The Top 100 Canadian Singles

All of this comes from a book by Bob Mersereau.  Below are the top ten, but here are the details.

1. The Guess Who — “American Woman”

2. Neil Young — “Heart of Gold”

3. The Band — “The Weight”

4. Bryan Adams — “Summer of ’69”

5. Leonard Cohen — “Hallelujah”

6. Steppenwolf — “Born to Be Wild”

7. Gordon Lightfoot — “If You Could Read My Mind”

8. Bachman Turner Overdrive — “Takin’ Care of Business”

9. Ian and Sylvia — “Four Strong Winds”

10. Anne Murray — “Snowbird”

Full List

I think for the rest of the day I’m gonna be singing “Got my first real six string, oh at the Five and Dime . . . played it until my fingers bled, it was the summer of ’69”

As the song goes on it turns out someone quit the band, but I can’t recall who.

That last sentence may or may not be a joke intended for an audience of one.

Posted in Pop Culture | 1 Comment

One less skill for soldiers to master at boot camp: bayonet training

When a US Army general made the decision recently to remove bayonet assaults from the array of skills soldiers must learn during basic training, it seemed like a no-brainer.

US troops hadn’t launched a bayonet charge since 1951 during the Korean War. And new soldiers preparing for an increasingly violent war in Afghanistan already need to learn far more skills than the 10 weeks of basic training allows, says Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, head of initial entry training and the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command.

So he made a change, substituting skills drill sergeants reported that they wanted to teach new recruits in favor of dropping the time-honored practice of the bayonet charge.

But in the weeks since that decision, Hertling has heard about it. “Bayonet training is pretty fascinating,” he says. “I’ve been slammed by retirees.”

Full Article

I actually have my father’s bayonet, I use it as a letter opener.

This story reminded me of a comic I read on Friday.

A bit more on that battle here.

Posted in Goofy | 1 Comment