Happy Halloween!

Buh Buh Buuuuh! Woohahahahah!

The Chickens Concert Series #7:Rob Zombie and Ozzy

Oh Man! How much awesomeness was that all in one place?! A lot! That's how much. This might have to encompass concert series #8 too! Rob Zombie put on a highly entertaining show. It had everything you'd want: the drums were set up on top of a giant devil head, movies were playing on big screens, and halfway through superbeast, a giant zombie robot thing, came out and danced (I'm pretty sure it was the two dancing girls inside that suit, they're multitalented). Anyway, excellent show, and Ozzy? Well, Ozzy is Ozzy isn't he!? His show started with a hilarious video with Ozzy in various TV shows (including such shows as Lost and The Office) and ended with fireworks on the stage. Definitely awesome sauce! He was a little unintelligable when he talked but he sung the songs very well and he jumped around and danced and was generally kickass. Anyway, I found a few clips of the concert on YouTube, see below.


Fun Facts: Rob Zombie (aka Rob Cummings born in 1965), went to college but dropped out to follow music. He worked as a Technician on PeeWee's Playhouse (Ha!)! He was in the band White Zombie (named after a 1932 Bela Lugosi movie) from 1985 to 1995 after which he began persuing his solo career. Of course he's made movies and things but also, he made a comic book called "The Adventures of El Superbeasto" which is supposed to become a cartoon later. You can learn other stuff from Wikipedia (just like I did), I just thought those things were neat.

Ozzy (born John Michael Osbourne in 1948) plays the harmonica. Ummm...upon further research there is very little other information available on this relatively unknown musician - I believe he sings mostly dance-funk fusion, likes rainbows and kittens and his pet peeves are swearing and mean people. And once he did a Christmas duet with Jessica Simpson.

An unexpected (to me but not to people who knew what to expect) highlight of the concert was Zakk Wylde's (born Jeffrey Phillip Wiedlandt in 1967, founder of the band Black Label Society) guitar solo. You gotta love this guy! He has this long blond hair and through a lot of the concert he would stand in front of this large fan and play these amazing metal solos, just picture it! Haha! Classic! Here is some of his solo:

p.s. That Jessica Simpson thing is actually true.

¡Cañonero!

Sweet zombie Jebus I love having a car! Like get this, yesterday I drove to school and then I drove to work and then I drove back to school and then I drove home! Weee! I named it my Canyonero. I'll put a picture of it up later I promise, I have to get it groomed first. Good times. Also, cars are better with the Simpsons. My favorite part is how the "Hey! Hey!" is different depending on what language it's in.

En español for little CP:
Sus sospechosos incendios son asunto de los tribunals. ¡Cañonero!


Here's the same clip but in German. Unerklärliche brände sind ein fall das gericht! Ha Ha Ha!

Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving, like many European firsts in the New World, happened in Newfoundland. It was celebrated in 1578 (43 years before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth) when Martin Frobisher arrived in Newfoundland and wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival. Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday in Canada in 1879 (before that it was generally celebrated in either late October or early November anyway). Originally, Thanksgiving was set for November 6th however, on January 31, 1957, Canadian Parliament announced that it would be on the second Monday in October. This was because after the World Wars Remembrance Day was set for November 11th and they didn't want the two holidays in the same week. Also, since Canadian Thanksgiving is more about the harvest than about pilgrims it makes sense to have it earlier than the Americans, what with our earlier harvest season and all. Anyway, I just like an excuse to see the family and eat pie. Mmmmm...pie. [Update: I had a clip of the episode "Lisa on Ice" where Homer says, "All right, pie. I'm going to start doing this... makes chomp, chomp,chomp... and if you get eaten, it's your own fault", but the clip is gone now. Oh well such is the internet.]


p.s. I just watched Apocalypto which is what is up with the comic.

The Chickens Concert Series #6: Days of the New

Wednesday night was Days of the New at the Roxy. Not the best venue I know, "skunky" may be the best word for it. Nevertheless the music was pretty sweet. Gravelly base-y vocals (supplied by lead Travis Meeks) are one of my faves. Interestingly, apparently he was on an episode of the reality show "Intervention", which speaks for itself (credit to Tam for that tidbit - HA! No McShanty points for you! Note: See this earlier post for what that means). As an aside I have to say that, upon investigation, Travis was much hotter back when he had short hair. Of course this was the first time I've seen them so I didn't know that, see pic to the right from this website (once again thanks to Tam for pointing that out). The music was bang on though and the basist plays a five-string (also pretty sweet)! So as it stands the list of awesome-ly awesome Chickens concerts continues...next time: Ozzy!

This video is from a recent concert in Texas, note the like 5 skillion acoustic guitars all over the stage.

p.s. Here is the band's website

A Salute to Fall

I love Fall! It has to be my favorite season I think. It's beautiful, it's not too hot, the bugs die off, and there's...um...pumpkins and things. Don't get me wrong - I love Winter (snow, xmas, winter sports), it's right up there with Summer (beaches, vacations, archaeology). Even Spring has it's virtues (no more winter but it's not so hot yet). However, you just can't beat Fall for shear awesome-ness, it even has a few of my favorite holidays in it too. Maybe I just like having seasons? Anyway, how about a salute to seasons then...

[ A year passed. Winter changed into Spring. Spring changed into Summer. Summer changed back into Winter. And Winter gave Spring and Summer a miss and went straight on into Autumn. Until one day...] Note: Unfortunately, I couldn't find an actual video clip but I'm sure other dorks like me can visualize it.

The Chickens Concert Series 5: Chris Cornell

You may remember Chris Cornell from such bands as Sound Garden (1984-1997) and Audioslave (2001-2007). Soundgarden released seven albums over the years and Audioslave released 3 and Chris has also released 2 solo albums so far (Euphoria Morning in 1999 and his new album Carry On). He also was the founder and frontman for Temple of the Dog which released a self title album in 1991. And he has contributed and played with many bands including Alice in Chains under the band name "Alice Mudgarden" in 1992 (that's for Kim, the Mud part is because the song also involved Mark Arm from Mudhoney on vocals). He has many credits for contributing to soundtracks for movies and video games too (like the title song for Casino Royale). There is a bio, among other things, on the official website. Anywho, let's just say he is friggin' awesome and so was his concert! Woohoo! Oh and the base player was wicked (he's on the right but I forget his name), at one point Chris was singing at him and he was playing back what he sang! It was sweet, but Kim totally missed it because she was distracted by a jerk. Of course the whole band was amazing, great guitar and some pretty cool drum solos (during which the whole band would throw things at him but they couldn't break his concentration). Chris played so many great songs it's hard to say a favorite, Kim will extol the virtues of the acoustic medly of songs that he played in the middle of the concert, I was just pleased that he played Hunger Strike (I love that song). I couldn't find a video from the concert but here is one from when he was in Winnipeg:

The Simpsons - Season 19

Hahahahaha! Good times!

Spider pig!
Spider pig!
Does whatever a spider pig does!
Can he swing-
from a web?
No he can't!
He's a pig!
Lookout!
Here comes the spider pig!

The Chickens How to Guide (vol.3): Stalking the Wily Helicopter

As we all know I am all about the safety so I thought I would take the time to explain the do's and do not do's of approaching the wily and elusive helicopter.

One must be sure not to make any sudden movements as this might startle the creature. Be sure to approach from a safe distance and make sure that you have made eye contact and wait for a sign of recognition before getting closer. When you do approach always be aware of the ferocious tail and steer clear.

Most domesticated helicopters that you will meet have been equipped with saddlebags or some similar apparatus or compartment to pack extra gear but these must be utilized with caution as approaching the beast from the side or the rear leaves you open to attacks and, once again, will invariably make the animal nervous and aggravated.

Next time: killing and field dressing the wild helicopter! Stay tuned! Also, helicopters are better with the Simpsons (sorry it's in English).

My new baby

This is my new Olympus Stylus 7.1MP Waterproof Digital Camera (770SW). It is shockproof up to 5ft and I can take pictures in the rain (or underwater). The instructions even recommend that you immerse it in water if it gets dirty! See, I wanted an indestructable camera because, you know, besides being accident prone I work in the field. Anyway, the salesguy picked up the display camera of this and smashed it on the counter! Cool stuff. They even knocked $50 off but it was because he wanted me to buy the 4 year warranty. Also it takes video and has really good macro even if the zoom could be better. I brought it with me to do my helicopter work and I was pleased. And of course, cameras are better with the Simpsons (this time in italiano, no more english Simpsons for you).The guys who run this blog are pretty funny, in their profile they have an audio clip of them singing the "Oh Mindy" song. Hahaha, those wacky Italians.

My family "Simpsonized"

So this is what my family would look like "Simpsonized" according to http://simpsonizeme.com/ . You upload a closeup of your face to the program and it churns out a reasonable Simpson-esque facimile of you.You do have to tweak them a little but I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out! They were all pretty much the same no matter what picture I used (although I could get my Dad with varying degrees of stubble and sometimes the program would pick up on glasses and sometimes it wouldn't) except for L's pic. The one below came from a pic from when we were in PEI whereas this one came from a less scruffy pic. Ah the many faces of L. [NOTE: Later I tried another pic of me and it came out with the picture to the right, pretty different! Also I figured out how to add a nose piercing. The program definitely had the most trouble with little C and my pics.] Anywho, it's all an advertising ploy (see commercial on YouTube here) from Burger King (sucks, blech! also their mascot creeps me out) and the Simpson's Movie (awesome, loved it!) but it's pretty neat anyway. I don't mind being exposed to advertising if I get something cool out of it, better than a normal commercial.

Small sidebar rant: Remember when there were no commercials at the movies? Most people do because it really has only taken hold in the last 7 or 8 years or so. What a racket eh? People actually PAY to watch these commercials and no one can change the channel. At least in the beginning the commercials were cooler or higher budget than the ones on TV, but now they are exactly the same and you see the same ones every time you go. Maybe it's a response to the ability that many of us have developed to selectively ignore advertising in our daily lives (it's because there is so much of it that our advertising receptors are overloaded). To be effective, advertisers need to get us all when we are: 1. paying attention to a large surface that can be advertised upon, and b. in a good mood. Where else but at the movies and at major sporting events do you get that kind of opportunity? I guess what I'm saying is you can't blame advertisers for wanting to do it, but I do anyway. Also, advertising is better with the Simpson's...and in German (since I got such good feedback from the last time).

Carl

Look at my new baby! Isn't it pretty?! He is a Beaver Creek BCB05 4 string acoustic base. He is 124cm tall and 42cm wide at the bottom. The case is huge and looks like it could hold a cello! I love it but oh man do my fingers hurt!

The Simpsons is better with...um...uh...

Rabbit and Mouse

What an absolutely hilarious little production! Up there with the Angry Alien 30 second bunny movies for sure, if a little lower tech. This is Rabbit and Mouse from Meerkatmedia. They are basically flash videos of black and white drawings about the misadventures of a rabbit and mouse. They have a MySpace page here but their website with the actual videos is here. Anyway, here is a video they did called "you, a rock, or nothing". I was totally betting on the rock to win, dang.

No TV and No Beer Make Homer...something,something.

So what do you do when you don't have cable? Go outside? Read a book? Write your thesis? NO you fool! You turn to the internet:

There are sites that are hubs to take you to videos of TV and movies posted on the internet. For example, Alluc.org, Ch131, FreeTVonline, and SurfTheChannel. Besides that many TV stations from CTV to MTV have a lot of online content (in fact most networks have many of their shows viewable online) I am so not going to make a list of them (it's called Goggle boys and girls). Although many channels have video that is not viewable in Canada due to copyright laws (but you can get around that sometimes by going through a Canadian channel that carries the show, such as Global for SNL videos) . That being said, there are sites like wwiTV that give you links to hundreds of TV stations with online content, broadcasts, and streaming video from all over the world (there are like 6 music TV stations from Poland, who knew?). There are quite a few wacky stations out there (the Canadian ones are the standard fare, mostly CBC, there are a lot of online religious channels from the States). Beeline TV is much the same but arranged by language of the station instead of country of origin. These sites can't possibly list all stations though and they don't.

Now of course there is YouTube for all your video needs but there are other similar sites that are more geared towards movies and TV like vid2c, DivX has Stage 6, Megavideo, and Veoh has a lot of movies and videos (but sometimes the content is restricted to members).

Don't worry D, life without TV ain't so bad (though I guess I do have those 3 fuzzy channels), eventually you'll learn to live again. Welcome to the world of goal oriented watching, where TV isn't the background noise of your life. And, as always, TV is better with the simpsons:

p.s. Unfortunately, I could see this actually happening. Ha, ha! Imagine a whole thesis worth of "no TV and too much beer make Denise go crazy! Urge to kill RISING!"):

A Chickens! Cultural Moment: Twelfth Night

Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan was the first professional summer Shakespeare festival other than Stratford and Toronto. Unlike Calgary's sumer theatre it is held in tents by the river which are set up and completely torn down every summer. Also, while it is done by professional actors it costs money. Anyway, was rally good and I was pleased.

Die Hard

There seems to be a bit of a theme but I can't quite put my finger on it...hmmm.

Here is a video which answers the age old question, "What if Die Hard were a 20's black and white silent movie?" Some mildly offensive racial slurs and they take out all the violence but they had their priorities mixed up back then.

For Carrie...

sorry I couldn't find one that was more gluten intolerance friendly but this fits you better I think.

Educational Sidebar: Badgers

Badgers are Mustelids (members of the Weasel family) and are related to such smelly and/or angry animals as wolverines, ferrets, otters, fishers, martens, and minks. Yeah sure he looks cute but he'd kill ya soon as look at ya. They are the only carnivore in Canada that burrows after and eats other burrowing animals, so we like them here because they eat things like ground squirrels (and anything else they can get there claws on). The species of badger that occurs in North America is the North American badger (Taxidea taxus) which is somewhat related, but quite different from the European badger (Meles meles).

Badgers are very distinctive looking, especially their faces (a good way to tell between the Euro and north american badger is by snout length). Badgers have a noticeable white stripe that runs down the top of their head as well as black cheek patches (called “badges” which is how badgers get their name). They are about 60-90 cm (2-3 ft.) in length and generally weigh about 7-8 kg (15.4-17.6 lbs.) for adult females and 10-14 kg (22-30.8 lbs.) for adult males. Badgers have a sort of “flattened” appearance because their hair is short on their backs and long on their sides (also because they have stubby little legs). Their forefeet are actually much larger than their hindfeet (all the better for burrowing with grandma). Badgers are quite highly adapted for digging and can actually dig up to a metre deep in a minute! Now is that a probe or a test he's digging because I doubt that takes screening into account.

Now to the good stuff. The Taxidea taxus' (left below) dental formula is I 3/3; C 1/1; P 3/3; M 1/2. The P4 has a medial shelf and a hypocone. Transverse rows of cusps on the M1 are distinctive, yet exhibit some variation within the genus. The m1 has a well-developed trigonid and a talonid with a central hypoconid and entoconid.

This is in contrast to Meles meles (right) which has a much more flattened M1

(Pop Quiz: which one is more omnivorous?).

It has a relatively short rostrum, and robustjaws at the rostral end of the skull and at the base it has a triangular shaped occipital and enlarged tympanic bullae. The "wrap-around" jaw hinge means that lowerjaw cannot be removed from skull. Male badgers have a prominent sagittal crest which increases in size with age.

This is all because I saw this awsome badger in a den the other day. I love seeing wild badgers!

Also, badgers are better with the Simpsons:

German is better with the Simpsons

Here is that same episode from the last post but in German. At least I think it's German. I wonder how well it translates?