The day the music died?

I came across this story about half an hour ago. I'll quote the entire thing, in case the link changes or goes missing:

CBC ending use of 'Hockey Night' song

Sportsnet.ca - The CBC will not be using the legendary 'Hockey Night in Canada' theme song next season after it decided not to sign a new license agreement according to the song's publisher.

The composition was written by Dolores Claman in 1968 and has become one of the longest running theme songs in broadcasting history.

According to the publisher, the CBC was offered a new license on 'virtually identical terms to those that have existed for the past decade (approximately $500 per use)' but the network has chosen to move in a new direction.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Claman said "I am saddened by the decision of the CBC to drop the Hockey Night in Canada Theme after our lengthy history together. I nevertheless respect its right to move in a new direction."

Have the decision makers at CBC lost their fuckin' minds? What kind of a "new direction" is this? Down the toilet?

If they're looking to improve anything, get rid of Bob Cole before next season. Harry Neile can go with him. I'm sure they'll save a hell of a lot more than $500 per show.

Many of the comments on the Sportsnet article say to send CBC a complaint at http://www.cbc.ca/contact. Whether it will make a difference, remains to be seen. I sent one anyway.

Edit: CBC actually found the balls to post the story on their own site... an hour after the story broke: Red Wings victory last outing for Hockey Night theme? There's also an online petition here, if you wish to sign it.

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Help me make cancer history - Pledge me?

My last call for pledges! Here's the scoop...

The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life is an overnight non-competitive relay that celebrates cancer survivors and pays tribute to loved ones. It's a night of fun, friendship and fundraising to beat cancer.

I will be participating as a member of the Team W.T.F. (Walk To Fight) team, in the Orleans event on June 20th, 2008.

Why I Relay
I am doing this in memory of my Father whom I lost to cancer in December 1998, and a friend in February of this year. 12 hours of my time and your pledges can make a difference.

Help me reach my goal
You can be part of a community that takes up the fight. Please pledge me now and help make cancer history.

Online pledging is secure and it saves the Society money by reducing administrative costs. You can pledge online by following this link.

Thanks for your support!

More about how your donation helps.

Arnel Pineda -- who is he?

Image via WikipediaThis is Journey with their new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, whom they discovered on YouTube on the Ellen Degeneres Show.

I had read about him a little while ago, but this is the first time I've seen and heard him.

After watching the video, and being quite impressed, I then discovered that Journey has had quite a few lead singers after Steve Perry's departure, all of whom have been pretty impressive.

Here's a comparison:

Dribble Cups

Why is it that 9 times out of 10, Tim Hortons employees seem to line up the tear off part of the lid with the cup seam. Coincidence? It can make for a dribbly sip of coffee.

Weekends and Paint Chips

Once again, a weekend is over before ya know it. I’ll be taking two weeks off work in about 3 weeks. I’m soooo looking forward to it.

After washing our truck yesterday afternoon, I discovered two chips in the paint on the plastic bumper near the rear wheel well. There also appears to be a small bubble that hasn’t yet chipped off.

Our truck is less than a year old, so I’m assuming that something like this would be covered by the warranty. My wife called the dealership this morning asking what we can get done about it and they told her that the service manager would have to see it. Hopefully we’ll be able to bring it in this week.

It certainly doesn’t seem like something that can be “touched up”, since it’ll more than likely continue to get worse over time, which leaves repainting the entire bumper. Or could they replace the bumper with an already-painted bumper? I’d be happy with either of those options. I just won’t settled for a “touch up”.

Hello? Is anybody home?

Over the last few months a representative from MTS Allstream has been leaving us messages on our answering machine regarding our "account". According to the message, there is an outstanding balance on our account that we must rectify to avoid a disruption to our service.

Up until a day or two ago, we have been ignoring these messages. Not because we don't want to rectify the outstanding balance, but because we don't have an "account" with MTS Allstream. In fact, up until today we didn't even know what they did or what kind of service they provide.

My wife decided to call the rep back to let them know that they have the wrong number. The rep who has been calling us was busy, so she spoke with another rep.

MTS Allstream apparently provides communications (phone service?) They have our number on file as the business number for Sophistication. This doesn't come as a complete surprise to us. Sophistication was a bridal clothing store. For the last four years, we've been receiving phone calls every spring from women looking for bridal gowns and/or prom dresses. You used to be able to find our number using Google. It took a few emails to various business listing web sites to get it removed. Now it seems that I can only find it using Yahoo.

Anyway, my wife told the rep that our number is residential, we've had it for four years, it does not belong to Sophistication, we have nothing to do with that business, nor have we ever had anything to do with that business, and that they can remove our number from their system.

The reply she received was "We'll see what we can do."

My wife then clarified that she wasn't asking them to remove it, she was telling them to remove it. It's our home number and they have no business calling it. They will never get in touch with Sophistication by calling it.

I don't know what else was said, but my wife said that the rep didn't seem as pleasant after that.

It wouldn't surprise me if the calls don't stop because they think that we're bullshitting them to avoid paying whatever the oustanding balance Sophistication owes them.

I hope I'm there to answer the phone the next time they call. I'll be polite. I'm really curious what they they're hoping to gain by continuing to call. I'll tell them that they're more than welcome to send someone to our home to verify that they are indeed calling a residential number. I'll also going to ask them if they have a contact name and address on file for Sophistication.

$10 says they're not mine.

Great Mileage

A recent study found the average Canadian walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found Canadians drink, on average, 22 gallons of beer a year.

That means, on average, Canadians get about 41 miles to the gallon.

Makes you proud to be a Canadian, eh?

(I have no idea if those stats are real... it's just funny)