Wireless Review

For those of you who didn't attend the Royal Canadian Legion's entertainment on Friday, it should be noted you missed a very good solid performance and it was free! The Bar Manager at the Legion, Bruce Salmonson has a buddy Paul, who sings with the barbershop quartet named Wireless. Bruce was able to talk the group into stopping over in Morden on Friday night on their way to a barbershop convention in Dauphin and performing at the Legion.
Prior to their performance at the Legion I visited their website and realized this was a group of talented individuals, and I decided to enlist the help of my friend David Destoop of "The Source Electronics" to help set up a sound and light system that befitted their talent.
The group Wireless has been together since 2005 and hale from Grand Forks and Fargo Area.
Unfortunately through poor marketing, advertising or member support, which are all common features for our local legion, the attendance was small.
The short program of 45 minutes with a further encore of 15 minutes was well received by those few who did attend what one could consider a professional and polished group..
Some local singers in attendance remarked on how exceptionally talented and versatile they performed.
Songs ranged from religious, to Broadway classics, to long forgotten ballads. There were also plenty of comedic performances within the repertoire. In general Wireless seemed to have fun while entertaining and that fun was infectious with the audience. The harmonies were clearly done to near perfection and the performance at the Legion became more of a concert than the usual bar band loud and riotous exercise. They were able to offer a mix of songs, some maybe not as memorable as others, but the shear delight of listening to their melodic and seemingly effortless harmonies overcame any lack of familiarity with the song.
In general Morden, you missed a great one of a kind performance. Check out their website by clicking on >>>http://wirelessqt.com/ .
Thanks Bruce!

I Am Hutterite

The poised, polished and articulate Mary-Ann Kirby, author of the current best selling book “I Am Hutterite” breezed into town last night, along with her promoter Arvel Gray. They had made stops in Gretna, Carman and now Morden. You would be hard pressed in meeting her to determine that her early life was that of a Hutterite. She read from her book recounting the dramatic impact of her parents leaving the Colony some 38 years ago. The unfamiliar everyday normal encounters, such as food preparation and packaging, secular fashion, and strange customs and language. About living around Domain, Plum Coulee, and Winkler, and as a teen having worked at A&W and Salem home in Winkler. She then took questions from an audience of about 100+ people gathered at the Friendship Centre.
She began her career in journalism in Dauphin, Manitoba as a news anchor and reporter and later was appointed senior reporter responsible for aboriginal issues at CTV in Prince Albert. From 1993-1996, she worked in Ottawa as a freelance journalist and served as Media Relations Consultant for the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
Mary-Ann lives in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan She has fulfilled one of her childhood ambitions of becoming a singer, and partners with Lisa Olsen as a easy listening duo at private and corporate events, fundraisers, resorts and other venues. You can catch them at this year's “Plum Festival” in Plum Coulee.

Performing Arts Centre

The situation regarding the Performing Arts Centre is certainly a vexing and potentially divisive one for our community. We do not want to stifle learning nor at the same time be financially buried by it. The dilemma is, where does democracy come into play in all of this? When a 3rd party non- elected, unaccountable, individual gifts a community with conditions, that may well impose hardship, through increased school taxes and operating costs. It begs the school board to act responsibly and with accountability on behalf of taxpayers. If too a person the board members have total faith and belief in their financial capital and expense costs for the project, with only a slight impact on school taxes. Then they should personally be able to underwrite any cost overruns, and if not, then let the Western School division taxpayers decide their own financial fate via a referendum. The cost and magnitude of this project is such, that it should not fall to five trustees to determine. Nor did they have any pre-election mandate for it.

Moose, Fittwell & Co.

In order to take a bite out of the long winter days, I indulge in one of my most passionate pastimes, exercising! Now for those of you who know me, you need read no further………..

For those of you who are still with me, here’s the scoop.
One of the reasons to exercise is that all my “idols” hang out at the local Fittwell Centre. There’s Uncle Bob Dyck (not a relative), crooner Wayne Motheral, debonair Don Sager, Arnold “007” Wiebe, and Jerry “Biker” Kehler, along with school boy chum Jim “Moose “ Giesbrecht, (2nd generation), who is a local sports legend in these parts. There’s a whole life time here of twisted mangled sinew and thinning hair. All of us being of sound mind and bad bodies attend this facility for various mysterious reasons, unbeknown to us, well for some of us anyway. It’s all about the camaraderie and joy we find at Fittwell, as long as we’re not all there at the same time.
Under the fine tutelage of Facility Director Deanna Pentland CFC, PTS, FIS, NWS, its run like an army boot camp, just kidding, just kidding, don’t panic! I have suggested a name change from Fittwell to the Sitwell Centre, something more appropriate to my style, but that bombed because younger people do attend.

Having gone for several years now, I feel I can offer a few sage tips on the fine points of exercising!

Top 5 Fitness Tips

1. Upon arrival at the Fittness Centre, you are unable to find a parking spot, don’t stress yourself out, just go home.
2. Don't overexert yourself to the point of injury and hospitalization.
As hospital food tends to add to your body weight, defeating the purpose of exercising.
3. Don't go over your allotted time frame on any one exercise machine, but if you do, dock that amount of time from your next exercise.
4. In the locker room, secretly sprinkle water on the front of your sweat shirt, to give that sweaty macho look.
5. Don't be taken in by Deanna's smiling charm, it's genuine.

As I’ve told Deanna “the best thing about Fittwell…… is leaving”.

Oh! did I fail to mention this, “Chicks” work out here too!



Local Legend Jim "Moose" Giesbrecht

Charles "Harold" Atlas

(All Photos & captions by Terry Titchkosky)

(Click on pictures for larger image)

Cheers!

Oscar's 80th

One of my annual rituals since the beginning of television or time, whichever came first, is taking in the Academy Awards. Sunday’s 80th presentation I thought rather drab. One of the issues is in not knowing the new crop of performers or much about them. Jon Stewart the host of 80th Academy came out flat and stayed that way. He is much more suited to the political subtle innuendoes of the day, than the e-talk entertainment scene. Bring back Ellen DeGeneres she’s been the most entertaining and capable host as of late. As for the dresses and gowns very conservative in style, nothing outrageous at all, whatever happen to Cher? There was an absence of any life form like streakers, or any Jack Palace push up’s, or any hint of protests; except for Alex Gibney’s (“Taxi to the Dark Side”) statement regarding torture. The two musical categories for original song and score had a drought, and where left wanting, for some spark of musical creativity. Dwelling on this 80th Anniversary took me back to my youth and the 50th Academy Awards Anniversary. Charlie Chaplin who had been ban from entering the United States in 1952 after 38 years in the States; was accused of "un-American activities" as a suspected communist sympathizer He briefly and triumphantly returned in April 1972, with his wife, to receive an Honorary Oscar, and the longest standing ovation in Academy Award history, lasting a full five minutes. I mention this because not that much has changed over 30 years. Today you could step out of a shower with a towel around your head, and be picked up as a terrorist, because they didn’t like your You Tube material. So much for the 2008 Oscars and our age of paranoia!

Afghanistan

The situation in Afghanistan is certainly a vexing one for Canadians, and even more difficult to assess and put into words. However I believe Larry L’s response to the Globe and Mail, sums it up quite succinctly.

Larry L from Waterloo, Canada writes: There is no doubt this situation is both dire and being swept under the carpet. How anyone believes 51,000 troops will save the day over 50,000 is the height of insanity. A few thousand more troops will not solve this. And no NATO nation is going to provide massive numbers of troops. I do not know the answer on how to resolve this. What I do know is where we are now is a stop gap at best and a declining one at that. More lives and more billions are not going to improve the situation. If we have no solution, we need to pull out and take a different approach. That is not a cut-and-run answer. That is not a typical liberal cowardice ideal. It is just reality. I don't want another dead soldier whose life is tossed away in some fruitless venture. It would be great to think we are stemming the tide, making a real difference. The reality is that every area we secure gets turned back as soon as we move to the next area. The poppy industry is the people's best hope for survival. Who can blame them? We have not inspired the people to stand and fight with us. They take what we give, gratefully, and when we go, they still have to live, feed their families. And so the poppies grow. Wouldn't you do what you had to in order to feed your family? It's sad that we live in a world where the truth is the enemy. It's sad that politicians on all sides feel the need to either lie, cover up or manipulate the truth. The question I'm always asking myself is this: If what we are trying to do in Afghanistan is working so well, if how things are organized is so spectacular, if the reason we are doing what we're doing is so right, then why do you have to do whatever you can to keep the information from us? Does no one understand that the truth is out there? It doesn't take long to find real information from real sources in real places. And it doesn't take long to unravel the web of disinformation. The question why so many accept what is fed to us.

Quiz?

If you are an e-mail junkie then you have probably encountered the Quiz about Getting to Know Your Friends and family. What you are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire
e-mail and paste it into a new e-mail that you'll send. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to your friends and family, including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends and family that you might not have known! The result for me has been that you get the standard truthful, sombre, sober, responses than can put you to sleep. So to assist and help you out with this dilemma, here are some sample responses you can use and good luck. As the saying goes “get a life,” spice it up, avoid the circling buzzards from picking on your carcass!


1. What time did you get up this morning?
a) in time for breakfast.
2. Diamonds or pearls?
a). how about a sow’s ear
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
a) don’t know yet, I’m still going
4. What is your favorite TV show?
a) Rin Tin Tin (1954-59)
5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
a) What I had the pervious morning.
6. What is your middle name?
a) Disaster
7. What food do you dislike?
a) Rotten food
8. What is your favorite CD?
a) still playing LP’s, thinking about an MP3 player
9. What kind of car do you drive?
a) I drive a souped up, beater van.
10. Favorite sandwich?
a) Earl of ?
11. What characteristic do you despise?
a) Feline!
12. Favorite item of clothing?
a) The string Bikini.
13. If you could go anywhere on vacation where would you go?
a) Where you couldn’t find me.
14.What color is your bathroom?
a) from the throne, or the tub?
15. Favorite brand of clothing?
a) Cheap!
16. Where do you want to retire to?
a) to a bed.
17. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
a) when I contacted Alzheimers.
18. Favourite sport to watch?
a) women’s mud wrestling.
19. Furthest place you are sending this?
a) As Jackie Gleason use to say…….to the moon.
20. Who do you least expect to send this back?
a) Royal Mail.
21. Person you expect to send it back first?
a) Stephen Harper
22. Favourite sayings?
a) BULL_ _ _ _.?
23. When is your birthday?
a) sometime in the future..
24. Are you a morning person or a night person?
a) What would you like me to be?
25. What is your shoe size?
a) same as my mouth.
26. Pets?
a) one!
27. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
a) If I had any, I’d be sharing it with The “Pope.”
28. What did you want to be when you were little?
a) BIG!
29. How are you today?
a) I have a medical appointment.
30. What is your favourite candy?
a) Floss.
31. What is your favourite flower?
a) For-get-me-not’s.
32. What is a day on the calendar are you are looking forward to?
a) the 34th.
33. What church do you attend?
a) The Upside Down Church of the Fallen!
34.What are you listening to right now?
a) Furnace fan.
35.What was the last thing you ate?
a) Haven’t passed away yet.
36. Do you wish on stars?
a) No, on my feet.
37. If you were a crayon what color would you be?
a) all the colours of the rainbow?
38. How is the weather right now?
a) mostly unsettling!

There are 25 additional questions, but I’m sure by now, you get my drift.
Enjoy, and as Red/Green says “keep your stick on the ice.”