The Blog According to Buzz

Here's what's going on the radio today:

    - Justin Timberlake is bringing funny back. Check out his speedo wearing turn in the new Mike Myers flick.

    - Will.I.Am has another Obama video out - We Are The Ones.

    - Another WineFest night at the Trade and Convention Centre.  Here's An Insider's Guide to WineFests.

    - It's February 29, the day women propose to men in the UK.

    - A big Food Bank fundraiser is on this weekend, Canstruction at Canada Place.

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Rudy Giuliani may have written the book on the topic, but Barack Obama is showing everyone how it’s done.

To be a leader is to inspire. Check out the latest inspired work from Will.I.Am.

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Zacharie turns 9 months old today. Yesterday we went to the doc (Dr Smillie - how cool a name is that?!) to get his measurements and check up done.

We also wanted some extra stuff done as we get ready to head off to France in 3 weeks. Woah, already?

So the stats are: 74cm long, and 9.33kg. He’s grown 20cm and almost tripled his weight since birth. That puts him in the 75th percentile for height, and 50th for weight - a nice tall, lean boy. Perfect!

Some other things about Z:

He LOVES to stand. We’ve been having him stand since he was born, always balancing him that way, and now that he’s been crawling for about a week and a half, he’s wanting to move to the next step. That means pulling himself up on anything he can find.

He likes to play peek a boo. He’ll pull a blanket or cloth over his face for a second, we’ll do a “Where’s Zacharie?” and then he pulls it down with a big smile, only to put it back up seconds later. This can go on a couple dozen times.

He’s very chatty. Ba Ba Ba Ba or Ma Ma Ma Ma are the sounds he makes, oh along with growling and grunting when he can’t get his way. We’re trying sign language, and he can make the sign for milk, and we think it’s in context, although part of it is just a movement he likes to make with his hand.

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The email came back yesterday, I’ve submitted my registration papers, paid my deposit and have been accepted as a member of Team Diabetes: Easter Island.

Now comes the fun part. $10 000 in the next year, all of it going towards Diabetes research in Canada. That’s what this little button the left is for. Click it and you’ll go directly to my fundraising page with Team Diabetes. The money goes right to them, they’ll process your tax receipt and the donation automatically counts towards my fundraising goal.

I have already committed to donating all my freelancing funds to the cause, and thanks to some Twitter pals, a corporate video voice over gig could soon be coming my way.

If you’re a professional holding an event, or producing a video, or starting up a marketing campaign, I will waive my fee to do your work, in exchange for an equal donation to Team Diabetes. You get the work done professionally, while at the same time scooping a charitable tax receipt. Sounds win-win to me!

In addition to money, one of the other ways I’ll be asking for help, is technologically. Team Diabetes has got the online donations going smoothly, but there aren’t slick buttons or widgets to throw in to the site. I made that button roughly this morning. If you’re graphics whiz, or php star and can whip up a button or plugin that I can spread around and have people post on their own blogs to raise for the cause, please let me know.

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My pal Meg likes to make lists. This morning, as I was playing with Z, I was reminded of some of his favorite things, so I threw them together in a list.

Richard Scarry Busytown poster - I sit in the chair with him standing on my lap and he climbs my chest to stand on my shoulders and face to get a better view - when he gets to the top, he flaps his arms and coos in glee. The best part? The poster is Jen’s from when she was a kid that we had reframed.

Trucks - He loves them. Garbage day is the best in his world

Apple Mango Tango - He has it for breakfast, a couple cubes of apple, one of mango and he’s off

Ikea Sparka Soccer Ball - This is, quite possibly, the GREATEST children’s toy ever created. It’s a super super soft soccer ball that is machine washable. We can throw it back and forth, he can chew on it and it is his favourite toy. Bar none.

Eating things - He’s teething, so everything goes in his mouth

Silvery fish - He loves standing at the windows of the Aquarium waving as the salmon swim past

Books by Sandra Boynton or Olivier Dunrea - He loves the ones about Hippos and Gertie

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What's on the radio today:

    - Get your pink on today.

    - Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds is coming to town in March. You can prebuy tickets for the movie now.

    - I didnt mention this on air, but I found today's entry at Urban Diner compelling and wanted to share.  Andrew Morrison was to go to dinner last night, but didnt make it after watching a man jump off the Granville St Bridge.  Chilling.

    - Looking for something to drink for the weekend? It's Wine Wednesday!

    - Thinking about starting up a business? This Nail Taxi idea from NY sounds pretty cool.

    - Are you a size 6 one place, an 8 the next and an extra small somewhere else? It's called vanity sizing, here's a guide.

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As someone who got his fair of share of getting picked on as a kid, today I will wear pink.

I had braces. I had glasses. I was small. I did what my mom told me.

Add that up and chants of “spaz! spaz! spaz!” hang from the rafters at hockey practice, or a nickname of “mamma’s boy” gets tossed your way in the frat house.

“David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenage friends organized a high-school protest to wear pink in sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied…[They] took a stand against bullying when they protested against the harassment of a new Grade 9 student by distributing pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school.

‘I learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with it, and it can do wonders,’ says Mr. Price, 17, who organized the pink protest. ‘Finally, someone stood up for a weaker kid.’

So Mr. Shepherd and some other headed off to a discount store and bought 50 pink tank tops. They sent out message to schoolmates that night, and the next morning they hauled the shirts to school in a plastic bag.

As they stood in the foyer handing out the shirts, the bullied boy walked in. His face spoke volumes. ‘It looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders,’ Mr. Price recalled.

The bullies were never heard from again.” [source]

I’ve been wearing pink shirts for years, around 2003 I almost got into a fist fight in Willowbrook Mall over it. I had just come back from golfing, was rocking the pink and this guy looked and smirked as he walked by. I said “Excuse me?” He proceeded to tease and laugh at me for wearing a pink shirt. Keep in mind I’m in my 30s, he’s in his late 20s.. I could only chalk it up to being in Langley, a land of lesser enlightment. It degrades to where we’re almost at blows, yelling obscenities across a mall.

Over a pink shirt.

Today I will wear pink. I hope you will too.

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It’s been going all week and tomorrow the main event of the 30th Annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival hits town - the wine tastings at the Trade and Convention Centre

However, this past weekend, Jen and I along with a couple of other couples, had our own little wine fest! When you’re married to a wine rep, and head over to a colleague’s house is a wine rep, and also married to a wine rep, you know some grape will be poured and 4 bottles of beauty hit the table on Saturday night.

First the menu: There was a spicy sausage and creamy cheese tray with baguette while we chilled, then dinner was a beef tenderloin that absolutely melted with white asparagus, green beans and potatoes. A roasted tomato and spinach salad was on the side.

Here are 2 of the 4 wines we polished off:

Domaine de Montfaucon 2005 Viognier - Now I don’t recognize this grape right off the bat either, it’s not a big 6, but this Viognier was smooth and easy drinking. Right away I could taste the honey, our hosts said honeysuckle, but I thought it was richer, right to honey. Wiki says: The color and the aroma of the wine suggest a sweet wine but Viognier wines are predominantly dry.

Pinotage - Jen thinks this one tastes like band aids, the South Africans at our table were drifting back home as they talked about the smell being like an African camp fire. After all, it is South Africa’s signature grape. In the end, I agreed with Jen, it had a dusty medicinal taste that just didnt do much.

Some interesting choices there for your weekend sipping, or maybe you’ll head off to the ‘Fest and get your glass on. Before you do that, have a quick look over the Insiders Guide for Wine Festivals.

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The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival is in town this week. The formal tastings and dinners are wrapping up and the main event is ready to roll.

For 3 nights the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre will be turned into one giant juice pit as thousands turn out, glass in hand.

Jen is a wine rep. She’s worked this event for.years. I picked her brain to get the tips and tricks as you head down to get your grape on.

1. Respect the pourer. They’re not $10/hr hostesses, but actually knowledgeable sales reps, maybe the President of the company, or perhaps even the Winemaker
2. Respect your palate. Start with the light wines and finish heavy (ie save the Ports til last) If you’re going on 2 separate nights, do white one night, red the other
3. Leave your big purse at home. It’s tough to balance all that and a glass, a wristlet with your id and keys should be enough. That said …
4. Bring a journal or notebook to take notes on what you’re trying. Trust me, 5 glasses in you’ll forget what you had first
5. Try something different than what you always buy – here’s your chance to go on an adventure with minimal risk
6. If you like it, buy it. All wines poured on site, are available at the store on site, so if you really love something, pick up a couple bottles before you leave as many “show exclusives” are brought in for this event only
7. Don’t wear white. Even if you don’t spill, someone else might. Jen saw someone in a beautiful white suit one year, with a lovely streak of shiraz right down her back
8. There are no dumb questions, you’re there to learn, and the pourers are there to help
   Have something to eat before you go. You’re going to be drinking a lot, and you don’t want to do it on an empty stomach. Which leads us to …
9. Spit spit spit spit! You’re going to be drinking a lot, so even if you’re looking to get your drunk on, spit
10. Don’t rinse your glass with the water at the table, people think they’re spittoons (see #10). Instead, ask the pourer for a splash of the wine you’re about to sample to rinse out your glass.
11. The good stuff will be gone by Saturday night, all the expensive bubbles etc are in limited quantities, so look for them Thursday and early in the night on Friday

That may sound grand, but not all is wonderful, there are some pet peeves of the staff working the event you should try to keep in mind to keep your experience the best.

1. This is their Christmas. Most pourers have been pulling 12+hour days pouring wine and entertaining VIPS all week, so be patient with them.
2. Sloppy drunk people may be fun at the Roxy, but they’re not fun at WineFest. Have a good time, but keep it under control
3. Raising your glass and clinking it on the bottle isn’t necessary. Say “when”, when you mean “when” and they’ll stop pouring
4. Perfume and smelly hairspray. One of the most powerful qualities of wine, is its bouquet. Dousing yourself in Curious by Britney Spears and emptying a bottle of Final Net on your head before you leave will not only kill all your senses, but those of the people around you. You think we’re kidding, we’re not. Not even a quick spritz. Go au naturel to this event. PLEASE!
5. Going right for the decanter. It’s not necessarily the most expensive. Jen and her team have been known to take the cheapest bottle they’re pouring and drop it in a decanter just to fool the smart asses. ASK first, they might even reach under the table and pull out a secret bottle for you to sample
6. The know-it-all is almost as bad as the candy perfume girl. Yes, you’ve been to Napa. Maybe you’ve even golfed with Ernest and Julio, but remember tips 1 and 8 from above. You may be bragging to someone even more special than yourself, and, in the end, everyone is there to learn and have fun

So now that you’re well versed in the behind-the-scenes secrets of WineFest, you’re almost set. One final thing to remember: visit the Get Home Safe Booth for a free transit pass to get your buns home safe.

Everyone loves wine. Nobody likes a dead drunk.

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It’s Roll Up the Rim time at Tim’s.

Lots of prizes, including donuts coffee and cars will be passed out to Canadians over the next number of weeks. Canadians who will be more than willing to leave their recyclable mugs at home to boost the chances of swigging back a free double double.

Something about this smells funny in 2008.

Environmentalism isn’t a religion, so much as a way of life for many Canadians now. We bring reusable bags to the grocery store. We have 20 different compartments for recyclables with our trash. We bring our own coffee mugs to the coffee stand.

Sustainability is something not only preached by the likes of David Suzuki, but by governments. Just last week, BC Finance Minister Carole Taylor wore green shoes to announce the BC Budget that featured a green theme throughout.

So why, in 2008, is Tim Horton’s going back to the tried and true promotion of “buy as many unrecyclable cups as you can to try and win a donut.”

Oh, you didnt know the cups weren’t recyclable? They use a lining on the cup making them unrecyclable, and during an increased consumption contest like this, Canadians go crazy.

Tim Hortons cups have no recycled content…In the meantime, the chain might print “Don’t litter” messages on its cups, but even Tim Hortons’ peeps admit that “many people, unfortunately, do not pay attention to these messages.”
[source]

Don’t think crossing the street will make a difference, Starbucks‘ cups aren’t much better, about 10% recycled material.

Questioning of this promotion isn’t new, people have been openly asking why Tim’s does it since 2005.

“I don’t think it’s socially responsible to have a promotion which creates massive waste,” said Ronald Colman, executive director of GPI Atlantic, a non-profit group that researches environmental and quality of life issues. In Nova Scotia, Mr. Colman said, Tim Hortons packaging accounted for 22% of all identifiable litter.[source]

According to a CBC story from 2005, the company defends itself, by encouraging people not to litter. But they are hearing the plea for recyclables, and have started pilot recycling projects in the Maritimes.

The Tim Hortons coffee cup is recyclable where facilities exist, such as in Moncton, New Brunswick and Windsor, Ontario. The biggest challenge is that recycling capabilities, options and requirements vary significantly between municipalities. In Owen Sound, Ontario, in November 2007, Tim Hortons proudly introduced four-stream recycling stations so that customers can recycle coffee cups and polystyrene lids on site, along with cans, bottles and other recyclable materials. Tim Hortons is now working to try to replicate this innovative program across Ontario, and in other areas of Canada, however support is needed from local waste management facilities. [source]

Still, there’s still got to be a better way to get you to grab your double double of joe on the go with the hope of scoring a free donut than by rolling up unrecyclable rims. A simple scratch card, or pull tab, while not as fun to rrrrroll, would serve the same sales driven purpose as these cups, and would ease the pressures they place on landfills.

Many contests have the old “no purchase necessary” tag at the end. So if you want to play along, with your home mug, write them a note and .. get this .. they’ll send you a cup.

In Canada, obtain a FREE Tim Hortons contest cup by writing to: Tim Hortons Contest Cup, P.O. Box 9899, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2L 4P8. [source]

What’s the point?

Let’s see if you can rrrresist the urrrrge to rrrrrroll for the next little while. For the sake of the planet.

Got a problem with Tim’s doing this promo, again? Let ‘em know:

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