ScottMcLeod.com

I spent an enjoyable Saturday with my housemate Dan's parents, who came down to Windsor for the day. We toured the riverfront, the casino, downtown, and took a cruise along the river. I had an enjoyable time and I'd like to thank them for their generosity. The pictures from the cruise are in the Photos section.

I haven't been up to too much since then. I'm looking forward to the long weekend and a friend of ours is coming down to stay with us for the 3 days.

Links

Bush confronted with 'real' journalist - "My job is to do my job."

Sex workers look to cash in on the GOP - Interesting article on the ramifications of the impending Republican National Convention in NYC.

Command line blogger - You have to see it to believe it.

The impact of abortion - Fascinating article on the number of lost votes, due to 'Missing Voters', the Democratic party has lost since the early 70's when abortion was made legal. According to the author's math, Gore would be president right now. Definitely worth a read.

RIAA to sue car radio listeners if more than one person listens - Okay, this piece is satire but certainly humourous.

thebrushback.com - A few new headlines and stories from my favourite sports satire site:

• Bossy Jumbotron Demands Some Noise
• Clubhouse Cancer Requests Different Nickname
• Martina Navratilova Admits To Being Distracted By Opponent’s Tight Little Ass
• Daryl Strawberry Fondly Recalls Battle With Drug Addiction
• Defensive Indifference Blamed In 9/11 Attacks
• Paparazzi Stalks Diana Taurasi Just To Be Nice

This past Wednesday, June 23rd, Windsor and Detroit hosted the annual July 1st and July 4th combined fireworks show. Why they held it on Wednesday, June 23, was initially beyond me, but it's probably to try to prevent events like this, where some genious opened fire on the Detroit side and wounded 9 people, one critically. I'm just glad we were on the other (read: better) side of the river.

And this is probably why seemingly half the revellers on the Windsor side are American, if license plates provide a rough indication. The other major reason is that Windsor's riverfront has much more to do, including a carnival, beautiful parks, bike trails, and one hell of a downtown bar/club scene. The lower drinking age certainly lures over a good number of 19 and 20 year old American punks, who, by the way, can be identified solely by the way they speak, accents aside. We happened to be watching the show next to such a group of Yanks and every time during the show that the fireworks happened to be red, white, and blue, they would throw out an obligatory "Red, white, and blue!!!" or "Yeah, I'm American, baby!!!" chant. There were also a few f-bombs directed towards Canadians. Perhaps they forgot where they were for a minute? Yanks are dumb that way, or so I've heard.

The show itself was certainly the longest and most explosive fireworks show I've ever witnessed. It ran for well over half and hour and towards the end I was hoping the finale would happen soon. Upon its completion, the riverfront erupted in a mass of people trying to get the hell home so they can get to bed and sleep so they can make it to work on time the next morning since the show wasn't on a weekend or a holiday like it damn well should have been. But whatever.

And good luck to those people who were planning to go clubbing afterwards. No way you were getting in anywhere decent. It was ridiculous: "It was a total mob scene. 20,000 people and I'm stuck in between." Sound familiar, anyone? I know, I hate it, too.

My friend snapped some photos, but again they're with his crappy ass digital camera. I'll post a new gallery to the Photos section when I grab them from him.

This weekend we're going to hit up the German exhibit at Windsor's Carousel of Nations. The Greek exhibit last weekend was interesting. Not great; just interesting.

I've got a few interesting links to post, but I think I'll save them for my next entry when I'll be out of things to write about.

Happy (not so early) Canada day!

Basically, I have nothing worthwhile to post. I haven't had the motivation to post anything new since last post, but I'll post something talking about my weekend or whatever. But for now, some advice...

A Guy's Life

When I was 14, I hoped that one day I would have a girlfriend. When I was 16, I got a girlfriend, but there was no passion, so I decided I needed a passionate girl with a zest for life. In college, I dated a passionate girl, but she was too emotional. Everything was an emergency; she was a drama queen, cried all the time and threatened suicide. So I decided I needed a girl with stability. When I was 25, I found a very stable girl but she was boring. She was totally predictable and never got excited about anything. Life became so dull that I decided that I needed a girl with some excitement. When I was 28, I found an exciting girl, but I couldn't keep up with her. She rushed from one thing to another, never settling on anything. She did mad impetuous things and made me miserable as often as happy. She was great fun initially and very energetic, but directionless. So I decided to find a girl with some real ambition. When I turned 31, I found a smart ambitious girl with her feet planted firmly on the ground and married her. She was so ambitious that she divorced me and took everything I owned. I am now older and wiser, and am looking for a girl with nice tits.

Other Links

Just Fucking Google It - Next time someone asks you a question they could easily have found themselves, point them here.

Mintyass.com - Does your ass stink? Mine, too. Clean up back there with some Sphicterine™.

CNN Contradiction - I'm sure it's not the first time.

CNN's OJ Page from 1995 - Take a look at web design in its infancy with CNN.com's crappy section on the OJ trial back in 1995. It's amazing how far design has come. The crime was committed June 12, 1994 (over 10 years ago now!) and the trial lasted from January - October, 1995.

Know How Fast to Run - If you ever think you'll find yourself in a Hollywood-esque chasedown, it might prove to be a good idea to have an idea of what kinds of speeds you'll need to outrace what's chasing you.

thebrushback.com

This is an absolutely hilarious sports spoof site that features totally fabricated stories and quick headlines. The stories are all parodies, of course, but closely reflect all that is wrong in sports. And this is why I love it. The stories routinely mock players for being assholes (Are Some NBA Players Having Children out of Wedlock?), broadcasters for being too zealous in their praise (Vick Sits Heroically in Booth During Falcons' Victory), and various other issues, all revolving around the wonderful world of sports.

Here are some of my favourite headlines with links to the story (where applicable):

• National Spelling Bee Champ Not Getting Nearly As Much Pussy As He Had Hoped
• Courageous Cancer Wins Long Battle With Athlete
• Women’s Soccer Craze Sweeping Nation, Says Women’s Soccer Magazine
• Man Sheds Tears Of Joy After Completing Iron Man Triathlon Video Game
• NBA Stars Help Stamp Out Literacy With 'Reading Is Pointless' Campaign
• 2003 Sportsman Of The Year: Tetrahydrogestrinone
• Latrell Sprewell Pressured Into Trying Marijuana
• Report: Some Professional Athletes May Not Be Adequately Fellated
• Milwaukee Brewers Unveil New Slogan ‘We Still Exist’
• 14-Year-Old Soccer Phenom Proves Soccer Really Isn’t That Hard
• Expos Players Now Being Charged Admission To Their Own Games
• Gritty, Hard-Working Underdogs Lose Tenth Straight

Often the headlines themselves are funnier than the stories, but they're all worth a read. Anyone who follows sports will be sure to chuckle at a few.

Other Finds

The Scribbler - Very cool site that creates pencil-like sketches from only a simple line drawn by the user. You can change the colour, thickness, and transparency as it is performing the sketch.

Owning a .ca is not a crime - Well, the CIRA (Canadian Internet Regulation Authority) seems to think it is. They're cracking down on many sites for illegitimate use of the .ca domain.

Times Square celebrates its centennial - Embodies everything cool about NYC and represents why I want to live there someday. I've been to NYC 3 times and can't wait to get back.

This is only what I've been saying all along, ever since he made his triumphant return to competitive cycling from cancer in 1999, that Lance Armstrong took performance enhancing drugs. He is implicated in a new book which alleges he took the banned blood booster EPO, among other things.

Perhaps the most damaging evidence of Armstrong's dealings comes from a former physiotherapist with the team he was a member of for the 5 years of his incredible winning streak at the Tour. She claims to have supplied him with the drugs, driving to Spain to pick them up for him, and giving them to him in a parking lot. One of the two is lying, and Lance's wallet has $16M riding on what she's saying in the book.

Of these allegations, I think no one should be surprised. He narrowly escaped death and overcame cancer in 1998, only to win the Tour de France, the world's most grueling and competitive cycle race, the following year in 1999. Does this not sound a little suspicious, that he won it the following year? Beyond this is also his relationship with the Italian doctor, Michele Ferrari, who was banned for supplying performance enhancing drugs to cyclists on his team.

Armstrong is making millions per year on endorsements, endorsements he has received largely (totally, really) because of his inspirational story. His status as a 'hero' (a word that should never be used to describe athletes but is and always will be) is due not to just overcoming cancer but the success he has enjoyed after it. Shame.

If I'm wrong, which I hope I am, then I suppose I owe Lance an apology, which I'll be sure to deliver next time I see him...

In a sign of progressive thinking if I've ever seen one, English soccer fans (i.e. hooligans) will be permitted to smoke marijuana in an effort to tranquilize them for the monumental France-England Euro 2004 match today. I think it's incredible that the English hooligans (their official name) are so rowdy and violent that tournament, police, and government officials are allowing this.

Aside from the unrest between these two counties since, oh, the medieval period, 24 club teammates could potentially play against each other. Ooh baby...

Unfortunately I won't be able to watch this sure-to-be epic match. Rather, I'll be watching a sure-to-be epic between the Detroit Tigers and the Florida Marlins (yeah right).

My prediction: France 2 - England 0, although I'm desperately pulling for the limies.

Related Links:

Analysis of a matchup between the hooligans and French fans - "You take the hooligans' prime weaknesses--drunkenness, welfare dependency, and affinity for horses' colons--and pretend they're strengths."

Different classes of hooliganism - "In the British vernacular, hooligans are also yobs, but not all yobs are hooligans."

Not another English-French war - French captain Patrick Viera says it's gonna be a war. I guess European soccer players are just as guilty of using war analogies as American football broadcasters.

What's there to offend? Having spent a little over a month in Windsor, Ontario, located just across the Detorit River from Detroit (what!) itself, and having visited Detroit twice, I feel that I am fully qualified to comment on the city. Detroit is a piece of garbage. A midden heap. A cesspool. Much like Hoboken, NJ.

If you walk downtown Detroit, that's all you'll do: walk. Because there is absolutely nothing to see, do or check out. Half (without exagerration) the buildings appear abandoned and many have been ravaged by fires. The only pretty thing to look at is Comerica Park, home of the useless Detroit Tigers, which is where I'll be Sunday for a game if the weather's nice.

So this is why I'm questioning ABC's decision not to air a Jimmy Kimmel Live episode after he remarked, "They're going to burn the city of Detroit down if the Pistons win, and it's not worth it." Ha! He's all too right. Said ABC's local Detroit affiliate general manager: "Frankly, we were shocked." Really? She was shocked? I'm shocked that someone else hadn't said it sooner, perhaps.

In all seriousness, the attractions of Detroit are not situated downtown. There really is nothing there and this is why Windsor's economy thrives off Americans coming over to gamble, booze, and party where the women are hotter and the good times better.

In Other News:

Girl hopes to raise $1M for cancer – She’s already raised $200,000. Keep it going!

A fitting tribute to a true hero – David Hasselhoff Online

Double-Tongued Word Wrester – For all 5 of you word lovers

Godammit. I guess because The Vines can't keep their egos and tempers in check during their shows, they've pulled out of a summer tour with Incubus. Citing "mental and physical exhaustion," they're taking "a break." Me and a buddy are going to the Detroit (actually, Auburn Hills but what's the diff) stop of the tour on July 9. It's not that I'm a big fan of The Vines (in fact, I'm not really one at all) but I was looking forward to seeing an opening act I had heard of and liked the sound of.

What the fuck is wrong with celebrities? Are the money, adoring fans, publicity, and power not enough? Can't they be happy enough; no, not even happy but just satisfied, with what they have that they can keep their shit together during a show? Whatever. I won't let it ruin the show. Plus, we're going there to see my third favourite band, Incubus, trailing slightly behind the awesome A Perfect Circle and Tool, not some stupid Aussies.

So I suppose I should ease up on them. I don't know all the details. Just enough to be able to write a moderate rant online.

Your run has come to an end. But I'd like to thank you for some entertaining hockey (excluding a mostly boring game 7) and for captivating Canada during the playoffs. If it had been anyone else but you in the Finals against Tampa, I'd have been rooting for the Lightning. Alas, Canadians, and not just the hockey fans, are disappointed yet again.

Most of the coverage today is touching upon Andreychuk's first Cup in 22 seasons, T Bay's first Cup win, and Calgary's unanticipated run. Each of these stories also ponder if last night's game was the last (NHL) hockey we'll be seeing for awhile, due to the pending lockout. The players and owners better get their issues resolved because hockey isn't doing all that well in the ratings this season. In fact, the Stanley Cup ratings are the lowest they've been since 1998. Not a promising sign for a league on the verge of a potential year-long work stoppage. A league that is already struggling to attract viewers in the States.

Finally we were graced with some beuatiful weather for a stretch of longer than a few hours. The weather was perfect all weekend and I was able to take advantage.

The drive down (up?) from Windsor to Waterloo was probably the most stressful drive I've ever been on in my life. Why? My goddamn 1996 Dodge Neon. Piece of crap. A recurring problem I've had since last August (the weekend of the Great Northeastern Blackout) is that the car violently shudders or jerks when it reaches slightly above 90km/h. Well, you can imagine having to endure a 4 hour drive along the 401 in sweltering heat dealing with Friday escape traffic coasting along at a paltry 90km/h when everyone else is whipping past at 120km. It was not fun.

But we arrived. I dropped Dan off and headed home for the first time in over a month. Being away from Waterloo and living in the armpit of Ontario known as Windsor, I had forgotten just how lush and expansive the front lawns of the homes here in Waterloo are. The streets are in much better shape here, also. It was nice to be home and enjoy some good food again.

Saturday I got some sun, read a lot, played some tennis with my pops and hit some golf balls at the range. Then it was party time 1980s style for Dan's sister, Christie's, stag and doe. Good times were had by all. And Calgary lost game 6 so I didn't feel bad about missing the game. Game 7 goes Monday night, by the way.

It was a fun night and was good to see a few friends I hadn't seen in quite awhile. A few tentative plans were made to visit each other, which would be a'right.

Sunday I spent relaxing before working out and swimming some laps at my university's pool. I am in nowhere near the shape I was in when I was 10 years old and swam 4km of open water swimming in Bermuda's Around the Sound Swim. I have a newfound respect for the kind of shape I was in back then. But I'll get back into it hopefully.

After swapping cars with my parents for the week, we had a stress-free drive back to the slum known as Windsor. I tried to get to bed early but was woken by some shouting from somewhere nearby on our street and frantic yells for someone to call 911. I'll have to see what happened later today. Ahh, it's good to be back.

I'll be heading home for the first time this summer. Dan's sister is getting married in the Fall and she and her fiance are having a stag and doe on Saturday, June 5. I'm looking forward to relaxing at home tonight and then partying tomorrow night at the stag with a couple good friends I haven't seen in awhile.

Calgary, baby! One game away, and hopefully they can close her out at home. Give the Sea of Red something to remember. On account of losing our free cable signal sometime two weeks ago, we went out to Peppers, our local Morty's, to watch the game last night. $2.50 domestic pints on Thursdays, free peanuts, $4.50 burgers, and attractive servers. Not too bad. Then at about 10:00 or so the 'kids' come in and the place turns into a club. It's a different experience trying to watch the hockey game through a crowd of 20ish year old hotties grinding with each other on the dance floor. And this was all after a lift and then a swim and sauna at the Y. It was a good night.

So that's about it for now. I'll throw up a post on Sunday or so detailing how the weekend went, because I know all 0 of you are following along with rapt attention!

Troy

If not for Gladiator and then The Lord of the Rings, I would have appreciated this movie much more. Instead, the enormous special effect armies of Sparta and the Greeks didn't seem quite so incredible as they would have perhaps 5 years ago. Nevertheless, the movie was still entertaining and had a cast with enough beautiful people to look at when the plot dulled.

Brad Pitt's character was a little too introspective and just goddamn questioning for a humourless warrior in my opinion (and Roger Ebert's). Eric Bana as Hector was very good, and Orlando Bloom as Paris was annoying. Peter O'Toole as the Spartan King brought a bit of class but also a bit of plaque (his teeth are horrible...British). But it was worth the $4.25 for a Tuesday show.

The Day After Tomorrow

My good bud Ebert also recommended this one despite a ridiculous storyline, citing the special effects alone as reason enough to watch it. I'll admit I didn't really notice these inconsistencies at all as I was watched it, although there were a few lines that were cheasy enough to make me laugh aloud. However, the incredible special effects are certainly reason enough to pay the money (again, only $4.25).

On a less superficial level, the movie did make me consider the consequences of global warming (which somehow results in a global freeze). At the beginning of the movie, the weather was extremely funky, much like it has been here in Windsor for the past month. I couldn't help but think that in some small way the effects of human induced global warming have reached a point of no return. But then the sky has been pretty clear the past few days so what the hell do I know?

In five words or less:

Both worth the $4.25