Don't eat too much candy.

The Hek

Another conversation between The Hek and his roommate.

Mark: Yo, this is great, my girlfriend is finally getting into hockey. She's doing her homework and watching the Leafs game. Wow, I can't believe that she's getting into hockey.

The Hek: Hey that's awesome! Now she's getting into hockey. And then, when you guys get married she'll be getting into you. HAHAHAHA. I'm just joking with you man. I take that back.

Mark: You can take it back as much as you want. I'm dumping all my lint and snot dried tissues on your bed and you're lucky that's all that I am doing. Frig.

The Hek

Yeah, a co-worker at CKCU comes up to me and asks me if I can read a funding drive add. I said sure and asked for a script. He informs me that he could not think of a script and tells me to come up with something. So, in three minutes I jotted down this:

The CKCU Funding Drive Rap

It's funding drive time/and it's not a crime/because it's never to late/to dial and donate/So if you'd like to be a huge hero/dial five two oh, three nine two zero

Snoop and Fity better watch out.

The Hek

Congratulations go out to the Chicago White Sox for winning their first World Series in 88 years. Now they may laugh in the face of the Cubs.

a slow moving sand,
pushed by the water
gives the ground foundation

The Hek

BALDERDASH...........is not a term to describe: The THURSDAY MORNING SPECIAL BLEND.

Huge show this week. Everyone will get to hear my interview with hockey columnist, Al Strachan.

It is also the first funding drive show! You can make a donation during the show by calling 613-520-2528 or at another time by making a secure online pledge at CKCU's website!

Tune in: Thursday, 7-8am EST on CKCU 93.1 FM

The Hek

Here's what really sucks about being a University student. I wake up after a night's sleep and I hate it. I hate it because it means I have to get up and do a bunch of shit I don't really care about. Then, there's my Scorsese prof who has the nerve to scold the class today for a lack of participation in discussion and not doing the readings. I'm sorry, I have a bunch of other assignments to take care of. I'm not just taking your class, prof. He expects us to think and act like him. Let me be the first to tell him that such a thing like that is impossible. When I started as a supervisor at Kiddies Korner/Camp Capers, I tried to get my staff to be as passionate and hard working as I was. It didn't happen and I was miserable. Then, I said "screw it" and accepted the staff for the way they were. Sure enough, I enjoyed it more. There's a good lesson for you. At least I got to see Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Nothing like a psychotic Harvey Kietel to ease my troubles.

Now for something important: The CKCU funding drive has begun!

You as a listener to CKCU help provide one third of the funding required to keep the station on the air. Without your support each year at this time, CKCU could not continue to function. For a mere $40 an hour, CKCU provides quality programming with the help of 200+ community volunteers. CKCU provides varied and unique music and spoken word programming not available on any other radio station. Help support community radio - whether you live in Ottawa, or listen outside the city on the internet.

Make a secure online pledge on CKCU's website or call 613-520-2528 on Thursday from 7-8am EST during the Thursday Morning Special Blend.

Be sure to note/say your pledge is for the Thursday Blend! And don't forget to catch the show, 7-8am EST on CKCU 93.1 FM

The Hek

Coolest thing happened to me, today.

I'm at Sunnyside, about to cross Bronson to get to Carleton when suddenly, two officers on motorcycles stop in the middle of the intersection and hold up traffic. I look over and sure enough, Condelezza Rice's motorcade passes by. You had to have seen the convoy of black, bullet proof, tinted window cars with sirens on them; that along with the Ottawa police officers. All this for one person. Of course, it is the US Secretary of State.

And now, for you "Oh man, that's gotta suck" moment of the week: Turns out my only exam will be held on Monday, December 19th. Ouch.

Finally, my roommate and I were talking about what it would be like if we became those southern style preachers you see on television sometimes. Mark informed me that I would have to refine my way of talking because apparently, preachers aren't allowed to say things like "titty bar."

The Hek

4:30am Fire Alarm. In the pouring rain. Heads will role for this.

Because of it, I woke up late and now the day is pretty much up the shits.

To make matters worse, the residence convience store doesn't have regular milk. So instead I had chocolate milk in my Rick Krispys. At least the burrito was better.

As for the World Series: Sox in six.

The Hek

And so ends a very stressful week with two mini-papers and one presentation done and gone from my list of shit to do for the remainder of this term.

Today, I was at CKCU as we kicked off our funding drive. Along with answering phones I made an add and voiced another. I don't know what it is but whenever I'm there, I have the most fun. Then I hoped on the bus and headed downtown. A rather embarrassing moment occurred on this bus ride. I stood up to get off when the bus driver slammed on the brakes and suddenly, I was sitting on the lap of some suburban thuged out kid. I apologized and got off the bus very quickly.

I went downtown to attend the monthly Capital Slam Tournament and support my buddy Owen Hewitt who competes in the contest. Owen introduced me to a couple of poets and told them about how I was DJ at CKCU who had a segment called the "Thursday Blend Poem of The Day." To my surprise, they actually knew of the segment and have listened to my show. The cynic in me figured that Owen probably gave them that information before I got there. But then the poets talked about a poem I had played a week ago that I knew Owen didn't know about. This confirmed their statements and made me feel damn good.

The poetry was great and the two headliners were phenomenal. One of the headliners was a girl from Montreal named Katalyst. She totally blew the audience away with her style of speaking and musical improvisation. I enjoyed her so much that I bought her home made CD for $5.oo. I'm really stunned that I did this. I usually don't buy things that are not essential. But something made me want to support this artist. It's not a bad CD at all. I might even play it on my show.

Now for some fun: Bonnie Tyler and Meatloaf - Total Eclipse of the Heart.

The Hek

Quite the day today, everyone.

The highlite was definitely my interview with hockey columnist Al Strachen. The interview went off perfectly and he signed my copy of his new book, Go to The Net: 8 goals that changed the game.

I also managed to finish my proposal for my Social Movements class. The prof wanted 1000 words; he's getting 990.

I'm still trying to figure out why my posts are at the bottom of the page. If anyone knows why, please let me know because even for The Hek, it gets irritating scrolling down just to find the newest post.

The Hek

The THURSDAY MORNING SPECIAL BLEND! The best thing to get you out of bed since instant coffee.

Tomorrow, I'll have the sports recap including who won Game 6 of the NLCS last night as well as the poem of the day and so much more. Got something cool to say? Just send me an e-mail at thursday_blend@yahoo.ca.

Tune in, 7-8am EST on CKCU 93.1 FM

The Hek

It's been a while since the last episode of Haiku Hek; so:

expectations start to mount
on a weary soul
cold inside the body

Catch the Thursday Morning Special Blend! 7-8am EST on CKCU 93.1 FM

The Hek

My friend Jen (Leafs fan) sent The Hek (Habs fan) a picture of his grade 1 class photo. Funny, real funny. As you can tell, even back then The Hek was a lone wolf and loved every minute of it.


The Hek

This conversation took place at 12:30pm today between The Hek and his roommate.

Mark: Hey.

The Hek: Hey, you went to church?

Mark: Of course I went.

The Hek: Yeah that's what I figured.

Mark: Well, where else would I have gone on a Sunday morning?

The Hek: Titty bar?

Mark: You're disgusting.

The Hek

"Remember: The safety word is 'cookie.'"

All I have to say is dirtiest improv practice, ever.

The Hek

Apparently, I have two types of voices. There's my regular voice and then, there's my radio voice. According to Jen and Sandra, my radio voice came out when I did an article presentation in class today. I can see that happening.

Did a bunch of things at CKCU, today. First, I started to put together an add for a Special Blend Pancake breakfast that is being organized. I also got to go On Air again, sort of. Actually, I "teched" for someone. Teched means that a show's host is not trained on the soundboard or doesn't want to work the board; so, they get someone else to basically push the buttons and make sure the sound is good. That's what I did for a show called Window of Oppourtunity. It was a lot of fun and I got to hear some pretty good folky type music. I also got a free CD: Paul Anka's Rock Swings. He takes all these modern rock hits and gives them a big band sound.

Now, two people have commented on my statements about Buck 65 being the best Canadian musician ever. They suggested Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Alanis Morisette.

I consider Cohen to be a spoken word artist rather then a musician. I'm not really into the light folk sound of Joni Mitchell. And, despite Alanis has really developed her sound well, I feel Buck 65 is just more creative. Of course it's all my opinion and the three suggestions are certainty the best at what they do.

The Hek

The Hek hopes that everyone's Yom Kippur fast went well today. May we all be sealed in the book of life.

The show went extremely well and this was because I got to play the new Buck 65 single. It is an amazing tune. In fact, The Hek is going on the record to state that Buck 65 is the best Canadian musician of all time. He could totally trounce Neil Young and Shania Twain for example.

The Hek

The THURSDAY MORNING SPECIAL BLEND!
Where morning wood is always expected;-)

Tomorrow, I'll play an interview I conducted with Evan Annett who has just written a book which chronicles 60 years of Carleton's independent student newspaper, The Charlatan.

I'll also have the sports recap, poem of the day, entertainment listings and so much more.

Requests? Predictions? Questions? Comments? Send them to thursday_blend@yahoo.ca

Tune in: 7-8am EST on CKCU 93.1 FM

The Hek

Tomorrow, the second round of the Baseball playoffs will begin. Here's how The Hek's predictions went:

The Hek Predicted
-Chicago over Boston in 5
-New York over Los Angeles/Anaheim in 5
-St.Louis over San Diego in 3
-Atlanta over Houston in 4

Here's what happened
-Chicago over Boston in 3
-Los Angeles/Anaheim over New York in 5
-St.Louis over San Diego in 3
-Houston over Atlanta in 5

I gave myself one half point if I got the team right and one half point if I picked the right games. This means I scored a 1.5 out of 4 which gives me, 38% accuracy. Hey, I didn't say I was an expert. The Yankees/Angels series could have gone either way; Chicago just dominated the Red Sox; Houston got some lucky brakes against the Braves; and, I was bang on with the Cardinals sweeping the Padres. So now, here are The Hek's predictions for round two:

American League Championship Series
Los Angeles/Anaheim vs. Chicago

Beating the Yankees was a huge confidence booster for the Angels and they will definitely gain an early advantage on the White Sox who haven't played since Friday. Then again, the White Sox are well rested and the injury to Angles pitcher Bartolo Colon may hurt his team. Still, it shall be an exciting series.
Chicago in 6

National League Championship Series
St. Louis vs. Houston

The Astros are starting to look like this year's version of the 2004 Red Sox. You have to give them credit for handling Atlanta like that. However, as long as St. Louis brings their 'A' game, I don't see the Astros making an appearance in the fall classic.
St. Louis in 6

Feel free to send me your predictions to thursday_blend@yahoo.ca. I'll read them on the air! And don't forget to catch the Thursday Morning Special Blend; 7-8am EST on CKCU 93.1 FM.

The Hek

On Air Tonight: Monday, 9-11pm on CKCU 93.1 FM

I saw A History of Violence last night with my bud Owen, whose family made a great Thanksgiving meal. A History of Violence was not a bad film. Essentially, it is a film about identity told in the typical Cronenberg style (emphasis on the body). It gets The Hek Seal of Approval.

I already did a fill in today at the station from 8:30 - 9:00am and then I'm back at it at 9pm. Unfortunately the internet is down in the studio so I'm going to prepare some stuff before I head there.

The Hek

Today I was going to talk about some silly stuff at the Rideau Centre yesterday. But I don't want to, anymore. Something has happened. This is what happened.

When I was a young boy. My bed time would usually occur during the 4th or 5th inning of the Blue Jays game. But that never mattered because when I got to bed, I would simply turn on my radio and hear this man's voice. His voice was always calm and the descriptions he gave were well spoken but still easy enough for a youngster like me to understand. I would close my eyes and he would paint a picture for me; a landscape of heroes who I have worshipped for most of my life. For me, as a young child, it was the voice of god preaching the gospel known as baseball. Perhaps it was because of this man that I fell in love with sports and radio. His voice planted the seeds which now blossomed into this dream of working in radio.

Of course he was just a regular person who worked hard; an artist who constantly worked at his craft to please his fans. He didn't care about being popular. He cared about telling a story as best he could. From April 7, 1977 to June 13, 2004, this man called everything single Blue Jays game. Amongst all that was five division titles, two pennets and two world championships.

Now he is gone and although I never met him, I feel a great sense of loss. I am actually crying as I write this as I am sure everyone who grew up listening to him is as well. Thank you, Tom Cheek for everything, we shall miss you very much and we all will do our best so that one day, you will be recognized by Cooperstown.

The Hek

"I can't believe you're crazy enough to go to the Renegades game on a miserable cold rainy day like this but all the power to you. Go Gades!"

- Noel Waghorn leaving a message on The Hek's voice mail

I did go. Despite the fact that Frank Claire Stadium is a 15 minute walk from where I live and I have been living in Ottawa for almost four years, I have never watched a Renegades football game. I didn't even go to the Grey Cup which had the Argos in it and I have seen a bunch of 67's hockey games at the Civic Centre which is underneath Frank Claire. But that changed tonight. I decided to treat myself to some good old Friday night CFL action.

"Hey bud, want some free tickets courtesy of HOT 89.9?"

- Some stranger as The Hek was about to take out his wallet at the box office.

I saved $25! And they were good seats too. Lower south side near the east endzone. Ottawa beat Hamilton 43-21. The Tiger-Cats did a fine job of making the Renegades look like the top team in the CFL as opposed to their current dismal performance from this season. After the game, I walked by the players entrance and Kerry Joseph, the quarterback for the Renegades came out and started signing autographs. I got his signature on my ticket stub.

So to sum up: Free ticket + Autograph + Renegades win = One damn fine night.

The Hek

Spoke with someone from my past last night. It was a nice conversation. Some air was cleared. Some views were clarified. Some things never change. Some pleasantness exchanged.

The Hek

The THURSDAY MORNING SPECIAL BLEND!!! Stylin' and Profilin'

Tomorrow, I will be speaking with writer and hockey fan Chris Robinson about the Senators and the new hockey season. I've also got some great tunes, sports, poems, entertainment listings and Bytowne movie listings.

Tune in: Thursday, 7-8am EST on CKCU 93.1 FM

The Hek

Saw a great film today called Mean Streets. It stars a very young Harvey Kietel and an even younger Robert De Niro. Scorsese's first successful film and definitely one of his best.

But that's not what I am here to talk about. The World Series playoffs have started and here are The Hek's predictions:

NLDS 1: St. Louis vs. San Diego
The Cardinals have been my pick to win it all this year. They are a very strong team. Chris Carpenter had an amazing season as did Pujos and Edmonds. The Padres made it into the post-season by the skin of their teeth. I'm sorry, it's impossible to win the World Series when your regular season record had you just two games above 500. An easy one for the Cards.
St. Louis in 3

NLDS 2: Atlanta vs. Houston
For the second straight year, the Astros overcome a horrible start and make it into the playoffs. That's good but not great. The Braves have Ted Turner who provides lots of cash. Cash buys good ball players. Good ball players get success. Sad to say it, but its true.
Atlanta in 4

ALDS 1: Chicago vs. Boston
Since the season started, I have been telling people to watch out for the American League Central Division; especially the Twins and White Sox. Chicago has put together a pretty good team. They'll probably take the pennet too. As for the defending champion Red Sox, last year was full of miracles and good strokes of luck. But as my drama teacher, Mr. Stone once said: "Lighting does not strike twice.'
Chicago in 5

ALDS 2: New York vs. Los Angeles/Anaheim
The Yankees are exactly like the Braves. The Angels will put up a good fight but in the end, New York's experience will carry them through the next round.
New York in 5

Want to tell me your predictions? I'd love to hear them. I'll even read them on the air. Send me an email at thursday_blend@yahoo.ca

And don't forget the THURSDAY BLEND. 7-8am EST on CKCU 93.1 FM.

The Hek

The Hek would like to wish a very Happy and Healthy Shana Tova to everyone out there in the internet. May your year be sweet and may we all live to 120.

Now, I should have gotten a laptop.

Back in the summer of 2002, I was getting ready to purchase a new computer for my upcoming first year at Carleton. However, my father and I were originally going to get a laptop. We were turned off the idea because many people told us that laptops were one of the top things stolen at Universities. You turn your back on it, its gone. So instead we got my current compy. Today I am regretting that decision.

I almost spent the entire day in my room in front of this damn compy, typing out an essay while outside was just absolutely gorgeous. It got so bad, that I nearly had a panic attack. I'm not kidding, I was clawing the screen to my window. Finally, I just shut everything down and went outside to buy some bagels and a fine bottle of root beer.

If I had a laptop I could have typed out my essay outside at one of my "peaceful" spots; say, by the canal or at the steps of Parliament Hill. But that's just not in the cards.

The Hek

Yes, The Hek has changed the look. Thought I'd give it a little more flair.

First off, TNA Impact was fantastic. The two X Division matches were phenomenal and it was nice to watch Jeff Hardy and Rhino again. That's one of the main problems with the WWE. They have so much talent and not enough television time for everyone. Thankfully TNA has a small roster that coincides nicely with Impact and their syndicated show, Xpolsion. The X Division is the reason why TNA has been successful so far. In order to be a strong alternative to WWE, they really need to push the X Division properly. It doesn't really help when you've got all this amazing action from the X Division and have awesome crowd pops and then have your main feud be a couple of wrestlers that really don't need to be the main attractions; i.e. Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash. In the meantime I am going to pray that AJ Styles never joins the WWE for he will be berried by Vince McMahon.

In other news, the Blue Jays wrapped up their season with 7-2 victory over Kansas City. This leaves them with a record of 80-82; a good improvement to 2004's 67-95 campaign. The main thing that really hurt the Jays this year was consitancy. One week they would play like All-Stars and the next week, play like the Bad News Bears. It also did not help when Roy Halliday went down with the season ending injury in July. Had that never happened, we would've had a few more wins and Halliday would have won the Cy Young award. There were some bright spots. Russ Adams, Gustavo Chacin and Aaron Hill had great rookie seasons. Shea Hillendbrand and Gregg Zaun had career years. The offense is there; it's the pitching that really needs to be fixed if the Jays want to compete for the World Series.

Finally, Mark and I have been pulling pranks on each other. I think Mark leads 5-3. Today however, he purposely startled me so bad that I threw down a fork and it took a chunk off one of my plates. If I didn't laugh so much over it, I would be really pissed off about it.

The Hek

Double Dragon

Kung-Fu

Mike Tyson's Punchout

I am playing these games and I love it.

The Hek