Catching Up!

Hockey and the Pool

The NHL playoff’s first round is about at
its midpoint. Although it is not unheard of for a team to turn it
around, the teams are falling into place. Calgary looks absolutely
horrible. They play tonight at home. If they loose this, they are done.
The only thing that holds them together is the knowledge that Detroit
lost 4 straight (after winning the first game) to the Ducks last year.
The Wild are competitively loosing as expected. I expected a little
more from the Thrashers. This is KeithTkachuk’s shot at the cup. Go For Keith. Turnaround time, again, is tonight.

So
far, the playoffs have not disappointed. I finally got to watch some of
the Predators/Sharks series last night. They need to televise the games
when they are in Nashville. Early is better.

As for the pool, I am currently chasing Grimjack
for the bottom. 82 out of 84. I’m coming for the last place prize.
Keeping in mind, that the stats mean little while the series is going
on, as of today, Paige is in 1st (an entry of Vinnie’s) and Donna (wife
of Vinnie) is in 2nd. Hoey is a close 3rd.

A Night At the Roxy
This article from Yahoo reports that Brian Ferry, of Roxy Music fame, has publicly apologized for Nazi Remarks.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070416/people_nm/britain_ferry_nazis_dc
He was quoted as saying:
"The way that the Nazis staged themselves and presented themselves, my Lord!
"I'm talking about the films of Leni Riefenstahl and the buildings of Albert Speer and the mass marches and the flags -- just fantastic. Really beautiful."

I personally don’t see that this is condoning the whole Nazi thing. Stating that Hitler was brilliant, is saying that he wasn’t
an evil demented bastard. They can be mutually exclusive. I you watch
the films of all those people goosestepping through the streets, it’s
horrific and depressing. Objectively, looking at it, it is very
impressive. . . .which kinda makes it that much more horrible.

Health Report
“Gaetan Duchesne,
who played in the NHL for 14 seasons and helped the Minnesota North
Stars reach the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, died while training at a gym
Monday. He was 44.”
I am using this as further evidence that I should stay out of the gym. Pop Tarts anyone?

Virginia Tech
Horrific!!
I was glad to see a report on television that showed that a high
percentage of people attribute this rise in youth violence to
irresponsible parenting. I think that parents today, on the whole
stink. Their children are raised to believe that whatever they do is
wonderful. By the time kids get in to College, or high school these
days, they realize that they have no boundaries. The human Psyche needs
boundaries. We all have them. We all test them and try and extend
passed them at times. When therearen’t any, the world becomes a scary place. Prays go out to all those involved in this horrible tragedy.

In a related story. .
After
another year of teaching Religious Education, I am firmly convinced
that one of the causes of the type of behavior above is the changing
church values due in part to the changing family values. Despite, the
changes in the Catholic Church, I explain to my students that the new
(and improved) “Awe and Wonderment” used to be “Fear of the Lord”.
Without “Fear of the Lord”. We have lost a lot of religious respect.
Showing up at Church with a Marilyn Manson T-shirt is not acceptable.
The “Goddoesn’t care what you wear!” is bullshit. It’s a matter of respect. You wouldn’t show up to Court appearance like that. Why? Because you fear (respect) the Judge.
Taking this down a peg, kids today have lost “Fear of The Parent”. . .Trust Me. . not mine!

When I was growing up, I had two thoughts regarding my Father.
1.
If I did something wrong, my Father would kill me. Punish me, sure. If
I did something REALLY wrong, the thought of him actually killing mewasn’t out of the question.
2. If I got in trouble or had a problem, my Father could fix. He could fix anything and rectify any situation.

Those
two things are what I try to emulate. Your parents should be invincible
when you are a kid. A parent should NOT be your friend. It is not your
job to be your children’s friend.

Unfortunately, I don’t see this changing anytime soon.