Welcome to my blog.
This is my creative outlet that could include my thoughts on anything from current affairs, my weight loss quest and things that just make me need to voice an opinion.
It's not like I spend every waking hour updating my blog or adding my thoughts and stories to it but for those of you who are kind enough to visit often to see what's new, I wanted to let you know that I'm taking a brief break.
That's right, it's summer vacation time. So for the next couple of weeks I hope to be spending more time enjoying cool refreshing brown bottle beverages, lots of barbecued cow and time with my family.
I'll be back and with more thoughts, comments, complaints and rants in a couple of weeks.
When it comes to hobbies or things I do to help make life worth living and more enjoyable there are only a few things I do to keep my sanity.
In the summer I enjoy golfing with friends. In the winter I used to enjoy helping out the local Junior hockey team but not this year so I'll probably spend more time at the computer which I also enjoy. However, recently I have rediscovered my passion for photography and this is something I can do year-round.
Back in 1989 I actually graduated from the Photojournalism course at Loyalist College and after a brief period of freelance work, shooting mostly sporting events and accidents, I lost interest. I just didn't enjoy spending hours in the darkroom with smelly chemicals and of course the money wasn't coming in as well as I'd hoped.
Fast forward to the present and my enjoyment for photography has returned. During that almost 18 year period the whole process has changed. Instead of chemicals, negatives and darkrooms you now have computers, software and endless possibilities in post production.
The cameras themselves have changed as well. Film is obsolete. The new digital single lens reflex cameras today are so good they actually produce better results than film ever could. Instead of waiting and working for hours to see your photos, it is now an almost immediate sense of satisfaction. Plus, with the ability to check the photos in the camera right away, a lot of the guess work has been removed.
Of course with all of the changes, I have to forget a lot of what I learned in college (not really a problem anyway) and teach myself as I go along.
I purchased a mid-range Nikon D80 DSLR camera back in December '06 and have been able to use it a little when time permits. I am really enjoying it and plan to find more time to get out and shoot as often as possible. I'd have to say nature shots are my current favourite but people can be fascinating as well and I hope to photograph them more as well.
Any way, below are a few of my recent photos and if you'd like to check out more, feel free to visit Bundy's Photos in the right column. You can also click on the individual photos to see larger versions.
I can recall as a young boy going to a baseball game in Toronto at the old Exhibition Stadium.
I don't recall who the Blue Jays were playing that day but my most vivid memory is of dad and I sitting in our seats just up from third base enjoying the game and hoping they'd get it in before an approaching storm arrived.
We sat there and soon the game became secondary as we had a perfect view of the CN Tower and watched intently as numerous bolts of lightning struck the top of the tower over and over again. It was quite amazing to watch.
I don't think the game was called and they were able to complete it but for most fans in attendance, the light show to the East was much more entertaining.
As and example of what we saw, here's a video of a different storm with similar results as the lightning was drawn to the top of the tower.
It has been 20 years in the making...OK, not really but The Simpsons first came to life in 1987 on the Tracey Ullman Show thanks to creator Matt Groening. Just two years later they had their own weekly sitcom and have been entertaining me and millions of other fans since them. In fact, it is my understanding that The Simpsons is the longest running prime time sitcom in television history.
I have been a fan of The Simpsons ever since I first saw them on the Tracey Ullman Show and have watched them faithfully ever since. In recent years I haven't been able to stay as loyal as I'd like but it is rare for me to watch a rerun and have it be the first time I've seen it.
In the early years the star of the show seemed to be Bart but my favourite and probably the most popular character now has to be Homer Simpson. He is a hilarious character and in a strange way, a good father as well. One thing Homer could never be accused of is being afraid to work. In fact, at last count Homer has had 118 jobs in the history of the show.
One main source for these jobs is in the episode "Papa's Got a Brand New Badge." Right before he goes to bed Homer tells Marge, "I’ve been a boxer, mascot, astronaut, baby proofer, imitation Krusty, truck driver, hippie, plow driver, food critic, conceptual artist, grease salesman, carny, mayor, grifter, body guard for the mayor, country western manager, garbage commissioner, mountain climber, farmer, inventor, Smithers, Poochie, celebrity assistant, power plant worker, fortune cookie writer, beer baron, Kwik-E-Mart clerk, homophobe, and missionary, but protecting people, that gives me the best feeling of all."
Of the remaining cast and recurring characters my favourites would include Mr. Burns, Moe Szyslak, Ralph Wiggum, Ned Flanders and his boys Rod and Todd, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Groundskeeper Willy, Sideshow Bob, Krusty The Clown and finally Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure (both played by the late Phil Hartman and no longer featured in the show).
Of course as a fan of the show, I have eagerly been awaiting a full-length feature movie based on the characters and the rest of the towns people in Springfield. That wait has finally come to an end as The Simpsons Movie is being released on July 27, 2007.
It took a long time but I'm finally going to get to see my favourite dysfunctional family and their wacky neighbours on the big screen. I'm a little disappointed the movie is only listed as 87 minutes long but hopefully it's entertaining and hilarious from start to finish.
Judging by the movie trailers I've seen at the theatre and on television, it won't be a disappointment. Below is one of the trailers for the movie for you to view. Enjoy!
I've been fortunate to see my share of bands and attend plenty of live concerts in my lifetime.
I've seen Van Halen a few times, AC/DC once, Rolling Stones and U2 twice. I was front row at Maple Leaf Gardens for Great Big Sea and Blue Rodeo. I've watched Loverboy, BTO, Heart, Alice In Chains and numerous other Canadian acts like Gowan, David Wilcox, Barenaked Ladies, RUSH, Tea Party, 54-40, Northern Pikes, Glass Tigerand does anyone else remember the band FM featuring Nash the Slash? I left out Celine Dion but she doesn't count since I saw her while attending the JUNO Awards in Toronto and she performed as part of the show. A great singer but just not my cup of tea.
I often wished I'd kept a running total or list of the bands I've seen over the years just so I could remind myself of all of the shows I've been to because my list above hardly scratches the surface.
There's nothing like attending a live concert and being there in person to experience the spectacle. While the concert itself is usually great, the sights and smells and craziness that takes place in the crowd is something to behold. I remember my very first "real" concert on August 18, 1986 at the old Exhibition Stadium at the CNE in Toronto. It was one of the hottest nights of the summer and the place was packed as we watched Bachman Turner Overdrive, Loverboy and Van Halen perform a great show. We started out on the floor quite a ways back but by the time Van Halen took the stage we were right up front. They had to hose us down to keep us cool as we were jammed in so tightly but it didn't matter as the concert rocked. This was also the first time I can remember seeing marijuana. As we sat in our seats during BTO, people were passing it up and down our row, back and forth sharing the weed with all. There was plenty to go around. I can honestly say I never inhaled.
As I'm writing this the latest global concert has come to an end. This time the message was "Save the Planet" or something like that. It was the "Live Earth" concert. This was a 24-hour music marathon spanning seven continents, everyone from aboriginal elders to famous scientists to country singers called on the world to turn interest in the Live Earth events into environmental activism. Blah blah blah blah blah.
Sorry, I'm all for taking care of our planet and doing our part to keep our environment going strong but what the heck does a concert have to do with this? Sure you can argue it raises awareness but will the people the concert appealed to actually do something about it or will they just wake up on Sunday morning and continue on with their average lives and not change a thing?
When I look at the list of performers for the show I don't see too many artists or groups that I'd class as legendary. The only one's who come close would be Madonna, Genesis, Metallica (I guess), The Police and Bon Jovi.
I don't know, maybe I'm getting old but as far as I'm concerned there has only been one true global concert with a purpose and a goal to raise money for African Famine Relief and that was on July 13, 1985 with LIVE AID. No, not LIVE 8 the poorly run sequel but the original.
I remember waking up that morning as a 16-year-old music fan and turning on the TV at 7:00am to watch something that had never been done before on that scale. I was watching history being made with a live television feed from London, England. Other than running to use the bathroom or a quick dash to the kitchen, I didn't take my eyes off the show all day which had so many great performers and moments.
Billed as a "global jukebox", the main sites for the event were Wembley Stadium, London, attended by 72,000 people, and JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, attended by about 90,000 people, with some acts performing at other venues such as Sydney and Moscow. It was one of the largest scale satellite link-ups and TV broadcasts of all time -- an estimated 1.5 billion viewers in 100 countries watched the live broadcast.
On a television program in 2001 one of the organizers stated that while initially it had been hoped that Live Aid would raise £1 million ($1.64 million), the final figure was £150 million (approx. $245.4 million) for famine relief.
Here's a list of some of the amazing musicians who performed on that day: Queen, The Who, Led Zeppelin, U2, Dire Straits, INXS, B.B. King, Black Sabbath, Phil Collins, Howard Jones, CSN&Y, Judas Priest, Beach Boys, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Bob Dylan and many many more. Now that's a line-up.
The concert had many great moments and stories but my favourites include:
While U2 performed the song "BAD", lead singer Bono jumped from the stage to pull a girl out of the crowd who was being crushed. He danced with her before climbing back on stage.
On the stage was a set of lights (green, yellow, red). Green meant you were good for time, yellow meant you were running out of time and red meant times up and it's time to get off the stage. During The Who's performance, which was amazing, Pete Townshend kicked out the lights. He was having a good time and nobody was telling him when to get off the stage. They played an extra 5 minutes.
When Bob Dylan broke a guitar string, Ron Wood (Rolling Stones) took off his own guitar and gave it to Dylan. Wood was left standing on stage guitarless. After shrugging to the audience, he played air guitar, even mimicking The Who's Pete Townshend by swinging his arm in wide circles, until a stagehand brought him a replacement.
Queen played better and more tightly than ever, and the antics of lead singer Freddie Mercury got the entire Wembley crowd clapping in unison to "Radio Ga-Ga" and singing along, word-for-word, to "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions."
It wasn't even an American who opened the U.S. concert as Canadian Bryan Adams opened at JFK Stadium.
An event such as Live Aid can never be duplicated. It happened at the right time and was one of a kind.
Events like Live 8 and Live Earth are all just cheap copies that don't even come close to having the same impact or effect on a generation. People, like myself who lived through it and witnessed it, will always remember the original Live Aid concert just like those who went to Woodstock will always know it was one of a kind. The Woodstock and Live Aid concerts are very different in many ways but they are the same in that they touched a generation, stood for something and changed lives. *************************** Below is a clip of Queen performing their first two songs from the show. Bohemian Rhapsody and Radio Ga Ga.
Aaron, Ruth, DiMaggio, Williams, Ryan, Gehrig and Ripken Jr. are all names you might think of when you conjure up some of the greatest baseball players of all-time. These men are legends for how they played the game, the way they carried themselves and the manner in which they competed.
They'll also be remembered for some of the records they set. Lou Gehrig still holds the record for most career grand slam home runs with 23. He also earned the nickname "The Iron Horse" for his durability. Between 1925 and 1939 he played in 2130 consecutive games. That record stood for 56 years until it was finally broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995.
Nolan Ryan pitched for 27 seasons and his fastball was regularly clocked at over 100 mph. The Ryan Express holds the record for career strike-outs with 5,714 and he is also the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher.
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio played his entire career with New York. The Yankee Clipper achieved a 56-game hitting streak in 1941 that has been called the top American sport feat of all time. After going hitless for one game, DiMaggio hit in the next 16 consecutive games, for a total of 72 out of 73.
Ted Williams, also known as The Splendid Splinter was a pure hitter. He had a career batting average of .344, with 521 home runs, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966. He is the last player in Major League Baseball to bat over .400 in a single season (.406 in 1941).
And then there's The Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth and Hammerin' Hank Aaron who were both best known for their ability to knock the cover off the ball. Ruth left the game with a career .342 batting average and 714 home runs. His record of 60 home runs in the 1927 season stood for 34 years until it was broken by Roger Maris with 61 home runs in 1961.
Maris' record would probably still stand today if not for players using performance enhancing drugs. Arron is the current holder of the Major League Home Run record of 755 dingers. He also holds the records for RBI's at 2,297 and career total bases with 6,856. He achieved all of this without having to inject steroids.
As a fan of the game I have great respect for those players mentioned above and many others who competed day in and day out through injuries, during times of war and many other forms of adversity. They were able to compete at the highest possible level in the great game of baseball without having to seek out the help of artificial stimulants and muscle builders.
This is why I will not be cheering when Barry Bonds breaks the record for most career home runs. He'll be tainting one of the greatest records to ever stand. Bonds is a great player but when he surpasses Hank Aaron, I can guarantee the record will not be covered with as much enthusiasm as it might have had the steroid allegations not surfaced.
When "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record, it was a thrilling moment. The mere thought that Barry Bonds will one day soon break Aaron's record is disturbing. Using steroids to attain a record is like jumping on a bike to improve your running time. But I don't blame Barry alone. I also fault the Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig for allowing the use of steroids to continue in the league as long as it did. Every record broken during the "Steroid Era" should have an asterisk beside them in the record book.
Mark McGwire beating the record of Roger Maris* Sammy Sosa hitting 600 home runs* Barry Bonds breaking McGwire's record and hitting 73 home runs*
If Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson are banned from baseball and from entering the Hall of Fame then these players should also pay a similar price...but they won't and can't because the league blew it on this one. Baseball looked the other way during the roaring '90s and now they want to stand up and lead the investigation and ban all performance enhancing paraphernalia. Because no one blew the whistle when they needed to, all of these records will stand.
The writing was on the wall when the number of 50 plus home run seasons began to jump and nobody clued in that these guys were doing more than just lifting weights. Or perhaps they just turned a blind eye as these records started to fall during a dark time for baseball when the fans were staying away from the ballparks.
It was OK to do the drugs when it helped the game but now that it's looking bad it's time for the league to clamp down and bring the problem under control. As for Barry Bonds and his record breaking home run, I'll probably be joining Hank Aaron on the golf course or some place else when it finally leaves the park. I'd rather spend time with the real record holder any way. To watch how a real champion breaks a record, check out the video below.
It's not like I spend every waking hour updating my blog or adding my thoughts and stories to it but for those of you who are kind enough to visit often to see what's new, I wanted to let you know that I'm taking a brief break.
