Phenomenal Web Mistress

Mongrels

OK. So. BBC Three. It’s been hit and miss in the past. But the BBC’s “experimental”area for those new ideas, those budding writers, and those little-known comedy faces (and voices) has really come up trumps with this one.

Their new series takes on the task of combining puppets with real people, and scores a huge hit. 2 foxes, a pigeon, a cat and a dog meet with a variety of other creatures, and interact with the occasional human.

The anthropomorphism More

The Conference Finals!

Only one more series in the East and West remains before the Stanley Cup Final comes to town. The Eastern and Western Conference finals are upon us and the teams included in those games are both the most predictable and the most astonishing.

In the Western Conference finals we have the two best teams from the Western Conference in the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks. They finished first and second respectively and were only separated by a single More

Montreal Canadiens Take It!

To everyones surprise. They beat the Caps for the first round of the playoffs. 8th seat beats 1st. Go Halak, and make no mistake, it was Halak. If that man keeps playing like that I’ve no doubt they will take the Cup.

Sorry Ovechkin, looks like posing in GQ didn’t make you a better hockey player…

Play-off Hockey

As the NHL season begins to wind down we find ourselves staring down the barrel of some brilliant play-off hockey. Whilst the final play-off spots are not yet set in stone, I believe the 16 teams that currently occupy the play-off spots will be the ones that are still there at the end of the NHL regular season.

In the current group is a great mixture of the old and the new. Should the Detroit Red Wings make it into More

Greatest script-writer ever, or a visionary?

What many people who adore Alfred Hitchock’s films don’t seem to realize is that Hitchcock was no more a fantastic script-writer than anyone else in the business…

…yes, his films were incredible—ground-breaking, willing to take creative risks that others shied away from—but his scripts were often no more than a basic blue-print; a tone setting device rather than a definitive outline to be followed rigidly. Hitchcock himself was not ashamed to admit these things, citing that film-making was something which More

The Beginnings of ‘Twin Peaks’.

For any fan of Twin Peaks, ‘Fire Walk with Me’ is a must-see. In fact, after the painful cancellation of the television series, it is a much-needed extra chunk of David Lynch’s fertile imagination.

Because it is a prequel, there are lots of things to find out; and if you want to try and get to the bottom of Laura Palmer’s death, then this is a very good place to start. The whole thing gives fans an extra bit More

Everyone loves an Underdog!

What a way to win a game on Stars territory for the first time in three years. It has been on everyones mind lately, with the Oilers hanging around the bottom of the Western conference if they were going to make a playoff run they would need to hurry up and do it quickly. Being plagued with injuries and illness (including the dreaded H1N1) and star forward Hemsky out on a season ending injury, it was looking for awhile that the only hope for the Oilers was a top pick in the spring.

But then tonight happened, and the team seemed to take coach Pat Quinn’s advice to just carry on to heart. The reward? Edmonton’s first back to back win since October when the plight of of injuries started. Won with a slightly fluky goal in the 5th round shootout by favorite Horcoff, this still in my opinion wasn’t the most exciting part of the game.

What was the most exhilarating aspect for me was the fantastic show of goaltending on both sides of centre ice. After fan favorite Dwayne Roloson was traded to the Islanders for (considerably less attractive) Khabibulin, I didn’t really know how to react. But with Khabibulin banged up and out of the game it was left to Deslauriers to step up. And step up he did! Turco and Deslauriers were making the forwards throughout the game work hard for every shot. Not to mention that Turco’s glove hand was pretty much a magnet for the entire night. But the first star of the night inevitably went to Deslauriers! All in all, good show, and showing that the Oilers may be starting to turn their luck around, or at least keep their heads above the water!

More good news, the Habs celebrated a win during their centennial game helped out by Mike Cammalleri’s hat trick! Another notable centennial celebration was Lach and Bouchard having their numbers brought up to the rafters to join the Habs elite with retired numbers.

That’s all for now really, when I started this blog it really wasn’t intended to be all about hockey. But I just figure thats more interesting then stories about me cleaning my bathroom or getting drunk off champagne at the company Christmas party last night. Well maybe not more interesting then that last bit…more varied and exciting updates coming soon!

Hockey Update: Swings, misses, and a Smattering of Injuries

Keith Ballard

Keith Ballard, what can I say? To be honest a player that was drafted in the 1^st round and 11^th overall, I expected better. But apparently his previous success didn’t curb his anger enough to prevent him from two handing Tomas Vokoun over the head with his stick in the middle of a tamper tantrum. And it is not the first time either, I recall in recent memory when he was caught on camera having a rather heated argument with a Canucks fan. (To be completely fair, I understand the need to point out the stupidity of Canucks fans, but don’t forget Ballard, you play for the Panthers…)

The point is the NHL will not take action against this because it was his own teammate. How ridiculous is that? If it was a player on the other team then Ballard would have been called out and banned for the season! And now because he is wearing the same jersey, the NHL and the Panthers look the other way. To quote Colin Campbell of the NHL, “It will be on every sports highlight show for the next week, if that’s not enough of a punishment . . . ”

The point is Colin, that’s not enough of a punishment. And it never was. Lacerating the ear and hospitalizing ANY player on that ice is not what the game is about. If the NHL can’t show that to all of the players on the ice, then they need to seriously reconsider what hockey is about.

In short, Ballard control your damn temper and Campbell get your damn act together.

- - -

More bad news for Oilers fans. It seems this season is a series of tears and injuries, and that play-off spot is moving from far away to impossible. Hemsky is out for the year, and it is looking more like Horcoff will be joining him. With a shoot differential of -5.5, a standing in the conference at last in points percentage, and tied for last in wins the outlook is anything but sunny. If they carry on this way and finish in the bottom 3 of the NHL it will be the first time in Oilers NHL history. At the beginning of the season all the fans knew that this one was going to be tough, but come on boys! They seem to be earmarked as a lottery club, but now at least we can hope for a top prospect to join the team in the spring…

- - -

Why has California stolen all my favorite players? Seriously, it doesn’t even snow there yet Smyth and Koivu decide to move, and may I add get injured (karma for leaving far superior teams…) The real question is how are these players that were deeply rooted in a particular team coping with the change?

Well the Ducks are trying really hard to get themselves out of a rather ugly start of season but despite the glimmers of hope that Koivu’s lineup (Teemu, Selanne) are showing recently, they are just not translating into actual goals. Koivu is still proving his grit against the West with his physical game, but the line seems to hit a block when faced with a top of the league goaltender. Other then their notable effort in shutting out Chicago, they are letting a lot of their games slip away in late letdowns. Where the Ducks are lacking can be summed up in one simple word; offense. At least Koivu is back on the ice after his groin injury, and who knows they may pull through, it wouldn’t be the first time that the Ducks surprised.

Now on to Ryan Smyth, my lost Oiler. I think that the best way I could describe his contribution to this team is the disaster that ensued in his absence. With a power play at 0 for 13 over the last four games, they could really use him back. Smyth is not only a brilliant player but has proven himself to be exceptional at pushing entire teams. With the young players that are on the Kings, the fit has optimal. However, since Smyth’s injury on the 16^th, Kopitar is shying from the net and hasn’t scored in nine games. Other teammates follow suit, and no one knows where Smyth stands with his mysterious upper or lower body (depending on what news article your reading) injury. Smyth’s hard working puck possession worked for the Oilers, and is proving to be a powerful asset for the Kings, one that they may not be able to survive without.

It’s Ducks vs. Kings tonight, and it is a critical game for both, I for one will be staying up to the early hours of the morning to watch it.

- - -

I realize that I am being depressing, so on a lighter note… Happy 100 Montreal Canadians! (on December 4)

Phenomenal Web Mistress Returns!

So I realize that I’ve kept on putting this off, but then by complete chance a friend of mine found this amazing domain name that I just couldn’t turn down, and here it is! I know how many of you have been holding your breath so I shall attempt not to let you down…