Happy Halloween

Aeros second loss... more to come in Austin? Frightful, isn't it?
Jamie Tardiff(Griffins) 'crashing' in on "Dubie"

Photo:Courtesy Mark Newman

and a frightfully scary BOOtiful Night to all
"A Little Night Music" Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, wenn schon nicht vom Mozart.. even if not by Mozart! Have FUN!!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN80Z2KZa-Y

Ja, so geht es...

'Spaetherbst in Houston' ist eingetroffen mit Regen und kuehleren Temperature. Natuerlich kein Vergleich mit Kanada oder dem Norden Europas, aber Strumepfe sind an der Ordnung fuer Abends.
Heute ist die Premiere der neuen Inszenierung von LOHENGRIN an der Houston Grand Oper. Werde 'reinschluepfen und mir ein paar Szenen ansehen/anhoeren, da ich ja am Mirgliedertisch fue die HGO Guild voluntiere.
Ob es so schoen klingt, wie...
das ist die Frage. Nicolai Gedda's Stimme ist schon wunderschoen und so klar in seiner Aussprache.
Habe gehoert,dass es keinen Schwan geben wird, angedeuted oder aus Papiermasche...so kann man also nicht, wie Leo Slezak anfragen "WANN GEHT DER NAECHSTE SCHWAN?" :-D

TOO quiet on the Aeros front...

too bad, the guyz lost against a superlative talent of the Griffins' goalie Larsson. He stopped ALL shots on goal and Griffins won with 2 goals over Aeros. A rematch is on tonight.
Which I will miss since I volunteer at HGO 'womaning' the Guild's membership table during the opening night of LOHENGRIN and that one has an early curtain..6:30 PM - so have to be on 'duty' by 5:15 PM to set up, etc.

I know people have asked: 'Why OPERA and HOCKEY and LOS TOROS?'
And the answer is always: passion, excitement, drama, 'sound and fury' ;-)
and .... and.... and....
As I mentioned in an earlier post the Czech Olympic National Team won in Nagano, and I've just seen a reference to that in one of the other hockey blogs.
Inspired by his/her hockey team's win...someone with a great sense of humor decided to write/compose an OPERA :"NAGANO".
If you look carefully, the 'soi dissant' goalie unfolds a (I am assuming) Czech Flag in a matador fashion and the "opposing skater" runs at it like a bull! Only to miss it.... and that is only the first part of the video.

It is sooo funny and the music and singing not too bad,
plus the street dancing parts are amusing as well
For 3 more parts go to YouTube see below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NuF0PtCZ8w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwYV_5xh6Ho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mud8tVYpPm8

Old bones...

if I hadn't heard the weathermen talking about today's prediction of rain, I'd a known it already. All night long my bones carried on furious conversations.

No rain yet. Did my bones lie?

Sure can empathize with a banged up hockey player LOL.

Even crawling out of bed and pacing the floor didn't help much.

The joys of the 'golden' years, eh!

Muss mal wieder ...

Habe gerade den neuen und ersten Roman "Playing Naomi" von Erika Rummel (Wien geboren und derzeit in Kanada lebende Authorin von Sachbuechern) fertig gelesen. Kann ihn sehr empfehlen fuer jeden, der gut und buendig geschriebene Romane mit verwickelter Geschichte lesen moechte. Ein bisserl Psychologie, eine bisserl Liebe, ein bisserl ... na, lest ihn halt selbst. Leider derzeit nur auf Englisch zu erhalten.
Gatte Erwin Rummel hat sich als Maler entpuppt.

Lindau, Diebesturm.

8 days without local hockey ....

it'll be a long stretch - the 'guyz' will be traveling and playing elsewhere.
But there's plenty to do as volunteer on the arts and opera front.
Plus Austrian National Day Celebration (celebrating the departure of the "FOUR IN A JEEP" from Post WWII Austria on 15. October 1955).

And I really must get to review "Playing Naomi", the first novel by Erika Rummel.
It's a somewhat convoluted story, a story within a story with plenty psychological over- and undertones.

A bit biographical.. that's just my feeling, as the proverbial 'THEY' say 'most writers inject some personal experiences and feelings into their works'.

A hint of Oedipus, maybe.
A hint of multiple personalities in play.
Obsessions/hatred by son for/against mother!
Youthful female partner for female lover.
Sexual obsession by male for female icon which is fulfilled.
Female assistant to reclusive icon feels lost without her, and transfers her obsequious behaviour to the actress hired by recluse to pose as her!
Playing the role of Naomi in the end takes over the life of the 'actress' hired to do so.

Made me feel like it would serve well for Benjamin Britten Opera (akin "The Turning of the Screw" - to be presented shortly by HGO).

A bit of Hemingway's writing style present, perhaps?
But well and tersely written.
It's really quite hard to put down until the finish.
Recommended for readers who wish to be challenged and enjoy plots!

Aeros 4 Hamilton Bulldogs 3 in SO

WHAT A NIGHT!!!
I predicted an interesting game and it was! VERRA interesting!

Both teams scored in the first and third periods, went scoreless in the 2.
Aeros as of tonight are placed best in the AHL in Penalty kills.

Bulldogs came out aggressive and forceful. Aeros responded well.

"The Scrapper" Daoust, again seemingly on the ice all the time.
I see him skate to the bench, and by the next blink of the eye, he's back skating his heart out and 'scrapping' away, fearlessly and skating with a unusual feeling of the ice and the play, I have not seen in a long while.

1. Aeros goal by Smith with Daoust assist at 10:44 in the first period
2. Aeros goal by Earl, assists by Falk and Milroy at 11;41 in the third,
3. Aeros goal by DiSalvatore, assisted by Rau (WOW) and Gillies at 16:22 in the third.

Bulldogs goals: 1. by Weber with White at 12:30,
2. by Pyatt, Subban and Anderson at 10:54 in the third and
3. by White with Belle and Russell following closely.

Neither team could convert Power Plays into goals.
The game went into a 5 minute Overtime with no scores and ended in a shoot out.

Shoot Out:
Bulldogs start and Pyatt scores a first goal, Aeros DiSalvatore misses,
Trotter scores goal 2 for Bulldogs, Hilbert misses, Bulldog Darche misses, and then
comes "The Scrapper" DAOUST = Score, Bulldog Maxwell misses,
followed by RAU-WOW= Score , Bulldog Glumac misses and
GILLIES = gets the winning goal for the AEROS.
Aeros 4 vs Hamilton 3.

Both goalies were excellent.
Desjardins stopping 26 of 29 Shots on Goal during regulation and 2 of 5 in the shoot out.
Aeros goalie "Dubie" Dubielewicz stopped 28 of 31 SOG in regulation, and 3 of 5 in the Shoot out.

Aeros appeared confident most of the time, except in the second period (almost predictable)when they seem to slow down. Perhaps a bit too much aimless playing of the puck back and forth.

The Glass at section 112 had to be replaced twice, so much rough play took place at the boards near the Bulldogs (1 and 3 periods)/ Aeros goal (2) both teams playing very aggressively.

Goalies and players 'rendez vous'ed in pile ups' within their respective nets ;-).
Sticks broke incl. Desjardiens' he had to play with just a regular stick for a while. Aeros could not get puck into net despite the 'skinny' stick :-)Nets were knocked off their pins. Players sprawled and tripped (not lightly for sure) but no major incidents.

Some roughing, hooking, high sticking, tripping, interference....penalties for both teams.

Once Dubie was tripped up by Bulldog player and sent sprawling, but since refs have no eyes in the back of their heads this was not noticed, except by the fans in that end zone (2. period) who boo'ed loudly, alas, to no avail! Now, it seemed to me, that "Dubie" carried on several 'intimate' :-) conversations with officiating persons....was he grousing about something or someone? Was he schmusing them up, what did he say?

Scratches:
Aeros: Zingoni (well he was present at a radio commentator), Almond, Gunderson, Fraser and Kassian, who has not gotten much ice time thus far this season.

Bulldogs: Masse, Nielson, Desharnais, Kostitsyn

FOR MORE EXPERT OPINIONS GO TO THE T3I BLOG
OR THE AEROS OFFICIAL SITE.
Next game November 5 at the TC.

Back Up Goalie confirmed

Brett Jaeger, of the Brahmas, confirmed as call up for Aeros..

see stats, rather impressive:
Brett Jaeger Goaltender

Born Jan 18 1983 Peace River, ALTA Height 5.10 -- Weight 190 – Catches L

Season Team Lge GP Min GA EN SO GAA W L T Svs Pct
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2000-01 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 11 638 41 0 0 3.86 4 6 1 362 0.898
2001-02 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 1 60 4 0 0 4.00 0 1 0 35 0.897
2001-02 Vancouver Giants WHL 47 2399 200 2 0 5.00 7 30 4 1325 0.869
2002-03 Saskatoon Blades WHL 50 2771 120 0 1 2.60 23 18 4 1139 0.905
2003-04 Saskatoon Blades WHL 1 65 2 0 0 1.85 0 0 1 22 0.917
2004-05 Fresno Falcons ECHL 37 2048 85 1 2 2.49 19 9 6 1081 0.927
2005-06 Fresno Falcons ECHL 37 2232 98 1 0 2.63 21 6 8 1020 0.912
2006-07 Long Beach Ice Dogs ECHL 34 1715 96 6 0 3.36 11 17 1 851 0.899
2007-08 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 5 245 23 0 0 5.64 0 5 0 103 0.817
2007-08 Texas Brahmas CHL 22 1240 52 0 0 2.52 13 6 1 605 0.921
--

More after tonight's game!

Aeros loosing 3....

just read that Khudobin was called up to Minnie to be BUG for Backstrom. Sure hope he gets some real ice time and not just 'benchtime'. Good for Anton, he has earned it. So Aeros are back to DUBIE.

In other news, rather negative ones at that..Cody Almond has a broken wrist and is being flown to Minnie for treatment, because, ya know Houston's Doctors just aren't good enough ;-), eh! Maybe he has brittle bones, he had a foot/leg injury at camp in Minnie earlier!

And Pete Zingoni,

who was injured last season before being signed to play here, also is injured with an undisclosed kind and no way to know for how long he'll be out. A back up goalie BUG-Jaeger from Ft. Worth ? will be needed, since Brust is still out as well.. shades of last season in the goalie line?

And tomorrow night the diminished (Or will someone else be recalled?) AEROS face the, thus far, undefeated Hamilton Bulldogs....It might just be a very interesting game... win or loose, but definitely interesting.

Maybe even hair raising...

Happy endings...

A Weekend full of happy endings:
Friday, visited show of functional art or art following function exhibit at the MOFAH.
Interesting concept: the Glass chair;
More art than functional item: the 'Material peeled back' chair ;-) (albeit sized for a midget);
Functional but kinda Hollywoodish chair: the 'Flying Carpet' chair;
Functional AND beautiful: the 'Bone Rocker'... heave two plush pillows on that and get rocking, it looked THAT invitingly comfortable!

Saturday: Opera at U of H: 'Il Viaggio a Reims' by Rossini. A fluff piece, a comedy lending it self to slapstick pratfalls, etc. but with very pleasant and cheerful music. Student singers and orchestra etc. in fine fettle. IMO only vocally outstanding women were: Julia Cramer as the fashion crazy Comtesse Folleville, Amanda Kingston as Corinna, the poetess. Among the men: Gabriel Preisser as Don Profondo, Sean Brabant as Don Luigino, a cousin of Folleville.
Abigail Levis, as Modestina, Folleville's maid, showed great comedic acting talent and timing,
and Kyle Knappenberger as Lord Sidney rendered "God save the King" nobly.Samuel Ramey as Lord Sidney .
The attempt to Yodel in the last act by Don Profondo and Gwendolyn Alfred as Mme Cortese, a Tyrolean innkeeper, was absolutely hilarious. It was utterly enjoyable.

No one was murdered, killed or other wise maimed. A Happy ending!

On Sunday another fluff piece of operatic comedy: Donizettis' "L'Elisir d'Amore" put on by HGO.
Liam Bonner as Belcore, impressed greatly (HGOStudio alumnus with great future-soon to debut at The Met) with big sonorous voice and good stage presence plus great ability to act.
Russian Soprano Ekaterina Siurina was a mellifluous voiced Adina. Iowan Tenor John Osborn, a last minute "Einspringer", replacing previously scheduled Eric Cutler, who with drew for family reasons, was a very credible Nemorino with considerable acting talent, sound in voice and athletic ability. Veteran Bass Baritone Alessandro Corbelli sang and acted Dr. Dulcamara with great aplomb, ably supported by Mime actor, another last minute "Einspringer", Houstonian Adam van Wagoner, who at times stole the show, so to speak.

And a very Happy Ending again.. Boy gets his Girl.

Two more Happy Endings: the Houston Aeros won BOTH games against the San Antonio Rampage on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon in San Antonio.

What more can on ask of a pleasant weekend in the arts, sports and with the weather!

Out of town but not bored...added pix

so Aeros traded Weller, and Sifers may be now in Houston. No big loss re Weller IMO.
Rampage seem to be going great guns,

they trounced Griffins in back to back games, on Sunday 7 to 2 as we saw. Actually, it was nice to see a game where we had no favorites to root for, so could observe neutrally..LOL.
And the Rampage were tops for sure, although Griffins Janik, Pyett and Delmore did well. Goalie Mc Collum, a rookie, had some spectacular saves, but...

Several wineries later, am happy - very happy ;-) to report that Wines are alive and well in Texas. Our Hyatt vacation resort timeshare is all that it promised to be ...

beautifully landscaped following the contours of the land, quiet, and yet near to town.
Better Half and I had a ball "rafting" the resort's "Lazy river", swimming in the pool,

soaking in the hot tubs, and walking the trails where the native Tx plants are discretely identified with small plaques for those of us who are botanically challenged....LOL.
The apartments are comfortable with all necessary trimmings to relax and have fun. Alas tomorrow is the last day before heading back home.

Later more, finished "Playing Naomi" and have very good impression and feeling about that new novel by Erika Rummel.

Aeros loose to Stars 1-5

Stars have 5 goals, Aeros just one by "The Scrapper" Daoust, assisted by Earl and Lannon midway through 3. period. Several "body stops the puck" were attempted successfully by Irmen, Kalus and Almond, with Almond again getting many face offs.

Aeros had several opportunities in power plays, in the 3. even a 3 on 5, but could not convert these advantages to goals. Weller played very little tonight.

Kassian, Testwuide, Stoner and Brust the scratches. Of course Madsen is in Sweden.
Khudobin was pulled out and replaced in the last minutes of 2. period by Dubie, who in tune was pulled with about 8 minutes to go Dubie for a sixth player, but even 6 on ice could not change the score.
The Aeros seemed to do a lot of scrambling to not much avail while the Stars managed to win, but almost more with luck than speed. Passing by both teams was passable ;-).

Aeros seem to be 'one game up - one down', never 2 wins in back to back games.

A sad night for the team, Khudobin and the fans...(at a guestimate barely 3000 in The Toyota Center).

Am I ready for vacation! Yes!

Some readers emailed me that they cannot access artandhockey

People, I just don't know why. So I tried typing the whole enchilada http://artandhockey.blogspot.com/ myself and, you are right I could not get into it, as well.
Let me check it out and get back.

If I go Twitter, I can access my blog.
If I click on the http as above I can access my blog.
If I go T3I I can access my blog.
If I email it to me and then click on http I can access my blog.
If I click on the blogname in my favorites, I can access my blog.
So why can't I get into it by just typing the http address into the search box?

Maybe it, too, needs a bit of R&R....;-). Enough, have torn out enough hair over this problem!

It is here...

Erika Rummel's "Playing Naomi" has arrived.

At first delve into this short novel, I am captivated by the author's terse narrative style.

This song just may- I said may- give you a hint of the story.

More later, after I finish the novel.

But with 2 hockey games (2 Aeros vs. Rampage and vs Texas Stars) here and 1 game in San Antonio (Rampage vs Grand Rapids Griffins) this weekend, plus an out of town trip for some Hill country R & R with winery visits, it may be a couple of days ;-)!

So hang in there.. it'll be done :-)

Aeros outshot Rampage

GOAL GOAL GOAL

GOAL GOAL
Aeros won over rampage 5 - 2.

Khudobin stopped 18 of 20, while Montoya stopped 24 of 29. Montoya also had two penalties during this game which were served by 24 Ahnelov and 42 Kolarik in his stead, leaving me to wonder if the pressure got to him.
The first Aeros goal came at about 5:5o to end of 1. period by Irmen #19, with Kalus # 32 and Stoner #7 getting the assists
Rampage responded by getting the puck past Khudobin, making it 1 - 1 followed almost immediately by goal Nr.2. to put Rampage into the lead.
Closer to end of 2. period Zingoni #10, with assist by DiSalvatore #14, and Noreau #26 evened the score and fueled the fire in the team. Aeros 2 and Rampage 2.
In Period 3 Gunderson # 5 and Rau-WOW #20 made it Aeros 3 Rampage 2.
The Rampage, despite pulling their goalie 2 times were unable to score again.
Later Milroy #23 with assists by DiSalvatore #14 and Daoust Nr. 38 made it Aeros 4/Rampage 2. At the very last, Duncan Milroy #23 got an unassisted ENG from a prone position.. he fell but shot the puck in a straight line into the empty net.
AEROS ended the game with 5 goals over Rampage's 2.
Several penalties were called on both teams, with one 5 minute penalty on Rampage Nr. 13 Just Bernhard for charging. Most however were 2 minutes for hooking, interference, holding, etc. Noreau fell and was slow to get up, but was back on the ice shortly after.
Falk, too had a couple falls, but skated well and even got good shots on goal.
Weller underwhelmed me tonight as he had very little ice time.
Gillies, Earl, Almond (with getting several excellent face offs) and Kalus were among the best passers.
Daoust, still getting lots of ice time, proved he is 'The Scrapper', this time without penalties :-)
Scratches: Lannon, Kassian, Testwuide, with Madsen released and signing with Modo in Sweden.
Stars of the Game:
Nr. 1 Duncan Milroy (23) who candidly said he had no idea how that last goal happened ;-0
Nr. 2 Gunderson (5) who was rather more effective (maybe he needed warming up through a couple games)
Nr. 3 Rampage's Mc Lean (19)

Aeros face Texas Stars (again) tomorrow night at 7:35 PM.

Another injury up North...

what IS going on? Will there be another call up from the Aeros bench to help out the Wild, since Havlat is day-to-day?
And who might that be, Irmen? Earl? Lannon? Kalus? Fraser?

Below real fun-to-watch videos - cute...


WOW... some of the Wild/Aeros shooters take note !
Practice, Practice, Practice or just plain old luck?

You better watch out...

or the TWITTER police will get you!
There seem to be a lot of FAKE tweets purporting to come from 'personalities' out there in Twitterland, and being followed slavishly, too. For one, it seems that Hnidy, now skating for the WILD, had a fake tweeter, exposed by a volunteer "Twitter Policeman". What next?
I want to assure you, that artandhockey does tweet, albeit rather rarely, and so far without having a Doppelgaenger...LOL!


NOW TO OTHER NEWS:
All excerpts are just to give you a taste for the coming operas in Houston!
THE OH! casts for MANON (by Massenet sung in French) are assembling in Houston for rehearsals with opening night on November 5.

AT HGO the casts for 'L'Elisir d'Amore'


and 'Lohengrin'
are rehearsing like mad, with L'Elisir to open on 10/23 and Lohengrin on 10/30. The original 'Elsa' has recovered and replaces her replacement Plette who now is ailing.

And at The University of Houston' Moore's School of Music,
'Vaggio a Reims'
' by Rossini will be shown starting Friday October 23,then 24, 25 and 26!

Aeros will play San Antonio's Rampage this Friday at the Toyota Center and the Texas Stars on Saturday. Alas, it seems that Nathan Smith, 'the Streak' and Andy Hilbert have been re-called to the WILD to sub for injured Clutterbuck an Sykora. Brandon Buck has been sent to the Florida Everblades, where Brad Zanon was sent previously.

A sunny morning, and steamy days ahead...again!

Sure glad, when fall really arrives here.
Not that I LOVE cold weather, I mean really cold, teeth chattering, nose freezing kinda weather
nor am I an advocate of the kind of extreme sports as below, brrr, ;-). Wonder if Anton Khudobin spent time with such 'leisure' sports while growing up ..... ;-)


but some coolish nights and days with brisk breezes and low humidity would be welcomed.

Olympics loosers..

well, not exactly. The Wild WILL loose 3 of their players Zydlicky, Sycora and Havlat.... so they can skate for the Czech team which was so good in Nagano
..1998.. even though the video is Czech, the excitement and some names will ring bells Jagr, Prohaska, Sloboda, etc.

that's all folks for today.

Herbst ?

jawohl, der Herbst war da mit grauem Himmel, sanftem Regen, aber auch mit lokalen Gewittern und Strassenueberflutungen, sowie kuehleren Temperaturen.

Heute morgen scheint bereits wieder die Sonne, und schon wird es schwueler.

Na, bitte, mir ist das recht, denn weiter noerdlich in Zentrum des USA , genau wie der Almanach vorausagte, gibt's schon Schneestuerme und saukalte Temperaturen.
Herrlich fuer Kinder. Weniger so fuer arbeitende Leute....

An der Opern Front:

gibt es viele Kommentare uber die"neue " TOSCA an der Met,

nicht alle gerade komplimentaer. Im Prinzip waren sich Operngeher einig: die Inszenierung und Direktion sind nicht akzeptabel, zu....hmhm, wie soll man es am besten sagen, modern, aber doch traditonell, eine 'halbgebackene' Tosca. Oben ein Auszug, nachdem Tosca im Fenster steht, wird sie springen? nein, sie steigt wieder herunter und plaziert sich fast malerisch wieder auf das Sofa....keine Kerzen, keine religioese Symbolik.....

Die eingefleischten Traditionalisten hassen das, das 'neue' Publikum welches durch 'neue' Ideen zum Operngehen inspiriert werden soll, sind total verloren, was passiert da auf der Buehne, eigentlich?

Mir kommt es vor, dass an diesem Ziel vorbeigeschossen wurde, ja, vielleicht kommen 'neue' Leute, vom Sensationalismus angezogen, zur Oper, aber werden sie auch weiterhin kommen, wenn mehr tradizionelle Inszenierungen, der Musik und den Stimmen gerecht, aufgestellt werden? Das ist die Frage!

Hier ist eine kurze Aufnahme, dramatisch gespielt von Catherine Malfitano als Tosca, Ruggiero Raimondi als Baron Scarpia und Placido Domingo als Cavaradossi - die traditionelle Version.

Just a few pix...

AEROS vs STARS 101/10/09

During the game
Warm Up before the game

Chad RAU = WOW

Dimples waiting for OT and SO

Interview with Disalvatore, Nr. 1 Star of the game while Chilly looks on ;-)

"Storming"AEROS win in OT and SO tonite

What a difference a day makes!
The Aeros came out fighting and kept the momentum going throughout the 3 regulation periods, 5 Minute Overtime and 4 rounds in Shoot Out to win 2-1 vs Stars.

With about 2 and half minutes left in the first, Aeros' Zingoni #10 assisted by McMillan scored the first goal.
Penalties were for Kalus (interference) at 12 minutes to end of period, Smith for high sticking with under two minutes to go. But Stars could not utilize their Power Plays.
Neither did Aeros when Stars #9 (DeVergilio) was in the box for Holding.
Newcomer Cody Almond, healthy again, impressed with speed, winning face offs, good passing and getting shots on goal, his reputation seems well deserved.

McMillan seemed an almost different person, he skated well, maybe he needed to 'warm up', compared to yesterday LOL. So did Gunderson. Stoner, Irmen, Rogers, Earl(who had maybe the least ice time)skated sturdily. The passing was better by far, and Noreau held his own well.
"Dimples"Khudobin held off 23 shots, while Stars Goalie Climie shone (and we know too well, what he can do from last year's play offs)keeping the score to 2 by holding off 29 shots.

The only Stars' Goal came about 1/3 into the 2.period. And it did seem to me that the puck bounced off Dimples glove and into the net.

It appears that with Almond, Rau and Smith, the Aeros have a set of face offs winners. Weller, Hilbert, and Smith easily replaced Kassian and Falk in the aggression department :-), plus having greater speed, as well.

The one that kept popping out from the bench most frequently was "The Scrapper" Daoust, the 5'7 skater had lots of ice time during the past games incl. Pre-Season. He seemed unafraid of the taller and bigger guys confronting him. GO Daoust! Although once Weller had to step in front of him to protect him from the Stars ;-)
Just try to keep out of the 'sin bin'... he was 'binned' for one infraction earlier and later for misconduct (unsportsman like) (no relations to T3I Ms. Conduct-LOL), although from my vantage point it seemed 2 or more Stars kept crowding him into the board and that not just the once but often.

Stars # 11 Gagnon, did get 2 min. for Boarding. Relative few penalties were called on either team. Approximately 7 minutes to 3. period end, a major pile up of bodies in and around and on top of the Aeros goal made it somewhat impossible to see.. but Referee Wiebe literally climbed ONTO the net and disallowed that Stars goal, which looked to be good. GOOD show, Wiebe.

Th game went into 5 minutes overtime without any score. A four round Shoot out followed. Shooting for the Stars: DeVergilio, Lindgren, Stafford, Morin and Beaudoin (who skated well with the best chance for the goal, and also during most of the time-too sad, he's now the BADDIE) - all without goals.

Fo the Aeros: DiSalvatore - GOAL, Zingoni, Hilbert and McMillan - did not score.
The game ended with 2 - 1 Aeros.

Stars of the game # 3 Climie of the Stars, #2 Zingoni and # DiSalvatore.

Aeros scratches: Testwuide, Gillies, Madsen, 'Feisty Fergie', Milroy,
'2G' Johnson, Kassian, Falk and Brust.
Stars Scratches: Straub, Sawada, Stephenson, Ludwig, Vishnevskiy (who skated the best last night IMO)

Bits and updates..10/11, edition 10/15

Former Aeros top scorers, what they are doing now: edition 10/15

Krys Kolanos and Corey Locke, signed by NHL Philadelphia Flyers and N.Y. rangers resp., are back in the AHL affiliates. Kolanos skates for the new Adirondack Phantoms. He lacks just one goal for a career 100 goals in the AHL. He does not show up in the top 100 after at least 4 games.

And Locke skates for the Hartford Wolfpack still in sweater Nr. 84.
HARTFORD 7, SPRINGFIELD 3
Hartford unloaded for seven goals in its home opener and took a 7-3 win over Springfield before 8,385 fans at the XL Center on Saturday. Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau tallied his first three goals of the season for the Wolf Pack, and Corey Locke, an offseason acquisition by the parent New York Rangers, shows five goals and six points in his first three games of the campaign. Putting him in 12th place in four games.
Now that IS good for Locke!

Marco Rosa (with the Moose) has three goals and 4 assist putting in seventh place after six games.

Andy Hilbert, the only, then, AEROS with 1 goal and 2 assists (played only 2 games) in 93rd place according to AHL site.

ONLY HOPE that rookie Anton Khudobin (in 10. place in GA) can keep the pucks OUT.
Dimples as the Saviour of the Aeros! ;-)

Hockey weather...

that little cold snap came at the right time. Hockey weather in Houston.

And Aeros have a long road to success ahead!

This song is dedicated to all those Beaudoin fans, who still favor him, even though he did not 'shine as a Star' last night and seems to be not approved of by 'certain people' LOL. Once a fave always a fave.. true loyalty in good times or bad times, right? ;-)

Here is the Back of Nr. 26 Stars.. Mathieu Beaudoin heading towards his bench :-) ... as Aeros supporter a view we do like to see, right?

Aeros loose to Texas Stars :-(

In front of a large crowd (must be all those Stars supporters who drove in for the games this weekend), Aeros made one goal in first (Stoner, assists Noreau and Daoust), then the Stars came back with a total of 3 goals, and in the last minutes with Aeros goalie recalled, the team made ONE more goal to loose the game 3-2.

Stoner, Noreau, Zingoni, Smith, Daoust skated well, Rau (WOW), too, was rather effective.
But Dubie just had some BAAAD moments letting goals happen he should not have. Is it possible that having skated in Europe with its bigger rinks, the 'cosiness' (LOL) of the local rinks got to him? We saw his real frustration - sure glad he did not pound his stick to bits!

Am somewhat underwhelmed by Messrs. Milroy, Gunderson, & Lannon.
Maybe they had a bad hair day:-). Kassian and Falk seemed, well, rather defensive. Falk appeared to have had a hard collision, skating off slowly to the locker room, but was back in the sway soon.
Kalus skated fast and prettily, BUT failed to carry through at many moments.
Irmen, Rogers, Fornataro and Hilbert provided some sturdy support.
Scratches: Fraser, Almond, Feisty Fergie, McMillan, Brust. Did I miss someone?

The first period was fast paced, the second seemed much slower, and that carried over to the third until the latter half when the pace picked up again. Only one 'semi' fight that I could see and that was a no penalty kind. In all, only a few penalties were called on both teams, although I would've called a delay of game when a STAR player sent the puck into the stands, thankfully NO one was hurt. Am sure, Aeros and T3I sites will provide more 'technical' reports
THAT' S ALL Folks.

Now one thing did bug me: during the National Anthem. What I believe to be Star supporters in the end zone emphasized STARS (LOUDLY) every time that noun was sung by the school choir, showing utter lack of proper respect for the National Anthem.
Stars or no Stars. Better behavior is appropriate.
Basta. Good Night until tomoorw! Game 2 Aeros vs Stars.
Apropos Stars: Nr. 26 Beaudoin did skate tonight and while he did NOT have a goal or an assist, he did receive some pounding. Sorry, Beaudoin lovers, his 'Star' did not really 'shine' tonight ;-)

SOB SOB SOB...

No more superlative Fred Trask photos over at T3I.... go there and read why.

Like SALOME with a head on a platter, NO, a helmet in a basket...

After last season's games, Better Half and I went to the locker room sale to see what there might be worthwhile to garner as mementos of the
"Come Back Boyz".

Waiting in line, we chatted with various fans and, naturally, discussed favorite players. Ours was, of course, Mathieu Beaudoin, Nr. 25. We snatched his, apparently never used, beige embroidered name tag. Also a green practice jersey (I don't do white any more, LOL) and other mementos.
And that was that, we thought.

A few days after, the mailman delivered a box with no sender name. We gingerly opened it (after all, there are crazies out there), turned it upside down and out tumbled helmet Nr. 25, the green version! So, now we had helmet Nr. 25.

Not knowing how and where to contact Matthieu Beaudoin to actually dedicate it .....
I thought, maybe it would serve rather nicely as 'candy' 'dish' holder ;-) ;-)

BUT, some 'sweet person' from the Aeros Promotion team offered to hand carry it to a morning skate for Mathieu Beaudoin to sign!
And I did not even have to 'dance for it'


BUT, horrors upon horrors, the signature was smudged off in the transfer to us.
Well, the first try went awry, so we tried again with different pens and a basket to carry back the helmet! I felt like Salome....except we had just a helmet in a basket NOT a head on a platter ;-) LOL.

But no dice... no second try for a signature by MB.... SIGH!

Maybe we are jinxed.

I SHOULD have danced, tee hee...just to get rid of THAT picture , someone would offer to get the helmet to MB for a second try LOL.

Well, we will have to try again, maybe it will be done in San Antonio, in Austin or here..OJALA! Beaudoin will think 'THAT blasted helmet is showing up all over Texas' LOL. And just to get rid of it he'll sign it somewhere!

Some like it cold..

photo taken 1911 when Niagara falls froze up compeltely. BRRRRRRRR

if you ARE one of those, hie yourself up to Calgary where the temperatures will dip to 9 degrees overnight and warm up to 27 during the day. Even Anchorage is warmer over the next two days.
And in Georgetown, CO, you can already frolic in the first real snow!
Georgetown to me is the little village that's full of LILACS in June. Lovely, the smell of Lilacs bring back memories...

Apropos memories, am feeling rather nostalgic this day. Thinking back on my days of 'roaming the world', well Europe for sure, hitchhiking, back backing, hiking...all on the cheap.
Friends did even more, they spread their wings all over, South Africa, South America, The Philippines, Canada...and, finally yours truly to USA, where I stuck for good LOL.
For whatever reasons, most of the others went back home to Austria. I never felt that way. I like it here, despite everything that IS wrong with this country.
Specifically I like Houston.
This city has it all: good art, good music, good theater, good opera, good sport (HOCKEY for me), friendly people, good restaurants, airline-hub so you can escape to elsewhere if want, mostly good weather (I hate to shiver, at least due to the cold, LOL).
That was my adventurous period ;-). T'was followed by forays into painting, later into poetry.
Now I am just a more or less informed spectator enjoying 'carping at'- ahem - critiquing several things. LOL. And you know, I really like being older. It has set me free.
Most times I do like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. As I get older, it is easier to be positive.. I could care less, mostly, about what you think. I don't question myself as much and as often. I feel I have earned the right to be wrong.
And so much for philosophizing LIFE is good

only 2 more days to Hockey :-).

A request...

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac.
Many blame LSD for the permanent damage to Peter Green's mental health, even Peter Green said "I took one too many LSD trips and that puts me in the 'Care and Attention'...
Happy to oblige a reader. Here it is

Below is the longer live version of the Duster Bennett song done by Original Fleetwood Mac and recorded live at the Boston Tea Party in February 1970. The intro guitar solo by Peter Green is longer ...
I really like this one.


And on the subject of Blues... one of my all time favorites: Wynton Marsalis
who also is very, very eloquent in the classical vein..
Some of you might remember the JAZZ series on Channel 8 several yearago, MC'd by him.. which was truly eyeopening. . Love music, be happy!

Author...Author...

An old adage says"Everyone has at least ONE book in him/her".
Not sure that applies to me, don't feel disciplined enough to buckle down and write steadily and cohesively. I am, and will be, an essayist=blogger at heart. So no launching or autographing sessions in sight.
However, shortly I will be reading a 'First Novel': "Playing Naomi" by Erika Rummel, who has previously published scholarly treatises on Erasmus of Rotterdam, etc. and is venturing into the realm of the NOVEL. Keep your eyes on this blog for more great literary news.


On the local Aeros Hockey front: we hear that

Dylan Hunter, he of the smoldering dark looks was released from his PTO but no indication where he is going

Brian Kaufman was sent down to the ECHL Gwinnett Gladiators (which will be skating against the Florida Everblades (Brad Zanon returned to them) on a day we will be at that game!) So now I have his autograph as Nr. 15 for the Aeros...

There may be further cuts to whittle down the numbers to the proscribed numbers for the season. We will have a surfeit of goalies...not a bad thing, when we recall the schlamassel we were in at last season's end.

Colton Gillies was injured in the 2. game vs Moose, but no word if he is already well enough to skate the home opener game on Friday.

And no further news on Cody Almond who had an injury during the Wild Camp earlier, but was seen skating up North at later sessions.

Gregg, of the 2 G (goals LOL) Johnson, Duncan Milroy and Andy Hilbert still on the roster, for now.

HGO Opera News:
two of HGO's STAR singers have been replaced.
Eric Cutler, tenor (Duke in Rigoletto, Belmonte (Abduction) Tamino (Zauberflote) withdrew, citing family reasons and his role will be taken on by American tenor John Osborn.

The soprano singing Elsa (Lohengrin) was replaced recently by Marie Plette. I can't find a video where she actually is identifyable while singing. The best is this: Berkely opera performance of Tales of Hoffmann-concert version. with Phillip Skinner, Plette and Olson
And so it goes, CHANGES, everywhere...but then THAT IS the watchword right now.

Get a life..

I have been inundated with suggestions for new and old hockey blogs I MUST read. Unfortunately, there are ONLY 24hours in the day, and I do have a life other than hockey. well , some kind of a life, anyway.

I am always open to suggestions...any kind...:-).

And I do read fast, still!
And remember most of what I read, yet!
But ... there are so many other interesting things to do, see, hear, feel, sense and taste....

Life, it is good, still so very good.

BIG SMILE

Y'all have a GOOD NIGHT!

Local boy makes good...

The Corpus Christi Ice Rays (where last season off and on Aeros backup John Adams skated) just signed a local boy, Zach Goller, to a PTO, a first in the 12 year history of CHL IceRays.
Am sure plenty of family and friends will flock to the games in support. Am copying part of the relevant email excerpt:
The 5'11. 175 pound left winger played his entire youth hockey here in Corpus Christi. Following his youth hockey career Goller received an invitation to the El Paso Diablos Junior Hockey Team of the WSHL. During his 3 year time with the Diablos, he compiled 38 goals, 48 assists in 149 games played. He also helped his team win 1 League Championship and participate in 3 National Tournaments.
"I have watched Zach skate since he was 10 years old. Zach has really earned his participation to our training camp. He has made the sacrifices needed over the years and he really deserves his opportunity. I can assure you that there will be a proud father tomorrow as his son hits the ice" said General Manager Pat Dunn.
"This speaks highly of the competition our kids are exposed to in the state of Texas
(my Italics) This reinforces and encourages us to pursue with the excellent program we offer in Corpus Christi. I believe that with a year round ice facility, it won't be long before we see a local boy crack the IceRays line-up" said Corpus Christi Junior IceRays representative, Doctor Greg Silverman".

and on the funny (?) side.. In Goal magazine just posted an article that (WHERE ELSE BUT) on Canadian Television a new reality show is slated to be shown: Hockey !

Now would that be a good 'community involvement thingie for the Aeros!
Hey, listen up Robert Desimone...there are lots of amateur hockey players and goalies (yeah-go Ms. C.) in Houston to fill such a show.."Skating with the AEROS!"
As intermission feature maybe.. 3 periods, starting with 1. period BEFORE the warm up, then 2. in the 1. Intermission and 3. in 2. Intermission, to be followed as needed AFTER the game. Justa thought...LOL. or space it out over several games! Now, I am not a skater so don't ask me how to do it!
There are plenty of hockey experts out there, as well as some TV types...to advise and guide such a show.
Just hadda post this....

Das Problem...English oder Deutsch

Nach -zig Blogs auf Englisch, etwas auf Deutsch.
Es faellt mir schon recht schwer, nach ueber 40 Jahren in den USA und taeglichem Englisch sprechen, lustige Kommentare abzugeben. Das ist im Englischen schon viel leichter.
Gott sei Dank, gibt es Videos and Bilder, mit denen man das Schreiben witzig machen kann. ;-).
Las in dem WSJ gerade einen Artikel ueber eine Frau in England, die es sich zu ihrem Lebensziel gemacht hat, das 'offizielle' Englisch leichter leserlich und verstaendlicher zu machen.
Und das erinnert mich an den Amtschimmel, der in Oestereich damals, und hoechtswahrscheinlich noch immer, ausgiebig und oft unverstaendlich wiehert!

Beim Uebersetzen offizieller Dokumente in der "Amtssprache" muss man sehr erfinderisch sein, um den Sinn im Englischen auch richtig zudeuten.

Und dann ist noch JODELN, was wirklich nicht zu leicht zu erlernen ist. Ein sehr flexibles Zungerl ist noetig, Kehlkopf usw. muss trainiert werden. Dafuer gibt es, besonders in Tirol, Steiermark und Bayern spezielle Schulen...;-)! try it, not so easy!

I am NOT getting a dime...

pre-emptive statement..
I blog because I can and want to, and not because I am getting any payments of any kind.
That said, my musings, grumblings and feelings are mine alone and in no way affiliated with any organization or business. So enjoy or dislike them....

We are 'Well-heeled' NHL Hockey Fans..

...per a very short article in today's WSJ!
Contrary to the image of beer guzzling (or Margarita guzzling) dyed-in-their-jerseys blue-collar hockey fans, the survey shows NHL fans in the $100,000+ income bracket account for 36% of all sports'fans.

Doesn't that make you feel so much better to know that we, hockey fans, are the ELITE of sports watchers.

And that brings me to another subject: I'm intensely curious what YOU, a dedicated elite Hockey Fan, collect?
Let me know.
Is it game worn Jerseys?
Clean Jerseys?
Minor defunct team jerseys?
Is it pucks?
Is it whatever...books, photos, sticks, bobble heads, enshrined unwashed socks-worn-by-your-idol, ticket stubs, autographed anythings ?

Do you have a closet full of various teams' jerseys, your idol played with?
A wall full of photos?
A cabinett full of pucks, pins, trading cards ?

Hockey Stickchairs?

Do you read all blogs on hockey avidly?
Your idol's blogs, tweets?

As a 'well-heeled Hockey fan, do you follow your idol across the country to all or some games?
So, let me know....what YOU do!
And THANKS for taking the time to do so...in public or private, whichever preferred.

Now that IS a coincidence...

at the party last night we discussed voices.
And I mentioned the Peruvian Singer Yma Sumac (named after an Incan princess)she was not trained as an opera singer, whose octave range was phenomenal...from the lowest of bass to high soprano.. unreal, truly unreal....I have several records and guard them jealously. ;-)
People assumed that she developed this range because she was reared in high Andes country where the air is thin and the lungs must expand more then elsewhere to get enough oxygen.
Well anyway, today I went to my favorite source, YouTube, and found several samples.. so here they are for your awe and enjoyment...and YES believe me, SHE WAS REALLY FEMALE!
There are 5 Videos showing her range. I have just posted the 1.(low voice) and the 5th (highest voice)- she was incredible-bassi profundi and coloraturas all rolled into one voice with alto, contralto, bariton, mezzo, tenor, soprano and, maybe even, Countertenor overtones or undertones? In any case WOW!

They CAN and DID win without me...

and so last night, the Aeros (4) won over the Moose (2) and I wasn't there to cheer them on , LOL.

(For Beaudoin fans: he did skate and had 3 shots on goal, but also 2 2min penalties in 1st and 3rd period for tripping resp. goaltender inteference. He skates as Nr. 26, 26 duh!! Texas won over San Antonio 3-2).

Zingoni zings in 2 goals, Falk gets a rebound goal credited and Stoner has a, last gasp kinda, goal as well. And our young Kazakhstani goalie holds off 26 shots. Well done, Anton. All that from the AHL tally website, since I wasn't anywhere near a radio, computer or bar. Well, let me rephrase that, I was IN a bar but much later in the night.

Last night was the last performance of Tabarro/Pagliacci at The OH! and was it grand, really all those little annoying wrinkles that showed up in the first 2 performances I saw, were ironed out, toned down, smoothed over and the result... a thoroughly stunning performance. Despite the steady rain the house was full and -those of you who did not make the effort to come, missed a tremendously exciting show.

Scott Six, the Ruby Cast's tenor was said to be suffering with a cold....well, if he sounds THAT way with a cold, you sure would be awed hearing him without one! Except towards the very end of Pagliacci one could hear the strain was getting to him a bit... nevertheless raving applause for all three 'stars' and warm applause for the comprimarios and the chorus, who, BTW, is already rehearsing for the next opera, MANON by Massenet, in the original French!

Anyway, while Aeros and Moose battled it out without - wonder upon wonder - as many penalties as the night before, just your run of the mill slashing, fighting and hooking, none of those more exotic ones ....;-), I was soaking up music, and at the after party, some glorious AUSTRIAN WINE (yeeesssss) at Block 7. Whose owner, 'Corey', plus several of his staff are also hockey fans. So, Ms. C., I did a bit of "community work" and suggested to him, he ought to take his staff to Aeros games (group discounts apply) and should charitably support the SLED Hockey kids! A very noble cause, n'est pas? Much better than supporting "Accountants on skates"or an amateur team, as he mentioned, he might do!

And of course, he absolutely has to keep supporting The OH! by having those "After-the-last-show-farewell parties" (private invite only!) in his tasting room ...with those Austrian Wines! I got so enamored by the Gruener Veltliner from the Kamptal, I shlepped home a couple bottles......way past Cinderella's hour. And no, my 'carriage' did not turn in to a pumpkin, it stayed the same dependable little Nissan!

Now, being an 'old fogey' I have not been to the Heights area that late at night, usually head right home after the shows, and was totally overwhelmed with the hopping, walking, loud music playing, videos in windows, both sides of street loaded with cars type of NIGHTLIFE between Heights Blvd and Shepherd on Washington! Yeah, that's right... a booming area, reminded of the Richmond strip in the 'olden' days! BIG :-D!

So much for that.. a grand night all around, eh, for Opera, Austrian Wines, Aeros and the old party gal in me ;-)

Still on cloud nine or ten, or whatever....

Now I must be off to take one lovely singer to her flight home to Minneapolis!

4 letter words found again in the dictionary..

Why this post, you may ask? During last night's Aeros game -
I could've used them several times to .... relieve stress, LOL.For almost 170 years, Victorian pruderie prohibited inclusion of certain 4 letter words and others pertaining to sex into the dictionaries; even though the first time the word "f..." was listed in a dictionary of 1598, then used to explain the Italian fottere, and still found as late as 1795. The 1960's were more inclusive.

For a 'tongue-in-cheek' discussion of the problem find your way to the 1971 essay by satirist Munc Wang (pseudonym of syntactitian Avery Andrews).

Do you know the real meaning of 'menage a trois'? Most Dictionaries use it in the 'old timey' way, while only the OED mentions it in the way the younger generation now understands its meaning.

Moose'ing ahead...

Last night's game, Aeros vs. Moose, ended in a Moose win 4-3 over Aeros.

Gillies got two goals, Weller one and Noreau several assists. Earl's, literally 'last stand', goal did not count. Listening to O'Donnell, several skaters were mentioned favorably, among them WOW-Rau.

Feisty Fergie, The Scrapper and others did not dress.

Dubie in the net deflected all, but 4 goals, of the Moose's larger number of shots on goal. Several fights and PIMS to both teams followed one another. Kassian, Irmen, Noreau (normally NOT a fighter), McMillan, etal sat in the 'sinbin' at various times for fighting, game misconduct etc.

Former Aeros Marco Rosa (also one of the named player of the game) scored for the Moose, Grabner could not do as well last night.

Considering that several Aeros players came in 'from the cold' so to speak, the team played reasonably well against a formidable opponent.

A repeat game is scheduled for tonight.

Alas, I will not be able to hear/see it as I am engaged elsewhere.

So will just have to read about it tomorrow, including comments by the fans :-)?

So my personality is GREEN...

just took a color quizz and found that I am right fashionable... GREEN.
Nowhere did it say that PURPLE/LILAC is my favorite color? Do I have to clean out my favorite purple jerseys, and restock ONLY green ones;-)?
The quizz also stated that I am balanced and neutral.. huh? Balanced, Neutral?

Where in the h... did that come from?

At least it did not categorically state I am a nurturer/nuturess?

Looking at the latest roster photos of the NEW AEROS..the averag age seems to be 24-26, with a few young'uns sprinkled amongst the veterans on ice.

Fresh faces that caught my eye: Daoust of the mischievous ear to ear grin,

The smoldering dark looks of Hunter stand out, kinda..

And Feisty Fergie, a serious mien means business!

Ryan Lannon, a "cock of the roost" type, well, he did wear the C