Forever A Fangirl

You've Got LOLCats... and Dogs/Still here

The check engine soon light came on as we were doing last minute run-around stuff for our trip. So $900 later... Something to do with the emissions system was going kerfluey and they had to open a part of the engine that "normally they wouldn't open." The Mustang is too small for a two-week cottage trip (725 miles each way) so we are taking an ancient sedan. :/ Leaving in a few hours. Time for some zzz's.

Gone To Maple Lake

I'm packing now. Will soon be gone to the cottage. It's in a pretty remote area so only dial-up and I'll be sharing the laptop too--but I'll try to drop in at least once.

I hope to rent or buy a canoe but I wouldn't turn down a pretty rowboat like the one pictured here.

I'll probably make you nuts when I come back from the back woods of Ontario laden with photos. But I am very much looking forward to hanging out and taking in/enjoying some local treasures.

Mosquito

I've read that the mosquitoes and black flies are thick and the temperature's have been below normal though are slated to turn wretchedly hot in town the day after we arrive but at the Lake we are 10F degrees cooler so on those days that's where I'll be. In the Lake.  :)  Normally, nights are quite chilly and in the wooden cabin it's best to cover up--it's so fun to leave the windows open like we can't here in suburbia.

Lots to see--want to do the Wolf Centre and drive into Toronto at least for a day or two (the cottage is about 2.5 hours drive from Toronto).

Tomorrow is packing day--all day. Then hopefully out of here early Saturday.

Take care y'all!

Tell us about a time when you were brave.

 

The day before my son Christopher's sixth birthday I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and hospitalized.

The next evening Chris, his dad, and grandma and grandpa came for a visit to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit after having gone to Olive Garden for Chris's birthday dinner.

My son gazed upon me wide-eyed. One couldn't tell where I began and where the beeping and blinking machines ended.

He carefully approached my bedside and said brightly, "I brought you a present, Mommy!"

His grandmother handed him a take-out box which he gently offered me. I opened it up to find a luscious looking slice of chocolate-fudge cake (which of course, I could not eat).

I leaned toward my brave little soldier and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you honey," I said, "I love you."

As heart-rending as that moment was, I did not cry.

As I type this however, the tears flow freely.

What ever did we used to talk about...?

...around the water cooler before we had train wrecks like this:

Lawyer's Frantic Move to Save Lindsay

Posted Jul 25th 2007 2:09PM by TMZ Staff
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Lindsay Lohan

TMZ has learned that in the hours before Lindsay Lohan was busted for DUI, her lawyer knew she was in trouble and was desperately trying to find her.

Sources say last Sunday, just before midnight, mega-lawyer Blair Berk got an ominous signal. The signal came from the SCRAM device that Lindsay agreed to wear on her ankle. The device tests for alcohol use and sounds an alarm to a designated person when alcohol is detected. We've learned that Berk was the designee.

As soon as Berk learned there was a problem, she frantically tried to locate Lindsay. But time ran out before Berk could stop the runaway train wreck. Less than two hours after the SCRAM device signaled, Lindsay was in custody.

What is with the obsession with these women?

Paris, Britney, Lindsey and their constellation of revolving-door assistants and hangers-on.

Do any of them have any real friends? Can a "handler" be a friend?"  Can a  "manny" ?       

Time was only actual stars were recognized by their first names .

Times have changed.  I hope they change to something different soon.--Cyn

Waiting On a Razor's Edge For The Battlestar Galactica Movie/BSG Season 4 Spoilers

source   

In the "Battlestar Galactica " movie "Razor ," which airs Nov. 24 on American television, one scene will take fans of the acclaimed drama back to where it all began. 

"You’ll see a glimpse of the first Cylon ," executive producer Ron Moore said in a recent interview. 

"Razor" is a standalone, two-hour film that does not pick up where “Battlestar’s” third season left off.

But "questions and concerns" raised by "Razor" will be in the air when “Battlestar Galactica’s” fourth and final season begin in early 2008, according to Moore.

The film ...explores the experiences of those aboard the Battlestar Pegasus, which was the setting for a couple of memorable second-season episodes of the show. It also marks the return of Admiral Helena Cain , a fan favorite played by Michelle Forbes .

“We’ve been through [the Cylon attack on humanity] with one ship, with this group of characters” from the Galactica fleet, said Michael Taylor, who wrote “Razor.” The 2-hour movie will explore “a ship that had a very different experience and a very different captain.

“When we first started talking about the movie, somebody said ‘Pegasus,’ and everybody lit up,” Taylor continued. “I think it was the chance to tell the story from another perspective, which perhaps is less heroic in traditional terms. But [the actions of those aboard the Pegasus] may have been just as necessary a reaction, as necessary a way of dealing with such horrendous circumstances.

To tell the same story even more darkly was naturally very attractive to all of us.”

This worries me a bit--tho' maybe I'm too big a wimp.  The episodes dealing with the "Peggy" were some of , if not the darkest  as well as some of very best television ever coming from this genre in this form.  Hopefully the "dark" comments were a slight exaggeration as BSG has been accused of being "too damn dark."

Some episodes of BSG could hold their own against  the best of television drama--but BSG's better because it has Cylons-- killer cyborgs--"skinjobs" like  the beautiful  Caprica Six  and standard-grade issue killer robots that look like killer robots...and the entire attack fleet are sentient spaceships--that resurrect.

Anyway. Oooh. Ensign Ro Laren, I mean Admiral Cain.

I first saw Michelle Forbes really get enough screen time to know she has acting chops back in The Next Phase , Star Trek: The Next Generation, episode 124.

Ensign Ro Laren" was the first Bajoran with an active role on the Enterprise (score!). She was really good--a former Maquis turned
resident Cardassian-hater (with good reason).

She left the show after one season and she was missed --but she's back in uniform again and she's a welcome addition to the Battlestar Galactica canon. Two great series --nearly twenty years apart--and Michelle Forbes made an indelible impression on both of them as a strong, smart, fearless and in BSG, ruthless leader.--Cyn

A pic from back  in the day:

.

...“Razor,” which also follows the first mission of Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber) aboard the Pegasus, promises to reveal some important information about the Cylons, who, as fans of the Sci Fi series know, have been relentless pursuing the 50,000 remaining humans in the Galactica fleet...

“There’s an element in [‘Razor’] – something in the deep past that young Bill Adama encounters,” Taylor said. “It comes back to haunt us, it’s something we have to deal with in the present. It tells us something new about the Cylons as well, it advances that mythology a little bit.”...

...All in all, “Razor” sounds very much like a film that explores how the past affects the present. 

“There’s a sense of the sins and the evils of the past revisited upon us in the present, on both a character level and a story level” in “Razor,” Taylor added. “There should be some surprises in the movie, and they relate to the Cylons as well as some of our own characters.”

Speaking of Season 4 (and there's a little more on that here), at least two characters won’t make it all the way through the last year of “Battlestar Galactica.”

“It’s interesting, there have been a couple cast members where we’ve had to say, ‘Your character isn’t going to make it,’” Moore said. “But because it’s this year, as opposed to last year, it’s different. They kind of went, [in an upbeat tone], ‘Oh, I kind of wish I was going to make it to the end – but I’m in the last year!’”

source

I Love Leo

Show us a photo of a Leo you love. 

This guy:

The Lion
July 23 to August 22

Traditional
Leo Traits

Generous and warmhearted
Creative and enthusiastic
Broad-minded and expansive
Faithful and loving

On the dark side....

Pompous and patronizing
Bossy and interfering
Dogmatic and intolerant

        My son, Christopher...

Is There Anybody Out There?

Today has been frustrating.

TypePad: Down
Vox: Down
Cyn City: Down
Six Apart status board: Down

You guys at SixApart really don't have much a a back-up plan if  San Francisco has problems with it's electricity, do 'ya?

Isn't that rather a too-many-eggs-in-one-basket situation?
The face of the company that I was once fond of is changing dramatically.
Time will tell if I need to make some (more) dramatic changes myself.

Get it together SixApart.
A good reputation is a terrible thing to lose.

And on a lighter note:

"Nothing says, 'I have no idea what to get you,' quite like giant beige bath towels."
  - Missbhavens

Cyanide and Happiness~ Break It Down

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

How Our Garden Grows~ 7.22.07

Brown-eyed Susans~

Dazzler Violet Impatiens~ These replace the New Guinea Impatiens which died of the heat.

Loyalist Hosta with bloom, Begonias~

Begonias in the back of the house garden~

The Picard Song

This is a wee bit silly--OK very silly but it has some fun snippets of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the best captain of any Starship, in some light moments (mostly).

Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 7 June 2008~

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact  cyn.city@gmail.com.

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

I, owner of this blog, am compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I receive compensation for some posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

Thanks for visiting!

Halcyon Hosta About To Bloom

Halcyon Hosta about to bloom (detail)

Yesterday morning after the rain...

Imagini Visual Profile

Read my VisualDNA™     Get your own VisualDNA™

Kind of fun, great graphics, not sure how accurate but...fun doesn't have to be.

Sorry--this is quick and dirty incredibly self-absorbed. I have two active blogs. You should've known that already. :D Guess the stuff that's not like me! :)

Link to test

"Borrowed" from Red Pen  :)

TMI follows:

Buzz

Busy, busy week so today am posting simple stuff I've kept for times like these.

Don't read below if you get upset about insulting most every religion in the world.

Harry Potter And The Order Of the Phoenix, Harry Potter Five, Possible Spoilers

EDIT~07.16.07

Saw Harry Potter 5 today with spouse and son (My mostly picture review  opinion (with pics/poster) follows).

I would've been happier if Imelda Staunton as the Very Mean Dolores Umbridge traded screen time with Helena Bonham Carter because it could've been great fun seeing Bellatrix Lestrange live up to her name.

I would've given Imelda Staunton less screen time. She was too...pink. (I realize Dolores Umbridge was supposed to be annoying and she was.  But more so, it's Imelda Staunton who's not an actress I enjoy seeing perform). *shrug*

 

 

Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Helena Bonham Carter

It was good to see the Weasley's get more face time (except for Mom. What's Julie Walters now, chopped liver? Give her some lines! ).

Great that the underrated Gary Oldman, playing Harry's godfather Sirius Black has quite a bit of screen time. The foreshadowing was pretty heavy-handed at moments but at those times a terrific actor like Oldman can elevate the enjoyment of what would otherwise be typical father-figure-substitute tug-at-your-heart scenes. Luckily, Harry has more than one as Sirius seems to have extremely long runs of bad luck. Repeatedly.

There's been a pervasive gloom in this and in the Potter IV film that feels to me, to borrow from author J.S. Foer, like "heavy boots." I understand that the movies reflect the darkness of the book series. But as a movie-goer the impending doominess does not get me stoked to see things get even more gloomy. Maybe I'm just a happily-ever-after chick. At least in my fantasies.

The triad of Potter, Weasley, and Granger barely have a light moment in Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix and for me--as the viewer not reader of Harry Potter, etc. knowing there is more death almost certainly to come I feel like ugh, let's get it over with then.

Cyanide and Happiness

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

This is taken from my birthday date last year.

Show us what the weekend has in store for you.

Yet another summer blockbuster movie! Whee!

This time it's:  Harry Potter And The Order Of  The Phoenix!

I've not read a single Harry Potter book (couldn't get into even the first one) but my son has read them all. Multiple times.

And I've heard I should be scared, very scared because this times it's all about...hormones!                              

Teenage hormones--the scariest kind!

Helena Bonham Carter--she's scary without even trying.

Adolescent rebellion! I don't have to go to a movie to see that. I live with it each day!

Wot's that?! Is that Ron Weasly doing the power to the people salute?!

That's pretty harsh. Tell a lie and you are front-page news!

Oh dear, how will it all end?!

      

Annie Leibovitz: 0 Queen Elizabeth:1

BBC Six News reports BBC apology to HM Queen

clipped from www.tmz.com

Like a queen probably should, Queen Elizabeth was not amused when photographer Annie Leibovitz asked her to doff her tiara. But, contrary to reports, the monarch did not storm off the photo set in a royal huff.
BBC cameras caught Queen Elizabeth in a rather uncharacteristic moment of pique while being shot by Leibovitz for a portrait. The famed photog suggested that QE2 take off her tiara because the shot would be "less dressy" without it, slightly absurd given that her majesty was already wearing layers of elaborate robes.

"Less dressy? What do you think this is?" snaps the Queen, referring to her Garter robe.

This clip reminded me of what a spot on job Helen Mirren did as The Queen . lol
I've follwed Annie L's work since I was a teen and I agree with the assertion that she may be one of the world's best living photographers.
See?:

How Our Garden Grows (continued)

If you look to the back of the photo (left) you can see the rain pouring down.

I had to cut my swim short today due to thunderstorms passing through and a lifeguard so itchy to go home that she wouldn't hang in the pool house and stick it out for 30 minutes. In that  little block of time, since I was dripping wet anyway, I retrieved an umbrella and my Powershot camera and headed out to check on the front gardens that my spouse attends to.

I think despite the extreme heat that they are looking pretty good thanks to spouse's diligent efforts in this north-facing, overly shaded area:

  (Click to enlarge)

At left, from front to back: Halcion Hostas, Gold Standards Hostas, Japanese Painted Fern and
Red Twig Dogwood (the bushes).

Here's a mouthful--pictured at right is an Undulata Albomarginata Hosta with inflorescence flowers.

Try to say that three times rapidly. :)

Finally, below we have more Halcion Hostas which are a shade different than the others because these get direct sunlight.

Also Hot Pink Geraniums, some Daylilies and a bit of our Japanese Maple tree.

Transformed

Saw "Transformers" (the movie) tonight and it was much better than I would have guessed. Granted, there's no way I would have been there except my younger son wanted to see it and it was a hundred degrees today so it was nice to get out of our air-conditioned house, get in the air-conditioned car,  and go to the air-conditioned movie theatre. By the time the  movie ended it had cooled off enough that we went top-down on the way home. Yes!

The movie had an added bonus for me as my two boys were born ten years apart so I knew some of the Autobots (the good Transformers) better than my younger son did because I'd watched the television cartoon in it's first and second incarnations with my oldest son.

Transformers was perhaps the loudest film I've ever seen--my ears hurt a bit upon leaving but the good surprise was the (re)discovery of Shia LaBeouf, an instantly likeable kind of young everyman, who I'd last seen in the odd but very good little movie, Holes. He quite literally put a human face on this bulging-with-CGI endeavor.

                                                             

From Roger Ebert's review

The movie is inspired by the Transformer toys that twist and fold and double in upon themselves, like a Rubik's Cube crossed with a contortionist. A yellow Camaro unfolds into a hulking robot, helicopters become walking death monsters, and an enemy named Megatron rumbles onto the screen and, in a voice that resembles the sound effects in "Earthquake," introduces himself: "I--AM--MEGATRON!!!"

                                                            

My favourite Transformer, Optimus Prime, is the noble leader of the Autobots.

In A Nutshell...

Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.
  - WH Auden

Cyanide and Happiness

08.06.2006 - by RobD	Cyanide and Happiness

Independence Day Fireworks Photographs/Album

Fireworks in Hoffman Estates~

Transformers Fan Photos/Wired's Flickr Group for "Prime"

I couldn't resist posting  this blurb on Optimus Prime!

My son--a child of  '80's pop culture--and I lived with a 3-foot tall Optimus Prime (and his friends and enemies) for quite a long time! I think eventually his back wheels came off. We  also watched lots of Transformers on the teevee.

From what I hear about the new movie  it may be better to skip the Michael Bay-directed big- screen version and  instead fondly remember them in their small-screen incarnations.--Cyn                  

Photo: Jason Cross

See related story: Transformers, and the Transformation of Popular '80s Toys

                                                                                                         

After a week of submissions and over 260 photos, we selected the best images of Transformers fandom for this slideshow. Behold: Elaborate costumes, forgotten models, giant collections, and elementary school drawings of the most loved robots on the planet.

To view all of the submitted photos, visit our Flickr group.

Jason Cross: "More Primes than you can shake a stick at! Primes from several generations and iterations, all together having a good time.

I've been thinking about taking this photo ever since I built my lightbox (part of the reason I built it so large was to accommodate the multitude of Primes), but just now got around to taking it. "

What do you enjoy most about summer?

Two Words: The Lake

which is a beautiful, familiar place with great sentimental meaning that no matter how small my vacation budget is I can go to and stay as long as I like.

Some pictures from Maple Lake:

                                  Me,  my bro                                        

Me, my bro~ He is patting down the sand not flinging it.

Me, my bro~                                                                               In the back field...me, my bro, some cousins.                                                            

 

                                                                

  (below)                                                                                                        Middle 1950's~  Excluding the baby and the woman at extreme left, we have my beloved grandmother who taught me to swim, my late uncle George, and my mom.

                                                                                                     My son and a friendly local dog. It helps like or at least not mind kids and dogs* at the Lake.

*and some non-domesticated critters.

Below: My Aunt and my dad.   

Right: My Dad and my eldest son.  It was my son's first visit to Maple Lake.

 

Show us your favorite photo from last summer.

Just one? Impossible! I'll show restraint and show two three several.

Roger's 47th~6.25.06~

Tower of Terror, Disney, Chris's 14th ~2006. This was just a really fun day. :) I snapped this of the monitor instead of paying $7 for it. I wasn't the only one. :p

Johnny Depp in a box!------------------------------>

Disneyland 2006~Father and Son~

Our Lake At Dawn~ 2006

St. Peter's Anglican Church, Maple Lake, after tornadoes~

My son had stayed on at the cottage with my folks after our visit. Just before I was due to drive the 700 miles to the Lake in Ontario, several tornadoes struck the area. Quite a bit of damage to wooded areas--many trees were in front of St. Peter's Church (above--it's on the lake)) when I'd left my son two weeks earlier--they are gone now. Thankfully, few cottages took any serious damage.

Cyanide and Happiness: That's What She Said

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day !!!

It's rather odd here in the States with Independence Day 2007 falling mid-week. A day off in the middle of the week just seems a bit disruptive, hence the celebrating has started now (as per the sound of illegal fireworks going off in my neighbourhood) and will continue right through next weekend. Americans like to do things big.

--Cyn

article source         

Background

On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty's loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1^st.

The July 1 holiday was established by statute in 1879, under the name Dominion Day.

There is no record of organized ceremonies after this first anniversary, except for the 50^th anniversary of Confederation in 1917, at which time the new Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings, under construction, was dedicated as a memorial to the Fathers of Confederation and to the valour of Canadians fighting in the First World War in Europe.

The next celebration was held in 1927 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation. It was highlighted by the laying of the cornerstone by the Governor General of the Confederation Building on Wellington Street and the inauguration of the Carillon in the Peace Tower.

Since 1958, the government has arranged for an annual observance of Canada's national day with the Secretary of State of Canada in charge of the coordination. The format provided for a Trooping the Colours ceremony on the lawn of Parliament Hill in the afternoon, a sunset ceremony in the evening followed by a mass band concert and fireworks display.

Another highlight was Canada's Centennial in 1967 when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II attended the celebrations with Parliament Hill again being the backdrop for a large scale official ceremony.

The format changed in 1968 with the addition of multicultural and professional concerts held on Parliament Hill including a nationally televised show. Up until 1975, the focus of the celebrations, under the name "Festival Canada", was held in the National Capital Region during the whole month of July and involved numerous cultural, artistic and sport activities, as well as municipalities and voluntary organizations. The celebration was cancelled in 1976 but was reactivated in 1977.

A new formula was developed in 1980 whereby the National Committee (the federal government organization charged with planning Canada's Birthday celebrations) stressed and sponsored the development of local celebrations all across Canada. "Seed money" was distributed to promote popular and amateur activities organized by volunteer groups in hundreds of local communities. The same approach was also followed for the 1981 celebrations with the addition of fireworks displays in 15 major cities across the nation.

On October 27, 1982, July 1^st which was known as "Dominion Day" became "Canada Day".

Since 1985, Canada Day Committees are established in each province and territory to plan, organize and coordinate the Canada Day celebrations locally. Grants are provided by the Department to those committees.