We just launched Canadian Thinker on Tuesday, but Freddie P's been hitting the airwaves spreading the word. Yesterday Fred appeared on John Derringer's morning show on Q107 and you can hear the audio from that appearance here.
Fred also appeared on The Rock out of Windsor and talked about nothing but CanadianThinker.com. I listened to this audio with a great deal of pride, even though Fred failed to give Toronto Mike a shout out.
Move over Obama. Cobra Commander is running for President of the United States.
Yes, we shall!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a breakthrough on the Alphaghetti Gobbler front. One of the kids who appeared in that elusive ad has left a comment on this entry and he's agreed to be interviewed by yours truly.
First, a little background on why this is a big deal. I have strong memories of the Alphaghetti Gobbler, a giant spaghetti mascot to whom a kid famously exclaimed "You're the Alphaghetti Gobbler!". I'm not the only one who remembers this ad, as the 23 comments on that entry attest, but here's the kicker. None of us can find any visual evidence that that Alphaghetti Gobbler ever existed. There are no images, no screen caps, no videos on the web.
There were a few kids at that table when that kid said "You're the Alphaghetti Gobbler!", and I'll be peppering one with questions later today. If you have a question for this guy, leave a comment here and I'll add it to my list.
This is the reason Al Gore invented the Internet.
The Webby Awards are the Oscars of the web. I'm always interested in checking out the winners, especially the winner for Best Culture / Personal Blog. Boy was I surprised this year to learn it's me!
Ok, I didn't win. It was an honour not even being nominated. The actual winner is PostSecret, "an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard."
If you haven't discovered PostSecret yet, you're missing out. I spent a week there one day.
For the past year, Freddie P and I have been discussing an idea he's had for a national blog. He envisioned a national forum where people discuss domestic issues and he wanted to call it Canadian Thinker. Finally, a couple of months ago, we hooked up at Kelsey's and literally started sketching the concept.
I could see Canadian Thinker, a voice for what's right in Canada, but it was the right-ness of the voice that conflicted with my personal political views. I tend to lean a lot further to the left than Fred when it comes to such matters, and I can't write passionately about subjects unless it's coming from the heart. Still, I loved the idea, and I wanted to partner with Freddie on this, so we agreed that Fred would author the entries and I would primarily lend my technical, design and marketing expertise to the project.
From the Canadian Thinker "About" page:
Canadian Thinker is exactly what is says it is. A forum for concerned thinking Canadians who are tired of the politically correct quagmire that we find ourselves in.
At Canadianthinker.com we find it sad that so many Canadians can't say what they think, and we don't mean extreme nonsense that does nothing to improve our way of life in Canada, we mean fair rational points of view that are often stifled by unfounded accusations of intolerance and ignorance.
Canadianthinker.com is for all Canadians. A place to gather to state your point of view.
Canadianthinker.com is Fred Patterson, long time Toronto radio personality and Toronto Mike, long time Toronto blogger.
Please add Canadian Thinker to your bookmarks and chime in on issues that effect our Country. And please, if you disagree with Fred, let him have it in the comments.
Welcome to CanadianThinker.com.
When I was young, there were dangers with the choking cake, but we never played the choking game. As shocking as this will seem, we were way too smart to play the choking game, which I hear is a big hit amongst today's youth.
The choking game, also known as the fainting game, "is a loose term that covers dangerous activities designed to induce a partial or complete loss of consciousness brought about by the intentional deprivation of oxygen to the brain for a period of time. There are two distinct methods used to achieve oxygen deprivation: strangulation and self-induced hypocapnia."
The term 'game' is used because these activities have typically been pursued by children as recreation; the practice among adults appears to be uncommon and generally in the different context of the pursuit of erotic asphyxiation. However, experts state that for some teens, the choking game can take on elements of erotic asphyxiation.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health study in 2008 found that at least 79,000 students in the Canadian province of Ontario participated in this act.
Don't get me wrong, we played some stupid games when I was a teen, but nothing like this. The extent of our stupidity revolved around semi-dangerous skateboard or bicycle stunts, messing around with firecrackers or investigating abandoned buildings at night, but those activities were fun!
The choking game sounds pretty dumb. If deprivation of oxygen to the brain is your game, it's time to shell out for a Game Boy.
At the office, I'm the president of the coffee club. I created a logo and everything. We have a French press and we try different types of coffee. We've got coffee from Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Mexico, etc.
This morning, we tried Canadian coffee. I was surprised to hear there was such a thing. When I think of Canada, I think of a different beverage. I always assumed Coffee was best grown in warmer climes.
The coffee we tried was called Kicking Horse Coffee and it's "nestled in the heart of the Canadian Rockies and at the headwaters of the mighty Columbia River." Here's a teaser from their site.
Some people say it is the Rocky Mountain air, some people suggest it is the altitude... whatever it is, we're not footing the medical bill if our coffee takes you out with a roundhouse to the taste buds! Traditionally roasted and blended at 3,000 feet above sea level, Kicking Horse offers a 21-flavour portfolio of the very best Organic Fair Trade coffee concoctions in the country.
We didn't love this coffee, but our love of Canada made it taste just a little sweeter. It's a different flavour than I'm used to, sort of ranchy, sort of hard to explain, but it's cool having the option to brew Canadian coffee.
Don't worry Brazil and Columbia, you have nothing to fear.
I've never met Buffalo Boy Mike. He's a big Humble & Fred fan who discovered this blog when I worked with Humble and Fred on their podcasts. I worked with Buffalo Boy on his blog, so I follow his entries with great interest.
Earlier in the week I wrote about Buffalo Boy's Police ticket. He's got an extra ticket to see The Police at the HSBC Arena and he'll give it to anyone who leaves a comment on this entry. You just have to name your price and say why you want the ticket.
Here's the thing... Buffalo Boy has been running this contest all week and nobody has entered. The deadline was last night at midnight, but he's extended it another 24 hours.
I've considered running similar promotions, but my great fear is that nobody will step up. It's like throwing a party and having nobody show up. It's pretty humiliating. I feel awfully bad for Buffalo Boy.
Buffalo Boy, don't take it personally. I'll bet there are interested people out there, but they're practising good safety sense by not agreeing to attend a concert with someone they don't know in the "real world". I'll bet if you offered both tickets, you'd have a few bites.
Almost a year after I wrote about the other Mike Boon, he found the entry and left a comment. The other Mike Boon is a New Zealand comedian who has retired to teach. Here's what he said earlier today.
Here's an answer to some of your questions. Yes I do know Flight of the Conchords - they are friends of mine from days gone by. I have 'retired' from comedy am now a school teacher although I've recently done some stand-up for kids in the current NZ comedy festival, so I'm thinking about getting back into it as a bit of a hobby.
Any further information you wish to know then drop me a line!
Mr B
The other Mike Boon, the comedian turned teacher, is also a blogger at http://boonman.wordpress.com/. He seems to have the same frustrations with the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team that I have with the Leafs.
Boonman, I feel your pain.
I just Googled HSBC Arena. The description displayed is "Buffalo, New York. Home of the NHL Buffalo Sabers."
Somebody should tell the HSBC Arena marketers how to spell Sabres.
Update: I just viewed the source for the HSBC Arena home page, and there is no meta description tag. I'm betting it's not the people at HSBC Arena misspelling Sabres, but the fine people at Google who have generated these sitelinks. If I were HSBC Arena, I'd control my own description by adding the meta description to my HTML like so: <meta name="description" content="YOUR WEBSITE DESCRIPTION HERE" />.
Buffalo Boy has an extra ticket to see The Police and Elvis Costello at the HSBC Arena on May 3. He's looking for a real fan to go with him.
If you're interested, head over to this entry, make a bid and tell him why you want the ticket. Someone is going to see The Police in Buffalo... he tells me he'll be choosing the lucky winner on Wednesday night.
It won't be me. I've never liked The Police.
Although I realize I'm losing touch, not being able to name anyone on Laguna Beach or The Hills, I'd be shocked if the sexiest woman in the world was someone I didn't know.
I just read that Megan Fox tops FHM’s annual 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll of FHM readers. I don't know Megan Fox, and I don't think I'd be able to pick her out of a lineup. Well, if it's a random lineup, I'd simply pick out the hottie, but if it's a lineup of babes, I'm in trouble.
Megan Fox's page on IMDB lists a few television shows I've never seen and a few movies I've never seen, led by the popular Transformers. I'm still afraid to watch the live action Transformers for fear it will tarnish my awesome memories of the cartoon series, so I've missed the entire career of Megan Fox so far.
It's too bad. I hear she's sexy.
Dove's Onslaught ad was pretty effective, but so is this video from Greenpeace.
My Crocs Conundrum entry has been getting traffic today from this Spanish blog. Here's a copy and paste of the entry.
Los Crocs no sólo son el calzado más feo de la historia de la Humanidad, también empieza a ser responsable de una plaga de lesiones por su uso en escaleras mecánicas. El Ministerio de Comercio japonés ha solicitado al fabricante americano un rediseño de sus futuros modelos, después de recibir 65 quejas de niños que perdieron las uñas de los dedos de los pies después de que sus Crocs se quedaran pegados a las escaleras mecánicas. El año pasado se vendieron 3,5 millones de pares de Crocs en Japón.
Si bien el fabricante es enteramente responsable de afear las calles del mundo, los usuarios no deberían salir más allá de unos metros de sus propiedades con los Crocs puestos, como sabiamente recomienda este bloguero.
The few Spanish words I know I learnt from Sesame Street back in the day. That education was no help at all, so I hit up Google's translation tool to learn what was being said about me. Here's how it translated.
The Crocs are not only footwear ugliest in the history of humanity, it also begins to be responsible for a plague of injuries use escalators. The Japanese Ministry of Trade has asked the American manufacturer a redesign of its future models, after receiving 65 complaints of children who lost nails of toes after their Crocs stay glued to the escalators. Last year we sold 3.5 million pairs of Crocs in Japan.
While the manufacturer is entirely responsible for afear the streets of the world, people should not go out beyond a few meters of their properties with the Crocs posts as wisely recommends this bloguero.
I am indeed a wise bloguero.
Lately, instead of syncing my iPod with the typical playlist of old favourites, I've been loading her up with podcasts. Here are a few of my favourites.
Let me know about all the great podcasts I missed in the comments and I'll check them out.
As I watch the Canadiens cough one up to the Bruins, I'm already smirking. Now to turn this Saturday night smirk into a full fledged chuckle... I know! It's time for the comedy styling of George Dubya Bush.
He or she is still at it. It's been almost five years since I wrote about holiday music but somebody in the guise of "Nobody" has been dropping comments there on a regular basis. I wrote about Nobody earlier this year, and Nobody disappeared for a bit, but he or she has chimed in three more times over the past six days.
Tonight's comment was "CHFI plays Christmas music more frequently (in late November and in December only) every year as Christmas Day gets closer." These comments are from an actual human being, are written in good English and are intriguing the crap out of me. All I can tell from the server log is that it's a Rogers customer who likely lives in Mississauga.
Mississauga Nobody, reveal yourself!
We in Raging Storm held our first practice of the season tonight. We're breaking in a few newbies so we wanted to hook up and shake some of the rust off.
After the game, Rich asked a few of us who lingered to shoot the shite if we wanted a Jolt. "Pssst, wanna Jolt?" he said in a dark parking lot. "Sure", I said, intrigued by the offer.
He reached into the back seat of his car and pulled out the largest can of cola I've ever seen. This thing was massive, like a thermos. When I opened it, it made a large popping sound and smoke came out of it.
It's not only chock full of caffeine and sugar, but it's enough liquid to drown a leprechaun, not that you'd ever want to do such a thing. If somebody offers you a Jolt in a dark and empty parking lot, just say no.
A couple of months ago I wrote about a business proposal I got from a Taiwan Business Bank. Apparently there's $44.5m USD sitting in a dormant account and the account holder is dead. They can't find a living relative, so Mr. Hsu is willing to let me pose as the relative to the deceased client in position to receive the $44.5m USD.
I thought it would be funny that day to write an entry as if I believed the email and was excitedly taking Mr. Hsu up on his generous offer. I just assumed everyone would assume I was savvy enough not to fall for such an obvious scam and that you too would find amusement in my celebratory entry.
Since I wrote that entry I've received dozens of notes from concerned netizens alerting me to the fact it's a scam. The best is when people try to point out the flaws in logic as proof it can't be real.
The purpose of this entry is to assure everyone that I didn't actually fall for Ching-Hua Hsu, Executive Vice President, Head Auditor Wealth Management Division of Taiwan business Bank, Taiwan's little ploy.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have someone willing to sell me his Bre-X stocks for mere pennies on the dollar. I really am going to be rich!
"Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes". ~ Benny Franklin
For years I kicked it old school with my taxes. I filled in the forms by hand and mailed them to Revenue Canada. At some point I discovered that after I filled in the forms by hand I could enter the info over the telephone and get back my refund faster. I did that until a few years ago when started buying tax software to do my taxes online before I uploaded the .tax file to Revenue Canada via the interweb.
That's what I did this afternoon. I coughed up $20 to QuickTax and did my 2007 taxes online. I am 33 years old and I've never dreaded tax time because every year I get a refund. Now that we're a single income family, my refund has never been higher, so I don't mind spending a couple of extra bucks for e-help.
I figure I've been filing taxes for about 18 years now. I've gone from mailing my taxes to using telefile to using efile. How do you file your taxes and do you do them yourself?
Today, after a long, harsh winter, the sun came out and it practically felt like spring. I spent the first half of the day helping my brother move, then I watched the Jays game and got a little work done, but after dinner I was put to real work.
My wife wanted a couple of Muskoka chairs for the veranda. She bought a couple of chairs, only they weren't chairs at all. They were dozens of pieces of wood and a bag of screws. I was asked to assemble them.
I'm pretty handy writing XHTML, CSS, PHP, XML and a little JavaScript, and I know my way around a web server, but I'm not the world's greatest handyman. With a little guidance, I put in a good effort, as I did this past summer when I redid the porch, but it doesn't come naturally and I lack the confidence of a Bob the Builder.
As I stared at all the pieces, I asked my wife why we couldn't just buy a Muskoka chair that was finished. She told me they're not around, unless we drive to Muskoka. I don't know if that's true, but I took the hint and got to work.
I second guessed myself the whole way through, but in the end, I was pleased with my new Muskoka chair. I envision myself sitting in it on summer weekend mornings, sipping my coffee and reading my newspaper. One down, one to go....
I just know this is going to be one of those entries I regret writing, but what the heck. I am a good mover.
First and foremost, I'm dependable. If you say Saturday morning at 8am, I'm there. Dependability is key.
I'm also efficient. I don't need breaks, I aim to finish early. Lay down the game plan and I'll execute it effectively. And that game plan? I'm good at that, too. I can manage the entire move, deciding who does what and how to do it so it makes the most sense.
My brother is moving tomorrow and I've been called into action. I even get to be the truck driver because my 31 year old bro hasn't got around to getting his license yet. To Ryan's credit, he was smart enough to call the best mover he knows.
I'm a very good mover.
This tickled my funny bone. Enjoy a little Friday funny.
I shared an experience I had with my Prima television back on January 14, 2007 @ 13:26. I felt better just writing that entry, and a regular reader of this blog even gave me a TV he had collecting dust after I shared my pain. Little did I know at the time that my entry would become the source for warnings about Prima televisions.
There are 160 comments on that entry right now, all of them negative. The consensus is that Prima televisions are both poorly made and poorly supported. That means it'll break down, or burst into flames, and nobody at Prima will answer the phone to help make things right. Read the comments one time and you'll never, ever buy a Prima TV. Sure, it'll be cheaper, but it'll most likely end in disaster.
Earlier today, I received two messages from someone who claimed they represented Prima. These messages suggested that everyone but me has a great experience with Prima televisions and support. This person used the form on my contact page, so I was able to verify that these messages were sent from a computer in the Fraser Valley Regional Library in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Oh how I remember calling that BC area code trying to get a human being at Prima... Here's the first message I received.
It's Prima! I love your fan club. My question to you is why is it that you have a hard time getting through to us and every other customer that seems to call gets through just fine.
This afternoon a comment was left on my My Prima Television Nightmare entry. This was the first of 160 comments that shared a positive Prima experience, and what a coincidence! It was made from a computer in the Fraser Valley Regional Library in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
Here's the comment from Raja.
Hey guys I thing u guys r very wrong abt Prima ...Look at m eI brought 3 LCD's its working perfectly fine.The customer service is really awesom coz whenever i call and leave message they give a reply .......May be I am fortunate
Sure, the IP address reveals Raja as a fraud, but even without the smoking gun, let's parse this comment. Raja has three perfectly fine Prima LCDs and always has success when he calls Prima customer service. If Raja's three LCDs work perfectly fine, why is he always calling Prima's customer service?
I was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal today. Reporter Matt Phillips was collecting info for a story he's doing on cassette tapes and how mix tapes compare to today's MP3 playlist. He came across this picture of my old tapes and asked me if I would talk to him about my memories.
I found the timing interesting because just yesterday, at the tail end of a little podcast I was recording with the kids, I told them how I put such things together in the 80s. I told them about the dual cassette deck and the dubbing and all the analog effort and how lucky they were to be living in this easy breezy digital world. Then, this afternoon, I heard something different come out of my mouth when being interviewed by Matt.
I told Matt how much I miss the old cassette deck days when a mix tape meant a lot of rewinding and fast forwarding, practices that are completely foreign to kids today. You had to get to the right spot, time it perfect, and you don't want any noise in front or tagged on the end. It was a lot more work, but somehow it seemed more romantic. It seemed to matter more.
We'll see if Matt's article gets the WSJ's blessing and if I make the cut. It was fun to revisit 1984 regardless.
As Marge Simpson would say, now I've seen everything!
And before you call bullshit, this is the real deal. Aristotle once said that elephants were "The beast which passeth all others in wit and mind".
This weekend I caught an old episode of Family Guy. Peter saw the rabbit from those old Trix commercials and said, "Noooo, silly rabbit, Trix are for kids. Damn long-ears trying to steal Easter from Jesus."
This day is either all about Jesus or all about that damn long-ears. For Christians, it's a super religious time of year that culminates in the glorious resurrection of Jesus. For others, it's the day the Easter Bunny hides goodies for kids to find and families get together to celebrate all the wonderful chocolate bunnies that have been received.
I'm off to an early brunch. Happy Easter!
This quiz is kind of interesting, as it sort of gauges your familiarity with web memes and such, like the flying spaghetti monster and lonelygirl15.
I'm pretty tapped into this world, but not nearly as tapped in as I thought. There were a few questions I was totally clueless about. Go here and see how you fare.
The number of unique visitors to this site spiked today. When that happens, a quick glance at the referral links reveals the reason. Today's spike in traffic to TorontoMike.com has everything to do with the vernal equinox.
If your Latin skills are rusty, today is the first day of spring. If you Google first day of spring, I'm currently ranked #4 overall with this entry about the great CanCon classic "The First Day of Spring" by The Gandharvas.
I wonder what "first day of spring" Googlers are looking for?
I've been slapping pages on the web for a decade now. A long time ago, after a great deal of experimentation, I concluded that Verdana was your best bet when designing a commercial site, particularly if that site was for a software vendor.
Before we all had to have blogs, we had personal sites. When this site was younger, I was always changing the font family. I remember when I first switched the markup over to an external CSS file and feeling the power you get when a single edit in a single file changed the font on every page. I abused that power by trying Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Georgia, and yes, Verdana.
A few years ago I decided I'd stick with Verdana. It always seemed the safest. Most people had it installed on their computer, for starters, and it was highly legible. Verdana was my default font and I was done messing with it. Until today, that is.
The vast majority of you are reading this in Georgia. I'm going to ride Georgia through the long weekend. Let me know what you think in the comments.
A few weeks ago, I started hearing "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" on television again, but it wasn't before an episode of Cheers. The song had been licensed for use in commercials for Kelsey's restaurants.
This was the first time I remember hearing this song promoting something other than Cheers and it seemed strange. It's one of the most memorable theme songs in television history and it perfectly suited the opening of Cheers with those great drawings. Kelsey's is a fine restaurant, but it's no Cheers.
I was watching something the other day when I heard "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" again, only this time it was an advertisement for Dr. Pepper. Nostalgia is clearly for sale.
I recently wrote about the grand opening of AMC Yonge & Dundas 24 in the Toronto Life Square. Before it opens on March 28, I can get you in for free.
From March 22 until March 25th there are free screenings at the Yonge & Dundas 24 and all you have to do is print off this PDF to get in.
Don't say I've never done anything for ya.
The conclusion of the Santa Claus Parade is always the big Santa float. Naturally, the conclusion of the St. Patrick's Day Parade is the arrival of St. Patrick himself. He rolls by in the back of a pick up truck in some Popemobile phone booth thing and waves. Hastily pasted to the side of the pick up are the words "St. Patrick 389 A.D. - 461 A.D."
'Nuff said.
I just got an email from a loyal reader who enjoys "all entries except the ones about sports." She thinks I've had way too many sports-related entries lately and she'd like me to write less about sports and more about "other stuff".
Here are the last 40 entries I've posted on this site. I've put a bold S next to the sports-related ones.
14 of the last 40 entries were primarily about sports. That's a little over 1/3. I wrote this person back and told her I just sorta write about what's on my mind, and with the Leafs resurgence and spring training, I've been going heavier on the Leafs and Jays lately.
I also told her to avoid this site for the rest of the day because I've got a pretty cheesy Jays bit from 1984 to share and I might just throw down a Raptors entry about why I'm happy Chris Bosh is out and we're getting slaughtered.
I forgot to share this when it first went viral over a month ago, but better late than never. This is a wicked stunt at Grand Central Station in New York where hundreds of people freeze at the same time.
I'm sharing this because we had better be planning something similar at Union Station. If we're not going to set these trends, we'd better perfect them.
There are some things I just don't get.
I don't get curling. It's shuffleboard on ice, right? I hate the way I feel un-Canadian in my disinterest, but I just don't care about this sport.
I don't get Justin Timberlake. I guess he's a handsome guy, but is he that great a singer? He sounds like a low-rent Michael Jackson to my ears. Every time I see him in a movie I cringe. I think you have to be female to get JT.
I don't know why we always greet each other with "how are you?" or "how's it going?" All hell could be breaking loose and the answer would still be "fine" or "pretty good". Do we even want honest answers to these questions? I think a nod of the head should be suffice.
I don't understand why some people think John Tavares has a case as to why he should be eligible for the next entry draft. This is the fairest of rules, if you're born after a certain date, you're ineligible. There's no grey here, it's as black and white as it gets. I'd like to see Tavares in the NHL next season but I don't see how he has a case for eligibility.
I don't get people who only check email once a week, if that often. Cito needs answers and can't wait 7+ days for a reply. This is , check your email, dagnabbit!
I don't get why NFL fans have to laugh at the CFL. Why can't NFL fans in Toronto just leave the CFL and CFL fans be? Do they have to laugh at us and call the league "Mickey Mouse"? It's not very nice.
I don't understand how a pair of running shoes can cost $150. It's just a little fabric, some rubber and gel. My new pair hardly weighs a thing but they cost me a small fortune. I know there's research and development to pay for, but c'mon. The price of decent running shoes is out of whack.
I don't get MuchMusic these days. I know I'm too old for MuchMusic, but it used to be a fairly cool station. There were music videos and interesting complementary programming, and now there's just reality crap, unfunny fromage-type shows and reruns of The OC. MuchMusic has gone from hero to zero.
I don't understand why I can't develop a taste for veggies. I want to like veggies, I really do, but I don't. I'm a wannabe salad guy whose body rejects the notion.
I don't get the allure of Billy Crystal. Someone's going to have to explain that one to me. City Slickers wasn't bad, and When Harry Met Sally... was good for a chick flick, but man, I find him annoying and very unfunny.
This awesome video is 500 years of female portraits in western art.
After you watch, go here for the complete list of artists and paintings.
It's 9:17pm, do you know where your wife is? Check the computer. If your wife is anything like my wife, she's attending the church of Oprah.
That's right, Taryn has registered on Oprah.com for a 10-week Web seminar with Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle, author of A New Earth, a spiritual self-help guide that's the latest pick of Oprah's Book Club. The first webcast began at 9pm.
I've got to give Oprah some credit, she knows how to press the right buttons. My mom was over on the weekend and she and Taryn had a looooong discussion about this Eckhart Tolle book. As they discussed A New Earth, it sounded more like a religion than a self-help guide. I've been living with an Oprah fan for 12 years now, and it's always been rather culty, but this is the tipping point.
I'm sure it's more harmless Oprah bubble gum, I just hope these 700,000 fanatics don't break the Internet.
After a few years with little snowfall, my shovel got used to one, maybe two big snowstorms a winter. This winter, however, there have been several days of heavy duty shovelling.
My shovel got one hell of a workout, and earlier today, as I was shovelling the walk, it gave out on me. The handle came clean off and a massive crack appeared at the base.
Now that we're into March, I'm going to get through this winter with this shovel come hell or high water. There's no way I'm buying a new shovel this close to spring. Here's the damage caused by the snowiest Toronto winter in recent memory.
I was just reading that Mike Smith of the Dave Clark 5 had passed away from pneumonia. Earlier this week, goaltender Mike Smith was traded by Dallas to Tampa Bay. That Mike Smith once wore a Tragically Hip mask I wrote about here.
As a Mike, I probably take better note of all the Mike's I encounter or hear about, but off the top of my head I know several Michael or Mike Smiths. Michael's are everywhere, and Smith's are everywhere, so it only makes sense that this would be a super popular name.
Check out the Wikipedia disambiguation page for Michael or Mike Smith. There are 54 worthy of a Wikipedia page. That's incredible.
Goalie Mike Smith is merely one third of the Great Canadian trifecta of Mike Smiths, which also includes decathlete Mike Smith and Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys.
In response to Sarah Silverman f**king Matt Damon, Jimmy Kimmel retorted with a star-studded cast. He's f**king Ben Affleck.
And yes, I wrote "retorted".
On my Contact Me page I've got a Meebo widget that actually provides visitors to that page with an instant messenger connection with me. I use Meebo throughout the day so I know when somebody loads that page.
Today I saw somebody sitting on that page for a while, so I checked out the IP address and saw it was someone at Ryerson University. For fun, I turned the tables on this visitor and sent a "How's it going at Ry High" message. This little gag usually freaks people out because they wonder how the heck the site is communicating with them in real-time and then they wonder how the heck I know where they are.
I got back a pleasant response from a Joey Kehoe who was sitting at my contact page while he wrote this note.
Greetings,
My name is Joey Kehoe and I am the assistant producer of "Riot", a 50+ year tradition of annual sketch comedy, combining video and stage sketches. Riot is performed, produced, written and directed by Ryerson's Radio and Television Arts students, and is viewed as a professional production by all of those involved. It runs from March 13th to the 15th, and icludes the infamous midnight show on the 14th.
I visit your blog frequently and was wondering if you would be interested in writing anything on our production, as it reflects local Toronto art and culture. Thanks so much for your time,
Joey Kehoe
Assistant ProducerJames Boyd
Producer
A little Googling also revealed this:
It's time to re-purpose some content... Four years ago today, when there were approximately 40 unique visitors to this site each day, I wrote a little tribute to a man who helped provide the soundtrack to my early years of life. Kenny Rogers still does it for me, as I wrote back in 2004.
When it comes to the music you like, where you come from will always play a role. I'm not talking about your favourite music. You'll really like what you really like. I'm talking about the tunes that bring you back to a simpler time when you hear them. They aren't of a genre you typically listen to, but they are songs from your youth you remember fondly.
For me, I need look no further than Kenny Rogers. As a wee lad, my mother would play Kenny Roger's Greatest Hits over and over again on the turntable. We would dance to the up tempo numbers like "The Gambler", "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", "Coward of the County", "Lucille" and "Reuben James" and then bellow out the ballads like "Lady", "Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer", "She Believes in Me" and "You Decorated My Life". I would guesstimate I heard this album in it's entirety five hundred times before I turned 7.
I remember many good times with this record playing in the background. I remember how much my mother loved "Lady" and I can still hear her singing it. Every once in a while I still play a Kenny Rogers MP3 that appeared on that album because it still feels good.
When it comes to the music you like, where you come from will always play a role.
Thanks Kenny... and thanks, Mom.
I was at Old City Hall today fighting a speeding ticket. Every time I go to traffic court my friends tell me the police officer won't show up and they'll withdraw the charges. Every time this turns out not to be true. Today, as usual, the police offer showed up.
I go to trial for every ticket because there's really nothing to lose. Sure, it takes time to request the trial date and show up at court, but the best case scenario is your cop doesn't show and the worst case (in my experience) is you plead guilty to a lesser offence.
That's exactly what I did today. I plead guilty to a reduced speed which meant no demerit points and a smaller fine. That's really all I was hoping for.
As a follow up to this entry about Second Harvest and Lunch Money Day, fellow dodgeballer Jordan wrote this:
Tomorrow is Lunch Money Day. We will be in subway stations and Union Station from 6:45am-9:30am doing Lunch Money Day collections and between 4:30-6:30pm at Union Station as well. Can you drive people to our website and ask them to donate their lunch money - www.secondharvest.ca. $5 will help us provide 10 meals to those in need. We are trying to raise $380,000 - that's enough money to provide 760,000 meals.
Torontonians, make me proud.
This is a cool little animated video on the history of evil. Hitler and Bin Laden make the cut, but there's no sign of Harold Ballard or Vince Carter.
I just sent an email to somebody with a Hotmail account, and this being my first email to this person and me being the harmless jerk that I am, I opened with this line. "Hotmail? You should let me introduce you to Gmail. :-)"
The email bounced back with this notification:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
xxxxxxxx@hotmail.com
Technical details of permanent failure:
PERM_FAILURE: SMTP Error (state 12): 550 SC-001 Mail rejected by Windows Live Hotmail for policy reasons. Reasons for rejection may be related to content with spam-like characteristics or IP/domain reputation problems. If you are not an email/network admin please contact your E-mail/Internet Service Provider for help. Email/network admins, please visit http://postmaster.live.com for email delivery information and support
It was a pretty bland message to a health care professional and totally rated G, so what were my "spam-like characteristics"? I re-sent the email, but this time I removed the opening dig at Hotmail in which I suggested Gmail. This time, the email went through without a problem.
Does Hotmail reject emails that include the word "gmail"? Doesn't that violate some anti-competition law?
It's just sinking in that this Family Day thing is for real. For those of you reading outside of Ontario, Family Day was an election promise by provincial Liberal Party leader Dalton McGuinty. McGuinty got reelected and made it official on October 11, 2007. Tomorrow will be our very first Family Day which means I don't have to go to the office.
Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba already have a Family Day holiday in February. We needed a day off in February as a statutory holiday between New Years Day and Good Friday. Now I just need somebody to promise me a stat day in June and we're all set.
Does everybody out there in Ontario get tomorrow off or are some of you getting the short end of the shaft?
I enjoy these "You Suck At Photoshop" tutorials so much, I'm going to post them as they're released. Here's the 6th instalment for your viewing pleasure.
Baltimore police officer Salvatore Rivieri doesn't like skateboarders who call him "dude".
Dude needs some perspective.
A couple of days ago I wrote that "I had never skated on a sheet of ice shared by a professional hockey team". That was true, prior to Sunday, but it was also false.
The picture below was taken a couple of years ago at Rennie Park. The Leafs are having a little skate outdoors, just like they did yesterday at another arena. Every Saturday morning I spend an hour skating at Rennie Park, so technically I do skate on a sheet of ice once shared by a professional hockey team.
I just received an intriguing offer via email. It was from Ching-Hua Hsu, Executive Vice President,
Head Auditor Wealth Management Division of Taiwan business Bank, Taiwan. I don't get a lot of email from Taiwan, so I read with great interest.
Apparently there's $44.5m USD sitting in a dormant account and the account holder is dead. They can't find a living relative, so Mr. Hsu is willing to let me pose as the relative to the deceased client in position to receive the $44.5m USD.
I must be the luckiest sonofabitch in the world. All I have to do is write this gentleman at his yahoo.com.hk and give him my home phone number and name. He'll contact me with the logistics. I'm going to be so rich, I can't believe he chose me!
Ching-Hua Hsu, I am forever grateful. You have an email from me in your inbox.
No, I won't be breaking bread with Sidney Poitier tonight, but Humble Howard, his wife Randee and his brood are trekking east to enjoy Taryn's world famous lasagna.
I've been to the Glassman's palatial Oakville estate several times, once with the whole family, and I once got to fly his plane, but they've never crashed at my crib. That's right, I called it my crib, and I almost called it my pad before I realized this was 2008 and my pad is now my crib... or so the kids tell me.
This actually works out perfectly because the Leafs game is a 3pm start and the Glassmans will be rolling in just as the game winds down. Coincidentally, tonight is also the night CBC RadioOne is airing Humble Howard's appearance on The Debaters. That starts at 6:30pm.
As my Hebrew friend wrote on his blog:
Saturday night I'm going over to the Boon Man's home for dinner. This is our first foray into the heart of the Mad Genius and it should be great. Mike has become a good pal of mine and he's got a sweet family as well. I just hope the Leafs don't have an off night and put MB into a funk. Wait a second that's all the Leafs have. He should be used to it by now.
Go Leafs Go!
It's easy to start feeling sorry for yourself when you're a Leafs fan. Sometimes, when you feel things are at their worst, you need to look on the bright side of life.
ESPN The Magazine had an great little write up by Bill Simmons about the horrible situation in New York with the Knicks. Simmons explains how much worse things are in Buffalo, but Buffalo simply doesn't have enough people who care about them, talk about them or write about them to make this suffering noticeable. Here's an excerpt from the article:
Over the past 40-plus years, no sports city has had it rougher than Buffalo. It doesn't have a baseball team. Its NBA team fled west to become the Clippers -- a double whammy. Its greatest and most famous athlete is O.J. Simpson. It has suffered three of the toughest losses ever, all of which are so infamous they can be described in three words or fewer: "wide right," "no goal" and "Music City Miracle." Its beloved Bills lost four straight Super Bowls and currently have the second-longest NFL playoff drought (eight years and counting; the Cardinals haven't gotten in since '98). Is any under-45 American sports fan more scarred than the one who lives in Buffalo?
Things are bad in Toronto with our Maple Leafs. We haven't won the cup since '67, we endured the Harold Ballard era and now we're run by a multi-headed monster without hope and buried in the cellar. Our best-case scenario is that we trade our best player. Die-hards like me weren't on this planet the last time we won it all but things could be so much worse.
I could live in Buffalo.
Without a doubt my favourite sketch comedy show of all time is "Kids in the Hall", but outside of KITH the funniest sketch comedy show I ever watched was "Mr. Show".
"Mr. Show" was created by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross for HBO and the genius was in how the various sketches tied together. There was always a common thread, some element that segued one into the next, and it was unlike anything I had ever seen. "Mr. Show" wasn't just funny, it was clever, and one of a small handful of shows that could actually make me laugh out loud.
I recently wrote about David Cross' appearance in Alvin and the Chipmunks and stole the Bob and David HTML for HhDotCom. Here's some "Mr. Show" action for ya. This funny bit is called The Audition and is typical "Mr. Show" fare.
I enjoy these "You Suck At Photoshop" tutorials so much, I'm going to post them as they're released. The guys at MyDamnChannel.com actually send me the link every time they post a new episode, so this'll be easy.
Hey kids, Sarah Silverman is funny. She put this video together for Jimmy Kimmel and it's tres amusing.
How ya like them apples?
Chris Berman goes crazy.
When Homer Simpson attended his high school reunion, he left with the "Person Who Traveled the Least Distance to Be Here" award. This wasn't viewed as a positive thing.
I live less than 4km from my primary school, my high school and the hospital I was born at. Does anyone else out there live less than 4km from the exact spot you were born?
I had a 3pm appointment at King and York, and it was colder than a witch's tit out there today, so I was pretty pleased to find a parking meter right on King by the Roy Thompson Hall. I was also pretty pleased that I could buy an hour of time for $3.50. After all, I wouldn't need more than that.
The appointment went longer than expected and I lost track of time and completely forgot that I could only park on King until 4pm. I got to my parking spot at 4:09pm. Note that I got to my parking spot and not my car. My car was nowhere to be seen. When the clock strikes 4, the parking authority tags and the tow truck drivers strike. It was freezing cold, windier than Chicago and I had just been ordered to rest my leg for six weeks. And now I was staring at the spot where my car used to be coming to the realization it had been towed at some point during the previous 9 minutes.
I was lucky enough to spot another tow truck driver doing his thing, and I asked the guy if I could bum a ride to the pound. He was cool with that so I didn't have to go about figuring out where the hell the pound was and paying a cabbie to get me there.
This car pound scam is a killer. They essentially hold your car hostage unless you fork over $105. $105 for getting to my parking spot nine minutes late. And that's not all, there's also a $60 ticket, although I'll go to court to fight that sucker.
I spent $105 to park my car for a little more than one hour but I got home to find an unexpected cheque in the mail from Google. Google's cheque was for exactly $105.
Click an ad on your way out, will ya.
I recently wrote about how we now know what bridge Gord is on in The Tragically Hip video for "Yer Not The Ocean". Patrick, a big fan of suspension bridges, identified it as the Buntzen Lake suspension bridge near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Hit up that entry for a pic.
Yesterday I was browsing an old photo album from the days before everything was digital, and lo and behold I think I found a picture of Taryn and I on that very bridge. The picture was taken during a trip we took to British Columbia in 1998 and it looks an awful lot like the Buntzen Lake bridge.
If this is that bridge, I'll file this one under "B" for big-ass coincidences. For months I've been trying to identify this bridge and it appears a picture of me on it has been in my photo album for a decade.
Weird.
I completely missed the Krispy Kreme kraziness and now the franchise has all but disappeared in these parts. Back in 2001 I read and heard all about the lineups outside Krispy Kreme stores in the GTA. People were going nuts for these donuts and it was a pretty big local story. I never got to a Krispy Kreme to see what all the fuss was about.
That was almost seven years ago, and now I realize I never did get to a Krispy Kreme shop. I hit the web to see where these stores were, and the only one close to Toronto is an outlet on Mavis Road in Mississauga. All the others have closed.
Once again, I completely missed a big buzz frenzy.
It's funny how this blogosphere thing works. The other day I saw this entry from Jewelgurl come across my RSS reader. She was writing about a good deal at Pizza Pizza. Last night, we ordered that deal.
For $11.99 Pizza Pizza will give you two medium pizzas with a combined two toppings and a 2 for 1 movie pass. That pass alone is worth about $10, so you can see why I like this particular deal. Of course, after taxes and delivery charge and tip it wasn't $11.99, but it was still a good deal and good pizza.
I'm losing Argie. Argie is a reader of this blog who has threatened to stop reading. He made the statement in the comments of this entry about Dubya's many lies.
Before I ever saw Argie comment over here, I saw him commenting on FreddieP.ca. I don't know him personally, but his comments are always ultra conservative. In that same thread about Dubya's many lies he actually tries to argue George W. Bush isn't a bad president. Next he'll try and argue that our Toronto Maple Leafs are a great hockey team. Here's the comment he just wrote:
Mike: I was just reading some of your previous posts on Harper and Bush. Boy you’re scary! You’re so Toronto (i.e. left) that I don’t think I can visit your blog anymore. It’s nice to get opinions from both right and left but you seem more Jack Layton than Stephanie Dion. There’s no hope for you unless of course you enlighten yourself and sway a little - actually a lot more - to the right.
I'm not a political blogger, but I write about whatever is on my mind, and occasionally that's political charged. Sure, I've defended same-sex marriage and the decriminalization of certain pot offences, but I don't think that makes me scary. In fact, I'll bet my socially liberal views are shared by the majority of Torontonians. As Argie said, I'm so Toronto.
Argie, let's agree to disagree. You want me to enlighten myself by swaying a lot more to the right and I want you to enlighten yourself by swaying a lot more to the left. I'll miss your visits, but as Popeye said, I am what I am.
Way back in November 2003 I wrote about holiday music. No comments appeared on that entry until last October when somebody in the guise of "Nobody" wrote "I listen to Christmas songs every day on tape.".
Since that entry, "Nobody" has chimed in 13 more times. He or she posts these humorous updates on their Christmas tapes. Here's an entry left earlier today. "I changed my mind and decided to listen to some Christmas music on YouTube rather than on tape."
I hope "Nobody" keeps going. I want to see how this ends.
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
This is one hell of a powerful speech. Every time I hear it it blows me away.
As mentioned, I spent last night at the entertainment complex formerly known as SkyDome and witnessed Monster Jam 2008. James and I both had a blast, it's far more fun than you'd imagine.
It reminded me of the 80s when I'd attend wrestling at Maple Leaf Gardens or Exhibition Stadium. Grave Digger is Hulk Hogan. He, if a car can be a he, has the biggest fan base and gets to freestyle last. The crowd goes nuts for Grave Digger, the salty old vet that was popular when I was a kid. Superman's driver actually dresses in a Superman suit, Monster Mutt is a big hit with the kids because he looks like a dog and more than a few kids had tee shirts supporting Taz and Bulldozer. If you ask this guy, the most entertaining monster truck all night was something called Safe Auto Minimizer. Safe Auto Minimizer needs an image makeover. Might I suggest The Dungeon Master or Mudslinger?
It might not raise the IQ or add culture to the diet, but it's three hours of fun, and that ain't so bad. Here's my Flickr photoset from the event.
James' birthday weekend extravaganza continues as we return to SkyDome tonight for Monster Jam. This is where I'd normally insert a joke about being the only guy in the place with a university degree and all my teeth, but I'm not going to do that. For the fourth time in 8 days I'll be in the dome but this time I'm there to see Grave Digger, Monster Mutt and Superman and other world class trucks do their jumps, stunts and even some thrills and spills.
I'm not really a Monster Jam kind of guy, but I think James will get a kick out of it and it's gotta be good for shits and giggles. Once, while working at the CNE in '89 or '90, I got free tickets to see Robosaurus at Exhibition Stadium. Robosaurus was famously spoofed in The Simpsons episode "Bart the Daredevil", but I saw him first. He was 40 feet tall, breathed fire and ate a car. That's pretty cool.
We'll see what Grave Digger, Monster Mutt and Superman are up to tonight. I'll snap a few pictures. Yee haw!
Periodically I'll target certain keywords in Google just to test certain SEO techniques. When I picked up the domain name torontomike.com to complement mikeboon.com, I decided I should target the search toronto blog. This is, after all, a blog with a Toronto-centric angle.
With fairly little effort I started ranking in the top ten on Google, but I seem stuck in either the 3rd or 2nd spot. There are a couple of bigger boys targeting the same keywords and they're tough to catch. Quite simply, they have a helluva lot more inbound links with the anchor text toronto blog.
I just took the screen cap below that currently shows me in 3rd. I'll update this little challenge when I'm on top of the Toronto blog food chain.
Jordan is a member of my slo-pitch team Raging Storm and a socially conscious citizen of the world. When Kic got angry at the ump for calling a game at six innings with 18 minutes on the clock, he threw an empty bottle of Gatorade on the field of SkyDome. Seconds later, Jordan was out there to pick it up. That's how she rolls.
Jordan works for Second Harvest who provide food to 250 social service programs in the Greater Toronto Area. Their big fund raising day is something they call Lunch Money Day and it takes place on February 21, 2008. On this day they ask Torontonians to donate the money they would have spent on their lunch to Second Harvest to help them feed the thousands of men, women and children who depend on their services.
I wanted to give you all a head's up about this before my dodgeball game tonight, because she'll be there and I promised her at the dome that I'd spread the word about Lunch Money Day. I encourage companies and schools to register online at www.lunchmoneyday.com and run a campaign for this great cause. The campaigns can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Ideas range from bake sales and karaoke contests at schools, to a dress down day, company sponsored lunch or even a week long email bingo game at work. Second Harvest will provide all participants with the materials they need to run their campaign. Again, there's more info at www.lunchmoneyday.com.
$5 will provide our less fortunate with 10 meals. I'll remind you all about Lunch Money Day on the big day, but I wanted to give you a chance to spread the love beforehand.
I'm always fascinated by how few blog visitors
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