Vroom, Vroom - Bikers !!

Well, it would have to be..
the same weekend we are in Austin for the Stars vs. Bears games 4 and 5...
the town was full of bikers in all their regalia,
including their 'mamas' ;-) (is that the right term?)!
And proudly showing off tattoos!
(No, we did not get one, even a tiny one!).
And to be fair, a few gal bikers with their 'daddies ' (? ;-D)!
So we had to be hotel nomads to stay that extra night (Game 5) -
And certainly never OVERSLEPT! Varoom, Varoom!
Austin town reverberated, the highways and byways became bike lanes (almost) with big signs everywhere "Share the road with a biker" or "Look twice for bikes".
But not a one said 'Use of earplugs strongly suggested' ;-)!

We spent some time Thursday at the (ah, so blessedly quiet and cool)
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art

The Texas State History Museum

(yup-it DOES have a LONE STAR Bronze in front on the plaza !

And on Friday at the LBJ Library.

From the JSB Museum of Art:

A really grand Staircase ..what, you did not bring your scuba mask?

Picasso's humorous sketch of Balzac;

a colorful Installation -obviously misnamed ( LoL )-

"Two in One" - I counted `19 elements, ;-) -

but a haven for kid sketchers.. which were there in abundance that day!

A huge wall hanging (aluminum/copper wire) by

Ghanaian El Anatsui (a favorite) oh, those waves of aluminum platelets!

Quite dizzying looking at it sideways! ;-)

being mystified by Jo Baer's "Horizontal Tiered" (empty canvases?);

next to Alejandro Puente's "Estraction" - let me guess it' the red being extracted ;-)

- and the meaning of it all is what?

Sorry, must be obtuse-just don't see much in these 2 art (?) pieces,

well, maybe the Puente is spatially acceptable... but the Baer?

Ben Shahn's "From that day on", a study in blue

(kinda like it-reminiscent of Picasso's Period Blue, maybe);

And Jorge Eielson's "Quipos 58B"-

a white on gray montage in homage to 'Incan accounting' LoL!

A bit of LBJ.. quite humorously talkative in wax,

ensconced in bronze on the balcony (rear )

What a 'paper collection' ;-),

the presidential stacks.

And the 'icing on the cake", an exhibit honoring

Walter Cronkite

(war correspondent, reporter, anchor man, space research promoter,

adventure traveler and story teller,

for me forever "The Voice of the Wiener Neujahrskonzerte"!)

Stars do not go quietly..you don't have to look ;-) with pics

Cedar Park on Game 5!

"Entrance of the Gladiators" with set jaws and steely looks (for the OT)

Matt Climie, Mathieu Beaudoin

Jamie Benn andScott McCulloch

Aaron Gagnon and Dan Jancevski

Trevor Ludwig and Ray Sawada

Brent Krahn, the B.U.G. for game 5

NR. 26 on look out!

Sad looking Bear in " box" - battered at by gremlins ;-)!

Hershey Bears-celebrating- another win, in Overtime,

to head home at 3-2.
7084 screaming and hyped up Stars fans, and few Bears fans sprinkled amongst them. If screams had been goals, the Stars would have won by 1000's ;-)

The Texas Stars DID NOT make it easy for them.

They fought and did battle with energy and to the, IMO, loudest acclamations by any fans in the almost sold out arena.

Texas Stars got on the board in the 1. with a PP goal by Gagnon.

The Bears came back in the 2. with the goal by Bouchard,

and that's how it stayed through regulation.

Giroux of the Bears got the winning goal about halfway into OT. each team just had 2 penalties! This was one of the fairest refereeing we've seen...both teams got away with murder.. unseen ? or ignored by a seemingly overwhelmed referee?

Right in front of my eyes, a Bear player (names withheld by author ;-) kept a Star player from skating after the puck by hanging on for dear life to his jersey tails! Another time, the stick was between the legs of the opposing player .. but did the ref. see it? Apparently not, even though he hoovered just a few feet away!!! Blind justice? Or incompetence by a ref out of his league.

As I said as FAIR a piece of officiating.. blind to both sides' refractions....

Climie did stop 41 s.o.g.s out of 43, while Neuvirth saved 35 of 36. Both goalies had some huge saves. Both defense was up to it, although Hershey's may have had an edge. Both teams skated well and forcefully.

At the least the STARS 'did not go quietly into the night'. The fought bravely, fiercely and with gusto all night long!

There was no slacking in the 3. this time,

as there seemed to have been in Games 3 and 4.

Hershey's team of AHL veterans who have skated together for so long

(probably could read each others' minds blindfolded),

just were that soupcon better and 'hungrier' for a repeat'

And so they won 3 games in a row, and that away from their home crowd!

Now the Stars will have to do battle in the lair of the Bears.

Can they repeat the results of the first two games there?

And still bring home the CUP?

Do you believe in miracles?

Broken hearted...pics added

Climie in goal

Neuvirth badgered by Beaudoin ;-

Happy Bears Fans.

Well, Philadelphia Flyers lost to Chicago, Number One.

So Hossa FINALLY got his Cup! He ONLY had to switch allegiance twice (at no personal financial loss to him, I may say)!

Secondly, Stars lost to Bears last night in regulation.
The Stars seem to fade from the firmament in the third, allowing the Bears 2 goals to win.
Bears had 3 PP on 5 penalties, Stars 1 on 4.
Greg Rallo and Lindgren were the two scorers for Stars, while Aucoin (a Daoust looking clone except for dark hair and beard ;-),
Beagle, Carlson and Giroux goaled for Bears.
This is now the second game, when Stars came out strong in the first, slowed in second and seemingly went over the rim into a void in the third.
The house was full, the sound incredible, the fans yelling their hearts out.
Both goalies did as well as possible. Neuvirth stopped 26, Climie managed 25 stops.
Both teams had same shots on goal (28 Stars, 29 Hershey).
Amazingly, Hersheys, as did the Bulldogs, were staffed with shorter players and to good avail.
It sure seemed as if they skated out from under the bigger Star skaters.
Like annoying gnats or pesky no seeumns ..just kidding.

Brits rule - humourously

So this confirms what I have always suspected!

Humour is linked to geography ;-)!

Snigger happy: Rude Britannia at Tate Britain - Times Online

Galgenhumor in Wien.

Ah, love our wine, love our Wien!

Slapstick humor - as applied to Hockey ;-), in the USA.

Or as presented by French Comediens... have fun!

Working again?

seems like this morning no one could 'blog' and/or edit the blog.

Perhaps it is fixed now..see if it works again!

Stars vs Bears Game Nr. 3 tonight at Cedar Park- another nailbiter?

And the Stars Trekking begins anew...

Photo: AHL.
Texas Stars won the second road game in Hershey.

The scorers for the Stars per AHL: Gagnon, Stafford, Beaudoin, and Morin.

Now for three games at home in Austin,
and The Calder Cup?
Hockey (Stars or not) fans will trek to Cedar Park for games 3, 4 and 5, if needed ;-)!
What an incredible inaugural season for this 3. AHL team in Texas.
And a little number scrunching for ex Aero and current Stars Mathieu Beaudoin
(y'all know he's our soft spot! And if you didn't - now, you do - LOL):
he played 41 regular season games (did not start till December)
with 11 goals/8 assists = 19 points, but really made his mark in the truncated playoffs with 20 games and 8 goals, 9 assists = 17 points.
And no, we never thought he is the 'second coming of Gretzky' :-) - just a sturdy, reliable, non-flashy, intelligent player!
For the Stars: regular season 72 games played: 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists) and in the play offs: 18 games, so far, with 4 goals, 3 assists = 7 points.

Now, if 'my other' team keeps on winning, too... my heart will runneth over ;-)! Tonight!

The ART of Storytelling

Charles Marion Russell, born in St. Louis, MO, headed to Montana as a 16 year old and never really left!

His paintings show a luminosity and clarity! In bright and yet muted colors they tell the stories of the West, of Cowboys, of Indians, even the harsh winters of dead cattle. His small sculptures capture horse and man in motion!

Show is on at the MFAH till August and well worth a visit!

Want to be entertained and educated? Go to a storyteller.

Last evening BetterHalf and I went early to grab seats for the "LECTURE" at the MFAH.. on Western cowboy painter Charles M . Russell. Prepared for a dry however much informative 'lecture' we settled down and watched as the hall filled to the brim, people lining the halls like wallflowers just to be able to sit on stairs. And many latecomers had to be turned away... lesson: get there early, very early!

So Dr. Raphael Cristy, a notable historian of the Univ. of NM, and author of Charles M. Russell: The Storyteller's Art, moseyed out onto the stage, dressed as a cowboy, and began.

He used the actual jottings of Charles Russell as the base for his one-man show, complete with various stage props, sash, hats, and more, to make Russell's own humorous writings come alive vividly.

Crustily he told of mountainmen, Cowboys around a fire telling tall tales, Russell as ineffective sheepherder, better nightrider, painter, sculptor, illustrator, humorous writer, and world traveller!

Whose works, under the guidance of his much younger wife Nancy, nee Cooper, made him and his ART famous and can be found in musea everywhere!

We were drawn into the tales, chuckled, giggled and roared aloud to the wry wit of Russell so vividly portrayed by Dr. Cristy whose own histrionic talents as a storyteller were much in evidence. A well spent evening, entertaining and informative as well.

And to cap an evening of fun and joy ;-)..

Philadelphia Flyers won vs Blackhawks.

It was (end of period 2 and all of 3) a cliffhanger.

The Flyers seemed securely ahead by 3, but Blackhawks came back powerfully in the Third,

and the game ended, 5-3 for the Flyers, only 2 goals ahead, one of which was an empty netter!

Heard but not seen

From a previous celebration (photo Jerina)

so I did not see the game one between the Texas Stars and Hershey Bears!
The Stars unbelievably won on the Bears' turf!

And here are two opposing views:

a) Stars: http://hundreddegreehockey.blogspot.com/2010/06/texas-takes-low-scoring-game-1-by-2-1.html

and b) Bears: http://hersheybearshockey.blogspot.com/2010/06/bears-lose-game-1.html

Enjoy the read. Rather amusing to compare the two!
For Better Half and I it was, is and will be GO STARS ;-)!

Defy, Deny or Admit?

So, what do you do? When it comes to age?

Deny = lie about it?

Defy = make some cosmetic surgeon richer ?

Admit it = be content as possible with it?

Recently, I have noticed that several of our 'older' friends seem to be prouder of being what - 70 and counting! Ready to join the 100 club?

Is this the magic number, when we admit to our real age. And not try to hide behind lifts of body parts (all starting with B...;) . Decreasing or augmenting?

Seems to me, that you can have everything lifted, augmented or decreased BUT your hands.

They will show the real YOU!

Unless you wear gloves! Or hide in muffs!

Drama in dreams, old wives tales and so...

Dreaming about ice has been suggested to infer some emotional or denied psychological problems. It has been interpreted as fear of death or impotence...hm.. wouldn't Viagra help ;-)? "Sitting on ice in a dream"is thought to be associated with a life of prosperity, a sign of the contrary...down but really UP? Now I do wonder what Climie may have thought of that?

So do you believe in lucky numbers" ?

I am reminded of the 'Tre Carti' in the Opera "Queen of Spades" being thought to make the person who knows them rich?

Or the number 666? Really so devilish?

And how about 13? If it really means bad luck, why do not skip it altogether? Although some hotels actually do it. And why is Friday, the 13th considered bad luck? Because Friday is the only weekday named after a woman? The Goddess Freya in Norse myth.

Hockey players are supposed to be so superstitions, and yet, many jerseys carry the the number 13, Carcillo of the Flyers for instance.

Do bad things happen BECAUSE of a primeval fear.

Does rubbing the hare's foot really help? Or crossing your fingers?

What about the Number 7? Is it really that lucky? If so, why then "break a mirror and 7 days of bad luck will follow"?

In Japan the number 7 is considered very lucky, so lucky (hmm, sexual connotations there?) that they print 777 in their urinals!

Ah, well just some musings to pass the time, till the next game or opera ;-)!