Interesting spelling

This is a picture of a label on a shelf containing various kinds of medical equipment in the emergency room at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids).

All I could think when I read it was "I've seen it spelled Catherine, Katherine, Kathryn, but never quite like this." I guess it's one of those new, trendy ways of spelling names. If we ever have a third baby, this name might be in the running.

Then again...

My last blog post talked about how progressive I thought New Brunswick must be. I mean Moncton has a street named after a drag queen! But then again, I have also seen evidence that in some areas of NB, the French community (particularly the children) are treated unfairly. For example, have a look at these signs at  the McDonald's in Edmunston, NB:

So English kids are allowed to play in the play area until they are 12, but French kids can only play up to age 10? What's up, McDonald's? Something against French pre-teens? If I was a francophone parent in Edmundston, I would be protesting!

Very progressive

Here's a picture I took way back in December (2009), through a dirty car windshield, in Moncton, New Brunswick.

The street name on the bottom of the sign is Rue Paul St. Wow. A town in New Brunswick naming a street after a drag queen! People might assume that NB is pretty conservative, but I think that's a sign that NB is a very welcoming place. Between being the only "officially" bilingual province in Canada and this street name, NB is probably the most liberal place in the country.

Closure

I bank with President's Choice Financial, a retail bank operated by CIBC. Every time I use the bank machine, I get nervous because I'm afraid they are trying to get rid of me. Trying to suggest that I take my business elsewhere. If you bank with PC, do you feel the same way, whenever you see this at the end of your transaction?

"Your transaction is complete. Would you like to continue banking?"

I'm always worried that if I select "No" to indicate that I am finished banking for now, they will take it to mean "No, I am finished banking forever. Go ahead and close my account." Is that being overly paranoid?

Vague

If you are in Canada, who do you use for cable TV? If you use Rogers, have you been able to access their on-demand channel? I have had a hard time with it beacuase when you go to channel 100, it just says:

"Press A Key for On Demand". Sounds like you can select any old key. But I have tried pressing almost every key on the remote:

and it's not working. Any advice?

Thanks for helping me raise $1,000 at Lloyd's Laugh Marathon!

Hi to everyone who helped to make last night's Lloyd's Laugh Marathon comedy fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society a great success!



Thanks so much to all of you for everything you did to help, including buying tickets, buying raffle tickets and of course, laughing! I hope you all agree that it was a great show with some amazing comedians. I know the performers all told me that they had a great time, so I hope the audience all felt the same way.



For me, it was a fantastic night because not only did I get to perform on a show with some of my favourite comics, but I also added $1,000 to my fundraising total, including ticket sales, raffle/50-50 proceeds, and donations. I can't thank you all enough for helping to make that happen. I am now at approximately 80% of my goal of raising at least $3,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada's Team in Training and I'm excited about bringing in the next 20% between now and my half-marathon in Ottawa on May 30. You can follow my progress at http://TinyURL.com/RunLloyd. 
There are a few people and organizations I need to single out to thank for their support:

• The comics: if you are looking for more info about any of the hilarious performers from last night, here are their websites:
• Tony Krolo (http://www.tonykrolo.com/),
• Andrew Johnston (http://www.funnybusiness.ca/roster.php?id=140 or http://www.myspace.com/notandrewjohnston),
• Boyd Banks (on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/louiseandboyd  and on IMDB at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052103/),
• Allyson Smith (http://www.asmithcomedy.com/, )
• Riz (http://www.theriz.biz/  or http://www.cbc.ca/laughoutloud/),
• Brian Lazanik (http://www.brianlazanik.com/)
• The Gladstone Hotel for donating the space last night and for providing such great service. Coolest venue in Toronto or what? Yes! http://www.gladstonehotel.com/
• Mary Jane Turcotte for designing a cool poster and postcard for the show. If you loved what Mary Jane did (of course you do) and want to hire her for your company or event, you can reach her at mjturcotte at rogers dot com. Mary Jane also donated a framed print of one of her beautiful photographs for our raffle. You can see more of her photography at http://creative2photography.blogspot.com/
• GFX Inc for donating printing of postcards to help promote the show. Postcards are a great way to promote your business or event and GFX has reasonable rates and awesome service. Check them out at http://www.gfxinc.com/
• Extreme Fitness for donating two pairs of VIP Passes for our raffle and for sponsoring Team in Training. Every Saturday for our group runs they let us use their Dunfield Club at Yonge and Eglinton for pre-run clinics and post-run stretching/showering. It's a beautiful club! If you are like me and need some help dropping those last few pregnancy pounds or whatever, you can find the nearest Extreme fitness at http://www.extremefitness.ca/
• Absolute Comedy Club for donating a six-pack of tickets for our raffle. Check out what hilarious comics are performing at Absolute in Toronto or Ottawa at http://www.absolutecomedy.ca/
• Very funny Canadian comedians Fraser Young (http://www.youngfraser.com/ ) and Daryl Makk (http://www.daddymakk.com/ ) for donating CDs for the raffle, plus another thanks to Allyson Smith for donating a copy of her hilarious DVD, "All Sales Are Final" (once again, you can find Allyson online at http://www.asmithcomedy.com/ )
• Our friend Susan Boulanger for donating the Spring Rolls gift card for the raffle
• The volunteers who came out to help with tickets at the door and selling raffle tickets:
• my lovely wife Jodi (thanks to Jodi also for being a good sport about the fact that I talk about her in my act),
• my TNT mentor Kate and her friend Rae (additional thanks to Kate for being so cool about the fact that when I messed up on the raffle and she graciously offered to share her raffle prize with someone else, my explanation to the audience opened her up for some ribbing from the MC - thanks for taking the jabs like a pro Kate and sorry!),
• and very funny local comedian Elaine Dandy (you can follow Elaine online at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44163502942 ).
• Team in Training for donating some cool TNT gear for the raffle. You can learn more about Team in Training at http://www.teamintraining.ca/

Thanks again to all of you for supporting a great cause that is very important to me.

Llove,

Lloyd

Press Release: Canadian Comedy Stars Line Up in Support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Canadian Comedy Stars Line Up in Support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada

April 5, 2010 , Toronto, ON– Some of the funniest people in Canada will be in the spotlight on May 4 at the Melody Bar in the Gladstone Hotel, as they raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada’s TEAM in Training (TNT). Funds raised from the show, titled Lloyd’s Laugh Marathon, will go towards TNT member and stand-up comedian Lloyd Ravn’s goal of raising funds for blood cancer research and patient support while training to run a half-marathon.

The show’s organizer joined TNT in honour of his late father as well as to take the opportunity to set a positive example for his two sons. When his father lost his battle with leukemia 5 years ago, Ravn’s oldest son Eric was only 6 weeks old, and losing his father so soon after becoming a father himself was a major life changing event. He considered joining TNT to raise funds as a way of marking the 5 year anniversary of his father’s death, but found it hard to commit to making the move from his unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle to the hard work of training for a half-marathon. That is, until he thought about how hard Eric works every day.

Over the past 5 years, young Eric has experienced his own series of health issues, including 3 major strokes, and Lloyd has watched and cheered as his son worked exceedingly hard at various rehabilitation therapies. “I always tell Eric ‘You can do it!’ when he is struggling to re-master a skill that his strokes have taken away from him,” said Ravn. “But as he gets older, I started to wonder if he’s thinking ‘That’s easy for you to say, as you sit on the couch.’ So I wanted to show him, and his brother Alex (2), that I am willing to push myself too.” Ravn signed up to be part of TNT for the Ottawa half-marathon, and committed to raising at least $3,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) in the process.

As an amateur comic in Toronto’s comedy scene, Lloyd decided to organize a stand-up show to help reach his fundraising goal, and put out the word to some of his favourite professional comedians. “I’m thrilled with the amazing line-up I’ve been able to assemble for this show and I can’t wait to perform along with these comedy stars,” said Ravn.
Tony Krolo, a Canadian comedy veteran, will host the show which will also include:

· Brian Lazanik - Just for Laughs, Last Comic Standing
· Boyd Banks - Little Mosque on the Prairie, Comics!
· Allyson Smith - Winnipeg Comedy Festival, The Debaters
· Andrew Johnston - Video on Trial, Love Court· Riz (Ali Rizvi Badshah) – Second City’s Next Comedy Legend, The new host of CBC Radio’s Laugh Out Loud

Lloyd’s Laugh Marathon Details:

Date: Tuesday May 4, 2010
Location: Melody Bar in the Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St W, Toronto
Time: Show at 8:00
Tickets: $15.00, available at http://www.anotherl.com/ or by e-mailing lloydravn@hotmail.com

About Team in Training

Team In Training is the world’s largest endurance sport training program. For 21 years, participants of Team In Training have been completing marathons, triathlons, and 100-mile cycling challenges while raising funds for blood cancer research. Team In Training athletes are encouraged and inspired through their endurance challenges by their honoured team-mates; individuals who are currently battling, or have battled a blood cancer and have thereby faced a far more challenging test of human endurance.

For More Information:
· Lloyd Ravn, Event organizer: 647-929-8916, lloydravn@hotmail.com
· Derek Virgo, Team In Training Program Co-ordinator, derek.virgo@lls.org