SHE'LL LIGHT UP OUR LIVES

Anyone remember the "wayback machine" that Peabody and Sherman used on the classic Bullwinkle show? (It was a personal favourite; adult humour disguised as a kids' cartoon - right up there with Bugs Bunny. But we digress...)

Anyway, it appears someone has found the keys and is firing the machine up again, as the Missouri Tourism department is coming to the Big Smoke April 23 and bringing ... Debby Boone.

Wow.

According to the tourism folks, her tune "You Light Up My Life" was recently ranked number seven in Billboard Magazine's "50th Anniversary Special Issue on The Definitive List of The Hot 100’s All-Time Top-Charting Songs of the last 5 decades," and ain't that a mouthful.

I gotta say the song was a little too syrupy for my tastes, but we're all different that way.

BETHPAGE TOPS THE GOLF CHART

Zagat has put out a new golf survey that lists Bethpage Black on Long Island, N.Y. as the top course in the U.S. It's where the U.S. Open will be played in June, and it's considered the top municipal course in the U.S. by a long shot.

Zagat surveyors put Pebble Beach at number one as their favourite course, while Chambers Bay in Washington copped the top newcomer award. The west coast of the U.S. has seen a slew of top-notch courses come on line in the last few years, most notably Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Other noted newcomers include "Nevada's Jack Nicklaus-designed The Chase at PGA Golf Club Coyote Springs; Utah's Sand Hollow Resort, a John Fought design that weaves through red rock outcroppings; and Oregon's Tetherow, a Scottish-style track from David McLay Kidd of Bandon Dunes fame."

In an interesting side note, Zagat officials say industry reports indicate that "only 72 new 18-hole courses opened in the U.S. in 2008, the lowest total in decades. In 2000, 518 courses made their debuts."

DISCOVERING JAPAN

Much excitement at a dinner at the Japanese consul-general's lovely Forest Hill Home on Tuesday as news came that the Emperor of Japan is coming to Canada in July. It will be his first visit since way back in 1953, when we believe Debby Boone's father, Pat, was making or about to make his mark on pop radio.

Apparently the Emperor's first trip out of Japan was to San Francisco. But he didn't sleep there. Instead, the first night his head rested on a foreign pillow took place later that day in Victoria, B.C.

He later visited Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton to see a steel mill in action. But that was back in 1953, and chances are he'll notice a few changes in southern Ontario since then.

CRUISE SITE

Mentioned this in a twitter feed, but now cruise lovers have their own social networking site for posting stories and photos. It's called, oddly enough, cruisetube.com

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