Nose drool.
Yes, it is cold season and guess which little bear just caught one from daddy.
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The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Archive for March, 2008Why wait? Le Grand Monsieur will be 10 months old at the end of March. He’ll also be celebrating his first Easter by looking for chocolate eggs hidden about the City of Light. Yup, we’re going to France with the child. Here’s the itinerary:
When Jen and I go to the pool for swimming lessons there’s 3 bags of toys, diapers and clothes between us. Can you imagine 2 weeks overseas? It’s going to be a challenge - but we’re up for it. The first thing we needed to do was settle on a stroller. Currently we have a Mountain Buggy Urban as our main chariot of choice. It’s FAB for the trails and paths around our neighborhood, but, as we discovered on our trip to Portland in November, it’s HUGE. It took up the entire trunk of our Pontiac Vibe for that weekend getaway severely limiting the amount of tax free goodness that could be brought home. Our requirements for the new stroller were: lightweight, collapsing, has a tray, fully reclining, has storage room. Jen went crazy looking for strollers. Up and down the web, all over Amazon, BabyCenter, everywhere. She hit up Target, Babies R Us and Craigslist. She read reviews, comments, feedback. EVERYTHING. The contenders included styles from Quinny, MacLaren, Peg Perego and Kolcraft … but the winner is: The Combi Helio DX - Wasabi (Waaasaaaaahbeeee)
It’s got a cup holder, a snack section, it reclines, and it has a longer bar than the previous edition (meaning you dont kick the wheels and you’re not hunched over when pushing) They’re hard to find in Canada. We had to buy it online from Amazon.com and have it sent to a friend’s postal box in the US. So that’s the big thing out of the way. But from reading reviews on Fodors, it sounds like the cobblestones of Europe do nothing for soothing a baby while sightseeing. I guess that means we’re packing the Baby Bjorn too.
Here's what's on air today: - What causes traffic jams? You. Okay, maybe not you, but one yoyo slowing down instantly backs it up for miles. They did a study in Japan. - Rihanna and Kanye sold out quickly on the weekend. If you want to scoop tickets, try bribing Rihanna with bubblegum. - I've got my iPod filled with kid friendly songs this week for my son. Some Jack Johnson, a little They Might Be Giants and some Beatles. What's in your playlist this week? Tell me and scoop 50 free songs on iTunes. - Star and Al are dunzo. - Alanis has her new album out May 20. The same day as Scarlett Johansson has a disc dropping. What else do the girls have in common? Ryan Reynolds. - Are you a fan of Nickelback? Read this story … but warning, it's a little NSFW. The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Lately I’ve been obsessed about how radio can do things better. I think we offer great a great product, provide a necessary service, but the way it’s marketed and is moving into the future could use a shake up. Enter Seth. Back in 1996, Z95.3 was the first radio station in Canada to get a website. For over a decade we’ve been online, but we’ve not really done anything with it. At a recent music conference, programmers from across the country were talking about strategies for the internet etc.
That’s the problem right there - it’s 2008, and we are, just now, planning for this “new medium.” Radio has been online for almost 12 years, with no direction. Stations have websites cause they know how to make them, and think they should have one. But there’s no true strategy about how to make it work to enhance the brand, generate revenue and build listenership. Check out the website for this wine store by someone who truly understands how to mix this “new medium” with an old business. I’ll have some ideas on how radio can get it right coming soon. The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Not me. I try and make my souvenirs truly memorable, after all that’s what the name comes from;souvenir is french for memory. When I went to Morocco in 2002, the pressure to buy Berber rugs is immense. Every market in every town we visited was keen to offer us mint tea and peel off a stack of rugs for us to watch. And they’re clever salesmen. Honestly, had I not been worried about the luggage limit to go back to Canada, I might have relented, but in the end I picked up something much more meaningful, and something that makes me think of Morocco every time I use it. A mini tagine.
I use it store my kosher salt next to the stove. Everyday as I cook and prepare, I crack it open and think of the ancient mazes in the souk and medina of Fes, where I bought it. In 2003, I went to Thailand. I took a cooking class and got an apron, complete with the recipe printed on the front. I also picked up a mortar and pestle in Chiang Mai. When I crush cardamom pods to make Coconut Cardamom Burfi, I’m taken back to the elephant ride in the Thai north.
Also in 2003, I ran a marathon for Team Diabetes in Iceland. I really wanted some ice from Iceland. I thought it would be easy to find reusable ice cubes made with the water from the Iceland glaciers and fjords, but they were nowhere to be found. Instead, I found these Icelandic “ice cubes.”
They’re cubes of Icelandic Gabbro rock. You keep them in the freezer, where they stay cold, and then drop a couple in your glass. It’s a chance to truly have a drink “on the rocks” without diluting it. In a couple weeks we’re heading to France with Zacharie. My souvenir purchase might be a little different. Yes, we will get wine from the Loire. Yes, I will get some Fleur de Sel from Croisic, and I might even be tempted to get an Eiffel Tower keychain on the banks of the Seine. But, I already know the main souvenir I am getting for me and my son - matching shirts with the name and number of his namesake on the back. Deux maillots avec le numero dix de Zizou.
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My sister in law wrote up a post about how she has successfully navigated some parenting pitfalls over her 2 year career, notably she discovered the music you play your kids does not have to suck. I totally agree. While we regularly spin some french children’s cds, complete with Frere Jacques lullabies and the like, and I did do up a mixed disc of Sesame Street classics, we’re trying to expose Le Grand Monsieur to something other than a steady diet of Raffi and Charlotte Diamond, mostly for our own sanity. Here are some child friendly favourites you can drop into the mix, feel free to add your own in the comments.
While we’re on the topic of kid friendly stuff that’s easily digestable for adults, you should check out Working Dad’s ongoing series of posts about Children’s Books That Won’t Make Your Hurl.
Remember when you were a teen and you’d ask for permission and be denied. Only to retort with “Well xxxx’s parents are letting him go!” And then Mom and Dad would drop a “Well, if xxxx jumped off a bridge, would you?” Of course you wouldn’t. You just wanted to stay out an extra hour past curfew. Then there are times, once we got older, where we would want to do something, but we had to wait for someone else to try it first. You know jumping off a cliff, streaking through the hallways, trying raw oysters. “I’ll do it if you do it, but you go first.” It’s all about following a leader, and being a part of the crowd. A sense of belonging and feeling good about our choices. Well, when it comes to raising money for Team Diabetes, my friend Carolyn has gone first. She jumped in, clicked the banner (which she designed) and threw a few bucks in the empty jar. I have committed to pledging all freelance income to the Team Diabetes cause, and have already done a couple jobs for the cause, but I’m still waiting for the payment to come in.. so, in the meantime, would you mind clicking the button below and dropping some money in the jar to keep Carolyn’s company?
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Vancouver native Dawn Buckler and her partner Rocco Barker (guitarist with 80’s new wave band Flesh for Lulu) recently appeared in the HGTV series ‘A Place in Spain: Costa Chaos’. Dawn and I used to work together here at 95.3 back when it was Z. Now she’s gone and written a book about her Spanish adventures, and I’m helping out a pal by pimping it a bit. Here’s the hottie herself and a little interview on the project.
Wow. A Place in Spain. Sounds glamourous. I wish. If you watch the show you’ll see it’s anything BUT glamourous. How did you end up there? Well, I guess I’m a bit of a world traveler. I moved from BC at the age of 22 to London, England and after a few years there, I got tired of cold weather and made it my mission to live in a warm climate. We didn’t have any money to do it, but that’s what banks are for, right? I’m a bit crazy that way. I think it’s pretty obvious why the TV show was interested in us! How did the TV show come about? Well. There was a tiny ad in a London paper saying something about ‘Are you starting a business overseas. If so call…’ I had no intention of starting a business but I lied to appease the ad and said we were about to renovate an old Spanish house into a 5 star vacation villa for tourists - complete with butlers, maids and chauffeurs. When the TV company called me, I couldn’t remember what I said! Regardless, they liked us and the idea, and the next thing I knew, we had to buy a house in Spain fast! Your partner is Rocco Barker of 80’s Flesh for Lulu fame. What’s it like living with a rock star? Hell. The series finale is on Monday May 10th. I don’t want to ruin the outcome, but you’ll find out then. What’s it like renovating a house in Spain? Again…one word…hell. Keep in mind when we started the project that I didn’t even know what the purpose of foundations were for or how a light functions aside from a switch on a wall. Add to that, not knowing a word of Spanish. And then there’s the manana attitude of the Spanish…we were screwed from the get go. So this was your first house renovation then? Yah. Rocco was intent on starting from scratch and building from the ground up, but I knew Rocco’s work ethic (which is very limited considering his previous job of playing a guitar) so I pushed for what I thought would be a much easier task of renovating. I thought that our house would be finished in 3 months, as they are in Canada. Three years later and here we are…still pushing on. I now know that there is a HUGE difference between wood houses and a brick and mortar construction. Has it really been that bad? Well…take for example our state of the art Jacuzzi. We waited months for our electrician to eventually come and hook it up. We finally had it all running, put water in it for the first time, had the bubbles going and were just about to use it for the first time when we experienced a rare thunder storm. Because our electrician for some unknown reason (as is customary in Spain) took down our lightening conductor, our Jacuzzi was struck and blew the whole electricity panel - $3,000 repair bill. We also had involuntary air conditioning for a year, while we waited 8 MONTHS for our windows to arrive. And I won’t even mention the flooding of our basement or our builder who disappeared for a few months. Yah, it was my therapy. I can now vouch for the statistics that prove home renovation is one of the leading causes of divorce. While our experiences are funny to look back upon, it’s been quite a tumultuous few years. The TV show ends just as we’re about to start renovations. I still receive emails from around the world, describing our journey as ‘inspirational’, and our relationship as a ‘love affair of grandeur’. Yet the reality of the situation was quite the opposite. My life and my sanity were falling to pieces. I guess it’s a support manual of sorts for couples around the world engaging in the hugely popular property building and renovation genre. No matter how bad they deem their situation, one only needs to read my book to realize that it can get a whole lot worse! Any regrets? I will never regret my journey as I refuse to live life with regrets. I would rather have done this project than continue to wish I had – trauma and all. It’s what colours us as individuals, and it’s true what they say – that which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Avril Lavigne is working the media train in advance of her Best Damn Tour hitting town tomorrow, and I’ve been helping out. I took my radio interview from earlier this week and cut it up for 24hrs Vancouver.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Last week I wrote in 24hrs about Twitter.
I love it. It’s where I’ve moved my social networking. I mean, I still check Facebook every now and again, but it’s not where I spend my time. The quality of user is much more manageable at Twitter.. The Twitter peeps, tweeps, are ahead of the curve, smart, articulate and not into zombie biting. Sweet. But things might change. I mean, I wrote about Twitter to draw in the unwashed, and now Lee LeFever and his CommonCraft crew are explaining things in plain english. Get ready to unfollow @superpoke. The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
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When you go on vacation, and you’re bombarded with the ticky tacky, do you wince under the pressure and part with your pesos for a Corona bar towel? Do you get the Tommy Hilfiger knock tshirt that says “Nassau Bahamas” on it? Maybe pooka shells, or hair braids are more your style?
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