Volcanos & Snow

Hi and have a good week-end. I'm off camping. While away, I thought I'd share some volcanos that I've seen. In a previous post, I displayed the one used for LOTR. Enjoy!

This is a New Zealand "Ski field" on the North Island. There are no trees on this mountain as it is an actual live volcano, which blew in the 1990's. There are warnings for skiers about sulpher intake. Photo taken August 5, 2005

This is a photograph taken on Hawaii's big island, named Hawaii. The smoke is acutally steam of where hot lava is hitting the cool Pacific ocean. Photo taken August, 2005

This volcano is on the Caribbean island of Montserrat overlooking the abandoned and former capital city of Plymouth. Photo taken April, 2001.

Okay, now that the exciting stuff is over, this is just a Quebec farmer's field along my parents roadway into their home on a late December afternoon. Photo taken December, 2005

End of Summer preparedness

Wow, I can’t believe this is the last week-end in August. Without looking at a calendar the subtle changes tell me so. The nights are cooler and the mornings are fresh (or as the french say, fraiche). I now get up with the sun, instead of having it there to greet me.

I had a good summer with highlights being family. (I am single and unfortunately newly out of a relationship, so I wasn’t expecting the summer to be much). In July I met relatives I never knew existed at a small family reunion in Illinois, USA with my parents and brother. In August I spent a week with my sister and her two youngest children at my parent’s house in the unbelievably beautiful Laurentian Mountains of Quebec.

This is the first week-end this summer I’m taking completely for myself. Yesterday morning I wrote a short exam for some accreditation stuff I’m doing and then went to a pool where I swam a mile. I then came home and began the process of re-organizing my entire kitchen. Today I’ll go for a shorter swim (hoping for a kilometre), finish up my cupboards and clean my condo. It’s Sunday and so it’s appropriate because don’t they say that ‘cleanliness is close to godliness’?

Next week I travel 2.5 hours outside the city to spend the week-end with about 20 friends who jointly own about five acres in the country beside a lake and camp there. There’ll be lots of singing, dancing and a huge pig that we’ll cook over an outside fire on a spit.

Hope all of you enjoy the last days of summer.

The Plutonians Speak

Hi, I am Pluto and I have hijacked Lannio's blog to speak on behalf of all the Plutonians, my fellow citizens.


Today we are very depressed because our home has been downgraded and demoted.

Back in 1930 we were all so happy because you earthlings discovered us and said we lived on a place (a planet), equivalent to earth. However, now you earthlings consider our home a "dwarf planet," leaving eight planets, including yours, with the more superior rating of a planet. We plutonians are not happy about this!

Pluto, which is said to be smaller than your planet's moon, now doesn't fit your earthling new criteria for a planet.We apparently don't qualify because our orbit is inclined relative to the rest of the solar system and crosses over the orbit of Neptune. If we had known this, we would have set our planet in another direction. It's just that we like to be friendly and like the Neptunians. Now, just because we wanted to be friendly, we are now shunned.

This is a total outrage!

I believe that this calls for an official meeting with Star Trek's Federation!

You earthlings have not heard the last of us Plutonians!

On This Day ....

August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining.....


Some events of this day


1926 - Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor dies (born 1895)
1946 - Keith Moon, English singer and drummer (The Who) was born (died 1978)
1949 - Shelley Long, American actress was born
1949 - Rick Springfield, Australian singer and actor was born
1960 - Oscar Hammerstein II, American lyricist dies (born 1895)

Holidays and observances on this day, August 23

Romania - Liberation Day (1944).
Swaziland - Umhlanga Day.
Ukraine - Flag Day.

While I acknowledge all of these events, I'd really like to celebrate the life of Mr. Moon

Last year at this time, I was travelling. This year I dream of travel. Here are some of my photographs from the places I've been

This is El Portal. The entrance way in the Yosemite Valley, California. I took this shot facing east at morning sunrise.

This is a sunset I took overlooking the Seine River in Paris


This is a Fijian sunset taken from a small island on a reef in the mighty South Pacific.



This is the main pyramid in Chitchenitza, Mexico. We got there really early, which is why you don't see hundreds of people scattered about.

The is the main square in Antwerp, Belgium Luckily there was some type of event going on the next day so there were risers. That's why I have such a geat high view of these buildings.


Did anyone see the movie, Lord of the Rings? Mount Ngauruhoe, on the right, is the actual active volcano in New Zealand that Peter Jackson and crew digitally altered to become Mount Doom. It is in Tongariro National Park.

I love architecture. These old Bajan houses were transportable and used by slaves in Barbados. They still stand and aren't moved around anymore, but "free" people still live in them.


I took this rural house while touring the countryside not far from Varadero Cuba.

Enjoy!
Wish I was off taking more right now.

WHO are you??

Today, I went into work after a late night of red wine and great conversation with a neighbour on mine and then her patio. I didn't think I'd make it to work on time, but I did!! Serious stuff today 'cause I had to put together next year's Strategic Plan. << quick, quick, clear those drunken cobwebs girl !!! >>.

I'm now still am at work with most of the Strategic Plan behind me << yeah!!! >>. But wait! My cobwebs have been cleared and didn't I hear someone say THE WHO are going on tour??? AAh, they're such a great band their tickets must be sold out in Toronto. <<check it out, check it out girl !!!>>. So I did .... the first sight I went to was a scalper site selling tickets for $1,000!! << ooh no, I said, they must be sold out!!! But wait, it's a scalper site - go to a ticket site >> So I did, I did and I have two tickets for December 4th!!

I saw the WHO in the 1970s and am delighted to see Pete and Roger in concert together once more. Sure I'm in a "saving mode", but some things are worth the cost of admission. Isn't it great that all the rockers of "My Generation" are touring once more?? However, too bad they don't sell tickets for $10.00 anymore.

Toronto Sucks - a song by the Arrogant Worms

The Arrogant Worms are a great comedy singing group. However, much of Canada hate Torontonians and this song is a take on that! I've only published the first verse. Note: All photos are of Toronto













I hate the skydome and the CN Tower too
I hate Nathan Phillips Square and the Ontario Zoo
The rents too high, the airs unclean
The beaches are dirty and the people are mean
And the women are big and the men are dumb
And the children are loopy cuz they live in a slum
The water is polluted and the mayor's a dork
They dress real bad and they think they're New York
In Toronto, Ontario

"You know, actually I think I hate all of Ontario"

Cats

• There is no snooze button on a cat that wants breakfast.

• Cats aren't clean, they're covered with cat spit.

• Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.

Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.

• Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later.

• Dogs believe they are human.Cats believe they are God.

• Cats are subject to a good many ailments, but never have they suffered from insomnia.

• People that hate cats will come back as mice in their next life.

• As every cat owner knows; nobody owns a cat.

• There are many intelligent people in the universe; they are all owned by cats.

• The cat has too much spirit to have no heart.

and finally ....

• There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.

My sister's influence

Until a couple of days ago, I really didn't know anything about blogging. That was until my crazy sister (who lives over 2,000 miles away from me) and I met up at my parents (about 300 miles from me) and she told me all about her experiences here. Humm, I say, why not try it myself. No real purpose to my being here, except maybe to give her and others (new friends that I may meet here) a wink once in awhile. If you think she's crazy about music - all I'll say is that it runs in the family but she didn't drive my family crazy with her endless singing of Joni Mitchell, The Stones, Heart and others .... Oh, btw, hi sis!

Rookie Opener

Hi,

Welcome to my blog - and my first posting on it! It's summer and the rain has finally come after two glorious weeks of sunshine. Heaven's I don't really know what to say as I'm brand new at this and don't know who I'm talking to. But, it's sort of like "Star Trek" going where (okay you've been here before but I haven't) I haven't been before.

Lannio