Happy Victoria Day

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Edward Brain
Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, May 18th, 2015, is Victoria Day in Canada.  I want to wish every Canadian a very happy and safe Victoria Day.

Today marks the celebration of the birthday of Canada’s first monarch, Queen Victoria.  Since 1957, Victoria Day also marks the official birthday of our current Queen of Canada, Queen Elizabeth II.

English: Queen Elizabeth II at Queen's Park

English: Queen Elizabeth II at Queen’s Park (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, let’s celebrate two of the most important people in the history of our glorious country.

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2015 NHL Conference Finals

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Edward Brain

The NHL Conference Finals start May 16th, 2015 and will feature the following two series:

In the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers will face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  New York is the defending Presidents’ Cup winners.  Tampa won all three regular season games between the two teams.  This is New York’s second straight Conference Final, and third in the last four years.  Tampa Bay last made it to the Conference Final in 2011.  New York won the Conference Final last year.  Look for New York to win in six games.

In the Western Conference, the Chicago Blackhawks face off against the Anaheim Ducks.  Chicago won two out of three regular season meetings between the two teams, and this is Chicago’s third straight Conference Finals.   The last time the Ducks made the Conference finals, they beat Detroit in six games, and went on to win the Stanley Cup.  This is the first postseason meeting between the two teams.  Look for Chicago to win a seven game series.

So let’s see if we will get an Original Six final!

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2015 NHL Conference Semi-Finals

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Edward Brain
The Stanley Cup.

The Stanley Cup

The Conference Semi-finals for the National Hockey League (NHL) is now set.

After the Conference Quarterfinals, two of the five Canadian teams that made the playoffs are still playing (Calgary and Montreal.)  Three of the ‘Original Six’ teams qualified for the Conference Semi-finals (Chicago, Montreal, and New York.)

Let’s look at the match-ups: Continue reading →

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NHL 2015 Conference Quarterfinals

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Edward Brain

The Stanley Cup.The 2014-2015 regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL) has been completed and we are now ready for the first round of the playoffs.

The New York Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy, finishing the regular season with a league leading 113 points beating out the Montreal Canadiens by three points for the trophy and guaranteeing themselves home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Continue reading →

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How to Fix the NHL Draft Lottery

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Edward Brain

With the NHL’s 2014-2015 regular season about to wrap up, the talk about what team will win the draft lottery has heated up.  At the same time, there has been talk about the lottery.

In brief, the draft lottery is essentially a lottery of the worst teams in the league to see who will win the first draft pick in the June draft.  The odds of winning the first pick is weighted based on the team’s position in the standings as the end of the season, with the team that finished with the least points receiving the best odds to win the first pick.  There is only one pick (first pick each round), while the rest of the draft order is based on league standing. Continue reading →

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Acclamation is Reasonable in Condominiums

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Edward Brain

Gerry Hyman has another article for the Toronto Star.  Let’s discuss some of the questions raised:

QUESTION: At our annual general meeting, an owner nominated himself as a candidate for the board. There was only one vacancy and no other candidate. The chair declared the candidate elected by acclamation without a vote. Is this legal?

ANSWER:  It is not unusual for the chair of the AGM to announce that an owner may nominate himself, especially when there are otherwise no candidates.

Continue reading →

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Blithe Spirit at Princess of Wales Theatre

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Edward Brain

The Noël Coward play Blithe Spirit is currently playing at the Princess of Wales theatre in Toronto as part of the 2014-2015 Mirvish season.  I attended the evening performance on March 11th.

The production stars Dame Angela Lansbury as Madame Arcati, Charles Edwards as Charles Condomine, Charlotte Parry as Ruth Condomine, Melissa Woodbridge as Elvira Condomine, Susan Louise O’Connor as Edith the Maid, Simon Jones as Dr. Bradman, and Sandra Shipley as Mrs. Bradman.  The musical interludes were sung by Christine Ebersole.  The director is Michael Blakemore.

The plot revolves the visit of a medium (Madame Arcati) to the home of a successful author (Charles Condomine) and the return of Mr. Condomine’s late wife, Elvira, as a spirit. Continue reading →

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Commonwealth Day 2015

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Edward Brain
Map of the Commonwealth of nations. Based on I...

Map of the Commonwealth of nations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, March 9th 2015, is Commonwealth Day in the countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Commonwealth Day, celebrated on the second Monday of March throughout the Commonwealth, as its name suggests celebrates the Commonwealth. Continue reading →

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Blue Jays Pre-season TV Schedule

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Edward Brain

The Toronto Blue Jays have announce their list of pre-season games which will be broadcast on Sportsnet in Canada.

The following games will be broadcast on television: Continue reading →

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Leonard Nimoy has Passed Away

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Edward Brain
Publicity photo of Leonard Nimoy and William S...

Publicity photo of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner as Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leonard Nimoy, the actor who portrayed Mr. Spock in the Star Trek franchise, has passed away at the age of 83.  The cause of death was Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Mr. Nimoy was an accomplished actor, author, and director.  However, he is fondly remembered by many as Mr. Spock, the half-human, half-vulcan in the original Star Trek series and its first six movies.

Mr. Nimoy also directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.  In addition, he directed an episode of Night Gallery, the 1987 movie Three Men and a Baby, and the pilot episode of Deadly Games. Continue reading →

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