R.I.P. Phoenix Coyotes?

They're bankrupt, their market sucks and now Blackberry billionaire Jim Balsillie has made an offer to buy the team--on the condition he be allowed to move it to southern Ontario.

(Too bad Winnipeg's richest families don't make their money in sunrise industries, eh? Losing the Jets was an astounding failure of a business class that seems to have be having a lot of those lately. But I digress bitterly.)

It'll be interesting to watch this unfold.

Here's the story in the Toronto Star. Telling quote: "The league remains worried that Balsillie could purchase the team and move it to Ontario."

Here's the link to Balsillie's website.

And here's the video on TSN. Is it just me, or does Balsillie look twitchy?

R.I.P. Dom DeLuise

He made us laugh, he made Burt Reynolds look good and most importantly he was the greatest superhero of all time.

Actor, celebrity, sidkick and chef Dom DeLuise passed away today. (Associated Press).

You will be missed, sir.

Stephen Harper flip flop, again ....

Stephen Harper then ...

Ordinary folks don't care about arts: Harper (TorStar, October 2008)

Stephen Harper now ...

Gala may signal thaw between Tories, artists (Canadian Press, 5 May 2009)

Next time you see Winston Smith in the Ministry of Truth, tell him to get right on to it.

Live Tonight: Women

Tuesday, May 5

Women, Meat Draw
The Club (The Exchange)

Regina's been pretty lucky when it comes to Women. Tonight will be the third time they've toured through our town since the release of their self-titled debut, and they've been great every time. They've been compared to hip bands galore, but it's a futile task: they're mutating, strange indie rock defies description, both live and on their amazing record. Not only that, but they've got cred points galore: 1) Their album was recorded by Chad VanGaalen and released on his label, Flemish Eye. 2) In the States, it's being put out by Jagjaguwar. If you aren't familiar with that label, they're clearly the coolest of the American indies. If Sub Pop is Anthony Michael Hall, Merge is Emilio Estevez, and Matador is the moody kleptomaniac from The Breakfast Club, then Jagjaguwar is Judd Nelson, all complicated and flawed but clearly the coolest of them all and leaving at the end of the day with Molly Ringwald. (For the sake of our argument, Ringwald is Secretly Canadian.) 3) This means less and less these days, but Pitchfork loved the album.

Six In The Afternoon

1. What a joke (CBC Saskatchewan.) What (Mitchell Blair) a freaking (Rod Pedersen) joke. Daddy lets number-one son run the team, the team goes nowhere for the best part of a decade and a half, he hires a new coach, gives Derkatch a three-year contract on the strength of being little more than a ex-Pat, then fires him after one year. And number one son says it's all the coach's fault. Not the guy who hired him. And the coach before that, and before that ... spare me.

2. Fiacco will work up more of a sweat doing his personal income taxes this year than he will running for re-election. The CCFR is pretty much dead, and even the NDP are trying to court His Worship. (CJME)

3. Mountie Tasering inquiry in Vancouver ground to a halt again just after one officer who was scheduled to testify instead produced a whole bunch of notes and emails he didn't submit to either the original investigation into the Polish immigrant's death or the current inquiry. (CBC British Columbia) I don't know if you can call it a cover-up any more -- that implies an organized campaign and the current crop of BC Mounties can't organize an orgasm at a Roman orgy, from this vantage point.

4. While Her Majesty double-checked to see that it wasn't Princess Anne, four Mounties Tasered her. (Canada.com)

5. A good way to prepare for an NHL career as an enforcer -- a bouncer on Jerry Springer. (Faceoff.com via Vancouver Sun)

6. The most pressing issue of British Columbia's provincial election? Soccer. Of course. (The 24th Minute)

Trek Of The Day

All right, here's a classic. Maybe you've seen the excellent Family Guy parody where Stewie does it, but this is the original, featuring the Shat in all his terrible-toupeed glory. Plus, he's smoking!!! On stage! Holy crap!




Okay, I'm just not sure that's enough Shat. We need more Shat. More Shat!!!





Ahhhh, that's the good stuff.

(Courtesy YooToob and copyright violation.)