hmmmm...
Jean-Luc Picard
An accomplished diplomat who can virtually do no wrong, you sometimes know it is best to rely on the council of others while holding the reins.
There are some words which I have known since I was a schoolboy. "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." These words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie -- as a wisdom, and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged.
Jean-Luc is a character in the Star Trek universe. This Next Generation fan site has an outline of his career.
amazon.com - strange but true
Well, last night I ordered two movies - The Sword of Gideon, a movie from the late 1980s based on the novel Vengance by George Jonas (which in and of itself is also the basis for Spielberg's new movie, Munich) and One Day in September which is an award-winning documentary. All of these films of course chronicle the events that occurred at the 1972 Munich Olympics, in which a number of Israeli athletes were murdered. Anyway, this afternoon I received an e-mail saying One Day in September had been shipped. It also said: "We thought you'd like to know that we shipped this portion of your order separately to give you quicker service. You won't be charged any extra shipping fees, and the remainder of your order will follow as soon as those items become available."
So I thought, well ok, they are having troubles getting Sword of Gideon, whatever. I'd have ordered it from amazon.ca but that site noted that the title wasn't available for 6 - 8 weeks, the American site said it was available in 2 - 3 days.
Then tonight, I received an e-mail saying Sword of Gideon had been shipped. Both e-mails estimate them coming at the same time - between December 29 - January 5. I've found recently the estimations are conservative, my Mother and me have recently ordered a number of items from both the Canadian and American sites and they've all arrived on time or early.
So I talked to my Mom today and got my Christmas present today Final Draft Scriptwriters Suite. I installed it on my laptop and have to install it yet on my main hard drive. I'm looking forward to using it to develop my story ideas. I chose this suite because it has both Final Draft which is designed for film and tv scripts as well as theatre plays; and it has Final Draft AV which is designed for doing documentaries, videos and advertising commercials. And I have ideas for all areas that this package covers, that I want to develop over time.
So that's cool.
In spite of some issues in terms of our group project for International Business, which unfortunately we scored low on, I was able to pass the course with a C+. I'm glad the term is over with; it was harrowing dealing with KSA stuff. I'm looking forward to the spring term. I've been working hard on my online courses which I'm continuing into the spring, till at least the end of February, although I have until the end of January for one final extension of an additional two months which would give me to the end of April. But I can't drag my feet any longer with those courses. Especially as I want to take a few more online courses and I want to have them all done by June.
Anyway, time for bed.
- Steve
the work continues...
Well, worked more on the kitchen this morning. Scotch-guarded the rug in the eating area and cleaned more cupboards (about 85% done). My Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.0 arrived from Amazon.com. This Region 1 release is only available in the United States right now, and won't be available in Canada until May, 2006. This DVD features the first ten (10) episodes of season two (2), which to date have only aired on US television's Sci-Fi Network. The episodes will air in Canada on Space: The Imagination Station starting in January 2006, and in the UK on Sky One. I've had the pleasure of watching the first ten episodes already via the wonders of the internet and plan on enjoying the DVD over the holidays. I hope to post a review on all the DVD releases for this great show within the next few weeks.
Last night, I started reading Myth and the Movies: Discovering the Mythic Structure of 50 Unforgettable Films by Stuart Voytilla. I want to plow through it fairly quickly.
Anyway, gotta go up town with Mom to get some last minute stuff for Christmas done. Then back home to work on some more cleaning!
- Steve
tired
well, since my last post, the oven racks are clean, so the oven itself is done. I've cleaned up about 75% of our cupboards and drawers, and I moved the kitchen table, vacuumed the rug under the table and then moved the rug to vacuum and wash the tiles in the eating area. I cleaned our bird's cage. When the tiles were dry, I put the rug back down, vacuumed it again, and then used our new mini carpet cleaner on it as our new dog has had a few accidents on it. In the morning we'll scotch guard the rug as it's fairly new, to protect it from possible future stains. Still have some more cupboards to do, but will finish in the morning. I just did the rest of the kitchen floor, vacuumed and washed it - but will probably have to redo it tomorrow after I finished the rest of the cupboards and drawers.
Bleh. So I’m a bit tired. Still have to clean up my tub before I can shower tonight – used it to clean the oven racks, soaked them in ammonia and warm water for a few hours, then went at them with S.O.S. pads.
Tomorrow I’ll finish everything in the kitchen and probably attack our closets and apartment storage areas. They aren’t dirty but could be better organized.
- Steve