"the land of ice and snow" is courtesy of Led Zepelin, but it describes precisely the snow situation where I live.
In the land of the pale blue snow, where it's 99 below
And polar bears are roaming o'er the plain
In the shadow of the poles we wander to and fro
We'll be happy when the ice worms nest again
This may come from Wilf Carter but it's not clear as to where it comes from. It does make me think about the winter I've put I've experienced. Some bloggers are writing about a soon coming spring. For me I will have to wait a while longer for warm weather.
They have recently cleared some of our streets so we have some huge piles of snow. The kids are having fun jumping off these piles.
My ski trail is under these enormous snow piles. The picture at the end shows the ski trail in a normal winter snow of 2010.
Today is a fun day to celebrate and pass on our greetings to others. We celebrate with cards and lots of chocolate. In some areas gifts are exchanged.
So where does this tradition come from? It's been a long and winding trail. The original Saint Valentine comes from the third century and he died on Feb. 14. In the middle ages St. Valentine was associated with courtly love. Complicating things were other St. Valentines and similar names. Over the many years numerous stories emerged around Valentines.
Apparently the Catholic Church does not recognize St. Valentine and does not have any religious celebration related to St. Valentine. ( Now I found some material which would appear to contradict that there is no celebration in the Catholic Church.) Some other churches do have reference to St. Valentine and some observance in their routine.
Modern Valentine's traditions began in the 18 th century and have steadily changed. Today Valentine's Day has turned into a very large commercial venture. A fantastic amount of chocolate is sold as well as greeting cards.
So we've come to a place where the day is marked by fun, enjoyment and numerous wishes for a Happy Valentine's Day.
Since I have a brother who has a birthday today, I have a bigger stake in the day. My brother was born in a small country hospital. Very few babies were born there during a year. A baby born Feb. 14 was a big occasion. The nurses wanted my Mom to name my brother Valentino. Mom didn't follow their suggestion and I imagine my brother is quite happy that she didn't follow their advice.
So I wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day!
My post yesterday was an apology. I might as well get on a roll and make a confession today. My confession is that I don' read very many comments that are made on other bloggers's posts. From time to time I will look at some comments. Mostly I make my comment and run.
Now I know that when some one takes the time and effort to make a comment, it would be nice if more people read it and appreciated it. Comments take a blog to a higher level. More people reading and commenting on comments would add even more to a blog.
I see some blogs where there is some back and forth between commenters. I have responded to comments on others blogs. Why don't I do more? I just don't have time. I follow many blogs. I have to limit how much time I can give to my blog. Don't get me wrong. I like blogging and could spend all day at it.
One thing that I have found interesting is to receive oral comments. A number of people who I know and see quite often read my blog. They throw oral comments back and forth. I also tell them to read the comments people make on my posts. Bud reads most of my posts. He makes some very neat comments. His comments are distant so you have to be thinking or it goes over your head and he goes away with a big twinkle in his eye and says to himself, "Aha , the old guy didn't get it." Today at skating, when I was taking my skates off, he went by and said, "I'll see you next Tuesday if you can keep your time straight." He was referring to my mix up on my Beatles post. However, he skillfully slid it by me as I was busy and he almost got out of the room without being caught. I enjoy Bud's comments as well as others who give oral comments.
So I will try to look at more comments on other blogger's posts as I think there is much value there.
In my last post I made a major error. It was an error that was crucial to the post.
I put down that the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show 60 years ago. Now I meant to say 50 years ago.
Readers had their own neat ways of dealing with my blunder.
Some just ignored my blunder and made their comment.
Some made a point of saying 50 years in their comment.
Some made very oblique comments that were very clever.
So my apology for my error. My thanks to you dear readers who dealt with the error in some interesting and understanding ways.
Do I ever have some awesome followers. Thanks for following my blog and supporting me. You are the best.
Well, most people over sixty will probably remember what happened sixty years ago this evening. It was a television evening that will go down in history. The Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show!
The Beatles began as a band around 1960. They became very popular in England and by 1964 they were number one around the world. They brought a new sound, look and show. They were some what controversial as so much of their performance had never been seen before. The hair almost blotted out the music. The Beatles had many critics. They were new and different and people have a problem accepting that.
I was not a big Beatles fan when they first came on the scene. I was still too wrapped up in Elvis, Buddy Holly, Pat Boone, Paul Anka and many more performers. However, you couldn't help but follow the Beatles. Beatles were everywhere.
The Ed Sullivan show was a classic and every Sunday night people were glued to their TV. Ed Sullivan booked the Fab four for his show. There was a tremendous amount of media coverage for weeks before the big show. The show was a huge hit and of course media coverage continued.
Now others can tell about Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show better than I can.
Up until today I always thought that I had seen the Ed Sullivan show with the Beatles. I was sure I had seen it. Today as I looked at the date , Feb. 9, 1964 , I suddenly realized where I was. I was 2400 km (1500 miles) from the nearest TV that got any reception! I don't know why I think I saw the show. Was there a rerun? Do I remember from what I saw in magazines and newspapers? It was rather surprising to make this discovery
So I guess I had a phantom memory!
Note: An apology
It seems that I have a problem with telling time. I meant to say 50 years rather than 60 years for the time the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show. My apologies for this error.
I know that some followers will remember that I am not a sports fan. I'm not a spoil sport. You can watch the Winter Olympics and cheer your face off. I won't hold it against you if you really go all out for the Winter Olympics.
I'm not completely unaware of the Winter Olympics. I will vaguely follow standings. I will know how many medals Canada has. I will cheer for Canada...but only in my head.
I know that many of my readers share a similar view of sports as I do. I like this as it assures me that I'm not some antisocial loner.
Television in all it's wisdom spoils sport for me. The analyzers go on and on to describe every aspect of what they are showing.. Then, there are endless replays. You get very little time of actually watching a game , race or activity. It becomes very slow. I like something fast paced and lively. If you go to an NHL game today , you have all kinds of down time for the television net work to air commercials.
There is also an obscene amount of money spent on the Winter Olympics. I think Olympics could and should have less money involved. There is also the huge emphasis on security. Many athletes and spectators have apprehensions about going to the Winter Olympics. I'm not sure that these issues should be such a big part of sport.
So I will blissfully skip all television coverage of the Winter Olympics.
With the death of Pete Seeger last week, I began thinking about my music listening experience and what influences he had on me.
Listening to music for me, started when radios became more common and radio formats changed . So as a kid most of what I listened to was country and western. However, I did hear Pete Seeger. I was becoming much more interested in music when folk music became popular in the fifties. I have old reel to reel tapes of the Weavers. I can't play my tapes anymore but I won't throw them away. So folk music grabbed my attention. I was aware of Woody Guthrie ,but didn't hear much of his music. Joan Baez was a biggie.
Then rock and roll came along and grabbed my attention. I was a teenager when rock came on the scene so I fell heavily for rock and roll. I still like rock and listen to a lot of it.
Along with these influences I was exposed to classical music and so called popular music.
My music listening didn't change much until I retired and had time to explore other genres. I also found a radio station, CKUA, that programmed all types of music along with much information about the music. So I was exposed to jazz and blues of all kinds and began to listen to these two. This station also has programs that concentrate on very specific types of music. One example would be "Voices in Jazz." One type of music that I enjoy is bel canto which is choral classical. It's very beautiful. So here's a plug for my favorite station which is on the Internet.
So Pete Seeger was one of the major influences on me. I liked his slant on social justice and how his protest songs influenced society. Pete Seeger was active and influential in the music world until just recently. In 2012 he cut his last record. Pete Seeger was on the music scene long before I was born. His influence will carry on long after I am gone.
