Lost Moment Seven

I posted the seventh sneak peek for Lost on Lost Fanatic. It's not nearly so revealing as the other Lost moments. I think everyone pretty much expects this stuff to happen.

Day Break Is Gone

Day Break is cancelled. The official press releases said it would be shown online each Wednesday. That's not happening. Maybe those of us who wanted to know who was behind everything will get to see it on DVD someday.

Haruah Is Now A Paying Market

As of the first of January 2007, Haruah will pay for all its stories, poetry, illustrations, and editorials. Stop by and see what we're about.

Afro Samurai

This one looks interesting: Afro Samurai. It's a new anime with Samuel L. Jackson as the lead character. Showing on Spike starting 4 Jan 2007. They have three previews up on their site and an interview with Jackson. The previews are mostly some guy firing guns and Jackson's character protesting. I'm going to check out at least the first episode. Sometimes they have plots, sometimes they don't, but I think with Samuel L. Jackson in the lead, it has more than a chance of being good.

Meerkat Manor

I've been recording Meerkat Manor on my TiVo, but I keep getting reruns. When do the new ones come on? The saddest episode was when Blossom died and I've seen that one three times now.

Lost Sneak Peek Six

The sixth Sneak Peek for Lost aired during Gray's Anatomy. I never watch that, so I was a bit slow finding it. The preview is posted at Lost Fanatic now.

Day Break Brought Back?

Has Day Break been brought back from wherever it is that cancelled shows go? It's on the schedule for Wednesday evening this week.

Happy Feet - Movie Review

Happy Feet is such a funny movie. I loved it. The kids loved it.

The premise of the movie is that there are too few fish in the Antarctic waters. The hero penguin of the movie is blamed for the famine because he is different -- he dances while everyone else sings. He tries to convince the elder penguins he is normal, just different. Then he tries to fake his ability to sing. Finally, he goes on a quest to find out what is happening to the fish, hoping the penguins will appreciate him once he has proven himself.

Happy Feet is a musical, so the penguins sing and dance at every opportunity. I highly recommend this movie. It's good, clean fun and it doesn't contain the heavy-handed moralizing that so many film critics said it did.

Day Break Cancelled

ABC cancelled Day Break.

Snark Infested Waters

One of my fellow editors at Haruah, RL Copple, has been interviewed in this week's issue of Snark Infested Waters. Issue 99 contains nearly an hour of Rick talking about writing, editing, Haruah, and the Double-Edged Publishing empire.

Poinsettias

The very popular poinsettia is the topic of my article at the Garden and Hearth flower gardening site.

Image courtesy of stock.xchng

Haruah Funding Campaign Nearly At An End

The funding campaign for Haruah is nearly over and we're a bit short of funds. We had hoped to become a paying market in 2007, starting in January, but it looks like we may need to push that back some. All donations will go to paying authors and illustrators, with a tiny amount needed to maintain the site itself. The editors (including me) are all volunteer.

If you haven't been by the magazine, it's online here. The stories are appropriate for all ages, although I think the young 'uns would probably rather read something else. Also, the stories reflect a Christian worldview--some explicitly, some implicitly. We've had a lot of top-notch submissions this year and we hope to keep attracting quality writers and artists.

If you can donate even a little, that would be great. Thanks.

Day Break Discussion

Day Break is an excellent show, balancing action and intelligent plot, which so far this season is unfolding just fast enough. Day Break took the place of Lost during the Lost hiatus.

Lost Changes Time Slots

ABC is putting Lost into a later time slot when it starts back up on the seventh of February. Same night, just an hour later.

Christmas Rose

The Christmas Rose is a hellebore, in the same family as the Lenten Rose. It blooms at this time of year. If you're lucky, it might continue blooming through mid-spring. Check out my article on the Christmas Rose.

Sports Illustrated Interviewed Matthew Fox

Sports Illustrated has the outtakes of an interview with Matthew Fox posted at their site. Just because it's the hiatus doesn't mean things are quiet at Lost Fanatic. Stop by to find out what the cast is doing. They usually include tidbits about Lost in their interviews.

Guilherme Marcondi Shorts

Guilherme Marcondi has some talent! If you like the video below, look at the shorts on Marcondi's site. Have your sound on when you watch this.

Sneak Peek Three

Sneak Peek Three is up at Lost Fanatic. They're getting better and better. I can't wait for February 7th.

I also found and posted a version of Sneak Peek Two with Spanish subtitles.

A Few Random Pictures

Animator vs Animation

Here's another one that's popular around our house: Animator vs Animation. Both the first and the second are great. A stick figure decides he doesn't like the animator's plans for him and fights back. Quite amusing.

When I Dream

In looking up the acting careers of the Lost cast, I found out that Yun Jin Kim is a very popular film actress in Asia. I'll have to get hold of some of her movies--dubbed, of course. On Lost Fanatic, I posted When I Dream, a video from Shiri, her first feature film, where she plays a North Korean assassin who falls in love with a South Korean agent.

Book Review -- Flower of the Moment

My book review of Flower of the Moment: A Month-by-Month Guide to the Best 100 Flowering Plants is up at Garden and Hearth. This book is gorgeous and would make an excellent Christmas gift for a gardener.

Second Sneak Peek Preview on Lost

The second sneak peek preview of Lost is on my Lost Fanatic blog. Looks like something's up with Desmond.

Biology News

Come join the discussion of GM foods, fish with personality, and other interesting bits of biology news.

Chad Vader

Have you seen the short films about Chad Vader? He's the younger, less charismatic brother of Darth Vader. It's fine for all ages, but the younger kids probably won't get it. The films are about six or eight minutes each.

Shannon and Boone

I found a video on YouTube put together by chemicalr0mance, a rather talented Lost fan. It's about Shannon and Boone (both characters on the show have died and the actors have moved on to other work) and it's quite sad. Have your speakers on.

Lost Preview

Lost previews will air every week during Day Break, the ABC drama that is taking the place of Lost during the hiatus.

Lost Connection

Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof have a real-life Lost connection in this video.

Counting Constellations

This is an excellent story. "Counting Constellations" took third place in the Haruah contest.

Season Finale of Lost: I Do

Excellent season finale. If you missed it, I have a recap on my Lost Fanatic site.

Lost Action Figures

Can you imagine? Lost action figures! They're going on my Christmas list.

Argiope Aurantia

My photograph of an Argiope aurantia is up at Haruah. This girl was about four inches head to bottom (is that even the right word?) Her legs made her about a foot from front toes to back toes.

Eko's Death

Stop by Lost Fanatic and tell me what you think about Eko's death. Why did the smoke monster judge him so harshly?

Lost Podcast

The official ABC Lost podcast for 30 Oct 2006 is quite revealing. In fact, it contains a spoiler I would rather not know. If you like spoilers, you'll like this week's podcast. Check it out on Lost Fanatic. "Cost of Living" will have the backstory centered around Mr. Eko. It should be interesting.

Fall Blooming Bulbs

I have a new article up on my Flower Gardening site about bulbs that bloom in the fall. I have most of these growing in my garden right now. If they're not already blooming, they're getting ready to bloom.

Every Man For Himself

Last night's Sawyer-centric Lost episode was great! Well, when you're a huge fan like me, they all are. I posted a recap at Lost Fanatic and a list of the Easter eggs and references I found. Drop by and let me know if I found them all. There were a lot.

Locke as the Hunter

In last week's Lost episode backstory, Locke wrestled with the question of whether he was a hunter or a farmer. He wants to be a hunter, but is he? I posted my thoughts at Lost Fanatic. Stop by and let me know what you think.

Fall-Blooming Alliums

I have a new article up on Garden and Hearth - Flower Gardening about alliums that bloom in the fall. Allium is a huge genus that includes onions and garlic, but also has hundreds of ornamental varieties. Most bloom in the spring and early summer, but I've chosen six that bloom in the fall. Check it out here.

Meerkat Manor

Two new episodes every week. This is great. Last night, the Commandos and the Whiskers fought. Remember the Commandos had cornered Flower and a small splinter group of Whiskers in her burrow and it looked grim for the Whiskers. At the last moment, the main group of Whiskers arrived and fought with the Commandos, saving Flower. Everyone in the Whiskers made it home safely that night, although with some scratches. Unfortunately, one of the Commandoes died in the battle--Ozzy, the son of Hannibal.

Later, the Whiskers left Youssarian babysitting the pups by himself. Why do they keep doing this? They should know by now that Youssarian needs babysitting as much as the pups. Youssarian left the pups while he went to flirt with the ladies of the Lazuli. The pups were completely alone and rival meerkats showed up at the burrow. Again, disaster was narrowly missed when the Whiskers returned home and chased off the others. The pups were safe.

Meerkat Manor shows on Friday nights on Animal Planet. Meerkat image courtesy of Animal Planet.

Lost: Further Instructions

I posted an episode recap of "Further Instructions" with comments on Lost Fanatic, including a few Easter eggs that were in last night's show. There's plenty of space for comments and you don't have to register to post.

Lost Podcast

I found the official Lost podcast from ABC for 17 Oct 2006. It had some pretty interesting information on it. You can check out the summary here.

Lost Fanatic: The Red Sox

I have a new post about Lost on my Lost Fanatic site. I talk about the Red Sox and their significance to the show. I even include a photo of a shirtless Sawyer. Stop by and let me know if my theories are totally out in left field.

Spider Lily (Lycoris radiata)

My article on Spider Lilies is posted at Garden and Hearth in the flower gardening section. The spider lilies in my garden came from my mother-in-law's house. She said she had gotten them from her mother-in-law, who got them from her mother. I think it's nifty when a plant has a story or a memory attached to it. This one has a little history.

The spider lily in the above photo has been growing in that spot for several years, but the annuals around it are new every season.

Meerkat Manor

First Mozart is exiled and returns to the group, then Tosca (who seems to have died) is exiled, now Mozart is exiled again. Both girls have been exiled for getting pregnant. This time around, Mozart was so hungry that she miscarried. Now she is trying to get back in. Here's hoping.

Lost Fanatic

Wow! Thanks to everyone who's been stopping by my new site. Lost Fanatic, a web site devoted to the ABC television series, is climbing fast through the ranks. It has recaps of each episode, previews, and commentary. Several people disagree with my thoughts on the show, so it gets interesting. I love hearing others' views.

Cyclamen

My article on cyclamen is posted at Garden and Hearth - Flower Gardening. If you love cyclamen, you'll be interested in the link I provided at the end of the article to the Cyclamen Society.

Sword Review Fiction Contest

The Sword Review is having their annual fiction contest. The theme is "hope" and entries are accepted until 01 Dec 2006.

Lost -- The Glass Ballerina

Moved to Lost Fanatic. Stop by tonight. I'll be on during and after Lost.

Watering the Flower Garden

I have a new article up at Garden and Hearth - Flower Gardening about watering the flower garden. I get a lot of questions about this. Too much water can be just as bad for a plant as not enough.

Garden and Hearth is an online magazine with a readership of over half a million. Topics covered include garden and home (hence the name of the 'zine) as well as jobs, crafts, hobbies, and other things.

I write the flower gardening section.

Cyclamen

My cyclamen are coming along fine. I planted them a few weeks ago. The nursery had a zillion variations on color, but I picked the hot pink and white ones.

These white ones are great. Even though they are low to the ground, the dark green foliage makes them stand out. They can even be seen from the road.

I planted the cyclamen in a sheltered location behind the hibiscus and nandinas. I hope they will survive the winter. They would look lovely in the spring.

On the other hand, the hot pink cyclamen cannot be seen from the road. I rather expected they would be seen from outer space. Alas, my garden is not so noticeable after all. The hot pink cyclamen aren't filling out as well as the white. Maybe they're just slow starters.

Lost -- A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens

Come over to Lost Fanatic and tell me your thoughts.

Here's the first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It seems to me that it provides an outline of underlying currents in the Lost episode of the same name.

From Book the First -- Recalled to Life

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.

It was the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. Spiritual revelations were conceded to England at that favoured period, as at this. Mrs. Southcott had recently attained her five-and-twentieth blessed birthday, of whom a prophetic private in the Life Guards had heralded the sublime appearance by announcing that arrangements were made for the swallowing up of London and Westminster. Even the Cock-lane ghost had been laid only a round dozen of years, after rapping out its messages, as the spirits of this very year last past (supernaturally deficient in originality) rapped out theirs. Mere messages in the earthly order of events had lately come to the English Crown and People, from a congress of British subjects in America: which, strange to relate, have proved more important to the human race than any communications yet received through any of the chickens of the Cock-lane brood.

France, less favoured on the whole as to matters spiritual than her sister of the shield and trident, rolled with exceeding smoothness down hill, making paper money and spending it. Under the guidance of her Christian pastors, she entertained herself, besides, with such humane achievements as sentencing a youth to have his hands cut off, his tongue torn out with pincers, and his body burned alive, because he had not kneeled down in the rain to do honour to a dirty procession of monks which passed within his view, at a distance of some fifty or sixty yards. It is likely enough that, rooted in the woods of France and Norway, there were growing trees, when that sufferer was put to death, already marked by the Woodman, Fate, to come down and be sawn into boards, to make a certain movable framework with a sack and a knife in it, terrible in history. It is likely enough that in the rough outhouses of some tillers of the heavy lands adjacent to Paris, there were sheltered from the weather that very day, rude carts, bespattered with rustic mire, snuffed about by pigs, and roosted in by poultry, which the Farmer, Death, had already set apart to be his tumbrils of the Revolution. But that Woodman and that Farmer, though they work unceasingly, work silently, and no one heard them as they went about with muffled tread: the rather, for as much as to entertain any suspicion that they were awake, was to be atheistical and traitorous.

In England, there was scarcely an amount of order and protection to justify much national boasting. Daring burglaries by armed men, and highway robberies, took place in the capital itself every night; families were publicly cautioned not to go out of town without removing their furniture to upholsterers' warehouses for security; the highwayman in the dark was a City tradesman in the light, and, being recognised and challenged by his fellow-tradesman whom he stopped in his character of "the Captain," gallantly shot him through the head and rode away; the mail was waylaid by seven robbers, and the guard shot three dead, and then got shot dead himself by the other four, "in consequence of the failure of his ammunition:" after which the mail was robbed in peace; that magnificent potentate, the Lord Mayor of London, was made to stand and deliver on Turnham Green, by one highwayman, who despoiled the illustrious creature in sight of all his retinue; prisoners in London gaols fought battles with their turnkeys, and the majesty of the law fired blunderbusses in among them, loaded with rounds of shot and ball; thieves snipped off diamond crosses from the necks of noble lords at Court drawing-rooms; musketeers went into St. Giles's, to search for contraband goods, and the mob fired on the musketeers, and the musketeers fired on the mob, and nobody thought any of these occurrences much out of the common way. In the midst of them, the hangman, ever busy and ever worse than useless, was in constant requisition; now, stringing up long rows of miscellaneous criminals; now, hanging a housebreaker on Saturday who had been taken on Tuesday; now, burning people in the hand at Newgate by the dozen, and now burning pamphlets at the door of Westminster Hall; to-day, taking the life of an atrocious murderer, and to-morrow of a wretched pilferer who had robbed a farmer's boy of sixpence.

All these things, and a thousand like them, came to pass in and close upon the dear old year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. Environed by them, while the Woodman and the Farmer worked unheeded, those two of the large jaws, and those other two of the plain and the fair faces, trod with stir enough, and carried their divine rights with a high hand. Thus did the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five conduct their Greatnesses, and myriads of small creatures--the creatures of this chronicle among the rest--along the roads that lay before them.

To read the full text, go to
http://www.literature.org/authors/dickens-charles/two-cities/
http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DicTale.html
http://www.litrix.com/twocitys/twoci001.htm
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/98

To read a summary and comments, go to Sparknotes.

Lost -- A New Blog and Thoughts on This Week's Episode

Woohoo! I am going to have a new blog totally devoted to Lost in a few days. I'll put the link here.

Edited 10 Oct 2006: My Lost blog is up and running. Check it out at Lost Fanatic and let me know what you think.

For now, here are my thoughts on this week's show. Let me know where I am way off and what I missed.

What did we learn that was new in the opening episode of season three?

Stations -- according to the film at the Swan station, there are six Dharma stations. So far, we have seen:

Swan -- the station where Desmond was a hatchmonkey and where the electromagnet went haywire at the end of season two

Arrow -- the tail section survivors stayed here. According to a cryptic comment from someone, the arrow may be a storage facility and not a station

Staff -- the medical station where Claire was taken by Ethan

Pearl -- the station found by Locke and Eko. This was where the occupants of the Swan hatch could be viewed.

Hydra -- the zoological station where Jack, Kate, and Sawyer are being held. Bears, sharks, and dolphins

On the blast door map, there is also C3, C4, and a scratched out station between the Staff and the Arrow. To figure out where the Hydra station might be on that map, I'm making a few assumptions. First, that the Hydra is close to where the Others live. Second, that the accuracy of the blast door map can be relied on. Third, that the Hydra station is on the map, just not labeled.

Watching the plane break apart from the point of view of the Others in their compound, the tail landed to the right and the fuselage to the left. That puts the Hydra at C3 or C4.

How far away from the Others' compound did the tail section land? Ben said that Goodwin could make it there in less than an hour if he ran. The fastest time in a marathon (twenty-six miles) was run in 2003 by Paul Tergat at two hours, four minutes, and fifty-three seconds. But Goodwin would have been running cross-country, and marathons are usually run on decent roads. Looking at high school times for cross-country running on Dyestat, I see that thirty-six minutes is an excellent time for two miles. So, the tail section landed between three and thirteen miles away, if Goodwin was an elite athlete, and he ran on a combination of jungle and beach.

It seems a significantly longer distance to the fuselage. Ethan probably spent most of the day getting there. Without knowing a time for Ethan, I won't guess the distance.

The Others are playing mind games with the 815 survivors. But why? That's not really new information, since Henry played with Locke in the hatch. (He pushed the button. No, wait, not really. Locke is one of the good ones, one of the ones Henry was coming for, yet he wasn't on the list of people for Michael to bring.) The mind games they are running amount to torture. What is the point? Probably to break them, but then what?

Book Review -- Hoot

Originally appeared in Haruah on 03 May 2006 in One for the Book.

Hoot
by Carl Hiaasen
published by Alfred A. Knopf
New York, 2002
ISBN 0-440-41939-5

Carl Hiaasen brings his sense of humor to a young audience in Hoot, a delightful novel filled with quirky characters and their sometimes zany, sometimes sensible antics. Set in Florida, the book is a light comedy with a mystery centered around endangered owls and a national chain of fictional pancake houses.

Roy Eberhardt, the new kid in town, is being squished by the local bully, when he sees a boy running barefoot alongside the school bus. The boy veers away from the bus, clearly not going to school, and Roy's curiosity is piqued. He waits several days until he sees the boy again, then jumps off the bus and runs after him. What follows is a series of events in which he outwits the bully, solves the mystery of the truant boy, and exposes criminal doings at a construction site, while making new friends and adjusting to his new home.

There were two things I particularly liked about Hoot. The first one, and the big one for me, is the portrayal of the main character and his family. Roy is a good kid, who loves his parents and wants to please them, and he is normal. His parents are both alive, married to each other, and normal. When Roy has a problem, he talks to his parents. They listen to him and he listens to their advice. In true kid fashion, he doesn't share everything with them, he doesn't follow their advice to the letter, and he doesn't behave perfectly, but he does try to do the right thing within the limits his parents have defined for him.

The second thing I liked may be considered a bit of a spoiler for the ending, so skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know. Roy solves the central problem of the book by thinking the problem through and using legal means to prove his case to his parents and enlisting their support. No calling the bad guys and having them meet him in a dark alley. No elaborate plans involving booby traps. This brought the story into the real world for me. A middle-school kid could not take on a corporation in the real world. He would need to recruit adults to his cause, and that is what Roy Eberhardt does.

Hoot is a Newbery Honor winner and a New York Times bestseller. A movie version is due to be released in theaters in May. Carl Hiaasen has written many novels about ecological problems in Florida and the offbeat characters who solve them, though this was his first written for a young audience. He has since written a second novel also aimed at ages ten and up called Flush.

I highly recommend this book for the younger readers in your life. Or read it yourself. It's a hoot.

Lost -- A Tale of Two Cities

Moved to Lost Fanatic. Check there for daily updates and discussion on Lost, the ABC tv series.

Lost -- A Tale of Survival

Moved to Lost Fanatic. Check there for daily updates on Lost, the ABC tv series.

Lost -- A Summary of the Characters

Come by Lost Fanatic and let me know your thoughts.

Mysteries abound on this island--and the rest of the world, too, as we found out in the final episode of season two. Here are just a few things I'll be looking for in these first few episodes of the third season:

Will Michael and Walt come back to the island? Walt will miss Vincent for sure. Maybe he'll wait for his father to go to sleep and steer the boat to the beach in order to get his dog.

What about Kate, Jack, and Sawyer? They've been central to the series, so I'm sure we'll follow them to wherever their captors are taking them. Will Hurley double back and spring them? Or will he go back to the beach? If he goes back to the beach, there is an excellent opportunity for some of the redshirts to become backstory characters.

Poor Locke. I almost feel sorry for him. We knew the fake Henry Gale was lying to him, but Locke truly believed. He needs something to believe so badly. When he finds out he wasn't one of the "chosen" good ones, he will have another breakdown.

Eko and Charlie are a strange team. Charlie traded one dependency for another and now that Eko has abandoned him, what will he do? And Eko's visions are unclear to say the least. He thinks he is following them, but it seems to me there is plenty of room for interpretation of what his brother said to him and what Eko saw.

Island time moves slowly -- two years in our time is a little over two months in island time. Sun is recently pregnant, so that may become a plot point, or she may not have that baby for seven more years.

The issue of pregnancy and babies is one that the show has concentrated on. Claire and Aaron have been the source of plot points and seemingly minor asides (but possibly major at some later date). The Others kidnapped Alex, Danielle's daughter, when she was a week old. Sun's pregnancy probably will come into play as well.

The island heals, or so it seems. Rose said she was healed, not just in remission. Locke can walk. Jin can father a child. Is it the crazy magnetic properties? Something in the water?

Ah, and Sayid, the island's good bad guy. Bad because of his past and his seeming willingness to return to it, even when not entirely necessary. Good because he tries to hold the castaways together and he works for the good of the group. He is likely to discover something or relate something enlightening to us (the viewers) in the first few episodes of the season.

My favorite plotline involves Desmond and Penny. Penny has been looking for the island, but why? To spite her father? Because she knows what's there? What is there? The potential for two lovers to reunite makes my romantic heart go pitter-pat. Of course, the potential for Desmond to die just as Penny reaches the island is also there. I hope not, but we'll see.

Bulb and Flower Division

A new article is up at Garden and Hearth about bulb and flower division. One of my recent articles talked about the differences between bulbs, corms, rhizomes, tubers, and tuberous roots. This one details how to divide them to grow more plants, whether to expand your own garden, or to pot up as gifts for family, friends, and neighbors. Some flowers can be divided for new plants, too. I talk about those and how to care for the new plants.

NaNoWriMo

The forums at the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) site opened today. With only thirty days until the start of NaNoWriMo, I'm flexing my typing fingers. I'll be hanging out in the Former Orphans topic under NaNoWriMo Alumni Lounge. The fun has begun.

Meerkat Manor

Meerkat Manor returned for its second season on Friday night. The series begins two months after season one ended. The cliffhanger of the first season was whether Shakespeare survived the battle with the Lazuli. He saved the four pups he had been babysitting, but there was no sign of him. Sean Astin, narrating the series, starts the first episode of the season by saying Shakespeare has not been seen since then and is presumed dead.

Tosca, too, is presumed dead. Flower kicked Tosca out of the Whiskers group after she had pups (which non-dominant females are not supposed to do.) It's hard for a meerkat to live alone and, especially with the difficulties of winter survival, Tosca likely did not make it.

With spring coming, the meerkats are thinking of love. Youssarian doesn't like being pushed around by his brother, Zaphod. Youssarian leaves the Whiskers and heads for the Lazuli group, which is short a dominant male. He meets up with Pancake, an evicted Lazuli female. He hangs out with her for the night, but then he leaves her. What is he thinking? It's not like he has anyplace better to go and she seems like a perfectly nice young girl.

A new group, the Commandos, shows up on the scene. Apparently, their territory abuts that of the Whiskers, just as the territory of the Lazuli does.

Flower has another litter of pups. The winter has been difficult and there has not been enough food for the females to lactate. The pups are hungry and have to wait for Flower to return home each day from her foraging. This makes them aggressive.

A small group of Whiskers meerkats enter Commando territory to eat and find good forage. Plenty of excitement happens, including a hawk flying over.

Well, I'm still rooting for Shakespeare and Tosca, though it doesn't look good. Tosca may well have gone somewhere that the TV crew hasn't found yet. I suppose there's not much chance Shakespeare has been nursing his wounds in the burrow for two months, but I'm just not ready to give up hope.

Bulb Packages and Beneficial Insects

Two new articles are up at my Flower Garden site at Garden and Hearth.

Insects Wanted in the Flower Garden is a list of a few types of beneficial insects that most people are probably familiar with. I often see gardeners spraying pesticides and crushing every bug they see. Being polite, I don't tell them that they are just making extra work for themselves, but I hope this article enlightens at least a few of those gardeners.

The second article is a short glossary-type piece defining the terms you might come across on a package of bulbs (because now is the time to be planting them in the Northern Hemisphere, but you knew that, right?) It defines bulb, corm, rhizome, tuber, and tuberous root, as well as pointing out the differences between fall bulbs (bulbs planted in the fall to bloom in the spring) and fall-blooming bulbs.

The Fall Garden

I planted my fall garden this week. Plenty of autumn blooms to look at -- rock rose, salvia (purple), chrysanthemums (one of each color from the garden center), dianthus, marigolds, zinnias, gazanias (I'd never heard of those before, but they are pretty), and snapdragons. It is a cacophony of colors. From hot pink to purple to orange, red, and yellow, I think I managed to represent the entire rainbow.

We'll just have to wait to see how my design skills held up. Right now, they are all small plants (cheaper that way) and they need to fill in. Once the mulch between them is covered with foliage, I think it will look great.

Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue!

Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get A Clue! premiered on Saturday and we've watched it a half-dozen times since then. It's very popular in my house.

When I first saw this one, I was put off by the new animation. (What? They're trying something new? Shades of Scrappy and Scooby-Dum...) Also different is the lack of Velma, Daphne, and Fred. It's mostly Shaggy and Scooby by themselves. Fortunately, it's well-done and funny.

Scooby and Shaggy have an empty fridge and the looming crisis is causing witty barbs between the friends. Shaggy received a phone call that his Uncle Albert has left him everything. We find out a few moments later that Uncle Albert didn't pass away, he just disappeared. "Sounds like a mystery," according to Scooby. This uncle was an inventor and a robot named Robi greets them when they arrive at the massive estate.

Shaggy and Scooby start goofing around with the inventions. "Last one in the shrinking ray's a rotten egg." They find a note, left by Uncle Albert, that tells them evil villain Dr. Phibes is plotting to take over the world using Uncle Albert's inventions. Shaggy and Scooby become embroiled in the villain's nefarious schemes and must foil the plot.

Do Shaggy and Scooby get a clue? I'd suggest checking this one out.

Newsarama talk with the producers.

Movie Review - Scooby-Doo in Pirates Ahoy!

Scooby-Doo in Pirates Ahoy! came out, appropriately enough, on International Talk Like A Pirate Day. We had to rush to the store and buy this one immediately after school. My daughter finished her homework in record time and we snuggled up to watch this latest Scooby adventure.

The Scooby gang is going on a cruise, courtesy of Fred's parents. Shaggy and Scooby are thrilled that they get a non-spooky vacation. Of course, you and I know that something will happen, and it does. When they enter the Bermuda Triangle, a green glowing fog surrounds the ship and ghost pirates board the cruise ship. Fred's mom is turned into a zombie pirate and the gang must figure out a way to save everyone.

Lots of pratfalls and generally goofy stuff happens and Scooby and Shaggy save the day. (Oops! Was that a spoiler?)

The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the new treatment of Daphne. She's goofy and imperfect--very un-Daphne-esque. I'm not sure why they chose to do that. It sort of took away from Shaggy and Scooby and their goofiness.

Still, if your kid is a big Scooby fan, this will satisfy. Big thumbs up.

Movie Review - Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses

Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses

This latest addition to the Barbie made-for-DVD movies is a charmer. Barbie is Genevieve, one of twelve daughters of a widowed king. The girls have a happy life until the king is made aware of his daughters' less than princesslike behavior, such as walking on stilts, having insects as pets, and reading books.

The king brings in the Duchess Rowena to teach the girls courtly ways. Immediately, things change as the duchess removes the color from their lives--grey dresses, grey bedspreads, no toys, books, or other things--and sets up a regimented schedule for them. This is particularly hardest on the nearly five-year-old triplets, but when the king, their father, mysteriously takes ill, things go downhill for the girls fast.

When the triplets' birthday arrives, the sisters wake them with the traditional birthday morning song, a dance, and presents. Duchess Rowena arrives and puts a halt to the celebration. Later that evening, the princesses look at the gifts. While their mother was still alive, she had a book made for each daughter. These books, when taken together, hold a key to a magical place the princesses can escape to each night.

Only one part might be frightening, and that was when Duchess Rowena discovered the magical place and trapped them there. I had to reassure my daughter that the princesses would use their minds to figure out an escape and help their father.

Overall, though, this is a good movie for little girls who like fairy tales. Lots of dancing, singing, and lovely visuals keep children entranced.

Marigolds

I have new article up on Garden and Hearth about marigolds. They are great for the fall season because of their sunny blooms. If you're in the southern hemisphere, the yellows and oranges go really well with spring, too.

Lost

Three more weeks until Lost returns in its third season. Or is it four? I'm on the edge of my seat.

Will Michael and Walt come back to the island? Walt will miss Vincent for sure. Maybe he'll wait for his father to go to sleep and steer the boat to the beach in order to get his dog.

What about Kate, Jack, and Sawyer? They've been central to the series, so I'm sure we'll follow them to wherever their captors are taking them. Will Hurley double back and spring them? Or will he go back to the beach? If he goes back to the beach, there is an excellent opportunity for some of the redshirts to become backstory characters.

Poor Locke. I almost feel sorry for him. We knew the fake Henry Gale was lying to him, but Locke truly believed. He needs something to believe so badly. When he finds out he wasn't one of the "chosen" good ones, he will have another breakdown.

Eko and Charlie are a strange team. Charlie traded one dependency for another and now that Eko has abandoned him, what will he do? And Eko's visions are unclear to say the least. He thinks he is following them, but it seems to me there is plenty of room for interpretation of what his brother said to him and what Eko saw.

Island time moves slowly -- two years in our time is a little over two months in island time. Sun is recently pregnant, so that may become a plot point, or she may not have that baby for seven more years.

The issue of pregnancy and babies is one that the show has concentrated on. Claire and Aaron have been the source of plot points and seemingly minor asides (but possibly major at some later date). Sun's baby probably will come into play as well.

My favorite plotline involves Desmond and Penny. Penny has been looking for the island, but why? To spite her father? Because she knows what's there? What is there? The potential for two lovers to reunite makes my romantic heart go pitter-pat. Of course, the potential for Desmond to die just as Penny reaches the island is also there. I hope not, but we'll see.

Children's Songs in Occitan

Finally, I have found a site that has written Occitan, spoken (and sung) Occitan, and English. The English part is important to me. I have spent time on some sites trying, with my lack of experience in the language, to figure out what is being said, only to find that I am reading French. I did so poorly in French 101 that I promptly switched languages. It is a language that I suppose will always remain a mystery to me.

Anyway, the site is Mama Lisa's World and it showcases children's songs from around the world. Here is the page for Occitan.

Writing Contests Revisited

Haruah's writing contest is still ongoing. We're accepting fiction (no minimum or maximum word count) or poetry. Only a few days left to get your entries in. Did I mention there is a prize for the winners?

The Avon FanLit competition started. I've been over there voting today. Lots of really good entries. I can't believe how much fun this is. Get over there and check it out (after you enter your fiction at Haruah), even if you only read the entries and vote on them.

Book Review -- Sweetness in the Belly

Sweetness in the Belly
by Camilla Gibb
The Penguin Press, 2006
ISBN 1-59420-084-X

A story about an orphaned British girl growing up in Africa under Islam, this novel examines love, faith, longing, and regret. Lilly, the main character, starts the novel as a nurse in England in the early 1980s. Here, we are introduced to her faith, her traditions, and her hopes and fears. Soon the novel shifts back in time to Harar, Ethiopia in the early 1970s and the end of what Lilly calls a pilgrimage, but what we soon learn is a flight. As these two timelines progress, Lilly's life unfolds with all the trials of a being a foreigner in a fairly closed society and being a girl growing up without family and having to make her own ties to the community.

Ours was a rich and good life in a small and peaceful place, a self-contained universe hooked up to its own generator. But after seven years of devotion – measuring the weight of every word, savoring the hard edges, feeling them dissolve in my mouth as I stood, as I kneeled, as I pressed my forehead to the ground – the insularity of our bubble burst.

When Lilly is fifteen, her life of study ends and the next phase begins. Her life in Harar is difficult when the local sheikh refuses to honor her adopted father's wishes that she be allowed to continue her studies. He sends her into the streets of Harar where she knows no one, not even the language. One of the sheikh's wives takes Lilly to a relative for shelter. Lilly soon finds she must earn her own way and earn the respect of the community, things she has taken for granted her whole life.

The revolution in Ethiopia which deposed Emperor Haile Selassie sends thousands of Ethiopians across the world as refugees, among them Lilly. She leaves behind the man she has fallen in love with and the family she has grown into and returns to England, a place she doesn't remember. She settles in with the other refugees, resisting assimilation for as long as she can, holding out hope that someone she knows will also surface and she can again find that sense of community for which she worked so hard.

To me, Ethiopia has always been that country on the news where people starved to death and the government allowed it. I knew little about the daily life of the people or the war that followed those images on the television. With beautiful prose, Camilla Gibb explores this time and place and lets me peek into what might have been.

New Articles

I've been hiking for the last few days, so I haven't been keeping the blog updated.

I have a book review up at Haruah. Jamaican Me Crazy: A Christmas Escape is Christian chick lit, but don't let that scare you. There's no preaching and you don't have to know anything about religion to enjoy the silliness in this book. It's good, clean fun.

Garden and Hearth has published my snapdragon article. Snapdragons are one of my favorite flowers for their color and easy care, as well as that nifty snapping sound their jaws make.

Crocodile Hunter Dies

Steve Irwin died from a stingray barb on 3 Sep 2006. MSNBC has a story about his death. I'm so sad. He's such an enjoyable character.

Meerkat Manor

Is this not the cutest soap opera ever? All the family struggles and squabbles, plus the excitement of the occasional "war" with the neighboring meerkats.

Flower and Zaphod are the leaders of the Whiskers colony. They patrol and forage in their territory, which includes several burrows. The limits of the colony seem to be the distance a group of foraging meerkats can go in one day.

Shakespeare is my favorite of the family. He's so sweet and caring and tough, all at the same time. The first season ended with a cliffhanger. The Lazuli, a rival meerkat colony, invaded the Whiskers's burrow while Shakespeare was babysitting the pups by himself. He took the pups deep into the burrow, but the Lazuli found him and there was a fight. By the end of the episode, the Whiskers family had returned and run off the Lazuli. The pups were found alive and unhurt, but separated in the burrow. The underground cameras saw no sign of Shakespeare.

Will he make it?

The new season starts on 29 Sep 2006 on Animal Planet. I'll be watching.

Avon Fanlit

Well, wow! There's some great stuff over at the Avon Fanlit forums. I've been reading some sample chapters and they are fantastic.

Chrysanthemums

I have a new article posted at Garden and Hearth - Flower Gardening about chrysanthemums. I love chrysanthemums, partly because they are so easy to care for and partly because there are so many blooms per plant. I can get lots of color in my house and yard with very little effort.

Autumn Blooms

I just posted a new article in the online magazine, Garden and Hearth. It's about autumn blooms. In the northern hemisphere, it's the right time to get started on fall gardening.

Avon Fanlit

Here's another writing contest. Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins, is sponsoring an online writing contest. Each week, the contest sponsors provide a direction and the participants write a chapter of a novel. Everyone votes and the best one is selected. Check it out if you have time.

Occitan and Cezanne in Provence

I decided to learn Occitan. It's not easy to find material for non-French speakers. I searched around and finally found some software. I've learned, according to the progress meter, about 500 words. My competency in the grammar section is not quite so good. I'm working on it, though.

Once I learned a language well enough to speak it. I tried to converse with a native speaker and found that language classes don't necessarily translate into conversational competency. It was rather embarassing. It was also disappointing. After spending all that time and money, I had expected a little better.

So, for Occitan, I am seeking out spoken media--movies, radio, and yes, television shows--so that I know what I know before I head out from my cozy English-speaking environment.

In my quest for Occitan materials, I set up my TiVo to search for shows on Provence and various other keywords that might turn up Occitan as a spoken language. Today it got me "Cezanne in Provence". It was an interesting hour-long biography of the artist, with lots of his paintings and the originals (landscapes, objects, photographs of people) shown. If you have a chance to check it out, and you have an interest, it's on PBS.

Sick Goldfish

One of my goldfish has become listless and uninterested in food this week. He just lies on the bottom of the tank while the other goldfish dash to the top of the tank. There is nothing obviously wrong with him--his color is good, his eyes keep track of what's going on around him, he swims away when another fish pesters him--he just isn't behaving like he used to.

After two days of him not eating, I started holding him and putting the flakes into his mouth for him. At first, he wriggled a lot, but now he just accepts it. He sees me approaching the tank and his goggle eyes follow my movements. Hopefully, he will be better soon.

Writing Contests

The writing contest at Haruah is still going on. The deadline is 10 Sep 2006. Prose or poetry.

As long as I'm talking about contests, I might as well let you know about the poetry contest over at Dragons, Knights, and Angels, an online fantasy magazine where every story contains at least a dragon, a knight, or an angel. You have a little over a month to become poetically inspired. The deadline is 30 Sep 2006.

How about a flash fiction writing contest at Ray Gun Revival, an online magazine devoted to the revival of that classic of science fiction, the space opera? The deadline there is 01 Sep 2006, so get writing!

School Registration

The local school district requires registration in the summer for all students, new or returning. I did that and filled out an enormous packet of paperwork. The registrar said, "Great!" I thought everything was fine.

Well, I took my child to school and she wasn't on any list for her grade. I went to the office and stood in line with the other parents whose children also weren't listed. There were a lot of us and it took a long time. The children were all small and many had very young siblings, so add lots of crabby kids to your mental picture of this event.

It was my turn and I found out that I was missing a paper. In the end, it turned out that the registrar does not have access to the computer while she is registering the kids. She inspects the pages we hand her and if everything seems to be in order, she sends us on our way. Later, when the information is typed in, the computer will notice missing bits or incongruencies and flag those kids. That's what happened with me.

I sound gripy--and I am--because this happened to me last year, too. But it's not as bad as it could be. I got my child registered in time for her to attend class that first day. She didn't have to walk in late and have everyone stare at her.

Ah, well, time to wind up a rather whiny post.

Contest at Haruah

Did I mention there's a writing contest at Haruah? No fee to enter. Prizes. Accepting poetry and prose. Get the details here. The deadline for entry is 10 Sep 2006. Hope to see you there.

Disburse/Disperse

I see this often. The innocent villagers see the evil overlord's ruthless soldiers coming to destroy their peaceful existence. The villagers, untrained in weaponry, have no choice but to disburse.

What? They're throwing money at the problem? Well, perhaps they are, but the next scene often shows our hapless villagers in many separate and distinct locations. This leads me to believe the author intended the characters to flee for their lives, rather than worry about their wallets. And besides, if the villagers had enough money to stop an army of bloodthirsty mercenaries in their tracks, why wouldn't they just hire their own band of mercenaries?

Definitions from Merriam-Webster online

Disburse -- transitive verb
1 a : to pay out : expend especially from a fund b : to make a payment in settlement of
2 : DISTRIBUTE

Disperse -- transitive verb
1 a : to cause to break up b : to cause to become spread widely c : to cause to evaporate or vanish
2 : to spread or distribute from a fixed or constant source: as a archaic : DISSEMINATE b : to subject (as light) to dispersion c : to distribute (as fine particles) more or less evenly throughout a medium
intransitive verb
1 : to break up in random fashion
2 a : to become dispersed b : DISSIPATE, VANISH
synonym see SCATTER

Life on Mars

What a nifty show. Detective Sam Tyler gets hit by a car in 2006, and wakes up in 1973. He is confused (who wouldn't be?), but he soon finds out that everyone there was expecting him. He supposedly transferred from another precinct. All the paperwork is there. He settles in and tries to bring the police procedures of 1973 up to the standards he is used to. This proves difficult with the lack of modern technology.

Technology isn't the only problem, though. Sam's boss is a thug--a thug who gets the bad guys off the street quickly and regularly, but a thug nonetheless. The others in the department range from complacent to antagonistic. Sloppy procedures keep Sam going back over the same ground repeatedly in order to find all the evidence.

By the end of the first show, we find out that Sam is in a coma in 2006, although the risks he faces in 1973 are real. Will he find a way back home? (Of course he will, in the series finale.) How will he get back home?

Life on Mars isn't just another excuse for groovy music and groovy clothes. In fact, the clothes are pretty ungroovy. The music is authentic, but unlike the bouncy tunes on other retro shows.

Oh, yeah, and there's always a twist at the end. Check it out on BBCA if you have the time.

Book Review -- The Complete Organic Pregnancy

Three-word summary: Wish I'd known.

The Complete Organic Pregnancy
by Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu
Harper Collins, 2006
ISBN 0-06-088745-1

The Complete Organic Pregnancy sums up its mission on the cover with its subtitle: "What you need to know--from the nail polish you wear to the bed you sleep in to the water you drink". The authors cover everything I researched for my own pregnancy and then many more things that never crossed my mind. Their thoroughness is evident in the lists of common products, their ingredients, and the effects of those ingredients on people.

The book is divided into three sections: Transforming, what to change before becoming pregnant; Growing, what to watch out for during the nine months; and Living, what to do once the baby is here. Each section is further broken down into manageable subsections: food, home and work environments, wellness, fitness and play, and beauty. Special subsections focus on situations unique to each time. For example, the subsection titled "Getting a Late Start" in the Transforming section offers a list of ten actions to take if you found out you or your significant other were pregnant before transforming.

Charts, lists, and sidebars organize information in an easy-to-reference fashion. Personal anecdotes from the authors, their friends and family, and well-known health and environment writers round out the presentation of information. The appendix includes several yummy and nutritious recipes, ranging from downhome to trendy.

The authors stay sane about every topic, no matter how potentially dreadful. They do not suggest that you replace all the furniture in your home if you find out the padding is toxic, or the stain contains a dangerous chemical; they do suggest steps to take to reduce any possible risks from the substances. This is not a book that would have scared me when I was pregnant, as some pregnancy books are well-known to do (and did). Rather it would have comforted me, knowing that I was doing as much as humanly possible to ensure my baby's best start in this world. And it would have filled in the gaps in my knowledge with simple recommendations for action.

The Complete Organic Pregnancy is thorough and touches on every topic imaginable. If there was one thing I would change about it, that would be to add citations for the studies and facts they quote. The copy I have is an uncorrected proof copy, so there may be plans to include a citations section before publication. I recommend this book for anyone pregnant or planning a pregnancy.

Samurai 7

Well, Kambei is still sitting in his cell, awaiting execution. I should have guessed the story would follow another direction. Ukyo made a move against the Emperor. Ukyo originally seemed to be a scion intent on indulging his whims, including a fixation on Kirara. In his last few appearances on the show, we have seen more of his true character. I suppose I will have to wait until next week to find out what effect Ukyo's coup will have on the samurai and how Kambei will escape.

A Portrait of Me

I got back from vacation last night. While I was there, this portrait was drawn as I reclined on two pillows, with my arms behind my head.

I spent most of my time in the pool and some of the time shopping. I hadn't been in a pool in a long time, so it took some time to remember the strokes in between being shot with a giant water gun and being jumped on by small children yelling "Watchmewatchmelookatmewatchthis!" Somehow, I managed not to sunburn too much.

The television at the hotel had an okay array of channels available, but I'd rather swim.

Branson

I'm just going to take a moment to point out that I have no interest in going to Branson. Undoubtedly, it's a nice place with nice people and nice things to do. But I have other things I want to do first. Places I'd like to see first.

Granada, Jerez, Natchez, Sequoia National Forest, Yosemite, Glacier, Vancouver, Macchu Picchu, the entire island of New Zealand (maybe both, I haven't decided), places in Japan, lots more...

So no more phone calls with fabulous three-day, four-night deals to watch shows. Okay?

Besides, I have TV shows to watch.

Samurai 7

I've been watching Samurai 7 over the last few months. I'm hooked on this show. It's an animated remake of The Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai) in a sci-fi universe. Quite well done. The half-hour TV show has the same chemistry among the samurai that the original actors managed to pull off. The storyline departs in a few places from the original, but it's handled well, I think.

Samurai 7 doesn't stop with the defeat of the bandits, but continues the story of the samurai where the original left off. Kambei discovers a link between the nobuseri and the emperor and he goes to the capital city (alone, honorable man that he is) to retrieve the women who have been stolen from the villages. Unexpected things happen and Kambei is currently sitting in a cell awaiting execution. Tune in next week to find out his clever plan.

Television

I watch entirely too much television. But in the summer, when it's well over 100 degrees (Fahrenheit, 38 Celsius) in the shade every day, what else is there? Last week, the temperature dropped to 95, the whole town rushed outside and played, worked in the yard, whatever, just to get outside and breathe unrecycled air-conditioned air again. It felt so refreshing to have that cold front go through.

One thing television is good for is ideas. The best aliens in fiction have their basis in real creatures living on earth now or in the past. National Geographic Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and several others are almost entirely documentaries. Writing believable battle scenes requires research into historical battles. The History Channel has shows on individual battles, as well as series on generals and wars.

I don't think it's enough to watch the show, then write, but it sure does work as a shortcut. I see an animal behavior that would be nifty and I have to go to the library to find out how that behavior affects the animal in the wild. What are the advantages to the animal (usually food or love) and what are the disadvantages? Every good trait has its flipside. Both sides get worked into the story.

If there's nothing good for ideas on the tube, there's always the Food Network. Ina Garten's menus are dee-lish.