Celebrities that shape us

Well 2016 wasn't done yet and two more big figures from my youth have passed away.  Carrie Fisher (she will always and only be Princess Leia to me) and George Michael (who can ever forget those music videos from "faith).  Now I am not a big celebrity person but this year has gotten me thinking about those iconic figures from my childhood.  Here is a list of a few of the people who influenced me, both real and fictional.

Harrison Ford - I thought Han Solo was the coolest guy ever and then to top it off he comes along as Indiana Jones, DONE DEAL!

Tom Selleck - Anyone who knows me understands that what Magnum means to me.

Bobby Orr - Best ever (period)!

Bruce Springsteen - The 80's had two types of people. Those who loved the Boss and Losers.

Muhammed Ali - He had it all the swagger, the look, the mouth and the talent to back it all up. I remember being sad I wasn't born earlier so I could have seen him in his prime.

Archie and Jughead - Hey seriously I spent more time with them traveling in the backseat of the car than anyone else.

John Wayne - The Duke was at the top of the list for a long time.  Nothing said manhood to a preteen like the characters he played.

Michael J. Fox - Nothing quite brings back the memories like Back to the Future.

Clint Eastwood - I went to the Outlaw Josey Wales with my Dad when it came out and I was hooked.  He was like John Wayne with an edge.

Not sure what is says about me that so many of these people appealed to me for the fictional characters they played.  Maybe because it was a simpler time with less access and media that it allowed me to see only the good and none of their flaws.  Tougher to have heroes these days I think.

My Canada

I was going through some photos and I came across this photo album I put together as a sample for my Social Studies 11 class.  I challenged them to go through their photos and put together a collection of photos that represents what Canada is to them.

Here is My Canada album

https://goo.gl/photos/1QtLNnL6vQQiB5UA6

My challenge to anyone who reads this is put together yours and leave a link in the comments.

2016 Drop the Mike!

Wow what a year!  Prince, Gordie Howe, and of course Ali, all legends of my childhood moved into memory.  The curse of the Cubs has been broken, Cleveland's championship drought is over and Tiger returns to golf still searching for his game he lost in the backseat of a car behind the IHOP.  In Canada we elected the charismatic, handsome son of a political legend speaking about the "sunny way" only to watch our neighbour choose to go with the king of the comb over right out of tabloids and celebrity reality tv who speaks about walls and grabbing female private parts.  It would be an understatement to say 2016 has been an unpredictable ride.

I am not sure how to feel about 2016 on a personal level.  For our family it was a great year in so many ways.  The boys are doing great in school and their activities.  Graeme's team won the BCSPL league championship and he has decided to attend UNBC and signed with the Timberwolves for next year making his mother and me very happy that he will be at home.  Connor had a great year of soccer and basketball participating in multiple provincial championships and summer games.  Marla and I are both enjoying our jobs which is nice to say after 22 years we still find our profession challenging and rewarding.  Our down time, as usual, has been filled with summer at the lake, school holidays in Mexico and a lot of sports in between.  However, just like the larger world it seems like there has been a fair amount of unpredictability.  This has lead to a weird vibe for 2016 that has meant it has been difficult to let my mental guard down.  Not sure why this has been and it is something many of my friends have also expressed, just a feeling like everything around them has been a little off.  Maybe this is a function of a social media world in which it is hard to turn things off or maybe a function of moving through middle age.  As the year winds down we are getting ready to head off to Mexico with good friends, I look at my oldest son heading into his final semester of high school and my youngest loving life I am reminded 2016 was a good one and 2017 should even be better!

      

St. Patricio's Day Revisited

With the minus 20 degree weather at home settling in and a quick trip to Barra only a couple weeks away that means I have began to scroll through my pictures pining for Mexico.  Forgotten on my laptop was a bunch of video we took at last year's St. Patrick's Day fireworks in Melaque.  You can read my previous post St. Patrick's Day Mexican Style to find out more about the Mexican fascination for St. Patrick's day.  Since it had been a few years since our vacations have lined up with St. Patrick's day we were anxious to see if the craziness we experienced in 2011 was an aberration or the norm.  Suffice it to say low regulation high audience interaction firework displays appear to be the norm and are AWESOME! just not necessarily in "good way".

Preparations

As the crowd gathers for the evenings festivities the final touches are put on the giant tower of fire that will be the center piece of the evening.  As the evening progresses sections of the tower are lit spinning wheels spit sparks and flares on and into the crowd.  With that in mind check out the dinner tables that are positioned right beside the tower. This is not exactly a CSA approved event.

Anticipation

The crowd begins to swell as a start time is more of a suggestion than a target in Mexico.

Musical Interlude

As we wait random bands keep sweeping through the square each trying to drown out the last.  Some are accompanied by advertising, others by kids throwing firecrackers into the crowd and the really good ones by a couple of guys pouring a tasty pink drink from a 5 gallon water jug.

Light R Up

Finally, the time has come to get this party started.  I love the kids running into the sparks and picking up flares to throw into the crowd.

Fire in Sky

Once things get going it is really an impressive display.  This is a short clip but at the height of the display it went on like this for a good 20 or 30 minutes.  

Grand Finale

The culminating moment of the evening is the firing up of a wooden projectile that spells out "FINI" in flames and crashes back to earth.  In 2011, it lit a tree on fire and this year it took out a spectator.  It seems to be a source of pride to be able to be as close to it as possible as it lands. 

Like I said AWESOME but not necessarily good, a lot like Habanero sauce

VIVA MEXICO!

Here is all of the clips put together as one clip.