Grey Cup Heartache

There is no joy in Gopherville. The mighty Riders have crapped out.

Montreal 21, Saskatchewan 18. We Westerners must now slink away, bind up our wounds and bide our time . . . .

Next year! *shakes fist* The Cup, it will be ours.

It's Grey Cup Weekend!

The Canadian Football League championship game is being played this Sunday in Edmonton and apparently we're all Hot to Huddle! Because that's the only way to keep warm at the outdoor game . . . well, apart from lots of booze and 10 layers of winter clothing. In 2002, the last time Edmonton hosted the Grey Cup, the slogan was Party in Your Parka! Heh heh heh.

Actually, the weather forecast for Sunday afternoon's game is a balmy -5°C, which is pretty darn good considering that it was -28°C just a couple of nights ago.

This year the Big Game is between the Montreal Alouettes (Eastern Canada Champions) and the Saskatchewan Roughriders (Western Canada Champions) -- the same teams as last year. And it'll be a real grudge match too. Being a Westerner, I must (of course) cheer for Saskatchewan. Go Riders Go!

The Lion Tamer

Does this guy have the best job in the world or what?



And a tip o' my hat to A Rose Is A Rose at ravings of a semi-sane madwoman where I first saw this video (together with the Cuteness Overload Kitty on Monday)! She always posts interesting stuff, so be sure to go check out her blog!

License Plate Hijinks

Last week, Brahm at alfred lives here had a funny post about vanity plates, including a link to photos of some "best" and "worst" ones. His post reminded me of an infamous license plate that was issued in Winnipeg about 30 years ago when I was in university, so I thought I would share that story today.

Here in Canada, all license plates (regular and vanity) are pre-screened by the province to ensure that they do not contain swear words, sexual imagery, discriminatory insults or prejudicial slurs. But one such license plate slipped by Manitoba officials. And it wasn't even a vanity plate -- it was just a regular alphanumeric licence plate. It read: 69 AAH

Everyone heard of and laughed about that plate. I thought it was just an urban legend until one day when I actually saw it for myself! The plate was on a car driven by an older, sweet-looking, white-haired couple who probably had no idea of their license plate's double entendre. Or maybe they knew exactly what it meant and thought it was hilarious!

Never underestimate the elderly.

Monday Morning Overdose of CUTE!

Start your week off right by watching this!

Oh, those big black eyes and that crazy tail! Who knew a McDonald's bag could be so much fun?

Helloooo Winter!

So, winter has finally descended on us here in Edmonton. We had a nice long autumn with some beautiful weather, but the past couple of days has swept that away. Now we have lots of snow, painfully slow driving conditions and frigid temperatures. The kind of weather that makes you yearn for a vacation in warmer climes . . . now that's the real Canadian Dream!

Oh, Four Tuna

One of my favourite modern classical cantatas is Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. He composed the music in mid-1930s Germany, using for the libretto a series of secular medieval poems written in Latin which largely concern boozing, gluttony, gambling and lust -- things which never go out of style! The best known movement is O Fortuna concerning the fickleness of fate.

Last weekend over at PENolan's blog Menopausal Stoners, I saw an absolutely hilarious video of O Fortuna's misheard lyrics. Here it is for your listening pleasure but I warn you -- you'll never hear O Fortuna quite the same way again!



To see O Fortuna's real lyrics in Latin and English, click here.