Goodbye summer

It was a good summer, but damn short. I don’t know where the whole thing went so fast, but I sure do wish I could have hit a pause button there somewhere. While the summer was short, it was productive. I got most of the house painted and new blinds installed. Don looked for and found a new job. My son grew at least an inch, and learned how to play baseball and soccer. And we were lucky enough to have visits from family back home, my parents (not one, but two visits with my mom!), an uncle and aunt and a side order of cousins. We also managed a short, but wonderful trip to Niagara Falls where I learned that my little boy loves thrill rides and room service. Little man after my own heart.

Now, back at work and in the grove, I am looking at how fast our days are passing. My son had his 5th birthday last week- how the hell did that happen? Wasn’t he just learning to walk yesterday? He just started hockey this weekend past and gymnastics starts up on Friday.

Don is back into Jujitsu, and I am contemplating starting up Yoga in the Fall. I am desperately trying to get rid of this damn Plantar Fasciitis so I can get back to jogging. Heck, at this point I would be happy to stand or walk for longer periods of time without wanting to chew my own foot off.

I had to say goodbye to a childhood friend this month, and I think that is playing with my mind some. Toying with my perception of time. I was helpless to do anything useful when he went missing- and I could not be there to say goodbye when he was found. It all hurt rather sharply.

The speed of life of late has left me feeling unsettled and nervous.

I sometimes feel like the proverbial hamster in a wheel, running and running, going over the same old track day after day, without the benefit of the calorie burn.

I have to work on finding that pause button. Until I find it, all I can do is appreciate the time that I have.

And I do.

Rex Murphy pays tribute to Jack Layton

Well said Rex.

Well said.

Zombie Invasion

The world is dealing with some wild, dangerous weather. Japan is still struggling with the aftermath of a devastating tsunami and recent earthquakes. Wildfires and flooding plague wide swaths of the US and Canada and Australia.

In Newfoundland?

A Zombie invasion.

According to CBC commuters were alerted via electronic signs of the coming invasion this morning.





No word yet on casualties.

A Game of Thrones

Years ago Don and I wondered into a store in downtown Toronto called Bakka Booksand fell in love with the little bookstore. It focused mainly on science fiction and fantasy novels and featured write ups on a variety of different novels that the owners, employees and patrons favored. We really enjoyed reading the reviews and picked up some really great reads because of them. It became a monthly ritual to drop into Bakka and see what was new.

Don, the lucky bastard, went to Bakka one afternoon without me. I am not sure why we weren’t together but I missed out. Big time.

He walked in on a book signing. It was quiet, but a few people were gathered around a desk at the back arguing with a man about putting the books one the small screen. One kid was even offering screen play suggestions. Don looked at the books stacked to the side of the desk, and selected one: A Game of Thrones. He read a few pages and was hooked.

After purchasing the novel he brought it over to the author, George RR Martin, and asked him to sign it. Not having read the novels, or knowing much about the series, he was at a loss for words when Martin asked him what he wanted on the book. Martin took the book and scrawled across the page: “Don, Keep your sword sharp!” and then signed his name.

Days later Don began cursing himself at fairly regular intervals. “I cannot %^$#ing believe I met the guy who wrote this book! I had the chance to ask him a ton of questions and I could not because I had not read it yet.”

We both blazed through the novel, and read all the books that followed it in the Song of Ice and Fire series. We have been waiting for the latest in the series, A Dance of Dragons, for years. (YEARS MARTIN DAMN YOU! YEARS!)

And now the series is on television, and it is awesome. Unfortunately, Don’s self flagellation has once again become a problem: as soon as the end credits roll he once again starts in on the “I cannot %^$#ing believe I met the guy who wrote this book and I had nothing significant to say to him!”

If you haven’t been watching the series on HBO, don’t start now. Go get the book, read it, thank me profusely for the suggestion and then watch the series. It is a fantastic world that Martin has created- but it is the characters that really make the novel sing. These are people you root for, mourn, love and hate. It also the characters that make the book better than the television series- and that is to be expected I think. You get so much more about who they are, what they are thinking and how they plan to act.

The series is exceptionally well done though, I thought it would be impossible to bring this particular work to the screen but they have managed nicely. We look forward to it each week- although I could seriously do without Don’s griping at the end. Come on Don, it has been about 8 years since you lost your only opportunity to speak with the author of one of your most favourite books in the world.

Let it go.

Dammit it Jim, You're a Doctor!

Captain Kirk beamed down to earth yesterday to get an honorary doctorate from http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifMcGill University. At spring convocation Thursday Shatner joked:

"Don't be afraid of making an ass of yourself," he said. "I do it all the time and look what I got."

I want to go home

How could you not love the Rock?

It is election season.

So get your ass off the couch and vote!

News Junkie No More

I try to stay informed.

Everyday I read the important bits from a variety of online newspapers. I listen to the radio news casts, and I also watch a variety of news stations and every night, it was our habit, my husband and I, to watch the National together before bed.

Not so much these days.

I have had to cut back on the television news in recent weeks. The disaster porn was just getting to be too much. Some stations are worse than others to be sure, but they all gleefully wallow in the misery. The misery that hasn’t really changed much since their last “BREAKING NEWS” update on the topic…an update on the update they pronounced ten short minutes ago.

So I gave it up for a bit.

My husband has kept to his news watching habits though, especially the National at 10:00 pm. While he is glued to the set I am puttering around getting things ready for the next day, or working on the computer.

I think he might be missing me a little because he seems somehow compelled to fill me in a variety of details while I am most doggedly doing something, anything, else. I could be cleaning out the fridge and hear him call out some random headline from the living room:

“They said the radiation not be as bad as they thought it was. Looks like a mistake”

“Some house exploded in Woodbridge!”

“Looks like the radiation is worse than they thought it was. It is in the groundwater”

And last night:

“Apparently there seems to be a trend in Nursing Homes now where seniors are beating each other up”

To which I replied. “Now there is something to look forward to”

I guess I should head back to the gym.

Tonight when the National comes on, I am going to bed.

We Have Come a Long Way Baby

But have we come far enough?

Today is International Woman's Day, and yes, we have many things to celebrate and be grateful for but it is clear there is still a great deal of work to be done.

Women in Canada struggle with our lack of parliamentary representation and resent that our average wage is less than that of our male counterparts. We are more likely to live in poverty and become the victims of violent crime than men. However, we have recourse in many cases to try and address these issues- all the women who struggled before us have given us a voice.

We forget that far too many women in this world do not have a voice at all. Too many women on our planet live in a society where rape is a weapon of social control, where women struggle for reproductive rights and have limited access to education (if at all), where women continually suffer at the hands of men, in the name of religion and politics.


James Bond (Daniel Craig), traditionally the very example of a character who uses and objectifies women to further his own needs, takes a turn at highlighting many of the issues women struggle with daily- not just in the developing world- but everywhere.

The Force Still Moves Me.

I was only around four years old when Star Wars a New Hope opened in theaters- and I was immediately hooked. Not just on the Star Wars franchise- but anything space, science fiction or fantasy related. Cripes, I remember having an unhealthy fascination with Boney M's Night Flight to Venus just because my mom told me they were all astronauts. She flashed the cover of the album just to prove it. I swear I never would have listened to that crap otherwise...honest.

When the disco glow of Boney M grew dim, my Aunt Catherine, desperate to hear something, anything, else introduced me to the Carpenters- who covered the old Klaatu song "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (the recognized Anthem of World Contact Day). I played it over and over and over again- it mesmerized me. Before the end of my visit home that summer my Uncle Billy snapped the album in half.

While I was jonesing for the next installment of Star Wars I was taken in by its more cerebral cousin: Star Trek. The reruns used to play at suppertime everyday on CBC- and I never missed one episode. I even watched Spock's Brain.

Twice.

Now that is devotion.

Most of my favourite books, music and toys had a space theme- with the only notable exception being all things Tolkien. All my stories and games I created in my head were set in the distant future where everyone knew how to fly, technology was a saviour and women could kick some serious ass. Especially the green women.

It appears I am not alone.

George Lucas created a winning formula: the ultimate quest with heroic and compelling characters who millions of people grew up with, rooted for and loved. Lucas took us on an intergalactic joy ride for those first few magical years and then brutally; without compassion or finesse, unleashed the prequels to the original series upon his unsuspecting fans- ramming the entire mythology down the crapper of popular culture. He didn't even bother to flush.

And yet, the magic of the original series still has power. It still speaks to millions of little boys and girls who tinker with Star Wars figurines long after bed time- hiding under the sheets with a flashlight and a makeshift rebel base made of stuffed animals and books. There, locked in a noble battle for the safety of the universe, they lovingly create their own star wars until sleep overtakes them.

And all those kids, myself included, who so loved the series as children hold a place in their hearts for it still. That is why Williams Sonoma can sell a mock up of the original lunch box, or ThinkGeek can hook you up with a Tauntaun Sleeping bag (it was on my wish list this year, but Santa didn't figure it was worth 100 bucks). We have also introduced the magic to our kids. Somehow, in this age of ADHD they don't seem to find Jar-Jar Binks as offensive as their adult counterparts. Star Wars, despite George Lucas' recent fumblings, remains popular; from the Clone Wars cartoons to the Star Wars Lego products it still speaks directly to our hearts.

This would explain why the recent explosion of genuine affection for the recent Volkswagen commercial. How many millions of parents have a little guy or gal at home exactly like this? How many of us could put ourselves in this pint size version of Darth Vader's shoes? A lovely little take on the magic of childhood, and the power of creative parenting.

For the two of you who missed it:

As with all good things on the Internet- there is a parody to be found as well. This time with Toyota at the wheel. Perversely enough, I believe I found this one even funnier then its forerunner. It has quite a different take on children today and creative parenting... and car companies?

May the Force be with you.

Always

Stream of Consciousness

“Dadda has icicles on his car and when you eat them they go down in your belly. Dadda is a transformer and he gets the bad guys with his sword and the bad guys get on the fire truck and they go to his house and they break the windows and then I smack them with the light saber and they fall on the ground. Don’t clip my toes. I will put my toes under my bum so you can’t clip them. Ok. Not today. Tomorrow. Look at the woobbies on my toes Momma. They are silly. Get them off Momma. Don’t clip my toes. My red car is fast. It wins. The blue car is fast too but it doesn’t win. Dadda plays with the blue car. Sometimes when it snows outside you can make a snowball but you can’t throw it or you will go to the office. Noah was singing “Who let the dogs out..who who who who”. I like that song. And you dance like this .... put your bum out like this.

Momma, I have to go poo!”

By Wilson
Age 4

Life in a Day

One of the most talked about movies at Sundance this year was Life in a Day. Dubbed an experiment in citizen film making, this documentary makes use of YouTube videos shared by thousands of people across the globe- sharing the silly, mundane, disturbing, poignant and achingly sad moments in brief snatches of time. The aim is to show the shared experience that is our lives in one single day (July 24, 2010).


The result can be seen tonight at 8 p.m., when Life in a Day is screened live on YouTube from its Sundance world premiere. Ridley Scott, and Kevin Macdonald direct.

I envy her the energy!

Holy crap! Is this young woman from Kilbride, Newfoundland happy to be on the Ellen show or what? She is the second contestant. Trust me, you can't miss her!

Yer Spring

I could use some Spring right now...until then, Hey Rosetta will do.


Yes it will do nicely.

Busy Bee

I guess it is a little late to wish you all a Happy New Year as we are now at the end of the first week of January. However, I am going to do it anyway- I do hope this is a good year for everyone.

I have been far too busy the past little while. I don’t know what I was thinking back in September when I signed up for assorted committees (Grad, SAT, and the PRO), an online course, Skills Canada, and more recently to create a pilot course for the Adobe Creative Suite 5 package our board is considering buying. Seriously, what was I thinking? I have a family I need to fit in there somewhere!

I installed CS5 last night- we had to buy a new computer to load and run the sucker because this puppy is huge. When it finally loaded, I had a quick look-see and immediately started to panic. It is so much different than I am used to. The last version of Flash I worked with was Flash MX…same with Fireworks. It doesn’t even look like the same product. What is the difference between a Page and a State? Photoshop and Illustrator were not as terrifyingly different, but there is a still lot to learn. I broke out into a sweat just looking at the new tools and panel arrangement. I just used the plain old CS versions of those packages before and then only to manipulate a photo or create a graphic for a website created in notepad, or on an adventurous day- Dreamweaver- which has also gone nutso (in a good kind of way).

So lots to learn, lots to create, lots to prove, and little little little time to do it.

How is your new year shaping up?