Welcome To Canuckistan

I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around the Pudge Rodrigueq trade since last night. I don’t fully understand it (I keep waiting for the announcement that we’re getting a prospect or two in addition to Kyle Farnsworth) but, more than anything, my heart is a little sad to see Pudge go. Having watched the Tigers play so poorly through most of the 1990s and the early 2000s he provided some hope that maybe things would get better (they did) and that maybe the team could make a run for the playoffs (they did – even making it to the World Series). I knew he wouldn’t be a Tiger forever, but in no way did I expect him to be traded right now.

One of my favourite Tigers websites posted this YouTube video and I thought like sharing it here (on a personal note – the last clip in the video – the walk-off home run against Cleveland was at a game that Katie & I were at – it was AWESOME!!)

I’m sure there are many of you who remember this scene from Monty Python’s “The Meaning of LIfe”

[Mr Brown answers the door of his home to find two men dressed in white labcoats.]

Labcoat #1: Hello. Uh… can we have your liver?

Mr Brown: What?

Labcoat #1: Your liver. It’s a large, uh… glandular organ in your abdomen.

[Mr Brown just stares at the labcoated men.]

Labcoat #1: You know, it’s, uh… it’s reddish-brown; it’s sort of, uh…

Mr Brown: Yeah, y-yeah, I know what it is, but… I’m using it! I…

[The labcoated men push into the house. The second man holds Mr Brown against the wall.]

Labcoat #2: Go on, sir! Don’t muck us up, now!

[The first labcoated man searches him and pulls out a card.]

Labcoat #1: Hel-lo! What’s this, then?

Mr Brown: A liver donor’s card.

Labcoat #1: Need we say more?

Labcoat #2: No!

Mr Brown: Listen! I can’t give it to you now. It says, ‘in the event of death’. Uh. Oh! Ah. Ah. Eh.

Labcoat #1: No one who has ever had their liver taken out by us has survived.

Mr Brown: Agh.

Labcoat #2: Just lie there, sir. It won’t take a minute.

[The Labcoats remove and break Mr Brown's liver.]

Mr. Brown: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

Labcoat #1: Zip it up.

Well, if Peter Kormos (a member of Ontario’s provincial legislature) has his way, events like that may just happen in Ontario. Why’s that, you ask? Well, this article in the Toronto Star explains it much better than I possibly could. Thankfully, private members bills (that is, bills not introduced by the government) RARELY pass.

If this legislation passes I want Kormos’ organs to go right to the top of the list – he’ll still be able to annoy the piss out of me with half a liver, one lung and one kidney.

Courtesy The Clam Rampant (who extends courtesies to Mulier Fortis)

1. Where is your cell phone? Dresser

2. Your significant other? Katie

3. Your hair? Gone

4. Your mother? Good

5. Your father? Missed

6. Your favorite things? Coltrane {get it?]

7. Your dream last night? Forgotten

8. Your favorite drink? Coffee

9. Your dream/goal? Quiet

10. The room you’re in? Stuffy

11. Your church? Catholic

12. Your fear? Failure

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Alive

14. Where were you last night? Bed

15. What you’re not? Perfect

16. Muffins? Meh

17. One of your wish list items? Books!

18. Where you grew up? Canuckistan

19. The last thing you did? Yawned

20. What are you wearing? Clothes

21. Your TV? Functional

22. Your pets? Part-time

23. Your computer? iMac

24. Your life? Progressing

25. Your mood? Meh

26. Missing someone? Yep

27. Your car? Nonexistant

28. Something you’re not wearing? Fur

29. Favorite store? Amazon

30. Your summer? Hot

31. Like (love) someone? Yep

32. Your favorite color? Blue

33. Last time you laughed? Recently

34. Last time you cried? Unsure

35. Who will re-post this? Dunno

Courtesty chow.com:

Most of us of a certain age can recall the famous Grey Poupon commercial wherein one luxury car owner answers another’s mustard-related query (“Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?”) with a courteous “But of course” before handing the stuff over.

Yeah, it turns out that not everyone finds it funny in real life. The Smoking Gun tells the story of a Grey Poupon prank gone bad:

After gesturing to the 22-year-old [Vitaly] Kovtun to roll down his window, passenger Stephen Cox asked, ‘Excuse me, sir, do you have any Grey Poupon?’ Kovtun responded, police charge, by pulling a handgun from his glove compartment, cocking the weapon, and leveling it at the prankster’s auto. ‘Here’s your Grey Poupon, roll your f*ing windows up,’ Kovtun said, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Points for style all around on this one.

I stumbled across a Google Maps mashup with Detroit-area webcams earlier this morning. I clicked on the “downtown as seen from Windsor” and this is what I saw:

I was just going through some RSS feeds and noticed that in just the past few hours there have been articles about the various political scandals that are brewing in Detroit right now

Grand jury supboenas councilwoman

Kilpatrick aide ordered out as Detroit council stops tunnel deal

Armor sale delayed after anonymous letter surfaces about mayor’s father

If I were a resident of Detroit (or even the Metro Detroit area), I would be both embarrassed and angry about this. It seems that the politicans in Detroit can’t make a cup of coffee without doing something illegal and/or unethical. I don’t know why more residents aren’t beating down the doors of the  State Legislature asking them to step in and take over the whole operation.

What’s even more depressing and embarrassing is that, come election time, most of these people will probably be re-elected.

UPDATE: It just keeps getting better …

Judge throws out lawsuit seeking Kilpatrick’s repayment of millions

“Taxes haven’t gone up one penny as a result of this,” said James Thomas, another of Kilpatrick’s lawyers in court Friday.

I could be wrong, but could the reason that taxes haven’t gone up be because there hasn’t been a new budget since the crap hit the fan about the settlement and therefore no opporunity to raise taxes?

Link to a video on The Colbert Report’s website

A quote from CNN coverage of President Bush’s press conference earlier this morning in which he discusses the recently-announced plan to help out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

“I don’t think it’s a bailout,” said Bush, deflecting some criticism that the government should not rescue a private firm. “The shareholders still own the company.”

My one and only question: If the government is a shareholder (especially if they end up owning a large chunk of shares), isn’t it still a bailout?

Yesterday Kasia and I went to Chatham’s 1st annual ‘Tastefest’. It was a beautiful day, we both like yummy food, it was a short walk (no driving required!) and it seemed like a good way to spend time on a Saturday afternoon. Right?

First of all, there wasn’t much in the way of ‘taste’ at the ‘tastefest’. Sure, a few of the restaurants along King Street (the main downtown thoroughfare that was closed off for the festivities) had tables set up out front, but that was it. There were stores that moved some merchandise outside, there was a moon-bounce or two for the kiddies and a few bands playing, but it seemed like it was a tastefest in name only.

We were chatting with a cousin of mine (who owns a shop along King Street) about how the festival could be improved in subsequent years – allowing restaurants from outside the downtown core, church groups, and ethnic groups to set up booths would be a good start. Make it more about the food and less about the downtown business improvement group. Something like Taste of Chicago or City Fest in Detroit.

On a side note – I brought my camera (gatherings like this are always a great place to get photos) and even though I took 153 shots, not ONE turned out well. Grumble grumble grumble …

There’s a brief article in this morning’s Free Press about Detroit-area drivers being among the nation’s safest. Based upon what I’ve seen in the nearly 5 years I’ve been a frequent passenger in Metro Detroit, I’d say they’re lucky rather than safe. I couldn’t even begin to list the number of monumentally stupid things I’ve seen people do on the roads, but the one that continues to amaze me is how folks continue to drive 70+ MPH no matter what the weather conditions are like (blizzard, driving rain, etc). 

As The Clam’s mother or father has said (I can’t remember who it was), “People in Detroit drive like they’ve lost their will to live”.