I don’t know about you but what’s happening in Japan right now frightens the crap out of me. Oh and I’m not talking about the earthquake or the tsunami, I’m talking about the potential multiple reactor meltdown happening at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant.

The news being reported in the media is constantly flip flopping between things being in control and things being on the verge of a total disaster. There have been massive hydrogen gas explosions at 2 of the 6 reactors. Dozens of people have been injured trying to get these reactors under control. There is also a third reactor that’s having issues but may be under control now.

What frightens me is that while these experts and government officials on TV are promoting calm, all the other signs seem to be pointing to something much more sinister. They have been detecting radiation on people who live near the site. The US navy has repositioned some of their ships and aircraft to avoid airborne radioactivity. This radiation is already begin detected as far away as 100 miles and the government has evacuated 200k people within a 20km range of the plant. On top of all this, news is coming out today that Japan is turning to the INEA (Intl Nuclear Energy Agency) for expert help with the situation.

Does anybody else have a feeling this is not going to end well? Earlier this morning they were indicating that the fuel rods in one of the reactors were totally exposed and that all the coolant that is supposed to keep these rods from melting had leaked out. In a last ditch efforts these officials are using sea water to try and keep things under control.

All these things combined lead me to believe they are obviously covering up what’s really happening at Fukushima. They have obviously lost control and are struggling to keep things from getting worse. The quake, tsunami and now this nuclear crisis have put this disaster at the top of the list for worst natural disasters in history in my books. I am not looking forward to what the coming days and weeks will bring but I am confident the Japanese people and the world as a whole will find a way through it. We’ll all just be a little more irradiated than we would have liked in the end.

I have been #winning since Jan 15^th of this year (thanks to my pal Charlie for letting me use his word). How have I been winning you ask? Simple I answer, by being routinely routine.

I have a goal (some say a crazy one) to lose 50 lbs by July 1^st. So far in just under two months I’m down nearly 20 so I take that as great progress. But Elliot, how could you possibly lose 50 pounds in 6 months you ask? Simple (I say again), by being routine and monetizing my diet. Monetizing your diet? Yes monetizing my diet, let me explain because it’s quite simple. (I like talking to myself in writing and using the word simple a lot btw.)

Monetizing your diet is just a fancier way of saying portion control combined with calorie tracking. I have a daily budget of around 1800 net calories I can use and since it’s a net number I can deduct the number of calories I burn at the gym. Couple this with one of the greatest iPhone apps I’ve ever come across in LoseIt and you’ve got yourself a solid diet plan. The app lets me track my daily budget, nutrient trends, calorie intake, calories burned via exercise among other things. I can track everything over time with some handy charts, daily, weekly and monthly breakdowns of my progress.

So far I’ve stuck to my plan pretty strictly and I think the results speak for themselves. I also need to point out that this is the second time I’ve set a goal like this to lose weight. The first time (about 4 years ago) I was extremely successful and lost nearly 60 lbs in a little under a year. Sadly, I let life’s distractions eventually get in my way and started putting the pounds back on. This time I know exactly what not to do and I have the loving support of my girlfriend so I don’t see myself slipping again.

I like routine and the idea of being able to rely on a plan and strategy I’ve put into place. Yes, I will admit that I miss my peanut chocolate M&Ms and eating a big juicy hamburger followed by a cold beer but those things aren’t totally banned from my diet. I just need the calorie budget to actually consume them so I do get to indulge every once and a while. So don’t cry for me Argentina, I’m on my way to health and am feeling better than ever just by being routinely routine!

My girlfirend recently moved in so I decided to list a few observations I’ve made since she arrived. 

1)       TLC is always on when I turn on the TV.

2)       Freaking out when I try to put on the socks just out of the dryer thinking my feet either grew overnight or the socks shrunk 5 sizes, only to realize they are hers.

3)       Coming home to a fresh cooked meal at the end of a long day is terrific!

4)       Realizing I can’t leave my Maxims of FHMs laying around without getting “the eye”.

5)       Learning new techniques in bladder control while I wait patiently for her to finish with her hair in the washroom.

6)       Adding more top 40 (yuck) and less rap to the playlists I listen to while she’s around.

7)       Giving away 75% of my closet space to allow for 50 pairs of boots and 20 different coats.

8)       Getting to see my girlfriend whenever I want helps raise my overall happiness J

9)       I find hair everywhere, literally, everywhere.

10)    Free hugs and kisses whenever I want!

Thought of the day: Who was the first person to say, “See that chicken over there … I’m gonna eat the first thing that comes out if its butt”?

Musical Enjoyments:

The Park - Cunninlynguists

Purp & Yellow - The Los Angeles Leakers

Lose Control - Keri Hilson

Love You Long Time - Jazmine Sullivan

U Should Know Better - Robyn

Mondays do not make sense. Technically they are no different than any other day of the week. There are 24hrs in the day, a sunrise and sunset, you need air to live and the force of gravity is still roughly 9.81 m/s² on Mondays. None of these things change during the week and yet Mondays continue to stick out like a sore thumb.

 People are grumpier on Mondays, traffic always seems worse on Mondays and the 24 hours that are supposedly unchanging over the week seem to slow down on Mondays. Even while I was on vacation in Hawaiilast month the Mondays were slightly less fun than the rest of the days of the week. That means the crappiness of Mondays isn’t directly tied to the fact people usually go back to work on Mondays, it has to be something else…

 My theory you ask? That’s easy. Government cover-up to hide the fact Mondays actually aren’t like every other day of the week. Pretty sure this cover-up goes back thousands of years too. Ancient Egyptians used a 10 day week and the Mayans used 13 and 20 day weeks. No Mondays for them! The Lithuanians used a week of nine days before adopting Christianity so no Mondays for them either!

 I will continue until I get to the bottom of this. Til’ then don’t fret, Mondays eventually end and become Tuesdays…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few weeks you’ve probably heard of a little thing Microsoft is launching tomorrow called Xbox Kinect. It’s a motion sensing camera that removes the need for a physical controller altogether. Think about the Wii, now get rid of the Wiimote and replace it with a high-tech camera and microphone that can track all of your motions in full 3D space. This camera actually “sees” your body and tracks all of your movement as you move about your play space, similar to how motion capture is used in movies to animate CG characters (think Golem from Lord of the Rings, or the Avatars from… Avatar). It’s pretty cool stuff and I was actually lucky enough to be selected as a beta tester for the Kinect Program back in August and have had one of the units at my disposal since then. As a tester, I was given access to most of the Kinect features and a number of games to try out that I could report back to Microsoft on regarding bugs I came across or suggestions on how to improve the overall Kinect experience.

I wasn’t allowed to talk about anything Kinect Beta related until it actually launched, which is actually happening about an hour from now on the east coast. I’ll be honest, it was tough mainly because I’m a gaming nerd and love to have and talk about the latest and greatest things in the gaming world. Having a Kinect in my house 3 months before it actually released was be like having one of those super cool looking prototype cars the big automakers always show years before the actual model is released to the mainstream. Or, if cars aren’t your thing, think of owning the latest iPhone (or BlackBerry if you’re one of “those people”) months before it’s actually released to the public. Needless to say I walked around with a huge grin on my face for weeks with the knowledge I had something that no one else did. My head grew even bigger the more I saw how excited people were getting about this thing as launch day approached :)

I’m not really going to review the Kinect because all the software I tried wasn’t finalized (in fact most of it was being updated regularly throughout the beta program with updates via Xbox live).  What I will do is say that this thing is really cool and has much more to offer than the Wii or the Playstation Move. That’s not to say its miles ahead of the competition since all 3 platforms have their own twists on the whole motion control thing. The Wii is simple and it works, the Playstation Move has the ability to be super precise but Kinect stands apart for the simple fact it’s all about freedom. Freedom from having to use a physical controller, freedom to move where you want and control games how you please. The first time I booted up my Xbox with the camera plugged in I was hooked, I had never experienced anything like it. For a second I thought I was Tom Cruise in Minority Report, and then I remembered I’m not an insane actor who sold my soul to Scientology…

If gaming is your thing and you want to try out something cool I definitely recommend checking out the Xbox Kinect. That’s not to say you should run out and buy one tomorrow, most of the launch titles are fairly simple and won’t really please the so-called hardcore audience. Still, the games are ridiculously fun, simple and addictive (also gotta say they are a GREAT workout). Microsoft spent over half a billion dollars marketing the Kinect and are expecting to sell nearly 5 million units this holiday season. That’s absolutely huge when you consider this is just an accessory to a console that was released 5 years ago. It also doesn’t help when you take over Times Square on launch night, hit up Oprah, Ellen and just about every other media outlet in North America with Kinect fever…

Since I get to keep the unit Microsoft sent me back in August I’ll be saving about $150.00 bucks but I do plan to drop about 50 tomorrow on Dance Central because I really need to improve my dance skillz…

I’ve seen the movie Inception twice now and decided to try my hand at writing a movie review about it. Let me start off by saying I really enjoyed the film not only for the incredible visuals and action but also for the complexity and depth of the story. I’ve heard many people try to say this is just a new Matrix but I’m sorry, The Matrix this is not.

Christopher Nolan (Memento and The Dark Knight) came up with the idea for Inception nearly 10 years ago. Unlike James Cameron who spent a couple of days writing the script of Avatar and 10 years developing the technology to actually film it, Nolan spent much of the last 10 years working on improving his directorial skills and fleshing out a deep and intricate story. All I can say is thank you Christopher for taking your time to not only prepare the story, but yourself for this phenomenal achievement in film making.

I don’t want to get too deep into the story because I could easily spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie yet. Instead I’ll just stick to the basics. Inception centers on a team of individuals led by an “extractor” named Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) who, through the use of a special device, construct the dreams of a target and use those dreams to implant an idea so that the target will make a decision beneficial to the individual who hired the team. To say that scratches the surface would be an insult to both scratches and surfaces. But since it takes Nolan about fifty minutes to set everything up, I hope you’ll forgive my brevity.

You also heard me correctly, the first 50 minutes of the movie is spent setting up not just the story and characters but also all the concepts, terms and roles that form the foundation of what is an exhilarating final hour and a half of the film. Don’t get me wrong, there are great action pieces during those first 50 minutes but don’t come to this film expecting to shut off your brain for 2 and a half hours, you need to pay attention to the set up if you want to fully enjoy the payoff.

The characters are developed not through long monologues about their past or even (with the exception of DiCaprio’s character) delving into their dreams and memories. We learn about them how they interact with each other. The cast itself is very strong compared to most “blockbusters”. DiCaprio will probably take some heat for playing a similar character to the one in Shutter Island but who cares; he nails the tragic, brooding figure with serious guilt issues.

I’m hoping two of the film’s other stars, especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3^rd Rock from the Sun and 500 Days of Summer) and Tom Hardy (Rock n Rolla) have their careers take flight after Inception. Gordon-Levitt who has usually played nerdy losers is a total bad ass this time around. I will even go so far as to say he’s involved in one of the greatest fight scenes I have ever seen put to film. They show a small clip of the scene in trailers and previews but those clips do not do it justice. Think Matrix fight scenes without the CG and crappy acting by Keanu Reeves…

At the center of the film is DiCaprio’s relationship with his wife Mal, played by Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies). I’ve seen reviewers say the film has no heart but I would have to disagree. It’s their relationship that inevitably pushes the film towards its unbelievable ending and without it Inception would be just another CG-ified summer action flick.

The physical scope of this movie is astounding. Worlds fall on top of each other, a freight train can burst onto a city street, hotels can lose all gravity, and everything that we know is impossible appears completely natural. It’s not enough to say that the cinematography is gorgeous, or that the sound design is sensational, or that this is one of composer Hans Zimmer’s all-time best scores. There aren’t “supporting” elements in Inception. Just as the film layers its narrative structure and thematic subtext, so it does with its technical elements. You will notice the cinematography and the art direction and the sounds and the score. It’s like hearing beautiful solos mixed together in a glorious anthem.

As I mentioned towards the beginning of my review, Inception is not The Matrix but the comparisons are inevitable. Both movies deal with the nature of reality combined with unreal set pieces that helped to raise the bar in terms of what’s expected out of Hollywood action scenes. However, The Matrix is only a children’s book when compared to the award winning novel held by Inception. It’s about taking multiple genres, settings, ideas, emotions and questions, then weaving them into a rich tapestry that will have folks talking long after the credits roll. Add the incredible special effects and you have a summer blockbuster that will warp and bend your mind before finally blowing it out of your head.

I’ve never understood the big draw surrounding the Calgary Stampede. I’ve lived in Calgary my entire life and every year it’s the exact same thing. Drunken real and fake rednecks walking around in their cowboy hats constantly using words like ‘yahoo’ and ‘yeehaw’ (the difference between the two words I also do not understand). Every year I hear stories about people blowing an entire paycheque in a night at the grounds or one of the many Stampedified clubs around town. Every year there’s the battle between animal rights activists and the Stampede commission. Every year the news channels drink the Stampede juice and start dedicating the first 10 minutes of their broadcast to talk about how the corndogs taste this year or where the mini donut stand is located. Every freaking year…

I get it, there are farms and ranches in Alberta. I don’t need it shoved down my throat along with pancakes, hamburgers and syrup every year. I probably sound really cynical right now and I’m sure there are people who would try to claim I’m not a ‘true Calgarian’. Quite frankly I don’t care because in my view Calgary is about much more than the Stampede. It’s just sad most Calgarians are happy to sit back and use the Stampede as our only claim to fame. Oh that and the fact we hosted the Olympics like 22 years ago… the world doesn’t care anymore.

Thought of the day: What do people in China call their good plates?

All the family on my dad’s side of the family are from the southern United States, more specifically Tennessee and Georgia. They are also all totally insane, at least when I compare their lives to that of an average Canadian or even other Americans outside of the south. Growing up I used to spend my summers down there with my family and always had the most amazing times. There’s nothing fireworks and BBQs on the 4^th of July (sorry people, Canada Day just doesn’t come close). Independence Day celebrations aside, it worries me that so much of my family down there appear to be so ignorant when it comes to birth control and financial management.

All of my cousin’s have kids, which isn’t a bad thing except for the fact they keep having more and then rely on their families to help raise them. Those kids grow up and start having kids of their own and the whole process seems to repeat itself endlessly. The worst part of it is that they think this process is pretty normal. They are locked in to these lifelong commitments before they’re even old enough to drink and never really get to live life for themselves. They don’t get to travel the world, go to post secondary (unless they get scholarships or are already fairly wealthy), they don’t get to do anything except try to survive.  

I know these things happen in Canada too but it’s not the norm here like it is down there. I couldn’t imagine having a child to take care of before I even turned 20. I wouldn’t have been able to travel the world like I have and educate myself without the stress of also trying to raise a child. I definitely feel extremely lucky to have been born in Canada and I’m thankful my grandpa brought my dad to Canada all those years ago. I love my family in the states, they are some of the most amazing people I know. I just wish they had been given the same kinds of opportunities I was given.

By the way, I wanted to share this song from the Red Dead Redemption soundtrack. It’s sad, but great none the less.

So I recently turned 27 and as my friends all like to point out that now means I am entering my ‘late 20s’. I’m not one of those people that worry about aging, although I do like to joke about my mind starting to leave me and all the other joys associated with old age. In reality I’ve always looked older so now that I actually am older, it really doesn’t bother me. I had to start shaving in the 6^th grade and I’ve hardly ever been ID’d at a bar or liquor store. Heck, when I was 16 I could walk into a gas station in the states and buy a beer without the clerk even batting an eye. This all makes me wonder what I’m going to look like when I’m in my 40s… If I looked 25 when I was 16 I’m kind of worried that by the time I’m 45 I’ll look like I should be in a retirement home…

Speaking of beer, I love how in America you can buy alcohol at gas stations. I also like how you can buy real guns at Wal-Mart down there. There’s nothing like having the ability to hop in a Ford F-350, buying and downing a couple of brewskis while you fill up the tank at the gas station before heading to the Super Wal-Mart to buy a new shotgun. Canada is sorely missing civil liberties like this, IMO.

Thought of the day: Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet soup?

As many people know, I am a gamer so every now and then I will post some thoughts on games I’m currently playing or have recently played. Today I’d like to talk about quite possibly one of the most original and engaging games I’ve played in the last 5 years, Red Dead Redemption by Rockstar Games (same people that make the Grand Theft Auto games). This particular game puts you in the shoes, or rather boots, of a man named John Marston. John used to be an outlaw who ran with some bad men committing bank robberies, train raids, murders and other various crimes across the country.

After his gang left him for dead during a botched bank robbery, John decided to try and turn his life around. He disappeared and tried to settle down by getting married and starting a family. Sadly, he could never truly escape his past crimes and eventually the law caught up to him, kidnapped his family and forced him to track down and kill his old gang members in order to rescue his wife and son. I don’t want to give away anymore of the plot than that but needless to say, there is a fair share of killing and revenge involved in Red Dead (this is a Rockstar game after all). What I was most surprised and impressed with were the non-killing related missions and moments.

I’ve never had so much fun in a game like this without actually killing anything. I spent countless hours just roaming the country side looking for buried treasure, picking flowers (that I could sell for other goods) and just riding my horse across the plains of the US and Mexico, watching the sun rise and set. Heck I even spent a few nights just playing poker at the local saloon or a game of horseshoes with a drunkard in behind the sheriff’s office just for kicks! The game is massive and has something for just about everyone.

In the end it wasn’t the gameplay, the graphics or even the voice acting (which is unreal btw) that really got to me, it was the plot and story. There’s a section towards the end of the game (that I won’t give away here) that blew me away. You think the game is over and then bam, they throw a whole other section at you to get through. At the end when everything is all said and done I actually felt really connected to this character I had been playing for the previous few weeks and didn’t want everything to come to an end.

Anyways, if you are a gamer like me this is a can’t miss title. If you don’t like westerns get it anyways and I guarantee by the end you’ll want to start watching some of the greats like Clint Eastwood in the Man with No Names series, or John Wayne and James Stewart. It’s a landmark title from a video game developer usually only known for blood, guts and sex.

This is it, my first official blog post… exciting. For a long time I couldn’t decide what I wanted to blog about; I have tons of interests and opinions on things so it was difficult to narrow it down. In the end I just couldn’t, my mind is a melange of music, movies, sports, current, past and future events along with sprinkles of random thoughts and delusions. I expect most of my blogs will be what I like to call brain vomit so if you don’t like it too bad, if you do like it then you may be far more delusional than I. Either way, welcome to my mind.

Thought of the day: Bad decisions make the best stories.

Does anybody else find Calgary a really boring place to live? I’m not talking about the nightlife, festivals or sporting events, more about the city itself. Nothing ever happens here, nothing overly exciting or unpredictable anyways. Don’t get me wrong, I love Calgary and have been here my whole life but the more I travel around the world the more I realize how much we’re missing out on. Earthquakes, public unrest, hurricanes, raging wildfires and political corruption seem to the spice of life in other cities around the world. I turn on the news and this is all I see, then I think to myself at least those people wake up in the morning not knowing what to expect out of their day.

Again please don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of seeing people killed or losing their livelihoods in natural disasters, all I’m asking for is a little excitement. Why can’t Dave Bronconnier get caught in an illegal gambling ring with tax payers dollars on the line? Why can’t a tornado knock down one of the ski jumps at COP? Heck, I’d even take a killer bee attack at the Bowden Correctional Institute! I just want to see Calgary in the news for something other than cowboys, oil and the failure we call the Flames.

Switching topics. I used to love Eminem and am beginning to again. I remember when the Slim Shady LP released while I was in high school, I had never heard something so cool. It was one of those CDs you were afraid to play in public but couldn’t get enough of in private. His next two albums were equally as good IMO. Then things started to go downhill with Encore and hit rock bottom with Relapse. I had all but given up on Mr. Marshall until I downloaded his latest album, Recovery, a few weeks ago. It’s not quite on par with his first 3 but he’s definitely back on track. The hard hitting, witty lyrics are back with some great beats to support them. My favourite 3 tracks on the album are:

 No Love featuring Lil Wayne (a remixed beat of Haddaway’s ‘What is Love’ from 1993)

So Bad (produced by the master himself, Dr. Dre)

Untitled (Eminem showing his mastery of flow again, glad he’s got it back!)