How do you feel today?

[lucimay]

happy to hear you're on the mend VF!!!

[Lord Mhoram]

It has been raining for many days now with no signs of giving up. I now feel lathargic.

[Marv]

And I am now out of the hospital. Thanks again, all.

dont let it beat you mate.

if, as a result of your problems, you find yourself shunned by society and a man in an ochre robe accosts you in the middle of the street sending you to a strange and wonderful new world, just remeber

...."Be True".

[Spring]

Good to hear that you are feeling better, Farseer.

Must be a day for footie (if you mean soccer as opposed to what I would call football), Spring. I get to go watch my younger son play this afternoon, on the third day of wind and rain. The field will probably be a muddly mess. He usually plays defense or midfield. If it were hockey, it could be said that he that he has a wicked shot from the point, but I'm not sure how to say that in soccer terms. He is also a grinder, and is usually assigned to shadow the best player on the other team to shut the kid down.

No no, AFL footy.

Great to hear you re feeling better, VF.

[Damelon]

No no, AFL footy.

Great to hear you re feeling better, VF.

VF, glad your doing better!

As I recall from Elohimfest, when you rode shotgun in the Lordsmobile, your quite the fan of the CFL. I see from the schedule they'll be starting up in a month. Maybe you can give us your perspective on how the season will go?

[sgtkafka]

glad to hear you are getting better VF.

[Variol Farseer]

As I recall from Elohimfest, when you rode shotgun in the Lordsmobile, your quite the fan of the CFL. I see from the schedule they'll be starting up in a month. Maybe you can give us your perspective on how the season will go?

It's anybody's guess at present. The Ottawa Renegades folded a month or two ago and held a dispersal draft, and some pretty good players went to the weaker among the surviving teams. That could alter the balance of the league.

Technically, Ottawa was only suspended from the league for a year. But nobody seriously expects them to return. They were losing between $6 million and $8 million per year, and this in a league with a salary cap of less than $3 million. (I don't know how you can even feed that many football players for $3 million a year!) And this is not the first time a CFL franchise has failed in Ottawa. The Ottawa Rough Riders, founded as a rugby club in 1876, folded in 1996 in almost identical circumstances. I think the league's policy will now be, 'Fool me twice, shame on me.'

But there is talk of awarding a new franchise to Quebec City. There has lately been a bit of a backlash against the extremely insular, nationalist culture that has dominated Quebec for the last 30 years, and a new generation of Quebecers feel confident enough to freely adapt elements of Anglo popular culture without feeling as if they had sold out their own identity. And with this, I hear, francophones in Quebec are beginning to take a real interest in football.

However, that's for the future. Training camp begins shortly, and we'll see how the eight surviving teams change their rosters to accommodate the shipwrecked talent from the Renegades. I couldn't honestly say there is a clear favourite to win the Grey Cup this year — or a hopeless also-ran, except maybe the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. It looks like a wide-open field.

If you're interested, I can start up a thread down in the Waymeet and report from time to time on what I see. The first week of exhibition could be a significant tell.


P.S. Thanks for remembering me kindly from the Lordsmobile. I had a lot of fun that weekend, until Sunday afternoon when I got so badly out of sorts. Listening to a seasick High Lord grumble about everything under the Arch of Time can't have been a very amusing pastime. I'm still rather ashamed to have troubled you all with that.

[variol son]

I'm pulling an all-nighter to finish my psychology lab-report. Everythings all good at the moment, but I can see it going downhill pretty fast in about an hour.

[variol son]

The gods-forsaken thing is finished, so now I'm off to bed. At 3.30 in the morning. On a Sunday.

*groan*

[Cail]

It's a lazy Sunday.....



I was going to sit in my easychair and fall asleep reading, but the dog beat me to it!

[High Lord Tolkien]

It has been raining for many days now with no signs of giving up. I now feel lathargic.

LM, my kids rain gauge says we just got 3 1/2 inches since Fri night!
I don't think I've seen the sun since April!!
(ok, I've seen it sooner but man, it's been a long time)

[Damelon]

As I recall from Elohimfest, when you rode shotgun in the Lordsmobile, your quite the fan of the CFL. I see from the schedule they'll be starting up in a month. Maybe you can give us your perspective on how the season will go?

It's anybody's guess at present. The Ottawa Renegades folded a month or two ago and held a dispersal draft, and some pretty good players went to the weaker among the surviving teams. That could alter the balance of the league.

Technically, Ottawa was only suspended from the league for a year. But nobody seriously expects them to return. They were losing between $6 million and $8 million per year, and this in a league with a salary cap of less than $3 million. (I don't know how you can even feed that many football players for $3 million a year!) And this is not the first time a CFL franchise has failed in Ottawa. The Ottawa Rough Riders, founded as a rugby club in 1876, folded in 1996 in almost identical circumstances. I think the league's policy will now be, 'Fool me twice, shame on me.'

But there is talk of awarding a new franchise to Quebec City. There has lately been a bit of a backlash against the extremely insular, nationalist culture that has dominated Quebec for the last 30 years, and a new generation of Quebecers feel confident enough to freely adapt elements of Anglo popular culture without feeling as if they had sold out their own identity. And with this, I hear, francophones in Quebec are beginning to take a real interest in football.

However, that's for the future. Training camp begins shortly, and we'll see how the eight surviving teams change their rosters to accommodate the shipwrecked talent from the Renegades. I couldn't honestly say there is a clear favourite to win the Grey Cup this year — or a hopeless also-ran, except maybe the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. It looks like a wide-open field.

If you're interested, I can start up a thread down in the Waymeet and report from time to time on what I see. The first week of exhibition could be a significant tell.


P.S. Thanks for remembering me kindly from the Lordsmobile. I had a lot of fun that weekend, until Sunday afternoon when I got so badly out of sorts. Listening to a seasick High Lord grumble about everything under the Arch of Time can't have been a very amusing pastime. I'm still rather ashamed to have troubled you all with that.

Yes, by all means do set up a thread on the CFL. With hockey winding down, we need a reporter on the scene to help our Canadian members feel at home.

When I was browsing the league's website I saw a familiar name, Onterrio Smith, who was a player on one of my fantasy teams. He ran into substance abuse problems in the NFL so he's looking at signing with Winnipeg.

[matrixman]

When I was browsing the league's website I saw a familiar name, Onterrio Smith, who was a player on one of my fantasy teams. He ran into substance abuse problems in the NFL so he's looking at signing with Winnipeg.

I'm not sure what that is supposed to say about the Bombers. That they're desperate enough to sign anybody these days? "Substance abuse problems? No problem!"

[duchess of malfi]

It's been raining for days here, too. Everything is so green...like I imagine the Pacific Northwest or Ireland to be.

Have obtained Pearl Jam tickets to their upcoming concert; I have kept this secret from my sons. I'm just going to load them in the Jeep and drive up to Auburn Hills with them, and let them whine the whole way there about "Where are you taking us???" and then see their faces when we get to the Palace to see one of their (and mine) favorite bands in concert.

This morning I also found out that for our upcoming vacation, there will be a huge (and free) blues festival in Grant Park the weekend we will be staying in a hotel across the street from Grant Park (in Chicago) and the second weekend there will be a huge (and free) classical music festival, also in Chicago, though we will be in the River North area that weekend and will have to cab it to the music festival. We have tickets to a White Sox game and to the King Tut exhibit, and we are still trying to find decently priced Cubs tickets from a scalper. And we will also spend some time in Wisconsin, touring the Frank Lloyd Wrights estate, and visting Madison and the Dells. My kids are ecstatic over the upcoming trip. It is a graduation gift to my older son. Chicago is his favorite American city, and second only to Paris in his heart.

[Elfgirl]

Have obtained Pearl Jam tickets to their upcoming concert; I have kept this secret from my sons. I'm just going to load them in the Jeep and drive up to Auburn Hills with them, and let them whine the whole way there about "Where are you taking us???" and then see their faces when we get to the Palace to see one of their (and mine) favorite bands in concert.

I'm SO envious, duchess!! I love Pearl Jam! I saw them way back in '93 when they toured with U2 as (get this) SUPPORT act for the Zooropa tour! I even met Eddie Vedder because one of the guys I was working with (we were selling t-shirts inside the stadium) pointed him out, just standing there watching a flood of punters race in to find positions near the stage, and I decided to wander over and surreptitiously said, "how's it feel watching all these PJ fans running right past you?" He was sweet and kinda shy - I got this dude to take my pic with him but the idiot didn't press the button all the way on my camera so I didn't get it! WAAAAH!!! I loathe incompetent photographers!!

[sgtkafka]

volunteered at the zoo this morning and one of the aquarium keepers was bit by a pirannah. took out a chunk of his finger. they are worried about bacteria from the fish. i won't find out till next sunday what they will do for him.

i installed some brackets by the fish tanks, and at one point i was leaning over one installing the bracket when i look down about a foot and see the two lionfish had surfaced, expecting food. they are poisonus and have spines. so i was a bit too close.
www.barrierreefaustralia.com/the-great- ... onfish.htm

then cleaned the quarantine building with a few other volunteers.

[Lord Mhoram]

HLT,

It was intense yesterday, wasn't it! My classes were canceled for today. Isn't it supposed to rain a lot tonight too?

[duchess of malfi]

I've heard in New England you guys are getting even more rain than we are here in Great Lakes Land.

I just hope it will clear by Thursday. That is the day of my older son's physics final. They had a choice of taking a hard written exam, or going on a group trip to an amusement park down in Ohio called Cedar Point and drawing a wild roller coaster by lot. My son drew a roller coaster called the Mean Streak. After surviving the ride, they have to give an oral report on the affects of the g-forces, acceleration, etc. of the ride on the human body. But if this rain keeps up, the rides might be closed.

[Lord Mhoram]

Written exam or draw a roller coaster?

Hmmm. Sounds like a tough one.

[duchess of malfi]

Written exam or draw a roller coaster?

Hmmm. Sounds like a tough one.

Well, my older son takes after me in that he is frightened of heights and easily gets motion sickness.

He was very lucky in drawing one of the mildest coasters in the park:
www.ridezone.com/parks/oh/cedarpoint/cp20.htm

Some of the ones there make me feel oooooky just looking at them.

like this one:
www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/co ... /index.cfm

or this one:

www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/co ... /index.cfm