On the 10th of December, 2013 the world lost a great person. She didn't star in a Hollywood production. She didn't lead an army into battle. Not a famous person at all. But what made her great was that she cared. With a heart bigger than most she was one of the few people that strove to make the world a better place to be. Without a doubt she made a difference in my life.
Born in the Downriver area of Michigan on the 28th of May way back in 1954 she went through life like most of us do, just trying to get by. Growing up in the 60's and early 70's with people protesting war and the loss of a brother made for an open minded caring person.
I remember the day I met her, Timid as doe. She didn't say much to me at first. She was cautious around new people with good reason. My father was about to marry this women and I wasn't sure why. My father had two previous unsuccessful marriages and I was hoping that he wasn't about to rush into another. I was in the army, in Europe, at the time and had shown up for the wedding. My time was short and I hadn't been able to get to know Bonnie.
Upon returning home in 1990 I finally got a chance to build a relationship with my stepmother. Several times she went out of her way to help me out. I can't thank her enough for being apart of my life. She will be surely missed.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Open letter to the City of Calgary
Dear Calgary,
Congratulations on completing ¾ of highway 201. I'm sure it will improve traffic flow for citizens and visitors alike.
I am, however, disturbed by the brainless setup of the interchange between highway 201 and Glenmore Trail. Why are there lights here? Why is this not a clover leaf? The purposes of putting in a four lane highway is to reduce congestion; in case you were unaware.
What you have managed to do is increase congestion on Glenmore. You have industrial areas on either side of the interchange which support trucking companies who pull Long Combination Vehicles. These are nearly half a football field in length and you are requiring them to stop and start which is a slow process to begin with and half of them have to make their way to the left lane to make a left turn because very few will be traveling south.
Stop the madness. Fix this before the area gets too crowded. Please.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Langdon Returns
Robert Langdon, portrayed in hollywood by the charismatic Tom Hanks, is the
Indiana Jones of the art world. His knowledge of symbology is second to none.
In Inferno this is no exception. Dan Brown was brilliant in the way the story
was portrayed. While written in a third person omniscient it was still from
the perspective of sections protagonist. Throughout the book scenes are
repeated letting the reader in on bits of the secret at a time. This was
brilliantly done, leaving the reader as suprised as Mr. Langdon at the
outcome. This adds enough suspense to the story while not revealing all the
secrets that the reader continues to be engaged even though a scene repeats
itself two, three, four, even five times.
While as a story I found it an intriging commentary on the world population
problem. The solution presented, while distasteful, is certianly more
palatable then the those presented in Logan's Run, 1984 or Brave New World.
Unfortunately, the characters are so unbelievable that is distracts from the
story. All of them claim to have the worlds best interest at heart. Humans are
just not that altruistic. Everyone, and I do mean everyone has a selfish
motive for their actions. That selfishness is usually not admitted to publicly
but deep down, you know it's true. I think part of the issue was space. I'm
sure several thousand words were removed from the original work and it
resulted in a rush at the end that left the primary characters feeling a bit
hollow in their final motivations. Possibly, Mr. Brown was on a deadline and
had to rush it out. It seemed like many of Stephen Kings' works as of late.
Big build up and a lackluster ending.
I find this story engaging and satisfing to read, despite my misgivings of
character personalities. I would give it a 7 out of 10.
Indiana Jones of the art world. His knowledge of symbology is second to none.
In Inferno this is no exception. Dan Brown was brilliant in the way the story
was portrayed. While written in a third person omniscient it was still from
the perspective of sections protagonist. Throughout the book scenes are
repeated letting the reader in on bits of the secret at a time. This was
brilliantly done, leaving the reader as suprised as Mr. Langdon at the
outcome. This adds enough suspense to the story while not revealing all the
secrets that the reader continues to be engaged even though a scene repeats
itself two, three, four, even five times.
While as a story I found it an intriging commentary on the world population
problem. The solution presented, while distasteful, is certianly more
palatable then the those presented in Logan's Run, 1984 or Brave New World.
Unfortunately, the characters are so unbelievable that is distracts from the
story. All of them claim to have the worlds best interest at heart. Humans are
just not that altruistic. Everyone, and I do mean everyone has a selfish
motive for their actions. That selfishness is usually not admitted to publicly
but deep down, you know it's true. I think part of the issue was space. I'm
sure several thousand words were removed from the original work and it
resulted in a rush at the end that left the primary characters feeling a bit
hollow in their final motivations. Possibly, Mr. Brown was on a deadline and
had to rush it out. It seemed like many of Stephen Kings' works as of late.
Big build up and a lackluster ending.
I find this story engaging and satisfing to read, despite my misgivings of
character personalities. I would give it a 7 out of 10.
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