Bamboozled

Posted on March 31, 2006 by Steve

I’m not a big fan of Spike Lee but this one seemed remotely interesting. Usually, Spike has a big chip on his shoulder and this one is no exception yet the subject matter is what prompted me to record it on my DVR from IFC. 
 
The premise revolves around a TV network dying for a hit show. Senior Network Writer Pierre [Damon Wayans] is feeling the pressure from multiple directions; the head guy always gets the blame, being Black intensifies it and it’s show business, there’s always others on the staff waiting to take your job (Al Franken said that writers suffer more from backstabbing wounds than high blood pressure). It doesn’t help that his boss executive Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport) demands a “Black” show (whatever that means) because all the past efforts haven’t been realistic enough. Dunwitty is terribly annoying; the white guy who uses outdated Black slang and thinks he has the right to use the N word, all because he’s married to a Black woman. Pierre and his assistant Hopkins (Jada Pinkett-Smith) decide to come up with a show so offensive and controversial that it they’ll be fired and Pierre can break his contract. They recreate an old-time blackface show complete with stereotypes, profanity, lame jokes and tap dancing. To complete this scheme, Pierre hires a couple of street performers to be the stars (Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover). As expected, Dunwitty green lights the pilot but more oddly, the show is a runaway success. 
 
The consequences and outcome of the show is where Spike Lee falls apart with what really could’ve been a good idea. I don’t think he could write an adequate ending so the movie concludes with implausible, idiotic violence. Spike also thinks NYPD has the skill to fire a shower of bullets at a group of rappers yet miss the one member with “white” skin. The ugly truth is that most shows are cancelled with little press or notice, some are even cancelled by the star. Sure there’s infighting with the cast and writers, that’s expected, people are political creatures regardless of skin color. However, Spike figures that his story required a different outcome yet I think he couldn’t write a good ending so he went with the lame one (even my personal favorite, Douglas Coupland, is guilty of this one). 
 
Is this worth watching? Not really. Not because he’s up on his soap box giving the “shame, shame” gesture to Black and White America, especially with the montage of past potrayls of Blacks in cartoons and films (can’t forget Birth of a Nation when you want to brand all Whites bigots). Not because you have conversations between Blacks calling each other hurtful names over who “sold out.” It just is a disappointment of a film because he can’t come up with a better outcome (and it doesn’t have to be happy). I guess he didn’t want to have it end like Hollywood Shuffle or any other movie about how people off all stripes get used up and tossed away in show business

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Happy Birthday Gordie Howe

Posted on March 31, 2006 by Steve

On this day in 1928, the first, most famous hockey player of the modern era (when the NHL started appearing on US TV on a regular basis) was born out on a farm in Saskatchewan. I’ve lived in North Dakota for a year too, so I can assure you Gordie is from a part of Canada that is very similar; empty, cold, boring and depressing. 
 
Thanks to some oversight on the NY Rangers’ part, the Detroit Red Wings discovered his scoring talent, put him through their training camp back East and by age 18 he was playing in the NHL. Thankfully, WWII also ended a year earlier so he wasn’t drafted and had his budding career interrupted. 
 
Gordie went on to play for 25 years for one team which is pretty amazing because other great players of his day were traded; Phil Esposito, Terry Sawchuk, etc. He also became the first real celebrity of the NHL when the games were televised on US TV. Many hockey historians think he’s a major reason why the 1967 expansion happened too. Whenever the Red Wings came to spank the LA Kings, the LA media wanted to talk to Gordie. 
 
His 25 years with the Red Wings wasn’t enough though. When the opportunity came to be a major part of the rival WHA league, he took it. He certainly proved it wasn’t a publicity stunt by scoring 100, 99 and 102 points during his first three seasons with Houston. I think he also wanted to have the opportunity to play with his sons Mark and Marty (Mark Howe had a pretty decent NHL career on his own). After Houston, the Howes played for Hartford which then was one of the four teams absorbed by the NHL when the WHA folded. Gordie played one last NHL season before retiring for good. He appeared in 80 games of the season, scored 15 goals, made 26 assists and made it to the All-Star Game. Pretty impressive for a 51-year-old athlete. 
 
Although his scoring title was surpassed by Wayne Gretzky years ago and sadly Gordie has been bitter over it, he will always be Mr. Hockey. He should always be remembered for his endurance and bravery to try something new. Most of all he paved the way for Wayne, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Peter Forsberg and even the current big deal, Sydney Crosby.

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Mouth still healing, brain rather fuzzy

Posted on March 30, 2006 by Steve

There are pain killers and then there are incapacitating pain killers. The hole left in my gums doesn’t hurt as much as that rotten tooth did (when it was raging) but it still smarts. So I’ve been taking what the dentist wrote me a note for to keep me distracted from the pain. Distracted would be an understatement. My brain has been so fuzzy, I’m amazed I can call the sick line at work correctly. The stuff also puts me to sleep for really long stretches. On the upside, it surpresses my appetite which counters all the pudding I’ve been eating. Solid food is just a nuisance too. If I don’t keep chewing on the right side of my mouth, something will get in the former tooth’s place and getting it out is probably the hardest game of Operation I’ve ever played. Gross, I know. Again, at least the area is closing up and either it will be sealed up forever or the wisdom tooth behind it will be pushing its way in to the vacancy.

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Podcasts I like and one to avoid

Posted on March 29, 2006 by Steve

Now that iTunes has had the ability to subscribe to podcasts (more easily) for some time, here are some I listen to that I would like to share with you. 
 
Podquiz: This is done by a British guy named James Carter (as you can tell by his accent). Some of the questions are rather easy like his section about chess while the musical connections can be frustrating. Overall this podcast is very professional: no stammering and great production. Mr. Carter is a joy to listen to because his podcast is living proof of a positive outcome from all this DIY technology in a universe crowded with other whining cranks or making audio blogs. 
 
Coverville: Brian Ibbott out of Denver does about two to three half-hour shows dedicated to his love of covers. Being a huge music collector and an avid fan of unusual covers myself, this show was the first thing I looked for when iTunes gained its podcast subscription abilities. Not every show is a gem, Ibbott will focus on a particular artist, musical style or theme. If you’re not a fan of Tom Waits, a capella or Christmas songs, this may result in you skipping entire shows. However, he tends to keep the bulk of his podcasts general showcases. As he approaches 200 shows, his technique has continued to remain amateurish with all the stammering. I’ll cut him some slack though. He has a regular full-time job and he did beat me to the punch on this concept. Oddly, he has similar tastes as mine (Split Enz, Jellyfish and the Posies come up frequently). Brian is also a very generous host since he uses Coverville’s fame to promote others’ such as Podquiz (see above) and Musically Challenged; these are usually played near the end of his episodes. Fame? Coverville has received press from numerous newspapers, NPR and various music trades. Again, the variety and dedication to his material makes his weak production skills forgivable. 
 
TMBG Podcast: Definitely a must for TMBG fans who cannot get enough of them (they’re touring again this Spring, but skipping Austin). The content isn’t exclusively them talking nor demos of unreleased, unfinished songs. It’s more along the lines of what they’d be like if they were on the radio for a half-hour show; playing a song or two of theirs (solo material included), music by others they like and when they do speak, they’re genuinely funny. For example, they pretended to be a couple of movie people blathering on in a DVD commentary. The Johns prove that famous musicians can still produce original, entertaining content without it feeling like scraps to keep their fan base sated. 
 
On the Media: This isn’t really an original podcast, it’s actually a rebroadcast (or what has been coined “repurposed” content) of that week’s show. Since I have a degree in Communication from Marquette, I still have a passing interest in what is happening in the media business. The local NPR station (KUT) started carrying this a couple years ago but they play it at 6 am on a Saturday, not exactly a convenient time. At first, I wasn’t impressed with OTM. It came off more self-congratulatory and very self-important. I did enjoy their anniversary show of an average day at an NPR station starring Fred Willard, Tony Shaloub and Jeanne Garafolo (definitely the bane of the Right). They also gained some chutzpah recently (why not, both hosts are Jewish like every other NPR show) by calling Judith Miller on the carpet; boy did she get defensive; same with Tomlinson’s attempt to steer CPB to the far right. 
 
Five Hundy by Midnight: This is the one to avoid. Tim Dressen is this guy in the Minneapolis area who goes to Las Vegas several times a year so he feels it gives him the right to do a podcast about the place. Too bad the show is filled with his incessant bitching, stammering, ad-libbed format and useless opinion. If you really want to know what’s new in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal website isn’t a secret. If you have cable TV, turn on the Travel Channel too, at least you’ll have pictures to accompany those PR pieces. I love going to the place too, but I should’ve known his podcast was a waste of energy because he’s a slot and video poker player; flushing your money down the toilet on those games is faster since they’re designed for speed. He tried to liven up the podcast by having his wife on. She definitely has a better voice for radio, but you know that probably means, she has a face for radio too. Anyway, this just shifted his show from one kind of a boring (his yammering) to another (their he-said, she-said). I think a more interesting podcast could be done by someone who lives there and the host interviews various guests passing through. Dressen’s podcast is a demonstration of the Internet giving a voice to people who have nothing to say yet have to say something.

Posted in Diversions | 1 Comment

Week 25 of NHL 2005-6

Posted on March 28, 2006 by Steve

We’re down to less than a dozen games and the playoff picture has shaped up with predictably Chicago, St. Louis, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Washington being eliminated as of today. It’s no surprise with that immediate outcome: Chicago’s owner is a cheap bastard who should have the team taken away from him; Columbus still stinks in every possible way; Washington is a mini version of Chicago in my opinion; Pittsburgh & St. Louis are/were for sale so being rotten teams helps with the selling price for some odd reason. 
 
Who’s next? I think sadly Phoenix will fall short this week, Minnesota too. San Jose and LA will make the teams from the Northwest work harder for those last two spots since Detroit, Nashville and Dallas have their positions locked up. As for the East, Boston will definitely be eliminated in a week. The NY Islanders and Toronto will take longer but I know from watching the Leafs victory tonight, the bulk of Canada is already starting to pin blame on various members of the Leafs’ organization as coach Pat Quinn will be canned at the end of the season. Not really sure what to say for Atlanta and Florida yet Montreal, New Jersey and Tampa Bay could stumble. I’ll go out on a limb and gamble that Atlanta will pull through at the end because they don’t want to be left in the dust with Columbus and setting a lower standard than Washington. 
 
Meanwhile my Flyers were fabulous Saturday against their former nemesis, the Senators. First place in the East eh? The Flyers owned ’em that night. Just the butt kicking the Broad Street Bullies dished out didn’t end in the NHL record-breaking brawl of last season. I saw that game too. The fighting was just moronic on former coach Jacques Martin’s part. His team was clearly losing and dragging out the last several minutes into an hour of those goon manuevers was poor sportsmanship. I am also irked at my head coach Ken Hitchcock escalating the chest-thumping, he-man idiocy. Anyhow, the Flyers gave the Leafs a glimpse of hope tonight by losing stupidly. They took the lead early, lost it and never really recovered. So the NY Rangers have clearly retaken first place in the Atlantic. Guess they want to struggle with being number five in the playoffs. 
 
Finally, my buddy Jeremy Roenick’s horrendous season with the LA Kings came to an ugly end when he broke his ankle against the Predators. How frustrating too because I was watching that game! I can only hope LA will renew his contract since I doubt Philly will take him back with the Rick Tocchet business still unfolding. I think he can beat Joey Mullen’s record next season and surpass the Olympic Crybaby Extraordinairre Mike Lady Modano.

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I should be paying the Tooth Fairy for this molar

Posted on March 27, 2006 by Steve
My tooth's front (left) and back (right). The decay was really reddish.

My tooth's front (left) and back (right). The decay was really reddish.

Last week I went to the dentist for the first time in 16 years and today was the down payment for my negligence, procrastination and poor dental-care habits. First was the extraction (pulling) of the tooth deemed beyond redemption. As you can see from these pictures, Tom Savini couldn’t make something this nasty. 
 
Despite the tragic loss of my molar (upper, left side), the extraction was impressive and amazingly quick. I think waiting for that side of my mouth to become numb took longer. The dentist warned me about cracking noises but not to panic over them I (can’t imagine why anyhow, the tooth was deemed a goner). Before I knew it, the tooth had come out. I didn’t even have to raise my left hand to tell Dr. Johnson I was smarting. I had been sitting there, worried needlessly that I may have been uncooperative too. Actually, the dentist and her assistant were amazed at the tooth’s “willingness” on removal since its roots were curvy.

The decay is at least 3mm deep

The decay is at least 3mm deep

Dr. Johnson let me keep the tooth because I wanted to post it here as a warning for my friends’ children. This is what could, may or will happen to your teeth if you don’t brush regularly (only mornings for me), drink too much Dr. Pepper (I had scaled back several years ago, too late though), consume too much sugar (guilty, guilty, guilty, I’m an American) and don’t floss (guilty again). I used Photoshop to alter the color of the decayed area (gray) to show the extent of the damage since the natural reddish hue hid the seriousness of my tooth’s problem. Now I’m growing accustomed to the gap in my jaw where it used to be. The dentist is optimistic my wisdom tooth may push itself into the vacancy. I am relieved over the tooth in front of the molar showing no immediate signs of rot. 
 
I return to the dentist in three weeks to see how well the gap healed, then a plan to tackle the other cavities discovered in the examination. Meanwhile, I’m learning to enjoy diet soda, sugar-free gum and (until further notice) pudding for dinner.

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Dave & Buster’s

Posted on March 27, 2006 by Steve

This place isn’t local but I always have such a great time since Austin gained a franchise in 1999 that I have to make a plug for it. If there’s one in your city, I highly recommend an evening at the D&B (as my friends and I call it). 
 
What is it exactly? Think Chuck E. Cheese for adults but it’s more in the PG-13 realm because there’s no nudity like Las Vegas. As an eatery, it’s a restaurant/bar in the Chili’s or Bennigan’s price range, selection and quality. The star attraction is obviously the place’s Million Dollar Midway populated with video games, skee ball, pool hall, shuffleboard, hoops games and other ticket dispensing games. To play the games you have to acquire a Power Card which stores your points (money) on it. Admittedly, the games are more expensive to play there than say Einstein’s on the Drag (the only arcade left in the area) but try to get permission to drink your beer while you’re taking on the zombies hordes in House of the Dead IV. There’s a silver lining to the D&B’s Power Card for those who frequent the establishment. After purchasing/spending 1500 points, you get promoted to the Gold status and you “pay” less per game. I finally achieved this status last Summer so my card hangs in there longer when I take Landon and Madison (Hunter and Wyatt will get their turns soon). 
 
I readily admit that this place doesn’t necessarily sound impressive. The arcades I grew up with have gone extinct since home-gaming consoles are cheaper per play and the caliber of the graphics are equivalent (unlike the disparity between Atari 2600s or NES and the real thing back in the 80s). Buying a sixer of Shiner Bock while spending an evening with the PS2 is also more cost effective. Well, after 10 pm all children have to go home. I think young adults between 16-20 are allowed to stay, only if escorted by someone over 21 (I’ve also heard 25+). As much as I enjoy my nephews and nieces’ company, Nickelodeon, etc., there should be some sanctuaries for adults only. They also carry some games that consoles can’t do yet: my favorite is this boxing game with one-pound gloves and motion sensors to simulate a match. It’s a serious workout. Doing Bugs Bunny moves against even the easiest foe isn’t recommended neither.

Madison & Landon showing their approval of D&B.

Madison & Landon showing approval of D&B.

Of course children love this place. When Landon and Madison come to Austin, their mother (Yvette) allows Uncle Steve (or somedays, Uncle ATM, but that’s my fault) to take them to D&B for lunch and games. Landon is ape over the tickets. They also get a break there. Whenever I go with friends or my wife, all the tickets were rack up are placed on their cards. My friends Tony and Gerald have been very generous to donate theirs too. So these tickets can then be used to buy prizes at the Midway Store. Most of it is stuff you could buy cheaper elsewhere instead of playing skee ball continously for a week (which I explained to Landon as he lamented over not having 44,000 for a PSP). The recent trip did result in me cajoling them into using their points to buy souvenirs for their parents (easy sell for Madison, more on par with the recent NHL CBA for Landon). 
 
Lately, they haven’t really stayed on top of the video games but I think that is more of an industry problem. Personally, I think they should bring in more pinball machines because the Sharper Image sells awesome ones. Shortly after New Year’s they installed this trivia game with a game-show layout. There are six seats. Each seat has three buttons (A, B, C) for the “contestants” to answer with. Its questions are Trivial Pursuit caliber for difficulty but it’s more timely on the entertainment section. The more players involved, the bigger the amount of bonus tickets awarded to the winner who answers all five questions correctly the fastest. I am just a trivia freak (which people confuse as knowledgeable) so you know several rounds of playing this are mandatory. What’s my record? I lost track of my actual Win-Loss ratio yet I can confidently say it’s over .500. I usually get smacked on sports and popular music. When I played with the kids, if I knew the answer, I told them so we could all feel smart. Madison even saved my bacon on a question about Madonna’s first album but she later admitted to it being a guess. I told her it was okay, I lucked out on the Troy Aikman question too.

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Happy Birthday Ethan!

Posted on March 25, 2006 by Steve

Today is the birthday of my friend Ethan. I’ll let him volunteer his age on his own, I don’t want to out him as being “old” and I think I may be off a year or two on what it is. 
 
For me, E (as we call him) is the first really good friend I made when I returned to Austin in 1998. Oh there’s Garrett who went on to be my roommate from 1999 to 2000, JoAnna, the crew from Kenny’s Coffee Company and the list goes on but E is the one who stands out the most. I think we hit it off best due to our love of music. We don’t always agree on who is good yet we had a great time at the Semisonic concert (the last gig I saw at Liberty Lunch before the city threw it away on those CSC bozos). 
 
A big salute to the E man today. Sorry girls, he’s getting married in June too. I don’t think Kelly will allow him to accept anything greater than a card.

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Another defeat for spammers

Posted on March 24, 2006 by Steve

You may not notice the change immediately on this site but I finally figured out how to eliminate trackbacks. I never quite understood what benefit trackbacks actually offered that isn’t a porn spammer. 
 
I doubt anyone really bothered to see what was linked there, including me. Then one day I was going through past entries in the Gaming section for a different reason. I noticed the Star Wars Battlefront story had 200+ entries in the trackback section. I clicked the link and it was pretty much porn, porn, porn, real estate scam, porn, porn, viagra, porn, porn, you can see where this is going. These spammers didn’t appear to be taking up any valuable space on the server’s drive, affecting the bandwidth or get me blacklisted but damn it, I always feel harassed. If you’ve ever been to Las Vegas and you walk along The Strip, there are these people constantly pushing these stupid little handouts for “escort services,” strippers and porn. You just want to enjoy your vacation yet these pests make flicking noises with the paper to get your attention and practically shove this junk into your hands. I equate these leeches tagging their unrelated trackbacks to my site with the plague of The Strip. But unlike Las Vegas, I was finally able to cut them off at the knees.

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Happy 75th Birthday William Shatner

Posted on March 22, 2006 by Steve

William Shatner will always be known as Captain Kirk which should lump him into the Diversions category but since this is a historic birthday and he’s had a positive effect on popular American and Canadian culture. I haven’t watched the TV special about him, the one that talks about how he changed the world: I’m guessing it’s about the things he influenced. 
 
As he has gotten older, I’ve really grown to like him but not for the kitsch factor. I admire his willingness to try anything. Some would say his desperation for money. I don’t agree because the lyrics to his song “Has Been” sums up his can-do attitude which is what I think kept pushing him during his lean years. 
 
Congratulations Mr. Shatner and may he keep inspiring all of us to keep trying new things despite past failures.

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Doctor Who returns to US TV

Posted on March 22, 2006 by Steve

The Sci-Fi Channel redeems itself by showing the new episodes of Doctor Whothat debuted last year on the BBC. I readily admit how much I dislike British Science-Fiction faves Red Dwarf and HHG but I will concede to enjoying what used to be the longest running show in the UK (until it was cancelled in 1989). 
 
The special effects were markedly improved over the past episodes’ cheesy ones. Still not quite on par with US network television but probably within expectations for low-budget cable channels: the bulk of the Sci-Fi Channel’s content and a major reason why I really dislike watching its other offerings. 
 
I do like the more spacious set they made for the TARDIS. Definitely illustrates its tesseract nature much better than the old cramped control room I recall so often from the Tom Baker run of the show. He also has a new companion named Rose who is the equivalent of a British redneck, that’s my guess based upon the background the show gave her. My wife likes her because she’s pretty yet in a realistic way: she doesn’t have Hollywood features, she’s a bit above average in her weight and she looks more like the average UK woman in her mid 20s. 
 
For the debut, the Sci-Fi Channel just ran two shows back-to-back. There was no two-hour pilot to re-establish who The Doctor is, where he’s from, what he does, etc. He just showed up in Rose’s life during a really weird outbreak of department-store mannequins coming to life, trying to kill her. Then the second hour jumped over to the Doctor taking Rose to the far future (five billion years) to see the Earth’s death when the sun expands into a super giant (that one was rather comical as it was grisly). The remaining 11 shows will be appearing every Friday night until further notice. According to imdb.com, the second season is in production and the BBC did order a third. 
 
Doctor Who still isn’t as appealing as it could be to the American market but I think this revival is a step in the right direction. However, I would like to see another round of the show done with Rowan Atkinson and Jonathan Pryce as the Doctor and the Master respectively.

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Week 24 of NHL 2005-6

Posted on March 21, 2006 by Steve

The cycle of back n’ forth Flyers continues along with my revised prediction that they will be a one-round wonder, eliminated probably by Buffalo since they’ve decided to let the Rangers have the better spot in the Atlantic. It may be better that way instead of having another humiliating defeat at the hands of the TB Lightning who once again proved they “own” the Flyers. 
 
I have also concluded that Peter Forsberg is just a Swedish version of Eric Lindros when it comes to all his injuries. Rather fitting. They were drafted in the same year and Philly did give up Forsberg to the Nordiques for the Big E, now sitting on the sidelines for the Leafs. I can only hope there’s an exit clause to dump this so-called Peter the Great. I seriously doubt he’ll matter for the Flyers in the long term. 
 
On the upside, Simon Gagne scored his 40th goal tonight v. the Devils. A career high for Simon and he’s first player to do this since John LeClair in the 1999-2000 season for the Flyers. 
 
Meanwhile, my favorite US-born player Jeremy Roenick has been surpassed by Mike “Lady” Modano for being #2 in goals (484) and is within 18 of tying Joey Mullen. With a dozen or so remaining games, this record is unlikely to be broken. I can only hope JR will get his game back on track during the off season since he did have a sizable lead over the Big Baby in Turin.

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Too cute to pass up

Posted on March 20, 2006 by Steve

When I returned from my trip to the dentist, Siri was still in the middle of her mid-afternoon nap on the living-room floor. Madison thought it would be funny to put Wicca’s stuffed bear on her like a blanket. It didn’t seem to disrupt her sleeping so Somara took a picture.

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Florida-based nephew & nieces are visiting

Posted on March 20, 2006 by Steve
Landon, my oldest nephew

Landon, my oldest nephew.

Despite the ugly truth I received from my dentist today, my sister-in-law arrived this morning with her three kids: Landon, Madison and Siri who are 10, 6 and 2 respectively. I am always thrilled to see them because it’s only once every 12-18 months they’re around. Siri isn’t old enough to hang with me yet and I don’t want to learn how to change her diaper, I get incapacitated the dry heaves around such grossness. Landon usually digs talking to Uncle Maggi because I have a the motherlode of D&D books and miniatures. He’s only learning the basic game and I can’t predict if he’ll stick with such an expensive, time-consuming and still socially unacceptable hobby. Madison is a different case. I don’t mind doing all the little girlie things with her. When she visits here, Madison is outnumbered since her other cousins are all boys (Hunter and Wyatt, Canon is only a baby).

Madison, future heartbreaker

Madison, future heartbreaker

My sister-in-law Yvette chose to drive here from Daytona in the family RV. A wise economic choice but a trial for an adult’s patience. As you could guess, the kids were all wired after 36 hours of cabin fever so I had to ask Landon several times to please bring his energy level down to a 5. Madison was already in tears for some behaviorial incident on the way over. All I knew was the trip to Build-A-Bear got scratched. The only leverage I established over them is Dave & Buster’s which they discovered in 2004. Yvette and I have our differences, mainly political, but I always lend my D&B carrot to assist her with them.

Siri, the little performer

Siri, the little performer

Maybe I’m a rotten uncle. I know kids aren’t as stupid as adults think they are so I always to talk directly to them and I won’t mince words. Whenever they’re being obnoxious or borderline unmanageable, I tell them that it better stop or else I’ll hand them back off to their parents. I even told Landon not to BS me about something or the D&B trip was off. Probably in the back of his mind, I’m now Uncle Hardass. Then again, he’s 10, my cat Molly has a longer attention span. I’m on a vacation day just for them (actually, it was supposed to the aftermath of the hockey game that fell through) and I want to go to D&B too. Tickets galore as soon as we’re done eating lunch!

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Happy Birthday Bobby Orr, no Big D trip

Posted on March 20, 2006 by Steve

One the five greatest hockey players and the greatest defenseman ever turned 58 today. 
 
His career was rather brief and injury-riddled (always trouble with his knees) but he brought so much to the NHL that we hockey fans can never thank him enough. Orr changed the game by being a great skater, his amazing puck handling and he scored goals. Sure there were other d-men before him who did these things yet he was the right man at the right time as the NHL started to be shown on American television. So he really set the standard for the League when it comes to teams trying to sign an offensive defenseman, especially when you need a guy to “quarterback” the power play. 
 
I also like him immensely for his lack of notoriety which continues to linger around Gordie Howe’s bitterness over Gretzky beating his records, Bobby Hull’s bad toupee and history of spousal abuse, Wayne Gretzky’s entanglement with an illegal gambling ring (which is really exaggerated) and Terry Sawchuk’s alcoholic demise. 
 
In other hockey news, the trip to Dallas fell through. No one really wanted to go and all the hockey fans I knew couldn’t get the time off. Scott (my former boss) was set to go but he came down ill over the weekend. He felt worse about it than me so I had to reassure him it wasn’t any big deal. Getting well is much more important than seeing the Stars clobber Disney on Ice (aka the Ducks, and yes, I know Disney did sell the team last year, it’s too good of a nickname to dump). There will be another time though, the season has over a dozen games remaining.

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