We took a look at our Breakfast Television hockey pool standings Tuesday morning…and much like a stammering young offender standing before a stern judge, I have no explanation for my 308th-place standing except to say I made some really poor choices. Put it this way: I’m looking for some huge second-half performances from my picks.

Where do you stand? If you signed up for the BT hockey pool back in September, remember you can check up on your ranking anytime by logging on to www.poolexpert.com using the email and password you initially provided during registration. We’ll continue to update the standings through the 2011-12 NHL regular season.

Take a look at the video below to see where our BT team members are stacking up, who’s in the prestigious Top Ten and what’s at stake. Our thanks again to Wayne’s Sports Cards & Collectibles for providing such a fantastic grand prize.

For the love of the game,
rpj.

World Against Toys Causing Harm (W.A.T.C.H.) is a Boston-based non-profit society.    It just released its annual list of 10 worst children’s toys.

None have been recalled, but this year’s offenders have the potential to strangle, electrocute and puncture kids.    Ralphie’s mother was right — you might shoot your eyes out!

http://www.ivillage.com/10-most-dangerous-toys-santa-skip-these/6-a-405333

Mega Blade Don't fall off

Trampoline for Tots

What a month of Movember it’s been! From a record-setting national effort ($29.5M and counting) to a-MO-zing stories right here at home, we’ve all been thrilled to see so many Mo Bros and Mo Sistas stepping it up to change the face of men’s health.

Back on Movember 1st, Team Breakfast Television Edmonton set a fundraising goal of $10,000. When it came time to close our raffle and draw the winner of our BT Movember prize pack on Movember 28th, we were thrilled to report an actual total of $13,000 (with a few days left to go). On a personal front, I had hoped to raise $5,000 for the cause. I’m amazed to see the actual total topping $9,000. Thank you to each and every one of you (listed below) who made a donation to further prostate cancer research efforts in Canada.

It was a me-MO-rable (I can’t resist) Movember on BT. Starting with Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason shaving his Mo of 40 years and a round of finger Mo tattoos with the Crimson Empire gang to tips on healthy eating/living and the Mayor shaving his Mo live on the air, it was a month we won’t soon forget. I was honoured to share my shave with Greg Burns during our final Movember Monday of 2011. The marketing manager for Edmonton City Centre Mall brought a couple instructors from the Eveline Charles Academy along with him (oh, and a donation of $1,000 toward the cause).

Congratulations to Adam Rozenhart, winner of our 2011 BT Movember prize pack. Thank you so much to our sponsors who made such an appealing offering possible: The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Marmot Basin, d’Lish Urban Kitchen & Wine Bar, the Edmonton Oilers, Crowley’s Jewellers, Hudsons Canadian Taphouse, Broadway Across Canada, Ricci Hair Company, Heather de Kok Floral Design, Crimson Empire Tattoo, The Chopped Leaf, Identity Clothing, Lord’s Shoes, MyBlackcard & Schick.

All of our Movember efforts go to waste if the MO-mentum (there I go again) stops here. I encourage each and every one of you men to book an annual physical exam with your doctor. All too often we ignore early warning signs (or miss them altogether). Prostate cancer is one of the most curable forms of cancer – up to 90% – when detected early.

I can’t thank each of you who donated this month in person, but I can thank you here. Larry Irla, Rene Mayer, Erin Despas, Gregg Konachowicz, Kylee Quinn, Alexa Walcott, Andrew Wheatley, Melsha Shea, Kathy Butkovic, Jeff Chivers, Katie Cook, Lesley Hansen, Michael Keindel, Kendra Hopaluk, Nancy Critchley, Tanya Dove, Angela Webster, Ann King, Peter Thomson, George Fraser, Sherry Liimatainen, Erin Taylor, LeeAnn Roy, Arlene Pitts, Heather Pollock, Tyler Labrecque, Jonas Jespersen, Tammy Jespersen, Kristina Schwartz, Carol Reyda, Michael Brechtel, Jay Rudy, Michel Feist, Davis Graham, Melissa Ferreira, Zohreh Saher, Meagan Kelly, Adam Rozenhart, Nathan Friesen, Jenny Humphries, Richard McIntyre, Donna Arthurs, Chris Rossum, Megan Jespersen, Gwen Penney, Bridget Ryan, Bruce & Catherine Jespersen, Michael Allarie, Paulena Dubyk, Janelle Sloychuk, Charmaine Dorchak, Chris Bolivar, Aaron Probert, Deborah Bortscher, Chris Foster, Wess Langille, Diana Warowicki, Kristi Kastelein, Gary Skelton, Stephanie Enders, Anne Semeniuk, Tim Lozinik, Hannah Beckingham, John Hawkhurst, Amber Punga, Shawn La Haie, Michael Whidden, Amy Wolski, Shelley McDonald, Gloria Dekker, Lucas Favel, Jeff Nielsen, Jackie Arcand, Jim Fyshe, Stefane Bellec, Tammy Lockhart, Melanie Sorensen, Stephanie McDougald, Corinne Rogers, Richard Ireland, Jeff Woodward, Allison Dosman, Kelly Sears, Dan & Jenn Dromarsky, Dave Valentine, Karen Langpap, Laurie Schneider, Colin & Nicole Schieman, Simon, Sjoujke & Kingsley Remark, Leon Ewanick, Allison Salz, Barb Atamaniuk, Lily Tsui, Cheryl Emmerling, Erik Nilsen, Russell Eliuk, Heather McNabb, Sorin Mihailovici, Edmonton City Centre Mall, Meredith McLennan, Devon Meador, Scott Bruck, Terry Russell, Jane Ropchan, Andrea Babic, Julie Caron, Trevor Boller, Ken De Wit, Tatjana Rudy, Cathy Bird, Andrea De Klerk, Chris Vining, Carol Dreger, Carmen Molloy, Tracy Kennedy, Karen Wirtanen, Karen Command, Stephen & Kelli Blank, Ingrid Butler-Sieben, Dru Edmiston, Cheryl Hand, Dave Poirier, Corrina Kelbert, Leanne Rosko, Chantell Barone, Shannon Simpson, Kelly Noland, AnneMarie Pedersen, Cory Cremer, Jessica Beaudry, Stephanie Good, Heidi McCartan, Carol Lindequist, Lynn Cisco, Dyan Ball, Carol Petterson, Sergio Turlione, Clint Hollinger and those of you who chose to remain anonymous – thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you as well to those of you who left meaningful messages along with your donations. One in particular, from Corinne Rogers, stuck with me:

“I am a nursing student, who just spent 6 weeks on the urology unit at the UAH, and it moved me to witness what patients and their families with prostate cancer have to face. This is why I donated today.”

Together, we can work toward a future where prostate cancer will no longer claim grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers, partners, sons, teammates and friends. I am proud to stand amongst the thousands of men who sacrifice a clean shave (along with our dignity) for one month every year with that as our goal.

Mo love,
rpj.

2011 Movember Edmonton Gala - Cook County Saloon

I think she's going to need a boost!

Keven knows the definition of “Happy Place“.    It’s his escape from the city in Lakeland County.    ”Morning of the first snow fall at Fork Lake area - there wasn’t any snow in Edmonton - yet”.

DID YOU KNOW?     Fork Lake earned its name from its unique shape.    From above, it looks like a large ‘H’ with a slight northwest-southeast angle.    Around its pretty shore are aspen and spruce trees with rolling hills.

At its deepest point, it’s about 15 metres and is in the Beaver River Basin - located 6 kilometres south of Highway 55, 93 kilometres west of Cold Lake.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS – BUT DRESS FOR THE ELEMENTS:  WINTER COAT $49.99    WINTER BOOTS $59.99    TOQUE $9.99    SEEING YOUR PHOTO ON BT AND THIS BLOG = PRICELESS!

Twenty-five days after he officially proclaimed November as the month of Movember in Edmonton on BT, Mayor Stephen Mandel came back to our studio to shave the furry ribbon he’d grown all month to raise awareness of prostate cancer in our great city.

Click on the video below to see how the shave went down. On Monday, I’ll shave my Mo (or should I say somebody will shave my Mo) as we celebrate our final Movember Monday of the year. We’ll also draw one lucky person’s name as the winner of our $6,000 BT Movember prize pack. You can qualify for that prize pack and check out all of our a-MO-zing sponsors here. We’re just shy of our BT team goal of $10,000 for prostate cancer research. You can help us get there!

Immeasurable thanks to all our donors and supporters through the month. See you Monday!

rpj.

A million people live in Munich, Germany, but when George was there it was a million and one .. or is that one in a million?    ”I took this photo in Munich Germany, at the zoo.    I had to be patient – it took awhile for them to look at me LOL.”    Most species of parrots spend their time perched or climbing in tree canopies.    They also use their bills for climbing by gripping or hooking onto branches.    When they walk it’s with a lop-sided rolling gait.

DID YOU KNOW?    Many people love parrots for their beauty and intelligence, but those are some of the reasons why they are a species in trouble.    Parrots are subjected to more exploitation than any other group of birds.    Not only are they are trapped for the pet trade, but they are rapidly losing their habitat, and are hunted for food or feathers.    On the flip side, it’s hoped to help some parrot species by boosting local economies through birdwatching-based ecotourism.

TAKE ONLY PICTURES AND LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS.    THE MOTTO OF OUR FRESH AIR PHOTOGRAPHERS IS FOLLOWED AROUND THE WORLD.    JOIN OUR FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION TODAY, SEE YOUR PIC ON BT AND THIS BLOG TOMORROW!

The annual Movember Edmonton Gala, our city’s Party of the Year, kicks off Friday, November 25 at 8pm at Cook County Saloon! Hundreds of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas will show off amazing Mo-themed costumes (both team and individual), competing for esteemed titles like Man of Movember, Miss Movember, Ultimate Mo, Team Mo and Lame Mo.

You can purchase tickets to the big bash here. If you’re registered at www.movember.com, you’ll receive a Gala ticket for every $100 you raise (up to $200).

See you at the Gala! Don’t forget to join us Monday morning on BT for our final Movember Monday. We’ll wrap up the month, hand out a couple special prizes and draw the winning raffle ticket for our $6,000 BT Movember prize pack. If you haven’t yet qualified (by making a minimum $25 donation), you’ve still got time!

Mo love,
rpj.

Rest Stop

A Rocky Mountain high thanks to Clint:  “I took this picture at the top of Aylmer Pass Lookout during my ‘Mancation’ last September in Banff.   For 7 years there was a fire tower at this very spot – torn down in 1985.   The hike is 23.6k and is quite the climb with an elevation of 2055 metres.   Below is Lake Minnewanka which was originally inhabited by our First Nations People 10,000 years ago.   On the left is Mount Girard and Mount Inglismaldie, on the right is the Palliser Range.   The next day I did a bike tour of Banff & surrounding areas followed by the annual Melissa’s Road Race.   I love the mountains (having grown up in BC).   I can’t help but feel a connection with the early settlers who may have done this very hike or even worked in the lookout tower”.

DID YOU KNOW?      The resort village of Minnewanka Landing lies at the bottom of the lake.    It was built in 1888 and was thriving with a hotel, wharves, cottage lots and restaurants.    But it all started to change in 1895.    A first dam was built to improve the lake’s shoreline.    A second dam was constructed for water storage.   The third dam – built in 1941, flooded the townsite.   Today, divers are able to see the best preserved and rare example of a submerged historic village in Canada.

PRESERVE YOUR PAGE IN HISTORY – JOIN THE FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION TODAY.    OPERATORS .. AND WE .. ARE STANDING BY!

J-Lo performing on stage at the American Music Awards.

You’ve probably seen J-Lo’s commercial for the Fiat 500.

In it, she’s taking a drive through memory lane in her home town, the Bronx. Or maybe not. Turns out “Jenny from the Block” wasn’t actually on the block. A stunt double was used for all the scenes filmed in the Bronx. The fake was spotted by a barbershop owner who appears in the commercial. A statement from her spokesperson claims the singer’s schedule wouldn’t allow for her to film in New York.

Click HERE to check out the video for yourself; it could definitely be someone else.