Song of the Day for Saturday

 I know this might not be everyone's cup of tea but to each his own.  This was a great dance tune for me in the  late 90s.  I liked grunge having lived on the left coast in the late 80s early 90s but I also liked industrial.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below  the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

Amazon - Stabbing Westward

        

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Song of the Day for Friday

 It's Friday.  I  am retired so everyday is Friday but if I was not today marks the weekend and this song says it all.  Three strange days.  Have a great weekend.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below  the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

Amazon - School of Fish

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Song of the Day for Thursday

 Here is a newer one says me.  Well at least according to my musical tastes 2007 is recent, lol.  Has some really good lyrics and a post punk beat.  Has nothing to do with the Tretiak book either and nothing to do with Meatloafs "Paradise by the dashboard lights".   Enjoy.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below  the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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Tretiak The Legend

 

What a great goalie.  Imagine what he would have been paid if he played over in the NHL.  The Legend is a very interesting read as you see the USSR team from their side of the iron curtain.  It was written in 1987 so it is a historical read for sure.  It is great recalling some of the stories like the game when the Soviets left the ice against the Broad Street Bullies from Philadelphia.  He also talks about the Summit Series a bit and  the 1980 Olympics where he was pulled by Tikhonov for Mishkin after giving up a goal to the US.   He also talks about some of his training.  Tretiak comes across as very patriotic and humble.  This might be a hard book to come across but well worth it.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - Tretiak: The Legend

Song of the Day for Wednesday

 With Mondays song being 99 luftballons, the song that goes with that in my head anyways for that time period is this one by Berlin.   If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below  the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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I am Ozzy

 

Lets start off by saying that I have not ever been a big Ozzy fan and for that matter own no Black Sabbath albums.  That doesn't mean I don't like a couple of B.S. songs.  It also doesn't mean I don't think he is a character and might have a fun story or two to tell. So I read this old codgers book around Christmas.   I know that the MTV version of Ozzy is not something I ever watched but I was sure there was something to say in I Am Ozzy if it discussed his pre MTV life.  Well the book did.  I really liked the book.  It told many tales of this rocker.  There is a fair bit of swearing and his British accent does come across.  He shares tales of many things such as the Randy Rhoads airplane crash into his tour bus, him being arrested for pissing on the Alamo,  the hash cake that almost killed the vicar, jail and the usual sex, drugs and rock and roll.  Again I am not an MTV Ozzy fan but I did enjoy the book.   If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - I am Ozzy

Song of the Day Tuesday

 If I have Ozzy as a book review today then I probably should have a Black Sabbath song as song of the day.  I decided I would do a cover instead.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below  the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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Song of the Day for Monday

 I came home yesterday from my friends cottage and there were a bunch of balloons all over the house for my daughter's birthday.  Well balloons only mean one song.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below  the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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Song of the Day Sunday

 We are driving home from a weekend in Godreich Ontario so I thought this song would be appropriate. From the Pleasure Principle.  Definitely New Wave.   If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below  the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

Oh and if you are from Detroit Michigan or like me in Windsor Ontario you would remember this parody from WRIF.

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Song of the Day Saturday

 Hey it is my birthday so it is time to Fight For Your Right To Party.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below  the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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Song of the Day for Friday

 Well I was on the bike yesterday and I heard "Final Solution" by Pere Ubu.  Man what a killer song.  So it reminded me that I just heard this song from a friend Tom before I moved out to Vancouver for grad school in 1988.  So I am in the city for less than a week and Pere Ubu is playing downtown.  I believe John Cale of Velvet Underground fame was opening up.  So I shoot off to this small club and the show is sold out.  I am hanging out side and am bummed.  I start talking to some dude outside and tell him my story that it's my first week in Vancouver and don't know anyone and the show is sold out.  I let him know I just heard this song from a friend and no nothing about the band.  LOL. Unbeknownst to me I have been talking to David Thomas, founder of Pere Ubu.  He doesn't tell me whom he is  but says he knows the door man and gets me in.  Later when the headliners come on I was floored.   Sorry for the long winded story but hell it is my blog.   Here is a post-punk great tune and as a bonus is a great cover by Peter Murphy, lead singer from Bauhaus.  The first video is Peter Murphy so you can understand the words as you will have a hard time with Pere Ubu's original live.  The second video is from from Pere Ubu on the tour in 88 that I saw.  I have also posted the lyrics below.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below  the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

 

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The girls won't touch me cause I got a misdirection,

And livin at night isn't helpin my complexion.

The signs all say it's a social infection.

A little bit of fun's never been an insurrection.

Mom threw me out til I get some pants that fit.

She just don't approve of my strange kind of wit.

I get so excited I always gotta lose it,

Then they pack me off & make me take the cure.

I don't need a cure,

Don't need a cure.

Don't need a cure,

Need a final solution.

Buy me a ticket to a sonic reduction -

Guitars gonna sound like a nuclear destruction.

It seems I'm the victim of natural selection,

Or maybe just another slide in another direction.

I don't need a cure,

Don't need a cure.

Don't need a cure,

Need a final solution.

Solution!

Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue The World's Stolen Treasure

 

I decided to stay away from sports again with Priceless which I read last summer.  I rather liked this memoir and this genre.  I have not read much about true crime and could see me reading more of this when I take a break from reading sports or historical fiction.  Wittman grew up being the son of an antiques dealer which would help him later with his profession.  I am no art aficionado but when a dude recovers a Rodin sculpture or Rembrandt, Monet and Picasso paintings, I know those are multimillion dollar heists.  Not all of the recoveries are art but treasures none the less as he was involved with recovering one of the original copies of The Bill of Rights.  It was a quick read.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - Priceless

Song of the Day for Thursday

 Well if the book I blogged about today was by Malcolm Gladwell then I had to post a song related to either Malcolm X or Malcolm McLaren.  Now it would be easy to post a Sex Pistol or Sid Vicious video as McLaren was their manager but I decided to go with a song by McLaren himself.  Now I bet you thought I would go with Buffalo Gals but I couldn't as I hated it.  Here is a better one.   If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below below the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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The Tipping Point

 

The Tipping Point is the first book by Malcolm Gladwell.  Malcolm is a New York Times best selling author that is a member of the Order of Canada.  The Tipping Point was written in 2000 but is actually really current today.  I had read two of his other books, Outliers and Talking To Strangers so when I had the opportunity to read this one I jumped at it.  The term "Tipping Point" refers to the point at which in an epidemic, the virus  reaches a critical mass and then the rate of spread escalates exponentially so to speak.  Pretty relevant with Covid. That being said this is not about epidemics in the medical sense, even though it can.  This book discusses as the it says in the book cover, how little things can make a big difference.  He uses as examples that by cutting staff in a Baltimore clinic from 17 to 10 that a syphilis outbreak would explode.  He also talks about social epidemics and social influencers.  Again I could think how "now" that is with social media and Tik Tok.  Ask my kids.  Any of his books that I have read have been worth the read.  You may also be interested in his podcast Revisionist History.  His latest book is The Bomber Mafia and it has been on the NY Times best sellers list for 11 weeks at the time I wrote this post.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - The Tipping Point

Autobiography by Morrissey

 

If you ever wondered why The Smiths music was always on the sad side you will know after reading Morrissey.  Headmaster's Ritual will make complete sense.  It was not necessarily an easy read just because it was so sad.  It was still a worthwhile read and if you are a Smiths fan it is a must read.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - Autobiography

 

Song of the Day for Wednesday

 Seeing that I had Morrissey's book as a post it only made sense to pick a Smith's song for today.  I used to love just dancing by myself on the dance floor when "How soon is now" came on.  Just spinning around.  Love the 80's.  " I am human and I need to be loved just like everybody else does."  Classic.  What is also classic is Johnny Marr's guitar.  What a great sound.  Enjoy.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below below the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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Song of the Day for Tuesday

 I always liked Goth.  I mean girls and music lol.  It was a great time in the 80's.  I always loved David Bowie and Bauhaus did a fab job covering this classic tune.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below below the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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Into Thin Air

 This is an oldie but a goodie.  Once I picked this up I could not put it down.  In fact after reading Into Thin Air I must of read 3 or 4 other books on Everest.  Jon Krakauer writes about herding up people that probably had no right to climb Everest but it was big money for competing businesses guided by Rob Hall and Scott Fischer.  Rob Hall and 7 others died on this summit attempt along with many others that suffered extreme frost bite.  It was a very interesting and controversial book written by one of the participants in Jon Krakauer.  I definitely recommend the read.  I have not seen the movie.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - Into Thin Air

They Call Me Killer

 

Brian Kilrea was for the most part a Junior hockey coach in the OHL for the Ottawa 67's.  He played in the NHL for a cup of coffee but ended up in the NHL Hall of Fame as a long time hockey coach.  He was assistant coach for the New York Islanders for a couple of years before moving back to the 67's.  They Call Me Killer is full of lots of humorous accounts from him and some of his players.  I thought it was well written.  He tells his account of a story then a couple of his players tell their version.  All in all pretty funny.  I never heard of him before reading They Call Me Killer and I rather enjoyed it.  I read this one in late June, just a couple of books ago.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - They Call Me Killer: Tales from Junior Hockey's Legendary Hall-of-Fame Coach

Song of the Day for Monday

Was thinking of you Dad.  R.I.P.  My Dad did give me more than a last name and was a great man.  He lost his wife, my mother when I was not even 8 years old and moved in with his parents to help raise me.  It must of been so hard for him and on him.  I miss you Dad.  Love you.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below below the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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Song of the Day for Sunday

My workout today was a 90k bike, not a run but I heard this on my ride so I am going to post it. I will run tomorrow, lol.  Enjoy.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchases please click on my link below below the video which will take you to amazon.ca.  Thanks.

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Game Misconduct: Alan Eagleson and the Corruption of Hockey

 I read Game Misconduct in June.  I knew about him from the Bobby Orr book, Orr Story, where he fleeced Bobby.  Did you know that Bobby Orr could of had 18% ownership of the Boston Bruins but Eagleson never brought the offer to Bobby and instead instructed him to sign with the Chicago Black Hawks.  I believe the author, Russ Conway was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his writing of this book.  Yes Mr Eagleson did some very important things for hockey like starting up the NHLPA and the Canada Cup but he was in bed with management and was an overall a$$ hoXX.  As president of the NHLPA he was in bed with the owners.  He was also an agent and if you were not one of his clients he really did not care too much about you as union president.  Even if he was your agent he stiffed many clients for money when he said he was negotiating insurance policy payments for athletes that had career ending injuries.  Mr Conway details many incidents in this book that paint Eagleson as not only a crook but a cold hearted person. Game Misconduct is an expose on all the criminal things that Eagleson did and eventually went to jail for.   If you grew up watching hockey in the 70s or even 80s this book is for you.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - Game Misconduct

Imperfect: An Improbable Life

 

Imperfect is a non-fiction tells the story of a ball player from Flint Michigan that made it to the bigs.  Oh yeah he was missing a hand at birth.   He started as a QB in his senior year of High School and made it to the University of Michigan as a stating pitcher.   Oh yeah he pitched a no hitter for the Yankees.  Each chapter alternates between his recap of each of the innings of the no hitter and his life growing up.  I enjoyed his discussions with himself about did he get to where he got because of his hand or in spite of his hand.    I finished Imperfect  a couple of days ago and thought I should post this now before I forgot about it.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - Impefect

Finish Strong: A Father's Code and a Son's Path

 

I received Finish Strong as a retirement gift. When I got it I noticed Urban Meyer wrote the forward.  I told everyone I would skip that part seeing I never cared for him as a coach.  I did read the forward though.  I finished the book in 3 days.  Could of been 2 but I left the last 20 pages for another day.  Great book.  There were some parts that I shed a tear.  Nate Ebner is a rugby player at a very high level but realizes that the college scene in for rugby is going to take him nowhere unless he decides to go to Europe.  He decides that he will walk on the Ohio State University team with the ambition of making it to the pro's.  Really.  He also tells this to his dad who is a huge rugby player and fan.  His dad is fine with it as long as he gives it his all.  Well that is the last conversation they have as he dies after that.  Nate works his ass off and not only walks on but makes the pro's and wins a few Super Bowls to boot, as well as making the Olympic team in rugby.  Oh yeah this is NOT fiction.  I read this Finish Strong a couple of weeks ago but I figured I would write about it now as it was still fresh in my mind.  If you are Canadian and making any amazon.ca purchase please click on my link below first.  Thanks.

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Amazon - Finish Strong