Here's an interesting Christmas coincidence that will act as an acceptable segue into my Picture of the Year announcement. On Christmas Eve, after recouping in bed for the best part of the day, I used my competitive juices to slide me out of bed and over to North's for our annual Christmas Eve Trivial Pursuit matchup. As usual, he made it to the middle first but couldn't close it out without even a middling level of general sports knowledge. I won it on a question about Hank Aaron that he would not have gotten in a million years.
As I got set to leave he gave me a Christmas present (which was great but sucked because I didn't give him anything but an ass-kicking) of a few albums from Backstreet Records. Among them was Paul Simon's There Goes Rymin' Simon which contains, among other great songs, Kodachrome. The next day Will gave me another stack of records and among them was Paul Simon's Live Rhymin'. Shortly after that my sister gave me a new digital camera and I will never have to plead to keep my film. Mama don't take my memory card awaaaaay maybe? For those of you that check this site regularly it should mean some more and better photos of me not looking at the camera. Stay tuned.
And for your current viewing pleasure I give you what I will deem to be this year Picture of the Year but what may also go down as one of the all-time greats of yours truly.
This picture has been on the bulletin board in my bedroom since, well, probably since the time it was clipped from the Gleaner in 1980. Ever since it has been a source of amusement and especially so now. Jackman remembered this photo from our high school days and we have joked that Enjoys Cotton Candy is just simple enough to sum up my hopes and dreams. I have asserted that it will likely be what goes on my gravestone. Time will tell.
Jackman recently asked dad to scan it and dad did so and sent it to Jackman. Jackman sent it to me and that's when we realized the never-before-noticed hilarity of the shot. The Cotton Candy does indeed look like a giant wang that I am thoroughly enjoying. Fuck.
Oh well, I can picture a bunch of editors in a smoky haze laughing it up as they send this one to print. Assholes.
I awoke this Christmas morning to the sound of this song playing on the radio. The song has a bit of added meaning to me today because on Tuesday night I was struck with a flu bug and spent the next 12 hours alternately shivering and sweating, belching and wretching. Lovely picture I know. During the hours of 2 and 5 am on Christmas Eve I felt, to dramatize it a lot, that I was at death's door. I made peace with it and accepted my fate. What can I say, I haven't been sick in a really long time? I stayed in bed all morning, whipped out to do my Christmas shopping and was back in bed for the evening. When I awoke in the morning feeling just about right my first thought was Hallelujah! Then this song came on and I got it. Go tell it on the mountain, I feel better, I can properly celebrate a Carleton County Christmas! My prayers were answered!
Now we are set to make the trek up to Sister Christmas in Bristol and I'm feeling reborn.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. I went to church a couple of years ago on Christmas Eve and was reminded that my favourite part of any church visit is when you get to shake hands with your pew neighbours and say "Peace be with you". As a little inside joke with myself I liked to think I was saying "Pace be with you" but today I think I will stick with the original.
Peace be with you!
For a couple of other great versions of this song check here and here.
Just in time for Christmas we are reminded of the power of the internet. This week’s British pop charts contain 3 different versions of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. The no.1 slot is held by the song that started all the excitement, Alexandra Burke’s pop-tart hack job. Burke was the winner of X-Factor which is an American Idol-type reality show. The song is her much anticipated first single. As a response, fans of Cohen and the late Jeff Buckley started an internet campaign to try and overtake Burke’s version on the charts with Buckley’s haunting version that Cohen himself has described as his favourite. It appears as though their efforts will get that version to no.2 but not beyond. It is the first time that the same song by different artists has held the no.1 and no. 2 slots. In an interesting twist Cohen's version has risen to no. 34 on the charts.
I would guess that Mr. Cohen is seeing these unexpected royalties as a Christmas miracle. I urge you to check out Buckley's version:
The best piece of news I heard this week, without question, was this glorious tidbit from the NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers second year defensive end Greg White had his name officially changed to Stylez G. White. The name in and of itself is cool enough but the back story is the kicker. Apparently young Greg was a big fan of the 80’s classic Teen Wolf and liked the name of one of the characters so much he took it as his own. For those of you who don’t recall the phenomenon that was Teen Wolf I urge you to take a look at this:
The answer is yes, they actually did make that movie. The Teen Wolf Dance is pure genius. It should be a wedding dance staple from this day forward. Make it so. This revelation has caused me to some serious soul-searching. I’ve struggled to come to grips with which 80’s movie affected me enough to consider a name change. I briefly thought that Clark 'Mouth' Devereaux from The Goonies might be the best fit but he doesn't quite match my character. Instead, I have decided that stoic but soulful likability of the best name in Revenge of the Nerds suits me best (and no boys I don't mean Stan Gable). I have decided to change my name to U.N. Jefferson Pacey.
In honour of this occasion here is the best song from one of the best movies ever made:
Oh man, what a movie. As an added bonus check the clips here, here and here. Oh and the absolute best, here.
Based on these clips I could really change my name to Stan Gable, Dudley Dawson, or countless others.
This is probably getting somewhat tiresome but I just can't help myself; Dubya makes me laugh. Over the weekend, druing a surprise visit to Iraq and irate Iraqi journalist hurled not one but both of his loafers at the President during a press conference. The video is below and if you watch it closely you can see a bemused smirk cross his face after he artfully dodges the projectiles. To me that smirk, in this case, is a little endearing. This moment and that playful grin will stick with me as a mark of the man and not the President, much the same way that Jean Chretien choking a protester made me forget that he wasn't a great Prime Minister either.
Make that Mrs. Roboto. I came across this story this morning and have since done a little further investigation into the matter and found that Aiko is, indeed, anatomically correct. Her creator Le Trung swears their relationship doesn't swing that way. He loves her for her mind. He did give her a bit of attitude though - "I do not like it when you touch my breasts".
Once Trung can get the investors to pay for working legs for Aiko we will be getting closer and closer to the world that those visionaries from Styx envisioned. \
Pete and Tracey had their second baby girl a few weeks ago. Leah Kate Judy Slipp was born on November 21, 2008 right around the same time I was having my first birthday beer in Vancouver. I thought I felt a disturbance in the force. As per a pre-birth deal Pete and I drunkenly (dis)agreed on I will be calling Leah Simone once she is old enough to understand. Pete says he tried to convince Tracey to give me one middle name but it fell on deaf ears. I won't let that stop me.
This evening we will be having a diaper party for Pete at the clubhouse. I tend to think that these events are just an excuse for the proud new papa to get out of the house and get drunk and not get in trouble when they arrive home sauced by passing out on top of a huge pile of diapers. I am interested to see if any of my dumber friends show up in Depends. Nothing would surprise me at this point.
Last night I got a chance to watch the Daily Show with John Stewart for the first time in a few weeks and it seems that the expected post-(US)election letdown has caused them to look Northward for their news lampooning. They did a funny bit on the Canadian political crisis that included the great line about this being our greatest political challenge since the “controversial decision to re-shape bacon.” But the bit that actually hit home to Stewart was the very idea that an opposition party could vote to overthrow a sitting leader. I'm sure he knows that this isn't always the way it works but it sure did let him pine for the same power South of the border.
Then he got to remind us why Dubya is a shitty, shitty president but a funny, funny fucker:
After a week in BC I was awaiting a blast of winter to remind myself which coast I live on. This is the cold, hard coast and last night we got a blast of cold, hard winter. It started off as a beautiful snowy day; relatively warm, little wind and big fluffy flakes hanging heavy on anything that got in its way. It was a winter wonderland. Overnight though, the wind picked up and whipped all that snow around and wreaking havoc (8000 or so Frederictonians were without power overnight). Welcome to winter! I must admit that I did long a little for that wet, soft coast just a little this morning. Some warmer weather would have been nice to (Hey-o!!)
Yesterday’s snow day was just great for watching football. I would have like to have been in T-dot to watch Buffalo’s “home” game versus the Dolphins but my couch did fine in a pinch. The Dolphins won the game and to add to the pleasure of my team winning I found this quote from Ricky Williams today – ‘"I got kind of emotional during the national anthem (when fans began singing). It is a beautiful song and I hadn't heard it in a while.” We know why you love this country Ricky, but that’s just fine with me.
I stumbled across this old gem the other day. I think it may be the nicest love song ever written:
I like to daydream about the kind of parties that the Oak Ridge Boys had in their heyday. I like to think that their episode of "Behind the Music" would be full of the most sordid stories of Gospel mayhem that it would make Guns and Roses look like choir boys. I also like to think that if I got hit in the throat again I could get as much leather as I imagine that baritone gets. Listen to the girls the first time he does his thing. Classic.
Last night the MacAfee's had a belated birthday party for me out at the new Fort Awesome. Scotty gave me a gift that was meant to keep me busy on my travels out west; the new book on the Habs and their 100th Anniversary - The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory. I immediately dove right in and in the preface read the fact that today, December 4th, is the 99th birthday of the inception of the team. Happy Birthday, now beat the Rangers!
The Habs are one of the most successful teams in sports. As such they have a loyal and rabid fan base and are one of the most beloved teams out there. For the same reasons they are one of the most hated teams in sports. It's one or the other.
It's been said that Canadians love and underdog. I tend to agree but I also know that kids love a winner. When I was a kid, the Canadiens were in the midst of a dynasty and they became my favourite team. Shortly afterwards Gretzky and those great Oilers teams took over but the Habs got top billing back with a trip to the Forum.
I can't remember the year exactly but it would have been between 82 and 85. They were playing the Penguins and won the game 6-5. We had good seats and I remember that my grandfather bought me a full set of signed player pictures. I still have them somewhere.
Shortly thereafter Patrick Roy arrived on the scene and they won their 23rd Stanley Cup and they have been my team since. In skimming through the book I found what is my favourite Habs legend. Howie Morenz, the team's leading scorer in the 20's and 30"s and was finishing his career with the team after short stints elsewhere. On January 23rd, 1937 he broke his leg, ending his career. A couple of weeks afterwards he died due to blood clots in his leg. His teammate, Aurel Joliat, had his own explanation though: "When he realized that he would never play again, he couldn't live with it. I think Howie died of a broken heart". That sentiment always struck me.
Sadly I haven't been back to a game in Montreal since that first one. The good news however, is that plans are now in motion to get to a game vs the Leafs in February.
After our fantastic meal on Sunday I awoke a little lethargic on Monday but also eager to get back to Vic to hook up with some more old friends. I got on the 1 o'clock ferry out of Tsawwassen and was reminded how beautiful of a boat ride it is (I have pictures but I currently missing the technology to get them off my memory card)
I caught the double-decker in Schwartz Bay and headed towards town. It felt a bit odd to be travelling down the Pat Bay, the road I took to and from work for my last two years in Vic. Being there kind of felt like putting a favourite sweater from childhood. Full of good memories but I didn't quite feel like it fit me anymore. As the bus neared town and hit the crest of the hill at Royal Oak the sun came out and caught a glimps of that beautiful view of the Olympic Mountains and everything felt right again. I spent a few minutes wandering around downtown to get my bearings then made my way to Kenny G's to catch up with some of the boys.
We watched some rugby and caught up. We talked mostly about the meals our former roomate had made for us both in the previous couple of weeks. That go Kenny hungry and he "whipped something up" for me. It's quite a system I've got going.
Later that evening Jebb arrived home from Scotland and he and I decided that we would opt for a quiet evening having a drink at home and shooting the shit. The two bottles of rum he brought back from the duty free would alter those plans slightly. We polished them off in the course of the evening as we, presumably, shared stories of how great we are into the wee hours. I counldn't tell you exactly.
I woke up sometime after noon and that ruined my plans to reacquaint myself Vic. Instead we dragged ourselves to Floyd's diner and had a huge feed. From there we made some calls and plans to open up the CW clubhouse for a beer. We got it sorted and a good stream of classic Castaways showed up to say hello. Bayley, Kenny, Hank, Roger, Cordle, a couple of newbies, myself and Jebb. Some people have accused CW of being a mercenary club and looking at that list might make it appear that way. In reality though of that list most have come from away and made Victoria their home. Truth be told the club truly lives up to its name as a club full of castaways and wanderers. And I was reminded, a great bunch of guys. We spent a couple of hours at the club and then took our party downtown so we could talk about how great we were in public.I left the next day to head back to Van. The trip to Vic seemed far too short and was definitely depressingly devoid of seeing my two closes friends in Vic Jonny and Bucky, who were both out of town working. Next time fellas.
Back in Van I laid pretty low for the next couple of nights. Had a couple of nice meals with good friends and managed to squeeze in a trip to the Vancouver Aquarium to fulfill my quota of at least one tourist related excursion.
I left Friday morning and I thought the rain that day meant Vancouver was crying at my departure. Vancouver must be an emotional wreck because it cries alot. For some reason Fredericton was crying when I got home as well. I attributed that to a low pressure system blowing in from the Great Lakes.
So bottom line, good trip, I'll probably do it again someday.
After talking to Adam on Friday and him explaining that his restaurant was only 30 seats and therefore could not accommadate a party of 10 on such short notice it was decided that Sunday would be the best night for a a visit. So we made a reservation for 10 and planned on seeing him then.
On Sunday morning we had breakfast in his neighbourhood so I decided to stop in the restaurant to see if he was around. Luckily enough he was. I met his wife and daughter, caught up briefly and told him I looked forward to dinner. As a goodbye he told me "I look forward to cooking for you". It was the first time anyone has ever said that to me.
After our long day Saturday I was ready to spend the day lounging and waiting to gorge myself that evening. Barry would have none of that and insisted that we build up our appetite playing 3 hours of basketball on the courts at Granville Island. We did and it worked. I was starving by 8.
Now if anyone stumbles across this post because they are looking for a review of La Quercia first of all welcome. Second of all, I am no foodie. I lucked into this meal by way of lucking into living with Adam Pegg in his previous haunt of Victoria. My memories of Adam consist mainly of me lounging around the house trying to find the best record to hit Adam's hunger nerve so he would decide to "whip something up". His idea of "whipping something up" was sometimes braised lamb chops and was always amazing. I looked forward to this meal.
We arrived shortly after our reservation time which was fine as they cleared our table and set up for our party of 9. Our waitress was from the East Coast and she explained, in her downeast manner, that we would not be ordering off the menu, but not to worry because we were in for a very special feast. She was not lying.
We were all into it the night before so there were only a few of us enjoying wine. Before the wine arrived we had bread on our table. After the wine came she quickly brought out a meat plate of prosciutto and assorted salamis. This was another forgotten treat from the house in Vic and the vegetarians at the table missed out on some succulent treats. They were not left in the lurch though as a green salad with a interesting toasted cheese base in a vinaigrette arrived moments afterwards.
As a second salad Adam prepared us a pan-fried pork belly with a frise salad. The pork bellies were perfect...and again thanks to the 3 veggies, I got more than my fair share.
The next offering was the most daring of the evening. Our waitress brought us what looked like individual jello molds that were pale green in colour. She told us they were eggplant custards and the thin slices of eggplant that draped the custard confirmed this. I was skeptical at best. I am a texture guy and anything that has the consistency of butterscotch pudding but does not taste like butterscotch pudding usually fails my inspection. Much to my surprise the eggplant custard, however, was beautifully flavoured, sweet and smooth. It would be hard to call it the best course of the evening but it was certainly the happiest surprise.
By now we were ready for our mains but we were told to sit tight as we still had a couple more courses before it was time for that. The next one to arrive was a wild mushroom risotto that was rich and creamy and full of fresh local mushrooms. I would have stopped here and eaten all of it but I knew I had to save myself for the pasta.
The Pasta - in Adam's world pasta is not a main. Pasta is the middle part of the meal, which is ridiculous but wonderful. He prepared 7 different dishes for us 3 with our vegetarians in mind: a tuna and caper rotini in tomato basil sauce (capers = salty = right up my alley), a garlic prawn spaghetti (nice and light), and an insane squash ravioli in a light cream sauce that nearly caused a fistfight. For the meat lovers there was a classic beef bolognese tagliatelle, a rich lamb penne, and a ham penne (all three of which I hardly tasted), and a sausage in rosee sauce that I loved but almost forgot. Forgive me.
The 9 of us could not get through more than half of the pasta. At that point the waitress told us that we would now be served our fish course and then our main. We, sadly, had to tell her that we could only do one or the other and went with the fish course. Soon afterwards, out came dish after dish of fresh steamed rapini, cauliflower, spinach and roast potatoes. That was followed by three generous platters of scallops and sole in a light sauce with hints of maple. The fish was perfectly cooked, tender and juicy. Again, due to the previous 6 courses we barely got through half of the fish but that said nothing of its quality.
Dessert started with a lemon craime fraiche with fresh berries that was so perfect that I nearly killed myself finishing it. A platter arrived afterwards with assorted goodies but I was tapped out. Adam joined us once dessert was brought out after 3 hours in the kitchen cooking for us.As we sat there with our top buttons undone, asking question after question about each of the dishes, Adam seemed very content, if a bit tired (no shit - I saw him there at noon). At first I was a little disapointed that he didn't come out to greet us when we arrived but then I realized that's not his style. He lets his cooking do the talking and when he says "I look forward to cooking for you" he really means it. He also means "I will be expressing myself through food" I left his restaurant pretty secure that I have a good friend in Adam Pegg.
Best. Meal. Ever. I wish I had more hands, I'd give it 4 thumbs up.
Back in the office today and struggling to find my pace in here. I'm thinking if maybe I complete the story of my trip then I will be ready to put it all in the memory banks and get back to work.
So Saturday after the birthday potluck I got up and went and grabbed a big juicy burger from my favourite burger joint in Vancouver, Vera's on Cornwall, just around the corner from Barry's Beach house. After suitably refuelling I met up with a few folks and hit the Burnaby Lake vs Meralomas game at the Loma Dome. I met up with a few old retrobate friends there and we enjoyed a beautiful BC day watching rugby and enjoying a cold beverage.This photo was taken about 2 beer and 30 minutes before I made my best attempt to date at catching a ball kicked into touch on the full while chugging a beer. I called it a few minutes beforehand and a penalty kicked to touch gave me my chance. I narrowly missed and I swear there was an audible let down when my attempt failed. Someday I will succeed at this. Is it sad that this is what my life's ambition consists of? I think not.
We watched Loyalist Allen Furlong and his Burnaby Lake teammates lose to the Meralomas in their last game of the first half. Allen did save face with a classic winger's try, fending off two guys and beating everyone else 75 meters to the endzone. It was too little to late though and this means that if I ever decide to move to Vancouver I will play for the Lomas. I didn't tell him that but that's what was at stake in this game. Besides, I had a great time in the clubhouse after the game.Day turned into night and we picked up a few more stragglers and headed to the Beach house with plans to head downtown. Barry soon fired up the turntables and a dance party broke out. It was then that I remembered we had been drinking since 2. We decided to forego the trip downtown and instead decided to have a highly illegal bonfire on Kitt's Beach. We tried to make it a mobile dance party but the music wouldn't work. Good times though, and a perfect way to end a beautiful day in Van...man.
Here's an interesting Christmas coincidence that will act as an acceptable segue into my Picture of the Year announcement. On Christmas Eve, after recouping in bed for the best part of the day, I used my competitive juices to slide me out of bed and over to North's for our annual Christmas Eve Trivial Pursuit matchup. As usual, he made it to the middle first but couldn't close it out without even a middling level of general sports knowledge. I won it on a question about Hank Aaron that he would not have gotten in a million years. 
