"First They Came ... " (Why injustice upsets me)

This poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), of which there are many versions, explains why I get upset about unjust things that happen to others. Things that some people would say shouldn't have an effect on me.

This version is the one found at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. I added the fourth line to make it easier to understand for those with thicker skulls and/or smaller brains.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the [fill in the blank], and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a [fill in the blank].

Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me.

Anyhoo...

Keith Ballard retires and NHL workplace safety

Minnesota Wild defenseman Keith Ballard has decided to retire after not playing for a year due to post-concussion symptoms. While not a superstar, Ballard was more than an average player simply for giving all he could every second he was on the ice. He was the type of player every team needs to have any type of success.

While a loss in many ways, retiring is the right decision health-wise, even if Ballard could get medical clearance to play again. Michael Russo of the Minnesota Star Tribute talked with Ballard about the incident that led to this fate and his current plans in this article. (Which I was pointed to via this TSN article.)

In a game against the New York Islanders in St. Paul, Matt Martin hit Ballard with a legal and not very big check a few feet from the player benches. Ballard avoided most of the hit but spun around, lost his balance and struck his face against the dasher on top of the boards where there is no glass. (Here's a video from the Isles' MSG+ broadcast via YouTube; but watch it at your own discretion.)

I've long believed the dasher should be changed in some significant way. It should at least be rounded more, but should really be modified to have some kind of cushioning inside that would allow it to compress when hit. Even along the glass where it is much less prominent, the dasher can do damage.

A modification like that could have reduced the damage to Ballard's face. More importantly, it could prevented him from being knocked so silly that he was unable to brace himself as he fell, where he hit the back of his head hit the ice, knocking him unconscious and leaving him convulsing. Ballard amazingly walked to the dressing room on his own two feet after coming to.

I don't know of any real attempts having been made by the NHL to improve on the design of the dasher. Concussions due to fighting and head-shots are in the spotlight, but should not overshadow other serious problems; in this case, a flaw in the safety of the actual playing field. And while there would be obvious costs in development, installation and upkeep of new dashers, the various costs from incidents like Ballard's greatly outweigh the former.

Anyhoo...

Bob Hartley and Patrick Roy's NHL Adams Award seasons...

The Calgary Flames are having a rough start to the 2015/2016 season. A surprise to many after such a successful (overachieving?) 2014/2015 when Bob Hartley won the Jack Adams Award as NHL "Coach of the Year". The rough start has gotten to the point where people are now speculating on how much longer Hartley will last as Calgary's coach.

The same speculation has come up many times in similar situations, as it did last season with regards to Patrick Roy, who led the Colorado Avalanche to the third-best record in the league in 2013/2014 and won Coach of the Year as a rookie NHL bench boss. The Avalanche didn't make the playoffs last season. A quarter of the way through 2015/2016, Calgary and Colorado currently sit last and third-to-last in the Western Conference.

For the record, before last season Calgary had missed the playoffs for five seasons following five seasons where they made the playoffs. Colorado, meanwhile, made the playoffs for 10 seasons after moving from Quebec City, went in and out for four years, then missed the playoffs for three seasons before Roy was hired. Hartley has been with Calgary since the summer of 2012.

Now, I finally get to actual point of this post (sigh) - the difference between Bob Hartley's award-winning season coaching the Calgary Flames last season, and Patrick Roy's award-winning season with the Colorado Avalanche the season before. And that difference is night and day.

Last year, Hartley got the Flames to work together better as a unit than many other teams with better players, while Roy had the benefit of a award-worthy season from goalie Semyon Varlamov for the Avalanche. In 2013/2014, Varlamov carried his team on his back. Beyond the basic statistics of goals and assists, Colorado was not a good "team" team.

While the loss of one of their better players would have hurt Calgary last year, the loss of Varlamov would have destroyed Colorado the year before. While Varlamov definitely deserved consideration for the Hart Trophy as "Most Valuable Player" - and should have been a finalist, IMO (he was fourth in voting) - Patrick Roy should not have even been a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.

And this has nothing to do a coach's previous experience, which should not be a consideration at all. However, it should be evident that their work as coach was a key factor in their team's actual success and/or improvement in a season. Varlamov's play with Colorado allowed players on Colorado the opportunity to show off their individual skills, but in turn caused them to neglect their team game.

Had Varlamov's game faltered in turn the players and coaches would have likely readjusted to try and improve overall team play, but he didn't, and no one seemed to notice that the team's success had more to do with Varlamov's.

-

While Semyon Varlamov is hardly an average goalie, there have been a number of average goalies over years whose careers would be largely forgotten save for a single season (some a single game) where they found a groove and played a major role in their team's success.

Very, very few forwards or defensemen have ever been able to carry a team by themselves for a single season, and you only need one hand to count the number players who have had the preternatural ability to carry almost any team almost any season.

Anyhoo...

The need to create...

One thing I really need to do to be satisfied at all in life is create something every day. Which I have not been doing much at all for a long time. This post, if it's all I do today, is itself something creative. If I can at least do something like this every day I'll be doing so much better.

I hope to follow this up with another post. Which is basically already done, as I just want to do a cut-and-paste with edits of a comment I made to a gaming video on Steam. When I post comments online, they're most often sparked by a single thought, but develop into something more, and usually much longer. Similar to this post after the first paragraph. LOL!

That said, I'll end this post here, as I do want to make that other post, and I do have a bad headache at the moment.

Anyhoo...

Old "Canadiens powerplay rule" & their team win streak

On the living-dead subject of creating more scoring in the NHL, what do people think about the idea (which I'm sure other people have brought up before over the years) of reversing at least part of the NHL's old "Canadiens rule" with regards to powerplays (i.e. they end on a goal being scored) and letting powerplays resulting from 5 minute majors last the whole 5 minutes?

Aside from the possibility of seeing more than one goal scored on such a powerplay, such a rule-change could also put more pressure on players not to cross the line with regards to blatant infractions; something everyone wants to see as little of as possible. (And don't forget the dangerous penalty-killers who can turn lapses by the other team into shorthanded breakaway scoring chances.)

More goals by one team could also lead to fewer games having to go to overtime. While this isn't really something people want to see, it would also mean that there would be fewer shootouts; which - despite their novelty entertainment value - are something many hockey fans see as contrary to the spirit of a fast-paced sport where all the players on the ice interact so much with each other.

Another possible result of such a rule change is that (until players indeed start taking less majors) teams that have to kill off full 5-minute penalties would tire more quickly that more disciplined opponents, giving those other teams the advantage to score more later in the game. Those tired teams would also suffer should games get to overtime, which means a drop in the number of shootouts may be much more than any drop in just overtime periods.

On the subject of the Montreal Canadiens, was anyone else surprised to find out they'd never started a season before with more than four consecutive wins? I thought it was actually five while I was writing this but checked to be sure. I was off by only one, but that makes it even more surprising. Now they're at seven straight wins. I'm a Nashville Predators fan (and an old Quebec Nordiques fan), but I always like seeing cool records being set and broken by individuals or teams. My father's a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, so I do enjoy seeing some uncool records develop now and then. LOL!

Anyhoo...

Brendan Fraser and Canada's shameful history of "vampism"

Actor Brendan Fraser starred in 1999's The Mummy partly as a form of subterfuge; not to hide the fact that he *has* been around since the 1930s, but the fact that he's a vampire. (And has actually been around quite a bit longer.)

Many people don't know it, but Canada has been, and still is, one of the most intolerant nations with regards to vampirophobia. The "vamp camps" put in place by the government in the '50s were especially shameful.

In fact, one of the reasons us Canadians say "sorry" so often was borne out of wanting to apologize. However, vampires are often difficult to identify, even when not keeping a lower than normal profile due to years of systematic prejudice.

The exact origins (when and where) are now lost, but people here began greeting others along the lines of "Hello, [nice to meet you/how are you/pleasant day/etc.], and if you are a vampire I am sorry."

That phrasing quickly became shorter and simpler, and eventually lost meaning as younger generations became ignorant of the past. And now the "Canadian apology" is simply a cultural quirk.

Anyhoo...

Thoughts on Lundqvist, Talbot and the Rangers ...

If the New York Rangers had won the 2015 Stanley Cup, I believe goaltender Henrik Lundqvist would have called it a career. He seems to me to be the kind of guy who would be fine knowing he could probably put in a few more great seasons, but having finally won a Stanley Cup would be more than satisfied to move on to other things; especially knowing that Cam Talbot would be there to take over in net for the Rangers.

In fact, if the Rangers had won the Cup, Lundqvist had retired, and Talbot did take over in net for the coming season, I can imagine New York having a serious chance at winning a second straight Cup. (Despite the odds in a 30-team league.) Alas, they didn't win the Cup and Talbot has now been traded to Edmonton.

Some people think the Oilers should have picked up a goalie who's already had experience as a full-time starter, and that Talbot either isn't ready for that role or it's too much of a risk for a struggling team like Edmonton. Well, why were the Rangers willing to trade Talbot?

First off, Lundqvist is coming back for another season. He does have a few great seasons left and still wants that Stanley Cup. Also, Talbot will become an unrestricted free-agent at the end of the coming season. But, just as much if not more of a factor in the decision to trade Talbot, was the fact that both Talbot and the Rangers were certain he was ready to be a starter in the NHL.

I have little doubt that, if neither the Rangers nor Talbot himself thought he was truly ready, they both would have been satisfied with him backing up Lundqvist for another season. Another season likely involving another strong run at the Cup, while management works on a new contract with Talbot during the season.

Should the unthinkable happen and the Rangers fall apart in the regular season, a trade deadline trade with a playoff team looking for goaltending insurance could have got New York just as much or more than they got from Edmonton for Talbot. But if they do make the playoff and win the Cup, then we get the "Lundqvist retires/Talbot takes over" scenario again.

Anyhoo...

"Facing FEAR as a kid is FUN!" classic blog re-post

[originally posted on LiveJournal; originally re-posted on Facebook August 13, 2009]

Facing FEAR as a kid is FUN!

I was reading a negative review of the Spiderwick Chronicles books on Amazon.com, in relation to them being too scary for younger kids. I started to write a response to that review but, of course, I ended up writing an essay. So, I decided to post my musings here instead. (If I could find a topic that keeps me writing for a looong extended period, I'd end up with my first novel in no time.)

One scene in the second of the Spiderwick Chronicles books features some "bad" faeries (don't know how they spell that in the book) killing a cat and putting it on a spit-roast! :-o Yeah, I know, I don't remember that from the movie either! :-)

Now, kids the age of which these books were meant for will not suddenly forget that those were "bad" faeries that did that to the cat. Actually, quite the opposite effect will usually happen. They'll remember that those faeries were "bad" because of what they did. And while the imagery may be dark and gruesome, I know I was fascinated by such imagery as a child.

And not fascinated in a "I want to go spit-roast Kitty; where's the BBQ sauce" way, but a "that's scary; but I want to keep reading; I want to know what the heroes face next and what they do about it" way.

There are a lot of scary things in the real world, on all sorts of levels. A lot of firsts. From buying your first ice-cream cone on your own, to asking someone to the movies. Then there's the transition into "adulthood". From leaving home and trying to "find yourself", to getting married and becoming a parent.

Then there's life in the much less personal and much more intimidating "outside world". From bad drivers and traffic accidents, to bad financial advice and a terrible economy. And the truly scary. From criminals of every variety, to terrorists, war, death and disease. :-o

If kids don't get some sort of introduction to danger and fear, how well will they deal with the real world when they "grow up". Parents who filter out danger in any form - books, television shows, video games, the news - don't do their kids any favors. Those are the kids that usually don't have a good grasp of reality; not the kids who play World of Warcraft with their friends or enjoy a scary book or movie.

Kids do grow, after all. And not just physically (or sexually). And as they grow, they become more and more adept at being able to tell the difference between what's real and what's "make-believe". More parents need to sit down with their kids and just "shoot the breeze". They may be surprised when "the breeze" turns into an intellectual discussion.

I remember the movies I watched as a kid in the 80s. (*sigh* So long ago...) They were fun adventures starring kids and teenagers, but they were always scary to some extent; they always had that aspect of fear. At least the good ones that we kids always wanted to see again and again. They were exciting!

I connected with the kids my age in those movies, and wanted to be the kids that were older. I wished I was there with them on those adventures, even though the adventures were dangerous and scary. Because, in the end, the kids would always band together and prove that, no matter what, they can accomplish anything. They can stand up to fear; stand up to the scary things.

Of course, as I got older I understood that, were I really in some of those movie situations, I might very well get badly hurt or worse. But that still didn't keep me from enjoying those types of films, and the even scarier films I could now see.

And as I would watch those scarier films, I still believed that I could survive; that I could be the hero. And that's what kids need to believe when they approach adulthood; that no matter what they face in the world, they have a real chance at surviving and prospering; and even a chance to be a hero.

Anyhoo...

BREAKING NEWS! Newly discovered ancient blog posts to be re-posted!

Well, I found most of my old LiveJournal blog posts on my Facebook page, including my great (if I do say so myself) "Facing FEAR as a kid is FUN!" post. (I was quite disappointed when I thought that one had been lost in the aether.)

So, I'll be re-posting "Fear" here on Blogger. As for the other old blog posts, I'll go through them to decide what I think is worth re-posting; though I could end up simply putting all of them back up.

Aside from "Fear" and possibly a few other posts that haven't become dated by their content, I'll likely "back-date" the old posts so they appear here on Blogger in the order I wrote them. If I ever update any of them for some reason they could move to the top of the blog though.

Well, now I've got a little project for myself; which is I definitely needed in my life at the moment. Here's hoping I don't get distracted by other things and abandon it, or get too obsessed over doing it all at once; and subsequently abandon it due to burn out.

Anyhoo...

Thoughts on 15/16 Predators defense roster...

I’m fairly certain neither Cody Franson nor Anton Volchenkov will be back on the blueline with the Nashville Predators for the 2015/2016 season. Mainly due to other signing priorities, but also due to the impressive development of the younger defensemen under the team's first pairing of captain Shea Weber and possible future captain Roman Josi.

In my opinion, Victor Bartley (who didn't get nearly enough games in this past season after a solid NHL rookie season, due to the addition of Volchenkov), will get much closer to a full season under his belt, especially if Weber's return for knee surgery delays his start to next season. As for someone new to replace Bartley in the extra seventh-man role...

The Predators will want to hold on to Anthony Bitetto, but will still want him to play as much as possible, so he stays in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals until there's a call-up. Unless the Predators decide to give AHL veteran Joe Piskula (13 NHL games in just over 8 seasons) his own locker in Nashville, they’ll sign another older but still reliable NHL vet to a one-year deal. A former NHL regular who's since fallen by the wayside in the AHL would be good.

Anyhoo...

Opinions on American Sniper; and Cenk Uygur

I enjoyed the film American Sniper as a technical work, especially the performance of Bradley Cooper, but would never consider the film a "true story" by any means. The film touched on the effects PTSD has on soldiers, which was actually one of the most honest aspects of the film. Unfortunately, the patriotic brush used to paint the film overshadowed that part of the story - which I thought was more interesting than anything else and would have made for a much better overall topic.

Even worse though, was how the film ended. Instead of actually touching on the details of the death of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle; which would have strengthened the more interesting and, IMO, important topic of PTSD, his death occurs off-screen with little aftermath shown aside from actual footage of the hero's farewell Kyle is given as his body is transported to it's final resting place. Footage that, edited for film (even for purely technical reasons like film length and such) ends up looking even more ultra-patriotic than necessary.

Of course, this film was an adaption of Kyle's book, so one could say this was an honest, film if one doesn't consider the reliability of the source itself.

As for the opinion of Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks Network, here he is via YouTube!

And if you're looking for something better to watch than fictionalized biopics, check out the documentary Mad As Hell! Get the answers to many of the who-the-hell, what-the-hell, when-the-hell, where-the-hell, why-the-hell and how-the-hell questions you may have about Cenk and The Young Turks! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll curse, and you may even get mad yourself. Likely not as mad as "The Big Turk" himself, but you'll definitely enjoy yourself!

Anyhoo...

IMDb Review - Avalanche Sharks [2013]

For some reason, when I made my initial Blogger post about the 2013 "sharksploitation" flick Avalanche Sharks, I totally forgot about my Internet Movie Database review of the film from February 20, 2014. I've now deleted that old post, which was nothing more than a few random thoughts, and in it's place I give you that review. (Which happens to be my only IMDb review to date.) Enjoy!

Very fun, tongue-in-cheek, low-budget but competent production! 8/10 stars

Christopher-J Carlson (February 20, 2014)

Seeing this film with only 2 stars on IMDb made me sad. Sure, this isn't a film that most will mention in the same breath as most big-budget wide-releases, but this film was, unlike too many of those films, truly enjoyable from beginning to end! The film-makers and actors knew their limitations - technical and personal - and with tongues planted firmly in cheek, gave viewers a more than competent production that kept my attention at the way through and left me more that satisfied when over.

The script, direction and acting were decent all-around, and I can't recall any specific scene in the film that suddenly took me out of the story. Nothing seemed forced and nobody seemed to be trying to go above their means.

While the CGI special-effects are what they are - CGI - the film-makers smartly decided to limit its use, with the effects either ending abruptly or the scenes cutting away quickly. Most of these scenes are shark attacks after all, which would naturally be quick and abrupt.

Some people have problems with films not explaining enough about certain things. In this case, viewers are given two possibilities as to the origins of the titular sharks. But, do we really need everything to be explained to us (especially in a movie like this) to enjoy a film? Questions can lead to debate after all and, in my opinion, can add extra layers to a film. And this is a film that most would not expect to have much substance to begin with. (The last big-budget film I saw at the cinema left me with nothing to think about when it was over. Duh...)

I really liked how they framed the beginning and end of the film. Original, funny, and a nice change of pace from most films. This production truly impressed me, and I look forward to what all the people involved bring to movie lovers in the future.

Give this film a chance. Don't go into it expecting anything in particular (my advice for seeing any film - big or small) and you'll likely find yourself pleasantly surprised by how much more FUN you'll have.

P-S. Apparently, Brooke Hogan was up for a role in this film but had to step away for some reason or another. I don't want to sound harsh, but I'm glad she wasn't involved, because I can't help but think she may have stuck out like a sore thumb acting-wise compared to the subdued but competent performances by most of the cast. Sorry, Brooke... :^/

 

Kevin Fiala paying his dues in short order...

I think one of the keys to the Nashville Predators most recent success has been the presence of forward Kevin Fiala. So expect to see him back in Nashville tomorrow (March 29, 2015) on emergency recall, but then sent back to AHL Milwaukee before the game against the Calgary Flames. I think the Predators see Fiala having a good chance of making the big club next season out of training camp. However, since he only joined Nashville's farm team this year after his season with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League ended, he won't truly be ready for the NHL if he doesn't have enough frequent-flyer miles to his credit. He needs to pay his dues, after all! LOL!

The above links to HV71 and the SHL are in Swedish, although there is an English blog on the SHL website. HV71 is based in the lakeside city of Jönköping. The name of the team comes from the 1971 merger of former teams Huskvarna IF - from the twin city now part of the greater Jönköping Municipality (and birthplace of the Husqvarna company in 1689) - and Vätterstads IK - based in Jönköping and named after Vättern lake. Here's are links to the Wikipedia pages on HV71 and the SHL for more information on the team and the league.

And now back to Kevin Fiala... While his parents are both Czech, he was born in Uzwil, St. Gallen, Switzerland. His father Jan Hans played in the Swiss National League and now coaches youth hockey in Uzwil. Aside from being a dual Czech-Swiss citizen, Kevin speaks Czech (like his parents), French and German (two of Switzerland's four official languages), Swedish, and English. And he's apparently quite fluent in all. (Oh, the shortcomings of a North American upbringing...)

In 2014, for Switzerland, Kevin became only the third person to play in the IIHF World Under-18 Championships, World Junior Championships and World Championships in a single hockey season. Previously, in 2003, former Montreal Canadiens forward Andrei Kostitsyn and forward Vadim Karaga both played for Belarus in all three tournaments. (Kostitsyn was last seen in the NHL with Nashville during the 2012 playoffs - most of the time *snark* - and Karaga, aside from one season in the OHL, played his entire career in Belarusian leagues.)

Anyhoo...

Rising Seas - Interactive: If All The Ice Melted

Rising Seas - Interactive: If All The Ice Melted

Re: Canada.com - Coyne: ... being offended ... is a choice

Here's a Canada.com article written by Andrew Coyne in relation to how some people, including the media, have reacted to the product put out by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, after the magazine headquarters in Paris was murderously attacked.

With some exceptions, being offended by what we see before us is a choice (Jan12/15)

This is the caption under the photo above the article...

"A man with Je Suis Charlie written on his hand holds a pencil. Following the Paris attack, the choice for the media to show, or not show, the Charlie Hebdo cartoons served up an opportunity to rehearse, yet again, the theme of the apologetic, uptight squareheads versus the fearless, free-thinking French."

I would have added the words "to some extent" before "a choice" in the headline, due to fact that some things can create such a visceral feeling in people that they have little chance to think or do anything before offense takes hold in their mind. (Maybe Mr. Coyne was trying to make this point with his use of the word "exceptions", but if so it wasn't fully clear to me.)

That said, the only thing that needs to be made clear is, while there's nothing inherently wrong with someone being offended over something (as Mr. Coyne wrote in his article, people are offended by everything these days), that person must take responsible for how they subsequently react to being offended.

There are many ways people who are offended can subsequently react, most of which, at worst, simply annoy others. Well-meaning reactions often times lead to misunderstanding which in turn creates chaos out of conversation. Much less often does truly intelligent and polite intercourse occur.

But when reactions reach the level of illegal activity, like vandalism, arson and assault, those people are in the wrong, no matter what they were offended by. And when it comes to murder on any scale, there is simply no acceptable excuse for that.

Anyhoo...

New Offensive Coach But Same Aggressive Style

Contrary to the popular belief that new coach Peter Laviolette has changed the Nashville Predators style, finally making them a true threat in the NHL. Due to Laviolette's offensive coaching style, people assume that the team has made a total switch from the style of play instilled into them by former coach Barry Trotz. While Trotz's coaching style was defensive in nature, the style of play he instilling into the team was an aggressive forechecking style that continues to this day under Laviolette.

The Predators have never been a team that sits on a lead. For one, they've usually had to work their butts off just to get a one-goal lead in a game. After which, they've had to work their butts off just to keep a one-goal lead. And whenever the team has been fortunate enough to have had more than a one-goal lead, they would continue to push their opponent's hard with aggressive forechecking.

That aggresive forechecking has been the main reason the Predators have always been a challenge for any team to play; with limited or still-developing natural talent being Nashville's main reason for any lack of success. Before this season, the Predators have always had to depend on scoring by committee; and even this season, the team's boost in scoring has had more to do with consistent contributions from all forwards, rather than guys like James Neal and rookie Filip Forsberg (and captain Shea Weber on the blueline) providing most of the scoring.

Anyhoo...