Idle Musing

I was over at a friend's place today to watch a bit of U.S. College football. After the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Oregon Ducks 26-17 in the Rose Bowl, we switched over to catch the start of the Sugar Bowl between the 12-0 University of Cincinatti Bearcats and the 12-1 Florida Gators. As part of the pre-game entertainment the Florida marching band performed. At the college level anyway, Americans take marching bands very seriously. Musicians who are in the band program are often on scholarship, I think, they have fancy costumes, cheerleaders, flag-bearers and whatnot; and to direct the whole band, which for the big schools probably runs in the 150-member range, the conductor stands atop an elevated podium.

At one point in their routine the Florida band started to move into a shape that I initially thought was an outline of the state of Florida. But then my friend said "What are they doing, a gun?"

I'm pretty sure they were doing Florida. But the outline was pretty raggedy. Guns are pretty prevalent in Florida, I think. They might even qualify as the state's Official Fashion Accessory. But I can't see the band doing an outline of a gun. Maybe it was a hybrid state/gun symbol? It's not that much of a stretch. As you can tell from the above photos, there is a definite similarity.

Friday Afternoon Kitty (Updated)

It's not pretty but this is the best I can do for you today. There's no embedding so you'll have to click here. Happy new year!

FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Occasional blog contributor and "friend O' The Dog" Peakay said that video sucked and I should've put this up. Okay then. Here you go, Peakay. I have to leave now, that prairie dog is apparently calling me.



ANOTHER UPDATE: I misunderstood. Peakay wanted me to post this piece of rabbit-on-cat smut. Sorry for the mistake.

Pick of the Day: These Hands

So, how goes it? If you're reading this, that means you were able to survive the rigors of the holiday season. Some of you have perhaps had enough "fun" for awhile and are planning on taking a bit of a break from the bar/nightlife scene to give your pocketbook/stomach/brain a break. If you are, that's fine. But if you, like me, had a relatively quiet Christmas season, and have ambitions beyond just sitting on your ass watching world junior hockey and college football on the tube, or perhaps dropping by Government House this afternoon for the Lt. Governor's annual New Year's Day levee, you've come to the right blog post.

Being New Year's Day, pickings are admittedly a little slim tonight. There is the two films I mentioned yesterday at the RPL, along with the normal slate of flicks at the Galaxy, Southland and Rainbow and Paradise cinemas. But O'Hanlon's Pub is also hosting a gig by sing-songwriter Michael Hanson who records and performs under the name These Hands. Originally from Prince Albert, Hanson's been based out of Saskatoon for the last five years. In that time, he's performed with the likes of Chad VanGalen and Patrick Watson. Tonight, he'll be backed up by the Saskatoon group Arms Up.