Category: General

Because every post deserves a category these posts could be about anything and everything.

Razzies Predictions

With all the comments I have been receiving lately about how bad my Oscar picks are I’m now going to post my Razzies picks. Worst Movie The Hottie and The Nottie Regent Releasing/Purple Pictures My fist choice was going to be The Happening but any Paris Hilton movie is guaranteed to be the Worst ever. And director that sees talent in Paris has no talent at making a movie, or is highly bribable.. Worst Actor Mark Wahlberg THE HAPPENING and MAX PAYNE Worst Actress Paris Hilton THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE Worst Supporting Actor Verne Troyer THE LOVE GURU and Uwe Boll’s POSTAL Worst Supporting Actress Paris Hilton REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA Worst Screen Couple Paris Hilton and either Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore HOTTIE & THE NOTTIE Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel Speed Racer Worst Director Tom Putnam THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE Worst Screenplay The Happening Written By M. Night Shyamalan Worst Career Achievement (Special Category!) Uwe Boll (Germany’s Answer to Ed Wood)

Good Bye, Facebook!

After being an early adopter of Facebook it is now time to move on. Within 14 days my account will be totally deleated forever. Just like the prior Social Netwoks I used to belong to Yahoo! 360, MySpace, MSN Spaces… The new terms of service that gives Facebook rights to all the content you link to is what I found objectionable. Fear not if you are looking to follow me you can always view me here. Or follow @cefm on Twitter, flixster, last.fm. There is a list on the left of many options.

Slamming Empire Theatres

Okay, so instead of a review of a movie I’m going to post about the whole getting into the theatre. This is payback for not showing the new release “New in Town.” 1. Congestion at Entrance. First off the last renovation to the theater was based on the time when probably 70% of the transactions were cash based. Now that this is not the case there is a large congestion at the point by the arcade. I mean there are several ad-hock lines for the automated machines and the REALLY LONG cash line. It practically is impassable to get past it especially if you are going to the concessions and getting you tickets there. To make it worse the on sight that informs you of this is the one that is in the way and makes the situation worse on a busy Friday/Saturday. And move that sign further near the foot of the ramp. 2. Focus in the Cinemas. About 20% of the movies that I see are so out of focus that it bothers me at times, like most people would not notice but to a trained eye like mine it does get annoying during some presentations. 3. The…

Is the was digital revoluton really a revoluton?

This is a topic I usually don’t get into here on my Blog, nor do I get this deep into a topic ether but I was listening to TWiT 180, and they were discussing a migration from blogs to Twitter. This got me thinking of the term revolution that gets applied to new technologies all the time. In a non-physics (my head hurts) interpretation a revolution is when something or a group of people become so outdated and useless that by force and necessity need to be replaced. The Internet revolution was not a forced or possibly necessary revolution it is merely a change in preference. It is not like the upper class and the peasants of the 1700’s France. The digital and non digital worlds can and do co-exist. TV and YouTube can coexist. It is all in preferences not a Revolution. Therefore, Twitter will not replace the Blog. Then again I do have the capability to re-post all my Twitter tweets here but I tend to see Twitter as like facebook.com but without all the annoying apps. In fact my Facebook front page is all I really use.

2009 Oscar Predictions

ACTOR, LEADING Disagree with all the Nominations My Choices would have been: Will Smith in “Seven Pounds” Clint Eastwood in “Gran Torino” Hugh Jackman in “Australia” BEST PICTURE “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” My Choices would have been: “Australia” “Twilight” “The Dark Knight” “Seven Pounds” ACTOR, SUPPORTING Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” But would not be disappointed by: Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” SHORT FILM, ANIMATED Skipping as did not see any. ACTRESS, LEADING Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” But would not be disappointed by: Meryl Streep in “Doubt” Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION Skipping as did not see any. ACTRESS, SUPPORTING Viola Davis in “Doubt” SOUND EDITING “The Dark Knight” Would not be disappointed by: “WALL-E” “Wanted” ANIMATED FEATURE “Bolt” Would not be disappointed by: “Kung-Fu Panda” “WALL-E” SOUND MIXING “The Dark Knight” Would not be disappointed by: “WALL-E” “Wanted” ART DIRECTION  “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” VISUAL EFFECTS “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” CINEMATOGRAPHY  “The Reader” SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED  “Doubt” Wish was nominated: “Twilight” “Seven Pounds” COSTUME DESIGN  “Australia” Would not be disappointed with:  “The Duchess” SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL  “WALL-E” DIRECTING  “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Skipping as…

My MacBook and Twitter vs. WordPress

Okay lets start by this stupid article from Wired: Steven Levy on the Burden of Twitter wired.com — The shame and remorse of not keeping up with Social Networking… I’m digging this story in honor of Steve Levy as he’s never ‘Dugg’ before… I think this article is a crock, just because this guy doesn’t update the Blog as often as he used to doesn’t mean that Twitter is to blame. For ages now it had become a popular thing in Windows/MSN/Windows Live Messenger that people would change their name to include a “status”  of what they were doing that it was eventually permanently added as a feature. AIM, IRC, Facebook, Twitter… the short message is usually the perfect size to let others know what you think. I am still certain however that this does not replace the need for the long format that a blog allows to express your full thoughts on a topic. Generally speaking I use Twitter to update something quickly as I’m usually only using me iPhone or Macbook while laying in bed in the morning so I can tell the world quickly my thought or things of interest, and have it auto populate to the…

This Kid’s a Text Maniac – New York Post

THIS KID’S A TEXT MANIAC – New York Post. Now I had seen this posted on Shocking News on Yahoo! News and tracked it back to this New York Post article. Now in my past experiences in the wireless industry leaves me seeing this as not a “shocker” I have personally dealt with accounts that the list of usage was so massive it was impossible to do anything. about 21,000 text messages in a month are about the max I have seen to date. But this article goes to those cases where people say with a teenager, “$10 for 2,500 message who would ever use that many?” remember this article. Now in my personal usage I use 25-60 SMS messages a month, which is mostly to 2-3 people both yonger than I. and personally I only have a plan with 125 messages.

Farewell to 2008

2008, as you are bidding us ado for the uncertanties of what 2009 will have instore. I am going to take a moment to reflect on the times we had togeather as we prepare to spit on your grave upon your death this evening. Unless we are of the 45% that will pass out before your death. This has been a year of taking things away so I will start with the things I lost this year. Disk 2 to my Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan set, my grandmother, my job at Zellers, two of my favourite Rogers TV shows to make Daytime and Too Close to Call, and my dignity (lol). Once again procrastination hampered this post.

Saint John Transit and Google Transit

I sent an e-mail to Saint John Transit offering a suggestion : I recently read on CBC News the plans to incorporate an text messaging system which is great, however the currently the method of displaying the schedules in PDF remains unreadable by 90% of cellphones.The new Google transit system works with most cellphones (minus the maps for some) and for people with GPS Enabled cellphones it can use the Google Transit to find the closest bus stops an times. Best of all it’s free. And here is the response from  Chris Campbell at Saint John Transit: Good morning Mr. Frees-Melvin. The system we will be using is from a company called Grey Island. There will be an interface with Google Transit, but not immediately. You will be able to text a 5-7 digit code from any cell phone and we will be adding a 5 digit numerical code at every stop in the city. Text that 5 digit number specific to the stop and the next bus arrival time will be sent to your phone. This will be in real time, not scheduled time. We hope that in the future people with a PDA will be able to access…

If I Could Change the Government of Canada

The first thing I want to start out with is a call I received earlier this week from fundraisers for the Conservative Party. Now I have always supported the party, and in ways still do. This brings me back to March 2005 in Montreal when the party had its last national meeting. Those long sessions debating the policies and constitution of the newly created party. The ideals of trying to give balance to the bottom-up Alliance to the top-down Progressive Conservatives. Now to see the current leader Stephen Harper disgraces the party by not knowing when to give up. Too many times in history have leaders like Idi Amin, Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin and too many others repeat the same level of seeing themselves as the alternative to the status quo, then gain a position of power and do whatever they can to remain in office. Harper has blatantly in his struggle to maintain power thrown away the policies and constitution of the Conservative Party. One must remember that although the Conservative Party has more MPs the House of Commons does not have a majority and needs to work together. There needs to be reforms in the way government works,…

Australia

What is there to say about the movie Australia. This movie is definitely on the calibre of movie with Casablanca. This movie has aspects of almost every gents of movie it’s a comedy, drama, romance, war, western, nature, coming of age, family, real-life type movie. Even more remarkable than the fantastic acting in the moving is the calm heart-pounding score that carries you seamlessly through the story. This movie is written in the three-act style but all three acts have their own three acts it is truly a must-see. CEFM Rating: 5/5

Outsourced Breast Men Bolt Twilight Four Christmases

Breast Men R Dull but based on real life events, with a porno-elements in a tasteful manner. CEFM.ca Rating: 3/5 Outsourced PG-13 This movie is a hoot and very ironic of you have ever worked for an outsourced company or are an outsourcer. But is the story of people understanding other unfamiliar cultures to help find themselves. CEFM.ca Rating: 4/5 Bolt PG Worth seeing in Real 3D. This is one of the first movies in 3D that I was not pissed off. Usually, 3D movie does things to show off the 3D that takes away from the storytelling. But not Bolt, Bolt uses it to tell a story of a dog who it lost both literally and metaphorically who struggle to find his way home (and himself). Meanwhile the cat is also learning its true nature without being boring. A good movie for the whole family. CEFM.ca Rating: 3.5/5 Twilight PG-13 This is not the type of movie I typically go to, but I really loved this movie. I especially liked the way the movie tied itself together so well. Also, the fact of the way she trusted them despite the fact of him being a monster. I really love…

Taking Perfect Long-Exposure Pics

Today is Election Day. Sure I could write about the election but, instead, I’m going to write a self-help post about one of my favourite hobbies, photography. The first tip to long exposure shots is to use a tripod. What is the fun in that? Knowing that your shot will be perfect first time, every time. That leads to tip 2, lean on something. It is almost given that this will work best most of the time. Tip 3 is to hold your arms close to your body. They are the main tips that most people who teach photography will say but I have a few of my own that work better in a digital world. Tip 4 is to use the delay timer set to like 2 seconds. I find the movement of pressing the button has ruined many photos. Tip 5 works off of the same idea. Use the multiple photo mode. You are likely to get one of many right. The next tip is to use the LCD screen. There is no way you can hold it still enough up to your face. If all else fails then my last tip is to fake it in PhotoShop.

Setting the economy up for Failure

Amongst the news of the bailouts to the economy in the United States, the Bank of Canada snuck in an additional bailout of the economy. That is resulting in the devaluation of the Canadian Dollar along with the US dollar. In the federal Leaders’ English debates this past week Green Party leader Elizabeth May said that the Canadian Dollar should be worth $0.80 US to stimulate our economy and as that makes sense from a manufacturing jobs standpoint of does not in the big picture. We can choose to not elect May. However, we have no say as to the Bank of Canada officials. There is a reason why the EU is banning the four largest EU states from this plan. It only allows more money to be borrowed and spent, money that can not be afforded to be paid back. It is true there is an overvaluation of real estate prices in Canada but when you borrow $750,000 for a house that drops when the bubble bursts to $225,000 and you have over $600,000 left to pay it makes more sense to default and buy a different house. This is what will happen in the next 5-10 years and…

SJ Port Fireworks & Queen Mary 2

SJ Port Fireworks & Queen Mary 2

Tonight I went to the Harbour Passage and watched the fireworks presentation paid for and put on by the Saint John Port Authority. It lasted for around 15 minutes. For Saint John, the fireworks were average and, delayed a day from when planned. I decided to post the best few here now but I took nearly 60 and will post them in my SnapShots gallery once I get home. I only had my iPhone so the pics are not the best for at night. The ship in the port was Canard Line’s Queen Mary 2. It is a really big vessel for the port. I’m not certain I have ever seen a ship quite as large.