Royal Canadian Mounted Douchebags

Growing up I always had this really heroic vision of the Canadian Mounties. Even comedic portrayals like Dudley Dooright or twisted views like Ren & Simpy's Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen painted a picture of heroism and valor. Apparently that's not always the case.

Today I saw a story in the news that genuinely made me sick to my stomach. This guy in Manitoba was speeding en route to the hospital. His wife was going into labor and had had complications with her first pregnancy so although he was speeding (105 mph) it was understandable, and they were pulled over by a mountie.

You would think they would get an escort to the hosipital right? Wrong. They got a $1000 ticket, which sadly isn't the bad part. They also got a 15 MINUTE LECTURE!! While the poor woman is in the car in labor! It gets worse...

Instead of escorting them to the hospital, the douchebag phones ahead to ANOTHER MOUNTIE who pulls over AGAIN and made them wait another 15 MINUTES for an ambulance to arrive and take them to the hospital. No info on the condition of the mom or baby but the husband has already had a court appearance and lost his license for 5 months.

What a couple of douchebags!

3D Or Not 3D... Is It Really A Question?

So last night I finally made my trip to the theater to see Transformers 3. Being a big fan of Transformers since I was old enough to remember, this trilogy has been a dream come through, but that's not why we're here. We're here to discuss this 2nd wave of "3D madness" that's ruining movies everywhere.

I personally am young enough I don't really remember when 3D was big back in the day. I remember a magazine or two as a kid but that was about it, no movies or TV shows. Well, a few years back, I guess movie companies decided with current technology where it was, it was time to bring 3D back. The first movie I remember seeing was the My Bloody Valentine remake. The movie was classic B horror (which I love) but the 3D was terrible. Lots of unnecessary things being thrown at the screen or stabbed outward to "show off" the 3D aspect.

A lot of those first 3D flicks put more thought into "what can we have poke out of the screen" and less into "is this movie worth making in 3D"? Luckily, over the past few years the craze seems to have died off some and less and less movies are getting the 3D treatment and the few that are are using it more wisely.

Now we're seeing 3D technology slowly invade our homes and game systems but will it last? The TV's cost a fortune and some require special glasses to watch or sitting in a certain spot to see things. Not to mention that converting 2D video into 3D looks terrible. I personally think it's just a fad like last time and in 10 years we'll be laughing at 3D movies again. Or, it could open the door to the next step in visual entertainment. Guess we'll just have to put on our 3D glasses and watch and see.

Changing of the Seasons

Summertime was always my favorite time of year as a kid. Obviously, no school was a big part of it. For me, though, the beach was what it was all about!

I grew up walking distance from the river and a pool so it wasn't uncommon for me to spend 3-4 days a week at one or the other during the summer. Then there was vacation time! Anywhere from a weekend at Atlantic Beach to a week trip to somewhere random like St. Simons Island there was always at least one trip to some beach. Add in summer camp and I pretty much lived outdoors all summer.

Sadly, that has not been the case in a while. Summertime is super busy in radio land so it's rare that I actually have time or energy to make that 45 minute drive to the beach. Not to mention so much of the fun has been beaten out of it now. You have to pay to park, most of the putt-putt and fun stuff like that has been stripped out, and this year it's super hot and smokey all the time!

I finally did make it to the beach 2 weekends ago and despite all the "problems" I had convinced myself of, it was awesome! Not a long day, just a few hours in the sun and playing in the surf but it was perfect. I had forgotten how relaxing it was to just lay back and listen to the waves crash. Or how fun it was jumping over waves and trying to body surf. All the magic and splendor the beach held as a kid came rushing back like they never left.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, as you get older and things you enjoy change, it might be you and not them that's actually changing and sometimes just you have to stop looking for a minute to see it.