So ... WHO is Johnny Reid?

Tuesday night I saw Johnny Reid play to a sold out show at The Rodeo Lounge.

This was the fourth time I've seen him in concert.

He was awesome! Johnny is ALWAYS awesome!

I mentioned to a few co-workers throughout the day, that I was going to see Johnny that night.

The most common response?

So ... WHO is Johnny Reid?!?!?!

UGH! People! Really!?

Today, I am on a mission. I am educating the masses on the Scottish Canadian Country Crooner, General of the Tartan Army, Johnny Reid.

View more concert pics HERE!

Yes, he's considered 'Country', but he's a different kind of Country.

His Scottish, raspy voice doesn't twang.

Can you imagine Alexander Graham Bell twanging about the monster tires on his truck, his cheatin' wife or takin' his job and shovin' it so he can find his missing dog (or cheatin' wife, for that matter!)?

Not a chance.

Johnny's different. His stories are different. And he's MUCH cuter than Alexander Graham Bell!

Women like Johnny, he's a sweetheart, and he wears a TIE! (at least for part of the show) ;-)

LOTS of women go this his concerts! (There's a subtle hint guys!)

The first Johnny Reid song I heard was Missing An Angel. He had me at "She fell from the sky."

Really.



Or you can watch an awesome live version here



The ones from his next CD that caught my attention, were:


Darlin'. Mmm Mmm Mmm and what a darlin' he IS!




And the catchy Right Out Of The Blue, that will have you 'na na na na na na na-ing' all day!




See what I mean?

Different.

At the concert the other night, I took a video with my camera for THE VERY FIRST TIME!

Imagine! ME! A Video Virgin until Johnny!

I took pics all night, then during the encore, decided what the hell and set it to video, not knowing how much memory I had left on the card.

I started taping through half of the first song, and got the whole second song.

Wasn't half bad for my first attempt I thought :-D

Here's Johnny and the girls doing a great version of Mustang Sally!

And let me tell ya, these girls can SING! Holy shit, what a set of pipes on them!

(Really wish I could have uploaded the avi instead. It was sooo clear! But sooooo huge! So be sure to watch it in High Quality if you have that option.)

and yes dear Johnny, we DID shake what our Mother's gave us that night! ;-)

and yes dear Readers, that IS ME 'Whoooooing' at 12-13sec on the clip ;-D


If you'd like more Johnny, check out these links, courtesy of Johnny Reid's Website.

Myspace – www.myspace.com/johnnyreid
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/
YouTube – www.youtube.com/johnnyreidmusic
MyCMT – www.cmt.ca/johnnyreid



Now, you've been educated. So, if you see he's coming to town, head out to his show!

Then YOU can be the one standing around the water cooler the next day, enlightening the masses and spreading the word when you hear ...

So ... WHO is Johnny Reid?!?!?!

Oh, and be sure to come back and read the next post. I'll be filling you all in on how a little old lady called me an 'Asshole!' at this concert!!!!

And no, I didn't go all WWE and Batista Bomb or kick her old lady ass because of it! ;-p

K.

WOW! My House Is Cleaner Than YOURS!

I remember a time when my house was actually clean.

I remember a time, before I was married, before the sources of my grey hair and stress, also known as 'The Kids' arrived, when I actually spent time cleaning my house.

It was never 'eat off the floor' clean like my mother's - I'm not THAT ambitious! - but it was tidy nonetheless.

Then I built a house that had more than one level.

Then I had those mess-makers, take stuff out and don't put away-ers ... yeah ... 'The Kids'.

I don't think my house has seen that same type of 'clean' since.

I don't have a cleaning lady. Not that I couldn't spend the - what ... $50 every two weeks? - to have someone come in to clean my house, but I don't want that.

Nobody else is going to be digging dirt out of my nooks and crannies except ME.

Or maybe the mess-makers. If there's money in it for them. The little money-sucking-mess-makers!

Most weekends, I'll let the boys have friends over. I'm just cool that way ;-)

However, when I'm on my cleaning warpath, and they ask for a friend over, I'll pull out the 'Mean Mom' card and say "Not a chance! I wouldn't invite anyone into this house with the rec-room looking like THAT!!!"

There are reasons I call it my (w)rec(ked) room ya know!

I've also warned them that one of these days, one of their friends is going to comment on the fact they are two of the top notch mess-makers in all of Canada!

Sure enough, that day arrived on Sat.

Not only was there one friend over. There were 3. So, yeah, five boys running around my house.

One kid makes his way down to the (w)rec(ked) room, and the next thing I hear is ... "WOW! My House Is Cleaner Than YOURS!"

Hmmmmm ... will his parents notice he's not here when they come to pick him up later? Will they have any idea my 'wadda ya mean I'm NOT Martha Stewart' instinct kicked in and I buried him somewhere in that (w)rec(ked) room?

He obviously missed the fact that:

We've had kittens take over our basement, who have been wreaking havoc down there for the last 6 weeks.

Five boys have just blown into the house from outside, spreading snowpants, jackets, hats, mitts, boots and snow from one end to the other.

I'm a single mom who works full time, and runs for the boys sports 3/5 nights throughout the week! I'm not HOME to clean!

Yeah ... so the rec room's messy. Ya caught me on a bad day kid!

Oh who the hell am I kidding ... EVERY day is a bad day when it comes to cleaning my house!

So keep that in mind if you're coming to visit ... or you'll end up buried in the basement, with the other smart mouth kids who comment on the cleanliness of my house!

K.

That Machine Ate My Kid!

The other day, I stumbled upon a video clip that first made me laugh, then pissed me off.

First, let me say I absolutely HATE these types of machines!

The kids never get what they actually WANT out of it, and they're usually not happy with what they get, so it's just a huge pain in the ass all the way around.

I don't say yes to these machines very often. Occasionally I do, but most times, I'd rather just give them the $2 and have them buy something small that they actually WANT.

This video however, reminded me of my youngest son, as it's something he would have ABSOLUTELY tried, had I not been constantly supervising him around these.



So that brings me to my question ... WHERE THE HELL WERE HER PARENTS when she was crawling into this machine?!?!?!?

Notice how Mom & Dad start to walk out the door.

Mom turns around and sees one kid ... why does she NOT question where her OTHER one is?

She sees one child and continues to walk out the door, until it's the KID who let's her know that the little one has just been eaten by the toy machine.

THEN ... she goes and looks at the machine, doesn't see her kid, AND KEEPS ON WALKING OUT THE DOOR!!!

Hello! D-oh Hole! Do you not realize you're only leaving with ONE child?!?!?!?

Once she finally understands her child is in the belly of the beast, instead of getting a manager, or security person (not sure if they're in a restaurant or a store) to use their KEY to open up the box and get her out, she instead coaxes her daughter BACK OUT THROUGH THE HOLE!

And finally drags her out feet first.

Sigh.

I'll never claim to be the perfect Mother. But at least I can say I've never had to tell a store manager - "Uh ... can ya help me out ... That Machine Ate My Kid!!!"

Sheesh! Some people's parents!

Now, GO! Have a good laugh at the clip, cause it IS pretty funny ;-)

K.

P.S. Hmmm ... wonder if her parents would mind if I borrowed her for the ATM machine ...

Whatever Happened to James Bulger's Killers?

I read Ginny's latest post over at Praying to Darwin last night, about a little boy living in a dangerous situation, and how he should be removed.

As these 'children in danger' stories often do, it got me thinking, once again, of little James Bulger.

Anyone remember him?

He was two years old when he was heinously murdered by two 10yr old boys in the UK.

That was 15yrs ago.

I still think about him now and then.

I also sometimes wonder whatever happened to those two 10yr old boys, who first tortured then killed him.

15yrs is a long time ago.

1993. I wasn't even married yet, certainly had no kids of my own, but the story of James Bulger bothered me, a lot.

And a lot has happened in 15yrs. I've been married, divorced, and now have two beautiful boys of my own. One two years older, one two years younger than the murderers.

But I still think of Jamey now and then. And his Mom.

And remember the line I read in so many newspaper and online accounts at the time, the one I had to push out of my head when trying to get to sleep - " ... stopping to torture him along the way. The whole time, Jamey was crying for his Mum."

And in those moments, my stomach clenches, my heart wrenches and the tears flow.

Even more so AFTER I became a mom.

Because of Jamey Bulger ... or I guess because of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, his murderers, not only have I always had a small fear of some big monster harming my child, there has also been a small part of me, that has feared the LITTLE monsters too.

Pic courtesy of Crime, Law and Justice

Those little monsters are all grown up now.

Where are they?

Do they remember - EVERY DAY - what they did to that poor little boy? Do they choose NOT to think about it? Have they blocked it out completely?

Do they hear his screams and pleas for his mother in their dreams?

Are they sorry?

I'm a complete stranger, and that one line haunts me. The whole time, Jamey was crying for his Mum.

I can't even imagine what it's done to his mother. How she 'went on' after losing her son that way. Knowing what those boys did to him. Knowing he called for her, and she wasn't there.

Yeah, kills me. As a human being. As a Mom.

You can read the story in James' Mom's own words, what happened that day, and how she's coped since, in this 2007 interview.

And where are THEY now? The two 10yr old boys, who were the youngest people in Britain to be convicted of murder in 250 years.

Did they get married?

Do they have families of their own? Are they upstanding members of their communities, living anonymously among their friends. Or did they manage to find themselves back on a cell block somewhere?

Do they have kids?

I've read that James' mom hasn't forgiven them. Still hates them.

Can't say as I blame her.

Forgiveness. I've had it for many who don’t deserve it. But I will NEVER find it in my heart to understand or forgive Jon Venables or Robert Thompson for how they tortured and murdered that defenseless two year old little boy.

Never.

And I doubt I will ever forget James Bulger. And I hug my boys just a little harder sometimes, hold them just a little longer, because of him.


***** UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE *****

Please, PLEASE do not comment or send me messages with names and locations of men you think are one of the 'Bulger Killers'.

I will NOT publish these.

I think what these boys did was horrific, but I will NOT be responsible for their lynching as adults.

Or worse, it resulting in someone completely innocent getting hurt because of it, for whatever reason.

Not going to happen.

Thanks.

K.

Four Boys In A Kitchen

Since there was no school today, because of Remembrance Day, Alec asked if he could have a sleepover last night.

I said yes.

Last night I had four boys in my rec-room, watching Monday Night RAW.

This morning, after breakfast, they were all outside playing some version of dodge ball on the trampoline.

Just before 11am, I called them into the house.

I turned up the radio.

No sooner was the last one in and the door shut, than the Remembrance Day Music started.

They stopped where they were.

Four heads bowed.

After the music, there was the moment of silence. Out of respect for those who never made it home. For those who fought, so four boys could spend a morning, playing a version of dodge ball on a trampoline.

Four boys in a kitchen, heads bowed, tongues silent. Not fidgeting.

Showing respect.

And actually understanding, on some level, WHY they were doing so.

I was very proud at that moment. To be a free Canadian. And of the boys.

At that particular moment ... mostly of the boys.

Take a moment to remember.

K

Where the Heck Did YOU Come From?

Although my posts aren't flooded with comments, (THANKS to those that do!) this blog is actually read by people! All over the world!

My StatCounter tells me so! ;-)

I know I have my faithful readers in 'real life' friends and family. I have 'online friends' who read as well. I know there are also lurkers out there, who keep coming back to hear of our latest adventures or my latest rant.

To them, I have to say Thank You!

Although I do this blogging thing for myself, and for the boys (these entries will eventually be put in a book for each of them), it's still kind of nice knowing that others out there enjoy reading about our adventures too.

I also find it interesting to see how people end up stumbling into my Korner, so I periodically check the stats and ask myself...

Where the Heck Did YOU Come From?

Undoubtedly, the most searched for item that has people dropping by the Korner is ...

Stuart and Doreen Larkin from MADtv

For some reason, there's a lot of people looking for Stuart! For the past couple of months, searches for his image on google have been sending a lot people to my post Stuart! Tales From The Road III. People like Stuart! He's definitely my 'Most Read' post LOL.



Batista
Mmmmm ... Batista. Yeah, LOTS of searches for Batista, Batista Bomb, Batista haircut and even John Cena & The Rock have brought many people here - Batista Encouraging Summer Reading! And Haircuts?

But surprisingly, not so much here - Batista Sweat On Me!!! I find that surprising since they both contain 'Batista' in the title.

Guess people just aren't as interested in his sweat as Adam was lol.

Dead things on the doorstep
Animals around the globe are dropping their offerings of death on their owners doorsteps. Others wanted to see how *I* handled receiving this 'Love you Mama!' gift from Puss in Dead Things On My Doorstep.


The Word Dank
Guess I wasn't the only one needing clarification on whether or not it was a word ;-) A search for the word Dank, has brought many other questioning minds to the post Dank. Yes, it's a word. Dank.


Death Sucks
Apparently many people agree with me and have searched for those exact words. They have also asked the great google gods, What's the Big Cosmic Point?

I know death sucks. Been through the roller coaster of emotions HERE , HERE and of course there's always a part of me that's still Missin' My Dad.


Those are the Top 5 searches that bring strangers to my Korner.

Some of the more entertaining ones?

Sugarland Ay Bum Bum
This person needs to be entered at KissThisGuy.com! It's right up there with Scrape Up Some Money ... And Buy A Ham!

Hopefully they found what they were looking for when they actually landed on Calling All Music Experts! I Have A Challenge For YOU!


Icing Sandwiches?
You mean somebody else actually made one of these?!?!?! The Icing Sandwich

Swingtown Pot Brownies?

Were they looking for a recipe? I did discuss Swingin' into Swingtown but sorry, no recipes or pics of threesomes provided ;-)

Duct Tape Boob Torture

OUCH! Why? 'Nuff said!

Unless of course they were going through the same thing I was in Happy Birthday! Please Place Boob Here ...... Many people have also found this post by doing random 'boob' searches lol.


I Said I Didn't Hit A Deer, Then Remembered I Did
Um. Buddy. You'd better hope that the police aren't reading this. I'd hate to be requested to provide your IP address. Next time, get your story straight, so you won't end up on other people's blogs who are talking about how I saw a Hypnotist yesterday and I hit a Deer today.


Picture of Burned Balls.
Do you REALLY want to see something like this? Not sure what kind of balls this person was searching for, but I was talking about Adam's EYEBALLS and how he should Cover Those Balls Before They Burn!

Surprisingly, multiple searches for 'sunburned eyeballs' have brought people here too. Guess it's more common than I thought!


Dog staring at wall - this showed up multiple times, in various forms.
I thought mine was the only dog that experienced this phenomena?

Of course Hershey only managed to destroy the wall after staring at it ONCE, but once was enough for me to write about it, and have people with similar experiences ending up at The Dog lost his mind yesterday .... and it hasn't returned yet!

You're straight, you're here you're not going anywhere. You're straight, you're here you're not going anywhere. You're straight, you're here you're not going anywhere.
Um ... yeah ... OK. You just stay right where you are. I can see though why they were brought to You're Not Going Anywhere without THAT! - The Concert that ROCKED and SUCKED! Part III

However YOU got here, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you find your way back into the Korner sometime soon!

K

An Open Letter to Assholes Everywhere

Hey! You! Asshole in the little yellow VW Bug that parks in front of me and leaves me 1/2 an inch to squeeze out from behind you. Yeah, YOU!

Is it really that hard to give someone a little space?!?! It's called respect for other drivers Buddy! Learn it. Live it.

Or parallel park your little ray of sunshine on another street. Cause next time I need to get out, I'm gonna drive over that little piece of sh*t in my Mom-mobile and squish you like the Bug you are!

Hey! You! Asshole who doesn't know how to use a MERGE lane. Yeah, YOU!

I know it's probably been a few years since you've had to write your drivers exam, but really ... the rules haven't changed ... MERGE does NOT mean attempt to plow into the side of the car next to you, so you can be that 1/2 second ahead in the traffic jam. Back the f*ck off!!!! One for one Buddy ... it's a concept, LEARN IT!

Hey! You! Ball hog on the basketball team. Yeah, YOU! (OK, so I have a hard time calling a teenager Asshole)

Other kids want to play too. Other kids want to make 'the shot' too. You're not the only player on the team ... stop playing like you are! Passing the ball. Try it sometime!

Hey! You! Asshole with 20 items in the '10 Items or Less' xpress checkout. Yeah, YOU!

You really bug me. Know that? Why do you feel you've been given special permission to not only cut in front of others CLEARLY on their way to the same lineup, but to hold up said lineup for the rest of us, cause you needed extra crap today and now you've got to get out ... FAST! Use one of the other lanes Einstein ... oh ... wait ... Einstein could count ...

Hey! You! Asshole who asks for my Name and Address every time I want to purchase pre-paid phone minutes. Yeah, YOU!

Why the hell do you want - or better yet - NEED this freakin' information? I'm buying phone minutes. Not applying for a car loan. You don't need my name. You don't need my address or phone number. STOP ASKING ME!!!! It's none of your business!!! If I want you to find me, I'll give you my CELL number. That's 1-800-Not-Your-Business!

Hey! You! Drunk Asshole who tried to pick me up at the end of the night. Yeah, YOU!

What part exactly, had you confused that I wasn't interested? The fact I kept walking away from you, or the fact I finally ran away to hide in the bathroom until you were gone? When a girl scrunches up her nose like she smells something really bad when you approach her ... it's probably a good sign she is NOT interested in making small talk when the lights come on at 2am! Go find Drunk Assholette and talk to HER instead!

BTW ... do you drive a yellow VW Bug?!?!?!?

Hey! You! Asshole who charges the elevator before the doors are even finished opening! Yeah, You!

Why do you feel the need to rush the elevator? Is there someone chasing you? You can't wait the two seconds for the people who are on there to GET OFF first? It's called being POLITE! You should really give it a try sometime, instead of running people over to get to whatever important place you're going to!

And may an elevator door rip your arm off!

HEY! You! Asshole at McDonald's and Subway who organizes the veggie placement. Yeah, YOU!

Is it really that hard to keep the onions AWAY from the lettuce when you're making my food? I can't tell you how many times I've taken that first bite of my McChicken or Sub and got a big mouthful of ONIONS. Not a good thing for someone who HATES onions! Just ask my mother!

I'm not expecting a hot meal ... or god forbid even a good one ... just keep the freakin' onions OFF my food!

HEY! You! Asshole who orders sandwiches and toasted bagels in the drive-thru lineup. Yeah, You!

If you're getting something other than coffee/tea/muffin ... get out of your freakin' vehicle and GO IN THE STORE!!! You're holding up the line for the 12 cars behind you who ONLY want a coffee/something quick! Consideration. Maybe you can order some with your next cuppa Joe?

Hey! You! Asshole Co-workers! Yeah, You!

Nah ... just kiddin' ... I like 'em, and you'd never read it here if I didn't! ;-p

Hey! You! Asshole who left the bread on the counter all day and it ended up getting hard and going bad! Yeah, YOU!

Oh ... wait ... that was me.

Ahhhh blogging. Cheaper than therapy, and doesn't require police intervention.

K.

No Dress-Up For You!

Halloween.

Treats. Ghosts. Tricks. Costumes. More treats ;-)

These are the things that instantly come to mind when I think 'Halloween'.

Every year in school we had our annual Halloween party. People brought treats, we dressed up in our costumes, played music & games, and had a party.

My boys have had these each year also. They've brought their costumes to school, usually along with a kitty litter cake I'd made the night before, and had their party.






Until this year.

They still had their parties. Alec had the option of bringing his costume, and did not. Too 'cool' for that this year ya see. Being in Jr High and all.

Last week, I received a notice home from Adam's teacher regarding the party. NO COSTUMES ALLOWED. There would be a class party, but no dressing up.

Instead, they were asked to pick a favourite teddy hear, and use their imagination to dress THEM in costume. It was also stressed that these costumes had to be 'home made' and not of the 'Build A Bear' variety.

I'm not quite sure why they were not allowed to dress up. Perhaps costumes are being ruined, lost or stolen at school? Perhaps the teachers are trying to keep the 'my costume is better/cooler/more expensive than yours!' down to a minimum in the elementary classes?

Who knows.

I was a little sad for him.

I remember how much fun it was to bring the costume to school, and dress up with all your friends. It was a great opportunity to see what everyone was wearing. Even those who you wouldn't necessarily see when you were out trick or treating.

Adam was disappointed too, but what can ya do?

You find a bear, use the imagination and come up with THIS creation to bring in to the Halloween Party!


A platinum haired, super caped in the latest towel fashion, ninja turtle masked, bling and WWE belt wearin', chain saw totin' BAD BEAR DUDE!



No dress-up for you kid ... but the Bear is good to go!



Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!



K.