"He" came, he played and certainly conquered according to the media reports in today's, Montreal Gazette (Montreal's daily newspaper). Given the historical significance of playing a gig on the Plains of Abraham, 200,000 plus Quebekers and visitors from all over the planet, welcomed Paul McCartney with open arms.
Fans were welcomed in French, a nice touch, with "bonsoir les québécois!" (good evening, Quebecers) and "bon soir toute la gang!" (good evening everyone!").
He opened with "Jet"and continued with picks that included Drive My Car and Only Mama Knows among others. There was a mixture of old favorites but he also included newer numbers. Quebec's 400th anniversary was aknowledged with the song, "Michelle" dedicated by McCartney in French to a "a lady who is 400 years old." Again, nice PR touch.
I, unfortunately, was not among the masses who attended the show. Insert big sigh here.
"I would have loved to attended that concert," I told my husband who also happens to be a McCartney fan, while watching clips from the show.
"How much of fan are you, though," he responded. "Enough to line up the day before the actual concert takes place to get a good place in front?"
He had a point.
So next up in August, Celine Dion will take centre stage and the spotlight. Absolutely the spotlight given her hubby Rene Angelil's managerial prowess and it will be interesting to see if she will draw the same numbers. She's a star for sure but perhaps not the same calibre as McCartney, IMHO.
For more information and photos:
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2008/07/20/6214161-cp.html
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080721/national/music_mccartney_quebec
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7516711.stm
There are also some clips on YouTube but the sound is almost indistinguishable and the visuals are taken from the big screen for people who weren't lucky enough to be within visual range of the singer.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Got some spare urine?
Most of us don't concern ourselves as to what happens to our urine once its deposited into the toilet bowl. We flush and forget about the end result. NASA, however, would like to share some and it's all in the name of science.
"A NASA contractor is seeking urine from space-program workers to test the toilets on the Orion space capsule.
Space program contractor Hamilton Sundstrand is seeking urine from workers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, as part of its work on the new Orion space capsule that eventually would take astronauts to the moon, according to an internal memo posted on the Web site Nasawatch.com. The need is voluminous: 30 liters a day, which translates into nearly 8 gallons. Even on weekends."
Seems that NASA itself collects urine samples from workers to help design better space toilets.
The Connecticut-based company building the Orion toilet needs the large volume of urine (about the daily output of 30 people) to work on urine acidity problems, said spokesman Leo Makowski.
The memo seeking daily contributions from July 21 to July 31 was not meant to go public, he said.
So I'm thinking here: since this has gone public and there are people reading this that might want to help out - in the name of scientific progress of course - one wonders how they would go about doing it...donating their urine. Would they say...fill up a cup, wrap it up in a box and send it by mail in care of NASA? A typical letter from a donator would probably include something to the effect:
Dear NASA and to whom-this-may-concern,
Please find my donation of one cup of urine to be used towards your on-going research. As a person interested in space-related issues, it's the least I can do.
Bon voyage,
I.M. Lazee
Chair Tester
Also, do "contributors" receive some type of acknowledgement:
"Dear DOF - Donator of Urine,
We would like to thank you for your generous gift of urine. Your contribution was instrumental on (insert date) whereby it was used for scientific research towards the pressing issue of what to do with stored urine on the moon. As an aside we always accept multiple donations if you feel so moved."
Yours truly,
I.C. Pee
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/07/16/nasa.urine.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
"A NASA contractor is seeking urine from space-program workers to test the toilets on the Orion space capsule.
Space program contractor Hamilton Sundstrand is seeking urine from workers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, as part of its work on the new Orion space capsule that eventually would take astronauts to the moon, according to an internal memo posted on the Web site Nasawatch.com. The need is voluminous: 30 liters a day, which translates into nearly 8 gallons. Even on weekends."
Seems that NASA itself collects urine samples from workers to help design better space toilets.
The Connecticut-based company building the Orion toilet needs the large volume of urine (about the daily output of 30 people) to work on urine acidity problems, said spokesman Leo Makowski.
The memo seeking daily contributions from July 21 to July 31 was not meant to go public, he said.
So I'm thinking here: since this has gone public and there are people reading this that might want to help out - in the name of scientific progress of course - one wonders how they would go about doing it...donating their urine. Would they say...fill up a cup, wrap it up in a box and send it by mail in care of NASA? A typical letter from a donator would probably include something to the effect:
Dear NASA and to whom-this-may-concern,
Please find my donation of one cup of urine to be used towards your on-going research. As a person interested in space-related issues, it's the least I can do.
Bon voyage,
I.M. Lazee
Chair Tester
Also, do "contributors" receive some type of acknowledgement:
"Dear DOF - Donator of Urine,
We would like to thank you for your generous gift of urine. Your contribution was instrumental on (insert date) whereby it was used for scientific research towards the pressing issue of what to do with stored urine on the moon. As an aside we always accept multiple donations if you feel so moved."
Yours truly,
I.C. Pee
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/07/16/nasa.urine.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
Monday, July 14, 2008
Political correctness gone too far?
Many people reading this will recall as children, participating in a sack race or three legged race during sports day and ending up no worse for wear. Well that was then as they say, and this is now with a school in Washington banning the two old and popular events due to what they claim is fear of injury.
"PC" school officials who were concerned that the primary school pupils could fall over and suffer bruising, were assailed by critics for banning the two events.
Yeah so what? I mean, so the children fall down and get grass skids...or a bruise here and there. All part of the game and being kids!
Teachers at the John F Kennedy Primary in Washington, Tyne and Wear, dropped the events after talks with Beamish Open Air Museum, where an Edwardian-themed sports day is being held today. The day called for children to dress up in period costumes and play old-fashioned-type games, which included running, hopping and throwing ping-pong balls into pails.
Laura Midgely, founder of the Campaign Against Political Correctness group, said: “It’s health and safety gone mad, completely over the top.”
"PC" school officials who were concerned that the primary school pupils could fall over and suffer bruising, were assailed by critics for banning the two events.
Yeah so what? I mean, so the children fall down and get grass skids...or a bruise here and there. All part of the game and being kids!
Teachers at the John F Kennedy Primary in Washington, Tyne and Wear, dropped the events after talks with Beamish Open Air Museum, where an Edwardian-themed sports day is being held today. The day called for children to dress up in period costumes and play old-fashioned-type games, which included running, hopping and throwing ping-pong balls into pails.
Laura Midgely, founder of the Campaign Against Political Correctness group, said: “It’s health and safety gone mad, completely over the top.”
Monday, July 07, 2008
Celine Dion and Sir Paul McCartney to face off on the Plains of Abraham?
Two well known singers and entertainment personalities in their own right, Celine Dion and Sir Paul McCartney, will be doing a gig in honor of Quebec City's 400th birthday. I mean, not at the same time but it's a coup for sure.
Great idea! Right?
Maybe so but then it would depend on where said gig will be taking place.
See...Celine is scheduled to perform on August 22nd in the sports field located at the west end of the Plains of Abraham and 100,000 Celine fans are expected to attend. They had to line up to get their free tickets. Everything was fine until Rene Angelil, Celine's hubby AND manager got wind that Sir Paul would be performing a f*r*e*e* show on July 20th, one month earlier, in a natural amphitheater at the other end of the plains, with no tickets necessary.
Rene is not a happy man.
In fact he is demanding(!) a change of venue for her concert.
Angelil is demanding the same first come, first-served access as well as the same venue for Dion. The National Battlefields Commission denied the request and organizers of the 400th anniversary are caught in the middle.
As Rosanne Roseannadanna used to say: it's always something...
Talk about egos and insecurities surfacing.
BTW and in case anyone reading this wants to see Celine, word has it that scalpers are selling those free Dion tickets for $700 a pair. In as far as McCartney's appearance is concerned, this will be his only North American concert so you can expect to be among hundreds of thousands of other fans.
Great idea! Right?
Maybe so but then it would depend on where said gig will be taking place.
See...Celine is scheduled to perform on August 22nd in the sports field located at the west end of the Plains of Abraham and 100,000 Celine fans are expected to attend. They had to line up to get their free tickets. Everything was fine until Rene Angelil, Celine's hubby AND manager got wind that Sir Paul would be performing a f*r*e*e* show on July 20th, one month earlier, in a natural amphitheater at the other end of the plains, with no tickets necessary.
Rene is not a happy man.
In fact he is demanding(!) a change of venue for her concert.
Angelil is demanding the same first come, first-served access as well as the same venue for Dion. The National Battlefields Commission denied the request and organizers of the 400th anniversary are caught in the middle.
As Rosanne Roseannadanna used to say: it's always something...
Talk about egos and insecurities surfacing.
BTW and in case anyone reading this wants to see Celine, word has it that scalpers are selling those free Dion tickets for $700 a pair. In as far as McCartney's appearance is concerned, this will be his only North American concert so you can expect to be among hundreds of thousands of other fans.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Wanted: naked cleaning person. Experience optional
If you happen to be vacationing or perhaps back-packing in England and looking for a job that has a loose - very loose - dress code, then perhaps this would be of interest to you.
A job vacancy for a naked cleaner is being advertised at a Jobcentre, the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed today.
The advertisement, placed in Southampton, Hampshire, by a company called Knobs 'n' Knockers, is looking for applicants of both sexes to do washing-up and ironing in the nude.
Why? According to the ad, it wants to make the tasks more erotic for customers in the South East.
"Required for household cleaning duties in the nude. Pinny provided. Must have pleasant nature." the ad states.
A "pinny" for those people unaware of the term according to Wikipedia, "A pinafore (colloquially pinny in British English) is a sleeveless garment worn as an apron."
Successful applicants will make £10 per hour compared to £6 for regular clothed cleaners. I suppose this could be considered unfair hiring practice but I digress.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said it could not legally refuse to carry the advertisement.
"Jobcentre Plus has a duty to advertise any legal job. Legal vacancies within the adult industry come within this, a requirement which was confirmed in a legal test case brought by the Ann Summers company in 2003. The High Court overturned Jobcentre Plus's policy which did not accept certain types of adverts connected with the sex and personal services industries. We have safeguards in place to ensure customers are fully aware of the nature of these jobs."
So? Anybody planning to apply?
A job vacancy for a naked cleaner is being advertised at a Jobcentre, the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed today.
The advertisement, placed in Southampton, Hampshire, by a company called Knobs 'n' Knockers, is looking for applicants of both sexes to do washing-up and ironing in the nude.
Why? According to the ad, it wants to make the tasks more erotic for customers in the South East.
"Required for household cleaning duties in the nude. Pinny provided. Must have pleasant nature." the ad states.
A "pinny" for those people unaware of the term according to Wikipedia, "A pinafore (colloquially pinny in British English) is a sleeveless garment worn as an apron."
Successful applicants will make £10 per hour compared to £6 for regular clothed cleaners. I suppose this could be considered unfair hiring practice but I digress.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said it could not legally refuse to carry the advertisement.
"Jobcentre Plus has a duty to advertise any legal job. Legal vacancies within the adult industry come within this, a requirement which was confirmed in a legal test case brought by the Ann Summers company in 2003. The High Court overturned Jobcentre Plus's policy which did not accept certain types of adverts connected with the sex and personal services industries. We have safeguards in place to ensure customers are fully aware of the nature of these jobs."
So? Anybody planning to apply?
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