No More Hiding

Not to downplay the significance of this event, but haven't we heard this story before. The names are different, but the sentiments are the same, the reasons are the same, even the jokes are the same.

“The whole ordeal about (Tuaolo) coming out shouldn’t even be as publicized as it is. Millions of people make that decision every day and don’t get glamorized for it. It becomes a problem when you focus on it or when it becomes an issue or the media get involved.”

Thank you, Vonnie Holliday.

In honor of Hallowe'en, this week's Thursday Threesome

Onesome: Goblins - Do you do Halloween? ...or is it all too much?

Sure, whenever I can. One night a year, or two if you include the leading up Saturday, you can be whoever or whatever you want. If you're ever in San Francisco on Hallowe'en, the Castro Street party is a must.

Twosome: Ghouls (and guys) - What ghoulish dishes do you serve up at Halloween?

I'm offended you'd think I'd serve something scary.

Threesome: Bats - Where are you flying to this evening? Any plans?

No elaborate costume this year, just my leather mask. I will likely grab refreshments at a bar or two before the evening's festivities are over.

When the US sneezes, Canada catches cold

If upset is all the official government of Canada can muster in this case, how does it ever expect to command the international respectibility that it so deeply craves? The people are polite, they're laid back, there's a lot of wide open spaces there, they like their hockey, other than hockey, nothing much really happens there. Grumble, grumble.

Fun with Google

Well, you're not likely to have heard it here first, but here ya go. Googlism.com will find out what Google.com thinks of you, your friends or anything!

Result for 'SFCanuck':
SFCanuck is going to Mars - Hey, this thing works!

Result for 'my real name':
'my real name' is a first year student studying molecular and cell biology - Wtf?

What happens to the people we show it to ... ?

Went to see The Ring on Friday night since it is Hallowe'en week afterall. Now, when I go to see a scary movie, I want to have the daylights scared out of me. The Ring didn't quite do that. I was intrigued by the concept of the movie, which is actually based on a Japanese blockbuster film, and found myself wanting more depth to this by the end. The Naomi Watts character does a good job of discovering the meaning of the 'scary' issue, but only the why and not the how, if that makes any sense. I don't know if the movie being in it's second 'hit' week had anything to do with it, but many of the suspenseful moments were pre-empted by the audience. I usually like things that go bump in the dark, but I'm not sure that loud noises are a good substitute for that. I'm hoping the original is available for a comparison.

Blogger hacked

Apparently, I slept through this burp. What happened, what was done about it and who zoomed who, here.

Bozo of the week

No charges will be laid against the man who tried to sell dirt from the pig farm on eBay. Apparently, it was a hoax. If you've been following this blog, I've mentioned this pig farm a couple of times, most recently here.

Thursday Threesome

This week, in honor of Hallowe'en ...

Onesome: Bubble, bubble - What's your favorite way to relax?

A couple hours in a day spa, including a deep tissue massage and a facial.

Twosome: Toil - What's your least favorite chore, and why?

Vacuuming the carpets. I'm not sure why I am so opposed, but I put it off for as long as I possibly can.

Threesome: and, Trouble - What do you get into trouble for around the house?

Friday Five

1. What is your favorite scary movie?

Nightmare on Elm Street ... the very first one.

2. What is your favorite Halloween treat?

Jolly Rancher style hard candies or anything sour.

3. Do you dress up for Halloween? If so, describe your best Halloween costume.

I do if there is a party to attend. Back in college, I was the 'grape' in a 'Fruit of the Loom' contingent.

4. Do you enjoy going to haunted houses or other spooky events?

Yes, haunted houses, murder mystery evenings and treasure hunts especially if they are well planned and executed.

5. Will you dress up for Halloween this year?

If I'm out wandering the street this Hallowe'en, it will be with my leather mask. It's painted purple, has horns and is crafted to look like a gargoyle.

This cracked me up.

"Most of us can walk and chew at the same time ... if they don't do their work I'll replace them," he said.

The 'he' being Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, commenting on whether his Liberal cabinet ministers are capable of fulfilling their duties in light of the upcoming leadership race. Note to those Canadians who haven't mastered the art of multi-tasking, try running for a federal seat in the next election. It would seem that you'd be in some good company. Worst case scenario would be sitting in the back benches until you could walk and chew.


Stick a fork in it!

Boy am I glad week2 of the NHL season is over. My pool results suck. At Faceoff.com, I went from 5,367 after week1 to 9,154. I've revised my season ending target accordingly. At Yahoo! Sports, my rotisserie team fell from 2nd to 4th and my head-to-head team went from 2nd to 7th.

I should get out more often.





Take the What High School
Stereotype Are You? quiz, by Angel.

Friday Five

1. How many TVs do you have in your home?

One.

2. On average, how much TV do you watch in a week?

Maybe fifteen give or take a couple.

3. Do you feel that television is bad for young children?

As a blanket statement, no. Although, I do think that parents should regulate and monitor what their children watch and when. There's just too much junk on network tv.

4. What TV shows do you absolutely HAVE to watch, and if you miss them, you're heartbroken?

While I do have my favorites, there isn't anything that would break my heart if I happen to miss an episode.

5. If you had the power to create your own television network, what would your line-up look like?

Since Dick Wolf might already have the Law & Order channel in the works, I'd like to throw in the X-files, Sex and the City, ABFAB, A&E's Biography, VH1's Behind the Music, maybe the occasional Pop-up Video with the Discovery Channel programming filling the gaps.

Thursday Threesome

Onesome: New - It's been a few weeks; what's new with you?

Nothing too dramatically different in the past couple of weeks. The leaves have begun to fall and overnight temperatures are into the single digits (celsius) in these parts. My hayfever spiked, which it usually does at some point in autumn.

Twosome: Fall - Do you fall all over yourself getting bulbs in the ground for winter and spring blooms?

I can't say I've ever been guilty of that. How about stumbling around raking leaves and causing other ruckus?

Threesome: Colors - Which do you prefer, the bright jewel colors of fall, the white snow of winter, the pastels of new life in spring, the greens of summer?

I'm not at all adverse to white, but in general, tend towards the darker colors of the spectrum. The first sweater I pulled out of my dresser this week was a hunter green cable knit.

SFCanuck is going to Mars

According to this site, a dvd full of names will be left behind on the red planet as part of the 2003 Mars Rover mission. Click here to see my certificate or here to add your name to the list. Thanks to this blogger for the link. SFCanuck could be waving, 'Bye, Bye, Bye' before Lance Bass.

Joke of the day

Who else but a dictator would get 100%? Voting no in 'that' referendum would essentially be saying, "Please tie me to the chain link fence at the nearest weapons facility."

Happy Thanksgiving

It's Turkey day in Canada and I am thankful for this website, which is aimed at a much younger audience, to help explain why Canadians have Thanksgiving at a different time than their American neighbours to the south.

Games People Play

Interesting article here about how to successfully pull off a casino heist, of sorts. Apparently, I've been going about it the wrong way. I mean, I do understand the mathematics behind the game, and how it is to your advantage to have a general idea of the 'running count' of the deck, but I hadn't imagined how many players would be needed. Who wants to be my mule?

"What we're doing when we blog"

This is my public service announcement for those who have no idea what a blog is or cannot figure out what exactly I'm doing when I say, "I'm blogging".

Friday Five

1. If you could only choose 1 cd to ever listen to again, what would it be?

B-tribe's Suave Suave.

2. If you could only choose 2 movies to watch ever again, what would they be?

Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (Director's cut) and Magnolia.

3. If you could only choose 3 books to read ever again, what would they be?

J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club.

4. If you could only choose 4 things to eat or drink ever again, what would they be?

Green tea, Cheerios, bananas and sunflower seeds.

5. If you could only choose 5 people to ever be/talk/associate/whatever with ever again, who would they be?

I'd like to thank the ... Oh :) Initialized to protect the not so innocent - TFL, AJA, DJD, GSP and JWD.

Game On!

The NHL opens its 2002/03 season tomorrow night, with 3 games. I am participating in three (3) separate 'fantasy' hockey pools. One at Faceoff.com, where I select a 'dream team' from the same pool of players that every other participant selects from. And two at Yahoo! Sports - Fantasy Hockey, both public leagues, one a rotisserie points structure and the other a head-to-head league. Both of my Yahoo! teams completed their respective drafts earlier today. After my selections and the draft process, I have ended up with three players that appear on all three of my teams:

Markus Naslund - the Canuck's captain (LW);
Bates Battaglia - Carolina Hurricane forward (LW); and
Scott Gomez - New Jersey Devils' forward (RW)

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing or whether there was some underlying statistical significance. Or why I even chose to enter this into my blog, but there it is.

She gingerly dropped the puck ...

"We talked more about what happened at Salt Lake City this year and winning the gold meal at the Olympic Games," Gretzky said. "And she was really excited about that and thrilled about meeting Ed. Him getting the first goal, that really perked her up."

I thought she could have left her purse in the car or with her hubby, but other than that, her ceremonial puck drop was fine. To the US magazine reporter that wanted to know what color and size the Queen's skates were, uh, no skates on the red carpet. To ESPN, who thought it would be 'cool' to spend a few minutes with her majesty before the puck drop, a link.

But, can I fly?

You're most like the ArchAngel of Communication, Gabriel, in charge of things like telephones, libraries, internet, and the 411 phone menu. You're organised and are not shy about inflicting that organisation on others.


Which ArchAngel are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla

Thanks to ...tokenramblings... for the link.

Whoa, this week's Friday Five, something near and dear to my heart ...

1. What size shoe do you wear?

I have a men's size 7.5 (US) feet, or a men's size 41 (EU).

2. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

I haven't counted recently, but including the pairs I have in storage the total should be in the high twenties.

3. What type of shoe do you prefer (boots, sneakers, pumps, etc.)?

A leather soled loafer.

4. Describe your favorite pair of shoes. Why are they your favorite?

A pair of Brown's loafers. Black leather upper, rubber nubbed sole in a one piece construction shoe. The only decoration on the shoe is a single metal bar on each shoe. I was given replacement metal bars, but unfortunately there is no replacing the sole because of the way it was built.

5. What's the most you've spent on one pair of shoes?

I've paid over $200 (usd) twice, the last time on a pair of Bruno Magli loafers. I'd probably not have too much post purchase anxiety doing that again if there either Manolo or Jimmy Choo had men's lines.

Dorothy ... this week's Thursday Threesome.

Onesome: Follow - Do you see yourself as a leader or a follower or somewhere in between?

A leader. I pretty much chart my own course even if it means taking the road less travelled at times.

Twosome: the yellow brick - what's the wildest colored structure you've ever seen? Give us a mind picture!

The Pearl TV tower in Shanghai is colored, not wildly colored, but it's a strange enough looking structure. It's basically a radio/tv signal reception tower, but has round pearl like spheres attached to or built into the tower.

Threesome: road - traffic problems? Tell us about the busiest road in your neck of the woods!

It is probably quicker to walk the distance between Candlestick Park and the 9th Street exit ramp off the US-101N on a friday afternoon than to be sitting in a car on that stretch of highway making a call on your cellphone explaining why you are going to be late.

The pig farm - an update

Four more murder charges were laid today against Robert Picton. This brings the total to fifteen, making this the largest serial killer investigation in Canadian history. I first mentioned the pig farm a couple of weeks ago. There's a background file on the case here, which includes a chronology of events and discoveries.

The CBC and Ron MacLean - an update

Talks are on again. A good sign.

MS IE 6.0 - Service Pack 1

If the justice department thing is finished, can you send someone over to fix whatever went wrong with my browser after I downloaded this *%^#& service pack.


The CBC and Hockey Night in Canada

Can 17 years of being the 'voice' of HNIC be replaced in under 2 weeks? I'll miss Ron MacLean's insightful analysis particularly as I embark on my first fantasy hockey season. The research I can handle, but who's gonna neutralize 'Rock 'em, Sock 'em' Don Cherry?