Disney as well. I've always hated Disney. I hate the blatant propaganda they spew out and force down kids throats. It's sickening.
My wife's a teacher and she does not have a single Disney produced book in her class. We also don't give Disney products to our niece or nephew.
I'm sure that Walt would never have stood for anything like this. Ever since he died, the Disney company has left behind everything that he did right. It's all about control, politics and endless money-making. It's not about kids at all anymore. I'm sure Walt is rolling in his grave today.
Disney Has Blocked the Distribution of My New Film... By Michael Moore
This is a disturbing bit of news that I found on Michael's website tonight:
"Yesterday I was told that Disney, the studio that owns Miramax, has officially decided to prohibit our producer, Miramax, from distributing my new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." The reason? According to today's (May 5) New York Times, it might "endanger" millions of dollars of tax breaks Disney receives from the state of Florida because the film will "anger" the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. The story is on page one of the Times and you can read it here (Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush).
There is much more to tell, but right now I am in the lab working on the print to take to the Cannes Film Festival next week (we have been chosen as one of the 18 films in competition). I will tell you this: Some people may be afraid of this movie because of what it will show. But there's nothing they can do about it now because it's done, it's awesome, and if I have anything to say about it, you'll see it this summer -- because, after all, it is a free country."
I hope this movie makes it out this summer or fall, because it will become a major weapon in the fight to send Bush back to his ranch in Texas (where he spends most of his time anyway). This movie should be successful in bringing out people who wouldn't normally vote and to swing the vote in the Democrat's favour.
NORAD Dispatches Fighter Escort For Air Canada Flight
It is pretty rare for NORAD to do this here in Canada (more common in the US, where they are a lot more paranoid), but I guess they felt there was a significant enough threat to warrant such an action. As I watched the story in this evening's CBC news show and read it on their site, I could see in my mind what the scene must have been like 600 feet underground under Trout Lake in the city of North Bay. While I was there I was shown the procedures if this very thing unfolded in the sky anywhere over Canada. I saw the radar monitors at work that monitored every flying object in the sky and also the people who had to identify who/what it is and determine if it is a threat or not. We spoke with the personnel in the complex that are responsible for sending out the fighters to intercept any threats to our security. He showed me his monitoring equipment and I watched as he went about his duties. It isn't hard to imagine what was going on in there a few hours ago. Hearing about this rare occurrence so close to the day that I was there has definitely made my once-in-a-lifetime experience even more memorable.
I Visited The NORAD Military Complex Today
NORAD is the "North American Aerospace Defense Command". It manages the security of airspace in North America. Two underground operations centers were set up, the main one inside Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado and an alternate at North Bay, Ontario (North Bay is where I was today). It was built in 1957 and was responsible for detecting the presence of enemy fighters (Soviet) as well as incoming nuclear missiles during the Cold War. The threat is still there (although Americans love to boast that they "won" the Cold War for some silly reason) as there are still thousands of nuclear missiles pointed at each other from the USA and Russia. It now also monitors all private and commercial flights very closely since the September 11th attacks.
To get down into the complex, we took a bus underground that entered what looked like a huge culvert. This took us 3 kilometres into the earth at a 6% grade. The NORAD complex is 600 feet below the surface (there is a lake above it that is 300 feet deep and the building is 300 feet below the bottom of the lake). We pulled into a large open area at the end of the tunnel and exited the bus. I entered the building through a door that was probably the biggest I've ever seen. It was about 10 or 12 feet high and about 3 or 4 feet thick. It was solid iron and weighed about 2 tons. It is so perfectly balanced that you could easily close it with one hand and no effort. It serves as a blast door in case of a nuclear attack. The facility has a staff of about 120 people (3 shifts of 40). If there was an attack, the complex has enough fresh water, food, fuel, etc. for a stay of up to 60 days. There is an underground resevoir next to the complex that holds 5 million gallons of water needed for daily use, firefighting, etc.
The first part of the place we saw was the operations centre. Before we entered, the man showing us around used a phone to let them know we were here. They told us to wait for a few minutes while any classified materials and sensitive equipment was hidden from view (this was done with curtains pulled across one part of the operations centre. When we entered, it was a darkened room with many banks of radar monitors and computers. There were several people at work. We were shown the radar monitors. It showed all of the planes flying in Canadian airspace. It was pretty amazing to see how many planes are flying in the sky at one time. If you took the cursor and placed it on one of the radars blips, the info for the plane is shown (example: British Airways flying at 28,000 feet going 350 miles an hour, direction it's heading, plus a lot of other info I had no clue about). Each flight has it's own unique code that is transmitted. If the military personnel responsible for identifying each object in the sky could not tell what it is (friend or foe) in a 2 minute time span, then the military must dispatch fighter planes to intercept that object after the 2 minutes are up. A possible scenario would be a highjacking (erratic or wrong flight path would trigger alarms) or drug smugglers flying an unmarked plane with no flight plan or transmitted code (the RCMP would be notified of possible drug smuggling). They can also tell the exact area a plane has crashed and would send out a rescue team immediately with the co-ordinates. The personnel that operates the radar monitors work an hour on and an hour off throughout the shift. I would imagine it gets pretty hard on the eyes.
The radar monitoring equipment here is way out of date (early 1980's technology) but seems to be effective nonetheless. It was impressive to watch these people at work securing the airspace of North America. I was told about instances during the Cold War where Soviet fighter planes would fly along the edges of our airspace in the Arctic and elsewhere, close enough to trigger alarms trying to test our reactions and response times. That must have been very tense.
NORAD is currently building a new above ground complex on the same base that will be operational next summer. The main reason for switching is cost (I was told that the daily cost of running the place has been rumoured to be anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 per day, but no one really knows for sure). Also, all of the communication lines are above ground, so if there was a major attack here, the complex would be blind and useless anyway, so why not have it above ground.
I also viewed the monitoring center for the radar stations themselves. They are unmanned and scattered all over the Arctic (known as the "DEW Line": Distant Early Warning). These people have a huge wall-size computer monitor that can view the status of any of the radar stations. They can tell if there has been any unauthorized entry, fire or malfunction. They even have cameras they can see through in real time via satellite to monitor the outside area of each radar station. In one I saw huge snowbanks piled up against one of the buildings and a helicopter parked near it where they were obviously up there doing repairs. I think this particular one was near Baffin Island. They even showed me pictures they took of polar bears that had wondered into camera view. Amazing!
The tour lasted about 3.5 hours and we saw the entire place (except for the command centre for obvious reasons). We viewed the area where all of the climate control systems were and were given an explanation of how it worked as well as other equipment that has helped to keep the place up and running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for over 40 years now. No one seems to know what use the place will have (if any) after the relocation next year.
I would have to say that this was one of the most interesting tours I've ever been on. It was fascinating to see a real life military installation at work. Especially one with such a high profile as NORAD.
Timothy Has Died
Timothy The Tortoise, approximately 160, was a British navy mascot that in 1854 witnessed the bombing of Sevastopol (a Russian port city) during the Crimean War aboard the "HMS Queen" and later served in the East Indies and China.
He then stayed aboard a succession of naval vessels until given a life ashore in 1892 and was looked after by the members of the Courtenay family ever since. During his stay in England, Timothy showed a keen instinct for survival, even digging his own air raid shelter under a set of terrace steps during World War II after feeling the vibrations of bombs in Exeter.
In recent years, he wore a tag reading: "My name is Timothy. I am very old - please do not pick me up."
This year he emerged from hibernation as usual in February, but was suffering from colds and had developed breathing difficulties. Lady Devon said he would be very much missed. She said: "He could recognise people's voices and would respond to you. "You could call him, and he would come and say hello and have a strawberry."
Timothy will be buried with full honours on the castle grounds.
Timothy's Timeline:
- Found Aged 10 (1854) Paddington station opens
- Aged 26 (1870) First postcard sent
- Aged 46 (1890) Electric underground railway opens
- Aged 60 (1904) Peter Pan premieres
- Aged 67 (1911) King George V coronation
- Aged 77 (1921) British Legion formed
- Aged 96 (1940) Food rationing introduced
- Aged 156 (2000) New millennium celebrated
Sites about Timothy:
BBC News Announcement
Timothy's Home
George Bush The Boring
I love these kinds of stories about Bush. Someone get this kid a job with John Kerry's campaign!
Long Live "The Trailer Park Boys"
Season four of "The Trailer Park Boys" begins on April 11th on the "Showcase" network here in Canada. On April 15th in the USA, it will be on the "BBC America" network. I believe they will be starting with season one.
If you've never seen this show, make sure you tune in. It's the best show I've seen in years. The first two seasons are now out on DVD.
The official website of the series is HERE.
The CBC has a great article about the series HERE.
The website for the show on BBC America is HERE.
There are 3,419 songs with "love" in the title, according to Lyrics Planet.
There are 124 songs with "work" in the title.
......and I have nothing else to say today.
Good Luck In The Playoffs Mark!
My cousin Mark is the assistant coach for the Dallas Stars of the NHL. I hope they do well in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs that are about to start in a week's time......unless of course they face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the finals. With me, the Leafs always come first! (sorry Mark)
Mark played professional hockey for 16 years and won the Stanley Cup in 1990 while playing for the Edmonton Oilers. He scored a HUGE overtime goal against Winnipeg in their run for the cup (I always enjoy going down to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto to see the family name engraved on the Stanley Cup....thanks for that Mark!).
I have the front page of the Edmonton Sun framed and on my office wall showing Mark celebrating his OT goal with Mark Messier behind the Jets' net. Jarri Kurri passed the puck to him and he went in alone on the net and scored on a backhand. I'll never forget it!
To find out more about Mark's playing and coaching career in the NHL, visit Mark's Dallas Stars bio page.
My First Try At Photo-Journalism A Success!
The Toronto Sun (a major Canadian newspaper) ran my photo of the bus crash in today's Saturday Sun. I think I did pretty well, considering that this was my first attempt at photo-journalism. It's a nice big photo too. It takes up about a third of the whole page. Click HERE to see it.
My First Attempts At Photo-Journalism
There was a pretty wild bus crash today here in the city where I live. It smashed into a building in the downtown area. To see the photos I took, click HERE.
My Favorite Spam
One of my favorite spam email messages that I get on a regular basis has to be this one:
The subject line says: "Our church will ordain anyone who asks"
The body of the email: "Become a legally ordained minister within 48 hours
As a minister, you will be authorized to perform the rites and ceremonies of the church.
You can perform weddings, funerals, perform baptisms, and visit correctional facilities.
Want to start your own church? Press here to find out how "
Who could resist such an offer! Doing funerals and visiting correctional facilities? Where do I sign up!?!
Don't You Just Love A Blue Sky?
Although it was cold out for this time of year (-5 C), the sky looked like it could be from a nice warm summer day.
Words
I find it doesn't always work, but it is interesting.
You Gotta Love Bill Murray
(It's a 3 minute clip, so it might take certain people some time to download)
Funny TV Commercials
The funniest (root)beer commercial lately. Click HERE for the commercial.
I Hate This Time Of Year
This is the part of the year I hate the most. It's rainy, cold, snowing sometimes, and the snow on the ground is slushy and dirty. There is very little around here that is interesting enough to photograph. Everything is bland and seems to lack colour. It's a depressing sight.
Hurry up, warm spring days!
About Me
My name's Kevin.
I live in Canada.
I have many interests, most of them deal with history and wildlife. I love to photograph nature and I love to collect historical items. You will find most of my everyday posting here (dealing with Canada, nature, photography, history, etc., along with the everyday goings on in my life.)
Feel free to leave a comment (there is a link for them after each posting). I also have a few other sites which you can find below on this menu.
Going Crazy.... (Wendy)
The Eyeranian
