Here is my own entry for the Flickr contest, which I am not eligible to win but that's okay. Just being nominated is an honor. I'll announce the winner as soon as I figure out who it will be.

Flick couldn't believe his luck. What a year it had been for him! First his beloved hometown of Halifax had finally gotten a CFL expansion team- the Black Schooners. That alone would have made his whole year. Then they announced that the Grey Cup would be held here in Halifax! Wow! He almost thought he would burst. But that wasn't even all. His entry for the design-the-mascot contest had won!!!!!!!!! He knew it would, of course. How could such a brilliant, though admittedly obvious, concept not? He had submitted a drawing of a Nazgul. But not just any old wraith. This was a robot. And a pirate! A robotic pirate Nazgul was the official mascot of the Halifax Black Schooners! His prize had been season tickets, and best of all . . . they asked Flick to wear the mascot costume during the Grey Cup! Overload overload overload! Flick wouldn't have been at all surprised to be contacted by the Nobel guys to tell him he had won their prize too, that's the kind of year it had been.
When the big day arrived, Flick made sure he was there early to get the costume on. First he put on a metallic robot mask with an eye-patch, then the Nazgul robe. For a crowning touch, Flick let his pet kea perch on his shoulder, completing the whole robot-nazgul-pirate look. The fans went wild as he took the field for the pre-game warmup. Flick basked in their adulation, and then poured out some of his own when his heroes the Black Schooners took the field.
At half-time the score stood at 44-37 for the Edmonton Eskimos. Flick hated those Esks! And their mascot- a polar bear named Nanook? Please! Though he had to admit their bear suit looked surprisingly convincing. Flick's ruminations were interrupted when Mea Culpa (his kea) squawked loudly, a sign for Flick to turn and look at the stage erected for the half-time show. The special musical act was a tightly guarded secret. Flick had no idea who it would be, but he was eagerly anticipating the . . . ohmygoodness!! Could it be? It was! His favorite band of all time ever in eternity was walking past him to take the stage! Slipknot!!!!! #3 turned to him as he passed and said something that sounded like "Nice mask", though it was of course muffled. Flick was in heaven. It didn't even matter that the Eskimos broke the game wide open in the second half and won by 72-30 (an unprecedented event in Grey Cup history- the Black Schooners actually lost points for some reason). Flick even went over to the opposition mascot after the game to congratulate him, and was surprised to discover it was a real bear! The bear introduced himself as Homie, not Nanook, explaining that he just played Nanook for the games- they gave him a PSP for his troubles.
"But you know, I have a hard time working the controls with my paws, so why don't you have it?" Homie Bear gave Flick the PSP.
"Homie Bear, you are truly a great person," said Flick, "The very best." And thus ended the Best Grey Cup Ever.

Last chance to win a free Flickr Pro account- the deadline for entries is tonight. Just scroll down a couple of poosts for the rules.
Also, you can read how my friend Alyssa came to be "filled with a rage that threatens to consume" her. I got to hang out with her and Kavi and Rebecca last week for a bit and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Until I read about her consumptive rage. This is an equation that just doesn't work in my mind- Alyssa=Rage.

Warmaster!
There is no way to be certain, but somehow I am fairly sure that I am the only person in the entire world listening to this CD at this moment in history.
Whoa.

(photo copyright niznoz; used with permission)

Boys

What you got there? I asked
the little boy
He showed me the sailboat
that he had made
in Sunday School

Another little boy
(approaching 90 years of age)
gleefully stopped me in the street
to show me an ad he had clipped
offering used cars for five dollars

In a coffee shop a third little boy
middle-aged this time
was poring over some maps of Switzerland
He showed me where he trains
fighter pilots to survive in the wild

When I was a little boy
I didn't want to grow up
Luckily I discovered
that you never have to stop
being a little boy


(Inspired by three encounters I have had in the past week and a bit.)

Wow- I slept for over 13 hours. That's what nightshifts can do I guess. I had an interesting dream where I was scuba diving and snorkelling with my sister, and she showed me her surprisingly water-resistant Gameboy Advance (I was hoping it would be a PSP) and then we went camping and got locked out of our cabin (well, I locked us out) while a bear prowled through our campsite. But he was a friendly bear just popping in for a visit so it was okay, and then we unlocked the cabin and went in to watch the Grey Cup.
This is all a circuitous way of saying I have a free Flickr Pro account to give away. See, on the way home from work the other day we saw a black wolf. It was beautiful. And huge. I kicked myself for not having my camera with me- one should have their camera with them at all times is a lesson I am trying to learn. So my dream was kind of another reminder- even there I was caught without my camera, which is probably just as well during the diving part, but still.
Anyways, I think Flickr is great. With a Pro account you can upload 2 gigs worth of pictures a month. But I'm not just going to give away a Pro account, I think I will make you earn it. So if you want it, send me either a Playstation Portable, your favorite photo or artwork (made by you) or else a personal essay that explains in detail why you deserve the account, and which also makes mention of how great I am, and references at least ONE of the following: robots, Nazgul, Grey Cups, keas, or Slipknot. Obviously you will get bonus points if you work in more than one. Open to anyone who can meet one of the three criteria. Anyone, even lurkers, family members and residents of Quebec who usually get left out of all the contests for some strange reason.I will give you a week. Starting last Monday. Just kidding. Starting today.
Send your submissions to nwaddell (at) gmail dot com.

I hope the world's best bull ballerina (or bullerina as he prefers to be called) will be on stage tonight when Michelle and I go see Carmen, performed by the Alberta Ballet. I think it will be excellent.

And my favorite manic nursery rhyme political rage metal band released a new single from their forthcoming disc. I heard it on my XM radio and it kicks ass. Lots of it. Can you guess who I am talking about? If you guess right I will let you buy me their new CD when it comes out.

It's been a long time since I've written any pooems. I think the last one was in Malaysia, about the binturong. I've been keenly aware that I have a great new redesign that I am squandering by not poosting better content. This one has been in my head as a vague idea for a while, but between work and wedding prep I haven't had time to develop it till today. Hope you like it.

The Animal Chanimal has a new show
A makeover-reality hit produced by a pro
For the Series Premiere they took an old skunk
The one who was always drunk and who stunk
They gave him some perfume called Scent Of A Rabbit
And took him to rehab where he kicked his old habit
They followed that up by taking a bull
Around to a china shop, knowing in full
The damage he’d do; but Gyrating Gina
Trained him to be the world’s best bull ballerina
Ratings increased and audiences cheered
As the Three Billy Goats Gruff shaved off their beards
And they cried right alongside when the One Trick Pony
Learned trick number two and signed on with Sony
So the producers got in touch with ole Homie Bear
And invited him to sit in the Guest Animal's Chair
There's a rhetorical question they want to address
"Do bears poo in the woods?" The answer is yes
They envisioned a new brand of bears that were cleaner
And much more polite and less grumpy or meaner
"Mr. H Bear, will you come do our show?"
Homie Bear looked at them and snarled out- "No."

I wonder why Mark Hamill never did any voice work for the new trilogy? That would have been cool and classy. There were certainly enough voice parts, and Mark is an accomplished voice actor, cartoon work being the main focus of his career for the past few years. Heck, even Warwick Davis got to be in Episode I- not that that is something Mark is necessarily envious of.
Maybe he has a surprise guest appearance as a wookie in Episode III and they are keeping it tightly under wraps.

Back from another bunch of nights in the pit! I got to try my hand at operating this old beast for a bit, while looking wistfully up at my Dad, a couple of hundred feet above me in his brand new shovel , which is up and digging now. He seemed pretty happy with it.
Like Michelle mentioned last week, the new one has all sorts of little perks, including a 6 CD changer. So he asked me what kind of music he should get that would be good for nightshift. So I suggested American Idiot by Green Day (because it kicks ten tons of ass), maybe the new Audioslave if it's out yet (I still prefer Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden personally, but I know Dad digs their vibe), and even Slipknot's Vol. 3 The Subliminal Verses. And since we just came off nightshift my brain just kind of froze up, so now I invite you all to help my Dad find some good night tunes (the kind that keeps you awake) by leaving your suggestions in the droppings.