July 17: Your Addiction

oh…. and my Cafe Vienna!

July 4th: Fun

It is but a memory… but I had so much fun and happiness when I attended the Trek Conventions .

Tribute to DeForest

waaaay funny!

Wizards

King Kong

 

King Kong was on television today so I thought I'd use it for Quest on Screen...

Some, like myself, are old enough to remember the original 1933 King Kong starring Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot.

 

As I look back it seems strange to me that I was so scared watching this black and white movie and yet still managed to cry at the end, even though I was very young!

 

Knowing all the new technology it seems pretty amazing that they did so well making it back in 1933!

But the most recent 2005 version, Peter Jackson, makes King Kong look totally real!  Of all the versions after the Original this is the only one that I like.

..Keeping with the original story the Beast falls in love with Beauty.

But none of it would have been as good as it was if it wasn't for Andy Serkis...

..who, once again, dawned the magic computer dots and acted out all the moves for Kong.

... as if that wasn't enough Andy also played the cook on the ship but gets killed fairly early on. (I guess that was to free him up to be Kong!)

Beauty and the Beast is such a classic tale.  The beast being to big and ugly and beauty finding all the inner beauty to fall for him anyway.

Of course King Kong doesn't get to keep beauty in the end but the love story is there non the less.  ...and when Kong dies at the end I dutifully cried.  Why is it even when I know the ending I keep hoping for a happy ending?! duh! 

Burke and Hare

This is yet "another movie" I found that I want to see that is only out on UK DVD. :o(    ..can I say: "not fair!".

I adore Andy Serkis and most of his work I can't see!

I will admit that I met Andy at a Creations Convention once and found him to be the greatest guy!!  Not only did he give his audience all they wanted (continually using Gollums voice) but was thrilled when I asked him about his appearance in the movie Inkheart. (unfortunately it did not do well in the box office) But everyone loves a bit of laughter and this movie sounds just perfect!!  Maybe I will finally get lucky and one day they will make it for the US to see too!

Burke and Hare

 

Burke and Hare (2010)

91 min  - Comedy/ Thriller . 29 October 2010 UK

A black comedy about two 19th century grave robbers who find a lucrative business providing cadavers for an Edinburgh medical school.

I would really love to have this movie *sigh*  I wonder if they will ever produce it for the USA?

Speaking of Andy Serkis...

Did you know that not only is he reprising his role as Gollum in The Hobbit but he is helping direct!

Perfect Launch!

A perfect Launch on a perfectly cloudless day!!

Ending of an Era

Today may well be the last flight for Endeavor. (depending on the weather).

 

I have loved our space program from the very beginning when Alan Shepard made his historic fifteen minute flight in space. I still can easily envision it in my mind... I was in high school and they stopped everything and put it over the loud speakers. As I would wind up doing for all the early space flights..I cried. I was so relieved when he made splashdown that I cried.

 

...as I cry now. But now it's not "just" for the last flight of Endeavor that I am sad, but for the ending of the space program. Oh, I know NASA will muddle on as best it can, but for most intents and purposes it's come to a screeching halt, and I couldn't be sadder.

 

I was amazingly blessed when NASA had the original Astronauts do an autograph show and it came to NJ. As with all their blastoffs and splashdowns, when I walked into the room where they all sat I felt small and insignificant.. I knew I was in the presence of real live heroes. And I would never feel this way again.

Over these many (many!) years, they have all remained my heroes..

 

 

I wish I could say that I knew the names of all the brave shuttle Astronauts, but I don't. However, that doesn't make them any less heroes. There's not a time we don't need heroes, and it's heartbreaking that the Astronauts of today will no longer will no longer have a space program.

 

I am a firm believer that we live on an unstable planet and moving out into space is not a luxury, not a race, but a necessity if mankind is to survive.  (We may well be getting a few "hints" in all the natural disasters that have been happening all over the world.)  No, I don't think Earth will kill off humanity any time soon... but at the same time I pray that we find a way to safety before it happens.  Will I be alive to see it?  No.  But I believe that this is an instance that gambling all will be well is not an option.

 

Ah well.. those are my thoughts.  I've always felt this way and I guess I always will.  I feel we are very wrong in not going back to the moon.  Maybe not making a space station ON the moon.  But at least learning and developing a more secure vehicle to get our men back. To make it safer before going out even farther into space...

.......which really is "our final frontier".

 

Below are 2 photo's that are probably the highlight of my life...

Dedicated to DeForest

Wallpaper

ummm.. I've been making Avatar Wallpaper...

Always Right...

Remember

Hobbit

Rankin/ Bass .. The Hobbit

Back in the day (1977) when The Hobbit was only a cartoon!!!!

Smile

 

G'DAY, G'DAY
(Kasey Chambers / Slim Dusty)
Slim Dusty

CHORUS:
G'day, G'day, how yer goin'?
Whadya know? Well, strike a light!
G'day, G'day, and how yer go-o-o-in'?
Just say g'day, g'day, g'day and you'll be right

Isn't it great, to be an Aussie
Takin' a walk along the street
Lookin' in shops, or buyin' a paper
Stoppin' and havin' a yarn with people
that you meet
Down at the pub, or at a party
Whenever you're stuck for what to say
If you want to be dinky-di,
why don't you give it a try
Look 'em right in the eye,
and say "Good-day"

CHORUS:
G'day, G'day, how yer goin'?
Whadya know? Well, strike a light!
G'day, G'day, and how yer go-o-o-in'?
Just say g'day, g'day, g'day and you'll be right

Now, when Italians meet, they all go crazy
The folks all like to hug each other, too
The Yanks invented "Hi!" and "see ya later"
While the Pommie will shake your hand and say,
"how do you do?"
Now watch out for a Frenchman, for he'll kiss yer
The Spaniards go for "Hola!" and "Ole!"
But in the land of the cockatoo
Cork hats and the didgeridoo
When you meet an Aussie, ten-to-one,
here's what he'll say...

CHORUS:
G'day, G'day, how yer goin'?
Whadya know? Well, strike a light!
G'day, G'day, and how yer go-o-o-in'?
Just say g'day, g'day, g'day and you'll be right

It's a greeting that you'll hear across Australia
From Geraldton to the Gove and Gundagai
It's as dinkum as the dingo and the dahlia
And you spell it with a "G" apostrophe
a "D.A.Y."

CHORUS
G'day, G'day, how yer goin'?
Whadya know? Well, strike a light!
G'day, G'day, and how yer go-o-o-in'?
Just say g'day, g'day, g'day and you'll be right

CHILD JOINS IN:
G'day, G'day, how yer goin'?
Whadya know? Well, strike a light!
G'day, G'day, and how yer go-o-o-in'?
Just say g'day, g'day, g'day and SHE'LL BE RIGHT!

 

 

Home Among the Gumtrees

I've been around the world a couple of times, or maybe more,
I've seen the sights, I've had delights on every foreign shore,
but when my mates all ask me the place that I adore,
I tell them right away.

Give me a home among the gum trees,
with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a ka-kangaroo.
A clothes line out the back, verandah out the front,
and an old rocking chair.

You can see me in the kitchen cooking up a roast,
or Vegemite on toast, just you and me, a cup of tea.
And later on we'll settle down and mull up on the porch,
and watch the possums play.

Give me a home among the gum trees,
with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a ka-kangaroo.
A clothes line out the back, verandah out the front,
and an old rocking chair.

There's a Safeway up the corner, and a Woolys down the street,
a brand new place theyve opened up where they regulate the heat,
but I'd trade them all tomorrow for a simple bush retreat
where the kookaburras call.

Give me a home among the gum trees,
with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a ka-kangaroo.
A clothes line out the back, verandah out the front,
and an old rocking chair.

Some people like their houses with fences all around,
others live in mansions, and some beneath the ground.
But Me, I like the bush, you know with rabbits running 'round,
and a pumpkin vine out the back.

Give me a home among the gum trees,
with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a ka-kangaroo.
A clothes line out the back, verandah out the front,
and an old rocking chair.

Give me a home among the gum trees,
with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a ka-kangaroo.
A clothes line out the back, verandah out the front,
and an old rocking chair.

Some Reality

This photo is the closest thing I will get to "fall".. there is a tree in the parking area that has acorns!  However, I am doubtful these leaves will give forth with fall colors.

They do remind me of when I was a kid though.  When acorns would fall (brown not green) and with a small knife we would carve out the inside and then poke a small hole in the side and put a tiny twig in and pretend that it was an acorn pipe and then pretend to smoke it.  Where this ritual came from I can't remember.  The fact that I remember doing that at all is a small miracle lol.

So.. that's my touch of Fall.  That's a piece of reality for me.  Most of which I wish I could run away from.  But this little piece... it's not bad. Maybe it's a touch of hope of some sort.  I don't know.  I just know I was surprised when I spotted these little fellows.

A reality I need to work on.. and work on seriously... is my habit of buying books.

I hear many of you saying "ya think?" and "me too!"   I sit here and stupidly try to rationalize spending money on books.. well.. honestly.. I try to rationalize spending any money that isn't a necessity.  But books are the hardest one to deal with.  Right now they are a big part of my sanity. But truthfully, I do have enough TBR books here to do for a number of months. 

What has happened since my move to Florida is that without having the boys to deal with and to talk to it gives me time to dwell on the overwhelming sadness inside of me.

So I "rationalize" my book buying because, they help me.  They also give me a little something to look forward to.  Once ordered I get a little more excited when the mailman arrives wondering if I will have a package instead of a bill.  Believe it or not, the anticipation of the arrival of the book does as much for me as actually reading the book.. maybe more, because it takes longer to get it than to read it!. So at any given time I will suddenly log on to amazon and order a book.  While it's true it's on my wish list and I do want it... the reason I order it at that moment, is to have something to look forward to.

I say things to myself like, "well it's used and cheap".   "I need something to look forward to, life can't be without some joy".   "I'll stop next month" (boy, we all know that one don't we?! yeah right sure we will. dream on)

I know I am not the only person suffering with depression.

I know I am not the only person who sits and wonders, "is this how it all ends? Giving up anything and all that might produce some sibilance of happiness"

The answer to that question is.. yes. This is how it all ends, at least for me.  The worst part is that it will drag on like this for years before it's all over.

So, anyone reading this.. don't try to rush life by. 

Heed the old saying to Stop and Smell the Roses, because you don't get a free "do-over" card. 

You don't get back time. 

You don't get back good health. 

You don't get back youth.  And it does get harder to find (and afford)  those small things that make you happy.

It gets harder to keep getting up and to keep going when there seems to be nothing to look forward to.

So stop right now, think of something that will make you happy.. and do it while you can.  You won't be sorry.

To Die For..

LIsa Snellings has done it again!

Has anyone else seen this poppet?...

(animation by DesLily)

Is this the greatest little thing or what?

I want one!

I already know her name and what she's reading!

Her name is Lilith and she's reading Kesterwood Forest (right Chris?!).

OMG, I mean this is tooo dang cute!

Everyone needs one!

Everyone can name their own and have them reading their favorite books!

I think you need to go to LIsa Snellings site and order yourself one..

..or two. heh.