Appropriately enough, my 2010 ends with technology ruling the day, if not my entire flippin’ life.
My main website is still MIA, with my host not even responding to trouble tickets and e-mails. Once I get the transfer authorization I need, I will be switching to a new provider I’ve already signed up with.
I also recently realized that I’ve only tweeted (twittered??) twice since opening my Twitter account, so even though there’s always a lot of cluckin’ going on here, I intend on getting more active on that front as well:

http://twitter.com/#!/thatdanguy1

Check it out, and follow me! If I ever know where I’m going, you’ll be along for the ride!

Aside from that, looks like I’ve got a bit of a bug, so I’m crawling back into bed for a bit.
Happy New Year ALL!!!

Chow for now…

Arrghh!!
I was killing time waiting for an oil change, and decided to try posting a blog via my i-phone app. It was a funky rhyme, with delusions of grandeur as perhaps a future rap work-out - maybe something Justin Beiber could have worked into a hit.
Although, truth be told, waiting for your oil to get changed might not strike a chord with his core audience...
Anyhoo...I had turned my phone sideways, which made the "Post" button disappear. My legendary patience with inanimate objects had me doing everything but righting the phone before the post was lost forever, depriving you, my dear reader(s) of a possible nugget.
Technology hates me...
Chow for now!!

Waiting on an oil change

Lost the entire frickin' post I just typed out on this stupid miniature phone keyboard. Oh joy, oh thrill!!
Let's see if this blasted post works...
Chow for now.

Decided to address our cabin fever yesterday by taking a short drive along the Trans-Canada Highway. Under an hour from our garage door is Kananaskis, just before Banff. Very picturesque, with delightful walking trails – featuring spectacular views. Plus, we had heard that elk were in the area, and hoped to see some of these reindeer-like aminals…


Alas, as we were heading up the final stretch to our destination, it was starting to snow, so we chickened out and turned back towards home. Good, thing, as we found out later watching The Weather Network that the avalanche risk in Kananaskis was “considerable”.

Egads!

Still, we did stop to snap a few pictures. No elk…

Chow for now!

I think I’m going to do like so many other workers out there today, and take today off in lieu of Boxing Day. Or Boxing Fortnight. Or just general Holiday Malaise Week.


Hey, that commute from my kitchen down to my office is a killer, even with the reduced traffic during the holiday season. Plus, my gnarled knuckles, clenched in permanent curl from thousands of hours over keyboards of varying shapes and sizes, need a chance (however brief) to extend, like Olympic javelins extending from a fleshy hub.

I can wait until tomorrow to find out what restaurant the Kardashian sisters are eating at…

Chow for now.

I wonder where South Lanarkshire (Great Britain) is located? Close to London? Not too far from another British city(sure do need to brush up on my geography, apparently)?


Someone there downloaded an episode of my audio interview series – making that a truly international experience (la-de-dah). I’ve already tracked listeners all across North America, so it’s interesting to see the growth expanding beyond those borders.

Chow for now!

Sigh…


I always dread Boxing Day, after a generally relaxing Christmas day.

As tradition dictates, I will face off against a boxing kangaroo later this afternoon, to see who emerges victorious from the ring after 6 rounds. Those blasted kangaroos are sneaky, let me tell you – this year I intend on “opening a can of whoop-asp” on my opponent, and walking away with the Burger King Crown Of Victory.

Just have to avoid getting knocked out again…

Chow for now!!

Chicken Scratch

(posted by weekend guest blogger Charlie Chicken…)

Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Cluckin’ Chrsmas!!

Ho Ho Ho!!

I’m upta my runny nostrils in eggnog here this mornin’ – I loves me my Chrsmass!!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Of course, I may get inta sum trouble openin’ OTHER pipl’s presents…but hey, peas on earth, goodwill in Ward 10!!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Hope I can fine tha receipt fer these socks – they’re too big fer one thing, and too clingy on my claws fer another.

Don pipl give out booze no more??

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Wonder when tha hoomans is getting’ up aroun’ here? Spooky quiet so far, altho I heer sum snorin’, so they hasn’t gone inta hidin’

Well, I got me some stockins ta rifle thru, so better get scitterin’…

Cluck fer now!

Have yourself a Mary Whittle Christmas


With your mule Tide brights,

From now all may all your cottons come out wide.

Here we are in bold pee-jays,

Happy woven scarves of Raid.

Full full friends and deer of rust,

Gather wood afar.

So half your cells a Mary Whittle Christmas now…

Chow for now!

Well, as Christmas Day fast approaches, I discover that:


a) I just managed to get the cards mailed YESTERDAY (that should be the last time Mrs. That Dan Guy leaves ME in charge of distribution…),

b) Haven’t even begun to shop, and

c) My Santa hat was eaten over the summer by moths.

To make things easier for myself today, I will post a link to a Christmas piece from my old newspaper column:

http://www.eventpub.com/includes/datafiles/print.php?id=153494&title=Santa%E2%80%98s

Enjoy!

Chow for now…

I’ll bet I just might be the only person out there that took pictures of the lunar eclipse last night.


I bet I’m going to amaze and dazzle you with these attached pics.

I’m going to bet that if you haven’t already navigated away by now, you need to get to get a life as badly as I do…

Enjoy! Or wait another 456 years until it occurs again.

Wonder how bald I’ll be by then?

Chow for now!

Oh My Word!!


As I started to type this post…this 12 21 10 post…I noticed that it was 12:21 AM!!!

I KID YOU NOT!!!!

AAA-YII-YIII!!!

Anyhoo, just watching the lunar eclipse.

For something almost as “luney”, here’s a link to my monthly national humour column for the real estate industry:

http://www.remonline.com/home/?p=7282

Here in Canada this past year, the Competition Bureau stepped in and made a fuss about the industry. I took a little liberty with helping them out, with respect to some other potential targets.

FYI – as I copied this link, this column was part of the front page leads on the website!

Chow for now…

I remembered (for no apparent reason) the other day that I have a small bit of history with Motown, therefore legitimizing even more my recent review of the current show “Motown Gold”, running now at Stage West Calgary (until Jan 30, 2011).


We once met a Supreme. Or a Supremes, I suppose might be more accurate, although awkward:

http://thatdanguy.blogspot.com/2007/05/sunday-morning-nobody-asked-me-to-but_27.html

Mary Wilson, one of the legendary Motown greats, just one of many we’ve seen perform live.

Chow for now!!

It appears that it’s been some time since I posted about my ongoing head-smacking by numbers – most specifically eleven, and eleven-eleven. It’s certainly not like they have relented in any way recently. Now more than ever as this current year prepares to roll over to 2011, those numbers are pretty much everywhere I look.


Case in point, the picture posted above. Last night I was watching Hockey Night In Canada, as I am legally required to do as a male citizen in this country, when there was a scrum along the boards early in the game. When the two players separated and pulled away, my eyes damn near popped out of my head like Jim Carrey’s character in The Mask. Of all the myriad numbers, of all the myriad players, there was 11 and 11.

Aye Caramba!!

I could go on, but let’s just say that if I were one of those conspiracy theory wing-nuts, I’d be hiring a detective to follow around math teachers…

Chow for now!!

Chicken Scratch

(pothted by an increathingly perturbed poultry..who could uthe a thnack…)

I bin tho lonely…

I bin tho lonely…

I bin tho lonely, I coulde die…

AAAAWK!!!!

Thith is really thtartin’ to pith me oth…

Where’th tha rethkue Thaint Bernard when ya need one?

AAAAWK!!!!

Man, it’th cluckin’ cold out here – an I mithed Glee a few dayth ago…

It’th pluckin’ revoltin’!!!

AAAAWK!!!

Look, if yer readin’ thith, PLEATHE, call emergenthy thervithes, or tha fire department. If they rethcue catth from treeth, they oughta rethcue a bird from a balcony!!!

On the pluth thide tho, Day Thix no thmokin’…

AAAAWK!!!!

Oh, great – now I got ithicles on my knuckles!! Oh, cruel fates!! Thou have forthaken me!!

For tha luv a everythin’ holey – HEEEEELP!!!!

Cluck fer now…

Wow!


As of last night, I have surpassed 1500 downloads of my audio “Talkin’ With” series – from the main site I linked to on my blog, and from worldwide i-Tunes clients.

I regularly see downloads from Germany – so I apparently have something in common now with former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff – I’m big in Germany!

Now if I could only figure out how to make money from that venture…

Have a great weekend, y’all!

Chow for now.

(PS - May have to watch some Pink Panther movies tonight - farewell, Mr. Edwards!)

As much as I’ve come to believe recently that Technology is a relentless one-eyed mafia hit man with hemorrhoids looking to whack a naively earnest Canadian humour and entertainment writer, there have been a few good things to come from it (technology) lately.


Sure, my main website is still hopelessly MIA, my provider not returning e-mails, clearly disinterested in allowing me to transfer to a more reliable carrier.

Moronic spammers with no grasp of their own language, let alone English continue to plague my other sites - and yes, my Windows Vista computer still acts like a ceiling fan with half a blade, but I can see the glass-half-full side of things as well. Half full of what would be the bigger concern, but hey – who can be fussy these days?

The one bright spot I note is that my interviews and reviews are expanding regularly. My recent Calgary Herald review got picked up by the online Ottawa Citizen feed, and I just discovered last night that Yahoo referred to the review in an article!

Sweet!! (for the third world spammers out there today – “kee-daa-yii!”)

A silver lining in my technological black cloud skies…

Chow for now!!

“Oh what fun it is…” to paraphrase a classic song of the season.


The other day, I had to spend a considerable amount of time removing spammer posts from my podcast interview site, and then convert the posting options there to now having to monitor and approve them.

Now I see more spammer comments on this site today – so I will likely have to change the options here as well – which blows because there’s usually lots of legitimate comments posted.

This I suspect is the negative side to having both sites attracting attention worldwide.

Well, I’ll try keeping the comments section open for now, but that may have to change down the road.

Where’s the lump of coal for these cyber-clowns???

Chow for now!

It would appear that I now have to take aggressive action…


About a year ago, maybe more now, my internet domain host provider folded up shop and arbitrarily transferred my service elsewhere. That process set me down a long and winding road for my main website (nonsenseandstuff.com) that often leads away into the darkest corners of the woods – where there is no fabled Gingerbread house to dance naked outside of…

What I mean to say is that I discovered the other day that my main website is MIA yet again, and
at a time where I have a lot of eyes pointed to it. The service provider’s site is also unreachable. Just dandy.

I tried to transfer my domain and hosting services yesterday, but likely due to the inability to contact them, was denied. I’ll have to get far more aggressive today.

To make matters even more interesting, I almost fell victim to a very sophisticated hack attack yesterday, from pirates pretending to be PayPal. This was the most elaborate ruse I’ve seen yet, and I had already started to enter personal information before I figured out the site was not legit.

Technology…

Chow for now!!

When I say “Fuzzy”, you say “BEAR”!!


“FUZZY!”

______________

Hmmm…this didn’t work as well as I had expected…perhaps you could e-mail me a short audio clip…

The best laid plans…

Chow for now!

(Bear???)

It’s that time again, readers!


That time where I’ve scratched my head long and hard enough, without eking out anything to post here.

So, I’ve dug around online, and found this seasonal old newspaper column of mine, from December 2008.

Enjoy:

http://www.eventpub.com/includes/datafiles/print.php?id=150897&title  

(Hmmm...may have to cut and paste...)

Chow for now!

Chicken Scratch

(pothted by weekend guetht blogga Chah-lee Chicken…)

Thith ith not good…

AAAWK!!!!

Thweet Caroline, thith hurth like tha Dickenth…

AAAAWK!!!!

Boyth an girlth – PLEATHE don try thtuff you thee on tha innernet…

Thumb thtuff ith juth plain dumb…

AAAAWK!!!!

OWWWW!!!

Muther uv merthy…that hurtth!!!

Why din I bring my cluckin’ thigarette lighter with me??

AAAAWK!!!!

Thay, would you be tho kind ath to pour a glath of wam watr ova my tongue??

Pleath????

No??

Mebbe if I breath real hard…an real hot...

Cluck fer now…

Well, it is the holiday season after all….


Decided to check out “The Nutcracker” last night, something that seems to turn up every year around this time.

Frankly, I don’t see what the big deal is.

Did manage to snap a picture though:

Chow for now!

Holey Toledo – where the heck is December in such a hurry to get off to? The 9th already? What’s up with that (ooo eee, wut’s up wit dat, wut’s up wit dat…).


I’d better slip on my sneakers, and try to catch up with this hasty little month…

Chow for now!!

I like to believe that I’ve been very honest here on the days where absolutely nothing is between my ears when I fire up the computer, and sit down to make a fresh post.


On those days, sometimes I desperately look around the house and find inspiration in something on TV, something that Mrs. Dan Guy happens to mention…but today, I am fortunate - my task is relatively easy.

Reading the newspaper yesterday, I came upon a regular feature there – “Word Of The Day” – a feature they run in conjunction with Canspell, to improve vocabularies. What was the word yesterday?

“Crapulous”.

Yes, there really is such a word. How would you use it? Not like you would think, as in “those Jonas Brothers are really crapulous”, or “even though I told my wife that her chicken meatloaf surprise was delicious, it was actually pretty crapulous”.

“Crapulous” means “sick from excessive indulgence in liquor”.

So, I guess one could feel crapulous in that regard…

Chow for now!!

If an apple a day keeps the doctor way, are they generally unable to go anywhere near the produce section in grocery stores?


Chow for now!

I don’t normally direct folks that stop by this space to a link I haven’t created myself – but what the hell, it is the holiday season after all – and who doesn’t appreciate a drunk Russian squirrel?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73cjNp7n75o

If you haven’t already seen this, it also gets my voted for rattiest looking squirrel ever…

Chow for now!!!

Chicken Scratch

(posted by weekend guest blogger Charlie Chicken…)

BRRRR!!!!

Hello, hoomans – and hope yur as cozy as I am this mornin’, now that I got my new winter coat!!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

An I ain’t talkin’ “coat” like dogs or kats get – I bought me a bran-new top-a-tha-line tooth-chatter repeller, with manly (or chickenly) tones a blue.

Is ya jealous? Huh?

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Yessir, when I hit tha ski hill this affernoon, I’ll be gettin’ some looks, lemme tell ya!

Ya ever seed such a dashin’ bird before?

I didn’t think so…

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Strangest thing tho, it sure seems to attract household dust when I walk by things.

Oh well, thas wut dry cleaners is for!

Cluck fer now, my featherless friends!!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Stage West Calgary

Motown Gold

Here's the "Motown Gold" cast interview, hot off the press!

Either convert this page to an RSS feed, or click (cut and paste maybe) this link:

http://thatdanguy.libsyn.com/

Subscribe, and/or download from i-Tunes (thatdanguy's podcast)

Enjoy!

(Chow for now...)

Potpourri


A slew of general items for my first post of the day (which is my semi-clever way of saying check back again later today):

1) My posted review a day or so ago of “Children Of A Lesser God” had an error regarding one of the cast members' family members, which I have now rectified (I hope…).

2) One way or another, I WILL have a link posted to my interview with the cast of Stage West Calgary’s “Motown Gold” – a great bunch of actors and singers. Look for that here later this morning, maybe afternoon. Possibly late in the evening.

3) Made myself a cup of instant hot chocolate last night while I was working on editing that “Motown Gold” interview. While the kettle was boiling, I noticed a blurb on the can indicating the “best-before” date on the bottom of the tin. From what I could glance through quickly, the product had expired in 2006. The fresh knowledge of that concerning information didn’t deter me one bit regarding having my cup of hot chocolate. For the record, it was yummy, if not a bit whiskery…

Chow for now!!

Fro-dian Slip??


Lately I’ve been transposing letters while I type, most likely due to this accursed netbook’s minute keyboard. If it doesn’t add in three letters for most every one I try to type, it will mess up what I do get right.

“The” becomes “teh”. “Are” becomes “ear” (sometimes Spell-check “helps”).

Yesterday, while typing up the quick intro to my Calgary Herald column link, I accidentally neglected to check for errors before hitting “post”. Well, maybe it could have been acceptable, considering the costumes and wigs used for the “Motown Gold “show.

I had typed in: click the link “fro”, instead of “for”.

I hastily corrected it…

Hairy situations…

Chow for now!

Workshop Theatre

Calgary Alberta Canada

“Children Of A Lesser God”

The Wednesday Morning (almost afternoon, technically) “Somebody-Asked-Me-To, So-Here-I-Go” Theatre Review: “Children Of A Lesser God”, presented by Workshop Theatre.

Who gets to determine what defines “normal”, after all is said and done? If one is born deaf, wouldn’t that be deemed as normal to their own experience? Why would hearing people feel to seem superior by comparison?

“Children Of A Lesser God” examines so much over the course of this 3-hour production presented by Calgary’s Workshop Theatre. While it certainly touches on the conflict between the majority versus the minority as the larger group attempts to help members of the deaf community appear more “normal”, the play sheds a light on so much more. Human foibles and frailties shared by both communities, relationships swirled about in simmering pots of desire, and ultimately the folly of assuming there even needs to be a one-size-fits-all definition of normal.

This is heavy stuff, as the story arcs from the introduction of teacher James Leeds to student Sarah Norman, carrying on through a considerable chunk of their lives - the awkward and professionally inappropriate relationship that develops, the ultimate marriage, and an eventual climax that builds on conflict and expectations illustrated by the actors throughout. The load is as heavy as the subject matter, especially for the Leeds character portrayed here by Brian Doyle. Leeds speaks not only for himself throughout, but also for many of the other characters, including Sarah.

The two lead actors are never alone too long onstage. Some terrific supporting performances help to flesh out the scenes, notably James Bell as Orin Dennis, and Jade Coultman as Lydia – fellow deaf students with their own agendas. Rounding out the cast is Jerry Callaghan as the deaf school’s bridge-playing Mr. Franklin, Donna Barnfield as Sarah’s mother, and Shannon Jones as the lawyer recruited later in the show.

Incidentally, I note that in the playbill bios Shannon’s grandmother Mary was educated at the Winnipeg school for the deaf – which is my own hometown, and where my sister has worked in the deaf community herself for many years. Through her association there, I had the opportunity several times to play recorded music for dance parties for the deaf. It is a small world after all…

On that “small world” note, a particularly difficult scene between James & Sarah in this play mirrored the real-life relationship that disintegrated between the movie stars of the film version, William Hurt and Marlee Matlin (Hurt turned out to be an appropriate surname with respect to his co-star and off-screen partner). Truth really is stranger than fiction…      

If you’re in the Calgary area, the Workshop Theatre company resides in the historic Pumphouse Theatre – find out more about them at http://www.workshoptheatre.org/

“Children Of A Lesser God” runs here until Dec 4, 2010.

Stage West Calgary
"Motown Gold"
Here's that official Calgary Herald review - check back later this week for my interview with some of the cast members!

---

Motown Gold captures spirit of iconic artists
Dan St. Yves Dan St. Yves is a Calgary writer whose writing on theatre can be found at thatdanguy.libsyn.com
Calgary Herald
01 Dec 2010
The doo-wop and soul tracks of the ’50s and the ’60s. The disco grooves of the ’70s. The funky fun sounds of the ’80s. Director, choreographer and co-writer Timothy French appears to have co-crafted a big hit with Motown Gold, a musical retrospective...read more...

Tech Tags: Calgary Herald newspaper ENTERTAINMENT

WHOOOPS!!!!

Sorry, I loaded the wrong file into the Libsyn site for the National Comedy Company interview- now corrected - please feel free to download and enjoy!!

Dummy In Charge Here...

National Comedy Company


New Orleans Improv Comedy Troupe



A few years ago, I interviewed an improv comedy troupe in New Orleans. At that time, I hadn’t even started to imagine a series like the one that later developed into my “Talkin’ Funny”, Talkin’ Theatre”, “Talkin’ Turkey” audio set, linkable from the photo collage above, BTW…

At any rate, here’s a link to that interview:

http://thatdanguy.libsyn.com/

You can also convert this post to an RSS feed (as if THAT will work), or download it from i-Tunes (if THAT ever decides to load…)

NOTE: The titillating picture above is just one of the locations the company performs at. A fine restaurant to grab a burger in NOLA...
Chow for now!!

Sad way to start your day – hearing that actor Leslie Nielsen had passed away. I am a big fan of his work in comedy, and much of the rest of the world shared in that enjoyment of his zany send-ups of other popular styles of movies. The Airplane series, the Naked Gun series and more all cracked me up.


Not so much – Mrs. That Dan Guy! When we were first dating, I took her to see one in those series, and while I was roaring with laughter in the theatre, I could feel her shrinking in the seat beside me. I think beneath her embarrassment at my reaction, she truly did enjoy his talents, although she did groan a lot through the next two films in the Naked Gun series, now that I think about it.

Chow for now…

In my ongoing efforts to get away with as little effort as humanly possible in this space (I seem to recall a teacher as far back as elementary school writing something to that effect on a report card of mine…hmmm…), I dug around online to find a link to a column of mine from a few years back.

It is hockey season after all, and next to Tim Hortons coffee that’s about as close as we come here in Canada to worshipping false idols. If you’re a false-idol-worshipping sort of person.

Click below to be transported back in time to 2008, and my behind-the-scenes glance at this enduring Canadian institution:

http://event.ok.bc.ca/includes/datafiles/print.php?id=93183&title=Behind

Chow for now!!

Chicken Scratch

(posted by weekend guest blogger Charlie Chicken…)

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

HEY! I’m getting’ tha hook!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Cluck fer now….

AAAAWK!!!!

Someone call tha coppers!!! Cruelty ta chickens!

I think my beak is bent…

I can see now that maybe we (humans in general, me maybe more so than others) did really evolve from the ape or monkey families after all. More so lately, as I discover more and more patches of profuse hair growth on my body, essentially anywhere but above my scalp.


I’m certainly getting to be more Robin Williams than Robin Masters these days. I thought I had fallen asleep on a giant caterpillar the other day when I went to scratch my back, but alas – that WAS my back!!

Wonderful – I’m turning into a Muppet in my “golden” years…

Chow for now…

I don’t believe that I’ve ever shared in this space before now that at one point in my (younger) life, I had aspirations of one day becoming a professional wrestler. Having size on my side, and a pretty decent head of hair back in the day, all I really had to overcome at the time was my adversity to pain, a nose softer than a breakfast crepe, and an annoying habit (to my trainer and coach at least) of yelping like a Chihuahua pup whenever an opponent came close to me.


I remember during one particularly gruesome training session that maybe I should have tried to learn to box instead – but then I realized that if I was worried about my papier-mâché snout with wrestling, how would I fare against fists like freight trains pummeling the ole air-beak?

I was brought back to the lesson at hand by my trainer, who pleaded for me to quit running around the ring, and to show at least some modicum of masculinity by squealing just a little bit less every time the other brute tried to put me into any sort of wrestling hold.

My rasslin’ career was not meant to be. I was deemed “un-trainable”. I guess we’ll never know what might have been…

Chow for now!

It must be cold out – I thought someone had tossed a load of oversized piano keys into our back yard – turned out to be a herd of frozen penguins…

Relief is on the way though – I hear the temperatures will be more moderate soon. That’s good news for my teeth, which haven’t stopped chattering since last Thursday.

Chow for now!!

Egads! 

Cold snap here, with the wind chill it’s like -1000 ° below – what humans can survive!!

I could see my breath when I was outside earlier. I had to chip it with an ice-pick, as it was freezing into a solid clump with each exhalation. I kept a few clumps of ice breath - that at least will save me a few bucks when I go to make strawberry daiquiris later this afternoon…

It’s so cold outside, what I thought was a statue of a bird on our balcony chirped out for a scarf.

It’s so cold outside, a couple of our resident wild jackrabbits were wearing house-cats to keep warm.

It’s so cold outside, Jack Frost was spotted knocking back hot chocolate in the neighbourhood Starbucks…

Chow for now!

Jesus & The Snowman

We’ve been operating on limited sleep here in the Such Is Life household lately. I’ll admit that right up front, before I relate this story of one day’s multiple errors in general observation.

Driving home from downtown Calgary a day or so ago, we were parked in bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic trying to get back home. While Mrs. That Dan Guy was recounting her day for me, I noticed out of the corner of my eye someone below what I thought was the adjacent pedestrian bridge, walking along in what appeared to be a bit of a modern miracle. Up to that point this winter, the river below had yet to freeze as it has since.

MTDG, noticing I wasn’t paying attention ( a rare and unusual occurrence – I’m usually spellbound) – so she glanced over to see what had been so important as to divert my rapt attention. From her perspective, she was able to note that the gentleman was on the actual pedestrian bridge, BELOW what I had noticed earlier, which turned out to be the C-train span.

No miracle…

Further along, on the very same road, and on the very same commute home, I happened to glance over to my left just as someone was approaching a door to a home that had just opened to greet them. Although all I could see was the resident of the home, whom I mistook for Frosty the Snowman. On further inspection, it was a woman dressed in a large white overcoat, with a red scarf placed exactly as Frosty prefers to wear his.

I really need to start getting more sleep…

Chow for now!

Motown Gold

Stage West Calgary

Stage West Calgary Reviews

Motown

The Sunday Morning “Somebody-Asked-Me-To, So-Here-I-Go Show Review”: “Motown Gold”, at Stage West Theatre Restaurant, Calgary Alberta Canada

(or, Why I Occasionally Still Get To Appear In Newspapers…)

Sometimes, I just can’t help myself (sugar pie honey-bunch…oh yeah…wait – there’s going to be more…)

What I want to say is:

“This Show Is Stevie Wonder-ful!!”

“Motown Gold? – Yeah, I Heard It On The Great-Vine!”

But what I really have to say should end up resembling something a little more professional – even more so when my “official” review runs in The Calgary Herald.

For today, let me say that the pics above are just a small glimpse at the ensemble cast portraying decades of Motown legends in this just-opened production. Among the most popular style of the assorted shows that this facility stages, “Motown Gold” is a groovin’ glance at the contributions Detroit’s legendary recording studio made world-wide.

And what an influence Motown has had on pop music over the years! Careers have been revitalized by recording a classic track. Some songs have never left the airwaves, 50 years after they were first released. Oh, and thanks Motown, for The Captain & Tennille’s version of “Shop Around”. Oh well, they can’t all be winners…

Seriously, The Beatles, Elvis, CCR, and innumerable other acts paid tribute to or had great success recording songs from this incredible well of talent, represented in this show by often equally talented actors. Many of the songs were either spot-on, or done well enough to not bother any critics in the audience, as evidenced by the prolonged standing ovation at the end of the show when I was in attendance. So many classic songs running from the 1950’s and on up until the Canadian Motown connection, Winnipeger Remy’s Shand’s “Take A Message To My Love”. Shout out to my hometown!!

This show was a bit of a primer for me - in my capacity as a newspaper columnist, I’m hoping to be visiting Hitsville USA next year, during an annual conference I try and attend – planned coincidentally for Detroit in 2011. Hitsville being the original Motown Records studio – something you’ll pick up in the wealth of trivia peppered throughout the show’s transitions between eras and recording acts. There’s lots more, and something even I wasn’t aware of regarding the discovery of The Jackson Five – but I shouldn’t spoil the surprise - you should really try and make it out to see this show, if you’re a fan of this enduring brand of popular music.

And check back here – I’ll be posting a link to my Herald review when that’s available. Plus I’ll be sitting down with a few cast members to discuss the show and more – so as they say – don’t touch that dial!

Chow for now!!

Chicken Scratch

(posted by weekend guest blogger Charlie Chicken...)

Knock Knock!

(BUK-AAAAWK!!!! Who's there??)

 Banana!

Banana Who?

Knock Knock!

(BUK-AAAAWK!!!! Who's There?)

Banana!!

Banana who???

Knock Knock!

(BUK-AAAAWK!!!! WHO THE CLUCK IS THERE????)

Orange!

Orange Who??

Orange Ya Glad I Din' Say Banana???

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

Cluck fer now...

If I’m not mistaken, the very first live concert I ever attended was April Wine – specifically their “Oowatanite” tour – that song and album playing prominently for several decades on rock radio afterwards. I’ve never forgotten that show, and I ended up seeing the band live a few more times over the years. As a matter of fact, like many prominent Canadian acts of the time, they still tour!

I read online earlier this week that a founding member, Jim Clench (the writer of that enduring hit mentioned earlier) passed away. Somewhere upstairs, there’s a pretty good band starting to put songs together…

Chow for now!

Why do people always seem to want to “push the envelope”? For one thing, why don’t they just pick up the envelope, and put it somewhere else, instead of pushing it along?

I get a visual image of Hercules trying to push some flimsy little envelope up a hill – don’t know why (but that could be said of MUCH of what runs through MY head…).

I’ve pushed the odd envelope in my time. Once, I had to get one out of my way so that I could put my coffee where it had been, on my desk.

You know, I just may push another envelope sometime today!

Chow for now…

Check it out - I was finally able to add my review for Amazon.ca and .com (OK, also i-Tunes). Either click on the CD cover over to the right in my Amazon favorites, or hit this link:

http://www.amazon.ca/product-reviews/B0041RY57W/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1   

Hmmm...that should have "gone live"...oh well, you can always just click on that link over to the right.

Anyhow, when (or if) it runs in any newspapers, I'll post that link here as well!

Chow for now...

Winter has officially arrived, with our first major snowfall overnight. Volkswagen Beetles will have to wait until spring to be seen once again, and any gophers that hadn’t already decided to hibernate for the next few months will have to pretend to be housecats if they hope to survive the chilly stretch ahead (until about late August).

From our new vantage point, we are enjoying the start of our day by watching vehicles attempt to ascend the nominal upward incline of the roadway behind us. “Winter tires? Ha – it is to laugh!” appears to be the regret of  many cursing below us, waiting for elderly dog-walkers to stop and help them up the ice slide.

Good times Canada…good times…

Chow for now!

Running a bit behind this morning – a few technical difficulties in the Such Is Life household…

Also running a big behind – thanks, potato chips and Twinkies!

I know someone in Winnipeg that runs a big beehive, which is kinda cool. Must be lots of buzz about that kind of activity (go ahead, groan…).

Video stores used to run: “be kind, rewind”, which is no longer applicable, and probably stretches this wordplay past the point of return this morning.

Adieu,

Chow for now!! 

Ronald McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O,

And on that farm he has McRibs,

E-I-E-I-O.

With BBQ sauce, here, BBQ sauce there,

E-I-E-I-O,

It sure ain’t 5 star, even 4,

E-I-E-I-O.

With a blech blech here, blech blech there,

Ronald McDonald shapes Spam like ribs,

E-I-E-I-O.

(Chow for now…)

Chicken Scratch

(posted by plucky weekend guest Charlie Chicken…)

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

HEY! Who cut tha cheeze around here??

Heh Heh Heh…

I kills me…who cut tha cheeze……..

Cluck fer now.

Is Yogi Bear still alive? If he is, he must be getting up there in age, even for bear years. To be honest, I haven’t seen him on TV in recent years, so maybe he and Boo-Boo retired away to some exotic island?

If anyone has an update, I’d sure appreciate hearing about it. I suppose I should try searching for him on Facebook after I get done posting this here blog update. For all I know, he and Boo Boo tweet, or twiddle…whatever the latest social media rage is now…

Maybe I need to surf the Google – my inquiring mind needs to know!

Now that I’m on this tack, I should also look up Ranger Smith – he owes those two a pik-a-nik basket…

Chow for now!!

11 11 10…this month is just filthy with those numbers that haunt me…

Happy Remembrance/Memorial Day, everyone! Don’t forget to take the time to observe what this day is all about…

Hey, on the topic of remembering, does anyone remember how to do The Peppermint Twist? That was a long time ago, but I imagine that someone out there might still know how to do it.

"Bop Shoo Wop, Boppa Boppa Shoo Wop…The Peppermint Twist!"

Well, if you do remember, let me know – always looking for new ways to incorporate peppermint into my life.

Chow for now!

11 10 10….hmmmm…

Once upon a time, in a land far far away (but not too far from other lands that were very close to it), there was a seaside town called Lever Spool. Back in this particular time, Lever Spool wasn’t very special, but it did have one unique quirk – the young lads there all cut their hair the same – with bangs hanging way down over their eyeballs.

Lever Spool was far indeed from North America, but through the miracle of portable radios, many of these hairy young lads would listen to music from there – and dream of one day playing such pop tunes themselves. 

As fate would have it, four of these hair-blinded lads found themselves together one day in a record store, fighting over a single copy of the latest hit record from across the watery waves of the sea.

“Help!” shouted one of the lads, with a force mighty enough to lift the bangs right off his eyebrows.

“We Can Work It Out!” pleaded another, as he pummeled a rival with his drumsticks.

“I AM The Walrus!!” proclaimed a third – which brought the shoving match to an abrupt halt – what sort of fool proclaims to be a walrus, the other three thought?

 The last lad looked at the fellow closest to him, winked and said “I want to hold your hand”. With that, the prized record was dropped to the ground, smashing like Humpty Dumpty at an omelette cooking class.

The exasperated clerk waved his hand, and told them to come together, right now. Over tea. Which sounded like a grand idea.

Each of the lads left the store, and parted ways, never seeing each other again. This now seems to have been a rather pointless story, with no perceivable moral or conclusion.

May YOU live happily ever after then…

Chow for now.

I’ve already blabbed about this from Facebook (where a quick link to song snippets is available), and as you can see over to the right in my Amazon.ca space, I have posted a preliminary link to…the new Viva Elvis soundtrack CD – not even available until mid-November – which is why you have to wait for an official review.

This isn’t the entire soundtrack – there are omissions from the recently opened Vegas show created by Cirque du Soleil– but the ones included are often amazing re-imagined versions of Elvis’ original hits – best when they stick to the early catalogue, but each and every one worth a listen.  

More on this disc later – for now, here’s a reminder of the stage show itself:

http://thatdanguy.blogspot.com/2010/02/viva-elvis-cirque-du-soleil-elvis.html

Chow for now!!

We’ve been so busy lately that I completely missed a milestone here in the Such Is Life household – my online interview series http://thatdanguy.libsyn.com/ quietly surpassed one year of posts. That was way back in September, and it just continues to grow every month, consistently attracting hundreds of viewers.

I’ve got some interesting stuff planned ahead, plus the regular feeds that arise from the local stage productions – so head on over to i-Tunes and subscribe, so that you don’t miss an episode!

Otherwise I’ll find your IP address, and add you to my Nigerian prince’s mailing list - on the plus side, you may be able to help him access over $25,000,000 U.S. dollars and get yourself a share!

Chow for now!!

The Sunday Morning Cheater Post:

Here’s a link to my latest real estate column, suitable for readers of every persuasion, as it is really just a profile of actor Jamie Farr from M*A*S*H…

http://www.remonline.com/home/?cat=32

Say, that initial opening could have seemed a bit misleading, what with “cheater” having more than one connotation…oh well, you know what I meant now…

Chow for now!!

Chicken Scratch

(posted by weekend guest pest..ummm…”blogger” Charlie Chicken…)

GADZOOKS!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

EUREKA!!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Yessir, I had me an idea – don matter that I can’t renumber what it wuz right now, but I did have an idea – illoominatin’!

I wonder if pipl had ideas before Edison invented the lite bulb? Musta been dim ones if they did…

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Hey!?! With that lite bulb on my noggin, I see inna mirrer that I ain’t got hair!!! When did I go bald???

Oh, wait…I always wuz bald – excepin’ fer my comb – kinda a poultry version uva Mohawk do.

Mebbe I need ta start a punk band?

“Charlie Rotten & Tha Moldy Potatoes”????

Oughta work on that, I think…an I wonder if that wuz tha idea I had come up with earlier?

Who tha cluck knows????

Cluck fer now!!

I took in the launch of The Calgary Public Library’s big “One Book One Calgary” soiree last night – quite the star-studded event:

http://calgarypubliclibrary.com/onebookonecalgary/

Along with local dignitaries, the author herself, and a mini-galaxy of well-known Cowtowners, this was the launch of about one month’s worth of readers…umm…reading  the book chosen for this theme – specifically Aritha van Herk’s “Mavericks – An Incorrigible History Of Alberta”. Spoiler Alert: It’s not just about cattle, or discontinued Ford sedans!

Mrs. That Dan Guy and I had already visited the exhibit based on this tome at the museum here a year or so ago. Has it been that long already? YIKES! No wonder everybody I run into looks so much older than the last time we’ve seen them!

At any rate, I really went to catch some of the talent – some I had seen before, some I hadn’t (there’s pretty much only two inevitable camps when you start a statement like that…). Singer/songwriter Steve Pineo, we had seen before – and we’re fans. We own some of his music.

Utmost for me was a local and national great, three-time Stephen Leacock Humour Medal winner Will Ferguson – I even smuggled in one of his winning books to get it autographed. In retrospect, FYI, you really shouldn’t look around furtively if you’re getting a book signed in a library – it sends off the wrong signals to authority figures…

All in all, a nice little outing. If you’re in the Calgary area, or even as close as some rural village in PEI, I’d advise you to stop by and check out any of the libraries while this is on. Click on the link above to find out more.

Hey, and while you’re clicking on links, how about clicking on that Amazon.ca link over to the right of today’s post? I got an e-mail from them today, and I am apparently a little lax on the traffic to their site, so to speak. So don’t be a fink – click on their link.

Chow for now!!

“I taught I taw a puddy tat.

I DID!! I DID!!”

(Classic North American TV show dialogue excerpt – some lines are so iconic, they will live forever).

Chow for now!