The Girl’s Summer Softball League (GSSL) is gearing up for its third annual All Star Softball tournament to benefit the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF.)   A rarity in the charity world, the GSSL’s All Star tournament has no overhead, which means all proceeds go directly to the cause.   The tournament raised $16,000 the first year, and $ 24,000 the second year.  With your help, this year, we hope to exceed $25,000.

In order to help fund the tournament, the Batgirls will be hosting an ICRF evening at Typhoon Lounge, 5752 Monkland Avenue, on Wednesday, August 4, from 5-11pm.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.  Typhoon will be graciously offering up happy hour specials from 4pm to 8pm, as well as 1$ bottle beers, $5 wines, and $7 martinis all night long.  Additionally, raffle prizes will be available to all attendees.

We invite you to join us for a drink August 4^th, and to donate generously to the event, which has raised $ 40,000 to date to fight cancer. This year, funds raised will be donated in the memory of the league’s beloved head umpire and friend, Leon Blumer.

With your generous donations, this event is sure to be a home-run.

For tickets, please email Charna, Nat or Lesley.

1. Buying mechanical items made in Canada is probably not a good idea.

While most of the show went off without a hitch, in the final, pivotal moments, an equipment malfunction left one of the final four torchbearers, Catriona LeMay Doan, standing in front of an empty hole with nothing to light.

2. Canadians have a good sense of humor

Even as the mechanical malfunction unfolded, the four torchbearers seemed more giggly than irritated. Gretzky looked amused, and Steve Nash’s smirk gradually turned into a wide smile.

3. Canadians are a diverse people, who respect each other.

Our governor general is not only African American, she’s a woman. Her name is Michaëlle Jean. It’s like we nominated Barak AND Hillary.

4. You likely do not want to visit the Prairies.

With all due respect to the music (Canadian Veteran Joni Mitchell) and the young acrobat, the segment with the boy floating over the wheat fields was entirely too long, and was by the end, a bit boring. But hey, Canadians like to be respectful, and the prairies were given their due.

5. Canadians respect their history

You heard it right, the ceremony kicked off with God Save the Queen, a salute to Canada’s history as a British colony.

6. Canada has some amazing athletes

The opening ceremonies included Basketball star Steve Nash, hockey legend WayneGretzky, Paralympic athlete Rick Hansen and even Betty Fox, Terry Fox’s mom. These athletes not only represent excellence in their fields, but are good people with civic causes and foundations.

7. Canada has some remarkable talent

Singer KD Lang performed Halleluiah, written by current poet laureate Leonard Cohen. She was amazing, although she really could have used a better tailor. Actor Donald Sutherland voiced some of the recorded parts of the ceremony, and helped bring in the Olympic flag. Sarah McLachlan performed. Joni Mitchell recorded clouds (although it would have been nice to see her perform live.) Although I must admit, I was a bit shocked not to see Canada’s #1 national export, Celine Dion.

8. Canadians encourage their youth

She’s gotten some flack in the media for doing her own spin on O Canada, but I absolutely loved how Nikki Yanofsky sang at the opening ceremonies. It’s hard to believe someone with that much poise is only 16. And hey, she’s a Montrealer (woot woot!).

9. Canadians are real

Canadians are not fake, and they are empathetic, good people. Canadian officials were visibly sad when expressing regret over Georgia’s Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died after flying off the Olympic luge track.

With all the accolades given to Beijing’s opening ceremonies, we sometimes forget that they were so hell bent on being perfect they shunned a child, having a “cuter” one lip synch her song. The Canadian Opening ceremonies weren’t perfect, but they were real, and make me proud to be Canadian.

10. There’s a reason people think we live in igloos

Okay, I get it; they wanted to pay respect to our heritage. But really, that was a bit ridiculous. A performer representing Canada’s history entered the stadium. A native Canadian danced during the Opening Ceremony. There were totem poles. There was a canoe… with a horned fiddler in it. And it just kept going and going. Next time I’m travelling abroad and someone asks me what it’s like down there in those Igloos, I’ll be far more empathetic.

You can check out a lovely pictorial of the entire Opening Ceremonies event here.

Really? Because last time I checked there was a division between Church, State and the Media. Or there was supposed to be, anyway.

Despite their longstanding tradition of prohibiting controversial spots during the Super Bowl, “CBS now claims to have changed its policy on accepting advocacy ads. But its decision to debut this policy by associating itself with the anti-choice, anti-equality Focus on the Family raises serious questions about CBS policies and bias” (Souce: The Women’s Media center.)

As part of their efforts to get CBS to drop the add, the Women’s media center has launched a campaign, urging viewers to suggest what CBS stands for. Their examples include “Corporate Broadcast Sell-outs” or “Completely Blatant Sexism.”

We were all horrible that first year. I mean, like a slapstick comedy. People were falling all over the place, no one could hit, no one knew the rules yet, and the dugouts were stacked full of boyfriends and brothers desperately trying to explain what the hell was going on. If two girls were running for the same ball in the outfield they would inevitably run right into each other, causing both to fall over backwards ‘ and neither to catch the ball. What would have been a single base hit in any other game became a home run, and the few people who actually knew the rules seemed like superstars to the rest of us.

But, we stuck to it. Horrible as we might have been, the games were always a ton of fun. Slowly terms like ‘cut-off’ and ‘foul-tip’ began to make sense. We hired real umpires, got coaches, and by the time the second season was in full swing, we were actually playing real softball.

Last week, while at a pre-season game, I found myself thinking: ‘Hm, we’ve gotten pretty hardcore.’ Maybe that’s why I reached out to catch a ball with my un-gloved hand. I’m not quite sure what I was thinking. Actually, I’m quite certain I wasn’t thinking at all. As you might expect, catching a softball flying full force with a bare hand is not a great idea. In a word: Ouch!

So, now I’m out for at least a week with a bad sprain, pondering our league’s rise to competency, and looking hilariously badass with my wounded finger. I must admit, I could not have picked a better finger to injure’

That’s me looking as badass as I’ll probably ever look.

This has got me thinking about video blogging again.

What do you think?