2008
ARTICLE
Gems at a Christie's Auction
by MaxPower
Obviously not everyone can or would choose to spend into six or seven digits (or four or five for that matter) for a piece of art, however by viewing the pieces that come up for auction one can get a better understanding of how and why art is priced.
ARTICLE
2008 Olympic Medals Per Capita
by MaxPower
As a Canadian, whenever I watch the Olympics I always compare our performance to that of the US. Of course, Canada will never compete on a medal for medal basis with the Americans and indeed the recent Beijing Summer Olympics has made it appear that the globe is currently in a dual-pole medal universe revolving around China and the US.
ARTICLE
Do You Guys Drive a Truck?
by MaxPower
I was wearing a baseball hat, perhaps that is a secret code for "I drive a truck" or something. Regardless, we at R4NT have, for the fourth year in a row, visited the Calgary Autoshow and present here the best and worst in show.
2007
ARTICLE
Halo 3 - The Biggest Video Game in History?
by MaxPower
In any scope of the entertainment world $125 million is big dollars. Major motion pictures gross $125 million plus, but most after weeks in the theaters. Why has the Halo 3 franchise seen so much success?
ARTICLE
An Interview with Anthony White
by MaxPower
"What I found is that the artists who were selling a lot of art always had a strong secondary market and even better if their art was proving to be a good investment. No one wants to wait for the artist to die first. It needs to be a good investment in a reasonable timeframe."
ARTICLE
The Money Series
by MaxPower
Sure you or anyone "could" paint numbers in a sequence as well, but would that be the same when you know you are copying someone somewhere? The Money Series is also a mild rebuke of the conservative idea of art - the one when you go to a gallery, look at something pretty (or not) purchase it and bring it home.
ARTICLE
iPhone - a Revolution?
by MaxPower
We've all seen what a sexy phone can do - the Razr from Motorola basically turned that company's mobile device line around and spawned the next generation of "thin" rather than simply "small" phones. Is sexy revolutionary?
2006
ARTICLE
Gears of War: Previewed at X'06
by MaxPower
Everything was swaying and moving in a realistic manner, pretty impressive as it was a movie element which was integrated into the gameplay. It is also obvious that Epic and Microsoft were trying to build this into a movie type game, with dramatic horror elements..
ARTICLE
Gifts that Click: Holiday Preview
by MaxPower
Here we are in the prime of the "holiday creep" which occurs when one season ends and the marketing for the next season begins. Back to school has passed and since Halloween is a minor non-gift related holiday all of the product suppliers and retailers are gearing up for Christmas.
ARTICLE
How to Play Video Poker And Win (Seriously, Win!)
by MaxPower
Some may ask why R4NT is covering these games even considering neither one of the writers of the features are big gamblers. Personally, I think it comes from the fact that while many people gamble, few people gamble well.
ARTICLE
Are Wii Experiencing A PS3 360?
by MaxPower
Now luxury items have a place in the market. If they didn't there wouldn't be Ferraris or Prada or Gucci. However, it is very hard to establish the type of brand value to be seen as a luxury good.
ARTICLE
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
by MaxPower
I won't go on to catalogue the reasons why I think this game is one of the best I have played to date. No, I will focus on constructive criticism on the parts of the game that could be improved.
ARTICLE
Olympic Predictions - R4NT Style
by MaxPower
As the second in a series of Olympic articles here on R4NT, I’m boldly stepping out and going to make predictions for the Canadian medal haul in the Torino Winter Olympics.
ARTICLE
Canada - Best Dressed at the Olympics
by MaxPower
Since the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino are less than two months away, I wanted to check out the latest crop of Canadiana wear.
2005
ARTICLE
Can you buy an Xbox?
by MaxPower
There is a fine line between product scarcity to drive buzz and product scarcity that is bad enough that it doesn't allow people to actually buy one. Microsoft is well into the latter.
ARTICLE
X'05 - The Canadian Preview of the Xbox 360
by MaxPower
I walked up on a guy playing Peter Jackson’s King Kong and in all honesty I thought he was chatting with a rep while a cut scene was going on as the graphics were so clear.
ARTICLE
Age of Empires III
by MaxPower
The colonial setting and the ability to fight over North and South America makes for interesting situations, but the fact that they just kind of lumped Canada in with the greater U.S. areas like “The Rockies” kind of miffed me.
ARTICLE
Air Canada: A Review
by MaxPower
Anyone who has followed R4NT for a while will know that I keep close tabs on the operations of Air Canada. Generally speaking my opinion has not been complimentary...
ARTICLE
CBC vs. BBC
by MaxPower
My take on the value of the CBC as a portal for Canadians when compared to the BBC is that we are paying approximately 1/4 of what taxpayers in Britain are paying for and getting no where near one-quarter the value.
ARTICLE
New Rules, New NHL.
by MaxPower
What is new and improved you ask? Well there are a host of rule changes, a per team salary cap of US$39 million and a bunch of other small changes.
ARTICLE
A Visit to a Nation's Capital
by MaxPower
What is really great is that you can even get a tour of the heart of a democracy. I can't speak for all nations but I know that in England, the US and Germany you can not get full-fledged tours..
ARTICLE
Santa Cruz & The Monterey Peninsula
by MaxPower
There are also some excellent wineries in the area, especially up Carmel valley which won't be as crowded as the "super-wineries" of the Napa Valley area...
ARTICLE
Knights of the Old Republic II
by MaxPower
Well maybe you are perpetuating that guy's ability to live a life of "weakness", perhaps he would have been better off getting a little beating to teach him a lesson. Maybe you should administer the beating.
ARTICLE
Are you a YUB?
by MaxPower
They are early adopters of technology whether that is iPods, digital photography or the latest cells. They have (usually) a fair amount of disposable income.
ARTICLE
Xbox Live: Generation Next
by MaxPower
The combination of playing on Xbox Live and obtaining stats via the internet and it is undoubtedly a great cross-functional media paradigm.
ARTICLE
Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusades
by MaxPower
A strategic action game of epic scale, with cutting-edge 3-D graphics, 100+ missions, Xbox Live functionality and pulse pounding combat scenes.
2004
ARTICLE
The Future of Security?
by MaxPower
Fingerprint scanning and identification has become the biometric of choice, basically because of ease of use and economics.
ARTICLE
Tron 2.0: Killer App vs. Tron the Movie
by MaxPower
A little cut scene to set the stage, followed by the developer's credits rolling exactly how you would see them in a theatre.
ARTICLE
Air Miles Expose
by MaxPower
Do you collect Air Miles? The Miles with the little blue card that you get (on average) 1 mile for every $20 you spend at a participating retailer?
ARTICLE
Microsoft Digital Image Suite 10
by MaxPower
Most consumers, myself included, spend all the money on the camera and give little or no thought to the processing required afterwards.
ARTICLE
Star Wars Battlefront for Xbox
by MaxPower
Battlefront is an action/shooter game that gives gamers the opportunity to re-live and participate in all of the classic Star Wars battles.
ARTICLE
X'04
by MaxPower
X'04 was held in mid-August in the trendy Sound Emporium nightclub located in Toronto's entertainment district and we were there.
ARTICLE
It's Shocking
by MaxPower
The BCAA survey found that "50% of BC drivers have reduced the amount of driving they do in an average week to compensate for higher fuel prices".
ARTICLE
Healthy Healthcare?
by MaxPower
To me, a member of the baby boom echo, I barely use the healthcare system right now, but do I want it to be around when I'm 50 or 60?
ARTICLE
Air Canada Sucks...?
by MaxPower
Bashing Air Canada is a national hobby, if not just for the customer service but also for their appalling lack of business know-how.
ARTICLE
Any Black Sheep in the Family?
by MaxPower
You are not caught on camera and there are no witnesses. You may have left fingerprints, but you aren't worried.
ARTICLE
The Evolution of TV
by MaxPower
Get people who want to be on TV (for free), buy them plane tickets and give them a hundred American dollars and you have it..
ARTICLE
Canada as a Tropical Paradise
by MaxPower
The Turks & Caicos islands would like to be annexed by Canada and they have been waiting for it to happen since 1988!
ARTICLE
lunchboxes.com
by MaxPower
Are you a serious executive who wants a futuristic lunch sack and has no time for 80's retro-chic? The 'Silver Orb Lunch Box Tote' may be just what you need to cure the PB&J blues. Or try out the NYC kitsch look with your own 'Chinese Take-Out' Lunch box/Bag - you'll swear you're in an episode of Friends!
ARTICLE
Who Will Watch The Watchers?
by MaxPower
I suggest that the ability to present differing viewpoints is a hallmark of an open society, but that shouldn't give journalists a free pass to make up 'facts' that they think may possibly, in some sense be correct..
ARTICLE
SeaBiscuit
by MaxPower
I watched this movie from the cozy confines of 35,000 feet, on a flight that was two hours late due to weather and mechanical difficulties. What would adequatel…
ARTICLE
Designer Drugs?
by MaxPower
Normal people living normal lives will be able to enhance their psychological well-being by popping a 'chill pill'. You can have one personality for your work life - concentrated and business-like - and another for Friday and Saturday night..
2003
ARTICLE
Ontario Science Centre (Toronto)
by MaxPower
Kids going ape The Ontario Science Centre advertises 'Discover how much fun science can be' and it definitely delivers, to a point. The OSC is a classic example…
ARTICLE
Royal Onatrio Museum (Toronto)
by MaxPower
In spite of suffering from a slight case of museum fatigue, the intrepid reporters from R4NT made their way to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) at about 3 o'clock…
ARTICLE
Digital Camera: Sony CyberShot DSC-P10
by MaxPower
I've entered the world of digital photography! Oh I know what you're thinking, how could the chic and incredibly trendy Nixon only getting a digicam now? What c…
ARTICLE
Governor General for What?
by MaxPower
I can, and have, made a strong case in the past that the democratically elected government of Canada doesn't speak for a majority of the population so how could an appointed ex-CBC journalist who has made a career of hobnobbing with the cultural literati speak for the average Canadian?
ARTICLE
When Does The Man Stick it to The Man?
by MaxPower
Canada owns the Americans on per capita immigration numbers and that's something I'm suitably proud of..
ARTICLE
The Six Best Museums in London
by MaxPower
Not everyone has the chance to go to London; however, everyone should try to go at least once if only for the museums. London has over 200 museums which attract…
ARTICLE
To Try and Cross Canada
by MaxPower
I recently had the pleasure of driving across Canada, well not all of Canada, but at least half, from the Rockies, through the Prairies, onto the Canadian shield and then finally descending into the so-called 'Golden Horseshoe' where a large percentage of Canadians make their homes.
ARTICLE
Privacy Hawks
by MaxPower
There is nary a place in London that you can walk without being on camera. Train stations, bridges, alleys, main tourist arteries, all watched by cameras..
ARTICLE
Drink: Absolut Vanilla
by MaxPower
On May 27, 2003, Absolut, the oh-so-trendy flavoured vodka maker announced the North American launch of its newest product 'Absolut Vanilla' and yours truly was…
ARTICLE
I'm a Mad Cow
by MaxPower
Here is my study: 100% of the people who have cancer drink water. Thus water causes cancer. FOOLS...
ARTICLE
UN-ited Bureaucracy
by MaxPower
Russia said no one needed war to determine the threat of weapons of mass destruction, however, in APRIL Putin says that the UN can't lift the sanctions until someone determines the threat of weapons of mass destruction..
ARTICLE
Motorcycles
by MaxPower
The baffles on his muffler had to be removed as it sounded like a jet was taking off down the street. This was probably exactly the effect he was going for, extreme annoyance..
ARTICLE
Gamer Hype
by MaxPower
There is no reason for Sony or Microsoft to rush forward the release of a next generation machine when the PS2 has been selling like mad without any major discounts since the last round prior to Christmas..
ARTICLE
In the Beginning...
by MaxPower
And Jean said, "Let the government in Canada be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 Jean called the dry ground "Ottawa," and the dismissed the rest he called "the West" And Jean saw that it was good..
ARTICLE
It's not about Oil Stupid
by MaxPower
IF the US is going to war over the economics of oil, then they should hire some new economists. It just doesn't make sense. The expense of shipping over 150,000 troops to the Middle East for a couple years, plus all of the jet fuel expenditures, bombs used etc, will cost upwards of a trillion dollars over 2 years..
ARTICLE
Tax Me Not to Fly
by MaxPower
The Nav-Ins-Fuel fee bugs me a bit more, why do I have to pay a navigation fee to Nav Canada to provide navigation to the plane? Don't my federal income taxes or the plane fare cover that? And Insurance? I understand the ramifications of Sept 11th on insurance companies but shouldn't that be incorporated into re-insurance schemes rather than user pay? And Fuel..
ARTICLE
What's Up With This Weather?
by MaxPower
Basically its all blamed on humans because we can't predict weather 24 hours in advance let alone weeks or years. All we have is historical data. And if you live in the 'New World' maybe you have 150 years of historical weather data, if your lucky. More often than not, people are basing what is 'normal' on 0.00000003% of the Earth's history..
2002
ARTICLE
Us and Them
by MaxPower
North Korea recently said they are making nukes to try and take over the world, yet US spokespeople have reiterated time and time again that they are willing to talk to North Korea and establish a better dialogue. But some Chretien Yes-Woman called Bush a moron - end of the world.
ARTICLE
Can You Do Something?
by MaxPower
MP's get thousands of letters a year and most MPs can't even show up to all parliamentary sittings let alone read my letter on a certain issue. Sure they have lackeys and university political science volunteers to sift through their mail, but they probably don't care about any one letter more than the thousands of pieces of junk mail the average person gets in a year...
ARTICLE
A View of Armageddon
by MaxPower
The force of the explosion may make a crater up to a mile wide and to a depth of one hundred feet. Millions of tons of pulverized earth, stones, buildings and other materials are drawn up into the fireball and become radioactive. Some of the heavier particles spill out around the point of explosion. The rest are sucked up into the mushroom cloud.
ARTICLE
Let's Slap a Tax on that Puppy
by MaxPower
If I am going to go out and buy a sports car for 150K, do you think I care if it has a 5000-dollar gas-guzzler tax? Uh no. Just as like I don't care about the gas mileage, who cares if it gets 1 mile to the gallon. I'm cool..
ARTICLE
The Collapse of Capitalism?
by MaxPower
..People who have lost their savings in the Enron collapse had put all of their cash into Enron and never invested in any other companies. Its called diversifying baby, spread the risk out, putting all you financial eggs in one basket is akin to committing economic suicide.
ARTICLE
Cancer and You
by MaxPower
You think we have starvation problems now, wait till the food gestapo starts kicking over bowls of rice in developing countries. Hey China and India - all 2.2 billion of you, stop eating rice it'll give you cancer. Hey Italy don't you know noodles will kill you?
ARTICLE
The Canadian Century
by MaxPower
..In an era of natural resource shortages Canada will have the world by the proverbial balls..
ARTICLE
Product Labelling: An Exercise in Corporate Obfuscation
by MaxPower
...the same people who drink Evian water because that's good for you, and also enjoy the many health benefits of smoking...
ARTICLE
Pains, Trains and Other Disasters
by MaxPower
...These people often only have the experience of taking inter-city trains and compared to commuter trains it is like comparing driving a car to riding a horse in the rain, and the horse has a broken leg, and its cold outside, and the horse is dead...
2001
ARTICLE
Harry Potter and the Downfall of Western Civilization
by MaxPower
...why do I continually see grown, professional adults reading 'Harry Potter' on my daily commute to work? Would you read Winnie the Pooh on the train or bus?
ARTICLE
Canadian Commandos - JTF 2
by MaxPower
...They are trained in the Canadian arctic and mountain regions, giving them a highly specialized niche in which to practice counter terrorist techniques on the world stage...
ARTICLE
NHL and the Love of The Game
by MaxPower
...For all of hockey's shortcomings, faults and problems, it continues to be a truly Made in Canada sport...
ARTICLE
The Cultural Divide: The Theatre Experience
by MaxPower
..parents seem to allow their children run up and down the aisles yelling and throwing food...
ARTICLE
Dubya, Riots, Media and other such Nonsense
by MaxPower
...I conclude that the media in their coverage of George Bush's London Sightseeing Tour is directly responsible for the riots...
ARTICLE
Air Canada Sucks
by MaxPower
...the plane was a A340, however, it must have been stripped by a gang when it landed in NYC or LAX, because not only was the plane absent of any technological advantages...
ARTICLE
Attack of the Wanna-Be Athletic Superstars
by MaxPower
...I took this opportunity to surreptitiously unscrew the top of his water and knock it over, ending his drinking, when he got back he looked lost as he sat down in a puddle of water...
ARTICLE
Debunking the Myth of Global Warming
by MaxPower
...for humans to blame a fluctuation of decimals points of one degree Celsius on our work, vastly underestimates the sun's effect on heating the planet. What you see in most mainstream media is mostly liberal and environmentalist propaganda constructed expressly to frighten the average person...