Monthly Archive for November, 2007

Neil Young

Published on November 29, 2007 in 2007, Chris, Goin' Out and Music. 0 Comments

On Tuesday night I went to the Neil Young concert at Massey Hall… and I’m still on the high! First of all Massey Hall is an amazing venue. Secondly we had great seats. Thirdly he performed a wicked set:

Acoustic Set
From Hank To Hendrix
Ambulance Blues
Sad Movies
A Man Needs A Maid
Try
No One Seems To Know
Harvest
After The Gold Rush
Mellow My Mind
Love Art Blues
Heart Of Gold
Cowgirl In The Sand

Electric Set
The Loner
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Dirty Old Man
Spirit Road
Bad Fog Of Loneliness
Winterlong
Oh, Lonesome Me
The Believer
No Hidden Path

Encore
Cinnamon Girl
Cortez The Killer

The only negatives of the entire evening were the incessant nattering from the losers sitting to my right, and the constant yells from the crowd requesting songs, welcoming Neil home, thanking him, etc, etc… The jerks beside me were fortysomethings who thought it cool to get stoned and go see Neil Young. In their altered state they had no concept that they were loud; even when multiple other people around them told them to “Shut up!” The yells from the crowd were obnoxious, and completely unnecessary.

Putting those two beefs aside, this was one of the best concert events I’ve ever attended. Neil Young is a true rock star, and his songs are so good that you forget where you are, and that there is a stress filled life waiting for you outside the doors of the theatre.

Grey Cup Weekend!

Published on November 25, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Leah, Food & Wine, Friends and Goin' Out. 0 Comments

Leah and I spent the weekend in the city. Friday night we celebrated Dan’s birthday at College Street Bar. Last night we went out with Y&K to PJ O’Briens, followed by CanStage’s presentation of Little Shop of Horrors. After the show Y&K went home, while Leah and I retired to Sheraton (using one of our wedding gifts for a free nights stay and breakfast for two). Friday night we avoided the Grey Cup crowds, but Saturday was a different story. From the minute we entered the lobby of the hotel we were sucked into the world of Grey Cup Fanaticism. There were fans of all shapes, sizes and colours filling the lobby – cheering for their favourite team, decked out head-to-toe in their team attire. Despite the seeming lack of fanfare surrounding the Grey Cup by Toronto media, the fans that we saw were certainly having a great time in our fair city.

Windshield Wipers

Published on November 23, 2007 in 2007 and Chris. 0 Comments

My wiper blade broke the other day so off to Canadian Tire I went thinking I would just buy a $3 strip of wiper blade rubber. Once I got there I discovered a wide array of wiper options, and decided to try the Reflex Wiper Blade. Coupled with the Rain-X washer fluid, I don’t know how I was able to even see before! These new blades are awesome. I almost want it to be rainy so that I can keep using them!

30 Rock

Published on November 22, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Funny. 0 Comments

This show gets better with each subsequent episode.

The World Today…

Published on November 20, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Complaints. 0 Comments

I received this email today…

Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6am. While his coffeepot (Made In China) was percolating, he shaved with his electric razor (Made in Hong Kong). He put on a dress shirt (Made in Sri Lanka), designer jeans (Made in Singapore) and tennis shoes (Made in Korea). After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (Made in India) he sat down with his calculator (Mande in Mexico) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (Made in Taiwan) to the radio (Made in India) he got in his car (Made in Germany) filled it with gas (From Saudi Arabia) and continued his search for a good paying CANADIAN JOB. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day checking his Computer (Made In Malaysia) (with tech support in India), Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (Made in Brazil) and poured himself a glass of wine (Made in France) and turned on his TV (Made in Indonesia), and then wondered why he can’t find a good paying job in Canada!

What’s wrong with people????

Published on November 19, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Complaints. 3 Comments

dscn0725.jpg As I approached my car after work this afternoon, something didn’t look right. It was dark, raining, and my car is black so it was hard to tell for sure, but as I got closer my suspicion was confirmed; some jackass had backed into the rear door and punched a hole through the body. With an impact strong enough to deform the door, and puncture the sheet metal (and render the door inoperable) the other driver certainly knew that they hit me. But to no ones real surprise they did not leave their contact info, nor come into my office and let me know. (My license plate read the name of my company, and my car was parked 40 feet from the office door, next to our 4 foot tall sign… so it wouldn’t have taken a genius to figure out who’s car they hit!) I went to the Toronto Police collision reporting centre and filled out the paperwork. The officer was pretty funny and told me that due to a backlog of other more important cases the CSI team might not get out to see me until 2050, and that I should probably just get the car fixed. :)
dscn0721.jpg dscn0724.jpg dscn0726.jpg

Niagara!

Published on November 18, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Leah, Friends, Goin' Out and Travel. 1 Comment

Chris, Leah, Matt & Emma beside The FallsYesterday we took our friends Matt & Emma to Niagara Falls. They are in Toronto on vacation from their home in Portsmouth, England. This is their first trip to Canada, and first time seeing Niagara Falls. I don’t remember my first trip to Niagara Falls, but being there with them on their first trip was refreshing. I think we take The Falls for granted, and forget how wondrous it really is.
I’m trying out the new .mac web gallery: http://gallery.mac.com/chrisandleah

Yep! That was me on E! Channel Tonight

Published on November 11, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Music. 1 Comment

Earlier this evening I made my major network debut on the show Tribute Bands as a “superfan” of The Tragically Hip. The show was filmed in early June, and I was invited to the thriving metropolis of Tweed, Ontario to critique a Hip cover band.It was good fun, despite being more than a little odd seeing myself on TV. I’ll post my parts to YouTube at some point soon… 

Lakeshore Local

Published on November 10, 2007 in Chris and Leah, Climate Change and Complaints. 0 Comments

Somehow I missed this issue during the last election, but I think it is a good one that needs to be explored further. The idea is that we run low-cost commuter service from South Etobicoke to Union Station on existing tracks and rights-of-way. I’ve oft lamented that it takes Leah nearly an hour to get to her office, yet we are only 12 km away! This new service, could definitely reduce her transit time, and reduce congestion on the roads.It’s quick, easy, benefits the residents of Toronto and won’t cost a lot. There must be a major drawback but I have not found it yet.

How to Spend a November Weekend

Published on November 6, 2007 in Chris and Leah. 0 Comments

OK, my editing class is calling me but I want to get in a quick review of our weekend. On Saturday, we headed out to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a romantic weekend at the Harbour House. After a rocking start to the day (Acura Sherway really needs to employ people who know what they’re talking about) we packed the rental car and hit the road for the 75 minute trek around the Golden Horseshoe. Even though we weren’t in our own car, I did enjoy playing with the satalite radio! You gotta love an entire station devoted to Broadway! :-)

The hotel is beautiful. And the friendly, welcoming and helpful staff make the Harbour House Hotel even better. We were able to check in early and even had a bag of personlized cookies and personlized hotel stationary waiting for us in the room. Sean, the front desk guy on duty, booked us in for lunch and our complimentary wine tour at Peller Estates. The winery is beautiful and, for the most part, we liked all the wine and food we tried. The highlight of lunch was the sweet potato soup. Yum!

We left the winery full and headed back to the hotel for more snacks, wine and conversation in the lobby. Harbour House hosts a wine and cheese tasting for guests from 4:00 to 5:30, and it was really nice to relax by the fire and chat with other guests.

After quick shower and change of clothes, Joseph from Harbour House was waiting with the van to drive us to the Charles Inn. Built in the 1800s, this beautiful historic house is transformed into an elegant and inviting restaurant. The food, service and wine were all fantastic.

It’s the perfect place for a quiet dinner with someone you love.

Back at the hotel, we snuggled into the delightfully soft white sheets and tried to watch “Dirty Dancing”. We only made it about an hour into the moving before conking out for the night.

Breakfast at the hotel was good, offering a better variety of food than you normally get at a hotel. After a quick tour of the main drag (with purchases from the Christmas store and a new hat for me!) we headed back to Toronto.

If you get a chance, check out the Harbour House and/or the Charles Inn. We received this package as a wedding present (it was a Life Experience) and it was great.