Think back to 20 years ago for Cornwall. It was a somewhat great time economy wise and such. The 1980s recession did kill some businesses but the city hung on. There was always activities going on at the local museums, heritage groups and service clubs. Parades, community BBQs, skating and swim parties. It was a good time to be in the city.
We just started 2010 and it is amazing how things are today. Major businesses (Domtar, CIL, Courtaulds) that were considered safe employment are gone. Some of the well known downtown businesses are gone, killed by big box stores (thanks a freakin' lot, Wal-Mart). Parades are down to two a year (Rememberance Day and Christmas), community BBQs are nearly non-existant and events held by heriatge and service clubs dwindled.
I heard a rumour that the annual Cornwall Heritage Fair will not occur this year or any other year now. I remember years ago when the city was celebrating the 200 anniversary of the founding of Cornwall that the Fair began. I remember it best at the Brookdale Mall and it was fantasic to see so many groups together in honour of our history. I never knew when it was held, just that it was during the winter months. I then came to realize it was during smething called Heritage Week, not something readily advertized by our local media or City.
When the Brookdale Mall was demolished to make way for the present day plaza, which totally sucks by the way (miss the intimate shopping of a mall), I was shocked to learn that the Fair was shutting down. Then I learned one of the participants took the reigns and reloacted to the Cornwall Square. Thanks to the internet I discovered exactly when Heritage Week was and I even found some advertizing for the event. Although there were different locations and people each year, I always managed to find the Fair.
This year I was told by a little birdie that the Heritage Fair is cancelled. Problems with the location? No, not really. It actually involves legal issues thanks to insurance companies. From what I understand, the Cornwall Square needs insurance papers for anyone operating a business or having a special event within their walls. Makes sense of course. But the Heritage Fair is some kind of city event and now the organizing group is unable to obtain coverage. I don't understand what is different this time around compared to the previous years but there is. This birdie told me that there is a chance the Fair will be at the local library. I cannot see that happening with any success. It is not the same enviroment and there won't be much of any visits by the general public as there is at a mall.
So the way I see things, this is yet another annual Cornwall event that has been killed off with the new thinking of today's idiotic world of political correctness and mentality of people bringing forth civil litigations over thier own stupidity. I wish I could stand up and say something to the organizers and to those whom are responsible for killing the Fair, but I can't. All I am is a Mr. Joe Public. I never took part in the Fair, just enjoyed the fact it was there and took advantage of looking at and sometimes purchasing what the many groups had with them. It is a shame that soon this town won't have anything worth going to for us tax payers.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Bonfire - Part 2: History of a Decadent Band
The band has existed for 38 years. They have 7 more releases than Black Sabbath, 8 more than The Rolling Stones, 12 more than their own countrymen, The Scorpions, 16 more than Dokken, 20 more than Motley Crue and The Beatles, 21 more than Bon Jovi and Van Halen, and 22 more than Def Leppard and Poison....still, no one seems to know who or what BONFIRE is. Although their history can be found in Wikipedia (I created the entry), here's the most important things any fan or future fan should know.
In 1972 Hans Ziller created a band with his brother Karl and called it CACUMEN, both being the guitarists. The history from the formation and who else was involved up to 1978 seems to be lost in the sands of time. What is known is that in '78 Claus Lessmann was hired as the lead vocalist and the group became a popular attraction. Also part of the band were guitarist Horst Maier-Thorn, Hans Hauptmann on bass, Hanns Schmidt-Theissen was on keyboards and Hans Forstner was the drummer. It was this line-up that put the first recording out in '79, the Riding Away single. When a full length album was being arranged, Karl left the band and Hanns bowed out, but did provide keyboards for recordings. The self-titled Cacumen album came out in 1981. For the 1983 release, Bad Widow, Hauptmann was replaced with Robert Prskalowicz and two years later the Longing For You EP was released. The band was gaining a great reputation and they decided to make a full-fleged career of being rock stars. Robert and Forstner though were nervous to make such a commitment and were replaced with Joerg Deisinger and Dominik Huelshorst respectively. Thus came the line-up that would step into the world-wide market.
First step for taking on the world was coming up with a new name. Although Cacumen was well known in West Germany, it just was not a favourite name for the record company executives. The band had a brain storming session and out of that came the new dedication of Bonfire. Their first album under the new name came out in 1986, Don't Touch The Light. Just before recording their follow-up, the group made a hasty decision of firing Dominik. This lead to the group not having a new drummer to record their album for 1987. They did use Ken Mary from Fifth Angel, but Ken declined joining. Fireworks was released and it became the group's Gold seller. By the end of the year, new drummer Edgar Patrik was hired on. When their second song from the album was prepared for release (along with a video), Horst's on-going illness had become too much for him and he had to quit the group. Angel Schleifer came in to take up the chore of second guitarist. For me this has to be THE best Bonfire line-up. Changes weren't through as during recording for the 1989 album, the band was forced to make a decision that even they in retrospect thought was not the best solution, they fired the founding member, Hans. Even with that decision, the record company decided to no longer promote the band in North America. strange since they recorded their next album, Point Blank, in the USA and toured there in support of the album. On the heels of that album, the band was asked to record a song for the Wes Craven movie, Shocker. Thus the Sword And Stone single was put out. In 1991, after going with a different producer, the album Knock out was released, clearly the band's worst effort. 1992 was the year that not only expanded the Bonfire interest but was also the worst blow they could take...Claus decided to leave, but in doing so he reunited with Hans to become a duo called Lessmann/Ziller.
1993....Bonfire fans was treated to four events. The announcement that Michael Bormann was Bonfire's new singer, the band releasing Live...The Best, a live recording when Claus was still the singer and the third thing was Lessmann/Ziller's release of a totally German language album called Glaub Dran. The forth thing came later, a bootleg release of End Of An Era, which was the demo songs recorded by Bonfire with Michael singing. The following year, Lessmann/Ziller released the Charlie & Louise single (for a movie with the same name) and the German language Fur Dich single. Unfortunately in the Bonfire camp things were not so good. The record company refused to release any music without Claus singing and to add insult to injury the grunge/alternative scene had taken root in the mainstream instustry. The band broke up. Lessmann/Ziller was not doing much better either. Acceptance to the duo was not as well as either hoped so they rebanded themselves as Ex and released the Die Antwort Weiss Der Wind single, a song all in German. After the release, Joerg and Dominik were asked if they would be interested in joining and accepted. This however only lasted for a very short time. Claus and Hans were still not pleased with the reception and realized that they needed to be Bonfire again.
After negotiating with Angel, Joerg and Edgar, a one-time payment was made to them in 1996 by Claus and Hans and thus Ex evolved into a second band called Bonfire. The album Feels Like Comin' Home came out right afterwards, with a limited edition German version called Freudenfeuer. Then a greatest hits album, Hot & Slow, was put out and the duo hired Chris Lausmann as rhythm guitarist, Uwe Kohler on bass and drummer Jurgen Wiehler. (To hear the music from 1979 - 1998, please use the following address to download a file with a song from each release.)
http://rapidshare.com/files/338821001/Best_Of_Claus_Lessmann-part_1.zip
This new line-up put out Rebel Soul in 1998 along with the Because It's Christmas single. Also added to that year was the release of Charade's self-titled album. Charade was formed the year before by Michael and Angel for the purpose of putting out the shelved Bonfire album they recorded in 1993. They decided to stay together and release new music. Bonfire released Fuel to the Flames the following year and then their former record company decided to capitalize on their new success by releasing a greatest hits CD called Who's Foolin' Who (not to be confused with the single of the same name from 1989).
In the new century, Bonfire started off by putting out Strike Ten, then a double greatest hits album called 29 Golden Bullets that featured new versions of songs and a demo. 2002 saw a loss of Chris in the band, but the foursome put out a live album called Live Over Europe! The following year they released a more modern sounding recordings. Tell Me What U Know single was the preview and then the album Free was available. Bonfire fans all around the world wondered what happened to their favourite band. 2004 though was a great year. Claus and Hans managed to aquire the rights to their older material from Cacumen (as well as Hans' band after he was fired from Bonfire, EZ Livin'). They re-released these recordings as The Early Days (a 5-disc set) that featured the original albums (along with the Lessmann/Ziller album) with additional recordings. Then they put out the Schanzer Herz single in honour of their hometown of Ingolstadt. Charade also released their second album, II. Bonfire decided to do a redition of the "MTV Unplugged" series by performing on TV an acoustical performance, which they released as a double disc called One Acoustic Night with a studio song for the benefit of the tsunami victims in Indonesia.
2006 was when Chris Limburg joined as co-guitarist. He had been supporting the band live for a few years and was formally asked to join. Double X came out immediately and another live disc in 2007 called Double Vision was released to great fanfare. 2008 saw the release of The Rauber, a rock-opera album that the band performed many many times in Ingolstadt's theatre, sold out almost every time as fans from all over congregated to the city.
Last year Bonfire lost Jurgen to another band, but to fill his seat, coming almost full circle, was Dominik again. A double best of ballads disc was released, You Make Me Feel, and now us Bonfire fans are waiting on the 2010 release of a new studio album with Dominik on drums. How will they sound now?
(To hear the music from 1999 to now, download from this link.)
http://rapidshare.com/files/338837432/Best_Of_Claus_Lessmann-part_2.zip
In 1972 Hans Ziller created a band with his brother Karl and called it CACUMEN, both being the guitarists. The history from the formation and who else was involved up to 1978 seems to be lost in the sands of time. What is known is that in '78 Claus Lessmann was hired as the lead vocalist and the group became a popular attraction. Also part of the band were guitarist Horst Maier-Thorn, Hans Hauptmann on bass, Hanns Schmidt-Theissen was on keyboards and Hans Forstner was the drummer. It was this line-up that put the first recording out in '79, the Riding Away single. When a full length album was being arranged, Karl left the band and Hanns bowed out, but did provide keyboards for recordings. The self-titled Cacumen album came out in 1981. For the 1983 release, Bad Widow, Hauptmann was replaced with Robert Prskalowicz and two years later the Longing For You EP was released. The band was gaining a great reputation and they decided to make a full-fleged career of being rock stars. Robert and Forstner though were nervous to make such a commitment and were replaced with Joerg Deisinger and Dominik Huelshorst respectively. Thus came the line-up that would step into the world-wide market.
First step for taking on the world was coming up with a new name. Although Cacumen was well known in West Germany, it just was not a favourite name for the record company executives. The band had a brain storming session and out of that came the new dedication of Bonfire. Their first album under the new name came out in 1986, Don't Touch The Light. Just before recording their follow-up, the group made a hasty decision of firing Dominik. This lead to the group not having a new drummer to record their album for 1987. They did use Ken Mary from Fifth Angel, but Ken declined joining. Fireworks was released and it became the group's Gold seller. By the end of the year, new drummer Edgar Patrik was hired on. When their second song from the album was prepared for release (along with a video), Horst's on-going illness had become too much for him and he had to quit the group. Angel Schleifer came in to take up the chore of second guitarist. For me this has to be THE best Bonfire line-up. Changes weren't through as during recording for the 1989 album, the band was forced to make a decision that even they in retrospect thought was not the best solution, they fired the founding member, Hans. Even with that decision, the record company decided to no longer promote the band in North America. strange since they recorded their next album, Point Blank, in the USA and toured there in support of the album. On the heels of that album, the band was asked to record a song for the Wes Craven movie, Shocker. Thus the Sword And Stone single was put out. In 1991, after going with a different producer, the album Knock out was released, clearly the band's worst effort. 1992 was the year that not only expanded the Bonfire interest but was also the worst blow they could take...Claus decided to leave, but in doing so he reunited with Hans to become a duo called Lessmann/Ziller.
1993....Bonfire fans was treated to four events. The announcement that Michael Bormann was Bonfire's new singer, the band releasing Live...The Best, a live recording when Claus was still the singer and the third thing was Lessmann/Ziller's release of a totally German language album called Glaub Dran. The forth thing came later, a bootleg release of End Of An Era, which was the demo songs recorded by Bonfire with Michael singing. The following year, Lessmann/Ziller released the Charlie & Louise single (for a movie with the same name) and the German language Fur Dich single. Unfortunately in the Bonfire camp things were not so good. The record company refused to release any music without Claus singing and to add insult to injury the grunge/alternative scene had taken root in the mainstream instustry. The band broke up. Lessmann/Ziller was not doing much better either. Acceptance to the duo was not as well as either hoped so they rebanded themselves as Ex and released the Die Antwort Weiss Der Wind single, a song all in German. After the release, Joerg and Dominik were asked if they would be interested in joining and accepted. This however only lasted for a very short time. Claus and Hans were still not pleased with the reception and realized that they needed to be Bonfire again.
After negotiating with Angel, Joerg and Edgar, a one-time payment was made to them in 1996 by Claus and Hans and thus Ex evolved into a second band called Bonfire. The album Feels Like Comin' Home came out right afterwards, with a limited edition German version called Freudenfeuer. Then a greatest hits album, Hot & Slow, was put out and the duo hired Chris Lausmann as rhythm guitarist, Uwe Kohler on bass and drummer Jurgen Wiehler. (To hear the music from 1979 - 1998, please use the following address to download a file with a song from each release.)
http://rapidshare.com/files/338821001/Best_Of_Claus_Lessmann-part_1.zip
This new line-up put out Rebel Soul in 1998 along with the Because It's Christmas single. Also added to that year was the release of Charade's self-titled album. Charade was formed the year before by Michael and Angel for the purpose of putting out the shelved Bonfire album they recorded in 1993. They decided to stay together and release new music. Bonfire released Fuel to the Flames the following year and then their former record company decided to capitalize on their new success by releasing a greatest hits CD called Who's Foolin' Who (not to be confused with the single of the same name from 1989).
In the new century, Bonfire started off by putting out Strike Ten, then a double greatest hits album called 29 Golden Bullets that featured new versions of songs and a demo. 2002 saw a loss of Chris in the band, but the foursome put out a live album called Live Over Europe! The following year they released a more modern sounding recordings. Tell Me What U Know single was the preview and then the album Free was available. Bonfire fans all around the world wondered what happened to their favourite band. 2004 though was a great year. Claus and Hans managed to aquire the rights to their older material from Cacumen (as well as Hans' band after he was fired from Bonfire, EZ Livin'). They re-released these recordings as The Early Days (a 5-disc set) that featured the original albums (along with the Lessmann/Ziller album) with additional recordings. Then they put out the Schanzer Herz single in honour of their hometown of Ingolstadt. Charade also released their second album, II. Bonfire decided to do a redition of the "MTV Unplugged" series by performing on TV an acoustical performance, which they released as a double disc called One Acoustic Night with a studio song for the benefit of the tsunami victims in Indonesia.
2006 was when Chris Limburg joined as co-guitarist. He had been supporting the band live for a few years and was formally asked to join. Double X came out immediately and another live disc in 2007 called Double Vision was released to great fanfare. 2008 saw the release of The Rauber, a rock-opera album that the band performed many many times in Ingolstadt's theatre, sold out almost every time as fans from all over congregated to the city.
Last year Bonfire lost Jurgen to another band, but to fill his seat, coming almost full circle, was Dominik again. A double best of ballads disc was released, You Make Me Feel, and now us Bonfire fans are waiting on the 2010 release of a new studio album with Dominik on drums. How will they sound now?
(To hear the music from 1999 to now, download from this link.)
http://rapidshare.com/files/338837432/Best_Of_Claus_Lessmann-part_2.zip
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Bonfire - Part 1: Local Radio Stations
In the summer of 1988, an exchange student from Minneapolis in the USA was in Sweden and heard an album called Look Sharp! by the group Roxette. He brought the album home and encouraged his local radio station (KDWB 101.3 FM) to start playing it. Although the album was not on the regular format catelogue, one DJ listened to it and decided to spin the LP. It wasn't long before Roxette became a much requested musi artist to be played on the air and thus the band had broken into North America. It is a legendary tale of a foreign group that had a record company who did not push them into what the record industry deems as the "mainstream" market of North America, more specifically the USA, and managed to by-pass board room politics and became big hitters in the music business. Roxette would go on to release Look Sharp! in North America and follow it up with 4 more releases plus a reissue of their first recording, Pearls Of Passion. Unfortunately the big record labels stopped P.R.ing the group (thanks in part to grunge and alternative styles) but mostly unknown is that Roxette released 7 more albums and are planning to release a new one (I have them all which is amazing to say since I am not into that type of music particularly).
The title says Bonfire....why did you open with Roxette?, you are likely thinking. Well I wanted to give an example of what has happened when a radio personality took a chance and played something off the regulated catelogue that could turn out to be the best thing for the band, the listeners, the fans, the radio and the record companies. That is because I am experiencing the same situation with a band that I have been into for 20 years and I've hit a brick wall. I am talking about what is likely THE best hard rock band out there currently who releases a new album every year for the last 17 years.....BONFIRE. This will be a three part series that I will be posting. Part 2 will focus on Bonfire themselves, Part 3 will cover what the present and past band members have done/are doing since being in the band. Today's part 1 is covering my own experience to get Bonfire some airplay on the radio and to return to North America, especially to Canada. Part 2 and 3 will feature link to some of Bonfire's music so people whom are reading this can hear the music and understand why myself and many others are fans and supporters.
The first time I had ever heard of Bonfire was in 1987. My best friend had a cassette album called Fireworks, easily one of the albums any hard rocker should have in their collection. The music was awesome sounding, great guitar riffs, heavy drumming and the lead vocals were harmonic and easy to sing along to. At that time Def Leppard was my favourite band so I didn't give Bonfire much attention. The following year I went to West Germany to visit my dad and over the radio and on the TV I had seen/heard some things that involved Bonfire. I was hooked with the song Never Mind. I returned to Canada and copied the Fireworks album from my friend. The band was growing on me. In 1991, Bonfire became my second favourite band and in 1996 they unseated the Leps as my #1 all time favourite. It is where Bonfire sits today for me and I doubt they will ever be unseated, especially if they keep pumping out great music like they have been. My one disappointment was that I got into the band after they stopped coming to North America. Once their Point Blank album was recorded, their record company refused to promote them here anymore. To this day if you go to any music store you can only order Don't Touch The Light and Fireworks, meanwhile the other 31 releases you have to hope the store has availability to imports. Yep, you heard me right.....31 RELEASES!!!!!! That's a total of 33 and they are releasing a new studio album this year. So after all this time and after the band played a couple of "come back" shows in the States I thought I'd try to help them in Canada.
First I contacted Cornwall Lift Off, a popular annual balloon fesitival that features many great music talent, some big names even. I let them know that Bonfire was trying to get back into the North American market and suggested that they get the band for 2010 while the group is looking for North American dates. I was told that the festival organizers "would check the band out and see what their Board thinks." Not bad for a start so then I contacted the radio stations. First I contacted CKON, a station that I knew would play different and new things at least once. Heck, back when I was working as a security guard in the early 1990s I once heard them play Bonfire's entire live album, Live...The Best, which was so surreal for me. I waited for a response to my e-mail but I never got a reply. I tried calling but was told to just e-mail my request, it would be easier. I then contacted the radio programmer for the Cornwall stations, who just happens to be the entertainment director for Lift Off. I was told that Bonfire was not a mainstream act and not on their regulated approved catelogue for air-play. That was strange because I wondered what happened to the songs Starin' Eyes, Sweet Obsession, Sleeping All Alone and the theme song from Wes Craven's movie Shocker called Sword And Stone....all songs Bonfire released and charted with in North America. It was then that I realized that the chances for Bonfire to even be considered a possible act to play at Lift-Off was little to none. I was nonetheless disappointed and for a while I felt that nothing could be done to get Bonfire here to Canada.
Joerg Deisinger, Bonfire's former bassist, released a book in 2008 called Fire And Fame. It was co-written with Carl Begai, who is living in Toronto and was my means to get the book much faster than others whom made orders (also was lucky to get his and Joerg's autograph!). It is a terrific read and is not a tell-all book, but a biography of Joerg's life, most centred on his career as a musician. He wrote about Bonfire's public relations problems, which was right from day 1 but only became a major problem when BMG decided to not release any more Bonfire albums in North America, starting with the 1989 release of Point Blank (a GREAT follow-up to Fireworks). Even with the first two albums that did get North American release, the problem was not many were pressed and record stores only ordered the bare minimum. As Joerg stated in one chapter, if the manager/owner ordered 100 units he did his job....he didn't have to push to sell the record if he didn't like the band or couldn't be bothered. There was more but I am not going to write everything here. So basically the band, which had great music and a growing fanbase, was swept aside and told that they weren't going to make it on the big stages of North America. Meanwhile they were huge in Europe and had no support to expand elsewhere.
So here we are, it's 2010 and it is still happening. Bonfire continues to play as headliners at various venues, have sold out their rock opera performances (The Rauber) every time. New music....heck GREAT MUSIC.....is being released by them more than the other "mainstream" bands like Def Leppard, Dokken, Kiss, Aerosmith and Van Halen (and who says these guys' new albums are any good?). Yet no one will support Bonfire's step into North America.
So I had given up on trying to convince Cornwall radio stations and festivals to play Bonfire for a time....but I did get a new boost that made me feel there might be a chance someday. Where I work, we keep the radio on. Finally, after we were able to predict what songs our local stations were going to play (seems it is ALWAYS the same ones) I got POed and put on one of Bonfire's CDs. Everyone liked it so I brought more in. Then on a suggestion from a co-worker, we called up the Virgin radio station in Ottawa, since that signal was coming in clearly, and to my suprise not only did they play Sword And Stone by Bonfire, but also one of their new ones, What's On Your Mind?. I went home and looked up the Virgin radio station's web site for Ottawa and there I saw a blessing. They have available for requests 19 of the 33 Bonfire releases...especially the best albums, in my opinion. So needless to say our industrial plant no long tunes in to local stations. It is not because our stations refuse to even consider playing Bonfire but because their catelogue is recycled too much and repetitive without being open to something new. It's pretty bad when you hear "Missin' You", "Hot 'N' Cold" and that cover version of "I Want To Know What Love Is" three times on the same station in a 12 hour period.
So let's end like how we started, reflecting back to 1988, Minneapolis and Roxette as our examples. If it was done back then it can certainly be done today. If a Cornwall radio station took a chance and played any of the more recent Bonfire songs, it could be the crack in the doorway that the band needs to make a full return to North America, a revival of their fan base here along with more sales and radio requests. Wouldn't that be nice?
The title says Bonfire....why did you open with Roxette?, you are likely thinking. Well I wanted to give an example of what has happened when a radio personality took a chance and played something off the regulated catelogue that could turn out to be the best thing for the band, the listeners, the fans, the radio and the record companies. That is because I am experiencing the same situation with a band that I have been into for 20 years and I've hit a brick wall. I am talking about what is likely THE best hard rock band out there currently who releases a new album every year for the last 17 years.....BONFIRE. This will be a three part series that I will be posting. Part 2 will focus on Bonfire themselves, Part 3 will cover what the present and past band members have done/are doing since being in the band. Today's part 1 is covering my own experience to get Bonfire some airplay on the radio and to return to North America, especially to Canada. Part 2 and 3 will feature link to some of Bonfire's music so people whom are reading this can hear the music and understand why myself and many others are fans and supporters.
The first time I had ever heard of Bonfire was in 1987. My best friend had a cassette album called Fireworks, easily one of the albums any hard rocker should have in their collection. The music was awesome sounding, great guitar riffs, heavy drumming and the lead vocals were harmonic and easy to sing along to. At that time Def Leppard was my favourite band so I didn't give Bonfire much attention. The following year I went to West Germany to visit my dad and over the radio and on the TV I had seen/heard some things that involved Bonfire. I was hooked with the song Never Mind. I returned to Canada and copied the Fireworks album from my friend. The band was growing on me. In 1991, Bonfire became my second favourite band and in 1996 they unseated the Leps as my #1 all time favourite. It is where Bonfire sits today for me and I doubt they will ever be unseated, especially if they keep pumping out great music like they have been. My one disappointment was that I got into the band after they stopped coming to North America. Once their Point Blank album was recorded, their record company refused to promote them here anymore. To this day if you go to any music store you can only order Don't Touch The Light and Fireworks, meanwhile the other 31 releases you have to hope the store has availability to imports. Yep, you heard me right.....31 RELEASES!!!!!! That's a total of 33 and they are releasing a new studio album this year. So after all this time and after the band played a couple of "come back" shows in the States I thought I'd try to help them in Canada.
First I contacted Cornwall Lift Off, a popular annual balloon fesitival that features many great music talent, some big names even. I let them know that Bonfire was trying to get back into the North American market and suggested that they get the band for 2010 while the group is looking for North American dates. I was told that the festival organizers "would check the band out and see what their Board thinks." Not bad for a start so then I contacted the radio stations. First I contacted CKON, a station that I knew would play different and new things at least once. Heck, back when I was working as a security guard in the early 1990s I once heard them play Bonfire's entire live album, Live...The Best, which was so surreal for me. I waited for a response to my e-mail but I never got a reply. I tried calling but was told to just e-mail my request, it would be easier. I then contacted the radio programmer for the Cornwall stations, who just happens to be the entertainment director for Lift Off. I was told that Bonfire was not a mainstream act and not on their regulated approved catelogue for air-play. That was strange because I wondered what happened to the songs Starin' Eyes, Sweet Obsession, Sleeping All Alone and the theme song from Wes Craven's movie Shocker called Sword And Stone....all songs Bonfire released and charted with in North America. It was then that I realized that the chances for Bonfire to even be considered a possible act to play at Lift-Off was little to none. I was nonetheless disappointed and for a while I felt that nothing could be done to get Bonfire here to Canada.
Joerg Deisinger, Bonfire's former bassist, released a book in 2008 called Fire And Fame. It was co-written with Carl Begai, who is living in Toronto and was my means to get the book much faster than others whom made orders (also was lucky to get his and Joerg's autograph!). It is a terrific read and is not a tell-all book, but a biography of Joerg's life, most centred on his career as a musician. He wrote about Bonfire's public relations problems, which was right from day 1 but only became a major problem when BMG decided to not release any more Bonfire albums in North America, starting with the 1989 release of Point Blank (a GREAT follow-up to Fireworks). Even with the first two albums that did get North American release, the problem was not many were pressed and record stores only ordered the bare minimum. As Joerg stated in one chapter, if the manager/owner ordered 100 units he did his job....he didn't have to push to sell the record if he didn't like the band or couldn't be bothered. There was more but I am not going to write everything here. So basically the band, which had great music and a growing fanbase, was swept aside and told that they weren't going to make it on the big stages of North America. Meanwhile they were huge in Europe and had no support to expand elsewhere.
So here we are, it's 2010 and it is still happening. Bonfire continues to play as headliners at various venues, have sold out their rock opera performances (The Rauber) every time. New music....heck GREAT MUSIC.....is being released by them more than the other "mainstream" bands like Def Leppard, Dokken, Kiss, Aerosmith and Van Halen (and who says these guys' new albums are any good?). Yet no one will support Bonfire's step into North America.
So I had given up on trying to convince Cornwall radio stations and festivals to play Bonfire for a time....but I did get a new boost that made me feel there might be a chance someday. Where I work, we keep the radio on. Finally, after we were able to predict what songs our local stations were going to play (seems it is ALWAYS the same ones) I got POed and put on one of Bonfire's CDs. Everyone liked it so I brought more in. Then on a suggestion from a co-worker, we called up the Virgin radio station in Ottawa, since that signal was coming in clearly, and to my suprise not only did they play Sword And Stone by Bonfire, but also one of their new ones, What's On Your Mind?. I went home and looked up the Virgin radio station's web site for Ottawa and there I saw a blessing. They have available for requests 19 of the 33 Bonfire releases...especially the best albums, in my opinion. So needless to say our industrial plant no long tunes in to local stations. It is not because our stations refuse to even consider playing Bonfire but because their catelogue is recycled too much and repetitive without being open to something new. It's pretty bad when you hear "Missin' You", "Hot 'N' Cold" and that cover version of "I Want To Know What Love Is" three times on the same station in a 12 hour period.
So let's end like how we started, reflecting back to 1988, Minneapolis and Roxette as our examples. If it was done back then it can certainly be done today. If a Cornwall radio station took a chance and played any of the more recent Bonfire songs, it could be the crack in the doorway that the band needs to make a full return to North America, a revival of their fan base here along with more sales and radio requests. Wouldn't that be nice?
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Bret Hart Resigns To The WWE
The big news in the sports world on Wednesday had nothing to do with Tiger Woods....not even with golf. Pro Wrestling got some positive spin to it on December 16th and it was also a shocking announcement involving one of the most influential pro wrestling personalities of the 1990s, Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
My wife is a big wrestling fan, has been since she was 5 years old when she got interested in International Wrestling (a Montreal territory organization). I knew her interest long befoe we dated and I did have a passing interest in it. That being that on Saturdays when the cartoons were done at Noon, WWF aired a one hour show that I would watch while eating lunch. If you asked me who the personel in the federation were I coul only give you the big names. I did hve an advantage over my wife though and it began in the late 1970s when I lived in Calgary.
I don't remember how often I went to Stampede Wrestling but I do know my mom took me a couple of times and I remember this big scary man walking up and down the aisles asking how everyone was and if they were enjoying the program. Turned out that was Stu Hart, but I didn't know. So when I went to those events I had seen this newbie wrestler, one of Stu's sons named Bret. Ask me howhe wrestled, what colour tights he wore and who he fought I couldn't answer. I was no more than 9 years old and in all honesty it was not omething I was truely interested in. My wife use to quiz me a lot when I told her I saw the "Pink & Black Attack" in Calgary, but she realized I remembered nothing of that.
Anyway, when we got together I was subjected to WWF on a weekly basis. I even skipped school to buy front row (or near front row) tickets when I would find out when WWF was coming to Cornwall. She had three favourites in wrestling, Ric Flair (who was mostly in the NWA/WCW) and the Hart Foundation, including into that the British Bulldogs (the two guys were Hart family members by marriage like Jim Neidhart was). Whever they were on TV, all the world stopped so he could watch. In fact the day of our wedding, as she was getting ready she stopped the hair dresser and make-up person so she could spend an hour watching WWF's Action Zone. Her interest in that was so big that later on when she was pregnant I put a stop to her watching wrestling at all in case she got too excited and went into early labour. I wasn't heartless though, I did tape every televised program and Pay-Per-View for both the WWF and WCW so she wouldn't miss anything. Then came something no one....not anyone on this planet who had even a fleeting interest in wrestling could have anticipated.
Everyone knows about the infamous Montreal Screw Job. If you don't, here's a link to read about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Screwjob
Basically Bret was told that the WWF couldn't afford his contract, to renegotiate with WCW and take their offr. He did so and was scheduled to leave the WWF, his home for almost 20 years, soon after the Survior Series PPV. Before the Screwjob happened, the plan was for the PPV match to be a disqualification because DX and the Hart Foundtion were to storm the ring during the Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart fight. In Ottawa on Raw the following day, Bret was to and over the title because he felt ashamed of how the match ended, leaving the title vacant. In a taping of Raw for next week, being held in Cornwall the next day, there was to be a tage match between Bret and Owen Hart against Michaels and Triple H then an announcement that a tournament was to take place for the vacated title, which Bret would not be involved in. Then after that, well I never heard anything except that Bret would eventually disappear and reappear on WCW.
When you read what happened in Montreal, you'd scratch your head. This is the city where NHL fans riot when the Canadiens lose the playoffs....or wins! Who is crazy enough to do the screwjob there? Obviously the WWF, now known as the WWE. If you read the Wiki entry, you'll see how fans reacted off-air and after the event. Michaels and Triple H should feel lucky that they got out of town alive. And when Shawn promised Bret he would protest the being champ and refused to go out on Monday with the belt and wouldn't make fun of Bret....what did he do? The complete opposite.
Ok, enough of the negative on that event. Eventually Bret did ok in WCW (but no one knew what to do with him in a program) but after getting a concussion it was over. His wrestling career was done and his life spiralled. He did find ways to deal with the problems in his life in time and even came out with a very good and honest autobiography of himself. It has been claimed to be THE BEST wrestling biography ever published. There were teases in the past about Bret returing to the WWE, like when he was inducted into their Hall Of fame (Michaels showed respect by leaving before Bret took the podium, btw). Then there was his taped promo for one of the Raw programs that was a McMahon Appreciation Night for which he gave his feelings on Vince (classic). But we never saw a full return to regular programing.
On December 14th, Dennis Miller was the guest host of Raw and during a Slammy Award presentation, Vince asked him who he would think would be a good future Raw Guest Host. Miller dropped the bomb fans wanted to hear...."What about Bret Hart?" Vince looked none too pleased and said "Last time Bret was here, Bret screwed Bret." Miller continued to rally the fans in attendence and it was clear, WWE fans would love to see Bret as a guest host. Vince stormed off the stage.....Was this just Miller pushing buttons he knew would cause a stir or was this a play, to build up to asking Bret to appear?
Obviously th answer is the build up. Vince was the one who put the ball in Dennis' court. He's never asked other people live on camera who should be a guest host. Then of course were the rumours for the last few months and interviewers asking Bret if he plans to go back to the WWE. His answer always avoided that question. Now the truth is known.
December 16, 2009....it became public knowledge that Bret Hart had signed to a deal with the WWE to be an on-air personality from January 1, 2010 up to mid-April. Now the speculation has begun. First was the Dennis/Vince bomb and now it was announced that for Smackdown on December 25th, DX will be wrestling the Hart Dynasty. For those wondering, the Hart Dynasty is made up of Harry Smith (son of Davey Boy Smith, the British Bulldog and nephew to Bret), Natalya Neidhart (daughter of Jim Neidhart, neice of Bret) and Tyson Kidd (boyfriend of Natalya and last graduate of the Hart Dungeon). They claim it is "to right a wrong that was done years ago." Some weeks ago DX and the Hart Dyansty had a fanstasic match together on Raw. The Harts lost but both teams came out of that match with positive praises for a match well done. Now there is a rematch, played out like this match never happened. It is just to lay the foundation for Bret returning. Speculation is for January 4, 2010 s a Raw Guest Host. Why then?
A few weeks ago, Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (TNA) formed a partnership with Eric Bishoff and then with Hulk Hogan. As part of this deal, the "team" managed to get a timeslot for a 3 hours program on January 4th, going head to head with WWE's Raw show. Hogan and Dixie Carter (TNA President) claimed this would be TNA's first shot at the WWE for a new Monday Night War. On that date to have Bret Hart reappear on WWE would totally kill all expectations for TNA's plan to take the audience away from WWE. The return of Bret Hart to the WWE is FAR bigger news and TV to watch than to see yet another endless return of Hulk Hogan to your TV. The qustion now is how will this relate to Bret interacting (on and off screen) with TripleH and Shawn Michaels, the two major instigators of the Screwjob? Guess we'll all find out. Health wise though, Bret should not get involved in wrestling. A concussion and stroke nand two things you should not screw around with. Whatever he does, my wife is at least happy.
My wife is a big wrestling fan, has been since she was 5 years old when she got interested in International Wrestling (a Montreal territory organization). I knew her interest long befoe we dated and I did have a passing interest in it. That being that on Saturdays when the cartoons were done at Noon, WWF aired a one hour show that I would watch while eating lunch. If you asked me who the personel in the federation were I coul only give you the big names. I did hve an advantage over my wife though and it began in the late 1970s when I lived in Calgary.
I don't remember how often I went to Stampede Wrestling but I do know my mom took me a couple of times and I remember this big scary man walking up and down the aisles asking how everyone was and if they were enjoying the program. Turned out that was Stu Hart, but I didn't know. So when I went to those events I had seen this newbie wrestler, one of Stu's sons named Bret. Ask me howhe wrestled, what colour tights he wore and who he fought I couldn't answer. I was no more than 9 years old and in all honesty it was not omething I was truely interested in. My wife use to quiz me a lot when I told her I saw the "Pink & Black Attack" in Calgary, but she realized I remembered nothing of that.
Anyway, when we got together I was subjected to WWF on a weekly basis. I even skipped school to buy front row (or near front row) tickets when I would find out when WWF was coming to Cornwall. She had three favourites in wrestling, Ric Flair (who was mostly in the NWA/WCW) and the Hart Foundation, including into that the British Bulldogs (the two guys were Hart family members by marriage like Jim Neidhart was). Whever they were on TV, all the world stopped so he could watch. In fact the day of our wedding, as she was getting ready she stopped the hair dresser and make-up person so she could spend an hour watching WWF's Action Zone. Her interest in that was so big that later on when she was pregnant I put a stop to her watching wrestling at all in case she got too excited and went into early labour. I wasn't heartless though, I did tape every televised program and Pay-Per-View for both the WWF and WCW so she wouldn't miss anything. Then came something no one....not anyone on this planet who had even a fleeting interest in wrestling could have anticipated.
Everyone knows about the infamous Montreal Screw Job. If you don't, here's a link to read about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Screwjob
Basically Bret was told that the WWF couldn't afford his contract, to renegotiate with WCW and take their offr. He did so and was scheduled to leave the WWF, his home for almost 20 years, soon after the Survior Series PPV. Before the Screwjob happened, the plan was for the PPV match to be a disqualification because DX and the Hart Foundtion were to storm the ring during the Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart fight. In Ottawa on Raw the following day, Bret was to and over the title because he felt ashamed of how the match ended, leaving the title vacant. In a taping of Raw for next week, being held in Cornwall the next day, there was to be a tage match between Bret and Owen Hart against Michaels and Triple H then an announcement that a tournament was to take place for the vacated title, which Bret would not be involved in. Then after that, well I never heard anything except that Bret would eventually disappear and reappear on WCW.
When you read what happened in Montreal, you'd scratch your head. This is the city where NHL fans riot when the Canadiens lose the playoffs....or wins! Who is crazy enough to do the screwjob there? Obviously the WWF, now known as the WWE. If you read the Wiki entry, you'll see how fans reacted off-air and after the event. Michaels and Triple H should feel lucky that they got out of town alive. And when Shawn promised Bret he would protest the being champ and refused to go out on Monday with the belt and wouldn't make fun of Bret....what did he do? The complete opposite.
Ok, enough of the negative on that event. Eventually Bret did ok in WCW (but no one knew what to do with him in a program) but after getting a concussion it was over. His wrestling career was done and his life spiralled. He did find ways to deal with the problems in his life in time and even came out with a very good and honest autobiography of himself. It has been claimed to be THE BEST wrestling biography ever published. There were teases in the past about Bret returing to the WWE, like when he was inducted into their Hall Of fame (Michaels showed respect by leaving before Bret took the podium, btw). Then there was his taped promo for one of the Raw programs that was a McMahon Appreciation Night for which he gave his feelings on Vince (classic). But we never saw a full return to regular programing.
On December 14th, Dennis Miller was the guest host of Raw and during a Slammy Award presentation, Vince asked him who he would think would be a good future Raw Guest Host. Miller dropped the bomb fans wanted to hear...."What about Bret Hart?" Vince looked none too pleased and said "Last time Bret was here, Bret screwed Bret." Miller continued to rally the fans in attendence and it was clear, WWE fans would love to see Bret as a guest host. Vince stormed off the stage.....Was this just Miller pushing buttons he knew would cause a stir or was this a play, to build up to asking Bret to appear?
Obviously th answer is the build up. Vince was the one who put the ball in Dennis' court. He's never asked other people live on camera who should be a guest host. Then of course were the rumours for the last few months and interviewers asking Bret if he plans to go back to the WWE. His answer always avoided that question. Now the truth is known.
December 16, 2009....it became public knowledge that Bret Hart had signed to a deal with the WWE to be an on-air personality from January 1, 2010 up to mid-April. Now the speculation has begun. First was the Dennis/Vince bomb and now it was announced that for Smackdown on December 25th, DX will be wrestling the Hart Dynasty. For those wondering, the Hart Dynasty is made up of Harry Smith (son of Davey Boy Smith, the British Bulldog and nephew to Bret), Natalya Neidhart (daughter of Jim Neidhart, neice of Bret) and Tyson Kidd (boyfriend of Natalya and last graduate of the Hart Dungeon). They claim it is "to right a wrong that was done years ago." Some weeks ago DX and the Hart Dyansty had a fanstasic match together on Raw. The Harts lost but both teams came out of that match with positive praises for a match well done. Now there is a rematch, played out like this match never happened. It is just to lay the foundation for Bret returning. Speculation is for January 4, 2010 s a Raw Guest Host. Why then?
A few weeks ago, Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (TNA) formed a partnership with Eric Bishoff and then with Hulk Hogan. As part of this deal, the "team" managed to get a timeslot for a 3 hours program on January 4th, going head to head with WWE's Raw show. Hogan and Dixie Carter (TNA President) claimed this would be TNA's first shot at the WWE for a new Monday Night War. On that date to have Bret Hart reappear on WWE would totally kill all expectations for TNA's plan to take the audience away from WWE. The return of Bret Hart to the WWE is FAR bigger news and TV to watch than to see yet another endless return of Hulk Hogan to your TV. The qustion now is how will this relate to Bret interacting (on and off screen) with TripleH and Shawn Michaels, the two major instigators of the Screwjob? Guess we'll all find out. Health wise though, Bret should not get involved in wrestling. A concussion and stroke nand two things you should not screw around with. Whatever he does, my wife is at least happy.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Is Highway 138 Dangerous...Or Is It The Drivers?
I was up in Ottawa last week to do a bit of research and shopping. On the way home the weather started getting bad as a second snow storm came through. On Highway 417 it wasn't bad at all. Once I got to Tayside on Highway 138 though, there were white outs, snow drifts and all around dangerous condisitions. I was still able to travel between 70 and 80 kph so that wasn't bad timing nor control either. Still from there to Cornwall I was passed by 14 cars/trucks and 3 tractortrailers. Most either dangerously came close to my vehicle as it passed or quickly cut me off re-entering the southbound lane. I was livid, especially by the transports passing me, but I had to maintain control of the car so I just grumbled and carried on. I did see on the way home between Monkland and St. Andrews 5 vehicles in the ditch and one transport that went too far to the right and was stuck in a huge drift. I couldn't tell, but I had hoped those were the idiots that passed me. While they were stuck there I arrived at home, 5 - 10 minutes later than I had originally planned before the storm rolled in. I couldn't help but remember past statements about Highway 138. Many in the political and general public have called the highway dangerous, unsafe and in need of either widenning to 4 lanes, cut off from having so many intersections or installing a few passing lanes similar to old Highway 17 to Hawkesbury and Highway 15 to Kingston. Is that really the problem though?
I have driven on the 138 for 21 years and it has only been in the last 10 that there has been public outcry. Coincidentally that is how long I have noticed drivers have become more brazen, arrogent and careless in their vehicles. People are going through stop signs, slowing down at red lights then zipping through, not yeilding the right of way, cutting off other drivers, speeding, etc. In no way am I saying I am the best driver on the road, I am however a damn good driver overall. I admit that my one infraction is speeding, doing 10 kms over the speed limit, but that's it. I have been in four accidents in my life, the first I was hit by a drunk driver, the second I was cut off by a driver who was in the middle lane and suddenly decided to make a left turn right in my path without looking to see that I was next to her bumper. Third was one that was an act of weather conditions when I couldn't stop while coming down an overpass and I rearended the person in front of me (no tickets issued, but my insurance deemed me at fault). The last one I was waiting to pull out of a parking lot when someone backed out of their parking space and rammed me dead on in the middle of my car.
So back to the 138. Every time I drive on it I go 90 kph, 10 more than posted. I am always passed by many drivers and of late even nuts that pass when it is a double line or solid on our side. I had the road once to myself and out of the blue a set of headlight quickly came up behind me. The jerk passed and then disappeared into the night ahead of me. About 5 minutes later I saw an OPP car on the side with his speed gun out. made me wonder what happened to Speedy that passed me. Anyway, myself and many others have said it, Highway 138 is a good, well maintained road....so long as you obey the rules of the road. Those that complain are the ones who pass other at any time, speed at alarming numbers and end up causing accidents.
Two month ago, I was surprised to see a car speeding up to my bumper, pass me without signalling, go back in the lane in front of me without signalling and drive off into the distance. I won't say who it was by name but I will say that the driver was a well-known Cornwall Council member who has been on record as saying that the 138 is dangerous and needs to be widened or the speed limit raised. Well no wonder, this politician is one of those in the percentages of being part of the dangerous drivers of the 138 problem!!
Years ago I witnessed the aftermath of a collision on the 138. I saw the yellow tarp inside one car and, with my policing studies background I realized it was covering a body. I later learned in the media that it was a mother and child who were hit dead on by an impatient driver passing a transport truck on a double line section of the road. That was gruesome, especially when I learned that the one who caused the accident lived without even a scratch on them and that the judicial system only gave him a minute fine. Knowing that story and many others, you'd think people would be more careful....nope, they just don't care because it didn't happen to them therefore they carry on with how they drive. I was a bit wild when I got my license and what calmed me down was that run in with that drunk driver (and other things involved from that accident that I had to fight about). 2 years of being a driver and I realized some of the stunts I was doing was not safe to my passengers or other drivers, no matter how well I was a driver.
So does the 138 need improvements? Serious, there are just two problems that I see. The portion from Cornwall Centre Road and St. Andrews West should be just a regular road and a new by-pass should be built from the north end of Brookdale Avenue to merge back to the highway north of St. Andrews West and that CPR crossing in Monkland. It's like you are driving through a rock garden there. Otherwise, no...the road is pretty much in great shape. Should the road be widenned? Maybe it does need a passing lane in a couple of spots due to farmers running their equipment on the road. Should it be a 400 series highway? OMG, no way!!!!! Should the speed limit be higher? Maybe....but always remember that no matter what is posted, some drivers just go faster. What is needed is more police presence in unmarked cars and serious infractions should not be just let off with a warning but met with fines.
Some of you may be reading this and saying BAH!!!! Well think of this just for a moment. Your kid is out driving somewhere. Suddenly the phone rings and it is the police saying there was a terrible accident and you are needed at the hospital. You get there and find out they had passed away, killed in a car accident that was caused by a reckless driver ignoring the rules of the road. Tell me how you will feel about your own driving practices after going through that?
Remember, the speed limit is 80 kph, pass other cars when it is a broken line for your side of the road and when it is clear of oncoming traffic and always respect other drivers, even the idiots. You'll get to where you are going safely and in one piece. Heck, maybe all our insurance rates will finally go down with better driving skills. What scares me is seeing that there are others that don't give a damn....just watch any season of Canada's Worst Drivers on the Discovery Channel. OMG, how could those people have a licence??????
I have driven on the 138 for 21 years and it has only been in the last 10 that there has been public outcry. Coincidentally that is how long I have noticed drivers have become more brazen, arrogent and careless in their vehicles. People are going through stop signs, slowing down at red lights then zipping through, not yeilding the right of way, cutting off other drivers, speeding, etc. In no way am I saying I am the best driver on the road, I am however a damn good driver overall. I admit that my one infraction is speeding, doing 10 kms over the speed limit, but that's it. I have been in four accidents in my life, the first I was hit by a drunk driver, the second I was cut off by a driver who was in the middle lane and suddenly decided to make a left turn right in my path without looking to see that I was next to her bumper. Third was one that was an act of weather conditions when I couldn't stop while coming down an overpass and I rearended the person in front of me (no tickets issued, but my insurance deemed me at fault). The last one I was waiting to pull out of a parking lot when someone backed out of their parking space and rammed me dead on in the middle of my car.
So back to the 138. Every time I drive on it I go 90 kph, 10 more than posted. I am always passed by many drivers and of late even nuts that pass when it is a double line or solid on our side. I had the road once to myself and out of the blue a set of headlight quickly came up behind me. The jerk passed and then disappeared into the night ahead of me. About 5 minutes later I saw an OPP car on the side with his speed gun out. made me wonder what happened to Speedy that passed me. Anyway, myself and many others have said it, Highway 138 is a good, well maintained road....so long as you obey the rules of the road. Those that complain are the ones who pass other at any time, speed at alarming numbers and end up causing accidents.
Two month ago, I was surprised to see a car speeding up to my bumper, pass me without signalling, go back in the lane in front of me without signalling and drive off into the distance. I won't say who it was by name but I will say that the driver was a well-known Cornwall Council member who has been on record as saying that the 138 is dangerous and needs to be widened or the speed limit raised. Well no wonder, this politician is one of those in the percentages of being part of the dangerous drivers of the 138 problem!!
Years ago I witnessed the aftermath of a collision on the 138. I saw the yellow tarp inside one car and, with my policing studies background I realized it was covering a body. I later learned in the media that it was a mother and child who were hit dead on by an impatient driver passing a transport truck on a double line section of the road. That was gruesome, especially when I learned that the one who caused the accident lived without even a scratch on them and that the judicial system only gave him a minute fine. Knowing that story and many others, you'd think people would be more careful....nope, they just don't care because it didn't happen to them therefore they carry on with how they drive. I was a bit wild when I got my license and what calmed me down was that run in with that drunk driver (and other things involved from that accident that I had to fight about). 2 years of being a driver and I realized some of the stunts I was doing was not safe to my passengers or other drivers, no matter how well I was a driver.
So does the 138 need improvements? Serious, there are just two problems that I see. The portion from Cornwall Centre Road and St. Andrews West should be just a regular road and a new by-pass should be built from the north end of Brookdale Avenue to merge back to the highway north of St. Andrews West and that CPR crossing in Monkland. It's like you are driving through a rock garden there. Otherwise, no...the road is pretty much in great shape. Should the road be widenned? Maybe it does need a passing lane in a couple of spots due to farmers running their equipment on the road. Should it be a 400 series highway? OMG, no way!!!!! Should the speed limit be higher? Maybe....but always remember that no matter what is posted, some drivers just go faster. What is needed is more police presence in unmarked cars and serious infractions should not be just let off with a warning but met with fines.
Some of you may be reading this and saying BAH!!!! Well think of this just for a moment. Your kid is out driving somewhere. Suddenly the phone rings and it is the police saying there was a terrible accident and you are needed at the hospital. You get there and find out they had passed away, killed in a car accident that was caused by a reckless driver ignoring the rules of the road. Tell me how you will feel about your own driving practices after going through that?
Remember, the speed limit is 80 kph, pass other cars when it is a broken line for your side of the road and when it is clear of oncoming traffic and always respect other drivers, even the idiots. You'll get to where you are going safely and in one piece. Heck, maybe all our insurance rates will finally go down with better driving skills. What scares me is seeing that there are others that don't give a damn....just watch any season of Canada's Worst Drivers on the Discovery Channel. OMG, how could those people have a licence??????
Sunday, November 29, 2009
She's Back Home - And My Life Gets Organized
Melissa's back home now. Things didn't go all as originally planned for the last few days she spent here, but she had a good time at least. She had thought there was an immediate train leaving for here from Montreal in the early afternoon but had a surprise, there was a good 3 hours between trains so she had to find things to do without missing that one. So Sunday's exploration of our immediate area was put off until Monday, which we did. I think her highlight was either the Cornwall Jail or St. Raphel's Church. Then that evening we took her back to Ottawa so she can take her VERY early flight back home. LOTS of fog so many flights were cancelled that night and the hotels were packed with irritated airport users. I said my goodbyes to Mel and wished her well, hoping to see her again when we both get the chance.
Tuesday I had to work and my wife stood by to hear on Mel's safe trip home....no calls though. Then I got home, checked the Ottawa and Calgary airports for departure/arrival times and got a mixed answer. Ottawa said her flight took off early while Calgary said it was cancelled. After a few inquiries to Mel and her sister by e-mail, I was relieved to learn she got home safely. Original flight cancelled so she did a layover hop in Toronto....an experience she does not want to repeat. Point of the matter, she's back home, safe and sound and I hope well relaxed from her trip.
I also did a bit of "cleaning house" in my life. The last few months I became involved in MANY issues and groups and you know that old saying.....if you spread yourself out too much, everything you are involved in will suffer. That's the truth and it took me getting ill to realize I had to get my priorities straight, regardless of how I feel about some things. I knew that things at home with my family, work and the municipal heritage group were my important things so I dropped everything else. My wife recently had major surgery, my son needed his parents for homework help and work needed me several times to be called in....all were suffering so enough was enough. My focus is back on track and amazingly in this first week I actually have time to myself, something I haven't had in a few months.
Tuesday I had to work and my wife stood by to hear on Mel's safe trip home....no calls though. Then I got home, checked the Ottawa and Calgary airports for departure/arrival times and got a mixed answer. Ottawa said her flight took off early while Calgary said it was cancelled. After a few inquiries to Mel and her sister by e-mail, I was relieved to learn she got home safely. Original flight cancelled so she did a layover hop in Toronto....an experience she does not want to repeat. Point of the matter, she's back home, safe and sound and I hope well relaxed from her trip.
I also did a bit of "cleaning house" in my life. The last few months I became involved in MANY issues and groups and you know that old saying.....if you spread yourself out too much, everything you are involved in will suffer. That's the truth and it took me getting ill to realize I had to get my priorities straight, regardless of how I feel about some things. I knew that things at home with my family, work and the municipal heritage group were my important things so I dropped everything else. My wife recently had major surgery, my son needed his parents for homework help and work needed me several times to be called in....all were suffering so enough was enough. My focus is back on track and amazingly in this first week I actually have time to myself, something I haven't had in a few months.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
An Old Friend Over For a Visit
2006 was a busy year for me. I achieved to be in charge of the municipal heritage group, I cemented some great contacts for my research and I managed to renew old friendships with high school pals whom meant a lot to me back then. I thought that would be the crowning achievement but what capped off the year was meeting for the first time face to face in 25 years with my only childhood friend that I cared about. I already wrote at length about how we got back in contact when we were 17 and how that meeting in Belleville went, even if it was just for seven hours. The fact was that she specifically took a day out of her week trip to Toronto to meet up with me and that meant a lot.
Now 3 years later circumstances have brought about an opportunity. Melissa had some time to herself and I had joked that now would be a good time for her to come my way to visit. Three weeks later I have a house guest. Mel decided to go for the trip idea and what started out as just a passing statement, serious plans were made between us and now she's here. I finally was able to introduce her to my wife and son and later she'll meet my mother and brother again. So far I would have to say that everything went well. She arrived on Tuesday and stayed in Ottawa to do a bit of her own site-seeing. Wednesday we went up to get her, did a couple of Ottawa places and brought her to Cornwall. Thursday she spent the time seeing things between Iroquois and Kingston and Friday it was Montreal viewing. She's still there today and will return to Cornwall tomorrow. Plans are that we'll check out immediate area stuff, visit my mother and brother, then Monday check a site or two then back to Ottawa to look at any last minute sites before she checks in to her hotel. Then Tuesday she's headed back to Calgary.
So far I would have to say it has been great having the extended time together. We have been able to comfortably talk about a lot of things about ourselves, have some laughs, look at some serious matters and, above all, just relax and have a good time. It may not be the ideal time to be here due to many places having limited hours of being open or are closed for the season, but the company is great.
Well, today's the Christmas Parade and unfortunately she'll be missing it, but I also hope that her visit with other friends in Montreal is going well on such a beautiful day like today. Maybe she'll come back and bring the kids with her. Although it is now my turn to get me and my family to go westward to visit her.
Now 3 years later circumstances have brought about an opportunity. Melissa had some time to herself and I had joked that now would be a good time for her to come my way to visit. Three weeks later I have a house guest. Mel decided to go for the trip idea and what started out as just a passing statement, serious plans were made between us and now she's here. I finally was able to introduce her to my wife and son and later she'll meet my mother and brother again. So far I would have to say that everything went well. She arrived on Tuesday and stayed in Ottawa to do a bit of her own site-seeing. Wednesday we went up to get her, did a couple of Ottawa places and brought her to Cornwall. Thursday she spent the time seeing things between Iroquois and Kingston and Friday it was Montreal viewing. She's still there today and will return to Cornwall tomorrow. Plans are that we'll check out immediate area stuff, visit my mother and brother, then Monday check a site or two then back to Ottawa to look at any last minute sites before she checks in to her hotel. Then Tuesday she's headed back to Calgary.
So far I would have to say it has been great having the extended time together. We have been able to comfortably talk about a lot of things about ourselves, have some laughs, look at some serious matters and, above all, just relax and have a good time. It may not be the ideal time to be here due to many places having limited hours of being open or are closed for the season, but the company is great.
Well, today's the Christmas Parade and unfortunately she'll be missing it, but I also hope that her visit with other friends in Montreal is going well on such a beautiful day like today. Maybe she'll come back and bring the kids with her. Although it is now my turn to get me and my family to go westward to visit her.
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