Blog of the week

I never rate or suggest blogs, so there has never been a “blog of the week.”

I do like this one though. It makes me laugh. It’ll be interesting to see how much stuff white people like.

Ouch, I’m getting old

My back is killing me. I seem to have put it out playing hockey again. Last time I felt like this, I had to go to the massage therapist for an adjustment. It all worked out in the end, and my back was fine for a few months, but every time I played hockey, I worried that I was going to put it out again.

I guess this is what happens as you grow older. During the game last night, I was thinking about getting older a lot. I guess it was really feeling the pain, and the hockey wasn’t particularly fast – this is what goalies do during a slow game in case you were wondering.

One thing that freaks me out is injury. As a father of a toddler who is very squeezable, I want to make sure I’m in good enough shape to pick up the little fella for a good long time. And every time some guy runs into me, I cringe, thinking I’m going to mess my back, arm, hand or head up. Of course, this never happens, but as I grow older, I know it’s just a matter of time before my ability to recover from injuries slows down to the point I’ll have to consider a back up roll between the pipes.

Clinton’s strategy doesn’t look so good

After losing eight straight primaries, Clinton is concentrating on Texas and Ohio, not mentioning her defeats in many of her speeches. This is a play for states with a lot of delegates, but it’s a bad one in my mind. Giuliani tried this with Florida and New York, and looked what happened to him. Not fighting in the primaries that are in the public eye at the moment moves you out of the headlines, and soon people forget about you. It’s looking more and more like Obama may win, and it seems like it all started with letting Bill run wild in South Carolina.

Hillary Clinton out of money, Obama could take the crown

A New York Times article pointed out Clinton is lending her campaign money in the hopes of countering a huge influx of funds to Obama’s campaign. If money and attendance at rallies is an indication of who is going to pull off the win in the end, Obama may be the guy. As much as I’d like to see the Bush/Clinton era end, I don’t know if Hillary is done yet.

Since putting Bill in the freezer after South Carolina, Hillary has seemed more comfortable, warm and congenial in the media, which may push her over the top in the end. After all, unlike Obama, she’s backed by a pretty formidable machine. Regardless of the outcome, this race has been good for both the Democrats and U.S. democracy in general.

People are turning out in droves to vote, and the race between Obama and Clinton was drawing as many people’s attention as the Super Bowl.

Good News: I know how to survive a plane crash now

Like the rest of North America, I’ve been surfing Facebook and watching the U.S. primaries for the past few weeks. As much as I like the Facebook, I’m feeling a little fatigue. I’ve also been feeling like I need to start sharing my publicly sharing my thoughts with no one again, hence the new blog post.

Anyway, this headline caught my eye today.  In my view the best way to avoid a plane death in a plane crash is to drive or take the train. Plus, I tend to rate a “crash” as a plane falling out of the sky or hitting a mountain. The ones that skid to stops at the end of runways don’t count in my mind.

Good news: We’ve made some progress in 2007

As a news junkie, I often get caught up in the doom and gloom stories of the day. Sometimes it takes a goofy Baby G smile, or Momma J hug to remind me that the world ain’t so bad. But I have to admit it was nice to read Patricia Pearson’s top five good news stories of the year. I found it refreshing to see a journalist putting things into perspective by pointing to progress that has been made in the last twelve months on some key issues that affect us all.

My favourite was Number 4. I think it’s something we need to try in Metro Vancouver, instead of looking to the government to fix all the problems in our inner-city schools by throwing money at them.

Grey Cup, a truly Canadian tradition

Brian Gable, a Globe and Mail editorial cartoonist, put together this wonderful slide show to make the case that the CFL and the Grey Cup may typify Canadian culture more than hockey, the NHL or Tim Horton’s.

Christmas lunch burn out

I’ve been going out for lunch a lot lately.

For me, this is a new thing. People I work with often make fun of my fancy packed lunches. And to be honest, I enjoy bringing my own food over going out to eat for a few reason. It’s a heck a lot cheaper than going out everyday, but I think I enjoy eating a clean, non-greasy meal in the middle of the day that doesn’t sap my energy.

Anyway, that’s not what I was getting at.  This year, I’m really making an effort to get out during lunch to see people I haven’t talked to for awhile. In the past I’ve gone out for beer in the evenings. However, I’m finding that difficult this year due to the fact I love being home to help put the little guy to bed every night.

At the halfway point of December, I’m beginning to feel that Christmas burn out. My lunch campaign started with a work holiday party on Nov. 22, and it’s been non-stop since then.  I have to say I’m really enjoying catching up, but I’m wondering if I’m getting old or set in my ways, as I really enjoyed sitting in my office with my packed lunch today.

I’ve also come to appreciate that non-recognized work executives do. As much as people like to say they would enjoy being out for lunch everyday, and travelling all over the place would be fun, when you hit a certain age it gets tiring.

With thirteen more days to go, I’m going to have to suck it up. I’m sure cold, rainy January will allow me to catch up on boring lunch times alone in my office.

More on R. Kelly’s genius

It was strange to find this article today. In the past, I’ve argued R. Kelly’s vocal abilities compare to those of Marvin Gaye. I’ve always maintained that if it wasn’t for R. Kelly’s gangster image, his propensity for silly lyrics and the fact he’s been facing charges of child porn, he would be today’s Marvin Gaye. But all of these things are what makes following his career so fascinating and fun. This New York Magazine article does a fine job of summing up why so many people love Mr. Showbiz.

R. Kelly a genius, or just having fun?

R. Kelly’s Double Up tour sounds like it’s turning out to be a hit with the fans and reviewers alike. The question this reviewer raises is something I’ve pondered often myself: Does R. Kelly really take himself seriously?

Maybe having a child pornography charges hang over your head for years just makes you say, “what the f***, everyone’s laughing at me. I’m going to produce this crazy-ass hip hopera.” When people like myself go crazy over it, he probably shook his head and said, “I”m going to make a sequel to this weird-ass shit because people are eating it up.”

Or not.