Mike's Bloggity Blog

Hey, so guess what?  It’s my birthday.  And not just a regular ol’ birthday. It’s my 30^th birthday.  Wow, I can’t believe I just typed that. Not to seem clichéd, but where did my twenties go?  Right now, they seem like a blurry mix of Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Now CD compilations.

So, now, I’m thirty.

You know, if I think about it, things are pretty good right now. So I don’t think I’m going to be one of those people who sits home alone tonight and drowns my sorrows in ice cream.  That being said, I am having a Deep and Delicious Cake-themed party on Saturday, but at least that will be with friends.

I could be bummed that the sales clerk at the Bay told me I should start using age fitness moisturizer, or that I’m fairly certain the next time I go shopping at H&M, I’ll have to buy a medium. But all in I really don’t have anything to be worried about.

I got asked the other day, if I was feeling anxious about getting older, you know, hitting my dirty thirties. To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about getting older, but what I did start thinking about is how the people around me are getting older. I’m lucky enough to still have my two grannies, my parents, my family.  When it comes to a full life, I’ve been pretty lucky.

Earlier this year, I was hit with a dose of reality when one of my friends died in an accident.  He was about to turn 28 years old and lived more than anyone I’ll likely ever meet.  Helping his friends and family, as we grieved together, has certainly given today perspective.  And while I’d give anything to have him back,  the lessons I learned over the past four months will make today and every day of the next decade ones that I’ll never forget.

Okay, so that’s my birthday post.  I probably should have included a few jokes about Danger Bay or Degrassi, but there’s always time for that. As always, I’m forever grateful that you choose to swing by this blog every now and again, it’s fun to talk about all things Canadian entertainment with you guys and you know what, that’s a pretty cool birthday gift, no matter what age.

Alright, I can’t let you go without playing some of my favourite songs of all time! They are some oldies, but goodies.

While I’ve never really been someone to declare myself a geek, I can certainly recognize certain attributes.  I mean, I don’t live in my parents basement, I have a job and I only own one gaming device.  But, I did use to base my entire social calendar around Buffy The Vampire Slayer, I will only watch The Walking Dead when it’s live and I don’t think there is an Archie comic that I haven’t devoured.  Let’s just agree that I’m geek lite.

So this weekend, I was excited to see go to my first Comic Expo, especially because the international spotlight was shining proudly on Calgary, thanks to a certain cast reunion.   Yes, for the first time in more than 20 years, the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation were joined together, which caused a stir around the world.  Over the past few years, there had been a few smaller reunions, but this was the first one to feature the entire cast including Patrick Stewart and Wil Wheaton.  (Although, die hards did point out that Whoopi Goldberg should have been there.)

On Friday night, I was beyond thrilled to have been asked to join the cast for a dinner at Charcut. Since I wasn’t much of a fan of the show myself, I brought along my friend Richard, who thought we were just going to a normal dinner.  He nearly threw up when LeVar Burton and Brent Spiner sat behind us and it just got cooler from there as we were joined by the entire crew of the USS Enterprise. We were in a small section of the restaurant, so while we weren’t sitting at their table, we were close enough to hear all the joyous stories the cast shared as they reminisced about their days on the set.  It was an experience that neither of us will ever forget.

On Sunday, after pulling out my favourite Astro Boy shirt, I made my way down to the grounds and was completely blown away was the huge event.  Every where I looked nerds, geeks and yes, even a few zombies, were completely in their element.  For one whole weekend, they were the cool ones on the Stampede grounds and they couldn’t have been happier.  Long lines greeted most people, as they anxiously waited for autographs and photos with all the stars. Wil Wheaton, Adam Baldwin, Adam West, Amanda Tapping, Hayden Panetierre, James Marsters, James & Oliver Phelps and Stan Lee all welcomed fans by the thousands to a weekend packed with fantastically cool nerdom.

Fans and their costumes are almost as much fun as the celebs. I know I should have gone in costume, so I just told people I was a young Captain Picard.  Darth Maul Lego, Tank Girl and Tin Tin were some of the weekend’s stars.

As expected, Patrick Stewart captivated the room with his stories of Star Trek and beyond.

At 89 years old, Stan Lee was easily the most energetic and funny guests of the weekend.  Those who were able to hear him speak were treated to amazing personal stories about how he developed some of the world’s most beloved comics.

The weekend’s highlight for me was of course James Marsters, who played Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  He and his extremely tight pants wowed the audiences with tales of Buffy and life after his vampire role. One lucky fan even got a sung Happy Birthday in the voice of Spike.  That would have been amazing!

Hard to believe that here in Calgary it reached a high of 26 degrees today. It was perfect day to get out and enjoy the summer-like weather, vote and a few Calgarians even braved the chilly Bow River waters for a little rafting.

I never thought me and Sweet Brown would have something in common, but it turns out we do!

If you notice the blog was a little slow the last couple of days, I have to apologize.  I came down with a awesome case of bronchitis, which left me with nothing to do but catch up on every single program I had saved on my TIVO.

I’m feeling a little bit better now, so let’s get to some blogging.

Last week, I wrote in my column that I was struggling with the amount of work I ahead of me, as I tried to make an informed vote in next week’s provincial election. Well, a week later, I’m more confused than ever, and social media isn’t making it any easier.

Calgary is the city that elected someone, who a few months before he became mayor, was virtually unknown.  Thanks, much in part to social media, Mayor Nenshi became as popular as a Kardashian – thankfully without the sex tape. This time around, using popular tools like Facebook or Twitter to gather information about the election is as dangerous as biking down the Deerfoot. This past week, rumours, controversies and yes, lies spread lightening fast on social media, and if not read with discretion, a candidate’s chances at becoming an MLA can disappear faster than Garth Brooks tickets.

In an attempt to try and figure out who I’m going to vote for, following popular hashtags like #abvote and #ableg has literally taken away hours of my life.  Sure, I’ve found some useful tidbits to help me make an informed decision, albeit mostly against the Wildrose candidates, but for the most part, I’m glued to the conversations, even though most of them end in name-calling.  Admittedly, I’ve been involved in a few of these Twitter fights myself, although as someone who was bald and covered in high school, I can handle my fair share of teasing and bullying, even if it is coming from someone in the media or happens to be the same age as my father.

As someone who doesn’t even know what CPAC stands for, I’ve surprised myself how invested I’ve become in this election. That’s not to say that I don’t vote in every election, but this time it seems almost as exciting as the first few seasons of American Idol, when normally Alberta elections feel more like Canadian Idol.

Of course, just because this year’s election is trending both online and around the water cooler, it doesn’t mean that the Election Day will be any different then in the past.  People still have to get out and vote, which is easier said than done, especially for those that’d rather just complain on Twitter than actually vote in a potentially historic election. Whether you vote for the Wildrose party, support the old standby Conservative party, or maybe you want to give The Alberta Party a try, the truth is, none of the things we say or do online matter until we put our ballot into the box.

Okay, the one good thing about living away from your family for Easter is that you get to play with you food.  Which is exactly what I did tonight at my friend’s Easter party.   Inspired by Draw Something, I spent the night re-creating my favourite movie scenes…until my friends eventually ate all of my “actors.”  I posted the results on Twitter and Instagram, but in case you missed them, here are the scenes?

How many can you guess? (The answers are below.)

Answers:
The Brady Bunny
Ava-bunny
Brokeback Bunny
The Bunny Wears Prada
Evita-bunny
The Silence of The Bunny
Walk the Bunny
Wild Bunny

So how many did you get?

On Thursday, just before the Genies, I joined the CBC Radio team for their drive-home show called The Homestretch.  The segment was a panel discussion about Canadian movies and why they weren’t more popular than they should be.  Before our segment, they sent a producer out on the street and apparently they couldn’t find a single person that could name a Canadian movie, they told us this on-air and I was left in shock.  Could Canadians really not name a single movie that was made in their own country?

I mean, I’m not trying to put myself on a pedestal, but naming a Canadian movie should be pretty easy, no?  I mean, The Trailer Park Boys made two movies, then there’s Men With Brooms, Last Night, Goon, One Week, The Sweet Hereafter, Crash, Splice, Existenz, two Fubar movies, two Ginger Snaps movies, like nine different Les Boys flicks and Porky’s.  Seriously, could no one named Porky’s as a Canadian movie?

I feel like the worst Canadian entertainment blogger on earth.

Can you please confirm for me that you can name at least one Canadian movie?  If not, I need to re-prioritize my life..and more importantly, my blog.

Before you start reading this, know one thing:  I know that I’m not a celebrity. 

This past weekend, I got the chance to play Celebrity Balderdash with two people who make my palms sweat: CBC’s Jian Ghomeshi and West Coast editor of the Globe and Mail Shelley Youngblut.  It was all a part of the Glenbow Museum’s annual fundraiser.

This year’s event was called Schmancy and it brought together all sorts of people from different fields in Calgary for a once a year party that had lots of food, music, fun times and crazy hats.

My favourite part of the night was definitely the Celebrity Balderdash.  It was a tense competition that saw the three of us play the game of lies and trickery, but instead of funny words, we had actual historical artifacts from the museum to play with.  The rules of the game were that we had to convince the sold out crowd and the judges  (City of Calgary’s Chima Nkemdirim  and W.Brett Wilson) that we were telling the truth about the often made up definitions.  At least that’s what I thought the rules were.  The whole thing turned into a popularity contest and let’s be honest, it’s impossible to beat Jian Ghomeshi in a popularity contest.  When the dust settled, I thought the tremendous applause for the host of Q meant that he had won, but thanks to rules that no one really understood, I ended up with the whole thing.  Needless to say, it was shocking…and AWESOME!

The night was definitely a good time and it’s not very often that I get to dress up, so that was a really cool part too.  I’m proud to say that I pulled together that whole look for under $100.  Although I live in Calgary, I’m still a (cheap) maritimer at heart.  Schmancy was a big success and I can’t wait for next year!

Yup, it’s really happening.

Here’s your first look at The Real Housewives of Vancouver.

So who are the housewives? XOXO Jes has a few good guesses.

If you’re stuck in a dead-end job and you’re looking for a little bit of change in your life, then you’re in luck! Two very different reality shows are coming to a city near you and if you’re lucky enough, you could soon end up on TV…again, for very different reasons.

It was only last week that CityTV announced that Canadians would soon be enjoying The Bachelor Canada with their kleenex and boxed wine and now comes word that the show is a cross-country hunt for the 25 lucky ladies who will be vying for the heart of the yet un-named Bachelor!

Beginning Sunday,Feb. 19 in Vancouver, the six-city casting tour will also make stops in Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. Full details on the casting tour are available at www.citytv.com/bachelorcanada. The Bachelor Canada begins principal photography this spring and will debut on Citytv this fall.

Here are the casting call dates:

Vancouver – Sunday, Feb. 19
Calgary – Tuesday, Feb. 21
Winnipeg – Thursday, Feb, 23
Toronto – Saturday, Feb. 25
Montreal – Monday, Feb, 27
Halifax – Tuesday, Feb. 28

Good luck and please wear protection.

If you’re more the type that like to earn your fame without making out with a complete stranger, the producers of Dragon’s Den are also hitting the road starting this weekend on a casting tour that will see them hit nearly every corner of the country, for an expansive two-month casting call that will even hitting up a couple of cities a few different times.

I actually once sat in on the auditions and it was definitely an experience.  If you want to make it on the show, my tips are this:  Have an idea, have revenue and be serious.  If you’re not already making money from your idea and you get asked to be on the show, they are doing it to destroy you.  You’ve been warned!

Visit the Dragon’s Den website for more information about the auditions, here are is the complete list of audition dates.

Saturday Feb. 11 2012 Toronto ON
Thursday Feb. 16 2012 Peterborough ON
Friday Feb. 17 2012 Surrey BC
Saturday Feb. 18 2012 London ON
Saturday Feb. 18 2012 Vancouver BC
Tuesday Feb. 21 2012 St. Catharines ON
Wed. Feb. 22 2012 Campbell River BC
Thursday Feb. 23 2012 Kelowna BC
Thursday Feb. 23 2012 Saint John NB
Saturday Feb. 25 2012 Calgary AB
Saturday Feb. 25 2012 Sydney NS
Tuesday Feb. 28 2012 Port Hardy BC
Friday Feb. 29 2012 Quebec City QC
Thursday Mar. 1 2012 Barrie ON
Friday Mar. 2 2012 Sherbrooke QC
Saturday Mar. 3 2012 Burlington/Hamilton ON
Saturday Mar. 3 2012 Montreal QC
Saturday Mar. 3 2012 Ottawa ON
Thursday Mar. 8 2012 Saskatoon SK
Saturday Mar. 10 2012 St. John’s NL
Saturday Mar. 10 2012 Winnipeg MB
Tuesday Mar. 13 2012 White Horse NWT
Wednesday Mar. 14 2012 Oshawa ON
Thursday Mar. 15 2012 Charlottetown PEI
Thursday Mar. 15 2012 Dawson City YT
Thursday Mar. 15 2012 Timmins ON
Friday Mar. 16 2012 Waterloo ON
Saturday Mar. 17 2012 Halifax NS
Saturday Mar. 17 2012 Sudbury ON
Saturday Mar. 17 2012 Victoria BC
Sunday Mar. 18 2012 Nanaimo BC
Tuesday Mar. 20 2012 Sechelt BC
Thursday Mar. 22 2012 Sarnia ON
Thursday Mar. 22 2012 Collingwood ON
Thursday Mar. 22 2012 Kamloops BC
Saturday Mar. 24 2012 Windsor ON
Saturday Mar. 24 2012 Calgary AB
Saturday Mar. 24 2012 Montreal QC
Saturday Mar. 24 2012 Vancouver BC
Monday Mar. 26 2012 Abbotsford BC
Saturday Mar. 31 2012 Toronto ON

Last thing, how awesome does Arlene Dickinson  look in that pic?  I effin’ love her.