What's There to Love About This Stupid Day?

In case the title didn't get my feelings across: I hate Valentine's Day. Hate it.

However, I tried to wake up feeling positive and cheery today. I don't want to be a bitter old spinster.

But seriously, what is there to love about this day?

First of all, at crafts last night, we had to make these decorative heart towels, and I decided for once not to just glue gun the whole damn thing. I actually paid attention while Sara's mom taught me how to do a blanket stitch, and tried desperately to complete at least one of the stupid towels. I didn't even come close. So that put me in a crank to begin with.

Then, the Sens lost, this time to New Jersey in OT. Nothing to smile about there.

Then, I went downstairs to watch my taped epidsode of Big Brother. All that drooling I did over Jacob yesterday? Cancel that. The boy turned out to be a total assbag. He got all yappy, told one-half of the Power Couple, Jen, that the other half, Parker, was a snake, and that everyone was saying so. Turns out, Jacob was the only one saying so, and when Parker called a late-night house meeting to find out who was talking behind his back, the truth became clear that the only person who had a problem with Parker was Jacob.

Sharon tried to cover for his ass by saying Ryan was also unhappy with Parker, but she picked the wrong dude to toss under the bus. With Parker suspicious of her real-life BF, Jen decided to spill the beans and tell her partner about her secret relationship with Ryan. Ryan wasn't exactly pleased that they were already revealed, but then he had no choice then but to tell his partner, Allison. Big mistake. Miss Allison is now jealous, 'cause she actually really liked Ryan, and by the end of the night, she was already talking about blowing Ryan's cover.

So Jen & Parker evicted Jacob & Sharon, then Alex & Amanda won HoH. Whoopi doo. The show is already pissing me off.

Now. Today's the dreaded V-day, I've already been put in a sucky mood thanks to last night's events, and I'm sick of everyone around this office being all sugary-sweet and lovey-dovey.

My romantic plans for tonight? I'm going to stop at the store after work and buy a bag of Skittles. Then I'm going to have supper with my mom & dad, as usual. Then I'm going to my basement to watch some really super-un-romantic movie, like maybe "Transformers". And then I'll watch Survivor.

Happy frickin' Valentine's Day.

BB9 Ready to Roll

I was hoping to Blog today about a wonderful Sens win over the Buffalo Sabres last night, but we lost. 5-1. Not a whole lot more to say on that.

So lucky for all of you, the special winter season of Big Brother began last night! WOO-HOO!! As you all know, I love Big Brother, so I was super-pumped for the 9th season to start. This winter installment is called "Til Death Do You Part", and Big Brother is playing cupid. The idea is that they have 16 single people in the house, and they all completed personality tests before entering the house. They found the housemates most compatible based on these tests and paired them up. Each couple will share a bed, share strategies, share rewards, share power, and even share evictions.

I have to admit, at first I wasn't too keen on Big Brother playing God. Forcing complete strangers to unite and fight together, and also hopefully fall in love...Well, it seemed like they were pushing some boundaries a little too far.

However, then they introduced a few twists, and then I was hooked.

First, there's the exes. Two people within the house who used to date: Jacob & Sharon. Not only are they former flames, they were in a 12-year relationship, and broke up because Jacob was unfaithful to her once. When Jacob walked in the house and he & Sharon saw each other, it was obvious they were both completely shaken up. Several times, Jacob told the camera that Sharon was the love of his life and that he'd always regret his mistake. Sharon, on the other hand, fumed that they let her lying, cheating ex in the house and begged them not to pair them up.

Also in the house are Ryan & Jen, a couple who actually are in a relationship, but decided to keep that a secret from the rest of their housemates. Upon realizing that everyone else is single and that Big Brother would be pairing them up, both Ryan and Jen expressed that they desperately hoped they'd be put together, because playing the game apart would be hell. Particularly watching one another coupled up with someone else deemed to be their "soulmate".

So of course, Big Brother teamed up Jacob & Sharon, but split up Ryan & Jen. Things just wouldn't have been interesting if they hadn't!

I have to admit, I'm already rooting for Jacob & Sharon. For one thing, the boy is cu-uuuute!! And juding by their reactions upon seeing one another, there's still a lot of feelings and unfinished business between them. I'm hoping that sparks will start flying between them and they'll fall in love again, and that they can cap off their fairytale reunion by winning the game. Now, if they don't get along at all...That could be disappointing, but I guess it would also make for some good TV! Sharon was kind of dumb and told a few of the girls that Jacob was her ex, and when he found out she'd blabbed, he was none to pleased, as he feels (and I agree) that this puts a target on their backs right off the bat. However, I don't know how else Sharon could have explained to the girls why else she got all shaky and teary when Jacob walked through the door.

I also felt bad for Ryan & Jen getting split up; that's gotta be hard. Jen seems to be handling it best, completely ignoring Ryan and pretending that she can't get his name right. Ryan, on the other hand, isn't doing so well. For one thing, he's a terrible actor. He keeps gazing at her with this longing look, and he's also extremely jealous of her being paired up with paparazzo Parker. If he keeps it up, it won't be long before people realize that he knows her. Especially his teammate Allison, who claims to be a reformed gambling addict who is great at reading people. I wonder how long it will take her to read Ryan.

The other stand-out couple on premiere night was Adam & Sheila. He's a big beefy blonde with giant smoker's teeth, and she's a petite 46-year-old single mom who also happens to be a former model. She hates him, and he hates her. Absolutely no love between them, and neither can figure out how Big Brother pegged them as soulmates. I'm already betting they're the first voted out, if for no other reason than their negative vibes.

For me, there's a few good looking lads in the house to keep me happy - Jacob, of course, being one of them, but also Alex the DJ, and Matt, the dark-haired blue-eyed hottie. I also kind of liked James, the off-beat dude with a weird red 'do who has no money & has been bicycling around the country. He was paired up with Chelsia, who is a little off-beat herself and big into piercings. I had to laugh when Chelsia moaned about being paired up with James, saying, "I told big brother I liked bikes...But I meant the ones with motors, not pedals..."

Anyways, in the first Power Couple competition, the boys had to hang suspended in the air while they clung to the girls for dear life. Interesting way to get to know someone... Hard to maintian your personal space in that kind of situation, though, as Sheila & Adam quickly found out when he complained of her bad breath. Allison also had a little trouble with Ryan dripping sweat all over her - he was sweating profusely - but by the end of the competition, so were all the guys. Anyways, Jen & Parker ended up hanging there the longest, so they won the first Power Couple, and will be evicting another couple tonight. The only truly safe couple is Ryan & Allison, because there's no way Jen will allow her real-life boyfriend to leave the house under her watch.

Can't wait to see what happens tonight!!

Sens & Other NHL News

Well, there's still quite a bit I'd like to say in regards to the comments on my "I Hate the Media" Blog, but in the interest of keeping the peace here in Jill's World, I'm going to let it go and move on.

First of all, I have to address the latest Wade Redden issue. On Friday, those pesky reporters whom I have such great distaste for these days, broke the news that the veteran Senators defenceman had once again refused to waive his no-trade clause in a deal that GM Bryan Murray was reportedly cooking up with San Jose. Of course, Sens fans in Ottawa were in an uproar - the Redden haters calling him selfish and stupid ("Can't you see they don't want you, dude? Beat it!!"); the Redden fans saying he made a smart move ("Why would he want to leave a Cup contender for San Jose? He's just living up to his contract!!")

I tended to agree with the Redden camp that not only felt he had made a smart decision, but also that the organization was not exactly treating him very fairly by trying to shove him out of town against his will. Wade Redden has played his entire career as an Ottawa Senator, and he has done a lot of good over those years, both on the ice and off. He has been a big part of the community, and the fact that he was over-paid on his last contract isn't exactly his fault. He may be on his way out after this season, but for now, he just wants to win a Stanley Cup with the only NHL club he has ever known, and I wish that management would show him enough respect to allow him to fulfill his contract and hopefully do just that.

Now, after hearing the news initially, and listening to anti-Wade fans ranting on the Team 1200, I was literally boiling with anger. I was thinking that Bryan Murray had better not want to meet up with me anytime soon, because he should fear the wrath of the Redden fan who really, really wanted to give him a piece of her mind. After the fact, Mr. Murray went public stating that his conversation with Wade was more about his current play within the team, and that if he wasn't happy, there was interest in him from other teams if he was willing to discuss it, which he was not. No particular trades or teams were mentioned, and he was disappointed the story had been blown so far out of proportion, and that it wasn't fair to Redden to have to deal with this media firestorm. Fair enough. I'll back off Bryan for awhile. I hope now that Wade can just peacefully play out the rest of the season, win the Cup, be such an important part of said win that the team decides to re-sign him after all, and then all my dreams would come true!

So with "Reddengate" finally put to rest, the Sens moved on to their Hockey Day In Canada date with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. All I can say is: Welcome back, Alfie!! With out Big 3 reunited, they accumulated 15 points between them in a 6-1 romp over the Habs. Olé, olé, olé indeed!! Now that was a fun game to watch. But even more important to me than the fact that Alfie, Heatley & Spezza were on fire was that Ray Emery looked solid in nets. He looked like the Emery of last year. God, I hope he's back for real.

Now yesterday, the big news out of the Sens camp was the 4-player trade that saw Joe Corvo & Patrick Eaves heading to Carolina in exchange for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore. Pretty much everyone is calling it a good trade for the Sens, so I guess I'm happy with it, although I'm always a little sad to see my players go. In this case, especially Patty Eaves, who is young, spunky, and has tremendous promise, despite the fact that he has spent much of this season on the injured list. I wasn't quite as attached to Corvo, and I sort of enjoyed the nickname "Uh Oh Joe" that the Ottawa Sun put on him for his risky defensive play, but I will always remember him scoring the goal in double-OT last season in the playoffs vs. Buffalo that gave us a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Both guys will be missed to a certain degree, but Stillman is the Top-6 forward Murray was looking for to fill the void in secondary scoring, and Commodore is the rugged defensive defenceman that the Sens were also desperate for. He'll suit up tonight alongside Redden, and I'm hoping that the two will click and all will be right in my world again. GO SENS GO!!

The other NHL news that grabbed my attention, and that of many others, was the near-deadly accident in Sunday night's game between Florida and Buffalo. Panthers' forward Richard Zednick was hit by teammate Olli Jokkinen's skate blade, resulting in a sliced artery in his neck. Footage from the incident was so graphic that TSN chose not to show it all, but the overhead shot of the ice surface covered in blood was enough to give everyone a pretty good idea how terrifying it was. Zednik, likely in shock, actually held his own wound and skated to the bench, which they are now saying likely saved his life. Had he dropped to the ice and waited for medical attention, he might not have been helped as quickly. The game was stopped for 15 minutes while they waited for the ice to be cleaned, and officials debated on whether or not to call the game. When word came that Zednik was stabilized and on his way to the hospital, they decided to finish out the final 8 minutes of the game. However, the cameras caught players on the bench looking very shaky and upset, so one has to think that they weren't really thinking about hockey for those 8 minutes. It truly is an incident like that that makes me realize there are way more important things in the world than hockey.

Thankfully, Zednik's emergency surgery was successful, and he is now recovering at the Buffalo hospital he was rushed to. Thoughts and prayers remain with him that everything continues to go well for him.

Crossing the Line

I've got a little problem with the media lately. I understand it is their job to report, to bring news to the public, to take pictures and videos of important people doing important things.

But sometimes the media cross a line. Sometimes they are cruel, sometimes they're too pushy, sometimes they won't let go, even when they are unwanted.

I realize there's a big difference between the paparazzi and, say, the local newscasters on CJOH. But this week I found a legitimate comparison to the Hollywood shutter-bugs and our own local media.

You've probably all heard the story of Wade Redden and teammate Brian McGrattan jawing at the cameramen who awaited outside a close-door team meeting at Scotiabank Place on Monday. After emerging from the 40-minute meeting, the players, obviously upset over the recent turn of events that have people calling them "Team Turmoil" and edgy from probably being lectured for almost an hour, they walked into a melée of cameramen and reporters, all looking to sensationalize the downward-spiral the Sens have been in for a while now. (And I blame the media for that, as well. Little spats at practice and such would largely go un-noticed with other teams, but because they're the first-place team from the Nation's Capital, everything gets blown out of proportion).

Anyways, apparently Redden crudely told the reporters to shove their cameras, and McGrattan followed suit with similiar suggestions. It was a pretty hot story for a few days, and the local media were all riled up about it, even though Redden did say later he meant his comments to be a joke. (I doubt it, but I'm glad he tried to smooth it over).

The local scribes and sports radio hosts were a little miffed at their reaction to their cameras, claiming that they are well compensated for living the life of famed athletes in the city and that they should be acting more like the professionals that they are. Also brought up was the fact that none of the players seem to mind the media attention when things are going well, so they should take the good with the bad, suck it up, and play nice with the photogs.

Now, lets transport ourselves to another world entirely: The world of Britney Spears. Yes, that's right, I said Britney Spears, believe it or not. Now I'm hardly sayting Wade Redden is anything like the fallen pop princess, but there is a comparison to be drawn. Poor Brit, she went from one of the hottest stars in the music industry to a great big joke in the past year, but now, it's gone beyond that. What's happening with her is no longer a laughing matter. The girl is seriously ill and quite obviously needs help, and I do think that the paparazzi are largely to blame. Everywhere she goes, they are there. Camped out at the gates of her estate, following her when she goes to Starbucks, and even ready to pounce when she's leaving the hospital.

Therein lie the similarities. Cameramen are cameramen, whether they are working for a reputable news source, or the tabloids. And these celebrities they are trying to catch doing something wrong are actually human beings, who have limits and boundaries, no matter how much money they make. Imagine if you've had a bad week at work, and everytime you leave the office you're hit with a barrage of questions and flashbulbs popping in your face. Wouldn't it make you want to snap?

At the end of the day, I guess Wade Redden shouldn't have barked at the cameramen. It wasn't exactly a shining moment in his career. But to be fair, they aren't always oozing with compliments for him in their columns and stories, especially over the past two seasons. In fact, he's been their favourite whipping boy.

So the way I'm feeling about the "paparazzi" lately...Well, just maybe they deserved the tongue-lashing he gave them.

Ledger Still On My Mind

It's been over a week since I first heard the news of Heath Ledger's tragic and untimely death, and he's still on my mind.

I've quit watching Entertainment Tonight to get updates on the investigation into his death, I've pretty much ignored the "was it an overdose or not?" frenzy, and I've even stopped leafing through my copy of last week's People magazine, in which, of course, his death was front-page news.

But still, I think about Heath Ledger, many times throughout the day. I'll suddenly remember a scene from "10 Things I Hate About You" (one of my favourite movies in high school that I watched over and over again), or from "A Knight's Tale" (one of my favourite movies in college that I watched over and over again), and it kind of takes my breath away in this weird, surreal way.

How can he be gone?

I know that Heath Ledger is not the first young actor to die before his time, but I guess he's the first one that has really affected me. I wasn't exactly Heath's #1 die-hard fan or anything like that, but if I heard he was in an upcoming flick, I'd get excited about it, and make a mental note to go see it. He was definitely one of my favourite actors, and it's still unsettling to me to know that he's no longer out there, making movies and living his life.

Last week, in the wake of his death, I went out and bought two movies that Heath starred in that I did not already have in my large DVD collection: "Four Feathers" and "Brokeback Mountain". I wanted to own as much of Heath as I possibly could, so that I can make him come alive on my TV screen anytime I want.

Strangely enough, I haven't been able to bring myself to watch either of them yet. I watched several movies over the weekend and the past few evenings - "Hairspray" and "X-Men" (thanks to my new James Marsden fetish), and "300" (hello, Gerard Butler). Each time I went to pop a disc in the DVD player, I toyed with idea of watching one of Ledger's movies, but I just couldn't do it.

I'm really not sure why. It's like it's still too raw and unbelievable to me, and while I've seen many pictures and shots of him on TV, I'm still not ready to sit down and watch any of the movies he actually starred in, even though I've already seen most of them. Very odd, considering he's in my thoughts so often these days.

I guess the truth is I'm not ready to let him go yet. I'm not ready to move on. Rather than watching his movies and remembering the great actor he was, I'd prefer to imagine he's still out there, walking the streets in Brooklyn in his grungy clothes, Matilda on his shoulders, a little smirk on his face.



Yeah. That's definitely the Heath I want to remember...

Ray Emery: From Hero to Villain

OK, so apparently there's an interest here on the Blog about the catastrophe that is Ottawa Senators goaltender Ray Emery. Personally, I've been trying to ignore it as much as possible, but I guess it's time to sit down and delve into Emery's fall from grace.

Doesn't seem so long ago that he was the king of the castle around here. After stealing the #1 goalie position from Martin Gerber last season, he led the Sens to the Stanley Cup Finals with some stellar goaltending, he was popular for his flashy wardrobe choices, he was teaming up with local rapper Belly on the "Go Sens Go" song - let's face it, Ray was the go-to guy in Ottawa. Our very own crazy celebrity in a town that is too often labelled boring and dull.

Last spring, with the playoff hype in full swing, I went out to buy a Senators t-shirt - the red ones that were really popular, with the big logo on the front and a player's name and number on the back. When I went to get mine, the Sports Experts location was almost sold-out. Of course, they had no Wade Redden ones, so I had to choose between Heatley, Spezza, and Emery.

I chose Emery. Not because I didn't like Spezza or Heatley, but because I thought Ray was the coolest guy in a Sens uniform. And I wanted his name on my tee.

Emery's fast rise to fame last season sort of covered up the past indiscretions that had previously had him in the doghouse of the Sens management. There was the legendary Cockroach Story - when Captain Alfie bet him $500 that he wouldn't eat a cockroach, so he ate it and collected his cash. The blonde hair that quickly disappeared, the rumour being that John Muckler, the Sens GM at the time, disapproved of it. The Mike Tyson-themed goalie mask that also quickly disappeared after a public outcry. Hell, he even got in a fender-bender while rushing to catch a flight for Game 5 in New Jersey in the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season, stopped to sign autographs for the fans that gathered on the shoulder of the road, and subsequently missed his flight - it certainly didn't go over well with the team at the time, but he took a commercial flight, won that game, ending the series, so all was forgiven.

In the off-season, he signed a big 3-year contract, had surgery to repair his injured wrist that bothered him all last season, and prepared to return as the Sens #1 goalie.

But things haven't quite gone as planned. First, there was the Road Rage Story that hit papers during camp, which involved Emery having an altercation with a gentleman who claimed Emery cut him off on the Queensway, and the men then exchanged heated words. He also missed most of the camp, because his wrist took longer to heal than expected, and while he was still recovering, the Sens jumped out to an amazing 16-3 start to the season, thanks in large part to the exceptional play of "back-up" Martin Gerber. He was late for practice one day in late December, and while the team tried to cover it up by saying Emery wasn't feeling well, he fessed up that he'd slept in and was told to "beat it" by Coach John Paddock. There was also the practice where he threw a hissy fit and threw his stick into the stands and knocked over a bunch of water bottles. And then came the fight in practice with tough guy Brian McGrattan.

His work ethic has been called into question by the coaching staff and Daniel Alfredsson.

And I won't even get into all the rumours of his partying and wild lifestyle off the ice.

Now, the latest offence: he was late for practice on Monday after spending the All-Star break in Las Vegas, claiming his flight was late and he thought practice was being held somewhere else. Paddock didn't allow him on the ice, and he has since been fined one day's pay.

Emery is calling it an honest mistake. Whether it was or not doesn't really matter. The fact is, he's been on thin ice for a while, so he really should be taking extra care to be on time and work hard. How is that it's always his flights that are late? Why is he always the one who didn't know where practice was? How can 20 other guys manage to figure it out, and he can't?

The sideshow he has become is getting a bit old. It's not funny to hear about his disruptions anymore. He's not smooth and cool anymore. He's turning into a joke, and nobody's laughing. He's on a team that has been lauded as a Cup Contender from the first puck-drop of the season, yet somehow, his crazy antics are grabbing more headlines than anything else. It's grown tiresome; it's not cool.

I'd like Ray Emery to go back to the guy he was last year, when he was all about flash, style & winning. When he was the guy who's name I wanted on the back of my shirt.

However, I fear for Emery that it's already too late.

On All-Star Weekend, a Hockey Game Broke Out...

Surprisingly enough, I can report to you all this morning that I actually enjoyed the NHL All-Star game! Well, for the most part. I mean, as much as I possibly could, considering my two Senators reps, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, had a relatively quiet weekend.


Alfie was named to the starting line-up for the East, but he failed miserably during the Accuracy Shooting portion of the Skills Competition, and then was held off the scoresheet in the showcase game (but he did look pretty good out there, nonetheless). Spezza's role in the Skills Comp was pretty limited - he got to do the stickhandling portion of one event that also involved saucer-passing, one-timers, and the goalies trying to score - (Sound complicated? It was...) - and he was also one the guys dishing the puck to his Eastern teammates in the Accuracy Shooting, which Tomas Kaberle eventually won, and Spezza celebrated as if he'd just won the Cup. (OK, not quite, but his enthusiasm was a bit too much for his Leaf nemesis.) In the actual game, Spezz looked pretty nifty out there with Alexander Ovechkin, as he collected a couple of assists, setting up Alex the Gr8's 2 goals.

The East eventually swept the entire weekend, winning both the Skills Competition and the All-Star Game, so that was pretty nice, especially with Sens coach John Paddock behind the bench.

Other highlights for me:

-Alex Ovechkin's attempts in the Shoot-Out competition, when he bounced the puck up in the air, spun around, and tried to bat it into the net. He didn't score, but it was pretty cool to watch. Plus, I think he may have been the only competitor who realized the point of the drill was to entertain. And that, he did.

- Jason Arnott. Anytime the camera was on him. I was reminded of how handsome he is.

- The way the guys sitting on the ice reacted after Jarome Iginla fired a shot in the Hardest Shot competition and missed the net. They all ducked as though it was going to come riccocheting back at them, then they all burst out laughing.


- The moment I realized Taylor Kitsch, the Canadian actor who stars as Tim Riggins on the show "Friday Night Lights", was one of the celeb judges during the Shoot-Out competition. He was so hot. And then, I got to giggle everytime it came time to give a score, and he seemed to wait and see what the other judges were holding up before making his decision. Too cute!


- Rick Nash's hat trick in the showcase game, all scored on breakaways, and the first came only 12 seconds into the match, an All-Star game record. The other 2 were highlight-worthy, and it seemed Nash, who was left out of the Shoot-Out competition the night before, decided to put on his own little clinic.


- Ilya Kovalchuk's showmanship during the game was remarkable. The dude came to entertain, especially in the second period when he was clearly trying to score desperately for his hometown crowd. After one point-blank shot on Evgeni Nabokov that was stopped, he fell backwards in disbelief, sprawled out on the ice staring heaven-ward, then hopped up and put his arms around the West's goaltender. Moments later, he was sent in again on Nabokov, and after being stopped again in the dying seconds of the period, he slammed his stick on the ice and made a real show of being ticked off. Then, in his post-game interview, he was cracking jokes left, right & centre. His cell rang at one point, and he stopped to answer it, explaining, "It is my sister. It's her first time at Phillips Arena. She may be lost."


- The goaltending in the game was awesome, even though the final score was 8-7, and there were many flashy saves that were almost more impressive than any goal scored, particularly Tim Thomas' save, when the puck was trickling along the line, and he reached back between his legs with his stick and swept it away. Evgeni Nabokov, spectacular in the saves mentioned above against Kovalchuk, ended up being the only goalie to not allow a goal, allowing the West to mount a comeback during the second period after they had gone down early 5-1 to the East.


- They've been saying on the post-All-Star-weekend analyses how cool it was that an actual hockey game broke out, and that it did. Especially in the third period, when the West had stormed back, and the teams began exchanging end-to-end chances, and you could tell that both teams were actually trying hard to win. There was a little pride on the line after all, and it ended up being the most competitive All-Star game I think I've ever witnessed.


Kudos to the players for showing up and entertaining the masses. For once, the weekend wasn't a complete joke, and while there's still some tweaking to do, I think the All-Star game is definitely headed in the right direction!

All-Star Weekend on the Horizon

Well, the Sens have been stinking it up lately, so forgive me if I'm already looking past tonight's game vs. Tampa Bay to the All-Star weekend.

Yes, that's right. I'm jumping from Stink Fest to Snooze Fest.

(Actually, I spent most of the week getting all primed for the Super Bowl, only to find out that it's not until next weekend. Which is something I can't figure out. In the NHL playoffs, if a team has a week-long layoff, people worry about the team losing it's mojo. In the NFL, a two-week hiatus is required to hype the game and give injured players time to rest. But that's really not important to this Blog, so moving right along...)

So everyone knows how lame the NHL All-Star game usually is. The elite of the NHL (or the guys who aren't injured, or decide not to just take a vacation) playing head-to-head in the East vs. the West, with absolutely no defence, guys laughing all over the ice, goalies getting bombarded, and the final score usually resulting along the lines of 14-13. For me, however, the more intriguing part of the weekend has been the Skills Competition, but even that has grown stale in recent years.

Thankfully, the NHL has decided to re-vamp the Skills Comp this year. There's going to be a shoot-out competition similar to the NBA's Slam Dunk contest, to see who can score the prettiest goals doing the sweetest moves, and there will be judges to give them scores. There are also other tweaks being made to the regular old drills to hopefully make things a little more splashy and exciting.

Now, as usual, one of the biggest problems with the All-Star game is that some of the league's biggest stars opt out to rest and relax, or they come up with some convenient "injury". This year, the leading vote-getter in the fan ballot, Sidney Crosby, will be absent. I'd be ready to crap all over Sid for being a sissy, but apparently he really is hurt, and is expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks. So I guess I have to lay off him a bit. I was a little pissed when I found out that Roberto Luongo had asked permission to skip the All-Star festivities after being voted in as the West's starting goaltender to spend the weekend relaxing with his wife, who is expecting a child in the Spring. Since then, I've heard the Mrs. Luongo has had complications with her pregnancy, so no one can blame Roberto for wanting to spend time with her instead of taking part in the All-Star Farce.

Last week, it looked like the Sens were also going to be seriously decreasing their number of All-Stars when both Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson went down to injury. Fortunately for me, it looks like Alfie will be ready to go, along with Jason Spezza, and only Heatley will be missing out with his separated shoulder, that should keep him out of the line-up for another month at least. Truthfully, without any Sens at the All-Star game, I probably wouldn't even pay attention to it, but I'm sort of interested to see how my boys fare out, and I hope they do us proud!

Let the All-Star festivities begin! Oh, wait...Dammit...There's still that pesky game tonight.

GO SENS GO!!

In Shock Over Heath's Death

Yesterday's Blog was all about celebrating the many, many attractive men of Hollywood.

Today, it's all about just one of them, as the world mourns the death of 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger.

I still can't believe he's gone. When Stacy called last night with the breaking news, I was literally shocked. So much so that when I gasped and exclaimed several times, "No! You're kidding! No way!", then jumped for the TV remote, I think my mom thought we were in the middle of another terrorist attack or something.

My reaction might have been different if it had been a celebrity with a knack for getting into trouble, a reputation of drug or alcohol abuse, a sad past spent trudging in & out of rehab centres. But I never heard such things about Heath Ledger. Not once.


Instead, Ledger was known for being a fiercely private man who was careful about the roles he chose, often leaning towards the edgy & dark, rather than high-profile pretty-boy parts, which his good looks certainly would have allowed him to play. He hated the paparazzi, and lived a bohemian lifestyle in New York, avoiding the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown. His first crack at the big screen was in the teen flick "10 Things I Hate About You", in which he played the brooding high school bad-boy Patrick Verona. After that, he also starred in "A Knight's Tale" (one of my favourites), "Four Feathers", and "The Patriot". However, the film that launched him into super-stardom & earned him a spot as one of Hollywood's most revered & respected was 2005's critically-acclaimed "Brokeback Mountain", for which he received Oscar buzz in his role as the secretly gay cowboy, Ennis Del Mar.

It was on the set of "Brokeback Mountain" that Heath met Michelle Williams, his on-screen wife, whom he became engaged to in real life & together they had a daughter, Matilda, now 2. However, he & Williams separated in September of 2007. Heath had also just finished playing the role of the Joker in the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight", which is still in production and should be released this summer.

I was completely blindsided by the news of his death. He was found face-down in bed in a SoHo apartment, and speculation is that it was an accidental overdose on prescription sleeping pills. It seems like such a sad and unexpected end to the life of one of Hollywood's brightest & talented stars. He had already accomplished so much at such a young age, and it seems a real shame that his life is over. Too soon. So tragic.

Tinseltown is still reeling over the news, and quite frankly, so am I. Oddly enough, I had Heath Ledger pencilled into my Top 5 yesterday, then replaced him at the last minute with Ryan Gosling. I'm finding that a little creepy right now.

Heath Ledger has been one of my favourites, ever since I saw him for the first time in "10 Things I Hate About You". I couldn't get enough of his smirky little smile & the way his eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief. And, of course, the sexy Australian accent. He was the main reason I bought "A Knight's Tale"; he was the only reason I went to see "Brokeback Mountain". Today, as I think back on him and all that he had accomplished as an actor, I can't help wallowing in the disappointed and devestated feeling that he could have done so much more if he'd been given more time.

Ledger's light was snuffed out far too soon. And now, all I have left, are a few DVDs and magazine clippings, and the knowledge that, while he was already considered great, he never got the chance to blossom into the true star that he was.

Welcome to My Top 5, James Marsden!!

You guys all know about my celebrity crushes. You've heard me gush and go ga-ga over many a male star. I'm a sucker for the pretty boys, for the bad boys, for the hot-as-hell boys. I'll never forget Sara's concern for my real-life relationships (or lack thereof), after we saw "Superman" and I fell in love with Brandon Routh. Sara wondered how any "normal" boys would ever match up now that I'd be comparing them to Superman.

One day last week, I decided to sit down and compile a list of my Top 5. The 5 stars I would want to be with, marry, spend the rest of my life with. If I had my choice, of course. Tricky little activity for me, considering all of the hot superstars I've drooled over over the years. Truth is, when examining my collection of movies, both VHS and DVD's, there's pretty much a hot guy that I was obsessed with in every one of them. The little-know movie "Circle of Friends"? Pretty boring, but I bought it during my Chris O'Donnell crush. "Inventing the Abbotts"? Not a bad one, but I only purchased it because of Joaquin Phoenix. The teen thriller flick "Fear"? Fairly lame when I watch it now, but I had to buy it during my Mark Wahlberg phase.

The examples go on and on, from accumulating movies starring Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise to scrounging around to find out what films have included Channing Tatum or Josh Hartnett in them.

I started out my Top 5 by eliminating Wade Redden. Yes, that's right. I eliminated him. But only because he's my Supreme #1...He would top any list of hot men that I decided to compile, so in order to free up that spot, I chose to make this list only for movie & TV stars. Then I sat there and wrote down every name of every guy that I've ever thought was attractive in any slight sense of the word. Survivor star Colby Donaldson, MuchMusic alum & host of "The Hour" George Strompalompoalous (no idea...), John Stamos in his "Full House"/Uncle Jesse glory days, even Scott Baio, because as Chachi from "Happy Days", he was my first love.

Before I knew it, I had a full sheet of loose leaf jammed with names of stars, some big names, some rather obscure, some old dogs, some still very young and green - and I couldn't even come close to narrowing it down to 5. Or 10. Or 20. I just loved them all too much.

But then, on Friday night, I went to see the premiere of the new romantic comedy, "27 Dresses". Instantly, one name that was on my list went from sorta hot to Top 5 quality...

Welcome aboard, James Marsden!!

In "27 Dresses", he plays Kevin Doyle, a wedding columnist, who bumps into Jane (played by Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Knocked Up" fame), one of those "always a bridesmaid, never a bride"-type girls. She's in love with her boss, George, but he ends up engaged to her sister, Tess. Meanwhile, Kevin's chasing her around, just trying to make her fall for him.

Let me tell you this - it wouldn't have taken me as long to succumb to his charms as it did Jane. Forget for one minute that the boy is completely drool-worthy, with his sexy dark hair (just a teeny bit shaggy), and his ice-blue eyes, and his tanned and perfect face, and his full, kissable lips. Just forget all that.

He's funny. He's charming. He's clever. He's amazing.

Now, I know what you're all saying - that's just his character, right? Sure, Kevin might have written his name & phone number on every Saturday of Jane's day planner before returning it to her, or sent her flowers, or danced on a bar with her to "Benny & the Jets". But James Marsden probably wouldn't have. He's an actor who played a cute guy that sucked me right in to thinking he was the perfect guy.

Well, turns out, James might be even better than his character in "27 Dresses". Because in the February issues of Glamour magazine, there's a photo that his wife, Lisa, took of him playing in their backyard with their children, Jack, age 7, and Mary, age 2. In the photo, he's sitting on the ground with a huge smile on his face, while Mary's standing in front of him with a huge make-up brush, about to doll up her dad, while Jack's behind him, putting grass in his hair.

And that, my friends, is when I fell in love with James Marsden. The hottest thing about him? He's a great dad. And isn't that what most of us girls are all looking for at the end of the day? A hot guy who's sweet and wonderful and loves kids. That's what catapaulted him into my Top 5.

And Sara might be right. Now that James Marsden is my "Mr. Perfect", the ordinary boys around here don't really stand a chance...

Oh, and for the record, I've tried to draft a quick list, just for the Blog. It may change at the drop of a hat, or the second I think of someone else, but here, in no particular order, are my Top5:

1. James Marsden (for all the reasons mentioned above)
2. Matthew McConaughey (not really liking his new long hair, but otherwise, he's sexy as hell)
3. Josh Hartnett (smoldering & mysterious...and hot)
4. Justin Chambers (my fave doc on Grey's, in real life he's married with 5 kids... *sigh*)
5. Ryan Gosling (I just watched "The Notebook" yesterday, and his Noah-ness is fresh in my mind)

My New Sport

Nothing will ever replace hockey as my favourite sport. As a Canadian, there's nothing that gets my heart pumping harder or causes butterflies of excitement as much as a highly anticipated match between two teams, usually involving my dear Senators. I love sound of skate blades slicing through ice, the roars of the crowds, the sheer thrill of seeing that red light flash on when my team scores. It's a rush like no other.

But for a while now, I've been taking a mild interest in football, both NFL and CFL. As a kid, I used to watch football now and then, usually the Grey Cup or Super Bowl, and try to make sense of it. However, nothing ever seemed to click. A bunch of guys would line up, shout at each other about colours and numbers ("Blue 52! Blue 52!"), then they'd all charge at each other, pile up in a big heap, and then do it all over again. Every now and then someone would throw the ball, another player would catch it, and score a touchdown. That part I understood. Everything else...I was clueless.

My dad used to laugh at my attempts to figure the sport out, but he never really ever offered any useful information. The only thing I can remember him telling me that was even close to football-related was, "You'd kick on first down if you were playing football." And I didn't even know what that meant.

Despite all of this, some of my favourite movies have been about football. "Remember the Titans", "Invincible", "We Are Marshall", "Radio" - I loved them all. Perhaps my favourite, though, was "Friday Night Lights", and the TV series it has spawned. I'll give FNL the credit for prodding me to learn more about the game. After watching the last episode of Season 1 on DVD last weekend, I decided, "That's it - this game looks like too much fun for me to continue ignoring. This weekend, I'm going to learn about football!"

Turns out, I picked a good time. The Super Bowl is approaching, so the NFL is in the midst of playoffs and things are very interesting right now. Before even watching a game, I knew that the New England Patriots hadn't lost a game all season, so I sort of just decided to cheer for them. How could I go wrong with them, right? No underdogs for me, I'm going with the best of the best, at least for now. Oh, and their quarterback, Tom Brady, is smokin' hot. Always a bonus.

So, I sat down Saturday afternoon to watch some football, and I asked Luke to please explain to me the basics. In about 5 minutes, Luke taught me more about football than I've learned in my whole life. When the afternoon game started, I finally understood (at least, a little) what was going on!

I didn't get to watch the New England game, but they did, in fact, win, so my team is still in it, and I'm looking forward to this weekend's games. I'm very excited about my new sport, and to learn more about it, and to watch Tom Brady - yummy! The best part of all, though, is now understanding what my dad means when he tells me I'd kick on first down if I were playing football, and I now know enough to say, "No, Dad, I wouldn't, only an idiot would do that!"

Why Can't the Sens Beat the Caps??

Can someone please explain to me why the Ottawa Senators can't beat the Washington Capitals?

It makes no sense to me. None whatsoever. The Sens have been atop the Conference standings for the entire season, widely considered the cream of the crop in the East, their NHL supremacy rivalled only by the Detroit Red Wings in the West, whom they beat Saturday night in Ottawa.

So why-oh-why can't they beat the Caps, a team that has wallowed at the bottom of the standings for much of the season, and, at best, will be fighting for a playoff spot down the stretch?

Yep, I know they've got Alex Ovechkin. I know he's amazing and could probably win a game all on his own any given night. But the Sens have shut down guys like him (ie: Sidney Crosby, Henrik Zetterberg, etc.) - so he can't be the only reason. And I can't think of any other good reasons, to be honest.

They're calling it the Curse of the Caps. I would assume because nobody else can come up with any logical explanation as to why such a dominant team as my beloved Senators could not come up with a W against the Capitals this season; how Washington managed to sweep the season series 4-0. It's a little befuddling.

Last night, for a few brief moments in the second period, it almost looked like the Sens might break the curse. With Washington leading 1-0, Dean McAmmond tied it up, and not long after, Wade Redden (*sigh*) took credit for a garbage goal after banging away at the puck in the front of the net. Miracle of miracles! 2-1 Sens!!

The magic faded quickly, though, when a mere 23 seconds later, the Caps tied it back up after Uh-Oh Joe (Corvo, that is) gave the puck up in his own zone to Semin and he zippity-doo-da'd around Redden to beat Emery. Blech.

Going into the third period tied, though, actually wasn't all that bad. A shot at a point, at least? The Sens would take that, given their problems with the Caps all season long. No such luck, though. Ovechkin scored on the power play and the Caps added another to make it 4-2 Washington, allowing them to collect all 8 possible points against the Sens this year. I do consider this one of the biggest mysteries of the season thus far, but it only gives more credence to my favourite hockey catch phrase: "Anything can happen. Anyone can win." (Thank you, Pro-Line.)

All I can say is that I hope to God we don't meet them in the playoffs...

In the Blink of an Eye...

I have vague memories of watching hockey as a kid and thinking that Craig MacTavish guy was crazy for not wearing a helmet.

He was the last NHLer (and the only one I can remember) to play without a lid. It blows my mind to think that for many, many years, men played this game without any protection on their heads.

Next step: Visors. It's an on-going debate, and as of now, they are still optional in the NHL. To me, it's as plain and simple as the helmets - they should definitely be mandatory. Of course, there are players who are for them, and players who are against them. Then we have that meathead Don Cherry claiming that players who use them are weak or soft Europeans. I was so angry a while back when Mike Fisher got into that fight where the guy head-butted him, and Grapes had the audacity to say Fisher should have never been in that fight, because it wasn't fair he was wearing a visor. The wuss.

Many guys claim they obstruct their vision on the ice. Well, you know what else can obstruct your vision? A stick in the eye. That's a permanent obstruction, one that I can't believe people risk when they step on the ice without facial protection.

Last night, the issue hit a little too close to home. Baby brother was playing hockey in Shawville in their little 4-team beer league, where of course there are no rules on visors at all. At about 10 PM, the phone rang at home, and it was one of those calls that you just sense there's something wrong. It was Bucky calling to say that someone had to get to the hospital because Luke had been badly cut around his eye.

About 40 stitches around his right eye later, Luke emerged a lucky boy. His eye will be fine, but the scar that will run around it should be a constant reminder of how close he came to being one of those guys who takes a stick in the face and doesn't see ice time ever again. Or anything else, for that matter.

Now, Luke will probably be the first to tell me to get off my soapbox; that it should be a player's decision to wear a visor or not, and that hockey is a dangerous game, with or without a visor. Who knows, maybe the guys stick comes up under the visor and it does even more damage, right?

Or maybe it deflects off the visor, and there's no hospital visit, no scare of losing an eye, and the dude gets a minor penalty for high-sticking. End of story.

So, yeah. I think visors should be mandatory, not only in the NHL, but in any league for that matter. Just as the helmet seems like such an obvious measure of protection, so too should the visor. Then players wouldn't have to worry about being labelled "soft" just because they want to protect their eyes. Everyone would be in the same boat, and certainly the chance of getting a stick or puck in the eye would decrease, which can only be a good thing.

A person's sight is such a precious thing, and taking a gamble with it seems so ridiculous. With one wild swing of a stick, or a puck shot high, it can be gone. Just like that, in the blink of an eye. Why the visor issue hasn't been resolved yet simply baffles me.

The Blog Enters 2008

Well, it's a few days late, but Happy New Year to everyone in the Blogosphere!!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday - I definitely did! 12 straight days of eating and sleeping and watching movies and just doing whatever I wanted. It was bliss!

However, now it's back to reality - back to work, and trying to rid myself of all the extra weight I put on (and then some). That is my only New Year's resolution for 2008 - LOSE WEIGHT. I went back and reviewed by Resolution Post from last year, and let's face it: I set myself up for a big fall with those lofty goals. There was no way I'd get skinny, get a boyfriend, get adventurous, and become a world-famous author all in one year. That's just not practical. So this year, I'm sticking with the basic "Drop 30 pounds" routine. If I did that, it would make me very, very happy. I think it's possible, as long as I remain disciplined and focused. We'll see how it goes...

Now, on the final night of my holidays, I went to see the movie PS I Love You...And ladies, if you haven't already, get your butts to the theatres ASAP, because I guarantee you'll love it. If anyone needs someone to go with them, call me. That's right, I loved it that much that I'd pay the big theatre bucks to see it again.

Two words: Gerard Butler. He's my first "find" of the year. I'd never heard of him before I saw the movie; now I love him. Now, it's no secret that he dies very early in the movie, but fear not - he re-appears in many "flashback" scenes and in his widow's visions throughout, so there's plenty of Gerry to be seen. Yum.

Now, as if one hot guy weren't enough...there's also substantial Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the flick. For those of you not familiar with the name, he played Denny Duquette in Season 2 of Grey's Anatomy, Izzie's patient whom she falls in love with and becomes engaged to, but then he dies. Now, I was big fan of his just from his stint on Grey's, and I wasn't sure it was possible for him to get any hotter. But...TA DA!! He does. In PS I Love You, he's a hunky Irish musician. Oh yes, that's the other thing - I now know that I want to marry a guy who is Irish. 'Cause apparently they're all amazingly handsome, great singers, and super-funny.

So PS I Love You is basically a quirky romantic comedy, you've all seen the trailers - a young woman loses her husband tragically, but before his death, he set up a system so that she would continue to receive letters from him throughout the year after he dies, to help her cope with the loss. Hilary Swank is wonderful as the grieving widow, and I also thought Lisa Kudrow was her wonderful off-beat self in the role of her best friend, Denise. There are lots of laughs, lots of tears (just try not to cry in the scene where Holly returns to the karaoke stage after Jerry's death), and some really great music too.

I may be no high-falootin' film critic, but I give it 5 stars. It's easily my most favourite movie in a long, long time.

So that's a wrap on the first Blog of '08. Cheers, gang!!

The Merry Christmas Blog

Well, folks, it's finally that one special day...

My last day of work before the holidays!! WOO-HOO!!! My cheeks are rosy with excitement, I've got tiny Christmas trees dangling from my ears, and I have a gigantic smile on my face. Gosh, I just love this time of year!!

In case I'm not back on-line between now & "The Big Day", I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope Santa is good to all of you, and all your Christmas wishes come true!! Eat lots of yummy treats, have a few festive drinks, enjoy opening every single gift, and best of all, soak in the satisfaction of watching your loved ones open the gifts that you got for them. Also, I wish you peace, health & happiness in 2008. Have fun ringing in the New Year!!

HO! HO! HO!

I Know It's Almost Christmas When...

When you were a kid, did you get so excited for Christmas that you had trouble sleeping for days beforehand? Did you get butterflies so bad that on Christmas Eve, you spent hours tossing and turning, just dreaming of the gifts and the wondeful excitement that was just a sunrise away?

I did. And I still do. And it's already hit me.

Last night, for some odd reason, my eyes popped open and it was still dark in my room. I glanced at my alarm clock, and the bright neon-green numbers declared that it was only 3:48 AM. Instantly, my brain went into overdrive as it started to churn up images of holiday treats, beautifully wrapped gifts, the stockings bursting with little treasures, the family and friends that mean so much. Just thinking about it all made me so giddy.

And soooooooo not sleepy.

Christmas is still 5 days away. If this is what I'm dealing with now, imagine how hard it will be to sleep on Christmas Eve!!

However, now that I'm an adult, I've discovered the perfect solution to Christmas Eve insomnia: Alcohol.

A few drinks at Patti's, along with a few shooters of Jagermeister or Tequila Rose around Randy's bar in the basement, which has become a bit of a tradition in recent years, really do the trick. By the time I get my butt home around 2 in the morning, I've had enough booze that I pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow. The trick is to not get too sloppy drunk. When you do that, Christmas day is ruined by a hang-over. So you've gotta be careful, just have enough to get a nice buzz on, and before bed, drink lots of water and some Advil. It's the perfect remedy to ensure that my eyes don't snap open too early. By the time Christmas morning rolls around, I feel refreshed, not too groggy, and ready for the excitement of opening gifts and all the delicious foods awaiting me.

The problem is these days coming up to Christmas Eve. I can't get tanked for the next 4 nights in a row just so I sleep better, right? People would start calling me the Holiday Alcoholic. And I can't have that. Guess I'll just have to deal with my insomnia another way!

Only 5 more days...!!

The Sens Roll On

Remember not so long ago I was starting to panic a little when the Sens were mired in a 7-game losing streak?

Not so anymore. Last night, after beating the Boston Bruins, their biggest competition thus far in the Northeast Division, they lengthened their win streak to 6, making it even easier to forget that long, torcherous slump. A win over the Bruins was very important, considering they were only 6 points behind the Sens in the standings. A win for the B's would bring them only 4 points behind the Sens. I know we're still not even at the half-way point, but maintining this cushion over the rest of the teams in their division should be a goal for the Sens, especially after they worked so hard to build their lead early in the season.

So with the win, the Sens move 8 points ahead of Boston in the standings, giving them a little more breathing room. Ottawa opened the scoring with a goal from Jason Spezza, and then I took a little nap. When I woke up between the second and third period, I had missed Chuck Kobasew's tying goal and Luke Richardson' go-ahead marker, his first in a Sens uniform, and his first since 2005. I'm sure making the moment even sweeter for Lucky Luke was the fact that his father, Shawville native Glen Richardson, was in attendance to witness it. (He is travelling with the team on this current road trip).

Spezza potted another on a 4-minute power play, and with time winding down, it seemed the deal was sealed. But not so fast... Boston scored with about 50 seconds left on the clock, making things a little more interesting for the dying seconds, but the Sens held on for the win. Martin Gerber again looked strong between the pipes, and it was a solid victory over Zdeno Chara and his Boston teammates.

Now, following the game, Sportsnet switched over to it's highlight loop, Connected, where they promptly began with a run-down of the Leafs loss to Carolina. Turns out the boys in Blue & White held a 2-0 advantage over the 'Canes with a minute and a half left to play, and Carolina came back to score 2 and then beat the Laffs in OT. How sweet it is!!

It was the icing on the cake for me!

GO SENS GO!!

6 more days...

The Countdown Is On...

Can you believe it's only 1 more week until Christmas? Just 7 days...Wheeee!!

Actually, if we want to get technical, today's almost over. As I type, the clock indicates it is 3:05 PM, so this workday is winding down quickly, and that means there's only 6 days until Christmas!!

I just can't wait...December has been flying, but somehow, these last few days seem to drag out the longest. I still have lots of Christmas movies to watch, and plenty of odds and ends to do before the "big day", and yet, I'm still finding myself twiddling my thumbs, thinking Christmas might never come.

Of course, I have my parnoia, which I've blogged about before, that I'm still dealing with. I'm still terrified I'm going to get sick and miss the whole she-bang. Christmas only comes once a year, so the thought of missing it makes me panic.

And then there are other silly little fears - like, what if people don't like the gifts I got them? What if it rains this weekend and it ruins my Christmas spirit? What if I don't get to watch all the movies & specials I want to see? What if the weather is bad and we can't make it to Aunt Marion's on Boxing Day? Many what-ifs to cause unneccessary holiday angst.

But most of all, there is this wondeful excitement, an air of anticipation, which is only going to increase & intensify as the week progresses.

Christmas is almost here!!

Keith Urban & Survivor Re-Caps

It was a wild & crazy weekend in the World of Jill, so we'll start with Friday night and the Keith Urban concert at Scotiabank Place.

First of all, let me make one thing clear: Urban was awesome. The show was spectacular, he was at his sexy best, and he had everyone on their feet from start to finish.

Oh - wait. Sorry. Not everyone. Section 209 never got to their feet. Ever. And just take a guess at where our seats were? Yup. Section 209.

I've never been told to sit down at a concert before. But that's exactly what happened on Friday night, after Keith took to the stage for his first song. Immediately, Stacy, Caryl, Sarah & I leapt to our feet, hooting and hollering and ready to party. It wasn't long before I started to hear people yelling at us to sit down. It quickly became clear that we were in the grumpy old people section, and we eventually moved to the empty section next to ours, where a few other people had moved so that they could stand up and have fun without being roared at and glared at by all the losers we were sitting with. Like, seriously. You're at a concert, people. If you wanted to sit back, stay at home and watch a Keith Urban DVD. Talk about party poopers!!!

Once we moved, we definitely had a lot more fun. Keith played all his hits, with highlights for me being "Stupid Boy", "Somebody Like You", and "You Look Good in my Shirt", as well as a sweet rendition of "White Christmas" that he played to kick off his encore. He made full use of his stage and the long cat-walk out into the crowd, even spending part of the show with his entire band doing an acoustic set out on a platform at centre ice. The crowd ate it up and it was obvious everyone was having a blast (everyone, that is, except for Section 209).

The best part was late in the show, while we were up & dancing in our new empty section, which was right at the side of the stage, Keith came right out at that side of the stage and we were waving at him, and he pointed right at us...very cool! Made the move worthwhile (even though it still pisses me off that we had to move after paying $95 for our original seats).

Now, on to my Survivor re-cap:

I haven't blogged on Survivor in quite a while, so we'll just fast-forward to where we were at going into last night's finale: My favourite, James, was voted out a few weeks ago after he failed to use one of the two hidden Immunity Idols he had in his possession. Otherwise, he should've been a shoo-in for the Final 3. He never should've trusted his alliance!

However, once James left, I quickly switched my cheers to Todd, the flight attendant from Utah who has a dual-citizenship and comes to Canada often with his mom, who is from Scarborough. So luckily for me, Todd was in the Final 4 last night with Denise the lunch lady, Amanda the beauty queen, and Courtney the waitress. I wasn't sure how Todd would fare out with three girls going into the finale, but I happened to fall asleep about 20 minutes in, and I woke up just as the Reunion Show was starting, just as Jeff Probst was revealing Todd as the winner of Survivor: China! So yeah...this re-cap kinda sucks, but I did enjoy the Reunion, so I'll just talk about that I guess.

I was pleased to discover that I wasn't the only person in the world who fell in love with James. Probst talked about James' popularity with the viewers quite a bit, claiming he's probably the most popular player they've had on the show in a long time (I'm thinking since Colby or Rupert). James' likability translated into a big prize for him, despite the fact that he didn't finish in the top 4, as fans voted for him and he was awarded $100 K for being the most popular player.

Denise also came out with a little extra cash, after she revealed that her life since Survivor has been hell. She returned home and found that she had lost her job as the lunch lady at the school she worked at, and is now employed at night working as the janitor. Mark Burnett, the mastermind behind Survivor, heard her story and feeling terrible for her misfortune, told Jeff Probst on a commercial break that he personally wanted to give Denise and her family $50,000 to help her to get back on her feet.

Another of my favourite moments was when Denise explained her hairstyle, after being encouraged to do so by Probst. Denise has a very distinct mullet, which is a cut that is more often mocked than admired by most people. As it turns out, Denise needed to have short hair around her face because of her job around food in a school cafeteria, but because she also wanted to feel like a woman and look beautiful for her husband, she wanted to keep her long hair down her back. It was one of those "awwwww" moments when I realized why she styled her hair in such a hideous way.

Another interesting moment was when Jeff revealed that the next season of Survivor, which will begin in February, is going to be Fans vs. Favourites. They're bringing in a collection of super-fans who have studied the game from the beginning and have been dying to get on the show (much like Todd was), and they will be going up against favourite players from past seasons. Jeff didn't tell us who would be playing, but he did say at least one cast member from China would be back. (The way the camera lingered on James was a bit of a hint...Yay!!)

I suppose it would be too much to hope for Colby to return, as he's already played twice. I haven't had a whole lof of "favourites" over the past few years, so who knows who will be back. If James does return, he'll definitely be the one I'm rooting for!!

So in between Keith Urban and Survivor, it snowed. It snowed and snowed and snowed. But I'm panicking a little because on the Weather Network website, they're calling for rain on the weekend...Ahhhh! One of the guys here at the office has told me we now have enough snow that it would have to be 20 degrees for a week and rain steady for me to lose my snow, so he doesn't figure it will be a green Christmas.

My fingers are crossed!!

HUH?!?

I was just checking out Stuntman Stu's Blog (http://stuntmanstu.blogspot.com) and I found the following excerpt from today's post:

I'm flipping between that and the celeb obsessed TMZ.com which now has a show where you can watch stars act like a-holes on the Hollywood strip. What kills me is when a former A lister like Woody Harrelson who's done nothing worthwhile since Cheers ended 15 years ago, gets upset when there's a lens up in his face. Woody, if you don't like the cameras move to Quyon.

Yep. He mentioned Quyon in his Blog! Not sure Stu knows where Quyon is or anyone from my darling little hometown, or perhaps he just Googled the most absurd town names in the world and chose it and doesn't even realize he's just across the river from said village. Or maybe he does. But he's clearly not that familiar with our stomping grounds, or he'd know that if a celeb, even one as washed up as Woody Harrelson, showed up in Quyon, there's probably be more flashes going off than there ever would be on the Hollywood strip!!

Anyways, just had to share the snippet with you! :)

Shut-out for Marty Gerber *

So just when it seemed the Sens' goaltending situation was working itself out, with Ray Emery getting his 4th consecutive start last night in Carolina after back-stopping his team out of their 7-game slump, posting victories over Florida and Dallas, it took another unexpected turn.

While the Sens jumped out to the best start in NHL history, it was last year's flop, Martin Gerber, leading the charge with some outstanding netminding. Then the team hit the skids, and both he and Emery had some terrible outings. But it was Emery between the pipes, making some big stops in a shoot-out loss to Tampa Bay last week, so he got the start the next game vs. the Panthers, where they collected their first victory in 8 games. Then they had a very solid win over the Stars, and it seemed Emery had re-ascended the throne as this team's #1 goalie, as he was expected to be after taking them to the Stanley Cup Finals last spring.

But last night, less than 6 minutes in, after facing only 1 shot and with the Sens already up over the 'Canes 2-0, Ray Emery pulled himself, saying he had a hip injury.

Re-enter: Marty Gerber.

It's kind of funny - just when one or the other seems to be in total control, something happens and they swap positions yet again. Yesterday, it looked as though Emery was the go-to guy, but after last night's 6-0 romp over Carolina, with Gerber doing most of the work, it would appear that he's now in the driver's seat and will get the start tonight vs. Pittsburgh. Not bad for a guy who was only planning on getting one start on this current road trip.

It's sort of a relief to know the team has this luxury of two potential #1 goalies, even though they do eat up quite a chunk of the salary cap. With injuries and inconsistency, it's nice to know that chances are good at least one of them will be hot at any given time.

And last night, Darth Gerber was hot. Unfortunately, there will be an asterisk next to this shut-out for him. It's very unusual for a goaltender to leave the net while his team is winning, but that's exactly what happened last night when Emery pulled himself due to injury. So while Emery only played the first 6 minutes, he will be given credit for the win, even though Gerber played most of the game. And they both get credit for the shut-out, as they both did not allow any goals. A very unique situation, indeed.

As for the rest of the team - they were firing on all cylinders last night, completely shutting down Carolina. Dany Heatley potted two goals, and also scoring were Jason Spezza, Mike Fisher, Shean Donovan, and Dean McAmmond, with his first on the season, giving the Sens a resounding 6-0 victory.

Another headline from this game was the second-period tilt between Mike Fisher and Scott Walker. Fisher, unhappy after Walker crashed into Gerber in his crease, went after the 'Canes' tough-guy in what my dad called "one of the best fights I've seen in a long time". A lot of punches were thrown, with Fisher eventually cutting Walker open, and hey, doesn't everyone like to see blood? Then the two of them were kinda of in a bear-hug when Walker head-butted Fisher. I don't think he quite connected the way he wanted to, and it wasn't that severe, but it was still a head-butt. After that, Fisher really went to town on him, clearly having the edge in the fight. Walker ended up with the 5-minute major and game misconduct for his head-butt, and the league will also be reviewing. There's a strong possibility that he'll be suspended for his actions.

So what more could you want in a hockey game if you're a Sens fan? An interesting turn of events in the goaltending "controversy", a big win that sort of put the exclamation mark on the statement "They're back!", and a big fight to boot. What a game!!

I likely will miss tonight's game as I have a grading for my orange belt at Karate, but I'm hoping they do the same to the Penguins tonight.

GO SENS GO!!

The Blog is 200!!

Welcome, everyone, to the 200th post!!

Can ya believe it? 200 Blog posts over the past 15 months. I must admit, they haven't been as frequent over the past little while as I'd like, but the Blog has survived so much, it would be a shame to let it die. The number of people leaving comments has dwindled, my creative juices sometimes have a hard time flowing, and then there's this small little Internet phenomenon called "Facebook" that occupies much of my on-line time.

Yet still, the Blog prevails!

Thanks to all who continue to read, for the few of you who still post (even if it is about Coronation Street - keep it coming!), and for all who take time out of their day to check out Jill's World (as boring as it may be...) Hopefully we'll all still be around for #300!!

So - tonight is my Christmas Pot-Luck for Ladies' Night at the Family Centre, which I'm very much looking forward to. Actually, kinda dreading it - we have to bring an embroidery needle, a paint brush, a glue gun & scissors. Sounds like a complicated craft!

Then tomorrow night, I'm going for my orange belt at Karate! I knew there was a grading coming up, but I didn't expect to be taking part in it, because as of last night I had only 2 black stripes on my yellow belt. (You need 3 black and one red to represent the different parts you've learned to advance to the next belt). However, Sensei Brenda quickly taught me my second set of self defence moves, and then I had to do 25 push-ups & 25 sit-ups to get my last two stripes. So now I'm able to take part in the grading and hopefully by Friday, I'll be sporting a lovely orange belt!!

Due to these two busy evenings, I'll be missing some Sens games, but I'm hoping the boys get some more victories under their belts to extend their current winning streak. GO SENS GO!!

That's all for now! Have a great afternoon, everyone! :)

They Call It Paranoia

For the past few days, it's been sneaking up on me.

I've been feeling it. A little twinge. A slight scratchiness at the back of my throat. A sneeze here. A sneeze there.

Christmas is exactly two weeks away, and I'm terribly afraid that I'm going to catch a cold, or some kind of foreign sickness. It's one of the busiest times of the year, and I have absolutely no time to be sick!!

I think it's a fear that was instilled in me as a child. There were several Christmases in a row where my family was unable to take part in any holiday cheer because one or more of us were ill. Fortunately, none of us have been sick for Christmas for years, but I'm still paranoid. Just around the time when I'm ready to dive head-first into the festive jolly-ness of the season, I start worrying about the pesky cold. Or the flu. Or typhoid fever. Or malaria.

So I've been pumping the Cold FX, the Echinicea, the Vitamin C. Everything I can possibly think of to ward off any germs or bugs that are trying to eat away at my immune system.

This morning, my awareness of catching an infectious disease was heightened when I arrived at work to find everyone fussing over Holly. She's got a cold, of course. And decided to come to work and infect me. Everyone's been telling her she needs to go home and rest, pop some pills, fight the cold, take it easy, poor wee thing.

Know what I said to her?

"Holly. If I end up sick...I'm going to kill you."

I kid not. Literally, that's what I said. She just laughed. She clearly did not take me seriously. But she should have.

Not only is Christmas fast-approaching, but I'm smack-dab in the middle of crazy-hectic-holiday-activity time. The Christmas house tour was last night. Tomorrow night is my craft group's pot-luck. Friday night is Keith Urban. Christmas parties, family gatherings, and so on...

NO TIME TO GET SICK!!!

So right now I'm sucking on a Halls Vitamin C lozenge and trying not to breathe in her germs, wishing I had one of those hospital masks to wear over my face.

Some might call it paranoia. I just call it being preventative & prepared!!

Jill's Holiday Special (Reprise)

Well, gang, I'm cutting corners today - just re-posting my 2006 Holiday Specials blog. Not much has changed since I made my list last year - Elf is still my favourite, and the only new one I'd like to add is Fred Claus, which I saw a few weeks ago. Only problem is, I can't think of any to boot off the list, so I guess that means I now have 16 favourites!!

It's that time of the year again, when the TV schedule is full of Christmas shows and movies - and I tried to sit down and come up with a "Top Ten", but I just couldn't. I love too many of them. I have managed to narrow it down to fifteen of my all-time favourites, so if you get an opportunity to catch any of them, you should. Chances are, many of them are already favourites of yours, too.

So grab a cup of hot chocolate, a bowl of buttery popcorn, your coziest blanket, and curl up on the couch to enjoy some holiday magic!!

15. The Polar Express - This computer-animated movie is a recent addition to my holiday line-up of favourites. Tom Hanks is the voice of the conductor of a train taking children to the North Pole, and they run into many crazy adventures and obstacles along the way. I guarantee you, the sound of bells jingling will forever give you chills after watching this movie.

14. A Flintstone Family Christmas - Who doesn't love the Flintstones? It was a noon-hour tradition when I was a kid. In the Christmas special, Bam Bam & Pebbles are all grown up and married with kids of their own, and they return home to celebrate the season with Fred, Wilma, Barney & Betty. I always knew those two crazy stone-age kids were meant for each other!!

13. The Family Stone - I'm not sure this movie was meant to be considered a "Holiday Classic", but because it is set at Christmastime, I'm including it in my list. Starring such big names as Diane Keaton, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Claire Danes, and Sarah Jessica Parker, it is the story of a family reunited at Christmas, only to learn that their family is about to change drastically, in more ways than one. Just try not to cry in the last scene. I dare you.

12. American Dreams: JJ's Return - OK, so this is just an episode of a cancelled TV show and it probably shouldn't even be counted, but I've watched it every Christmas for the past three years. It has become one of my holiday staples. The Prior family is dreading the holiday season without their son and brother, JJ, who is missing in the midst of the Vietnam War. When they get the call on Christmas Eve to tell them JJ has been found and will be returning home safely, it just gives you the warm & fuzzies. Plus, JJ's dad gets him the '66 Mustang for Christmas - now that's what every hero deserves!

11. A Garfield Christmas - There's something about the Garfield Christmas special that reminds me of my own family. No, we don't have any crazy pets like Garfield and Odie, but the excitement of Jon and his brother on Christmas morning reflects that of the youthful exuberance with which my siblings and I still greet Christmas morning. Plus, Garfield's gift to Grandma is a touching moment that few cartoons could ever accomplish.

10. Eight Crazy Nights - Adam Sandler's animated movie in the spirit of Hanukkah tells the story of a misguided, troubled young man who is headed down the wrong path until he is taken under the wing of one of the local characters, Whitey, who has dedicated his life to volunteering and helping the children of his hometown. It's got Broadway-style songs, big laughs, and some tear-jerking moments that only Adam Sandler could combine into one festive package.

9. A Charlie Brown Christmas - It's not Christmas without Charlie Brown! It's one of those old cartoons that is on every year, but you just can't miss it. All of the Peanuts gang is preparing for the class Christmas pageant in which they are recreating the Nativity story. And then there's that tree. The Charlie Brown Tree. You know what I mean. Everyone's either got one or at least seen one. It's not Christmas without a Charlie Brown Tree!

8. Santa Claus is Coming to Town - The story of Santa Claus in claymation, and narrated by Fred Astaire - who could ask for more? It tracks the origins of Kris Kringle from the time he was an orphan adopted by a family of elves, and how he grew up to bring cheer into the lives of children under the oppressive reign of the Burger Meister, who had banned toys from the town. I never miss it!

7. Mickey's Christmas Carol - It's Disney's take on Charles Dickens' classic story of the miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge, who is visited by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, & Future. Mickey stars as Bob Cratchit, with Donald Duck playing the young Ebeneezer, and Goofy as Jacob Marley, and many other Disney characters also appear. It's the only version of A Christmas Carol I've ever been able to sit through. Little Tiny Tim always chokes me up.

6. The Santa Clause - Tim Allen stars as a deadbeat dad who accidentally steps into the Big Guy's shoes and learns how to juggle his new duties with being a good father. It has spawned two sequels, and all three movies are worth a look. You can catch the latest installment, The Escape Clause, in theatres now.

5. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas - I'm talking about the original cartoon, not the crappy remake with Jim Carrey. That old Grinch, with a heart that is two sizes too small, disguises himself as Santa Claus and descends upon the Whos down in Whoville with plans to make Christmas disappear. And he almost succeeds, too. But even the Grinch can't hide from the holiday cheer as he realizes Christmas is not just about gifts, food, and Santa Claus - it's about being with the people you love. Just watch that Grinch's heart grow!!

4. Miracle on 34th Street - Christmas just isn't Christmas without watching the original black and white version. Susan is a little girl whose mother does not believe in filling her daughter's head with such silly notions as Santa Claus. So when jolly ol' St. Nick himself befriends Susan, she struggles to convince her mother that Santa really does exist. Doesn't matter how old you are - after watching this movie, you will believe.

3. Frosty the Snowman - It's the classic cartoon that my friends still tease me about. At a sleepover when we were kids, I threw a fit because no one would let me watch it. I argued with everyone that it was tradition - that I had to watch it! To this day, one of them will inevitably joke about the night I made them all watch Frosty. And to this day, I still never miss it.

2. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - There's an elf that wants to be a dentist. There's an Island of Lost Toys. There's the Winter Worlock. And there's an outcast reindeer with a glowing red nose. Everyone loves this Christmas special! Rudolph is one of the greatest heroes ever - he saves Christmas by guiding Santa's sleigh through the fog with his bright red schnozz. Who cares about Dasher and Prancer and Comet and Blitzen? Rudolph's the only one with his own theme song!

1. Elf - That's right, folks. Buddy the Elf won my heart a few years ago and climbed to the top of my list of Holiday Favourites. Will Ferrell stars as the bubbly, sugary-sweet Buddy who leaves the North Pole to find his real father in New York City, and along the way he finds a lot of people who need some serious convincing when it comes to the idea of Santa. It's absolutely hilarious, and it will warm the cockles of your hearts as Buddy connects with his new family and teaches an entire city to believe.

So there you have it - my Holiday Special Blog, all wrapped up for you to enjoy! Feel free to mention your Christmas favourites in the comments section and let me know if I missed any! If I wasn't in the Christmas spirit before I started this Blog, just thinking about all those great shows and movies has done the trick now!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

So far in 2007 the only ones I've been able to catch are the Seuss version of the Grinch, Garfield, Frosty, & Santa Claus is Coming to Town - but during the next few weeks, when I'm looking for some holiday spirit, I can guarantee I'll be watching the rest!! Happy Holidays, everyone!! :)

The Slump is OVER!!

Today, the Blog is celebrating the fact that the Sens FINALLY won a game!!

WOO-HOO!!

For the past couple of weeks, it's become harder and harder to believe that this is the same team that jumped out to an amazing 16-3 start to the season. They started out by losing to the Leafs, and it all went down-hill from there. Some real stinkers, and a few OT losses added in, and it had become a 7-game slump.

As long as I've been a Sens fan, I've never suffered with them through a 7-game slump. The last time they did that was under former head coach Dave "Sparky" Allison, and that was before my time. Over a decade ago. Back in the days of the "Laughing-Stock-of-the-League Senators".

There's no way a team that is this talented should ever go through such a miserable stretch of losses. However, thanks to their explosive start to the 2007-2008 season, nobody was overly concerned, as they had a nice cushy lead over the rest of their division and conference, and it was just a known fact that the ship would be righted sooner rather than later.

For me, the lowest point of the slump was watching Wade Redden's blatant, inexcusable give-away on Tuesday night that gave Tampa Bay their first goal in what ended up being a 4-3 shootout win for the Lightning. I cheer Wade on incessantly, and I defend him when everyone else is putting him down, but at that moment, I couldn't help but cringe. It seemed to put the exclamation point on the loud "ARGHHHH!" that Sens fans were letting out all over the place over the past few weeks.

Redden did redeem himself somewhat after scoring the tying goal in the dying seconds of that game, after Alfie had scored twice to help his team fight back, but alas, it just ended up being another loss in this dismal losing streak.

But last night, they were in Florida, facing former coach Jacques Martin's Panthers, and it would appear that was just what the doctor ordered. Randy Robitaille and Mike Fisher scored two quick ones in the first, and you could almost hear the gigantic sigh of relief of the entire Sens Army.

Not that it was a cakewalk after that. Martin pulled his goalie Thomas Vokoun and replaced him with a no-namer, Craig Armstrong or something like that. Then the Panthers bounced back with two goals, and I was back to biting my nails. "Oh dear God...We can't lose to Florida. We can't lose 8 straight games. We can't test out any more levels of 'rock bottom'..."

The boys must've heard me. Nicky-Fo re-directed an Andrej Meszaros point shot for his third of the season, and Jason Spezza capitalized on the power play to restore the Sens' 2-goal lead. Then Ray Emery stopped a penalty shot by some guy I'd never heard of. Again, I was breathing easier. Then Florida scored again. But Robitaille answered with his second of the game, and with a 5-3 lead heading into the dying minutes, I was already celebrating the end of the slump.

Olli Jokinen made it interesting yet again by scoring with about 14 seconds left in the game. Thankfully, it was too late for the Panthers by then, and the Sens finally busted out of the slump with a 5-4 win. It wasn't exactly pretty, but it was what the Sens needed to relieve the pressure. Scoring was spread out, with Robitaille and Fisher ending long personal goal-less droughts, and I'd also like to mention that Wade Redden played a really good game (at least, I thought he did). It looks like Ray Emery is getting his chance to hang on to the #1 position after playing back-up to Marty Gerber through most of the past two months. It's unfortunate that Gerber played so poorly during this slump, because I really thought he had surpassed that dreadful year he had last year and had regained his form. It doesn't seem fair that he's basically back to exactly where he was last year at this point.

So anyways...YES!! I'm very happy to be out of the slump, and I hope they start a new kind of streak tomorrow night against the Dallas Stars. Something they did a lot of in October and the start of November. A little somethin'-somethin' called a winning streak.

GO SENS GO!!