The Tour of Shame II ?

The time: July 11th 1998.
The place: down the hill from Christchurch Catheral, outside a pub on the banks of the River Liffey.
The occasion: the prologue time trial for the Tour De France.
We got there early and stood for hours, along with 200,000 others to watch Chris Boardman win.
The next day was a loop through the countryside around Dublin.
The third stage was Dublin to Cork and then off to France(they didn't cycle that part).
I know it's called the Tour De France and Dublin is not in France. There are often stages outside France and next year 2007 Tour de France will start by weaving its way past London's best known landmarks, then continue to Canterbury.
The rest of the 1998 Tour was best known for the drug scandal which saw the whole of the Festina team out of the race and it became known as the Tour of Shame.
The next year, a few days before the Tour started, as I was channel surfing the TV I flicked on to Eurosport just as a Texan was being interviewed. I don't know what made me listen to the interview, maybe it was the way he talked but 20 seconds into the interview I knew this was the man who was going to win the tour that year.
That year was the first of Lance Armstrong's record 7 wins.
Why didn't I put some money on it in '99?
Every year for the past 7 years, three weeks in July have been The Tour and this year was going to be strange without Lance.
Now with more doping scandal and the exclusion of both the other podium finishers from last year, Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, and fourth place Franciso Mancebo, it's looking like a very poor tour before it even starts tomorrow.
One whole team, Astana-Wurth(used to Liberty Seguros who have withdrawn sponsorship) may not be able to start as there will be less than the minimum number of riders.

I'll still be watching and cheering for George Hincapie this year.
Here he is on the left, with Lance.

But will it be a Tour to watch?

Du, Deh Du Du Du Du Du Du Du

right at this minute there is a storm right over my house.
The rain is coming down in sheets, you know the sort of rain that bounces back up?
Thunder, lightening the whole deal. So I got my camera to try to capture the moment.
I've seen those cool photos of lightning.
Yeah, not so easy to do from your back door.
And rain, even in sheets, doesn't show up (that's why they used milk in Singin' in the Rain doncha know).
Don't think I'll even show my attempt to get the flash of lightning, here is my other effort.










yeah, I know don't give up the day job. oh wait.....

first rule of fight club

"you'll love the area" they said. "It's a really great street" they said.
And it was until yesterday.

My quiet little street has gone a bit mental the last couple of days.
Yesterday I was in the middle of getting a quote for some electrical work when the shouting started from the street. The pounding on next door's aluminium siding sounded almost like it was my house being pounded.
More shouting and door pounding.
The electrician was all for calling the police.
So I went out to see what was going on. Went round to the back door where the noise was shouting and sounds of things breaking was coming from.
I could hear the 17 year old daughter saying stuff like 'just leave' and 'stop it' so I knocked on the back door.
I still wasn't sure what was going on and who else was in the house, so when she looked out the window at me and then walked away I thought there was more than just her and (what was becoming clear from the shouting) her boyfriend or maybe ex.
I knocked again and said 'is everything ok?'
Dumb question, right? they are yelling and screaming at each other and things are being smashed.
Next-door have been great since we moved in, the mother is lovely, has been chaty and even given us lots of plants for our garden, we have gone to local bars with the son to watch the World Cup, even the dog is adorable. But the daughter, not so much.
Barely get a hello out of her.
And now when she finally opens the door to me, with the boyfriend standing right behind her, I wonder what the hell I'm going to say.
So I stick with my tried and tested 'is everything ok? do you need any help?'
'Everything is fine' she tells me.
'Are you sure, because it doesn't really sound like it'
'yes, it's fine' and starts to close the door.
'Ok, but you know where I am if you need me' I say.
'yeah, it's fine' she says and closes the door.
I go back to my house to find the electrician on the phone to the police.
I make an attempt to reassure him that it's not too bad.
The row next door has quietened down.
He finishes his quote (a shed load of money!) and leaves.
Things next door get a bit noisier and some more stuff gets broken and then just as I am debating with myself (and pessimistically trying to think if I could describe the boyfiend if I had to) what to do the (ex)boyfriend comes storming out of the house with a fair amount of blood on his face.
Just as the police car pulls up.
The two police officers stop him and want to know what's going on.
I went back in my house just as the daughter is coming out her back door.
The police put the boyfriend in the back of the car, handcuffed.
The oplice talk to both of them for a while. Then, when they were both talking to him I went back outside to explain to the daughter that I hadn't phoned the police, it was the electrician.
She stood there and listened to me explain that and just kept up with the 'it's alright' line. The police officer came back over and gave me a look so I expained that I lived next door and about the electrician calling it in.
He told me that she had called them herself.
Now I have a question -
Why did she stand there and let me feel guilty that her boyfriend was handcuffed in the back of a police car and not tell me she had called them herself?
So, I walked away.

Today, she was having a row with her mother because she wanted to know what court he was in and her mother was a bitch for not telling her and she might never see him again.


In an unrelated incident some woman was running up and down the street this morning shouting ' love me, love me'.
Iain says she was saying 'fluffy, fluffy' and looking for a lost pet.
which do you believe?

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which one of these opportunities should I go for?

eels




TTMMS today.

Jules Rimet still gleaming?

Who would have thought there were so many Dutch football fans here in Greektown on the Danforth?
Yesterday I was the sole Portugal supporter (all for you Cristina) in the bar, amongst about a dozen Netherlands fans and it certainly confirmed to me why I don't like team sports.
When Figo got elbowed in the face they cheered, every time a Portugese player was diving or hurt or acting up it was 'send him off, time wasting, blah, blah'.
Other way round and the same behaviour from the Dutch was tolerated with not a word of dissent.
I'm not defending the actions of either team, it was a bad tempered game all round and the referee was not in control at all. Both teams should remember that they are supposed to be professionals and are there representing their countries to the world.
If only it was possible to make them all stand in the corner or give them detention or something....

breaking news...

a minor earthquake, measuring 4.6 on the AhForFecksSake scale, hit a house in Toronto earlier today.
Eyewitnesses report the shelf jumped off the wall. Luckily the residents were nowhere near the epicenter. The cause remains a mystery.
No further after shocks are expected, anyway if it all falls down again it can stay there.

grrr

It's some sort of law isn't it?
As soon as you say something doesn't work and demonstrate said defect it only goes and works.
The moment has passed but I'm gonna post these pics anyway.
More Sunset Beach pics, I suppose I can call it a tribute to Aaron Spelling, producer of SB.
http://imdb.com/news/flash/
This is some of the gang, a couple of them look a bit scary...



















and this is another reason I watched, Antonio.
Trust this ex-Catholic, the shots of him after his morning run would almost make you believe there is a god.






Ok so that's the whole Sunset Beach thing out of my system, I'll never mention it again. Probably.

huh?

been having more problems with blogger for the past couple of days.
It just won't upload pictures. It lies like a rug. 'Click done'. Go back to post - nuffin'

The sun set too soon

What I was-afraid-of almost happened. Iain left the TV on when he went to work, I changed the channel only to see a daytime soap opera. I don't know which one, maybe The Bold and the Beautiful or General Hospital. Anyway I found myself watching for 5 minutes and starting to get interested, until I realised it would never be Sunset Beach.
Sunset Beach was the pinnacle of television, the reason FOR television.

I started watching from one of the very early episodes, but even then the special qualities shone through, and it meant I didn't have to do too much catching up, which can be a problem with soaps. Who was married to who, who used to be an international jewel thief, who fell overboard in a storm, all the usual day to day stuff from a town in Southern California.
Sunset Beach had it all, evil long-lost twin brother, check.
Star crossed lovers, check. Mystery disease, corrupt police, fortune teller and a witch doctor, earthquake leading to tidal wave - check, check, check to all of it.
The combined earthquake and tidal wave meant that every one in the cast was involved, from the ones out on the cruise ship turned over by the tidal wave(cue Poseidon rip-off, I mean homage) to the whole Gabi and Antonio trapped in the rubble, alone.... apart from the building surveilence cameras getting the whole thing of them together, did I mention that it was Father Antonio?
There were so many reasons to watch for an hour FIVE days a week(the Saturday omnibus wasn't as good it was only 3 hours so they usually cut out some the the most mental dream sequences). What will Annies latest plot be? Will Casey and Michael go surfing or go to work (as lifeguards)? Will Sean stay in hospital for longer than 2 days after his brain surgery? Will anyone go see any other doctor or will Dr. Tyus treat everyone for everything? Who is going to die on Terror Island? Will Ricardo look like he got dressed in the dark again?
Speaking of Ricardo...



















or rather Detective Torres, brother of Maria(the one lost overboard) and Antonio, was another reason to watch the show....
Shame about his fruit-loop of a mother Carmen who was the fortune teller and always having visions.


Then there was the fan-tas-tic dialogue. Here see for yourself...

Antonio: "We have come here before God and this company to join this man and this woman. If there is anyone here who objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Eddie: "I object, and so should you, Meg. This man's a fraud. He's not Ben."
Meg (looks at Derek): "What?"
Eddie: "He is Ben's evil twin, Derek, and he's just after Ben's money."
Derek: "Meg, it's not true. Don't listen to him."
(Ben comes down the stairs; everyone looks at him.)
Ben: "It's true, Meg. But he's not going to get my money because he doesn't have the password to my bank account. And I'm never going to give it to him."
(Meg looks from Ben to Derek to Eddie; finally, she looks at Antonio.)
Antonio (shrugging): "Don't look at me. I'm just the priest."


Wikipedia here has a pretty good write up on the show and mentions the earthquake/tidal wave storyline line and reminded me of the Jerry Springer episode and the TV show-inspired fantasy sequences, like Charlie's Angels and Friends.

I was so obsessed with the show I even went to the little town where it was filmed. (We were in the area anyway on holiday) in a place called Seal Beach, south of Los Angeles.
When it was cancelled I was disappointed but some fans were very upset. A campaign was started to try to get NBC to change their minds, letter writing and two Sunset Beach Conventions later it was not to be, it finished in the States on December 31st 1999 and suddenly I had an extra 5 hours a week.
I still miss it...

Tuesday Ten

Todays numbers
1. The number of months we have been in our our house - three and a half.
2. The number of boxes of my clothes still not unpacked - 3. Not really my fault, we have very little furniture.
3. My shoe size in England and Ireland - 4 or 5. My shoe size here - 7 or 8.
4. Number of pairs of footwear I own - about 30.
5. The number of keys on my keyring - 2.
6. The TV volume when Iain is not at home - 4.
7. The TV volume when he is home - 8.
8. The number of films I have rated on IMDb - 1909.
9. My average number of times viewing a George Clooney film - 3. This number would be much higher but for the likes of the Magic Bubble, Red Surf, Sunset Beat and Batman and Robin.
10. The number of Buddhists it takes to change a lightbulb - the lightbulb has to want to change.

and the magic 8 ball says

have a recycled title for a post about recycling*.
One of the things that impressed us when we moved here is Toronto's recycling policies.
The rubbish bins(trash cans) in the streets have 3 different sections, for general rubbish one for paper and one for cans. Even the subway stations have recycling containers.
And each house has a range of waste recepticles.
We have blue boxes for, well pretty much everything, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, bottles, cans and all that sort of stuff.
Then there is the green bin, which is for all organics - fruit and vegetables scraps, paper towels, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, the carrots that have been in the vegetable drawer of the fridge for about a month now, you get the idea.
The contents of the green bin are collected every week and go to make garden compost, which is given away on Environment Days.
All great ideas, except.... most of the time the contents of our green bin are all over the back deck because Ronnie, our racoon can open the latch. Usually he does this by very noisily knocking the bin over and sometimes the contents of the blue box too,( late at night because that is when he dines, very sophisticated)
So. I decided to see what the official line was on the racoon problem and if there is something we should be doing differently (our latest thing is a very large rock on top of the bin, seems to have worked last night, I'll keep you posted)
From the City of Toronto Waste Management program website:
which is here
City audit indicates racoons not an issue for Green Bin participants

After the Green Bin Program became established in Etobicoke, the City conducted an audit of 900 homes that bordered either golf courses or ravines to see if animals, such as racoons, were opening the bins and causing a problem. During the four weeks that curbside set-out was observed, only seven bins out of 900 were opened. While one can’t be sure exactly how they were opened or by whom, it appears that racoons were not a problem. The City followed up these findings with a further inquiry to Toronto’s Customer Service staff, who verified that from January to July, there had not been one complaint about racoons getting into green bins from those homes audited.

Either someone is being economical with the truth or we have a special racoon, some sort of Mensa racoon.



*not a real magic 8 ball answer. it wouldn't all fit in that little window. and there wouldn't be too many times it would be a good answer.

and the magic 8 ball says- ask again later

In between avoiding the Employment Resource Centre resident personality and trying to read the same paragraph 3 times I booked a practice interview session.
I was surprised to find there was a spot open for the next day so the summer student, Kevin, booked me in for 3pm.
The next day, after only 3 changes of clothes I'm back in the office at 2.35pm.
Kevin is not on the desk today and everyone is busy, the place is busy, and after a couple of minutes I get to talk to someone who takes a copy of my resume/C.V. and goes off to tell the person doing my interview that I'm in the office.
But then she comes over to me and starts explaining to me that Kevin shouldn't have booked me a spot, she had told everyone in the office not to book that spot but apparently not told Kevin. The reason, she explained, they had planned a *whispers* fire drill.
As she is telling me this, literally 5 seconds after she whispers the words 'fire drill' the fire alarm goes off.
Next thing I know some people are wearing red hard hats and ordering everyone to leave, walk down the stairs beside the inside wall. The office is on the 6th floor and I can hear complaining at having to wallk down all those stairs.
All I can think ?
fer fecks sake, now I can't even get a practice interview!

Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good sign

I am trying to read.
I'm looking at the page and trying to concentrate.
And then it hits me, that the reason this table is the only one free in the Employment Resource Centre is because of the woman at the next table.
She is having a very motivational discussion, full of "I'm the only one" and " no one else" and some muttering I can't hear clearly. She can obviously hear ALL the voices.
I look up from the paragraph I've read twice already to see her grining at me and saying 'hello' like we are long lost friends.
I say a very quick 'hi' and go back to my paragraph and she goes to chat to the photocopier.
I myself have had many chats with photocopiers, usually along the lines of - 'what the hell are you doing? I didn't want that' or 'ouch, that hurt'.
I couldn't quite make out what she was saying to the photocopier, but it was being much nicer to her than it ever has to me, so that's it! I'm never speaking to it again.

Goooaaallll

It's going to be difficult to avoid the World Cup in the coming weeks so, here it is ANOTHER blog post by a woman who knows next to nothing about the beautiful game.

I do actually quite like international football, it's good to see the different styles countries have, just not League football which has too much hatred based on things like the colour of their shirts or supposed regional differences(bit much when most of the players are from all over the world).
Then again that all applies to the World Cup too, so I have just lost my own argument. Moving swiftly on.
It's a shame that Ireland are not in it. I still remember sitting on the edge of my seat watching Pat Bonner save that penalty in 1990.
There is such a mix of people in Toronto that there is bound to be some bar somewhere in the city cheering on their team. So now I just have to pick a team.
Suggestions and a good reason why please.

In the mean time have a look at these links:
ow-ah
more Cantona never-grow-up
this one TheEdge-takes-a-sickie
and this one by Bono abouttheIvoryCoast.

feel my pain

Two minor skirmishes yesterday and a battle today in the SlimeBucket Insurance Company War left me with some bad karma to burn off. The kichen floor was mopped, dishes washed and with no more mindless tasks to do I decided to read some blogs to find a few laughs.

Today it was not to be.
Every second blog I got on the 'next blog' button was a freaking emo site.
The whole nature of a blog has a hint of self obsession to it, assuming that someone wants to spend time reading about our thoughts and day to day ramblings.
But jaysus, these fecking emo's take self obsession to new levels.
First sign you have hit an emo, the music comes on, often Ashlee Simpson.
Then there is the blog layout.
Nine times out of ten they will have removed the next blog button, there will be lots of other stuff cluttering up the place, some 'art' and then the poetry. Oh God the poetry, I'll have to come back to that in a minute.
Everything will be written with loads of abbrevations and text-spell words, such as rofl, omfg, the dreaded lol and ' every1 hates mi wat is thr prob, dey r wrng'.
All in one long stream(never heard of paragraphs) in red text on a black background.
Check list for emo site:
Whinge about how no one understands you or your pain.
Tell everyone how unique you are, in your dark clothes/stripes, black hoody and more eyeliner than necessary(and that's just the boys).
Claim to like bands no one else will have heard of.
Use words like blood, complicated, rage, pain.
Have a nickname to feel more unique and less suicidal.
Have a bit in the intro about how 'if you dont like me or my site then just go away and dont be a hater'.
And the essential photo or five, all taken at arms length of you looking through your fringe.
Got to have a fringe, which covers at least one eye, or for the trully dedicated, both eyes.
And so back to the poetry.
I never had the talent to write poetry so I don't.
Luckily there are sites to_help with that.
Go on, go make poetry.
I'm going now to touch up my eyeliner coz nun of u understands me....

later

Blogger has been down for maintenance almost constantly for the past two days.
I had several witty, fascinating, intelectual and downright brilliant post ideas, with pictures and diagrams and everything.
Can't remember any of them now so it will just have to be the usual stuff instead.

Give me an example of....

Iain left for his interview a little while ago.
Good Luck wishes, everyone.
Yesterday he said he feels sorry for the woman who is going to interview him, actually asking him to talk a lot. She doesn't know what she is letting herself in for.

A desert holiday, hip hip hip hip hooray

According to imdb.com I can postpone my holiday plans..

Clooney and Pitt Close Down Hotel Complex
7 June 2006 (WENN)
George Clooney and Brad Pitt's Las Vegas, Nevada dream is over - their ambitious Las Ramblas hotel complex is dead. Ten months after its much-publicized launch and following multiple rumors about its demise, the Las Ramblas sales office has been closed and the 25-acre plot of land the hotels, casinos and play areas were to stand on has been sold to the developers of the neighboring W Hotel, Casino & Residences for a whopping $202 million. The news has been confirmed by Dan Klores Communications, the New York-based publicity firm representing Las Ramblas. A spokesman says, "We are no longer dealing with that account as I understand the Las Ramblas project is no longer going ahead." Vegas insiders claim rising construction costs are behind the decision to shut down the Las Ramblas venture - a project backed financially by Clooney and Cindy Crawford's restaurateur husband Rande Gerber, and supported by new dad Pitt. Pitt and Clooney were signed onto a boutique project rumored to involve Gerber and Station Casinos on the plot of land currently housing the Wild, Wild West Casino. When the project details were unveiled in 2004, they included 4,400 rooms and 11 high-rise towers. Sin City property watchers now believe Clooney and Gerber will collaborate on a smaller Las Vegas hotel and casino property designed, in part, by architecture fan Pitt.

Another film quote for the title, guesses?

Tuesday's Ten Things

My Ten Favourite Words (*)
1. Vermillion - a bright red pigment. It sounds great and a lot of people don't known what colour it is so that's fun too.
2. Soup - A fun one to say, go on give it a go and really do the pop sound at the end.
3. Antidisestablishmentarianism - everyones fav looooonng word.
4. Effervescent - what a bubbly word. (pause for groan due to painful pun....)
5. Dichotomy - I first learnt this word in my Geography class and used it to death for the next month. Quite a dichotomy with now, as I hardly ever use it.
6. Marmalade - another fun one to say as it coats the mouth. Unfortunately, can't stand the stuff.
7. Obstreperous - Aggressively boisterous according to Dictionary.com. I like to define it as other people's children.
8. Zeitgeist - the spirit of the time. I love it when a word sums up a feeling.
9. Haberdashery - old fashioned clothes shop.Not a word that I have seen used in a long time, will always carry a vision of yellow plastic in the window and half day closing.
10. Sublime - not to be excelled. Great word but can't be used much as it sounds very up it's self.

and
My Ten Least Favourite Words (?grammar) (**)
1. Nice - terrible word, means nothing, I kick myself every time I use it.
2. Moist - ugh. Nasty sound, nasty image.
3. Mangagement speak - proactive, thinking outside the box and all such bollocks, I'm sure you have your own favourite.
4. Phelgm - no explanation required, as I don't want to have to think about this one. Moving on.
5. Awesome - not the word itself but the way it's used. I have seen the Grand Canyon and it is awesome, as in it inspires awe. The way a lot of people use it to describe a t-shirt or the latest teen sensation or chewing gum or.......
6. Turgid - swollen or distended. Not nice pictures in the mind.
7. Whatever - again, not the word itself, more the way it's used. Please stop.
8. lol - sick of it. Cease and desist.
9. Smock and similar Frock - just make my toes curl up.
10. Like - cos, like, people use it, like, all the feckin time, like, and it's like, shit.


* I don't want anyone telling me that some of these are spelt incorrectly or are proper nouns or something. No one like a smart-arse.
** ok, so it's Tuesday's Twenty Things.

hmmm

COULROPHOBIA

A banner outside a sports shop in the Eaton Centre made big claims about their World Cup display.
Iain never needs much encouragement to go into sports shops and this just dragged him in.
The impressive display was one small area with some baseball caps, a few general t-shirts and then some team shirts. There were maybe 10 countries represented, including Ireland who failed to qualify. The hockey section of the shop was twice as big despite the season being as good as finished.
But by far the most disturbing thing about the shop was the small collection of clown horns, you know, the metal hooter with the rubber bulbs? I got cold shivers just looking at it.
71% of the worlds population* are afraid of clowns. It's got an official name, coulrophobia - an 'irrational' fear of clowns. It's not irrational to fear these freaks.
Think about it, they have these fake made-up names, they wear disguises, they like children TOO much and drive around in tiny cars with 7 of their friends all squashed in together.
I don't like clowns(you may have guessed this fact by now) they creep me out and I have never managed to watch all of Stephen King's 'It'.
There is a job website for one of the hospitals that I check a couple of times a week and today for the first time I saw this -
http://www.sickkids.ca/therapeuticclownprogram/
What if I was to get a job in one of the labs there and, say, had to work late, then turned down a corridor and one of the evil horde was there?
I can see the newspaper headlines now....

















thank you, thank you(takes a bow) I'm here all week.

maybe I shouldn't mention any of this in my job application?





* erm yeah, I made that up.

May 31st Vintage

'It's a young wine'.
Bare with me here, I will get to the point.
I got a phone call on Saturday to tell me our wine was ready and yesterday we went to bottle it.
This is our way of, as Skookumjoe would say, sticking it to the man.
There are a lot of taxes in Canada, GST(government sales tax), PST(provincial sales tax) and liquor tax among the few that get added on.
Rewind to 8-9 weeks ago....(do that ripply wiggly fade out thing....)
So one day on the long walk to the LCBO, which are the government run shops where Canadians buy alcohol, I passed a place on Danforth that looked interesting.
I went in and had a chat with Helmut and the deal is, you buy a juice or concentrate (juice is better) and he will do the whole fermentation process and then about 8-9 weeks later your wine is ready.
Because you buy juice there is no liquor tax to pay.
Fast forward to yesterday.
We brought our 30 (ish) clean empty bottles and set about the bottling process.
First we had to sterilse the bottles. Now that means something different to a scientist than to a wine maker so there was no autoclaving or radiation involved just some sulphur-containing solution. Then lots of rinsing of the bottles and on to the vaccum pump. The hydralic press for the corks was fun as was the electric heat coil for the shrinking of the sleeves.




here it is, we just had a taste in the shop, and it's pretty good, we might be able to wait a couple more days to try a full bottle, but I don't guarantee it.
It's a Merlot and, yes I have seen 'Sideways'.