May catch up

In way of preparation, I find myself scrambling to put together some posts to cover the events in May.  I honestly was thinking of writing, but you know how it is in the spring ... there's always something interesting to do outside. (In Calgary, its shovelling snow.  ::grin::)  Fortunately, my camera was there to record things and keep them somewhat fresh.

First, I guess we should cover acquisitions.  My office lamp packed it in early this month.  I loved the look of that lamp, but it had a major design flaw that caused the lampshades to drop down and rest on the lightbulb instead of in their housings, with the last event causing a bulb to burst into tiny shards.  I'm often barefoot in this room, so ... I packed the lamp off to the garage and I headed out on what became a three-day quest to replace it.  I think I did okay.   This is my first Tiffany style lamp.

Right around the same time, we were having a disagreement with our kitchen faucet over what the proper rate of flow should be.  Pressure had dropped off  (only in the kitchen tap) to the point where it seemed you could turn on the water to fill the cofee pot, go take a shower and return before the pot was full.

I'm not sure why we put up with it for weeks.  Maybe we hoped that it would miraculously fix itself in the way that gadgetry sometimes does.  You know, when you're trying to describe to a puzzled repair expert what the thing had been doing 100% of the time until they arrived and it mysteriously stopped.  Well, it didn't do that.

A call to Superplumber!  Did you hear that echoey reverb in your head as you read Superplumber? Yes, they have superheroes on their vehicles.  Its kinda cute, kinda funny and a whole lot dorky.  Which may be why we chose them in the first place.  You gotta call someone, right? Fortunately, they've been good to us over the years.  They'd even repaired this particular problem once before.  Unhappily, this time they could not.  But our rep did recommend several extremely pricey options as replacements.  I'm betting she gets a bit of commission on up-sales.  She was good, she almost had me.  Then I remembered Ian, so I turned down her options in favor of a consultation with my brother.

Ian's advice was somewhat along the same lines, although he didn't necessarily agree that Delta wasn't a good tap.  He did suggest I steer away from in-store brand names and use a plumbing supplier rather than a outlet store.  So I found myself at Splashes one afternoon looking at pricey faucets and mentally putting them on my own sink.  I'll bet that, other than Ian, you don't know how much variety there can be in simply getting a sinkful of sudsy water.

With the help of the lady across the desk, we found a discontinued Delta product (discontinued only because they no longer package soap dispensers with taps) with the auto-touch feature in the swankier stainless steel type .. for less than half the cost of the taps quoted by our Superplumber friend.  Who came back to install it.

She also freaked Mr. Tippy out so badly that he wouldn't come eat until he knew she was not in the house. No telling what's going on there, but its happened twice now.  Same person.

Please tell me that your kitchen window sill is also a collect-all for stuff you have no idea where else to put

I've got another post coming up for family stuff, including a shot of Ian's new tattoo, but for now, I'd like to say hello to Bruce's sister Bonnie.   Up to this point, she's likely been unaware of my blog.  Bonnie, the site address is www.neumansofnanaimo.blogspot.ca if you care to catch up on any older material.

Songs from my shows

Every once in a while, a great song from an opening sequence on television totally grabs me and I have to know more about the song.

In no particular order, here's a selection of music from television shows that caused me to open up a browser and find out more about them, the lyrics or the artist.

The Heavy - Short Change Hero - from Strike Back.  

Lyrics here.

The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road - from True Detective

Lyrics here.  This 10-episode series had an amazing soundtrack - here's a breakdown.

Fever Ray - If I Had a Heart - from Vikings

Lyrics here.

Ramin Djawadi - Main Theme - Game of Thrones

Ramin Djawadi is an Iranian-German composer of orchestral music for film and television.  Credits include Pacific Rim, Iron Man and Clash of the Titans in addition to Game of Thrones.

Ray Boutté - The Treme Song - Treme

Lyrics here.

Jace Everett - Bad Things -  True Blood

Lyrics here.

RIP Joffrey

"What to do with a Problem Child?"  George R.R. Martin has a few ideas, but this solution was typically inelegantly elegant.

Oh Joffrey, we hated you so. You were such a despicable character with oh so very few redeeming qualities. Sure, you cut a dashing figure in your court clothes and you did look good with your crown, but I'm afraid that beyond that, you really weren't worth the cost of that cloth-of-gold.

Thinking about Joffrey brings to mind that quote from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"  ... "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."   In this case, Joffrey was written that way.  Mr. Martin may have given Jack Gleeson a framework, but the actor was the one who stole the show in his willingness to abandon all social niceties; to let us fully, completely hate Joffrey Baratheon.  He really riveted attention when he was on screen.

I would imagine that the end of this role would be a heady experience for a young actor who will undoubtedly have offers rolling into his agent's office.  Professionally, he is on top of the world right now.

I also wondered if he would always elicit boos when he appeared in a film.   I watched him some time ago in a gentle tale about a young Irish lad and could only wait for Joffreyish behaviour and when a bit of boyish meanness appeared, felt vindicated in my immediate dislike of the character.  Like John deLancie and my hair-trigger call out of "Q!" when I see him on screen, I wondered how a young actor would go about not carrying the baggage of his biggest role to date.  He is probably the most hated man on television right now. Maybe he could pull the Miley Cyrus trick and just go skanky? Unrealistic, but Hanna Montana publicly and repeatedly twerking has erased any sugary sweetheart image and her new persona would have been a far-fetch, had we not witnessed it.

Jack Gleeson has his own ideas, however.  In another well-timed shocking turn that could have been written by George Martin, Jack has announced he'll retire from acting.  Here's what he said to Entertainment Weekly:

Now you’re giving us another twist in this story by retiring at the age of 21. Why?
Gleeson: The answer isn’t interesting or long-winded. I’ve been acting since age 8. I just stopped enjoying it as much as I used to. And now there’s the prospect of doing it for a living, whereas up until now it was always something I did for recreation with my friends, or in the summer for some fun. I enjoyed it. When you make a living from something, it changes your relationship with it. It’s not like I hate it, it’s just not what I want to do.

He is certainly not doing what we'd expect of the self-centered persona we know through the Song of Ice and Fire saga. That rather intrigues me and I think its a shame that we'll not get to see how he goes from Joffrey to other roles.  Maybe, however, it's best in the long run.  

Whatever you do, Mr. Gleeson, I hope you throw yourself at it the way you did Joffrey Baratheon. With gusto and abandon.  Well done sir.  /ovation

My take on the Olympics

Like many Canadians, we've just spent the last seventeen days buzzing about the Winter Olympics, catching the skiing events, cheering the figure skaters and speed track hopefuls, getting up at stupid hours to watch curling and hockey.

Aside from the sheer excitement of double Canadian gold in curling and hockey, we enjoyed the look behind the icy veneer that we have come to think of as Russia. Sochi has helped redefine Russia and her people .. in our minds and hopefully in the minds of the millions of others who watched Russia host the world.  She was friendly and outgoing, the people were enthusiastically welcoming ...we were treated to an invitation to grandma's house ...  she chucked our cheeks and fed us borscht and sausage. Then just when we got really comfy toasting our toes in front of the fire, she opened more doors and showed us how centuries of experience have created regal refinement and art we might ourselves one day attain if we're creative enough; in her appreciation for the past, she showed zest for a future that promises even better.  We were dazzled with splendor and wrapped in homey quilts.

CBC did some pieces on Russia that really showed the quiet pride that most take in their country ... and it made me think of Canada and our people.  We are, most of us, proud of our national identity in the global community .. and yet, we don't make a fuss about it.  Unless we're in a spot where its considered good form to make a fuss.  Congratulations to all of our athletes who've dedicated years to achieving the chance to be called an Olympian.  Go Canada!!

Back here in the real world, Mother Nature has shown us her quirky side.  Its as if she was as wild about the Winter Olympics as anyone else.  She's given us toboggan hills where we normally have flower beds and roads, sheets of ice that are normally sidewalks and a reason to put on a crockpot of stew and cuddle up with a good book.

For those of you I laughed at earlier this winter ... go ahead.  Its your turn now.  I'd also like to nominate my neighbor with the bobcat for a neighborhood hero award.  He deserves a pie.  I think I'll make him one .. once I can get to the grocery store for apples.

My buddy Chuck

I find Chuck Norris jokes hugely funny.  I can't help it.  They make me giggle. They probably make him giggle.

My friend Eric posted this today and I just had to share it with you .. in case.

In the comments below the youtube video .. you can find this:

• The men on the top of Chuck's head were actually skydivers who got pulled in by Chuck's gravitational force.

• The planes were also unmanned. Chuck piloted both planes's takeoff and flight.

• Who needs cruise control or autopilot when you have Chuck Control?

I am soooo amused.  Merry Christmas ..or Merry Chuckmas .. whichever!

Blowing the Wings off Christmas

Bruce sent this to me a few days ago, but I just opened it. I'm not one to get overly emotional .. unless we're talking about kittens, then all bets are off ... but this .. I found myself crying before it was over.  Crying in a good way.

Apparently, Santa dress in purple.  Who knew?

Another kind of therapy

Even when I'm dieting, the sight of this shelf in the grocery store sends me into little tailspins of happiness.  That's because, for the most part, two squares = 100 calories and dark chocolate does not cause my stomach to flipflop.  

My favorite is the mint.

White Christmas

Historically, there is a one in three chance that Nanaimo will have a white Christmas.  This is according to Bruce who is quoting a weather source somewhere.  He's much more weather dependant (and weather interested) than I, so I'll just call him an "expert source."  I can count on him, any time of day, to know what's going to happen with the weather today, in two hours, tomorrow or for the next 10 days.  Yup, he's that kind of interested.  I realize that weather is almost a uniquely Canadian chat topic since I chat with a lot of people from all over the world.  We love the stuff; be it rain, snow or sunshine.  Any chit chat starts with talk about it, as well as the quality and quantity.

That being said, December has seen the rain come down steadily, sometimes sideways.  We've had a few days of rare "Alberta sunshine" so bright that you forget Albertans travel with sunglasses even in winter.  The really unusual weather for us here has been the snow .. so I took pictures.  After all, its only fair that if I laugh at you poor folks cocooned in your homes at -30° (like Grande Prairie is today) .. you get to see what its like when the shoe is on the other foot.  Not that its -30° or even the -20° of Calgary.  It's a darned chilly 1°.  Yea, I know .. poor princess.  ::snicker::

Here's my photo lineup for the day.

I love wreaths.  My pal Bev and I enchanced one with a garland of sparkly
bits and a cheery red bow.

I'm surprised the birds don't like these berries.

Looking out my front room window onto Georgia Strait

Someday, you might see this on a Christmas card.  I love how it turned out.

These two are the same photograph, with different post-production treatments. The first reads as very cold and wintry, albeit pretty; while the second, more saturated photo almost looks like a magical fairyland..  That poor greenery on the left is my normally upright bamboo.

A 1960s color treatment created a surreal feel to this photo.

I hope today finds you in a cheery Christmas sweater, with enough rum n eggnog to not care about the pictures they'll circulate of you .. I hope you're surrounded by friends or family (maybe both) and have enough board games or puzzles or genial atmosphere to keep you entertained all day.   And I hope your Christmas dinner has at least one spectacular dish.  

Also .. get in a Christmas nap if you can; they're good for your soul.  That's where I'm going now.  ::big hug::

Heavy day in traffic

This time of year brings out Christmas mayhem in traffic.  All of a sudden, mall parking lots are full on Tuesday afternoons and just negotiating the parking lot at the grocery store can be tricky.  (Which says nothing about negotiating around blue-haired ladies who forget their carts in the middle of the grocery aisles .. which may or may not be one of my hot buttons .. and which may or may not be the subject of my own brand of in-depth journalism one day.  lol. snerk)  

Anyway, a raft of seagulls and a lonely crow decided to squabble over a loaf of bread someone had dropepd, and it was creating backed up traffic at the store as people tried to drive through the milling birds without actually either hurting them or the bread.  Hey, everyone's got a right to eat, no?

I know its not Calgary traffic, but it tied me up for five minutes and in Nanaimo, that's gridlock!

This Ain't No Place

Stuck in my brain today ...

I've been watching a show on Showcase called Strike Back .. and this is the song over the slick opening credits.   Its "Short Change Hero" by a band called The Heavy.  In case you're interested, here's a link to a synopsis of the show "Strike Back."

I can't see where you comin' from
But I know just what you runnin' from:
And what matters ain't the "who's baddest" but
The ones who stop you fallin' from your ladder, baby

And you feel like you feelin' now
Doin' things just to please your crowd,
But I love you like the way I love you,
And I suffer, but I ain't gonna cut you cus

This ain't no place for no hero.
This ain't no place for no better man.
This ain't no place for no hero
To call "home."

This ain't no place for no hero.
This ain't no place for no better man.
This ain't no place for no hero
To call "home."

Every time I close my eyes, I think,
I think about you inside,
And your mother, givin' up on askin' why -
Why you lie, and you cheat, and you try to make
A fool outta she...

I can't see where you comin' from,
But I know just what you're runnin' from.
And what matters ain't the "who's baddest," but the
Ones who stop you fallin' from your ladder, cos

This ain't no place for no hero.
This ain't no place for no better man.
This ain't no place for no hero
To call "home."

A final salute

I love my husband for ... well, for many reasons.  Today, it was this note.

Rest in peace, General Electric;
good & faithful soldier of the top drawer.

Bruce is the person who breaks things in this house ... I cannot count the number of chipped dishes I've found .. but I don't think this knife really owes us anything.  Since we arrived in Nanaimo, its been employed many times every week for Bruce to slice fresh Italian bread .. there's just something so deliciously wonderful about bread you slice yourself.  And I think we received the knife as a wedding gift .. so yea ... it deserves a final salute.

I Want to Show You Something

There are certain words that cause trepidation among spouses, a trigger for what you fear in your bones will just not have a happy outcome.  In our house, its "Hey, can you come here?  I want to show you something."

Pretty innocent sounding, right?  But its often followed up by a finger pointing at the garbage you forgot to take out, even though you were in the middle of it and something else just took your attention away ... paint that got spilled ... a toothpaste tube squeezed in the wrong spot ... something that was left out and the cats played with.  All causes for a finger-wagging at the very least.

In the latest case of "I want to show you something," Bruce brought me out to the balcony and handed me a pair of binoculars.  This is unusual.  Normally, whatever the big show, it's within touching distance.  Bruce asked me if that tree had always looked that way .. and pointed at the dogwood.  Now, if you've been following my blog, you know I've taken a gazillion pictures of that tree this year.  Spectacular is a word I think I've used more than once.  So yea .. I was familiar with it.

However, what he was most concerned about was something I'd not seen before that point in time .. and it caused a great deal of consternation for the pair of us for the next hour as we determined what it was and how we'd deal with it.  Not just "it" as it turns out .. we have a pair on the property.

The one in the dogwood is about the size of a volleyball and sits high in the tree over the birdbath.  The second is the size of Bruce's fist and is waaaaay up in the eaves.

So today, the exterminators came with their ladders and spray gunk and took care of things for us.

Neumans:  2 .. Hornets:  0 .. Exterminators:  $100.

Best $100 I've spent in a long time.  

Barefoot in July

Three Hills, in my childhood memories, has dimpled sidewalks, the kind that gather rain in their little square pockets and make for interesting shades of black and grey as the decades roll past.  The kind that tell a story about pride of workmanship by town crews and sometimes have street names etched at intersections.  The kind of sidewalks that gladly accept pine needles dropping from shady boughs ... then turn those offerings into a beautiful resiny smell to enjoy on a hot afternoon.

Walking home from the swimming pool when I visited my grandparents, I'd stop to listen to the church bells chiming out their Westminster tune because Grandpa told me there was never an excuse to be home late because you'd always know the time if you listened.

I remember the heat of July under my feet and being barefoot because I was a farm kid who couldn't be convinced that shoes were necessary.  And I remember the day I discovered that asphalt could squish beneath your toes as you stepped off the hot sidewalk.

Today was one of those days.

There's a big party in Three Hills this weekend and although Bruce and I won't be attending .. we do hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend, that the weather is perfect and mosquitos non-existant.

For the record .. I'm still  barefoot.

Drama!

Sometimes, drama is the good kind.  This sunset begged to be captured on film and I wanted to see what my camera could do on auto settings.  I fluked this shot, in truth.

Taken from my upstairs patio overlooking the strait of Georgia.  Bruce and his outrigger team were on the water when I shot this.

Where have you been all month?

Like a toy boat caught in the eddies of a stream and carried away, February seems to have meandered out to ocean without a blog post.  I've been right here all along, slogging through the month and staying out of trouble. This winter seems to have caught me at a creative low and rather than force things, I thought I'd see if my muse would come tripping along in a gossamer gown with her fairydust wand.

Sadly, not so.  I've pretty much been up to the same thing that folks elsewhere have been doing ... catching up on episodes of Castle (I should start a Nathan Fillion fanclub chapter here) .. and becoming an NCIS fan where the interplay and personal cultural clashes of Mark Harmon, Pauly Perette, and David McCallum make for interesting watching.  Ilya Kuryakin has apparently not managed to get too far out of the spy business.  If you don't know what I mean by that, Google up "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." or follow this elegant and finely crafted link.

I've also been dieting, with more success in January than February, I'm afraid.  Not for lack of trying though, and after a couple of days dealing with frustration by saying "screw it," I'm back on plan.

Good news, potentially.  Spoke with Margie and she may be visiting in March, right around the time that Bruce and his crew are in a regatta here in town.  Could be fun!

The doo-daddies on the this month's masthead were created by me.  I used to make these all the time for my desktop, so I decided to do up one for this month's theme .. which started out as shamrocks .. and somehow along the way morphed into a tulip.  We've got a few early spring flowers poking out of the ground, looking all inviting for the local deer, so we'll see how many make it past the bud stage.  Anyway, here's a larger version in case you'd like to make a desktop of it as well.

Edit:  A small note to those who may collect the fonts I use.  Normally, you can find a link at the bottom of the page for all the fonts I`ve used in designing each month. This month, however, I am stymied .. the one called `Birthday`(appearing in the header as the word òf`  and in column headers inside the page footer) comes from a font group to which I belong .. and I cannot find a copy online.  This leads me to believe that the font has been renamed at some point (not by me), so I`ll have to repair that (I have the tools!)  However, if you wish a copy of it, you need only send me a note.

Things I Discovered Yesterday

I've been stumbling about the interwebs the last few days, looking at graphic novels, novelists and other what-not that captures my fancy. You might argue that I've not gone much done as a result, but I'd counter with .. I got a lot of stumbling done.  Here, in no particular order is some of that stuff.

Neil Gaiman, whose work I'm only now coming to appreciate, is a long time dectractor of Todd McFarlane, whom I happen to like from a "home town boy makes good" angle.  Now, this is ooooooold news to those of you who know who those two are.  Apparently, it stems from a time when they collaborated on something.  In the case of these two, the argument or lawsuit is not important, but the participants are on my radar for separate reasons.

Click this masthead to take you to Neil Gaiman's site

Neil Gaiman's Coraline was up for best animated picture last year.  His graphic novels of Sandman helped redefine and coalesce interest in the flagging genre.  He's a real believer in the future of online and audio books.

Click jersey for link

Todd McFarlane was born and came of age in Calgary, although he did spend some years Stateside.  You may have seen his work and not realized it was his ... Superman, Spiderman and his flagship title, The Spawn, created after he broke away from Marvel Comics and formed Image Comics.

You might also recognize this jersey, from the decade that Todd spent as partial owner of the Edmonton Oilers.

To move on to another graphic novelist, which is what I did, Frank Miller is the author of "300," a film you'll remember for the line 'THIS IS SPARTA!!" if nothing else.


If you're having a bad day and you're a somewhat well known figure, maybe you should just shut up ... instead of getting online and unclenching your balled fists long enough to stab your anger through your fingers into the keys and thus, onto the screen.  At least, I'm attributing this vitriolic rant by Frank Miller to be the result of  a bad day; a bad day which has gone viral, at least within literary circles.  Please don't think I'm against Mr. Millar having an opinion, but the name calling is poor judgement and not even creatively done.  I'm not sure which is the bigger crime, being angry and online (which is akin to drunk dialing in my opinion) or being angry, an author of some repute, online and communicating badly.

I confess that the "Occupy X" movement is a bit beyond my scope, not being a person who drives or walks by them daily or even someone who watches a ton of news.  But I get that they are trying to make change in a bumbling, pacifistic sort of way.  I recall that people of Mr. Miller's generation did the same thing with their college and university sit-ins .. and places other than campuses. There was draft-card burning in the States that went hand in hand as I recall ... it was a the beginning of the tide that eventually changed a nation.  And it started with people merely sitting.  Whether or not Occupy X is the beginning of a groundswell or fizzles out as an idea that never really went anywhere, only time will tell.

Now, author David Brin .. and you should recognize that illustrious name as writer of The Uplift  War, has taken exception to Mr. Miller's blog commentary.  So he responds.  And zomg ... he demonstrates the epitome of outrage so eloquently that you become interested in the subject if only for the education you receive.

 So there you have it.  Yesterday, I learned about wars of the internet kind .. and the Grecian kind.

A Sharp Kind of Day

You ever have one of those days when you can't find a sharp set of scissors anywhere? 

I have a love/hate relationship with scissors that stems, quite likely, from my love/hate relationship with my sewing machine, fabrics and my complete lack of ability to get fabrics to do what I want.  Which has nothing at all do with scissors, but when you're looking around for a scapegoat, a pair of dull scissors will do handily. 

All of my 'good' scissors somehow end up in the kitchen utility drawer until one day I pitch a hissy fit over not being able to find anything sharp enough to cut the end off one of those drink packets you put into a water bottle.  Now, if you're a good enough homemaker, you likely have an a pair stashed away in the sewing kit that you can access in an emergency such as this.  Which is how they end up in the utility drawer and ... cycle repeats.  Or your husband spots them on the counter before you get them put away and the next time you see your expensive fabric scissors, they're being used to cut those garden ties with the thin metal strip in the middle. 

All you women out there are nodding your head right now, saying "I feel your pain, sistah."

So today, I gathered up all my scissors with their brightly colored plastic handles .. blacks and aquas and oranges .. and put them into a bag to take to the knife store.  I was just hoping to get to the counter without looking like some scary homicidal whack job escapee from a bad B movie.  I think I managed, but it was touch and go for a minute or two when I looked down and discovered the ends of one pair poking through the bag.  I wrestled them down .. crisis averted.

So I wandered into the knife store and ... o.0 .. shiny.  

This is how things in my house get replaced .. you get frustrated with something, you put up with it for years and then one day you go nuts and come home with this ...

Five pairs of sharpened scissors, four brightly colored cutting mats, one knife tip replaced because someone broke it off five years ago trying to pry off a jar lid, two new paring knives, a utilty knife, a shiny fork to replace the one in the drawer with the rust marks and one big blue one because the colored knives were buy one, get one free.

Whew!  Can you feel the waves of contentment rolling from the West Coast?

A quick note

I just clicked on Tracy  Chapman's website when I changed the album cover below.  zomg!  Probably the best website design I've seen in a long time.

Tracy Chapman

Just sayin' ...

(By the way, if you click on any book or album cover in the bottom part of my website, it will take you to the author/artist's site.

Leaving the station

I currently have about 15 browser tabs open, as well as a graphics program.  That's because my entertainment is right here in front of me .. usually in words of some sort, sometimes in games, often in pictures or video.  Those little tabs are like train tracks departing my desktop station ... and they've taken me places today I've never dreamed. 

Here's what my day has been like:

I started out opening my mail to find that I had correspondence from Andrew Wheeler, the blogger behind Antik Musings, in response to an email I'd written him.  I won't go into the details of the mails, as most can be surmised by reading the column that my mail inspired, What Makes a Good Review.  From his page and linkbacks in comments, I discovered other sites that have since been bookmarked; so many bookmarks that I just took about five minutes to reorganize and categorize them.  (Can't be having bookmarks get out of hand and underfoot, but never there when you need them.)

In searching through the sites, I came upon this one from T.N. Tobias where authors discuss the need for likability in characters.  I brazenly huffed, in my review of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books, that books were supposed to "give me characters I can care about, despise or be intrigued with."  The TN Tobias post and subsequent viewpoints in commentary often concerned a more literary view of what the character does in order to make the story come alive, not necessarily so much for its own sake.  So now I wonder if I have a naive view of what it takes to make a good story.  Am I still pre-programmed to the happy ending and redeemable characters?  I think I need to know more before I blithely abandon my feelings about characters and what I expect from authors.  So my search to educate myself took me to farther pit stops on the internet, one that has been enlightening and delightful, if not always strictly on topic.  A note here .. I'm pretty sure that I'd make a horrible research assistant .. shiny things distract me.

So without further pre-amble, in no specified order, are things that caught my attention today.

Works of art created on Styrofoam cups. Cheeming Boey is the cartoonist.

The site of Jan Chipchase, whose office is literally the world.  "Today's Office" can be seen at Future Perfect.  When you click on the link on Mr. Chipchase's name, you'll find an interesting article on the Warren Ellis site that propelled me toward Future Perfect.

 

The Worlds Without End site where I played with the wallpapers behind their logo.  Shiny thing ...  'nuff said.

The King of Elfland's Second Cousin, which might actually teach me more about writing ...

An article about surprise scupltures appearing in different Scotland literary locales.  Please read the article .. its amazing.

The sculptor (wordsmith might be a more correct turn of phrase) is still unknown, but is speculated to be Su Blackwell.

2008-the-snow-queen-video from Su Blackwell on Vimeo.

indah-video from Su Blackwell on Vimeo.

Not sure of the song, but the imagery is amazing.

Let's hear it for the little guy ..

Delightful news ... Peter Dinklage has won an emmy for his work in HBO's Game of Thrones.

Now, I know I went on at length about the books yesterday, but that in no way diminishes the work of the actors and crew of the television series.  I was rooting for the show and pleased to see the man awarded who portrays one of my favorite characters.

Although the books assure us that the imp is an ugly little man, I don't think the same can be said for Mr. Dinklage.   I'd read the first four books before, but hadn't really paid attention to Tyrion Lannister.  This man's portrayal of Tywin Lannister's unloved youngest son changed that.

Bravo!