Hi!! Good morning, and welcome to my weekly blog! It’s a great week to be alive. March will wrap up on Wednesday, and the spring season can officially kick off with April Showers. We’ve certainly had some nice weather in the past week, but also some crap too so really….it’s spring already. Also this week, my good friend the Easter bunny will be paying a visit to all our houses. He lands on the roof with his reindeer and comes down the chimney with lots of chocolate…or something like that.

 

 

Photo: Mass Live

https://www.masslive.com/living/2011/05/easter_bunny_getting_santa-sized.html

In other news this week, a big birthday shoutout to the Covert Baby who turns ONE on Saturday!! A whole year already, and what a ride it has been!

The pandemic rages on with numbers firmly in the red zone. We have had several days of over 100 new cases, and that trend continued over the weekend, with four consecutive days of more than 100 new cases. It seems as though as a society we are failing in getting this under control. According to CTV numbers, over 10% of our population has now been vaccinated, yet the case count keeps climbing. It’s really disturbing that people can’t get their shizit together and just follow simple guidelines. Festival season is knocking at the door, and if this keeps up, I anticipate a lot of cancelations being announced in the near future. Two weeks ago, the Ottawa Dragon Boat Races became the second major festival to announce that it will only be holding a virtual event this year. I do think more are to come, very soon.

 

But let’s focus on some positive steps. Last year we saw a complete rebranding of some festivals, and some impressive ingenuity emerge from the pandemic in the festival and events realm. It looks like that trend will continue.

Room Service Concert Series

Last week, our friends at Bluesfest announced a partnership with Ottawa Tourism to host the next greatest pandemic-friendly concert series. The Room Service Concert Series will be running on select nights from April 9^th – 30^th. I really have to hand it to these guys, they’re coming up with all kinds of ideas, and here’s yet another – good or bad, that’s for you to decide.

The idea is that, in an effort to drum up business for the hotel industry, they will be live streaming concerts right to the TV in hotel rooms. So, you book a staycation at one of twenty choice hotels throughout Ottawa and while there, you stay in your hotel room, and watch a concert on TV. I don’t really think I missed much in that synopsis. There are obviously details to this, but that’s the gist of the event. Here’s the marketing information posted from Bluesfest and Ottawa tourism:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1INeQssrlK8

“Are you in music festival withdrawal? Could you use a good belly laugh to relieve some stress? Ottawa Tourism and RBC Ottawa Bluesfest have teamed up to offer you the perfect staycation solution this spring! Get exclusive access to amazing music and comedy performances followed by live Q&A sessions with the artists during our special Room Service Concert Series!” – Ottawa Tourism Website

Normally, I’m a huge supporter and fan of pretty much anything that comes out of the Bluesfest think tank on Churchill, but this one has me baffled. Aside from the Q&A sessions that will feature questions sent in, in advance, I really don’t see the difference between this and watching a live stream at home. Yes, I agree it’s nice to get out to a hotel, but is this really a draw?

I’ve been accused of being a bit biased in the past, and avoiding posting anything that I don’t agree with, including reviewing events negatively. Well, here we go. I don’t like this idea. I think it’s a bit on the ridiculous side, but I do understand that we have to make things work in the environment that we’re living in. “A” for effort! Also, kudos for setting up a pretty great lineup of acts for the event too….it is a pretty stellar group pf artists, and would be wonderful at a live music festival. Maybe just not on the 32” in your hotel room, at twice the cost of a festival ticket.

 

I do hope this goes well, and if anyone is planning to go out and take advantage of this event, I’d love to hear feedback from you. Here’s the link to find more information and book with participating hotels: https://ottawatourism.ca/en/roomserviceconcertseries/book

Netflix Shows for April

In case you’re itching to know, here is an article with the April releases of Netflix shows: https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/coming-soon/whats-coming-to-netflix-in-april-2021-03-24/

Bits/Bytes

This is my random story and features section. These topics don’t necessarily have anything to do with Ottawa. It could include stories about current news issues, sports, funny videos, and/or perhaps just random things that I’ve discovered over the previous week. I hope you enjoy!

This will be an educational edition of the bits/bytes section this week. I’m hoping that you’ll learn some important facts that could possibly enrich your lives. Did you know a group of sloths is called a snuggle?

Bunch of Animals

Yeah, this is important stuff here, you’re going to be happy you continued reading, because this is life changing info! Have you ever been in a job interview and been asked what you thought about porcupines? Then you answered that you saw a bunch, or flock, or group of porcupines in a forest once, and after the interview, you wondered why you didn’t get the job? If only you knew that it is called a “prickle of porcupines,” you would probably be employed! Have a look and enjoy:

 

“The process of an Alpaca giving birth is an unpacking and if that doesn’t bring light to your soul, you probably don’t have one.” – That just killed me, I love this video! I mean really, who doesn’t like useless information about cute animals?

How to Outrun a T-Rex – Way too much time on your hands

I’ve had this article burning a hole in my inbox for far too long, waiting for the perfect time to share it. You know when you read things and wonder how some people are funded, or employed? This article, as informative as it is, also baffles me. Not only did the writer likely get paid well by Wired Magazine for it, but it also references all sorts of studies that were completed by scientists to prove why the Tyrannosaurus Rex would not be a significant threat to a human should the two encounter each other. What? I mean, don’t get me wrong, if I do ever find myself in close company with a T-Rex, I’ll be happy I know that I can outrun the big guy, but let’s weigh the odds on that one.

 

Apparently, Jurassic Park/World wasn’t completely off, although on the dino threat scale, with a top speed of up to 20mph, the speedy Velociraptor is a real danger to you, and would destroy you in a footrace. You’re dead.

Current State of Crazy

In this final section of my weekly blog, I find some interesting (or not) news stories and add my own commentary to them. Often it’s a bit of a mockery, but other stories are just impressive that I want to share with you. I aim to find articles that aren’t exactly top new stories, but once in a while I’ll jump into the mainstream. Hopefully you’ll learn something, or at minimum have a little chuckle.

Penny dreadful: Georgia man receives final pay cheque in coins

I wish I could say I made stuff like this up, but I’m really not that creative! There are actually people in the world that not only are filled with this much hatred, but also have enough free time to be this petty with a former employee. Andreas Flaten lives in Georgia, and had a bit of a falling out with his previous employer. After months of attempting to retrieve his final paycheck, he left his house to find that his pay had been personally delivered and left for him at the end of his driveway. A large pile of pennies worth about $915 was left covered in oil by his previous boss. What a nice parting gift. Flaten actually took the time to collect up each penny, and wash it off. I guess it’s still $900, so why not?

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/business/penny-dreadful-georgia-man-receives-final-paycheque-in-coins-1.5362452

This is exactly why Canada stopped printing pennies. It just wouldn’t have the same meaning if it were nickels.

Salmon Arm, B.C. boy eyes second Guinness World Record with Giant Jenga

I’m not here to mock this story. I think it’s great that this boy can find something to focus his attention on during the pandemic. It must take a huge amount of time, strategy and skill to accomplish such amazing feats with Jenga blocks. Just imagine if he devoted all that time and effort to say….school? But at least he’s using the fame to help other organizations and become a role model to others. Good for him, I certainly couldn’t put that much dedication into anything!

https://globalnews.ca/news/7722920/salmon-arm-boy-second-guinness-world-record-giant-jenga/

That’s it for me for this week. It was a short one, but it has been a busy week and I’ve got a lot going on at the moment. As usual, thanks for reading, and please share with your friends, the more the merrier!!

Have a great week, stay healthy, and be kind to one another!