Okay, you've got spacingottawa.ca bookmarked or RSS-subscribed now?

Good. Moving on...

Yesterday, more day-job hunting, basement-cleaning, general networking and skills-practice time in the morning. In the afternoon, I took up the invitation of another OSFS member to go see Sherlock Holmes - the new edition with Downey and Law as Holmes and Watson - at the Rideau Centre. It was a fun two-hour stretch, both for the effort to take the Holmes canon and crossbreed it with what the writers, Mr. Ritchie and co. considered some of the better elements of the Indiana Jones and 007 franchises. Also, it looks like they decided to try their own approach to filling in a gap in the canon while they were about all those other chores. (Anything further on that point will constitute spoilers for those who haven't already seen the film.)

It worked well enough.

Summerside, PEI - a town I visited two summers ago - has got a wind farm going now.

Looks promising, judging by this CBC News item!

One more gift of the Season to the world at large...

Strangely, I don't feel too much melancholy on this particular anniversary. I do feel some amusement at some of the stories and images shared so far.

Take this one. We may be seeing more pop culture depictions of Saint Nicholas under his multiplicity of aliases along such lines in the years and decades to come.

Or this one about the dietary habits of New Brunswick's squirrel population. That's got to be one of the more painful dietary modifications of the habits of Canadian wildlife I've read of in recent years. *winces in sympathy*

Also, heartened by this one more local in scope on animal adoptions. Good in particular to see the due diligence being carried out beforehand.

Oh, and in case anyone's wondering: assorted clothes, proper hangers to store them in the closet, and copies of Extreme Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean and The Age of Persuasion by Terry O'Reilly and Mike Tennant. CBC Radio shows gone to print editions, yes, the both of them. Worth your time, both.

And that's the under-the-tree tally so far.

Be well, one and all...

It seems as if this edition of the Season is determined to make itself as comfortable - perhaps even joyful at times - as it possibly can for me.

There's two items of good news in particular. One I can probably blab about right now with no harm. The second is something I'll have to be vague about until the particulars are nailed down.

The former: Effective next week, I'll be a contributing blogger on spacingottawa.ca, a blog devoted to urban infrastructure, culture, and other related issues facing the Ottawa-Gatineau region. My first contribution is expected to go live there sometime next week.

The latter...involves comics work. More as I'm able to share. Sorry, but I do not want to jinx this thing.

In the meantime...best of the Season to you all.

See you later...

Hoping your Day was a good one!

Some of you may recall Justin as a founder of the original publicbroadcasting.ca and the organizer of nxew.ca. If you didn't know, he's got a new blog and here's the feed on LJ for it:

justinbeach

Strictly as a hypothetical:

Would anyone be interested in buying a bio-comic about Edward R. Murrow?

The latest press release from Bluewater Comics about an upcoming installment in their "Female Force" series devoted to Barbara Walters got me thinking about the man again. You may recall my endorsement of the movie Good Night and Good Luck a few years back, dealing with Murrow as well. The idea's been preying on my mind awhile.

You may recall that since Secret Invasion, the Marvel-616 version of the USA has been going it alone, forcing the breakup of SHIELD and creating its own wholly-owned version of that venerable cloak-and-laser outfit called HAMMER, led by Norman "Uniroyal Head" Osborn. Up to now, Marvel's had no answer to the question of "what does the HAMMER acronym stand for?"

I may have an answer, recently cobbled together by imagination...

Homeland Agency for Metahuman Management and Emergency Response

Marvel is, of course, free to use or ignore this as they wish. HAMMER's their trademark, after all, as SHIELD also is.

What do you think, though? While we're waiting for their press release...?

Seeing as everyone else who gives a damn one way or the other on the summit therein this week, I thought I'd throw my two cents in with those who don't want my nation's federal government to act as the Alberta oil industry's "firewall"...particularly where climate derangement's concerned.

To tammy212 and to matociquala's "Giant Ridiculous Dog", specifically! May your Day of Days be the best it can for the both of yez!

Go read this.

Please.

I must admit to some small confusion over receiving several notifications of replies to my postings and comments twice over during the last day or so. If it weren't for the complaints of those about not receiving any such notices from their accounts at all over the same period, I'd likely be even more confused.

Oh well. Technology, huh? Human inventions, human frailties.

First off, I am not happy with the weather today. It would have been convenient had the snowfall happened overnight rather than during the day. But the Appropriate Forces are not bound by the need to provide convenience for we mortal souls, are they?

Didn't think so.

Second, I've been reminded that this is the first anniversary of the launch of the OC Transpo Drivers' Strike of 2008-'09. That night, I remember my last trip home on the bus before the strife took hold: I was on my way home from Saint Brigid's after seeing Gwynne Dyer hold forth on topics covered in Climate Wars. To say that it threw a monkey wrench into all aspects of my life would not be an exaggeration. Shopping, job-hunting, networking with friends and relatives, the whole works.

It was not fun. No.

May we never, ever suffer a repeat of that mess, people.

Third, to alexjay? Hoping you're having a good one today, with many, happier returns to come in the future!

Back to you!

Noticed a couple of pieces of good news...

gumprich and querldox both have birthdays today, and I'm hoping that this year's installment has been good to the both of them!

On the job front, steve_roby landed one that he's comfy with! Hoping it lasts a good long while for you!

More notes to follow on other stuff...

And before I forget...whoever sent that v-snowflake? Thank you!

Seeing as strangemaps is on my friendlist feed, and alasdair was speaking of how and why he valued maps, it seemed a good moment to post this particular work in progress and training exercise...

From Mythical Maps

elaynetoo, I hope you had a good day today!

The 2008 and 2009 editions, now on sale at Canteen Books on Dalhousie Street, Ottawa!

Other locations to follow as they're negotiated, so keep your eyes open!

Bob Thirsk is back on the ground after setting what I believe a national record.

Details here:

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/12/01/thirsk-space.html

I saw the Grey Cup Game with about a hundred other Saskatchewan fans in exile per the Facebook invite of the alumni association of my Dad's alma mater at the Prescott last night. I think Stuart Immonen speaks for me very effectively indeed over the "Charlie Brown moment" of the last five seconds of the game.

The Ottawa Small Press Book Fair was lively and busy. I hope to post photos to Flickr later in the week.

Good to see duncanmac at the OSFS AGM before I went to the Grey Cup party mentioned above!

Back to you!

Since I'm gonna be really busy over the weekend - catching up with one of my west coast cousins, the Small Press Book Fair, the Ottawa SF Society annual general meeting, the big Grey Cup game night party for Saskatchewan Roughrider fans at the Prescott tomorrow, I wanted to give a b-day shout to some of my friends this morning.

ruckawriter, radargrrl and musta_kani? I hope you all have a good one tomorrow, and many more just as good or better in the years to come!

Take care, okay?