Post 1864 - One Hour Left

It is just shy of 11pm on Saturday evening, December 31st, 2011.

I have spent the last couple of hours watching a couple episodes of season six of Dexter.  Before that, I washed most of the many, many dishes in the kitchen sink.  Patricia has spent the evening watching "Mary Poppins" on CTV.  Not my cuppa.

I began the evening, at six, tuned into Live 105.  My friend Neil Spence has been hosting a six hour request show, and it's been a blast.  Live 105 continues to delight me every time I tune in.  It is new rock, so much of the music is unfamiliar to me.  However, I enjoy it a great deal.  It is a great pleasure not to hear certain songs and certain artists.  I can't express to you in polite terms how tired I am of certain groups and certain tunes!

I wrote a love letter to Live 105 several months ago, and my only regret is in the names of the jocks I did not mention in that post.  I will correct that now.  I love everyone who works at that station.  You heard me.  Love.  Christina.  Scotty. Neil the Rock Star.  Morgan.  Dexter.  Cub and Floyd.  Anyone else who fills in from time to time.  They all have an enthusiasm for their craft that is hard to overlook, and the music they play entertains me every time I tune in.  I'd tell them all to  keep up the good work, but that would insult them, because they get better every day anyway.

Today was going to be the day when I looked back on 2011 and wrote about the things that I liked and disliked about the year.  It's not quite over yet.  Some good things, some bad things, can still happen in the next 60 minutes, and I can't assume otherwise.  Tomorrow, I will write that overview of 2011.

See you tomorrow.

And, happy new year!

Bevboy

Post 1863 - Another Long Weekend

It is Friday night, comparatively late.  Newbie wants me to turn in.  I will indulge him shortly.

It was a long day.  Patricia took a sick day, and I wish I had as well.  I think I am coming down with what she has, which is not a good thing.   I hate being sick on a weekend.

We plan to do little this weekend.  We were going to visit my mother this weekend, but we decided to remain in town after all.  That means we will be parked in front of the  old tv watching the ball drop and eating too much and sleeping... how can you sleep too much?  I mean, really!  How can you?  Never heard of such a thing.

Tomorrow, I will write of this year's end and what I think awaits me in 2012.

See you then!

Bevboy

Post 1862 - Another One Bites The Dust

After work this evening, I drove downtown and killed 30 minutes before having dinner with the latest in the long line of blog interview subjects.  It was the lovely and talented Julia Kirkey, late of K-Rock in New Minas and presently part-time at MBS in the downtown.

She regaled me with many stories of the early days of K-Rock, funny behind-the-scenes anecdotes involving the people she's worked with over the years, and so much more.  I can hardly wait to share this interview with you.

Of course, there is still the Shane Wilson interview to get out of the way.  There is a partial Katey Day interview.

I wish I had a second set of hands.  I could get so much more work done.

One more work day in 2011, followed by a 3 day weekend.  Then, a 3 day work week before another 3 day weekend.  This is the life!!

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1861 - The Early Bevboy - Part Nine

And, here we are, barely a month after the previous entry in this series.

This series, which has all the regularity of a guy who eats cheese for a living, is about my early life, up to about the age of 25 or so.  I write about this early period of my life to help me remember those early years, whether I want to or not.

This evening's entry is about my first bicycle.  Actually, my second bicycle.  Keep reading.

As you can see, I am very young on this bike.  I am in my parents' drive way.  The neighbour's house is across the street; he would one day teach me to drive, and I wonder where his front door is in that picture.  This picture was taken when I was around 9, which would have been 1973.   But, I remember another bike, which I used to ride to my elementary school, by myself, at the age of 8, to get that bike inspected.  My parents lived, and my mother still lives, in an area that is not close to any school.  In order to get to my school, any school that I ever attended, I had to take the bus, or be driven, or ride a bike.  Having a bike was important.

So, I went to that school on that bike.  It was pronounced to be in decent shape.  I drove it back home, on Sutton Road and was barely able to stop it in time when it became necessary to do so.

I needed a newer bike, one with decent brakes.

My parents decided to get me a girl's bike.  Cross bars are evil things for boys, ladies and gentlemen, especially when the bicycle is too big for you to begin with.  To get around this problem, and to make the bike last longer so that I wouldn't grow out of it sooner, they got me a girls' bike.  So, that's me standing with my bike, which was for a girl, and I had a girl's name to begin with.  Identity issues much?

I had learned, poorly, to drive a bike with the training wheels off the previous year.  There was just enough of a slope in the drive way to allow for me to coast and drive and do that safely.  The training wheels came off, and I fell off the bike a few times and now I can't imagine how it's possible to forget how to ride a bike.  

This new one, the girls' bike, was far too big for me.  The seat was up around the small of my back.  When I was on the bike, my feet never touched the ground.  It seemed like I was riding one of those Penny Farthing bicycles rather than a traditional one.  I had more than a few mishaps.

A couple of times, I drove that bicycle into a ditch.  I just couldn't figure out how to do turns sharp enough to negotiate the turn into my parents' drive way.

Another time, I was driving down the road from my parents' place.  There was no traffic behind me.  I decided to do a U turn.  I misjudged the turn.  Instead of going back to where I came from, I was going into a much deeper ditch, with rocks in it, than the other ones had been.  My life flashed before me.  I was 9, so it didn't take long.  The ditch yawned open before me, as if welcoming me.  At the last possible second, the front tire found purchase on a small ledge of sediment, and I was able to negotiate that turn.  It was the closest I ever came to serious injury up to that point.

(It was two more years before I was hit by a car, but that is a tale for another time.)

After that little incident with the ditch, I felt I could do no wrong, and I seldom did.  I had got the hang of riding that bike.  I couldn't drive it without my hands on the handle bars like other guys could on their bikes, but I could drive it really fast, at least as fast as little kid could drive his bike.  I took it everywhere.  The fact that it had no crossbar gave me some individuality back when I didn't care what others thought of me.  That a boy was driving a girl's bike didn't bother me, and I'm not sure it would now.

I kept that bike for.. I dunno.  Two years?  Three?  I went through another bike, and the derailer fell off that one when I was driving it home from a late night baseball game.  That bike was replaced by yet another one that I drove for several years and may have been the last bike I drove for a very long time, because I got my driver's license when I was 16.

I seldom ride a bike any more.  The closest would be the spin classes I used to do, but which I have been neglecting shamefully since my father died.  But now you know that my bike riding goes back many, many years, and some of the times I nearly got killed riding them.

Next time in this series: The first time I ever won something off the radio.

Bevboy

Post 1860 - A Tribute to Bill Ozard

I got the re-tweet just as we were leaving my mother's today.  Bill Ozard had died.

Most of you have no idea who he was, but he was a seminal radio broadcaster in Halifax.  He was the host of Phone Forum in the late 1960's before leaving the show in '69 to oversee the remaining development of the then-new Scotia Square; his article in that paper remains a firm justification for the existence of open line radio programs and their importance to democracy.  Phone Forum eventually morphed into The Hotline and remained on the air in some form until CJCH went off the air in 2008.  Of course, that station is now The Bounce.  On  a personal note, I listened to CJCH-AM for more than 30 years and its loss still hurts a little.

I don't have a personal story to tell about Bill Ozard.  I  never met the man, but I found him on Facebook and gently asked for an interview.  He didn't say yes or no, which is the kind of response I should be used to by now.

There are more of these anecdotes in the story and in the Globe and Mail obituary.   You must read about the time he was fired from a job after 2 hours.  Both it and the story referred to the Bill Ozard article I found in a 1969 issue of The 4th Estate newspaper.  At least the tweet and the story linked to two different blog posts, and referred to me as "the author".   Appreciate that.

Here is the link.  Go ahead and read it and I will be here when you get back.

To the family and friends of Bill Ozard, I offer my condolences and my best wishes to you during this difficult time.  Rest in peace.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1859 - Boxing Day

It's the day after Christmas. Patricia and I remain in the Valley. We had every opportunity and intention to return to the city today but we haven't. Instead, we took a long nap. I lay down around 4:30 and didn't get back up until just before 7.

We watched Lisa Laflemme's interview with Stephen Harper. We went for a walk afterward and returned to my $other's after that.

Tomorrow morning, we return to the city for sure and take advantage of the annual Boxing Week sales. There a few things I want. Patricia wants a cover for her new kindle. We both want to get rid of our new gift cards.

It's been a good Christmas, the second without my father. His presence is all throughout this house, which he built. We all miss him a lot. We visited his grave this afternoon and said hello and told him how much we missed him. At a certain level, I think he heard us.

See you tomorrow.

From Bevboy's BlackBerry to BevBoy's Blog!

Post 1858 - Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Bevboy's Blog.  I hope that this day is full of fun and family and frivolity for you.

The year has been tumultuous  to say the very least.  It is the second Christmas without my father, and my mother has her own challenges that are coming to the fore.  I won't get into that here.  Not the time and  not the place.

Christmas doesn't hold the cache for me that it once did, and I am not sure if it will ever have that magic for me again.  I am not into the things that I was before and I am not sure what I can do about it.  However, I am trying to make it work for me and for people in my life.


I mostly bought gift cards for folks.  Just wasn't into buying stuff this year.  Sorry.  Will try harder next year.


Patricia started working on Christmas dinner on December 24th at 7am.  It was delicious.  Worth every bit of time we had to wait for it.  First time Mom had not been actively involved in Christmas dinner preparation.  A change in generation.

Patricia loved the kindle I bought her and probably will never buy another physical book again.  If she continues to love it, I will get my own.  I don't need a physical keyboard, but this model doesn't have 3G, just wifi.  3G is perfect for when I'm at the cottage or my mother's.  I want such a device.

My sister and niece and brother-in-law came up and visited us in the afternoon.  We went out to the garage and found some things that should have gone to my brother-in-law when he bought my dad's truck last year.  The garage has a lot less stuff in it now.  Not sure how to feel about it.

Once again, my friends, I wish all of you the best of the holidays.  I will see you again on Boxing Day!!

Bevboy

Post 1857 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Epilogue

These pictures were taken just now at my sister's place in the Valley.  We have just returned from a Christmas Eve service.  My mother and other sister are at my mother's and having a great time, one presumes.

We have reached the end of the road, folks.  The last Christmas tie of 2011.  I hope you have enjoyed this series of pictures as much as I have had preparing them for you.  I do not know if there will be a 5th annual edition of this series or not.  Depends on demand and my own interest.  Start begging in August.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1856 – Christmas Tie 2011 – Day Fourteen

 

We have reached the end of the line, ladies and gentlemen.  The final day of the Fourth Annual Bevboy Christmas Tie Extravaganza!

All these years, I’ll bet you have wondered one thing.  With Santa granting the wishes of the world’s children, year after year, who grants his? 

Well, now the truth can be told.

Bevboy does.

Every December, just before Christmas, Santa visits Bevboy and sits on his lap and tells him what he wants.  Some of those wishes… well, they’re not things children should ask for.  Let’s put it that way.  My jeepers. 

Anyway, it’s a pleasure to have been your host for another year in this amazing Christmas tradition.  I hope you have enjoyed these pictures, these posts, as much as I have putting them out there for you.

There may be yet another edition of the Extravaganza, on Christmas Eve.  Keep reading the blog, folks.

Off to the Valley this afternoon.  I promise to think about you from time to time.  Or not.  Probably not.  I mean, why should I?  You don’t think about me!

See you later!!

Bevboy

 

 

 

Post 1855 - Blog Problem

Hi.  It's not lovely JAX's problem, of course, but Windows Live Writer messed up the blog format somehow.  It is an older version of WLW that I use on this computer, and something got frigged up royally behind the scenes. 

I have changed the layout of the blog to no avail.  I am not sure if I will be able to recapture the previous format or not since Blogger has revamped its template and layout app to the point where there are so many permutations and combinations of blog layouts that going back to an old one is not easy at all.

I will do what I can to fix the problem with the huge letters on the right hand side of the screen.  Note, however, that I leave for the Valley in a few hours and must spend the bulk of that time packing and finding a way to stuff Newbie into his carrier without him stuffing me into it.  It will require finesse and time and patience, 3 traits I'm rapidly running out of this morning.  Fixing a blog that isn't broken in the strictest sense is not that high on my list of things to do.  But it will be fixed, if not today, then in the days to come.

Have a good one, my friends!

Bevboy

Post 1854 – Interview with The Bounce’s JAX!

October 6, 2011

 

 

Patricia and I arrived at Michael’s Bar and Grill about 5 minutes before Jax did. Patricia excused herself and went to the lady’s room. That’s when Jax showed up and did the same thing. Patricia and Jax met in the lady’s room. I’m a little jealous.

We all sat down and ordered our food and began to talk about radio and Halifax and the time she nearly told JC Douglas where to go and what to do when he got there. I’ll shut up now, so go ahead and read this already.

1. How did you get your start in radio?

Jaclyn Irwin: I went to NSCC for Radio/Television Arts. I took early graduation in April, 2010. I started working for Z103 in 2009.

Bevboy: This would have been the waterfront campus?

JI: Yes. But, before that, Floyd had a show on CKDU. She asked me to co-host it with her. We did that show together, a silly little show where you could do 8 minute talk sets. We started with that. And, we ended up going to school together.

BB: I love Floyd.

JI: She’s a sweetheart.

BB: So, Z was your first professional job?

JI: Z was my first professional radio job, yes.

BB: This was in 2009. What shifts did you work?

JI: I was just working weekends because I was still in school. But, I was their swing announcer, so slowly but surely, I started having to take more and more time off school. I covered for mid-days. I covered lot of nights. I did Production. I did writing. I did reception. Pretty much everything.

BB: Did you ever think of yourself as full-time there?

JI: At points, yes. I was working over 40 hours a week sometimes. If K8 was sick or something, then I’d work K8‘s shift at night. I was working a lot of hours there. But during ratings, since I was still in school, I had to do my classes. I was Swing. Sometimes it’d be 2 shifts a week; sometimes it would be 7.

BB: You were THE Swing person?

JI: Yeah

BB: There was no other back up. If you got sick...

JI: No. I didn’t get sick there. I never called in sick at Z.

BB: OK. That was your first professional job. I’m not sure how this happened. Jessica Rankin left the Q and went to BC. She worked for your sister station, right?

JI: Well, she worked for my sister station and my station. She was Creative Writer. Before she went to Q, she worked for our competition in Prince George. She knew Prince George. She loved it. So, she came back.

BB: We’re getting ahead of ourselves just a tiny bit. You left Z to go to Prince George?

JI: Yes.

BB: Why? You’re a Dartmouth girl. You love it here. But you went to Prince George. Why is that?

JI: Well, it was getting close to graduation. I wanted a full-time job. Nothing was really opening up in the market. Beforehand, I wanted to go out West. I had a lot of friends out West. I’d been born and raised here, so I wanted to see how far I could go across the country. I had a job offer in Medicine Hat, one in Fort Mac, and one in Prince George. I chose the Prince George one.

BB: That’s as far away from here as possible.

JI: I wanted to see BC, because BC’s beautiful from what I’ve heard.

BB: What was the station you worked for in BC?

JI: 94X FM.

BB: Ah, yes. When Jessica Rankin left Q104, she went there, and it was through her that I became acquainted with you on Facebook. I’m not sure how that happened now. It’s one of those things.

JI: Networking things.

BB: It’s almost like Linked In, only more fun. Patricia doesn’t know this, but I mailed Jax some Bevboy’s Blog business cards. Did you distribute them?

JI: I did. I handed them out to my PD, a bunch of my sales folks, and some people around the station.

BB: Well, thank you for that.

JI: Not a problem.

BB: Did they ever follow up on the blog at all, or did they care?

JI: I think the Swing announcer of my other station, Mike Erickson, started reading your blog. He found them really interesting. I haven’t seen anybody who does what you do, focusing only on radio people. He found that very interesting, so we would read them sometimes.

BB: Perfect. I appreciate that. I was corresponding with you several months ago, after this stuff happened. You were coming back to Nova Scotia because.. I thought you were going back to school this Fall.

JI: I was originally going to be going back to school. It’s tricky. Because I took early graduation from the radio program, and then I moved to BC, according to student loans, I was still out there. It was all jumbled. I was still a resident of British Columbia, so I couldn’t be financed to go to a school in Nova Scotia. It was a mess. But, it worked out, because I’m working a bit more at The Bounce. I’ll probably go back next year.

BB: You came back to Nova Scotia without a job or even being able to go back to school.

JI: No. I had a job when I came back. I was hired by Chris Duggan at The Bounce when I came back.

I was planning to come back to Nova Scotia because some family stuff was going down. I wanted to be a bit closer. They asked me to re-sign my contract in Prince George. I loved it in Prince George, but I wanted to come back East.

K8 actually mentioned that The Bounce was hiring. I got in touch with Chris Duggan, who is the Program Director. He said, "Yes, indeed. We are hiring." I sent them some of my stuff. He said he liked what he heard. We set up a meeting for when I came back.

I’d grown up listening to C100 and wanted to get in with Bell Media. I knew Katie Kelly pretty well. I said, "Listen. I’ll do Promo. I’ll mop the floors."

I’m working there 4 days a week. I work Promo on the side and Production.

BB: Do you consider yourself full-time there?

JI: If I have the availability, I can make sure I get full-time [hours]. I’m not full-time on air, but I work Production and Promo on the side.

BB: It becomes a full-time job?

JI: Yes. It’s 5 or 6 days a week.

BB: What kind of Promo?

JI: Going out for Promotions, events, contesting and things like that. We go out and go around the city to events. We’ve done the Run for the Cure kickoff. It’s just a way to make hours. I want to get involved in any way I can.

BB: And, you’re having fun?

JI: I’m having a blast. I love it. I love The Bounce.

2. Being on the radio, you have a degree of anonymity. At the same time, yours is a well-known voice. How does that feel, to be known yet "unknown", if you "know" what I mean?

JI: Sometimes, it’s really beneficial because people don’t know what you look like. People sometimes think that I’m a blond, tall girl. Sometimes, they think I’m older; sometimes, they think I’m younger, which is funny. It’s interesting, because sometimes they have no idea what you look like. That’s kind of cool. Also, my name is actually Jaclyn Irwin, obviously. When I say "Jax", nobody really connects the two, which is funny.

BB: You can tell K8 I’m saying this because, when I hear K8 on the radio, her voice reminds me of Kathleen Turner’s.

JI: Kathleen Turner?

BB: The actress. "Romancing The Stone".

Patricia: We’re showing our age, aren’t we?

BB: Yeah. Have you seen that movie, with her and Michael Douglas?

JI: No. But, Michael Douglas is a babe, though.

BB: Ask you parents about "Romancing the Stone".

JI: I was born in ‘88.

BB: Jessica Rabbit from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is voiced by Kathleen Turner.

JI: Oh, the sexy voice!

BB: So, tell K8 I said that.

JI: All right. I will, for sure.

3. What percentage of the buttons and levers and switches on the board that you run, do you actually understand? I hear that most of you guys only use a few of them, most of the time.

JI: I’ve opped and everything, so I know what is mostly going on. At the same time, it would be easy because you don’t use a lot of the buttons. We have 5 or 6 mics in our room, so we have 5 mic pots. That’s for morning show or guest, but I’m always by myself, right? I don’t have to use those mics.

I think you could get away with not knowing a lot of them, but I think I would say I know about 80% of them. There’s a couple of buttons I wouldn’t mess with. There’s some buttons you want to know, but you’re too scared because you’re always live. But, radio people usually know most of the buttons.

BB: Jordi Morgan told K8, because K8 was a Q Cop years ago [when Jordi was working at Q104], that he didn’t know what most of those buttons did. That made me want to ask that question.

JI: What did K8 says she knows about the button? Most of them?

BB: Most of them, she doesn’t know what the Hell they are.

JI: Most of them, she doesn’t know what the Hell they are?

BB: Yes.

JI: I’ll put it this way: I know all the channels that I need to know. But, there’s some things on there that nobody uses. There’s a couple pots there that I don’t know why they’re there. After my shift on Friday nights, we go live to air, so I usually set them up for when the Board Op come in.

BB: "Pot" is short for potentiometer, right?

JI: Yes. The "Pot Up" kind of thing.

BB: Chris Mills told me about pots.

JI: Not the bad pot. [laughs]

4. The Megan Edwards question. You lose your iPod. I find it. What songs on it would surprise me the most?

JI: You would probably find it stock-piled with David Bowie.

BB: Really?

JI: I have a lot of David Bowie on there.

P: All right!

JI: You would probably find some weird House stuff, some house music. Electronic music. You may find some Country in there. I have a soft spot for The Dixie Chicks.

BB: There’s nothing wrong with that.

JI: You would find Justin Timberlake on there.

P: Oh, Lord. I just lost a little respect for you.

JI: Tina Turner. And, a lot of Fleetwood Mac. There’s some Classic Rock there, too. I weirdly love Bowie.

BB: Older stuff? Newer stuff?

JI: I like Ziggy Stardust, that era a lot. But, I love all Bowie.

BB: Have you seen any of his movies?

JI: "The Labyrinth" is actually one of the first movies I ever saw. I can probably watch that and reiterate all the words.

BB: "The Man Who Fell To Earth".

P: What’s that vampire movie?

BB: "The Hunger".

JI: Should I saw more? Is that enough?

BB: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

JI: Take The Dixie Chicks off there. That’s embarrassing.

BB: Oh, come one. What’s wrong with The Dixie Chicks?

JI: Have you ever seen Bowie and Mick Jagger? Why can’t I ever think of the song that they did together?

BB: The one for Live Aid?

JI: Go home and watch it. It’s weird. They’re both on something. It’s a weird video.

BB: They’re in each other’s face.

JI: Yeah. That one. It’s a bizarre video.

BB: "Dancing In The Streets".

JI: That’s what it is, yes.

BB: That was for the original Live Aid in 1985. Years before you were born.

5. Please say something about the following people.

A. Dan Barton

JI: Boss Dan! Dan was my first boss; Dan hired me. It was funny, because after my first year of college, I moved up to Toronto just because I wanted to be there and see some shows. Dave Bannerman emailed me and said, "Dan Barton from Z103 is looking to hire someone. Get in touch with him."

I’ve never actually seen a voice mail like this, but but you could press "OK" if the voice mail was good, or you could restart it. I think I called him 3 times. I was so nervous. I re-did the call and kept re-leaving the message.

He called me back and said, "Leave me some stuff." I sent him stuff; it was really, really rough. I sent him more stuff, and it was still rough. He said, "Listen. When are you going to be home?"

I said, I said as soon as possible kind of thing . and seeing really good concerts I So, I went back. I walked into his office and met Boss Dan!

He’s a treat. I want to talk about him, not me. He’s my first boss; he’s got a lot of patience. He’ll put up with you and he’ll spend the time with you. He’s a busy guy, but he’s a doll. He gave me my first break. He’s funny as shit. He’s really funny. He’s got some good voices and some good characters. He’s smart; he knows a lot about music. He’s a big sweetheart.

BB: I was at his house. I met his wife. She’s a lovely person.

JI: Cass! I also worked with Cass, and she’s a doll.

BB: She works at Kool now.

JI: She works at Newcap, yes. She’s a doll. They’re good together.

BB: Where did you work with her?

JI: At Z. She worked at Z before she worked at Newcap.

BB: I didn’t know that. That’s where they would have met, I guess.

JI: She’s a good girl.

B. K8

JI: K8 took me under her wing when I was this stupid little chattery person coming in. When I went into Z, I expected that she wouldn’t even give me the time of day. I went in, and it was her and Sarah Parrott. We had a blast She made me Op the news, the first day I got there. I had no idea what she was doing, but she just threw me to the wolves and made me go at it. That’s the kind of person she is: She’ll teach you and give you a shot. We’ve been buddies ever since.

Sarah’s a doll, too.

K8‘s one of my favourite people that I’ve met in radio. We kept in touch when I was out West. I consider her a big help if not the reason I got in with Chum. She’s my buddy. She always has the time of day for me. She’s my really good buddy; I love her to death. And she gave me the name "Jax".

BB: How did she derive that name?

JI: The first day I walked into the Z studios, because my name is spelled really weird, K8 said, "Well, you need a different name. You should be... Jax!"

At first, it was going to be 3 X’s. Boss Dan was like, "That’s too complicated. One X!" I think people think I don’t have a last name any more. I was called Jax when I went out West...

P: Well, there’s Madonna. Cher. Jax!

JI: When I went out West, they asked me, "Do you want to be ‘Jaclyn’ or ‘Jax’? Don’t worry. We’ve already made the decision, and you’re going to be ‘Jax’". When Chris hired me, he said, "Are you going to go by ‘Jaclyn’ or ‘Jax’?" Before I even got it out of my mouth, he said, "‘Jax’ sounds cooler!" And, K8 gave me the name!

BB: But, to this day, you don’t know what thinking process went behind coming up with the name ‘Jax’?

JI: I don’t know if she liked Mortal Kombat a lot, because there’s a character by that name in it. K8‘s pretty edgey, so I think she looked at me and said, "Jax!" It’s funny, because my mom and dad and my entire family call me ‘Jax’.

P: It’s a one syllable name: Jax!

BB: It’s simple, right to the point.

JI: It’s simple. She gave it to me. I haven’t been able to live it down. And, God bless her, because it’s a radio name.

One more thing I want to say about K8 is she has her following. They followed her from Z to The Bounce to C100. It’s really good that she’s on C100 now.

BB: I’ve always wondered: When people move from one station to another, are people listening to the music and they want to stay with whoever takes over; or are they going to follow the personality?

JI: It depends. I used to listen to her when I wasn’t even in radio. Floyd and I listened to her show in the car. "K8‘s so cool!"

Some people stay for the music. Some people stay for the personality. Anybody who listens to K8 is like, "I’ll go where she is.", because she’s funny. She’s quirky. And she’s where she belongs now. She deserves that spot.

BB: She wants to be there for a long time.

JI: She sounds good.

C. Neil Spence

JI: It’s funny, because he was the Imaging guy for CCKC, NSCC’s radio station. We always used him, because he has that deep, Neil Spence voice.

BB: I’d kill to talk like that. [Bevboy note: Not literally!]

JI: I emailed him one day because I wanted to get some new liners done. We just started talking back and forth. We go for coffee every month or two months. He’s friends with Floyd and all those guys. I know him pretty well. He’s a really good guy. He’s got good chops. He’s made moves that he needs to. He even went back to school, but he stayed in radio. I think he’s really happy with where he is now. And, he sounds great.

BB: He does sound really good.

JI: He works really hard. He’s young. He’s talented.

D. JC Douglas, because everyone knows him.

JI: JC’s a cool guy. I’ve always known who he is. When I was going through college, I had a little programmer crush on him because I thought he was really cool. We ended up talking because Jessica moved out West.

BB: Jessica Rankin.

JI: Yes. We started talking; we still talk once in a while. I met him for the very first time face-to-face, though, at the Lion’s Head. I was working in Production. Mark Fraser. the Production Director, asked me to come out to lunch with him and Ms. Williams, who’s Terry Williams’ wife; she works Traffic.

BB: Christine?

JI: Yes. I went out to lunch with Mark, Christine. And, JC was there.

He was like, "You’re JAX, right?" I didn’t know you were coming back to the East Coast.

I said, "Yes. I’m back."

We had lunch together. He’s so cool. He knows what’s up. He has these eyes; they’re very penetrating. He just looks right at you.

But, the funny story was, I was playing basketball off Gottingen Street. This was 3, 4 months ago. I was playing with some friends. I was walking back home. I was all sweaty. I had little shorts on and a little t-shirt. I hear these 3 honks. I thought, "Some guy’s being a jackass."

I’m not a girly girl, so I didn’t know if he was just razzing me. I turn around because I’m about to just the guy the dirty look and tell him to fuck off. Just as I’m opening my mouth, I see that it’s JC. "Hey, JAX! How are you? Just wanted to say hello."

I say, "Oh, hi, JC!" I wrote him an email after that and we laughed quite a bit. I was about to tell JC Douglas off because I thought he was a creeper, driving down Gottingen, trying to hit on me! But, he’s the programmer I thought was so cool for most of my life. I was so humiliated.

He’s a cool guy. Everybody knows JC Douglas, right? He’s a good programmer; he knows his stuff. He’s an encyclopedia of rock.

BB: Not just rock. Any kind of music.

JI: Oh, any kind of music. I’ve seen some pictures of his mullet back in the ‘80‘s. It was pretty sweet. I’d like to get to know him more for sure.

BB: Do you see yourself traipsing over to the Q sometime?

JI: I’m very happy with where I’m at right now. I definitely want to try to work up the CHUM ladder and see where I can get.

BB: That’s a damn good answer.

E. Peter Harrison

JI: Ah! The voice of my childhood. C100 was the only station I listened to when I was growing up.

BB: It would have been Kelly, Peter and Moya.

JI: Before Kelly moved out West; now, it’s Brad. But, Peter actually talks like that. That’s his voice! It’s unbelievably deep.

The first time I ever met him, I was working Promo at a charity golf tournament. Moya and Peter were there. Peter was just so sweet to me. He and Moya were really nice to the new girl on The Bounce.

He’s a great announcer; he’s got great chops on him. He’s very cool. That voice on him is wicked. Whenever I’m working Production, and have to ask him to do a commercial, he’s always really nice, and really chill, and very approachable.

BB: When you work Production, do you ever have to ask Peter Harrison to repeat something?

JI: No. He’s been doing it for so long. He can usually get them done first go. If there is anything that I want him to re-do, or if it’s too long, or if it’s too short, or he slurred a word or something, I can just say, "Peter, can you repeat that?" I’ve only produced for him a couple of times. But, he’s not hard to approach, no.

BB: He’s a pro, but not egotistical.

JI: He’s not like, "Who is this kid asking me to repeat this?" He’s not a problem. But, at the same time, he’s on another station, and we work totally opposite shifts. I see him once in a while. But, he’s always a nice guy.

F. Floyd

JI: My best buddy? Oh, Floyd! Floyd is stupidly talented. She’s so good. She sounds wicked on the morning show, when I’ve listened.

I’ve known Floyd for 5 years. We did the CKDU show together. We’ve had a couple of drinks sometimes and listened to our old shows. She was always confident and really cool; I was always like, "Hey!". I would always agree with her.

Floyd’s one of a kind. It broke my heart when Floyd moved out West. I ended up moving out West a month after her. I think a lot of people were sad when she moved out West. She’s awesome. She’s a sweetheart. She’s so good. She has her eyes forward. She knows where she’s going and what she wants. She’s extremely driven. She’s bizarre sometimes, but in the best way possible.

BB: I saw her Facebook status. "I’m PMS’ing, so I made a salad with ringolos in it!"

JI: Oh, my God. We have a weird little friendship. We’re quirky. We’ve had some awesome times together and partied a lot.

We did our first Summer Rush together, with Z103. We were on this high together. It was a cool time. We’ve had some nice radio moments together.

When I first started working for Z, she started as an Op, and then did part-time news. I think, once or twice, I would fill in for K8, and she was filling in for news.

BB: I know "Op" means "Operator", but that’s like Production, isn’t it? Is there a distinction?

JI: She was Op’ing live-to-airs down at Reflections. And, God bless her because that’s a tricky shift to do and not want to go dance. And, Floyd’s a good dancer.

She was brought back here to do mornings. Floyd’s an entity in herself. I love her to death. She’s a really good girl.

BB: There are days I regret I only have one set of ears, because I can only listen to one station at a time.

JI: I hope she pays for my bills one day, when she’s rich and famous.

G. Megan Edwards

JI: If you ever do a shift after her, the room will always smell really pretty. That’s what I’d like to say about Megan. She’s such a girly girl.

Megan is wicked. Megan’s a really good girl. We didn’t really know each other, but we went to the same high school together. I always knew she was on Z; she graduated 2 or 3 years ahead of me.

We’re very opposite. I’m not super girly. But, we’ve had some wicked times together. She’ll do really well. Is she doing tv yet?

BB: Well, she does The Moment for EastLink.

JI: I watch that quite a bit.

BB: I’m not sure what she’s doing. They laid her off at Z. [Bevboy note: This interview was conducted prior to Megan’s leaving Halifax and moving to Vancouver.] I’m not sure if she’s pursuing radio work or not.

JI: That girl will be on the tv in front of you, soon. She’s so pretty.

P: We’ll probably see her on E-Talk or something.

JI: She’ll do excellent, whatever she does. And, it’d better be on tv because she’s too pretty not to be on tv. She’s got herself together, and she knows what she’s doing. I don’t know anything about the Z thing, but she’ll find another opportunity and will totally rock it. I can definitely see her do something on tv, like Patricia said, some sort of entertainment reporting. She’s bubbly, smart, and funny. She’s not just pretty with no wit about her; she’s witty and silly. I like that.

BB: I enjoyed meeting her last year. She was really nice to me.

JI: I like Megan Edwards. We had some good times.

BB: I presume you haven’t seen her in a while.

JI: I haven’t seen Megan for a while, no. We briefly talked when I moved back to Halifax; but no, I haven’t seen her around. I’d love to see her, though.

H. You choose a person you would like to say something about.

BB: Is there a broadcaster you admire whom you haven’t met yet? Is there a person in radio you listened to when you were growing up whom you just haven’t met yet. Is there such a person?

JI: I think Griff and Caroline’s morning show is really good. I think that’s a really cool station. I love the music that 96.5 plays. I think they’ve got a really tight morning show. I think they’re funny.

P: No holds barred.

JI: No. And, I’ve never met them, face-to-face, but I think they’re a really solid morning show. My folks always listen to 96.5, and I always hear it in the car. Any other job I’ve had out of radio, such as restaurants and stuff like that, always has 96.5 on. It’s just really feels good. They don’t have any other announcers, but the morning show’s solid. I’d love to meet them.

BB: I’m sure JC Douglas could make that happen.

JI: We’ll see. Maybe I’ll just meet them in passing.

7. What is your greatest unfulfilled goal in radio? I realize you have all of 2 years' experience. Is there something you really aspire to?

JI: I’d love to get into music directing. That will come with time. I’m super young. I’d eventually like to get into Evenings [full time]. I’d like to get into Mid Days and then go to Music Directing one day. We have a wicked Music Director/Mid Day host. Have you ever met Mel?

BB: I have not met Mel.

JI: She’s awesome.

BB: Tell her I said hello.

JI: I will for sure. She’s really cool. Eventually, I’d like to do the same sort of thing she’s doing, whether it be here or Winnipeg, Vancouver, Port Hawkesbury. I’d like to get my Music Directing chops one day. I was doing Assistant Music Directing in Prince George.

BB: So, you would have met with music labels and so on?

JI: I was more a librarian at that point, because the Music Director I had out there was doing all the meetings.

So, I’d love to get into Music [Directing]. But, I’m super young. I’m just going to work my asso off to get there.

8. Tell me about a couple of on air mistakes you have made. Have you ever said "poop" on the air, or something like that?

JI: When I was in Prince George, we had our news come on at a specific time. We had to be totally done and ready to go on at that exact second. I was 15 seconds early, so I put on the news. Our news girl was sitting in there singing to the other  station’s music. It was awful. It was terrible.

Anyway, I put her on the air. I didn’t realize it for a couple of minutes because I had to pot it down because I thought she was going to the news cue. She was not impressed with me because everyone in Prince George heard her beautiful singing voice.

The biggest thing was that I slurred a couple of things pretty hard sometimes, or talked in circles. I’ve never sworn. That’s my biggest fear. I’ve come close a couple of times. I said "funked" one time. It was "defunct". I don’t even know why I would say that word on air. It’s too tricky. But, I almost said "fuck". It was not a good situation.

BB: Was that in town?

JI: That was on Z. Sorry, Boss Dan.

9. You have worked on the West coast, and in Hali. Which one do you prefer, and why?

JI: Both of them have their advantages, for sure. Both of them are really good markets. Prince George is a bit smaller. It’s considered a "small medium market".

BB: What’s Halifax referred to as?

JI: Medium Market. But, there’s something about Halifax. Some people say there’s too many radio stations here. I just think it just means more competition, and more fun. Especially with Top 40 and CHR, there’s quite a battle going on. It’s really interesting to watch.

P: Keeps you on your toes.

JI: That’s exactly right, Patricia. It keeps you on your toes because you never who’s listening; and you never know who you’re up against. You never know who’s trying to take from whom.

Halifax is really diverse. There’s even more musical tastes that stations could cater to. It’s very interesting to see the ratings books. The ratings are a big things here because there’s so many stations. Everyone’s fighting for a piece.

BB: They’re changing formats and adjusting them so that the listener wouldn’t notice.

JI: Yes.

BB: Take Lady Gaga. When you hear Lady Gaga on 4 different stations, at that point, it comes down to who’s playing the music, the personality. Right?

JI: Yes. I would absolutely hope so. Some people just want to hear the songs that they want to hear. They’ll flip to the station that they want to hear. But, I hope that the more personality takes over, the better. You’re right. With a lot stations playing the same kind of music, that’s a lot of overlap. You have to have your leg up in some aspect. Personality is definitely what I would go for, to keep the listener hanging out. I just like having fun. I have a weird sense of humour. Sometimes it translates. Sometimes it doesn’t. But, I think the listener likes it.

10.

Tell me 4 things about Halifax that you really like.

JI: Just four? I can think of 20 things that I love about Halifax. Radio wise, or in general?

BB: The culture. The people. Whatever you want.

JI: I would definitely say the culture. Some people hate the fact that there’s a lot of university students here. I love it. I think it’s a lot of fun.

BB: Wait until you’re 40.

JI: I like nightlife in Halifax quite a bit. There’s so many options to choose from.

P: I remember what it was like when I was her age in Halifax.

JI: It’s a lot of fun. I missed this shit when I was out West. You never realize how much you miss home until you’re gone, right?

I would definitely say the night life and culture. The people here are untouchable. The people of Halifax are great. Everyone pretty nice here and accommodating. I obviously like the water, not the harbour. It’s gross and sketchy. I like the fact that you can go 20 minutes outside the city and you’re at the ocean.

Finally, I would probably say that I like the fact that it’s a city, but there’s also a lot of green around. You can go lay on the Commons on a hot day. I like the landscaping of Halifax, the way it’s laid out. I don’t like the fact that’s it’s really hilly, sometimes.

BB: Wait until you’re 40.

JI: I’m a chubby kid trying to get up the hill. That’s tough.

And, again, like we were talking, I love the North End. I love it to death.

BB: It’s growing on me.

JI: It’s a good place. I was only gone for a year. It’s boomed even in just the year, especially the Hydrostone area. It’s nuts. It looks like little Montreal in there.

11. A special series of questions courtesy of... K8 via Dan Barton!

Would it be too lengthy to put the Bernard Pivot questionnaire to her that James Lipton uses on Inside the Actors Studio? I've always loved the questions, and the answers are typically very brief:

a. What is your favorite word?

JI: Oh, my God. Any word?

BB: Any word.

JI: That’s so hard. These are really hard questions! What is my favourite word? "Bloated". I love that word.

BB: All right. You don’t have to justify your answer.

b. What is your least favorite word?

JI: Moist. I hate that word. I fucking hate it.

c. What turns you on?

JI: Sexually?

BB: Not necessarily. We don’t have to go there.

JI: When a really good beat drops. I get shivers through my spine. You’ll hear it on The Bounce. It gets really going, like LMFAO songs. Not LMFAO, because I don’t like them very much.

BB: Can you give me an example of a song that does that for you?

JI: Deadmau5. But it’s spelled...

P: [Patricia correctly spells Deadmau5]

JI: Oh, look at this! Anything by Deadmau5 definitely turns me on.

P: Don’t let the gray hair fool you, honey.

d. What turns you off?

JI: Sneaky people. If you’re sneaky, it turns me off.

e. What sound or noise do you love?

JI: These are hard, Patricia! I love the sound of the air brakes on a bus.

BB: Really?

JI: Yes. I do.

P: That’s bizarre.

JI: It means that somebody’s getting where they need to go. It’s very satisfying. I know it’s weird.

BB: Do you take the bus very much?

JI: Yes. I sold my horse, so I have to take the bus.

f. What sound or noise do you hate?

JI: Balloons popping. It makes me panic. It makes me think of gun shots. I hate it. Thunder, at the same time. Both of them.

g. What is your favorite curse word?

JI: Oh, it’s got to be "fuck". It’s definitely got to be "fuck". I put "fuck" in the most inappropriate places, where it’s not necessary.

BB: You mean, at church?

P: It can be used for negative, and it can be used for positive. "That’s a fucking great song."

h. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

JI: I’d like to be a pilot. Why?

BB: We have a moment. Sure.

JI: I like to fly, and I think that pilots get the best view. I love the sky, so I’d like to be a pilot. I think it’d be really scary, and probably really sketchy. I think it would be beautiful. The pay off would be nice.

BB: Are you watching that Pan Am show?

JI: I haven’t seen much of Pan Am.

i. What profession would you not like to do?

JI: I wouldn’t be a cop. I think it would be scary. It must be rewarding pay-wise, and when you help someone; but I think that the negatives are too much there. I wouldn’t be able to do that. And, I hate confrontation. I wouldn’t be able to tell someone to stop shooting up heroin on the side of the road or we’re going to arrest you.

BB: "Please".

JI: Yes. Plus, I can’t run. I couldn’t pass the physical. I probably wouldn’t be able to go for that.

j. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

JI: "Good job!"

BB: Do you consider yourself a good person?

JI: Some days. I think I always have good intentions, but I don’t know if I’m always a good person. I try to be. I think I’m getting better as I get older.

BB: You’re, what, 24?

JI: 23.

Wrap Up:

BB: Jax, thank you so much for the last hour and a half of your life. It’s been most interesting. K8 said what a great person you are. She was not kidding around. I had a lot of fun meeting you.

JI: I had a lot of fun.

BB: Thank you for your time.

JI: Thank you very much. Thank you for the good company, and the onion breath. I appreciate it.

 

Post 1853 – Christmas Tie 2011 – Day Thirteen

Welcome to the penultimate edition of the Fourth Annual Bevboy’s Christmas Tie Extravaganza!!

This is a special one that I wanted to save for the (almost) end.  It features moi, little old me, yours truly, on the desk of my executive director, Miriam.  She claims she has been looking forward to this day as well, for a couple of weeks now, ever since I broached the subject with her.

The thing is, I wasn’t comfortable just going into her office   when she wasn’t around.  She’s often in meeting and away from her office, you see. 

So, I bided my time until it was right. I am a patient Bevboy.  I learned she would be in the office today and would actually be getting her hair done, one presumes in anticipation of this great tie event.  At least, I have convinced myself that that is why she got her hair done this morning.   Please do not do anything to disabuse me of this perception.  Deal?

There is a solo shot of me, of course.  I did this for the ladies, who have been clamouring (yes!  clamouring) for such a photograph of me during this month.  “Please, Bevboy!  You  must reveal your legs from the top of your sock to the bottom of your pant leg.   Life will not be worth living if you don’t!”, was the refrain I heard and saw over and over.   Finally, I was unable to resist this torrent of pleas and have acquiesced to their demands.  I hope they’re happy now.  Of course, the glimpse of my leg is in more than one picture, so they should be beside themselves right about now. 

Tomorrow is the final official day in the 4th Annual Bevboy’s Blog Christmas Tie Extravaganza.  It is all planned out.  It will be awesome.  And notice I said “official”.  There may be an epilogue!  You never know, folks.  Just be nice to me and you’ll never know where it will go.

 

See you tomorrow.

Post 1852 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Twelve

Welcome to the antepenultimate edition of the 4th Annual Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza!

This was a pretty fun one.  Jamie and Lisa of Lite 92.9 invited me into their Master Control Room,  the studio from which they broadcast their morning show, 5 days a week.  Their musical format is all Christmas, all the time, from December 1st through the end of the 25th.  It is great fun, listening to this station at this time of the year.

Jamie gently chided me for not having interviewed him yet.  I assured him that 2012 is coming and that I would be delighted to sit down with him sometime early in the new year.  That appeased him.

Of course, I interviewed the lovely Lisa Blackburn in 2010.  I will add the label to her interview as part of this blog post.  It is a good one, and you should read it.

Let's see here.  I gave Lisa and Jamie each a clementine this morning.  Jamie dove right into it.  I am guessing they get pretty hungry after being on the air for a few hours.    And, can you find the Bevboy's Blog business card in the second picture?  Well, can you?  Hmm?

It was very interesting, discussing radio with Jamie and Lisa this morning.  I do not have access to the BBM ratings book, so we spoke about that for a moment or two.  Lite held its own, but other stations have suffered declines, apparently to an unexplained loss of adult males in the polling samples.  Hal FM still had a good book, though.  Live 105 is incrementally improving its ratings.   Other stations didn't do so well.  I'd love to see a copy of the book, people.  If anyone reading this can make that happen, I'm interested.

I have lined up Thursday's picture situation, and Friday's is pretty much decided as well.  You should be excited for me.

If not for yourself.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1851 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Eleven

The preantepenultimate edition of the 4th Annual  Bevboy Christmas Tie 2011 Extravaganza!

This first set of pictures was taken right after work this evening.  I climbed up on a window sill at work and had my buddy Steve take a few pictures.  That's my other buddy (my only 2 friends in the entire world!  Feel my pain!) Michael next to me.  

An hour or so later, here I am with Patricia at Michael's on Young Street in Halifax.  Today was our 20th anniversary.  We got the server to take these pictures, and she agreed, because it meant a nice tip I guess.  Laura was very kind and patient with us as she took the pictures of the two old timers.  She also cut up our food and fed it to us.  So sweet.

It has been a busy day.  Christmas shopping is nearly done!!

And, there are a scant 3 days to go in this extravaganza.   Tomorrow's is booked.  Friday's is firmed up.   Still not sure what I'll do for Thursday just yet.   Accepting suggestions.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1850 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Ten

We're in the home stretch, folks!

Here I am at home, after a hard day of doing whatever it is I do, standing amidst some of my book collection.

The second picture, the one where you can out authors like Brian Keene and J.F. Gonzales and Graham Masterton, shows the bookcase that my father built me more than 20 years ago.  When I got my first apartment, back in the day, I needed a bookcase.  My dad built me this one.  Other than having to reinforce the backing once or twice, the bookcase remains  in excellent condition.  I would expect no less from my father.

The other bookcase, the one I'm resting my left arm on, was built by a person in the early 1990's.  I needed more bookcases. The template he used only had 4 shelves and I needed 5.  He built me 3 such bookcases, and I love them.  I spent hours in the boiler room of my old apartment building finishing them, rubbing sandpaper over all of them and then applying a varnish.  I didn't do a bad job; it is still rough in places.

On the wall are additional shelving units which presently hold vhs tapes, 99% of which will disappear during the Winter months.  I have said it other years, and this time, I mean it.  Dad built those for me as well, just a few years ago.  Thank you, Dad.  I still miss you and think of you every time I am in this room, and I'm in this room a lot.

That's it for tonight, folks.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1849 - A Long Sunday

Slept in this morning after the very long and trying day in the Valley on Saturday.

Today we got on a cleaning kick, so we cleaned the bathroom and I tackled the laundry room.  I applied a bit of bleach and Mr. Clean to an area that I think Cindy has been weeing in lately.  Her scent should be pretty much gone from that spot now, at least we hope so.

For dinner, we had some mussels that we bought at Clearwater or Fisherman's Market on Friday.  Apparently, mussels are an aphrodisiac.  Apparently.  I mean, I didn't notice anything different, and I know Patricia didn't, because I didn't get that come hither look from her, the one I get when I pull a 20 dollar bill out of my pocket and leave it on the nightstand.

This computer I am using is currently burning a dvd for a guy at work.  He gave me a dvd on Thursday full of hundreds of songs that I will never have time to listen to.  The least I could do is return the favour, and will present him tomorrow with a dvd full of hundreds of Old Time Radio shows from the 1940's and 1950's that he will never listen to.  I downloaded, ordered, copied these shows years and years ago for the most part, but some of them were purchased more recently from this website.  It's probably the biggest OTR website in the world, with many thousands of shows.  They will sell you collections of cd's (don't know why they haven't moved over to dvd yet, or charge for download), for a very reasonable price.

(Yeah.  I know.  You can get torrents.  You can download the various mp3's.  But that's work, finding and organizing that stuff.  Why not order from these guys?  They're nice, and charge very little.  Don't be such a cheap bastard.)

A lot of that old OTR stuff is pretty corny, but the comedies can still be very droll and entertaining.  There is a timeless element to these old comedies that will make them funny a hundred years from now.  I don't have enough of them in my collection.  Of course, there is a whole binder of these shows that I haven't been able to find lately, and therefore they aren't on any of my computers, so I can't share them with my friend or anyone else.  Such is life, and such is the fate of these discs if you misplace them.  They will turn up one day.

5 more Christmas ties this week, and that's it.  I hope you're looking forward to them as much as I am.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1848 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Nine

More to come, on this special bonus edition of the Christmas Tie Extravaganza!

This is a minister named Barbara Durling whom we ran into at the hospital. I gave her several Blog business cards. She promised to check out the blog.  She's a religious person, so I trust her word.

I apologize for the quality of this picture.  It came from my BlackBerry, and was taken in front of a stained glass window.  Poor combination, I guess.  Barbara deserves to be in a better picture, especially one with Bevboy.  Perhaps we can do this again sometime, Reverend Durling?

More pictures were taken today. They will be added to this post, later. Watch for them.

8 hours later...

We're now back in the city, so I can fill you in on the details of our Valley trip pictures!

Here we go.

This morning, when we drove up from the city, we decided to check out the Wolfville  Farmer's Market. We love it there.  It is just the right size for a Farmer's Market.  Yeah, there are huge ones in Halifax, but so what?  A lot of the vendors who go to Seaport or the Historic Farmer's Market come from the Valley anyway.  Why not just go to the source?

We wandered around.  We saw Pete Luckett, who never saw a camera he didn't like.  We asked him if he'd pose with me, and he agreed.  Of course, the ice wine that Patricia bought from his vineyards didn't hurt with his decision.

Pete was kind enough to pose with me in two pictures.  Thank you very much.

Later on, late in the afternoon, after the picture with the minister, we went to my mother's house and decorated her tree.  Afterward, proud of the work, Patricia got these 2 pictures of me by the tree.

It was a whirlwind trip to the Valley with little time to do anything else than the things on our list, which was lengthy.  It is now just shy of 10pm, and I think I will call it a night.

It's a night.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1847 - A Day Off

It is comparatively late on Friday night.  We had a day off work.  Yay!

We were gonna go to the cottage today, but we slept in instead and decided to stay in town.  We had lunch at Cora's in Lacewood and then repaired ourselves to Fisherman's Market and Clearwater on the Bedford highway to get some fish.  Hadn't been to either place in years.  Even though Clearwater is a cleaner place, and larger and brighter, we still prefer Fisherman's Market.  It looks and smells the way a fisherman's market should look and smell.

We continued down the Bedford highway and ended up at Pete's Frootique and other stores in the Bedford Mall.  We also hadn't been there for quite some time.

We returned to the house mid-afternoon and napped for a time.   Turned on CBC radio and heard Meaghan Smith.  This morning, I had her on Lite 92.9 when she was in studio with Jamie and Lisa.  The girl gets around.

Tomorrow, we will go to the Valley and spend the day down there.  There are a number of things that need to be done to prepare for the holidays, and tomorrow is a good day to do them.  As breaking  news, if you're nice to me, if you tell me you love me, there may be a special weekend edition of the Christmas Tie Extravaganza.  It will consist of pictures taken in the various parts of the Valley where we will be on Saturday.  Look for it.

See you tomorrow.  Be excited!!

Bevboy

Post 1846 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Eight

Welcome to the 8th day of the 4th Annual Bevboy Christmas Tie Extravaganza.

This one was taken in front of the  Chapters store in Bayer's Lake.  It was taken around 5:30 this evening, or about 4 and a half hours ago.  We killed some time there (and I got some books) before  we both went to see "The Artist" in a special sneak preview courtesy of the United Way.  We figured the theatre would be packed, so we got there in plenty of time, to find the place in darkness.  I doubt if there were more than 30 people there.

A fantastic movie, deserving of all its acclaim.

I hope you liked day 8.  I'm off on Friday and back to work on the 19th for day 9.  Looking forward to it.  I hope you are, too.

A quick trip to the cottage in the morning to check the joint out.  Haven't been there since Labour Day weekend!

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1845 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Seven

Welcome to the 7th day of the 4th  Annual Bevboy Christmas Tie Extravaganza.

A bit of context.  Today was our annual Christmas potluck lunch.  Participants were asked to prepare or purchase some item and take it in.  We would then dig into these items and scarf away until the food we'd eaten was oozing from our ears and the very thought of eating just one more morsel would send us jumping out the windows to our deaths.  Something like that.

After that lunch, about half of the chili I mentioned last night was left over.  I took the freshly-washed ladle and taped the piece of mistletoe at my desk (a long story!)  and held it over my head, in the vain, pathetic, doomed-to-failure wish that someone would kiss me.  Today was like junior high school, all over again.

My thanks to my friend Adam for taking the photos today!

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1844 - The Plot Thickens!

First of all, no Christmas tie picture today.  I was sick today.  Expect another cool tie tomorrow.

I slept in very late this morning.  When I did finally get up, I stumbled into the kitchen and considered the dishes in the sink.  I cooked some breakfast and tackled the dishes.  After that, I decided to cook the chili for tomorrow's potluck lunch at work.

The beans, all twelve different kinds, had been soaking since Monday night.  I boiled them for about 90 minutes.  At the same time I cooked a couple pounds of hamburger and emptied several cans of tomatoes into a crockpot, following it with the cooked and drained hamburger.

When the beans were boiled sufficiently, I added them to the crockpot.  I found some cans of tomatoes and some dried onions.  Chili powder, maybe a bit too much, was added.  When Patricia got home this evening, she brought home some fresh onions, so I added two more.

This is going to be a cool chili.  A really good one.  I hope that people at work tomorrow, like it.

In other news, I got an interesting comment on blog post 901, written more than 2 years ago.  It was from Dennis Riley, son of Norm Riley, the seminal CJCH broadcaster from 6 decades ago.   He thanked me for having written that post but pointed out that much of what I had written was wrong.

I left a comment on that post indicating that I would love to learn more about Norm Riley.  When did he join CJ?  When did he leave?  Why did he get involved with managing movie theatres?  Everything.  I want to know it all.

I am in receipt of 10 or so pictures of Norm Riley, and I want to run them here on the blog, and soon.   Arranging all those pictures in one post without much text would be a challenge, though.  I'd love to have more to say about the guy, and now, I may get my wish.

I am willing to disbelieve all the negative things I have heard about Norm Riley.  They are second and third and fourth hand.  To get stuff from his son about his dad excites me.

Whenever you're ready, Mr. Riley!

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1843 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Six

Welcome to the sixth day of the 4th Annual Bevboy Christmas Tie Extravaganza.

It was a very long day following a long, troubling weekend.  I needed to get this tie picture taken as much as you need to see it.  No.  I don't want to talk about the why's and wherefores.  Sorry.

This picture is taken in front of my house, just about 30 minutes ago.  Patricia did the honours, for which I thank her.

I am still accepting suggestions for locations in which to get my picture taken, and people with whom to pose for these Christmas tie pictures.  Please send these suggestions along.  3 more days this week, and 5 next week, and that will be it.  Help a fella out!

See you tomorrow!

Bevboy

Post 1842 - A Fruitful Day

For reasons I don't want to get into, mostly 'cuz they're boring, I didn't get to bed until 3:30 Saturday morning.  I got up a scant 6 hours or so later.  I napped briefly in the afternoon, but kept going, doing what I should be doing. until I decided to turn in around 8:30 Saturday night.  I didn't get up until 9 Sunday morning.

Today I did some laundry and, around noon time, went out to my mother's garage (which is a phrase I find very hard to type) and put fuel stabilizer in the lawn tractor there in and ran it for 20 minutes or so.  I removed the battery from said lawn tractor and took it into the house for warm, safe keeping for the Winter.

I talked to my mother for a little while.  She sheepishly asked me to pick up a couple of items for her, in a way that made me think it was my idea.  You have to see her in action to believe it.

I got those items and returned to the house.   It was Newbie's turn for my attention.  I couldn't find him.  Finally, I located him under Dad's old hospital bed.  In order to get to him, I would have to take the bed apart, piece by piece, so I did.  He gave up and wandered toward his carrier, dejected.

We returned to the city, arriving around 6 and in time for Patricia's supper.  I spent a delightful evening preparing stuff to toss out for recycling day on Tuesday, watched this week's The Good Wife, and showered and shaved and muffed and buffed and prepared for my work day tomorrow.

You're all caught up on my life.

Tell me about yours.

See  you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1841 - A Quickie

I had a lot of plans for this Saturday evening. I did manage to do most of the dishes and most of the laundry. Then, I got into my jammies around 8:30 with the intention of reading for a while, perhaps finishing the zombie novel I've been reading.

No such luck.

I decided to close my eyes for a few minutes, but fell asleep for 2 hours. Went from part way through an excellent edition of Vinyl Tap featuring stuttering songs to nothing. The clock radio turned itself off after 59 minutes. Too asleep to notice.

I just woke up for a few minutes. Turning back in before I re-fall aslzzzzzz.

From Bevboy's BlackBerry to BevBoy's Blog!

Post 1840 - Wolfville Bloggin'

These pathetic, humble words come from TAN Coffee in downtown Wolfville.  It's the second time I've ever been here.   The first time, last year, it was not a good experience.  The coffee, whatever it was I ordered, was pretty gross. Today's latte is much better and I am feeling alive again. An hour or so ago, not so much.

I spent a few hours today shopping for my mother.  Some of you will be happy to know that I have purchased the Christmas turkey for the family.  At $1.27 a pound at Superstore, it's a steal.  Dad always favoured the Butterball variety of turkey, the type injected  with... something and stuffed with... something else.  Last year, our first year without him, we bought a utility turkey and enjoyed it much more than we ever had the ones Dad liked.

Life continues to be interesting.  There are days when it feels as though my life is closing in on me.  It's like an episode of The Walking Dead, where one minute all is well, and the next, I'm being assailed by all sides without regard to my feelings or some of the crap I've had to endure over the last couple of years.  There are times when it is not fun, being everyone's punching bag.

I spent more time today scanning in articles clipped from newspapers 25 years ago. I still wonder why the Hell I clipped some of those articles in the first place, but yet, I did.  Some of these articles are fascinating to me even today.  Others, like a picture of a 4-H meeting in April of 1982 featuring a girl I had a crush on at the time, mystify me.  Unless the hormones were raging back then such that a picture like that comforted me in a certain context, that is.  Who knows?

My, women had the big hair in the 1980's, didn't they?  Is that why there's a hole in the ozone layer?  All that hair product used to keep the follicles in place.  What was the point, anyway?

Guess I'll let you guys get back to what  you were doing.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1839 - A Long Weekend In The Valley

I drove here to my mother's this morning in order to take her to the doctor's. Of course, afterward, she had to have lunch some place, so I paid attention to her hints and took her to Swiss Chalet.

Returned here and napped before preparing supper. I went to New Minas to get some meds for Mom and came back here and confronted a long- neglected chore.

As a young fella, I clipped articles from the local community newspaper, The Advertiser. For some reason, lots of those articles are about local sports. Don't care a lick about sports and didn't then. No matter.

I spent several hours this evening sifting through these articles and scanning some of the most interesting ones. Scanned a few dozen articles. Some will make dandy future editions of The Early Bevboy. Others will be emailed to an old professor of mine who expressed an interest in seeing the ones related to Acadia. Others yet are fascinating glimpses into some of the cool history around these here parts.

Tomorrow, I hope to find some time to complete this task, except perhaps for the items that won't fit on the flatbed scanner. Not sure what I'll do for the oversize articles.

Also tomorrow, Mom has several plans for me. I will be kept busy.

Better get to bed. Lots on the agenda tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

From Bevboy's BlackBerry to BevBoy's Blog!

Post 1838 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Five

Most fortuitous. We're here at Empire Theatres in Bayer's Lake. Was going to get my picture taken around here some place when lo and behold, we ran into Kate Peardon, late of K-Rock and now doing some stuff for Kool and Q104.

It's her birthday today, so this must be a special thrill for her.

I know it's one for me.

No more tie pictures until Monday. Taking a couple vacation days in the Valley.

See you tomorrow!

From Bevboy's BlackBerry to BevBoy's Blog!

Post 1837 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Four

Day 4! Amazing.
This picture was taken at the Metro Deli on Young Street this morning during coffee with the boys. There's always more coffee and always more boys to enjoy it with. Circle of life stuff.
See you tomorrow, me hearties!

From Bevboy's BlackBerry to BevBoy's Blog!

Post 1836 - Christmas Tie 2011 - Day Three

Welcome to the third day of the Fourth Annual Bevboy Christmas Tie Extravaganza.

Have you stopped reading yet?  Oh, good!

I got to work late this morning and struggled with what to use as a picture.   Then, I remembered... Newbie!  The little guy hasn't been here on my blog or on my Facebook in quite some time.  I know he is well liked and well-loved, so much so that I may start a blog all about him.  Or not.

Anyway, after work, Patricia had to go to a book club meeting in Tantallon.  I got her to take these 2 snaps just before she left.

Newbie had just had dinner, along with Cindy Clawford.  He nestled next to us, so I picked him up.  As you can see, history was made.  He's looking up at me with... well, if it isn't love, I don't know what the Hell it is.  Gas?  Yeah.  Maybe gas.  Let's go with that.

I hope you like them.  In fact, I know you like them!

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy