When the CBC started it's reality show with the aim of filling a role in the upcoming Sound of Music musical that starts in the fall I had about as much chance of tuning in as I would of switching channels from a Dolphins game to the Von Trapp family history on a Sunday afternoon.
That fact changed somewhat in recent weeks as a girl with New Brunswick ties made it to the final four and on Monday night I found myself tuned into "How do you solve a problem like Maria". During the introductions they mentioned that one of the judges was not present for "personal reasons".
It turns out that those "personal reasons" was actually an arrest for assault and for forcible confinement. And the question becomes "How do you solve a problem like assault and forcible confinement?" for the judge, the humourously named Simon Lee. The news story is here but the full story is probably quite a sordid affair. Oh, those theater types.
As for Elicia, well she's a long way from Doaktown now, she won the competition and starts her run as Maria in the fall. Congratulations!
Just a picture to make you smile on a rainy Monday.
The sparkling new retail development across the street from my office is nearly complete. In a nice nod to the family that donated the woodlot to the University for use as a forestry training resource and green space they have named the area the Corbett Centre. I'm a little mixed about it. On the one hand it's a shame that they cleared a few thousand trees to put up box stores but on the other it's going to be very convenient for me to address all of my needs for cheap foreign goods. And, I'll be that close so I can replace them when they inevitably break in a year.
I'm off to the Rock tomorrow for a short weekend of Newfoundland hospitality. I'm going over as part of an 'all-sorts' team assembled to help The Rock prepare for their National Championship game. I sincerely hope to keep the hospital out of hospitality.
It will be a whirlwing trip, flying over tomorrow and back on Sunday early am but any trip to the Rock is worth it and I'm looking forward to catching up with the staff at the Republic.
In preparation for me not being near a computer for Flashback Friday here is a little song you might recall from that totally non-sensical commercial:
The Canadian Olympic Committee announed the country's flag bearer at the opening ceremony today. Oakville's Adam Van Koeverden will carry the Maple Leaf into the Birds Nest stadium in Beijing leading some 330 Canadian athletes included cousing Jane. Adam was a gold medallist in Athens and it a favourite to medal again in Beijing. He does not believe in any kind of curse associated with carrying the flag and relishes the honour. Damn straight.
The big thing he noted is that his event isn't until 10 days after the opening ceremonies to there won't be any flag fatigue by the time race day comes around. He would do well to limit his interviews though. This guy is all over the news - here, here, here, and here.
I mentioned the new bike lanes popping up around the city the other day and yesterday the Gleaner had a more comprehensive article on the city's overall plans for alternative transportation options. On the whole, the plan lays out a variety of recommendations for adding new and improving existing trailways throughout the city, with the aim of making the trails not only and enjoyable addition to the city but also vialbe transit routes for residents. Among the recommendations are more staging areas where people can leave their cars and hit the trails on foot or bike.
For me, though, the most interesting recommendation was the need for further study of the viability of making a second walking(/biking/whatever) bridge using the Carleton St. bridge piers. They figure the initial costs of ready-made spans at $4 million. That's a lot of money but I love the idea because it would complete the loop with the train bridge and do wonders for the neighbourhood at the foot of the old bridge on the Northside. That used to be the Northside commercial center and it could (and should be) again.Southside, Northside, Oneside, Strongside.
With all of the ex-pats home for their summer visits the pressure for mid-week fun is very high. That being the case, visits to reggae nights at the taproom have been weekly events recently. The house band,Dub Antenna, is a full roots reggae band with a full horn section and put on a great show week in week out. We are a little spoiled. Our buddy Dave Wells spins great reggae tunes between sets. It all just makes sense in the sweat of summer.
This was reinforced this week when I was listening to Bob Mersereau discuss the best summer music out there on the radio. It wasn't long before someone said reggae and everyone agreed that reggae was great summer music. Everyone loves summer and everyone loves reggae. I remember being in London for rugby a few years back and finding myself alone (and hungover - thanks North)in London 3 days after the tournament. I made my way to Covent Garden and sat down in front of an amazing Marley cover band and they played Legend from start to finish. Nary a soul walked by without stopping to smile and bob their heads. From beggars to bankers, tourists to wankers, everyone loves reggae. Me too!
Dub Antenna played this song the other night but, for Flashback Friday, here is the original, in all it's glory:
I missed this when it came out in the press but I noticed a paint crew lining York St. with strange lines I hadn't seen since my days in Vic. Yep, Fredericton is finally moving from talking about sustainable transportation to doing something about sustainable transportation. The time for lip-service is over.
Looking closely at the plans for bike routes/lanes in the city, it appears that they are just taking baby steps at this point but even that is to applauded. They are working alternative methods of transport into the development plan and hopefully these initiative continue.
I haven't had a bike for years but the fact that they have also made city buses bike friendly means that I could hop on the bus in front of my place and get a lift up the hill and then cruise down a bike lane to get home. It might be the right time to invest, nevermind the price of gas.
The big news in Saint John today was that Rosie O'Donnell and her big gay cruise ship docked in the city this afternoon. Happily there was no public outcry and the ship was greeted warmly by fans of Rosie and, presumably, big gay cruise ships. Rosie took some time to meet some of them and talk to the press. She puts the out in outgoing that Rosie.
Some of the passengers also planned on taking advantage of Canada's gay marriage laws by getting hitched in the Port City. This is a win-win situation. These couples get to tie the knot officially and the region gets a windfall in tourist dollars. I particular enjoyed the message in the TJ that Craiger relayed to me - "Port seeing fruits of its cruise-ship labour". That's gold.
We made it to the Island in time to check out some rugby on Saturday afternoon. The weather was beautiful on the way over so we made the decision to head to South Lake for a visit with Mom and Sam. It was a wise one. We got there in time for a nice dinner and scored a sweet room with a view. The room didn't have blinds yet so we were up early which gave us some time to hit the beach before heading back to take in some more rugby.
Summer isn't quite summer until you've hit the beach. Unfortunately, hitting the beach just isn't going to cut it. I'm in need of a more extended stay and, more importantly, need some swim time before the boys disavow our friendship. Swimming is what keeps us tight after all.
It was a whirlwind trip but still well worth it. I did score some jam from mom and Erin got her fix of Cow's ice cream. All is good in the world.
Last night's RiverJam went off very well. Will presented the Diane London award to Cathy Hutch and then immediately hustled inside to start his set. They were afforded some good timing when the big stage let out just as they were kicking off. It was packed for them and they must have enjoyed the audience. They played well and got the dancefloor hopping, with a little help from Twinkletoes Pete.
We then went and checked out the Downtown Blues Band and they played a rockin' set to a full house that even managed to spur me onto the dancefloor. When they finished the boys arrived (right on time) in time to see Scarecrow start up. They sounded great and are turning into what has to be one of the best Allman Brothers cover bands out there. The boys were impressed and happy they finally made it down. That was the end of Riverjam but I had to show Sister Sarah some more fun so we took her down to the Capital for a nightcap and called it a night. Good times, good times.
Tonight I am invited down to Craiger's for another jam; Saint John's Salty Jam Festival. I would love to go and see Sloan headlining tonight but duty calls and I am off to the Island to watch some of our Loyalist Juniors play in the Eastern Canadians. I'm not sure what I'll do after the game but I'm thinking if its a nice night its going to be hard to pass up plans to wake up to this view in the morning: There is also the fact that it is strawberry season and that means that mom might have some strawberry jam to dole out. One can only hope.
I've got a big Friday night with the family planned. Will's band is playing at Riverjam and Sarah, Dad, Erin and I will convene with the MacAfees to check it out. Will is also giving away an award in his mother's memory. The Diane London award goes to a female musician for outstanding achievements or contributions to the local music scene.
It should be a good night and hopefully the Downtown Blues Band will play this old favourite of mine:
A sure sign of summer is when the fan section at Home Hardware sits empty and sold out and you need to peel your sheets off you when you wake up in the morning. Yes, the stinkin' hot weather has arrived and with it one of the other sure signs of summer - home children of another kind - the expat 'tonians who come home each summer to get their fix. I like to call them sunbirds. There is usually a steady stream of them and this year is no different.
It started a couple of weeks ago with an all-too-short visit from The Hambone. His trip was overlapped by Jonny's arrival and they both made it out to my last Spruce game. Doherty arrived that night and have already convinced him to extend his stay (although it might have had something to do with his new boat). Nicki arrived last Saturday and he is also here for an extended stay - back to school (I have my fingers crossed that his return to school is just like Rodney Dangerfield's). Marlene also joined Jonny and we all met up at Slippy's for a soiree last Saturday.
Looking a little farther down the road, we expect to see little Davey J at some point in July and the whole Frontin family as well. There will surely be some other flyers and let's not forget Geoff and Lindsay who arrive home for Geoff's back to school adventure at the end of the month. Good times in the Maritimes....
The Beijing Olympics are a few short weeks away and I think it is high time we got to know one of our Olympic athletes a little bit better.
The woman at the front (right side in the picture) is my cousin Jane Rumball. She is an Olympian. I can't tell you how much fun it is to say that. I can't tell you how much more fun it is knowing that I will get to watch her (on tv) go for Olympic gold in Beijing in August. She, and her 8 crewmates qualified last month in Poland. She is one of only a handful of New Brunwickers representing Canada at this Olympiad. We are all extremely proud of her.
At the same time it is a little tough to swallow. In my family I will never be the best student, the best musician, the best artist, the best actor, or the best interior decorator. I thought I might have had a chance to be considered the best athlete in this generation of the family but Jane gone done and blew that all to hell. I can't even begin to compete with an Olympian. To add salt to the wound she's aiming at becoming a better blogger than me as well....now its personal! I kid of course...I thought it was cool as hell when my aunt Margie sent me the link to Jane appearing on CTV News - Check it Out!
She's a better interview than me too. I can't wait for August to come; I'm having a party for Jane's races. I'll keep you posted.
As a country we tend to measure ourselves against our neighbours to the South. On the occasion of our respective national navel-gazing holidays Maclean's magazine took the time to do an in-depth comparison of the two nations. What they found can be summed up in this sentence - "The numbers are in. Compared to the U.S., we work less, live longer, enjoy better health and have more sex. And get this: now we're wealthier too."
This will no doubt be a great source of pride for all of us on this side of the 49th parallel until we remember that a Canadian team has not won a Stanley Cup since the Habs did it in '93. Nevertheless, it looks like we are doing some things right.
For me Independence Day actually means something. Most of my clients are US based so I work the US holiday schedule. Today is Independence (from work) Day for me. That's a good thing. I won't be heading to the States though. I'm heading to Rexton to see what antigues might be leftover if my grandparents sell their home over there. It will be bittersweet; its a gorgeous property that I never spent enough time at. Anywho...I digress.
Its the 4th of July and millions of Amurikans will be celebrating today. I love America and look forward to November so they can put someone with a clue in power and restore the world's faith in democracy.
In honour of the USA, here's a classic that Bruce himself introduces best: "I wrote this song about the Vietnam war, tonight we sing it as a prayer for peace".
This large smiling gentleman is my good friend Pemalika Fiaui and he is now a Canadian citizen. In one of my favourite holiday touches, Citizenship and Immigration Canada hold citizenship ceremonies on Canada Day. Lika was one of 70 new Canadians sworn in at The Playhouse yesterday. You can check out the whole happy story here.
Lika arrived at practice one night five years ago and asked if he join us. We looked him over and told him he could do whatever he wanted. He played with us that season and then left to go back to Samoa. We had a going away party for him and he showed up in a hunting jacket and was drinking Alpine. We had him right then and there. He came back the next summer and started working for the city and is now a proud member of the Fredericton City Fire Department. He has been working and playing in Fredericton since. He and his wife Chandra have two great (and great big) kids and we are very proud and lucky to have them as part of our family at the rugby club.
Much like my post from yesterday, Lika's children's children will be able to look back on this day as the day that their grandfather became a Canadian citizen. Great stuff.
These historic tykes are a group of child immagrants landing in Saint John. They are called Home Children and between 1870 and 1930 almost 100 000 'orphaned, abandoned, or pauper children' from overcrowded cities in industrial Britain were sent to the vast spaces of Canada. In theory the children were being sent by churches and philanthropists in the hope that they would have a better life in our pastoral Dominion. In reality they were solving problems on both sides of the Atlantic; overcrowding in Britain and a labour shortage in Canada. Many were treated to the life the brochure offered while many others were treated as slaves. Either way, most stayed and became Canadians to the point that estimates surmise that 10% of present day Canadians have home children in their family trees.
I bring this up today because I am among that 10%. My great-grandfather Herbert Dawkins arrived in Halifax on July 1, 1905. In my family tree that is the first time my blood set foot on Canadian soil. Canada Day, 1905.
Herbert ended up on a farm in Stanley and I know nothing of his time there. I hope he was one of the lucky ones. What I do know is that he left Stanley for Fredericton, got married and had children, including my grandfather. My Grandfather, in turn, grew up, prospered, and raised a family that would make Herbert very proud. So from humble beginnings....I guess that is the Canadian Dream.
When the CBC started it's reality show with the aim of filling a role in the upcoming Sound of Music musical that starts in the fall I had about as much chance of tuning in as I would of switching channels from a Dolphins game to the Von Trapp family history on a Sunday afternoon. 
