Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Everybody Be Happy

Well, not everybody.

Just the 25 Toronto City Councillors.



They just voted themselves a whopping 24% pay increase.



The "Be Brave" reference is in response to the budget chief, Shelley Carroll, pictured above, saying to councillors, they must be brave and pass this huge pay increase.

BTW Toronto City councillors will now be getting paid $170,558.

And that's no April Fools joke either.

Nice work if you can get it.  




Sunday, 30 March 2025

Thursday, 27 March 2025

Everybody, Be Happy

So they just came out with the 2025 World Happiness Report. 

[It's only March, how can they do that, a lot of bad stuff can still happen.]



Anyway, not surprising the Nordic countries, again, take the top rankings. 

And Costa Rica is #6.  

And surprisingly, Israel is #8!  Boy, they are resilient.  

At a, I guess, somewhat respectable 18th place, is Canada.

And the UK and the US are at 23 & 24, respectively. 


As a comparison, here are the 2024 rankings.

Usual suspects at the top.


Canada has slipped from 15th then to 18th now.

And the US stayed about the same,  going from 23 to 24.

Okay, on to 2026.....



Tuesday, 25 March 2025

Undressing The USA

 So here is a traditional view of the USA.




But here is a view with all the man made names stipped away.




Almost two different worlds.




Some Appalachians in the East, then noting, then the Rockies.

Sunday, 23 March 2025

What A Difference.....A Hour....Makes

(With apologies to Dinah Washington)... 

...but on my way to a local watering hole, I wasn't expecting to have to step in a hole of water.



This is under a bridge where a river runs through it.  

It is a tidal river.....


...so rises and falls on the tides.

And it looked like it was right at its upper limit.  But I wasn't sure.

I didn't know if the tide was still coming in or going out.

But an hour, and a couple wobbly pops, later.....


Whew...high and dry.




Of course, really, what was the downside?

Waiting six or so more hours at the watering hole?

I'll be back.



Wednesday, 19 March 2025

Good On Ya!

So a group of 15 Canucks bought Blue Jays spring training tickets when they were playing the Astros in West Palm Beach. 

When they were buying the tickets they got a rather unusual question from the sales rep; "can you sing the Canadian anthem at the game?"

Holy cow, they don't have one damn person down there who knows the Canadian anthem?

Or maybe they were remembering the Las Vegas CFL debacle 30 years ago when one Las Vegas crooner got up and sang Oh Canada to the tune of Oh Christmas Tree.



Regardless of the reason, the lady said no, but my husband can. 

Of course, her husband had never sung the Canadian anthem before in public, or ever even sang in public before.




Nevertheless, 67 year old Robert Guertin got up and nailed it!



And I can hear Don Cherry saying, good Canadian boy, good Canadian boy.

But I hope to Hell nobody booed that anthem!

Of course, probably everybody there was Canadian anyway.

    

Saturday, 15 March 2025

Nobody Cares

 Even though Winston Churchill never said this......


....it's still true


Sunday, 9 March 2025

Reinvention

So I read that David Johansson died on the weekend at age 75. 


Don't think it ever heard of him but the article said he was the lead singer for the New York Dolls.


 

Okay, kind of a Glam Rock/Punk Rock band in the '70s.  Couldn't name any of their songs. 

But boy his eyes looked familiar.

Then it hit me.



He reinvented himself to become Buster Poindexter.

He of the huge hit "Hot Hot Hot".


Quite the transformation.

So rest in peace, David.


And as a side note as to how fragile - and short - life can be, he was the last surviving member of the New York Dolls.

Rest in peace all of you.....



"Those were the days my friends....."



Friday, 7 March 2025

Low Bar

 


I guess you'll take a win any way you can get it.

Last year Miami Beach enacted strict new rules for Spring Breakers, as things had gotten out of hand in previous years.

Last Sunday - the start of the 2025 Spring Break - the Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said “Last year’s spring break was a success on any level you measure it,” He continued. “We had zero fatalities, zero shootings, zero stampedes."

Not too shabby.

"Hey UC, how was that business conference you organized?"

"Fantastic!  No one died."

"Well done!"

  

Wednesday, 5 March 2025

I Urge Every Canadian To Get One of These!


Well, maybe not this one, as it's on a Chinese website (Temu) and it's made in the USA.





D'oh!

So I checked out a few more and dang it, all Made in the USA.

Another website didn't say where it was made, but for $1.33 don't think it was made locally. Especially with a website name "Aliexpress".  


Okay, I'll keep looking.....



Okay, finally......


Sure $55 is more than $1.33, but what the heck....
 

This Just In...

I guess I'm not the only one who noticed this......

The article states that, yup, most are made in Bangladesh, China or Mexico.

Tuesday, 4 March 2025

Three Guesses Which State This Man Is From

 First two don't count.



Correct!   Florida.

This is "Island Boys" rapper Franky Venegas, who was arrested during a traffic stop in Florida on gun and drug charges, according to authorities.

His stage name Kodiyakredd.

He was previously arrested in Fort Lauderdale in May for allegedly pretending to be his twin brother, Alex, when he was pulled over for reckless driving.

Twin brother?!

Yupper.

Alex's stage name is Flyysoulja.

But they did have a Tik Tok hit in 2021 that you'll remember called, what else, "I'm An Island Boy".



I'm sure we'll hear more from these boys.

Likely through local Florida police blotters.....





Sunday, 2 March 2025

Group Nap?

I see these guys around all the time, Ibis, always in groups, always pecking at the ground and generally minding their own business. 



When I went into a building that's what they were doing. But when I came out it looks like they were taking a group nap. Every one of those birds had its beak tucked under its wing. 

Except one. 



I guess he was the lookout. 

But he wasn't looking for me.  Or, from his side-eye glance I must have seemed pretty harmless cuz none of them budged when I walked by.

And, I just noticed, they are all on one leg.

Who knew?

 



Friday, 28 February 2025

Clean And Sober!

 





Jelly Roll is a larger than life country singer with a colorful past that includes being in jail over 40 times, being arrested for the first time at 14, and had a very bad drug habit, mainly cocaine.


But he, like a lot of other country singers, and I guess like a lot of musicians from all genres, he claims he has turned his life around and is now sober.

He only drinks beer and smokes pot.  Like a lot of other folks it turns out.....



Hey, works for me!

That's what I'm telling my doctor at my next annual medical.

Uhhh...the sober part, not the drinking beer and smoking pot part.....

Party on, Garth!






Wednesday, 26 February 2025

And This Was A Good Idea How?

Young guys often like to drag race. 


A bunch of them will get together, usually at night, or on some quiet rural road or in some abandoned parking lot. 

In the '70's it was driving souped up Mustangs, Camaros, GTO's.

But not this weekend for these 25 guys.

 


Guys with 25 high-end sports cars - Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris - decided to block all lanes of US Interstate I-75 with four large black SUVs.

And let 'er rip!

It was like shooting fish in a barrel for the FHP.

The state troopers picked these imbeciles off one by one. 

And from the reporting each guy either had 1) no driver's license, 2) no insurance or 3) no license plate, or sometimes the trifecta - none of the above. 



Anyway, in addition to multiple arrests, most of these cars have been impounded for at least 30 days.

I'm guessing they're going to have some 'splaining to do to their to their daddies.




And maybe this is how this started, too......






Monday, 24 February 2025

Always A Good Sign...

 


...when a Miller Lite truck pulls up outside your window. 


Too Good To Be True


...unless five minutes later, a cop pulls up.


A Shakedown for A Cold Brewski?

Or an "inventory inspection"...?


Okay, fast forward 20 minutes and the cop gave all involved (truck driver and the blue car in front) multiple tickets and now they're all gone.



And I thought this was the start of a beautiful relationship.

I'll have to live vicariously through others.....