wildone

Okay, all votes are final. I have done a screen capture just in case I made a mistake on my spread sheet . Interesting, 2 people have the Canadiens winning it all, 2 have the Rangers winning it all, and 2 have the Ducks with the Cup at the end. Out of 10 people, 5 in the East and 5 in the West think their Conference will win it all. Now if anyone wants to play along, you are more than welcome to post your picks, just you won't be eligible for the prize. Speaking of which, I have already given Renee a number (either 1 or 2) that will be the decider if there is a tie. That will be used based on your entry: 1. Andy 2. Valkyrie 3. EagleIsaac 4. Slytherin 5. Krista 6. French Canadian 7. Lit Lover 8. Johnathan Colurfield 9. Cole Matthews 10. AJ Okay, time to have some fun, let's keep it clean but amusing..... Hey, what do you Europeans know about Ice Hockey?

I just got an IM from a mystery player who wanted his picks put in. Round One winners Montreal Canadiens Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers New York Islanders St Louis Blues Chicago Blackhawks Anaheim Ducks Calgary Flames Round Two winners Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers St Louis Blues Calgary Flames Conference Finals Winners New York Rangers Calgary Flames Stanley Cup winner New York Rangers Isn't the anonymity exciting

Sorry all, moving weekend I will accept any last minute entries up till 2 PM Eastern Time. (Matt, where are you???)

I've seen the bad side of police only on TV, and generally in the US. Up in Canada we don't elect Sheriffs, we have appointed Police Chiefs and the RCMP and some provincial police forces have a Commissioner who is appointed as well. To be an officer you generally need a University/College degree in some aspect of Criminology. There is no nepotism that I know of. As far as complaints, there is citizen oversight committees that handle that as well as the Crown will investigate abuse. There is lots of police in jail for what they have done on and off the job. In my particular city we have a LGBQT liaison officer who works closely with the community and the entire department. Also have some high profile openly gay police officers. So James, sorry, I'm sure there is some abusive and homophobic cops up here, but none that I have heard about.

Oh my...... is there really only a few people interested in the pool this year Okay talk to your friends, talk to your family, talk to your pets but lets get some entries going I think the cutoff will be Saturday night as I believe all teams will have a couple of games under their belts by then. Andy if you come to your sense before then, you can change your entry before Saturday night Don't be afraid to use Status Updates to talk about it

Well lets hope that some more show up to play. I usually cut off entries up to the a few games into the first round. I will have to figure out when that will be. So to get things started.......here are some very basic rules. You are trying to figure out who will be the 2014/15 Stanley Cup Champions. You will try to accurately predict the winner of each series. For each series you correctly guess the winner of, you will receive 5 points. Why 5? Because I like that number . If you are out with all match ups in the first round but one, it doesn't mean you are out. Depending on how your co pool players do, you might maintain getting points and if your team wins the whole thing, who knows. To try to eliminate confusion, here is how it goes, you need to pick the winner of Round 1 from all the team matched up. Then Round two will be dependent on the outcome of the two teams that will play out of Round 1. If you make a mistake here, I will try to catch it and give you a chance to fix it. In the brackets at the end of the team will be what place that team finished overall in their Division this year. So out EAST we have: Round 1 Atlantic Division Montreal Canadians (1) vs Ottawa Senators (4) Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs Detroit Red Wings (3) ** Winners of these two brackets will play each others in Round 2 Metropolitan Division New York Rangers (1) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (4) Washington Capital (2) vs New York Islanders (3) ** Winners of these two brackets will play each others in Round 2 The two teams winning round two will move on to the Round 3, the Conference finals. Winner of Conference Final will move to the Stanley Cup Finals Out WEST we have: Round 1 Central Division St Louis Blues (1) vs Minnesota Wild (4) Nashville Predators (2) vs Chicago Blackhawks (3) ** Winners of these two brackets will play each others in Round 2 Pacific Division Anaheim Ducks (1) vs Winnipeg Jets (4) Vancouver Canucks (2) vs Calgary Flames (3) ** Winners of these two brackets will play each others in Round 2 The two teams winning round two will move on to the Round 3, the Conference finals. Winner of Conference Final will move to the Stanley Cup Finals If you like pictures better, check it out here at nhl.com/bracket So go ahead, have some fun. I won't torture you and get you to pick how many games, but if you want to put it in there, you might get a honourable shout out

It is Christmas in April A new chapter of Beloved

I never saw the original so I can't tease you, but then again I would NEVER tease you Cia I never knew about the 80s and 90s

So I have to admit that I've really didn't have the excitement of running the annual NHL Hockey Pool over the past few years The good news is my excitement is regenerated this year due to my Flames breaking their six year drought and making it into the playoffs even thought the were predicted to be second to last or dead last in what was a rebuilding year Okay, enough of me grandstanding , Via the poll above, let me know if you would be interested in participating in a FUN playoff pool for the NHL? Emphasis is on fun, as in teasing, ribbing and having fun with others' great picks and not so great picks. The first thing you should know is there is no cost or requirement to join! The second thing you should know is that I'm personally throwing in a six month Premium Membership to Gay Authors to the winner, or they can donate the equivalent cash value in their name to the day to day operations of the site. If there is enough interest, I will post the full rules and usually we let the first half of the first round go by before all final bets are made. Now if you are like Krista and have the gall to ask which hockey I'm referring too (stone her!!!), you are still invited to play. We have had some winners in the past who barely knew where the cities were, let alone the teams those cities have. It is primarily for FUN. Let me know.

Oops, that happens when you are pasting without looking at what you copied Apologies to both Comsie the RJ for my mistake Thanks Stellar for catching it, do you want to be my editor/beta going forward?

Spring has sprung and it seems like everyone's mood is picking up after which has been a long hard winter for some areas in the Northern Hemisphere. Other areas in Southern Hemisphere are, I am hoping, heading into a mild winter. One of the things about Spring is that they always seem to bring the dreaded Spring Cold. Renee is sidelined with one right now so I have stepped in to ensure she is taking her meds, hot baths, and getting as much rest as possible. Join me in wishing Renee a speedy recovery Reminder to stop into the Blog tomorrow and check out this months story that will be the focus of the CSR! Monday was the CSR Discussion Day for Roommates by Krista for the month of March. Cia started off asking some pointed questions we all needed to know, like do you make you bed in the morning. One question had Krista saying I may be her current mentor. I think she needs to look up the word mentor Then the best thing about CSR Discussion Day, Krista made herself available to answer the questions that you the Members had for her. Tuesday had us all learning our Month of April's Signature Author as well as getting the Signature Background to download! This month we are focusing in on Andy78's Magic in the Air . Knowing some of Andy's writing I am definitely going to check this one out, one sadly I haven't read yet. April Fool's day had us tuning in for a feature that we all look for, and definitely not for anyone who could be mistaken for a fool. Dark took over the blog and graced us with this month's installment of Ask an Author. The 26th installment had questions for Carringtonrj, Joann414 and Mark Arbour. Friday rolled in to end the work week for some and hopefully some of you have a long weekend depending on where you are in the world for the Easter Long Weekend. Prompt Me guru ComicFan provided us with two new prompts for the weekend. First was using the following words in a story; rain coat, patch of ice, steak, blue fuzzy slippers and a Greek Statue. Does that work? Okay, I can take a hint, I should not think I'm an author and move on The second prompt was creative one of The Clown. This one looks like it could be fun and I won't subject you all to my idea for that one Finally Delores Esteban's prompt from the previous week was featured in the blog. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines (except Poetry) are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team*** 2015 Poetry Anthology: Remember - Due April 15th (Poetry Anthology is exempt from the Anthology Proof Team) 2015 Summer Anthology: Road Trip - Due June 3rd In Premium Pretty Little Thing by Nephylim By our Signature Authors: GA Writing Prompts by Dolores Esteban The Strange Life of Jonas Marks by Comicfan Dribbles by Cia Global Explorer II by David McLeod Force of Nature by Krista Sword of Kings: Tested by Adversity by Bill W A prompt a week by Comicfan Leopard Spots by Graeme; Book 2 of The Lilydale Leopards Streak by Mark Arbour; Book 15 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Jessie-101: Online Celebrity by Comicality Cosmic Inception by Cia By our Promising Authors: London and Love by Carringtonrj The Lonely Heart Club – a prompt story by Aditus The English Year by Jwolf The Hollow Hills by Valkyrie Sanctuary by Sasha Distan Poems by Carringtonrj Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

8 PM your time? A old gal like you, are you not in bed at that time So, my question of Roomates, what part of the story had you laughing at what the characters were saying or doing? I have a scene in mind, but wondering what yours is?

I will have to read this one...............again

Just since I don't know what the point of this is...I'll say orange and black. Am I right?

Great job Vlkyrie You caught my eye with a Penguin

She was a bit cheeky with me, she replied 'Animals and French Nouns have genders, I do not'

:music: Happy Birthday Bleu :music: Hope you enjoyed your day!!!

And Renee will be signing books, laptops, readers, tablets and anything else you can buy of No More Hiding on the 16th of June at the Lakeview Mall. She may also be signing body parts Congrats on getting published Renee and looking forward to more chapters/stories to come PS: I made up the signing thing, just in case you have a Lakeview mall in your town/city

Well, to cap off a crappy week where I have had to work minimum of 12 hour days for the past 13 days and now compulsory overtime at work for another 2-3 weekends, I got off a bit early yesterday and headed home. Once I got off the elevator to walk down the hall to my apartment style condo, I saw two of the Condo board members standing outside of my unit. I noticed a huge wet stain of water outside my door and then noticed that my door and door frame were all smashed up. Since I'm tired and really nothing is fazing me lately, I ask what happened? They told me that the lady in the unit above me had a plumber come in the morning to unclog her sink drains. Well the plumber managed to push the block down a floor, and when he ran water, it drained fine. The problem being that now everyone two floors up that used their kitchen sink was draining to the block on my floor, and it was coming out my kitchen sink. This also leaked into the unit below me and also into the hallway and front lobby of the building. So the Condo Board had called everyone needed, showing up over the next two hours. I had a locksmith come and shore up the door so it can be reasonably locked up, then the building's engineering contractor came and found the clog and made sure to auger it out to the basement (checked the basement after) and then the Disaster Recovery team showed up and power vacuumed up what water they could and installed a couple of industrial dehumidifiers inside my unit, one outside the door, and a couple in the lobby downstairs. Then they started pulling up carpet, baseboard and linoleum and checking for damage. This was all compounded by the fact that it was sludge, not clean water that came down the pipes. Initial estimate is to tear out the carpeting, the linoleum, the kitchen island that has the sink and dishwasher in it, about a foot or two of the drywall around the kitchen and into the bathroom, take down and rebuild the drop down ceiling above the kitchen (water was dripping down from there), replace the lighting fixtures, rebuild the door structure, new door frame, new door, repair all the drywall around the door, and then a few drywall joints that the moisture caused to split throughout the place. Then they will have to replace the ceiling in the lobby, the unit below me, the hallway and the carpeting in all areas as well. The good news is my 'personal' property wasn't damaged, but a courtesy call was put in by me to my insurance company. All of this work will be paid by the building insurance and then they can decide if they go after the plumbing company or the unit owners insurance. My mantra with all the extra work and now this is 'oh well'. Not too much that I can do about it now. I am staying with my sister for now, and don't have a timeline for when I can move back in. Someone in my province won $50 million last night in the lottery, I'm going to go check my ticket, cross your fingers that I can move away from all of this Might not see me online too much in the immediate future, but will try to pop in at least once a day. So how was your Friday night

With a 10 cent / liter discount today, I paid 68 cents per liter. Convert that to a US gallon, that is $2.57. Considering the higher taxes we have in Canada, and surprisingly most of the oil to make gas comes from my province, I'm happy with that. Now to equate to how much of a fossil I am, my first vehicle I was bitching that gas went up to 21 cents per liter

:music: Happy Birthday Cassie :music: Hope your day was more than you expected

I'm going to delve into something that may be polarizing just based on the accusations of rape against Bill Cosby and how much weight you put in your opinion. As most know, Bill Cosby has now been accused by 18 women of inappropriate behaviour, aka rape, by 18 different women of different ages, races, and all over the US. None of which have been proven in court as most happened long before the statue of limitations have expired in the states of the supposed acts happened in. Civil charges may be coming, but criminally, Bill Cosby has never been investigated or charged in any jurisdiction. So here is my Bill Cosby story... Back in the late 1980's I was working at the NHL arena in my city. One night, Bill Cosby was putting on a concert in the round. I usually started 2 hours before the event and had done so and was just standing where I usually did, which was outside of where the referees dressing rooms were. This also happened to be where most bands and stars used as their dressing room as well. Standing there and not really paying attention, from behind me I heard a 'Hey there' and turned around to find Bill Cosby standing there in a t shirt and sweat pants. I'll be honest and say that I'm not really a 'star struck' person who goes nuts when meeting someone famous. After a 'hello' back, he reached out with his hand and said something along the lines of you know who I am probably, but who are you? After introductions, he asked if we could chat for a while. We talked probably just shy of an hour, during that time my boss walked around the corner and eyes bugged out and signaled to me to stop and come over to him. Bill noticing me distracted turned around and saw my boss around 20 feet away. Observant, he called over to him, 'hey, are you Steve's boss?' He walked over and said yes and Bill went through the introductions again, and very politely told him that he was engaged in a conversation with me and would be done soon so if he could excuse us until we were done and politely turned his back on my boss. Wow, just an FYI, the building General Manager came up to me during the show and said she had a meeting with the promoter at their request where Bill had shared his conversation with me was private and that he started it and didn't want to see me in trouble for only doing what he asked. She told me that she had spoken to my boss and that I had did the right thing as we are all there to help out with any of requests of the stars. So our discussion, we talked about a ton of things, he mainly wanted to know about me, what I did, where I went to school, what I did for fun, what sports I played. Certain parts he would ask for more in depth info about. Interesting thing is, some of the things we talked about became part of his show that night. Sort of like he could connect with a crowd that could relate to some of what I had brought up, hockey, curling, the local University, etc. Towards the end of our conversation was the only time that I felt an uncomfortable feeling with. We talked about him and the Cosby Show which was in it's last season I believe. He asked about if I watched the Cosby show, and if I still did. He stopped me before I answered and said he might ask me for some more information, but to be 100% honest with him, he wanted to know my true feelings about the TV show, not necessarily himself. I admitted that for many years his show was something that brought all of our family together and it was something that we all watched as a family religiously every week, together while watching on the same TV in the same room. He asked about my favourite shows, my favourite characters, my favourite lines (one which he was having a serious discussion with his son and said 'Theo, I brought you into this world and I will be the one to take you out of it ). Then the uncomfortable question, do you still watch it every week, where I had to honestly admit that it wasn't the top show on my watching list. The logical question which was really really really hard, why not? I decided that I trusted this man that I was talking to and decided to be honest with him. I told him that for years that I watched the Cosby show for being the funniest sitcom on TV and it was a great show to talk about with everyone else the next day. It was a basically funny! Even the serious shows still had the comedy that lightened the mood while still getting the message across. What had changed? In the year I found the show much less funny and seemed to have shifted more to a black rights focus and I missed the comedy. Bill listened to me explain the reasons, and when I was done, thanked me for my honesty. He said it was interesting to him that I used the term 'black rights' where if he asked ask the same question down in the States someone would have called it 'African American Rights' but he didn't find it offensive or derogatory in any way. He said to him black and African American was synonyms (I remember that word ) and one wasn't better than another' He explained his feelings on what he continued to call black rights. He also said that the producers of the show and him had discussed long and hard about the direction of the show before they choose that direction. Saying he didn't regret making that decision, but he also realized that I was one of the millions that maybe felt the same way and the ratings had dropped off. Lastly, he thanked me for my honesty and also to not think that in any way my feelings made me less of a person in his mind as probably himself, if he was a viewer, was coming for the comedy and message, then he himself would probably change the channel if the show went in a strange tangent after so many years. He shook my hand, thanked me again, and said he had to go get ready for the show. I watched the whole show and picked up on the references that he had pulled out of our conversation and made part of the show. At the end, while receiving a standing ovation, he bowed to all four sides of the seating bowl to the sold out crowd. Then he went to the point of the stage where he was closest to where I was and pointed at me and winked and gave a thumbs up to me. Probably nobody knew what he was doing, maybe I was wrong, but I do believe that was intended for me. I have never seen him or talked to him since, but it left an lasting impression with me. So, while all the controversy goes on today, I have questioned if this charming, funny, intriguing man could be also a rapist? I will not accuse the women of lying, but I also won't accept their story as gospel either. I will continue to hold this man in high regard for my one hour that I had of his time. I will continue hold out hope that this accusation are false, but also realize that if are proven in a court of law than I may have to change my feeling about this man. I guess what I'm saying is that a lot of people who have never met Bill Cosby are making judgements about him based on the word of people that they have never met either. I am going to weigh more into what I 'personally' know about the man than the people I have never met. Therefore, like I would want to happen to myself, if I ever found myself in similar situation, I will treat him innocent until proven guilty.

It might be inappropriate right now......but! Yay Brent!! From what we know, Brent bring Matthew shows me he made the right decision for himself, Matthew AND Mark

:music: Happy Birthday Krista :music: Hope your day was full of fun, food, and hugs! Next year we will have to check and see what wifi package we can get in the nursing home for you

Out with the old and in with the new!!! No I'm not referring to Renee and myself but the passing of 2014 and now on our way into 2015. Renee is taking a much deserved vacation or she is recovering from a massive hangover from New Year's Eve. I'll let you all decide We had a busy week on Blog for the end of the year and into the new one. Monday was a chance for Cia to bring us the CSR Discussion Day with Delores Esteban. Not only did they discuss Delores' story Space Pioneer, but also gave a sneak peek into the yet to be released sequel! Did you know she eats plenty of fruits and veggies Tuesday had our last Tech Tuesday brought to us by Cia relaying a message on behalf of Myr. Basically what Myr is looking for in this weeks addition is your feedback on what you would like to see? Technical issues with old and new software, new things for the blogs, what would YOU like to see come to GA in the future? New Year's Eve Day had Renee looking back at some of the Prompts that may have been missed or not having responses on. She dedicated this Wednesday as Second Chance Prompts to give people the chance to take another stab at them. What a great way to finish out the year! We did have some enthusiastic takers on this challenge. New Year's Day found Cia bringing us the Signature Background for January which is a tribute to Stellar's story Hidden Sunlight. In addition to a great graphic for your background of the month, Cia introduced us to one of my personal favourite stories on the site . Friday's Prompt Me introduced two new prompts and a new Poetry prompt for all to have a go at. Prompt 382 Creative gave us 5 words to try to incorporate into a short story. Prompt 383 was very seasonal in that the deals with New Year and some resolutions. Also the Fifth Poetry Prompt which involves coming up with some Couplets based on some music. Finishing up Renee shared a prompt from Totallyy. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines (except Poetry) are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team*** 2015 Spring Anthology: Full Circle - Due March 3rd 2015 Poetry Anthology: Remember - Due April 15th (Poetry Anthology is exempt from the Anthology Proof Team) 2015 Summer Anthology: Road Trip - Due June 3rd ***NEW READING*** In Premium: The Harvest: Taken by M.A. Church By our Classic Authors: The Tull Unification by Dabeagle By our Signature Authors: Sword of Kings: Forged Out of Necessity by Bill W Dribbles by Cia Left Without Words by Comicality GA Writing Prompts by Dolores Esteban Leopard Spots by Graeme; Book 2 of The Lilydale Leopards Streak by Mark Arbour; Book 15 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) By our Promising Authors: Dinner is Prompt-ly at Eight by Cole Matthews London and Love by carringtonrj Barbed Wire Heart by Cole Matthews Ladies' Man by Sasha Distan; Book 9 of American Songbook The Art of Being Gay by Cole Matthews Broken Prince and Mismatched Eyes by layla Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!