Rizdales Christmas Party

The Rizdales (one of our favorite country bands) have an annual Christmas Bash with friends (this year it was Nora Galloway and the Tearjerkers, Ginger St. James and Jim McGinley) on a Sunday afternoon at the Richmond Hotel in London. It's a tradition over the last 10 years or more.

This year the Rizdales are celebrating the release of a new CD -- "Blue Ain't The Word -- A Tribute to the Music of Ray Price" ... and that's well worth a listen.

Here's some pictures from the event.

The Revolution Starts Now!

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My brother Paul was visiting at Thanksgiving and brought a matching T-shirt -- "The Revolution Starts Now" -- based on that iconic photo of Che Guevera. Paul is living in Thailand these days and we don't get to see him that often -- the last time he was here was back in 2012 when dad passed away.

Paul has some weird politics, he's fond of Che T-shirts and even has a matching red star cap. I matched the cap with a "button workers for peace" button on my sailor cap.

Anyways, here's some photos for friends and family to share.

And remember, the Revolution Starts Now!

Sudbury

I was with Kate recently on a trip to Sudbury (surprisingly green given the nasty mining and smelting history) and took this photo of the brilliant maple leaves on a rainy drive to the west to the A.Y. Jackson lookout. The colours were pretty bright in the first place but google+ photos has enhanced them even more. Nope it's not HDR.

See also the AY Jackson Lookout.

September in Chicago

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In September of 2014 we had a short visit to Chicago. We've been through Chicago a couple of times over the years (flying or driving) but have never really explored the city. While we explored a bit, we hardly did it justice.

We flew direct from London, Ontario to O'hare Airport on United Airlines. The London airport is convenient to our home and, as it's a small airport, is an easy airport to park and navigate. Unlike Toronto, you go through US customs and immigration when you land in Chicago. Over the years there's always been a few regular direct fights into the US (we used to fly direct to Pittsburgh, then to Detroit, and now to Chicago).

From the airport it's a quick ride on the metro system to downtown. You could take a cab but the metro was much faster. We stayed north of the river near North Michigan Avenue and spent a couple of sunny days exploring the city. We ought to have stayed longer, there's a lot to see.

The most memorable part of our visit was a river cruise by the historical society (there are a lot of river cruises -- look for one where the guide is from the historical society). It's a city of bridges and tall buildings and there are lots of views of both from the water. The history of the river is interesting. It used to be an open sewer with consequent water borne epidemics as they take the water from the lake (and the river dumps into the lake). They "solved" that problem by digging a canal which reversed the river flow so it drained into the Mississippi River ... and sent their sewage down river to cites like St. Louis. These days the river is pretty clean and the city has embraced it. Old buildings ignored the river and present a blank wall. These days there's cafes and walk ways along the river with buildings fronting the water. I understand that any urban development along the river must, as a matter of law, include an urban walkway along the river front.

I explored the Chicago Art Institute -- a world class gallery you really ought to see. The Millenium Park along the water front, where the Chicago Art Institute is found, has some great art installations and odd buildings as well. The photo above is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in the park. It's an outdoor concert venue.

I also visited the library and went up to the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). There's a couple of viewing platforms where you walk out onto a glass floor. A bit terrifying.

One evening we went for a walk along the lake shore. It was still warm enough for swimming.

Here's some photos from our visit.

St John's

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These photos are of our trip to St John's, Newfoundland in August of 2014 and may be of interest to others.

Kate and I visited with our niece Paula (and her killer mutt Gerry Garcia) in St John's Newfoundland back in August. We got to visit a city we hadn't been to since 1981 -- it's a neat town with good music, funky restaurants and an arts scene. The weather, well it's Newfoundland -- it would be worse in Labrador.

And we got George-faced on Sh#t Street at O'Reilley's Irish Pub

Boot to the Head

These are photos from a 2004 "Boot to the Head" concert at Call the Office in London. 63 Monroe and others entertained. As per usual .... a crazy wild night with Steven R Stunning and Markii Burnaway tearing up the stage.
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Eighty Schmeighty

Saturday August 2, 2014 was an 80th birthday party for our friend Bob Gardner -- that's him in the photo. His family (David, Wendy, Steve and their spouses) arranged a party in his backyard in London catered by Under the Volcano -- there was a Mexican theme with a Piñata for the kids, margaritas and more for the adults, funny hats and serapes for those who wished to join in. And funny T-shirts with Bob as a muscle man labelled "Eighty Schmeighty" that we all got to take home as souvenirs.

In honor of the occasion Kate and I composed/recycled a couple of tunes on melodies shamelessly lifted from others.

The first, in honor of the Mexican theme (and Bob's friend Merce who was visiting from Spain), is taken from She Never Spoke Spanish To Me made famous by Joe Ely and written by Butch Hancock. We were somewhat surprised that very few of the guests recognized the song but many did join in once a verse was out of the way. Our version, which documents a bit of Bob's life story, went like this:

Robert is a Loving One (apologies to Butch Hancock)

You say that you’re from Edmonton. Well, where’s your boots and where’s your gun?

He says he’s got guns no one can see [wink, wink]

Natives of the north agree, Bobbie is a friendly one.

But he never took X-rays of me.

He went to school in Montreal. He was handsome, he was tall.

Or at least that’s how the story goes.

Dames along the Main agreed, Robert [“Rrow-Bearr’] is a loving one.

But he never spoke Franglais to me.

He said to Janet “Marry me! We’ll be happy, wild and free”.

“I’ve got charms that no one else can see” [wink, wink]

She said to him “Vote NDP, I know that you’re a charming one,

...if you want to share those charms with me”.

They were married one fine morn. David, Wendy, Steve were born.

They left London for the Philippines.

All his progeny agree, Robert is a loving dad.

But he never threw the flannel at me.

“Silver Chief Dog of the North” - the only book he’s ever read.

But he wrote books that no one else can read.

All the Western Deans agree, Robert is a brilliant one.

But he never made much sense to me.

He travels for the kids you know. New York, Chicago and TO.

Then back home so he can teach some stats.

Then off to Spain to see Merce. She says “He’s a funny one”

“But he never speaks Spanish to me”.

He and Pat could carry on. Drink and party until dawn.

Jesus Murphy, they could at least stand up!

Even though he’s eighty now, Bob is still a lot of fun.

And he always seems ageless to me.

... But he never spoke Spanish to me!

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The second tune we thought would be familiar to more people. It's taken from "Yes, I Think They Oughta Name a Drink After You" and belabors the fact that Bob, although a retired professor, continues to teach graduate statistics.

Yes, we think they oughta name a stat after you! (apologies to John Prine)

Bob’s taught stats for most his life
The kids all think that he’s alright
He gives out B’s and maybe an A or two
He makes sure they know their stuff
Even when the going gets tough
And, yes, we think they oughta name a stat after you.

Gardner’s G! ... Bob’s Beta!

He’s had more grants than you can say
And grad students like Tremblay
Cindy Smythe worked for him too
He’s written programs in Fortan
That would daunt a lesser man
And, yes, we think they oughta name a stat after you.

Bob R Squared! .... No, Bob are round!

Analysis of Variance
Correlation coefficients
When he started out, they only had a few
Now they have GLM,
HLM and SEM
And, yes, we think they oughta name a stat after you.

R.G.M! ... B.O.B!

And, yes, we think they oughta name a stat after you....

Grandpa is Regressing!
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People got a good laugh out of our presentation of these songs. For those who missed the party, it was fun. You should have been there.

We are looking forward to Bob's next big day when we can sing these songs one more time. With feeling .... and pretend we're  18 all over again!