TBC: The Best Goalie Ever

Teebz's Book Club is back with another great book for youngsters today as we continue with our efforts to get young hockey fans reading, and young readers picking up more books about hockey. We've seen a few good books already, and it's time to add another in The Best Goalie Ever, written by Gilles Tibo, illustrated by Bruno St-Aubin, and published by Scholastic. Much like the last book we reviewed on here, Where's My Hockey Sweater?, Mr. Tibo has written this book for younger readers, aiming for children between the ages of three and eight years-old. The colourful illustrations make it easy for younger children to get a good visual sense of the story, and the easy-to-read story will further your child's reading abilities while being fun.

Gilles Tibo has written and illustrated over one hundred books. He is an award-winning writer, earning such prestigious accolades as two Governor General's Awards and two Mr. Christie's Book Awards. Born in Nicolet, Quebec in 1951, Mr. Tibo got his start working as a freelance illustrator designing flyers and album covers. He also drew a large portion of the French-Canadian comic strips that appeared in newspapers. Thanks to his work as an artist, Mr. Tibo translated that success into illustrating books. More recently, he has begun to write books as well, and his success has resulted in worldwide accolades for his work. Mr. Tibo resides in Montreal, Quebec with his family.

Bruno St-Aubin began his career at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. After receiving a scholarship, he began work at Metamorphosis magazine. After returning to Canada, he enrolled at Concordia University in their animation courses. Since 1988, Mr. St-Aubin has illustrated over 50 children's books. Mr. St-Aubin resides in Quebec with his family.

A young boy named Nicholas plays the central character in The Best Goalie Ever. Nicholas' dad asks Nicholas if he's interested in playing net for his team the following day, and Nicholas says "yes". His dad, tucking him into bed, wishes him a good night, and it suddenly dawns on Nicholas that he has never stopped a puck in life!

Nicholas spends the entire night thinking about being a goaltender, and he stays up all night worrying about stopping pucks. As you may know, athletes need their sleep to perform at their highest level, so Nicholas needed to get his sleep. Before he knew it, Nicholas' dad was getting him out of bed and he hadn't slept a wink! What would happen to Nicholas? Would he be able to help his team win despite being completely exhausted?

The 32-page book is an excellent story about preparing for a big game, and it is a good example of why children need their sleep - a message that parents routinely tell their children when sending them to bed! The story is humourous, and will make children laugh and smile when they read about Nicholas' goaltending debut. The pictures are colourful and vivid, and they help in bringing this story to life.

This book is definitely for readers between the ages of three to eight years-old due to its easy-to-read writing, and would be a good start for any child who is breaking into reading. The Best Goalie Ever takes a message that parents are trying to instill in their children, and makes it fun while avoiding the "nagging" that children sometimes tune out. Because of this, The Best Goalie Ever certainly deserves the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval, and comes highly recommended for all youngsters.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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US Mint Gold Coin Sales Steady Despite Higher Prices

Despite continually rising prices, US Mint gold coin sales have remained surprisingly steady over the past several weeks.

This year, the United States Mint adopted a new pricing policy which allows them to update prices as frequently as once per week. Recently, coin prices have been increased every two weeks or so, as the price of gold has continued to rise. Another price increase will almost certainly take place tomorrow, bringing US Mint gold coins to another set of record high prices.

The latest weekly sales report available on Coin Update News show weekly sales of 1,091 UHR Double Eagles, 3,017 Proof Gold Buffalo coins, and 457 First Spouse Gold Coins. Except for the Gold Buffalo which was recently released, these sales levels are roughly the same or higher than other recent weekly sales levels which occurred when coin prices were lower.

The tables below show the number of coins sold for the past five weekly sales periods for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle and combined First Spouse Gold Coins. The prices in effect at the end of the weekly period are provided in the last column.

2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Sales
Week Ending	Coins Sold	Coin Price
Oct 25	562	$1,389
Nov 1	1045	$1,439
Nov 8	1453	$1,439
Nov 15	1098	$1,489
Nov 22	1091	$1,489

First Spouse Gold Coin Sales
Week Ending	Coins Sold	Coin Prices
Oct 25	213	$679 (proof), $666 (unc)
Nov 1	414	$704 (proof), $691 (unc)
Nov 8	334	$704 (proof), $691 (unc)
Nov 15	412	$729 (proof), $716 (unc)
Nov 22	457	$729 (proof), $716 (unc)

The anticipated increase tomorrow will bring the price of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle to $1,539. The price of the 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo will rise to $1,460. Prices for First Spouse Gold Coins would rise to $754 and $741. This will actually be the final pricing tier in the US Mint's published grid.

A reader had an interesting question regarding whether the US Mint would publish new pricing grids, possibly recalculating coin premiums. The current tables were computed based on lower general precious metals prices and different sales volumes. I have an inquiry in with the US Mint and will report any response.

New Sections on Coin Update

In closing, I wanted to mention some of the new features added to another coin related website that I maintain called Coin Update. The site has traditionally provided a round up of coin collecting news from various sites across the internet. This ranges from articles on other dedicated coin websites to mainstream media's coverage of coins. The updates are published two or three times per week.

You can subscribe to receive the updates delivered to by email by signing up here or you can visit the site periodically to find the latest updates.

The expanded section of the site at Coin Update News has been providing additional coverage of US coins, world coins, and precious metals by a variety of authors. This is a new section of the site, but the articles are also incorporated into the main Coin Update home page.

For the past few months, the site has been publishing weekly US Mint sales reports, as referenced above. These reports are available every Tuesday with the latest sales figures for current US Mint products. More recent additions to the site include daily commentary on gold prices and a new column on third party coin grading by Michael Bugeja.

You can subscribe to receive all of the Coin Update News articles delivered to your email address by signing up here. Otherwise, you can visit the site daily for the latest news and articles.

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Fallen Tree Snarls Rush Hour On The GWMP

A large tree fell across the George Washington Memorial Parkway at the height of morning rush hour.

On Tuesday November 24, 2009, shortly before 7:00 am, the tree fell across the northbound lanes near Turkey Run. This tree fell on six cars. Fortunately, no one in the cars was injured.

This snarled traffic for about two and one half hours while the National Park Service tree crews sawed and chipped the tree. All traffic was diverted onto Rt. 123 at McLean.

Apparently saturated ground from recent rains loosened the tree.

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SOME OF THIS/SOME OF THAT

FOR THOSE WHO MAY HAVE MISSED IT, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE WENT AFTER OBAMA BIG TIME AND HERE IT IS FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE:





CHRISTIAN LEADERS, INCLUDING ROMAN CATHOLICS ARE URGING THEIR FOLLOWERS TO PRACTICE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, AND IT IS ABOUT TIME.

THEY ARE PROCLAIMING THAT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IS OK TO PROTECT THE FAITH.

A formidable coalition of 150 Catholic, Orthodox, and evangelical leaders is calling on Christians in a new manifesto to reject secular authority — and even engage in civil disobedience — if laws force them to accept abortion, same-sex marriage, and other ideas that betray their religious beliefs.

On Friday, these leaders released a 4,700-word document, titled the "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience," which calls on Christians to engage in civil disobedience to defend their doctrines.

The project is aimed at instilling social conservative beliefs in a new generation of believers, Colson said.

TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE

TO READ THE DOCUMENT, CLICK HERE

TO SIGN THE DOCUMENT, CLICK HERE

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Sweet Homepage Alabama!

Madame and Trig meet Billy Graham

Madame had dinner with Reverend Billy Graham last night. Billy Graham's son said that Billy Graham had this to say about Madame: "Daddy feels God was using her to wake America up." Amen, Reverend. I wonder what Minister Aw Shucksabee thinks about that. Poor guy!

Madame has been on fire all day today, starting with an inspiring Facebook post! She even brought out her inner Donald Trump: "We can take it back because we’re fired up, and we’re all about telling our government to listen to us, trust us, get back on our side… or politicians: you’re fired." Check out the Facebook link! You can see pictures, including one of Madame with the BOTUS!

We visited Ft. Bragg in North Carolina and Birmingham, Alabama today. I pick up a Southern accent easily, as today has shown. Can ya'll tell?

Madame also had a great interview with Greta today! What else would you expect? Greta is the anagram of great! You can see more of the interview tomorrow!

Also, now that my press secretary has finished the book, I can tell you that Madame mentioned me in the book. I don't want to reveal too much for those who haven't went rogue or who are still in the process of going rogue, but check out page 400! Madame discusses the work that we have done!

I'd better transition into hibernation mode. We are off to Florida tomorrow, and Madame is on Fox and Friends.

Talk to ya'll later!

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Neutering The Ferocious

I'm glad I have a red Florida Panthers jersey before it went extinct in this world. If you have a red Panthers jersey, kids, tuck it away because it is officially a collector's item at this point. I don't think you'll ever see the Florida Panthers go back to red after they unveiled their new alternate jersey tonight against the Penguins. You'd have a better chance of seeing a baby blue Panthers jersey than a red one at this point in the franchise's history. But I digress as we're here to rip apart examine their new threads. As the title of this article states, I was seriously underwhelmed by this effort. There are good elements in this jersey, but I think you'll come away like I did: disappointed, frustrated, and having more questions than satisfaction.

The Panthers, as you may be aware, already have a blue home jersey. There is something seriously wrong with NHL teams that create a third jersey in the same primary colour as one of their current jerseys. I'm thinking a distinct lack of imagination, but it could be other reasons. In any case, you can clearly see that yellow and red are accent colours for the Panthers, so there should be no mistaking what colours are in their scheme, right?

So I ask you, dear readers, where do they find the light blue?!? What is with the NHL's sudden obsession with light blue? Pittsburgh brought back their light blue alternates with great success. Atlanta decided to go light blue at home, and that design is still ridiculed throughout theleague. And then we had Colorado just a few weeks ago making their alternate jerseys into a celebration of baby blue. So, if you're the Panthers, why not follow the trend?

Here's a newsflash, Florida Panthers: YOU'RE NOT LIGHT BLUE.

Aside from the Penguins alternate jersey, the other two teams were oh-fer-two. You've now made it oh-fer-three, Florida Panthers, by joining the baby blue revolution. This is almost as bad as the teal influx into the league when San Jose joined as an expansion team. This had better be the last team to adopt baby blue as a "new" colour in their colour scheme, or I'm going to snap.

In terms of the design, there are a couple of things that I like. The new logo has been turned into an old-time logo by simplifying the panther's face and adding the circle around it. Yes, it bothers me that the whiskers are now gone, but the logo is admittedly a decent effort as a redesign. Could it have been more? Yes, definitely. You'd expect a more cartoonish logo on an AHL team, but the Panthers need to attract some new fans because the old ones are dressing like empty seats. And that's not good for the health of the franchise.

I'm not sure what effect that the new shoulder patch is supposed to be making, but perhaps they want to draw in the seniors and Canadian snowbirds with their TV morning show-like patch. Look, I get that these jerseys are supposed to be "new" and "different", but these seem half-assed right now, especially in light of what should have been.

The rear font moves away from their normal look, and throws in some useless Nashville Predators-esque lettering along with goofy block numbering. This is a weak effort, and it's going to be hell for jersey customization when considering names like "Clemmensen" or "McCabe".

Ok, so maybe I'm being a little too harsh. I mean, we haven't even seen them in action yet. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long as the Panthers took to the ice in Miami wearing their new jerseys.

The list of positives will be short. Again, we see a team break out the lace-up collar. I get that an old-time hockey jersey looks a little more vintage with the lace-up collar, but I'm starting to tire of it. It seems as though every team has at least one set of jerseys that have a lace-up collar.

Referee Kevin Pollack takes an up-close-and-personal look at Keith Ballard's new logo. While it would take some keen eyes to spot the whiskers missing at full speed, the new logo works on an elementary level. It looks clean and crisp despite being anatomically inaccurate. While I'm still not entirely sold on this logo, the fact that it looks like a panther while the players are moving means that it is doing its job.

That "Wake Up Florida" shoulder logo, however, doesn't even come close to their normal secondary logo. The palm tree-hockey stick logo actually makes one think of hockey in warm weather. If the Florida Panthers want to attract more youthful fans, they should stick with their classic logos, and stay away from the morning talk show logos. The new shoulder patch just looks dumb in game action. And to make matters worse, the Panthers are also wearing the logo on their breezers.

It still astounds me that the Panthers refused to go back to a red primary colour. This is exactly how I refer to the Panthers when I think of them, and it was helped by their Stanley Cup run in 1996. So how good would Tomas Vokoun look in a red jersey with his crimson red pads as opposed to the new alternate jersey? With Vokoun already wearing red pads this season in combination with his red-accented navy jersey, why can't anyone from the Panthers see how good that looks? There would be enough stripes on the alternate jersey if they used the same design that the monochrome look would be broken up. To me, a red alternate jersey would be a no-brainer in this case.

Also noticeable in this image is the single-colour lettering and numbering. Very clear white-on-navy blue font makes it easy to read. The Predators-style lettering isn't visible whatsoever, so it appears that they may be another useless addition.

I like the aesthetic that the socks create in terms of the dark over light look. It appears on a quick glance that the Panthers have their socks pulled up to the bottom of the knees. There's good striping on the socks as well, so everything is defined very clearly. Again, I'm not sold on the baby blue, though, so there is still some tweaking that could be done.

In saying this, there is little joy in Miami tonight. The Penguins defeated the Panthers 3-2 in overtime, and there is little to be excited about in terms of how the Panthers' new look. Sure, they scored a few points with their logo, their socks, and the legible font, but there are so many drawbacks to this alternate design.

All we are saying is give red a chance. It's part of your colour scheme, Florida, and you should be embracing it. The Panthers looked ferocious in red. They look tame in navy and light blues. And nothing is worse in a vicious catfight than cat with no moxie.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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A Rogue Weekend

Madame has been quite the busy bee this weekend. We have made book tour stops in Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia this weekend. Madame was even nice enough to stop by and say "hello" to the people who had been waiting overnight in Virginia to see her! Madame may not hold an elected office right now, but she certainly still sees herself as a public servant. Today in Virginia, Madame introduced me to Tito the Builder. It was a lot of fun.

Also, just after my last post Friday night, Madame decided that we need to post another health care Facebook post prior to heading to Pennsylvania. The woman never tires!

We are now in North Carolina. At least I think we are; I don't have a GPS program installed on me so sometimes I get confused.

I haven't been as busy lately, so I get a lot of time to chill on the bus. The BOTUS has been busy on twitter though. You can keep up with her work here. I wish I could help out with the tweets, but the BOTUS isn't quite as bulky as I am, so she is a little more portable. It makes it easier for Madame to tweet from her. Perhaps I should lay of the cookies or at least disable them. Maybe then I would be less bulky. Oh well. Perhaps I will get to tweet soon for Madame. In the meantime, I'll just stick to my own twitter account.

Madame got to have dinner tonight with Billy Graham, and she gets to do a signing at Ft. Bragg tomorrow. I know she is quite excited about both of these. There are few things that are more important to Madame than her faith and the troops.

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