02/16/05 Wednesday afternoon, 2:27 PM

Today is the day that the ice went silent. The NHL has formally canceled the season, and have issued a flood of apologies to the fans. Mostly, they fell on deaf ears. Sports writers, analysts, and fans will all remember how egos played a bigger role than economics in this debacle. Now, assuming that a labor agreement is made before the summer, the NHL had better get their checkbooks out, not for players, but for A-line marketing firms. If they want fans, especially US fans, to come back to the rinks next season, they need to recapture our imagination. Good luck.

I am pleased to report that Constatine is not a dog! For those of you who are familiar with Hellblazer, you will see that the attitude and sensibilities of the comic are preserved. Even with the wrong way the casting of the titular character rubbed me, I must confess that Keanu's underplayed performance works here. John Constantine is a virtual antihero, one you don't cheer on loudly. His ploy in the climax will certainly piss some people off, but it fits in well with his post modern, jaded, and urban antiseptic cool (think Brett Easton Ellis writing a modern supernatural hero story). Unless you are feeling like taking a dirt nap, do check it out this weekend!

Oh, I had a definite screwed the moment event last night. Before heading over to the theatre for the film, I stopped into Best Buy to pick up a copy of Saw on DVD. I had a copy in hand when I was browsing some of the other new releases. I picked up a copy of the new release of Half Baked, now sporting a giant picture of Dave Chappelle on the cover (sorry Jim Brewer) and scanned the back to see what the features were. Right then I heard a soft woman's voice saying "that's a great film!" I was in the process of putting the Half Baked back on the shelf as I turned around to see a major redheaded hottie standing next to me. Of course, I immediately thought she was talking about Saw, which I was already palming. "Oh yes, this is a wonderful low budget horror film!" I declared. "Oh," she demurred, "I was talking about Half Baked." "I see. Well, if you are ever in the mood for some horror, do give Saw a try!" I replied. By this time she was already adding distance between her and myself. I then decided to cut my losses and jolted to the cashier, kicking myself all the way and beyond. Yes, I really would like a do-over for that, please God?

Another tidbit from my world.