The American Dream!

I get into these moods where I pull out my musical CD's and listen to them over and over. I went through about 10 days of Rent last month. Followed by watching the movie on Movie Channel. It was no where as good, even though many of the cast from the Broadway CD were in the movie. It just did not translate well to the screen. And they cut the Tango song. Boo.

Right now though, rediscovering Miss Saigon. Loved this musical on stage. I've seen it every time its come to town. The helicopter on stage rocks.

Funny enough, I have always thought that the Engineer sounded too familiar. Jonathan Pryce. That's right, for whatever reason I didn't realize that this was him until I looked at the CD (finally). Years of listening to him and it never clicked. Anyway, he rocks!

It's sad though that the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts is no longer. The Q is still good for musicals but doesn't have them as often. The Ford had some amazing shows and as it was specifically built for stage shows with the best acoustics.

My favorite still has to be Sunset Boulevard. I don't think I've enjoyed a show more than that one.

Yeah Trevor will be back!

Although not new news, Trevor Linden will be back for another year with the Vancouver Canucks. The 17-year NHL veteran has agreed to a one-year, $600,000 deal that also includes $200,000 in performance bonuses.

The Medicine Hat, Alta., native was originally selected second overall by the Canucks in the 1988 Entry Draft and now seems certain to end his career with the club. Linden has also suited up for the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadians and New York Islanders, playing a total of 1,243 games for 830 career points (356 goals, 474 assists).

While Linden has never been an offensive force in the league, he has managed to record at least 30 goals six times in his career. His strength, however, has always been in his defensive play where Linden's established himself as a solid two-way player. Linden's resume also includes a lengthy stint as president for the NHL Players' Association before deciding not to seek re-election this past July. He held that position since June 1998.

Glad to have you back Trevor!

In other Canucks related news: Anson Carter has signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. What an idiot! Turned down a 2 year contract worth more than the one year with the BJ's. He'd have continued playing on the #2 line with the Sedin twins and all because he wanted more money and a longer contract. He got neither and ended up holding out until there was no money for the Canucks to even give him the original offer. Now he's with the BJ's at a lesser term at lesser money on a lesser team. Way to go.

Ryan Kessler got his Philly "steal" offer matched by Dave Nonis. 10 goals last year and he nets a 1.9 million contract. Good for him, can't imagine the pressure he'll be under to earn it now though. But I like him so its okay. LOL. Hope to see him on one of the two top lines!

Pre-Season opens on Sunday, Sept 25 against the Ducks! Can't wait!! Go Canucks Go!

The Twin Towers

There's a ton of things written today about 9/11 and I don't think I can really add to it. I remember it clearer than many other days since. I was at work already - 6 AM PST, doing a software upgrade and testing on the servers. I was there with Frosty and CS and the phone was ringing which was odd as it was 6 AM. CS's family was calling to tell us what was on the news.

Truthfully, we took it as another bomb attack. Which sounds terrible but the Twin Towers had been bombed before and the Oklahoma bombing was still something we talked about. And who the hell imagined the reality anyway?

We finished the patching and didn't really know much else until the workers came in - later than normal due to the upgrade. It became a somber day where little got accomplished. We spent a lot of time listening to the radio and trying to get an internet feed on the news. So many others were obviously doing that too as the network was so incredibly slow that it often hung with scattered images.

I didn't see the planes hit the Twin Towers until late that night when I got home. I had seen stills of the planes coming towards the Towers - but as you know, not the same thing as the live footage.

It's a day few of us will ever forget. The loss of life; innocence spilled in the name of faith.

Unfortunately, you can't blame the US retaliation. After that day, it's hard to say talk it out, find a peaceful resolution. At the same time, the "good" side is supposed to act with more responsibility, more compassion despite loss and fundamentally, more courage to find a better way than an eye for an eye.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made this statement this morning: "The ends cannot justify the means. In the fight against international terror ... respect for human rights, tolerance and respect for other cultures must be the maxim of our actions, along with decisiveness and international cooperation."

I read it on the train into work. I couldn't agree more. This fight on terrorism isn't going to end anytime soon. And we certainly aren't winning the fight. At some point the bravado needs to be holstered so that we can find a new way to deal with our changed world.

Or do we want to be in this place in another 5 years?