almost famous

since i have an essay due tomorrow, i decided to google myself. and this time i didn't quit because of grossoutedness at the first three or four hits that lead to that Asian male model by the same name. i only resent him for becoming a male model before me. now if i ever make it big in the male modeling scene, i'd just be a poser. that pun was so intentional.

there was also this amazing blog post by some guy. awkward.

but i digress (continually further from writing this essay).

i found two hits that were actually me! the first being this blog, nestled somewhere in the middle of page two. at the end of page three i found something of mine that made me laugh. click here! it's so nerd.

also: the genius that is indexed

Word of the Day: astute

as‧tute  /əˈstut, əˈstyut/ [uh-stoot, uh-styoot]
-adjective

1. of keen penetration or discernment; sagacious: an astute analysis.
2. clever; cunning; ingenious; shrewd: an astute merchandising program; an astute manipulation of facts.
[Origin: 1605–15; <>astūtus shrewd, sly, cunning, equiv. to astū- (s. of astus) cleverness + -tus adj. suffix]

—Related forms
as‧tute‧ly, adverb
as‧tute‧ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. smart, quick, perceptive. 2. artful, crafty, wily, sly.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

this is one of the most cherished words in my lexicon, partly because i fancy myself as being astute, but mostly because it sounds like an onomatopoeic synonym for flatulence.

Armchair Coach: Captain Down

Mats Sundin suffered a small ligament tear in his right elbow on Monday night's win over Philadelphia, and will be out of the lineup for 3-4 weeks.

Losing the team captain at any time is a terrible blow, but things could be worse. The Leaf schedule has a small lull in action, compared to the exorbitant number of games Toronto has played so far. Starting this Thursday until the end of the month, the Leafs will play Boston 5 times, and Montreal, Buffalo, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Washington and Atlanta once. That's 11 games in 22 days, 7 of which are against Northeast division rivals, but 5 against bottom-feeding Boston, so it will be a very good opportunity to put some distance between ourselves and Montreal. While no team can really be called a pushover, the teams we will be facing the rest of this month have been handled quite well by the Leafs this year (and last in the case of Atlanta). Still, they have to be careful and play a simple game. There are points to be had here.

With Sundin down, it will be more difficult, but Pavel Kubina is slated to return tomorrow night in Boston, bolstering a very strong defensive corps of McCabe, Kaberle, Gill, White and Bell (thus finally relegating Belak to the bench). The minutes Sundin used to eat (almost 20 per game) will filter down to the fourth line and give the Leafs fresher legs throughout the team.

Down the middle, the Leafs' glut of centre-icemen comes into play as Sundin is backed up by Peca, Wellwood, Stajan, Pohl and Antropov. Due to recent successes (5-1 in the last six games), it is likely that the Peca and Stajan lines will remain intact, with Peca's maintaining defensive duties while Stajan's continues to click for secondary (and sometimes primary) scoring. Wellwood will likely get the first line duties between Antropov and Ponikarovsky*.

Special teams will probably take the biggest hit, what with Sundin playing the top lines on both the powerplay and penalty kill. Wellwood and Stajan will need to step up and take charge of the powerplay down low to open up shots from the point.

*JABS post on the matter. looks like we're all thinking the same thing

if you could be...

any existing animal in the world, what would you choose to be?

on land, i would probably be a cheetah.
by sea, a dolphin. or maybe a thresher shark.
in the air, definitely a peregrine falcon.

hat-hair

at that moment the breeze calmed and the furious chewing of a nearby squirrel paused. he tugged the bill of his cap a little lower over his face. an ant crawled up his arm and tip-toed out of view. it drew his attention to the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing. largo - slowly, broadly. he squinted in the sun and caught a hint of an underlying beat. andante - the gait of a man without a care in the world, and a mild limp due to the pressure difference between the atria and ventricles. a syncopation. jazzy. my heart knows jazz. or does jazz know the heart?.

"i see a rabbit with a toque."

he turned to face her and some grass poked into his ear. she turned to face him when he did not answer. staring contest? she asked with her eyes.

"what?" she asked with her voice.

"how can you tell it's a rabbit if it's wearing a toque?"

she rolled over onto her side and pillowed her head with an arm. the waning sunlight back-lit her hair. time to take a mental picture.

"why do you always ruin my cloud animals?" she curled her legs. if the rabbit-with-a-toque looked down now, she'd be a question mark, dotted by the shoes that she had neatly slipped off earlier. but clouds don't know what question marks are, so the cleverness was lost on it.

"because you have an anger-dimple, and i like it. there it is," he poked her chin, left of her pout.

a pinch of grass suddenly found themselves flung onto his face. more than a few poked his face-up ear. matching. grass for brains is just fresh straw for brains.

the squirrel took to chewing again and the breeze swept away the grass and giggles in its wake. he turned back to face the sky. it really does look like a rabbit with a toque. he measured an allegretto now, the skip of a little boy who just won sixteen marbles, who had the pockets to carry them all. she grabbed his hat, filled it with grass and dumped it on his face.