J.D. Salinger: January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010

When I was 16 or 17, Cather in the Rye was the greatest book I could imagine anyone ever writing. Salinger inhabited the main character, Holden, in a personal, psychological, and accessible way. Holden's struggles with his own psyche compete with his contempt for the "phoniness" that consumes so many of his fellow teens and virtually every adult in his life. Despite writing in the late 1940's the themes

As Holden returns from the boarding school from which he has just been expelled, his descent to his breakdown is as riveting as the the journeys of the Odyssey or Heart of Darkness.

No, I no longer believe Cather in the Rye is the the greatest thing ever written. Its just as important to me to know that 20 years after I first met Holden, Salinger's story is just as raw and riveting. I spend a great deal of time with youth at their most vulnerable and angriest moments. There's a great deal of truth in that burgundy little book.

A hundred years from now, people will still be wondering about how much of Salinger is in Holden and vice versa. Incidentally, if Holden was even more "real" than he is, he'd be in his mid-seventies by now.

B.

First Looks: Apple iPad (16GB/32GB/64GB) - With Full Interface Videos | iLounge

First Looks: Apple iPad (16GB/32GB/64GB) - With Full Interface Videos iLounge

Okay, at first I was pretty skeptical, but now the idea of being able to read the web like a book is really intriguing me!!

Click on the above link for great pics ad a review.

B.

First Looks: Apple iPad Keyboard Dock | iLounge

First Looks: Apple iPad Keyboard Dock iLounge

I want this! This ability makes an iPad a whole lot more appealing to me!!!

B.

History I Remember....

Thirty-two years ago today, the remians of a Soviet satellitle, including its nuclear fuel source carshed into the Canadian Arctic. Yes, I was just a kid but I remember this for a couple of reasons. First, my dad was still in the Air Force and it made an impression that these were his people cleaning up this mess. Second, it was just the neatest thing in the world that toxic space junk was falling on OUR country. Well, I was very young... Keep that in mind.

Here's an intersting link to the story in the CBC Archives- Soviet nuclear satellite crashes in Canada.

B.

Robertson: Haiti had "pact with devil"

Robertson: Haiti had "pact with devil"

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CBC News - World - A pariah history, some promising starts and now this

Haiti's modern history is one of the unfulfilled hope and dashed dreams of a vibrant people. This article taught me some things about Haitian history that make me even sadder. Here's an excerpt:

Haiti's on-going background level of poverty has been persistent. But understanding why one country stays poor while others grow rich is a surprisingly difficult task, even for development experts.
Fixing the problem is even more difficult.

It is not as if foreign donors haven't tried to set the country on the right track, says Yasmine Shamsie, a Wilfrid Laurier professor who specializes in international development and security efforts in Haiti.
"Yes, there have been true attempts," says Shamsie. "Countries like Canada and the United States really want to solve these problems."

Many development experts blame Haiti's problems on its long history as a pariah state, going back as far as the debt Napoleon forced onto the former French colony as the price of independence in 1803.

People had to pay for the land and the slaves they had "stolen." The stolen slaves, of course, were Haiti's own citizens. They had to buy themselves...


Read the rest here:

CBC News - World - A pariah history, some promising starts and now this

Lost Uber Re-Cap

One More Disney Pic

Cinderella''s Castle at the Magic Kingdom, at night.

B.

CBC News - Canada - Why our schools are failing boys

RE: the below link/article. I'll write some more about this later...

Its accurate to say that I have some strong thoughts about some of these issues as a male in a non-traditional role.

CBC News - Canada - Why our schools are failing boys

B.

CBC News - Canada - No election plans? Just watch him

CBC News - Canada - No election plans? Just watch him

China Blocks Wired.com With

China Blocks Wired.com With ‘Great Firewall’ - Updated

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Our Pirate Room

Our Pirate Room
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Our Pirate Room

Our Pirate Room
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Our Pirate Room

Our Pirate Room
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Our Pirate Room

Our Pirate Room
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Our Pirate Room

Our Pirate Room
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Our Pirate Room

Our Pirate Room
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Our Pirate Room

Our Pirate Room
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Our Resort

Our Resort
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Dec. 26 Parade, The Magic Kingdom

Dec. 26 Parade, The Magic Kingdom
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Tree in the Magic Kingdom

Tree in the Magic Kingdom
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

The Magic Kingdom, Early on Christmas Day

The Magic Kingdom, Early on Christmas Day
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

The Magic Kingdom, Early on Christmas Day

The Magic Kingdom, Early on Christmas Day
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

That's rain in the air.

Walt Disney Worlding

On the 29th we returned from a wonderful (almost) week spend at Walt Disney World.  As you can imagine this was a both a great year and a difficult year to be “away” for Christmas.  Great because its been such a difficult time and difficult because it was my Dad’s first Christmas without Mom since the late 1960’s.  He went to his sister’s home, about a four hour drive from here.

 

We had such a wonderful time, I’m not sure I can accurately describe it.  When you travel with people you love and who love you so very much back, its hard not to have a pretty great time.  I’ll let some pictures help with the story from here.

 

B.

The ‘Lost’ Supper: What Clues Can We Glean About The Show’s Final Season From These New Promo Images? » MTV Movies Blog

The ‘Lost’ Supper: What Clues Can We Glean About The Show’s Final Season From These New Promo Images? » MTV Movies Blog

Will 'Avatar' Keep Breaking Records? A Box-Office Analyst Weighs In

I planned on seeing Avatar tonight but it sold out before my buddy and I could get tickets. In a "have a cracker instaed of a cookie" move here's an article about its record-breaking status.

Will 'Avatar' Keep Breaking Records? A Box-Office Analyst Weighs In

After a difficult fall and a December that's seemed like it was spinning by, we are about to leave on vacation for Christmas. I won't tell you where we're going by I'll happily give you a little hint:

Yep, we're off to see the mouse! We really need a vacation... This should be very special and a very welcome break from our wonderful but taxing routine. It'll be weired not being home for Christmas, but I think we'll manage!

B.

Australian scientists discover coconut-carrying octopus

This story was a topic of some discussion at our house last night:


Australian scientists discover coconut-carrying octopus

CBC News - Film - Review: Invictus

The epic Anti-Apartheid struggle was just ending as I became an adult. It shaped my view of the world and both the evil and the courage that people are capable of in our worst and best moments.

I haven't seen Invictus yet but I'm relived that it appears to be a competent, respectful film. Its actually set after the fall of Apartheid but appears to honour that period of history (it feels weird talking that way about the 90's, though).

Here's a link to the CBC review:


CBC News - Film - Review: Invictus

Star Wars Christmas Special (Recycled Post)

Here is my post about possibly the worst Christmas special ever made:

Star Wars Christmas Special (Recycled Post)

My Three Favorite Christmas Songs (Recycled Post)

From a post I made three years ago:


Thursday, December 14, 2006

My Three Favorite Christmas Songs
There are three Christmas songs that I'm comfortable listing as favorites:

(1) "Do they Know Its Christmas?" By Band-Aid (1984)
I actually got choked up trying to explain this song to the girls this morning on the way to daycare/kindergarten/work. Musically its strong and unique (as a mid-80s pop song). Whatever we've been able to say about celebrity musicians and activism, there was a desperate honesty to their desire to save lives with this song. Its earnest and haunting.

(2) "Go Tell it on the Mountain" (Traditional Spiritual)
Christianity is sometimes at its best when its faced with slavery. Its easy to imagine African-American slaves drawing hope from the Christmas story in face of horrible oppression. The message of the season can be that strong, despite millions of dollars spent trying to dilute it,

(3) "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" (Victorian Carol?)
With or without the "Loo loo loo"s in a Charlie Brown Christmas, this is a great song. I love it in large part because of that program, though.
What are your favorites?
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THIS makes me laugh :-)

CBC News - Technology & Science - Virgin Galactic unveils commercial spaceship

Whatever our challenges and losses, every so often something comes in the news that serves to remind us that we really are living in the 21st Century and that's a pretty amazing thing:

CBC News - Technology & Science - Virgin Galactic unveils commercial spaceship

A Tough Day…

We buried my mom today.  After a moving funeral, we laid her to rest about 80 feet from the church that she loved so much.  The service was moving and saddening. 

 

In keeping with her Free Church of Scotland roots, two of the hymns were actually unaccompanied sung Psalms (121 and 23) and that’s when I started to let loose with some tears.  The church was packed and a friend of the family for 30 years read a eulogy.  We had her interred and then went back in for a social time.

 

The wake was more physically exhausting, the funeral more emotionally exhausting.  As Mom’s only living child I thanked everyone publically for coming to honour her and talked about how fitting it was that she was surrounded by people she loved in a place she loved, as we remembered both her many strengths and challenges.  Many, many people came up to me and spoke about how kind Mom was to everyone she met and how she worked (so often behind the scenes) to make the community a better place.  Children felt safe with her.  She paid attention to kids with a patience that defies my abilities as a parent.

 

I’m dizzy at the thought that there are so many things she’ll never be able to tell me about herself and the her views of the world.  My mom and I were alike in so many ways, different in so many others.  I’m terrified that she won't be there for me, our kids, and my Dad.

 

I think I’m still in shock over what I’ve lost this week.  I can’t yet my head around what life is going to be like without her.  This was so sudden- it was last Sunday before we really knew that she was going to die, five days after she’d entered the hospital.  I spoke to her on Wednesday night, but didn’t say goodbye.  That’s unfortunate…  More later.

 

B.

Mom passed away at about 10:51 PM on Tuesday. Her life ended peacefully, surrounded by her sister, Dad, and me. Her heart and breathing were slowing all evening and finally gave out.

Her illness progressed so quickly this past week... But she hasn't been in much pain and now no longer has to fight. Dad is doing okay.

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“Its been the worst day, since yesterday.”

LA Irish Punk Band Flogging Molly

 

I had always pictured that I’d have some time to say a real good bye to those with whom I’m closest.  My mom is dying and I don’t think I’m going to get that chance with her.  That said, we part on the best of terms, loved and respected.

 

On Tuesday she entered the hospital after  a prolonged illness at home.  At first we thought she had H1N1, then some kind of bacterial infection, but it now looks like her old nemesis cancer has come back.  No H1N1, no infection… The results of a CAT scan appear to show a number of signs pointing to cancer.  We didn’t know, but I’m not sure there was much we could have done if we had.

 

Mom was last awake coherently Wednesday evening and I saw her then and we had some time alone.  Right now, Mom is asleep all the time.  She’s still being treated but nothing seems to be making a great deal of difference aside from keeping her stable.  She is fading, though.

 

Sorry to just dump this news here, but I do try to write about what I’m going through.

 

B.

John Daley, My Great Great Uncle - Killed in Action Nov. 6, 1918

Private John Daley, Kings County, Prince Edward Island
Born March 23, 1891 Died in combat Nov. 6, 1918, age 27 years.

John Daley was my maternal grandmother's uncle. He was killed five days before the end of the Great War. The army he fought as part of was ending the period known as "Canada's Hundred Days," a period during which it was at the forefront of some of the most decisive, important victories of the war. He's buried along with 881 other Commonwealth soldiers in the Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery in Northern France, close to the Belgian frontier.

He was killed 2-3 days after the Canadian Corps took the area from the German Army, who had held the area from the war's early days. Uncle John' s unit is listed is listed as the Nova Scotia Highlanders (or the 85th Battalion) although they may have been attached to the Manitoba Regiment at the time of his death. Many young men from Eastern Prince Edward Island had gone to Nova Scotia to enlist.

The tragedy in his death itself, in his death at 27, and in his death in the war's last days are obvious. Other suffering caused by his death is not so obvious. In 1917, his brother Abram drowned after falling from a vessel in the Northumberland Strait, leaving his widow and two daughters. They were my grandmother and her older sister (who had been blind from birth). The family's understanding has always been (in my life time) that John would have supported them after the war and they would have been spared the poverty that they had faced. In the end, my grandmother and her sister had full, happy lives. This was despite the poverty they faced as children- poverty they overcame but with some price. Specifically, the costs of school for the blind for my great aunt, meant less money for education and medical (dental) care for my grandmother. The math was that simple. These were not life-threatening deficits, but certainly life-shaping.

Save for the effect of a single shell or bullet in the cold November of 1918, I believe John Daley would have helped as he could.

B.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Link for John Daley:

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=577383

Canadian Department of Veteran's Affairs Link for John Daley:

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/virtualmem/Detail&casualty=577383

Week of Remebrance Musing: War Plan Red and Defence Scheme No. 1

Its fair to say that we're able to think about war and remembrance primarily only at this time of year due to the fact that war isn't a part of most Canadians daily lives. That fact is due to our great relationship with the U.S. Note that I said great, not perfect.

What if that wasn't the case? Fortunately, we will likely never know. But, such scenarios have been imagined by writers and thinkers. In fact, the United States developed a plan for a theoretical invasion of Canada, as part of a larger campaign against Great Britain. Called "War Plan Red," it was only a planning exercise, but for about five years it was an approved military plan. Here it is in detail on Wikipedia: War Plan Red. Sadly, it centred on the U.S. seizing the Maritimes

What's more surprising is that it had a Canadian counterpart. Yes, we had a plan to invade the U.S. in the event of a planned American invasion of Canada. It was called "Defence Scheme No. 1" (click for more info). The best part is that it pre-dated formal American plans to invade us.

Happily, what might have been shall never be...

B.

Unwanted News

I received a call tonight about 10:30 from the grandmother of a boy whom I’d mentored for the better part of five years.    I had met him through a community agency (which is in no way connected to where I work now) and at their request basically hung out with him on weekends from 1993 until about 2000 (although I was out of province for two of those years).

 

I’m not sure I was the best of influences, but I wasn’t awful and he had a real lack of positive males in his life.  Things petered out in 1999-2000 (I forget when exactly) and he and his family moved west.  We didn’t really stay in touch, but I did here from his grandmother about 4 years ago to say that he was doing well and, I think, that she felt I’d been a good influence.

 

Tonight her message was more difficult to hear.  My little buddy died this past July.  Now over twenty, he died in an accident.  I’m being vague because I want respect his privacy even now, but he died in a boating accident doing something that thousands of people do everyday.

 

Wow…  I’d be a stretch to say that he was still a part of my life, but he was certainly part of my past.  He was a nice kid, whose life could have gone either way.  Apparently he was very well liked in the community and by his peers, was gainfully employed and still in meaningful relationships with those who cared about him.  He was going to succeed and have fun doing it.

 

So, I’m a little stunned right now.  The news was awful and felt like a blow to my head and soul at the same time.  There’s not much more I can say.  I may take tomorrow off to just do some thinking and remembering.

 

B.

Chinese air force commander calls for militarisation of space - dnaindia.com

Every once in a while, I'm reminded that I'm actually living in the future, errrr.. well the 21st Century at least. Here's a story that grabbed my attention"

Chinese air force commander calls for militarisation of space - dnaindia.com

Not awesome news, but with three nations now having human space programs, these issues will not go away. For all of the brutal craziness of the cold war, the treaty that banned space-based weapons programs made the Earth and its near space better places.

B.

Program helps foster kids finish college - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Program helps foster kids finish college - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

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CBC News - World - Obama pledges to end 'don't ask, don't tell'

This is more important than him winning the Nobel Prize. Its a small but concrete step to increase Americans' human rights.

B.

CBC News - World - Obama pledges to end 'don't ask, don't tell'

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Zombie response exercise stripped from university site | Weird | News | Toronto Sun

Let us hope that this does not turn out to be a short-sighted measure on the U of F's part... Perhaps they feel adequately prepared and don't want to admit it...


Zombie response exercise stripped from university site | Weird | News | Toronto Sun

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BBC NEWS | Entertainment | JK Rowling denied top US honour

What a joke- if anyone of recent years should be honoured for her contribution to child-lit, its her.

B.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | JK Rowling denied top US honour

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CBC News - Film - Polanski to fight extradition

While I have enjoyed several of his films, I have no sympathy for this guy.

Do you remember what you were like at 13? Consent is a joke for anyone that age engaging with an adult. That's a bigger issue than whether she has forgiven him.

He drugged that girl and had his way with her. Child sexual abuse, plain and simple. NO sympathy for him...

B.


CBC News - Film - Polanski to fight extradition

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CBC News - World - The strange, dark truths of Moammar Gadhafi

Man, this guy has more staying power than Castro... He's dangerous and brutal but just so bizarre...

B.

CBC News - World - The strange, dark truths of Moammar Gadhafi

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New Morning Routine

Ninety days from now we be Christmas Day. Ninety days from today will also be three days into our Disney World vacation! As we’re staying on the resort with a full meal plan, every morning we make sit-down meal reservation for a day our vacation.

Today’s booking was Christmas Day and I had expected it to be a tough one. The bookings for each day go “live” at 7am our time and at 07:00:01 or so, I was on the website to make our booking at the Crystal Palace restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. I had tried for 12PM and needed up with 11:40. Not bad… That’s a busy second, though. :-)

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Everything I wanted to own when I was my oldest daughter's age

1980 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Catalogue

Fortunately, I never had this toy as a child

MyPhones: a safer way to listen. ??????

Okay- I may actually consider getting a couple of these for the girls. Given some genetics in my family, I've thinking a lot about hearing protection lately.

B.

MyPhones: a safer way to listen.

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"Water or the Web" (Interesting BBC Article)

Here's an interesting article about broadband Internet development and the future of Africa, in the face of more basic developmental needs.

B.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2009/09/day_two_water_or_the_web.html

The First 9 Review I've Read

My old pal "Clueless in Cowtown" is the first person I know to have seen "9." It was the movie that I was eagerly anticipating here.

Either click on her name above or click here to read her review.

B.

District 9 movie review

I'm generally not given to undue praise for films, even ones that touch on some of guilty my pleasures (such as realistic aliens, sci-fi, alternate history, apocalyptic themes, etc.). That said, DISTRICT 9 ROCKED.

Simply put, it had an original, compelling story, top notch special effects and a generous scoop of real-life allegory. If you haven't heard of the film, its set an alternate present (or close to the present day) in a post-Apartheid South Africa. In 1982, a huge alien spacecraft parked above Johannesburg. Since that time over a million aliens have lived in a township just outside the city.

The Apartheid symbolism is not light or subtle. "Prauns" as the vaguely insectoid aliens are pejoratively called are viewed paternally as an inferior race. In the human mind, they are lazy and directionless and a Haliburton-like corporation called "M.N.U." is responsible for them. One part United Nations, one part Blackwater the M.N.U. enforces the segregation, care and feeding of the aliens. The film starts on the eve of a massive move of the entire alien population to a concentration camp-like settlement, of course for their own protection.

The assault rifle-carrying paternalism is what I imagine vintage Apartheid must have been like. Racist urban planning with an iron fist... Even more interesting, I've read that the film was being made at the height of South Africa's recent anti-foreigner violence.

From there, the film accelerates into a frantic chase story, while never relenting its examination of race, "us," and "them." Great!

B.

"Bureau of Communication" Web Site

Man, I am just itching to use one of these forms in real life:

http://www.bureauofcommunication.com/

B.

A Reasonable American Perspective on Health Care

A Zombie's Worst Enemy: Canadian Math Geeks - World News Briefs | Newser

Oh crap... Somehow I always knew that my lifelong fear/hatred/inepitude towards math would come around and bite me in the butt. Now I find out that math is a potent anti-zombie weapon.

I can always hide... Anyone have can opener?

B.
(Click on the link below for more info.)


A Zombie's Worst Enemy: Canadian Math Geeks - World News Briefs | Newser

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Decorum takes a holiday in the health-care debate

This is an interesting debate that goes to the very essence of the competing poles of American individualism and collectivism (traditionally not the stronger of the two).

I've reda in the past that the birth of full medicare in our country (Canada) was full of strife as well.

B.


Decorum takes a holiday in the health-care debate

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Camp Day '09

Our daughter, Action Girl (age 8.5) is off to camp this afternoon. She's going to a church-run camp (not our church). She couldn't get more excited if you paid her. Her camp is until next Friday and promises to be fun-filled and busy. Her best friend (who is also not affiliated with the church that runs the camp) is going to be one of her cabin mates.

I have checked in with her a few times and she doesn't seem to be the least bit nervous and I know that she'll be fine (better than that, actually). Its a nice time to think about my own camp experiences and this may explain why I'm a little more anxious than she.

CUB CAMP (or maybe it was Beavers): Age 6 or 7 or 8- One or maybe two nights. Fun but very homesick.

SCOUT CAMP: Winter and summer. Very fun. One summer was a whole computer and sports camp week (very leading edge for 1984). Sports were fun- an unusual thing in my life.

FIRST YEAR CADET CAMP: (Age 13) Two weeks and fun. Not a lot of friends- I was pretty shy and awkward. First full slow dance with a girl!!

CADET BAND CAMP: (Age 14) Again very shy and not a lot of friends, but a great six weeks spent learning and playing music. Highlights: Big guy from Whitney Pier steps on my trumpet and our course prom.

CADET SENIOR LEADERS COURSE: (Age 15) Not a walk in the park. More friends, though. Tough national boot camp-ish leadership course. Very homesick for six weeks. Win course award for most improved cadet (tied to rocky start).

CADET GLIDER PILOT TRAINING: (Age 16) The big one. The best seven weeks of my life up until that point. Good friends, cute girls (not mutually exclusive). I am an awful pilot, but take on some leadership within my flight (group of cadets) and win a course award.

INTERNATIONAL CADET EXCHANGE: (Age 17) I get a chance to go to England and Scotland for two weeks. I had a wonderful time. The group was a little clique-y but I have a number of good friends.

STAFF CADET, CADET CAMP: (Age 18) I didn't actually go to this one but was accepted for a summer of employment with the regional cadet camp (where I went to the two-week and band camps). This was a very interesting crossroads in my life. If I had gone to this 8-9 weeks of well-paid employment I wouldn't have got the job I actually had that summer at the student union. That job leads to a six year period of my life engrossed in the student movement that shapes my career choices and opens doors I have since entered.

Memories,

B.

"Flash Forward" New Sci-fi Show this Fall on ABC

This could be interesting, if it doesn't get too melodramatic.

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Tired...

Alright- don't read too much into this, but I'm tired of worrying about work as soon as I wake up on a Sunday morning. No big deal, I'm just tired of it. There's a number of things tat I'm really far behind on and somedays I don't feel like I'll ever get "caught up."

Hmmmmmmm,
B.

HIMYM scoop: The Mother will be in the first episode... somewhere - TCA Report

My favourite comedy on TV is "How I Met Your Mother." Its smart and witty, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. Here's some news about the season premiere:


HIMYM scoop: The Mother will be in the first episode... somewhere - TCA Report

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When did she get so grown-up?

A few minutes ago, Action Girl (age 8) recieved a call from a school mate who is an acquaintance. They had been in each other's class a full year ago. They had bumped into each other at the beach last night.

The reason I'm mentioning this is becasue I was struck, really knocked out, by how mature she was on the phone. Polite, sure... but social and genuine. She ended the call with a very genuine- sounding "Well, thanks for calling!" It just sounded beyond her. Or, at least where I that she was.

B.

Wildlife Park, Marion Bridge

Emu, otter, cougar, and porcupine at a wildlife park at Marion Bridge. Oddly enough, I didn't get any pictures of the llama that spit in my face. Yep.they do that.

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Bald Eagle and Seals, Bras D'Or Lakes, Boat Tour

On our three hours tour of the Bras D'Or Lakes and the Bird Islands, we saw about 30 bald eagles and many seals- a morning well-spent!

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Mist on the Water

I realize some of you may have seen these pics on Facebook, but here are a couple of shots of the mist on the water. It was even prettier in person.

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Nova Scotia Trip Pic

Here's the Confederation. This is the third trip in three years that the girls have taken the ferry. The novelt has worn off the ferry, but they still really enjoy it.

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I'm Still Here!

We are having a very wonderful summer, despite my lack of posts (or perhaps because we're having such a great summer, I haven't been posting). The following are some pictures from our fantastic trip to Nova Scotia.

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Aaah... 70's Memories

Like my friend Clueless in Cowtown, I'm following the blog Plaid Stallions. Its basically about 70's toys and kids culture. Woooow. I remember this stuff. Strongly..

Two items to point out in this one picture alone:

We have my partner's Sesame Street like this one, AND my parents still have my Adventure People Safari set (our girls play with it at their place).

B.

My Luck is Turning!!!

This was in my inbox this morning: Yaaay!

Dear Winner,

This is to inform you that you have won the sum of 500,000 GBP
in the British Online Sweepstake Promo held on 20th of July 2009.
You are to contact the events manager with Your Ticket Number
05-08-10-18-20-46-{43}. To further the claims of your prize, you
are also advise to fill and submit the form below to the events
manager.

Full Names:
Address:
Sex:
Age:
Occupation:
Tel / Mobile / Fax #
Nationality:
Country Of Residence:

Contact: Mr. Evans Martins
E-mail: account_unit03@kimo.com
Telephone:(+ 44) 704 5747 360

Congratulations once again.

Yours faithfully,
Mr. Key Jefferson
Online Coordinator


-----------------------------------------

Last Post...

Just for the record, my last post was about work. For the record, I've made my decision (to stay put) and moved on (hopefully).

B.

Decisions...

This morning I finally figured out how to describe what it is I’ve been feeling lately. It’s something close to feeling like I’ve been running through mud whenever I try to make a decision about my life. It’s hard to move. It’s hard to actually get to the point where I make a decision.

Please don’t think that this means I’m suffering, or hurting or depressed. I’m fine; I just feel like it’s really difficult to make decisions of great consequence. That’s not to say that it isn’t upsetting. There have been a few decisions lately (mostly in my professional life) that I’ve really agonized over. It’s never reached the point of paralysis but sometimes it feels pretty darn close. Sometimes I wonder if it would make it to that point if I didn’t have other people depending on me. I’m not sure which fork in the road to take on this as a problem. On the right, I need to "man up" and just get on with it, stop reflecting and just decide on things. The left fork involves taking a serious, reflective look at why I get myself into these twists, turns, and quandaries.

Realistically I know I need to do both. Fear of making a wrong decision, a REALLY wrong decision, has to be a part of this.

I’ll write some more about this later.

B.

Facebook breaches Canadian privacy law: commissioner

Facebook breaches Canadian privacy law: commissioner

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Soccer Update July 16, 2009

I couldn't be any any happier with our U-6 team this year. We won on Tuesday, not that we keep score ;-)

We've seen a sharp increase with the amount of passing and cooperative play among the players. The days of a player throwing the ball in from the sides and only throwing it far enough that he or she (yes, I once saw a girl do this, not just boys) can be the one to kick it down field after its thrown.

Super Girl (our daughter, age 5.5) has yet to score a goal but does get into the paly regualrly. She's still timid a lot of the time, but we're working on that. She is palying well and I let her know that often.

Action Girl (8.5 years) regularly gets a goal and seems to be on a strong team this year. She is liking soccer very much, although still perhaps seocnd to figure skating (which she is NOT doing over the summer). In August, after soccer finishes she is off to five days at a local children's camp, ALL ON HER OWN. We'll manage, but it is a big step.

B.

Hand-Written Update June 28-09

My Next Phone?

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=287

Movie I want to See: 9

Movie I want to See: Zombieland

Exclusive: Noah Wyle + Steve Spielberg + Aliens = Big fat hit?

Exclusive: Noah Wyle + Steve Spielberg + Aliens = Big fat hit?

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Beat the traffic: take the flying car

Beat the traffic: take the flying car

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Futurama News

Link from an Entertainment Weekly article:

Holy Bender Bending Rodríguez! (Click for Link)

Six years after getting axed by Fox, Futurama is being resurrected on Comedy Central.
A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox Television confirms that the cable net has ordered 26 new episodes of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's late, great animated series to air beginning in 2010. The studio cites Futurama's "blockbuster" performance on DVD and in reruns on Comedy Central as the reason for its rebirth.
Hmmm... sound familiar?

"When we brought back Family Guy several years ago, everyone said that it was a once in a lifetime thing -- that canceled series stay canceled and cannot be revived," 20th Century Fox TV Chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden said in a joint statement. "But Futurama was another series that fans simply demanded we bring back, and we couldn’t have been happier when Matt and David agreed that there were many more stories yet to tell."
Adds Groening: "We’re thrilled Futurama is coming back. We now have only 25,766 episodes to make before we catch up with Bender and Fry in the year 3000."
I have a hunch Groening isn't the only one doing a happy dance. (That's your cue to start filling up the comments section.)

Futurama is one of the funniest comedies on TV. This is good news for anyone who appreciates well-written TV. We can watch Futurama episodes over and over again and still laugh, a lot.

B.

Peggy and her friend Thomas June 2009

Super Girl and Action Girl Explore our Local "Pit" June 2009

End of a Playhouse

As any of you who ever visited our house know, the log playhouse in our backyard came with the house and was a pretty distinctive feature of our yard.  No more, faithful readers...  Playhouse no more...

Here's what it looked like:

Does it look like it was leaning to you?  Here’s a different angle:

Maybe this will help:

With my father-in-law’s help, chainsaw, maul, and pick up truck, we tore down what had become a potential  hazard and eyesore.  Once the supporting poles started to rot, the whole structure has been doomed.  The truth be told, the three hours of quality time with a 15 pound maul was the healthiest morning I’ve had in a while.  :-)

 

There’s only another truckload of debris left.  While doing real work, its not cool to stand there with a camera.  It gets in the way of the 15 pound maul.  That said, I snapped a new pic with my new (crappy) phone:

 

Good bye old friend.

B.

Technorati Tags: Change Play house playhouse chainsaw maul

Tiananmen Square Memories

An event twenty years ago tomorrow shaped my view of the world. The ill-named People’s Liberation Army massacred an indeterminate number of student protesters.

I’ll skip the long-winded reflections about why they were protesting and the change that they so desperately wanted to see. What sticks with me is that people my age or a little older believed in some of the same things I did and they were slaughtered for it. Their government chose to protect itself rather than them. This has been the single biggest reason I think as much as I do about the role of government in a society. It’s either for itself or for the betterment of its citizens. The rule of law helps, but it’s really one or the other when you get down to the essence of society.

Incidentally, June 1989 was also the month I graduated from high school. This event, live in my living room, added to my whole coming of age experience. It didn’t ruin the month, but it was a sobering aspect of the whole time for many of us.

B.

The Bravest Thing I've Ever Watched

Twenty Years Ago...

Last Tiananmen 'hooligan' freed [from the BBC]

Last Tiananmen 'hooligan' freed

China has reportedly freed the last activist still jailed for "hooliganism" relating to the Tiananmen Square democracy movement of 1989. Liu Zhihua was freed in January, but news of his release has only now been confirmed, according to the Dui Hua Foundation, a US-based pressure group.

Mr Liu had been jailed for life for leading a strike at a factory.
His reported release comes two weeks before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen protests.
The events on June 1989 are still considered a highly sensitive topic by China's Communist authorities, and the anniversary is unlikely to be publicly marked in mainland China.
Inciting crowds Mr Liu was one of several workers who were given long jail sentences for organising industrial strikes.

According to Dui Hua, he was accused of inciting crowds with anti-government speeches.
The strikes were linked to weeks of student-led pro-democracy protests in the spring of 1989.
Six weeks into the protests, tanks and troops were sent in. Hundreds - possibly thousands - of people are believed to have been killed, but the government has never allowed for a full accounting of the events.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8057624.stmPublished: 2009/05/19 12:57:29 GMT© BBC MMIX

How do you draw a monkey when you're five (on a Magna Doodle)?

Pre-Kindergarten Class Homework May 2009

There is a mascot in Super Girl's pre-kindergarten\kindergarten class. "Mister Bear" comes with a bag containing a blanket, his toothbrush, a pillow, and his teddy bear. The assignment that comes with him involves doing stuff with him and writing in "his" journal about his evening.

This is Super Girl's latest Mr. Bear story. It reads as follows.

"I pulled Mr. Bear in the wagon. I pushed Mr. Bear in my baby swing."

Not bad for five (and no meddling parental help).

B.

Terminator/John Connor(s)

For the record, I am a huge Terminator series fan and am really pumped about Terminator 4 opening in a week's time.

Here's a link to an article:

These are the John-Connors I Know I Know from filmchatblog.blogspot.com

When I found this article, I had been writing something similar. This article is better than I would have written.

I would actually go so far as to put the Terminator franchise in the top seven science fiction film/tv dynasties of all time, along with , in no order, Star Wars, Battelstar Galactica 2003-09 version), Star Trek, Babylon 5, Firefly, and Lost. The idea of a holocaust that all humanity faces at the hands of our own creation has teeth and resonance. The Stalingrad-like view of the Earth after "Judgement Day" is one of the bleakest future visions ever put to screen.

John Connor is the center of the series. He is flawed and fallible, preordained and ultimately victorious. If you've never seen any of the Terminator films or the TV series, John Connor is the leader of the human global armed resistance to the Skynet computer system that triggers a nuclear war and then enslaves the survivors, with a view to eventually exterminating them. Remind anyone of a certain world war?

John (with humanity) is eventually victorious, sometime after 2029. In response, Skynet sends a number or "Terminators" or killer robot/cyborgs back to kill him, at least four different stages of his life. More than any other series, these movies and TV programs have presented time travel in a way that says "yeah, they traveled back in time- get over it and enjoy the story."

For me, the best single aspect through the entire series has been the urgency, the pressure, and the burden that John and other characters feel in face of the realization that their actions may cause either humanity or Skynet to succeed. That's a lot to live with for anyone. I'll avoid the usual Christ parallels for Connor's character, except to point out the parallel to Jesus' "wholly divine/wholly human" dichotomy to John Connor's state of simultaneously being at pre-ordained to be the leader of the resistance and able to mess things up.

Three movies and a season and a half of television have actually lead to a number of different timelines for how John goes into the future, when the nuclear war/robot attack occurs, and other important details. I was one of only three fans I know for the now cancelled TV series (Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles). The writing was solid and the urgent burden I explored above was very present.

I'm almost finished re-watching the movies and will write about that when I finish. Terminator: Salvation opens on May 21st and I can't wait.

The above picture is an image from Wikipedia of the different "ages and stages" of John Connor.

B.

Bike and Scooter Ride April 2009

Sleep Over Adventures This Weekend

I am a fair-to-middlin' sleepover facilitator... I mean grapes AND marshmallows- who else would have thought of that as a movie snack? Good for five year olds, good for Moms and Dads.

On a less positive side, we were up at 6:25 on a Saturday... Its better than the last one our eight year old had, they were "up" (to stay, they claimed at 2:30AM).

B.