I attended primary school from 1978 until 1989. That makes me somewhat of an authority on schoolyard games played during recess and lunch in West Toronto during the 1980s.

This entry isn't about the typical games kids play, like baseball or catch or tag, this is about two games we took very seriously at St. Pius X. Both games required a wall and a tennis ball, and I haven't played either since I graduated to high school.

Butt's Up a.k.a. Redass

In hindsight, this was a nasty little game. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to learn Butt's Up a.k.a. Redass has been banned from schoolyards. Basically, you throw a tennis ball at the wall, and catch it. If you touch the ball and fail to catch it, you have to run to the wall before someone else picks up the ball and throws it at the wall. If you fail to make it to the wall before the ball does, you're forced to stand with your face against the wall while the other players take turns whipping the ball at your butt. Now you know where the names come from.

We, being good Catholic kids who avoided swears in the names of our games, always called this game Butt's Up, but at some point a kid from another school transferred over and told us the game was actually called Redass.

Handball

Our handball was nothing like the lacrosse-like handball you see where a team attempts to score on a net. Our handball was sort of like squash with our hands where we would hit the tennis ball so it bounced once on the ground and then hit the wall. You could hit it on a bounce, or on the fly. If the ball bounced twice before the next person returned it, something happened. Here's where my memory gets a little fuzzy. I can't remember if you got a point and the first person to six was out or if you got a letter and started spelling a word, soft of like Horse.

I do remember that we would call "no sidesies" and the better players developed an awesome topspin so it would hit the wall and die. We would also peel the cover off the tennis ball to give it more bounce.

That's how we rolled in West Toronto in the 80s. Does anyone else remember Butt's Up, Redass or Handball?

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YouTube user Retrontario frequently uploads fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips never fail to bring back a ton of memories for me, so I feature them from time to time.

When John Mahjor passed away last year, I issued a Toronto Rocks host clarification. Major was the host of Toronto Rocks, but I could only find a YouTube clip featuring Brad Giffen, who eventually took over for Mahjor.

Thanks to Retrontario, I now have a sweet City-TV Toronto Rocks promo from 1984.

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Blogging is one of the cooler hobbies. If there's something I can't find anywhere, I just need to write about it and eventually someone who can help me will find my entry and make my day. This happened with the Saint Ralph soundtrack, when I couldn't find or buy Gord Downie's version of "Hallelujah", and it's happened again.

In April 2007 I found myself blurting out "you're the Alpha-Getti Gobbler" to my daughter. That sparked a memory of an Alpha-Getti commercial I saw numerous times as a kid. I hit the web searching for the ad or at least a screen cap and I came up empty. That's when I wrote this entry about the Alpha-Getti Gobbler, now #1 when you Google this elusive beast.

Over a year passed until Ryan Barnett left a comment on that entry. He was Googling the ad and found my entry. Ryan Barnett was one of the three children in the Alpha-Getti Gobbler ad and he had the advertisement on DVD. That sparked this Gobbler alert from earlier today.

Not only has Ryan agreed to an interview, but he's already ripped the ad to a digital file that he's kindly emailed to me. I promptly uploaded the vid to my YouTube account, and now, without further ado, I'm sharing the hold grail of canned pasta ads. Here's the Alpha-Getti Gobbler.

Related entries:

• The Alphagetti Gobbler
• Zoodles Are Animal Noodles
• Move Aside, Mark Leslie
• Alpha-Getti and Zoodles
• Gobbler Alert

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I'm a natural born archivist. In fact, when you think about it, that's the crux of blogging and I was blogging time-stamped journal style entries years before the birth of the blogosphere. I've always felt a need to document events with scrap books, photos, journals and video tape.

As mentioned, I was going through boxes of ancient artifacts this afternoon when I found a series of video tapes. These are sporting events I've recorded because I knew there would come a day when I'd want to watch them again. Below are tapes that contain the following games.

• The very first Toronto Raptors game
• Wayne Gretzky's last game
• The very last game at Maple Leaf Gardens
• The 1991 All-Star game at SkyDome
• The very last game at Exhibition Stadium

My foresight was bang on. I'm aching to watch all five right now.

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I'm a bit of a pack rat. Not the crazy obsessive kind, but I hold on to a lot of stuff because I think it'll be neat to have in fifty years.

Today we spent the bulk of the day purging crap we've accumulated over the years. We're in hardcore minimization mode, so I went through a bunch of my old boxes and started throwing stuff out. Trust me, this isn't easy for me, and I didn't part with everything, but I chucked a great number of things I've had for over two decades.

In one box, I found dozens of old comic books. A number of these were those old Whitman Comics that included Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters. There were also lots of Transformers comics, some Archies and a smattering of Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and Captain Canuck.

I gave them all to my kids. If that 2nd issue of The 'Nam turns out to be worth something, I'm gonna feel like a dolt, but I'll bet it's worth less than the 75¢ I paid for it at the time.

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One of the first children's shows in my memory bank is Uncle Bobby. It aired on CFTO, our Toronto CTV affiliate, but it went off the air when I was five.

One of the staples of Uncle Bobby was "Bimbo: The Birthday Clown". Wikipedia describes Bimbo as "a stationary cardboard cut-out who would come out of his closet to the tune of Jim Reeves's Bimbo and a booming laugh as Uncle Bobby announced that day's birthday greetings. Accompanying Bimbo were three puppets on a string, Wilson, Keppel and Betty, named after British music hall performers, who would "dance" to Bimbo's theme."

A friend just sent me to the video below as an example of why many kids grow up afraid of clowns. Personally, I blame Poltergeist, but Scott makes a good point. Bimbo was one frightening mofo. Happy birthday, kids!

Bobby Ash, the imported Uncle Bobby, passed away last year. Here he is, ensuring a generation of Toronto-raised kids grow up afraid of clowns.... and birthdays.

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I'm watching the Jays opener against the Yankees. It's the last opening day in Yankee Stadium history. I remember skipping school to attend the last opening day in Exhibition Stadium history.

There were 46,028 of us on hand that April 14th, 1989 afternoon. Jimmy Key pitched a two-hit complete game gem in a 3-0 shutout. Nelson Liriano of all people was the offensive hero with a two run single to left. When Kevin Seitzer flew out to George Bell to end the game, we were on our feet, saluting a masterpiece by Key and our favourite mistake by the lake.

I was in the general admission grandstand, and the regular price for that ticket was $4. I believe I got in for $2 thanks to a promotion by Dominion grocery stores. That was the best deal in the city.

Exhibition Stadium didn't have the history of Yankee Stadium, but try telling 14 year old me that. We won that game, and I'd like to win this one. It's 3-2 Yankees in the 8th. Go Jays Go!

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I was a member of the Lego Club. They sent me a membership card and everything. I loved Lego and would build castles, Star Wars spacecraft and cities galore.

Lego is still everywhere. My son plays Star Wars Lego on our Nintendo Wii. It's the story of Star Wars in Lego form, and it's extremely popular. He's also a member of the Lego Club, only he gets an actual magazine every month or so in the mail. I'm jealous!

Here are classic images recreated in Lego. These pictures blew my mind, but then again, I was a Lego Club member.

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My kids went to a toy exchange this morning. A bunch of neighbourhood mommies hook up and swap books and toys and such. It's a pretty good idea, so yesterday we were going through a bunch of old books to see what we could bring to the party.

Amongst the books in James' bookshelf I was surprised to find my old copy of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. L'Engle recently passed away at the age of 88.

Finding this old favourite reminded me of what a ferocious reader I used to be. My mother tells me stories about how I'd devour books like candy when I was a pre-teen. I remember reading books every night until baseball season and then turning to Tom and Jerry on CJCL, 1430. That was my routine from the age of 8 to 14 or so.

I almost never read books anymore. I read plenty online, a newspaper every day and plenty of magazines, but no books. It's a shame.

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

If you're not from Toronto, you can't appreciate our relationship with Buffalo, New York. We get the ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX Buffalo affiliate stations, not to mention WNED, the Buffalo PBS station. When I was younger, we didn't have hundreds of television stations. I remember getting 29 or so stations, and many of those were from Buffalo.

I love this WKBW 7 Buffalo Eyewitness News Nightcast opening from 1988 because it's typical of what I think about when I think about Buffalo.

• Irv Weinstein is the Eyewitness News anchor I knew best. It's too bad Irv isn't featured in this clip, because to me he is Buffalo.
• They say Irv was first to use that "It's 11 o'clock, do you know where your children are?" line. That's just awesome.
• Buffalo was all about the Bills and Sabres and Bisons. Only one more subject was more Buffalo....
• Fires! It's awesome this clip's lead story is a fire. Buffalo fires dominated the Buffalo news. I often wondered as a kid why Toronto didn't have fires like they have in Buffalo so regularly. Did they not have bricks when they built Buffalo homes?

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

Here's a promo for CityTV's CityPulse sports back in 1984. The team consisted of Peter Gross, Debbie Van Kiekebelt and Jim McKenny. Join me after the clip for more discussion, won't you?

Who were these guys and where are they now?

Peter Gross was an out-of-work actor driving a cab when he picked up Moses Znaimer one day and asked him for a job. He was sports director at CityTV in the 1980s and today can be heard reading sports for 680 News.

Debbie Van Kiekebelt was an Olympic Pentathlete, Canada's female athlete of the year in 1971 and Canada's first woman sportscaster when she took the gig at CityTV. In the video above, she can be seen wearing a Toronto tee. I too wore a Toronto tee, but it never won me a damn thing.

Jim McKenny scored 327 points in 594 games as a Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman. That's the fourth highest total for defencemen in franchise history. Today, you'll still catch him on CityTV, talking sports. The more things change...

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

Today I'm posting an ad from 1983 for Quaker Oatmeal. I was nine years old in 1983 and I remember this ad like it was yesterday.

These Quaker instant hot cereal packages were in my home growing up, and I loved the regular flavour with a little 2% milk and some brown sugar sprinkled on top. I was eating this stuff in 1983 and I'm still eating it today. As I type this I can see a box of Quaker oatmeal on my desk. This box is maple & brown sugar flavour, which didn't exist back in 1983. Still, it's safe to say this ad worked and now I'll be singing that damn song for the rest of the day.

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

For most of my adult life, Fox has been my home on Sunday nights. Anchored by The Simpsons, there have been other shows I've enjoyed, from Arrested Development to Family Guy.

As a kid in the early and mid-80s, CBC was my home on Sunday nights. It was Disney at 6pm and then Fraggle Rock. And yes, I even watched The Beachcombers. That rascally old Relic!

Here's Bruno Gerussi introducing the CBC Sunday night lineup in 1983.

I've corresponded with Mr. WNED17 via email, and he's become a regular witness to these entries in which I re-purpose his content. His name is Ed and he's got 1000s of old Beta tapes he's combing through, but he's struggling with the YouTube upload times. I've requested some more 80s Toronto sports clips and he's promised me some 1983 City TV sports coverage action.

Thanks, Ed!

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I have a collection of expressions I'll use in place of "goodbye". Many of these expressions came from hip hop songs from the late 80s and early 90s as is the case with a farewell line I've been using for 17 years now. That would be, "I'm out like Buster Douglas".

In 1991, I was a huge fan of The Low End Theory, an album by A Tribe Called Quest. During one track, "Vibes and Stuff", Phife Dawg says "I'm out like Buster Douglas". A huge Mike Tyson fan at the time, I was still stinging from the shocking Buster Douglas knock-out in 1990. In his very next fight, Douglas was knocked out in the 3rd round by Evander Holyfield and Buster never boxed again.

Here's the scene from February 11, 1990 in Tokyo, Japan. Tyson was out like Buster Douglas.

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

Here's a Maple Leaf game promo from 1986. The game was aired on CHCH TV out of Hamilton and, judging from the clip, the play-by-play was by Jim Hughson.

This clip features a great goal by Peter Ihnacak while reminding us that the boards at Maple Leaf Gardens at the time were completely bare. As an added bonus, there's a promo for Don Cherry's Grapevine tagged on the end with goalie Don Edwards who was sharing duties at the time with Ken Wregget and Allan Bester.

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When I was young, I remember cars with Ontario license plates had the slogan "Keep It Beautiful" printed on them. "Keep It Beautiful" was everywhere until "Yours To Discover" showed up. Then, for a while there was a split until all the "Keep It Beautiful" plates disappeared.

A little digging tells me the "Keep It Beautiful" slogan was used from 1973 to June 1982. In 1982 the slogan was changed to "Yours To Discover".

While I'm strolling down memory lane, "Yours To Discover" was the Ontario tourism slogan for most of my youth and they build a massive ad campaign around it in the 1980s. Here's a great spot from 1984.

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I got an email this morning from Mark Hebscher. Hebsy, along with Jim Tatti, hosted Sportsline on Global TV every weeknight at 11:30 from 1985 untill Hebscher left in 1995. I was a Sportsline fanatic.

In the late 80s and early 90s, Sportsline was like no other sports highlight show on television. First and foremost, it was funny. They didn't take sports too seriously and they had fun presenting the highlights. The Hebsy Awards were always a treat.

My brothers and I used to watch Sportsline together and that's where we caught up on what was happening in the NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA or whatever. There was no World Wide Web to tap into, there was no Sportsnet or The Score, and TSN's Sportsdesk just wasn't as much fun as Hebsy and Tatti. When Hebscher left in 1995, I too said goodbye. Last year, Global axed the entire sports department, including Jim Tatti.

If you're in your 30s and you grew up in the GTA loving sports, you were likely as big a fan of this show as I was. I miss it.

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

In the 1980s, beer ads were different than they are today. Today they're more likely to be humourous but back in the 80s they either promoted the "real men drink beer" image or exploited women by sticking them in bikinis at every opportunity. I miss the 80s...

Here's a Labatt's Blue ad from 1986 that got plenty of airplay in Toronto. I remember this "It's Time to Call For The Blue" jingle well. Watching it again actually made this non-drinker crave a Blue. It gets bonus points for including a shot of Exhibition Stadium.

A year later, Molson started airing this ad for Molson Ex. Who will forget the "Ex Says It All" campaign? It really appeals to my blue collar sensibilities.

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

This is an ad for the TTC from 1984. I remember this song well. Does the TTC advertise at all anymore?

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I have a pretty good memory, but for the life of me I can't remember who called me Andy Van Slyke. It was 1989 and my locker was in the St. Joe's building, and I remember vividly somebody bringing in an Andy Van Slyke baseball card from when he was with the Pirates and telling everyone he was my twin.

I stuck that card in my locker and it became a conversation starter for people who dropped by. I had to admit, the Andy Van Slyke card did look like me, and I always liked the way he played...

This might be the card that was in my locker, but it's hard to say for sure. By the way, there's a nice little Pirates blog called Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? for you Pittsburgh fans.

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

I know there are people in this country who hate the CBC. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is a crown corporation, so it's constantly criticized for its apparent left-wing bias and an easy target. I, however, have always loved the CBC.

From the 1991 Broadcasting Act, "the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as the national public broadcaster, should provide radio and television services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens and entertains". I believe it does a great job of doing all three. I could live on the documentaries CBC Newsworld provides and I never enjoy a Leafs game as much when it's not Hockey Night in Canada. I'm glad the CBC exists.

In the 80s, the CBC logo was this funky exploding pizza-like thing, and I miss it. Here is that great CBC indentifier from 1982.

And, since it's the Mother Corp we're talking about, here's a French version.

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

When I wrote all about The Polka Dot Door, one of my favourite television shows as a child, I couldn't find a YouTube clip to complement the memory. Thanks to WNED17, I now have a few to choose from.

This clip, from 1981, includes my favourite part from each episode. It's the inevitable moment the male host realizes he missed Polkaroo... again.

Here's the Polka Dot Door end credits. When I hear this song, I'm four again.

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

I've written about Elwy Yost before. He hosted Magic Shadows and Saturday Night at the Movies on TVOntario for most of my life and the tone of his voice always brings me back.

This clip is the outro for Saturday Night at the Movies from 1979.

As an added bonus, here's the awesome intro for Magic Shadows.

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

Every Jays fan from the 80s is going to love this Blue Jays promo from CKCO. That music brings back so many memories and this footage is extraordinary. I'll never forget the fantastic memories I have of Exhibition Stadium. After you watch this, head over to my OK Blue Jays page and listen to that retro gem. When does Spring Training start?

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YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks.

About a year ago I wrote about Zoodles. Zoodles are animal noodles and here's the ad we 30-somethings know and love.

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We all have guilty pleasures, right? There's something you know you're not supposed to dig but you end up liking it anyway. "American Idol" is a common guilty pleasure, and one I've confessed to in the past.

I wrote my brothers about the amazing lineup for the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival this summer. The headliners are Pearl Jam, but as I wrote in my email, "buried in the middle are Broken Social Scene, Rilo Kiley and Tegan and Sara? Heck, The Rac is only on line #3."

Steve noticed Jakob Dylan "buried way down deep" and wondered what happened to The Wallflowers. I replied that they were opening for Hootie & the Blowfish in a bar somewhere, and that's when I got it. You see, Hootie is my cross to bear.

At some point in 1995 I may have confessed to liking part of the Hootie & the Blowfish song "Let Her Cry". At the time we were only a few years removed from the height of grunge and our musical diet was primarily composed of Green Day's Dookie and the Offspring's Smash, so digging Hootie & the Blowfish was a very uncool thing to do. I've never heard the end of it.

Today, in this most public of forums, I'm standing up for my right to dig at least parts of Hootie & the Blowfish's "Let Her Cry". I admit it's not cool, but it is what it is and I'm tired of running from the truth. Even today, as I heard the song for the first time in a decade, I must admit I liked it.

I challenge you to listen to this and not like at least part of it a little. Don't be afraid, I've paved the trail for us all.

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I'm not losing my mind. Way back in 2004 I wrote about "Toronto Rocks" and seeing J.D. Roberts host the video show that aired on City-TV. Then, when John Majhor passed away, I read an article about "Toronto Rocks" that convinced me I was wrong. Yesterday a comment on that entry confirmed what I recall.

Ravi wrote:

J. D. Roberts was the intermediate host of Toronto Rocks (very briefly) and sometimes filled in for John Mahjor. There weren't that many episodes where J.D. appeared. I know because I have VHS recordings of videos of him in it. He was obviously on The New Music. Brad Giffen came after...and if I remember correctly, I could have sworn I seen Brad Giffen model wearing coats for a clothing store in the Toronto Sun. John Mahjor was a great host...RIP

It's nice seeing JD Roberts (John Roberts) on CNN. Did you know Ali Velshi is from TO as well?

I told ya so.

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At some point about 15 years ago, we started getting Chicago's WGN as part of our cable package. WGN would broadcast Chicago Cubs games called by Harry Caray and Harry Caray made things fun.

I remember one game the Cubs batter came to the plate with runners at 2nd and 3rd. He hit a sweet single that died in the luscious Wrigley Field grass and two runs scored. What I remember about this play was Harry Caray's call "Base hit... two runs score!" and as God is my witness he had this sentence out of his mouth before the ball hit the ground.

Harry was great. I can't believe he's been gone ten years.

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When I found the bridge pic last night, I found a few other nuggets from the mid-90s. The picture below is my home entertainment system in my very first apartment in 1996. Here's a little more I wrote about 30 Charles Street West, University of Toronto family housing. The rent was dirt cheap but you had to be both a student at the university and married to get in.

Looking at this pic, a few things jump out at me.

• There's a Super Nintendo on the floor. Until a Nintendo Wii showed up at Christmas, that was the last gaming console I played.
• I recently dusted off that stereo and moved it to my current bedroom. I was listening to it this morning.
• That very VCR is still hooked up to the television in our bedroom.
• It's strange seeing all those CDs out - now that everything is MP3, all the CDs are stored away.
• That dresser the television is sitting on has been painted green and now resides in our kitchen.

In twelve years, very little has changed!

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The first computer I ever enjoyed was the Commodore PET. My dad would bring it home from work on weekends in the late 70s and very early 80s. My three favourite games were horse racing, where I'd essentially bet against simulated racetrack odds, lemonade stand, where I'd manage a virtual lemonade stand, and Eat Man, a complete rip-off of Pac Man.

Comparing the Commodore PET to today's PCs is a lot of nostalgic fun. We had virtually no graphics to speak of, no colour, no mouse and the storage medium was something we called a Commodore Datassette. That was essentially a dedicated computer tape recorder that looked like a cassette deck.

We eventually got a Commodore 64, but the Datassette lived on. "Press Play on Tape #1" was our marching orders and we complied. 'Load"*",8,1' 'Run'

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Today, I listen to all my music as MP3s. It's usually on the computer or in one of my two personal MP3 players. In my three decades of life, this is my fourth format.

In the beginning, all my music was either on vinyl or cassette tapes. At some point in the 1980s I ditched vinyl for CDs and eventually, in the mid-to-late 90s, I ditched cassette tapes. In this decade, I went digital and said goodbye to CDs.

This entry is about vinyl. There was always a good record player in the house growing up, but I wasn't really allowed to mess with it. I remember going to Consumers Distributing and picking a mini-stereo out of the catologue that was to be my very own. This mini-stereo didn't just have a dual cassette deck and AM/FM radio, it was also a record player.

With a record player in my room, I started collecting 45s. I used to buy them at Sam the Record Man at Jane and Bloor. The pic below are two from my collection I saved, The Travelling Wilburys and George Harrison solo. I loved my 45 singles.

Downloading a 99 cent song from iTunes doesn't quite have the same charm.

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I've had several favourite songs these past few decades. At one point I remember a Duran Duran single being my favourite, then there was Billy Idol, then Guns N' Roses, Public Enemy and Nirvana. My first favourite song, however, as memory serves, was sung by Bobby Day.

In 1958, Bobby Day released what would be his only hit single, "Rockin' Robin". In my youth, I loved music from the 50s and 60s, and "Rockin' Robin" appeared on a compilation cassette I would play over and over and over again. "Rockin' Robin", along with "Chantilly Lace" by The Big Bopper, was my first favourite song.

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In 1995, during the brief period I dated my wife, Taryn bought a Packard Bell computer from the University of Toronto computer store. She paid for it monthly, so I believe it cost us about $400,000 by the time it was all said and done. I say us because we married in January 1996 and this crappy Packard Bell computer with Windows 3.1 was part of the deal.

The PC itself is long gone, but I held onto the monitor. It worked, and I always felt we should have a 2nd monitor on stand by, especially back in the day when monitors were fairly pricey.

This thing sat in our basement forever, and last week I finally threw it out. I didn't even bother giving it to someone because I can't imagine someone being so desperate as to want a 12 year old 15 inch CRT.

Before the sanitary engineers came by to take her away, I snapped a couple of shots. At one point I recall it was an off-white before becoming a lovely tint of yellow.

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Somebody scanned 657 pages from a 1982 Sears Christmas Catalogue. I was six years old at the time, and that was precisely the kind of catalogue I'd be handed and asked to circle things I wanted for Christmas. I would have headed straight to this Dukes of Hazard page. I'm pretty sure I asked for and received the Slam Figure-8 Raceway.

In later years, I'd head straight for the electronics section and admire the radios and cassette tape players. The AM/FM transistor radio below would have been right up my alley. In fact, I once wrote about the little blue transistor radio I received around this time.

Check out this guy's effort and enjoy your trip back to 1982. I know I did.

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As this year's Santa Claus Parade got rolling, I was happy to see Elmer the Safety Elephant leading the way. Along with Blinky the Police Car, Elmer the Safety Elephant was a character I remember well from my primary school days. He'd pay us a visit and teach us not to run on the streets and important things like that.

Elmer the Safety Elephant isn't just marching in parades, he's online. You can even email Elmer at fun@elmer.ca. I might drop him a line to thank him for the bike, train and traffic safety lessons. The Internet saftety tips, however, weren't required.

Here's a picture I snapped of the big guy.

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I loved "The Friendly Giant". It was a childhood staple, along with "Polka Dot Door", "The Electric Company", "Jeremy", "Sesame Street" and "Mr. Dressup". Rusty and Jerome were like childhood friends.

Rusty and Jerome appeared in a satirical skit last month during the Gemini Awards broadcast from Regina on October 28th and now the family of Bob Homme is pissed. Homme's son Richard and daughter Ann picked up the puppets Tuesday from a display at the public broadcaster's downtown Toronto headquarters that also included The Friendly Giant's tunic, boots, castle set and mini furniture.

I found the offending skit on YouTube and it's great. It's just good to see some old friends, ya know? Yes, the CBC should have got permission before using Rusty and Jerome but their appearance stole the show. Watch the skit below.

Now Rusty, here's one little chair for you, and a bigger chair for Jerome to curl up in, and for the Homme family who can't handle a harmless joke, a rocking chair in the middle.

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Are you sitting down? I'm about to drop a factoid on your ass that could shake the very foundation of your being. "Cum on Feel the Noize" was not a Quiet Riot original. It was originally released by Slade in 1973 a full decade before Quiet Riot released their cover in 1983. Ask any 33 year old which version they know best and the answer is guaranteed to be Quiet Riot's.

With Kevin DuBrow's passing, Quiet Riot's "Cum on Feel the Noize" is bouncing around my head. In 1983 I was nine years old and there was no MuchMusic. Our music videos came from shows like Video Hits and Toronto Rocks, or the CHUM Chart show City-TV aired every Saturday afternoon. One of the staples in 1984 was this song. With few videos to choose from, it got plenty of airplay and we all knew it by heart.

In the school yard, the lyrics were always altered. This could very well be my introduction to the f-word. In the playground of St. Pius X we sang "Cum on feel the noise, girls f**k the boys". I often wonder if this was a very localized bastardization of the lyrics or if it was wide spread. Did anyone else alter the lyrics so?

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All this talk about the Nintendo Wii has me hearkening back to the prime of my gaming console life. It was the good 'ol 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System and one of my favourite games was Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!. That second exclamation point is key.

First you took on Glass Joe who was so bad, you wonder how the hell he ever got a bout in the first place. Nobody lost to Glass Joe. Glass Joe was followed by Von Kaiser and Piston Honda in the Minor Circuit.

The Major Circuit meant taking on Don Flamenco, King Hippo, Great Tiger and Bald Bull. Who will ever forget discovering each boxer's weakness. King Hippo, for example, had only one weakness. If you punch him in the belly, you'll knock him out, and once he's down, he ain't getting back up.

The World Circuit meant a re-match with the much improved Piston Honda followed by Soda Popinski, the return of Bald Bull, another bout with Don Flamenco, Mr. Sandman and Super Macho Man. If you got through these cats, you got to face Mike Tyson.

Mike Tyson was tough to beat, but with plenty of practice, you figured him out. Beating him felt great. I miss the NES.

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With Music World closing, there will be no more Canadian-owned national music chains. CQ just left a comment on that entry in which he dropped the name Sunrise Records. Sunrise Records is still around, but it's not a national chain as all their stores are in Ontario.

Sunrise Records is an authorized Ticketmaster outlet and when I think of Sunrise Records I think about the good old days of buying concert tickets. Today we all buy our concert tickets over the web, but it wasn't always that way...

When a big show was coming to town, like Pearl Jam or The Tragically Hip or whoever, I'd physically get my butt to a Ticketmaster outlet to secure a wristband. Then, I'd wear this wristband until the morning the tickets went on sale when I'd have to get myself back to that same Ticketmaster outlet and hope I'd win the lottery. They'd randomly select the number that would assume the first spot in line and then we'd all check our wristbands and line up accordingly.

It wasn't a bad system, and it was always a lot of fun. I rarely used Sunrise Records for this purpose because I preferred the lesser-known VoiceOne location on Bloor Street near Islington. This place was an answering service provider and nobody knew they were an authorized Ticketmaster outlet, so we had a better shot with less wristbands to compete against. VoiceOne is no longer in the Ticketmaster game, but I've moved on. My wristband days are behind me.

Today, it's point and click and pray.

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My jacket dilemma has me thinking about my '86 Taurus. You see, when I like something, I really like it and I don't want to swap it out for a better model or a newer model. I once wrote that I like progress, I just don't like change. That about sums it up.

In 1998 I got a job in Mississauga and required a car. I picked up a beat up rusty 1986 Taurus for $100 and I loved this car. It just worked, dammit, and it never complained. She looked like hell, but she had those old bench seats you don't see anymore and she only cost me a $100! I didn't want to upgrade, I was happy.

I was literally forced to stop driving her when it was discovered she was in some unreported accident and wasn't safe for our roads. In 1999 I bought another car for a great deal more than $100 and I'm still driving that car today.

See what I mean about not liking change? I'll probably fix up my old leather jacket, too.

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I used to do this little feature about shows I used to watch. One show I used to watch is "The Wonder Years".

Here's the closing scene from the series finale. The music you hear is from The Natural, and it never fails to get me all emotional. What man can resist the music from The Natural?

I liked the fact Kevin and Winnie didn't end up together but I always hated the four words that were only written to make you all misty eyed. It's so manipulative, but effective. Randy Newman's score from The Natural is bellowing and Daniel Stern says "when dad passed away".

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I don't know Lori, but she seems to have me all figured out. She likes it when I delve into the dusty corners of my 33 year old mind to come up with old shows I remember. That stuff really appeals to Ontarians born in the mid-70s, I've noticed.

Lori sent me a YouTube video and asked if I remembered the show. Unfortunately, I remember it all too well. In fact, I've seen several episodes of "Out Of This World" and would get that damn theme song stuck in my head on a continuous loop.

Out Of This World was just about as bad as a sitcom can get. The principle character was half alien which gave her the ability to freeze time, Zack Morris style. When everyone was frozen, Evie could still chat with her alien father, Troy Garland of Anterias, who was voiced by none other than Burt Reynolds.

The effects were cheesy, the plot was hokey and the show ran at strange times. I think it ran Saturday or Sunday afternoons on CFMT here in Toronto, but I could be mistaken. Here's that catchy reworking of Bing Crosby's "Swinging on a Star".

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I can't believe it's been fifteen years. I also can't believe I've written 6678 entries but I've never written about that October 24, 1992 night... until now.

I prayed at the alter of Blue Jays baseball. I watched or listened to every game, I celebrated the first pennant in 1985 and, in 1992, I followed my team into their first World Series against the Atlanta Braves. This was the pinnacle, and I wanted that title in Toronto. Game six took place at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium with the Jays up three games to two in the series. David Cone started against Steve Avery and we had a 2-1 lead heading into the ninth inning. The Terminator Tom Henke would take the mound to seal the deal, or so I hoped.

In the bottom of that ninth inning, the Braves had a player at second base and Otis Nixon was down to his last strike with two outs. One more strike would secure us our first World Series title. I'll never forget that sinking feeling when Nixon doubled to tie the game. My brothers and I just stared at the television in disbelief.

Believe it or not, I don't remember much of the tenth inning. My cousin came over, and we took to the dark streets for a period of time throwing a ball back and forth to cut the thick tension. I often wonder what would have happened if the game ended in ten innings. I very well could have missed the clinching moment from our first World Series championship.

We were back in front of the television for the eleventh inning when Dave Winfield hit his first extra-base hit in the series to bring home Devon White and Roberto Alomar. Then, in the bottom of the eleventh, with the lead down to 4-3 and John Smoltz on third base, Nixon was at the plate again to face Mike Timlin who came in to relieve Jimmy Key. We all remember what happened next. Nixon bunted the ball, Timlin fielded it and threw it to Joe Carter at first base for the final out. We were World Series champions.

After an emotional pile-on in the family room, I grabbed the large Canadian flag that was hanging on my bedroom wall and we made our way to Bloor Street to join in the celebration. I was 18, waving the flag and cheering like a mofo amongst the masses who had collected. Everyone was ecstatic, and many were a little toasty. One such inebriated fellow approached me in the middle of Bloor Street at Jane and demanded I hand over my Canadian flag. I refused, and he promptly kicked me in the family jewels and tore the flag from my tight grip. I'll never forget that moment. This jerk had my flag, and he delivered the cheapest of shots, right when I least expected it.

A cop was sitting in his cruiser nearby and I remember asking him to scare this asshole a little so he'd give me back my flag. The cop shrugged his shoulders and I decided to let it go and re-join the celebration. I lost my flag and got kicked in the nads, but my Jays were champions after fifteen seasons of existance.

I'll never forget that night Winfield drove in two in the top of the eleventh. The next year we'd win again, but this time I'd leave my paraphernalia at home.

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I used to bowl a lot. In high school, we would visit O'Connor Bowl on Islington Avenue during lunch. That's long gone, if you're looking for it, but it used to be between Bloor and Norseman. I think they built townhouses there.

The primary bowling spot, however, was Bowlerama on Dundas Street West near Highway 427. That was sort of our home alley, if you will. Here's an ad for the chain that aired in these parts in the early 80s. Yes, that voice is Mark Daley, who is in fact Everywhere.

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Watching NBC on Saturday mornings in the 80s, I often caught the "One To Grow On" PSAs. Stars of NBC shows would basically tell us what we should and shouldn't do.

These PSAs taught me a great deal, such as...

Don't Smoke

Don't Have a Crap Attitude

Don't Answer The Door

Don't Trust Uncle George

Don't Lie

And that's one to grow on.

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I've been helping Buffalo Boy start up his own blog. I just popped over to see how he's doing and I was delighted to find this entry in which he shares The Rheostatics' "The Ballad of Wendel Clark, Part 1&2".

If you remember Etobicoke in the mid-80s, watching this video is a trip down memory lane. My favourite part is the scenes of the Old Mill Donuts shop which I fondly recall. It was on Dundas Street West, between Islington Avenue and Burnhamthorpe Road, where the Second Cup is now. I hadn't thought about Old Mill Donuts in years.

There's more fantastic Etobicokery as well, and it's a pretty cool tune honouring a Leaf great who was all heart.

Well done, Buffalo Boy. Just remember what I told you about leaving the entry mark-up to the CSS...

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As a young reader I would read books from the Choose Your Own Adventure series. In a Choose Your Own Adventure book you make choices that determine the main character's actions and effect the plot and outcome. For example, you'll meet a dragon in a dead-end with a single door and you'd have to decide whether to fight the dragon or run for the door. You might be off to page 13 or you might be off to page 18, depending on your decision.

Today such a game would be better suited to the computer than a book. Click here to fight the dragon, click here to run to the door. Of course, today this wouldn't be a textual game at all. You'd simply use your controller to fight the dragon or head for the door.

Next time on Books Toronto Mike Read As A Kid, we'll revisit the brilliant mind of Encyclopedia Brown.

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I remember in grade five a nerd in gifted offering to copy some of his Commodore 64 games for me to take home. I couldn't believe he could copy the video game onto a floppy disc for me and I'd have the game for free.

My first brush with piracy likely predates this ad that warns us not to copy that floppy. Had I only heard this gentleman's convincing rap before that nerd gave me Jungle Hunt. It might very well have altered my personal history.

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I heard someone mention The Barracuda on CFNY this morning. In the mid-90s I used to frequent The Barracuda at 21 Scollard Street near Yonge and Bloor, usually on Thursday nights. As I recall, Monday nights were Phoenix nights and Thursday nights were Barracuda nights.

The allure was the fact they sold beer for 98¢ before 10pm. We'd buy a bunch at about 9:45pm and hoard them at our table. On one such toasty Thursday night in 1995, I met my future wife for the first time.

The best part of this story is the fact I actually ended up with her best friend's phone number. A few dates and weeks later, I successfully pulled off "The Switch" in glorious and brilliant Seinfeld fashion, and a few months after that I was married.

The Barracuda closed down in 1996, no doubt a result of those 98¢ beer nights, but it will forever be a part of my personal history. What would my life be like today without the 'Cuda?

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At The Taste of the Kingsway Festival this weekend, the kids got helium filled balloons. I was sure to tie these balloons down as there's nothing sadder than a kid watching his or her balloon float up to the heavens. There was one exception to this rule and that was the Inner City Angels Balloon Day we had every year in primary school.

I'm pretty sure the Inner City Angels Balloon Day was a Toronto-wide event, it was certainly an annual event at St. Pius X. Once a year we'd raise money for the Inner City Angels by buying and selling helium filled balloons. We'd tag these balloons with contact information and then, all at once, we'd let them go in the school yard. That sight of thousands of different coloured balloons floating away at once was pretty awesome.

The idea was pretty cool. If someone far away found your tagged balloon, they'd possibly write you a letter. Then you'd have bragging rights. I never received a response, but others did from far away places in Ontario and New York State. We'd hear stories about balloons making their way to Europe but that may have been an urban legend.

Looking back, this fund raiser was rather ill-conceived. I'll bet we were responsible for a great amount of littering and who knows how many ducks died chocking on our deflated balloons. You wouldn't get away with such an effort today, but we celebrated it back in my day.

Does anyone know when Balloon Day was killed off? Did anyone ever hear back from the person who found their balloon?

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Jerry Lewis is still doing that Labor Day telethon thing and yesterday he slipped and uttered the word "faggot". We all remember what befell Isaiah Washington of "Grey's Anatomy" after he used the same expression.

I don't think I've ever used the word, but I remember shit hitting the fan back in grade 7 because of this other f-word. The assignment was to choose a song and play it for the class. We had to discuss the song meaning and analyze the lyrics. Marc S. chose the most excellent Dire Straits song "Money For Nothing", and you can probably guess where this is going.

"Money For Nothing" has the word faggot in the lyrics not once, not twice but three times. Mr. I flipped his lid and Marc got a verbal lashing in front of the entire class. This same project got Kris in trouble as well as he chose the Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere". Mr. I didn't particularly care for that rap fad...

Marc, this one is for you. That little faggot he's a millionaire.

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It's hard to believe an entire decade has elapsed since Princess Diana's death. I remember that night well.

Taryn and I were watching the coverage of her car crash on tv in the bachelor apartment we were renting at Charles Street and Yonge. I fully appreciated the significance of the event, but I wasn't much of a royal family fan, or a Diana fan for that matter. Taryn, however, was, and she had to leave for a midnight shift working security for a chocolate factory. It's true, for a couple of years while I was working at Food City as a grocery clerk Taryn worked two 12-hour midnight shifts each weekend monitoring a Nestle plant on Sterling Road. But I digress...

I stayed tuned to the coverage as the reporters speculated as to whether Diana had survived or not. I remember hearing the announcement that she had passed at which time I called Taryn to tell her the sad news. I remember Taryn being really upset and then moments later my mom calling to share her shock.

Without a doubt, it was an iconic event. I may not have been a Di watcher, but I recognized her as the most photographed woman in the world and I was sure to keep a copy of the next morning's paper.

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Today I thought about someone I hadn't thought of in years. I thought about Elwy Yost.

Elwy Yost hosted Magic Shadows and Saturday Night at the Movies on TVOntario for most of my life. He focused on classic films, and I was too young to appreciate it, but he was a regular face I'd see as I surfed channels. He was always there, hosting these shows from 1974 to 1999, and he always seemed to love what he did.

Wikipedia tells me he's retired and living in West Vancouver, British Columbia. I'll bet he's seated in a comfy chair right now, enjoying a movie.

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I miss Mother's Pizza. As a kid, that was the local family pizzeria we'd visit and memories of the restaurant are hot and fresh. I remember the location on Dundas Street and The East Mall where the Bert & Ernies is and how disappointed I was when the franchise went under.

What's the Mother's Pizza equivalent today? It's not Pizza Hut, is it? If a family wants to go out for pizza, do they have to go to a Boston Pizza or is there a new Mother's-style restaurant in Toronto I haven't discovered yet?

Here's an old ad for Mother's featuring Dennis Weaver. Mother's really was pizza pasta made perfect.

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"My life is a stereo, turn me on and let's go. Turn me up louder, I'll scream as loud and clear as I can scream. And if you like what you're hearing, please hang on to me."
~ The Watchmen - Stereo

Different periods of my life have been defined by certain albums or bands or genres of music. I can trace this back almost 30 years. Let's start at the beginning...

The Golden Oldies - This period of my life started when I was about 6 or 7 and just discovering the joy of putting a cassette in the stereo and rocking out. I had a number of golden oldies cassette tapes, featuring songs from the '50s and '60s. My favourite song was probably The Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" which was the first song on one such golden oldie cassette. I wish I could remember the name of this compilation...

The Stray Cats, Built For Speed - By 1982, when I was 8 years old, I was listening to AM radio. One song that I thoroughly enjoyed was The Stray Cats' "Rock This Town". It was a modernized take on those 50s songs I loved and I excitedly requested and received Built For Speed on cassette. The Stray Cats transitioned me from golden oldies to current rock.

Duran Duran - Another band I started to dig on the radio was Duran Duran. "Rio" and "Hungry Like The Wolf" sounded awesome to my 9 year old ears. I remember going to a used record shop on Bloor Street near Runnymede and buying Rio on vinyl. Rio was my favourite album, but I was equally into Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Needless to say, Duran Duran was my favourite band and in no time I was choreographing break dance routines to the song "Reflex".

Billy Idol - By the time I was 11 and 12, I was hungry for something a little edgier than Duran Duran. Friends in grade 5 introduced me to Billy Idol. When Vital Idol came out in 1987, I had a new favourite album. Billy Idol transitioned me from the pop of Duran Duran to the heavier rock that would follow.

Guns N' Roses, Appetite For Destruction - By the time I was 13, I was listening to a lot of Q107, tuning in nightly for the top ten at ten. That's where I first heard "Welcome to the Jungle" and I was hooked. I bought the cassette of Appetite For Destruction and played that thing until the tape eroded. My early teenage years included a lot of hard rock, everything from Alice Cooper to Cinderella, but it was always dominated by GNR.

Public Enemy - At the end of the 80s, my rock was losing its edge. Poison, Motley Crue and Extreme seemed too much like the popified hairspray music of Duran Duran. As a moody, angry white teenager, I was naturally drawn to Public Enemy. Public Enemy's first three albums supplied the bulk of music that would get me to and from high school. I could tap into what Chuck D was saying. His hard core rhymes over hard core drum beats kicked more ass than any hair band on the planet. PE was #1 in my books, and it stayed that way until a certain explosion in Seattle.

Grunge - In 1991 I was 16, going on 17. By this time, I was purely listening to CFNY, and that's where I first heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten become the staple albums, but they were nicely complemented by gems I'd discover from Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. They called it Grunge, and I loved it. That organic energy kept me riding high for years.

When Kurt Cobain died in 1994, I was almost 20 years old. I've been listening to music ever since, both new and old, but at this point the soundtrack map diversifies completely. The past ten years have been dominated by bands like Green Day, STP, The Offspring, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, The White Stripes, The Strokes, System of a Down and whatever else floats my boat.

You'll note The Tragically Hip is conspicuously absent. They've always just been there. From the first time I heard "Blow at High Dough on Q107 through the recent World Container, I've enjoyed every note and seen them live ten times. The Hip are one constant that's been there since the 80s and has never faded or disappeared.

Life ends in a stereo, pack me up and let's go. Put me anywhere, please don't think of leaving me behind. Whatever happens to you, I'll get on just fine.

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As you might have noticed from my TV Time Machine, my childhood television diet was comprised of shows aired on TVOntario. TVO gave me Fables of the Green Forest, Jeremy, Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, Read All About It, Dr. Snuggles, Barbapapa and Polka Dot Door.

Immediately following one of my shows, TVO would kick into Doctor Who. The Doctor Who intro used to spook the crap out of me. That music, that vortex and that face... it seriously creeped me out. I remember the fear and I've never been able to sample anything Doctor Who related as a result.

Here's that intro. Even now, watching it is difficult. I'm four years old again, wondering where the hell Jeremy went and how to turn off this frightening song. Mommy!!!

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I saw my brothers on the weekend, and we ended up talking about Jeremy Hotz. Jeremy Hotz is a Canadian comic who did a great set at the Just For Laughs comedy festival many years ago. We recorded this performance and watched it several times. This weekend, we recited it.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the same experience with one of my wife's friend's husbands. He had the same set memorized and we went through the whole thing. Here are the bits I recall.

• The New York Zoo in winter - the unnatural state of freezing giraffes and their farts
• The smell of pee in China town - you never catch the guy doing it
• Cana-duh - duh is in the name of our country. We should invade a country because nobody will have seen it coming. We'll invade Turkey and name it Chicken.
• The crack RCMP squad defending the Prime Minister. Guy breaks in with a plastic knife from KFC and Aline Chretien foils the whole plot by closing the door.
• Stuff in the mail - Mr. Christie, you make good cookies... just don't mail them ya asshole. I used free samples of maxi-pads as coffee filters and now the garbage man thinks I have a terrible disease.

I couldn't find that routine online, but here's another one that's pretty funny.

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Back in 1989, I was a member of Columbia House. Almost all of my disposable income was going toward CDs, so I whipped out a calculator and figured the 7 discs I'd get for a penny made up for the 4 or so I'd have to buy at $20 a pop. I discovered a great deal of new music through this club and in 1989 it helped me discover the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In the monthly magazine, the quote for Mother's Milk read something like this: "The Red Hot Chili Peppers make me want to pee in my pants!". That was all I needed. I ordered Mother's Milk and dove in.

Wow. The quote did this album justice. It was the Red Hot Chili Peppers' fourth album, but it was my first taste and their first disc with guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith. It was a total play through with funky songs like "Good Time Boys" and "Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky", solid singles like "Knock Me Down" and "Taste the Pain" and fantastic covers like "Higher Ground" and "Fire". There was also the instrumental gem "Pretty Little Ditty" and the basketball tribute "Magic Johnson".

I remember how cool it was when Q107 started playing "Higher Ground" and how shocked I was to learn it was a Stevie Wonder song. Their next album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, was massive and RHCP belonged to the masses. My favourite Pepper album remains Mother's Milk, as you never forget your first taste.

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When I was in grade three, I fractured my foot and wore a cast for six weeks. There was a playground at St. Pius X that featured a fireman's pole. St. Pius X now has a new playground, but this was the old one we built with money raised by selling chocolate covered almonds. The fact it's no longer standing tells you all you need to know about that deathtrap.

We played a lot of tag on that playground, and during such a game I shot down the pole. Fergus Kelly, a bigger boy with about forty pounds on me, came down right after me and landed on my leg when it was in an awkward position. I tried to take one step with it and immediately realized that wasn't going to fly. The principal drove me to St. Joseph's Health Centre where x-rays revealed a fracture and I was put in a cast and given crutches.

I remember getting crutch lessons and how difficult it was at first. This wasn't some fancy modern walking cast, this was the old school casts you couldn't put any weight on. It took a couple of days to master these things, but then I was flying. After six weeks I was a master of the crutches, faster than any able-bodied kid.

When the cast came off, there was a whack of rehab, because I favoured the leg, but in grade four I shocked the track and field universe by not only making the 4x100m relay team, but by winning the Metro finals and missing the city record by 1/100th of a second. The rest is history, as underwhelming as it all may be.

So you see, a fractured foot isn't the end of the world. You can still run your marathon. In fact, you'll likely come back stronger than ever and start kicking my ass. Keep your chin up and be glad today's casts are walkable. And stay away from fireman poles and Fergus Kelly. That's what I do.

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Bush's "Little Things" came on my iPod Shuffle during my lunchtime walk. Hearing this song only reminds me of one thing: playing hours and hours of NHL 95 on the Super Nintendo.

I think NHL 95 and Bush's Sixteen Stone came into the house at the same time, because I always associate the two. We'd blast Sixteen Stone on the stereo and play NHL 95 until our thumbs bled. They took out fighting by this point, but you could trade players and play an entire season. It was awesome.

I've played some newer NHL games on the PC, but it just isn't the same. I want to go back to 1995 and take on Ryan again on the Super Nintendo while listening to Come Down.

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Honest Ed Mirvish passed away earlier today, and that's got me thinking about the man and what he meant to this city. His annual Christmas turkey giveaway is legendary and Mirvish Productions has brought a great deal of theatre to Toronto, but I'm going to focus on more personal memories of Ed.

My mom often told me stories about going to Honest Eds with her mother. It was always a big event and these trips were highlights of my mom's childhood, as money was tight a