Really Classic Rock
Disclaimer: I’m writing while listening to Yngwie Malmsteen’s Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra in E Minor, which is the perfect complement to my Godsmack t-shirt and fuzzy duck slippers. Context: While standing around with other middle school parents a few weeks ago, one (who happens to be a music teacher) posed a question to use [...]
WKRP and the Writer’s Strike
The duration and dialectic of the Writer’s Guild strike demonstrates to me that most studios continue to “not get it” when it comes to digital media. They still insist on monetizing every right, and yet only want to share in that monetization if they can see an a priori path to generating profit from the [...]
Bad Santa
I’m a bad Santa, and that’s “bad” as in “bad imitation,” not “bad” as in “good” or “ill-behaved.” But I love being Santa, even if it’s for 20 minutes in our office holiday party, and this year marked two full decades of wearing a red carpet, itchy nylon beard and someone else’s idea of winter [...]
Cory Doctorow Comics
Combining my love for off-beat comics with an overtly fan-boy consumption of Cory Doctorow led me to my own Brighton Beach Memoirs moment of perfect mash-ups: I’m now in possession of the first three Cory Doctorow comic books based on his short stories. The artwork is fantastic, the realizations of the characters contain enough subtle [...]
Chasing Perfection
Spoiler alert for Cory Doctorow’s “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” Someone asked for my favorite output of Cory Doctorow’s. Easy choice for me, as it’s the short story “Craphound,” the lead-off entry in the “Place So Foreign” short story collection and the piece that lends its name to Cory’s website. I love Craphound because of the [...]
Letter Perfect
Chalk it up to a lighter jersey, lifted of letters. Or maybe Patty was just told he can have fun again. Or maybe it was getting halfway to the 500 goal mark, or perhaps Dino set Elias up with some good calzone at lunch time today. I’m merely listening to the game 2,550 miles from [...]
Langenbrunner From Elias
Patrik Elias has gone from “A” to “C” to a more simply lettered sweater, with Jamie Langenbrunner named the new Devils captain. There have been dozens of online column inches written about the nationalities of various NHL captains, and how that has or has not translated into success in the post-season (if there is any [...]
Foreground Process, Reading Input
I basically did a control-Z on blogging about a month ago. It was completely unintentional, a combination of too much travel, holidays, a short family vacation, a lot of work, and quite honestly, the NJ Devils going on an 8-game winning streak that had me devote significant time to coaching from in front of the [...]
Starting Simple
One of our youth hockey coaches likes to tell the kids to pick simple goals for each year: Don’t worry about the league playoffs, or Districts, or scoring 20 goals, but instead pick some simple things on which to build. Skating speed, slap shots, giving and receiving body checks, defensive positioning, thinking about first and [...]
Making It By Not Making It Big
I spent half of yesterday at my first-ever USA Hockey Coaching Education Program, held in the municipal courtroom in Brick Township. For $30, and listening to several hours of speakers covering safety, sportsmanship, coaching styles, goaltending, and the Atlantic District coaching certifications, I was granted an Initiation, Level 1 USA Hockey coach’s card. I’m semi-official; [...]