Rick and Maggie have a very unique bathroom, which I fell in love with. It is a small guest bathroom on the main floor but on every wall was a mirror
Mirrors even covered the ceiling!
Mirrors on mirrors!
A room full of mirrors. Always fun!
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Gord to Infinity, The Bathroom of Mirrors
Rick and Maggie have a very unique bathroom, which I fell in love with. It is a small guest bathroom on the main floor but on every wall was a mirror
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Maggie's 50th Birthday Party
Rick and Maggie are friends of ours who live in Stoney Creek.
This weekend Maggie hit another milestone. She turned 50! Rick decided a couple of weeks ago to throw her a surprise party. I never thought he could pull it off. You see, we all would meet outside their house, then come in and surprise her.
I saw a few holes with the plan.
Rick had told Maggie he would take her out to a nice restaurant so she dressed up nice. He said they would head out around 7:45pm. Meanwhile about 20 of us, friends, family, her sons, all gathered outside on the front lawn. Then he went out the back door, saying he would go and warm up the car. He gathered us together, we crowded by the front door, and Rick rang the bell.
The look on Maggie's face was priceless! I could not believed that this, the simplest of all plans worked!
We poured into the house and in minutes the tables were full of food and drink all brought in from the cars outside.
It was a fun night. I do believe she was overwhelmed having everyone show up.
The real fun time will come this morning, when they have to clean up all the mess.
Happy 50th, Maggie!
Beer of the Week - Mad and Noisy Hops & Bolts IPL
When I opened the menu to look at the beer list, I was not expecting anything exciting, but there it was. This week's beer of the week, Mad and Noisy, Hops and Bolts IPL.
I asked our server, Justin, who made it but he did not know. He did know who was responsible for the new food items on the menu, a friend of his, but not the beer.
It turns out that the brewery is called Mad and Noisy and the beer is Hops and Bolts IPL
Mad and Noisy is really a brand line and not a brewery so I am not counting it under the number of breweries profiled. It is the brainchild of Creemore Springs Brewery but this beer is not listed on their website, nor does the brand have its own website yet.
The brand was set up to feature experimental small batch beers. Hops and Bolts is their initial effort. Described as an Indian Pale Lager, the brewery says is “a Czech twist on an English IPA.”
Did I like it?
I had another couple before I left. Currently it is only available on draft but if they sold it by the bottle or can, I would certainly be buying it.
Note from November 30: I was at Six Pints brewing Academy and they had it on tap... so I had a couple. A very enjoyable beer!
Beer of the Week Stats
Beers Profiled 186
Breweries 161
Countries 37
Book Review - A Nation Worth Ranting About
I loved him in This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made in Canada and have not missed an episode of The Rick Mercer Report on Tuesday nights. One of my favorite parts of the show is Rick's Rant, a feature which was always the very best part of This Hour has 22 Minutes.
So I was thrilled when he put out, A Nation Worth Ranting About.
An all-new collection of furiously funny rants from the most recent seasons of the Rick Mercer Report plus three brilliantly written, previously unpublished pieces by Rick. Illustrated throughout with photos and snatches of dialogue from Rick's encounters and exploits across Canada.
I found the rants as funny and insightful reading them, as I did when I first heard them as he did his fast walk along the alleyways of Toronto (that the cameraman never seems to stumble or fall while walking backwards shooting the piece, all done in a single shot is amazing). To me, his rants always ring true.
I especially like the chapter he wrote about meeting his all time hero, Rick Hanson, for the first time at top a bridge to do some bungee jumping. The story is hilarious!
The book is definitely worth reading. There's not a dull section in it!
Friday, 23 November 2012
At the 2012 Vanier Cup
Tonight five of us went down to the 48th Vanier Cup, held this year at the Rogers Centre. It promised to be a great game as both teams met in last year's Vanier Cup with the game going into double overtime before the McMaster Marauders took down Laval Rouge-et-Or by a score of 41-38.
Jim, Malcolm, Brent and Tom were at the game. It was Tom's idea and a great one! All of us but Jim were cheering for McMaster.
For the first quarter, the two teams seemed to feel each other out and there was no scoring or scoring chances. The game opened up in the second quarter with a 28 yard touchdown by Laval (pictured above). McMaster came back and by the end of the first half were up 14-12.
That was it for the Marauders! Laval took over and dominated the second half. McMaster never scored and ended up being trounced 37-14. Laval completed passes when needed but it was their running game which dominated the match. Boutin, Laval's number one rusher, ran the ball for 253 yards himself. On one play in the third quarter, he took off for an 84 yard touchdown run that resulted in my favorite picture of the night. Just perfect timing. I could not do this again!
Here is the Vanier Cup!
It was a fun night! When we left ,we came out of a door of the stadium which was right under the CN Tower. It was a great unusual view.
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Beer of the Week - Hogsback Vintage Lager
Opening the company was the idea of Paige Cutland, who served for 17 years in the Canadian Air Force and worked the the high tech industry for another 10. Three others, Frank, Gerry and Mark, joined in his dream and they came up with their anchor product, Hogsback Vintage Ale. Currently the brewery is brewing under contract with another brewery but hope to have their own building in a year or two.
The brewery is named for a vicious section of the Rideau River which had a set of three rapids. A ridge of limestone stuck out of the rapids that looked like the back of a hog and had more than one raft slam into it. The section was nicknamed the Hogsback. With the building of the Rideau Canal and engineering marvel which took six years and was completed in 1832, the rapids were eliminated.
And the beer?
This is a nice flavourful lager. It starts slightly sweet, maybe a little biscuity, and finishes with a touch of bitterness but is full of flavour throughout. It is an enjoyable beer that will be joining my lager rotation in my fridge.
Beer of the Week Stats
Beers Profiled 185
Breweries 161
Countries 37
Saturday, 17 November 2012
East Coast Connected Charity Event at Labatt's
Tonight Teena and I went to our first East Coast Connected event, held at the John Labatt Room at Queens Quay. Teena is originally from Nova Scotia. Tonight's event was to raise funds for the Ward 5 Community Centre in the North end of Halifax.
East Coast Connected believes that Atlantic Canadians who have moved away are still, at heart, Atlantic Canadians. More than that, we believe that they are still a valuable resource for their home provinces – whether you’re talking about investment opportunities or fundraising for your former local charity, this diverse group of people is full of passion and goodwill.
Since 2007, East Coast Connected has been a forum for discussion, dialogue, networking, and informal mentoring. We aim to take advantage of the momentum generated since our inception. How? By channelling the energy of our members into doing good work, and by reaffirming our role as a key professional networking hub for Atlantic Canadians.
It was a fun night. To encourage people to come early, there was free beer from 7:00 to 8:30. We arrived around 7:30 and still were the first there. To some this would be embarrassing. To me, it meant it was easier to get to the bar for free beer. Not many took up the free beer offer.
The room is used as a pub for Labatt employees after work and is beautifully decorated. Every employee has their own beer stein. The room and all the beer was donated by Labatt's for the night.
People in Toronto don't like to show up anywhere till after 9 pm and tonight was no different.
It was a fun night. Many thanks to the organizers that put this event together and to Labatt's for generously donating the room and all the beer.
Movie Review - Flight
Whip Whitaker, a seasoned airline pilot miraculously crash-lands his plane after a mid-air catastrophe, saving nearly every soul on board. After the crash, Whip is hailed as a hero, but as more is learned, more questions than answers arise as to who or what was really at fault, and what really happened on that plane?
The movie starts off fast with the plane crash occurring in the first half hour. The flight and crash were very realistically done and had me on the edge of my seat. Whip, excellently played by Denzel Washington, had been drinking and doing some coke before taking off on the plane for a short, less than an hour flight to Atlanta. It was mechanical problems which cause the plane to crash and Whip makes amazing moves that save most of the passengers.
I am not giving away anything the ads don't already show.
The rest of the movie involves how he copes with his life and drinking afterwards and the investigation into the crash.
It is a very good movie but I found it a touch long. The opening half hour is riveting. I give it a 7 out of 10.
Friday, 16 November 2012
Play Review - Jekyll and Hyde, The Musical
We went to eat first at St Louis Bar and Grill in the Atrium on Bay. When we got there, we discovered we forgot our tickets. We sat down and asked the hostess if we could use their computer and printer to print them off. She said she would ask and after 10 minutes, we stopped her to see if she had an answer.
Oh, sorry she thought our server would tell us, oh and the answer was no. I can see their point. Security and not wanting strangers on their computer. Then again if we have our tickets, we could stay longer.
I then decided to see if there was anywhere in the Atrium that might help us.
A print shop. Yes!
I saw it was closed and looked over just in time to see the last person lock the doors and leave.
Damn!
But there was a travel agency still open and I thought I would give them a try. I went in and saw two people not on the phone and sat down in front of a girl, said that this was an unusual request and slowly explained our situation, asked them if I could print the tickets on their system .
No "yes". No "sorry we can't do that". Instead she just starred at me. The guy to her left was not on the phone but doing his best to ignore me.
No acknowledgement at all ... so I left.
I went back and explained what happened to Teena. She asked if they spoke English and I said yes. The she smirked and asked if I was speaking English. I thought I was
Teena decided to head over and give it a try herself.
About 10 minutes later, she returned with tickets and knew exactly what I was talking about now, as she had the same thing happen to her. She persisted and finally the fellow beside her heard her say she would PAY and then was helpful.
Unbelievable! The blank stares were hilarious.
Now the play.
It was great. Going in I didn't know the story but the story was good, the set was great as was the acting.
The singing was incredible!Constantine Maroulis was amazing and what a voice! If there was one complaint it was every song he sang seemed to end on a long high note, but now I am being picky. He was so great switching between the good Dr Jekyll and evil Mr Hyde. When he was good, he was good and when he was evil, he was delightfully evil. I loved how he portrayed Jekyll struggling with the evil beast within him.
Deborah Cox also was great in her role and again what a voice! Her duets with Constantine were terrific. Their voices match so well. Teal Wicks was also excellent as Jekyll's fiancee.
The Toronto Star did a bad review on this play which made me wonder if they saw the same play we did. I really enjoyed the play and would recommend it. It is not a play I would see twice but am really glad that we got to see it.
This production is heading to Broadway in April where it should have a long run.
Thursday, 15 November 2012
200 Year Old Tweeting
Tweets
Ely Playter
4 August 1812: I went to town in the morning, got mare shod, some whiskey and flour. Drew in hay in pm. William Kindrick came to help us.
2 August 1812: Mr. Rogers was to see us. I was quite lame with my foot at home all day. Shower of rain PM.
1 August 1812: Smart rain in the morning and some the pm. I had poisoned my foot and it was much swelled.
The Story of Human Existance told in 1 Minute 37 Seconds!
This is a very short but cool video. Best watched with the sound on for the musical background. It's from the NASA Astonomy Picture of the Day.
Could you tell the story of human existence in a minute? This thrilling video culls together multiple teasing snippets in an attempt to do just that. And sets it to music. Briefly depicted, from start to finish, is an artistic animation of the Big Bang, a trip across the early universe, the formation of the Earth and Moon, the emergence of multi-celled life and plants, the rise of reptiles and dinosaurs, a devastating meteor strike, the rise of mammals and humans, and finally the rise of modern civilization. The minute movie ends with a flyover of the modern skyscraper and a human standing atop a snow covered mountain. The above video is the latest from the Symphony of Science project.
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Heritage Toronto Talk - Anishinaabe First Nations in the War of 1812
Tonight was another lecture on the War of 1812. This is the second that I have attended that was put on by Heritage Toronto.
Tonight's talk was on the Anishinaabe First Nations in the War of 1812 and was put on in conjunction with the Native Canadian Centre. The centre is on Spadina just above Bloor and housed in what I believe was an fabulous old school.
The talk was put on by Alan Corbiere who if you click onto the link will find is is well-versed on this subject. From my understanding, Anishinnaabe is name which combines three nations, the Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi.
Mr Corbiere spoke to a full room of 75 of us who had registered in advance for this free talk. Last night Heritage Toronto sent out an email asking that if anyone could not attend to let them know as there was a waiting list.
The talk was a little over an hour and fifteen minutes and very interesting. Afterwards there was 15 minutes for questions and there were so many that time ran out. Once again I learned a lot and have a few things I would like to look up.
In the War of 1812, very few tribes and chiefs are mentioned in British and American records. Corbiere has done extensive research to determine what tribes would be involved, the numbers that fought (close guesstaments) and the chiefs that led them. Here are some of the chiefs and Corbiere had a full story on each.
He also spoke of communication between the tribes in that era. Corbiere said how as a child growing up on Manitoulin Island (he came down from there to give this lecture) he thought his people likely knew nothing about the war as it was so far away. Then he discovered that all the native tribes, even the most northerly one, knew of the Battle of Fallen Timbers fought in 1794 in Ohio, where when the retreated native forces sought safety from the Americans in a British fort, found the gates slammed shut and barred. The forces were then decimated. Distance was no barrier for communication (this event was remembered for years and made many native peoples not knowing if they could trust the British when asked to fight with them against the Americans 18 years later).
Then he explained about Wampon Belts and how the belts told a story of treaties and events. Here are pictures of two belts and a drawing made by Francis Gore of a belt he wanted made. The top belt speaks of a treaty made in 1807 with William Claus.
Finally here are two pictures. The first are medals presented to chiefs for their contribution, the medal on the right is for the Siege of Detroit. The next shot is their descendants wearing the medals along with others they have won. The gentleman on the left is sporting his World War One medals and the medal of his ancestor.
Mr. Corbiere received a huge ovation at the end. It was very well deserved!
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Remembrance Day Ceremony at Fort York
Today is Remembrance Day, they day we pay tribute to those who died fighting for this country, fought for this country, or has served this country in any way.
Fort York, in partnership with the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, puts on a very nice service at the Strachan Avenue Military Cemetery on Garrison Common. Teena and I went there again today for the ceremony.
The ceremony was very well attended as always. We sang Oh Canada, listened to prayers and readings by Reverend Dr. John D. Hartley, a reading of In Flanders Fields and then came the last post and two minutes of silence.
The silence was ended by a lament on the bagpipes, then reveille and the laying of the wreaths. After singing God Save the Queen, the procession march off to the Fort. I am always proud of how the veterans in attendance are applauded as they leave.
As the soldiers dressed in 1812 uniforms marched by the veterans, the Sergeant ordered "Eyes Right!" and in unison all heads turned to the vet as they marched by and saluted.
After the ceremony those in attendance pinned their poppies to a wreath. Today is important to remember and I'm glad that this ceremony and others in the city are so well though of and attended.
Some more pictures.
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