So, NHL hockey is supposedly on its way back. But will the fans come back? Eventually, most will, especially in Canada. However, the fans need to make their voice heard beyond some social media campaigns like Just Drop It. It’s gotten over 21,000 Likes, which sounds great, but is really nothing. That barely fills an NHL arena, and some 11,000 came within the first week anyway. We’ll have to see how many of those fans will really live up to their pledge.
So what can the fans do to show their displeasure over this whole strike mess? Naturally, staying away and refraining from spending money on NHL related activities and merchandise is the main way. Now, no one solution is going to fit everyone, so we’re going to need a range of options. To add more incentive, I suggest turning it into a challenge among your NHL loving friends, which will benefit you all in the meanwhile! Look at some of the options below and try one of the following: Continue reading →
Piñatas are brightly-colored decorations made from a cardboard shape covered with papier-mâché, in case you don’t know what one is. Inside are candies or little gifts which children can get by beating the piñata with a big stick until the piñata breaks open, usually while blind-folded. Each kid takes his/her turn until the piñatas is completely opened up and nothing remains inside.
It’s something I imagine a lot of people like to do to those dictators!
For about $1 of tax per person per year, or a $2 (toonie) charge per use, the Halifax Skating Oval can be sustained, at the highest cost estimates. It could be as low as 50 cents per use. I’m not encouraging this, but if paying for use of the Oval were a last resort, it could be very affordable and definitely worth its value!
There’s a big debate on whether or not to keep the Canada Winter Games Skating Oval on the Halifax Commons (CBC, Jan 4 2011). A lot of the public is enjoying the facility, but the worry is the cost of maintaining the Oval after the Canada Games are over. The hope is that business support can be found to pay the costs, rather than increasing taxes or having to charge skaters. However, that’s a political solution. This analysis looks at the business case of keeping the oval if the public had to pay for it.
I had written these “voice mail songs” many years ago, when I used to live in Vancouver and we only had answering machines. It was also when I didn’t have to worry about getting “professionals” calling me. If you might have to worry about that, I highly recommend you don’t use these and just enjoy them. The singing messages are about 30 seconds long to sing, which is long for a voice mail, but that’s these lyrics’ “price” of fun. That’s why I recommend no intros, despite some being written as first verses of the songs where you could have the intros.
I sang these lyrics into my answering machines with the real music playing in the background, loud enough so you had the tune, but not nearly loud enough to overpower my voice. Given the recording quality of answering machines then, it was as good as poorly recorded karaoke. That technique can still work today, but given all the tech out there for karoake YouTube videos and recording features right on the cell phones and computers, try recording using the karoake links below with your cell phone or computer recording feature.
Or just record singing solo, unaccompanied.
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Mr Grinch, from the original Dr Seuss Christmas special
This is most appropriate for December, or whenever you feel is appropriate to start having the Christmas theme in your life. However, I don’t think it has to be for December or Christmas. For singing purposes, it is the part from 1:25 in the video below. In the lyrics of the real song in the video link below the lyrics to the karaoke version, it’s the verse that starts with You’re a foul one, Mr Grinch.
Don’t hang up please, like the Grinch,
Leave a message, it’s a cinch!
Leave your number and your name,
And a message if you’re game,
It’s a cin-inch!
The three words that best describe when
Are as follows, and I quote:
“At! The! Beep!”
This is meant to be recorded straight up from the beginning. To keep your message as short as possible, though, I would recommend skipping the intro and starting at 0:11 of the video below (or the equivalent in the karoaoke video link below the lyrics).
Hello, my friend, you’ve reached (two-syllable name)
But I’m not home to get the phone
And chit-chat with you.
But if you leave a message then, I’m sure that when
I’m home I’ll get in touch with you.
So at the beep please leave your name and number
And why you called me so I won’t be blue.
And then hang up so when I’m home
I’ll know you called and I’ll make sure
I call you…
(I’ll call you – like at the end of the song)
This one I would absolutely recommend skippping the intro cause it’s 35 seconds long and people will hang up before then, wondering what the heck that music is all about, including if they’ve dialed the correct number. I don’t care if there’s auto-dial these days. They’ll recheck, or think they hit the wrong auto-dial. You’ll have wasted their time, and if it’s long distance, their money. So start at 0:31 or so of the video for a brief lead-in, or the equivalent spot on the karoake video link.
They’ll phone ya when you’re tryin’ to have some fun,
They’ll phone ya when your mind is out to lunch,
They’ll phone ya when you’re tryin’ to make a buck,
They’ll phone ya when you’re tryin’ to get a (beep!),
But never will they phone when you’re at home!
(That’s when) Everybody should get phoned!
I think Wayne Newton has the more famous version of this song, but I was not able to find it on YouTube. However, composer James Last wrote it for Connie Francis, specifically, so this is the original version. The intro is pretty short, but I would still skip it and start at 0:09 of the video below. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a karoake link. If you can find either the Wayne Newton version or karoake link, please do share. Thanks!
There are games that many foolish callers play,
Like how some don’t leave a message come what may,
Never caring who gets hurt along the way,
Let’s not play those games that callers play.
No karoake link was found for Games that Lovers Play
I created these tagging challenges for major league baseball fans in North America, Japan and South Korea, or people who know lots of those fans. The tagging challenges can be done on Facebook, MySpace, LiveJournal or other platforms where you can tag people on pictures.
The idea is to see how diverse is the group of baseball fans you know, and how does that compare to your fellow baseball loving friends. It’s no fun if everybody supported the team you supported, you know!
Tag one person you know whose favourite team is represented by the team logo. It has to be that person’s favourite team as you can’t tag a person twice on the same photo.
How many teams can you tag? And how does this compare to your friends who might have done this same challenge?
Here’s how to get these graphics for your tagging fun:
Click on a picture below to get it at full size.
Right click on that picture and save to your computer.
Upload it to your profile.
Tag your friends!
Fancy yourself quite the social sports fan, or this isn’t your sport? Try the same Facebook tagging challenges for:
Digital Citizen 