Sunday, October 31, 2010

Fright Blog





Snuck away from work for a few hours on Devils night, and while I did not find Eric Draven uttering the words "It can't rain all the time"
 I found myself joining fellow classmate Veronica Neufeld as she led a spirited tour of historic Winnipeg landmarks in the heart of our city haunted by lost souls.


 Started off at the Walker Theatre which was opened in December 1906 but construction wasn't completed till 1907 The theatre was named after owner Corliss Powers Walker who added it to his string of South Dakota Theatres.

This theatre is full of great history and eerie tales that you will not get from me here, but I will say if you are moved by movies such as Ghost and Titanic you'll want to get your self on this tour to find out more.



Next stop was the Marlborough Hotel, the hotel that opened it's doors on the eve of the first World War in 1914 and was originally called the Olympia. The ghosts here did not wear sheets, perhaps just waiting for them to dry as one lingeurs around the laundry room in a white dress from time to time while another will not only send shivers up your spine but tickles the ivories. 





The Masonic Temple built by Masons in 1900 has been known to have strange rituals there and findings in the wall. While some places have dine
and dashers, the old Mother Tucker's has been known to have dine and vanishers.



 The Kings Head Pub, once the location of a German newspaper is not only place where friends come together to drink spirits, but where friendly spirits have also been known to linguer.
Great eerie tales and history available on the Winnipeg Ghost Tour which I thoroughly enjoyed, it made me me want to get more in touch with the paranormal.  
  Pantages Playhouse Theatre was one of my favorite stops on the tour, it was named after Alexander Pantages. As a young boy from Greece, he fled to America and found himself involved in many things to finally end up involved in Vaudville which is what the Pantages Theatre was primarily used for when it first opened. Both this theatre and the Manitoba Theatre Centre has interesting history and ghost tales. I urge all Winnipeggers to go on this tour, it is very cool and informative.

Led by facinating tour guides it is something you will most definitely want to check out, if not this Halloween then next.

Beware of the chills, the footsteps, the howling, and disembodied eyes floating in the dark.



Thursday, October 28, 2010

Play it again Sam, For old times sake



In a fight for safer streets, Winnipeggers decided to go for the ease of a familiar tune.


On Wednesday night at the downtown Radisson Hotel, morale was sky high on the eleventh floor. The anticipation built, to see if a third term was the charm for Sam Katz. The number of votes between incumbent Sam Katz and opponent Judy Wasylycia-Leis were neck and neck for a while, but at the final count according to Winnipeg polls Sam Katz remains the head of our city with a total of 116,308 votes to Wasylycia-Leis’ 90,913, while Brad Gross sat in third at 3,393 and Rav Gill in last place with 1,175 votes.
 The lights dimmed, and the cheering of proud Katz supporters echoed throughout the packed room; it had the feel of an intimate rock concert.  The song “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III bellowed from the speakers, a fitting anthem as Winnipeg’s third time champ as mayor was led by an entourage of  firefighters, to the podium. 

He came out in a robe, punching and kicked a few soccer balls while kids were taken out of harms way.
Ok, so there were was no kids or soccer balls, or Mr. T for that matter saying I pity the fools that lost, but it definitely might have added to it.


 It was however a proud moment for Sam, friends and family and they all got their kicks from it.
The eye of Winnipeg’s tiger had a tear in it, as he addressed his supporters and city.
“Thank-you to all-I guess all Winnipeggers who voted today, so we could keep doing what we do to move Winnipeg forward.”
Mike Sutherland, president of the Winnipeg Police Association is excited about what moving Winnipeg forward will mean, with Katz being re-elected.
“The mayor has always been a strong supporter of police and our fight against crime and the battles we wage on the front lines,” says Sutherland. “By bolstering our strength with the specific and definitive promise of 58 new officers, 19 dispatch personnel and a helicopter on line, as well as cadets we are poised to make a significant dent in our crime rate and change the perception. My members are excited to get out there turn things around.”
Excitement was thick in the air, clapping, and chants of the name Sam filled the room. The mayor squeezes both of his daughters’ hands and assures them that their daddy will be home in the morning, while assuring his supporters that Winnipeg is on its way to becoming a safer and stronger city.
“Overall I think the public liked what yours truly and council have been doing, and want us to continue it, says Katz, regarding his re-election. “Next week Winnipeg will be announced as the best city to invest in and that took us a long time to get there.” Katz will be sworn in, Tuesday.
Rainbow confetti rained from the ceiling, and music played and Katz would continue his reign as mayor; it was truly a celebration.
“I think it’s great that Sam got back in,” says Gord Gage, who is in internet media advertising. “It’s good for the safety, business, and growth of Winnipeg.”  

The concensus of Winnipeg acted as Bogey to say: "Play it again Sam, For old times sake"
 (mayor that is)



  

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Social Network

 May contain spoilers:

A social night out that I have not had in a while with new friends that I did not meet on facebook but actually in person.
Some may be thinking how will this pertain to the consistent theme I normally have in Fight Blog.

For starters.
DAVID FINCHER
Director of FIGHT CLUB
Director of THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Facebook was spawn from heartbreak....as many things are; such as Maroon 5's Songs about Jane and the only ear to ever be sent in the mail courtesy of Van Gogh.
Zuckerberg never wrote any songs, or sent an ear but he did write an eyeful on his blog and than got an earful for it later.
In fighting off his heartbreak he had a breaking new idea; FACEBOOK



Seems reasonable, push away a close friend, then find a way to invite new estranged ones in to your life.

Would I say that Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed in a positive light?
I would say he was portrayed as human, as we all just are, with actons often driven by jealousy and insecurity and acceptance and power.
He pushed away a girl he really liked, in a bit of a negative  way, but he channeled losing her into a positive enterprise, in which I believe he just got caught in the undertow of.



I must say, if I have learnt anything, it is that if I cant find LOKE (A combination of love and like; I don't want to set the bar too high) than I better find my way to some innovation and make some money.

Money may not buy love, but it can buy your way out of a hefty lawsuit after you fuck your friends over, and remember your status is single so who else are you gonna screw.

The fight to be cool: the beginning essence of FACEBOOK how true that is in heartbreak, you must show the one who broke your heart you are cool, ZEN even, that you don't care.
You must be cool in order to attract new hearts, but if you invest too much into being cool, you lose your essence.

The fight to rise above the silver spoon fed, especially when you have better recipes for success, but are forced to eat with plastic cafeteria sporks. Zuckerberg did this but had to eat some crow for it later, but with proper silverware.



The fight to be accepted by old friends and new ones, when you succeed at this, it is one more uppercut in the face of loneliness.

So at the end of the day with his billion in the bank, maybe Zuckerberg got in his share of uppercuts.

Did I like the movie?
I did.
Fincher is a brilliant director, and in my opinion if you are a fan of his movies such as Fight Club you can tell his trade marks and fingerprints were all over the Social Network.

This is just one man's opinion but I expect the film was positive for the webite. It gave life, character, heart, and a humanism to Zuckerberg that I believe we can all relate to, even if we care not to.
I actually appreciate the site even more now, knowing it was the lost affection of a woman that catapulted it.

That might just be the hopless romantic in me speaking, but you have to appreciate someone who takes a relationship gone a wry from poor social couth and allow heartbreak, anger, and innovation to spiral it into a social phenomenom.






In the PR Post called Zuckerberg, Hearst and Hollywood: Zuckerberg kind of blows the whole movie off.

I actually appreciate that and I think a wider audience would too. It shows that he doesn't take himself too seriously. I noticed nothing was mentioned about the girl in the movie, maybe an oversight, maybe an omission, maybe she was fiction.


As a guy I stand by, that many great things can be fueled by the affection for, or the loss of a girl.
I choose to believe this is no exception.


For my fight blog fans:
Remember sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken.


But if I am wrong, then another RULE OF FIGHT BLOG is;  You must not eat another chicken it is cruel to chickens and bad for business.

Stop fighting the urge!
Get up from your computer!
Go outside and get social!

FACE to FACE.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Fantastic Five & The Fight To Take Out the Trash (Continued)

It's A Rip....
It's A Tear..........

It's Buyer Beware.....

The last time we left our heroes, they were up against the Trash Bag Gang....
 
 

The Eco Duo/The Rona Boys: A father and son team:
Eco- Biodegradable, the son, was a child of and for the earth, he was a hippie. But being new to scene he would cave under pressure, so dad, Eco Recycled carried the weight of the team, word on the street was he could bench press 80 lbs. Junior handled the small backyard jobs like rustling up and bagging leaves.


Old School: Husky didn't believe in going green, he just was and was beginning to go soft in the seams.
He was all trash talk, he would cave under pressure, the sight of twigs would tear him up and he had a fear of water.  It was time to get this guy off the street, his cred has been all talk and no show.






The Pretty Boy: Glad Force Flex: GFF was the gang "G" he had the diamond weave bling and was known to stretch the truth with how much weight he held in the community. He wasn't much of a force to be reckoned with, but at the end of the day he was flexible. You could stick with him for a companion in yard clean up but don't expect him to branch out from that, because helping to make your yard prettier is all this lightweight pretty boy is good for.


The Ladies Man/ Great Value: Popular with the housewives and quite the charmer with the pocketbook. But just as one shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, one shouldn't judge a bag by it's box. All in all GV is tougher than some in the gang no doubt about it, but he's on tough on the earth, where as Eco Recycled is tough on trash and easy on the earth.

RIP!
TEAR!
                  SEEP!

After putting the pressure on this band of bags...
The Fantastic Five  continued to rid consumers of their blues and continued their fight to get on the news.

Weight, Wood, and Water... Oh My! 

It was Fantastic Five VS Plastic Five and after rips, tears, and seeps...only one bag reined supreme... Eco-Recycled


It carried it's weight, and didn't bottom out under the pressure.


This is the bag that the heroes use as we continue to save consumers from their bad shopping habits, save the backlanes from wandering trash, and continue our fight to save the earth.


Fantastic Five is:
-The Hostess with The Mostess aka Michelle.... she lured the gang to her own turf.
 -The Eye aka Sharon.... she caught every one of their tricks on film and called all their bluffs.
- Miss Detail aka Brea.... an amazing attention to detail, down to the letter, there was no trash talk being done with out her stamp of approval.
-The Paper Boys aka Chadd and Dave....it was Paper VS Plastic, in the fight of weights and water and only Eco Recycled was up for the challenge and down for the earth.

With this bag now on our team, We continue to fight as the 
Super Six!

Be sure to click on the link below to watch our heroes race to the finish in plastic and biodegradable trash bags.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhJEdfHTLU4&feature=player_embedded

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Sam VS Judy (The Mayoral Debate)









Some great fights happen in Vegas, some in Madison Square Garden, and some in the cafeteria at the downtown campus of Red River College.
Sam Vs Judy


The announcer enters the ring: "Another shooting happened last night in Windsor Park, as Mayor what do plan to do about the ongoing crime, auto theft and gangs on our our streets?"


Round 1/Safer Streets
Ding.
Katz comes out swinging:
Auto theft has gone down 74% he says. There are 58 more police on the street. 20 walk the beat, and the others are being utilized in areas such as auto theft investigation, street crime in the West End and S.W.A.T.
"It is frusterating having a revolving door justice system where an offender can be arrested on Tuesday and let go on Thursday"

Judy supports more police on the street.
She throws out her first punch packed with the four "P's" Powerline, Protection, Prevention, Punishement.
"We need to get to the root of the problem; community hubs, more support, more money invested in community centres.

Katz gives his head a shake from the mild hit and in return pretty much tells Wasylycia-Leis to do the same thing as he states 64 million has gone into community centres but later in the debate that number changes to 45 million. All I can hear is the 90's hit from C&C Music Factory "Things that make you go mmm" playing in my head.

Katz is firm on taking care of crime today, and that the other side takes time, although he's all about getting youth on the right track through opportunity, he's a firm believer in if they do the crime you give them the time.

Judy wants to give them good paying jobs?

I say make them earn it! She may have the give and take thing reversed. What kind of message does that really send? Break the law and the city will give you a break. Where's my gat, my colors, and my jimmy, I'm off to get me a good paying job, boi.

The debate began to get heated and began to sound like it was taking place in a school yard, the word mother started being thrown around, and continued throughout the debate, it started off innocent with mothers concerned with why there is repeat crime and than Katz calling Wasylycia-Leis mom because he felt like he was being scolded by his.
Whether we were young students or mature students we all felt a bit more mature than the two who may or may not be responsible for the maturing of Winnipeg which is still in it's cocoon stage compared to the vivid thriving butterfly cities such as Montreal, Vancouver, or Edmonton.

All in all that round went to Katz;

Round 2/Choppers, Property Tax, and Infrastructure, oh my.
Ding.
Enter the whirlybird:
JWL throws out a punch, she wants to review the use of the city helicopter on an annual basis but Katz swears by the need for an eye in the sky, the bigger cities such has Calgary and Edmonton has one so why shouldn't we, he thinks it will cut down on road chases and increase safer streets.
To have safer streets at least for our vehicles we need to put some money into our infrastructure.

Judy throws another swing; With a 4 billion deficit we must raise property tax 2% over the next four years.
Sam hits back
The deficit is 3.7 billion and it is over 10 years, property tax has nothing to do with income and it will only hurt the working poor.
Katz wants to freeze taxes and work on making this city more competitive so people will stay here, and he should know about a compettiive job market, he hires members of the Indian Posse & the CreComm Posse.

Round 2 started well for Judy but in the end went to Sam

There was a lot more bouting banter regarding more recycling, how composting would be ideal, blind trusts and spending accountability.
But, Fear not, Where Sam's spending is a little more public accessible just knock on Judy's door, ask her to put on a pot of Joe and the keys to her garage and you can perk up and rest easy.

Overall it was a fight to the end and cheap shots and hits below the belt weren't spared as Punch and Judy pulled at eachother's strings.
JWL, as much as I think she has some good ideas, she clung to the community centre thing too much and began sounding like a broken record. Which is unfortunate, because I think change can be good, but I am also prone to go with the lesser of two evils which is usually the familiar, even if the familiar is a rock n roll, baseball enthusiast.

The big question is; "Is he safe or is he out?' Wheres a good ump when you need one? For that matter where is Brad and Rav?  I could vote on that guy for his 21 Jumpstreet hair cut alone. (K, maybe not, but he seems cool.)

Kudos to my fellow classmate Haley Brigg who asked a great question and got a poor answer.

One of my other classmates Jennifer David made a valiant effort to show some true leadership and get them to say something nice about one another. I am guessing they both had mothers who taught them; if you can't say something nice, than don't say anything at all. I'm sure blocking that motto out a time or two in the debate was merely an oversight.
So instead they gave eachother an awkward hug like a brother and sister who were being forced to, when secretly they wanted to kill eachother.

The fight continues but the winner isn't final nor is the answer as to whose corner I stand in with a towel, mouth guard and water, but if I have would have to choose a winner of the morning with today's verbal boxing,  than I would say Katz had his Rocky moment replacing his cry of "Adrianne" with "Winnipeg"

But that is just one man's view on another man's and woman's fight.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Helter Skelter ( A poem for those who fight each day in confusion)

Helter Skelter

I stand
In quicksand
Waist deep
I chase the dreams of an insomniac
That never sleeps
An angel weeps
On my right shoulder
As the devil whispers evil nothings in my left ear
I’m only left here
Not knowing how to get there
To where?
It’s unclear
I’m a tattooed tear on the face of a clown
Feeling like I don’t belong
I’m lying on the ground
Making cement angels
At one of life’s intersections
Raindrops, of perplexion
Fall on me
I’m at a stall, you see
Life’s street lights call to me
Red light, Yellow light, Green light, Go
Where to proceed to
I don’t know
My thoughts form fast, and linger slow
They encompass me
Like a murder of crows, they caw at me
I saw but could not see
All the idiocracy
Entangled in my up to know odyssey
I thirst for knowledge and clarity
I’m parched
Lying on the cold cemented truth
My legs arched
Giving birth to excuse after excuse
Until I can no longer endure the labor pains
I need to adopt a new brainchild
I’m caught in a storm with no shelter
It rains, Helter Skelter

Friday, October 1, 2010

Chamelion: (The struggle to change, to fight for the girl that's getting away)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU0oJD2CmpU/Old track of mine/Check it out
Feeling a little nostalgic, here are a couple of old songs I recorded.

(They are kind of pop esque, more so than I now wish, you've been warned)

In the fight of life sometimes you feel that "Nothing Ends Well"
(A jazzy snippet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1j_ld-_DEk