[  Mood: Distorted ]
[ Currently: Breastfeeding My Son ]
In honour of the inauguration, I have several Obama links. There are some non-Obama links in the latter half of the email. Please enjoy!

Obamaicon
Take a picture and turn it into an Obama hope poster.

Whitehouse.gov before and after
Very striking and very telling.

How the Internet has changed
Using whitehouse.gov as an example.

Lego Inauguration
Way, way, way too much time on their hands. Of course Barbara bush is hillarious.

Yes pecan
Yup. You just read that.

Obamaawesome
What a cool action figure. Did you know Obama was a samurai? That he took on Vader?

Come Back In A Week
Funny.

And now some non-Obama choices.

You can smoke fewer cigarettes by smoking longer ones
Now that I know, my life is much less complicated.

The Secret Saved My Life
Funny.

WIND FARM UPDATE: More UFO Sightings
Who knew that that the aliens had issues with windfarms? (And I appologize if someone else has already posted this here – I searched, but could not find.)

Whiskas Advertising – Wild Cats
This man gets more than he bargained for.

Whiskas – According to Hubert
So funny.

[  Mood: Happy ]
So I am planning on entering a contest being run by CBC here in Canada called Canada Writes. Category: Blog entry.

Now I am an avid environmentalist, so recycling is important. Hense I am going to reuse some of my blog posts.

This is where you come in. Yes, you, the two people who read my blog besides my mother. Which previous, finely crafted ruminations should I use?

My faves:
International Year of Mixed Fibres
Would Be Assasins Take Note
Best Thing I Saw Today
Oh, My Poor Cat!
Admitting You Have a Problem Is the First Step
What Makes One Great
Poozooka
Forget Kingdom of the Crystal Skull . . .
Wiarton Willy is a Big, Fat Fraud!

What do you think?

[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
So the United Nations has declared 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fibres.

And believe me, in the fandom community, that has huge implications.

All those polyester jumpsuits and unitards bought for Halowee’en costumes and convention masquerades are out! Instead, Jedi robes are de riguer.

Now before you start gnashing your teeth with dispair, this might actually be a good thing. The average size and shape of a sci-fi fan reinforces the old saying, "spandex is a priviledge, not a right". We don’t need the Comic Book guy refering to any outfit as his second skin. Even as a cartoon, this is a therapy inducing image.

Plus, with enough draping, the new-natural fiber costumes could double as sleeping bags when we are camping out in line for the next big thing. And there would be room in the pockets for all of our collectibles, negating the need to live in our parents’ basement. Finally, they can install that jacuzzi!

It’s a win-win!

[  Mood: Amused ]
[  Currently: Watching My son sneak up on Husband Unit – repeatedly ]
I just had a thought about anyone who thinks they can assasinate Barak Obama during the inauguration.

For your own sake, don’t.

Because any fool who pulls a gun out tomorrow will find themselves beaten into a pulp by the crowd. That’s right, grannies with their purses, formerly disenfranchised youth, Hollywood celebrities by the limo load, heck even ObamaGirl and Oprah are going to lay down a smackdown that will make those wolves Palin shot from the helicopter feel sorry for you. Trust me, the secret service will not be able to make it to you in time.

And all of this will happen as the crowd chants,

"No, you can’t! No, you can’t! No, you can’t!"

So those of you with murderous intensions tomorrow, stay home. Have some Ovaltine instead.

[  Mood: In Love ]
[ Currently: Breastfeeding My Son ]

Joanne Baldwin does not have an easy life. She’s no longer a weather warden, but trouble keeps finding her. She has also managed to develop a new set of powers, that of fire. Problem is, Joanne has no time to learn how to use these powers because Mother Earth is going nuts.

There are out of control weather systems, massive eartquakes and killing forest fires. Apparently Nature has decided that humans are a plague upon the earth and she is going to eradicate them. The truth proves to be far more complex than even that, involving demon marks and a propaganda campaign lead by Ashan.

Joanne has also discovered that she is a mother . . . of a full-grown half-djinn/half-human daughter who is two days old. Her djinn lover (and father of her child, David) has gone insane, along with the rest of the free djinn. Weather Wardens are dying by the hundreds as the djinn turn on their former masters. Meanwhile, Ashan, leader of the elder djinn, is ot to kill Joanne. Oh, yeah, and her sister is still in the clutches of Eamond who wants Joanne to get him a djinn.

Joanne is having her regular crappy day.

Rachel Cain is a master of the supernatural chick-lit genre. The story keeps you turning pages and guessing what is going to happen next. Joanne is an engaging heroine that readers will find easy to get along with. The reast of the characters are vibrant and complex. Cain’s wirting is witty, full of quotes for the quote-o-matic.

If you have not yet endulged in this urban fantasy, I would strongly recommend it.

[  Mood: Amused ]
[  Currently: Watching My son play ]
Well the bus strike and the deep freeze drag on here in Ottawa. Next plan of city council? A consultant’s report. And that is going to cost us how much? By the time they settle this, the city will have spent all the money they hoped to have saved several times over. (P.S. Geeklet’s new favourite toy – an old pot. Just so you know.)

Photos of Hudson River Plan Crash and Rescue
You may have heard this on the news Thursday. These are still photos of from someone’s window. The most inspiring part is the ferries that pull up to rescue the trapped passengers. Humanity at its best.

Military uses Barack Obama stand-in at the dress rehearsal for presidential inauguration
Kind of cool to see the rehersal for the inaguration.

Handmade Toy Alliance
A side affect of the lead paint/tainted toys scandal. In the US, little handmade toys like the truck we bought Geeklet for Christmas could be a thing of the past.

Teen Graduates Early, With a Double Major
Feel inadequate yet?

Ultra-Minimalism: 19 Cool Products That Are Almost Impossible to Use
Like something out of a sci-fi movie.

If You Can Read This, You’re In Range!
I believe I have lived this on a Rememberance Day while in the SJA mobile when our driver decided it would be a smart idea to pull into the convoy of really big trucks returning the artillery guns to base.

10 Worst Hotel Reviews of All Time
Here’s a tip. Do not stay in any of these places.

Last Supper Together
Touching and heartbreaking.

[  Mood: Cool ]
[ Currently: Guess ]
I have been pretty vocal in my criticism of businesses that provide crappy customer service. Now I have a chance to talk about some good stuff.

Long story made short. Husband Unit and I have been having some problems with our grocery store. The service from certain cashiers has been, at best, surly. The photolab keeps messing up our orders. Attempts to bring this to the attention of management both in person and via web forums hit dead ends.

Then yesterday I got to speak to the store manager about my concerns. And wow, talk about service.

First, she appologized. Second, she asked for more details of what happend. Third, she outlined what they had already done to rectify the situation. Fourth, she asked what else she could do to keep my business. She pretty much had to force a $50 reimbursement on me for some calendars that had been misprinted. Sixth, she agreed with me that the website had not been helpful in their response and pointed out how they could have done their job better. Finally, she stated that her store needed this feedback because this is how they grow to serve the public better.

Believe me, I will continue to shop at Loblaws Vanier Market because of this woman. The company should give her a raise, because she kept my business.

[  Mood: Silly ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
So it is time for Ottawa’s annual coldsnap. And that means it is time for me to bring that news to you.

In the next three days it is going to be cold. Very cold. It is currently -26 C. For my fareinheit friends this is -15 F. And then we add the windchill, which makes it feel like -39 C or -38 F. Exposed flesh freezes in about five minutes at that temperature.

And it is only going to get colder as the week goes on.

At my school, I can guarentee that the kids will be kept inside during all recesses. Oh boy! Some of my favourite days! Too bad I am on mat leave.

Did I mention that we are in the 36th day of a transit strike in Ottawa? With no imminent end in sight. Cause our mayor is an idiot who thinks negotiating through the media is a good strategy. And is going to court for election fraud in April.

Hey, I didn’t vote for him.

And at this temperature, it is too cold for salt to work melting ice on the roads. So they are slippery. And given the strike, there are lots of extra cars on the road. And given the temperature, there will be more as the people who are walking take their cars today.

Downtown parking has been a premium during the strike. Apparently all the spots are pretty much gone by 7:30 am. Now let’s add more cars because of the temperature.

These next three days could be the most chaotic days of the year.

Needless to say, the boy and I are staying home.

[  Mood: Distorted ]
[ Currently: Guess ]

Starclimber is the third installment of Kenneth Oppel’s steampunk saga that began with Airborne. This volume sees Matt and Kate heading to the stars. The Canadian Space Agency wants to be the first in space. (That’s right – the Canadians!) Their plan is a ship that rolls up a counterweighted cable to the stars. (The French are building a tower. That’s right – the French!) But can they go higher than anyone else has ever gone and comeback safely? What about the Bablelites who don’t think humans should be in the relm of God and are sabotaging all of the various efforts?

This book is an an exciting read, full of action, romance and imaginative world building. (For example, the people who will be pilotting the spaceship are called astralnaughts. Oh, so clever.) Oppel has again proven that he is a master of young adult fiction and the science fiction genre. And while this wraps up the story of Matt and Kate quite nicely, I can’t help but wish for another installment, but I don’t see an obvious way to contniue without weakening the overall series.

This was an amazing, engrossing read. EVERYONE should read this series, regardless of their age. This is so going into the next After Harry.

[  Mood: Cool ]
[ Currently: Breastfeeding My Son ]

This the third installment of the Anne of Green Gables Saga. In this one, Anne is finally off to university. And as anothedr reviewer has noted, it is hard to see Anne grow up. Simply she is not getting into scrapes the way she used to, which robs the book of some of its charm. Montgomery tries to mediate this with the character of Davy, but it is not the same.

Still it is a lovely book. First off you get the resolution of the Anne/Gilbert love story. Secondly, you get to see the wonderful Phil, who is flighty and just fun, and really closer to what Anne should be like as she ages. Thirdly, you get a wonderful treates on cats in the characters of Rusty and Sarah-cat. Finally, Anne grows up through the romance with Royal where she realizes what real love is.

A fun read.