Sunday, February 26, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
I am too kind to myself
After some contemplation, I’ve decided not continue with my list of annoyances because I am annoyed with it. So, being a somewhat thoughtful person, I decided to stop annoying myself.
But don’t fret, I am sure those two specific annoyances will pop up on this thingee at some point in the future.
On another note, I was walking down a street in Greenpoint and saw an old man talking to pigeons. I am fairly bad at guessing a person’s age but I think it’s safe to say that he was in his 70s; he was somewhat physically fit - he stood upright on his own, but not active enough to guess that he recently retired. In front of him there was a pile of bits of bread and about 20 pigeons.
I am fairly good at guessing the number of items, persons, steps etc in front of me because I have a tendency of counting things and by now, I’ve counted different things enough to guess somewhat accurately the number of items in front of me. I wouldn’t go as far as say that I can tell how many jelly beans are in a 3 liter jar but when it comes to 20 pigeons, I think I am right. Now, I realize that counting things is some sort of a sign of mental illness but there is nothing that I can do, I can’t stop counting.
But I digress.
The point is, the old man was standing in front of bunch of pigeons making pigeon noises. Not that there is something wrong with it, I like to sit around and stare at things, too. But as I passed the pigeon man, I really hope I too won’t turn into a 70+ something pigeon woman.
But then a few nights later, as I was chowing down my dinner, I watched a documentary on PBS (oh, how high-brow) about Mary Cane Honeysett, a lovely, quirky, and funny old lady who lives in London and despite her failing vision, she spends her days painting. Her goal in life is to get one of her painting accepted to the annual show at the Royal Academy of Arts (they accept submissions from any artist, somewhat unusual, considering the hoops an artist needs to jump in order to get her work considered for a show in this city). And I thought “Whew! Perhaps talking to pigeons is not the only option.”
I procrastinate. Back to writing about a trauma informed parenting group for women who have post-traumatic stress disorder and are currently in treatment for alcohol and/or drug abuse. Hmm, or maybe I'll go to make myself a sandwich... The fun in my life just doesn't stop.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Fram
I am going to end the month of February with a list of my annoyances. Not to say that February is more annoying than other months and not that this blog lists anything else besides my annoyances, but the in past month, month and a half, there have been several things that I found really annoying. And since no one wants to hear others whine, I am just going to write about them (in no particular order)!
Annoying thing #1: Spam from acquaintances/people I forgot about.
I have set up several email accounts, each serving its own purpose. I have specifically designed accounts for spam, list-serves, “professional” contacts, school, etc. My day-to-day email account is set up for friends/family/people I'd like to email me and it gets no spam or useless emails on purpose.
Except that increasingly I find that several people are setting up list-serves to send out announcements about random things like getting involved in Amnesty International campaigns or some band’s performance I’ve never heard of. More annoyingly, people who barely know me put me on their announcement lists and I get random crap email I have no interest in. Or people whom I have not seen or heard from in years send out their announcement but when I reply with a personal note, they fall from the face of the Earth.
Clearly, there are times when it makes sense to send a mass announcement – but these announcements are sent by my close friends and I have interest in my friends and their activities. Plus, I receive such mass emails maybe once a month or so.
But the Amnesty International letter campaigns – oh c’mon – I live, breathe, sleep human rights. I don’t need them crammed down the throat every minute. If we used to make out and have not spoken to each other in years, I think this is a good indication that I have no desire to see you under any circumstances ever again. And if this is a ploy to see me, then send an individual email, inviting me to see your crappy band play.
Of course, these email start or end with instructions on how to be removed from the list-serve. Now, that’s nice. The question is, why put me on a list-serve without my interest/permission in the first place? Especially if I barely know you.
Sneak preview for the next editions (in no particular order): “Boy, are you stupid!” and “Oh, it’s really… um… pretty?”
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Oh boy
According to the IRS, I am a low-income working individual. I should be the one getting sliding-scale services, not providing them...
Friday, February 17, 2006
Jealous, Tom Powers?
So, in hockey news, Latvia tied US 3:3 on Wednesday but was defeated Thursday 6:3 against Slovakia. They're facing Sweden and then Russia next week, which pretty much means that there are going to be 2 more losses.
Clearly US has a crappy hockey team if they tied Latvia. Although who knows, maybe they were "jetlagged." And victory against Kazakhstan doesn't indicate skill or ability to play hockey well. Also, I know English is not my first language but who says "that'll learn you"?!
Tie with Latvia lacks luster
TOM POWERS
TURIN, Italy
Don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from. I'm pretty sure Team USA can tie Kazakhstan today, too.
Take that, Latvia! Thought you were going to beat the U.S. men's hockey team, eh? Well, that'll learn you. Our guys never quit. That's not the American way. All you're going to get is a tie. A clutch third-period goal by Minnesota's own Jordan Leopold saw to that. So go ahead and choke on your 3-3 tie.
There hasn't been such a glorious moment in U.S. hockey history since the Americans rallied to tie powerhouse France in Lillehammer in 1994. And when Wednesday's game ended, a Latvian journalist asked Mike Modano if he was satisfied with the result.
"Not really," Modano said. "I'm kind of disappointed."
Isn't that just like our guys? They're always pushing themselves to do better.
Can we get serious for a moment? Team USA looked old and slow Wednesday night. The Americans were lucky to tie Latvia. Worse, they made awful decisions on the ice. The question is whether they were mentally and physically a step behind because of jet lag.
Or just because.
"We've obviously got to do better," said Brian Rolston of the Wild. "We'll go back to the drawing board and see what we come up with."
Can they draw up some smarter, quicker defensemen? How about a goaltender with sense enough to smack his stick on the ice good and hard to let his teammates know an enemy skater is about to leave the penalty box?
John Grahame's failure to properly warn his teammates of a man leaving the box cost them a goal. There is no reason for that.
Well, people probably are dancing in the streets of Riga today. They were dancing in the aisles of Palasport Olympico, too. It was a very pro-Latvian crowd. They especially cheered for goaltender Arturs Irbe, whose true age is a closely guarded state secret.
Irbe was a North Star when the Gund brothers still owned the team. He was a North Star when Lou Nanne was still general manager. But he was spry enough to baffle the Americans.
I will say this, though: They must play some sissy hockey in Latvia. If you were watching on TV, and not losing your lunch, you saw that every time there was any sort of physical contact, the crowd hooted and whistled. Apparently, hockey players don't touch one another in Latvia.
Not that the Americans touched them very often Wednesday. They had a hard time catching them. Rolston, like most of his teammates, refused to blame the travel. The entire Latvian team, except for two players, has been together since Feb. 6.
"Give them credit," he said.
"We're definitely going to have to get better," winger Bill Guerin said.
You think so?
Said winger Mike Knuble: "We're going to learn a quick lesson here."
It better be in a matter of minutes. These games will be coming at them rapid fire. Coach Peter Laviolette says his guys basically need sleep.
"That's a competitive group of guys in there," Laviolette said. "I'm not making excuses."
A lot of people don't remember this, but it was a goal by Laviolette that helped Team USA rally for that glorious tie against France in 1994. I'm not sure what that means, other than he probably doesn't want to be connected to another disaster. And that 1994 team was the all-time worst.
"I definitely agree we need to play better," he said.
Good, we're all agreed.
It is probably too early to toss them under the bus. With luck, we haven't seen the real Team USA yet. The guys will get some sleep and come back with good jump. Let's not panic.
Am I talking you off the ledge? I'm trying. I really think things could get better. Play close attention to today's game against Kazakhstan. Team USA should win by a lot.
But, you know, a tie isn't bad.
Tom Powers can be reached at tpowers@pioneerpress.com.
Clearly US has a crappy hockey team if they tied Latvia. Although who knows, maybe they were "jetlagged." And victory against Kazakhstan doesn't indicate skill or ability to play hockey well. Also, I know English is not my first language but who says "that'll learn you"?!
Tie with Latvia lacks luster
TOM POWERS
TURIN, Italy
Don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from. I'm pretty sure Team USA can tie Kazakhstan today, too.
Take that, Latvia! Thought you were going to beat the U.S. men's hockey team, eh? Well, that'll learn you. Our guys never quit. That's not the American way. All you're going to get is a tie. A clutch third-period goal by Minnesota's own Jordan Leopold saw to that. So go ahead and choke on your 3-3 tie.
There hasn't been such a glorious moment in U.S. hockey history since the Americans rallied to tie powerhouse France in Lillehammer in 1994. And when Wednesday's game ended, a Latvian journalist asked Mike Modano if he was satisfied with the result.
"Not really," Modano said. "I'm kind of disappointed."
Isn't that just like our guys? They're always pushing themselves to do better.
Can we get serious for a moment? Team USA looked old and slow Wednesday night. The Americans were lucky to tie Latvia. Worse, they made awful decisions on the ice. The question is whether they were mentally and physically a step behind because of jet lag.
Or just because.
"We've obviously got to do better," said Brian Rolston of the Wild. "We'll go back to the drawing board and see what we come up with."
Can they draw up some smarter, quicker defensemen? How about a goaltender with sense enough to smack his stick on the ice good and hard to let his teammates know an enemy skater is about to leave the penalty box?
John Grahame's failure to properly warn his teammates of a man leaving the box cost them a goal. There is no reason for that.
Well, people probably are dancing in the streets of Riga today. They were dancing in the aisles of Palasport Olympico, too. It was a very pro-Latvian crowd. They especially cheered for goaltender Arturs Irbe, whose true age is a closely guarded state secret.
Irbe was a North Star when the Gund brothers still owned the team. He was a North Star when Lou Nanne was still general manager. But he was spry enough to baffle the Americans.
I will say this, though: They must play some sissy hockey in Latvia. If you were watching on TV, and not losing your lunch, you saw that every time there was any sort of physical contact, the crowd hooted and whistled. Apparently, hockey players don't touch one another in Latvia.
Not that the Americans touched them very often Wednesday. They had a hard time catching them. Rolston, like most of his teammates, refused to blame the travel. The entire Latvian team, except for two players, has been together since Feb. 6.
"Give them credit," he said.
"We're definitely going to have to get better," winger Bill Guerin said.
You think so?
Said winger Mike Knuble: "We're going to learn a quick lesson here."
It better be in a matter of minutes. These games will be coming at them rapid fire. Coach Peter Laviolette says his guys basically need sleep.
"That's a competitive group of guys in there," Laviolette said. "I'm not making excuses."
A lot of people don't remember this, but it was a goal by Laviolette that helped Team USA rally for that glorious tie against France in 1994. I'm not sure what that means, other than he probably doesn't want to be connected to another disaster. And that 1994 team was the all-time worst.
"I definitely agree we need to play better," he said.
Good, we're all agreed.
It is probably too early to toss them under the bus. With luck, we haven't seen the real Team USA yet. The guys will get some sleep and come back with good jump. Let's not panic.
Am I talking you off the ledge? I'm trying. I really think things could get better. Play close attention to today's game against Kazakhstan. Team USA should win by a lot.
But, you know, a tie isn't bad.
Tom Powers can be reached at tpowers@pioneerpress.com.
Monday, February 13, 2006
The pride of Latvia
Well, here is to the first Latvian to win an Olympic medal after Latvia declared its independence in 1990. You know there is going to be a party when Martins Rubenis comes back to town.
What makes it even cuter is that he made his own luge sled. That so "developing country." Oh wait, I meant to say "transitional nation."
Crap, Latvian hockey team's first preliminary game is against the United States.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
More importantly (how could I forget), the Olymics are here. Now, is anyone actually really watching the Winter Olympics? Not me, it lacks my favorite sport - anything that involves short swimming shorts, shaved chests and water - that's when the high definition TV comes in handy. But the Latvians (who strangely looked like Pilgrims in the opening ceremony) already won a medal so hats off to them. And watch for the Latvian hockey team - this year will be the year to break the top 10!
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