Panda sneezes

I've been slow at updating my blog. Sorry.

In case you aren't a regular to the YouTube site, this will probably be new to you. For those of you who have heard of YouTube and are an occassional visitor, you've probably seen this already. It's definitely one of my favorite things I've seen. Speakers help so you can hear the sneeze, but not necessary since it's really the reaction that is so funny. Love it.

2007

And it was silly of me not to wish everyone a Happy New Year yesterday. So a day late, I hope you will accept my well-wishes for a happy, healthy, and excellent 2007.

Dreamgirls review

So yesterday I saw the much hyped Dreamgirls movie. Hmm. Overall, I think this was a quality movie. But there were so many problems with it. I don't think it should be a best picture winner in any category.

Things I liked.
1. Jennifer Hudson's rendition of "You're Gonna Love Me." Her very powerful voice conveys the vulnerability of her otherwise strong character. It's musical raw emotion. I don't watch American Idol, but the audience who voted her off must be morons. There was prolonged spontaneous applause and cheering at the end of this number.
2. Beyonce's changing make-up, costumes, and hair styles are really fun to watch. She's gorgeous in just about every shot and the resemblance to a young Diana Ross is uncanny. Several shots are exactly copies of some of Ross's iconic pictures and styles.
3. Eddie Murphy for taking on a completely different role. But is it a good role for him? He's passable but there's a reason we love him doing comedy - he's good at it.
4. The costumes.

Things I didn't like:
1. The songs. I love music but there were so many songs that went on forever. I know it's a musical and songs are a critical part of a musical, but quantity doesn't substitute for quality. I think using real songs from the era that the audience is familiar with might have allowed the audience to embrace the musical format more.
2. It's long. Even if this wasn't based on the real-life events of the Supremes, the characters are stock and have predictable story arcs. It's the same story we've already seen countless times over.
3. It was uneven in the storytelling and production technique. Some scenes were directed as if they were in a live stage performance, but other scenes were directed in a completely "normal" realistic manner. This same technique was also used in the film version of Chicago, but the difference was that every production aspect of Chicago was just over the line from realistic. The cinematography, costumes, choreography, make up, sets, everything was just a little too showy to be considered real - even for the dialogue scenes. And the musical numbers in Chicago went way over the top. The production direction of Chicago was complete, consistent, and committed. [Look at the movie version of A Chorus Line for the other way to do a musical - completely realistic, both the musical numbers and dialogue. Other over-the-top movie versions: Rocky Horror, Moulin Rouge (although not a B'way show), Hairspray, The Producers, Mary Poppins. Other realistically done movie versions are Rent, The Sound of Music. West Side Story is a well-done mix of both.] In Dreamgirls, there wasn't a consistent across-production vision. The musical and dialogue scenes in Dreamgirls didn't mesh enough for me. I think it would have been a better picture if they took out some of the songs and stuck to more dialogue.

So there you have it. It's long and I got a little bored in the middle after Jennifer Hudson's big number. I also think she is the bright spot in the movie. Her character, Effie, is the most interesting, carries the most conflict/drama, and her voice is miles above everyone else's, even Beyonce's. The movie is really about Effie. When her storyline isn't onscreen, the film drags.

Also, I saw the Will Ferrell - Emma Thompson film, Stranger Than Fiction, a while back. This movie was completely underrated and didn't get the audience it deserves. If you get a chance to see this smart, literate, coy, and fresh movie, do it. Add it to your Netflix queue right now. In case you don't remember this movie, it's about Emma Thompson, a writer, as she writes her newest novel. Will Farrell plays a man who suddenly hears her voice in his head as she writes. He has become the main character in the book she's writing. Of course, this lends itself to moments of hilarity. I was concerned that the film makers would take this gimmick too far, but they don't. I was surprised in how they used her voice in his head. They didn't overdo it. Will Farrell is very good playing a semi-tragic character with serious OCD. Emma Thompson looks pretty awful through most of the movie as she wallows in writers block under publisher mandated deadlines. And Dustin Hoffman almost steals the show with his eccentric, brilliant literature professor to whom Will Farrell turns to for guidance. Queen Latifah and Maggie Gyllenhaal also add to the story. The entire film - except for Dustin Hoffman's office - has a very minimalist feel and design, which is interesting because we rarely see movies that aren't inundating us with visual details. There is plenty of sly allusion to famous works of literature that only book lovers will get. Those allusions are like inside jokes. This is an enjoyable movie and not being able to predict the ending is refreshing.

Christmas pics

Steve has posted the pictures he took during our trip to SF and Monterey. Click here for the album.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday.

Proof of Greenland, Conclusion

And now it's almost over. After two weeks, we finally sailed into NYC before dawn. Despite the amazing places we'd visited and things we'd seen, we were very glad to be going home. Since I've already written about the arrival into NY, I'll just post the pictures. It was a really fantastic vacation. Apologies for the many grammatical and spelling errors I've made in these posts. I have been doing all of this very quickly and with two glasses of wine in my empty belly. Hope you liked!





Lady Liberty.



Ground Zero.



Crystal Symphony docked in NYC.

Proof of Greenland, Part 6

We left Nuuk around 5PM. I think, despite expectations, I liked Nuuk the best of the places we visited. The culture was so different than what I'm used to. The seal skins in the store were real, not faux. The whale meat for sale at the market, and the friendliness of the people (even the drunk man who helped point us in the right direction). Nuuk was small and isolated, but illustrated quite clearly the old and new coexisting in harmony. People did speak some English because there used to be a US military base that employed many of them years ago. We also visited the National Museum that housed a small but informative exhibit about the natural and cultural history of Greenland. The main attraction were some mummies that had been perfectly preserved, including a baby. We also saw the tourist trap in the city - a gigantic mailbox that is Santa's mailbox. Supposedly, this is the "North Pole" when letters are addressed to Santa. When we left Nuuk, a whale saw us off. He repeatedly tail slapped the surface as we sailed away. Very cool.

I've also included a few life-aboard-the-ship pictures. Unfortunately, most of these revolve around food. There was plenty of other things to do besides eat, but the eating pictures lent themselves to photography more than just sitting around working puzzles or listening to lectures about opera. (Which were very good by the way!)



There aren't the typical cruise-line buffets around the clock on Crystal. But they do pull out all the stops for a luncheon Grand Buffet, which consists mostly of seafood. This is just the dessert table. There were also tables full of lobster, shrimp, and oysters.



This is after we picked through the Grand Buffet for lunch. We're seated in the main dining room sipping our complimentary mimosas. Yum.



Every sea day at noon, mom and I, and frequently dad, went to the Palm Court - all the way forward above the bridge - to play team trivia. Only we couldn't technically play since dad is an employee of the company, but we went to listen and play on our own. We also liked the Palm Lounge for reading (admittedly, I did very little reading), working the crosswords, and just looking at the water. We had many Perrier's with lime here.



A shot of the sea as we were coming down the coast of Canada. This is actually when we were passing to the west of a hurricane that had just come up the East Coast. I can't remember the name of the hurricane now, but we were all quite concerned about it on board. Luckily, this was about as rough as it got the entire time. Later that night, we did have a few really strong rolls, one that knocked dad off his bar stool, but nothing too bad. I wore a anti-motion sickness patch the entire cruise so I didn't get sick. But after I took the patch off on land, I got sick. Go figure.

Proof of Greenland, Part 5B

More of Nuuk.



This is inside the big cultural center of Greenland. This building has two theaters for performing arts and the country's only movie theater - which is a single screen. I can't remember what was playing, but I think it was a family film. They had posters for coming attractions that were both American and European. We were in Nuuk on a Saturday, and the cultural center was a the heart of the shopping area. As in every other part of the world, Saturday is the day when people in Nuuk do their shopping. Also, since the weather was cold but gorgeous, it seemed like the entire town was outside walking about taking care of their chores or just enjoying the sunshine. We went into about three shops. All of them carry a mish-mash of goods. One carried gardening supplies, chocolate truffles, jewelry, yarn, seal skins, and fox pelts. We were also in a grocery store that was sort of like a super Wal-Mart, only not as big. The groceries were all downstairs and the goods upstairs. The book section included translations of The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter books, and Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.



According to the sign on the building, this is the office of Greenland Publishers. I have no idea what they publish, but goes to show that you never know what you're gonna find! :)



The fish market. This was one of my favorite things about Nuuk. It was so gross with fish guts on the ground and bloody meat, but very, very interesting. The big white bins have fresh fish in them.



Inside the fish market. The fish market sold more than just fish. There was also reindeer and/or caribou meat for sale (you can see legs on the tables behind the fish), and whale or seal meat. This place was busy.

Proof of Greenland, Part 5

More from Prince Christians Sound and Nuuk.



Crazy dad in the jacuzzi. Mom and I didn't let him stay in too long because he was turning bright lobster red.



The weather had turned by the time we were coming out of the pass back into the Atlantic. It was extremely windy and even my stocking cap was in danger of being plucked from my head. It also suddenly sleeted - or very small hail - when we were on deck during this photo. We exited the pass around noon and continued up the west coast of Greenland to Nuuk, where we woke up the next morning.



Nuuk, Greenland. Capital city. Population approx. 20,000. I think boats outnumberd cars in this town. We were dropped off on the other side of town than the ship in the "old town" part. It was a very walkable, small place, so we also ventured into the new part where the shopping centers were. More on that with another picture. Mom and I are the two figures to the right of the flagpole.



Mom and I looking out at the other harbor of Nuuk. The old town is behind us. Most of the buildings in Nuuk were very brightly painted. Almost everything was very well maintained, too. On our way up to this hill, we passed some locals who were sitting at a picnic table. They asked mom where we were from and so forth. The people in Nuuk seemed very friendly and glad to have us visiting. Later, when we were back on ship, I saw boats pulling up along side our ship yelling up to the people asking where the ship was from, where we'd been, and where we're going. Very curious people who I don't think see many international visitors.

Proof of Greenland, Part 4

After a day at sea, we entered Prince Christians Sound. The sound is at the very tippy tip of Greenland. We sailed through this narrow passage for about four hours. It was chock full of icebergs, several glaciers, towering ragged snow-dusted mountains, and the most remote village I've ever seen. Again, we had excellent weather but it was cold. Very cold. Dad called and woke me up at dawn. I literally rolled out of bed, threw on clothes and my hat and met him up on the bridge for the best view in town. We spent quite a bit of time up on the bridge until our bellies demanded some food. We spent the rest of the pass up on deck in the cold because it was just too beautiful to see from behind glass. I've picked out what I think are some of the highlights from this, but it will probably spill over into two posts.



Me out on the starboard wing of the bridge with a big iceberg. The icebergs were plentiful. Most were smaller than this one. All of them were brilliant white from a distance, but when you got right up to them, they were actually very light blue-turquoise. They also changed shape. From a distance it was impossible to tell that this one was horseshoe shaped. They are very deceiving. I think this picture was taken between 6-7AM.



Mom and me after eating some breakfast. The pass opened up about midway. As you can see, it was a beautiful morning but cold.




Can you see the village behind the rock at the foot of this mountain? We actually saw a single person in a zodiac quite away from this village earlier in the morning, and presume this is the only place he could have come from. I looked at this village through binoculars, and saw that many people were standing outside their homes watching us. I couldn't imagine living here where the only way in or out is by boat or seaplane.



Oooh, pretty.

Proof of Greenland, Part 3B

More from Iceland.



This is at a national park where the two continental plates are splitting apart. The cliff on the left side of the picture is the European plate. This spot was also used by the Vikings as a meeting ground for governmental purposes.



Between the plates is a valley. This is the land that is actually widening and sinking as the plates move apart. As you can see, there are no trees. After we left Scotland, we visited countries with no natural trees. Any trees in the Faeroes, Iceland, and Greenland have been planted. Our guide in Iceland told us two jokes about Icelandic forests. Wanna hear them? Okay. Joke #1: What do you call two trees standing together in Iceland? A forest! Joke #2, which isn't much better than joke #1: What do you do if you're lost in an Icelandic forest? Stand up! (The trees that are in Iceland aren't very big.)



It may be hard to see in this picture, but if you look carefully, you can see the American plate in the background. It's the dark streak on the distant hills.

Proof of Greenland, Part 3

These are all photos from our Iceland leg.



Pretty scenery as we sailed into Reykjavic in the early morning hours.



Mom and me at the top of the world overlooking Reykjavic in one direction and Icelandic landscape the other. Notice the low clouds behind us.



This is how we got to the top of the world. We were part of a three vehicle tour and we rode in this jacked up Ford Excursion. Our tour guide, named Gummi - see the license plate? - had this shipped over from a dealer in Norfolk, Viriginia. Mom and I are inside the truck and I'm waving.



One of the power plants that converts the geothermal energy into electricity. This engineering was very impressive. The entire country has a network of giant steam pipes that run to and from these powerplants to homes & businesses. Almost, but not all, of the homes in Iceland get their heat and power from geothermal sources.



This is me at an overlook with several thermal vents behind me. You can also see some of the steam pipes going up the mountain.

Proof of Greenland, Part 2

More pictures! These are all from the Faeroe Islands.



This is one of many historic black churches through the Faeroes. They are all teeny, black painted, have the grass on the roof. Our guide is the blond woman opening the door. As you can see from the other people in the picture, mom, dad, and I were some of the younger people on the cruise.



The Faeroe Islands are a volcanic island group, like Hawaii. I actually thought the islands looked like Hawaii but without the trees & tropical vegetation. The islands have many, many streams/waterfalls like this one. We have stopped at a "farm" that really consists of a few buildings. These two small buildings are smokehouses. We were told by our guide that the islands get rain almost all year round but we were lucky to have arrived on one of the few sunny days.



If you look up "bleak" in the dictionary, I believe this is the photo that accompanies the definition. Very pretty but so isolated. It was wind and cold on this side of the island.



Here is our ship behind the capital city of Torshavn. Our tour was in the afternoon, so that morning, we walked around the city.

Finally, proof of Greenland

Howdy folks. In case you've given up on this blog getting updated, I disappoint you by posting some pictures from my vacation. Since blogger only lets me post a few pics at a time, I'll spread these out in several posts. I'll cover Scotland in this post. Grab your passports, let's get started.



Day 1. Me at Edinburgh Castle's port cullis before the rain started. We actually had pretty good weather the entire vacation. We only had rain in Edinburgh, a little at sea, and in NY. Those cobblestones I'm standing on are original and date back to Robert the Bruce's day, which I think was about the 12th century.



Day 2. This is the ruins of Castle Urquardt (sp?) on Loch Ness. You can't see us, but Mom and I are at the top of the tower. It was very windy.



The castle, Loch Ness, et moi. Can you believe some guy blew up the castle on purpose just so no one else could steal it from him?



Day 2, continued. My Scottish friends. These are the native Highland cows. Obviously, I dig their hairdos.

Anniversary and more

I realized that I've been keeping this blog for a year now. The anniversary was 9/28. Wow. How fast a year went. I wasn't the best at keeping things up to date, but I hope you got an idea of what the last year was like. If anything, you realize that I have free time in which to keep up a blog. Sort of.

So I haven't given you any more info about the mega vacation trip like I promised. It's my dad's fault. I'm waiting to get 600 or so pictures from him so I can put a few up to illustrate my tale. Pictures make things way more interesting.

Until then, adieu.

Currently reading:
The Best of Everything

"The holy square of power."

That's what my friend and coworker Roseleigh said about this:



This image came up during an e-mail converstaion I was having with Roseleigh and two other friends & coworkers, Steve and Michelle. We were discussing a recent zombie rights march that took place in Austin and was protested by pirates.


Yeah, I work with weird people.

Back in the USA

Well, I'm back. Sort of. I'm actually still in NYC. The ship arrived at the pier in Manhattan around 7:30 a.m. I've been up since 4:30 a.m. Why would I voluntarily get out of bed at that inhuman hour? Because we were scheduled to sail into New York Harbor around 5. I've arrived in NYC by plane, car, and train. I've never arrived by ocean liner and I wasn't going to sleep through it. Since sunrise was not until about 6:30, we approached the city in the dark. And the rain. I didn't realize it was raining until I was out on the deck. I wrapped a pool towel over by head and shoulders and very much felt like part of a "huddled mass" since there were several others on deck with the same rain protection. We sailed under a lit up Verazanno bridge (connects Staten Island and Brooklyn and you probably know it as the starting line for the NYC Marathon) and I could spot Lady Liberty's torch through the rain. It was still a ways off and the lights of Manhattan were not even penetrating the dark yet. We were escorted by a tiny USCG boat - there to protect us should any wacko terrorist decide to crash into the ship. I watched the Staten Island ferry cross the harbor in front of us and find it's dock on SI. Mom and Dad joined me after the bridge but before we got to Lady Liberty. They brought an umbrella. Smart. Very smart. By the time we got to Liberty Island, there were many passengers out on deck. We all bellied up to the port side rail for a look. Crew members were out on the very tip of the bow (like in Titanic) getting their look, too. The sun was still not up. As Liberty fell behind us, downtown Manhattan started to form. The lights of the financial district and the skyscrapers were visible. Ground Zero is lit in perpetual flood light and that spot was the brightest. We sailed very, very slowly up the Hudson and it started to get light out. I ate a quick breakfast and then got back down to the deck to watch some more of Manhattan go by in the rain. When it was time to finally disembark, I went before Mom & Dad because I was staying in the city. I was an "independent traveler" rather than one who needed a transfer to a hotel or airport. But there were many independent travelers, and I had to stand around for about an hour for a taxi. I would have walked to the subway if it hadn't been raining.

And so that is the story of the end of our trans-Atlantic journey. I think I will dish out what happened along the way in reverse. My next entry (which might immediately follow this one) will cover Greenland and the four days at sea before arriving in NYC.

Bon Voyage

Dear Readers,

I am going on a little vacation this Wednesday. I’m off to places in Northern Europe that end in –land, except for Ireland and Finland. Finland, Finland, Finland. Apologies for that Monty Python moment.

I wish I had something really interesting to tell you before I go, but I really don’t. My past couple of weeks have consisted of shopping for clothes to wear on this vacation. I’ve bought some very fancy & pretty formal wear, a couple new jackets, and a really awesome pair of shoes that I don’t need at all. I’ve had vacation on the brain and not much else. A few things have made my radar outside of vacation though: The events in the Middle East – Lebanon/Israel, kidnapped journalists, mid-air terrorist threats, Iran - Korea and their scary nuke stuff, the downgrading of Pluto to a non-planet (what’s up with that?), this new ridiculous Survivor pitting four “races” against each other, Project Runway and it’s increasingly inane challenges, idiotic things said by Ray Nagin, that creepy beyond creepy John Mark Karr and the resurfacing of JonBenet, the CRJ crash in Lexington. I did skip the Emmys last night out of principal. Nope. I watched Entourage at 7 (the East coast showing) and then Pirates of the Caribbean which was on ABC. Johnny Depp is gorgeous. That can never be said too often.

I did feed my mind yesterday and read two books in addition to the paper. I read the new Lynne Cox (Swimming to Antarctica) book called Grayson. It’s about one of her work out swims when she was 17. She was swimming off of Seal Beach in California in the pre-dawn hours when she felt a large presence in the water with her. It turned out to be a baby gray whale that had lost its mom. It’s a slim book and only took me about an hour to read, but it’s good. Her connection with this whale is something she drew from in her future world-record swims and has stuck with her some 30 years later. By the way, if you haven’t read Swimming to Antarctica, I highly recommend it. It’s astounding. I’ll send you a copy if you want it. Lynne is also a very pleasant, well-spoken, grounded and normal person who just happens to have accomplished superhuman feats. I think her gentle personality and mental toughness come through in Grayson even more than in Swimming.

I also read a new memoir Harcourt is publishing this fall called A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas. I read it because my mom wants to read it and I had it at home since I haven’t given it to her yet. It’s very sad. It’s very beautiful. None of the dogs die (thank goodness!) but it’s still sad. It’s getting great reviews and even has a fantastic blurb from Stephen King on the cover, “The best memoir I have ever read. This book is a punch to the heart. Read it.” So what’s it about that has Stephen King raving? Well, dogs and the comfort and companionship they can provide in times of great pain and challenge. But it’s mainly about the aftermath of a horrible car vs. pedestrian accident her husband is involved in while walking their beagle, Harry. It is self-centered, as most memoirs are, since it’s about her recovery after the accident, but not in a victim way. Her husband is hit by a car and suffers a traumatic brain injury. He survives but it permanently changed. The accident also permanently changes the author. The memoir is like many memoirs in that it’s about hardship, love, tragedy, a difficult past, and a hopeful future. How it’s different is that the author doesn’t delve into lots of self-psychoanalyzing and paranoia. She doesn’t dredge up all the sordid and scarring events of her past. A couple maybe not so bright points in her history are briefly alluded to (alcoholism, strained relationships with children), but that’s not the focus and it’s not to blame for the current reality she finds herself in. It’s not a victim memoir. It’s a survivor memoir that deals honestly with thoughts & emotions she had after the accident (guilt, relief, selfishness, etc.). Very readable and touching – something that is difficult to accomplish in as few words as she uses.

So. I didn’t intend for this post to be so long. I didn’t think I had anything to say. Hope all of you have a really swell Labor Day weekend and watch lots of the US Open. Go Agassi! Go Nadal! So bummed I’m missing it, but I’ll be off doing other things just as interesting. Talk to all of you later.

Planned books for the flight and cruise:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
The Places In Between

What Is with People?

MARION, Ind. (AP) — Ten to 15 people wearing masks left six 40-gallon trash bags full of taco sauce packets at a Taco Bell restaurant in what police described as a prank.

A note attached to the bags said the group had been accumulating them for the past three years, storing them in the trunk of a car, authorities said.

Police have suspended their investigation into the Tuesday night prank in the city about 50 miles northeast of Indianapolis without any arrests, said Marion Deputy Police Chief Cliff Sessoms.

"From everything we've got here, there doesn't appear that there has been any crime committed," he said. "It looks more like a prank than it does anything else, but not a very funny one because you've got that number of people coming in there with their faces covered up."

A spokesman for Taco Bell said he's never heard of people returning so many unused packets of sauce.

"I've heard a lot of people accumulate sauce packets in their glove compartments. We know people keep things and it's a pretty common phenomenon, but to have that many, I've never heard of that," said spokesman Rob Poetsch.

He said the packets would not be used, for safety reasons.

Travel Plans

I am finally going to be taking a vacation this year. On August 30, I'm flying to London to embark on a 14 day cruise. The cruise leaves from Dover on the 31, and goes to two ports in Scotland, one in Iceland, one in Greenland, and ends in NYC on September 14. Yes, it's a Crystal Cruises cruise. (click that link to see our route) This time we'll be on the Symphony, which I haven't been on yet. Mom and Dad are going, too.

So all this UK-US flight terror stuff is putting a little damper on my excitement about this trip. I have a nonstop flight from LAX to Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic. I'm very glad that this plot was thwarted, but I want them to catch the rest of this group. Soon.

Other than keeping up with current events - stupid terrorists & the Israel-Lebanon war - I don't have much going on. I think I'll take myself to see the movie Little Miss Sunshine today for some entertainment and levity. I'm going to two Giants-Padres games next week, which will also be great. I love going to PetCo park. It's a super nice ballpark and my company has fantastic season tickets. With the two games next week, I will have used the company tickets seven times.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Currently reading: The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig

On deck to read: The Places in Between by Rory Stewart

I love my job

Our publicists recently interviewed one of our author-illustrators, Adam Rex. Here is one question they asked and his answer:

Q: Are you—or were you ever—afraid of monsters?
A: I’m afraid of people who act monstrously. I only have sympathy for actual monsters. Nine times out of ten, they’re just confused, lonely fish people or whatever.

What a great answer. I love that I get to work with people who can 1) have a reason to ask a question like that and 2) give an answer that is that funny.

(The question is in regards to Adam's book coming out this September called Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. It's quite brilliant. For an early review, click here.)