MLS in Casa Grande?!

I attended a MLS exhibition game down in Arizona last month and I've finally edited this vlog to go along with it.

After my friends' wedding I had a whole day to kill down there until my flight home and luckily Caitlin mentioned that this game was happenin' down in Casa Grande! I was ecstatic and agreed right away. This FREE game featured one of the new expansion teams in the Portland Timbers versus a league vet in the Kansas City Sporting. Since I went with an Oregon citizen (Caitlin), I opted to cheer for the Timbers. Although they DID just lose to my Toronto FC yesterday... what UP! Sorry Caitlin, but aside from that, thanks for gettin' me to finish this and also lettin' me come with you to the game!

Here is an account of our time there, enjoy:
(Boom, my first vlog with my iPhone, hopefully it turns out alright for ya).

MLS in Casa Grande?! from MannyG on Vimeo.

p.s. Now back to the second half of Kentucky vs. UNC!! This tournament has been UNREAL! Gotta love the Madness of March.

The Life Lesson List

I made a list that contains all of my Life Lessons thus far. Plain and simple.
Go check it out, the tab's just up above.

I love reminiscing.

Let's All March Back into the Sea: Post Listen

Last time I talked about this album I urged you to go to the CD release party. I was hypin' it up then and now I'm double hypin' it UP because I've finally listened to it in its entirety a few times. Every song on the album has its own story, and compiled it equals a raw, vintage novel (I appreciate these kinds of albums more because they have a collective meaning and more substance perhaps). From an organ solo, to a glass pounding pub choral, to a piano led, ballad ending, it covers almost everything! Creative to the nines (if I can get away with such a saying). Keep it coming, boys.
Get the album on iTunes!

Check out their intimate live performance for Southern Souls:

THE LIPTONIANS - Hey! Hey! Help Is Its Way! / Perfect Swimmers from Mitch Fillion (southernsouls.ca) on Vimeo.

p.s. I've made it an essential goal to attend as many musical festivals as I can in the foreseeable future. SXSW is definitely one of them for next year. The music is endless... not to mention the party.

Love Him or Hate Him

"Love him or hate him, he is a huge part of Survivor history." - Jeff Probst
(host and executive producer of Survivor)

True that! It was a massive shock to see Russell Hantz voted off and eventually beaten on Redemption Island throughout the last two episodes. Once he was voted off I knew that's where I thought he would dominate. Using his one-on-one, manipulative skill to become King of the island; coming back to inevitably haunt those that excommunicated him. Russell shook up the game (especially in his first two appearances), giving it an edge that it has never had. Now that he's gone, it won't be the same. It didn't help that the other players knew how he played the game (i.e. lying, stealing, back-stabbing, or basically anything villainous you can think of), so he was targeted right from the get go... it's the only fault of the season. On the other hand, Boston Rob seems to have his tribe under his thumb! We'll see if he can keep up his entertaining antics to make up for Russell's absence... but then again, there is this quirky "formal federal agent" named Phillip that can cause a ruckus as well. I have a feeling that the best is yet to come!

Yes, I have become a Survivor nerd and have been hooked the last few seasons. It just captivates me, seeing these "somewhat regular people" stretched to their limits physically, mentally, and socially! Plus I admire the effort it takes from hundreds of crew members behind the scenes to make a production like this flow. Now with youtube, blogs, and twitter, everything is essentially accessible; so the mere fact that I feel like Jeff Probst is talking directly to me via social networking... makes it all personal. There is no iron clad curtain separating a monstrous production like Survivor from the fans anymore. It's great and makes for a show-fan relationship like we've never seen before.

If you care enough for Survivor (like me) and would watch a 15 minute, Jeff Probst conducted interview with Russell, then check this out. It's amazing how a game (even though it's a massive publicity act with a potential million dollar prize) can consume a person and become their passion... Oh and I love the informality of this interview:

For more info about behind the scenes stuff, check out jeffprobst.com
Such a COOL GUY!

p.s. When will they allow Canadians to audition?!

Spurs Love

Alright, so you may remember a certain twitpic I conjured up a few weeks ago. It displayed me spreading my wings just like the hero (and one of my heroes), Peter Crouch, after he scored the winner for Tottenham Hotspur against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League! That picture won me a £100 bet courtesy sportingbet.com and their fan contest. Sportingbet tweeted out for Spurs fans to post a picture of themselves celebrating the game, giving a free bet for their favourite... and they chose mine as the victor. Unbelievable. I never win anything... not even Roll-Up-the-Rim-to-flippin'-WIN.

Three weeks later (as in today), if you check out Tottenham's Official website, you may see a familiar face. Take a look at THIS:

http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/win-100-bet-with-sportingbet-080311.html

UNREAL. I think that's preeeetty cool. I've made it (well, sort of)! What can I say? I love football [soccer] and I love Crouch, and not just because of our "striking resemblance"! I apply his technique to my game as well. Also, any Lank Tank is a friend of mine.

They're again holding the contest for Spurs' 2nd leg of their final 16 bout tomorrow. I've set the bar, so tomorrow we'll see what others can align!

Here's the winning picture!

A simple photo shot from my phone with a (literal) twist of humour!
(... and the help of my PVR of course...)

Just before the 1st leg, I looked at the contest and thought about entering but I sort of shrugged it off at first sight. After watching the game, Sportingbet's contest came back to mind, an idea popped up, and now I'm on THFC's official website. Just like that. Nice rice.

Thanks twitter. I think you're very useful.

What can you take away from this?

Life Lesson: You'll never know unless you try.

p.s. Sportingbet's customer service is exquisite.
p.p.s. Now the only question is, what to bet on? I think I have a winning strategy...
p.s. of the p.p.s. Of course they would spell my surname wrong in the article, but that's the last thing I care about right now!!!

An Arizona in Arizona

Here's an update for ya. I'll keep this short...(er). Let's try this out in point form, shall we?

- I'm back from AZ (sadly). It was amazing. ~20 friends from bible school all chillin' in one home. Plus the wedding was spectacular. It was at a WINERY! Beautiful. Congrats Davide & Mallorie!

- Went golfing on the day of the wedding with Davide (the groom)... vlog to come!

- Went to see a MLS pre-season game in Casa Grande. 'Twas super casual, we were on the sideline right beside the Montreal Impact coaching staff. It was like a rec. league game... vlog to come!

- Just endured a tiring week of assignments and exams. I stayed up cramming till 5am Tuesday night... that's a first and will also be a last.

- Passed my mosquito exam for my pesticide license (stupidly worded and vague test). Now, I'm good to go for my summer job. More money = more traveling (I guess that's what I save up for these days).

- Leafs are in the playoff hunt! Exciting stuff.

Oh and I had an Arizona Ice Tea in Arizona on the golf course. Check that off the bucket list!
I've already listened to Phoenix in Phoenix.

Ciao for now.

Simple Math

It is interesting how things are connected and how small this world really is... my awesome friend Mary Alice (whom I met in Sweden and traveled to Helsinki with!) has close ties to an amazing band. She is the sister of lead man Andy Hull and is also the girlfriend of guitarist Robert McDowell, who both display their rock talents via Manchester Orchestra. Since Sweden, I was aware of the band's excellence but somehow I never acquired their music, or listened to it at all for that matter. That has finally changed! I'm hooked.

One might even consider them the love child of Brand New and Modest Mouse... if they eloped (and that's an extreme compliment in my books); yet they still have that unique side, which sets them a part. I love their use of harmonies on their already rockin', ingenious melodies. The sound produced is raw and just pure quality; it's quite an impressive, distinguished feel. They've got me enjoying "harder" rock again! Bravo.

Read more about 'em at their official site:

themanchesterorchestra.com

Hype ALERT:

Their newest album Simple Math is queued up and ready to be released on May 10th. I'm really looking forward to this one, especially since the title track (that was just released) sounds phenomenal! Check it out:

I'm hoping that they realize a cross-Canadian tour would be a blast. They should at least come to Winnipeg, right?!

But until then... here are a few of my favourites from their 2009 album
Mean Everything to Nothing:

Everything To Nothing by user4157582

I Can Feel A Hot One by user4157582

Tony The Tiger by user4157582

I've Got Friends - Manchester Orchestra by MidnightMacchiato