Henri, un film de Will Braden

It's no secret cats have become an internet sensation. I am a fan of several: Sockington, Simon's Cat, Tard the Grumpy Cat, Maru, and most recently, Henri. As the Henri films capture so well to what we humans believe how cats think, I was somewhat surprised to learn the YouTube series creator, William Braden, is not Henri's owner/guardian.

I'm a sucker for Tuxedo and Snowshoe cats like Henri and Tard the Grumpy cat as I co-parented a pair of them in a previous relationship. I found myself liking the cats a lot more than the boyfriend. Much of the time in this relationship was spent seeing far too many angst-ridden foreign films. And why I find the le Chat Noir series beyond hilarious.

The video link below is Henri's second film. It got over 7 million views.

Fin.

Terrell Owens - PBA League Owner, Dallas Strikers

image source: PBA

Last week, I wrote about Bobby Valentine, a former baseball player and manager figure not very well liked among his peers. This week, it's former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens.

Less than a season out of professional football, Terrell is now actively involved as a PBA League team owner. In what I've seen so far in his short tenure as owner of the Dallas Strikers, he's been nothing but enthusiastic, gracious and respectful. A complete contrast from his days as a gridiron gazelle.

Terrell and Jerome Bettis (Motown Muscle owner) bowled the ceremonial first roll to begin the season. There was some unfair criticism of Terrell when he was seen texting from his cell phone during one of the televised matches. True. He was tweeting details of the match. I've seen him sit with his Strikers team during several PBA League matches.

In last week's PBA League Clash, he was the only owner to sit with the only Dallas Striker in the clash, Rhino Page (1st player selected in the draft). Below is the unedited version of the match. If you're pressed for time, the last 5 minutes of the video will show you Terrell's presence wasn't just window dressing.

Hire or Fire Bobby Valentine?

Say what you will about Bobby Valentine's managerial skills (or lack thereof), the man has a sense of humor. His current occupation is sports related, but not in baseball. Wise decision.

Retro Masking Units - Bowling

image source: Bel Mateo Bowl

The above picture was taken from Bel Mateo Lanes, where I bowl Monday nights. Pretty much a typical looking bowling alley. The below picture is taken from an unknown center in Japan, where it features vintage masking units (AMF inverted triangles).

image source: The Streamlane Project

Until last night, I completely forgot about retro masking units. It all came back when I watched on YouTube the 2013 Fusion Realtors Open in Waterloo, Iowa. InsideBowling.com's Mike Flanagan pointed it out during the match.

So, what did Mike say to prompt the walk back to "Memory" Lanes? The masking units light up dots with pin numbers to indicate remaining pins on the rack after the first ball is bowled. When masking units were in their heyday, this was an extremely important feature for bowlers, especially for keeping score. I've included a video from the Fusion Realtors tournament for those of you who want to see the masking units in action.

In doing my due diligence for this entry, I came across Toby Schwartzman's blog, The Streamlane Project.  As described from his About page, "Toby Schwartzman is a former head mechanic of the Moose Exchange Bowling Alley in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania and an active member of the online community of mechanics who share materials and information relating to antique bowling apparatus. Early in 2012 he acquired three rare AMF masking units in dire need of restoration. The purpose of this blog is to document the progress of the restoration and to offer advice, resources and inspiration for similar projects."

A project that is truly a labor of love. Best of luck to you, Toby. His blog's last entry was in December 2012. Hope to see updates soon.