Last night, a coworker and I went to see the Toronto Maple Leafs play lose to the Boston Bruins at the ACC. We got the tickets from our employer as a thank you, which I thought was really nice. The seats were pretty good, in the reds, up behind the net. Unfortunately, the Leafs lost 6-2, and they played a sloppy game in my opinion. Not very impressive at all, and they deserved to lose. All in all, it was a fun first NHL experience for me. Here’s a few random thoughts about the night:
I was surprised at how lax the rules are with the sale and consumption of beer. We each got a medium beer, which cost about $9 or so. They didn’t ask for ID from either of us, and we were free to carry the beer around wherever we wanted. This goes against anything I’ve experienced at almost any other event where alcohol is served. At concerts, alcohol is only served in roped off or designated areas, away from underage kids, but at the hockey game, you can freely drink your beer anywhere you want.
I was also surprised at the amount of advertising presented. There were commercials on the big screen between plays and during intermissions, and the outer screens that surround the arena constantly cycled through various ads.
I wasn’t really surprised about how overpriced everything was, because everybody already knows that’s just the way it is. However, there’s no way in hell I would ever pay the $146 my ticket was worth to watch the Leafs play. I would much rather go see the Oshawa Generals play, where I can get the best seats in the house for $25, and see a much more exciting, action-packed game.
My first NHL game was fun, but I won’t be going back unless I get free tickets again.
Last night I went down to Toronto with some friends to see Justice at the MySpace Music Tour which was held at The Sound Academy. It was a great time, although the scheduling for the night FUCKING SUCKED.
Doors opened at 8pm, and we got there close to 9. Fancy was supposed to be there to start off the show, but I’m pretty sure the opening act was some DJ I’ve never seen before. Does this guy look familiar to anyone?
Busy P played an awesome set and really got the crowd jumpin’. He did drag on for a while, and there were a few lulls, but overall he had a good energy and kept the crowd excited. Busy P has the craziest French accent I’ve ever heard.
After Busy P finished up, there was probably the longest wait I’ve ever experienced for the next band or performer to come out. I would say this is where they fucked up big time with the flow of the night. Everyone waited around with the house lights turned up, while they played classic rock for at least half an hour until Justice finally came out on stage.
Justice finally took to the stage at around 11:15 and the crowd went craaazy. Their stage setup is amazing, with the glowing cross and Marshall stacks everywhere. They were so fucking LOUD! The Sound Academy has probably the best sound system I’ve ever heard at a live show. It was ridiculously loud, but still crisp and not distorted or hissy like the sound quality I’ve heard at other venues. And when they dropped the bass, it hit hard!
We saw Justice play about three songs and then we had to leave so we didn’t miss the last train home. Bunch of fuckers! I mean honestly, doors opened at 8pm, Fancy didn’t even show up, so I don’t think it was too much to expect the show to be done by 11:30 or so. Especially considering it was an all ages show on a Monday night. The kids have school in the morning, the adults gotta work, and I’m sure a lot of people came from out of town and didn’t want to miss their trains and buses home.
Anyway, here’s a couple blurry pics of the stage during Justice’s set:
I like video games. I’ve played them my whole life. I’m not what you’d consider a “gamer” by any means, but I’ll definitely play a bit when I have some free time. I’ve always been against those who condemn video games, saying they are a bad influence on kids. These are usually the same types of people who blame murders on the messages found in popular music.
I’m not going to get into the social aspects behind all of this, but I recently came across a couple of articles that talk about people saving lives because of what they learned in video games.
The first incident involved a young boy from Norway, who “feigned death” to prevent a moose from attacking him and his sister. He learned this technique from playing World of Warcraft. I don’t know anything about WoW (thankfully), but apparently this is a skill used in the game to pretend you’re dead so you aren’t bothered by enemies.
The second event involved a man who witnessed a car crash and was able to treat the passenger’s injuries based on what he’d learned playing America’s Army. The man reportedly stated “I have received no prior medical training and can honestly say that because of the training and presentations within America’s Army, I was able to help and possibly save the injured men.”
That’s interesting stuff, and I think it helps show that video games aren’t all bad, and can actually have a positive effect on people.
Over two years ago I wrote about Ticketmaster being a dick. Things have definitely not changed.
I hate Ticketmaster and their damn monopoly on the event ticket market. I still use them whenever a good concert comes along, but only because I have no other choice. I’m already grumpy today, and after just purchasing two tickets to see alexisonfire this weekend, I’m pretty mad at Ticketmaster and their shenanigans. Check it out:
Tickets were worth $67 even. That leaves $23.50 in service charges. I can understand there being a $1 facility charge per ticket. The $9 “convenience fee” per ticket is pure robbery. And then they tack on the $3.50 “order processing charge”. I can’t think of any other retailer, online or offline, that would charge you $3.50 to buy something, especially after they already ripped you off with other charges.
After all this time, Ticketmaster still sucks balls. But, sometimes they are the only place to buy tickets for an event, so you have no other choice.
Remember the Friendly Giant? My friend at work and I were having a talk about this last week, so I did a little research on the show. I was very surprised to hear that the show was started in 1953, in Wisconsin. It wasn’t until 1958 that the show made its way up to Canada and started airing on CBC.
The Friendly Giant was played by Bob Homme, who sadly died back in 2000 at the age of 81. I have fond memories of the show, as I’m sure many people do. The show spanned so many generations, that anybody who watched TV as a kid in the last 30 years has to be familiar with it. Remember Rusty the Rooster and Jerome the Giraffe? And then there were the Jazz Cats that sometimes made an appearance. The show would end with the Friendly Giant rearranging his furniture. Such a great show, I tell ya.
In 1984, CBC canceled the show due to budget cuts. I don’t understand how that could be, since the show must have had one of the lowest budgets ever. After all was said and done, there were over 3000 episodes of The Friendly Giant produced.
