Normy stocked up on chocalate bars, mickeys and smokes to hand out to the local kids this evening. Time will tell if we get any kids besides the pair that continue to come by asking for their little buddy. It will also be interesting to see how long it will take before the jack-o-lanterns on the front step get smashed. I've been amazed at how quiet this little corner of Devon is so I am going to say they will last the night and possibly the weekend. I'll keep you posted.
So we had our annual Halloween party at the club on Saturday. The party also doubled as a celebration for our Provincial Championship win (26-7 over the Trojans). I shaved my playoff beard into a moustache and went as a very half-assed Magnum PI. It was mostly half-assed because Normy wouldn't come as TC which was really going to be the kicker. He decided not to press his costume luck after winning the best costume contest at the club the night before by wearing an old rug and smiling. He still doesn't know why he won but he's got the new Ford jacket to prove it. Wear it with Pride TC, wear it with pride.
Although my sweet tooth does love this time of year, my favourite part of Halloween, by far, are the hilarious situations that people in costumes can get themselves into. Any Saturday at the end of October there is a very real possibility that you will actually have a conversation with a man dressed up as a woman. You may also see a clown get arrested or drunken Elvis walking up the street hand in hand with a sexy devil(sexy nurse, sexy cowgirl, sexy kitty, sexy cheerleader etc. - a solid argument could be made that if Valentine's Day is a Hallmark Holiday then Halloween is a WonderBra holiday, not that I'm complaining) I remember working at the clubhouse a couple of years ago while dressed up as a 80's Maritime Rocker (think Haywire)when a fight broke out. The fight was between a Viking and a Dirtbag and started thanks to Cinderella flirting too much. My memory is foggy but I think Scotty was dressed up as Robin (as in Batman &) and he was the first to arrive on the scene. The Viking and the Dirtbag wouldn't let each other go so a Saltwater Cowboy (Bardsley) started using the Viking's sword to beat their hands to release their grip. Once shit calmed down I couldn't help but laugh at the whole scene. And the best part is that this was a staff party for a local company. Classy.
I'm just glad we didn't let that Superman vs. Jesus fight happen outside of Dolan's last year. The ramifications of that tilt are hard to overstate. Luckily the sexy Wonder Woman came along and calmed things down. Always on duty.
Today is the Jester's birthday. We could try and match the pomp and circumstance that was associated with T-Bone's birthday but there is a bit of a soiree schedule for this evening at the rugby club and he will likely be making himself more scarce than, well, Normy on his birthday. I'm not going to tell you exactly how old he is but I will tell you that's it's between an age that rhymes with test drive (if, and only if, you say it with an Eastern European accent - think Borat) and an age that rhymes with dirty. He is taking his climb up the hill very well although he appears to be adopting the sleep habits of a senior citizen.
And continuing with this nutbar birthday frenzy big ups to Big Bad tomorrow's-my-birthday-Barry Calhoun for documenting another year in pictures. Also blowing candles and smoke this month are the best thing ever to come out of Burpee St. Ron Fontaine and the only good thing ever to come out of Michener Ct. - the Fish (I would love to have something to link to for Fish but North is apparently too strung out from his Rock n Roll tour to tell us about Fish's birthday in Taipei. Come on Clau, the world is waiting!)
So again I'm left to wonder why the unexplained glut of birthdays in October. I mean what is going on in New Brunswick in mid-January? Oh wait, that's right; nothing! It all makes sense.
So it has been pointed out that Slippy and JC are not actually Sagitarii after all. A quick look at the Zodiac compatibility card that I keep in my wallet reveals that they are in fact Libras (Libri?). This being the case I feel it necessary to alter my plans for their singing engagement. And this is where I introduce you to coincidence. It turns out that Libra is associated with justice and symbolized by the scales of justice. Metallica, as some of you may know, released an album titled ...And Justice For All in 1988, which, interestingly, is right about the time the world met the Moose at the bottom of a case of beer at Lydon's house. Good times. So with the signs aligned it seems clear to me that Pete and Craig are going to have to sing One at this karoake event although we will have to wait at least a year so Pete can grow his Flabio hair back to rock out with. If they want to do something sooner then they are welcome to do a play of Master of Puppets with JC, of course, playing the title character. This could be fun...
And now for an update on Normy's b-day celebrations. A few of the boys came over around 8:30 on the promise of cake. Numerous calls were put into Normy with no response - he was onto us. He finally arrived shortly after 10 with most of the boys antsy to head home. His delaying of the arrival led to a drastic increase in the heat of the spotlight once he did come home. He brought in on himself but I'm sad to say that he did have to endure the whole process of cake, candles and the killing of a cat (at least that's what our version of Happy Birthday sounded like to me). I have a picture of him blowing out the candles that will be posted to the internet once it gets digitized. This will end his lesson of you have to get as good as you give SuperFiend.
Besides Scotch Bober really wanted cake, that's what this was really all about.
So I was looking for a picture to mark this day and this one is nearly perfect. Today is Normy's birthday (based on the Egyptian calender he turns 26). Normy has a bit of an issue being in the spotlight. That being the case he tends to make himself scarce on his birthday. The only problem is that he moonlights as SuperFriend and always makes a big deal of everyone else's birthday - "Operation fun? We have to it's your birthday!". What comes around goes around Normy - on Gooch's birthday last year you took him a cake so prepare for an ambush. And maybe a group hug. If you don't show up I'm lighting the candles and leaving your ice cream cake to melt on your bed. And yes it will be a metaphor for our melting friendship.
So Normy's birthday belly-aching gets him his own post but I would be remiss if I didn't make note of a couple of other October birthdays and that's why this picture is the tops. Slippy also turned 26 in Egyptian years on October 3rd. He's been keeping busy lately doing his dream job of keeping track of all the Alpine in the province (seriously, he's an auditor for the NBLCC - I can't make this stuff up!) and he's also busy with some other stuff. October 8th was the Craiger's birthday. He is enjoying his second term as the deputy mayor of Surf City and it also doing some other stuff himself. Actually to see what he's really been doing click here and here (again, I can't make this stuff up!).
This reminds me; JC and the Moose are both Sagittarius (Sagittarii?) and given their resonable and rabid (respectively) affinity for Metallica it would be sweet to see them do a karaoke version of Sanitarium replacing the title lyric with Sagittarius.
Sagittarius, leave me be Sagittarius, just leave me alone
OK, so maybe it doesn't work so well but still...
Anyways, Happy Birthday to all of y'all. Group Hug, Normy?
Since joining the real world and becoming a 9-5ver (or thereabouts) Sundays have become a relaxation limbo. Sunday morning is still as easy as the song but that's likely because most of Sunday morning is spent in slumber. Sunday afternoon is reserved for yelling at the TV and futility of my Dolphins. By Sunday evening the prospect of the week to come hits home and the weekend effectively ends at when the Dolphins game is over. Johnny Cash sang about Sunday Morning Coming Down and although I will admit to relating to that song on occasion, sometime around dinner on Sunday I start to feel Monday morning coming down. Maroon 5 also sang about Sunday Morning but I'll be honest I'm not too sure what they're singing about. Without a doubt those my favourite Sunday morning song can be seen here:
This song ranks very high on my list of all time best covers. And the video is really a thing of beauty. Not only did Faith No More say "Hey let's do a near carbon copy cover of a 70's soul ballad but let's throw in a gaggle of trannies to make everyone watching the video wonder what they would be into if they became rockstars". Classic.
So this makes me wonder if there is a disproportionate number of songs about Sunday Morning. I can only name a few songs about Saturday night and one or two of them were written for Hockey Night in Canada. These are clearly the random thoughts of a lazy Sunday.
Get this; my last post was number 100. To celebrate this milestone I am going to make a compilation CD with all of the song titles that have made up the posts' titles. If you would like to have one of these CDs please leave a comment and you will get yours...eventually*.
I started doing this as a birthday present to myself, a place, other then the dancefloor, to release my creative juices. Some of the boys give me a hard time about it but last week Chucky sent me a note from Taiwan that said, and I quote, "Hey man, you got a good blog". Those few words are all the reason I need to keep going.....and going, and going.
Keep the Faith
Malibu
*note - due to contractual obligations the making of this CD cannot be completed by me until Normy and I complete the video compilation of our Y2K trip to Florida. This should be completed by NYE 2010.
Happy Thanksgiving! I just made it back from PEI where I spent Thanksgiving with Mom and the fam at her new cottage on the Eastern tip of the Island. I drove over there on Sunday and it was a beautiful day for a drive through NB and into Ann's land. I hadn't ever been up to that end of the Island but I was quickly amazed at how nice it is. See for yourself: These are the dunes at South Lake (which is as much a lake as I am a Rhodes scholar). Mom and Sam's new place is on the creek which you can see entering the "lake" on the left. I look forward to having the opportunity to spend some real time there.
As it was, I was actually happy to get away before noon on a Sunday and took my time enjoying the drive. I arrived at 5 just in time for the 10 cent tour and a pre-meal. I tried not to eat all day to save myself for the epic feast that is Thanksgiving but I just couldn't say no to leftover stroganoff. We took a quick walk to burn some calories and regain a hunger and there was no problem once it was dinner time. I didn't always like Turkey dinner. It has taken me years to appreciate "the fixin's" but I have a healthy appreciation now. I was salivating on the drive over thinking about stuffing. I was looking forward to parsnips, and I'm pretty sure that's the first time that sentence has ever been uttered. It was fantastic and that was to say nothing of the company.
It is a time for thanks giving and I do have much to be thankful for. I'm thankful that mom and Sam made the trip down; I'm thankful that Granny and Grampy came over from Rexton; I'm thankful that Sarah and Steve brought rum, and I'm thankful that Dad let me go when I'm sure he would have much rather had us there with Will and him and Margie and Emily. I'm also thankful that mom found what seems to be another magical place to make camp. I'm also thankful that my new house has two bathrooms so I could leave with one of them out of order for the boys in (semi)good conscience.
I hope everyone had a great weekend wherever you are. Thanks! Si
Here's the view from the cottage: PS - My actual favourite thing about Thanksgiving is the distinct possibility that someone will say "Mmmmm...I like the dark meat".
So it's Friday before Thankgiving weekend. It's freaking gorgeous out - a warm sunny day in October is almost nicer then a warm sunny day any other time of the year. I think it's all the colors - they're warm like a big hug. Plus the Trailer Park Boys movie comes out tonight, I have a rugby game tomorrow (at home!) and am heading to PEI to see Mom and the fam for a kick ass meal on Sunday. Things are looking good. Now having said that, I have watched entirely too much news in the past couple of weeks. Normy boycotts news because he doesn't need the bringdown. His theory makes more sense now. There is a lot of bad news out there. The world need more hugs! I think there should be daily hug quotas, a International Hug Day, and World Championships for hugging. I really want the last one to come off because sister Sarah would win, hands down and she could help me redecorate the house with her winnings. That reminds me of one of my favourite videos - Dave Matthews lost me some time ago but this video is the opposite of bad news.
One of my favourite things about all the time I spend playing rugby are the yearly trips to the Rock. I've made it to St.John's every year for the past 10 or so. Without fail I have always had a good time; the hospitality is as good they say (and as good as the weather is bad). Almost as much of a lock as the good time were the chances that I was coming home after losing a rugby game. The newfs have had our number at home since I've been making trips over there. On a beautiful day on the Avalon Peninsula we beat the Swilers 31-19 to win the Aliant championship. Not surprisingly it was even more fun over there after a game...
Halloween in Devon
a couple of years ago while dressed up as a 80's Maritime Rocker (think Haywire)when a fight broke out. The fight was between a Viking and a Dirtbag and started thanks to Cinderella flirting too much. My memory is foggy but I think Scotty was dressed up as Robin (as in Batman &) and he was the first to arrive on the scene. The Viking and the Dirtbag wouldn't let each other go so a Saltwater Cowboy (Bardsley) started using the Viking's sword to beat their hands to release their grip. Once shit calmed down I couldn't help but laugh at the whole scene. And the best part is that this was a staff party for a local company. Classy.
So it's Friday before Thankgiving weekend. It's freaking gorgeous out - a warm sunny day in October is almost nicer then a warm sunny day any other time of the year. I think it's all the colors - they're warm like a big hug. Plus the Trailer Park Boys movie comes out tonight, I have a rugby game tomorrow (at home!) and am heading to PEI to see Mom and the fam for a kick ass meal on Sunday. Things are looking good. Now having said that, I have watched entirely too much news in the past couple of weeks. Normy boycotts news because he doesn't need the bringdown. His theory makes more sense now. There is a lot of bad news out there. The world need more hugs! I think there should be daily hug quotas, a International Hug Day, and World Championships for hugging. I really want the last one to come off because sister Sarah would win, hands down and she could help me redecorate the house with her winnings. That reminds me of one of my favourite videos - Dave Matthews lost me some time ago but this video is the opposite of bad news.
