Saturdays in the Park

SitP Wedding Edition Report!

2008-07-23T00:21:00.003-07:00

Well, my dream finally came true. No, not getting married, though that was nice too, but instead this photo:

Need I really say more? Quizzes were held, balls were tossed and knocked, packages were imported, and in the end everyone left satisfied, and one person left with a new last name.

SitP Street Hockey coming post-honeymoon :).

SitP: Wedding Edition

2008-07-14T17:25:00.003-07:00

Yes, it's actually happening. The long rumoured SitP: Wedding Edition is only 5 days away!

Marta and I (see below) are getting hitched on July 19th at Noon at Como Lake United Church in Coquitlam. After the ceremony (around 12:40ish) there will be a series of games (bocce, croquet, badminton, etc.) to be played, as well as a couple bigger games (incl. a massive game of charades). The tomfoolery will go on until about 3:00. Oh, and there'll be food!

Soooo...if you know Marta and I even just a little bit, come out for the fun and games (and the ceremony, if you know us a little bit more than a little bit).

And, as per SitP tradition, no gifts for the organizers :).

It'll be Fidelity...to the EXTREME!!!!!!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the tie really does make the man.

CTF report (feat. flesh wounds)

2008-06-20T01:48:00.007-07:00

On May 31st, 26 (or something like that, it was dark) brave souls, and this guy...

gathered to play Capture the Flag in Mundy Park. Before the games, we held a brief sneakiness training session. Here, the group shows off their newly acquired skills (note: Kevin is the sneakiest - try to find him!):

Then it was off to the game! As per CTF tradition, it was dark and everyone was having too much fun to bother taking pictures, so this shot of me taken after the event (tho still pumped filled with CTF-rage and sporting a wicked twig-scar) will have to suffice:

It is with great regret that I report that no one got a picture of Eric's knees. They were so bloody and gross - it would have made for a great blog post!

In the end, Team Hat swept to a 2 - 0 victory in captures, knotting up the Hat/No-Hat series at one win each, with one tie.

No set time for the next SitP, though it will happen sooner or later (sooner if someone else takes the initiative to organize something, later if it's left to me).

Either way, see you then!

Gooooo Summer!

Ok, here are the answers to the tests above - let's see how you did (click to expand)!

CTF Tonight LIVE! PBMF!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-31T00:33:00.008-07:00

For all you fence-sitters out there, we've already got 20+ people RSVPd for tonight's game of Capture the Flag, including this badass kid, so it's gonna be solid. You don't want to miss out, so be there!!!

Who's got two fingers, freakishly large ears, and a nasty overbite? This guy!

SitP 2008 Kick Off - Capture the Flag

2008-05-02T14:24:00.007-07:00

As is tradition here at SitP, we will be starting the season with our annual Capture the Flag game in Mundy Park in Coquitlam.

The game will take place on Saturday, May 31st at 7:30 PM. Like last year, this will allow us to play for an hour or two in the light, and end it with a few points in the dark (which is always the best part)!

Like every year, we will meet in "Parking Lot 7", and in all likelihood we'll play in the same part of the park as last year - but no guarantees! So make sure you are there at 7:30, in case we decide to try another section.

We've been getting 25-30 people out to this thus far, but I think if we hype it like hell to everyone we know, we can get it up to 50 or so and get a balls-crazy game going. So email this on to people, Facebook it, Myspace it, You Tube it, iSmack it, eTwiddle it, Futonparty it, etc.

Bring a hat (yes, another mighty battle between TEAM HAT and TEAM NO-HAT) and a flashlight. Facepaints are optional, but encouraged.

In summary:

May 31st, 2008
Mundy Park, Coquitlam
Parking Lot 7 (map)
7:30 PM until we drop (or get scared, probably around 10:30)
RAIN OR SHINE
Bring a hat, a flashlight and 47 friends!

See you there!!!

WOOOOOO!!!!

p.s. We need volunteers to run future SitP events. So please, if you have even the slightest inkling of an event you'd like to host, let me know [saturdaysinthepark(at)gmail.com]. The only rules: a game, on a Saturday, in a park, in the Lower Mainland, admission free.

p.p.s. Not involved the last couple of years? Here are the reports from our 2007 and 2006 CTF events.

Winter SitP!?

2007-12-04T22:53:00.000-08:00

Just an early heads up that if we get a few days of consecutive snow in January I am going to call a short-notice SitP snowball fight. A major component of the fight will be a 1-hour (minimum) pre-fight fort building session. We're talking multi-level forts with tunnels, turrets, catapults, five foot high monster truck spare tires, etc. Bring shovels.

So, if it gets snowy again, keep an eye on the site! SNOW LOVE!!!

SitP: Year 2 in review

2007-10-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

As the hideous she-beast of fog and rain that is Fall in Vancouver descends upon us for another year, it's time to put the good ship SitP in dry dock for the season. Thanks to everyone who came out and made this such a memorable summer. Special thanks to everyone who helped organize things this year: Agnes for the Amazing Race, Marta for the Scavenger Hunt, Agnes and Ben for the website redesign, Marc and Phil for the Kickball supplies...oh god, I'm like a flushed Oscar winner...Onkar for Bridging-the-Gap, Aaron for the video camera (though not for never sending me our wicked play-by-play video)...Josh for the ridiculous facepaint...and that guy who sat on the toilet in his bike helmet for being his wonderful self.

A recap of our events this year:

April 28th: Bridge the Gap 2007
May 26th: Capture the Flag
June 18th: Kickball
June 30th: Ultimate
July 14th: Scavenger Hunt
August 4th: Grounders, Ultimate and Poker (report pending...)
August 25th: Skytrain Tag
September 22nd: Amazing Race

Be sure to vote in our polls in the sidebar during the off season to help ensure that year three is our best yet. See you in '08!

That Race was...was...well, there just isn't a better word for it...it was goddam Amazing!

2007-09-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

19 brave souls gathered last Saturday for the last event of the 2007 SitP season: SitP Amazing Race!

The group was broken up into five teams: Team Omega, The Roosters, Team Something-dirty-to-do-with-"Google" (I can't remember what it was, but it was nasty), The VPs, and Team AWOL (Justin, Martin and Colin, only one of whom made it to the finish line). The teams first task, which was supposed to be the easiest, turned out to be the hardest: unfreeze a t-shirt and put it on. Many techniques were tried...

with some teams taking upwards of half an hour to accomplish the task. Once icy shirts were firmly on icy bodies, the race really sped up. Oceans were entered, graveyards were prowled, monestaries were respectfully ransacked, and big money was won. In the end...

TEAM OMEGA (who race better than they jump) charged to a dominating 20+ minute victory! Second place came down to a footrace, with The Roosters narrowly edging out the VPs, leaving...

Team Something-dirty-to-do-with-"Google" to stumble home in last place (Team AWOL having been disqualified for their AWOLian actions - c'mon Justin, hockey practice?)

A recap:

1. Team Omega
2. The Roosters
3. The VPs
4. Team Something-dirty-to-do-with-"Google"
5. Team AWOL

Congrats to all the participants, and mad props to Agnes for organizing the most elaborate, most exciting, most stomach-churningly elaborate event in SitP history.

Oh, and Agnes is looking for the t-shirts people were unthawing. She has a few of them, but is still missing some. Let me know if you have one and we'll find a way to get it to her.

I'll do a year-end wrap-up report soon, but as a teaser: thanks everyone for another great year of SitP!!! See you in '08!

SitP: Gambling on fun since 2006.

Amazing Race is ON!

2007-09-20T23:30:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note to confirm that we do have the minimum number of cars required to be able to go ahead (Aaron, Jamie, Meghan, Roman, Janet - don't wimp out!). Obviously, if we can get a few more cars then we can accommodate people if we get an exceptionally high turnout (which we just might!), so please still bring one if you were planning to.

AMAZING RACE! HUZZAH!

Amazing Race - September 22nd

2007-09-06T09:50:00.001-07:00

ANTICIPATION!

The date of the most exciting event in SitP history has been delayed two weeks in order to pump up the excitment to catastrophic levels. EARDRUMS WILL BURST! CATHEDRALS WILL CRUMBLE! ARMIES WILL LAY DOWN THEIR ARMS AND WAIL AT THE PALE, YELLOW MOON!

Or something to that effect. Here's all you need to know:

Saturday, September 22nd
1 - 4ish PM (it's a race, who knows, but should take under three hours)
McSpadden Park, Vancouver

What each person will need:

$5 - of which you will only spend between $2-$4
A few extra $ to pay your kind drivers some gas money
A pencil
A bathing suit and towel (optional)

What each team needs atleast one of (i.e. bring it if you have it, 'cause if you don't we won't be able to play):

A car
A map of Vancouver

On August 4th we had a good turnout, but only two cars. We must confirm that we have three cars before going ahead. Please RSVP to saturdaysinthepark(at)gmail.com that you can bring a car (gas cost will be shared amongst the team!). If we don't have at least three cars confirmed in the days before the event, we will cancel it.

As I've sworn a number of times, this is going to rock your balls. So be there.

SitP Amazing Race: Ball Rockin'

Command HQ reporting in

2007-08-26T21:25:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday's Skytrain tag was a whirlibird of excitement! 16 people showed up (many of whom, by the time of the photo, had left for the Zombie Walk), divided into 7 teams, and ran like hell.

Hiding spots were found...

"IT" flags were worn...

teams were caught...

and in the end Team Janet edged out a narrow victory with a mere 10 minutes of "Scarf Time." The final scores were:

Team Janet: 10 minutes
Team Erin: 14 minutes
Team Justin: 17 minutes
Team Sarah: 21 minutes
Team Julian: 22 minutes
Team Colin: 22 minutes
Team Kevin: 24 minutes

Many valuable lessons were learned during Skytrain Tag 07 that will help optimize next year's event. Most importantly: cellphones + tunnels = frustrated Tag Commander. To illustrate:

# of phone calls attempted by Tag Commander: 47
# of those phone calls that failed: 21
Failure rate: 45%

That means no more downtown stations (and no more hiding in the Burrard Station elevator, Justin).

Thanks to Erin and Colin for the photos.

The Amazing Race is taking place in two weeks (September 8th). I promise it will be the greatest SitP event ever. If not, I will bite a donkey. Somewhere it will really feel it (ear?). I'll really dig in. I am not joking you. I know a guy.

SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!?

Skytrain Tag - August 25th

2007-08-20T01:53:00.000-07:00

August 25th
1:00 PM
Parking lot of the Safeway store
Commercial and Broadway, Vancouver

The game will take around 90 minutes to play. Last year's game was a WILD success - so be sure to get in on the action this time around.

Basic rules (we will play a simplified version of last year's game - we're always learning!) can be reviewed in last year's post for this event. All you really need to know is, if you have one, bring a cellphone.

HOLY CRAP! EXCLAMATION!!!!

Study hard. Come prepared.

Mark your calendars!

2007-08-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

Due to the unfortunate realization that most SitPers are car-less, free-loving hippies, the SitP Amazing Race has been postponed until we can rustle up a few more automobiles. A post on our exciting afternoon of improvised Grounders and Elimination Ultimate will be up shortly.

Until then, here are the dates for the final two, most spectacular, most stupendous SitP events of the '07 season:

Skytrain Tag!!!
August 25th
1:00 PM
Parking lot of the Safeway store
Commercial and Broadway, Vancouver

SitP Amazing Race!!!!!!
September 8th
Time and Location TBA

Holy sweet wow goodie-goodie goodness!!!

Amazing Race - What you need - REVISED

2007-08-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

Hello all, just a quick note to everyone who is planning on participating this Saturday, please try to bring the following:

A car (if you have one available)
A road map of Vancouver
$5 - of which you will only spend between $2-$4
A few extra $ to pay your kind drivers some gas money
A towel and a bathing suit - don't panic, you won't necessarily need these
Skipping Rope
Frisbee
A pencil

See you at the start line!

Amazing Race - August 4

2007-07-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

It is a journey that will span the ages and break through religious divides. It will test the endurance of even the most honed of intellects and toned of muscles. It is the SitP edition of the Amazing Race and it is coming your way on August 4, 2007.

Lines will be drawn.
Battles will be fought.
Teams will compete but only one will be victorious.

Location:

McSpadden Park

Victoria Dr

(That's where you'll start - who knows what unturned corners of the city this race will take you to)

Start time:

1:00pm

Stuff you'll need:

Check back in a few days. You'll need stuff, but not much.

To celebrate the finish, we will hang out at English Bay and watch the finale of the Celebration of Light!:

If you want to participate in this historic Vancouver event, please let SitP organisers know by emailing saturdaysinthepark@gmail.com and please indicate whether you will have access to a vehicle on the day of the event. If you don't, that's totally cool, we'd just like to know how many we've got.

That's it. Don't miss the chance to be as cool as these cats:

Scavengetastic

2007-07-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

If you missed the scavenger hunt, take a look at the items that 3 teams of SitP'ers collected and took photos of. All but the bolded ones were accomplished - yes, including the dog poop and lots and lots of photos of porn at the video store...

Bring back:
An American bill
A lego piece
Condom wrapper
Ad for an event that’s more than one month old
Three straws – all different colours (no partial points)
A team member wearing a bracelet made out of hot coffee holder things
Coupon for diapers
Completed employment application form (bonus points for funniest)
Dog poop in a bag
Movie ticket stub
A candle
A sea shell
A dandelion
A cassette tape

Take a Photo of:

Something with a superman logo
Found graffiti with the F word
Someone on a toilet

Cobs breads worker, in hat, holding a "I still love SitP" sign
Someone with black lipstick
Someone drumming on a drum
Someone doing a handstand
A woman with armpit hair
Someone’s tongue piercing

Old man in a hawt car
People making zombie pose (20 pts for each person, up to 5)
Someone with their thong (underwear kind) showing
Your whole team in a shopping cart

A ballerina
Volkswagen Beetle
An opposing team cheating (up to 2 incidents)
Someone who is definitely not impressed with the scavenger hunt
A mammal other than human, cat or dog
Mickey Mouse
Something illegal happening that would warrant an arrest (no, jay walking doesn’t count)
Tibetan prayer flags
Your whole team playing basketball
Your whole team with blue tongues

A heavily stickered vehicle
A man gardening
Porn at a video rental store
A house with a “4321” address
A cross-dresser
A love note that team member wrote, photo of member handing it to a stranger, photo of stranger reading it

SitP Ultimate Report

2007-07-08T15:20:00.003-07:00

SCAVENGER HUNT IN ONE WEEK!!!

Thirteen brave warriors showed up on June 30th for a many-holds barred game of Ultimate.

Hugs were exchanged...

cymbals were clashed...

monkeys and grade-5-school-play-monsters were allowed to play...

kung-fu was mastered...

and in the end a couple of teams beat another couple of teams by various scores. EXCITMENT! Scavenger Hunt in less than a week! DOUBLE EXCITMENT!!!!

Phil, no one is covering you. Lots of time.

2007-07-08T15:20:00.001-07:00

Scavenger Hunt!

2007-07-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

It's the SitP you've been waiting for ... a scavenger hunt! You may recall last year's hunt, a huge success complete with the classics: nipple rings, dumpster diving, and apple pie. So come for the hunt, bring a digital camera and score points for bringing a friend and a silly outfit. We will make teams once we've all met up. All travel will be by foot.
Here's the more concrete info:

When: July 14th, 2007
Meeting Spot: McSpadden Park Playground
Time: 1:00 pm
Bring: Digital camera (we'll have one per team)
Woohoo!

June 30th SitP - Ultimate Fisbee

2007-06-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

That's right, kiddos, more SitP action is right around the corner. Our next event will be Ultimate Frisbee. Here are the details:

Saturday, June 30th
1:00 PM
McSpadden Park, Vancouver
Map Here

No equipment necessary, tho if you have cleats, bring 'em along.

P.S. Someone left their jacket at kickball. Lemme know if it was you.

P.P.S. Two weeks after Ultimate, Eric will be hosting a SitP mystery event!

P.P.P.S. Two weeks after that, Agnes will be hosting SitP Amazing Race!

B.A.N.A.N.A.S. This shit is!

SitP: Catching like nerds since 2006.

"But Daddy, the new logo makes my head feel all funny."

2007-06-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

"That's ok hunny, you're just having a graphic-induced fit. It's perfectly normal. It's a metaphor for the fits of fun you'll have at SitP. Oh, and you might swallow your tongue. That part's not a metaphor for anything."

Thanks, Agnes, for the wicked new logo!!! More info on the next THREE SitPs coming soon. BE THERE OR DIE!

Kickball + Man-Jousting Report

2007-06-18T00:26:00.001-07:00

Twenty-two...or something like that...it was hard to keep track with all the coming and going...crazy people, one dog and one beaver (see photo) showed up to play some kickball in the rain.

After reviewing the rules, the players took the field (yes, there were usually more than five of us).

Balls were thrown

and kicked

and in the end, two nine-inning games were played, with "Team Winners" beating "Team Losers" 18-10, and "Team 1" beating "Team 2" 16-12 (Yes, they were our worst names yet).

The schedule is coming together for the next few SitPs...stay tuned.

Oh, and after the kickball was over, this happened. I can confidently say it was the saddest moment of SitP since "Stella-Ella-Ola" in Year 1. Two equally idiotic videos below, also.

And Marta did "Ah, Balls!" and I did "Horses!" and Ben did "Brbrbrbrbrbrbr" and "Ah, me Chinese monkey"!

Ben's Ball Cam

2007-06-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

"It's all you, Agnes!"

2007-06-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

KICKBALL TODAY!!!!

2007-06-16T10:02:00.000-07:00

See details below...

And check out the latest fan video for SitP's own superstar, Stephanie Mercier...

Next Event: California Kickball!!!

2007-06-04T01:20:00.000-07:00

Due to a combination of the following factors:

1. I don't have my act together.
2. No one has stepped up to put my act together.
3. No one has volunteered their put-together act and agreed to host their own event.
4. Aviv, a diehard SitPer, is going to be back in town from genius school a week after our next scheduled event.

we are going to delay our next event until Saturday, June 16th. That event? Any guesses? Did the title of the post tip you off?

CALIFORNIA KICKBALL! Thanks to Patricia for the idea. Here are the details:

Saturday, June 16th
3:00 PM - ???
Woodland Park, Vancouver (corner of McLean and Adanac - see map)

More details to follow. Possibly an "Onkar Watch". If you can't wait for things to read, here is the "official" kickball rulebook. Study hard.

Oh, and ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN OUR MIDST - WE NEED A SPORTS BALL.

Do you have what it takes to play SitP Kickball? All you need to do to prove your worth is pass this simple test.

POSTERS!

2007-05-29T23:23:00.000-07:00

By Ben!!!

Now send something in for the poster contest yourself, foo!

Capture the Flag!

2007-05-27T00:03:00.000-07:00

That was a helluva a way to kick off season 2 of SitP!

26 people (all but five of whom made the photo) came out. War paint was applied, more expertly by some...

than others...

and the competition began. Moonshoes (flags) were thrown, shirts were tugged, trees were climbed, ankles were twisted, and in the end TEAM HAT narrowly defeated TEAM NO-HAT (go original names!) by a score of 3 captures to 2. GO TEAM HAT!!!

Thanks, as always, to Marta for the photos. No clue what we are playing in two weeks. But it will be something, and it will be somewhere and it will be fun. Always looking for someone who wants to take on hosting duties. Anyway, stay tuned!!!

C'mon! I'm a Samurai Pizza Cat!!!
Was I the only one watching YTV in 1991?

Ultimate, anyone?

2007-05-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

CAPTURE THE FLAG CAPTURE THE FLAG CAPTURE THE FLAG

A good number of SitPers are, or have been, associated with Burnaby Ultimate, a fun and inclusive Ultimate Frisbee league run by SitP's own Dave "the D-man" Cowley.

Anyway, registration is a little low right now, and Marta and I are itching to get a SitP team going to help bolster the ranks. No experience necessary, just a willingness to show up once a week, learn the game, and run yourself silly. We play both on Tuesday and Thursday nights (though we are primarily looking for people for Tuesday) from 6 - 8:30-ish PM at the Burnaby Lake Fields (near Sperling Skytrain). If you're interested, let me know at email.rob.taylor(at)gmail.com.

P.S. You better damn well show up for capture the flag this Saturday.

SitP is reborn!

2007-05-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

Jean Grey's got nothing on us. Ah...nerds...

Anyway, SitP's first event will be Capture the Flag in Mundy Park - that's right, we're bringing it back - three-hundred-and-sixty-four days after the first one!

It will be held on Saturday, May 26th at 7:00 PM. This earlier start time will allow those not comfortable with playing in the dark (or those who, when it gets dark, think tree stumps are bears) to play for a good hour or two before we lose visibility. Then, those who are still pumped up can keep playing in the dark. So bring a flashlight, just in case!

We'll meet in "Parking Lot 7", like last year. A map to the parking lot can be found here (note: it's from last year and while the meeting spot may be the same, there's a good chance we'll play in a different part of the park, though we will still make our best effort to avoid monsters).

We had over 30 people out last year, so if we all work to bring a friend or two, this thing could be bloody huge. As always, anybody and everybody is invited, and this is going ahead RAIN OR SHINE, because wet things are always more fun.

Oh yeah, and we're going to try the hat thing again, which sort of worked last time...so bring a hat.

In summary:

May 26th, 2007
Mundy Park, Coquitlam
Parking Lot 7 (map)
7 PM until we drop (or get scared, probably around 10 or 10:30) - RAIN OR SHINE
Bring a hat, a flashlight and 5 friends!

Yes? Yesssss!

P.S. Onkar may or may not be there. Still awaiting confirmation... He is, however, a member of the "The Mercienaries" team.

P.P.S. Vote in the new poll!

The Mercienaries: It's the new facebook!

2007-05-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

Who needs Facebook when you have the comment section of the Stephanie Mercier fan site? Everybody's there!

Steph Mercier has always been a loyal SitPer, and now that she is a TV star (Sport of Kings, 11 AM Saturdays, CityTV), she deserves your support. So flood those comment sections!

The Mercienaries: The Stephanie Mercier Fan Site

P.S. You know it's good, because Onkar is involved.

Bridge the Gap 2007: Did Onkar show? HELL, HE EVEN PLACED!

2007-04-29T00:48:00.000-07:00

That joke's for you, Mercier.

Fantastic job, team. 18 people showed up and atleast 17 of them had fun - I dunno about Ian as I yelled at him quite a bit.

Here are the results:

1. Marta - 4180 (Awards: Bridger #1 + Best Partnership)
2. ONKAR - 3980!!! (Awards: Bridger #2 + Best Partnership)
3. Rob - 2930
4. Erin - 2920
5. Matt - 2700
6. John - 2600 (Award: Best Newbie)
7. Ben - 2350
8. Stephanie G - 2030
9. Roman - 2000
10. Jesse - 1800
11. Caitlin - 1760
12. Agnes - 1680
13. Stephanie M - 1310
14. Josh/Justine - 1110
15. Colin - 1030
16. Patricia - 720 (Award: "I Suck at Bridge" Trophy)
17. Ian - 0

CONGRATULATIONS!!! PICTURES!!!! YES!!!!

Onkar is an unstoppable bridge juggernaut.

Marta is the champion.

John is the champion newb.

Patricia sucks at bridge.

Ben has the skills to pay the bills. And make posters. But does he have the skills to not go down five tricks doubled against Marta and Onkar!?!? I mean seriously, mentally challenged ducks can pull that off. I bet even Ian could...

More pictures on the flickr account.

Bridge the Gap 2007/ Onkar Watch 2007 Poster

2007-04-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ben for this amazing poster.

More on "Onkar Watch 2007" here.
More on "Bridge the Gap 2007" here.

Onkar Watch 2007

2007-04-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday, April 15th, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Monday, April 16th, 2007: Onkar sends Rob Taylor a personal e-mail in which he notes, "I am not too sure about my availability yet, but I will let you know."

Tuesday, April 17th, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Wednesday, April 18th, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Thursday, April 19th, 2007: Onkar records himself as "Maybe Attending" on the Bridge-the-Gap 2007 Facebook (ick) invitation.

Friday, April 20th, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Saturday, April 21st, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Monday, April 23rd, 2007: Onkar joins the "Onkar Watch 2007" Facebook event and (unofficially) pledges his attendance!!! Still awaiting official confirmation at miniewska(at)gmail.com.

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Thursday, April 26th, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Friday, April 27th, 2007: No word from Onkar.

Saturday, April 28th, 2007: Oh god...the suspense is killing me...

Total Invite E-mails received by Onkar: 9

Recent E-mails to Onkar:

From Colin:

Hey Onkar -- have you heard of this campaign to get Onkar Bains to
come to Marta's bridge party on April 28th? All the info is at
http://saturdaysinthepark.blogspot.com, but here's the gist of what
you have to do: email Onkar at obains@alumni.sfu.ca and ask him to
come to the bridge party mentioned above. And you could CC
saturdaysinthepark@gmail.com too, but that's an optional step.

Cheers,

-Colin

From Ben:

Hi Onkar,

I just wanted to remind you about the Saturdays in the Park event (Bridge the Gap 07) that will take place at Marta's place on Saturday, April 28th, commencing at approximately 7:00 in the evening. I heard that you had expressed "tentative commitment" to the event, which, frankly, seems out of character for a man of your caliber. Bridge tournaments are a rare opportunity that must be cherished and pursued with the utmost enthusiasm, like a lion pursues a gazelle. Onkar, you must be the lion. You, of the genus panthera, a predatory carnivore, must attack this tournament to feed your young. Tear open that gazelle and chew on it. Lions are not vegetarians, and you must not chew on the low-lying foliage that is non-commitment. Come on, Onkar, just come to the bridge game. Kill your gazelle and feed your young. Make your lady lion proud, tell her to call you Simba, then go lick your mane and make fun of the hippos.

Sincerely yours,
Ben

From Dan:

Yo Onk

I just phoned your home and your two lab telephones. No one answered!

Since you're not studying or working you should come to Marta's welcome home party. I'll be there, and Marta will be there, I think we need three players for a team. We need you!!

Dan

Honk This Onk.

What can you do to help? E-mail Onkar at obains(at)alumni.sfu.ca encouraging him to attend. Be sure to CC saturdaysinthepark(at)gmail.com so we can monitor the e-mail count. Bonus points if you send multiple e-mails in one day.

A sample e-mail:

Onkar, my pet,

I yearn for you. Saturday, April 28th. Marta's place. 7 PM. We can smooch until you can take no more (probably around 10:30 or so).

Do not leave my love unrequited. I promise I won't bite this time.

Passionately yours,

Your name here

More info on Bridge-the-Gap 07 here.

Marta's Back = Marta's Party House is Back = Bridge Night @ Marta's = Yes, Yes, a Bridge Night is a Party = No, You Shut Up

2007-04-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

Bridge-the-Gap 2007 Bridge Tournament
Marta's Place
Saturday, April 28th (NOTE THE DATE CHANGE NOW AND DON'T BLAME US LATER)
7:00 PM
(Lessons at 6:15 for new players)

It's gonna be an RSVP thing so we can:

1. Try to have full tables of 4.
2. Bully you into bringing some sort o' snack.
3. E-mail you Marta' house address.

So, RSVP at miniewska(at)gmail.com if yer in. I'll post updates on this as we near the date. Methinks it will be the biggest and greatest bridge tournament in human history, especially if Onkar registers.

Will keep you up to date on whether this happens.

P.S. Poster lovers of the world (Ben), we are going to need something spectacular for this one.

P.P.S. NO FACEBOOKING. blech. Feel free to promote BTG 2007 using facebook, but no talking about it as it is gross and makes me sad.

Mystery Event at SFU

2007-03-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Mysteriously arrived in my inbox:

Thursday April 5th 2-6pm
set up at noon

POTLUCK-bring some food, a blanket, your favourite recreational activity. play some bocce, croquet, hackey sac, guitar, chill out with the campus folk. We will be re-launching the raft at twenty after four.

This is being organised on the down low, but we still need to spread the word to as many people as possible, ideally by word of mouth. mass txt msgs to your people if you can.

who is organising this? "beats me, I just heard about it from a friend"
see you there
peace

yours,

MYSTERY ORGANIZER

I find it all very...mysterious. Especially the raft which has been previously launched, and the astonishing two hour setup time... Nonetheless, I plan on showing up and pretending I still attend SFU.

p.s. Want SitP to start early this year? Harass Erin and Eric re: mud football/ocean frolicking.

KAZAM!

2007-03-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

The good bear SitP is still hibernating, but other creatures are beginning to stir. This note is from Eric:

Flash Mob Pillow Fight

Saturday, March 24, 2007
3:00pm - 3:15pm
Vancouver Art Gallery

Time to let the feathers fly!

6 easy Rules to WWPFC 2.0
First Rule of Pillow Fight Club is.... "Don't talk about Pillow Fight Club"!
Second rule: Don't be in the location until the exact minute.
Third Rule: Hide your pillows.
Fourth Rule: Rush in screaming PILLOW FIIIIIIIGHT! !!!!
Fifth Rule: After about 15 minutes of excruciating Fun, leave.
Sixth Rule: DO NOT hit bystanders/camera people

You can also find this event on facebook. There are 1573 confirmed
guests and 1442 maybe attending.

http://ubc.facebook.com/event.php?eid=2234672401

Editor's note: Not a member of Facebook? Don't click the link. Stay back! They'll suck you in and take your very soul. Now run...RUN DAMMIT!

SitP Year One Recap

2006-10-31T05:34:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed, SitP has gone into hibernation for the winter. But who can blame it? It’s been a tiring few months. This summer has seen SitP grow from a wee 12 people at our inaugural event in May, to a bloated and gassy 40 at the Water Gun CTF game and subsequent poker game. We also had our first baby, and handed out enough cans of cream corn/dinosaur paraphernalia to feed/entertain a small country (the Vatican?). Wowza.

Mad props to all who came out and made the summer of ‘06 so damn enjoyable. Special thanks to Eric, Ben, Chris, Karin, Marta, and all others who stepped up and helped organize and run certain weeks. Also, of course, thank you to our tiara-sporting cohort of Prize Princesses. The plan is to bring SitP back in May or June ‘07, so stay tuned!!!!

And now, a brief review of who took home the bling in our inaugural year:

Hugging Dinosaur Award Winners:

May 13th, Croquet and Bocce = Rob
May 27th, Capture the Flag = Stephanie M.
June 10th, Soccer = The Frogs
June 17th, Tag and Grounders = Eric and Colin Stewart
July 8th, Baseball = Marta
July 15th, Scavenger Hunt = Lots and lots of people…I’ve forgotten this one
Aug. 5th, Cricket = Colin Stewart (again, the popular bastard)
Aug. 19th, Water Gun CTF = Ben
Sept. 2nd, Skytrain Tag = Kelly
Sept. 16th, Flag Football = Erin and Karin

Bonus Tournaments:

Bridge Tournament winner: Rob
Poker Tournament winner: Aviv

P.S. While SitP events will be in hibernation over the winter, the SitP poster contest will continue on! What better way to pass through those dreary winter nights than a hardcore poster party with your closest friends?

Info for FLAG FOOTBALL!!!

2006-09-12T03:36:00.000-07:00

The masses have spoken! And by masses, I mean the seven people who voted (none of whom were me!) on our poll about what we should be doing this coming Saturday! So, here's the info!

The Game: Flag Football!!!
Day: Saturday September 16th
Time: 1:00-3:00 pm
Place: Mundy Park
Bring: usual field sports stuff, a bandanna to stuff in your pants.

Let's all meet at the parking lot south of the disc golf course (where we met for the nighttime capture the flag) and then we can decide which field is the awesome-est for us.

FACE PAINT!!!

(Note from Rob: you can see a map of the parking lot here. It's from the CTF game, so ignore everything except the "where to park" part, and the monster part, which is very important)

Poll Dancing

2006-09-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Way down on the right (my left, your right) is a poll for what you wanna do on the 16th.

Go nuts.

Greetings from Your (new) Benevolent Dictator

2006-09-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Thank you Rob, for the introduction in the previous post. :)

Just a few thoughts about the Sept 16th SitP. Based on the highly scientific poll taken at Skytrain tag (ie: I asked a couple people what they wanted to do) it seems that there is a definite lean toward a "sports" SitP. Therefore, I will pose the suggestions of the following:

-Uber Canadian: Street hockey on a field. Or on a street...if you wanna get all "traditional". Canadian themed clothing mandatory!

-flag/touch football. Facepainting in team colours optional...or we could just go lights and darks.

-Tried and true: Ultimate/Ultimate Frisbee/Flatball...the names change, but the game is the same.

Any thoughts or other ideas? Leave 'em in the comments! I'll do a fancy-shmancy poll thingie later, but I wanted to get things out there.

---Karin---

REPORT from the Command Center

2006-09-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

Skytrain Tag. Wow. My goodness. Now that's a game. 11 of us gathered at Commercial Skytrain...

and played a cell-tastic version of Skytrain Tag, complete with three-way tags, in-game substitutions and public urination. In the end, a stunning 15-minute meltdown by Team Cosette cost them the victory, and handed the title to Team Merita, with Team We Got Nothin' slipping into second place and Team Corsette having to settle for 3rd. Shockingly, despite starting the game with the STICK OF POWER, the appropriately named Team Stick stumbled out of the blocks and simply could not recover, finishing last. The final times (amount of time spent as "IT"):

Team Merita: 10 min 30 sec
Team We Got Nothin': 15 min
Team Corsette: 17 min
Team Stick: 27 min

The Hugging Dinosaur Award (presented by returning Prize Princess, Erin) was won by first time SitPer Kelly, who managed to find his team mid-game without any instruction from, or the knowledge of, the Tag Commander.

And, in new, EXCITING, news, Karin has volunteered to run SitP in two weeks! Wow! So, suggestions are needed for what/where/etc.

Woooo!

First rule of Skytrain Tag: Do not talk about Skytrain Tag

2006-08-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

Skytrain tag took the poll. Woo! This will be a SitP first in three ways:

1. First SitP not located in a park (although the Scavenger Hunt hardly counted).
2. First SitP that will cost money ($2.25, unless you wish to risk a ticket or have scammed the system for a free U-Pass)
3. First SitP to have elaborate, self-designed rules. Yes, I'm making this one up as I go along.

Alright. Here are the basic details:

Saturday, September 2nd
1:00 PM
NE Corner of Safeway Parking Lot
Just East of Commercial Dr. and Broadway
Map here (the map points almost exactly to our meeting place).

Meeting at the station would be too chaotic and would arouse the suspicion of the angry transit cops. The Safeway is right under Broadway Skytrain Station and if we go the far corner of the parking lot there should be plenty of open space for us to gather in.

The plan is to play for 90 minutes (the length of a single fare). We will play on the Millenium Line (less people) between VCC-Clark and Gilmore stations (transit map here).

Got it? Good.

Now here are the instructions. There are a lot of them, but they really aren't that complicated. They are a work in progress. Feel free to suggest changes. Prepare for me to shoot them down and mock you.

Setup:

1. Group divides into teams of 2-4 people, each team with a cell phone.
2. 1 person (2 people?) is designated "Skytrain Master" or "Tag Commander" or some cool name like that (suggestions?). That person also has a cell phone, and is given a list of the numbers of each team's cellphones.
3. One more cellphone is added to the mix. THE TAG CELLPHONE!!!!!!!!!
4. A foolish game of some sort is played to determine who will start as "IT". They get THE TAG CELLPHONE!!!!!!!!

The game begins:

5. All non-"IT" teams get a five minute head start, then the "IT" team gets to head down to the platform.
6. All team members must always be on the same platform or in the same Skytrain car (note: car, not train: they can't have someone in each car of a train) at the same time. Beyond that, they can spread out (to search a car or platform, or to hide).
6. No team is allowed to travel past the last stations (VCC-Clark and Gilmore).
7. Teams can leave trains, but cannot leave the "Fair Paid Zone" of any station (unless just to transfer to the other side of the station to change direction, and then only in straight lines, no wandering away and hiding in a trash can).
8. Every fifteen minutes or so, the "Tag Commander" will call each team and ask them to report what station they are at or heading towards. YOU MUST TELL THE TRUTH, YOU DIRTY LIARS!!!! Also, at this time teams can get an update re: who is it (but not where they are).
9. Every 10 minutes the "IT" team can call the "Tag Commander" on THE TAG CELLPHONE and get a report of the last location reported by each of the teams they are hunting.
10. At any time a non-"IT" team can call the "Tag Commander" to double-check who is it. Also, if a team sees another one, they MUST identify themselves as IT if they are IT. No fakesies.
11. The "Tag Commander" also has a stopwatch, and keeps track of how long a team is "IT".

A tag is made!:

12. If the "IT" team tags an opposing player (a member physically tags an opposing team member) then both teams have to stop and follow this procedure:
13. The team that was "IT" before the tag calls the "Tag Commander" and reports the tag, then gives THE TAG CELLPHONE to the new team.
14. The newly tagged team has to wait one train to let the old "IT" team get away. If the tag is made on a train, the newly "IT" team must get off at the next stop. If other teams arrive on the platform or in the train during this time, they are fair game.

End of game:

15. At the set end time (90 minutes after start), we meet back at Commercial Drive station and the winners and losers are crowned (based on time spent being "IT").

OH, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:

16. Don't mess with these armed brutes! If you are around transit officials, BE GOOD! Slow to a light jog. Don't give them a reason to shut us down!!!!!

Sound good? Confusing? Good and confusing?

Great!

See y'all there!!!!

TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!!!

London Underground = SitP Fieldtrip?

WG CTF, BBQ, PT R. SOAMFP!!!!!!!

2006-08-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah!!!!

First person to succesfully explain the title wins a prize...maybe some of the old hot dogs Aviv refused to take home. Here's how it went down on Saturday:

After a very late start (everyone was at the Snakes on a Plane matinee, I suppose), 21 brave souls took to the sunny hills of Coquitlam...

to scare the hell out of innocent picnicers and the kids in the splash park. AND SCARE THEM ALL WE DID! Man, we were all over the place as "Team Face Shot" took on "Team Waterbabies" in a no-holds-barred game of Capture the Flag. Not surprisingly, Team Waterbabies was thoroughly trounced in both games, despite extensive Josh-Chan-Colin guardsies tactics. In the end, Ben was awarded the Hugging Dinosaur Award for his supreme defending/Marta soaking abilities by Prize Princess Betty.

After that, we headed over to Marta's for some barbequein' and pokin' (and other equally silly things). Burgers were eaten, great leaders' names were spoken, and bluffs were called. Do it, Marc! Do it! Call the bluff!

After the dust finally settled, Aviv walked away with the grand prize: some stale chips, a bottle of pop, a bag of hamburger buns and the aforementioned hot dizzles. Congrats, Aviv!

The results from the final table (Out of over 30 participants! Yay everyone!):

1. Aviv
2. Jason
3. Sandra
4. Rob
5. David (D-zilla, not D-man, tho D-man's fondue thang deserved a prize)
6. Jesse
7. Darko
8. Caitlin

Fantastic. Alright, more fun and games in two weeks. Vote in the poll (in the sidebar) ASAP for what you'd like to do, as we will be making a decision by Wednesday.

WOOOO!!!!!

Sammy J. would be proud.

water GUNS, two SHIRTS, poker at SEVEN, mf SNAKES

2006-08-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

Some more details for Saturday's festivities:

1. The Water Fight CTF will be WATER GUN only. I've realised buckets and such could be abused by some aggresive flag-campers and would probably wreck things a bit. I will be bringing about 30 little water guns, so don't worry if you don't have one. But they are lame, so if you have a super soaker, bring it. (The original details about the waterfight are here.)

2. If you are coming to CTF, bring both a light and a dark shirt, so we can divide teams up nice and easy. And, of course, be willing to get both a bit damp.

And if you are wondering, the weather report says sunny with a high of 26 degrees. PERFECT WATER FIGHT CTF WEATHER!!!!!!

3. If you are coming to the post-SitP barbecue (starting at 4:30), but really only care about the sweet poker tourney that will be going down, that is scheduled for 7 PM. All this at Marta's pad. E-mail her to confirm attendance and get the address.

4. I know a number of you are considering missing SitP to see a certain awesome movie. But remember, it comes out tonight, so you can rush out and get your fix pre-SitP. NO "SNAKE" OR "PLANE" RELATED EXCUSES WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR MISSING SitP!!!!!

"On" and "A" excuses will be tolerated, reluctantly. IMF, dirty MF.

SitP Water Fight Capture the Flag!!!

2006-08-08T01:27:00.000-07:00

Where?: Blue Mountain Park, Coquitlam (map here). Meet in the South-East corner, near the tennis courts.

When?: Saturday, August 19th, 1 PM

What?: Water Fight Capture the Flag!!!!

What's that?: It's Capture the Flag, but instead of tagging someone, you have to get them wet.

But what if it's cold?: Then we'll just tag each other, sissies.

Anything more?: Yes!

What?: I'll tell you!

After the game, everyone is invited to Marta's house for a BBQ/poker tournament/goodbye party for Eric, Aviv, Paul, Marta and myself (and other people heading off to points unknown this September). Hurrah!

If you want to come to Marta's, but can't make it to SitP, e-mail her through the SitP account and she'll let you know her address, etc.

So, if yer up for it, it's a whole day of SitP fun! CAN YOU CONTAIN THE EXCITEMENT!? I CAN'T! I CAN FEEL EXCITEMENT DRIBBLING DOWN MY PANTLEG RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

Cute? Sure. Sending your sorry ass to jail? Definitely.

Adjust your box: Cricket Report

2006-08-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

A rockin' game of cricket went down on Saturday, and I mean hardcore cricket, none of that backyard-rules-6-and-out garbage. Anyway, 16 of us gathered...

and protected wickets...

hit balls...

and cast spells!

In the end the Hugging Dinosaur Award was presented to Colin (the first multi-HDA winner in SitP hisory) by Prize-Princess Betty for terrible batsmanship (Eric, apparently, was thrilled)...

and Shannon took home the "Man of the Match Ricecake" for being a far better player than anyone else (especially Chris).

After the game, we went to Josh's house for some bbq delights and good fun was had by all.

In conclusion: proper white attire was worn only by the $250 membership-fee paying members playing next to us (and Eric), boobies were seen in men's rooms, and Lego Star Wars games were proven to be a silly idea. I mean, Lego is good, Star Wars is good, but why together? Tinkertoys and Bladerunner...would that be a good idea? Of course not! Then why this? WHY!? Anyway, I digress...

Thanks to Chris for running this one! It was a smash! More pictures, as always, in our photo album.

Water Fight Capture the Flag in 2 weeks!!!! Info coming soon!!!!!!!!!!!

SitP gave birth (in a cone of silence)

2006-07-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

TomKat would be proud.

It's official: we've gone international. Some trouble-makers in Oxford have set up Wednesdays in the Park. My vision of global SitP domination is starting to come to fruition.

Nerds of the global internet: stop visiting this blog and start your own SitP! You'll make friends, just like these happenin' Oxfordians.

Anyway, I figure we need to support our first baby (burp it, change diapers, etc.) so make sure you visit their site and spam their comment box (a proud SitP tradition).

And remember, we're playing Cricket in 6 days and photos from the Scavenger Hunt are here.

C'mon, WitP, give Daddy a kiss. What do you mean, "Only if you take off that ugly Bill Cosby sweater?"

Captions are hard...

2006-07-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

...you can see my best effort at some for the photos from the Scavenger Hunt. So much pressure when "Smart-assed Photo Captions" is dominating the poll the way it is. If you have more pictures from the hunt, and you'd like to see them posted, e-mail them to the SitP account. Also, check out this wicked poster Marta whipped up:

And remember, we'll be playing a fantastic game of cricket on August 5th. Details here.

And, in case you've never played cricket before, remember that no experience is necessary:

I'm done with captions for today. Suggest a good one in the comment section and I'll post it.

Saturdays in the Park World Cup One-Day Series CRICKET!!!

2006-07-17T00:19:00.000-07:00

All that follows comes courtesy of Chris, our valiant Australian correspondent. Frankly, I have no idea what he is saying, but I think I'm a "foller", "Ockers" are lame, and I may or may not want to be "stumped" (I think I don't). And I don't want to know what it means to "adjust your box"...

In case you can't translate it all, here are the essentials:

Saturday, August 5th
11:00 AM
Connaught Park, Vancouver (map here)
Bring food and drink...um...I mean "Stubbies" and "Steakburgers"

Now, in Chris' own words:

G'day youse follers and sheilas!
*(really lame attempt at being over-the-top Ocker).

Saturdays in the Park reaches a new cultural high with the SitP Vancouver Cricket Series! For those who don't feel very athletic; cricket is the perfect game for you. If you hit the ball and don't feel like running, don't run! But it does cost you in lost runs. Never fear, since cricket is best enjoyed in a backyard on a sweltering hot Christmas day with a stubbie in one hand and a steakburger in the other; skills are definitely discouraged! A dog-chewed tennis ball works wonders and the rubbish bin will do for a set of wickets. Backyard rules will apply - one bounce one hand, six and out, and the dog is a legitimate player.

Since Christmas is a long way off and the weather patterns are slightly different in the Northern hemisphere, SATURDAY THE 5th OF AUGUST will do! We are playing at the cricket pitch bounded by West 11th and 12th, and Vine Street. I'll bring an esky full of beer and hopefully a barbie to complete the experience. If you have a cricket bat or some wickets (Bishnu, I think you can help here?) bring them along, as well as some beer, meat, bread rolls and salad for lunch (I'll bring what I can anyway!).

Remember - wear a hat and sun screen, and drink plenty of water.

Then you will learn the magic of "the beautiful game", yell HOWZATT!!! when someone is bowled, stumped, caught or run out, and constantly adjust your box and scratch the centerline of the pitch.

See you then!
Chris... The aussie guy.

and for your information...

Countries that love cricket:
Australia
England
New Zealand
The Jamaican archipelago
Bangladesh
India
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Kenya
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Mozambique
Canada
The Netherlands
Ireland
Scotland
Editor's note: Not Ecuador

Noteworthy players / teams:

undoubtedly Australia's most infamous cricketer, Shane Warne (aka
Warnie) is still playing county cricket in England, but is never far
from controversy. From his pack-a-day smoking habits, his
well-publicised phone conversations with nurses in London to his
sex-romps with under-age girls from the Gold Coast, he is the epitome
of anti-hero. That said, he is also one of the worlds best
spin-bowlers, with an enviable wicket tally.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/people/warne-spins-into-another-sex-scandal/2005/06/28/1119724634851.html

Details of the Australian Cricket team's infamous drinking records -
even more amazing than their run tallies or strike rates!!
http://www.thefanatics.com/content.php?id=330

More David Boon Paraphenalia; he's achieved anti-legend status with
this television-interactive doll:
http://cricket.com.au/?s=boonyageverification

Merve Hughs was another Australian cricket great, best known for his
stretching in the outfield, and getting the whole crowd behind him to
follow suit. He was a mean pace bowler, almost as intimidating as
Curtley Ambrose of Jamaica. He now does steel and metal fabrication
advertisements, but occasionally sells Toyotas...
http://www.forceentertainment.com.au/
mervhughescricketchallenge/dvd-info.php

Curtley Ambrose, along with the greatest one-day team of the late 80's
(the West Indies, aka the Windies) was a pace bowler to be reckoned
with. He was comparable in height only to Merve Hughes, but usually
bowled much better.
http://www.thefanatics.com/cwc2007/index.php?id=260

Best Captains Ever:
Alan Border (Australian captain 1984-1993)
http://members.tripod.com/virtaus4/volume6/sports/
allan_border.htm

Viv Richards (Windies captain 1980-1991)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viv_Richards

Ian Botham (England captain on and off during the 90's)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Botham

Stephen Flemming (New Zealand captain 1997-present)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Fleming

No, no. That's all wrong. Terrible. Not even close. Good try, though.

SitP Scavenger Hunt: DO ANY OF YOU HAVE A NIPPLE RING? I'M LOOKING FOR A NIPPLE RING!

2006-07-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Oh possum, it was awesome. It was the McShit, some might say. After some warm-up Grounders action, 16 insane individuals, one camera woman, and one meditatively tranquil Matt...

gathered to partake in two of Eric's favorite things (scavenging and hunting). Hands were kissed...

dumpsters were dived (diven?)...

pies were eaten...

poems were read (by birthday girls)...

and the Hugging Dinosaur Award went to a helluvalottapeople. In the end, the hunt was won by team Sarah, Paul, Steph M and Marta. Yay for them.

Pictures will slowly trickle into our photo album, as a number of people took them this week. If you took some, send them to saturdaysinthepark(at)gmail.com, especially pictures of people holding "I love SitP" signs.

Cricket next, courtesy of Chris. An update to come real soon. And remember, no experience is necessary.

Scavenger Hunt!!

2006-07-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

In case some of you were getting worried about your lack of expertise in traditional sports like baseball, soccer, etc, here is an opportunity to use a different set of skills! This Saturday, July 15th we will have a wicked scavenger hunt. Why is it so awesome? Because I will be making it.

Meeting Spot: Victoria Park by the playground(see map)
Time: 5:00pm (we will grab some eats afterwards)

What you need to know:
- Bring a digital camera as your team will need it for the hunt to document certain things (pls let me know if you are bringing one)
- You will be put into a team upon arrival, so don't fret about not knowing anyone
- The hunt can only be done by foot travel - so don't come expecting to use your car/bicycle/vespa/bus pass/etc
- We will have a pre-determined end time to meet up, decide the winners, and grab some eats/drinks
- Funny costumes are encouraged (there may be bonus points for them)
- You will have an awesome time

So that's all you need to know. Bring your friends and spread the joy of SitP!

See you on Saturday :P

Come be an explorer like Dora! And if anyone tries to steal your items, just yell: "Swiper, Stop Swiping!"

SitP Baseball - Better than Germany and Portugal

2006-07-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

Hey dorks who watched the World Cup losers game instead of playing baseball: damn did you miss out! We met at West Point Grey Park at 11. Eric brought the wooden bases and oven mitts. 16 people showed up and the fun began.

Balls were smashed (just ask Bishnu)...

stats were kept (see below)...

bats were obliterated (good one, Chris)...

and Marta took home the Hugging Dinosaur Award for her "swing batta", "yer a loser" and "your mother is ashamed of you" chants. The theory is that Alison gave it to her to avoid a verbal assault from Marta "toilet-mouth" Iniewska.

After the game we went to the beach, where a number of people went swimming and Darko and I beat the hell out of some 7 year-olds at soccer. Great fun all around!

The shout-out for photo credits goes to everyone today, as photos were a real group effort. See the rest of the photos here. Yay us!

Details coming out soon (probably tomorrow) for next week's Scavenger Hunt.

And now, the moment you've been waiting for:

SitP Baseball Scoresheet!!!! (Click to enlarge and observe scorekeepers dedication to the craft and obvious pro-Balco bias)

Rob doesn't have a job, or much to do to fill his time. No he does not.

Baseballistic!

2006-07-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

Hey kiddos,

Mad props to Eric, our baseball co-ordinator, for scouting out a suweet locale for our baseball-a-thon this Saturday: West Coast Grey Park in Vancouver. See a map and pictures of the park here.

We'll meet at 11 AM in the South East corner of the park (near the baseball diamond, just off 8th). Please bring all the bats, balls, gloves, etc. that you can muster up.

Our current equipment count:
- 1 aluminum bat
- 3 baseballs
- 1 softball
- 2 very small (Janet sized) gloves
- 3 oven mitts

And, in the proud tradition of SitP, remember to bring hats! (It's sunny out there!)

Carpools can be arranged through the comment section or saturdaysinthepark(at)gmail.com. I'll probly have a couple of seats available myself.

BRING ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND ENEMIES!!! IT'LL BE A MASSIVE MASS OF AWESOMENESS!!!

Baseball. Invite your friends and enemies. Play with your friends and shoot your enemies. Then yell "N0, YER OUT...JERK!". Everyone will laugh.

Bridge Results and Ecuador Loss!

2006-06-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

What a glorious day! We get to enjoy the afterglow of a smashingly succesful bridge tourney (thanks, Stephie, for the pic)...

and an Ecuador loss/net capture!!!

Life is sooooooo good. On the bridge front, here are the official results, if yer wondering:

Best Partnership: Bishnu and Steph M
Best Noobie: Steph G
SHUT-OUT!!! Award: Caitlin and Paul
Hostess Taking One for the Team Award: Marta
Best fence maker/card watcher: John

Final Scores:
1. Rob (4820)
2. Ian (3550)
3. Steph M (3250)
4. Steph G (2980)
5. Bishnu (2770)
6. Mike (2710)
7. Paul (2640)
8. Ben (2260)
9. Dave (2210)
10. Janet (1980)
11. Kevin (1890)
12. Justine/Josh (1870)
13. Erin (1760)
14. Jesse (1720)
15. Marta (1400)
16. Caitlin (810)
17. John (0!!!)

On the soccer front, now that Ecuador is out, my new obsession will be to cheer against anyone who plays my new adopted team, Ghana. So...

I didn't photoshop this or anything. Someone else out there on the internet made it. There are a lot of anti-Brazilians in the world. And we vote...

Posterrific!

2006-06-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I made a poster and I think its pretty good. What do you think?

A tribute to Marta (and buzzing hard)

BBQ and Bridge Tournament

2006-06-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

While not an official SitP event, I wanted to invite you to my house for a BBQ and Bridge Tournament on Saturday June 24th!. No knowledge of bridge is required - we will teach you! This is just a fun way of getting together.

Saturday, June 24th
5pm - BBQ, bridge lessons
7pm - Bridge tournament starts

I will have some basics for the bbq (hot dogs and burgers), but if you want something more fancy like chicken or veggie items, then pls bring them yourself. Feel free to bring other snacks if you want. And most importantly, bring your friends, the more the merrier :)

Pls RSVP to the SitP email address and I will give you my address (I live in Coquitlam).

Hope to see you there!
Marta

First Bridge Tournament (Bridge the Gap 2005-2006)

Does Baseball Excite You? What about NOW!?

2006-06-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

Biola University boasts a top-notch ball team and leads
the nation in crotch-shot photography.

Hey Sluggers,

Can you believe that baseball is less than 3 weeks away! You can hardly wait! Hopefully just the mention of SitP baseball has got you frothing at the mouth and longing for ball-whacking. Although there will be no donkey-carts nor young children to intimidate, we are still going to try to piss-off some parents (I don't know how, but I'm open to suggestions). If there are any Ecuadorian parents that we can miff, all the better.

If that doesn't get the salivary amalaise pumping, maybe these baseball-related sexual metaphors will:
1. First base - kissing, especially french kissing
2. Second base - fondling or groping
3. Inside the park home run - *DELETED DUE TO EXTREME GROSSNESS*
4. Triple play - a reference to sexual intercourse with three separate partners at the same time.

Keep posted for more details!

HAGS/Sardines/Kick-the-Can/Grounders/Ecuador Fart

2006-06-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

WOW! Four games and one unique fart in the same day! A SitP record! We played classic HAGS, Sardines, Kick-the-Can and Grounders (in which someone let one rip, see photos). Here's a quick summary: hiding spots were found...

cans (and Popples) were kicked...

horses were ridden...

chickens were pulled...

and the Hugging Dinosaur Award (cloaked) went to Colin and Eric for their clothes-swapping activities.

There was no reported wife swapping, though I have my suspicions.

The photos, this week by both Marta and Ben, can be seen in our photo album.

So...baseball in three weeks, a scavenger hunt in four and cricket (thanks Chris!) in six weeks. Keep an eye on the event calendar.

And don't forget to vote in the poll (sidebar) and send in a poster to the poster contest!

YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

New Poster

2006-06-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

Hey gangstaz,

Check out the new poster post here.

And don't forget, Hide and Go Seek is this Saturday.

Peace,
Mathemagician

Hide-and-go-seek a week early!

2006-06-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

SitP is going to be pushed up a week, to accommodate for the fact that a good number of people are going to be away the following week. So...that means HIDE-AND-GO-SEEK will be going down THIS SATURDAY, June 17th.

WOW!

We'll be meeting at Blue Mountain Park in Coquitlam at 3:00 PM. Here's a map. Meet in the South East corner, near the tennis courts. We'll be playing a number of different types of Hide-and-Go-Seek, including classic HAGS, Sardines and Kick-the-Can. If people are really pumped, we could even break out a game of CtF at the end. Bring a hat as some Hide-and-go-seek variants may require identification between the "caught" and "uncaught" (plus, if it's really sunny, just think how proud of you your mum will be).

We will also try to play some grounders, but I am uncertain as to the current quality of the climbing apparati at the park. Fingers crossed! If you are wondering what grounders is, a horribly named, poorly explained, and generally terrible description of the game can be found here (I mean, "Broken Dishes"? C'mon, what are we, Ecuadorian?).

BE THERE AND BRING ALL YOUR FRIENDS.

And remember, this thang is going down RAIN OR SHINE. It's even better in the rain. And it does wonders for your shoes.

P.S. Just as a note, this schedule change will not affect future scheduling - it's a one time move and baseball will still be played three weeks after (as though HAGS had not been rescheduled).

Sardines. Leading the nations armed forces, loving Saturdays in the Park, and releasing enormous fart clouds since 1934.

Soccer Saturday = Better than Ecuador

2006-06-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

After a hurried field relocation (due to a children's soccer tournament - damn you mini-World Cup @ Brittania), 18 of us met up at Victoria Park and played a thrilling game of soccer...

in which team "Melanin Deficient"...

narrowly defeated team "Zebra Pants"...

then we played "Stella Ella Olla", for god knows what reason, and the three Zebras took home the Hugging Dinosaur Award (turns out it expands in water!) for their excellent dancing. It was awarded by Stephanie, the substitute, substitute Prize Princess (that's right, three Prize Princesses in three weeks...something must be done about these ladies)

All the rest of our photos can be seen here. Mad props, once again, to Marta for the shots. The substitute, substitute Prize Princess took some pictures, too. We'll try to post them soon.

Oh, and there was wife swapping.

A note: Hide-and-go-seek is being pushed up a week. We'll be playing on Saturday, June 17th. Details to come either today or tomorrow.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soccer Saturday in only two more sleeps!

2006-06-08T00:05:00.000-07:00

Oh goody! It's gonna be craaaaaaaaazy fun. If you aren't up on the details, read them here.

IMPORTANT NEWS: The game of hide-and-go-seek sceduled for June 24th is going to have to be rescheduled as most of the organizers are going to be away. This Saturday I'll gauge interest as to whether we should move the date forward or backward one week.

It will be a one time move (i.e. the next event will still be two weeks after the 24th), so don't go throwing out your daybook or anything.

If you can't make it this week, but you want to weigh in on the rescheduling, just leave a note in the comments.

And watch Poland beat the living snot out of those pansies in Ecuador on Friday at noon.

Oh...and don't forget to send your submissions for the SitP poster contest to saturdaysinthepark@gmail.com (View current submissions here). And help us name the SitP dinosaur.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!

Who puts a weird vulture and a smiling sun on their flag? Oh, that's right, pansies.

SOCCER SATURDAY!

2006-06-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

The day after the kick-off of the World Cup (Go Poland - Ecuador is for sissies!) we'll be getting together for a good ol' game of soccer on the fields of Britannia Elementary School (where, apparently, they starve their students), just off Commercial Drive in Vancouver, at 12:30 PM.

So: Saturday, June 10th, 12:30 - ?, Britannia Elementary School, Vancouver

Here's a map! Bring those cool foldy chairs if you have them, snacks, water, and such what not. If you have cones to make fields with, bring them too, though we should have enough.

Oh, yeah, and a soccer ball. Please bring one. I don't have one. I think this is sort of important.

And on the off chance the field is completely full of people, the backup plan is good ol' Victoria Park, home of SitPI, which is only a few blocks away.

Awesome? Awesome. Bring your friends. Everyone is invited.

SitP soccer. Ball, optional. Flying crotch shot, mandatory.

Poster Contest Insanity

2006-06-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

Poster Lovers, Unite!

I have started a separate blog for the poster contest. Let me forewarn you: the action is hot. Check it out exclusively at http://mathemagician2be.blogspot.com/.

Naming the SitP Dinosaur

2006-05-31T18:30:00.001-07:00

Greetings,

Well, it seems like the dinosaur-naming contest has picked up some steam! There has a been a fury of conversation regarding the topic in all of the major newspapers, as well as the BCTF's monthly publication. However, we have had surprisingly few suggestions for the dinosaur's name. To encourage more suggestions, I have assigned an exciting, attractive, and hopefully creativity-invoking title to the contest. After much deliberation, I decided the most appropriate name for the dinosaur-naming contest to be "Wife-Swapping Contest 2006". Post your suggestions in the "Comment" section. For additional encouragement, here is a picture that might get those "dinosaur-naming" wheels turning.

A middle-aged gentleman propositions a heterosexual couple to engage in a wife-swap in order to spawn "dinosaur-naming" creativity.

Prize Princess Payout

2006-05-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

Prize Princess Patricia sells reward-ruling reign for a pittance. PPP gave up her post on Saturday night, bought out by a chocolate Tim bit and some change found on the floor. Hoping to run away from her stressful and serious job as prize presenter, the buyout reportedly got her as far as Castlegar. Bad planning, PP.
Commendable move on my part though. Who doesn't want a chance to wear that pretty pink tiara? Being too distracted picking pennies from the floor, I am having difficulty recalling exactly which committed participants won prizes during the captivating session of swamp slogging smurf searching. That old PP, she was going crazy with those donut holes, and I didn't catch it all, but let's see how I do:

Congratulations to
Marta for making a full tour of the entire 435 acre forest
Sara for being the newcomer with the most! (quantified in people she brought with her)
Nicola for repeatedly emancipating the masses from prison
Steph for raising the bar in terms of commitment to the Capture
and
Jesse for his spectacular Smurf search and rescue skills

Seriosity is not my game, but Erin is my name! There's a new reign in the Prize Palace!!!

Erin's new home, the Prize Palace. Send blankets.

Picture Update

2006-05-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Amigos,

I don't know what jackass was fooling around with the photos, but some idot Photoshoped out one of the people that was at CTF on time. I know personally that this person tried VERY HARD to be there on time, and I just thought it to be a bit of a low blow that somebody took him out of the picture. Anyways, here is the original photo so that the attendee gets the attendance credit that he deserves.

Mathemagician

SitP CTF OMG ROFLMAO

2006-05-28T01:13:00.000-07:00

CAPTURE THE FLAG WAS FAN-DAMN-TASTIC!

16 people showed up on time - despite the rain.

Then 10 more arrived LATE (boo), bringing the total to 26. The two teams ("Rat Bait" and "The Winning Team") played late into the evening, though our trusty camerawoman Marta forgot to take pictures, so you'll just have to trust us. Hats were lost, Smurfs were found, Marta got scared by a stump-bear, and good fun was had all around. In the end the score was one capture for each team and one tie (exhaustion).
Then we went to Tim Hortons to survey the damage...

...eat soup...

...and hand out the "Hugging Dinosaur Award"!

Congrats to Stephanie for taking home the prize. A full report from the Prize Princess should be posted shortly.

Oh, and the powers of the Prize Princess were bestowed upon Erin through a traditional coronation ceremony. She'll be taking over while Patricia travels around the world curing diseases and such.

All these photos and many more can be seen in our photo album.

SOCCER IN TWO WEEKS! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!

Come Tonight Rain or Shine!

2006-05-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

Pay no heed to the weather forecast - we are going to have fun regardless of what may be falling from the sky.

Meet at 8pm at the same spot from the earlier post (see the awesome map). If it's raining, we will go to a place with greater tree cover. If it's really pouring we can always go to my house and play poker (bring poker chips).

So...the conclusion is: it's imperative that you show up at 8pm so that we can relocate if necessary. Don't be scared of rain, you won't melt!! And we want to see your lovely smiling face tonight :)

~Marta

He was scared of the rain, and now look at him.

Where to park and MONSTER ALERT!

2006-05-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Capture the Flag this Saturday is going to be AMAZING!

I scouted out the park today and found that a good number of parking lots are locked up at night (including the Charles Best Secondary ones we had originally planned to meet in). There's one that never locks, though, and is pretty close to where we hope to play (just north of Mundy Lake).

The parking lot is at Gate 7, just off Hillcrest Street between Foster and Winslow.

I drew up an awesome map of how to get there. Be there by 8:00 PM sharp. Read all other details here.

Rob

Use this map to find the parking lot and avoid monsters (or find them, if you feel so inclined).

Two cool things that are too cool to...uh...cool? Desmond Tutu?

2006-05-20T00:57:00.000-07:00

Alright. Everything is on track for Capture the Flag in ONE WEEK! Here are two nuggets of factoidal fun to keep you pumped 'till then:

1. The big carnivorous dinosaur on the "Hugging Dinosaur Award" turns pink at very high temperatures. Like those found in the back of Marta's car during a heat wave. We thought someone had broken in, stolen the trophy, and replaced it with another trophy with a different big carnivorous dinosaur on top. Then we put it in the shade and it turned blue again. Wow. It's like it can change genders. Don't clown fish do that? I'll try to get a picture of it's effeminate version up soon.

2. Manhunt-Vancouver.com. Like us, but with more "fuck[ing] the police before and after manhunt!". And they only do Manhunt and Capture the Flag, it seems. Pretty awesome.

SEE YOU IN A WEEK! MY GOD, IT'S EXCITING!

Dinosaurs hate global warming because the heat makes them look all pink and sissy-like.

Next Event: Capture the Flag!

2006-05-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

That's right. A hip-hoppin' game of Capture the Flag will be taking place on SATURDAY, May 27th, starting at 8:00 PM. We will be playing in Mundy Park in Coquitlam (map here).

The plan is to start at 8:00 so that those who don't like the idea of playing in the dark (when the game is at its most awesomest) can still get a couple of hours worth of play in before dark. Also, this way people can better get a 'lay of the land' before their visibility is reduced.

So, we'll meet at the parking lot at Gate 7, just off Hillcrest Street, between Foster and Winslow (map). Be there at 8:00 sharp (if you come too late, we'll have already trucked into the park and it may be hard for you to find us). Bring a hat AND a flashlight (if you plan on staying late). And bring extras of both if you have them, just in case people are in need.

I figured hats would be the best way to differentiate between the teams since no one would want to be the team wearing white shirts if we did lights v. darks. If you don't bring a hat, I'll make you wear my toucan hat.

If you come late, we will probably be playing in an area just north of Mundy Lake (but we may move around, so try to come on time).

If you are wondering how to play Capture the Flag, here is how the Boy Scouts do it. Ours will probably look something like that, but cooler.

Since this is in the 'burbs, some may need carpools. If you need a ride or can provide one, you can use the 'comment' section below as a message board.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!! LET'S MAKE THIS HUUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!!

Capture the Flag. Hats mandatory. Arrows optional.

Report from the Prize Princess

2006-05-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to inform everyone that they are all absolutely fabulous, whether or not they received a prize. If there are any comments or complaints, they can contact me to file an official appeal that will be addressed once a year with the prize delegation committee.
That being said, congradulations to third place (Ben and Aviv for posing as tanners), second place (Colin Steele for his A plus kick the can skills), and first place, Robbie Taylor, for the most rockin, wicked idea of the summer.
See you all after the storm that is exams,
PPP (Patricia - Prize Princess)

The Prize Princess takes her job seriously, and buys diamond-encrusted tiaras with the counterfeit money she prints in her basement.

The First Saturday in the Park = Funpalooza 06

2006-05-14T00:42:00.000-07:00

Man, if you weren't there. Damn. You missed out. The first Saturday in the Park went down on the 13th. Bocce and croquet were played.

There were some close calls...

...and some tense moments...

...but in the end everyone had fun...

...and the "Hugging Dinosaur Award" was awarded by Patricia, the Prize Princess, to one Rob Taylor (ah...nepotism).

We also played Kick the Can, but were too excited to remember to take pictures. Oh well. Then a bunch of us went to an awesome falafel place (Trina has good taste) and ate yummy food. A great start to SitP...and it will only get better!

All these photos and many many more can be seen in our photo album thanks to Marta, our trusty staff photographer.

P.S. Our online calendar has been updated for the next 3 events. Check it out. Next time: Capture the Flag. More details on that and other events to come soon.

P.P.S. Don't ask about the toucan hat.

2006-05-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

Hey yo,

I made a poster... BIG SUPRISE!!

Ben

The first EVER Saturday in the Park!

2006-05-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

Who's excited? That's right, YOU ARE!

This Saturday, May 13th, from Noon - ?:?? PM we will be playing bocce, croquet and possibly Koob (Quebe? Kube? Coob? Well, there is a "k" sound followed by an "oob" sounds, and apparently it is fun) at Victoria Park in Vancouver (just off Commercial Drive).

If you are interested, just show up. Bring all bocce, croquet and Koob related items you have, and maybe some snacks. Oh, and cameras are fun.

RSVPing would be cool, but not necessary.

Laura Bush loves reading, singing the national anthem in Spanish, and Saturdays in the Park.