Videos

VIDEO REVIEW: Spinal Tap – “B*tch School” (1992 CD single)

SPINAL TAP – “Bitch School” (1992 MCA CD single)

From the album Break Like the Wind

 

 

We Support #KennerandIvy – VIDEO

No music today, but it’s for a good reason.

Kenner is a friend of the family. Kenner is an exceptionally bright young man, and very well spoken too. It’s not easy though. Kenner has autism, and his service dog Ivy has completely changed his world from night to day. A Human Rights Tribunal is currently deciding whether Kenner should be allowed to have his service dog in school. I know, right? If you have ever been around a service dog, you know they are unobtrusive, however the Waterloo Region Catholic District School Board has decided that Ivy is a “distraction”.  They have ignored the professional opinions of Kenner’s doctors and of the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides. So far, Kenner’s family has been fighting for three years.

Three years for the basic right to have his service dog with him in school.  Three years.

You can read all about Kenner and Ivy here, and here, and here, and just about everywhere else in the news.

A good samaritan named Jolene has taken Kenner’s plight to heart and has organized three rallies.  The last one was on June 19 2017.  The school board was assailed by cheers, honking horns, and best of all, a motorcycle “slow race”.  It turns out that Kenner has support everywhere.  We even saw people come from Kalamazoo, Michigan.  Most exciting were the bikers from several clubs in the region.  I saw Halton, Wellington, and a local club too.  We were treated to some very loud bikes and the guys were just awesome.  The kids loved the motorcycles, and Kenner got to sit on one.

I’m posting this video in support of Kenner, while the Tribunal takes its time making this decision.

#572: VIDEO – A Weekend at the Lake

GETTING MORE TALE #572: A Weekend at the Lake

A new summer, and new tech! My beloved BlackBerry Z10, bought over four years ago in early 2013, has bitten the dust.  That Blackberry was responsible for most of my Sausagefest and Mike and Aaron Go to Toronto videos, not to mention the hundreds of photos it provided for this site.  In that time, my BlackBerry required no service at all.  So to all those who told me not to buy a CrackBerry:

My new weapon is a Samsung (not the kind that explodes) and so far I’m very pleased with it.  This past weekend I had a chance to give its camera and video abilities a test run.  Needless to say the quality of both exceeds my four year old phone.  I was so happy with the quality that I decided to edit together a little video and post it for you.  I’ve done this for a few good reasons:

  1. It’s another excuse to showcase the excellent music of Stealth, featuring Kathryn Ladano and Richard Burrows.
  2. I have a chance to give my Samsung a dry run before using it to create the 2017 Sausagefest video in July!
  3. This video ties in nicely with Getting More Tale #567:  Creatures of the Night.  I wanted to give you a feeling for what it actually sounds like at the lake, and I captured a bit of a nice rain storm.  In this video you’ll get that, some nice crashing waves, and a raging river at near-flood levels.  In fact the water level at our location on Lake Huron has returned to its 1980s level.  Old-timers there always said the water levels rise and fall over decades-long cycles.

Please enjoy some of the music of Stealth, and the sounds of pure nature.  Look for a cameo by my dad, up to no good prob’ly.  Leave your comments below:  What do you think LeBrain’s dad is up to this time?

 

#524: Hockey Night in Canada (Video – thanks to Geoff from 1001AlbumsIn10Years)

In Getting More Tale #521, we discussed the pros and cons of DVD recorders, a now-outdated technology. In short the cons were the price, but the pros were the ability to keep a television recording virtually forever.  DVD recorders were meant to replace VCRs.  A VCR and a decent quality tape could enable you to keep a recording for a couple decades, at least.

I lamented that one recording that we lost on our old PVR was a vintage re-run of Hockey Night in Canada, May 8, 1994.  My wife, Mrs. LeBrain, had the honour of meeting Don Cherry that night, and got to be on Canada’s most popular television show.  Periodically, Leafs TV would re-run the old games, and we recorded it the last time it was on. However this was lost when the PVR bit the dust.

If only we had a working VCR…

Well, as it turns out, Geoff from 1001AlbumsIn10Years has a working VCR.  Not only that, but he also possesses an original recording of that night’s hockey game from over 22 years ago!  He dug it out, and sent the below video to me.

That’s Jen with her Dougie Gilmore sign, and Canada’s national treasure Don Cherry.

The story goes, Jen’s dad won a radio contest to see the Maple Leafs wherever the next round of the playoffs were being held.  That happened to be San Jose, California.  This happened to fall on Mother’s Day.  Jen’s dad intended to take her mom on a nice vacation.  This however was not to be, not after a young crying Jennifer bellowed “But mom doesn’t even LIKE hockey!”  It was true, and Jen got to go with her dad.

Thanks Geoff — you have no idea how much this video means to us!

Mike + Jen

 

VIDEO REVIEW: Crystal Pepsi (2016)

CRYSTAL PEPSI

NEW RELEASE

 

CRYSTAL PEPSI – 2016 limited edition 20 oz bottles

“The soft drink is reformulated with caffeine and high fructose corn syrup, and will be sold for eight weeks.” – Wikipedia

4/5 stars

 

#454: VIDEO – Mike and Aaron Go to Toronto Again…Again!
IMG_20151128_113052

“Are you filming right now?”

GETTING MORE TALE #454: Mike and Aaron Go to Toronto Again…Again! The Video!

Thanks to Aaron for the musical soundtrack, and thanks to the stores for the many music discs!

 

Full detailed purchases can be found here, and here.

#450: Beat Up in a Mascot Suit [VIDEO]

RECORD STORE TALES #450: Beat Up in a Mascot Suit

When I first saw this thing sitting in the Beat Goes On back room, I thought it was one of the most hilarious sights I’d ever be likely to find. For shits and giggles, I offered to wear it one Saturday afternoon, and stand on the sidewalk waving to cars. I quickly changed my mind when one of our staff attempted to dissuade me, by telling her friends to kick my CD-suited-ass. Upper management may have lost respect for me when I backed out, but I didn’t see any of them waving at cars either.

You have no defence inside the suit. Your hands and arms are limited to movement at the wrists, and you lose all peripheral vision. A gang of highschool aged Korn fans would have made short work of me!

One slow evening, I decided to take a break and use the time constructively. I wanted to try on that suit! I went into the back room while leaving Dandy in charge of the register. In the back, working a night shift on our web sales, was Wiseman, who offered to take some pictures and video of the suit.

This is what happened. The events were not staged. I never wore it again!

 

Enjoy.