Preemie first 80 days

"There's no argument at all"

Hey, Pikkumatti, is that Elvin Bishop doing the intro and playing guit?

The reason we watch

I catch my fair share of sports viewing on the tube, and a few games live over the course of a year (including our underachieving-but-always-entertaining local eleven).  Every once in awhile I wonder what it is that draws me to watch, even if I don't have a particular interest in the outcome (as in the NBA and NHL playoffs this year).

This is why:  In last night's Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks took a puck to the face during play in the first period.

Down goes Shaw -- down goes Shaw -- down goes Shaw.  But not for long.  Here is a view of Mr. Shaw in the second period after getting his cheek and the corner of his eye sown up:

And yes, he played after that, and played well.  For those who didn't watch, the Blackhawks came from behind in the last minute-and-change to win the Cup.  And if you took one (e.g., a puck to the eye socket) for the team along the way, you earn the right to do this (and to express your joy in whatever salty language you wish ---  the video is very NSFW):

With blood dripping down his face from the stitches that aren't quite staying closed.

Mr. Shaw reminded me why I watch.  It is to see excellence displayed -- sometimes in the form of well-developed talent, sometimes in the form of well-coached teamwork and strategy, and sometimes in the form of sheer courage and will.

P.S.  Mr. Shaw's favorite phrase in his Stanley Cup acceptance speech above (vulgar as it is) gives me very fond memories of my homeland in the North.  Pure joy.

UPDATE:  The above Cup-skating video was taken down.  This could turn out to be a whack-a-mole exercise, but here's another video of it:

Watch soon -- video of this could quickly end up in the ether.

UPDATE 2d:  A nice background story on Andrew Shaw, including that he was afraid to tell anyone about his broken hand at age 11 so he could keep playing hockey.

How'd he do dat?

If watching this doesn't make you happy, there might be something wrong with you.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Here's the lowdown from my man, Saint Ephrem:

Son of God, grant me your own admirable Gift that I may celebrate the wondrous beauty of your beloved Mother! The Virgin gave birth to a son while preserving her virginity; she suckled him who gives nourishment to the peoples; in her immaculate breast she bore him who carries the whole world in his hands. She is Virgin and Mother, what will she not be hereafter? Holy in body, all beautiful in soul, pure of mind, upright in intelligence, perfect in feeling, chaste and faithful, pure of heart and filled with virtue.

May the hearts of virgins rejoice in Mary since of her was born the one who set humankind free from dreadful slavery. May the old Adam, wounded by the serpent, rejoice in Mary; it is Mary who gives Adam a posterity that allows him to crush the accursed serpent and who cures him of his mortal wound (Gen 3,15). Let priests rejoice in the blessed Virgin; she has brought the High Priest into the world who gave himself as a victim, putting an end to the sacrifices of the Old Covenant... Let the prophets rejoice in Mary, since in her were fulfilled their visions, in her were realized their prophecies, in her were confirmed their oracles. Let all the patriarchs rejoice in Mary since she received the blessing promised to them, she who, in her son, has brought them to completion...

Mary is the new tree of life who, instead of the bitter fruit picked by Eve, gives to mankind that sweet fruit on which the whole world is fed.

Too good for a title

There ain't no "black church", y'all!

And here's the proof, dog. This takes a while to watch, but it is worth it. This man is a fabulous communicator.



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And since he seems to have a kicking sense of humor, I should point out that he is articulate and clean to boot. Hat tip 5 feet.

5-year-old Saves Mom's Life by Calling 911

Awesome Flag Jump

Sorry, "awesome" is a word I try to use infrequently, but it's the best one in this case.



That flag weighs 140 pounds. Amazing.

Another one from Dianne M., thank you, ma'am.

Hawk's Sick 900

I know this happened 50 years ago in dog years, but it's still amazing. Check out the cool matrixy freeze-frame angle shifts.



Yeah.

This is me right now

Minus any herb and the tossle cap.

Blog Miracle Healing and Blue Orange Ohio Sky

Regular readers might have noticed that the top of this blog was messed up the other day. I don't know why, but it's healed now. Anyway, I kind of threw a temper tantrum and put up a picture from my Treo that I took flying west down I-480 and a bunch of text. That picture was also not showing up properly until this morning, at which time I restored my "3 out of 4 horse-dudes of ye olde Apocalypse" masthead.


But I like this picture. It's got that Lord of the Flippin' Rings thing going on, don't you think? You see a sky like that and it makes your stomach growl for a big-arse pizza with the family and some Celtic music. Or something.

"Dispose the day, bro"

Happy St. Crispin's Day, all y'all.

Invisible Builders

This link was sent to me by beautiful wife who finds lots of great stuff in the blogosphere. She hardly ever makes comments which means she'll be praying my ass out of purgatory. Excerpt:

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"

Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Pick me up right around 5:30, please."

Read the rest, it's good.

Personality Crisis

Say what you will about Andy Nowicki (and I often do) he's right on when he says here that "Glam rock helped set the stage for punk rock, and thus merits appreciation. A world where punk never happened is a grim notion indeed." I hope you enjoy this next performance as much as I do.

(Warning: You might want headphones if you're going to listen to this at work.)



David Johanson (the singer) reformed the band last year, I guess. I don't know how good they are without Johnny Thunders? Alas, the good die young... 38 is young, right? Maybe I poke around some more on u-tube for some recent material.

But some of my favorite lyrics ever.

Personality Crisis

Well, we can't take it this week
And her friends don't want another speech
Hoping for a better day to hear what she's got to say

All about that Personality Crisis you got it while it was hot
But now frustration and heartache is what you got
(That's why they talk about personality...)

But now your tryin' to be someone,
Now you got to do something
Wanna be someone who cow wow wows
But you think about the times you did they took every ounce
When it sure got to be a shame when you start to scream and shout
You got to contradict all those times you were butterflyin' about
(You were butterflyin'...)

All about that Personality Crisis you got it while it was hot
But now frustration and heartache is what you got

And you're a prima ballerina on a spring afternoon
Change on into the wolfman howlin' at the moon
(Hooowwwllll.......)

All about that Personality Crisis you got it while it was hot
But now frustration and heartache is what you got.

Now with all the crossin' fingers that mother nature says
Your mirror's getting jammed up with all your friends
That personality everything starts to bend
Personality when your mind starts to bend
Personality impression of a friend,
Of a friend, of a friend, of a friend, of a friend...
Personality wonderin how celebrities ever mend
(Look and find out on television!)

Personality Crisis you got it while it was hot
Frustration and heartache is all you got don't you worry

Personality Crisis, please don't cry
It's just a personality crisis please don't stop

Because you walk a personality,
Talk a personality.

OH YEAH!! Ya look like a bunch o' dames....

But what a great tune, huh?

Who cares if "soothing" doesn't rhyme with "grooving". After reading the wikipedia entry on The Sweet and watching this video I can't believe this band wasn't one of the many informing the movie Spinal Tap. That little wink put me in mind of the hilarious "Flower People" tune from Spinal Tap's "psychedelic phase". Fave line from the article: "This dichotomy of bubblegum A-sides and heavy rock B-sides only served to confuse their teenage fan following." We wouldn't want to have rock bands doing anything which would confuse teenagers, now would we?

I'm back in town...

...so here is James brown.



I'm loving that "duet" he does with the sax around 3:00 minutes in and continuing to the end. Check out the funky clothes! Looks like he raided the Star Trek wardrobe.

How Dark Without You Would My Journey Be?

Rhetorical question. Click the picture for a great page on May Devotions.

My Back Blogs

For some reason, this bootleg video sums up how I'm feeling right now, poor quality included. And that lighting for when he takes the mike is perfect.

Don't you hate it when you're trying to make a bootleg at the Dylan show and your girlfriend keeps trying to make out with you, causing the camcorder to flop around wildly? Oh, well....

I love the "oh, by the way" harmonica solo at the end.

Also - maybe I'm really late to the game here, but I just found out you can take still "snap-shots" of youtube videos with ALT-PRNT-SCRN. Pretty neat.

Hillbilly Latin

I got a kick out of this post even though, as Billy Bob Thornton's character in Slingblade says of the Bible, "I read it; I didn't understand all of it, mmm-hmmm."

It did remind me of something a priest friend of mine told me about one of his altar boys who served for the Latin Mass (indult) he celebrates weekly in Pennsylvania. The boy, who was 9 or 10 at the time, is from West Virginia, so naturally he speaks with a West Virginia accent regardless of what language he is speaking. My friend says that he always reflected on the universality of the Catholic Church as he listened to the boy recite the Confiteor perfectly in Latin, accompanied by a perfectly sonorous WV mountain highland twang.

That made me think of another story about the big, global, universal church. Someone who was at the Denver World Youth Day told me he was awakened by loud Mexican music one night around 2am and went out to find a circle of Italian flags and burly Italian dudes with crossed arms stationed by each. Inside the circle a crowd was gathered cheering two black kids from Brooklyn break dancing to the music of a live Mariachi band. They were all there to see Pope John Paul II and had put together this spontaneous, cross-cultural entertainment event.

Sounds like a mystical moment; I don't know if the Italians were charging admission... what say you, Cubeland?