Top Lines Mainly Contributing for the Maple Leafs

Third and fourth lines as well as the defensive pairings are not doing much in the way of contributing and production.It can be said that the Toronto Maple Leafs have a great team.   If you look at the stats from the their five game winning streak, you'll see the first and second lines were doing most of the production.  The usual suspects such as John Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews.

Tavares has been hot.  So has Marner.  Now if you break down the numbers in the last six games, Tavares got six goals and four assists for ten points.  Mitch Marner got 11 points in five games.  During that span he got three goals, eights assists. Auston Matthews got four goals, three assists.  William Nylander got three goals, three assists including the overtime winner against Tampa Bay.  Top guys on top lines doing everything.

Others need to step up. But when guys like Nick Richie hasn't impressed or produced, that's a problem.  In fact, he's been a bust.  He hasn't been what the Leafs have been looking for thus far.  If you compare him to other off season acquisitions, Michael Bunting had done far more.  He looked great in the preseason.  Now in the regular season, he has three goals, three assists thus far.  Richie on the other hand has one assist this season.  If they need someone to deal away, Richie is a likely ones.

Bunting has secured himself a spot on the first and second line while Richie is sucking wind on the fourth line.  It was a coo for Bunting to be on the first line with Matthews and Nylander on Monday (November 8) against the Los Angeles Kings.

The third and fourth lines need to step up.  Sure it's great you have Marner and Tavares being as hot as they are and Matthews finding his groove after his wrist injury.  But you can't rely on the first and second lines night in and night out.  Sure it would be nice if Matthews got between 30 and 50 goals a season, but that's not always going to happen.

Monday's game against the Kings was as if the Maple Leafs didn't show up.  The Kings played vastly better.  Johnathan Quick was sensational in net.  But the lone goal came from, surprise surprise, Johnny Toronto (John Tavares).  Not saying that's a bad thing, but it lends credence to the fact there aren't contributions all around.

Sheldon Keefe needs to switch up the lines and sit people out if things don't change on the third and fourth lines as well as defensive pairings.  Shake things up.  Send that message.  They need a fire lite under their asses and realize this is what could potentially happen.  Something's got to give. 

There is still a lot of season left to go.  Hopefully things turn around for the third and fourth lines, defensive pairings, and those outside of the core four.  Let's start with the Philadelphia Flyers tonight (November 10) and go from there.

Sick of Food

Food is everywhere.  We are bombarded with ads for products, delivery services, food kits, restaurants, etc..  We have easy access to "junk food" more so now than ever.  Eating habits is changing for many.  The options for vegans, for instance, has become so expansive in the last ten years.  The food industry is a billion dollar business.  Sure, we need to eat to sustain ourselves.  But for the first time ever, I am sick of food.

I should consider myself lucky to have food.  First world problem as they say.  But, a sister of mine had hanging art with a quote or motivational bullshit on it.  It said "we don't eat because we're hungry, we eat because we're bored."  It's true.  There have been many a time that I was so bored, that I would eat.  I order something.

According to Food & Nutrition they say: "As we know, boredom causes us to participate in behaviors that result in pleasure. However, if we constantly use one particular behavior, our brain becomes less able to experience pleasure from anything else. So if we always rely on food to relieve boredom, our brain becomes re-wired to derive the most pleasure from eating."

For me, it's not just about eating when bored.  It's the fact that I've eaten way too much food lately.  I've gotten sick of food.  When I'm at home, the thought of food is just ugh (for a lack of a better term).   When at him, I still eat and more than I should at times.  It's stupid.  But as a diabetic, I have to eat.  Eating prevents things like low blood sugar which can cause hypoglycemia.  Hypoglycemia can lead to other issues.

My problem is not eating a balanced diet.  My diet is absolute shit.  As the adage goes, "old habits die hard."  It's a seemingly vicious cycle.  I fucking hate it.  I have said a number of times that I will make changes, but it never happens.  It also doesn't help that my sleep schedule hasn't been off recently.  Ugh.  I don't want this to be lip service, but I need to make changes.  Motivation can be a bitch.  My motivation has been low which also doesn't help.  Getting outside especially when it's spring and summer makes one feel better.

Why we feel better during these seasons is because it brings more sunlight thus we enjoy the energy that is used to fight off drowsiness.  Serotonin is released due to more light.  Serotonin is a chemical that makes us feel happier.  To be honest, it does make me feel better.

Now to just get motivated to do more, eat less, and not be sick of food.

Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church gets $4.4 million in Covid relief

Churches in the United States are not looked upon as businesses. You could make a case that Lakewood Church is. Even though megachurches should be treated as a business, they will always be listed as a charity. Therefore, they are exempt in paying taxes.

If you looked at the financials of this church, you would see they are making money. Considering his church can house over 50,000 people on any given Sunday.

Hypothetical situation with 2020 being a normal year with no pandemic.. If Osteen was pulling in 52,000 people each Sunday and at least half of the people put in one dollar for the "collection," obviously the church is taking in $26,000 per Sunday. With 2020 having 52 Sundays, the church would take in $1.3 million in a year. That would never be taxed.

So why is Lakewood Church getting $4.4 million in relief when it's pulling in over a million easy? There are small businesses struggling that need it more than said church.

I went to Bible college in 2006-2007. It was a small privatized Christian college that is now closed. My year in Canada is when everything ceased operations. The final location was in Strathmore, Alberta.

Now, we had a thing called a "worship blitz." Basically, we went to various churches from Saturday-Monday in Calgary. I didn't like the idea. But a couple of churches we went to weren't so bad.

On the Sunday, we went to a service at a megachurch in Calgary at Centre Street church. I hated it. It was a megachurch (a joke was there was a Footlocker in it). The church felt so impersonal. I fell asleep during the service.

Centre Street has a bookstore and a coffee shop. It had theatre seating, big screens, and a big stage. The music and talent of the people playing in worship is one thing. But it seemed overdone.

My point is that it showed me that I don't like megachurches. With Osteen's church being one of the biggest churches in the world and obviously the biggest in the United States, it further cements my dislike.

I bet all the members of this church are just numbers to Osteen. You realistically can't know every single member of the this church.

You might be thinking 52,000 people as week? Yes; 52.000. The building that Lakewood Church is in was a sports and events venue. It used to be the home of the Houston Rockets and other sports teams. The last concert was ZZ Top in 2003 when everything moved to the Toyota Center which opened that year.

Osteen entered into a 30-year lease with the City of Houston. Seven-years later in 2010, Osteen bought the property for a mere $7.5 million. There have been varying reports around that time about how much it would cost and did cost to renovate the p[ace. I seen $29 million amd $75 million. The point is they church had the funds to renovate and purchase the building.

In this New York Post article, a quote from another publication quoted Osteen saying him and his wife don't take salaries. I find that hard to believe. He has published many books that has raked in millions most likely. He achieved his goal of his broadcasts being seen all over the world.

Even if they don't take salaries, they don't need to.  The Osteens are multi-millionaires with a $10.5 million mansion.  Joel himself is worth $100 million.  They have all sorts of money coming in.

There are 368 full and part-time staff. The money went to salaries, medical insurance, etc.   Burger chain Shake Shack is going to payback the loan they got. I have my doubts that Lakewood Church is going to do that.

I don't know if they did it for free, but Lakewood Church had an Easter service which had Mariah Carey perform and Tyler Perry speak. Kanye West pulled out because of COVID. If they can get big names in music and entertainment and they did pay them (hypothetically), they surely don't need this PPP loan.

I understand that donations maybe down and they want to sustain their staff, but one can presume they are still taking in enough to sustain themselves.  There are small businesses and small churches that need the money more than they do.

Christmas Decorations before Remebrance Day

Every year it's the same thing.  People on social media tell people they can't put up decorations or anything Christmas related before Remembrance Day.  One argument I seen recently is it's disrespectful.  That's a subjective opinion and argument.  It's not disrespectful at all.

People don't realize that the soldiers fought and died for the freedom to put up Christmas decorations before Remembrance Day.  Just like they fought and died for a lot of the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted. It's not disrespectful to them and it doesn't effect you or anybody else if someone decides to decorate for Christmas before Remembrance Day.

There are lots of other days and weeks that honour veterans, peacekeepers, etc.. There is National Peacekeepers Day in August, Veterans Week leading up to Remembrance Day, D-Day, etc..

The next time you do something, just remember that veterans died for the freedom to do that and that there are soldiers that are also fighting and serving to uphold those freedoms.

 
It brings joy to someone.  Are you going to shit on that because it's before Remembrance Day?  Don't be that person.  2020 has been a tough year for many reasons such as the pandemic, elections, etc.  Getting into the holiday spirit early isn't a bad thing at all.

There are more important things to focus on than decorating before Remembrance Day.  Don't be one of those people that needs to find anything to bitch about.  We could use more positivity in our lives.  If Christmas brings positivity and joy in someone's life, you are not position to say you can't decorate before Remembrance Day.  Just remember that because the tables could one day be turned.

I for one one have problem with decorating before Remembrance.  If you don't want to, that's okay too.  We have that right.  But you don't have the right bitch and complain about something trivial just because you don't like it.  That's too bad for you.  Go hard and decorate till your heart's content.  There is nothing wrong that at all.

Song of the Day #66 - Spock's Beard

As I sometimes do, I let Spotify randomly play songs and Spock's Beard came up.  I have never delved deep into their discography before this.  I have heard the odd song.  But when "Submerged" randomly came up, it blew me away.  It is so good.  It's like "The Calling" by Yes.  It gets one pumped up and in a great mood.  Give it a listen.  I can't stop listening to it.

"Submerged" by Spock's Beard
YouTube link

Need to Pay More Attention to What's Happening in Canada

There are many issues and problems in Canada that needs to be talked about and addressed.  There is one particular issue I noticed in myself.  Many are probably in the same boat.  It essentially is that we need to pay more attention to what's happening in Canada.  With what's happening in other parts of the world, more specifically the United States, dominating headlines, it's easy to focus on that.  The death of George Floyd is a prime example is dominating headlines (as it should) and we are focused on that.  But that doesn't mean we should focus solely on that.

I recognize that I know more about what's going on in the United States than Canada.  I need to change that.  Social media is a way to find out news and to see what's trending.  That's how I find out about stuff.  I don't always go out of my way to find out about what's going locally, provincially, and nationally.  It's one thing to say one should do more of that.  It's another to actually do it.

Am I out of touch?  Am I not informed.  Not necessarily.  It's easier to focus on things dominating the headlines.  Such things as COVID-19, George Floyd, and the rioting for instance.  That's what currently dominating headlines.  Lots of things are in the news, but they don't get even half as much attention as other stuff.  I get why.  But that doesn't mean we should just stick to what is dominating headlines.

You might think it's easy to say that.  I have already acknowledged that in a round about way. Again, that's why it's good to look at all news and not just what is in front of our faces.  Hopefully I'll try to make more of a conscious effort in this regard.  Saying and doing are two different things.  I don't keep ear close enough to the ground when it comes to Canadian news in terms of a wide range of news.  COVID-19 in Canada is one of the few things I hear about most times which proves my point.  We could use some positivity in this world right now.  I know it will be hard, but it's out there somewhere.


That's enough news for today.  I know I won't be able to avoid it, but it can burn one out.  Now to do something else.  Movie, video games, continue binging "Seinfeld?"  Not matter what, I need to take my mind off the dominating headlines for now.  Be well and stay safe.  See you on the flipside.

Song of the Day #65 - "My Number" - Tegan and Sara

Have always liked this song, but have been loving it more lately.  Interesting to find out in the description of the audio (read it for the first time) that Hawksley Workman produced it and the rest of The Business of Art.  It's interesting what you find out.

If I gave you my number
Would it still be the same
If I, if I saved you from drowning
Promise me you'll never go away
Promise me you'll always stay

"My Number" by Tegan and Sara
YouTube link