Just for fun and in case any one needs the lyrics here is a handy reference guide to "that New Year's song":
Thank God for far Eastern love of karoake. I wonder if the girl singing has any idea what the lyrics mean? For the record, I really don't have a clue either.
Willie O'Ree, from the humble town of Fredericton, broke the color barrier in the NHL in 1958. He has become an ambassador for Fredericton, Canada, and the National Hockey League. Calvin Broadus, Jr, aka Snoop Dogg, of the anti-humble town of Long Beach California broke whatever profanity barriers that may have remained in music in the 90's. He also popularized the gangsta flute, cornrows, and the term endo...and we love him.
This is the best things you will see all day:
Pure Gold!
The only disapointment is that they didn't make mention of Snoop being Willie's hometown a few months ago. He probably doesn't remember....
I came across this the other day and it made me giggle. At first glance I assumed North finally got his dream job at the Taiwanese School of Rock and this was the uniform; but I would have read about that on his blog.
This is funny at the simplest level; this poor kid likely has no idea what the english writing on his t-shirt means. I'm guessing that there are thousands of North American girls with japanese profanities tattooed on their ankles and some guy in Japan probably took a picture of this same situation going the other way. In some ways it is just a big, funny indicator of the scope of globalization - although not quite as much as the story someone told me about being in Africa and seeing an empoverished child with a Social Club staff t-shirt on. You can't make this stuff up.
Two days after Christmas and I am consumed by a brick of guilt sitting in my stomach. It could be turkey dinner but it feels more like guilt. Despit my best efforts, I have once again cracked the 230lb point on Scott's scale. This tends to happen once rugby ends and I relish the free nights and ketchup in the excesses of December.
It all came to a head on Christmas night when Will, Dad and I made the trip upriver for our second annual Carleton County Christmas. Sarah and Steve once again prepared a glorious holiday feast (Steve mostly with the rum and cokes but they are a key ingredient in glossing over any slight imperfections in the fixings - not that I would ever mention slightly overcooked parsnips* - Oh I just did!) After dinner the revellers started showing up and there must have been over 2 dozen byt the end of the night. Many brought guitars which meant that I slinked to the back of the room to wallow in my lack of an egg shaker and lament the loss of my once golden singing voice. There was a lot of musical talent in the room and it kept the party going until 2:30 or so. Just the way it should be.
We were also treated to a great Christmas story by Santa Pacey but, thanks to the aformentioned rum and the voice in my head that, throughout the story, continually said "You have to remember this", I don't remember any of it. I remember it was a great performance though Dad.
Truth be told I actually spent most of my night trying to figure out where Sister Sarah may have hidden the Fredericton Walnut Toffee that I had made and brought her to replace the batch that mom had made her but she left in Freddy and I couldn't help but eat. I never found it...good work Sar. If you would like to make your own, here is the recipe:
Butter a 9-inch square pan thoroughly. Spread in pan - ½ cup black walnut pieces. Mix together in heavy frypan - 1-1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar and 1 cup butter. Cook over medium heat (keep mixture bubbling), stirring constantly, for 12 minutes. Pour toffee mixture quickly over nuts. Sprinkle over hot toffee - 3 squares semi-sweet chocolate, grated ( or one chocolate bar broken into pieces). As chocolate melts, spread until smooth. Sprinkle with more chopped Black Walnuts. Chill and break into pieces.
Enjoy! But in moderation - it tends to make you gain weight.
Pace out.
*Just kidding Sar - you may have noticed I ate them all :)
It's a few minutes after 5 and, after starting at noon time today, I have completed this year's Christmas shopping. I would like to think that I did pretty well but I'm not even sure what I mean by that. The most important thing I will give anyone this year are heartfelt hugs. Erin and I had a chat yesterday about our favourite Christmas songs and we determined that we had to break them up into categories like Classics(i.e. O Holy Night), Fun (i.e. Jingle Bells), Inspsirational and whatever else you want. We were discussing our inspirational favourites and she stated that this posts title song was her favourite because of it's message. Here it is: I nodded in agreement but had to admit to her that nothing will ever surpass Band Aid's Do They Know it's Christmas Time simply because it has been the one song that strikes a chord with me every year. It came out in 1984 and I spent that Christmas in Toronto with the Dawkins clan. I was excited to get out in the big city to spend my Christmas money on God knows what. The hook of this song got me as it played in every store and the glory of Muchmusic showed me the pictures in the video and the message was clear - "And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy; Throw your arms around the world, at Christmas time". Can't argue with that...
My two translations of Boy George's line: 1)Do unto others as you would have them do unto you 2)Hug Everyone!
We had our Secret Santa at work today. I was lucky enough to draw Jackman's name and was therefore able to pile on the trash (talk) heap. Jacky just bought a new house on Poet's Hill which, in reality, is slightly less hoighty toighty than the name suggests. Nevertheless when it came to getting him a Christmas present I couldn't resist buying him an ascot and a set of brandy snifters. Being a good sport, he was willing to pose for the camera and, impicitly, allowing me to post it on the web!
I have been fighting with my co-workers for weeks to get in the Christmas spirit and start humming along to their Christmas tunes. Up till the weekend the only Chrismtas song in my head was AC/DC's classic, which they didn't feel was appropriate. But now, with the Ides of December and my staff Christmas party (and the swag gift that comes with it) behind us I am ready to accept that Christmas is upon us and embrace the season. Basically it means that I am ready to start mixing my rum with egg nog and blabbing about how late I am going to start my shopping; tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, they all say.
I will also talk about Christmas baking, call mom for recipes, and not do a damn thing with them. I will hope that the Bypass Irving is still selling pine trees on Christmas Eve and stay up all night decorating it for almost no one to see. But that's the spirit of Christmas at my house. It's half-assed, fleeting, and absolutely wonderful. Which reminds me of one of my favourite parts of Christmas; sitting down and watching this whole movie:
"My mouth's bleeding Bert, my mouth's bleeding!" Classic story, classic lesson.
This is a bit sad. Canada, which in my mind should be assailed for its kindness, caring, and concern for the well-being of humanity, is being painted as "the bully of Bali" for our contigent's efforts to block any climate change agreement that will not include America signing on. Our environment minister said as much and we are reduced to holding the bully's coat more then being the bully ourselves; which is far worse in my mind. Hopefully our politicians will listen to their constituents (outside of the oil patch) and get back on the bus. We currently aren't very nice to mother nature - and it's Christmas :( - so feel free to do what you can to become more energy efficient; it starts at home after all.
This is pure gold on so many levels it was very hard to stifle the laughter at work when I read it (during a break of course).
It's me! Every girl ever.
Knock knock
Oh hi, how's it going? It's me! Every girl ever. I'm really looking forward to this date. I'm not nearly as attractive as you remember me being because when we met the bar was dark and you were drunk. Come on in.
Let's start off with the unavoidable tour of my incredibly typical post-college-girl apartment.
You'll notice that I went ahead and purchased everything that Ikea and Pier 1 have ever produced. There's my decorative birdcage over there even though I don't have a bird, and there's my gay wicker basket with bamboo poles in it. I don't know what the hell that's thing's all about, but I bought it.
Hey check it out, I have more candles in here than a Roman Catholic Church. Doesn't it smell like Hazelnut!? If I were to light all of my candles at once you could see my apartment from space! I fucking love candles!
Come on into the living room.
Oh, I see you met my cat there. That's "Freddy Paws Jr." Why don't you pet him and act like you like cats even though you hate cats? There you go. Oh, he took a little swing at your eye there huh? Yeah, he'll do that. Hey, let's check out the kitchen.
Hey look at my refrigerator. There are pictures all over it! Look at all these pictures of me and my equally vacuous friends from college! We were so crazy! You can tell we're really good friends because our faces are all pressed up against each other like that.
And check it out, we're holding up alcoholic beverages to the camera in every single picture. That's to prove that we were partying. College was so fun! But of course I don't talk to any of these girls anymore because now they're all bitches.
Let's go back into the hallway!
Hey, before we leave I'm going to go in the bathroom for ten minutes for some mysterious reason. Why don't you sit awkwardly in my big, stupid, round papizan chair over there while you wait for me. It's like you're sitting in a hug! Be right back...
Sorry that took a half an hour, I don't know what the hell I was doing in there. Let's go!
Wow! Thanks for opening my car door for me! I'm totally going to blow that meaningless gesture out of proportion and delude myself into thinking that you're a really good guy because that's what I want to believe.
Well, here we are at the restaurant. No thanks waiter, I don't need to see a menu, just bring me some expensive things. Hey I know, while we wait, I'll tell you all about my unspeakably boring job. I hate my boss. He's a jerk! I might get another job. Maybe something in pharmaceutical sales.
Now let's talk about my family. I love my family. I want you to love my family. I want my family to love you. I want you to make love to my family! I want you to go golfing with my semi-retarded brother Travis. That would be so God damned cute!
Wow! I can't believe I ordered all this food! I have no intention of eating any of it. No thanks waiter, we don't need a box. Just throw it out.
Hey, I've got an idea, let's go to a bar and have an after dinner drink! It'll be great, it will be just like how we're drinking here, only it will be louder and we'll have to stand up. Come on!
See, isn't this better? Oh hey, what a coincidence. Look over there! It's a group of my friends that I knew was going to be here. Let's go over there so that they can judge you!
Hey, I have to go to the bathroom for a half an hour again for some reason. You can stay here and talk to my unbelievably hideous friend Christine! Christine's so ugly she scares kids! Talk to her! She has a job and a family that she wants to talk to you about too. Be right back.
I'm back! Sorry I was gone for three hours, there was a line. I want to go home now.
Well here we are at my door again. This was really fun for me and not you. You should pretend like we're going to do it again sometime! Maybe I'll see you at Target a few months from now and we can avoid eye contact because you never called me. Here, have this awkward goodnight kiss that's as empty as my soul. Good night!
There are just so many spot on little tidbits it's hard not to laugh. I wonder if this was written by a very astute guy or a very frustrated lesbian. We'll never know...
I like to correct people when, once it gets cold in early December, they say "It's definitely Winter now!". Well, no it's not. Winter comes the same time every year, 3 or 4 days before Christmas (December 22nd this year). Right now it's Autumn; making Autumn the most schizophrenic season of the year. On September 27, the first week of fall, it was 30 degrees in Freddy Beach. 10 weeks later it was -21 degrees in Chilly Beach. That's 50 degrees difference not to mention fucking insane.
There is no question that those same people I correct in regards to what season it is are absolutely right in their sentiment. Winter weather has come early this year. On the plus side we've got a lot of snow, it's very pretty and a White Christmas is almost assured. On the negative side, well, it's Cold as Fuck( swearing added for emphasis)!
My net savvy friends down at Evolving Solutions have their hands in all kinds of cool stuff. So much so that I have trouble keeping track of their brands; Evolving Solutions = Big Santo + YourTeam Online + Youtube? Might as well be, what with Craiger driving around in his tricked out Acura...but I digress.
Of all their products the one that has been most intriguing to me is YourTeam Online. It is a FREE global sports community that allows you to keep track of your team’s schedule, stats, bios, etc. and then network with other teams and leagues around the world to share updates on results and standings but also coaching techniques and drills. Basically it’s a place for sports nuts to connect, brag, and trash talk without spitting on anybody; and that’s good for everyone!
The most recent addition to the YourTeam site is SportsWire Live. It’s a highlight show of user-submitted clips from the YourTeam network delivered by my new favourite sportscaster (frankly, she had me at "hi"). Check it out:
At this point YourTeam is set up for Hockey and Soccer but I'm lobbying to get them to add rugby to the mix, partially so I can connect, brag, and trash talk, and partially so I can watch Steph Downey tell the world that we rock! I'm going to play hardball with Craiger to make this happen; until he makes this a reality he can't call me "the Guy Lafleur of Maritime Rugby", not until he gives that title the respect it deserves. The proverbial ball is in your court Craiger!
In the meantime keep a look out for the next edition of SportsWire Live.
I typically don't need to give that advice this early in the year but we just experienced a major december snowfall. It is the earliest massive dump I can remember this far before Christmas in a few years. To quote my ski bum buddies, it was pukin'. I put a snow box on the front of my house so you can see how much snow accumulates during a storm; it also doubles as mailbox. A handy tool indeed!
It's hard to say if this snow will stick around. We would have to get a lot of rain for this much snow to melt away and this winter is supposed to be a cold one so it might not happen. I, for one, would be happy if it stays right where it is. This is how winter is supposed to look; all the snow on the ground makes everything bright and partially makes up for the sun going down at 4:30. And let's not forget about the snowball fights - the single best thing aabout winter.
This also means we have officially started wipeout season. With a long cold winter with above average precipitation predicted the current over/under for Simon's winter wipeouts is 10. I am currently sitting at 1 after a spill during the snow removal routine this morning. I am taking bets....
Make that Gone Till Movember. After a long stint with what was described by some as a "beard" and by others as "some dirt on your face" I decided to jump on the Movember bandwagon at the end of the month of Movember. For those of you that don't know, Movember is a Public Health awarness campaign geared towards getting men to get regular check-ups and buck the "that burning sensation will just go away" tradition. Their public relations coup was hitching their wagon to the moustache at the same time that Magnum P.I. is enjoying a syndicated resurgence. Men all over Fredericton looked like fools in the name of awareness. I don't think I'll be growing another one anytime soon...until next Movember anyways.
Willie O'Ree and Snoop Dogg - Together at last.
Picture of the Year:
Two days after Christmas and I am consumed by a brick of guilt sitting in my stomach. It could be turkey dinner but it feels more like guilt. Despit my best efforts, I have once again cracked the 230lb point on Scott's scale. This tends to happen once rugby ends and I relish the free nights and ketchup in the excesses of December. 
We had our Secret Santa at work today. I was lucky enough to draw Jackman's name and was therefore able to pile on the trash (talk) heap. Jacky just bought a new house on Poet's Hill which, in reality, is slightly less hoighty toighty than the name suggests. Nevertheless when it came to getting him a Christmas present I couldn't resist buying him an ascot and a set of brandy snifters. Being a good sport, he was willing to pose for the camera and, impicitly, allowing me to post it on the web!
I have been fighting with my co-workers for weeks to get in the Christmas spirit and start humming along to their Christmas tunes. Up till the weekend the only Chrismtas song in my head was AC/DC's classic, which they didn't feel was appropriate. But now, with the Ides of December and my staff Christmas party (and the swag gift that comes with it) behind us I am ready to accept that Christmas is upon us and embrace the season. Basically it means that I am ready to start mixing my rum with egg nog and blabbing about how late I am going to start my shopping; tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, they all say. 
This is a bit sad. Canada, which in my mind should be assailed for its kindness, caring, and concern for the well-being of humanity, is being painted as "the bully of Bali" for our contigent's efforts to block any climate change agreement that will not include America signing on. Our environment minister said as much and we are reduced to holding the bully's coat more then being the bully ourselves; which is far worse in my mind. Hopefully our politicians will listen to their constituents (outside of the oil patch) and get back on the bus. We currently aren't very nice to mother nature - and it's Christmas :( - so feel free to do what you can to become more energy efficient; it starts at home after all. 
I like to correct people when, once it gets cold in early December, they say "It's definitely Winter now!". Well, no it's not. Winter comes the same time every year, 3 or 4 days before Christmas (December 22nd this year). Right now it's Autumn; making Autumn the most schizophrenic season of the year. On September 27, the first week of fall, it was 30 degrees in Freddy Beach. 10 weeks later it was -21 degrees in Chilly Beach. That's 50 degrees difference not to mention fucking insane. 
I typically don't need to give that advice this early in the year but we just experienced a major december snowfall. It is the earliest massive dump I can remember this far before Christmas in a few years. To quote my ski bum buddies, it was pukin'. I put a snow box on the front of my house so you can see how much snow accumulates during a storm; it also doubles as mailbox. A handy tool indeed!
I, for one, would be happy if it stays right where it is. This is how winter is supposed to look; all the snow on the ground makes everything bright and partially makes up for the sun going down at 4:30. And let's not forget about the snowball fights - the single best thing aabout winter. 
Make that Gone Till Movember. After a long stint with what was described by some as a "beard" and by others as "some dirt on your face" I decided to jump on the Movember bandwagon at the end of the month of Movember. For those of you that don't know, Movember is a Public Health awarness campaign geared towards getting men to get regular check-ups and buck the "that burning sensation will just go away" tradition. Their public relations coup was hitching their wagon to the moustache at the same time that Magnum P.I. is enjoying a syndicated resurgence. Men all over Fredericton looked like fools in the name of awareness. I don't think I'll be growing another one anytime soon...until next Movember anyways. 