Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I was a big fan of both Narnia movies, so it was only natural that I was really looking forward to seeing The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Since I haven't done anything even remotely constructive all week, I decided today I would go ahead and see it.

I'm very glad I did.

I haven't read the books, written by C.S. Lewis, since I was a kid. In fact, I don't believe I ever read all of them. I may have to rectify that one of these days, inspired by the movies.

Anyway, the movie stars Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes as Lucy and Edmund Pevensie, the only two Pevensie children who are still able to go to the fabled kingdom of Narnia (their older brother and sister, Peter and Susan, have "outgrown" it). The older children have gone to the United States during World War II, but Edmund and Lucy are stuck with their aunt and uncle, and their annoying little cousin Eustace (Will Poulter). In fact, he's making their life almost a living hell. They still have fond memories of Narnia, though, and soon circumstances draw them (along with their cousin) into that magical world again. This time on an ocean adventure with Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), the man they installed on the Narnian thrown in the previous movie.

Along the way, they'll suffer through temptation, and learn a lot about themselves in the process.

Crawling into the New Year

The end of 2010 is nigh (what an interesting word).

Christmas is over. The wrapping paper has been discarded. Toys have already been broken, or played to death. Nerf darts have been permanently stuck to high-level windows, never to be seen again amongst all the dust up there.

It's the week between Christmas and New Year's, where the anticipation of what presents you'll be getting has been replaced with the wonder of what the next year will have in store for you, for me, for us, and for everybody (I think that might about cover all the bases).

I've got plans for the new year, though whether or not they will come through, I can't tell you. I hope they do. I am determined to make them happen. But we'll see. So these aren't predictions. Instead, more like "determinations."

One Hit Wonders of the 2000s - Christmas Break

Merry Christmas (or Boxing Day, I guess) from all of us behind the One Hit Wonders franchise (yes, we are branching out, with a new location in Canton, Ohio!).

We're taking a break this week, due to family and travel considerations (and I was just too lazy to do one earlier this week and schedule it), but we'll definitely be back with vim and vigor (just what the hell is "vim," anyway?) next weekend! For the New Year's edition of the show.

For your enjoyment, and to show what a benevolent boss I am, here's a picture of the staff celebrating the holiday.

Whoops!!! How'd that get in there. That's from my OSHA file.

This is how we celebrate.

Yeah, it's good to be Santa...

Anyway, see you next week! And all the best in the New Year.

*Edit*: This was supposed to post Sunday morning, but somebody accidentally left it in "draft" mode instead of "scheduled."

That intern has been flogged.

The intern that hired that intern has been let go.

The intern that hired *that* intern would have been sacrificed to the volcano gods, but she wasn't a virgin.

So she was just sacked.

Our apologies.

Merry Christmas, Everybody

It's that time of year again. The fluffy whiteness outside, the warmth of family and friends, the presents under the tree.

It's Christmas!!!

While Christmas is a religious holiday for some, for others it's a state of mind, or a cultural thing. I have a friend who is Moslem. Her family's been in Canada since the 50s and her husband's family has been in the country since the 20s. They celebrate all of the secular aspects of Christmas, though, including the presents and the "get together with family on the day" because when they moved to Canada, they wanted to fit in with the rest of Canadian society. They even go to the mosque on Christmas Eve (or Day, can't remember which, and besides, they're in Hawaii this year, so they're not doing that).

To all of my friends and family who may be reading this (and I'm posting this today because I figure nobody will be reading this, or Facebook, tomorrow), I wish you a wonderful Christmas and all the best in the new year. However I know you, you are very special to me.

One Hit Wonders of the 2000s (Part 4)

This week's edition is coming to you from snowy Iowa! Yes, I decided to trade in the rain and gloom of Vancouver for the snowy whiteness of Davenport, going from getting drenched to freezing my ass off! There's a trade-off, I tell you.

You wanna know a secret, though? Despite what everybody thinks, I'm not really here to see family and friends.

No, I was sent here on a super-secret classified mission that I'm going to reveal to all of you (which is safe, since nobody actually reads this thing anyway).

What's the nature of this classified mission? To root out and destroy a cell of no-good people who are threatening to terrorize the populace.

Yes, that's right. What are they threatening to terroize the populace with?

Loud suits.

Yes, exactly. They intend to blind the populace and teach our children to wear horrible clothing! As time goes on and our kids grow up, if we don't do our job of parenting them, they'll learn to dress like this!!!

Who's their ringleader? I think you know the answer...

He's not just a hockey guy anymore.

Anyway, while I'm here, I thought I'd keep current on the one-hit wonders list! Because I know there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth if I don't (though since nobody reads this, I'm not really sure from whom).

As usual, you can find the list here. But don't check before I'm done and get ahead of me.

I don't want to look at your ass.

Here we go!

Airports

Just a quick post today, since I'm typing this on my iPhone.

I'm not sure what it is about airports and traveling that intrigues me, but I always get this weird, yet interesting feeling whenever I'm on my regular jaunt to Iowa.

Maybe it's because I don't travel that much, so I haven't had the opportunity to become jaded yet.

But rather than it being a chore, I often find it a chance to look outside my normal comfort zone.

Two new book reviews

There's been a bustle of activity over at Curled Up With a Good Book, with two of my reviews getting posted.

Both of them are in the SF field, with one great book and one disappointing one. It's especially bad because it's from one of my favourite authors.


The good one is Lamentation, by Ken Scholes. Scholes is a new author (or was, as this is his first book, though the second and third books are now out). Part one of "The Psalms of Isaak," it's a fantasy novel about the caretaking of knowledge, and those who would destroy it.

"Some ancient technology or magic has destroyed the city of Windwir, home of the Androfrancine Order and the collected knowledge of most of the world both before the cataclysm hundreds of years ago and today. Sethbert, Overseer of the Entrolusian City States, glories in the results of what he has done, but others are also quick to react. A former member of the Androfrancine Order comes to see for himself the destruction that was wrought. Rudolfo, Lord of the Ninefold Forest Houses, comes to exact justice for the perpetrator of this foul deed, and other leaders of the Named Lands do as well. War is brewing as all sides play the game of politics. These leaders will have to choose which side of the game they will join."

It's definitely a political novel in the sense that we see the maneuverings of all sides in the conflict and there's only a little bit of magic involved (though there is some). I love this type of book, especially when the characters are well-written and deep, as those that inhabit this book are. Granted, I wish a little more had been done with the primary female role, but that could very well happen in the next couple of books.

The second book is by Diane Duane, and it's called Omnitopia Dawn. This book uses the concept of Massively Multiplayer Online games, such as World of Warcraft, and turns it up to 11. The tech in this novel is quite futuristic, which is interesting considering that it takes place only a few years in the future.

It really is a fascinating concept, especially for a gamer like me. A game where you can truly immerse yourself, where you actually are acting out this stuff in the virtual world. There are various different kinds of worlds that can be created within the Omnitopia universe, everything from something really benign to something as fantastically magical as Lord of the Rings.

"Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games have been around for awhile now, but in the first quarter of the 21st century, they’ve become even hotter. Millions are playing Omnitopia, a game with thousands of different universes, some user-generated. Billionaire Dev Logan created the most popular game in the world, and he’s about to roll out a huge update for it as well. But forces are working against him. A rival (and former friend) will do anything to make Dev’s huge splash something that sinks like a stone. Organized hackers and thieves will use it to try and steal millions of dollars from Dev, as well as getting access to players’ accounts. Will Dev be able to hold off the hordes arrayed against him?

A book already has a strike against it going in when the cover copy spends more time describing the game than the actual plot. Despite Duane’s usually guaranteed mastery of character, the people in this book are more types than characters. Dev is the Bill Gates of the Omnitopia world, a master programmer and businessman who wants ensures his employees’ loyalty by making a wonderful working environment. He’s got a heart of gold and loves his family but also loves the game. He’s altruistic to a fault, something that former friend and current rival Phil Sorenson finds almost insulting. Phil is the prototypical “evil businessman,” though Duane does occasionally give him some second thoughts (mostly through bad dreams)."

I left a little bit more in there than I normally do in a quote, mainly because I wanted you to see just why I really disliked this book. The characters are very thin and not very interesting to read about. It was a slog getting through this book, and I love Duane! Thus, the major disappointment.

Go ahead and check out the reviews and let me know what you think. Or, if you've read either of these books, let me know whether you agree or disagree.

Facebook Fan Page

I've been doing this blog since July 2009 (wow, almost a year and a half now!) and one thing I hadn't done yet was to set up a Facebook fan page.

There really wasn't any reason for not doing it. All of my blogging friends were doing it. But for some reason, I just never did.

Until now.

Yes, I am now part of the Facebook community. Now I just have to figure out a way to tap into Zuckerberg's millions (we all get a cut, right?).

Anyway, I would love it if my regular readers (or even my irregular readers, though there are products to fix that) would become a fan! Throw me a bone, show some support. Let me know that I'm not all alone out there.

There are two ways you can do that.

First, you can go to the Facebook page itself (you have to be logged in to do anything, though).

Or, much more easily, just scroll down until you see the "Facebook Fans" listing on the right side of the page. There's a handy little "like" button right there!

And please do me a favour.

If I don't already know you, leave a post on my Wall letting me know how you found the blog! And let me know what you think, too. I love feedback.

Well, not this kind.

But constructive feedback is always appreciated!

And to those of you who are already fans, thanks!

One Hit Wonders of the 2000s (Part 3)

I've always wanted to travel. I love the thought of exotic places, taking in the sights and sounds of a place I've never been before.

London! Rome! Paris!

Ummm...yeah, maybe not.

Anyway, since I'm not going anywhere, how about I just do this week's one hit wonder post? Yeah, I'm sure that would make you happier.

So I will carry on! I know what my audience likes (well, somewhat, as there is not much beefcake here, sorry). I will drive my minions to create the best possible one hit wonder post in the world!

(Thanks to Ramblings of a Final Summer)

Yeah, that's a typical day at work here at Dave's Buttoned-Up Mind. Except that too many had called in sick that day so we were a bit short-handed.

But we do take our work seriously!

Well, except at Christmas.

Anyway, you can find the list I'm taking these from here. And do you notice how I don't even get upset if you look to get ahead of me?

Yeah, you can chalk that up to clean, healthy living!

Oh, and big slabs of chocolate.

Here we go!

Podcast stuff - Episode 2 of Radio EPLT!

For my friends who may be interested in hearing me spout off (and there must be at least one of you, eh?), the second episode of our podcast has now been posted.

It has an interview with Karen Armstrong (instructor who teaches some of our courses and is considered an expert in literacy education) as well as a discussion of mobile devices (especially iPods and iPads) in the classroom.

It's only 47 minutes, so much shorter than the last one. So you don't have the length excuse!

I think I'm getting a bit more comfortable, the humour's a bit less forced, and I think I might even be a little clearer.

We're still dealing with a few issues that we'll have to take care of in the new year (like using a non-squeaky chair) as well as hosting issues (we don't like using an ad-supported site to host, but the files have been too big to host on our own server).

But we're getting there!

If you take a listen, I'd love to hear what you think. Especially those of you who have been so encouraging in the past (and you know who you are).

Next episode coming in the new year!

Book Review - Antony & Cleopatra by Adrian Goldsworthy

I've been a big fan of Goldsworthy's since his How Rome Fell book, and I willingly devour anything he writes (though for some reason, I've never gone back and read his Caesar biography).

This time, he covers the legendary lovers, Antony & Cleopatra, and my review of the book has now posted to Curled Up With a Good Book.

It's an excellent book that clears up a lot of the popular misconceptions about Cleopatra, though obviously some things will never be proven or disproven. The number of times that Goldsworthy has to say that there's just no way to know something is annoying, though I would rather he did that than make a bunch of suppositions and then build on top of them (yes, Alison Weir, I'm talking to you).

Goldsworthy does make suppositions, of course, but he tells you what they are, and he doesn't use these suppositions as evidence. If there are multiple theories, he will tell you them all and then tell you which one he believes is true.

From the review:

"As with How Rome Fell (the author is best known for Caesar: Life of a Colossus), the depth of Goldsworthy’s research is remarkable. He covers not just the lives of these two players but also the Roman world in which they grew up, along with a brief history of their families - the Ptolemaic royal family descended from Alexander the Great and that resulted in Cleopatra’s family line, and of Antony’s well-known aristocratic family.

Little is known about either childhood, but he gives us what he can, clearly noting where something is supported by historical document or whether it’s suggested or inferred from what is known of the time period. Where supposition and speculation are involved, Goldsworthy never presents it as fact but as differing theories. It’s interesting to explore these historical gray areas, but I like a historian who will present his view while not averring that his view is obvious fact."

If you're a fan of Roman history, this is a great book. But I recommend even more highly his book How Rome Fell (The link is to my review of that book).

I love reading about ancient history, and Goldsworthy is definitely a great read.

One Hit Wonders of the 2000s (Part 2)

It's a sunny Sunday morning here in Vancouver. The sun really can be a foreign concept here. It actually once tried to claim asylum but we said no.

I don't know what we were thinking.

But you know what also brings out the sun in your day?

No, not this.

It's the weekly one hit wonders post!

That bastion of banality, hodge-podge of hilarity, and loofah of laziness. (Alliteration is ageless).

It's also getting into the Christmas season. Don't get so wrapped up in the holidays...

that you forget to do something good for yourself.

Like reading this blog! Your happiness quotient will skyrocket if you do that!

Don't make me beg.

We're in the second week of the 2000s, and I have to say that I'm not overly impressed. But we'll see how it goes!

You can find the list I'm taking these from here.

Here we go!

Book Names That Make You Nervous

I'm currently reading Roger Moorhouse's new book, Berlin at War, which examines the life of the German capital during World War II. We've seen a lot of history books about Hitler, the generals, the armies, the back and forth battles, but Moorhouse's aim is to see what the day to day life of the civilians was like.

I'm not very far into it right now, so I can't comment on the book itself. However, reading about German society during the Nazi era, it reminded me of a book I was reading back in 2007, Jeffrey Herf's The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda During World War II and the Holocaust.

And thinking of that book got me remembering an old blog post I did on my Livejournal blog, about books with uncomfortable titles and/or covers.

First, I have to say that the book is simply phenomenal. My review of it is on Curled Up With a Good Book, and that review has actually been linked to on the book's Harvard University Press page, something I'm immensely proud of.

I reprint it for you below (and after the break), unedited. I'd be interested in your thoughts on the whole thing!

15 Authors - a different take

This is another one of those Facebook memes that's going around (they seemed to take a powder for a little while, or at least nobody deigned to include me). When I was tagged in this meme, I said to myself "Self," (because I always address myself), "why not post this to your blog instead of Facebook? She reads the blog anyway, thus fulfilling the contractual Facebook obligations of responding to these memes" (it's signed in blood...didn't you realize that's what they were doing when you felt that prick on your finger the first time you logged in?)

The Rules - Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors, poets included, who've influenced you and will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag at least fifteen friends, including me, because I am interested in seeing what authors my friends choose.

Ok, I won't be tagging anybody specifically, but any of you who are reading this must respond!!! You....cannot.....resist.....

Mine are after the break. Not only will I name the author, but also their finest work, or at least what affected me the most.