Dark Side Cookies

Playing a game of Horse Lovers Monopoly, that Charlotte got for Christmas (and was over-the-moon about).

Jake lands on Sigi's stable, and has to pay up big. He thinks quick, and offers instead an alliance.

"Join the dark side. We have cookies. Low-fat cookies."

How could she refuse an offer like that?

Slow Motion Raindrops

The most wonderful cinematography. The coolest scenes. Like the bubble of air surrounding Ben and Bridget in the middle of a hurricane as he reconnects with her after a crazy two days on the road with the precocious Sarah. And my favorite, the slow motion raindrops falling on tires and wheels seen from above as Ben and Sarah run over them on their way to shelter.

Forces of Nature, a romantic comedy about the choices we make in life, about love, commitment, spontaneousness, regret. The first half of the movie is depressing, Ben seeing one example after another of how marriage for so many people was a mistake. And then so many things go wrong as they race the clock on their way to Georgia, while Nature, in all its various forms, conspires against them.

What would have happened if Ben had stayed with Sarah, the wacky, unpredictable, amazing Sarah? Instead of staying with his first choice, the safe, respectable, conventional Bridget. Is the first choice always the best? I don't know, but I do know its a tough choice.

You Schussed Wonderfully!

Charlotte is going for a school field trip in a couple of weeks, up to Mohawk Mountain for an evening of skiing. But first she needs a lesson, as its been 5 years since she skied last. So she and I drive up there today, get a little lost on the way and have to ask directions from a couple of guys at a bonfire (who was the bright spark that invented a road with the middle third just plain missing?)

After a couple of hours on the easiest slope, Charlotte has her lesson while I try out a few of the other slopes. Feeling like she is so much better, she decides after the lesson that she wants a challenge, so I take her on the green circle slope (easy, not like the black diamond most difficult ones). It is twice as steep as she had imagined, and she hadn't listened in class half as well as she thought she had. So after taking off her skis and walking the down the first half of it, she puts them back on and schusses down the easier half in style.

"Yay! Didn't I do well, daddy?"

"Yes, Charlotte, you did wonderfully!"

Nasty vs. Horrible

Alien vs. Predator Requiem: not sure why we keep going to see these movies. Pretty much after Aliens (which was fantastic) it has been downhill ever since.

Predictable, lots of dying, not much suspense, and a weak storyline characterize all these sequels. Guess I'm just a sucker for alien creatures.

Gee, I seem to be seeing a lot of movies lately. I wonder why...

Treasure Hunt - Again

Got to see National Treasure - Book of Secrets. Pretty good movie, with everything from kidnapping the president to finding the secret compartment in the Queen's desk, and long forgotten hidden caves with cities of gold. Not quite as good as the first movie, but still not too shabby.

Presents Galore

Jake and Charlotte are very happy this year with their presents - amongst other things, they both get digital cameras so they can start their own photo libraries. Nikon Coolpix, Charlotte an L11 (her age), and Jake an L14 (only 3 months early).

Jake is thrilled to get a Nintendo DS, and Charlotte (the animal lover) just jumps for joy when she saw her Schleich stable :)

Will Smith and Zombies

I Am Legend, quite amazing how they make New York look empty. My god Will Smith works out, talk about muscles. Anyway, cool movie, if you like suspense and nasty looking creatures chasing you in the dark. Or chasing someone else preferably.

Terrificible

Just finishes setting up Terry. She (or he) looks good (or bad), depending on who you ask. Charlotte names him Terry the Terrible, too spiky, no color, and not as good as the one 50 feet away. Jake disagrees, and calls her Terry the Terrific, just perfect.

I am, of course, talking about the tree we just bought from Maple Row Tree Farm, after scouting all his brothers (her sisters), picking out Terry, and cutting him/her down, while Charlotte complains noisily that the one over there is just so much better. And we all freeze, especially Jake in his thin jacket that he didn't even want to wear at first, cause he thinks he doesn't feel the cold.

Road Trip

Professor Yeardon of the Rhode Island School of Design invites me to come and meet with his students in the spring, to discuss with them my little nanoDiamond project. We expect they will have lots of interesting and creative ideas on possible applications.

Never been to Rhode Island before, so should be an interesting visit. I'm excited! :)

Charlotte's Daemon

My Daemon

Charlotte's Dream World

The Golden Compass, a wonderful story of a strange world where everyone's soul is physically manifest as a creature, a bird, a lynx, or any of dozens of different types. A world where the proud ice-bears fight with terrifying power, where fantastical machines and futuristic blimps roam the skies, and where witches fly without broomsticks. A world of stunning beauty. Don't miss it.

The only downer was nobody warned us that it was only part 1 - the movie ends rather abruptly right in the middle of the story. Will have to see part 2 of course.

Teensy Weensy Building Stuff

Lucky me, my site gets a mention on Nanoarchitecture.net, a site focusing on the architectural implications of nanotechnology.

Angelic Devils

Have you heard of that chinese torture where they let a drop of water hit your forehead, and then another, and then another, for hours and hours, until you just go crazy? Well, that's how I feel listening to the violins at the start of the concert. Every single "musician", if I can use that term loosely, plays a slightly different note to all the others, slowly tearing away at my sanity.

Then the wind instruments begin. At least they press a key to get a note, so they are mostly in tune, except, and there just has to be an exception, for the trombones. Timing, of course, is a completely different matter. All those blowers this time are trying to blow a hole right through my ear-drums.

They are only 6th graders you say, and I am being too harsh. They practiced very hard for this night. Maybe so, but at least I didn't have to pay money to come and hear it.

And then the choir comes on, some 150 girls and boys (mostly girls), my daughter amongst them, the dutiful father attending so his daughter doesn't grow up and say "what, you mean I have a dad?" I am tensing ready for the onslaught, but instead, what hits my ears is a melody so sweet that it sounds like a choir of angels. Well, not exactly angels, but I'm sure the tips of greyish wings were starting to poke out of the backs of those little devils, the ones that make their mother's cry and will make their fathers go broke when they get a little older.

After a few heavenly harmonies, thankfully dominated by the girls sweet voices, we are back to the final instrumental section, however by that stage my ears are not listening anymore. Lucky really, as I'm sure they sound quite awful.

Kid's Quotes 1

Jake: "Charlotte has a big mouth and a big head, but she makes up for it with a big heart and a big brain."

Charlotte: "I like pie!"

Jake: "Ok, a medium sized brain."

Enchanted

Kids drag us off to see another Disney movie. Is a bit too sugary for my taste. Lots of singing and dancing and big scenes with hundreds of people. And stereotypical fair maidens and evil witches and dashing princes.

And of course happily-ever-afters.

The kids love it naturally.