The Ultimate Cross Canada Motorcycle Trip

My friend Mike recently completed an incredible month-long trip from Ottawa to Vancouver on mostly TCAT trails. You can read about it here. I highly recommend it.

I put together a google map of his trip and intended to embed it here or on his blog. It turns out you can't embed Maps Engine maps which is crazy so I just did a screen shot.

If you want to see the actual map you can check it out here.

Radiohead Fan Speaks Out

This is so hilarious but for some reason I want to stop short of saying I agree with him....is it because I truly actually like OK Computer or is it because I might be rejected by all my friends who are such huge Radiohead fans.

And I know a lot of huge Radiohead fans......

So that's what it would look like.....

Of course you have wondered what would happen if you blew up hundreds of thousands of firecrackers at once. Well these guys went and found out.

Apparently this is a dedication to some family member who died.

A Book Club Update

Yes I have finally joined a book club. I actually joined it late last year when a friend set it up. I have always wanted to do this to force me to read interesting books and then get some great discussion out of it.

The result has been pretty good so far. My favourite book picks have got to be 'Brave New World' (because it was such a defining book for me when growing up), some short stories by Franz Kafka (for the word Kafkaesque) and 'My Name is Asher Lev' (for the great discussion about art and other stuff). That last book really turned out some far better conversation than I expected. If you haven't read it and you are interested in art and artists this is simply put a must-read.

The next book we are reading is more of a return to traditional book club books I think. I am a little torn as to whether or not I will like 'Shantaram' by Gregory David Roberts. I mean I know I will like the book because it is one of those exciting books that spans continents, has interesting characters and has lots of action. But will it make me think the way those other books did? Does it have the same lasting presence? And what's with the author's weird spiritualism which feels like a cross between Hulk Hogan and Madonna's personal religions.

Well I guess there is only one way to find out......read it.

Tremblant was EPIC

For a blow by blow account of our Tremblant trip (which thankfully doesn't mention my encounter with some snowmaking equipment) you can check out Andrew's blog here or Irene's blog here.

And just for fun here is a clip of me getting some air off a little jump near the base of the mountain/big hill:

Jenn Grant w/ Jon & Roy

A couple weekends ago on Valentines Day we saw another show at the Black Sheep Inn.
This time it was the super talented (and surprisingly hilarious) Jenn Grant who just released her new cd 'Echoes'.

This is the opening band, Jon & Roy, who had great vocals and a really fantastic drummer. The drummer did a quasi-cymbal solo at one point. He was really contained and simplistically scintillating.Jenn Grant's band consisted of a bass(maybe tenor) sax/piano player, a violin/viola player, an electric bass player and Jenn on acoustic guitar. This is a picture of the group of us at the concert. Sarah doesn't like people's faces apparently.Rocking the place with sweet harmonies and beautiful lyrics.
The concert was great and I couldn't resist buying the cd.

If you want to hear her cd you can check it out at Radio3 here.

Heavy is the Cost

Recently a friend commented that I am pretty opinionated. I had to stop and think but I had to agree. I don't know why but I seem to be getting more opinionated. I have always wanted to become more laid back but maybe this is what happens when you get older. At this rate, I will be one extremely crotchety old man when I retire (if I live that long).

But at the same time I feel like someone has to think about certain issues. Everyone goes about their lives not thinking about certain issues. I am reminded of the Stars song Personal where Amy Millan sings 'Sorry to be heavy, but heavy is the cost. Heavy is the cost.' I sometimes feel like I am being "heavy" but it really is the cost of life. I can't just go around not caring about anything. I am passionate about things and being opinionated is the cost.

Being opinionated is the cost.

2nd Annual Enjoyment Awards

It is the new year and I figure that I should continue my annual tradition which was started last year. This are my most enjoyed random stuff of the 2008 year.
Once again, I am not confining my list to music and it is not necessarily only from this year. My list is all about the stuff I got the most enjoyment out of in 2008.
Anyways, here it is:

My most enjoyed artist of 2008 was:
Justin Rutledge because he seems like a real cool guy who happens to make fantastic indie folk/country tunes. I even got to meet him.

Some runners up were Sufjan Stevens (he will probably always be close to winning in this section), Stars and Fleet Foxes.

My most enjoyed album of 2008 was:
It is a tie between Swift Feet for Troubling Times by Ohbijou and Asking for Flowers by Kathleen Edwards.

Some runners up:
Man Descending by Justin Rutledge
Cease to Begin by Band of Horses
Oh, My Darling by Basia Bulat
Where the Bungalows Roam by Jim Bryson
Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes (I am still really into that one)

It's just so hard to pick.

My most enjoyed song of 2008 was:
Nothing really is catching my attention here. Apparently my enjoyment was spread over so many songs this year. If I had to pick (and I don't have to because this is my blog and nobody is forcing me) it would be between Royal Wood's Julia or Gonzalez, Working Together.

Runners up:
The Other Side by Ohbijou
Scared at Night by Kathleen Edwards
In the Night by Basia Bulat
Clear the Crowds by Jim Bryson

My most enjoyed live performance of 2008 was probably Radiohead in Montreal because we were so incredibly close to the stage and the after party, jumping out of windows from bar to bar until 5:00 in the morning with a great bunch of people was so fun.

The runners up would have to be Kate Maki at the Black Sheep (with Nathan Lawr and Jim Bryson) or even Royal Wood also at the Black Sheep. Basia Bulat also put on a great show on Canada Day at Jazzfest but it wasn't quite intimate enough as the last time I saw her open for Great Lake Swimmers.

My most enjoyed Local Band (Greater Ottawa Area) of 2008 was:
Kathleen Edwards and her bandmate Jim Bryson.

Runner Up:
Ohbijou and their album compilation with Ottawa band The Acorn.
If I moved out of the Ottawa area I wish I could pick Library Voices (who won a Bucky Award for their band name) but I haven't listened to them enough to really pick them.
Also, I wish Forest City Lovers were from Ottawa so I could pick them too.

My most enjoyed music venue of 2008 was:
Black Sheep Inn, Wakefield QC hands down. I have a feeling it will win every year. It is just too perfect if you get there early enough to snag a seat in front of the stage.

I also nominated it for CBC's Searchlight contest (as did many other people) for best small club for seeing music. I hope it wins and I really think it has a good chance.

My most enjoyed beer of 2008 was:
This is so hard to pick. Probably that smoked beer that I had at Pub Italia in Ottawa’s little Italy or that McAuslan Cream Ale that you can only get on tap in a few places (including the Black Sheep).

Runners up would be the Danish strong beer Faxe or the white beer Hoegarden or the many cervezas we had in Spain (many because of location though, not the distinctness beer). Spain did have the best sangria though as I am sure it always will.

My most enjoyed TV show of 2008 was:
Fringe. I know maybe it's a bit cliche but I still really love the sci-fi craziness. It also has a healthy dose of conspiracy. It is made by the same guys as Lost but unlike that show it is actually understandable.

Pushing Daisies is also a great show but there just wasn’t enough new episodes.

My most enjoyed movie of 2008 was:
I just can't think of anything....I don't watch enough movies I guess. Nothing really stands out. Maybe I could pick the Wallace & Grommet shorts that we re-watched during the Christmas holidays.

My most enjoyed technology of 2008 was:
Linux Ubuntu because it has changed my computer expectations forever. I will never use Windows Vista.

My most enjoyed purchase of 2008:
Without a doubt it was the Vespa.

My most enjoyed city of 2008 was:
San Sebastien, Spain.

Madrid and it's sourrounding towns are close runners up though.

My most enjoyed sport of 2008:
Definitely snowboarding since I went once a week in the winter. This year we aren’t going quite as often it seems but I don’t have any other sports.

And last but not least my most enjoyed person of 2008 was:
Irene - she wins again!?! amazing!!!!

Living In Ottawa

I am sure everyone has heard about the Ottawa transit strike by now. It has been going on for more than a month now. It has the entire city in complete chaos and everybody (even the non bus-riders) has an opinion on it.

Personally Irene and I (and most of my suburban friends) are not totally messed up. We are in the enviable position of owning a car and Irene is able to get a ride to work with her dad. However I would prefer to take the bus to work, especially on the really snowy days.

The problem is there are many people in this city who totally depend on the buses to get around for everything. A lot of those people are probably in the lower income bracket and they certainly don't have the luxury of buying a car or getting to work late.

Basically what I am saying is that there is not a lot of sympathy for the bus drivers. Personally I think they are a bunch of greedy bumcaps. First of all there is so much economic uncertainty right now and these guys are saying that they want more, more, more. They already have very good job security, high pay, etc. and all this with a high school education. (It reminds me of GM and Ford). Secondly, the main issue they are arguing for is control of the scheduling. But in every other transit system in North America the scheduling is run by the management. The city of Ottawa wants to be able to take control of scheduling in order to save money by hiring less drivers and buying less buses. It would also be safer since currently some of the younger drivers have to work insane shifts because the senior guys take all the good ones. It doesn't make sense to have the inexperienced guys doing the harder shifts - accidents are bound to happen.

From the city's side I have never seen the city council and mayor agree on anything since Larry O'Brien was elected. But on this issue the council is tight. It makes sense to all of them that OC Transpo needs some changes.

Recently the city proposed a new contract (much the same as the first one) that included some serious raises (7% I think!) and a good signing bonus. Who gets a 7% raise?!? That is ridiculous. But it is all a ploy to pay off the drivers so that they accept the scheduling being handled by the city. The union voted to turn down the offer. About 75% voted 'no' according to the union. And now it's back to striking, and insane traffic and people's lives being messed with.

I think a few things should come out of this:
1. Public transit should be designated an essential service - so they can't strike.
2. The city should control scheduling - it just makes sense.
3. The city should set a deadline and if they aren't back to work by that time, fire 'em all.
4. The provincial/federal government should step in and get some legislation through that forces them back to work.

The somewhat humourous aspect of this is that the city is saving millions of dollars while the transit system is down while the union is losing huge. That is because OC Transpo, like every other transit system in the world (except Tokyo I think), is a money losing system and it is not like a regular business. But it is essential.

So get back to work you stupid bumcaps.

Edit: Apparently the term asshats (as hilarious as it sounds) is not appropriate. I have reverted to the more subtle term: 'bumcaps'. Please notify me if that is inappropriate too.

The Whopper Sacrifice

Burger King has really been upping it's advertising these days with such campaigns as the Whopper Virgin and Subservient Chicken. They don't seem to mind dealing with social/ethical issues by throwing in some humour.

The latest campaign is offering you a free Whopper if you DE-FRIEND 10 people from your friend list on Facebook. The funniest part is the "sacrifices" show up in your activity feed. So it'll say, for example, "Reuben sacrificed Irene for a free Whopper."

I have to think about whether I have 10 friends on Facebook I could stand to lose - everybody does. But I don’t know whether I really want a whopper that badly. I have only gone to Burger King once and it was disgusting. Now if it was a Harveys burger then everybody would be gone.

Merry Christmas (its a conspiracy)

Now that Christmas is over I would like to wish my blog readers a Merry Christmas. So, Merry Christmas everyone!
I would also like to point out that Christmas has been hijacked by commercialism and post a video put together by a group called Advent Conspiracy.

As you can see by the video they are advocating more worship, spending less while giving more and loving everyone. One of the best points they make is the fact that Americans spend 450 billion at Christmas time and at the same time it would only take 10 billion to solve the world water crisis.
It is a powerful video so give it some thought. I know our church is certainly thinking about what we could do next year.

It's Christmas Card Time!

In keeping with the season, Irene and I sent out Christmas cards to many of our friends and family. You should be getting yours soon. If you don't get one than we don't have your address. I am not going to post the actual one we sent out because I don't want to ruin the surprise.

But I will post some of the runners-up.All we need is some hot cocoa and fake reindeer antlers.

We did a lot of work on the house this year.

Anybody who knows about Irene's chainsaw wielding past will understand why she is the one doing the cutting.

We like Christmas lights.

I don't know why I am skiing, snowboarding is where it's at.

And sledding, sledding is also where it's at. Sorry gingerbread men but those tobaggans are hard to control.

I hope you enjoyed that and maybe in the new year I will post our actual Christmas card.

Tis the Season for Concerts

We sure have seen our share of classical/seasonal music in the past month. We went to see a candle lit performance of the Messiah. I think this may become a tradition for us.Irene performed with her choir at a church designed by my firm. They also sang parts of the Messiah along with some seasonal tunes.Our church had the annual children's choir performance. It was as cute as ever despite missing several kids who were on vacation.

The Good ol Hockey Game

In the last couple weeks we ended up scoring tickets to see both of Ottawas major hockey teams. A co-worker got me 4 free tickets to an Ottawa 67s game and the following week I ended up with a ticket to the Senators/Thrashers game. Someone ended up backing out of that at the last minute so Irene got to go.
The 67s are a pretty decent team with one of the best (and longest running) coaches in the OHL. They started off pretty badly but near the end were starting a good comeback. The final score was 5-4 for the Oshawa Generals. The game also included the funniest half-time show I have ever seen. It was a bunch of mascots running around the ice, dancing and attacking each other. And since we came late our seats were near the top of the stands. Also, because we had four tickets, we invited some church friends along with us. The Senators game was quite thrilling because we had some of the best seats in the building. We were 8 rows up from behind the opponents bench. High enough to see over the boards but low enough to really feel the action. Also, they serve you beer/food in these lower levels.
The game was really thrilling and was a big win for the struggling Ottawa team. I caught all the goals and most were really good. The scoring started off early and so did the fighting.
The final score was 5-1 for Ottawa. It was a once in lifetime opportunity.In somewhat sad news, a fan from Vermont in the stands across from us fell from the top (third) level to the second level when he tripped on a womans purse. He was apparently carrying two drinks. Both the man who fell and the woman he landed on are surprisingly fine. No word on what happened to the drinks.
We missed the whole thing because we were too busy getting served in our luxury seats. Apparently, what happens on the top levels, stays in the top levels.

The Microsoft Matrix

This video is done so well. If you have seen The Matrix and have used Microsoft Windows this video will appeal to you.

Thanks Chris

Annnnnnnnnnnd We're Back!

We arrived home at around 11:30 Ottawa time from Madrid (minus only one bag). Irene promptly ate a bowl of cereal since it felt like breakfast time to us. I staved off the hunger in a desperate attempt to change my body into accepting this time zone. I think it worked.We had a fantastic time running around Madrid and doing trips to places like Segovia, Toledo, San Sebastien and Bilbao. Thanks to Tim and his sister Esther for showing us around and sharing lots of sangria and tapas. It was great fun and it is a little sad to be home so soon and back into the grind of real life.

Songwriters Circle

On Monday night I took a group of friends downtown to the Library and Archives building for a neat little concert that was part of the Ottawa Writers Festival. Not being a writer, I had hardly taken notice of this festival. This sounded interesting enough though and having missed the Great Lake Swimmers show on Friday I sure felt like I needed a concert. Plus Justin Rutledge was there so that pretty much sealed the deal for me. The other two artists were Glenn Noutio and Kyrie Kristmanson.
I really had no idea what it was going to be like but it turned out to be quite an intimate and informal affair of wine sipping and trading song writing info between the artists. After waiting for Junot Díaz to finish a reading from his new book 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao' we were let in to the auditorium and introduced to the artists. Glenn Noutio, since he is a super-gay guy, had to make that obvious every time he opened his mouth. I know not all gay guys are like that but really so many are. We know you are gay, now stop reminding us. Kyrie Kristmanson has this amazing voice and she sang a couple a capella and the rest with a guy on double bass. I bought her cd even though it did not have 'Blackwind' on it. Check her out here. Justin was, of course, amazing with his strong voice and sweet guitar. Check out some of his stuff here.They took turns performing and talking about the lyrics and how the songs came to be. I love hearing that kind of background. To me it makes the songs mean something more. I get a deeper satisfaction from them. It turns out that Kristmanson is studying music in Lyon, France. She is transposing some of the first real recorded non-religious music into a more modern playable style. It was written by wives of men who were off in the crusades and apparently it is often said that these 40 women invented love and courtship as we know it today. Rutledge is currently working on a play/reading of a new book by that famous Canadian author whose name is escaping me right now. Was it Ondatje? Anyway, he wrote some songs for one of the characters.

Overall it was a great night although a reaction from one of my friends was 'I liked my Backstreet Boys concert better'. Read into that however you want. It wasn't really a true concert though. But I did like it better than any Backstreet Boys music I have ever heard.

These pictures are courtesy of Lenny Wu (a fellow Radio3 listener and blogger)

Christopher's Lens

A friend of mine recently started a blog on which he will be posting pictures fairly regularly. He has a fantastic camera and an eye for a good shot plus he is pretty handy with Photoshop.

I have added a link to my side-bar so please check it out and let him know what you think.

Ottawa Bluesfest 2008

Summer is a great time to be living in Ottawa. There is a continuous stream of festivals and wonderful weather. Currently our town is in the midst of one of the largest music festivals in Canada (if not the world). At ten days long and six stages it sure is a big deal. And as I said in May, it really isn't limited to blues. This is the second year in a row that it is being held in the fields around the brand new War Museum (probably the best museum in the country right now). If you look at the picture below you can see the Parliament buildings in the distance.
It attracts some pretty big names every year but if you know me, those aren't the guys I'm interested in. So on Saturday I dragged Irene and a friend of mine (whose wife is in Toronto for work) out to see a Six Shooters Records Extravaganza on the Blacksheep Stage. Basically the guys at Six Shooters brought together the better part of their roster and did each artist separately over the afternoon with a big culminating bash right at the end. The set included such great Canadian indie acts as Christine Fellows, Luke Doucet, Elliot Brood and everyone's favourite crooner Justin Rutledge.
Christine Fellows, my second favourite artist from Winnepeg (after the Weakerthans) started off the afternoon with her soaring vocals and electronic indie-pop. Mixing a violin with a synth and xylophone was a great way to start the day. Anybody who has not heard her song Vertebrea should check it out now on NMC. It is a perfectly crafted pop song.Justin Rutledge followed with a complete band this time. His voice is something special and when you get the stellar guitar playing coordinated perfectly with the lap guitar and emphatic drumming you can close your eyes and know you are experiencing something really special. I like him so much I bought another one of his cds.
Country rockers NQ Arbuckle, with the smoking Neville Quinlan played nonchalantly and where backed by some powerful country kids. The highlight of this set was when Justin Rutledge and Carolyn Mark did backing vocals and then slow danced their way off stage.Luke Doucet (former Ryan Adams-esque rocker turned alt-country crooner) wowed the crowds with his fancy guitar work and even brought his father and daughter to play and sing with him and wife Melissa McClelland in a spine tingling rendition of 'Jolene'. Mark my words, that daughter of his has a future in singing. That is for sure.Elliot Brood, who are coming off a critically acclaimed new album release, took the stage for a tight set that included, acoustic guitars, compatible ukuleles and at least one banjo. Though I am not a huge fan of the distorted acoustic guitar sound I did like it when they took it down a notch with the banjo and ukuleles. These guys also have the coolest custom chair (for the guitarist who sits down the whole time) and also the suits where a nice touch.The finale featured Martin Tielli (one of the founders of Six Shooters and who I hadn't even heard of). He played some extremely intense solo-acoustic songs and slowly added musicians from all the bands we had just heard. The result was some really amazing artistic rock that you could see was just so much fun for all the people on stage. It was twenty or thirty talented musicians playing together and interacting musically, creating a lush musical landscape. It was a beautiful way to end the night.
I wish I could see more of the Bluesfest but alas I have to install a patio this coming weekend and my list of helpers is dwindling as other projects and events are popping up.....guess I had better get digging. Here is the view we had of the Ottawa River as the sun was setting over Bluesfest. Till next year!And just for the record, this is the third blog in a row in which I am writing about my life and not just random nothingness so I don't want to hear any complaining from the peanut gallery.

Canada Day in Ottawa

Once again we had a stellar Canada Day. We took in a bunch of concerts, hung out with friends, experienced Canadian patriotism and saw the fireworks.
We started the day at JazzFest in Confederation Park (where the ice sculptures are for Winterlude). Basia Bulat was playing and I really wanted to hear that and buy the cd. I accomplished both and even got a picture with her.Here is a clip of her concert. The snowbirds did a fly-by during the set.


We wandered up to the Hill and saw Blue Rodeo do a couple token songs (I'm not really a fan).And then watched the deafening 21 gun salute.We randomly met some more friends. Its amazing how with that many people downtown you still manage to meet people you know. Eric the intern scored us free lunch from his good friends at the chicken farmers lobby group. We hung around at Majors Hill park for a bit and then headed to a friends place for dinner. There is no point trying to get into a restaurant in the Market on Canada Day. Eric fell asleep because Canada Day is hard on an intern - too much free stuff.After a few beers we headed back to Majors Hill Park and watched a french band get everybody dancing. They also demonstrated how accordions can be cool. Amanda Rheaume did an acoustic set to open for none other than Hawksley Workman. As expected he was pretty crazy. He actually reminds me of the Joker from Batman with all his howls and crazy sounds. My favourite song was Anger as Beauty. Here is a picture of Centre Block during the concert.And the fireworks.