Tad
Dimensions' loiterer
(note: I originally posted this in my own mental scratch-pad thread in the club house. Then I realized that as I am asking for advice eventually, and most people here aren't members, and of the members I've convinced the majority not to read my mental scratch pad thread (that was deliberate on my part, there were things I wanted to write down without worrying about being entertaining), I should really post this somewhere where there is some chance more than two or three people will read it. I've made some minor edits to the original post)
Having a good, reliable, and reliably available babysitter is was of the big elements of parental quality of life. Since we moved back to our old haunts at Christmas, we have not had a babysitter--in the year and half that we were away our old babysitter reached an age to no longer be interested. Although we live in an old neighborhood we were on the first wave of young families moving back into it a decade ago, so there are more younger kids than older ones, putting the few potential babysitters in short supply. Not that they are impossible to find, but you typically have to know somebody with a kid just hitting that agethat is how we got our previous two. Because it does not take long for any decent babysitter to get a full schedule.
Just in general we need this, to have some couple time. We used to have a regular Tuesday night arrangement, seldom for more than a couple of hours, but it really helped.
What is specifically bringing this to mind is that I just saw the musical line up for a street festival which is held each year one neighborhood down the road from us (maybe a ten minute bike ride for the family). They shut off several blocks of a main commercial street, put up stages, and have music, book readings, art displays and so on. All Canadian, a lot of it local. It runs from a Friday evening through Sunday evening, about six weeks from now.
For starters Kathleen Edwards is playing, and Ive loved her when Ive heard her on the radio but I keep missing opportunities to see her live. She is headlining Saturday night. Second there is a lot of groups/individuals playing that I dont know, but who sound interesting. Third Hunter Valentine is playing.
======================================
Which leads to digressions for background information. If you want to get to where I'm asking for babysitter advice, skip to below the next line.
- Some of you may know the song High School Confidential by Rough Trade. It was a pretty big hit in Canada, I dont know if it got air play in the US or not. Anyway, it was probably the first openly lesbian song to see much air play in Canada (this was in the early 80s). The lead singer for Rough Trade was Carol Pope, who has an amazing deep raspy voice, as well as brilliant phrasing of lyrics.
- CBC radio has a show every Saturday night (it used to come on right after Randy Bachmans retro show, but now it comes earlier) called Fuse. In Fuse they take two bands/performers and stick them together in a radio studio with a live audience, and each plays a few of their own songs with help from the other group, and they each choose an outside cover song to do too. The fun of the show is that they try to always have some distinctive differences between the groups, so that the melding of styles is unpredictable. Some shows are just OK, some are great.
- A month or two ago Fuse had on Carol Pope, with a young, all female, band out of Toronto called Hunter Valentine. Carol Pope still has the best growl this side of Billy Idol, and it was neat to hear the one time punk/rebel talk from the perspective of another couple of dozen years of maturityreally interesting stuff. However Hunter Valentine more than held their own. Their lead singer has an amazing voice, in the deep, raspy sort of way. She doesnt sound like Carol Pope, but somewhere in that part of the spectrum. Yes, I love me some deep, raspy, voiced, women. Anyway I thought that the band really rockedthe final combined version of Rough Trades song Weapons Id happily pay for as my first ever music download, were it available. I intended to find out more about Hunter Valentine as they made a real impression on me, but then I couldnt remember the name by the next day.
- The new issue of the local every three week gay-alternative-arts free paper just came out, with Hunter Valentine on the cover (apparently they are gay, which I'm sure will break a few male hearts). The article inside had the information that the band will be playing at the aforementioned street festival. Which reminded me of their name, of course. So I googled them, found their web site, played the three songs there over and over again for at least an hour. At lunch I took a walk up to HMV and bought their CD, and am listening to it now. (overall review: they will probably get better if they keep at it, but they are already more than worth the listen). Im not saying they are the next big thing, but they seem to have found a piece of my mind looking for something like their music and moved right in.
Digressions over.
============================================
So I really want to go see Hunter Valentine. They are basically an old fashioned rock and roll band, which suggests that they will play in the evening rather than the afternoonand that they are apparently gay is also apt to push them to a later time slot. Our nine year old does not do well when he stays up much past bedtime, and he really doesnt like loud noises and crowds, so taking him along is not really an option. I absolutely want to go with my wife, because it will be way more enjoyable that way. Which means either begging a favor from my parents or finding a babysitter. I dont know if we can find a babysitter that quickly, but maybe we just need to get more aggressive? If we dont find a babysitter, the question is whether I want to see them badly enough to beg a favor from my parents? :doh:
So, anyone have any good tricks for flushing out babysitters?
-Ed
Having a good, reliable, and reliably available babysitter is was of the big elements of parental quality of life. Since we moved back to our old haunts at Christmas, we have not had a babysitter--in the year and half that we were away our old babysitter reached an age to no longer be interested. Although we live in an old neighborhood we were on the first wave of young families moving back into it a decade ago, so there are more younger kids than older ones, putting the few potential babysitters in short supply. Not that they are impossible to find, but you typically have to know somebody with a kid just hitting that agethat is how we got our previous two. Because it does not take long for any decent babysitter to get a full schedule.
Just in general we need this, to have some couple time. We used to have a regular Tuesday night arrangement, seldom for more than a couple of hours, but it really helped.
What is specifically bringing this to mind is that I just saw the musical line up for a street festival which is held each year one neighborhood down the road from us (maybe a ten minute bike ride for the family). They shut off several blocks of a main commercial street, put up stages, and have music, book readings, art displays and so on. All Canadian, a lot of it local. It runs from a Friday evening through Sunday evening, about six weeks from now.
For starters Kathleen Edwards is playing, and Ive loved her when Ive heard her on the radio but I keep missing opportunities to see her live. She is headlining Saturday night. Second there is a lot of groups/individuals playing that I dont know, but who sound interesting. Third Hunter Valentine is playing.
======================================
Which leads to digressions for background information. If you want to get to where I'm asking for babysitter advice, skip to below the next line.
- Some of you may know the song High School Confidential by Rough Trade. It was a pretty big hit in Canada, I dont know if it got air play in the US or not. Anyway, it was probably the first openly lesbian song to see much air play in Canada (this was in the early 80s). The lead singer for Rough Trade was Carol Pope, who has an amazing deep raspy voice, as well as brilliant phrasing of lyrics.
- CBC radio has a show every Saturday night (it used to come on right after Randy Bachmans retro show, but now it comes earlier) called Fuse. In Fuse they take two bands/performers and stick them together in a radio studio with a live audience, and each plays a few of their own songs with help from the other group, and they each choose an outside cover song to do too. The fun of the show is that they try to always have some distinctive differences between the groups, so that the melding of styles is unpredictable. Some shows are just OK, some are great.
- A month or two ago Fuse had on Carol Pope, with a young, all female, band out of Toronto called Hunter Valentine. Carol Pope still has the best growl this side of Billy Idol, and it was neat to hear the one time punk/rebel talk from the perspective of another couple of dozen years of maturityreally interesting stuff. However Hunter Valentine more than held their own. Their lead singer has an amazing voice, in the deep, raspy sort of way. She doesnt sound like Carol Pope, but somewhere in that part of the spectrum. Yes, I love me some deep, raspy, voiced, women. Anyway I thought that the band really rockedthe final combined version of Rough Trades song Weapons Id happily pay for as my first ever music download, were it available. I intended to find out more about Hunter Valentine as they made a real impression on me, but then I couldnt remember the name by the next day.
- The new issue of the local every three week gay-alternative-arts free paper just came out, with Hunter Valentine on the cover (apparently they are gay, which I'm sure will break a few male hearts). The article inside had the information that the band will be playing at the aforementioned street festival. Which reminded me of their name, of course. So I googled them, found their web site, played the three songs there over and over again for at least an hour. At lunch I took a walk up to HMV and bought their CD, and am listening to it now. (overall review: they will probably get better if they keep at it, but they are already more than worth the listen). Im not saying they are the next big thing, but they seem to have found a piece of my mind looking for something like their music and moved right in.
Digressions over.
============================================
So I really want to go see Hunter Valentine. They are basically an old fashioned rock and roll band, which suggests that they will play in the evening rather than the afternoonand that they are apparently gay is also apt to push them to a later time slot. Our nine year old does not do well when he stays up much past bedtime, and he really doesnt like loud noises and crowds, so taking him along is not really an option. I absolutely want to go with my wife, because it will be way more enjoyable that way. Which means either begging a favor from my parents or finding a babysitter. I dont know if we can find a babysitter that quickly, but maybe we just need to get more aggressive? If we dont find a babysitter, the question is whether I want to see them badly enough to beg a favor from my parents? :doh:
So, anyone have any good tricks for flushing out babysitters?
-Ed
