I recently rediscovered a favourite musician from the '70s - Joan Armatrading. Great voice and style. India Irie kind of reminds me of her but Joan's voice is more muscular, slightly less elegant. Fantastic writer/performer though. It took me an hour to get home from my appointment downtown - one solid hour on the Gardner/QEW on Saturday afternoon in the rain and I didn't stress (much) because I was listing to J.A. So a crazy coincidence is, I just went to her website to create the link above and in the photo she has the exact same guitar as me. Anyway, that doesn't mean anything it was just one of those weird things. Check her out if you get the chance. Definitely some of her stuff is dated but for the most part her style has stood the test of time. You can listen to one of my favourites here, "Love and Affection. Be sure to let it play out. The intro is a little too pop love-songie for me but the rhythm and mood changes as it goes along. One thing I realized in listening to this cut again - Michael Bolton really killed clarinet appreciation for the world
If you see Eve this week be sure to say "Happy Birthday"! A few of us surprised her at their apartment on Friday. She thought she had planned a party for herself on Saturday but Katy had already set things up. Chrissy baked a cake and we had Liz Loek's signature snack - red pepper jelly with cheddar cheese. It was great to get together with a few of our friends and to meet some of Eve's non-paddling friends. It was especially nice to see Jackie and Blake and Chrissy, just home from winning a boat-load of gold medals at Pan Ams!
As mentioned, I spent Saturday afternoon downtown - spa day and some shopping on Bloor Street. I bought lots of stuff in Capezio - Steve Madden CFM leather boots and brown suede pumps as well as these really fun Sam Edelman pumps (but in black). Seriously, I don't have the bank account for this kind of extravagance all of the time but I'm suddenly very happy again and if occasional retail therapy supports that then I'm good with it! Anyway, the sales clerk must have been so excited about the commission she was getting, she sent me home with one Steve Madden pump, right foot size 8 and another right foot size 6 - display shoe. Argh! No problem though. I called and they're shipping a brand new pair to Sherway for me.
Good luck to Kyle and the guys; Tamas, Peter, Larry, Boog and Shro - they're on their way to Hawaii for the 41 mile, open ocean Molokai Hoe , October 8th.

Fall training is great for so many reasons. Last night Eve and I were doing the workout - 4x (3,1,3,1)1R - and as we turned at the thousand, Eve pointed out a deer on shore. And two steps behind was the fawn.
We sat appreciating the scene for a moment then the beep went and so did we.

The acrobatics class on Saturday was even more fun than Thursday's! The skill level of the participants, mostly acrobats and gymnasts, is higher but there are 5 of us who are beginners. We all warm up and stretch together but on top of the usual splits and bridges (backbends), the acrobatics class is working on basic floor moves: tumbling, hand stands, cartwheels, that type of thing. And the weird thing is, although I haven't done one since I was 13, I can still do a decent cartwheel! After watching me do a few, the instructor told me to move up to the advanced group but I quickly set her straight. One cartwheel does not an acrobat make.
Suddenly training is all fresh to me again! And in typical serendipitous fashion, the world seems to confirm the decision to pursue new challenges even while working on the old. I receive (and recommend) Barrie Shepley's Personal Best newsletter every Monday morning and today it contained the following item (btw, to my knowledge this is the first time Barrie's quoted scientology guru L. Ron Hubbard so don't hold it against him.) ;

HOW TO KEEP COMPETITIVE
The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish. So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? If you were to be consulted, what would you recommend? As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate, starting a successful company, paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion. You don't need to work so hard so you relax. You experience the same problem as lottery winners who waste their money, wealthy heirs who never grow up and bored homemakers who get addicted to prescription drugs. Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. It was observed by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950's. "Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment." The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good problem. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are happy. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged. Therefore, instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge and more help. If you have met your goals, set some bigger goals. Once you meet your personal or family needs, move onto goals for your group, the society, even mankind. Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference. So, put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

So, the shark is in the tank. Regardless of whether I master any of these skills, the benefits are obvious; I'm doing better in C1, enjoying running again and seeing new applications for our swim, weight and spin workouts. I'm setting all kinds of new goals for myself and am actually looking forward to dry-land training this winter.
Barrie coaches a number of accomplished athletes, not the least of which is Simon Whitfield. His site http://www.personalbest.ca/ is an invaluable resource to both coaches and athletes of all disciplines.

After wasting many $$ on perfumes that never suited me once I left the store, I've finally found one I like a lot ...

I was over the drip-painting thing about 2 minutes after I posted it.

Last night was my first workout at the Toronto School of Circus Arts . No, I'm not going to be a clown so you can stop making jokes about my little bike. Think Cirque du Soleil. Actually, think Cirque Sublime, the Toronto-based version of Soleil, which trains out of this facility. Our instructor, Laura, is one of the performers.
Facing another winter of yoga and Pilates workouts, I decided to augment them with the flexibility and acrobatics courses offered here. It's a fun environment what with the flying trapeze, silks, trampolines and other paraphernalia. I can't wait until I'm semi-competent and able to try all of the equipment. At the moment, I'm just working on my splits and back bends. There were about 10 people in the group last night of various ages and backgrounds. Most are dancers or gymnasts (read: young & ridiculously flexible) and it would have been intimidating if I hadn't already had the ego beaten out of me by a pink Hody and the Credit River.

I LOVE this time-waster from Jay is Games... Produce your own drip-style paintings. Click the mouse to change colours, hit any key to start a new piece... The Jackson Pollock

My friend John sent me this photo of him with his new baby Steven. Subject line read: I ran out of baby formula and only had Coke to spare... I've stuck my photoshop birthday card to John over on my other blog just because.
And Jenn, I haven't forgotten about you. I'm just trying to find a suitable photo to use. I did have what I thought was a great shot of the Spice Girls but it was too small. When I stuck your face on Ginger Spice, well, it really just looked like Ginger Spice. So...still looking. If anyone has ideas or suggestions for what I should do to Jenn, send them over!

Oh thank god. The fuggers are back at Go Fug Yourself and they're taking shots at Tom and Katie. Go take a look at the pic that insipired this dialogue...

TOM: Kate, what do you think of my hair?
KATIE: It's amazing.
TOM: I set the Flowbie to stun. HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA. No, seriously, I actually just set it to "long." You don't think I look like a boy-bander? I think I look like a boy-bander. A little bit. A little boy-bandy.
KATIE: You look amazing.
TOM: What about my suit? Do you like my suit? Is my suit too movie-premiere-y for a soccer game?
KATIE: Your suit is amazing. Everyone wears Gucci to their child's soccer game. Gucci is amazing.
TOM: Are you being sarcastic?
KATIE: I haven't been sarcastic in 18 months. My head hurts too much.
TOM: Have some vitamins!
KATIE: Uh-huh.
TOM: WHAT'S THAT?
KATIE: Vitamins are amazing. Scientology rocks.

RESULTS FROM THE 2006 PAN AMERICAN CANOE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Final point tally - Overall Standings of 14 nations competing:

Canada - 338
Mexico 235
Brasil: 179
Venezuela: 177

Sr Category:
Canada: 195
Brasil: 151
Mexico: 128
Venezuela: 128

Jr Category
Canada: 143
Mexico: 107
Argentina: 72
Chile: 66

DAY 3
500m results
Mark Oldershaw - Gold in Sr Men's C-1
Angus Mortimer - Gold in Sr Men's K-1
Emilie Fournel - Gold in Women's K-1
Mallorie Nicholson - Gold in Sr Women's C-1
Nicole Haywood - Gold in Jr Women's - C-1
Victoria Bain - Silver in Jr Women's C-1
Andrew Russell & Gabriel Beauchesne-Sevigny - Silver in Sr Men's C-2
Ryan Cochrane & Chris Pellini - Silver in Sr Men's K-2
Christine Wessman & Gillian Fedechko - Gold in Sr Women's C-2
Victoria Bain & Rachel Marcuson - Gold in Jr Women's C-2
Jillian D'Alessio & Geneviève Beauchesne-Sevigny - Silver in Sr Women'sK-2
R.Hill, R. Cochrane, C. Pellini & D.Therrien - Silver in Sr Men's K-4
E.Fournel, J. D'Alessio, C. T-Bussieres & G. B-Sévigny - Gold in Sr Women's K-4

200m results
Mark Oldershaw - Gold in Sr C-1
Angus Mortimer - 4th in Sr K-1
Malorie Nicholson - Gold in Sr C-1
Nicole Haywood - Gold in Jr C-1
Rachel Marcuson - Silver in Jr C-1
Emilie Fournel - Gold in Sr Women's K-1
Gabriel Beauchesne-Sévigny & Andrew Russell - Gold in Sr C-2
Ryan Cochrane & Rhys Hill - 4th in Sr Men's K-2
Christine Wessman & Gillian Fedechko - Gold in Sr Women's C-2
Victoria Bain & Rachel Marcuson - Gold in Jr Women's C-2
J. D'Alessio & G.Beauchesne-Sévigny - 4th in Sr Women's K-2
R. Hill, R. Cochrane, C.Pellini & A.Mortimer 4th - in Sr K-4
T.Neilly, K.Bauder, M.P.Langlois & E.Taras - Bronze in Jr Women's K-4

Yeahhhh Chrissy and Rachel (and everyone else)!! Canada is cleaning up at Pan Ams.

Pan American Championships - Day 2
1000m races
Mark Oldershaw - 2nd Sr Men's C-1
Angus Mortimer - 1st Sr Men's K-1
Christine Wessman-1st Sr Women's C-1
Victoria Bain - 1st Jr women's C-1
Nicole Haywood - 2nd Jr Women's C-1
Jillian D'Alessio - 1st Sr Women's K-1




Andrew Russell and Gabriel Beauchesne-Sevigny - 2nd SrMen's C-2
David Therrien & Chris Pellini - 5th Sr Men's K-2
Mallorie Nicholson & Gillian Fedechko - 1st in Sr Women's C-2
Victoria Bain and Rachel Marcuson - 1st in Jr Women's C-2
Una Lounder & Camille Tessier-Bussière - DQ-ed in Sr Women's K-2

A. Mortimer, R. Hill, R. Cochrane & Chris Pellini - 3rd in Sr Men'sK-4
E. Fournel, C. Tessier-Bussière, G. B-Sévigny & J. D'Alessio - 1st in Sr Women's K-4
T. Neilly, K. Bauder, M. Pier Langlois & E,Taras – 1st Jr Women's K-4 1000


Speaking of cleaning up (ha ha, queen of the lame segue), I'm finally getting around to doing my 'spring' cleaning. That walk-in closet in my bedroom? I can actually walk into it.

For those interested in club stuff, I got the lowdown from a few of the kids who went to the meeting - the board voted 6-2 in support of the head coach's decision. Old coach out, new coach in. And great news for the yakkers, their new coach is Dean O.

Favourite new game site - I'm addicted to Clack and White Jigsaw.






Pan Am results so far with 2 more days of racing...

Remember '80s superstar Matt Frewer? I didn't think so. Maybe this will ring a bell...

Inspired by a photo over at CIGAR (okay not quite Change is as Good as a Rest but close), I've created a new blog. Victims of Photoshop. I'm pretty busy this week but check back occasionally. I'll start by posting some old ones that I sent directly to guys without posting on VOC.

Jessie says her exam went okay. Okay?? This is a pretty big deal. Read what the Toronto Star had to say about the UFE .

This is some of the coolest art you will see today. Created using the on-going accumulation of dust on his car, Scott Wade proves that art is everywhere. Click here to see the entire gallery (it's worth it to read his notes on each piece).

Jack White has done a coke commercial - released in Australia, I think. Get used to an Australian theme over the course of the next 12 months.

JESSIE!!!! GOOD LUCK IN YOUR EXAM TOMORROW

(not that you need it - you're a genius!)

Nice results for Marisha;
1st in WC 8
2nd in WA pair
? WB quad - I'm still trying to find results

Southside shuffle was good. We met up at Carrie and Attila's and hung out for awhile (so I could play with Lola) before heading down. I'm not sure but we may have missed some big names at the mainstage - Jeff Healey and David Clayton Thomas. It didn't matter though, we ended up at the Cue which was great. They'd pushed the pool tables over against the wall and set up two stages. One upstairs and one on the main level. Not bad - excellent entertainment for $5.00.

It was Ryan's birthday on the weekend so we got together and then I had to boot it over to Ontario Place for a Db race.

Lots of drama at the canoe club over the head coach's decision not to renew the contract of a particular kayak coach and the attempts of a board member to overturn Coach Coolen's decision with an inflammatory email sent to a small group of parents (read: know nothing about club operations). He accuses Dray of using "terrorist tactics" and implies that this is an "effort by the canoers to scuttle the kayak program" suggesting that Dray would be sued in the business world. postscript - everything was settled at the board meeting where the offended (and offending) coach said he wasn't planning on coming back anyway, so there.

It looks like there'll be a bunch of us heading into Port Credit on Saturday night. Call or email if you're up for it!

Go Marisha!
I'm having a little trouble tracking down all of the results but she's racing at the FISA World Masters 2006 rowing regatta. These are just the heats but overall in women's coxed four they were first and in women's 8 they were second. Will find out when the finals are (and hopefully photos).

So I was walking the dog down at the harbour as usual last night and I looked up to see two really attractive men walking towards me. My pupils dilated and my heart rate jumped - metros in Port Credit? Exciting! Well, briefly. They were walking close together and their body language pretty much told the story. Gay. And not just, you know, the guy from high school who came out of the closet and still lives in his parents' basement gay. Beautifully dressed and coiffed, well-spoken and poised - these guys were dyed in the merino, weekend on Fire Island, townhouse in the East Village, G.A.Y. And as they walked past, the one talking said , "... and I also took the armoire. Well, what was I supposed to do - leave it?! It was my armoire." (I swear I'm not making this up).
Okay, this isn't a rant about "why are all the good ones always taken or gay?" Not at all. I just expected gay guys in Port Credit to have, well, mullets. Or at least ponytails. And say things like, "So, we were partying hard at the Old Stable and Bruce here, he told this joke about some old queen and I laughed so hard beer came out my nose!"
Anyway, all this is to say that things are looking up in P.C.. I mean, this town has a serious identity crisis and if it's going to settle on something, wouldn't it be great for it to be the hip, cool, IN place to live? Hmmm?? Secko, you'd better get ready because I see some extensive renos in your future!

Click here to find out which Canadian city has a problem with dogs getting high (big surprise).

So much stuff going on, I'll post more on Regina when I'm at home and have access to the photos.

"The Scream" and "Madonna", stolen masterpieces by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, were recovered by police last week, two years and nine days after gunmen seized the paintings from an Oslo museum.


Adam, Tamas, Attila and Mark Oldershaw cleaned up in the final World Cup competition in Guangzhou, China.
Click here for complete results. The website could use a little work when it comes to photos. Clicking on the regatta photo album produces some pics of the athletes' residence, tennis and basketball courts.

Anyway, in a nutshell;

Adam won 2 gold in K-1 and jumped into the K-4 to help the guys win 1 silver and 2 bronze medals. For the world cup series he was 1st overall in points.
Budays won 1 silver (1000m) and 1 bronze (500m) in C2 (not sure of overall points for this series)
Mark won 2 bronze in C1 and finished 3rd overall in points.

Mark and Adam are amazing - they flew to Regina from Hungary and raced at CCA before making the trip to Asia. Jet-lag is obviously not an issue when you've got an athlete's resources.

I visited Guangzhou in 1999 when they had just opened a new Olympic stadium. It was all they could talk about. In fact, 650,000 residents voted that it be listed as the city's top scenic landmark. The regatta course is no less impressive.