This Is Why I Love Live Music: The Cunninghams!

Hey kids.

What were you doing Saturday night?  I’ll tell you what I was doing.  I was watching a band rock out on stage at the El Mocambo in Toronto.  A band that you’re going to be hearing a lot from in the future.  The Cunninghams. 

These 4 guys took the stage and rocked it like they owned it.  And the crowd was appreciative.  This is the same stage that has seen the Rolling Stones, The Police, U2, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix wow audiences.  And while those are names that you know and love now, The Cunninghams is a name that you’re going to know and love in the future.

Nigel, Pierce, Clapsbury and Reggy Cunningham call themselves the Royal Family of Rock and Roll.  And after seeing them on stage Saturday night I can’t argue, except for one thing, they aren’t pretentious and bitchy.  These guys love what they’re doing.  There’s none of that disconnected, we’re better than you, feeling when they take the stage.  No body guards, no parade waves, no garbage.  What you will see is an audience having a good time, dancing on the floor and on the stage (audience highlight of the night was a combo of 2 girls and a dude hoping up to dance behind Pierce and shaking what their mama’s gave them).  You’ll see beers being chugged by Clapsbury on a break from rocking the bass, heck you might even see him jumping down into the crowd to bring everyone one step closer to the action.  And through it all you’ll see people having a good time.  From the front row to the back, eyes were all on the stage, feet were tapping and heads were bobbing on non-dancers, like me.

The reason for the show was the video release for “Gunblaster”, listen to the track here: www.myspace.com/thecunninghamsband the video premiered to the audience before the boys took the stage and the crowd dug it.  There were fists pumping, hips shaking and eyes glued to the big screen behind the drum kit.  Not a bad way to give a first look.  Thumbs up from me.

And when you see the video, I’ll give 1000 bonus points to the first person who can tell me who the 1980’s icon rocking the shades is.  Remember that, 1000 points are up for grabs.

Other show highlights included Reggy pounding on the drums in a way that makes me realize my skills on Rockband do not translate to real life.  The shared vocal duties of Pierce and Nigel who make the rock and roll sound real.  And the fact that the crowd showed up minutes before The Cunninghams took the stage.  This was clearly a crowd that came to see these boys play. 

I’m glad I was with them.  $5 dollars at the door is a bargain compared to what ticket prices are going to be in the future.  I promise you that.  And even then, it’s going to be worth it. 

I snapped a few pictures from my BB, I know they aren’t great, but there are real pictures coming from a dude with a real camera who knows what he’s doing.  I’m going to throw some of those up with some more links and such later this week.  They’ll also be on the twitter feed www.twitter.com/wallyzblogger don’t forget to add me so we can talk music.

If you want to find more info on the boys who take the stage as The Cunninghams hit up their website www.thecunninghamsband.com there you’ll find the links to Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.  And as an added bonus, when you go to the Myspace page you can download the EP and rock out whenever you want. 

All said and done, Saturday night was a good time.  I got to rock out while E-ve was at work, got reminded why I love live music.  And remembered to write down the links so that I could find the tracks when I got home.  Throw it all together and you get a big bucket of win.

High fives kids, have a great day.  And remember, when you find something that you like, share it!

Getting Ready For Podcast Number 1

Hey kids.



So, the time is drawing near. This Sunday Romeo, Jake and I plan on trying to record our first podcast. This thing is totally the brain child of Jake and Romeo in Ottawa and I'm the tag along. I think I'm okay with that.



I hope that we can put together a blog somewhere that allows us all to have admin access and the opportunity to throw up links to awesome stuff online and the podcasts as they are recorded and released.



Another part I'm in love with is having talks with the boys. They make me shake my head sometimes and make me shake my fist sometimes but they always make me smile.



Romeo told me that he wants us all to come up with some ideas for our first go 'round. So last night I threw up a tweet with some ideas. Beer, Batman bad guys and bacon were on that short list, but I'd like to bring more to the party. So let me know what you're thinking.



I'm looking at you @technicolor_cat you always come through for me. And you can totally use this to call out other twitter folk.



This whole podcast thing is new to all of us, so I sent Romeo the links to some Wikihow articles to get us started. I'm pretty sure that the idea came from Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier on SModcast, which is hilarious. And I have no problem with Mr. Smith being the inspiration.



Because there's going to be a telephone element to this set-up I'm thinking we might even get E-ve and/ or Heath in on this thing in the future. Then I can prove to everyone that they're real.



In the end I see this thing as a way for me to hang out with my friends. Even if the three of us are the only ones that listen it'll be worth it.



But I hope you tune in as well.



That's all for now amigos. Let me know what you're thinking. wally.z1.0@gmail.com or @wallyzblogger on Twitter.



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TV Entertainment That Fills My Time

It's been a while since we did some long form musing... So here we are.



And, because I'm home watching TV right now we're gonna muse about some awesome television entertainment.



As I've said too many times, I'm a sports guy, so hearing that the NHL Network and the rest of the Super Sports Pack are near the top of my must see TV list shouldn't be a shock to anyone. But here's why.



The NHL Network gives exclusive access to in game updates and highlights through their NHL on the Fly show. Every night they have a couple dudes that run down the night's action and tell me who has scored. That last part is important because it keeps me up to date on my fantasy league players. It also means that E-ve doesn't have to watch out of market games with me to see if Anze Kopitar and Joe Thorton have points in a Wednesday night game.



Next is Chuck. I've blushed and bragged and gone on and on about NBC's Monday night masterpiece. I love it. And this season is living up to all of the hype that the previous 2 have pumped up. The story lines have been tight, the characters have stayed but become more trimmed down and directed in their involvement whereas before things got a little messy with so much going on that wasn't Chuck/ spy related. The romantic story of Chuck and Sarah is amazing and makes me want to cheer for the geek the way I used cheer for Pacey.



NCIS is next. This is a show that I didn't watch at all for the first few seasons. And now here I am watching it on Showcase and Rogers On Demand and anywhere else I can find it. Gibbs is "The Man" and everyone else falls in line. At the beginning of the series the female agent on the team was Caitlin "Kate" Todd but she met an untimely end. (Also, it was the same actress that played Pacey's older sister. Just wanted to throw that in there.) CBS is doing a good job keeping things going on this detective show and makes me want to keep coming back. My only concern is the new NCIS: LA and the CSI syndrome. After CSI got Miami and New York the original just wasn't the same. I hope that doesn't happen to Jethro and his gang.



I'm also still a junkie for the Family Channel, though not as much as I used to be. I can still sit down and watch Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and Suite Life and Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place but that's about it. Raven and the spin-off and a bunch of the other shows have gone way down hill. I've always just figured I watch these shows to grasp at some sort of childhood gone by. But maybe it's just good entertainment.



Last one we'll hit on today is my fav from the Food Network. Dinners, Drive-ins and Dives rocks my world and makes me hungry. I love the places Guy goes to. The food that he tastes and the feel of the whole thing. There are no suits and ties and reservations. No 5 stars and such. Just good, freshly made, tasty, sometimes greasy, good food. What's not to love about all about this stuff? Plus Guy is funny and makes me smile. A good host is a great plus. And the Food Network certainly picked a good dude to host their show.



There ya have it kids. Just some of the stuff that I spend my free time watching on my crappy old TV. Maybe you'll enjoy some of it too.



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I Heart The Earth, And You Can Too

Originally written and posted at www.myspace.com/wallyzblogger on March 28/09

I heart the earth


Current mood: ashamed

I've got a ton of issues related to the environment rolling around in my head and I dont know what to do with them. Some of them are more developed than others, some of them are just point form observations. But this is as good a place as any to get them out of my head and on to a page.

Earth Hour It's only an hour ppl. I know that with all of the ads and facebook event invitations and parties and all the rest it has become the thing to do, but it is only an hour. What we need are daily commitments from ppl to make environmentally influenced decisions. Turning the computer off when you are not home, unplugging the microwave when you are not using it, same with the toaster and the coffee maker. These little things mean useless electricity is not sent into appliances that are not doing anything. Just because they are off does not mean the juice stops flowing.

Earth Hour is a great start, but we need ppl to be able to have some lights on at home while still making a positive impact on a regular basis. The CBC website still has the One Million Acts of Green page online and active and I welcome and implore you to go and register your act of green, no matter how small it may be.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle do you remember when the three Rs were taught to us in school? I am in my mid to late 20s and I remember. That means that 15 years ago educators knew that the environment was this important. Why did it take so long for everyone else to catch up?

I will fully admit that reduce can be tricky to implement on your own. Products are still over packaged and until companies get the picture that consumers will be ok with less, there is nothing really that you and I can do about while still buying the things that we want to. What you can do to reduce is easy. Use a travel mug, just that one thing by me saves anywhere from 10 to 20 coffee cups from the trash and subsequently landfills.

Side note I have not been that great lately, but we will get to that.

Reusing water and juice bottles is a great way to cut down on both dirty dishes and trash. Refilling your water bottle at work means buying and recycling only one bottle of water. Less dishes means less water in the sink. And I am happy with that because I hate doing dishes.

Last but not least is recycling. Whether it is pizza or cereal boxes, juice bottles or milk cartons it is easy to recycle. Just by making the effort not to throw a big empty plastic bottle in the regular garbage you can help. If you are going to take the garbage to the curb anyway why not the separate trip for the recycling? I know almost everyone recycles now, but it is still an important part of the process.

I mentioned that I had not been that good with the travel mug lately. But let me explain. I have been brainwashed, and so have you. Tim Hortons sells more cups of coffee in Canada per day than any other retailer. I do not even need to research that fact. (If you want to and I am wrong, good on you) And as you may know this is the time of year that we as Canadians, and some Americans, Roll Up The Rim To Win. I love my travel mug. The writing is wearing off of the side, but it keeps and extra large coffee hot for a long time and it saves me 11 cents a cup. But it is collecting dust right now because I do not want to lose the chance to win to you if you are behind me in line. Nothing against you, but it is my right as a Canadian to win that donut. And until Tim Hortons realises that we are still gonna buy coffee in ridiculous amounts if the contest has scratch cards for ppl with reusable travel mugs or starts giving away mugs as prizes nothing will change. And I know I do not have an excuse, I am not really brainwashed. But I am caught up in the game and I am throwing away at least 14 paper coffee cups a week. I am sorry.

My quick rant got kind of long winded. Sorry about that. Hopefully you are still on board. I am going to link this to the daily blog tomorrow at www.newmorningmusings.blogspot.com because I want these words to get out.

We can make a difference ppl. But it has to be for more than an hour a year.

Thanks.

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-Wally

Birthday Wish List Ideas

Ok, we're in the month of the date of my birth... and E-ve isn't sure what to get me... so I thought I'd put together a little list and see what happens.


- A healthy Mike Cammalleri

- An olympic gold medal

- Some lovin' by Twitter, Facebook or phone from @ThatKevinSmith
- To win at Scrabble without knowing that E-ve lost on purpose

- Some new books

- Some new comic books

- A huge TV that fell off the back of a truck or something (but didn't break of course)

- A laptop that suffered the same fate as the TV just mentioned

- Some more Facebook friends

- Hang out time with Jake and Romeo

- Some more Twitter followers

- Some more blog readers

- Korean Karaoke

- Time and inspiration and a ton of new material

- Cuddles from E-ve

That's all that I can think of right now. And to be honest I think that there are maybe 5 or 6 that are feasible. I'll let you try to figure out which ones they are.

Thanks for stopping by.

Don't forget that we're dailyish at www.newmorningmusings.blogspot.com and often as we can be at www.thelongformmusings.blogspot.com

Let the countdown begin.

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Power-girls vs. Geek-boy (via hotpinkgeek.com)

Here's a piece that I wrote for http://www.hotpinkgeek.com/ March 25th 2009... I liked it, it was fun to write.  And now that I may be even more of a geek than I was then, I think it's a good time to revisit the fun.

Original link to see the photo that goes with the piece and other awesome hot pink geek stuff from other hot pink writers. http://www.hotpinkgeek.com/power-girls-vs-geek-boy/483/#more-483

Enjoy!

Let me start by saying hello. I’m new to the geek community after many years spent in the closet. It’s nice to be out.

I’ve got a list in my head of female comic book and TV characters that could most certainly kick my ass in a fight. And it’s not because I wouldn’t hit a girl.

This list will by no means be complete and I invite all of you, including our own little geek squad to chime in.

Without further ado, check out my list after the jump!

Xena Warrior Princess – I’m not sure I need to give any explanation here, but why not. First of all, she’s huge. I’m not a little guy but she would tower over me. She’s also good with a sword, and I am not. She has a vicious war cry that would probably make me wet my pants. And she was in Playboy. Overall, it’s quite easy to see that Xena could dispose of me in short order.

Note: I do believe that I could take Gabrielle if push came to shove.

Wonder Woman – Another no doubter. She’s an Amazon princess for crying out loud. She’s bigger than Superman and defeated Ares, the God of War in her first ever mission. She’s not afraid to kill and she flies an invisible plane. I wouldn’t have a chance in hell of keeping up with her. She could give me one kick with those long uncovered legs of hers and send me flying through a brick wall. And I’m sorry to report that I don’t think I would survive being kicked through a brick wall.

Black Canary – This Justice Leaguer may not get a lot of press but she deserves it. Her only super power may be that crazy sonic cry but I don’t think she’d need to use it. She’s athletic, acrobatic, a skilled fighter and fierce lover. Her martial arts experience is above average and enough to make this geek boy lie down and say uncle. But the whole package is significant. My only chance would be to make her feel sorry for me and sweep her leg and kick her while she was down. And then remember to gag her so that she can’t use the scream.

There’s one more on today’s list. She is saved to last as suggested by my E-ve. I even got a text from her when I pitched the idea saying that this character could most certainly kick my butt.

Princess Adora, She-Ra: Princess of Power – Here’s another princess that packs a big punch. Twin sister of Prince Adam aka He-Man, Adora has superhuman strength and stamina which is tough to match up against. The princess also regularly outsmarts the bad guys, which means that she doesn’t even have to use violence. Last but not least she has the magic Sword of Protection. It’s a friggin’ magic sword that transforms her into She-Ra. I like to think that I’m not stupid, but a super powered princess with superior intellect and a magical sword is more than this geek thinks that he can handle.

So, that’s the list friends. As I said, there are most certainly more tough female characters out there that could take a round or two out of me. Let’s hear which power-girls you think could give you a run for your money.

Grocery Shopping's Done... Now The Cooking Begins

So I did the grocery shopping with E-ve’s help. It was a resounding success.


The No Frills had everything that we were looking for and now the freezer, fridge and cupboards are full of new foods. It’s exciting.

Let’s take a look at some of the things that came home with us.

-Soy crumble (Blue menu)
-Breaded fish fillets
-Chicken quarters
-Bacon
-Large brown eggs
-Red onions
-Sweet bell peppers
-Sausages
-Pork chops
-Canned fruit salad
-Canned crushed pineapple
-Margarine
-Canned green beans
-Canned beans
-Canned creamed corn
-Canned soup
-BBQ sauce
-Mini-Wheats
-Hot dogs
-Brownie mix
-Instant mashed potatoes
-Whole wheat bread
-English muffins

We also found out that my freezer is awesome and didn’t ruin a bunch of the stuff that was already in there. So I also have chicken fingers, hamburgers, taquitos, a pizza and ice cream in the freezer.

So far I’ve cracked a few eggs and had sandwiches on English muffins. The red onions and red pepper and some left over bacon made a great combo with the fluffy muffins.

E-ve also made a great pancake dinner for us Thursday night which didn’t actually use anything that we brought home from the grocery store. And strangely that made me feel really good. I think it was because I hadn’t spent that much money all at once on food in a long time. And not using it up right away calmed me a little bit.

Side note: E-ve’s homemade peach jam was great on my pancakes and it even mixed well with a little table syrup. Tasty win.

Moving forward there are plans for roasted chicken with veggies. Maybe a sausage and pasta dish. Pork chops with potatoes and creamed corn. Perhaps some soup and sandwiches. Beans and weiners and toast. Chicken fingers and taquitos munchie night. Fish and veggies. And who knows what else.

I’ve also been keeping track of some of the recipes that have worked out well so far. I was thinking that maybe I would share them. I’m a pretty alright cook, but most of the things I do are terribly simple. Things that anyone can put together with the right ingredients. I’m also hoping that you all might add respond with some easy ones for me to try as well.

I even have a request from @technicolor_cat on my Twitter feed for the results of the Soy experiment.

So, wish me luck my friends. With E-ve’s help and support I’m gonna give this whole eating at home thing a real shot.

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Grocery Lists And Home Cooking My Way To Happiness

So I was talking the other day about how E-ve is excited that I’m thinking about picking up some soy when I do my grocery shopping this week. It’s that whole healthy alternative thing that has her smiling and praising me before I even get to the store.

Truth is that she and I are both excited that I have the gumption and planning to go grocery shopping and start cooking in the first place. For quite a while now I’ve been in a rut of laziness where food is concerned. Fast food and pre-made dinner has been the order of the day almost 7 days a week for too long.

The ideas behind grocery shopping and cooking are multiple. Health is one of them. The one that has E-ve excited and where the soy comes in to play. Also, cooking chicken and beef and pork and such at home with veggies or pasta or both is going to be a lot healthier than grabbing chicken nuggets or hamburgers.

Side note: I will miss shawarma and it may be my cheap treat from time to time.

One of the others is cost. I try to eat the cheap stuff from the fast food joints near my apartment, it’s not like I’m 5 star dining every night, but it adds up. I’m burning through a lot of cash doing the grab something on the way home routine. If I can save some money by cooking for myself it’s a bonus for sure. There never seems to be enough cash in the account to do fun stuff when the ideas strike. And with Jake’s play coming up in March I’ll need some scratch for a bus ticket.

The third is waste. Fast food makes a lot of garbage. And I’m a bad house keeper. If I am cooking for myself there won’t be bags and napkins and plastic forks all over the place. I’ll have to wash dishes so that I can cook and so that I can eat. That cycle should keep itself going. I try to be a green dude, but I will fully admit that I’m not doing a very good job of it right now.

Side note: I just thought of this now, but wine and other drinks are going to go so much better with home cooked food. Bonus.

The last idea behind this whole thing is me being happy. I like cooking and I like eating, those are pretty self explanatory. But on top of that there’s this whole funk that I’ve been in. Come home around 8pm or so and grab something (greasy) on the way to the apartment. Change clothes, eat, watch some TV, sleep. That’s been the routine for the last while now. It’s draining and it makes it feel like home is nothing more than the cable bill and place to sleep. What I’m aiming for is that feeling of home that comes with cooking and the smells and the satisfaction of being a little bit more of a grown-up. Let’s not get carried away here, I said a little bit more grown-up.

Let’s take a look at what could end up on the grocery list by the time Thursday comes.

-Mini-Wheats cereal
-canned corn
-canned peas
-canned mushrooms
-bacon
-chicken thighs/ whole chicken (on sale at more than one grocery store this week)
-whole wheat bread
-margarine
-pork chops
-cheese
-milk
-soy crumble
-sausages
-side kicks
-eggs
-sweet peppers
-onion
-small potatoes
-instant mashed potatoes

So, wish me luck. There’s a whole lot riding on this movement.

And if it works I might even try to become a better house keeper.

But that’s a big maybe.

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This Isn't Love, It's Fantasy Hockey!

Hey there my puck loving friends,


This week is the second week of the second half of this season’s hockey pool. The last season and a half haven’t been especially great. I have done alright in the last few weeks but I need to be able to put a streak together.

The key to the pool that I play in is paying for short term production. The weeks go from Saturday to Friday and then it’s time to pick 12 new dudes. I get 6 forwards, 4 defensemen and 2 goaltenders and I get 30 points to spend to get them. Each dude is valued 1 point to 4 points each with goalies going from 2 points to 4 points each. The value is directly related to the player’s talent, as you may have assumed.

The other key to fantasy hockey and all fantasy sports, is not to fall in love with the dudes on your favourite team. Trust me, it’s not always a good thing. Now, if your favourite team is the Penguins or Sharks or Caps than you are in better shape than most. But in general, one of the worst things you can do is pick with your heart instead of your head. This isn’t love my friends, it’s a competition. You have to be mean and calculated and take risks that you wouldn’t think you’d take. Okay, so that last part sounds like love, but that’s it.

This year’s fantasy studs have been Henrik Sedin from the Vancouver Canucks, Joe Thorton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle from the San Jose Sharks, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green from the Washington Capitals, Thomas Plekanec of my Montreal Canadiens and even Thomas Kaberle of E-ve’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

Now, because this is a cap system there comes a point decisions have to be made. Do I spend on defensemen and hope for power play points? What cheap forward am I going to take a chance on this week? So far it’s been Alex Ponikarovsky , Andrei Kostitsyn and Stephen Weiss among others.

While last week wasn’t a great one, I’m hoping for a big push this week. But more importantly I don’t want to get myself into a big hole. There’s a car on the line for the winner. Also, I try every week to get the better of one of my co-workers. Last week I did. Most weeks I do.

This week I’ve got a bunch of really good hockey players on my roster. If you see names like Kovalchuk, Heatley, Thorton, Gaborik, Richards, Byfuglien, Robidas and Nabakov you’ll know that I’m doing alright.

You know what else is awesome? E-ve supports my habits. I smile big when she watches the ticker with me and counts points. I’m a lucky dude that way. I know that I have what can be an overwhelming affinity for sports, and not just hockey. But having her entertain my fancies is a huge bonus. I’m a big fan of her as well as the sports.

So, wish me luck. This thing is a big fun part of my fall, winter and spring.

And if I win the car I’ll DD.

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The 1st Long Form Musing...

A year ago I started writing the New Morning Musings and it’s been fun. I love writing about last night’s games or today’s news or how awesome E-ve and my friends are. I also wrote some pieces for www.hotpinkgeek.com that were great to put together.



I dedicated more words and time to one subject. I got to explain and express in a longer format. I’m thinking that there could be some more of that. Maybe there could be some notes on Facebook as well as this space for longer pieces.

Another part of the plan is to take advantage of Twitter more. Share links to stories that tickle my fancy. Whether they are sports, news, arts or entertainment, I’ll look to share it.


I’m also happy and lucky to be able to link to blogs that I like. Romeo’s will be coming soon as he went live to the world today at http://www.semi-dailyplanet.blogspot.com/ and some of my other favourites from celebrities and regular folks are already there.


I know that blogs aren’t unique or new at this point. But I still feel lucky to be able to have somewhere to ramble and post.


Ask E-ve, there are few things in this world that make me as happy as writing does.


I’m a lucky guy getting set to focus on a new direction. I don’t want to lose the fun and off the cuff feeling that the New Morning Musings has now, I love that part. But being able to add to it would be an amazing opportunity.


Thank you to everyone that stops in to read, who follows on Twitter or who stops in here and becomes a friend.


I write because I love it, but having a platform to publish is a great feeling.


And thank you to E-ve.


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