Ontario Trip Re-Cap

A week ago today we returned from seven days spent in Toronto and Niagara Falls.  We had a great time and were glad to come home for a rest.  In Toronto, we spent some of our time visiting with my Aunt L. and seeing the sights.  She lives in an amazing condo high-rise in Etobicoke.  In Niagara Falls, we had a visit with my cousin in their beautiful home in the residential part of the city.  Yes, there is one- you just have to know where to find it.

 

Here are some more highlights.

 

Toronto:

-  Ontario Place.  It was 35 degrees but after a while you don't notice the heat that much as there's so much to do, especially for kids.

-  The Toronto Zoo.  Tigers, giraffes, and elephants, Oh My!  The water park is really cool as well.

-  The Ontario Science Centre.  It holds up.  I wasn't much older than Action Girl (age 6.5) when I first went there.

-  The CN Tower.  A much bigger hit with the kids than I'd expected.

-  The Eaton Centre.  When you have really well-behaved kids, shopping is not too much of a problem.

-  Hanging out around the lake on really great walking trails.

-  Pool time.

-  More authentic Chinese food that we get at home.  Mmmmm...  General Tao is better for chicken than Col. Saunders (that's whey he out-ranks him, too).

 

Niagara Falls:

-  The new ferris wheel close to the falls.  My cousin, B. took us- very cool and kid-friendly.

-  Outlet Mall time.  I am beginning to realize that the 3-to-1 gender imbalance in our family will contribute to this being a regular feature of future vacations.

-  Marine Land.  Ethical issues about marine mammal domestification aside, what a great place.  Definitely the best kids' rides we have ever seen/enjoyed.

 

Some Challenges:

-  We're used to it, but traveling with small kids can be a challenge.  You need to slow down and be more flexible.  We're used to it but still working on it.

-  I am so far unable to plan properly to get to the airport, any airport at the time we should be there.  I have yet to cause my family to miss a flight, though.  I need to work on this.

 

A good time was had by all.

 

Pictures to follow!

B.

 

(Please excuse the disclaimer tag on the bottom of the message- I am writing this on my break at work.)

Happy Anniversary to Us

 Before I start a post about our trip to Toronto, I wanted to make a post about today’s significance.  It was 10 years ago today that we went and got married.  Ten wonderful years have flown by, sometimes even quickly flown by.

 

It’s been quite a journey and promises to go a whole lot further.  We even managed to pick up a couple of passengers along the way.   Thank you, my love, for such a great life together!

 

B.

Firefox Pitch!

Well, this may not be the most literate post I've ever made, but I have exciting news: the latest version of the Firefox browser (2.0.0.4) includes a built-in spell checker!



My posts will no longer be the mess that they have been in the past! Consider downloading it today.



http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/



B.

Soccer Night #7: Lions and Tigers and Goals, Oh My... (July 17, 2007)

Wow- that's all I have to say- wow...  Two saves, two balls that got past her in the net, and two goals!

 

What a great night...  My parents were able to come and watch Action Girl (age 6) play AND SCORE.  Did I mention the goals?  It was also a nice place for them to hang out with Super Girl (age 3.5).  At one point, I had this "snapshot" of what Under Six Soccer can be all about.  Late in the game, a younger (5?) player from Action Girl's team was lining up to take a shot on the other team's net.  He almost scored- the most interesting part was that he did this with a large green leaf in his hand that he had obviously just picked up and wanted to keep (and probably take home).  A-Girl is her team's usual starting goalie (most games)- when she does, she stays in for 10-20 minutes of the 30 minute game.

 

Most importantly, she's enjoying herself and feels she is a part of her team.   One difference I've noticed from last year is that she is much more supportive of her team mates' play.  To illustrate: last year if she was in the net for practice and one her  team mates scored, she could be frustrated that she hadn't stopped the shot.  This year, she says things like "way to go" or "great goal" to them.

 

Also, our neighbour "A." had a great night, staying up with his older team mates and learning even more about the game.

 

Pictures to follow,

B.

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My White Stripes Review

 Last Wednesday night was all stripy and white... We went to see the
White Stripes at the Civic Centre- I have to admit that never in my
wildest draems did I imagine that they would play HERE. It was a great
show and great evening, with a band I both love and respect as artists.

This was an amazing concert. Like perhaps no other rock act, their
actual music and musical style/perspective translate beautifully to a
live venue.
Also part of the experience for me were good seats (in section 8E), and
good company. It was an almost perfect night with a good meal
beforehand.

Dan Zidan was the opening act. I have a theory about opening acts.
Through it, I think I can picture what a contract for an opening act
must look like. It probably contains sections like "ways in the which
the opening act can only use the crappy coloured lights, " "ways in
which the sound board tech can/must throw the muddled sound switch," and
"don't sing as clearly as the main act." I'd like see Dan Zidan in a
solo show. Then I'll decide whether or not I like him/them.

Back to the Stripes... There's something about Jack and Meg that make
them more real in person...
Throughout the show, Jack's vocals were very strong. Meg's drumming and
signing (a little back-up and one song) were strong, as expected.

Here are some thoughts on specific songs:
- The opening of Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground then Icky Thump was
unbelievably strong and both were finished before Jack opened his mouth
to talk to the crowd.
- Jolene (actually a Dolly Parton song), is more pleading live, even
desperate live. I'm no longer put off by the fact that Jack is singing
the part of a jilted wife.
- Wild Orchid was sizzling- better than the recorded track.
- Cold, Cold Night sung by Meg. Wow... Far better live. Wow...
- Seven Nation Army- Jack did the bass line on his guitar- how? That
song is the masterpiece live that it is pre-recorded.
- Missing tracks: (that I would have liked to hear) Hardest Button to
Button, Little Ghost, and My Doorbell. I AM NOT COMPLAINING! The set
list was amazing.
- They ended the show with De Ballad of the Boll Weevil (a Lead Belly
song) with a good amount of crowd singing.

In a White Stripes-ish way there was a good amount of "showman-ship."
Jack's last words were "I thank you and my 'sister' thanks you." Jack's
relationship with Meg is well-known. She is actually the "White." (He
is a Gillis by birth). I'm uncertain about how to feel about Meg's
position with the band, for two reasons: 1) Jack is so dominant within
the band. Meg is indispensable, but Jack is the vocalist, guitar player
(and really the sole instrumentalist aside from the drums) and
spokesperson. 2) They are each other's ex-spouse and their jobs involve
a high degree of intimate collaboration and huge amounts of time spent
together on the road.

Meg's role within the band seems to exist along a continuum from
essential musical collaborator to very junior partner. Perhaps, I'm
being over-sensitive to gender in this case as I am a fan of their music
(and career), nothing more.

A great night with a truly great band. Blues based guitar-drums hard
rock as high art. Yay.

The White Stripes concert July 11-07 Pic 7

DSC02027

Concert review to follow, soon...

B.

The White Stripes concert July 11-07 Pic 6

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The White Stripes concert July 11-07 Pic 5

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The White Stripes concert July 11-07 Pic 4

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The White Stripes concert July 11-07 Pic 3

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The White Stripes concert July 11-07 Pic 2

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The White Stripes concert July 11-07 Pic 1

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Soccer Night #6 July 12-07

Soccer Night #6 July 12-07

The rain held off tonight! She spent most of the game in the net and had a great save, as well as some great compliments from her coach.

B.

Soccer Night #4 July 5-07

Soccer Night #4 July 5-07
Originally uploaded by Binky

Amid the deluge...

B.

Noah's Other Son

Noah's Other Son
Originally uploaded by Binky

Here is the cover of my cousin Brian Brown's new book.

B.

My Cousin Brian's New Book! NOAH’S OTHER SON: Bridging the Gap Between the Bible and the Qur’an

My first cousin, Brian Brown has published a new book.  Brian is my Aunt Margaret's son and has had very successful parallel careers as a United Church Minister and author.  Here's his publisher's description of his new work:

______________________________________________________

 

NOAH'S OTHER SON: Bridging the Gap Between the Bible and the Qur'an
By Brian Arthur Brown / Salman Rushdie contributes to the Foreword
Book launched at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, April 16, 2007
Published simultaneously by T&T Clark (UK) and Continuum Group (USA)
Contact John Mark Boling, Continuum, 212.953.5858   $21.95 US hardcover / 256 pp 

In these troubled times of religious extremism, interfaith relations between Christians, Muslims, and Jews are increasingly important. A minister of the United Church of Canada, ministering in communities where  Christian majorities interface with robust Muslim and Jewish minorities, Brian Arthur Brown began to ask questions after 9/11, and what he found fascinated him.

 

The Qur'an says Jesus was the Messiah, born of the Virgin Mary, rose
on high, and will return prior to Judgement Day? Biblical women had names preserved in the Qur'an?  The coming of Muhammad was prophesied by both Moses and Jesus? Who knew these things?  Then there is the story of Noah's other son, a story not found anywhere in the Bible. 

 

In the Qur'an, Noah is described as a "warner" and his youngest son, Canaan, was among those who failed to heed the warnings in this cautionary tale.  Canaan derides his parents for making an ark and refuses to get on board, even as the rain falls, and he drowns. Brian Arthur Brown uses the story of Noah's Other Son as a parable for our time. Al Gore and Michael Moore are famous warners in the twenty first century.  Will we listen or perish.  This book is itself a warning about internecine strife, particularly among the members of what Brown calls "Abraham's dysfunctional family."

 

Noah's Other Son examines twenty-five familiar figures who play major roles in the Qu'ran and in the Bible, revealing how understanding the characters in these texts can point the present-day Muslim, Jew, and Christian toward a more mature concept of religion. Noah's Other Son also serves as an introduction to the place of the Qur'an in Muslim and world culture, as well as a tool to help equip moderate religious people to deal with extremism wherever it may be found.

 

BRIAN ARTHUR BROWN received theological training at McGill University in Montreal, completed his doctorate at the San Francisco Theological Seminary, and did postdoctoral work at Harvard. He is an established author in the fields of French-English relations and Native-White tensions in Canada, Canada's relationship with the USA and Canada's role in peacekeeping around the world. He and his wife, Jenny, now live in Niagara Falls, Canada, in a rambling old house frequently filled with their children and grandchildren.

______________________________________________________

 

We have a copy - bought it through Indigo.  You should be able to get it through both Indigo and other booksellers.  I'll write more as I start to read it.

 

B.

 

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Soccer Night #5: No Rain, One more goal, One more friend (July 10, 2007)

Last night I stayed home with Super Girl (3) and was happy to help her load the Barbies up in their little jeep (and two in a tractor) for their big trip to the living room/someone's birthday. We had fun.  I'm probably not the best judge of this, but the girls are beginning to build up a good quality Barbie collection.

Meanwhile, Action Girl (6) scored another goal, was not rained out, and the little boy next door ("A.")  joined her team (The Eagles).  Every week, Action Girl can get her shin pads on quicker and quicker.  We sometimes play a little game where after she gets them on, I (gently) kick her in the shins to make sure they're working.

 

Onward to soccer glory!

 

B.

 

 

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Soccer Night #4: At least no one drowned-ed *CORRECTION*

It has been respectfully pointed out to me that I MAY have mis-outed the number of ears that 4 people would have , in the preceding post. Conventionally, four people (like our family) would have EIGHT ears, not 16. I maintain that I was counting both inner and outer ears. However in the interest of clarity, I correct the number of ears mentioned in the preceding post.

Ears to you all,

B.

Soccer Night #4: At least no one drowned-ed

Last Thursday was a soccer night like no other.  It had been cold and threatening to rain/pour all day.  We ate supper with 16 ears glued to the notices on the radio station.  Funnily, while switching rooms/radios we had missed the first part of an announcement, only to hear "[click]... under 6 and under 8 soccer canceled for this evening."  What to do?  Was this (possibly wise) announcement for our club, or another club?  Should we just call it a night on our own?  What would responsible, mature parents do?  Who are these parents and how do we reach them?

 

I called the club president and asked.  [Pause for suspense...]  She said that yes, we were on for tonight.  From the nature of her response, I may have NOT been her first such call of the evening.  The day before, I had promised Super Girls (Age 3), that she could go to watch her sister for night #4.  In expectation that we might freeze to death or drown, Super Mom did not go in order to keep our family history and traditions alive, in our memory.

 

It was drizzling as we arrived at the field at 6:30.  The coaches looked uncertain.  Soon they (and we) looked wet, instead of uncertain.  Action Girl (age 6) kept her jacket on for the entire game as did most of her team.  The cold was worse than the rain.  For a good part of the night, I had Super Girl on a lawn chair with a hat and jacket on AND a towel over her head (and most of the rest of her).  Even I wore a jacket (and shivered).

 

At 7pm, the game itself started.  At 7:10 the coaches called the game.  The main reason for this was not the rain or the cold, but the slippery field.  Even in that short time, Action Girl scored another goal!  We went victoriously home in search of dry towels.  By the end it was raining so hard that the water on my glasses was making it hard to see.

 

I have a big soft spot in my heart for a sport that stresses that rain and extreme cold shall not keep small children from having fun and learning the value of team.  The possible lightening may be another matter, but sport shall prevail!

 

We need a team song....

 

B.

 

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Second Night of Soccer Pic 2

June 28 Action Girl Soccer
Originally uploaded by Binky

Second Night of Soccer Pic 1

June 28 Action Girl Soccer
Originally uploaded by Binky

As promised, a picture from the second night of the sesaon.

B.

Night Three of Soccer

Another goal last night! I took a night off to stay home with Super
Girl who was under the weather. Apparently. said goal was in some kind
of exhibition game with the coaches. A goal against an adult should
count double!

I have a picture from last week that I'll try to post tonight.

B.

Canada Day Weekend-ing

Before we had kids, Canada day was a holiday when we had friends over and spent that day with them. Sometimes, I miss that tradition and hope to get back to it, in time. That said, we had a wonderful weekend with (and without) the kids. We all worked/went to daycare on Friday. Friday night we went to Super Mom's cousin's house (M. and D.) to meet a cousin who was "home" from Alberta. The four of us had a great time. "M." lives in a beautiful, large old farm house. The girls spent some of the time in their bedroom watching TV. Because they have an en-suite washroom, the girls compared the room and the house to a hotel (and a nice one at that).

On Saturday, we spent the morning around home then took the girls to my folks for an overnight visit. My dad's sister is visiting and they were able to spend some special time with her as well. Amid the dark clouds that only rained a bit, we went out to dinner with some friends (I surprised Super Mom). Sunday we picked the kids up and had a visit with my folks and with Super Mom's folks, out on the farm. We went home for supper intending to head back in town for the fireworks. The girls made other plans. After a couple of exciting nights, they were TIRED! Super Girl (3) fell asleep in the car (at about 5:15PM) and was down for the night! Action Girl (6) was tired but at least managed to have supper. No fireworks for us, this year (but that's fine).

Yesterday was a quiet day at home. This was just as well as Super Girl was under the weather. Today is the first day at home for S-Mom and the girls and will hopefully be a good one for recovery.

B.
[Please excuse the tag here, but I am writing this on my coffee break at work.]

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First Night of Soccer!

First Night of Soccer!
Originally uploaded by Binky

June 26, 2007

One goooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal.

One assist.

One happy girl.

B.

What am I listening to now? An audiobook review.

Q:  What am I listening to now?

A:  The audio book version of IBM and the Holocaust  by Edwin Black (2001)

 

Each summer, I try to check out some decent non-fiction audio books while I cut the grass or in the car.  I did not imagine this title would be a light read and was prepared for its dark tone.  Aside from the movie Life is Beautiful (which admittedly made me uncomfortable on some level) its simply impossible to, I think, to have anything of substance about the Jewish Holocaust that is an easy read.  Humanity at its worst does not make for happy reading.

 

That caveat aside, I've been very pleased and impressed with this audio book.  The story of the ways in which IBM punch card technology was used by Nazi Germany with the support of IBM is sobering and fascinating.  Punch cards are the analogue pre-cursor to the computer mainframe data storage.   It sounds quaint, but punch card data brought an ability for governments, militaries, and industry to maintain, manipulate, sort, analyze, and manage records and data.  It was a world-wide technology that became essential by the inter-war years.  The Nazis were among the first people to utilize information technology in such a widespread and co-ordinated way. 

 

Basically, Black's main points are that:

1)  IBM technology was essential for the orderly and effective pursuit of the extermination of European Jews, from census work identify jews to shipping inmates to the death camps,

2)  IBM knew of Nazi anti-Semitism, militarism and this didn't stop them from using their German subsidiary to make obscene amounts of money, and

3)  Furthermore IBM, put extensive effort into covering up this involvement including the ways in which they knew just how indispensable they had been to the Nazi war effort and the SS's work to exterminate Jews and  other groups.

 

Given how "heavy" this material is, I'm impressed that work itself is highly entertaining and even compelling.  The author himself is the reader and I think this may be tied to his passion for the subject.  At first, I wasn't sure what to think of his reading (he has a slight lisp, as do I) but I now think that an actor's reading would have reduced its impact. 

 

"The dawn of the information age began at the sunset of human decency."

IBM and the Holocaust by Edwin Black

 

Highly recommended (and available at the library),

 

B.

 

 

The Strangest/Best Things Found While Spring Cleaning Our Basement

-  Two and a half Duran Duran cassettes (if you have to ask who they were...please don't),

-  A pirate hook,

-  Old pictures of a significant proportion of the people who might be reading this note,

-  A Diaper Genie (empty and broken),

-  1980s pattern Canadian military web gear,

-  Far more used painting supplies than we should have,

-  A mix tape that Steve Ellis made us both for Christmas in 1995,

-  Bungee chords (man, I love those things),

-  A box of out-dated Air Cadet recruiting brochures,

-  Cardboard boxes, many, many cardboard boxes,

-  More cardboard boxes,

-  A key to my 1993 Geo Metro (yes, I no longer have that car and we suspect it has been scrapped),

-  My pellet gun (a rifle, safely stored- I knew exactly where it was just hadn't looked at it for a loooong while) 

-  A 1971 era bottle warmer that plugs into a car cigarette lighter,

and much much more...

 

B.

 

 

Yes, I'm still out here....

Long time no post... If you're reading this you haven't totally given up on me. Please check back by Wednesday night for some actual new posts!!!

Super Girl Quote About Pirates

On Saturday, Super Girl asked one of her excellent questions.

 

"Why did God make pirates?  They kidnap people."

 

Yaarrr!  What was the answer?  I tried to go into a three year old explanation of free will and how some people choose to be pirates.  I'm not sure she "got" it- I'm not sure that I "get" it.  It seemed to make some difference to her that the actually WAS an explanation. 

 

She is on a field trip to the grocery store this morning, for the second Monday in a row.  Today their task is to pick out and buy vegetables for the rest of the daycare.  Her favorite part is the ride on the city bus.  She can name which of the busses (by number) on which they traveled.

 

B.

 

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Lost: "Greatest Hits" May 16-07

Over three seasons, I've found it difficult to decide how I feel about Charlie's character. In the first season, there was a sense that he was the hapless junkie, whose job description included (with Hurley) the show's only levity. The way his character developed over the second and first half of the third season his dark turn has lead to me to see him as a real and true villain. The staged attack on Sun and his use of the Locke-Echo conflict for his own purpose have made him truly unlikable. Even his sudden execution of Ethan had a "staged for show" quality to it. Its true that the second half of this season has seen a kinder, warmer Charlie and he and Claire had been growing closer, but he still remained far from my favorite.

Last week he earned my respect and became a moral giant- accepting his fate and his responsibility for those he cares about , "knowing that it most likely meant his death. You could argue - its easy to accept when you know the outcome. Instead, I'd argue the opposite. True courage sometimes knows what it faces.

Anyway, Rose and Bernard are back! Yippee. And, Bernard is a pretty decent shot. Lets see- a relatively minor recurring character is back and has a key role in the combat plan for this week. There may be scheduling difficulties with the actor who plays Bernard and Rose's character could conceivably go on with out him, grieving. I wonder where they're going with Bernard? Is he wearing a red shirt? Bye, Bernard...

Tonight's finale should be top-notch. The show has a lot riding on it. Even though they've been renewed for TWO more (16 episode instead of 22) seasons, the first half of this season was a low point. We're probably safe to expect a really tight, well-written episode.

I can't wait!

B.

Lost: :Man Behind the Curtian - Part II- May 9, 2007

I actually don't know what tonight's episode is called but wanted to send out a message to finish my thoughts on how scared I was by the whole Jacob thing last week.  When I wrote last week about Jacob I hadn't actually re-watched the episode.  On Friday night with G & M's help we re-watched the episode and saw the brief view of Jacob that is shown in a flash in the cabin.  I'm attaching a screen capture.  (It may be a few hours before I can upload it to my blog.)

 

Its been suggested on the Internet that he kind of looks like an older Locke with hair.  There was also a flash of his eye.

 

Creepy!  Can't wait for tonight's episode.

 

 

B.

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Lost: "The Man Behind the Curtain" May 9-07

What the....?   What the heck was that?  My head is spinning....  My brain is confused.

 

Part "Deliverance" part "Poltergeist"...  I really couldn't see this one coming.  No one did.  I enjoyed the Ben back story.  I guess that a combination of forgotten birthdays and blaming your only child for killing his mother can actually lead to "parenticide."

 

Is Ben deranged?  Yes.  How deranged is Ben?  I have no idea.  I guess he was the Benedict Arnold of the Dharma-Others War of 1982?  (Does that time frame work?)  Did the other's cooperate backing in the "real" world take over Dharma Inc. as well?  How do you explain the way that Dharma still makes supplies for the island and can still air drop them to the Island.  Also, they have the resources to have a Dharma-branded line that ranges from Oatmeal to whiskey.

 

Almost every major mystery that's revealed in Lost leads to two things.  1)  Some viewers are happy with the explanation and others are very unhappy.  2)  It ALWAYS leads to further questions.

 

Is Jacob a spirit?  Is "he" a scam?  For anyone who watched Season One of HBO's "Carnivale" the parallels between "management" on Carnivale and Jacob on Lost are strong.  In Carnivale, we're given reason to think that management doesn't exist and is a figment of Sampson's imagination, used to keep the carnival folk (I'm trying hard not to write "carnies") in line.  In the end he does exist and then dies.  Does that sound familiar?

 

More to follow...

 

B.

 

 

 

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Lost: "The Brig" May 2, 2007

Okay...  So I've been trying to figure out WHY it is that it bothered me so much that Sawyer killed Locke's father/Cooper/the "real" Sawyer last week.  I liked the episode but really wished he hadn't killed him.  It will be one of the defining moments of the whole show and is one of the few times (this season?) that we've seen any season one mysteries solved. 

 

Not to get all "social-worky" here but its a "fact" that Sawyer's redemption and growth had been the most dramatic or at least he had come from the lowest point. 

 

Incidentally, the title of Jay and Jacks's Monday podcast this week is "Don't Rip Sawyer's Letter."  Sage advice for all of us...

 

Questions I'd like to see answered about Lost before the end of the season:

 

1)  What is this ancient place where the others are moving?  I want details!

 

2)  Again, who is Jacob??

 

3)  Is medical experimentation (with the Island's properties) the main reason for the others?  Or are they there to guard the Island?

 

4)  Will Mike H. learn the difference between "Reply to Sender" and "Reply All?"  (An in-joke for C&FS folks).

 

5)  Will Lost's ratings increase?

 

6)  Is the submarine just a sham or is it really how people get to the Island?

 

Sorry this is so short- more after tomorrow's episode.

 

B.

Statement of Confidentiality
This message (including attachments) may contain confidential or privileged information intended for a specific individual or organization. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately. If you are not the intended recipient, you are not authorized to use, disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on this email, and should promptly delete this email from your entire computer system.

Déclaration de confidentialité
Le présent message (y compris les annexes) peut contenir des renseignements confidentiels ayant pour objet une personne ou un organisme particulier. Si vous avez reçu la présente communication par erreur, veuillez en informer l'expéditeur immédiatement. Si vous n'êtes pas le destinataire prévu, vous n'avez pas le droit d'utiliser, divulguer, distribuer, copier ou imprimer ce courriel ou encore de vous en servir, et vous devriez l'effacer complètement de votre système informatique.

Bikin' and Trikin' Away April 2007

DSC01517 edited
Originally uploaded by Binky

Action Girl is actually wearing a polyester jacket that I had when I was her age. Its going to be a wonderful summer.

B.

Star Wars 30th Anniversary Celebrations!

Action Girl's Millenium Faclon 2
Originally uploaded by Binky

Both of our girls celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars (A New Hope) on Sunday. Action Girl (age 6) hung in through the whole thing and enjoyed it. Super Girl (age 3) watched more than half. They had been looking forward to seeing it for days. It was really special and brought back of lot of memories. Here are some thoughts:

1) The movie stands up as a bit of bold movie-making.
2) The dialogue for the first half of the movie is really "hokey" - matches the acting.
3) The toughest character in the whole thing is Leia. Every time they are in a fight with her and she has a blaster, she shoots a storm trooper with her first shot EVERY TIME. Han, Luke, and Co. blast away and seldom hit anything.

I have a memory of the summer of 1977. My best friend Michael has just seen Star Wars with his family and tells me some of the plot while we're on my swing set.

We had a great time! Happy birthday, old friend...

B.

Its hard to be a Spammer

I have had several jobs that I have found to be quite challenging, my
present job included. I think its important to be challenged as a way
to ensure that you're growing and changing.

HOWEVER, I am very, very glad I don't (yet?) face the challenges
inherent in being a spammer. I received the following spam e-mail
today:
__________________________
>>> "Constance Auker" <***********.hu> 4/28/2007 5:38 PM >>>
Hello my friend!

I am ready to kill myself and eat my dog, if medicine prices here (<A
href=") are bad.
Look, the site and call me 1-800 if its wrong..
My dog and I are still alive :)
__________________________

Can you imagine what kind of pressure "Constance" from Hungary must be
under if she is:
1) calling random strangers her friend,
2) prepared to kill herself if she isn't offering the cheapest
knock-off drugs of questionable manufacture on the Internet,
3) prepared to eat her dog if she isn't offering the cheapest
knock-off drugs of questionable manufacture on the Internet, and
4) willing to somehow accomplish 1) and 2) in that order.

Impressive.

B.

 Well, that does it- I now have a plan “B”, somewhere to go, a back-up if you will-

Earth-like planet discovered outside solar system

ANNE MCILROY

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

April 24, 2007 at 5:53 PM EDT

A team of European astronomers has found a planet outside our solar system that is the most Earth-like ever discovered. Those who spotted it say it could be covered in water, a necessary ingredient for life.

The planet, detected using a telescope in Chile, has a mass about five times that of the Earth. It is 14 times closer to its star than the Earth is to the sun. But that star — Gliese 581 — is what is known as a red dwarf, and is smaller, colder and 50 times fainter than our sun.

This means the planet appears to lie in what astronomers call the Goldilocks zone — not too hot, not too cold for life that depends on water, rather than ice…

Read more here

G’night folks.  Now that we all have somewhere else to go when we’re done destroying this planet, the last one leaving can shut off the lights.

B.

Lost: "D.O.C." April 25-07 ["Date of Conception"]

The first thing I did this morning was e-mail some fellow lost fans with this simple question: Does Sun know that Jae is dead?
If she does, then the flavor of that whole debate might have changed. In all likelihood, I don't think she does know. I really, really liked the two scenes with Jin's father and Sun. Very touching and balanced/nuanced...

Juliette: So this is how Juliette will redeem herself. She may still die, but her redemption will lie in helping the baby Kwon be born. Every main character of that whole show is making up for their wrongs- as Juliette is becoming a "fusie" she too now needs to make amends. Mikhail is alive? Dude, he had blood coming out his ears... Hmmm...

So, the parachute woman dropped the bigger bombshell that Jin being the father. If you haven't seen it yet, STOP READING. I taped last night and will lend it to you...

 

 

"No survivors" from Flight 815?" Uh oh....

Here comes the renewal of the "they're in purgatory" theories. So, either the plane crashed and killed them all or there was some kind of cover-up. I want to clearly side with the cover-up. It's huge and very expensive, but still a cover-up. By the way, apparently her name is "Naomi." In the Old Testament, Naomi was trying to convince people to return (from exile) to the land of Judah. Hmmm....
Q.: Should Hurley, and co. tell the other survivors what she said about everyone dying in the crash?

B.

 

Lost: "Catch 22" April 18-07

Not much time for an update this week as I'm on an abbreviated lunch here at work, but here goes:

 

1)  "Catch 22" was fantastic in my opinion.  The whole moral dilemma faced by Desmond of sacrificing Charlie to try to rescue the person who he though would be Penny was great.

 

2)  Good Desmond back story, but there's still so much missing...  Like, why did he join the army?  What is he court-martialled?  Does he meet Sayid in Iraq?  (I would imagine that would too tempting a possibility for the writers to pass on...)

 

3)  Charlie is going to die soon.

 

4)  The Kate/Jack/Sawyer fault lines are building for the season finale.  The writers have put so much into that triangle that they can't afford to totally back off on it.

 

5)  Jin is capable of killing Charlie and possibly Sawyer but I don't think he will.  Eventually, he will find out about Charlie's staged attack on Sun, but he wouldn't kill Sawyer.  Might make life difficult for him, but not kill him...

 

6)  Tonight's episode sound's great.  Its called "D.O.C." ("Date of Conception" and promises to answer the question of paternity for Sun's baby.  I'm going to predict that the baby is Jae's (the guy that suicided) but that she never tells Jin.  After tonight, there are 3 more episodes, followed by the two-hour season finale.  The finale is supposed be "Jack-centric."

 

Happy watching!

 

B.

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Déclaration de confidentialité
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Hey! Get Back in Here!!

Image016.jpg
Originally uploaded by Binky

She did eventually come back in, but not before she was ready. Last night she was quite interested in listening to the coyotes howl, but didn't get out to go "play" with them.

We explained that they were "bad puppies" but I'm honestly not sure if we got through to her.

B.

It Must Be Spring If...

Image008.jpg
Originally uploaded by Binky

Oh no...
B.

Snow Drift Against Our Back Door, Easter Sunday 2007

Snow Drift Against Our Back Door, Easter Sunday 2007
Originally uploaded by Binky

Mitsu, helping hunt for Easter Eggs

Mitsu, helping hunt for Easter Eggs
Originally uploaded by Binky

Rock Climbing Wall - March Break 2007

Rock Climbing Wall - March Break 2007
Originally uploaded by Binky

One may be ahead, but they're definitely climbing together.

B.

Internet, Sminternet...

Our family has been granted a wonderful and prestigious honor.  Although the selection process for this great blessing remains a mystery to us, we are steadfast in our knowledge that we have in fact been selected.  Some things you're that picked for involve a letter or phone call, maybe a visit.  Other, deeper, truly profound and elemental selections are such that you can just feel them in the marrow of your bones.  This is truly one of the later.

 

WE HAVE BEEN PICKED AS ONE OF THE LAST FAMILIES ON THE PLANET TO ONLY HAVE ACCESS TO DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS.  I am not pleased, impressed, or happy. 

 

I bought a wireless modem for Rogers Portable Internet last night and have been unable to get a signal worth using.  This was basically our last hope.  And, I might add, if it worked in our home probably a pretty decent service.  Neither local telephone or cable companies will admit to any plans to bring service to our area and I had another wireless company out to our house last year- they also could get no signal.  Action Girl (age 6) now regularly asks when we will have high speed internet.  She cannot play with her Webkinz at home (that ought to tug on a few hear strings).

 

Th only available options are very expensive services with hundreds of dollars of installation fees and multi-year commitments at rates we can't afford for sub-standard service.

 

The fact that we are now able to get electricity, cable TV, and postal delivery may have been misleading...

 

B.

 

 

/HTML>

Lost: "One of Us" April 11, 2007

First a plug for my main source of Lost thought and reflection:  Its Jay and Jack's Lost Podcast.  You can find it at

http://jayandjack.com or subscribe through iTunes.  If you have bandwidth restrictions like me, iTunes is a better option because you can download it a little at a time and even subscribe to the "Classic MP3" format which is a smaller file than the standard "AAC" format in iTunes (which does, admittedly, include cool extras like weblinks and pictures which will play on a colour iPod).

 

What a fun episode.  I actually was beginning to think that Juliette was maybe not a liar...  almost.  Now we know better than to trust an "other."  Here's what else I'm thinking:

 

1)  The tension over Juliette's presence in the "Fusies" camp will likely be sustained for the rest of the season.

 

2)  I'm going to agree with Podcast Jack (see above) that Jack will end up killing Juliette.  I was thinking about it before I heard him say it in his podcast, but its nice to know that I'm not alone.  There is another possibility that in the end she will betray and redeem herself to the Fusies just as they are finding out she remains an other.

 

3)  The basic purpose of the others and probably the Dharma Initiative before them has to do with the unique properties of the island.  Is the Dharma Initiative really "dead"?  Mikhail sort of implied that, but lets remember that before the hatch imploded, they were able to trigger the parachute drop of food.  That pretty clearly shows that in the outside world, Dharma is still active and has resources.  One direction to go with this is the idea that the others, lets call them the "Un-Seattle Sub People" took over the imitative either willingly or not.  Ben is in his early 40s- so the others have been there that long...?  Or are his roots in Dharma?

 

4)  Whatever the island is able to do, its reasonable to think that some people have known about the island and its mysterious properties for some time.  Presumably, there was at some point a huge statue attached to the four-toed foot.  If its hundreds (or more) years old, that implies an ancient settlement of great power.  Atlantis anyone?

 

5)  Sun and Jin's baby:  going to be a big part of the plot, probably for the rest of the series!

 

B.

 

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This message (including attachments) may contain confidential or privileged information intended for a specific individual or organization. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately. If you are not the intended recipient, you are not authorized to use, disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on this email, and should promptly delete this email from your entire computer system.

Déclaration de confidentialité
Le présent message (y compris les annexes) peut contenir des renseignements confidentiels ayant pour objet une personne ou un organisme particulier. Si vous avez reçu la présente communication par erreur, veuillez en informer l'expéditeur immédiatement. Si vous n'êtes pas le destinataire prévu, vous n'avez pas le droit d'utiliser, divulguer, distribuer, copier ou imprimer ce courriel ou encore de vous en servir, et vous devriez l'effacer complètement de votre système informatique.

She's Not Heavy, She's Super Girl.

DSC01428 edited
Originally uploaded by Binky

(Easter Monday) Action Girl (6) pulling Super Girl (3). Hey, what else are you going to do with all that snow?

B.

Playin' with Super Girl (Easter Sunday)

DSC01399
Originally uploaded by Binky

Technically, we were playing with the Barbies at the time... I simply thought that Skinny the Lion and Little Smedley the Giraffe could also drive the Barbie Jeep. Apparently, I was right!

This was after we took every My Little Pony and other horse toy in the house and made a 20 horse-long parade in the living room. Guess you had to be there...

How did you spend your Easter Sunday?

B.

Easter Sunday 2007

DSC01390 edited
Originally uploaded by Binky

Wow... Why does Spring hate us?

We stayed in for the whole day. I still think we got more than 25 cm of snow, maybe 30. Check out the height of the drift between the shed and the playhouse.

B.

Lost: "No One Left Behind" April 4, 2007

Isn't "No one left behind" a military term?  I wonder if there's any significance to that fact?

 

Whether there is or isn't, this was another strong episode, with a great deal of Kate back story.  What are we to make of Kate?  I felt both less and more sympathetic for Kate.  When she confronts her mother the implied message was that Kate had dealt with her step-father's abuse of her in a way that wasn't totally justifiable.  She had just reacted.  This may be some risk-taking on the part of the writers, who assume that we already really identify and like Kate and that therefore they can risk our sympathy for her.  I got a kick out of the Hurley-Sawyer "con" that made Sawyer make nice with the other survivors... A little "Christmas Carol-y" but fun.

 

The tie-in to Sawyer's back story was well-done, but a little predictable, though.  Where are they going with Locke?  Locke has, in effect, become a free agent.  He has left behind the survivors.  The long-predicted split with Jack has been two years coming but there's no denying that it has happened.  Jack's new ties to Juliette aside, he still sees himself as a member of the beach community.  Locke, not so much..

 

There are six episodes left in this season (I think).  Here are my predictions for the issues themes that will be in those episodes:

1)  Juliette:  will she be accepted (at all) by the "fusies" on the beach- Sawyer and Sayid won't.

2)  Where have the "others" + Locke gone?  I can imagine that  we will learn some more about them and the island.

3)  At the same time, Ben's leadership tenure will come back, perhaps through Jacob.

4)  Kate WILL choose Jack over Sawyer.

5)  There will be something happen that we had no inkling was coming.

6)  Penny Whitmore (Desmond's ex) will be back in some way.

 

Any other thoughts, anyone?

 

B.

 

 

 

Spring Yet?

Spring Yet? DSC01309
Originally uploaded by Binky

We've just had 30 cm of snow... I am not amused.

Who has stolen spring and where do they live?

B.

Woooo Hooooo! Spring!

"Sure" Sign of Spring: Soccer registration for Action Girl is this Saturday! Unfortunately Super Girl (age 3) has to wait another year, though.

Yaaay. Now only 10 weeks of waiting before the season starts!

B.

Recent Girl Quotes

"Penguins are all different...  Just like people"

Super Girl (age 3) while watching Happy Feet on March Break

 

"I'm worried that the Easter Bunny won't know about my new room."

Action Girl (Age 6) last night

 

 

 

 

Twin Otter March 29-07

Twin Otter March 29-07
Originally uploaded by Binky

This Twin Otter was probably there to fly over the seal hunt, its a
truly classic Canadian airplane. Photo taken with my phone (through the window).

B.

My Drive to Work this Morning

Image008.jpg
Originally uploaded by Binky

A last blast of winter (I hope).

B.

Lost: "Expose" March 28, 2007

Or "Paulo, Nikki, Vincent and the Great Diamond Caper", or
"How long can you tread sand?" or
"Vincent Knew..."

Sometimes we may lose sight that being straned on a desert island after
your plane carshes would be a hard, brutal reality. No matter how many
VW Micro busses you find and restore, life on the island psychologically
and materially would never be a picnic. Unless of course you were to go
on a picnic, but after that it would no longer be a picnic...

Paulo and Nikki being buried alive is in line with that reality. Yes, I
think they're dead. Yes, they ARE dead... How long can you breathe
sand?

B.

March Broken

After a really great week off with Super Mom and the girls, its back to work/school for all of us tomorrow AM. I'm really glad I was able to take the week off (I used a week of vacation time).



We were ablew to move the girls into separate bedrooms! Action Girl (age 6) is npow downstairs, and Super Girl (age 3) now has theri "old" bedroom to herself but in a bigger bed. The beds could have been bunkbeds, but this seemed like a better thing to do as they have very different sleep patterns. Action Girl is a hevay sleeper and Super Girl is well... not always a sleeper...



On Monday and Tuesday we got a away for a couple of days- went well and included indoor amusemnet park rides and a Toys R Us visit. The girls really do enjoy each other's company.



This week has given me quite a bit of time to some thinking, about things I'm happy with and things that I'd like to work on. I really, really need to get in better shape this spring/summer. Yes, I've said it before this time I may actually mean it. Also both of the girls are fairly energetic sorts, so hopefully it may rub off on me. I also need to keep battling whatever it is in me that makes me such an amazing avoider/procrastinator. Its gotta get better, it really has...



We (the two of us) watched Little Miss Sunshine last night. What a fun film- it had a lot of heart. May watch part of Flags of our Fathers before I go to sleep tonight as I am in need of a WWII fix- don't laugh, WWII non-fiction and refence books have at times kept me sane. I'm reading Children on Men by P.D. James (the one the movie with Clive Owen is based on). Literate sci-fi is such a treat. At least this time I'm doing things in the right order- book first, movie second. Has anyone seen 300 yet?- I'm interested but may not get a chance to see it.



Speaking of literate sci-fi, the season finale for Battlestar Galactica is airing as I type this. I have a deal with my old buddy G. that we're going to watch the finale together. Unfortunatley, he is a few episodes (4?) behind, but we are both taping them so within a couple of weeks, we should be able to watch it. I'll try and write more about BSG sometime soon, but its safe to say that its repuation as one of if not THE best written drama on TV is VERY well-deserved. That show is so good it gives me shivers...



Well, g'night folks.



B.



PS- I am now addicted to Facebook. What a cool site to waste time on!

Lost: "The Man from Talahasee" Mar. 23-07

Aaah yes. The quality continues...

This week's episode was another one I really enjoyed. The whole Locke/Ben banter mixed with Locke's back story was superb.

So, Locke's father shoved him out the window- didn't see that one coming. The twist at the end with Locke's father being held prisoner on the island was nothing short of wonderful- truly worthy of the show.

Here's what I think we should be watching for in the rest of the season:



1) The theme of the fragility of Ben's leadership over the others. This will probably come up again.



2) Again- Jacob! Who is he- where is he? An interesting con would be for Locke's father to really be Jacob- making this whole thing (another) big con.



3) Kate's feeling for Jack- she will choose Jack over Sawyer.



B.

Lost: “Par Avion” March 14, 2007

“You are not on the list because you are flawed” Mikhail quips in this episode. I guess I could never, ever hope to be on the list. I want to dispense with the re-cap entirely and make a few points.

1) This was a great episode. If this episode happened in the first season, we’d all be raving about it.

2) Mikhail dying on the magnetic perimeter was the goriest thing in this show since the monster ate the pilot, I believe. Cool…

3) Claire being Jack’s half sister was to be expected. There had been rumours to that end and some pretty clear hints. Still, it’s a pretty nifty way to link the plots and sub-plots.

4) I was really disappointed that Mikhail wasn’t Jacob. Apparently the next episode has Ben telling Locke more about the true nature of the others and hopefully this will involve some info about the guy that’s apparently really in charge.

B.

You Make a Caption...?

I photographed this church with my new phone (2 MgPix). Read the sign and tell me what caption you'd make for it. This is not an editorial comment, I just think that the sign is very interesting.

B.

Things I learned this past weekend

1) Our cat really likes peanut butter,

2) We're pretty easy going, but we will not use the same jar of peanut butter as the cat,

3) We need to buy more peanut butter,

4) Action girl appears to have a better time colouring or crafting than watching the old idiot box (TV), all of her protests to the contrary,

5) A few minutes playing outside is better than none at all,

6) Super Mom makes what may be some of the world's best french toast,

7) Smitty's is not the best fitting restaurant for our energetic three-year-old (no, not the cat who is also three), and

8) Catching up with old friends at home is a lot more fun than hitting the town.

B.

Gargoyles

DSC01232
Originally uploaded by Binky

(See entry below)

Last Great Snowy Weekend?

DSC01235
Originally uploaded by Binky

A pretty great weekend at our house... Saturday Am we all took advantage of some fresh snow to make a snow family and a pretty decent snow fort. Complete with Mickey, Pluto, and R2 D2 gargoyles....

This was probably the last "very wintery" weekend of the season and I'm glad we took advantage of it. The girls has a bowling birthday party on Saturday PM and a McDonalds Birthday Party Sun PM.

Saturday night, Super Mom and feasted on take-out curry...
Mmmm... Madras....

This week at work should be back to normal. On Thursday of this past week, I put on a training module for new social work staff from my old workplace. It went well and was a great honour, but took a lot of time to prepare and I'm glad to see it finished.

B.

My Comdeic Curse

Speaking of TV, I was saddened to learn that there are only going to be one or two more  episodes of The Class before it ends (its been cancelled).  If you’ve never seen it before, basically it was a show about friends from the same Grade Three (Two?) class who become re-acquainted in their twenties.  Hilarious adventures ensue.  John Ritter’s son, Jason,  is in it and some times is the spitting image of his father but all the time, a better actor.

 

At first a couple of the characters really annoyed me.  In fact Ritchie still does, but overall I’ve really started to enjoy this show.  Its fair to say that if it hadn’t been airing immediately after How I Met Your Mother (on Monday nights).  Incidentally, How I Met… is my favourite comedy and third favourite show (after Battlestar Galactica and Lost).  I have a history of only liking comedies that don’t do very well.  I may be cursed (or cursing?).  It’s quite possible that I alone am to blame for The Class’ cancellation.  I should stop watching my three favourite shows…

 

B.

 

 

Lost: "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" (Feb. 28 '07)

Ah yes, redemption through a road trip. That's more like it…

Finally, a lighter-toned episode of my second favourite show on
television!
RE-CAP: Hurley flashbacks to his relationship with his father and the
"bad luck" that followed his lottery win. He finds an old VW microbus
on the island, complete with the skeleton of its previous owner and lots
of 20(?) year old beer. Hurley (with help from Jin, Charlie, and
Sawyer) gets the van jump started by suicidally driving it down a grass
covered cliff and then doing donuts in a pristine green field.

Some humour- maybe that's what I've been missing from Lost since the
half-season premiere.

What we learned about the others this episode: Well nothing really.
But, it's reasonable to use the van to gain some insight into the Dharma
Initiative back story. When things started to go (very) poorly for
Dharma they left (or were all killed) in a relatively short period of
time. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been difficult for them to retrieve
the guy's body from the van. Presumably, when it crashed 20 (?) years
ago, it wouldn't have been as hard to find the van and the body. Also,
does the idea of taking a VW microbus full of beer alone into the hills
strike anyone else as an apocalyptic thing to do?

Here are some of your answers to last week's "Who's your favourite
other?" question:
1) Ben (C.C. from my old work).
2) Alex (Super Mom)
3) Tom (me!)

B.

 

Lost: "Stranger in a Strange Land" (Feb. 21-07)

RE-CAP: Flashback: Jack gets tattoo from girlfriend in Thailand.  Jack is angry.  Jack gets beaten up.  In the "present" Jack agrees to help Ben with his recovery, Jack saves Juliette.  Sawyer and Kate argue.  Karl is weird.  Karl goes off to "rescue" Alex.

 

Episode Rating:  Good.  The Juliette storyline surprised me with the amount of drama it kept.  Other than explaining his tattoo, though, was there a point to the Jack in Thailand story?

 

The "Others":

 

Okay, this has been something I've been trying to work on for a while...  What do we know about the others?

-  The live on the main Island and work on "Alcatraz."

-  They have a true society of a sort.  Not only that but they appear to be a society with a high degree of shared purpose.  We don't know what it is, but its important enough to them that they are prepared to kill to protect it.  When its not threatened, they apparently would find this behaviour unacceptable.

-  Part of protecting their work/true purpose is that it must be concealed.

-  Ben's authority is absolute, except for "Jacob."  That said, they have some degree of self government (as we see through Juliette's "trial" even though Ben overrode it).

-  Their purpose is something about bio-medical research.

-  They don't appear to be directly tied into The Dharma Initiative (the hatch people).

-  Their research may be on the Island because of the Island's mysterious powers.

-  Until the Swan Hatch "imploded" they had communication with the outside world.

-  Their appears to be both widespread support for Ben's authority.

-  Jacob is still actively giving them direction and is known to them (not just Ben).

-  They are able to accept new members into their society (like the flight attendant from the flight.)

 

I have no idea yet how to sort out how the plane crashed by accident, thank you, Desmond. Then suddenly Jacob's list is generated (with Sawyer, Kate, and Michael's names on it?).  The only possible explanation would be that Ethan and Goodman's intelligence back to Ben as they got to know the Tailies and the Fusies was then fed to Jacob.  Makes "sense" I guess.

 

QUESTION:  Who is your favourite "Other"?  Leave a comment to let me know.

 

B

 

Leaning Barn with Dog B&W Feb 18-07 DSC1168

Leaning Barn with Dog B&W Feb 18-07 DSC1168
Originally uploaded by Binky

Field Feb 18-07 DSC1172

Field Feb 18-07 DSC1172
Originally uploaded by Binky

Girls Hiking in Field Feb 18-07

Girls Hiking in Field Feb 18-07 DSC1162
Originally uploaded by Binky

It was a nice day for a hike.

B.

10 Years Ago Today

Song Quote:

 

“Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic,

Our big big love, our big big love”

\

Gigantic by The Pixies

 

Q:  What’s with my sudden out pouring of romantic feeling?

 

A:  It was 10 years ago today that Super Mom and I got engaged.

 

Happy anniversary, my love!

 

B.

 

Lost: "Flashes Before Your Eyes" (Feb. 14/07)

First some housekeeping: In retrospect, I was probably too critical of last week's episode. Maybe I was still a little angry over the 16 week break... Also, as many of you know Rouseau's daughter's name is Alex and the Other/Dharma Initiative guy who was killed was named Danny Pickett (I think).



Tonight's episode was great and quite reminiscent of Lost at its best. Basically, the two threads were 1) Charlie and Hurely try to figure out what's going on with Desmond when he saves Claire from drowning. He knew she was drowning from a mile away. 2) A really interesting Desmond alternate flashback develops. From the moment he used the fail safe key, he went back to the last few days he spent with Penny before joining the army (where he is eventually court-martialled and sent to prison).



After a creepy intervention by a ring sales woman, Desmond again fails to ask Penny to marry him and becomes resigned to his eventual fate on the island. At the end of the episode, both threads come together when he admits to Charlie that he sees flashes of his life, past and future and that twice now he's acted to save... wait for it... wait another second... CHARLIE! But, he thinks that Charlie will die, though because fate makes "course corrections" when he messes with it.



Overall, not bad! Creepy.

Lost Returns: Season 3.5

I have this thing I do to see how much I'm "into" a TV show or a movie
I'm watching. Basically its simple- if I become "zoned" enough that I
really stop looking around the room, I'm really "into" something I'm
watching. I'm really engrossed in it and entertained by it.

Last night's half-season premiered of Lost partially succeeded by this
measure. I was entertained by it, but not totally "into" it. I was
left feeling it was pretty good and that if it hade been a first season
episode I might have thought much higher of it.

That said, last night was good, and if the writers handle things well
the second half of season three may regain er... "lost" ground for the
show. My big issue is that I feel like I've seen everything the show
has to offer. That's far from actually being true I realize, though.
Part of it may have to do with commercials. I watch enough "TV shows"
on DVD to have become a little spoiled.

Here's the re-cap of the show: Jack has just threatened to let Ben die
on the operating table, to force the others to let Kate and Sawyer go.
His plan goes well up until about the 13 minuet mark of the show when
the "meanest other" starts chasing them, clearly intent on killing
Sawyer. We cut in and out of this struggle and they are eventually
saved by Roseau's daughter, who it turns out is Ben's (step?) daughter.
Using her trusty sling shot (don't laugh) she helps them hide out in a
little Viet Cong-esque bunker. Her deal is simple: she let Sawyer and
Kate use her boat to go back to the main island if the rescue her
boyfriend and take them as well back to the Fusie Land.

The boyfriend is locked up in a setup that's some kind of homage to A
Clockwork Orange where he is being forced to watch film images meant to
program or (de-program?) him. By the use of a simple con game, they
overpower the guard and at the (very real) threat of Kate shooting him,
he tells them where to find the boy. They make it to the beach/boat
only to be confronted by the "mean other." He is about to shoot Sawyer
when he is shot by Juliette. They leave, but Juliette makes Roseau Jnr.
stay because her mother wouldn't let her go.

The other thread is in the operating room, inter-spaced with a whole
lot of Juliette flashbacks. In the end, Jack saves Ben after hearing
from Kate that she and Sawyer are safe (and encouragement from Kate).
Juliette's flashbacks are about her recruitment into the others.
Basically she is recruited to do medical research on fertility and
reproduction. Her ex-husband who knows of her shady research with her
own sister is conveniently killed by a bus, after she had let slip in
her interview that such an accident would be the only way she would be
free would be for him to get hot by a bus. In the present day, Juliette
has a private conversation with Ben and "apparently" they have an
agreement that she will help Kate and Sawyer escape (which will mean
that Jack will save Ben) and in return she will get to leave the
island(s) to go home. The episode ends with Jack pleading with Kate to
never come back to rescue him.

Highlights:
- Through the last scene and rescuing K & S, Jack has established
undisputed moral leadership of the Fusies.
- He becomes an almost Mandela-like leader-in-exile.
- Juliette's ex, getting hit by a bus was very sudden and dramatic.
- In an awkward moment, Tom (Zeke) attempts to introduce himself
formally to Jack. "I'm Tom, by the way."

Binky