Rocky Mountain High!

Meeting, Wednesday 18th July 2012:   
Social Media Suicide and the mountainous journeys of life...
In attendance: Mahdia, Simon, Geetha, Chris, David, Kim, Julie, Janet

Guests: Reuben, Cher, Neda

Word of the day: Pleonasm (use redundant words e.g. True Fact)
Theme of the day: Rocky Mountains


Our Toastmaster for the day gave us Pleonasm, and encouraged an introduction. I was reminded how relevant this word is, because we have taken great liberties with the English language in recent years. It's because like, you know, like, it's totally too hard you know, to like speak properly.

Table Topics Mistress Geetha gave us a selection of questions about mountains. Personally I thought they were quite challenging, but our members and guests tackled them well. Many of the thoughts included life as a journey, many routes to the top, and the concept of the view changing but it being the act of climbing not the pinnacle that represented real success.

The group perceived guest Cher to have expressed this most eloquently and she was awarded Best Table Topics Trophy for the week.

Simon presented his sixth speech entitled "Social Media Suicide", using the Competent Communicator Manual Speech 5 as his template, 'Your Body Speaks'.

The basis of the speech involved giving up Facebook, and reasons why technology no longer serves us, but shackles us. Gesticulating, and waving his arms around in required Toastmasters style, Simon presented his case for why he 'killed Facebook', or himself for that matter.

Not all were convinced, Geetha promised a counter argument, and discussions of having a "Debate Day" were mooted. Simon stuck to his guns though, the ability to "Cyber-Stalk" people you knew 10 years ago isn't a good enough argument for the time-suck vortex to be worth it.

Give me Face to Face not Face-in-book any day of the week...

Huckleberry Finn Days

Meeting, Wednesday 11th July 2012:   
Growing up in Manitoba, and one of those tall tales...
In attendance: Mahdia, Lora,  Simon, Geetha, Marvin, Chris, David, Kim

Guests: Reuben, Kathy, Neda

Word/Theme of the day: Summer Holidays

Oliver Reed, Ghandi and Hitler walk into a bar...

No it isn't a joke, just the table topics answer from Simon. (Who would you take on holiday)? Other answers to holiday questions were a little less obscure, and ranged from Marvin's encounters with the Alaskan bear, Reuben's contemplation of the long warm summer nights...(I couldn't resist sharing that one....)

But Holidays! They're the time to...Celebrate...especially if like Mahdia you get to take time and disappear off to Egypt with your family and hang out after a conference. Or Neda who managed to go hiking and attend an old friends wedding all at once.

Kathy and Reuben go on far more sophisticated Cruise trips...

Kathy shared with us that her dream vacation would be a Mediterranean cruise, relaxing in the sun, definitely far from their moldy hotel room experience of Cancun...

Our winner for the day was new guy Reuben...(we all love Grease...)

Our speaker for the day was the hypnotic Janet...who shared with us her childhood growing up in rural Manitoba.

Janet has a very laid back style and lulled us into an easy trance as she described the rural upbringing and times when one could wander across the US border in search of missing cattle. Not so much now in the age of post 9-11 apocolyptica...

Our evaluators were splendid as ever...and so all that remains is for me to remind you of a little song...

Huckleberry Finn and his Friends lyrics
Try looking back,
On days that were slower.
When living came easy,
And neighbours were friends.

Paddle wheels turning, 
As kids on the river
Went seeking adventure, 
Or some pirate's den.

Muddles and fishing,
And wrestling and wishing.
The day would come quickly 
When they would be men.

That's where they came from.
The time that they came from.
No better time 
To live and to grow.

Oh that's where they came from.
The days that they came from.
Life was so carefree,
Not so long ago.

Bride of Stampedenstein!

Meeting, Wednesday 4th July 2012:   Celebrating British emancipation from the Americans since 1776


In attendance: Mahdia, Lora,  Simon, Rob

Word of the day: Skedaddle : to run away hurriedly; flee.


Today we had a fantastic meeting. Celebrating those two things all Calgarians hold dear:
1) Stampede
2) Independence from the Americans.

As we all know, back in 1776 the English got really tired of sharing their Tea with the Americans. Unsure of how to proceed with this, they were assisted by the daring and cunning Spymaster George Washington, who came up with a plan to keep Tea for Brits only. Posing as a revolutionary General, he led a bunch of Colonists which included Mel Gibson, into a number of battles which the Brits conveniently lost, keeping a good cup of Tea safely on the European side of the pond.

What do Stampede, the 4th of July and Will Smith have in common? That's right...Wicki Wicki Wile Wile West...

Get your booty to the Stampede Y'all!

None of which has much relevance to our meeting.

All roles for the day were played by Lora Johnston. Seriously. She was Timer, Ah Counter, Grammarian, and Table Topics Master. It was like watching Dr. Strangelove... have you ever seen Lora and Peter Sellers in the same room?

Lora's word, Skedaddle was apt, because being July, all of the other members had run away. This is a peculiar Calgarian trait which always confuses me. Rumour has it that this is what really happens to people for the two months during summer...

So...Simon gave his 5th Speech, entitled "You Talk Funny". Essentially a 7 minute tale of how hard it is to get a glass of water in Calgary...accents...are...funny... right Jeremy?

Lora's table topics involved...peacocks...oh ok, they were all about Stampede.

Mahdia, we discovered, will only dress as a Cowgirl if you let her drive the Chuckwagon.
Rob let us in on the secret that Klondike days and the Stampede are the same thing, in different towns...
Lora likes Bullriding...and I suspect there's lots more to that story...
And Simon thinks the Force is Strong with the Herd...Yeehaw!

I quite enjoyed the meeting today. We discovered which of us were Pod People, and which weren't....

Mahdia was a commedable Toastmaster, and General Evaluator, Rob did a tremendous job evaluating, and Simon was a smart ass.

Right...time to Skedaddle...see you next week....

Wiki Wiki Wile Wile West!!!

Seriously...you talk funny...