Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France

It's not fair to compare IMAX versions of Star Wars or other
mainstream films to films like Wired to Win. Some would think that
it's not worth your time or money to see documentaries in IMAX, when
you could go see Fung Fu Panda in a similar setting for the same
price. Nonetheless, at the beginning, you sort of wonder what you
paid for when the film starts with a family video of a kid riding a
bike for the first time. A couple of crashes, and then he's finally
riding.

It was similar to a magician's act in which you're not sure what's
going on, and you're fairly unimpressed, until he pulls back the
curtains with a dramatic WHOOSH! Then you forget everything you've
ever known, live in the moment, and try to take in every bit of detail
that's thrown at you.

Any fan of cycling should see this movie, because until they start
airing the Tour in HD, this is the most breathtaking coverage yet.
Just with the opening shot over the Alps and the peloton threading
their way through the perilous pass, it's enough to make you wonder
why they don't charge more for admission.

The documentary follows two athletes, one of whom suffers serious
injury and is forced to drop from the Tour. The second goes on to
claim Sprinter's victory in Paris. By a hair mind you, but he does
win.

The cycling fans will wonder why there isn't more bike action in the
film, but the CG sections that explain neurological pathways are
linked very effectively with the action. In one case, the Peloton is
on a decent through the Pyrenese and one of the cyclists hears the
warning cry, "Look out!" After this the camera follows the sounds
waves into the inner ear, stops in the cochlea where the sound is
processed, then hops aboard the auditory nerve to the brain where
Alfred Molina - another great reason to see this film - explains how
the brain gauges the importance of the warning.

This is something that the entire family would enjoy. People who
enjoy a good crash, learning more about the way your body functions,
and even those who love the sweeping vistas that the french
countryside is famous for. This IMAX feature will not disappoint.

VIVE LE TOUR!

Exploring at the World of Science

Caitlin and I decided to take a trip to Telus World of Science. We
had heard about the Body Works exibit, and I was quite intrigued to
find out about this place. Little did I know, there is an extra cost
to see the exibit. Another surprise was one of the IMAX films, which
I had to see: Wired to Win:Surviving the Tour de France. I was nearly
jumping out of my boots when I saw the poster. I'm a sucker for these
things, and Caitlin agreed. Again, that's an added expense, but it
was just the two of us, because Rini is less than four years of age.
She still had fun in the Exploration gallery. Her favourite was the
Water station. Second favourite was the area with the giant gears and
keyboard. Her least favourite was the construction area, because she
wound up on the wrong side of a wall, and was seperated from Mommy and
Daddy! Oh no! Her life was over! I don't really know what her
opinion of the magnifying glass area was, because we didn't spend a
lot of time there. She only went there because it was on the way to
the water works.

She didn't have the best time in body works though. She wasn't
scared, it's just that she couldn't run around, or crawl on top of the
displays, and she had to be quiet, and we couldn't eat anything in
there! It was a nightmare for her! At first things we cool with the
running around, but once she realized she couldn't touch anything, it
was pretty boring. Then again, she was really quiet and attentive in
the gestation area. They had fetuses from the beginning of the fourth
week, all the way to 9 months. They also had a pregnant woman as
well. The lady had a terminal illness, and knew that she may not
survive the pregnancy. She died, as did the fetus, at eight months.
You feel bad for her, but at the same time you marvel that she had the
courage to submit her body, and her baby's, for the plastinization
process. It was a beautiful thing to see, and it made me feel for
Caitlin when I saw how compressed the organs were.

I was also very impressed with the heart displays. There was one
display with the cornonary arteries (yes, there are two coming from
the aorta, another thing I learned) and the heart could not have been
larger than a decently sized apple. Still, there was a network of
arteries. Tiny, whispy little things that I am amazed that anything
can get through there, but blood does, everyday, and it circulates to
keep you alive. Looking at something like that, I was amazed that
people don't die sooner from clogged arteries. The body can certainly
put up with a lot of abuse, and it's able to heal itself at the same
time. It's a marvel and a wonder, yet some hold to the belief that we
were randomly put together through a series of comsic chance events.
Yeah, I'm going to say no on that!

In the gift shop, there was a corner where there was an assortment of
toys, and Rini immediately went for the weelinks, a very unique set of
blocks that can be stacked in a variety of ways. They're kind of a
mix of Lego and stacking cups. Really cool, and we were going to get
a set at Cap Ex a couple of years ago, but that didn't happen. I
didn't want that oppurtunity to pass by again. So, $20 later, Rini
was proudly carrying out the blocks, even though the box was almost as
big as her!

She's remarkably smart, that little girl, and she's starting to get
the hang of walking down stairs, instead of crawling down them. She
reaches out for our hands ever now and then too. We had a pause on
the lawn outside Telus World of Science, and Rini was very attentive
when we told her to look but not touch the flowers. She stayed on the
perimeter, and even walked on the sidewalks for the more part. Just
watch, she's going to turn 2 and turn into a demon. Or maybe it'll be
at 13. One of these days, she's not going to be our little girl
anymore. Just have to remember, "Teach up a child the way s/he should
go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it."

Eragon

Three stars (out of five)

Watching this movie made me very glad that I had gambled on getting surround sound all those years ago. Right from the get go when dragons were flying around setting stuff, and each other, on fire, I got the message in my head, "Enjoy the ride." There was a substantial plot of a young boy, arrogant teen, who is thinking that he's got life figured out and knows where he's going, and then gets the wake up call of the wild, and discovers that he is the fabled hero that will overthrow the brutal John Malcovich. He leaves behind his home and kind stepfather, which were torn to pieces by assasins looking to cut the movie short by killing off the main character 20 minutes into the film.

I wish that I hadn't heard that it was a Star Wars rip off, because throughout the movie, I was searching for similarities and they were not that hard to find. You could almost hear Frank Oz when Jeremy Irons chastizes Eragon for leaving to pick up some chick that appeared to him in a dream. Turns out it's a trap and he has to fight a soceror to escape. He gets some help from his friends, and more importantly his dragon, and they run away to face off again. Round two has more people, more action, and the craziest showdown between Eragon and creepy sorceror guy. I was fully entralled by the arial battle, and I was even more pleased with how they handled the ending. I knew there is another book to the work the movie is based on, yet I found myself questioning whether Eragon would have to find himself another dragon. Jeremy Irons didn't, but he went out with a bang, and that was pretty cool. If I had a dragon entomb me in glass, I'd rest easy.

If it wasn't for the DTS surround sound that was rumbling throughout the movie, I don't think I would as happy about it. Okay story, Jeremy Irons, and a really cool dragon makes for some good entertainment. We might even buy the DVD just for the dragon. :)

Caitlin: Ditto the dragon!

Relief and character growth

Rini is feeling much better, and her rash is going away too. I was getting a little worried about her bottom, because it was getting really red, and she was constantly scratching. We got her into the medi-clinic across the street, but we need to get a family doctor again. My perscription is good for a few more months, but that is the clock, and it is ticking. Caitlin also told me that we should get Rini registered with the provincial health care. We already have a SIN for her, might as well get her registered with the government completely! So long as she doesn't have to get a chip implanted, I think we'll be fine. That little goof is getting around almost too well now. We are going to have to do some serious reorganization around here. Or we could move. That works too.

Our daughter is quite the character, because yesterday, I had some Spoon size Shredded Wheat for breakfast, and Rini climbed into my lap. I said, "Fold arms," and she folds her arms. Crazy enough, she does it in a formal way, in which she grabs her wrist. She looks quite dainty when she does. The funny thing, neither Caitlin, nor myself taught her how to do that. I used cutlery properly at age five or something and Caitlin sat like a lady with her legs crossed when she was still in diapers. Neither one of us received ANY teaching, formal or otherwise, to do so beforehand. After I said prayer, she didn't quite unfold her arms right away, so I started eating, and she wanted some too. So I would feed her a piece of cereal now and again. By the time I was done breakfast, she had eaten about a dozen pieces. For some odd reason, she won't do that with mommy, but she'll eat just fine with daddy. Then again, I didn't put her in her chair. Life is weird when you don't have a dinner table.

Wall E: The Experience

I could talk about a lot of things that happened over the past few days, but I'm going to focus on Pixar's latest creation, Wall E, but I'm not going to get to the movie quite yet. Another part of the Wall E experience is the video game that was released in time with the movie. Caitlin and I couldn't go and see the movie opening night, and on a whim I decided to rent the PS2 game, thinking that it would be the same thing. I know that video games based on movies can be very campy, very dumb, and the taste of the plot can be compared to a tepid, thin broth. I will thank my wife again for encouraging me to rent Happy Feet the game instead of buying it.

However, this can also be compared to reading the book before going to see the movie. With books, you have time to explore the surroundings, get to know the characters, and have a better idea of what the world is like, rather than witnessing a thoroughly wonderful story edited down to two or three hours. Wall E the game took me between five to six hours to complete, incredibly short for a game, but I didn't jump through all the hoops, per se. One very endearing feature of the game, which was not explored very much in the movie, was Wall E interacting with human artifacts. I can full well understand that there was not much more than was shown in the trailer (eg. bra, fire extinguisher, car remote) because it does not advance the plot. Plus, if you have seen the trailer, I could see some people thinking, "Ok, that's cute. GET ON WITH IT!" The plot of the game is also adjusted somewhat since **SPOILER ALERT** Wall E is damaged quite badly close to the end of the movie, and the other robots assist achieving the goal of returning the plant to the Holo emitter, as opposed to the game where Wall E places the plant himself. **End SPOILER ALERT** You play the role of Wall E and EVE, but EVE's controls are much more limited than Wall E's, and thus it's obvious Wall E would play a larger role in the game. In retrospect, playing the game was much like going through the special features on the DVD.

The game doesn't give away the entire movie, and I was very grateful for that. You did get a good run through of what the movie was about, but it was enough that the movie more than stands on its own.

I take that back, the movie doesn't stand on its own. It looms over the game and casts a shadow large enough to block out the sun, yet completes the game like a missing puzzle piece. Pixar has always strove to do themselves better, not only to prove to their audience that they know how to make good movies, but to show that they are passionate about what they do.

Wall E is part of a fleet of robots that were commissioned to clean up all the trash on the Earth, while everyone on earth shipped off on space cruise liners big enough to dwarf Super Star Destroyers and the Death Star. The clean up was supposed to only take five years, but seven centuries has passed and like most government projects, it wasn't completed yet. As for the fleet of units left behind to clean up, only one remains, and his only company is his pet cockroach. He's a big fan of "Hello Dolly!" and parallels the role of Cornelius Hackle, in which he dreams of seeing more than the wasteland that the world has become.

I was very excited for this movie, because I was looking forward to seeing how Pixar would do with a silent film. There are speaking roles, but the amount of dialogue is minimal compared to most animated films. Yet I dare say the animated robots emote more than some live action stars I've seen. For example, when you first see EVE, she's busy working away, like you would suspect a robot to do. However, immediately after the departure of the ship that dropped her off, she tears around like my daughter when I turn my back on her. Also Wall E's vocabulary is restricted to less than a dozen words, yet you really understand him and truly care for him. You also see his devotion for EVE, especially when he gets hit by lightning multiple times in an effort to keep her dry during a rainstorm.

Ever since I heard about this movie, I have had the highest hopes in terms of story, character, sets and backdrops. It excelled on every level I can think of, and then some. The game was a nice complement to the movie, especially the animatics when he finds artifacts, my favourite being the boomerang. It would have been nice to include his search for the other Wall E bot in the movie, but the movie was just as memorable without it. Pixar has made a name for itself in making very tight, very fun, and very moving pictures. Mark my words though, if the burnt out Luxo logo is not on the DVD, I will be buying the game.

I KNOW IT'S A ROCK!

For some odd reason that reminds me of a story I heard, back in seminary I think. There was a tree that was not supported properly, and it started to grow sideways. The person who owned it had to pruned it down severely in order to correct the growth. That's not right either, because when he looked back at what he had done he had a conversation with the tree in which the tree was defending the growth that he had done. The tree thought that it was become a marvelous bush, and the owner replied, "I am the gardener, and I know what is best. You are not meant to be a bush, you are meant to be a tree."

Then Dot says with a strain of unbelief, "But it's a rock!" Flick then rants, "I KNOW IT'S A ROCK! I spend a lot of time around ROCKS! You'd think I'd know a rock when I SEE one!"

The biggest thorn is the fact that I'm not all that sure of what I'm doing. I know what I want to do, but I'm not precisely sure how to do it, or if that's the right way to do it, and I don't want to screw it all up. All I want is to provide for my family. I'm not thinking about myself anymore. I'm just thinking about something that provides money, maybe not copious amounts, but enough to live. Then there's the idea of owning a home. Yikes. If we can't even provide for ourselves to the point that we can pay our bills NOW, how on earth can we even imagine to pay a mortgage! I haven't paid anything to my Canada Student Loans for over six months now, and I know that's going to hit me hard really quickly. The stupid thing is that I'm not sure if we can afford to pay out another $350 a month towards something else!

I need a new job. That's all there is to it. But the dumb thing is that I don't know what job I want to move to, and I want it to be something that I'll want to get up and do.

Okay, now I'm at an odd state. If I like my job, would that mean I would put it ahead of my family, and purposely avoid coming home because I like my job so much? I can't seem to find a happy medium here!

I would like to expand upon my acting, because Caitlin and I just finished some classes that we've been taking for the past few weeks, and I'd like to build upon that. I did learn a substantial amount, and by the end I was told that I just need to get to an audition and I would have a job. I'd like to see where that goes, because I'm obviously getting nowhere with Engineering. I also have a notion to take a PLC class in the fall, but I would have to make $1500 appear out of thin air for that to happen. Hmmm... Maybe we can do some kind of Rowan Atkinson thing.

On a happier note, the other day we went for a family bike ride. Caitlin finally has here bike from the Tolley's (they had a bike that mom Tolley wasn't using), and we also got a second-hand bike trailer from Eric and Kallie. Third-hand I suppose, since they got it from the Stouts. I also took Rini out my myself earlier on this week to get her a helmet, which she hates to wear of course. On Monday, we plan to do a trek out to Beaumont, something that I figure will take about an hour, seeing it took me 45 minutes on my own.

On 21 June 2008, I had a bit of a startling dream that I felt I had to write down. I wrote down as many of the details that we present in my mind, essentially working backwords until I was dry on images. Then later on I remembered that Terry McAlister had that weird ability to control the focal point of his lens, and could thereby look through perscription glasses, no matter the perscription. Something that can be handy if anything should happen to the character who fits that perscription, since the glasses have an ability that the main character will need. Something for another book, and I did enjoy writing back in November, and I plan to do it again this year.

The Great Outdoors

Rini is loving life out in the great outdoors, especially now that
it's warm enough that we don't need to worry about her freezing, and
she is also able to walk around, crawl around, and climb things! The
other day we had a little daddy-daughter time at one of the parks near
our place. I packed her into the Norco Stagecoach that we got from
Eric and Kallie, who got it from the Stouts. It's still a nice and
robust bicycle trailer, just had a few cobwebs from staying in their
shed all winter. We also got a helmet for Rini, but it's a little too
big. I think we might have to find something smaller, and either
return or shelf the one I bought.

The other thing we acquired is a bicycle for Caitlin! I have been
waiting to get this for some time now. We had the room in our place,
because we have that bike rack that leans against the wall. Superb
investment on all accounts, and I highly recommend it to any cyclist
who is tight for space and doesn't want to drill holes in the wall.

Towing that trailer is quite the workout, although I did manage to hit
30 kph, but that was going downhill. My average speed was about 12
kph. Still, it was quite the experience for Rini, although she didn't
like the straps and the helmet. She's going to have to live with the
helmet, because there is no way I can get around that one.