Hector

In other family news, my second cousin, Hector passed away this week at age 87 at his home in Massachusetts. He spent his years living in a home that predated the American Revolution by a few decades (I caught a cold there one October due to the lack of insulation). A lifelong Democrat, he loved the Red Sox and hated George W. Bush. Earlier this week, his daughter read him the following joke:

(It’s an old one, told in many different ways, so no doubt you’ve heard it before.)

“Test Your Morality

You’re in Florida…In Miami, to be exact… There is chaos around you, caused by a hurricane and severe floods. This is a flood of major proportions. You are a photojournalist working for a major newspaper caught in the middle of this great disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless.

You’re trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water.

Nature is showing all its destructive fury. You see a man in the water! He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken away with the water and debris. You move closer. Somehow the man looks familiar. Suddenly, you know who it is… it’s George W. Bush!

At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under, forever. You have two options. You can save him or you can take the most dramatic photos of your life.

You can save the life of George W. Bush, or you can shoot a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world’s most powerful men.

Now, here’s the question (please give an honest answer).

Would you select colour film, or rather go with the classic simplicity of black and white?”

Always go out with a joke, they say.

Waldron

My grandmother had a brother named Waldron. He was a Mountie, as was his son, Jack. I always thought Waldron was an unusual moniker because I’ve never met anyone with it as a first name before.

It’s the name of a ship, a town, and the last name of a mystery writer.

But as a first name, it’s a bit of a mystery, although it does exist, and according to this site, it’s a German name, meaning “Mighty Raven.” As that particular branch of the family tree is quite English, it’s a curious choice (I’m basically of Danish, Scottish, and English descent).

I like the idea of using family names for newborn children and I always thought if she and I ever had a son (No, we’re not making such an announcement), it would be a neat name to bring back. She respectfully disagrees.

*UPDATE* Werner, the German guy at work, has never heard of it.

Kaysar dethroned?

It was bound to happen. After creating his own alliance and evicting the player with the most influence in the house, Kaysar had to give up the HOH. And who wins it? Maggie, the recently evicted Eric’s secret partner. I don’t think it’ll take a genius to figure out who she’ll be nominating.

And that’s too bad because on any reality show, I always, always cheer for the outsiders so that’s why I like him. But, you know, not like like him as someone I know does. She digs that intelligent, smoldering thing he’s going on. If he’s nominated, I’ll probably end up cheering for horny Jedi weatherman Howie and his secret partner, the semi-intelligent horse whisperer Rachel.

In other news, Ivette came out to everyone’s indifference. Well, except for Eric, who was shocked, despite weeks of hints and anvil sized clues, because he’s an idiot.

Career Killer

For some reason, non-mainstream wrestling has become something of a recurring theme around here. In the post I wrote in March of 2004, I mentioned the International Wrestling Syndicate (in the article I erroneously called them the Internet Wrestling Syndicate), home of “Fans Bring the Weapons Night.”

Today, one of their stars has been charged with murder. Kurt Lauder, aka Kurt Lauderdale, aka Career Killer, has been charged in connection with death of Shanna Poissant, a 16 year old from the town of Hemmingford, QC.

The IWS has issued a statement supporting Lauder and removed all videos, photos, and related material from their website.

While the innocent-until-proven-guilty rule applies, I’m wondering how long it’ll take for one of the local stations to do a hyped-up exposé on the “dark side” of Québec wrestling. And I’d give 5 to 1 odds it’ll be either Global, TQS, or Le Journal de Montreal that does it.

Kaysar’s Big Score

So I mentioned that Kaysar won Head of Household on ‘Big Brother’ last week. One of the perks of HOH is that you get your own private room and some comforts from home. In Kaysar’s case, it means his Guns n’ Roses CD, halal meats, and his hookah for the smoking of flavoured tobacco. That’s not a stoner expression. And while this style of smoking is a very old tradition, I don’t think a hookah is something you’d pack in your carry-on luggage.

His nominations for eviction were quite shrewdly played: Republican and former model James, and Eric‘s secret partner, Maggie. Officially the houseguests have not been told that everyone in the house has a partner from a pre-existing relationship. Everyone has figured it out but few are talking about it openly. James is the boyfriend of Sarah while Maggie and Eric are good friends. Eric is the “leader” of the dominant alliance which had pushed Kaysar, his secret partner and evicted hamster Michael, and snobby (but kind of funny) Janelle to the margins with targets on their backs. James is not in this alliance but is a strong player.

By nominating James, that type of player has a chance to be removed but Sarah would be forced to vote for Maggie, causing a rift between her and Eric’s group. This would have the effect of exposing everyone’s allegiance to their secret partner. If you vote for James, you’re in Eric’s group. If you vote for Maggie, you’re with James. And if James or Maggie gets the veto, Kaysar has the option of putting someone from Eric’s group up on the block, serving a blow to the group that tried to get rid of him just two weeks ago. It’s a good move and obviously has been worked out well in advance.

I think it’s reasonable to assume that, like Nakomis of last year, I now have a favourite player.