Pirates of the Ottawa River

 

SCTV and Me

At the moment I write this, Amazon Prime is streaming all six seasons of SCTV, AKA Second City Television, the sketch comedy show that arose from Toronto's Second City comedy troupe. Like many others, I was a fan during the series' original run; indeed, we moved to Alberta just in time for the third season, which was filmed in Edmonton at the old Allard studios on 51st avenue and even on location in Leduc, where we lived at the time. 

Because you never know how long any given show will be available these days, I immediately started watching SCTV on Prime from the beginning to try to capture all the episodes I missed back in the 70s and 80s and to revisit any I remembered. It turns out that out of the entire first and second seasons--as far as I've gotten--I remember only the fifth and 26th episodes of the first season, so much of the comedy is new to me thus far--quite a delight. 

The show is as silly as I remember, but also much sharper, with social commentary, double entendres, and pop culture references that went over my head as an adolescent. 

My favourite sketch from the first season is "Crossword" from episode four. I was astounded when the opening credits included Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir John Gielgud, two incredibly gifted and respected British stars of stage and screen. I figured this was a gag--including these legends alongside Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, Joe Flaherty, and Harold Ramis--virtually unknown, comparatively, especially in the mid-1970s. But sure enough, the two knights show up in a sketch called, "Crosswords," in which they're cast in a Harold Pinter play and exchange dry, mundane dialogue about which landmarks they should visit and how to solve the crossword clues. It's a strange skit, capturing the weird feeling of Pinter plays perfectly, and the two gentlemen are hilarious in the most deadpan manner possible. I'd love to know what circumstances made this bit of television history possible. 

It's also neat to see the loose narrative of the fictional SCTV evolve during the first two seasons; the skits are held together with the various goings-on at the station itself, and it amuses me to no end that Harold Ramis' departure as Moe Green, station manager, is covered by a kidnapping; the station is too cheap to pay the $2000 ransom, and Moe Green is never seen again on the show. Grim! 

As with any sketch show, some bits are funnier than others, but the actors really give every scene their all, and the cheap production values bring their own charm, putting the show's success almost entirely in the hands of the writers and comedians. 

I already remember why I loved this show, and it's a real treat to finally see the many episodes I missed. Looking forward to seasons three to six! 

57 Trips around the Sun

Here's a photo of me in Ottawa at the House of Commons (in the PM's chair) at age 18. 

I asked Gemini to age that version of me up to 57. 

The real me, a few minutes ago. Alas, Gemini was too optimistic. 

Memory Wall

I picked up this wall-hanger thing for sixteen bucks and used it to display about 75% of my collection of buttons and pins dating from the 1970s to the 2020s. This saves a little bit of closet space and, more importantly, puts the nostalgia out where I can see it.
 

War of the Worlds: Canadian Front

 

Fragile Memories

I accidentally broke my G&G IX commemorative glass about a week and a half ago. Alas and alack! Nothing is forever. 
 

Eggloo

 

Rubik's Cube Over Toronto

Based on Jeff's comment yesterday, I thought prompting for a Rubik's cube might give me a Borg cube, but alas. 
 

Freedom Convoy (with apologies to C.W. McCall)

(Ah, breaker one-nine this here’s the Freedom Truck
You gotta copy on me, Flu Trux Klan, c’mon?
Ah yeah 10-40, Flu Trux Klan, fer sure, fer shure
By golly it’s clean clear to Lib Town, c’mon

Yeah, that’s a big 10-4 there, Flu Klan
Yeah, we’ll definitely get the snowflakes, good buddy
Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a Freedom Convoy)

Was the height of the ‘cron in February
In a Kenworth haulin’ flags
We’ll fly ‘em upside-down in Ottawa town
Our faces free of rags
We represent all the diff’rent races
Yeah, every shade of white
We’re gonna prove that COVID’s fake
By offending everyone in sight

‘Cause we got a Freedom Convoy
Whether or not it makes sense
Yeah we got a Freedom Convoy
And don’t you dare call us dense
We got a Freedom Convoy
Ain’t logic gonna get in our way
Yeah, we’re gonna roll this convoy
Until the Judgement Day
Convoyyyyy 

(Ah, breaker, Flu Trux Klan, this here’s the Truck)
(Hey, you wanna hide those swastikas?)
(Yeah, 10-4, the Fake News is makin’ us look bad)
(Better dance on some war memorials to distract ‘em)

Before long the locals were gettin’ riled
With us hollerin’ and honkin’ all night
But with the police on our side we had nothin’ to hide
We could park anywhere without a care
And piss on everything and everyone in sight

We’ll vandalize that Terry Fox
Ignore the statue’s silence
‘Cause we all know cancer patients don’t rely on science

Oh, we got a Freedom Convoy
Honkin’ through the night
Yeah, we got a Freedom Convoy
But nobody gets our plight
Support the Freedom Convoy
Ain’t nothin’ gonna get in our way
We got money from GoFundMe
And big donors from the USA

Convoy! (Ah, what’s that, Flu Klan? GoFundMe dropped us?)

Convoy! (One of our leaders wants to shoot anyone wearing masks?)

(Mercy Sakes, this is getting a little out of hand)

(Can I go home now?)

Convoy….

Margaret Ferguson

Here's Margaret Furguson (later Margaret Leask), my maternal great-grandmother, circa 1882. The legend at the bottom names the photographer and location (Ontario). Dig that crazy...end table? Whatever it is she's leaning on, I want one. 

Girl on Memorial

Photograph, 1987

Unhappier Accidents

Here's another collection of photos that went wrong. Poor lighting, bad focus, bad composition, underexposed, overexposed...how many photographic sins can you spot?