Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Our Rick Mercer Report Taping

I mentioned last Friday that we were going to see a taping of the popular CBC show - Rick Mercer Report. Rick is a Canadian funny man whose show is a great combination of political satire, rants (which I am particularly partial to), and funny segments. Some is live and some is pre-taped.

The show that taped Friday night aired last night.

When we went I was so hopeful that Rick would take whatever opportunity he could to savage Stephen Harper. Thankfully he DID. My friend, a Stephen Harper fan, was decidedly uncomfortable. Mom, Paul, and I were giddy.

Rick was as short as everyone says he is. He was also wickedly funny off the cuff. I would pay to have a wit as quick as that.

I really appreciated how Rick interacted with the audience. His producer started with the'rules'. rick came on and basically said 'ignore them'.

When the taping was over (with only one retake needed) we joined a line to meet Rick. He had a nice chat with mom. He looked askance at my friend when he was told what a Stephen Harper fan she was. Then he had a picture taken with mom, Paolo, and I. Of course I hadn't brought my camera but my Conservative loving friend quickly snapped a pic with her cell phone.

Here is a wee bit of history here on the blog . . .

 

the first picture of someone famous  . . . perhaps the first time I've allowed my pic on my own blog . . . the first mom, Paul, and I have been in a pic on the blog.

We're Heading to See Rick Mercer

I've never been to a live taping of a TV show. To be honest I never thought of it as something within the realm of possibility. Then my friend asked me if I wanted to go and see a Canada's funniest man - Rick Mercer tape his show.

Tonight's the night.

Rick is hilarious. His show is a funny 30 minutes of clips doing wacky stuff and biting commentary a la Jon Stewart. I've featured clips of him on the blog in the past. In case you missed them here is one from his show last week . . .

He and Jan Arden - who must be Canada's funniest singers, go out on the recently opened walkway around the top of the CN tower.

Methinks there will be lots of laughter tonight!

So How Much TV do YOU Watch?

Today a new study was released that traced levels of TV watching with illness. You can guess the results I am sure.

Watching more than two hours of television a day can increase the risk of death, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

I expect that if you watch those idiotic reality TV shows your risk of death increases exponentially. Jersey Shores would no doubt cause a coronary in hours.

In case you're sitting there thinking 'how could this be?' allow me to assist . . . Couch potatoes aren't physically active while sitting in front of the TV, and the time is associated with unhealthy eating, such as consuming junk food. No exercise + bad food ingested = premature trip to the morgue.

In addition, they found a marked increase in obesity amongst those who channel surf. you know the ones - they hog the remote and constant flip about from one thing to the next.

Hmmm. . . time to turn off the TV and go for a walk . . .

Oprahgeddon

As what must certainly be the entire planet knows Oprah Winfrey aired her last show last week. I love this spoof from the Upright Citizens Brigade showing he wasteland that awaits in the post Oprah workd . . .

Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes

I missed the Globes. I generally do. It seems an excuse for the vacuous self-promotion by people who least require it.

I have been listening to the fall-out over the comments made by the host - british Comedian Ricky Gervais. Today he declared that he'd never host the Globes again (Hollywood types breathed a sigh of relief).

Not knowing what he said I went to YouTube where I found a collection of clips from his remarks at the Globes.

What What do YOU think? Too much?

Paul's Favourite Christmas Show

Yesterday we got to watch MY favourite Christmas show (the Grinch, of course) and tonight we got to watch Paul's . . .

All of this TV watching is not assisting with the Christmas baking . . . or decorating . . . or gift wrapping. *smile*

LOST - Unanswered Questions

The sixth and final season of LOST starts in about 10 minutes. One of the great features of the show has always been the sense of mystery. The fans love this!

I was searching about ont he internet and came upon this wonderful list of significant questions that remain unanswered. I wonder if any will be answered in tonight's first episode?

What is the history of the Others? Where did they come from? Why did they kill off the Dharma Initiative?

What happened to Claire?

What's up with Walt's powers? How did the Others know about them?

How did Cindy the stewardess and the two children from the Oceanic flight come to be among the Others?

What's behind the creepy whispering often heard on the island? Ghosts?

What are the lists all about? Why are the Others interested in some of the crash survivors and not the rest? They define themselves as "good." What's their definition of the word?

What was Ben's breakfast on the beach with Kate in season 3 all about? We didn't see any of their discussion.

Why does the smoke monster kill some people and not others?

What IS the smoke monster?

Why did the Others initially disguise themselves as shipwrecked pirate types complete with fake beards?

What's up with the sickness that killed off Danielle's team?

What is the history of "Adam and Eve," the skeletal remains the crash survivors discovered in season one? Were they Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan?

What really brought the various people to island? What's behind the web of connections among them all? It appears as though Jacob is responsible. But how? Why?

Is the Dharma Initiative still active at all?

Who was behind the air drop of Dharma supplies that has benefited the Oceanic survivors?

Why do women on the island die instead of giving birth?

What's behind the apparent healing properties of the island?

Who, or what, is Jacob? Who is his mysterious nemesis?

Why did Jacob's nemesis require a loophole in order to kill him?

What's responsible for the visions of animals and dead people the crash surivors sometimes see on the island?

What's the deal with Libby, killed in season 2, who evidently gave Desmond the sailboat that landed him on the island and who once was in a mental ward with Hurley?

What's up with the giant statue? How was it damaged?

Is there any explanation for why the man in the Dharma Initiative videos is at different times identified as Dr. Marvin Candle, Dr. Mark Wickmund, Dr. Pierre Change and other names and why the CIA agent who identifies himself as Joe Inman to Sayid tells Desmond that his name is Kelvin Inman?

Why did the psychic in Australia encourage Claire to take the doomed flight?

Who is the man Sarah left Jack for? Why is she so reluctant to reveal his identity? Is he somehow associated with the Dharma Initiative and/or the Others?

How is the island hidden from the outside world? Why/how does it move?

Why did Abaddon/Widmore recruit Miles, Daniel, Charlotte and Frank to visit the island? Why did they agree to help him?

What's up with that polar bear in Tunisia? Was Charlotte part of Dharma when she found it, or was she snooping into what Dharma is all about?

How do people leave and return from/to the island?

Why is Richard Alpert seemingly ageless? He's says Jacob is responsible. What is his history?

Are Christian Shepherd and Claire dead? Are we seeing their ghosts?

Who is Penelope's mother?

Why did Alpert want the body of Amy's husband?

Who created the ancient temple on the island?

How did the Others save young Ben after he was shot?

What is Ilana's history with Jacob? Why was her face bandaged?

Is Locke really dead? Will he return?

Everything you Need to Know About LOST in 8 Minutes and 15 Seconds

Paul and I are huge fans of LOST. I watched from the second season, got turned off when it went weird in the third season, and then both of us got hooked again in the fourth season.

The last episode of season 5 aired in May 2009 - to say it was brilliant and riveting would be a gross understatement. We have hated having to wait until February for the sixth, and final season to start. next tuesday you know where WE'LL be! 

The other day a colleague at work was asking if it was worth it to try and watch the final season when she hadn't watched any of the rest. Of course I said yes  . . . and the clip below will assist. Here you have everything you need to know about LOST in 8 minutes and 15 seconds.

Are You Smarter Than A Blogger?

Last night we did something we don't often do - we watched CBC (Canadian Broadcast Company for those of you not in the know). It is sort of like the BBC without any of the good shows or other redeeming qualities. Why would we spend a Sunday night watching this network you ask? They had a game show called 'Test the Nation".

The premise is simple. 60 questions are read out on air. The studio audience, divided into 6 groups: Bloggers, Chefs, Flight Crews, Cab Drivers, Backpackers (maybe) or Celebrity Impersonators (yeah, right) and 6 'celebrity' players play. The 3 folk watching at home get to play along as well - all in an effort to try and prove that you know more trivia from 2001 - the present than a Paris Hilton celebrity look-a-like.

Wow. Two hours of watching mediocre announcers, a cheesy 'futuristic' set, and a chance to be better than a poor Paris Hilton impersonator? We were there!

Apparently this game show concept started in Holland (what will they ship overseas next?) I guess previous iterations have been well received because CBC keeps bringing it back!

I am pleased to share that last night the bloggers cleaned up! The highest team score - 50 out of 60 questions. The highest celebrity player: Samantha Bee representing the Bloggers with a score of 49/60. Top score of all? Rick Spence (from the Bloggers) with a score of 57/60. Yes folks, the bloggers ruled.

This was the finish of the six groups:

1. Bloggers
2. Backpackers
3. Flight Crews
4. Celebrity Look-a-likes
5. Chefs
6. Cab Drivers

In addition, people could register and play along on-line. This yielded a wealth of silly bits of information. What did we discover from those playing on-line? Well, men scored higher than women. Blondes had the lowest score (way to pander to stereotypes there guys and gals). Those who traveled outside of Canada scored far better than those who do not travel. Coffee drinkers were superior to those who sip tea or drink neither. Blah, blah, blah.

How did those at our home do? Well, I won with a score that was in the 'backpacker range' (45/60). Paul came in second and was in the range of those pesky celebrity look-a-likes. There is no truth to the nasty rumour that the Paris Hilton look-a-like scored higher than Paul. No truth to it at all.

Mom was over for dinner and so she joined in on the fun. Sadly much of the 2000s seem to have passed her by as she didn't score well at all. In fact, those cab drivers scored higher than her. In fairness, she got messed up during the lightening round and that through off all of her remaining answers. However, I think it is time to start munching on some Ginkgo.

So there you have it. Bloggers, those computer nerds who spent far too long on the internet and clearly not socializing with anyone else can claim victory on 'Test the Nation'. Hmmmm . . . now go out and get some fresh air!

If you want to see how you do you can visit here to take the test.