Life on Mars (one more try) Some spoilers in this post.

I couldn't stay away from the show last night. Of course when I wanted to watch it, my cable wouldn't work. I finally got it working(I am getting madder at Rogers by the minute) I watched the show. The music was ok. Kinda cheesy using "mother and child reunion" when Sam (the main character) meets his mom for the first time in 1973.

If you are not watching the show, feel free to move to the next post as this won't make much sense to you. Anyways, I thought the show, dialogue and character development was better in this episode and will watch again next week. I'm interested to see where they go. The acid trip was stupid, if you ask me and the toy in the ear was like watching an old "horror" movie.

The redemption of the lieutenant(Harvey Keitel) was interesting and possibly a way to try and "white wash" his sins of the past. I can't buy (pun intended) that, even though he accepted the bribes/graft and then he burns the money at the end of the show, it doesn't absolve him of the behaviour. I can't wait to see him next week, will they try and make him the "co-saviour" of NY in 1973? 

Sam (the lead) played by Jason O'Mara (a fellow Dubliner) sounds way too much like a compilation of parts played by Mel Gibson. I like him and the integrity that he displays. I like that the lead isn't too smart not to be tricked (the acid trip) and I like that he goes against the grain and declines the bribe. My problem with him is that either he is trying too hard to lose his Irish accent, or in the same vein is trying to sound too American.

All in all, this episode has been the best. The "good guys" win sort of. The "bad guys" lose sort of. Oh yeah they left most of the politics out of this episode. They had to put video of Presidents Bush and Nixon as if to say the two were the same at the start of the show. I couldn't hear what was being said, but can only assume what Kelley and company were using the video for. It is only a few days until they crown the next clown isn't it? Oops I got political, my bad.

Be careful what you ask for my American friends. 

Leningrad Cowboys and Red Army Chorus

After small group last night we were chatting about music, trivia and other obscure things and one of the group members asked if I have ever heard of the "Leningrad Cowboys and Red Army Chorus". Of course, I had not.

Now I have and wanted to share them with you. Please check out the video and let me know what you think and have a few laughs. Thanks Alan F.(you finally made it to the blog) for the info. What a hoot.

Have a great weekend. 

The big reveal for the week of Oct.27/08

Happy Halloween everyone. I hope you all survived "Devil's night". We have several older juvenile delinquents in our neighbourhood and I am overly cautious on October 30th every year. They have egged our house, scratched swastikas in one of my cars(now Josh's) smashed the back window of another car. Yes this is Elmira, not New York City or Montreal after a win. I am confident that I know who they are and the next time they'll be caught on surveillance.

Happy Friday as well. We are leaving this afternoon for a weekend of rest and wine tasting and are looking forward to the time away with friends and visiting old friends. On the way we'll be visiting "Lakeside Park" for you Rush fans. Lakeside Park is in Port Dalhousie and was a serious hangout for a bunch of us in the early 70's. We had many a wonderful nights there "sitting in the sand to watch the fireworks display" and other fun things. If you were there you know what I mean.

Well it's time for the big reveal. There were two of you who e-mailed on Monday with your guesses and while both were partially correct, one person did write in later to give the all the details. Here are the details:

The name of the song: If you don't know me by now.

The first artist: Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes

The second artist: Simply Red

The writers: Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

The winner(s) this week in order of reply are: Lori S. Deb M. and Brad F. Brad got all the details, did you google or did you remember all those details? We'll never know.

The one above is from Harold Melvin and the Blue notes. Does anyone still have any 45's? What was the thing in the middle called? The one below is is from Simply Red.

Have an awesome weekend, it looks like the weather will be beautiful, at least for me in winery country. Enjoy your family and friends. Take some time to enjoy the remaining colours of fall, if they exist where you live and remember. November is almost here, the real snow can't be too far behind. Oh we can only hope for spring. My Cuba trip will break the winter in half, kinda like Luke Schenn's hockey stick on Wednesday night.

"Music is the art of thinking with sounds"

Who needs Mats?

I wonder how many Leafs fans I have offended by the title of this post? I've been watching the new, fast, fun and somewhat successful Leafs for the past ten games and haven't enjoyed hockey this much since Josh and Alex played.

This is hockey the way it is (not was)supposed to be. I enjoyed watching the hard work and the incredible tenacity that the new coach demands. I'm quite confident that there will be significant losses for the team this year, however their work ethic (read fear of the press box) is something that at the least demands respect.

So, does the "team" need Mats? I step out and say, no! I think he would upset the apple cart. Can you see the coach sending him to the press box? He certainly doesn't have the speed anymore. leadership needs to be on the ice and in the room. Would be he good for the "team"? I think he might be, but he will also eat up dollars that could be spent somewhere else on either free agents or on more than one younger player. If he returns let him go to another team, let him try for the cup with a team that can do it this year or next and then let him retire and go into the Hall which he deserves.

I say, don't even pursue him but I'm just a fan.

Go Leafs Go.

Tuesday Musings (# 8)

One of my favourite musicians is a person by the name of Michael W. Smith. This is also the name of one of my favourite chefs, except I don't think he has a "W" in his name. I particularly like the series "Chef at Home" when he cooks "at home" for his little family of three. He is inspirational in his simplicity and using those things that are readily available to make meals. However, this post is not about cooking. I'll post about my latest cooking adventures some other time. Michael W. Smith wrote a song called "Breathe in me" and the chorus goes like this:

"so breathe in me, I need you know, I've never felt so dead within, so breathe in me, maybe somehow you can breathe new life in me again".

One of my favourite things to do is to read, I especially like "The Lord of The Rings". There is a quote from Bilbo to Gandalf that says the following:

"I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter, scraped over too much bread. I need a holiday, a long holiday".

I seem to have gotten to the place where I have been "stretched too thin" and am in need of replacement energy. It seems that the events of the past four months as well as the past five years have slowly been drawing my energy and strength away. Covey talks about the emotional bank account and how regular and constant withdrawals leave one bereft of emotional strength to manage regular activities.

Most people around me just don't understand and I have to constantly explain the truth or lie to minimize it. Then I have been scraped too thin. The problem is, I'm not sure who I can trust with the truth. I know that I can trust "my beloved" with everything. It seems that others don't want to hear or don't know how to deal with emotional exhaustion. It's really easy to deal with a physically "broken" something, but not so easy to deal with that which cannot be seen.

I wasn't sure where this post was going when I started. I do know this, I need new life breathed into me and I need some "time away". Looks like I'll be calling Loyola House real soon, I need that kind of band aid.

Happy Tuesday everyone.

Obscure lyric for the week of Oct.27, 2008

Good Monday Morning music fans. Welcome to the last week of October 2008. In a few days Halloween will be here as will November, many birthdays in my family and probably snow. I trust that you had a wonderful weekend. I had a busy weekend which means I got less rest than I planned for. In a few weeks I will be a little older, but it's all attitude right?

Next weekend I am going away with my beloved to an amazing B & B ( check out their website http://www.niagara.com/~jandres/ ) with The Ref and Miss Jenny. We're planning on visiting some old haunts of ours (The Oban Inn and other places) and going over the river to Honey's for pizza and wings as well as doing some tasting at some wineries. I am planning on bbq'ing some Brady's steaks on Friday night and we will do the restaurant thing for the remainder of the weekend. In between all of this, I am hoping to get some rest at Brian and Jane's.

I researched this song along with many other songs and decided to use this one this week. It is rhetorical in nature and yet there is also a direct question that is asked. It was a hit single in 1972 and then was another hit in 1989 when covered by a British band. Here are some of the lyrics.

We've all got our own funny moods

I've got mine, woman you've got yours too

Just trust in me like I trust in you

As long as we've been together it should be so easy to do

As to wines, I like white, my beloved likes red. It is really quite simple, nothing really matters anything will do, nothing really matters to me. Don't be mislead, this is not a queen song. The song is a compilation of feelings(not Morris Albert) that lead to the appropriate question(not 67 and 68).

I am all over the map with this one, you need to be able to chart the right course and determine if you know where I am going with this one. If not, you really don't know me well.

I need to know the following:

The name of the song:

The artist who had the first hit with this song:

The artist who had the second hit with this song:

The writer(s) of the song:

Have an awesome week, yes I know it's cold, but find ways to stay warm and cosy with that someone special. I know you can. Remember that the music will provide inspiration.

Happy birthday to my little brother Peter. May the richest blessings fall upon you as you celebrate another year.

Fall is here

I'm sitting here reading and enjoying some quiet time. I looked out the window to see rain and the leaves being blown about. I guess there is nothing I can do about the onward push of the seasons but to enjoy the positive things about them. For example, I am not outside as the rain and wind are blowing.

Here is my view from my comfy warm chair this Sunday afternoon. While it gives a nice view of my new window, I'm not really sure that it shows what's happening out there. It's just the changing of the season and apparently the snow is coming next week. I don't think it will be much, but I'm not ready for any of it, the snow tires are still sitting at Thomans and need to be installed, even though it appears that the tires they sold me don't have rims to go with them. It's time to talk to Rick about that.

The new bedroom furniture is being ordered this week. It's part of the ongoing renovations that we are doing. Unfortunately, with the change in the dollar, the price has risen about 20%. We will have to eat a few dollars more to purchase the one we want. I will delay the purchase of my new bike due to the American dollar. My beloved really likes this particular bedroom suite and it will be nice to finally have bedside tables instead of tv trays. We have not had a new bedroom set since before the boy arrived in 1987. A friend is helping us out and ordering the set and it should be ordered this Wednesday. We have always wanted a sleigh bed and we will have one soon.

These renovations have taken on a life of their own, I am excited to see what the house will look like when they are done. I think I will finally feel like this is our home, and not the house of Henry and Mrs Henry. This time it will be what we wanted it to look like. It has been six years(as opposed to Bowie's 5 years) and I can't wait. I have set an unreasonable time table where I want the whole thing completed before Christmas, so we will see how much we can complete.

Leafs beat Sens, does life get better?

OK, so life does get better, but you have to agree that the Leafs beating the hated Sens on a Saturday night is pretty awesome. Not only did they beat them with newer, younger and much less experienced team, they beat them with speed and, as always, with class.

The Sens, with the likes of Chris Neil(and the other unnamed neanderthals) swarming around trying to kneecap anyone in blue, has to be an embarrassment to not only the Sens, but also to the league. In my humble opinion, this man is offensive but not in the sense of the word that means scoring goals. He plays to hurt people, you can see it in his approach. When did they allow assault in the game anyway?

My young lad suggests that I spent too much time administrating a minor hockey association and look at the game with those blinders on. I disagree, I (and many think the same as I do) think the purpose of the body check is to separate the player from the puck. The purpose is not to separate him from his fillings and mental capacity. 

Don't get me wrong, I love a good physical hockey game, in fact one of the best "hits" I ever saw was doled out by a minor hockey player whose Dad is a Pastor and good friend of mine. What made me proud of my young friend (Caleb R.) was not the hit (a beautiful clean open ice hit that separated the young player from the puck and his between period gatorades, that was a mess), but rather the thing that impressed me most was that after the young man finally made it to his skates, Caleb skated over to him and patted him on the head as if to say "are you ok?"

Never will you see the likes of Chris Neil or the other idiot Avery go to another player to check on their well being. They can only stay in the game because of their brute nature. Their time in the game will never add up to the time that someone like Luke Schenn should be able to. Their game is to annihilate and dole out pain. There should be no place for intentional pain in this game. It will happen automatically due to the physical nature of the game.   

Is there anything better than a win over the hated Sens? Sure, hockey, plain and simple, is just a game. Life brings many more important things than a win or loss on a Saturday. Life brings love and laughter it brings community and faith and it brings another day to enjoy the simple and complex things that we call family.

Speak Friend and Enter

If you recognize those words, then you know that they are the words that Gandalf spoke at the entrance to Moria at the secret door lit only by moonlight and starlight.

I always say those words when I arrive at the home (which is the office) of my massage therapist. She found places on my body that I didn't know hurt, but they sure hurt now.

Somehow after a massage it feels like all the crap in my body is free floating and I crashed for about an hour. I would do it every week if I could. It's just one way to achieve my goal of getting to the better side of health.

On the other side of things, myself and my beloved were taken out to dinner by the finish carpenter and the bonnet babe tonight as a thank you for cooking their sons wedding rehearsal dinner. We went to the Keg and had the best meal ever, better than any meal we have ever had at the other steak house in town. Which shall remain nameless, but there are three restaurants and one of them is charcoal, oops.Thanks so much, it was an awesome meal, a great visit and we even saw some old friends there too, almost like an episode from cheers except no one knew our name.

 I guess when I see them, I always "speak friend and enter" into their lives, they have been great friends since our boys played hockey together.  They have been there for us for all these years and we likewise have been there for them. We have enjoyed many new years eve celebrations together, especially walking and looking for a black button in the middle of the night.

The big reveal for the week of Oct.20/08

Friday is here again. I am happy to have gotten through another week. The days are decidedly shorter and getting much cooler and actually cold at night. I guess this really is the fall.

Quite a number of you wrote in this week, especially after the hints on Wednesday. One of you in particular has discovered that there may be hints in other posts not entirely unrelated to the trivia question. Some of you have been reading each post very carefully. One person accused me of "toying with us". Well, you are correct, however, I didn't see it as toying, I was just just having some fun. Whatever, it's all semantics (and I'm always up for some antics) get it? As the Bee Gees said, "it's only words and words are all I have..."

Here are your answers:

The name of the song: Life on Mars
The writer of the song: David Bowie
The album it is from: Hunky Dory

Check out this version of the song, it is beautiful. If you can, check out the keyboard player with the charts on a computer monitor, isn't technology awesome, you can see them scroll by if you watch carefully



The winner this week (again) is Steve B. at 11:52 On Oct.20, 2008. I will have to get much tougher in order to beat him in future. Look out, next weeks is a doozy.

Have an awesome weekend, enjoy family, friends and rest. I know that I am planning on visiting, playing cards with my beloved and Waldo and Colleenius and probably experiencing the guys losing to the girls again (as usual). Oh well, it's not about winning, it's about the game (yeah right, we better win this weekend). I am also hoping to get some rest.

I would be remiss if I didn't welcome my Josh to the world of blogging, you can link to his blog at the bottom of this page. And yes, I accepted his apology.

"I can't listen to that much Wagner, I start getting the urge to conquer Poland"

Life on Mars (a second look)

OK so now what am I supposed to say about this show. if I ignore the blatant left wing politics and the shots at the current administration there's little left to observe.

I am in no way in agreement with the abuse, assault or killing of anyone. I subscribe to the belief that states: "thou shalt not kill". So don't get all up in arms thinking I'm in agreement with any kind of bashing. I'm also not in favour of war for multiple reasons.

Episode three started out good but quickly denigrated into what has quietly become tacit acceptance of everything except truth from a Judeo Christian perspective. Try spouting those beliefs and you (I) will be shouted down in most assemblies today (I am referring to meetings, not places of worship).

Why is it that politics has to be part of everything? Why can I not watch a serial show on tv without having to put up with the liberal politico drivel? Can't they just make a show about content and leave the lifestyle out of it. I can't wait to see what type of comments arrive following this post.

The music was drowned out (with the exception of the last song) which for some reason I cannot recall the name. Nothing else stood out, besides the brutal treatment of the accused trio (by the way, whatever happened to the tolerance preached by the lieutenant as he pleaded for the concerns of the victim, but "abused" the accused, how hypocritical, kinda makes me wanna go hmmmmm).

If I waste another hour next Thursday night to watch this garbage, it better be good. Otherwise, I will vote with my index finger and turn the aptly titled "idiot box" off and never watch "Life on Mars" again.

The Tooth Fairy

A little friend of mine (the same one I attended a hockey game with) lost his first tooth yesterday. It is a momentous occasion for any and all when that first tooth finally breaks free (with homage to Freddie Mercury who had lovely big teeth) and there it is waiting to be placed under a pillow in hopes that the tooth fairy might visit. Apparently, the tooth fairy did visit, however I have not yet been advised of the amount that was left for the tooth.

His story reminded me of one time when our daughter wrote a note to the tooth fairy asking for a raise. She's pretty smart, we kept the note for safekeeping and will give it to her when she moves out or maybe when she gets her first "big" job. She won't be shy about asking future employers about salary structure and such.

By the way, yes, she got a raise, I think we increased it to a toonie at that time. Not bad for a natural process such as the loss of a tooth. It's funny how simple events bring big smiles and memories. I am looking forward to a lifetime of memories with my little friend and his sister. I get to relive all the things I experienced with my own children. It is amazing that out of difficulty comes great pleasure if we choose to look for and experience it. If we do not, it is our loss.

Tuesday Musings (#7)

Tuesday is here again, I have so much rattling through my mind/brain. It's difficult to think of one thing that I might muse upon today. I feel like a computer with multiple windows open, all active and with pop ups doing what they do.

I've been doing some life evaluation lately, I like to do this regularly, kinda like a check up, but done by me and without gloves. I like to evaluate the parts of my life and see where I am, where I'm going and where I might be off the path (which apparently is not always clear, but the directions are). Sometimes, I need some help along the way and I am going to visit an old friend who guides me along this path every once in a while. It's good to get some perspective from an objective person now and then.

I'll visit with Jim L. and he will listen and be both gentle and wise which are not mutually exclusive, however when going through the self-assessment I need wisdom and kindness. Much like a gentle shepherd who uses his "rod" to encourage the sheep to follow the correct path. He(the shepherd) doesn't beat the sheep, but uses the rod to correct their path.

I am content in many areas of my life, and there are some areas that I am not and need to make some corrections in direction in order to align my life with my beliefs, values and aspirations. This is not about my wants(big screen tv) but rather about my wishes for the person I want to become. It is not always a pain free experience, the reward at the end is far greater than the minimal pain experienced through change.

I know too many people who are afraid to exchange because of the pain that will be experienced. They would rather stay in their current state and fear the recovery because of the cathartic nature of the growth. Much like a Caterpillar must push through the cocoon to become a butterfly. Oh my, too many Genesis thoughts in that last sentence. From Genesis to Revelation and then some, given that my beloved just came back from "Broadway".

I will push through and challenge myself to complete the transformation, otherwise I might as well stop altogether. "To be or not to be" is not the question, rather to emerge and live is the only choice.

Happy Tuesday everyone.

Obscure Musical Lyric for the week of Oct.20/08

Good morning music fans, I trust you had a wonderful weekend. What gorgeous days we had. I spent the entire weekend with my daughter. My beloved is still in NY, NY and she is having "the time of her life" with one of her closest girlfriends and a bunch of people she doesn't know and one of Alex's teachers. She will be home tonight and I have missed her.

I have not heard this song in a long time. I may have heard parts of it now and then, but cannot recall hearing all of it in years. I actually just watched and listened on "youtube" and will post that version in the big reveal. It is sung by a solo artist who has a band and has worked with numerous famous musicians. I am a fan of some of this person's work. I am particularly enthralled with their voice. The song was released on an album in 1971, yes I know that was a long time ago and the artist still tours. Rick Wakeman (of Yes) played piano on this song and apparently the song is a parody of "My Way" which all of us know was written by Paul Anka and made famous by Frank Sinatra. Interestingly, the lyrics could have been written today.

Look at those caveman go

It's the freakiest show

Take a look at the lawman

Beating up the wrong guy

wonder if they'll ever know

They're in the best selling show

I would like to know the following:

The name of the song:

The writer of the song:

The name of the album it was on:

Have a wonderful week. It looks like the cool days (and cold nights) of fall are here to stay . All things must pass and so must summer pass into fall. I'm looking forward to my beloved returning tonight and hearing all about the "big apple". I will give you some more hints about the song on Wednesday if I remember. Does anybody really know what time it is? Have a great week everyone.

The Musical Box

I have been a fan of the band Genesis for a long time. I have enjoyed their music ever since I first heard the haunting strains of "Watcher of the Skies"and the multiple melodies of "Supper's Ready". I am a fan of their work that included the times when Peter Gabriel was the lead singer/front man and enjoyed one or two albums in the Phil Collins era, however have not purchased any of their music in years. 

There is a tribute band out there called "The Musical Box" who can be found at  www.themusicalbox.net I have seen them perform numerous times and they are now doing a tour based on the Genesis tour following the release of the album "A Trick of the Tail". They are now in Europe, I will try and see them when they return to Canada. They are awesome musicians and I am looking forward to seeing the latest iteration(that's for all my WSIB friends) of the group. Enjoy the following video.

I hope you like it, these are a bunch of Canadians who obviously love the music of Genesis. They have recreated all of the earlier tours including "The Lamb Lies down on Broadway". 

Cuba here we come

I finally did it, I booked our trip to Cuba. The prices were going up and I decided that I might as well book it before the prices climb any further. After I started to book, I discovered that the price was $200.oo cheaper! That's just awesome.

So, on January 20, 2009 we will be in Cuba for a week at the Iberostar Daiquiri visiting old friends. This time we are going alone (kinda like euchre). In the past we have travelled with our closest friends (Steve and Rose) and with our kids. We will do this one solo and I am looking forward to the trip, not because the others will not be with us, but because we will be alone just the two of us, ahh cappuccino by the pool in the morning before breakfast sounds great to me. This is the pool early in the morning while most of the guests are sleeping, we truly enjoyed the peace and quiet at this time.

Following our return I will begin training for my new job, so I will be nice and relaxed for the training and looking forward to the new challenges.

I have to call the resort and advise we are returning, there are usually lots of perqs for the returning guests and this will be our third time at this resort. I can't wait to get there and see some of the people that we have become friends with. So, in three months we'll be heading to Cuba, and I can't wait. The man playing the drums (Carlos) has invited us to his home the next time we get there, that should be an interesting and pleasant adventure. The young woman in this picture has the most amazing voice, it is a treat to hear her sing. The gentleman on the right in the shirt and tie is the Public Relations person and he has been very kind to us. We had the privilege to bring a gift for his son on our last visit and all the dads in his neighbourhood played with it (a remote control car).

The big reveal for the week of Oct.13/08

Good morning music fans, Friday is here. I am so ready for a Friday and for a weekend. My beloved is off to New York City for a weekend of Broadway, sightseeing and shopping and I am planning on taking it easy for most of the weekend. I will also spend lots of time with my daughter. There will be lots of things for us to do including hanging out, maybe go to the movies and watching hockey. We might even get to a rink and watch some live hockey too.

This weeks song was a pretty popular song in the 70's. In fact it was released in 1973 the same year that the new TV show, "Life on Mars" is set in. Funny how that works out eh? If you haven't seen it (the show)yet, it's not great. It's on at 10:00 p.m. on Thursdays so it takes some sleep time away if you stay up to watch it. Enough about that I've already posted on "Life on Mars", which by the way is a great song by David Bowie. Darn, now I can't use that one in the obscure post.

The song: Simple Man.
The band: Lynyrd Skynyrd
The album: Pronounced leh-nerd skin-nerd (commonly referred to as Pronounced)
The writers: Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington.

The winner this week at 9:59 a.m. on Oct.14 was Steve B. No more Skynyrd songs for a while, I gotta give others a chance.

Have an awesome weekend, enjoy the cool crisp sunny weather. Take some time away from chores (people still do chores outside of Waterloo County don't they?) to enjoy family and friends. Get some rest and dig out the winter woollies and maybe the snow shovel. It is coming sometime so you might as well be ready. At least we're not in Montana, but "Going to Montana" was a good song. If you are still reading, I might pick next weeks song from this weeks episode of "Life on Mars".

"An intellectual is someone who can listen to the "William Tell Overture" and not think of the Lone Ranger"

Life on Mars

I watched the second show of the new program called "Life on Mars" last night. I was pretty excited about it as the show apparently takes place in 1973 which was a pretty significant year for me. I was 15 going on 16 in the middle of my high school years and lovin' life in the 70's at the time. I was anticipating hearing some music from that time and I did. Unfortunately the show needs a bit of work. The same gags are used all the time: the older police office uses methods that seem archaic the the new officer. It got kind of boring after a while. There were some good tunes and the premise of the show is a bit off, if you ask me.

All in all I found it to be slow and boring. It wasn't as funny(is it supposed to be funny) as I anticipated and the music was good but there could have been more added in spots. The cars are in great shape though.

I'll give it one more try next week, but if it doesn't get better then it will find itself in the dumpster. The website is actually much better than the show, a sad realization that I came to.

A funny thing happened on the way to work this morning

I leave home very early to get to work at around 6:20 a.m. I do it for several reasons. The traffic is minimal that early in the morning, it is usually beautiful out at that time and I get to work in time to do my reading before I start work at 7:00 a.m.

I was driving to work this morning and all of a sudden, I realized that I was at King and University. I remember getting off the expressway and I remember nothing from that point on until I reached the intersection of King and University. There are four sets of lights that I had to get through to get to that intersection. I know I wasn't sleeping (I don't think I was) I must have been caught up in the moment in thought and prayer that I traversed that 1/2 Km or so and finally realized where I was at King and University.

I have had that happen in the past, the last time I was on the Conestoga expressway and I travelled several miles(Kms) before I realized where I had arrived to. I clearly had a lot in my mind at the time. I'll clock it on my way home to see what the distance actually is.

Have a safe day and watch out for me early in the morning.

Tuesday Musings (#6)

Tuesday crept up on me this week. Of course yesterday was Thanksgiving and we (in Canada) had a holiday from work. I worked most of the day cooking for my family and enjoyed it and so did they.

I've been dreaming a lot lately. Actually, I've been remembering my dreams moreso lately than before. I'm not sure why I am remembering them, but I am. Most recently, I've been dreaming about people that are in my life that I do not see on a regular basis. One in particular is Brian A. Brian and his wife Jane own an awesome bed and breakfast in Niagara on the Lake called Applewood Hollow, you can see it at http://www.niagara.com/~jandres/ If you want a getaway to a beautiful spot, with amazing gardens, great food, comfortable beds, wonderful accommodations and the most gracious hosts you will ever meet, then contact them through the above website.

Besides being wonderful hosts at their B&B, they are old friends of ours and we are going to stay with them for a weekend at the end of October. In addition to this they are terrific musicians and this is where the dream comes in (finally).

Apparently I was doing a gig with Brian and Jane and I was supposed to get the charts changed by someone else. I went to their house and they lived in a world much like the art work of Escher. I looked out the front door and, well I can't explain it. It was like looking at a book of Escher's prints.

I don't know what this all means, and I won't spend too much time thinking about it but here is a simple interpretation: as noted above, we are going to Applewood Hollow in about three weeks, I recently (Sunday) sang for the first time in about 4 months and I have no idea where Escher comes into it, but there it was, upside down and mixed up and yet looking just right (sort of).

Happy Tuesday everyone.

I sang with an awesome band yesterday

As I noted in a previous post, I had the privilege of singing a song called "Cinderella" on Sunday at church. We have two services and I sang the song in both services. The band was awesome, so here is my way to say thanks to all of them, I know that at least one of them reads this blog; thanks to Andrew, on piano, Dave, on drums, Rob G. on electric guitar, Rob M. on acoustic guitar, Don, on sax, Perry, on bass, and Loretta, on keys. A huge shout out to Rick and Don who were running sound yesterday and who worked real hard to make me sound good, especially since this was my first time singing in over three months.

You(they) sounded great, it is awesome to sing with such accomplished musicians, who love their craft. You help me to do my job. I used to love singing with tracks, it is so much better singing in front of live musicians.

From my house to yours, thank you for helping me get the message out clearly so that others would hear it and apply it.

Obscure Musical Lyric for the week of Oct.13/08

I wrote this post on Saturday evening, before the Leafs got destroyed by Montreal. I was reading an article earlier in the day about something entirely unrelated to the Obscure Musical Lyric trivia and came across the quote that I will use for the song for this week. I will probably post the blog on Monday and most of you will see it on Tuesday after the Thanksgiving celebrations have been concluded.

As I think about Thanksgiving, I have to look in the mirror and see if I am thankful at all times. Obviously there are times when I am either unhappy, sad or cannot find a reason to be thankful and if I am honest, those times are few and far between. If I look at my life in the perspective of thankfulness, then I have very little to complain about. If I look at the news, read the papers or see those around me that have little compared to my riches, then I have every reason to be thankful at all times and in all things. A writer by the name of Paul said it like this:

"For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need."

Here is the quote from the song, it may not be obscure to some of you (I have at least two people in mind as I type this), however, it struck me as being somewhat related to the other quote above, it's funny how these things seem to collide within my consciousness, I really do not believe in coincidences, these things happen for a reason, and you were supposed to be reading this right now, let me know what you think.

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold

All that you need is in your soul

And you can do this if you try

All that I want for you my son,

is to be satisfied.

I suppose we now need to define what satisfied means, I would propose that being content should mean satisfied. I went directly to "dictionary.com" and the first response to the word satisfied was, "content", that's awesome.

I would like to know the following:

The name of the song:

The name of the band:

The album it is from:

The writers of the song:

Some hints: The song has been covered my numerous bands and solo artists. It has been used in a beer commercial. If you used to like NASCAR, then this might be a help. It was featured in "Almost Famous" and has been used in "The Sopranos" and "My Name is Earl".

I trust you had an awesome Thanksgiving weekend, I anticipate that the experience of thankfulness will continue in you and me for days, weeks, months and years to come. Have a great week.

Gas Prices, I'm ticked!

OK Now I'm ticked off.

On Friday, the price of regular gas was 107.9 in Kitchener Waterloo and slightly higher in Elmira. On my way to the market yesterday morning, I saw that the price was down to 102.7 in St. Jacobs, that's over 5 cents in less than 24 hours.

The price was about 105 on Thursday afternoon and at the corner of Shantz station road and highway 7 it was up to 113 on Thursday afternoon. So what happened here? The long weekend is what happened. Those mealy mouthed, gas robbing, scum bucket gas companies raised the prices just before everyone went away for the long weekend and then dropped it after everyone filled up.

I am so ticked off about this.  I have got to come up with a way to express my indignation about this thievery. I need gas for my job and to do all things families do, but(I really mean "but" this time) I wish I could find a way to make them hurt. I don't mean the poor station owners, even though I doubt they are poor, I mean the corporate giants who sit in their Ivory Towers(no offence Opa) and rip the rest of us off to pad their own already bulging pockets.

If you have any ideas, feel free to drop me a line and maybe some form of protest will begin, "we shall overcome". 

The big reveal for the week of Oct. 6, 2008

Hello music fans, it's Friday and that means it's time for "The big reveal". I really stumped you this week didn't I? Oops, sorry about that, I thought than many of you would get this one. Most of the regular responders didn't even try. One of you did finally get it with "a little help from your friend" Wikipedia.

We did have a winner this week, Gary D. e-mailed me at 3:06 p.m. on October 8/08 with the following answers, and by the way the clues worked this week, how about that. 

The artist: Taylor Swift. 

The name of the song: Love Story.

The name of the album: Fearless.

The writer of the song: Taylor Swift (this was a trick question).

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a youtube version of the song that would allow me to embed it in the blog, you'll have to go there yourself to watch the video (trust me, I won't be, I'm not a fan, my daughter is though).

The weekend is almost upon us and it's a long weekend. Do you know how I know that? The gas prices have gone up from yesterday, what a rip off. I'm going to have a long blog about gas prices "one of these days". Enjoy the long weekend with family and friends, I'm sure that many Turkeys and other forms of fowl will be sacrificed for our pleasure this weekend, oh well, ya gotta have Turkey on Turkey Day.

"Music ever spoke to me of a mysterious world beyond, which moved my heart deeply and eloquently intimated its transcendental nature"

Cinderella

I'm singing a song this week in church called "Cinderella". It's not only Thanksgiving Sunday, it's also family day. Our Pastor(Dan) is doing a series of messages on the family, marriage, singleness, children etc. You get the idea, right? We will also be having some baptisms, should be an awesome day.

Anyway, Andrew, our Pastor of Worship Arts(or whatever he calls himself) asked me to sing this song. It's really pretty and it's my kind of song, it's more like a ballad and I just love singing slow songs, like ballads. The song tells the story of the Dad being too busy to"dance" with his "Cinderella" but then relents when he realizes that "soon she'll be gone". I can be very emotional when it comes to my children and songs related to children, so look for the tears to flow. I practiced with the band tonight and they are awesome, we have piano, keys, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and sax, and I get to sing with them!

Little did Chapman know that his youngest child Maria (for whom he wrote this song) would die in a family tragedy. And so the reminder is there for all of us to cherish the time we have with our children (if we are blessed to have them) or with other loved ones as "soon they'll be gone".

In addition, the reminder is there that it is never too late to rebuild bridges that have been broken. It is possible to begin again in a relationship that has been strained or broken, especially with parents and children. I am so thankful that I have a great relationship with my wife and with my kids. I know that when we struggle, that there will always be an opportunity to forgive, restore and move forward again.

My daughter(Alex) advised me that when she marries, we will be dancing with me to this song at her wedding. I am also singing "Butterfly Kisses" at her wedding, I'll be a wreck,  I may even be one on Sunday, so if you are there, enjoy the song and be encouraged.

Tuesday Musings (#5)

Good Tuesday morning to each and every one of you.

"mawigge is what bwings us togever today" so says the priest (Peter Cook) in The Princess Bride and it is Marriage that I wish to muse about today. I love the movie The Princess Bride because in the end Wesley and Buttercup get together and it all ends up happy and they walk into the sunset together.

I like to observe people, I like to watch people interact whether in my home, at a restaurant, in crowds, at church or just about anywhere that I can observe and see the way that people react to each other in different situations. I particularly like to watch married couples. Sometimes it's pretty sad.

A good marriage takes a lot of work, some people like to say that a marriage is a 50/50 proposition. I disagree, I believe that a successful (and I'll give my definition of success later) marriage is a 100/100 proposition. I believe that if each partner would give 100% of their all to "Love" the other person and vice versa then a lot of things would be different in that relationship and elsewhere.

So what is love? Love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, is not self seeking, is not easily angered, does not keep a list of wrongs, does not like evil, does like the truth, protects, hopes, perseveres and never fails. That's not me definition, I left it to a man named Paul (who was somewhat inspired) to define love that way.

Hmmm, pretty tough list to maintain, I'm quite confident that I have failed in most if not all of those definitions/attributes of love. Ah, but there's the rub, love is also forgiveness and that's what makes giving your all to the one you love so important, love, forgiveness and respect(more on that next week).

Have a great Tuesday, I am.

Obscure Musical Lyric for the week of Oct.6/08

Good morning music fans, well here it is, it's Monday already. I trust you had a good weekend. We accomplished much as you can see from "the project" post. Actually, Jo-Anne did all the work, I supervised and brought food and drink when necessary. We are getting there. It has to be done by Christmas so we have some time.

This weeks song is courtesy of my daughter, Alex. She called me into the office(my sanctuary) the other day to watch and listen to this song on youtube. I'm not sure if she suggested it, or if I thought that some of you might like a current song that was/is obscure, to me at least.

The artist is apparently quite famous. The genre is not one of my favourites though. The artist is not Canadian, but is from North America. The song is quite new and I think has recently been released on an album. The artist is really young, turning 19 this December.

I got time to waiting,
wondering if you would ever come around
My faith in you was fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town I said

I hope you like this one, I would like to know the following:

The artist:
The name of the song:
The name of the album:
The writer of the song:

Have a great week, it looks like the fall weather is here to stay. Thanksgiving is close and I'm always thankful for Thanksgiving. It's a great time for family and I have a whole new family that I'm celebrating Thanksgiving with this year, should be lots of fun with lots of great food. I'll try to drag up a few quick hints by Wednesday.

"The Project"

I referred to this blog as "The Project" as sometimes we feel like we're living in "the projects".

We have been planning on doing some cosmetic work in the house for some time now, nothing major although if my friend Steve W. has his way, we'll be moving walls and all kinds of things. That kind of stuff will likely not fit our budget for this job along with the other things we want to do. He is however going to install crown moulding in the living room and put new trim (the stuff that is there now is almost 50 years old and broke into smithereens when Jo took it off to get the paper off) in the living room, hall(I think) and dining room.

We want to paint the living room, replace the window in the living room (coming in a few weeks), replace the wood stove with a gas fireplace, paint this room (the office aka my sanctuary or music room), paint our bedroom(which also needs new furniture and carpet) the kitchen and the dining room.

Jo has much of the work with help from Sharon C. (thanks Sharon). Others have lent tools (cause I'm not a guy with a lot of tools for working around the house, thanks Rick) and a few have offered to help with the painting(thanks Dan and Ken). There's a lot to do, and we're currently living in a constant state of moving stuff from one room to another (usually into my sanctuary) to keep working on "The Project".

It will change the house significantly and we will then have it the way we want it to be, as I said it's mainly cosmetic as we will soon be empty nesters and will not need much more room for the two of us.

I am currently unable to do anything on this project with the exception of encouraging Jo, rubbing her sore muscles and getting a cold glass of water or something else when the day is over. We anticipate that we will be completed "The Project" by Christmas, cause I've told Josh many times that he's coming home to a new house.

Day of Rest

In the book of Genesis, after God created the world, He rested on the seventh day.  Some folks take Saturday as their Sabbath(my Jewish friends call it Shabbat) and I take Sunday as my day of rest.

This day usually involves me attending church with my family and friends. I often participate as one of the singers in the worship band. Following my surgery, I did not attend for eight or nine weeks and then was able to take my day of rest with fellow believers. Since my return to work, it has been more difficult and I have not attended the last two weeks.

The day of rest has become a particularly difficult quandary as I need this time for recovery before I return to work on the Mondays. There appears to be a set of conflicting realities here. I love my job and need to be well rested to function in my role and I love being at church, I love the people, the music, the teaching, there is nothing that I do not like about church. 

This appears to be a period of time where I need to make some choices. I have already made a commitment to my employer that I will work full hours and I do not wish to go back on that, given the hassles I will get from the payment people at work. I have a commitment to God that I will meet with His people regularly (even though, I meet with Him on a daily basis).

I realize that I need to be patient with myself in so many ways particularly in my recovery. I cannot allow any of these things to get me frustrated. I need to prioritize and take care of my physical body so that I do not regress and get worse or hurt myself again. I have no interest in going backwards. I can listen to the message from the speaker from the church's website.

I've got my tea, I'm in my sweats and I've also got my ice pack, I guess you would call this a day of rest. Now all I have to do is wait for the race in Talladega to start this afternoon, go 24!    

Steak, shrimp and a glass of wine

What a wonderful dinner we had tonight. I went to Brady's to visit Rob and picked up a Black Angus striploin for Jo and I to share. Prior to the steak, I barbequed some large shrimp in a tomato marinade as an hors douvres. They were great. The steak, as usual was medium rare and yes Josh there is some left over, you just need to drive 12 hours to get it.  We also had a very nice baked potato, an Irishman never has a meal without potatoes. Did I mention the wonderful glass of wine we had to go with the meal? Jo had a glass of some Spanish red called "red guitar" and I stuck with my standard Vidal. You know, I will never become a wine snob, I know what I like(there's an awesome Genesis song in there) and I enjoy it. 

For some reason, I cannot sleep. I'm more than exhausted and imagine that when I put my head on the pillow I'll be gone for at least 7 or 8 hours, however for now, I'm awake. Oh well, It's time to crawl back into that warm bed, goodnight Mrs Calabash wherever you are. 

The big reveal for the week of Sept.29/08

Good morning music fans. It's Friday already, the week just flew by. Actually, for me, it crawled. Usually, I don't wish time away, however, I am glad that the weekend is here this week. It's time for some rest.

I had several responses to this weeks song. This is such a great song that is significantly misunderstood. One reason it is misunderstood is that the artist has never spoken clearly about what he was trying to communicate. Some think it is an anti war song (the artist feels strongly about being anti-war), some think it's based on a true story. There is a lot of chatter on the web about the song.

The singer: Neil Young
The song: Powderfinger.
The album: Rust Never Sleeps.

One good resource for all things Neil on the web is http://www.thrasherswheat.org/ check it out some time. There is a great photo on that site that shows Ronnie VanZant singing in concert while wearing a Neil Young t-shirt. This certainly throws some doubt into the Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd controversy.

The winner this week is Steve B. who rang(e-mailed) in at 9:16 a.m. on September 29/08. I'm going away from the Canadian theme for a while, I may have picked next week's song already with the assistance of Alex (my daughter). It (the song) is brand new and has only been released as a single so far, but who knows, I may do something different.

Have an awesome weekend, stay dry and warm and enjoy your family and friends and as always do as the Doobies (the band not the recreational activity) do and "listen to the music".

Music is a discipline, and a mistress of order and good manners, she makes the people milder and gentler, more moral and more reasonable.

I've retreated from the Retreat

A group of guys (Kevin P. Willard B. Steve W. Ken B. Bob B. Ron M. Doug M. and myself) at our church who organize men's events have spent months planning a retreat that appears to either be the first ever or the first in a long time for the men at our church. I have been so excited to see what awesome things might occur at the retreat and now I am not going. I am adding this to my ever growing list of frustrations that have sprung out of my return to work.

Don't misunderstand me, I love my job, I have a great boss (Gary D.) and I appreciate my employer and respect the awesome responsibility that I have. It's just this return to work stuff that I'm going through. Who would have thought that 12 weeks after major spinal reconstruction surgery, I'd be having difficulty with my return to work program. I have spent the last 22.5 years helping others do return to work and now I'm struggling. Of course the previous two sentences are tongue in cheek, I really need to give myself a break and not place too many expectations on myself while I'm still trying to recover.

I'm going to miss the retreat, the fun, fellowship and the opportunity to worship with just men. I guess I need to heed the medical people and my wife and make sure I get enough rest to get through this rough time of trying to work full hours.

I'll be there in spirit with you guys and I'll be praying for you.

Conkers and Drimnagh Castle

This is a great time to play conkers. This is the time when the chestnuts are falling and size really matters here. Most people from Ireland and parts there about played conkers at some time during their lives. So what is conkers you ask? Well, you take a chestnut, bore a hole through the middle, then feed a piece of string and tie a knot at the bottom end. Then find someone else with a conker and the game begins. The string needs to be about a foot long after the knot is tied, so that you have great swing action. The purpose is to either break or knock the other players conker off their string. 

I remember playing conkers on the grounds of Drimnagh Castle, the school I attended before we came to Canada. The photo above was taken by Ricia Maciejko and I uploaded the photo from Picasa. I learned a lot tonight. The school and Castle are on the same grounds and it is a 13th century Norman castle that still has a moat. Way back in the day, I was a member of the DCAC, the "Drimnagh Castle Athletic Club" (yes I was athletic back then) and we used to dress for meets etc. in the Castle. 

I'm off, time to get off this chair, I'm tired and sore, I'd still love to play a game of conkers, any takers? I'm also planning a trip "home" with my sister for 2009, I'll visit the castle and "spit in the Liffey" too, more on that another time.