Snoop found his way back home to New Brunswick last night.
It's a little known fact that Snoop Dogg (aka Calvin Broadus)was born in Saint John, grew up in Quispam and went to school at Rothesay Collegiate where he excelled at basketball and rowing. His real love was the flute though which he played with the school marching band. And it was that flute that took him to Los Angeles and the Long Beach Academy of the Arts where he met André Romell Young. He distinguished himself as a flautist at the Academy and Andre saw his style as a perfect match for his new sound. And thus the gangster flute was born and the rest, as they say, is history.
Last time he was here he told Saint John how much he loved coming home and this time he made it upriver to Freddy for a show at the Aitken Center. I missed Ice Cube, keeping my record of never seeing an opening band intact, but got there in time for Snoop. The crowd was young and hyped. The lights went down and the place lit up. He played a set of hits, which means he played 8 songs off Doggystyle, the 6 or 7 decent songs he's had since, and a kick ass version of P.I.M.P. The highlight, as you might expect, was Ain't No Fun (If My Homies Can't Have None) which was a real crowd pleaser. Incidentally, another highlight for me was Snoop's outfit. From my seat it looked like he was wearing a denim jumpsuit with black polka-dot patches. I thought that's what it was until I saw this picture. Him wearing double denim would have been the fashion equivalent of "What's up Fredericton!?!?", which he did say. Good to very good show.
After the show was the after party. Normy would have none of going home so we hit Nicky Zee's to hang with Snoop. Well it turns out Snoop ate a bad samosa and was a little under the weather. Ice Cube did show up and was nice enough to give me a cheers and shake Normy's hand (which, no, he has not washed). Good times, good times. I was hoping to be able to now unveil a picture of Snoop passed out on my couch but he plays by his rules not mine. Reminding me again that it's a Doggy Dogg World and we just live in it.
...and this is a Goofy little town. Check this out - Extra! Extra! As you can see here there is much ado in Freddy when it comes to tasty triangular pastries. I think that a lot of people that line-up for samosas somehow assume this to be a normal thing to do; like people around the world are lining up for samosas. Well I'm pretty sure they aren’t! This particularlar phenomenon is isolated to Fredericton, isolated pockets (samosas, if you will) of Britain and, obviously the streets of Calcutta. But that should be taken with a grain of salt because everyone knows that the Brits and Indians queue up for anything. In North America we don’t, making the Fredericton samosa phenomenon noteworthy enough to garner newpaper attention.
Talk about a slow news day; today’s top story – NO SAMOSAS! This is my favourite part of the article: "Iyengar said a letter circulated to market shoppers last Saturday - signed by Ken McGeorge, the executive director of York County Properties - said samosa products attract as many as 2,000 to 3,000 patrons to the market each week." Mind boggling - we can hardly get enough people attract the Hip for 14 years and yet we can gravitate, weekly, by the thousands for samosas. Crazy...
Actually, more then one person sent me this link today. One email simply said "ahhh, no samosas" and the concern seemed geniune. I can understand it though, those things are sofa king good...
As an interesting aside; Snoop Dogg is in town tonight and word on the street is that he asked for 75 buckets of Popeye's chicken as his rider. Unfortunately we don't have a Popeye's here so word is they are giving him 25 dozen samosas and a lifetime supply of chutney.
So little Will turned 20 today. Now that he is 20 and the same size as me I feel it maybe necessary to start calling him something other than little Will. I thought maybe Big Willie because it might help him with the ladies but then I thought of the association with Will Smith. So I'm just going to stick with Will. It boggles my mind that he is turning 20 already; It doesn't seem like 20 years ago that I was at the hospital the morning he was born. But let's not dwell on my age, let's dwell on his.
20 is a pretty damned good age to be. Depending on your philosophical leanings, at 20 you either have the world by the balls or the world is your oyester. Being a guy who has accidently got it in the junk on occasion I prefer to steer clear of the former metaphor and stick with the latter. As I said last week Will's music career is just getting started and that will no doubt be a blast for the next few years. He's also at STU where the girl to guy ratio is said to be like 3-1. You gotta like those odds; especially if you're in the band, maan. I'll ride the coat-tails:
And because he's the one who has the musical talent I will let him sing He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother on my birthday.
Winter hit the Beach with a vengeance this past week. We had one of those bone-chilling -30 deep freezes that makes your hair freeze walking from the parking lot to your office door in the morning. It is my experience that the best way to assure that this wicked winter weather doesn't get you in a funk is to get together with a large group of people and watch some live music. In essence, to f*ck the funk it is best to funk the funk. So I did.
Thursday night I went to the Cellar to watch Will and the Tallest Band on Earth open for God Made Me Funky. Due to a slight miscommunication, and my penchant for being (un)fashionably late, I missed all but the last few chords of Will's performance. What I heard was good but was far too limited to provide an accurate review. So we rely on the reviews of others. They were universally good. I ran into a couple of friends and asked them how the opener was and they said great. When I told them it was my brother playing bass the were surprised because they didn't figure the band was local. My guess is that it should lead to more shows; I'll make the next one Will, I swear. I did try to make it up to him by buying him a couple of beer while watching the headliner. They were as good as I recalled them from the Blues Festival. They're a full on party band. It was Thursday though so I didn't really have a party in me. So on Friday Normy, Wheat and I made a trip to visit Craiger and have some fun with these guys. It was a great show and a great time...Surf City rarely disappoints.
We got out of SJ around noon and stopped at Georgette's Diner in Welsford. I mention this only because I recommend a visit there. Try the Maurice burger. We got home at mid-afternoon and I hit the couch for a couple hours of real sleep to gear up for the end of my musical weekend.The Downtown Blues Band was playing a fundraiser for the Canadian Mental Health Assn. and there is nothing I like more then partying for charity - it's guilt free pleasure. Besides I always love to see the Blues Band; to me they will never be quite the band they were with Diane but they still make for a great party and I love the fact that her boa remains a fixture on their stage. They had their own variation on f*ck the funk; they called this Beat the Blues.
Whatever you want to call it, it works. I felt no guilt this morning. I feel a little guilty now because I have spent most of the day on the couch but man, check the temperature, it's cold out there!
The Tallest Band on Earth - Live @ The Cellar - Jan. 25/06First big gig for Will's band tonight; opening for Harvest Jazz and Blues attendees God Made Me Funky. These guys are good and Will draw a crowd so it Will be great for The TBOE to get some exposure. I'll give you a review tomorrow.
Well here it is folks. After a little over a month of work the Bakery on Henry St. has a new kitchen. It was a long month trying to make do without a functional kitchen but, as you can see from these before and after photos, we never really had a functional kitchen to begin with. The fact is I hardly even remember the kitchen before the reno; stricken from the memory. Sister Sarah was obviously the brains behind the operation and my uncle Doug London did the work. She had to convince me to paint the wainscotting and trim and I'm glad she did. It's nice a bright now. Bright and welcoming. The biggest new feature is the island that is now the main feature of the room. We went from having next to no counter space to having lots of counter space.The island has also been proven to be provide a great centerpiece for a good old fashioned kitchen party. It may also be responsible for high levels of BS but that may be more related to the drinks consumed around it. More research is needed here. And more will be done, I assure you.
Huge thanks to mom for her help, to Doug for all his hard work and of course the biggest thanks of all to Sister Sarah and her brain. She is a professional though and did this one as my birthday/Christmas present for the next few years. You can check her out on the web right here.
I think the place is almost ready for a housewarming party.
To quote any member of the Canadian Employement Insurance Ski Team, "It's Pukin'". Not to worry though West Coasters, it's a little too warm for this stuff to be considered cherry powder. It is just the right temp for the perfect snowball though. We must embrace our heritage people; beaning someone in the ass with a perfectly weighted snowball is as much a sign of Canadian affection as saying "nice arse"; in fact it's the physical equivalent. So I will be heading out tonight in the hopes of starting a massive snowball fight in the Tannery. I will then be bumper hitching a cab across the river.
I stopped for a beer after work and there was a palpable buzz in the bar. With all the talk of global warming I think people were genuinely happy to get a honest to goodness weather bomb. I drove home and actually saw people shovelling and smiling. Hell, I even shovelled(a little).
So if I been you in ass tonight please take it as a compliment.
There is no denying it, I'm hooked. 24 is back and I'm hooked. For a few years I have done well not to book any tv shows into my weekly schedule. Don't let that fool you into thinking that my tv time has diminished. It certainly has not. In fact, with the current cable package we have I can find something to watch at all times. But the list is basically as follows; random sports, real news, fake news and The Simpson's. But halfway through season 4 I was introduced to Jack Bauer at a time when the world needed a hero. Ah heck, I'll say it, dammit, I needed a hero. Of course it doesn't hurt that he is a Canadian citizen and his father was born in Saint John. It's comforting to know that the world will indeed be saved by a Canadian with NB roots. What's that? It's not real? Yeah you tell that to Curtis' family...heartless pricks. Anyways, for those of you that, like me, have been wondering who would win between Jack Bauer and Chuck Norris, well, this site is dedicated to answering that very question. I don't like that it asks which is the truer "American Badass" when Jack (Keifer, whatever) is Canadian and Chuck clearly wishes he was Asian. I do, however, really like the fact that they play the WWJBD? vs WWCND? game because it reminds me how much I like to play that game too. I change it often but generally I bounce between living my life with the answers to WWB(Bucky)D?, WWW(Wheat)D? and WWN(Normy)D? I usually end up doing what Normy would do...so we end up watching 24.
Pace out.
PS - I would advise against trying WWSD? Trust me.
Big news for the procrastinator's of the world; a University of Calgary researcher has come up with a formula for procrastinating - Utility = E x V / (Gamma) x D. I didn't read the whole article but I'll get around to it. I did take my Christmas tree down this weekend though. Scotty also got the old turntable working, although I'm not sure if that's going to hurt or help overall productivity. Either way those were a couple of things that I was hoping to get around to. That list is obviously pretty long but now that I found this things are looking up: Pace out.
The other night I was driving in the Legacy with one of Will's mixed cd's playing. As a new song started I recognized the sample that it opened with. It was the theme from Taxi (which is actually called Angela(Theme from Taxi)). Then the beat kicked in a real nice chill hip hop song followed. How could it not be with a sample like that. I knew this sample from a previous life. When I was in Victoria and spent a little time every week searching for old vinyl at the Value Village, Salvation Army or auctions I came across Bob James' Touchdown. I actually found it at a fire sale (literally) and didn't even look at the song list. I bought it purely because it of the album cover. I mean anything with a football on the front had to be good right? Oh, and also, it cost 25c. When I got it home and opened it up I checked the song list and the first one listed was the Angela so I threw it on Bucky's old turntable. It's such a nice song and the album continues on the same vibe. I listened to the album alot especially on Sundays; Kenny Goodland and I would sit around and see if we could hold on long enough for our chef roomate Pegger to "whip something up" for supper - he was a chef; whipping something up could (and did more than once) mean braised lambchops. Indeed, I have good memories of this album. That is why I went and looked for it on ebay, found it, and ordered it, to relive those Sundays. I'm hoping Normy reads this and knows what I mean when I tell him to "whip something up". Oh, and thanks to the magic of YouTube here is the Taxi into: I'm really looking forward to this album arriving...now it is a jazz album so I do fear that I may be entering a new phase in my life. If I start sipping brandy and walking around in a smoking jacket feel free to slap my upside the head. Or better yet, just throw Gooch's Suicidal Tendencies album on the record player.
Before we get too far into the New Year it's important to look back at some of the highlights of the year that was. It was a very busy year and as such there are a bevy of stories that I will look back on and chuckle. But when pressed on New Year's Eve we came to the decision the the best story of the 2006 comes from the legend that is Dave Jackson.
Dave fancies himself quite a cook (and in reality is) and loves nothing more he firing up the grill on a summer evening and hooking the boys up with a feed. On this particular night he was pressed for time so he scoured the freezer for an adequate cut of meat. What he found were some burgers labelled "gourmet" to which he said "gourmet is the only kind of burger good enough for Normy". He hit the road and headed to The Embassy to treat Normy to summer cookout. He grilled up the burgers and set them up with all the fixins. Davey was the first to tuck into the burger and found they this particular burger had some unfamiliar crunchy bits. Confused, Davey went in for a closer inspection. What he found was that these burgers contains some hard white chunks with the consistency of bone. Now needing clarification he went to the kitchen and sought out the box. When he found it the answer became clear thanks to the picture of the dog on the burger box. These burgers were "gourmet" dog burgers and the crunchy white chunks were indeed bone chunks. The story is infinitely better when told by Normy in full on giggle mode but I trust you can see the humour. Also, it's Jackson, which automatically makes it funny. Davey, Normy told me that it would be nice of me not to tell this story but I told him that's easy for him to say because he got a phone call from you the other night. Not that I care, I'm just sayin...So the real story of the year is that my friends are spearheading a baby boom in the hopes slowing the population atrophy plaguing our province. At least that's why I think they are having babies. Also, I bought a house, played some rugby and had some fun.
Finally I also took a trip to San Francisco in February and ran into an old buddy. I got an email from Jonny today and he took a trip to San Fran over the holidays and spent some time laughing at "the bushman". I'm pretty sure the transfer of this kind of information is what the internet is for. Well, that and porn.
In the Daily Gleaner's wrap up of the past year on the local sports scene The Loyalists were named the team of the year by all three local reporters. This reasoning from Bruce Halihan: "Team of the year: Last week, the tight-knit rugby community lost one of its most loyal fans in Bill Thorpe, whose name is synonymous with the sport in this city. So the Fredericton Loyalists will end 2006 on a sad note in a year where they achieved their greatest feat. They won the provincial (McNair) and Maritime (Caledonia) cups for the third year in a row, but what vaulted them to the top of my thick team of the year pile was winning the Aliant Atlantic Premier championship by winning twice one weekend in Newfoundland. No other team has ever won the Atlantic title on enemy soil."
It was a very good year and most importantly a very fun year to be around the club. Every January 1st we have a tradition whereby the weary revellers from the night before drag themselves out of bed and make there way to the club. We reminisce about the year that was, start to think about the year to come, eat soup or chili likely made by a MacAfee, have a beer and, weather permitting, play the Snow Bowl. This year there wasn't enough snow to play an actual game but we did get out and play touch for the first run of the season. Here's a partial photo of those who took part.It should be noted that I kicked the first drop goal of the season, taking that title from Scotty, and also scored the first try of the season (a feat I have accomplished every year ever likely because I am the only one keeping track).
Finally it should be noted my Cousin Jane Rumball was the unanimous choice for Female Athlete of the Year for her accomplishments. Bruce's rational for her was even better: "Rumball won a world pairs championship with crewmate Darcy Marquardt, but what Rumball did to honour her parents - both of whom were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - tipped the oar in her favour. In three weeks, Rumball raised more than $5,500 for the Canadian Cancer Society - a feat recognized in the Globe and Mail, no less - and her "Row Against Cancer" eventually topped $6,000. That's quite a tribute."
January 1st is just another day but it is also the proverbial fresh start, clean slate, new underwear, etc. Since the turn of the millenium the New Year's Eve celebration has been a bit of a letdown (having said that Craig had a couple of memorable bash's on Prince William st. and I had a truly fantastic West Coast New Year's on Denman Island in to ring in 2002, but for the sake of this post let's pretend they all sucked). So this year plans were up in the air on Henry St. Being a Sunday most of the day was spent lounging in front of the TV lamenting the plights of the Bengals and Dolphins (the football teams, not the animals, although that makes me think that we really need to review our priorities). A few boys came over to share the last day of the NFL season and as a final splash before wiping the slate clean we got a bucket of KFC. Normy and I barely made it out of the house, while Jesse, Rene and Hunter never made it off the couch. This year will therefore be remembered as the year that KFC ruined New Year's. It was, indeed, finger-licking good though.
Normy and I made it to Slippy's by 9 minutes to midnight thereby beating Weston's prediction by 4 minutes. We arrived to boos but after the clock struck twelve those hard feelings were "so last year". Shortly after that the family folks stared heading home and I had to pull out my heretofore unseen impersonation of Frank Mills doing Music Box Dancer to keep them interested. It didn't work and by 3am it was just Normy, Pete, Tracey and I. Tracey then made fun of Normy's ancient cell phone and that was it; Normy woke me up from my floor sleep and we left in our first huff of the new year. Actually it was really nice to party at Winston's house on Birmingham Ct. I'm pretty sure we told some of the same stories last night as we did the first time I drank there; when I was, um, 19, yeah that's right 19. Good friends, good times.
So as for my New Year's resolutions, well, they are the same as every year. Get a six pack, get a degree, get bent, laugh more, live more, love more, say yes more, say thank you more, say you're welcome more, cook more, eat better, and hug more people when they don't expect it. Also, I would like to kiss an angel good morning and love her like the devil when I get back home and find out once and for all just how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
At a family get together a few days ago my Spanish influenced cousin Anne told me that Prospero An~o (pronounced Anyo) is the equivalent of Happy New Year. She also told me to be careful not to pronounce it Prospero Ano because that would mean prosperous anus. Frankly I wish you both; may we all be healthy, happy and regular in 2007.
Snoop found his way back home to New Brunswick last night. 
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The island has also been proven to be provide a great centerpiece for a good old fashioned kitchen party. It may also be responsible for high levels of BS but that may be more related to the drinks consumed around it. More research is needed here. And more will be done, I assure you. 
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