Book Review: The Accidental Billionaires-The Founding of Facebook

I remember an airplane ride from Calgary to Las Vegas back in 2011 where I first watched the movie, The Social Network. It didn't take long for me to enjoy it & in the years since it's probably one of my favorite movies of all time. 

But I wanted to know if there was more to the story than what was in David Fincher's film and chances are there was. Hence, I was very glad when this past Christmas I got as a gift the nonfiction novel which the screenplay for the movie was adapted from, The Accidental Billionaires.

Movie Review: Klaus

When it comes to Christmas movies, I find myself sticking with the classics. It’s A Wonderful Life, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, The Santa Clause, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

On a recent plane ride I did check out the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34^th Street and found it a bit…bland. I don’t know what it was but a lot of it felt very forced and artificial.

By no means was it bad but I’m not overly fond of remakes and Mara Wilson’s character being wise-beyond-her-years got tiring very quickly. However, I’ll give high marks to Richard Attenborough as Kris Kringle in the film. The man made a remarkable Santa Claus.

 But last night after we finished dinner and my Dad decided to go to bed early, my Mom & I turned on Netflix searching for something holiday-themed that we could watch. Now I might have been tempted to see if Home Alone was available (It wasn’t) but then I remembered a Christmas film that came out last year that I had missed but told myself to catch the following year. That movie was Klaus.

Animation Observation: Batman The Animated Series-Christmas With the Joker

When you're a kid, nothing is more fun and exciting than Christmas. Hell, I'm an adult and as cynical and sarcastic as I can be at times, having Christmas day off to enjoy good food and relax is still something that makes me happy. And when I was six, nothing made me happier than Christmas and Batman. Combining the two can lead to...interesting results. One of them was 'Christmas With the Joker' from Batman: The Animated Series

 

More Christmas-Themed Entertainment

Two years ago, I made a list of TV specials and episodes that I considered to be my favourite to watch during the Christmas season. It was all in fun and the truth is that I really do enjoy all that stuff proving that I am forever going to be an eleven year old trapped in a man's body.

But recently I got to thinking if I had covered everything that enjoyed watching as a youth and as an adult. Thus, my list of More Christmas-Themed Entertainment

My Favourite Christmas Themed Entertainment

Last year around this time I presented to you my list of The Greatest Christmas Specials Never, a list of Christmas specials that we sadly never got to see (My sister thought the Full House one was real). However this year, I think I'm going to go over some of my favourite Christmas themed episodes from TV series as well as movies that some people may not pay much attention to. So without further ado, grab yourself some egg-nog, sit down and enjoy my list of Favourite Christmas Themed Entertainment EVER!!!

1) Batman: The Animated Series-"Christmas With the Joker"

OK, if you don't like this show at all (I'm looking at you, Katelynn) then I have to question your sanity. And if you can't enjoy watching Batman and Robin trying to stop the Joker from killing three of our favourite side characters on Christmas eve, then you lack a soul.

One of the many things that made this series work was that they had an incredible cast of voice actors. Every voice suited the character it belonged to and no greater example could be made than Mark Hamill as the Joker. I'm sorry, a part of me still can't believe that freakin' Luke Skywalker voiced Batman's greatest nemesis. And Hamill just shines in this episode, from the opening scene where he escapes from Arkham Asylum (He waves goodbye to Charles Manson just before exiting-I shit you not) to when he uses a sock puppet to blow up a bridge that a train is crossing. You can laugh along with him and at the same time he has enough of an edge that makes you think, "Yeah, I'm not fuckin' with this dude."

Looking like this and still managing to be threatening is why Mark Hamill is the best Joker. Sorry, Heath

Apparently the Joker was originally supposed to kidnap some random family but the network had the writers change it to Commissioner Gordon and the lot because a random family might have been frightening to younger audiences. Look, I think I was six when this episode first aired and nothing about this show ever frightened me.

It's a great episode from a great series and the perfect way to put you in the crime-fighting mood this holiday season.

2) A Pinky and the Brain Christmas

According to my father, he came home from work early one morning, turned on the TV and caught and episode of the awesome Pinky and the Brain and was hooked. We watched it when it aired in prime time on Sunday nights and we loved it. So when we found out that there was going to be a full half-hour Christmas special, we knew that we had to tape it for him.

Going undercover as elves at the North Pole, our two favourite rodents bent on global domination attempt to have Santa plant a brainwashing toy in every house throughout the world. Of course things can't go right and that's where the episode shines in terms of comedy and moments that tug at your heart.

I watched this episode just yesterday and I can honestly say that near the end as the Brain reads Pinky's letter I was getting misty eyed.

Yeah, that show A) how emotionally screwed up I am and B) that this show truly was one of the best things on TV at the time. I haven't been able to catch it on TV in years and was lucky to find it online but if you're fumbling around cable and happen to see it on your program guide, stop what you're doing for 30 minutes and watch this because it is genius that's currently lacking in today's TV programs.

A quick note: When we watched this in 1996, the scene where Brain screams at Pinky, "Give me that stupid letter" caused me and my sisters to laugh and say, "That's Dad."

3) Batman Returns

This movie takes place around Christmastime and for some reason I really get in the mood to watch it around this time of year. I don't know, maybe it has something to do with a recent podcast I did with The Basement Vagrants but for the past few days I've had this movie on my mind.

Is it a perfect movie? No, not really but in a way it seems perfect for it's time and a good adaptation of the Caped Crusader. However it is entertaining and doesn't leave me bored. I remember being a little kid, begging my parents to let me see this movie. Sadly, at the time, they sucked as parents and said no. However that didn't stop them from buying me Batman toys and storybooks based on the movie that was apparently too violent and vulgar for me. Hypocrisy much, Mom and Dad?

PS: I think the Wayne Manor/Batcave playset is still in their crawlspace and for sale I might add. We shall start the bidding at $1000

I think I might even have the box this came in

4) Gordon Ramsay Christmas Specials

If food porn like this doesn't have you salivating for holiday meals, then I don't know what will. True story, last year when I was home for Christmas, I showed this video to my Dad, who immediately demanded I go out and by croissants and smoked salmon. This was Christmas eve but I was able to get it done cause I'm awesome. We made this Christmas morning just like Ramsay shows you and it was really amazing.

5) Almost Every Christmas Themed Sketch from Mad TV

I'm sure I've said it before but I'll say it again: During the mid 90's to early 2000's, Mad TV did stuff that would have me in stitches while Saturday Night Live was descending into the mediocrity it happily resides at today. It can't hold a candle to what Mad TV was doing and it's a pity that the seasons haven't been released on DVD yet. Anyway, there are so many sketches to go over so I'll just give a quick rundown of some of my favourite Christmas themed sketches from Mad TV.

A) Magic Johnson's Kwanzaa Special

Aries Spears is someone who could make my Dad laugh doing anything and he was in top form when parodying former NBA superstar and failed talk show host, Magic Johnson. While they could have gone the easy route and makes jokes about Johnson being HIV positive, Spears plays him as an illiterate idiot, being cancelled by the networks at every turn. I think what also makes this sketch work is Pat Kilbane as Al Gore. I can honestly see the former VP going up to Magic and saying, "As salaam alaikum".

B) Rooftop Memories

When I was younger, I would be the one who would heave to help my parents put up the lights around the house for the holidays. Now that I don't live there anymore, I don't know who helps or even if they bother to put up the lights. However, if they are still putting them out, I imagine this is how it usually goes.

C) Opening Christmas Presents from Mom

I'm not going to name names, but at least over ten years ago, I recall a girl I know being worried around Christmas because she was afraid she would appear ungrateful by not showing enough verbal excitement over what she was given. It had her worked up to the point of tears which made me want to smack the stupid out of her.

Anyway, this sketch reminds me of her. While everyone is opening up their presents they receive from the mother, despite the excitement over what they're getting, she seems to think that they hate their gifts. The sketch reaches it's comedy climax when Alex Borestein screams, "What is your problem, you rag bitch!?" This is a common line when opening Christmas presents at my house.

D) Holiday Fantanas

I've never had a Fanta drink in my life so I don't know if they are as good as this sketch claims. However Paul Vogt, the actor who plays Beth, apparently took inspiration for his character by viewing footage of my younger sister drunk on the Internet. He has her mannerisms down pat.

E) Santa's Real Workshop

Look, we all know that toys aren't made at the North Pole, so what would happen if a little kid found out where all of Santa's workforce comes from?

Plus, I wish I could be like this Santa. Just walking around all day, pelting people with sugar cubes.

F) Stuart's Nativity Play

What kind of Mad TV list would this be without an entry involving Stuart?

For as many people I know who love Michael McDonald's signature character, there are just as many who HATE this character. I think the people who hate Stuart are more upset that kids like him exist in real life and have parents that are just as doting and blind as Doreen. This is your average Stuart sketch, him being bratty, somehow getting down to bikini briefs and saying, "Look what I can do!" but at the same time, it's Stuart playing Jesus. You don't see that everyday.

G) Suge Knight's Christmas Album

Again, with just the simple motion of opening his eyes really wide with his with that our family come join his for the holidays, Aries Spears had my dad in stitches. The Eminem parody might be a bit off today but ten years ago that was dead on.

H) Paul Timberman, Christmas Tree Episode

The joke in my family is that this character is based on my Opa, who has had several injuries in his life but never quite to the extreme as poor Paul Timberman.

I) Tickle Me Emo

This was one of the few Mad TV sketches that was able to get the YouTube treatment with people making hundreds of copies of it. This was a hilarious take on those damned Tickle Me Asshole Elmo dolls which came out at the time. What surprised me about that video was the debates some people would get into about Emo's. Some objected to Emo having a My Chemical Romance sticker on his vest but who gives a shit. It's funny. Laugh, damn you!!!

6) Mickey's Christmas Carol

I remember having this on tape as a little kid and probably haven't seen it in over 20 years. It's a very faithful adaptation of the Dickens classic and shorter than I remember considering that they are able to cram it into a half hour short feature. A lot of today's younger generation probably won't recognize some of the characters from less familiar Disney features but they're bound to enjoy it nonetheless. The scene with Scrooge falling into his grave near the end always freaked the shit out of me.
Say what you want about Disney being for little kids, it's a hell of a lot better than that damn adaptation with Jim Carrey from two years ago.

7) The Muppet Christmas Carol

I was bored last weekend and decided to see if this was any good and despite being mostly marketed at kids, this was actually pretty well done and more faithful than the Disney version above. Plus, it's got frickin' Michael Caine as Scrooge and he's awesome in almost everything.

What I actually like about this is that there aren't any familiar muppets as the three spirits that visit Scrooge. In fact, most people compare them to Harry Potter characters than anything Jim Henson created. It's your usual Muppet tale with humans interacting with creatures like it's an everyday thing and stuff like fruits and vegetables talking (Who eats that stuff?) and was the first Muppet movie made after Jim Henson died.
I think he'd be impressed with what they did.

Speaking of a Christmas Carol, I was hoping to find the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart but all I can find is just trailers from YouTube. I'm a bit let down that people nerdier than me haven't uploaded it because it's fucking Captain Picard playing Scrooge. Who wouldn't love to see that?

Victoria Jackson: Hating Glee For All The Wrong Reasons

Does anyone else hear that theme from "The Omen" when looking at this picture?

I don't watch a lot of television and the shows that I do watch are viewed on my laptop screen before I go to sleep. One of the few shows that I watch on a regular basis is Glee. Yeah, yeah, laugh your ass off at it, I don't care. Surprise, surprise, but I was a theatre geek in high school and could act my ass off. It's fair to say that I was a pretty good actor. A pity I couldn't dance otherwise I might be in a totally different situation than I am now but...

Anyway, on the show there's a character named Kurt Hummel who is openly out, which you would kind of expect in a show about theatre geeks who love to sing and dance. Anyway, he's at this private school which is all boys (Doing my best not to make any jokes) and falls in love with another gay guy and in the latest episode to air, they both accepted their feelings towards one another and kissed. And a million fanfic writers watched their wildest dreams come true.

Does anyone else think he looks like a white Wilmer Valderrama?

So they kissed and out of nowhere and obscurity, Victoria Jackson from Saturday Night Live, way before my time, goes on CNN after making some rather mean comments about gays and the show itself.

I really don't want to get into a debate about religion. I have no problem if someone is Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu (Don't get too eager Jar-Jarvis) or atheist for that matter so long as they don't try to shove their beliefs down my throat when I don't want them. I come from a moderately religious family. I've been baptized, did my first communion and my confirmation and yet I'm still not guaranteed entrance to the kingdom of Heaven. I believe there's a God, and I believe if you're a good person when you die, you get into heaven. That goes for the gays, too.

 

Anyway, I watched the interview and after my ears stopped bleeding due to Jackson's dog-whistle voice, I realized that she was hating the show for all the wrong reasons. She shouldn't hate Glee because it has gay characters who kiss (I find it funny how she justifies herself by saying she has gay friends. Not for long, dummy.); she should hate it because this season sucks balls.

Well...not all of it sucks

For some reason, the writers have decided this season to make all the characters either unlikeable or just plain stupid. Everyone seems to be cheating on their boyfriend/girlfriend with someone else. I mean, if you're a guy and your so-called 'best friend' gets one girlfriend pregnant and makes out with your next one cause she's pissy again, wouldn't you have strangled that guy with your shoelaces? Or shanked him in the cafeteria? Hmm, maybe I shouldn't watch Oz right after watching Glee.

That and there doesn't seem to be any real character growth. Now I'm probably going to get some Glee fan who says, "Heyyy!!! That's not truuu!! Rachel broke up with Finn!!! That's growth!!!" No it's not. It's just something that happens to her. She's still the same selfish, diva bitch whom I'm surprised no one has punched yet. She reminds me of a girl I acted with once and thankfully it was only once, always demanding the spotlight and being a stage Nazi. How often do we see Rachel getting upset because she can't get a solo or something else that doesn't put her in the spotlight thus justifies her acting like a bitch the entire episode and getting a solo at the end to show she's sad.

Apparently the truth hurts...

It applies to all the characters. It looked like they were really going to make Sue change her ways from Season 1 at the beginning of this season but then she went back to her old ways about two episodes in with her trying to destroy the Glee club like a really shitty Batman villain from the sixties. But it worked in Batman because the show was a giant spoof/parody and it knew it. Glee is becoming a parody of itself and seems to think it's being fresh and original just because they seem to do a themed episode each week (Lady Gaga, Madonna, Rocky Horror).

Also, this one is just a personal preference, but the singing is too perfect. Take the Christmas episode, A Very Glee Christmas. Our first glimpse of the New Directions group shows them decorating the room for the holiday and they're singing...kinda what you expect on a musical show. I'm going to take a quick break to tell you about a friend of mine. She is a music teacher and very good one at that as is her husband. And as good as they are, I think they would even struggle to recall the lyrics from the soundtrack of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Seriously, it's not that the glee kids suck at singing the song, but it's just all so perfect. I mean, I know they're supposed to be good but...that good? Come on, I could go up to any choir in the country, ask them, "Sing me a song from an almost fifty year old stop-motion animated Christmas special and have the exact same rhythm and timing as the original", and they wouldn't be able to do it. I mean, it'd be funny if they screwed up the lyrics once in a while or just as they're about to start singing have someone raise their hand and say, "Sorry, I don't know that one."

"What makes you think I know the lyrics?"

That whole Christmas episode bothered me in general because the writers decided that they would take one character and turn her from a cute airhead to full blown retarded. I'm talking about the cheerleader Brittany. I know it's a Christmas episode, but did they really need to say that she still believed in Santa Claus and that she believed that he could get her paralyzed boyfriend, Artie, to walk? I mean, she's making Sue Sylvester's assistant, Becky, a girl with Down Syndrome, look like George S. Patton.

And what's worse is that at the end of the episode she gets her wish! Artie gets these leg braces or something that help him walk just a little bit which were bought (Anonymously) by the school football coach, Bieste, a character who has been underused in my opinion. So wait, if you're a high school football coach, you can afford experimental medical technology so that a person who gets lost in a revolving door can have a good Christmas? Huh, so I guess all those teachers who bitch about being underpaid are just greedy misers.

Hey look, everyone, Artie got a Deus Ex Machina for Christmas!

Oh and what also blows is that they decide to have Rachel sing Last Christmas, a Christmas song so terrible that I have put it on my enemies list.

Another issue I have with the show is that it doesn't know what it wants to say. It's a cast full of diverse characters: Asians, blacks, gays, paralyzed, athletic, fat, neurotic and at the end of each episode they want to drill it into you that it's OK to be original and not a stereotype. You don't need to have blond hair, big boobs and whore yourself out there to be talented. That's a great message.

They don't do themselves any favours though when they decide to pose for pictures and basically pretend that they lollipop they're sucking on is a human penis. I mean, they try to give you that standard, "It's who you are on the inside that counts" message. But in reality, the message they send is this, "It's who you are on the inside that counts...until you land on a hit TV show. Then you can get those implants you desperately need!"

For a show that promotes diversity, it's funny that they had only enough room for the good looking white people...

There are a lot of other points that I could make about this show but I have only so much energy. The show isn't terrible by any means and though there are some people who would disagree strongly with that statement, I still watch it in the hopes that it will get better because it can be. In closing, I say this to Victoria Jackson: Judge lest ye be judged; let she who is without sin, throw the first rock. And if you're upset that there's nothing for your kids to watch because Hollywood is pro-gay, then turn on Bugs Bunny. My Opa loves that stuff and Bugs Bunny never does anything gay.

Nope, nothing queer going on here...

Vacation and the Future

Well, here I am back in my bedroom after a nice (but too brief) trip back home for Christmas holidays. It may have been for five days but in my view it was a matter of quality not quantity. And needless to say, while I may have slept for most of the first day, I certainly made up for it by cooking not only an amazing steak dinner for my family (Tip: When the blood starts to rise, your steak is 'medium') which my Dad praised as being as good as The Keg, but also a bitching minestrone soup that would make any Italian chef weep out of pure envy. My mom helped with that one.

I would put the recipe up but I decided that I'll save that for another post in the new year. Tonight I was supposed to be going into work but it seems that my manager (Who reminds me of what Gordon Ramsay said about some restaurant managers: "They can't even run a bath.") thought that I still had one more day of vacation. So needless to say, I arrived at work, collected my paycheck and promply left.

Mine was like this except a lot more awesome

Christmas was very good this year. I got a lot of books (A sign that the person giving the gift hates you, I've heard) but the ones I've read the most have been the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels that my younger sister got me. I actually enjoyed them more than I thought I originally would though I'm still a bit hesitant about seeing the movie.

It's not that I'm the type who thinks Hollywood ruins everything they touch (They don't have to try hard, though), it's just that I'm not the biggest fan of Michael Cera. Yes, he's Canadian like me, I'm sure he's very talented but...his voice. My sisters at the age of 12 sounded more masculine than he does.

Michael Cera in "Scott Pilgrim VS Puberty"!

But my stay at home isn't going to be very long. In a little more than a week I'll be flying out to Las Vegas with Aaron and another friend of his. It was something we had talked about over beer which I thought wouldn't happen for another couple of years. However since he's getting married in June, he's decided that now is the right time to do it before he ruins his life.

At the moment there aren't too many plans for once we arrive. Gamble a little, see the sights, take in a show (Penn and Teller, if possible) and battle sobriety among other activities. I was hoping that there might be a boxing event that weekend in Vegas but no such luck.

Viva this place!

I'm also thinking of getting a place of my own sometime before the year is through. While I do enjoy living here because of how close everything is, it would be nice to have my own kitchen and occasionally not have to try to sleep through the sounds of crying babies or barking dogs. However I've got quite a lot of time to work all that out.

The Best Christmas Specials Never!!!

I haven't been posting as much and that pisses me off because it means that once again, the only way I can get motivated to write is when my dad gets a letter to the editor published in the newspaper. This time my dad basically says that life should be like Grand Theft Auto and if he sees a man on a bicycle, he should have the right to run him over...and then back up and do it again.

Or something like that. Truth is I couldn't really pay too much attention to the letter since the sound of my blood boiling, due to being outdone by a man who has so much trouble operating the computer that I think the only piece of technology he is safe around is his electric toothbrush, was quite distracting.

Here we see my father on an everyday afternoon drive

Christmas and all that

I've been up since 4AM and for some reason am not the least bit fatigued. First off let me just say that I adore scallops. While most people were pigging out on turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, I abandoned the traditional Christmas dinner for my own unique twist-sirloin steak cooked medium (something I pulled off with Ramsay-esque perfection) and roasted sea scallops.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...?

Since the beginning of the month, despite the cycle of songs on the radio throughout the Flying J, I cannot seem to get into the Christmas spirit. Even more shocking to me is how quickly the month has been flying by when in comparison to November. The days just seemed to drip through time like syrup whereas now I feel like there are never enough hours in the day either to do some shopping for my family (and myself) or to sleep.