THE NHL PLAYOFFS JUNE BUG

"Please go away; it's my time."

Here we go again: The NHL (National Hockey League) will slosh into the month of June as part of its campaign to drag the season out for as long as possible.

The Western Conference final round hasn't even finished yet -- last night the Chicago Blackhawks won Game 6 in Los Angeles against the Kings; so it's a trip back to "The Windy City" for Game 7. (This round cannot, mercifully, go past a seventh match-up; it's mathematically impossible. A 'best-of-seven' will not allow it. All rounds in the playoffs should be 'best-of-five'; partly to spare us the agony of a ridiculously protracted NHL year.)

A couple of evenings ago the New York Rangers eliminated the Montreal Canadiens to take the Eastern Conference final -- they will sit tight and wait for their Stanley Cup final round opponent. Glory and excitement for us all as we are about to frolic in the solstitial summer sun....

OVERCAST SKIES AT SUN NEWS NETWORK

So, the Sucky Babies over at Sun Media want everything their way.

Back on May 25th I posted a bit (here) on comedian Scott Vrooman's taking Sun News Network and making it look the fool... especially host Adrienne Batra. Well, it turns out that someone at the dim-witted, low-rated channel eventually figured out they'd been "had" -- they contacted Youtube who then removed the troublesome and embarrassing video file.

It's free speech as long as they agree with it. (The right-wing conundrum or paradox.)


The video continues to survive; on the Albatross ...
http://www.thealbatross.ca/28107/sun-news-network-interview-scott-vrooman

JOHN WILLIAMS - EPIC THEME MUSIC

A few days ago a friend of mine visited and we talked a bit about famed film composer John Williams.

As my buddy is a Star Wars fan it was most natural that we discussed Williams' work for that franchise's fabulous 'prequel' films.

We shifted to the composer's "epic" themes: Star Wars, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and on. I told him my favourite is none of the above but one from the beginning of Williams' own 'epic' era: The Towering Inferno

Not only is the theme music itself driving and exciting, a presage of action and adventure to come, but the accompanying opening title visuals are brilliant in their simplicity; an aerial tracking shot of a helicopter racing along the northern California coast.

Enough of me. The musical evidence from Youtube...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58K02U7SsXg

SCOTT VROOMAN TRIPS SUN NEWS NETWORK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLHJAi517gg


A friend of mine sent me a link to the above video. He added that Sun News has removed it from their website, but the clip survives on Youtube.

Fourth-rate Toronto journalist Adrienne Batra says this after she introduces her special guest, comedian Scott Vrooman...

"... the CBC... you've written for i-Politics, you've been quite critical of the mother corp. Are you surprised at all that the Friends of the CBC are now coming out and screaming bloody murder? You know, those horrible conservatives, they're cutting the funding, they're cutting this..."

Her point concludes by noting that cuts in broadcasting are happening all around, and Batra is right on that one, but she wraps it in an angry rant typical of that so-called news network. By the way, is "screaming bloody murder" an acceptable journalistic descriptive?

I'm kidding, an axe-grinding rant is standard at SNN. Of course, the interview is one of many segments in high rotation which take shots at the CBC... a network, I should add, which has a legitimate news division.

Watch for this exchange right at the beginning of the clip...

Scott Vrooman: "Thank you for having me, it's an honour to be here on the platform of Canada's foremost intellectual, Ezra Levant."

Adrienne Batra: "Oh, well we love that you said all those wonderful things."


She... she doesn't get it! The stupidity at that station is simply stunning.

Good work, Mr. Vrooman.

A MAMMOTH STORY PRESERVED

Some stories make one realize that most media 'stuff' is total, inconsequential rubbish that means absolutely nothing at the end of the day. (That includes much of what appears on this blog.) I don't give a toss about what some so-called singer is doing or who they're kissing. I hardly care that a fill-in-the-blank summer blockbuster movie is being released this week ("!"). Go away.

This is awesome...

PHOTOS: 42,000-year-old mummified mammoth found
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/05/20/photos-42000-year-old-mummified-mammoth-found/?wpisrc=nl_headlines


Lyuba, the 42,000 year-old preserved baby mammoth, arrived in London yesterday for display at the Natural History Museum.

I'm off to do laundry... if you'll pardon the expression.

HARLAN ELLISON AND SOME STAR TREK

In continuation to my post yesterday (here) on Harlan Ellison's feelings regarding Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who, affixed above is a photograph taken on the set of Star Trek during production of the episode "Mudd's Women" -- the two guys welcoming the writer, you may recognize. These were happy times before Mr. Ellison turned on Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and the show itself. (The writer felt that his original teleplay for "The City on the Edge of Forever" had been weakened considerably by Roddenberry and Co.)

At any rate, in early June of 1966 there were smiles during Harlan Ellison's visit to Desilu Stage 10.

THE MONTREAL CANADIENS TO GO PRICE-LESS

As I chomped on my lunch at noon hour I zipped over to the Toronto Star website and saw a headline not meant for a Habs fan such as myself...

Montreal Canadiens’ goalie Carey Price out of Eastern Final with injury
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2014/05/19/montreal_canadiens_goalie_carey_price_out_of_eastern_final_with_injury.html#


The originating bearer of the bad news was Canadiens coach Michel Therrien during a news conference today in Brossard, Quebec.

Game 2 of the series with the Canadiens and the New York Rangers takes place tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The crowd will be tense, for sure, with backup goaltenders Peter Budaj and Dustin Tokarski having to fill in for master puck stopper Carey Price.

For a detailed description on how Price was injured in Game 1 against the Rangers just go to the link provided above. I can't think about it--the collision--and what this means for my beloved ice hockey team.

What was it that Doctor Zachary Smith used to say from time to time? "The pain... the pain...."

HARLAN ELLISON SHAKES THEM UP

When I read the following quote from writer Harlan Ellison a few years ago I enjoyed a good laugh. This Doctor Who fan understood where the fiery soul was coming from...

"Star Wars (1977) is adolescent nonsense; Close Encounters (of the Third Kind) is obscurantist drivel; Star Trek (1966) can turn your brains to purée of bat guano; and the greatest science fiction series of all time is Doctor Who (1963)! And I'll take you all on, one-by-one or in a bunch to back it up!"


Ellison explained that he first heard of the British television series from a friend who had caught some episodes. Eventually the opinionated scribe saw examples of the somewhat 'exotic' Doctor Who and decided that he found a superior SF show -- hence his grand proclamation.

Heck, I'll help Harlan Ellison take 'them' all on, one-by-one or in a bunch; just to back him up....

NHL EAST VS WEST - WHO WILL IT BE?

This following post I had written in my little head before committing to the keyboard, therefore here. While looking for a graphic of the Montreal Canadiens logo I saw a news headline important to this piece...

Montreal Canadiens trail series with the New York Rangers, 1 - 0.

Oh, the first game in the Eastern Conference final was this afternoon -- I had forgotten that important fact.

Pretending I saw nothing, heard nothing, I will proceed...

The Kings knocked-off the Anaheim Ducks in game 7 last night to move on to their series with the Chicago Blackhawks for the Western Conference final. It would be nice to see the Los Angeles Kings and Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final.

For the sake of the fairly feeble NHL (National Hockey League), it would probably make more sense to have the Kings and the Rangers battling for the Stanley Cup. West Coast vs East Coast. Good for television ratings in the all-important U.S. market. But better for me if the Canadiens were there.

CATS WILL SURPRISE - TARA RULES

So typical is it of me that I post a bit about something that has long gone viral. In this case I'm speaking of that spectacular security video of a family's pet cat defending their four-year-old boy from a neighbour's dog.

What can I add other than this cat lover is not surprised? As a matter of fact I knew the kitty in question was a female even before its name of Tara was revealed. It transpired that Tara was a member of the household when newborn Jeremy was brought home. As I told a friend the day after the video was uploaded to Youtube, it's obvious boy and cat are close.

When I did watch the video I cracked up laughing as a furry blur dispatched the vicious canine. I could not believe the dynamics of the strike: A feline Exocet missile. An Exocat.


The spiral viral vid uploaded by Tara staff-member Roger Triantafilo...

My Cat Saved My Son
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Opm9b2WDk