The Blog According to Buzz

40. It’s the new 30. Really, it is.

People used to get married in their 20s, now we’re getting hitched and having kids in our 30s. People used to move out when they were 18, now we hang out at home for years beyond that.

I remember my dad’s 40th birthday. I was 15. There’s slim to no chance either Zacharie or Charles will remember this day of mine.

40. Can you believe it?

I’m looking for 40 people with 40 dollars for my 40th birthday. No Facebook wall greetings or comments on this post. I’d like it if you stepped up and helped Team Diabetes with a quick and easy $40 donation.

And if you only can afford 30, that’s okay. After all, 40 is the new 30.

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Tomorrow I turn 40.

I’m looking for 40 people with 40 dollars for my 40th birthday. No Facebook wall greetings or comments on this post. I’d like it if you stepped up and helped Team Diabetes with a quick and easy $40 donation.

To give you a giggle while you click the link and make the donation, I present the 40 Year Old Yearbook.

Starting the day I was brought home from the hospital to the day earlier this month when I picked up Charles at the hospital, this is 40 years of my life:

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I’m not going to say I’ve got the magic touch when it comes to helping hockey teams kick their bad habits, but I did play a role in helping the Vancouver Canucks break a horrid skid last season.

The Calgary Flames are mired in their own 6 game dumper this year, so I brought Flames TV host, Alex Ruiz on AMP Radio Calgary this morning to roll through some slump busting ideas.

Iggy has tried a fresh shave on his head. Olli is growing his handlebar porn ’stache. My idea? Have a listen.

The first 2500 fans at the ‘Dome will pick up a Jim Peplinski bobblehead tonight for the game versus the Blues.

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Calgary is the home to some pretty memorable events in my life. Even before I packed up my family and came east, I had been to Cowtown and created some long lasting memories. I shot a national tv commercial here, ripped it up at Stampede and had the greatest moments in my hockey career in Calgary.

In the spring of 1981 I bought a denim cowboy hat and came to Calgary to play in the Lake Bonavista Hockey Tournament. As goalie of the Richmond Rep B Whites we won the tournament that year, and the next. In the first year I was named an MVP.

Here’s the freaky part – some 28 years after that event not only do I still have some pictures from climbing around the new houses being built in Lake Bonavista, I also have the tournament trophy and MVP medal.

As we’re packing up our North Vancouver house for the move to Calgary, I found the box with my hockey trophies and had Zacharie pose with the awards.

Hopefully it’s not a Stanley Cup situation and in a few years, if we’re still in Calgary, he can play in the same tournament as his father and win the same awards.

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Chills. I got chills. Goosebumpy, adrenaline in my blood, chills.

Now you need to know that I got that feeling after watching the Karate Kid, so I’m easily inspired, but the simple sight of a flame burning high atop the Calgary Tower this afternoon was enough to get me going.

I’m an Olympic addict.

The patriotism, the athleticism, the inspiration, the creativity, the artistry, the community, the spirit, the passion. It’s addicting.

I’ll sit and watch 4 hours of Cross Country Skiing coverage every 4 years just to seek out the one story of one athlete going beyond their personal boundary just because there’s a flag on their back and a flame at the venue.

I even bought my new home in Calgary in a community called Cougar Ridge, a mere kilometre from Canada Olympic Park, home to the ski jumping and sliding events at the ‘88 Games.

As host to the 1988 Games, Calgary knows what the Olympics are about. And this week, as the torch arrived back in the city, the entire town seems to be giddy for the Games. The largest ever crowd on the torch relay packed into the Olympic Plaza tonight, a place where 22 years earlier athletes received their medals. Tonight it was to receive the flame.

Calgary’s hockey team is called “The Flames” because that was the team’s name before it moved to Calgary from Atlanta. After seeing the way the city embraced the torch today, there’s an entirely local reason to call them The Flames.

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It was great to get up early and start the run of mornings at AMP Radio. We’re keeping it tight and light, playing a lot of music and helping you get on your way. Here are the highlights from this am:

Nickelback is coming to the ‘Dome on May 31. Tickets go on sale on Saturday.

Lisa Tant, Editor in Chief of Flare Magazine, joined us this morning to break down the best and worst from the Golden Globes. Pictures and summaries are all over internets.

The Olympic Torch Relay comes to town today. We chatted with torch bearer Erin Stanford.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr day in the US. It’s a holiday for them, a day for us to stop and think and grab some inspiration.

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Photo by Erich Saide Photography

Back in November I was offered the morning slot on 90.3 AMP Radio.

I came out to Calgary to live in December. I didnt start right away in the am slot because of Christmas coming right away and the impending arrival of Sir Charles.

We decided to put off the am launch until after the baby arrived. The baby is here, I’m back in Calgary and Monday morning the next chapter starts.

No worries about getting up early, Sir Charles has made sure I’m properly trained to get up before 5a.

Monday is a great day to launch. The torch arrives in Calgary and I’ll be chatting with some torch bearers, making a big concert announcement, giving away chances to go to Cabo and playing all the hits.

It all starts at 6am on Monday. Join me, won’t you?

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Here’s the schedule and the route for the Olympic Torch through Calgary next Monday – Wednesday.

There’s many more chances to qualify for a trip to Cabo with AMP Radio’s Cabo Quiz. Maz makes the draw this afternoon!!

Today is the one year anniversary of Sully landing on the Hudson.

Got big plans for the weekend? The Flames are home at the ‘Dome vs the hot Predators tonight.

If you’re heading to the hills, keep your eyes peeled for Tony Soprano and James Kirk – many stars are in Banff for the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Waterkeeper Alliance benefit.

Lady Gaga is on Oprah today. The segment for Oprah’s Friday Live went ahead despite her collapse at a show on Thursday.

Our parent company, Newcap Radio, has set up a CafePress site selling Tshirts for Haiti Relief. Here’s an exhaustive list of charities you can support in the relief efforts.

Jimmy Kimmel absolutely eviscerated Leno on his own show last night. (For my money, Kimmel is the best of the late night talkers)

Any doubts that Pants on the Ground is going to be a hit? Here’s Jimmy Fallon as Neil Young doing a cover.

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Want to help in Haiti? There are many text to donate programs, or you could choose a specific organization to donate to online.

There’s nothing like philanthropy to rehab a tattered image. Russell Simmons is hinting that Tiger is poised to make a big gesture in the Haitian relief effort.

The Cabo Quiz is on AMP Radio this afternoon with many chances to jet off to Los Cabos. The cheat sheet is online at AMPRadioCalgary.com

You think your tattoo is bad ass? It’s not. Tattooing your eyeball is bad ass.

American Idol came back this week and while much of it is “same as it ever was” with over-confident rejects and cute ingenues, there is already a superstar. Meet General Larry Platt and “Pants on the Ground.”

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My grandmother tells me that if I were a girl, my name was going to be Alice.

My mom won’t confirm, but that’s the story I’ve been told. When Jen and I got pregnant for the second time, Charles wasn’t the only name we had picked out for our baby.

As with Zacharie, we had a girl’s name laying in wait.
Amelie, Ines, and Aasha were some girl names we immediately loved. Actually, girl’s names were much easier for Jen and I to decide on a list of favourites, boy’s names were much more difficult.

Before we knew Zacharie was a boy, we travelled to Cuba and wrote our favourite names in the sand to lay claim to them. (Just in case a friend wanted to use it, we could have dated proof we chose it first!)

We did the same thing last June on Easter Island.

There was a rumour that Angelina Jolie had stolen my baby name when she had the twins. In the end she didnt, and we didn’t need it. Our claim to Amelie is over – feel free to use it for your daughter.

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