Canadian intrigue. On ice.

 

I joined in the fun last weekend watching the Winter Olympics gold medal hockey game.  Living as close to Canada as we do, I feel more secure knowing that their national pride was bolstered even if they don't have nukes (as far as we know).  But maybe more interesting than seeing Canada get a national chubby is how first draft stories of this great moment in hockey history are coming out.  Such as how Sidney Crosby's stick, one glove and the game-winning puck went a-missin' after the game.  Somewhere out there, I imagine a crime novel being lived in the underground transfer of these incalculably worthy items from fan to fence to hood.  I can picture a high-level boss of the BackBacon and Toques mafia rubbing his bejeweled, maple-syrup-stained fingers over his new, prized possessions, pondering his childhood dreams on the clean, yet still rather harsh streets of Montreal.  

And then in publishing, there's a minor story about how two competing publishers were rushing to get a book out THIS WEEK encapsulating and hoping to take advantage of the Canadian triumph.  The fact that a book like that can be cranked out so quickly makes me wonder what the world record for publishing turnaround might be and if it is threatened by this project.  I imagine World Series Champs books get pumped through the sausage press every season.  But this has to be close to some sort of record. 

Obviously, this level of distraction shows I'm focused on things other than my own work.  I'll blame it on a good thing - we leave tomorrow for a week of skiing and associated wintry fun at Mammoth Mountain in California.  It seems crazy to compare the more than 400-inches of snow they've received this year with the early cherry blossoms in Seattle.  But I damn well look forward to doing so.  Maya's game to try some classes.  Or at least that's what we're all telling ourselves at this point.  Check back to see how it goes.  Rock on.

"One question for you, Wolf - can I please shift to the lectern between these two just to get some camera time?"

What if you cut interest rates 3/4ths of a percent and even the financial markets said..."waah?" Well, that's what we'll be seeing in the next few days. The fact that the major American markets could still dump billions of value on a day following such an announcement is the canary in the coal mine. I'm no economist. Although I did get a "B" in a pair of econ courses nearly two decades ago. So allow me to offer one pithy comment. Check your gut. It knows you, maybe you don't know it. This flux is all gut. Let's hope we've got the right tonic to settle things down in the coming months.

I should riff fully on the Democratic Debate in South Carolina last night, but I'm still playing catch up during naptime with our TiVo. But since everyone's throwing bombs, I'll offer my own. Hillary fights far dirtier (and smarter) than anyone in this race. My rationale is that I briefly combed votes doing opposition research bunk for Howard Dean's campaign in the last Presidential cycle. The sort of stuff Hillary's offering as broadcasted contrasts with Barack Obama is part and parcel of the ammunition I was told to look for - parse the voting record by bill names, look at some comparative markers (voting members with 100% ratings from various agents), categorize by funding vehicle (which Federal/State department), and look for the punchline. I warn everyone who takes my advice with a grain of salt that these tactics tarnish us all. Obama's people surely do the same research. I just honestly believe they're not playing it as cynical nor are they so willing to cross check this early in the period, so to speak, as the HillaryBorg. Do with that what you will.

Hope your own skates are sharpened and you don't swallow that wad of chew in your cheek before intermission. Rock on.