Hingis ends the year with another victory

I like this outfit hope she wears it for the Championships in Melbourne

Pics from hingis.org

Well, it seems Martina ended this year the same way she begun with another victory. She won the opener of the Gold Coast's Mondial Australian Hardcourt Championships.

Dispatching her Australian opponent Sybille Bammer 6-0 6-2. Australia has always been good for Hingis and it looks like this coming year will be no exception.

This match result is very reminiscent of the old Martina. If this is a sign of things to come then I cannot wait to see how she'll do in 2007!.

Read a related article

Hingis not ready to hang up her racquet just yet

Pic above taken from here: http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/photo?slug=getty-tennis-aus-sui-hingis_5_18_23_am&prov=getty


I was very relieved when I read this, especially since so many great players have gone into retirement this year. Good to know that Martina is still putting tennis into the forefront over anything else.

Gotta love how the Swiss folk don't notice Martina wearing a ring lol, or if they do they don't make a big deal about it. But as soon as she goes to Australia it's all over the news lol.

NEWLY engaged Martina Hingis has vowed she will not follow tennis contemporaries Kim Clijsters and Lindsay Davenport into retirement and her priority remains a strong year in 2007 to back up her successful comeback season.

Hingis, top seed for the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourt titles starting at the Gold Coast tomorrow, said she had not changed her views on the longevity of her tennis career after becoming engaged to Czech player Radek Stepanek last month.

Davenport, 30, disclosed earlier this month she has no plans to play tennis again when announcing she is expecting her first child in May.

Another of Hingis's great career foils, 23-year-old Clijsters, has flagged her intention to retire at the end of the year because of her susceptibility to injury and she plans to marry American basketball player Brian Lynch in July.

But Hingis, saying happiness in her private life will lead to success on the court, insists she will be on the tour for as long as she is competitive.

The Courier-Mail revealed on Thursday that Hingis, 26, and Stepanek, 28, had become engaged at the end of a year in which Switzerland's three-time Australian Open champion had ended a three-year absence from tennis to attain a world ranking of No. 7.

"The priorities right now are tennis. There's plenty of time to think about life after tennis," Hingis said.

"I'll try to keep up with the young girls and play at the highest level. if it's not the case any more or I don't want to do it, I'll think about it.

"I'm happy and I was surprised when it (engagement ring) was spotted right away here. I've been walking around (in Switzerland) for a month and no one noticed. People here must pay more attention to things".

"If you're happy in your private life, you are going to do well. You know what you want and I think I'm at that stage right now." Hingis, who became the youngest Australian Open champion at the age of 16, 10 years ago, spoke excitedly of her appreciation of life outside tennis – a far cry from her bitter public spats over tennis with the Williams sisters and Anna Kournikova before her departure from tennis because of foot injuries.

But she retains an unmistakable ambition to do justice to her skills and innate knowledge of tennis.

The former world No. 1 had no ranking when she made her WTA Tour comeback at Royal Pines resort 12 months ago, making the semi-finals before reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open two weeks later.

"I didn't set any goals last year and I won't do that this year," she said.

Article Source

Opinion poll

Hey guys,

I've updated my poll question, I wanna know what all of you think of Martina's engagement to Radek. Just thought I would post a little reminder since no one voted in the last one.

So get voting;).


Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, today was my birthday (28th) didn't do anything fancy just relaxed at home with the folks and had some wonderful white wine and an Italian babka:D.

After all the celebrating over Christmas I was all partied out lol, so I opted for a quiet evening at home. I turned 25, scary! I definitely don't feel like a 25 year old and certainly don't look like it.

Wedding bells for Martina Hingis

Yep, that's right seems like Mr. Radek Stepanek is a real keeper in Martina's eyes. The couple got engaged as you can see in the above photo.

Hingis is proudly displaying her diamond ring at the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourt championships which start this Sunday.

Let's just hope when they have kids, that they keep Martina's looks lol. All jokes aside it's nice to see Martina so happy and settling down:).

Read the related article

All good things must come to an end

Well, Christmas went off without a hitch. It's amazing we wait all year for it and it's gone in a flash. Well okay, technically it's not over just yet, there's still the madness of boxing day. Which I will be participating in this year lol.

The lengths one will go through to get a good price on something eh? lol. But that's what I'm planning to do going out tomorrow and spending the last of my cash on a birthday present for myself. It's the only time of year where I don't actually regret going a little nuts with my savings. Not that I ever go nuts, 'cause I don't have that much lol.

Anyway, as I've mentioned Christmas went well, I ate some, I drunk some (actually more then usual) which is rare for me. What can I say? it was very good wine. Spent most of today sleeping off the hangover lol.

My favourite part though had to be getting to talk to my family members back in Poland. Both the parental units and myself spent half of Christmas Eve on the phone, it's a wonder we found time to enjoy the food lol.

That was about the highlight of Christmas for me, I didn't really care that much about the presents. I was just happy to hear my relatives voices. Sappy, I know.


We were actually going to make another round of phone calls to the relatives yesterday (since it's after midnight now) but we were all too tired to even pick up the phone. We could barely speak after the 4 hour marathon on Christmas Eve lol. I'm sure we'll make up for it later today though lol.

That's about all I have to say on the subject really, I will add that I am looking forward to New Year's Eve. Since I'm actually doing something other then sitting at home this time lol.

Season's Greetings!!

Well maybe a little early but still, a joyous Christmas Eve and a Merry Christmas Day!! to all my readers who celebrate it. To all others Happy Holidays!!.

As for myself I am enduring the annual last minute Christmas preparations, which involve the parental units battling it out in the kitchen lol. I'm just staying out of the way, since I'm not much help in that department anyway.

As much as I like certain aspects of this season I am also just as happy when it's over lol.

It's almost that time again

The end of the year is quickly approaching January is just around the corner, and you know what that means? American Idol is coming back!. Woo-hoo!. Yeah I know kinda pathetic to get this excited about a reality show.

Every year I say to myself I won't watch it, and every year I break that promise lol. I guess the allure of those first few weeks of bad auditions is just too strong to resist. lol

Then of course there's Paula's crazy antics (I for one will be tuning in especially for that lol) and her feud with Simon Cowell. Plus Randy's dog pound shout outs and Simon Cowell's honesty. Ah, yes what a great month it'll be lol. Looking forward to it all.

Of course while the viewers rejoice about American Idol's return, the networks are getting ready for the fall out and the ratings slump all of their shows will experience in the months to come. Case and point:

Article Source

In Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand writes about a pile of manure at a racetrack that a flood turned into “a mighty shit Godzilla” that left buildings and structures destroyed in its wake. That is essentially how the other television networks see FOX’s American Idol, which is about to leave skid marks all over their schedules for the next five months.

One nameless network executive tells Variety, “Early on, I think it was easy to dismiss it as something that would fade. But as the body bags piled up, it became less and less easy to ignore.” NBC’s Mitch Metcalf goes on the record and compares the show to a “hurricane that blows in. We know it’s gonna come and when it’s going to hit. We just have to buckle down and prepare for it the best we can.”

Preparation is a good idea, because Idol “has vaporized nearly two dozen [shows] that have tried to compete against it,” according to Variety. The concern is about more than just shows airing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Other networks “worry that Fox will add extra episodes of the show if it needs the added ratings juice, or fret over the always looming (but still unlikely) threat that the net might choose to move the ‘Idol’ results show to Thursday nights,” Variety reports.

The hope, of course, is that this year, finally, the show will slip, and start its march toward eventual obscurity. “At some point, it’s got to go down, right? I mean, all shows go down eventually, don’t they?” one executive said. Another network executive says that, “One of these years, it’s going to be down 5% or 8%, and everyone will say, ‘Hmmm, it’s slipping.’ But when that happens is anyone’s guess.”

As for that last paragraph, I think the network exec's will just have to keep dreaming lol. 'Cause as long as there are teenagers in the world that show will go on.

I think the only thing that could possibly get people to stop watching is if they all of a sudden changed the format drastically, say by changing the judges.

But since the chances of that are as slim as Canadians (in the Toronto area) getting snow for Christmas lol, guess they'll just have to suck it up and weather out the storm. The new season of " American Idol" begins January 16th 2007.

RIP Joseph Barbera

Cartoon animator Joseph Barbera died of natural causes this past Tuesday, he was 95. Joseph was a part of the famous Hanna-Barbera Productions.

He along with William Hanna was responsible for some of the best children's cartoons of our time, among them were characters like "The Flintstones", "The Jetson's", "Tom and Jerry", "Yogi Bear" and "Huckleberry Hound". I grew up watching all of these in fact I still catch them from time to time on the Cartoon Network.

He was a true innovator of animation and he will definitely be missed. I actually long for the Hanna-Barbera days, because that's when cartoons were good and had a lesson and a moral at the end. Unlike the cartoons today which are full of nothing but violence.

Here is a related article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/19/arts/19barbera.html?ex=1182142800&en=9f6bdd0ef88182a4&ei=5087&excamp=GGGNjosephbarbera

Tennis: A year in review

Yep, found another best and worst of tennis article this one has a bigger list.

Once again here are my personal favourites:

Comeback player of the year: Even Martina Hingis' most ardent fans might not have predicted how surely and methodically she made her way back up to the top 10 after three years of tennis inactivity. Does it say more about her or the competition? That's debatable, but no one can dispute that her brand of shot-making is still an effective tool. Hingis scrambled up the rankings week by week, won two tournaments, stayed healthy, went 53-19 and finished at a season-high No. 7. It will be interesting to see if she can improve on this year's 5-12 record against top-10 players.

Yep, that's what I'll be looking forward too:D.

Determined-to-go award: Kim Clijsters, 24, stuck to her guns, saying 2007 will be her last on the tour because of her other priorities, which include starting a family with fiancé and former Villanova basketball player Brian Lynch, getting more education and perhaps working with children.

Can't say I disagree, but I will definitely miss her on the tour. She's such a great competitor.
Most provocative public scolding: Chris Evert penned a letter in Tennis Magazine that called out Serena Williams for recent subpar results that were "hard to fathom."
"I wonder whether 20 years from now you might reflect on your career and regret not putting 100 percent of yourself into tennis," Evert wrote. "I don't see how acting and designing clothes can compare with the pride of being the best tennis player in the world."

Amen to that Chris! lol. No one else but her would have the courage to say that publicly.

Unfortunate irony:
It seemed as if the Williams sisters spent almost as much time in a courtroom as they did on the tennis court this year, testifying in a breach-of-contract case brought against them and father Richard Williams in West Palm Beach, Fla., by the would-be promoters of an exhibition event.

Such is the price you pay for not sticking to your commitments.
Best sporting gesture: Vera Zvonavera reacted quickly and compassionately when Mary Pierce tore up her knee during their match in Linz, Austria in October. Zvonareva rushed over with a bag of ice -- arriving before the trainer -- and stayed on the fringes of the group attending to Pierce until the veteran was carried off on a stretcher. Pierce faces a long rehab of the potentially career-ending injury.

That's what I'm talking about respect and good sportsmanship.
Worst sporting gesture: Maria Sharapova literally turned her back on former Bollettieri Academy classmate Tatiana Golovin as the Russian-born French player writhed in pain on her end of the court after injuring her ankle late in their match in Miami. Golovin had come back from a set down to win a tiebreaker and was making the third set a barn burner until she hurt herself. No one expects a player fighting for her competitive life to be Mother Teresa, but Sharapova's willful obliviousness, bouncing a ball and jogging beyond the baseline with nary a glance toward or inquiry about the condition of her opponent seems the height of cold, not cool.

Another proof the woman is a freakin' cyborg, she could give "The Terminator" a run for his money lol. Oh, wait he actually understood human emotion, never mind.

Testiest exchange with reporters: This was Sharapova's post-U.S. Open championship press conference, which she initiated with a schoolmarmish: "Let's make this a positive session tonight -- please, por favor." Things deteriorated from there. Sharapova tried to shut down talk of her posse's obvious signaling from the stands -- "I just won a Grand Slam. The last thing I'm going to talk about is some fingers or a banana, all right?" -- but spent much of the session verbally chopping fruit salad. WTA officials are considering scrapping the prohibition on remote coaching. If that would spare us similar unpleasantness, all we can say is, muchas gracias.
Ah, the words of a gracious champion *snort*.
Click here to read the whole article from ESPN.

Top Ten Google News Searches 2006

The Sydney Morning Herald, December 20

Celebrity bad-girl Paris Hilton and social networking website Bebo were the hottest topics on Google in 2006, the superstar online search engine revealed.

The "Year-End Google Zeitgeist" top ten lists for general and news searches on the Internet showed global interest in online socializing and video viewing, as well as World Cup soccer, cancer, autism, celebrities and Hurricane Katrina.

Young website Bebo, where users share videos, pictures and music and seek former schoolmates, ranked ahead of MySpace, another teen-oriented social networking site, in the Google list of most popular general searches.

World Cup soccer ranked third, with the remaining top-ten queries focused on video sharing, radio blogging, and wikis, which are websites open to editing by visitors.

The Spanish word "rebelde" placed eighth in the general search rankings, with query results including a popular band, a video-sharing website, and a television series.

Hilton, who starred in the reality television show "The Simple Life," topped the list of the most frequent Google news searches, with actor Orlando Bloom ranking second.

Hunts for cancer news ranked third, followed by podcasting, Hurricane Katrina, and bankruptcy in that order.

Swiss tennis star Martina Hingis was seventh on the news search list, ahead of autism, the US National Football League draft, and the television show Celebrity Big Brother.

MySpace topped the general searches and singer Janet Jackson the news searches at Google in 2005.

Article Source

Have we honestly gone so low as to make Paris Hilton the top news of this year?. Wow, we live in a sad sad world.

Now someone like the Swiss Miss Martina Hingis deserves to be there:), because she helped put women's tennis back on the forefront again. She is an athlete who motivates and inspires. What the heck did Paris do?, besides act dumber then she did the previous year? lol.

She is the last person on earth anyone should even remotely try look up to. And the sad fact is that a lot of the young girls do, which is scary scary thing.

Top 10 Google Searches 2006

I couldn't call myself much of a geek if I didn't mention this year's most searched list. This one is a personal favourite because it relates to Google (you gotta appriciate their sense of humor lol).

1. Bebo - Britain's answer to MySpace

2. Myspace - Murdoch's answer to how to make money online

3. World Cup - France's answer to where head butting is acceptable

4. Metacafe - The other YouTube

5. Radioblog - Where bloggers practice extreme annoyance and how to crash Firefox

6. Wikipedia - Where wikiality and truthiness prevail

7. Video - Because searchers don't know how to be more specific

8. Rebelde - What's better than Catholic schoolgirls? Catholic schoolgirls in Spanish, apparently.

9. Mininova - Next year's acronym magnet (DRM, MPAA, RIAA, DOJ)

10. Wiki - Because the downside of Web 2.0 is you have to say things that sound silly.

Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20061219Top10GoogleSearches2006.html

Interesting results this year I'm definitely one of the people contributing to the video, wikipedia and Mininova searches.

I'm surprised that Myspace got beaten by a British equivalent, I haven't heard of them but catchy name. I also had no idea there was another YouTube, leave it to Google to teach you something new;).

When insults had class

Who needs profanity? these are so much more effective and they make you laugh;)

Lady Astor once told Winston: "If you were my husband I'd put poison in your tea!" to which Winston replied: "If you were my wife, I'd drink it!"


"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
-- Winston Churchill


"A modest little person, with much to be modest about."
-- Winston Churchill


"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great
pleasure."
-- Clarence Darrow


"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the
dictionary."
-- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)


"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
-- Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)


"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading
it."
-- Moses Hadas


"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know."
-- Abraham Lincoln


"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
-- Groucho Marx


"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of
it."
-- Mark Twain


"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."
-- Oscar Wilde


"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a
friend... if you have one."
-- George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill


"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second...if there is one."
-- Winston Churchill, in response


"I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here."
-- Stephen Bishop


"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
-- John Bright


"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
-- Irvin S. Cobb


"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others."
-- Samuel Johnson


"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
-- Paul Keating


"He had delusions of adequacy."
-- Walter Kerr


"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure."
-- Jack E. Leonard


"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt."
-- Robert Redford


"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human
knowledge."
-- Thomas Brackett Reed


"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them."
-- James Reston (about Richard Nixon)


"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."
-- Charles, Count Talleyrand


"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."
-- Forrest Tucker


"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"
-- Mark Twain


"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
-- Mae West


"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
-- Oscar Wilde


"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts...for support rather
than illumination."
-- Andrew Lang (1844-1912)


"He has Van Gogh's ear for music."
-- Billy Wilder

"Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good." - Samuel Johnson

A lovely Irish curse: "May the curse of Mary Malone and her nine blind illegitimate children chase you so far over the hills of Damnation that the Lord himself can't find you with a telescope".

"From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it." - Groucho Marx

"A hippie is someone who looks like Tarzan, walks like Jane and smells like Cheeta." - Ronald Reagan

Good eatin'

Went to an office Christmas party with the folks on Saturday (for dad's company). It was a restaurant in Oakville. And I have to say the food was excellent.

I had a delicious creamy mushroom soup as an appetizer, then for the main course I had a chicken breast with garlic mashed potatoes and assorted vegetables. Yum!.

I topped it off with a creme brulee for dessert, very light yet very filling at the same time. The whole menu consisted of mostly sea food actually, so it left me with very limited choices since I'm not a sea food fan.

My dad was in heaven, he had some escargots and salmon. Good for him but those 2 dishes would never touch my lips! lol.

The only quibble I had was that it was a very small restaurant with very little room to move around comfortably, especially with a large party of people. All the chairs were quite close together, and everyone was basically bumping each other with their elbow if they weren't careful.

Made going to the rest room a bit of a nightmare, because I was sitting in the middle of the table so people were forced to get up when I wanted to get out of my seat. Really not the best seat arrangements at least on the lower level, the upper level looked a lot more comfortable.

The size of the place increased the noise level quite a bit, and I ended up yelling while trying to have a conversation with the person across from me.

The place itself was very elegant with romantic lighting and table set up, perfect if you're on a date not so great for office parties in my opinion.

We ended up eating an hour later then scheduled, because our cabbie, got lost when picking up 2 other people from the party. I was definitely ready to eat by the time we got there. All in all though it was an enjoyable evening, a nice break from the norm.

Strangely enough, it didn't get me into the Christmas season as much as I thought it would. I guess I'm just not really looking forward to it this year in particular for some reason. Maybe it'll change by the end of the week, till then I'll just have to grin and bear it.

Lindsay Davenport pregnant, plans to retire

I have to say I was surprised when I read this, but at the same time it makes sense she's in her thirties so it's a good time to start a family.

Plus with those nagging injuries she had all this year it's very unlikely she would have played much longer. I was never really a Davenport fan but I will definitely miss her simply as Martina's greatest rival.

Click here to read a related article.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program;)

I'm back!! er, well my blog that is lol. First off my most sincerest apologies to all the readers returning and new.

I'm sure you were starting to wonder what the heck happened to my blog, and why you kept getting a blank page. Well I had some extreme technical difficulties in the past week.

Some major issues with my template, not sure what happened whether I was hacked or what but either way it wasn't pleasant.

I've been tearing my hair out trying to figure out what happened and how to fix it. Took me a while but as you can see things are back to normal.

I have a lot of topics on the back burner, and I'll start to post them as time allows. I'm a little busy at the moment with some life stuff but should have ample free time at the end of next week.

Hopefully all of you have hang in there and will come back for a visit often now that things are back to normal, because I have a lot more to say;).

The best and worst of Tennis 2006

Since we're coming to the end of the year, there are a lot of best and worst articles circling the net. I received this one in my Google Alerts.

Very interesting read and a nice concise sum-up, for those who haven't been following Tennis too closely this year.

My favourites would have to be:

VETERAN OF THE YEAR (WOMEN): Martina Hingis, who came back after three years off due to injury and burnout and finished the year ranked No. 7. Now, can the wily 26-year-old push her game up to another level and win her sixth Grand Slam title?My answer? a resounding YES!! :D

VETERAN OF THE YEAR (MEN): Czech Radek Stepanek is 28 years old, and despite missing the entire second half of the season with an injury, he still finished the year ranked No. 19. Plus, he's managed to stay with his girlfriend, Hingis, for nearly a year now, the longest stint for any of the demanding Swiss' tennis playing beaus.

Hmmm...I don't know about the demanding part.


MATCH OF THE YEAR (MEN): In his swan-song tournament, Agassi defeated a cramping Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5 in three hours and 49 minutes of daring, gutsy late night tennis at the U.S. Open. This second round victory was the American's legend's last victory and will surely be rebroadcast hundreds of times.Have to completely agree with this, Agassi definitely went out with a bang.

Click here for the whole list from Fox Sports.

Tweedle-dumb and tweedle-dumber

I knew Britney Spears hanging out with Paris Hilton would only lead to badness, I give you exhibit A:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_MVg2Zkhdg

To view the video you need to sign up for a YouTube account;).


Seriously Britney, everyone knows you're slutty but I think this is hitting a new low. As a mother of 2 you'd think she would have a little more sense now but unfortunately not.

I hope this is not some residual effect of the K-Fed break up, because that guy is so not worth a penny.

Speaking of I think Britney should perhaps invest some pennies on a pair of unmentionables. Really wouldn't hurt you Britney. We do not need another Paris Hilton I think one is more then enough.

Oh, and a small note to my readers just a warning Britney bashing is one of my favourite things lol, so if that's not your cup of tea you can always click back.

Now I may not do it too often, but when the mood strikes I will not shy away from the topic. And lets face it as long as Britney keeps hanging out with Miss airhead Hilton I will have plenty of fodder lol.

Evolution of dance

Check out this hilarious look at the changing styles of dance over several decades. I think the only one I'm guilty of doing is the chicken dance lol. Well ok, and maybe a little MC Hammer lol.

As for the rest I'm sure my parents have tried those moves at some point in their lives lol. Gotta hand it to this guy, you have to be in pretty good shape to perform all of that.

A little of this, a little of that

I know, I know I've been slacking off lately. Well, what can I say?. It's December so things are a little slow all around right now. Plus I've been a little busy trying to find a job. Things are moving along but there's a lot of calling and waiting involved.

Have to say travelling is not a lot of fun this time of year, especially if the only way you can get around is by bus. The weather has gotten a lot colder and it's really starting to feel like December. Lets just say I'm hoping this winter will be short. But the realist in me says, that living in Canada makes that next to impossible lol.

Anyway, that's about it in terms of my life at the moment. Let's get back to something a little more interesting... pop culture:D. I'm sure we've all heard of a little movie called "Rocky" right? (if you haven't then it's probably because you're a youngster or living under a rock lol).

For those who don't know there were 5 movies in total, which I've always thought was more then enough. But Hollywood didn't and they've made another one. Yep, that's right Rocky VI aka "Rocky Balboa" is coming to a theatre near you this Christmas. It stars an aging Sylvester Stallone (although I have to say he looks good for his age).

Here is a trailer for Rocky VI that I found on YouTube:



It looks interesting, but to be honest I don't think many people will go see it, except maybe the die hard Rocky fans of course. I think I would rather just wait for the DVD lol.

Also according to the Internet Movie Database Sly is doing another Rambo movie entitled "Rambo IV:Pearl of the Cobra" due out in 2008.

Hollywood is clearly out of ideas.

Relaxing Saturday

Having a nice relaxing day today. Haven't had one of those for a while, due to parental pressures and general family issues. Got together with a couple of friends over the last couple of weeks, lots of fun was had.

Staying in, eating junk food, playing Sega (yes I still have a working system). The perfect way to relax.

The weather we've been having lately is perfect for staying in (if you can). It's been nothing but wind, rain and cold for the past 3 days. Strangely enough we don't have any snow yet, but I'm sure it's on its way. Oh, joy.

This weather hasn't been very favourable for my immune system, I've been feeling crappy for the past 3 days.

Hoping it is only weather related, I don't need to get sick right now. Especially since I'm going for a job assessment on Monday, don't want that day to be any more difficult then it has to be.

Cold gloomy days are of course also perfect for surfing the net, which makes the geek in me very happy lol. Speaking of I'm off to surf right now:D.

Been a little quiet lately

Not much has been going on in the gossip, celebrity department lately (at least nothing I feel is worth reporting). Which leaves me with very little to write about, since my life is just not that exciting lol. At least for now.

I did find an interesting trailer for a horror movie with Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn on Buffy) called "Black Christmas" from what I've gathered it's a remake of a 1974 flick. What's really strange is that it comes out on Christmas Day.

Makes you wonder how many people will actually see it. Especially since the plot of the movie involves young girls getting killed left and right. Not exactly something that fills one with Christmas cheer. But I'm sure there will be some horror buffs curious to see it.

Gotta say it's nice to see Michelle she disappeared for a while after "Eurotrip" but this year she's done some tv appearances one on House and the other on Law and Order: CI this week. And it looks like now she's getting back on to the big screen.

You can check out the trailer here:

The Smurfs coming to a theatre near you!

Yep, first The Simpson's, now The Smurfs. As an 80's fanatic I was ecstatic about this news. 'Cause if there was ever one cartoon I never got sick of as a child that would be The Smurfs.

Lots of happy childhood memories associated with this one. I don't plan on going to see The Simpson's, but I'll definitely check out The Smurfs. Although there's no word yet on when exactly it'll be out.

The cool thing about this is The Smurfs themselves will be computer generated in 3-D, very much in the style of Shrek I'm sure. I was also very happy to find out it will be a trilogy.

Where we'll find out more about the characters themselves. I particularly like the part about Gargamel's backstory. That definitely has my attention. I'll be waiting in anticipation for this one!.

Here is an article with more details on the subject:
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=3&id=39013

Frustrations abound

I'm going to be doing some job hunting in the next couple of days, probably for the rest of this week. The rents are getting really sick of me sitting at home and not doing much. Plus I have some student loans looming over my head so I have no choice.

I have no idea what I'm going for, basically going in totally blind. Hoping to get some help from people who specialize in pointing others in a certain direction. It's what happens when you take a 2 year course in College and then realize that's not what you really wanna do or exactly which direction to go in.

Mostly I'll be doing a lot of phoning and getting up early, oh joy. Anyhoo, I guess we'll see how things work out. Hell at this rate I don't expect to get anything till January. But gotta please the parental units and at least pretend like I care so they get off my back.

Boy, this has turned into one cheerful post huh? lol. At least it's making me feel better getting things off my chest. Did I mention how much I dislike this time of year by the way?. I do. I'm the total opposite of what I should be at this time.

But I guess it's because I don't enjoy Christmas the same way that I used to when I was a kid. It's not fun anymore, to me Christmas is forced family togetherness and obligatory phone calls. Anyway that's it for my rant I didn't even realize I had this much to say when I started lol.

Top Ten Worst Picked URL's

Haven't had anything humorous on my blog for a while. I find these hilariously amusing so I decided to share.

Enjoy;)

Clik here for the worst picked URL's

Kelly/Clay controversy continued

In yesterday's post I mentioned that Kelly was ranting about Clay to Regis when he returned to his hosting duties. She called Clay unprofessional and rude. Well what do you call this:



"I missed the heck out of you on Friday". Gee Kelly, tell us how you really feel. I guess her meaning and my meaning of "unprofessional" differ but in my view that's exactly what she's doing in the above video.

Whining and moaning about your guest co-host the next week to your regular co-host is unprofessional. I think Kelly needs to go and look up the meaning of the word. She might as well look up "hypocrite" while she's at it.

Let's see didn't she say in her phone call to Rosie on The View that she would never cover some one's mouth with her hand?.



Hypocrisy at it's best.

And I don't think she should ever try the germ excuse again either because she has her hands all over Regis on a daily basis. Just like in the above video. Which btw. is genius! lol. There I have said my peace on the Clay/Kelly controversy.
Now I'm finished (at least until the next one! lol).

And just for the hell of it here is Clay sticking it to Ms. Ripa at the American Music Awards on Tuesday with Tori Spelling.

Ripa vs. Rosie

Well I knew a Rosie O'Donnell/Kelly Ripa clash might happen some day but I didn't expect former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken to factor in the equation too lol. Before I confuse you any further let me explain the whole situation. Ok so last week (Friday) on Live Kelly was co-hosting with Clay Aiken who was of course filling in for Regis.

During the interview Clay covered Kelly's mouth with his hand (because she would not let him get a word in). Of course Kelly did not approve and told him it was a "no no" followed by "I don't know where that hand has been honey". Rosie (being the queen of tv that she is) of course commented on the fiasco on "The View" the following Tuesday.

Now you're thinking what's wrong with that? well nothing would have been if it wasn't for the fact that Rosie called Kelly's remarks homophobic. Which of course prompted Kelly to call the show (on the same day because she happened to be watching). And ripped into Rosie, who defended herself by saying she was on a show where you express your opinions and that's all she was doing.

Personally I don't think it was meant to be homophobic in any way and Rosie was just grasping for straws, and unintentionally outed Clay Aiken in the process. I don't think he'll be showing up on The View any time soon lol.

So maybe Clay shouldn't have put his hand on Kelly's mouth but I have to admit I can't help but enjoy that lol. Hell, that's the only way to shut her up the woman has s gigantic ego. And calling Clay disrespectful is like the pot calling the kettle black, seeing as she would not let him get a word in during the interview even though he was her co-host. The poor guy did the only thing he could.

I've read that some people think it was sexist of Clay that he would never do that if he was co-hosting with a man. To those people I say, seriously? have you watched Live at all?. I repeat Kelly does not shut up! even Regis himself has a hard time getting a word in. Hell he was on Clay's side the next day saying Kelly overreacted (in a much nicer way of course).

Clay got his last word in though, during tonight's American Music Awards where he presented with Tori Spelling. Who in the middle of his speech put her hand over his mouth lol. Take that Kelly Ripa! lol. Stop being a diva and let others talk once in a while. Oh, and get a sense of humor while you're at it.

To see exactly how it all went down check out these YouTube videos;).

The thing that started it all



Rosie's comment on The View


Ripa's response to Rosie

New releases this week

The 5th and final season of "Alias" comes out today. Been a long time coming too!. Hope it's filled with some good extras.



In the music world there's American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry's debut album. I took a listen to it on AOL and I thought it sounded great. A lot of people are saying he sounds like Chad from Nickelback. I think there might be a slight resemblance but he definitely has his own style and some good old fashioned rock tunes.

Martina Hingis at James Bond Premiere in Zurich

Martina Hingis with her main man Radek Stepanek at the James Bond Casino Royale Premiere in Zurich

pics from hingis.org

Nice to see her enjoying her time off and hey, who knew Martina was a James Bond fan?. She does like fast cars so maybe that's part of the appeal along with the action.

I have to say Radek looks a lot better when he cleans up. Well ok still not really a knock-out but then who the heck is next to someone like Martina? lol.

Martina Hingis admits to an iron deficiency

Here is a bit of interesting news earlier this month Martina Hingis discovered that she had an iron deficiency. When I first read about it I didn't think it was true.

After some digging however I was able to confirm it. According to this blog Martina is now on a supplement program that she hopes will help her improve things for next year.

I have to say it certainly makes a lot of sense. It would explain her fatigue and her constant mental lapses during the second half of this year.

Discovering this problem and working on fixing it will no doubt be absolutely beneficial for her game. I'm certain that as a result 2007 will be even more exciting then her come back year and I'm really looking forward to it.

Her next tournament is the Australian Golf Coast on Dec. 31st. If her results from this year are any indication she's going to do extremely well and totally annihilate her opponents;).

More random pics:)

Ok, well maybe not so random these are also from the Madrid Championships. It's a photo shoot with all top 8 players that participated in the tournament. It's always weird looking at all of them in regular clothes I'm so used to seeing them in sportswear lol.

Oh and looks like Svetlana and Justine shop at the same place because they're both wearing the same pair of pants and shoes! lol. Also I have to commend Kim Clijsters on her choice of fashion almost as good as Martina's;). And I don't know why but I find it really interesting that Martina and Maria are both wearing leather jackets.



Martina being her natural self and Maria looking like she doesn't want to be there lol.
This photo cracks me up probably because I'm betting that's exactly how Maria is in real life stiff and emotionless lol.
From top left: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Amelie Mauresmo, Justine-Henin-Hardenne, Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters, Nadia Petrova and Elena Dementieva


All pics from hingis.org

Random Hingis photos

This first one is from the players party in Madrid I'll say it again the woman knows her fashion:)






These are just some random pics from Madrid all from hingis.org.

Long drought

Well, ok not really but it's been a few days since I've updated. Didn't really have a lot of time last week. Anyway I'll start off with some Tennis news as usual lol.

The Swiss Miss Martina Hingis did not make it into the semi's at Madrid:(, because unfortunately Justine Henin lost against Amelie Mauresmo. So Martina ended up 3rd in the round robin instead of 2nd loosing her chance to get into the semi's.

But she certainly made the best of it and played some marvellous Tennis. She ended this tournament the way she started back in January of this year with a very impressive performance.

The matches in Madrid also demonstrated something that has been missing since she returned from retirement. A fighting spirit. There were traces of the old and the new and improved Martina. You could really tell she was giving it her all. It was wonderful to see.

Hopefully she'll carry that same spirit and drive into her matches next year. Personally I can't wait! I know I've said this before but it's good to have her back on tour.

"The Sarah Connor Chronicles" Terminator as a tv series?

Forgot to mention this earlier in the week. The Fox tv network is working on developing a tv series based on The Terminator movies tentatively called "The Sarah Connor Chronicles".

The series will supposedly explore what happened to Sarah Connor at the end of T2:Judgement Day. It is being produced by the same guy who did Terminator 3.

Word is that while he's working on this tv series he's also working on Terminator 4. Who knows? The Terminator had a lot of great concepts so if done right it could be an interesting series.

Click here to find out more details.

Hingis vs Petrova Madrid pics

Here are some pics from Wednesday's match with Nadia Petrova. Possibly some of the best victory pics in a while:). As always pics are from hingis.org

Hingis beats Petrova in 3 sets in Madrid!

Well Martina may have lost against Justine-Henin but that was not the case with Petrova. This was such an enjoyable match, haven't seen one this entertaining from Hingis in a while. Hingis won it in a wonderful 3 setter.

Felt like I was watching the Hingis of old again with some great lobs, drop shots and cross-courts. And a spectacular rally in the second game. Every time I forget what a great retriever she is she reminds me with a spectacular rally. It is a joy to watch.

I have to say Nadia really wasn't in her best form she made an enormous amount of unforced errors (41 total) and seemed very agitated which of course Hingis took advantage of and went up 4/0. Before Nadia finally got herself together and got 2 games back.

Then Hingis broke Petrova again to go up 5/2 after which she lost her serve allowing Nadia to get 2 more games back before finally closing the set out on the 3rd match point with the result of 6/4. In general Petrova was very sloppy all through out the first set.

In the second set she picked it up a bit, but there was still a sea-saw effect going on. Both players held serve twice for 2/all, than Hingis broke to go up 3/2. Followed by Petrova who broke right back and held serve to go up 4/3 and broke Hingis to go up 5/3. Then Nadia again held serve and took the second set 6/3.

The 3rd set is when things really got going with both players serving and returning well. Hingis started off with a bang and a great opening game. Petrova held for 1/all. Then both players broke for 2/all and really picked up their games.

Martina's service percentage really went up in the 3rd set and she won it to go up 3/2, broke Petrova and was up 4/2. She won her serve again to go up 5/2. Petrova managed to get one game back on her serve. Hingis had to fight for match point it went to deuce but she finally closed it out on the 2nd match point.

It was interesting to watch Nadia Petrova as she first came out on court in the beginning very confident off her win with Mauresmo the previous day but she got gradually more frustrated when she realized Hingis wasn't going to be so easy. And of course by letting the frustration get to her she lost.

But what a huge win this was for Hingis not just because she'll have a chance at the semi's (if Mauresmo loses to Henin today). But because I think it'll be a great confidence booster for her to finally win a 3 setter. I think it's been a while since she's done that. Unfortunately she lost yesterday's match with Mauresmo. I'm a little late in reporting I know. But she once again managed to get that one into 3 sets.

I was not surprised at the loss. She had to be exhausted after playing 3 sets in 3 days straight. No matter how fit you are that will certainly take it's tall on you. And I'm certain that in the 3rd set she simply run out of gus. But again if Henin wins tomorrow Hingis will have a chance at the semi's, fingers crossed.

Hingis 1st match Madrid pics

It's amazing in these pics you can actually see Martina break a sweat

Photos from hingis.org

Martina loses to Justine-Henin in opening match of Madrid

Once again I was not able to watch the match (I hate the fact that they showed the men's Madrid matches but not the women's). I was forced to follow the match on the Sony Ericsson scoreboard. The match started out well with both of them holding their serve but in the third game Justine broke Martina and surged ahead to a 5/1 lead. Martina was able to get one game back before Justine closed the set out at 6/2 .

In the second it was the same scenario with Justine leading 5/2 but Martina fought back and brought the set into a tie break winning it 7/6. In the 3rd set she was completely dominated by Justine who won it 6/1. But for those who have been complaining that Hingis should have done better I think this is a huge accomplishment she was actually able to take a set from Justine. Which hasn't happened in any of their previous meetings this year. So a huge improvement in my opinion, and she did fight really hard in the 2nd set.

I actually didn't know that you can continue to play after loosing in Madrid, I usually only follow the grand slams so I had no idea how this tournament worked. After doing some research I found out that Madrid works on a round robin effect. Meaning the top eight singles players are divided into two teams of four. The two groups play in a round robin format, each player meets one another in their group.

The best two performed players of each group go on to the final phase that takes place during the weekend. In the semi-finals the first-placed woman from one group meets with the second-placed woman from the other, with the winners advancing to the final. So, today Hingis will play Nadia Petrova could be another tough one since Petrova is having a really good year.

Planet Pluto parody

This one is a cute little parody about the former planet Pluto and it's loss of planetary status and demotion to "dwarf planet" which I've talked about earlier in the year. It's a fun video so I once again decided to share:). And just to make things clear it is not made by me;).

What's good in dvds and music this week

Starting with some 90's nostalgia, yes I'm talking about 90210. The first season is out on DVD today. I'm actually really surprised it took them so long.

And yes, I will admit this right off the bat I was a 90210 fan back in the day. It was a guilty pleasure. Watched the darn thing for all 10 seasons lol.

In terms some good music this week there's Josh Groban's new album "Awake" which I've had the pleasure of checking out courtesy of AOL's Full CD Listening Party. And I gotta say I really liked it, planning on running out and getting myself a copy. Some songs I really like from this album are "Don't Give Up", "Now or Never", "Weeping" and "In Her Eyes". Can't go wrong with a voice like his.

And on a totally unrelated note...

Here is a little something Tennis related since I haven't had that for a while. Found this great blog on Nadia Petrova that details all the draws for the WTA season ending tournament. Includes info on rankings and head to heads for all top 8 players. Check it out here.

Yet another YouTube video

Here is another amusing YouTube video, this one is a bit political but only meant in good fun.

Hanson to release "Strong Enough to Break" Documentary on DVD

Well they've been saying that for a while but it looks like it might finally happen. It's supose to be realesed in the next couple of months, just in time for Christmas perhaps? that would be nice. I'm kind of sick of watching the 8 minute preview, it'll be nice to finally see the whole thing lol.

Read related Billboard.com article

They've actually been keeping busy along with this DVD they're also finishing work on their next album "The Walk" slated for release in early 2007 (yay!). Recently they also recorded 2 special tracks one for the Van Wilder 2 movie soundtrack called "The Ugly Truth".

And the other is a song they did for World Aids Day recoded while they were visiting South Africa in July with an African children's choir called "Great Divide". The track will be available exclusively on the Internet December 1st (I'm guessing itunes).

So lots of good stuff to come, I'm excited:).

More YouTube goodness:)

Here is another great YouTube video that I found last week, I have nothing to say about it because it's pretty much self explanatory. Well, ok I'll say one thing pay attention to the positioning of the snake;) lol.

Bob Barker to retire in 2007

Hard to believe but yep the man who reminds you to "have your pets spaid or neutered" on "The Price is Right" is finally retiring in June. Now this is not meant to be mean or anything but I'm really surprised he didn't do it sooner.

I was always afraid one of those over exuberant contestants would bowl him over and cause serious injury. Especially as he got older. But boy, what an amazing career to have 50 years of t.v. 35 with "Price is Right". I'll say one thing CBS is going to have a hell of a time finding a replacement.

Check out the full story in this article.

White stuff again

Coming down in droves, but it looks like the non-stick variety due to the size of the snowflakes. I know it's November and it's to be expected but I want it to stay away as long as possible lol.

Tomb Runner Lara Croft

Since I am completely addicted to YouTube lol, and spend an obscene amount of time on it every day. I thought I would start sharing some of the videos that have become my faves.

The first one is sort of a hilarious and inventive (2 minute) critique of the controls for the new Lara Croft Tomb Raider game. It's done by an 18 year old British girl named Kate and it absolutely cracked me up when I saw it. It was actually one of YouTube's "most viewed" videos on Oct. 27th.

So I've decided to share it here for those who haven't seen it, enjoy;). If you are wondering about the title of this blog, you'll get what I mean when you see the video;).

Celebrity news

Above photo taken from here


Well, I haven't done any celebrity news for a while so to change things up a bit that's going to be tonight's update. I was actually really shocked when I heard about this a couple of days ago. The news is that Ryan Phillipe and wife Reese Witherspoon are splitting up (separating) after 7 years of marriage.

Didn't see this one coming, I've always thought if there was one Hollywood couple that would make it those 2 would have been it. Now I'm not a huge fan of Reese but there are a couple of movies of hers that I've liked "Legally Blonde" for one. You gotta feel sorry for their 2 kids. Who knows? maybe they'll reconcile one day they've always been the only sensible couple in Hollywood IMO.


And on a completely unrelated note and under the "who really gives a shit?" category lol. Tom and Katie (the couple I loathe with a fiery passion) have finally set a wedding date, November 18th. To which I say.... thank god!. Maybe now we won't have to hear about them for a while (yeah I know not happening, but I can dream lol.)

It's that time of year again:)

To all readers of my blog:). You can click on the image to see a larger version;).

Rain drops falling on my head...

We've had some bad weather this weekend extremely windy and wet, as has been the case for many other parts of the world. Generally I like rain. It's perfect if you don't have anywhere to go, you can just curl up in a comfy chair and read or just stare mindlessly at the tv. Whatever the case may be.

Can't say I've been loving the amount of rain we got this weekend though, little too much for my taste. But I guess I'll be happy as long as the dreaded white stuff stays away at least until December. Which of course living in Canada is highly unlikely lol. Hope the kiddies get decent weather on Tuesday for trick or treating.

Martina is in Madrid!!

It has finally been confirmed Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis were the last 2 players to grab the remaining spots in the season-ending WTA Championships in Madrid. Hingis received her spot after fellow Swiss country woman Patty Schnyder lost to Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals of the Linz tournament yesterday.

So congrats to her, I hope she goes far and I wish her nothing but the best. It'll be a tough road for her to win, but you never know Martina has been having a spectacular year thus far.

Here is an article confirming the news:
http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2006/10/29/sports/15858911&sec=sports

Hanson at the Hollywood Film Festival

Zac Hanson with wife Kate

Isaac Hanson with wife Nicole

Taylor Hanson with wife Natalie

Hanson brothers were spotted at the Hollywood Film Festival showing their documentary "Strong Enough to Break".

All 3 arrived with their respective wives (I feel weird even writing that lol). Still can't believe they're all married. Anyway the above pics are from the event.

Pics taken from itsincredible.com

Another small update

I have just added a wedding photo of Isaac Hanson and his wife Nikki
(I was waiting for a good one to surface :D). It's in the October 4th post. I didn't feel like making a separate one since the photo fits perfectly with the wedding announcement.

So for all interested go check it out it's a very nice photo, gotta say Ike knows how to pick them. But then again his wife is a model so I guess it's a no brainer lol. Also Hanson's official site has been re-vamped and I'm loving the new look:), props to whoever does their graphic design.

Still waiting...

For a word on whether Martina will make it into Madrid. Patty Schnyder hasn't played in Linz yet this week, hopefully she'll lose early on. Which will give Martina the last spot in Madrid.

I know I haven't written much lately, there hasn't been anything interesting to write about really but hopefully things will pick up after this week. And I won't bother writing about my life because it's too boring at the moment lol.

WTA and ATP to combine events

http://www.tsn.ca/tennis/news_story/?ID=181178&hubname=tennis

I really hope this happens, even though I'm not really a huge fan of the men's game. It would be great because I would actually get to see some of the other women's tournaments besides the 4 major grand slams.

Hingis quarter final pics from Zurich Open

Pics from hingis.org

Sad pics but hopefully there will be some good ones from Madrid in a couple of weeks if she makes it.

Kuznetsova prevails over Hingis in the quarters at Zurich Open

Well it was a tough battle from what I read (haven't had a chance to see the match yet). But even though Martina lost it was a high quality match. She managed to get it into a third set that's usually quite hard to do with Kuznetsova.

It's too bad she didn't make it into the semi's but she can definitely be proud of her performance in this match. Hopefully she'll still qualify for Madrid.

Here is a great article summery of the match:
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6160570,00.html

Hingis 2nd round Zurich Open pics

Pics from hingis.org


And here are some pics from the match, now I am off to bed since I didn't realize it was this late lol.