People - Remembrance Day 2009

Usually I go to Remembrance Day ceremonies down in Tribune/Oungre.  It is what I have done since I was a child, and there is still something special about the support for the veterans that comes out of rural Saskatchewan.  However because of family commitments this year I had to stay in Regina for November 11th, so I, and my camera, attended Remembrance Day at the Cenotaph in Victoria Park.  I was treated to an amazing day weather-wise and the amazing weather brought out an amazing number of people.  I know that it is hard to find someone in Saskatchewan who does not support the veterans or the troops in general, but I was overwhelmed by the thousands of people who attended the ceremonies here.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from that day.

Winter Fun!

I don't think there are a whole lot of habitable places that have more winter than Saskatchewan. Winter usually starts here in early November and will continue until sometime in March. But that abundance of winter also means an abundance of winter fun. In the Regina area we have excellent tobogganing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and while not mountain skiing, decent downhill when you consider we are in the middle of the prairies. If you like winter sports you can't beat it!

Rick

Clear Dark Skies

Regina is the sunniest capital in Canada and one of the sunniest habitable places on the planet. This leads to amazing summers, and clear, cold winters. But one of the upsides of all of this is clear, dark skies... it is an astronomers dream. A perfect example of this is the recent opportunity to photograph a lunar eclipse.

Small Dead Animals

No I am not talking about road kill pizza...I am talking about http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/.

I myself don't do politics but smalldeadanimals is the personal soapbox of Kate McMillan of Delisle...to this lady everyone and everything is fair game! Let's just say she has upset the political apple cart more than a few times.

Rick

John Mellencamp with Tom Cochrane and Red Rider - Saskatoon

I don't get to many concerts, but this was a huge "don't miss" for me. I am a huge Mellencamp fan, but more importantly I was a huge Red Rider fan and am still a Tom Cochrane fan.

The boys from Red Rider may have hit their peak in the 80's, but they haven't lost any polish. Kenny Greer is still one of the best guitarists in the industry, from his haunting petal steel on "Lunatic Fringe" and "Human Race" to his blistering leads on "Big League" and "Life is a Highway" he proved he can still pick 'em with the best. Tom Cochrane can still belt 'em out, or he can make you hurt with his soft vocals on songs like the acoustic version of "Avenue A". The one encore was not enough for me, and judging by the crowd they would have been happy to let them play all night.

But that was a little side show warm-up. For most of the largely middle-aged crowd little Johnny Cougar was the reason we showed up. Hate the man for his politics, hate the man for being a corporate sellout, hate the man for accepting the recognition of an establishment he has fought for his entire career, hate him for his stance on racism, but it is really hard to hate him for his music.

From the time he kicked off with "Pink Houses" it was clear that the 56 year old Mellencamp still has the fervour and drive he had when he was Little Johnny Cougar over 35 years ago! The first half-hour was a parade of hits...Paper In Fire, I'm Not Running Anymore, Lonely Old Night and Check It Out. It was a good half hour before we heard Mr. Mellencamp speak a word. This is not a man to avoid a confrontation. After a story about why Saskatoon is important to him and his wife, virtually every lull was filled with venom and vitriol for the establishment. From Bush to racism, to the establishment in general, all were targets and it was pretty clear the Saskatchewan crowd empathized with his liberal leanings of this small town boy from Indiana. The crowd was then treated to some new material from a forthcoming album the best of which was the controversial Jena about the Jena 6's trials. Johnny blasted out another string of hits and punctuated with R.O.C.K. in the USA, Jack and Diane; in the middle of which he had the audience call someone they care for and remind them that "Life goes on...long after the thrill of living is gone"; and an encore of a rocked out 10 minute version of The Authority Song,

With a song repetoire full of hits he was bound to miss someone's favorites. Some notable ommisions were Dance Naked and Hurts so Good, and my personal favorite Key West Intermezzo, but if we all got what we wanted John and the band would have been out there all night.

Definitely 5 wheat sheaves!

Rick

Updated:
Star Phoenix review at Mellencamp's site, or on canada.com

The best breakfast in the world!

There are a million excellent but cheap breakfast places in Saskatchewan. Every small town has a cafe where you can buy breakfast for under $4.00. Those of us who have migrated to the city aren't left out either.

Here in Regina we have a good selection to choose from. From little known breakfast favorites like Western Pizza on Cornwall, to the Legion (also on Cornwall), to the tried and trues like the Hideaway and Nicky's Cafe.

My personal favorite is the breakfast pita wrap at Opa's at the Cornwall Centre. Rick and his staff cook up the most amazing two egg omelete stuffed with feta cheese, tomatos, onions and bacon bits (jalapenos available as well) wrapped in a flatbread. It is to die for.