Super Bowl Ads

It never ceases to amaze me that there is as much, if not more, buzz around the commercials that will be played during the Super Bowl than the event itself. However, since I'm not a football fan, I must admit that the ads and halftime show hold more interest for me than the game. What time does the puck drop (just kidding, I'm not that ignorant - at least I know hockey.) In case you miss one of the ads, want to know more, or just watch them again, Mahalo will be providing live coverage and has a great collection of all the ads that played during Super Bowl XLIII, including one by Amy Borkowsky, the woman who's using the opportunity to look for a husband.

Angels and Demons Super Bowl Ad
Budweiser Clydesdale Super Bowl Ad
Career Builder Super Bowl Ad
Cars.com Super Bowl Ad
Cheetos Super Bowl Ad
Chuck Super Bowl Ad
Denny's Super Bowl Ad
Doritos "Free Doritos" Super Bowl Ad
Doritos New Flavor Pitch Super Bowl Ad
Doritos Power of the Crunch Super Bowl Ad
Doritos Super Bowl Ad
Doritos The Chase Super Bowl Ad
Doritos Too Delicious Super Bowl Ad
Fast and the Furious Super Bowl Ad
Frosted Flakes Super Bowl Ad
GI Joe Super Bowl Ad
Go Daddy Danica Patrick Super Bowl Ad
Go Daddy Super Bowl Ad
H and R Block Super Bowl Ad
Heineken Super Bowl Ad
Heroes Super Bowl Ad
Hyundai Genesis Super Bowl Ad
Hyundai Super Bowl Ad
Jay Leno Super Bowl Ad
Kings Super Bowl Ad
LMAO NBC Super Bowl Ad
Land of the Lost Super Bowl Ad
Medium Super Bowl Ad
Miller One Second Super Bowl Ad
Monsters vs. Aliens Super Bowl Ad
NFL Network Super Bowl Ad
Pedigree Super Bowl Ad
Pepsi Super Bowl Ad
Sobe Lizard Lake Super Bowl Ad
Sobe Super Bowl Ad
Star Trek Super Bowl Ad
Teleflora Super Bowl Ad
Transformers Super Bowl Ad

And just in case you run out of snacks, you can also find ideas for Super Bowl recipes and snacks at Mahalo.

Go Flames Go!

As a Canadian gal with a hockey-playing dad, I grew up watching the Calgary Flames at every opportunity. Sure, at first it was just an excuse to stay up late, but as I got older I learned to appreciate the game and my hometown team. Although it's been a while and I was much too young to partake in most of the festivities, I remember clearly the way the city celebrated when the Flames won the Cup in '89. I've since moved away from Calgary, but seeing the city rally behind their team during the Flames' Cup run in 2004 made me more homesick for the city than I've ever been.

On paper, the Flames have one of the best teams in the league: Captain Jarome Iginla has been among the top scorers in the League for the past several years and defenseman Dion Phaneuf is among the hardest defensive hitters. Probably because my dad played goal, I've always had a soft spot for goalies and Miikka Kipprusoff is no exception. However, I must admit I was getting a little wary and frustrated with Kipper's performance so far this season since his was obviously not playing to his full potential. Up until the past four games, the Flames had only recorded two wins (one of which was in overtime) out of five games played this season. Their League standing was embarrassing.

However, they are on a four game winning streak and tonight, Kipprusoff recorded his first shutout. I'm hoping that this signals the end of a shaky start and is the sign that Kipper and the team are back up to par and on their way to another Stanley Cup.

Here's the Flames' promo video for this season. Man, those guys are big.

The Onion Movie: Don't Bother

I watched The Onion Movie the other night and I must say I was sorely disappointed. I'm a big fan of The Onion and, in my opinion, The Onion News Network is the best "fake news" out there, next to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, of course. However, after watching the movie, it became obvious that the ONN just doesn't translate to the big screen.

Although there were a few chuckle-worthy moments, The Onion Movie was just a collection of loosely related sketches tied together with a weak, wandering story line. And don't even get me started on the ending: Suffice it to say that it was worse than the lamest Hollywood romantic comedy.

In short: Stick to watching The Onion News Network for satirical news. At least that way, if you run across a segment that's not clever or entertaining, you will have only wasted a few minutes rather than an hour and a half.

Clip from The Onion News Network:

Old, Grizzled Third-Party Candidate May Steal Support From McCain

Bill Maher's Religulous

I went to see Bill Maher's documentary Religulous today. It's pretty rare that I go to see movies on opening night; I think the last movie I went to see on opening weekend was last summer when The Simpsons Movie came out. I am a fan of Maher, though, and always find his religious tirades entertaining. Although there were a few old clips of Maher talking about religion during stand up routines, he remained respectively tame on the subject and was clearly trying not to judge or sway his interviewees. As he explained in an interview with Jon Stewart last week, Maher is not an atheist. Rather, he admits that he simply doesn't know whether there is a God or what the afterlife holds. As he says in the final monologue, "doubt is humble."

The film does not set out to bash religion, but rather to ask why. Why do people believe so vehemently in their given religion and take such offense when other people question their beliefs or believe something different than they do? Why do people believe so strongly in things that cannot be proven, yet refuse to believe other things for which the evidence is overwhelming? How much do people actually know about their religion? There were more than a few blank stares when Maher asked an interviewee a question about contradictions in the Bible or how certain passages from the Qu'ran have been interpreted.

Maher travels the world, from The Vatican, Jerusalem and the site of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, a truck stop church in the heartland of America and a Christian theme park in Florida to pose these questions to people of all walks of life. He interviews priests, rabbis, scientists, a U.S. senator, a Jesus impersonator, a Vatican astronomer, an alleged descendant of Jesus and several average citizens about religion. In an attempt to approach the subject with a logical approach, he is repeatedly met with illogical answers. Many of the interviewees blamed politics for how their religion is interpreted or the less than peaceful activities some believers engage in.

Although I enjoyed the film, I must admit that there were fewer laugh-out-loud moments than I had hoped for, although there were a few. The interview with a wacky Vatican priest who agreed to speak with Maher after he got kicked out (you've got to see that one for yourself, because words just can't do it justice), a scene in which he convinces a fellow cannabis enthusiast that his head is on fire and when Maher preaches the tenets of Scientology among other religious zealots in London's Hyde Park are all good for a chuckle.

As my movie companion said, in the film, Maher is basically preaching to the choir. Maher fans who see the film will pretty much get what they expect and I doubt that any religious enthusiasts who see this film (if there are any) will suddenly abandon their faith. Maher doesn't say or propose anything that most of us haven't heard before. If anything, it may make people, as Maher does, ask why, or perhaps have the courage to admit that they simply don't know.

Here's the trailer. If you like what you see, I definitely recommend you go see the movie.

Here's a clip of Maher discussing the film with Larry King:

Snow on Mars

This summer, one of the Mars Rover vehicles recorded footage of what appeared to be ice on the surface of Mars. Tests performed by NASA scientists confirmed that the substance was, in fact, frozen water. Today it was reported that the Mars Phoenix Lander, which landed on Mars' north pole in May, captured footage of snow falling in the Martian atmosphere.

Read the full NASA press release here.