Friday, February 1, 2008

The new American Gladiators!

Happy & I watched the first episode of the 2008 edition of American Gladiators and have to say...it was AWESOME! We both used to love this show growing up and used to shake our heads as these contenders went up these beasts of humans in the various events. Now the show is "new and improved" and it totally rocks. The Eliminator is seriously fierce and the women seem to be at the very end of their limits when they finish that thing. But now Shanae (hope I spelled that right) has set a hell of a time for the other women to try to beat - she seriously dominated that thing!

We're looking forward to the next couple of episodes and have a bit of catching up to do...but since we're living "across the pond" anyway we don't have the luxury of flipping on NBC every Monday night to get our Gladiator fix. But at least this way we can catch up whenever we are ready...and can elect to go through the entire season at once if we just can't contain ourselves and have slacked off on the watching!

Oh, and we can't wait for this stupid writers strike to finally end...we're having serious withdrawal from our favorite shows...but at least House is finally back!

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Watching movies the first time, every time

We created a little slogan here a while back when we first formed 420-Movies. It goes like this, "Watch a movie for the first time, every time."

You might wonder what that's supposed to mean. Well, we've noticed that when we're smoking, we often can watch a movie that we know we've seen before - but somehow not really remember clearly what will happen next or what the final outcome of the movie is. Strange how that might happen, right? ;-)

That being said, last night I decided to watch Pirates of the Carribean - Dead Man's Chest. I love these movies. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow is just fantastic and the whole pirate world they create in these films is just incredible.

We saw The World's End a few weeks ago and during the whole film I kept wondering if we'd actually seen Dead Man's Chest. I couldn't remember much of what I would have seen anyway since it had been a few years...but somehow I couldn't remember anything leading up to this third part of the trilogy. S

So last night I was here alone because Happy was traveling, and I decided to give Dead Man's Chest a try to see if I recalled anything. As it turns out, I didn't remember it at all. That's doesn't always mean a lot since I don't really recall most of the details of a film until the second or third viewing...but this was one film I couldn't remember at all. So I asked Happy about it on the phone and he didn't remember anything either...so apparently we just skipped a film. Not that it really mattered...you can almost watch them in any order but it does fit together much better when you've seen the second one since they lead right into each other...

Sorry for the rambling, just had to comment on that :)

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

In Memory of Heath Ledger: April 4, 1979 - January 22, 2008

As we woke up this morning and started checking to see what happened in the world while we were sleeping, we were stunned to learn about the sudden death of actor Heath Ledger. At only 28, he was far too young to leave this world and it's tragic that his 2 year old daughter, Matilda, will likely have very few memories of her father when she's grown.

Another talented actor, gone far too soon from this world.

Let's just remember him for some of his performances:

10 Things I Hate About You Patrick 'Pat' Verona
This was actually the first scene I thought of when I heard he had passed - such a cute moment.



A Knight's Tale Sir William Thatcher/Sir Ulrich Von Lichtenstein of Gelderland
This is one of my favorite movies. Loved the soundtrack and the eleborate sets and costumes. Add it in with the romance and warrior mentality - just a great film!


Monsters Ball Sonny Grotowski
I only recently saw this movie and was pretty shocked with Heath's role. He definitely started on a much more serious path with his acting lately...and I'm sure he would have contributed a lot more great moments to the Silver Screen. His role was far too brief in this movie but still great.


To the family and friends of Heath Ledger, we're all sorry for your loss and hope that you can find solitude and peace in the wake of this terrible event. Heath was one of the few actors lately who seemed to really have his feet planted on the ground. It's hard to grasp why the most talented die so young.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Some wierd & useless facts for Wednesday

In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb'

Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S . Treasury

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)

The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400

The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:

  • Spades - King David
  • Hearts - Charlemagne
  • Clubs -Alexander, the Great
  • Diamonds - Julius Caesar

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?
A. One thousand

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All were invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey

Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... 'goodnight, sleep tight.'

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'

Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.

At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

Freaking out about lizards

You've probably seen this video a million times but it's always good for a laugh!!

Friday, August 24, 2007

Best Colleges for Stoners

The 2008 Princeton Review of the "Best 366 Colleges" is out and for anyone who has "marijuana friendly" at the top of their list of "most important characteristics about my future college," you might want to check out Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina.

Not surprisingly, the US Air Force Academy tops the list of the least pot friendly campuses, and most of the other US military academies are at the high end of that list.

Here's the entire list of the "Reefer Madness" schools
  1. Warren Wilson College
  2. Bard College
  3. University of Vermont
  4. University of California - Santa Cruz
  5. Lewis & Clark College
  6. Pitzer College
  7. Hampshire College
  8. New College of Florida
  9. The University of Texas at Austin (HOOK 'EM HORNS!)
  10. Sarah Lawrence University
  11. West Virginia University
  12. Wesleyen University
  13. Guilford College
  14. Skidmore College
  15. University of Colorado, Boulder
  16. Ithaca College
  17. University of California - Santa Barbara
  18. Eckerd College
  19. Vassar College
  20. Oberlin College

Alcohol And Cocaine – But Not Cannabis – Linked To Violent Behavior, Study Says

Damn, I could've told them this!! I always love these studies that they pay so much money for and when the results come out you just look and them and think, "Well duh!" They could have just conducted a survey to potheads...we're too couch-locked to be violent! :) But since so many still think Reefer Madness is actually a legitimate interpretation of what people do after smoking, I guess a study like this might be worthwhile somehow...


Alcohol And Cocaine – But Not Cannabis – Linked To Violent Behavior, Study Says

Victoria, British Columbia:

Cannabis use is not independently associated with causing violence, according to the results of a multivariate analysis to be published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

Investigators at the University of Victoria, Centre for Addictions Research assessed how frequently subjects in a substance abuse treatment facility reported using cocaine, alcohol, and/or cannabis in the hours immediately prior to committing a violent act. Researchers also evaluated subjects’ personality for characteristics associated with violent behavior, such as risk-taking, impulsivity, and/or disrespect for the law.

Investigators concluded: "When analyses were conducted controlling for covariates, the frequency of alcohol and cocaine use was significantly related to violence, suggesting that pharmacological effects [of the drugs] may play a role in violence. Frequency of cannabis use, however, was not significantly related to violence when controlling for other factors."

The study’s conclusions are similar to the findings of a pair of recent government reports refuting allegations that cannabis use triggers violent behavior. The first, published by the Canadian Senate in 2002, determined: "Cannabis use does not induce users to commit other forms of crime. Cannabis use does not increase aggressiveness or anti-social behavior."

The second review, published by the British Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, reported: "Cannabis differs from alcohol in one major respect. It does not seem to increase risk-taking behavior. This means that cannabis rarely contributes to violence either to others or to oneself, whereas alcohol use is a major factor in deliberate self-harm, domestic accidents and violence."

Most recently, a logistical regression analysis of approximately 900 trauma patients published in the Journal of TRAUMA Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, determined that the use of cannabis is not independently associated with either violent or non-violent injuries requiring hospitalization. By contrast, alcohol and cocaine use are associated with violence-related injuries, the study found.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Predicting violence among cocaine, cannabis, and alcohol treatment clients," will appear in the journal Addictive Behaviors. Additional audio commentary regarding this study is available on the August 15, 2007 broadcast of the NORML Audio Stash at: http://audio.norml.org/audio_stash/NORML_Daily_AudioStash_08_15_2007.mp3.