I Saw It On The Radio

Toronto, Canada, June 11, 2007

I'm a shameless fan of the CBC Radio program: O'Reilly And The Age Of Persuasion, so when my brother Mike, invited me to watch a taping of the show at Pirate Radio, I was thrilled. A few weeks ago I was doing some carpentry at Mike's home and I got a chance to see him preparing the script and sound bites for the show. I am in awe of how much care he takes and how much work he does to give the show the extras that put it above and beyond most other shows on the air. And now I have a chance to see the show being made.I show up at the Pirate Studio in downtown Toronto. Terry O'Reilly is one of the six partners of this Advertising agency. It's a very inviting building with a relaxed atmosphere and lots of comfortable chairs and a small cafeteria with many jars of candy on a counter for anyone to sample. I arrange to meet my mom and Mike's wife, Lorrie here at Pirate. As it happens, the three of us meet right outside the building as if on cue. Mike comes out of the sound room to greet us and takes us back to meet Terry and to watch the taping for a while.He gives us a copy of the script so we can follow along. What impresses me the most, is how much care Mike puts into every line that is read. He helps with the tempo and inflection. It's great to finally meet Terry O'Reilly. Terry is a very quiet, self effacing man who has a genuine manner and makes us feel very welcome. The combination of Mike and Terry together brings a fresh, exciting element to the program. The people standing in front of the sound booth, from left to right are: Don Dickenson ( the guy who says "And now... Terry O'Reilly and the Age of Persuasion" in the opening), Terry O'Reilly (former NHL Hockey star and host of the show), Keith Ohman, a.k.a. "The Duke of Decibel", a.k.a. "The Sonic Swede" and Mike Tennant (former bed-wetter).This is the receptionist for Pirate Radio; 'Justice Darragh (There are so many puns here, I won't even start). I have included her here because she's lovely, and I want to. Thanks Mike and Terry for inviting us to see your show in production. They have completed their second season of shows and are now waiting for final approval for the third season which I have no doubt, CBC will give them (if they don't want a full scale riot from the listeners of Canada). Mike and Terry are also negotiating a book deal based on the show. Now that I've had a chance to watch this taping, I can truly say: 'I saw it on the radio'.

Dinner and a Movie

I finally had a chance to visit with my brother Mike and his family. They came over to my Mom's for a delicious dinner of glazed baked ham with all the trimmings. We even had baked Alaska for desert. Mom really knows how to make a meal!
When we were finished dinner, we sat down to watch a new Christmas video that Melbah, Mom and I just finished producing. We've been working on the video technology of Windows Moviemaker for the last three years. I think we nailed it this time. The movie's fast-paced, funny, and most of all it doesn't bore.

It was wonderful to have a chance to talk with my brother. I find that with my family, we love each other but we tend to not talk very much on the phone. We have the best time when we get together.

Melbah, you were asking how Mike's family enjoyed the video. Did they find it exciting? Did it enthrall them? Well...

Ticket To India

Today I went to Nippon Travel to get my tickets for Asia.

Okay, here's my plug for my travel agent. Elaine is fantastic. She had to change my travel plans five times before we were done. And she got me a great price. She managed to get me a flight from Toronto to Vancouver on Christmas Eve. She has me arriving in Bangkok in time to make my other connections for New Delhi India at just the time I wanted.
A few weeks ago, I thought I would have to arrive in Asia on New Year's Eve. But then she suddenly found me a ticket for December 24th. I told Elaine I couldn't go on Christmas or my Mom would kill me. A couple of days later I tried to score Brownie points with Mom by letting her know what a loyal son I was being by staying with her in Waterloo on Christmas. Her reply shocked me. "I don't care if you're here for Christmas. You're going to be here for the three weeks anyway. Take the ticket and go."
So everything is working out great. Thanks Elaine. Thanks Mom. India here I come.
...So you don't want me home on Christmas eh Mom?...

Happy 'Baste' Day to Me

Yesterday I knew something was afoot. I looked on my Yahoo Messenger and there I found Squiddy's Smiley Face showing 'Busy' beside it. Squiddy doesn't even know where to find that symbol. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO FIND THAT SYMBOL! Then I saw that my sister and co-conspirator, Melba The Toasted One; had the same 'Busy' Icon beside her name. I smelled trouble and I was right.
This morning I woke up to a wonderful video on my computer. It was the best present I could have received and I want to share it with you.

Click To Play

My family and friends make me feel very loved and I want to say to all of you out there; Thank you, Coum Ahn, Khopt Khun Krup, and don't forget to 'baste' me and set the timer before you leave.

Love (and the right baking temperature) Stevie

Nha Trang Boat Trip

March 22 2006

Nha Trang is my first stop on the Bus Tour. It's the place to get pampered. It's a sexy vacation place with lots of spas, great beaches and wonderful sights to see. I booked a boat tour the first day I arrived.
We were all shuttled to the pier where there were many boats just like this one filling up with tourists.
Our guide welcomed us to the boat and away we went, out to Sea. There are many Islands off the Coast of Nha Trang, and many beautiful resorts.
The thing I notice about Vietnam is that there are many people from Vietnam who are on these tours. In Thailand it was rare to see a Thai on board as a visitor. I think you guys are 'Tuanah and Haianh Pham from Hanoi.
And you two are newlyweds right? Dinh and Minh Chau? Work with me people.
And I hope you two are 'Anh and Thuy' from Hanoi. I think this woman has a beautiful face. Of all the people on the boat, for some reason I just gravitated to these three couples. I find the Vietnamese people very approachable. I find that because of my age and the fact that I'm a bit of a geek, I tend to get along with the local cultures better than the younger travelers from my own heritage. Go figure...
These are traditional Vietnamese boats for fishing and moving supplies around. A few of our bunch went for a ride to try one out.
Meanwhile, the cooks on the boat prepared a feast for us..We were served rice, fruit, French bread and a few Vietnamese dishes that looked like spring rolls. This culture borrows from the many countries who have occupied their land throughout the last thousand years. The result is a wonderful culinary diversity. (Wow, I think all that reading is helping my vocabulary).
After lunch we had a surprise. The crew brought out some instruments and we all got song sheets. We got to try some karaoke and sang the company song. By the end of the session a bunch of us were dancing on the table.
And yes, those coconuts are real. This is our Tour guide. He will do anything for the morale of the boat. These guys were here for a fun day and we were were very pleasantly surprised to see how much they did to make the day memorable. I think I'm going to need therapy before I'll be willing to drink cocoa nut milk again though.
The water is wonderful here. It's clean and warm and very refreshing. Our boat stopped for an hour while we did some snorkeling. There is a coral reef right near by where I saw a rainbow of colors and some fantastic fish. The only question you have to ask yourself is: am I jumping into the water here or coming up?

I swam for a long time, just enjoying the warm sunny day here in March. Sorry to hear about the snow in Canada. Life's all about choices, eh?
We stopped off at an Island resort for a couple of hours. This mermaid is the symbol of this particular place.

Some of our crew went para sailing ($12 a ride). Others went swimming. I just went for a walk down the beach until I met up with the manager of this resort. He invited me to sit down and have a whiskey with him. We sat and talked for a while and he asked me about Canada. This is such a nice way to spend a day. This seems like a dream. A few of us took this round boat to a floating fishing village. These people live on the water and have a marine farm. They catch undersized creatures and keep them in netted holding tanks until they are a better size to sell.

It's a bit hard to see but this is a squid the size of my foot. If you look carefully you can see her eyes. I kept thinking of the Jules Verne book: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. I can understand why he chose this creature to grab the submarine. It's a powerful animal.
One of the women who took us here made a motion in the water which attracted the squid to us the way you would attract a dog to come and see you. This squid is very tame. Unfortunately she will be very delicious very soon.

She may not speak much English but she decided I was pretty interesting. I think it's because I look like a Buddhist Monk. We had a great time joking around and they were very proud of their fishing village. By the end of the boat trip today I was happy and feeling very relaxed.

Etobicoke Catnap

I wrote about the Air France Fire that took place the day I was trying to fly to Calgary, where e I am now, but I wanted to show you the wonderful day I spent relaxing with some new friends and some very new Old Friends.

My sister, Melba Toasty, and my Mom, drove me and my hundred and forty pounds of baggage to Etobicoke, which is close to Pearson Airport. Vivyan and Dorian met us. I first contacted Vivyan in 2000 and we have been Internet twins ever since.

Vivyan is an avid gardener and she dug up some plants for Mel and Squiddy to take back with them to Waterloo.

Later on, Donna came over to join us for dinner. Donna has had a more exciting life than most of us would want. Just after she divorced her husband, he was shot by terrorists in South America. We hit it off like old friends, right from the start and had a wonderful talk.

Vivyan and Donna connected this way too and they have been great friends to each other through their recent struggles.

Dorian is a very unassuming man who brings a great calm to Vivyan's exuberance and helps keep things balanced in their lives. He is an artist who works with canvas and computer imagery. I find the more I get to know Dorian, the more I want to know. He is a kind, gentle Soul with tremendous insight into life. This picture exemplifies what I'm talking about but really, I think he was just resting like I was, after eating so much of the great food that Vivyan prepared for us. She's a wonderful cook and a great hostess.

That evening after we could eat no more, we talked and watched the 7 kittens at play. These are a couple of the loners from a local pet store. Vivyan wanted to help the kittens get used to people so they can be ready for their new homes.

Vivyan's sister even joined us for dinner. It was a day of Cats and Catnaps and great food. And especially great conversation.

Mom's Cats...Really!

Mom got two Himalayan cats from the Humane Society on Monday, as she explains in her blog. The only problem is, she has trouble finding them. Okay Squiddy. I know where they are.

The blond guy likes to live in my portable closet. But if it's any consolation Mom, he sleeps on the T-shirt you brought me back from England.

I'm sure it's not my room he goes for; it's your shirt...really!

And as for the Seal point, he may be snoring on my bed each night but that doesn't mean he likes it. Look at that tension in his paws. He misses you. I'm sure of it.

Now here's where Mom and I would like your help. Squiddy is still deciding what to call them. I want to call this one Wookie, because he reminds me of Chewy from Star wars.

And mom is partial to calling this guy 'Marmaduke', which I shorten to 'Dukie'. What do you think? Wookie and Dukie? We're open to suggestions.

Squiddy's Garden

I have learned that beauty is all around us if we will just take the time to look. The other morning I went outside and took these pictures of Squiddy's garden just as the sun was rising. I find that when I look at it from a distance her yard is nice, but close up it's amazing.

Sunrise is my favorite time of day. When I was growing up I had a morning paper route and I had the opportunity to be out in this most tranquil time of the day.

Melbah Toasty was just over looking at this side garden and we made a date to do some serious weeding to get it in shape

But even in it's unkempt state, I love looking at these ruffled tulips. Such a wonderful color of pink.

This is Squiddy's deck. There is a lot happening in this picture, but let me just point out two things. A red-winged black bird is throwing himself at a mirror. He practically lives here. In a coming Blog post, I will talk about the nature spirits that are attracted to my Mom's garden.

Another thing I love here is the basket of hibiscus. When I focus on them, they seem to be bursting with vibrant energy.

The back yards in our neighborhood are very simple and the house colors seem drab to me. But when I look at the bed of flowers in the left side of this picture...

...I see the powerful colors of the petunias that are blooming here.

In Canada, even the flowers express our winter. This is called a 'snowball tree and this morning it was absolutely spilling over Mom's back fence.

Here's her front yard. I find that the houses here in Waterloo have a crisp clean look to them but without the gardens they would look almost sterile.

On this particular morning, the Parrot tulips were just coming to full bloom.