Very happy to have a Penguins game to watch tonight!
No playoff hopes for Tampa Bay and Pens already in and looking to win the Division.
Two of our key Russians out again -- Gonchar with strep and Malkin still nursing the foot that took one of his own teammate's shots a couple weeks ago. Fedotenko took a giant hit in the first period that left him facedown on the ice for a couple minutes (offender Lashoff immediately ejected from the game) but he did leave the ice under his own steam.and returned a little while later, so Lashoff probably won't be suspended.
Okay, start of the 2nd and Pens just gave up their 2nd goal. The clock is now running on Flower.
To be perfectly honest, how this Penguins team got to 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with such a crappy power play is beyond me. Pens need to fire their PP coach.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Boy, They Sure Sleep a Lot, Don't They?
It's the last day of my vacation and the last day for me to observe the daytime habits of Mambo and Miss Kitty.
Mambo tends to curl up in his chair for hours at a time, then he wakes up, hurls himself off the chair, flops around on the floor like a landed fish for a second, then regains his feet and staggers around until he accidentally finds the food bowl. He eats for a little while, wanders around some more in the vicinity of the food bowl until he accidentally runs into it again, and chows down once more. Given his age (19+) I kinda think he eats the second time because he forgot he just ate two minutes ago. Then he wanders around some more, exploring the apartment with his forehead (punctuated with an occasional "chunnng!" when he makes contact with my geetar), looking for all the world like Stevie Wonder doing his "Isn't She Lovely" thing. This is broken up by his occasionally getting lost in a corner and wowling his way out. There are usually six big "WOOWWWWL's." I've counted. If I pet him in the middle of his litany, his tone immediately changes to a soft and inquisitive, "berruooot?" Then he wanders in the general direction of one of the 3 litter boxes in the house. If he poops, it's always IN the box. But because he's old and feeble, he never covers, just walks away nonnchalantly, ignoring the labrador retriever sized turds he leaves behind. (Where do they COME from! I ask you) If he pees, more often than not it is "litterbox adjacent." (Hence the rising stock price of Bounty paper towels, wee-wee pads, and "Nature's Miracle.") After two or three tries, he manages to hop back into one of the chairs, where he stares into the cushion for a half hour or so before laying down and going to sleep. He's so motionless that sometimes I get a little nervous and poke him just to make sure he's alive. He makes an "I'm not dead yet!" squawk, and usually repeats the food thing.
The little one, on the other hand, is only, I think, pretending to sleep. From my railroad flat vantage in the living room or kitchen, every time I look in at my bed, she's in there, lookin' at me. And lookin' at me some more. She will occasionally decide the I've summoned her telepathically and tear ass into the kitchen, where HER demands must then be met. She's one of the only cats I've ever had who actually says, "Meee-owww." The unbearable cuteness of this cannot be explained but must be witnessed, especially when I pet her and it turns into a Lumbergh-like "yeeeahhhh." It's not so cute when she jumps into my lap and "forgets" that my jeans-clad leg isn't a scratching post. She then visits the food bowl, where her eating habits seem to consist mostly of flinging the kibble all about the kitchen so I can sweep it up and throw it away.. Then it's time for HER visit to the litterbox, which mostly seems to consist of her covering up Mambo's leavings, then spending the next ten minutes or so gleefully flinging cat litter about the box as if it's New Year's confetti while meowing loudly. This is followed up by several hounds-of-hell laps of the apartment, after which she settles back onto the bed for more of that lookin' at me action. She's doing it right now!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is all the proof you need that I have spent far too much time on vacation, my brain has turned to mush, and it is most definitely time for me to go back to work.
Mambo tends to curl up in his chair for hours at a time, then he wakes up, hurls himself off the chair, flops around on the floor like a landed fish for a second, then regains his feet and staggers around until he accidentally finds the food bowl. He eats for a little while, wanders around some more in the vicinity of the food bowl until he accidentally runs into it again, and chows down once more. Given his age (19+) I kinda think he eats the second time because he forgot he just ate two minutes ago. Then he wanders around some more, exploring the apartment with his forehead (punctuated with an occasional "chunnng!" when he makes contact with my geetar), looking for all the world like Stevie Wonder doing his "Isn't She Lovely" thing. This is broken up by his occasionally getting lost in a corner and wowling his way out. There are usually six big "WOOWWWWL's." I've counted. If I pet him in the middle of his litany, his tone immediately changes to a soft and inquisitive, "berruooot?" Then he wanders in the general direction of one of the 3 litter boxes in the house. If he poops, it's always IN the box. But because he's old and feeble, he never covers, just walks away nonnchalantly, ignoring the labrador retriever sized turds he leaves behind. (Where do they COME from! I ask you) If he pees, more often than not it is "litterbox adjacent." (Hence the rising stock price of Bounty paper towels, wee-wee pads, and "Nature's Miracle.") After two or three tries, he manages to hop back into one of the chairs, where he stares into the cushion for a half hour or so before laying down and going to sleep. He's so motionless that sometimes I get a little nervous and poke him just to make sure he's alive. He makes an "I'm not dead yet!" squawk, and usually repeats the food thing.
The little one, on the other hand, is only, I think, pretending to sleep. From my railroad flat vantage in the living room or kitchen, every time I look in at my bed, she's in there, lookin' at me. And lookin' at me some more. She will occasionally decide the I've summoned her telepathically and tear ass into the kitchen, where HER demands must then be met. She's one of the only cats I've ever had who actually says, "Meee-owww." The unbearable cuteness of this cannot be explained but must be witnessed, especially when I pet her and it turns into a Lumbergh-like "yeeeahhhh." It's not so cute when she jumps into my lap and "forgets" that my jeans-clad leg isn't a scratching post. She then visits the food bowl, where her eating habits seem to consist mostly of flinging the kibble all about the kitchen so I can sweep it up and throw it away.. Then it's time for HER visit to the litterbox, which mostly seems to consist of her covering up Mambo's leavings, then spending the next ten minutes or so gleefully flinging cat litter about the box as if it's New Year's confetti while meowing loudly. This is followed up by several hounds-of-hell laps of the apartment, after which she settles back onto the bed for more of that lookin' at me action. She's doing it right now!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is all the proof you need that I have spent far too much time on vacation, my brain has turned to mush, and it is most definitely time for me to go back to work.
Day Brightener
I suited up to run to the store for milk, butter, toilet paper and oranges (a strange recent craving) and when I opened my door I found a bunch of roses on my doorknob!
I realized what an old suspicious New Yorker I am when my first thought was not, "ooooh, how nice! Maybe I have a secret admirer," but, "Who the hell left the front door of the building unlocked so someone can just come upstairs and leave crap at my door?"
The culprit was my downstairs neighbor, who got drunk and thought I'd like them for Easter. I think this must've been a couple nights ago, 'cause they do look a bit depleted. So I dropped 'em into water, stat, hopefully they will revive!
At any rate, I think he really got them for Mambo, who is his buddy when I go away on business. I always fill my fridge with beer so Carlos can hang out with Old PeePants (which is also Sarah Palin's nickname for John McCain, btw) and watch "the good cable."
I'll take it. I honestly can't remember the last time someone gave me flowers other than when my dad died, and those don't really count, do they?
I realized what an old suspicious New Yorker I am when my first thought was not, "ooooh, how nice! Maybe I have a secret admirer," but, "Who the hell left the front door of the building unlocked so someone can just come upstairs and leave crap at my door?"
The culprit was my downstairs neighbor, who got drunk and thought I'd like them for Easter. I think this must've been a couple nights ago, 'cause they do look a bit depleted. So I dropped 'em into water, stat, hopefully they will revive!
At any rate, I think he really got them for Mambo, who is his buddy when I go away on business. I always fill my fridge with beer so Carlos can hang out with Old PeePants (which is also Sarah Palin's nickname for John McCain, btw) and watch "the good cable."
I'll take it. I honestly can't remember the last time someone gave me flowers other than when my dad died, and those don't really count, do they?
Rachel Maddow Drops the L-Word on Television
I caught the Rachel rerun last night as she continues to call out newbie Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown in his blatant lying about her.
She actually does the unthinkable and uses the L-word that television pundits are loathe to use...she calls him a liar. Complete with a picture of Brown with a giant "LIAR" stamped across his forehead.
This is so refreshing to me, because I can't even begin to count how many times I've seethed in frustration as people like David "I'm Doing My Best to Kill Meet the Press" Gregory nod and smile as their guests spew lies without calling out the liars as liars. All in the name of maintaining "access" I guess.
Political talk show guests know they won't be called out on lying, so they feel free to continue lying. Or if someone calls them out, they just raise the volume on the lies (Monica Crowley and Pat Buchanan, I'm talking to you.)
What if these interviewers (I can't bring myself to call Gregory and his ilk journalists) just stopped kowtowing to folks and held up their hand in the middle of some blowhard's blowhardiness and said, "wait a second, the facts are this. Why are you lying?" Wouldn't that be amazing?
I guess TV producers would say it wouldn't be very good TV. Personally I think it would be really compelling to see a politician splutter and twist while trying to spin his way out of a lie.
Go Rachel.
She actually does the unthinkable and uses the L-word that television pundits are loathe to use...she calls him a liar. Complete with a picture of Brown with a giant "LIAR" stamped across his forehead.
This is so refreshing to me, because I can't even begin to count how many times I've seethed in frustration as people like David "I'm Doing My Best to Kill Meet the Press" Gregory nod and smile as their guests spew lies without calling out the liars as liars. All in the name of maintaining "access" I guess.
Political talk show guests know they won't be called out on lying, so they feel free to continue lying. Or if someone calls them out, they just raise the volume on the lies (Monica Crowley and Pat Buchanan, I'm talking to you.)
What if these interviewers (I can't bring myself to call Gregory and his ilk journalists) just stopped kowtowing to folks and held up their hand in the middle of some blowhard's blowhardiness and said, "wait a second, the facts are this. Why are you lying?" Wouldn't that be amazing?
I guess TV producers would say it wouldn't be very good TV. Personally I think it would be really compelling to see a politician splutter and twist while trying to spin his way out of a lie.
Go Rachel.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Elected Wingnuts Trying to Make Constituent Wingnut Heads Explode
So now during the Congressional recess, Republican Cornyn has put out a memo instructing Republican candidates to hit the road in their districts and take credit for the parts of the new health care reform law that they now suddenly like, even though every single one of them voted against the bill.(They will continue with their tried and true tactic called "makin' shit up" about the rest of the bill).
Back in the sad old days of the Bill Clinton presidency, those black, grim days of peace and prosperity, when the Republican caucus proposed an alternative to Hillarycare (remember that?), it was basically the same as...wait for it...the current bill.
Are you gettin this? The Republicans were FOR the bill, before they were AGAINST the bill, before they were FOR some of it again even though they unanimously voted AGAINST it.
If that doesn't make your head hurt, I don't know what will. I assume my small cadre of readers are as smart as and in most cases are smarter than I am, so I can only assume that the Teabagger Nation people, most of whom seem to be functionally retarded anyway, will be bleeding from the ears when these candidates start stumping.
NOTE: On second thought, I doubt this will happen, since these are the same people who think Sarah Palin makes sense whenever she begins word vomiting.
UNRELATED yet semi-related aside: wouldnt it be really funny if five or ten folks showed up at every Sarah Palin appearance and just yelled out (together and on cue), "Hey Sarah! Show us your tits!" No policy challenges, or angry democrat stuff, just "Show us your tits!" What are her supporters gonna do? They secretly want to see her tits, too! This could be a movement. A flashmob for the new decade! I like it.
Back in the sad old days of the Bill Clinton presidency, those black, grim days of peace and prosperity, when the Republican caucus proposed an alternative to Hillarycare (remember that?), it was basically the same as...wait for it...the current bill.
Are you gettin this? The Republicans were FOR the bill, before they were AGAINST the bill, before they were FOR some of it again even though they unanimously voted AGAINST it.
If that doesn't make your head hurt, I don't know what will. I assume my small cadre of readers are as smart as and in most cases are smarter than I am, so I can only assume that the Teabagger Nation people, most of whom seem to be functionally retarded anyway, will be bleeding from the ears when these candidates start stumping.
NOTE: On second thought, I doubt this will happen, since these are the same people who think Sarah Palin makes sense whenever she begins word vomiting.
UNRELATED yet semi-related aside: wouldnt it be really funny if five or ten folks showed up at every Sarah Palin appearance and just yelled out (together and on cue), "Hey Sarah! Show us your tits!" No policy challenges, or angry democrat stuff, just "Show us your tits!" What are her supporters gonna do? They secretly want to see her tits, too! This could be a movement. A flashmob for the new decade! I like it.