"Yessssssssssssssssssssssss"

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I love you boys of Team Canada Hockey!!! You are amazing!!! Thanks for the amazing game! I knew u just wanted to play more hockey... cleaver of y'all to push it to overtime! :p

"WIN"

WE CAN DO IT!!!!

13 golds... we can break the record this afternoon. FINALLY... i believe.

"Snuggie"

So a lot of people have been asking me for my opinion on the Snuggie. Big joke or marketing genius. My answer has never changed and finally now a lot more people are seeing my side of it!

First, the Snuggie ad is ridiculous. So ridiculous that everyone knows it and talks about the blanket with the arms at least once a week in every day conversation. It's become so much a part of our world, that if you haven't seen the actual infomercial, it's been posted on your facebook wall by a concerned friend who didn't want you to be left out of the loop.

But is this good? Public figures talk about the Snuggie, but it's usually a the butt of their jokes. In fact, there is even a Jeep ad that opens with a section of the Snuggie ad (making you believe its about the Snuggie) then out of nowhere a sledge hammer comes across the screen banging and ripping at the image until the now distorted Snuggie ad is out of the frame, and Jeep driver encourages people to go out and experience life outside.

Yes, the Snuggie is one big joke. But in my opinion it has always been a hilarious--and profitable--one!

After all, everyone knows EXACTLY what you're talking about when you mention the Snuggie. There are dozens of clones in the stores (Snugglies, Snuggles, Softies, Snuggers, SnugBugs, etc...), they've expanded their line from the original blue Snuggie to reds, purples, pinks, and even leopard print! It doesn't end there... to ad fuel to the "let's make fun of the Snuggy" fire, there is now a puppy Snuggy line... in case your dog gets cold on the couch but still needs the use of his paws... hmm.... AND i think i even saw something about a Snuggie for couples... or maybe that was an SNL skit...

It IS getting a little ridiculous but I have to marvel at the marketing genuis this blanket with arms has become. Even respected advertising creatives continue to talk about the Snuggie on speaking tours etc... This says a lot for a commercial that was seen as just absurd when it first aired. This blanket with arms has some pretty incredible legs!!!

After all, if you don't already have one... I'm pretty sure it's on your wish list!

"Hockey GOLD!"

Team Canada's hockey team has struck gold! This is our sport!!! But after a Wonderful Wednesday yesterday, where Canada won 4 medals all in women's sports... is it any wonder I'm talking about our women's hockey team?

Our girls looked AMAZING! I missed the very beginning of the game but 30 seconds after I tuned in, TeamCanada's Marie-Philip Poulin scored the first goal. Naturally, I kept watching and minutes later, she scored another (Poulin is 18 years old by the way... in case you were wondering...) !!! So naturally, I am kind of involved in the winning of this medal, and should the ladies read this blog, I'd be satisfied with just a pic with one of their medals... no need for the whole thing :p

Our girls won 2-0 after some seriously impressive work by BOTH goaltenders. Great game, and I'm really proud to be a Canadian girl myself, addicted to hockey!

BTW a gold and a silver of yesterday's medals were won in the women's bobsleigh... we kinda did own the podium that day... at least intimidated the hell out of #3!

"Killer Whale Kills @ SeaWorld"

A number of SeaWorld spectators got more than they bargained for today after the Dine with Shamu show. Apparently, as the trainer was showing off the whales to onlookers from the side of the tank, one of the 11,000 pound creatures, Tilikum, swam with unusual speed and aggression towards her, jumped into the air, grabbed her by the waist and shook her violently before dragging her down to the bottom of the tank where she eventually drowned.

Obviously onlookers were horrified, as sirens rang and SeaWorld staff rushed to the area to see if they could control the animal. Unfortunately, the 40 year old trainer Dawn Brancheau could not be saved. Though police reported she had fallen into the tank, most of the surfacing eyewitness accounts saw the whale deliberately jumped up and grabbed her.

Strangely, Tilikum has been involved in 2 prior human deaths. One was at a park in Canada (killed its trainer in this case too), and another time at SeaWorld when a man stayed in the park after hours and apparently jumped into the tank. He was found dead and badly scratched draped over Tilikum's body the next morning.

It's obvious killer whales and whales in general like to play rough, but to them it's play. We've all seen the footage of the whales batting around penguins back and forth. In the case of the naked man, Tilikum likely thought it was a toy to play with (reports said he died of hypothermia... could he have been dead before Tilikum started to play? But this case with the trainer might be more about frustration, especially since viewers of the first and second shows that day said the whale was uncooperative, and not responding to many commands.

I think it might be time to retire Tilikum. Obviously unhappy with forced performance and likely also captivity. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Dawn. Also the people who had to witness it. Hopefully parents were able to shield their children's eyes before too much damage was done.

"Canada vs Russia"

And I'm not talking curling! Tonight, finally, a do or die game between Canada and a team we have not won against in 50 years of olympics. Ouch.

But really, going into this thing... did any Canadian doubt the outcome?

Canada hit Russia hard and fast dominating 4-1 by the end of the first period. Much the same for the rest of the game as Team Canada went on to win 7-3... 7-3!!!!! <--- you can't capitalize numbers but image the second 7-3 is capitalized.

Believe it or not since 7-3 was the score towards the end of the 2nd period (no scoring in the third), this game was still a nail biter for me. A couple of Canada's goals came within seconds of each other so a 4 point lead in such a crucial game didn't mean much to me until the final few minutes.

It was especially tense for me when the Russians finally decided to switch out their goaltender. He was really missing some stoppable goals for a while and should have been benched much sooner... I was not happy to see him go. His replacement only let one get past him. Of course, the switch was too little too late.

Of course when the game was out of their reach, the Russian boys were starting some fights and of course our boys fought back and we got some 4 on 4 hockey. Very entertaining since their was no scoring. For such a big scoring gap this game was actually really fun to watch... I think most will agree with me. Maybe not Russia fans but hockey fans in general!

Props to Luongo who made about 30 saves, a number of them were AWESOME! all of them drawing "Luuuuuuuuuuu"s from the all-red crowd.

As the teams we shaking hands at the end of the game btw, Crosby wiped his nose (very distinctly) and proceeded to shake hands with all the Russians... an interesting move whether deliberate or not. lol

Team Canada will move on and face Slovakia (who BTW upset fav'd team Sweden 4-3 tonight) in the quater final. Pressure's on... but so far it looks like we do best in sudden death situations.

If you ask me, Team Canada just wanted to play more hockey. That loss to the US was a set up!

"Men's Hockey - Canada"

OH MY GOSH!!! Ok so if you know me... or if you are one of my neighbours, you know that I am one huge hockey fan!!! You also know that I can get pretty caught up in the game. and very loud--even if I'm alone (this is where the neighbours come in)!

So last night I was watching, and I must admit it was a pretty great game to watch. Men's olympic hockey, Team Canada vs Switzerland. It's so much more exciting for a hockey fan to watch a close game than a game that's 15-0 in the second period (even if your team is winning). The best part for me is that the constant tension in my body and the inability to peel my eyes off the screen (even during the ads-as I typically use this time to come down from my high a bit) I have no time or desire to grab a snack in the kitchen.

BUT I have to tell my olympic men of Team Canada... DONT YOU EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!!! EVER! That was NOT funny! First off it's way too early to be shaky in your game... I hope you got it out of your system now. We're playing for gold so we have to have as many points as possible. The States currently have more points than us (which means they've efficiently beat their opponents... but we're still okay if we can beat them on Sunday. I don't know what it is about the Swiss but they seem to be our Kryptonite.

I was watching (and participating in) the Twitter feed as I was watching the game and the dominant hashtag for this game was #switzcan. And after using it for a bit I wondered why Switzerland had to be first because it seems like we were cheering them on... because for a while... it was evident that the Swiss could, and they did!!! Canadian enjoyed a collective freak out (and one of the reasons I love Twitter so much is because I get to witness it first hand)!

The game went to overtime and then a shootout. 3 players for each team were shut down, and Crosby came out for Team Canada a second time to score the winning goal!! Never thought I'd be a Crosby fan but here I am - good going Kid!

Now. The big question is who will be our go to goalie for the USA game? Luongo recorded a shutout in our opening game on Tuesday but having stopped 13 shots, he was not tested nearly as much as Brodeur who let in 2 pucks, but stopped more than 20 and stopped the Swiss team in the shootout.

Who indeed... Can't wait!

"I believe"

Ok so as the Olympics wrap up their first week, the I believe song is kind of growing on me... BUT ONLY THE MUSIC WITHOUT THE WORDS!!! The tune is OK. That is all.

"Cougar Town"

You know, the TV show with Courtney Cox newly divorced hot mom looking for good times in her middle age. I will admit quite publicly that this show has been a guilty pleasure of mine. Not nearly as good as The Big Bang Theory but an enjoyable half hour nonetheless. I don't watch religiously but if I happen to be in front of the TV at the right time...

... why do I feel like I'm depending myself?

Anyway the show has been on for less than a season now... and already I feel like it lost its point... or at least what I thought was the point: Cougars--the life of. In the first couple of episodes Courtney was chasing young men who chased her back and she struggled to fit into the world of her boyfriend (which was the same world pretty much as her teen son). There was also an older looking lady who added comic relief with her blatant young-tail-chasing ways. Can't believe I just wrote that.

Her one liners and random pop ins in various scenes were hilarious but they've slowly disappeared as the season went on. Further, Courtney's character broke it off with her young beau fairly quickly after the first episode and moved on to an older man... then she got ride of him and is now caught in a love triangle between her ex-husband and her neighbour (the man who slept with a number of yonger women in the first episodes... until now).

While Court's character is sleeping with her ex husband (by accident...a slip to her, maybe more to him), her young coworker is sleeping with the older neighbour who secretly loves Court's character. Hmm.

So if you're keeping up with my ramble, Cougar Town, has now gotten ride of the funny Cougar, middle aged women are now dating/flirting with men their age, and men their ages have serious secret crushes on those women, but continue to sleep with younger women here and there.

If you ask me... Cougar Town has quickly become... your home town. All is right with this TV world... what gives?

"GOLD!"

Congrats to Alexandre Bilodeau, Canadian Freestyle skiier who's awesome performance in the Men's Moguls tonight resulted in Canada's first gold medal of these Olympics... and any winter olympics on Canadian soil. Congrats Alex--I would have broken my neck on the first mogul at the speed you were going!!! Well deserved :)

Canadian's are great on the moguls. Last night Jennifer Heil won Silver in the women's moguls. Go Canada! Now if only we could hear the Anthem!!! Enough with 'I believe' already. That song will never make me cry... but I'd be hard pressed not to tear up when I see one of our Olympians swell with pride as he/she hears the sounds of 'O Canada' fill the stadium.

But I digress, Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger took this awesome photo of the man of the day :)

"Olympics"

One more day til the opening ceremonies!!! yay.. get ready to be parked in front of the TV dodging phone calls. But if you live in Canada how tired are you already of the I believe song OOOOOMMMMMMGGGGGGGG!!!! I'm already sick of it! Please keep me away from that song after the open.... please don't show it at every commercial... oh but they will.

"AdWeek Wrap Party"

Couple nights ago I went to the Adweek wrap party (needed a day to recover before writing about it). It was held at Lobby nightclub which was the social centre for all of Adweek during the week itself. Now if you've ever been to Lobby you know it's not the best place to have a huge social gathering. It's a long thin hallway-sized room. So as soon as people started filling the room it was basically impossible to move from group to group, let alone maneuver your way to the food table! Despite all this I had an amazing time and met a whole bunch of new people: up and comers and already-theres! It was great to see the mix! Even ran into some old acquaintances--which was nice! Oh and the drinks were amazing. And if you know Lobby... you also know that a Lobby open bar can be very valuable (Paris Hilton once tipped $300 for tea there... I'm just saying)!

"TTC"

UGH!

"Flats"

I'm sorry but am I the only one who thinks its WRONG to spend $90 on flats!?! Sometimes I go shoe shopping because I just want a little flat that will go with a certain outfit. I don't necessarily want to spend $100+ Who made it okay to charge so much for pleather?!?! The cheaper flats from your local fashion retail store though, fall apart with a few wears. I guess I will have to resign myself to working a few extra jobs because at this rate, slippers will be the next to break the $50 mark!

"TV whispering"

CAN'T STAND IT!!! There's something wrong about a loud whisper which is needed to be conveyed on TV. PLEASE STOP THIS AT ALL COSTS! Gawd it pisses me off. The primary offender for me right not is the ridiculous McDonald's ad with the cheap guy ordering a coffee and muffin from a drive through window by whispering so as not to wake his sleeping passengers. His whisper is forced and it sounds like there is something stuck in his throat and he's dying. It bugs me enough to change the channel every time it comes on (which lately is every second ad).

TV whispers seem unproductive to me. Especially in ads because they still have to be so loud. It's fake and unnecessary. So unless they can whisper for real (an unforced quiet whisper) CUT IT PLEASE.

"Famous Onion Ring"

It's the newest Canadian sensation on Facebook. Growing faster than... something that grows really fast is this onion ring's popularity. If you're a facebook user, check out its swamky fan page: Can this Onion Ring get more Fans that Stephen Harper? (http://bit.ly/coDFpu)
I think yes.

"The Wink"

I was headed to the ROM last week to help out with the Google session at Toronto’s AdWeek. As I walked out of the subway, a middle aged looking man, who’d been looking at me for a while, winked at me as we crossed paths. WINKING… am I the only one who thinks winking is just incredibly awkward and in no way sexy? I have yet to see one person wink in a way that melted my heart.

I remember when I was younger I wanted to learn to wink well… it was kind of like learning to make the fart sounds with your armpit. It had a cool-factor back then. But I never felt like it came naturally to me. I looked like I was in the beginning stages of an eye infection. Maybe that’s why I'm so repulsed by “the Wink” to this day. I can’t do it. How do others muster the courage to look so ridiculous to a complete stranger?

Maybe he was conducting a social experiment? But really, what was he expecting me to do? Approach him with my phone number because his wink was oh so mesmerizing?

I say we abolish the wink altogether… or have everyone who insists on using it to facilitate introductions (or even to imply a coy joke to a friend) “winking classes” so that it doesn’t look like an awkward twitch.

That is all.

“PJ Jeans”

It’s the newest thing in fashion! And as a fashion person, let me tell you. I am very excited! Ever had trouble finding the perfect pair of jeans? I have been there over and over. And when you finally find the perfect pair you try to ignore the $200 price tag because they are just so perfect and rare!

Fashion outlets have tried to provide options like the denim legging. But if your thighs have a little extra something or you’re just not into the super skinny jean look, you’re out of luck… until now.

Introducing the Pajama jean: www.pajamajeans.com/Default.aspx?bhcp=1

I think it’s genius (once I get over the campy ad)! And if the pockets can manage to sit nicely on the ass… I think we have something here!!!

"Jersey Shore’s Angelina"

OK I hate to admit it but I kinda sorta maybe watch too much TV. And during that TV-time… I might have happened upon a few key episodes of Jersey Shore. And I’ll tell you, once the clicker lands on this show… it’s kind of like a house fire you just can’t take your eyes off of.

But now I’m hearing that Angelina was also asked and agreed to sign onto the second season with the rest of the cast—I know if you have heard of the show without watching religiously you are probably thinking… “who the hell Angelina?” I’m with ya! She was not one of the cast members that made the show popular, because she quit on like the second episode!!! She quit on her original contract, flaked on MTV and the show so why the hell is she being asked to come back again. I’m sorry MTV but no one likes her, no one is watching for her, she will not make you money and if she flakes on you twice—SHAME ON YOU!

Here’s another question I had. Angelina is loud and overpowering. We really didn’t see any of the other characters’ personalities in action when she was there because she would stomp around and yell and interrupt whatever they were doing until it ended and attention was on her boring self. The popular shows were the ones when she wasn’t there because people were allowed to show themselves. Good luck with her on the show. I think it might tame the fire enough for me to look away for good… and maybe that’s not such a bad thing!

As a side note, TMZ conducted an online survey as to whether or not people wanted to see Angelina back or BANNED, here were the results:

Jasmine on... "Grammy's"

Why is it that the same people always win at the Grammy’s? It’s getting a little tiring and I’m beginning to think this award show is one big high school socialite contest. Beyonce got six. Really? She was up against some quality hits in most of her categories and I understand that many people are under her spell and she has songs that did really well on radio but so did soooo many other artists. It seems the Grammy’s are only catering to a select few… over and over and over again—of course maybe they were afraid of another Kanye West debacle and decided it would be safe to give her everything she qualified for...

If this is an award show about music, there are so many elements that are missing. It’s more about goodie bags and parties… and of course ratings and the bottom line—which is fair but just so boring for the rest of us who actually respect the power of music. I will admit last night’s show was pretty entertaining (as long as I ignored the actual award-giving part of the show). Many amazing duets and stage-sharing duos actually reminded us how music can transcend generations and even genres. Nice Michael Jackson tribute... I think. Except... the Grammy's decided to take a page from Avatar and make it 3D. Hmm. Did they forget that this show would be broadcast across North America? So to 99.9% of people, the supposedly beautiful MJ tribute was impossible to watch because it was BLURRY!!! We didn't all get 3D glasses in anticipation for this Grammy's!!! Think twice next time please!

I did love the Gaga/Elton John duet even though as artists they aren’t my favs. They, to me, demonstrated what music and good showmanship could truly do. And that… not Beyonce, Beyonce, Beyonce, Beyonce, Beyonce, Beyonce should be celebrated. Variety=Spice after all!

On a side note... I feel really bad for whoever sat behind Gaga...