Film Quote of the Day: Dark City

Mr. Hand: I have become the monster you were intended to be. 

Film Quote of the Day: Mallrats

[Brodie picks up a controller and continues a paused video game] 
Rene: What are you doing? You promised me breakfast. 
Brodie: Breakfast, shmreakfast. Look at the score, for Christ's sake. It's only the second period and I'm up 12 to 2. Breakfasts come and go, Rene, but Hartford, "the Whale," they only beat Vancouver once, maybe twice in a lifetime. 

Film Quote of the Day: Easy Rider

Captain America: No, I mean it, you've got a nice place. It's not every man that can live off the land, you know. You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud. 

Film Quote of the Day: La Dolce Vita

Marcello Rubini: You are the first woman on the first day of creation. You are mother, sister, lover, friend, angel, devil, earth, home.

Life Gets in the Way

Hi avid readers!  I must apologize - posting will be slow this week.  I had about three good blog posts lined up to write and then my sister-in-law goes into labour yesterday and well, you know.  Obviously family in these situations take precedence over such important topics as ranking the actors who played James Bond, deciding where the Big Ten should hold its conference championship game in football, and of course finding out about what I learned this week on the internet.  I know you're disappointed but too bad.

Anyway, congratulations Mark and Susannah on their beautiful new boy Eli.  I know you'll make wonderful parents!

Film Quote of the Day: The Lion King

Adult Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long.
[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]
Adult Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past.
[laughs]
Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it.
[swings his stick at Simba again who ducks out of the way]
Rafiki: Ha. You See? So what are you going to do?
Adult Simba: First, I'm gonna take your stick.
[Simba snatches Rafiki's stick and throws it and Rafiki runs to grab it]
Rafiki: No, not the stick! Hey, where you going?
Adult Simba: I'm going back!
Rafiki: Good! Go on! Get out of here!
[Rafiki begins laughing and screeching loudly]

Film Quote of the Day: Duck Soup

 Minister of Finance: Here is the Treasury Department's report, sir. I hope you'll find it clear.
Rufus T. Firefly: Clear? Huh. Why a four-year-old child could understand this report.
[to Bob Roland]
Rufus T. Firefly: Run out and find me a four-year-old child, I can't make head or tail of it.

Cereal Milk and Other Glorious Inventions

I wouldn't say that I'm some crazed inventor or anything, but I do have a few ideas percolating up in the old noggin.  The first from my stockpile of million dollar ideas came about during my second last year of high school.  With the success of ebay, I started thinking of different ways the internet could be used to buy and sell.  My idea was an online marketplace that we would call ibuy.com.  It was basically the opposite of ebay: someone who is looking to purchase a specific item would post on this site describing what they were looking for.  Others who had a good or service that fit this description would reply with a price they would sell it at.  If someone else also had the good or service, they could offer it at a lower price - simple reverse auction.  I was pretty excited about it at the time and even had a teacher willing to invest until I did a bit more research and found out that there was a site similar to this idea.  Obviously it hasn't been too successful as I can't even remember what the company's name was.  Oh well, I was not deterred in my inventiveness.

The next idea hasn't been figured out by anyone else yet as far as I know, but I'm pretty confident that it's not something I'm ever going to follow through with - so, internet...here's a present for you.  I never came up with a better name, but I call it Cereal Milk.

Reader: Huh?  
Me: Let me explain.

As a child, my favourite part of breakfast was finishing the bowl of cereal and being left with the most sugary, the most sweet, the most tasty part of the whole breakfast...the leftover milk.  MMMmmmmm!  Now this might sound disgusting at first, but you put sugar in anything and kids will eat it, amirite??

In my first year of university, on a whim, I decided to try and replicate that sweet nectar.  I put a bit of sugar in a glass of milk.  It was...ok.  Being the brilliant person I am, I decided to take the Tim Allen approach - more power!! Ar Ar Ar!  So I dumped a whole whack of sugar in there.  The result: O.M.G. (with an F in there if you like)!!!1! - yeah, it was in the middle of the MSN days and internet abbrevs were all the rage.  In any case, it tasted just like the milk after finishing a bowl of cereal.  I suddenly had an epiphany.  Imagine selling this stuff through companies like General Mills or Post as if it was one of their cereal brands?  Like Trix Cereal Milk or Count Chocula (my personal fave) Cereal Milk??  You change the flavour slightly for each brand, market it like cereal, have a few toy freebies attached every now and then BAM! you're selling this stuff like hotcakes.  I mean, this right here is genius - health trends be damned.  But I was never one too interested in being a food product manager for a Proctor Gamble et al.  Alas, the dream remains elusive.  But someone really needs to do this...like now.  Seriously.  I'll buy a case a month.

My next idea is really a good one, but pretty boring as well.  As our society continues to be ever more reliant on electronic devices, we seem to be going through a whole heck of a lot power bars.  And damn those engineers that came up with those stupid super fat plugs that take up like 2 or 3 other outlet slots when plugged in.  Enter the "Outlet Extender" - yeah I know, I need to really work on these product names.  The Outlet Extender is a very simple device.  It's basically, umm, well...easier to explain in pictures:

The giant plugs that don't fit plug into the Outlet Extender which in turn plugs into the power bar, freeing up the two outlets that would normally be covered by the giant plug when plugged it into the middle outlet.  An elegant solution for a more civilized age.  But it's just too boring for me to be bothered with.

So there you go, internet.  Gift wrapped just for you.

Film Quote of the Day: 8 1/2 (Otto e mezzo)

Guido: My Dears... Happiness consists of being able to tell the truth without hurting anyone.

Canadian vs. American Football: Which is better?

I'm a huge football fan, enjoying all levels of the sport.  The Fall has always held a special place for me growing up.  While other kids mourned the end of the summer and the coming of school, I eagerly anticipated the start of the football season.  And once my brother and I began playing in the Ontario Varsity Football League (OVFL), the summers were also completely consumed by the sport.  Hell, by my estimation, between minor leagues, high school leagues, travel leagues, and all-star games, I've played in over 100 competitive games since I was 10 (not including my "prolific" flag football career in university, heh).  And this doesn't get in to my football viewing habits.  Yes, football is pretty important to me.




I've played in many different versions of the sport with many different rules: full on Canadian rules in high school with a Canadian sized ball in Juniors and an NFL ball in Seniors; Ontario Football rules which is the same as Canadian rules but with 4 downs instead and a slightly smaller ball in the OVFL; and I've played American rules (4 down, NFL style) at football camps in the US with high school sized balls.  As a result, I've always had fun pondering the question of which version of the sport is better? American or Canadian?




Just to be clear, I'm talking about this from a rules point of view.  Comparing the CFL to the NFL is a whole other kettle of fish where you're debating talent level (no debate there), fan support, rivalries, stadiums, broadcasters, etc.  And for full disclosure, above all else, I am a huge US college football fan.  Especially of the Michigan Wolverines...like 15 years of season tickets, bowl games attended, road games attended, live and die each Fall Saturday, type of fan.  Nothing else comes close.




Finally, before we begin, maybe you don't know the differences between the variations of the sport but ask yourself the question: which do you think is better?  Once you read below, see if you agree or disagree or if I've changed you mind.  I'm curious to hear your thoughts.




Alright, enough stalling.  Since Americans don't usually even remember that there is a Canadian version of football (even though us Canadians practically invented it), they don't usually get caught up in this debate and don't have arguments defending their side.  Canadian football fans on the other hand have a bit of a inferiority complex with this issue.  They tend to argue that by design the Canadian game is much more exciting because of the propensity for more offense.  I will argue that this design does increase the offensive fireworks, but actually makes the game less interesting.

First we must look at the way the Canadian game is set up to bolster the offense's position.  Almost every rule difference is set up to give the offensive side of the ball an advantage.  Let's look at some of them:

• Defenders must line up one yard off the line of scrimmage.  This gives offensive lineman an advantage in blocking, especially in short yardage and pass blocking situations.
• All offensive backfield players are allowed to go in motion towards the line of scrimmage, gaining downfield momentum at the snap of the ball.  This is particularly useful for receivers going out on pass patterns as it makes it difficult for defenders to keep up with the speed they have accumulated.
• Due to increased number of players on the field, there is an extra offensive backfield member allowed to go out to receive a pass.

Two other differences deserve a closer look: field size and number of downs.  The Canadian football field is absolutely huge and dwarfs the size of its American counterpart.  The 110 vs. 100 yards field of play is just the beginning.  The endzones are twice the length at 20 yards each compared with American versions at 10 yards.  This makes passing a much easier proposition as the entire passing playbook is available to CFL teams when the offense enters the redzone.  Contrast that with their American counterparts who often will develop plays specifically suited for the offense as they near the endzone due to the declining amount of real estate to work with.  But the real game-changer is the width.  Canadian fields run 65 yards wide compared to the 53 1/2 yard width in the US.  The added width to the field dramatically opens up the passing lanes for the quarterback and receivers, making it much more difficult for the defense to adequately defend the aerial attack of their opposition.  Combine that with the advantages noted above and it quickly becomes clear that the offensive passing game has a huge advantage.




But the Canadian game's most distinctive rule difference does much to mitigate that advantage.  "Three Down Football" pretty much defines how outsiders view the sport - and drastically alters the manner in which the game is played.  With one less play available to progress 10 yards down the field to get another First Down, the offense must use the advantages above and be efficient in their play execution to maintain offensive possession.  A 3 yard rush by the running back, although positive yardage, sets up a still difficult 2nd and long.  And, by design, the offense's systemic advantage in the passing game ensures that the running game's importance is significantly diminished. It's the passing game that's the foundation of an offense's game plan while the running game is seen as a change of pace play.




As someone who played quarterback for the majority of my playing days, this seems great on the surface.  And many would argue that more passing makes for a more exciting game.  But the preponderance of passing in the Canadian game takes so much of the strategy and variety out of football as to render the sport neutered of interesting analysis and innovation.  American football has found an equilibrium between favouring rushing versus passing and between offense versus defense (although the trend as of late has been moving towards tightening rules in favour of passing and offense).  This has been instrumental in building the cat and mouse game played by opposing teams where they develop innovative strategies to out-scheme their adversaries.  In American football there are overarching strategies and philosophies about run vs. pass, about aggressiveness, about cover 2 or the zone blitz, 3-4 vs. 4-3, types of pass offenses, formation philosophies, etc.  Canadian football is much more about adjusting your tactics to the players you have.  By and large, the strategy remains the same for all teams: pass well and defend the pass well.  Innovations on offense and defense are few and far between.  In the past 20 years, the game has largely stayed the same, whereas the American version has constantly evolved.




To me, that constant evolution and cat-and-mouse game is what makes the sport of football so interesting, particularly the American version.  There is more preparation for each game in football than in any other sport in the world.  And that preparation stems from the need to out-think your opponents and prepare for their ever-changing strategies.  It's what makes the large amount of down-time between plays not only bearable, but stimulating as you go through the same process that the coach goes through, thinking "what to do next".  It creates unique narratives for each contest on the gridiron as you match strategy versus strategy.  For the most part, Canadian rules strip the sport of its fundamental question from which all other strategy afterward is based on "to run or to pass?".  American football puts that question on a pedestal.

What do you think?

Film Quote of the Day: From Russia With Love

Rosa Klebb: Training is useful, but there is no substitute for experience.
Morzeny: I agree: we use live targets as well.

Film Quote of the Day: The Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette)

Antonio Ricci: "Why should I kill myself worrying when I'll end up just as dead?"

Hamilton TiCat Preseason Pics

I recently had the opportunity to catch the preseason Canadian Football League game between the Hamilton TiCats and the Winnipeg Bluebombers which the TiCats won.  Check out my pics below:




Pigskin Pete started us off with a rousing cheer of Oskie Wee Wee!

More after the jump...

Film Quote of the Day: Clueless

Cher: Until mankind is peaceful enough not to have violence on the news, there's no point in taking it out of shows that need it for entertainment value.

Film Quote of the Day: À bout de souffle (Breathless)

Michel Poiccard: There's no need to lie. It's like poker. The truth is best. The others still think you're bluffing, so you win.