TEAM JACOB!

That’s all I can say. This afternoon Amy, Kim and I went to go check out the set of the Twilight Saga movie New Moon at the Ridge Theatre in Vancouver. It was so worth it. Miss Amy takes total credit for setting this up. Thanks Amy!

When we got there we hung out at Meinhardt for a bit… there were barely any fans there since we had gotten a tip, so we were trying to be incognito. We walked around to the side for a bit to check out the alley and the side of the bowling alley. The scenes being filmed here are the two Port Angeles movie theatre scenes in New Moon (when Jessica and Bella go to the movies, and later on when Mike, Jacob and Bella see a film).

Yes, we may have been twice the age of everyone else there, but we were okay with that. We waited about 2 hours before Taylor Lautner (Jacob) came out to take photos with the fans. What a class act. Totally reaffirms why I am Team Jacob.

Taylor was extremely gracious and friendly. Putting his arms around fans and making space to take photos with their friends. He couldn’t have been a better sport. His skin looked amazing up close snd he smelled GOOD!

He took about 4-5 photos with fans and then went back in.

Amy and Kim standing outside.

Enjoy the photos! Hopefully Amy and I will be able to get some more photos soon. Sorry for not posting the snowboarding movie tomorrow… Team Jacob takes precedence I’ll try to get it out this week though before the Tofino surf weekend.

First, before I begin, let me say that I am not off the bandwagon. I’m always ON the Canucks bandwagon. I’ve stuck with them through thick and thin and every single year I believe that they will somehow win the Cup that year. I still watch or listen to every game and root for the boys. I’ll never give up on them.

However, I believe that Canucks fans are a special breed. We are put through a lot. Yet somehow we always find a way to cheer them on. We may possibly be the most frustrated fans in the league.

So therefore I present to you…

TOP 10 REASONS WHY CANUCKS FANS HAVE IT HARDER THAN ANY OTHER FANS IN THE NHL

10. Trevor Linden retired. (Sorry, I had to put it in )

9. Trying to get tickets to a Canucks game requires you to either take out a loan on your house or beat down scalpers over the head with a bat and run.

8. The majority of seats in the lower bowl are filled with suits who don’t wear jerseys, don’t cheer, arrive halfway into the first period and walk out with 5 minutes in the game left, blocking everyone’s view.

7. We had to deal with Mark Messier.

6. Our players are always injured in the most crucial times.

5. Our players rarely win fights.

4. We have a “third period” Achilles heel where we either a) If the Canucks are down, they play their hardest hockey of the game in the third period when it is too-little-too-late or b) If the Canucks are winning, they find some way to lose in the third period, usually in the dying seconds.

3. A player is acquired and is heralded as the team’s saviour or a player comes back from injury and is heralded as the team’s saviour.. in both cases fans are often left feeling disappointed with the result.

2. The Canucks give away the puck more than any other team in the league.

And the number one reason why Canucks fans have it harder than any other fans in the NHL…

1. When arguing with a Toronto Maple Laffs fan about which team is better, all they say is, “Well at least my team has won a Stanley Cup!”… then we hang our heads in shame, swallow down the acrid bile that rises in our mouths just thinking about the Leafs, and admit that yes, our team has never won a Stanley Cup.

———-

Yes, I’m mostly just joking about all of this. But — please Canucks, please start playing smarter hockey. Please stop turning the puck over. Please find some chemistry in your lines. Please start winning at home! We’re sticking by you guys and we’re trying to be patient.

I hope we can make a run for it here in the last stretch here before the playoffs.

Go Canucks Go!

Do you have any additions to my list?

I feel so much better today. As many people have been blogging about lately, there’s something about November that makes us feel down and maybe on edge. I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, and have had to come to terms (again) with who I am and the people I want to surround myself with. I know that good friends are invaluable and hard to come by, and my plan is to surround myself with people who I love, and people who love me. A couple interesting things that have come across my my path…

First off, for you Vancouver Canucks fans, there’s a film showing this Monday, November 10th at some Cineplex and Landmark theatres (not all, so make sure you check before going) called “Forever Faithful“. It profiles Canucks fans and their passion for the team. The trailer looks really good. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it since I’ll be out of town in Tofino this weekend, but I’m definitely planning on picking up the DVD. You can read the Canucks press release here. Let me know what you think if you go see it!

Also in video game news, THQ is yet the next video game company to have significant layoffs. Their new “strategic” plan is to close down 5 studios, including Paradigm Entertainment (Stuntman, Pilotwings, Spy Hunter), Mass Media (Full Spectrum Warrior), Helixe (De Blob), Locomotive Games (Destroy All Humans!), and Sandblast Games. Wow. Not looking so rosy in both the publishing and development side of games right now. Basically, these cuts are going to eliminate about 250 jobs, which is 17 percent of all studio employees.

I finally managed to go through a few more of my photographs from my work trip to Japan. These ones are from a day trip that my boss and I did out to Kamakura. It’s really beautiful. We saw a number of different Buddhist and Shinto shrines, and climbed many hills and stairs, and walked across a long bridge to an island to climb up even more stairs… but it resulted in an incredible view.

Those aren’t Swastikas, they are religious symbols in Japan. Street signs on the way to Kamakura.

Beautiful pond

There were thousands of these statues everywhere. And the interesting/horrific part… each of these statues means there was an abortion or miscarriage. Japanese women would come here and place one of these statues as an offering or a prayer. The sheer number of statues in the temple made my stomach flip.

Bamboo at Kamakura Temple.

Flowers at the temple.

Praying Statues… very cute. I wonder how old these are. I wonder if “cuteness” is something that existed in Japan long before Hello Kitty and the like

Deep red Japanese umbrella…

Scariest spider ever! These guys were just hanging out everywhere. Made my skin crawl just trying to be close enough to it to take a good photo!

The largest Buddhish statue in Japan.

Flowers on bamboo. It was so neat to see so much bamboo everywhere.

The Bay at Shonan (view from the top). A long hike to get here, but it was worth it. We were also able to see a number of surfers in the bay. I already put up a photo of this in my previous post.

So there are surfers in Japan! My first hint that I wasn’t delusional to go surfing in Japan. These guys were surfing at Shonan, and I was planning on going out to the coast at Ichinomiya, but it was still rad to see all these older guys getting on their motorbikes and heading out to the surf.

And another Japanese surfer! It seems like the motorbikes/motorcycles/scooters are the preferred method of transportation for surfers in this area. I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable hitching my precious board to a bike!

Japanese surfing ad… neato!

Fancy eating octopus? These were being sold on sticks everywhere. The vendors would grill them for you

It’s a different way of life out here, than it is in Tokyo or Vancouver even…

Shinto shrine… so serene.

Each of these are prayers.. they are tied to the fence.

I felt like I was at the end of the world..

That’s it for now folks. I’m off to Tofino for the entire (extra long) weekend for some late season cold surfing, so I’ll be back on Tuesday. See you then.