:: Mark Fiore is a former political cartoonist who now works on political animation. His latest offering is a jab at the Democractic National Convention. More of his animated cartoons are available on his site.
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:: The Emmy nominations overlooked Ian McShane for his outstanding work on Deadwood, but the Television Critcs' Association righted that wrong by giving him the award for Individual Achievement in Drama. And ya gotta love The Daily Show winning the award for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information, which prompted Jon Stewart to say the following: "We're not real," Stewart said. "There must be some kind of mistake."
:: Derryl sent a link to this brilliant parody of album covers, from the Photoshop Phriday page on Something Awful:.
Imagine a world where music is marketed in an honest fashion, where instead of pretentious titles you get a straight and accurate description of what you're getting, where there is truth in advertising. Now imagine you have a million dollars and you're giving it all to me. I believe in the power of imagination, and thusly I believe I'm going to be rich. But until all that money arrives, take a look at these handsome images contributed by our pristine collection of forum goons. They decided to strip away the fancy titles by yesterday and today's top artists and say what's really going on. I think they have a better handle on the music than even some of the musicians.:: So, the sixth season of The Sopranos won't appear until 2006.
:: In anticipation of the upcoming release of the remake, I watched the original 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate tonight. A highly respected and regarding political thriller, I had to stop and rewind the tape occasionally to review the dialogue, often turning on the closed captioning to ensure that what I thought I heard was correct. The strangest conversation has to be when Major Marco (Frank Sinatra) meets Rosie (Janet Leigh) on a train, and after she lights a cigarette for him, and they begin talking, standing between two of the cars. They discuss football, US states, her name, and railroads. Early on, Leigh, speaking about the railroad, says, "I was one of the original Chinese workmen who laid the track on this stretch." It's an absolutely bizarre line in the script, and is left hanging for the remainder of the movie; are they speaking in code to each other? The complete transcript of this scene is on this page. Roger Ebert alludes to this odd exchange in a 1988 review of the movie. It's a great film, and I'm looking forward to the new version. Other movies seen in the past few days: Anchorman, The Clearing, Spider-Man 2, Before Sunset, The Jack Bull.
:: Remember Live Aid? Twenty years later, it will finally be released on DVD.
:: I am still searching for meaning. I'm not sure what matters anymore. Do you have any brilliant insights? I'd be thrilled to hear from you...
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:: Last Friday, July 16th, I spent time visiting with my friend, Jason Pascoe, who lives in Kitchener-Waterloo ON. I had not seen him for some years, and we had a good time catching up and eating diner food at C Kelekis' Restaurant, a legendary greasy spoon on Main Street in Winnipeg. Chris Kelekis began operating his food business from a pushcart in 1918, and opened the restaurant in 1946. He was decades ahead of McDonald's with his shoe-string french fries. For many years through to present day, his daughter, Mary, has managed the operation. As usual, I had my hot dog with bacon and cheese, shoestring fries with gravy, and a Coke. Diet out the window!
On Friday evening, I attended a pool party with my high school cohorts from the 1971 Windsor Park Collegiate class. Held at the Oystryk home in Southdale, about 15 of us had a blast, eating Chinese food, swimming, and ending the evening with a rousing Beatles singalong in the tv room, with me on guitar. The members of this group were not close friends of mine when I was in high school, but that doesn't matter. They were responsible for organizing the 2003 reunion, the year our class turned 50, a hugely successful event. Now, we are developing strong friendships as a result of the reunion and subsequent parties, and all future trips to Winnipeg will include my WPC homeys. They are fantastic people.
The same day, I visited my mother in the St Boniface Hospital, after her surgery. She was in the hospital until today, and is slowly recovering from what the doctors determined to be bacteria destroying the ligaments and tissue in her left shoulder! I was so annoyed and angry when I learned this. Before I went to St John's, the week before, I had returned home one evening to find my mother in tears from the pain in her shoulder. I felt so damn useless at that moment. My dad and I were left wondering why the doctors couldn't determine what was happening until she was six weeks into the pain. I cannot imagine how hopeless she felt, and how intense the pain was. However, better late than never, I suppose, and the operation was performed by one of the top orthopedic surgeons in Winnipeg.
In any event, she is recuperating slowly, and now has a PICC line inserted through a vein in her arm. A PICC line, or Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter, is placed through the skin and inserted into a vein in the arm, and moved through the vein until it reaches the large vein that enters the heart. Through the PICC line, intravenous medication is delivered directly to the heart.
On Saturday, I drove for 14 hours back to Edmonton in scorching heat. With each successive trip, I find the drive slightly less tolerable and a bit more annoying. When I drive to Winnipeg from Edmonton, I take the Yellowhead Highway (now considered to be the "northern route" of the Trans-Canada Highway) all the way to Portage la Prairie, where it connects with Highway 1, some 45 minutes from Winnipeg. I drive back Edmonton on Highway 1 to Regina, then up to Saskatoon on Highway 11. The Regina-Saskatoon run could quite possibly be the most boring 2.5 hours of anyone's life, but at least it is a divided highway. Between Regina and Winnipeg, there remains ~162 kms of two-lane highway (west of Virden MB to east of Sintaluta SK), one of the many National Embarrassments of the southern route of the Trans-Canada Highway.
While in Winnipeg, I noticed what a good selection of FM stations is available there, especially compared to Edmonton. In addition to the usual classic rock and lite rock crap (which defines all the pop stations in Edmonton), one can find stations playing modern rock, jazz, even a nostalgia/standards station. Three college stations are available (U Man, U Wpg, Red River CC). In Edmonton, if the classic rock dinosaur stations don't work for you, the alternatives are CBC Radio 2, and CKUA. They are good stations, but I'm bored with both of them, which in certain circles, is a sacrilegious and blasphemous admission.
CKUA, surviving on donations from its listeners, tries too hard to please all of them at once, attempting to reach some kind of crunchy granola happy medium, with roots music up the wazoo. CBC Radio 2's jockeys hit the top of the annoying meter - collectively they talk too fast, or their voices modulate so badly from high to low and back again that I find myself unable to decipher what they are saying. Thankfully, Edmonton will soon be getting a jazz and modern rock radio stations. It won't happen soon enough.
I spent Sunday and Monday laying about the house in Edmonton, having as much energy as a sack of wet mice, as Foghorn might say. I'm back at work, uninspired and somewhat listless. My mother is out of the hospital this evening, and glad to be home in Winnipeg.
The trip to Winnipeg, then St John's, and then Winnipeg again, was a good one, despite being exhausting and physically draining. I can't really recommend taking a vacation while you are on vacation, only to return to your first vacation. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the two weeks, seeing family and friends, and meeting many nice, interesting new people in Newfoundland.
I mentioned previously the incident where I "stepped" into the ocean while trying to stop myself from slipping on some wet rocks on the shore. Kenton has uploaded his photos, which include this one of me making my way down to the shore (pre-slippage, in a Tai Chi moment of some sort), and "after the fall", as I signal to Kenton and Susan that I am ok, not aware just yet that I've badly bruised the inside of my right knee and pulled a muscle to the left of my stomach while falling. Seeing the shoreline from Kenton's perspective in this picture really makes me wonder why I thought I could actually get to the edge of the ocean without sliding in. D'oh!
The good news is, eventually, I did touch the ocean without falling down, here at Middle Cove Provincial Park. While we were there, we searched for small rocks with more than one white stripe on them, which meant we would have good luck, especially if we found rocks with two white stripes or lines on them. I returned to Winnipeg with 7 or 8 of them. The following day, the last of our trip, Susan, Kenton and I did the 3.5 km hike around Signal Hill. The views during the hike were incredible. A few examples are here, here, here, here, here, and here. So there. This one's nice too. Oh, and here's a shot of me playing and singing at Kim's and Geoff's wedding on July 9th in St John's.
Kenton took all the photos linked from this post.
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:: I had a nice time this evening with some of my cousins, visiting them and their families, and my Auntie Carol, at Birds Hill Park, north of Winnipeg. I arrived home to find a note from my dad regarding my mom, who has been in considerable pain for about six weeks, with an infected left shoulder. The note said that she is in the hospital having surgery. My dad called a few moments ago, and told me that the surgery is over, but my mom will need to stay in the hospital for a couple days. He said an orthopedic surgeon did the work, and that a scope was used. I hope they were able to discover the problem.
:: This just in: watch for the new right-wing weather channel from Fox News.
:: The Emmy Nominations, released today, were as usual, predictable for their omissions, if nothing else. But I was astonished that Ian McShane did not receive the nod for Best Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series for his portrayal of saloon operator Al Swearengen, in HBO's Deadwood - unbelievable, unforgivable and regrettable. HBO received 124 Emmy nominations, including 20 for The Sopranos and 11 for Deadwood, which was also passed over for Best Dramatic Series. McShane gave the performance of his career in the 12 episodes of Deadwood which aired this year. Gary Dretzka, writing in TV Barn, agrees, highlighting the snub of McShane by the Academy, as well as other predictable omissions. One nomination that was long overdue was Mariska Hargitay for Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Read every prime-time Emmy nomination here, if you need to know them all.
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:: As mentioned below, it was raining on the morning of July 9, but stopped around 10 am. Later in the day (Friday, July 9), Charles and I drove to Bowring Park, where the wedding was held, to discover that the chairs had been set up on the lawn, meaning the ceremony was to be held outside! A microphone and speaker were in place, along with a long extension cord for the guitar amplifier.
I set up my equipment, tested the sound system and amplifier, and everything was working fine. People began to arrive, and around 4:40 pm, I began "noodling" on the guitar, playing a selection of pieces, even making up stuff on the spot. At 5:00 pm, Kim's Uncle Dave, who was officiating the ceremony, began walking towards the area where the wedding would take place, followed by the groomsmen and Geoff. Then, the bridesmaids and Kim and her father followed, while I played Pachelbel's Canon.
The ceremony lasted about 45 minutes. At the signing of the register, I played and sang Sarah Harmer's "Open Window". When the ceremony ended, I played "Here Comes the Sun", while Geoff and Kim and the wedding party walked back towards the pavilion, where Kim's dad, Mark, gave a champagne toast to the bride and groom. Following photos, a delicious meal was had by all, with a few toasts and speeches, and then a dance.
The next morning, I woke with a wicked sore throat, the beginning of a chest and head cold. Eventually, Charles drove me to Memorial University, where I checked into a room that was already occupied by my Edmonton friends and colleagues, Kenton and Susan. A number of us met up at The Casbah in St John's for breakfast. The rest of the day is somewhat of a blur. Susan, Kenton and I were joined by Kim's friend, Andrea. They made plans for the evening, but I passed, feeling tired and sick by that time.
On Sunday, having ingested various medications supplied by my roommates, we drove to Bay Bulls, where we went on a whale watching boat trip. We saw fin and humpback whales, including one humpack that decided to follow the boat for a while, surfacing on both sides to let us see its blowhole and huge jaw, at times pacing the boat underwater. It was spectacular. The boat then moved into the Witless Bay Seabird Ecological Reserve, where we saw literally thousands of puffins and other species. The ecological reserve is home to Pee Pee Island, btw.
Next, we drove to Ferryland, to visit the amazing Colony of Avalon. From the introduction:
Have you ever walked on a 17th–century street, seen a 17th–century herb garden, or looked at the remains of everyday life in one of the earliest European colonies in North America?In fact, we did see these things, and much more, and walked down the 17th-century cobblestone street. A remarkable amount of information and artifacts has been collected since the site was discovered in 1980, and the guide told us that it may take another 40-60 years to uncover everything still hidden under the soil. The tour ended in the 17th-century kitchen, where we were shown hearth-baked bread and how families lived in their small homes at that time.If you haven't, come to the Colony of Avalon at Ferryland, Newfoundland.
The colony was founded by George Calvert, later Lord Baltimore, in 1621. Most people have no idea that permanent European settlement in North America dates so far back, and that Newfoundland played such an important role. The Ferryland settlement was "forgotten", and its remains lay undisturbed for centuries.
The site is now being excavated. Constructed of stone, the buildings have left substantial remains. Archaeologists have uncovered over a million artifacts to date – gold rings, Portuguese ceramics and other unusual objects – as well as a smithy, a stone-walled well, a sea-flushed privy and the "prettie street" described in very early accounts. There is evidence of earlier occupations by Beothuk Indians and Basque fishermen.
Throughout the day, it was cool and windy. The weather did not break until our last day, Monday, July 12th. That day, we drove north, to Pouch Cove, which I later learned is pronounced "pooch". On the way, we stopped at a roadside area, and I decided it was a good time to "touch the ocean." The car was near a railing, near the edge of a drop which led to average sized boulders and rocks, and then the ocean. I decided to make the short hike to the bottom, and put my hand in the Atlantic. Almost there, I slipped on a large wet rock, and with Kenton and Susan watching from above, lost my balance and fell, trying to grab onto anything to prevent myself from stepping or falling into the water.
Of course, this didn't happen. My left foot landed squarely in the water up to my calf, drenching my shoe, sock and pant leg before I could stop tumbling. I also banged the inside of my right knee, and may have strained a stomach muscle. Well, I wanted to touch the ocean, but instead, stepped in it. Mission accomplished.
Significantly embarrassed, we continued the drive through the community of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, where we stopped at Middle Cove Provincial Park, ostensibly a beachfront of pebbles and rocks, where this time, I -did- touch the ocean with my hand (photos to follow), without injuring myself.
Back in St John's, we drove to Signal Hill National Historic Site, and despite my condition, I joined Susan and Kenton on a 3.5 km hike around the hill. The hike around the site ends, surreally and literally, on the wooden deck of private citizens on St John's. We walked past two people sitting in lawn chairs enjoying the sunshine, which had returned that day. While hiking, we saw more whales in the ocean from the top of the hill.
Throughout all these treks and tours, the scenery was absolutely spectacular, and the people incredibly friendly. Our only regret was that the weather was poor for three of the days we were there, with a lot of heavy fog preventing us from seeing a lot of the surrounding areas while we were sightseeing. However, I would not hesitate to recommend Newfoundland as a tourist destination at any time.
With shopping to do, we returned the rental car, and were driven downtown around 4:00 pm. Kenton and Susan went shopping, and I went looking for a coffee shop, to read and conserve some energy. I found a place called Auntie Crae's Food Shop, featuring some amazing baking and friendly staff, and bought a nice hot chai tea and a butter tart. The butter tart was so good, I needed another one, and eventually bought the remaining seven, to share with the others, and my folks, when I returned to Winnipeg.
In the evening, we met up with Dan Duda, former U of A colleague, now a librarian at Memorial University Libraries. Dan and I left after dinner, leaving Susan and Kenton to stay up all night. Dan showed me a bit of the MU campus, including the library, and his office, and the map library, where he hopes to work again next year. I hit the sack, but didn't sleep much, as we had to rise at 3:30 to catch a taxi to the airport for a 6:00 am flight to Toronto. I arrived back in Winnipeg at 11:40 CDT, and didn't get to sleep last night until around 1:00 am, so essentially, I was up for 24 hours. Today, I'm beat, but feeling just a little healthier.
Back in Winnipeg, I will stay for another three days, and then drive home to Edmonton on Saturday.
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:: Greetings from The Rock. I am in Paradise. Paradise, Newfoundland, just outside of St John's. Kim and Geoff are to be married in about 3 hours. I am staying with Charles and Debbie, friends of Kim's, and they are the most incredible, gracious hosts. The flight from Toronto was delayed two hours on Wed night, and didn't land in St John's until 1:45 am Newfoundland time. I hit the sack around 4:15 am Thursday morning.
Last evening, there was a short wedding rehearsal, followed by a bbq, with a number of invited guests. It was sunny and warm, but when the sun set, the temperature dropped to under 10C! We were in our jackets, but having a great time. I played some guitar, and was joined by a family friend, John, who played the spoons. A few Beatles tunes were sung, and John sang three traditional Newfie songs as well! It was also Geoff's birthday, and we had drumstick cake to celebrate. Needless to say, I am eating well, and not exercising, so am feeling a bit sluggish!
It was raining heavily this morning, but stopped three hours ago, so the prospect of a 5:00 pm outdoor ceremony is looking better. Tomorrow, Kenton and Susan and I will begin a three-day, post-wedding stay in St John's and surrounding area, including a whale watching boat trip.
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:: Some of the latest news on Fahrenheit 9/11 and Michael Moore:
:: The trip to Winnipeg thus far has been a lot of fun. Very busy, visiting both relatives and friends. Last night, Mike, Steve and I spent a couple hours visiting Chester Cuthbert, local book collector and member of First Fandom. Chester is now 91, and will turn 92 later this year. He remains in good health for someone in his age range, and he enjoyed our visit. We were able to spend a bit of time rummaging about the hundreds of boxes of books in the basement and second floor of his home, stirring up a few memories along the way.
On Saturday, we attended Tony's 50th birthday party. On Sunday, I went to another party, celebrating the 4th of July, at the home of my Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Carl, who previously lived in Tampa, Florida, for over 20 years. While there, I saw another friend, Natasha, who currently lives in Germany. She had flown in the day before, to attend two weddings later in the month in Winnipeg. Aunt Eleanor and her sister, my Aunt Ida, were in Germany in June, visiting relatives, and this morning, she shared her photos of the trip with me. The relatives there are descendants of my grandfather's brother, Leslie, and his sister, Margaret.
I have otherwise been lazy, sleeping in, and then taking afternoon naps. Having not exercised for over a week, I feel like a slug! Tomorrow I fly to St John's for the wedding, and will return to Winnipeg on July 13th. The time flies.
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:: I drove into Winnipeg this afternoon, from Langenburg SK. The 4-hour trip took me through a storm system that alternated between a few drops of rain and a steady downpour. Driving at times was hazardous.
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:: I begin a road trip today, driving to Langenburg SK, and then to Winnipeg tomorrow. Talk to you soon.
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