(You can click on them to see a bigger image.)

You can see in the third picture that the mother saw me. After taking the picture I ducked out of sight, hoping that I hadn’t scared them off. They did leave soon after, but didn’t move too quickly, giving me an opportunity to get two more shots, even if one was blurry.

As it was, I only really got one good shot, but it was very cool watching them walk around. Molson seemed to enjoy watching them too, and he didn’t make a sound.

Hossa leaves a Pittsburgh team that was willing to give him about the same amount of money the Wings gave him ($7.4 million), but for more then the one year he signed with in Detroit. I am surprised by this, because he could have been a key ingredient to leading the Pens back to the Cup Finals. Maybe he felt that the Wings had a better chance of repeating their trip there then the Pens. Hossa also had (reportedly, and probably true) much higher offers then this from the likes of the Canucks and Oilers. It will be interesting to see what he has to say about this.

I am shocked, seeing that Hossa isn’t much of a defensive forward (even with Fedorov’s scoring touch, he was one of the best defensive forwards during his heydays). However, even with that liability, I am excited to see what he can do in Hockeytown.

This will also help Marcia in rooting for the Red Wings, now that a Slovak is playing for them.

They are supposedly only found in the Pittsburgh area. I had my choice of face, and went with the pirate look. Mostly because I thought it would be a bit fun, and Marcia has a thing for pirates.

They were quite tasty.

Could be a very interesting day today. One of the more interesting group of free agents will be vying for spots amongst the 30 NHL teams. Some big moves have already happened. Adam Foote and Jon-Michael Liles both re-upped with the Avalanche. The Eastern Conference Champion Penguins didn’t expect to be able to resign Ryan Malone, so they shipped his rights off to Tampa, and the Bolts laid down an offer he couldn’t refuse. (The Bolts also sewed up team captain Vincent Lacavalier for nine years, and brought Barry “The Mullet” Melrose back to an NHL bench … the new owners are trying to bring back the glory of 2004’s Cup Championship season.) The Flyers sent the rights to R. J. Umberger to the Blue Jackets, knowing that they needed room to sign others that they felt were more important for the future. Like who? Like Jeff Carter, who they signed two days ago to a three-year deal (speculation according to one site, but I wouldn’t see it being for any less, and no more then five years). The Flyers will probably ink Joffrey Lupul and Scottie Upshall to contracts soon.

So who will be on the move today? We shall see. A lot of big names out there. And quite a few that had their contract bought out, not expecting to be free agents.

My prediction for the Wings is that they sign Mats Sundin. Wouldn’t mind seeing that. He only has a few years left, but he still produces well, and they could use another good center. Hopefully they bring back Brad Stuart. Can’t have enough defensemen like him.

UPDATE NO. 1
The Wings RE-SIGNED Brad Stuart. Good move in my opinion. Salary wise it seems a bit much, however with the cap getting bigger, and the maximum a player can get being now over $11 million. With that in mind, it seems like a good price at $3.75 a year for four years.

UPDATE NO. 2
The Red Wings now have signed Ty Conklin to back-up Osgood in net. Given the price of $700,000 for one year, it’s a solid move. I personally would like to see the Wings start using their young goaltending talent in the minors, like Jimmy Howard, giving them a chance to grow and develop into the starting goalie, but it’s hard to pass on Conklin. He is a very capable back-up. Two seasons in particular, he stepped in when the starting goalie was injured and did a great job in helping teams go to the Cup Finals (Oilers in 2006 and the Pens in 2008).

The Tampa Bay Lightning are making even more moves. Along with extending Lecavalier’s contract, and signing Malone, they also signed Gary Roberts, Vaclav (”Vinnie”) Prospal, Radim Vrbata, Olaf Kolzig, and Adam Hall. They are rebuilding quickly, and should be in the thick of the playoffs again next season. (Much like the Flyers, worst record in the league to good strong possibly contending team.)

The Blackhawks have also made some impressive moves to help bolster the defense. They signed coveted defenseman Brian Campbell and goalie Christobal Huet. Huet has shown some signs in the last two seasons of being brilliant. These two could really help the Hawks both in the short-team and long-run.

Still awaiting word of Mats Sundin. Though I think he’s probably going to end up in Montreal now. And rumors floating around are saying that Jaromir Jagr will end up back in Pittsburgh. Playing on a line with either Crosby or Malkin (who seems on the brink of signing an extension to stay in Steeltown) could really revive his career.

“Persepolis” is a memoir of Satrapi’s life from 1979 to 1994 (from approximately the ages of 9 to 24). It is similar to a graphic novel. This is part of what Amazon has listed as the “product description”:

“Persepolis” is the story of Satrapi’s unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trails of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming–both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up.

Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom - “Persepolis” is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.

The artwork, I knew wasn’t going to be something to truly admire. I had seen pictures of the pages, as well as parts of the movie which was made of the book, with Satrapi heading the art direction. However, that is not to say that it doesn’t play a huge role. Quite honestly, the art has to play a big role. But the lack of detail didn’t hurt it. This was more about the story of Satrapi’s life and family, not about the art. She exaggerated things to make a point, and was quite subtle when the scene called for it. What lacked in detail from a visionary point of view certainly made up in poignancy.

Marjane Satrapi

The story itself was great. Even though there are sections that pinpoint certain events in her life, given that it’s real life, many of the issues/scenes are interwoven. Given the nature of her early life, the struggles that her and her family faced, both in Iran and in Austria, it made for a very interesting read.

I think this books serves very well as a history lesson, too. Probably many of said this before, and many will after me. I am sure that Satrapi also set out to accomplish this as well. She succeeded. I knew very little of Iran and it’s people (other then Andre Agassi’s father being Iranian). And I hate to say it but I got caught up in the stereotypes of that time, too. But even when trying to back away from those, you still don’t know the whole truth. This book puts quite a few things into a better perspective.

It doesn’t take very long to read this, as you may be able to tell from my posts. And the artwork isn’t something that will leave you in awe. But the overall “product” is overwhelmingly wonderful.

His voice had been squeaky all day, like he was coming down with something. We had given him something earlier in the day, and it seemed to help. So Marcia went and got it for him again while I changed his diaper. But a minute after he took the medicine, he threw up. So we ended up having to throw things into the washer (which needed to be rinsed off before going in), getting him changed, and trying to give him something to drink. He eventually ended up on the couch with Marcia, or at least for a few minutes. I went back to bed, but soon he was coming into the room wanting to be put back into his crib.

It’s amazing how much it breaks your heart to see your child not feeling well. Especially what he went through in that short span of time this morning.

Marcia and I wanted to take him for his second birthday. We kept saying next weekend, or in a couple of weeks. Before we knew it, it was June. As it is, we are closer now to his third birthday. Also, unlike before where Nigel was really gung-ho or at least cooperative, this time around he was scared of the lights. (The photographers said this usually happens between 2 and 3, and if not being scared of things, just not wanting to sit for them.) Thankfully we brought along some of his trains and train books to help calm him down and get him interested in sitting. They ended up in most, if not all, of the photos.

So here are a few that turned out well.

Marcia sat in on some of the pictures too, but I won’t be posting them. She is not all that happy with them.

From Publishers Weekly, a review by Matthew Sharpe will have to serve as a plot synopsis for my review:

A reader might at first be surprised by how many chapters of a book entitled The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are devoted not to its sci fi–and–fantasy-gobbling nerd-hero but to his sister, his mother and his grandfather. However, Junot Diaz’s dark and exuberant first novel makes a compelling case for the multiperspectival view of a life, wherein an individual cannot be known or understood in isolation from the history of his family and his nation.Oscar being a first-generation Dominican-American, the nation in question is really two nations. And Dominicans in this novel being explicitly of mixed Taíno, African and Spanish descent, the very ideas of nationhood and nationality are thoughtfully, subtly complicated. The various nationalities and generations are subtended by the recurring motif of fukú, the Curse and Doom of the New World, whose midwife and … victim was a historical personage Diaz will only call the Admiral, in deference to the belief that uttering his name brings bad luck (hint: he arrived in the New World in 1492 and his initials are CC). By the prologue’s end, it’s clear that this story of one poor guy’s cursed life will also be the story of how 500 years of historical and familial bad luck shape the destiny of its fat, sad, smart, lovable and short-lived protagonist. The book’s pervasive sense of doom is offset by a rich and playful prose that embodies its theme of multiple nations, cultures and languages, often shifting in a single sentence from English to Spanish, from Victorian formality to Negropolitan vernacular, from Homeric epithet to dirty bilingual insult. Even the presumed reader shape-shifts in the estimation of its in-your-face narrator, who addresses us variously as folks, you folks, conspiracy-minded-fools, Negro, Nigger and plataneros. So while Diaz assumes in his reader the same considerable degree of multicultural erudition he himself possesses — offering no gloss on his many un-italicized Spanish words and expressions (thus beautifully dramatizing how linguistic borders, like national ones, are porous), or on his plethora of genre and canonical literary allusions — he does helpfully footnote aspects of Dominican history, especially those concerning the bloody 30-year reign of President Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. The later Oscar chapters lack the linguistic brio of the others, and there are exposition-clogged passages that read like summaries of a longer narrative, but mostly this fierce, funny, tragic book is just what a reader would have hoped for in a novel by Junot Diaz.

I cheat with this review as the synopsis. Though part of that was force. I couldn’t find anything that I liked in the much shorter variety. It all circled around Oscar and no one else. This review though tells of the depth of the story, that there are other figures that are as important and even make Oscar do what he does, and that it adds a history lesson of the Dominican Republic (or DR as it is usually referred to in the book). It also does it so much better then I could. I love writing reviews of the books I read, but I feel like a hack a lot of times, and sometimes the depth of a story or message goes over my head. (Though sometimes that due to the ineptitude of the author.)

Junot Diaz

So basically what I want to say is that I agree with everything that Mr. Sharpe said. It’s a great book, with so many levels to peel back, yet comes across as very readable, not something so high on itself that it can’t see past it’s own prose.

One thing that made me smile throughout reading this book was the language itself and the main character. It is great to see that the panel that awarded this novel the Pulitzer “get’s it.” They understand a good story, regardless the subject or language. To read references to famous sci-fi and fantasy novels/movies/games by the lead character like any geek/nerd would (my hand gets raised here, too) was astounding. It was done with the right tough. Not too much, not too little, just enough to make Oscar a complete nerd but not turn off other readers.

A great novel that lived up to the hype and my own interest before the hype.

Added bonus! Here is Stephen Colbert’s interview with Diaz from “The Colbert Report” on Wednesday, June 18.

Marcia has been encouraging him to sit on the kiddie potty we bought for him a while ago. And more recently she bought his some pull-ups, too. But today he took his first real steps towards using it. At one point yesterday he pointed to the front of his pants (as he has been doing lately when he has been “going”), and then ran for the bathroom. Marcia got his pants and pull-ups down, but he had already gone in them. But he still sat down and got a little more to come out and into the potty. Needless to say I was very happy to hear that when I came home from work.

Potty training is one of the things that I dread doing. Not being sure what to do and how to approach it. But at the rate it has been going, all I will have to do is follow Marcia’s lead and we should be in good shape.

The plot is pretty basic. Control is trying to stop KAOS from, well, creating chaos. This time it’s nuclear bombs distributed to different countries by Siegfried (Stamp). Maxwell Smart (Carell) is Control’s top analyst, and though he has recently passed the test to become an agent, doesn’t get the promotion because the Chief (Arkin) doesn’t want to lose such a valuable commodity. But eventually Control is broken into, compromising most of the agents who are gunned down, with only Agent 23 (Johnson) and Agent 99 (Hathaway) left. So finally, Max gets the call to be Agent 86, and they start hunting down KAOS.

Truth be told, I wasn’t a huge “Get Smart” fan to begin with. That’s not to say that I didn’t like the show. Just didn’t go out of my way to watch it. (I did see the movie “The Nude Bomb” during the early days of cable TV.) The idea of Carell playing Maxwell Smart though appealed to me. But as the release date got closer and closer, I started to get the feeling that the movie wouldn’t live up to it’s expectations. Marcia wanted to see it, and not minding those in the cast, especially Carell, I was still game.

As it turned out, it wasn’t that bad at all. Surely entertaining. I could have waited for the DVD release, but still not a bad way to spend a matinee afternoon. Carell didn’t try to become Don Adams. He was just typical Carell. Arkin too didn’t channel his predecessor, just played the part the best way he knew how. I actually really liked Arkin’s performance. His subtleness sometimes isn’t so subtle, which is a good thing. Johnson also impressed me. The man has good comedic timing and can seemingly act well. He may break out from his pro-wrestling persona and make a name for himself in the acting biz. And as for Ms. Hathaway … WOW! Boy, has she grown up. ; ) I never saw any of her teeny-girly movies (as it should be), but she certainly made a believable move into the broader movie market.

Overall it was good to see them not try to do it just like the show. Obviously Control is much more updated now (the movie takes place “today”). They even paid a little homage to the original show with a museum like scene at the beginning of the movie. Of Don Adams’ famous lines, most of them were used (only “…. and loving it!” didn’t make an appearance), but only used once each. Good not to overdo things.

Marcia made the comment that the movie had a very “Johnny English” feel to it. I feel the same way, but it had more credibility using an already established franchise. (Also, even this version of Maxwell Smart is less bumbling and more intelligent in an analytical way then Johnny English.) For die-hard fans of the show, they may be disappointed. But those of you like me that are looking for an entertaining film without high expectations, this fit the bill very nicely.