Canada's Pride or Shame?

I'll bet you thought this post would be about the Olympics or Celine Dion or Howie Mandel or something. Despite the fact that Mrs. Rantwick and I are rabid Olympic watchers who despise all music and/or comedy, that is not the case.

You know those familiar radio jingles used to adverstise this or that business? In Canada there is a nation-wide chain of stores called Fabricland. I must admit that I don't know if the jingle is the same out west, but I'm guessing that it is.

Click the link below to hear this outrageous piece of marketing artistry. There is a period of elevator-type music meant for radio commercial voice-overs, but then they hit you with it, like, WHAM!

http://www.fabricland.ca/Fabricland-Jingle.mp3

I don't know if other Canadians share the same malady, but any time a trip to the fabric store comes up, Mrs. Rantwick, myself, one of our two kids or even all four of us may burst into this bizarre 6 syllable song. It's over before we even realize we did it. And we do do it, almost without exception. It's sick. How do you resist something you don't know is coming and is over before you can stop? It is stuck in our heads largely because it is so lame, yet we repeat it in all its lameness almost against our will. It is maddening.

I resent this jingle for wielding this strange power over me and my family. I must ask my fellow Canadians: are we just freaks, alone in our illness, or does it happen to you too? Answer me! I must know!

Yer-er Pal, Yer-er Pal!

R A N T W I C K

Ennis, Texas: Shame On You

Early reports seem to indicate that our man ChipSeal AKA Ennis the Menace has lost his first court case. It would seem that if you are slow, you lose. Wait a sec, you have to be on a bicycle. Then you lose. Otherwise you're good.

I wanted to write something clever and angry, but all I've got is a kind of sullen disappointment going on. Way to go, Ennis Texas. Lookin' good.

Hey ChipSeal: Chin Up, Man. We know you were in the right. Which is why this sucks.

R A N T W I C K

Clergy Spouses Pay Me A Visit

Today is "Family Day" in Ontario Canada and President's Day in the US. As such, I'm not even going to try to do a good post and go do something fun with my family instead. I'm thinking some sliding followed by a movie.

Before I go, I just wanted to comment on something I find cool. Like many bloggers, I keep web stats and can see what pages have linked to mine. A few days ago, I noticed a few visits coming in from a site called pastorswivesonline.com. Pastors wives? Turns out somebody in their forum had linked to my page on Canadian Milk Bags. It made me curious. Somebody named Shash had left a nice comment on that post and I followed her profile link to find that sure enough, Shash was a Pastor's Wife with a nice blog of her own.

The fact that my blog in all its random mostly cycling related oddness could reach a group comprised of Pastors Wives makes me happy somehow. Although my writing has never been raunchy or expletive-ridden, it was a nice reminder not to sink into that kind of low discourse. Maybe there's hope for me yet.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K