Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Connor Fancy
Connor Fancy
Hes an almost-adult
who cares about wrestling
and organizes his comics.
Nobody ever listened to me.
Life with Connor
one womens life with a surly, gullible, and poorly named little brother
For ve years I lived an enchanted life:
two doting parents, one large bedroom,
one large playroom, all the attention, all
the time.
I dont remember them telling me it was
going to change but I remember when
the change started. ey turned my
playroom into a nursery. is was cool
cause I was ve and now I had a special-
ized playroom, maybe next month we
could make it a classroom for when we
got bored of playing house and wanted
to play school. People seemed to ask my
opinion frequently about this new baby
that was coming, and seemed to take my
answers very seriously. is was espe-
cially evident when discussing my chosen
name for my new brother or sister, which
was Jaguar, no matter what the sex.
Unimpressed was an understatement
when they chose another name without
even consulting me. I maintain that had
Connor Ben been named Jaguar he would
be signicantly cooler. I had my work cut
out for me.
Turned out I wasnt allowed to treat him
like my doll so he wasnt very useful to
me, he was amusing though. His dramatic
lower lip when pouting was a constant
source of entertainment. He ip opped
on hockey teams a lot, picking a new
one almost weekly with not a care in the
world whether or not they were expan-
sion teams. Much to the horror of my
father and me, he settled on the Maple
Leafs for years, until the New York obses-
sion took hold.
He started developing his dance skills
early. He would dance in the kitchen for
anyone visiting, or just for the family
and would oen practice for everyone
in Charlottetown at PEI Senators games.
His specialty was Cotton Eye Joe, his legs
would move very quickly, Riverdance
style, while his upper body remained very
still. It was a sight. If there were a video it
would be viral, no question. Alas, it was
the 90s so it lives only in the memory of
witnesses.
Aer the hockey team debacle and the
dedication to Irish Dance, I took it upon
myself to try and make sure he was devel-
oping well rounded interests. My friends
and I sacriced by playing his Bash
Brothers Back Alley Street Hockey game
oen so that he wouldnt waste too much
time on it. Music was an issue, especially
when someone gave him a mini keyboard
and he and Matthew Perry would follow
us around aer school playing the same 8
beat sequence over and over.
Ask any of my friends, they will still be
able to hum the beat. We took action by
stealing his Spice Girls and Backstreet
Boys CDs and made up routines so that
he wouldnt listen to them, and later we
hid his Linkin Park CD and replaced it
with Get Up Kids, that one was for his
own good. Pokemon and wrestling were
losing battles especially when such things
were not discouraged by the parents.
Now hes an almost-adult who cares about
wrestling and organizes his comics. No-
body ever listened to me.
Christmas was a magical time for Con-
nor. Its still when he really shines. While
I was never one for make believe or
imagination Connor believed in it all
until an age I will not disclose, but trust
me, it was late. ere were even occur-
rences where someone must have been
tired and le evidence that would lead the
majority of people to a harsh reality, not
Connor; he took it as a sign that he was
special if receipts or packaging were le
behind. Maybe thats why there was oen
a lack of balance under our tree...but we
wont go there. Even now, at the age of 23,
he still wakes up at 4 am to open presents.
No joke. If anyone would like to trade
places this Christmas, or rent me a room,
just send me pricing and an address.
All in all hes really come around; except
for the Christmas morning issue. He
doesnt leave his room much, hes still the
favorite and still sticks out his bottom lip
to get what he wants but hes denitely
more useful. When I sent a one line email
asking if he could recommend some good
blogs to read, he wrote back with a two
page description of blogs and an exten-
sive list of every blog that exists (as far as
I can tell) and why I should read them. Its
still on my to-do list but Ill get to it. I was
relieved when he nally found his way
o the island, didnt die in New York and
managed to get a job out of it. Some peo-
ple claiming to be his friends asked me to
write this piece, so hes got some of those,
and they seem to enjoy him. I think I did
a pretty good job, just imagine if his name
was Jaguar.
SARAH SIMPSON
CONNORFANCY
COLD KEPPOCH WAR
A report from the front by Connor Fancy war
correspondent Timothy Cullen
From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has
descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the
ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vien-
na, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Soa, all these famous cities and the
populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are
subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet inuence but to a very high
and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow.
ose enduring words from one
of Winston Churchills most famous
speeches are as poignant in Prince
Edward Island today as when they
were spoken in Fulton, Missouri in
1946; for an iron curtain hath cle the
idyllic hamlet of Keppoch in twain.
On the Eastern side lie all the cottag-
es of the ancient families of Spinna-
ker Drive and Owen Lane. Cullen,
MacEachern, Coady, Ready, ORo-
urke, Armstrong, and Peppin, all of
these famous patriarchs/matriarchs
and the descendents around them
lie in what must be called the Paton
sphere, and all are subject in one form
or another, not only to Paton inuence
but to a very high and, in some cases,
increasing measure of control from
Paton Compound atop Lobster Point.
On the Western side, capitalist icon-
oclasts with names like Ledwell,
Simpson, Prowse, DeBlois, Tweel,
Hyndman, Mayne, Dumont, and
Currie are profoundly alarmed and
disturbed by the pressure being exert-
ed by the Patons to change the name
of Trout Point to Barnacle Cape.
e move is clearly part of a Paton
strategy to encroach upon Western
democ racy and build up a pro-Pa-
ton area in the West Keppoch zone.
thus oen hears news from the other
side that West Keppochers were going
to oat David Hasselho over to East
Keppoch for a peace concert, but the
goodwill gesture was rebued once East
Keppochers found out they were going
to send him on that god-awful ra of
theirs. I mean the thing is essentially a
bunch of black plastic cubes. We in East
Keppoch have this gorgeous wooden
ra already. Why would we want that
piece-of-crap West Keppoch ra on
our beach? What a freakin eyesore.
I guess without a concert the two Kep-
pochs will remain divided for the time
being. Maybe Robert Ghiz can bring
the two sides together with a rous-
ing speech la Ronald Reagan and
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Until that happens, this reporter re-
mains optimistic that the Charlotte-
town Yacht Club will turn out in full
force to form a blockade preventing
the Paton Family from installing bal-
listic missiles on St. Peters Island.
Paton sympathizers are known to re-
name promontories, particularly
peninsulas, for crustaceans just pri-
or to annexation of surrounding ter-
ritory by Paton forces typically an
army of property lawyers the likes of
which even Richard Homburg and
the Murphy family have never seen.
Distrust is widespread. Senator Mike
Duy is reportedly set to hold hearings
in Ottawa, or Cavendish, or wherever he
can claim a Senate housing allowance.
He aims to uncover Paton sympathizers
and expose them for who they really are
Islanders who believe income should
be redistributed and PNP money too.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
had proposed a peace summit take place
at Redclie the heritage property also
known as the Bayeld-Jaynes House
because he it was thought it lay in
the neutral zone of Middle Keppoch;
however, Middle Keppoch is a con-
troversial topic and the proposed talks
were sidelined by squabbling as to
whether or not Middle Keppoch ex-
ists, is indeed in the middle, or is per-
haps entirely part of East Keppoch.
is reporter has it on good author-
ity from my cousin Pauline Coady
who lives in Middle Keppoch and
COLD KEPPOCH WAR
CONNORFANCY
CONNORFANCY
CONNOR SIMPSON:
1. Connors Childhood Home
2. Connors Second Childhood Home
3. Connors Adolescent Home
4. Connors Current Home : Connor vs e Stairs
5. Dog City HQ : Bloggers Night Inn
6. Connors Big Break... Up : If he tells you he got a handie from
his high school sweetheart when they broke up, he means a
handshake.
7. Babas : Favourite spot to puke on the dance oor
8. Peakes Quay : Rated among the best bushes to puke in.
9. Victoria Park : Favourite spot for sunbathing and picking up
ladies. Success not guaranteed.
10. 93 Water St : Site of the anaphylactic inducing puke incident
11. Lanky Town : Where Connor ditches hip parties for High
School parties
12. e Walk Home : Where Connor ditches his friends to walk
girls home.
13. e Missed Kiss : e streets where Connor has been le in
the cold aer walking a girl home.
14. e Mugging : Where Connor experienced Charlottetowns
rst ever mugging, and lost $20 in the process.
15. Victoria Row : Home to many of Charlottetowns bars, and
Connors exploits with the ladies.
Map curated and designed by Josh Coles, Garrett Curley, and Je McGuigan ~~
New York Giant,
Super Bowl XLVI champion
and MVP
eres a time in everyones life where
something happens that just seems
unbelievable. For some its when they
nd someone in their life that they
love, for others its just being at the
right place at the right time to watch
an amazing event, or just being out in
nature to see something beautiful has it
happens. But for a simple man like Eli
Manning, he has had the opportunity
to have many of those events in his life.
His rst thing was the day he gured
out how to use a zipper. For someone
as intelligent as Eli Manning it is quite
complicated to learn how to use one
of those bad boys. His mother, Ol-
ivia, had extensively tried to teach Eli
to practice getting the bottom the zip-
per into the other. On remembering
Elis struggles with the zipper Olivia
said His brothers Peyton and Cooper
were old pros at using the zipper. I
tried to make everything a competi-
tion between the boys but Eli just never
seemed to have a great desire to win.
But one day Archie Manning, the leg-
endary Saints Quarterback, sat his son
down and told Eli that he wasnt going
anywhere until he gured out how to
zipper up his jacket. Under the im-
mense pressure from his father Eli -
nally gured out how to use zipper, it
was an amazing feat for the young man.
It wasnt until completing his studies
at Ole Miss that it was proposed to Eli
he go pro. He still wasnt exactly sure
what that meant but his brother Pey-
ton helped him gure it out and got Eli
an agent to prepare for the NFL Dra.
His father told him that the San Diego
Chargers were going to pick him rst
overall, considering Eli didnt think
that he was a good football player he
was just excited to go anywhere. But
his father told him, not to go to San Di-
ego and that if he went there he would
never win a Super Bowl. Eli had a Su-
per Nintendo growing up so he thought
a Super Bowl to hold his snacks would
compliment that quite well and agreed
to publicly denounce the Chargers. On
dra day, Eli was seemingly pissed that
the Chargers had selected him overall,
but was relieved when he was imme-
diately traded to the New York Giants.
He had always wanted to visit the city.
Considered to be a consistently worth-
less fantasy football option through-
out his career, Eli managed to step
up during the NFL playos. In the
2007 seasons playos, despite losing
to the Tom Brady led Patriots during
the regular season, Eli and the Giants
managed to end the Pats perfect sea-
son during Super Bowl XLII. With
an unbelievable o the helmet catch
by David Tyree, the Giants moved
quickly down the eld punishing the
Patriots defence. Elis later response to
the pass was that he was just trying to
throw the ball really far. Luckily he had
a fellow gunslinger in Plaxico Burress
who also doubled as a wide receiver
and solidied the win with his TD re-
ception. Eli (and his brother Peyton
for that matter) couldnt believe that
he won the Super Bowl. He was dev-
astated that he didnt get an actual bowl
but he knew his parents were proud.
Finally, in his most recent season (2011)
Eli had his most unbelievable moment
of winning the Super Bowl Again.
e New York Giants had fell into the
playos almost by accident. e NFC
East, oen known as the joke division
of football, didnt really want to send
anyone to the playos. Legendary dog
owner and trainer Michael Vick man-
aged to convince Eli that his team was
the right one to go compete. Taking
Vicks advice Eli huddled with his wide
receivers Victor Cruz, Mario Manning-
ham and Hakeem Nicks to discuss how
he likes to throw the ball really far. His
receivers just grinned and prepared for
the worst. But aer accidentally beating
the 49ers in the NFC Championship,
Eli again competed against his broth-
ers rival Tom Brady. Elis team again
managed to defeat the favoured Patri-
ots and he was so amazed. In the locker
room Eli could be heard yelling that he
nally won more bowls than his broth-
er. During the post game press con-
ference Eli was astonished, he said he
was condent that a team with a player
named Ochocino was denitely going
to win and that he was hoping now that
he was a 2-time Super Bowl MVP that
he would be allowed to have as much
as fun at photo-shoots as Tom Brady.
BRIAN MASON
EliManning
CONNORFANCY
e Manning family, from right to le: Cooper, Peyton, Olivia, Archie
and Eli
CONNORFANCY
SPORTS - FIVE STARS MORE FUN TO WATCH THAN PLAY
NEW YORK -
THE BEST PLACE IVE NEVER BEEN
Watching waves nibble Americas queen, Liberty, on the postcard.
e mental image of the Central Park carousel from Catcher in the Rye.
Leo DiCaprio anytime, but mostly because he was in Gangs of New York.
Im overcome with emotion.
I leave a Saturday party and walk the two blocks to my home. Maybe I was asked to leave. Maybe I vomited
on some of the guests. But none of that matters now. I turn up my headphones and I think.
It started the rst time I read Gawker. Foster Kamer what a name. Like a muppet. Like a snarky, snarky
muppet. I fell a little in love proper love, not Jenn-Gurskis-Lo love. Who is this Bloomberg? Do people
love him so much because hes exotic (Jewish)? My world exploded in weeks. NY Mag, e Awl, Young
Manhattanite, Village Voice It was through them, not my Aermath Crew vocal instructor, that I found
my true voice.
And it got worse. Overnight, I stopped reading longreads about wrestling and devoted all my scholarly
attention to Peter Kaplan cranky, wise, premium, you name it. I live it. Sports too, man. I started out just
liking the Giants because of the story with the bean but the Big Apple sucked me in with its gravitational pull
and I found myself loving the Knicks. e Rangers. Now none of my hats match my jackets, at all, but I just
throw on some linen pants and BOOM instant babe-killing look.
I practice the Alicia Keys verse in Empire State of Mind for when Jay-Z nally returns my ca er, media
requests, whatever.
But here I am, really, really far away from New York.
Choire, where are you now? Choire, this is my time of need. You wont respond to my gchats about my in-
fatuation with Maura or Rosie Gray, but I know you know what its like to be homesick.
And thats what I am right now. Homesick for a home Ive never known. New York City.
My room a panorama of stills from Maid in Manhattan and Extremely Loud and Incredible Close at the
right angles so its like Im living in the city is ready for a night of reection.
Turn on a lil Woody Allen. Place my imitation Yamaka squarely on my crown. Pull out the ol MacBook pro.
Put on my fancy sneakers you know the ones and start typing.
Dear Lifehacker, I type, I am stuck in a nowhere city and even though I have enough money and Gabriel said
I could crash with him and his mystery family, I dont have a clear escape route. Do you have any ti-
No, no, wait. eyre just going to tell me the new Internet Explorer isnt that bad. Close that tab.
Dear ought Catalogue, as the Platonic forms admonish and believe me, I know what platonic means
there is only one true form of goodness. And that unmountable staircase of Greatness is none of than the one and
only Sinatrian apple in the sky. Yes you know it New Yor-
Oh my god, was that a Lena Dunham pop-up? Does ought Catalogue actually have a Lena Dunham pop-
up? THIS is a way to get Caity Weavers attention. I reach for my phone, start dialing.
Bah dah DAH is is Rogers credit service youve spent your maximum long distance minutes.
I throw my phone against the wall. It hits Jennifer Lopezs bum. I clutch an empty Rev next to my chest.
Exhale.
And I weep tears of nostalgia for New York, a city Ive never visited.
KATE MCKENNA
CONNORFANCY
ESSAY, SORTA