Mike's Bloggity Blog

It was just announced that Cartoon Network is coming to Canada!

I know what you’re thinking, isn’t the Cartoon Network already in Canada?  Nope, that’s Teletoon and in an added twist, Teletoon is the network that is bringing the Cartoon Network to our country.  Confused?  So am I. So lets not worry about the semantics of networks and their weird deals and let’s talk about about what the Cartoon Network coming to Canada really means….Adult Swim!

You see during the day, The Cartoon Network is really no different than any other animation station with it’s regular kid programming, but at night, at NIGHT the station really comes alive with it’s definitely for adult shows like   Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Boondocks, Childrens Hospital,  Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole, Robot Chicken, Squidbillies, Tim and Eric Awesome Show and The Venture Bros.

Right now a lot of these shows are available in Canada, but they are on  like twenty different networks, which can make finding them pretty difficult, now they’ll all be together.  I’m especially excited for Childrens Hospital, a hilarious and raunchy series that actually not even animated.

The launch of Cartoon Network in Canada is scheduled for sometime in 2012.

Youth Week Calgary will be taking place from April 21-28th. As a part of the celebrations, I, along with a few way cooler Calgarians shot a video, to share why we all that the week was so important.  I’m so excited to be a part of this really amazing event.

You can check it out above!

Let’s do this winter!

This blog post is also available on Huffington Post.

Over the Christmas break I spent time catching up my neglected Netflix Canada account. And while scanning the ever-expanding library, I noticed they’d added Portlandia, a small show that features Saturday Night Live‘s Fred Armisen and has a loyal and devoted online following. I’d heard it was funny, but otherwise knew very little about it — so my friend and I decided to watch an episode. We were immediately hooked. The show, which features a ton of Portland-based hipster-skewing sketches, was funny, biting, witty, and original. We instantly devoured the entire six-episode first season. The show’s second season debuted this past weekend on IFC.

After emerging from my Christmas slumber, I couldn’t stop talking about Portlandia whether on Twitter, on Facebook, or to unsuspecting strangers on the street. The problem? No sooner had the show appeared on Netflix Canada then it was gone. Had I somehow just imagined watching a brilliant show that managed to capture just how pretentious and annoying hipsters can actually be? Maybe. I did some Vernoica Mars-esque investigating and discovered that Netflix Canada had, in fact, posted the show and taken it down almost right away. On Jan. 3, the NetflixHelps Twitter account revealed that the show was added in “error.” The whole saga was so upsetting that I felt like squeezing on my skinny jeans, listening to the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack and weeping silently into my craft beer.

Look: I don’t get how contracts work or how someone goes about securing rights to a TV show, but it can’t be that hard. The first season of Portlandia is only six episodes, each 22 minutes long. These six episodes are good… like, really good. And in case you haven’t visited Netflix Canada lately, it’s seriously lacking in quality content. (I’m assuming that we all agree that the only season of Jenna Elfman’s Accidentally on Purpose is not quality television.)

If you’ve never seen Portlandia, you won’t be seeing it on Netflix Canada — at least not yet. So in the interim, I suggest you catch up on it through their countless sketches posted to YouTube. “Put A Bird On It” is definitely one of my favourites. And once you fall in love with it — because I know you will — send Netflix Canada a note. If enough people do, we’ll do something the Occupy movement failed to achieve: we’ll make a difference.

Hey everyone!

You may have noticed the blog has been quiet for a little bit, which is weird because this is definitely the longest I’ve gone without writing it.  On December 27th, I lost a great friend in a sudden accident and I’ve been taking time with his family and friends to reflect on an amazing life cut too short.

The blog should be up and running again by tomorrow or the day after, but I thought I should let you know why the abnormally long absence.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year, 2011 was definitely amazing, and I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for all of us.

Thanks,

Mike

Wherever you are, whoever your with, I hope you’re having a great day, that happens to include A Muppets Christmas Carol!

Merry Christmas!

It’s the time of year that the holiday parties as a frequent the snowfall warnings. This weekend, instead of bringing wine to a house party that I knew would have a lot of kids, I wanted to try something I’ve always heard was fun: baking.

No, don’t worry, this isn’t turning into a foodie blog. Because most of the time, I have no idea what the hell any of them are talking about anyway. Nope, this is solely a Canadian entertainment blog, but I wanted to share with you a quick recipe that I found online, because it was SO easy and the results were a lot of fun….or Entertaining.  So it counts.

The recipe is called Ice Cream Cone Cakes.  Essentially, they are Cupcakes baked in to Ice Cream Cones.   The ingredients are no different than cupcakes, except you have to also buy the ice cream cones.  You can drink wine while you’re doing it too.  (I learned that part about baking from my mom.)

Prepare the cupcakes as normal, then nnce the batter is in the cups, you stick an ice cream cone upside down in the batter.  As the oven heats the batter, the cupcake will raise into the cone. As you can see, the first batch didn’t turn out perfect, but I learned that about halfway through the baking time, you should re-adjust the cones and re-center them.   Once they are done, you can take them out and let them cool. Then, decorate as you please.

When it comes time to transporting them, use frosting at the bottom of each of the cones to help them stick to the tray. And then have a friend home them in the car.

Seriously, guys, it’s THAT easy.

So if you’re like me and are challenged in the kitchen, but you like to eater chocolate while you’re there, this is the recipe me.

Now, excuse me as I finish off that wine.

(Photo credit)

Now this seems like something we should have had years ago, but it’s here now, so I guess it’s better than nothing.

Shaw Cable announced today that they’ve launched a trial of a WiFi network.

What does that mean?  Well if you’re already a Shaw customer, you’ll be able to access wifi in a ton of different places including malls, restaurants and gyms.  Ugh. Gyms.

The service right now is only available in Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton but the communications giant hopes to roll out a ton of different access points by Spring of 2012.  I think is a really great idea and I’m already excited at the prospects of saving money on my data plan that I’ve been using for my cell phone.  Instead of killing my plan, I’ll be able to log onto the internet and watch my Netflix without worry of it costing me extra money!  This is definitely a game changer for the freelancers of the world, who up until now, have been hogging tables at coffee shops around the world!

If you wanna access the internet for free, here the instructions:

1. Select “ShawOpen” or “ShawSecure” (for a secure connection). Enter the passphrase ‘shawwifi’.

GUYS!  It’s Friday.  So excited.  Here’s 2 things that are realllllllly putting me in a good mood right now!

Kiefer is back!

Okay, it’s not a a 24 movie, but CTV is bringing Kiefer Sutherland back to our screens, only this time it will be our computer screens.   The Confession starts the son of Donald as well as John Hurt and when it premieres on Monday, December 5th it will premiere on multiple digital platforms including online, mobile and tablets.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but is this the first time Canada has done something like this?  At least with someone cool, I mean.

The web-series will tell the story of a hit man played by Sutherland, and a priest played by John Hurt. The story begins on Christmas Eve, when the hit man enters a church to confess his sins to the priest. Through a series of flashbacks, the confessor’s journey is revealed – laying out what has brought him to this moment and leading the audience to the dramatic ending where the man’s chances at redemption hang in the balance.   Sounds a little heavier than I’m used to, but with so many shows on repeats this month, it might worth checking out.

The show will premiere exclusively in Canada at theconfession.ctv.ca on Monday, Dec. 5 with the first three episodes, followed by two new episodes rolling out on subsequent Mondays.

Spike is coming!
It was announced today that James Marsters, who played Spike on both Buffy The Vampire Slayer AND Angel will be coming to Calgary next April for Comic Entertainment Expo, our equivalent of Comic-Con.  As the world’s biggest Buffy fan, I was over the moon excited when I saw that Marsters was coming. Actually, funny story, I think the announcement came faster than the Comic Expo people wanted, because I still haven’t received a press release about him coming to Calgary, instead Marsters announced it on his Facebook page.  Woohoo! I’m not sure at what lengths I’ll have to go to speak to him, but you know that it is happening. IT. IS. HAPPENING.  #thesecret.

Also announced to come to the Expo from April 27-29th, Amanda Tapping (Stargate: SG-1, Sanctuary) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, 24)!

On Wednesday night, Calgary kicked off the holiday season with one of the biggest parties that I’ve seen.  Nearly 7,000 of my closest friends descended upon The Core to celebrate Christmas, get in some sweet shopping deals, enjoy fantastic food and drinks and of course, support a great cause!

The event was T’was the Night and it was billed as Downtown Calgary’s Biggest Private Shopping Night and that it was. For $15, shoppers got the mall all to themselves and after walking the red carpet, which was hosted by Lainey’s Gossip‘s Lainey, they were seranaded by the one and only Chantal Kreviazuk.

Besides getting their shopping down all in one night, shoppers knew their hard earned money was going to well deserving charities. All ticket sales will support two local charities working to revitalize Calgary’s downtown: BeCause, a next generation initiative of the United Way of Calgary and the National Music Centre Project.

Throughout the night I got to talk to a lot of people who were loving taking in the sights and the sounds of the evening.  We don’t get too many big parties here in Calgary, especially if they don’t involve cowboy hats.  Oh wait…

Besides the food, drinks and deals, I think the highlight of the night for me was listening to the choir as the 45 foot Christmas tree lit up behind them.  If that wasn’t enough, the fireworks INSIDE the mall, really brought home the celebration.

(Photo credit)

I really hope T’was the Night stands as an example that Calgary can throw some pretty sweet parties, without having to dress like cowboys!