What the hell is going on?

I turn my back on Canadian politics for a couple months and all of a sudden Canada is falling apart! *

Ray WHAT is your boy DOING?

Warren Kinsella has Ken Dryden's speech here.

Rick Mercer explained it to me here.

An excerpt:

"And anyone who grew up in a large family knows that sure, some kids might get away with more than others, some kids might even get special treatment, but there’s not a hope in hell that mom is ever going to stand up and recognize one child as the favorite.

No special status.

And why? Because moms know that if they ever put that down in writing, say in a birthday card, that’s exactly the type of thing that could eventually bite everyone on the ass and lead to the destruction of the whole bloody works.
So while it’s too early to say what if anything Harper’s move means, he certainly does play a mean game of chess.

I just hope he realizes Canada is not a board game; it’s a nation.

And we only have one to lose."

* I realize I am being a bit shrill here but WTF! Shrill sells! Exhibit A - FOXNews
p.s. Can someone explain why I shouldn't see this as trouble?

Weekend Recap

Laura's friends were cast members in the Sault Musical Comedy Guild's production of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas". She took me along to see it after a delicious dinner at the Lone Star with fellow musical goers. (Get the Portebello Vegetable Fajitas - they're delicious)

A quick review of the musical:

First the good:

Sarah was excellent as the naive comic relief "Shy" and Jamie did a great job of playing "Ruby Rae". The dance numbers were elaborate and well choreographed (like I know anything about choreography!). The set was impressive and the musicians were more than competent. The actor portraying Jewel brought the house down with her amazing number "Twenty-Four Hours of Lovin'"

Now the bad:

It was a musical. 'Nuff said.

Well, not quite enough. Let me rant a bit here:
The seats in the Kiwanis Theatre are smushed together too closely (no leg room!). The play went on too long with little happening much of the time. (Boring!) Superfluous scenes abounded! An editor was definitely needed. The accents on some of the cast members were hard to understand. And the audio mix was a bit inconsistent.

After the show we headed across the ditch for the usual insanity. This time it was Brady's birthday. The Animal left us a message telling us to follow the trail of chaos if we couldn't find them. We found them.

First stop was the Back Door where Brady won a shitload of stuffed animals (as usual) from the claw machine. He usually sets them up on the dance floor and busts a move with them. I missed it this time. Off to the Downtowner where beer barrels were downed. Next we moved on to the Alpha, munching on the popcorn from the basket that Jake brought with him from the DTer. Brady took down the 4 foot tall trophy from the wall and strutted around the bar with it shouting "We're #1". From there it was across the street to the Corner Pub, where to our disapointment Karoake was cancelled. We still chanted "On the bar! On the bar!" like we always do and Brady laid on the bar and had a shot poured into his mouth.

After that it was off to "The Bird" where Shane and I got up on stage and cut a rug. Finally we made it to "The Savoy" where the bouncer asked me what my postal code was when I showed him my I.D.

It was a good thing I drove 'cause I grew tired of the noise. I'm gettin' old.

All in all, a typical night in Soo Mich.

Laura and I went home and excitedly spoke of moving into our new house (which we get Friday. If you want to help move we'll be doing it Saturday).

This post is a cryptic write up of last weekend:

Why did Andy Kaufman wrestle women?


And completely unrelated:

Ted Rall is a journalist/political cartoonist who I find myself in agreement with more often than not. If you're still in the Halloween mood and would like some scary reading try this.

More Weekend Action

Following Carl's lead, Brady booked the Gymnastics Area of the John Rhodes centre on Sunday. Everyone had a good time swinging on the ropes, bouncing on the trampolines and flipping into the foam pit.

Bouncing by (in order of appearance) are Brady, The Animal, Jeff and Kates.




p.s. The Big News is Laura and I got engaged.

Signing the Dotted Line

Yesterday Laura and I signed the paperwork to become the owners of this lovely little house:

Hurrah!

p.s. Big news comin'!

HOCKEY!!! (part II)

Shane took the initiative and booked a bunch of ice time for us Sundays across the river at the Big Bear Arena. After much negotiating and prodding, cajoling and imploring I finally convinced Laura to come out and play hockey for the first time. We scoured the city for equipment and ended up outfitting her for a very reasonable cost. Do I have a wicked-awesome gf or what?

Shane rented the Olympic sized ice pad so we were happy when there was a huge turnout - five on each bench! Aside from Laura there were at least four or five other first timers or not-too-much-experiencers out there. We had a great time and look forward to next week. On a crappy note Heidi couldn't find the place in time and didn't get to play. Oh well, there's always next week.

Laura suits up:




The Animal changes on the fly:



Monica leaves Joe in the dust:
Scottie's intense on the bench:



Tim lurking in front, waiting for a pass from Mattias:


Laura (#6) mans (or womans) the blueline while Shane (#3) forechecks:


Shane's a sniper:


My camera was on the wrong setting and my hands were shaking from the excitement - hence the blurry pics but you get the idea. I can't wait till Sunday!

HOCKEY!!! (part I)

Last night Laura took me to the Steelback Centre to see the Greyhounds take on the Saginaw Spirit. When I walked in on opening night I was awed by the beautiful building, but now that I've had a chance to digest, I'm afraid to say the SBC is lacking in atmosphere. It may be the design but it seems really quiet a lot of the time. In the Gardens the steep slope of the stands seemed to keep the fans looming over the players and there was always an audible buzz throughout the crowd. At the Gardens you seemed part of the game. In the SBC you're very detached. But I guess you can't compare 50 years of character to a couple of games. To the SBC's credit the Hall of Fame wall is a nice touch.

Anyway, the Hounds debuted their third jerseys which can be seen here courtesy of www.soonews.ca :

I gotta say I'm not a fan of these. They're okay I guess but black (or is it really dark blue - I couldn't tell) for a sweater is played out. Also, the "Soo" script is more suited for baseball. I heard that it was a nod to some team of the past but to me it just seems pedestrian.

I don't want to make this post all negativity but I should talk about the game. The Hounds ended up losing 5-4. Overall it was pretty entertaining (they tied it up 4-4 after being down 3-1) but their power play is horrendous and they do not seem to have the ability to clear their zone. Both teams scored some really pretty goals and there were a few good hits. When Hartsburg started listening to me and playing #19 more things started looking up for the Hounds. Laura took notes on the positional play. Why? (to be continued...)