eXTReMe Tracker Canadian BullBLOG: 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005

Friday, December 31, 2004

2004: Don't Let Your Ass Hit The Door On The Way Out!!!

I can't honestly say I'll be too disappointed when this year is finally over.

For me, personally and professionally, it's been one downer of a year. I wouldn't even know where to begin, but there's no point in getting into all of it here. I'm not normally one who believes in "new year, new beginning" and all that, but I'm going to make an exception in 2005.

That said, I do have some wonderful things going for me, most of all my incredible son; he gives me the strength and courage to charge forward. So with that, I'm probably going to be making a TON of resolutions this year in order to better myself and my quality of life (which may include a lot less writing as "Canadian Bulldog" along the way - we shall see) because I'm hoping that, as Howard Jones once said, Things Can Only Get Better.

And for those of you reading this (all two of you; hi, mom), a happy and healthy New Year's for you, and the very best wishes for 2005.

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Latest ITR (PLUS Year-End Awards Column)

Two Faced

OO's tenacious (and increasingly prolific) Canadian Bulldog has got a double dose of gOOdness for you today. The first thing you need to do is pick up where last week's column left off, and enjoy Part Two of "The Year That Almost Was" (covering the last half of 2004) in an outstanding and illustrated edition of Inside the Ropes. But then Bulldog becomes the latest trOOp to tell you what he thought of 2004 in the form of some best-of awards voting. Bulldog takes the rather controversial stance that Triple H is the Wrestler of the Year. You can read his explanation why and all the rest of his winners in Bulldog's Year-End Awards.

ITR (Online Onslaught)
ITR (The W)
Bulldog's Year-End Awards

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Napoleon Dynamite

Actor/singer/songwriter/frequent ITR subject Stuart Stone told me like six months ago to RUSH OUT AND SEE THIS MOVIE, and of course, I did nothing about it.

Caught the DVD tonight, and I have no idea why I didn't see this earlier. It is hilarious (in a low-key way, mind you), almost from beginning to end. It is one of the most novel concepts from a comedy film I've seen in some time. Besides, any movie that features the A-Team theme song in its soundtrack has to be considered an instant classic.

Again, this is a must-see.

R.I.P. Lenny Briscoe

Just read here that Law & Order's Jerry Orbach passed away at the age of 69.

That sucks. He was one of the only reasons (for me, anyways) to consistently watch the show over the years. I never really got into any of the 6,000 spinoffs because they didn't seem to have as gritty and three-dimensional a character as Jerry's Lenny Briscoe.

And now I hear for the first time that he had filmed some episodes of his own L & O spinoff. At the very least, maybe he'll get some of the mainstream recognition he really deserves, even if it is posthumously.

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Cheap Plug

I know this will probably appeal to a very, very narrow demographic, but figured I'd pass it along just the same...

I was at a place called Pinstripe at the new Vaughan Mills shopping mall (I tried to link to the store itself, but their pinstripemens.com site doesn't seem to work)... Anyways, they have the most fantastic deals on suits I've ever seen. You spend $170 or more on a suit (which is pretty reasonable to begin with) and you get a shirt, tie, belt, socks and pair of shoes for free! And it's not like any of the clothing is shoddy to begin with, either.

Between the deal I got and the incredible customer service there, I just thought I'd recommend this place to anyone reading from the northern Toronto/York Region area...

Movie Review - Meet The Fockers

I really enjoyed the original Meet The Parents film and was hoping this one would outdo it. It didn't quite accomplish that, though it certainly wasn't anything to sneeze at, either.

Without getting into the plot too much (which makes these film review thingies soooo much easier), Meet The Fockers begins much like the last one, with Gaylord "Greg" Focker trying to win the trust of his father-in-law to be Jack Burns. At the same time, Greg has to convince his in-laws that his parents (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand) aren't complete crackpots.

Are there uncomfortable scenes like in the first film? Sure, but probably not as many. That said, though, the dinner scene is just incredible in that respect. Ben Stiller probably isn't as awkward as he was in Meet The Parents, which hurts the film a little, and it just isn't natural to have Robert DeNiro as, well, smiley and grandfatherly, as he was in parts of this. In addition, the new character of Little Jack seems tacked-on, although he does have one cute line in particular (and then repeats it like 20 times).

But those are minor concerns. Overall, this is a great night out and one of the only really funny films I've seen this year (though it doesn't hold a candle to Team America; nothing ever will).

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Big Buffalo UPDATE

While we're not enjoying the best weather in the world here (although I've heard things are far, far worse up Toronto way), we're certainly having a blast. Found some great deals on clothes, etc. as well scouring the various outlet malls around town. And... I picked some hard-to-find (well, hard to find if you're Canadian, at least) wrestling DVD's at extremely cheap prices: Got me some ROH, 3PW, FMW and UPW videos, all for under $25 U.S.

As someone who's constantly complaining about the lack of good DVD deals north of the border, I could definitely see coming back here again strictly for the DVD's (and the wings!).

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Latest ITR

The Year That Wasn't

If you watched last night's RAW Year in Review (and if you're a dumb little sheep), you'd walk away with the impression that the greatest things to happen in 2004 all involved Trailer Park Drama Queen Lita and her male counterpart, Eugene's Slightly Less Intelligent Classmate Randall Orton. But you know what? If you're gonna subscribe to some twisted alternate version of reality, I think you'll ALL enjoy the first half of the Canadian Bulldog's 2004 Year in Review! I mean, who made a bigger impact on the world of wrestling between January and June than MORDECAI!?! You can enjoy Bulldog's month-by-month recap of 2004's first half in the very latest Inside the Ropes.

ITR (Online Onslaught)
ITR (The W)

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Where The Buffalo Roam

Greeting from beautiful....er, well, sunny.....um.... hey, greetings from Buffalo, New York! Here for a few days with my son, my sister and her boyfriend trying to relax and get away from it all. Just a quick note/endorsement I wanted to pass along: If you are ever in this area, you MUST sample the wings at a place called Duff's just off the Millersport Highway. In addition to being some of the spiciest (scratch that -- THE spiciest ever, and I only stuck with the medium sauce) wings around, they're also the tastiest. I've heard there's a somewhat tamer version in Toronto too, so I'll definitely be there soon. Anyways, that's about it from here... later.

Friday, December 17, 2004

Book Review - Adventure Capitalist by Jim Rogers

Yes, I know this book probably won't meet the needs of my target audience here. But I was so impressed with this story that I had to share it...

I met Jim Rogers, a self-made millionaire and very well-known hedge fund manager, at a conference recently, where he discussed his recent three-year trip around the world by car, which, not-so-coincidentally, was the topic of his book released last year. After hearing him speak, though, I knew I had to get my hands on this book.

Essentially, Rogers set off in January 1999 with his then-fiancee in a custom-built Mercedes-Benz (because around the world, almost every country, even those with dictators, have access to Mercedes parts) from country to country, visiting something like 120 nations by 2001. From what I understand, nobody else has done this before, by car at least.

It wasn't easy getting from place to place on many ocassions. Rogers and his fiancee (who becomes his wife by New Years 2000). Rogers details the many problems he had obtaining visas, getting past evil military regimes and even chartering ferrys in many continents to lug his car around. He seems to have unlimited cash for bribes, equipment, paperwork, auto parts, souvenirs and, when the time calls for it, investments in foreign countries.

You see, part of this book is about why some economies may be an excellent investment in the future and others will be terrible. Even if you're not the day-trader type, it's a compelling and thoroughly entertaining lesson in foreign investment.

There are also photos and tales about world travel that I, for one, would have never known about had I not read this book. He also has a website at http://www.jimrogers.com that nicely details his "millennium journey".

If it's not painfully clear by now, I highly enjoyed this particular book and would encourage others to pick it up. One of the best things, in any genre, I have read in ages.

I'm (Slightly More) Famous

Toronto-area folks can check a pic of The Notorious D.O.G. on the front page of the Toronto Star's business section today. Yes, I am just lurking in the background with a scowl on my face (I'm the guy with the moustache and beard) and no, the photo doesn't mention who I am, per se, but I'll take fame any way I can get it....

Thursday, December 16, 2004

Latest ITR

Everybody, SING!

As you warm your pipes up for Holiday Caroling, you can leave all those silly "traditional" carols aside. Seriously, they make no fricking sense! "Pa Rump Pa Pum Pum"? "A-Wassaling"? "Feliz Navidad"? Those aren't even words! So our intrepid investigative reporter, the Canadian Bulldog, has taken it upon himself to fix these holiday standards up with with all new EXCLUSIVE~! lyrics, and cut himself a Christmas Album. New classics such as "Triple H is Coming to Town," "Randy the Smug-Faced Orton," and my personal favorite, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Charlie Haas," can all be yours! All you gotta do is check out the newest Inside the Ropes!

ITR (Online Onslaught)
ITR (The W)

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Gimmick Infringement Part Two (kinda)....

From TheDDT.com website (thanks to Jack for sending this my way):

~ Bret gets wife'd
Bret Hart re-married in a private ceremony back on September 15th in Milan, Italy, but the news hounds just got wind of it this past week. There is talk that since Bret Hart married an Italian woman that he may relocate to Italy in the future. The WWE will counter by hiring an indy worker, re-naming him "Bret Clarke" and placing him in the FBI.
Bret's new wife, Cinzia, can be seen
HERE. Compared to his former wife, the original Canadian Bulldog, Julie Hart, this definately gets an UPGRADE

So now I'm an IMPOSTOR?!?!?!

Gimmick Infringement!!!

From the Slam Wrestling web site, in a story in Canadians wrestling in Mexico:

We're waiting on the real Steelman, a Torontonian named Manny Clausi, who is inside trying to get his suspension lifted after wandering into the crowd during a match and began throwing chairs around.

"I start riots, that's what I do," said Clausi, who is known more in these parts for his older gimmick, the Canadian Bulldog.

HUH? I may have to get my lawyers involved on this.... On the other hand, anybody know this Clausi guy's email address? I'm sure I could put it to good use :)

Sunday, December 12, 2004

The End (of SmackDown) Is Near

Never has a PPV title seemed so appropriate than WWE Armageddon. I cannot believe that a company that has produced so many great moments in PPV, even in the past couple of years, had the audicity to ask people to pay for what they showed tonight. I'm dead serious; it was that bad. And I'm judging that on the time-tested "SmackDown PPV's are generally awful" bell curve, so consider that.

RVD/Rey vs Kenzo/Rene

Granted, I missed the first few minutes of this one, but the ending left me with the impression that the earlier title switch (on Thursday) could have easily been done tonight, and with so much more purpose, BECAUSE IT WAS ON PPV. So the champs retain tonight? Uh, okay.... Don't understand that one at all.

Dan Puder vs The Other Guy

Why even have judges, etc. if the fans were going to choose all along? Plus I'm pretty sure Puder should have lost that one if not for the "fan vote"

Kurt Angle vs Santa Claus

Yeah, okay...

Bashams vs Hardcore Holly & Charlie Haas

Yeah, okay...

John Cena vs Jesus

Some nasty stiff shots there, but I honestly think Cena could have sold just a little bit for the big lug. Otherwise, why bother with this? This Carlito-Cena issue may already be over for now, which really isn't the direction they should be going in.

Dawn Marie vs Jackie Gayda

You know what? If their intention all along was to turn Charlie, then fine -- do it properly. I mean, can SmackDown even turn wrestlers properly anymore? Geez... Charlie could have been a great heel aligned with Dawn Marie, but then he rejects her two? Huh? What am I missing here?

Big Show vs Team Angle

Even in victory, no one was doing Show any favors by having him involved in that nonsense. Is that really the best Kurt Angle can do anymore? Besides making St. Nick tap out, that is.

Funaki vs Spike Dudley

A terrible, heatless match that killed Spike's awesome title run prematurely. Couldn't they have at least let London get the title match?

JBL vs Booker vs Eddy vs Undertaker

Okay, this one was at least watchable. Eddy worked his ass off, and to his credit, JBL was entertaining and worked hard. I've seen better efforts from Booker, to be honest. Undertaker was just old and tired. I know I'm not breaking any new ground here, but really... when your skills have eroded this much, isn't it time to REALLY consider hanging it up? I actually appreciated Heidenreich's interference here, and not just because he took out Taker. It means that they've given some thought into his character. If he's important enough to interfere in the main event (again), they'll probably develop the character further. Which is a good thing for those who want to see new names at the top (even if it IS Heidenreich).

Unfortunately, one match doesn't save a PPV, and the match wasn't overly-impressive to begin with. Definitely worst show of the year candidate; not a total surprise.




Thursday, December 09, 2004

Latest ITR

Chairman of the Bored

Perhaps Eric Bischoff will set things right with respect to the World Title Picture next week on RAW. But for now, Vince McMahon's vacating of that title has got fans kind of put-out. Luckily for us, the tenacious Canadian Bulldog is not one to let a scOOp escape his clutches, and Vince McMahon is not one to dodge the fans. So today, we're happy to present you yet another EXCLUSIVE: Vince McMahon addressing YOU, the wrestling fan. Find out what Vince has to say about the latest twists on RAW, get some early PPV preview, and get caught up on a few possible Christmas Gift Ideas in Bulldog's jam-packed new Inside the Ropes.

ITR (Online Onslaught)
ITR (The W)

Shop till you drop!

I've been informed by the good folks at Cafe Shops, that if you spend more than $50 RIGHTNOW at the BulldogZone merchandise center, you can get $10 off by entering coupon code CPFESTIVE. So there ya go...

Saturday, December 04, 2004

DVD Review - The Rise And Fall of ECW

Wow.

I know a lot of people have already voiced their opinions (mostly favorable) on this particular video, and we damn Canadians always end up getting new releases a few weeks late. Add to that that it's taken me four nights to get through the entire thing (I was quite busy this week, and I didn't watch rush through the first viewing). I am among those who will be heaping praise on this DVD.

For starters, the 3 hour history package is easily the best one they've done to date (and keep in mind, I thought the Hulk Rules, Monday Night War and Chris Benoit stories were fantastic in their own right). But this one blows all of them away. Perhaps it was the fact that there so much new information here, or maybe the fact that everyone involved was allowed to speak their mind. Probably a little bit of both, actually.

I mean, you have former ECW workers like Rhyno and Spike Dudley all but saying they would rather be working for ECW now, you have Paul Heyman saying that Eric Bischoff was full of shit, and you've got guys like Tommy Dreamer openly saying Heyman didn't know how to run a business. This is as close to a "shoot" interview as they're ever going to allow in WWE. Another nice touch is that Raven, Shane Douglas, Sabu and others who are technically with the competition right now are shown in as positive a light as RVD, The Dudleyz and Tazz.

I never had access to ECW pay-per-views or television shows (damn Canadian thing again) until 1999 or so, and by that point, I had really missed out on the importance of this company. Sure, I had read it in magazines and on the Internet, but to see the actual footage, complete with Paul Heyman telling you the behind-the-scenes stories, it really is something else.

The seven matches that are featured are just top notch. As I mentioned, I only started watching ECW when it was in its "TNN era" and even the few DVD's I've found since its demise, they're good but they're not great. These are the cream of the crop, though (unless there are better ones out there, but I have yet to hear about them). Especially tremendous is the RVD-Jerry Lynn match from Hardcore Heaven, which isn't as good as I'd previously heard it was.... it's far better! One of the best matches I've seen in a while. The alternate commentary (even the matches with Coach and Michael Cole) is very well done. As I mentioned about a month ago on the Guerrero DVD, make sure that Todd Grisham never gets near a recording studio again. Guys like Coach, Cole and Tazz are custom-made for these types of things, and they really do a great job or steering their guests on the right track.

In short, if I haven't convinced you enough yet.... BUY THIS F'N DVD!!! They even have it available in Canada now, I hear.

Thursday, December 02, 2004

Latest ITR - Letters From A Nut IV!!!

THAT is Hardcore!

This just in: do NOT invite New Jack to any weddings, anniversaries, or bar mitzvahs! The Canadian Bulldog tried to have New Jack as a guest at his grandparents' 50th Wedding Anniversary, and New Jack's response? Well, let's just say that if Bulldog could come up with $5000, New Jack would show up and provide a rather unique service. For Bulldog's mom. The invitation and New Jack's response were part of Bulldog's hilarious on-going "Letters From a Nut" series. You can see the full New Jack exchange -- plus find out how close La Parka is to becoming the official spokesman for Canadian Bulldog Medical Supplies! -- in a new Inside the Ropes.

ITR (Online Onslaught)
ITR (The W)

Movie Review - National Treasure

There's such a thing of suspension of disbelief, which I fully subscribe to as an important part of enjoying films. Then there's absolute destruction of belief, suspension's ugly cousin. Guess which category National Treasure falls into.

For me, this film set a new record for the amount of times I stood up, muttered at the screen "But.... you.... just can't.... do...." and then trailed off shaking my head. Believe it or not, I have no problem, generally speaking, with films that stoop to ridiculous levels to accomplish their plots. Look at something like (I'm just picking these because of the similarities in genre) The Mummy films, or Indiana Jones or Ocean's Eleven. They're doing things than no one would ever be able to do, yet most people don't walk away shaking their head in frustration.

Why is National Treasure any different? For starters, the dialogue makes Freddy vs Jason look like Shakespeare. A typical exchange:

"So, Ben, do you think we're near the treasure that your ancestors were told about and has passed down from generation to generation, and now you are searching for?"
"Yes, I do think we're near that treasure. And I am going tofind it, because I have been searching for two years for it."
"The treasure your ancestors knew about?"
"Yes, that very treasure."

Guys, there's such a thing as subtlety, or letting actions tell the story. That just stuck out as a sore point for me. Then, there are plot holes big enough to house ocean liners. For example, when they find a sunken ship, almost perfectly preserved under the ice for several generations, simply by driving through the Arctic on a modified snowplow. Or better yet, being able to steal the Declaration of Independence because it's being restored and of course, no one thought to guard it. If our genius Indiana Jones-wannabes know this fact, how come no one's concocted this scheme before? And how come it's at this exact same time that the bad guys decide to steal the DOI? ARGH!!!!!

I don't generally mind Nicholas Cage (who plays, sigh, Benjamin Franklin Gates), and I thought he ruled in Adaptation, so I've got to blame the script here. He just should have passed on this one. And his comedic sidekick Justin Bartha (Riley) is trying waaaaaay too hard to be funny. I mean, why does he even search for treasure if he hates it all so much? Again - ARGH!!! Don't even get me started on Diane Kruger (Dr. Chase), who is so generic and bland that you just KNOW she's going to be made into the requisite love interest for No Apparent Reason.

All that said.... once the film gets going and drops some of the beyond-obvious dialogue, I'd say about an hour into it, there are some fun chase scenes, which is all I really wanted from this particular movie. But then it comes to a finish so obvious I'm surprised one of the characters didn't just blurt out what was happening. Oh, wait, they did.

A definite miss. In my opinion, the worst film I've seen this year, save for Envy, but that one charted brave new territory for stupidity.