So a friend of mine has started her own movie review blog and I have to say I was a little skeptical of her reviewing skills when she gave one of my favorite movies (Transformers) a bad review, in fact I almost deleted her as a facebook friend over it (sorry Sandra, you hurt me) but Sandra has redeemed herself by agreeing with me on the Dark Night movie.

All kidding aside put your virtual hands together for Sandra and her POPCORN PHILOSOPHY blog. Her design is sexy and he content is well written. Check it out….bookmark it…tell your friends…come back here to find her link on the right.

Other Notes:

- Saint John Shawn Peterson got married this weekend. Congrats man!

If you are into the idea of Irving putting it’s new HQ on the Long Wharf check out this article(
Long Wharf Jeweller puts up $10,000 diamond for public’s opinion on proposed Irving Oil project) in the telegraph about the owner of W. Smith & Co. and his answer to all the neh-sayers.

I for one support the HQ and no I am not a huge Irving fan either but I think this is a great opportunity for the city!

Get out and show your support! You too Ivan “Personal Agenda” Court…come on…you know you want to.

Related:

- Saint John Shawns Post
- Facebook Group in support of the Irving Head Quarters on Long Wharf

Below is a list of the all time stats of how people have found this blog. It’s actually kind of interesting to check this kind of stuff out. Some of it I can understand why it hit me and other stuff I have no idea why it hit me. Anyway it’s amusing to me.

chocolate lab	741
103.5 the pirate	366
chocolate lab puppies	239
chocolate lab puppy	122
puppy	117
103.5 the pirate blog	95
the pirate saint john	93
funny facebook status updates	89
lab dog	81
big booty hoes	79
funny facebook status	78
lab puppy	77
lululemon	53
tucker max	51
big booty	50
the pirate 103.5	47
steph downey	37
russell smith blog	37
indigo saint john nb	31
103.5 saint john	28
saint john new brunswick blog	27
gary stackhouse	27
lab pups	24
really cute puppies	24
funny facebook messages	22
103.5 the pirate saint john	21
starbucks saint john	21
the pirate radio saint john	18
2live crew	17
irving headquarters	16
103.5 pirate	16
chocolate lab dogs	16
pirate 103.5	15
irving long wharf	15
genandsteve	14
long wharf saint john	14
troy northrup	14
funny facebook status update	14
“judith mackin”	14
puppy lab	14
cute labrador puppies	14
happiest cities in canada	14
east point shopping saint john	14
the pirate radio station saint john	13
chocolate lab dog	13
condos saint john nb	13
funny facebook status messages	13
funny facebook statuses	13

So the battle continues. Ivan “Personal Agenda” Court is quoted in Monday’s paper talking about the Irving HQ. I have to say it saddens me deeply to know this knuckle head is running our city. Go back to teaching Ivan, we need forward thinking people in your position not individuals that want more parking lots. For some reason more parking lots does not sound very environmentally friendly to me

As a side note for anyone who comments with “Don’t you know Irving owns the paper and is manipulating you…blah blah blah” save yourself the typing I already know they do and don’t care.

Related Stories:

- Ivan Court in the Telegraph
- Urban Plans Blog on this story
- Another post by the Urban Plans Blog
- Pro Irving HQ thread

This post is long overdue. I actually owe this post to Alex Coffins Fitnes shop from like 2 months ago before I took off for the Ottawa Marathon.

Not only do the people that work at this store offer loads of information, support local running events, speak at workplaces, speak at schools and youth groups but they offer fantastic service. Mind you the store can get busy and a little hectic but the wait is worth it. I purchased a pair of shoes from Alex himself and after running 20 k or so in them I realized I didn’t like them. So I took them back with no receipt and got another pair with no hassle. Well…I ended up not liking the new pair either and again took them back with no hassle and finally got a pair I liked. anyway the service was bar none and I recommend going to visit them in the Quispamsis store if you are looking for piece of mind when purchasing fitness apparel.

Kudos to Alex and his store for great service and being a strong supporter of the community.

Check them out

As much as I like to say I do, I don’t understand teenagers. I have worked with youth for almost 10-12 years now and before that I was a youth and I can honestly say I don’t get them. I have a nephew who is almost 16 and I have watched him grow from a great kid to this smart ass, inconsiderate, soon to drop out of school for all I know kid. He has been caught stealing, drinking and doing drugs. I have my ideas what went wrong with him but I am not going to point fingers. Anyway to my point though what happened when he went from 12-13?? Was he abducted by aliens and sent back to earth as a different guy?

I hate to go back and re-hash an old post that generated so many comments but here goes…

So I have done 2 or 3 posts in the past about the Pirate here in Saint John and there were a few people that said this station will go down, myself being one of them and well what do you know the pirates ship has gone down.

Dear Ivan Court,

I will keep this short and to the point. Stop being a dip-s**t about the Irving HQ. Your a smart guy, but you let your personal agenda get in the way of good things. People like you are the reason this city stood still for years. Get off your Union wagon and do something useful.

Thanks in advance.

Related Links:

- Urban Planning For Saint John
- Telegraph Journal

Other stuff:

- Back from a trip to New York City
- Officially trained to facilitate usability testing
- Wondering what is going on in Saint John for Canada day?

It was announced today that the new Irving headquarters will be developed on the Long Wharf! I personally am very excited about this, not for the reason it is Irving developing here but the fact someone is developing here!

This will help to complete the Saint John Skyline and help make that view along Harbour Passage that much more enjoyable. I mean currently it is a boring wharf with some fencing around it.

Yes I know all you Irving haters will complain…heck I’m sure the Ivan Court fans will blame Norm somehow Please Ivan don’t get in the way…let’s keep this city growing and moving forward!

Anyway…I see this as a positive for the city!

Related links:

• Thanks to “Urban Plans for Saint John” I stole your image and also check this blog out for another reference.
• CBC Article - I personally enjoy the comments at the bottom
• Sympatico link

First day of summer today and here in Saint John it still feels a little like spring with the cooler temps we often get. Anyway summer is here, kids are out of school, Moosehead has it’s summer promotions on and the BBQ is getting tons of use….ahh summer

So today’s post is about the Reversing Falls here in Saint John New Brunswick. Now for those of you who don’t know where we are, we are located where the Saint John River empties out into the Bay of Fundy (Highest tides in the world).

This weekend Cory, Shawn, Jay and I did the Amazing chase here in Saint John and had a wicked time. We actually came second after loosing by 5 points! If only we stopped to take one or two more pictures! Ah well, next year.

Anyway, Shawn has done a good post to describe how it all went down CHECK IT OUT.

First of all, Yes I am on a running kick these days for blogging. Hopefully I have some other content to post eventually but I am just getting back to this since training for the Ottawa Marathon took over my life.

So Today I ran the Catch the Bug run here in Saint John and this is one of my favorite running events of the summer next to the Hampton 5 miler. This course is a pretty tough one with the fist 5k heading uphill and the last half is a downhill mixed with some gentle rolling hills. I would almost compare this run to the Bluenose 10k.

Check out the course here.

View the results here.

It’s here!!!! That’s right people the running is officially in high gear here in Saint John and it looks like some great events are on tap for the summer/fall running months.

Now that I am done training for and running the Ottawa Marathon I am able to enjoy the season. So here is a list of all upcoming events listed on RUN NB’s website. So get out there and sign up for a 5,10, half or anything, just run people!

Date	Event	Location
June/Juin 2008
Jun 7	River Valley Rave Run / Provincial Championship (5K)	Grand Bay-Wfld, NB
Jun 7	Course Assomption Vie / Assumption Life Run	Dieppe, NB
Jun 8	Catch the Bug	Saint John, NB
Jun 14	10km Chaleur Banque Nationale / Prov Champ. (10K)	Beresford, NB
Jun 15	St. Andrews Father’s Day Road Race	St. Andrews, NB
Jun 15	Do it for Dad	Saint John, NB
Jun 21	Army 10K	CFB Gagetown, NB
July/Juillet 2008
Jul 1	Grand Bay- Westfield 10 Miler	Grand-Bay Westfield , NB
Jul 5	Course George Gallant 10K	Shediac,NB, NB
Jul 6	Miramichi Rock ‘n Run / Prov Championship (21.1K)	Miramichi, NB
Jul 6	249e Demi-marathon de l’Acadie	Tracadie-Sheila, NB
Jul 12	Course à Pied Bon Coeur	Saint-Quentin, NB
Jul 13	TRC Run for Youth	Saint John, NB
Jul 19	Course Clarence Bastarache Run	Bouctouche, NB
Jul 26	10km Rhéal-Haché	St-Isidore, NB
Jul 26	Grand Manan Rotary 1/2 Marathon	Grand Manan, NB
August/Août 2008
Aug 3	Brayon Cours	Edmundston, NB
Aug 3	250e Demi-marathon de l’Acadie	Tracadie-Sheila, NB
Aug 4	Chipman New Brunswick Day !0K Race	Chipman, NB
Aug 8	Tour de Saint John (3 day stage race)	Saint John, NB
Aug 9	Johnson’s International 5-mile Road Race	CALAIS, USA
Aug 16	Fundy Rocks Half Marathon	St Martins, NB
Aug 23	Conquer the Canuck	Crabbe Mountain, NB
Aug 31	Demi-Marathon Saint-François	Saint-Francois, NB
September/Septembre 2008
Sep 6	Race Against the Reds	Fredericton, NB
Sep 7	Hampton 5 Miler / Provincial Championship (8K)	Hampton, NB
Sep 7	251e Demi-marathon de l’Acadie	Tracadie-Sheila, NB
Sep 21	Fall Classic	Fredericton, NB
Sep 28	14th Annual Marathon By The Sea	Saint John, NB
October/Octobre 2008
Oct 4	The Dam Run	Perth-Andover, NB
Oct 5	252e Demi-marathon de l’Acadie	Tracadie-Sheila, NB
Oct 12	Islandview Eagles 5K	Saint John, NB
Oct 18	KV Fields 5K	Quispamsis, NB
Oct 19	Coast Tire KVC Marathon	Quispamsis, NB
November/Novembre 2008
Nov 2	Legs for Literacy / Provincial Championship (42.2K)	Moncton, NB
Nov 2	253e Demi-marathon de l’Acadie	Tracadie-Sheila, NB
December/Décembre 2008
Dec 7	254e Demi-marathon de l’Acadie	Tracadie-Sheila, NB

So To get to Ottawa Maureen and I decided to take 2 days and today we left SJ at 9am and stopped in Grand Falls New Brunswick and then to Rivier-du-loup for an overnight stay. Gotta say this little town is pretty nice, they have one street (LaFontaine) where they have tons of restaurants and shops, but we refrained from spending any money…yet…we promise nothing as LULU is waiting for us in O-Town.

It seems like the french really like to settle around falls as Grand Falls and Riviere-du-loup both have pretty wicked falls.

Anyway, we are off to Ottawa tomorrow. Marathon day is but 3 sleeps away.

Could it be? No? Really? A post? For real?

Well I am on vacation, training has come to a lull and have some time on my hands, so yes this is an official post from the Saint John Blog (Life as I see it)…But please read with caution, it’s been awhile and I am sure my writing has slipped (not that is was good anyway)

Well there is something as I saw it this past weekend as I traveled to Halifax for the 5th annual Bluenose Marathon. Maureen and I both ran the 10k and had a blast while doing it. Although we did not see Tom while there, sorry Tom.

With the Ottawa marathon but 40 some days away I find myself thinking more and more about the play-list I will put on my iPod. Do I start with some slower stuff to control my tempo for the first half and then some real hard core pump me up kind of stuff for the second half? Not sure, but one thing I am sure of is I need some ideas of what to download.

As I reach for my goal at the marathon, I need your help!!!!!! Got a song that really pumps you up or gets you in a good frame of mind for taking you away from reality (like the pain of a marathon)?

Hook me up. Tell me the song, tell me why…fuk give me a few song choices!!!!

I thank each and everyone of you in advance!

PS - So far to start I am thinking of running the first 30mins or so to “Into The Wild O.S.T - Eddie Vedder“

Read More…

ARGH!!!!! That is all I have to say about these “self serve” checkouts at the grocery store. I love them, I think they are convenient and the way the shopping experience is moving.

However! I’m not sure if this is the case or not but are these not more for convenience shopping? As in a basket of goods or a few items…kind of like the the express lane?!?!?!

Read More…

Since my slack ass has not been blogging these days I give you this! A joke my buddy Chris told me some time ago….it’s one of those jokes at the end you are laughing cause it is so stupid…enjoy! Chris this one goes out to you! Oh and to bad if I don’t tell it right, cause I actually suck at telling jokes!

A string walks into a bar and says “gimme a beer”

Bartender says “Sorry we don’t serve strings”

String walks out of the bar and says to his other string friend “good luck getting a drink in there, they don’t serve strings”

So the other string ties himself into a knot and goes in and says “I’ll have a beer and 2 shots of tequila please”

Bartender says “Sorry we don’t serve strings”

My Friend Shawn posted an article about the recent loss of some New Brunswick high school students. I can’t even imagine how the community of Bathurst is feeling after this loss but one Saint John Business man is stepping up to prevent future accidents like the one in Bathurst. Makes me proud to be from Saint John.

Have a look at the article Shawn posted…

With an LNG terminal, pipeline, nuclear power and possibly another refinery, the city is on a roll

Special to The Globe and Mail

January 2, 2008

SAINT JOHN — When Halifax-based Floating Pipeline Co. Inc., which makes modules for transporting compressed natural gas, began operations in the summer of 2006, it decided to establish its plant in Saint John, largely because it was able to secure a manufacturing plant in the city’s port.