Yesterday the new trailer for Mirror's Edge was released showing a speed-run done by free running legend Sebastien Foucan. At the end of the trailer it says "Beat Sebastien Foucan in Time Trial Mode within demo and full game." This could mean the demo is possibly coming out as early as next week. Check for the gamertag "CatchFoucan" if you wanna take a shot at beating him too. Click below to see the trailer.

Well these videos can help you clear your minds from these effects. I stumbled upon finding these two videos up on youtube.

The first one is from a Sesame Street segment, titled "Sad flower film". It features some shots of the flower dripping water as if it was crying. There are many scenes of the flower (I don't know what flower it was) As the flower stands stationary across a ledge of a balcony of a building, we see a shot of New York City and the scene of the Brooklyn Bridge that accompanies that sad scene along with the sad music of course.

The music that was featured in that video is from a person named Antonio Vivaldi, and the song is titled, "Guitar Concerto in D Major, 2nd movement".

This is not the only video that features this song. I was also able to find a Global TV Ontario (aka CIII-TV) sign on that was dated 1994. While the song is played, you can see all the transmitters in the areas in which viewers can tune into Global programming. I literally cried in these two videos.

Anyways, please take the time to view these videos. These videos will make your tears water and make you cry.....

Global Ontario sign-on 1994 (apologies for the last few seconds that was taken off):

Sesame Street - sad flower segment (C1RCA 1970s):

Quadruple champion du monde en titre et encore leader du Championnat cette saison, Sébastien Loeb reconnaît qu'une forme de routine s'est installée, dans un entretien publié jeudi dans L'Equipe : «C'est vrai que je n'apprends plus grand chose, que tout est plus ou moins planifié», explique le pilote Citroën qui a déjà essayé d'autres disciplines, comme l'endurance (24H du Mans en 2005 et 2006) ou la Porsche Cup plus récemment.

Des expériences que Loeb aimerait pousser un peu plus, pour «découvrir une approche différente du sport automobile, [se] remettre en question». Une ouverture qui devrait se concrétiser en 2010, alors que son contrat avec Citroën expire fin 2009 : «Je ne me vois pas arrêter le rallye. Mais j'aimerais faire quelque chose à côté du WRC, courir un autre Championnat en parallèle, en circuit.» DTM ? WTCC ? Rallye-raid ? Endurance ? Cette dernière piste reste celle privilégiée par Loeb.

Le moment du déménagement est enfin venu.

Olivier und sein Kumpel Sébastien kommen nach einer zehnstündigen Fahrt von Paris am Abend in Bremen an. Der Wagen ist schon gut mit Oliviers Sachen gefüllt. Wir wollen ihn nun noch mit einigen alten Möbeln meiner Eltern beladen.

Olivier et Sébastien, un copain, arrivent à Brême dans la soirée, après dix heures de trajet depuis Paris. Le camion est déjà bien rempli avec les affaires d'Olivier. Nous voulons le charger encore de quelques anciens meubles de mes parents.

Wir essen und machen einen kleinen Entspannungsspaziergang. Olivier und ich freuen uns sehr uns wiederzusehen. Sébastien telefoniert schon wieder mit seiner Freundin, die er seit der Abfahrt aus Paris nicht mehr gesehen hat.

Nous mangeons et faisons une balade de repos. Olivier et moi sommes très contents de nous retrouver. Sébastien, lui, discute au téléphone avec sa copine qu'il n'a pas vue depuis le départ de Paris, bientôt 11 heures déjà.

Sébastien verbringt die Nacht im Wohnzimmer meiner Eltern. Olivier und ich schlafen im Gästezimmer. Es ist so lange her, dass wir uns gesehen haben, dass wir uns mit einer ganz besonderen Sanftheit wieder nahe kommen. Wir sind so gespannt auf unser zukünftiges gemeinsames Wohnen.

Sébastien passe la nuit dans le salon de mes parents. Olivier et moi, nous dormons dans la chambre d'invités. Cela fait si longtemps que nous ne nous sommes pas vus que nous nous approchons l'un de l'autre avec une délicate douceur. La curiosité sur notre future vie commune occupe nos esprits.

At last, here are some pictures that I had uploaded from the Simple Plan concert in Toronto (along with Faber Drive, Cute is what we aim for and Metro Station):

The full pictures from the concert can be viewed on my photobucket or at the one at flickr. In other news, while exercising at a local community centre training club, I stumbled upon a TV commercial from the French nuclear power provider called "Areva". The commercial reminsces me of Bell's pixel corp commercial and the tune set in Areva's commercial is from a group in the 1970s or 1980s called "Lipps inc.". The song is called "Funkytown".

Here's some varations of the commercial (some in English, the other in French. Spoilers: There is one particular scene that is different some of the ones show China while the others show "Metropolitan avenue" or something like that. I highly suggest that you should review those commercials).

Areva commercial - French:

Areva commercial - English:

Areva commercial - English (variant 1 - "A new generation for energy generation"):

Areva commercial - English (variant 2 - "Pure Energy"):

The original music video by Lipps, Inc.:

To see the "Behind the scenes" of the making of this catchy advertising campaign, click here. This could double if you want to cure your post-Simple Plan concert hangovers, with those commercials! In just two days, school will start for you guys. Enjoy them while you can.....

Tomorrow's the big night in Toronto. Simple Plan is coming to Toronto down at the Molson
Amphitheatre on August 29th, 2008. I've been waiting for months for this to happen. I've invested tens of dollars toward this concert and I hope it's the money well spent - in terms of clothing. I want to get a simple plan hoodie, t-shirt and some stuff from Faber Drive to Metro Station. As for Cute is What We Aim for, I really like them, but I'm not sure if their merchandise appeals to me...lol

I really need some much needed sleep for the concert and by the time I finish attending this concert, i'm gonna be really tired and I can't sleep at all! I really need to go to the airshow the very next day!

Anyways, I will post some highlights of my concert once everything is settled in. Until then, see you guys at the concert!!! :)

Does anyone remember this particular line from the old Staples commercial? I sure do. As many stores and shopping malls are gearing up to deal with the massive crowd for Back to School shopping and other related things. From kids going into kindergarden to many strong adults heading to college or university, the opportunities are completely endless.

Well my summer so far has been very fun despite the weather we had faced in many years (you can view my highlights here). This Friday, August 29th, 2008, I'm going to see Simple Plan down at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto. I've been waiting for this moment to come and by the time this has taken place, my efforts have completely paid off! As I mentionned in my earlier blog posts, opening acts will include Cute is What We aim For, Metro Station and (one of my personal favourites) Faber Drive. I'm completely stoked for this!

But the problem is i'm asking, what about my fellow competitors who really like the band a lot and didn't believe on the statements that I said - especially my friends Laura M., Jenny F., Tarin S. and my other people who think that I'm such a creepy person? I had a special message to all of you people who think I am creepy: "I want to gain my market share on going to some high profile concerts such as the Warped Tour." I finally did and achieved that goal.

Anyways, if you people went to a recent Simple Plan concert as part of their tour, I hope it was fun. If you are about to go to one, good luck. You are enjoying this lifetime experience.

First off, we'll start off with Faber Drive. I watched the video about when they have no air conditioning in their van. As a result, Dave Faber did an impromptu trick by opening the doors in the middle of the road - initially for 15 km/h down the Coquihalla Highway and then into full speed. It seems dangerous at first, but they since fixed the A/C (and their doors)! Here's the video if you want to see:

Faber Drive brings the new meaning of Air Conditioning:

The second one is from Simple Plan and the video depicts their first day of their tour. The video was shot in St. John's, Newfoundland at Mile One stadium. They also sent a message to their fans about they will be coming to your town soon. Anyways, you can view the video here: http://www.simpleplan.com/2008/08/19/canadian-tour-day-one/

For those of you who are going to the Toronto leg of the tour on August 29th, 2008 at the Molson Amphitheatre, you can view the weather here. I hope it doesn't rain on that day leading up to Labour day weekend - I had to go to the airshow the next day!!!

When the news suddenly broke out, I began to buy my tickets right away. I spent around $115 (estimated) for two tickets for the particular concert. If you combine this with the ongoing Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, It's going to be a hardcore show! I saved a lot of money on planning to go to that particular concert, by selling some stuff that I don't need on eBay along with the money that was left over from the Warped Tour this year. I also contribute all of my spare change that I had saved over three years.

Anyways, the things that I will buy from the concert are t-shirts, hoodies and many other things in between. I also made a video blog about the tour, which you can view here:

I hope that the tour will be successful! If you guys bought your tickets already, enjoy the show!!! :D

References:

"A simple plan - and a van." Herenb.com. 15 August 2008. 18 August 2008. <http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/magazine/article/385324>

"The BBQ report." Herenb.com. 14 August 2008. 18 August 2008. <http://herenb.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/383713>

"Simple Plan welcomes new special guests for tour." 09 July 2008. 18 August 2008. <http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=151228&sc=79>

The most important attractions that will sure interest me is the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto and Simple Plan's upcoming tour. In Vancouver meanwhile, the Pacific National Exhibition aka the PNE is taking place at the same time as the CNE in Toronto. There are a lot of things to see and do to finish off the summer holidays.

Back to my concert plan right now and I have been planning for this since the announcement came out back in May. I'm starting to save money for the concert and I will use the money to spend on some merchandise at the concert - from t-shirts, hoodies - the list goes on and on and on....

Anyways, I'm going to consider posting a video of my own review of the concert that I will attend on August 29th. I hope you guys will find that very interesting.

Back to the CNE now and my favourite attractions are the food building, shopping areas, the parade and most importantly - the Canadian International Airshow. The CF-18 hornet and the Snowbirds flying crew are my hardcore favourites.

To finish off this blog for today, I'm leaving you a song lyric by a band called Hedley. The song is called "Dear Blank".

No I don't owe you anything
To hell with "I'm sorry" bombs away
No I don't owe you anything
You're like a bullet to my
Brain I'm numb
Can't kill my fun
If you're good and done
Then thank you just the same
And I don't owe you anything

Enjoy you summer holidays until they last....:)

This documentary will coincide with Simple Plan's upcoming tour which will be in full force on August 19th, 2008 and conclude on September 13th, 2008. If you guys haven't got your tickets yet, you better hurry. The Montreal show on August 26th was sold out earlier, but due to overwhelming demand another block of tickets for anothe show on September 13th, 2008 is already into full swing!!!

If you guys are watching the documentary tonight, don't forget to set your VCR's, DVD recorders and/or Tivo recorders (a Personal Video Recorder or PVR) for this exciting action!

Missed the show? No problem, you can watch the show over and over again at http://www.cbc.ca/simpleplan/

Je roule jusque Quesnoy où j'ai fais mon petit sport matinal, je retourne jusqu'à ma maison, et là... Je croise Dame Catherine et son compagnon. Après un JOYEUX ANNIVERSAIRE [Eh oui 45 ans... ] nous allons au grand et beau marché de Quesnoy. Je retourne ensuite chez mon Papou à Wambrechies [What a pleasure...]

Dans l'après midi ma grande sœur Elodie nous rejoint avec Seb' et sa mère; on se balade dans les bois avec la chienne. Il fait très beau voir un peu trop chaud... mais je ne me plains pas, c'est génial! Ensuite Tiffany nous rejoint, et direction QUESNOY de nouveau! On s'arrête chez les futur beaux parents de Titi, qui sont tout simplement géniaux et on arrive enfin à la maison...

La soirée s'est déroulée exactement comme je l'imaginais. Petits sourires, petites blagues, vieilles réflexions, sourires, un petit coup de froideur, sourire, coup de tension, sourire, nerfs titillés... Bref "Nub nove sub sole" [ou quelque chose comme ça =P]

Encore un article de merde mais c'est ma vie... [Ma vie c'est de la merde? Peut être ouais...]

En tout cas, demain je vois ma p'tite Marine, ma belle Charlotte, Clément [une heure après =D ] et Victoria chérie!

[ Belle journée en perspective... ]

Mon iPod est rechargé =D

Alexandre

F1 teams Toro Rosso and BMW-Sauber may be interested in accommodating rising GP2 driver Sebastien Buemi in the near future.

The Swiss daily Le Matin quotes BMW boss Mario Theissen as praising the developing talents of the 19-year-old, who is currently a test driver for Red Bull.

With Sebastian Vettel moving on to the senior team in 2009, speculation has linked Buemi's name with the vacant seat at Toro Rosso.

But Theissen may also be interested, particularly following Buemi's run of good form in GP2, the F1 feeder category.

"When he was in formula BMW, he was very young but immediately very fast.

"He can still make the odd mistake, but I am following the GP2 championship very closely and I find that Sebastien is making consistent progress."

He would not, however, be drawn on suggestions that Buemi is at the top of the list for a BMW-Sauber contract, perhaps initially as a test driver.

"Let's see how his season progresses, but I am not saying no."

Neal's View: With Hiedfeld under pressure there may be a seat at BMW for next season. Unless Kubica signs a new contract there will be a spare seat at BMW next season. A Swiss driver would satisfy the needs of the Swiss-based team, and Swiss sponsors, Credit Suisse. Toro Rosso have a spare seat after Sebastien Vettel was promoted to the Red Bull squad and the Red Bull-backed racer could be next in line.

The second band in out series highlighting the local South Korean bands that will be performing at this year's Pentaport Rock Festival is the electronic band “The Ratios”. “The Ratios” are Vada on vocals; Sang Jin on synthesizer and sound making machines; Jung Jun on bass; Yong Sik on drums; and Yun Tack as the sound designer.

Followers of the late-'90s Korean heavy metal will probably identify the name Vada as the lead vocalist for the super-group Sinawe, which broke up in 1999. “The music scene was a lot better then. There were all kinds of music being heard in Korea, punk, rock, psychedelic rock – and almost anything. Our most memorable performance was at Seoul National University in ’96. We were the first band to perform there, and the students were hungry for live music then. The turnout was a lot more than we expected, with 2,000 people showing up.”

Echoing the sentiments of “Broccoli, you too?”, Vada (or Kim Ba Da) feels that there is not enough variety in Korean music today. “What you hear in Korea today is mostly light sounding pop music with a smaller following. Everybody in Korea is so busy working to support a family that most people don’t have time for very much leisure activity.” In South Korea, it is quite common for salarymen to work twelve-hour days.

Despite their current release, “Burning Telepathy”, featuring about half of the songs written with English lyrics, it is their music itself that attracts listeners of any language. The Ratios have a unique sound that mixes high-energy electronica with a driving bass and drum beat. The sound designer, Yun Tack, also adds an incredible range of nuances using various DJ and hip-hop techniques. Tracks from the band’s latest album can be heard on their Myspace page. The Ratios have a stage presence that can enthrall an audience of any size, from club audiences to those the size of the Pentaport Rock Festival.

“There is influx of foreign music to Korea, but hardly any Korean music being heard abroad. I would like to show the rest of the world what Korean music is really like, and to introduce [contemporary] music produced with Korean instruments,” Vada said. Vada listens to glam rock artists such as TRex, David Bowie and Ian Brown, most of the time. “The first time I heard rock, I was blown away.” Jung Jun listens to ambient music artists such as Oasis and Ian Brown. Sang Jin listens to electronic artists such as Sebastien and Justix. Yong Sik listens to classic rock the most. And Yun Tack listens to electronica.

After Sinawe broke up in 1999, Vada was the front man for “Butterfly Effect” which had performed at the 2007 Pentaport Rock Festival. After the band splitted in 2004, Vada contacted Sang Jin, having heard his music before, to discuss forming a new band. The rest of the band members have been long time friends. “It took awhile to come up with a name for the band.” Vada chose the name “The Ratios” because he likes the way it sounds. Vada and Sang Jin write most of the songs for the band.

Vada’s recording experience, from his tenure with Sinawe and Butterfly Effect, have developed his skill in leading a crowd when performing, and finding the right sounds when working on writing songs. Future plans for The Ratios include touring clubs in Japan this summer. “I would also like to do a concert out in the forest sometime.” Their goal for Pentaport Rock Festival is to give their electrifying performance – celebrating their love for music with an international audience, and redefining Korean music as more than just Kpop.

For more information, please visit:

• Pentaport Rock Festival 2008 website
  
• Broccoli, you too?
• The Ratios and Vada
• Sinawe
• Club Volume
• Annual World DJ Festival
• Preview of Pentaport Rock Festival 2008 with event dates - from 3c Arts+Culture Blogzine

All photos and text for this article are provided by David B. Mann. For more information on David visit his website and his profile page

Quote by the author, David Mann - "I see photography as a treasure hunt - you never know what you are going to find. This is also my philosophy of life in general. It is what fueled my desire to move to New York City after graduating the University of North Texas, skydive, and work on a cruise ship for six months. This love of adventure is also what brought me to the Korean peninsula. It is what inspires me to pick up the camera each morning and look for the subtle back-beat of every day life."

"My skill as a photographer is the result of working as a Director of Photography and Gaffer on independent films while living in New York City. I also have experience working in the audio/visual markets in the Houston, TX area. I am now working in South Korea, and very excited by the new directions I can explore with my photography."

Espero que no pase como el año pasado. El fichaje más sonado, por eso de que era el único al que conociamos la gran mayoría de la afición, fue el de Boulahrouz, y vaya temporadita que ha dado el Holandés.

Sebastien Squillaci, de 28 años de edad, 1.85 metros de altura y casi 80 kg de peso, llega procedente del Lyon, donde la temporada pasada disputó 34 partidos de liga.

A falta de uno o dos jugadores para completar la plantilla (esto lo supongo yo, tras la marcha de Poulsen y a la espera de una auténtica bomba), este Sevilla ya ha sembrado las bases, y se perfila un once titular parecido al siguiente:

--------------Palop--------------

Konko---Squillaci---Drago---F.Navarro

Navas---Romaric---Maresca---Adriano

-------Kanouté-----Luis Fabiano----

Como vengo diciendo me parece peor equipo en líneas generales que la temporada pasada. Pero eso sí, la defensa, a pesar de perder al mejor lateral derecho del mundo, la veo mucho más consolidada y con más seguridad.

To view the recent addition on Cute is what we aim for, click here.

For the news on Simple Plan's upcoming tour, click here.

Faber Drive goes here.

Next stop, Metro Station.