Books, Holidays, Movies, Political, Televison, Uncategorized

Look Back At Me

Posted on September 1, 2014February 19, 2019 by D. Parker

Look Back.

Look back at me.

Have you ever thought, said, or wanted to say this as someone walked, drove, or flew away?

On this Labour Day when people march forward to celebrate how far workers have come and how much further they need to go, it’s good to look back on the brave people that fought for workers’ rights.

The BBC miniseries North & South is based on the book by Elizabeth Gaskell; screenplay by Sandy Welch and directed by Brian Percival, yes, same title, different show than the American Civil War miniseries, North & South. This North & South refers to the North and South of England, and focuses on industrialization and the inequality between classes.

A couple hundred years later, not much has changed.
The lower classes work themselves into an early grave while the upper classes pay them less than they should to work themselves into an early grave.

Gaskell does an amazing job of showing both sides; some of the upper class want to be fair and some of the lower class want to be more.

Elizabeth Gaskell, considered by some as less romantic than some writers in the Regency-era, after all, she dared to tackle the subjects of: poverty, discrimination, unsafe working conditions, the multiple health hazards of working in factories, unions, child labour and welfare, daycare, nutrition, pollution, inequality between the classes and more, head-on.

Her work, now seen as classic wasn’t beloved by all, still isn’t, many factory owners and the rich didn’t like the truth being exposed or their methods questioned. That hasn’t changed much either.

We feel Gaskell’s conviction in the strength of Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe). She’s not a simpering miss who’s only thought in life is to marry, but a woman of principles, faith, and compassion. She has feelings for John Thornton, well, duh, it’s Richard Armitage, but she stands resolved to be true to herself and others.

Supporting cast is incredible, including Brendan Coyle (now well-known as the enigmatic Bates on Downton Abbey, also Larkrise To Candleford and so much more – I think he’s one of those British actors who probably have their own period piece costumes at the ready).

If you can’t get enough of British period pieces, check out Gaskell’s Cranford series, familiar faces for Downton Abbey fans, Carson (Jim Carter) and Michelle Dockery (Mary), and even an Asgard god (Tom Hiddleston)…one of fav TV games, spot the actor to see if they became a star.

Yes, North & South is at times a grim visage of lives suffered, but with just enough seething, barely contained Victorian passion, fingers lingering as a cup of tea is passed and obligatory smouldering looks to keep it interesting. Have I really been crushing on RA in N&S** for 10 years? Wow.

Sometimes it’s the simplest of words, murmured with brooding passion, that capture and inspire, as Armitage admirers (sure, let’s call us that) around the globe believe.
Look Back.
Look back at me.
I won’t tell you if she does.
I can tell you what I would have done.

So as another Labour Day marches on and another summer draws to a close, we look forward. On the off chance you actually believed companies and corporations willing give their workers: fair wages, reasonable hours, days off, health or safety benefits, vacations, or well, anything good workers enjoy, think again. Those were paid for in blood, sweat and tears.

Be thankful and vigilant.

Books, Cats, Fibromyalgia, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

Next Time, You Bring The Cookies

Posted on August 29, 2014March 7, 2015 by D. Parker

My brain is often at war with my body.
I want to do more. More! More! Yes, on days like this my brain sounds like a strange combination of yearning romance novel heroine and petulant child.
Such is the hidden world of Fibromyalgia.

My body dragged itself out of bed to start another day. Not really sure why I have a bed sometimes, but at least it’s there for rest and decoration. I also once again failed to get the license number of the Mack Truck that hit me while I was sleeping.
With FMS another day means more pain, fatigue, frustration, disappointment, doubters and just more of less.

I don’t expect anyone who doesn’t live with Fibromyalgia to understand it. I don’t have cancer, that doesn’t mean I can’t have empathy and understanding for those that do. Or ALS, MS, CP, Diabetes, Autism, depression, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, etc.
Doesn’t mean I can’t understand a man because I’m not a man.
Or the rich because I’m not rich.
As human beings we have a wealth of empathy, understanding, and compassion available to us at any time.

I get some people think Fibromyalgia is made up by lazy or unmotivated people. Ok, why do doctors and other professionals go along with it, what’s in it for them? They have more than enough patients, unfortunately cancer alone keeps them pretty busy.

So it hasn’t been my day, my week, my month, or even my year, but I do know that laughter is truly the best medicine so I thought today was a good day to review Conversations with Steve Martin edited by Robert E. Kapsis (University Press of Mississippi). Thank you Netgalley.com for letting me borrow this ARC copy, available in stores early September 2014.

I’ve already had many conversations with Mr. Martin in the last 35 years – usually he’s wearing an arrow through his head or bunny ears, or a balloon hat, playing his banjo, getting Happy Feet, dressed in a King Tut outfit, and/or eating tiny chocolate cookies while juggling small cats. No cats were harmed in my fantasy conversations with Steve Martin.

Conversations with Steve Martin highlights Martin‘s contributions not only as a comedian, but as a writer, musician, artist, and free-thinker through a series of interviews and profiles. It’s sort of a living eulogy of Martin’s rollercoaster career over the past 4 decades.

Steve Martin has thrilled and disappointed audiences for decades with his ever-changing style, from eccentric, incongruous, and wacky to mature to sinister to bizarre to mellow.

As much as I’ve enjoyed some of his later work, I sometimes miss the wild and crazy guy, the Cruel Shoes, King Tut, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, The Jerk, The Man With Two Brains http://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/11/27/the-man-with-two-brains/ and more.
That being said, I’m so glad he moved on and didn’t get stuck.

If you’re a Steve Martin fan this latest book is ubercool, if you’re not, well, excuuuuuuuse me!

You can read, watch or have pretend conversations with Steve Martin or maybe really pretend 140 characters or less magical moments on Twitter @SteveMartinToGo

Carl Reiner may have said it best, “His strength, as an actor, I’ve found, is his beautiful body,” Carl Reiner said jokingly. “His weakness is too much hair on his body.”

Laughter may not fix all the world’s problems, but it sure does know how to make them seem less dire.

I think tonight will be a Steve Martin movie night.

Thank you Mr. Martin for another lovely conversation, next time, you bring the cookies.

Autism, Books, Uncategorized

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

Posted on August 25, 2014May 4, 2015 by D. Parker

I think it’s tragic that people have so many prejudices, especially about things they don’t understand. They don’t know what they’re missing.

Have you even known someone with: ALS, MS, Parkinson’s Disease, CP, Alzheimer’s, Tetanus, Pinched nerve, meningitis, Huntington’s Disease, Migraines, Epilepsy, Polio, stroke, or any of the other neurological disorder?

Would you tell someone who’d suffered a stroke to just talk properly? Unlikely.

Would you tell someone with ALS to stop being so lazy? No way.

Tell someone with Alzheimer’s they could remember if they just tried harder? Doubtful.

Someone with Parkinson’s to stop shaking, that they were just trying to get attention? Improbable.

Yet people with Autism are constantly told to grow up, smarten up, man up, stop being so lazy. People scoff, blame, bully, abuse, mock, make jokes, call names, etc.
Autism is a neurological condition just like any other. They have as much control over how their brain works as any other neurological disorder.

Hopefully someday Asperger’s won’t even be a diagnosis, people will start to respect Neurodiversity.
Until then, they need help and one of the best places to start is OASIS (Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support), http://www.aspergersyndrome.org/ where I admit I’m somewhat of a lurker, as I am on most Asperger’s and Autism sites. There to find information and resources for my son, I don’t always feel like plunging into the fray myself. At least OASIS is a respectful site, not prone to the relentless bickering, squabbling, arguing, and bullying to which some Autism sites fall prey.

I wish more of the Autism community could pull together, avoid the infighting, and work toward a common goal of helping those with Autism live better lives.

I was lucky enough to borrow an ARC copy from Netgalley.com of Asperger Syndrome: The OASIS Guide by Patricia Romanowski Bashe, 3rd Edition, published by Harmony Books/Crown Publishing available October 14, 2014.
When my son was diagnosed with Asperger’s years ago there was little information, now there’s a lot of misinformation, but thankfully there are sites and books like OASIS. Full of incredible, insightful inspiration, advice, and more, this comprehensive guide can help put things into perspective when your head is swirling.
A refuge on those days when you just feel like crying.

It seems lately stated or unstated Asperger’s characters are all over TV, in movies, and in books, with varying degrees of success and respect:

Community, House, Star Trek, Doctor Who, The Big Bang Theory, Sherlock, Elementary,

Boston Legal, Bones, The Bridge, Skins, ReGenesis, Grey’s Anatomy, Silicon Valley,

curious incident of the dog in the night-time, Edward Scissorhands,

Adam, Monk, Hannibal, Temple Grandin, 24, Triggers, Mercury Rising, Parenthood,

Fringe, Alphas, Doc Martin, Dear John, House Rules, Criminal Minds, P.S. I Love You,

Rain Man, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, CSI, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,

Mozart and the Whale, My Name is Khan, Snow Cake, Touch, Somersault,

and more.

Most often showcased as charming, eccentric, funny, cute, and usually brilliant Nerds or Geeks who have great jobs, loyal and caring family and friends, etc.
Unfortunately the prognosis is not often that optimistic.
I can’t emphasize enough that this is a debilitating disorder, not entertainment.
Not functioning is not charming.
Not being able to keep a job or friends isn’t cute.
Getting into difficulties or danger because you can’t comprehend situations is not brilliant.
Being left out, mocked, teased, bullied, or hurt is not funny.
Being medicated or hospitalized or jailed is not eccentric.
Struggling all day, every day to even grasp some of the world around them isn’t amazing.
It may make for good entertainment, but in real life, people have to live with the consequences.

Books, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

Lauren Bacall: Classy and Sassy To The End

Posted on August 14, 2014March 5, 2015 by D. Parker

Some people may not have even notice Lauren Bacall’s passing.

There’s certainly a lot going on in the world, various humanitarian crisis, in Syria, Iraq, Gaza; Ebola virus in Africa; the Trojan trucks drama; economic and environmental issues; war; Ferguson; climate change wrecking havoc with our weather; the loss of Robin Williams, and so much more. There are probably some that already thought Lauren Bacall had already died.

Old Hollywood had a glamor that has been difficult to replicate. Those days, those movies were anything but perfect yet they still stand out as fascinating and timeless.

Lauren Bacall (Betty Joan Perske) was iconic for many reasons. Was it “The Look”? The Look apparently came from nerves, she always said the only way she could stop from shaking was to put her head down and look up at Bogie, who knows if that’s true, but it’s a cool story. Her beauty? Her sultry voice? Her intrigue? Being married to Humphrey Bogart? Maybe a combination?

I’m a Humphrey Bogart fan. I’ve watched Casablanca too many times to be healthy.
Bogart and I had so much in common.
Our love of chess.
We were honest, to a fault.
Then I found out he was married.
Then I found out he’d been dead for years before I was even born.
These facts tend to put a bit of a damper on even an imaginary red-hot romance.

I’m not sure of Bogart was my first movie boyfriend, but he’s still in my top 10.

The much-lauded relationship between Bogie and Bacall (Maybe their celebrity couple name could be: Bocall or Bagie) always left me thinking, yes, I’m sure it was the romance of the century, a love that would endure through time and space, but he was married when he started their relationship. That’s a tad smarmy.

1bacall3

Lauren Bacall was not only a unique beauty, she had brains, style, talent, and integrity (aside from being the other woman).

Her career, from model to leading lady to character actress spanned decades and though times had changed, she stayed classy and sassy.

I would be hard-pressed to name my favourite Lauren Bacall work, although Key Largo springs to mind.
Also liked: How To Marry A Millionaire (with Marilyn Monroe; although clearly I didn’t take the advice), Dark Passage, Sex and the Single Girl, Written on the Wind, The Walker, The Shootist, Misery, The Sopranos, Dogville, To Have and To Have Not, and she’s brilliant in The Mirror Has Two Faces.

This icon managed to stay relevant – my teenage son knows her from Howl’s Moving Castle and Family Guy (12th episode of 12th season; 222nd episode); not my favourite episode, not her fault, the story was choppy; the subplot with Stewie and Brian was amusing.

So from thrilling Hollywood goddess in the 40s all the way to Family Guy in 2014 and so much in between.

I love classic movies. What they lack in political correctness they make up for in style, witty dialogue, cinematography, direction, and of course, the actors.

“I think your whole life shows in your face
and you should be proud of that.”
~Lauren Bacall
1924-2014

Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

Robin Williams: His Last Laugh

Posted on August 12, 2014August 4, 2017 by D. Parker

Suicide isn’t a laughing matter. Neither is depression.

Have we lost the ability to see that line between genuinely mourning the loss of someone and using it to gain attention for ourselves?

Where to begin? The media are too obvious, they’re a well-oiled exploitation machine.

Social media is too often the Land of Shallow, where pictures, platitudes, Slacktivism, jokes, and memes are welcome, but anything of substance is frequently ignored or seen as annoying.

Yet it’s the memorials that confuse me the most.
What does wasting money on flowers, balloons, teddy bears and candles do?
Does it bring those lost back?
Does it stop the next accident, murder, or suicide?
No. It just mildews.
What a terrible waste.

Maybe it’s a form of pain behaviour. People need to show how much they care, show that they’re in pain.

Take the money you would spend on items for a memorial and donate it to those in need.
Help someone who suffers from mental illness get help or support.
Help someone undergoing cancer or other treatments with extra expenses.
Help society’s most vulnerable get enough food, shelter, dental care, eye glasses, medicine.
Do something useful. Wouldn’t that show you care? Ease your pain?

Robin Williams chose to leave this world. I expect this loss is felt deeply by his family and friends, and to a lesser degree, by his fans.
If you’re actually upset about this, help someone who is struggling with depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, and other forms of mental illness.

Be kind.

Maybe we wouldn’t need Suicide Hotlines or Kids Helplines or so many other band-aids if people would stop making so many hurts.

Be there to listen to someone (hint, turn off your cellphone while listening; seeing your head bent over your phone as you absently say uh-huh at maybe the right spots will probably just remind them of how messed up the world is).
Take the time to be in the moment.

I’ve been a fan of Robin Williams since I saw him as Mork (first on Happy Days then on Mork and Mindy).
I liked most of his work, funny or serious or seriously funny.

I was even one of the 10 (that number is an estimate, it might have been an even dozen) people watching The Crazy Ones, before it was cancelled.

It’s a distressing incongruity that many comedians use humour as a mask, a shield, a façade…That while they are making us laugh, making us forget our worries, making us remember that life is worth living they are haunted by inner demons.

Robin Williams was a frenzied mastermind of comedy, or sometimes a serene, gentle man, or an alien, a genie, batty bat, toymaker, spinach-eating strongman, hologram, penguin, robot, a scientist, DJ, doctor, wax figure, dreamer, camper, dad, soldier, psychologist, or whatever he needed to be; he was an actor, an entertainer.

We watch people on screens and think we know them. We don’t.
We don’t know what is in their heart, in their minds.
We don’t know what haunts them, or drives them, sometimes they don’t even know themselves.

It is sad when talent is lost, but instead of fake monuments that will die, or mold, or rot, why not do something that will help people, not just give you a chance to be on TV, something to talk about or post on social media.

I know it’s not popular, but do something real (not reality TV real but real real) and meaningful.

Books, Christmas, Family, Parenting, Televison

I Miss Saturday Morning Cartoons

Posted on August 9, 2014April 15, 2018 by D. Parker

I loved Saturday morning cartoons and other programs as a child…yeah, that’s it, only as a child.

I even willingly (more or less) went to bed Friday nights so I could get up early to watch cartoons like:
Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Hour,

Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear (hey Boo-Boo!), Space Ghost,
Jabberjaw, The Banana Splits, The Pink Panther Show, The Jetsons, The Flintstones,

Josie and the Pussycats (ok, they went to outer space;
smart, getting a bigger audience share), Shazam!,
Superfriends, Batman, Superman, Grape Ape,
Fantastic Four, various Captain Caveman,
Harlem Globetrotters, Schoolhouse Rock,
The Addams Family (the ill-fated cartoon version),
Return of the Planet of the Apes, Land of the Lost,
The New Shmoo, The New Adventures of Gilligan,

Godzilla (with Godzooky), Spiderman, Smurfs, Ewoks,
Star Trek (sigh, yes, boldly going into cartoons),
Cucumber Club (I was a member), Blackstar,
Inch High Private Eye, Fat Albert, Speed Racer,
Hilarious House of Frightenstein, Tom and Jerry,
The Banana Splits, Underdog, H.R. Puff’n’Stuff,
Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Droopy Dog,

Mighty Mouse, Hong Kong Phooey (before political correctness),
and probably more that I can’t think of off the top of my head.

Just so you understand how sad this is, I can still sing all the words to all these theme songs.

1bull2

A graphic novel like Rocky and Bullwinkle takes me back to a simpler time. I know how old that makes me sound, but there it is.

Even as I read Rocky and Bullwinkle #1: The Psychic Sidekick by Roger Langridge (IDW Publishing/Diamond Book Distributors), I marvelled at the blatant anti-Soviet/Russian sentiment and thought, hmmm, I see why it’s making a comeback. Amuse children and adults, but wait, there’s more, also a propaganda tool! While not quite as funny as I remembered, but both R&B and Dudley Do-Right are still amusing in a cheesy way. Sometimes when they recycle these oldies but goodies they ruin them by modernizing or making them too politically correct, but no squirrel and moose are just as old school silly, yahoo!

So when did Saturday morning cartoons die and why?
VCRs then other recording devices, cable, internet, video games, etc. were the beginning.

Animation changed, more as a business, with little art involved.

Needing children to be ‘busy’ every minute of their day was a big factor. Pushing for more ‘quality’ family time that involved paid activities, traveling, etc. another.

When I was young, quality time with my parents came later in the day, after they had slept in – their reward for a long work week.
My brother and I foraged for food, cereal or toast, leftover soup or spaghetti, if you were lucky, cold pizza from the night before. There were simple rules to Saturday morning: try to be quiet (I’m sure my brother and I were awesome at this rule) and don’t make a mess (if you do, clean it up). I think it taught my brother and I independence, and we enjoyed the time together.

There have been other changes in society. The divorce rate has increased significantly since then and now many children live between homes.
More recreational sports now. Anything else?

There are still many cartoons, but available anytime…

I kind of miss the days when you saw The Grinch and Charlie Brown’s Christmas once a year at Christmas, and cartoons only on Saturday morning.

Life should have seemed limited, but instead we just felt lucky to see them, not entitled.

charlie-brown-christmas5

Autism, Cats, Family, Parenting, Uncategorized

It’s A Cat’s World…Adjust

Posted on August 8, 2014August 8, 2014 by D. Parker

It’s World Cat Day and I think that’s a tad unfair, isn’t everyday Cat Day, well, at least they think so.

I don’t currently share my home with any feline characters unless I count my son who has Asperger’s (see earlier post, http://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/07/27/all-cats-have-asperger-syndrome/ ), but I’ve had a lot of experience in their world.

My friend George (loved Curious George) was pure black except for a white bib and apron. George liked to sit on the front porch, even more on Halloween where he got maximum effect. He lost one half of an ear being out in the cold; we lived in Coniston, near Sudbury, it was very cold at times. In those days most cats were outdoor cats, this also led to us calling his name or saying, bad George which got a hearty laugh from my Grandfather because his brother, George lived right across the street.

Other cat friends?

Candace, regrettably insane; eventually needed little kitty pills to keep her calm (those were sooooo much fun to give her). My Mom let my Dad take me to the SPCA to find a kitten. We were two big saps who came home with a tiny runt kitten who needed to be fed with an eye dropper for days and the SPCA said they would replace her when she passed away. I didn’t want her replaced, I loved her. Candace lived 17 years. I don’t think she had many other fans.

scan0008 — Note how we picked a cat to match the groovy 70s carpet and furniture.

We had Tanis (yes, my Raiders of the Lost Ark phase, which I’m sort of still in) who my Mom (the only one of the family who professes not to be a cat person), saved when someone threw it out of a car. We couldn’t keep her because of Candace, er, aforementioned krazy kitty. We found her a good home.

There was also Xena and Luna who were lovely. Luna had to find a new home because she decided she wanted to play with my son as a baby, just his head. And Xena, her sister had to find another home when I found out my son had Asthma.

No cats since.

If you do get a kitten or cat, please, adopt from an animal shelter or rescue; or family or friend.

Our extended family has had so many beautiful cats over the years, we don’t think of them as pets so much as companions.
They think of us as staff.

Autism, Books, Christmas, Cooking, Environment, Family, Fibromyalgia, Food, Holidays, Internet, Jane Austen, Movies, Music, Parenting, Political, Televison, Uncategorized, Weight, Zombies

My 1 Year Blogaversary!

Posted on August 8, 2014February 27, 2015 by D. Parker

August 8, 2013 wow, that seems like a lifetime ago.

That blog post was, Fibromyalgia is a Four Letter Word (it still is).

http://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/08/08/fibromyalgia-is-a-four-letter-word/

Since then I’ve made a lot of mistakes, did I say a lot I meant a ton, or perhaps a tad more; probably said a lot of things people don’t agree with; and had some wanting-to-pull-my-hair-out moments, no worries, it’s still there, more or less.

I’ve learned a lot. Had some revelations about people I thought would be supportive, turns they weren’t, and still aren’t.

I’ll take it as a life lesson.

Plenty more people have been extremely supportive.
Thank you to family and friends, those who have pressed like, or shared, or reblogged, or followed, or subscribed, tweeted and retweeted, given me awards, or a combination. It means more than you’ll ever know, really.

I have ‘virtually’ met some awesome people who are kind, supportive, funny, helpful, generous, hopeful, caring, and have mind-blowing things to say and they share it. Thank you.

This year has opened up new portals for me.

I’m reading books I might never have read, learned things I didn’t know my brain could learn, but most of all it’s given me hope that maybe I can be more, it’s given me a glimpse of me, a me that I sometimes fear is gone forever.

So please join me for this virtual celebration of my 1st Blogaversary or Blogversary or maybe it’s a blogbirthday!

Drop by and say hi, read some of my older posts, apparently there are like 450 of them, hey, I did warn you with the tagline, Vague Meanderings of the Broke and Obscure.

Have a slice of virtual cake, wear a silly hat and join me for another year of who knows what!!!

Books, Christmas, Uncategorized, Zombies

A Place For Your Stuff

Posted on July 30, 2014March 22, 2015 by D. Parker

Lived in one home for 50 years?
Move every 5 years?
Or every few months?
No matter, human beings acquire stuff.

I love the George Carlin routine about how we need a place for our stuff.
It’s true, we have versions of our stuff, at home and work.
In garages, sheds, storage units.
In purses, backpacks, wallets, suitcases.
On vacation. In cars. Wherever.
Now we’ve added computers, smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. to the list. Oh my, wouldn’t Carlin fun with that?

So what do we do with this stuff, well, we definitely dust, rearrange, reorganize, store, and bemoan it.
We keep it because it might fit someday, we might use it sometime, might need it somehow, or maybe it was a gift, or it will come in handy during the zombie apocalypse…

I think self-help books are like recipe books, sometimes you learn something new, or it reminds you of something you used to do.
Donna Smallin (best-selling author of The One-Minute Organizer, Secrets of Professional Organizers, Unclutter Your Home, Unclutter Your Mind, etc.) is at it again, offering readers, Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness (Storey Publishing) which gives more one-minute uncluttering and household tips. I like her idea of doing 10 minutes a day, may not sound like much, but it adds up.
Like her other books, Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness is full of great advice; precise, practical suggestions, all presented in an extremely efficient manner (I would expect no less).

I borrowed this ARC from Netgalley.com (release date December 2014; I bet you can think of at least one person who needs this for Christmas), but until it’s released Smallin has many others books to help you unclutter and organize your life.

Smallin suggests rewarding yourself for uncluttering, but I think that’s rewarding yourself for having so much in the first place. Now if something finds it’s way to you as a cosmic reward, then by all means, accept it.

Here are some ideas, should you wish to edit your stuff:

1. Not an absolute yes? Then bye-bye.

2. Have a 3-ring binder to keep track of: To-Do Lists, bills, activities, household info, take-out menus, appointments, coupons, etc.

3. Everything should have a place and it should stay there, not migrate around your house.

4. Figure out your worst clutter habit, ie. not putting like items together. Work on that habit, then move down the list.

5. Declare your independence! Don’t think of uncluttering as a punishment or a chore, think of it as freedom.

6. Plan a purge (no, not like those movies!). In the words of the infamous Red Hot Chili Peppers, Give it away, give it away, give it away now!

7. Avoid comparisons. Don’t say things like, My place may not be as clean as my Mom’s, but it’s way cleaner than people on the Hoarders. No, just, no.

8. 5 items into your home, 10 items out.

9. Keep items you use, or need for legal or sentimental purposes. Donate, sell, or trash the rest. Buy less.

10. Things are not as valuable as people or your time. If you pick something up and you’re greeted with dust (this goes for relationships and friendships as well), it’s time to say goodbye.

If you’re not using it, if you don’t love it, let it go.

This should go for every part of your life.

The world is full of literal and figurative clutter, don’t add to it.

Autism, Books, Parenting, Televison, Uncategorized

All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome

Posted on July 27, 2014February 27, 2015 by D. Parker

Sometimes simple and straightforward are best.

All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome by Kathy Hoopmann (Jessica Kingsley Publishers) explains Asperger’s Syndrome perfectly. And it has adorable pictures of cats being adorable.

This delightful and deceptively minimal book is the first book you should read if someone you love is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (also called Aspergers Syndrome, or Asperger Syndrome, or Asperger’s, or Aspergers).

The only downside? Like Sheldon Cooper (played so brilliantly by Jim Parsons) on The Big Bang Theory, it makes it sound much cuter than it usually is; for those who have it and those who love them. Or Sherlock Holmes (take your pick, the most recent, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller) which makes it seem exciting…Or all the other examples of Aspergian or High-Functioning Autism on TV, in movies or books.

The truth, it’s difficult, frustrating, wonderful, sad, amazing, and confusing…for all concerned.

benedictc1

There are many great books I would recommend, but these are quite helpful, informative and above all, accessible.
Borrow them from a friend, library, or Autism association; or purchase them in store or online.

The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome – Dr. Tony Attwood; Inside Asperger’s Looking Out – Kathy Hoopmann; An Asperger Dictionary of Everyday Expressions – Ian Stuart-Hamilton; Kids in the Syndrome Mix – Martin L Kutscher, MD; The Oasis Guide to Asperger Syndrome – Patricia Romanowski Bashe & Barbara L. Kirby (Harmony Books); The Autism Discussion Page on the Core Challenges of Autism – Bill Nason (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)The Everything Parent’s Guide to Children with Asperger’s Syndrome – William Stillman (Adams Media)
The Asperger’s Answer Book – Susan Ashley, Ph.D. (Sourcebooks, Inc.)
Empowered Autism Parenting – William Stillman (Jossey-Bass)
The Fabric of Autism – Judith Bluestone (Sapphire Enterprises, LLC)
How To Teach Life Skills to Kids with Autism or Asperger’s – Jennifer McIlwee Myers (Future Horizons)
Quirky, Yes Hopeless, No – Cynthia La Brie Norall, Ph.D w/ Beth Wagner Brust (St. Martin’s Griffin)

Thank goodness for Jessica Kingsley Publishers, I don’t know what I would have done without them.

If your child, spouse, friend, or yourself is diagnosed – don’t panic!

Media, doom and gloomers, people holding mock funerals for their children when they’re diagnosed, etc., even those who wish to help can intentionally or unintentionally scare you.
Don’t get caught up in the conflict people, people that love to make everything a drama.
Don’t hyper-focus on people ‘understanding’, including your family or friends, how could they understand? Just hope they’re supportive.
Focus on helping the person you love.
They’re still the same person, you just have a diagnosis that will aid you and others, to help them.
Helping the person you love find the skills and resources is taxing enough without adding fuss.

It’s also important to remember Autism isn’t a straight road, there are many, many twists and turns, ups and downs.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~Confusius

My son has Asperger’s and several medical conditions, but is doing better than anyone would have predicted.
Yet when a setback comes along, a medical procedure; other anxiety-provoking situations, people, challenges; illness, or something that is overwhelming I have to remember, it may seem like one step forward, two back, but he still took that one step forward.

But it’s still been a long few days.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” ~Mary Anne Radmacher

Books, Environment, Internet, Movies, Televison

Welcome to…Jurassic Park

Posted on July 24, 2014March 5, 2018 by D. Parker

Why so fascinated with bringing back dinosaurs?
Size? Curiosity? That they lived before the dawn of humans?

Or merely human nature, we want to do something, if we can.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton is a big, stinky, carnivorous cautionary tale for abuse of technology and he makes no bones about it (yeah, I went for the cheap paleontology joke; sorry, it was the only thing I could dig up).

We need more cautionary tales.

We find we can manipulate genes, so as humans we think, then we should.
Clone…then we should.
Build bombs…we should.
Grow viruses…should.
Smartphones, Wi-Fi, internet…should, should, should!!!

Shouldn’t we find out the consequences first?
Everything has consequences.
Everything.

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I’ve heard the argument that God gave us the ability to do these things so we should.
a) that’s presuming there’s a God;
b) we also have to ability to kill people, should we?
c) justifying much?

1jur5

In less than 25 years we’ve become internet junkies. We overshare worldwide. No worries about pulsating signals everywhere. More children plugged in like adorable little zombies. We’re more distracted, obsessed, exhausted, overwhelmed, and less connected than ever….

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I began reading Jurassic Park and Philosophy (edited by Nicholas Michaud and Jessica Watkins) thinking I knew what they’re going to say. To some extent I did; philosophers examining JP in detail, scrutinizing all connotations and consequences as well as providing provocative insights regarding: genetic engineering, cloning, technology, human nature, ethics, religion, drama, humour, and even dinosaurs. Also gave me a creepy ah-ha moment – we’re the dinosaurs, a species striding boldly, masters of the planet, all the while becoming extinct.
Yes, another tremendous book in the Popular Culture and Philosophy series from Open Court. I’m so hooked, I can’t wait for the next fix.

Hammond, essentially a snake oil salesman, only cared about money, power, and his legacy, he couldn’t see he put his real legacy in danger by bringing his grandchildren to the park to figure out if it was safe, after someone was killed by a cloned dinosaur. Humans are so proud we can do, we forget to show respect for the real power, nature.

John Hammond: All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked.
Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but John, if the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.

Any thoughts on the reboot of the Jurassic Park series?

Jurassic World is now a state-of-the-art dino theme park on Isla Nublar. 22 years after the events of the original Jurassic Park all is well; what a relief. But wait, frustrated with declining attendance, an exciting new attraction is opened, gee, I wonder what could go wrong?
The cast looks interesting, Chris Pratt, Jake Johnson, Vincent D’Onofrio, BD Wong, Irrfan Khan, Judy Greer, Bryce Dallas Howard, but I’ll miss Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill.
Written by Colin Trevorrow (also directing) and Derek Connolly, both from Safety Not Guaranteed http://yadadarcyyada.com/?s=safety+not+guaranteed , I’m hopeful this will be action-packed and funny. Also that it’ll continue to offer strong female characters, like Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Lex (Ariana Richards), and well, the dinosaurs were all female, right?

Ian Malcolm: God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.
Ellie Sattler: Dinosaurs eat man … woman inherits the earth.

Any questions?

Books, Chocolate, Doctor Who, Food, Movies, Political, Televison, Uncategorized, Weight

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Turns 50

Posted on July 20, 2014June 21, 2015 by D. Parker

I’m celebrating 50,000+ views on my blog (Thank you! Thank you!) and the 50th anniversary (published 1964) of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, published 1964.

Loved with this book, then I saw the movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – my mind was forever altered.
A factory full of chocolate? It was one thing to read about it, another to see a river of chocolate…

I still love the 1971 Gene Wilder version best (directed by David L. Wolper), maybe because it’s steeped in childhood memories or because for me, it’s Gene Wilder’s definitive performance.

This is where I fell in love. Gene Wilder and chocolate. Sign me up!

Wilder is the ultimate Willy Wonka. He didn’t go over-the-top weird, instead opting for a subtle, damaged man-child who was trapped in his own reclusion, a Howard Hughes-like creative genius who couldn’t cope in a reality that wasn’t of his own making. Wilder’s transcendent blend of cordiality, callousness, awe, and animosity make you think he is Wonka, he just is.

Jack Albertson was delightful as Grandpa Joe, who apparently couldn’t get out of bed to get a job, but could dance a jig and spend the day at a chocolate factory.

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Charlie Bucket is the only child Dahl and Wonka even remotely like due to his meek and accommodating nature, but Charlie wasn’t as obedient as he seemed, he spent money on a chocolate bar that he wasn’t supposed to; so even in the most co-operative child Dahl found a fault.
The 1971 version was renamed Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to cross-promote UK’s The Willy Wonka Candy Company who had bought the rights from Roald Dahl.

I never understood why Roald Dahl was classed as a children’s author, he clearly disliked children, at times rather intensely. His stories and books reflect this.
What he hated more than children were their parents, specifically parents who didn’t raise their children properly, at least from his point of view.

Imagine what Roald Dahl would think of children and their parents now?

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1ww20 — The Friday Project/ Harper Collins

I recently read A Brief History of Chocolate (Steve Berry and Phil Norman) which I must warn you will not only vastly entertain and inform, but make you crave chocolate.

Despite best intentions this book lacked something, what was it? Oh yes, chocolate. They should sell each copy with a chocolate bar or coupon for a free chocolate bar. There, a marketing idea, no charge…although I’d take a thank you in chocolate bars.

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I also loved the darker, creepier Tim Burton vision of Willy Wonka.

Johnny Depp played him weird and it worked. Also damaged, but in a deranged-metrosexual-game-show-host-who-moonlights-as-a-rock-star-on-acid-way.

Veruca Salt was a bad egg or nut in all versions, but really, her parents spoiled her. Also, Augustus Gloop, Mike Teevee, and Violet Beauregarde. All annoying children, but allowed, even encouraged to be so by their parents.

The first time I walked into the Hershey chocolate factory in Smith Falls, Ontario the smell was divine, like melted chocolate floating through clouds of more chocolate just before it rained chocolate.

I’ll never forget the look on my son’s face, the pure wonder as he watched row after row after row of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups racing happily along the conveyor belt.

I’m sure I had a similar look as I saw the giant vat of chocolate I wanted to swim in, not figuratively, literally.

No Oompa-Loompas, no chocolate waterfall, trees made of taffy, Everlasting Gobstoppers, no fizzy lifting drinks, or Wonka though, but lots of chocolate for sale and sample.

Alas Hershey closed the factory after 45 years, losing a great tourist attraction, and hundred of jobs. Several other large employers closed, shipping more Canadian jobs overseas, leaving 40% of the town unemployed.

Now a flame has been lit as Smith Falls rallies; the factory at 1 Hershey Drive now produces medical marijuana, which, in a great cosmic irony would have made more people buy chocolate.

There are still times, when I open a chocolate bar wrapper and think I see a flash of gold.

Political, Televison, Uncategorized

All In The Family…Guy

Posted on July 14, 2014March 7, 2015 by D. Parker

Toned down for American primetime, All in the Family still managed to rock TV land.

Based on the controversial BBC series, Till Death Us Do Part (created by Johnny Speight) and warmed up with The Honeymooners and The Flintstones, nothing had prepared us for Archie Bunker (played by the apparently sweet Carroll O’Connor).

Archie was a complicated guy.
Clearly bigoted and uncouth, he was also honest and hard-working, often expressing opinions people were thinking, but couldn’t go against the politically correct times to say.
He was also an excellent way to hold a mirror up to bigotry and prejudice without shoving it down people’s throats.

This show rammed through contentious and taboo subjects, including but not limited to: racism, homosexuality, rape, miscarriage, abortion, women’s liberation, menopause, breast cancer, impotence, the Vietnam War and more.

Archie was a scared man. His comfy chair world had been turned on its head.
He knew his place and everyone else knew their place. Until they didn’t.
Archie didn’t understand why everything he felt was right in the world, especially his world, had to change.

His long-suffering wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) was patient in ways no one, including their daughter, Gloria (Sally Struthers) could understand. Despite their many issues, it was clear they all loved each other deeply.

Gloria’s hippie husband, Mike/Meathead (Rob Reiner) highlighted the clash between The Greatest Generation (Archie as a WWII vet) and Baby Boomers, the struggle between the old guard and young people who wanted to change the world…Archie’s snug little world.

And then there were the spinoffs. The Jeffersons movin’ on up to the East Side.
Edith’s cousin, Maude (the incomparable Bea Arthur) visiting then getting a hilarious spinoff. And Good Times was a dy-no-mite spinoff from Maude. And more…

Taped in multi-camera format in front of a live studio audience, All in the Family never failed to break new ground.
I loved that they never used canned laughter. I’d prefer not to hear any laughter, but if I must, let it be genuine.

Family Guy pays tribute to All in the Family with its opening sequence of Lois and Peter playing the piano, and various other similarities…then again, the whole show is a pop culture fart. Of course, they’ve taken it much further, boldly going where even TV censors, after dying of exhaustion, knew they could go.

American Dad! (created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker, and Matt Weitzman) is an absurd animated emulation, though since the All in the Family players were more caricatures than characters, it makes sense. And they added Roger and Klaus; who can complain?

All in the Family and its official and unofficial offspring influence so many; although, looking around the world today, I think a lot of the messages are being missed, or misinterpreted.

Canada, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

Gravity vs. Supermoon: Whoever Wins We Lose

Posted on July 13, 2014September 26, 2015 by D. Parker

Everywhere I turn people are talking about the Supermoon.
Have we run out of superheroes?
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes not as exciting as expected?
Bored with soccer?
The heat finally getting to us?
Is the moon this close to Earth really affecting our brains?
I have no answers; just curious.

Thinking of this Supermoon and all the fuss I thought I’d finally watch Gravity, it seemed somehow fitting.
Someone should have warned me I needed anti-nausea pills.
I felt like I was spinning…and it wasn’t just George Clooney, handsome devil.

While I enjoyed Gravity, I had a few issues, with the movie, although real gravity and I have had many issues over the years, and now it’s involving my face…

1. Sandra Bullock should not look this good, even with help.

2. I wanted to hear the end of George Clooney’s story about Mardi Gras 1987, really, I just want to hear George Clooney talk, I mean, as hot movie boyfriends go we’ve had a great relationship, sure, we’ve had our imaginary ups and downs…
But I digress…

3. It made me dizzy. And a little nauseated. But I guess in a good way.

4. It made me think (gasp) of how you can be just as alone surrounded by a hundred, a thousand, a million, a billion people as you can in the cold silence of space. It was like Castaway, in space, but shorter, and no Wilson.

5. Watching Gravity I couldn’t help but think, if this space station slows to less than 17,500 miles per hour it will blow up (clearly I have seen Speed too many times).

Here are some tips for getting through #Supermoon2014:

Stay calm. It’s still the moon, just closer in its elliptical orbit than usual. It’s not going to fall on us or significantly change the tides…well, unless some aliens do something, but then have no fear, The Doctor (DoctorWho) will save us.

Don’t go near any werewolves, I have no scientific evidence to back this up but I’m guessing Supermoons make werewolves hungrier.

If you’re going to dance naked, pay tribute or alternately worship the Supermoon, remember, everyone has a camera with them at all times.

There will be 2 more Supermoons this summer, August 10 and September 9, so if you miss out you can see it later.

The moon is slowly moving away from the Earth which is sad, I know we’ve had our differences, but I’d hoped we could work things out.

So, enjoy the gorgeous supermoons (5 in total in 2014); Earth won’t be destroyed, unless it turns out that it’s not the moon but the Death Star.

“I suppose I’ll have to add the force of gravity to my list of enemies.” ~Lemony Snicket

Books, Uncategorized

Essentialism

Posted on July 10, 2014July 10, 2014 by D. Parker

I started reading Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown (Crown Business) wondering, is this going to be another self-help book to allegedly fix my life? Quickly I realized this was different.
Mr. McKeown’s version of Essentialism helped accelerate a process I’ve been working through for too long.

I’d heard less is more many times, but it’s nonsensical, less isn’t more, less is less.
Then I read the words, less but better. Less but better makes sense.
Less stuff, people, projects…but better quality. Essential.

The modern world is difficult to filter.
We’re surrounded by noise, figuratively and literally, 24/7.
TV shows, movies, special events, news, gossip, parties, vacations, causes, sports, books, apps, games, videos, memes, bands, singers, dancers, reality show celebrities, etc. – an endless flow of activity to entertain and distract us.

McKeown uses the example of your closet as a simple, but insightful lesson in essentialism. 1ess3
Look through your clothes. Ask yourself, do I love this? Not, will I wear it or does it fit, but do I love it?
Do the same with TV shows. Love them or just filling or killing time? Or watching because of social pressure?
How about projects? Hobbies? Volunteering? Friends? Family? Work? Life?
Are you in a place in your life where everything seems important and has to be done?
Now filter out what is essential.
Now breathe.

1ess1 We have so many choices today, yet they often amount to chaos. We’re suffering from choice and decision fatigue.
We’re children whose corporate parents keep us obedient by learned helplessness.
Computers find us a hotel room or flight.
Experts tell us what to buy, what to like, where to go, what to do.
Soon cars will drive themselves. 1love6

Too many decisions mean the quality of those decisions deteriorate. We’re being fed a fast-food model of life, supersize it…quantity not quality.

The word priority didn’t become plural until the 1900s…how can you have more than one priority at a time? Focus on one thing, then another, then another.

Do you think when people are dying their biggest regret is:
I wish I could have worked more,
played more Candy Crush,
downloaded another app,
streamed another movie,
played another video game,
checked my email more often?
My guess is, I wish I had spent more time with people I loved
or even liked, and I wish I had been true to me, done what I wanted to do.
Why are we acquiring and keeping so many nonessentials – clothes, shoes, books, tools, toys, games…even people?
Making trade-offs with our time, energy, dreams, integrity, our lives.

1me13 We’re hyper-connected, it doesn’t mean we’re always enjoying it.
Isn’t it time to weed out the trivial from the vital?
We believe busy equals important.
Wouldn’t it be better to return to less busy and more meaning?

So I’ve challenged myself to Explore, Eliminate and Execute…To have a disciplined pursuit of less but better.

I love the thought of reducing the noise to hear only what is music.

P.S. I got this digital book at http://www.bloggingforbooks.org

Holidays, Movies, Music, Televison, Uncategorized, Zombies

Happy 4th of July

Posted on July 4, 2014June 30, 2017 by D. Parker

I don’t live in America.

I have visited America many, many times.

I’m Canadian, so we’re kind of neighbours. Hey neighbour (yes, here in Canada we have ‘u’ in weird places…don’t ask unless you really want to know).

Here are just a few random things I love about America:
The Walking Dead,
Captain America, X-Files, Heroes, Family Guy, Star Wars…

Deadwood, Community, Revolution, 3rd Rock From The Sun, escalators, The Addams Family, Mad Men, The Munsters,
Spiderman, Batman, part of Superman (get your minds out of the gutter), X-Men, Star Trek, Six Million Dollar Man, Alice Cooper, Supernatural, Soap, Green Day, The Ramones, Hell On Wheels, The Misfits, The Carol Burnett Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Elvis, ER, Get Smart, Firefly, The Avengers (not the British one), Sonic Youth, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Violent Femmes, Animaniacs, The Brady Bunch, Nirvana, American Gothic, Smallville, Angel, cash registers, KISS, Battlestar Galactica, Boston Legal…

Breaking Bad, Maude, Columbo, Scooby-Doo, Quincy, House, sunglasses, Murder She Wrote, R.E.M, V, potato chips, Under The Dome, Metallica, Pushing Daisies, 8-track tapes, Guns’n’Roses, Love Boat, The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, Family Ties, Six Feet Under, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, MacGyver, Aerosmith, The Beverly Hillbillies, Twin Peaks, Parks & Recreation, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Law & Order (you may have gotten carried away there, let it go), Jimi Hendrix, the transistor, Bruce Springsteen, clothes hangers, ARPANET, Jeopardy!, crayons (most of the colours, some are getting freaky)….

Magnum P.I., SNL, Heart, the Cyclotron Atom-Smasher, Hogan’s Heroes, 30 Rock, cotton candy, airplanes, airbags, The Simpsons, Sons of Anarchy, GPS, New York Dolls, Night Court, Faith No More, Wonder Woman, Farscape, Jeff Goldblum, The Waltons, The Big Bang Theory, Hawaii Five-O, John Malkovich,The Lone Ranger, Bill Murray….

Monk, Rockford Files, Yogi Bear, Devo, Johnny Depp, The Doors, Late Night With John Oliver, Seinfeld, Vikings, Pinky and the Brain, Cosmos, The Partridge Family, Police Squad!, All in the Family, Psych, The Twilight Zone, Happy Days, electric guitar, Gang Green, The Colbert Report…

The Muppets, Steve Martin, Sesame Street, John Cusack, Frasier, Terra Nova, The Daily Show, 21 Jump Street, Roswell, Cheers, Spongebob Squarepants, flashlights, skyscrapers, Mork & Mindy, George Clooney,

Falling Skies, Dexter, Garfield, I Dream of Jeannie, Bonanza, George Carlin, **Homeland, MAS*H, Mystery Science Theater 3000, I Love Lucy, The Flintsones, Patti Smith, Land of the Lost, Veep, The Wizard of Oz, Mallethead, Charlie Brown, American Dad!, South Park, Peanuts, Game of Thrones, Beastie Boys, nylon, Lie To Me, Talking Heads…and way way too many great movies, writers, artists, entertainers, athletes, scientists, and others making things better or at least interesting to name…
Ok, you had some international help with some of these, including Canada**, but you’re doin’ stuff and I think that’s great…
I could go on and on, but you get the point. Feel free to tell me if I forgot anything, I got tired.

Parts of America are also stunningly beautiful…and many of the people are amazing.

You’ve also done some very, very naughty things, America, which we won’t dwell on today because you’re celebrating Independence Day, and perhaps watching Independence Day between BBQing, fireworks, being patriotic, watching Dead White and Blue the latest AMC The Walking Dead marathon, spending time with family and friends, and drinking (and hopefully not driving).

Like any neighbour there are things we like and don’t like about each other, but mostly we get along quite well.

Happy Independence Day,

America!!!

Canada, Food, Movies, Music

Happy Canada Day Eh

Posted on July 1, 2014June 30, 2019 by D. Parker

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I am Canadian.

Proudly Canadian, most of the time.

Canada is majestic, not merely our stunning landscape, but its people. Our cultural mosaic is a rich montage of various cultures, beliefs, foods, etc. that mostly blend quite well. Do we have differences? Definitely, but that could be part of our strength if we fight the real enemy, not each other.

Canada is the world’s second largest country in land mass, surrounded on 3 sides by oceans which is why we have the largest coastline in the world…I wonder how that will work with rising ocean levels due to climate change?
We have tiny hamlets to sprawling cities. Farmland, fishing, fracking, factories, forests, in fact, over 30% of Canada is forest. Sadly, less each day as so much is clear-cut for timber and to make way for more oil sands projects, cities, roads, highways, shopping malls, etc.
Canadians are an obsessive people. Over 80% of our households have internet and we use it a lot more than other countries, maybe we pay so much, they know they have us hooked.

What else are we obsessive about? Tim Hortons, food, drinking, hockey, shopping, smoking, driving, boating, skiing, beer, gardening, gambling, golfing, traveling, sex, drugs (Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford even smokes crack), rock’n’roll, candy, cake, cookies, chocolate, clothes, porn, baseball, basketball (our Toronto Raptors even have thier own Jurassic Park?), hockey, holidays, cooking, eating, wasting, stuff, video games, hockey, TV (over 125,000 Canadian households even have a TV in their bathroom), movies, books, smartphones, well, you name it, I’m sure we’re obsessed with it. We generate well over 700 kilograms of waste per person per year. So proud.

We gave the world:

William Shatner,

James Doohan, Terry Fox, Alice Munro, Joe Shuster, Michael J. Fox,

Gordon Pinsent, Nathan Fillion, Neil Young, Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen, Yannick Bisson, Graham Greene, Great Big Sea, Mark Critch, Drake, Carrie Ann Moss, Eric McCormack, Cobie Smulders, Avril Lavigne, Peter Jennings, J.D. Roberts (John Roberts), Morley Safer, Leslie Neilsen, Tricia Helfer, Paul Gross,

Kiefer and Donald Sutherland, Tommy Douglas, Barenaked Ladies, Allan Hawco, Stompin’ Tom, Rick Mercer, Michael Bublé, Paul Anka, Jack Layton, Glenn Ford, Ellen Page, Eugene Levy, Sandra Oh, Billy Van, Al Waxman, Fay Wray, Rich Little, Raymond Massey, Norm Macdonald, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Justin Trudeau,

John Polanyi, Andrea Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Will Arnett, Dave Foley, Lorne Greene, John Candy, ’63 Monroe, Gordon Lightfoot, Sheep Look Up, Rachelle Lefevre, Frederick Banting, Lorne Michaels, Alex Trebek, Dan Akroyd, Ryan Gosling, Adam Beach, The Trailer Park Boys, Spirit of the West, Gordie Howe, The Guess Who, BTO, Wayne Gretzky, The Tragically Hip, Tom Thomson, Emily Carr and the Group of Seven,

Dave Thomas (as the Beaver), Brent Butt, Jim Carrey, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Rick Moranis, Stephen Leacock, Pierre Berton, Robertson Davies, Mike Myers, Tommy Chong, Dave Foley, Douglas Copeland, Farley Mowat, Joshua Jackson, Margot Kidder, Seth Rogen, Chris Hatfield, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Short, Brendan Fehr, Victor Garber, Anna Paquin, Shania Twain, Joni Mitchell, Arcade Fire, Willard Boyle, Roberta Bondar, Rob Ford, Cory Monteith, Colm Feore, Bruce Greenwood, Justin Bieber, James Cameron…
too many to name. You’re welcome and we’re sorry, that should about cover it.

What else? 2 km underground, we have the world’s deepest lab, Snolab, in Sudbury (which rocks!).

6 time zones and the world’s longest highway, the Trans-Canada Highway, over 7604 kilometers (4725 miles). Maybe Canadian Tom Cochrane’s inspiration for Life is a Highway?

Over 75% of the world’s maple syrup produced, mostly in Quebec. Sweet.

We have 2 official languages, English and French. Queen Elizabeth II is somehow still our Head of State.

Canada is also the world’s most amazing water source. Yes, over 20% of the world’s fresh water, more lakes than all the other countries combined, the world’s largest freshwater island – Manitoulin Island, Ontario and of course, the awesome Niagara Falls.

I fully expect our H2O to get us taken over one day, or some government selling it all. Documentaries like: Last Call At The Oasis (CBC), Thirst (Bullfrog Films), Flow (Oscilloscope), Watermark (Mongrel), Liquid Assets: The Big Business of Water (CNBC), Blue Gold: World Water Wars (Purple Turtle Films), Tapped (Atlas Films), The Colorado River: Running Near Empty (Pete McBride) highlight that once we’ve destroyed the water and air nothing else will matter. Watch 1 less trendy TV show, blockbuster movie, or YouTube video each week; watch documentaries, see the world as it is, not the façade the corporations, governments, etc. are showing you.

We have a poor track record with our First Nations people. Sadly we don’t treat our veterans as well as we should either. Too much of the time our government of the day (hopefully that will change soon, very very soon, did I mention soon?) acts like the only good veteran is a dead veteran, oh except on photo-op days when politicians fake smile while shaking hands they’re not fit to shake. We also don’t treat our seniors, special needs, some minorities, or women, well, who does that leave, oh yes, rich white men, they’re treated like gods in Canada, at this time.

Once known for being polite, diplomatic, peacekeepers, kind, caring, hopeful, giving, socially responsible, progressive, innovative, funny, strong, and free, the Canada we are so proud of is slowly slipping away, but hopefully not without a fight.

“My friends, love is better than anger.
Hope is better than fear.
Optimism is better than despair.
So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic.
And we’ll change the world.”
~Jack Layton

Canada’s literacy rate is over 99% so I know if you’re in Canada, you can most likely read this.

Happy Canada Day eh!

Books, Movies, Political, Uncategorized

Words Will Break Cement

Posted on June 30, 2014February 19, 2019 by D. Parker

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Truth is, everyone needs to be more tolerant. Everyone.

Aren’t most of the world’s problems because of intolerance?

Would we have to fight for rights and freedoms if everyone was more tolerant?

Why does it bother anyone who you love?

The colour of your skin?

The shape of your body?

Whom you choose to worship?

That someone has special needs?

What you choose to listen to or watch?

Why does choice intimidate some many people?

Just their need to control?

Whatever. Relax.

When I first heard the name Pussy Riot I thought they were a punk band.

So I read Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot by Masha Gessen (Riverhead Books/Penguin) in the hope of understanding the situation. Well-written and painstakingly detailed, it made for fascinating read.

I don’t always get performance art, I’m way too plebeian for that. However, I understand the need for artistic expression.

The women from Pussy Riot are part of one of the Russian art collectives who call themselves Voina. They stage performance art, often as a form of protest.

Their performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow went viral. Was it tasteless and a slap in the face of religion? Absolutely. Although I rather think that was their purpose.

Russia gives them ample material to protest.
LGBT rights regressing rapidly.
A wealth gap like the space between planets.
Barely existent women’s rights.
Maybe Georgia and Ukraine could give us some insight into how the Russian government feels about, you know, rights.

Whether or not you agree with civil disobedience or the way this group or others protest, it gets attention. I disagree they should be jailed, separated from their family and friends, brutalized, beaten, persecuted, and maligned just because they don’t agree with the people in power. Also, it really just, well, proves their point.

Every country has its problems. Democracy seems to be creeping into twilight around the world, soon to join the dinosaurs as fossil fuel. When we don’t stand up for something, we really do seem to fall for anything.

Sadly Russia is not unique in intolerance, grinding of rights and freedoms, and overenthusiastic authoritarianism. Putin is just really, really open about it.

It’s easy to pick on Russia, they have those cool accents that make everything sound sinister and we’re kind of programmed by James Bond flicks.

Tolerance would do us all well.

As long as you’re not hurting anyone…then who are you hurting?

Autism, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

Planet of the Apes and Philosophy

Posted on June 19, 2014July 28, 2017 by D. Parker

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The first thing most people think of when thinking About Planet of the Apes is Charlton Heston’s celebrated overacting as Taylor saying, “Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!”, but after reading this entertaining and thought-provoking book, Planet of the Apes and Philosophy: Great Apes Think Alike (edited by John Huss), part of the Popular Culture and Philosophy series from Open Court, I realize that either I don’t think enough about Planet of the Apes…or these philosophers think about it way too much.

While I enjoyed all these cool essays on how Planet of the Apes pertains to: war, peace, love, hate, prejudice, revolution, evolution, genetic engineering, time/space paradoxes, insanity, identity, the environment, our inability to learn from the past, not looking toward the future, what made me think most was about our ability as humans to speak.

Humans talk. We talk a lot. We talk about important things. And a lot about trivial things.
We tell truths, lies, we tell people what they want to hear and sometimes we tell them only what we think they need to know.
We laugh, we scream, we whisper, we sing, we hum. We’re low talkers, high talkers, close talkers, mumblers…
We feel our being able to speak separates us from animals, somehow makes us a superior species.

Yeah, so superior.

This book is an absorbing and straightforward work that lets us explore many ethical, political, scientific, cultural, creative, and emotional issues in the fun and safe environment of the Planet of the Apes franchise.

It makes one think, is our new frenzied behaviour because we jumped into technology that instead of amplifying our voices in fact mutes them? The information age was supposed to enlighten, it was supposed to be the great equalizer. Yet we are bombarded by that information, it comes at us in waves, in 140 characters, in memes, emails, texts, posts, pictures, videos, social media…and there’s no need for that information to be correct, just out there.

Whatever it is, we can’t seem to stop…the movie Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the latest in the franchise (the 8th plus 2 TV series) will be hitting theaters July 11, 2014.

Maybe we should try to work out our problems here on Earth without struggling too hard to solve the mysteries of mankind and the universe, after all, we might not like the answers.

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“You know what they say, ‘Human see, human do.'” ~Julius

"...the Earth has aged nearly 700 years since we left it...You, who are reading me now, are a different breed...I hope a better one.... Tell me, though, does man, that marvel of the universe, that glorious paradox who sent me to the stars, still make war against his brother...keep his neighbor's children starving?" ~Taylor — “…the Earth has aged nearly 700 years since we left it…You, who are reading me now, are a different breed…I hope a better one…. Tell me, though, does man, that marvel of the universe, that glorious paradox who sent me to the stars, still make war against his brother…keep his neighbor’s children starving?” ~Taylor

Family, Parenting, Uncategorized

Building Decks With Dad

Posted on June 15, 2014June 12, 2017 by D. Parker

It’s not as though me and my Dad built decks for a living or built lots of decks together.

We built one deck together. It took us a few days. And by us I mean mostly my Dad.

Up front, I’m not sure whether I was more of a help or hindrance.

I recall smashing my thumb with a hammer. Dad said, more or less, “Great, your Mom is going to kill me”, with a laugh. It was a family joke. She understood. I had suffered many injuries in the care of everyone, as well as those that happened while with friends, in school, alone. I was known as clumsy. Turns out I actually had: Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, and Hypermobile Joint Syndrome. It’s very possible I’m also clumsy.

Why was I at the camp (some call them cottages or summer home, in Northern Ontario, they’re called camps) helping my Dad with the deck? I seemed an unlikely choice, but my older brother who was actually helpful in building situations was away at university and everyone else was working. My Dad was on vacation and we needed a deck at the camp.

We’d work during the day and in the evening we’d have supper then ice cream, watch TV, I’d read to my Dad, or we’d both read to ourselves…and we’d talk.

You may have noticed I refer to my father as Dad, never my father because he’s a Dad, always. Funny, smart, sweet, sometimes annoying, sometimes really annoying, kind, and fun. He loved friends and family, cars, talking about cars, looking at cars, fixing cars, driving cars, watching cars, taking pictures of cars and with cars, also, cats, beer, eating, TV, movies, working, laughing, dancing; he was a gentleman and a gentle man, hopelessly silly…and always a Dad to me and my brother.

There’s never a picture of him where that mischievous twinkle isn’t in his eye except when he had dark sunglasses on, but we know the twinkle’s still there.

I’m not sure we were always aware of how lucky we were to have a Mom & Dad, not just a Mother & Father. We did always know we were loved. Of course, look at us, we were adorable. I love my Mom & Dad today and every day.

I have lived at least six or seven lifetimes in the past 30 or so years since those days at the camp. I wish my memory was perfect or more robust, but the happiness I felt in that time has never faded in my heart.

Enjoy the times you have because you never know until later those times were actually treasures.

Happy Dad’s Day to all those men who care enough to be Dads, not just fathers!

Books, Jane Austen, Uncategorized

Unleashing Mr. Darcy

Posted on June 14, 2014July 5, 2014 by D. Parker

Despite the title, no safe words needed, this isn’t 50 Shades of Darcy (note to self, write a novel called 50 Shades of Darcy); instead this is a sweet, romantic working of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in a modern world of dog shows.

Teri Wilson has stayed true to Ms. Austen’s core of Pride and Prejudice, making it all about First Impressions (Ms. Austen’s working title for Pride and Prejudice) especially the fact that Ms. Austen proves that in P & P and all her other works that first impressions are often wrong.

We’ve all met someone who we think is lovely or someone who we think is horrid and it turns out, we were incorrect, they’re in fact, horrid or lovely instead.
Sometimes it’s circumstances that give us the wrong impression, or the mood of the person, or our mood, or the other issue Ms. Austen loves to use in her stories, misunderstandings. Pride and Prejudice and her other works are riddled with misunderstandings that lead people to think certain things that may not be true or just. Ms. Wilson also added dogs and dog shows.

I unabashedly adore romance novels and movies. They lighten my mood and relax me. They make me think of being young and carefree. They’re also a lovely palate cleanser between non-fiction, politics (sorry, I can’t list that with the non-fiction because there are so many fictional elements in politics, sadly), horror, sci-fi, fantasy, drama, and of course, real life.

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This was a delightful read, as we follow Miss Elizabeth Scott and her beloved Cavalier, Bliss through misadventures, misunderstands and reaching 30. From New York to London, Elizabeth struggles to find her way while continuing to be thrown into the path of smug but gorgeous billionaire dog breeder and judge Donovan Darcy.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a good romance novel and some chocolate (yes, any ice cream included, of course) can improve even the roughest of days.

http://www.teriwilson.net

Books, Movies, Music, Televison, Uncategorized

The Princess Bride

Posted on June 8, 2014June 30, 2014 by D. Parker

I would be hard-pressed to believe anyone who had seen this movie didn’t like this movie. I know, it’s seen as chick flick material, but I think it can’t be reduced to just anything. It is so much more. It has comedy. Drama. Love. Romance. Bad men. Good men. Giants. Revenge. Fire swamps. Death. Swordplay. Beauty. Villains. Bravery. Cowardice. Pain. Dreams. Hope.

Some Inconceivable Princess Bride info…

Billy Crystal ad-libbed a lot of his lines. Anyone surprised?

Apparently Cary Elwes thought Westley as the Dread Pirate Roberts/The Man In Black should have a mustache, to look more Errol Flynn-swashbuckling piratey guy. Not sure that really worked.

The Cliffs of Insanity are really the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland and matte paintings.

The Princess Bride has spawned parodies, parties, costumes, and of course, it’s inconceivable that people wouldn’t love to quote it.

William Goldman, the author of The Princess Bride also wrote screenplays for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All The President’s Men, A Bridge Too Far, Misery, Marathon Man (his own novel), and many more.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman is supposed to be an abridged version of the book, The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern. S. Morgenstern is really a pseudonym as well as a tricky narrative device that Goldman used to layer his novel. Confused yet?

The Princess Bride is a classic representation of Bildungsroman, a literary genre that concentrates on the ethical and psychological development of youth as they make the transition to adulthood. The term was created by J.K.S. Morgenstern (hmmm, sounds similar to S. Morgenstern). Here’s a few coming-of-age books, movies, and TV shows.

Stand By Me, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,
Sixteen Candles, Mean Girls, Superbad,
Varsity Blues, Easy A, Napoleon Dynamite,
The 400 Blows, Somersault, Garden State,
Clerks, Running With Scissors, The Graduate,
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,
Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Harry Potter,
Slumdog Millionaire, Youth In Revolt,
Rebel Without A Cause, Pretty In Pink, Twilight,
War Games, Wuthering Heights, Precious,
The Breakfast Club, Juno, Boy, Winter’s Bone,
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Hamlet,
Prozac Nation, Now and Then, Boys Don’t Cry,
Freaks and Geeks, The Spectacular Now,
Trainspotting, American Graffiti,
Moonrise Kingdom, Say Anything,
Romeo and Juliet, My So-Called Life, Blue Lagoon…
Can you think of any others? 80s6

Remember the ROUS (Rodents of Unusual Size)? Actually people in costumes, with Rob Reiner doing the noises.

Look closely, above the sick Grandson’s (Fred Savage) bed is the hat Rob Reiner wore in This Is Spinal Tap; Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) did The Princess Bride score and insisted on the subtle nod.

That was actually Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin fencing, both left and right-handed. The only stuntmen used were for the flips. Just in case you needed to be reminded how cool they are.

I’m frugal watching commentaries, they can detract from the entertainment of the movie; exceptionally so here.

Despite many gaffs, mistakes, continuity errors, and plot holes in this movie this is a beloved classic that’s been thrilling audiences for 27 years.

I can watch this movie from start to end or start watching it at any point. It’s that awesome.

I think in this film, ‘As You Wish’ simply means ‘I love you’.

Internet, Movies, Political, Televison, Uncategorized

D-Day June 6 1944 – 70 Years Later

Posted on June 6, 2014June 30, 2014 by D. Parker

The world has a short memory and an even shorter attention span.

June 6, 1944, 70 years ago the Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy. It was supposed to be June 5, 1944, but weather delayed it.

Every year we remember those who fought for us. There’s pomp and ceremony and we say we care.

But what about the rest of the year?
Should veterans have to fight for food, shelter, care, and support?
Should we still keep fighting, in wars, in our own countries, among ourselves?
More than 40% don’t vote in North America. We’re so used to our freedoms we take them for granted. We will stay in line for a sale or tickets or waiting for a new product, but don’t take 5 minutes to vote. I know, I voted this morning, it took under 5 minutes; people wait in line at drive-thrus longer than that to get coffee or a burger. I really don’t get it.

1dday1 — Into The Jaws of Death, Robert F. Sargent

Many died that day and for the months after as they fought to take back German-occupied Western Europe and tried and succeeded in turning the tides of the war.

Many call them heroes, but I think most of them didn’t think of themselves that way, they were doing their duty, carrying out orders.
Like police officers and firefighters, soldiers serve their country and its citizens by putting their lives on the line. We see it as brave, they see it as a job, that someone must protect, serve, save, and defend.
Maybe that’s what makes them truly heroes, that they don’t do it to be heroes.

The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Overlord (with the naval aspect codenamed Operation Neptune) is still the largest seaborne invasion in history. Many movies, books, TV shows, songs, etc. have come from that day. Obviously many aren’t factual, after all, history is written by the winners, but still interesting.

It wasn’t until 1997 that the undersea documentation of the D-Day assault were looked at in a historically significant way, sadly, by then, there was erosion and reclamation by the sea. First underwater archaeological study and surveys in 2000.

They found some interesting information and artefacts as well as some discrepancies.
To this day, small pieces of history haunt the shores and seas of Normandy, a bizarre reminder that history should be remembered, all those who fought, honoured.

I was thinking, if they tried to do something like this today social media would probably tell the German forces every move, how many troops, ships, planes…there would be pictures of parachutes and tweets and pix of where they were landing, people updating their Facebook status and Vine vids…Instagrammers would briefly interrupt posting pix of food to tell where and how many allied forces were and what they were wearing. 1dday6 And many, many memes.

We still don’t know the exact number that died during the Allied invasion. 14 years ago Carol Tuckwiller, a former librarian was assigned the significant mission of identifying every Allied soldier who died on June 6, 1944.
She spent over six years searching through records and evidence, contacting sources, etc., eventually giving up not because all soldiers were accounted for, but she ran out of credible information.

So 70 years later and 1dday8 out of more than 150,000 warriors who went in that day, no one knows for sure how many died. But her work brought many names of fallen soldiers into the historical records and onto plaques and made us realize there were more lives lost than we had understood.

Despite the glossy ceremonies under sun upon sand we must always remember the price of war and the higher price of oppression.
Lives lost, futures stolen, dignity torn asunder, money and power the tyrannical rulers…we could be talking about 70 years ago or any day in various parts of the world, sadly, too little has changed.

Politicians make hypocritical speeches about how much our veterans mean to us while many veterans struggle just to get by in their day-to-day lives.

Those who once stormed the beaches to fight the enemy and liberate oppressed people now have to storm their own governments for the care and attention they should receive with thanks for their valiant service.

Some of the best images of the D-Day invasion are from Canadian war artist, Orville Fisher (the 3 paintings pictured above, please check out his other work, truly, truly amazing).

I doubt the significance of the weathered faces and stiff bodies of the remaining veterans is lost on them or us; make no mistake, most will not be here to celebrate 75 years after D-Day.
We must then remember for them.

Books, Movies, Uncategorized

1…2…A Million Ways To Die In The West

Posted on June 6, 2014September 20, 2020 by D. Parker

There is nothing in this film that will cure cancer…solve world hunger…bring about world peace. But it can make you laugh and isn’t that always a step in the right direction?

I’d like to formally apologize to those who had to be in the same theater with me while I was watching it; I like to laugh and this did it for me, big time.

The odd part was there was a disproportionate amount of older people in the theater, as in well over 60, even 70 and they were laughing, a lot. Sadly they also talk a lot during movies and tend to do so loudly. ‘What’s that, what did he say? Did he say Stephen Foster? Didn’t he do a lot of songs in our day?’ Geez, how old were those people? But they did laugh hardest at the naughtier parts. Cool.

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Seth MacFarlane is a savant with voice work, really, a wonder to listen to. I find him hilarious, twisted, conscientious, brilliant, creative, cute as a button, although arguably not an actor with a wide range, but who knows what the future brings.

I think surrounding yourself with talent like Neil Patrick Harris, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, Amanda Seyfried, Rex Linn, etc. helps in some respects, but also shines a spotlight. Yet for me, MacFarlane‘s enthusiasm for his subject matter and his stunning comedic skills override any drawbacks.

Obviously meant to pay homage to old Westerns and Blazing Saddles and just as unrealistic. Where Brooks trail-blazed, MacFarlane and fellow writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild have to do some rehash slinging slashing. You’d think relentlessly infantile would get old yet, no, fresh as a well-placed daisy. And Brooks was doing all this before MacFarlane and friends were even born…I think this will one day be seen as a classic.

The best bit for me was definitely MacFarlane‘s diatribe about how people die in the Old West. I don’t know if this was intended, but it made me think of all the ways to die now that they didn’t have then. WiFi waves, cars (worse than that, drivers), Ebola, MERS, SARS, Avian/bird flu, AIDS, GMOs, asteroids (sure, the video game as well), planes, weapons of mass destruction, plastic islands in the ocean, pollution, ozone depletion, and lucky for us, still guns and corrupt politicians, some things never change…

As for the bored part, look what we have and people still say they’re bored. I guess life isn’t necessarily better, just different.

Too many funny moments without reciting the whole movie which sadly I can probably do.

Here’s a link to my review of the book cause I feel like I’m having a moment of deja vu… https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/03/10/a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west/

As with all MacFarlane works there were some messages hidden among the endlessly silly filth…

Don’t keep chasing someone who doesn’t love you for you. Relationships should be reciprocal.
Brains can win the day. So can poison.
And it’s our expectations of any time or place that shape our enjoyment, for however long we have.

I love the anachronisms and the contemporary feel of this, it adds layers to an already riotously rootin’ tootin’ good time.

See if you can pick out Ryan Reynolds and Jamie Foxx in their brief, but overtly shining moments in ye olde limelight. And Christopher Lloyd was pure Christopher Lloyd – Great Scot!

Patrick Stewart voicing the sheep was hilarious. What a trip!

I think I’ll have the Moustache song in my head forever, gee, thanks. Even catchier than A Million Ways To Die by Alan Jackson and that’s sayin’ somethin’.

Even as it was ending I was thinking, again! again!

People die at the Fair…

Movies, Music, Televison, Uncategorized

Happy 40th Anniversary Blazing Saddles

Posted on June 3, 2014June 30, 2014 by D. Parker

To celebrate getting over 40,000 views on my blog I decided to say Happy 40th Anniversary to Blazing Saddles. Is it even possible that Mel Brooks’ nod to classic Westerns was released in 1974?

I saw this Mel Brooks masterpiece when I was around young – it was different times, people didn’t assume seeing comedy, even crude comedy was going to affect anyone. I didn’t understand half the jokes, so when I re-watched it later I was more impressed and hurt myself laughing.

Blazing Saddles takes satire to fine art status as Mel Brooks takes us back in time to the American Old West, circa 1874. He pokes fun at Hollywood’s version of the Old West, especially the racism by making a completely implausible scenario – a small Western town hiring a black sheriff, even by mistake and the mayhem that it caused.

Brooks was a pioneer in using offensive humour to mock people’s prejudices. He felt it could make people realize how silly intolerance was by making it funny. Still not sure everyone got the point.

Mel Brooks is a master at breaking the Fourth Wall before it became the cool thing to do. Known for throwing in anachronisms to amuse, bemuse, and possibly defuse any tensions his deliberate political incorrectness could cause, Brooks went to ye olde town in Blazing Saddles with various references like: WW II, Laurel and Hardy, Gucci, Academy Awards, Cecil B. Demille, and The Count Basie Orchestra playing April in Paris.

Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little are an amazing on-screen bromance; it’s clear in most scenes there are many private jokes and difficulty keeping straight faces.

I can never decide who makes me laugh the most, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn or Dom DeLuise or maybe the combination makes it so absurdly perfect.

Less Than 40 Fun Blazing Saddles Facts:

The now defunct Pickwick Drive-In Theater in Burbank, California became a ride-in theater as guests rode in on horseback for the Blazing Saddles première.

Mel Brooks is one of a small group to have every won EGAT – an Emmy, a Grammy, an Academy Award and a Tony.

Gene Wilder wasn’t the first choice for the Waco Kid, Johnny Carson among others turned it down and Gig Young became indisposed in early production with an elbow bending problem so Wilder was brought in.

Blazing Saddles was the first movie to have foreground music instead of background music.

Madeline Kahn received an Oscar nomination for her role as Lili von Shtupp. So the Oscars used to be fun I guess. Love her song, I’m So Tired, cracks me up every time.

Brooks’ wanted Richard Pryor who was one of the scriptwriters to play the Sheriff, but the studio thought he wasn’t as well-known as Cleavon Little.

Trailblazing Brooks made this movie the first to have on-screen flatulence. Come on, all those beans and coffee, yer dern tootin’ those cowboys would have been tootin’.

There are 11 men sitting around the fire during the bean scene, Mongo is to the side or it could have been a dirty dozen.

John Wayne said he found the script funny, but declined to actually appear in Blazing Saddles. How cool would that have been?

I always thought Slim Pickens name was funny.

Gene Wilder had the idea and a few pages written for Young Frankenstein and approached Brooks with the idea during filming of Blazing Saddles. They worked on the script together while filming. Blazing Saddles was released February 1974 and Young Frankenstein December of the same year. 1blaze18

Mel Brooks received some hate mail about the horse being punched. He explained the horses were trained to fall, like horses in Westerns, they were acting horses, no one hurt the horses. Brooks always seemed confused because he thought everyone understood how much he loved animals.

He also received hate mail about using the ‘N’ word although he was assured by Richard Pryor, Cleavon Little and others he use it correctly. In retrospect Brooks says he would reconsider using it, but found it interesting he only got hate mail from white people about the word.

Anyone remember how many flavors of ice cream Howard Johnson’s Ice Cream Parlor sold?
How about what snack Hedley Lamarr purchased at the theater? I had to look this one up.

What is most or least favourite of this movie? Mine is when Cleavon Little/Bart takes himself hostage; I think it changed comedy forever.

Blogs, Canada, Cats, Internet, Political, Uncategorized

Net Neutrality I Hardly Knew You

Posted on June 2, 2014February 26, 2015 by D. Parker

It was only a matter of time. Internet Service Providers (ISP) hate Net Neutrality. Why? Aren’t they happy people are addicted to the internet? Huge profits, ring a bell?

So what is Net Neutrality? Do we have it? Do we want it? Do we even know what it is? Is there an app for it? Is it a new series on Netflix? Does it give us cancer? Should I have a T-shirt slogan for it? Does it have something to do with kittens?

Here’s my understanding of Net Neutrality. All bits of the stuff head off into the great wide open of the internet, you know: ads, porn, blogs, movies, memes of Keanu Reeves looking incredulous, recipes, scams, spam, cat fishing, videos of John Oliver explaining climate change, video games, apps telling you to take your pills, pill-pushing, videos of babies dancing, pictures of food, pictu

res of kittens, pictures of kittens cooking food – is there no end to their talents? Even this post.

In a perfect world all this information would be treated equally by your Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and governments. No discrimination or any differences in charges by content, site, platform, app, user, modes of communication or attached equipment. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all bits and bytes on the internet are created equal.

It’s sort of what we think of as an open internet.

There are places in the world where the internet is effectively a closed net with severely restricted access, some services artificially degraded and throttled, and even filtering of information. We’re aware that governments keep an eye on happenings on the net, it’s the degrees of which that maybe not be so clear.

Will losing net neutrality limit internet freedoms?
Cause rates to skyrocket?
Cause streaming for video games, movies, etc. to slow down? Blocking? Massive monopolies?
Or is this all a lot of hot air that like some many other issues will blow over and be forgotten?

Tim Berners-Lee, who created the Worldwide Web 25 years ago supports net neutrality.
As does Vinton Cerf, co-inventor of the Internet Protocol.

This is where things get freaky. Activists and corporations generally seem to agree on keeping Net Neutrality. How often does that happen?

But if they agree, why is it hotly debated around the world, especially in the United States? Telecom companies don’t agree and they have very deep pockets and lobbyists who have the ear of politicians.

Is this about telecom companies trying to provide better service or just make even more profits?

Is this the next stage in net dominance? Everyone’s nicely hooked now let’s sweat even more money out of them.

This isn’t a new debate, years ago it was telephone and before that telegraph neutrality.

You already have to be able to afford inflated internet access and there are price tiers.
So what would loss of Net Neutrality do besides widening the gap further?
More haves and have nots, even for businesses.

This isn’t in the distant future, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering two options: allow fast and slow broadband lanes which will compromise net neutrality or reclassify broadband as a telecommunication service which would preserve Net Neutrality.
You have approximately 4 months to contact the FCC and voice your opinion.

To paraphrase John Oliver’s rant on #NetNeutrality,
Good evening monsters, This may be the moment you’ve spent your whole life training for, that badly spelled bile you usually reserve for unforgivable attacks on actresses you seem to think have gained weight, politicians you don’t agree with, photos of your ex-girlfriend getting on with her life, or non-white actors being cast as fictional characters…for once in your life it’s time to focus that indiscriminate rage in a useful direction. This is it trolls, seize the moment, Caps Locks on and fly my pretties fly! (Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, HBO).
Come to think of it, it would be more effective to send well-written and thoughtful points of view, because who takes trolls seriously?

Or maybe loss of Net Neutrality would make people spent less time online and we could fix some of the problems in the world instead of just endless Slacktivism.

Instead of spending millions to make the internet into a tiered system the governments and ISPs should look into laws or ways to try to crack down on those who use to internet to stalk, steal, scam, attack, cyberbully, and commit various illegal acts.
That would be a more effective use of time, energy, and money.

Canada, Food, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

Bacon – Nature’s Evil Genius

Posted on May 31, 2014May 8, 2015 by D. Parker

I wasn’t shocked to find out that there were reasons why bacon smells so good, like smoky greasy sirens luring unsuspecting people to their doom.

Science has now confirmed bacon smells so good because as it starts to cook 150 organic compounds release them on the noses of the world.

The fancy name for it is the Maillard Reaction which happens when foods cook. It’s why bread baking smells so divine, or cinnamon rolls, coffee, apple pie, cookies, steak, cake, ok, now I’m just making myself hungry.

What is it really? Sugar reacting with amino acids when the fat begins to melt. Hydrocarbons and Aldehydes weaving a magical olfactory ballet that makes even some vegetarians drool. Or is it the Pyridines and Pyrazines that make us forget how much we were rooting for Wilbur or Babe not to become bacon? There are 150 reasons and it’s hard to find even one reason to say no, well, besides the it’s not good for you, not eating animals, the treatment of animals, religious reasons, actually, there are a lot of reasons as it turns out.

Either way, the pork industry has little trouble selling their products especially when they have all the cooking shows promoting it and joining forces with Bacon – Nature’s Evil Genius sizzling away, making our noses smile.

While I love the smell of bacon, I could take or leave the actual taste. Of course, being Canadian I should like Canadian bacon better or as the rest of the world calls it, ham. Now cinnamon rolls are another story altogether. I can smell them right now, in my mind.

Is there a food you can’t resist, especially the smell of it cooking?

Books, Movies, Political, Televison, Uncategorized

Maya Angelou Her Brave and Startling Truth

Posted on May 28, 2014June 30, 2014 by D. Parker

Maya Angelou has gone from this world.

After living so many lives.

Who knew such terror, such hardship, and such horror, still recognized and chose joy, love, and hope. She choose courage and laughter.

She told us in words and deeds to live, not regret living.

Lent her voice to those in need until they found their own.

If you have given yourself the gift of her writing you will already know what you need to know. If you haven’t, be good enough to yourself to do so.

I urge anyone who doesn’t know the story of Maya Angelou to learn, for in her story you will find many brave and startling truths worth knowing…

There are no better words to describe the force of Maya Angelou and the light she shone on the world than her own words:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.”

“I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.”

And my all time favourite because this guides my life:

We will never have to say goodbye because on the pulse of each new day Maya Angelou is with us to say, “Very simply With hope Good morning.”

Political, Uncategorized

Stand Up For Veterans

Posted on May 26, 2014March 1, 2015 by D. Parker

The ongoing struggle between the government and veterans sometimes goes nuclear.

Whether or not you believe in war, it happens. Soldiers leave their family, friends, their homes to go to various parts of the world to serve their country, sometimes risking their lives.
Sometimes they return home fine, sometimes injured, sometimes in a casket draped in a flag to represent their country, the country they died for.

Oh, the government of the day will tell their citizens repeatedly, I mean over and over again, ad nauseum that they treat the veterans well. Patting themselves on the back and bragging in a self-congratulatory manner as rhetoric and champagne flows. Meanwhile vets are struggling for heat, food, medical care, even a home.

Robotic talking points about how this government has done more for vets than another other government.

I believe that most citizens respect their veterans. They know the price they paid or were willing to pay. They stepped up and left their families, friends, and homes to fight for us, to protect us, to serve us, sometimes making traumatic or even deadly sacrifices. We should repay them for their service.

Every government says they care.

All governments need to do more.

Remember our vets. Not just on Memorial Day or Remembrance Day or Veterans’ Day, but every single day.

Veterans commit suicide in countries around the world at a startling rate. Why? Because they’re not receiving the help they need.

They were of service to their country and yet services, benefits, and support they should receive are withheld, cut, and clawed back. Some vets are still looking for jobs, good luck with that.

Veterans have to once again fight, against their own government for what they were promised for serving their countries.

Meanwhile our governments spend money on important things like:

$150,000 to figure out a way to save the human race from zombies, ummm, did someone not get that The Walking Dead is fictional?

Millions to find ways to trim their budgets? I’ll give you this one for free – don’t spend $20 million on advice.

A million to research how not to burst a cooked sausage?

Millions spent studying love on the internet, intelligent life on Earth including the US Congress?

Lawyers’ fees for allegedly inappropriate activities?

Golf Club memberships?

Bridges and roads to nowhere?

Millions on computer systems that are dysfunctional, easily hacked and/or redundant?

People that work to collect taxes also owe billions in taxes?

Trips around the world hundreds of politicians and businesspeople?

Billionaires get subsidies for beachfront properties, companies, mansions while the average person, including Vets struggle to make ends meet?

Spending millions to study what food tastes like on Mars, let me help with this one, who cares?

Millions to promote governments and what they say they’ve accomplished?

Paying for Likes and Tweets, trolls to promote their viewpoints and put down oppositional viewpoints on social media?

Millions/year to find out what the media is saying about their government and corporations?

Are you reading this on Facebook? They get millions in tax refunds each year, no worries, they’re not alone, many, many other corporations got a helping hand too.

Plane and helicopter rides as well as limos, town cars and drivers?

$50,000 to study how to stop traveler’s diarrhea, in the Caribbean?

Professional sports teams listed as non-profits so they get bigger tax breaks?

Millions in audits and expenses?

Billions in procurements on planes that aren’t operational and some that might never be, libraries that will never open, empty military bases, empty warehouses, etc.?

Millions celebrating wars, but little money for those who survived them.

Legal fees fighting veterans over the claw back of military pensions.

Using drones to count sheep? Hey, maybe these people that waste your money can’t get to sleep.

And so much more waste. It’s a disgrace.

You can tell everything you need to know about a government and a society by how they treat their most vulnerable members.

How are we doing?

Politics needs to be about service, duty, and helping citizens, less about photo ops, game playing, and manipulation.

We need to stop being victims in our own country and demand that those who are elected and appointed members serve us, not their own self-interests.

Books, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

Well-Read Women

Posted on May 24, 2014June 30, 2014 by D. Parker

“I’ll think about it tomorrow, after all, tomorrow is another day.” 1read3
Margaret Mitchell may have written the words of Gone With The Wind, but it’s Scarlett O’Hara we think of when we read or hear them.

Elizabeth Bennet      Anne Shirley    Daisy Buchanan
   Auntie Mame    Catherine Earnshaw    Nancy Drew
Holly Golightly    Dorothy Gale    Jo March    Cosette
Jane Eyre Juliet Capulet    Nora Charles     Charlotte
Blanche Dubois     Pecola      Alice      Daisy Miller    Lily Bart
Becky Sharp    Mary Lennox Emma Woodhouse

We’ve had tea and coffee with these women.

Ate ice cream and chocolate with these women.

Even taken baths with these women.

Stretched out under a tree with these women.

Flew with these women.

Drank with these women.

Dreamed of being these women.

Tried to make sure not to be some of these women.

Loved them. Hated them. Pitied them.

We’ve cried with them, laughed with them.

Shouted yahoo! for these women.

Watched them live, love, sometimes die.

Felt their sorrow.

Rejoiced in their triumphs.

We’ve learned from their failures, cheered them on.

They’ve seen us at our best and our worst.

They’ve met our loved ones, including cats and dogs.

They live in our homes.

Fiction’s loved and hated heroines hold a place in our hearts and remind us of who we were, who we are and who we want to be.

Take a few minutes to relax and remind yourself of the joys of a good read with this delectably illustrated book, Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction’s Most Beloved Heroines by Samantha Hahn (Chronicle Books).

Contains smile-inducing illustrations of fictional heroines (although I would have liked Bridget Jones included, but maybe in the next book) by the talented Samantha Hahn, accompanied by some of your favourite quotes from these ladies and their authors.

“It struck me as pretty ridiculous to be called Mr. Darcy and to stand on your own looking snooty at a party. It’s like being called Heathcliff and insisting on spending the entire evening in the garden, shouting “Cathy” and banging your head against a tree.” ~Bridget Jones
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

Environment, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

5 ways to know you’re living in a Godzilla film

Posted on May 20, 2014March 1, 2015 by D. Parker

1. People are running and screaming and it’s not because there’s a new iPhone coming out.

2. It seems to be raining concrete.

3. You’re gaping up at the sky a lot, mouth open when you should be running.

4. You get a huge gust of rancid fish breath and think, forget the warheads, get this guy a giant breath mint.

5. You hear a loud bellowing and Rob Ford isn’t in town.

Godzilla turns 60 years this year. Lookin’ good big guy.

Up until 1984 each Godzilla suit was made by hand, new each time.

It wasn’t until 2004 that Toho Co. Ltd used CGI in their Godzilla films.

10 years ago Godzilla earned a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood…glad he didn’t do his actual footprint.

Raymond Burr starred in the 1954 black and white Godzilla movie. Yes, yes I see.

3 members of The Simpsons cast, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria and Nancy Cartwright were in the 1998 reboot of Godzilla.

Godzilla has more films than James Bond. Zilla, Godzilla.

Godzilla once fought The Avengers, in a comic book.

George Takei did some dubbing for Godzilla films. Oh my!

Guys in suits crushing miniature buildings, that old-school style, Suitmation.

Scientist killjoys say the weight of Godzilla would crush his own legs. They also say zombies can’t exist. Just cure cancer already and let us have our fun.

Saw Godzilla yesterday, the movie, not the monster. Nice cheesy feel, but was still too high-tech.
I got the stink-eye from my teenage son when I may or may not have sniffed a little as Godzilla went down at one point. Geez, you cry at a few movies and you get a reputation.

Way too long and not enough Bryan Cranston.
Still great messages about the environment, trying to control or destroy nature, and about the checks and balances already in place that we humans keep tampering with.

We’re so arrogant to think we can control nature, look around…do you feel like you’re in control?

PENNY DREADFUL

Penny Dreadful, a Showtime horror TV series that is certainly lurid, melodramatic, frightening, and intriguing.

Set in London, 1891 as the world hurtles toward the 20th century; the old meets the new featuring literary horror staples: Dorian Gray, Victor Frankenstein and creations, Mina Harker, etc.

1penny3

The cast is repulsively enchanting:

Billie Piper, again as a companion of sorts (come on Doctor Who fans), also more of a Secret Diary of a Consumptive Call Girl.

Reeve Carney as oh my, Dorian Gray, a portrait of a guy who likes to have a good time, no matter what, a sort of rock star version of the endless playboy.

Timothy Dalton glowers and growls his way through, hey, I’m not complaining he does it so well.

Eva Green as the unfathomable and flexible Kill-Jill-of-all-Trades with many secrets.

Harry Treadaway as Dr. Frankenstein, defies all that is natural by making himself some friends, literally making them.

Josh Hartnett as a handsome cowboy with a past.

Plus Rory Kinnear, Alun Armstrong, Simon Russell Beale, Alex Price, Anna Chancellor, Helen McCrory, Olivia Llewellyn and more.

John Logan (The Aviator, Rango, Skyfall, Sweeney Todd, Any Given Sunday, Star Trek: Nemesis and more) offers up his own monster in this macabre yet novel series. While this has striking similarities to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie, it has a more sinister tone and not as cheesy.

I’ve only seen 2 episodes, but so far so spine-chilling.

Penny Dreadful, also the term for garish and shocking serial stories sold in parts in bookstores during the 19th century. Each part cost a penny. As time went on, the term came to represent all sorts of poor quality, sensational fiction for the working class.

Penny Dreadful, not Penny from The Big Bang Theory or my lovely and hilarious British cousin Penny whom I would instead refer to as Penny Delightful.

“The suspense is terrible…
I hope it will last.”
~Oscar Wilde

Movies, Music, Televison, Uncategorized

GHOSTBUSTERS

Posted on May 16, 2014June 30, 2014 by D. Parker

“Back off, man. I’m a scientist.” ~Dr. Peter Venkman

Ghostbusters was 30 years ago? Wow.

This is probably one of the best movies of all time.

Definitely one of the best comedies of all time.

Certainly one of the best paranormal comedies of all time.

I also believe this movie stands the test of time.

Bill Murray gives one of his most hilarious performances ever.

John Belushi was supposed to play Dr. Venkman, but when he died Bill Murray was brought in. Slimer was affectionately known as the ghost of Belushi on set.

The party scene with Rick Moranis (Louis Tully/The Keymaster) and his guests ad-libbed the whole scene. Bill Murray ad-libbed most of the movie.

Ghostbusters was originally titled Ghost Smashers.

The whole cast is out of this world.

30 years. That doesn’t seem possible.

I may have to go watch this again.

Don’t cross the streams.

Who you gonna call?

Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED

Posted on May 13, 2014February 19, 2019 by D. Parker

Safety Not Guaranteed is one of the best quirky indie films few people have seen. Cleverly demonstrates that you don’t have to spend millions on a movie for it to be entertaining.

In 1997, Senior editor/writer Jon Silveria wrote a joke ad as filler in the Backwoods Home magazine. It became an internet sensation and inspired this 2012 film in which a writer and two interns go to a small town to answer the ad. The story they get isn’t the one they expected. Is it ever?

I guess we’re all looking for something. But what we’re looking for or what we find isn’t always what we need. And sometimes when we stop looking we find exactly what we need or just what we want, at least in that time.

At the risk of spoilers I’ll just say this movie reminds you life is too short not to enjoy some serious goofiness. And remember, some dreams may fade in time and scope, but replaced by others, at least that’s the hope.

The cast includes: Aubrey Plaza (Parks & Recreation, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, 30 Rock, etc.), Mark Duplass (The Mindy Project, Zero Dark Thirty, etc.) and Jake Johnson who I will always think of as Nick from New Girl (also in Neighbors, The Lego Movie and next year’s Jurassic World), Mary Lyn Rajskub (24, 24:Live Another Day, 2 Broke Girls, etc.), Karan Soni (1600 Penn, Touch, The Neighbors, etc.), Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Deadwood, Heroes, Frozen, Fanboys, etc.) and more.

The thing I enjoy most about indie films is they take chances big budget films aren’t going to even think of, like bravely trying to give this a Hal Ashby feel by shooting the whole film with a Sony F3 camera using old Panavision lenses. Does it work? You decide.

The most important factor in this film…would you answer the ad?

And if so, where in time (or should I say when) would you go and why?

Books, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

THE MATRIX

Posted on May 8, 2014January 3, 2015 by D. Parker

Why did The Matrix become such a huge hit?

Dystopian future films have become hugely popular in the last couple of decades. I figure it’s because we’re already there, and this is a way to explore what’s happening without truly acknowledging it’s happening.

Do many already feel like we’re in The Matrix?
A simulated reality where we’re kept complacent and subjugated.

Perhaps our body heat is already being harvested, think about it, corporations plotting to make us fatter because obese people produce more body heat.

Maybe they’ve brainwashed people into having phones or tablets with them at all times so they’ll produce more electrical activity.

1matrix15

Is it easier to just live on our computers, cell phones, tablets, and so on, looking at pictures of kittens, tragedies, recipes, hoaxes, optimistic quotes that looking around at what we’ve done?

So where is our Neo come to free us from this dream world we’re plodding through on our cellphones, laptops, Google glasses, tablets, etc.? And do we even want to be saved from the distraction?

The Wachowski Brothers, now called The Wachowskis (Larry Wachowski is now Lana) wrote this cyberpunk standard with the works of Philip K. Dick whispering in their ears. The paranoia, power, mental discomfort, a ruined world. The Matrix is the ultimate exile from ourselves.

Or maybe it’s so loved just because the awesome effects, the wire fu techniques, the anime-like feel, action scenes, great cast, and cool outfits.

The Matrix contains incessant references to: mythology, religion, philosophy, literature, and pop culture.

Johnny Depp was first choice, also Will Smith and Nicolas Cage both turned down the part of Neo. Smith turned it down to do Wild Wild West. No comment. But come on, we’re expected to believe Nicolas Cage turned down a part?

Epic shot where Keanu Reeves (Thomas Anderson/Neo/The One) hits the ground, bounces back up again is meant to look like Wile E. Coyote? Evil super genius ordering from an omnipresent evil corporation ACME who sends weapons to an address in the desert, great, but where’s the tiny umbrella?

The numbers 1 and 3 are everywhere in this movie. Neo means new; it’s also an anagram for One. Trinity, 3. Neo is called Thomas in the beginning when he is doubting.

A matrix in mathematics, is a rectangular arrangement of numbers, symbols, or expressions, ordered in columns and rows. Distinct items in a matrix are called its elements or entries.

The Matrix is green, not ecofriendly, but shot with a green filter for the parts inside The Matrix.

The scene with Neo and pins. Those pins were actually in his head. For realism. It worked.

The government lobby shootout took 10 days of filming and didn’t use CGI. The Wachowskis staged everything you see on the set, even the explosions and water pouring in.

Sci-fi flicks always produce conspiracy theories. How about this one, note the date on the passport.

The actors were put through their paces on this movie, they had to be able to do stunts, wire fu, fight, process weighty philosophical discourses, etc.

The end, the last line in Neo’s monologue gave the studio and audiences options, “Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.”. I would’ve been satisfied with The Matrix, it was enough. In the 15 years since it’s release few have matched it.

Definitely a cautionary tale that allowing oneself to the plugged in all the times can rob us of reality, truth, and any meaning to life.

Look Back.

Look back at me.

Have you ever thought, said, or wanted to say this as someone walked, drove, or flew away?

On this Labour Day when people march forward to celebrate how far workers have come and how much further they need to go, it’s good to look back on the brave people that fought for workers’ rights.

A couple hundred years later, not much has changed. The lower classes work themselves into an early grave while the upper classes pay them less than they should to work themselves into an early grave.

Gaskell does an amazing job of showing both sides; some of the upper class want to be fair and some of the lower class want to be more.

Her work, now seen as classic wasn’t beloved by all, still isn’t, many factory owners and the rich didn’t like the truth being exposed or their methods questioned. That hasn’t changed much either.

Supporting cast is incredible, including Brendan Coyle (now well-known as the enigmatic Bates on Downton Abbey, also Larkrise To Candleford and so much more – I think he’s one of those British actors who probably have their own period piece costumes at the ready).

If you can’t get enough of British period pieces, check out Gaskell’s Cranford series, familiar faces for Downton Abbey fans, Carson (Jim Carter) and Michelle Dockery (Mary), and even an Asgard god (Tom Hiddleston)…one of fav TV games, spot the actor to see if they became a star.

Yes, North & South is at times a grim visage of lives suffered, but with just enough seething, barely contained Victorian passion, fingers lingering as a cup of tea is passed and obligatory smouldering looks to keep it interesting. Have I really been crushing on RA in N&S for 10 years? Wow.

Sometimes it’s the simplest of words, murmured with brooding passion, that capture and inspire, as Armitage admirers (sure, let’s call us that) around the globe believe. Look Back. Look back at me. I won’t tell you if she does. I can tell you what I would have done.

Pull up a chair and please share!

Like this:

My brain is often at war with my body. I want to do more. More! More! Yes, on days like this my brain sounds like a strange combination of yearning romance novel heroine and petulant child. Such is the hidden world of Fibromyalgia.

I get some people think Fibromyalgia is made up by lazy or unmotivated people. Ok, why do doctors and other professionals go along with it, what’s in it for them? They have more than enough patients, unfortunately cancer alone keeps them pretty busy.

Conversations with Steve Martin highlights Martin‘s contributions not only as a comedian, but as a writer, musician, artist, and free-thinker through a series of interviews and profiles. It’s sort of a living eulogy of Martin’s rollercoaster career over the past 4 decades.

Steve Martin has thrilled and disappointed audiences for decades with his ever-changing style, from eccentric, incongruous, and wacky to mature to sinister to bizarre to mellow.

If you’re a Steve Martin fan this latest book is ubercool, if you’re not, well, excuuuuuuuse me!

You can read, watch or have pretend conversations with Steve Martin or maybe really pretend 140 characters or less magical moments on Twitter @SteveMartinToGo

Carl Reiner may have said it best, “His strength, as an actor, I’ve found, is his beautiful body,” Carl Reiner said jokingly. “His weakness is too much hair on his body.”

Laughter may not fix all the world’s problems, but it sure does know how to make them seem less dire.

I think tonight will be a Steve Martin movie night.

Pull up a chair and please share!

Like this:

I think it’s tragic that people have so many prejudices, especially about things they don’t understand. They don’t know what they’re missing.

Have you even known someone with: ALS, MS, Parkinson’s Disease, CP, Alzheimer’s, Tetanus, Pinched nerve, meningitis, Huntington’s Disease, Migraines, Epilepsy, Polio, stroke, or any of the other neurological disorder?

Would you tell someone who’d suffered a stroke to just talk properly? Unlikely.

Would you tell someone with ALS to stop being so lazy? No way.

Tell someone with Alzheimer’s they could remember if they just tried harder? Doubtful.

Someone with Parkinson’s to stop shaking, that they were just trying to get attention? Improbable.

I wish more of the Autism community could pull together, avoid the infighting, and work toward a common goal of helping those with Autism live better lives.

It seems lately stated or unstated Asperger’s characters are all over TV, in movies, and in books, with varying degrees of success and respect:

Community, House, Star Trek, Doctor Who, The Big Bang Theory, Sherlock, Elementary,

Boston Legal, Bones, The Bridge, Skins, ReGenesis, Grey’s Anatomy, Silicon Valley,

curious incident of the dog in the night-time, Edward Scissorhands,

Adam, Monk, Hannibal, Temple Grandin, 24, Triggers, Mercury Rising, Parenthood,

Fringe, Alphas, Doc Martin, Dear John, House Rules, Criminal Minds, P.S. I Love You,

Rain Man, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, CSI, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,

Mozart and the Whale, My Name is Khan, Snow Cake, Touch, Somersault,

and more.

Pull up a chair and please share!

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Some people may not have even notice Lauren Bacall’s passing.

Old Hollywood had a glamor that has been difficult to replicate. Those days, those movies were anything but perfect yet they still stand out as fascinating and timeless.

I’m not sure of Bogart was my first movie boyfriend, but he’s still in my top 10.

Lauren Bacall was not only a unique beauty, she had brains, style, talent, and integrity (aside from being the other woman).

Her career, from model to leading lady to character actress spanned decades and though times had changed, she stayed classy and sassy.

This icon managed to stay relevant – my teenage son knows her from Howl’s Moving Castle and Family Guy (12th episode of 12th season; 222nd episode); not my favourite episode, not her fault, the story was choppy; the subplot with Stewie and Brian was amusing.

So from thrilling Hollywood goddess in the 40s all the way to Family Guy in 2014 and so much in between.

I love classic movies. What they lack in political correctness they make up for in style, witty dialogue, cinematography, direction, and of course, the actors.

“I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.” ~Lauren Bacall 1924-2014

Pull up a chair and please share!

Like this:

Suicide isn’t a laughing matter. Neither is depression.

Have we lost the ability to see that line between genuinely mourning the loss of someone and using it to gain attention for ourselves?

Where to begin? The media are too obvious, they’re a well-oiled exploitation machine.

Social media is too often the Land of Shallow, where pictures, platitudes, Slacktivism, jokes, and memes are welcome, but anything of substance is frequently ignored or seen as annoying.

Yet it’s the memorials that confuse me the most. What does wasting money on flowers, balloons, teddy bears and candles do? Does it bring those lost back? Does it stop the next accident, murder, or suicide? No. It just mildews. What a terrible waste.

Maybe it’s a form of pain behaviour. People need to show how much they care, show that they’re in pain.

Robin Williams chose to leave this world. I expect this loss is felt deeply by his family and friends, and to a lesser degree, by his fans. If you’re actually upset about this, help someone who is struggling with depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, and other forms of mental illness.

Be kind.

Maybe we wouldn’t need Suicide Hotlines or Kids Helplines or so many other band-aids if people would stop making so many hurts.

Be there to listen to someone (hint, turn off your cellphone while listening; seeing your head bent over your phone as you absently say uh-huh at maybe the right spots will probably just remind them of how messed up the world is). Take the time to be in the moment.

I’ve been a fan of Robin Williams since I saw him as Mork (first on Happy Days then on Mork and Mindy). I liked most of his work, funny or serious or seriously funny.

I was even one of the 10 (that number is an estimate, it might have been an even dozen) people watching The Crazy Ones, before it was cancelled.

It’s a distressing incongruity that many comedians use humour as a mask, a shield, a façade…That while they are making us laugh, making us forget our worries, making us remember that life is worth living they are haunted by inner demons.

We watch people on screens and think we know them. We don’t. We don’t know what is in their heart, in their minds. We don’t know what haunts them, or drives them, sometimes they don’t even know themselves.

It is sad when talent is lost, but instead of fake monuments that will die, or mold, or rot, why not do something that will help people, not just give you a chance to be on TV, something to talk about or post on social media.

I know it’s not popular, but do something real (not reality TV real but real real) and meaningful.

Pull up a chair and please share!

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I loved Saturday morning cartoons and other programs as a child…yeah, that’s it, only as a child.

I even willingly (more or less) went to bed Friday nights so I could get up early to watch cartoons like: Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Hour,

Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear (hey Boo-Boo!), Space Ghost, Jabberjaw, The Banana Splits, The Pink Panther Show, The Jetsons, The Flintstones,

Mighty Mouse, Hong Kong Phooey (before political correctness), and probably more that I can’t think of off the top of my head.

Just so you understand how sad this is, I can still sing all the words to all these theme songs.

A graphic novel like Rocky and Bullwinkle takes me back to a simpler time. I know how old that makes me sound, but there it is.

Animation changed, more as a business, with little art involved.

Needing children to be ‘busy’ every minute of their day was a big factor. Pushing for more ‘quality’ family time that involved paid activities, traveling, etc. another.

There have been other changes in society. The divorce rate has increased significantly since then and now many children live between homes. More recreational sports now. Anything else?

A couple hundred years later, not much has changed.
The lower classes work themselves into an early grave while the upper classes pay them less than they should to work themselves into an early grave.

Yes, North & South is at times a grim visage of lives suffered, but with just enough seething, barely contained Victorian passion, fingers lingering as a cup of tea is passed and obligatory smouldering looks to keep it interesting. Have I really been crushing on RA in N&S** for 10 years? Wow.

Sometimes it’s the simplest of words, murmured with brooding passion, that capture and inspire, as Armitage admirers (sure, let’s call us that) around the globe believe.
Look Back.
Look back at me.
I won’t tell you if she does.
I can tell you what I would have done.

My brain is often at war with my body.
I want to do more. More! More! Yes, on days like this my brain sounds like a strange combination of yearning romance novel heroine and petulant child.
Such is the hidden world of Fibromyalgia.

“I think your whole life shows in your face
and you should be proud of that.”
~Lauren Bacall
1924-2014

Yet it’s the memorials that confuse me the most.
What does wasting money on flowers, balloons, teddy bears and candles do?
Does it bring those lost back?
Does it stop the next accident, murder, or suicide?
No. It just mildews.
What a terrible waste.

Robin Williams chose to leave this world. I expect this loss is felt deeply by his family and friends, and to a lesser degree, by his fans.
If you’re actually upset about this, help someone who is struggling with depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, and other forms of mental illness.

Be there to listen to someone (hint, turn off your cellphone while listening; seeing your head bent over your phone as you absently say uh-huh at maybe the right spots will probably just remind them of how messed up the world is).
Take the time to be in the moment.

I’ve been a fan of Robin Williams since I saw him as Mork (first on Happy Days then on Mork and Mindy).
I liked most of his work, funny or serious or seriously funny.

We watch people on screens and think we know them. We don’t.
We don’t know what is in their heart, in their minds.
We don’t know what haunts them, or drives them, sometimes they don’t even know themselves.

I even willingly (more or less) went to bed Friday nights so I could get up early to watch cartoons like:
Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Hour,

Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear (hey Boo-Boo!), Space Ghost,
Jabberjaw, The Banana Splits, The Pink Panther Show, The Jetsons, The Flintstones,

Mighty Mouse, Hong Kong Phooey (before political correctness),
and probably more that I can’t think of off the top of my head.

There have been other changes in society. The divorce rate has increased significantly since then and now many children live between homes.
More recreational sports now. Anything else?

Plenty more people have been extremely supportive.
Thank you to family and friends, those who have pressed like, or shared, or reblogged, or followed, or subscribed, tweeted and retweeted, given me awards, or a combination. It means more than you’ll ever know, really.

Lived in one home for 50 years?
Move every 5 years?
Or every few months?
No matter, human beings acquire stuff.