Rogers Cup

So after many years of wanting to go, I finally went to see a Rogers Cup tennis match at the Rexall Centre last night. It was the men's semi-finals with (the incredible) Nadal (or Rafa, as fans lovingly call him) and Murray (the Scotsman). Once the game started about an hour after it was supposed to, (the afternoon game was delayed due to...rain. Are we really getting enough rain this summer? really?) all was good. But the leading up to the game left a somewhat bitter taste...First, we had to pay for parking. Now, maybe I'm gullible, but I thought York University would have so much space during the summer for hundreds of cars, that parking would be free. Ok, after having parked the car, we noticed a line up outside the lot. Shuttle bus. The bus was just pulling up but of course, not enough room for us. The next bus will be here in 10-15 minutes, we were assured. It was already 6:30pm and the match started at 7pm. (we didn't know it was delayed yet). A couple in front of us started asking some other people in line, how long it would be to walk to the Rexall Centre. The responses were everything from 10 minutes to 25 minutes. Big difference. So we opted to wait for the shuttle. It arrived almost 25 minutes later. Frustrated, we all climbed on board. Only then were we told not to worry, as we wouldn't miss any of the game. Phew! The bus's air condition was broken AND it was the only bus assigned to that parking lot (hence, the long wait). You'd think that for an annual event like this, that it would be more organized. I spoke to soon. More fun to come. So once we got to the tennis stadium, we are flocked to it. Of course, people were still sitting in all the seats from the match still going on. So all of us waiting, blocking the staircases, exits and entrances. This made it difficult for the tennis fans, who finally left after the delayed afternoon match was over. I overheard many people complaining. I agree. Organizers should have kept all of us out until the majority of people attending the last match had departed. Finally we got to our 300 level seating area. A volunteer came up to us to say that not all the sections were ready for us to venture into yet to find our seats, because some people from the other game had not left yet. They apparently really wanted to see the evening game too. Well, for heaven's sake, I thought. Obviously they didn't pay to see the second match, so why not get a few organizers and tell those people still sitting to get the heck out of their seats, as paying customers were waiting to get into them? I mean, how hard is it really? Finally getting to our seats, the garbage was unbelievable. Maybe in my dreamy mind, I always felt tennis was a more refined and sophisticated sport. I didn't expect to find garbage left behind from the last match still to be all over the place. If they can clean up a movie theatre for back to back movie showings, surely they could have someone clean this mess up. I mean the seat didn't cost $5. These tickets were pricey and they were by no means, platinum seats! So from this experience, I was a bit disappointed. Luckily, the match between Rafa and Andy was SO great (too bad Andy seemed to have given up and Rafa took it in two), that I may consider attending the Rogers Cup again next year. Maybe I'll see Rafa again in all his muscle glory. Yum. Other than that, I hope the organizers do a bit more organizing next time....they have a year to iron out the wrinkles.

A dark night....

I was really disappointed to hear this. Maybe success has gotten to Batman star, Christian Bale (or to his family)?

Actor Christian Bale, star of the Batman blockbuster movie "The Dark Knight" on Tuesday denied allegations of assault made by his mother and sister after he was questioned by London police.

The 34-year-old spent several hours at a London police station before being released without charge, his Los Angeles-based spokeswoman, Jennifer Allen said.

"Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister," Allen said in a statement.

"Mr. Bale, who denies the allegation, cooperated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police."

She confirmed separately that the allegation was of assault.

When asked if Bale had been arrested and released on bail, a police spokeswoman said: "A 34-year-old man has been bailed to return to a police station on a date in September."

The wording is the usual tangential way British police confirm news about well-known personalities.

A spokeswoman for the studio behind the film, Warner Bros. Pictures, which is part of Time Warner Inc., declined immediate comment on the situation.

British media reports said the arrest of Bale followed allegations of assault made by Bale's mother and sister in relation to an incident at his London hotel suite late on Sunday.

source: nationalpost.com

Thoughts on a Monday morning....

I won't write about Julia Allison 'cause that is exactly what she'd want me to do. I don't need to waste my time making her more popular.

How I love the smell of new Ikea wood furniture.

No, I can't snooze for an extra 10 minutes 'cause I gotta gas up my car this morning. I hope the price of gas didn't go up again.

Christian Bale. Yum.

Nectarines and raspberries do go well together.

Thank you Nil, for my morning latte.

Shall I start exercising in the morning instead of the evening?

Hmm...wonder where I can get a Batman T-shirt.

The Dark Knight was such an awesome movie. Wow.

Aaron Eckhart. Yum.

*censored*

Will it be a Federer vs. Nadal final at the Rogers Cup?

I have to play some tennis before the summer ends.

I'm finally getting my mess at home organized! Yipee!

I hope the dentist doesn't find any cavities tonight.

I can stop by the health food store after the dentist.

I should go buy my cousin a birthday present today. Do I have time?

I need to write some more posts on this blog. So much I want to say!

Guess Saturday isn't important....

I guess The Weather Network forecasts nothing special for this coming Saturday. The day will be so uneventful, that they completely forgot about it.....

Naked truth?

Well, I hope there is a damn good explanation that finds The Barenaked Ladies frontman, Steven Page, innocent. He was charged yesterday near Syracuse, NY for possession of cocaine and marijuana. I really hope this is not true. For me, the Barenaked Ladies were a music team to look up to. They set a good example. You can be famous, funky, creative and have tons of fun without the use of drugs. This group was respected for that "clean-cut" approach -they made Canadians proud. Everyone can enjoy them and what they stand for. But now? I'm not too sure. Right now, I and many other fans across Canada (and the World) are very disappointed.

Here's the news article:

Fans of the Barenaked Ladies are still reeling from the news that lead singer Steven Page has been slapped with a serious drug charge south of the border.

Page, the goofy, clean-cut front man of the Toronto band, was charged Friday with criminal possession of a controlled substance after police in Fayetteville, N.Y. claim to have found cocaine and marijuana in an apartment.

The 38-year-old was taken into custody along with two women. He has since vowed to fight the charges. In a message posted on the band's website, the group thanked fans for their support and said "the validity of the charges against Steven will be strongly contested."

"While this is happening, it's business as usual for Barenaked Ladies," states the message.

"We will continue to perform and look forward to heading into the studio later this year to record a new album. We want to thank our loyal fans for their continued support during this difficult time."

On the Ladies' online message board Wednesday, some fans expressed disappointment but most promised to support Page and his bandmates.

Members of the Riverdale community, where Page has been a long-time resident, were stunned by the news.

"Shocked, sure, yeah," said friend Chris Antaras. "He's too nice. I don't understand it - I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."

Page, a father of three, had recently separated from his wife. He was reportedly visiting his girlfriend when he was arrested.

Together for two decades, the Barenaked Ladies are one of Canada's most popular groups. They've put out a dozen albums, most recently a children's CD entitled Snacktime.

Their next public appearance was supposed to be a benefit concert hosted by Disney and Playskool from August 22 to 24 at Eisenhower Park on Long Island.

Page is scheduled to appear in a Fayetteville court on August 26. If convicted he could face up to 15 years in prison.

Source: citynews.ca

You can dance if you want to....

..and it just goes to show you that any idea, no matter how silly or how small at the time....can lead to pretty great things (and a little dancing..)!
Matt Harding is a 31 one year old from Connecticut. He was big into video games and wanted to play and make them for the rest of his life. He was able to do just that at a fairly early age. So what was next? In 2003, Matt quit is job in Australia and used the money he had saved to travel around Asia. Making a website, kept him in touch with his family so that they could see where he was traveling to and what he was up to. A few months into his trip, while taking photos in Hanoi, a friend of Matt's gave him an idea. "Hey, why don't you stand over there and do that dance. I'll record it". Matt can't really dance...but he does do this one dance that looks kinda goofy. This idea turned out to be a GREAT idea.
A couple of years later, someone found the video online and passed it to someone else, who passed it to someone else...etc. Now Matt is almost famous. Known as "that guy who dances on the internet". His first video, caught the eye of the Stride gum company. They were interested in working with Matt to do a new video and wanted to fly him around the world to make it. This was another GREAT idea.
In 2006, Matt took a 6 month trip through 39 countries on all 7 continents. He danced a lot! This second video, brought Matt even more attention.
In 2007, Matt approached Stride gum with another idea. He realized that his bad dancing was not that um...exciting. But he thought that other people were much better at being bad at it. So this time, he wanted to travel around the world again, but this time, invite other people to come out and dance along with Matt. Stride liked it.
And this brings us to the video below. To me, the video shows that though we are all different, we are very much the same. Most of us want to be happy in life. Free and healthy in body and mind. Though, Matt has not reached epic stardom, he has made his mark in a very positive way. That in itself, is more enriching, then being rich, bathing in your money and not giving a damn about anyone else and likewise, no one giving a damn about you. I say, Matt - good for you and keep dancing up a storm!

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

I'm not a mom, so I can laugh at this....

Rugby is a game known for it's full-body contact.

But viewers in New Zealand got more than they bargained for when they tuned in to watch Grassroots Rugby Sunday afternoon.

Prime Television is a free-to-air kiwi television station that was to air the rugby show, but apparently got their signals crossed.

Instead of the sporting program they played four minutes of hard-core pornography.

What the sports fans saw, a movie entitled Desperate Black Wives 2, was intended for an adult pay-per-view channel called Spice.

Rival networks in the area reported that parents were outraged, some claiming that their children's innocence was lost in the mix-up.

A spokesman for the station blames the slip-up on an error in the "distribution process."

Source: citynews.ca

Peeve of the Day

Ever since Starbucks introduced their breakfast sandwiches, the place stinks of burnt bread and old cheese. Not exactly a great scent to start off the day. What happened to the aromatic, inviting aroma of freshly brewed java?