Tuesday Newsday (an urbandaddy original)

Stories in the news that tickle my fancy, thanks to google.ca;

1. Ontario bans lawn and garden pesticides' It's the right of kids to play in the grass ... without compromising their health,' Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says.

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says he hopes a new ban on the sale and use of lawn and garden pesticides will allow children to again roll around on the grass.
"Our generation has taken to the cosmetic use of pesticides and I think, perhaps unwittingly, not fully understanding the dangers it represents to ourselves and, most importantly, to our children," he told a news conference in the back yard of a mid-Toronto home.
"It's the right of kids to play in the grass .. without compromising their health."
The new law, which is expected to come into effect next spring, would prohibit 80 chemicals and 300 products that experts say pose a potential health risk.
I can't believe I actually agree with the Premier on something that makes sense like this. And to think, it was just yesterday that I walked outside with my boy and took a deep breath of my neighbours freshly sprayed lawn. Last year we asked her not to spray the grass we share due to the horrible chemicals. She didn't. This year... She did.

2. Bank of Canada signals economic woes, slashes interest rates by half-point. The Bank of Canada signalled concern over the stalling economy Tuesday, slashing interest rates half a percentage point for the second time in two months and signalling further reductions in the future.
The latest move makes it cheaper to borrow money by dropping the key overnight rate to three per cent, a full 150 basis points from where it stood at the beginning of December.
"The bank is now projecting a deeper and more protracted slowdown in the U.S. economy," it said in a statement.
"This has direct consequences for the Canadian economic outlook, with declining exports projected to exert a significant drag on growth in 2008."
What does this mean? It means the US is bordering on an economic slowdown (or recession) and that Canada - although very dependant on the US economy - does not wish to go down that road. It also means hopefully lower mortgage rates for us variable guys and of most importance, if you have debt, now is a pretty fine time to get a consolidation load from the bank to reduce your debt load and reduce monthly payments.

3. Ice hockey: Sixteen arrested after playoff win by NHL Canadiens. Sixteen people were arrested for riots overnight, breaking shop windows and trashing police cars after the Montreal Canadiens advanced in the National Hockey League playoffs, police said Tuesday.
The Montreal Canadiens eliminated the Boston Bruins 5-0 Monday night to win their best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff first-round series four games to three.
Afterwards, thousands spilled onto downtown Montreal streets to celebrate the hard-fought victory, but festivities quickly degenerated into rioting with several police cars smashed and set on fire.
Sixteen people, aged 14 to 25 years, were arrested for break-ins, assaulting officers and damaging a total of 17 vehicles, including 16 police cars, of which five were set ablaze, said police spokesman Laurent Gingras.
Damage to the municipal vehicles was estimated at 500,000 dollars, authorities said.
$500G's in damage and this was only the first round of the playoffs... I guess hooligans need any excuse to damage other people's property. I did laugh however when I saw the headline used the word "Ice Hockey"... Stupid Associated Press... Like field hockey would have this problem...

4. Book Teaches Kids About Plastic Surgery - My Beautiful Mommy is a new kids book about plastic surgery. It was written by Michael Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon in Bal Harbour, Florida. The book details the conversation and process a mother and daughter go through as the mother gets a tummy tuck and nose job. Salzhauer says he came up with the idea to help parents explain cosmetic procedures to their children"It sounds like a joke but there really is a need to address this issue," Dr. Salzhauer told Reuters. "Hundreds of thousands of women have this operation in the United States. This is for a specific consumer at a specific time in their life that is going to turn their household upside down for a couple of weeks."
I really thought this was a joke. I passed over this story a few times thinking it could not be real, but it is. About a conversation between a mother and a daughter about size EE breast implants. "Dear, Mommy needs these to feel better about herself..." Says to her daughter, "You can have EE's too when you are 14". Oy vey. How come this is for women only? What? Guy's don't have plastic surgery too?!? Hey little dude, Daddy is having pectoral implants put in and his penis lengthened to make it with the ladies... Geez. Of course it's not for guys, cause we don't care. What a vain society!!! Now excuse me while I pluck my wayward eyebrow hair and shape my pubic hair into the rebel logo from Star Wars...

5. Toronto Jazz Festival Unveils Lineup.
The most important part of this story is the fact that my neighbour is playing June 22nd, 9pm @ The Pilot in Yorkville, as the Andrew Scott Quintet. Go check him out. We've been to the Pilot as a family to see him and the place was jammed. The show... Awesome. Need I say more! Here is the URL. http://www.tojazz.com/Pages/Toronto_Downtown_Jazz_Festival_pgS96.asp

Changes are in the air...

I feel left out.

I had my list of blogs to read in my very little spare time from years ago when I started this thing and over time I have only added bloggers kind enough to leave comments on mine as a show of respect... But now, after attending 2 blogger meet and greets (I refuse to call them blogger girls nite outs), I have decided to totally revamp my blogroll to include many of the new blogs I have started reading and actually commenting on, and a great deal of them are from the very talented bloggers I have met over the past 6 weeks. I found a great reference list from Our Little Funny Bunny, whom I relied on to help me put blog names and faces to real names and places at the Panorama and I have vowed the next blogging event to make sure I am within a seat or 2 of Gabriella to help me ID the person I intend on speaking to. Gabriella, you rock!

So look for these changes soon.

I'm still trying to find a niche here at UrbanDaddy. Tried the Daddy talk, the sports talk, the random stuff, the business stuff, the Tuesday Newsday concept and the Thursday Thirteen but cannot find that great format to get me to post more regularly. Maybe I'll have to stage something, or post pictures... Who knows.

I will try to return to a Tuesday Newsday for today - I am off work today - allergies have killed me over the past 4 days. UGH.

P.S. To former Jays DH Frank Thomas... It was not about the $10 million dollars you would be owed next year. You were released because your batting average sucked and you can't play any other position. You should be thankful the Jays extended your career and gave you all that money. You should be embarrassed for your output not trashing the team for not wanting to be on the hook for your option. Go steal money from another team... please.

So I want to write a screenplay...

... For a movie concept I have. For a reality show I thought up, and for a TV series that I could see on either the CBC or on Showcase.

Problem is...

... How the hell do I do it.

Anyone have any connections???

I'm still looking at the mens magazine and thanks to Denguy, have re-thunk my strategy (was that a word?) and need to start anew at a later time and date.

... and ... since the blogger meet up (as many of you call it, a "girls" nite out) I have decided to read up on some of these new found blogs and last night I found a "Mamalouper", and boy did I enjoy the read. If you need the link to it, I found it through "Our little Funny Bunny" in my blogroll to the right of the page.

More gems to find I'm sure!

Cheers.

I need a weekend to recouperate from the weekend...

I'm in a creative baking mood, so here are a few "ingredients" from my weekend and we'll mix them all together and see what we get at the end...

Add:

• Around 30 bloggers - most female
• 51 storey's above Toronto
• A Metro Mama
• Some Mac and Cheese
• A tired - yet refreshed looking - Redneck Mummy (no pictures being molested this time)
• A Don Mills Diva
• A couple Silky White Russians - YUM
• Rain
• Swimming
• Just Ducky ignorant parent chaos (lady, please take your stinky feet off the train table so the children who paid to play and use the table... Grrrr.)
• 2 cranky boys - both under the weather
• Birthday party vomiting
• Short naps (for the boys means no naps for Daddy)
• Pending Passover cleaning and organizing
• Coffee table dancing - the kids, not me... caught on video. :)
• Stress
• A slightly (more than slightly actually, but always great to talk to as the other Daddy blogger at the past 2 events) intoxicated Denguy
• 2 funny bunny's (Better than 1?)
• Assertagirl - and great gardening tips
• An UrbanMummy and Daddy
• Low Grade fevers
• A Sith Lord - I am
• Nothing to eat in the house
• and little desire to go to work on Monday...

Mix it all together, bake at 350 for 45 minutes and what you get is...

... a pretty great weekend!

If I forgot anyone from the Panorama outing, please feel free to comment and I'll make sure you are on my blogroll for the next get-together.

I'm still here...

Hi
It’s been a while. I’ve had a lot to say, but no time to type it out. It’s all my fault… really. It all started just over a week ago when I unplugged UrbanMummy’s router to improve service to my lap top, and in doing so, I shorted the router and now it is destined to find a new home in a landfill somewhere. No laptop, no posting.

So what has been happening to me in the past week?

First of all, it looks like we are going to the local blogging get together somewhere high above the city of Toronto to a place that I (of course) have never been to. That’s what happens when you are born in the city…

Also happening to me in this life: The work / advancement / degree situation once again came up and again I am destined to remain where I am… Overqualified and underappreciated. Sigh.

I hate the rain. More than that I hate stupid transit riders who slow down at the subway entrance to shut their umbrellas thereby holding the rest of us up, and then have the audacity to shake the water off their umbrellas further soaking the people behind them. Then… They take their time strolling down the stairs. Fuckers!!!

I hate wind and rain because that means I cannot hold my umbrella in a position to keep me dry but I have to hold it in a position to keep the umbrella from folding upwards and in doing so I get wet and I bang my elbow on those stupid mutant garbage cans… OUCH.

I reconnected with an old classmate who works not too far from my office and owns a salon. Coincidentally I need a haircut, instead of butchering it myself. I love facebook for that.

I finally got Linus to eat some of my steak. He said he likes it now that he is three. When he was 2 he didn't and when he was a baby he couldn't eat it.

My kids... take a stool and the potty over to the coffee table and use it to get onto the table after which they turn on the music in the electric keyboard, then they dance on the table while Linus watches himself in the mirror... OY VAY.

New favourite show for a 3 year old... Wonderpets! Wonder pets, wonder pets, we're on our way...

NHL playoffs: Sens out in 4. Hope the Flyers and Wild lose too. Goon hockey is so 10 years ago...

Have you bought your toddler a "Smickoz" yet?? You should!

It's raining so I expect a kid or 2 in our bed very soon.