[SkateDC] Plans for Canada Benefit Concert Unveiled [Off Topic]

Wed Feb 10 06:39:02 PST 2010

Not to worry,  Sergeant Preston and his brave and faithful Alaskan husky companion, Yukon King, are on the job.  True, most of their previous experience has involved helping injured trappers, tracking down smugglers, and saving cabin dwellers from wolverines.  Nevertheless, I have every confidence in their ability to successfully solve the strange case of the mislabeled snow shipments.

By the way, rumors that King has "gone bad" are simply not true:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvYYp17EQVc

Can anyone doubt that shortly we shall hear Sgt. Preston utter those immortal words:

"Well, King, case closed."

--- On Wed, 2/10/10, Carl Ford <ford at dcaccess.net> wrote:

From: Carl Ford <ford at dcaccess.net>
Subject: Re: [SkateDC] Plans for Canada Benefit Concert Unveiled [Off Topic]
To: skatedc at ligemail.lig.net
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 12:47 AM

   I believe that a couple of large shipments of snow were mis-labeled  
and ended up here.  Danny, can you shoot someone an email and clear up  
this mix-up? Quoting George Marinkovich <skatewash at yahoo.com>:

> PLANS FOR CANADA BENEFIT CONCERT UNVEILED
> By Hildegard Johnson, Canada Tomorrow
>
> VANCOUVER — Canadian natives William Shatner, Céline  Dion and Alex   
> Trebek will be among the artists to participate in a massive global   
> telethon this week that aims to raise funds to help with the   
> devastating lack of snow expected for the upcoming XXI Olympic   
> Winter Games in Vancouver.
>
> Dubbed "Snow for Canada" the fundraiser will take place this Friday  
> (2/12) and comprise events in Los Angeles, New York City, and  
> Washington, DC.  Actor William Shatner will host the L.A.  
> proceedings, Dion will set up in New York City, and Alex Trebek will  
> be on the ground on Cypress Mountain near Vancouver, according to a  
> press release.�
>
> Cypress Mountain,  where
>   snowboarders and freestyle skiers will soon be competing for Olympic
>   gold, has been plagued by January temperatures which were the   
> warmest on record.   That trend is continuing this month, says   
> Environment Canada meteorologist Matt McDonald, one of 30   
> forecasters working the Winter Games.
>
> Gary Doer, Canada's Ambassador to the United States and host of the   
> event in Washington, DC, has put out the call for volunteers.  He   
> urged area residents to gather at Andrews Air Base at noon on  
> Friday  to participate in what has come to be dubbed "Operation  
> Snowbird."   Those willing to assist in the massive effort of  
> filling bags with  snow will be in great demand and be much  
> appreciated, he said.  Due  to a shortage of suitable bags,  
> participants are encouraged to bring  plastic bags with them if they  
> can.  "The plastic bags you get your  groceries in at Giant are  
> ideal, but even the little ones that the  Washington Post comes in  
> can be useful," said Doer.
>
> "Operation Snowbird," the brainchild of
>   born-in-Canada comedian Howie Mandel, came together with  
> lightening speed.  "I was reading news accounts about the snow  
> shortage in Vancouver while I was eating breakfast on Sunday  
> morning," explained Mandel, "and by Sunday evening I was in direct  
> contact with the [US State Department's] Assistant Deputy Under  
> Secretary for Inter-American Affairs.  Like a snowball rolling  
> downhill, it just seemed to gather more speed and greater mass."�
>
> "Operation Snowbird" represents the first joint humanitarian   
> operation between the 89th Airlift Wing stationed at Andrews Air   
> Base and their Royal Canadian Air Force counterparts, the 429th   
> Transport Squadron and 2nd Air Movements Squadron based in Comox,   
> British Columbia.  While the final plans are still being worked  
> out,  it is believed that the operation will involve at least two  
> C-17  Globemaster III aircraft in the snow lift.  Sgt. Rex Preston  
> of the
>   RCAF estimated that each of the huge Boeing-built transports could  
> hold approximately 17,000 of the Giant grocery-sized bags or up to  
> perhaps 50,000 of the smaller Washington Post-sized ones.  Sgt.  
> Preston explained it was difficult to be more precise about the  
> number of smaller bags that can fit in the huge transports because,  
> as he put it, "so much depends on where you tie the knot."�
>
> Once the snow reaches Canada, the bags will be ripped opened and  
> the  contents loaded onto a fleet of specially fitted Sikorsky S-64   
> helicoptors provided by Erickson Air-Crane.  For 40 years the   
> company, headquartered in the Yukon province of western Canada, has   
> dispatched its fleet of
> helicopters around the world to fight forest fires, harvest timber and
> lift giant air-conditioning units to the tops of office towers.   
> "This is the first time I can remember we've ever been involved in  
> transporting snow," declared Randy "Yukon" King, president and CEO  
> of the company.  The company is donating its services to the  
> Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.  "It does seem a bit like  
> carrying coals to Newcastle," quipped King, "but we've pleased to be  
> in position to give something back to Canada."  �
>
> Viacom's MTV Networks will produce the two-hour broadcast, which
> will air live and commercial free at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX,
> CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT.  Facebook and MySpace have also
> signed on as the official social-media partners for the event,
> according to organizers.  Tweets can be tracked on Twitter at   
> #OperationSnowbird.
> If everything goes well the first snow will be dumped from the  
> helicopters onto the slopes of Cypress Mountain during the live  
> broadcast.�
>
> Contributions will be accepted shortly at the SnowForCanada.org website.
> CT's Washington bureau chief, Fièvre D. Carlingue, contributed to   
> this report.
>
> ______________________
>
>
> Enjoy,
> George
>
>
>
>
>
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   --
Carl Ford
ford at dcaccess.net

Insane people are always sure that they are fine. It is only the sane  
people who
are willing to admit that they are crazy. -Nora Ephron, novelist (b. 1941)
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