The Arm from Lunenburg County

From the June issue of Virginia Living, the story of Charlie Montgomery, who excelled at many thing, including baseball, despite having only one arm!

The arm went when it “got in the way of a load of shot” when the 16-year-old Charlie was hunting, but still people said he could do “anything with that right hand that you can do with both of yours.” He amazed onlookers as he would “pick up a hot ground ball with his gloved hand, toss it deftly into the air, and, after shedding the glove with a flip, catch it again and peg that old apple in to nab a runner at the plate.”

E is for Elephant

I had a little pencil sketch of an eagle all done up, but I was afraid it'd seem too much like a statement today of all days. Went with this quick, silly illo of an elephant instead...always fun to draw these chubby bastards!

Stanley Cup and Cheesecake 2011 - Eastern Conference Semis Edition

(1) Washington Capitals vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning

Capitals in seven.

(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (3) Boston Bruins

Bruins in six.

Stanley Cup and Cheesecake 2011 - Western Conference Semis Edition

Boy, really not into this today. Whatever.

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (5) Nashville Predators

Boy, what a scary first series that turned out to be for the Canucks, eh? With a 3-0 stranglehold on the series, Vancouver almost choked away the whole magilla, needing overtime in game seven to finally eliminate the resilient Blackhawks in one of the most exciting hockey games I've ever seen.

The question now is, how will that long, emotional series affect the Canucks in round two vs. a Nashville team that bested Anaheim in a six game series that, despite some tight moments, had nothing in comparison to Chicago/Vancouver. It was Nashville's first ever series victory, and they're sure to be bouyed the belief that, finally, they CAN win. (I might have more insightful analyisis if I'd been able to watch even one goddamn minute of it on TV.

While my heart wants to pick the Preds, my head says go with the 'Nucks. Whatever, as long as one of them beats the Red Wings. Canucks in six.

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings

I hate the Red Wings. I was really hoping for Chicago to win, so that Wings would have to face Nashville, who I still believe are due for a franchise-defining victory over Detroit. Ah well, maybe in the next round, 'cause the Sharks are sure to lay an egg. Bah. Wings in six.

D is for Dik-Dik

"A dik-dik, pronounced "dĭk’ dĭk", is a small antelope that lives in the bushes of East Africa, Angola and Namibia. Dik-diks stand 30–40 cm (approx. 12–16 inches) at the shoulder, are 50–70 cm (approx. 20-28 inches) long, weigh 3–6 kg (approx. 7-16 pounds) and can live for up to 10 years. Dik-diks are named for the alarm calls of the females, which make a dik-dik, or zik-zik sound."

Seriously, these things look like they were designed by a manga artist to be adorable. It's ridiculous.

EDIT: And speaking of adorable...I've been printing out all my Animal Alphabet drawings for my daughter Evie to color...here's what she came up with for this one!

C is for Cheetah

"The cheetah achieves by far the fastest land speed of any living animal — between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph) in short bursts covering distances up to 500 m (1,600 ft), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to over 100 km/h (62 mph) in three seconds."

Old-Timey Hockey Tales: Vic Lynn, the Original Sixer