Through a bizarre sequence of events, I somehow find myself on Day 4 of Tony Horton's P90X program. I swear that every muscle in my entire body is aching. I am in agony like I have never felt before...especially my legs, that I thought were reasonably well conditioned from running. Nooooo!
Day 1 was 'chest and back' (an hour of pushups and pullups) - thank goodness I didn't have to drive to work that day, as I didn't have the strength left to turn the wheel. Day 2 was 'plyometrics' (an hour of squats and jumps) - my legs are still burning two days later. Day 3 was 'shoulders and arms' - this day would have been OK but it was followed by 'ab ripper' - 339 ab moves in 15 minutes. Ouch! Day 4 sounded easy - 'yoga'. But after an hour and forty minutes, my body was a crumpled ball of crap lying on the floor. I could hardly move today! Tomorrow is 'legs and back', a chance to redeem myself with my running legs...I hope!
The people at work are already taking bets as to how many days I will last. So far the longest is 21 days! Sheesh! Give me a little credit, people!!!
27 January 2009
Mozart's Birthday
My brother Barrie shared the same birthday as Mozart! He would have been 35 years old today. Here's another Barrie original, "The Rules of the Game".
I'm on the road and I don't have the software to clean up this recording with me, so this is raw off of the original cassette. I will clean it up and repost it later on.
** Link Removed **
I'm on the road and I don't have the software to clean up this recording with me, so this is raw off of the original cassette. I will clean it up and repost it later on.
** Link Removed **
21 January 2009
The Fog
We've had several days of intense fog, another unusual weather pattern for Vancouver. Sitting in my family room in the evenings, I feel like I'm in a low budget movie set in a harbour town, with fog horns sounding every couple of minutes. In fact it is so foggy, the Cosco Tianjin was unable to berth at our Vanterm facility today at work.
The photo of downtown Vancouver was taken from the top of Cypress Mountain yesterday.
19 January 2009
Huh?
No, it's not Halloween. There really just isn't much to say about this picture, is there? Let's just say, with this fashion sense, Brooklyn won't be burning up the catwalk anytime soon.
17 January 2009
Starbucks
Anyone who's been to Vancouver knows there is a Starbucks coffee shop on every corner...some corners have two!
I love Starbucks coffee..."coffee" being the key word. I like drinks that actually have coffee in them, not the carmel-vanilla-pumpkin-spiced-gingerbread lattes and all that crap. It drives me nuts when someone orders a "venti, no-fat, decaf, no-whip, caramel macchiato, dollp of foam, one and a half pumps of vanilla, dusting of nutmeg, at 98 degrees". Be careful what you order, you might actually taste the coffee!!!
Having said that, my 3 year old daughter is already ordering a "kid's steamed milk, no foam, no whip, and a shot of vanilla". OMG!!! What have we created ?!?
This is a leftover video from Christmas...it is beyond my technical abilities to figure out how to rotate it so you'll have to watch it sideways. This is Brooklyn singing as much of Rudolph as she knows...and yes, if you look closely, she is singing on the toilet!!!
I love Starbucks coffee..."coffee" being the key word. I like drinks that actually have coffee in them, not the carmel-vanilla-pumpkin-spiced-gingerbread lattes and all that crap. It drives me nuts when someone orders a "venti, no-fat, decaf, no-whip, caramel macchiato, dollp of foam, one and a half pumps of vanilla, dusting of nutmeg, at 98 degrees". Be careful what you order, you might actually taste the coffee!!!
Having said that, my 3 year old daughter is already ordering a "kid's steamed milk, no foam, no whip, and a shot of vanilla". OMG!!! What have we created ?!?
This is a leftover video from Christmas...it is beyond my technical abilities to figure out how to rotate it so you'll have to watch it sideways. This is Brooklyn singing as much of Rudolph as she knows...and yes, if you look closely, she is singing on the toilet!!!
06 January 2009
Nana
My last surviving grandparent, my feisty Irish grandmother, passed away in Halifax on Saturday... I will never forget how excited she used to get watching Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling!
Margaret
Of Halifax, passed away on January 3, 2009, in St. Vincent's Guest Home, Halifax. She was the widow of the late Martin (January 6, 1967). Born in Saintfield, Northern Ireland, on May 25, 1916, she was a daughter of the late Thomas and Mary Jane. She is survived by son, Al (Kathy), New Glasgow, and daughters, Linda (Raymond), Halifax, and June (Steve), Nepean, Ont. She is also survived by grandchildren, Bruce (Ellen), Kingston, Ont.; Brian (Judie), Vancouver, B.C.; Shane, Halifax; Robert, Metcalfe, Ont., and Cheryl (Jeff), Ottawa, Ont.; great-grandchildren, Justin and Brooklyn and Brady, Gregory and Martin. She is also survived by sisters, Louise and Nora. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by grandson, Barrie and by brothers, Tom, James and Robert; sisters, Jean, Nan, Lil, Eileen and Alice. Special thanks to all those who ministered to Margaret in any capacity over the years at St. Vincent's Guest Home, especially the staff of the second floor nursing station. Special thanks are also extended to Dr. P. Petropolis for his compassionate medical care of Margaret over the years. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Vincent's Guest Home, 2080 Windsor St., Halifax, NS B3K 5B2, would be appreciated by the family. Funeral service will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday, January 7, in J.A. Snow Funeral Home, 2666 Windsor St., Halifax, Rev. Harley Kynock officiating. E-mail condolences may be sent to: condolences.snow@ns.aliantzinc.ca "Silent thoughts; a little prayer, Knowing that she is in God's care"
Margaret
Of Halifax, passed away on January 3, 2009, in St. Vincent's Guest Home, Halifax. She was the widow of the late Martin (January 6, 1967). Born in Saintfield, Northern Ireland, on May 25, 1916, she was a daughter of the late Thomas and Mary Jane. She is survived by son, Al (Kathy), New Glasgow, and daughters, Linda (Raymond), Halifax, and June (Steve), Nepean, Ont. She is also survived by grandchildren, Bruce (Ellen), Kingston, Ont.; Brian (Judie), Vancouver, B.C.; Shane, Halifax; Robert, Metcalfe, Ont., and Cheryl (Jeff), Ottawa, Ont.; great-grandchildren, Justin and Brooklyn and Brady, Gregory and Martin. She is also survived by sisters, Louise and Nora. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by grandson, Barrie and by brothers, Tom, James and Robert; sisters, Jean, Nan, Lil, Eileen and Alice. Special thanks to all those who ministered to Margaret in any capacity over the years at St. Vincent's Guest Home, especially the staff of the second floor nursing station. Special thanks are also extended to Dr. P. Petropolis for his compassionate medical care of Margaret over the years. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Vincent's Guest Home, 2080 Windsor St., Halifax, NS B3K 5B2, would be appreciated by the family. Funeral service will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday, January 7, in J.A. Snow Funeral Home, 2666 Windsor St., Halifax, Rev. Harley Kynock officiating. E-mail condolences may be sent to: condolences.snow@ns.aliantzinc.ca "Silent thoughts; a little prayer, Knowing that she is in God's care"
03 January 2009
Brian’s Top 10 Songs of 2008
Why am I writing this? I realize that no one cares but perhaps this will dispel the fallacy that all I listen to is 80’s music!
10) M83 – “Kim & Jessie”. It could be 1984 all over again thanks to this lush song by French electronic group M83!
9) Wiley – “Wearing My Rolex”. Wiley is a pioneer of “Grime”, a genre unto itself which is a combination of UK garage and hip hop music. I detest hip hop, but when I lived in the UK I gained an appreciation for this east end London sound, which is much more interesting and listenable than US hip hop.
8) Annie – “I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me”. Pure, sweet, electronic, almost robotic, Norwegian pop. This is one of those songs that I hate myself for loving. What can I say?
7) The Ting Tings – “That’s Not My Name”. Hmmm. Another pop song that may erode the seriousness of this list? Oh well, this is catchy and has an early 80’s feel to it, so what’s not to like? This English group did a great cover of the Altered Images song “Happy Birthday” on the kid’s show “Yo Gabba Gabba” in September, further endearing themselves to me.
6) Goldfrapp – “Happiness”. Their 4th album, Seventh Tree, is a departure from their electronic-dance style, and is much more down tempo. Maybe their fans are getting old? This song is melancholy but lush and beautiful.
5) MGMT – “Time To Pretend”. Now that I’m a father, I should point out the irresponsible lyrics about doing heroin and cocaine…
4) Sam Roberts – “Detroit ‘67”. Ok, so maybe I bumped this song up the list a little higher than it should be, a) because it is still fairly new and fresh for me as I’m writing this, and b) because Sam is Canadian.
3) Slave To The Square Wave – “Sinners Of Saint Avenue”. Wow, back to back Canadian content! I don’t know much about Square Wave, but this is a cool song with a cooler video…probably doomed to never be heard or seen by the masses like so many other Canadian bands.
2) Santogold – “L.E.S. Artistes”. I think I bumped Santogold up because I could have easily put their song “Lights Out” here as well. The chorus sounds like a Police song, though I can’t put my finger on which one.
1) British Sea Power – “Lights Out For Darker Skies”. BSP’s 2008 release, Do You Like Rock Music?, is packed with anthemic, sweeping, guitar pop. This is the band that I imagine Coldplay wants to sound like.
That was easy, but I have to admit even a top 25 would be a stretch for me. I’ll give honourable mentions to Neon Neon for “I Told Her On Alderaan”, Empire of the Sun for “Walking On A Dream”, Be Your Own Pet for “Becky”, Airborne Toxic Event for “Sometime Around Midnight”, and Kate Perry for “I Kissed A Girl”, the greatest novelty song of the decade.
10) M83 – “Kim & Jessie”. It could be 1984 all over again thanks to this lush song by French electronic group M83!
9) Wiley – “Wearing My Rolex”. Wiley is a pioneer of “Grime”, a genre unto itself which is a combination of UK garage and hip hop music. I detest hip hop, but when I lived in the UK I gained an appreciation for this east end London sound, which is much more interesting and listenable than US hip hop.
8) Annie – “I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me”. Pure, sweet, electronic, almost robotic, Norwegian pop. This is one of those songs that I hate myself for loving. What can I say?
7) The Ting Tings – “That’s Not My Name”. Hmmm. Another pop song that may erode the seriousness of this list? Oh well, this is catchy and has an early 80’s feel to it, so what’s not to like? This English group did a great cover of the Altered Images song “Happy Birthday” on the kid’s show “Yo Gabba Gabba” in September, further endearing themselves to me.
6) Goldfrapp – “Happiness”. Their 4th album, Seventh Tree, is a departure from their electronic-dance style, and is much more down tempo. Maybe their fans are getting old? This song is melancholy but lush and beautiful.
5) MGMT – “Time To Pretend”. Now that I’m a father, I should point out the irresponsible lyrics about doing heroin and cocaine…
4) Sam Roberts – “Detroit ‘67”. Ok, so maybe I bumped this song up the list a little higher than it should be, a) because it is still fairly new and fresh for me as I’m writing this, and b) because Sam is Canadian.
3) Slave To The Square Wave – “Sinners Of Saint Avenue”. Wow, back to back Canadian content! I don’t know much about Square Wave, but this is a cool song with a cooler video…probably doomed to never be heard or seen by the masses like so many other Canadian bands.
2) Santogold – “L.E.S. Artistes”. I think I bumped Santogold up because I could have easily put their song “Lights Out” here as well. The chorus sounds like a Police song, though I can’t put my finger on which one.
1) British Sea Power – “Lights Out For Darker Skies”. BSP’s 2008 release, Do You Like Rock Music?, is packed with anthemic, sweeping, guitar pop. This is the band that I imagine Coldplay wants to sound like.
That was easy, but I have to admit even a top 25 would be a stretch for me. I’ll give honourable mentions to Neon Neon for “I Told Her On Alderaan”, Empire of the Sun for “Walking On A Dream”, Be Your Own Pet for “Becky”, Airborne Toxic Event for “Sometime Around Midnight”, and Kate Perry for “I Kissed A Girl”, the greatest novelty song of the decade.
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