NorthGeek

Why diving in soccer?

I tweeted last week for help to understand diving in soccer. I treasure international sporting competitions like the World Cup, and well, there’s little like the World Cup. But I have a difficult time not finding myself very frustrated during the seemingly wussy behaviour when a player sobs and grits his teeth while rolling on the grass in anguish after a little fall to the ground:

Just Like This
Brazil’s Rivaldo in 2002:

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006:

What I’ve Learned
I got some useful replies, but basically theatrics are just as important a part of soccer as fighting is a part of hockey, and you just have to get used to it. John Doyle (MisterJohnDoyle on Twitter) wrote a great piece in The Globe and Mail:

The fact is, in some countries, mainly Latin nations, soccer is as much theatre as it is athletic endeavour.
[…]
They are men. They intend to win. By any means necessary.
[…]
The World Cup is the biggest sports event on the plant. Applying our small notions about manliness and sportsmanship is unsophisticated and small. Get over it.

Basically, just get used to it, because it’s an intrinsic part of the sport. And it’s not going to change anytime soon. In most countries, it’s not frowned upon — if you don’t scoff at it, you might even be considered more tolerant of different cultures and ideals. Got it.

But, My Issues

• The number of referees in each game: it looks like there’s only one ref (other than linesmen?) on the field, possibly two. How can they expect this one person to cover the whole match?
• Athletes are simply very, very bad actors: this point doesn’t need much more explanation. They’re good with their feet, and well, that’s about it. Bad actors who are actors just don’t get jobs.
• Ronaldo is not known as a sneaky performer but as someone who always falls down. Does that just make him clumsy?
• And most irksome to me, by diving, you are playing to expect the referee to direct important outcomes of a game through mistakes and not through your own abilities. I have a huge issue with that. I will clearly never fully accept this part of soccer.

One More
Just because it’s so comical to watch, here’s one more exceptional dive from one of the greatest: Rinaldo.

Still the tournament has just begun, and if you can get beyond the non-creative and non-musical drone of the vuvuzelas, the skill of these athletes, the aesthetics of the game, and the rarity of pitting country versus country cannot be matched. I’ll be watching. Very closely.

Afterthought
Ultimately, sports usually fall into the classes of those judged, those raced, and those refereed. You don’t always have the simplicity of a clean race. This is just the inventiveness of sport. What are your thoughts on this?

BP Spills Coffee

Funny of the day
The BP oil spill is a terrible thing, but if we’re talking about spilling coffee, it’s too funny and, of course, at BP’s expense. Credit: UCB Comedy

Choose Canadian Food

Hellmann’s is launching a campaign that is bang on. Our food imports in Canada are growing way too quickly, and that’s not just exotic fruits. We need to do something about this. Ask — where does our food come from? Look… ask… buy Canadian food whenever and wherever possible.

Sharp Dressed Man

Have you ever seen such an epic wedding drummer? This man is playing the wrong gig.

Rick K. and the Allnighters performing Sharp Dressed Man at Knoebels Grove 7/13/08 (via @chrisonhismac)

Wait, there’s more. Mony Mony:

Wipeout:

WIND Mobile Launches in Vancouver

Today, WIND Mobile has finally launched in Vancouver. They held an opening day launch event at their Yaletown store this morning. We at NorthGeek really appreciate having a new player in Canada to offer mobile services to the masses and finally to bring some competition to the stale Rogers, Telus, and Bell. However, it seems there’s still much confusion over what exactly WIND is.

WIND Mobile Yaletown Vancouver store

So here’s our rundown for you, thanks to Melissa Clark, WIND Mobile’s VP Sales and Distribution, and some of their technical team.

WIND Mobile is NOT:
An MVNO, or Mobile Virtual Network Operator, like Virgin, the major success around the world, and unfortunately a flop (shuffled under the Bell rug) here in Canada. An MVNO piggy-backs on a carrier’s network, is the front facing entity to the customer, but doesn’t own the network themselves. “MVNO” has become a taboo term, especially in Canada, with their spectacular flops (Amp’d in the US).

IS full carrier. WIND Mobile paid $442M for wireless spectrum (as auctioned in 2008) in pockets across Canada, but none in Quebec. They are spending more than that (to date) on network infrastructure (switches, base stations, etc). Oh and they’ll need much more. Building a mobile network in a country as spread apart as Canada is no small task. However, they have the backing of Orascom (global group of telecom companies) WIND affiliates, and other foreign investors (hand-cuffed by Canada’s stifling foreign ownership policy. They paid big money for network gear from Huawei and Alcatel Lucent — unfortunately nothing from Canadian vendors. Boo.

NOT just offering regional, urban coverage. When Fido originally launched as Microcell in 1997, they only had coverage in urban areas. Well, 2010 is very different. Consumers expect coverage everywhere: talk, text, data.

IS full coverage across Canada, however you’re going to pay an additional cost outside of the (current) five zones. They’ll be adding more zones in the coming months/years, and have plans including this “roaming” — you just wouldn’t be advised to get WIND yet if you live outside of those five current zones.

And it was no small feat to get coverage across Canada. Rogers, Telus, and Bell were evidently extremely uncooperative allowing WIND Mobile to share their cell towers (common practice across the industry). In fact, appealing The Big Three on this is a one-by-one incident affair. What a waste of resources. Outside of WIND Mobile zones, customers will roam on Rogers. I believe this is only talk and text, unless your phone supports both WIND’s 3G frequency (1700MHz) and Rogers’ 850MHz.

International roaming is looking good. In the US it’s currently just 25 cents a minute — what a bargain versus Rogers’ robbery of $1.50/minute! Around the globe, it looks pretty similar to anyone else.

NOT an iPhone carrier. Currently the iPhone 3G doesn’t work on WIND’s 3G frequency. You can still use your iPhone on WIND if you’re willing to unlock the phone AND accept EDGE data speeds. iPhone is just not available in 1700MHz (a bane for US’s T-Mobile as well), and don’t hold your breath for that to change.

Will your phone work with WIND? Most phones support multiple bands. For one, it has to be a GSM phone (has a SIM card in it). If it supports 1700 (check the specs), you’ll have 3G (fast data) access, otherwise just talk and text. Get in touch with customer support to find out. They want to hear what phones you want to use.

Android devices will be coming to WIND soon, likely the first from Huawei. Maybe even the HTC EVO? There are two Blackberries in the current lineup.

NOT just another Canadian mobile carrier, we hope. WIND is trying to promote value and transparency. That is their shtick. It’s no gimmick, but is certainly missing in Canada.

IS going to fight hard to make inroads into the market. Some might say they’re even desperate. They’re offering a $150 porting bonus (check for details, this deal is on the down-low), 6 month half price on your plan, no contracts yet discounted phones, and plan prices to compete. There are no contracts, so these are big gambles. The cost per new subscriber is quite high in the wireless business. WIND’s could be even higher.

Is it sustainable? For one, today they were offering $1 hot dogs on the street. Did you get one or ten?

WIND Mobile selling $1 hot dogs at their Vancouver launch

IS… Even if WIND fails, it will have a significant effect on the current Canadian market. Rogers copied them with their Redboard — an online forum for Rogers customers to communicate with the marketing folks and vice versa (well, they listen and reply, but don’t really do anything).

CONCLUSION
Canada needs this. Canadian mobile consumers desperately need something fresh. Rogers, Bell, and Telus have dragged their asses for too long. I want to support WIND (and Moblicity and Videotron and any other upstart) for that simple reason. And it’s going to cost WIND a whole lotta dough to get mindshare and understanding in Canada. Bring on the marketing team!

Are you out of a contract? Consider joining them. I would, but alas I’m one of the suckers who signed with Fido for 3 years just to get the iPhone, that being my first mobile phone contract ever. I’m certain I will never do that again. Bring on open Android devices and upstart carriers like WIND.

UPDATE
Here are some other things I really like about WIND and you should like too:

• Simple plan choice. Have you ever tried to wade through the Rogers website to figure out your plan?
• Fair usage: “If you exceed 5GB of data usage within any given month, we won’t cap your usage but we may slow your speed so that all customers can better share the network.” That’s on the $35/month Infinite data add-on.
• Treating pre-paid customers the same as post-paid. Both have access to the same plans. Pre-paid customers are no longer second class citizens.

Update: WIND Mobile has tweeted a correction to our published promotion. Don’t quote us on the deal above, but keep in mind that they are offering some great promotions this early:

Winners of the BC Beer Awards 2010

To cap off the enjoyable Vancouver Craft Beer Week, the first ever BC Beer Awards were handed out on Friday at Vancouver’s Heritage Hall. Each category was awarded with Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners in a blind-judged beer competition for local commercial brewers. NorthGeek was at Hoppapalooza to savour some of these very beers ourselves, including (Yaletown Brew Pub) Iain Hill’s Brick and Beam IPA, the big winner: “Iain Hill has this beer dialed in right now. HUGE tropical fruit nose from the addition of Amarillo & Simcoe hops in the dry hop. Delicate. Incredible” (in the words of the Alibi Room).

Session Ale
1st Saltspring Golden Ale
2nd Howe Sound Garibaldi Pale Ale
3rd Whistler Honey Lager

Wheat Beer
1st Yaletown Hill’s Special
2nd Driftwood White Bark Wheat
3rd Steamworks ipanema Wheat

Lager
1st Vancouver Island Herman’s Dark Lager
2nd Okanagan Springs 1516 Lager
3rd Longwood Pilsner

Amber/Brown
1st Granville Island Nut Brown Ale
2nd Canoe Beaver Brown Ale
3rd Tree Brewing Hophead 45 Red Ale

Pale Ale
1st Central City Red Racer ESB
2nd Driftwood Ale
3rd Central City Red Racer Pale Ale

Other Dark
1st Phillips Skookum Cascadian Dark Ale
2nd Okanagan Spring Black Lager
3rd Fat Cat Bunny’s Black and Tan

Fruit Flavored
1st Storm Black Currant Lambic
2nd Phillips Longboat Chocolate Porter
3rd Swans Coconut Porter

IPA
1st Yaletown Brick and Beam IPA
2nd High Mountain Wodward’s IPA
3rd Central City Red Racer IPA

Stouts / Porters
1st Phillips The Hammer Imperial Stout
2nd Lighthouse Keeper’s Stout
3rd Howe Sound Diamond Head Stout

Spiced / Seasonal
1st Yaletown Oud Bruin
2nd Tree Brewing Spiced Reserve
3rd Driftwood Farmhand Ale

Strong Beer
1st Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine
2nd Central City Thor’s Hammer Barley Wine
3rd Swans Scotch Ale

BEST OF SHOW
Ian Hill’s Yaletown Brick and Beam IPA

Iain Hill, Head Brewer Yaletown Brewing Company, via yaletown.ca

NFB Online Short Film Contest – Love and Theft

Love and Theft is Andreas Hykade‘s entry into The National Film Board of Canada’s Online Short Film Contest. Wow, truly mesmerizing:

Check out the other 10 short-listed entries here. Public voting for this contest ends May 17, but don’t forget how much amazing content is available for free always on the NFB.ca site!

This entry appears to be the only Canadian one — The Technician by Simon Olivier Fecteau:

R & B Brewing – Hoppelganger IPA (NorthGeek Beer Review Series)

We drank Hoppelganger earlier this week, from the bottle, then got to enjoy a tour of the brewery as part of the Vancouver Craft Beer Week. And then, yes, we had more Hoppelganger.

Name: Hoppelganger IPA
Style: Northwest style India Pale Ale
Brewery: R & B Brewing Co
Brewery Location: Vancouver, BC

Color: Amber, slight red
Apparent Flavours (according to DW & NB): Slight hoppy, orange, floral, some bitterness (fits with the slight hoppy)

NB Summary: Formerly called Hop Goblin, the Hoppelganger is a very drinkable IPA. It’s a nice combination of five hop varieties and premium english malt. For someone new to bitter IPAs, this is a great start and easily likable, as it’s well balanced and not overly bitter or hoppy. The first impression is that it’s sweet and pleasantly malty and would easily accompany lots of meals. It’s not as distinct or strong willed as some other Northwest style IPAs, but I will definitely drink this one again, especially considering the brewery is just a hop from where I live (support local).

DW Summary: As a fan of true (American-style) IPAs, I was quite pleased with R&B’s Hoppelganger. It’s a really easy-drinking bitter beer – not overly bitter, and the hops are not overwhelming – just right, in my opinion. Very refreshing. After seeing the brewing process at the R&B brewery (great tour led by Rick – the “R” in R&B), my appreciation for this beer in particular is stronger than ever. Looking forward to opening up another jumbo bottle soon.

~~

NB’s NorthGeek Beer Taster Ratings:

This beer is a: Casual drinking beer / Meal companion beer / Dessert beer

Taste 15/20
Smell 9/10
Goes down easy 8/10
Head consistency 8/10
Aftertaste 11/15
Bottle/Packaging 4/5
I would recommend this beer 9/10

TOTAL: 64/80

DW’s NorthGeek Beer Taster Ratings:

This beer is a: Casual drinking beer / Meal companion beer / Dessert beer

Taste 18/20
Smell 8/10
Goes down easy 8/10
Head consistency 6/10
Aftertaste 13/15
Bottle/Packaging 3/5
I would recommend this beer 10/10

TOTAL: 66/80

NORTHGEEK TOTAL: 65/80

What are your thoughts on this beer?

Phillips Brewing – Surly Blonde (NorthGeek Beer Review Series)

We drink beer. Mostly BC beer for now. We tell you what we like.

Name: Surly Blonde Big Belgian Triple
Style: Tripel (aka triple) strong pale ale
Brewery: Phillips Brewing Company
Brewery Location: Victoria, BC

Color: Golden orange
Apparent Flavours (according to DW & NB): Bananas, sweet, fruity, spicy, yeast

NB Summary: This Belgian style ale is very drinkable, probably because it is sweet and relatively neutral on secondary flavors. So I will definitely drink this again, but it’s not close to being my favorite Belgian style trappist/strong ale — those, like Orval and Leffe, have lots of rich, secondary, adventure-seeking flavors. Pros: cool (maybe generic) label, nice rich color, crisp taste, sweet, high alcohol content (9.1%) that is still easily drinkable. Cons: fleeting white head, simple flavors. Phillips is going to get some mixed reviews on this one!

DW Summary: A very “pretty-colored” beer, I really liked this one. Belgian ales are among my favorite brews, and this Surly Blonde did not disappoint – other than maybe the smell. I would have really liked it with a wedge (or piece? What’s it called when it’s round, has the rind on it, and a little slit to rest on the rim of your glass?) of orange, and probably would have REALLY enjoyed sipping it outside on a hot day with the sun burning my face. Either way, I’ll be drinking this beer again!

~~

NB’s NorthGeek Beer Taster Ratings:

This beer is a: Casual drinking beer / Meal companion beer / Dessert beer

Taste 16/20
Smell 9/10
Goes down easy 9/10
Head consistency 4/10
Aftertaste 11/15
Bottle/Packaging 4/5
I would recommend this beer 8/10

TOTAL: 61/80

DW’s NorthGeek Beer Taster Ratings:

This beer is a: Casual drinking beer / Meal companion beer / Dessert beer

Taste 17/20
Smell 5/10
Goes down easy 8/10
Head consistency 7/10
Aftertaste 13/15
Bottle/Packaging 3/5
I would recommend this beer 9/10

TOTAL: 62/80

NORTHGEEK TOTAL: 61.5/80

What are your thoughts on this beer? Are we being too harsh in our reviews? Don’t get us wrong, we’re proud of our local BC brewers! Share in the comments below.

Win a Year of Ben & Jerry’s, Name Their New Canadian Flavour

If your suggestion for Ben & Jerry’s new flavour is selected, you can win one year of ice cream. You can now submit your idea on their Facebook page. The winner will be announced in late July — by then, you’ll be really overheated and wanting some ice cream.

Note: it’s a great, fun contest, but I think we’re all a little bit more weary about adding Facebook applications to our profiles these days, and this is exactly what you have to do to enter this contest.

Update June 3 2010: Ben & Jerry’s is launching a new flavour: “Ben & Jerry’s is taking to the ice in a whole new way this summer. Teaming up with NHLPA Goals & Dreams, Ben & Jerry’s is launching their newest Canadian flavour – Caramel Hat Trick – in support of grassroots hockey programs across the country. A triple-threat of caramel ice cream with a caramel swirl and fudge covered caramel chunks, Caramel Hat Trick is helping kids “hit the ice” in a whole new way! For every pint of Caramel Hat Trick sold, a portion of the proceeds will be directed to grassroots hockey to help young Canadians across the country realize their hockey potential.”