Sunday, July 23, 2006
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
First off, I'm back to work, Noah's back to daycare, and he's feeling a lot better, thanks to antibiotics and Tylenol! Thank you all for your well-wishes and support! :)
With the media circus going on in Toronto revolving around the court proceedings for the would-be terrorists, I thought it would be appropriate to comment on what I thought about this "new world" we live in. But the more I try to come up with some coherent thought about it all, the harder it gets. I was born and raised in Toronto. Lived off Kipling Avenue for a couple of years. I love the city. Obviously it's not the same city it was 30 or so years ago. But when Toronto shows up at the top of the hour on the Fox News Channel and every other news service from the States, you begin to realize that we've become "of age". I admit now to buying into the paranoia somewhat, and am a bit afraid to bring my family there. Yes, I realize someone with a bomb could target our Oktoberfest here, or decide they want to take out the Kitchener Market in a blaze of glory, but for some reason, probably due to my close personal association with Toronto, it hits home more than I'd like. The world that we viewed on TV from afar, is now visible from our living room windows.
With the media circus going on in Toronto revolving around the court proceedings for the would-be terrorists, I thought it would be appropriate to comment on what I thought about this "new world" we live in. But the more I try to come up with some coherent thought about it all, the harder it gets. I was born and raised in Toronto. Lived off Kipling Avenue for a couple of years. I love the city. Obviously it's not the same city it was 30 or so years ago. But when Toronto shows up at the top of the hour on the Fox News Channel and every other news service from the States, you begin to realize that we've become "of age". I admit now to buying into the paranoia somewhat, and am a bit afraid to bring my family there. Yes, I realize someone with a bomb could target our Oktoberfest here, or decide they want to take out the Kitchener Market in a blaze of glory, but for some reason, probably due to my close personal association with Toronto, it hits home more than I'd like. The world that we viewed on TV from afar, is now visible from our living room windows.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
First, I'm at home once again today. Noah had a tough night last night, so I decided to take him to Urgent Care today. If you're familiar with Kitchener, we went over to the one across from Fairview Park Mall. It's got a couple of trains that run through the clinic, and as far as my boys care, that's all they needed to know (I took Hunter along, to give the daycare workers a break! lol!). Noah has....drum roll, please...a middle-ear infection! Groan... You get the kid ear tubes and yet another series of problems occur.... Anyway, we got his prescription and now we're back home while he rests. 2 5ml doses of Cefprozil a day for the next 10 days. And Hunter was upset because they didn't prescribe anything for him! Twins... lol!
Second, last night's TV. "Deal or No Deal" is done for the season, ending with a full hour-and-a-half (way to milk this for everything you can, Howie!) of Celine Dion helping contestant Casey Bell. We found out just past the one-hour mark (which I'm sure helped boost the ratings!) that she did not have the advertised $5-million dollar case. In the end, she took a deal for $196,000 (I believe, it's right around that amount) but had $750,000 in her case. That's it for the summer...sorry, Noah and Hunter! lol!
I'll get to Canadian Idol in a sec...
We also got treated to Sean being hired by Donald Trump on the season finale of "The Apprentice", live from Hollywood. Which makes sense, Donald says, as the next season takes place in the land of plastics. Well, between Sean and the other contender, Lee, I would say that the Donald hired the best of the worst. Okay, two series out of the way for the summer. Which leaves...
Canadian Idol. Last night's episode started in Montreal, where we found 20-year-old heavy metal singer Alissa White-Gluz singing Bohemian Rhapsody from Queen (several other singers were shown attempting the same song, with varying degrees of...crap). Alissa gets her gold ticket, and she's off to Toronto.
Next to Regina, where only 5 gold tickets were handed out. We had to suffer with Johnny Rock Star (fresh from last year's appearance). Can't remember what he sang, as that's when the Advil kicked in. We did get to see Tyler Lewis sing "Heartbreak Hotel", which earned him a ticket to Toronto.
Lor' t'underin' Jeesis b'ye, we then head to St. John's, Newfoundland, the home of last year's runner-up, Rex Goudie. So the first contestant up? A chick who thinks she's Melissa O'Neil, and even sings "Alive", hoping to confuse the judges. Didn't work. Then 16-year-old Brandon Jones from New Brunswick blew everyone away with his version of Fuel's "Hemorrhage". I turned to my wife and said, "wow!" Gold ticket time!
Finally, in Toronto, Zack Werner started playing dodgeball with the hopefuls by chucking a garbage can (I believe it was a 32-gallon Rubbermaid Brute grey container, available from where I work...I can autograph one for you if requested!) at one singer. Actually, the judges lost their cool quite a bit during this episode...one big happy family now, guys! lol! Although the match that almost ensued between Farley Flex and Jake Gold had possibilities! ;)
One more week of this, and we have our Top 200 on their way to Toronto!
Opinions?
Second, last night's TV. "Deal or No Deal" is done for the season, ending with a full hour-and-a-half (way to milk this for everything you can, Howie!) of Celine Dion helping contestant Casey Bell. We found out just past the one-hour mark (which I'm sure helped boost the ratings!) that she did not have the advertised $5-million dollar case. In the end, she took a deal for $196,000 (I believe, it's right around that amount) but had $750,000 in her case. That's it for the summer...sorry, Noah and Hunter! lol!
I'll get to Canadian Idol in a sec...
We also got treated to Sean being hired by Donald Trump on the season finale of "The Apprentice", live from Hollywood. Which makes sense, Donald says, as the next season takes place in the land of plastics. Well, between Sean and the other contender, Lee, I would say that the Donald hired the best of the worst. Okay, two series out of the way for the summer. Which leaves...
Canadian Idol. Last night's episode started in Montreal, where we found 20-year-old heavy metal singer Alissa White-Gluz singing Bohemian Rhapsody from Queen (several other singers were shown attempting the same song, with varying degrees of...crap). Alissa gets her gold ticket, and she's off to Toronto.
Next to Regina, where only 5 gold tickets were handed out. We had to suffer with Johnny Rock Star (fresh from last year's appearance). Can't remember what he sang, as that's when the Advil kicked in. We did get to see Tyler Lewis sing "Heartbreak Hotel", which earned him a ticket to Toronto.
Lor' t'underin' Jeesis b'ye, we then head to St. John's, Newfoundland, the home of last year's runner-up, Rex Goudie. So the first contestant up? A chick who thinks she's Melissa O'Neil, and even sings "Alive", hoping to confuse the judges. Didn't work. Then 16-year-old Brandon Jones from New Brunswick blew everyone away with his version of Fuel's "Hemorrhage". I turned to my wife and said, "wow!" Gold ticket time!
Finally, in Toronto, Zack Werner started playing dodgeball with the hopefuls by chucking a garbage can (I believe it was a 32-gallon Rubbermaid Brute grey container, available from where I work...I can autograph one for you if requested!) at one singer. Actually, the judges lost their cool quite a bit during this episode...one big happy family now, guys! lol! Although the match that almost ensued between Farley Flex and Jake Gold had possibilities! ;)
One more week of this, and we have our Top 200 on their way to Toronto!
Opinions?
Monday, June 05, 2006
Noah is under the weather, and I had to pick him up at the daycare. He had a fever of 102. A hit of kiddie Tylenol and he's down for the count. He's got the chills, too. Hopefully this will be over tomorrow! :)
Hey there! I've had a blog running on MySpace for a bit, but thought I'd spread the word and come over here to try things out!
Looks like a neat site, now, I'll just have to come up with the content! :)
Well, first of all, the Boutiliers in Kitchener are a family of four: my wife and I, and our twin 5-year-old sons, Noah and Hunter. Lots of fun, and lots of work!
You'll get to know us better as the blogs get out. One thing we enjoy at home is the TV. Tonight's offering up some real goodies: hour-and-a-half episodes (and season finales) of Deal or No Deal and the Apprentice, as well as a new episode of Canadian Idol. Gonna be a busy night tonight!
Looks like a neat site, now, I'll just have to come up with the content! :)
Well, first of all, the Boutiliers in Kitchener are a family of four: my wife and I, and our twin 5-year-old sons, Noah and Hunter. Lots of fun, and lots of work!
You'll get to know us better as the blogs get out. One thing we enjoy at home is the TV. Tonight's offering up some real goodies: hour-and-a-half episodes (and season finales) of Deal or No Deal and the Apprentice, as well as a new episode of Canadian Idol. Gonna be a busy night tonight!
