Future Poltergeist

Here is to a great 2010 for everyone! And as an aside, I agree with Jesse Walker here : Please spare us from these ninnies who keep insisting that the aughts aren't ending tonight. If we were discussing "the 201st decade," they'd have a point. We're not, so shut up. If you insisted that 2000 was the last year of the 20th century, you were being pedantic. If you insisted it was the last year of the '90s, you were just being stupid.

Today I finally picked up the last books that I need for the Hugo project. At least until something else wins this coming August. I started with this many of them: And now have this many: This picture has them stacked by decade. The 40's and 50's are on the left stretching all the way over to the 00's on the right. For those scoring at home, I've read the first two books from the 70's. The only problem is, what books should I start shopping for now?

This blog turns five years old today. It has been a good five years. The FP Gal and I talked about our blogs earlier. She isn't sure if she would have started if not for me. Part of me thinks that I would've started one anyway but . . . I could have done so pretty easily as early as August of '03 and I didn't. I'm glad it's here if for no other reason that it provides a pretty good record of the last five years. I picture Relia and Baby XY reading this years from now and learning about a time that otherwise would be unavailable to them. (Of course they'll have to fight through tons of dead links by then.) Here is to (at least) another five.

And the nominations are closed. I was hoping for a large list that we could pare down to 10 dramas and 5 comedies. By my count we got 11 dramas and 6 comedies in the nominations. That's close enough so we'll go forward with that. My intention is to review these in alphabetical order and then we'll vote on a winner for each. The dramas will be first: Almost Famous Cast Away Chocolat Crouching Tiger... Finding Forrester Gladiator Memento Requiem for a Dream Snatch X-Men Yi-Yi And the comedies: Best in Show Bring it On Charlie's Angels High Fidelity O Brother... I'm open to swapping categories between comedy and drama if anyone wants to argue that I put something in the wrong place.

So . . . it's not science fiction. Does that mean that the Air Force is actually performing rescue missions on some planet with two moons?

Today we drove down to Austin. We had planned on yesterday but that didn't work out. The change of schedule worked out for us anyway. We opened up with our usual Sunday morning walk through the MOA. Of note, Relia asked to wear Paratrooper Bear (aka child harness w/leash) and we let her. That always brings looks from others as they try to decide if it's cute or inhumane. We left from there and went straight to Austin. The FP Gal predicted that she'd be fast asleep by Burnsville. She was. They were both asleep by Northfield. Which allowed me to spend some time with my music and my thoughts. The three of us don't spend enough time together. We went to Uncle David and Aunt Donna's house for lunch. Amy made very yummy Chinese food. Then it was time for some Christmas themed readings. Relia picked a part that was represented by a crown, which she announced was a 'birthday cake'. She is in full on mimic stage which brought about a short memorable spee...

I've challenged the FP Gal that we should name our upcoming son after the winner of the 2010 Men's Skeleton in Vancouver. She has declined...

We're done with our Christmas travels and home for the night. How did the day go? Pretty well, all things considered. This Christmas will be widely remembered because of the weather. It hasn't been the snowiest weather that I can remember. Haven't heard actual totals but probably something like a foot. The strange thing has been how long it's snowed. Something like 48 hours (off and on). Went out and shoveled three times yesterday and still had to dig my car out this morning. The other weird thing is how warm it was today. Temps were right around freezing, maybe a touch higher. That meant lots of slush. And heavy shoveling. Tonight we'll get down into the low 20's so the ice should be spectacular tomorrow. But that isn't what Christmas is all about, family is. We started the morning by bringing Relia into our bed and explaining that she's having a little brother. She didn't get it. I'm not sure how much she'll understand befor...

Actually, I can't tell you yet. The FP Gal has decided on a bit of privacy or something like that. In any case, when we got the ultrasound a few weeks back we asked them to write down the big answer and put it into an envelope for us. We planned on opening it tonight and (after a marathon putting to bed session) we have done so. With any luck we can share it soon. I can tell you that we're both happy but we would've been either way so that doesn't answer much. Some stories on a related subject while you wait? My cousin Andrea had two boys in quick succession. When the boys were a few years older (3 and 4?) she was pregnant again. She decided that it would best to find out the gender so she could prepare them. Found out she was having a girl. The boys were horrified. A little sister is not what they wanted. After a few days of being upset they cheered up and came to talk to her. They told her that they decided to pray to God and ask for a change to a little b...

At least that's what the FP Gal is calling it. Just wanted to get word out to the rest of the family that in spite of the dire warnings of snow on the way WE ARE ALL STILL ALIVE. Updates as warranted, of course. It sounds like the worst of it will hit further south. I'll try to reach someone in Austin later to make sure they're still there. From news reports, I wouldn't bet on it. Stay safe out there...

I'm stealing this from Heidi's blog. Very good stuff, especially the Toto tribute.

Tonight I read a short book to Relia before she went up to bed and something struck me. Many of the things that are commonplace in the kid's books that I grew up with are nearing the fossil stage. Think about how much phones have changed in the last 30 years. We're almost a cell only household at this point. A 'wired' phone is more of a rarity. And a rotary phone is roughly as current as an 8-track. Speaking of which, record playing is hard to do. When I was young I had a record library of some 30 albums or so, all children's music. She'll have CD's. Newspapers? Will there be delivery newspapers five years from now? I wouldn't bet on any that she'd see on any kind of regular basis. (Will the next generation of children's books use blogs?) The FP Gal has noted that Relia already lives in a world where we can pause TV and fast forward through commercials. She'll always have the internet and all of its wonders. When I was younger I won...

Yes, another list. Actually a bunch of lists. Slate has set up an interactive guide that aggregates various 'best of the decade' lists. Each movie is on a scale from 50-1 with best movies getting a full 50 points and the 50th best getting only 1. The results are kind of interesting. Best overall movie? 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. The FP Gal and I both like it a bunch. The story is good and well told. The questions it raises are worthwhile. The cinematic technique is outstanding. Probably wouldn't be my choice but it's a strong one. It was one of only two movies that made all six lists (the other was '4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'). That says something about how few movies towered over the rest. Only two movies were on five lists and 12 made it on four of them. More than half of them were only on one list. This is a very diffuse list. The various number 1's: 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' 'Eloge de l’am...

The older I get the more I more certain I am that Viking games should start at noon on Sunday. The occasional Monday night game is fine and (of course) playoff games are fine at noon, 3p or 7p, Saturday or Sunday. But during the regular season I want the games to start at noon. Any other game throws off my rhythm. Even worse than the rhythm is that CBS keeps putting my television shows on Sunday nights. Two weeks ago it was the Amazing Race finale on opposite a Viking game. Tonight is the Survivor finale (and reunion show) opposite the game. That's six hours of programming that doesn't start until 7p. Grrr.

Historians from the year 3000 look back at the Beatles influence.

Story here . Oak St Cinema is a small, one screen theater near the U campus that shows classic and foreign films. It's where I first saw movies like 'Casablanca', 'The Third Man' and 'A Clockwork Orange'. I would have been sad to see it go. Meanwhile, the St Anthony Main theater used to be a literal six block walk from our apartment. I saw a bunch of stuff there from '95 until '00 or so. Lots of memories there too. I hope that this arrangement will let both locations thrive a bit. The article mentions that college students are more likely to watch movies via Netflix and the rise of the good home theater means that the at-home movie experience is always getting better than it was. Still, there is something to watching a film with a group of people. That may be especially true for the older films. I'm glad that the opportunity will still be there.

Mental Floss has a list of the six most controversial Christmas carols of all time. Fun stuff (and I think #2 might be a favorite of my mother) but I'm mostly linking to this for one reason. I think my brother owned the album for #6.

With both the Saints and the Colts opening their seasons 13-0 and threatening to go undefeated there has been quite a discussion as to whether the teams should go for every win or pull back their players and just focus on being healthy for the playoffs. Add to this, the annual discussion of whether resting players for the last few weeks of the year leads to sloppy playoff performances and you get quite the range of opinion. My take? If you can have a perfect season I think you have to go for it. Not to the point of risking players who really aren't healthy enough to play or anything like that but absent extreme health risks, you play hard throughout. You simply owe it to your players to be a part of history. You probably owe it to the fans, too. Imagine being a Saints fan. Your team has had some small success at times but never a break out year. This year they have a chance at being historic. They will always remember a 16-0 team, 13-3 or 14-2, not so much. With everything...

Unfortunately, my brother and sister-in-law (and three wonderful kids) are going to be in Germany for another year. This is unfortunate because, well, we miss them over here. Our (with) family situation pretty much makes it impossible to go and visit them. Unlikely anyway. The one plus is that this gives them another year to scoot around Europe and see the place. In that spirit, I offer some vacation suggestions. Here is a collection of family friendly vacation spots. This is a list of great European rail trips . A top ten list of hidden European gems (I really liked this). Btw, these are more of the 'unknown special place' type of gem than the type you'd set in jewelry. Geocaching? This would lend to that. Some more personal suggestions for me: Castle Hill in Budapest. Looks like a fun place, fun for the family too. It reminds me of my old Lego castle sets. Take a short cruise! Royal Caribbean has their hot deals page here. Scroll down to the Europe section...

Today while walking through the crowded stacks of stuff at Macys, with Relia on my shoulders: "Don't want to smash them over." (While I think the actual desire to smash them over is probably questionable, I appreciate the self restraint.)

Where is your cell phone? table Significant other? tired Your hair? missing Your mother? baking Your father? cat-owning Your favorite thing? reading Your dream last night? scary Your favorite drink? cokezero What room are you in? living Your hobby? reading Your fear? alzheimers Where do you want to be in 6 years? westcoast Where were you last night? home Something that you aren't? athletic Muffins? blueberry Wish list item? books Last thing you did? cuddled What are you wearing? sweatshirt TV? seventhheaven Your pets? sleepy Friends? solid Your life? transition Your mood? tired Missing someone? yes Drinking? soon Your car? cold Something you're not wearing? thong Your favorite store? mcd's Your favorite color? blue When is the last time you cried? movie Who will repost this? mom Where do you go to over and over? work My favorite place to eat? hawaii Favorite place I'd like to be at right now? tropics

Just had a very vivid dream that I had some been named the new manager for the (hated) Cubs. Woke up before it became too intense but I think it's safe to say that it wouldn't have worked out well for anyone.

Why don't we have ice skating races here?

Before I got married, I never once thought about my in-law's family. Too focused on the bride, probably. One of the things that I never thought of is that we adopt each other's traditions. That means that each December I get chocolate dipped stuff . This year I was more of a bystander than a participant, after all the Vikings were on. In the past I've tried dipping ginger snaps (with dark chocolate, very yummy). One year I tried Nutter Butters. This was very exciting for me until I found out that they taste just like Little Debbie's Nutty Bars . Tasty, but I was hoping for something new. This year the FP Gal made me some chocolate dipped banana slices. And of course the chocolate pretzels are very yummy. She and Relia can split the strawberries and marshmallows. This is always a good day and this year was no exception.

The FP Gal made a Christmas CD that gets heavy rotation in my car this time each year. This is really the first time that Relia has been old enough to interact with Christmas music. One of the songs, as you probably gathered from the above video and title of the blog post, is 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'. Relia calls it the 'it's cold , baby' song and loves it when it comes on. It's one of the FP Gal's favorites too, and she really wishes that I'd learn the male lyrics so we can sing it together. What is it about Christmas that brings out the gimmicky songs? If I had to pick a holiday that would be the king of jokey songs it would probably be Halloween but Christmas probably beats it 10 to 1. No idea why, but that does seem to be the case. We probably all have our favorites and least favorites. The FP Gal loves, 'I Wanna Hippopotamus for Christmas' and can't stand 'Blue Christmas'. I still get a kick out of 'Grandma Got ...

Still accepting nominations for the 2000 Retro-Not-Oscar. Rules (and general description) found here. Don't worry, you won't be judged harshly. The more nominations the better, so please participate if you haven't already.

(I think this is Florence.)

This speaks to me .

Been awhile since one of these... Very cold here in Minnesota. We went from record cold October to record warm November. December started off normally and now we are in the deep freeze portion. We should get to somewhere around -5 tonight. I could happily go a whole winter without temps below zero. McDonalds rolled out something new, the Mac Snack Wrap . Basically, it's a tortilla with the ingredients of the Big Mac. Tried one out yesterday and wasn't impressed. If you want a Big Mac, stay with the original. I enjoyed these different doorknobs . The last one is my favorite. The latest word on the 'Life of Pi' movie is that Ang Lee will direct and it will be released sometime in 2011. I'm very curious how that will work out. I'm thinking of checking this out . We have been seriously dreaming of a warm vacation (although it's seriously unlikely). Today Relia said, "wanna go to the beach". The FP Gal and I couldn't agree more. It's...

We just got back from the ultrasound. Everything looks good, normal, healthy and all of that. We don't know the gender yet, but we will find out eventually. Relia was thoroughly unimpressed with the whole deal but was somewhat fascinated with the mirror in the room. I'm sure the FP Gal will post with more (and better) details later.

With my recent complaining about Relia's tantrums, I should mention that she's still a blast most of the day. The FP Gal brought her home from daycare this afternoon and she was very happy. We ran around, played with her stuff and even sang into the microphone. She keeps singing "baby and the bomb" over and over. We have no idea what that means or where it came from. Then the sun went down and it all went to pieces. The FP Gal has pointed out that I keep trying to reason with her and that isn't a two year old strong suit. I just wish I could explain to her why fighting us isn't helping her. No such luck. Still, the good times are really good. Really, really good.

Ok, my post from last night wasn't clear enough. The problem isn't clothing, per se, it's tantrum throwing. Clothes are a focal point but even if she gets her way it only delays the fight. Probably delay it until it's time to go to daycare. (And it's not that she doesn't like daycare.) Tonight was another rough one, with a very long tantrum as the FP Gal put her down for the night. Yelling, of course, and kicking and hitting. A new one tonight featured an attempt to dismantle a chair that was in there. That's our little carpenter! It's probably just terrible two stuff and we just need to be patient. That is the tack that we're trying. This means plenty of time-outs and time alone in her room. The really tough time is when we don't really have time to deal with her. The morning daycare fight is a prime example. It's just wearing on us. Ugh.

We could use some advice from some experienced parents. We're currently wrapped up in a power struggle with Relia over . . . clothes. Yep, every morning is a huge fight to try and get her to wear such awful things like pants and socks and the like. There is yelling and screaming and hitting and kicking. Tears also. Many, many tears. There is also a problem getting her dressed for daycare. It started by having to playfully chase her to put on shoes and coat, all the while risking being late. Then it became more tears and yelling. I'm beginning to dread the whole thing. I know this is some kind of power game. Part of the whole terrible twos thing. We're working through it by outwaiting her but it isn't easy. My question, is there anything we can do to speed up the process? Any ideas out there?

A couple of interesting posts regarding my favorite author, Robert Heinlein. The first one has to do with rereading 'Citizen of the Galaxy' as an adult. Others have mentioned how seamless Heinlein's worlds are but I'm always gobsmacked by them, even now. You know that the writer was only showing the iceberg's tip of what he knew about any of his imagined outposts -- like Jubbulpore or the Free Traders' Sisu -- but what he chose to show was exactly what you needed to know. All of the needful stuff is condensed into the man's clear prose, which is never enamored with its own cleverness. In other hands, such concision could be a dull read but this reportorial approach works in Heinlein's hands. The Hugo project has led me to read lots of books and authors that are new to me. I haven't found any authors who quite hit the same balance that Heinlein consistently does with the narrative. Add in the enjoyable conversation and consistently interesting mo...

Earlier in the year I read 'Sailing Alone Around the World' , a story of the first solo circumnavigation of the globe. It was a great book, one of the best I've read this year. Reading about the subject led me to a race in the 60's sponsored by a British newspaper, a competition to be the first person to sail solo around the world without stopping at any port. I mentally filed it away as interesting, wondering if there was a book about it. Last night, while looking at Netflix, I discovered that a documentary had been made and released in 2006. The film mostly follows a man named Donald Crowhurst. Most of the sailors who entered the race were quite experienced, but not Crowhurst. He thought that he could use the most advanced equipment and win fame and fortune for his family. In the process he mortgaged everything. A quick failure would mean he would lose his house and his family would be destitute. Things do not go well for Crowhurst. He sails (slowly) throug...

Just so you know, we're all feeling much better. Relia is still a little bit on the tired side but nothing big. Thanks for all of your well wishes!

Read an article recently on comet hunting. It had very good tips for how to chart them and photograph (digital cameras are wonderful for amateur astronomers). Of course the hardest part is actually finding one! Back in early 2007 the beauty featured up there in the video appeared but was almost solely visible in the southern hemisphere. I've had a picture of it as my computer background for the past couple of years. Uh, this one: If I recall, it was the brightest since the 70's. The curved tail is especially impressive. How long until the next one? It's really tough to say. While some comets make regular appearances, it's tough to tell how good they'll look ahead of time. You might remember that Halley failed the hype back in '86. We usually get a good one every decade or so though even that is somewhat randomized. There are smaller ones on a very regular basis. If you live near a dark sky area you can google around for a star-party. Most of them ar...

We just got back from the pediatrician from our 845p(!) appointment. Daycare thought that her breathing was a little ragged. They were right, she sounded a little like Darth Vader. So we got the next opening we could and found ourselves up waaaay past bedtime in the fine city of Edina, where our pediatricians work. She was wonderful and patient the whole time. She told the doctor that she felt 'pretty good' even though her breathing didn't agree. The doc listened for about ten seconds and said, "She sounds croupy". Some quick work with that lighted stethoscopey thing confirmed the diagnosis. Yep, she has the croup. 'Croup' doesn't even sound like a real thing to me. Too much like a Dickens plot point. It's like 'diphtheria' and 'whooping crane' or one of those other 19th century diseases that we no longer worry about. Wikipedia confirms that it exists but they also think King Friday is part of the Lancastrian line so who ...

Winning the 1969 Hugo award is this novel of dystopia, racial politics and overpopulation. Brunner used several innovative techniques including running interlaced chapters that serve as background information. In many ways it reads like a screenplay. Frankly, I hated it. Found it unreadable. Gave up after 200 excruciating pages. There may have been an interesting story in there but Brunner made it too much work to get there. The other problem is that the story feels incredibly dated. It's like the entire future is 1968 and only the worst parts of 1968. I would not recommend.

One of my beliefs in regard to the quality of movies is that it takes some time to really tell what was good and what wasn't. Some movies give a quick 'wow' but they don't age well. Others bug you on the first viewing, but keep gnawing at you to rewatch. Ten years should be enough time to really have the handle on a year's worth of films. With your help, I'm going to try and figure out what movie was the best of the year 2000. Here is what I want, please nominate some of the best movies from that year. I'm aiming to create a list of ten dramas and five comedies. Please leave a comment with up to five contenders. I'll compile a list and we'll narrow it down to the finalists so we can start reviewing in January. The list will be open so you can watch along. The more nominations the better so don't be shy! I'm going to put a few rules in place to keep it from being crazy. The movie must be out on DVD. I'm hoping that won't be t...

Maybe I need a job as a forest ranger.

Yep, the sickness fairy is visiting me now. The FP Gal is a little bit fearful that she'll feel the power of a fully operational bug too. Relia has been very sympathetic, which is wonderful. Hopeful for a better night...

We've had some trouble over the past couple of days getting Relia a nap at the right time. Some of this has been sickness and some of it family scheduling. In any case, she's been off the right time. That has meant tough bedtimes. We went grocery shopping late this morning and Relia fell asleep during the ten minute car ride. The FP Gal told me that she fell asleep while she was running errands a little bit after that. So we expected that she'd go down easily for a nap this afternoon. Not even a little bit. Screams of bloody murder and pounding on the door. So we decided to let her just stay up and fight with me about watching football. We got the TV viewing figured out but it became clear that she was fighting tiredness. After dinner she bounced back and forth between us in her usual fashion. She wanted graham crackers and medicine (child vitamin). Then she climbed up on me and settled down. She rested her head and a minute later she didn't respond to any of...

Nope, it didn't happen this year. I got to about 13,000 words before giving up. Just had too much trouble finding a rhythm and routine. Or a story that I liked. And a healthy enough patch early in the month. Let's just say that there were too many obstacles. I feel kind of bad about this. I'm now 3 for 4, which isn't too bad. But once you break the string on something like this it's much harder to jump back on the horse and actually finish. I'm sure that next year, with an additional child will be easier somehow. Ha! There are a few other ideas kicking around in my head. Maybe something else to kind of make up for this...

Today we had Thanksgiving dinner with the FP Gal's family. That meant that my lovely wife left our house at around 8a to help prepare the afternoon meal. Relia and I dealt with her absence with aplomb. I tried to get her a late morning nap as dinner was scheduled for the exact time of her usual afternoon one. Limited success. The meal was very good. Due to continued overcoming of colds on Thursday, it was our first actual sit down Thanksgiving style dinner. During the planning process, the FP Gal and I requested extra stuffing. It's our favorite. Relia's favorite (without question) was the cranberries. She had to be bribed with it to eat other foods. Now we're both stuffed. Relia still has room for cheese and crackers, of course. The ladies are sitting drowsily on the couch watching 'Toy Story' and barely staying awake. Life is good.

Years from now when my children are older and stumble upon an episode of cheers, who will they associate with Cliff the mailman?

I'm thankful for (the obvious stuff)... My wonderful wife and child(ren) The rest of my family. I wish I could spend more time with you. My circle of friends. The new technologies that make keeping in touch with all of the above easier. House, job, health and all of the other things that I take for granted on a day by day basis. Also thankful for Cheap second-hand books. Easy access to movies. Football and baseball for nearly the whole calendar year. The patience of my wife who is understanding about the above point. My daughter's sense of humor and growing vocabulary. Bedtime. Yummy cheeseburgers. Two lovely kitties. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Just an update from last night's post. Illness seems to have passed quickly and we're on the way!

Nothing too serious, just some throwing up. Still, it might cause us to cancel our trip to Austin tomorrow. Which would be a huge bummer. There is a particular helplessness to having a sick child. She really can't communicate what's wrong. Just kind of holds her stomach and puts her hand near her mouth. If I remember my childhood, she's probably scared too. Poor thing. We're hoping it's nice and short term. That would be very nice.

Anyone have any idea what Flin Flon is? Is it... the most popular candy in Spain? the next hot wedding dress style? a hero to children everywhere who teaches teamwork and politeness? an obscure Chinese martial art whose time has finally come? Actually no, it's none of those things. Flin Flon is a small Canadian town on the border between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I mention this only because I ticketed some travel to there today. When I first saw the reservation, airport code YFO, I wondered if it was some weird joke destination. (True story, a few years back I ran across an airline created Test City code, FSG. For just a moment it felt like I could see the Matrix.) And who, you may ask, flies to Flin Flon? Who else, Calm Air . Isn't that a peaceful airline name? (Much better than Fiery Plummet Air.) Speaking of airlines, there really is only one good choice for first time fliers. And speaking of small Canadian airlines with fun names, I've been told at work th...

Relia: "Triangle, triangle, little star. I . . . wonder what you are. Triangle, triangle, little star."

Back in September, I didn't know what to expect from the Vikings. I thought that Favre's bad karma would probably sink the team. Shows what I know, right? They have been very good, at times a great team. The improvement has been mainly from the offense, especially the quarterbacking. This is a team that is very good at both running and throwing the ball. If they have a weakness, it's in run blocking. But they also have the best 1-2 running combo in the league with Peterson and Taylor. Neither back needs a gaping hole to run through. In fact, their biggest plays have been on cutbacks after what would have been a short loss. The defense hasn't been as stout as it was the past couple of years. This year's team has an incredible pass rush and (without Winfield at least) average pass defense. The run stopping hasn't been quite as reliable but it's still good. Of note, this year's special teams is wildly better than last years. They've enjoyed o...

Back in the 60's the British government did not play rock and roll on the radio. The state controlled BBC didn't want it, so it didn't happen. This was, of course, a high moment in British rock with the Beatles, Stones, Who and many others making new music. Pirate radio stations sprang up, broadcasting from off the coast. The movie suggests that half of the British populace tuned in on a regular basis. All of this is based on true history. The movie focuses on one particular station called simply enough Radio Rock. On it we meet a crazy group of DJs and radio folk. This is a fun ensemble and the movie does well by them. We get to know their quirks and personalities as they face challenges from the state and fend off boredom. In many ways, this is a pitch perfect movie. The cast is great, the music is well done and the story is very good. The FP Gal told me that she already wants the soundtrack. In fact, I only had one problem with it: An open letter to Kenneth Br...

Should probably put a post up for my birthday too. Last night, the FP Gal gave me an Ipod and I've been trying to get up to speed with it today. I've wanted one for a few years at least so it's much appreciated! Today we dropped Relia off at my Mom's place (thanks Mom!). The rest of the day was spent buying U2 tickets, picking up bed stuff and (believe it or not) yard work. Oh, and some naps. Now we're getting ready to go out for a movie. The last year was a good one and I'm looking forward to the next. More adventures with Relia. New adventures with her new brother or sister. And of course, new adventures with the lovely FP Gal. Should be great!

To the FP Gal, who adds another calendar and still looks as beautiful as ever. Here is to another wonderful year!

This morning we enjoyed a light rain and temps in the mid 40's. The rain tapered off so I decided that we'd go to the zoo. Como zoo , of course. And we picked a good time and day to do so. The weather chased a bunch of folks off. We got there about a half hour after opening and there were only about a dozen cars in the lot. We just about had the place to ourselves. First off is the primate house. The way it's set-up, you go from smaller monkeys to bigger monkeys. orangutans and then gorillas. She wasn't impressed until we got to the gorillas. She thought they were big. I said they were even bigger than daddy. She told me bigger than two daddies. Next up was the big cats. The tiger was very regally sitting outside, just staring off into space, perhaps thinking about lifeboats . The cougar was pacing very visibly, which was nice. And a female lion was sitting inside. We continued outside and saw the male lion. The walkway is elevated by a good 20 feet so ...

Not sure why, but I've had this one bouncing around in my head for the past couple of days.

(Via Big Hollywood) Interesting post here regarding the top grossing films of the decade and their origin. Wikipedia has a list of the highest grossing films of this decade so far, and kottke noticed that of the top 20 films at the box office, only one movie was not based on a past film or tv show (remake/sequel), or an adaptation of an established property (be it a comic, book, play, toy…etc). That movie? 'Finding Nemo'. In fact, there are only two of the top 30 that are new works, the other being 'Kung Fu Panda' at #30. At the link they list the top 50 of the decade and only nine aren't based on some previous something. Seven of the nine are animated, five of those being Pixar. Any guesses on the other two? Is that unusual? For comparison I decided to look at the Wikipedia list for the 90's . My quick count suggests that nearly half of them, 22, are new stories. Four of those are in the top 10, including the #1 overall grosser, Titanic. Yep, the i...

The other morning the kitties opened Relia's door again. As you know, this has been the source of many too early mornings. We've convinced Relia that she should come in and get us rather than going downstairs and wrangling breakfast on her own. Much better. But the other morning they opened her door again. And she got out of bed . . . and closed it!

Quick review part, I loved this book and thought it was great. The idea behind it is clever. The main character is fun. Before the Hugo project, I'd never heard of this book and I'm very glad that I read it. Now that I've said that, SPOILERS follow, ok? It takes a bit to unpack what's happening in 'Lord of Light'. The story resembles a series of legendary encounters involving a conflict between various Hindu gods and the Buddha. Only later do we find out that this is a planet that was settled by a colony ship. The original crew had a process whereby they could transplant their consciousness into a new body after death, much like reincarnation. They also developed technology to mirror their chosen god personas. But not everyone was happy. In order to keep their god-like position, the pantheon needed to keep the populace at a low tech. If a region tried to develop, they would declare a holy war and reduce them. This approach offended a crew member named...

While Relia was helping to mix the waffle batter: Me: Are your arms getting tired? Relia: No. They're getting happy!

Interesting list in the Telegraph, regarding the ' 100 movies that defined the noughties '. I expect that we'll see a bunch of this type of thing in the next couple of months. List making has absolutely exploded in the internet age. And movies are by far the most universal shared culture that we have. This particular list is aimed at 'defining' movies which isn't necessarily the same thing as the best movies (I think). So there is more arty and experimental fare than a straight 'best of' list might have had. Certainly wouldn't be my list but the whole thing is worth reading. The top ten: 10. Slumdog Millionaire 9. The Passion of the Christ 8. Amores Perros 7. Borat 6. Memento 5. LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring 4. There Will Be Blood 3. The Incredibles 2. Brokeback Mountain 1. Fahrenheit 9/11 (Each movie has a brief description and the one for 'Fahrenheit' doesn't disappoint. It suggests that whether Moore 'played fast and loose wit...

After Relia finished her morning bagel, she asked for some croutons. She got the last bit of those and I showed her the empty bag so that she'd believe me. I was (very helpfully) informed that we needed to go to the store and get more of them. Btw, bagels and croutons were a very common breakfast while I was growing up. Update: Since I'm talking about Relia/morning/food I should mention how she woke up this morning. Just before 6a there was some murmuring, then loudly and clearly she said, "That's a big orange!"

And yes, this list is proof that I'm a bad parent. When you watch 'Little Mermaid' and 'Finding Nemo' in close order, it's really amazing how far animation came in so short of a time. 'Mermaid's' music still holds up well though. Does any movie in the history of cinema have a higher percentage of sidekicks than 'Aladdin'? Each of the top four characters have their own cute companion (monkey, tiger, parrot and flying carpet). If the Sultan had a talking cat they could have maxed themselves out. 'Monsters Inc' is known in our house as the 'salad movie'. We think that Sully = salad or something like that. 'Fish movie' makes so much more sense. Overall, the Pixar movies are more popular with Relia than the Disney ones. She watches the Miyazaki movies, just stares at them entranced, but I don't know if she really enjoys them as much. Disney had a well known policy of pulling their movies from sale and only releasi...

To Veterans, thanks.

For fans of 'How I Met Your Mother', Slate does a review of each episode on Tuesdays. The entire index can be found here .

How did Mike get back from Nepal? This didn't bother me until the movie entered heavy rotation at our place. Now I don't know. And I don't think that the movie ever explains it. Anyone?

To pass the time by while the FP Gal valiantly tries to put our little angel to bed: I spend a fair amount of time criticizing bad commercials. Not that surprising given how bad some of it is. Bud Light (for instance) should fire their entire ad division. Possibly they should fire them out of an airlock while in low earth orbit. The FP Gal reminds me every Sunday that I'm not their target market. Well, I'm not a Dos Equis guy either, but the set of ads with 'the most interesting man in the world' is nothing short of brilliant. The whole set with video can be found here . And yes, it tempts me to try some Mexican beer. Switching gears to rum, it seems that the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie is going to be based on the Tim Powers book, 'On Stranger Tides' . It's a fun book and I'm very pleased. Of course, I'm still waiting for the movie versions of ' War for the Oaks ' and the long rumored mini series of ' The Diamond Age '....

We're a week into November and my novel is really not going well this year. I loved the concept. Really, really loved it. Right up until I started writing it. Part of my problem is that I read this article about how various great authors do their thing . It made me feel very bad about my prep and technique. And especially my characterization. And then I realized that this novel is suffering from all of the things that I didn't like about the others. I'm not at all happy with how I write people. Even worse, I seem to keep falling into stories where there is next to no interaction between said people. So what was my concept this time? Well, I still don't want to say in case I somehow salvage the darn thing, but let's just say that it precludes even the possibility of interaction. Which isn't an easy feat, believe me. To top it all off, this first week has been an absolute wreck for writing. The first started off wonderfully. On the second I got sick an...

As you doubtlessly know, airports are known by a unique three letter code. Traditional initials also have three letters. I propose a game. Go here , to an airport code website and enter your initials. Then come back and leave a comment regarding which city you are connected to. The person with the largest city wins! I'll start (and create examples). PGD (me) - Punta Gorda, FL (per Wikipedia the population is 16,762) ARD (Relia) - Alor Island, Indonesia (Wikipedia puts the population at 168,000) FPG (FP Gal) - no known airport (Wikipedia thinks that lots of people don't live at airports but for the purpose of this game she gets a score of 0) So go ahead and give it a try. Leave your answers in the comments. Wikipedia look up available upon request. I honestly have no idea who will win this but I'm curious.

Man shows up at own funeral . I'm very serious. When my time comes you might want to double check the corpse. Because if I can make it...

We've been taught from 'Finding Nemo' and now 'Little Mermaid' that sharks swimming underwater can break through just about any material. Except anchors and torpedo tubes. Swimmers take note. The other day we also learned from the first twenty minutes of West Side Story that spinning in a dress is fun. And may cause the scene to shift from a dress shop to a dance hall. (This was a fun lesson.) Update: I know one little girl and two cats that simply must switch over to the time change. This is like living on the Indiana border.

We have finally found a reasonably good way to quiet a restless toddler on the changing table: corn starch. Yep, baby powder. Most people think that it's meant to be applied to the bottom. We certainly did. Relia has taught us differently. A few spots on each hand and she becomes quietly fascinated. Babies are weird.

This Yahoo news article caught my eye . Under the headline 'Tower of London Beefeaters Suspended for Bullying' is this lede: LONDON – Women faced their share of trouble at the Tower of London , including three queens who were beheaded there. But treachery has long been considered a thing of the past at the notorious 11th century fortress. At least until now. Um, are they really comparing 'bullying' with 'beheading'? There is a pretty steep difference between the two, no? If charges made Monday are true, the Tower — a popular tourist attraction and home to Britain's Crown Jewels — will add bullying to the list of foul deeds committed there. The victim: the first woman selected to join the all-male ranks of the Tower's yeoman warders, popularly known as "Beefeaters." Ah. Ok then. I'm certainly not in favor of bullying and I hope that the woman from the article, Moira Cameron, is able to work there without problems. Having said that, I...

Enough of the desert, this week they went to the Netherlands! (Mom, if there was ever an episode for you to watch, this was it.) The show opened with everyone catching the same flight to Amsterdam. Why? Because flights from Dubai to Europe are limited. (Side note, if you will. I think there is a reason that they don't have travel agents on this show. Once you start booking international flights for a while, you get a serious feel for the, uh, flow of travel. You know when to look for flights from here to there. And most importantly, you get a feel for how to get in and out of different continents. For instance, Skyteam has a 7p connection through Moscow that looks like it would have beaten the flight they picked. I bet with some time I could find even better.) The first thing the teams did this week was drive to a certain statue on the bridge of a dike. Well, the first test for one team was putting the car in Drive, but I'm pretty sure that the producers didn't e...

Here is the beginning of this year's effort: There was an intense, sudden flash of light and a shocking roar. Both were cut off and faded without echo or warning. Then a split second of free fall and without warning, a hard impact. Abner was knocked to the floor. There was surge back up and then a lighter impact and he could feel it start to roll. Abner grabbed an arm hold and hauled himself upright. The windows had shown nothing but night and lights. Now it was full day time. The rain was gone. So was the airport. And they were definitely moving. He was back of the wing and could see some kind of prairie or big field in front of him. A herd of … something was running away. Or at least that was what the cloud of dust made him think. He turned to the other side to see if that view helped him but it didn’t. More grass but also trees. A forest worth, at least. The trees helped him figure the speed of the plane, fast but not alarmingly so. For the first time he noticed h...

We finally got Relia out in her costume and did a little trick-or-treatin'. She is a kitty this year, with a delightful outfit that the FP Gal got second hand. We had to lean heavily on the grandparents/candy levers to get her dressed. We also added make up whiskers. I joined in on the whiskers, call it a throwback to my theater days. (I'm sure the FP Gal will add a picture.) (yes, she did) We chose the FP Gal's parent's neighborhood, in part so we could take her over there in costume. I'm sure the whole experience is just surreal for her. We walk up to strange houses, ring their doorbells and then they fawn over her cuteness and give her candy. I'm curious what she'll ask to go back to those houses and see if it works again. We don't give her a lot of candy so this was a special treat for her. We'll try to ration the haul to keep her from getting sick. And . . . we just might thin the bounty ourselves. These are the lengths we're wil...

Relia, singing in the tub: "A-B-C-D . . . next time won't you sing with . . . elephants!"

In an attempt to broaden or movie menu for Relia, I tried some Miyazaki today, 'Spirited Away'. Don't know if I've ever blogged about the movie, let's just say that it is something like a Japanese version of Alice in Wonderland. Very beautiful, great score . . . and maybe a little too scary. At least that's what I was afraid of. Movie scariness is a tricky thing with toddlers. For dramatic purposes there must be some conflict and it's not always clear what will be too much. 'Nemo' is basically about a kidnapping and she doesn't seem to have any issues with it. We've also been watching 'The Jungle Book' which is about a tiger that wants to eat a boy. Not only is she ok with it, she roots for the tiger! 'Spirited Away' opens with a small girl whose parents suddenly turn into pigs. She must find her way through a magical and unpredictably dangerous world in order to try and save them. Relia seemed to be fine with it. Sh...

Or maybe more accurate would be non-slumber party. Relia has decided that sleep is totally overrated and she's not going to play that game tonight. As a direct result she is now eating breakfast and we are watching Movie Fish (i.e. 'Finding Nemo'). She also demanded to wear regular clothes instead of her pjs and I fully expect her to throw a tantrum if I don't drive her to daycare at 3am. She better take some good naps tomorrow...

I loved this in the Strib : Dear Mr. 8C: I'm sorry your Silver Elite status on Northwest Airlines didn't qualify you for a first-class upgrade on your recent flight from New York to Minneapolis. All of us, your fellow passengers, shared in the incredulity you expressed so vocally to the gate agent when informed that you would be flying coach. The subsequent announcement that our departure would be delayed clearly inconvenienced you alone. Your expletive-laden denouncement of the airlines, while unsettling to many of those standing near to you, was an opinion that you obviously deemed necessary to share with all within earshot. It is shocking that the airlines would let a little thing like a mechanical problem with the plane interfere with your very important schedule. Trust me, we all heard you when you said how (expletive omitted) upset you were. The whole thing is worth reading. Now most seasoned travelers are nice, of course. They understand the vagaries of air travel wh...

The kitties are holding us hostage. Really, they are. It goes something like this. They want to be fed first thing in the morning (and afternoon, evening, holidays, etc.). If they can wake one of us up then they get fed. The FP Gal is good at sleeping through their nonsense but I must sleep more lightly. For awhile their strategy was to howl in the hallway. I'd be afraid that they'd wake Relia and get up to feed them. Because waking Relia is what it's all about. We can ignore them but we can't really ignore baby screams. When she wakes up, we're up. At some point that will change but for now it's true. So if they can wake her by howling then we have to get up and they get fed. For a while I tried locking Ozzie in a different room but he has to have litter box access or things go badly. Then we started closing our bedroom door but that brought two problems. We like having the kitties sleep on us. And Sana can sometimes open the door all on her own. ...

Spoilers? Yes . Remember last week when I thought that the teams were going to the Atlantis hotel in the Bahamas? Well, guess what, apparently there is an Atlantis hotel in Dubai too! Learn something new everyday. Yep, for this episode they all stay put in Dubai. First off each team had to choose a briefcase and go to a yacht club. Then one member would row a small rubber boat out to one of the yachts and receive a 'treasure' and then row back to shore. This 'treasure' would give them a clue to help open the briefcase. What they got was a watch and they had to enter the time in as the combination. Unfortunately our favorite team, the Globetrotters, had trouble translating this and they let several teams pass them. Next up was a choice of tasks. Each team could either put together 12 different hookah pipes or they could go to a money exchange and weigh out exactly $500,000 worth of gold. The hookah pipes took a great deal of detail work. Each team that went t...