#theodore tugboat related

[toast-com]

Ttte and TUGS peeps, I have a fact for you all!

Robert Cardona, who worked on Ttte and TUGS, also worked on Theodore Tugboat! So these three shows are connected in that way!!

I think that's neat from both a show and fandom point of view!

[another-stupid-aesthetic-blog]

h,have i been lied to are tugs and theodore tugboat different things???

[westletter]

Summer 2021

Dear Friends, This is Theodore Too, being escorted to his berth at the Marine Museum in Kingston in July.  You may recall, the popular children’s TV series in the 90s called Theodore Tugboat.  Based on the exploits of a friendly little tug in a port loosely resembling Halifax, it aired in 80 countries around the world for seven seasons.   Curious fact: Denny Doherty, formerly of the Mamas and the Papas, played the role of narrator and Theodore’s kindly Harbour Master. He also voiced all the animated characters, including Theodore. Denny was originally from Halifax.     Theodore Tugboat was so popular that the TV producers commissioned a life-sized replica. Theodore Too was christened in Nova Scotia in 2000 and became an instant ambassador and fixture on the Halifax waterfront.   Sadly, in 2020 Theodore’s owner was looking to sell.  Happily, though, up stepped Blair McKeil of McKeil Marine in Burlington, Ontario.  He and clean water advocacy group Swim, Drink, Fish came up with a new plan for Theodore.  He would make the long voyage from Halifax to his new home in Hamilton Harbour.  And from there he would take on the role of roving ambassador for clean water, green marine sustainability, and indigenous reconciliation, throughout the Great Lakes.  Theodore’s arrival in Kingston for a two-day stay at the Marine Museum Pier was a hit with the pandemic-starved public.  Over 2,000 visitors, mostly parents with young children, came to have their selfie moments with Theodore. There was more going on, though, than cartoon character entertainment.  We held a formal welcoming ceremony on the Museum Pier to mark the occasion.  In his role as emcee, the Museum Chair offered the following words.  “The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston acknowledges the site it sits on and the water it interacts with to be the traditional territory of First Nations peoples. We thank these Nations for their care and stewardship over this land and water. We are committed to sharing this stewardship moving forward. Today is an historic occasion in so many ways.  I like to see it as a rebirth.  It’s a rebirth for the Marine Museum. We haven’t had a public event of any kind down at this historic site for five years. This is a rebirth. We’re back!  [loud applause] “This is of course a rebirth for Theodore Too, as he enters his new domain and new role as an ambassador for the environment of the Great Lakes. And as an ambassador for the often below-the-radar marine industry. Critically, it’s a rebirth for our relations with indigenous peoples and culture. We’re standing on what was traditionally known as Mississauga Point. From time immemorial this has been indigenous territory, land and water. We’re delighted to be reaching out – after far too long, I should say – to our indigenous partners. Among Theodore’s many new jobs, Swim, Drink, Fish has tasked him with collecting 100,000 ‘watermarks’.  A ‘watermark’, I believe, is a personal reflection on one’s connection to these precious waters. For me, I connect with a daily swim in Lake Ontario.  Not alone, but with a beautiful group of women called the Kingston Mermaids.  Every morning from May 24 to Thanksgiving we gather for a 1 to 2 km swim, whatever the conditions.  And every day we emerge from that swim communally reborn. That’s what these waters do for us. They give us life.” Happy summer to all, and wherever you are, may you enjoy the gift of life-giving waters! CW

                                       § CLASS OF 2021 REPORT CARD Heroic returns driven by cash flows and profits To make a crude analogy, a stock company’s rising cash flows and profits are the life-giving waters that renew its fortunes, and enable it to be reborn for a new day, a new quarter, a new year, a new decade or longer.  Conversely, absent these necessities, the opposite applies.  Falling cash flows and profits, unless remedied, are the antithesis of continual rebirth.  Rather, they signal inexorable decline, and takeover or extinction are looming threats.    The Headmaster is delighted to observe that his students in the Class of 2021, almost without exception, delivered Olympian cash flow and profit growth over the past school year (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021).  The Class average stock return reflected this heroic performance with an average gain of 31.9% for the 12-month period, vs. 29.9% for the TSX, 29.9% for the S&P 500 and 33.9% for the Dow.  “Bravo!” exclaimed the Headmaster.  “That’s two golds and a silver.  I can hardly expect more.”   Here are the sector by sector results. Financials - A+ After taking their knocks in 2020, Class members TD Bank, ScotiaBank, RBC and BlackRock came roaring out of the blocks in the past 12 months and posted an average gain of 45.9 %.  Once again, BlackRock excelled, growing its assets under management to nearly $10 trillion and leading the Class with a return of 60.8%.  The Headmaster, however, is not discounting the prospects for his Canadian trio:  “With declining loan losses and surging earnings, the banks are swimming in excess cash.  The bank regulator prudently halted dividend increases back in March 2020 to shore up bank capital reserves as we headed into the pandemic.  But that policy will come to an end as we emerge from COVID.  Expect mostly double digit dividend increases when it does.  That will bode well for stock prices.  All promoted.”  Resources - A+ Global fertilizer and farm supplies retailer Nutrien caught the commodities wave and chalked up a 72.1% gain.  Nutrien has the world’s largest reserves of low-cost potash, an essential farm crop nutrient, and is a major player in the other two essential fertilizers, nitrogen and phosphorus.  Says the Headmaster:  “It’s the nature of the beast that the fertilizer biz is highly cyclical and unpredictable.  I can’t tell you what the price of soy beans will be next year, or whether weather will wipe out western wheat, or what card the inscrutable Chinese will play in the global potash market.  However, I can tell you this: Nutrien, unlike its competitors, has a brilliant counterweight to that uncertainty ... its steady-Eddie farm supplies retailing unit.  In consequence, Nutrien has become a dependable cash dispensing machine.  Note the recent hike in the dividend and the announcement of yet another share buyback program.  Promoted!” Energy - C+ As faithful readers will know, the Headmaster over the past three to four years has largely pulled the plug on fossil-fuel-related Class members. Goodbye Crescent Point.  Goodbye Vermilion.  Goodbye Enbridge.  The two current claimants to the Energy bench are Algonquin Power and Brookfield Renewable Energy.  Both are predominantly oriented to green energy and both are superbly well run businesses with exemplary long-term growth prospects, unlike their predecessors.  Each has sailed through the pandemic with rising cash flows.  

“That said,” adds the Headmaster, “Algonquin and Brookfield Renewables got a titch ahead of themselves in stock price and are currently taking a well-deserved rest.  Their average stock gain over the school year was 3.4%.  I am not deterred in the slightest.  I expect renewed out-performance from this pair in the future.  Promoted.”

Infrastructure - A Class stalwart Brookfield Infrastructure returned 23.1%. Headmaster: “Brookfield are masters at buying long-term assets with dependable, growing cash flows when they are out of favour and prices are low.  Equally, they are adept at cashing out when greed enters the market and prices are high.  Rinse and repeat.” Promoted.  

Retail - B   Classmate veterans Alimentation Couche-Tard and Metro, both hailing from Montreal, returned an average 6.5%.  Couche-Tard, the global convenience store conglomerate (second in the world to Seven Eleven), and Metro, Canada’s best-run grocer are examples of companies that have benefited richly from pandemic stocking up and home meal preparation.  Will their lustre fade as COVID recedes? Says the Headmaster: “That was not the case in the years before the pandemic and I see no reason why it will be so in the future.  Both these companies excel in judicious investment of capital to grow profits and cash flow to the benefit of shareholders.  I see no change in that trend. Promoted.”

Industry - A+ Says the Headmaster: “Label and packaging maker CCL, CNR and John Deere knocked it out of the park with an average gain of 62.9%.  Bravo!  And let’s give an extra pat on the back to John Deere, who cranked out an individual performance of 124.4%.”   “Each of the members of this trio was well poised to benefit from COVID recovery, but there’s more to the story than that.  Each is a superbly well-run business, primed to take advantage when opportunity knocks.” “For those who need reminding, John Deere is not just in the business of vending agricultural equipment and lawn mowers.  It is also a major player in construction machinery and stands to benefit handsomely from the impending global infrastructure boom.”   “There are those who doubt the wisdom of CNR’s bid to takeover Kansas City Southern Railway and integrate it into North America’s first and only railway system linking Mexico, the US and Canada.  They have put the brakes on CNR’s stock of late.  I happen to think they are wrong and should the deal go through, shareholders will be the beneficiaries for decades to come.  Let us be patient.” All promoted.

Healthcare - B Healthcare, before the pandemic, during and no doubt after, tends to be seen as a ‘defensive’ sector.  I.e., don’t look for spectacular growth or gains.  Opines the Headmaster: “On the contrary, I see the singular cash generating qualities of these stocks through thick and thin -- our Merck, Amgen and Johnson and Johnson generate free cash flow of from 20 to 40% of sales -- as marvellously conducive to long-term wealth accumulation.” Early in June, Merck spun off its women’s health unit known as Organon.  There was a share distribution to Merck stockholders.  Given the slower growing nature of the spin-off, the Headmaster did not welcome Organon into the Class of 2022.  He sold the shares and purchased more Merck.   Merck, Amgen and J&J had an average return of 7.3% over the school year.  Promoted.

Telecom - A The lone Class standard bearer for telecom continues to be Vancouver-based Telus.  Telus, as a generator of healthy cash flows, has ploughed significant capital into its ‘fiber-to-home’ network in recent years, giving it a clear competitive advantage over chief western rival Shaw.  Equally, Telus has invested in subsidiaries such as Telus International and Telus Health that are now yielding meaningful returns to the balance sheet.  Headmaster: “Telus’s stock advanced a sprightly 22% over the school year.  It still enjoys ‘best wireless network’ on most customer surveys, and consistently has Canada’s best customer retention rates.  Promoted.”

Information Technology - A+ It is becoming a truth universally acknowledged that the info tech behemoths that rule so much of our lives are surprisingly impervious to the slings and arrows that beset the rest of the stock market.  That was certainly the case for global giants and classmates  Apple and Microsoft over the past year.  They positively galloped through the pandemic.  Visa is shrugging off a minor setback due to reduced international travel, and looks to have its groove back.  Even domestic software player Open Text, a minnow by comparison with the other three, managed to keep cash flows and profits rising throughout COVID.   

Headmaster: “This talented quartet had an average return of 28.3%.  All promoted.”

Entertainment - A+ Disney, not surprisingly, took a COVID hit to several key sectors in its vast empire: theme parks, cruise ships and movie theatrical releases.  However you wouldn’t know this from gazing upon its stock chart, up a remarkable 57.6% over the school year.   The Headmaster has his thoughts on how this could be so: “We have to remind ourselves how huge and dominant this world-beater is.  It doesn’t just own Pixar, Marvel, and Fox TV and movie studios.  It also has Lucasfilm.  So the Empire is always striking back.  Not to mention that Disney also owns America’s largest and most profitable cable network, ESPN.  And ABC.  And the Disney Channel.  The icing on the cake is that Disney appears to be well on the way to winning the streaming wars.  Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu and the like are on track to have 300 million subscribers by 2025.  The only rival in its league looks to be Netflix.  The two of them are divvying up the streaming world.  Lastly, but not least, Disney has mastered the art of monetizing its franchises and their memorable characters across a myriad of platforms.  It all began with Mickey Mouse.  Now think of all those Elsas (from the movie Frozen) every Halloween.  That’s the cash generating magic of Disney.  Promoted!” If you would like further information on any of the investing ideas raised in this issue, or a complimentary consultation, please call or email.

 CW

[elwoodcitylimits]

PREVIEW - For The Kids #22: Jay Jay The Jet Plane

It's time to check the overhead compartments and prepare for turbulence, as Lucas and Will board the infamous CGI series Jay Jay The Jet Plane! The guys explore Jay Jay's origins on a forgotten kid's programming block and its surprising connection to Thomas The Tank Engine, Theodore Tugboat, and Veggie Tales, as well as the 2 small things Will absolutely HATES about the show, its relation to the Kevin Costner film "Pushing Tin"(?), and exactly how the guys feel about those darn faces!

For the full episode, and every episode of For The Kids, subscribe to our Patreon!

Elwood City Limits new episode is LIVE!

[merciresolution]

Pssst It’s me.

I just want to let you know that as of now, all of my TTTE, TUGS, and Theodore Tugboat-related art will be Patreon-only.

Right now, I really need the extra money. I hope y’all understand. <3

[toast-com]

Theodore Tugboat Thursday

[toast-com]

Theodore Tugboat Ramble

I love the character design in Theodore Tugboat

Because all of the tugboats are the same wood color.

Their noses, and hats and hat colors are the only differing features and it works so well!

I love that Theodore has a round, button nose, and red baseball cap. It screams "main character."

I also love the slight facial differences in the older ocean-going tugs and the younger harbor tugs.

You can tell that Foduck is older than Theo and Hank.

And don't get me started on the voices. The narrator did a stellar job, differentiating the characters.

[toast-com]

Bluenose 😌💙

No joke though, Bluenose is a very nice character, an old sailing ship, and the foil to Foduck, a more tech inclined tug.

Also, the episode "Theodore and The Bluenose," caused me to ship them. Theodore and Bluenose are adorable together onscreen.

[toast-com]

Honestly this guy was least favorite character in Theodore Tugboat.

[toast-com]

It's fun being the sole person writing and making content about a media you like.

You're the fandom. Just you.

[toast-com]

Last post of the night:

I have writer's block, maybe send a ship or a prompt and a character and I'll tackle it tomorrow.

[toast-com]

Why is this image so unintentionally creepy?

Kamel is the only dead character in the show. His prop was reused as Digby the Cable Ship.

[toast-com]

I recommend you watch Theodore Tugboat. Robert Cardona worked on it.

Here's the complete series! Also, subscribe to Yami Tay! They're the reason this playlist exists!

[toast-com]

They have a little sibling/big sibling relationship. Pugwash and Northumberland.

[toast-com]

12-3-22

"Rebecca!" Rebecca looked up from her work to see Hank, standing in the doorway of her office. He looked excited, rocking on his heels.

"Hello Hank," She smiled at him warmly. "What's up?" Hank smiled sheepishly, a blush creeping up his neck and face.

"I was wondering about your trip..." He looked up at her, blue eyes twinkling. "And...if I could come with you?" Rebecca beamed, opening her arms, and Hank hugged her.

"Of course!" She murmured, running her hands through his blonde curls. "I was going to ask if you wanted to accompany me."

[toast-com]

She can do no wrong.