Poetry Train Monday - 152 - A Nod to Casey at the Bat, Sidney Crosby Style

Wah!

My mom, my husband and I were riveted to every game Sidney Crosby played, heading into this year's Stanley Cup playoffs. Even though my departed dad was obviously rooting for his adored Montreal Canadiens from the Other Side, everyone in this house was pulling for the Pens.

So last Tuesday night, here in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia - where a sign greets visitors as 'Home of Sidney Crosby' - this was the lament that rang out after the Pittsburgh Penguins' Game 7 defeat.














I'm Not Watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs


Oh, somewhere in this favored land
The sun is shining bright

The band is playing somewhere
And somewhere hearts are light

And somewhere men are laughing
And somewhere children shout

But there is no joy in Cole Harbour
Mighty Sidney was shut out

- Original poem by Ernest Thayer / Last stanza parodied for today's Poetry Train

- Photo by Dave Sanford

Akelamalu says Oh shame. :(

Jennie Marsland says I find it hard to cheer against Sid, but I really would like to see a Canadian team take the Stanley Cup again.

Travis says I lament with you now, and shall lament with you even more if Kobe and my Lakers fall short of a second straight NBA championship.

Through the Opera Glasses - 49 - Shaun Majumder Called the Olympic Hockey Victory Back in November

Shaun Majumder from This Hour Has 22 Minutes - a Canadian current affairs and political satire program modelled after a news broadcast - which preceded Jon Stewart's similar The Daily Show by three years - caught up with hockey phenom Sidney Crosby back in November when Crosby was in Halifax to carry the Olympic torch.














Photo by Paul Darrow

Canadian politicians and celebrities know the cast of 22 Minutes can ambush them at any moment. So when Crosby recognizes Shaun Majumder, you can see he's preparing himself for anything.

What he gets is an amazingly accurate prediction for how the Olympics will turn out for him.



Janet says Fabulous, Julia. Thanks for posting that - my laugh for the morning. Talk about a prediciton!

Travis says It was truly a magic moment in the growing legend of Sidney Crosby.

Poetry Train Monday - 141 - American sentence 3

*insert crazed war whoop*

I composed this latest American sentence mere seconds after Sidney Crosby scored the tie-breaking goal for Olympic gold in the most stressful hockey game ever.

Hats off to uber-amazing US goalie Ryan Miller and the agressive American team who forced me to physically hold a hand over my view of the Canadian net throughout the entire game. Interactive audience participation - what can I say?

For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

















Olympic gold so tough to grasp, making victory all the sweeter.






















Stan Ski says Congratulations Canada - on this and achievement throughout the Olympics.

madeline d. murray says Yay Canada! Yay American Sentence celebrating the Canadian victory! ;-)

Janet says It was a nail-biter for sure, Julia! Wouldn't have it any other way - both teams craving the win, both fighting for the gold - a perfect ending to a fantastic Winter Games :)

Thursday Thirteen - 139 - 13 of My Favorite News Stories From 2009

1 - There was no question as to what my top news story for this year would be:

"Oh, Canada.

Above is the first official group portrait of the world leaders attending the G20 summit taken at the ExCel centre, in east London, on April 2, 2009. The so-called 'family photo' is a common affair at these summits.

Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is not on the stage. He was supposed to be standing next to Angela Merkel (red jacket, second row).

Apparently, either no one noticed, or they couldn't wait. Ouch.

The BBC reported that Mr. Harper was 'in the loo' when the first photograph was done." - Shane Dingman, National Post


























2 - "When caught in a tight spot, Canada's Defense Minister Peter Mackay has a tendency to change ground without apology, or even a blush. As a result, he suffers what might be charitably called a trust deficit - and it pre-dates this month's unpleasantness over Afghan detainees.

The most memorable example is his betrayal of David Orchard in 2003.

To secure leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party, Mackay made a deal with Orchard - he wouldn't encourage a merger with Stephen Harper's Canadian Alliance - and, in return, Orchard's loyal delegates vaulted MacKay to victory over Jim Prentice. Within months of this promise, made public by Orchard, MacKay was meeting with Harper to discuss a merger - selling out not only Orchard, but legions of Progressive Conservatives who wanted nothing to do with the Reform/Alliance crowd.

Following this, in a poisonous off-mic exchange in the Commons in 2006, MacKay referred obliquely to his once-girlfriend, Belinda Stronach, as a dog. A number of reporters and MPs heard the remark and instantly understood its meaning, but MacKay never owned up. Rather than apologizing for an intemperate outburst, he stonily denied ever making it.

These incidents both pale, however, beside MacKay's daily evasions on the Afghan detainee file (Julia's note: or torture scandal - however you want to say it.)

Now the minister is denying he ever attacked whistle-blower Richard Colvin personally and insists that he never used the words 'Taliban dupe.' But he did disparage Colvin for relying on the word 'of people who throw acid into the faces of schoolchildren' - implying that the diplomat's sources were exclusively Taliban fanatics.

MacKay (and the prime minister) accuse opponents of impugning the reputation of the troops. This is not only untrue, it is deplorably cowardly. MacKay and Harper are hiding their own political mistakes behind the valour and professionalism of Canada's forces." Susan Riley, The Ottawa Citizen / Photo by Chris Wattie












3 - One of my favorite stories from 2009 are all the stories we'll never hear about.

"The bad thing that didn’t happen?

The same bad thing that hasn’t happened every year since 2001.

There was no mass loss of life (by which I mean more than a thousand people murdered in a single incident) due to terrorist action in any Western country." - Gwynne Dyer, Straight.com

My gratitude to all of the truly unsung heroes who protect us day in, day out - the spies who live among us, protecting us.














4 - "Some Russians believe President Dmitry Medvedev is emerging from Vladimir Putin’s shadow.

Medvedev has distanced himself from his mentor and 'the time is close when Medvedev is likely to offer Putin a deal he can’t refuse,' write Ethan Burger, adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, and Mary Holland, director of the graduate legal skills program at New York University School of Law, in Foreign Policy. 'This true power shift, unlike the symbolic one last May, might be Russia’s best hope to navigate peacefully its deepening economic and political crisis.' " - David Kampf, Rising Powers

"On Oct. 30, the official day of mourning for the victims of Stalin's regime, President Dmitry Mevdedev said that Russia 'must not allow those who destroyed their own people to be defended under the banner of restoring historical justice. ... There can be no justification for repressions.' " - Simon Shuster, Time magazine












A supposed ventriloquist-dummy figure who openly contradicts his puppeteer gives me hope for a Russia I could not have imagined 20 years ago.














5 - "Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby chose his 22nd birthday - Aug. 7 - as the day he would give a gift back to the community where he was raised. In fact, the day he brought the Stanley Cup home to Cole Harbour and Halifax might have been the best of his entire year.

More than 70,000 people turned out for a parade through the streets of his hometown.

'It was incredible,' said Crosby. 'I always realized the support I've had back home - I've never taken that for granted - it's been amazing since really I left home. I left at 15. But I don't think I ever experienced anything like that in my life as far as being home with that many people and really seeing it first-hand. ...

'It really meant a lot to me and it really set in. That was I guess the best way I could say thank you to everyone and it was a perfect couple days there.' " - Chris Johnston, The Canadian Press / Photo by Andrew Vaughan
















6 - "Governor General Michaëlle Jean's raw seal heart chowdown was a widely praised culinary tasting of cultural significance to her Inuit hosts.

That snack forced the Prime Minister and a clutch of Cabinet ministers to follow suit on their summer Arctic tour this year, although only Mr. Harper's photographer was allowed to take pictures of the group reaching for the meat without recording any actual consumption." - Don Martin, National Post / Photo of Michaëlle Jean and her husband by Canadian Press

7 - I'm not a fan of Simon Cowell. I'm not into his mean-spirited verbal lacerations of people who sing to the best of their abilities. There are all sorts of ways to get the message across that one is not a fan of a particular performance without doing it the Simon Cowell way.

Having said that, one of my favorite things to have discovered this year is that hiding somewhere deep inside scowly old Cowelly is a romantic waiting to be swept away by something impossible but true.

Susan Boyle was the woman who did that for him, and for all of us.



















8 - This is a heart-breaking story, but I have enormous admiration for Chance, a mixed-breed dog who tried to keep the young son of the dog's family from freezing when the boy was lost in the woods. I also have tremendous gratitude toward the funeral organizers for honoring the dog during the ceremony for his young companion.

"James Delorey, 7, who had autism and did not speak, went missing in Cape Breton woods on Dec. 5th. Hundreds of volunteers and search and rescue crew members descended on South Bar, near Sydney, to look for the boy during the snowstorm that began shortly after his disappearance.

Chance returned to the family home two days later, sparking renewed hope in the search for James. As one team of searchers followed Chance's tracks back into the woods, another team working from the opposite direction found James.

James was huddled in an area of thick brush and snow about a kilometre from his home. There was an imprint in the snow next to where James was found, where Chance had apparently huddled with the boy to keep him warm.

Suffering from severe hypothermia, James died early the next day after he was rushed to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax." - CBC














"The boy's dog sat in the front passenger seat of the hearse as it pulled into the parking lot of Holy Redeemer Church in the Sydney neighbourhood of Whitney Pier.

Chance was led into the large Roman Catholic church behind the tiny casket and stood outside later with the boy's family as those who took part in the search blanketed it in green." - John Lewandowski, Globe and Mail / Photos by CBC and The Globe and Mail


















9 - Faith is a Labrador-chow mixed breed dog with a story that inspires wounded soldiers returning from Iran and Afghanistan with missing limbs and painful rehabilitation ahead of them.

The mother of the disfigured puppy was sitting on Faith when Reuben Stringfellow rescued her. The vet suggested that Faith be put down. But Reuben's mother Jude never considered that as an option.

"At first the family had to carry Faith to keep her off her chest and chin. But with peanut butter and practice, Faith learned to walk on her two hind legs.

Faith and Jude make dozens of appearances every year, including stops at veterans' hospitals across the country to cheer injured soldiers. For many, Faith brings a powerful message about overcoming adversity. 'Faith has shown me that different is beautiful,' wrote Jill Salomon of Montreal, Quebec on Faith's web site. 'It is not the body you are in but the soul that you have.' " - MSNBC.com / Photo by Anthony M. Tortoriello














10 - Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger remained cool as a cucumber after flying his airbus jet through a flock of geese and losing power in both engines.

"During the next three and a half minutes, Sullenberger swung the aircraft into a left turn, reviewing his options while First Officer Skiles tried in vain to restart the engines.

Sullenberger considered and rejected both LaGuardia and Teterboro, N.J., airports. Grimly he told air traffic controllers that the airplane was going to land in the Hudson River, abreast of midtown Manhattan.

The aircraft shed an engine, but otherwise stayed intact as it skied to a halt, veering left at the very end. Passengers and crew quickly exited the airplane and waited on the wings or in rafts for help to come, which it soon did.

The pilots, Sullenberger in particular, drew praise for their quick thinking and cool actions that saved an airplane filled with 150 passengers and three flight attendants with only a few serious injuries." - Terry Maxon, DallasNews.com / Photo by Theodorakis















11 - Instead of beating around the bush, the plain facts are being released about the discrepancy between jobless rates for white America versus black America. This is one of the more precious changes which the election of President Obama has given to all of us - the freedom to tell it like it is.

"Black unemployment has climbed from 8.9 percent to 15.6 percent since the recession began in December 2007. In comparison, the white rate climbed from 4.4 percent to 9.3 percent.

It would be unconstitutional to designate aid or jobs specifically for blacks, so the Congressional Black Caucus is asking for at least 10 percent of various federal funds to be spent in areas where 20 percent of the population is below the poverty line.

Numerous studies show that when white and black workers with identical qualifications apply to the same job, 'they consistently favor the white applicants, even though the black applicants are equally qualified,' said Algernon Austin, director of the Race, Ethnicity and the Economy program at the Economic Policy Institute." - Jesse Washington, The Associated Press / Photo by Paul Sancya

12 - My darling Gerard Butler had three - count 'em - three film releases this year. Four, if you include the excellent narration for the animated short Tales of the Black Freighter. Just listen to how compelling his voice is, in this clip - WARNING - gruesome images.

















13 - My mom realized a precious dream this fall by starting cello lessons.

My sister, my husband and I were sworn to secrecy so Mom could surprise everyone on Christmas Eve, after dinner when we have an informal musical evening. Usually, my mom and sister and I sing. Not this year!














Mom wrapped her cello as if it was a huge present, and I helped her carry it into Uncle Charlie's office as if it was really heavy.














After my aunt and my young cousin played a flute duet with Uncle Charlie, my sister announced, "You've heard of Yo-Yo Ma. Well, this is Yo Mama!"
















Auntie's pretty excited!














Hope you enjoyed my look back at the year's news stories.

Happy New Year and all the very, very best in 2010!










Andi says Cello lessons - awesome! I've always wanted to learn to play the violin, but I worry that I'm 40 years too old to start.

Jennifer Leeland says Those are fantastic stories! Love it. Your mother is so terrific! Good for her learning the cello!

Joanna Cake says Loving the World Summit photo story too :) Happy New Year!!!

Wordless Wednesday - 113

Watch the award ceremony - CLICK HERE

Photo of Order of Nova Scotia medal from Protocol Office, Province of Nova Scotia website

Photo of Sidney Crosby by Halifax News Net

The Queen's Meme - WBLOG TV - Scroll down for Wordless Wednesday

WBLOG TV: The Meme

"The place where unbloggable news happens and sources are never a secret. You are the creator, producer, writer and news anchor of the WBLOG nightly news. It is your job to deliver the news in your own style from your own blog." - Thus speaketh the Queen of Memes

1 - The Weather Channel: Give me your personality forecast. Are you sunny, wet, windy, or cloudy? Why?

This morning gave A Piece of My Mind scattered thundershowers as a migraine brewed early in the day. But a high pressure acupuncture system leveled the storm by midday - a first, ladies and gentlemen. A first! Never, in the history of this migraineur, has a day that started out with narcotic painkiller moved within hours to taking acetaminophen with codeine, to going 7 hours with no painkiller - and counting.

Forecast for this blogger: "Sunny days, sweepin' the clouds away..."

2 - The News Channel: What is the breaking news story of the day in your world?

Four-day weekend = 4000 words on my Victorian-gardener-becomes-Van-Diemen's-Land-convict story. Cue the fireworks!

3 - The Economic Channel: How are things on the economic front? And more importantly, do you have ideas to save the planet from financial ruin?

In financial markets, A Piece of My Mind is suffering a recession due to the effects of the acupuncture mentioned earlier in our weather segment. Employee health benefits performed well during the first quarter, but the historic stockmarket decline within the neurotransmitters forecasts a prolonged season of treatment which falls far outside of health coverage parameters.

It's Victory Garden time, folks. And eyebrow-pencil-down-the-legs-instead-of-nylons.

But we'll flash the V for Victory sign - remember the 7-hour gap in painkiller? It's all worth it.

In international business news, one word says it all when it comes to saving the planet: Microcredit.

4 - The Entertainment Channel: Give us the latest blog celebrity gossip. Dish it!



















Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will celebrate his 22nd birthday in his home town of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia - the originating broadcast signal for A Piece of My Mind.

On Aug. 7th, Sid the Kid will bring the Stanley Cup home to share with all of us in here in Cole Harbour.

"I’ve always had this dream of playing street hockey for the Cup," Crosby told a crowd of excited employees at the Montreal headquarters of Reebok-CCM Hockey earlier this month.

"I did it growing up. But this time, we have the real one. So I’m going to get some friends together that I grew up with and we’re going to play for the real thing this time." - Chronicle Herald

5 - The Sports Channel: Make up a sport, give your team a name and choose five players from the list of names on the Mr. Linky list. What are the rules of the game?

The game is Bennis. I played it all the time as a kid. It's rather like volleyball, but with a balloon and without a net. The rules are - once the balloon is in the air, don't let it touch the floor. Every kind of spectacular dive and pretzel-like move is encouraged. There's no scoring. Only gales of laughter at the lengths to which team members will go to keep the balloon off the floor.

Star athletes for Bennis:

Finding Pam
Jen the Dust Bunny Hostage
Mielikki
Psychic Mama Indigo Child
Mejis

6 - The Comedy Channel: How will you make us laugh today? Tell us a blunny (that's blog + funny for all you non-blog speakers)

I'll hand this over to the folks from Corner Gas:



7 - The Religious Channel: Make up a blog religion. Tell us why your blog church will save our souls.

I can't make up a religion any more amazing than the very Blogosphere itself. When I enter the great fellowship of Blogdom, I feel connected to people all over our fabulous planet. I love joining virtual hands with everyone I've met here - most especially all of you!

In my Church of Blogdom, we stress Not Apologizing For Not Posting. It's summer. Live!

8 - (but who's counting?) The Soap Opera Channel: What is the name of your soap opera?

Days and Weeks and Months of Our Lives Covering for Everyone Else at Work is a long-running soap opera that runs wherever workplaces limp through summer vacation staff shortages. You may be a long-time viewer of this show.

Will the manager return from her cottage to regale the staff about the roast she has waiting in the oven - when her staff has been sucking on dry macaroni while waiting for Employment Benefits to kick in during the enforced lay-off? The same lay-off that allowed the manager to get suntanned at her cottage?

Will the new employee who told the small business owner that she needed training take it personally when he hands her Windows XP For Dummies?

Will the evening shift employee who gets stuck training all the new staff and who arrives to a back hallway filled with stock to be priced be able to resist strangling her boss when, after re-counting the safe four times to find $300.00 missing, arrives the next evening to be told 'it was found' - and then hears chatter about the boss's luck at the casino the night of the missing money?

Tune in next week when an office-wide meeting is called by the visiting executive - who tells everyone to buy the book Who Moved My Cheese?

If you'd like to join Mimi's meme, drop by The Queen's Meme.

Poetry Train Monday - 105 - Found Our Way Back

For today's Poetry Train offering, I created a found poem from interview quotes given by Pittsburg Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on winning his first Stanley Cup last Friday at age 21.

He is two years younger than Wayne Gretzky was when he first hoisted the Cup.

Sidney hails from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia - and that's where I'm sitting right now as I type this. We're pretty excited about Sidney's dream come true around here.

Ride the Poetry Train!














Photo by Rebecca Cook




Found Our Way Back


Hard - watch clock tick down
Lot heavier than I thought
Guys stepping up. Team.

- Sidney Crosby




































Photo by Shaun Best




Susan Helene Gottfried says I BET you Cole Harbour people are proud. Thanks for sharing him.

Ellievellie says The Penguins beat our own Carolina Hurricanes in the Conference final. It was a sad day when the dream was over.

Travis says Isn't it great when the home town boy does good?

Thursday Thirteen - 109 - 13 Things I've Been Doing While My Computer's in The Shop

My computer has needed an overhaul for quite some time. So I had to surrender it into the care of my best friend's husband, who is an IT guy. He already performed heroics on a previous computer when my current WIP was trapped on the hard drive of a tower whose battery went dead.

So what have I been doing in the meantime?

1 - Well, I did try to stay on schedule with my book review for Stella MacLean's Baby in Her Arms. However, that will have to be pushed back to next week. My day job work schedule has been very grinding of late. Over the years, I've gradually learned to put balls down when my juggling act gets too ridiculous. That has been a lifetime lesson, I assure you.

2 - After work, once I've finished my daily visit with my mom upstairs, I generally head downstairs and hop onto the computer. But every evening this week I've headed into the garden instead. Sigh. That's been nice.

3 - I've had way more Pack Time on the couch. Because we are two humans and a dog, we are a Pack. Pack Time is my favorite time of day. We all pile onto the couch, where my dog and I fall asleep curled up together and my husband watches TV. Bliss.

4 - I've headed over for Pack Time much earlier than I do when I'm writing. So I've gotten way more sleep. This morning I woke up at 4:00 because my body is used to waking up with only 5 hours of sleep. But I realized I could go back for two more hours. Mmm.













5 - I watched the hockey game. Stanley Cup play-offs on Tuesday night, game 3. Lots of woo-hooing in our Cole Harbour house for Sidney Crosby!

Normally I would be at the computer with the game on TV to my left, which I would glance at in between writing. What luxury to simply sit down and watch the whole thing.

Photo by Peter Diana

6 - Listening to a whole bunch of CDs that we haven't heard in awhile. We usually use the CD player in the computer to listen to music. With that gone, my husband pulled out the big ghetto blaster and stacks of CDs that have been collecting dust and we've been enjoying some favorites. Like this one:



7 - As often happens, when I'm in the middle of one WIP, I start getting ideas and scenes for another WIP. So instead of thinking about my early Victorian gardener, Robbie (who resembles Ewan McGregor,) I've been doing some heavy-duty thinking about my dark fantasy and the Chamberlain of the Keep, Scorpius (a dead-ringer for Richard Armitage.)

8 - Doing some pre-planning for the mega collage event at my writers' group Book in a Day all-day workshop on June 13th.

9 - Tending to my husband's erupting cyst on his neck. Good times. Three bandage changes a day. Yay.

10 - Mowing my enormous lawn. I actually find it relaxing, in a sweaty sort of way.

11 - Visiting over at my best friend's house when we dropped the computer tower off. Such luxury!

12 - Doing overtime at work to try to get caught up on a huge backlog of scanning. This actually makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere instead of digging a hole in mud, just to watch it immediately fill in again. Added bonus - no one to interrupt.

13 - Taking a tiny chip off the clutter mountain that is our apartment. Yay me!

Janet says You've sure got a lot going on!

Alice Audrey says Even if I'm supposed to be working on one WIP, another keeps cropping up.

Anthony North says I always keep a cheap back-up, so this doesn't happen to me.

"None can see the wind but in its effects on the trees. Neither can we see emotions but in their effects on face and body." - Nathaniel LeTonnerre

'There is no joy in Mudville,' as Ernest L. Thayer would put it. And in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia - hometown of Sidney Crosby - there's even church signs trying to cheer us up.

My post for today is a look at the emotions swirling through Sidney as he plays his longed-for first Stanley Cup playoffs, only to shake hands with winning Detroit goalie Chris Osgoode before withdrawing to the locker room.

To make life nearly unbearable, the CBC is threatening to let the license lapse on its Hockey Night in Canada theme. Just watch the reaction of these two toddlers on YouTube when they hear that theme start up on their TV.




If Sid could keep it together after seeing the Cup go to the Red Wings, he would crumble into tiny pieces if Hockey Night in Canada ditched its iconic theme.