Pre Season Hockey

The Avs finished their pre-season yesterday with another win. While these games have nothing to do with the regular season, and several of the players who competed in the games won't be playing in the regular season I do feel that the preseason has a way of setting the tone for the season. Going into the first regular season game on a run of games with no regulation losses can certainly give a team a boost of confidence. In their 6 pre-season games, the Avs had 4 wins, 1 OT loss and 1 SO loss. If this were the regular season they would have come away with 10 out of a possible 12 points. That's not bad. I think the Avs will have no problem keeping that kind of play going. There were more veterans in the lineup night after night than not.

The first regular season game is Wednesday night. I can't wait. I'll have to watch the later showing of the Top Chef finale, but I don't care. Hockey season is back! WOO HOO!

The Mist

Of all of Stephen King's short stories, I love The Mist the most. If a good thick fog is rolling in, I can't resist asking anyone I'm with if they've read it. And the ensuing conversation never fails to give me the willies. Think about it... in a deep, dark fog... you have no idea what's 15 feet to your left or right. What if there is something very frightening and you've only escaped because something else caught its attention? Oh yes, it can be very frightening indeed.

Almost time

Hockey season is almost here. In the meantime, I've been listening to the Avs' pre-season games and loving it. 4 games played so far, 3 wins (one in OT) and 1 shoot-out loss. Not too bad at all. Hejduk and Svatos are benched with groin pulls and Theodore had some minor knee surgery, so they haven't been in. Hopefully they'll be in one of the remaining two games of the pre-season. I can't wait till the season starts. I'm all kinds of excited. I think the Avs are going to do pretty well this season. The only thing that would make it better would be having someone special to watch the games with.

It's almost time...

Rookie camp has started. Training camp is coming... then preseason games. And then... oh, and THEN... HOCKEY SEASON! I can't wait! Less than a month until the season starts. I'm so excited.

That would be interesting...

I've checked out a lot of different wholesale sites, contemplating things that can be purchased and sold on eBay and other sites. So I just checked out this site that offers Wholesale Clothing. It's not bad. Children's clothing is $2.75 per piece, though the minimum purchase is 500 pieces. A little much for me at the moment, but I could see the benefit of doing something like this. Especially since I could go through and pick out clothes for Gage first and make up the difference selling the rest. After all, new with tags clothing sells pretty well on eBay, and I'm pretty sure that people would rather pay $5 + $2 shipping for a dress shirt, tie, vest combo than $14 at the store (or higher). It could be a lucrative business. It's definitely something I'd consider if I had the money to put down up front. Not only could it generate some income, it could help some families save some money on things they need. It would be nice.

Cooking: Rotisserie Fried Chicken

One of my favorite ways to cook is with my rotisserie. Lately my rotisserie cooking has turned to some minor experimentation. The other day, I got a hankering for fried chicken but didn't really feel like making it. So I thought I'd give the rotisserie a try.

I dredged the chicken in flour, dipped it in egg wash and rolled it in breading like I normally would. Then I rubbed down the rotisserie basket with some vegetable oil and put in the chicken. I put it in the rotisserie and set it for 40 minutes.

40 minutes later I had fried chicken without the frying. It was awesome.

Pacino or De Niro

The subject was raised on a forum I participate in... who's the better actor? Al Pacino or Robert De Niro. This requires some thought, as they're both such wonderful actors. They each have a long filmography, full of movies that I absolutely love. Yes, it requires a lot of thought.

I love both of these actors, so it's very difficult to choose one. But personally, I have to go with Pacino. Not because I love him more or anything like that. But because he sells it everytime.

I've seen a lot of the movies in each of their bios and of the two, Pacino is the only one who has completely sold the character in every film I've seen him in. He's not Al Pacino, playing Lt. Col. Frank Slade, he's simply Lt. Col. Frank Slade. There have been a few De Niro films in which I
wasn't sold. Analyze This for example, it was always "Ok, this is Robert De Niro trying to be funny." There are a few films that De Niro has been in where he never sold me. It was always Robert De Niro playing this character. I'm not saying that he's a bad actor because of it. I'm saying that he never found that place where he and the character became one.

They both played so many characters that I love. Michael and Young Vito Corleone, Frank Slade, The Creature (Frankenstein), Walt Koontz, Arthur Kirkland, Johnny (Frankie & Johnny), Jack Byrnes...

and apparently there's a movie due out next year with both of them. It's about time. Hopefully they'll share more screen time than they did in Heat -- a movie I didn't particularly care for, but I LOVED the diner scene. I can't wait until Righteous Kill is released.

less than a month...

Until the Avs' pre-season starts. I can't wait. I love hockey season. I think the Avs will do well this season. Part of me hopes that they can manage to get Peter Forsberg back on the team this year. The other part of me thinks that it might mess up the team chemistry too much.

Then there's the series of "what if's." I love Peter Forsberg, with a passion, but I'd rather see him retire than put his body through something it can't go through anymore. It pains me to say that, but it's true. What if the Colorado Avalanche get Foppa back and he spends half of the season on the injured list? What if the magic that he has with some of the current Avalanche lineup is gone?

Then again, what if he goes to Detroit and plays his best season ever? Oh how that would anger Avalanche fans. They'd call for Giguere's head for not pursuing Foppa more stridently. Then again, if he DOES come to Colorado, and plays poorly... yeah, it's a double sword.

Bottom line, if Peter Forsberg is healthy enough to play in the NHL next season, I would love to see him back on the Avalanche bench.

Secretary

I finally got to see this movie. I've been wanting to for ages. Unfortunately, the copy I got (rented) skipped a lot, so I probably missed quite a few good parts. But overall, I really enjoyed the movie. Having a bit of an interest in that sort of thing, the movie rather inflamed that interest/desire. It was a great story and it was beautifully cast, and I do love James Spader. I think that eventually I'm going to have to buy myself a copy of this movie.

This kinky love story features a standout performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal, an offbeat young actress in her first starring role. Gyllenhaal plays Lee, a nervous girl who compulsively cuts herself, who gets a job as a secretary for Edward, an imperious lawyer (James Spader, an old hand at tales of perverse affection). Edward's reprimands for typos and spelling errors begin with mild humiliation, but as Lee responds to his orders--which are driven as much by his own anxieties and fears as any sense of order--the punishments escalate to spankings, shackles, and more. Secretary walks a fine line. It finds sly humor in these sadomasochistic doings without turning them into a gag, and it takes Lee and Edward's mutual desires seriously without getting self-righteous or pompous. Certainly not a movie for everyone, but some people may be unexpectedly stirred up by this smart and steamy tale of repressed passion.

Silver Jewelry

Ok, so this wasn't listed initially in my "things I'm passionate about," but I do love Silver jewelry immensely. This site is giving it away for $5.99 to cover shipping and processing. Excellent. At the moment I've got my eye on a couple of garnet pieces that are coming up. I do love garnets. I'd like to add to my collection (at the moment I only have 2 rings).