SNOW DAY!!! TOO COLD! The City shuts down.....

"Relaxing is another way of saying you're getting old"

 Last week was a snowy one for most of British Columbia.

Here is a video that was shot a couple days ago when Victoria got their snow day.

The Band playing is a local one....  "Current Swell"  singing "Too Cold"......



Enjoy the song! ....And the quick run through Victoria, the Capital City of the Province of British Columbia......if you have never been there!

Even if you have been there...you probably haven't seen it when it snows!

I am leaving you with a family of Sea Otters in Victoria.......enjoying the snow:




and another at the Science center:



Enough already!

But you have to admit.....animals ARE cute!

If you like Coldplay.....

Watch this.  Very good version....some say better than the original.





If you go to their Youtube channel - take a look at other songs they have done. It's incredible!

Here is their story.

And since I can't get enough of Christmas.....

I love this interpretation of "Little Drummer Boy"!  My cousin is a teacher at the high school this 17-year-old attends!



I wish we had snow!!!!

Christmas is coming:

Here is a brand new song out by a brand new 17-year-old Canadian artist, the niece of my girlfriend from Ottawa:



"A Country Boy For Christmas" available now on iTunes.ca as part of the 'CMT – The Gift of Giving' compilation album. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this album will go to Canadian food banks through Corus Entertainment's community giving initiative Corus Feeds Kids.

"Gift of Giving" is a one hour performance/documentary program featuring an enchanting Christmas concert performed before a live audience. A blend of traditional and original songs will be brought to life by our diverse case of artists. Documentary-style story elements will weave between the performances telling the story of hunger in Canada and the important role provided by food banks and charities.

Hosted by Canadian country music singer and humanitarian George Canyon, the special will feature performances and interviews with fellow Canadians Chantal Kreviazuk, Barenaked Ladies, Great Big Sea, Jimmy Rankin, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Kira Isabella. Gift of Giving will air throughout December on CMT, YTV, W Network and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada). (Full list of airdates below.)

A companion CD features the show's performers as well as holiday music from Johnny Reid, Rascal Flatts, Dean Brody, Gord Bamford, Darius Rucker, Chad Brownlee (former professional hockey player defenceman turned musician), Luke Bryan and Sugarland. Gift of Giving, the first ever holiday compilation CD from CMT, is now available in-store and on iTunes.



CMT Airdates:
Saturday, December 3 at 9am ET/6PT, 1pm ET/10PT and 10pm ET/7PT
Sunday, December 4 at 7pm ET/4PT
Tuesday, December 6 at 6pm ET/3PT and 11pm ET/8PT
Friday, December 9 at 9pm ET/6PT
Sunday, December 11 at 10pm ET/7PT
Thursday, December 15 at 8pm ET/5PT and 12am ET/9PT
Friday, December 16 at 1am ET/10PT
Saturday, December 17 at 9am ET/6PT
Sunday, December 18 at 10am ET/7PT
Monday, December 19 at 4pm ET/1PT
Thursday, December 22 at 11pm ET/8 PT
Friday, December 23 at 7pm ET/4 PT
Saturday, December 24 at 8pm ET/5PT
Sunday, December 25 at 7pm ET/4PT

OWN Airdates:
Sunday, December 18 at 2pm ET/11PT
Tuesday, December 20 at 9pm ET/6PT

W Network Airdate:
Saturday, December 10 at 1pm ET/10PT

YTV Airdates:
Monday, December 19 at 10pm ET/7PT
Saturday, December 24 at 11pm ET/8PT

Young Talent

Ages 10 to 13, this brother/sister group - Angie,Gustavo and Abelardo Vazquez singing Adele's "Rolling in the Deep"

Talent plus!



She is only 10!

What a Good Idea!

The exercise bike incentive is the good idea - is what I am saying.

As for the "calcium drink" - there are better ways to get your calcium without the use of another plastic bottle for the landfill.....

After Yesterday...

I needed something uplifting.

I have posted this song in a previous post by the original artists...but this version is so much sweeter.....




I always wanted a little girl....and this tugs at my heart.

"One day I'm gonna whistle"....how cute!!

After working in L&D and seeing the births of so many little ones...I wish for such a beautiful family connection for all of them....

Advice from Grandma: Saturday early am music.

Love this song




That's all.

An "Awww Cute!" Saturday AM

(not that I like the idea of animals confined in zoos too much... )

Meanwhile, bear with me as I tweak colors and design with my blog!

Secret Heart

Went camping this past weekend.

Brought along the little guitar my husband bought....it's just a kid's size - perfect for camping  ...and it stays in tune just long enough for one song.  

It sounds more like a ukulele than a guitar - definitely not the sound my Ovation makes....but it serves it's purpose without taking up too much room.

So we lit the fire and started singing. 

Everyone loves music.

It's funny how people are drawn to a campfire and a guitar.

I found that out back when I was fourteen, living in the 1960's and '70's  when I would take my guitar to the beach and sit around the fire playing all those songs so popular back then.

Memories.

I can remember one backpacking trip to Mexico where I performed for an hour on stage in a little out-of-the-way bar in a backstreet.   Guys were sitting on their cars on the street and hanging in the windows.  Couples got up to dance on the 10 by 10 dance floor.

Such fun!

Which brings me to this performance:



Feist.

Singing a song by Ron Sexsmith...one of the best Canadian singers/songwriters out there.

Love that music.

Ryan Andreas

Even though he says he has "never performed live ever"...I guess I will hand it to him anyway.... I like his voice, and the way he did Sarah McLachlan's "Arms of an Angel" tonight on AGT was beautiful.

Lady Gaga and The Royal Wedding

Let's just say you are a commoner engaged to a Prince, a future King of England.

Let's just say you met at College, and now there is a group of guys from that college you attended that is paying homage to your engagement and future marriage.  

They aren't your usual singers. 

No - they are disgruntled would-be suitors.



Oh well.

It can't be any worse than the "Official Initials" fiasco.

What the official china's embossing should have looked like

What the official souvenirs are now embossed with

When I first saw the WC - I laughed.  I got it right away.  

In Britain the abbreviation "WC" stands for the old  "Water Closet" which is British-speak for Toilet, or Biffy, or Can or Washroom - if you are Canadian, or if you are American - Restroom.

Thankfully, for the Royal Couple-to-be, changes were made before all the formal china was fired at the Royal china factory....to avoid the "Royal Flush" jokes that would surely ensue. 

BUT - If you ever find the former initials on anything - "WC" - they will soon be expensive collector's items. 

This is the first time that Tradition has been broken, and the bride's initials are put first - before the Royal.

See?  Even the stuffy Monarchy can break with tradition, if the situation is just right.


Meanwhile, here is a FREEBIE you can download in honor of the Royal Newlyweds-to-be:  George Michael singing Stevie Wonder's song - "You and I".

You're welcome!

Schoolyard Smackdown

It speaks for itself:



On facebook, my nephew is being called names - "bullied" - with one kid in particular saying mean things and using the "F" bomb in reference to him

Did I mention ....my nephew is 10 years old?

Why should he have to put up with this? What kind of kids do this sort of thing? Where are the parents? Better yet, what kind of parenting produces kids like this?

My sister-in-law and myself have both emailed this particular kid to cease and desist. I have a mind to phone up the parents of the bully next time I see something again.

Problem: My brother has left the family (long story) and is so wrapped up in the "new family" that his "original" family is being ignored. Their mom works hard to support the four kids - since my brother is such a loser and doesn't - and can't be everything to everyone.

Needless to say I have lost all respect for my brother...who has left his little family for this so-called "Christian" lady and her son.

Ya, right.

Do I sound bitter? Perhaps.

It looks like his kids are the ones that are being punished.

God help those four boys.

So, forgive me if this video makes me feel sad that kids are made to feel that they have no other choice but resort to this...

Scarey Movie Trailer...sequel to last post!

Of course, as always - someone got creative with the original post.

The Mom of the babe who posted the original video loved this one and actually "favorited" it.




It's probably more along the lines of what I would be thinking...

Shocked baby!

Just thought this little baby from Montreal, Quebec was cute ...
Interesting - babies' expressions when they encounter something new.

Didn't realize that someone blowing their nose was so shocking and funny!



Now, Mom. Go and throw that kleenex in the trash and wash your hands!!!

Yup. I was right. Except One.

Well, well.  ALL my picks for AI got through to the next round except my little redhead Brett.  That's ok. Another little 17-year-old with an incredible voice took his place.

Hope it will be a good week next week. 

Anyway,  Jennifer Lopez's "new" song was played at the end of the program while the judges were deciding the "wild card" picks.  It suddenly hit me.......it sounded so familiar........

I had a sudden flash back to 1989 when I moved to East Bay San Francisco.....the year of the earthquake....
I was living in a little poolside cabana in Walnut Creek, the show VH1 was on and there that song was - playing -  Kaoma Worldbeat Lambada.   I loved that song!  I used to dance around the pool, waist long hair with the wavy auburn ringlets....bathing suit....laughing.....dancing the Lambada....

It seems that someone else recognized this,  and actually spliced the two together.


Which one of the two sounds the best???

The Kaoma version or the JLo version?

ADDED MARCH 5....after checking out the story a little more!

Apparently the group Kaoma "stole" the song from a group in Bolivia - were sued for a million $ which the group Kaoma lost. Jlo paid royalties to use the song.
So there you have it. The whole story!

Here's the original group and the original version:

The Girls - Tonight

Not so spectacular as the Guys.

One standout......

Naima Adedapo.  She is so talented and not only with her voice....she designs her own outfits! Gotta love a gal that does that! Creative!

Close runners up:

Haley Reinhart  - quite good! She can really sing!
Thia Megia - age 15????Crazy good!!!  I can't believe she is 15!

That's it.  I was so disappointed with the Girls night that I had to go back and listen to the Guys nite all over again.  Wow. That made me smile.

How Many of these ended up in YOUR Emergency Department??

It was definitely the first thing that came to my mind....

Eh - Aye ( A - I )

It's no secret my husband and I like the show. 

We used to watch it "together" in seperate cities before we were married, instant messaging back and forth and rating each contestant.

We figured last year was the final year we would watch it because it was starting to get old.  I didn't really like the way the judges would tear apart the kids trying out for the show.

Yes, some of the "talent" was lacking - with little insight into their singing abilities (or should I say dis-abilities).  I blame the pre-screeners  for even putting some of those "contestants" through - obviously done for drama - not talent.

But - now with Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler added as the new judges....what an improvement!  They show heart and compassion.

I've always liked Aerosmith. Now I have new admiration for their frontman.

Steven Tyler was so touching when he reached out to one of the contestants - Chris Medina's fiance Juliana who is confined to a wheelchair due to a traumatic brain injury. 

Here is the story - I'll bet you can't watch it without shedding at least one tear:



By the way, Chris Medina was eliminated and isn't in the Top 24.
I really do think that American Idol saved the show - at least for one more season - by bringing in Jennifer and Steven .....I like them.


The male contestants I am rooting for this time 'round? Out of the 12:

1. James Durbin : a young man who struggles with Tourettes and Asperger's. His musician Daddy died of an OD when he was just a little guy.  One word - AMAZING! Dare I say he is better than Adam Lambert at times?

2. Jacob Lusk: he sure did an incredible "God Bless the Child" in a previous show....he has one amazing voice..!!! wow. wow. Luther Vandross voice doppelganger.

3. Brett Loewenstern: a young man that was/is bullied in school, a real carrot top!  He has quite the voice! And he's 16!!

4. Scott McCreery: A sweet young man who had an epiphany during the eliminations and apologized for not sticking up for a dejected co-contestant when he could have.  His vocals may be limited to country, but I love his style.  And 16 years old???!! Crazy.

5. Paul McDonald: raspy-Rod-Stewart voiced Kenny Loggins look-alike. I just like him - and his voice.

6. Casey Abrams: He is just one quirky guy. Love his quirky style and voice. Hope he can keep it up.





NOTE: you can purchase Chris Medina's new song: "What are Words" (written by a composer who has also written for Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson) from iTunes. The proceeds go towards a fund set up for Juliana, to help with her recovery/treatment expenses.

Oscar

I am not really a movie buff.  

That's my husband's passion. If it weren't for his 10 foot movie screen in the "Man Cave", I probably wouldn't see any movies.

Tonight, while he watches the Oscars....I am on my computer.

There are very few movies that are really good.   We just watched "Secretariat" and I thought it was the best I had seen in a while.  But one movie really touches my heart, and I enjoy watching it every time.

The touching story is about an elderly woman who's only dream is to go back to her home town - a fictitious town in Texas called "Bountiful".



I know it's a 1985 movie, but if you have never seen it, you are going to have to make time for it.  Geraldine Page won an Oscar for Best Actress.   Her poignant performance lives on in DVD/online form.

The movie was a forshadowing of what was to come.

Geraldine Page died of a heart attack at age 62 in 1987 during a run on Broadway, only 2 years after making this movie.