Some Updates

Monday evening, Bunny and I flew to Pittsburgh to have dinner with our friend Evgeni's parents (Mr. and Mrs. Malkin, in the photo above), who are in town from Russia. Mrs. Malkin made some very good Russian dishes, including a bamboo borscht for me and some carrot goulash for Bunny. I was a little worried about the language barrier, as Evgeni's english isn't very good and his parents speak no english at all, but apparently Bunny speaks very fluent Russian. I tried to get him to tell me where he learned it, and he told me he spent time as a spy during the cold war. I'm not sure if he was joking with me or not, but with Bunny, there's a definite possibility that it's true. He's been around a lot, and I've seen him at the shooting range, and he knows how to handle a gun. We ate, and drank some vodka. They're very sweet people, but they can sure put away the Vodka. Tuesday morning I had a consulting appointment with the Penguins new head coach Dan Bylsma, and we discussed his motovation tactics and practice strategies. While we were talking, Bunny skated around with the players during their morning skate and helped some of the younger players with their passing. We flew back Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday night Mr. and Mrs. Malkin went to watch Evgeni play hockey, and he scored the winning goal in the overtime shootout. I was glad to see that Dan implemented some of the strategies we discussed, and happy to see that the Penguins are now 9-1-1 since he became head coach. Michel Therrian was a good coach, but his increasingly negative attitude was producing bad karma that needed to be cleansed.

Karla, Rob and Dan went to see Watchmen on Tuesday night. I have to agree with their assessment of it: it was fantastic. Bunny and I saw the matinee this past Saturday afternoon. I usually don't like to go to theaters as I don't like people talking through the movie the way they do here in West Philly, but I made an exception for Watchmen. If you haven't seen it, go now! But, don't call it "The Watchmen" as some of the reviews I've read call it. The name is "Watchmen," not "The Watchmen." It is a minor detail, but an important point.