I was there in the early days of the Casper Ruud phenomenon. It was a week day afternoon in October of 2018 and I decided to play hooky at work (it’s okay – I own the joint) and head down to the Acadia Tennis Centre to watch an early round tennis match of the Challenger event here in Calgary. With a couple of matches to choose from I picked the Casper Ruud match. There were about 20 people in the stands. I thought to myself…this kid has got game with strong consistency. I projected the player to make an impact on the ATP tour. On Sunday he’ll vie for the French Open Title. BTW…yours truly has managed to keep tennis instructor credentials intact (online course recerts) here in Alberta during the challenging last three years. Tennis is game for your life time. It’s never too late to pick up a racquet.
Mount Everest Delusional Vanity
They make it up to be a “dream” but in actual fact the quest to scale Mount Everest is nothing more than delusional vanity. Some brother, niece, or grandparent gets the notion of putting their life on the line literally by hoisting themselves up an escarpment via a route prepared specifically by professional guides. Every successful arrival at the summit is done so with the aid of fixed ropes and ladders affixed to two routes used. The treasure required for an attempt is in the tens of thousands of dollars. This is money not put to purposeful use for worthy philanthropic causes, family vacations, educational pursuits, etc.
We hope that the human ego has means to mature as temporal chronology unfolds. We sort of assume this as a survival mechanism but there could be something amiss in the mind. We grant liberty and climbing permits but we do so without measurement of cerebral capacity. Societies grapple with sociological deviance not knowing how to put restrictions on liberty.
Could it be that the creative power of the mind has been restricted by those with the delusional obsessive schemes? Could it be that social and family connections have been so severed in some that such schemes gain fertile fuel through imbalance? Could there be an esteem issue whereby the manifestation of such an outlet is undertaken in order to gain self worth?
2023 has seen twelve deaths to date including a Vancouver B.C. anaesthesiologist. Over 300 deaths have been reported on the mountain to date associated with this misadventure. The Nepalese government et al receives approximately 5 Million dollars annually in permitting revenue.
Remembering Deb Hope
Despite not knowing her personally, I reflect on my memory of Deb Hope in context of the recent cynicism portrayed of women by men on youtube and I having known her as a viewer of the “news hour”. Deb Hope was an unpretentious news anchor and her innocent charm is what I found most appealing during all those dinner time news hours back in ’81 –’82. You see, mom, Aunt Mina and I watched the BCTV news hour with TV tables in the living room in Kamloops when dad was away working in the mines. She had big eyes and laughs came easily as she bantered with weatherman Wayne Cox. She was atypically genuine as the “lady” next door within a news anchor role. Even at such a tender age I found something radical about this human transparency elicited from a television tube.
So what is it about this context in which I compare her life? Some youtube channel has spouted an unflattering stat characterizing the “modern woman.” It’s conceived that the pursuit of the modern woman leads to a destination of vanity laden emptiness.
Deb Hope died of Alzheimers Disease today. It was early onset. She was only 58 years old at discovery and passed away today at 67. She was the antonym of the “modern woman” and disenfranchised men should look to traits like hers in restoring faith in their dating quest.
Secret Is Out Cormier Dunning Lauzon
The Nickelodeon folk club hosted these guitarists last night to a sold out show. This is a quaint venue and by all accounts…this act deserves a bigger arena. They are seasoned pros with decades of guitar playing experience with Dave Gunning and J.P. Cormier operating in tandum since the mid nineties. Jake Lauzon has proved to be a travelling companion producing yet more gel to the stage chemistry.
There’s so much material in addition to yet another release titled “Leather and Dust” that fan favourites “Kelly’s Mountain”, “Molly May”, and “Leaving Charlottetown” didn’t make the set list. Not only did they bring the house down but Dave Gunning’s dry humour with his soft spoke voice left some patrons in fits of laughter.
J.P.’s roots started out by winning fiddle and guitar contests in his youth. From there basic training involved acclimatizing to the fast tempo of bluegrass in the southern U.S where mandolin and banjo chops advanced in the company of the Sullivan family.
Dave Gunning is simply a work horse with melody emanating oftentimes in an octave altered from the lead playing of JP. Dave is ribbed among “String Theory” enthusiasts (weekly guitar talk show hosted by J.P) for how high he capos the guitar. The personality differential between these two is obviously broad adding to the appeal.
The guitar playing is something to behold. J.P exhibits scale mastery along the neck and utilizes open strings and altered chords for piquing interest. Then there is the dynamics and flow of a song that shows how extremely synchronized these two have become.
We don’t know Jake well yet but the word is that he’s also a multi-instrumentalist at the ready for whatever flavour needs added to a song.
The Western Canadian portion of the tour is underway and dates are posted on their web site “gunningandcormier.com”.
SOTU Pomp and Circumstance
The acronym stands for “State of The Union” and it is an annual message from the President of The United states in front of sitting members of the Congress. The Constitution mandates the event in order to update citizens.
You would think it would be an apolitical affair instead of a cheerleading session given the mandate. The United States of America carries an enormous debt of $31 trillion. The country spent 28.5% more than it received in revenue in 2022. These are critical financial facts applicable for describing the “state of the nation”. In other words, as of this date of writing….every American citizen carries a debt burden of $94,325. That’s right…the citizens, many of which receive foods stamps, income support, and minimum wage pay carry this debt burden which if unable to ratify within their lifetime then becomes the burden of future generations. Is it conscionable to overspend my 28.5 per cent during a time when espoused by Joe Biden himself that the unemployment rate in America is at the lowest it’s been in 50 years?
With this kind of enormous debt, how is it that so many profitable corporations in America go without paying tax as referenced? What kinds of loopholes are they deploying in order to avoid paying tax and why is it that this country cannot close loopholes to help save their solvency?
Of course there was the dismay at watching political elite hob nob around the assembly with their phony smiles and handshakes all while Turkey and Syria endure the enormity of death and despair amidst the ruins of a devastating earthquake and while young innocent soldiers heed the call of their nations to serve battlefields in Ukraine. Given the backdrop, one would expect at least some decorum instead politicking and cat calling from back benches and solemnity instead of hubris upon delivering news of the state not so candidly.