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Brian R Dillon - The Definitive Dilly (copyright Brian R Dillon 2007)My website: BRIANRDILLON.com ; Podcast site: http://THEEARTHLOUNGE.com an Environment and Climate-Change info and music program; podcast site: http:RATZTAILZ.com for Indie-Rock August 05 Podcasts of THE EARTH LOUNGE radio program!Podcasts of THE EARTH LOUNGE radio program! Listen to the podcasts: www.THEEARTHLOUNGE.comPROGRAM #83 (August 16, 2008): SMOG and AIR QUALITY: The CMA's (Canadian Medical Association) newly released report titled, "No Breathing Room: National Illness Costs of Air Pollution."Music Playlist for Program #83:
Listen-Live and podcasts also available at: http://radiocentreville.com Produced & Hosted by Brian R Dillon. CONTACT: The Earth Lounge email: brian.r.dillon@theearthlounge.com My Personal email: brian.r.dillon@gmail.com My Biz email: brian.r.dillon@casheldillon.comMy Biz Phone#: 514-905-6278My BLOG for AUGUST 2008 My BLOG for AUGUST 2008 Sunday August 17, 2008: Bite me and pinch me. Three straight days of mostly sunshine. A typical chillin' Sunday morning of espresso, Olympic games viewing, dog walking and sports fantasy pools. The Austrian and Chinese woman's Beach Volleyball match was a good one that the Chinese pair won. Also caught some indoor 6 x 6 volleyball. The woman's match between the USA and Poland rocked! The USA took it 3-2 winning a close 5th match. The softball game of Australia and Canada being a must see for me. Both teams 3-2 in play so far. It was a close one, 1-0, when they pulled starting pitcher Lauren Bay Regula. Alas, in the 7th inning the lucky ball bounces favoured the Australian ladies. The final was a 4-0 win by Oz. The balls were hit hard by Team Canada but they just couldn't seem to find the holes. A third straight loss. Slipping to a 3-3 record the Canadian softball team needs to beat Japan and hope for the right combination of wins and loses by the teams ahead of them. The sun beckoned. First an afternoon dog walk. Great day for it. Then on to my Cardio Box workout at the Peel Bassin. Needing vittles it was an early evening run over to Super-C for groceries. A post workout dinner of orange salad topped with chicken. More Olympic viewing. Canada up to 7 medals going into day 10. Friday's no medals monkey off the back of the athletes. Saturday August 16, 2008: Sunny day. Up and at em early. Dog walk before heading in to the radio station. Delivered program #83 of The Earth Lounge. The theme of the day being a new report just issued by the Canadian Medical Association on the impact and costs of air pollution, smog, poor air quality on our health both in terms of deaths and the economic costs. The CMA report titled, "No Breathing Room: National Illness Costs of Air Pollution." Given all the focus planet wide on "smog" just as the Beijing Olympics kicked-off the CMA's report release was timely. Athletes, be they Olympians or us regular, workout warriors are all impacted by bad air. Those with respiratory woes hardest hit by smog. Happily, we could report Canada's first medal wins at the Beijing Olympics with a Gold and Bronze in Wrestling and a Silver in Rowing on Day 8. The sunshine held into the afternoon making it a good one for an in-line skate. Pit stop into Atwater Market for a calzone and corn on the cob. Late afternoon dog walking. Early evening catching Olympics. Canada's field hockey team (men) notched a 1-1 tie against Great Britain for their first point of the tournament. Friday August 15, 2008: Turned out to be a decent day. Caught some Olympics in the morning. A near medal miss in shotput. I was cheering for the guy since his first name, Dylan, is pronounced the same as my my surname, Dillon. He was so close coming in 4th. Team Canada still hungry for that 1st Olympic Medal at the 2008 Games. Not to under rate several "best ever" for Canada by athletes in several disciplines. It cleared up for a mostly sunny afternoon. In addition to the dog walks I got in my Cardio Box workout over at the Peel Basin. Thursday August 14, 2008: More Olympics. Caught the most excellent baseball game between Canada and Cuba. Cuba fought back from a 5-3 deficit to take it 7-6. Our team looked strong against the reigning Gold medal holders from the 2004 Athens games. Drove down to the Eastern Townships in the afternoon for my mom's birthday. We took her out to a restaurant in the nearby town of Cookshire. Cookshire had its annual country fair kicking off this particular evening. A venue I know well from my own youth. I did a few months at a classic brick school house, Cookshire Elementary, when my family moved back to the Eastern Townships when I was in grade 6. The classic ferris wheel was up and running on the fair grounds as we drove past. Back to mom's place for birthday cake. Watched some Olympics with them. Beautiful night sky in the Eastern Townships. All clear skies. Near a full moon. Brought the dog back with me to Montreal after her stay with the clan out in the country side. Wednesday Augsut 13, 2008: Sunny! Yeppers, a sunny morning. Up early to see the Canadian woman's softball team take their 2nd straight Olympic win 9-2 over the Dutch. Power and Pitching: 11 hits, 2 home runs, and solid pitching from Danielle Lawrie. Next game will be a challenge as the opponent is the USA on Thursday @ midnight. I read that Team Canada was ranked 5th for softball going into the Games but you have to think they've got medal potential. Watched the Brazil and Australia men's Beach Volleyball match. Rowing was good. Channel surfing between TSN and CBC. I suppose that's not an Olympic event? I didn't watch the game but the men's baseball team got a 10-0 win over China. I wasn't up that early. It was a 'mercy rule' win after 8-innings. However, taking on the Cubans on Thursday were not likely to see a 'mercy rule' win by either side. Considering the tough loss by Team Canada to Cuba in the Athens 2004 Games cost us a Silver or Gold baseball medal, 'mercy' ain't what it is about when these two teams meet. After that loss in 2004 Team Canada lost the Bronze medal match to Japan 11-2 to finish in 4th. Cuba won gold in the 2004 Games. Grumbling about the lack of medals by Canadians thru 5-days of the games has started. Anyway, got my sunny bunny keester onto the Lachine Canal Trail before 11 am for an in-line skated of the whole enchilada and back. The Canal Locks in Old Montreal down to the Lachine Park Peninsula and back. Toss in the cool down lap thru the Old Port Park for a total of 32-kms. August 13 must be the latest date on the calender season for me doing the whole trail since I moved to Old Montreal in 2001. Friggen tailbone - coccyx injury setting the whole summer back. Anyway, good thing I did it in the morning 'cause by the end of my skate around 1 pm the clouds were back tabernac. Tuesday August 12, 2008: I was up early. Olympic TV viewing for breakfast. In basketball Team USA roughing up Angola. The USA team will have better challenges against Greece and Spain. Canada's woman's soccer team was trailing Sweden 2-1 as I blogged. My MLB baseball pool teams taking a couple of player losses with the Astros Carlos Lee and the Rays' Evan Longoria going on the DL. Sucks when your hot hitters go on the DL. Anyway, the sun peaked thru. Ole Chit! Pinch me. Sunshine. I slapped on the in-line skates while the weather looked good in the morning. From my place down in Old Montreal to the De L'Eglise bridge and back. Must be 10-12 kms. Bumped into a likewise exercise conscious neighbor who was out for her jog on the trail. Good ole Lachine Canal Trail. Always popular. Once a trail through the old dilapidated industrial area of Montreal now has condo projects and urban renewal happening along a good chunk of the trail route. The green spaces to the sides of the trails bring out the dog walkers. Seen dogs swimming in the canal though I'm not keen to let my own go in for a dip. There are even kayak and canoe rentals now. They do rowing competitions on the canal. The canal locks for recreational boating have returned to use. All in all, a major comeback for a waterway once an industrial cesspool. The trail is still kinda narrow in spots and a bit rougher than I'd dig for in-line skating but its location is handy. Back in for a lunch shower. Picked up lunch supplies for the soup and toasted tuna sandwich thing. Doritos. Cooked up a batch of 'red rice' for later. Certainly no hardcore health food store person but have changed a few old habits. Can't kill the old dog to try a few new foods. Cripes did we ever get dunked in the pool in Olympic Water Polo. Canada lost 12-0 to Montenegro. Losing 16-6 to Spain wasn't half as bad as this dunking. "Chlorine in the eyes." OK, we haven't competed in Water Polo at the Olympics for a good 20-years but still Montenegro? The former Yugoslavian republic is like the size of Prince Edward Island. Snarky remarks about, "they want you to move to Ottawa." Yello, not running for politics. Apparently the local federal by-election has sparked this latest annoyance in my life. I've had a few calls or approaches on the subject. Different political parties. Don't know what the heck that is about. Yes, I'll go out an vote. But my role is just as an independent voter. Any theoretical 'moves' I have ever done or contemplated are driven by opportunity, female or financial-career, there are no other motivations for 'moves.' Not in this time period anyway. I've no female asking me to move to Ottawa and no big-ass job offer from there either so its pretty funny. Whatever. Besides, its like a short drive (Montreal-Ottawa) that many people commute weekly, some daily, by car or train or bus ... thus not much of a 'move' discussion point. I've worked in a various cities on projects while keeping the 'official address' at base camp in Montreal. I get all the weird ass remarks. At least make it like LA, Toronto, Vancouver, New York, The Caribbean or Europe if you need to spread relocation rumors. Sheesh. Clouding over. Grumble, could be rain for my Beach Volleyball match. Thunder. What a summer. Over to the local cafe for a bit. Huh, USA pulled ahead of China 22 to 20 in the medal count after day 4 of the Olympics. The Koreans with 12 medals in 3rd spot an early surprise. Canada still has zippo medals thus far. The woman's soccer team lost 2-1 to Sweden in the end but still moved on to the quarter final against the USA on Friday. The early evening rain came and went. No rain during my beach volleyball game. Monday August 11, 2008: Yesirree, looked like we were in for another week of 'blah' weather. Odd summer. Good fortune we have the Olympics to watch. Broke up the work day by running over to Canadian Tire for a product return. Cycled down to the gym in the late afternoon. The workout was weight ball; elliptical machine; cardio box with weights; weights; abs. Viewed the Canadian woman's softball team skillfully take down Chinese Taipei 6-1. Sunday August 10, 2008: Morning sunshine. Way cool. Up early. Slapped on the in-line skates for a jaunt through the Old Port in the morning. Caught some Olympics on TV. Water Polo and Basketball. Canada men's team floundered in the pool to lose 16-6 to Spain. USA beat China 101- 70 in men's basketball. I thought it might be closer. No Canadian medals so far at Beijing. China had 8; South Korea 5; USA 8 thus far. Next, up to my own pool with my espresso and fiction read taking advantage of the rarity of a sunny morning. Nope, no water polo match happening. Walked downtown to the gym in the afternoon for a workout. Post workout it was an espresso break. The clouds were back. Another rain shower pending as I made it back to Old Montreal. Yes readers, all mundane. The point of my blogging is merely to ensure no misrepresentation of what I do or who I am occurs. Thus upon my return from a 7-month business project in Minnesota in March 2004 I started this whole blogging thing to deal with some perplexing behavior in my proximity. Again a reiteration that I not currently nor ever have been a member of any political party, religious group, an actor, married (and I haven't had a 'live-in' female conjoint for several years; girlfriends have come and gone in the past decade), playing some obtuse 'game'; or competing in some 'contest.' Reality, just a single guy living on his own with a dog and doing his own thing. Oh, and if you don't see my dog around for a week or so its 'cause ole Nina (the dog) is out staying with my brother and mom in the Eastern Townships. Currently, I am not on anyone's payroll nor obliged by any sort of signed contract. If you expected something more I regret to inform you no payments have been made to me personally nor to the company I operate, Cashel Dillon Consulting Inc., other than for local Solutions Consulting efforts on my part over the past 3-years, since March 2005. That date being when I parted ways with a global information technology service providing firm where I'd been employed as a salaried employee for some 6-years going back to 1999 as a Senior Project Director; Project-Program Manager; and Managing Consultant executing mandates for service delivery of enterprise systems in Canada and the USA. If you think you "paid" for me you've been ripped off and should take due legal recourse against whomever duped you. The only volunteer work I'm currently engaged in is producing and hosting radio programs on a community radio station on Saturdays. I can quite assure you any rumors that I'm a millionaire are false. Sure, as an entrepreneur and someone needing to make a living I'm always willing to discuss new opportunities, consulting or other. I'm pretty opened minded. If it generates revenue for me I take a 'wide' view on what I'm willing to provide as professional consulting services. Yeppers, there likely are things, facts I should know that I don't know. As the expression goes, "When you ASSUME you make an ASS out of U and ME." Let neither I nor you make wrong assumptions. Like that cliche expression coined in an old police, TV show, Dragnet, Sgt. Joe Friday, "Just the facts ma'am." Caught the Sunday night baseball game on TV. The Cubs beat the Cardinals 6-2. Maybe its just me but with the 12-hour time difference between here and Beijing sorting out what is 'live' and 'already happened' is something of a challenge as I watch the Olympics on TV. Saturday August 9, 2008: In to the radio station early. For The Earth Lounge program #82 it was the Fete 2008 Bio Paysanne at TOHU as the show theme. Interviews I'd recorded at the site on Friday on the topics of bio degradable utensils; community supported agriculture; and organically certified meats. Pitched in for the 10 am and noon Information Updates doing news, weather and sports articles. On the Arts Notebook chirped in on the interview and discussion on genealogy tracing. If your ancestors had already immigrated to Canada by 1911 this web link to a site called Automated Genealogy might help you trace the ole family roots: http://automatedgenealogy.com/ From the Automated Gemealogy web site you'll find links to Census Canada Data. The 1901 Canada Census I used extensively for tracing my own clan's roots. They recently finished the transcription and are proof reading the 1911 Canada Census. Indexing of the 1852 Canada Census (prior to Confederation) was started in August 2007. Whats cool and a major time saver of using this web site is you can start your search with the "surname' or "family name" of your ancestor. For most genealogy searchs, on-line or at the archives, you have to know the geographic location (province, county, town) as a starter and meticulously dig and dig until you come upon the surname of your ancestors. Friday August 8, 2008: Coffee shop office for the morning. Some times ya need to get a break from the "home office" thus over to the recently renovated A.L. Van Houtte at the corner of Welington and McGill. Ran off to the circus in the afternoon. lmao. Over to the TOHU (Jarry and D'Iberville) to check out the 5th "Fete 2008 Bio Paysanne" event themed on organic food and farming. Got my interviews for The Earth Lounge while meandering the tents. Even picked up organic Miso soup base made in North Hatley and bio degradable picnic utensils (vs. those plastic throw away utensils.) The sausage snack from the kiosk on biologically certified meats was very tasty. No surprise, a rain shower rolled in late afternoon. I split. The evening: Missed seeing the 1st half as I was producing my radio programs but the Alouettes kicked butt in a 39-11 win over Winnipeg in the CFL. Of course, 8-8-8 being the calender date a big hoop-la for a bunch of things including weddings, gambling, and the Beijing Olympics. No homer-run on my Loto Quebec tickets. The "luck" being more like "muck" as far I was concerned. The Beijing Olympics opening ceremony quite lengthy if spectacular. The Chinese people's legacy of fireworks and gun powder provided an "uh-ah" show at the Olympic Stadium. Thursday August 7, 2008: "Broadway Brett?" Yeppers, the NFL pre-season Brett Favre drama came to a conclusion with the Big Cheese of Green Bay being dealt off to the New York Jets. So much for a deal to the Bucs. Ba-bye to ole Chad Pennington as the Jets QB. Tranquillity returns to small town Wisconsin. Given the media frenzy over Favre's non-retirement, ya, NYC seems a good fit. Read that Montreal police found the stolen rental truck that contained musician Iggy Pop's gear after the Osheaga Music Festival on Monday. Bummer for Iggy though, the police recovered an empty truck, none of his equipment. Political satire infused a smile into the USA Presidential campaign when Paris Hilton retorted on John McCain's use of her image in an anti-Obama ad. lmao. Paris might just garner a slew of write-in votes with her announced energy policy and a campaign promise to paint the White House "pink." The video is quite witty actually. The tasty bathing suit and heels not the attire one sees for most mundane political speeches and video ads. Well done. Kudos to Paris on this one. Former Montreal Expos manager Karl Kuehl died at age 70. His brief time as Expos manager in 1976 wasn't pretty in a horrid year that the Expos were 43-85 under Kuehl. He got the heave-hoe in September before the season ended. Charlie Fox took over to completed the fugly season as the team won a mere 55 games and finished dead-last in the NL East. For "wins" that was the 2nd worst year ever recorded by the franchise. In fact, the only year they won fewer games than '76 was back in '69, the team's very 1st season (52 wins and 110 losses.) I think it was Dick Williams who took over as field manager for the '77 season. The 1976 season was the Expos last campaign at Jarry Park before the move to Olympic Stadium for the '77 season. Given the crummy year in '76 @ Jarry Park fans were pretty happy heading into a new stadium for the '77 season. All the 1976 Olympic moments fresh in mind. People got a rush just checking out the stadium that had recently hosted the Olympics. If they'd not got to attend an event during the Olympics you'd just get a ticket to an Expos game in '77. Years later, with the franchise's demise in 2004, many of us ole Expos fans came to regret that 1977 move to the Big O from the cozy, confines of Jarry Park. Back to Kuehl, he moved on to better times and success with other organizations in player development roles with the Twins, Athletics, Jays and others. He wrote a few books which I hadn't realized until I read the article on his passing, one being "Mental Toughness, Baseball's Winning Edge." Despite the overcast, blah weather I got out for a short cycle through the Old Port and Quays before 9 am. With my dog out in the country the usual morning doggy walk has to be replaced with another activity. Walked it downtown to the gym during lunch hour. Got my workout in early afternoon. The sun was even out. Wednesday August 6, 2008: Rain-Rain Go Away. Ah, I guess not. Perchance fall-2008 will bring us sunshine? lmao. Walked down to the gym, well actually its called "Le Gym", at Concordia University's downtown campus after lunch for an afternoon workout. Given the cruddy weather an indoor workout seemed in order. My cardio workout being the Eliptical Machine and Rowing Machine. Toning being the Kinesis Machines; Weight Machines; the good old Medicine Ball for the Abdominals. Post workout and shower I walked and shopped my way down Ste. Catherines Street from Guy Street to the Complex Desjardins Mall. The showers hadn't hit yet. Given the weather the past 3-4 weeks I had packed my umbrella anyway. At the Compex Desjardins shopping mall I managed to squeeze in under the 5 pm cut-off to participate in the Hema-Quebec Blood Donor drive being held at the mall's food court level. Being end of the day for the drive it was a quick in and out blood donation. I was the last donor of the day. Kool, that was my 12th blood donation ... an even dozen. Grabbed a bite to eat from the food court's Lebanese joint. Back outdoors a shower had hit again. Umbrella up! Strolled back to Old Montreal. Needing some veg-in downtime I stayed put to catch the Jays and Athletics baseball game. Jays won 5-1. Strolled down to the end of my street before the depanneur run to catch a few minutes of the final fireworks uh-ah-uh show of the annual, international fireworks program for summer 2008. Tuesday August 5, 2008: Got in an in-line skate through the Old Port in the afternoon. Happily unlike the last time out on skates May 25 no wipe-out and tail-bone injury to report. Freaky, even a smattering of sun in the afternoon. A sunny evening for Beach Volleyball Wk#4. Monday August 4, 2008: Cycled downtown late morning. Shopping on St. Catherine Street. August sales. The rain looked like it wold hold off. Crossed my fingers, cycled across the river to the Islands to get a ticket for the 2nd day of the Osheaga Music Festival at Parc Jean Drapeau. Cycled the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit and the paths of the Ile Ste-Helene and Ile Notre-Dame while I was there. I didn't have all my rain gear (call me a sceptic) so I cycled back to my digs to pack my bag for the 'all weather' possibilities. The drill: only one water bottle (without a cap) allowed in your bag / pack sack; no grub; no cans; no bottles. In short, nothing that could be a projectile thrown towards a stage or broken and stepped on in the crowd. Cycled it back over across the river to the Islands for the Osheaga Music Festival. Chained my bicycle to a solid looking fence near the Metro (subway) station on the Island. Through the security and bag check. On through the vendor and promotional kiosks that lined the route to the stages. Scene de la Rivere (Virgin Mobile) and Scene de la Montagne (Molson Dry) being the bigger venues off to the left. A meandering path to the right brought you to the smaller venues Scene Meg (Meg) and Scene des Arbres (Sirius.) First act I caught was the Black Keys show at 5:00 pm at the Virgin Mobile stage. Kick-Ass blues band. Gogol Bordello was the next act playing at the adjacent Molson Dry stage. As the band name implies it was a "bordello" on stage! They threw-down a party with an eclectic, funky, rhythmic sound and tons of energy from the lead singer and the two dancers. Fiddle, drums, dancers, tambourines! Just one kicking party that had the crowd partying and jumpin'. Duffy, the fine looking singer from Wales hit the Virgin Mobile stage just before 7:00 pm. She claimed she is rhythm challenged but she looked great in jeans, heels and hair in pony-tail. She belted out pop in her unique Welsh voice. Her big hit song "Mercy" closed out her show. Broken Social Scene on the Molson Dry stage as the sun went down. Loved it. Snacked on a burger & beer for dinner as I caught the band. With draft beer going for $5.25 and a hamburger for less than $5.00 the concessions weren't a rip-off. In fact, that left a few bucks in the pocket to get a t-shirt later on. CSS, from Brazil, had the audience at the Scene Meg dancing to their funky, oh-so danceable Brazilian rhythms. I got into their sound when programming my music playlist in recent months for The Earth Lounge radio program. Head-liner Jack Johnson, one of my own favs, hit the Virgin Mobile stage abouts 9:00 pm. Great sound, all his popular tracks. Sitting, Wiating, Wishing; Better Together; and the rest. Solid set. He came back for an encore. Lastly, the closer had you dancing out of the Parc with local home boys Chromeo putting on a smoking hot sound to a dancing crowd with tracks like 100% and Bonafide Luvin. Fashion hit of the day: Socks & Rubber Boots. The savvy-wise ladies in the crowd were going with rubber boots. I wasn't there Sunday but with the previous rains and crowds some sod (lawn) obviously turned to mud. The gals added style to their rubber boots with funky socks plus short-shorts or mini skirts. To Chris and Sandy from Toronto and all the other gals that turned the rubber boot look into fashion chic ... sweet. Hats Off (or make that 'boots off' to the organizers!) Great acts in the program. Very eclectic choice of Indy groups. The weather wasn't ideal day one but day two was decent. Et Voila, party over. I cycled home heading across the bridge back to Old Montreal. Sunday August 3, 2008: Scratch, yawn more overcast skies and showers. Ideal for a chillin-around Sunday. The type of weather conducive to being a lazy-frumper with zero remorse. Saturday August 2, 2008: Into the radio station in the morning for program #81 of The Earth Lounge as well as the Information Packages @ 10am and noon. The final program for The Earth Longe before taking a 5-Week Summer Hiatus. I've lined up a cool pilot program to run in my time-slot in August. Back to the station late in the afternoon for a meeting. Storm clouds rolled in again. Been like that pretty much everyday the past couple of weeks. I didn't attend the NASCAR race this year. The radio station meeting time conflicted with the race time. Would have been a rain-slicker outing. The videos I saw post race reminded me of a CHAMP Car race I attended in 2006 when the rain was pretty nasty also. The need for NASCAR crews to slap on rain tires and windshield wipers not a common occurrence. The local Montreal fans were routing for a good showing from home-boys Jacques Villeneuve (former Formula One driver); Patrick Carpentier and Andrew Ranger. Villieneuve got into a fender-bender when he rear-ended another car in the slippery conditions. His car wasn't equipped with wiper blades. Patrick Carpentier came in 2nd! Andrew Ranger came in 28th. Canadian Ron Fellows was the winner. Roxton Pond's Andrew Ranger won the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series NAPA 100 race in the morning before the 28th spot finish in the afternoon race. Saturday evening was a gathering of friends to celebrate a buddy's birthday. A Portuguese restaurant and outing on St. Laurent Blvd (The Main.) Friday August 1, 2008: NASCAR, Rogers Woman's Tennis and OSHEAGA Music Festival weekend. All outdoor events. Not the best of sunny skies but perhaps we'll luck out. It cleared enough for me to enjoy a bit of late afternoon pool time. The evening I stayed at the hacienda producing my radio programs for Saturday. My BLOG for July 2008My BLOG for July 2008 Thursday July 31, 2008: Got a call early evening to be a spare for a softball game. Excellent. My first game of the season. My defence in the outfield for sure rusty but 2/3 at bats with a single and a home run. Recreational, co-ed league. A good time other than the hungry bugs partying with next to no breeze. Didn't catch much of the CFL Montreal Alouettes game on tv or radio as I had to head out for the Softball game but we ended the 3-game losing run with a 40-33 home field win over the Tiger-Cats. In the Big-Leagues of MLB baseball the trade deadline saw Canadian born outfielder Jason Bay get traded from Pittsburgh to Boston; Manny Ramirez of the Red Soxs off to the L.A. Dodgers; and four up-and-comers going from the Dodgers to the Pirates in the three-way trade. The other big move was slugger Ken Griffey Jr. heading to the White Sox from the Reds strengthening the White Sox post-season chances. Even though I haven't been to an MLB game since the Expos last home game still a ball fan. Kinda split by fan alliance in the NL between the Washington Nationals (the former Expos, at least during the 1st-2nd season after they left Montreal and still had a few of the old crew) the so-overdue Chicago Cubs and the L.A. Dodgers. Haven't ever caught a game at Wrigley so far. No trip down to see the Nationals down in DC where the Expos moved on to. I have seen the L.A. Dodgers live just once in April 2003 hosting the SF Giants (stub dated April 19, 2003) while I was working on a ERP (business systems) implementation and training project in Orange County. In the AL my teams were the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics but now with the Expos gone I think many EX-Expos fans have warmed up to the closest team down the coast, The Boston Red Sox. We've watched Red Sox games for years on the tv tube. Also dig the White Sox and Tigers. Only Fenway game I got to attend in person was in August 1999 with my older brother (only got the one brother) when we lucked out on a drive into Boston. On the fly we were able to bag a couple of tickets 5-6 rows behind home plate for an afternoon game between the Red Sox and the Indians. That was way cool. Stopped by ole Fenway again in 2005 on a summer road trip to the New Hampshire coast with a former girlfriend and her son but the game was sold out so we caught the match across the street on TV at the Boston Beer Works. The Jays, well I haven't even been in Toronto since I think 2003 which was a business trip while I was working for EDS at a client site. The SARS thing was in town that trip but alas the Jays weren't. Must have caught some half-dozen or so Jays games over the years. The As, did see one match in Oakland on a weekend getaway trip to the Frisco Bay area. The SF Giants were out of town that late April 2002 (ticket stub for April 26) weekend but the Athletics were in town hosting the White Sox. I wished I'd kept all my ticket stubs as mementos since i was a kid. I didn't back then. Only wised up to doing that the past 10-years or so. Other teams I've caught on their home fields include the Minnesota Twins (summer 2003 while I was working in Minneapolis); Colorado Rockies (1996-1998 on business trips to Denver); NY Yankees (back in the 90s). Wednesday July 30, 2008: That kinda day. A Hump Day. Computer issues dragged out the work day 'til after 9 pm at the home office in Old Montreal; the Arctic ice shield lost a big chunk of ice; some whacko went berserk on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba; my Fantasy Baseball Pool teams had a crap day; and the local weather was fugly. Tuesday July 29, 2008: Wow, sunshine, what a concept. Up early enough to move the car thus avoiding yet another parking ticket. TCOB until lunch time. Caught the noon news. Headed outdoors. It hasn't been a wonderful 2-weeks of sunshine for the Construction Holiday people but must be good business for malls and movie theaters. This particular afternoon was sunny, warm and breezy. Barely a wisp of even fluffy white clouds in the sky. It was "all good" for my afternoon, outdoor Cardio Box work-out down by the water. With my dog staying out in the country I needed to replace those 4 dog walks per day that often add up to 2-plus hours for 6-plus kms (not really sure) of walking. For my evening's Beach Volleyball matches the sunshine held on. Just a good summer's eve for rolling around in the sand and enjoying a post-game libation pool side. The drive back was 'slow' due to the road-work through the Turcotte Yards then the fan exodus from the Coldplay rock concert at the Bell Centre. Montreal weather beats Beijing weather anyway. The Olympic City had a "hazardous" rating for Air-Quality while Montreal was "good." I came across a web article about the COC, Canadian Olympic Committee having a 'weather' person on-board. That person is going to be rather critical and busy through out the games. Perchance they'll need more recruits? For any of the Global Warming nay-sayers check out the web videos from Beijing. And while Los Angeles rocked to an earth-quake that shook buildings things were pretty calm in the hood. Lastly, has hell frozen over (not possible anymore with Global Warming but the phrase remains popular) or did I read that Starbucks is laying off 1,000 people? Either its the decline and fall of Western Civilization as we know it or the Indy coffee chains are winning some street corner battles for latte lovers. Nero, playing the fiddle between sips of frothy latte? Not quite a Norman Rockwell painting but its a visual. Monday July 28, 2008: Ah, summer reads. Recently finished off Umberto Eco's Island of the Day Before. Into the final chapters of Kelley Armstrong's Dime Store Magic. Also started reading Kelley Armstrong's Exit Strategy. Found a bunch of new titles I want to read after checking out the Indigo Bookstore downtown on Friday. Had my late afternoon Cardio Box workout in the park cut short when what else, an afternoon shower, rolled through Old Montreal. Didn't get out to catch the ladies tennis matches at ole Jarry Park, now Stade Uniprix, though I dig women's tennis but I did catch some of the Jays and Rays baseball game and the Rogers tennis on TV. Given the rain showers and flu hitting a few players if you avoided being court side day one maybe that wasn't so bad. A.J. threw a good one increasing his value either on the trade market or if the Jays keep him. With Jesse Litsch struggling and the M & M duo ailing the Jay's starting staff is pretty thin already compared to the 1st half of the season. It makes you reminisce for the Expos' bad seasons (several) where woe after woe befell our team. NASCAR and the Osheaga Music Festival will also be crossing their fingers hoping the daily showers move on before the weekend. Hey, could be worse if you've seen news clips - video from the upcoming Smoglympics in Beijing. Our pollution record is far from perfect but its never been that nasty here. Not even back in the ugly pollution days of the 1960s and 1970s. We're living in a nature conservatory compared to living conditions in Beijing. Poor athletes, they'll damn near need to wear oxygen masks to compete in their events. Athlete Note-To-Self: "Run being vehicles with busted exhaust systems to practise for the Olympics." Ya, the organizers have an emergency pollution plan. Close factories. Take more vehicles off the road. Judging by the footage I saw Tuesday they'll need to use it. And this does not include the Algae issue plaging the sailing event venue. Sunday July 27, 2008: A gorgeous day of sunshine. Got in a good afternoon of bicycling on the Lachine Canal and the Islands. Lots of picnics going on ... Colombians, Turks, and the Piknic Electronique. Everyone enjoying the day. An evening, outdoor Cardio Box workout. Caught the Red Sox baseball game on Tv as they pummelled the Yankees with Big Pappy, David Ortiz, back in the line-up and Manny Ramirez, controversy or not, one heck of a ball player. A tight race in the AL East with the Rays, Yankees and Red Sox bunching up at the top of the standings. The local soccer team, the USL Montreal Impact, came up flat after the road trip and lost to Rochester. Saturday July 26, 2008: "Be the Ball, Be The Birthday Boy!" Being a fan of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones I've always enjoyed the fact that my own birthday coincides with that of Mick Jagger, one of more renown Leos. Enjoyed the birthday morning at the radio station for program #80 of The Earth Lounge. The theme being "Come Sail Away." Featuring an interview with the Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum aboard the sailing canal schooner LOIS McCLURE that has been making the rounds this summer in Quebec (Interview recorded July 22 while the boat was docked in Montreal's Old Port.) A replica vessel based on two 1862 schooners that sunk in Lake Champlain and much like the schooners that plied good through the Lachine Canal during that historic era. I dig the sport of sailing. Taking a keel-boat sailing course at the Pointe Claire Yacht Club in 1999 was my hands-on introduction to sailing. Birthday wishes from friends and family. Caught a decent rock band at Pub St. Paul after midnight to wrap up the day. Friday July 25, 2008: Started the morning with a bicycle run donwtown to my dentist. A chipped tooth to fix and a cleaning. Sunshine. Sweet Friday indeed. Bummed that the CFL's Montreal Alouettes lost to the BC Lions 36-34 with a mere 8-seconds to go in the match. Luckily I wussed out and hit the sack before the 4th quarter of the west coast match. Thursday July 24, 2008: Back to bicycling and back to the gym. Wednesday July 23, 2008: Caught the movie screening of MONGOL at a downtown cinema theater, AMC 22. (Whatever they call it now, it used to be the Montreal Forum where the Habs played.) Its my Birthday Countdown Week so call it a little gift from me to me. Apparently I've notched another one in the bedpost of life. "How Old R U ?" they drone on. "I was Samuel Champlain's co-pilot" I retort. lmao. Ya know, the dude whose discovery trip led to this summer's 400-years of Quebec City Birthday Bash. Now stop asking me my age. I'll settle for "Old Enough To Know Better But Too Young To Resist." If it matters to you, hey walk away. Proverb #1: "Men, like fine wine, only improve with aging." Proverb #2: "Men, like poorly corked wine turn to vinegar with aging." Conclusion: "Men, If you get them properly 'corked' on their birthday age nicely." If you catch the nuance of 'getting corked' have yourself a smile. Now MONGOL, what a great film! The early years of Ghengis Khan, the great Mongol conqueror. Talk about a rough childhood. Sheesh, the good old days. Makes you stop whining about your slight hassles of growing up in the 20th or 21st century. The footage from the steppe of Mongolia made for excellent cinema. The battle scenes rocked with period true combat. Romance sub-plot. Costumes dead-on. English sub-titles, foreign flick category not for the masses but if you dig historic epics a-la Alexander The Great or Troy there's a good chance you'd like this film. Cycled downtown and squeezed in a gym cardio workout into the day as well. Window shopping. Sundry tasks. Tuesday July 22, 2008: More whacked weather. Poor bastards on Construction Holiday throughout Quebec province must be miffed. The poor things out camping mere food and fodder for bugs in the woods. The beach volleyball soirée turned damp when a cloud burst drenched both teams in our 2nd match of the evening. We played on in the pouring rain. That was a blast for the first 5-10 minutes before we started feeling chilly plus we had wind for bonus. Warm rain is one thing but cold and drenched isn't half the fun. I guess that qualified on the Daily TO-DO list as the item under the category, "Do something everyday that freaks you out." lmao. Earlier in the day bagged an interview for The Earth Lounge for my 2nd to last program before I go on Summer Hiatus (last program August 2, program #81) having lined up an excellent Pilot Program to run in my time slot for 5-weeks. Monday July 21, 2008: What a hoot and a holler! Thoroughly enjoyed catching a flick as the Fantasia Film Festival hit its final few days. A sweet, gentle, thought provoking for-all-ages movie titled, "Tokyo Gore Police." Ah, actually not but one heck of a genre film. lmao. The premise of privatization of police forces takes quite a twisted plot twist as the Samurai riot squad has issues with rampant killers called "engineers.". Directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura. The sexy, butt-kicking, Samurai sword wielding police officer Ruka is played by actress Eihi Shiina (who also starred in the film, AUDITION, she's hot). Other than that bounced downtown mid-day to do the circuit of hanging out at a cafe; picking up the Fantasia movie ticket; store scoping for clothes. Managed to get in an outdoor workout in Old Montreal before the weird weather day rolled in a few late afternoon thunder claps and rain drops. Sunday July 20, 2008: Overcast in Montreal but decently warm. Got in a boxing style cardio workout down by the Lachine Canal Sunday afternoon. Rain approached. Picked up some groceries. Caught the back end of the Jays and Rays (catchy phrase isn't that?) MLB baseball game on TV. Sure, I suppose one could have joined the throngs headed up to Quebec City to see Sir Paul McCartney play but as much as I dig his music its still a 3-hour plus drive to get there @ $1.40-whatever a litre of gas. I thought him a good choice for the birthday bash. Then one would have to join some 200,000 on the Plains of Abraham. I've seen the Plains of Abraham a few times already. I'd catch the video highlights later. Saturday July 19, 2008: After a morning at the radio station for The Earth Lounge program #79 hung out at a friend's sail boat. Catching the CFL's Montreal Alouettes visiting the Saskatchewan Rough Riders from Regina on TV and radio at my digs was the mellow early evening. Go ALS Go! Ack! The Als lost a barn-burner in the final minutes but one heck of a match. A real prairie barn burner. Thursday July 17, 2008: Enjoyed a day in the country with a run down to the Eastern Townships to visit the clan; drop off my dog with my brother; and mow lawns down at my mom's place. Got an email this week that I'd won a T-Shirt prize for finishing in 1st place in an NHL Bench Boss Fantasy league pool from the past hockey season. Sweet. Tuesday July 15, 2008: Finally back to sports after 6 weeks on the DL (disabled list) following a wipe out on my In-Line Skates back at the end of May. My skating companion, the dog, made a hard right dash for a Beagle leading to a meeting with the pavement. Neither sitting or laying down was much fun for weeks. That was an unpleasant tailbone (coccyx) injury. After trips to the clinic to see a doctor, get prescription Meds; going for X-Rays; boring down time all June ... I was at last able to get a shakin' again. Got into a Beach Volleyball 6 x 6 league. Played out first matches. Good to be back! A late start to my summer but lots left to enjoy. Caught the back end and extra inning of the MLB All-Star game from Yankee Stadium. The last to be played there with the new stadium under construction. Tried to stay awake to see the climatic win by the American League but fell asleep in the 13th inning. Sunday July 13, 2008: Conducive to catching up on chores, shopping, web surfing, catching music and baseball games on the radio and reading. The last day of MLB baseball games before the All-Star game on Tuesday. Pretty cool that three Canadians are heading to the 2008 game. Montreal's own Russell Martin (LA Dodgers, catcher); Ryan Dempster (Could-it-Be-THE-Year ... Chicago Cubs, Pitcher) and Justin Morneau (Minnesota Twins, 1st base.) The Cubs that had Canadian all-star pitcher Fergy Jenkins some three decades ago now have two Canadian pitchers on board ... Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden, newly acquired from the Oakland A's in a trade. I headed into the All-Star game in decent position in the Fox Baseball Fantasy Pool. My team's divisional rankings: -Montreal Mud Wrestlers - 1st place -Skank Dawgs - 2nd place -Montreal Mud Rakers - 1st place -Skank Ferrets - 5th place And on the 'way kool' curve I got an email saying I'd won a free t-shirt for coming in 1st spot in an NHL Bench Boss Fantasy League. Back to the baseball theme. The prospects of Canada's Mens Baseball Team getting a medal at the Bejing Olympics could be decent. A 4th place finish in 2004 in the Bronze medal game after Japan thumped us 11-2. The gut wrencher had been an earlier loss to Cuba when we blew an 8th inning lead and the shot at the Gold medal game. Why are we destined for success in 2008? Six returning players from the 2004 including 2nd baseman Stubby Clapp. Is that a baseball name or what? Like the Expos past great Rusty Staub it screams victory. Terry Puhl is also back as Team Canada's manager. A former major leaguer of some 15 seasons. Did the grocery run over to the Atwater Market and Super-C late afternoon between showers. New spuds, small, first batch, freshly grown and dug summer 2008 oughta make the next steak meal off the BBQ really tasty. Oh festive. Not. Damn milk was curdled. Bad enough I now drink 1% milk when I used to love cream but seeing the watery cow-water with lumps in it floating on top of my coffee was gross! That wrecked my first cup of espresso. As the expression runs “ya pissed in my bowl of Cheerios to start the day.” Have to take it back to the Depanneur and switch it or get my money back. It was a black espresso instead. Typically such a catastrophic event would be an omen of ill-will through out the day but to my surprise the sunshine prevailed. From the long morning dog walk through sunset life was good. Thursday July 10, 2008: Tried my first gym-workout in nearly 6-weeks. The one (and only one) workout I had attempted on May 30 after the tail-bone injury incurred back on May 25 (in-line skating wipe out) convinced me to lay off the workout routine. That workout wasn't a good one. I finally broke down afterward. Yeppers, caved in and went to the the local clinic. Saw a doctor, got a prescription, got an x-ray done. June was tedious being on the injury list. Good thing the EURO-2008 soccer tournament was going on or I'd have bored out of mind (or whats left of my mind. lol.) A prescription from the Doc and down-time being the road to recovery. Apparently I'll survive yet another day or two. Any speculating a disease versus an injury, sorry to disappoint ya. Caught (on TV and radio at home) the CFL's Montreal Alouette football team take their first loss of the early regular season at home to the visiting Calgary Stampeders. That pinky injury to AC had to hurt. Season is young. Sunday July 6, 2008: Caught a few shows on the final eve of the Montreal International Jazz Festival. The Blues and Grooves stages being what I got to see. L'Il Ed and The Imperials a Blues act I'd seen before, liked before, they were good once again this time. Enjoyed a few other evenings of freebie concert catching at the Jazz Fest with decent weather from Canada Day (July 1) forward. Friday July 4, 2008: 4th of July was not unlike Canada Day for me. Sunny day, pool time afternoons, jazz fest evenings. Found a great new song from the band Theory Of A Dead Man that both rocks and gives a man a chuckle, Bad, Bad Girlfriend. Yeppers, that one goes into The Earth Lounge music playlist next show. You know that girl, pretty much every guy had one like her, she was trouble both bad and good. Tuesday July 1, 2008: Canada Day was good weather. Dog walk down to the end point of the Canada Day parade. The dog got the cake happily wolfing down a few spilled on the ground cakes slices. Pool time. Evening was both Old Port and the Jazz Festival. Bran Van 3000's big concert being packed down the street. June 26 My BLOG for June 26, 2008 June 26, 2008: Can
we be guaranteed 50% "Happy News" in our newscasts? Intriguing idea as
we've all been ankle- bitters at one time or another about there being
"too much negativity" in what we see, read and listen to. Well, them fun loving Romanians (They've lightening since, well, the good old days of dictatorship) are LEGISLATING happy-happy news. Yes, newscasts must contain at least 50% "Happy" stories in what spews forth from the media. Or Else ... Here is the link for you types best classified as "The Sangria Glass is Half-Full" optimistics: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/080625/oddities/romania_media_offbeat For those of a grumpier nature, the type that see "The Sangria glass is half empty and what is left in my glass is watered down from the excessive amount of ice cubes they shoved in to my glass to cut costs on real booze" here is a link to where you can get a quick-fix of negative news should you be feeling too chipper and chirpy: http://wordpress.com/tag/negative-news/ On that thought, yawl have a nice day. Do reflect during your next pitcher of Sangria and evaluate your personality type. Euro-2008 ... From the fearless prognosticator that has blown at least 50% of the games so far (that would be me including the Croatian and Dutch losses) my money (or lack of) is on the Ruskies and their Dutch coach to nip the Spaniards in a surprise win! Say 2-1. Please, Nyet, Nein, Nadda, No severe thunderstorms in Vienna this time to knock out game coverage as happened Wednesday during the Turk & Germans game (we missed seeing two goals scored.) Link: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Euro/2008/06/25/5985896-ap.html I liked their honesty in not blaming "solar flares' or some other fabricated celestial activity for the black-out that irked millions of sports fans. My BLOG for June 13, 2008 -June 13, 2008: CFL
football is back! I made it and thoroughly enjoyed the Montreal
Alouettes pre-season game Thursday at Molson Stadium hosting the
Toronto Argonauts. A sunny, warm eve. After the Argos took an early
14-Zip lead the Als roared back for a 24-17 lead by half-time. Then,
trailing late in the 4th Quarter they tied it up 34-34. Hot dang,
exciting match. World Blood Donor's Day - Saturday June 14, 2008. My BLOG for JUNE 3, 2008 - June 3, 2008: Tuesday
morning and yawn! Like many Hockey fans I stayed up late to watch the
marathon NHL Stanley Cup match between Detroit and Pittsburgh. Well
after midnight, actually nearer to 1 am. It was a let-down (I'm a Red
Wing fan) to have stayed up late expecting a Red Wing Stanley Cup win @ The Joe only
to have the Penguins snitch it half-way thru the 3rd OVERTIME Period.
Dang near two-games in one at 110-minutes of playing time over 5 1/2
periods. AGH! GROAN! Ticks one off to stay up watching a 4 1/2 hour match only to see your boys lose it. Key players on both teams must be dog-tired Tuesday after all that ice time. Staying in to watch it on CBC TV and Team990 radio at my digs in Old Montreal with the dog turned out to be a good call 'cause it would have been a late one at a sports bar. Give Marc-Andre Fleury his due, easily a 6-2 blow-out by the Wings after 3-periods if not for his hot goal-tending. The cross-bar was his friend also. Instead of a Wing's blow-out, the Penguins tied it 3-3 with less than a minute to go in the 3rd period. Snort! There went the Crowning Ceremony on home ice for the Wings. No octopus. Great overtime play by both squads. Action. Fast-Paced. Back and forth charges. Both teams started to fade in the 3rd-OT period. The skate legs weren't there anymore. The winner would be the team that DIDN'T make the 'big mistake' from shear fatigue. A double minor penalty on the Red Wings' Jiri Hudler for high-sticking (2-min. for the high stick; 2-min. for drawing blood) led to the Penguin's power-play goal by Peter Sykora on an Evgeni Malkin pass. It was the bang-bang pass, shot, goal on Chris Osgood that sent us all off to bed. Ozzie was a little short of his best wizard magic this eve between the pipes. Final shot count 58 to 32 by Detroit says Fleury was the deciding factor not Pittsburgh's Young Guns. What didn't Zetterberg, Samuelson and Datsyuk do to win this one? Shot after shot after shot they swarmed like killer bees around Fleury to no avail in overtime. SOL for the Wings. Now 3-2 in games for the Wings we've got a series to salivate about. A ratings and interest boost as we've got a game six to play and maybe even a game seven. My BLOG for May 26, 2008 - May 26, 2008: OUCH!
Damn it. Can you say ADVIL. The dog wiped me out while we in-line
skating on Sunday (She got all hyper over a dang Beagle!) Bruised butt
plus a few scrapes. Talk about a "Royal Pain in the butt" literally.
Suck it up. It'd be funny except it hurts to sit down on my butt. Saturday I was at the radio station's remote broadcast from the streets of Old Montreal at the Pointe-A-Calliere Museum for their "Cultural Feast" event. Good food and music plus Montreal Museum Day on Sunday. A Happy Birthday to my older brother down in the Eastern Townships as May wraps up. The Red Wings are a rocking with two straight wins over the Penguins after Monday's 3-0 win and up 2-0 in the series. Ozzie! In the NHL's BENCH BOSS Fantasy pools: In the NHL's BENCH BOSS Fantasy pools here's my recap:
December 31 December 2007 - Part II - December 27-31, 2007Thursday December 27, 2007
- Post Christmas frumping and house keeping. After three days of eating
and visiting a mellow day of book reading Umberto Eco's The Island of the Day Before was in order. My book collection up by 4-books after Christmas with two more Umberto Eco (The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana and The History of Beauty) and two more Kelley Armstrong (Exit Strategy and Bitten) titles
received as gifts. A badly needed new toaster (my previous toaster
caught fire some months back ending its useful life!), a craft brewery
set with mug (Maredsous Belgian beer), a Team Canada Hockey cap; and sundry stocking stuffers rounded out my gift haul. The morning was catching the 9:30 am hockey game at the IIHF World Junior Championship where Canada beat Slovakia 2-0. The team looking good with two wins to start the tournament and setting a new record with 19 straight tournament wins.With
my furry room-mate, the dog, that Black Labrador-Husky hair ball, lol,
down in the country a good chance to clean-up the condo. Doing the
laundry and chores also on the agenda. Lots
of TV coverage on the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader
Benazir Bhutto. The second bummer news of the holiday season after we
lost Montreal born jazz great Oscar Peterson over the holidays.The
NHL Habs looked good in their evening win over the Tampa Bay Lightning
taking the game 5-2. My Red Wings beat the Avalanche 4-2. A good hockey
night for moi! Friday December 28, 2007 - Cheap thrills time. Future Shop gift
certificate in hand I headed downtown in the afternoon for my Boxing
Week run. The weather still mild around the freezing point. The masses
had two previous days to plunder the Boxing Day sales so I reckoned the
worst of the feeding frenzy must have passed. The
first stop was into a pharmacy to pick up chocolates on sale. Needed to
replenish for New Years of course. Then next door to Future Shop to use my gift certificate. Deals galore including DVD specials. I picked up Underworld Evolution (Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman) and Battle Star Galactica Razor (Unrated) and ogled much more. Next on Ste. Catherine Street was The Mexx clothing store had good 50% off deals. Lastly on to HMV next. More DVD and CD deals. I picked up Sin City (the adaptation of the Frank Miller series directed by Robert Rodriguez) for $5.99; then Tank Girl (Lori Petty) and Strange Days (Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett) on a 2/ $12 deal. Just
as I was packing up to head down to the gym around 6 pm for a much
needed workout (after days of eating) my sister called. She'd been out
XC-skiing. Off the phone I walked it downtown to the YMCA. Got in some
Squash games and did time on the Bike while I watched the Habs somehow
beat the Florida Panther 5-1 despite being out shoot 41 to 21.
Christobal Huet rocked! Tomas Vokoun had a bad night and was chased
early in the 2nd period after he'd let in 4 goals on 9 shots. The Habs
got goals from five different players. Nice. Walking back home afterwards I wrapped my radio production work for Saturday's programs. Caught the Sopranos,
one of the final season episodes, on CTV before the news. As the
sunrises at the end of the episode Tony Soprano says "I did it, I did
it" with the babe at his side. Touching. I dig the Sopranos. Saturday December 29, 2007 - A mild day a few degrees above freezing. Kinda blah weather. I went into the radio station for the day. Worked the programs: Wide Awake (9am, technical producer); The Earth Lounge (10:05 am, producer and host); Information Updates - News, Weather, Sports (10 am and noon, producer and announcer); and the Arts Notebook (11:30 am, assistant producer and technical producer). A nice personal milestone achieved with the 50th broadcast of my program The Earth Lounge.
My theme for the show was a pre-recorded interview I did back in summer
with the film maker of THE GREENCHAIN, Mark Lieran-Young. He is an
interesting gent whose credits include writing an production for TV,
Radio and Film as well as being in the comedy troop Local Anxiety
that has traveled across Canada. He hails from British Columbia. We'd
done the interview when his film was showing at the Montreal World Film
Festival late summer 2007.Brunch over at Cafe Mosaik
after my programs were done for the day. Back home I caught Team Canada
lose their first IIHF World Junior Championship match in a very long
time. Their winning streak of 20 straight wins snapped with a 4-3 lose
to Sweden. The NFL New England Patriots dang near failed in their bid
for the perfect regular season but vanquished over the New York Giants
to win their 16th straight game! Brady, Moss and mates did it. The
perfect regular season. They did what hadn't been done since the 72
Miami Dolphins. Sunday December 30, 2007 - Sports and DVD viewing day. Lots of NFL action to wrap the regular season. After my morning walk I settled in to catch DVDs and the games. With my dog in the country staying with the clan I needed to remind myself to head out for daily walks. Tank Girl was a fun DVD. Also watched Sin City on DVD. I'd seen it at the theater when it was first released but Frank Miller's book based film was well worth another viewing.Late
afternoon I walked it down to the gym for a workout.With a week of
holiday eating and snacking a very badly needed workout indeed. I did
60-minutes on the stationary bike, got in some abs work, then
30-minutes on the Elliptical Machine while catching the Redskins and
Cowboys match on the gym's TV. The teams that had already clinched
playoff spots giving their backups playing time before the playoffs.
Dallas and Jacksonville rested their starting QBs and lost in
meaningless games for them.I
wrapped the NFL fantasy pool season with one of my teams winning the
championship in Yahoo Fantasy Football and another of my teams taking a
championship in the FOX Fantasy Football leagues. Yippee!Back
home more sports viewing and music in the evening. The NHL Habs lost in
OT to the Rangers 4-3 with Brendon Shannahan scoring the winner but it
was a good match. In the NFL Sunday night match the Tennessee Titans
clinched a wild card berth with a 16-10 win over the Indianapolis
Colts. Music listening was the Black Cat Alley (blues), Made in Canada
and Little Steven's Underground Garage. Monday December 31 2007 - Thats that for 2007! The year over. Up nice and early it was snowing in Montreal. Lightly but snow. Most shops closed early morning it took a walk before 8 am to find a cafe or depanneur open to get my morning espresso.Weekend
sports highlights ... Talk about short-shorts. lol. The NBA's LA Lakers
wore classic shorts for part of their Sunday match against the Boston
Celtics. Retro 70s when we jogging shorts ruled. The shorts must have
been too snug as the Celtics wiped the Lakers off the court 110-91.
Chris Bosh of the lowly Houston Rockets has a funny video pitching for
votes for the NBA all-star game. After all the negativity of the MLB
steroids report kinda good to see the NBA providing us with a smile
via the short-shorts and the Bosh video. Team
Canada Juniors back on the ice Monday morning for an 11:30 am game
versus Denmark after their streak of 20 straight tournament wins was
broken on Saturday with the 4-3 loss to Sweden. They are still very
much in the hunt for the Gold medal despite the loss. The
classic outdoor NHL hockey game coming up on New Year's day in Buffalo
when the Sabers host the Penguins. I read on the web they are expecting
some 73,000 fans for the match! That outta be fun and not anywhere near
as cold as it was when the Habs and Oilers played an outdoor match in
Edmonton years back at Commonwealth Stadium. Toques anyone? You gotta
like the fact its the Penguins as the opponent. Who better for an
outdoor hockey game than penguins! I guess you could call this one
the Skate of The Penguins instead of the March of the Penguins or the funny film The Farce of The Penguins! The
NFL Buffalo Bills might be bison burgers and possibly relocating but
the NHL Sabers are prime rib with this outdoor shindig. Or you can
watch US College Bowl games on New Year's Day. Keep your TV remote
handy.With
a world wide Helium shortage, yes helium, you might see a few less
balloons at your New Year's party or event. No more pulling that high
pitched voiced gag of sucking into your lungs the gas from a helium
balloon. Too expensive! Of
all the weird ass shortages how'd have seen that one coming? Prices
have like tripled I read as I researched the story for my Offbeat
environment article for my radio program The Earth Lounge the previous Saturday. The
U.S. Bureau of Land Management oversees the US government's national
helium reservoir in Amarillo, Texas and supplies like 1/2 the USA needs
and 1/3 of the worlds. New plants in Qatar and Algeria are late to come on-line causing the reserves to dip. Helium gas is also needed for such things as fiber optics production and to cool magnets in MRI machines. They think the shortage will last for another 3-years. Less hot-air ... if only it applied to people and not the gas it would be a good resolution for 2008. lol. In fact, I'll make no resolutions for 2008 and take all accomplishments in the year of the rat (Chinese astrology) as gravy-points. I resolve to not resolve.According to the Chinese horoscope, 2008 is the year of the rat, and so these creatures are coming into vogue. OK, its not until February on the Chinese calender but why wait? The Year of the Rat begins Feb. 7, 2008, and ends Jan. 25, 2009. People born in the Year of the Rat are said to be industrious, adaptable and ambitious.While
most Westerners run a mile when they see a rodent, in the East it is
considered a bad omen if a rat leaves the house. The US Postal Service
has unveiled their stamps for 2008 which will include a Year of the Rat
stamp! How apropos that former Rat Pack member Frank Sinatra also will be on a US postal stamp 2008 for the Year of The Rat. Even
in Russia its big. The Russians call it the Year of The Mouse and pet
stores are selling more mice than chihuahuas in Moscow. The furry
rodent symbolizes success! With my game hunting dog Nina the
Black Labrador I think I'll pass on getting a live rodent for the house
but perhaps a stuffed rat or mouse would be cool!I caught a web article where Astrologer Mikhail Levin explains how wealth and the rat are connected in the popular imagination. On that note I wish a Happy New Year to one and all! Rats it, Rats all!December 06 My BLOG for December 2007 - Part I - December 1-26, 2007 DECEMBER 2007 - Part I - December 1-26, 2007 Saturday December 01, 2007 - Dog walk early. It was cold. Something like -25 Celsius with Wind Chill Factor and -15 Celsius on the thermometer. Into the radio station most of the day. For my program, The Earth Lounge it was the interview on the Segal Center for Performing Arts play AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. Covered the board for The Jewish Digest at 8:30 am (the host an interview to do and asked a favor); Did the Information Updates (news, weather, sports) at 10 am and noon; Arts Notebook at 11:30 am; Know Your Rights legal show at 2:30 pm. In for the early evening it was a bad ending to what was a good start by the NHL hockey Habs hosting the Nashville Predators. Blowing a cozy lead in the 3rd period the Habs let a sure victory slip away as the Predators roared back for a 4-4 tie at the end of regulation time. Nadda for either team in overtime. Nashville won the shootout. The Canadians zero for two on the weekend after taking a whooping in New Jersey to the Devils 4-0 on Friday night. Luckily for them the first place Senators have been in a recent slide. Sunday December 02, 2007 - Freaken cold again. Confirmed the weather with the morning dog walk. Shopping, errands, chores followed for the early afternoon. Figured the dog deserved a new chew toy after her Great Dane encounter of Friday evening. Made it mid-afternoon to attend the radio station's annual General Assembly meeting for station members up on Parc Avenue. That lasted until after 5 pm. Despite the nasty cold weather a heavy snow fall was expected to roll in late evening. Some 20-centimetres or 6-inches planned. Ho-Ho-Howdy-Ho snow to get one into the Holiday and Christmas season. The snow should get me in the mood to put up my Xmas decorations. Caught the Bengals vs. my Steelers as the Sunday night NFL game. More rain like they had Monday past against Miami. Out for a grocery run in the cold evening air. Steelers up 24-10 in the 4th quarter. Monday December 3, 2007 - For something completely different than bitter cold we got a HUGE snow dumping overnight. By Monday morning we'd had a lot of snow. Schools closed. Roads clogged. But I dig snow. All the white stuff great for outdoor sports and walking. Its so darn purdy isn't it? Beats freezing our butts off at -20 Celsius anyway. Off to a meeting late morning. Took the Metro and left the car buried on the street. Figured it would take longer to get there by car with the snow. Hell of a NFL Monday night match! With all the snow I stayed in to catch the game on TV and do research. The undefeated Pats nearly lost to my 2 NFL team the Ravens! Kyle Boller had a solid game as QB. The Ravens defense rocked. At 24-20 for the Ravens with just 50-seconds left in the 4th quarter I thought we had it when a 4th down Brady pass was incomplete! Not to be. A holding call on the play ruined it for the Ravens. Give Brad a yard or in this case a 1st-down and he'll take the TD) Brady then hooked up for yet another TD pass and it was 27-24 Colts. But it wasn't over yet. The fiesty Ravens weren't about to give up. A hail-mary pass by Boller connected just a few yards from the Pats' end-zone with no-time left on the clock but the receiver couldn't break free for the TD. Game over, buns-up, the Pats pursuit of the perfect regular season marched on. Tuesday December 4, 2007 - It was still snowing in the morning. Oh so nice. By days end the tally was 35-cm in Montreal. The dog and I had fun walking in the snow. She's a snow dog! She just loves it. Picked up theatre tickets on our noon walk. Nina had a blast all day romping through the snow on our walks and at the dog park. Dug out the car in the afternoon pending the 7 pm to 7 am snow removal sign on my street. Not wanting a $102 ticket for snow-towing to kick-off the winter season I was ready to evacuate when the plows showed up in the evening. Hell of a lot of snow to dig out around the car. The plow brigade did show up shrtly after 7 pm and I moved temporarily to another parking spot. Street warriors! I moved the car back to the cleared spot after they rolled on. Dragged out the Christmas decorations from the storage cabinet. Phone chats, the Habs vs Red Wings hockey game and dog walking was the evening. Yes shoppers, a mere 3-weeks for Xmas Day. It falls on a Tuesday this year. Most people likely have 3-days off to wrap the shopping and presents from Saturday through Monday before Xmas. The Habs lost to my Red Wings in Montreal. Caught the game on radio. Pavel Datsyuk was the main-man with 2-goals and an assist. Nice. Its the only match-up I don't cheer for the Habs. Hasek got a needed win in the Red Wings net while Carey Price took the lose. With Huet out the team has called up Halek. But Its likely more starts for Carey Price while Huet is out. Gordie Howe (my childhood hero!) and Jean Beliveau part of a pre-game ceremony. Another favorite of mine Chris Chelios, now 44, also part of it. A Red Wing now but with a past with the Canadians. Wednesday December 5, 2007 - The sun was up, the snow-plows had moved on to other parts of town, and the snow had stopped. Just a brisk winter day as we got in our dog walk. All that powder snow must have the ski hill operators, alpine skiers, snow-boarders and x-country skiers in ecstasy. The Tigers and Marlins were a Wheeling-&-Dealing in baseball. Big names Dontrel Willis and Miguel Cabrera of to the Tigers for a slew of up and comers going to Florida. Thursday December 6, 2007 - Ah, the frigid drop in temperature after the snow fall. Up early on the crisp, sunny day the dog and I took a long walk downtown on Ste. Catherine and back. Business was the rest of the morning. Since we had fresh powder and sunshine skiing was the call. Skipping the drive out to an Alpine hill the cross-country ski option was the choice. Dragged the x-country skis out of the locker. Took a run down the Lachine Canal to the Atwater Market and back from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. A decent 2-hour start to the 2007-2008 ski season. Walked the dog. Back to business. Friday December 7, 2007 - Radio production work and business was the day. Took the bus up to the Le Plateau 'hood to get an interview with the gent managing the Sun Youth Christmas tree lot at the corner of Parc Avenue and Mt. Royal. Wrapped up my production work in the evening at home. Saturday December 8, 2007 - Into the radio station early morning after getting Nina out for her dog walk. Worked the Wide Awake; Information Updates for 10 am and noon; The Arts Notebook; Know Your Rights legal programs and my own program The Earth Lounge with the theme of program 47 being Christmas Trees! Real or Artificial? Plus the interview with the Sun Youth tree lot manager. The evening was catching a very good play at the Centaur Theater titled Urban Tales. Caught a live band at good ole Pub St. Paul in Old Montreal. Sunday December 9, 2007 - The electricity in our building was in low wattage mode before it went out all together. That left me and the neighbors perplexed as to what was up. Calling the condo administration they said the source was Hydro Quebec working on the local grid and the outage was expected to last until 6 pm. An extended dog walk and time at a cafe as with the unit alarms going off it wasn't exactly a 'quiet' Sunday morning in the building. Walked it down to the YMCA downtown to get a cardio workout and watched the NFL football games while doing the elliptical machine and the stationary bike. The Steelers weren't able to stop the steam rolling New England Patriots. Their trek to the perfect regular season rolled on. They have only the Jets, Dolphins and Giants to beat. The electricity in our building didn't return until after 8 pm. Given it wasn't the warmest of nights that was good. Caught the Ravens getting ran over by the Indianapolis Colts in the Sunday evening NFL match. Monday December 10, 2007 - Worked out of the home office before taking the Metro to a 3 pm business meeting. Both NFL Quarterback Michael Vick and media mogul Conrad Black were handed jail terms in their trials. ... Monday December 17, 2007 -
Ah, The aftermath of the big snow dumping. Our second major dump of the
season and still in December. By evening I decided to dig out the car
just in case the Raiders of the Lost Parked showed up.
Unnecessary in hindsight as by Friday the plow brigade still hadn't
made it to our street. Seemed one story was that the snow dumps were
full. Whatever. Anyway, I got the car unearthed without throwing out my
back or having a coronary attack. Tuesday December 18, 2007
- Decided that exercise at the gym would be refreshing workout change
after a couple of days of exertion by way of snow trudging and
shoveling. Did a Step Aerobics class; Pilates and Stationary Bike
combined with NHL hockey match watching on the gym's TV. Wednesday December 19, 2007
- Christmas gift list ideas in hand the afternoon was shopping time
downtown. My tradition is to hit HBC (The Bay) for Chocolate Truffles
and be a truffle pig while shopping. Hey, it works. Knocked off half
the gift shopping. Brian's proverb: "When the shopping gets tuf, the tuf get truffling!" Indigo Bookstore for the books on the Christmas shopping list and to browse for myself. Addressed my Christmas cards to be sent and watched the Red Wings take another win, this time against the LA Kings.Thursday December 20, 2007
- The Morning: Bureau En Gros; mailed off the Christmas cards; did
Banking; did errands. The Afternoon: Xmas Shopping round #2 downtown.
HMV for the music and DVD lovers on my list. Rewarded myself once the
Xmas gift shopping was done by catching the matinée, 3-D version of BEOWULF at the ScotiaBank Theaters ... whatever its called these day. The place that used to be the Paramount Theater downtown. I hadn't seen an IMAX or 3-D film since way back. Way Back Rusty! (You get that one or you don't) You get those cool shades to watch the film. Like the film 300, Troy or other epic battle tales on film the cinematography is brawn, beasts and beauty. Based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem written sometime between the 8th and 11th cneturies. The only surviving manuscript dates back to 1010 AD.A
strong, all-star cast. Ray Winstone is the hunky, buff Beowulf for the
ladies to droll over. Angelina Jolie worked as the sexy mother of the
monster Grendel. Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar. Alison Lohman as
Queen Ursula. John Malkovitch as Unferth. I last read Beowulf in CEGEP (college) days when taking a Norse Mythology class. Habs
won over the Capitals in the NHL. Huet back in the nets played well
after missing seven matches. Steelers won over the Rams in the NFL. My
teams were 2 for 2 on the evening sports gigs. Friday December 21, 2007
- Up at a respectable hour for the dog walk. Off to the radio station
by BMW (Bus-Metro-Walk) for a 10 am guest interview recording session
at the radio station. I had a phone in guest lined-up. Noon brunch was
next at Cafe Mosaik across the street from the station. BMW back to Old Montreal and dog walking. Smugly having finished my Xmas shopping (except for getting something for my dog) I could wrap my productions for Saturday. Winter Solstice day this December 21. The shortest day of the year, Yule. Most
of our modern Xmas traditions (da tree, yule log, mistletoe,
yadda-yadda) trace back historically to good ole Northern European
Pegan
celebrations grafted into the Christmas celebrations. Good ole
marketing in the 9th to 11th centuries AD. Like hello! We don't have a
tradition of decorating fig and palm trees now do we? Its Reindeer not
Camels isn't it? Oddly enough the actual history of the holiday comes as a surprise to certain Luddite types in society. After all, who doesn't like giving and receiving gifts; good eats; the tree; the lights; the get-togethers ... its all good during the coldest, darkest days of the year.Saturday December 22, 2007 - Radio day. Into the station for the programs: Wide Awake (9 am, technical producer); The Earth Lounge (10:05 am, my program and production); Information Package at 10 am and noon (my production); The Arts Notebook (11:30 am, producer and 2007 Pop Culture Quiz victim! lol) and The Know Your Rights legal show (co-host & technical producer).Sunday December 23, 2007 - Chill day, Dog walking, NFL football game watching, NHL hockey watching with the Dallas Stars beating the Montreal Canadians 4-1.Monday December 24, 2007 (Christmas Eve) - Dog walk before heading over to Zellers
to get the dog her Xmas gift and viddles. It wasn't awful busy in the
stores. Just fun to snoop when all your gifts have been bought. Then to
Canadian Tire for windshield washer fluid and snooping. Wrapped the Christmas gifts in the afternoon. Over to my sister's place for Christmas Eve. Tuesday December 25, 2007 (Christmas Day)
- Sunshine for Christmas morning. Temperature around the freezing
point. Good for the holiday travelers. A good morning dog walk to make
room for the food to come. Over to my niece's place in the afternoon
where her and her conjoint were hosting the Montreal version of the
family Christmas dinner. Needless
to say it was a good feeding. The afternoon was visiting, snacking on
cheese, pate, chips as the guys watched the NBA game on the tube. They
did a cool variation on the traditional turkey roast by coating the
bird with strips of bacon as it cooks which makes for a self-basting
bird. A real juicy turkey was the result. My sister supplied a lemon
merange pie and short-bread cookies. Words
can't describe how stuffed I was by the time the dog and I headed home
for the late evening walk. There are moments when nothing is better
than getting out of your pants and into your tracks.Wednesday December 26, 2007 (Boxing Day)
- More good travel weather. After the dog walk loaded the gifs and dog
into the car for a run down to the Eastern Townships for the 2nd round
of the family Christmas gift exchange and meal. The Boxing Day shopping
frenzies aren't my thang. Meeting at the Mondo restaurant
around noon in Sherbrooke was the plan. A location convenient for my
mom whose walking mobility limited and my brother. They both reside in
the Sherbrooke area. My sister, niece and her conjoint also drove down
from Montreal for the get together. Bumped into my niece and her conjoint as they to stopped into Ange Gardien for a Tim Horton's pit stop. Brunch and gift exchange at the Sherbrooke restaurant. Back on the highway some dumbass managed to roll-over his vehicle into the ditch between the two sides of the autoroute. I mean hello! The pavement was dry and bare. I almost got whacked myself as, of course, idiots had to slow down to gawk at it despite the fact the police, ambulance and fire-fighters were on the scene.Then over to my mom's home in the country to visit. Leaving ole Nina my dog with my brother and mom for a country romp and stay before I headed back to Montreal late evening after we watched the Maple leafs NHL game and the Spengler Cup match which Canada won.November 04 My BLOG for November 2007 (updated November 18, 2007)November 2007: November
4, 2007: With the end of Daylight Savings Time, DST, we all got an
extra hour in on Sunday November 4. My internal clock doesn't adjust
that fast so I didn't catch that extra hour of sleep. Sunday I got the
opportunity to compete in a contest called TALK SHOW IDOL on 940
Montreal, a talk and news radio station in Montreal (940 on the AM
dial; www.940NEWS.com). I ran with the topic of the Plastic Bag Tax (Plastax) should we implement it or just ban plastic bags altogether in the province of Quebec?It
was a fun experience and my first opportunity to be on commercial radio
after 1 1/2 years on community radio. Environmentalist Jacques Lalonde
is suggesting the Quebec Provincial Government either introduce a $0.20
/ plastic bag tax or outlaw plastic bags with retailers providing
consumers with biodegradable bags as the other option.
In
the Republic of Ireland they introduced a $0.15 / plastic bag PlasTax
in 2002 which led to a 90% reduction in the use of plastic bags in
Ireland. The country of Bangladesh and the city of San Francisco of
banned plastic bags. After getting back to my digs in Old Montreal I took Nina my
Black Labrador for a long walk to downtown Montreal on a pleasant late
fall day. Saturday November 3 had been a full day at radio station CINQ FM 102.3. On my program, The Earth Lounge, I ran with the topics of: The Time Change (fall back to Eastern Standard Time) did the 4-extra weeks of DST in 2007 save energy? With Wood Burning and Fireplaces for Urban Dwellers as the second topic. Saturday evening I chilled in to watch the Montreal Canadians lose their NHL match to the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 3-2. I prepared and did my research for my Sunday at 1:30 pm appearance on the TALK SHOW IDOL radio contest.Monday November 5 thru Wesdnesday November 7, 2007: Hump day, overcast by the afternoon; windy and nibbly. Even snowflakes by the afternoon. Ya, I saw the first flakes a few cold nights back taking Nina to the dog park late evening.The hound (well make that Black Labrador Mutt) and I did get in a decent morning walk down Ste. Catherine Street and back on this Wednesday. We made it back to Old Montreal by 11:30 am. Poppy season with Rembrance Day coming up on November 11. I wear a Poppy every year. The odd Pussy-Pacifist type gives you a dirty look for wearing a Poppy on the street. They're jerks. One presumes they didn't make it through Cub Camp or the Boy Scouts as kids. Where is the respect for our troops and veterans? Hunting down new business and radio guests being the day's agenda. Dealing
with dumb-ass rumors that I already am working full-time or under
contract to some business or corporation other than my own firm, Cashel Dillon Consulting Inc., has been an annoyance to say the least. I'm looking for new business this fall so feel-free to call! Dumb-ass
rumor 2 has been that I'm some kinda multi-millionaire. Hah! Ya kill
me. Its November, I'd be down in the Caribbean fool if such was the
case. Hello! I'd fly back up when business and events required it. Dumb-ass rumor 3 has been some mysterious wife holding a joint bank account with me, LMAO. Really? What is the name of this Mary Poppins character? The Black Widow or what? Reality,
I run my own business, new billings and revenue $$$ are important
regardless of the source; there ain't no wife and never has been (OK, a
previous conjoint ya, but that was 10-plus years back; its just me and
the dog these days); no joint bank accounts with some woman; no $$$
milions under the bed; one sick-pup wanted me to get into politics; I
still get tag-alongs who act like its some kinda religious flick ...
all annoyances I don't need. Sheesh! Let it go. Call 1-800-DA-SPIRITS. If I ruined your movie go whining to your mamma. |
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