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 And you start borrowing outdated idioms that make you sound sorta backwoods-ish.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?)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
v2, d37: Former Aeros: Where Are They Now?
It's been over a month, and I don't think I've done a strictly hockey post yet, have I? (Playoffs starting next week, start expecting it)
The Aeros kick off their last week of the season tonight. They'll play four games between now and Sunday, when it's going to be all over for the boys in the Bomber sweaters. Not even close to the adrenaline-pumping playoff run from 2009. These boys were right in the thick of it until February, where just about all the wheels fell off the cart at the same time. For a while, it looked like we were inventing ways to lose.
Now, due to schedule and finances, I haven't been to see the Aeros since January, I think, so I haven't witnessed much of this first-hand, but I read up pretty well, and I'm at the point where I can sort of get the feel for a team from the box scores and recaps. We (Aeros faithful) said at the beginning of the year that we didn't have a whole lot of talent, and lack of talent pretty much did us in. And the goaltending was a bit quirky.
Well, you know. Quirkier than goaltending usually is.
Anyway. I like to look back from time to time at the NHL regulars who have "graduated" from the Aeros in the five seasons that I've been following the team. A lot of them are playing for the Wild, obviously, but a few have spread their wings in other places.
Former Aeros: Where are they now?
Josh Harding, Minnesota--Man, has this guy had it rough or what? A few years ago, he was the heir apparent to Manny Fernandez in goal for the Wild, then he got hurt in the preseason and Nicklas Backstrom took the ball and ran with it and, well, three years later, Harding is still a backup, only now to Backstrom. Every year, he's showed flashes of brilliant play, but he's not going to unseat Backstrom.
This year, he played a long stretch of games while injured because the man they call Backy (I don't know if anybody calls him Backy) was already out with an injury of his own. Playing hurt for so long, Harding kept the Wild in the playoff hunt and played until he was literally incapable of going any further. His last save before being helped off the ice was a jim-dandy, too.
Harding played a few more games later in the year--still hurt, and it really showed--before the hip forced him out for the rest of the season.
One thing I really like about this video: the guys trying to pronounce the name of Anton Khudobin (a guy we'll probably be seeing on this list NEXT season)
Cal Clutterbuck, Minnesota--Clutterbuck has scored some nice goals, he's got some speed, he's got some great stories, and is an official FOMW Fan Favorite. Has been since his days with the Aeros. And, for the most part, he's a very clean player. The guy hits everything in sight with clean, legal body checks. He's the guy you love if he's on your team and you HATE if he's not.
According to the poster, this took place on a game on December 30th, 2010. I'm going to assume they meant 2009, though, because otherwise this clip has no place on this year's list.
Clayton Stoner, Minnesota--This poor guy. He spent five years in Houston, finally gets the call to stay in Minny, and after eight games he gets an injury that takes him out for the rest of the year. The guy even flew to Germany for some revolutionary type of surgery that was supposed to fix it. Yeah, it didn't. He's going under the knife again this summer. No one in the organization has worked harder for longer than Stoner to get a shot in the NHL. Here's hopes to a full recovery and a full season with the Wild next year.
In our next clip, Stoner absolutely owns Edmonton's Ryan Stone.
Joel Ward, Nashville--Here's one the Wild shouldn't have let get away. Ward was our leading scorer in our least offensive year. He was a heart-and-soul type player, could hit, could score a little, could pass decently. He did everything well and nothing excellently, and he's developed into a nice 2nd-3rd line winger for the Preds.
Here's a goal he scored against the Wings.
Patrick O'Sullivan, Edmonton--This has been a rough year for Sully. He's scored about fifteen goals too few, and he's got a plus-minus of something like -32. Major ouch. Even on the Oilers, that's bad. Still, he was probably the most talented rookie the Aeros have had since I've been here, and was the only of our big-time scorers playing like he cared at the end of our four-game sweep by the Admirals back in '06, so there'll always be soft spot.
This is a pretty nice goal from early in the season. Powers by one defender and takes the hit as he scores the goal..
John Scott, Minnesota--You sensing a theme? The guys the Wild let go of = guys who can score. The ones they kept = guys who hit and/or fight. Those who followed my blog last year know how much I love Big John Scott (and I love the fact that every play-by-play guy who I've heard call one of his fights refers to him as Big John Scott). The guy's a great story of a man who worked his way past all the odds to live his dream.
He's also got a really small amount of actual talent, so I don't know that he'll be around the NHL for long. Nevertheless, more and more NHL tough guys are learning that you just don't tangle with Big John Scott if you can help it. I also love that he's the first guy to step in if you take a run on a teammates. The man definitely knows his place on the team.
Behold, Scott destroys Alex Bolduc:
Benoit Pouliot, Montreal--Keeping with the theme of "the guys the Wild let go can actually score," we come to Benoit Pouliot. Benny always had a ton of talent, but he just couldn't put it together in Minnesota OR Houston. The Wild finally traded him to Montreal for fellow underachiever Guillaume Latendresse. The move worked out for all parties involved. Pouliot has scored seventeen goals for the Habs, and Latendresse has done well in Minny, too. Isn't it nice when everything works out?
Robbie Earl, Minnesota--I don't know whether or not to count Robbie or not, since he's only been up when injuries have hit. However, that's amounted to almost half a season, and it looks like he's up for the rest of the year. Injuries have really been rough for the Wild this year. So I'ma post this video.
And it's not the best video, nor his prettiest goal, but it is against the Red Wings. And that's always worth watching again and again and again...
The Aeros kick off their last week of the season tonight. They'll play four games between now and Sunday, when it's going to be all over for the boys in the Bomber sweaters. Not even close to the adrenaline-pumping playoff run from 2009. These boys were right in the thick of it until February, where just about all the wheels fell off the cart at the same time. For a while, it looked like we were inventing ways to lose.
Now, due to schedule and finances, I haven't been to see the Aeros since January, I think, so I haven't witnessed much of this first-hand, but I read up pretty well, and I'm at the point where I can sort of get the feel for a team from the box scores and recaps. We (Aeros faithful) said at the beginning of the year that we didn't have a whole lot of talent, and lack of talent pretty much did us in. And the goaltending was a bit quirky.
Well, you know. Quirkier than goaltending usually is.
Anyway. I like to look back from time to time at the NHL regulars who have "graduated" from the Aeros in the five seasons that I've been following the team. A lot of them are playing for the Wild, obviously, but a few have spread their wings in other places.
Former Aeros: Where are they now?
Josh Harding, Minnesota--Man, has this guy had it rough or what? A few years ago, he was the heir apparent to Manny Fernandez in goal for the Wild, then he got hurt in the preseason and Nicklas Backstrom took the ball and ran with it and, well, three years later, Harding is still a backup, only now to Backstrom. Every year, he's showed flashes of brilliant play, but he's not going to unseat Backstrom.
This year, he played a long stretch of games while injured because the man they call Backy (I don't know if anybody calls him Backy) was already out with an injury of his own. Playing hurt for so long, Harding kept the Wild in the playoff hunt and played until he was literally incapable of going any further. His last save before being helped off the ice was a jim-dandy, too.
Harding played a few more games later in the year--still hurt, and it really showed--before the hip forced him out for the rest of the season.
One thing I really like about this video: the guys trying to pronounce the name of Anton Khudobin (a guy we'll probably be seeing on this list NEXT season)
Cal Clutterbuck, Minnesota--Clutterbuck has scored some nice goals, he's got some speed, he's got some great stories, and is an official FOMW Fan Favorite. Has been since his days with the Aeros. And, for the most part, he's a very clean player. The guy hits everything in sight with clean, legal body checks. He's the guy you love if he's on your team and you HATE if he's not.
According to the poster, this took place on a game on December 30th, 2010. I'm going to assume they meant 2009, though, because otherwise this clip has no place on this year's list.
Clayton Stoner, Minnesota--This poor guy. He spent five years in Houston, finally gets the call to stay in Minny, and after eight games he gets an injury that takes him out for the rest of the year. The guy even flew to Germany for some revolutionary type of surgery that was supposed to fix it. Yeah, it didn't. He's going under the knife again this summer. No one in the organization has worked harder for longer than Stoner to get a shot in the NHL. Here's hopes to a full recovery and a full season with the Wild next year.
In our next clip, Stoner absolutely owns Edmonton's Ryan Stone.
Joel Ward, Nashville--Here's one the Wild shouldn't have let get away. Ward was our leading scorer in our least offensive year. He was a heart-and-soul type player, could hit, could score a little, could pass decently. He did everything well and nothing excellently, and he's developed into a nice 2nd-3rd line winger for the Preds.
Here's a goal he scored against the Wings.
Patrick O'Sullivan, Edmonton--This has been a rough year for Sully. He's scored about fifteen goals too few, and he's got a plus-minus of something like -32. Major ouch. Even on the Oilers, that's bad. Still, he was probably the most talented rookie the Aeros have had since I've been here, and was the only of our big-time scorers playing like he cared at the end of our four-game sweep by the Admirals back in '06, so there'll always be soft spot.
This is a pretty nice goal from early in the season. Powers by one defender and takes the hit as he scores the goal..
John Scott, Minnesota--You sensing a theme? The guys the Wild let go of = guys who can score. The ones they kept = guys who hit and/or fight. Those who followed my blog last year know how much I love Big John Scott (and I love the fact that every play-by-play guy who I've heard call one of his fights refers to him as Big John Scott). The guy's a great story of a man who worked his way past all the odds to live his dream.
He's also got a really small amount of actual talent, so I don't know that he'll be around the NHL for long. Nevertheless, more and more NHL tough guys are learning that you just don't tangle with Big John Scott if you can help it. I also love that he's the first guy to step in if you take a run on a teammates. The man definitely knows his place on the team.
Behold, Scott destroys Alex Bolduc:
Benoit Pouliot, Montreal--Keeping with the theme of "the guys the Wild let go can actually score," we come to Benoit Pouliot. Benny always had a ton of talent, but he just couldn't put it together in Minnesota OR Houston. The Wild finally traded him to Montreal for fellow underachiever Guillaume Latendresse. The move worked out for all parties involved. Pouliot has scored seventeen goals for the Habs, and Latendresse has done well in Minny, too. Isn't it nice when everything works out?
Robbie Earl, Minnesota--I don't know whether or not to count Robbie or not, since he's only been up when injuries have hit. However, that's amounted to almost half a season, and it looks like he's up for the rest of the year. Injuries have really been rough for the Wild this year. So I'ma post this video.
And it's not the best video, nor his prettiest goal, but it is against the Red Wings. And that's always worth watching again and again and again...
Monday, April 5, 2010
v2, d36: "I feel like a wrestler. Like a frog wrestler."
People watched my play today.
You'd think I wouldn't still get anxious about that sort of thing, but apparently I do. I generally feel like I still have to prove myself, especially to my peers, and especially if it's something I wrote but haven't had the outsider's perspective throughout the process. In this instance, it was a show I'm also in, so while I feel like it's pretty good from the actor's standpoint, I ultimately have no clue how it looks to the audience's eye.
Especially an audience of people whose opinions I respect.
Even though I know the show is a hit with its intended audiences, I second-guess almost every single line when friends and colleagues are watching. Despite how many OTHER knowledgeable friends and colleagues have already said it's fine.
Blah. Insecure artistic tendencies.
Anyway, our uber-talented photographer Jeff was among those intimidating presences in the audience, and he snapped some photos that you can find by clicking here. (You can see more of Jeff's awesome work here)
You'll notice I look like a mutant frog. Yeah, well....OH HEY LOOK, the Angels just hit back-to-back homeruns! Hooray for baseball!
You'd think I wouldn't still get anxious about that sort of thing, but apparently I do. I generally feel like I still have to prove myself, especially to my peers, and especially if it's something I wrote but haven't had the outsider's perspective throughout the process. In this instance, it was a show I'm also in, so while I feel like it's pretty good from the actor's standpoint, I ultimately have no clue how it looks to the audience's eye.
Especially an audience of people whose opinions I respect.
Even though I know the show is a hit with its intended audiences, I second-guess almost every single line when friends and colleagues are watching. Despite how many OTHER knowledgeable friends and colleagues have already said it's fine.
Blah. Insecure artistic tendencies.
Anyway, our uber-talented photographer Jeff was among those intimidating presences in the audience, and he snapped some photos that you can find by clicking here. (You can see more of Jeff's awesome work here)
You'll notice I look like a mutant frog. Yeah, well....OH HEY LOOK, the Angels just hit back-to-back homeruns! Hooray for baseball!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
v2, d35: Comes the Bride
Every head turns to see her, every neck cranes to catch a glimpse.
Every eye in the cathedral is fixed fully on her.
(Hers are on him)
The ones who knew her past are there.
She glides by them like an angel.
They sit in the pews, remembering her the way she was,
When she wasn't even worth the dust she was formed from.
They never dreamed that one day she'd be beautiful.
(Her eyes are on him, each step brings them closer)
He cannot mask his joy (Not that he'd want to),
It escapes the corner of his eye and trickles (like blood) down the contours of his face.
He went through hell to get her here.
They said she wasn't worth it. Said it to his face.
Now they are silent. He has made her beautiful.
(Forever begins today)
Her hand trembles as he closes his (scarred) hands around it.
Now they are together. He will cherish her forever, and she will never be ugly again.
All their darkness forever in the past.
Here comes the bride.
Every eye in the cathedral is fixed fully on her.
(Hers are on him)
The ones who knew her past are there.
She glides by them like an angel.
They sit in the pews, remembering her the way she was,
When she wasn't even worth the dust she was formed from.
They never dreamed that one day she'd be beautiful.
(Her eyes are on him, each step brings them closer)
He cannot mask his joy (Not that he'd want to),
It escapes the corner of his eye and trickles (like blood) down the contours of his face.
He went through hell to get her here.
They said she wasn't worth it. Said it to his face.
Now they are silent. He has made her beautiful.
(Forever begins today)
Her hand trembles as he closes his (scarred) hands around it.
Now they are together. He will cherish her forever, and she will never be ugly again.
All their darkness forever in the past.
Here comes the bride.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
v2, d34: Mark and Kristen are married!
Spent today's late morning/afternoon in this nice wedding chapel tucked away just between I-45 and the Hardy Toll Road in a surprisingly forested area that you would never in a million years stumble across by accident. My friends Mark and Kristen were getting married, and I was playing the role of "Groomsman on the End." (I've now played the roles of Groom, Usher, Best Man, Groomsman on the End, and Shoeless Groomsman) I got off work for the occasion. I missed the rehearsal (due to rehearsal) so I didn't really know anything about the day's schedule before I got there (half an hour late), but that was okay because I've been in similar situations before. The last wedding I was in, I was flying into *grumble grumble* Detroit during the rehearsal, and the first wedding I was in there was no rehearsal, so I'm pretty comfortable learning things on the fly.
The biggest difference between this time and the previous times, however, is that in all previous experience where I walked in fairly clueless, somebody clued me in. I got surprisingly little information this time around, partially because I didn't know anybody else in the wedding party (except, obviously, the bride and groom) and partially because the entire wedding/reception were being run and organized by the staff at the chapel. Now don't worry, everything in the service itself went pretty smoothly. I found my spot, stood there, and turned when I was supposed to. Weddings aren't difficult, blocking-wise. After the service, though, I was pretty much on my own.
Was I supposed to sit with the rest of the wedding party? Did they want the whole wedding party to enter the reception together? Was I supposed to help clean up? Were we going to trash the getaway car? Why did they move all our personal belongings out of the groomsmen's room?
I didn't know the answers to any of these questions, and nobody thought to tell me, if anybody knew. So I pretty much winged it once the wedding pictures were all snapped. Which was fine, especially since some friends from work had claimed a table for themselves by the window that had a great shot of the fountain and the lizards that were playing just outside.
The site was just gorgeous. Really, everything about the wedding was pretty. Good colors, pretty dresses, most comfortable tuxedo I've ever worn, bride was beautiful (J. Vernon McGee once said that he believed God allows every woman to be beautiful for her wedding day. I think he may be right), ring bearers were adorable, lunch was picturesque and tasty. The flower girl realized that she still had some petals in her basket by the time she'd made it to the front of the stage, so she stopped and tried to throw the remaining petals back down the aisle onto a spot she noticed she'd missed until she was completely out. Groom cried. I'm always down with that. I got a little teary-eyed, too, cause you know, that's how I do.
After Duder and the Bergstroms left, the dance floor opened up to a song that was specially requested by the bride for everybody to learn a dance to. At first, I wasn't going to participate, but then I saw that Mark was the only guy on the floor save for the bride's father, so I jumped in to lend him a hand. It was a very simple, repetitive dance that was pretty fun. The first few times through. But the song was way too long for the dance, and I started to wish I'd jumped in on the end instead of in the middle, because there was no way to slip out until the song was over. It was fun, though. After that, they played a bunch of faster songs, and all the kids took the floor with their parents and grandparents and burned off as much of the wedding cake sugar high as they could. By the time ABBA's Dancing Queen hit the speakers, most of the guests were either gone or else over dancing, and the dance floor became an arena for a melee brawl featuring about five little boys under age six and the flower girl, who somehow managed to stay right in the middle of it the whole time without ever getting into the rough stuff. At one point, one of the youngest boys ran full speed right past me, raring back with a closed fist and whacking me in the leg as he ran by.
Twice.
Orlando recommended I give the kid a nice clean hipcheck the next time he ran by. The kid ignored me after that, though. Next time, Cooper. Next time...
Overall, a fun (though occasionally confusing) event with a romantically picturesque setting, good friends, high-quality fish and meat, silly dancing, violent children, very little information, and an extremely Christ-centered ceremony. I'm happy for the couple and glad and honored that I got a chance to be a part of their special day. Thanks to everybody who was a part of the celebration. Hope I don't look like too much of an idiot in too many of the pictures.
The biggest difference between this time and the previous times, however, is that in all previous experience where I walked in fairly clueless, somebody clued me in. I got surprisingly little information this time around, partially because I didn't know anybody else in the wedding party (except, obviously, the bride and groom) and partially because the entire wedding/reception were being run and organized by the staff at the chapel. Now don't worry, everything in the service itself went pretty smoothly. I found my spot, stood there, and turned when I was supposed to. Weddings aren't difficult, blocking-wise. After the service, though, I was pretty much on my own.
Was I supposed to sit with the rest of the wedding party? Did they want the whole wedding party to enter the reception together? Was I supposed to help clean up? Were we going to trash the getaway car? Why did they move all our personal belongings out of the groomsmen's room?
I didn't know the answers to any of these questions, and nobody thought to tell me, if anybody knew. So I pretty much winged it once the wedding pictures were all snapped. Which was fine, especially since some friends from work had claimed a table for themselves by the window that had a great shot of the fountain and the lizards that were playing just outside.
The site was just gorgeous. Really, everything about the wedding was pretty. Good colors, pretty dresses, most comfortable tuxedo I've ever worn, bride was beautiful (J. Vernon McGee once said that he believed God allows every woman to be beautiful for her wedding day. I think he may be right), ring bearers were adorable, lunch was picturesque and tasty. The flower girl realized that she still had some petals in her basket by the time she'd made it to the front of the stage, so she stopped and tried to throw the remaining petals back down the aisle onto a spot she noticed she'd missed until she was completely out. Groom cried. I'm always down with that. I got a little teary-eyed, too, cause you know, that's how I do.
After Duder and the Bergstroms left, the dance floor opened up to a song that was specially requested by the bride for everybody to learn a dance to. At first, I wasn't going to participate, but then I saw that Mark was the only guy on the floor save for the bride's father, so I jumped in to lend him a hand. It was a very simple, repetitive dance that was pretty fun. The first few times through. But the song was way too long for the dance, and I started to wish I'd jumped in on the end instead of in the middle, because there was no way to slip out until the song was over. It was fun, though. After that, they played a bunch of faster songs, and all the kids took the floor with their parents and grandparents and burned off as much of the wedding cake sugar high as they could. By the time ABBA's Dancing Queen hit the speakers, most of the guests were either gone or else over dancing, and the dance floor became an arena for a melee brawl featuring about five little boys under age six and the flower girl, who somehow managed to stay right in the middle of it the whole time without ever getting into the rough stuff. At one point, one of the youngest boys ran full speed right past me, raring back with a closed fist and whacking me in the leg as he ran by.
Twice.
Orlando recommended I give the kid a nice clean hipcheck the next time he ran by. The kid ignored me after that, though. Next time, Cooper. Next time...
Overall, a fun (though occasionally confusing) event with a romantically picturesque setting, good friends, high-quality fish and meat, silly dancing, violent children, very little information, and an extremely Christ-centered ceremony. I'm happy for the couple and glad and honored that I got a chance to be a part of their special day. Thanks to everybody who was a part of the celebration. Hope I don't look like too much of an idiot in too many of the pictures.
Friday, April 2, 2010
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.
Enjoy.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
v2, d32: Are April Fool's in decline?
Is it just me, or does it seem like April Fool's Day is getting less popular?
It may be just because I'm older, and thus so are my colleagues, but I only heard of one person I know getting pranked today. (Not counting Facebook pranks, because really, they don't count. Gee, you're pregnant? You're suddenly in a relationship? Suuuuure you are...)
Obviously, I'm not against a declining tend in AFD pranks. I think I stated on here last year that I'm really just not that fond of the day to begin with. Still, it felt like today was basically just a normal day around here(we have normal days around here?).
Worth noting: Kim and Robbie came up for a surprise dinner before Foxes rehearsal. Definite high point of the day.
Also worth noting: Exactly how tired am I lately? I fell asleep today during Teammates rehearsal. On the floor. During a scene that I was in.
Yup.
It may be just because I'm older, and thus so are my colleagues, but I only heard of one person I know getting pranked today. (Not counting Facebook pranks, because really, they don't count. Gee, you're pregnant? You're suddenly in a relationship? Suuuuure you are...)
Obviously, I'm not against a declining tend in AFD pranks. I think I stated on here last year that I'm really just not that fond of the day to begin with. Still, it felt like today was basically just a normal day around here(we have normal days around here?).
Worth noting: Kim and Robbie came up for a surprise dinner before Foxes rehearsal. Definite high point of the day.
Also worth noting: Exactly how tired am I lately? I fell asleep today during Teammates rehearsal. On the floor. During a scene that I was in.
Yup.
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