The complete Update is now here.
MONDAY...
— Work 10:30 to 6:30 for our ball game tonight. Laura comes by for a visit and even plays in our game... good to see her and chat. We win the game too but my hamstring doesn’t do as well in it as I would have hoped. It doesn’t give out but it does become irritated pretty early on and I’m left with little in field range and slow running. Oh well.
— We go for some drinks after the game, so the team spends some easy going times together off the field.
TUESDAY...
— Sore from yesterday. Good time for physio, and that’s where I go before work. The physiotherapist actually doesn’t seem concerned, saying little hits in the recovery are common. Of course, friend Jim called such a response in an e-mail hours earlier. Smart friends I have.
— Despite the cheery views, sitting at work is a bit of a literal pain this evening... having me need to get up every 20 minutes or so to alleviate the knot in my leg. I actually go home a couple of hours early to lay down and rest it.
WEDNESDAY...
— Do work today. Still a bit of an uncomfortable knot in the hamstring and a headache... plus tired today. But work goes alright. Do supper with Megan and have Claudio working overtime to keep me company.
THURSDAY...
— Physio before work goes as usual. Work becomes my Friday. I woke this morning feeling like it should be Friday so I make it so. Taking tomorrow and Monday off work... that’ll make it a 5 day weekend for me. No work until next Wednesday.
FRIDAY...
— Pretty quiet day. Evening has me going to Melissa’s for supper and a movie. Easy Rider on DVD. I liked it but it ended kind of strangely for what I expected. Today is the first day of my five day weekend. A little extravagant but it felt like a nice thing to do.
SATURDAY...
— Quiet day around the house... then off with Sheila to go to a party at Nick’s friend’s place. Not a bad night until people drink too much and some get stupid. So it’s pack it in and cab home at 2:30 in the morning while the garbage gets figured out. Overall, a fun evening but not one I’d be dying to relive every week.
This Olympic Dream is Brought to You by Visa
How messed up do things have to be when the Olympic Games no longer hold any interest for a sports fan? And what changes for this to occur? Is it the fault of the games? Is it political? Is it the sports fan who’s gotten too worried about it all? I don’t know.
What I do know is that I not only no longer care about the Beijing Olympics, I’m getting annoyed at them. I see a commercial for the games on TV and I turn the channel, or roll my eyes. So what has caused it?
For me, the summer games have been sliding off my interest scale for a while. I can watch the winter games with more excitement, but those summer Olympics... ugh.
I think it began back in 1988. Ben Johnson getting caught with steroids. But it wasn’t only Ben that brought shame to me... it wasn’t really that at all. It was the scapegoat mentality of it all. Toss Ben and it’s all good again. Yet Florence Griffith Joyner (nicknamed Flo Jo) was a freak who just happened to retire days before being called to testify on drug use. She remained an American hero right up to her death. She’s basically ignored since then. There is no shame if it never existed I suppose.
With other athletes getting caught on drugs... while rumours of American track stars being given breaks when it came to drug testing (because, in these rumours, American TV networks would threaten to pull their deals with the games if their athletes would be banned from competition)... track and field events no longer exist to me. They’ve gone Flo Jo in my eyes.
And really, if you take track and field out of the summer games, you don’t have much left. Synchronized Diving? Equestrian? Gymnastics? No thanks.
Then there’s the China Syndrom. That is the fact that this years Olympics are coming from China. It brings the delusional and politics together. We see those people who believe the Olympic spirit will change China’s stance on human rights issues.
It used to be that, when politics clashed with sport, nations would boycott the games. 1980 and 1984 saw countries believing in one way of life turning away from games hosted by those who lived with different standards and morals. You’d believe in a principal and not take part. It may not have ever changed a nation’s politics but it at least showed a conviction of ideas.
Now that China has done nothing to change their stand on human rights, the talk of boycotts have returned. But with the games meaning so much money in advertising... for TV revenues and clothing sales... the boycott was not taken seriously. Instead, there has been talk of political leaders skipping out on the opening ceremonies. That’ll show’em. Stephen Harper not being there to watch the torch get lit live. The Chinese will be forced to rethink everything!
And the torch rally. Holy Moses the fiasco that is the worldwide Olympic Torch Rally. From Greece to the four corners of the earth. The torch that is supposed to be handed off from ordinary citizen to ordinary citizen. From all backgrounds of life. The rich and the poor. From leading world scholars to simple farmers... we are all meant to share in the spirit of unity.
But bring on the protests! And the torch took on secret routes in hopes of evading the nay sayers. It was rammed into Tibet (a nation hard hit by Chinese rule) with talk of being able to use lethal force if protesters try to stop it’s progression.
With all of it, I just don’t want to buy in to the Olympic fever. I don’t care about Canada’s “Team Visa”. For those who haven’t noticed, there’s a group of Canadian athletes who are all sponsored by Visa. We get little profiles of their training and listen to how Visa has helped them in their quest for gold. So even Canada’s athletes, all one big team there to strive for doing their nation proud, are divided up among sponsors. Will Team Visa have Visa clothes and walk in under a Visa flag?
And any athlete profile now takes on such warrior like flavour. Showing clips of pictures of an 18 year old diver looking all tough and serious, crossing arms and staring down the camera... ready for war as they spout one liners of inspiration, one after another after another.
Show me the jumping around, happy athlete after they’ve accomplished their goal. Don’t show me a gymnast preparing to go to war for Sparta.
If people want to watch the Olympic games, fine with me. I won’t stop anyone from doing it and I don’t even rule out the occasional viewing of the spectacle myself. But I don’t look forward to it. I don’t much care where Canada will place in the medal count. And I am not swayed to support Visa due to their “team” generosity.
The Olympic Spirit... alive and well.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Making It Up As I Go Along #325
MONDAY...
— Wake up almost like I was drugged. Very groggy morning.
— Watch some of the US Open golf playoff before work. Tiger Woods’ knee seems fine today. Leave it to the media to make him out to be heroic, playing on what was basically a broken leg to being fine after simply popping a few Tylenol. Silliness.
— Work a little late tonight since I went to watch our softball team play during supper. We win too. Good stuff.
TUESDAY...
— Half day at work for me. I work until 6:30 and then meet up with the gang for a night at the ball park. St. Patrick’s Day in June is the promo. It gets just under 2000 fans out to watch the Rapidz lose 10-3 to Quebec City... with half the game being played in the rain. We leave cold and wet... but it’s fun.
WEDNESDAY...
— Physio before work. Hamstring is looking pretty good. I have some strengthening exercises to add to the stretching now and then should be good to go.
— Work starts a bit late for me due to the physio but it also ends early due to a fire alarm in the building. We’re sent home 45 minutes earlier than normal.
THURSDAY...
— Well the presidential wives are becoming more of the story on US news stations. That’s one thing about Canadian politics I like above American. The spouses are not part of the campaign. I’m sure a single American would have no chance of becoming president. The spouse is a vital part of the campaign and it’s all rather schmoozy.
— Really tired today. I struggle to stay alert at work. That’s strange for me on evening shift. Chinese food was had for supper. That’s pretty good.
FRIDAY...
— Sore lower back today. It’s all to do with over doing it when working out the hamstring. Not a big deal I’m sure but a bit of a pain for today.
— Work is alright. Dan is in there with me for half my shift and alone for the second half.
SATURDAY...
— Quiet day. The back finally comes back into good standing and the hamstring feels quite good now. Do some laundry, watch some TV, a ball game and some movies.
Vehicular Billboards
You can learn a lot just by looking at the back end of a person’s car. Are we so about outward perception that we feel we must express ourselves on personal billboards?
There are several areas to check out on the car. Bumper stickers come to mind first. Although really, there are very few actual bumper stickers anymore. It’s mostly magnets now and they are placed further up on the trunk rather than down on the bumper. Still, the traditional bumper sticker does still exist. It seems to primarily tell us where you’ve been. Disney World, Toronto’s Wonderland, that sort of thing.
The magnetic trunk stickers are more cause and politically motivated. Many of these magnets are in the form of a ribbon. That is to say, they’re designed to look like one of those ribbons people would put on their lapels. It’s rather silly actually, to think you need to make a magnet for your car to try to look like a ribbon.
But these ‘ribbons’ show support for all kinds of things. Breast cancer research and supporting the troops being the two I’ve seen most.
Breast cancer car magnets don’t bother me. They seem noble. Troop supporting magnets seem to cheapen the importance of military conflict to me. Yes it’s a fine line. You don’t want to ignore the troops. You don’t want to go about your life blissfully unaware of the dangers some of our fellow citizens are in. And if they are doing these dangers actions for a noble cause, they should be supported and respected for it.
But proclaiming a simplistic message with a magnet for your car. I don’t really see that as heartfelt and real support. I know if I was one of the troops, I wouldn’t be all warm and fuzzy seeing one of these cars with the magnet on the back. I’m afraid that “support the troops” magnets make military conflict too much a part of our normal, everyday culture. It’s become a slogan that people base, at least a part of, their morals on. And I’m left to wonder... if military conflict in Afghanistan or Iraq comes to an end, will the citizens back home expect new conflict to occur elsewhere... just so they can keep up the idea of “supporting the troops?” I hope not, but I’m no longer sure. Where does the money for the “support the troops” magnets go anyway? If it goes to charities or causes that actually support troops, well that would be at least something positive about them. But if it goes to a company who just continues to manufacture such magnets... that’s making money off of warfare, and that’s something I’d have no interest in supporting at all.
Back to the back of cars.
License plates can tell us more about the people inside the vehicle. In Ontario, you can have all sorts of personalized plates. You can have ones where the letters and numbers are simple personalizations. Things like “Bill2" tell you that Bill is driving the car and he was the second guy to think about getting such a statement on his plate. I assume Bill#1 is his mortal enemy now, that he’ll drive around the province looking for that plate, simply so he can scrape the key along the poor guy’s door.
Also in Ontario, you can personalize with pictures that correspond to some numbers that may mean something to you. For the old military people, there are Remembrance poppies or Legion emblems. Sport fans can have hockey or baseball logos, coupled with numbers. It can be easy to tell more about the driver by these numbers. For instance, an Ottawa Senator logo coupled with the numbers 11 and 1 on either side of the term “sen” can tell you that the driver is not only a Senator fan but also one who admires number 11 (Daniel Alfredsson) and number 1 (Ray Emery). It also means it’s a Senator fan who wishes he picked a different number, as Ray Emery is now the most hated Senator since Alexei Yashin. Or you get some hardline family people who will have the numbers 87 and 93 on either side of the “sen” term... obviously the birth dates of their children.
And what a wonderful thing, when you’ve been pulled over for drunken driving, to have an officer typing in your children’s birthdays when checking you out.
Continuing on the family front, there’s another magnet that I had previously forgotten to mention. This for the somewhat pathetic people out there. Often, when you see a woman driving kids in a minivan, you’d joke that she’s a soccer mom, taking the kids to practice. Well now you can actually get a soccer ball magnet and stick it to the back of your van... leaving no doubt. The thing is, not that being called a soccer mom is necessarily demeaning. But it’s hardly something to proudly proclaim either. By all means, a parent should be happy to take their kids to their activities... and take joy in watching them perform. But pull the bloody magnet off the back of the van. Those are the types of magnets that others should be putting on their when you aren’t looking. They’re the car magnet equivalent of a “kick me” sign stuck to your back without you knowing it.
The back windows of cars also tell much. A box of tissues says you are slightly sickly and not too concerned about keeping your car spotless clean. Beanbag puppy dog toys means you’re either very much a girly girl, or you’re a guy who’s excessively whipped by the missus. And the most common, and annoying... the Baby on Board sign.
Baby on Board means you are so caught up in being in your little bubble with your newborn, that you think the rest of the world will actually change the way they live to accommodate your new bundle of joy. Let it be known, I’m no more or no less likely to run in to the back of your car with the front of mine if that “baby on board” sign is back there. I’m not going to drive any more carefully in my car simply because you may have an infant in the back of yours. Get your head out of your you-know-where and be a part of normal society.
And this is all ignoring the fact of what type of car it is you’re looking at the back of. A “support the troops” magnet on the back of a hummer in America can give a totally different impressing of the person driving the car than the same magnet on the back of a Yaris in Canada. Especially when you consider the world of oil and some of the differences in the war going on in Afghanistan versus that of Iraq.
So, as you see, the back of a car can tell a great deal about the people in it. It can give political views, hint at family situations, and tell us all where you’ve been in this world.
— Wake up almost like I was drugged. Very groggy morning.
— Watch some of the US Open golf playoff before work. Tiger Woods’ knee seems fine today. Leave it to the media to make him out to be heroic, playing on what was basically a broken leg to being fine after simply popping a few Tylenol. Silliness.
— Work a little late tonight since I went to watch our softball team play during supper. We win too. Good stuff.
TUESDAY...
— Half day at work for me. I work until 6:30 and then meet up with the gang for a night at the ball park. St. Patrick’s Day in June is the promo. It gets just under 2000 fans out to watch the Rapidz lose 10-3 to Quebec City... with half the game being played in the rain. We leave cold and wet... but it’s fun.
WEDNESDAY...
— Physio before work. Hamstring is looking pretty good. I have some strengthening exercises to add to the stretching now and then should be good to go.
— Work starts a bit late for me due to the physio but it also ends early due to a fire alarm in the building. We’re sent home 45 minutes earlier than normal.
THURSDAY...
— Well the presidential wives are becoming more of the story on US news stations. That’s one thing about Canadian politics I like above American. The spouses are not part of the campaign. I’m sure a single American would have no chance of becoming president. The spouse is a vital part of the campaign and it’s all rather schmoozy.
— Really tired today. I struggle to stay alert at work. That’s strange for me on evening shift. Chinese food was had for supper. That’s pretty good.
FRIDAY...
— Sore lower back today. It’s all to do with over doing it when working out the hamstring. Not a big deal I’m sure but a bit of a pain for today.
— Work is alright. Dan is in there with me for half my shift and alone for the second half.
SATURDAY...
— Quiet day. The back finally comes back into good standing and the hamstring feels quite good now. Do some laundry, watch some TV, a ball game and some movies.
Vehicular Billboards
You can learn a lot just by looking at the back end of a person’s car. Are we so about outward perception that we feel we must express ourselves on personal billboards?
There are several areas to check out on the car. Bumper stickers come to mind first. Although really, there are very few actual bumper stickers anymore. It’s mostly magnets now and they are placed further up on the trunk rather than down on the bumper. Still, the traditional bumper sticker does still exist. It seems to primarily tell us where you’ve been. Disney World, Toronto’s Wonderland, that sort of thing.
The magnetic trunk stickers are more cause and politically motivated. Many of these magnets are in the form of a ribbon. That is to say, they’re designed to look like one of those ribbons people would put on their lapels. It’s rather silly actually, to think you need to make a magnet for your car to try to look like a ribbon.
But these ‘ribbons’ show support for all kinds of things. Breast cancer research and supporting the troops being the two I’ve seen most.
Breast cancer car magnets don’t bother me. They seem noble. Troop supporting magnets seem to cheapen the importance of military conflict to me. Yes it’s a fine line. You don’t want to ignore the troops. You don’t want to go about your life blissfully unaware of the dangers some of our fellow citizens are in. And if they are doing these dangers actions for a noble cause, they should be supported and respected for it.
But proclaiming a simplistic message with a magnet for your car. I don’t really see that as heartfelt and real support. I know if I was one of the troops, I wouldn’t be all warm and fuzzy seeing one of these cars with the magnet on the back. I’m afraid that “support the troops” magnets make military conflict too much a part of our normal, everyday culture. It’s become a slogan that people base, at least a part of, their morals on. And I’m left to wonder... if military conflict in Afghanistan or Iraq comes to an end, will the citizens back home expect new conflict to occur elsewhere... just so they can keep up the idea of “supporting the troops?” I hope not, but I’m no longer sure. Where does the money for the “support the troops” magnets go anyway? If it goes to charities or causes that actually support troops, well that would be at least something positive about them. But if it goes to a company who just continues to manufacture such magnets... that’s making money off of warfare, and that’s something I’d have no interest in supporting at all.
Back to the back of cars.
License plates can tell us more about the people inside the vehicle. In Ontario, you can have all sorts of personalized plates. You can have ones where the letters and numbers are simple personalizations. Things like “Bill2" tell you that Bill is driving the car and he was the second guy to think about getting such a statement on his plate. I assume Bill#1 is his mortal enemy now, that he’ll drive around the province looking for that plate, simply so he can scrape the key along the poor guy’s door.
Also in Ontario, you can personalize with pictures that correspond to some numbers that may mean something to you. For the old military people, there are Remembrance poppies or Legion emblems. Sport fans can have hockey or baseball logos, coupled with numbers. It can be easy to tell more about the driver by these numbers. For instance, an Ottawa Senator logo coupled with the numbers 11 and 1 on either side of the term “sen” can tell you that the driver is not only a Senator fan but also one who admires number 11 (Daniel Alfredsson) and number 1 (Ray Emery). It also means it’s a Senator fan who wishes he picked a different number, as Ray Emery is now the most hated Senator since Alexei Yashin. Or you get some hardline family people who will have the numbers 87 and 93 on either side of the “sen” term... obviously the birth dates of their children.
And what a wonderful thing, when you’ve been pulled over for drunken driving, to have an officer typing in your children’s birthdays when checking you out.
Continuing on the family front, there’s another magnet that I had previously forgotten to mention. This for the somewhat pathetic people out there. Often, when you see a woman driving kids in a minivan, you’d joke that she’s a soccer mom, taking the kids to practice. Well now you can actually get a soccer ball magnet and stick it to the back of your van... leaving no doubt. The thing is, not that being called a soccer mom is necessarily demeaning. But it’s hardly something to proudly proclaim either. By all means, a parent should be happy to take their kids to their activities... and take joy in watching them perform. But pull the bloody magnet off the back of the van. Those are the types of magnets that others should be putting on their when you aren’t looking. They’re the car magnet equivalent of a “kick me” sign stuck to your back without you knowing it.
The back windows of cars also tell much. A box of tissues says you are slightly sickly and not too concerned about keeping your car spotless clean. Beanbag puppy dog toys means you’re either very much a girly girl, or you’re a guy who’s excessively whipped by the missus. And the most common, and annoying... the Baby on Board sign.
Baby on Board means you are so caught up in being in your little bubble with your newborn, that you think the rest of the world will actually change the way they live to accommodate your new bundle of joy. Let it be known, I’m no more or no less likely to run in to the back of your car with the front of mine if that “baby on board” sign is back there. I’m not going to drive any more carefully in my car simply because you may have an infant in the back of yours. Get your head out of your you-know-where and be a part of normal society.
And this is all ignoring the fact of what type of car it is you’re looking at the back of. A “support the troops” magnet on the back of a hummer in America can give a totally different impressing of the person driving the car than the same magnet on the back of a Yaris in Canada. Especially when you consider the world of oil and some of the differences in the war going on in Afghanistan versus that of Iraq.
So, as you see, the back of a car can tell a great deal about the people in it. It can give political views, hint at family situations, and tell us all where you’ve been in this world.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Sunset in Avalon
With thunder storms going through during the day, sunset on June 14th was a fairly spectacular one. This is how it looked from my bedroom balcony.
Making It Up As I Go Along #324
MONDAY...
— Work 11 to 7 today. Softball after that. I’m on the mound for most of the game and pitch alright... we don’t win the game though. Still pretty fun.
— Hot today. Around 37 or 38 with humidity. I like it.
— The Hockey Night in Canada theme song has gone from CBC to TSN. I suppose it’s good that it’s still to be used but it won’t be the same hearing that tune played on a Wednesday night hockey game. It belongs on Saturday nights on CBC and it bothers me that they weren’t able to come to some understanding to make it so.
TUESDAY...
— Walk around the pond before work. Take a few pics as I go and the hamstring is coming along.
— Work is alright... not much out of the ordinary.
WEDNESDAY...
— Work is alright. Broken up in the middle of it for a physio appointment. And that goes well. The hamstring is improving and they seem pretty positive about it heading in the right direction.
— Groceries at Farm Boy before work... and meet up with Karl after work. I don’t get home until after 1:30 in the morning.
— There’s something slightly depressing about coming home after a long day and finding about 20 spam e-mails and no real ones. Sometimes you just expect something to be there but it often isn’t.
THURSDAY...
— To Mazda for a service on the car before work. Work is fine, lots of busy times early, Greek for supper, and a walk with Melissa in the evening.
FRIDAY...
— In early for a staff meeting. Work goes fine after that and I’m home around 8:30 tonight. The Exorcist on TV tonight... with a bit of thunder and lightning outside early on in the movie... the weather adds to the spookiness.
SATURDAY...
— Quiet day. A ball game on TV... a walk around the pond... some laundry.
Fatherless Father’s Day
Father’s Day is here. There’s no celebrating it in the company of my father though. He’s off the coast of Spain on a cruise ship right about now. My brother-in-law is also thousands of kilometres away, in BC. And of my uncles out there, the closest of the bunch is probably hanging out about a five hour drive away in the Mississauga area.
So Father’s Day is something I’m in no way close to today. I’ll have to celebrate it on my own, thinking of my father, and all those other father’s in my family, from afar.
So to celebrate Father’s Day, I think I’ll watch a baseball game and some golf on TV. I know it’s a hard sacrifice for me to make. To force myself to sit and take in two such sports when there could be so much else to do. But because I love those fathers out there, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
I’ll have to break out some nacho chips and salsa while in front of the TV. It’s true, my father thinks nacho chips are like cardboard. But I’ll be eating the chips thinking of the fact that my dad thinks this way. So in the eating will be the remembering. I’ve never quite understood the logic in that statement by my father anyway. He sees nacho chips as bland and tasteless cardboard. But he always enjoyed an oven baked potato. I can’t see getting any more bland than a baked potato straight out of the oven. The taste is dirt itself.
I think, since my father is now usually the one to prepare meals in my family, I shall order out for supper tonight... to give him a break. Again, like with watching baseball, it’s a sacrifice on my part. But it’s Father’s Day after all. Feels like a pizza day. Maybe I’ll have to order the Mediterranean pizza... again, thinking of dad and his current location.
Well the baseball game is on as I now write, and I can see it will be most difficult to get through it for dear old dad. With each extended stoppage of play... and in baseball there are many such stoppages... the CBC pan the crowd for those special father/child moments. So rather than actually paying attention to the game on the field, we’ll see lots of kids ignoring the game and eating a hot dog... while dad just stares off zombie like, lips smacking slowly and rhythmically, giving us glimpses of his half chewed food.
You see, our society is too geared now towards giving everyone their moment of publicity. We turn on the TV to see the game! Not to see some dad sucking down a hotdog with kiddie seated next to him. Soon the cell phones will be out, and we’ll all share in the moment as meat head lives a “can you see me?” scenario. Oh how I wish for a screaming foul ball when I see those guys waving to the camera while on their phone. Now that would make for some good television.
But this day is not for the wishing of mishit baseballs lining off of the foreheads of inattentive spectators. It’s a day about fathers.
And I’ll be thinking of the fathers I know.
The fatherly uncle, who’ll probably be cursed at by my aunt as he tries to watch the US Open... she’ll tell him “for Jesus’ sake, you’re not a father, now get up and set the table!”
The brother-in-law, who’ll also be watching the same US Open... with the volume turned up a touch in order not to hear my sister telling my youngest niece that she’s driving her crazy and needs to go outside for a while.
Then there’s my own father. Floating on the Mediterranean. I imagine him a little overwhelmed by a ship the size of a couple of hotels, just wanting to find a quite place to sit and read while my mother tells him they need to get a move on in order to get to the theatre in time for tonight’s live show. A show that’ll be some four hours away... but mom will push the issue, saying:
“by the time we get showered and dressed, and meet up with the others, and make our way up two decks and to the other end of the ship... and we’ll want to be there early for good seats...”
Dad will finish the page he’s on, mark his place with a pen for a bookmark, and mutter something about mom being out of control. And they’ll go off to have a terrific night, for Father’s Day cruising the Spanish seas.
— Work 11 to 7 today. Softball after that. I’m on the mound for most of the game and pitch alright... we don’t win the game though. Still pretty fun.
— Hot today. Around 37 or 38 with humidity. I like it.
— The Hockey Night in Canada theme song has gone from CBC to TSN. I suppose it’s good that it’s still to be used but it won’t be the same hearing that tune played on a Wednesday night hockey game. It belongs on Saturday nights on CBC and it bothers me that they weren’t able to come to some understanding to make it so.
TUESDAY...
— Walk around the pond before work. Take a few pics as I go and the hamstring is coming along.
— Work is alright... not much out of the ordinary.
WEDNESDAY...
— Work is alright. Broken up in the middle of it for a physio appointment. And that goes well. The hamstring is improving and they seem pretty positive about it heading in the right direction.
— Groceries at Farm Boy before work... and meet up with Karl after work. I don’t get home until after 1:30 in the morning.
— There’s something slightly depressing about coming home after a long day and finding about 20 spam e-mails and no real ones. Sometimes you just expect something to be there but it often isn’t.
THURSDAY...
— To Mazda for a service on the car before work. Work is fine, lots of busy times early, Greek for supper, and a walk with Melissa in the evening.
FRIDAY...
— In early for a staff meeting. Work goes fine after that and I’m home around 8:30 tonight. The Exorcist on TV tonight... with a bit of thunder and lightning outside early on in the movie... the weather adds to the spookiness.
SATURDAY...
— Quiet day. A ball game on TV... a walk around the pond... some laundry.
Fatherless Father’s Day
Father’s Day is here. There’s no celebrating it in the company of my father though. He’s off the coast of Spain on a cruise ship right about now. My brother-in-law is also thousands of kilometres away, in BC. And of my uncles out there, the closest of the bunch is probably hanging out about a five hour drive away in the Mississauga area.
So Father’s Day is something I’m in no way close to today. I’ll have to celebrate it on my own, thinking of my father, and all those other father’s in my family, from afar.
So to celebrate Father’s Day, I think I’ll watch a baseball game and some golf on TV. I know it’s a hard sacrifice for me to make. To force myself to sit and take in two such sports when there could be so much else to do. But because I love those fathers out there, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
I’ll have to break out some nacho chips and salsa while in front of the TV. It’s true, my father thinks nacho chips are like cardboard. But I’ll be eating the chips thinking of the fact that my dad thinks this way. So in the eating will be the remembering. I’ve never quite understood the logic in that statement by my father anyway. He sees nacho chips as bland and tasteless cardboard. But he always enjoyed an oven baked potato. I can’t see getting any more bland than a baked potato straight out of the oven. The taste is dirt itself.
I think, since my father is now usually the one to prepare meals in my family, I shall order out for supper tonight... to give him a break. Again, like with watching baseball, it’s a sacrifice on my part. But it’s Father’s Day after all. Feels like a pizza day. Maybe I’ll have to order the Mediterranean pizza... again, thinking of dad and his current location.
Well the baseball game is on as I now write, and I can see it will be most difficult to get through it for dear old dad. With each extended stoppage of play... and in baseball there are many such stoppages... the CBC pan the crowd for those special father/child moments. So rather than actually paying attention to the game on the field, we’ll see lots of kids ignoring the game and eating a hot dog... while dad just stares off zombie like, lips smacking slowly and rhythmically, giving us glimpses of his half chewed food.
You see, our society is too geared now towards giving everyone their moment of publicity. We turn on the TV to see the game! Not to see some dad sucking down a hotdog with kiddie seated next to him. Soon the cell phones will be out, and we’ll all share in the moment as meat head lives a “can you see me?” scenario. Oh how I wish for a screaming foul ball when I see those guys waving to the camera while on their phone. Now that would make for some good television.
But this day is not for the wishing of mishit baseballs lining off of the foreheads of inattentive spectators. It’s a day about fathers.
And I’ll be thinking of the fathers I know.
The fatherly uncle, who’ll probably be cursed at by my aunt as he tries to watch the US Open... she’ll tell him “for Jesus’ sake, you’re not a father, now get up and set the table!”
The brother-in-law, who’ll also be watching the same US Open... with the volume turned up a touch in order not to hear my sister telling my youngest niece that she’s driving her crazy and needs to go outside for a while.
Then there’s my own father. Floating on the Mediterranean. I imagine him a little overwhelmed by a ship the size of a couple of hotels, just wanting to find a quite place to sit and read while my mother tells him they need to get a move on in order to get to the theatre in time for tonight’s live show. A show that’ll be some four hours away... but mom will push the issue, saying:
“by the time we get showered and dressed, and meet up with the others, and make our way up two decks and to the other end of the ship... and we’ll want to be there early for good seats...”
Dad will finish the page he’s on, mark his place with a pen for a bookmark, and mutter something about mom being out of control. And they’ll go off to have a terrific night, for Father’s Day cruising the Spanish seas.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Making It Up As I Go Along #323
MONDAY...
— Work noon to 8 to go to the ball game afterwards. I don’t play though, thanks to the hamstring. Just there to cheer them on.
— Watch the last two periods of overtime in the Pittsburgh vs. Detroit game tonight. Pretty good to watch but Pittsburgh is quite lucky to win that one.
TUESDAY...
— Hamstring is still coming along.
— Work is pretty quiet. Josee and Keith do some overtime, but I’m alone for half the shift. Supper out with Melissa and some groceries after work.
WEDNESDAY...
— Hamstring getting better still.
— Greek food with Melissa tonight. The downside with Greek is there’s no perfect quantity to order. You either get less than what makes you satisfied or you get stuffed. Still pretty good.
— Detroit wins the Cup. I don’t watch, just check in a few times on the internet at work. I can’t say I really care a whole lot. But nice for Dan Cleary to win I guess.
THURSDAY...
— Off to the doctor before work. Get some physiotherapy prescribed.
— Hurt the ol’ hammy at work. Slip on a step walking up the stairs and it flares the hamstring. Leaving me kind of sore for a few hours.
FRIDAY...
— Hot out today. 35 with the humidity included. Megan and I do supper... hot dogs at the chip wagon and ice cream after that. Claudio does half a shift of overtime, so I have company after I’m back from supper.
— Physiotherapy is in the cards for me. Booked an appointment to get the hamstring seen on Wednesday... but it is still improving each day so hopefully the extra attention will just strengthen it up.
SATURDAY...
— Another hot one. With the humidity, it gets up to 39 today. I go out with Nick and Jim to toss the ball around. I’m needing some practice for slow pitch pitching... something we’re planning for me to do Monday.
— The hamstring is improving lots. I still can’t push it to running but I can walk fairly easily now, with minimal tightness.
— After practice, I go to supper with Karl. We walk from his place to the pub and back again afterwards. And again the hamstring has no problems with this.
The Love of Heat
I’m ready for Arizona. The older I get, the more heat I like. Soon I won’t be able to go back to Newfoundland at all and I’ll be forever in sweaters or fleeces in Ottawa.
Sadly, the warm and drier weather also seems to do my joints some good. It’s way to early in life for me to be that old man on the porch, feeling a twinge in my knee while rocking in the chair and telling the youngin’s “storm’s a comin’.”
But for a few years now, that transitional period from the warm to the cold, and back from cold to warm, has ached the knees. And my last trip to St. John’s saw my left shoulder throb for most of the week (even though it’s my right shoulder that has been beaten down by years of softball). The shoulder was joined by my left knee in the pain department.
I blamed the confines of the plane on setting off the knee. But perhaps the weather played a bigger role in both shoulder and knee as, on my return to Ottawa, both brightened up... happy to be back to the warmth.
Yesterday, it was humid. Dense warmth settled over the city with the bright blue sky and beaming sunshine. And even though it was little more than a week ago that I sprained my hamstring, yesterday it felt almost normal again as I walked through the warmth. The day was like a warm blanket there to keep you all snug and toasty, even when being outside.
The season’s humidity for me is like those blasted blankets that the women are wearing more often. It’s beyond me how it became a fashionable practice for a woman to get a blanket, cut a hole in the middle of it for her head to poke through, and to walk the streets clothed in this. Is a sombrero far behind?
So at least the hot weather allows you to keep your personal dignity by dressing like a sane person while remaining warm.
Also yesterday, I walked over a bridge over the Rideau River. I’ve crossed this river many times with my friend, Karl. It’s part of our route from his apartment to the pub we often go to.
Yesterday I looked down into the water. Seeing the sun glimmering off it. Seeing the green of the aquatic plant life just below the surface. Seeing a few ducks paddle lazily through the reeds near the shore.
The river looked warm and inviting. It made me think about what it would feel like to step over the bridge’s railing and leap down into the current. The thought was refreshing and pleasant.
Then I thought of other times I’ve walked over this bridge. The winter journeys with wind whipping up the river, causing you to hunch up your shoulders as you walk, and bury your head low with the hopes that the jacket will offer warmth to neck and chin.
Ice coated most of the river at this time. Only a few spots remain open and you look at those spots as torrents of death. If you fell in there you’d be swept under the ice, never to see the light of day again.
Ducks huddle close together. Always I’d see them there and feel sympathy, wondering how they survive those months along the cold water’s edge with ice and dead shoots of reeds making up their home.
Looking down at that river yesterday, I realized that the older I get, the more I prefer the summer version of the scene. My joints agree. My hamstring nods to say it’s in line as well. And seeing women without the poncho blankets is an added bonus as well. I much prefer to look at them in summer attire than that monstrosity.
May winter never return.
— Work noon to 8 to go to the ball game afterwards. I don’t play though, thanks to the hamstring. Just there to cheer them on.
— Watch the last two periods of overtime in the Pittsburgh vs. Detroit game tonight. Pretty good to watch but Pittsburgh is quite lucky to win that one.
TUESDAY...
— Hamstring is still coming along.
— Work is pretty quiet. Josee and Keith do some overtime, but I’m alone for half the shift. Supper out with Melissa and some groceries after work.
WEDNESDAY...
— Hamstring getting better still.
— Greek food with Melissa tonight. The downside with Greek is there’s no perfect quantity to order. You either get less than what makes you satisfied or you get stuffed. Still pretty good.
— Detroit wins the Cup. I don’t watch, just check in a few times on the internet at work. I can’t say I really care a whole lot. But nice for Dan Cleary to win I guess.
THURSDAY...
— Off to the doctor before work. Get some physiotherapy prescribed.
— Hurt the ol’ hammy at work. Slip on a step walking up the stairs and it flares the hamstring. Leaving me kind of sore for a few hours.
FRIDAY...
— Hot out today. 35 with the humidity included. Megan and I do supper... hot dogs at the chip wagon and ice cream after that. Claudio does half a shift of overtime, so I have company after I’m back from supper.
— Physiotherapy is in the cards for me. Booked an appointment to get the hamstring seen on Wednesday... but it is still improving each day so hopefully the extra attention will just strengthen it up.
SATURDAY...
— Another hot one. With the humidity, it gets up to 39 today. I go out with Nick and Jim to toss the ball around. I’m needing some practice for slow pitch pitching... something we’re planning for me to do Monday.
— The hamstring is improving lots. I still can’t push it to running but I can walk fairly easily now, with minimal tightness.
— After practice, I go to supper with Karl. We walk from his place to the pub and back again afterwards. And again the hamstring has no problems with this.
The Love of Heat
I’m ready for Arizona. The older I get, the more heat I like. Soon I won’t be able to go back to Newfoundland at all and I’ll be forever in sweaters or fleeces in Ottawa.
Sadly, the warm and drier weather also seems to do my joints some good. It’s way to early in life for me to be that old man on the porch, feeling a twinge in my knee while rocking in the chair and telling the youngin’s “storm’s a comin’.”
But for a few years now, that transitional period from the warm to the cold, and back from cold to warm, has ached the knees. And my last trip to St. John’s saw my left shoulder throb for most of the week (even though it’s my right shoulder that has been beaten down by years of softball). The shoulder was joined by my left knee in the pain department.
I blamed the confines of the plane on setting off the knee. But perhaps the weather played a bigger role in both shoulder and knee as, on my return to Ottawa, both brightened up... happy to be back to the warmth.
Yesterday, it was humid. Dense warmth settled over the city with the bright blue sky and beaming sunshine. And even though it was little more than a week ago that I sprained my hamstring, yesterday it felt almost normal again as I walked through the warmth. The day was like a warm blanket there to keep you all snug and toasty, even when being outside.
The season’s humidity for me is like those blasted blankets that the women are wearing more often. It’s beyond me how it became a fashionable practice for a woman to get a blanket, cut a hole in the middle of it for her head to poke through, and to walk the streets clothed in this. Is a sombrero far behind?
So at least the hot weather allows you to keep your personal dignity by dressing like a sane person while remaining warm.
Also yesterday, I walked over a bridge over the Rideau River. I’ve crossed this river many times with my friend, Karl. It’s part of our route from his apartment to the pub we often go to.
Yesterday I looked down into the water. Seeing the sun glimmering off it. Seeing the green of the aquatic plant life just below the surface. Seeing a few ducks paddle lazily through the reeds near the shore.
The river looked warm and inviting. It made me think about what it would feel like to step over the bridge’s railing and leap down into the current. The thought was refreshing and pleasant.
Then I thought of other times I’ve walked over this bridge. The winter journeys with wind whipping up the river, causing you to hunch up your shoulders as you walk, and bury your head low with the hopes that the jacket will offer warmth to neck and chin.
Ice coated most of the river at this time. Only a few spots remain open and you look at those spots as torrents of death. If you fell in there you’d be swept under the ice, never to see the light of day again.
Ducks huddle close together. Always I’d see them there and feel sympathy, wondering how they survive those months along the cold water’s edge with ice and dead shoots of reeds making up their home.
Looking down at that river yesterday, I realized that the older I get, the more I prefer the summer version of the scene. My joints agree. My hamstring nods to say it’s in line as well. And seeing women without the poncho blankets is an added bonus as well. I much prefer to look at them in summer attire than that monstrosity.
May winter never return.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Making It Up As I Go Along #322
MONDAY...
— Work 9:30 to 5:30... it’s fine. I’m a bit slow stats wise... after coming back from vacation... but pick up as shift goes.
— Go from work to the ball field. We win tonight but I could play better. One at bat (an out) and two easy plays at 3rd base. But at least we won.
— A bite and a beer after the game with about eight of us.
— Groceries... and I just get back in time before a quick, yet strong, thunder storm.
TUESDAY...
— Drivers licence work to be done. That is, I go to get a new picture for a new licence.
— Work is okay. Cindy with me for the first half and Claudio for the second.
— Nap on the sofa before heading to bed around 2:00 AM.
WEDNESDAY...
— Watch Cinderella Man on DVD in the morning.
— Work is alright. Alone for a while and with Cindy for the second half of the night. Supper is a shwarma with Megan.
THURSDAY...
— Do a walk in the morning. Two laps around the pond near my place. Lots of birds, ducks, ducklings, chicks, loons, muskrat. It’s pretty good.
— Work is fine. Claudio is there half the shift. And Jon is there for a couple of hours at the start.
— Get home to see my Monty Python has arrived. The set of the Flying Circus shows. Should make for some good watching.
FRIDAY...
— Up early for softball. It’s a tournament for the Children’s Wish Foundation and my first game is at 8:20 AM. Giving 45 minutes to get there in traffic and it’s an early start.
— The games are pretty fun but I get hurt in the second one. Torn or pulled hamstring for me. So it’s hobbling around for the rest of the afternoon and evening and a steady diet of ice once home.
SATURDAY...
— Some movies and pizza delivered and some hockey and baseball on TV. I’m being pretty lazy icing down my hamstring and resting. It’s improving already... hoping I dodged a bullet with this one but I’d say I’m not playing ball for a few weeks.
Three Strikes, You’re Out
Today I’m without any real story. I started one about playing softball but I didn’t like it. I tried a poem, also about ball, but after one stanza, I decided it wouldn’t go anywhere all that good.
And with two failed attempts today, I’m hardly in the mood for a third. So a quick run down of the week... well... a little less quick than the weekly portion above but quicker than a written out story.
Softball was my main story maker this week. Playing in a game on Monday which was fairly forgettable for me personally but still a bit of fun. And then the tournament on Friday with me getting hurt in the second game. The hamstring still doesn’t feel great but it is getting better all the time and I feel like I’ve dodged a bullet. I mean really... I have a home with two sets of steps. Having me on crutches around the house would be a pain in the you know where. Not to mention driving a standard transmission car with my clutch leg barely able to move. So maybe I’m a quick healer when it comes to the hamstring, or maybe the original problem was just not as bad as it first seemed. Either way, good.
My Monty Python collection is complete. I can’t think of what else I could put in there. This week I got the complete DVD set of their old weekly show, “The Flying Circus.” Seeing the Monty Python work, it’s easy to argue that, like with music, the world of comedy has gone downhill in recent years. The greatest rock music came from the 1970s. I think the greatest comedy did as well. At least I can be thankful that the incredibly bad Royal Canadian Air Farce is soon to be off the air. It just should have been disbanded some fifteen years ago.
My local pond is either rat infested or a wildlife compound!
I went for a walk around the pond this week. My first one in many months actually and it was pretty impressive. Ducks with ducklings. Loons with baby loons (what do you call them anyway? Loonlings?). Nesting birds trying to buzz walkers in order to keep them away from their nearby chicks. And, what I hope to be muskrats. Four times I saw what looked to be a muskrat swimming through the reeds or crossing from one shore to another. Seeing one, as it hit a clearing, I was struck by how close to a rat it had looked. Then I remembered the rats of Wedgewood Park, swimming across the river in the quest for food. And I wondered... are these muskrats? Or just more rats?
Funny how quickly a thought can change the entire image of an instance. I see the same creature paddling through the water and into the grasses and reeds along the shore. And one minute I think it’s neat and interesting... while the next minute I’m wondering if we need to call someone in to obliterate them.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Hillary Clinton is a politician to stay clear of. And I’ve also come to the conclusion that the western media and legal system, when it comes to politics, go hand in hand in not wanting to actually make things better. They want to keep the status quo. They expect that the status quo is what politics is all about. And they’d rather sensationalize the current ways then to fix it so that things are actually better.
We’ve seen claims that George Bush has lied to go to war. That he’s fabricated the reason for his battles. Yet nobody has seriously talked about trying him for war crimes.
Hillary Clinton lied about being shot at by snipers in Bosnia. But it’s a blip on the radar and she’s let off the hook when she said she may have just misremembered the situation.
But worse still, how can it be that Hillary Clinton, of all people, can try to proclaim herself as the one in touch with the hard working white middle class. She’s paid $11 million towards her campaign out of her own personal bank account, yet she’s the one to represent the views of the common white people? Just the fact that she’s even bringing up the idea of the common white people is a lack of political leadership. She’s going out of her way to intentional create division in class and race of people... hoping it’ll get her votes. I’m glad it looks like it isn’t working. And I hope Obama really does represent political change. Because the western world could sure use it.
This year’s Stanley Cup Final has been the most overhyped hockey final in recent memory. Even the Canadian sports media seemed willing to say that three straight years with a Canadian team in the finals was a bad thing for hockey. That those finals lacked excitement and now that we have the young guns of Pittsburgh going up against the veteran professionalism of Detroit, we’d finally see the good hockey like those Cup finals of the mid 1980s, when Edmonton and New York fought each other for the championship.
The NHL has become too desperate to market Sidney Crosby. I like the guy, he’s a fine player and I enjoy watching him play, but the league has to stop hinging it’s very existence on his success. The NHL has to return to marketing the team over the individual players. The world’s greatest team sport isn’t made to be marketing only the individual components. It simply sets itself up for a letdown.
And for God’s sake! Stop personalizing the Stanley Cup as some sort of cartoon figure named Stanley!!! It’s a trophy named after Lord Stanley. Attempts to market the championship as a cool thing has even had Canadian journalists, who should know better, blathering on about Sidney Crosby, or the Detroit Red Wings “wanting to get their hands on Stanley!” When you literally consider what’s being said, Lord Fredrick Stanley, the 16th Earl of Derby and a former Governor General of Canada would be grateful for being dead. Otherwise he may be afraid of the homoerotic implications of having a load of grown men all dying to get their hands on him. Bottom line is the NHL, and those who cover it, should stop trying to talk about the Stanley Cup as if it was Peter Puck. They do nothing but belittle the greatest trophy in all of sports by doing so.
— Work 9:30 to 5:30... it’s fine. I’m a bit slow stats wise... after coming back from vacation... but pick up as shift goes.
— Go from work to the ball field. We win tonight but I could play better. One at bat (an out) and two easy plays at 3rd base. But at least we won.
— A bite and a beer after the game with about eight of us.
— Groceries... and I just get back in time before a quick, yet strong, thunder storm.
TUESDAY...
— Drivers licence work to be done. That is, I go to get a new picture for a new licence.
— Work is okay. Cindy with me for the first half and Claudio for the second.
— Nap on the sofa before heading to bed around 2:00 AM.
WEDNESDAY...
— Watch Cinderella Man on DVD in the morning.
— Work is alright. Alone for a while and with Cindy for the second half of the night. Supper is a shwarma with Megan.
THURSDAY...
— Do a walk in the morning. Two laps around the pond near my place. Lots of birds, ducks, ducklings, chicks, loons, muskrat. It’s pretty good.
— Work is fine. Claudio is there half the shift. And Jon is there for a couple of hours at the start.
— Get home to see my Monty Python has arrived. The set of the Flying Circus shows. Should make for some good watching.
FRIDAY...
— Up early for softball. It’s a tournament for the Children’s Wish Foundation and my first game is at 8:20 AM. Giving 45 minutes to get there in traffic and it’s an early start.
— The games are pretty fun but I get hurt in the second one. Torn or pulled hamstring for me. So it’s hobbling around for the rest of the afternoon and evening and a steady diet of ice once home.
SATURDAY...
— Some movies and pizza delivered and some hockey and baseball on TV. I’m being pretty lazy icing down my hamstring and resting. It’s improving already... hoping I dodged a bullet with this one but I’d say I’m not playing ball for a few weeks.
Three Strikes, You’re Out
Today I’m without any real story. I started one about playing softball but I didn’t like it. I tried a poem, also about ball, but after one stanza, I decided it wouldn’t go anywhere all that good.
And with two failed attempts today, I’m hardly in the mood for a third. So a quick run down of the week... well... a little less quick than the weekly portion above but quicker than a written out story.
Softball was my main story maker this week. Playing in a game on Monday which was fairly forgettable for me personally but still a bit of fun. And then the tournament on Friday with me getting hurt in the second game. The hamstring still doesn’t feel great but it is getting better all the time and I feel like I’ve dodged a bullet. I mean really... I have a home with two sets of steps. Having me on crutches around the house would be a pain in the you know where. Not to mention driving a standard transmission car with my clutch leg barely able to move. So maybe I’m a quick healer when it comes to the hamstring, or maybe the original problem was just not as bad as it first seemed. Either way, good.
My Monty Python collection is complete. I can’t think of what else I could put in there. This week I got the complete DVD set of their old weekly show, “The Flying Circus.” Seeing the Monty Python work, it’s easy to argue that, like with music, the world of comedy has gone downhill in recent years. The greatest rock music came from the 1970s. I think the greatest comedy did as well. At least I can be thankful that the incredibly bad Royal Canadian Air Farce is soon to be off the air. It just should have been disbanded some fifteen years ago.
My local pond is either rat infested or a wildlife compound!
I went for a walk around the pond this week. My first one in many months actually and it was pretty impressive. Ducks with ducklings. Loons with baby loons (what do you call them anyway? Loonlings?). Nesting birds trying to buzz walkers in order to keep them away from their nearby chicks. And, what I hope to be muskrats. Four times I saw what looked to be a muskrat swimming through the reeds or crossing from one shore to another. Seeing one, as it hit a clearing, I was struck by how close to a rat it had looked. Then I remembered the rats of Wedgewood Park, swimming across the river in the quest for food. And I wondered... are these muskrats? Or just more rats?
Funny how quickly a thought can change the entire image of an instance. I see the same creature paddling through the water and into the grasses and reeds along the shore. And one minute I think it’s neat and interesting... while the next minute I’m wondering if we need to call someone in to obliterate them.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Hillary Clinton is a politician to stay clear of. And I’ve also come to the conclusion that the western media and legal system, when it comes to politics, go hand in hand in not wanting to actually make things better. They want to keep the status quo. They expect that the status quo is what politics is all about. And they’d rather sensationalize the current ways then to fix it so that things are actually better.
We’ve seen claims that George Bush has lied to go to war. That he’s fabricated the reason for his battles. Yet nobody has seriously talked about trying him for war crimes.
Hillary Clinton lied about being shot at by snipers in Bosnia. But it’s a blip on the radar and she’s let off the hook when she said she may have just misremembered the situation.
But worse still, how can it be that Hillary Clinton, of all people, can try to proclaim herself as the one in touch with the hard working white middle class. She’s paid $11 million towards her campaign out of her own personal bank account, yet she’s the one to represent the views of the common white people? Just the fact that she’s even bringing up the idea of the common white people is a lack of political leadership. She’s going out of her way to intentional create division in class and race of people... hoping it’ll get her votes. I’m glad it looks like it isn’t working. And I hope Obama really does represent political change. Because the western world could sure use it.
This year’s Stanley Cup Final has been the most overhyped hockey final in recent memory. Even the Canadian sports media seemed willing to say that three straight years with a Canadian team in the finals was a bad thing for hockey. That those finals lacked excitement and now that we have the young guns of Pittsburgh going up against the veteran professionalism of Detroit, we’d finally see the good hockey like those Cup finals of the mid 1980s, when Edmonton and New York fought each other for the championship.
The NHL has become too desperate to market Sidney Crosby. I like the guy, he’s a fine player and I enjoy watching him play, but the league has to stop hinging it’s very existence on his success. The NHL has to return to marketing the team over the individual players. The world’s greatest team sport isn’t made to be marketing only the individual components. It simply sets itself up for a letdown.
And for God’s sake! Stop personalizing the Stanley Cup as some sort of cartoon figure named Stanley!!! It’s a trophy named after Lord Stanley. Attempts to market the championship as a cool thing has even had Canadian journalists, who should know better, blathering on about Sidney Crosby, or the Detroit Red Wings “wanting to get their hands on Stanley!” When you literally consider what’s being said, Lord Fredrick Stanley, the 16th Earl of Derby and a former Governor General of Canada would be grateful for being dead. Otherwise he may be afraid of the homoerotic implications of having a load of grown men all dying to get their hands on him. Bottom line is the NHL, and those who cover it, should stop trying to talk about the Stanley Cup as if it was Peter Puck. They do nothing but belittle the greatest trophy in all of sports by doing so.
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