Well, I guess my husband will have to wait a little longer for his TARDIS-inspired media room. On the upside, so will all of the other Dr. Who geeks out there. No one won the $50 million Lotto Max jackpot last night, although 30 people are $1 million richer today, from the MaxMillions prizes. Not me, though.
What is it about lotteries that draws us in? We know the odds. Most people are intelligent enough to realize that they're more likely to have a rhinoceros end up in their living room than to win a big lotto prize, and yet we still try. As I said to my husband last night, the odds are a zillion to one, but if you don't play, they're zero.
Still, I feel pretty foolish today for wasting money last night on tickets. Not a ton, but still... a waste. So why?
Truthfully, I think we pay for the dreams. Is there anyone who doesn't have long conversations about what they'd do with the money? First, starting with all of your philanthropic goals, to absolve any guilt for the big houses, vacations and new cars and vehicles that you plan for after that. These days, especially, it just gives you a sense of hope that things can get better. Most people I've talked to, even though they dream about what they could do with $50 million, say that they'd be happy to just win enough to pay off debts, go on a vacation, have a little luxury in their lives. For so many of us right now, compared to what we may have known before, luxury is a distant memory. Hopefully, a little dreaming is enough for now.
For those of you who don't know what poutine is (and I'm guessing you're American - ha!) it's pretty simple in its obnoxiousness: a bowl of french fries, covered in cheese curds and gravy. Yes, that's really what it is. Depending on who you talk to, it's either heaven in a bowl, a heart attack waiting to happen or a culinary abomination.
Personally, I love poutine. I also love living, though, so I don't indulge very often. I still remember my first exposure to the stuff. I was in Quebec City, on a cultural exchange when I was fourteen. My "twin" and her friend brought my friend and I into the city from the suburbs where they lived and dragged us all around until far too late at night. For skinny girls, could they ever EAT. Crepes with ice cream and poutine, all in one night. I still remember sitting there, mouth probably wide open in shock, while they devoured the greasy concoction. They asked if we wanted some. We were disgusted, and declined.
It was several years later before I actually tried it. In my opinion, nothing can be wrong when smothered with cheese or chocolate, so I loved it.
Still, a poutine-eating contest? I have to wonder how many contestants will keel over right there at BMO Field.
I actually can't stop laughing, though. The Typo That Pulped 7,000 Books has me absolutely cracking up. I'm sure that there are those out there who will think I'm horrible for laughing so much over this, but honestly, if it was white pepper I'd be laughing just as hard.
7,000 cookbooks are being reprinted by Penguin Group Australia because a pasta recipe was printed that contained the line “salt and freshly ground black people.”
Come on - it's funny! I can understand why the publishers are so upset that it's getting publicity, though. I mean honestly, haven't we all had spell-check screw with us? Yes, the proofreader should have caught it, but the proofreader is human. I seriously doubt it was intentional.
So go ahead: laugh with me. You'll feel better.
I hope you've all enjoyed our little foray into the land of Benedict Mulroney. I know that some of my readers may be questioning my sanity right now, but hey, it's all in good fun!
Tomorrow, we resume our regularly scheduled programming of rants on politics and pop culture! For now, though, enjoy a few clips of Ben at work.
Well People, it's almost over! Whatever will we do without our little dose of Ben each day?
Wow...I just noticed how much he looks like his father in that picture... look at that chin... it's going into Jay Leno territory...
Anyway, since I had such a good time with the Canadian Idol clips yesterday, I'm going to add in a few more today. Again, it's my blog, and I can do what I want!
Theo Tams was the last Canadian Idol. The judges often claimed he was the best male vocalist ever on the show, and I think they might be right. He was classically trained in voice and piano and he just has a very clear tone that can really give you goosebumps. I've only ever heard one song off his debut album, but I hope he gets a chance because he really does deserve it. Again, I had a hard time picking just one performance, but I really do like this one, and it's also one of the shorter clips.
Mitch McDonald came in second that year. He was a completely different kind of artist than Theo. This performance of Joel Plaskett's "Love This Town" is just so awesomely charming.
Eva Avila, the Season Four winner has had a reasonable amount of success. I quite like the radio singles she's put out, and she's worked closely with Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida, which I think has helped her. Here's her "Idol Single" Meant to Fly. Not nearly as annoying as most of them. Outside of Alive, I think this might have been the best of them.
Kalan Porter was the winner of the amazing second season that I wrote about yesterday. I can't find any of his really good performances online, but here's his audition. It shows that right from the start he had the talent and that shy smile that gave him the win.
Ben is taller than Tom Cruise! Wait... isn't everyone? I think my not quite 1-year-old might be... I'm just saying...
According to the National Post, there was a Twitter account @ETalkBen. Sadly, that account is no more. It contained references to "Uncle Karlheinz", lunch bills and personal hygiene. It was a fake account, but apparently even got George Stroumboulopoulos, a friend of Ben's, into the act. Take a look at the article, it's quite entertaining, actually. I think my friend Sam would get quite a kick out of it.
Wuv, twu wuv... (if you don't get the reference, you're not allowed to read this site anymore...)
Anyway, if all of my Ben Mulroney bizarreness has you hooked, here's where you can buy "Ben Mulroney for Prime Minister" t-shirts. Now, granted, if you're here, hopefully you think that Cyn should be PM, but well... I'm just putting it out there!
I am not an avid Survivor watcher. I watched the first season and enjoyed all that naked fat guyness. The second season was much better, in my opinion, if for no other reason than good ol' Colby (yum!) I think I watched a little bit of the 3rd season, but definitely not the whole thing.
I didn't watch again until the All Stars Season, which was when I was first introduced to Boston Rob. Rob Mariano, he of the thick Boston accent and an arrogance unseen since Custer declared that he could win at Little Big Horn. I watched in awe as he maneuvered his way around his opponents, creating, shifting and breaking alliances in such a way that no one seemed to think it might be a good idea to be RID of him. He made it to the final two, dragging his ally Amber Brkich with him. The bitter jury members would have rather awarded the $1 million to Pol Pot than to Boston Rob at that point, so they gave it to Amber.
In fact, take a look at this video of Tom, and just how bitter he was towards Rob:
However, in true Boston Rob style, he may not have officially won, but he still got the last laugh: he proposed to Amber, and the two of them took home the top two prizes together. They married in April, 2005 and now have a baby daughter, Lucia Rose.
I watched them on two seasons on The Amazing Race. Then they seemed to disappear. I haven't watched Survivor since that All Star season, but when I heard that this season was going to be essentially another All Stars I decided that I needed to check it out. I waited to see if finally Rob's fellow contestants would be smart enough to avoid his mind traps, and as I waited to see what would happen when his tribe, the "Villains" finally went to Tribal Council, I soon got hooked again.
I don't like Russell. He's a little troll. Thanks to him, my Thursdays just won't be the same. I'm sad, but I can't wait to see that tribe implode now that they've done what I was waiting for. Pardon my bad grammar. Mourning makes my participles dangle.
For now, enjoy a few more clips of Boston Rob: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. Sigh.
Everyone is thrilled to have their picture taken with Ben, right?
In a profile of Ben done by Duke University's Alumni magazine, Ben professed to be considering a reality show based around his famous parents.
"Everyone has a reality show they want to do," he says. "Hey, I figure if Paris Hilton and her mother can both have reality shows, no idea is too stupid."
Ben is apparently quite the connoisseur of Montreal crap food. In fact, the Canadian Idol website has an entire article about how much Montreal crap food Ben is going to consume while they are holding auditions there. Two different places for ribs, smoked meat, hot dogs... oy...
You can read Ben's suggestions for the Montreal food experience here.
Ah Ben, the kooky things you do. My good friend Sam (www.popcultureaddict.com) who inspired this series, commented thusly on today's photo:
"Think those guys are fighting over which one gets to clock Ben?"
I don't know, Sam. I don't know if we'll ever know...
Today's Fun Fact: Ben made his big screen debut in Fantastic Four as an entertainment reporter. Obviously trying to stretch his acting muscles!
Is there any Canadian personality more maligned than Benedict Mulroney? I think perhaps, of late, only Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. So here's a picture of Ben interviewing Chad Kroeger of Nickelback!
Canadian Idol did their own version of Idol Gives Back one year, and Ben and one of the judges, Farley Flex, went to Malawi. Ben is also a National Ambassador for UNICEF Canada. Here's the video clip of Ben and Farley's trip:
Somewhere around Day 11 I messed up, so we are actually into Day 17 of our 30 Days - I am aghast that this is going by so quickly - although I'm running out of fun facts, so it's okay, I think.
Today we will explore Ben's personal interests, as listed on his Facebook fan page, for those of you who haven't joined it yet.
Ben with David Foster! Two Canadian icons, right there!
I've posted the link to this blog on Ben's fan page. It really looks abandoned, so I doubt he'll even see it, but hey, a girl can hope, right?
In the meantime, here's Ben being interviewed, rather than interviewing, on George Strombolopolous' show, The Hour. I'm actually a big fan of Strombo. He reminds me a bit of Dennis Miller. I also like somewhat snarky intelligence, so he's my guy.
I do believe that this was Mariah Carey's first live performance on Canadian television (probably her only one?)
Today's Fun Fact: Ben's Facebook fan page can be found here. He currently has 188 fans and has never actually written on the page, from what I can tell. But hey - it's there!
Another quote from the Macleans article (can you tell I'm starting to reach here?):
"The perfect host for Idol should be slightly more interesting than vanilla: fashionable, but not like he's trying to upstage anyone, funny but not necessarily a comedian, confident but not necessarily cocky. He should be like a good child: speak when spoken to and recognize his place in the family. This show is first and foremost about the singers, and then about the judges, and maybe if we're lucky after that, and we have time, it should be about the host."
Sadly, it would appear that my current Ben Mulroney obsession has scared the more lasting of my objects of obsession: Jordan Knight of NKOTB. Yes, despite my 12 years of marriage, I have been in love with another man for well, almost 20 years. And today, he rejected my Facebook friend request. Sniff.
At first I thought it was because I don't spam him on Twitter. Quite frankly, those chicks are SCARY, but then I looked at my Facebook profile picture: Ben Mulroney on the cover of Macleans magazine. Yeah, I get it now.
Anyway, here's another quote from that Macleans article for today:
"Of course the name gives me an edge. And anyone who says that's wrong is an idiot. Everyone uses the edges they're given. If they don't want to use their edge then fine, I'll use mine to get ahead of them." Keeping his gig is another matter entirely. Private television is all about ratings, he argues. If people weren't tuning in, he wouldn't be on your screen anymore.
