The Horror in Your Head

To start this one off I will have to begin by giving a short summary of some recent world events in the news.

On Sunday May 15th approximately one-third the town of Slave Lake, Alberta was destroyed by a horrendous fire. The blaze originated in the forests outside of town and was pushed closer and closer to the town by winds up to 100 km/hr.
Despite the best efforts of fire-fighters and civilians the perimeter of the town was breached and 95% of the 7000 residents were forced to evacuate.
By the time it was over, City Hall was burned, many businesses vanished and two hundred residences were destroyed.




In the United States a wingnut named Harold Camping who is president of Family Radio, announced that the rapture and Judgment Day would take place on May 21, 2011 at 6 p.m.
He based this stupidity on his calculations and conclusions from passages in the bible.
Sadly, this loon was given far too much coverage on the world stage and some folks actually felt that the Apocalypse could actually take place.
Happily, here we are 3 days later.
Doofus was wrong but now claims that he made an error and the event will actually occur on October 21, 2011.
Wouldn't it be nice if this guy had no access to media from now until then and we wouldn't have to hear about it again in a few months?


Over this past weekend more than fifty twisters were reported across seven midwestern states in the United States.
The worst hit was Joplin, Missouri where on Sunday a single twister killed at least 116 people, and the figure is expected to rise as debris is cleared.
Hopefully they will find some survivors as well.
This was considered to be the deadliest tornado in the United States in almost 60 years.


That's quite a bit of scariness and bad news for a short period of time isn't it?
At what point does it become too much to bear?
When does the horror of the world smash around inside our brains and finally cause it to collapse into itself?

I remember watching the movie "The Fisher King" starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges and feeling so sad for Robin's character.
Following the death of his wife, William's character slips into a catatonic state and remains there for a few years.
When he emerges he becomes obsessed with the tale of the legend of the Fisher King and most of the movie follows his hallucinations as Jeff Bridge's character tries to help him.
I won't bother going into full details but my point is that sometimes things happen that cause someone's mind to go into another place which is a different reality than what the rest of us know.

On the other side, I think that at times a mind which has been worn down by time or altered in some way may take what it sees, good or bad, and twist it around into another reality.

Perhaps this isn't always a bad thing.
If we can take a whole bunch of messy things and turn it into something nice in our mind what harm is there in that? Especially if it is in our later years and we don't have a lot of time left on the Earth?

That's the nice side.
What about the scary side?
What about when someone takes several things and turns them into a horror in their head?

I think that I witnessed this yesterday when we were visiting my grandmother at her nursing home.
To start I want to mention that the home is a beautiful place in the Village of Gagetown. It's cozy and overlooks the water.
No matter what time or season I have been there the view and scenery are always great. This is very important as Granny loves watching the world from her window.

During our visit yesterday Cheryl went down the hall while the boys and I stayed in the large TV room with Granny.
A few minutes later Cheryl came back and asked me if I had heard anything about a disaster involving 200,000 people in Ontario. An elderly man had just said something to her about it.
Holy moley. I'm pretty certain that I would have heard about something like this!
Even if I had never turned on the TV or radio I would certainly have heard something through Twitter or Facebook.
I had not heard of any disaster of this magnitude.

A couple of minutes later this gentleman came into the room and told us that 200,000 people were watching a football game and were sucked up into the sky to their deaths.
He then said something about a bus with thousands of people that was destroyed.
Then he said "I'll show you the paper. Hold on." and scurried out of the room.

When he returned he held up the front page of the Daily Gleaner.
He pointed to a photo of Prime Minister Stephen Harper touring the destruction at Slave Lake with the Mayor.
I started to say something about the fire at Slave Lake, Alberta but he interrupted me and pointed to the remains of a building in the photo and said that was where the 200,000 people had been watching the football game when they were killed.

The entire time this fellow was speaking it was in such an urgent and distressed way as if he had witnessed something terrifying.

Then he sat down on the couch beside my son.
He told us that from the morning to the evening yesterday he couldn't bear to watch the TV anymore from the terrible things that he was seeing. Then he covered his face with his hands.

I confess that at there was a moment that I felt some amusement listening to this man since I knew that what he was saying wasn't true.
If it had been real it would certainly have been horrific.

But here's the thing.
To this elderly man, I think that it WAS real.

I think that he had heard about the news items such as what I mentioned above and his brain put them together into an event of death and destruction like no other.

His tone of urgency and sorrow convinced me that he really believed that what he spoke of had actually transpired.
I don't think that anyone could convince him otherwise.

Perhaps he is like that all of the time? Maybe it was the first time that this had happened to him?

I don't know but it did not appear that anyone in the place was concerned about it.


On the way to the van I told Cheryl how sad it was that if the mind creates another reality why does it have to be such an awful one?
Why not something happy and peaceful? That would be so much better, wouldn't it?


As I write this I feel more sadness for this man than I did yesterday.

I'm hoping that when he opened today's paper he found some good news.

Stay well,
Tim

Goals

I decided a while ago that I don't really want to make the things in this blog too timely.
I DO want to talk about what's on my mind at that moment but want to make it so that years from now (assuming this blog is still in existence) people can go back and read and be interested in what I've written.

There's a few people that don't agree with me but I have concluded that anything hockey related is timeless.

Whether it's talking about the greatest hockey player who has ever lived, Bobby Orr, or the greatest hockey players that I know personally.

Of course I'm referring to T and B, my hockey stars.
Last weekend they played in another tournament and once again they came charging out with another gold medal.
B got himself another hat-trick in a 5-1 victory in a game that counted more than I can tell you.
This was against a team that the kids play against in their regular league play and the victory was as sweet as it gets.

That team is the one that every other team wants to beat but doesn't always manage to do so.
The coach has no kids of her own on the team and has had a team every year that we have been in the league. That's a commendable thing.

However, she's not known as an overly pleasant person and has a "win at all costs" attitude.
She is known for "playing the bench".
I would guess that the top players on her team play an average of 2 times more than the others who are not quite as skilled.

We have watched as the hotshots go off the ice, sit at the front of the line of kids on the bench and go right back out again at the next shift change while the others who were already waiting continue to do so.

Our boys have never been on a team that this has happened. And they never will.

This is shameful on any team but beyond unacceptable in Recreation level play.
All coaches in the FYHA are required to adhere to the Coach Contract which details respect and fair play.
One of the points is -We will treat all players fairly and with respect and ensure all players receive equitable ice time throughout the season.
I don't believe for a moment that this is the way it's being done on that team.

I don't know how they get away with it but I'm sure someone must have spoken up about it before.
From what I have seen of her and if the stories that I have heard from kids that have been on her teams in the past are true there is no chance that she will ever have my sons playing for her.

That's all I will say about her since she isn't here to defend herself.
Plus this is a good news blog today so I won't waste any more time on that.

Oddly enough though, she wasn't at the game when we beat them. Ah well.


Ever since the boys first started playing 4 years ago I have been taking pictures and recording videos of the boys' games.
My intention has been to get almost all of their goals on video. I just thought that it would be cool to see how they develop and grow over time. Much like the videos that I post of them on YouTube playing drums and piano.

It sounds rather like the movie "The Truman Show" but I'm happy to know that there are friends out there who enjoy watching my little Trumans grow up.

In fact, we've made some pretty great friends from YouTube, Facebook and Twitter who we have not yet met in person but who are faithful followers and supporters.

One chap who I shall call Marcus is a fan and supporter of many people on the social media and is always there with an encouraging word to keep spirits up.

A couple of years ago I had posted a YouTube video of one of the guys playing music. They are listed under Drumming Wonderboy and Piano Wonderboy.

I have the comments section set up so that I must approve a comment before it will be posted and others will see it.

On this occasion some slimeball scumbag left a nasty remark that I won't bother repeating here.
I was quite upset about it and mentioned it to Marcus.
Marcus put it all into perspective with his supportive attitude and positive spirit and all was well again.


Anyhow, the sports videos haven't really been done to post on YouTube but more for us personally.
I just wish I had used a better system of saving them for easy reference.

Over the last few weeks I have been searching through disks, memory sticks and camera cards in an effort to gather every hockey video and photo together into one file folder.
I'm sad to say that I have not been able to catch every goal that the boys have ever scored on video.
In fact, I will always regret that I had to be at an NBSCETT Council meeting one Saturday morning 4 years ago and missed the first goal that T ever scored.
I do have B's first goal and most of the goals for both boys since then.

Following Saturday's games I downloaded the day's videos onto my computer.

I decided that I would try my hand at creating a compilation video of the goal and assist videos that I had for both guys using Microsoft Movie Maker on my computer.

I joined the videos together and added some cool music.
It's just over 10 minutes long and came out pretty well in my opinion.

When I watch it I can't believe how much these little dudes have changed and grown in such a short period of time.
I wanted to insert it into the blog here but it didn't work for me. I'll probably put it on YouTube and put a link on here in the next few days.

It's a work in progress. The season isn't over yet and we have another tournament in a couple of weeks.
I'm sure there will be plenty more goals to be added soon.

Stay well,
Tim

Blog about Blogs and other Social Media

Hello there. This isn’t actually going to be about a whole bunch of other people’s blogs, only two of note.

Coincidentally I just happen to be involved in both of them and they are recent.

 

The first one is this from today. Yay!! J  http://loscabosdrumsticks.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/up-and-coming-drummer/#comment-60

 

We are so proud of our guys and their musical talents.

They both have a natural feel for their instruments and sincerely enjoy playing them.

We never have to tell them to go and practice. They just head to the piano or drum kit whenever they want and play away.

 

I recall when I was in grade five I was among a handful of people in the school who took violin classes. A lady used to rotate around the local public schools and teach the violin to a few kids.

I can’t actually remember if I was asked if I wanted to take these lessons or if I was just signed up but I do have a fond memory of the class.

I don’t have a fond memory of practice time though. If memory serves I was forced (yes forced) to go to my bedroom and practice every day. At the time I wasn’t too bad but I wasn’t great.

I think if the practicing was more natural whenever I felt like it I may have been much better.

Maybe.

 

Anyway, please have a look at that link above and feel free to heap praise upon it.

I have to confess that it wasn’t by accident that Los Cabos came upon my sons’ videos.

I flog my YouTube videos  on Facebook and Twitter like it’s going out of style. How do you think some of them have over 1000, 2000 or even 5000 views?

People don’t always happen upon them by accident. Perhaps some do but I’m pretty certain that it’s primarily due to promotion through friends and connections on Social Media and by email.   

 

In this case I follow and am followed on Twitter by Los Cabos drumsticks who just happen to be situated nearby in Fredericton.

I’ve been tweeting them repeatedly about my lad for quite a while now.

Here is their main website http://www.loscabosdrumsticks.com .

 

Hmm. Now if I can get Sabian Cymbals to take an interest in him. They are also nearby. Just up the Saint John River.

 

In case you don’t already know (I can’t imagine how that could be the case) you can see all of my spectacular professional quality award winning (well, maybe one day) videos on my channel right here. http://www.youtube.com/user/timrs2001

I have videos of the boys going back a couple of years to when they were just starting to play. It’s great to track their progress.

Hey! Perhaps one day I will be posting videos of them in concerts in stadiums and arenas!

You just never know do you?

 

Please be so kind and rate the videos and comment on them if you have time. We love knowing that you were there.  Thanks. J

 

 

Now SPEAKING of social media and networking, the next blog I want to mention belongs to a pal who I first met via Twitter at a Tweetup (cute, isn’t it?) a year or so ago in Fredericton. We are also Facebook pals too and he has seen all of my YouTube videos.

Coincidentally, he is also a drummer AND used to work at Los Cabos before moving back to Nova Scotia. He is a friend of B’s drum teacher.

 

Lonnie asked me the other day if he could mention me in his blog.

As if I would say no...  

Without having a clue what it was going to be about I said yes. I trust Lonnie. He’s a good egg. J

 

Here is what he blogged about.

Instead of throwing in another link to his blog I’ll just copy and paste the blog here but refer you to his blog page for you to browse when you have a chance. http://lonnieljones.blogspot.com

 

“Saturday, November 27, 2010

Social networking...

I think I get it!

Social networking is good for business!

Yes, I was told that a year ago and I’ve been aware of it to a certain level since then, but today I managed to GET it!

Last year at this time, I was working for a firm in New Brunswick and we had been invited to an event known as a “Tweet Up” where users of Twitter gather and meet up. In discussion with Carter McLaughlin and Tim Scammell, I learned that such networks as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc are all about building relationships.

OK, that’s a stumper. What does that mean exactly? I have trouble with some relationships face-to-face, so what can Social Media offer me?

Well, to start with, there’s the safety of not being in a room with somebody. I know that sounds weird, but sometimes being in direct contact with others makes me feel awkward, insecure, or intimidated. (especially if it’s someone I look up to) Connecting by means of Social Networking Media keeps a level of separation in place where intimidation and awkwardness don’t (or can’t) exist. That allows me to speak (write) more freely and review what I say before I send it out to the other person.


But I discovered something else... It’s not about me! And in recognizing that, it became a benefit to me!

???

“How does that work,” you may ask...

OK, here’s how it happened for me. I follow people I know on Twitter, and also strangers (as in I haven’t met them) who do things I am interested in such as drumming, cycling, self-empowerment etc. In the process of that, someone I follow mentioned a podcast he had heard and included a link to it. I clicked on the link, dug the ‘cast, and subscribed. Once I became a subscriber, I downloaded other ‘casts and began listening... and learning.

This particular podcast is very diverse and covers many topics, often several per episode. Sometimes it is a short passage of only a few seconds that answers a question I’ve been asking for years. Other times, there is a secret that no one else knows, and this is where the learning begins for me. I learn something that can be used to my advantage in making me a better drummer.

True Social Networking would dictate that I would share this information and allow everyone to develop this skill and we would all have it at our disposal to use at will. There has however, been a long history of “Knowledge is power,” where knowing something others don’t is the same as having an “upper hand.”

Gone are those days of keeping information to ourselves in order to maintain power and control... Today, it’s all about sharing everything we know with the understanding that we will use that knowledge differently anyway, because we are all individuals with individual approaches to everything.

Another way it has worked to my advantage is financially. Again, because I follow someone on Twitter, I got connected with someone else who offered me a part-time PR position of sorts. This is a paid position and it’s not only in an area where I apparently have some expertise, but it’s also something I really enjoy doing!

Social networking has other advantages as well. I have several friends who no longer live here. Through the cyber-magic of social media, I can stay in touch immediately. Through them, I have met others of similar interests and together, we have great (albeit short) conversations about our favourite activities. Not only can I learn more about the things that bring me money, but also the things I do to unwind and enjoy life. I’m learning about far and distant lands I will likely never see, and my circle of “friends” is growing ever larger.

Heck, not long ago I was exchanging witticisms with Prince’s former drummer Sheila E!

~Still Wandering…. “

 

I’m always happy to see that others share my opinion and thoughts about Social Media and networking.

One thing I almost forgot to mention is that I also use MySpace and LinkedIn but not nearly as much as Facebook and Twitter.

Lonnie has summed up my thoughts very well regarding the benefits of these things. Thanks for that pal. J

 

One thing Lonnie touches on at the end which I really want to carry further is the celebrity factor of the Social Media.

 

As  I really love to do please allow me to drop names and tell you about a few of the pretty amazing folks that I have connected with at some point in time through Facebook and Twitter. Several  of them I actually had conversations with or more than one message.

Before I do I want to mention something.

I have often had people ask me how I knew if the person was really the real deal and not an imposter?

Twitter has this thing called a Verified Account. Twitter uses this to establish authenticity of well known accounts so users can trust that a legitimate source is authoring their Tweets.

Here is detailed information about Verified Accounts. http://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics/topics/111-features/articles/119135-about-verified-accounts

When we see the blue Verified badge we know they are who they say that they are. Some celebrities don’t have them but have convinced me that they are who they say.

 

On Facebook I have messaged with hockey great Ken Dryden, Glass Tiger singer Alan Frew and Greg Godovich of Goddo fame to name a few.

 

Twitter on the other hand has been wild with the stars I have messaged with.

Try this on for size. I’ll start with recent and work my way back.

 

Rosanne Cash – Johnny’s daughter! Yes!

Brian Travers - of the band UB40

Andrea Martin – Second City star and acting goddess. Andrea actually follows me too.

Russell Crowe – Yes THAT Russell. We’ve tweeted a few times. Do not make him angry. He’s been Robin Hood AND a Gladiator. J

Steve Martin – I don’t have to tell you who this guy is. Still funny after many years.

Sass Jordan – Canadian songstress with one of the most soulful voices I have ever heard.

Bill Zucker – Recording artist, comedian, actor, pal to Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed and co-worker of Kelsey Grammer.

Kelsey Grammer – Cheers and Frasier were his best known but his role as Stinky Pete the Prospector on Toy Story 2 are what sealed his status as an immortal legend with me. We’ve had several chats and Kelsey even wished me Happy Birthday. J

Kevin Pollack – He’s been in far too many huge movies to mention. See here  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001629

Roger Clemens – The greatest baseball pitcher to ever play the game. Bar none. We’ve tweeted many times. Roger was nice enough to autograph 2 baseballs for the boys which his sister Janet mailed to me. I actually befriended Janet first and discovered who her brother was later on.

Eddie Izzard – Incredibly funny guy and great actor. He was one of my mother’s favourite comedians.

Kathy Ireland – Model and humanitarian. Kathy was the first celebrity to follow me and I have no clue how she found me. How funny is that? Her brother Rick London and I have also become pretty good Twitter pals too.

Anne Murray – I couldn’t believe the Snowbird messaged me back. I have so much history with her in my life. My father has always been a huge fan. I was at the Boy Scout jamboree in 1977 where she filmed a television special and played a concert. She also attended UNB and our family saw her perform at an alumni reunion many years ago. Plus she was on the Johnny Cash show!

Ashton Kutcher – Geez, the guy has over 6 million followers and I actually got a reply from him.

Demi Moore – What a cool sense of humour she has. Has a heart of gold too which I was happy to discover.

Melissa Gilbert – Actress. We messaged a couple of times.  She’s come a long way from Little House on the Prairie.

Alyssa Milano – Actress and total techno geek. I had no idea that she is so intelligent.

Kirstie Alley – She’s a wingnut but a very kind soul. I don’t see too many tweets from her these days but she used to be on all of the time.  

 

This final mention is one of my favourite claims to fame.

After seeing several tweets in which Wil Wheaton (Star Trek- Next Generation, Stand By Me, Flubber, and appearances on Big Bang Theory) used gratuitous cursewords which I didn’t feel were really necessary I merely tweeted to him “Don’t swear so much.”

That’s all I said.

A few minutes later I wanted to follow it up with something else and discovered that he had blocked me! Really!

I still get a chuckle out of that one.

 

I must be off.

 

If I can’t see you soon in person I hope at least to meet you soon in the Social Media.

 

Stay well,

Tim

 

 

 

 

 

There's someone that I'd REALLY like you to meet...

Chances are, if you are reading this you already know how strongly I support rising talent of any type.
I am very passionate about this.
If someone is willing to share their talent we should do whatever we can to make sure that the whole world receives this gift by spreading the word.
This blog is another about this very thing.

Quite a while ago I registered for a Myspace account at the recommendation of a good friend of mine.
My good friend has issues with Facebook and refuses to get an account.
It seems that the only way to communicate with my pal is by email or Myspace.
My account sat there untouched and unloved for the longest time, being glanced at once a month or so.
When my friends Age of Daze mentioned that they have a page I took a renewed interest in Myspace.
When I learned of the Myspace application for BlackBerry I was hooked!

One day not too long ago I received a friend request from a young Australian lady named Miss Maggie B.
Today I am honoured to call Miss Maggie B a friend.
That's her in the pictures above. The young man with her is Peter Aoun who is her producer, co-writer and her very close friend.
What an amazing young woman she is. And she has such an incredible voice!

Don't take my word for it. Go here to see and hear for yourself.

http://www.myspace.com/missmaggieb

Rather than trying to tell you about her I'm going to use Maggie's own words from her Myspace page.

"Born and raised in Sydney, Australia. Discovered I can song write at the age of 6 when my sister and I started to write a song together. Ever since that day, songs and melodies have come through my dreams, when I am at church, when Im speaking to somebody in a middle conversation and when I need to vent. Sometimes I write one sentence and the rest of the song writes itself. I knew that I had to continue this journey. Singing and song writing was always kept a secret for many years growing up, because of confidence issues, but I have built my confidence on my own and teamed up with my childhood friend Peter Aoun (Mystro). He brings my melodies to life and one of the greatest producers I have ever known. We have been song writing for 14 years together and hopefully we can continue writing together for another 50. My music is influenced with my upbringing. Church Music, dance music, pop music, Arabic music and mostly belly dancing. But my world, image and song writing changed when I fell in love with rock music a few years ago and appreciated the guitar sound. So my music is a mixture of pop cultures, Arabic rock influences mixed into one flavour. There are so many more songs I would like to share with you. Enjoy! Xo Magi"

Our family has a developed a neat relationship with Miss Maggie B.
We love her music.
Maggie loves the Youtube videos I post of the boys playing drums and piano.

It's a case of fantastic young talent enthusiastically supporting another. I like that a lot.

She even sent the boys a personal birthday letter last week!

Miss Maggie B just released her CD. I'm waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail.
Contact her manager at seacoastfmradio@comcast.net to order a copy.

Also just in case anyone reading this would like to book her for show and make her a household name immediately, please do so.
Consider it a personal favour to me :).

I know that one day soon my lovely new friend Miss Maggie B is going to take the world by storm and charm everyone as she has charmed me.
Just remember that you heard all about her right here first.

I'm inviting you to jump on this bandwagon as it is picking up speed.

Stay Well,
Tim