Dinosaurs, a City, and Mountains… Oh My!

Late Friday night (July 28^th) we returned from our week-long trip to Alberta. We visited Calgary, Drumheller and Banff. Things went very well with the kids and we all had an amazing time.

We spent the first few days seeing Calgary and visiting with good friends. Highlights included the Calgary Zoo, shopping, the farmers’ market, lots of pool time and a couple of great dinners with our Calgary friends.

Our visit to Drumheller (about 90 minutes from Calgaryslow down,

be patient, and

have fun where you expect to and especially where you don’t…

B.

Meow! Meet Mitsu!

Hi everyone!
Sorry its been so long! Thanks CCC and NofN for the reminders to post.

So, summer is here, soccer has started for action girl, and WE HAVE A CAT!

Mitsu is a three year tabby. We adopted her on June 14th and I'm happy to say haven't looked back since.

She is:

• very good natured
• gentle with the girls (she bit Super Girl a couple of time, but...)
• neat and tidy (only one accident and I think that was because we hadn't emptied the L-Box), and
• a real joy for all four of us to have in the house.

She has only managed two escapes, but spends a lot of time looking out the windows. She REALLY likes tuna as a treat (heck, don't we all?).

More Mitsu stories to come as she continues to train us...

B.

Parting Thoughts on Season Two

Yes- I'm still here. Things have been very busy. I'm still tryiong to sort out the seanson finale.

I haven’t mentioned this before but my favourite place on the Web for Lost information is Jay and Jack’s Lost Podcast. I’ve been listening to it quite a bit and would recommend it. Jay and Jack are from Raleigh North Carolina and have built up a world-wide following of “losties.” It’s pretty wacky, but very well done. If you’re new to Podcasting, let me know and I’ll help you out with what I’ve learned so far.

Here are a few things about Lost that I’ve gleaned from them:

1. The Guys at the end of the Season Finale were speaking Brazilian Portuguese. I think that means it was either an Antarctic station or in a mountain somewhere in South America.

2. The schedule is out for next season apparently. Jay and Jack cited andfound.com (and the Official Lost Podcast from ABC and explained:

Next Season will begin in late September.

> There will be 6 consecutive and “mini-cliff-hanger.” These episodes will be about why Jack, Sawyer, and Kate were taken by the others.

> There will then be a TWELVE WEEK BREAK!!!!!

> Lost will return in February for a twelve week run straight to the finale with NO RE-RUNS.

It’s going to be a long, long summer…

B.

Losses: The Lost Season Finale

Wow... so much to say, so little time. Last night's episode was really engrossing and advanced the storyline to an almost unrecognizable point.

I have to admit I wasn't riveted the way I was with Season One Finale, but I didn't walk away (or roll over and fall asleep) unsatisfied.

1) Desmond is back (or was back at least). Yay!
2) Zeke's name is Tom.....? He doesn't look like a Tom...
3) Michael and Walt will probably turn back to try to rescue Jack, Sawyer, and Kate.

Question: what language were the guys in the Antarctic research station speaking?

More later....

B.

Spring has Sprung!

As we’ve all noticed, Spring is with us! The girls are loving playing outside in the sunshine and seem better for it. Biking seems to be the big project this year. At two, Super Girl is starting to pedal on a tricycle. Action Girl is able to take off and zoom on her two-wheeler with training wheels. Five is fun.

My dad made a really great soccer net for them (under-six size) and we’ve been playing with it quite a bit. We’ve also had the (kiddie) pool out as well. The girls are absolutely in love with dandelions (again this year). I’m not sure what that says about our flower beds, but dandelions are certainly low-maintenance perennials.

Rodents- we’ve got ‘em. So far the squirrels whose territory surrounds us have been joined what looks to be a rather large mouse living in the flower bed on the west side of the house. So far, we haven’t had a situation like our neighbors (three home invasions by squirrels last summer) or our cousin in St. Louis with his ongoing Racoon insurgency.

B.

My Abandoned Projects

Here are some things I had hoped to do but never made time for, later thought better of, or just plain forgot:

(1) Writing a TV script for a drama about a small-town child protection (child welfare) office, its clients, and staff.

I’ve gone back and forth between making it a sitcom or a drama but it’s really better suited to a drama. Ideally, I’d like for it to follow a couple of social worker, a child who comes into foster care, and at least one family who’s just trying to raise their kids and escape their own stuff/issues/childhoods…

(2) Doing a coffee table picture book on the remaining one-room school houses throughout my province.

Actually, what I mean is the buildings. None are in use as public schools. The survivors are this amazing mix of derelict old buildings that won’t last much longer, private houses, and small community halls.

(3) Going back to school to do my Ph.D.

Not very bloody likely... Maybe if I could place our kids in suspended animation for 3-4 years. I don’t care what anyone says, cryogenic freezing for that long is bound to have side effects. Also, its hard. I'm not even sure where to put the periods- is it Ph.D. or PhD.?

(4) Changing my car’s oil and filter myself.

I actually can do it (I have done it with Dad), but:

A) The good folks at my local Toyota dealership do a better job,

B) They treat me well and overlook my lack of automotive knowledge, and

C) They have freebies like travel mugs and ice scrapers. Tomorrow, I may walk away with a "free" flashlight (after I pay for the oil change and whatever else needs to be done).

(5) Staying in touch with far flung friends and family.

Unfortunately for many people far away (and very near) I do not do a good job at staying touch. E-Mail has helped, but this is the only project I’m listing that I haven’t totally given up. Hey this is a start, right?

B.

Cat Question

As some of you may already know, we will soon be getting a cat, much to the delight of Action Girl and Super Girl (in fact here is Action Girl's drawing, offered as proof).

It’s been 18 years since my last cat er… passed on, so I am starting from square one. Given my allergies, I have to admit that I’m probably starting from further back than that… Our plan is to adopt a fully grown tabby.

So, here’s my question: what is the most important thing the four of us need to do to have a happy cat that we too are happy with?

Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

B.

Lost: Why, Mikey, why?

I think I’m still in shock after this week’s episode of Lost- “Two For The Road.” If you haven’t seen it yet and have to catch up first, stop reading (this means you, North of Nain :-).

What the…? Michael shot Anna Lucia , Libby, and then himself? Man, I did not see that one coming at all. I guess the implication is that this is what he had to do in order to get Walt back from the others. Here’s what I think: For some reason “Zeke’s” band of others (the medical staff) want Anna Lucia dead because of her killing Goodwin. They also appear to want Michael to convince Jack that he can and should fight that group of others.

Also, I think as we start to try to understand the world’s most convoluted and exciting plot line its important to remember that THE OTHERS BROUGHT DOWN THE PLANE! There is no other possibility as both Ethan and Goodwin were “ready” for the main group of survivors and Anna Lucia’s “tailies.” You needn’t look any further than that for proof.

Needless to say, I can’t wait for next week. I’m a little frightened of what the next episode will reveal as:

1) Libby: Will she die? I liked her character and don’t want to see Hurley hurt. It’s nice to think that the guy that doesn’t look like the captain of the football team can end up with the really hot chick (kind of like my own life).

2) Mr. Ecko: It looks like he takes quite a fall. The kind of fall that can lead to an actor having to find another job (except for flash backs). Too bad, I like him. He still scares me, but I like him.

3) Anna Lucia: Crap… I don’t want to lose her either. Realistically, the writers have put so much time into her character development that I don’t see this being her death being all that likely.

B.

Lost flashbacks & back stories / "The Others"

Here are some Lost flashbacks/back stories that I'd really love to see:

- Henry Gale (not the real Henry)

- Henry Gale (the real Henry, rest his soul)

- Desmond (the Scottish hatch guy)

- Claire's baby (for the life of me I can't think of his name)—okay maybe this one is a stretch, but what is a day in his life really like?

- Libby (sooo many questions)

- Danielle Rousseau (might reveal just too much, though)

"The Others:"

I have to admit that I'm really stumped about the others. I accept that the people in the medical hatch (where Claire was taken by Ethan) are basically involved in running the experiment on the survivors. They are the same people that intercepted the raft and confronted Jack with the torches...

But, who are the people that had been opposing the survivors from the tail section? What's with their burlap/sack cloth clothing and bare feet? Why did they steal the children?

I'd suggest that there are two possibilities:

1) They are the same others from the medical hatch who are dressing up/down when they go to steal "tailies"?

2) Or, are they an earlier group of survivors? By this, I’d suggest another set of experiment subjects…

There seems to be a lot of speculation on the web about there being two groups of others. Makes sense, I guess, as much as anything does on that show.

B.

Lost: the Maps!

With a new episode on this week (yay!) I wanted to keep my promise to post the two version of the map that Locke saw in black light on the blast door. (Click to link to full-size versions.)

Here is the screen capture from the actual episode:

Source:
http://www.lost-media.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=1024&pos=529

Here is the now-standard transcription of the text (including the Latin) done by people with far more free time than I'll ever, ever have (but I'm okay with that):


Source:
http://www.thetailsection.com/gallery/thumbnails-23.html

At first, I wasn't sure I wanted to read these but I'm glad I did. They pose many more quetions than they'll ever answer. Question: do you think they reveal too much about the island?
B.

Finding Lost

Okay, enough about the kids for a post or two. I am a huge fan of the television show Lost. I have been since the first episode of last year/the first season. Originally I'd probably started to watch more our of curiosity over Dominic Monaghan, fresh from his Lord of the Rings role. From the time Jack stumbled out of the jungle onto the beach and the crash site I was hooked.

Its been really great to have a show that my significant other and I are equally "into" as our TV tastes have been a little divergent since, well... since the X-Files.

Anyway, here we are almost at the end of the second season. Certain elements (like characters' "back" stories) are getting clearer. Here's what I think I've figured out about the world of Lost: (Feel free to argue/prove me wrong.)

(1) WELL I NEVER: The following main characters have "killed a man": Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Anna Lucia, Jack (euthanised the US agent that guarded Kate on the plane), Mr. Ecko, and Charlie (shot Ethan).

(2) "WELL I REALLY NEVER": The following characters think they have killed someone: Hurley (his grandfather and/or the people at the box factory that burned - both supposedly because of the bad karma of the numbers).

(3) THE MAP: The map that Locke saw is key and almost reveals too much about the Island. So, basically the Island is one big laboratory. The map refers to a number of events that we can only guess about:

12.07.81 H.G. DELEGATION INSPECTION

10.28.84 SUSPECTED SHUT DOWN DATE

1985 AH/DMG INCIDENT

4.08.00 STATIONWIDE FAILURE OF DHARMATEL INTRANET

8.15.01 STATIONWIDE FAILURE OF DHARMATEL INTRANET

01.06.03 STATIONWIDE FAILURE OF DHARMATEL INTRANET

They don't help a lot do they?

(4) SO WHAT'S GOIN' ON?: I've come to think that the survivors are the experiment and the Island and its effects on them are what's being evaluated. I can't believe that they're in Purgatory or that the whole thing is a dream. Either of these would be too limiting and disappointing.

Next post, I'll link to the map and where you can find it on the web.

B.

Easter... Or the more things change, the more they've changed...

Easter went very well at our house. Both S-Girl and A-Girl were very happy at the holiday, their treats, and talked a lot about the meaning of the holiday.


Action Girl (age five) found 14 Easter eggs and Super Girl (age two) found 10 (with a lot of help from her sister). We did some visiting and had some time to just chill- hope you all did the same.





Speaking of candy filled holidays, does anyone remember this stuff? -->










We were having a movie night a few weeks ago and I gave the girls a box of it. They tried it but really didn't like it... I can remember raving about it when I was A-Girl's age. I guess their junk food palate is just that much more sophisticated than mine.

B.

Career Choices?

Apparently the super hero life is not an actual career option for either Action Girl or Super Girl.

They have both identified career options that do not involve crime/bad guy fighting as a way to pay the bills:

Q: So, what do you think you'd like to be when you grow up?

A-Girl: A singer!

[A singer? Where did this come from?]

S-Girl: A Kangaroo!

[There is nothing I can say about this that would make it any funnier...]

B.

What super hero are you gonna be?

This may not be as trendy as the pick your super hero name web site, but our two girls have already selected their (secret?) super hero identities. The oldest (age 5) is "ACTION GIRL." The youngest (2 years) has picked (with some big sisterly advice) "SUPER GIRL." (hopefully the fine folks at DC comics legal affairs can cut us some copyrighted slack.)

I'm not sure what preconceptions I had about what games two girls three years apart might play, but super hero is a surprise. What's more they seem to be obsessed about running around the house "killing bad guys."

PRO:
1) Fewer bad guys in the world= good thing.
2) Who needs a security system- we have super heroes!
3) Self-confidence? Yep.

CON:
1) Whole lot a' killin'...
2) The gilrs aren't seeing jail as an acceptable alternative to smashin' some bad guy butt...

Yes- I'm just jealous I'm not a super hero. I just raise them.

Puttin' my toes in the bloggy waters

OK- Construction has started - please check back in a few days.

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