Seemed to be a theme this month. First, someone plays a level's worth of super mario brother's theme music plus the sound appropriate sound affects entirely on guitar. Craziness. Then, someone comes up with a super mario brothers opera. Yes, really.
Some people, I tell ya. Crazy!
Still, I can't help but be intrigued. Somehow, mario still holds my interest.
Heraldk
Wow. My dad was able to get a pair of awesome tickets from his boss to last night's Vancouver vs Edmonton game and I got to take my sweetheart to the game. It certainly was an experience and a half!!
The house was packed with fans including a surprising number of vancouver fans. The game was exciting, though extremely frustrating in the 3rd period when the Oilers got into penalty trouble. Edmonton took a 2-1 lead into the 3rd period but almost lost the game. It was 3-2 until the final minute when Edmonton had a powerplay and had their goalie pulled ... and managed to score the equalizer.
Overtime solved nothing and we got to see our first shootout - where the Oilers showed quite a lot of talent - Torres and Hemsky scored for Edmonton while Maarkenen stopped both Naslund and Bertuzzi.
The atmosphere in a packed and pumped Oiler crowd is amazing. The volume when we scored was deafening, and we had to laugh as many of the Oiler fans shouted out their very opinionated comments at the refs. Like "This is the worst game I've ever seen in terms of ref-ing". I say that while I was none too happy about the number of penalties the Oilers took - I can't say that we should blame the refereeing. They did a really good job, and its the penalty crackdown that we need to make the game better. So kudos to them.
Heraldk
Boy was I excited. And nervous. Since I found out that Stratovarius was coming to town, I was really wondering what sort of crowd would turn up to a band that is, as far as I know, virtually unknown in town. I was also nervous that the people I had dragged to come see the show (like Diane) wouldn't like it and be forced to endure a few hours of misery.
Thankfully, I really had no reason to worry. Metal fans came out of the woodwork and we had a decent sized crowd - more people than I expected for sure!
Now for my show review.
I arrived at the door around 8:00. The starlite room is a members only club - so some of the people in my group needed memberships. We hung around there and got memberships for them and then entered the place. This was the first time I'd been at the starlite room - it was a pretty neat venue. Pretty small, but my first thoughts were that it was an awesome little venue to see a top notch band like Stratovarius.
The opening band, Into Eternity, started up at 8:45pm sharp. I had not heard anything by them before, and I think its obvious that I would have benefited from doing a little research before hand. I wish people would realize that its not all about making music as loud as possible. Sure, more volume can make things sound really good. But the clarity and balance of all the instruments together that makes for a good listening experience. That is my biggest complaint for the opening band - they seemed extremely talented, but because of the balance issues, I could barely hear the middle range of the vocals. The only notes we heard were when they were growling into their mics or when the lead singer hit some super high notes. I may have to take a listen to some of their music to see if I like them. Unfortunately, the show was not enough to make me buy a cd right then and there.
Finally, Stratovarius made it on stage, and they started in with a great deal of energy. The volume/balance issue did affect them too, but to a lesser extent as more of the Strato songs included quieter ballad songs that took us away from the sheer volume for a few songs. Still, the balance was a major complaint of mine and if I hadn't heard the songs before I think I would've enjoyed the show a little less than I did.
Don't get me wrong - the show was amazing. I find myself wishing that I had more time to spend with my keyboard to try and learn how to play as well as Jens Johannson. For those who don't know, he used to play backup keyboards for Yngwie Malmsteen - often heralded as one of the best speed guitar players. So Jens is a pretty amazing keyboardist since he was able to keep up with Yngwie, and is now playing with Timo Tolkki - who is pretty amazing as well.
They could've kept playing for another hour and half at least and not run out of songs. Stratovarius has a long list of cds they've put out over the years. I think the count is up at 12 cds or something, and almost all the songs on the discs are good enough to be played in a live show like this one. Unfortunately, they couldn't play all night, since they needed to be in Calgary the next day ... They gave us a good selection of music from their repertoire, including some old and some new.
They played two encores - the first ending with Hunting High and Low and the second ending with ... of course ... Black Diamond. There was a startling number of fans who knew the words to many of the songs and that was pretty sweet.
All in all, it was a pretty incredible evening. I'm very happy that they came to town, and at the end of their show they had a slide at the back that said they were coming back in 2007! Woohoo!
Maybe I can drag a few more people to the show this time ;-)
Heraldk
Check this out. A company's cookbook There's an underlying theme to the book ... and its just hysterical looking at some of the pictures and wondering how the people expect others will like them.
One thing is certain, if you like the combo of sausage, eggs and cheese, you'll find several of these recipes in much variation!
That, and orange jello and cool whip - which is a recipe handed down as a family tradition forever.
How exciting.
Heraldk
This is really neat. Someone with a really good imagination and some good photo taking skills ... neat stuff!
Heraldk
This is great, if a tad on the geeky side. Some guy came up with Magic: the gathering style cards for the Katrina disaster. It makes me kind of want to laugh ... but also makes me want to hide away from my childhood geekiness. *shrug*
Heraldk
On Saturday, Diane made plans to have us rent a canoe and be shipped down to Devon to spend a day floating down the North Saskatchewan river into Edmonton. Its a pretty relaxing experience - as long as you have a nice day. Since you're floating down river, you don't even really have to paddle unless you'd like to. You can relax, lay back and enjoy the company of your partner. For those who haven't done the trip, I'd recommend it. If you don't have a canoe and/or have problems getting yourself to devon to start the trip, you can go through the same people we did: Canoeheads.com. They shuttle you to devon and have canoes, lifejackets and paddles if you need them.
Makes a nice relaxing day :) After canoeing, Diane and I went over to my parent's place for barbequed steak and a game of cards. All in all ... a good day!
Heraldk
I don't think I've seen a clearer picture of how much trouble new orleans is in than in this photo. It's truly scary to see so much of a city underwater! Heraldk
Ahahahahah .... Enjoy!
Heraldk
Last night was Mark's birthday so of course we had to celebrate! His plan was to go down to the Melting Pot, but when we arrived we realized it was closed (and being replaced ... alas I will not be able to taste their ginger beef which was apparently really really good). So instead, we wandered down to Chianti's for cheap pasta Tuesday. Really, I think its one of the best deals in town ... the food is really good and it doesn't cost very much - $6.99 a plate. After dinner we wandered across the street to Chapters to let dinner settle before dessert. After Nolan finally got decided what he was buying, we went the the Marble Slab ice cream shop for dessert.
Haven't heard of the slab? Goodness, let me fill you in. The marble slab is an awesome ice cream shop - they make all their flavours in house. You choose a flavour like you would normally do at any other ice cream place, but then you also choose candy (like coffee crisp, crispy cruch, skor, smarties, chocolate chips), or fruit, or nuts. They then take your choices and mix them together on a big marble slab and then slide it into a waffle cone. It is fantastic ... and even though its a tad pricey, its certainly worth it.
Anyways, tonight Diane and I are going to see the Great Pretenors - a fringe holdover that Diane really wanted to see but couldn't get tickets because they sold out too fast. So I'm going to that, and then on to the CSGSA games night! Fun!
Heraldk
Well playing poker today I got myself into a little bit of a jam. Down about $27 and not too happy about it - the day had been very up and down. Sometimes up, sometimes down. I was ready to call it a day when at one table I get dealt, in sucession: ATo, QQ, KK, AA, JJ, and AKo.
Wow talk about good starting hands. Unfortunately, while I did make money on the last 4 hands, I lost a couple pots with the first two hands. But still ... sweet starting hands eh? :)
Heraldk
It has been awhile since my last post. My life has been pretty busy over the last little while. I've been taking a break from the "play poker every night" thing. Last week I lost a little more than I was comfortable with so I decided to take a break, and read my books a little more to figure out what I was doing wrong. Turns out I was actually making some pretty major mistakes and the last few sessions have been a lot better. Now I just have to try and win the money back that I've already lost. Diane and I are still getting on splendidly. She's been looking for a new job to replace her current one when it expires in early September. I hope she finds something good. It'd be nice to see her get a nice more permanent job so there isn't a constant "find another job" thing going on. We've been spending a lot of time with each other, and I must say that I don't think I've every been happier. *insert random sappy sound here*.
My university research is starting to pick up. I've been working on a tool to analyse poker games and to give us an idea of which player had better luck in a match shorter than a statistically significant number of hands. Its turning out to be a very interesting program, and I've got some interesting results already from it.
The Fringe is on now! I've been once already to see Theatresports (there really isn't much better than some improv), and plan to go back to see at least another show or two.
And ... that's about it! Its been busy but its also been great. Oh, and having my own place is awesome :)
Heraldk
Wow. So anyone else who'll be in Edmonton on October 2nd needs to pay attention. Stratovarius is coming to town! For those who don't know, Stratovarius is one of Europe's biggest names in the melodic metal genre - they have something like 11 CDs currently out with a 12th one being released in the near future. The band is apparently deciding to finally try a North American tour - and they are hitting *several* Canadian towns. This is a band that is used to playing huge rock concerts with thousands of people cheering for them on the big stage. So to catch these guys in a city where a lot of people have never even heard of them is pretty crazy. Especially in the small Starlite Room venue!
If you haven't heard of Stratovarius, but like some heavy metal music without the screaming, check them out. If you're interested, you should check out the show - its only $25 a ticket, and there's no telling whether they will be back or not!
Heraldk
This is a really neat post from a guy who learned to count cards. He talks about the differences between novices and experts at the blackjack table and compares that to the differences between successful people and unsuccessful people in life. Its a really neat article and I'd take some time to read it. It really is true for a lot of things - a similar comparison probably could be done with Poker, for instance. Have a read, and let me know what you think!
Heraldk
Ack - it happened again. I do mean to keep this blog up to date - but its been so crazy this month that I haven't been adding posts. Sorry for my *ahem* faithful readers (umm ... if you exist). What have I been up to? Diane and I made a trip to Vancouver a couple weeks ago for my friend Ryan's wedding. That was pretty fun - I had never done the drive there on my own before. We stopped in Kamloops on the way there to visit Diane's Aunt, Uncle, and Grandmother. They are some really nice people! We camped at Lac La Jeune campground, which was a really nice place to stay - I'd definitely go back.
As a sidenote, the bc provincial campgrounds have an awesome online registration system - you can book your site as soon as a couple days in advance through http://www.discovercamping.ca. They charge a fee to book the site, but the nice thing is you can simply pay in advance, and you don't have to worry about having cash on site to pay for your campsite. Plus, you don't have to worry when you'll get there that all the sites will be full because you'll already have a site booked!
We stopped at Rolley Lake the night before the wedding - a little campground about an hour out of Vancouver. Then on the day of the wedding we drove in, checked into our hotel room and changed so we were all fancy for the wedding. It was a small affair, but nice - and soon Ryan and Jazz were off to their bed and breakfast off the coast. Fancy!
We stopped at Lac La Jeune again on the way back. Its a really long drive from Edmonton to Vancouver so we felt it would be better to do the trip in a couple shorter legs. Probably a good idea!
What else has happened? My family went down to join the Getz family reunion. For those interested, that's my Grandmother's side of the family. I didn't know that many people there, but it was good to meet some of the people who I'm related to. Diane actually came down for the trip, and it was kinda cool to introduce her as being attached to me ;-).
Yesterday, Mike moved all his stuff into the condo. Its going to take some adjusting to get used to someone else being in the place - but that's not a bad thing. Being by myself was kinda nice, but its also nice to have someone else to talk to - I can imagine it would get kinda lonely after awhile by myself. Plus, with all the furniture and stuff Mike brought with him, the place feels a lot homier (is that a word?) than it did.
So that's exciting - life is just trucking along.
Until next time, Take care!
Heraldk
Tuesday night was a busy night for me. After work, I met up with Curtis and we bought supper which we carried down to Hawrelak Park where we were going to see Love's Labour's Lost. Its part of the Rivercity Shakespeare "Shakespeare in the Park" festival that they put on every year in our fair city. We ate supper and then played frisbee for 45 mintues or so. Then we got in line because it was pay-what-you-will night and lots of people come out for that since it is cheaper than the normal nights.
The show itself was really well done. The script is not word for word from Shakespeare - they tend to put some more modern stuff in there to help people understand it better. The weather was crazy though. About half an hour before the show started, it started rain on us. The organizers took pity on us and let us in under the tent earlier than they normally do, and we grabbed seats. A couple minutes later it started to POUR! I had to go back to the entrance to go meet Diane and give her the ticket I bought for her - luckily Curtis' fiance brought an umbrella and I was able to steal it to go meet my sweetheart :)
The weather brought some interesting sound effects. There was a couple of particularly well timed bits of thunder when one of the characters was talking about power and what he was going to do next. The whole audience laughed a lot during that. The play was really well done, and since most of the audience was under the big Hawrelak tent, we stayed dry to enjoy the show. Good times!
The next couple weeks look nice and busy. On Saturday, PSO is holding a freeroll for reaching 10,000 members in their forum. The first place prize is a trip to Atlantic city and a $10,000 buyin to one of the biggest tournaments of the year next to the WSOP. Isn't that crazy? Wish me luck! I wouldn't mind going to Atlantic city for a big poker tournament!
Next week, Diane and I leave for Vancouver to go see Ryan and Jazz get married. We're making it our summer holiday ... a chance to spend a few days together on the road, go visit some of her family in Kamloops and otherwise enjoy the mountains for a few days! I'm so excited!
Heraldk
I'm wondering what people think of this: Stop Foreign Aid. It raises some really interesting points. The one that sits best with me is the point that if foreign aid is such a constant influx, it becomes a crutch and it changes the outlook of the people who benefit. If it takes no effort to receive vast piles of money and food, then by repeating the cycle, the people never learn to support themselves.
Its a very interesting idea, and one that I'm not too sure if I agree with entirely. The usual problem I have with arguments like this is that there are times when aid is definitely necessary - where one swift injection of aid will kick people out of the hole they are in. But when the aid becomes normal, I agree that people can easily become lazy and used to the help.
Anyways, I'm curious what people think of this.
Heraldk
Well the chaos of the last few days has finally subsided a bit as the busiest weekend of the summer has now been finished. At least, I hope it was the busiest weekend of the summer! Thursday night was Jon and Leanne's wedding rehearsal, and since I was in the wedding party, I had to be there. It went smoothly and we then all went over to Leanne's parent's place for a BBQ. Mmmm ... steak! On
Friday, I packed most of the unpacked items into boxes and then was picked up at the university by Paul and we met up with the rest of the groomsmen at Jon's new house. That evening we had some pizza, went to the Canada Day Barenaked Ladies concert at commonwealth stadium, and then returned back to Jon's for more pizza and beer. It was a fitting day for Jon's last day being single.
Saturday was the big day. The groomsmen were all sleeping over at Jon's so we got up, washed up and got dressed in our fancy tuxes. Jon got us all these fancy pocket watches, which were pretty sweet! The wedding day is all a blur for me now as the day was packed with busy times. First the ceremony, then the pictures, then the reception, and finally the dance. Crazy busy were we! The dance was the most fun for me - Diane and I haven't been to a dance in a very long time and were excited to get out on the floor. Unfortunately, the DJ didn't really know what a waltz was, and I think he only played one all evening. And we missed it. So we didn't get our best/favourite dance in :( I suppose I should say more about the happy couple. The entire day went really well - no problems to speak of, and both of them seemed very happy with the day. The reception food was all finger food - which was kind of cool ... and then they had an ice cream sundae bar for dessert (for those who know Leanne, this is totally appropriate!).
Sunday was the gift opening, which Diane and I went to. It was pretty neat to see what people decided to get from the registries. One of the most innovative gifts was an ice cream maker with a bathroom scale! After the gift opening, Katherine, Madeleine, Diane and I all went out for dinner (Madeleine is one of our friends from high school). It was a lovely dinner at Japanese Village (its been tradition every time Madeleine comes to town).
Monday I officially took posession of my new condo. The guy I bought it from was super duper awesome and stayed around after I got the keys to make sure everything was going to be straightened out. They even left me a bottle of wine! I was so amazed by the effort he put in to making me feel at home. Its good to know there's people like him around! In the afternoon, Madeleine along with a couple of high school buddies I hadn't seen in awhile, came to see the new place. Hoorah! In the evening, my parent's neighbours helped me pick up my grandparent's futon that they were giving me. We brought it into the place that night and we returned home so I could finish packing up the last of the stuff.
Tuesday was a long day. It was *really* *really* warm and that was hard to deal with as we moved my huge amount of stuff to the new condo. Luckily, there was lots of help so it didn't take too long. After moving everything in, I got everyone some pizza and we relaxed - played a game of poker and then played some pictionary and Jenga. T'was fun!
Yesterday I stayed at the condo to wait for the telus and cable guys to come hook up my internet and phone. I was glad that they made it - I really wanted to have those there so I could have those conveniences.
And now its today, and I'm back at the university finally to do work! Hooray! :)
Heraldk
After dropping Diane off late after the games party on Saturday (which was excellent), I headed home and got a little bit of sleep before a big day on Sunday! It was Diane's surprise birthday/graduation party and it was my job to try and distract her while the appropriate arrangements were made in the park. Also, one of my friends from high school who is now living in Montreal is back to visit for a couple of weeks. So we plotted and planned and decided to take Diane to Fort Ed to spend some time at the Aboriginal days event they were holding there.
It was pretty fun - I haven't been to fort ed as a tourist for quite awhile, so it was cool to go and wander around looking at all the old things. We had a couple of questions answered like why there were polar bear skins on some of the beds ... and it turns out that Edmonton was a major hub for the entire northwest fur trading - so while polar bear skins weren't common, they did come through on occasion. Neat!
We made some bannock at one booth, which is something I haven't done a couple years - mmm ... bannock :) And pretty soon it was time to take Diane back "home for dinner". We drove into the park and I was surprised just how many people her mom was able to get out to celebrate the occasion. It was pretty cool!
I got introduced to a whole bunch of people, and I must say that while I really do have trouble remembering people's names and faces, I do remember being very proud to be introduced as Diane's "new guy". =D. One lady even said she "saw sparks" ... oooh sparks!
So the party was a rousing success, with lots of people coming and going. We started a game of ultimate frisbee later in the evening and that was really fun. Afterwards, a few of us went to red robin to have a snack and hang out a little longer. Overall it was a very cool event. I think (hope) that Diane had fun :)
Heraldk
Well, the lawyer called on Wednesday morning asking me and my dad to come in and sign some paperwork for the transfering of the land title to my name. He also needed the money for the downpayment in the form of a bank draft. This set off a quick flurry of activity to get the funds in place so that we could order the bank draft as soon as possible. The trouble was that if we didn't get the bank draft in to him as soon as we could then there was the possibility that the papers wouldn't get through land titles in time meaning the money from the bank wouldn't come in time and thus meaning I would have to pay rent to the owners of the condo at a rate of $24 a day. Ewwww. That stuff is all settled now, and now I'm just packing boxes in preparation of the big move! I'm really getting excited now :)
Heraldk
