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Marvel Universe Live

My Workout With The Cast Of Marvel Universe Live

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Blogging is such a funny thing. There are so many times that I am left pinching myself at some of the cool opportunities that have come my way and there were plenty of new pinch marks on my arms after this past weekend.

I had the opportunity to meet Hayley and Josh Murillo, who are cast members of the Marvel Universe Live show that is touring North America right now. Not only did I get a chance to meet them but they also took me through one of the workouts the cast uses to keep fit for the show. I’m not going to lie, it was a physically humbling experience and something I definitely felt the next day. Luckily for all of you I recorded the whole humiliating exercise and you can now watch it below…

Later that same night I took my family to the actual Marvel Universe live show and have to say that it was absolutely outstanding! Seriously, the motorcycle stunts alone would have been worth the price of admission but to see all of my favourite superheroes standing right in front of me sent me into a full on geek attack. I don’t want to spoil the show for anyone so I will simply say that when the Hulk appears for the first time we were all in awe of his costume and performance.

If you have children who love comics or if you are a huge fan of the Marvel Universe you need to go see this show. The production value was second to none and you are left shaking your head at some of the stunts the performers pull off during the show. They is flying, explosions, people on fire and Xmen. What more could you ask for??

Alright, I’ve talked enough. Please take a couple minutes to check out my interview and workout with the cast of Marvel Universe Live! Also, thank you so much to Feld Entertainment and the Canadian Tire Centre for allowing me to continuing doing my thing!

Disney On Ice Worlds Of Fantasy

Win 4 Tickets To Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy {Ottawa}

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Disney on Ice has been a staple event in our house since we’ve had kids. I have to admit that while the skaters are all extremely talented and the show quality is second to none, I get the most joy out of watching my children’s faces throughout the show. You can see the “Disney magic” in their eyes as they shout out the names of the characters as they pour out onto the ice.

Disney on Ice’s Worlds of Fantasy show will be hitting the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa from February 25th to March 1st and I want your family to be there! With the help of Canadian Tire Centre and Feld Entertainment, I am giving away a 4 pack of tickets to the February 25th show, so you can experience the magic yourself. All you have to do is enter using the form below and a winner will be chosen on February 15th. Easy as that!

Don’t want to wait to win tickets? No worries, you can buy your tickets by visiting www.CapitalTickets.ca, by phone at 613-599-FANS (3267) or 1-877-788-FANS (3267). Here is a little more info on the show:

Rev up for non-stop fun Wednesday, Feb. 25, through Sunday, March 1, at Canadian Tire Centre with four of your favourite Disney stories at Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy. Thrill to high-speed stunts as Lightning McQueen, Mater and the crew of Disney/Pixar’s Cars race across the ice. Dive into The Little Mermaid’s enchanting undersea kingdom and enter the mystical world of Pixie Hollow with Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies as they reveal the magic that lies within. The toys are back in town with heroic action when Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the Toy Story gang escape from the rambunctious tots of Sunnyside Daycare and race for home, in their most daring adventure ever!

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Disney On Ice Delivers Again!

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Let’s face it, having children can get pretty expensive, which means that we have to choose our activities and events wisely. After attending Disney on Ice’s “100 Years of Magic” event at the Canadian Tire Centre last night, I can say with complete certainty that it is worth the price of admission for my family. It sounds cliche to praise Disney but between the light displays and the non stop action in their stories, they really know how to put on an amazing show that a whole family can enjoy.

From my son screaming, “Stitch, Stitch!!!”, in my ear, to my daughter’s excited squeals at seeing all of her favourite princesses, there was never a dull moment for the entire two hours of the show. Admittedly, I spent more time watching the wonder in my children’s eyes than I did the show, but seeing their joy alone was completely worth it. On the adult front, my wife and I both agreed that the production of Mulan’s story completely stole the show and had me drawn in as if I were watching a Broadway play. It’s really tough to explain how good the quality of the production is without you watching it yourself but I promise you that you will be amazed.

One of the other cool things about these shows is that I’ve had the opportunity to get to know a few of the cast members and have come to find out that they are all fascinating people in their own unique ways. You may remember a few weeks ago, I interviewed cast member, Matthew McLean, and this week I had the chance to chat with Kirstie Nelson, who also taught me how to do the ever popular, “Twizzle”, of Olympic fame. Kirstie’s bio blew me away by how diverse she is and because we had major audio issues with the audio during filming, I just wanted to point out a few of her many talents. She is a surfer, hair stylist, figure skating champion, yoga instructor, who also happened to graduate University with a degree in chemical engineering. Yes, I felt like an incredibly lazy human being after reading all of that. Anyway, I have attached our interview below and even though you may not be able to hear the whole thing, you can always skip to the end to watch my incredible Twizzles!!!

Thanks to Feld Entertainment and Canadian Tire Centre for facilitating the interview and I offer my sincere apologies for the technical issues with our sound. On the bright side, guess who just purchased a bunch of new sound equipment… Also, the Ottawa show runs until Sunday Feb 23rd, so there’s still time to see the show! You can buy tickets RIGHT HERE!

Disney on Ice cast

Win 4 Tickets To See Disney On Ice In Ottawa!

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Hi! You might remember me from such events as, last year’s Disney on Ice extravaganza!! The folks at Disney and the Canadian Tire Centre were kind enough to let me skate with the cast of Disney on Ice last year and I have been in love with the tour ever since. That, and the fact that my kids still haven’t stopped asking to watch clips on YouTube.

I’m excited to announce that Disney on Ice is bringing its 100 Years of Magic tour back to Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre from Feb 19th to the 23rd. Here is a quick synopsis of the show:

More than 60 of Disney’s captivating characters and their unforgettable stories come to life in this commemorative celebration, produced by Feld Entertainment. In this lavish ice show, everyone’s favorite sweethearts, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, take audiences on a fun-filled adventure, sharing memories with Disney friends including Goofy, Donald Duck, the beloved Disney Princesses, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio, Mulan, Timon, Pumbaa, Stitch, Nemo and The Incredibles.

I had the chance to have a chat with cast member Matthew McLean about his time on tour. We talked about his past as a Blackjack dealer, his favourite figure skating movie, some cool ways the cast give back and I also tested his knowledge of all things Disney with some rapid fire trivia. The interview is below.

Oh yeah, the giveaway I promised. Tell you what, I’ll make it easy on you. All you have to do to enter to win 4 100 Level Tickets to Opening Night (Feb 19th at 7pm), is tell me what your favourite Disney film of all time is in the comments below. I’ll choose a winner at random on Feb 11th at noon and the winner can pick up the tickets at will call on the night of the show. Good Luck!

Congrats to our winner, Natasha Amo!

Coffee With A WWE Superstar!

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Thanks to the Canadian Tire Centre and the WWE, I had the very cool opportunity of sitting down with WWE Superstar, Damien Sandow, to talk about his life as a wrestler. To prepare for the interview, I listened to a bunch of Mr. Sandow’s radio interviews. I noticed that he was frequently being interviewed as his wrestling character as opposed to the man behind the wrestler and while it was entertaining, I was more interested in what his life was like outside the ring.

I have to say that I had no idea what to expect from “Mr. Money In The Bank”, but he was an amazing person and a pleasure to interview. With all the radio, TV and PPV stuff these guys do, it would have been easy for him to brush off a local blogger, but both Sandow and the WWE were extremely respectful and turned this life long WWE fan into an even bigger follower. Of note, Mr. Sandow also took time to record some cool video messages for a few kids that had submitted questions to me.

The interview is posted below and I just wanted to give a shout out to Damien’s charity of choice, Kosair.Org, who protect the health and well-being of children by providing financial support for clinical services, research, pediatric healthcare education, and child advocacy. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I had conducting it!

Thanks again to the WWE, Canadian Tire Centre and Damien Sandow for helping create an amazing experience.

Win 4-100 Level Tickets To See WWE Smackdown in Ottawa on Sept 10th!

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The WWE is coming to town and I’ve got your hookup right here! I’m giving away 4-100 Level tickets to see WWE Smackdown Live at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, September 10th at 7pm.

WWE fans will witness a massive double main event as WWE Champion Randy Orton will put the title on the line against Daniel Bryan, while RVD will team-up with the ’World’s Largest Athlete”, The Big Show, and the ’World’s Strongest Man”, Mark Henry, in a six-man tag team match against The Shield.

Also in action:

World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio
Dolph Ziggler
The Wyatt Family
’Mr. Money in the Bank” Damien Sandow
and more!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, answering the following question: WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE WWE STAR (PAST OR PRESENT)?

Good Luck!! Contest closes Sunday, Sept 1st at noon.

Congrats to the winner, David Dickenson!!

An Acceptable Moment To Swear In Front Of Your Mother…Sort Of

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My Momma raised me right. We were taught as children that swearing is wrong, especially in front of family. That said, I’m going to explain to you how, on a rare night out with my Mom, I managed to say to someone, “Sit the f*ck down and shut up!”

Due to someone else’s misfortune, I was fortunate enough to score a ticket to the Eagles concert at the Canadian Tire Centre here in Ottawa. My Mom had offered us both tickets but I thought it would be fun to spend some time together, so off we went. I’m going to stop the story early to let you know how incredible the concert was. Joe Walsh was the rock god he always has been and the harmonies that these guys put together are beyond rival. It was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

Now, onto the incident…

We were enjoying the first song of the night, when the two women sitting behind us took their seats. That’s when the high pitched, sounds like a cat dying, screams started. It was annoying, for sure, but it was a concert and their $175.00 tickets entitled them to some screaming, whether my mother agreed or not.

Then things got really fun.

The Mother/Daughter duo decided to stand up to dance, which is also acceptable by concert standards. That is, until the mother’s hand came crashing down on the top of my head. You know that smartie thing on the top of baseball caps? Yeah, that. Still, I kept my cool, counting the strikes in my head, secretly knowing there would be a third.

And then it happened!

After her third, double fisted trip from the beer trolley, Happy-Go Drunkie decided to dance with her beer in hand and spilled it all over me. I’m not talking a little droplet here either. I’m a man, and my experience at the Highland Games, dictates that I can handle a few drops of beer in my face from time to time. This was about a quarter bottle of light beer (not even the good stuff) dumped down my back. Having had enough, I immediately stood up and confronted her, to which she answered slurred, “That’s impossible, my Mom doesn’t even drink!” Stunned by her drunkeness, I told her to take it easy (get it, the Eagles), to which she replied that she paid good money and she would do what she wants.

This brings us full circle to me telling her to “Sit the f*ck down and shut up!”, among a couple other things, which prompted my Mother to reply, “Good for you, Honey”. They didn’t make a peep the rest of the show and I even got a “thanks” from a seatmate. And that, my friends, is one of the few acceptable moments to swear in front of your Mother.

Do you have a funny story of swearing in front of your parents? Share it in the comments below!