(Street Life is a regular feature that profiles what's playing in the stock market.)

* ACT I: Luck of the Irish The player: Tranzeo Wireless Technologies Inc. (TSX:TZT) Recent Price: $2.07 Action: Up 84 per cent in less than a month (from $1.25 to $2.30) on news 52-week high: $2.30 (Nov. 28, 2006) 52-week low: $1.25 (Oct. 10, 2006) Irish eyes were smiling on Dec. 8 when B.C.-based Tranzeo signed a deal to boost its distribution of fixed broadband wireless communication systems in Europe. In the agreement, Ireland's Wi-Pipe committed to distribute a minimum volume of US$546,000 a year.

For DSL-based Europeans, this may mean a faster, more reliable communication service. For shareholders, the resulting 84-per-cent gain on the stock in less than a month means a nice Christmas bonus.

If you're one of the lucky ones holding this stock - or the warrants, which are up from a penny in mid-November to $0.75 on Dec. 8 - then as the Irish saying goes, "May you taste the sweetest pleasures that fortune e'er bestowed, and may all your friends remember all the favours you are owed."

* ACT II: The Oxymoron The player: Fun Technologies (TSX:FUN) Recent Price: $2.80 Action: Down 43 per cent or $2.15 in less than a month (from $4.95 on Nov. 20) 52-week high: $8 (March 17, 2006) 52-week low: $2.38 (Dec. 6, 2006) Fun is exactly what shareholders feeling the pain of this stock's poor performance are probably wishing they could have - but no dice.

Fun Technologies, an online and interactive casual game provider, says it is unaffected by the new Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the U.S. In fact, some analysts projected the change to the law (prohibiting online gambling) may actually be beneficial for Fun, which deals in skills games, still a legal form of entertainment.

In more good news, the company recently won Skill Game Operator of the Year by eGaming Review, it reported strong third-quarter revenue growth, and newly opened cash competitions in "Scrabble Cubes" on its WorldWinner.com games site.

So what's the problem?

Maybe Scrabble players are too busy playing online to buy the stock. And let's face it - how much fun is it really to watch an investment's value disappear? Let's see - with the double-word score, that's 18 points for O-U-C-H.

* ACT III: Vermin Victory The player: DHX Media Ltd. (TSX:DHX) Recent Price: $1.90 Action: Up 60 per cent or $0.71 in less than a month (from $1.19 Nov. 30) 52-week high: $2.60 (May 19, 2006) 52-week low: $1.15 (Nov. 29, 2006) Your children may well have influenced this stock if they're between the ages of six and 12. That is, if they watch TV.

Halifax-based DHX Media, which produces and distributes television programming and interactive content, has announced an agreement to sell rights for one of its animated shows to a European buyer. That's right. Pick up that jaw. It really is a successful Canadian television production.

Urban Vermin, a CGI series about two raccoons, is currently in production and commissioned by YTV Canada. Jetix Europe, a children's entertainment broadcaster and rights management company (majority-owned by the Walt Disney Company, no less), is purchasing the TV rights for the show for all of Europe, except France.

So slide on those slippers and join your kids in front of the tube - Saturday morning cartoons might just have made your portfolio money.

* ACT IV: The Nervous Wreck The player: Excel-Tech Ltd. (TSX:NRV) Recent Price: $1.06 Action: Down 408 per cent, or $4.33 since high on IPO day in April 2006 52-week high: $5.39 (April 25, 2006) 52-week low: $1.05 (May 2, 2006) Shareholders who have lost feeling in their legs and their pocketbooks may find use for the medical devices Excel-Tech, or XLTEK, designs and develops to monitor and diagnose the nervous system.

The company had an IPO in the $5 range on April 25 of this year, allowing it to introduce a new diagnostic product to the market. The stock hasn't been anywhere near those prices since.

John Mumford, president and CEO of the company, said in September, "We were pleased to have generated the first sales of our (products) ... Looking ahead, we are confident revenues from these new products will increase significantly over the long term."

But that wasn't to be. A recent announcement says Medicare is restricting reimbursement to doctors for nerve-conduction testing. That means reduced billing by doctors who might have used XLTEK's equipment for diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome.

As a result, the company has laid off some of its employees and expects to incur a one-time charge of about $1.1 million, largely due to severance and contract termination costs.

(The above is not intended as investment advice to buy or sell any mentioned securities. Investors should do due diligence before investing. Quotes are based on results through Dec. 8.)

(Nicole Strandlund can be reached at nicole@businessedge.ca)