Forever Young
As previously mentioned, this year has been full of homecoming visitors. Starting with Fish and apparently continuing with the impending arrival of the Low Post Ghost tomorrow it looks as if the Taiwanese dart team is on tour. Some visitors weren't here long enough (Calhoun) and some weren't actually here enough (North) but as always it was great to see everyone home. It's amazing to have known these folks for so long and to realize how little they have changed over the years. To butcher Wooderson, as I get older my friends stay the same age.
Woodabeen
Free Fallin"
Today is the last day of summer. In terms of hot summer flip flop fun this year was like most; way to short. August was cold but September was hot so it should be remembered as a nice year. Either way, I usually base my year around rugby season and not-rugby season and this years' rugby season has been a long one. We've been playing since April and we've got six weeks to go if all goes well. It too will be remembered as a nice one.
In fact, all the way around it should be remembered as a nice one. It was definately a busy one. There was a parade of visitors from far and wide. Those visitors had expectations that were as big as the distances they travelled. We tried hard to accomodate and hopefully made their visits home memorable. They all felt like recruiting trips...
It was a nice summer; they all are, but they are all too quick. Summer or rugby season really....It's actually all a blur and not just the weekends. I can remember being happy alot, being really sad there once, being sore alot thanks to all the rugby, and spending a whole lot of someone else's money on something. Change is good and sometimes change is pretty and sometimes change is both. I have no idea how that relates to my summer or this fall but it's supposed to make you think so hard that you won't even realize that. We'll see what kind of changes fall brings...
pace out
For What It's Worth
Election Day in NB - Putting the mock in democracy.
Today is the provincial election in New Brunswick. As usual it is a two horse race with the Premier Bernard Lord's Conservatives trying to hold on to their power and Shawn Graham's Liberals trying to regain the McKenna Magic.
Elections are always a great source of debate at the Embassy. Not over policy or parties just simply over whether or not an uninformed vote is worse then no vote at all. I like to tell Normy that his voter apathy would be unheard of among his Arab brethren to which he always responds - "Man, I'm from Norway!". He likes to tell me that he would rather not vote then vote based on pictures(he has also taken voter secrecy to a whole new level by not only keeping who he voted for secret but also whether voted at all). Well who would you vote for? They both look the same - slightly rat-faced and pointy - and based on this picture have similar thoughts on what business casual means. From a few years of seeing them around Freddy Beach I can say that Premier Lord personality makes
Weekend at Bernie's jokes far too easy. Mr. Graham seems more at ease in a crowd, smiles bigger, and his wife is slightly more attractive. This all means that he is likely just a better faker, or at least better at faking me.
The polls were virtually neck and neck coming into election day and it is truly up in the air. Well I guess that's not really accurate; it's actually in the hands of the voters...or the people that don't vote because of their Scandanavian socialist history. Stormer is likely right on one thing though; whoever is in there probably isn't going to do too much that is going to change his day to day routine but he sure will be pissed when he sees that election coverage pre-empts reruns of
Rockstar. Is this what they meant in school when then talked about laissez-faire?
Vote for Pedro
Tweeter and The Monkey Man
Today is Jackman's birthday. In addition to being a good friend he is a good father, a good husband, a remorsless eating machine, does a good impersonation of a gorilla and, as the picture proves, does yeomans work as an air guitarist/wingman. He also enjoys cotton candy and Big Sugar.
Speaking of Big Sugar, the Blues Festival started last night and former Big Sugar frontman Gordie Johnson played with his new Texas-based band Grady. Self-described as Delta Metal they are considerably harder then Big Sugar although not quite louder (ear-splitting is ear-splitting). Very good show though and he is still as cocky as ever. He also used one of my new favourite lines in Rock 'n' Roll - "If I was your teacher you'd be head of the class". This reminds me that if nothing else Rock music is good for a constant spate of one-liners to spew out when passing a pretty girl on the street. As a cross section from some different genres:
Kiss - "
Every time that bitch bends over I forget my name, ow!"
Trooper - "You're just a 3 dressed up as a 9"
Snoop - "You without me is like Hal Melvin without the Bluenotes; you'll never go platinum!"
Leonard Cohen - "She's a hundred but she's wearing something tight"
And one of my all-time favourite rambles from the same band that brought you Tweeter and the Monkey Man the Travelling Wilbury's - "He loves your...Electric dumplings...Red bell peppers...Fuel injection...Service charge...Five-speed gearbox...Long endurance...Quest for junk food...Big refrigerator...Trembling wilbury...Marble earrings...Porky curtains...Power steering...Bottled water...Parts and services"
It also reminds me that even well respected artists can put out completely nonsensical lyrics and never be questioned. I mean what the hell is Porky Curtains, besides someone's new nickname.
This is a list that should be compiled - The Best Lines in Rock 'n' Roll History - I welcome your suggestions.
Happy Birthday Porky!
Tweeter
Five long years
On September 11, 2001 I woke up on the couch at mom's house on Charlotte st. with the TV on. I awoke to a breaking news story showing smoke billowing from the World Trade Center's North Tower. The newscaster assumed it must have been an accident and although it was an incredible scene it did not keep me from turning the TV off and going back to sleep.
Shortly thereafter, the phone rang and I answered to hear mom urging me to turn the TV back on because another plane had hit the World Trade Center. I distinctly remember the concern in her voice. When I turned the TV on both towers were now ablaze and they this time had footage of the second plance slamming into the South Tower. Incredibly (and this shows the innocence) the reporters were still asking questions about how navigation systems could have malfunctioned so badly, twice. An aviation expert that they were interviewing was the first to make it clear - commercial airliners would be nowhere near the area, visibility was perfect, basically that this was no accident. And then the towers fell and the unthinkable became reality. The potential deathtoll was astounding.
As the morning played out I remember calling a few people to get them up. Other then that I remember being glued to the coverage for 8 straight hours. At 6 o'clock I went to rugby practice and I remember thinking, as I crossed the bridge, that we had just witnessed the biggest event of our lifetimes and that everything would change from this point on. To some extent that's true, and to some extent not so much.
At the time it meant that I wasn't flying to Victoria as soon as I had expected. As the days went on the extent of the tragedy was realized it meant the world had changed. That's still going on...the fallout continues and a good friend of mine will be heading to Afghanistan at the end of October as a result. I'm not going to get in to the politics but I took the time this morning to watch the footage from that day and it's absolutely stunning. They really had no idea that terrorists could attack the US. In some ways it was the end of innocence...although maybe ignorance is the better word.
The world has changed since that day but when I crossed the bridge this morning that was the furthest thing from my mind. All I could think of was how nice of a day it was for September 11th.
L-i-v-i-n.
September
The arrival of September always brings with it one main question - "Where the hell did summer go?!". And there's no question that it spells the end of the summer and it's a first step on the path to winter but I just can't help but love September. This year it's been great because so far it seems as if someone puts October's shirt on August and August's on September. It's been gorgeous all week and it's been great. You can feel the hint of fall in the air but only after the sun goes down. Add to that anomaly the typical reasons for loving September and you'll begin to understand why it's a favourite month. The fall rugby season is in full swing, the blues festival takes over the city in a week's time, and the city is swollen with students who bring an energy all their own. And perhaps most importantly it give me a reason to listen to this song:
I love the outfits; I've got Normy working on making them for everyone for Halloween.
As an aside, this video is currently at number 5 on my Top 10 Reasons I Love YouTube.
Do you remember...
Pace out.
Slow Boat To China
This is my cousin Jane. The girl to her right is her friend Darcy. The shiny things hanging from their necks are gold medals. The sign behind them says 2006 World Rowing Championships. Add it up. My cousin Jane Rumball won a gold medal in pairs at the World Championships. She's a World Champion; how cool is that! For the full story click
here.
This has to be a huge stepping stone for Jane. They had won at an event in Munich a few weeks prior but this was the World Championships. This has to to help her chances of getting to Beijing in 2008 for the Olympics. Their boat obviously isn't slow but I know that this has been a long time coming for Jane. Rowers don't peak like gymnasts; it has taken years (and years) of hard work to get Jane where she is and I'm so happy to see that those years are paying off. Jane we are all so proud of you, it's just incredible. Congratulations and keep it up!
Si
As previously mentioned, this year has been full of homecoming visitors. Starting with Fish and apparently continuing with the impending arrival of the Low Post Ghost tomorrow it looks as if the Taiwanese dart team is on tour. Some visitors weren't here long enough (Calhoun) and some weren't actually here enough (North) but as always it was great to see everyone home. It's amazing to have known these folks for so long and to realize how little they have changed over the years. To butcher Wooderson, as I get older my friends stay the same age.
