It was a big night for STERLING SCOTT last night. We'll tell you why soon |
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Cam 'n Eggs: Mike Duffy and Rob Ford ***UPDATE WITH TORONTO STAR STORY AT 1 P.M.
(Ford and CTV reporter story)
Mike Duffy and Rob Ford deserve each other — and, for all we know, they could be hiding out together somewhere in an undisclosed location.
MIKE DUFFY |
Duffy is
in hot water for the $90,000 cheque he received from, maybe, the prime
minister’s office. Such a spicy situation for a senator.
Ford,
the embattled mayor of Toronto, is under allegations he was with a few chums
having a puff or two on the crack pipe.
Their
situations deserve questioning on many levels. But perhaps the most compelling
is they are both public servants. Their paycheques come from bank accounts
that get deposits from taxpayers: in Duffy’s case federal taxpayers are paying
the freight; in Ford’s case, it’s the taxpayers of Toronto.
They
won. But now they are being accused of wrongdoing and are avoiding reporters at
all costs. Interestingly, Duffy has been on the other side of the camera many
times chasing subjects who don’t want to talk.
That,
clearly, isn’t fair. And the longer they remain in silent, the more questions
will be raised.
We’ve
seen it before. We’ll se it again.
But,
somewhere, somehow, we should all learn from the disgrace others.
This
time Mike Duffy and Rob Ford took the fall. The sooner they stand up and move
forward, they can move on with their lives. And, sadly, ours too.
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD'S NATIONAL POST COLUMN (May 22)
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD'S NATIONAL POST COLUMN (May 22)
A sign of a great day!
Friends,
Enjoy the day!
Please check back soon for neat stuff, including what makes Sterling Scott so funny.
Enjoy the day!
Please check back soon for neat stuff, including what makes Sterling Scott so funny.
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Tait@noon - a parting gift for Mayor Mandel - UPDATED WITH PICTURES
Stephen Mandel announced just seconds after 11 a.m. Tuesday he will not run for a fourth term. Now, the downtown arena project is set in stone, thanks to last week’s city council
ratifying the agreement, Mandel feels it’s time to retire.
Maybe,
he doesn’t have the strength — physically and mentally — for another monumental
project, namely the downtown arena project.
But
he’s 67. It’s time, perhaps, for him to share some time with his family. Maybe
travel. Or walk in Edmonton’s river valley, look all around him, and feel the
pride of the city help build.
Mandel
goes out on top, with many wanting him to run for another term — one he’d
probably win.
The
big question now is who will guide Edmonton come fall when the next civic election
rolls around.
But
let’s not worry about that today.
Let’s
celebrate and honor a man who has shared his vision with us; a man who has
shown compassion, toughness and boldness.
Mandel
deserves a parting gift, something that will mirror his work as mayor.
Maybe,
a new road around the downtown arena. Call it Mandel Way.
Cam 'N Eggs - May 21 - Celebrating Canadian hockey in the spring ... or not?
Maybe, it’s time Hockey Canada
re-considered Canadians
participating in the World Hockey Championships.
But, we’re Canadians. Hockey is our
game. We can do better.
Can we though, really?
The Canadian roster is players from
teams who don’t make the National Hockey League playoffs.
Excuses for a sub-par performance
don’t cut it. But perhaps the condensed NHL season took its toll on the
Canadian players.
Not a very strong argument: eight NHL
teams are still fighting tooth and nail in the post-season.
Maybe the World Championships could
to re-scheduled to end of June so the Stanley Cup Champions could ... Fat
chance, right?
We need a new approach. Finding that
right approach is certainly easier said then done.
Canadians should not accept failing
to make the medal round for three
years and counting.
Canadians deserve to celebrate a
major hockey championship when it counts the most — in the spring.
The lone Canadian team left in the
Stanley Cup won a thriller Sunday, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in
double overtime
The Ottawa Senators won it at home in
the nation’s capital.
And, so, hockey in Canada is still
alive.
Friday 17 May 2013
Today's Timely Tune - May 17
(We love news. We love music. We try to put them together to make a point)
Councillor Kerry Diotte announced Thursday he is planning to run for the mayor's job in the fall.
Mayor Stephen Mandell was talking about Diotte's tweetng and, .. well, here you have a look.
THE NEWS
THE TUNE
Councillor Kerry Diotte announced Thursday he is planning to run for the mayor's job in the fall.
Mayor Stephen Mandell was talking about Diotte's tweetng and, .. well, here you have a look.
THE NEWS
Cam 'n Eggs: May 17 -The Scheetz Shuffle for a great cause
Radio
personalities, like television anchors and newspaper columnists, have gifts.
The obvious gift is their voices
And if
they can tell a story, they are even more gifted.
Throughout
Edmonton many members of the media have shared their talents with many
charities to raise funds and awareness.
|
Everyone
of them deserves our admiration.
They are
simply driven by the genuine desire to help others and continue to make a
difference.
People
like CISN-FM’s Chris Scheetz. In 2002, Scheetz lived in a tractor for five days
and raised more than $150,000 for drought stricken Alberta farmers.
Two
years ago when town of Slave Lake was ravaged by forest fires, Scheetz asked
listeners to contribute household items for people that need them. During a
48-hour period three semi-trailers were plumb full of items and rolled into
Slave Lake.
Scheetz
is at it again this week.
|
|
He set
out to walk 250 kilometers to raise funds and awareness for Mothers Against
Drunk Driving.
He’s
going asking people to go online and sign up for the Drive For Life
Contract: a pledge saying you will not drink and drive and will not text
and drive.
For every
pledge for the Drive For Life Contact, $1.00 will be contributed to MADD. The
event is sponsored by Mayfield Toyota and LA Z Boy Furniture Galleries.
Scheetz
started the journey Monday and headed west to Evansburg. Heturned south and
went to Drayton Valley before looping back. Scheetz has walked 50 km a day.
Sometime
around 4 p.m. today Blackjack’s Roadhouse in Nisku.
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|
When he
gets there news reporters might very well ask him why he embarked on such a
journey.
But
really, there’s no need to ask: Scheetz just followed his heart
.
Thursday 16 May 2013
Time to bang the drum for Alberta's disabled
Perhaps the easy thing to do as we gather
around the water cooler is to talk about the new downtown arena deal. It is the
biggest story of the day, by an icing call and more.
It would also be the easy thing to
do.
But, maybe starting today, some
Albertans with disabilities cannot do the easy thing anymore. I am talking about
people with disabilities that need to start speaking up against provincial
government cutbacks.
I am one of them. And I know I have
to do better.
Now over the half century mark, and
with cerebral palsy, I really haven’t been a very strong advocate for my fellow
brothers and sisters with disabilities.
I have gone on with my life, have
been integrated in the workforce, and live in my own home in the community with
services.
I need to do more for others, and
realize many people with disabilities are not as fortunate as I am.
There was protest Wednesday afternoon
in front of the legislature from family members and people with developmental
disabilities over $42 million in cuts.
They had signs and made statements
because, sadly, nobody else does.
I am dating myself when I speak of
the Alberta Committee of Disabled Groups of Disabled People, formed in the 1970’s.
They were grass roots and were very vocal when news stories of provincial cuts
to people with disabilities hit the headlines.
Why haven’t we heard them bang the
drum on this?
The Premier’s Council on the Status
of Persons with Disabilities was struck in 1987, a direct tangible result from
the Rick Hansen Man In Motion World Tour coming to Alberta.
What is their position on the PDD
cuts? Are they planning a statement?
When Gary McPherson passed away
three years ago the disabled community lost a powerful voice.
To my mind, we need a leader; we
need someone, some group, to speak up to government and create meaningful
discussions so all Albertans with disabilities can live with independence and dignity.
We need an unified voice.
Let’s start building that today
before the provincial government does more damage.
Ideas? camtait@telus.net is my email.
Wednesday 15 May 2013
Today's Timely Tune - (UPDATED STORY: 8:45 P.M. May 15
(We love news. We love music. We try to put them together to make a point.)
Photograph: SHAUGHN BUTTS, Edmonton Journal |
There's a demonstration this afternoon about the government's $42 million cuts to programs supporting Albertans with disabilities.
Here is the Edmonton Journal's website story.
And here's the Timely Tune
If you have another suggestion for a song please email camtait@telus.net
Cam 'n Eggs - Order No. 3: Dreams of laughter
The shadows of dreams crawl in so
many unsuspecting places, only to come to life, creating new journeys and
opportunities.
Like Tuesday night, just after 7 p.m.
Along the west wall, silver-like in color, eight people paced up and down.
In their minds they went over every word, every sentence, every pause as
Contestants were …
•J.P. FOURNIER Alberta Blue Cross Customer Service
•pastor DAN TAYLOR
•Former book store manager LIAM CRESWICH
•Blackberry Rep KEN HICKS
•waiter DAVID DEMPSEY
•waitress CLAIRE BELFORD
•warehouse laborer BRETT McCRINDLE
The winner takes home $1,000 cash, and the coveted spot to be the opening act for a concert series in
Carol Anne Devaney |
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Today's Timely Tune - May 14 - The downtown arena and ...
(We like news. We like music. Hopefully, they make sense!)
Yet, another arena story from the Edmonton Journal's Gordon Kent about Wednesday's special meeting...
LOOK, MOM! NO INK STAINS
...and the timely tune
Yet, another arena story from the Edmonton Journal's Gordon Kent about Wednesday's special meeting...
LOOK, MOM! NO INK STAINS
Cam 'n Eggs: Bryn tells us why Randy Carlyle is grumpy
For those of us lucky to have Bryn Griffiths in our lives, we
know how much he enjoys sitting back in his chair, folding his right leg across
the other, tilting his head back and telling a story.
We enjoy it, too.
Bryn Griffiths |
That’s what happened Monday
afternoon when Bryn shared a few hours.
A seasoned broadcaster — television and radio — Bryn also worked as press
secretary for the Winnipeg Jets in the early 1990’s.
He was responsible for the team’s
travel. He did the same job for the Edmonton Oilers in the mid-1990's.
The topic came up in light of the
Boston Bruins’ travel challenges Sunday night in Toronto. After losing Game 6
to the Maple Leafs, the Bruins had to overnight in Toronto because of a
malfunction with their charter aircraft.
Picture of the Bruin aircraft found on Google Images |
Bryn said flight crews start
preparing the aircraft to leave just as the third period starts. He says when
he was with the Oilers the rule of thumb was 45 minutes: the amount of time
between the end of the game and when the team departed for the airport by bus.
“So, if you can’t go because of
mechanical trouble, the team would get word from the flight crew by the end of
the game so they can make other arrangements,” says Bryn.
That’s when press secretaries
really make their money. They have to find hotel rooms for an entourage of 50 … at 11 p.m. at night.
The Bruins ended up leaving for
Boston at 9 a.m. Monday, some nine hours after the Maple Leafs had landed in
Boston — 10 hours before game time.
Didn’t hurt them. The Bruins clawed
back from a 4-1 third period funk to pull off a 5-4 win in overtime to win Game
7.
Bryn tells the story of when he was
the Jets and they could not travel one night. And no hotels.
“We ended up staying the whole
night at the airport,” says Bryn.
There were a lot of unhappy people
that night, but guess who was the grumpiest.
“Randy Carlyle,” Bryn smirks,
talking about the former Winnipeg Jet, now head coach of the Maple Leafs.
Chances are, though, not as grumpy
as this morning, following Toronto’s collapse.
Randy Carlyle with the Jets |
Monday 13 May 2013
Topical Timely Tune - May 13
(Editor's note: We love news. We love music. We're going to try to combine both.)
The provincial government announced Monday it will introduce legislation to force a four-year labour deal for teachers.
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE EDMONTON JOURNAL STORY
Today's Tune ...
The provincial government announced Monday it will introduce legislation to force a four-year labour deal for teachers.
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE EDMONTON JOURNAL STORY
Today's Tune ...
Cam and Eggs, Order No. 1: (CORRECTED) Will Edmonton Oil King head coach Derek Laxdal walk down the long hallway again?
There’s a hallway in the bowels of
Rexall Place, just up a slight ramp from the Edmonton Oil King dressing room,
that leads to a dimly lit room on your right hand side. Sportswriters gather
for post-game interviews from head coaches.
After a win, coaches strut in the
room with an extra stride in their step. After a loss, the long hallway can be
almost endless for a coach, each footstep echoing off the wall at almost a deafening
volume.
Oil King coach Derek Laxdal knows
the feeling. After every game in
Edmonton of the Western Hockey League championship series, he has walked down
that hallway to answer questions from reporters.
DEREK LAXDAL |
The coach will probably walk down
the hallway very soon — perhaps
this week, even — just past the interview room for a meeting in the office of
Bob Green, Oil Kings general manager.
There will be a lot for Laxdal and
Green to discuss following a 5-1
loss to the Portland Winterhawks in Game 6 of the WHL championship series. The
Winterhawks won the best-of-seven series 4-2, ending the Oil King’s rein of
defending champions.
Green will have questions:
•what went
wrong with the Oil King’s powerplay which could not be ignited, and didn’t
score a single goal in 31 chances over the series — and, perhaps most
importantly, surrendered two short-handed goals on a four-minute powerplay in
Sunday’s first period;
•where was the intensity Sunday,
after that terrific Game 5 Friday in Portland — a hockey fan’s dream to watch —
that saw the Oil Kings give it all they had, and pull a 3-2 overtime win out of
the fire to force Game 6? Sure, the Oil Kings outshot Portland 27-24 Sunday,
but the Edmonton just didn’t seem to have it. Was the tank empty … and, why?
•Henrik Samuelsson
took an undisciplined slashing penalty in the last 90 seconds of Game 4, which
didn’t allow Edmonton a chance to pull their goalie for an extra attacker in a
2-1 hockey game. Was Samuelsson’s penalty or an isolated instance? Or was that
exchange Laxdal and Samuelsson had after the game a sign of a bigger issue?
•captain Griffin Reinhart and
veteran Trevor Cheek were injured. What did that take away from the team?
BOB GREEN |
And others will probably be asked,
including why the Oil Kings are not making a repeat performance in the MasterCard
Memorial Cup later this week in Saskatoon.
Laxdal will have to answer to the GM and also address questions about the future, namely his. (Here's the information I had wrong) My sources say Laxdal is at the end of his three-year deal so his answers to The Boss will no doubt hinge on whether or not he wants to return to the Oil Kings.
Laxdal will have to answer to the GM and also address questions about the future, namely his. (Here's the information I had wrong) My sources say Laxdal is at the end of his three-year deal so his answers to The Boss will no doubt hinge on whether or not he wants to return to the Oil Kings.
He has had success in Edmonton: two
appearances to the WHL championship final in three seasons and one
championship.
But could there be a pro job
calling Laxdal’s name, perhaps even with the Edmonton Oilers as an assistant?
And let’s not forget Laxdal’s
assistant Steve Hamilton, also at the end of a three-year deal. Hamilton is
head coach material, absolutely.
Derek Laxdal has walked down that
long, narrow — sometimes haunting — countless times. Only time if he will
continue to do so.
Sunday 12 May 2013
In The Nic of Time — Chapter 2: Cartoons soothe reality
A little over two months ago my
grandson Nicholas found the cartoon show Phineas and Ferb when he was going
through a very challenging period of his 10-year-old life.
The show gave him great solace.
Nic asked his grandmother — my wife
Joan — to PVR every episode, which she did. We began watching Phineas and Ferb
back to back, and within days, Joan and I could sing the show’s theme song,
word for word.
Phineas and Ferb is a delightful
show about two brothers who finding interesting, and fun, things to do on their
summer vacation. They build things and take wild adventures — showing the magic
of a powerful mind and its of the imagination.
The show has a wonderfully, zany
sub-plot with Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz — my favorite character because of his
all-over-the-map personality — and his nemesis Perry the Platypus, who always
foils the good doctor’s somewhat off-the-wall evil plan.
The Dr.: A personal fave |
At the end of every episode,
somehow, the plots collide and
erase the antics of Phineas and Ferb, much to the disappointment of their
sister Candace just before she is about to show their mother what the brothers
have done.
The show is deep-rooted with music,
good music.
Nic re-watches many episodes, but
there’s one he watches over and over. He especially re-winds a song Candace sings
to her mother, and Nic watched it countless times last week.
Joan and I paid close attention to
Nic in the last few days, with Mother’s Day approaching. We knew it might be
difficult since his mother passed away in early March.
Our grandson Nicholas |
Nic has been very strong. He has
handled the situation with courage and only a few times has he openly cried in
front of us.
But on Friday, as he was watching
Candace sing, tears were in his eyes.
“I wish,” he said, not letting his
emotions take control, “Mommy could hear this song.”
I know, Nic, she does.
Saturday 11 May 2013
Game 6 on Mother's Day: Let's hope Edmonton Oil King fans celebrate both
If you watched Game 5 of the
Western Hockey League championship series Friday night, chances are you just
might be unwinding right now.
Wow: what a hockey game, packed
with skill, excitement, action … and, if you are an Edmonton Oil King fan,
great celebration. Forward Michael St. Croix scored in the first overtime
period to give Edmonton a 3-2 win over the Portland Winterhawks, giving the Oil
Kings another day. Portland still leads the best-of-seven series 3-2, but St.
Croix helped force Game 6 which faces off Sunday at Rexall Place when the clock
reaches 4 p.m.
And, if you wattched Friday’s game from
Portland on SHAW TV or on whl.ca, you may have heard a comment from broadcaster
Peter Loubardias.
I sure did. He made sense,
absolutely, when he challenged Edmonton hockey fans to get out and enjoy Game
6.
Because it seems Edmonton fans have
not embraced the Oil Kings defending their WHL championship series this spring.
Let’s have a look:
•10,947 fans in Portland at the
Rose Garden for Game 5 Friday
• 8,400 fans were at Rexall Place
for Game 4 Wednesday in Edmonton
•8,513 were at Game 3 Tuesday at
Rexall Place
(Source: whl.ca)
Questioning why Edmonton hasn’t
fully supported the Oil Kings defending their WHL crown is, certainly, worth
debate.
They are providing entertaining
hockey. And, one would think, putting an entertaining product on the ice does
more than billboards, bus ads, radio and television spots.
Yet, it hasn’t.
Although the Edmonton Oilers did
not make the playoffs, there was a lot of hockey played since January. Funny
how that happens when a labor dispute holds a season hostage.
Are we hockeyed out in Edmonton?
Are we disappointed the Oilers, who had so much promise going into the season,
fell by the wayside?
Or, sadly, are we starting to take
the new success of major junior hockey in Edmonton for granted?
Surely, we’re not.
Friday’s game was a fabulous
example of young men putting it all on the line: skill, determination, blood,
sweat, tears — whatever it takes — to be champions.
Game 6 will have all of that and more.
We all should embrace and celebrate
the journey the Edmonton Oil Kings are on — especially on such a meaningful
Sunday as Mother’s Day.
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