"Elmo wants to play"

Great gift for your friends who are parents

If you really wanted to piss of some of your friends who have children. This latest Elmo toy would certainly do it. I keep watching this video and I am fascinated by this latest offering for children( i love the dogs reaction). This latest model seems to have been designed using the latest updates in robotics for kids toys. Personally, I find this toy a bit disturbing and really annoying (don't worry Mo or Paulus. JB and I won't purchase this for your offspring. we are not that mean) I guess if you are three years old, the age that Elmo is supposed to be in real life, you would find it appealing? I remember the "tickle me elmo" buying frenzy from the 1990's when parents were fighting tooth and nail for that doll. I remember there was controversy after the release of the doll with parents groups that misheard one of Elmo's phrases. His "Hug Elmo" phrase was misunderstood by many as "F--k Elmo". The voicing was revised so that the phrase sounded clearer and unmistakable.

On another note. It's Turkey Time!!! This weekend is Thanksgiving weekend. Not to be mistaken for American Thanksgiving which is in November and celebrates the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock and sitting down to a nice dinner with the Native North American Indians before setting out to spend hundreds of years of cleansing the land of their culture and tribes. JB and I having both had extremely stressful months at work, actually forgot it was Thanksgiving coming up. We didn't really make any plans for dinner with what family we have in the vicinity. I usually make a turkey with all the fixin's and I enjoy doing it but this year I said to JB that I just felt like going away, doing nothing but relaxing and playing golf. Out of some bizarre need not to buck tradition, I will probably make a small turkey with fixins and gravy on Saturday as I really can't not make something Thanksgiving related for fear the "Thanksgiving gods" will strike me down for abandoning family tradition. I feel we should have some sort of turkey dinner plus I don't have to worry that my chowhound brother doesn't have food for the weekend as JB and I are gone Sunday and Monday.


We have decided to go to Niagara region and visit some wineries and play golf at the Whirpool Golf Course, near Niagara Falls and at the Niagara on the Lake golf course, the oldest golf course in North America. Niagara on the Lake is a lovely town, I have written previous blogs about it. I will be hitting the Niagara Home Bakery for Empire biscuits! Unfortunately, as we decided to book our weekend only two days ago, there were no rooms to be found in Niagara on the Lake. The only available rooms we could find were in Niagara Falls. JB much prefers Niagara on the Lake as do I but it is only a short lovely scenic drive along the Niagara river between the two towns. Niagara falls has become somewhat "Disney-fied" but I find Niagara Falls fascinating. It has evolved into this giant playland for kids and adults. The adults get two casinos and plenty of bars and clubs and the kids have Clifton Hill where there are wax museums, arcades etc. It has very much changed since my visits there as a child. Any time relatives came over from Scotland we had to make the trek to Niagara Falls as they all had to see this "wonder of nature". With the recent additions of the casinos and the increase in tourists, the actual town of Niagara Falls would be unrecognisable to anyone who has not been there in the last 15 to 20 years. There are all the typical touristy restaurants such as Hard Rock Cafe, TGIF's etc. If you ignore all of the tourist crap and just stand by those falls and watch the power of nature it really is awe inspiring and the area on the Canadian side where the Canadian portion of the falls are located still looks the same as it did 50 years ago. The Niagara Parks Commission has done a great job of keeping the parklands around the falls pristine and the ultimate place for photo ops. And yes, to end the debate, the Canadian falls are much larger, nicer and better than the American falls.

“It is with roses and locomotives (not to mention acrobats Spring electricity Coney Island the 4th of July the eyes of mice and Niagara Falls) that my ''poems'' are competing.” e.e. cummings