Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) has a "Russell Edgington' moment after he rips out the throat of a Wiccan (HBO credit).
HBO True Blood Season 4, Official Episode 4.09 Promo: 'Run':
UPDATE! Episode 4.08 VIDEO Recap with Screencaps:
Joe Manganiello as True Blood werewolf Alcide Herveaux, carries a limp, gutshot Sookie (Anna Paquin) to safety.
This is NOT a promo--it's only a tease. My bet is there will be more coming up this week--longer, better (maybe) but still I agree with other disappointed #trueblood fans, we absolutely got shorted on the promo for next week's True Blood episode "Run" (4.09).
Season 4, Episode 9: 'Run'
Original Air Date—21 August 2011 Convalescing after her latest near-death trauma, Sookie envisions a world where there's room for both Bill and Eric. Jesus tries to purge the restless spirit out of Lafayette; Marcus enlists Alcide to help him deal with the Sam situation; Bill and Nan Flanagan clash over their agendas; Hoyt asks Jason to make a delivery to Jessica; despite Tara and Holly's misgivings, Marnie plots her next move against the vampires, during a "Festival of Tolerance" event at Shreveport. Next US airings: Sun. Aug. 21 9:00 PM HBO Sun. Aug. 21 11:05 PM HBO
True Blood Season 4 -: Episode 8 "Inside The Episode" with Screencaps:
Inside the Episode #44: Writer Alan Ball and director David Minahan offer their insights:
After the Jump - Recap True Blood Episode #44 'Spellbound' [VIDEO]:
True Blood - Eric & Sookie Make Love VIDEO & PHOTOS:
True Blood Season 4 - Episodes 6 and 7, 'I Wish I Was The Moon', 'Cold,Gray Light of Dawn' Screencaps & Video.
Sookie and a devoid-of-memory but totally smitten Eric, finally give legions of Truebies (True Blood fans) what they've been waiting for--carnal knowledge. HBO copyright.
Weeds Season 7 - Let's Give 'em Something To Talk About! Nancy's Jailhouse Lesbian Scene:
With the premiere of Weed's on Showtime soon upon us, media clips from the show are sprouting up like well, weeds!
Of course, Nancy Botwin hooks up with her cellmate! In the face of the seductive power of Mary-Louise Parker, we are all helpless. Showtime's ever-excellent Weeds returns for season seven on June 27, and we learn that when Nancy went to prison to escape Esteban (Demián Bichir), she settled in just fine, thank you very much, as evidenced by her romance with Russian-born "roommate" Zoya (Olga Sosnovska).
Scroll down and press play on the E! video to see Nancy and Zoya make out, and find out why Nancy is less than overjoyed that she's being released from the big house. SOURCE: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b248483_weeds_exclusive_sneak_peek_nancys.html#ixzz1PzbGaQhw
Pot-selling single mom turned Mexican mafia princess turned escape artist:
Nancy Botwin turned herself in to the FBI rather than face certain death at the hands of her vengeful ex Esteban and his goon squad. It's now three years later and Nancy is sprung from the joint and making a fresh start in New York City. Will Nancy be able to successfully reunite her far-flung family and keep her hands clean? Don't miss a minute of Season 7 of the hit Showtime Original Series. New episodes beginning Monday June 27th at 10PM ET/PT.
Nancy's Jailhouse Lesbian Love Affair Behind the Scenes Video:
Published on Jun 20, 2011 by SHOWTIME
Weeds is back for a whole new season, get a behind the scenes look at what's to come.
BONUS: After the jump - Nancy's Jailhouse Lesbian Love Affair Behind the Scenes Screencaps:
Golden Globe HBO afterparty (2010) Credit: HBO inc.
Be Part of Something BIG - Facing the Atlantic - Face The World - Helping Disfigured Children Worldwide:
It's been said before but it bears repeating, the True Blood cast is among the most generous bunch of 'creatives' in show business. Despite their many commitments including shooting their hit HBO supernatural vampire melodrama True Blood, thespian husband Stephen Moyer ('Bill Compton') and wife, Anna Paquin ('SookieStackhouse') are working to raise funds for a cause you may be familiar with and if not, once you hear about it I'm sure you'll agree is extremely worthwhile.
Below are the formal details but suffice to say this cause can't be construed as anything but hugely important and all the folks making it possible from the adventurers to the bidders on the auctions to the following websites who reach out and do their best to serve the cause are to be commended and sincerely appreciated:
Here is what is happening and why you should care about it: On behalf of Facing The World, a humanitarian organisation, the exciting and challenging project Facing The Atlantic will participate in a non-stop-row from the Canary Islands to Barbados.
'The Wrestler' star as well as the vampire queen 'Sophie-Anne LeClerq' on HBO's True Blood opened up about her sexuality during a magazine interview. Asked whether she dates women as well as men, Wood answered in the affirmative. She added, "I'm into anything… meet a nice guy, meet a nice girl…"
Wood has been in and out of a relationship with rocker Marilyn Manson, including an engagement to marry, since age 19. They are not currently together, however.
Wood's fellow actor and co-star in HBO's True Blood, Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse), revealed her own bisexuality about a year ago.
Today would have been my mother's 84th birthday. She passed away on January 12 of this year:
Mom at Ocean World late 1970's
Peggy didn't make a big deal out of her birthday--but she did other people's. On April 9th she'd acknowledge that yes, it was her birthday but also her niece Patti as well as (now my memory fails me) deceased dear friend from childhood. It was their birthday, too. She was really, really good at remembering birthdays and anniversaries and such.
I've been sifting through the mountainous pile of photographs in my mother's collection trying to cull the most suitable for her remembrance service at Maple Lake this August 25.* Most of them are from a time before I was born so though they are indeed photos of Peggy, they are not pics of the woman I knew as 'Mom.' This one is however very much how I remember my mother.
Notice the camera on her wrist? Ubiquitous when we went somewhere. :)
*Tentatively--still need to firm it up
The photos here are but a fraction of the many my mother took (there are a few exceptions--obviously, the ones with her in them, for example). My mom loved to shoot snapshots of her family and friends. I remember sometimes getting impatient for her to hurry up and get it over with. I was shortsighted where she was not. I will be forever grateful to her for preserving memories that would otherwise be lost to us. On January 12 of this year my mom died at the age of 83. She spent a great deal of time with my Dad at Maple Lake so we will have a remembrance gathering at Maple Lake for her on Wednesday, August 25, 2011. We still have many photographs from her collection to sort through and we have her to thank for the privilege of doing so.
Father Frank: John Wells Executive Producer John Wells discusses the season one finale of Shameless.
One of the crucial aspects of a TV show isn't just how you react to it while you are watching, but what you think of each episode upon its conclusion. I found Showtime's new series, Shameless, which just finished a 12-episode first season, very conducive to some lively discussion afterward. My spouse and I watched the show at home in real (Chicago) time, taking our dogs for their nightly walk as soon as it was over. Our neighbourhood, though only 25 or 30 miles from the Gallagher's, may as well be 3000 miles away. Even so, this fictional family, first introduced on British television (with a British cast) has issues that most any family can relate to on some level. Nothing about the Gallagher's seems truly foreign, as loyalty and love of family are something (hopefully) everyone knows and understands. And so love of family and sacrifice for them amidst rather dire circumstances, despite all the far-out situations in Shameless, is the show's core theme, some aspect of which my spouse and I came 'round to discussing frequently.
Another commonality that non-TV families have with the Gallaghers is what we like to call 'dysfunction.' Essentially, a 'dysfunctional family' is one whose behaviour deviates from normal families--whatever they are.
Some folks say there is no such thing as a 'normal family' and the older I get, the more I think the saying, 'We are all dysfunctional in our own way,' is on the money. It's really about how we cope with the dysfunction, don't you think?
Episode 12 of Shameless, 'Father Frank, Full of Grace' was about coping with the fallout of some highly dysfunctional circumstances that impacted every family member as well as those involved with the Gallaghers (rock-steady neighbours 'Vi' (Shanola Hampton) and 'Kev' (Steve Howey) excepted--they literally played supporting roles in this episode).
In the video I've included (above) showrunner John Wells discusses two of the main dysfunctional aspects of the Gallaghers in this episode.
The foundation of the show, perpetually drunk father 'Frank Gallagher' (William H. Macy) has lived with 'accidental' girlfriend, 'Sheila' (Joan Cusak) for most of the season. Her situation includes having debilitating agoraphobia and anxiety, an almost ex-husband (Joel Murray) living in her basement, and a very sexually active older-teen daughter who is dating the eldest Gallagher son, 'Lip' (Jeremy Allen White).
Daughter 'Karen' (Laura Slade Wiggins), and her father, who she once referred to as 'f*ck-face,' causing me to forget his character's real name, have a very strained relationship due to 1. her furious sexual activity and 2. his outrage about her behaviour coupled with his lack of a filter when he shares his opinion about it. Most commonly, Karen's dad calls her a slut. He's managed, by this episode, to have called her a slut in front of a roomful of people as they were supposedly 'making up,' sending her into a tailspin of self-destruction while seeking revenge against him.
Very clever. I'm hoping that my spouse does not succumb to the V-day hype and buy me chocolates. Please, don't let him buy stoopid chocolates. Lunch at Berghoff's in the city couple of days ago was perfect. It goes without saying (but) I'll say it anyway: No card, either!
The Pacific Ocean in particular and nature in general inspire me. Inspire me to do what? To inhale deeply, to truly savour each breath, knowing they are finite, reminding me to live--and love in the moment. Speaking of "(reaching) for the stars," the heavens in fact, inspire me. I'm not sure what I could do that others would consider 'truly extraordinary'. I suppose I'll know when I get there.
IMAGINE PEACE TOWER is an outdoor work of art conceived by Yoko Ono in memory of John Lennon. It is situated on Viðey Island in Reykjavík, Iceland. The artwork was dedicated to John by Yoko at its unveiling on October 9th 2007, John Lennons 67th birthday.
IMAGINE PEACE TOWER symbolizes Lennons and Onos continuing campaign for world peace - which began in the sixties, was sealed by their marriage in 1969 and will continue forever.
The words IMAGINE PEACE are inscribed on the Well in 24 different languages.
IMAGINE PEACE TOWER is composed of a tall shimmering tower of light that will appear every year and be visible from October 9th (Johns birthday) until December 8th (the anniversary of his passing).
In addition, the Tower will illuminate from Winter Solstice (December 21st 28th), on New Years Eve (December 31st) and the first week of spring (March 21st -28th). It is lit from 2 hours after sunset until midnight, and until dawn on New Years Day.
On 9th October, John Lennons birthday, Yoko Ono asks the people of Iceland to join her and many others across the rest of the world in praying for peace and stability.
At 8pm, as IMAGINE PEACE TOWER is illuminated on the island of Viðey, in Reykjavik, Iceland, she asks everyone to join together and let the power of light and prayer become a collective expression of the desire for peace and harmony on our planet.
Dear Friends,
Please join me not only in remembering John on October 9th but also in spreading the message of peace. This is something that was so important to John - the fact that we could all work together for the positive good of our planet. He would have loved how we are all mobilizing ourselves in thought and in action.
It's time for Action and the Action is PEACE!
with love, yoko
Thirty years later, I still can't get through listening to "Imagine" w/out crying. I couldn't get through Yoko's message tear-free either, but it is a critical one sp please listen. Its not about "just" ending war against one another, its about ending our destruction of planet Earth in every way. I cannot phrase it any better than Yoko does when she says, "we (can) all work together for the positive good of our planet." We must.
I made this blend of Tupac's "Better Dayz" with Marvin Gaye's jam "Inner City Blues" after a request from Afeni Shakur (Tupac's mom!). It's supposed to be a conversation between the two artists... Hope you enjoy it... credits released 13 September 2010
Perfect timing on this FREE download. I think Tupac & John Lennon could have made some amazing music together. This song just gets better upon repeat listening, in no small part due to the seamless mixing of the legendary Marvin Gaye's contribution of "Inner City Blues." Enjoy it and hare!
Join us in celebrating John Lennon's 70th birthday!
Give peace a chance.
Please join Yoko in dedicating this light tower in honor of John Lennon. In 1967, he conveyed his wishes to Yoko for a light tower to be constructed in his garden. In Yoko's words, it just came together in the past few years. Watch the video and you will see why she chose this place for the light tower. John's 70th birthday would have been tomorrow, October 9. Thanks.
Did Desmond Harrington (Quinn) get cheek implants during the Dexter hiatus? He looks radically different. Perhaps he's just using more bronzer? Yeah, that must be it.
Q: Any scoop on Dexter? Ausiello:
New showrunner Chip Johannessen promised he was going to go there with
Deb and Quinn, and, man, does he ever. And quick.
Given that there's not been any hint of sexual attraction (or chemistry for that matter) between Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) and Quinn (Desmond Harrington) this has to be grief sex for Deb and well, it is Quinn. Remember how fast he bedded Trinity's daughter last season? Which come to think of it makes him and Deb doing it a sort of disgusting dynamic.
Am I right that Julia Stiles plays Dex's girlfriend or Harrison's nanny on Dexter this season?
Exec producer Sara Colleton
told us most emphatically, "God no! No no no no no no. It's way too
soon" for Dexter to be thinking of romance. But! Dexter does hire a
nanny—a virtual Mary Poppins who seems almost too good to be true.
(We're keeping our eyes on that lovely Brit.) When an almost
unrecognizable Julia Stiles does finally appear at the
very end of the Oct. 10 episode, we realize why Colleton refers to her
character as "damaged." So, so, so very damaged.
Poor Deb has the worst luck in boyfriends on Dexter. Will her track record improve this season?
Signs point to yes! Who's Deb's (Jennifer Carpenter) lucky guy? Let's just say Batista (David Zayas) and LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) aren't Dexter's only interoffice romance this season. (See Ausiello above.)
Meanwhile, married couple Batista and LaGuerta could become separated—by
prison bars!
HBO — June 17, 2010 — A tribute to True Blood's Sookie Stackhouse from one of her biggest fans, Snoop Dogg. For more information, log onto HBO.com.
No doubt Snoop is pretty funny. He's always been good at getting his message across. I love the dancing "Sookies" in the background and that they are not all tiny in size. They don't even have to really work at being Sookie just dress up like her, throw on a blond wig vaguely styled in Sookie's signature Merlotte's 'do and bop around behind Snoop. Highly amusing. Hey! I've watched "Oh Sookie" a couple time and I still don't know the exact word(s) that is/are bleeped out the one time that Snoop refers to Jason Stackhouse and his versus Snoop's sexual prowess (I think).
Snoop Dogg likes "True Blood" star Sookie Stackhouse so much, he made a song and video about her. In "Oh Sookie," the West Coast hip-hop vet pays tribute to the HBO vampire drama's main woman (Anna Paquin), seducing her with player talk like, "I'll order you a gin and juice at Merlotte's," and, "Come close baby, I'm the dog that don't bite -- woof, woof." Snoop also makes a convincing case for why he'd make a better boyfriend than her immortal suitors, Bill and Eric. He won't make her drink his blood and “We’ll do it in the daytime/Bill won’t know a thing,” he raps before a group of dancers dressed in blonde Sookie wigs and her signature Merlotte’s Daisy Dukes.
The lyrics, which demonstrate an impressive understanding of the show, spell out a comically sexual plea for Sookie to do bad things with him. But, it’s not just Sookie he’s after: “Bring a friend/Matter fact, bring your best friend/Tara/I’ve got some real eggs for her to eat.” In 2009, Snoop professed his love for ‘True Blood’ via his single “Gangsta Luv,” rapping: “Everyday is the same thang, I creep in/ It’s like ‘True Blood,’ I sink my teeth in/ I gotta have it.” A source at HBO reveals the d-o-double-g himself approached them with the idea for the video, and it was shot on location of the show’s Los Angeles set.
...When Snoop Dogg likes something, no matter the genre or medium, he goes all in with it.
That might explain “Oh Sookie,” a new rhyme in which the Doggfather pays homage to the mind-reading, sex-addicted, shape-shifting, bloodsucking and howling residents of Bon Temps, Louisiana, from HBO’s vampire series “True Blood.” In the video for the tune...Snoop offer(s) up his best sexual seduction come-ons while rocking a five-finger “Sookie” ring. he video for the song opens with Snoop — who later rocks a giant platinum “Sookie” chain — pulling into Bon Temps in his newly tricked-out Snoopmobile, complete with a “Tru Pimp” license plate and cloves of garlic hanging from the rearview mirror. Wearing a red, pinstriped suit, he urges Sookie to come close because, unlike so many of the creatures in the swampy town, “I’m the dog that don’t bite.” ... Snoop drops references to Sookie’s telepathy and even offers to buy her a gin and juice at the restaurant where she waitresses, Merlotte’s diner. “Bill ain’t for real, he ain’t true blood/ Snoop is a G, I smoke true bud/ Wanna be a vampire, gotta listen up/ I hit you with the glamour,” he raps while hanging outside Merlotte’s in a pimp fur and later showing off his own TB product, a package of “True Nutz.” MadHipHop
Read more :Geeks of Doom Iconic rapper Snoop Dogg really likes vampire drama True Blood, or at the very least, one of the show’s main characters Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin). Evidence of Snoop’s True Blood-fanboyism can overwhelmingly be found in the music video “Oh Sookie” he produced and subsequently uploaded to YouTube to promote the show for HBO.
OMG. LOL. That's pretty awesome. Snoop is a genuine fan of True Blood. I'm in the mom demographic with my youngest kid but my oldest is in his 20's. We saw Snoop Dogg at Lollapalooza years ago. Snoop is very much a performer. He works it. Both he and HBO are savvy marketers which something I can really appreciate when it's done with style, in this case, Doggy Style. :)
... The video begins with Snoop pulling up to Merlotte’s in a tricked-out Cadillac with a personalized California license plate that reads “TRU PIMP.” He comes bearing gifts like “Tru Nutz” and proceeds to rap amongst a montage of True Blood clips and shots of Sookie look-a-like dancers.
Clarification: Dancers dressed in Sookie's Merlottte work-clothes costumes with blond, ponytailed hair.
This is truly a yummy, slice of pop culture. I love how confounding it is for people who are really unfamiliar with True Blood or with Snoop Dogg but are very familiar with one of them. They either get it or they don't and when they don't, they hate it. LOL. It's supposed to be funny --just like much of True Blood is. It really takes a light heart to enjoy this. To be able to laugh and to give Snoop props for the effort. It's a catchy tune.
The lyrics have numerous references to the show, such as Snoop recommending a Gin and Juice at Merlotte’... Sam Merlotte being a shape-shifter that Snoop sort of belows the belt by referring to him as a ‘bitch.’
Snoop helpfully suggests to Sookie how she could discretely hook up with him. Chorus: "Oh Sookie, Let me get in your head. Oh Sookie, We can lay in the bed. Oh Sookie, Choose a player like me …We can do it in the daytime, Bill won’t know a thing." ... Snoop (also beckons Tara with): “Bring a friend. Matter of fact, bring your best friend: Tara. I got some real eggs for her to eat. And these eggs come with a whole lot of cheese and greens… ya dig?”
Sears (now Willis) Tower as seen from the Kennedy Expressway.
The other tall building around here--the John Hancock has the unfortunate distinction of having been the tallest structure in the USA--then it lost it's title to the World Trade Center. I'm guessing I don't have to say more other than the John Hancock Tower is the tallest man-made structure in the USA.
Just a quick homage to my 2003 Zinc Yellow Mustang GT.
I think I took my last top down ride for the year--that was two in the first week of November.
People hesitate to buy a convertible whilst living in a place like
here with less than ideal--crap--weather for a good chunk of the year.
The answer is a) it's too fun not to, and b) you can do it 7 months of
the year.
I love my car for what it is every. single. ride. A fun machine.
(Repost above from 11/2006)
2.18.10
I realize I don't post _anything_ personal anymore. I remember enjoying interacting with the dozens of people I met online and regarded as friends. Now I think I need to "say something" before I blog and think if I wrote what I feel I'd offend so I self-censor. Conversely, if I don't write what I feel I get no feedback nor satisfaction having gotten it down.
Yes. I suppose I am feeling reflective and conflicted.
Actress Kristin Bauer (True Blood's "Pam") got married on August 1st in a beautiful, rustic setting that couldn't have been any more un-Hollywood. The lucky groom is South African musician Abri van Straten.
Kristin looked gorgeous as usual though in a decidedly natural, human way. The wedding took place on her family's farm in Wisconsin.
“I downloaded a CD on iTunes, fell in love with his classical guitar and his voice, tracked him down and am now marrying him,” Kristin told fan site True-Blood.net. Many more breathtaking photographs here.
Thanks to:indysid This just getting so very dark and scary. Felix Gaeta is an avatar of deep, dark, evil symbolizing the entire hopeless mess.
Battlestar
Galactica has a stellar ensemble cast consisting of - Edward James Olmos, Tricia Helfer, James Callis, Tahmoh
Penikett, Katee Sackhoff, Mary McDonnell, Grace Park, Jamie Bamber,
Michael Hogan and Aaron Douglas.
courtesy Justin Stephens/SCI FI Channel
And now for a bit of levity: In these neat, short videos, Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos, one of the small screen's best couples ever,
discuss with a TVGuide interviewer, their characters President Laura Roslin and Admiral William
Adama, who they play on the Peabody Award-winning Sci-Fi channel/NBC drama, Battlestar Galactica,
which is currently finishing up it's fourth and final season.
"A Disquiet Follows My Soul" Sci Fi official recap:
Yesssssssssssssss!
Bill and Laura finally were shown basking in the afterglow--though her crazy-big fake bald head made me think of Capt. Kirk in one of his Star Trek encounters for a moment there. But I was happy that they have gotten real (again, is my guess--thinking New Caprica-time). This is a neat Bill and Laura video made by someone well-versed in the whole 4-season arc of their coupling. So yeah, squee.
Adama
believes that Cylon technology will lead to a habitable space, but his
proposal for an alliance is met by fierce resistance.
Not sure I agree with this assessment but everyone is entitled to their opinion, right?
Battlestar Galactica season 4.5 has been crazytown so far, what with the suicide of a beloved character, the disappointing reveal of the fifth/final Cylon and the shocking/random truth about baby Nicky's parentage, but all the weird was wiped away tonight.Jennifer Godwin of E!
For one, the fifth cylon wasn't a big shock--but the reveal of the Final Four last season was a shot to the gut if you were invested in the characters--any one or all of them. I simply love "Chief," now stripped down to "Tyrol" but moved up to one of the Final Five (FF).
Chief acted like a total jerk in tonight's episode, " A Disquiet Follows My Soul," but I still think deep inside he's a good guy.
Cally betrayed him terribly. And he's recently found out that his pre-New Caprica, near-suicidal fears, when Brother Cavil (one of the seven previously-known Cylons--this guy got air-locked) first was featured on the show--were well-founded. Cavil dissuaded Chief that he was Cylon with the quip, "Besides, I haven't seen you at any of the Cylon parties."
Then they found New Caprica, Chief married Cally and the baby came and co-leading the Resistance happened and he seemed OK... I hope the series ends with Chief going out in a some kind of heroic fashion.
Too bad what's become of Gaeta. I know it gives Allesandro Juliani the extra scenes but I hate to see such a character sour so badly.
Here's what Allesandro has to say about Felix Gaeta's newly-minted relationship with veep Tom Zarek ( Richard Hatch).
This episode marks the beginning of an unusual partnership, that of Tom Zarek and Felix Gaeta.Actor Alessandro Juliani described the experience of working together: “I’d
never had much to do with Richard over the seasons, but I remember
thinking to myself how strange it was: that I had gone from playing
with a likeness of Richard as a child (an action figure I still have by
the way) to playing with the real live Richard! By the way, he’s a way
better actor than his action figure.”
Bear went on to query Alessandro about Felix Gaeta, a previously upright, straight-shootin' member of the Fleet to "baddie" and Alessandro responded thusly:
...he quickly replied
“Baddie?
Who said anything about being a baddie? I mean, if resisting an
alliance with a race of malevolent, deceitful robot-people responsible
for the genocide of humankind, enforced by a bunch of ‘leaders’ who
time and time again had proven to be completely misguided and
hypocritical in their policies is bad…who wants to be good? If what you
meant to ask was when did I find out that Felix was to assume the
mantle of being the moral center of the show, then I believe it was
during the filming of the now infamous ‘Stump Serenade’ that a certain
Emmy-nominated writer who shall remain nameless first hinted at his
heroic destiny.”
One of the more relevant "You Will Know The Truth clues played out in this, S4 E14,"A Disquiet Follows My Soul."
Clue 23. Video. Adama calls Roslin in her quarters on the Galactica but
she ignores the persistent buzzing of the ancient corded telephone. She
is dressed in her nightclothes, standing over an assortment of
meds.--many colours and shapes of pills. She's deep in thought then
begins to toss the lose ones in the trash, seems to heave a sigh of
relief and finishes by throwing all the bottles of pills in the bin.
Another "You Will Know" SciFi Network pre-Season 4.5 promotion was a part of "A Disquiet Follows My Soul," too.
Tyrol really beat upon poor Hotdog. Geez, what a grump.
Clue 25. Video. Baltar is preaching to the masses who seem to be
less-fringe-looking and more diverse. Baltar yells to the cheers of his
followers, "It is God himself who should come down here and beg for our
forgiveness!" there is a disease aboard this ship and ii is a disease
of denial. the crows cheers. Galen Tyrol has been watching Baltar
impassively but spots Hotdog across the room. Their eyes meet and Tyrol
with obvious purpose, begins to make his way through the crowd to
Hotdog. Hotdog begins towards Tyrol too but nowhere near as
purposefully. The crowds continues it's roaring and cheering at
Baltar's every utterance.
Hard to say if Dualla's (Kandyse McClure) suicide was that of a "beloved character."
She was lovely and certainly loved by her crewmates and Adama but if she had been truly beloved they would have given her more to do with her character. She btw, is the reason when I caught a glimpse of the show in it's first season that I went back and watched the whole season up to that point and continued right on. Kandyse McClure just has the most beautiful eyes ever. It's a bit of a comfort that she has a lot of eye-candy-walk-on scenes throughout much of the series when going back to watch it on DVD. RIP Dualla. :(
I'm not "disappointed" with the reveal of Ellen Tigh as the FF Cylon. She and Saul Tigh being a couple from as long as 2000 years prior is kind of neat and it works with the storyline as the character turned up mysteriously, well into the first season(?) with a cockamamie story about having been unaware of her surroundings (on another ship) for months! Someone took care of her was her story, though she appeared uninjured. So Ellen Tigh being the reveal works on that level. Why she frakked icky Cavil back on New Caprica to get Tigh released from Cylon prison and torture makes no sense to me. How could Cavil have power over one of the sacred Final Five? I need a good explanation but it's too early to call it disappointing.
(Generally, it's my opinion that the late-comers to the show tend to view it on a episode by episode basis instead of looking at it as a story told over four years.)
My hard drive got wiped and though I've recovered a lot of my stills from the show they are completely unsorted --so I shall go see what I can find. EDIT: found some that are good at the SciFi.com site.
SciFiWire spoke with Kandyse McClure the day after S4E13, "Sometimes A Great Notion" aired.
Here's snippet and a link to the source for more.
"It was hard that she wouldn't be there to say goodbye, and that I wouldn't be there to say goodbye." -Kandyse McClure
What was your reaction when you actually got the script and it said something along the lines of "Dualla puts gun to temple and pulls trigger"?
McClure: I was floored. I think I was just as floored reading it as I'm sure people [were] seeing it. It's such a personal and violent and shocking way to go, not only for her, but for the implications for the people around her. Suicide is a difficult topic at the best of times. People see it as being an ultimate act of selfishness on one end, but certainly from the research that I did and the people that I spoke to, there are so many different reasons that people get to that point. But I think for Dee it was just the ultimate act of surrender and the final act of control over her own life. She really wanted to find some kind of peace.
As far as you know, will we learn any more about why she took her own life? In other words, will someone read out loud a will or a suicide note she left behind?
McClure: So far as I know, no. So far as I know, that was it. She couldn't see any way of ever finding any happiness for herself. That's no good. Her husband [Jamie Bamber] is still in love with someone else. He's turned his back on one of the things that joined them together, being in the military and that sense of duty towards the military and his father [Adm. Adama, played by Edward James Olmos] in particular. But I think that was it. It's her final peace. It's a very human reaction to a situation like that. Of course, I imagine that Dualla was not the only one on the ship, and certainly not the first one during the course of the whole saga, to choose that way out. I considered it kind of a strange honor to hold that archetype, to say, "Yeah, this is a very human thing. This is what human beings may choose to do."
Finally, our Six here is very excited that she's about to be a mommy!
Episode titles for BSG Season 4.5
Episode 4.14 - 06 Feb 2009 - Blood on the Scales Episode 4.15 - 13 Feb 2009 - No Exit Episode 4.16 - 20 Feb 2009 - Deadlock Episode 4.17 - 27 Feb 2009 - Someone to Watch Over Me Episode 4.18 - 06 Mar 2009 - Islanded in a Stream of Stars Episode 4.19 - 13 Mar 2009 - Daybreak (1)
After watching three seasons of Dexter, one of cable's very best shows,I was wondering how in Season Four, which sadly is some time away, it could maintain it's killer level of entertainment.
I've been enthralled with Dexter since Season 1, E1, "Dexter" having started watching Dexter beginning with the premiere based solely on Michael C. Hall's work as "David Fisher" in HBO's brilliant (but sometimes grating) Six Feet Under.
After all these years of watching him I would have thought I'd see him give away something when he looked at his real-life love while she was literally acting as his sister.
I totally never saw this coming on Michael C. Hall's side, but what I've mentioned a couple times over the recently finished Season 3 to my spouse and son with whom I have a standing weekly date to watch Dexter, is that Jennifer Carpenter keeps getting better--looking great and growing incredibly as an actress. Now I see that she's only age 29 so must have started "Dexter" around age 25-26. I noted that Jennifer had sort of taken on the role in a way in which it seemed she felt really comfortable in her skin. I'm guessing dating "the sexiest man alive" has helped her grow into the role--of big-sister, Deb. Eep. She's only 29 and he's 37. That it hasn't been glaring obvious is a huge credit to Michael C. Hall's seemingly eternal youthfulness.
I :heart: Jennifer Carpenter. I'm so happy for them both but honestly just a tiny bit weirded out. I'll get over it, obviously (or will I?) but the newlyweds really must share some weddings shots so we can really picture them as Mr. and Mrs. Hall. Please and thank you. (Big Sur! Yummy, though it is rainy season and the winds get pretty stiff there. Still, a beautiful backdrop for nuptials.)
"...They may play brother and sister on Dexter, but in real life Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter were lawfully wed on New Year's Eve, according to Hall's rep... The outdoor ceremony was held in Big Sur, CA. Jennifer carried a bouquet of white roses with her
grandfather's wedding band attached.
Dexter's cast and crew are currently on hiatus but will resume
work on the upcoming fourth season early this year. Dexter has already been renewed by Showtime for two more 12-episode seasons.
Hall, 37, and Carpenter, 29, plan to appear together at this year's Golden Globes Awards on Sunday. The couple has been secretly
dating for about a year and a half and will make their first public
appearance together on the red carpet at the Beverly Hilton. The series
is up for multiple awards, including Best Actor in a Drama for Hall.
PEOPLE...spoke with Jennifer the Emmys last September, where she answered the question, "Who's the sexiest man alive?" with, "Michael C Hall!. "He's the sexiest man alive. He's one of the best we've got. He's an incredible talent..."
I've had many good things happen in my life including wishes and dreams coming true. Recently, a fellow blogger wrote an insightful, moving, humourous, and thought-provoking blog post about wishes. I tend mostly to cut straight to the chase of a topic but Brett never seems in a hurry to get his thoughts down in print and his Grant a Wishpost was no different.
Brett thoroughly explored what a wish means to him by breaking it down into components and linking important members of his biological family to the attributes.
He began with his grandfather, who he described as "a self-made man who granted wishes his entire life."
Brett recalled his memories of his grandfather and in doing so reminded me of my own grandfather, known as "Frank," who was also very much a self-man man. He was a man who in his 101-year life went from a 14-year-old cook out in the wild west of British Columbia to a Sargent with the Toronto police department. Of course there were many, many places in-between. Also like Brett's granddad, Frank built many things with his hands and would have appreciated the quality of Craftsman tools. Some of his creations include the cottages at Maple Lake and many of the original furniture pieces in them or that were in them.
Brett wrote too of his grandmother who he credited with bestowing empathic abilities--a truly golden gift in my opinion, as I was given it as well. He went on to credit his mum with instilling a love of reading which in turn garnered him a wide life perspective as well as spoke of his dad encouraging Brett's freedom to chose what he wanted to do in life. Besides empathy, he credited his grandmother with an understanding of potential in others and in his grandfather’s drive to help people, an example of and a desire for improving the world around them.
And just as if he had a large, lovely ribbon Brett tied together the things that his loved ones had given him.
He spoke of his grandfather at the tender age of 16 building a working motorcycle from scratch so he'd be able to get to town and find better work. He shared that his grandfather's interest in finding a better way to accomplish things never waned. Brett said that if his grandfather found a more efficient or effective way of doing things he adopted them and integrated them into his own repertoire.
The theme of continuing improvement to realize a dream tied together much of what Brett said about his family and he shared that he believes it "important in life to try and improve upon those talents
and gifts that we receive from our parents and grandparents."
With this in mind, Brett approached Sears, saying that as he shops for the important people in his life this holiday season, he planned on focusing on "finding those things that will
help them realize their potential, realize how to master their own
situations in life, and realize their own dreams and wishes."
Brett summarized his essay (it was so much more than just a blog post) with looking beyond his immediate family to the world of blogging and what he calls his "extended blogging family" with this: "I see in Sears and in the
Grant a Wish program the opportunity for people looking to explore
their creative side and work in blogging or podcasting or even learning
how to do video, I see an opportunity." Brett advised people that were scouring the store shelves in search of the perfect gift for that special someone to "look at the products on the shelf, and think how those products might
be used by the people that receive them to un-tap their potential. If
you can do that, if you can even get a little close, you will probably
Grant a Wish to the person you love and I believe that the gift that
they receive will not go to waste."
Brett summed up his post with these thoughts: "Maybe you can provide some inspiration to someone that might just
change the world, and if that’s true, then you will have changed the
world a little bit for the better yourself!"
I have a blog with a name that was in inspired by the Beatles song The End from the last line--though to my dismay it seems that it was a McCartney song with little input from Lennon though as usual, credit went to both: "Lennon-McCartney." I’d chosen it for my first WordPress blog after about 8 years with it for my email addy. The blog, which is about a year old is The Love You Make.
John Lennon was killed about a week after my 21st birthday–which sort of took the wind of that milestone. It was years before I could listen to a song of his without thinking of how he died.
The line “And, in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make” is essentially the Beatles closing statement. It is the last lyric on the last album they recorded. Let It Be was the last album they released, but it was recorded earlier. This contains the only drum solo Ringo ever performed. He hates solos and had to be persuaded to do it. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison took turns doing guitar solos. Each had a distinctive style which McCartney felt reflected their personalities. “Love You” is repeated 24 times. This starts over the end of “Carry That Weight.” It is the last song in a suite at the end of Abbey Road. This ends with a 30-piece orchestra.
This is a very unfortunate situation. California need to define marriage in a more inclusive way. I think there should be a census-like nature to it. The non-heterosexual community should be able to enter into a legal union if they so wish. That's all that "marriage" is. The ceremony, the 2-hour Catholic, The Hawaii Clifftop that's what makes it a wedding. If two people want to hook up for life, why does it matter if they are the same sex or not the same sex? Also, if they are veted as a heterosexual couple is for adoption then why the hell not should they not be able to adopt? I'm not sure if that right was taken too with Prop 8 but there's is talk of it in the US. Bleh. Dictating people's lifestyles--their lives, actually--not cool.
I imagine that it would be most difficult to meet a same sex partner in just about any state but given the state's vast size, Texas Lesbians, probably have as big or a bigger challenge than most in doing so. There is a FREE online dating service however that caters exclusively to lesbians that boasts of being the number one online lesbian community.
I know personally of more than one off-line lesbian couple who originally met online and I'm sincere in my belief that online dating before meeting is a genuine alternative to trying to sort through all the challenges one meets in the real time world.
The "little guy" turned 16 year-old today--plus started his first day of junior year in high school.
School seemed uneventful. I was a bit annoyed that we didn't coordinates things so Chris could get something to eat at school. He has no official lunch period--just half of AP physics, second half--and no one remembered that his lunch card, paid up as it is, wasn't usable until he'd gotten a new mugshot and that was later in the day, during gym class.
He seemed to have a good time with his two good buds yesterday when everyone got an all you can spend card for Gameworks. Plus they left after over 3 hours of play and still had more than half the game time available to them on their game cards--for another day.
"Pursuing the Resurrection Hub at the whim of the Hybrid, a team of Viper pilots and Cylon rebels become uneasy collaborators as they formulate a battle plan to unbox the Threes and destroy Cylon resurrection forever. Meanwhile, Roslin and Baltar try desperately to communicate with the panicking Hybrid and Helo discovers a disturbing characteristic within one of the Eights."
There were only two big revelations in this episode. The first was made to Laura Roslin, where a hopped-up- on-morpha Baltar confesses his involvement in the destruction of The Colonies. For this she attempts to murder him.
The second revelation is that, according to the number Three, D'Anna, Roslin is not the final Cylon.
Number Three answering Laura Roslin's question:
D'Anna Biers: Suppose you've got some questions for me.
Roslin: Yes I do. I'd like to talk about the five Cylons in my fleet.
Biers: So you know about the Final Five?
Roslin: I know they're supposed to know the way to Earth.
Biers: But you don't know that you're one of them.
[Roslin freezes shocked]
Biers: [Bursting out laughing] Please your face! [Roslin looks relieved and smirks] Oh, it's ridiculous. No. Look, I'm not giving you any names. Not until I feel like I'm safe. 'Cause information is all I got, sweetie.
Picking up where the last events of "Guess What's Coming to Dinner" ended, Laura Roslin, Karl “Helo” Agathon, and Gaius Baltar are brought before the rebel Cylon basestar's Hybrid. After a Number Eight reconnects the basestar’s Hybrid, it unexpectedly jumps the ship.
During the jump, Laura Roslin finds herself in empty corridors of the Galactica. As she looks around, the deceased priestess Elosha appears behind her. They hug, but the vision stops at the moment the jump completes with Laura finding herself back in the Hybrid's room.
Roslin asks questions about the Hybrid's abilities as the Eight tries to get information from the data-font, but the Hybrid jumps the ship again (and again and again), and Roslin finds herself yet again in the company of Elosha on the empty Galactica.
The two end up in sickbay where they find the sole patient–Laura Roslin--near death.
The Eight determines that the Hybrid is "panicking" due to Natalie’s injury or death. Gaius Baltar tries to calm her claiming that the Hybrid “likes” him, but after a few moments, the Hybrid jumps again. Roslin's vision continues, and she sees Kara Thrace, Doc Cottle, and Bill and Lee Adama standing over her death bed.
Elosha speaks to the dying Roslin, chastising her for her lack of empathy.
Roslin and Baltar attempt to...
talk to the Hybrid about the Opera House vision. Neither meets with success.
The Eight tells Helo that the Hybrid is following the Resurrection Hub and discusses an attack strategy with him.
On the Resurrection Hub, a Three,D'Anna Biers, is awakened by Cavil (#1) and Boomer whom Cavil refers to as his "Pet Eight."
They tell her of the Cylon Civil War and appeal to her to help through her knowledge of the Final Five.
Three makes a disparaging remark about the Eights' ,capriciousness, commenting on Cavil's pronouncement about the Eight model's tendency to be "passionate allies"-- "until they see something shiny."
Three snapping Cavil's neck.
In the basestar hangar, Helo and an Eight give a mission briefing to a number of Sixes, Eights and Colonial pilots. Several pilots, including "Redwing" McKay and "Gonzo" Pike, express concerns about their safety and the reliability of the Cylon pilots.
A Six retorts that the rebel pilots are just as well trained as the humans, and the Eight reminds them that they learned to trust Athena, so they can also trust their rebel allies.
After a jump, Baltar begins talking to a Centurian about hierarchy and religion, asserting that the Centurion is loved by God as well. Soon after, they are both blown up.
On the Resurrection Hub, Boomer comments with alarm on the arrival of the rebel basestar. Cavil tries to convince Number Three to talk to the rebels and defuse the conflict, but she replies curtly and threatens to "shout out the names" of the Final Five.
Boomer reports that the rebel basestar has launched 25 Heavy Raiders. Outside the Hub, the Heavy Raiders release the Vipers they have been towing behind them. The Raiders attack defending basestars, while the Vipers head towards the Hub.
Cavil deduces that the rebels are attempting to destroy the Hub... and that would make death permanent for Cylons. On hearing this Three breaks Cavil's neck and Boomer flees.
Missiles take out the FTL drive on the Hub. Helo and the Eight head towards the Hub in a Raptor. On the Hub, they encounter the D'Anna Biers and the dead Cavil.
Baltar continues to to blather on about Centurian rights, but as the basestar is hit by a missile salvo, the explosion destroys the Centurion and seriously injures Baltar.
Baltar is carried to a bed by two Marines while Roslin carries in a medkit. Roslin orders them out, bandaging Baltar and injecting him with morpha. In his drug-addled state Baltar talks to Roslin about religion, telling her that he once harbored terrible guilt....he tells Roslin that he unwittingly gave the Cylons the access codes prior to the fall of the Twelve Colonies. Shocked by Baltar's confession, Roslin tries to kill Baltar by removing his bandages. As he loses blood he repeatedly begs her to stop.
Helo announces that he has D'Anna Biers and orders a nuclear strike on the Hub. The Vipers fire nuclear missiles into the Hub, destroying it and at least one of the two enemy basestars. Quote:
D'Anna Biers: And with a whimper, every Cylon in the universe begins to die.
Number Eight: Yes, that's right, and it's a good thing, D'Anna, because now there's no difference. We can all start trusting each other.
Baltar continues to beg for his life. There is another jump. In Roslin's vision, William Adama stands over a dying Roslin, while Roslin and Elosha watch them.
Quote:
In Roslin's vision, as Roslin and Elosha watch Adama stand over a dying Roslin:
Elosha: I'm not saying Baltar's done more good than harm in the universe; he hasn't. The thing is, the harder it is to recognize someone's right to draw a breath, the more crucial it is. If humanity is going to prove itself worthy of surviving, it can't do it on a case by case basis. A bad man feels his death just as keenly as a good man.
Believing that by saving Baltar she'd save humanity, Laura desperately checks to see if he's still breathing. Finding Baltar still alive, Roslin starts to re-bandage him.
Helo brings D'Anna to Roslin... When asked about the Final Five, she jokes that Laura Roslin is one of them--->provoking this reaction from Roslin:
...upon finding out that Three was "just kidding." D'anna refuses to provide any information until she feels she is safe; the information being the only thing she has now that she is the only Three left in the universe. She also appears to have a really bad headache.
She says she will tell Roslin who the Final Five are after she is taken back to the human Fleet.
Later, Roslin sits alone listening to the Hybrid. As the Hybrid jumps she has a final encounter with the dead priestess, Elosha.
Admiral Adama's risky strategy of waiting alone for the basestar to rendezvous pays off as he sees the basestar jumping in. In the landing bay, he meets Laura Roslin.
Quote:
Roslin and Adama tenderly greeting each other on the basestar's hangar deck:
Adama: Missed you.
Roslin: Me too.
Roslin [Embracing Adama]: I love you.
Adama [Breaking the embrace; looks into her eyes]: About time.
They (finally!) embrace.
Thoughts:
The whole Laura and Bill scene was so satisfying. Despite all the other heavy action going on this scene grabbed me the most by far. Two stellar actors playing out the moment we've (they've?) been waiting for for years.
It was beautifully done--except Rant/ why did we have to have the stoopid nod to Star-stoopid-Wars and Adama not returning Laura's "I love you"??? She's on the verge of death, people! Unspoken words are not going to cut it. Haven't you heard about "saying" the words?" Laura had to have that hammered into her thick head by a dead person. What does Bill need?! Why do the fanboy showrunners not know how to write a decent love scene??? This has frustrated me to no end and in this scene I was satisfied in part just because they have given us so little to hold onto with these two that this made up for all the scenes we got cheated out of./end rant
Lucy Lawless was flawless ;) as D'Anna Biers. She just eats up every scene she's in. Funny, cynical, strong, and vicious--D'Anna is all of these and more.
As the April 15th tax filing deadline looms, many gay couples are facing higher tax bills because they do not get the federal tax benefits that accompany marriage. The same is true for heterosexual couples who chose not to get married. Do you think this is fair?
First of all, it's not true. There are loads of reasons to argue for gay couples being able to unite in holy matrimony but paying less tax is not one of them.
It's true: the tax tables have a built-in bias against married couples.
In a nutshell, people who have taken their marriage vows pay higher taxes than two single people with the same income.
Though this was corrected for the 15% tax bracket back in 2003, even now if your income puts you into the next tax bracket, there is still a marriage tax penalty that is built in.
And in the more bad news department, you also start to lose part of other deductions and tax credits once your income reaches a certain point. See the previously-mentioned marriage tax penalty link (above).
I hadn't time all weekend to get to catch on my online celebrity stalking, lol, but when I did I caught an eyeful:
Sit down ladies. Johnny Depp is finally tying the knot with Vanessa Paradis, his companion of 10 years and mother of his two children. Depp is quoted as saying that he knows she'd be happy getting married and he wants to do whatever will make her happy. Aww! Sounds like Vanessa got tired of being referred to as his girlfriend, though I thought the French were less concerned with that? Perhaps some American has rubbed off on her.
Regardless, the source of the story stated that Depp's and Paradis' two children are very happy about the planned June wedding.
The Pirates of The Caribbean actor (previously married in the 80s) has said about his relationship with Vanessa, "For all intents and purposes, we are married," adding that, "if [Vanessa] ever said, 'Hey, let's get hitched,' I would do it in a second." A source close to the couple said: "Vanessa recently told Johnny that she would love to have a wedding. "Johnny loves Vanessa very much, and he said if that's what would make her happy, then he'd marry her." The summer wedding will be a low-key family affair.
The couple's children "are really excited about it," the insider tells Life and Style magazine. "Actually the whole family is excited. "They wanted to make it convenient for Johnny's family in Florida," so the wedding will likely take place in Georgia's Tybee Island, according to the source. "They're going to send out invitations in a few weeks."
The big event, which is set to take place June 14, will be a family affair. Johnny and Vanessa’s children, Lily-Rose, 8, and Jack, 6, “are really excited about it,” the insider revealed. “Actually the whole family is excited."
Update: January, 2009 Dom Monaghan ("Charlie Pace" on LOST and Evangeline Lilly ("Kate Austen") also on LOST ring in the New Yearin snowy togetherness.
Update/11.08.07***Below I was afraid of this given the "uncertain" way Charlie's last scenes were on LOST the last time we saw Dominic Monaghan playing him. Oh well. I'm sure someone's happier now. It doesn't sound like it's Dominic.
When does Lost come back on, anyway? Is it in November or am I thinking of the Battlestar Galactica mini on the SciFi Channel?<squee> Inquiring minds need the scoop!
Dom Monaghan and Eve Lilly of LOST. I don't have a credit--a magazine is the source I believe....maybe, not sure. Sorry. Did they get married this past summer (2007) like they were 'spose to before...
SPOILER ALERT!!!
I love to write in ALL CAPS. heh.
So yeah... Dominick Monaghan, according to what I Google, is makin' a movie about a serial killer--Dom's the serial killer. Bound to be more fun than Lost --they never gave him enough screen time, IMO.
" LOST stars Dominic Monaghan and Evangeline Lilly are apparently done according to Page Six . Dom was spotted at El Coyote in Los Angeles "crying, holding and kissing" another woman. Are they sure that other woman wasn't Elijah Wood?
Nelson Aspen reports, "They were right in the middle of the room, they weren't interested in privacy. They looked very intimate. They were nursing margaritas, leaning in, chain-smoking, having intense conversation."
LOST co-stars Evangeline Lilly and Dominic Monaghan have reportedly castaway their love and split up.
The handsome pair began dating over two years' ago after meeting on the set of the desert island drama.
The British actor - whose rocker character Charlie was killed off in the show - was spotted crying in the arms of another woman at a LA restaurant last week.
Onlookers at the El Coyote eatery also said the pair spent a lot of time kissing and cuddling.
A source told the New York Post newspaper: "They were right in the middle of the room, they weren't interested in privacy.
"They looked very intimate. They were nursing margaritas, leaning in, chain-smoking, having an intense conversation."
Evangeline and Dominic got engaged earlier this year after the Lord of the Rings star proposed during a holiday in Hawaii.
Well, over the weekend it happened again. Two more bloggers "came out," declaring their not-completely-secret love and the male half of the couple flew over a thousand miles to move in with his lady-love. Both of these folks are in my neighbourhood at Vox. They've spent great gobs of time together due to one another's willingness to fly back & forth (and to flexibility in work schedules).
All that know them are very, very happy for them. Sadly, she's experienced a couple of deaths of close friends in a short period of time and many of us felt very badly for her--though thought highly of him when he dropped everything and flew to her side in her time of grief. I hope it works for them. She 's quite beautiful, outspoken, bright, a world traveller, an artist and furniture maker. He's not conventionally handsome, outspoken, bright, very quirky, hugely into music and his little dog, Rudy.
I've mentioned that I keep a blog at Vox which is another successful effort from Six Apart-- the folks who bring you this blogging system.
It's astonishingly easy to "meet" new people there due to several things at play--but it all comes down to connecting people through common interests. These interests can be of any type--anything goes--and once you list an interest and chose to make it public--and you have not only the option of public but neighbourhood, friends, friends and family, family and private. That's a lot of options but it's quite easy to manage. You don't even have to list your interests at Vox--you can opt to join one of hundreds of groups--there are public groups, by invitation public, and private groups as well. It's really all about establishing where your comfort zone is and then regulating it as you please. I especially like the feature where one has a post filter which prevents your post from being searched by Google-type spiders so it won't turn up in a stranger's online search.
Anyway, I came not just to praise Vox but to make note of the number of couples that have met via the Internet including through Vox, and have established successful relationships.
Just a few years ago I'd hear cautionary tales of the "scary people" you'd meet on the 'Net. Being already married I wasn't interested on a personal level, but I assumed the warnings were true.
Well it turns out that yes, just as in off-line life there are scary people on the Internet. There are also incredible people as well ordinary people. In other words there are all kinds of people. In a completely unique way, Vox has allowed me to meet people from all walks of life, from all kinds of backgrounds, of both sexes as well as gender preferences, and from all over the world.
And that pretty much leads me to the comment I wanted to now make.
Two women in my "neighbourhood"--they are in the "friends" category actually, after a number of months of long-distance romance finally met up and spent a week together. Their friends were following their romance so we were collectively waiting to exhale to hear how things went. Well, they are back online and they are happier than ever. And it really doesn't matter what gender they are--they are two people in love and it's really, really nice to share if only in a small way, in their happiness.
They are by no means unique, either. The use of the Internet has been common for so long now that people have met online, conducted their romance online/on the phone, met , hit it off face-to-face and then stayed together and are raising families.
It is for those that are less Internet invested or can't /won't consider alternate ways of perceiving the world, an unusual, perhaps even unsettling situation. But you'd best get use to it. Internet romance--like offline romance--is here to stay. It unfolds in much the same way with all kinds of beginnings and sometimes, endings. To my friends that I spoke of above and my other online friends who must travel long distances to be with their loved ones--I wish you the very best and many years of happiness to come.
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.
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.
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.
My brother and I, though we live only 45 minutes apart do not see much of one another. He and his spouse, E., have been working their collective bums off creating and running their own massage therapy business in Evanston for about a decade. They are highly skilled having both graduated from (and taught at) the Chicago School Of Massage Therapy and gone on to develop diverse specialities within and adjacent to the field of massage therapy. However, after residing as a couple in Evanston, a lovely town north of Chicago on Lake Michigan for about twenty years they have made a radical life change.
My brother applied and was accepted to medical school near Mesa, Arizona. He is going to become an Osteopath (a D.O.-- a different flavour M.D.). Ellen will work, probably as hard or harder than him in the real world of massage in Arizona. They've found a little apartment near the campus of the oldest school of Osteopathy in the country and will reside there for a year. After that they will, thankfully, move back near the center of the country--to Cincinnati where my brother will further pursue his studies and Ellen will gain first hand (no pun intended) knowledge of the Amish people. At least they'll be driving distance away then.
My brother is my only sibling, 5 years, 10 months younger than me. Though separated when I departed Connecticut for California at age 18 we were reunited when I (plus my baby son) moved to the Chicagoland area seven years later. We've lived within an under one-hour drive of each other ever since.
I'm over the moon that he is taking on this HUGE challenge. He's been at it for a couple years now just to be able to apply to med school despite having a 4-year English degree.
What I'm not thrilled about is him leaving the state. I have no other family here beside the one I've lived with and my brother and wife. I should count my spouse's family as family and I do--as they pertain to my and my spouse's son. Otherwise, frankly, the sheer number of them freaks me out. And my spouse is one of seven kids with native Chicagoans for parents; I am one of two with parents native Torontonians--that insures a whole different upbringing.
So my brother and E. moving also makes me sad and insecure (what if one of us needs a kidney or some other part that only the other sibling can furnish!?).
Kidding aside, it's going to suck without them.
So here are what may be the last photos of them and two of my guys, taken yesterday in honour of E's birthday 2 days previous, and my spouse's birthday today.
Happy Birthday Ellen and Roger (spouse and sil)
(Notes on the slide show: the colourful Pritzker Pavillion is shown because unbeknownst to us on E's birthday, whilst we were snapping photos in Millennium Park (home of thePavillion), E & J were looking down upon us as well as at a beautiful sunset from the great height of the top of the Sear's Tower. "Snoozing" took place after E & J had gone home.)
I was past my going out to clubs phase but to ensure her safety as she'd just had a fierce argument with her equally intoxicated b/f, I went with her as she impulsively decided to go dancing.
A tall, blonde guy came up to me and engaged me in conversation as I sat at the bar with one eye on my girlfriend watching to see 1. that she didn't go off with one of the many men she was socializing with and 2., that she didn't catch me watering down her drinks,
He seemed nice enough--he'd come to the club with his friends and brother, who was celebrating turning 21. He wasn't drunk like many patrons were by that late into the night so that was kind of different. Suddenly, my girlfriend made a beeline to the exit of the club. I bid my new friend a hasty goodnight, slightly disappointed that he'd not asked for my telephone number.
Six months later I was doing a former employer--the owner of an Irish Pub--Durty Nellie's--a favour by waitressing on St. Patrick's Day. I hadn't been to a single club in the previous six months but as a single mom going to college, I could really use the tip money which was sure to come on St. Pat's Day.
My shift was ending when a guy came up to me and asked if I remembered him. After several years waiting on people as I put myself through college, I honestly couldn't tell him yes.
But he remembered me. He stated that each weekend since the last time we'd met, he'd accompany his friends to clubs and scan the crowds searching for me--even though like me, he wasn't much of a club person anymore.
He said that through the months he'd berated himself that he did not get my phone number and now he would not lose the opportunity. I was so impressed with his persistence that I gave my phone number. Weeks later, when I met his family his mom mentioned that for months he'd remark on how he was looking for me as he felt sure I was "the one."
So it was true. He was smitten with me and searched for me until he found me. That's pretty awesome considering he's not a stalker.
This is a snap of a north coast beach on Kauai, HI. It was taken last July at the second-to-last beach spouse & I went to in search of the "perfect sunset."
This was an accident.
A wrong turn.
Several miles drive through an abandoned pineapple field. All there was was field and giant green hills in the distance (part of one--as it meets the ocean--is pictured).
It took about twenty minutes of driving our tiny skateboard-of-a-rental-car slowly enough to negotiate the bumpy terrain but at the same time trying to keep up with the single other vehicle--a pick-up truck--in the dried-up immense pineapple field that went on for miles before we came to the ocean to what once was a small state park.
It must have been abandoned years ago as all appearaces indicated that it had l-o-n-g ago ceased to be attended to. (Woman's bathroom/changing room: ugh! Hand's down the worst I've ever seen.)
When we returned to our rented condo that evening I finally had a chance to try and figure out where we ended up. Most of that area of the map indicated is was US Gov't owned.
After some searching and rough calculating, I realized that we had happened upon a piece of Island real estate waytooclose to Barking Sands Missle range...
