Let 'Em Play

I write this as I watch one of the worst officiated hockey games I have ever seen.  Some "traditionalists" would say it was the best game they have seen.  Certainly, Don Cherry was crowing about it.  What is it about this game that some would love and I loath?  It is the situation where it is a seventh game or overtime and the referees "put away their whistles".

Those who love it think that you are letting the players decide the game.  No questionable penalty call or game full of power plays to spoil the action.  What I see is an opportunity for lesser players or players that have been cleanly beaten, to grab, hold, hook and slash their way back into the game.  The whole point of the new rules was to enable skill players to showcase those skills.  When penalties are not called, the point of the rules is lost. 

I just watched Mike Milbury say that a penalty is a penalty regardless of what game and at what point in the game the infraction happens.  Kelly Hrudey also pointed out that when you don't call anything it becomes river hockey.  This is my point exactly.  When the rules are not enforced, it cheapens the game.  I have been disappointed in this game because I wanted to watch professionals, not a bunch of pond hockey players mugging each other until the ref decides that he saw an infraction of the rules that he has not enforced the entire game.

Kookamunga Chocolate Day

Jen and I were talking about how fewer and fewer people get Easter Monday off and in many places south of the boarder, they don't even get Good Friday (although they get lots of other holidays).  This led to Jen asking if it was fair to still celebrate a religious holiday with a day off.

I think that Easter is like Christmas and has transcended the religious and moved into the secular.  For those of us that think religion is a load of bunk, there are lots of other reasons to celebrate Easter.  Easter is a time to spend time with family and friends.  Easter is a time to celebrate chocolate.  Let's face it, there are many reasons to celebrate chocolate.  It is only the world's finest food and outside of beer, human kinds' greatest creation (space station be damned).  Does anything compare to the divine feeling of that sweet ambrosia melting on your tongue?

I would be curious to find out how many people actually go to church to celebrate the gruesome murder of a man some 2000 years ago (seriously twisted).  The rest of us still enjoy Easter and take it for what it is.  They could change the name of the holiday to Kookamunga Chocolate Day and it would still be good holiday that everyone could partake of regardless of religion or background.

Whatever Happened to TLC?

I'm old enough to remember way back to the 90's when the first wave of specialty channels were approved by the CRTC for cable.  My personal favourite was The Learning Channel or TLC.  I remember all of the amazing history, science and...well, learning shows that were on that amazing channel.

Then I moved out of the country for a few years and lived without cable for a few more.  Fast forward to 2011.  My wife is now the one who is in love with TLC.  Has anyone seen the rubbish that populates this once proud channel?  The L in TLC, clearly does not stand for learning any more.  TLC is now the I have a biblical amount of kids-midget family-there are dead cats under the piles of garbage in my house-I make cakes while being an Italian-American cliche-COPS with only chicks channel. 

TLC is the worst channel on television.  The amount of garbage on this channel is only matched by that in the houses of the hoarding show on the same channel.  The worst part of the descent of TLC into television hell, is that Jen is totally in love with it.  I kid you not when I say that she will come home on a Friday night and spend 6 hours watching vapid, semi-retarded women shop for wedding dresses, bitchy fashonistas tell dumpy women how they look like crap, and butch police women chase drunks and wife beaters around the urban ghettos of America.  This is her perfect evening.  I spend half an hour watching something that makes my IQ fall to the level of someone with brain damage, then I have to leave the room.  That is when Jen starts to whine that I don't want to sit and watch TV with her.  No amount of explaining can convince her that watching what passes for entertainment on TLC causes me physical pain.

That is why I mourn the death of TLC.

The Cootie Talk

We had to have the "Cootie Talk" in class last week.  I found out that the kids had been checking each others' hair for cooties in the line up to go home.  Most were pronounced clear, but of course there is always that one kid who has to tell someone that their hair is full of cooties.

The cootie talk involved me informing the kiddies that there was no such thing as cooties.  This proclamation was met with some pretty skeptical looks from the crowd.  I pushed on in the face of the chilly reception of my news and explained that if there was no such thing as cooties, then nobody could have them.  As such, I banned any and all cootie checks.

In  addition, while a few of the kids were playing Twister during some free time at the end of the day on Friday, one little girl loudly told me that a boy had got her right in the face with his wiener.  Sometimes, it is really hard to not laugh out loud at those little people.

Big In China

I just finished reading this book last night.  I was browsing through the electronic portion of our public library and found  Big In China on the most popular list.  So, I put a hold on it and waited for a couple of weeks for it to become available. 

The book is by Alan Paul and is about his family's move to Beijing when his wife takes a transfer there.  Paul is a stay at home dad that does freelance writing.  While in China, Paul starts a blues band with some locals and another ex-pat and becomes quite successful not long before it is time to move back to the U.S. 

Paul does a great job of describing the excitement and surrealism of living the ex-pat life.  I enjoyed the book because I could relate to his experiences and feelings.  Although I was in Korea, Asians share many of the same qualities socially and culturally.  I think that readers that haven't lived abroad or even really traveled much would enjoy this book, however.  Paul is a professional writer and his style is very easy to get through.  The book gets serious at times, but in general is a light hearted romp through his 3 years in China.

I give this book a thumbs up.

P.S.  I just read that this book is being made into a movie and Ivan Reitman has been asked to direct.

C'mon Man!

April 11th?

I had the distinct displeasure of waking up this morning and seeing a winter wonderland out my front window.  Now, if it were December, that would be cool.  But it is almost the middle of April.  The couple of feet of snow still on the ground and the mountains of it along the road were not enough, nature had to add a kick to groin.

We got 3-4" of heavy wet snow.  This made driving very hazardous and my mood sour.  Just so you know.

Winter sucks!

Motivational Meltdown

So I noticed that I haven't blogged since the end of March.  That is not good.  I'm not sure exactly what happened, but over the holidays and into the first week of school I experienced a distinct lack of motivation to do much of anything.  I guess blogging wasn't any different.  I thought of many things that I could write about, but just couldn't manage to muster that little burst of energy required to take something from idea to action.

Well, I'm here to tell you now that the doldrums are over.  I'm back and better than ever (since it would be hard to be any worse).

This past weekend, Jen and I went to the local trade show.  The trade show is a very big deal in this town.  For this to make any sense, one must remember that we are in the middle of nowhere and nobody of note comes here and not much happens of any interest.  The events that are held are usually at such an exorbitant cost, that the average Joe can't afford to go anyway.  The Trade Show was talked about on the radio (which sponsors it) and in the local papers and by many residents for weeks prior.

Finally, the date had arrived and the show was here!  We got a tip from a co-worker that we should go on the Friday night because it was not as busy as the rest of the weekend.  Let me tell you that it was still pretty busy.  The trade show is held in the new Pomeroy Sports Centre.  The ice is removed from the rinks on the main floor and the speed skating oval on the second and the show takes up most of that space.  As  you may have guessed, the trade show consists of booths run by most local businesses and some that probably make a living of going around to these shows.  This was the only place I have ever been where I could buy a super duper food chopper and walk three feet and buy a tractor then walk another three feet and buy some mini donuts.  There was a little bit of everything at the show.

Sometimes I think we live in Saskatchewan.

We saw lots of booths, mostly full of crap in my humble opinion.  We also ran into quite a few people we know.  It still takes me off guard when someone calls out to us.  For the first three years in the area we were non-entities and now we actually run into people who know us (and will acknowledge the fact).

Sadly, the Trade Show is the most exciting thing that has happened for quite some time.

Oooh! Some furniture for the rumpus room!