When I first moved to Victoria Scotty and I lived with an old friend of Dad's while we looked for our own place. His name was (is) Paddy Stewart and he had a beautiful home, two Border Collies, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, and a Range Rover. I asked him why he had a Range Rover in Victoria and he said it was because he had a ranch in the interior. He knew dad because he did is Masters in English at UNB and played rugby. He also was on the board of directors of a theater in Fernwood, had connections to Oak Bay rugby, and knew people in every put we went to (most notably Smuggler's Cove) and always kicked our ass at Trivia. At the time I thought he was the most interesting man in the world. The punch line is that he was actually the first person that ever offerred me a Dos Equis.
So, when I saw this commercial, and the hundred times I've seen it since watching NBA games, I thought of Paddy Stewart.
I hope to someday have some little snot nosed kid stay with me while he looks for a place to live. And I'd like to have him think that I am the most interesting man in the world. At that point this song will make sense. Until then it only makes sense because it is flashback friday:
Like most people my age when I was young I gobbled up Archie comics like I gobbled up Gobstoppers. At first it was because Mr. Weatherbee reminded of my elementary shool principal Mr. Burgoyne and I liked Archie's jalopy. As I grew up though it was Betty and Veronica's curves that held my interest. Amazingly, the franchise has continued into the 21st Century and to pique interest they even had Archie choose between his longtime dueling loves, Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper.
As a youngster I stopped liking Archie because none of the characthers other than Jughead resonated with me. Moose was a dolt, Reggie an asshole and, as a young lover of blondes and hater of bitches, I couldn't understand why Archie couldn't see that Betty was the obvious choice.
So this week, when it was announced that Archie had finally chosen Veronica over Betty, I was initially dismayed. Upon further review though, I am now seeing that Archie is just a pragmatist. Times are tough; best to hitch your wagon to the Lodge family fortune. Betty always takes you back so you could always propose a side-wager to her if things get stale with the uppity b..etty. Just beware if she starts singing We Want Prenup!
Thanks to the haaaarsh memories of the Civil War I was off work yesterday thinking about what it was that I could do that would in now way lead to another civil war. The answer was simple: nothing at all. It was fantastic.
Today, however, I was suffering a bit from one of those long weekend hangovers. So in an effort to find something to get me moving I found this video and now wish I could be a part of something like this:
I hadn't taken a good look at the Olympic Torch being used to carry the Olympic flame from, um, Olympia(?) to Vancover for next winter's Olympics but after looking at it sideways I can see how some might think it looks like a left-handed cigarrette. For anyone in Canada it comes as no surprise that Vancouver would dedicate part of it's Olympic gear to BC's biggest cash crop. It should also come as no surprise then when they introduce the needle and spoon mascots for the athlete's village.
The Deadspin article got me thinking about an old John Prine tune:
I was thinking of John Prine because he is playing at the Playhouse in August. I meant to buy tickets, remembered two hours after they went on sale and missed out. Just like that. I'll be mining Kijiji for tickets. Wish me luck.
I just got word that a third New Brunswicker is set to get his first cap for Canada. Chauncey O'toole, the (Second) Pride of Belleisle (after Sonny Urquart) will be starting at blindside Flanker for the National team as they take on Ireland in Vancouver on Saturday. Also in the squad will be 'Le Big Dumb Dog' Jebb Sinclair, on the bench as an impact sub. This marks the first time that two New Brunswickers will be on the squad together and that's a great achievement for these two. It's also interesting to note that while there are 2 New Brunswickers, there is only one Newf and no Bluenosers; just saying.
Chauncey is probably the best pure prospect ever to come out of New Brunswick. For most observers this cap was just a matter of time. It's great to see that he has taken advantage of the opportunities afforded him. Him and Jebb have progressed together and have a healthy competitive relationship. Chauncey is the silent assasin of the two; you'd hardly know he was there until he hits you, steals the ball and adds a short jab in for good measure. Conversely Jebb let's you know he's coming with his footsteps and his mouth, before his shoulders tell the rest of the story. They are both great and we are very proud of them. As of now Jebb is leading their little comp 4 caps to none. After this weekend it will likely be 5 to 1. It will be interesting to watch where those numbers get.
I found this amazing picture of the Space shuttle silhouetted against the sun in my news surfing today. It is a stunning picture that for some reason makes me feel incredibly afraid of heights. Strange but true.
It's a beautiful day in Freddy today and feels like a good day for a patio. It's supposed to be nice again tomorrow and I hope to be able to take advantage of it. That being the case, for both me and the astronauts in Atlantis, this song is very timely:
Someone pointed me to this insightful article regarding the EU's partial seal product ban in the Economist today. It is a worthwhile read.
It's the same argument that we've all heard. The seal industry is targeted because it is an easy sell to wannabee ethical environmentalists. The PETA's of the world could never pressure the EU to target the beef, pork or chicken industries because those industries have lobbies much bigger than PETA itself. This is an easy way to curry favour from those groups. In my opinion the article is spot on.
This is a great time of year to be a sports fan. In addition to the NHL and NBA playoffs, baseball has started so you have something to nap to, and even rugby has a tv presence. For Canadians though, the NHL playoffs are the big ticket draw and this year's playoffs have breathed new life into the league. Despite my Habs unceremonious first round dispatch there were great first round series' and even better second round series'. Not better than the marquee matchup of Sid vs Ovie which goes to game 7 tonight. It's lived up to all the hype and is even getting primetime press on ESPN. Two more game 7s tomorrow night mean that the NHL might actually be able to claim it is a top 4 sport in the US again.
Despite the epic 7 game Boston-Chicago 1st round series the NBA playoffs have been a bit of a letdown. Fortunately someone out there has put their own spin on the NBA's Where Amazing Happens commercials and made basketball awesome again:
For me this is a match made in Heaven: Miami Dolphins partner with Jimmy Buffett. I have been a Dolphins fan since around 1984 when Dan Marino showed up and the team overtook the Cowboys as my rooting interest. Marino has been gone for 10 years now and I have at time struggled to find things to like about this team - their Defensive Player of the Year showing up on Dancing with the Stars didn't help. Nevertheless I have remained a Phan through the Jimmy Johnson years and the nearly winless season of two years ago. They were a feel good story last year and this just adds to it.
I've been a Buffett fan since watching him play in '98 (and '99, and 2000). He is the essence of a good time guy. He is also the essence of parlaying the goodtime guy persona into a vast empire of goodtime guy related revenue streams. He says he has been a Phins fan for about as long as I have. He even changed the lyrics of Fins for the occasion. I would love to see the new version live at Landshark Stadium someday but until then I'll stick with the original:
Sadly I didn't get to see my mother on Mother's Day. In fact, I didn't even get to speak with her as I got a busy signal when I tried to call her. Luckily, I was able to join my Godmother Nancy for a surf (lobster) and turf (roast beast) family dinner at their place. She treats me like a son so it was truly the next best thing. Thanks for having me Nance!
Hopefully I will get to speak with mom tomorrow. In the meantime I would like to dedicate this song from one of her favourite concerts:
Enjoy and may you indeed stay forever young.
I also can't go through a Mother's Day (or any day for that matter) without thinking of my dearly departed stepmother Diane. I miss her singing along to this in the kitchen;one of her favourites:
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who might read this.
This week had a bit of a Spanish theme to it. Cinqo de Mayo was on Tuesday which always makes me think of Ween and Geoff Nicki. Add to that the fact that Jackman is leaving tomorrow for Barcelona and a week of cervezas and siestas.
That reminded me of my first year uni Spanish class. I didn't practice very good attendance policies in first year and my Spanish suffered because of it. My Spanish vocubulary consists of three sentences: "Hola, me llamo Simon, soy Canadiense" - Hello, my name is Simon, I am Canadian. "Dos cervezas por favor" - Two beer please. "Donde este iglesia?" - Where is the church? I'm not quite sure those were the few that stuck with me. Perhaps it says something about how I expect a trip to a Latin destination to go.
I neglected to post about this at the time and now am making up for it. I was Joel Plaskett at the Playhouse last week and it was a great show. It was a (mostly) unplugged set which sets starkly against my rock'n'roll show leanings but it was a great show. I will still look forward to see him play with the Emergency sometime soon (Canada Day Countdown perhaps?).
I haven't been able to find any footage of the event at the Playhouse but here is some footage of a good tune:
The biggest kid I know turned 38 today. Hard to believe that he's all growns up with a beautiful wife, beautiful daughter, beautiful new home, etc. That's all a long way from carrot-bouncing and frog catching but those memories are just as vivid as biffing his daughter's head off the ceiling at his annual Christmas party. Ahhh, memories.
He also have two beautiful tickets to see Bruce Sprinsteen on Toronto next Thursday. For all of what he's got I am envious but probably most specifically about those tix. That will be one hell of a show.
On your birthday though Scotty, I am not succumbing to the temptation to give you your Bruce. Instead, I give you the only song that I could ever post on this day:
