Greg reacts to Olympic Hockey

So I guess now is as good a time as ever to give my personal perspective on the whole Canada beating U.S.A. in hockey just a few hours ago. I did watch the game on and off. I was on my computer and making food, but I was glancing at it here and there and I think I caught every goal. Both teams seemed to play a pretty good game.

Now I'll be honest, hockey isn't my game. Growing up, I just never had any interest in it. You had to drive all the way to an ice rink to play and and needed all that equipment. I only had one friend who ever played in an organized league. I dabbled in street hockey towards the end of high school, but can't say I really enjoyed it. I couldn't take watching it. People say, "THERE'S SO MUCH MORE ACTION THAN FOOTBALL OR BASEBALL!!!" Action is not all of what sports is about. It seems to me in hockey, while they do try to apply strategy and some plays, everything falls apart relatively easy. Possession changes every few seconds. It's just chaos. For some people that's cool, whatever. I prefer something like football or baseball, where you have brief moments of action resulting from a build up of strategy. For the most part, the only reason I got dragged into playing it at all was this guy:



Sidney Crosby. Before he came onto the scene, there were a few goofballs around that were Penguin fans, but being in Pittsburgh, it was all about the Steelers. Even though the Pirates sucked, the people around me seemed to care more about them. When the NHL went on strike for a whole season, nobody I knew really noticed or cared. It's just hockey. Then, Crosby came.

All of a sudden, the Penguins became great and everybody around me started changing. People started talking about last night's hockey game. People started wearing around hockey jerseys for the first time (which are the ugliest jerseys there are. Seriously, you look like a billboard). Even girls were rattling off player name after player name, all of which sounded completely unfamiliar to me. I knew Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr and both of them were pretty much gone. And I'll tell you what, I didn't like it. It just seems shallow to root for a team, much less get into an entire sport, just because the local team turned into winners. I found myself secretly rooting for the Penguins to lose just so they would be eliminated as a topic of conversation amongst everybody. Then, they win the Stanley Cup.

At this point, I've pretty much accepted it. I'm quite content going to Pirate games for a fraction of the price. I ignore people who only want to talk Penguins since I know they'll fall off eventually. No team is good all the time (except maybe the Yankees). Even dynasties like the Steelers have rough periods. Teams have their good years, then they fall off for a while, and then they return towards the top. I believe the Pirates are in that phase now which makes it only more entertaining for me to watch, and I'll admit, I'm a die hard fan. Not because they are winners like the Penguins. I am a Pirate fan because of their stadium, the fact that I can watch every game either in person or on television without some special cable deal, the fact that I believe in what their management is doing to rebuild the organization (as opposed to the Penguins who just won the draft lottery), and I love the history of the organization. But I digress.

With the Olympics coming around, I thought you know, screw this, I'll give up my anti hockey emotions for a while and root for the good old red, white, and blue. I was impressed with their play, I guess. When they lost, I wasn't disappointed. It is Canada's national pass time. And how ironic that it was none other than Crosby to score the winning goal. That's when I started browsing the internet and seeing all the trash talking. It just seems odd that most people know nothing about these players and what kind of people they are, yet they will get into verbal confrontations with people just because that team is comprised of players who are from your country. Your country, which like any country, is just a shape made from man made borders. Am I supposed to be sad that we lost? What does it mean anyways? We as Americans aren't as good as Canadians at hockey? Well, from a technical standpoint, it proves that one team of Canadians were better than one team of Americans at a certain point in time. Even still, what does it mean? Am I supposed to feel inferior now? Canada is 250 miles from me. If that border scooted down and I was now Canadian, am I supposed to feel superior? Since when are borders created by men supposed to influence my self worth?

Sure I like to see my fellow countrymen do well. But that isn't necessarily because they are American. It's because of their exposure within the American media. I get to see what type of person they are through interviews. If they leave a favorable impression, I root for them. Usain Bolt was my favorite athlete of the 2008 Summer games. Not because he won, but he was much more interesting than anybody else out there (including a swimmer using a cheat suit).

Greg went to BCSD

For the 4th straight year I believe?

I'll make this a short posting since I realize that not all of my readers are rollerbladers. If you are ever interested in what I am talking about though, feel free to hop on youtube and search for "bittercold showdown".

To sum it up, it is the biggest rollerblading event of the year. Not rollerblading like spandex on the boardwalk, but rollerblading like doing tricks. It was a great event as always and keeps getting better and better every year. Best improvement by far was adding bleachers in the skatepark (in the past we've had to all stand for about 6 hours during the whole contest). It was awesome seeing so many familiar faces. What few rollerbladers are left out there really are like one big family. That makes it kind of disappointing that a legend, Chris Haffey, was booed when it was announced he won because people felt Bolino out skated him. Like they said, it was a hard contest to judge. Once the edits come out people will see. Either way, I don't really think this contest is about the winner.


It makes me wish more sports were like this. Before the contest there's a tradeshow and most of the competitors can be found there. How often do you get to buy a signature product from the guy who's name is on it? It's such a great atmosphere to be in and I'm glad I could make the drive out to Detroit again this year to take it all in.

Thinking Back Thursday 1

Well here's another thing which I hope to make a weekly fixture for this blog, which literally popped into my head a second ago. Thinking Back Thursdays will be just looking back at things either from just the past few years, or even back to my early childhood and just sort of reflecting upon them.

Where to start, where to start... well, here's a nod to all the gamers out there, who remembers the N64?



Yeah, what a beast. I got into games kind of late compared to my friends, so this was my first ever console. I still remember opening it up Christmas Day, only I don't think I was as energetic as that one kid.

Anyway, I want to just talk about one game in particular. That game, is Banjo Kazooie.



This is still one of my favorite games of all time. I even played through it again a few months ago, and a lot of it's charm is still there. It felt like such an adventure at the time. Walking through those caves or whatever while trying to find the levels, hearing the witch laughing. The worlds themselves were huge and each one had a very distinct feel and left an impression on me. The game had some pretty witty dialogue. It was just so awesome collecting notes, Jinjos, Jiggys, and all that other ridiculous stuff that seemed so important to get. And who could forget Mumbo Jumbo? It was also cool how when you did quit the game, it played a little cut scene showing your poor sister's fate. I remember being little and thinking, "No! I can't let that happen! I gotta beat this game!!!" I was quite young, so beating a game of this magnitude was a big deal for me, but who could forget that one last step before you got to the top of the witch's castle, the quiz show.




What an awesome idea. Quizzing you about the game. I remember it would play music or something and you would have to guess the level. Most of the time these weren't that hard as long as you paid attention, but the challenge was the witch squares. Those were the ones were you had to answer questions about Grunty, answers you only knew if you talked to her good sister when you found her throughout the game. I always talked to her, but it was still so hard to remember because every answer was just some stupid pun about how disgusting Grunty was.

I can still remember the satisfaction of beating Grunty and having all right with the world, only to be so disappointed at the end. They basically harass you if you don't get all the Jiggys and saw gee if you would have got them, we have pictures of the sequel to show you. What a bunch of jerks.

I did play and beat the sequel, but it just seemed too different and didn't leave as much of an impression on me as the first. There were so many new characters, Bottles was DEAD. It was just strange.



As for the 360 game, Nuts and Bolts, well I bought it. I played it for about 3 hours total. Then I put in another game. And well, I never put it back in. Banjo looked weird. You were so slow if you weren't in a vehicle. It just seemed so foreign, like it wasn't even a Banjo Kazooie game. It was just disappointing to me. I knew it would be very different from the first two, but I still gave it a shot just hoping it would be better. Well, it wasn't. Maybe I'll give it another try someday. Probably not. At least I'll still always have Banjo Kazooie.





And with that, I will be heading to Detroit tomorrow for the Bitter Cold Showdown. If you don't know what that is, prepare to be informed in my next posting, but unfortunately that won't come until after this weekend. Have a nice weekend and remember, less than a month until spring.

Music Monday #1

Well I'd like to start what will probably be a weekly tradition, Music Monday. Basically, every Monday I'll share an artist, album, song, or whatever with you guys that I've been listening to lately. You'll soon realize that my tastes are mostly rap music, but occasionally I'll listen to something else. This is one of those days. Who better to start with than the girl who's my computer wallpaper?

Introducing.... Lights!



In addition to rocking a killer smile, she actually has quite a bit of talent. While the best way I can think to classify her would be a "pop" singer, this Canadian is hardly another Britney Spears clone. She writes her own music and can actually play guitar. As for the music itself, it's very interesting. It is by no means depressing, but it is still very introspective for the most part and I guess the overall sound gives it a lonely night time feel. At first I was kind of indifferent about it, but it really has grown on me.

Lucky for you, it's not too hard to get into her music, since she has only dropped one album, The Listening. The album is overall pretty solid from start to end. It leads right off with the song that is probably my favorite video from the album, "Savior"


It really shows off her creativity and is a decent enough representation of the type of stuff you'll see on the rest of the album. I'm not going to lie, Lights is great eye candy as well.

As for my favorite track? Well she hasn't made a video for it and I'm not sure if there are plans in the future, but I really like the hidden gem that is "Face Up".


Just the halting and starting of the lyrics in the chorus really adds to the overall struggling mood of the song. My favorite off the Listening for sure. She's a really talented artist for sure and I really hope to see more from her in the future. Something tells me her shows would be awesome as well.

Well that concludes the first ever Music Monday, hope you enjoyed and keep checking back to see what else I have in store for you guys.

Greg saw Shutter Island (Review)

Where to begin with Shutter Island? Well, I had been excited about this movie ever since seeing the trailer for it, before Inglourious Basterds I think. I guess I shouldn't really judge movies by their trailers though as seen in my favorite movies post. I had been checking up on this movie with interest only to see that it had only earned a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even worse, I watched At the Movies today and both said to skip it. How could this be? I have seen a few Scorsese films. Not the certified classics like Taxi Driver or Raging Bull (their on my list), but I found Goodfellas entertaining and thought the Departed was awesome. How did he screw this one up?

Well, in short, he didn't. He really, really didn't. In fact, this movie was awesome. Like, really really awesome.

In case you are in the dark, Shutter Island follows a U.S. Marshall in 1954 sent to investigate the disappearance of a prisoner from the mental facility on Shutter Island. It's not as easy as it sounds since security is very tight and the management is not very helpful in his investigation. That's not to say he's the perfect guy by any means. He served in WWII and was part of a group that liberated a concentration camp. The memories still haunt him. The movie is about an investigation so for that I won't reveal much else about the plot. I won't spoil this movie because it's a movie you need to see.

As you may have guessed, the movie is very creepy. The mental patients are all really well played. They are just some lunatics jumping around screaming, but simply people who are functioning how they believe they should based on their perception of reality.

The whole film has this aura of eerie mystery. They don't waste any time either. A few titles pop up and then BAM, we're on the boat and then a few minutes later BAM, we're off the boat on the island and dramatic music is playing to set the mood. That's not to say the music is overbearing. There are times when things are silent and I could feel everybody in the theater just holding their breath. At times, the tension was almost unbearable. There were also several quite disturbing images that were practically horror filmish to me. This is by no means just some episode of Law and Order on a field trip. I rarely see horror films, but this movie did manage to creep me out.

The movie is just a roller coaster that thankfully has an ending that lives up to the rest of the ride. It's one of the most satisfying endings I've seen in a while. This movie won't be loved by everyone, no movie will. But if the trailer intrigued you, this review peaked your interest, or you are just a fan of the genre, I highly recommend you check it out.

Greg lists his current favorite movies

Well I think I'll get this blog officially rolling by popping off my favorite movies as of right now. I'll keep it all pretty spoiler free since I hope some of you will be motivated to check these movies out as a result. Here's my top three in order of release.



First up is Fight Club. I'm breaking the first two rules by talking about it, but screw it. This movie is definitely not what I expected going in. You may be thinking, "Gee, pretty boy Brad Pitt in a movie about fighting. Let me guess, it's like Rocky except for the younger crowd." Well, that couldn't be further from the truth. The story this movie brings to you is quite a treat. It is one of those movies rich movies full of hints and foreshadowing that reward repeat viewings just to pick up on things you missed. That being said, the story has plenty of twists.

It is Fight Club, so yes, it is violent, but the violence does actually have a very profound message behind it that to me anyway, feels unique to our generation. The movie is able to seamlessly jump from serious themes like that to some downright hilarious moments, especially from the narration. I'm not really one for funny movies, but this movie has made me laugh. Check it out.



Next up is Slumdog Millionaire. I did see this movie the summer of it's release. The trailers did an excellent job of explaining absolutely nothing besides how great it is. I hate that. So here's the lowdown and why you need to see this movie.

First of all, if you are an idiot who hates reading, don't bother watching this movie (unless you speak Hindi). Then again, why would you be reading this blog? Anyway, the movie is told through flashbacks spanning this Indian boy Jamal's life. The third of the movie where he is a child is all in Hindi, so be ready to read the subtitles. Get over it, I did. Jamal falls in love with this girl Latika, they become seperated and Jamal spends the rest of the movie trying to find her and win her back.

He faces obstacles like local gangsters, his jealous older brother, and oh yeah, trying to find a girl in a country of one billion. As outrageous as it sounds, the Jamal's story is in the words of one of the detectives interrogating him, "plausible". Detective? Oh yeah, in desperation to get a hold of Latika he goes on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire which he knows she watches. The show serves as the vehicle to bring us in and out of the flashbacks of Jamal's life as he's able to answer questions the world feels he shouldn't know. Great movie.



And finally, Inglourious Basterds. Yet another movie with deceiving trailers. If you think this is Kill Bill + Brad Pitt + World War 2, you are mistaken. Well at least some. Yes, the movie does feature Brad Pitt kicking some Nazi ass (and on a side note, if you have a soul you will laugh at least once in every scene he is in). Unfortunately, he is only in about half of the movie. The rest features the beautiful Melanie Laurent. Oo la la. This movie has even more subtitles than Slumdog, so either study your French AND German, or learn to read. I was surprised to see Diane Kruger in this. Who would have thought the eye candy from the National Treasure movies was not only a great actress, but spoke German?

These characters are all in one way or another involved in a plan to destroy a French theater as it's showing a movie in front of an audience packed with Nazi leadership, including the head honcho, Hitler. The movie is quite stylish and is just downright fun to watch. There are quite a few scenes with amazing tension in them. They even got my heart beating. Like Fight Club, it is both violent and funny, so do yourself a favor and see it.

Greg makes a blog

Hello happy readers! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Greg and this is my blog. I am 19 years old and ready to share my vast knowledge I've gained in those years with the world!

But seriously, this blog will hopefully provide entertainment and maybe even some knowledge to those who stumble upon it. While I have many ideas buzzing around at this point, here's just a brief rundown of what to expect:

1. Lists. Is it weird that the first item on this list is lists? I don't know, but what I do know is I like lists. I think everybody does. I intended to make all sorts of lists relative to my interests. Movies, music, sports, things I like, things I hate, whatever.

2. Reviews. If I think something is awesome, I'm going to let you know. If I think something sucks, YOU WILL ALL BE AWARE OF IT.

3. Opinions. Whether it's just random stuff or current events, I'll chime in here and there about how I feel. Feel free to post comments on this stuff (as well as other posts) because hey, I want to know what my readers are thinking.

4. Stories. In addition to sharing interesting things that happen to me, I also like to write short fictional stories that I'll be sure to sprinkle in here and there. I promise they aren't as boring as they sound.

That's about all I can think of at this point. I'm sure there will be more, this was just to give you readers out there a general idea of what to expect. While I won't be updating this blog religiously, I don't think a few times a week or at least once a week will be out of the question. So if you like what you're reading, check back and tell your friends!