Tuesday, April 24, 2007

No Bras or Socks...No Win

Every so often something happens to remind me of certain events in my life that I've forgotten. These random instances jar memories from deep in the back of my brain that I've either suppressed or just plain forgotten about.

The most recent incident happened during a high school track and field competition in the United States where an unbelievable event took place.

It seems that after the 4x400-metre relay, a losing coach filed a written appeal to disqualify the winning team [Palm Beach] for wearing illegal uniforms. The winners were wearing sports bras that did not match, although the team uniform tops and bottoms did. The governing body actually ruled to disqualify the team.

Is it just me or does that seem crazy? I can imagine the sheer joy felt by the new winning team after they were handed the victory thanks to sheer nit-picking. I wonder if it's also in the rules that the competitors have to have the same "cup size" and the use of "thongs" are strictly forbidden. You can bet the team team will include shopping time in their training from now on. Either that or they can really cause a stir by not wearing a bra at all....although that could cause other issues, including bruising.

This incident reminds me of something that happened to me and my fellow team-mates on the Rumours Masterbatters Lob-Ball Team back in the late 80's. I don't want to sound cocky but we easily had the best team in the Sunday Men's League. We had a habit of handily beating our opponents who really didn't enjoy losing to a bunch of young guys. The fact that we were the new team probably didn't help matters either.

The year's have blurred my memory a little but I seem to recall that we had already won the regular season title and it was becoming clear that the fix was in to see that we didn't also walk away with the playoff crown. Without going into all of the details involving the umpire drinking with the opposing team in the parking lot and being buddies with them or the fact that the league commissioner was buddies with the old boys as well, I'll give you the main facts.

We had won the game and were on our way to playoff glory...if their is such a thing in lob-ball when we learned that the game was being protested. Now if I remember correctly, the rules state that a protest must happen within 24 or 48 hours of the games completion. The protest wasn't entered until several days later which should have made the whole thing a moot point. The protest was allowed and it was decided that we would lose the game because one of our outfielders wasn't wearing socks in his cleats. That's right...we eventually lost the playoffs due to lack of hosiery. There was some rule about no skin being visible but up until this point the rule really only applied to not wearing shorts. Long pants had to be worn since sliding was allowed but the fix was in and they were going to find any way possible to make sure we didn't win everything.

I don't think we lasted in the league any more than a couple of years after that as guys started moving on but we always made sure we brought an extra pair of socks to the ballpark just in case someone forgot theirs.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Florida Vacation Slideshow

I've decided to get a little creative and I have uploaded a video presentation set to music of my recent trip to Florida.

If you'd like to check it out (and I hope you do), just follow the link below and you'll be redirected to the video page.

If the video doesn't start on it's own, you may be required to download and install a harmless plug-in that will make it possible to view the show.

The presentation is set to music and 16 minutes long.

I hope you enjoy it.


Click Here To View Show

Monday, April 16, 2007

Virginia Tech Tragedy

As long as I am fortunate to keep breathing on this planet, I'll never understand what can lead or compel someone to go on a rampage that kills innocent people.

The latest baffling event took place today at Virginia Tech College where 33 people were killed including the gunman who took his own life. Faculty and students appeared to be the target of this mentally unstable individual. Only he knows why he did it, unless he left a yet to be found note that reveals some kind of explanation.

I'm not going to sit here and pretend to be an expert on this. I'm more like the rest of you who sit in front of the television watching the news reports in disbelief with my mouth open, trying to speculate or surmise our own reasons.

Along with the dead, at least 15 others were injured. It was the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history and came nearly eight years to the day after 13 people died in the Columbine shootings in Colorado. Sadly we know this won't be the last time we see a tragedy of this nature. It has happened many times before and will happen again.

Here in Canada, we are not immune to similar acts of cowardice and terror. Just last September there were the shootings at Dawson College in Montreal. The worst shooting in Canadian history I believe happened on December 6, 1989 at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique when Marc Lepine entered a classroom of engineering students and separated the men from the women, told the men to leave and then proceeded to kill 14 women before turning the gun on himself.

Many questions have already been asked and there will be many more surrounding this latest incident. As I watched the press conferences earlier today I was almost ashamed to admit that I used to be a journalist. The questions some of the press were asking were asinine at times and quite pointless. It almost appeared as though they were on a "witch hunt" trying to lay blame on the administration at Virginia Tech and the VT Police. I'm not saying that these people made all the right decisions but it's easy to lay blame and accuse people after the fact.

Based on their initial information from the first pair of shootings, I'd say they were right in assuming it was an isolated incident and the possibility of what eventually happened was unpredictable. Just think about it...if a couple is killed in your neighbourhood, would the police ask everyone in town to stay in doors? Not likely or at least they never have in the past. They'd probably put the word out that there's a killer on the loose but there was no evidence to lead them to believe a rampage would take place two hours later in another part of town.

Nothing exactly like this has ever happened before, just as nothing like 9/11 had happened before, but since then new security measures have been put in place. It's sad to say but it always takes a tragedy to happen before new and proper policy is established. One thing appears certain, even with the reports of chains on the doors, the police still took too long to get inside. They should have stormed the place right away and perhaps more lives would have been saved...but we'll never know.

Monday, April 09, 2007

WKRP in Disappointment

What were they thinking? How cheap could they possibly be to ruin such a great and in my case highly anticipated thing? I'm sick to my stomach over this injustice and I don't know what I'm going to do.

I'm not a huge TV fan. Sure I'll spend countless hours sitting on the couch in front of the boobtube but it's more of a companion or a way to help fill empty time in my day. There aren't many television shows on today that I'd say I'm addicted to. I'll watch sporting events like hockey, baseball and football. Heck I even suffered through a very boring Masters Tournament this past weekend but only because the Stanley Cup Playoffs haven't begun yet.

When it comes to actual sitcoms or dramas on TV, the only one's right now that I'm truly interested in include LOST, The Office, Survivor (but not like I used to be), Amazing Race, Family Guy and Simpson's. Sure I also enjoy reruns of Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond and NYPD Blue but I don't plan my day around them.

Over my lifetime, which has almost been 39 years, there have been very few sitcoms that I've fallen in love with and would class as my all-time favourites. In that list we would find classics like M*A*S*H, Cheers, Gilligan's Island and The Cosby Show.

I'm happy to say that each of those classics have been released on DVD for fans to purchase to view at their own leisure. But there is one show that I've been waiting for since the very first TV program was released on DVD. I patiently bide my time year after year waiting for the time to come when my absolute favourite television show will be released, knowing they'll do it right and the wait will be worth it.

Today I learned that finally the First Season of the 1978 sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati is finally being released on DVD on April 24, 2007. This is the show that started many past and present radio personalities (like I used to be) on the road to a career of odd hours and little income as "Disc Jockey's". Who can forget characters like Dr. Johnny Fever, Venus Flytrap and Les Nesman. We'll always remember where we first heard the word "Booger" and found out that Turkeys couldn't fly. About the only negative and unrealistic trivia from the show is how the "Jocks" rarely used headphones in the booth. As anyone in the business will tell you, in real life, you can't hear the music if you don't wear them.

Some of my favourite moments from the show include: The Phone Cops, The Ferryman Funeral Home and Red Wiggler Jingles, Silver Sow Award, Hirsch the Butler, Bobby Boogie and so many other classic moments.

On top of the great comedy, this show was a hit for the music they played in each episode as they featured some of the greatest rock music of the time. As a fan of music and in particular classic rock, this made the show even more appealing. Thus you might understand my disappointment when I learned that the majority of the original music that was used in the series when it was first aired has been cut from the DVD release and replaced by generic music to avoid having to pay royalties. Scenes where there was dialog over the music have also been cut.

This is a slap in the face to the true fans of the show like myself. The whole point of purchasing these shows is to relive our youth in a way and the original music is a huge part of it. Whomever decided to make these changes to avoid having to pay the royalties may have just cut off their nose to spite their face. I'm extremely upset by this and what would have been a no-brainer purchase is now in doubt.

It is truly a day of mixed emotions for fans of this great show. What will I do?

In case you've never been blessed with ever seeing this show or you'd just like to relive one of the great moments in its history, I've provided a link to a classic moment from the very first episode when the station changes format. Enjoy!

Friday, April 06, 2007

Happy Easter

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most religious person and that could be my only true fault. OK...maybe my second fault.

I can hardly recollect the last time I went to church as I was much younger. I do recall it was an Easter Sunday though and mom dragged me there kicking and screaming. I've always said, "just because I don't go to church, doesn't mean I don't believe" and I still believe that today. Going to church was just never my thing even though my mom certainly tried her best to get us there.

There are however two times in a year when I try and show my faith a little bit more. Those times are Christmas and Easter. Even though I still don't go to a house of God on those days, I do take a moment to say a little prayer.

Even to this day I can still remember my mom or dad putting me to bed and having to say my prayers before covering up. So while most of the ye
ar I'm praying to win the lottery or for my future wife to magically appear, I'll do my best to give an honest effort with my prayer on Easter. I'd still like to win the lottery though. Amen.

Happy Easter to all of you.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Florida Vacation Memories

The mere fact that I've found time to add an update to my blog is proof that my vacation is over and I'm back to the usual routine of day to day life in Canada.

I recently arrived home after spending two weeks in Florida visiting my brother and sister-in-law and seeing the sights. I thought I'd share a few of the highlights of the trip with you and hopefully you'll enjoy them.

My uncle Mel and I left around 4:00 a.m. on Friday March 16th with much anticipation and a little trepidation as well with the knowledge the trip could be rough. Sure enough we starting running into the bad weather at the New York / Pennsylvania state line and it got worse from there. The snow was awful and the driving conditions were horrendous, however we kept going as best we could. We had to stop a couple times to remove the snow and ice build-up from the front of the van as it was causing the engine to overheat. It wasn't until we were off Interstate 81 and part way across Interstate 66 (just West of Washington in Virginia) that the snow turned into rain. You might think that's a good thing except we went from a blizzard to a monsoon with strong winds and torrential rain blinding us until we reached North Carolina. We had been on the road for over 15.5 hours and I'd had enough for the day so we stopped for the night in Kenly, NC. My hands were sore from gripping the steering wheel so tightly all day. Saturday morning we were on the road shortly after 3:00 a.m. and the drive into Florida was much better and we arrived at 3:00 p.m. at Scott and Erin's doorstep.

I'll spare you every little detail of the trip as I don't want to bore you to death but I'll give you a few of the more memorable moments. First off, Scott and Erin were fantastic hosts and their home is beautiful. My only criticism would be that I didn't see any pictures of me hanging on the walls or in any picture frames around the house. I didn't venture into their bedroom so I'm sure they must have them all located in there. Scott even let me cut his grass that first week which I enjoyed very much. It gave me an excuse to get outside and work on my tan. The meals were excellent and Mel and I were certainly spoiled.

The first Sunday we all went shopping at the Ellenton Outlet Mall and it worked out great as I was able to buy almost everything I had hoped to purchase on the trip. The first week Scott and Erin had to work a fair bit and that worked out well. Mel and I did a little shopping, running around and lounging around as well which was perfect for me. I enjoyed doing very little and it was probably a good thing because the weekend would make up for it.

We left for Orlando on Friday morning and went to Disney World, the MGM Park to be exact. I'd never been to this park before and it was a lot of fun. The only controversy of the day happened shortly after we arrived and Erin had purchased her $13 bottle of sunscreen. We decided to go on the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. I should preface this by telling you that I'm not a big fan of roller coasters but I can handle a mild one like Space Mountain without any loops or corkscrews. Scott assured me that the ride was very tame and there were no surprises. Well, shortly before we entered the building an announcement came over the speaker to remind everyone of the intense ride and that it included a corkscrew and loops. Needless to say my heart rate increased dramatically and I let Scott know I wasn't pleased with his sneaky ways. I'd like to tell you I remember the ride vividly however my eyes were shut most of the way around it. We took off like a shot going 0-60 in a matter of 2 seconds and pulled five G's on the very first loop. I don't remember much after that as I was just trying to not have a heart attack. I survived but just barely. The rest of the rides and shows were much more to my liking.

After we left the park we checked in to the Hilton Hotel across from Downtown Disney, refreshed ourselves and went for supper and checked out the stores and shops in Disney Market.

On day two we went to Epcot. I'd been there before but it had changed a fair bit. The first ride we went on was Mission Space. Now I'm very interested in shuttles and space exploration so this was right up my alley but when I heard that a couple people had died on the ride, the heart kicked into high gear again. Looking back now, having survived, it was an awesome ride. The centrifuge spins to let you experience the G's during take off and also a simulated weightlessness. It was very cool and intense. After that it was off to ride on Test Track which was very entertaining as you hit high speeds on high banked corners. It was pretty cool. The rest of the day we enjoyed other rides and the many different countries represented. My feet were killing me by the time our two days were done there but it was worth it.

On the following Monday, Scott, Mel and I got up early and went golfing at Stoney Brook at Heritage Harbor which is located right at the end of Scott's street. It was a nice course set amongst the many houses with lots of water, sand and wildlife. Sadly, my golf game was lacking and I had a tough time enjoying myself. I think I lost about a dozen balls and my vocabulary got a serious workout. Despite my terrible game we still had fun but damn was it a hot day.

Other activities during our final week included a visit to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. This place was amazing. I'm not a huge fan of art work but I couldn't help but be impressed by the hundred's of pieces in Ringling's collection. The actual home that the Ringling's built was amazing and the guided tour was very interesting. I would recommend you check it out if you're ever in that area.

Scott, Mel and I also got up early one day and went to the Myakka River State Park which was very cool. Here we walked though the forest and climbed the tower in the canopy tour which gave a great scenic overview of the entire park. We also photographed many alligators and different birds. Being somewhat of a nature buff, I really enjoyed this. Sadly we didn't run into any rattlesnakes or panthers.

We left for home around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning which meant we missed out on the community Easter egg hunt but at least the drive home had much better weather. We did run into rain in Pennsylvania but I've come to the conclusion that the sun must never shine in that state.

All in all it was a super trip and we had a lot of fun but all good things must come to an end. I was hoping we'd come back to find the weather much warmer in Ontario but that wasn't the case as the forecast called for flurries and below normal temperatures the week of our return.

NOTE: If you'd like to view more photos from my trip, please click on the 2007 Bundy Photos link on the right. Also, below is a video someone shot of the entire Test Track Ride.