Well, July is almost done, and my summer vacation is half over. It has been a very interesting vacation so far. A couple weeks ago we had a phone call from my sister in Clagary who was frazzled with having to move. She and her husband had bought a house in Calgary and were trying to get moved before they left on their trip to Chicago. We were supposed to get to Calgary on July 16 to house sit for them while they were gone, and ended up dropping everything at home to get there a few days early. I can say this, moving furniture in 30+ oC temperatures is no picnic. We drove Annie down to Lethbridge to have her stay with family there, then back up to Calgary to help with the move.
Tara and the family left on the 19th, and Jen and I looked after their mini-menagerie while they were gone. In addition to watching Disturbia at the theatres (excellent flick), going to the Calgary Zoo, and catching up with some friends, we also had our Harry Potter fix. We caught the latest movie while Tara was still here, went to some Harry Potter parties on Friday night (they had a portion of downtown Calgary set up as Diagon Alley), then bought and read the last book on Saturday. Jen started it at about 8:30 and was done by 4pm. I got it next and finished it Sunday afternoon. Very intense book. Jen also watched a whole lot of Buffy, and I played a whole lot of City of Heroes.
Yesterday we made it back to Lethbridge, were reuinted with Annie, and will be looking after our neice and nephew for the next week. We are also hoping to see the Simpsons movie today and possibly a couple others (I'm hoping to catch Transformers for the second time). Before we left Calgary, however, Jen bought me my belated birthday present: WKRP in Cincinatti Season 1! I'm already done the first disc. This brings me to this issues top 10 list:
My top 10 Favorite Sitcoms of All Time:
10. 3rd Rock From the Sun (nobody goes over the top better than John Lithgow)
9. ALF (he's back, in Pog form)
8. Everybody Loves Raymond (I'm glad my family isn't like his)
7. The Cosby Show (Cos rules!)
6. Happy Family (only on for one season, but Jen and I loved it. John Laroquette is brilliant)
5. The Simpsons (19 years and counting)
4. Dinosaurs (Not The Mamma!)
3. Night Court (If I am ever brought before a judge, I hope it'll be like that one)
2. Corner Gas (I've been were they film it! Nothing sums up Saskatchewan better than this show)
1. WKRP in Cincinatti (here is my favorite clip)
Friday, July 27, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
More Than Meets The Eye
Wow, what a day yesterday. Happy July 4th to my American friends and family. Anyways, back to the story (which I never really got started. Oops). Yesterday Jen and I decided to make a trip to Saskatoon for a bit of shopping, civilization, and most importantly to see the new movie Transformers on the big Galaxy screen. I had originally thought a trip to Lloydminster would have sufficed, but thankfully Jen convinced me to make the splurge and go see it on the big screen. What was supposed to be a fun trip turned into something a bit more interesting. After a stop at the North Battleford WalMart, where I happened to find Season 9 of Stargate SG-1 and the Zoo Tycoon 2 Marine Mania expansion both for really cheap, we proceeded to head towards Saskatoon. About 40 km out, our poor old Sundance (which we have started calling the Blueberry...thanks again for that Mom Hill!) started to shake like it was coming apart. I began to slow down, and then it really started to go haywire. We pulled over and found that the front right tire had just had what can only be described as a spectacular blow out. I have had a tire go out on me before, but this was amazing. The tire was shredded. Caputs. Gonzo. It was horrendous. So here we are on the highway, changing the tire for the little donut tire, and we're heading back to Battleford to get a new one. Since you are only supposed to go 80 km/h on the donut, 40 km never seemed so long. I swear, nuns on bicycles were passing us.
We made it the Fountain Tire, and expecting a major delay I was kissing my ultimate movie experience good-bye for the day. Don't get me wrong, the situation could have been a lot worse. A blowout like that could have been a lot more dangerous, and we were relatively close to Battleford at the time. Still, when you have been hoping for something for a week and realize that the fates may be conspiring against you, it is a bit of a bummer to have to put it aside for the time being. Thankfully, the Fountain Tire people helped us out quickly, and $85 bucks later we were back on the road. And here we were wondering what to do in Saskatoon before the movie, now we were heading in with only minutes to spare.
Suffice it to say, the movie was worth all of the hassle. For over 2 hours, I sat there, reliving my childhood where to the chagrin of my parents I spent countless hours watching the original cartoon. It was breathtaking, exciting, and a whole lot of fun. I am so glad that they went with the Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime (he was the original voice in the cartoon). The movie was everything that a die-hard fan like myself could have wanted. Even better was that Jen really liked it as well. So although I really wanted our beat up car to transform itself into something a little more reliable, we hopped in and headed back home (with a quick grocery trip thrown in).
Today's top 10 list: Top 10 Fictional Heroes from my Childhood
10. Robin Hood - I still remember running around the house with an old wire coat hanger that I used as my bow.
9. He-Man - I'm talking the original, although a few of the later re dos of the show have been good. By the way, why didn't anyone realise that He-Man was simply Prince Adam with a tan?
8. Spiderman - loved the cheesy old cartoon. It's what now, 50 years old?
7. Kermit the Frog - OK, he has no super powers, is an amphibian, and eats bugs for lunch, but still, Kermit was the coolest for keeping everything on the Muppet Show together as well as he did.
6. Superman - nobody has done it better before or since than Christopher Reeves. I miss him.
5. Luke Skywalker - I liked him better than Han Solo as a kid because I felt I was more like him.
4. Indiana Jones - Unlike him, I don't hate snakes, jump large pits, and win the girl with charm and rugged good looks. This is more of a "I wish I was more like him" entry.
3. MacGyver - oh, if only I could make a high yield explosive out of a paperclip, some mud, and a stick of chewing gum like he could!
2. Captain Picard - this was the tail end of my childhood, but as I get older it is reassuring for me to see that bald is manly.
1. Optimus Prime - no other hero is as awesome as Prime was. He was the embodiment of all that is good and heroic in the world, and he's not even from around here! yes, I still have my Optimus Prime action figure.
Have a great day, and in the words of Optimus Prime...Autobots, roll out!
We made it the Fountain Tire, and expecting a major delay I was kissing my ultimate movie experience good-bye for the day. Don't get me wrong, the situation could have been a lot worse. A blowout like that could have been a lot more dangerous, and we were relatively close to Battleford at the time. Still, when you have been hoping for something for a week and realize that the fates may be conspiring against you, it is a bit of a bummer to have to put it aside for the time being. Thankfully, the Fountain Tire people helped us out quickly, and $85 bucks later we were back on the road. And here we were wondering what to do in Saskatoon before the movie, now we were heading in with only minutes to spare.
Suffice it to say, the movie was worth all of the hassle. For over 2 hours, I sat there, reliving my childhood where to the chagrin of my parents I spent countless hours watching the original cartoon. It was breathtaking, exciting, and a whole lot of fun. I am so glad that they went with the Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime (he was the original voice in the cartoon). The movie was everything that a die-hard fan like myself could have wanted. Even better was that Jen really liked it as well. So although I really wanted our beat up car to transform itself into something a little more reliable, we hopped in and headed back home (with a quick grocery trip thrown in).
Today's top 10 list: Top 10 Fictional Heroes from my Childhood
10. Robin Hood - I still remember running around the house with an old wire coat hanger that I used as my bow.
9. He-Man - I'm talking the original, although a few of the later re dos of the show have been good. By the way, why didn't anyone realise that He-Man was simply Prince Adam with a tan?
8. Spiderman - loved the cheesy old cartoon. It's what now, 50 years old?
7. Kermit the Frog - OK, he has no super powers, is an amphibian, and eats bugs for lunch, but still, Kermit was the coolest for keeping everything on the Muppet Show together as well as he did.
6. Superman - nobody has done it better before or since than Christopher Reeves. I miss him.
5. Luke Skywalker - I liked him better than Han Solo as a kid because I felt I was more like him.
4. Indiana Jones - Unlike him, I don't hate snakes, jump large pits, and win the girl with charm and rugged good looks. This is more of a "I wish I was more like him" entry.
3. MacGyver - oh, if only I could make a high yield explosive out of a paperclip, some mud, and a stick of chewing gum like he could!
2. Captain Picard - this was the tail end of my childhood, but as I get older it is reassuring for me to see that bald is manly.
1. Optimus Prime - no other hero is as awesome as Prime was. He was the embodiment of all that is good and heroic in the world, and he's not even from around here! yes, I still have my Optimus Prime action figure.
Have a great day, and in the words of Optimus Prime...Autobots, roll out!
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