starting over
How many entries have I started lately with an apology or excuse about being an lj-slacker? Quite a few, I'm sure. I really need to get back into the swing of things. Not so much a daily "dear diary, today I ate some cornflakes" sort of entries, but I imagine that SOMETHING interesting is going on in my life.. or at least maybe someone wants to know about it.
I do have stories, I tell them all the time, so maybe I should keep writing them in here so I can go back in a few years and read them and remember what I was doing in January of 2010. (and I say two thousand and ten, btw)
So what HAVE I been doing in 2010 so far? Well, 'Nee and I spent New Year's in Chicago again, as is becoming sort of a tradition. It was great times as always. We attended the Blackhawks/Devils game on New Year's Eve and that was lots of fun. I skipped out on Marty and the boys and wore emmycantbemeeko's Kyle Calder Blackhawks jersey so I was really going all out with this random enjoyment I've been experiencing of the 'Hawks in the last year or so. Of course, if you don't read my hockey blog then maybe you didn't know that. Feel free to play catch up and leave a comment!
Moving on.. so yes, I do love the Devils, but I already saw them in Buffalo this year (and got to watch Marty's 103rd record-tying shutout) and will see them again on Jan 27th, but I did not get to see the Blackhawks for their one trip to Buffalo so I was taking that opportunity to cheer for my other team. And they gave me lots to cheer about- 5 goals from 5 different players. Wahoo! It was good and fun and yay!
Then we went to a crazy party with crazy people till 5a.m. and went back to Emmy's and slept till noon. I made a conscious decision NOT to watch this year's Winter Classic game (you can read my justifications here if you are so inclined), and then we had brunch with some other friends and spent the afternoon chillin and playing online. I bought some boots on ebay and a Patrick Sharp bobblehead. teeehee. I also watched the video of "our" Winter Classic (from Wrigley Field, last year) and it was SO COOL to watch the "making of" and see the players talking about it and then the fans (we were THERE) and all the special stuff the day of and just remember THE ABSOLUTE COOLEST HOCKEY GAME I'VE EVER BEEN TO AND PROBABLY EVER WILL GO TO. It made me cry. yeah. I'm a nerd like that.
Later, we went to see "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" which was a series of short plays- an attempt at 30 plays in 60 minutes- by the neofuturists. It is Chicago's longest running production, and it was really interesting and cool. Some of the pieces were funny, some were poignant, some were a bit offensive, some were downright weird but they were all unique and they did all 30 in 60 minutes which was rather impressive. It was a great experience, and since their "menu" of plays changes every week, I'd go see them again when next I'm in Chicago. If you're looking for something to do while in town, check them out. It's nifty. (and cheap- admission is $9 plus the roll of a 6-sided die. So the most you pay is $15.)
Otherwise, I've been reading quite a bit. Nothing new there, though I only (again) made it to 49 1/2 books for the year. I can't seem to crack the 50-mark for some reason. Oh well, keep trying. I'm on a hockey-book kick. I just finished Searching for Bobby Orr by Stephen Brunt. That was a fantastic book and not even so much a book about a hockey player, but about the whole culture of professional hockey in the '60s and how Bobby Orr not only revolutionized the way the game was played by a defenceman (which he certainly did) but he revolutionized how hockey players were perceived by the mainstream media and he, along with his agent Alan Eagleson, really steamrolled the face of hockey and contract negotiations and what it meant to be a "superstar". It was eye-opening from many perspectives.
After that, I started in on The Game by Ken Dryden. 'Nee gave it to me for Christmas. Most folks that know say that this book is the quintessential hockey book and I'm rather starting to think they're right. I'm a little behind the curve on this one.. I can't even say why for sure. I've seen it before at bookstores or at the library but always felt I wasn't ready for it for some reason. It's not really a biography about a player so much as it is a look and a reflection on hockey in general and not only the hows of the fellas that play but the whys and the whatfors and the driving force behind the greatest game. Dryden is a brilliant and lyrical writer who captures the essence of everything that I love about hockey and I think it's good that I didn't read it before because I wasn't ready but now is the perfect time to read it. It follows brilliantly on the heels of the Orr book time-wise and just further completes the picture of how hockey used to be. I am not done with it yet but I am quite enjoying it.
And one other bit of hockeyness that has been on my mind and in my life lately- the movie "The Rocket". It's a film that came out a few years ago about Maurice Richard. I remember hearing about it but I'm fairly sure that it wasn't a theatrical release here in the states so it was only something I read in passing but couldn't do anything about so I forgot about it. I ran across the dvd when I was doing Christmas shopping and asked for it as a Christmas gift from my parents and they gave it to me. I watched it in North Carolina, and I really liked it then. I watched it again a few days ago. Now I'm really into Maurice Richard and next on my list of hockey books is finding some good ones about him. The movie is extremely well-done and captures the essence of Richard and what he meant to the French-Canadians and to hockey in general. Again, more hockey history that I am just now beginning to properly appreciate.
I have come to the conclusion that I was born about 40 years too late and in the wrong country. I don't usually feel this way, but when it comes to the sport that owns me, America just can't even compare and it makes me sad that it's not part of my heritage. I plan to make hockey part of my children's (*should I have them*) heritage.
Enough ramblings. I think I have caught y'all up so far. I'll try to be better about actually keeping up with posts so as not to have to cram it all in. That's a lot to write.. and read. G'night!
I do have stories, I tell them all the time, so maybe I should keep writing them in here so I can go back in a few years and read them and remember what I was doing in January of 2010. (and I say two thousand and ten, btw)
So what HAVE I been doing in 2010 so far? Well, 'Nee and I spent New Year's in Chicago again, as is becoming sort of a tradition. It was great times as always. We attended the Blackhawks/Devils game on New Year's Eve and that was lots of fun. I skipped out on Marty and the boys and wore emmycantbemeeko's Kyle Calder Blackhawks jersey so I was really going all out with this random enjoyment I've been experiencing of the 'Hawks in the last year or so. Of course, if you don't read my hockey blog then maybe you didn't know that. Feel free to play catch up and leave a comment!
Moving on.. so yes, I do love the Devils, but I already saw them in Buffalo this year (and got to watch Marty's 103rd record-tying shutout) and will see them again on Jan 27th, but I did not get to see the Blackhawks for their one trip to Buffalo so I was taking that opportunity to cheer for my other team. And they gave me lots to cheer about- 5 goals from 5 different players. Wahoo! It was good and fun and yay!
Then we went to a crazy party with crazy people till 5a.m. and went back to Emmy's and slept till noon. I made a conscious decision NOT to watch this year's Winter Classic game (you can read my justifications here if you are so inclined), and then we had brunch with some other friends and spent the afternoon chillin and playing online. I bought some boots on ebay and a Patrick Sharp bobblehead. teeehee. I also watched the video of "our" Winter Classic (from Wrigley Field, last year) and it was SO COOL to watch the "making of" and see the players talking about it and then the fans (we were THERE) and all the special stuff the day of and just remember THE ABSOLUTE COOLEST HOCKEY GAME I'VE EVER BEEN TO AND PROBABLY EVER WILL GO TO. It made me cry. yeah. I'm a nerd like that.
Later, we went to see "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" which was a series of short plays- an attempt at 30 plays in 60 minutes- by the neofuturists. It is Chicago's longest running production, and it was really interesting and cool. Some of the pieces were funny, some were poignant, some were a bit offensive, some were downright weird but they were all unique and they did all 30 in 60 minutes which was rather impressive. It was a great experience, and since their "menu" of plays changes every week, I'd go see them again when next I'm in Chicago. If you're looking for something to do while in town, check them out. It's nifty. (and cheap- admission is $9 plus the roll of a 6-sided die. So the most you pay is $15.)
Otherwise, I've been reading quite a bit. Nothing new there, though I only (again) made it to 49 1/2 books for the year. I can't seem to crack the 50-mark for some reason. Oh well, keep trying. I'm on a hockey-book kick. I just finished Searching for Bobby Orr by Stephen Brunt. That was a fantastic book and not even so much a book about a hockey player, but about the whole culture of professional hockey in the '60s and how Bobby Orr not only revolutionized the way the game was played by a defenceman (which he certainly did) but he revolutionized how hockey players were perceived by the mainstream media and he, along with his agent Alan Eagleson, really steamrolled the face of hockey and contract negotiations and what it meant to be a "superstar". It was eye-opening from many perspectives.
After that, I started in on The Game by Ken Dryden. 'Nee gave it to me for Christmas. Most folks that know say that this book is the quintessential hockey book and I'm rather starting to think they're right. I'm a little behind the curve on this one.. I can't even say why for sure. I've seen it before at bookstores or at the library but always felt I wasn't ready for it for some reason. It's not really a biography about a player so much as it is a look and a reflection on hockey in general and not only the hows of the fellas that play but the whys and the whatfors and the driving force behind the greatest game. Dryden is a brilliant and lyrical writer who captures the essence of everything that I love about hockey and I think it's good that I didn't read it before because I wasn't ready but now is the perfect time to read it. It follows brilliantly on the heels of the Orr book time-wise and just further completes the picture of how hockey used to be. I am not done with it yet but I am quite enjoying it.
And one other bit of hockeyness that has been on my mind and in my life lately- the movie "The Rocket". It's a film that came out a few years ago about Maurice Richard. I remember hearing about it but I'm fairly sure that it wasn't a theatrical release here in the states so it was only something I read in passing but couldn't do anything about so I forgot about it. I ran across the dvd when I was doing Christmas shopping and asked for it as a Christmas gift from my parents and they gave it to me. I watched it in North Carolina, and I really liked it then. I watched it again a few days ago. Now I'm really into Maurice Richard and next on my list of hockey books is finding some good ones about him. The movie is extremely well-done and captures the essence of Richard and what he meant to the French-Canadians and to hockey in general. Again, more hockey history that I am just now beginning to properly appreciate.
I have come to the conclusion that I was born about 40 years too late and in the wrong country. I don't usually feel this way, but when it comes to the sport that owns me, America just can't even compare and it makes me sad that it's not part of my heritage. I plan to make hockey part of my children's (*should I have them*) heritage.
Enough ramblings. I think I have caught y'all up so far. I'll try to be better about actually keeping up with posts so as not to have to cram it all in. That's a lot to write.. and read. G'night!