I’ve learned a thing or two in the last couple of days that may seem completely automatic for any other Canadian, and for this I apologize.
The first being the origin of the word “hoser”, which is a commonly used Canadian slang term, similar to calling someone a “loser”, popularized by Bob and Doug of The Great White North [wiki].
Thanks to this post by fellow Crazy Canuck, Alanah over at Canucks and Beyond, John got to the bottom of the term.
“Alternatively, the term may originate as a variation of “loserâ€; in amateur games of hockey the losing team would have to “hose down†the rink, resurface the ice with a water hose.” [wiki]
It’s the last explanation that I’m sticking with for now. I mean, the rest of it makes sense, but relating it back to hockey works for me. [audihertz]
Second, is something I learned while watching Hockey: A People’s History, and I just haven’t applied it to anything until this morning listening to the radio while getting ready for work. During the series on CBC, they mentioned Bill Barilko and a curse that plagued the Maple Leafs for several years [FiftyMissionCap Blog].
…On August 26, he joined his dentist, Henry Hudson, on a flight aboard Hudson’s Fairchild 24 floatplane to northern Quebec en route to a fishing trip. On the return trip, the single-engine plane disappeared and its passengers remained missing despite a massive search. On June 7, 1962 a helicopter pilot discovered the wreckage of the plane about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Cochrane.
Notably, the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup that year, after not winning it at all during the eleven years that he was missing. The Tragically Hip‘s song “Fifty Mission Cap” (from their 1992 album Fully Completely) prominently features Barilko’s tragic story and the absence of the Leafs victory until the year he was found [wiki]
As a good Canadian, I should be able to interpret any lyric written by Gord Downie, but at least now I know, and knowing is half the battle.
This episode was recorded on the fly while I was packing for Victoria… so I rambled… a lot.
[John] ran around the apartment with my minidisc and microphone to record this one. Rebecca was preparing to head over to the island for the weekend with some of her family(girls only), so I followed her around while spouting off about various topics. I tore into a can of Guinness to find out what those things they put in there look like, we give our review on the Northern Voice conference that occurred last weekend, and give a roundup to the Vancouver Podcast Meetup that Mark Blevis, of the Canadian Podcast Buffet, put together last Sunday. Other hilarities included.
Run time, 55 mins. Visit the site for Episode #128 show notes, links, mp3 and all that good stuff.
We celebrated the Canucks’ win on Sunday with good friend of ours in North Vancouver. While enjoying tonight’s victory, I sported my fancy new Johnny Canuck t-shirt (below) that was supplied by said friends.
Want your own? Details are pending, stay tuned.
We watch A-Channel during the week sometimes, while cooking dinner and playing along with Jeopardy. We do so mostly because their weather guy, Bruce Williams, comes on with “Watch and Win”. A call-in contest where you can win anything from gift certificates to Canucks tickets.
This past Saturday A-Channel opened its doors from 11am to 4pm and had a general open house for the public. Now, I’ve had my share of tours and the CBC tour from last weekend was still fresh in my mind, but man – was this ever a cute lil station.
A-Channel is a part of the Chum group, along with the likes of CityTV and Much Music. It’s got that “behind the scenes” look to its newscast and the building is nothing like the concrete bunker that is the CBC. It’s a converted warehouse with neat little nooks n crannies. For example, there are “hydrants” in various places along the walls. They look like water pipes for firefighters to tap into but they’re loaded with connectors and plugs in case the wireless on your laptop craps out in the middle of a broadcast and you need to get a connection.
The first stop on the tour was a little station where guests could sit at a news desk and read a teleprompter. One brave guy sat up there and read, and about 4 minutes later they handed him a DVD of his performance.
We meandered through marketing and editing suites, then down to the audio room. We got autographs from Bruce Williams then had a chat with Hudson Mack – the news anchor.
In another room there was a green screen set up by the creative teams. They asked for volunteers then played clips of stock footage behind them as the crowd participant danced around in front of the green screen. The results were displayed on the TV and were quit funny. The best was when we were in the main room, getting a speech on mass media and journalistic integrity from Hudson Mack, but all the TVs in the room were displaying a little kid dancing around in front of the green screen – flying with geese and swimming in the water with Jaws. It was REALLY hard to keep a straight face.
After the tour we were all given a ticket for a free hot dog, pop and chips. On top of that, we were loaded with swag: stickers, little foam microphones, thundersticks and balloons. The staff were so hospitable and the on-air talent were really down to earth.
All I could think about in that audio booth with the sound guy was, “I bet John could get a job doing this kinda thing.” But I don’t think we’re ready to be moving out of town any time soon.
Every year we come to Victoria and every time we stay at the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort. Originally we would get treatments at the spa, but it then just turned into our main hub for the weekend.
Location wise, you can walk across the Johnson Street bridge or take a water taxi and you’re in the heart of downtown.
It’s comparable with any other full service hotel you’ll find when it comes to price. It also has a pool, fitness room and restaurant/lounge. But where it really takes the cake, is the customer service. There’s all those little things you come to appreciate, especially how much a big ol’ resort like that caters to the young’uns. There was a wee-sized robe in the closet when we got into our room and every night at 8:00pm they have a story time for the kids, complete with milk and cookies. There’s also a free shuttle that will take you out on the town or bring you home safely. You can even knock on the door of your mom’s room then run down the hall with your 6 year old niece giggling… and no one will say a word.
It was nice to see familiar faces and to make it back for another girls weekend – we missed last year because I had that whole “getting married” thing. But I did take John to the OPR in November of 2005, and we had just as good a time. It’s always a pleasure.
