My Show

Firsts

2009-06-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Paul Munro: Harvest, Neil Young, and Share the Land: Guess Who (albums); Murray McLaughlin (concert...Alderwood High School)

Joe McKendy: Wednesday Morning 3 AM Sinon and Garfunkel, and Downtown, Petula Clark (albums); Murray McLaughlin (concert...National Arts Centre)

Chris McKendy: Wood, Moxy Fruvous

Connie Munro: Lighthouse (concert...Alderwood High School); After the Gold Rush, Neil Young

3 Things: Paul Munro (gr 8 + cool)

2009-06-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

1) painter pants
2) bib overalls (jeans & cords)
3) coloured sunglasses (Paul had blue Easy Riders)
4) 10-speed bikes
5) black light posters
6) incense
7) candles inChianti bottles
8) second-hand stuff fromFarmer's Rag Market
9) first pair of jeans (gr 7)
10) batman (gr 4-5)
11) yo-yo's and tops by Duncan
12) freezies and Lola's

Three + Things that were cool ...

2009-06-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

...when I was in about grade 8:

desert boots
paisley shirts in orange and lime green (paisley cuffs only or shirt only)
Beatle caps
sweatshirts featuring Peanuts characters
"track shoes" (Onitsuka Tigers for example)
stovepipe pants
pylon-shaped toques with patterns in bright colours

Then in high school:

Apple Bee shirts
Lee jeans w leather patch
Howick jeans (huge) (star on pocket)
powder blue plaid pantsm very wide flares with cuffs
two-tone shoes, clown shaped
Converse

Ouch!

2009-06-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

Headline: Colangelo deals Kapono in bid to add toughness
Subhead: Three-point specialist on his way to Philadelphia in exchange for rugged forward Evans

8 paras of blah, blah, blah

Para 9: "Evans's willingness to do the dirty work was demonstrated in the 2008 playoffs when he was with the Denver Nuggets. He was fined $10,000 by the NBA for grabbing the testicles of Los Angeles Clippers centre Chris Kaman while battling for position.

Welcome to My Show

2009-06-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

"You're a good man, and I'll have you on my show."

I have been saying this to my favourite people for some 30 years. Not all, by any means, have understood it. I have tried not to explain it too much.

Until now, the show has been somewhat...ephemeral. But with this first episode, the show is transformed. Perhaps not quickly enough for those who have been disappointed to find that the show is not available on radio or television. While this is hardly out of the question, the transition must be organic.

So before the show goes multimedia, it is going "unimedia." For the first time, it is being "recorded."

Nonetheless, spontaneity remains an essential part of the show. Even though your words are being shared with viewers of the show, choose them no more carefully than you would in conversation. If appearances on the show become more about writing than talking, the show will falter.

It's still a talk show. E-mail your contributions to me and add comments to any post. My Show is also your show.

Joe

Three Things

2009-06-14T04:52:00.000-07:00

My Show needs guests. So I am launching a new feature called Three Things.

Guests are invited to submit three observations on a particular topic. You might submit a list of one-word items. Or you might write something much longer. If you want to submit more things or choose a different topic, that's just fine.

I look forward to contributions, comments and conversations. If you have something you'd like to share, please e-mail it to me. I will post it with your name in the title.

New York: April 29 to May 3, 2009

2009-06-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Transpo

Took train and subway to and from JFK Airport and around town. Seven-day pass was great value. Subways were clean and safe. Sometimes there were entrepreneurs, fundraisers and hucksters in the cars. One guy sold oreos and granola bars, which were stored in the pockets of his cargo pants. Another guy was selling homemade fried chicken for the homeless. A group of guys played the bongo drums and passed the hat.

A curious question

Waiting for the light to change at a street corner, a small Hasidic Jew came up to me and asked: Are you Jewish. When I said I was not, he said: Thank you. Have a wonderful day. The he walked away.

Cool runners

On Fulton Street in Brooklyn, there are more sneaker stores in three or four blocks than in all of Ottawa. Very cool shoes. Brendan and I each bought shoes from a store called Dr. Jay's. Another familiar sight on Fulton Street was a group of three preachers, wearing shiny purple vestments and thick gold armbands.

Restos

Good restaurants: Noodle Pudding (Italian) and Fatoush (Middle Eastern) in Brooklyn Heights. Hampton Chutney Company in Soho. The first is sit-down; the others are eat-and-run. Bad restaurant: Brooklyn Heights café.

Biking in New York

Rented a bike from a shop called Pedal Pushers. Toured a bit around Central Park, but quickly realized that I often bike through nice parkland at home. So I headed for a path near the river that pretty much hugs the perimeter of the entire island of Manhattan. Also toured some neighbourhoods from Lower East Side to Harlem. Went as far north as 124th Street. Some streets had bike lanes. Some were pretty busy. But as long as you drive defensively and have some experience with busy city streets, it wasn't crazy. Many locals travel by bike, completely ignoring lights and traffic laws.

Football game

New Yorkers take their recreational spaces where they can find them. I saw basketball courts and practice tennis courts underneath highways, and a war memorial used as a touch football field. As I cycled past the enormous war memorial on the Upper West Side, I noticed a group of Hasidic boys, about 12 years old, playing touch football on it -- four or five a side, five downs to the field. The field included two flights of steps, which were taken literally in stride. Turns out the boys were from a school across the street. I took a few photos and spoke with their teacher, who was watching from the sidelines. He eventually invited me to play. I quarterbacked one series, going just one for five. I like to think that all of my incompletions were because I was at the bottom of a flight of steps, while my receivers scampered to the top. It was hard to adjust to the different levels. The game was perhaps the most memorable episode of our trip.

Overheard

Many arguments.
-- Vinnie and the stones: workers doing stonework at a fancy residence. "I told ya it wouldn't work, Vinnie. But you wanted to do it your way. So I said fine, go ahead. Now look where we are."
-- Guy on cell phone: "He set me up!"
-- Supervisor and staff at Macy's having a stand-up meeting, arguing about schedule.
Speaking one's mind seems a very New York thing to do.

Popular ways to get a message across

Shouting and honking. Each time I heard shouting, it startled me. But it seemed to be almost always good-natured. On Fulton street, it was usually preaching or pitching "free cell phones."

Break time

Young men operating neighbouring fruit and hot dog stands took advantage of lull between customers to kick a soccer ball around on the sidewalk.

Subway poster

Lived there? Worked there? You deserve care. Then a brief profile of someone who was close to the twin towers. The call to action was for counselling services. Eight years later, people are still hurting.

Subway ads

The most common type of ads had to do with education and training.

Parking Lot

Some spaces in the only parking lot I remember seeing had a hydraulic lift, creating double decker parking spaces.

Pets

Many dogs were the size of cats. Speaking of cats, I don't think I saw a single one.

NYC, a friendly giant

People I remember:
-- young black man on subway platform wearing flat-brimmed ball cap at 45 degree angle...helped me take a photo of a guy singing opera.
-- Philippino delivery man pushing a hand truck, who I chatted with as I walked down the street.
-- people in line at the a comedy club with an outstanding name, the Upright Citizens Brigade.

Overrated

-- skyscrapers

Underrated

-- smaller buildings everywhere...lots of detail...beautiful stonework

Great Hotel

Marriott in Brooklyn Heights. Great location, good value. View of rooftop school playground from our room.

Picture Shows on My Show

2009-06-01T18:25:00.001-07:00

Wendy and Lucy: two woofs
Nightwatching: five pillows
Tulpan: four sheep
Frozen River: five trailers
Slumdog Millionaire: three bucks

Oslo and Western Norway, October 2008

2009-06-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

The public transit is very good. E-billboards at every bus stop tell you how many minutes until the next bus. On the bus, the e-billboard announces each upcoming stop.

Chewing tobacco seems very popular.

The Oslo art gallery is very unassuming. It's like a very old school -- many rooms with fluorescent lighting, 20-foot ceilings, big windows with sheers. It's a little shabby. And it's free!

British flight attendants at our B&B love Norwegian and Swedish customers because they don't hesitate to buy overpriced food and drink. They are on commission.

At a restaurant, a beer costs about $12.

At our B&B in Bergen, the breakfast room has dark wood and a high ceiling. The wallpaper is textured, with a brocade pattern. There is a plate rail too. One end of the room features dark stained glass. Classical music plays on the radio. Typical breakfast food includes: melk, brod, coffee, tea, OJ, fish in a toothpaste tube, pickled herring and sometimes mackerel, muesli, yogurt, soft boiled eggs, crispbreak, ham, salami, cheese, Nutella.

The Jos Louis of Norway is something called a Lefke. It's a square cake with vanilla or chocolate icing between the layers. Good brands include Bertha's or Smurt. Chris and I ate many of them.

There seems to be a small piece of quarter round or something like it between rooms in many hotels and B&Bs. Watch your toes.

Many roads in Norway have no centre line...just lines on either side marking the edge of the pavement. Driving was slow and scary. There were three particularly scary moments: 1) backing down a steep driveway that I mistook for a road...almost rolled car) 2) trying to go up the ramp off a ferry (should have switched to second gear) 3) trying to get through a gate on a steep hill. Unparliamentary words were spoken.

Almost all cars have standard transmissions.

If extra insurance is offered, take it. Insurance does not cover accidents on ferries, which are probably common.

Many highways are interrupted by tunnels, which require payment of a toll. Tunnels are as long as 11 km. Very dark and dreary.

Goats are pretty good at standing perfectly still.

Our host at a B&B in Ulvik moved from fruit farmer to goat farmer to going-to-meetings farmer.

Between the mountains and fjords, there isn't room to grow very much in western Norway.

Everything costs about twice as much as in Canada.

Upon picking up our rented mini-SUV, I immediately got lost. Tried to turn around in a factory laneway and could not get the beast into reverse. Flagged down a pedestrian, an Aussie, who helped me. Gave him a lift.

Met some Czechs on a ferry who were going to work for an oil company 60 km away from Bergen. We communicated by sharing the names of people we know -- Jaromir Jagr, Robert Lang and Dominik Hasek, a "goalman."

Almost nothing is open on Sundays. Certainly no grocery stores. If you don't want an expensive restaurant meal, your only option is a convenience store alle polsk (hot dog).

Norwegian Dictionary:
fisk - fish
kyklling - chicken
herr - man
frisor - hairstylist
barn - kids
ost and skinka - ham and cheese
melk - milk
brod - bread
fett - fat
toaletter - washroom
konditor - bakery
keke - cake
paraply - umbrella
tillbud - special price
rabbatt - savings
bibliotekit - bookstore
Fredag - Friday
soppa - soup

Rooms are small, esp bathrooms.

At the laundromat, washing machines are smaller. You put clothes in a spinner before drying them.

There are many fancy kitchen stores and design stores in Norway and Sweden.

Amazing waterfalls are a dime a dozen.

Ping-pong and handball are prominent in the sports pages.

Stockholm, October 2008

2009-05-31T17:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning, around 8 or 9 am. Many bikes, no people. Dozens and dozens of bikes strewn about the sidewalks, many lying on their sides. Some were unlocked. Must be apartments above the businesses that front the street.

If you are a tourism and make a meal out of stuff you buy at the grocery store, this is called self catering.

Grocery stores have entire sections devoted to crispbread.

Saw dogs on trains and in the subway. Weird.

In the main train/subway station, there was a tennis court, with a match going on during rush hour. I think it was a promo for a tournament.

Rush hour at train/subway station was crazy busy. Almost got bowled over.

The bike I used belonged to the Hotel Globen. It was parked under a staircase in the lobby. Because the tires were soft, I walked it past the Gove arena and over the bridge to Sodermalm. I was looking for a place to get air in my tires. They mentioned a green box, and I figured it must be part of a service station. I followed directions but could not find it. Turned out the green box was maybe the size of a two-drawer filing cabinet. The valve on the tire was different. As it was our first morning in Sweden, I was not sure about asking for help in English. I let another cyclist go ahead of me, so I could watch how he did it. When I heard him swear...in English...I asked for help and got it.

Saw a pigeon-sized black-and-white bird, but slim like a Swede. Turned out there were plenty of them...a Swedish crow?

Pregame entertainment for Sens-Pens was a heavy metal band. One of their songs was: We don't celebrate Sundays.

Once inside the arena, you could have been in any NHL rink. Many of the fans were Canadians or Americans, wearing Pens or Sens jerseys. All the announcements were in English, and the ice surface was NHL size -- tiny. Chris and I were shown and mentioned on the CBC broadcast. It was fun, but I think it would have been more interesting to see a Swedish Elite League game. The media certainly covered the Swedish league games more extensively than the NHL game.

The second Sens-Pens game was probably more fun. Chris and Connie sat in plum centre-ice seats. their immediate neighbours were Mario Lemieux, Eugene Melnyk and Gary Bettman. After the game started, I bought a ticket from a scalper for much less than face value.

More Breakfast and Just More

2009-04-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

Breakfast

This morning, Brendan noted that French toast helps make a good diner. I noted that the waitress asked about my mother, who the waitress hasn't seen in months. As well, she peeled open my "matchbox" of marmelade to save me the bother. Nice touch.

More

Chris to me: "When you retire, how many days a week will you wear those pants?"
Me (sheepishly): 7

The Pants: special lightweight khaki travelling pants with many pockets. Bought 'em for Sweden and Norway. Next stop: New York.

Breakfast at the Diner

2009-04-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Just back from breakfast. My tradition of Sunday morning breakfast at the diner began with my ma, who may have concluded that a promise of breakfast would increase the chances of my taking her to church. She is unfortunately not able to get out for church or breakfast these days. But other family members have stepped up to join me in her absence.

What makes a good diner? Here's my template:

Food: not too fancy or expensive...under $5

Music/TV: preferably none...at least not too loud, esp when elderly guests are involved

Pictures/knicknacks: photos of friends, family, NHL players are good, as well as tacky souvenirs and children's drawings

Chains vs. independent: independent...bien sur

Staff: family is ideal...owner-operated is essential

Mood: friendly...lots of friends and relatives is a good sign

Cleanliness: it need not be fancy, but must be clean...even if it is clean, avoid tables near the washrooms

Seating: booths are good...simple chairs are good...lunch counters with stools are good...a view of the street is very good

Newspapers: a stack of pre-read newspapers is good...buying is ok...it's ok to ready a paper with Sun on the masthead in a breakfast place

Patrons: crowded is good...lineups are bad...nice to hear French and other languages

Names: a good name is important....here are the names of my favorite diners, ranked by preference: 1) The Fontanelle 2) Louie's 3) Taffy's 4) Stan's

Comments, new headings, stories are very much encouraged.

"You're a good man, and I'll have you on my show."

2009-04-05T04:50:00.000-07:00

I have been saying this to my favourite people for some 30 years. Not all, by any means, have understood it. I have tried not to explain it too much.

Until now, the show has been somewhat...ephemeral. But with this first episode, the show is transformed. Perhaps not quickly enough for those who have been disappointed to find that the show is not available on radio or television. While this is hardly out of the question, the transition must be organic.

So before the show goes multimedia, it is going "unimedia." For the first time, it is being "recorded."

Nonetheless, spontaneity remains an essential part of the show. Even though your words will be shared with others, choose them no more carefully than you would in conversation. If appearances on the show become more about writing than talking, the show will falter.

It's still a talk show. Comments on each post are very much encouraged. It is both my show and our show.

Joe