Briefly in Bullets

• The Bruins are out of the playoffs. Deservedly so, as they played an absolute stinker yesterday, while Philly won their game. We shall see what happens next. As this morning's Globe said, "The Bruins coach could lose his job if his employers are trying to issue blame instead of solving problems." And as the Globe also said:

This is not the time for Neely and Jacobs to be emotional and start chucking coaches and players into the drink. People make bad decisions when they’re angry. They will be best served backing away from the trigger, surveying the big picture, and resolving to solve problems. It’s their responsibility to supply Julien and the roster core with better players by putting their picks and prospects in play for adult defensemen.

But the front office operates in an environment of blame. In such cultures, punishment is the textbook move. That usually starts with the coach.

• I found the movie to be very enjoyable, even on top of just being glad to be out of the house on such an unhappy hockey day. We had a delicious early dinner at Emma’s; we were there when the doors opened at 5, which I highly recommend, as it's small, and when we left the waiting area was crammed full. Then while my friends watched their tense movie, I was watching a steampunk animated film with a talking cat. And happily so.
• Before the movie started, two young men near me were talking, and I wasn’t really listening, but I had to stifle giggles when one of them said, “I just want to graduate, get a real job, and support a wife with very expensive tastes.” Do you suppose he had that wife already, or he was planning ahead?
• I also laughed when, as a character in the movie said “merde,” the subtitle said “dang it.” I wasn’t the only one who laughed, either. That … is not an exact translation. (What, didn’t you learn the swear words first, when you studied a foreign language?)
• As my mother arrives this week, I have been tidying up today; nothing drastic, and I do it for myself more than for her. All the times I see something that needs doing and think, “Oh, I should do X,” and then I don’t … when someone else is going to be here, then I do. Simple.
• But tiring.