v2, d347: Aquafiller!

I feel like no one's reading anymore.  Which, as I've said before, is mostly okay with me, because I still enjoy the writing. It also makes me feel less guilty when I post filler stuff. 

I had heard this song before, but this video is really pretty awesome.  The dude even worked in a Wonder Twins cameo, a Head-On joke, and a Little Mermaid reference.  And while I'm as sick as the next guy over the "Batman and Robin" jokes, on the whole I have to give this one an overwhelming "WIN"

v2, d335: What HASN'T Killed the Radio Star At This Point?

Dear blog,

Sometimes I stay up entirely too late trying to figure out what to do with you. This be one of those nights.

However, I will not leave you empty-handed. I give you Theremin Zelda! (Prepare to have your mind blown by the mighty theremin!)


But wait there's more. Theremin can also rock.


People invent awesome and bizarre thingies sometimes.

v2, d117: Minor Musings

First off, I feel the need to clarify yesterday's post. Five-hundred words is my minimum. So far, I've topped nine-hundred words each night. So I'm making more progress than it sounds like when I say I set a goal of five-hundred.

Onward to today's blog:

If you're among the throngs of my readers who don't care about the Aeros, skip to the video at the end.

For the rest of you:

I have to say I've been pretty stoked about the upcoming AHL season. The Aeros seem to alternate between good seasons and disappointing ones, at least since I've been here, so that means we're do for some good times in 2010-11. There weren't a ton of bright spots in 2009-10, but we've managed to bring most of 'em back for more. Rau, Daoust, and DiSalvatore are all back in the fold, as is vet Jamie Fraser. You've also got to figure we'll have at least two of Colton Gillies, Cody Almond, and Casey Wellman (personally, I think Wellman ends up in Minny, at least to start the year), and Robbie Earl probably bounces up and down again next year. Kassian will be playing cop again, and rookie Nate Prosser (who got a short audition in Minny last year) should see just about a full year in Houston. Max Noreau was a points-machine on the blue line, and he's still signed. Falk has been getting better by the month. And Carson MacMillan isn't great, but he's a useful 4th liner.

Now for the new guys: We signed Drew Bagnall, who is reportedly a wrecking ball on the back end. The Wild have used some pretty high picks on defense recently, and we'll (likely) finally see Tyler Cuma and Marco Scandella in H-Town. (Scandella played with us in the magical 2009 playoff run, but due to his age had to play juniors last year. Played on the Canadian national team. Should be a good one) Warren Peters is a vet who should help our faceoff skills.

Now, that's a lot of turnover from a team that finished dead last in the division, BUT I think the guys we've kept are, for the most part, going to continue to show improvement, and the guys we're bringing in are addressing specific holes we needed to fill. Now, it's impossible to tell how quickly the rookies, especially the d-men, are going to adapt to the AHL game. If Scandella and Cuma make a quick transition to pro, we've definitely got the talent to be a playoff team once again. (Unless, of course, Minnesota is decimated by injuries and we're screwed over and some key positions again, like last season)

Then, today, the Wild signs this guy. Me likey.

So now we're looking at maybe 5 guys who can score 20 or more goals, a potentially solid mix of vets and talented youngsters on the blueline, and a goaltending tandem of...

OH WAIT.

Suddenly, Anton Khudobin, the darling of the 2009 playoff run and an AHL All-Star after a superb first half last season, wants a one-way deal. And if he doesn't get it, he may bolt to play in Russia?

What???

Come on, Anton! You've only had one year of starter status in the AHL. Heck, most NHL goalies have at least 2 or 3 full seasons in the AHL before getting a regular job in the show. Besides, after this year, Harding's a UFA and the Wild probably lets him walk. You're on the fast-track to a regular NHL job.

And as excited as I am to see rookie Matt Hackett play (and I am), I want to see you in the pipes as the starter. Besides, you still have to prove you can actually play TWO decent halves of the season, because after the All-Star Break, um...not so much.

That was the whole team, though. We were in playoff contention pretty seriously until about halfway through, and then we sucked. Hard. We started slow just about every single night, and it eventually bit us in the rear. And that means: coaching change.

And here's why I'm most excited about the new coach: the guy left a pretty solid gig as an assistant with NHL Pittsburgh because he really, really WANTS to be HERE. We wasn't looking for a new job, but he wants to coach the Houston Aeros. Why? Some sentimental nonsense left over from playing nine seasons here and winning a championship. Or something like that.

He's worked with the staff in Minnesota, he's won a Cup running the Pens' powerplay, and he's really stoked to be back in Texas. His assistants are a former Aero teammate and a longtime NHL d-man with two Cup rings.

Welcome (back) to Houston, Mike Yeo, Brian Wiseman, and Darryl Sydor.

I'm proposing the official slogan for 2010-11 be "Bring Back the Good Times."

It's a heck of a lot better than "We Come to Play."

****************

And now, the video at the end.

THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T LET CANADIANS MAKE MOVIES!!!!



This is apparently leading off the Toronto film festival.

"It's Our Movie."

You can have it, Canada...
(Here's Puck Daddy's post about the trailer and the movie)

v2, d104: Less bleh

Feeling a little better today. Better enough to go to work, anyway, which is good, because there are a few loose ends I needed to tie up before leaving for vacation.

Oh yeah, that's tomorrow.

I think we're all really excited about going. Somehow, Robbie got it in his head that we were going today, so when we told him we needed to get in the car to go to school (instead of, say, Kansas) he started crying. Poor kid. Tomorrow, little guy. One more day.

Oh hey, here's a movie I'd heard about but knew nothing about until I saw this. You should know about it, too. I guess it's kinda like The A-Team meets The Bucket List?



And since we're having fun, here's the fantastic US/Canada clip from last night's NHL Awards show. Possibly the best part of the night:


To quote a character from my son's favorite movie, "I don't care who ya are, that's funny!"

I was also going to embed or link to the Cirque du Soleil performance from last night's show, because I know some of my readers are into that, but that particular clip is not linkable or embeddable, so if you're interested you'll have to go do video.nhl.com and search for it yourself. It was from the Beatles show in Vegas.

Okay, I'll drop a note when we get where we're going tomorrow!

v2, d91: Montage

Our guest blogger has been put off for a day. She hasn't got access to a computer since she decided to drive from Metro Valley, IA to Chicago for tomorrow morning's victory parade.

So for filler, I'm going to share what is quickly becoming one of my favorite traditions of the last game of the Stanley Cup Final: CBC's playoffs montage! Last year was the first time I caught it (thanks, the Internet!) and it was perfect. This year is pretty spot on as well. Behold, the action, the people, the emotion, the heartbreak, and the victory of the past two months...in four minutes!



Some thoughts:

0:46 Is that actually the entrance to the Kings' locker room? I don't know how long I could take that seriously if I were a player. (This, on the other hand, is awesome, proving that it's a fine line between awesome and miniature golf course-quality)

0:52 Holy crap. Possibly the coolest pregame thing I've ever seen.

1:11 I don't know what sort of outfit that is on the hanger beside Michael Leighton, but it is without a doubt the antithesis of manly.

1:26 Wow.

1:38 Somewhat unrelated, but I just want to point out that Buffalo's Tyler Myers (the guy with his back to us) is from Katy, Texas, originally.

1:44 Easily the high point of the Avs brief post-season. (And it seems like it was so stinking long ago; has it only been six weeks?)

1:49 Awesome Crosby goal leads to poor Sens fan kid. We feel bad, but not as bad as we feel for...

2:01 Sad Avs fan kid! All together now: Awwwwww!!! (Really nice brief moment in the handshake between Foote and Blake, by the way, if you're an Avs fan of, oh, the last 10 years)

2:20 Best goal-scoring celebration of the montage. And the playoffs, for that matter.

2:32 We could have a 4-minute montage of this, and I'd probably watch it a couple of times.

2:38 Seriously! How is that "Buff-glen"???

2:42 That's just wrong.

2:47 Finally! A happy kid! Cute kid, too.

3:06 Play of the playoffs. Period.

3:30 Ha! They even fit the Chris Pronger/PuckGate controversy in here! Love it!

3:31 And, another happy cute kid!

3:38 BOOM, Pronger!

3:42 Buff-glen! How??????

That was kind of an awesome song.

v2, d87: 102

Robbie's temperature last night was 102. Today it got down to 99, but that was as low as it went. It would also spike from time to time a bit higher than that. As such, we have to stay home from church tomorrow.

Man, Robbie is going to be really upset tomorrow morning. I will also probably have to stay home with him Monday, since he's not allowed to go to school until he's fever-free for 48 hours.

Considering how sick he supposedly is, though, the kid's spirits are sky-high. He's been running, laughing, playing. He's been a bit quicker to get irritable and tired, but overall I'd have guessed he was just tired/cranky rather than sick. If I didn't know better, of course. Which I do. Obviously.

Man, it sucks to see your baby so sick.

Hey, check this out: I just got an email in my work account from a lady asking to submit her script for a musical based on Princess Diana. Apparently, it was big in Omaha. The librettist/playwright works with Manheim Steamroller, too! I'd post a link, but I'm afraid they might trace it, and somehow that would result in my getting fired. Don't ask how, just accept that that's what would happen ;-)

All right, tonight I leave you with Louie's Year-in-Review video. Man, I love this bear.

v2, d79: Bachelor Blog #4: Bye Bye Bachelorhood!

I'm the author of sappy love songs, tradin' in my bachelorhood...

That's a very sad song, actually.

I'm leaving to pick my wife up from the airport in a couple of hours. All things told, this really hasn't been that bad of a week. I haven't been productive at all. I've managed, with the help of my friends, to keep myself busy and entertained so I wouldn't be lonely. Hockey game, Bollywood blockbuster, Chik-fil-A, game night, security guard duty, more Chik-Fil-A, two bookings, some rehearsals, and a comic book definitely have a way of keeping your mind off your empty apartment :-)

Thanks to everybody who helped keep me from being emo.

Still feels like the week is a long way from over. Early morning and late night tomorrow, followed by a Robbie return and a late work night Saturday. Can it be true that Monday is actually a holiday? Is that actually happening?

Probably going to leave early for the airport. For some reason, I love just sitting at airports, waiting for people to arrive, and reading. Is that weird?

Hey look, a Stanley Cup video!

v2, d70: Yip.

You know what your day is missing? Do you?

Wait, you don't?

Don't worry, that's all right. I know what your day is missing.

These guys:



Look at that! They're mooing at a phone! I mean come on, that's just awesome!

Also, I love how they hide behind their own lower jaw when frightened or threatened.



RADIO! RADIO! RADIO!




I never noticed exactly how similar Guy Smiley is to Kermit. Voice, mannerisms, everything. Geez, Hensen, how did we let you get away with this stuff?!?

I'm kidding.



I very distinctly remember wondering, as a child, how in the world those pigs got into space. Is there just a ring of pigs between the moon and the Earth that I'm not aware of?

Okay, just one more, and then we're done.



All together now: AWWWWWWWW!!!!

There. Now your day is no longer lacking in Yip-Yips.

Thanks to Muppet Wiki for helping me track down the clips.

v2, d63: Rough

Today was rough.

Man, I really just don't know what else to say about it. I've been staring at this blank box where blogging text is supposed to go for the last twenty minutes, and all I've got is "today was rough."

I'm a bad blogger.

Here's some stuff that makes me smile:











Smile, go to bed, try again tomorrow, hope for a better result. Check.

v2, d50: On the Lighter Side

Things have been a little on the heavy side this time around. Life has been pretty heavy the past two months. And sometimes, you need a break in the heavy. So, here's a little change in pace. No rhyme, no reason. Enjoy some clips from you youtube favorites list.

If you can't find something in here you like, I can't help ya ;-)

v2, d38: Chicken Soup FTW

Today started off poorly, then got a little worse, then got a lot worse, then got WAY worse, and then improved.

Really, I can't describe it beyond that, which sucks, because if you fancy yourself a writer and you can't come up with any words, you're pretty much up a creek. And you start borrowing outdated idioms that make you sound sorta backwoods-ish. It's like being an archer with no arrows. Or a walrus without tusks. Or a cowboy that rides an ostrich! Or a water pistol that shoots jelly!

Hang on a sec, this calls for a video.



Hey, did anybody ever figure out what was wrong with that doll? She looks just fine to me. I mean come on, she even says "How do you do?" Well, she actually says a lot more than that. All the toys have far more extensive vocabularies than any plaything I've ever owned.

Perhaps it's the fact that she's a sentient doll. Maybe that's what makes her a misfit.

Ohhhh man...that just brought back this terrifying memory from my childhood:



You have no idea how creepy that thing was in real life.


(Wow...when did I lose control of this post?)

v2, d33: "Oh, the wonderful blood of Jesus"

I know I already posted this on Facebook, but I really think it's a great Good Friday song.

Enjoy.

v2, d19: The Silly Video

I promised a silly video.

And I deliver.

And that puts me in the mood for this.