Melissa's CMT Casting Call Acceptance

Just in case anyone hasn't heard, Melissa did manage to win the CMT Casting Call after all. But that's old news now. However, if you haven't seen her yet on CMT, check out her acceptance as the winner. She's quite the natural!

Newfoundland Lacrosse

A while ago, in one of my infrequent blog updates, I mentioned that myself and a few others were trying to get a little lacrosse league going. I believe when I first wrote, the league was just starting. I actually don't know if we had even played up to that point. Well, since then much has happened, so I figure I'll let you in on what's been going on:

First of all, we started off playing in the school gym of Larkhall Academy which was a little small, but perfect for the half dozen bodies we had come out. Then, we finally landed our first goalie, Darren. People seem a little more interested in playing when they're shooting at someone, not to mention the fact that Darren had quite a bit of lacrosse experience and was able to teach a lot. Eventually, more and more bodies started showing up and we moved to Brother O'Herir Arena, which was much better for playing with more people, other than the fact that many of us couldn't run the length of the rink. It was really turning out to be something else. James (the other person who was significantly involved with the league) and I were quite proud of what we had accomplished, but it wasn't done yet. A short time later, we got another goalie, some legititmate lacrosse nets and we started getting anywhere from 14 to 18 bodies out a night. Everyone was improving and it was a great time.

So, in my opinion, it would have been a success story if it stayed like that. But, it didn't. More people were interested, and though attendance didn't grow a whole lot with people moving in and out of the province, there was certainly a small buzz about the sport growing. We even had a girl join us for a while, which turned out even better after we found out she was always up for a few post-game beers like myself and a few of the other guys.

Guess what, the growth didn't stop there. Unfortunately for me, I've been out of the province, so I've missed most of it, though I've been keeping up to date. James has been in contact with the CLA (Canadian Lacrosse Association) and they've been great to us. They sent down a coach to teach us how to coach at absolutely no cost. So, now we've got over a dozen certified coaches in the province with plans on getting kids started with lacrosse. The CLA has also offered to ship us a few dozen sticks so we can have the equipment needed to introduce the sport.

And that's basically where we stand today... other than the former NLL player that decided he wouldn't mind coming out for a rec game once a week. Maybe when I get back, I'll get a shot at catching him running through the kill zone with his head down... or maybe it'll be the other way around. Either way, it's great fun!

So, stay tuned for some more updates (trust me, we've got some more tricks up our sleeves) or you can check out the new website at nllacrosse.com... it's still under construction, but if anything comes up, it'll be posted there!

Vote for Melissa!

So, Country Music Television (CMT) is running a contest to determine who will be a CMT host for the summer. In order to enter, the contestants had to submit a video showing why they're the ultimate superfan. Then, 16 semi-finalists were chosen from the bunch. I don't know how many people submitted videos (though I hear it was a lot) but my little sis Melissa made it through to the next round. Now, it's up to the fans to decide. So, if you get a chance, go vote for her... and keep voting until your fingers are cramped. She deserves it, she'll be perfect for the job.

What are you waiting for... VOTE!

Sprechen Sie Englisch?

As anyone who reads this is probably aware, I haven't been updating often. I'd like to say that trend will not continue, however, I'm not so sure about that. Actually, I probably wouldn't even be writing this at all, except I want inform you that MB and I have started a blog about our short-term move to Germany. So, please check it out. I imagine there'll be a good few posts in the coming week or two. So, keep an eye out. It's called Sprechen Sie Englisch? Hope you enjoy!

Michael Crichton (1942 - 2008)

Michael Crichton died yesterday. He was my first favourite author (unless you count Dr. Seuss and R.L. Stine) and I think he'll continue to be so for a while since I've still got a handful more of his books to read. Everyone knows him for Jurassic Park and ER, however, most, if not all of his books, from Andromeda Strain to Next, are worth reading. Of course if you're not into sci-fi then you'd probably disagree. But for me, he always managed to get my brain juices flowing with the infamous, "what if?". His stories always seemed to have a feeling of realism to them as if they were actually possible. Even the most extraordinary events in his novels really made the reader ponder the likelihood of such a thing occurring.

Not only did he have the ability to make the impossible seem possible, a number of his books really changed my way of thinking. I've actually just finished reading one of his older books, Rising Sun. Very interesting read about the Japanese influence in American business, particularly the education and technology sectors. Now the technology is a little dated but it still really managed to change my perspective on how I viewed other cultures. It made me really notice how much people from the west expect other cultures to conform to western ideologies.

However, his book that really impacted me the most was State of Fear. If anyone has any opinion whatsoever on "global warming" this is a book to read. It is super controversial in that "environmentalists" believe Crichton was misinterpreting information and that the novel was hurting efforts to change government policy on carbon emissions. And, although that may be slightly true, I think the main purpose of the book is to simply force the reader to look at the other side of the argument. My opinion on global warming has significantly changed since I've read the novel (and I'll save my rant about that for another time), but more importantly, I've learned to look at both sides of any claim or argument. Just because you learn something from one source doesn't really make it true. There are always multiple sides to every story and until they are all considered, it is almost ignorant to form an opinion. Like I said, the novel is a great read, and will really cause you to look at things, particularly scientific claims, in a whole new light.

Random fact: Crichton was 6'9" tall. I didn't know that. And, I've also got to give thanks to a teacher at my high school, Mr. Grejtek, who introduced me to Crichton. I've been hooked ever since.

In other news, Obama is the new president. I was kind of hoping for McCain, but I guess the underdog wasn't able to pull through this time. Oh well, I guess we'll all find out what Obama is made of come January.

My New Old House

So, I bought a house. Well, actually a friend and I bought a house. I've been wanting to buy one for quite some time now, and I've put a lot of time and effort into researching the whole process of real estate investing. However, once the ball started rolling it really didn't take much time in between looking at houses and owning one of them (pending certain things such as an inspection and whatnot).

It's an old, attached house and it wasn't very expensive, though it is surprisingly nice for the money. Of course a little TLC won't hurt it, particularly in the case of the lovely, little design someone kindly spray painted under the front window. But, other than that and a few more odds and ends, it's pretty much ready to go. Of course now we've just got to find someone to rent the place.