TreeBob's

Thomas is a Star!

2006-11-21T08:55:00.000-05:00

I did not have the pleasure of seeing any of last nights game, but I heard we were brutal on the PK again. Nice to see Murray score another 2 goals, he's on fire! I just read an article on Boston.com about Thomas's play last night and his near serious injury.

TSN has named its picks for the weeks 3 stars and our Tim Thomas was the third star. Thomas had three wins while posting a 1.60 GAA and .944 S%.

Ghosts of the Garden

2006-09-12T06:43:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to let everyone know I have created a new blog along with two other guys. It is called Ghosts of the Garden and it will be an all Boston Bruins blog. I hope you all come for a visit sometime. The address is http://bruinsfanatics.blogspot.com/

Training Camp Announced

2006-09-01T13:59:00.000-04:00

The Boston Bruins official website has released the training camp roster, and schedule today.

Previously unannounced players attending rookie camp include speedy forward Mathieu Curadeau, forward Ned Havern, forward Daniel Sparre, forward Mark Tobin (former 2nd rounder of TB), defenceman Andrew Andricopoulos, defenceman Michael Busto, defenceman Mike Hartwick, defenceman Ben Lovejoy, defenceman James Pemberton, defenceman Justin Wallingford, defenceman Brian Yandle, and goaltender Ryan Mior.

Of note, Alex Zhamnov is on the list as coming to training camp. Possibly this is only a fomarlity as he is expected to be placed on the injured list before the season begins.

The Team is Complete!

2006-08-29T09:04:00.000-04:00

I'm a little late posting this so it is old news, but Patrice Bergeron signed on August 22nd, 2006. This is significant because he is one of the top Bruins (leading scorer last year) and easily the best young talent they have. True Kessel could become that guy, but he has yet to play in the big leagues.

His contract signing was big in a second way as well, as he became the highest paid player in his "young guns" group (Cole, Staal, Hemsky, Kotalik, Nash, Spezza, etc..). Terms released give Bergeron a 5-year deal worth $23.75 million and he will make $3 million in 2006-07, $5 million in years two through four, and $5.75 million in 2010-11. With the way the new CBA works, the annual hit on the salary cap will be $4.75 million per year.

Presently, the Bruins salary commitments sit around $40 million but they should announce the injury exemption of Alex Zhamnov soon (has to be before the beginning of the season). This will remove $4.1 million, giving Chiarelli some room to move later in the season.

Chiarelli also announced the signing of Hobey Baker finalist T.J. Trevelyan to a multi-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Trevelyan is left handed shooting winger who played for St. Lawrence University, where he led the ECACHL in scoring last year with 20-28-48 totals. With the this signing the Bruins now have two of last years ten Hobey Baker finalists, as they signed LW Chris Collins on July 11th, 2006.

Bruins sign Kessel and Other Recent News

2006-08-17T09:28:00.000-04:00

Here are some recent signing of various players by the Boston Bruins:

Restricted C/W Brad Boyes (2 years, $3 million)
Restricted D Milan Jurcina (1 year, $500,000)
Unrestricted RW Shean Donovan (2 years, $1.85 million)
Unrestricted D Nathan Dempsey (1 year, $450,000)
Unrestricted RW Mark Mowers (1 year, $462,500)
Unrestricted RW Jeff Hoggan (1 year $450,000)
Unrestricted D Wade Brookbank (1 year, $450,000)
Unrestricted LW Chris Collins (2 years, $900,000???)
Unrestricted C/LW Pascal Pelletier (Unknown)
Unrestricted D Jason York (Unknown)

The team also went to arbitration with David Tanabe and settled with a $1.275 million contract but exercised an option to walk-away from the contract a day later. I can only assume that the team did this in hopes of using Tanabe as trade bait and never considered keeping him.

News today says that the 5th overall pick Phil Kessel has opted to leave college and sign with the Bruins. This is still rumor until there is an official team announcement by GM Peter Chiarelli. If he does sign the centre will most likely play left wing on the second line with Marc Savard and Glen Murray. The deal is said to be for 3 years with a maximum of $850,000 per year plus bonuses.

This means the only hurdle is the re-signing of restricted free agent Patrice Bergeron, and that should be accomplished before training camp begins.

*NOTE - It is now official, Phill Kessel has signed a multi-year deal. No terms of the contract were announced.

One Down, Five to Go...

2006-07-17T13:42:00.000-04:00

The Bruins signed 5 free agents today including Restricted free agent defenceman Andrew Alberts. Alberts signed a 1-year contract based on his qualifying offer.

GM Chiarelli also signed goaltender Brian Finley, defenseman Bobby Allen, and left wings Nate DiCasmirro, Jeremy Reich and Dennis Packard. You might remember both Bobby Allen and Jeremy Reich as they both have played for Providence. None of the 5 players will see much action in Boston, except as emergency replacments for a few games. Well lets hope that is the case...

I Love the Bruins

2006-07-01T19:15:00.000-04:00

Well I have been gone for quite awhile. I am sure what regulars I had have all left. That's OK , I just got tired of writing after the Bruins season hit the shitter last year. Today's two signings have really got me fired up! The Big Z and Marc Savard! Two quality signings for sure.

With Zdeno Chara the Bruins get the defenceman they have been missing for years. He makes use of his size, unlike Hal Gill (signed today by Toronto...suckers), scores goals like Leetch should have, and can beat the living shit out of anyone in the league!

Marc Savard, is a true number one centre. Since joining the Thrashers in 2003, the Ottawa native has steadily increased his point totals, peaking last year with 28 - 69 - 97 total in 82 games. The new-look NHL certainly agreed with him, and hopefully he can retain most of those points with the Bruins.

The 1st question I have is, who will be the number one centre for the team? I would hate to see Sturm, Boyes and Bergeron broken up, but one possible solution would be to have Savard centre Murray and "Add FA Winger Here" and the two lines can share the minutes equally.

Other recent news items include the buyouts of McEachern and Green and the Bruins getting the speedy, goal scorer Phil Kessel with the 5th overall pick in the draft. Gorton has been very busy leading up to the start of free agency, shipping Andrew Raycroft to the Maple Leafs for Tuukka Rask (2005 1st rounder), and then flipping Boynton to Phoeinx for Paul Mara (excellent ofensive upside).

I can't help but feel that new GM Peter Chiarelli (brother of the Mayor of Ottawa) had a lot, unofficially, to do with all the recent trades and signings. Gorton or Chiarelli, it doesn't really matter, someone is finally doing it right in Boston. Oh did I forget to mention Chiarelli fired Coach Sullivan and hired Dave Lewis? Sorry about that! :)

Stucky and Murray

2006-03-31T07:55:00.001-05:00

These guys are nuts! They are a 2 guys singing, playing guitar and expressing their urge to lay a unicorn! What else could you want.

This might not be funny to some people but who really cares because it is funny to me!

http://stuckeyandmurray.com/unicorn.htm

O'Connell Fired!

2006-03-25T17:42:00.000-05:00

Well we all knew it would happen eventually (OK so we all "hoped" it would happen), and news on his firing broke around 5:o0 pm. The team has set-up a news conference tonight at 6:00 pm EST to make the official announcement. The interim GM will be assistant GM Jeff Gorton. I personally think they should look outside the team for the new General Manager. We don't need anymore Harry Sinden puppets.

While it is nice that they fired him, it is empty gesture considering all the damage that's been done already. Starting in the summer the GM low-balled most of the restricted free agents, then he spent most of the teams cap space signing forwards. The defence core that started the year was basically straight out of the AHL and couldn't stop any opposing forwards. Then the fire sale began. New free agent Dave Scatchard was sent to Phoenix, Thornton to San Jose and recently Samsanov to Edmonton.

Yes, O'Connell got some defencemen in the trades and we are better in that area, but we shouldn't have given up so much to get them (and wouldn't have if he spent his FA more effectively). His two most intelligent moves both came in the last 2 weeks, with the re-signing of Axelsson and Thomas.

Good bye, and good riddance Mike!

Yahoo Baseball Pool

2006-03-23T22:19:00.000-05:00

I have started a free Yahoo Baseball Pool. Does anyone want to join my league???

If you do then just email me, and I will send you the details on how to join. Spots are limted so act now!!

HEY JIM BUFFET!! Are you going to join my pool or what? I know you are out there! :)

So What Does it Mean???

2006-03-21T22:07:00.000-05:00

With the great news regarding Tim Thomas and his new 3 year deal the Bruins now have some stability in the goaltending position. Even so this brings up a major issue...what do they do with Andrew Raycroft? Razor, while a bust this year is only one season removed from a Calder trophy season where he was one of the top 5 NHL goaltenders.

Which season revealed to us the real Andrew Raycroft? That's a question only Andrew can answer, and he won't be answering it this year as Thomas has taken over as the Bruins starting goaltender. Management may have to answer the question for him as they need to decide if it is worth re-signing him this summer. Raycroft will want to remain at his $1.3 million salary and I am sure that his agent will ask for more. With a healthy reliable Toivanen coming back next year Boston may be unwilling to part with the young prospect.

With the new deal comes a new look. Thomas sported a new mask recently with the words "Beware of Bear" written on the side. I love the mask, especially the front cage.

In other news, P. J. Axelsson was re-signed today, getting a 3 year deal. This new deal will definitely help the Bruins keep what little depth they have, and benefit their special teams penalty kill.

Thomas Gets a 3-year Contract

2006-03-18T22:47:00.000-05:00

Tim Thomas signed a three year extension today, and celebrated by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2. Brad Boyes scored a hat trick to seal the win.

I am very happy for Tim and his family. He deserves to finally be given a shot at a full time job in the NHL.

Bruins Win a Shoot-out!

2006-03-16T21:46:00.000-05:00

The Bruins have finally won a game in a shoot-out! On the Bruins 7th chance they've finally won thanks to Tim Thomas and his amazing sprawling stops.

One of Tommies best stops came on a wrist shot off Danny Heatley on a second period power play. Heatley came out in front of the net with Thomas down, but he lunged across with his glove and trapped the wrister. Bergeron got the winner in the shoot-out with no goals scored on Thomas.

You Win Some and You Lose Some...The NHL Trade Deadline Has Passed

2006-03-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

osThe Bruins weren't busy at the deadline (at least not to the public eye) but they still managed to trade away the 8th pick in the 1997 draft (the same draft that Joe Thornton went 1st overall). Yes, it was none other than Sergei Samsanov, the Magical Muscovite! I like the guy and will miss him, but there was a big chance that the stingy Bruins management would not have given him any serious offers this summer.

So what did they get in return you ask??? Well they did all right for giving away an unrestricted free agent. The Bruins acquired former Boston College star Marty Reasoner, minor-leaguer Yan Stastny (remember him?), and a second-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft. Reasoner will play either 3rd or 4th line centre and Mariusz Czerkawski (picked up on waivers) will play 2nd line winger most likely.

The Walls are Shakin...

2006-02-24T23:48:00.000-05:00

We had a 4.5 magnitude earthquake in Thurso tonight (12 km away). It rocked (literally)!

That's all. Quakes are fun.

Back From the Dead!

2006-02-23T18:17:00.000-05:00

My first post in 3 weeks! After my final post many moons ago my youngest son began vomiting and then, because I felt bad for him, I did too! It was the best Birthday gift any many could receive! My vomiting began at 2:30 February 4th and during one of my 10 minute naps in the morning I was awoken by the angelic sounds of my 2nd son barfing! Thankfully, son number one had recovered enough to eat and function but son two and I spent the next 24 hours on the couch sleeping and puking.

After recovering, my wife decided it would be fun for her to get sick (cold, flu, and 3 infections) as well. This lasted around 2 weeks and just when we thought it was clearing up the GI that the family and I shared finally caught up to her. Things are looking better now and I am feeling the urge to write a little bit. My wife on the other hand, no matter how sick she got, had no problem keeping up with her blog!

I know this sounds like a lot of excuses...and they are! In the end I guess I just haven't felt inspired to write at all. So what's been going on with ya'll? Not many people have been coming around lately, so I need to spice things up!

First up is the great news about the Gedo Senki / Tales of Earthsea trailer that was just released. It hasn't really been "released" yet but it was shown on a TV station that has promoted Studio Ghibli in the past. The official trailer is set to be released on an unprecedented 2000 screens. You can watch the trailer below and also check out the link above for a much longer version of the promotional video. Gedo Senki Trailer If you have trouble viewing the movie in RealAudio you can get a great codec here.

In other news the Olympics are on, and I love every minute of it. Much to the dismay of my family I'm sure. Canada has faired pretty well and with 2 days to go they are sitting in a tie for 4th with 19 metals. We are guaranteed either a Gold or Silver today with the men's Curling final later in the day.

I am particularly proud of the ski team. They are very young and have finished higher than expected. This is a good sign for the 2010 Games coming up in Vancouver, Canada. I am not however proud of the men's Hockey team! They flat out sucked ass. They thought they could muscle and hit their way to a metal but that strategy back-fired big time. Canada was actually shut out in 3 of their games! Hopefully we will put together a team that mixes some size with some speedy wingers. Thankfully many of Canada's seniors will have retired by the next Olympics and we will have a lot of fresh blood.

Odds and Ends

2006-02-02T21:48:00.000-05:00

Bruins won again tonight, this time a 3-1 drubbing. I know 3-1 doesn't sound bad, but two of Boston's goals were not counted and should have. One by Sturm and one by Boyes. They were dominated in shots 37-17 as well.

Thomas was in nets again and was in fine form, letting in only one bullet over his left shoulder.

Bag Tag

2006-02-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

I was tagged by my wife, so I will now attempt answer these hard, personal questions.

FOUR THINGS FOR JIM:

Four jobs I've had in my life:
Five years at McDonald's
Cook and delivery driver at Joe's Food Emporium, Wolfville, NS
Manager at the Bucket Club driving range, Coldbrooke, NS (best job ever!)
Federal Government employee (current)

Four movies I can watch over and over:
Aliens (that's number two for the ignorant)
Serenity
My Neighbor Totoro
Matrix Revolutions

Four places I have lived:
Middleton, NS
Greenwood Square, NS
Wolfville, NS
Gatineau, Quebec

Four TV shows I love to watch:
Firefly
Battlestar Gallactica
ER
House, MD

Four places I have been on vacation:
Anaheim, California
Topsham, Maine
Orlando, Florida
Raleigh, North Carolina

Four of my favorite dishes:
Angel Food cake (my B-day is on Saturday)
Turkey Soup
Turkey Dinner
Anything Chinese, especially Cheelin

Four websites I visit daily:
Boston.com for Bruins news
Brooke's Hockey Blog
Bruins By the Jake
yahoo.ca Fantasy Hockey

Four places I would rather be right now:
Under the covers with my wife ;)
Cheelin's
Playing softball or golf
Cuba

Four bloggers I am tagging ( I only know a couple):
Brooke
Andrea

Josh Langfeld Added

2006-01-31T21:31:00.000-05:00

The Bruins on Tuesday lost goalie Craig Anderson (St.Louis) but picked up winger Josh Langfeld off waivers from San Jose. Anderson was expendable due to Raycroft coming off the injured list and would have joined Providence if he'd cleared. Langfeld was drafted by the Senators in 1997 and played there until this season. Langfelds best season was 2003-04 when he was 7-10-17 in 38 games. Look for langfeld to take either Nickulas or Guite's position int he lineup.

THOMAS IS GOD!!!!!!

2006-01-30T22:39:00.000-05:00

Well my main man Tim Thomas has come through for me and the Bruins again! Taking on the Ottawa Senators tonight Thomas stopped 44 shots for his 1st NHL shutout in 15 games. In the last two nights, Thomas has stopped 91 of 95 which translates to a 0.958 sv%. That is amazing! What's even better was Raycroft setting on the bench watching the whole thing take place.

I hope that they start Thomas on Thursday against Montreal, but with the Habs playing poorly it may be an opportnity for the Mike Twins to see is Raycroft has recovered from his year off, I mean injury.

I actually got to watch the entire game from start to finish tonight on Sportsnet. It was amazing and I don't expect the planets to align again until possibly next season. We shall see. The "Killer B's" line of Sturm, Bergeron, and Boyes were on fire yet again with the trio producing 3g-3a on the night. Boynton also got into the act scoring a beauty of a short-handed goal, going top shelf on Emery who was brutal for a third straight start.

I have to mention that Hal Gill played very well tonight helping Sturm set up Boyes and playing very physical against Ottawa's top players.

Off to bed!

Creations of a Tree

2006-01-29T13:48:00.000-05:00

My wife has decided to make another blog to show off her wonderful talents. I know what many of you might be thinking, well stop it! It's drawings!

I may still post the pictures she draws for me, but for those interested check out the rest at her site.

Her newest creation is young Rakka and she even added a little colour!

You can't Always Get What You Want...

2006-01-28T22:43:00.000-05:00

So the family and I jumped in the car this afternoon to buy a music stand for "hot wife" (have to borrow that one from Dad Gone Mad). If anyone is reading this please go to Mad Dad's site because he's funny as hell!

So anyway we went to buy a $20 flute stand and some new sheet music ...well that's not quite all we bought. Tree has often talked about getting a better flute and I often act stubborn and say some day. My main concern has always been that she will buy the flute and never use it. She plays it everyday has become quite the little flautist and her flute has always sounded airy... or is it hollow? Not as good as it should that's for sure.

Flutes are expensive!!!!!

We got one and I will not say how much it cost, but it seems like a lot to me. I looked it up online and we got a good deal so I am happy. I encouraged her to buy it, so we threw it on the Visa and voila! She's been playing it all night and it sounds 100% better than the old one.

I'm glad she's happy. Night.

Haibane Renmei

2006-01-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

Here is one especially for Heureka (and me).

It is the chain smoking Reki from the beautiful Haibane Renmei series. She might give some colour to it later but we need to go to the store and buy some more. She will probably do Rakka next but we will see. She is trying to draw Eric Clapton for her dad as well.

Because She Promised...

2006-01-20T14:59:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my wife I now have a new picture for ya'll!
It's nausicaa as requested.

Pretty nice eh? We went out last night to buy some supplies for her. Now that she is using colors the picture stands out much better.

More to come soon!

Just When You Thought it was Safe...

2006-01-15T21:46:00.000-05:00

So I had to open my big mouth and say I thought the Bruins were doing better lately. Barely a weeks gone by and the shits hit the fan. Toivenen has gotten hurt, the team has lost 3 straight (6-2, 6-0, 2-1), Murray is hurt (again), and rumour is the Mike twins are all but fired.

I think Murray is scared to face the fans so he keeps making up "injuries". Raycroft continues to lose, but as bad as he is doing I think the team has given up on him. The team has been having some bad periods and the D is looking mighty confused.

One bright spot has to be my man Timmy Thomas! He got called up a couple days ago and has seen action in two games. Last night he was dynamite, stopping 37 shots against Dallas. Unfortunately he lost the game in shootout 2-1 on a nifty goal by Jokinen.

The rumors of Sullivan and O'Connel getting fired are increasing every passing day. Why do I have the feeling nothing is going to happen, I mean wouldn't they have done something by now? In years past the coach could make the playoffs in 1st place and be fired a week before playoffs. Rumor on the Team 1200 here in Ottawa says that Sullivan was just signed to an extension and ownership wants it kept quiet.

Who knows eh? Do any of you?

Things are Heating up for the Bruins

2006-01-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I had anything useful to write about regarding the Bruins. I try to watch as many games as I can but for some reason the ones that are played in Canada happen on Thursday. This of course is the worst day for my wife and I. Although right now I only care about ER, I cannot deprive my wife of Will & Grace.

I did manage to catch a couple periods and the Bruins played great, and again Toivenen was outstanding. I am beginning to think we can kiss Raycroft's ass goodbye if Toivenen keeps this up for the rest of the year.

Ottawa was missing Spezza, Pothier, and Alfredson so offensively they were undermaned but the Bruins were missing their leading scorer (Samsanov) and Boynton. Things haven't been all rosey since the trade but they have been better especially on the defence. We just need Zhamnov and Murray to get out of their funks and we might have a winner.

Random Ghibli Sketches

2006-01-05T19:51:00.000-05:00

I thought I would post some pictures that my wife drew over the last while. She surprised me with a new one yesterday and I had to post it right away!

It was a bit tough to scan because of the size of the sketch book sheets. Some of the Japanese is cut off but the good stuff is all shown!

Here are a few other pictures that I like.

This of course is the wonderful Kiki and her sidekick Jiji. A similar pictur can be found if you click on the Kiki link.
Jiji really big :)

Totoro of course!

If we're lucky she will create some more special pictures for all of us {hint hint} :)

Back From the Christmas Holidays - Miyazaki Update

2006-01-02T11:08:00.000-05:00

This is my last day of the holidays and then I am off to work again. I need to get back into the blogger spirit!

Thanks to Ghibliworld and one of their friends, an interview with producer Toshio Suzuki was translated to English. The discussion was regarding the new movie Gedo Senki based on Ursula K Le Guin's EarthSea books. They discuss how Studio Ghibli got the rights to make the movie and the current feud between Hayao Miyazaki and son Goro (regarding Goro's appointment as the films director). The interview is available here along with a link to the original Japanese text. The translation isn't the best but I am just thankful someone actually took the time to try and translate it.

My favourite quote is:

"Mr.miyazaki is a genius for the made movie, but he is not good at all in teaching. You understands at once if he is taken in the passenger's seat of the car and drives. Most people get neuroses because he cuts in everything."

I can just see him trying to take over the film from his son if he doesn't like something Goro is doing. :)

For more information regarding the Miyazaki feud scroll down the news page until you get to December 13th.

Sheet Music Sites

2005-12-21T18:38:00.000-05:00

I just thought I would write a post on sheet music because I keep forgetting the links to all the good sites. Now when I need to find a song all I have to do is come to my blog, and you can too!

Joe Hisaishi French Fan Site This is a great site even if it is in French. He has a nice collection of sheet music including music from Miyazaki and Kitano movies, and Hisaishi's solo albums. Dave it has Totoro!
YusukeTeam lots of Hisaishi sheets.
Gamingforce Forum You will need to sign up to this view this i think. It has lots of sheet music but this post is dedicated to Joe Hisaishi. Some of the links are broken but i will post some other sites where you can get most of the music.
Gamingforce Forum Another thread, this one is mainly for Full Metal Alchemist fans.
Gamingforce Forum CaptnFlav, he has some rare Hisaishi and lots of other movies. captnflav he is back but this time with Spirited Away.
L'indestin Another French site with anime sheets including Haibane Renmei.
Anime Scores Various anime scores (might be why he named the site Anime Scores)
Yume-mi Various anime scores and HAMTARO!!!!
Josh's He's got lots and lots, definitely all his (Thanks Josh)!
Ichigo's They got lots of anime as well.
Anime's Japanese Music French site number 3 this time with Pokemon!
Raichu's Pokemon sheets music
PianoSquall Game sheet music.
Ricebaby he has a Dark Cloud 2 song :)
Gedtag's Lots of series and games.
Parasoul Lots of games and anime.

Well there is certainly a lot of sheet music to go through. Enjoy!

Howl's Wins Award and New Ghibli Fim Announced

2005-12-13T11:12:00.000-05:00

Howl's Moving Castle has one the New York Film Critics Circle award for "Best Animation" movie. So the east coast critics like Howl but not the west coast :)

In other news...

This is the poster for the next Studio Ghibli movie entitled Gedo Senki (Gedo War History). It is based on fantasy writer Ursula K Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea,". The projected release date in Japan is July 2006 and will be directed by Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki.

Interesting to note that Hayao is opposed to Goro directing this film. If you wish to know more on Miyazaki's feeling on the subject go to http://nausicaa.net.

The poster looks great, anything with Dragons in it is good enough for me. I will have to read the book before I see it. I have only read one short story from Le Guin and I enjoyed it.

Joe Hisaishi Wins Award

2005-12-12T13:48:00.000-05:00

Joe Hisaishi received the LA Film Critics Association "Best Score" award for his score of Howl's Moving Castle.

It is a great score and he deserves the recognition. It is especially nice to see him get the award from an American association.

Of note, Howl's Moving Castle lost to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit in the "animation" category. Too bad for Miyazaki, because this probably means he won't get an Academy Award either.

I'm Down With it...Are You??

2005-12-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

I have discovered a few new composers that I really like. At the moment I only have one album by each of them. The three albums are The Cat Returns/Neko no Ongaeshi (Yuji Nomi), Last Exile (Dolce Triade), and Haibane Renmei (Kou Otani). I find them all pretty different. The Cat Returns is orchestral, Last Exile is a mixture of Celtic and brass songs (not sure how to explain it) and Haibane Renmei is mainly piano and strings.

The Cat Returns is a movie created by Studio Ghibli (originally a short) which is based on a fictional story written by the main character (Shizuku) of another movie Whispers of the Heart. That sounds confusing doesn't it. Let me explain. Whispers of the Heart (Studio Ghibli) came out in 1995 and was written by Hayao Miyazaki. It is about a girl named Shizuku who is a writer and day dreamer. During the movie she writes a story of which is shown for a few minutes during the film. The story is the basis of The Cat Returns.

Got it now? Good, now to the music. The soundtrack is wonderful! Apart from Haru's reccurring theme most of the albums tracks are different. The one song that stands out is kaze ni naru written and sung by Ayano Tsuji. Ayano sings the song while playing a ukulele and I can't help but whistle whenever I here the song. Incidentally, my young children love the soundtrack and this morning I played a midi song of kaze ni naru and Aidan (3) picked it out immediately! He started looking for the DVD that we rented at least two months ago :) During supper me and the boys listened to the entire soundtrack and on each song Caleb (6) told me, based on the music, what was happening in the movie. Kids are amazing. Well OK, my kids are amazing, hehe :)

Haibane Renmei is special to me right now because my wife is learning to play the soundtrack on her flute (I love her so), and I am in the middle of watching the series. Free Bird and Refrain of Memory are beautiful songs and Otani did a great job of connecting the songs to the show. They just stick in your head! He has been active since the 80's composing scores from the Godzilla series, Gundam Wing and of note (especially for my brother-in-law) the PS2 game Shadow of the Colossus. I will have to check out the last one, as of yet I have not played the game and therefore can't comment on the music.

On a side note, Tree (my wife) is doing a fantastic job playing the Haibane Renmei songs and I can't wait until her Irish flute arrives so she can start playing some Last Exile :) Of course that means I have to find the sheet music for Last Exile. So far I have only found one song. If you know of any transcriptions please let me know.

The final composer is not a composer but a group, Dolce Triade. There is little information out there regarding the group so I can only assume that they formed solely for the creation of this soundtrack. Dolce Triade is made up of composers Hitomi Kuroishi, Maki Fujiwara, and Yuki Yamamoto. Masatsugu Shinozaki's Strings group performs most of the music on the soundtrack with various others helping out. As I mentioned earlier it is very Celtic including the opening techno theme Cloud Age Symphony sung by Okino Shuntaro. Nine of the songs on the two CDs are sung by either Hitomi or Shuntaro. Although Hitomi isn't the best at singing in English her voice more than makes up for it.

Wow that was a long post...sorry ;)

Happy Birthday Mr. Hisaishi!

2005-12-06T18:19:00.000-05:00

Today is the birthday of my favourite composer Joe Hisaishi.
Here is a list of my personal favourite CDs by the master:

1) Howl's Moving Castle
2) Kikujiro
3) My Neighbor Totoro
4) Piano Stories III
5) Kiki's Delivery Service
6) Works III
7) Spirited Away
8) Piano Stories II
9) Porco Rosso
10) Everything else

Hard to rate them. My top 10 could change at any time depending on my mood. So much good stuff. Go to Streaming Soundtracks to listen to some of his stuff. Just register on the site and request one of his many songs in the database.

If you are looking to buy some of his stuff and don't want to pay import prices these are two great sites that sell cheap (legit) CDs. Korea puts out a good amount of his works at a fraction of the price. Shipping for these 2 sites is even better than most North American. It may take a little longer but it is worth it!
Mr. Kwang's http://www.mrkwang.com/StoreFront.bok
Yes Asia http://us.yesasia.com/en/index.aspx You can change it to your country of choice.

If any people can read Japanese, please tell me what the cake says :)

Hello Is This Working

2005-12-05T21:19:00.000-05:00

Blogspot is down. Nuff said!

Dallman's Black and Blues

2005-12-03T15:55:00.000-05:00

Dallman did not make it through waivers (shocker!!). The St-Louis Blues get a great young offensive defenceman and in the Bruins case the best defensive (+1). Bad move for the GM. In my mind he is better than Jurcina and there is no risk keeping Jurcina in Providence. Dallman certainly didn't cost the Bruins much so why get rid of him???

Girard Calls it a Career

2005-12-02T13:59:00.000-05:00

Jonathan Girard made it official on Thursday by announcing his retirement. While it is not a shock to anyone, it's still a bit dissapointing to me. He was a young guy with the potential for a great career. With a healthy Girard in the lin-up the Boston blue line would have been far better off this year. Boynton and Girard (IMHO) were Boston's future on the blueline.

Well regardless of the outcome it is nice that his insurance will cover his well being and help his family. It would be a pretty big risk for him to come back and lose the insurance money for a small chance of regaining his former skill. Brian Berard did it a few years ago and succeeded but then again he didn't almost die.

We'll miss you Jonathan.

Thonton, No Way Jose!

2005-12-01T23:28:00.000-05:00

Yes way! Thornton is gone. The prodigal son, the one who would lead us to the cup! Well at least that is what they were hoping like 8 years ago. The last few seasons have had many ups (regular season) and downs (playoffs). Thornton can be the most dominate player in the NHL on any given night. Unfortunately he always needed to be in the mood to do so. Am I sad to see him go, kind of (Better him then Samsonov in my opinion) but LOOK WHAT WE GOT IN RETURN! STUART, STURM, and PRIMEAU!!!

That was a little sarcasm on my part. We got hosed on this trade. No offence to the 3 guys listed above, but we really didn't get any more than second line players (Stuart and Sturm) and a third or fourth liner in Primeau. If Sullivan (We all know it was really Sinden) had made this a little bit more public you would think he could have gotten a better deal.

But let's talk about the positives. We got a pretty good defenceman in Stuart. Probably would be the 3rd or fourth best defenseman on most teams. On Boston he might be number 2. He should instantly take some of the pressure off the younger guys and limit Hal Gill's playing time (12:52 toi tonight). Sturm will fit in nicely in Boston on the left wing in either the 1st or 2nd line. Wayne Primeau should be on the 3rd or fourth line. I know he played over 15 minutes in tonight's game but I can't see him getting that much each night. I think Sully might just be trying to get a feel for what the new guys will bring to the table.

The last and maybe the most important result of the trade is the extra money we saved. We lost Thornton and gained 3 players and still saved 1.5 million! With the removal of McEachern, Orr and Scatchard we saved a bit more. Hopefully we will be able to fit in another quality player later in the year when people start unloading extra cap baggage.

See ya.

EDIT: My wife reminded me that another positive is that the Bruins won the second game of the home at home (with Ottawa) 3-0. Good ol' Toivanen!

Holy Shit

2005-11-27T06:46:00.000-05:00

Did anyone see that shootout goal by Malik yeserday in the Rangers/Caps game? Well now you have...

The link got taken down. I can't win.

Hockey Night in Ottawa

2005-11-26T23:15:00.000-05:00

I got some tickets to see the Bruins take on the Ottawa Senators at the Corel Centre. I knew going into it they were going to lose so it wasn't to crushing when they lost. The final score was 4-2, but it wasn't really that close. The Bruins acored with less than a minute to go.

I had good seats, right in the first row of the 3rd level so I had a great view of the 2 Bruins goals. Not sure what the official shot total was but I think it was 39 or 40. Raycroft should have stopped 2 of them, especially the wrap around. Not sure what he was looking at, but it certainly wasn't the puck.

I just read that Spezza got credit for the second goal that Meszaros originally scored. That might explain why Raycroft looked like a fool on the goal. He didn't even move and I wasn't sure if he was screened or not. I guess he was just frozen after Spezza tipped it.

It was great to have Leetch back. With him in the line-up we almost have an NHL caliber defensive core. Almost...

Gil was his usual useless self. He coffed up the puck on numerous occasions and just looked lost out there. Let's dump his ass and get us a quick defenceman that can actual keep up with the opposing forwards.

Sullivan played the rotation game on the 1st line without Murray playing. The line couldn't get anything going at all. Boyes and the second line were doing a good job though. I thought Sammy played well tonight, he buzzed around the net almost every shift but noone got free to except a pass. The forwards didn't lose the game for us, Ottawa's defense was amazing. A lot of the shots didn't get through to Hasek.

I hope to go to one more game this year. It might not be Boston but I really don't care. One of my buddies is coming to town and he wants to go to a game so we'll see what games are coming up.

I'm tired and therefore cannot write.
Out!

Crappy Day

2005-11-24T17:39:00.000-05:00

OK things suck today...

We had a snow storm today and on the way to work I nailed a car in the rear. Me and the other drive were both fine but I need a new front bumper. There goes $500! She'll need a new bumper too, but her damage wasn't as bad. Thank God for insurance, $500 is better than whatever 2 bumpers cost.
I bought the woman a Tim's whilst we waited for the police to come. She didn't speak English I and don't speak French but we both spoke coffee!

Now I gotta get the sucker in to the garage. Just so happens I put the snow tires on yesterday, fat load of good they did eh? Regarding the tire garage; I asked them to switch the tires and put one of the old tires back under the car (spare). The rest were to go to the garbage bin. I also asked to get the oil changed and for 2 headlamps to be changed.

Well they managed to put on the tires but that seems about it. They didn't re-mount the spare tire and didn't throw out the old ones. When I got home I noticed that the burnt out headlamp was still out! God knows if they even changed the oil. I will have to investigate that tomorrow when I take the car back. I would have today but you know how accidents can ruin your plans for the day.

So how about them Bruins eh? 1 in a row! The walloped TO yesterday 5-1. Nice to see them win, but unless they can win 6 in a row to match the 6 they lost then it makes no difference.

They are still hurting on D. They need Leetch back, hopefully in a couple weeks. That still want fix the problem totally but if Raycroft can get hot it might be enough.

I am glad they got Tanabe. Some people on the hockey boards aren't but they get a quality defenceman for an extra forward. Scatchard was a good centre and we had him locked up for 5 years for pretty good money, but we have lots of them (frees up extra time for Boyes). Another plus is Tanabe was less expensive then Scatchard meaning we have some more room on the cap to hopefully get another quality defenceman.

I know I am dreaming but that's what's so fun about writing in my blog. I can tell you about my boring thoughts!

Hope you all had a better day then me.

Piano Stories IV - The Canadian Connection

2005-11-16T14:32:00.000-05:00

I was browsing the internet today and I found something interesting. Atleast it is interesting to Joe Hisaishi fans from Canada ;)

I found out that local Violinist Angele Dubeau and here all women strings group La Pieta were asked by Joe Hisaishi (an admirer) to tour all of Japan with him. They performed concerts in 13 Japanese cities all together. Another article mentioned that they recorded a CD together and with more checking I discovered it to be Piano Stories IV.

She is currently on tour supporting her newest CD Passions and she will be in my area on November 25th. That would be a nice concert to see. I saw a mention that she played Joe Hisaishi's Quartet in G minor during one of her shows in the summer so it is possible she would play it again.

That's all for me. Bruins news next hopefully!

My Favorite Friends Episode

2005-11-15T12:13:00.000-05:00

Here is a quote of a conversation between Phoebe and Joey. Joey is going to an audition for a part and he said on his resumé that he spoke French. Thanks to SlowMo for posting a link to this site. :)

Phoebe: All right, it seems pretty simple. Your first line is "My name is Claude", so, just repeat after me. "Je m'appelle Claude".
Joey: Je de coup Clow.
Phoebe: Well, just... let's try it again.
Joey: Ok.
Phoebe: Je m'appelle Claude.
Joey: Je depli mblue.
Phoebe: Uh. It's not... quite what I'm saying.
Joey: Really? It sounds exactly the same to me.
Phoebe: It does, really?
Joey: Yeah.
Phoebe: All right, let just try it again. Really listen.
Joey: Got it.
Phoebe: (slowly) Je m'appelle Claude.
Joey: Je te flouppe Fli.
Phoebe: Oh, mon Dieu!
Joey: Oh, de fuff!

You just gotta love it. If you haven't had a chance to see that episode it's Season 10 Episode 13

The Many Sounds of Totoro

2005-11-08T09:15:00.000-05:00

So I was noticing today that there are a lot of different version of the Totoro soundtracks! I am thinking that most kids in Japan are pretty familiar with the little Totoros. Currently on my playlist include the Original French Soundtrack, Orchestra Stories, Saundo Bukku (Soundbook), and Songu & Karaoke (Song and Karaoke).

Orchestra Stories is interesting, but it would be nice if I understood Japanese :) The first 8 tracks are music and story (narrartor talking) and the last 8 are just the music. It was preformed by Joe Hisaishi for a children's group on the 15th anniversary of the film.

The soundbook version is really nice. It is rearranged by Joe Hisaishi with flute, guitar and piano. It is sometimes techno, sometimes jazzy, and sometimes classical. Neko Bus actually has a twangy country thing going on :) Overall the album is pretty enjoyable and different from the original.

Now the song and karaoke version is a bit odd. It has all the original songs from the movie song by Azumi Inoue (which I love) and then it has some other wierd songs which I don't remember from the movie. Three of the songs were accompanied by the Suginami Children's Choir and really liked them, children's choirs are always good. NekoBus is on it just like the original soundtrack but it is sung by a guy and it is alright but then comes Fushigi Shirttori Uta. The woman singing it has an annoying voice and the keyboard music is right out of the '80s, bad hair and all! Really that is the only track I want to delete. The rest are enjoyable especially if you liked the movie. Oh wait there is harmonica! Harmonica on a Joe Hisaishi track, nuff said.

There are other Totoro soundtracks as well but I haven't heard them yet. Let me know if you have heard them and tell me what you thought.

On a side note my wife has learned to play Totor on her flute. She's cute, I just love her. :)

Joe Hisaishi Update

2005-11-07T15:14:00.000-05:00

What!!!! Two posts in one day! I guess i'm feeling generous.

Here is an update straight from Hisaishi's website. The guy writing on his site is not perfect with the English language but I think you'll get the gist.

"Hisaishi has finished recording and mixing for the Japanese World War II epic film, "Yamato" which was played by Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The original sound track album would be released soon before the film's premiere, which is scheduled on Dec. 17th. He has also finished recording and mixing his new album "American in Paris" which was played by New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra. The Album will be released on Nov. 30th He is now composing for a Hong Kong action /comedy/ love/ fantasy film, " A Chinese Tall Story" directed by Jeff Lau. The film will be premiere in HK and other parts of Asia on Dec. 22nd. He will hold a concert in Seongnam Arts Center in Korea on Nov. 3."

I will try and remember to post other updates here next month.

Later

DEFENCE! DEFENCE!

2005-11-07T09:48:00.000-05:00

What are we going to do now? The newest member of the injured list is Milan Jurcina (knee). Nothing has been made official so we can assume it is only day to day and he might play Thursday. The team might be doing an MRI at the moment so we will wait and see.

Also on the IL are:
Brian Leetch (knee)
Ian Moran (knee)
Kevin Dallman (foot)
Pat Leahy (Finger)
Brad Isbister (groin)
Andrew Raycroft (hamstring)
Alexi Zhamnov (shoulder)

Some possible good news might be that Nickulas, Leach, and Sigalet (G) were returned to Providence yesterday. This could mean the return to action Tuesday of Raycroft and Zhamnov!

They will need to recall another defenceman though. Not sure why Leach was sent down, possibly they want to try somone else. My bets on Michael Shutte or Jonathan Sigalet, possible both depending on Jurcina's status. The baby B's don't play until Friday and Boston has 2 games before then so we shall wait and see.

Wind Warning in Effect for Hilbert

2005-11-06T22:44:00.000-05:00

Hilbert was traded to Chicago today for a 5th rounder. Yippie. Somehow I think it'd been better to sign him. Ahh cap hockey, what can you do.

He should be able to play in Chicago. With the likes of "high scoring" centres such as Jim Dowd, Curtis Brown, and Mark Bell (3 g, 13 p between the 3 players) he might even get 12 minutes a game. I am not sure what kind of shape he is in so it might be a week or so before he plays. Hopefully he kept himself up though it he can make a quick transition.

Big Bad Broken Bruins

2005-11-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

November 2nd, 05
Well I am back from my one month hiatus. It was a little hectic with my vacation and then the subsequent return to work. During my absence from blog world I have often thought of writing but just haven't had the energy. Well I am ready to go now!

So on to the topic. The Bruins can't get a break. The team just can't seem to get healthy. Thankfully none of the injuries have been serious (although Zhamnov's "bruised"shoulder is a bit perplexing). The latest to go on the shelf is Brian Leetch. His injury has now been confirmed as an MCL strain and luckily it's just a strain and no ripped tendons.

November 3rd, 05
I can't seem to keep at this blog entry! I've now lost my train of thought.

Just finished watching the Apprentice (Trump), man Marcus is a putz. That ending monologue was pathetic. This is pretty near word for word of what he said in the taxi after getting fired:

"I...I speak with intelligence...you know and you know, I go into detail and I speak to the details, you know? And blahblah, blahblahblahblahblah, and beyond that where do you go from there?"

Well I guess I will pick this up again later. Damn Thursday night and it's fantastic lineup.

Dumbass Signs!

2005-10-13T21:12:00.000-04:00

So I'm on vacation right now but I think this is post worthy news. Boynton has finally signed, and guess what it's for the same amount of money that was offered to him a month ago!!! He better be in shape and ready to go like Thun (his agent) says he is. His greediness has cost the team enough already.

Back to vacation lurk mode. Bruins just scored! 4-2 over the Panthers (2 minutes to go). Life is good.

Thomas is Sent Down

2005-10-03T19:24:00.000-04:00

Well Tim Thomas was sent down today. :(

I'm not very happy about that. I guess there is a slim chance he will be called up this year. You win Tommy Boy ;)

Boynton is a Dumbass

2005-09-28T10:41:00.000-04:00

So the Bruins uped their offer to Nick Boynton yesterday from 1.33 to 1.75 million. HE REJECTED IT! Come on Nick get with the new NHL program. Sign a one year deal and come and play. He seems to be in a big hurry to get rich doesn't he. As much as he would help the Bruins I want him out. I can't stand it when players do this kind of stuff. Is he worth more than 1.75 million? Yeah probably. Under the new salary cap can they really afford to sign him for much more? No! This is somthing he has to realize.

Soon enough he will be an unrestricted free agent and (as long he plays and puts up good numbers) he can go where ever he likes and get paid crap loads of money. Why do these players feel the need to hold out and bring the rest of their team down? I think I deserve to get paid more too but I am not going to sit home and cry about it. I know eventually I will get more money, I just need to be patient ( I am not getting even close to a million).

Grow up Nick.

Ghibili's Next Wave of DVD's

2005-09-25T20:48:00.000-04:00

So it was announced September 23rd that MPAA has given Whisper of the Heart a G rating. Who cares right? Well this means that they seem to have gotten the legal problems out of the way and it may be released in the next wave of Ghibli DVD's. It was announced (in a trailer) that Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle would be coming out in Spring 2006.

Whisper of the Heart was a wonderful movie, and I can't wait to see the dub version to compare the two. I am most excited about the re-release of Totoro though. I loved the original version put out by Fox/Tromo and since I have never seen the original Japanese I can't comment on how close the dub really was. Many say it was horrible, so it will be interestign to see Disney's changes.

Tim Thomas is Back!

2005-09-22T12:51:00.000-04:00

One would think I should be more excited about the signing of Andrew Raycroft...but I'm not! Let's face it as much as Raycroft wanted to hold out for more money, he had no leverage. I think he might have arbitration next year, if so then he could stand to get a good raise. That said we all knew he would be back. No team is as patient as the Bruins with hold-outs (not sure if that is a good thing or not).

So back to the title of this post, Tim Thomas. I have been following this guy since his first tour of duty with the B's in 2002. No matter where he is, he performs. Europe or North America he is usually one of the best in the league. For his carrer he has around a GAA of 2.50 and a save % of over .900. He did have a sub-par year in 1999 with the Detroit Vipers, IMHO this is what doomed him.

The problem with goalies is that there are lots of them and not enough spots for them all. So unless you shock some scouts or GM's when you are really young you may never make it into the NHL. This is why I fell 1999 killed him. He had a chance to impress people in a league (IHL) that was very good at the time. Really though, from looking at the teams stats for that year they really sucked ass. The top scorer had only 46 points, and who knows how bad his defence was.

The Bruins European scouts must have liked what they saw while he was playing with Karpa and gave him a chance. Both years at Providence he performed very well but never really got a chance in Boston's net because there were always people (Dafoe, Shields, Raycroft, Grahame)ahead of him. He was only slightly worse in stats than Raycroft and had better stats than Toivonen. For both though I believe age was the determining factor. Thomas is too old to make a number one (especially without NHL experience), and too good not to pay more money too while in Providence.

I was upset when they didn't re-sign him after the 2003-04 season. They might have made deeper into the playoffs last year if they had Thomas still. I am very happy he is back now because I think he has a good chance of becoming Raycroft's back-up in Boston. Toivonen is a great young goalie but it was make more sense to keep him in Providence for another year a seasoning as the number one goalie there. If he was in Boston he would mainly sit on the bench. That might be good for some goalies but he will most likely be Boston's future in net after Raycroft leaves for more money. That means he needs as many starts as he can handle, especially playoff starts.

Thomas is a perfect back-up. I think he knows he will bever be Boston's starter and is willing to do anything just to get a chance to play in the NHL.

Those are my thoughts anyone have any comments??

All's quiet on the Eastern Front

2005-08-29T21:44:00.000-04:00

So its been awhile since the Bruins brass has signed anyone of note. I would really like to know what is stalling the process with their restricted free agents. Their are rumors that they are pursuing Josef Marha (Why would they need another centre???) and Peter Worell. I am all for getting Peter. Without Doull the tool and Stock that leaves Thornton as the teams tough guy. I'm sure Joe would love to fight but we need him to keep his hands on the stick.

My bro is wack...

2005-08-29T21:36:00.000-04:00

My bro-in-law is wack. I mean, he's wierd man.

Hilbert Wants Out

2005-08-21T22:42:00.000-04:00

So Andy Hilbert has asked for a trade. Kinda sucks. I understand though, he was never really given a chance with the Big B's. So if Mike O'Connell does oblige Hilbert what will he look for? Personally I hope he goes for a good defensive prospect (I hate the old conditional 4th round pick). We need something to help us now!

I feel bad for Providence. Without Hilbert and if Boyes stays with Boston, Providence has lost their top 3 scorers from last year (Bergeron is a given). Boston had best go look for some free agent prospects to fill in the holes. Maybe some American university or overage OHLers.

I hope Dallman shines in rookie camp this year. It would be nice if he makes the team. He certainly has a great opportunity now that O'connell has stated he will no longer be looking for more UFA's.

Long time no see...

2005-08-21T12:04:00.000-04:00

So it has been over a year since my last post here. I have been busy with making another baby boy! He is 2 months old now, happy and healthy.

So what's new?? My Boston Bruins are dong pretty good locking up their core players and picking up some new free agents as well. The new salary cap will take some getting used to. I think the GM's should get together after this season and discuss top player salaries. There are too many players getting close to 7 million per year. Teams seem to be forced to pay out top dollar to their restricted free agents because many of them will be unrestricted next year (Joe Thornton). This just isn't right. With the new pay structure Joe should not have gotten a huge raise, especially with the way he played the past 2 seasons. Thankfully we only have one real star to pay 7 million. Poor Tampa :(

That said I'm very happy to have Thorton back. The roster is shaping up well although it would be nice to have atleast one more defenceman with experience. Currently we have 6 centers that have a legitimate chance of making the team. Hilbert and Boyes are great scorers but they will be hard pressed to keep their jobs at center. Lets hope they can play the wing! Haven't heard crap from the Bruins in the last few days, hopefully that means he is busy meeting with all the restricted player agents. We need to get them signed in the next week or two.

HTML and Blogging

2004-07-22T12:57:00.000-04:00

I hate HTML and all other languages as well. A bunch of gibberish.

I need to learn SQL to work with Microsoft Access better. I am looking forward to taking a course, not because it is a language, rather it will help me do my job better. My work deals with the creation of our division database and its maintenance.

I don't need to have all the frilly things many database people use so there is not much need of programming in mine. I do however query a lot. From time to time I need some information in the database, I know what I want displayed but I don't know the proper way of doing it. It makes me furious knowing it can be done, and I am just to ignorant to figure it out.

For the past year I have been trying to take a course with a training company to learn SQL. Unfortunately, the course keeps getting cancelled due to a lack of people signing up for it. The fourth rescheduled date is coming up next month but I am not holding my breath.

Looks like I will have to use a book and teach myself, bt the problem with that is a lack of time. People always want to talk to you when you are in the office so it will take forever.

Well enough of that.

I hope I didn't bore you too much with my first blog, but hey it is my blog and I am here to bitch. :)

Is this working?

2004-07-14T09:42:00.000-04:00

Hi I'm treebob. This is just a test. If this works there will be more to come.