Friday, February 28, 2014
Fat and fatter
Every time someone walked to the washroom on the plane, they had to wait and since we were in row 1, I had the pleasure of staring at one fat ass after another. I swear I don't know how they fit into a regular seat?! We were on our way to Palm Springs to escape some very dire weather in Calgary.
Once here, I started to see why Americans are so fat. They eat too much! The portions are ridiculous. We have taken to ordering one dish and spliting it and even then...... But the weather is glorious. I plan on taking every hokey tour on offer -- Frank Sinatra's house, Dinah Shore's, Bob Hope -- even Gerald Ford's. All the roads are named after dead stars, we are staying on Dinah Shore Boulevard. I feel right at home, what with a ton of Canada geese lounging all over the golf course we are located beside. The place is also rife with ducks who join us every day on our balcony.
Lots of Mexicans here, they do most of the work so the Americans can spend all their time eating....and eating....and eating....The pool I have to use is so small I have to do 100 laps to get my usual 50 in. People stare at me as if I am insane -- maybe I am!
Hit a GIGANTIC Walmart yesterday to stock up on stuff for the room. Thought I was seeing things when I walked past a promotion for wine. Pinot Grigio for, wait for it....$1.97 a bottle! It was crazy. We do get hit hard in Canada when it comes to booze. We are going to the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament for a few days next week. All the major stars will be there, but for some reason it is not really covered.
Well, more news later......
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Move on
A bunch of "natives" from the Attawapiskat Reserve walked 1,700 Ks to Ottawa and were very disheartened that no one was at Parliament Hill to greet them. Not even Shawn Atleo, one of "them. No native leaders gave a damn.
"We were walking in our fathers' footsteps, as their forbearers did, in our land and all we wanted was a round table with the Prime Minister," said the leader -- a colleague of disgraced Chief Teresa Spence -- when interviewed on 'As it Happens' this evening.
Please.
Get over the past, move into the "now" and get on with it. Why are you still living on a moribund reserve in poverty and expecting something to change? If nothing changes, nothing changes. It's so outrageous when you consider all the money poured into that reserve and yet they are still unhappy and wanting..........what?? More?? Ask Chief Spence where the money she receives goes.
No one hunts and traps anymore. Get over yourselves. No one lives in teepees. Get over yourselves. The past is gone. Move forward. Help your children. Don't condemn them to a life of poverty and kaft dinner on a useless reserve.
It's all so irrelevant.
"We were walking in our fathers' footsteps, as their forbearers did, in our land and all we wanted was a round table with the Prime Minister," said the leader -- a colleague of disgraced Chief Teresa Spence -- when interviewed on 'As it Happens' this evening.
Please.
Get over the past, move into the "now" and get on with it. Why are you still living on a moribund reserve in poverty and expecting something to change? If nothing changes, nothing changes. It's so outrageous when you consider all the money poured into that reserve and yet they are still unhappy and wanting..........what?? More?? Ask Chief Spence where the money she receives goes.
No one hunts and traps anymore. Get over yourselves. No one lives in teepees. Get over yourselves. The past is gone. Move forward. Help your children. Don't condemn them to a life of poverty and kaft dinner on a useless reserve.
It's all so irrelevant.
Don't
Ever watched 'My Six-Hundred Pound Life'? Don't. Just watched a little a few minutes ago, sadly. It is about disgusting people who can't stop eating. Sorry, no sympathy there whatsoever.
Having spent the morning cleaning my house, B suggested we go out for pizza. Great idea. Sitting there I gazed at the table next to us, where a young woman, about 25, could not stop eating. She was with three male co-workers and they were sharing plates. Guess who chomped the most? Already bulging out of her clothes, she was apparently determined to get bigger. She would put her knife and fork in the "finished" position, only to pick it up again and grab more. I found it disgusting.
Give her a few years and she may be the next feature on the TV program I just watched.
Having spent the morning cleaning my house, B suggested we go out for pizza. Great idea. Sitting there I gazed at the table next to us, where a young woman, about 25, could not stop eating. She was with three male co-workers and they were sharing plates. Guess who chomped the most? Already bulging out of her clothes, she was apparently determined to get bigger. She would put her knife and fork in the "finished" position, only to pick it up again and grab more. I found it disgusting.
Give her a few years and she may be the next feature on the TV program I just watched.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Shame
American network coverage of the Olympics was....well....American. Typically, if the event didn't feature an American, it wasn't covered. And if an American got bronze, no mention was made of who won silver and gold. It was pathetic, but typical.
Herald columnist Karin Klassen wrote an excellent piece today about the egomaniacal Americans and pointed out that NBC chose to cover the birthday party of Kathy Lee Gifford's son instead of the Canada/US hockey game. Kathy Lee Gifford, for G-d's sake -- a first-class loser if ever there was one.
I was proud of the CBC and its coverage. We covered everything and did so in a very fair and "Canadian" manner. Good on us.
Herald columnist Karin Klassen wrote an excellent piece today about the egomaniacal Americans and pointed out that NBC chose to cover the birthday party of Kathy Lee Gifford's son instead of the Canada/US hockey game. Kathy Lee Gifford, for G-d's sake -- a first-class loser if ever there was one.
I was proud of the CBC and its coverage. We covered everything and did so in a very fair and "Canadian" manner. Good on us.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Once
That's all we went and yet were invited to a special afternoon of music, wine and food at 'The Bear's Den' today. Frankly, I was surprised to have been invited because we are not regular patrons. Every time I drive to Cochrane, about three times a week, I pass this famous restaurant but until about a month ago had not frequented.
When we did I was quite impressed. Steak tartar was on the menu, naturally I ordered it. Then I chatted up the waitress and the manager and bored them stiff as we enjoyed our meal. Maybe they thought I would be the perfect boring guest this afternoon, hence we were invited? In any case, it was one of the more pleasant afternoons I have spent. Met head chef, John, and told him how crappy the steak tartar was at "Notable", a tony Bowness restaurant run by snooty Michael Noble. "He doesn't use tenderloin," I said. "How can that be steak tartar?" It can't, he agreed. This afternoon we enjoyed champagne and wonderful wines, as well as risotto, roast beef and yorkshire, many varieties of cured meats, veggies, fruits, skewers of Cornish hen, shrimp, smoked salmon and oysters on the half shell. The whole event was superb.
Spotting a young woman with gorgeous red heels, I decided to chat. "I love shoes," she said. "So do I," I replied. We launched into a talk about how shoes make the outfit, etc......"I went to a party at Christmas and was asked to take off my shoes," she told me. Whaaaaat??!! Never. We both lamented the crappy dress of so many Calgarians. I am sure I spotted 15 brands of ugly jeans this afternoon -- and this at a very classy restaurant.
And don't even get me started on the hideous footwear the majority of women were wearing. Absolutely gruesome.
I have given up worrying about being over-dressed in Calgary. Wore my gorgeous Chinese silk jacket (see blog of November 5th, 2010, "Marvin Gaye and Chinatown"). I am always over-dressed -- or is that appropriately?
When we did I was quite impressed. Steak tartar was on the menu, naturally I ordered it. Then I chatted up the waitress and the manager and bored them stiff as we enjoyed our meal. Maybe they thought I would be the perfect boring guest this afternoon, hence we were invited? In any case, it was one of the more pleasant afternoons I have spent. Met head chef, John, and told him how crappy the steak tartar was at "Notable", a tony Bowness restaurant run by snooty Michael Noble. "He doesn't use tenderloin," I said. "How can that be steak tartar?" It can't, he agreed. This afternoon we enjoyed champagne and wonderful wines, as well as risotto, roast beef and yorkshire, many varieties of cured meats, veggies, fruits, skewers of Cornish hen, shrimp, smoked salmon and oysters on the half shell. The whole event was superb.
Spotting a young woman with gorgeous red heels, I decided to chat. "I love shoes," she said. "So do I," I replied. We launched into a talk about how shoes make the outfit, etc......"I went to a party at Christmas and was asked to take off my shoes," she told me. Whaaaaat??!! Never. We both lamented the crappy dress of so many Calgarians. I am sure I spotted 15 brands of ugly jeans this afternoon -- and this at a very classy restaurant.
And don't even get me started on the hideous footwear the majority of women were wearing. Absolutely gruesome.
I have given up worrying about being over-dressed in Calgary. Wore my gorgeous Chinese silk jacket (see blog of November 5th, 2010, "Marvin Gaye and Chinatown"). I am always over-dressed -- or is that appropriately?
Thursday, February 20, 2014
We are our hair
Whoa, I said to myself as I looked at Christie Blatchford's new hairdo in her byline photo. I have known Blatchford for 44 years, but she doesn't know I know her, of course.
Working at Maclean-Hunter in the early seventies, I chaired a conference -- why I don't know because I was about "12" -- and asked her to participate in a panel discussion entitled, "Why Women do it Better". I was referring to getting the intimate, gritty interview that Blatchford always secured back then and still does. She talked about getting people to confide in her -- especially men -- and I could relate to that. Although I worked in the business press section of M-H, I did manage to get some pretty good interviews with industry leaders and I wrote a few decent features. Was it gender tension on the part of my male subjects who might have been attracted to a young woman such as I? I don't know, but I used it shamelessly to my advantage because women had so many professional disadvantages at the time. If you watch 'Mad Men', that was M-H when I worked there.
Thus, I have followed Christie for many, many years. She's still in the game, I opted to go over to the "dark" side to make more money in private sector PR. Eventually I moved back to Ottawa (marital stuff) and became a speech writer for many politicians and Ministers of the Crown. Didn't care about politics, just give me the money and I'd write for anyone.
Christie has been wasting her talent for the past few years covering criminal trials, but she is in Sochi and has written some pretty good human interest pieces. She always takes an odd angle and gets at the personalities of the players. But I focussed on her new hairdo the other day. I hate it. It's a flat black bob -- never flattering when you are our age. What is she thinking? She does not seem to be aging gracefully, in my never-to-be-humble opinion.
As I have always maintained, good, bad or ugly, women are their hair.
Working at Maclean-Hunter in the early seventies, I chaired a conference -- why I don't know because I was about "12" -- and asked her to participate in a panel discussion entitled, "Why Women do it Better". I was referring to getting the intimate, gritty interview that Blatchford always secured back then and still does. She talked about getting people to confide in her -- especially men -- and I could relate to that. Although I worked in the business press section of M-H, I did manage to get some pretty good interviews with industry leaders and I wrote a few decent features. Was it gender tension on the part of my male subjects who might have been attracted to a young woman such as I? I don't know, but I used it shamelessly to my advantage because women had so many professional disadvantages at the time. If you watch 'Mad Men', that was M-H when I worked there.
Thus, I have followed Christie for many, many years. She's still in the game, I opted to go over to the "dark" side to make more money in private sector PR. Eventually I moved back to Ottawa (marital stuff) and became a speech writer for many politicians and Ministers of the Crown. Didn't care about politics, just give me the money and I'd write for anyone.
Christie has been wasting her talent for the past few years covering criminal trials, but she is in Sochi and has written some pretty good human interest pieces. She always takes an odd angle and gets at the personalities of the players. But I focussed on her new hairdo the other day. I hate it. It's a flat black bob -- never flattering when you are our age. What is she thinking? She does not seem to be aging gracefully, in my never-to-be-humble opinion.
As I have always maintained, good, bad or ugly, women are their hair.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Cultural fun
The food was delicious. Went with my friend "K" for dim sum in Chinatown today. I had not eaten authentic dim sum in Calgary, but Dr. K knew exactly where to go for the best. The place was packed with generations of families, as many Chinese restaurants are on Sundays and holidays.
We talked about how it was for her to arrive in Canada age 12. "Do you feel Chinese or Canadian?" I asked. "I kind'a feel in the middle," she replied. We also talked about the vastly different cultural norms between Chinese and Canadian families. Canadian-born grandparents generally don't look after grandchildren all-day-every-day; once or twice a week is lots, thank you. Chinese grandparents? All-day-every-day is normal. "I want you to promise never to take me in to live with you if I get sick," said my mother about 10 years before she died. "You know how difficult it was with mother," she added, talking about the fact that her parents lived with one of my aunts.
Heck, I didn't know it was difficult? I thought it was great having grandma and grandpa around all the time -- she of the always-full-of-candy purse. She spoiled us beautifully. We all adored grandma Stapledon.
I am grateful for the wonderful women I have met at the Y, Dr. K being one of them. A reader of my blog, she said, "I can't really figure you out? Just when I think I know how you think, you completely throw me off," she laughed. "You know K, I am traditional, but not conventional." "That's exactly it," she replied.
We talked about how it was for her to arrive in Canada age 12. "Do you feel Chinese or Canadian?" I asked. "I kind'a feel in the middle," she replied. We also talked about the vastly different cultural norms between Chinese and Canadian families. Canadian-born grandparents generally don't look after grandchildren all-day-every-day; once or twice a week is lots, thank you. Chinese grandparents? All-day-every-day is normal. "I want you to promise never to take me in to live with you if I get sick," said my mother about 10 years before she died. "You know how difficult it was with mother," she added, talking about the fact that her parents lived with one of my aunts.
Heck, I didn't know it was difficult? I thought it was great having grandma and grandpa around all the time -- she of the always-full-of-candy purse. She spoiled us beautifully. We all adored grandma Stapledon.
I am grateful for the wonderful women I have met at the Y, Dr. K being one of them. A reader of my blog, she said, "I can't really figure you out? Just when I think I know how you think, you completely throw me off," she laughed. "You know K, I am traditional, but not conventional." "That's exactly it," she replied.
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