Bits and Bobs of Joy
Jun. 13th, 2010 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
przedI've had a lovely few days, both fannishly and familialy (Is that even a word? I thought not.) So I thought I'd share a bit of the joy.
First, my Ladder of Swords DVD arrived on Friday, from the Danish DVD store recommended by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lady_meander. The speed of the shipping almost makes up for the exorbitant shipping fee. (Nearly 6 times the cost of the DVD! Luckily the DVD was cheap.) The film itself looks lovely, though I'm still poking about for a way to turn off the subtitling. Still, I'm very glad to have a replacement for my dodgy VHS copy.
Love the movie, but wow, they could have done a better cover.
The Sweetie saw the DVD lying about, prompting this exchange:
Sweetie: What the heck is this?!
Me: A Martin Shaw movie I love.
Sweetie: What's it about? A bear attack?
Me: He's a circus bear.
Sweetie: And what the heck is Shaw supposed to be? He looks like he wandered out of a bad panto.
Me: He's a circus performer, okay. He's actually pretty gorgegous in most of the movie.
Sweetie: Okaaayyyy. ::backs away slowly:: ::stops:: ::turns:: Ya know how the movie could be better? If Martin Shaw was a panto performer, stuck in the woods. And he was being attacked by a bear. And he had to kill the bear.
Me: ::backs away slowly::
Yeah, the Sweetie is a nut, but he's my nut.
Second, it seems a-ha did an in-depth interview for Q, the CBC Radio arts and culture program. The interview is available to stream here (look for the May 19 file), and is everything I'd hoped for from the band. They're smart, articulate, and clearly kept their heads in the face of both their early fame and their failure to ever crack the North American market properly. My affection for Morten has increased tenfold, knowing how much he despises the fact that he's known in the mainstream media primarily for having a pretty face.
Mind you, that face is rather pretty. Here, have a gratuitous pic of the Toronto a-ha concert:
Actually, have one more, just because I love this shot:
Finally, we've had an especially awesome week with Ros. She's physically growing an insane amount (about 1 cm every 2 weeks), and seems to be growing in maturity by the day. You can have real conversations with her, and she gets way more than I would have expected even a few months ago. And she can just do more stuff. Including operate our real camera, as opposed to the kid digital camera we gave her for her birthday last year. In fact, she's now responsible for one of the best pictures of me and the Sweetie I've ever seen.
I'd love this pic of the two of us anyway, but the fact that Ros took it makes it even more special.
There was also a lovely visit to a park with some uni friends and their kids on Saturday, and a get together with our (sort of) adoption group today, where the kids had a fab time and so did the adults. It doesn't get much better.
Hope everyone else had a similarly awesome weekend.
First, my Ladder of Swords DVD arrived on Friday, from the Danish DVD store recommended by
lady_meander. The speed of the shipping almost makes up for the exorbitant shipping fee. (Nearly 6 times the cost of the DVD! Luckily the DVD was cheap.) The film itself looks lovely, though I'm still poking about for a way to turn off the subtitling. Still, I'm very glad to have a replacement for my dodgy VHS copy.Love the movie, but wow, they could have done a better cover.
The Sweetie saw the DVD lying about, prompting this exchange:
Sweetie: What the heck is this?!
Me: A Martin Shaw movie I love.
Sweetie: What's it about? A bear attack?
Me: He's a circus bear.
Sweetie: And what the heck is Shaw supposed to be? He looks like he wandered out of a bad panto.
Me: He's a circus performer, okay. He's actually pretty gorgegous in most of the movie.
Sweetie: Okaaayyyy. ::backs away slowly:: ::stops:: ::turns:: Ya know how the movie could be better? If Martin Shaw was a panto performer, stuck in the woods. And he was being attacked by a bear. And he had to kill the bear.
Me: ::backs away slowly::
Yeah, the Sweetie is a nut, but he's my nut.
Second, it seems a-ha did an in-depth interview for Q, the CBC Radio arts and culture program. The interview is available to stream here (look for the May 19 file), and is everything I'd hoped for from the band. They're smart, articulate, and clearly kept their heads in the face of both their early fame and their failure to ever crack the North American market properly. My affection for Morten has increased tenfold, knowing how much he despises the fact that he's known in the mainstream media primarily for having a pretty face.
Mind you, that face is rather pretty. Here, have a gratuitous pic of the Toronto a-ha concert:
Actually, have one more, just because I love this shot:
Finally, we've had an especially awesome week with Ros. She's physically growing an insane amount (about 1 cm every 2 weeks), and seems to be growing in maturity by the day. You can have real conversations with her, and she gets way more than I would have expected even a few months ago. And she can just do more stuff. Including operate our real camera, as opposed to the kid digital camera we gave her for her birthday last year. In fact, she's now responsible for one of the best pictures of me and the Sweetie I've ever seen.
I'd love this pic of the two of us anyway, but the fact that Ros took it makes it even more special.
There was also a lovely visit to a park with some uni friends and their kids on Saturday, and a get together with our (sort of) adoption group today, where the kids had a fab time and so did the adults. It doesn't get much better.
Hope everyone else had a similarly awesome weekend.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 03:31 am (UTC)And please tell Don I side with him about that hideous DVD cover--and this from someone who knows how freakin' gorgeous MS is in that movie. Bad, bad, BAD cover design.
Someone got paid for that.
::sigh::
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 01:45 am (UTC)And that's perhaps the most depressing thing.
Ah well, I shall just bask in the gorgeousness that is MS in the movie and ignore the goddawful cover.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 03:51 am (UTC)"Look out! There's a bear behind you!" Erm, yeah, I have to agree with your sweetie here. *g* I'd never pick that up of the DVD shelf, wouldn't even recognize Martin Shaw as I walked right by it. Erm... He sort of looks like Stalin in that picture. Eeek!
Still, fantastic to hear that it's a really good copy as yes, MS is gorgeous in that film.
The Ros snapped piccie is great and of course part of it *is* absolutely down to who you're both smiling at. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 01:47 am (UTC)You're right about Ros' pic. We both look so happy because we're smiling at her, and she is teh awesome.
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Date: 2010-06-14 04:13 am (UTC)Sorry I missed you at Media West. Look at your gorgeous long hair! I do sort of miss the blond pixie look you had a few years ago, but this is really nice, too. ::g:: It sounds like Ros is even more wonderful than you had imagined. See what good parenting can do for a child?
Hugs from Nevada.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 01:56 am (UTC)I totally missed you at Media too. It just wasn't the same. Cindy aside, most of my good UNCLE friends weren't there, so I hung with the Pros crowd. Which was enjoyable, but also made me a little sad.
Hugs in return from Toronto. Some day we'll have to hook up.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 04:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 01:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 05:36 am (UTC)Oh your little baby! She is growing so fast and seems as if she is very intelligent. It really is a lovely pic of you and your Sweetie. You must get that printed and framed. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 01:58 am (UTC)The baby is rapidly turning into a young lady in a way that is both gratifying and frightening. And we totally have to get that picture printed.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 06:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 01:59 am (UTC)And the Ros is definitely getting good at photography. (Of course, I didn't post any of her misfires. *g*)
It was a fantastic weekend, and not before time.
photography!Ros
Date: 2010-06-14 07:05 am (UTC)The real-conversations stage is really lovely, isn't it! (we're in the unreal-conversations stage here, aka having teenagers - which has its upsides, while being quite ... difficult. I'm not great at the whole letting-go thing, but their dad is worse!). I'm curious - you mentioned that Ros is learning Mandarin (I think?) - are either of you Mandarin speakers, or is it just her? It's a wonderful thing for her future, either way!
Re: photography!Ros
Date: 2010-06-15 02:02 am (UTC)I'm going to enjoy the conversation thing until we get to the teenager bit. And then just hope she manages to avoid the usual sullenness.
As for Mandarin, the Sweetie and I took lessons for a year and a half before going to China. Not that we remember that much. But Ros seems to be picking up a fair bit at her lessons. (She was too young to remember any from China.) She even sang Happy Birthday in Chinese to her grandma (my mom) last week.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 08:57 am (UTC)That's amazing. You look so happy.
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Date: 2010-06-15 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 12:00 pm (UTC)It's so great you had a good week. Mine was fine, other than melting here! I made great headway into my S&H story for a zine being published in October. It's my first long (big bang size!) S&H so it's been fun writing it. Actually, this is the first rewrite after the editor sent it back with major suggestions, which were spot on.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 02:04 am (UTC)Good luck with the S&H story. Sounds very exciting. Especially when you've got an editor whose instincts you trust.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 12:24 pm (UTC)It sounds like a fantastic weekend, all told. But, um, yeah...that DVD cover is, well, scary comes to mind. *g*
Here's to awesome weekends!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 02:06 am (UTC)The perpetrator of that DVD cover should be shot.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 04:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 02:08 am (UTC)I managed to complete my order by using Google Translate. It was pretty easy. Though again, I'll warn you that their postage is insanely expensive, many times the cost of the DVD.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-16 05:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-17 01:47 am (UTC)You'll have to let me know when you get the disk.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 06:11 pm (UTC)Y'know I'd watch that movie as well *g*
Fantastic picture of the two of you and it really sounds as though Ros is growing up very fast indeed.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 02:09 am (UTC)Ros is definitely growing up fast. It's simultaneously frightening and gratifying.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 08:02 pm (UTC)But that DVD cover...what else can you say about something as horrible as that?
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Date: 2010-06-15 02:10 am (UTC)Let us not speak of the DVD cover. It is too dire. *g*
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 04:47 am (UTC)The cover is indeed Dire. I've seen better ones done by Graphic Design 101 students. Nay, better ones done by high schoolers! If they're paying for crap designs like that, why can't they pay me?
no subject
Date: 2010-06-15 10:54 am (UTC)And you would produce good design, not crap! *g*
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Date: 2010-06-15 06:12 pm (UTC)It would be so easy to do to. A cover that bad takes work.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-17 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-17 08:58 pm (UTC)Though the first time I asked a room mate to get something down for me from the second cabinet shelf, she laughed her head off.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-19 01:41 am (UTC)Living with a big guy has made me lazier. There's nothing he can't reach, and I'm not shy about asking him to get stuff. *g*
no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 06:30 am (UTC)Until my sister shot up (to, whoo, about 5'3") the only person in my immediate family over 5ft was my dad at just short of 5'8"; mom is 4'9ish. I used to sing the Munchkin song to people when they first went O_O at the amount of short in the house.