and lo..

usps christmas 1965

dude..


a charlie brown christmas is what my christmas is about.. i remember seeing this on television at an early age.. that it is still shown come holiday time some 46 years on is remarkable for it is real animation, not fox animation, has no "reality-tv" type of contest between douchefags trolling for their 15 minutes of fame by making even bigger douchefags outta themselves trying to out douchefag each other.. it is understated as it conveys the spirit of the season as well as the message.. linus, his blanket, and a single spotlight..

christmas is about hope.. promise.. hope for an end to war and violence.. hope peace on earth.. hope for a cure.. 

christmas is always, for me at least, gonna be the memories of being a small boy and hearing linus read those amazing words from the gospel according to luke.. knowing that there is hope for the future.. hope for acceptance as a gay man who loves sports and plays played hockey.. hope for us all that a better world can be had if we want it..


well that and midnight mass on christmas eve.. its the one church service i ever even go to anymore..

for me the nativity is mystery as much as myth.. it has power and holds great meaning.. it gives me hope..

i think christmas morning is really all about little kids neway.. santa, the decorations, and the presents.. clothes.. again? really? fail.. unless thats what you really wanted.. you know who you are.. ;)

a new bike.. a hockey stick or new skates.. i guess now its about gift cards.. lol

me and santa.. well blow-up santa..

empty tray of christmas cookies.. nom nom

happy christmas to all my family, friends, fuck buddies, interweb acquaintances, and blog stalkers followers..

~ cheers... david

it was christmas eve babe..

dude..

best christmas song ever..

~ cheers... dave

sing we now of christmas..

 dude..

first christmas memories..

this is the first christmas album i remember hearing as a wee lad..

and finally, sessions presents a peter griffin christmas..

~ cheers.. david

spin cycle: december 14..

dude..

 sydney crosby is out indefinitely.. again.. shades of marc savard? ironic if after matt cooke ends savards career a boston bruin potentially ends crosbys.. fail..

lots of head injuries in the nhl right now... statistically no more than previous seasons, were just paying more attention so it seems like there are more..

minnesota wild.. still in 1st place.. the fuck? its gotta be cause of mike yeo.. just sayin..

yo flyers fans.. with both pronger and giroux on the shelf with concussions the hatred shifts east to the city of brotherly love... <<<< oxymorons.. js.

fuck you! you giroux-less sidney crosby haters...

stamp fragile on his forehead.. better use more bubble wrap n duct tape.. *

planes, trains, and hockey teams: 

through the generosity of the rest of the teams in the khl, lokomotiv is again a professional ice hockey team.. after such an unbelievably senseless tragedy, welcome to the game boys.. 

the brand new yaroslavl lokomotiv team

the los angeles kings have finally closed the door on terry murray.. dont let said door hit you in the ass on your way out.. i thought he should have been gone after last season.. but hey.. better late than never..
and big surprise! they arent any better with john stevens at the helm... i suppose its an interim promotion fail for sure now..
next up.. darryl sutter? tony granato? randy carlyle? why isnt anyone talking about davis payne? or ted nolan? oh right.. my bad.. i guess the philladelphia flyers western conference edition is a fail... 

dude.. we really suck..  and we got the coach fired.. 

~ cheers... david

*picture yoinked from http://www.thepensblog.com/tpb/dec2011/the-week-ahead-1212.html where it was stolen from Sabrina Sin Bin on twitter.

aids at 30..

dude..

ryan white

ryan and his mom jeanne

everyone that doesnt know who ryan white is needs to click this link* and have a listen...

athletes get hiv/aids.. trust me.. we do.. so do women and children.. people of color make up over 40% of new infections in the united states.. and yes, sadly young gay men still get hiv/aids.. over 20% of sexually active gay men 18-25 have hiv and dont know it..

wherever you are in the world.. tell your government to fully fund hiv/aids education, research, prevention, and treatment..   your life could depend on it..

boys. dont. cry.

~ peace... david



*http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/p00lskfh/

aids and the nhl..

dude..

bill goldsworthy

http://www.vintageminnesotahockey.com/billgoldsworthy.html

boys. dont. cry.


~ peace.. david

spin cycle: november 28..

dude..

spin cycle will be an occasional post to sarcastic ass about stuff n things n goings-on in the national hockey league..

drew doughty

los angeles kings..

this was supposed to be the season that the. kings. could. go. all. the. way.. k.. not so much.. with dustin penner out of the line-up the kings dont have a scapegoat to blame their failures on.. mike richards is still so obviously missing being "the guy" in philadelphia.. slava voynov is no drew doughty but then neither is drew doughty.. the kings are playing like a bunch of guys in a pick-up game.. theres no i in team.. unless its the iTeam 4s.. wait, what?

yoinked from rmnb

washington capitals..

its insanity if you do the same thing over and over expecting a different result the next game time you do it..  that said.. the washington capitals are insane.. welcome back to the asylum dale hunter..  apparently someone, k everyone, isnt listening.. coach boudreaus messages to his star players seem to have a limited effect.. ovenchicken is not mature enough to be captain.. and sasha semin.. he tries too hard, then stops trying all together.. alex o should be advised to voluntarily give up the "c" to a seasoned veteran.. and sasha.. what to do with oh so sexy sasha.. perhaps a change of venue? psst.. trade him.. 

gotta. get. mike. green. and. john. erskine. back.. sooner rather than later..







pittsburgh penguins..

sidney crosby.. back! hes ripped, rested, n ready! same penguins only better.. way better.. nuff said.. now everyone please stay healthy.. you can chillax during the coughwinterclassiccough..

and how awesomesauce is kris letang? of all the awesomesauces in all the world, hes one of the awesomesauciest..

dan bylsma knows there is a time for superstars and a time for team.. the kings n capitals could learn a thing or two about "system" and "team play" from the penguins head coach.. just sayin..

joe corvo

boston bruins..
the road to the stanley cup goes through boston.. these guys are big, gritty, grind-it-out, n very good.. boston can only get better as the season rolls along.. tim thomas.. stay. away. from. psycho. boston. cabbies..  tyler seguin. is. scoring. goals.  joe corvo has always been one of my favorite defensemen.. the kings should never have given up on him..  watch out pittsburgh..

minnesota wild.. ..the fuck?

philadelphia flyers.. injuries.. lots of them.. oh, and bryzgalov/bobrovsky in net.. 

chicago blackhawks.. 

could easily win the west the way they are playing right now.. corey crawford needs to settle down and just make brilliant saves.. captain serious needs to crack a smile.. seriously.. no not that crack.. wait, what? 

buffalo sabres.. 

the boat has sailed on this  season.. after milan lucic rolled over - more like destroyed - miller and the team left ryan to twist alone in the wind.. like so much dirty laundry..

anaheim.. columbus.. calgary.. phoenix.. carolina.. ottawa.. ny islanders.. FAIL!

nashville predators.. 

say goodbye to defensemen ryan suter and shea weber.. maybe both.. k, both.. pekka rinne is gonna be the-highest-paid-netminder-in-the-national-hockey-league-to-never-ever-ever-win-a-stanley-cup-for-as-long-as-he-lives..  hes gonna be how old when his current contract expires? 

yo pekka.. beg for a trade.. do. it. now.

zach parise

winnipeg.. who knew losing could be this much fun..  

new jersey devils.. 

zach parise, youre the captain.. the heart and soul of the franchise.. to bad youre always gonna be second banana to that russian guy no matter how much money lou offers you.. sucks to be you.. 

does having over-paid under achievers really make up for having a netminder that will be eligible for retirement and canadian medicare long before kovalchuks contract gets anywhere close to expiring?

guy boucher aka coach scar-face

tampa bay lightning.. 

see new jersey devils above.. roloson is getting any younger.. and coach scar-face needs to learn a new ahem.. coughsystemcough.. 1-3-1 has jumped the shark..

and the rest... van, col, stl, snj, to, edm, fla, nyr, det, mtl, dal..  meh..

~ cheers.. david

fuck yeah...

dude...

FUCK YEAH!

nuff said..

~ cheers.. david

hes baaaack..

scratch my back with a hacksaw!

dude.. 

hes baaaaaaaack!

after missing 61 regular season games spanning parts of two seasons and the first round of the 2010 - 11 playoffs, sid-the-kid is back..

and. there. was. much. rejoicing..

through 20 games this season the penguins are 11-6-3... tied with rival philadelphia for 1st in the atlantic division.. and as of this blogging, the most points in the eastern conference..

perhaps with the end of crosby watch 2011 the rabid sports media machine can now focus more fully on why exactly the washington capitals suck balls again this season... perhaps its time to throw bruce boudreau under the bus..
just sayin..

sid-the-kid.. welcome home er back..
hes ripped.. rested.. n ready.. not in the dustin penner kinda way.. but you know, in a good way..

awesomesauce..

as monty burns would say: excellent...

oh and adam, if you & michael are there at the game, please say youll be there... get me a souvenir program will you.. not kidding.. we can work out how to get it to calif later..

~ cheers...

ps..  overheard in 29 locker-rooms and gms offices around the national hockey league after the news broke that sidney crosby is back:   

veterans day 11/11/11..

tomb of the unknown soldiers

dude...  


theres an american cemetery from world war 2 in of all places, north africa.. tunisia to be specific.. seeing those grave markers on this day, in the new light of the arab spring, id like to believe that for the latter half of the 20th century and into the new millennium, a silent reminder of the last full measure of devotion and sacrifice made for a new birth of freedom has been there respectfully waiting for the people of tunisia.. im glad they finally found it...

 the north african american cemetery and memorial in carthage, tunisia.. 

where ever americans and all peace loving people have spilt their blood for the freedom of the world, or a small corner of it anyway, i hope like tunisia, that the ground it seeds is the ground on which liberty and justice for all will someday prevail..

unknown burial marker at the american cemetery and memorial in tunisia.. 

to all who have died in war.. your sacrifice has not to be in vain... 


~ peace.. david

slow children playing..

dude..


the great pumpkin was here.. and well lets just say there wont be any more slow children playing in the neighborhood this fall...

maybe they shoulda asked santa for a new bike last christmas

you dont have to be faster than the great pumpkin on halloween, just faster than your slowest friend..

happy halloween!

~ cheers..  david

starry starry night..

starry night over the rhone by vincent van gogh

dude...

its already late october.. its been so dry n clear.. hockey weather.. the way it aughta be..

the ways its always been.. i look up at the night sky.. just past the new moon.. some stars.. but not as many as i remember..

the city wasnt so built up back then.. i swear there were more stars.. it was glorious.. especially to a little boy finding excitement n wonder in the simple things..it was late summer.. maybe early fall.. maybe october..

when i was a lad every night at the same time in the same place in the sky a tiny blinking light would furiously traverse the heavens.. my father would lift me up to the top of the back fence to see it.. starry night.. night... night... night... it was echo 2... an american communications satellite.. every night like clockwerk.. there it was... steady.. fleeing toward the horizon.. beep beep beep.. a baby moon.. and although it would be visible to everyone who chose to look for it, at those moments it was mine and only mine... early memory 1968...

ECHO 2 comm satellite circa 1968

i dont have too many good childhood memories.. this is one i will always...

i dont know what made me think to write this... i guess with halloween and all.. the dry clear cold nights... october really gets to me..

starry starry night... 

~ cheers... david

and down goes beagle..

dude...

this

is

just

so

mother

fucking

awesomesauce...

and a stick tap to aaron asham for the good sportsmanship he showed there after jay woke up...

go penguins!


~ cheers... david

national coming out day..

dude...


its national coming out day...

does anyone even celebrate make noise remember care anymore?

original ncod logo circa 1987

cheers... david

lé magnifique..

dude.. 

thats right, its that time again... mario lemieux turns 46 today...

lets all just sit back, relax, and relive the glorious moments that are lé magnifique...

bask in his reflected glory...

happy birthday super mario...

~ cheers... david

in shero we trust...

lets go penguins!

lets play hockey! 2011-12 season preview..

peter puck welcomes you..

dude.. 

its that time... hockey season has arrived..

so, in no particular order, heres what i have to say about the teams going into the 2011-2012 season..

shea webber

nashville predators..

by taking weber to arbitration this summer and getting their asses handed to them, the preds have a difficult season ahead... a small market team with very little cash, its not likely nashville hangs onto weber after july 1, 2012... i suspect that if lidstrom retires and weber walks away from nashville, the mighty red wings will sign the veteran defenseman to a multi-year deal worth at least $7.5 mil a year with a no movement clause.. 

philadelphia flyers..

jaromir jarg

paul holmgren may very well be the smartest gm in all of hockey... and i may very well be the queen of denmark... after exploding his offense over the summer, by handing a huge contract to a has been net minder -  bryzgalov - he had to sign someone, (anyone really) with some name recognition and a reputation for scoring clutch goals and being a monster scorer in the playoffs... too bad that same guy also has a reputation for checking out on his team and not playing up to his potential when that team isnt the pittsburgh penguins.. jaromir is not gonna be the jagr of the nineties when he and super mario dominated their division, conference, and league.. its a long season.  hes done by the all-star break..
and whats poor paul holmgren gonna do in january after bryzgalov has crashed and burned in december? ride bobrovsky and a backup-to-be-named-later to another early flame out in april or may?  fail..

drew doughnuts

los angeles kings..

barring any season ending injuries, and with doughty signed and penner tanned, rested, and ready, the kings are primed to go deep in the playoffs.. their solid in net.. quick is a beast between the pipes and bernier will be a number one goalie sooner rather than later.. i was surprised the flyers didnt try harder to wedge him outta los angeles in the richards deal.. he could sill end up there if either gm panics at the trade deadline..

the kings have improved with the addition of richards and gagne.. although i think they will regret letting wayne simmonds go.. hes gonna tear it up in philly and have a bigger impact going fwd than richards will have in los angeles..

this is by far and away the best team los angeles has iced since the great one played here in 90s.. the pieces are in place, the opportunity presents itself.. now lets see if the kings have what it takes to boat this bass and win the stanley cup... prolly not..

damn you marty mcsorley.. or is it barry melrose... 

the dynamic duo malkin & crosby

pittsburgh penguins.. 

evgeni malkin.. jordan staal.. marc-andre fleury.. sydney crosby (eventually).. paul martin.. james neal.. kris letting... tyler kennedy, chris kunitz.. depth everywhere - god bless wilkes-barre scranton, ray shero, and mario lemieux.. watch out world.. here come the pittsburgh penguins.. if sid-the-kid returns and is as good as ever the penguins really could go. all. the. way.. if sidney crosby never plays another game in the nhl for as long as he lives - hockey gods forbid - our lives will be somehow less meaningful and a bright light will have been extinguished too soon..  even so, the penguins will still  be in the eastern conference finals.. they really are that good.. they are the team to beat in the east.. le coupe stanley is theirs.. if they want it bad enough..  the worst thing that could happen would be for a career minor-leaguer goon on temporary call up for some dead-in-the-water-team to deliberately take crosbys head off because hes jealous or smitten or because the douche-bag coach told him to go out there and hurt someone.. im looking at you islanders.. <-- gives them the stink eye.. speaking of the..

sid the kid

new york islanders..  

the possible move to brooklyn looks promising.. if not, you better learn to parle vous some français mother fuckers... quebec city is calling.. will you accept the charges?

detroit red wings.. 

never count these guys out of anything.. they could easily win another stanley cup.. what a nice gift for nicholas lidstrom that would be, especially if this season is his farewell tour.. the winged wheel will acquire shea weber from nashville either via free agency or will trade with whomever for his negotiating rights... count on it..

alex ovechkin - look mom, no fat..

the washington capitals.. 

bad news boyz.. your team isnt really any better than last year... at least not in goal.. we all know great goal-tending is crucial to win championships..  ch.. ch.. ch.. chokes outta the playoffs.. prolly in the first round... sigh.. fail..

new york rangers..

brad richards is gonna lead this team to the promised land.. eventually... with marc staal on the shelf for now, sean avery on waivers, and marian gáborík still made outta spun glass and pixie dust or is it balsa wood and elmers glue, richards has his work cut out for him.. hes reunited with his old buddy and former coach john tortorella from their years together with the lightning, and will be counted on to be the same kinda suck-up leader for torts in nyc that he was in tampa bay.. look for the rangers to make the playoffs and be marginally better than last season.. prolly..
will they win the stanley cup? maybe if mark messier guarantees a cup for the big apple itll happen.. or not..

will sean avery ever come out as the first openly gay man to play in the nhl..? the soap opera continues..

honorable mention..

dont they look sharp.. go jets!

winnipeg jets.. 

with the nhl returning to winnipeg (awesomesause) after 16 15* long jetsless years, it really doesnt matter if they do well or not.. theyve guaranteed sell-outs for the next 5 seasons... playing in the southeast division is gonna take a huge toll on this young franchise as the travel schedule is gonna leave the pegger boys strung-out and jet-lagged as all hell.. with everyone in manitoba so beyond ready for a real nhl franchise, it not about results this season.. just happy to be invited to the party..

lets  go jets!

and most or some of the rest...

chicago blackhawks... idk.. captain serious is always clutch and they did improve over last year.. corey crawford is gonna have to stand on his head this season for the men of the four feathers to see the second round of the playoffs..

anaheim ducks... teemu selanne for president!  they will compete with los angeles and san jose for the pacific division crown..

teemu selanne

vancouver.. is still vancouver.. same issues.. different season... coughrobertluongocough..  no cup yet again.. just as there is no crying in baseball, there is no biting in hockey.. alexandre burrows <-- im looking at you...


san jose... a different team..  new and improved? meh..  joe thornton isnt getting any younger.. will prolly win their division again, but look out for the kings to de-throne them as it were.. 

columbus upgraded over the summer... will miss the playoffs again.. or still.. whos idea was it to put a team there again? oh right... this guy... 

boston will defend the cup well, will win their division but have fewer points than the number 4 & 5 finishing teams, and not repeat as cup champions..

is this the year that toronto finally makes the playoffs? no.

so there it is.. if i didnt mention your team, sorry but theyre just not on my radar.. 

lets.play.hockey!

~ cheers.. david

* k, i know i know, i suck at math... stick tap to jb for pointing that out..