Ahhhhh.....Spring

The planters will slowly be coming back to life soon.

And soon, poking out from the snow will be.....

Ugh.

Cigarette butts.

All the cigarette butts that people have been throwing in there all winter.

And throwing.

And throwing.

And this was just one planter.

When is this finally going to become a No No?

Good Perspective

Not to ruffle any feathers, but here is an interesting take on an issue that is currently prominent in the news;

"An engineering professor is treating her husband, a loan officer, to dinner for finally giving in to her pleas to shave off the scraggly beard he grew on vacation. His favorite restaurant is a casual place where they both feel comfortable in slacks and cotton/polyester-blend golf shirts. But, as always, she wears the gold and pearl pendant he gave her the day her divorce decree was final. They’re laughing over their menus because they know he always ends up diving into a giant plate of ribs but she won’t be talked into anything more fattening than shrimp. 

Quiz: How many biblical prohibitions are they violating?

"Well, wives are supposed to be ‘submissive’ to their husbands (I Peter 3:1). And all women are forbidden to teach men (I Timothy 2:12), wear gold or pearls (I Timothy 2:9) or dress in clothing that ‘pertains to a man’ (Deuteronomy 22:5). Shellfish and pork are definitely out (Leviticus 11:7, 10) as are usury (Deuteronomy 23:19), shaving (Leviticus 19:27) and clothes of more than one fabric (Leviticus 19:19). And since the Bible rarely recognizes divorce, they’re committing adultery, which carries the rather harsh penalty of death by stoning (Deuteronomy 22:22).

"So why are they having such a good time? Probably because they wouldn’t think of worrying about rules that seem absurd, anachronistic or - at best - unrealistic.

"Yet this same modern-day couple could easily be among the millions of Americans who never hesitate to lean on the Bible to justify their own anti-gay attitudes."

Well said.

Paris, Rome & Milan Have Nothing On Us!

Zooming in.....

Don't need to go to them cities to get yer fancy dancy spa treatments.


P.S.  Just so you don't think this is in the boonies or Scarberia, this is in Yorkville.

How do I know?

This is the building I look out at every day.

Nice.....

Oh My God!!

Some engineering students at Ryerson University had some fun over the weekend.  About 50 of them stripped down to their skivvies and "swam" through a slushy wading pond.

And people were outraged!

The CBC, above, shocked that no punishment was metered out to these miscreants.

And the Premier of Ontario was "horrified" by this.

A good take on this outrage by the above columnist is that she was "horrified by university students acting like university students."

The president of the university was even more outraged.. (How much outrage is out there anyway?)

He slammed the slushy crawl as “unacceptable activities.” He also warned that “anyone who contends this is ‘just fun’ or ‘builds community’ has no place at Ryerson.”

No place at Ryerson?  Holy crap.  Might be a pretty empty university.

Good thing this guy wasn't at university in the 70's (actually I bet he was - as a student. Too bad there aren't any You Tube videos of him hauling on a bong back then.)

But "Unacceptable behaviour"? 

You see this everywhere.  Above is a screen shot from a current beer commercial.  Scantily clad boys and girls, yup, sliding through mud.  It's clearly  unacceptable and it must stop.
 
It seems the only people that weren't outraged were the actual participants.

I'm outraged that all these buffoons are outraged.  Quit nannying me to death. Sheesh...

Now excuse me while I slip into something a little more comfortable. Wheeeee....

["Ewwwww.....  What's that weird old dude doing here?"]


Post Script (six hours later):  The Toronto Star (?!?!), all things politically correct, actually supports the engineering students!

Although is a decidedly backhanded manner.  Some passages;

"It is difficult to defend a Ryerson University ritual..."

"We'll plead for it anyway.  After all, even the most objectionable offender is entitled to a defence. And people involved.... are...objectionable indeed."

With friends like these, eh?......

But they sum up "This was simply a sophomoric shunt engineered by, well, sophomores."

They then compared it as being no worse than the scourge that plagued Ontario universities 40 years; Streaking.

Remember:

"And they called him The Streak.
He liked to turn the other cheek."

Tempting.....

Boy, if you forget to chow down before going grocery shopping, you're in trouble if you wander into the wrong section.

Mmmmmmm.....desserts....

Even the cheese section looks so inviting.

But nothing, no nothing, quite gets the Pavlov response going like....

Mmmm.....chilled dough.

I can hear Homer sighing right now.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what Chilled Dough is or why I must have it.

Oh well....Mmmmmm.....

Darwin (Or Something Close) Award?

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Guy was stopped at 1 am last night north of Toronto by cops and he blew over.

His mother came to pick him up.  And she blew over.

Both charged with impaired, both cars impounded and both licences gone for 90 days.

"Better call your father."

Keep The Faith

The iconic Masonic (I'm a poet and I didn't know it) Temple is up for sale.

See Nighttime Neighbours and Ha! for some eariler musings.

Many local dignitaries have recently had their photo taken in front of it as a show of support.

And some other big shots, too.

Bell Media are selling the building and the Masons are hoping to, if not buy it, at least convince the new owners to restore it to its former glory.

Constructed in 1917, at its peak, the Masonic Temple was home to 38 different Masonic bodies: 27 Craft Lodges, six Chapters (York Rite), two Preceptories (Knights Templar), two Scottish Rite Bodies and Adoniram Council.   Oh I'm sure there must have been a few conspiracies going on there.....

Of course, it also has a great rock and roll history.

In the years before its sale to Bell Media, it had been known as The Concert Hall, and earlier, in the late 1960s, The Rockpile, a sitting-on-the-floor style concert venue which featured not only top local talent,  but also Toronto's first Led Zeppelin concert on February 2, 1969, during the band's inaugural North American Tour.

So good luck coming to an agreement  with the new purchasers.  But if not, it would make a great spot for....uhhhhh.....condos!

What If......

....his career hadn't been cut short by bad knees?

Could he have been the greatest ever?  Because he revolutionized the position of defenseman.

Someone said Gretzky dominated 100 feet of ice like no other.   But Orr dominiated 200 feet like no other.

Happy 65^th, Bobby!

Blah, Blah, Blah....

Hey, it's almost Happy Hour!  Alright!!

But What's With The Leprechaun?

 

Alright!.....Awww.....

What About...?...No.

Just beat it!

It's A Secret.....

Had the honour of attending the final 2013 installment of the widely popular Village Chef series at Mainstreet Family Restaurant in Merrickville (enough of a plug, Mike?).

But what could we expect from this final chapter?  I'll check the poster a little closer to see if I can find out who the Chef is.

No - it's a Secret Chef.

Ha, they don't know who they're dealing with....I'll look around the restaurant.

Nope, still a secret.

Ah ha!  I'll take a peek in the kitchen.

Newspaper over the windows!  You darn guys!

I know, I'll sneak a peek at the menu.  That'll give me a clue.

D'oh!

Those guys are just too clever for the Urban one.  Guess I'll have to wait til the witching hour.

The calm before the storm.  An over sold out crowd just arriving.  A buzz of mystery was in the air.

Secrecy was still the key.  Metal detectors at the door and the waitresses were frisking everyone that came in.

I went in and out three or four times. (Apologies to Wayne for stealing his line.)

Getting Closer

Here, the owner is preparing, well, to be the owner.

Here the owner is welcoming people, regaling all with tales of derring-do and......continuing to be the owner.

Uhhhhh.....is there a meal there any time in our future?

But finally, the cue was given.

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Yea, Santa!  And he put on a great meal.

Turkey Wellington - a meal he suggested few of us had likely had before.  But delicious nonetheless.

And all delivered seeming effortlessly by the Maintsreet team of crack servers.

There were so few of them, in fact, they had to take their own pictures of each other.

So big thanks to Lee, Chelsea and, of course, Terri, for making it all happen.

And to Blaine and the other cooks - Santa's helpers in this pic.

Santa In A Rare Reflective Moment

"Hmmmm.....I shouldn't have served that Urban Cowboy.  He's been naughty."

Yeah - Arnotti.

[Ed. note:  Sheesh.....]

Are You Looking At Me?

The hunter becomes the hunted.

But a great time was had by all and lots of money raised for the charity "Christmas In Merrickville".

Too bad you all couldn't have enjoyed the Turkey Wellington

The Next Day

Maybe you can - turkey leftovers on special.

Just like real Christmas!

Thanks a lot to Mike, Terri, Blaine and the team for another great season.

Next on tap; the summer concert series. Starring.....?

Cheque Please!

Another way to know when it's time to look for a different restaurant; Miller Lite & Bud Lite listed as Premium Drafts. 

But then you'd miss the Chef's Special;  Mac & Cheese.