Fall Brawl

Hello peeps and various wormslime...what is new and a happening in this wonderful world? Well first thing is first, let's discuss Earl...wasn't he a big ol pussy? He did touchdown in Middleton on Saturday, we got some wind, heavy rain..trees were blowing..now i know he did a wee bit of damage in Lunenburg and in Halifax, we were lucky in that we did not lose power...but what about people that did? Maybe it was actually a chance for people to spend quality time with family and friends for a change, no TV, no computer, no video games..maybe people should have a mandatory day a month where they switch off their power...The other thing i am happy about is that the authorities were smart and closed off Peggy's Cove..its a great spot for storm watchers, but is it worth drowning over the thrill of watching a storm? Some dudes have rocks in their heads...

Like i said...im glad Middleton wasn't too affected...and our new Greco/Robin's Donuts is almost finished as well... ;)

What else is happening? Well a couple of Thursday's ago i took my brother's boy to Windsor, yes the home of Sam Slick (Didn't he manage in the WWF?) to go see some UCW Wrestling at the Windsor War Memorial, i would have preferred to go on Sat night because it was the LAST show at the Berwick Arena, which is the subject of the previous blog on here... anyways it was a good show, met Robbie Macallister of the Highlanders tag-team and the legendary Leo Burke was in attendance as well as one of the Pint-Sized Brawlers from Spike TV taking on Doink The Clown...or someone dressed up as Doink The Clown...anyways the big news is the UCW now has a tv deal lined up with Eastlink and this could be a great thing for them as having television exposure helps your product, people can see your product, then they will turn out to watch the matches, which is better than advirtising in store front windows and on poles...hope it works out...

Another day off brought forth a trip to Port Royal...never been there? I will let Wilkepedia tell the tale...

Port Royal (known as Annapolis Royal) was once the capital of Acadia and is now a small rural community in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Port Royal was founded by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons and Samuel de Champlain in 1605. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, where there is currently the reconstruction of the original Habitation at Port-Royal. After its destruction (1613), Port Royal was re-established on the south shore of the basin. The British renamed the settlement Annapolis Royal after their conquest of Acadia (1710).

It was interesting, like something right out of those old history books we used to read in school, nice to see it is kept up in such nice condition as well...it was only 7 bucks and there were lots of people walking around dressed like it was 1600 again..i do remember the name Samuel de Champlain being talked about alot in class as he is referred to often as being the "Father of New France" and "Acadia" and many other places in North America.

Just a random drive around this Valley though with one's eyes open does allow for some interesting discoveries..take for an example a random drive past my old high school in Auburn to the place where i used to take the Pizza Nazi's crappy Chevette to get fixed and lo and behold there was a replica of Herbie The Love Bug sitting right there...i hope this dude has $$$ to pay for the parts..like i said, you do not know what you will see on a summer day in the Valley..plus i saw an old school house in Aylesford, i think it is still being used as something because one peak in the windows revealed dart boards and a piano and beer bottles...well it is being used for something i am sure...

The week concluded with a trip to Oaklawn Farm Zoo, also located in the happening metropolis of Aylesford.. i had heard that they had acquired some of the animals from the Upper Clemons Zoo, but i didn't really notice much of a difference from the last time i was at Oaklawn back in 2008... still decent prices, only seven bucks for adults and it is a decent little walk around.. had one little goat thigy that followed me around the whole time unsupervised, but i didn't mind..he was my little friend...as long as i had food..LOL....most of them like the black panther (Pictured below somewhere...) the tiger, lion etc just had their back turned on me most of the time..wasn't going to bug them too much just for a photo opp...

Of course Old Man Robb had to find an odd pic on the way home...well we Maritimers don't like to waste anything..so why waste a perfectly good ol fridge eh? Maybe it was working too...kiddin..

Well how is Educ 4683: Introduction to Lingustics going for Old Man Robb? Well i am almost done chapter one, just a few questions to do and it is on to chapter two.. the first chapter was an introductory chapter giving the objectives of the course and some definitions, for example..what is language anyways? Language can be described as being systems of symbols designed for the purpose of communication, using language composes who we are as a species and as individuals in society. There is also an interesting contrast when it comes to linguistic competence versus linguistic performance. Having linguistic competence means having the knowledge of a language. An ESL student may already be equipped with knowledge of the English language by the time they come to your classroom.

Now linguistic performance is something that has always concerned me as a teacher, your linguistic performance is what you produce as a language and or say, now this is something i have noticed as a teacher observing a classroom is that an ESL students performance may not reflect their competence in English, the student can be shy, nervous or not feeling well and their performance may be dramatically affected by this, this is something that i as a teacher have to keep in mind when teaching in an ESL classroom...

The biggest thing that ticked me off about Lord Earl's hurricane coming to NS was the fact that it moved Welcome Week at Acadia U to the next day Sunday and since i had a commitment to spend the day at the Store Formerly Known as Andrew's with Mr Montalban, i had to miss out on Welcome Week for the first time in four years...i was a little disappointed in that regard, especially in the afternoon when we had clear skies in Middleton..well i guess better safe than sorry, but i was ticked somewhat, it meant i also had to miss the traditional Axemen football Red Vs White game...however i will see LOTS of Axemen Football action this season i am sure...

And speaking of Axemen Football..on Saturday baby...Axemen Vs SMU..the rivalry starts again..wouldn't it be nice to see an Axemen victory over their most heated of rivals? The Huskies are the three-time defending AUS champs, but like i say, enough is enough and it is time for a change..and its time to stop hearing about Waterloo, Windsor and the Axemen caught for roids as well...let's not have that overshadow the great opening day on Saturday, i know it is problematic and cause for concern and should not be just swept under the rug, but let's not have it be the talk of the day, let's get the bbq ready for some tailgaiting and enjoy an Axemen victory instead :)

Now let's sing it boyz n girls...

"Stand up and cheer

Stand up and cheer for old Acadia!

For today, we raise...The red and blue above the rest,

Our teams are fighting, and they're out to win the fray

We've got the steam! BOOM BOOM!

We've got the team! BOOM BOOM!

For this is old Acadia's day!"

Last of all on the agenda, but most certainly not least is a case of the rock n rolls...first we got ol Axl Rose pulling this tricks again and not coming on stage in Dublin till an hour or so late and getting pelted with bottles, leaving the stage and then coming back on later to a quite empty venue to finish off the show...what is the deal man? I've defended poor Axl and defended him, told people that Chinese Democracy is a good album and that the new GnR is damn good and to give them a chance...but this repeated no-shows and lateness is going to catch up...will there ever be a reunion of the classic GnR line-up? Im worried that if there isn't, people are going to turn their back on Axl more and more, or have people just accepted this when they buy their tickets to see a GnR show, that lateness in getting to the stage and the possibility of a walk off is there...i dunno...think the original line-up could even co-exist at this point?

And well...Old Man Robb has been attacked by a wave of Rollermania! Yes the Roller Army was out in full force over Old Man Robb's comments about The Bay City Rollers coming to Halifax and about it containing only one original member, much like the discussion of GnR above. Now one comment had to do with individual singers, i was making references not so much to performers, but to bands themselves...lots of people do not see the current GnR as being GnR...it is Axl's solo project, but i know why people do it because a name sells tickets... i remember when Black Sabbath more of less disbanded in the 80s and Tony Iommi made a solo album, "The Seventh Star" The label was upset and made him call it a Black Sabbath album...fans were upset because they knew it wasn't Black Sabbath with only one original member, but a label that wanted sales of albums...

On a side note, im happy Mr Iommi fought with the label and reached a compromise where it would read, "Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi"

The other comment i made during my BCR blog that drew fire and i do regret was saying the word "Carwreck"...in my own defense i was saying is this show going to be fun and nostalgic or was it going to suck? I have gone to recent shows here..many were good- Alice Cooper, The Rolling Stones, Motorhead were quite good...others were decent like April Wine, others were disappointing, including Ozzy Osbourne who only played some 70 minutes and the GnR show in 2006 where they didn't come on stage till around 11:30...which category would BCR fall into? However i did recently hear Mr McKewon's words on a recent talk show about reuniting with Eric, Woody, Alan (Whom had played some recent BCR shows) and Derek...i hope it comes true because it would be a nice reward for the fans...

The other issue i would like to address is preference...i liked the three Rollers album's quite a bit- Elevator, Voxx and Ricochet...commercial failures? Yes they were...but what i am rewarding is their originality, great songwriting, the songs were catchy and i play them quite regularly...i also think the Rollers were not given a chance to succeed by their labels and by the record buying public. But who cares why i say eh? However everyone has their own opinion and they should be allowed that..if someone can't stand me..so what? I am not going to whine about it and let it affect my everyday life or my education, not enough hours in the day..however i do welcome other's opinions with open arms...i shall end with a quote from Voltaire which sums it up nicely...(actually although these words are attributed to Voltaire, they were first used by Evelyn Beatrice Hall, as a summary of Voltaire's beliefs on freedom of thought and expression....)

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Have a good one folks...