"Tom Brokaw Explains Canada to Americans"

This clip is generating a lot of buzz. Its far, far better than I'd imagined.

Work Thoughts...

As I close in on 40 (but not too close for a while), I'm starting to take a more serious look at my career. Its not that I'm all that unhappy with my present job, but I think its time to take a clear view of where I want and need to be by this point in my life.

I think I'm at or close to a crossroads of deciding to be a highly skilled specialist, or a leader. I'm not sure I can be both in the long run.

B.

Finally, I saw it...

Its taken forever, but I have finally seen Avatar. It was by far the best animated-Vietnam-meets-cowboys-and-"Indians" movie I've ever seen. :-)

All kidding about convention and genres aside, I really loved it and so did the three other adults with whom I saw it. I realize most of you who are going to have already watched it, so I'll spare you a full review. I will say if you're on the fence about seeing it in the theatre, go! It both warrants and deserves a big screen.

By convention it is a "Vietnam" movie. The main character is a soldier (Marine actually) and his cause in the jungle is far from just. Its a modern Western as well in the mold of Dances with Wolves (that explains the length) in that the First Nation (the big blue Na'vi) are noble and pure.

B.

CBC News - Canada - Canada's last WW I veteran dies

Sadly the last one of 650,000 Canadians to serve in the "war to end all wars" has passed away. John Babcock was 109 years old. I've read that he downplayed his service and his courage because he never faced combat. The fact is that at age 16 he volunteered for combat in World War One at a point where everyone had some idea of the medieval slaughter happening all over the Western Front. That's courage.

Boy hero,
Man of courage,
Bloodless warrior,

Thank you sir for your service.

CBC News - Canada - Canada's last WW I veteran dies

Olympics opening ceremony: Canada will rock you (politely)

Olympics opening ceremony: Canada will rock you (politely)

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What We're Dancing To...

Super Girl (age 6) (A.K.A. she-who-is-not-having-a-birthday) just finished dancing around the living room to this:



I wish I was that cool when I was six...

Nine Years So Far!

Our oldest daughter, Action Girl, turns nine today. I'll save the usual cliches about how much our lives have changed and how wonderful our lives became when she joined us (valid as they all are!) and just say what a wonderful and interesting person she is becoming.

Action Girl is a talented, capable, and curious girl. She has a group of wonderful friends who appear to appreciate her. Recently, she figure-skated to second place finish in her club's competition and will be going net month to the provincial competition.

Most important she is a loving girl, who cares about family and friends, including herself. We really couldn't have hoped for more than that nine years ago today.

B.

Catcher in the Rye Snow Globe (!)

This is too cool not to post:

http://www.argosybookshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=193

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