Lord Tennyson Charge

At Toastmasters today i was working from a brand new manual. My speech today was an interpretive poetry reading. It's just a good thing it wasn't an interpretive dance, that might have been uncomfortable.

"This poem was written to memorialize a suicidal charge by light cavalry over open terrain by British forces in the Battle of Balaclava (Ukraine) in the Crimean War (1854-56). 247 men of the 637 in the charge were killed or wounded. Britain entered the war, which was fought by Russia against Turkey, Britain and France, because Russia sought to control the Dardanelles. Russian control of the Dardanelles threatened British sea routes." - National Center

/it's probably important to note that the Battle of Balaclava was in Ukraine, not "The Ukraine"... would you say "The" Canada?
//don't mind me, i just watched an episode of Corner Gas where Oscar was on that exact rant about pronouncing "the" Ukraine. Heh.

Alfred Lord Tennysonis known for writing The Charge of the Light Brigade (and not nearly as well known for wild wild hair)

"Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Some one had blundered:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre-stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!"

/worth the read!
//Now you're even more cultured... you can thank me later.

Era & Captain Caveman

Aside from a healthy dose of Baby Einstein, tonights educational moment has been courtesy of Sesame Street... and dad. :)



/That clip is oldskool...

//hmmm, seems like some folks don't like the idea of captain caveman & son watching much tv. (according to the above Baby Einstein link). i wonder if youtube clips count???

Buffet: Squander & Thrift

"take a wildly fanciful trip with me to two isolated, side-by-side islands of equal size, Squanderville and Thriftville. Land is the only capital asset on these islands, and their communities are primitive, needing only food and producing only food. Working eight hours a day, in fact, each inhabitant can produce enough food to sustain himself or herself. And for a long time that's how things go along. On each island everybody works the prescribed eight hours a day, which means that each society is self-sufficient."

- Warren Buffet explains "Why I'm not buying the U.S. dollar -
America's growing trade deficit is selling the nation out from under us. Here's a way to fix the problem -- and we need to do it now."

Not since my father read my sister and i the book "The Doozer Who Didn't" have i heard such *wildly fanciful* warnings. And, if memory serves, these two stories are remarkably similar... I hope that you enjoy the link to the Wall Street Fortune. thank you Warren Buffet.

Link Superbowl 42

There is no football game this Sunday. Last Sundays football game didn't quite go according to plan. Irregardless, next Sunday (February 3rd 2008) is Super Bowl 42. If you haven't made plans to see the game live in Phoenix, this might be your next best option!

Pats versus Giants - History in the making?

We will be watching the game on the big screen at the Link. We've got a CFL player or two to interview during half time... We will hear from a longtime chaplain for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, winners of the 2007 Grey Cup.




Watching the game is free... the pizza will cost 5 bucks, if you want some.




Feel free to print out the above ticket, but you won't need it... we won't be turning folks away. :)

/To RH for layout help with the above poster & ticket... much thanks! See you at the game.

Chargers to Play in London

"It looks like the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints will be the next group of NFL teams to take their show overseas. - Chargers and Saints to meet in London on October 26th, 2008" - ESPN

/ROAD TRIP!
//Oh, THAT London... this might take a little more planning, and a lot more commitment than the other London.

Rethinking the Reserve

Shackled by red tape: "Even when First Nations wants to get ahead they find that leveraging their land is far from easy" - National Post
/worth the read

Violence in Kenya

Ethnic Violence reignites in Kenya

Yeah, ODM & PNU are talking... but the communication (as blunt as it is) is not all it's cracked up to be.

Friends traveling to Africa with AIA this April have been encouraged to drop Kenya from their destination list... instead spending a longer stay in Zambia.

Alberta Homeless Secretariat

"The focus of the secretariat, which reports to the Honourable Yvonne Fritz, Associate Minister of Affordable Housing and Urban Development, will be to develop and oversee the implementation of a 10-year strategic plan to address homelessness across Alberta. It will work closely with municipalities to co-ordinate and support the development of their community plans to ensure the homeless are receiving the services and support they need." - Alberta Government Press Release
"MURRAY PROKOSCH, Member - Mr. Prokosch is from Medicine Hat where he gained 20 years of experience in the construction industry, leading to the creation of Classic Construction Ltd., a company that provides housing for first-time buyers."

Local Developer Appointed to Secretariat - Medicine Hat News

Ramones More & Less

At lunch today i tried to sing the Spiderman theme song from tv when i was growing up. i butchered it... so, to ensure era's proper growth and development, i will post the real song, and we will listen to it repeatedly. (there will be a test on this later...)
/i can hardly wait to let him read the old comics i have stashed away.





You know that the spiderman theme song was epoch changing because the Ramones chose to cover it, as the above youtube video shows.



And to complete era's evening development, i posted some More & Less Bert & Ernie... always good!

Tongue on Post & Worms

i just took a call from Marty reminding me that the Medicine Hat Folk Music Club's premier annual event "Tongue on the Post Folk Fest" was this weekend coming up (look for Zubot & Dawson). Friday & Saturday January 25 & 26, 2008. Tickets are available at fine establishments throughout the City, or at the door of the event, taking place at the Medicine Hat College Theatre.

I recall some of the very first Jazz festival shows at that venue, in fact... about 12 years ago i fell in love with the Worms at that venue... only to see them year after year at the Canmore Folk Music Festival.

The Arrogant Worms were always a highlight of an otherwise stunning festival.

/let's see if Youtube does the worms justice:


That's been a fun memory, thanks for the call Marty. Heh.

Chargers Lose

Brady was beatable... the Pats were beatable...
The Chargers lost. Not the way i wanted that game to end. The Chargers must (i repeat *must*) score touchdowns... gah.

It would have been one of the biggest NFL upsets in history, if the banged up Chargers could have stopped the Pats march towards the perfect season. woulda, coulda, shoulda. Playing LT for more than a series or two would have been nice.

HEMA - online winkelen

Occasionally one might find true brilliance on the interweb. Absolute stunning beauty and design... from time to time it can be found. Honest.

HEMA - Online Winkelen is such a site. Visit... and wait for the flash player to load. It is worth it, i guarantee it! Stunning quality and visual stimulus in a sort of ode to mouse-trap. Ahh, those creative Dutch.

/thanks to instapundit, where i first found the online winekelen, proving once again that bloggers are quite lunatic. Kinetic art, whether a product of Flash, as displayed by HEMA, or within physical reality, as display by Tim Fort below; kinetic artistry is a lot of fun.

//Tim Fort's video may be the longest domino sequence ever! at least that is how he bills it.

Weijers Domino Productions: The Number 1 Dominotainment Company in the World. The Dutch appear to take dominotainment extremely seriously. wow. A blogger by the name of JackMonkey does a fine job of providing a background and synopsis of this apparent dominoluminati, and manages to bridge a Pet Shop Boys video into the conversation...

The interweb is a strange strange place.

Residential Development

For all the work i've been a part of working with municipalities throughout Alberta... i've never seen anything like what is being claimed out in Ontario: "...a home builder in Caledonia, said there is a climate of fear among developers in his area" - National Post

It's quite apparent, to me anyways, that if we were looking to build that far outside of the Alberta market, i'd chose Langford over the Caledonia area (due to it's apparent uncertainty at least).

No matter, Norwood Grande (right here in Medicine Hat) is still top of mind!

LINKworthy

Brent & Tawm Rosendal are serving in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Full time ministry. As if that wasn't exciting enough... now they have a son; Owen. The link to their blog is brentandtawm.blogspot.com

Sean & Lisa Furlong just left for New Delhi. They, and their two boys will be serving in India for the next three months. They have just set up a new blog location to track this trip... i sure encourage them to post often. I know how great a point of communication the blog can be over an extended time away from family. The link to their new blog is; thefurlongs.blogspot.com

Hasbro Litigates Scrabulous

"Rather than participating in the online gaming market, Hasbro is suppressing it with litigation. Scrabulous, a Scrabble imitation, is already fighting to prevent being shut down." - Slashdot

i've not joined facebook yet, but for those who have, Scrabulous is a big reason why, or so i hear. :)

Tony Sporano

It's all over the sports news today. ESPN is covering it. Jim Rome talked about it this morning on the Jungle.

The dolphins went 1-15 this year... terrible is too nice a descriptor. But they have assured themselves a Superbowl ring next year, the year after at the latest. Seriously, what team hires Tony Soprano for head coach and doesn't demand to win right away. What NFL team crosses that family?

/i guess i'm not the first (and i'm sure i won't be the last) to notice the similarity in names between Soprano & Sporano. Heh... "Discussing his new job as Miami Dolphins coach, Tony Sparano sounded like Tony Soprano."

Rotary Classification & Housing

i woke up painfully early this morning. Tuesday morning breakfasts are Sunrise Rotary time. Unlike other Tuesday morning meetings, today i gave my classification speech. Unlike Toastmasters first speech, which is an Ice Breaker of 3 to 5 minutes, the Rotary Classification speech is 10-15 minutes of me, and my classification, or my career & history. I didn't dwell on me for too long, and instead, after a brief history of CCL got directly into housing. Housing & Africa, two things dear to my heart. It was a small turn out, likely due to the weather, but it went well enough.
Good times.

into my discussion of housing i worked a story of homes built for the Masaii people... and i took the opportunity to highlight a fantastic Rotary initiative; Shelterbox... Well worth the research, and well worth the support.

Count & the Mail

/more father and son time, spent well!

Chargers Win

How about those Chargers... that's my NFL team.

It's time to visit this link again, and listen to the music file linked!

Final Four - The Chargers move on and face the Pats next.

Fast 50 - Two Years In A Row

Local company Classic Construction is recognized as one of fastest growing companies in Alberta – again.

Click this link here, you'll see Classic listed 10th!

Classic is again the only company in South Eastern Alberta recognized as one of Alberta’s Fastest Growing Companies.

CCL locally owned & founded in 2002. Employer of me since 2006.

CCL is residential real estate developer specializing in affordable housing.
Past Classic Communities include: River Park Townhomes, Northland Villas, Northland Estates & Ranchland Estates.

Current Classic Communities include: Northlands Pointe (By Crescent Heights Co-op), Somerset Villas (behind Home Depot), Terrace Ridge Villas (Ranchlands), Norwood Grande (13th avenue property) & Sunrise Terrace Villas in High River.

Classic is currently working on a second site in High River. Classic is also in the process of developing land in Brooks Alberta & Canmore Alberta.

/another blogger released this info last year before i did after Classic Construction's first Fast 50 recognition (<- here) but this year, i'm going straight to you all myself. Good news will travel fast, the news will get out.

Basketball & the Push Off

NBA Finals 1998. i remember where i watched every game. I remember who i was with, and if i think hard i might remember what i ate... what i drank was easy; coffee.

The 1998 finals were the Bulls sixth title, which meant it was Jordan & Pippen & co's second three-peat. i was not rooting for the bulls on this one. i wanted Stockton and Malone to get their ring (both have since retired without a championship, Malone even came close with the Lakers - but probably regrets not suiting up with the Heat.)

The sixth game ended with Jordan shooting over (thru?) Bryon Russell. Bulls were down by one, then they were up by one; game over, series over. For almost ten years i've been jousting with basketball fans (and good friends) about Jordans "push off" of Russell to create separation on that last fateful shot. Surely it was an offensive foul. i have the game on DVD and, to torture myself i watch it... like yesterday afternoon era and i watched it, again.

You can see the grainy shot at 2:54 of the below youtube video. if you care...

/and if you watch the whole video, 4:44 was beautiful too, no?

Guess what? it might not have been that much of a push off, in fact... after all this time it now occurs to me that motive may have been involved in the announcers calling of that shot. See, as the live broadcast records, it was Isiah Thomas who commented, in the heat of the moment that Jordan got away with a push off, he then goes on to talk about Super stars getting that treatment. Golly, Thomas never EVER had any bad things to say about Jordan did he? (for the record, yeah, i think those two had some moments of opposition.)

So, while i'm not a Jordan fan per se, and i still believe the "five point swing" in that game should have gotten the Jazz to a seventh game, i might actually be at rest when considering the push-off, or lack there of. Fans can be rabid, and blind. i suppose i may have edged that territory... i should have taken note of the Thomas angle back then... but it took a few years. All that being said, i still intend to harass Jordan/Bulls fans with the push-off comment. It's just good clean fun!

Speaking of Pippen, while watching the game (where Pippens' back is uber sore) Renee asks if Pippen was really all that good? "Of course" i said, Jordan didn't win any rings without Pip (just like Kobe hasn't won any without Shaq). In fact, at 42 Pippen is still playing pro ball... accross the pond: Pippen Scores in Finnish League

Papa & My Tender Heart

Papa Do You Love Me?

Author Barbara Joose writes this in response to the question, why did you place this story with the Masaai people of Kenya?

"Why did I write a story that takes place in Kenya? Why are the father and son Maasai?

Partly because Kenya is a bright and beautiful place. Partly because the Maasai culture is interesting. Also, life on the mara can be very hard. There are lions and hyenas and dryness. Messing up, on the mara, can be very dangerous.

When I was in Kenya, I could see the ways Maasai families are different from my own. But when I watched papas with their children, I could see the same tenderness and pride and big Papa-smiles I could see on my own Papa's face. And then, I could see the parts that were the same." - Barbara Joose

This is a phenomenal book that i picked up a year ago. I read it to era often... so often now that i quote bits of it to him when we are chatting. I only think to post this right now because very good friends of ours are expecting their first child this spring, and i think this book could be as grand a gift for them as it has been for era and i.

Thanks to the Google book project, you can read this childrens book online, you'll love it, and want to own a copy for sure!

ODM PNU: Talking?

The Standard, Kenya's national newspaper reports that Kibaki & Odinga are talking, it just doesn't appear that they are talking to one another; yet.

"That was how close President Kibaki and Raila were to the negotiating table yesterday - as Mombasa exploded with teargas and mayhem.

The two extremes were what peacemakers were trying to bring together as a humanitarian crisis loomed in Nairobi due to disruption of the traditional food supply chain into the heavily populated capital." - AllAfrica.com

Kenyan Economy Taking Dive

"Until last week, Kenya was one of the most promising countries on the continent, but the ethnic violence, fueled by political passions, is threatening to ruin that reputation. The economy, one of the biggest in Africa, has ground to a halt. Roads are blocked. Shops are closed. Factories are idle. The currency, the Kenyan shilling, is taking a dive." - NY Times

An excellent, thoughtful post by Kenyan blogger Bankelele. Well worth the read! It casts a slightly different, if ominous perspective that only a local could provide.
/great choice of black and white pic for the post, by the way!

Era - Pez

Era helped me take stock of my PEZ collection the other day. i had the digi-cam out and was updating my inventory with digital pics. Era likes pics... and he loved the Pez i gave him for all his help.









The E.T. pez era has in the last two pictures is one i bought in Kenya... at a super market in Nairobi. The super market was on the main floor of an open air 3 story mall... lots of stairs, and lots of fun.

Kenyan Tipping Point

Blogging was quiet over New Years, we were out of town.
i commented in a post last week that the Kenyan election "might not end well".
It has escalated.

How the polls were messed up - "THE heavy cloud hovering Kenya's future has been further darkened by the Chairman of Electoral Commission (ECK) Samuel Kivuitu who admitted that he is not sure whether incumbent Mwai Kibaki actually won last week's presidential elections." Read that whole article, it has even more damning news related to the election, and how it appears to have been corrupted.

- For articles like that and many more, visit this Kenya news page by AllAfrica.com

- BBC News Africa continues to be a good resource.

Canada is reported within The Standard, Kenya's National Newspaper; "the Canadian Foreign Affairs minister, Maxime Bernier, urged the Government to urgently address the election irregularities in a timely, transparent and thorough manner. The minister also criticised the suspension on live broadcasts. "The suspension of live broadcasts, irregularities in reporting of results and any move to restrict legitimate scrutiny of election results are serious concerns."

The Toronto Star reports Canada's Foregn Affairs Minister.

I spoke with a good friend this morning regarding mission & humanitarian travel to Kenya; groups expect travel to Kenya to be postponed, suspended or canceled all together, just as many countries begin advising travel to Kenya be avoided. Kenya, stable and reasonably safe these last few years, is in the midst of a potential tipping point. Not good.