My Top ALBUMS of 2010

So, I have a bunch of favourite bands/artists that I listened to this year, but I'll limit this final, year ending, post to my choices for the top ALBUMS of 2010! There was a lot of great music released this year, and I don't like to restrict the list to only 10, BUT, 10 is a nice number for these kinds of things. I would love to explain my selections, but I do not want to make this post long and exhausting... so I'll list my top 10 and then give a few honourable mentions, okay?
Sweet, here we go:

10. Broken Bells - Broken Bells

9. Jónsi - Go Do

8. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

7. Vampire Weekend - Contra

6. The Black Keys - Brothers

5. Stars - The Five Ghosts

4. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

3. Shad - TSOL

2. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

And FINALLY... (drum roll please)...

1. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

This Montreal band has been around for some time, and with this album they just showed how amazing they still ARE! Everything is good about this album, plus it most likely got the top spot because I saw them perform live!
... Life changing.

Honourable Mentions:

Dan Black - Symphonies
(only because it was released in late December of '09, and because "Symphonies (feat. Kid Cudi)" was released in 2010... SO GOOD!)

Library Voices - Denim on Denim
(this, along with The Five Ghosts, was in my car's CD player all summer!)

The National - High Violet
(because I haven't listened to the entire album, and I love them!)

Caribou - Swim
(because he's from my old town of London, Ontario, and also because I haven't listened to the entire album!)

Jars of Clay - The Shelter
(because they continuously create pure quality albums!)

The Roots - How I Got Over
(because they're THE Roots!)

Florence + The Machine - Lungs
(just because I can tell that it's good!)

I'm probably missing a bunch, but there ya go. Can't wait for 2011. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

p.s. Party party; and be safe... after all, safety is its own reward.

Registration Procrastination

Well, I've finally registered for next term's courses and this is actually "early" for me to do so, compared to previous experiences! And yet...

Life Lesson: Sooner's better than later.

Even though I'm still pretty late, this is an ideal Life Lesson for me, because I have yet to learn... so, in my defense:

Life Lesson: Better late, than never.

P.s. I'm gonna release my favourite albums of the year either today or tomorrow. Stay tuned.

ExtraOrdinary RELEASE

Jan. 08/11... Lo Pub, 9 o'clock, $8, BE THERE! SungKnows! presents...

Sungknows! Presents Saint Kris & Royal Canoe from Nice! Productions on Vimeo.

SungKnows wants you to get ready to “Party Party” people! ExtraOrdinary the 2nd Mixtape from local hip-hop artist Saint Kris is about to drop! January 8th @ The LoPub will be the official venue of the mixtape release party. Also performing that night will be local indie rock sensations Royal Canoe. So put your dancing shoes on!

Doors Open at 9
$8 @ the Door

Object Permanence (Song Studying)

WOW, I am DONE another term! Boom, I'm so relieved. Yesterday I realized that I haven't done a Song Studying Session in a very long time, so I decided to capture a certain section of my Child Development course text-book, and share it... in song. Object permanence happened to be the subject on hand, so, here we go again; check out my third installment of Song Studying! I took footage from two improv takes and meshed them together to get a somewhat funny, creative outcome... Enjoy! Ignore the bad editing in the beginning, it was my first time using iMovie...

Object Permanence (Song Studying) from MannyG on Vimeo.

p.s. Shout-out to Joel Eisner who is the biggest Song Studying fan. This is for YOU; and any other procrastinating/cramming/tired-of-school student!

Boyz N' the Bode: And The Room 111 (Canadian) Experience

Here it is! I laughed so hard while watching this again, just 'cause it's improv and it's pretty BAD improv!! We shot this at Bodenseehof Bible School in 2007 for our Nationality Night. This gives you a little taste of the school and also of Fischbach, Germany, where it is located. Enjoy, as we have some fun with our Canadian stereotypes amongst other things... Ahhh good TIMES!

Boyz N' the Bode: A Room 111 (Canadian) Experience from MannyG on Vimeo.

Ode to Thursday Nights

Well, it's a Thursday night and Survivor club was cancelled (yes, I'm in a "club" that hangs out on Thursdays and watches the latest Survivor episode... not ashamed at all), SO I'm stuck doing nothing at home, and I'm quite bored. I can't watch the Leafs' game because they're getting pummelled by Philly, so I'll blog instead, and ramble for the first time in a LONG time!

Life Lesson: Always have a back-up plan.

Alright, I think it's time that I posted another video on Vimeo from my archives... this one was shot at Bodenseehof a few years ago for Nationality Night and it's about us Canadians and some of our stereotypes. I'll get to work on that right now. I still have that Red River Risin' vlog to edit too... Ha, I'll get to that someday too hopefully!

But before I post that Bode vid, I'll let you listen in on a rare Skype recording. It simply illustrates the struggles of delay between three geographically separated musicians, aspiring to play "Ode to Joy" together via Skype. On the trumpet was yours truly, Manuel, on the mouth organ [harmonica], from the 'Mid-North Metropolis' of Minneapolis/St. Paul, was Laura, and on the guitar was Lazy J himself, Kyle, from Sacramento, California. Enjoy...

Played Like A Fiddle

I just topped my best 'pulled-over' story, even though this was only the second time it has happened to me. UNREAL. This is what occurred:

First of all, Kanye West's new album is CRAZY. I could go on and review his unique masterpiece, but let me just say that it pumps me UP! And because of that, it sort of ties into this story...

I was leaving my friend's house Monday night after having the traditional pizza hangout that follows our time at floor hockey. I noticed that as I was turning around on the street, a car was pulling out of a drive-way behind me, but of course I thought nothing of it. Cue Kanye. "Monster" was playing and this song makes me automatically speed, I can't help it. This caused me to pull out of the side street on to the main drag pretty fast. However, I casually took my place in the middle lane with control, then stopped and waited at the following red light. I looked in my rear view mirrors and noticed how the lights directly behind me looked a lot like cop headlights; again, I didn't think much of it! I decided to be cautious and proceeded on green while obeying the speed limitations exactly. At that instant the blue and red lights flicked on and I immediately pulled over. I was very much confused because I could not think of what I had done wrong (side note: Again, I was pulled-over after floor hockey... now I will be extra cautious on Monday nights in the future)! Here is my account of the conversation that ensued:

*skipping the introductory license-and-registration small talk*

Cop (Driver): "You pulled out pretty fast from that back street, back there. Where were you coming from?"

Myself: "I was just at my friend's house, and now I'm going home."

Cop (Driver): "K, where does your friend live and where is home for you?"

Myself: "He actually lives on that side street (I gave the exact address) and I live in (I gave him my area of the city)."

Cop (Driver): "Alright, just sit here for a second." *As he walked back to the cruiser*

At this point I couldn't believe my luck and thought that it was just a random check. I was mistaken, and was about to be taken aback due to what was about to happen...

*A couple minutes later the cruiser began to move slowly and crept up beside me, getting as close as possible! I knew I was being let off the hook... but something didn't feel right.*

Cop (Passenger): "Is this house a druggie house? Were you boys doin' drugs?"

Myself: *shocked* "Uh... no we weren't, and no, it's not at all." (My face probably went blank as I felt my eyes widen with innocence. I couldn't believe he just asked me that)

Cop (Passenger): "Okay, so what were you boys doing then?"

Myself: "We just finished floor hockey over at McIvor Church and just had some pizza, hanging out in the basement."

Cop (Passenger): *sarcastically* "Oh, he uses the Church line!"

Myself: "Well, believe it or not... (I look away in bewilderment) it's true! That's what happened!" *as I convey my innocence*

Cop (Passenger): "Does your buddy have a name, or what?"

Myself: "Andrew (last name)."

Cop (Passenger): *laughing* "I know! I'm his neighbour! Gerald & Michelle come over all the time. Gerald comes hunting with me. Do you know my son Hunter? I send my kids to McIvor Church!"

Myself: *RELIEVED in DISBELIEF* "No, but I know of him." *chuckling nervously*

Cop (Passenger): "Ha, was Jade there?" (Andrew's girlfriend)

Myself: *laughing* "No she wasn't there tonight."

Cop (Passenger): "That whole time back there I was thinking of what I should say. I don't have Andrew's number, otherwise I'd call him!"

Myself: *still in shock* "Don't worry, I'll for sure tell him! You got me pretty good! Wow, that's great. I was so nervous."

Cop (Passenger): *laughing* "Alright, you get home safely and drive slow! Take care."

Myself: "Okay, take care." *as I let out a massive sigh of relief while watching them drive away*

It all suddenly made sense. I realized that the car that had pulled out of the drive-way in the beginning was in fact, the cruiser! They had followed me the whole time.

WOW... I got played like a fiddle.

TikTok... and it's not Ke$ha

Boom, this is what I was waiting for! Check it out!



... Too bad the nano doesn't come with the watch.

Ps. I can't believe I put Ke$ha in one of my blog titles.

Floridan Fun Spots

Well, I've summed up the tournament and now it's time to sum up the vacation. Florida is Florida; it's warm, sunny, and always a good time. Our first day we headed to Clearwater (on the gulf I believe), looked at the Christian College campus and then headed to the beach.

Side note: If you were watching online and noticed us doing a line dance when we scored against Philly, that dance was influenced by the campus of Clearwater Christian College. You see, apparently they have a dress code and we noticed that all of the women were wearing skirts. So every time we saw this, we said "skirt", and tried to count all of the skirts to be seen. It was probably the most skirts I've ever seen worn at one time in one location! Anyways, Andry and I made up that line dance at our regional final and then it became the "skirt" dance at nationals. We would chant "skirts" every time we moved from side to side. There's a fun fact for ya, now ya KNOW!

Okay, back to the beach... We played beach soccer for an hour and waded in the waves as well for a bit. Here's a clip I took on the beach:

We went for lunch after and I had a Doner Kebab (or gyro) for the first time in a long time! Sooo good.

At the hotel, the hot tub was the place to be and a couple of our guys actually bought some revealing Speedos to showcase as a joke. Here is Mr. Price himself displaying some skin:

Hilarious!

~~~

We took losing in penalties to Clearwater pretty hard, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the Florida atmosphere. On our day off, we decided to go shop, chill at the pool, and go eat at Applebee's as a huge Prov crew (both the women's vball team and us). After our dinner, we had a huge mini-golf competition (which did get quite heated) at one of the several massive and elaborate courses they had on the highway. The one we chose was spectacular. Elevated holes, lots of streaming water, gators, bridges, tunnel options, steep drops, etc. It had it ALL. I love mini-putt, especially when it's extreme. I got a hole-in-one on the steepest hole I've ever seen. It was almost a straight drop, about 12 ft. I immediately threw my putter in the air and gave out a Chewbacca roar. Good times.

Anyways, Saturday came and we attended the final in the evening. It was hardly a contest, let's face it. Clearwater won 2-0 and put it away early within the first 15 minutes. If only that semi-final had gone OUR WAY! BAH. Meh, here is a clip of us on the sidelines, watching the game we were inches away from being in (literally):

After the game, we had some time to kill before waking up at 4:20am the next morning to leave for home! So a few of us went across the street from the hotel and checked out the carnival, entitled Fun Spot. It basically only had two massive bungee-type attractions. The one apparatus threw a bunch of people in a spinning capsule, at least 100 feet into the air! Ridiculous... we didn't take part. We just mingled as the employees closed up shop haha.

So those were our major outgoings in and around Kissimee, FL! Our week went by as quickly as it came; what a fun trip. I can't believe our season is over already.

P.s. I'm pretty sure I saw an armadillo for the first time down there. I gave the same reaction as when I saw a wild possum in my backyard multiple years back... an exciting yelp. It curled up right when I took the picture!

Return of the Dragon / Remember the Rain

Again, before the release of Saint Kris' new mixtape, here are two more videos that portray Kris' passion for his writing in a perfect way... Kris being Kris. I'm loving the vibe and can't wait for the upcoming mixtape release! Props to Cam (Nice! Productions) and Eric (Sungnation) for filming excellent work and to all three for being awesome. Check these OUT!

Saint Kris - Return of the Dragon from Nice! Productions on Vimeo.

Saint Kris - Remember the Rain from Nice! Productions on Vimeo.

The Ups and Downs of Penalty Kicks

Well, I'm trying to get CCSN to post our semi-final game against Clearwater, but in the meantime here is our first round game against Philly!



It was such an exciting game, and probably the second most nerve-racking/crazy game that I've ever been a part of (first, being the one against Clearwater; which was the NEXT DAY)! Unreal stuff! We conceded an early goal and a penalty kick before we decided to charge back and make things interesting. With two quick goals and then a sweet third to go ahead, it looked like we had the game wrapped up. But with Philadelphia comes a certain English man named Gary Bruce, and he pounced on a deep through ball, slotting it home to tie the game! Through double overtime none of us could seem to grasp that golden, elusive goal! PK's were needed; scary times were upon us indeed! If you want to see the PK action, watch from the 2 hour 25 minute mark up above. 'Twas an amazing experience. Seeing Kaiten place home the winner gave me the CHILLS. What a good feeling, especially because we got Papa John's pizza afterwards... icing... on the... CAKE.

Ah, it looks like CCSN listened to my proposal and posted our semi-final thriller! Watch the drama of penalties again in this video. Sadly, we experienced the heart/gut wrenching feeling of a PK loss this time 'round:



This was an UNREAL game. Even though it was 0-0 at the end of double overtime, I'd say it was more exciting than our 4-3 PK victory over Philly! This was our best defensive outing of ALL season, and we almost came out on top because of it. I hate how such a spectacular game had to be decided on point-blank kicking and guessing. We were SO CLOSE to the final!

If we would have won in the semis, we would have eluded the Florida mid day heat and played all three games during the evening! Instead, we played the third place game at 12:30pm in the blistering sun and our energy was completely drained (if not from playing 110 mins in each of the previous two games)! Ridiculous. Anyways, we lost 3-0. A truly disappointing showing on our part, but that's just the way it goes sometimes! I seriously think that we would have won the whole thing if the penalties favoured us instead of Clearwater! In the final, Ohio didn't give them the challenge and scare like we did... we were SO CLOSE.

Alright, so that's my summary of our games and the tournament. I'll talk about and post some short clips of our "vacation" time from throughout the trip too! Stay tuned.

Game Time

If you don't know already, I'm down in Florida with our Prov soccer team competing for a NCCAA National Championship! We've been down here since Sunday, but the tournament starts tomorrow. It's gonna be a fun set of games. We play Philadelphia Biblical University first and apparently they're a decent match-up for us. Can't wait, I'm fired up to finally play! Here is the prediction from the sports site which covers the tournament:

"Outcome: There has been some classic PROV vs. PBU matches in the past, I expect nothing less. Is Gary Bruce (PBU) healthy? Is Prov's defense up to the task? These are the questions that enter my mind when trying to decide the outcome of this 4, 5 match. In the end, I'm going with the Wizard. Martin Ward has been here before and I expect them to thrive in a lower key role that is the #4 seed. Gary Bruce could cause them match up problems, but one man won't be enough. PROV 3-1 PBU." - CCSN

We'll see tomorrow! We're up for the task, Gary & PBU... Look OUT. Watch at ccsnonline.com to see our games with live video and commentary! Look for the tab CCSN LIVE and click Soccer National Tournament. Our first game is at 7:45pm EASTERN STANDARD TIME Wednesday evening!! CHECK IT OUT! ... that is if you're interested. No hard feelings if you don't... Maybe.

Life Lesson: "You don't say good luck, you say DON'T GIVE UP!" - The Roots

LET'S DO THIS.

Time for a Change

As you can see up above ^^, I've removed my main "Manuel the Philosopher" picture. It's time for something new. That time is coming soon, probably once I'm done with Prov soccer and most of my major school assignments. SO... my blog will remain picture-less and *cough* plain *cough* (yet neat) until then!!

I'm going to revamp this sucka and embrace a whole new look.

Life Lesson: Change may or may not be good; it depends on how you embrace it.

Yeaaaaah that sounds cliche, but I thought it sounded pretty profound as I just came up with it 5 seconds ago!

PEACE

Extra Ordinary with Saint Kris and Crew

I know I'm (at least) the 5th person to post this... but I'm gonna put it UP because I blog about what I love, and this is something special that I'd love to share. Kris (as rap/hip-hop artist, Saint Kris), Cam (as Nice! Productions) and Eric (as Sungnation) are collaborating, creating music videos for Saint Kris' new mixtape, Extra Ordinary. I'm so proud to know these guys. The three of them together equal creativity at its best. Check this preview OUT! More to come, can't wait.

Saint Kris - Cool Ya Off from Nice! Productions on Vimeo.

Extra Ordinary is the title of Saint Kris’ 2nd mixtape, which is to be released in December of 2010. Saint Kris has teamed with Sungnation and Nice! Productions in hopes of displaying his true essence from both an audible and visual standpoint.

A series of music videos will be released that will display the genuine nature of Saint Kris as the production team moves from the Music Video format to a firsthand behind the scenes look at the Extra Ordinary Kris.

Sungnation and Nice! Productions accomplish this concept by breaking the illusion of film, by filming the filmer. This approach was used to communicate that Saint Kris understands who he is (a regular guy), and is not afraid to accept it.

http://sincedayoneentertainment.bandcamp.com/track/cool-ya-off

Florida Bound

I'm heading to Florida with Providence Soccer in a WEEK! Getting another shot at a NCCAA National Championship and I can't wait! We beat Faith Baptist Bible College 8-1 yesterday in our Regional Final, and totally came out wanting to win BIG. Two goals in the first four minutes helped a lot with this score. I almost scored, which would have resulted in the Stationary Speedskater... but it wasn't meant to be.

I'm actually listening to the live seeding show right now and we acquired the fourth seed for the tournament. Our first game is going to be against Philadelphia Bible College (#5). If we win that game we'll probably play Clearwater Christian College (#1), who won last year, so that'll be tough (but anybody can beat ANYBODY, right?!). Apparently we're going to be seen as the dark horse this year and that's perfect. Last year we went in as the first seed and I'm not a fan of being considered the favourite. It's better to be the underdog; less expectation and less pressure. People seem to be curious as to who's really injured on our team and how good we actually are also... excellent. If we're a mystery, we possess the advantage of being unknown and may be feared because of that. I'm excited for this tournament.
There will be live radio commentary streaming on our games at ccsnonline.com! I'll mention this again soon.

I just want to get to the final... no matter what it takes. It's a win-win situation though; if we get to and win our semi-final, we have a chance for our first NCCAA National title ever. And if we lose in that semi-final it means we get a pick-me-up mini vacation to Disney World... so those are two pretty decent outcomes!

Anyways, I just want to head down there now and get away from this chilly Winnipeg weather. This week better go by fast.

p.s. I don't really care for Halloween at all.

A Month's Worth of Weddings

Well, I didn't pull off the perfect wedding month but 3 in 3 straight weekends is preeeetty close! Time for a quick, few sentence summary of each... but first:

Life Lesson: If in doubt, collaborate when it comes to wedding gifts... especially if you're not family.

One thing I've learned, is that you feel way less pressure and more secure with a group rather than going solo in giving a wedding gift. Who wouldn't want to receive a gift from a bunch of friends, that shows love and appreciation with compiled thoughts and efforts! I'm not bashing individual gift giving... there's just power with numbers, you know?!

Alright, here's the summary... First wedding: Jesse Lofthouse & Jennifer Parker!

You already know it's going to be fun when you recognize and know over half of the people that are going to be there. And it was. This was the only wedding I went to this month that had a dance... and it was a blast. Actually my last one did too but I had to leave before it sadly. At times it felt like a rave due to the compactness on the floor. Fun times.

Second wedding: Owen Woodyard & Lorraine Fast!

This was my out of town wedding as I headed out west to Blaine, Washington. Small wedding, but included a significant amount of Bodenseehofers! So it doubled as a Bible School reunion. It was nice to see these people who I haven't seen in a few years and interact with them as if the absence never happened. Fun times. When Owen and Lorraine left after the ceremony and reception, they had people blowing bubbles in a gauntlet line outside as they rushed through. It was very creative. Here's a piece of that event:

Third wedding: Stephen Koop & Aymee Rahn!

This was another half Bodenseehof wedding (as in only the bride was at the Bode) but there was only a few of us from the Bible School who were able to make it. I didn't know many people at this wedding, but it was fun nonetheless. The cakes at the reception were UNREAL! I didn't get around to the Oreo cheesecake though, which I am deeply disappointed about.

Fun fact of the reception hall: I was fascinated by the bathroom technology; finally they are making the doors motion sensored! You wave your hand over the sensor on the wall and open sesame. Brilliant and about time!

Also, here is a priceless clip I captured of some children warming up on the dance floor:

My next potential wedding won't be till February.
Can't wait.

P.s. I'm going to miss wedding food.

A West Coast Surprise

BOOM, mission accomplished! I've finally surprised someone to the point of utter, speechless shock! Lindsey was STUNNED, and when I walked into that Boston Pizza it looked like she had seen a ghost (in a good way... if you can think of such a look haha). Amazing!

So it was on September 20th that I fully decided to attend a wedding and surprise my girlfriend in the same weekend. I can't believe I kept this a secret (with the exception of telling Josh, my cousin, the bride-to-be, and my soccer team) for a whole MONTH. Usually I crack under the suspense and start to laugh when I'm confronted... but this time was different. I conspired with Josh on how to surprise Lindsey a couple days before I flew out. We had a couple good ideas; one included me putting my phone in a box, starting a video of myself putting it in the box, and having her open it to a note that said "keep it rolling." I thought that would have been epic! But... my plane ended up being delayed and therefore we were delayed in getting to Boston Pizza in time to carry out an epic surprise. Josh had told Lindsey and Kaitlyn to meet him there because his parents had given him an almost expired gift card. Brilliant! I waited (as you can see in the video) for Josh to go in first and then I casually walked in and up to their table a few minutes after. We did end up paying for the pizza because they technically were offered a free dinner. Anyways, we went back to the girl's apartment and played Settlers. Fun times, just like in the summer. The next day I hung out at Trinity and White Rock with Lindsey before heading down to Bellingham, WA with my cousin for the Bode wedding/reunion.

At the wedding I surprised some people too. I actually was surprised myself at the amount of classmates that showed up! It was nice to see half of the first term 10-room present, and overall there was approximately 13 of us Bodenseehofers altogether. Congratulations to the newly weds, Owen and Lorraine!

I headed back up to Langley later in the night and actually caught the tail end of a Holsby reunion! And when I got there I heard of another engagement... unreal! Congrats Priebe and Stine! I can't believe it's that time in my life already where a lot of friends are getting hitched. This month I've had 2 weddings already and have one more this weekend. That's 3 in 3 straight weekends! Ridiculously tiring yet super fun (blog to come). My pockets are dented and hurtin', but I'm loving being Wedding Manny.

I'm also exhausted... I don't recommend traveling all weekend, playing the full 90 minutes in a soccer game right after getting off a plane, writing two papers, and studying for/having two exams in one week.

PEACE... I need some.

Surprise! (Prologue)

Well!!! I was out on the west coast this weekend! I didn't advertise it because I went out and surprised a special someone. I've never really done anything like this before, so it was awesome that it worked out!! I was also at a Bodenseehof wedding down in Washington, but I'll talk more about this weekend later! I'm boarding a plane to go home now...

Ciao for now.

Ps I gotta blog more often... Busy time though.

The Stationary Speedskater

Well, I'm in Moberly, Missouri... Yeaaah, there's not much else to say about that.

Jokes!

I am here for Prov soccer and we play Central Christian College of the Bible (odd name if you ask me) tomorrow, and Saturday we play Atlanta Christian College. If you're still wondering, we play in the NCCAA Div. II in the States. Fun times. If we win our region, we get to go to nationals in Florida. Yeyeah! Last year was so much fun. Though this trip isn't our regional final game we just want to play some other teams from different regions. It's not the best though when you have to drive 16 hours straight to get there! Especially on a 21-seater handi-bus (that's where a work-out mat for sleeping on the floor comes in).

Anyways, I should really be getting to bed rather than straining my thumbs on this touch keyboard. As John Legend and The Roots would say, "You don't say good luck, you say don't give up!"

Can't wait to show these Americans how it's DONE! If I somehow score this weekend (we've been practicing surprise/sneaky free kicks), my celebration will include the stationary speedskater. You have to see it to believe it.

CIAO... for now.

For Your Wildlife

Here's another impersonation of Josh (Extreme Wildlife Adventure Guide) I did while waiting for the trucks... Check it!

Untitled from Joshua on Vimeo.

PEACE, I'm off to Missouri for soccer. See ya next week!

"I'm Josh D, and I'm Gone... Peace."

This is one of the things I did while waiting for the trucks at the end of our canoe trip! Thanks Josh for catching on to my hint and posting this bad boy! Enjoy...

Manny as Josh from Joshua on Vimeo.

Just in case you missed it in the video...

Life Lesson: Disguise yourself as a friend; that way no one knows who the heck you are, and you've got an own costume of yours.

Lake Hillock and Haps

Alright, now for the canoe trip that I was on. I know this was just under a month ago, but it was such a good get-away-from-it-all vacation. Three words: So much fun. It's great to get out into the outdoors with a great crew of people who enjoy camping and enjoy each other's company! I used the word outdoors to describe our surroundings because I don't like using the word wilderness. It's not as wild as the word implies. You get out there and realize how peaceful, quiet, and tame everything is. Though it could be unpredictable and therefore not in your control, if that is your definition of "wild". But the whole time of our trip was calming and relaxing! Anyways, let's move along! We canoed a cycle of lakes and started with Lake Hillock which is a bit east of Kenora. Beautiful area!

It took me a couple hours to figure out the J stroke again, but I got it somewhat down and was cruising in no time (straight, that is). Most of our time spent was camping which was awesome, we played games, ate, relaxed, told stories, went cliff jumping, and swam. Bob brought a hammock which he said was a two person one, but Josh and I tried it and it wasn't that comfortable! He has it on video, maybe he'll read this and post it. We also quoted Brule's Rules ALL weekend, good times. Side note: I pronounce hammock, ham-mick; while everyone else that was on the trip says ham-mock. I just think it doesn't sound fluid when you say ham-mock, even though it's spelled that way! Maybe it's my Ontario accent creeping in again...

On the way back I looked after the gear as the rest of the crew hiked back to get the trucks. I made a new friend in those two hours. I called him Mortimer (I just love that name):

Life Lesson: Always be aware of where your toes are in regards to the location of a snapping turtle.

Yes, this ol' snapping turtle was brave enough to come out of the lake and chill with me. I believe he just wanted to bite my toes, but nonetheless this big guy was the best turtle ever! I lured him out by dangling my toes in the water and by tossing trail mix in front of him. He was about a foot away and almost pounced!! I would make a sudden movement and he'd retreat slightly but then always returned. I took these pictures with Kristin's camera, here are a bunch of others that she took from the trip! Enjoy!

Here are the two videos I promised. I KNOW I say wilderness in the first one here, so after my little spiel up top about how it doesn't necessarily hold true to what it describes, don't think I'm a hypocrite! It's the default English word for such a location! Step off... The road we were on was a wild ride though! Josh took a bunch of vloggish type vids on the trip too, hopefully he can compile them or somethin' and post them soon!

p.s. On the way back we stopped for dinner at a place called Haps. Great food, but the one thing I remember most was that on the back of the menu it advertized Naughty Bingo, Thursday nights. As the bingo fans we are, we were intrigued... not as good as it sounds. We'll stick with regular bingo.

Arcade Fire (SPECTACULAR Show)

Okay, I walked away from the Arcade Fire concert last night awestruck. Their sound is unbelievably energetic and full... so full, but in such a good, good way. This concert was definitely one of the BEST concerts that I have ever been to, and I've been to a lot of GOOD concerts! I was on the floor, four rows of people from the stage and it was a BLAST! I loved every minute of their 100 minute set. I could go on with more comments of praise, but I'd rather show you bits and pieces of my experience. Here ya go:

p.s. Colexico's (the opening band) Spanish sound and trumpets (as seen above) were AMAZING!

Arcade Fire (Pre-Show)

Tonight I am going to see the one and only ARCADE FIRE! I am not an avid listener, but I am a big fan because I know they are extremely talented and they're music is very unique. I just acquired their new album The Suburbs (thanks Cam) and it is fantastic. I cannot wait for tonight, it's gonna be GOOD!

You have to check out this truly stunning video:



Click here for more intimate music video magic from La Blogotheque on Vimeo; or takeawayshows.com!!

SonyEricsson - Product Testing Insitute

THESE ARE HILARIOUS! Thank you Davide for leading me to these videos! I laughed so hard and am currently laughing right now. Wow, these are priceless:













LOVE IT!

The iPhone 4...

This changes everything. Again. Apparently.

Well, I think it's time that I review my new phone, from my new phone! I'm having trouble trying to figure out how to post this normally, but I've figured that this thing can't fully function as my computer... just yet! I can't seem to post video or photos from the phone on to this post, but whatever, I may decide to put some visuals up after this whole write UP.

Alright, first I'll cover some of the "issues" that have been swirling around every social circle since this phone's release, the one problem I had with the software, and one thing Apple should just drop. So here we go:
1) The infamous signal drop. If you hold it like a "regular" mobile device it'll drop your call. I'm sorry, but I don't bury my phone in the palm of my hand like I'm ready to toss a grenade! I never had any problems with the signal dropping in the whole month that I had my phone without a case. But I'm grateful for the "issue", because I got a free case out of it and now my phone has some protection (even though it doesn't look as sexy now)! I'm Mennonite, I love free stuff.
2) I for sure knew that I had picture/video messaging with my student plan, but every picture I sent (even though it said it did) never got to the recipient! This isn't an essential feature, but it is fun to use sometimes and I AM paying for it. I finally called tech support and apparently I never had an account on the server. It's suppose to make one for me after I send my first pic/vid, but that never happened. Anyways, the guy on the other end who had a severe cold got it working for me and that was that! Good job Rogers.
3) I can't run Adobe Flash videos or other Adobe based widgets on the iPhone. Check that; NO ONE CAN! This is because Apple has some block on Adobe, presumably due to having their own multimedia platform of QuickTime. Pretty stupid, but I can live without.

Now for the pros! I won't go into too much detail because there's so much you can do (and also because I can't type as fast on this iPhone keyboard)!! But now I will share what I've enjoyed the most about this phone thus far. Here we GO:
>1) Hmmm what should I start with? Well, the main new thing for Apple's new baby is that it features FaceTime. Another camera, this time planted on the face of the phone!! NO WAY! ... I love to hype things up. It is pretty neat, though it does only really work with a WiFi connection. Apparently it is a free call when you do use it though, so long distance charges do not apply. Thanks Monica for that pleasant piece of info! Nice rice. The only downside is that I can't use it while on Skype.
2) The 5 mega pixel camera! You might say, "That's not that impressive for a camera," but we're talking about a PHONE here! It's pretty spectacular; the quality of shots that I'm able to take is quite decent. You can zoom and focus with the tap of your finger; oh, and the flash from the built in LED light is unbelievably bright. It also shoots pretty decent HD video as well. I don't have iMovie right now though, so I won't be collaborating much footage at this time; but once I do... look OUT! Also, the FaceTime camera is also available for pictures and video, though it doesn't have the same quality.
3) Typing. I'm considering this a pro due to the sole fact that it is indeed super intelligent. I don't need to be precise and it knows what I want to type! It's super forgiving and is super convenient.
4) Copy and Paste! It's as simple as that. So convenient, I love it.
5) Multitasking. Wow, this is one of the best new features of the new software. Double clicking the home button brings up your recently visited apps! This means you will never forget what you were just doing when some notification visual/sound distracts you, resulting in you following suit in checking it out! Also, if you slide left initially on the home multitask bar, the iPod button and controls come up as well as a lock screen button. It's insanely useful.
6) My music. I needed a new iPod/music player (to be fair) anyways, and the iPhone gives me that and more. It's amazing how I can make any playlist I want on my phone too. Oh, and Genius playlists are actually genius.
7) Pseudo hands free calling in my car. Let me explain... Because I hook up my phone to my tape adapter via the headphones jack, I am able to hear voicecalls through my car's speaker system!! The iPhone mic has a pretty strong pick-up, so I am able to hold my phone out of sight while talking into it! Brilliant. Why didn't you think of that?! Voice control is the key factor and helps a lot with calling and changing music.
8) Scratch proof screen. Wonderful, especially for a clean/take care of things freak like me! Not to mention it's the highest-resolution screen ever for a phone.

Honourable mentions include: Organization with folders, home screen web clip bookmarking, online image saving, various sharing options, social networking, sports news, and the ability to play Settlers of Catan... ON MY PHONE! Yes, there's an app for that.

There are many more things that I'm missing, but I'll just conclude and summarize by saying that this phone is UNREAL! Yes, I am addicted and I may need help.

Decent.

A TOON Town Wedding (part two)

After three and a half weeks of high anticipation!! ...I'm just kidding. It did take me a while to mash this up, but now it's DONE! When you notice that the video is 11:22 mins long, don't let that frighten you. Make some popcorn and get comfortable, maybe grab some company and enjoy! Without further adieu...

A TOON Town Wedding (part two) from MannyG on Vimeo.

Music:

Taio Cruz - Dynamite

The Middle East - Blood

Usher - OMG

Some New Mewzik

What if music was spelled that way? Just a thought. It's weird/fascinating when you over think certain words.

Over the summer I have acquired a ridiculous amount of new music, ranging from chill folk to electronic pop to jazzy rap to how-do-you-describe-that?! Band of Horses' Infinite Arms, Dan Black's UN, and Vampire Weekend's Contra & Vampire Weekend, have been at the forefront recently. A strange mix, I know, but I love having a wide spread taste of music (except for country, though I know Band of Horses borders that line in some songs)!

I made it my mission last night to learn "Evening Kitchen" by Band of Horses on guitar. I love the harmonies and relaxing measures of this tune; genius:

Band Of Horses - Evening Kitchen by musicmule

I actually don't have any of this next group's albums, but I've loved their sound ever since I heard a song on a certain video game... *cough* FIFA *cough*! Röyksopp is a Norwegian band who has the definition of "chill" down to a tee. Especially in their up and coming album Senior, which is all instrumental! I love it, check it out below:



And if all that wasn't enough, check out this little mixtape that my boy Torq Campbell (from Stars) whipped up:

audio player

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Hey Summer, Where'd Ya Go?!

Where has this summer gone to? MAN! It is now time for another school year to consume me. Ah yes, I'm kind of glad it has finally come though! I find that I have more time throughout the school year than I do in the summer to just hang out and relax. I don't know why I always think it's the other way around. Maybe it's the weather.

Anyhow, my fall is actually going to be full of soccer trips, practices, and weekend games. We have finished Prov soccer training camp and I'm excited to be in good form, but the fatigue from this change of routine has now caught up with me! Today we ran our 5km run; my time was 19mins 04 secs which is not bad for having no preparation and is a much better time than my first run last year. We also ran multiple distance sprints which included 8 sets of 20 yards, 6 of 40, 4 of 60, and 2 of 80. Yep, my legs are exhausted. It'll feel good though when I'm not sucking wind in a game! And our first game is this Friday at 3pm against NCCAA division rival: North Central University from Minneapolis. Can't wait. Come out to Prov if you can!

Oh, and my family is back from CHINA! Their Monday lasted 37 hours! Talk about exhaustion. I'm pumped to have them back, our house has been empty for the last three weeks. My brother was famous out there, everyone wanted their picture with him and asked for his autograph when my family visited a Beijing high school and the Great Wall! I guess being tall, blond, and blue eyed automatically makes you a rarity in those parts. Welcome home, Hollywood.

~~~

Here's a life lesson from Ol' Uncle Ray that I never released...

Life Lesson: Sometimes it's not the years... it's the mileage.

I'm not sure if this applies to anything I've just said, but I'm definitely feeling the meaning of these words right now.

p.s. My school schedule is lookin' decent. No morning classes! Maybe I'll designate most of that time as blogging time... to get long overdue projects DONE.

Ciao for now!

Conaw

First of all, I am back from my weekend long canoe trip, alive and well! It was a blast; hopefully I'll tell you more about it on here soon. I took a couple vids of our rock obstacle voyage getting to the launch point and put them up on my Twitter. So if you don't read or care about my tweets, you're missin' out on really, really interesting stuff (they are to me at least...)! Okay, if you don't want the hassle of leaving my blog, I'll just post the vids later when I talk more about the canoe trip, alright?! Geezaloo (as Glen would say)!

Secondly, BIG NEWS! I am officially registered at Prov for one more term! Muahahaha, I cannot wait to play soccer again with the boys! Gonna be GOOD. Also, we're gonna be lookin' sleek this season because of these two words: New Kits! Yep, I told you we're gonna look good; you didn't believe me, but now you know (Brule's Rules... best compilation video EVER)! Anyways, training camp is this weekend and I sure hope I can keep up with the lads who have been training all summer... Meh, I'll get into tip top shape sooner or later!

Thirdly and finally (getting to the title of this post...), Conan O'Brien has announced the name of his new show! It's going to air on TBS (which I don't think anyone has anymore... but whatevs, I'll watch it online) November 8th and I can't wait! I love this tweet of his: "I announced the name of my show today right here: http://bit.ly/cc3jhU (Spoiler alert: The words "Tonight" and "Show" aren't in it.)" Here is the announcement:



p.s. I'm editing part 2 of A Toon Town Wedding... hopefully I can get it up tomorrow before I head out to Prov for training camp!

End of August = PACKED

Man, this last week has been hectic and the next week will be more of the same! Ever since last Thursday... My parents and brother left for CHINA, I experienced Stonewall's pride and joy: Quarry Days, I have had two weddings (Saturday and Sunday; first was Jon and Jenna, then there was Johnny and Jen the next day... weird) and a three day trip visiting my boy Thom in Minneapolis. Now a weekend of canoeing lies ahead of a few others and I (which I should be packing for right now). Followed by a night at a friend's cabin and then finally soccer training camp on the long weekend! Not to mention SCHOOL. *Gasp* I'm tired just thinking about all this.

Oh and if you're wondering, I am 95% sure that I am returning to Prov this fall to play soccer! I'm just waiting on UofM to finish processing my letter of permission. Bah, I hate thinking about working out school stuff. It's always last minute with me too... that's just the way it is.

Anyways, so that's what my end of summer is lookin' like!

p.s. The iPhone camera ain't too shabby!

Off to CHINA

p.p.s. Exclusive footage of Josh's sister's wedding... The dance was rockin' on the first song!

A TOON Town Wedding

OKAY! I've gotten to my June's wedding vlog that I promised a ways back! Congratulations to Solveig, the newly wed! I hope the last couple months of marriage have been treatin' you amazingly. The wedding was in her home city of Saskatoon and I was very lucky to attend the special day. It was a last minute decision and thanks to my boy DMS, I was able to join the festivities and document parts of it!

Hmm, I seem to like to wait a couple months before posting vlogs... The way I see it, you cherish the memories more! Thus, making the footage automatically loved before you even see the video. The power of reminiscence!!! It may be a false theory, but HECK, it was worth a shot. Anyways, I hope you like what you see! Warning: If dancing offends you... look away.

A TOON Town Wedding from MannyG on Vimeo.

Music:

The Roots - The Fire (Feat. John Legend)
Library Voices - Balloon Menagerie

p.s. It's funny that I posted this at this time because last night I was at another friend's wedding... Congrats to Jon and Jenna Patterson on tying the knot today! Fun wedding bro! God bless in the spouse life!

CHEERS!

Lazy J

Alright, so it was exactly a year ago when I went down to the suburbs of Sacramento and Santa Cruz! I visited some friends that I attended Bodenseehof Bible School in Germany with! They actually happen to have their own rap group and go by the name of Modern Prophets (yes, I am wearing their shirt in my Bieber impersonation music video). It has come to my attention that one of them, my boy Kyle J., has brought it upon himself to launch his solo rapping career via facebook, Vimeo, and (just recently) a website of his own. Lazy J is his name and making music is his game; his will to consistently do so amazes me. The mix of humour and musical talent is UNREAL and just simply entertaining!

I've really wanted to collaborate ever since we met in Germany, and a couple New Year's Eves ago it finally happened. The song and music video "Twin Cities" was born. Kyle, Brittany (from Bodenseehof), and I wrote it just for kicks... in TWO days! If able, you should check it out on my facebook videos, it's hilarious.
But fast forwarding to that summer, while I was down in Cali visiting the Modern Prophets, I had the chance to feature in some of their unfinished material! Sadly, I don't believe the material was ever mastered because every time I ask about it, I never get a response... So those tunes are either lost, deleted, or just haven't been touched since; which is a real downer (hopefully these words will get the process in motion)! I'm actually thinking of heading down there for this New Year's, so maybe I'll convince and persuade to have my tracks played... then.

Life Lesson: If at first you don't succeed... try, try again.

Check out Kyle's new website right HERE for sweet vids and new tunes! Or go to facebook and look up Lazy J!

Try a sip for your liking:

Number 2 from Kyle Johnston on Vimeo.

There are so many songs about people's #1. What about #2? She needs a song too.

Above: Lazy J, Johnny B, B Wil, and C.T. (Canadian Thunder)

Good times.

Sports Camps Randomness

... a.k.a. Sung Knows feat. Life Lessons!!!!

So if you don't check up on Sung KNOWS, here's a little slice of what Prov sports camps kinda looked like this summer (behind the scenes)! Enjoy their newest episode and catch some glimpses of moi (I feel so special when I make the cut).

So cherish this like a newborn, 'cause this combination only comes 'round every 9 months! Maybe I tried too hard with that saying... Meh, ENJOY!

Sung Knows: Sports Camp Randomness from Nice Productions on Vimeo.

p.s. I'm heading down to Minneapolis for a bachelor party road trip tomorrow night!! I'm PUMPED, it's gonna be UNREAL!

p.p.s. I got an iPhone 4... BOOM chucka lucka BABY!

The Last Time, I Promise! But First...

So this is the last time I'll talk about Stars' new album, but first I'll let you know about my cousin's band's new album! Cause & Effect just released their 2nd EP, and it's preeetty solid, just sayin'. Here is a music vid the did for their song "Shindig" (my cuz is the handsome dude with the bandana around his neck)! Look 'em up on iTunes or click on their name in the last sentence for their MySPACE; Do it.



Okay, so I found this little treat online and if you care about Stars' new album The Five Ghosts (which I know most of my readers DO) check out this live performance video! When I saw them live it was INSANE and this is a little piece of what I experienced... cherish this:

Stars - Fixed from david moffly on Vimeo.

MannyG as Justin B, "Baby"!

Hmm, I think this little music vid of ours deserves it's own entry... that's all. If you haven't seen it yet, ENJOY, LAUGH, and DON'T JUDGE, it was for the kids at camp! This was a part of my job...

Justin Bieber - Baby (Prov Edition) from Nice Productions on Vimeo.

West SIDE! a.k.a. The Snazzle Swans

WOAH! Three weeks down and none left... it's sad being done, but amazing memories have been had!

If I had my way, my team's name for the third week in a row would have included alliteration with the letter S. Snazzle Swans would have been EPIC... but nope, they didn't buy it. Instead they had to go with the less original: West Side (Warriors)... meh. Here is a list of my team names:
1st week: The Super Sonic Snipplets (still my fave).
2nd week: Smack Squad
3rd week: West SIDE (Warriors) a.k.a. The Snazzle Swans (I still held on to the name secretly).

Good memory from the week: Playing capture the flag and teaming up with my roommate and fellow coach Paul. We went Special Ops on the kids and stealthy laid flat in the field unnoticed, creeping in the trees, sneaking up/chasing, and scaring the living daylights out of them! GOOD TIMES! Another pretty sweet memory: My setter last week actually RAPS! We got whooped in our first set of the playoffs and so I had him rap to pump the team up for the second set. It worked! We went on a 16-2 run to start! UNREAL!

I just want to thank my fellow staff of Scott, Patti, Sung Knows, and the other really cool peeps for a great three weeks! It was truly an awesome experience playing volleyball once again and praising God throughout the entire time! Until next year... maybe! I never know what I'm doin'.

Smack Squad

Two down, ONE to GO!

Yikes, camp is going by so fast. One more week left!

My team's name was Smack Squad this last week... what's with all the S's in my names so far? We'll see what name my team comes up with this week. Oh and I also couldn't repeat a championship! BAH! I need to win on the grades 11-12 side, it's the big win that I need!

My Justin Biebs impersonation music video is NOW UP! Don't judge me, it was for the kids. It was a lot of fun too, making this thing with Eric (Ludacris) and Cam. Enjoy Nice Productions' (a.k.a Cam) official "Baby" music video!

Justin Bieber - Baby (Prov Edition) from Nice Productions on Vimeo.

Manny G as the perfect Justin Bieber.

Off to Prov again! PEACE!

Steve & Paul's One Hour Special

Well, I don't know if you heard about it, but a couple weeks ago there was a certain NBA SUPER STAR who announced which team he chose to sign with for the next season... Yes, LeBron James had an internationally televised, one hour special interview titled The Decision just for himself so that he could say one sentence. It took ONE HOUR to say ONE THING! Here is Steve Carell and Paul Rudd's spoof on the pointless special during the ESPY's, SO FUNNY! Can't wait to see their new movie: Dinner for Schmucks!

Super Sonic SNIPPLETS

One week down, two to GO!

WOW, one week of Providence Volleyball Camp is OVER! Weird... during the week it seemed like it was going by very slowly, but in an awesome way. There are two more weeks now and I'm just getting more excited! This last week we had the most campers ever in 99; they were all so cooperative, and that made the week a BLAST of a time.

For those of you who are still confused at why I'm at a volleyball camp and say: "You're a soccer BOY, MANNY!" I'll have you know that I'm a stellar v-ball coach (I do also enjoy playing volleyball)! My team: The Super Sonic SNIPPLETS, won the Volleyfest Championship this week! Thanks to them, I won it for the first time out of the 5 total weeks I've been a coach; and I was in the final for 3 of those, NBD. It was amazing to see my team grow together as one unit, as well as seeing each player grow with their individual skills.

Other highlights of the week include:

- Calling for my team in front of the whole camp and seeing them get embarrassed because of our name. I'd yell: "SNIPPLETS?"
What is a Snipplet anyways? Since you're probably wondering that as you read this, I'll tell you how we came to get that name... It was our first meal as a team and we had to make up our team name. Three of my teammates mentioned that we should be called the Snippers. I didn't hear them and thought that they had said the Snipplets. Super Sonic was added later and BAM, the best name in Prov Sports Camps history was created!

- Dressing up as Special Ops with Paul Warkentin and hiding in the trees and bushes on campus, scaring the campers, and chasing them in Capture the Flag!

- Sharing my testimony and some words of wisdom during chapel and also playing the jembe in the worship team!

- Dressing up like a mime on Parisian Night and playing a contestant in Prov's own Bachelorette game!

- And just dominating the campers in the Staff vs. Campers All-Star game!

There are probably a bunch more I could think of but I'll leave it with these major ones. Good times. Hopefully the next two weeks go just as well!

Here is a video that the Sung Knows crew put together of some of the camp rules, I'll post the other two (that I'm in) once Cam decides the right time to post them. It'll probs be after camps. I hope you enjoy RAP:

Leave Your Mark (Prov Rules Rap) from Nice Productions on Vimeo.

Back to Basics

WELL, as you can see I have gone back to my inaugural main blog picture! Yes, deal with it! I will eventually revamp my whole blog look, but until then, enjoy a blast from the PAST!

It's that time of year again when I head to Providence College to coach at their renowned Sports CAMPS! It's gonna be GOOD! Last year was amazing and I can't wait for these next three weeks, it's gonna be UNREAL! So ciao, I'm not sure how much time I'll have to blog, but we'll see, you know? As a good friend named Glen once said...

Life Lesson: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder!"

PEACE

World Cup Reflections: Deflated Dutch in the Neverlands

...

Yeaaaaaah... I'm pretty much speechless. Obviously I'm devastated right now! I poured all of my emotions into that game! I could rant and rant about it but you've probably heard SO much analysis already. So I will not BORE you on what I think, except for this:

ROBBEN SHOULD HAVE SCORED ON HIS FIRST BREAKAWAY, AND PUYOL SHOULD HAVE BEEN SENT OFF ON ROBBEN'S SECOND ONE! CASILLAS HAD THE LUCKIEST SAVE OF HIS LIFE, AND I WISH THAT ROBBEN KICKED THE BALL WITH AN INCREASED HEIGHT OF TWO INCHES.

There... I said it. That feels better! Spain got lucky yesterday, even though they are the best in the world at possessing the ball. The Dutch had to play physical in order to get the ball and mess up Spain's flow! Did you see de Jong's flying kick to Alonso's chest???! As if he didn't get sent off! Bah, okay, I just said that I wasn't going to analyze the game... I failed. I guess both sides had many opportunities which they should have capitilzed on, and Spain did when it counted! Though, what if van der Vaart didn't fall down on the initial played in ball??? What if...

Anyways, I went to 4Play Sports Bar downtown for the game and it was PACKED! So much fun (until Spain scored)! There were about 8 of us who were decked out in Dutch colours and kits; we were cheering as hard as we could. Probably the loudest in the massive place (at least the most passionate). We defs got people riled up! Good times.

This tournament was quite entertaining overall. I haven't had a favourite team in a championship final EVER in my life time, so just the experience was incredible! Can't wait for Brasil in 2014, hopefully the Dutch can pull it off there or at least within the decade; it'll happen, just hopefully in my life time! I hate waiting the whole 4 years. At least there's the Euro Cup in 2 years!

Alright, back to regular programming for Manuel's Life Lessons!

p.s. Is there any point in watching t.v. for the rest of the summer? Probs not.

World Cup Reflections: Dutch Delight!

Netherlands have made the WORLD CUP FINAL! Oh boy, I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. What a game yesterday! I still haven't gotten over Giovanni van Bronckhorst's unbelievable goal! It sailed in from 30 yards!!!!!

Germany and Spain finished today... I can't believe Germany went against what was going for them the whole tournament! The sat back and let those Spaniards control the game with possession. At least there will be a new champion! Hopefully Robben runs circles around the Spanish, especially that Puyol with his annoying curly, dangling, mopey, moppy, floppy hair!

Spain has never reached a World Cup final, and the Dutch have been there twice. I hope the experience of being there propels Holland to a decisive victory!

Get ready for July 11th, Spain vs. Netherlands is gonna be a GOOD GAME!
Contact me if you want to experience the game with a Dutchie!

p.s. Sung Knows crew and I shot some Prov Sports Camps vids yesterday... "HILARIOUS" was a text I got from Cam, so get ready for some funny footage. I'm pumped!