FEMA Camp in Wyoming DEBUNKED

As you may have seen, conspiracy theorists have been spreading this photo of a supposed FEMA Concentration Camp in Wyoming (as well as several others).

These photos have been claimed to be evidence of Concentration camps being built by the government as part of the "New World Order" conspiracy. However, this picture is not a concentration camp on  US soil. In fact, this photo was not even taken in the United States. These satellite images were taken of a forced labour camp in North Korea. They were included in a report to a human rights committee of the US Congress entitled "The Hidden Gulag: Exposing North Korea's Prison Camps". The above image was taken from this report and altered (changed only the writing in information boxes and other small adjustments) to make them appear to be images of a US concentration camp.

Here are comparisons of a few pictures of the supposed camps versus the images from the report:

Alleged US Concentration Camp:                                                      



Original Image:

Another alleged photo of a US Concentration camp:

And the original from the report:

As you can see the images are completely identical apart from a few edited/covered information boxes and maps. 

The original report can be found here (PDF): http://www.davidrhawk.com/HiddenGulag.pdf

Safe House Review

There's really not much to say about Safe House. The movie delivers on good action sequences but utterly fails to give any impression of uniqueness or originality. As a friend who saw the movie with me put it, it feels like I've seen this exact same story before.

The acting, particularly from Denzel Washington, is solid and the visual aspects are well executed. The greatest problem with the film is not in the manner in which the story is portrayed, which is quite good, but the unoriginal, predictable storyline itself. The ending felt extremely unsatisfying as, after an extremely predictable flow of events up until the final few minutes, the film tries to throw a major curve-ball but ends up just seeming awkward. It's almost like they realized at the last minute that the movie was too predictable and tried to mix things up.

In addition, there seemed to be a few issues with editing such as the abnormally loud sound of gunshots which overwhelmed/greatly exceeded the volume of other sound effects. At some points in the movie it felt/sounded more like a shooting range than a movie theater.

Further, the action scenes were executed extremely rapidly to the point it seemed just like a bunch of blurs flashing around on the screen, especially during driving/car-chase scenes. The strange cinematography, with the camera rapidly changing position and focus, further contributed to this blurring effect. It was extremely difficult to determine what was going on at multiple points in the movie.

If I was asked to describe/rate this movie in one word, I would have to say mediocre. There is nothing great about but also nothing terrible about it. Personally, I don't feel it is worth the 10+ dollar cost of movie admission - just wait for it to come out on television. That said, it is not the worst possible choice if you want to get out to the theater.

Safe House gets 6/10.

Movie of the Year - 2011

After watching the Academy Awards, I decided to post my own brief comments on the films and make my own pick for best picture. I'll start with the actual winner of the Best Picture award.  Films in no particular order.

The Artist- Complete Oscar Bait. Only won by appealing to the (older) judges with its nostalgic feel. The sad thing is this movie probably would not have won an Oscar in the era of silent, black and white films. Still, it was a good film.
8/10

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close- Very emotionally stirring film. Definitely had its moments. Good acting. Still, probably only nominated as it involved 9/11 - nothing particularly excellent about it.
7.5/10

Moneyball- Good plot and a great performance from Brad Pitt. I usually hate sports movies but this was a great exception. Loved the plot and overall feel of the film.
8.5/10

Tree of Life- I've never been on a drug trip, but I imagine that this is what it looks like. Felt more like a strange display of art than an actual movie. You need to think outside the box to understand what's going on/get the message.
7/10

Hugo- Great, fun, exciting storyline. Great cinematography and music. Loved the overall feel/adventure. I particularly enjoyed this film. Still, I would not say its the best movie of the year.
8/10

The Help- Fantastic, well executed storyline. I loved the multiple comedic moments as well as how they were contrasted with some serious/depressing ones. Fantastic acting from pretty much all the actors/actresses contributed to the excellence of the story.
9/10

Midnight in Paris- A charming story. Absolutely fantastic/magical storyline supported by good acting, music, and cinematography. An all-around excellent movie - another great piece of work from Woody Allen.
9/10

The Descendants- Outstanding performance from George Clooney. Excellent storyline that brings plenty of both comedic and touching moments. A very engaging/meaningful film that definitely does not disappoint. I really enjoyed this film.
8.5/10

My personal favourite/pick for film of the year is:
War Horse- An outstanding film in all aspects. Engaging, heart wrenching film which takes you on an emotional roller-coaster without  failing to deliver epic scenes of action worthy of any Spielberg war film. A magnificent, magical story supported by great acting (from both the actors/actresses and the magnificent horses), outstanding cinematography that conveyed the brutality and intensity of the war without going overboard on gore (very tasteful throughout), and one of my personal favourite scores of all time conducted by the always magnificent John Williams.

The fact that this movie failed to win a single award baffles me and takes away almost all my faith in the Academy. I can maybe understand losing to Hugo in cinematography and a couple other categories, and maybe to the Artist in Best Picture (as I knew that movie/Oscar Bait would win due to its appeal to the Academy even though other films were superior in my opinion), but its loss to the Artist in Best Original Score blows my mind. I can not comprehend how such a beautiful, original, chilling score lost out to a score with nothing original about it. The Artists score, while undoubtedly decent, is not original at all as it is just a rip-off of pretty much every score from the 1920s/30s. Even if this wasn't true, I found War Horse's score superior - just listen for yourself on Youtube and you will understand where I am coming from.

Anyway, these are my thoughts on the Best Picture nominees of 2012.

New movie reviews coming soon.

Strange Sounds Heard Around the World - HOAX

You may have seen videos throughout the internet with recordings of weird noises and sounds that have been "heard around the world". Upon first seeing these videos, they seem very real as there are many of them and the sounds are quite strange and convincing. The reactions of the posters also lead to this effect.

There have been numerous claims on the origins of the sounds. People have claimed they are anything from a pole shift to aliens, to the 7 Trumpets of the Apocalypse.

 After watching a lot of them and some investigation, however, I am almost certain that they are a hoax.

I noticed that in the videos, the sound seemed to be almost identical (in all of them) as well as other small indications that it may be a hoax (no one actually reported hearing any sounds to police anywhere around the world, noises seemed similar to some from movies, etc.).

Today I found a video on Youtube from user "V00D00SIXXX" that gives strong evidence that the noises are indeed a hoax.

He was observant enough to notice that in the first strange noises video/recording, no one in the background seemed to notice the sound. In fact, he pointed out that the only person who noticed the sounds, which were supposedly coming from the sky some distance in front of the camera, was a woman who looked toward the camera rather than the supposed source of the sound whenever she heard it (indicating that the sound was coming from behind the camera - i.e. a speaker or other audio device set by the user who posted the video).

He also noticed that 2 sounds heard at different times in the video, a squeak and a bird call, are present in many of the other weird noises videos that were posted after this one as other posters (people continuing the hoax) simply put the original audio over their footage. He also noticed that sound effects from War of the Worlds are present in many of the videos. The video with this convincing evidence can be seen below.

Kudos to V00D00SIXXX for the video and for debunking this hoax.

SOPA And E-Parasite Acts

Two US congress bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the E-Parasite Act, threaten the internet as 

you know it. 

Today, you may have noticed that numerous cites, even Wikipedia, have been "censored" for the day or that 

the Google logo was replaced/covered by a black bar (ie censored). This was/is their form of protesting these

2 acts. 

The SOPA and E-Parasite acts could ruin the internet as we know it. 

Currently, if a company makes a copyright claim against any content on a site like Youtube, the site has a 

period of time to remove the content. This allows the site to deal with the claim while remaining operative/not 

shutting down. 

Under the new acts (if they pass), as soon as a single company makes a claim against content on a website, 

THE ENTIRE WEBSITE IS BLOCKED. All it takes is one claim for an entire website to be shut down until 

the issue is resolved.

This would ruin numerous content sharing websites such as Youtube, Daily Motion, and countless others as 

one complaint, among the thousands of hours of video and other content (pictures, comments, links, etc.) 

added everyday, would shut the site down. 

In addition, the fines proposed in the bill are completely ridiculous. Depending on the situation, someone could

be fined thousands of dollars FOR EVERY PERSON THAT VIEWS THE CONTENT. 

For these reasons, it is no surprise there has been a lot of opposition to the bill. 

Companies due have the right to have their content protected from piracy and illegal sharing (they do need to

make money and illegal sharing hurts them in this regard), but these two acts go way too far in the ease in the

number of people it would affect (from one "pirated" piece of content among thousands of non piratedcontent 

pieces) and the degree of the punishment. 

SOPA and the E-parasite act must be stopped.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protcol Review

This latest installment of the Mission Impossible series, "Ghost Protocol" is a fast paced, riveting action movie that does not disappoint. The exciting, heart-pounding experience is contributed to by the new IMAX screen/experience (which I will discuss further in a later post)which was recently added to my preferred theater.

Ghost Protocol takes you on a roller coaster ride as Ethan Hunt and 3 other IMF agents/members, who are now all that is left of the IMF (the reason for this is revealed early in the movie), must stop a Russian terrorist hell-bent on starting an all-out nuclear war between Russia and the United States.

Ethan's three "partners" include Jane Carter (Paula Patton), a fellow IMF agent whose friend (also an agent) is killed at the start of the movie, as well as Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), a computer/technology expert, and William Brandt(Jeremy Renner), an IMF analyst. These 3 actors, as well as Tom Cruise, all put in brilliant performances. Simon Pegg in particular is notable as adding a degree of comic relief to the film.

Ghost Protocol begins immediately with thrilling, exciting action and does not let up until the very end. Among the notable scenes are the opening scene (where Jane's friend/partner is killed), the prison break-out, the Kremlin, the Burj Khalifa, and a fight scene in a strange "parking lot" where cars are moved in every direction by automated elevators (moving platforms).

By far, the most thrilling scene in the movie is the scene on the Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building. I won't go into to much detail, but the scene involves Ethan Hunt climbing up over 10 stories of the building starting over half way up it - high enough to make other skyscrapers look tiny - using only gloves which stick to a surface when it makes contact with it (the strength of the suction is displayed by several green bars that fade off one by one as the suction decreases - which it does frequently - and eventually turn red, disabling the glove) and which are quite unreliable (Benji explains that if the light on the glove is green its good, but  means you are "dead"). The most astonishing thing about this heart-pounding scene (even more intense and exciting in IMAX), which was actually filmed where it is portrayed on the tower, is that Tom Cruise chose to do the stunt himself. Just look at this video and you will understand why this is so shocking. Note at just over 50 seconds in where he (Tom Cruise) jumps out a window and literally runs down the side of the building.

The almost constant action, punctuated by occasional bits of comic relief, keeps you constantly on the edge of your seat.The well-designed (albeit somewhat unrealistic) plot, with numerous twists and turns, further contributes to this effect.

The overall experience is also greatly contributed to by the excellent music as well as the masterful cinematography. It also benefits from the, previously noted, outstanding performances of the actors and actresses and the entertaining plot.

Ghost Protocol delivers an exciting, entertaining experience which is sure to entertain audiences and satisfy fans of the series. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to head out to your local theater and watch Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (in IMAX if possible - its worth the extra few bucks).

Ghost Protocol gets 9/10.

This message will self destruct in...

Anticipated Movies of 2012

With 2011 coming to an end, it is time to start looking into what movies 2012 will have to offer.

Let's start with movies I would consider watching:

January: -The Devil Inside
-Beneath the Darkness
-Contraband
-The Grey
-Man on a Ledge

February: -Safe House
-Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
-Act of Valor
-The Vow

March: -John Carter
-Wrath of the Titans
-Snowtown

April: -The Cold Light of Day
-Three Stooges

May: -Battleship
-Men In Black III

June: -Prometheus

July: -The Amazing Spider Man
-Neighborhood watch

August: -Total Recall
-Bourne Legacy

September: -Argo
-Looper

October: -Taken 2
-Of Men and Mavericks

November: -Red Dawn
-Skyfall
-Gravity

December: -Lincoln

Now, the movies I definitely want to see:

- The Hunger Games (March) - based on the bestselling novel, looks to be a very exciting, interesting film. The premise and storyline look very promising and the trailer looked great. I'm going to have to check out the book but it looks like this movie could be one of the best in the early months of the year.

- The Avengers (May) - I've been looking forward to this movie since Iron Man came out and it was revealed that there would be an Avengers movie. This is a must see on my list.

- GI Joe: Retaliation (June) - I thoroughly enjoyed the recent film and will definitely be checking this one out.

- The Dark Knight Rises (July) - I thoroughly enjoyed the Dark Knight. This movie looks very promising and should be great if it is anywhere near as good as the Dark Knight was.

December:

- Les Miserables - a movie based on the popular, excellent play. The last film rendition of it was a good film. Should be excellent if they can capture the essence of the play effectively onto the screen.

- World War Z - Having read through Max Brooks' novels, I am excited to see this film coming to the big screen featuring as big a star as Brad Pitt. It should be a riveting film if they can capture the action and deep emotions (desperation, anger,etc.) portrayed in the novel. Should be much deeper and more involving than the typical zombie flick/b-movie. (POSTPONED)

- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Are you ready to return to Middle Earth. Based on the excellent novel, this prequel to the Lord of The Rings series looks to be one of the best films of the year. If it is anywhere near as good as the book or as the LOTR trilogy, it will not disappoint. The quest for treasure and riches begins December 14.

Super 8

As a project of both film-making legend Steven Spielberg and rising star J.J. Abrams, Super 8 was/is one of the most anticipated films of 2012. Many people, including myself, had very high expectations for this hyped-up blockbuster. On this project, Spielberg and Abrams not only met, but surpassed all of my expectations.

In this new era of computer generated visuals and special effects, many films (especially of the adventure and sci-fi genres)deliver outstanding visuals, but fail to establish a connection with the audience (i.e. have no "heart"). Super 8 is a clear exemption from this bothersome trend in the film industry. Super 8 delivers characters the audience may easily relate and connect to as well as all the charms of a classic monster movie while still managing to deliver frightening, suspenseful moments sure to keep you sucked in.

Super 8 places you in a charming Ohio town amidst a small group of teens intent on making a home-made zombie film who experience...let's just say an extremely strange event (no spoilers here). The roles of the teens are well casted and performed perfectly in a manner sure to keep the audience attached. It deviates from the new "norm" of films and delivers an actual, well written, story rather than two hours of meaningless fighting and explosions. That said, the special effects in the film are brilliantly executed and visually stunning. Special effects are thus used as they are meant to be, as "seasoning" to the storyline rather than as a story in itself.

The script is easily one of the best of recent years. The screams and panicked lines typical to monster movies are softened by occasional bits of humour and, to some degree, romance (albeit very little). The characters are very well developed throughout the film (a trait very rare in modern films)and deliver the aforementioned lines superbly and with emotion. The performances of the young actors/actresses are particularly excellent and extremely entertaining.

As Roger Ebert put it, ""Super 8" is a wonderful film, nostalgia not for a time but for a style of filmmaking, when shell-shocked young audiences were told a story and not pounded over the head with aggressive action. Abrams treats early adolescence with tenderness and affection. He uses his camera to accumulate emotion. He has the rural town locations right."

Super 8 gives the nostalgic,charming feel of a classic monster movie while delivering an excellent story supported by equally stunning visuals that will keep even the youngest/most modern of moviegoers on the edge of their seats. Super 8 is my current favourite for movie of 2011. Amidst several blockbusters who disappointed many moviegoers and critics (ex. Green Lantern and Transformers 3, Super 8 is a clear standout for best blockbuster of the summer (so far). If you enjoyed E.T., you will especially love Super 8.

Super 8 gets:
10 Reels out of 10

Script: 10/10
Acting: 10/10
Visuals: 10/10
Plot: 10/10
Audio/Soundtrack: 9/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 game review

I've been busy with some things that have prevented me from writing for a while. I figured I might as well try something i've only done once before, a video game review. I don't usually write video game reviews, but for this game in particular, I felt compelled to do so. So here it is:

Now, I've always been a fan of the Harry Potter series. I've read all the books, watched all the movies (can't wait for July 15), played some of the games, etc etc. So I was clearly excited when I received (as a gift) a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 for the X-Box 360.

Upon beginning the story mode, I was surprised (and somewhat excited/glad) to see that the gameplay was far more like a dark, shooter rather than the happy, carefree adventure of the previous games. I found this to reflect the darker tone of the final novel quite well. Unfortunately, this was one of the very few pleasing characteristics of the game.

Several different spells become available to you throughout the game (some of which need to be charged by holding the trigger. Switching spells is fairly simple and quick. However, using them is a very different story. Without using the aim feature (holding left trigger), hitting a target is somewhat difficult. In aim mode, the reticule is supposed to lock on to the target (and turn orange) when you keep it on them. However, half of the time you lose this "lock" and your spell goes of course. Defensive spells require you to use specific button combinations. For example, to use "protego" which shields you from attacks, you must hold down the left "bumper" on the controller. This apparently takes a few seconds to charge as it never comes up fast enough to block an incoming spell (like they do in the movies) so you must put it up before the enemies launch their attacks which is annoying because the spell renders you immobile and unable to attack. Some of the other spells are useful but I stuck with the beginning spell, "stupefy", simply because you can use it quickly. There are also potions that are dropped by defeated enemies that you can use to help you throughout the game. There are offensive potions that harm enemies. They are useful but are quite difficult to throw on-target. There are also helpful potions that can be picked up. These potions have variants that restore health, make you stronger, etc. However these potions MUST be consumed as soon as you walk over them. This is especially frustrating with health potions as you quickly wish you could have some with you when you are being hit by numerous enemies and are running out of health.

In this game, Harry has the ability to use cover by pressing x near a wall or rock or any similar feature. The frustrating thing about this is it is difficult to tell what structures/items can be used as cover and if you move too far left or right you leave cover and you become an easy target when you use aim mode to target the enemies (fight back).

This is one of the few games I have played with no display on the screen. There is no health bar or any other similar feature on the screen. It is thus almost like watching a movie. The problem with this is the only way to determine your remaining health is by looking at the colours of your surroundings (they go grey as you lose health). It is EXTREMELY frustrating to not have an accurate picture of how much life you have left in the middle of a firefight.

The story mode can be fairly easily broken down into two types of missions: 1st person stealth missions and 3rd person "shooters".

The 1st person stealth missions can be described in 4 words: NOT FUN AT ALL. Every stealth mission (except the part in the Ministry before the polyjuice potion wears off) involves you sneaking around in an invisibility cloak. These are some of the most frustrating game missions I have ever played here's why:
If you bump into someone, you become visible.
If the triangle (deathly hallows symbol) becomes empty (it decreases as you move), you become visible.
If you press the run button, you become visible.
If you stop moving, you randomly keep moving causing the timer to continue decreasing.
If you accidentally press the right trigger, you become visible.
If you hide out of view after being spotted, then put the cloak back on, the enemies can still see you when you walk back out into the open.
If someone sees you, you are "discovered" and must return to checkpoint.
Also, you are forced to shuffle slowly along while in the cloak so the missions can be quite lengthy and boring.

The third person "shooter" missions are also quite annoying. Firstly, there's the problems I mentioned before about cover. Also, enemies are constantly appearing out of black smoke all around you, becoming quite annoying when you run into a death eater who spawned in two feet in front of you. Then there's the camera... The camera in the third person view "shooter" missions made me feel nauseous. Now,I have never had issues with nausea during games or movies (I had no problem with Avatar in 3D or Cloverfield), but the pitching and constant up and down motion of the camera, especially when in cover, made me feel sick to my stomach. Combat is also very glitchy. For example, on occasion I will hit a death eater 10+ times with even the most high powered spells, yet they will continue attacking. These missions are also EXTREMELY redundant (they change very little throughout the game).

Overall, the graphics are moderately good. The character designs are O.K. and the environment looks good.

In terms of audio, most missions I played consisted almost entirely of:

Harry: Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!
Death Eaters: Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!
Harry: Stupefy! Stupefy!
etc.

Other in game dialogue (i.e. in cutscenes) is well voice acted. However, the conversations are poorly matched the the movements of the mouths of the characters (poorly synchronized).


These are only a taste of the vast array of problems present in the game. Steer well clear of this poor recreation of a great novel, especially if you are a fan of the series who does not want to be extremely disappointed.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 gets an overall rating of:
3 wands out of 10.

Area Specific Rankings:
Gameplay: 1.5/10
Audio: 3.5/10
Visual: 7.5/10
Fun/Enjoyability: 1.5/10

Election 2011 Results Part 3 - Analysis

In this election,we saw the Orange Crush take hold, the Liberals seeing red, and the Conservatives finally getting their majority. But how did these massive changes happen?

1) Green Party winning a seat
Many were surprised to see Green Party leader Elizabeth May defeat the Conservative incumbent (and cabinet minister)in her riding,securing the first ever seat for the Green Party. Perhaps more people across the country are beginning to seek an alternative to "more of the same" through the Green Party. Or, seeing that the Green Party actually received fewer votes than in the last election, maybe her constituents simply felt she (personally) was the best option on the ballot. Regardless, a fresh voice may be just what the House of Commons needs moving forward.

2) Bloc Minus the Party
The greatest shock of the election came with the loss of all but 4 Bloc seats which resulted in the resignation of (their leader) Gilles Duceppe and the loss of their official party status. The reason for this immense loss is fairly obvious, the "Orange Crush". The NDP's massive gains in support from Quebecers led the party to take over most of the seats in the province, mainly at the cost of the incumbent Bloc (now former) MPs. The implications of this historic loss are numerous as this defeat may be the final nail in the coffin of Quebec Separatism. Yes, after over 20 years of threats, mailbox bombings, protests and a poorly thought-out speech comparing the Canadian Government to nazis while on a visit to Expo 67 in Montreal (see "vive le quebec libre" article on Wikipedia), the concept of a "free Quebec" may be dead. One can only hope...
Aside from the death of separatism in Quebec, the loss of official party status will prevent them from having any significant input in the House as they will have limited opportunities to pose questions in the House and their MP`s are no longer eligible to be selected for committees put together not vote on, debate, and edit bills.

3) Liberals seeing orange
Many people were, you guessed it, shocked by the Liberals' plunge to a historic low of 34 seats in the House. This loss can be traced back to the same factor that crushed the Bloc, the NDP surge which (along with the Conservative efforts)led to the loss of 19 Liberal seats in Ontario. This massive loss has massive implications for politics in Canada. For the first time, the Liberals will be neither the government or the official opposition. 4+ years of a Conservative majority government with the leftist NDP as the opposition could result in some massive changes. Many also wonder whether or not the Liberals will recover in the next election. The future of the Liberal Party will now depend on how fast they can get a new leader, fire back at the Conservatives who will no doubt begin attack ads again as soon as a new leader has been chosen, and work towards regaining the trust and support of the people of Canada. This will be a large task for party members and supporters as the Liberal leadership is in disarray due to the defeat of many high profile members such as Ken Dryden and Gerrard Kennedy.

4) The NDP win big but still lose
Canadians watched as the NDP stormed forward to a party record of 102 seats in the House. This historic surge came mainly due to their massive gains in the province of Quebec, where they ended the decades old reign of the Bloc. Jack Layton's immense efforts in Quebec succeeded in winning over the majority of its citizens of which many were apparently tired of Bloc rule in the province. For the first time in party history, the NDP will form the official opposition in the House of Commons. However, despite the massive historical significance of this, the party will actually have less power than they did before the election was called. The reason? Two words, 1)Conservative 2)Majority. The NDP will do its best to assault government policies and try to prevent the Conservatives from shifting government policies further to the political right. However, in the end, (and as long as all members vote as expected) the Conservatives will have the final say on all bills and issues. Still, their massive gains may permanently change the face of politics in Canada.

5) The Harper (Majority) Government
After 3 elections, Stephen Harper finally got the majority government he has long fantasized about. How did this happen in the face of the NDP`s Massive gains? The answer is simple, the leftist vote split. In multiple formerly Liberal ridings, the NDP candidates had very little chance of winning but received just enough of the leftist vote to allow the rightist vote to win the riding for the Conservatives. This was true in multiple ridings including 8 in the Maritime provinces. Another cause was the negative image cast on Michael Ignatieff by the Conservative attack ads which began months before the election (which Harper supposedly did not want) that went unanswered by the Liberal Party. This victory will have massive effects on Canadians. Harper has promised results and he will most likely delivered now that the opposition parties can not vote down his bills. Although I tend to find minority governments better because the government remains accountable, it should be interesting to see the results Harper can get for Canadians. The only thing that concerns me is the possibility of the power going to his head. Harper was already found in contempt of parliament (first time this has ever happened to a government) twice and accused of scoffing democracy when he had a minority government. Hopefully he will be more cautious with this new Majority government. If he can do this, the majority government MAY bring some positives.

Youtube Friday #2 video

NOTE: PLEASE READ THE POSTING BELOW BEFORE WATCHING THIS VIDEO.
As a random example of Tobuscus`Literal Trailers, I selected the first one i watched.
Enjoy...

youtube Friday 2 - May 6

I was unable to get on to post yesterday so i decided to come on today as I have missed too many Fridays already.

The youtube Fridays featured video series of the week is, Drum Roll Please, Tobuscus`literal trailers. In these comedic videos,

Tobuscus

sings, to the tune of the game or movie`s music, exactly what is going on in the trailer. This may sound awkward but makes for quite laughable entertainment. These trailers are quite difficult to describe so just look at the example posted above.

Election 2011 Results Part 2 - The Winners

You`ve seen the losers (and the Greens), now let`s look at who came out ahead on Monday night.

4) Canadians drink Orange Crush
Many were stunned to see the NDP surge to a record high of 102 seats as they picked up an additional 66 seats making them the biggest winners in terms of seat gains. The massive gains came largely in Quebec where the NDP received over 42% of the vote which translated to 58 seats. Many of their seats came at the expense of the devastated Bloc who lost their iron grip on the province (Quebec). Jack Layton, who handily defeated all other candidates in his riding, should make a decent leader of the official opposition as he does a very good job of pointing out flaws in party policies and of forcing the other parties to take action to correct these flaws.

5) Harper Gets His majority
On account of the NDP surge and the always solid Liberals, the Conservatives again failed to reach their goal of a majority After 5 years and three elections, the Conservatives managed to grab that elusive majority despite the ORANGE CRUSH that swept across Quebec. Their solid gain of 24 seats, of which a fair amount came in Ontario, propelled them to a total of 167 seats, 12 more than they needed for a majority. His position secure, Stephen Harper should be Prime Minister for at least the next four years until the mandatory election (must be an election every 5 years but most governments chose to have 1 after four to prevent any surprises).

In Part 3 I will analyze the results to see how these changes happened and what they mean for Canadians.

Election 2011 Results Part 1 - The Losers and The Greens

The federal election witnessed by Canadians on Monday (May 2) had more surprises and twists than a soap opera.
Let's start from the bottom of the pile.
1) The Green Party wins a seat
Green party leader Elizabeth May defeated the Conservative Minister of State(sport), Gary Lunn (who has held the riding for the last 14 years), securing the first ever Green Party seat in the House of Commons as the representative of Saanich-Gulf Islands, British Columbia. She will not have much of a say (especially with the Conservative Majority) but will provide a refreshing voice in the House of Commons. She is also guaranteed a seat at the Leader's debate in the next election which she had been denied this election.

2) THE DEATH OF THE BLOC
To the shock of many, the Bloc Quebecois came out as the biggest losers in the election. Succumbing to the ``Orange Crush``, the Bloc plummeted 43 seats (ALL to the NDP) all the way down from 47 to just 4 seats in the House, resulting in the loss of their official party status. This leads to the question of whether or not separatism can survive in Quebebc. Highlighting the historic defeat was the crushing defeat of leader Gilles Duceppe in his riding of Laurier-Sainte-Marie (which he has represented for over 20 years) where he lost by almost 5400 votes (23% less than NDP winner Helene Laverdiere (or 11% of the overall vote)). Needless to say he resigned his position of party leader shortly after the election.

3) The Liberals seeing red
The Liberals also lost a stunning 43 seats, falling all the way down to a historic low of 34 seats in the House. For the first time in the history of Canada, the Liberal Party will not be the party in power or the leader of the opposition, having succumbed to both the NDP (who added an astonishing 68 seats to their ranks) and Stephen Harper`s Conservatives who finally got their majority. Among the surprising defeats (19 of which came in Ontario) came popular candidates Gerrard Kennedy and Ken Dryden who had long represented their respective ridings and had been considered for party Leadership. Adding to the defeat was Michael Ignatieff`s loss in the Liberal stronghold of Etobicoke Lakeshore by over 2000 seats.

Libya is out of the news

Well it appears that no major news channel cares about the situation in Libya any more. God forbid anything should take away even seconds of the coverage of the Royal Wedding. After all the "Wedding of the Century" is far more important than Canadian, British, and French (and all other countries involved whom I do not have room to add) soldiers who are taking part in military action in a full scale revolution in an oil rich country in/near one of the most unstable areas in the world (Middle East). Now if I want updates on the situation I have to go to the timeline of the 2011 Libyan Civil War page on Wikipedia. It's not like there's nothing significant going on in Libya at the moment either. Like, I think some people may be interested in the fact that over 1000 European Union ground soldiers are being prepared in case their plans for a ground operation are approved (which very well may be). Maybe people might also want to know that Ghaddafi's snipers are deliberately targeting young children in the streets in the besieged city of Misurata which has been cut off from supplies and has had raw sewage dumped into its drinking water system. The point is that major news outlets should not stop covering a major international event just because it is "old news". People need and want to get accurate information on important events around the world, especially on events that involve their country (ex. me in Canada).

Since the major news outlets are not going to do it, here's a basic update on events in the Libyan Revolution/Civil War:
Rebel forces are currently holding off government troops in their only western city of Misurata (under siege). Everything west of Brega is under firm rebel control including Ajdabiya and the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Everything west of Brega other than Misurata is under government control including the capital, Tripoli. UN and allies continue to strike government forces across the country.

See you next time on Hayden@Earth.

C# programming Basics part 3 - Adding Forms and the Visibility Property

Sometimes, one form is not sufficient to contain all the things you would like to happen in the program.In this case,you must add another form or forms to the project. To add a form, first right click on the name of the project in the properties window and select add then select new item from the list this displays. Select windows form, name the form, and add it to the project. Next you must allow the form to be displayed through a button press on the first form. Add a button to both forms. Name the button on the first form (I named it bttncontinue) and adjust its text property to something like CONTINUE. Name the button on the second form (I named it bttnclose) and adjust its text property to something like CLOSE or BACK TO MAIN. Now You are ready to program. First, right click on bttncontinue to bring up the code screen. Then, simply enter this code (I chose to name the first form mainform and the second form subform):

subform myNewForm = new subform();
myNewForm.ShowDialog();
That's all it takes to add a new form in C#.
One very useful tool in C# programming is the ability to make things appear and disappear at the will of the user. If you want something, like a button for example, to be invisible at the beginning of the program, simply go under the section of code "Initialize Component" (after its last closing Bracket but before the first "private void section")and enter this code (assuming the item is named invisibilitycloak:

invisibilitycloak.Visible = false;

To make it reappear at the press of a button, double click on the button and enter the following code (same name):

invisibilitycloak.Visible = true;

That's all I have on this subject.
See you next time on Hayden@Earth

C# programming Basics part 2 - Buttons and Textboxes

First, let's make a button display text in a textbox.
1) select the textbox tool on the toolbar and make one on the form.
2) name the textbox txtboxdisplay, or anything else you can remember easily
3) select the button tool on the toolbar and add one to the form.
4) name the button bttndisplay or anything else you can easily remember.
now we can start programming
5) double click on the button, bringing you to the code screen
your programming for the task will go under "private void bttndisplay..." (typing line should start there automatically)
6) First you must tell the computer what you want to happen. In this case, because you want the textbox to display TEXT, you would write
textboxdisplay.text
^----(whatever you named the textbox)
7)Next enter the text you want to be displayed.
= "NICELY DONE!!!"
8) Add a semicolon!!! This must be done to every line of code

The final product is

txtboxdisplay.text = "Nicely Done!!!";

You can also make a message box (like those annoying error messages you get) appear by adding this line of code underneath the first line.

MessageBox.Show ("NICE JOB!!!");

Next time we will look at a very interesting and useful tool in C# programming. No Spoilers...

See you next time on Hayden@Earth

C# programming Basics part 1 - Introduction

Microsoft visual C# Express 2008 is a professional used program used to create computer programs in the C# programming language. C# is quickly becoming one of the most used computer languages. Microsoft Visual C# 2008 is available for free download at microsoft's website (follow link at bottom of post).

After you install the program (may occur on second or third use) you will be prompted to register the program. Simply follow the instructions they give you and you should have no problems.

Once it is installed and registered, you are ready to begin programming. This program will allow you to make form applications and other programs that may be shared with others via the internet.

To get started (assuming you are making a windows form application, the most common and easy to use option) click the new project button in the top left corner of the screen. Select Windows Form App in the options and give a name to the project. A form should be created and displayed on the screen (close the start page to make it visible). Your toolbar is located on the left of the screen. The toolbar allows you to place buttons, textboxes, and essentially anything else displayed on the form. Click the properties button on the top right corner of the screen to display the properties panel. This lets you set the attributes of the item you have selected. These attributes include everything from the text displayed on the object to the size of the object.

The most important thing to remember is that EVERYTHING must have a name used while programming (set by the name control in the properties panel, NOT THE TEXT CONTROL!). You know know the basic essentials used in C# programming. In part 2 we will actually start programming some items.

See you later on Hayden@Earth
http://www.microsoft.com/express/Downloads/#2008-Visual-CS

10 day movie review challenge UPDATE 2

Due to an unforeseeably hectic schedule, the movie review challenge will be postponed until July 2011.

Halo: Reach Video Game Review

I have been a fan of the Halo series since the very beginning, Halo: Combat Evolved. So what better game to be the subject of my first video game review than the final game in the series (unless/until 343 studios gets its way), Halo: Reach.

After the disappointment of Halo: ODST, I was reluctant to dish out 60 dollars to buy Reach. After finally bringing myself to buy it (about 2 months after the release), I quickly realized that the game was worth every penny.

Firstly, the storyline/campaign of this game is, by far, the deepest and most intense of any game I have ever played. Ever. The story of Noble Team, bolstered by outstanding visual effects and missions as well as solid voice acting, sucks you in and keeps you interested until the end.

Multiplayer, as usual for games of the series, is solid and rich with many different game types. This large selection of game types ensures many hours of fun with friends.

The wide variety of new weapons and equipment, most notably armour abilities (power-ups) add a lot to the experience. The game includes everything from machine guns to rocket launchers and their alien equivalents.

Halo: Reach gets 9 Spartans out of 10.