Frantic Friday: The Mastodonian Edition ....(NSFW)

Believe it or not, not ALL Frantic Fridays are about my quest to find the


Somehow they just kind of manage to wind their way back to that topic and today, well today could just be more of the same. We'll just have to wait and see.

The title today is because I figure that even the famed G-Vegas could use a little freshen up once in awhile and with the Winter Olympics coming to a close and Mastodon Weekend just one short week away, why not Mastodonia?

In my current "semi-retired" (some would offer retarded) state of flux, very little is winding this kid too far up these days. But the upcoming Mastodon Weekend in south cackalacky, well it seems to be doing just the trick.


~photo totally ripped off of AlCantHang

I'll make it to up to you Al! Perhaps as we share a shot of SoCo and continue our heated debate on,


Sure it's not a Winter Gathering, or Summer week in Vegas. The crowd will not be a hundred strong and most definitely, there will be no storming of the Castle involved.(unless of course there is and then... well)

Don't get me wrong, I love the times we throw a hundred something of us at any given time into any given situation. Some of my fondest memories and a few of the craziest things I've ever seen or done, have all come from such occasions to be certain. But I've said it before and I'll swear by it today. The recurring theme that drives me to want to be part of our incredible little community of invisible friends is, the smaller and much more intimate gatherings that occur here and there. The Bash, EH-Vegas and Mastodon Weekend all hold that special edge for me and can best be described as, times frequently flitting on that fine, fine line, of normalcy and insanity.

We had six short hours of hilarity and good times down there last year, as Peb's and I could only manage to make an appearance at the bar for the Saturday night festivities that time around. This time however we're in for at least the Friday and Saturday and one thing is for certain, we can't wait to see everyone and spread a few of our chips and cheers around, while surrounded by a several of our very favourite folks.

So bring on the drinks, discussions and debauchery!

I've got some serious stuff to rant about, with a few of the attendees this year. Just so they are fair discussions, here's the advance notice on each of them.

Items will include but are not limited to,

Pauly: I want to discuss why The TAO of Poker would choose a Danish or two,


over some fresh dericious


SUSHI?

Al: I think Tanith Belbin provides a pretty good argument here,


for getting behind Figure Skating in the US don't you? Perhaps we should discuss.

Badblood: I say Aerial Skiing IS a sport and those athletes like Lacy here,


seem to be in rather Athletic condition.

Possibly even a Badblood butt bonus candidate for


of the year?

STB: I really want to discuss those stupid jean looking things that the US snowboarders were wearing. I'm afraid I'm going to have to stick with the lovely American Linn Haug on this one and say,


there just wasn't any place for them at the Olympics.

Oh and that Dallas Cowboy thing you've got going on, that's ridonkulous too! Why the hell would you cheer for them, when everyone knows Canadian Cowgirls


are what you should really be getting behind!

Let's see, what else?

Oh yeah, The Doc!

Uh Doc a Ferrari? Really? I mean yes, it's red and it's fast but what else? I'd like to see you get a little more out of something that you're going to put all of that time and effort into, so here's something red and fast that I personally think


you'd get a hell of a lot more mileage and enjoyment out of!

I know how passionate you are about it though and I'm sure you'll


despite my little message here. I'd still like to talk about OK?

Alright, exactly one week to go from right...... NOW!

Pitter patter little calendar thingy, let's get att'er!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Canadian girls rule....

That's why Canadian boys drool!

Four more medals, seven personal bests and three broken records yesterday alone. Our girls are RAWKIN' the podium, screw owning it!

Oh and some Hockey guys beat Russia.

And that is your Olympic update for today.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Something special just for you....

So there's this real writer type guy I know and he's put a little sumpin-sumpin' together, purely for our enjoyment. I like folks like that, don't you?

Well you should!

There's a new link to it down on the bottom right there, so you'll always be able to find it. But for the extremely lazy, here's the instant way to get over to
Red Dirt Review.

There's a PDF link there with some of the best directions on use, I think I've ever seen.

The link goes directly to Volume 1 and as far as I can see, there's only one minor issue with the whole thing. The Editor over there let *some donk participate and as always, that muddies up the credibility of such things right off. But believe me, it's totally worth checking out the real writers that entered their work.
(even the Jew. Shhhhh)

:)

I hope you enjoy it, every bit as much as I have.

*Disclaimer ~ Any resemblance between "some donk" and the Editor in chief around these parts is completely coincidental. Legal has been informed accordingly.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

It's all about heart....

US Coach Ron Wilson on the game;
"In fairness, Canada out-chanced us two-to-one for most of the game and our goalie played excellent," said Wilson.

Ya think!

I'm a Devils fan through and through and Marty B., well he's just the best that's ever played the position IMHO. However, I have no idea who the hell that was in net for either team last night.

Miller stood on his head, stopping 42 of the 45 shots taken by the Canadians. While Brodeur looked out of sorts, confused and quite often, he looked a little too disinterested in the actual play on the ice. What the hell was with that Baseball swing he was trying to make, when all he had to do was simply place the puck behind the net? So not a Marty mistake!

Cindy Crosby may have gotten a goal but when Rick Nash is the team leader out on the ice in any game the Canadians play, the opposition has the ugly game that they want. That IMO, will almost always lead to a loss for Canada. I think Miss. Crosby could've learned a thing or two from the Russia/Czech Republic game. Nothing like having your "star" player in Ovechkin, lay out the other teams "star" player in Jagr, with a beautiful open ice hit. As I've said here before I'm not a huge fan of either Ovechkin or Crosby to be honest, but there's no denying their stats. I'm just saying that in yesterday's games that meant so very much to the teams that were playing, there can be no doubt that Ovechkin showed up when it counted and Cindy, not so much from what I saw.

Unless they can pull some semblance of team play and atmosphere together soon, I see no reason to call that group of Hockey phenoms "Team" Canada at all and that, well that just breaks my heart.

Coach Mike Babcock's job was to pull these stars together and put the best team he could out on the ice and now more than ever, he needs to do his job well. Now it's not all on his shoulders since the players obviously need to show up, but that is his job.

So last night we got beat between the pipes, as Miller was far superior to Marty in almost every single way. Then we got beat between the bluelines as former Devils Rafalski and Langenbrunner with the Canucks Ryan Kesler, all showed up for the big game and were dominant players for the American side. All we brought to the party was the outstanding grit, heart and determination of one Rick Nash. So we also got beat between the rib cages I believe, as I think the American team out-hearted us when it mattered the most. Add to that what Wilson got out of his talent vs. Mike Babcock and I'd have to say, we got beat between the ears as well.

All that's left to see now is, if the real Team Canada players will show up for the remainder of this event. They most certainly have the talent and at times last night, they were more than a handful of difficulty when they showed it. But unless they can bring that attitude and heart for a full 60 minutes every time, I see a very disappointed nation in our near future. BUT ! Lord help anyone in their way, if these guys do manage to put it all together!

In other Olympic news;

Petra Majdic of Slovenia, WHAT A STORY!

Did anyone else watch the Womens Cross Country Classic Sprint?

During a training run right before the big race Petra tumbled off the course, falling about 10 feet and onto some rocks. Badly bruised and confused, Petra worked her way over to the starting line a bit later.

Turns out, Petra Majdic was more than just bruised when she won bronze in the individual classical sprint on Wednesday. The Slovenian cross-country star was found to have broken four ribs and suffered a collapsed lung from the earlier fall.

HOLY SHIT!

If I were Mike Babcock I'd have THAT story plastered all over the dressing room walls, as a reminder of just how important it is to bring a lot of heart to every single moment of these Olympic games!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....