THURSDAY JANUARY 31ST 2013

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES and hold on to your hats...quite the wind out there this morning as Mother Nature comes to blows with us after a couple of very mild days.  There is a weather watch out on this Swan Song day of January and we could get up to 15 cms...the Temperature has dropped from about +7  last night to about -3 at 8:30 am. We have gotten rid of all the snow on the roof but I guess the Boomerang effect is coming back. We had a huge storm on this date back in 1982 with over a foot of snow even in Toronto. 
On this date in 1839  John 'Radical Jack' Lambton, Lord Durham handed his 'Report on the Affairs of British North America' to the British Prime Minister. The former Governor of the colony blamed the power of the Family Compact and Chateau Clique for the 1837 rebellions, and recommended uniting the Upper and Lower Canada be under one responsible government, with English the only official language, so as to assimilate the French Canadians. 
In 1961 a CHIMPANZEE was launched into space to become the the first U.S. animal to orbit earth.  The U.S.S.R of course had used a dog Laika prior to the U.S. CHIMP. The United States had thought of using Goldfish as well on the flight but the mission control workers said....OH NO NOT FISH AND CHIMPS AGAIN. The chimp did not have the name 'HAM' until it came back successfully in case it didn't make it. The chimp was named after the  Holloman AerospaceMedical Center, located at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico...(by the way Laika's trip was one way) After the flight, Ham lived for 17 years in the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., then at the North Carolina Zoo before his death at the age of 26 on January 19, 1983 and appeared many times in movies and on TV.
Still with Space....in 1971, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roose blasted off in their Apollo 14 Spacecaft on their way to the Third Moon Landing. 
In Hockey Wayne Gretzky had 61 goals and 92 assists for 153 points in 52 games in 1984 and Rick Vaive was top leaf with 40 goals and 24 assists  for 64 points in 50 games.  The next season the Great One had 53 goals and 92 assists for 145 points in 51 games. Baseball great Nolan Ryan was born 66 years ago on this date.  as well Franz Schubert , born in 1797,  (shall I continue with the  Liszt)....Zane Grey in 1875, Mario Lanza , Justin Timberlake and one of my favourite new people on TV, Kerry Washington (who is on a show called "Scandal" is 35 today. If you are blowing out the candles today....many happy returns. 
Timothy Eaton founder of the T. Eaton Company of Canada, died in 1907.He was an innovative retailer,who maintained fixed prices and cash sales, with satisfaction guaranteed. . luckily we still have The Bay giving us some sense of history. 
And Finally........Keep in mind tomorrow morning...what the Hurons did when they woke up in their Longhouses to a big snowstorm...what was the first thing they did?.....DUG-OUT CANOES.
Mornin' everybody...mornin'

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 30TH, 2013

It's Howdy DUTY time....it's Howdy Duty time...so Howdy and good morning...It is a very Mild day here at Orr lake.  It looks like the lake is open in the middle but it's just water on top of the ice. There are a couple of fellows about a hundred yards from us who have spent a lot of time building a rink on top of the ice. They will not be too happy with this melting.  The temp at this time is plus 8 and a lot of snow has gone. The weather is a bit like it was in 1991 and 1995...with not much snow and a bit on the mild side, especially in 1995 which topped out at plus 2.

From the birthday file..Christian Bale and Phil Collins are celebrating , also FDR in 1882, Gene Hackman IS 83....(in a lot of great movies) and one of the most colourful politicians ever...John Crosbie are blowing out candles. John is 82 and the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.
On this date in 1933 Hitler became Chancellor Of Germany and Ghandi was assassinated  in 1978...  also on this date in 1933 on a much lighter note..the Lone Ranger started his ride in a cloud of dust across the airwaves of  North America on Detroit's WXYZ "LIVE"...THEIR last show was on sept 1954.  At one time it was heard on 400 stations....wow..... he must have been Bow-Legged.  The last TV show featuring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels was August 8th, 1958. No wonder he was the Loan arranger...he sat on Silver for a lot of years and made money" big time" on the stock market and not only that, he left a lovely parting gift for those he helped out...a Silver Bullet.

Hey the Leafs won over Buffalo last night...despite not  landing Roberto Luongo..I think the Leafs chances of landing Luongo (wait for it...local humour) are Peter-Ing Out. Speaking of local I guess Wiarton Willie is getting ready for the big day....and the question is Willie or won't he, two days hence...and what will his prognostication be...we'll see....most of us WOOD_CHUCK winter right now!...
.HOT OFF THE PRESS.....JIM NABORS HAS JUST MARRIED his long-time partner after 38 years...well  GOOOOLY...
and finally I leave you with this thought.....is an unemployed COURT JESTER....NOBODY'S FOOL!
mornin' everybody....mornin'

TUESDAY JANUARY 29TH.2013

Good Day folks....hope you had a good week-end...We have a mild -3 at present and very crusty snow on the ground. We had a few avalanches from our metal roof overnight making quite the booms. It looks like we are in for quite a mixed bag of weather over the next couple of days. Some very interesting things happened on this date including Yonge St. being named in 1796. Imagine the potholes back then.
In 1885 Karl Benz patented the automobile.
In 1946 The Bluenose sank...ON THIS DATE...it had been built in Lunenburgh Nova Scotia. She was built to be a racing ship and fishing vessel, in response to the defeat of the Nova Scotian Fishing Schooner Delawana by the Gloucester, Massachusetts fishing schooner Esperanto in 1920, in a race sponsored by the Halifax Herald newspaper. She lost a race in 1930 but after that, no challenger, American or Canadian, could wrest the International Fishermen's Trophy from her for 17 years .She was no mere racing ship, but also a general fishing craft that was worked hard throughout her lifetime.

Fishing schooners became obsolete during the 1930s and unfortunately she was Sold out-of-country in 1942 to become a tramp schooner in the Caribbean Laden with bananas, she struck a coral reef off Haiti on January 28, 1946. Wrecked beyond repair, with no loss of life, she was abandoned on the reef. In 1963 a replica of Bluenose was built at Lunenburg using the original Bluenose plans and named Bluenose II. One thing that is little known is The "Bluenose could STOP ON A DIME.
In 1936, The Baseball Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown NY. The first inductees were Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner. No one was elected to the Hall of Fame this year. When voters closed the doors to Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, they also shut out everybody else.For only the second time in four decades, baseball writers failed to give any player the 75 per cent required for induction to Cooperstown, sending a powerful signal that stars of the Steroids Era will be held to a different standard.
On this date in 1980, the world first learned The Canadian Embassy hid 6 Americans from Iranian Militants for more than 2 months, then smuggled them out of Iran. In 2003 the Americans screwed up what happened just to make a movie slanted more their way. With friends like that who needs enemas.
In our birthday file today....Tom Selleck is 68 and still on TV..hockey's Pat Quinn is 70, Oprah  is 59 and W.C. Fields was born on this date in 1880...no trew to the rumour the english call their Septic Beds..... W.C. fields.
Have a super day....Mornin' everybody...Mornin'

FRIDAY JANUARY 25TH. 2013

HI THERE...another cold January morn....If it doesn't start to warm up we'll have to start using the LONGJOHN INDEX like they use up in Yellowknife the Northwest Territories...and this morning would be about a 3....3 pair of long underwear to keep warm...and we could have a couple of CCR TUNES...to listen to...maybe Bad MOON Rising...or Looking out my BACK DOOR..Looking back at the facts and figures this date had about 1/2 of the days...near zero or a touch above..unlike this years very cold conditions. This is a big day for the Scots as they celebrate "Robbie Burns Day, the time for Scots everywhere to toast the memory of their National poet...Robert Burns with a traditional mix of food and verse. Food such as cock-a-leekie soup, made of a boiling fowl, leeks and herbs....then of course the Haggis--minced sheep's heart, lungs and liver mixed with oatmeal, onions and black pepper boiled in a sheep's stomach....mmm...mmmm...good. The haggis is carried in to the strains of Bagpipes...then comes the reading of the address to the haggis written by Burns..Robbie of course, sometimes forgot the Postal Code when addressing the Haggis...Back on this date in 1835 Sir Francis Bond Head was made Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (Ontario). The Emmy's were first held in 1949 on this date, actually being called the IMMY"S for the first year or so..then changed to the Emmy's (after being changed to the more feminine name because of the awards shape)..so the one this year will be the 65th edition. Back in 1981 Mike Bossy had just scored his 50th goal in 50 games the night before ...but then the next year Wayne went for a "great-ski" and did it in 39 games. Some of the birthdates on the 25th...The wonderful Alicia Keys is 31 today and Etta James whom we just lost near the end of last Year was born, in 1938. Her rendition of "AT LAST" will last forever. Alicia Keys will sing the national anthem it Super Bowl XLVII. Keys has stated that she will not perform the song traditionally and will instead perform it as if it were "a brand new song." ...ARE YOU HAPPY that NHL Hockey is back....each of the teams had a pretty entertaining first home game...The Leafs of course with the puck dropping from SPACE....AND of course The L.A. Kings having a big celebration raising the STANLEY CUP Pennant...of course I'm not too sure most there know that much about hockey....in fact I've heard it said "most people in Los Angeles think “changing lines on the fly” is something you do with cocaine on flights To Vegas. have a great day....mornin' everybody Mornin'

THURSDAY JANUARY 24TH 2013

Good Thursday to you. It's the double-dozenth day of January and another very cold one checking in at -24 C as of 6:30 am. Not nearly as cold as yesterdays -32...There was a very wide swing on yesterday's temps, which is known as the Diurnal range, with the difference of 20 degrees between the High and the Low.(-12 and minus 32). Over the last 20 to 30 years, it was fairly mild at times with plus temperatures in 1981, 83,84,91 and 93. A few of the occurrences on the 24th...Winston Churchill died in 1965 at age 90 Larry Fine of the 3 Stooges died on this date in 1975 at age 83 and the California Gold Rush in 1848 at Sutters Mill, all in all "Panned" out pretty well. Food rationing started in Canada in 1942 because of the war and way back in 1885 the CPR telegraph line was completed from the Atlantic to the Pacific...maybe that's where the expression "I'll DASH off a quick note" came from. In the famous folks born on this date Major-General (Ret'd) Richard Rohmer was born 89 years ago and lives with his wife Mary-O in Collingwood, and practices aviation litigation with the Toronto law firm of Rohmer & Fenn. He has two daughters, Ann Rohmer the TV personality and Catherine, a lawyer. He is a licensed pilot and of course has written many books. Also born on this date the late John Belushi and Ernest Borgnine. Today marks the 72nd birthday of the great Neil Diamond who has had more hits than Georges St-Pierre ,(often referred to as GSP, the Canadian mixed martial artist). Neil recently married his manager who is about 20 years his junior. He of course continues to tour and record. I have seen him a couple of times and puts on a good show although he tends to sound like a parody of himself. He's been in a film or two, perhaps you've forgotten about "The Jazz Singer" with Lawrence Olivier. The Jazz Singer from 1927 was not the first movie with sound, but it was the first talking AND SINGING full-length feature ...and starred AL JOLSON. While the film was still mostly silent, it did contain sections of prerecorded and synchronized dialogue and music, which movie audiences had not heard before. Though sound in film was dismissed as a fad at the time, The Jazz Singer's memorable line "you ain't heard nothin' yet" clearly pointed to the future of film-making. FINALLY just a final word on what a revelation Chris Hadfield has been in space. From his Tweets on Twitter to his dropping of the puck at the Leaf game, to his appearances on "22 Minutes" he has been very entertaining and educational..I fully expect him to clean the space CRAFT sinks with Halleys "COMET" AS A FINALE. HURRAH FOR CHRIS!!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 23RD 2013

OMG IT'S A record setting BONE CHILLING MORNIN in Orr Lake...PLUMMETING TO a - 32.. and more new snow on the ground from yesterday afternoon and overnight. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME since we hit -32...in 1985 we had a Lolopoluzza with about 24 inches in 24 hours...especially in Waverly and here at Orr Lake...we were starting to dig out...or as the Hurons did many years before...THEY DUG OUT the DUG-OUT. I have used the snow-blower more than the car this week and I am thinking what a great idea the heated handles would have been...It's been so cold even the chicken fingers at the KFC have Gloves on. A couple of big movie stars were born on this date way back...Humphrey Bogart was born in 1899. My favourite movie quote of all time was said to Humphrey by his wife-to-be at the time...Lauren Bacal....when she said " You know you don't have to act with me, Steve. You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow. That was from "To Have and To Have Not" in 1944. Also born on this date in 1898 was Randolph Scott...my favourite movie cowboy. I spent a lot of Happy hours trying to hear Randolph over the cinema din of a Saturday movie..dodging flying popcorn and making sure I didn't sit on any gum or get flashlighted out of the theatre. Randolph was THE MAN....He was great friends with Cary Grant. Scott is the subject of the 1974 Statler Brothers song "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?", lamenting the passing of Oaters. He is mentioned in the film Blazing Saddles when Sheriff Bart tries to convince the reluctant citizens of Rock Ridge to support his plan to save the town. He says that they "would do it for Randolph Scott" and they rise, putting their hands to their hearts and saying reverently "Randolph Scott", echoed by an off-screen chorus and agree to help the Sheriff. I was thinking about the lack of luck for the Maple Leafs having not won the Stanley Cup since 1967...which incidently reminds me the Leafs TRADED Tim Horton. Maybe that's the CURSE..no Timmy..maybe it's all about the "Tim Bits" and the chocolate one...and for the Leafs...The Dark one has been a BLACK HOLE"

TUESDAY JANUARY 22ND 2013

It's a VERY cold one...in fact your car may need booster shots....We check in with a -23 at 8 am this morning and more snow. Back in 1982 we were waking up to around -26 while Muskoka crashed to -32. Iroquois Falls clocks in at -40 C which is also 40 below zero F. That spot set the record in Ontario, for the coldest ever recorded temperature. Iroquois Falls went to −58.3 °C (−72.9 °F)the 23 of January in 1935 , which is also the lowest temperature reported in Eastern Canada too. The Coldest Temperature in Canada, and indeed North America. happened on February 3, 1947. The temperature in Snag, Yukon dipped to -63°C. It was so cold Captain Kirk started ordering extra "SPACE" HEATERS for the "ENTERPRISE". Officially, the lowest natural air temperature ever recorded on Earth was -89.2 °C (128.6 below zero°F) on July 21, 1983 at the Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica. My Blog this morning is really "worth it's weight in COLD"! A few historical facts for this date...Queen Victoria died on this date in 1901...Britain is a country known for it's wet weather but She set the record. It was a 64 Year rain (Reign). Sam Cooke was born in 1935 and Graham Kerr (the Galloping Gourmet) was born 78, although he is not Galloping quite as much and Laugh-in debuted in 1968 on TV.."sock it to me","here comes da Judge", "you bet your Sweet Bippy", one ringy-Dingy..two ringy-dingys" and "Very interesting, not very funny, but very interesting" and I'm sure you will remember more. It was on this date 74 years ago they Split the Atom at Columbia University and in 1967 The Rolling Stones refused to go on a Revolving stage for the TV show "Sunday night at the Palladium" which caused quite a scandal at the time. They are still going around the world on tours. In the words of Shakespeare..."Is this a Jagger I see before me" and a final thought...with the Federal Liberal Party Leadership Debates going on...will they flex their Muscles by ABSORBING JUNIOR. (Justin Trudeau) Mornin' everybody Mornin'

MONDAY JANUARY 21ST 2013

Good Morning...It's King Ol' man winter this morning because he has given us the MINUS TOUCH...IT'S ABOUT MINUS 17...or 0 on the old F scale...and we have about 4" of snow on the ground. Looking at this date in 1982 Darryl Sittler was getting the number 9 in Philadelphia after being traded the day before in one of Punch Imlach's worst moves. Imlach was good in the 60's but completely lost it in the early 80's. Singer Jackie Wilson died in 1984 after being in a Coma for 8 years...The guy could just flat out sing anything. Richie Havens was born on this date in 1941...as was Bob Smith (Wolfman Jack) 75 years ago today. Patsy Cline won an Arthur Godfrey Talent Scout contest singing "Walkin' After Midnight" in 1957 and before long it was tearing up both the Country and Pop Charts. The first Newfoundland Readers Digest came out with the popular feature "Towards More Picturesque SCREECH"...(just kidding) and Jim Henson created KERMIT "THE" FROG...while muttering DARN THAT SOCK! Back in 1986 we had some rain with a +2 C temp at 5 am...Gas at the pump was 48.9 cents/litre and the #1 song was "Thats what Friends are For" with a group including Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder. "In good times, in bad times, I'll be on your side forevermore, that's what friends are for". It was her only Number 1 song along with the Spinners "then Came You"..despite all the great songs she did. Rocky 4 was playing at the movie theatres. and finally...Have you heard any good jokes lately...Heard a Whopper at Burger King. Mornin' everbody...Mornin'

FRIDAY JANUARY 18TH 2013

It's TGIF day once again...a snowy Friday morning...a comforter or two of snow BLANKET from overnight and it's pretty chilly at about -15 at 9am. We've been pretty lucky so far in the snow department. In 1995 we had virtually no snow...in 1985 we had 12" and The Leafs were dead last inspiring someone to say..."he who Leafs last....laughs best" In 1904 Wilfred Laurier stated "the 20th century belongs to Canada"...looks like the 21st century, Canada belongs to the First Nations according to some. In 1917 Income Tax was introduced to Canadians as a TEMPORARY wartime measure:). Oliver Hardy was born in 1892 and never rested on his Laurels. A.A Milne was born,(of Winnie the Pooh fame) and Cary Grant as well (born Archy Leach). Mark Messier was born in 1961 so "Keep Your Head Up" Yellowknife was,in 1967, named the capital of the Northwest Territories. I have a friend working in radio up there and they have something called the LONGJOHN INDEX which I guess is how many pair you need to stay warm...They are celebrating their day with 4 pair of longjohns on...don't know if their trap-doors will allow them to Escape from there. I wonder why the TV people have never done a "Survivor show" from there. I guess they wouldn't be able to show off their bodies in true TV fashion. On this date in 1971 THE CRTC Canadian Content rules of 30% CAN CON came into play on radio leading to some success for Canadian performers but also a lot of great Canadian tunes to become overplayed and simply "burned out". The Can-con (content now stands at 35% for most stations and there are rumblings of raising it to 40% which is seriously "stupid". I would say to them..if we have to legislate 40% of the music be Canadian then it looks like our product is simply INFERIOR and that is not the case. OK enough politics! I hope you have a terrific week-end and I leave you with this thought...Government rarely does something FOR you...unless it does something TO YOU. mornin' everybody...mornin'

THURSDAY JANUARY 17TH, 2013

OFF WE GO INTO THE WILD TREW YONDER FOR ANOTHER DAY....brrrr it's a cold one with our get up temp at -15 (I won't say what time..I am a lazy bugger) I have a former colleague who is now in Red Deer Alberta who says she has to get up at 3am (glad those days are over). She also tells me that a coffee shop in Owen Sound that we use to frequent use to contain Marshall McLuhan old sofa..however I digress. In 1982 we had a low of -25 and a big snowfall with the 400 hwy being closed down for 6 hours. In 1974 on this date Lakelse B.C. hosted Canada's Greatest one Day Snowfall with 118.1 cms falling. Also on this date in 1910 Thomas Crapper (of flush Toilet fame) Died (people say the day before he looked quite flushed). In 1952, almost everyone's favourite Stooge CURLY died. "SHEMP" was actually the original 3rd Stooge..but left to go solo and Curly took over, then he had a stroke and Shemp came back...and so on and so on...nyuk,nyuk,nyuk. Then Shemp died and there were 2 other 3rd stooges after that. Joe Besser and "curly Joe"...Most guys liked them and most girls don't..but they're "better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick"

Famous people born on this date: Ben Franklin in 1706,Al Capone in 1899, Betty White is 91 Years old today (and has 2 shows on TV) and Mohammed Ali is 72. Back in 1986 along with heavy rain we were listening to "Thats what friends are for" and the theatres were showing "Rocky Four"...and a gas fill-up required 49.3 cents per litre. and finally....there is a new Russian TV show coming out...it's an entertainment/cooking show on board a ship called the "Nikita" starring the head cook ..it's called THE "NIKITA CRUISE 'CHEF"

WENESDAY JANUARY 16TH 2013

Hi and welcome to a little Huronia Frost-bit-ality on the "sweet 16th" of the New Year. It's about -10 here at Orr Lake nice and sunny with no new snow. Back in 1984 it was quite cold with lows down around -30 and plummeting to -40 near Moonstone. I think -40C meets 40 below zero on the F scale...1994 temps were much the same. If that happens this year Justin Bieber will have to PULL UP HIS PANTS. The Flu season is a bad one this year....Karin has sort of had it so really its just "one flu over the trew crews nest"...a bad cough seems to go with it...so the Beach boys are re-doing "Little Deuce Croop. Checking into a few things that happened on this date in history in 1939.... Joe Shuster from Toronto published his first Superman comic strip along with co-writer Jerry Siegel...Joe was also a cousin of Frank Shuster of Wayne and Shuster FAME. Henry Mill Pellatt was born in 1859 He was a financier, and soldier,and built Toronto's fabulous Casa Loma, now operated for the City by the Kiwanis Club. Also Robert W Service in 1874. Service came to Canada as a young man to serve as a bank manager at Dawson City in the Yukon. He is best known for his rollicking ballads of the frozen North, The Shooting of Dan McGrew and The Cremation of Sam McGee....in 1965 Winnipeg Manitoba's Chad Allen and the Expressions re-released their hit single "Shakin' All Over" under their new name The Guess Who; it was the band's first record under that name. Actually I have only seen it under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. at one time they were called "Al and the Silvertones". In 1965 the Canada-U.S. AUTO PACT was signed and we've gad the AUTO PACT ever since. I wonder where we are going ? Today would have been my dad's 93rd birthday...I continue to miss him a lot. have a terrific day!

TUESDAY JANUARY 15TH 2013

Morning everyone. Lets Toast Tuesday, the middle of January or JanuWARY...sometimes a month to be wary of.In 1984 it got down to -27 at Orr Lake and even Toronto which let a record for that day. In 1986 -26 and in 1994 -33 with a wind chill of -37. Checking out todays date...in 1559 QUEEN Elizabeth the 1st was crowned in Westminster Abbey and at her death in 1603, because she left no heirs the Tudor line of British Royalty ended...but of course The Two-Door Line of Astin Martin cars started 100 years ago today...in 1895 The Toronto Mendelsson Choir gave it's first concert. ALSO MARTIN LUTHER KING was born in 1929 on this date as was Chuck Berry,Veronica Tennant and Charo on this date...if you are a landlord it would be good to have a tennant who walks on her Toes. Another date highlight...in 1797, the first 'TOP HAT' was worn by London Haberdasher John Hetherington...over here we'd need flaps with our cold weather. Also of note in 1895 Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake opened in St. Petersburg Russia..it closed the next day after several audience members were bitten by the swans:). In 1967 the first Super Bowl took place. (I have never managed to find out whether it is 10 pin or 5 pin bowling.)FINALLY we leave you with this thought...MONEY can't buy love, health, happiness or what it did last year.... and in the words of Martin Luther King...born 84 years ago today..I hope you "have a dream" and a great one... mornin' every body

MONDAY JANUARY 14TH 2013

Good morning...another Monday. off and running with a cool down underway after a very mild week-end.There were quite a few record temps set on Saturday...up to 12 degrees in Midland and 15 in Toronto and close to 11 at Orr Lake...back in 1988 we had 5 or 6 inches and cold with -32 or 24 below F. We had a big storm in 1992 with up to 12 inches with lots of blowing snow. On this date 145 years ago...there was a big Ice Storm in Toronto and it did a lot of damage including a silver maple tree that inspired a fellow named Alexander Muir to write "The Maple Leaf Forever" The song became quite popular in English Canada and for many years served as an unofficial national anthem. Because of its strongly British perspective it became unpopular amongst French Canadians, and this prevented it from ever becoming an official anthem, even though it was seriously considered for that role and was even used as a de facto anthem in many instances. The words have been updated and the last 40 years or so it's been called "The Maple Leafs Forever LOSE". On this date in 1914 Henry Ford started the first assembly line. The final episode of "MASH" was taped on this day in 1983 for airing feb 28th of that same year. "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", becoming the most watched television episode in U.S. television history at the time, with a record-breaking 125 million viewers (60.2 Rating and 77 Share), according to the New York Times. In contrast to the high turnout for the final episode of M*A*S*H, it struggled in its first season and was at risk of being cancelled. It contained many different characters including Key Luke (who was Charlie Chan's no. 1 son in the old Charlie Chan series of Movies in the 30's and 40's) A Chinese-born American actor he was also the original Kato in the 1939-1941 Green Hornet film serials, and Master Po in the television series, Kung Fu. There was also G. W. Bailey who played the perpetually lazy Staff Sgt. Luther Rizzo, who headed the camp motor pool, in 14 episodes. He more recently has been a high profile cop of much the same character on the "the Closer". and finally today...Chris Hadfield has revealed going to the bathroom in space can be a problem, with the weightlessness...you can never see any feet under the door :) have a great day and mornin everybody...mornin'.

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2013

Morning Peeps...this is the "chattin at ya Trew crew (of one person) for another TGIF DAY..we are continuing to "walk on the mild side" as the snow continues to melt..bigtime with the rain this morning. WAY BACK in 1569 on this date England held it's first State Lottery to raise money to contruct harbours. If you won you got to stand there as a boat tie all day. I didn't know that lotteries went back that far. In 1922, Leonard Thompson, a 14 year old Canadian, was the first person to have his diabetes successfully treated, with Banting and Best's new discovery, insulin. In the music world, in 1956 Elvis started his RCA recording sessions which included Heartbreak Hotel. in 1984 "Thriller" became the all=time Best selling LP. It is currently around 72 Million. The best selling album by a female of all time is Shania at number 10 with "Come on Over" with about 40 million sold. Two Canadian Prime Ministers were born on this date including Sir John A our first PM in 1815 and Jean Chretien who is 79 today. also born today Bobby Goldsboro and Don Cherry, the Singer not the hockey guy. Pop vocalist Don Cherry was born in Wichita Falls, TX, in 1924, and his biggest hit was Band Of Gold in 1955 which went to no. 3 on Billboard. He is also quite the golfer and captured the Canadian Amateur Championship in 1953. He has quite the volcanic temper on the golf course. Now that the hockey situation is done was settled on this date a few years ago as well. The 1994–95 NHL lockout was one that came after a year of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey that was played without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout caused the 1994–95 season to be shortened to 48 games. The big issue was the implementation of a salary cap....and finally this just in. Medical researchers discovered early today what an embryo does when it's hungry. It calls womb service. mornin' everybody..mornin'

THURSDAY JANUARY 10TH 2013

Mornin everybody...tis a Thursday look at a few things...we haven't really had one of those Block Buster storms so far this winter thank goodness..it was a very cold day on this date in 1981 with a biggie storm and -30 celsius low. In 1983 it had been mild and the high on the day was +5 c ...and the rain had taken away all the snow and there were actually reports that the rainbow trout were starting to spawn in Georgian Bay because of the mild weather. in Leaf land, The Maple leafs handed Joe Crozier his hat and Mike Nykoluk the keys to the Gardens..they were 17th in the standings...yesterday of course Brian Burke was booted and now the onus is on Nonis. I think the new Leaf owners may have channelled Harold Ballard and are using one of his moves...as they change the Leafs into a CLOWN CORPORATION again. I don't think Brian Burke has been the same since he lost his son to a car accident and how can he be really. Speaking of the Leafs..."the Big M", Frank Mahovolich is...get ready for it..75 years old TODAY. Rod Stewart is 67...Ronnie Hawkins hits 77 and this makes me feel a little better...a JUNIOR is my SENIOR...Frank Sinatra Junior is older than I am...he is 68. Oh well we are all getting older...even Miss Piggy is going thru a MUD life crisis. "Downton Abbey premiered Sunday about British aristocrats and their servants. This year it's airing in Mexico. It's a warning to Mexicans who are thinking about coming north that if they ask for too much money, the jobs are all going to go to English-speaking people." ciao for now and have a great day.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 9TH, 2013

IT'S A MILD DAY here...after a quite beautiful day yesterday...a Perfect Winters day for a walk. On this day in 30 years ago..the temps were moderate as well with TOOTSIE opening at area theatres and gas was only 42.2...but in 82 we had a huge storm with the 400 and 26 closed and lots of trouble with the 30 cm overnight storm. It was so cold my watch hands had mittens on....so did the Leafs evidently in 1995 with only 17 points in 40 games and were dead last of course. in 1899....Manitobans suffer under a record low temperature of minus 52.8 Celsius (minus 63 Fahrenheit). Now that is cold...The Golden boy was skating on his Hot Tub. 10 years earlier in 1889 the Niagara Suspension Bridge collapsed during a winter storm. in 1789 England adopted the world's first income tax. Events in Music history...the Beatles' 65 album went to #1 & stayed #1 for 9 weeks and in 2002 - Michael Jackson received the Artist of the Century award at the American music awards. Kate Middleton is 31 today....also born on this date Richard Nixon...in 1913...100 years ago. Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was born January 9, 1935 The American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis....he died in 2005. Clarence Leroy "Lee" Van Cleef, Jr. was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Westerns and action pictures and was usually cast as a villain...was born in 1925. I guess he was in a few Cleef hangers along the way. Crystal Gayle also celebrates today (born Brenda Gail Webb in 1951) best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". She has 20 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s She is also famous for her nearly floor-length hair.She was voted one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People Magazine in 1983. Crystal is the youngest sister (by 19 years) of singer Loretta Lynn and a distant cousin of singer Patty Loveless and boy does she know how to put the CRY into Crystal...lets leave you with this Hump-Day thought..."by the time you get old enough to watch your step...you don't feel like going anywhere" Mornin everybody Ken

TUESDAY JANUARY 8TH 2013

Hope its a "good rockin morning for you. Elvis was born on this date in 1935 in Tupelo Mississippi. His twin brother Jessie Garon was stillborn. On this day in 1946 he received his first guitar from his parents, and as they say the rest is history. His first single was released in 1954.."That's All Right" / "Blue Moon of Kentucky". was released. I never really collected Elvis lp's so I am amazed at the stuff on the "Elvis" serius radio's channel which is all Elvis. I always liked his stuff a lot but these songs, I've never heard before are just phenomenal. He was Much Much Better than I thought. We had a couple of big storms on the previous days in 1981 and 82...so we were trying to dig out from that. We'd had about 12 to 18" and the weather folks were saying in 1981 we'd had up to 8 feet fall to that point in 81/82..there of course had been some melting too. I don't know if u care about hockey coming back...but here's a little ditty sung to the Hokey Pokey "you put your left wing in...you put your right wing out...you put your centre in and he skates all about...you do the Hockey Pucky and pass the disc around...that's what it's all about." (sorry I only have this much written.and next I might go from bad to VERSE. IN 1976...Canada, US, USSR, Sweden, Finland and Czechoslovakia agreed to take part in Canada Cup hockey tournament. and finally..."their grass was greener..their flowers bloomier...which made my grass look all the gloomier..but winters here and now who cares...my snow is just as white as theirs... mornin everybody...

MONDAY JANUARY 7TH 2013

HOWDY PARTNER..... Today is Melody Ranch Day, marking the debut on this day in 1940 of "Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch" on CBS Radio. The singing cowboy kept listeners tuned in for 16 years... I HAVE ONE OF HIS GUITARS..

MADE BETWEEN 1930 AND 1934 it was smaller in size but is a real guitar which they call a Parlour Guitar. WE had a big storm on this date in 1981 with up to 12" and The Olympic flame was passing thru our area.. in 1988...thru Orillia and it was a very cold day with lows around minus 24 C. It was so cold I remember seeing a chicken with a Cape-on.(capon). On this date in 1963 Fire destroyed the Palace Pier in Toronto...and in 1859 it was "Hi-Yo Silver" day when Canadian Silver coins were first issued. 20 years ago today..The #1 song was Whitney Houston’s "I Will Always Love You." and The #1 country song was Vince Gill’s "Don’t Let Your Love Start Slippin’ Away." In 59, The U.S. recognized Fidel Castro's new government in Cuba..in 1989,: It was learned that Cuban Premier Fidel Castro had suffered a minor lung cancer and had stopped smoking cigars....and so did Bill Clinton...in 1998 Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky signed an affidavit denying she had an affair with President Bill Clinton. On this day in 1785 John Jeffries and Jean-Pierre Blanchard became the first humans to fly across the English Channel naked. To stay airborne they had to jettison everything from their hot air balloon, including their clothes. The made it across, but (here it comes) --- BARELY! Tarzan debuted in comic strips on this date in 1929. and this final thought in these days just after Christmas...if Dolly Parton's necklace gets any longer it too will be going over a Physical CLIFF. Have a great day... mornin'.

FRIDAY JANUARY 4TH 2013

THAR SHE BLOWS...It's A very windy morn with gusts up to 50 but A fairly Mild day at about Minus 3 C...It's been a volatile date...with 1989 and 1981 very cold days. The low lows of -37 C or 35 below zero in many spots in 1981 with Toronto -31 C...the coldest since records were kept...in 1989 our temp was near -24. Also in 1981, The Broadway show "Frankenstein" opened and closed on the same night at a reported loss of $2 million...in other words people were not over EGOR to see it. Sir Isaac Newton was born on this date in 1642. Sir Isaac discovered the Law of Gravity which lead him to say....an apple a day keeps the G-force at play. On this day in 1976 Ontario neurologist Dr. Adrian Upton discovered human brain waves in a bowl of lime Jell-O. Honest...By attaching electrodes to the bowl, Dr. Upton discovered that Jell-O vibrations create wave activity identical to that of the human brain. it also lead to a lot of people PUDDING Bill Cosby on a pedestal. You might want to google him, the Doctor not Bill. Marty Robbins' classic "El Paso" entered the country music charts on this day in 1960. It was a violent yet tender love song about a Texas cowboy who suspected something was dreadfully wrong when he felt a deep burning pain in his side -- which turned out to be a bullet. Yet while dying in the arms of his true love, this brave young cowboy continued to sing, apparently so in love with his Mexican maiden, that he couldn't fathom the fact that she turned out to be a pain in the neck as well. have a great day today and HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS!

THURSDAY JAN 3RD 2013

Howdy folks...another inch of snow this morning and around -8 C. 30 years ago we had about the same amount of snow (7") and a high for the day of -2 and a low of -17...In World Jr. Hockey We lost 4 to 1 to the Soviets...Rocky 4 was at the movies...the Cosby was no. 1 on TV and Gas at the pump was 50.3 cents. In 1938: The "March of Dimes" campaign to fight polio was started. In 1970: The Beatles recorded their last song together, "I Me Mine." Ten years later it was the title of George Harrison’s autobiography. We watched part 1 of a great documentary on George Harrison last night and it was an excellent look at their early days...I taped part 2. I hadn't realized they had recorded "she Loves Me yah yah yah...She loves me Not Yah Yah Yah. In 1983, Michael Jackson's Thriller LP was released. It would top the LP chart for 37 weeks and become the best selling album of all time....The golden Jet is 74 years old today...I think this is day 110 of the hockey lock-out. I have a couple of predictions for 2013...It will be LEAN times for the Tower of Pisa and Larry King will be declared the "Newly-wed Capital of the World. and one final thought...after the big holiday feasting...The best way to clean up SILVER is to HAVE Tonto run him through a car wash.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2ND 2013

HI HO HI HO...FOR SANTA AND ELVES IT'S TIME TO SLOW....HAPPY NEW YEAR PEEPS...hope you had a terrific New Years....May the best of 2012 be the worst of 2013. Our New Years Eve party went in one year and out the other as it should. Today is Happy MEW Year for Cats Day. Cats insist on holidays all their own. January was named for Janus, the two-faced god. Janus could look forward and backward at the same time similiar to how politicians have become two-faced. General James Wolfe was born in England on this day in 1727. General Wolfe WON THE BATTLE OF THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. They both died in the Battle. The Royal Mint was 'founded on this date in 1908 and continues to keep the Royal Family's Breath smelling FRESH, as well as the PM and Governor-General. there is apparently a Frost Warning out in San Francisco and on this day in 1961 the temperature dropped to 14 degrees (F) in Haleakala, Hawaii. Which may not seem all that cold to some people. But in Hawaii it was so cold the natives had to make their grass skirts out of Electric Blankets. Singing cowboy Tex Ritter died of a heart attack at Nashville's Metro Jail on this day in 1974. Tex wasn't in jail himself; he was there to bail out a friend...he wasn't from Texas either but from Idaho and who wants to be called."IDA RITTER" and IDA singing cowboy was already taken. On this day in 1900 Gramophone began manufacturing 7-inch, single-sided records in Montreal. A second side was added when protesters insisted each song be sung in both English and French and finally "The sounds of January are upon us: the crackling of wood in the fireplace ... the pitter patter of little Sleet on the window pane ...and the scissory sound of cutting up credit cards at the kitchen table....."