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Velvet

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Posts posted by Velvet

  1. Posted · Report reply

    When I was a kid the television set was my best friend.  We laughed and learned together and we had the same heroes.  My favourite tv shows were Sesame Street, Batman, Get Smart, and Planet Of The Apes, pretty much in that order.  

     

    Funny, when I look back it occurs to me that Batman was the only one of these shows that I didn’t really ‘get’.  I knew that Sesame Street was an educational show, I knew Get Smart was a comedy and while I didn’t realize that Planet Of The Apes was a statement on racial issues in America I certainly knew it was a drama.  

     

    But Adam West was so deadpan, delivering absurd dialogue with such conviction that I thought Batman was a legit superhero action show.  Little did I know that my psyche was absorbing camp-style humour that would flow through my brain forever more.  Suffice to say, the dry, near-psychedelic comedy of Adam West’s Batman made a huge impression on me, whether I knew it or not.

     

    Sometime in the mid-to-late 1980’s the Batmobile was touring as part of the annual car show that came to the Moncton Coliseum and Adam West was there too.  Of course I went (the car show was a non-missable event in my family) and marvelled at the beautiful automobile with it’s shiny chrome rocket launchers, ultra-cool rear turbo blaster and sharp, bat-like angles all around.  What an awesome machine.

     

    And beside the car was the man himself, Adam West, sitting all alone behind a small folding table.  I was amazed, and so starstruck that I almost didn’t go up and say hello.  As I gazed Mr. West glanced my way and gave me a smile.  I took a deep breath and approached him.  This was long before the whole comicon thing (I think) and certainly long before people had the audacity to charge money for autographs and yet there was nobody at all anywhere near Batman.  

     

    Once I opened my mouth I began to gush, breathlessly trying to explain what an impact he had on my childhood and my whole level of being, all the while feeling silly that here I was almost twenty years old and I was acting like a little kid.  I guess I still didn’t quite ‘get’ Batmen even then, otherwise I would have been fully aware that I was exactly his demographic; a former kid who was getting his first full taste of nostalgia.

     

    I don’t remember much of what Adam West said to me, but I can picture the easy friendliness on his face, which is kind of odd because I can’t for the life of me remember if he was dressed in his Batman outfit or if he was in street clothes.  I do recall walking away feeling great about the encounter, so I’m sure he was very nice.

     

    It’s curious to note that my childhood love of Batman has caused me to virtually run to every Batman movie that has come along since and I haven’t really cared for any of them, and I’ve never ever been into the actual comic books.  I guess I wasn’t a Batman fan after all.

     

    I was an Adam West fan.  His comedic approach made him my superhero.

     

    Farewell caped crusader, thanks for all the batcomedy.

    Davey Boy 2.0 reacted to this

  4. Posted · Report reply

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/hard-rock-international-partners-with-rideau-carleton-raceway-1.4115181

    The Rideau Carleton Raceway will undergo a multimillion-dollar expansion that will bring a hotel, a music venue and hundreds of new jobs to the struggling Ottawa horse racing and gambling facility.

    The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced Monday that Hard Rock International will partner with the raceway, with the two companies investing more than $320 million to create an "integrated entertainment destination" in the city's rural south end.

    Hard Rock Casino Ottawa will take over the day-to-day operations of the slots at the raceway in the fall of 2017 as part of a 20-year agreement, OLG said in a release.

    The number of slots are expected to increase to 2,000 from 1,250 and 21 gaming tables will be added.

    Slots

    Hard Rock Casino Ottawa is a partnership between Hard Rock International and Rideau Carleton Raceway. (Jean-Sebastien Marier/Radio-Canada)

     

    Jim Allen, chair of Hard Rock International, revealed details of the "master plan vision" for the raceway at a news conference Monday afternoon.

    The first phase, Allen said, would involve modest renovations to the Albion Road complex, plus the addition of new attractions at the casino by the end of 2017.

    That would be followed by a major expansion of the entertainment options at the raceway — including a hotel, a Hard Rock Café and bar, and a 2,000-seat venue for live music, he said.

     

    The plan also includes building a new entrance to the raceway that would create "a sense of arrival," said Allen.

    Horse racing will remain at the raceway, with Ottawa West-Nepean MPP and provincial infrastructure minister Bob Chiarelli saying the new deal would "ensure the survivability of this iconic sport."

    Prior to Monday's news conference Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod said the announcement was great news for her community, which has suffered from lower attendance at the raceway recently. 

    "I'm looking at $320 million investment into my community that will, I think, drive more growth in the city's south end," she said. "I'm going to see a lot more stability for the horse people, and we're going to see 1900 construction jobs."

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Actually, a Bob Wiseman show at Zaphod's is among my top three concerts ever, and the time I saw Look People there stands as the weirdest night of live music I've ever seen or heard of.  Nostril shrimp diving, two ice cream cones up the drummers butt, and oh, so much more.

    Booche reacted to this

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Crazy how much of Canadian Tire Centre is blocked off.  I was happily surprised during presale to see that less than half the venue was available but today during regular onsale I noticed the 300 sections are now off the map.  That leaves what, maybe 4,000 seats in a 20,000 seater?

    Regardless I picked up 5th row floors on the presale.  The only downside will be missing The Donny McCaslin Group at jazzfest that night, but I'll deal somehow!

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