Canada Day Flashback: Arkells In Halifax

Arkells are one of my favourite Canadian bands. I re-watched this little video of myself today at Halifax's Canada Day celebrations and thought I would share it.

The Glorious Sons and Arkells were killer. In fact, Glorious Son's "Heavy" is my go to pump-up, gym song right now. Check it out!

Until then, I'm loving the big "kid on Christmas morning" smile on my face in this clip.

Life and Lou

I often start my blogs off with a comment about how crazy life has been and an explanation about why I have been too busy too blog. This blog is no different. Since leaving the radio game and moving back home to the Annapolis Valley things have been different, busy and very adult. I know that is a weird way to explain it but we have a new responsibility that is making us feel extremely accountable for my time, a puppy. I have discussed getting a puppy in previous blogs, when the puppies were born before we actually took custody of our little guy.

Now our lives are all about Lou.

Seriously. Lou is ruling all right now at 5 Lodge. Let me explain…

Lou looking pretty annoyed after his first bath.

Growing up my family always had a dog, always. Living on a big farm it was never a problem, it was natural to have a puppy that overtime transitioned into a dog that could be left alone and find things to do all day.

The last time I blogged about the puppies we had not determined which one we would pick. I am happy to announce we have a 9-week-old addition to the family who is relatively lazy male that is about 99% cocoa chocolate lab in the sun. He is pretty much black but it has been debated off and on since we brought him home, I think he is just a very dark brown. To celebrate his 9-week birthday I bathed him for the first time and he is not very happy about it. He is growing so fast, I wish we could freeze him in time for a little while.

Life has changed in the week and a half since we brought Lou home. We have scheduled every last minute outside of our house so that Lou will not be alone, since he came home he has only been left home alone for about an hour total. He was not a fan. We have had to settle in at night a lot earlier, Lou wakes up rather early for us and sleep levels have been rather low. Being completely honest, Lou sleeps on the bed. I said it would never happen, but he really does not like to be alone on his mat or in his crate in the dark.

Lou hates the car. Soon he will be too big to hold, to carry or to even sit on my lap. If is mother is a good indicator of his future behavior than it won’t matter how big he gets, he will still try to be a lap dog.

Lou has definitely been a learning experience and it is really about time that I develop a backbone. Between the three of us we have all given in to Lou a lot. He has been incredibly easy to teach to do his business outside, now we have to teach him how to be alone. I think it is going to be much tougher. Working at the restaurant I have been home all day with him and given up my gym time and the boys have been staying at home with in the evenings while I have been at work.

This brings me to another big piece of news, proving everything in life really does happen all at once. I have accepted a 9-5 job in an industry I never thought I would work in, banking. I will be taking on a marketing role with a bank in the Annapolis Valley (I will give more details after I actually get rolling with the job on Monday) starting Monday. As I was offered this unique opportunity to develop my marketing skills I was also offered another opportunity in the industry I am actually trained in, radio. I do not want to give out too many specifics because that role has not been advertised yet, but turning it down was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make.

Before moving to the Kootenays the exact same thing happened to me, I was offered a Promotions Director gig at a Calgary station and the Midday Host/Promotions Coordinator position (that I accepted) for Vista Radio Kootenays. I maintain that I made the right call there, moving to BC and taking on the roles that I filled at the station was a big challenge for me; I hope I will learn as much with this new position I am taking on here in the Annapolis Valley.

I am very sad about my continued temporary hiatus from the radio world, but I think this is the best decision for the time being.

Now to wean Lou off of all the daytime attention he has been receiving. Right now he is pretty annoyed with me for bathing him so he has cut me off, lets see how long it lasts!

One last thing, did I mention how fast he is growing?

Sometimes I write my blogs to get something off my chest or to practice writing creatively or objectively if I have been silent for a little while. This blog is simply a reminder to future Kate about this weird phase of life, when everything seemed to be inconveniently coming together after a shit storm of craziness. Sorry for the language there, but I could not think of a better way to describe the last few months.

This is a reminder that at a time when everything was swirling and twirling around in life (the way it does for 25 year olds) there was a 9 week old little puppy around who wanted nothing more than to cuddle up all day and sleep on your feet to keep you in one place for a little while. Someday Lou will not want to slow me down, unfortunately I fear that the day is coming soon that will have me struggling to keep up with him. I saw hints of this today as I fought to keep him in the bathtub. This is a reminder of his needy/toddler days when it was a challenge for Lou to stay awake to play sometimes because his little puppy eyes needed to nap.

Lou has his very own #Olaf! He loves him so much he ripped his head off. #worthmeltingfor #puppylove #puppy #dog #dogsofinstagram #disney #labrador

A video posted by Kate Bruce (@kategbruce) on Dec 12, 2014 at 7:59am PST

Drake Hosts and Performs on SNL this Saturday Night!

Toronto’s Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) will host and be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this Degrassi: The Next Generation acting roots… Yes, we Canadians will remember that before Drake was on the scene rapping he was put through the perils of life at Degrassi from around 2001 to 2009, he was in 138 episodes as Jimmy Brooks.

weekend. As a huge SNL fan I am always apprehensive when acts double up, but this little video of Drake takes us Canadians back to his

Sometimes I forget about Drake’s time on Degrassi, to be honest with you I do it willfully. I was not allowed to watch the original groundbreaking series when it was in its rerun phase on CBC, meaning I tried to watch it whenever I could just to defy authority; no one could tell Young Kate what to do with her preteen pre-evening time. We only had two channels and it would always be between CBC’s old reruns and whatever was on Oprah that day; both were equally as scarring some days to my young psyche (but, I liked it). I never really did get into the revamp of Degrassi, but my roommate in university forced me into watching them… she loved the old and the new. So, let’s just say I have had my fill of Degrassi.

Back to the point, this is what happens when I write blogs late in the day at my desk. Drake will be hosting Saturday Night Live this Saturday Night (January 18^th)!

Viral Vid: Seattle Seahawk's Derrick Coleman's 'Trust Your Power'

Holy crap!

Could I be anymore excited for Sunday’s NFC title game featuring the San Francisco 49ers and the team that will win the Superbowl this year, the Seattle Seahawks?

I don’t think so.

This Duracell commercial is just one of the many contributing factors pumping me up for the big day.

It quickly tells the story of Seahawk’s fullback Derrick Coleman and his quest to play in the NFL. Coleman is the first offensive player in the National Football League’s history to be legally deaf. Coleman has had virtually completely deaf since age three and uses hearing aids as part of his daily life.

For a great full look atDerrick Coleman’s story click here, FOX Sport’s Ross Jones wrote a great articleabout Coleman last week.

I hope you are as pumped as I am! I can’t wait to see everyone on February 2ndat the Selkirk Saints fundraiser Superbowl Party at the Element!

Dorothy Mantooth Is Not A Saint

I am a huge fan of the movie 'Anchorman' and I love this great clip from Funny or Die, it reminds me of watching my grandparent's favourite television court programs with them during the afternoons of my childhood. Okay, the reality of the situation is that watching 'People's Court' was  unbearable; I would change the channel every-time they left the room (even if it was only for a minute, no way in hell was I watching 'People's Court' and all those horrible Fox Rochester commercials).


Watching Champ Kind and Dorothy Mantooth go at it on the 'People's Court' is definitely worth the watch though, its the type of case my grandparents would have described as vulgar and inappropriate (the best kid). Will Champ learn a lesson about taking a rival broadcaster (Wes Mantooth)'s mother out for a fine seafood and then never calling her again? Find out by checking out this clip from Funny or Die!

If you haven't seen 'Anchorman 2' yet in theatres get out and see it today! Maybe go for a nice seafood dinner first? Make it a whole night!

The People's Court: Champ Kind vs. Dorothy Mantooth from Funny Or Die

 

Kate's Confessions: Being Serenaded

I'm not going to lie; I am not very experienced romantically. I have had one serious boyfriend in my 24 years and I know that regardless of how long we do this dating dance I will never be serenaded by my less than musically inclined boyfriend. 

That is why I love today's viral video, of a couple of random Joe-blow guys wandering around Ontario universities serenading every woman in sight. They walk in on lectures, everything... even female professors. 

Now, I am not sure this would be something I like to happen to me in real life, I imagine it would be pretty awkward having someone stare into your soul and sing to you, but if anyone ever wants to give it ago you know where to find me every day between 10am and 2pm.

Check out the video for yourself!

http://www.jokeroo.com/videos/serenading-university-girls-with-a-guitar-and-flowers.html#

I guess this runs in my family, my father has had my mother serenaded before on Valentine’s Day (it is also a day off their anniversary), helping out local fundraisers raise money and she absolutely hated it. I want your stories, what do you think? kate@mountainfm.net

Getting Goosebumps Nails

I am not a very girly girl. I rarely paint my finger nails. But this vine video has inspired me to ‘Goosebumps’ my nails this Halloween. I am thinking of going with pink nails and blue ooze off the top (inspired by one of my favourite Goosebumps books). I love it!

#TuneTuesday: August 27, 2013

Unfortunately we will never share #MusicMonday because I work Tuesday to Saturday. So I will be hooking you up with my favorite music cuts on what I am calling #TuneTuesday. I would love it if you called it that too, lets make it a thing)

I am going to always try to pick one break out hit, a big band that everyone has heard from before and then another song I love from a Canadian band that I think deserves a shout out and attention for their incredible work. This week we have tunes form a band that hopes their song won’t go mainstream and may complain about playing it live if it does and another great collaboration from two amazing Maritimers.

1. MGMT- Your Life Is a Lie

This video really has it all. Seriously, I have watched it about a dozen times and all of the individual elements still are blowing my mind. I must say the talking dolphin, baby in the sky with a balloon and the trophy wife are my favourite parts. This video will mess with your mind a little bit; especially the old man eating a banana on beat towards the end, why is a simple banana is making him so happy? Most people in the video seem really happy that their life is a lie, maybe their lives are not lies and they are just seriously enjoying telling all of us that our lives are lies (light bulb moment). This is a pretty cool video (in my opinion), even though it is the type of video that makes you wonder what drugs the director was on when it was strung together. The song is pretty catchy too; I hummed it all day after my first viewing. Hopefully it only gets mildly popular so that MGMT can still enjoy it themselves… being mainstream is so not cool, right?

2. David Myles- How’d I Ever Think I Loved You

I have been waiting on this one; I wasn’t sure it really fits our rock format but I think it has stood the test of time and deserves a mention. Watch it for David Myles smooth dance moves alone. ‘How’d I Ever Think I Loved You’ is so catchy; David Myles and Classified make a great team. I saw them perform at an ECMA after party this spring and they are brilliant live too. This video will take you back to your first crush in grade school, it is so fun. David Myles reminds me of that substitute teacher you would have whenever your teacher was sick, the type of sub you would totally mess with (like switching instruments in band class) you know the type of sub that tries to teach a class instead of showing the assigned movie. His disguises through the video are priceless as well. Not only is this a great video, I think it is a great breakup song for those who have parted on bad terms. It is not sad and depressing, it is addictive to the ears and I am sure you will find yourself singing it later today!

The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs)

I get it; Miley resents her Hannah Montana roots. She really wants to separate herself from the role that really defined the early part of her career, the role that made her a household name and filled her bank account with more money than the average person makes in their entire lifetime. I can understand that, truly you when you're her age it is important to figure out who you are for yourself. With that being said her performance on the VMAs was disturbing, as I have stated previously I actually really like her song 'We Can't Stop' and I am really disappointed with the way she is portraying a song that is a fun summer song. MTV even had to bleep her. The more Miley acts like this crazy bimbo that needs to prove she's an adult that can do grown-up things, the more I want Hannah Montana back. 

I love the crowd shot, between astonished celebrities and celebrities in awe of what is happening there is a shot of Drake and he looks so embarrassed to be in a room where these shenanigans are going on…

While we are on the topic of things I don't like, I would like to mention the new 'Moon Man' (the VMA trophy), and I really do not like the redesigned trophy. It is terrifying! 

Here are the clips you need to see from the 2013 VMAs:

All that Miley action I previously mentioned, including a performance by Robin Thicke. 

The rumours earlier this week were true, NSYNC made an appearence.

And that Daft Punk moment that was so important they had to cancel on Stephen Colbert, well here that is.

Get More: 2013 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music

And then Katy Perry's impressive VMA finale performance.