patricia

If knees bent the opposite way, what would chairs be like? I'm an adult. Instead of a boring restaurant dinner, why not have two desserts?? Now, I can....and by God, I will. Oh, and re: The Rhubarb Lady....................what a cultivated woman and a credit to her sex. WHEW. And these women are typical?? I'd like to see their husbands. Good Lord!!

For those of you who may be curious about what Damian Lewis did, before he was Nick Broda in "Homeland", you might want to check out "Life." That was a series that ran two seasons in the '80s and his character was just as well rounded as is the one he is playing now. LIFE. Check it out on Netflix. Worthwhile.

Yes, the third season is shaping up well too. I hope so. What strikes me about the casting in this series is that they are all REAL seeming people.The sub-plots are intriguing and I care about the characters. How often does that happen? Good stuff. I agree, jazzbo. I wonder if they're getting enough viewers to have a 4th season.

Just finished David Rakoff's "Fraud" and am now partway into his "Half Empty." For those of you not familiar with Rakoff's work, his first book was a collection of essays, "Don't Get Too Comfortable." His style of satire and general observance is similar, but not the same as that of David Sedaris. Rakoff is a little darker. I was saddened to learn that not long after I had seen him on "The Daily Show", he died of, I believe cancer. Gone way too soon.

Just because it's fiction is no excuse to serve pink slime, Bacon or no Bacon. Not bad.

Season 2, "The Killing" on Netflix. This is much better than I thought it would be. I highly recommend the whole series.

It's a sport greatly helped by modern TV sets too. Who knows, maybe its audience will grow? I really doubt it. I played the sport a lot, so never had any trouble watching it on TV, but I couldn't tell you how many times I've heard the (apparently justifiably) stock excuse "Well, I could never get into hockey because I can't following the puck." [Aside] I think the fighting would be a negative for potential TV viewers, but I might very well be wrong. Congratulations to the Hawks! I grew up in the Chicago area, and was a huge fan of the early '70s teams which came close (a couple of Finals losses) but never made it. Not being able to follow the puck sounds like an eyesight problem, not a fault of the game. Oddly enough, some years ago the league decided to actually put a light in the puck, but that was soon seen, both by the fans and by the NHL, to be a dumb idea. Having watched hockey being played since I was a little kid, I can say that the game AND the fans have changed over the years. The thing that bothers me most, I think, is the glorification of the "fights" that are lovingly covered with several cameras for the fans' apparent benefit. I suspect that those who wait for these fights have never seen hockey, played pure, with meaningful penalties meted out for senseless fights. To me, the game is hockey, not thuggery. All three of my brothers played hockey, from the time they were little kids and the game was the thing with all their coaches. Thugs on the team were not tolerated. The hockey skills displayed by the players and the strategies played out, or thwarted by the opposing teams are enough to hold my interest.

I'm a fan of Kevin Bacon's work and I think, he is excellent in this "cliche drama." I continued to watch the series because I watch anything he does. There are few truly original ideas and this series is no exception. It's fiction, not a documentary, so I treat it as entertainment, not fact.

I wouldn't have been surprised if some Boston fans heard the last two Hawks' goals on their car radios, if, assured of the win, they tried to beat the traffic. Pulling even AND ahead by one to win in the last less than two minutes of the third was an astonishing turnaround. WOW!! Congratulations to the Blackhawks!! One of my friends commented that when Chara got upended a couple of times, the stadium experienced a noticable jolt. He went down like a tree. So, he's certainly not invincable.

Did someone compare "Hannibal" to "The Following"? Of course they are two different dramas about two different kinds of evil. No comparison. IMO,both Mikkelsen and Brian Cox [in the first version of "Red Dragon", which was seen on television as "Manhunter"] were better cast in the Lecter role than Anthony Hopkins.

"Homeland" Season One. Loving it! I puposely didn't watch it on TV because I missed the first few episodes. I've followed Damian Lewis' career since he was on an episode of "Poirot." He just gets better. Same with "The Following." Season One should be on DVD before the new one airs, so....

As I watched last night's game, I said to no-one in particular that the Hawks seemed out-of-sync. They weren't as fast as they usually are and were missing usually easy passes by several inches. I try not to excuse a team's poor performance by blaming the ice, or the unfriendly fans, or other factors which shouldn't matter. I usually reason that they should be able to adapt. But, last night was so frustrating that I was almost throwing my shoes at the screen. The Bruins were playing on their home ice and were used to the different conditions and the Hawks were in foreign territory. Does anyone know if the Hawks had a meaningful practice, to acclimate themselves? In short.....................YIKES!!

No, not during the playoffs. Just before, when the Flames AND then the Oilers went down in flames. Even though I live in B.C. the Canucks have never won my heart, hockey-speaking. My jersey has Kipper's number and name on it. The Oilers seemed to be coming up strong, particularly after Nugent-Hopkins joined the team. He seems to be injury-prone, unfortunately. The Oilers will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come, IMO. But as the teams fell to defeat, one by one, I still have to have one playing to care. So, Chicago. They do have Toews and Kane, both impressive, at least during the regular season.

I can certainly see this going 7. Pretty good series so far. Helps that I am not emotionally invested (unlike my wife ). Me too. MY guys, the Flames, bombed out before the playoffs. Then, I picked the Oilers......gone, then the Canucks...........gone. Then, in desperation, I cheered for the Pens, because Iggy joined them this year. Pens.............gone. So, I'm hoping the Western team, Chicago goes all the way, but not so that it will break my heart if they don't. I'm watching because I love hockey and love to see it played well. So, there's that.

When I was at a game in Calgary, I happened to actually READ my ticket stub. It's printed on it that, by buying a ticket, I absolve the NHL, or the associated members of any responsibility for injuries that may occur should I be hit by any puck etc. while watching a game. I had no idea......................but I stayed and wasn't hit by a puck etc. By merely attending, you are accepting the possibility that you may suffer an injury. Hmmmm... You get the same at a baseball game for balls, bats, and misc. items leaving the field and going into the stands. Pure boilerplate, often thrown out by courts, but not always... But still.... When you think about it, there are lots of times when a flyball goes into the stands at a baseball game and somebody catches it and keeps it. I always think that if that happened and I was right under the ball, it would hit me in the face, even if I tried to catch it. It wouldn't occur to me to sue, since flying balls are pretty common at a baseball game. Same thing with pucks at a hockey game. Yes, they stop play when the puck hits the glass, goes into the players' box, or into the crowd. But, chances are, in all those cases, that it hit somebody. But, I almost never hear anyone complaining, much less suing. We sportsfans are a hardy bunch. ........................... Game 3 tonight. Now we'll see what our guys are made of and whether this is going to turn into a battle. It would be a little disappointing to me if it ended with less than 6 games. I'm actually hoping for 7.

When I was at a game in Calgary, I happened to actually READ my ticket stub. It's printed on it that, by buying a ticket, I absolve the NHL, or the associated members of any responsibility for injuries that may occur should I be hit by any puck etc. while watching a game. I had no idea......................but I stayed and wasn't hit by a puck etc. By merely attending, you are accepting the possibility that you may suffer an injury. Hmmmm...

Funkateer, your're thinking of Vic Toews. No relation to Jonathon, as far as I know. Just proves that you don't have a monopoly on political idiots. Not to belabour my earlier point, Groove Merchant, but I was dismayed to discover that Thomas is a Glenn Beck follower. I had hoped he was smarter than he apparently is. But, that cleared up my puzzlement over his snubbing of your President. What a putz!! He should have been content with being an excellent goalie, IMO. ........................... Back to the subject at hand. Next game, Saturday in Chicago. Both teams should be rested up by then. Good grief!! After almost SIX periods of hockey last night, even I was exhausted!! I'm pulling for Chicago, only because they're the only western team left. MY Flames didn't make it to the playoffs and the Canucks and the Oilers, my default teams bombed out too.

Good for him. We hockey people don't need that kind of nonsense. I'm still ticked at Tim Thomas making a point of snubbing your President because he differs politically. Who cares if Thomas is a Republican? What an embarrassment for the Bruins, IMO. Where is Thomas now??

CHICAGO wins in triple OT!!! YAY!!!

TRIPLE OT!!! Even the fans at the game seem tired. But, it's still 3-3 and on we go. The goalies have both been amazing.

I guess I reached MY team, telepathically. The game is now TIED at three, with about 7 mins. left in the game. NOW.......................

Beginning of the second and already Boston is up, 2-0. MY team, at least for the Cup, is Chicago, so Soulstation better be right and our guys have to get their hips in gear. Fun fact for soulstation: Kane and Teows on Chicago. Chara and some other guys on Boston.

Game 2 Pens vs Bruins, end of the second. YIKES!! Boston is leading, 4 - 1. Penguins just can't seem to get their hips in gear, even after Game 1's massacre. One more period to go, but I don't understand why they are not checking effectively on the point. The Bruins, as they did last game, are walking all over them. WHEW.

Watching the LA/Blackhawks game now. The score is still 1 for the 'Hawks, second period.

That's because if you play them backwards you can hear the dirty jokes. Indeed.