# Southern Alberta Dope Fest! Next Sunday! We hope! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 17, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394 "2010-10-17T01:57:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/41 "2010-10-25T04:51:26Z")
> [@gregorio](#): > > I knew all that dancing on the table would be a bad idea. Aw, man, I missed the newbie dancing with the squid? On the table, yet? Well, I hope you all had a good time, and I’ll look forward to the next time. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/42 "2010-10-25T05:01:54Z")
> [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](#): > > Worst experience of my life. Screw you all.\ There’s that famous Alberta hospitality. 😃 We gotta get some girlies out next time - too much baseball talk! Of course, it was my husband who was doing most of it, and I’m sort of married to him, so I don’t know if having more ladies there would help. Can I come in again? ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/43 "2010-10-25T06:46:54Z")
I’m home, safe and sound; lots of snow between Calgary and Red Deer. **Cat Whisperer, Dread Pirate Jimbo, trupa** and **gregorio** , it was wonderful to see you - thank you for the scintillating and wide-ranging conversation. I hope to see you all again sometime soon. (I must confess to only partial accuracy on both the [Churchill launch facility](http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/sciences/fort_churchill.asp) and the locations of [Bill Reid sculptures](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Reid) and their locations - maybe I need to get one of those fancy iPhone things so I can google before I speak.) Spoons, FloatyGimpy - we missed you! Oh, as promised, here’s the [link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577967) to the last Short Story contest, which Spoons won. Good Lord, that’s the second time I’ve met Alberta Dopers in just over a week and no one has taken any pictures! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/44 "2010-10-25T08:20:03Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > We could do ‘[Schwanda the Bagpiper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwanda_the_Bagpiper)’… Neat! I’ve never heard of this one. Have you ever seen a production of it, **Le Ministre**? I wonder what type of pipes they use for it - there’s a lot of Central European pipes that don’t have the public recognition factor of the GHB or the Uillean pipes. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/45 "2010-10-25T14:59:20Z")
Well looks like you guys had fun. Maybe another time I can be there, but I took Velociraptor costume hunting and brought us home to chicken and dumplings this time. I’ll do my best to be there next time Cat, to save you from baseball talk. I’m not much one for sports… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/46 "2010-10-25T15:17:50Z")
Wish I could have been there. I’m thinking of a road trip to the West next summer though… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/47 "2010-10-25T15:51:37Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I’m home, safe and sound; lots of snow between Calgary and Red Deer. \ Agh, I was afraid of that. Glad to hear you made it home alive. > [@](#): > > Good Lord, that’s the second time I’ve met Alberta Dopers in just over a week and no one has taken any pictures! Too many old farts who forget about the technology we’re packing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/48 "2010-10-25T15:52:54Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Neat! I’ve never heard of this one. Have you ever seen a production of it, **Le Ministre**? I wonder what type of pipes they use for it - there’s a lot of Central European pipes that don’t have the public recognition factor of the GHB or the Uillean pipes. You would have enjoyed the conversation about the Bulgarian bagpipes with the penis-shaped chanter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/49 "2010-10-25T15:53:56Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > \ > I’ll do my best to be there next time Cat, to save you from baseball talk. I’m not much one for sports.. It’s a deal. 🙂 > [@Sunspace](#): > > Wish I could have been there. I’m thinking of a road trip to the West next summer though… First beer’s on us! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/50 "2010-10-25T17:13:10Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Wish I could have been there. I’m thinking of a road trip to the West next summer though… I have to tell you, from an entirely unscientific set of data points, **Sunspace** is the bar none, number one with a bullet ‘Doper Most Dopers Look Forward to Meeting in Real Life.’ And I have assured them that you are every bit as interesting and kind in real life as you are on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/51 "2010-10-25T17:17:36Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Neat! I’ve never heard of this one. Have you ever seen a production of it, **Le Ministre**? I wonder what type of pipes they use for it - there’s a lot of Central European pipes that don’t have the public recognition factor of the GHB or the Uillean pipes. I’m quite certain there has never been a Canadian production, and I think it’s quite probable it has not been done in North America. It is known chiefly because of the overture, which is pretty good, and because it is one of the most ridiculous titles in the entire repertoire. Unless you live in a community of ex-pat Czechs, I think it has ‘Death at the Box Office’ written all over it in large, glowing letters. Still, hope springs eternal… I’m holding out for the operatic version of ‘The Black Bonspiel of Wullie McCrimmon’. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/52 "2010-10-25T17:27:03Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Wish I could have been there. I’m thinking of a road trip to the West next summer though… Looking forward to seeing you out here, **Sunspace**! I’ve been to Toronto too many times over the past few years and not had any time to set anything up with you. Having done the road trip myself just last summer, I’d be happy to help with hints and tips for the journey. Keep us posted as to your plans. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/53 "2010-10-25T18:33:19Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I have to tell you, from an entirely unscientific set of data points, **Sunspace** is the bar none, number one with a bullet ‘Doper Most Dopers Look Forward to Meeting in Real Life.’ > > And I have assured them that you are every bit as interesting and kind in real life as you are on the SDMB. :: blush :: Thank you! > [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I’m quite certain there has never been a Canadian production, and I think it’s quite probable it has not been done in North America. It is known chiefly because of the overture, which is pretty good, and because it is one of the most ridiculous titles in the entire repertoire. Unless you live in a community of ex-pat Czechs, I think it has ‘Death at the Box Office’ written all over it in large, glowing letters. > > Still, hope springs eternal… I’m holding out for the operatic version of ‘The Black Bonspiel of Wullie McCrimmon’. I… think I’m going to have to learn about this. I like bagpipe music crossed with other things. Although part of me keeps wanting to drag out the techno version of _Song of the Volga Boatmen_ that I filched from the internet a while back. > [@Spoons](#): > > Looking forward to seeing you out here, **Sunspace**! I’ve been to Toronto too many times over the past few years and not had any time to set anything up with you. > > Having done the road trip myself just last summer, I’d be happy to help with hints and tips for the journey. Keep us posted as to your plans. Tips greatly appreciated! I’ve driven out west, but as part of a group and we took the southern route through Michigan and Duluth and along US 2. I have never been along the North Shore of Superior (beyond Wawa, if that counts), and have always wanted to. And doing a road trip by myself would be a LOT different. Always assuming my car could make survive the trip. Which is another question. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/54 "2010-10-25T19:00:13Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You would have enjoyed the conversation about the Bulgarian bagpipes with the penis-shaped chanter. 😃 Cut or uncut? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/55 "2010-10-25T19:03:59Z")
Well, if it was made of wood, I’d guess it would have to be cut. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/56 "2010-10-25T19:07:59Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > … because it is one of the most ridiculous titles in the entire repertoire. Unless you live in a community of ex-pat Czechs, I think it has ‘Death at the Box Office’ written all over it in large, glowing letters. How can anything with bagpipes in the title be ‘Death at the Box Office’?? Simply does not compute! > [@](#): > > Still, hope springs eternal… I’m holding out for the operatic version of ‘The Black Bonspiel of Wullie McCrimmon’. I was saw a production of it in Halifax in 1986 with Don Herron in the title role. W.O. Mitchell apparently was there for the opening night, and afterwards he stormed back and yelled at Herron: “You’re not playing Wullie out there! You’re playing ME!” Herron apparently didn’t deny it… W.O. also said that the 1990 production at the Globe in Regina was the best he’d ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394/57 "2010-10-25T21:46:23Z")
Hey y’all, I had a blast. Thanks for driving down, **Ministre** , I’m glad you made it safe. I must admit being a tich nervous about you having to make the trip back in the dark. **Sunspace** , dude, you gotta come out here. \*\*Spoons \*\*has said some embarassingly nice things about you I won’t repeat here, and Ministre also mentioned you kindly last night. **Jimbo** , all chapters stores and the largest used books chain are all sold out of “Men at Work”. Looks like I’ll have to order in online. Thanks for the baseball education. Cheers guys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-alberta-dope-fest-next-sunday-we-hope/557394.md?page=2)