The Adventure Network

Once in a Blue Moon - Glenn HornBlast -CD Release Party

2012-02-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

As part of our mission to support Canadian artists, this post is to bring attention to a local musicain from Toronto, by the name of Glen Hornblast. He has a kind of Van Morrisson rock acoustic blues sound, and has a clear strong voice and plays his guitar with clarity. I have had the pleasure to hear him play several times at Dave's Pizza on St. Clair, a neighborhood restaurant, that attracts a nice acoustic western/blues crowd every Thursday evening. Last night we also heard Amanda play auto harp, an instrument that found its time in the late 70's. She played a blues song with great style, as well she played piano and sang beautifully. Other musicians such as Alan played the tin whistle and played piano simultaneously. The stage flowed nicely, as artists rotated throughout the evening, and a wide variety of styles were displayed.

However, the musician of the night was Glen Hornblast who will be releasing his first CD in 30 years at the Winterfolk X, at Monarch's Pub located at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, 33 Gerrard St. W. February 19th at 6:00 pm. Apparently there will be four bars humming with various musicians at the same time on that night. Glen sang a couple of Van Morrison songs, while being backed up by some great musicians, and superb harpist, Peter. Glen, has previously led the jam last week, when uncle Herb was in hospital. This group is friendly and cohesive as they support and rally and jam together in a beautiful cooperative flair that truly shows the beautiful harmony of the Toronto multi cultural theme.

For an evening of charm and acoustic grace, check out Glen Hornblast CD release at Monarch's Pub at the Delta Chelsea Inn.

Rock On,

The Adventure Guy

Mt Tremblant - The Best In The East 2012

2012-01-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

We had the good fortune to ski Mt. Tremblant, Quebec this weekend. This Laurentian mountain rated Number 1 in the East, for many years, has this year become the Number 1 for ski conditions in the East as well. The mountain known for its negateive 35 degree skiing in January and February and often bullet proof hard packed snow and ice conditions, has became a more temperate mountain due to the effects of global warming. The temperatures hovering between -2 celsius to -12 celsius, with regular snow fall has made this mountain a unique pearl in a winter of unseemingly warm conditions and without snow in the East.

Tremblant has received regular dumps of snow and has received approximately 250 inches so far this season. The word on the lifts, is that the snow grooming, and lift operating has declined since the new purchasers of Intrawest have taken over and started trimming the operational budgets. You don't see the cats grooming the mountain all night to deliver a top to bottom cordoroy experience anymore. Nonetheless, the mountain offers a mix of groomed and ungroomed runs, and this weekend, we found some fantatstic glade skiing that most visitors never encounter.

When we left the resort, we were in a winter storm, and by the time we reached St. Sauveur, it was blue skies. It appears the Tremblant is now attracting its own personal storm belt, bringing in the much needed snow and pleasant skiing experience.

If you haven't had a good season this year in the east. Go check out Mt. Tremblant. You won't be dissappointed.

The Adventure Guy

Akumal Beach Resort- Mayan Riviera- Mexico

2012-01-26T07:03:00.000-08:00

We had the pleasure of being guests in this quaint and well managed all inclusive resort in the Mayan riviera. Akumal means turtle in Mayan, and this resort is located on an ecologically protected bay, in order to protect the sea tortoises, coral reefs, and other sea life in this bay. In fact the entire Mayan coast is protected with the world's second largest coral reef, making the beaches there safe for swimming and excellent for snorkelling. This beach does not allow any windsurfers, jet skiers or any other devices that might scare the wildlife or the snorkelers. This effect makes the beach a special place to turn off the blackberry and chill.

The uniqueness of this all inclusive is the tranquility of the bay, and the personnel that operate it. Everyone is in a cheerful pleasant manor and the general greeting of Olla is shared by all staff. The facilities are exceptionally clean, although the rooms could be updated in the older section of the development. The food is tastefully prepared in a health conscious manner with many steamed vegetables, lots of fresh fish and some of the best guacomole I have ever experienced.

The resort is surrounded by mayan jungle so entering it is like stepping into and ecological conservation area with entertainment and food. The young entertainers are charming and talented as they participated in all events from karaoke, to beach volleyball, to theater. They are all university students from different parts of latin America (there is one Canadian there too!)

For a lovely Mayan experience, without the hustle and bustle of the bigger locations, check out Akumal Beach Resort.

Olla,

The Adventure Guy

Mount St. Louis Moonstone - The little Mountain that Could

2012-01-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

I had my first ski day this season today, and the best conditions in Ontario happen to be at this destination. The uniqueness of Mt. St. Louis http://www.mountstlouis.com/ is that its roots are from its Austrian family ownership, with real mountain expertise. In fact the founder Josl Huter, who started and now operates Mt. St. Louis, was friends with the founder of Blue Mountain, Jozo Weider. The emphasis at Mt. St. Louis is a good mountain experience, not selling time shares, not retail shopping, not mountain biking. Just good old downhill skiing, with possibly the best terrain park in the province, and perhaps, the most consistent bump field as well.

However, this year's secret is the new 25 acre lake that they built atop the mountain to provide enough water for artificial snow making, and their state of the art equipment. It appears that global warming is starting to take effect this winter, with less cold weather and snow than I have seen in my lifetime. The winner in this new climate change, may be the one with the best snow making, and the luck of being in the snow belt as is Mt. St. Louis.

As a well travelled, ski adventurer, this local mountain cannot compare to its rivals in Quebec and B.C., for vertical, and size, but it makes it up with excellent uphill capacity, grooming, terrain parks, snow making etc. etc. For a day out of Toronto with some of the best snow in the GTA region this season check out Mount Saint Louis Moonstone.

The Adventure Guy

Selva Maya - Zip Lines and Cenote

2012-01-12T07:19:00.000-08:00

I had the fortune of being introduced to this special adventure park by a local Akumal resident. Selva means jungle in Mayan. The company details can be found at http://www.edventuretours.com.mx/ . The park grounds is nothing short of excellent. The park is about 4 months old and is located about 20 kms north of Tulum in the Mayan Riviera. We were driven into the deep part of the jungle on a small ATV where we met our guide Brian. We were trained on zip lining, which I had done before in Costa Rica. However, this adventure was one step up. In the Costa Rican experience you had to wear leather gloves to control your speed when zipping from one tree top to the next. In Selva Maya they have a brake that the guides attach to the wire to slow you down before reaching the next tree top. Kind of like an automatic transmission in a roller coaster ride. One less thing to worry about. However, I noticed that all the carribeeners were brand new and high quality. The safety protocols were excellent as they hooked you onto a secure station before ever connecting you to a moving part. excellent safety training. The kids loved the adventure, and we went from tree to tree without a single incident.

From there we were brought to a cenote deep in the forest. There was a small hole in the ground which opened up into a large underground cavern with stalagtites, and beautiful clear fresh water to snorkel in. The fish were small and less colourful than what we had seen elsewhere. I suppose it has to do that they are not exposed to sunlight. The cave was lit up with electric lamps that allowed divers to explore without needing head lamps. The tour did supply powerful underwater flashlights that allowed you to see the rocks and fish below as well.

This is a great adventure and very non touristic. They bring about 20 to 30 visitors per day, so the experience is genuine and personable. A very worthwhile day trip at the Selva Mayan.

Ola,

The Adventure Guy

Yal Ku Cenote - Akumal Mexico

2012-01-11T05:57:00.000-08:00

We had the good fortune to be introduced to this unique land formation which connects the fresh water of the underground rivers of the area to the Carribean sea. This area known as a cenote is made of limestone rock formation which is chock full of tropical fish of all sizes and colours. The limestone creates wonderful caves and angles, which makes this cenote, exceptionally beautiful to explore. The location of Yal Ku is just outside of Akumal Beach in the Mayan Riviera, right behind the house that the Greatful Dead used to own and vacation in. They obviously had good taste in recreational property.

To snorkel in this lagoon, you are asked not to wear any sunscreen as that detracts from the water quality of the tropical fish. You can rent fins and snorkels, and life jackets are mandatory. Total cost is about $20.00 u.s. per person. I received a large abrashion on my shoulder from the rubbing against the strap adjustment of their life jacket. I recommend that you wear a rash guard or t-shirt under the life jacket to avoid injuring yourself as well.

I have snorkeled in various parts of the world, but this location exceeds them all for the quantity and magnitude of tropical fish. It looks unassuming when you approach it, but once you enter the water world below, it blows you away. There are wooden stairs around the cenote to make access into the water that much easier. One interesting feature of the water, is the blurred vision you notice while snorkeling. Apparently this is caused from the meeting of the fresh water with salt water. A highly recommended day trip if you are in the Mayan Riviera.

Ola

The Adventure Guy

Akumal -Mayan Riviera -Mexico

2012-01-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

I am writing today from the beautiful beach resort of Akumal in the Mayan Riviera of Mexico. Akumal means turtle in Mayan, and this beach is the area where sea turtles lay their eggs for reproduction. It is an ecologically protected area with coral reefs and shallow waters filled with beautiful fish and large tortoises. When I did my first dive, i was expecting to find a cute little turtle about the size of a football in the ocean. I then found a moving green sea tortoise of approximately 4 feet in length and a head of about 2 feet. I got a chill up my spine when I saw my first one. There are 2 species here, loggerheads and green turtles. When you dive below the surface, you enter a serene world that is quiet and peaceful and colourful. Little do these harmless creatures realize the dangers that us humans create for their existence.

There is a conservation museum at the beach that attempts to educate people on reducing the impact on the turtles environment. Unfortunately, urban waste water development does affect the algae production, which creates imbalances with the sea weed that the turtles eat. The clearing of the mangroves, or wetlands for resort developments reduces natures natural cleansing system of waste water before it enters the ocean, further creating imbalances in the oceans waters. This has an impact on the seaweed growth, causing potential risks to the turtles habitat. Only one out of 1000 turtle eggs born make it to adulthood. These creatures are very passive and have many predators. They are harmless as you snorkel around them and they graze on the seaweed below. attached is the local web cam at the Lo Ha restaurant. http://www.locogringo.com/upload/akumal-beach-cam.html

We humans are the most dangerous creatures on the planet. We need to appreciate the gentleness of turtles to understand how we need to tread carefully on the environment. My first tortoise I saw I have now named Donattello.

Before arriving in Mexico, we were quite concerned about safety, as we had heard about the violence around the country. Security is everywhere in the area, and we feel safe and well taken care of in this oasis of life by the sea.

Come and enjoy the Mayan Riviera, but tread carefully on the earth when you come down.

"We do not inherit the earth from our parents. We borrow it from our children" Chief Seattle

Ola!

The Adventure Guy

Memphis - The Musical

2011-12-19T06:35:00.000-08:00

I attended this musical production http://www.memphisthemusical.com/ last week at the Toronto Center for the Arts. I was knocked off my seat with the first act, and tried to get back into it the rest of the show. This 2011 Tony Award winning play is worth every cent, not only because it is based on a true story, but also because of the talent of the actors and actresses that perform this blues musical live with so much energy and passion. Each song is live, and could easily make it as high quality blues vocalists in any club.
Few people know the challenges that breaking the colour boundaries cost to certain individuals. The risks that some artists took to follow their passion for music, that broke down the boundaries between whites and blacks of the south. The story of Memphis is about a young man who's sense of marketing and personality takes a stoggy white radio station and starts promoting black "race" music to the pleasure of the young white audience. I guess it takes young people to break down the fences and old ways of thinking that their parents created. The story touches on the racist white with the beating of the black singer, for enticing this white boy. Eventually, she has to leave Memphis to seek the safety of the north in New York, where black people already had established greater equality.
In fact the egalitarian and openness of the north, led and entire migration of music from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago, where it resides today. The American Civil war was actually initially based on the North's freeing of the black slaves, and how the south wanted to keep them as slaves. Isn't it fascinating that music was the medium to create the platform on which to create the equality. Isn't that what art does, challenge societal norms? I suppose that is why we must all support the arts.

For an evening of art, history and blues music, check out Memphis.

You won't be dissappointed.

The Adventure Guy

Downsview Toastmasters Club Achieves International Award

2011-12-15T06:50:00.000-08:00

The Downsview Toastmasters Club, located at the 1201 Wilson Avenue Downsview Complex in Toronto, has won the President’s Distinguished Club Award, the highest achievement a club can attain in Toastmasters. “Receiving this recognition is a great accomplishment for our Club. It speaks to the active participation and commitment of our members to meet their educational goals”, says Shawn Smith, a long-time member.

Toastmasters International is made up of over 13,000 clubs and 270,000 members worldwide. Since 1924, more than 4 million people around the world have become more confident speakers and leaders because of their participation in Toastmasters.

Toastmasters is one of the greatest dollar for dollar investments one can make in personal growth and leadership development. It is a fun place to experiment with your communication skills and a great place to network with a variety of interesting and education oriented individuals.

Seasons Greetings from our club

For more information about Downsview Toastmasters visit

http://downsview.freetoasthost.org/

The Adventure Guy
President, Downsview Toastmasters Club 8568

25th Annual Women's Blues Revue

2011-11-28T10:38:00.001-08:00

The Toronto Blues Society www.torontobluessociety.com has been producing this popular event for the past 25 years. The evening is nothing short of spectacular. A combination of an all female band, supporting talented female vocalists and moderated by CBC host and an Officer of the Order of Canada Shelagh Rogers is an affair of grace and charm, almost unusual for the blues. The blues that I have studied is often delivered by talented and worn male musicians with challenging lives. This event had the grace of a Jazz dance show done to blues rhythms.

The all female band was composed of attractive young musicians led by Donna Grantis, the musical director and guitarist, who dressed in black leathers with stilleto heels, and played guitar like a mix between Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The horn section had sax played by Carrie Chestnutt and Colleen Allen and trumpet by Rebecca Hennessy. Sadly, there was no harp! I wonder is this the male influence of the blues? In fact I have never known of any majour female harp players. In my world, harp is the foundational instrument of the blues. There was a stand up bass played by the attractive Brandi Disterfheft, and keyboard played by Lily Sazz to round out the sound.

The show opened with Treasa Levasseur, who sang from her new album Broad, and told her various life tales. From raising her 16 year old daughter, and stressing out about the clothes she wore, to the words from her parents and lover on how to how to pursue her art. She was elegant as she told her stories and danced flowingly to the sound. She really awoke our senses.

Following Theresa there was Emma-Lee a tall blond singer wearing a gold sequence dress, who spoke softly but sang rough. She called out for her mother in the stands, who happened to be sitting next to me. She was so overjoyed to be playing Massey Hall. Her sound was powerful and moving as she explained how she had recovered from a difficult period in her life and bounced back and was now giving the performance of her life. She is compared to K.D.Lang but she is really her own style.

The other singers included Suzie Vinnick, Shakura S'aida and Kat Danser. Each were fantastic. However, the show stopper was a small dimunitive lady with a large voice by the name of Ada Lee. She charmed the crowd with stories of her life, and started to drift into her own world as she spoke about being the only black person in Peterborough. She showed her strength by arriving on stage with little help, even though she had been in an accident recently. She confessed her age of 85 years young, and coined the phrase from Tina Turner, what's Age got to do with it. She showed her might of character in the way she held the audience's attention as she got back to singing after the band started revving up to get her show back on schedule.

For an evening of grace and charm, check out the Women's Blues Revue next year.

Enjoy Blues with that Female Feeling,

The Adventure Guy

Toastmasters District 60 Fall Conference - Toronto

2011-11-16T06:38:00.000-08:00

This November 11th to the 13th was the Toastmasters Internation Annual District 60 Fall conference. An ingathering of all aspiring public speakers, authors, screenplay writers and inspirational coaches. It is a group of positively focused personalities the likes of which I have never seen before. So well educated, and grounded in learning.

I had the pleasure of being the activator for Elliott Katz, http://www.awardpress.com/ an author who has written a variety of books including Walking Trails around Toronto, Cycling Across Canada and his latest "Being The Strong Man a Woman Wants". Elliott shared information on how to find the time to write your book, how to publish it, promote it and help change the world with it. He referenced such books as The Origin of Spcies by Darwin, Das Kapital by Marx, etc. as to how books are such a powerful medium to influence the thoughts of generations. He empowered his audience to emulate this ambition, to write your book and help steer the course of humanity by putting your thoughts together in a book format. Nowadays it can be done by self publishing, or electronically via a kindle. Blogging, as I do is another format to influence and shere your thoughts.

Elliott did a mock promotional radio interview on me and my book in process entitled Zen Lessons in the Art of Trailblazing. My book takes my story of travelling North America as a young ski bum, selling jewellery in Universities and skiing the majour resorts of North America and translates it into Zen life lessons. The 3 main points are 1.Say What You Mean, Mean What you Say
2. Pursue Noble Goals.
3. Live in the Present.
The audience appreciated my interview and our seminar was well received.

However, the highlight of the Conference was the wrap up speech entitled How I lossed my Way to the World Championship of Public Speaking by Lance Miller http://www.lancemillerspeaks.com/. His compelling story was about how he lost many times before making it to the top of the Toastmaster public speaking award. His mission was to say, we never lose at competitions, we learn from each failures to see how we can improve and change. The human existance is about self development and personal growth. Therefore, never look at a loss as a permanent failure, but as part of education to to success. In this way we will always try to compete, pursue our dreams, and live the life we were all destined to enjoy.

I look forward to meeting you at the Top.

The Adventure Guy

40th annual Heintzman House Xmas Craft Sale

2011-11-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

This weekend is the 40th consecutive annual Heintzman House www.hhouse.ca Xmas craft show. The show runs November 12th and 13th from 10:00 until 5:00 pm at 135 Bay Thorn Drive. There is a $2.00 admission fee and the funds raised by the Heinztman Auxilliary group goes to restore the interior of this heritage home. The building is one of the oldest in the Town of Markham and was once the home of Charles Heintzman of the Heintzman Piano Company. The house was built in 1816 and is currently used for wedding receptions, and special events.

The property is located at 135 Bay Thorn Drive just off Bayview and Royal Orchard Drive in Markham. There will be a wide selection of Canadian arts and crafters, from beautiful woodworkers (awesome wooden sculpted pepper mills) to jewelley. My favourite is our family business Nice Things www.nice-things4u.com. Come by and check it out, in the bridal room top floor.

Come check out the elegance of Heintzman House, and support local Canadian artisans and a fine heritage property this weekend. Great time to get those special gifts or memorabilia.

Supporting our Canadian Artists the Remembrance Day,

The Adventure Guy

South Side Johnny's Etobicoke Open Mic

2011-11-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

There has been many musicians I have met that have participated in the Open Mic at South Side Johnny's. This famous name has many operations (different ownerships) in the US, and this local Toronto one is a fine establishment.

This Open Mic is on Sunday nights and starts around 10:00pm. The back up band is Phoenix, with lead singer Rebecca. She is very personable, has a very gutteral "Melissa Ethridge style voice and plays keyboards. The barmaids are young and bouncy, which is quite a change from some of the divier music establishments I have attended. The patrons are your basic bar personalities, and the crowd of talented musicians was quite low on this particular evening.

The unfortunate part of this jam, is the number of songs each artist gets to perform. Some can stay up for four or more tunes, making it quite a long night if you want to get into your set. The foundation of the band is quite good with excellent guitarists, drummers and keyboards.Unfortunately, this particular night their electronics died in the middle of a musicians harp set, just when he was starting to get into it.

In summary, I have good feelings about this Open Mic. It is more rock than blues. The good female vocalists and young barmaids, make it worth the outing.

If you are in the neighborhood, it is worth checking out.

If you are travelling from far, maybe think twice.

Rock On,

The Adventure Guy

Harmonica Man from Japan

2011-10-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

As a martial artist, from a traditional Japanese background, I have been immersed in Japanese culture for some time. Japanese people are generally, very polite, conservative and very precise in their attention to detail. I had the great pleasure to meet a unique blues harp musician last night at the Aquila open mic by the name of Ken Yoshioka.

The uniqueness of a Japanese musician playing blues harp, guitar and singing black soul is like having a black man leading a Japanese Tea Cermenony. Not impossible, just very unique. Many Japanese young people come to North America to break out of the traditional conforming roles set upon them by their society. It appears that they like American culture such as baseball, golf and now blues.

I had attended the Toronto Blues Society Harmonica seminar and Ken was there as one of the instructors. He developed his skills while busking in the Toronto subway system, doing open mic's and practicing alot.
As I inquired about his background he explained that he learned almost everything by ear. This appears to be a common trademark of accomplished musicians in the Open Mic circuit.

Ken explained that he was the feature of a short fim entitled Harmonica Man from Japan http://youtu.be/0_qnMtAiRFc on you tube.com which I watched and enjoyed. His message is that it is not easy to succeed at your chosen calling, but nonetheless, pursue it with all your heart and you will be able to accomplish it one day. Ken also has written Harmonica instruction books in Japanese. His first CD entitled I Love Harp is an acoustic blues collection of songs that he wrote and performed. A nice piece for collectors. You can check out Ken Yoshioka at the Brunch at Aquila's Jam every Sunday in the Toronto Junction
347 Keele.

Rock On.,

The Adventure Guy

Toastmasters International - Division G Competition-A Night to Remember

2011-10-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Last night was the Toronto Division G competition for Table Topics and Humorous Speech event entitled "A Night to Remember". I have attended and competed at this level before, but I was not a finalisit this fine evening. I had the pleasure of being a judge for the first time.

I had always wondered how scores were calculated and what criteria were used to evaluate contestants. I now had before me a numberical scale which allocated weightings to the different sections of each competitors speech. It was very detailed and sophisticated. Items such as speech effectiveness, physical delivery, voice inflection etc. were all criterias.

We heard funny stories such as a British woman's dating tale on match.com and her preference for a sports car vs. a man. She wanted the man more, but when faced with the realities of single men and their imperfections, she decided a perfectly crafted machine, might give her more pleasure. A second contestant with a deep Romanian accent and high pitched voice described his tales of learning several languages in order to be accepted by society. Romanian, French, English, Computer, Body, Army language, etc. In the end he concluded, all one really needs is the body language of a young babe to get what you want in life. The pinnacle tale of the Humourous competion, however was by a young Canadian budding actor who did a spoof on accents, and how we need to be careful to avoid judging people by there tonalities. His story was about meeting a US southerner with a slow drawl, and concluding he was dumb. In fact he had 2 PhD's in nuclear physics and mechanical engineering. His second tale was about meeting a creative director who had a Jamican accent, a British name, but was actually of Chinese origin. Go Figure.

For those of you out there looking to engage in personal development to the highest level, at the lowest cost, Toastmasters International is the place to be. If humans can learn to use their most potent weapon, the tongue, with poise and politeness and respect, we can make the world a better and healthier experience for all. All cultures, all ages, all good.

It was indeed an Night to Rememer.

Keep on growing,

The Adventure Guy

Dave's Pizza on St. Claire Open Mic

2011-10-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

I dropped into the open mic jam at Dave's Pizza located at St. Claire and Rushton in Toronto. The jam is held every Thursday evening from 8:00 pm until 1:00am and is hosted by a charming couple who play a country and western acoustic genre. It felt like I had landed in Montana in the sixties, with an earthy urban Toronto grunge style, that is friendly but somewhat insiduous.

There are various artists who come to perform and who work the small urban venues such as the Transat club etc. What was particularly interesting, was that in one night, a homeless man got up and sang three classic folk songs with breathtaking clarity. The crowd was very supportive. A second handicapped woman who plays guitar without a hand got up to sing and play. As she could not strum this acoustic guitar (she did not have a hand from the wrist down) the hosts played her song while she sang in a very crisp and clear tone. It was beautiful to see how people accepted her music quality regardless of her stage presence handicap. However, the two stars of the night were Anat and Paul Hornblower, who were both passionate, original and clear in their sound delivery.

I have attended this jam 4 times, and not yet had a chance to get up to the mic. I am somewhat concerned that only those that are part of the crowd get a chance to perform. However, I do think the music is good, the people supportive and the pizza and salad decent.

For a throwback to the sixties with an open mic effect, check out Dave's Pizza on St. Clair on a Thursday night.

Entertaining and warm,

The Adventure Guy

Freestyle Skiing the iPod and Steven Jobs

2011-10-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

This past week we learned of the unfortunate passing of Steven Jobs, one of the great technological gurus, and entrepreneurs of our time. I felt an uncanny sadness and connection to this person I had never met, although I had purchased one of his products - the ipod a few years ago. As I reflected on his life, I realized it was his entrepreneurial spirit that I connected with. Everything I had learned about entrepreneurship, from selling jewellery in the street, to the classrooms of business school, Jobs embodied the ultimate entreprenuer. When he spoke at stanford he mentioned how bad he felt as he had let down all the great entrepreneurs of history, when he got fired from his own company. But he came back, started Next and Pixar entertainment, and regained control of Apple. The ultimate entrepreneur's come back.

In the late 1970's I took a year off pf school to follow my heart and ski full time, I recall seeing a spectacular skier carving down the slopes of Big Mountain Montana with a large black pack on the front of his ski jacket. He had headphones that went from the pack to his ears and straps that rapped around his back so that the sound pack would not fly off in the bumps. As skiers, we would all be humming our favourite song for rhythm in the bumps. This was the first skier I had seen a product that had bridged the gap between technology and humming tunes!

During freestyle competitions, organizers would install big speakers on the side of the slope to pump music onto the mountain to motivate the skiers and the audience.
When I returned home from my travels, I purchased my own cassette player, sewed together a black pouch and straps, and strapped on this 8 pounds of technology on my body. It was cool to look at and ski with, but it sure left a lot to be desired. It was heavy, it would skip beats when you would hit a bump. If you fell, snow could get into the pouch and destroy the electronics. It was crude but fun, and eventually, I got tired of lugging the extra weight, strapping it on and finally put it to rest.

One evening in 2005, I purchased an ipod online directly from Apple. It was so cool. I ordered a silver one and it was shipped in a clean white apple box. It was shipped by UPS and I remember the face of the clerk when they saw I had a package direcctly from Apple. They were very impressed with my connections, and watched to see what I got, as anything from Apple was fun and cool. I found my product beautifully polished, shiney and playful. I learned the latest technology on how to connect to itunes, limewire etc. and loaded up that ipod with my favourite music. Now when I go skiing, I slip a thin light silver ipod in my jacket pocket and pump clean crips digital music into my helmet, and I feel like I am in a Warren Miller film. There are no skips in the sound when I hit a bump at good speed, and I can barely feel the weights. The volume control is easy to adjust and the ear buds are simple and comfortable to use. I am sure that Steven Jobs wasn't thinking about user friendly ipods for bump skiers, but he did it anyways.

Entrepreneurial spirit lasts for eternity.

RIP Steve.

The Adventure Guy

New Years and An Inconvenient Truth

2011-10-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

We are in the period of time between Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur, perhaps the most introspective time of the year for the Jewish faith. What makes the Jewish religion unique and critisized, is its continuous obsession with moral and ethical behaviour. To the heathens of yesterday, the ability to murder, adulter and steal were the good old days. Unfortunately, Abraham and Moses changed the rules, and some people have been upset ever since.

This past Rosh Hashannah, I had the opportunity to catch up on reading and watching ideas, that were required to improve my personal introspection. I chose to watch the film, An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (see http://www.climatecrisis.net/) . I know this movie is not recent, but better late than never.
I have been involved with environmental issues for many years, but never had I seen the argument so well laid out and presented as in this documentary film.
As a skier, cyclist, canoeist, and general outdoorsman, I have seen the warming of our cities and resorts. The snow and ice that we once received are now just memories. I remember, as a kid shovelling out my fathers car, as the snow was over the roof. I remember snowmobiles through the streets of Montreal during majour storms. Those types of storms don't happen anymore.

One of the most fascinating statistics that Mr. Gore presented is the rate of population growth since 1945. In one generation the world has gone from approximately 2 billion to nearly 7 billion people. That is a lot of bodies to keep warm and feed. The earth must be affected by this demographic shift.
However, the most compelling thought that Mr. Gore said, was that global warming (also referred to as climate change) is not just an economic issue it is a MORAL issue. Those are the words that stuck in my mind. The concept of Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world is a Jewish philosophy. The concept that global warming has to do with mankinds lack of morality when dealing with the planet and the creation of carbon dioxide, water pollution, urbanization etc. brings it more in line with the great moral dilemas of our ancestors. This is our generations great error.

This year, I will try to focus on ways to treat the planet morally and with respect. I hope you will too.

The Adventure Guy

5th Annual Toronto International Flamenco Festival

2011-09-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

I attended the Toronto Flamenco Festival last year and was greatly impressed with the sophistication of the audience, and the skill of the performers. Flamenco derives from gypsy dancers in Spain, but the modern adaptation is chic, colourful and very dynamic.

The event director, Lionel Felix, is a dance instructor himself, and his passion for music and movement are exemplified in this event. I have tried to learn salsa and meringue myself, and they are the most beautiful of the latin dance forms in my opinion.

For an evening of charm and grace check out the 5th annual Toronto International Flamengo Festival http://www.torontoflamencofestival.com/. This year it will be held at Koerner Hall Thursday October 20, 2011 at Bloor and Avenue Road, a most elegant venue. It is like being inside a violin.

Olay

The Adventure Guy

Laurentian Ski Museum Hall of Fame Inductee - Ron Booth of The Trading Post

2011-09-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

When I think back of my youth in Montreal and my days of a young skier, one of the highlights was my time working as a ski technician at the Trading Post, one of Montreal's greatest ski shops in the 70's. This October 22, 2011 the Laurentian Ski Museum, http://www.museeduski.com/ will be having their fund raiser for Ski Hall of Fame entrants into the Laurentian Ski Museum Hall of Fame. How fantastic that the entire Booth family of St. Saveur are to be inducted. I rememeber with great pride working for Ron Booth, the owner of the Trading Post.

When I was a young ski enthusiast, I desperately wanted to be in the ski industry. I remember, approaching the head of the ski repair shop and suggesting that I would work for free in order to learn the ropes of being a ski binding technician. He hired me at a low wage, and I made it behind the bench to work with Pickle, a young ski tech from the Okanagan Valley of B.C. I would arrive at 5 am excited to work for my minimum wage. However, I was working with the products I loved, was learning about the latest in ski technology, and was in complete working bliss.
We would often see Ron walking through the shop, asking for certain setups to be done on various packages the sales people would sell. He was always well mannered, positive and thoughtful towards all of his staff. In those days we had quite a large shop of staff, who were trendy and great skiers. One day, while I was trying to set up skis and drill the binding holes as fast as my professional colleagues, I drilled a pair of brand new skis in the wrong place, basically destroying them. I was so embarrassed. However, Ron was polite and even tempered, and just put them on the rack to be sold at a discount. An honest mistake was made, and he treated it like a gentleman.
What a great choice to induct Ron Booth of the Trading Post. That was the greatest part of Montreal ski history, which should be acknowledged for his contribution to making the city, one of the greatest ski locations in Canada. I believe they went to Vancouver and then opened other shops there such as Canski, but none were as successful and trendy as the Post.

Well done on the inductees.

Keep on promoting our ski legacy, museeduski.com

The Adventure Guy

Shrimp Daddy and the Sharpshooters at The Southside Shuffle

2011-09-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

I attended the 13th annual South Side Suffle www.southsideshuffle.com Blues Festival in Port Credit, Ontario, this past Saturday night. It is a wonderful thing to see live music jutting out of every nook and corner of this very quaint town. The quality of the artists are superb here in Mississauga for some unknown reason. The season is short in Canada for outdoor live music, and this year's festival had great weather to capture the event.

I came to see Shrimp Daddy www.shrimpdaddyreid.com play, as I had seen him before at the Toronto Blues Society harmonica seminar and later at the Maple Blues Awards. He is a very personable fellow, with a great passion for the blues. This was my first time seeing the Sharpshooters, who are a very tight band with an awesome keyboardist from Australia and lead guitarist.

Shrimp Daddy has a deep bluesy sound that makes this genre so beautiful. His harmonica style is superb as he uses the full range of the harp, and even usese multiple harps within one song. Originally from Montreal, he is friends with Barath Rajakumar, also of Montreal, who may be one of Canada's greatest harp and blues singers.

I picked up Shrimp Daddy's latest CD "Messin with My System", which was produced by Steve Mariner of Monkey Junk. This same band is last year's Maple Blues award winner and Steve plays multiple instruments and sings in the band. Mariner, also won best Harp player of the year. Another outstanding talented musician. The bottom line is that there are some deeply talented musicians connecting and working with Shrimp Daddy, and the sound is paying off.

For some great full sounding blues and awesome harp, check out Shrimp Daddy and the Sharp Shooters.

Keep on Bluesing with Feeling,

The Adventure Guy

Surfwise Movie

2011-09-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

I watched Surwise a documentary movie about the Paskowitz surf family. It was my second time viewing this unique flick. I had to restudy the details of the film to digest the meaning of this surf lifestyle story. This is the site for it http://surfwisefilm.com/html/index.html

The movie is the ture story about Dr. Dorian Paskowitz a surfing medical doctor, who is obcessed with fitness and marries his third wife based on her ability to have great sex. He drops out of his medical practice, travels around the beaches of the US, allowing his children to surf all day while never allowing them to be educated. He believes that wisdom comes from experience not from academic institutions. His practice is to mimic animal patterns and while having sex nightly with his young wife, he pumps out 9 children and gives them all biblical names. Very much affected by the holocaust and his failed experiences to help the jewish people of that era.

The message from the film is that family is more important than material success, and that health is something you have to work for every day. His health regime was based on no sugar, no fat, no excesses. Surf everyday and earn your health. Wisdom comes from travelling and meeting people, noth through study at Stanford or other places of higher learning.

Well worth the watch.
Makes one want to look at going off grid and living life like a zen warrior.

Surf's up Dude

The Adventure Guy

Jack B Nimble Open Mic at Abbey Road

2011-08-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

I have travelled to many open mic jams in and around the Toronto GTA area, but this one just keeps getting better and better. In a small pub on Erin Mills Parkway near the 403 every Thursday night is the Jack B Nimble music jam. This open mic used to be more of a karaoke sing song place. However it has now become a meca for the pro and semi pro musicians of Toronto to gather and show their best stuff.

Last night was amazing as singer after singer approached the mic and outdid the next. The band led by Len and guitarist Rick were amazing at being able to qucikly learn new songs at the musicians request. The band leader, Len with his long rocker hair style from the 60's is warm and unintimidating as he invites all musicians to show their abilities to the crowd. It is his warm nature that makes the cozy pub scene so fun and friendly. I believe this nature is what makes the musician crowd so special.

The beautiful part of the jam is the wide selection of age groups that attend, participate and watch. Grandparents, kids, soccer moms and all are in the house. If Rock and Roll (and or blues) can keep people of all ages together and happy, then maybe we can build a better world.

Keep on Rockin'

The Adventure Guy

Beaches International Jazz Festival 2011

2011-07-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

I attended th Beaches International Jazz festival http://www.beachesjazz.com/ this last week. Part 1 was in Woodbine Park with two bandstands. Part 2 was the street festival along Queen Street, and Part 3 was the bandstand at Kew beach.

Each of these venues are fantastic. However the large bandstands are more impersonal for those spectators who want to really see musicians in action. The stages are so high and loud, that many viewers are far removed from the intense concentration and energy of the performers. However, the venues chosen for each of the bandstands were acoustically sound and coszy. The Kew beach was actually a natural amphitheatre, and was better shaded with mature trees to control the excessive heat. The Woodbine theater was sweltering hot, and the musicians were struggling to cope during the midday heat.

My choice venue, for this event was the streetfest, where the bands are set up in front of the various retailers. Etiquette was in place, as the performers would rotate their starting times as to not drown out the other artists. There was a wide selection of blues, latin, greek acoustic and even some indian reggae. However, I did not see that much real jazz.

However, the performer that stole the show in my opinion was the best home grown secret in Toronto, David Rotundo http://www.davidrotundo.com/. David is an awesome blues harp player, with a powerful voice and a super positive energy. On Saturday night at 9:00 he came out with his brilliant smile and turned on the sexy blues rhythms that made the Chicago blues so popular. He sang Come on into My Kitchen, to a crowd of melting females who's stoves were very hot. He did a harp solo for 10 minutes walking through the crowd, while playing rhythm and solo at the same time. He was soaked in rain, but filled with energy, as not one crowd member left until the set was done. Best of all he did all of his original music making his set original including Real Love.

The Beaches Jazz Festival is rated in the top 10 in the world and this week it rocked the house. Kudo's to the organizers and artists. Toronto's got talent in the Beaches Jazz Festival.

The Adventure Guy

Kripalu Yoga Center

2011-07-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

I attended a 5 day retreat at the Kripalu Yoga Center in Massachussetts this past month http://www.kripalu.org/. I enjoyed a day of rest and relaxation and then attended a Zen and Harmonica Yoga course. Interspersed I did both moderate and vigoroyous vinyasa yoga classes. Kripalu is the ultimate in western styled buddhism, with an emphasis on mindfulness and healthy living. What impressed me the most, after driving through New York state, and a cycling stop over in Finger Lakes, was the dichotomy of American society. On the one side you have a population plagued with obesity with many Americans carrying far too much weight and eating high caloric foods at super size me restaurants. On the other side you have the health conscious mindfulness socialites of the Kripalu Yoga culture, eating more organic foods and less of it. I prefer the latter.

Kripalu was once a monestary, then an ashram, and this history has transitioned it into a non profit society promoting the style of yoga by Kripalu a Yoga master. My thoughts are that we live in a society which is overly electronically stimulated via advertising, email, texting, violence, ultimate fighting, etc. People's minds are overtaxed and hence to attract attention, advertisers are getting more and more extreme to attract the desensitized minds. People have internalized this and now need to zone out. Hence the growth in demand for Yoga. Kripalu is the ideal location to retreat, review and regroup. The concept is to quieten the mind get to its purest form and treat it with kindness.

I was very impressed with the transformational theatre course taught by a dynamic young theater instructor. I was not so impressed with a very lethargic bicycle ride given by two overly cautious cycle leaders. I was very much impressed with the quality of the yoga instructors and there philosophies they taught during the class. Most importantly was to treat yourself compassionately. We often internalize the way others treat us poorly and then began to continue flogging our own minds and injuring our self esteem through self talk. Kripalu is about being good to yourself, and being mindful of others so as to leave a gentler path as we walk through life.

I hope that the value of Kripalu Yoga will permeate the American society, to be mindful of what they are consuming, and the way they treat others and themselves. America is a dynamic and creative society which has delivered so many good things to the world. A little eastern mindfulness as part of the culture will definitely help it become even better still.

Namaste,

The Adventure Guy