Gedi's Path Away From The Dark Side....

Journal Entry 7:

2011-02-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

Well training has been going really well. Did a good gym session yesterday with legs and chest and a long swim, then smashed 10km today in the heat at 56 minutes. the time is quite slow, but it is my third road run since starting on the 1st of February, so not too bad a base to build from. Weight is dropping slow and steadily, so that's good, and work is pretty magical as well. things all in all are going very well indeed. i could almost say this is about the luckiest period I have ever had in my entire life. shows what a little self discipline can provide.

As Gary player said: " The more I practise, the luckier I get" Ryan Geddes said: "The more well behaved I am, the luckier 'I' get" LOL ;-)

Otherwise all is shaping up well. Got so much happening at the moment between studies work, training and wedding season, only I don't have to crash any this year.....whoops..... ;-)

Really looking forward to a steady paycheck from now onwards, saving up for a bike which will be magical!!!!! the car petrol is killing me!!!!!

Onwards and upwards, keep chilling y'all, looking forward to my third straight weekend not drinking and the longest sober period of my life since matric, September 2000.

Gedi out

Journal Entry 6:

2011-02-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I am starting to wonder if anyone is even reading this....hello....anyone out there????? Well, whatever. Another successful weekend without the bottle, which i am pretty stoked about. Training is slow and steady, but it ll get there I'm sure. Feeling a little ill though, must be withdrawal symptoms..... ;-)

It truly is amazing how time flies eh....just talking about the old days today really got me quite nostalgic... LOL yea yea I know...."cry me a river".....but it is funny, to be so young and so old at the same time....if you know what i mean. Old enough to have experienced so much already, and have pretty much shaped the path of life, but yet sooooooo much still to do. Many adjectives to describe that feeling, and not all synonyms....

feeling really positive though, quite a few good things going down at the moment and really stoked with life's present course. Cool jobs, good studies, fitness levels on the up, overall sanity.....stable....so to speak/medically speaking. Of course a tour overseas would be great but that is on the cards in the very very near future, so stoked about that :-) .

Not really much else to report. Really looking forward to the first of FOUR weddings in the next 2 months (3 in 1 week) All i need now is a funeral and I have a movie title.....OK maybe not highly appropriate, but kinda funny, as long as there really isn't a funeral.......maybe i should bite my tongue....

Really need to get the healthy eating going, found a new YELLOW water-Mellon, yes you heard me right, and its pretty amazing, exact same sweet taste and goodness, with almost no seeds, and it looks weird, like incredible hulk fruit....if the incredible hulk was yellow......try it, trust me you ll never turn back.

Didn't win the lotto tonight either, so don't have that going for me, but maybe next time. (that R2 coin i found at the gym wasn't lucky at all. MMMM - all i need now is a girlfriend, that would be refreshing from the usual retarded path i have been running on for the last 6 years ( barring the odd exception here and there) but clearly this is not happening anytime soon, my game must be off, badly, this used to be so easy, now its impossible to meet someone for real, without the booze partying bullshit, and unfortunately for now i have no other means of meeting peeps/potentials LOL - whoops getting personal, but then again drama sells.....

Well maybe after this next spell of fitness and the new job will help things along.....

catch ya laters....

PS: Presidents speech and 9.5 billion job creation plan was nothing short of "special" they should give him his own small yellow bus.......

T-minus 6 days till super rugby, 209 days till rugby world cup 2011 NZ..... (oh and the cricket i guess, but we all know that's gonna F@#$ out)

Gedi out.

Journal Entry 5:

2011-02-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

Well, lets see. Had a fairly good run yesterday. Not great in terms of the end goal but pretty good for now.
Currently in the great debate of which heart rate watch to get. It is a tough choice, because I am not a super athlete, but I don't want a piece of crap either....anyhoos, thinking middle range vibe, waterproof one I can use in the pool as well...makes sense I guess. Also really hate the classic "water resistant vs waterproof" saga. what an irritation. You never know what you can do with either, can you swim? cant you swim? just little, not too much? Good thing we have the wonderful world of Wikipedia to come to the rescue. Man don't know what I would do without it. turns out there is an actual table for this kinda thing very interesting, check it out:

Water resistance rating Suitability Remarks

Water Resistant or 30 m Suitable for everyday use. Splash/rain resistant. NOT suitable for swimming, snorkeling, water related work and fishing. NOT suitable for diving.

Water Resistant 50 m Suitable for swimming, white water rafting, non-snorkeling water related work, and fishing. NOT suitable for diving.

Water Resistant 100 m Suitable for recreational surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing and water sports. NOT suitable for diving.

Water Resistant 200 m Suitable for professional marine activity and serious surface water sports. NOT suitable for diving.

Diver's 100 m Minimum ISO standard (ISO 6425) for scuba diving at depths NOT suitable for saturation diving. Diver's 100 m and 150 m watches are generally old(er) watches.

Diver's 200 m or 300 m Suitable for scuba diving at depths NOT suitable for saturation diving. Typical ratings for contemporary diver's watches.

Diver's 300+ m for mixed-gas diving Suitable for saturation diving (helium enriched environment). Watches designed for mixed-gas diving will have the DIVER’S WATCH L M FOR MIXED-GAS DIVING additional marking to point this out.

You learn something new everyday huh. Now back to the exercise watches -you basically have 2 brands: Polar, the most commonly accepted, and Garmin coming thick and fast into the market. (There is another brand called Suunta, but not much has been said about that in this country, and there is another new local brand, but I seriously wouldn't trust a R600 fitness watch when they normally go from R900 up in every other brand - but your choice I guess -cheap o...)

I am leaning toward a Garmin, I really like their innovation and their style is slightly better. I also already have a Garmin Nuvi, and I get discount from my medical aid, so maybe the choice was already made for me.... ;-)

What I can tell you, is that if you are looking to purchase one of these types of items, be very careful in your selection, some don't come with the foot pod, or cadence for bikes, which basically eliminates half the functions you need until you pay R600 extra for that missing item. Also make sure of the functions on your watch, you don't need one for R4500.00, when there is a model that does virtually the exact same thing for R2500.00, but on the other scale the bottom of the range hardly do anything.....

Here are some links to classic brands:

http://www.nivo.co.za/#c/mobile/gps/garmin~forerunner
http://www.garmin.co.za/products.php?categoryid=13&subcategoryid=10
http://www.capeunionmart.co.za/get_it/category/default.php?pg=2&fk_category_id=107

So that is that debate over. I have gone for the Garmin forerunner 60 bundle, so it comes with the foot pod for distance and speed etc, as well as the additional usb port for wireless transmission to the pc. Good stuff, I am sure you are bored already. PS: Water proof is exactly the same as water resistant in the watch world so don't be fooled!!!!

otherwise all is well. Feeling positive still no booze, and looking forward to a really chilled weekend with loads of studying and running!!!!

cheers y'all!!!

Gedi out

Journal entry 4:

2011-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it....A full weekend with no alcohol whatsoever - seriously impressed. Not so impressed when I woke up on Sunday morning wanting to go for what i thought would be a "hangover free" run, only find myself ever so slightly flu-ish. Mother F@#$er!!!!

Anyways, it passed in 24 hours and had a really good training session today. Ran 6 km in 34 minutes (waaaaaaaaaaay off goal pace of course but it is only my third run so far), then a good V-core session, as well as a 1.5km swim. So feeling pretty good. Tomorrow its 2 a day training sessions for 1 week, till next Monday, with 1 rest day of course LOL.

The weekend was random I guess, seems uneventful when not intoxicated but Saturday still sprung a few surprises my way. Rugby was looking absolutely dismal till the stormers pulled a fart crack comeback in the last 10 minutes to steal away a 13 point deficit for the victory over the sharks. Then it was for post match coca cola celebrations at springbok Pub where there was a first year rag party......need I say more. Lets just say thank goodness I was sober otherwise there could have been trouble. Managed to tear myself away at 9pm!!!!!

Anyhoos, studying is going quite well, first assignments on track and handing in my request for placement schools for my practical. Very interested to see which one i get!!!!! Eating slightly better as well. (not quite up to training standards though -still throwing in the odd sweet thing!!!, but at least no booze..) And it is now officially 9 days since my last cigarette!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!! Definitely quitting this time....although def feeling a few withdrawal symptoms on that one. Otherwise actually feeling super motivated and positive at this stage and pretty darn happy actually!!!!

Gedi out!!!!

Journal Entry 3:

2011-02-04T10:40:00.000-08:00

Mmmmm....Friday and sitting at home....that's a very good sign of things to come. Great training session today and looking forward to my first proper run tomorrow. Unfortunately have a tutorial tomorrow morning in Parow....from 8am....bumber.

Good news is i get to watch the Stormers tomorrow at Newlands which is rad. Bad news is I cant drink whilst I watch..... :-( These are the sacrifices one must make in order to achieve ones goals. Time to find out if I am still loads of fun to be around when I am sober.....I am very scared to find out.

Got to write an English test for my TEFL job on Monday morning. that should be interesting....haven't written a grammar test in yonks. Just literature essays and that a whole new ball game when you have the advantage of spell check etc. Technology has truly diminished our ability to think for ourselves, but I'll take it over loin clothes and rabbit hunting any day.

Still too hot to sleep -don't know how I am going to do it...fan will have to blow the whole night. Already down to 85Kg after just 3 sessions. I am starting to think this could be really beneficial in the long run -excuse the pun - as I foresee a really healthy future after this. Hopefully with no drinking will come no smoking!!!!! As I never smoke during the week anyways ( I am a ridiculous social smoker - almost a pack on a drinking night). It really has to end now, or it never will, there will always be an excuse!!!!

Anyways, hope you all have a good weekend...will be posting on Sunday, hopefully without any form of a hangover!!!!

gedi out

Journal entry 2:

2011-02-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

Well the good news is that training for the last 2 days has gone quite well. Done a lot of leg strengthening exercises, as well as swimming and v-core. trying to build up some momentum before any long running. Bad news is that I have the weakest hamstrings known to mankind, which would explain my serious lack of pace on the touch field in the last 9 years....as well as the heavy drinking and sheer laziness.

Present weight is a huge 86kg and my goal weight for race day is 77kg - which makes it 9kg to lose in 11 weeks!!!!! Looks like the silly season really packed a 4kg addition to the belly punch....bleak...

Officially started studying today as well -looks like its going to be quite a hectic semester - maths, psychology, teaching prac Afrikaans taal....madness I tell you -definitely going to disappear into the books till after prac. which should be round the 22nd of July. second semester is going to be a hell of a lot easier with only 4 modules. Looking forward to a few jams then. (including Knysna half - which forms part of the treble I want to complete this year - gun run is the 3rd)

Really low on cash, so it helps with the no drinking thing -cant have a beer if you cant afford one...although a few dops would make it a lot easier to sleep tonight seeing as it feels like 33 degrees in my room -a crying shame I tell you!!!!

Otherwise all going according to plan -even starting to eat a little better over the last few days since the met hangover has subsided *phew* Going to see the Stormers warm up game against the Sharks on Sat. should be.....interesting..... to say the least.

No.1 cant wait to not have a hangover on Sunday - No.2 running starts on Saturday - intrigued to see how the first road run goes No.3- 2 a day training from next week Monday 4 days a week.

ciao amigo's

Gedi out

New Beginnings - Journal Entry 1:

2011-02-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

Well, as the title says, it is a time for new beginnings. Yes, I realise I have not written anything on here in almost a year, but I was going through a very strange time and don't really need to excuse myself because its my blog..... :-)

What I will say for now is that during the next couple of months, leading up to my first 2oceans half marathon, I will be diarising my story, highs and lows, training and little mishaps, as well as the final race day, with complete and utter honesty (well, at least about matters pertaining to my actual build up to the race, and not so much any personal or should I say "racy" details - pun intended) and hopefully day by day or as close to it as possible.

So to be perfectly honest things did not start according to plan. No I did not drink....tsk tsk....but did not train today as I am still suffering from the met. Yes, I know what you are thinking, "There is no way he can pull this off". Well not with F@#$ing support like that I wont!!!!! ;-)

Did not stick to a good eating schedule either, but was planning on putting that to full effect from Monday next week. Once training is properly underway!!! Gosh, the more I write, the worse this is sounding. I guess the first entry is always the hardest as well as the most humorous to all of you nay sayer's out there LOL, but I am going to do this. Tomorrow will definitely be a better day. I guarantee it!!!!

Good news is (sarcastic tone) the new super rugby season is starting, so really looking forward to that, and have loads of weddings coming up from late march - which is almost enough to make me forget my birthday....almost. See all the obstacles in my way till the marathon!!!! One word people....SUPPORT!!!! Not to mention all my studies as well.....it's gonna be a long couple of months!!!

Anyways, just wanted to get entry number 1 out the way and get through the embarrassment of my poor start, due to a super unhealthy weekend (but well worth it fun wise -;-) ) Stay tuned - I'm pretty sure this is going to get way more dramatic, and maybe a bit funny, as the days go on.....maybe not as dramatic as spuds entries, but as said above, there is no ways I am writing it on here if I get my balls polished in the shower for my 13th birthday!!!! You get the message.....Ciao homeys!!!

Gedi out!!!!

Super 14 Crunch Time!

2010-05-11T11:35:00.001-07:00

Well as we head toward the semi final stages of the super 14 I was conveniently reminded by my Korean venturing friend that it had been some time since I had made an entry - almost a year I guess - now that's just not cricket, although let's not climb up that chestnut or else everyone is going to rant about our amazing Protea's who just cant get it right!!!!!

Considering the huge time delay in entries I have decided to do a quick recap of the super 14 thus far, just to get myself back up to speed.

It has been a great year for the bulls once again, and the Stormers have finally lived up to their hype and produced some of the most dazzling performances of the tournament, as well as some of, if not the best, individual and team tries of the year. They ironically sit at the end of the season having to play the Bulls in their final game (At Newlands might I add) needing a win to assure them of a home semi final, and making it 2 SA sides at the top of the table. The Bulls are well and truly ahead and have no fear of not ending at the top of the table. They have therefore rested many players for this crazy battle upsetting many of our friendly competitors in Australasia, who were looking for the Stormers to lose so they could overtake them for that extremely valuable and very rare home semi final.

Waa Waa Waaa - cry me a river ya donkey's and suck it up. That's international rugby!!!!!
The next 4 teams all play each other this weekend for the 3rd and 4Th semi final spots. 6Th placed Crusaders, who have had a very poor run of form and some might say luck losing three games in a row, including the miracle loss to the bulls in the 82ND minute over the last 3 weeks, play a Brumbies side who in my opinion are just hitting their stride. The Crusaders travel home to Christ church for this epic encounter (which is arguably my game of the weekend) all the way from south Africa -so we will wait and see if they have enough left in the tank to take on the Brumbies, who have looked very powerful in their last 2 matches, and continuing to grow.

Then the Waratahs (Probably the most over rated team in Super 14 history) play the Hurricanes in Sydney who have also found some some recent form, with star winger Hosea gear racking up a hatric last weekend in a fine polished performance by the boys in grey, and sometimes yellow - I know ..... I am also confused.... The Hurricanes, although playing away, should wrap this up and shoot past 3rd placed Tahs, and book themselves a ticket to Newlands. the other semi for the bulls will be played at Soweto.....YES, I said it ...SOWETO!!!! no Loftus magic this year as they have to save the ground for the World cup soccer - woo hoo ( More blogs on that to follow).

The other 8 teams have nothing but pride to play for this year, and there is a lot of that going around with the cheetahs getting 2 great wins against the blues and the force. I feel I must mention that the SA teams this year have broken their record of 13 wins against NZ opposition in the super 14 beating 2007, and the Stormers became the first SA Super 14 franchise in history to get wins over all 5 NZ franchises - Super stuff!!!!!

There have been many highs and lows of this years super 14 - From Steve Walsh's Horrific refereeing, to some good law changes and some bad ones, to the on and off form of our very own Fijian flyer Sireli Nagalavuki (Hero one week, zero the next) to the downfall of the chiefs, and the rise of the stormers, and of course the boring Waratahs once again being in the hunt "puke". One can definitely say it has been the most exciting finale to the super 14 in years with the top 6 teams all viable to win the coveted trophy with 1 league fixture left.

Here's holding thumbs for the Stormers and Bulls and let's hope for an all SA derby in the final in SOWETO!!!!!!!!

It's Time.......3N Time!!!!!!!

2009-07-16T04:54:00.000-07:00

It is time once again for the arguably most potent tournament in world rugby today - The Tri Nations 2009.

This competition has been dominated by the All Blacks for basically it's entire duration having accumulated 9 trophies from 13 tournaments. The Springboks have 2 and the Wallabies 2. Since the springboks won it in 2004, the New Zealanders have kept a strangle hold on the 3N for the last 4 years. This year however gives the impression that their time may be up, but it is still a very close call.

Bookies have the Boks as favourites after their series win against the Lions. A series win that to me when looked at under the microscope was not too emphatic, as you can see from my opening article below, but good enough to put the Boks in a favourable position going into the 3N. NZ had a way below average start to their season with a close 1-1 draw series with France, and their their worst ever victory over Italy, in a disastrous display of uncoordinated rugby from the Kiwi's. Remember all these games were on home soil for the Kiwi's which apart from South Africa is by far the hardest place to win, especially against arguably the best team of the last 15 years.

The Aussies had a fairly promising beginning to their season with 4 straight wins in what you could call convincing fashion. the opposition left little to be desired though, as the first game was against the Barbarians, and we all know what those games are like and very rarely tell you a lot about the quality of the team. They then had 2 good wins against the Italians, but once again did not attack the metaphorical jugular when they had their opposition all but wrapped up. Same goes with the French game where they did not let in any tries but failed to really capitalise on their opportunities. Defensively they looked extremely sound having not given up their goal line for around 180 minutes of rugby. their ability to hold possesion and win ball at the break down points was also very good and they have most likely the best fly half in the tournament in Matt Giteau.

So with the Boks facing without doubt the toughest opposition in the pre 3N games (The Lions) and securing a 2-1 series (missing out on the clean sweep thanks to the clever idea of changing 10 players for the final game by our lovely coach Snor AKA Pieter De Villiers) one would have to assume they have the best chance of taking the title this year. They also have a great schedule for once with 3 home games to start with 2 of the games being against the All Blacks (meaning they only have to face them once away in NZ).

On top of this PDV has selected his best team in my opinion in his entire tenure as coach, and maybe one of the best teams in the last 10 years barring Ricky Januarie on the bench. So with all that being said I think we can look forward to a compelling series, where anything can happen and I believe that any of these three teams can take it. The Aussies are definitely my dark horse, and the All Blacks definitely don't look their usual powerful selves, and the Bok lineup on paper looks good, but they do manage to surprise us all the time. It's going to be an exciting couple of months.... Go Bokke!!!!!

2008 New Zealand
2007 New Zealand
2006 New Zealand
2005 New Zealand
2004 South Africa
2003 New Zealand
2002 New Zealand

2001 Australia
2000 Australia
1999 New Zealand
1998 South Africa
1997 New Zealand
1996 New Zealand

False Bay Pooitjie Festival - Up the Bay!!!!

2009-07-14T07:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend False Bay Rugby Club hosted their annual Old Crocks Rugby day with the added incentive of a pooitjie making competition. Needless to say this was indeed a recipe for disaster for anyone who knows the Bay, will automatically scream the words "Crazy Madness" in the silence of their own heads. For me the pooitjie competition began with a "strategy meeting" session on Friday evening at around 10pm, this "Strategy discussion" found it's way all around the southern burbs, incl, Tangos, The Bay, Mr B Lyles flat, Oblivion, Pirates, and back to the Bay.

Needless to say that during this time there was much consumption of alcoholic beverages ranging from castles to extremes to brandy, and all the way to Johnnie Walker blue Label!!!!!

Definitely no messing with these boys from the club I tell you. "Strategy meeting" ends roughly 4:30 am sat morning. I wake up to a missed call at 10 30 am on Saturday, feeling altogether not well, but more than likely still drunk, so proceed to the club and have my first Spike (most probably the most evil energy drink alive) and Smirnoff ice. Then came the wonderful game of half half, which was played eagerly at will by everyone. The Castles have never tasted better I tell you and i think their most recent advert says it all.....

Oh yes at this stage pooitjies had begun to brew believe it or not and their were a host of very indifferent teams including the the first team, the coaching team, (which I had the privilege of joining ;-) ) and many other. The games also got underway at about 1pm, and the Bay old crocks got off to a firing start dominating their first game, how I can remember to this point I'll never know but this is about as good as it gets - as we continued to be overdosed with tequila and half halves. Fantastic!!!!!

The games continued under somewhat wet conditions and the big screen had everyone enthralled from around the 3pm and the Currie Cup caught a bit of attention. the bar was humming and the atmosphere was incredible - just pure unadulterated fun. I did find out that my team did not win the competition but i cannot argue that point as I don't think I was much help anyways. I think it went to a very interesting fish pooitjie with lobster bisque as the gravy - somebody told me it was amazing and that I really enjoyed it - so it must have been good.

All jokes aside, it was a really great day and very well executed by all at the club (notice the rugby terminology there). All the players and their families enjoyed themselves, and I am definitely giving it another crack next year!!!! (but maybe I'll eat first next time) ;-)

Certain names to the madness have been emitted due to the sensitive nature of their involvement in the club LOL)

Who Truly was the best Joker??????

2009-07-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you will instantaneously jump to the conclusion that Heath Ledger was by far the best Joker, but I beg to differ. You see it is not as cut and dry as you may think. Jack Nicholson - the original Joker in the first Batman - was to me absolutely superb. Barring special effects and the type of Joker you wanted to be represented, I would say his performance was actually quite stellar. Many people forget this, and I only really realised when watching the original Batman on SABC 3 on Friday night for the first time in many years.

The script that he played out was one of a more fun loving humorous Joker, as the movies made back then were not as dark and evil as they are now, yet he still managed to portray the importance of the joker as a vindictive, cunning and superior villain. In fact the joker was rated no.2 on the all time top 100 super villains over all comic genre's only just losing out to Magneto of the X-men.

The fact that he actually posseses no real super powers at all, shows you what a feat this actually is, and how important this character is to the comic book world as a whole. So there is a huge responsibilty on the actor playing this character to really represent the hidden themes of the relationship between Batman and Joker (Basically the feeling that Batman cannot survive without the Joker and vice versa, as they are connected in such a dramatic and twisted way, neither can actually kill the other - and they were both really created as a result of each other)

If you look at the more modern Batman movies - Batman begins and The Dark Knight - you will find that they take the movie to a much darker place - a more sinister representation of the Batman and the Joker - Where one must say that Heath Ledger was absolutely brilliant. He completely captured the psyche of the Joker in a way I thought was not possible. The difference is the script that he recieved allowed him the freedom to explore the darker side of the Joker whereas the script that Nicholson was handed made him move more along the lighter comical side, yet still madly psychotic at the same time.

Another comparrison to show you how hard it really is to compare is the James Bond question, Who is truly the best James bond? After Casino Royale many people were starting to have their doubts if it really was Sean Connery at the head of the list, after an awsome performance by Daniel Craig and many believed that after a few more of these roles he would take the mantel and replace Connery as the best. Bottom line is that that could never happen. Sean Connery made James Bond who he is today. If weren't for Connery there would not be Casino Royale for Daniel Craig to star in. If Connery had the budget and the script that these guys get today, he would undoubtably be the greatest James bond of all time....Undisputed.

In many ways I feel this is the same as what happened to the new Joker comparrison. Taking nothing away from Heath Ledger, as I said before he was brilliant and deserved an Oscar, but I believe that Nicholson with the same script and effects, could have produced a very similar if not better performance, not to mention the fact that his original performance basically made the original movie, without him it would have been a flop. Christian Bale has obviously been by far the best Batman, all the old batman movies were also basically flops as opposed to the new renditions, But the 2 Joker performances both demand a lot of respect and I believe the hype surrounding the modern movie itself, Ledgers personal issues and of course brilliant acting, has shadowed what to me was one of the greatest comic book performances of the last century by Jack Nicholson.

Of course that is just my personal opinion, but I recommend watching them both at the same time with an open mind as to the generation gap of movie making and the theme that is portrayed by each individual movie maker, which was incredibly contrasting to say the least, and then decide who your favourite Joker really was, or if maybe it is a tie, which is what I am giving both these great actors for their roles as one of the most influential comic book bad guys of all time!!!!

The Hangover: Maybe the greatest comedy ever!!!!!

2009-06-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

Doug (Justin Bartha) is about to embark on the wonderful, but extremely scary journey that is marriage on Sunday, so his two best mates Phil (Bradley Cooper), from Wedding Crashers fame, a schoolteacher who's passion against marriage can not be underestimated due to his own cruel reality of the wife and kid waiting at home everyday , and Stu (Ed Helms) a Dentist who likes to call himself a Doctor escaping his, well let's just say mental, crazy B!@#ch of a girlfriend, as well as his estranged soon to be brother in law Alan (Zach Galifianakis), from that legendary snowboarding movie Out Cold (Yes the guy who got his johnson stuck in the outdoor jacuzzi) who can only be described as a completely unstable nut who is completely socially-inept, decide it's time for on last crazy night in Vegas. So on the Friday they get together head off in the father in laws prize possesion a classic mercedes. They arrive at Ceasars Palace, order the best suite available and head to the rooftop for what should be a night to remember.......

Unfortunately for them they wake up the next morning hung like a donkey's you know what, + 1 exotic tiger in the bathroom, - 1 Doug, groom to be in the bedroom, + 1 baby in the closet, minus all recollection of what went on the night before, except for a few bills and other tidbits of evidence to get them started on their memory rovery mission.

From there it is a hysterical journey of retracing their crazy, yet weirdly inspiriational steps to find their buddy Doug before he has to get married the next day.

I must say I have never laughed so hard in a cinema before, I think the last time may have been the original Austin Powers before you knew what to expect. I have spent a weekend in Sin City for my 25th birthday and this movie made my wild antics look like Sunday School.

An absolute must see with your mates and preferably go out and get hammered afterwards, or before, LOL. You'll see what I mean. And stay away from all travel agents or you'll be booking a flight to vegas that night!!!!!

Ps: Don't rush out of the cinema too quickly!!!! ;-)

An Empty Victory but Victory None The Less!!!!

2009-06-29T04:47:00.000-07:00

In the wake of what was a dramatic and somewhat speculative series win over the British and Irish Lions by the Springboks this last Saturday, one gets left asking the questions .... Why on earth was it so close - what the dickens was Schalk Burger thinking and what ingenius "colourful" changes is our ever creative coach PDV aka "The Snor" going to be making this weekend now that the series is wrapped up and we have what the presenters on Super Sport like to term, A "dead rubber" on our hands?????

For starters, yes, in 20 years time We will look at the record books and all it will show is we were 2-0 up after 2 games in the 2009 lions tour to South Africa, and yes, ultimately it is good enough - I would rather win this way than lose - but surely it must be noted at the present that we have a certain quality of players in this country that should have outright dominated this lions team. By no means am I saying that it was going to be easy, it never is to beat a lions team in a series, but if you look at the All Blacks annihilation of the lions in 2005 (where the Lions basically won 90% of their tour games just like this tour), you have to ask: How could they do it and we can't? I suppose they had a slightly weaker squad than the one on this tour, but they did still have some superstars including the likes of Johnny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson - who were still classy at that particular time.

I guess I am just extremely dissapointed at what ultimately has to be called a poor but couragious showing at Loftus. We won the game and We won the series and I am sure everyone who watched was filled with elation as the penalty went over in the 81st minute and sure it made fantastic TV, but so would a 30 point drumming with 7 tries have been, which would have been my preferance. I remember people a lot more jolly during the Bulls Super 14 final......

Schalks 53rd second MAD indescretion can only be hailed as temporary insanity - I have a lot of respect for this guy but wow.....He really put us on the back peddle from the get go and the Lions just dominated us upfront and got the points and the rest of the half we were lacklustre and huffing and puffing at our own fortress Loftus. Then the Boks came on in the second half and for around 30 minutes in total played the way they should have the entire series (and maybe I should include the opening 60 minutes at Durban, but even there we never got 5+ phases once in the game).

We have a team, or should I say the players to dramatically revolutionise the rugby world, and blow all opposition out of the way, but we persist with inadequate coaching and undeserving players because of certain systems SARU have in place, yet it is our "beloved" coach who is up for racial allegations after comments made at a press conference about the selection of Ricky Januarie - Need I remind everyone of what happened to Andre Markgraff after his racial slurs - he rightfully got the sack and thank goodness too because he was also not the juiciest cherry on the bush - metaphorically speaking of course.

But he will come through it with flying colours of course - no pun intended.....seriously this time...... - and we now eagerly await the test team to face the Lions in the 3rd and final test for what we hope will be a 3-0 whitewash, or what should be a 3-0 whitewash. We could see the infamous Earl "The Pearl" Rose entering the fray, and maybe Ricky Januarie also both hitting the bench, who knows. I wouldn't put it past him. He likes to cause a bity of drama every now and then. I just wish we had of won it the way we were supposed to or could have - guess its easy talking from in front of a computer screen, but surely most people kinda get the idea that we cut it a little fine, where we should have dominated completely. Even a weak WP and a resurgent Free State team showed what it was to really go to the limit to try and win the tour games - why the sharks and the lions were so utterly dissapointing is beyond me, but thats another nut to crack which will take far too long.

In conclusion a win is a win and I dont want to sound unappreciative to the Boks who I really support to the very last drop no matter what, but with the political tide that sweeps our rugby shores it is becoming more and more apparent each day that mediocracy is acceptable and transformation must come at any cost - May I stand corrected in my views this coming weekend with the Boks blowing a now highly disheartened Lions team back to the British Isles where they belong, because nothing would please me more!!!!!!!