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s”NO”w fun

fwinter2Another week, another few snowfalls. We’ve had like 10 feet of snow fall this winter, with another 1-2 feet being announced for this weekend alone. This is getting ridiculous. Any more snow, and I might have to start piling it up in my garage as I’m running out of room! It’s just crazy!

I’ve been listening to Ghosts I-IV all week and man is it a great album. I’m usually not one for instrumentals (let alone 36 tracks), but this CD set is blowing me away. It really shows how much of a creative genius composer Trent Reznor really is.

I’ve been playing a bit of the Frontlines: Fuel of War demo on the Xbox 360 and I’m hooked. This is how Battlefield 2 should have been made. The online gameplay is fun and exciting, the graphics are pretty good for a 360 game. I can’t comment on the single player aspect as the demo is multiplayer only, but I’m hoping to find out how good it is as I’ll probably be buying the game this weekend.

I’ve also been blown away on how good some TV shows have been these last couple of weeks. Lost just keeps on getting better, and for every question that gets answered, 10 more pop up. So far this season has been far better than the last one. Stargate Atlantis has also been very good lately, with the temporary return from of Dr. Beckett who has risen from the dead, sorta. With only 1 episode left for this season, you can feel the cliffhanger just building. You just know it’s going to include the disappearance of Teyla, and that this storyline won’t be resolved until next season. I was happily surprised to see a new season of Regenesis. Its got to be the best Canadian show around (so much so that Showtime or HBO in the states carries it). As good as the 3rd season was, it wasn’t as good as the first 2. Hopefully they’ll return to the greatness that was seasons 1 and 2. I’ve been watching Survivor again this year. This season,they’re pitting past contestants against fans of the show. Its a pretty good premise and so far this season has been fun to watch. I also want to smash my head into a wall when I see the same mistakes being made over and over again. We all know what happens when you vote off the strongest people in the tribe before the merge; you end up losing many challenges. People will never learn. Finally, Battlestar Galactica starts up again on April 4th. This is one I’m really salivating over.

The Sens so far are 0-3 on their 4 game trip out west. They outright lost 2 games and they lost one in overtime. I’m optimistic though, as they are playing a lot better than they were a couple of weeks ago and Gerber has been really solid in net. It is disappointing that they lost 2-0 (one being an empty netter) against the last team in the league. 40 shots on goal against a rookie goaltender, and not one shot went past the red paint (well one did, but the video replay was ruled inconclusive). All we can hope for is that they’ll keep improving their play and be back to their winning ways before the playoffs start.

Luc "Sandman" G.
Entertainment Life Music Sports

The weekend didn’t slip through the couch cushions

NIN_GhostsI-IVMan o man, do weekends go buy way too quickly. You blink and boom, there they went. 3 day weekends every week? I could go for that! On Saturday we went and saw my nieces perform their yearly skating recital. Due to some very crappy parking (or lack of), we ended up missing their part of the show. There’s always next year! 😛 We had to endure watching 3 to 10 year olds put on a skating show loosely based around High School Musical. [sarcasm] There’s 2 of my favorite things in the world. Ice Skating and High School Musical. [/sarcasm] It made for a very long afternoon. This means that I missed the Sens vs Penguins game. I did manage to catch part of the 3rd period on the radio, and from what I could gather they were playing with a lot more energy and resolve compared to the last few weeks. There were still a few too many giveaways and defensive mistakes, yet things are getting better. There are only 16 or so more games left until the playoffs, so we fans can only hope things will keep on improving, or else it will be a quick exit out of this year’s playoffs.

Nine Inch Nails has released a new instrumental album, but this time you won’t find it on store shelves (at least not yet). Being released from the shackles of recording companies, Trent Reznor was able to release his new album entitled “Ghosts I-IV” online. There are 36 tracks to this album, the first 9 which are available as a free download. All tracks are being released under the Creative Commons NonCommercial-Share Alike license, which means legally the files can be shared and used in any non-commercial way. Yup, you can share these mp3s with everyone as long as you don’t make a penny from it. For 5$, you can download all 36 songs in DRM free format, which also include some wallpapers, a 40 page PDF booklet, some graphic artwork, icons, etc..). For 10$ you can order a 2 CD set with all 36 songs. Doing this will also allow you to download all the songs immediately and get all the files you’d get with the 5$ only download. You can also wait to buy the 2CD set in stores on April 8th, but you won’t get the downloads. There’s a couple of other Deluxe packages that can be ordered as well. All this can be done at ghosts.nin.com. I’ve ordered the 10$ 2CD set myself, and once the servers aren’t as overloaded, I’ll be downloading it. I did get the 9 free tracks and this is pure unadulterated Nine Inch Nails at its finest.

This method is how albums should be released. Instead of suing your listeners for distributing music on the Internet and following an antiquated and dying business model, record companies should adopt new models such as this to help bring life back into the music industry. Heck, with the hundreds of millions gathered from lawsuits and settlements that the RIAA has won, not one dime from those lawsuits has made it into the pockets of the artists. Thankfully the RIAA has suffered a massive blow to their lawsuit campaign, with a federal US judge denying a lawsuit on the basis of copyright misuse and excessive damages.

So back to the album. The 9 tracks that I’ve listened to so far are very good. These are pure instrumental tracks with no vocals. They show how much of a creative and genius composer that Trent Reznor is. The background on this album is also pretty interesting. This is from the website.

“This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as… something.

The team: Atticus Ross, Alan Moulder and myself with some help from Alessandro Cortini, Adrian Belew and Brian Viglione. Rob Sheridan collaborated with Artist in Residence (A+R) to create the accompanying visual and physical aesthetic.

We began improvising and let the music decide the direction. Eyes were closed, hands played instruments and it began. Within a matter of days it became clear we were on to something, and a lot of material began appearing. What we thought could be a five song EP became much more. I invited some friends over to join in and we all enjoyed the process of collaborating on this.

The end result is a wildly varied body of music that we’re able to present to the world in ways the confines of a major record label would never have allowed – from a 100% DRM-free, high-quality download, to the most luxurious physical package we’ve ever created.

More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future.

– Trent Reznor, March 2, 2008″

Luc "Sandman" G.
Life Music

Spice Girls in Montreal Part Deux

Sunday started off by being a day from hell. I first went to get a much needed haircut. I was told there was a 30 minute wait. 1h15 mins later I finally managed to sit down in the barber chair. Once that was said and done, I had to drive 10 minutes to get my car wash thanks to some birds who decided to use it as a toilet, only to find the car wash was closed. Off to the next closest gas station I went. I start to pump some gas only to be told the debit/credit system will be down for 5 minutes… so I wait and wait. Once my Jeep was happily fed, I get in line for the carwash, with 10 cars ahead of me. Did I mention I was in a rush?

3:00pm finally rolls around and I finally make it back home. We’re slightly behind schedule to leave for Montreal to catch the 2nd Spice Girl show. The drive down to Montreal was quick and uneventful. There was very little traffic on the highway and we didn’t get stuck behind slow drivers. We managed to get from Orleans to the Bell Centre in an hour and 45 minutes. We park the car inside the Bell Centre, I grab a quick smoke then we head in to St-Hubert for some dinner. Just like the last concert, the place was packed with Spice Girls fans that were also grabbing some grub before the show. Come 6:30 we’re done eating, the coffee cup is empty and the bill is paid. We almost fear going outside. See, on the January 31st show, we lined up outside in the freezing cold at 6:30. The doors didn’t open until 7:20, and once inside all seats were blocked off until 7:35. However, they had the doors open early yesterday so we walked right in (after my after dinner smoke of course) and went to our seats. We were in section 111, 2nd row dead centre to the raised platform. These were even better seats than last time! With some time to kill, we headed back out to the lobby, checked out the dealer tables, grabbed a drink and just walked around for a bit. The crowd generally appeared to be a bit younger than the last show. It looked like most concert goers weren’t even in school when the Spice Girls first became popular. Man did we feel old (and my fiancee is 10 years my junior!). We headed back to our seats when I look at my watch and its only 7:45. The Jan 31st show didn’t start until 9:15. We were both hoping the show would start earlier, as it was still early, and my fiancee started a new job on Monday morning. Imagine our surprise when the show started at 8:30!

As exciting as the first show was, this one was even better. The crowd was even more into it, the screams were even louder (not to mention the sound system) and there seemed to be more people dancing. The Spice Girls themselves seemed more energized and more playful, especially Geri. There was a lot more interactivity with the crowd too. Maybe its because the tour is coming to an end, the seemingly better crowd, or they were just having a really good day. In either case we fans benefited from it. Being so close to the stage was a blast. All 5 girls throughout the show headed our way, waved in our general direction and said hello. Emma, Mel C and Victoria even managed to make direct eye contact a couple of times… I know, I sound like a 15 year old girl there but who cares 😛

There was quite a bit of differences between last night’s concert and the last show. Here’s a quick rundown:

* Emma and Mel C cracked up bigtime at a sign being held by someone in front of me.
* Some guy was holding a “Will you marry me Geri” sign, to which the girls starting friendlily teasing Geri about. Just the other day I was telling my fiancee that I should wear a shirt that said that exact thing. She wasn’t really amused 😛
* A fan gave the girls 5 huge fake roses. The girls really appreciated it. Mel B and Geri started swordfighting with theirs. Victoria rushed to the 2nd stage and handed it to Cruz.
* During Wannabe, Mel B totally cracked up. Neither my fiancee nor I saw why.
* Emma sounded like a chipmunk at the start of Goodbye. She guzzled down half her water bottle to clear it up.
* Geri flipped herself upside down on the bar on the raised platform, mooning our side of the stage.
* 4 of the girls seemed to be impressed by this one guy’s dancing and urged him on with “go Joey, go Joey”
* Mel B brought Angel up on stage at the end of Mama.
* Pretty much all the girls spoke french at one point. Geri said pretty much the same thing as last time, and did her Headlines intro in french. Mel C said she spoke french “un petit peu” ( a little), Emma said Merci, and Mel B asked in her usual sexual-toned way “Quel age as-tu?” (How old are you?).
* Geri seemed genuinely sad when she talked about only 2 shows left for the tour.
* Mel B didn’t swear once during the concert.

I know I’m missing quite a bit. Lack of sleep is affecting my memory. My fiancee will help me fill the gaps later on tonight 😛 Oh, one thing I couldn’t believe. The 3-4 girls that sat beside me literally did just that. They sat through the entire concert. Even though everyone else in the section (and the arena) were up an their feet, waving, dancing, singing along, etc…, they just sat there. Oh well, to each their own I guess.

The show came to an end at 10:15, which made my fiancee happy since it meant she would have more than 5 hours of sleep before starting her new job. Come 10:25 we were already on the highway back. Whoever designed the parking at Bell Centre should talk to the folks over at Scotiabank Place, where it can take up to an hour just to leave the parking lot after a hockey game! The trip back was entertaining to say the least. There were a lot of fog patches where I could barely see 10 feet in front of me. Even though we stopped at Timmy’s and McD’s on the way home, we still managed to pull up to our driveway at 12:25.

All in all, this tour rates in probably the top 4 or 5 concerts of the 60-80 that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Its hard to imagine that this is probably it for the Spice Girls (so they keep on saying). They seem to genuinely be having so much fun on stage with each other and with the crowd. It would be a real shame for us, and for them, if this would truly be their farewell tour. Regardless of what may or may not happen after this tour ends, both my fiancee and I have to thank the Spice Girls for 2 very fun and memorable nights that will forever remain etched in our memories.

Videos I took:

[youtube nFYxdqf8r88 Say You’ll Be There]

[youtube J7Ts-treuYo Viva Forever Intro]

I only managed to get the intro as a guard came up to me to remind me that videotaping the concert wasn’t permitted, even with a digital camera 😛

I took a lot of pictures of the concert. They’ll be posted in my photogallery soon, but in the meantime, here are a few:

Luc "Sandman" G.
Hockey Life

Sens comeback to win 4-3

Sens vs PittAhh Saturdays. I didn’t do much… Just the usual weekend housecleaning and a bit of shoveling. I’m giving away free snow for anyone who wants some. Local pickup only. 🙂

I was a little peeved that CBC carried to Scotts overtime well past 3pm. That meant missing the first 13 minutes of the Sens-Penguins game. However, listening to the game on the radio, it didn’t sound like I missed much. We took 4 penalties in the first period alone. I wonder why the refs seem to pick on us. There were a few very obvious calls that they should have made against the Penguins yet they got away scott free. I watched the game until Pittsburgh scored their 3rd goal. At that point I had to turn off the TV. The Sens were lifeless, were giving away the puck, as usual the defence was pretty much non-existent. At least Emery made some pretty big saves. I always said that if you gave time for the guy to play that he could regain the form he had last year that took us into the playoffs. I’m glad to see that’s happening… but its still a work in progress.

OK, so I turned off the game because it was time to do the weekly grocery thing (I swear being disgusted on how poorly the Sens were playing had nothing to do with it! 😉 ). Imagine my surprise on the way back from the store to turn on the radio and hear that the Sens have come back to tie the game! Paddock must of put a fire under them for the Sens to come back like that. I had to make a quick stop at another store, but I idled in the parking lot to listen to the overtime before heading in. Could they do it? Could they actually win the game? My heart was racing upon hearing the 2 2 on 1 chances that the Penguins had. On the first 2 on 1, you could even hear the puck hit the goalpost over the radio. Then, with 3.2 seconds left, our saviour Alfie put in the puck top shelf to give the Sens their second overtime victory in the last 3 games. We were lucky to go away with a win on this one. Hopefully the slump is at an end and we’ll be clawing our way back to the winning form displayed back in October. For now, we haven’t lost our #1 spot in the eastern conference.

We’re heading off to Montreal today to see the Spice Girls in concert again. We saw them when they played Montreal on January 31st. I’ve been to probably 80-90 concerts in my lifetime (mostly of the rock/metal/alternative kind), but I have to admit that it was one of the best shows I’ve seen. I bought the tickets for the 2nd show as a Valentine’s day gift, but I’ll admit I’m not going to mind seeing them again. If what the girls are saying is true, this is probably the last tour we get to see them in concert (with only 2 shows left after this one).

Luc "Sandman" G.
Life

Here we go again.

Here we go again. My stab at another blog. I’ve started a couple of these in the past and they never really went anywhere. One was nothing more than movie reviews, and as for the other, the software had failed and I never bothered fixing it since I wasn’t really updating it on a regular basis.

Luc "Sandman" G.

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