Aug 16
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Aug 16, 2009
Tyson Turner - See all 11 of my articles
So three things caught my attention this week that I feel are worth sharing. They range from comical to serious, so enjoy!
The Pursuit of Knowledge
So it often works out that when I am eating lunch, my television is tuned to Trivial Pursuit: America Plays hosted by Christopher Knight. I have always enjoyed Trivial Pursuit, so I find watching it on television to still be entertaining but also educational. I have seen before on other shows such as Jeopardy questions asked of Americans about basic Canadian facts only to see them completely mess up the answer. Well today’s question was What province is Halifax the capital of? Well only one of the participants had the bravery to provide an answer. His answer was Ontarrrio. Notice that his answer wasn’t Ontario (pronounced On-tear-e-o) but On-tar-e-o. Of course this is incorrect. I was actually surprised he chose this province, as the capital of Ontario is Canada’s biggest and most famous city, Toronto. I know it’s funny, but at the same time I do admit that I do not know all of the State capitals, so perhaps I should shut my mouth. I did end up feeling smarter than the contestants of the show though, as I knew the state capital of Ohio was Columbus while both of them did not (first guess Cleveland, second guess Cincinnati). Oh and by the way, Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia.
Michael Vick Soars Again
Many people have heard of Michael Vick, whether they are a fan of the NFL or not. Well Michael is now officially back in the NFL, having signed a two year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. When it comes to strictly improving your football team, this is a good move. He will have to shake off a fair bit of rust, but can slide comfortably into the backup role behind Donovan McNabb while he gets back into game shape. The only question is how this will affect the team in terms of its image. As a pet owner, I was as disgusted as anyone for what he did. While he did serve his time and pay his debt to society, I still really find myself despising him. I work with people with intellectual disabilities and even they know better than Vick when it came to what he did with those dogs. I personally hope his career is over and that he is heckled thoroughly everywhere he goes. This is one I just can’t get my head past.
Tim Horton’s
I don’t know what there is in the States to match this franchise. Dunkin Donuts perhaps? Tim Horton’s is a symbol of Canada like no other. It is our favourite place to have a coffee and donut. The franchise has actually expanding into a few northern States as well. Every morning drive-thru lines are packed, and lineups go out the doors as people will do anything to get their Timmies. Many people have bumper stickers to this effect. This week though, Tim’s got some publicity it didn’t want, as it was apparently a sponsor of a big anti-gay festival in Rhode Island. After news of this got out, they pulled out their support, claiming it was just one specific franchise owner in the area. This was definitely the right move, as many Canadians are open to gay marriage and full gay rights and the backlash up here would have been strong. I give kudos to the franchise for acting quickly to get this mess straightened out. On another note, I don’t see myself visiting Providence anytime soon.
3 Comments
North of the Border
Football, Gay marriage, Michael Vick, Tim Horton's, Trivia
http://www.thesoapboxers.com/3-things/
Aug 16, 2009 @ 09:44:49
I love Trivial Pursuit. I own 7 differnt versions (mostly genus editions). I buy most of them at secondhand stores. I’m also a big fan of Jeopardy (which happens to feature a Canadian, Alex Trebek)
I’ll admit that I can’t name the capitals of all the provinces, but I’d definitely know that Halifax isn’t the capital of Ontario.
I’m not even a fan of Vick’s game, much less the overall package he brings to a team. I always thought he was a running back with a QB salary. The wildcat formation would seem to give the team a fair amount of what Vick brings, while allowing a good QB to be in charge of most of the plays.
Total Comments by kosmo: 683
Aug 16, 2009 @ 10:08:35
As an Eagles’ fan, I’m torn on Vick. I despise what he did, and question whether someone who could have done such horrible acts really is capable of change. At the same time, I believe in forgiveness and second chances.
Jeffrey Lurie, the Eagles’ owner, really opened up at the press conference. Lurie is a known dog lover (has rescued abused dogs) and didn’t mince words when he talked about Vick and his prior actions, and how much soul-searching he (Lurie) had to do before signing off on this. He explained how he spend a good deal of time with Vick, and he could see the self-hatred that Vick had for himself.
So, I guess for now I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he is a different person. That otherwise would be a bad message to send those among our prison population who are truly trying to rehabilitate themselves – “sorry, you may have changed and rehabilitated, but even after you’ve paid your legal debt to society, you will never be accepted.”
For Lurie, the other part of the deal is that Vick must be an “agent of social change.” Lurie made it sound like that will be required. Philly evidently has a dog-fighting problem, and Lurie is hoping Vick can be used to effectuate some change.
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Total Comments by Evan: 104
Aug 17, 2009 @ 15:35:52
Vick is a great pickup as Donovan does miss some games and Vick could be used in some odd ball short yardage situations.
Tim Hortons is very over rated. My wife is Canadian and so I go to Toronto 3-4 times a year. I only get Hortons when stopping off on the highway. If I am in the city I take Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks or the many other coffee shops that are available.
Toronto has a nice selection of food but Tim Hortons is not it.
Total Comments by Peter Rabbit: 44