the Seven Wonders of Canada

CBC has a shortlist of 50 nominations for the Seven Wonders of Canada.

My picks are:

• Northern Lights

  Not much is better than a warm night lying on a beach, or going for a swim, watching the northern lights dance across the sky



• Prairie Skies

  You just won't get it until you see it. I will likely always live on the prairies for the sky.



• Spiral Tunnels

  Not just the spiral tunnels through Kicking Horse, but the rail lines in general (and don't for the High Level Bridge in Lethbridge!). The engineering marvel of the Canadian railway system, and that over a hundred years ago! Linking communities and towns to cities and the coasts. Awe-inspiring.



• The Canoe

  The Canoe is the predecessor to the railway. Without it, relatively quick and easy travel in Canada would never have been possible.



• The Rockies

  My backyard playground. Whether it's hiking, biking, skiing, camping, or skinny dipping, the Rockies are never boring or tiresome. I can't imagine living away from them.



• Trans Canada Highway

  Again with the transportation theme, the T-C has bourne the weight of many of my trips in that old VW Jetta, among other modes of transporation. I have driven / ridden on most of the Trans Canada, from Vancouver to Sudbury, and Montréal to Moncton and Charlottetown. I have also driven / ridden on the entire Crows Nest Trail, from Medicine Hat to Hope. If you've done #1, it's a dump compared to #3. My ultimate road trip would be to drive the entire highway.



• The Igloo

  It's just amazing how snow can be used to make a liveable shelter, which protects the inhabitants from the same thing that its made of! I can recall many snow-fort building expeditions from my youth.

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View the results.

Moses Mayes

If you discover most of your new "music" from commercial radio, then stop reading.

Recently while in fabulous Las Vegas Nevada for a business trip, I met a member of Moses Mayes, as he was there representing a company on the exhibit floor.

The conversation started around me being from Lethbridge, and his band was going to playing here in the near future (but alas, they now are not, as they got a better gig offer to play in Canmore on the same night! Lethbridge's loss).

In the blur and haze which constantly surrounds one while in Las Vegas, I was actually able to remember that I met this band member, and the name of the band, which I easily googled.

It's not often that I find some so fresh and so innovative, that I've got to blog about it.

Moses Mayes is not easily defined, as they transcend most labels. The best possible application for their style would be a foundation of funk fusion and acid jazz, and that all mixed together and coming out somewhere in between on the other side.

I highly recommend this group from friendly Winnipeg Manitoba. Check them out! You shan't be disappointed.

Moses Mayes on iTunes:

• Second Ring


• Needle to the Groove


• The Funk Family Orchestra

love the ride

I have been cycling on my sport hardtail, a Rocky Mountain Fusion for four years now. I love the ride. I bike whenever I can. All Christmas's but the most recent, it was nice enough to head out for a 10 km ride in the afternoon.

However, a sport hardtail has its purpose, and is therefore limited when being used for other types of rides.

The craving, nay lust, for a road bike set in over a year ago, but just to make sure that it was a prolonged emotion, I waited for a full year before permitting myself to indulge.

And now I have.

Introducing the newest member to my family:


the Rocky Mountain Solo 10

The "10" indicates the component level; this frame comes in three levels of components, 10, 30, 50, each having better components than the predecessor. As I don't know how good I will be, getting the starter level will likely be adequate for my needs.

I've paid the deposit for my bike store to order it in (not a stock item; too expensive for the average bike purchaser), and the expected arrival date is Thursday. Updates to follow!

More seats in the House

As reported on CBC today, the Minister of Democratic Reform (I've learned of a new ministry today!) has introduced a bill to address population growth concerns as related to adequate representation in the House.

Under the proposal, Alberta and British Columbia will both gain seats, five and seven each respectively.

The problem is that Ontario would be on schedule to receive an additional 10 seats!!! I have issue with this.

Ontario is already over-represented in the House. Onatario decides the government. Ontario has too much sway in Ottawa, Ontario.


However, not to fret, this change wouldn't be implemented until 2017. Wow! That's such a big number! And it's also ten years from now.

thinking about some things just makes me ill

Let's impeach the President for lying
And misleading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door

Who's the man who hired all the criminals
The White House shadows who hide behind closed doors
They bend the facts to fit with their new stories
Of why we have to send our men to war

Let's impeach the President for spying
On citizens inside their own homes
Breaking every law in the country
By tapping our computers and telephones

What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees
Would New Orleans have been safer that way
Sheltered by our government's protection
Or was someone just not home that day?

Flip - Flop
Flip - Flop
Flip - Flop
Flip - Flop

Let's impeach the president for hijacking
Our religion and using it to get elected
Dividing our country into colors
And still leaving black people neglected

Thank god he's cracking down on steroids
Since he sold his old baseball team
There's lots of people looking at big trouble
But of course our president is clean.

~ Neil Young : "let's impeach the president", from Living with War

blogger's block

Having been away for two weeks, first a near week in Las Vegas for NAB and then for 10 days in Toronto, and then suffering through a week back at work and at home, I have come to notice that I have not blogged.

And it's for the block I have that I have not blogged.


However, I have finally updated the Films Blog. So if you're needing a little Lewie tonight, then feel free to check out what films and movies I have been watching lately.


And let this be my acknowledgement that I will make an effort to be more consistent with my blogging. I know I have a few loyal readers out there....somewhere.