Following the previous blog, I realized I missed another piece of great news from the world of Canadian sports: Jeffrey Buttle won gold at the World Figure Skating Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden last weekend. As a figure skating enthusiast, I am sorry I hadn’t posted this immediately following the win.
Buttle has been in the shadow of France’s Brian Joubert, Switzerland’s Stephane Lambiel, and American Evan Lysacek for the past few years but came out on top after the skate of a lifetime. He has been a world silver medalist, and an Olympic bronze medalist, but this was his first world title.
After a disappointing second place finish at the Canadian Championships in January, Buttle was determined to improve in time for the world championships - and he clearly did. He was leading following the men’s short program and maintained the lead in the freeskate, finishing fourteen points ahead of silver medalist Joubert.
This was Canada’s first men’s singles gold medal win since Elvis Stojko finished on top in 1997. CBC’s broadcast of Buttle’s freeskate program and the moment he found out he was world champion can be seen here.
It’s always exciting to cheer for your country in any sporting event. It’s even better if your country’s representative(s) is in the final. That was the case this past weekend at the Women’s World Curling Championship in Vernon, British Columbia.
Jennifer Jones and the rest of her Canadian team defeated China in the finals to clinch Canada’s second consecutive world championship. China had been Canada’s toughest competition throughout the championship and Jones capitalized on mistakes made by China in the first few ends of the final game.
It’s great that this Canadian team was able to win in their home country as well. The men’s team led by Kevin Martin is looking to follow the success of the women next week just sound of the border in Grand Forks, ND.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a slight crush on Ricky Martin back when I was about 13 years old. I had numerous spontaneous shake-your-bon-bon dance breaks in my living room every time “Livin’ La Vida Loca” came on Much Music. But since then Ricky Martin hasn’t been heard from very much.
It’s apparent that he’s been busy with his foundation The Ricky Martin Foundation, which focuses on “advocating for the well being of children around the globe in critical areas such as social justice, education, and health.”
Most recently, Martin has been fighting child trafficking and sexual exploitation problems in Cambodia with hopes to raise awareness of the issue. Click here for more details or check out www.therickymartinfoundation.org. This is another great example of a celebrity using fame for the good of others.
Being the tallest man in the world might seem like a pretty cool feat. You’d have a title that no one else had and no one else could fight you for.
However, things might not always be so great. Leonid Stadnick is the tallest man in the world, standing at 8 feet 5 inches tall. His growth was triggered by a brain operation that apparently simulated the overproduction of growth hormone. He struggles with finding clothes to fit his 440 pound frame, shoes to fit his 17-inch feet, and he can’t work because he doesn’t own a vehicle and got frost bite from walking to work in the snow with only socks to cover his feet.
Luckily, an organization for the disabled in his hometown gave him an over-sized bike and presented him with a fitness machine. This will allow him to travel to a nearby town for groceries and give him the chance to strengthen his knees, which have become a problem for him, given his weight and the pressure on them.
Stadnick recognizes the goodwill of the people and is very appreciative of it. It is obvious they care about him and are willing to help him out in any way they can.
I’ve heard of the idea of wheelchairs for pets but never really thought much of it until just recently. Wheelchairs are being designed for dogs and other small animals who have lost the use of the back, legs, or hips. Rather than simply putting these animals down because they can’t maneuver properly, owners have the option of investing in a wheelchair properly fitted for the size of the dog.
I recently lost a pet after thirteen great years. He went through two surgeries in the past couple of years but we never second guessed it and would do whatever needed to be done to keep him healthy and happy, he deserved it. So I understand why pet owners are going to extremes in order to ensure the happiness of their pets.
This is more interesting news than good news, but I think it still qualifies for this blog because it’s good to know and maybe a little bit exciting!
My dad sent me a forward not too long ago that included interesting Easter facts. Little did I know prior to reading this that we experienced the earliest Easter this year than we will at any other point in our lives (only those 95 years or older have experienced this previously!). Here are some other interesting little Easter facts:
1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you’re 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).
2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!
Because it’s the Easter weekend, I thought I would share these facts for a little bit of random trivia. I guess we could consider that we just experienced a historical milestone for our generation!
So even though this blog is required for a class, I see it as a way for me to share good news that makes me happy, in hopes that someone else feels the same way, or someone will be influenced to appreciate the topic.
With that said…
The weather is starting to really clear up and it’s starting to feel like Spring might finally be here. Spring reminds me of three things: summer’s on its way, school’s almost done, and hockey playoffs are not too far away. One of the things I enjoyed most about last year’s playoffs were the afternoon barbeque’s followed by Hockey Night in Canada. Unfortunately I had a lot to contend with. Being an Anaheim Ducks fan, I got a lot of flack and was hounded frequently by my friends (specifically Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver fans), as well as random people that may have overheard it in a conversation. But I fought long and hard, series by series, and saw the Ducks win the Stanley Cup… At this point, however, I was not away at university anymore and wasn’t able to contact EVERY single person who told me the Ducks had no chance.
Anyways, during the last season, the question I got the most was, “Yeah, we get that Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver are out, but can’t you at least cheer on the Canadian team?”… Fair question. So this year I’m willing to recognize the Canadian success while the Ducks pursue a second consecutive Stanley Cup.
Right now, 4 of the 6 Canadian teams are in a playoff position: Ottawa (guarenteed), Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, two in the east and two in the west. This is good news for Canadian hockey fans, and hopefully these teams will go a long way this year….
(I’m still holding out on an Anaheim repeat though… :))
After being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this week in New York City, Leonard Cohen announced he will be embarking on a world tour this summer! It is his first tour in 15 years. In 1993 he toured in support of his album, “The Future.”
I first learned about Leonard Cohen in a first year university English class, and have become more and more fascinated by his work. Although it’s not clear how much of Canada he will be covering at this point, he is slated to play in Toronto and Montreal in June.
This is a video clip of Cohen’s speech from the induction:
So it may be a bit of a shock to our system the first few days of waking up what feels like a little earlier than normal, but it’s actual a beneficial change for our environment.
Daylight-savings used to be the first weekend of April but was recently changed to earlier (in North America) to save energy.
Click here for a full story on daylight-savings: the history, the benefits, and how it effects sleep.
Today’s been a little tougher than most days. I got some really sad news from my family and haven’t thought about much more since then. My dog had to be put down this afternoon. He was almost 14 and had been quite sick and struggled a lot in the past few weeks. He was such a huge part of our family and was always a part of everything. He travelled down to Arizona, went to hockey games, had his own “office” at work with my mom, loved riding in our vehicles, spending summers at the lake, playing with his sister (our cat), and visiting Grandma and Grandpa. But most importantly, he loved each and every one of us unconditionally, especially Mom.
The goal of this blog is to share good news, and by no means is this good news, but I’ve been able to reflect on the memories and realized the joy that has been brought to my life…
Pets can bring so much to our lives and there’s a reason dogs are considered a man’s best friend. Although they can’t talk, they still express their love and provide a kind of carefree happiness like no other. I hope those of you reading this have experienced, or will experience, the kind of joy a pet can bring. And for those of you with a dog, please give it a big hug for me…
