What happened on Saturday December 22nd?

Just wanted to say we miss you Joe!

letsgetarocking - 101'ers [download]the mp3
White Riot Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros (with Mick Jones).[download]the mp3
1977 - the Clash [download] the mp3

(download and listen, if you like go buy the albums and support the artists.)

What happened on Thursday December 20th?

Just in case I don't get to do a Xmas post. Merry Christmas.

I have done almost no shopping, I still need to find stuff for Wife. I was supposed to go out at lunch to get gift for Eldest .. argh!!! Youngests health card expired .. I had to go replace that! Eldest has drum lessons tonight. Then I get to go shopping.

Everyone is well, both Eldest and Youngest had recitals in the last two weeks. Both were scared but performed to there best. Eldest plays drums, so he played along to Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd .. Youngest plays the piano, she played Cuckoo, and a Christmas song. Middle is going through a faze of not liking her parents right no, with ATTITUDE .. Argh, lord love a duck give me patients.

Have fun, enjoy the snow and the gifts.

What happened on Thursday December 13th?

We forget how safe we are here in Canada .. 70 years ago today the Japanese took over Nanking.

Here we are entering the Christmas season, Canada is at war (though we don't really think about it unless you know someone who is or has served in Afghanistan). We are safe here, and have been safe for a very long time. We (not our government) have to be aware of history and current events so that we can make sound decisions about the future of our country and its interaction with the world.

What happened on Saturday December 8th?

Ever since I began blogging I have done a December 8th post. Not because of Pearl Habour (though this is a event that changed the course of western democracy, allowing the creation of the super power to the south of Canada, but because of the death of a single man. Stupid right, how could one person (who is not a member of your family) be important enough to write about every year.

The morning of Dec 9th 1980 was a normal school day for me, I woke to the radio (Q107) and the announcer saying the John Lennon was dead, shot as he entered the building he lived in. Sounds odd, but the world stopped, and I walked around in a daze for the rest of the day. Here I was 17, and I was upset by the death of some guy I had never met. A great uncle had died that summer, I wasn't as upset about his death as I was by Lennon's. Why? I liked his music, I had grown up with it. Though we never had Beatles albums in my parents house (or at least until I had brougth home my copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band a few summers before), when a Beatles song came on the radio (which is always on) the volume would go up. Mom was only 26 when she had me, I always thought that she really wanted to be a Beatles fan, but would never admit it.

John Lennon was a really good musician, a great lyricst, a member of a band that changed . But why did it upset me. I think it was the realization that everything was not hunky dory, that you could go out your door and not return. That just because something beautiful existed didn't mean that it couldn't be destroied. That the dreams you have might not come true and you do have to except reality.

Anyway here are a couple of John Lennon songs for you to remember him by. As I said about Norvel, celebrate his life. Buy his albums, share his ideas and dreams. They just might make the world a better place.


*The Beatles - Help! - Help!.mp3
*John Lennon - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band-Working Class Hero.mp3
*John Lennon - Live in New York City -Instant Karma.mp3

What happened on Thursday December 5th?

December is beginning to be a very shitty month for me. My heroes are dying. On Saturday it will be 27 years since John Lennon was shot outside the Dakota in New York. It has been almost 5 years since Joe Strummer passed away from a heart attack.

Now, one of my favorite painters has died from Parkinson's Disease. Norvel Morriseau is dead. His work is vibrant, colourful and powerful. I felt the link to the earth in what he painted. He introduced the world to what is called the "Woodlands Style" of work. In my opinion, he tried to show people Canada as it is in our hearts not in our eyes. I was a "wannabe" because of his work. I wanted to be a artist, I tried my hand at paintings in the woodlands style, I loved how the work would flow from my hands, expressing my feelings without having to speak. I wanted to be a native Canadian. I wanted to study art because of Norvel. I want to thank him for over 30 years worth of dreams. I know his life wasn't easy, I know that he didn't make life easy for some of the people around him, but I hope they remember him for his love and not his mistakes. Take a few minutes to read about the life of Norvel, take a couple of hours to see his work. Go to a local gallery, here in the GTA you can head up to Klienburg to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and spend a few hours viewing not only Norvel's work, but also the work of some other exceptional Canadian artists.

Enjoy his work, and celebrate a life.

What happened on Thursday November 30th?

Youngest was born 8 years ago today. Every day has been a joy. Her fire and will drive us to distraction, but the love she gives is overwhelming. She is a Diva who is always on stage, always preforming...even when she does not have a audience.

Happy birthday little girl.

We have bought the kids concert tickets as a enticement to excel at school. Youngest and Middle have a chance to go to Avirl Lavigne in April, and Eldest might get to see The Foo Fighters in march.

Remember to go buy CD's or pay for your downloads.

Enjoy The Stranglers "European Female". Download the MP3

What happened on Thursday November 22nd?

Navona Square Rome, Fountain of the Rivers by Bernini

Food Meme
From Electronic Cerebrectomy who got it from Byzantium's Shores,

1. How do you like your eggs?
Scrambled with Mozzarella Cheese and Sopressata

2. How do you take your coffee/tea?
Coffee half spoon sugar and small amount of 1% milk (enough to make it a burnt carmel colour), Tea should only be drunk straight, hot and strong. (not a strong as my mother likes it, after one of her cups of tea it feels like you scraped a layer of enamel off you teeth.

3. Favorite breakfast food?
Peanut Butter and Jam on fresh bread toasted, but normally I have yogurt and granola.

4. Peanut butter - smooth or crunchy?
For me smooth in the morning and crunchy at night. (addendum 11/23/07 4:30 PM --I have been asked to explain this one. I will only eat smooth peanut butter in the morning with my breakfast, and in the evening I like to have crunchy peanut butter with banana as a evening snack - or at least I used to before I started to watch my weight)

5. What kind of dressing on your salad?
Olive Oil and balsamic vinegar

6. Coke or Pepsi?
Neither, I have not had a pop in over 10 years.

7. You’re feeling lazy, what do you make?
Scarmbled eggs.

8. You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order?
Pepperoni and cheese from the local pizzeria .. but they also make the best baked panzarotto, and then I put homemade tomato sauce on it.

9. You feel like cooking. What do you make?
Roast beef, baked potatoes, beets and broccoli

10. Do any foods bring back good memories?
Panzarotti's (we used to eat them all the time in college watching hockey games and drinking beer), scotish short bread cookies (my grandmothers house at Christmas time), and

11. Do any foods bring back bad memories?
Cabbage, Brussel sprouts or shrimp .. don't stand within five feet of me. Yech!

12. Do any foods remind you of someone?
Dim Sum .. a girlfriend that I didn't want to lose.

13. Is there a food you refuse to eat?
Squid.

14. What was your favorite food as a child?
Christmas Pudding or Christmas/Fruit Cake .. I still love them .. or even Grilled Cheese sandwiches with ketchup.

15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like?
Mushrooms and Liver, As a kid I would not eat mushrooms if my life depended on it. years ago my future mother-in-law fried wild mushrooms up with garlic cloves, I have loved mushrooms ever since. (I still can't eat cream of mushroom soup though). As for liver, my mother would cook it until it was dead. One night out dinner with Wife, I felt like having something different and ordered Liver and Onions. It was awesome. I never knew liver could taste that good.

16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate?No

17. Favorite fruit and vegetable:
Fruit: Pink Lady Apples, Vegetables: Boiled Beets

18. Favorite junk food:
Toasted Corn

19. Favorite between meal snack:
I really try to avoid this snacks and have fruit .. but I really like to have crackers and cheese.

20. Do you have any weird food habits?
I will only eat one thing off my plate at a time.

21. You’re on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on?
Fruit (I'm trying write this and eat a grapefruit right now!)

22. You’re off your diet. Now what would you like?
BBQ Ribs

23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai?
North American really hot .. but not Thai hot.

24. Can I get you a drink?
Water. If I'm not driving, maybe a beer.

25. Red wine or white?
Red.

26. Favorite dessert?
Apple Brown Betty .

What happened on Firday November 9th?

Damn I am going to see this movie.

This is just about to much to watch .. watch it.

http://view.break.com/211329 - Watch more free videos

What happened on Wednesday October 31st?

Happy Halloween everyone. Enjoy the screaming goblins and ghosts. Try not to leer at and underaged vampiras. We had a lot of fun tonight, Middle disappeard, Eldest realized Halloween is just for kids and youngest had a great time with her mom. Would you believe people were taking pictures of my pumpkins, weird.

Three doors down (not the band) the had a haunted house, late teens/early twenty males scaring the life out of any teenage girl, was funny to watch these girls running down the street screaming.

Last night wife and I stayed up getting everything ready for All Hallow's Eve .. Wife doing youngests costume. She is going out as a Dark Fairy .. Wife did a incredible job on the costume, just her frustraion level maxed out with all of us. Middle is going out with her girl friends, she's 13 don't ya know and wants nothing to do with her old man, Eldest says he is going up to his cousins to go Trick or Treating .. I'm supposed to drive him (I don't know, don't you think 15 is to old to be going out?)

I've done up four pumpkins .. a dragon, a spider, a upside down bat and a traditional Jack O'Lantern .. carving pumpkins is my Halloween, this is what gets me excited about the day. I love to see the kids eyes when they see the pumpkins.

Any way, I've joined a group over at Facebook, 1,000,000 Strong For Rick Mercer, which made me think of Rick's outing with the Toronto Rock. Low and behold, someone has posted it on Facebook.
Enjoy!, this is classic Mercer.

What happened on Monday October 29th?

Hallow-meme from Samurai Frog

1. What is your favorite work of horror fiction?
Not a big fan of horror (I’m just a big wuss, I get scared very easily) but I think the best I’ve ever read was Stephen King’s It

2. Who is your favorite monster?
The “Alien” from Ridely Scotts Alien series. I don’t think I have ever been able to watch one of these movies right through.

3. What horror movie gives you the most chills?
The Thing From Another World. Yes I am 44, but I have never watched this movie all the way through. I remember sitting in the family room on a Saturday afternoon watching this movie with my sisters. I hid behind the couch.

4. Freddy versus Jason?
Never seen them, never will. Well I did watch some of a Jason movie. Back before we we had even thought of getting married (23 years ago) we were at wifes girlfriends house watching a movie. I had turned around to talk to (future) Wife, turned back just as a fist went through a car movie. I did a one eighty and ened up with my head in wifes lap. I did not live that one down for a long time.

5. Ghosts or goblins?
Goblins, Ghosts I can handle they are insubstantial so they can do anything to you.

6. What is your scariest encounter with the paranormal?
Saw the black hearse being drawn by 8 black horses racing through the sky. (great grandmother told me that it meant someone had died.) I think I was drunk, so does it really count?

7. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes, but how can they hurt you.

8. Favorite Halloween costume?
I guess I was about eight or so, I was a pirate. Mom did the charcoal beard, eye patch, and crape paper around the top of my rubber boots to make them look like pirate boots. I had just seen Captain Blood for the first time.

9. If you had an unlimited budget, what would your fantasy costume be for this Halloween?
One of the Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica

10. When was the last time you went trick or treating?
I was ten, the first year we moved to Barrie. I went out a Columbo. People in the neighbourhood asked me why I was out for Halloween, “was I not to old?

11. What's your favorite Halloween candy?
Sponge Toffee .. one of my teachers in public school lived up the street from us. She gave this out ever year.

12. Tell us about a scary nightmare you had.
I remember having a flying dream once where I suddenly lost the power to fly and fell out of the sky.

13. What is your supernatural fear?
Have always had problems with werewolves, not sure why but I still get creeped out walking in the bush late at night.

14. What is your creepy-crawlie fear?
None .. okay maybe I have problems with seeing a mass of cockroaches .. but they just ugly.

15. Would you ever stay in a real haunted house overnight?
Yes, or what I always thought of a haunted house. My Great Grandmother had a bedroom that was always locked, I used to image that one of my mothers relatives was locked away in there, and would try and get out to kill us at night. This was a big old house that only my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother lived in. I found it dark and kind of smelly.

16. Are you a traditionalist (just a face) Jack O'Lantern carver, or do you get really creative with your pumpkins?
I do both, tell me what you think?

17. How much do you decorate your home for Halloween?
Wife likes to go nuts, so we have spider webs, spiders, bats, Halloween lights.. etc. Me I would be happy with just the pumpkins. I bought four today.

18. Do you think Halloween is too commercial these days? Do you miss classic Halloween costumes or traditions from your childhood?
Way to commercial, as a kid Halloween would always come about as kind of a surprise, you’d have a few days to get your costume together and that was it. Youngest has been talking about Halloween for a month now. I'm dating myself here but I can still remember getting homemade candy apples, fudge and sponge toffee. We've spent about $60 on candies (we bought the chocolates early on sale). We should be seeing about 150 kids tonight.

What happened on Sunday October 14th?

Rome at night, yes that bus is really that small.

Arrrgh!!!! I am so sick.

I had a great time at Gogol Bordello. Awesome concert. I got there early, a bit to early 8pm. Got a great spot, right up to the front, only about 2 deep from the stage ... the opening act, Dub Trio, didn't come on til 9pm. Dub Trio is a pretty cool band, Bass Guitar Drums doing Art Rock/Metal/Punk/Dub .. really interesting but LOUD. You could feel the bass cords inside your body.

By the time Gogol Bordello came on I was soaked with sweat. My hair, shirt and pants were wet with sweat. I have not be crowded by people since I don't know when. The music was great, LOUD again (next time I will bring ear plugs) Then the mosh pit began right behind me. Started getting slamed from all sides, claustraphobia clicked in and I had to get out. Finally after wading through the pit, I got to the outside and was able to watch the concert in some peace. Occasionally getting you foot steped on, slammed by someone falling out of the pit. But hey I had a great time. Can't remember the songs, in fact the guy I was with said afterword that it was the best concert that he had ever been at where he could not understand a word being sung.

Anyway Gogol Bordello was great, but it made me so sick. I still haven't gotten over the cold. Had to take a day off of work on Thursday. Then I spent most of today in bed.

Enjoy a couple of cover versions:

Willie William-Armagideon Time (Download)
The Clash-Armagideon Time (Download)
The Who-Baba O'Riley (Download)
Waco- Baba O'Riley (Download)

What happened on Friday October 5th?

Wow, I've got the greatest Wife in the world. Tuesday nights are swamped for us, we have swimming lessons for Youngest, then piano and drum lessons for her and Eldest (Eldest does the drum lesson). So from 6 pm to 8pm on that night we are on the go. Well, Wife is okay with me going out to see Gogol Bordello next Tuesday. I am so pumped, this is a great band that is hard to pigeon hole. They are from New York, play eastern European gypsy punk rock? Anyway I'm off to see them next Tuesday at the Kool Haus all because I have the sexist, hottest, coolest Wife alive.

I've got to say, Happy Birthday Dad (he's 75 today.)

We had some really interesting adventures while in Europe, we would head off as a group and do our own thing. When we in Monaco, one of the books Wife head said that we should see Menton, France. So off on the train we went to Menton. It was a very pretty city, but not really worth the time we lost in Monte Carlo. Any way, while walking and trying to find these very old churches that the guide book said we need to see we came across the most incredible set of stairs. (all we seemed to do on this cruise was stairs, would you believe I lost weight on a cruise!)

You start at this pretty little plaza, water fountain built into a wall, cafe to one side, pastry shop beside it and touristy stores beside them .. You begin climbing this set of stairs.

You take a jog to the left, then a turn to the right, another turn to the right, a left turn (these steps are really getting steep!)
You go through this very steep, dark, damp tunnel and come out in a sun lit church plaza


Another adventure from our Western Mediterranean cruise on the MSC Cruise Line.






Have fun listening to Gogol Bordello:
Marinella (download the mp3)
Supertheory of Supereverything (download the mp3)
Bordello Kind of Guy (download the mp3)

Remember go out and support a band, see the concert, buy the CD, get yourself a T-Shirt. They aren't doing it for free.

I'm being watched. No really not just by the kittens. Mgmt is watching everything we do on the computers at work so we have to be careful.

I will try to post from home but we shall see.

What happened on Tuesday September 25th?

I don't know about you, but it seems to me that to many talented people are dying latley. The Canadian art world has just lost Ken Danby. He passed away on sunday while on a canoe trip in Algonquin Park.

Danby was what is called a realist. He painted the world as he saw it, as you would capture it with a camera. His work included nature, animals and iconic Canadian scenes.

Danby was a artist known during his lifetime, he was able to make a living doing what he loved. I hope that he passed with as little pain as possible, doing something he has always enjoyed.

Portofino Harbour, Italy

Portofino Harbour, Italy, originally uploaded by Andrew Crump.

When we were in Genoa, we went to the world famous Aquarium they have there. We did not take the excursion from the cruise line, because we wanted to walk around Genoa for a while, then went to the aquarium. Wow, it was worth it, I was happy.

Afterwards, Wife wanted to see Portofino, because she had heard so much about it. It's about a half hour from Genoa. I didn't thing we would be able to make it ( the cruise line only allowed one excursion a day), but Wife and the Father/Daughter team that we were with talked me into it. So we got on the train (4 euros each-return trip) and went to Santa Margherita Ligure where we caught a bus (1 euro each way) to Portofino. We spent about two hours walking around Portofino and then reversed the trip to Genoa and the ship. Made it back 15 minutes before it left the port.

What a great day, I would say one of the best of the trip. I definatly want to spend more time in Santa Margherita Ligure, what a beautiful town.

Map reading in Mdina, Malta

Map reading in Mdina, Malta, originally uploaded by Andrew Crump.

Wife looking at a map in Mdina, Malta. This is a walled city going back to the early history of Malta. Its a very pretty town/fortress/city, worth the visit.

Oh yea, for you plumbers out there .. see the pipe on the wall to the right. That is the waste pipe for the building. They couldn't but it inside the solid stone wall.

By the way, any photos you see of wife are a series I call "photos postérieur", she just kept on moving and I could only get the shots from behind.

back alleyway in Menton France (4)

back alleyway in Menton France (4), originally uploaded by Andrew Crump.

This is a back alleyway in Menton France. Menton is a small city to the east of Monaco, it has a beautiful stone beach, orange trees lining the roads and has the claim to the grave of the man who invented rugby.

Shopping in Monaco

Shopping in Monte Carlo, Monaco, originally uploaded by Andrew Crump.

Wife shopping on the "Rock" in Monte Carlo. Very touristy things, nothing special.

The buses in Rabbat Malta

Bus in Rabbat Malta (20), originally uploaded by Andrew Crump.

Beautiful country, Malta, I would go back in a minute! If you want sun, water, history .. go to Malta.

Deep in the heart of the Souk, Tunis

Souk in Tunis, originally uploaded by Andrew Crump.

The Souk was a roofed over shoping district in Tunis. The men (all the sales people were men) stood at their shop doors and tried their best to get you in their doors. Some went as far to chase you down the walk way. A very big tourist trap. Not your kind of shopping Nic!

Yesterday was a sad day for WOT fans. James Oliver Rigney Jr AKA, Robert Jordan has passed away after a long illness at only 58 years old.

I have been reading WOT ever since Joe Mahoney came up to me in the old CBC tech lounge and said "Have to read this!" It was the first book of the Wheel Of Time, Eye of the World. I have been trapped since. Jordan created a world, with realistic characters that you wanted to find out more about. He left you wanting to know what happened next. Now I have trapped my Eldest into reading these great novels.

As far as I know he has not finished the series, so we may never know what happens to Rand Al'thor

What happened on Thursday September 13th?

Well we are back. Had a great trip. Swamped with work, so once I get a chance to get my head above water I will give you a full review of the trip. For now, enjoy some photos.

The Lion of San Lorenzo, Genoa

A Blue fishing boat in the Monte Carlo harbour.


A sewer grate in Portofino, Italy.


Night effects walking along the Tiber in Rome


Trevi fountain, Rome. You would not belive the amount of graffiti in Rome, most of it in english, but what a wonderful city especially at night.

What happened on Wednesday August 31st?

Dahlia

The following is pulled from "Marketnews Weekly Newsletter - Issue #353"

It's no secret that sales of CDs have been declining as the popularity in downloading digital tracks continues to explode. In an effort to make CD purchases more attractive, and in celebration of the 25th anniversary of this successor format to the cassette tape, HMV has decided to drop CD prices by as much as 33%, or $10 per disc! It's a bold move on the retailer's part, but it could very well trigger other retailers to follow suit, and help to reinvigorate the category.

Check out this week's blog entries, which include further commentary on HMV's decision to offer lower-priced CDs.

As I was out shopping last night for pants for the cruise, I slipped into HMV. (I was hoping that I would find the new Bedouin Soundclash CD "Street Gospels" for $10 .. it was still $14.99. What they seemed to be doing in bundling the price, if you buy two CD's you would get them both for $20, as opposed to $14.99 each. Unfortunately Street Gospels wasn't bundled. I will wait impatiently.

I am gone for a week, we have to be at the airport by 4:30 and we have a 10hr flight to Rome. Sorry, but I am going change how I handle comments, but I will be back in a week to check out how everyone is. So, have a great first week back to school and I will post pictures when I get back.

Give a listen to the mucic posted in the previous post, and go out and buy some music.

What happened on Wednesday August 29th?

Sunflower



It doesn't happen very often, but I think I just fell into some very good luck. If you remember, Wife and I were trying to figure out where we could go for our 20Th wedding anniversary. Well, the moons aligned, the stars are in the house of Aquarius, and I sat on a horseshoe.

A cruise that we were looking at a few months ago, but decided against because it would be to expensive (around $6000 for the two of us), has come through. We are going to go on a Western Mediterranean cruise for just over $3000 (taxes included).

Here's where we are going.

Saturday Rome, Italy 12:00 PM Overnight
Sunday Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy 8:00 PM
Monday Genoa, Italy 9:00 AM 5:00 PM
Tuesday Monte Carlo, Monaco 7:00 AM 2:00 PM
Wednesday Valencia, Spain 2:00 PM 10:00 PM
Thursday At Sea
Friday La Valetta, Malta 8:00 AM 1:00 PM
Saturday Tunis, Tunisia 8:00 AM 1:00 PM
Sunday Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy 8:00 AM Fly home

Oh I forgot to mention, we have a day and night in Rome with a tour included and an upgrade to a outside cabin from in interior cabin. I got a call yesterday from the travel agent asking if we were still interested as she had a great deal for me. We jumped on it. All this because we have to be on a plane a 7:40 pm August 31 2007. Yes indeed, in two days Wife and I fly out for a week of sun and touring.

This type of thing doesn't normally happen for me, so I'm waiting for the catch. So far none.

I'll post pictures when we get back. Oh by the way, I am the one who found the cruise... so I scored some real brownie points with Wife.

Download MP3 "One Week" Barenaked Ladies - Cause I'm gone for one week!
Download MP3 "Maybe Baby" Buddy Holly - Cause, maybe we just might get some time .. nudge nudge wink wink.
Download MP3 "Tishialuk Girls" (live) Great Big Sea - Cause I'm going on a great big sea.

Enjoy the downloads, they will be available for a short time. If someone wants them taken down, just leave a note. Go out and buy some CD's
AC

What happened on Wednesday August 22nd?

Zantedeschia

20 years ago today I got married. I'm good with that.
Going out to dinner tonight.
No decision on where or when we are going on our trip yet, Wife has a spread sheet of about 100 places that we have to review. She is very good at research.

What happened on Tuesday August 21st?

The last bottle.(Spidey - he climbs very well)

As I said in a earlier post, Eldest found 3-4 week old kittens. In these photos they were about 6 weeks old. (Now they are almost 8 weeks old) So we had to bottle feed them. This is a photo of wife giving Spidey the last bottle, they are now weened and growing. They were litter trained within a day. Wish babies had been this easy.

Shoe fetish.


For some reason Rascal (he is just trouble personified) has a shoe fetish. He loves to climb inside shoes and sandals. Can't figure this one out.



A cute story about Rascal. One day at the cottage (my mind was else where) I opened the sliding screen door. Rascal had climbe the screen, he somehow was pulled between the screen and glass and traped there. No sound, no crys, no damage. I had to take the sliding glass doors apart to get him out. They are now ready to go to a good home, we just have to find someone to take them.

---

You're Canada!

People make fun of you a lot, but they're stupid because you've
got a much better life than they do.  In fact, they're probably just jealous.
 You believe in crazy things like human rights and health care and not
dying in the streets, and you end up securing these rights for yourself and
others.  If it weren't for your weird affection for ice hockey, you'd be
the perfect person.


Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid

Have to share this, found the link at Ghost of a Flea. Scotlands response to the the All Blacks "Haka"

The World Cup of Rugby starts in a few weeks. Canada is going to be there, We are in pool B with Australia, Wales, Fiji and Japan, the best of luck to the team. They have to face Wales on Sept 9th.

What happened on Friday August 17th?

Nothing to post.

Got back from holidays on Sunday night. Did not want to get out of bed. Did not want to come to work on Monday. I want to go back on vacation.

We stayed at the cottage for the week. Watched for bears, I played water taxi (at least this year I only had to do it 4 times, instead of just about everyday last year), sat on the porch or dock and read (finished the Joe Strummer biography, really good read. Got the new Harry Potter done in two days, good read, nice conclusion to the story .. but how in the heck did Neville get the sword .. I thought the goblins had it?).

Next week is our 20th wedding anniversay, Wife and I want to go away for a week, but we can't decide. We almost booked a Western Med Cruise, but once you work out the price it was almost $7K (to rich for our blood). We thought about London for a week .. I even found a hotel/flight combo for just under $800, but Wife's London office told her that the weather sucks. Not sure what it's going to be but it will be last minute as always.

Eldest did okay in summer school, but has had a falling out with the guys on the street .. so he has not been out of the house since monday. At least he is taking care of the kittens. I need to post some pictures of them.

Middle just doesn't want to do anything, oh sorry, she is 13.. she wants to go to Yorkdale with a girl friends. On her own. Yorkdale is the size of a small city. My little girl shopping by herself. Over protective father time. Unfortunately, wife vetoed me. Thank god Middles friends couldn't go. Now I just have to wait for the next time that she asks.

Youngest is youngest. Wants to do everything and nothing. One minute she can take care of herself, the next she is a little girl that can't do anything with out the help of her daddy or mommy.

Talk to you later

What happened on Wednesday August 2nd?

Eldest has found a couple of abandoned kittens in our neighbours backyard. We watched them for most of a day before we took them in. They couldn't be more then three weeks old at the time. They couldn't even walk. So eldest has been bottle feeding them. As you can see they are really growing.

I am off for another week, this time for a real holiday I hope. Off to the cottage where I get to see sunsets like this. (Middle took this shot with the digital camera her God-Mother gave her for her birthday)



So I say fair well for a week of well deserved rest. (or at least I think so)

What happened on Wednesday July 25th?

Hydrangea

I was tagged with a meme from Paul's Blog. He was tagged by Heather, who was tagged by Ari, who was tagged by Chris, who was tagged by Jodi .. so this whole damn thing can be blamed on Jodi.
"This is the meme. Write about 5 or 10 (or so) songs that had an impact on your life, and tag five people to carry on."

So I need to come up with 5 to 10 songs that profoundly impacted my life. Wow! Okay so here we go.

1/ The first music that I really remember was by Glenn Miller. Dad is a child of the 40's (he was born in '32) and is a big "Big Band" fan, I remember these 78 (yes I meant a 78 rpm record) being played constantly when I was young. I wanted to know who this man was, why he made this music and why Dad loved it so much. Before the Internet all we had was "The Glenn Miller Story
So here is The Glenn Miller Orchestra with "It Must Be Jelly (cause jam don't shake like that)" (download MP3)

2/ Be Bop A Lula ( download MP3 ) - Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps. It seems to me that I have always known this song, Mom and Dad were not fans of Rock'n Roll, but we were always allowed to watch the Ed Sullivan show and whatever guests he might have on. Though I don't remember this song from that show ( I did a Internet search and he was on in '57, I wasn't even a figment in my parents imagination yet.) So it had to be radio airplay or something that embedded this song in my mind. I remember being a little kid, probably around 7 years old, walking along the train tracks on my way to cubs, and singing this song. I only knew two lines "Be bop a lula she's my baby, be bop a lula I don't mean maybe", and I would repeat them constantly.

3/ Light My Fire (download MP3) - The Doors. We didn't get a lot of radio stations in central Ontario in the late sixties/early seventies. This song seemed to be on the air constantly. How did this impact me? Long hair and rock'n roll seemed so cool. I knew I wanted to be involved somehow, and I thought that being a radio DJ was the way. I would stand in the bathroom for hours perfecting my radio voice.

4/ Paradise by the Dashboard Light (download MP3) - Meat Loaf, Wow 1977 was a pretty important year. I was 14 years old, going into high school, got stoned for the first time that summer, got my first portable stereo (A blue eight track AM/FM stereo with split speakers), saw Star Wars and began to realize that information was cool, not the stuff they taught us at school but what I could learn on my own. So I read/watched as much as I could about the artists I listened to .. I became a music geek at high school.

5/ White Riot (download MP3) - The Clash. (another 1977 occurrence) I was over at a friends house getting stoned and he puts on "The Clash" .. this song hit me. Wow! people stood up for things, I didn't have to take the shit being handed out to me. (I was kind of complacent and easy going back then) I guess it was the first time that I realized that if you really wanted something you had to fight for it not just roll over and take what was being given.

6/ Ziggy Stardust (download MP3) - David Bowie. I was in my parents room watching a music documentary, sometime in the mid seventies, I remember it like it was yesterday. There was this whole part about David as Ziggy. Once again a wow experience. This was a rockstar, I had to learn more. I discovered the Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol and the incredible mixture of Art and Music.

7/ London Calling (download MP3) - The Clash, Cool For Cats (download) - Squeeze. The first two albums I bought for myself. I had a job, I had money and I didn't have to wait for my birthday or Christmas for a gift. I was independent.

8/ I Got My Mojo Working (download MP3) - Paul Butterfield Blues Band. This was on my set list for one of my first college radio shows. Once again a Wow!, I was listening to mostly punk and rock at this time. All of a sudden the Blues were there. I hit the library and learned at much as I could. Paul Butterfield lead me to B.B. King, BB King lead me to Muddy Waters, Muddy Waters lead me to Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Lemon Jefferson lead me to Leadbelly. A big door opened. Blues/Folk/Bluegrass/Country and Gospel all became real.

9/ Bohemian Rhapsody (download MP3) - Queen. The only reason why I went to see them in concert at the CNE grandstand. I had to see this song done live.

10/ Skin Deep (download MP3) - The Stranglers. I wanted to so badly go out with this certain girl that I knew in college, (long blond hair, great lips, beautiful eyes and a really good body) I talked her into going to the concert at the Masonic Temple with me. I was so caught up in the music and show that I never saw her make out and leave with the guy beside us, until his girlfriend told me we had been dumped. I realised at that point that for me women came second to music. (until I met Wife of course!)

I'm not big on tagging but for once I'm going to do it. So I would like to see some reponses from:

Hi-Watt-Cha Doing?
Nics Opinions
musings of middle age
CamelsbackandForth
Armagideon Time
The Vinyl Villain

Listening to "Story Of the Rockers" Gene Vincent.

By the way

All the mp3s posted on the site are there to encourage you to listen and then rush out and buy the songs direct from the artist, by mail order or from a decent record shop near your house. Any artist who doesn't want their works featured here only needs to get in touch and the mp3 will be removed at the earliest opportunity. In any event, all mp3s are posted for a limited time only.

What happened on Tuesday July 17th?

Asian Lily

I hate decks ... I have gotten nothing done, my design has been for crap and now I am waiting to see what I can do next.

My design would work, but it is not up to code. If anything were to happen to the house becuase of the new deck, the insurance company would not cover it. This is not my house, it's my mother in laws, so I'm not only responsible to her but also my wife's two sisters. I can't just go and build a deck and be done with it. This sucks. I have to wait for a couple of calls before I can do anything.

How goes your week?

No music right now, because wife has put away my head phones and can't remember where it was that she put them!

What happened on Friday July 13th?

Yellow Daisy


I'm off work for a week. Going to build/rebuild at deck at the house. It's needed to be done for the last two years but I just haven't taken the time. So this year I set aside a week. Post holes are dug, just have to get started. I'll try to take some pictures of the project to show you what I've done.

I've been trying to figure out what to post about today until I found that Toronto Mike did a post about "Bob Marley Steals From Banana Splitz". Thanks Mike.



How many of you remember the Banana Splits, this was a show done by Sid and Marty Kroftt. It was a variety show for kids, no skit was more than a few minutes and it would never bore a kid. It had a cliff hanger serial called Danger Island (until I found this link, I had always thought the guy was yelling "UH Oh, Tongo!"). I used to run around shouting UH Oh, Tongo! all the time at the fine old age of 6 and 7. I guess I thought was so cool! Don't know how we got this show in Bracebridge but we did. (we only had two TV channels back in those days {CKVR and CHEX})

Any way this led me to repost the Dickies version of The Banana Splits (The Tra La La Song).mp3, It was on "New Wave Archive" hope you go out and buy it.

Listening to Jackie is Punk - The Rammones.

What happened on Thursday July 12th?

Zantedeschia


Larkspur


Sometimes posting pictures of flowers makes your day.

At TaiKwonDo last night I almost took out a 16 year old. We were doing a punching drill, the kid lowered the shield and I almost caught him in the throat, I pulled the punch just in time. Left a nasty red spot on him though.

Kids are well .. Eldest gets mid term marks for summer school .. hand peirced his ear himself last night, 3 times. To impress a girl. What a git. Middle is at her cousins for the week, so no fighting between the kids. Youngest is geting everything she wants.

How goes life with you?

By the way the music below is available for a short time so grab it while you can.


Listening to Laura - Scissor Sisters