Ah, London! Now this is what's always scared me about trying to get Wimbledon tickets for one specific day... rain, rain, rain!
Needless to say, we're leaving early Sunday morning... but hopefully that bodes well weather-wise for our next stop a bit further East and South... and quick check... it does! A bit dicey on Sunday, but partly cloudy for the next 3 days with temps in the upper 60s... that is, if you want to believe days 8 thu 10 on a 10-day forecast!
We're getting down to our final hours/day(s) before our trip, I think beside the packing (or more accurately deciding what needs to be packed), we're in pretty decent shape. It's time to start letting go of the pre-vacation frenzy and start just letting it happen... it's not like we're going away from civilization (in fact, just the opposite), so if there's anything we need (other than being conversation in French!) we should be okay.
One of my impulsive decisions last week was to get a new lens for my camera. The one that came with it is fine, but having researched and learned more about the "bells and whistles" of my camera, I made a quick decision to get a better lens. These video workshops have been extremely helpful to me (and it was also very nice that the camera used in these tutorials was mine... or close enough).
I won't embarrass myself about why this new lens is better ... still working my way around all the lingo... but it's an EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens... the key being the f/1.4. I get all giddy about depth of field shots, and the f/1.4 will allow me to do that... and should also be quite helpful with night photography (though since I'm not lugging a tripod, I'm hoping for conveniently placed walls, ledges, stationary objects that will allow me these shots that won't work being handheld due to camera shake... and believe me, I can shake even on a good day).
I played around with the DOF a bit over the weekend and here are some shots w/ the new lens.
In the above picture, I focused in on the clay cat... and purposely left some "clutter" behind it so that I could test blurring it out. With the f/1.4 the focus is so much on the cat's face that even it's back lets and tale are slightly out of focus... pretty nifty.
The next shot, I did the opposite...
Focusing on the green "thumbs up" button on the TiVo remote... this time, I had to learn how to change which of the 9 focal points thru the lens I wanted to be used.... and got a pretty dramatic DOF both in the background and the foreground. I impressed myself!
The challenge will be to remember how to do all this stuff while I am out and about... and also not screw up shots by keeping some of these settings on when it comes to subsequent shots! These shots are sort of semi-automatic... with me making some decisions and the camera doing the rest.
I've been around the blogosphere long enough to know that vacation posts are a dicey proposition. As I "tweeted" earlier this morning, there is a fine line between being excited about a trip and sounding obnoxious about it. I see it as an information exchange... it's been cool to be able to ask others about their trips and also be asked about places we've traveled... and I certainly enjoy reading about and seeing pix from other folk's travels. So depending on which camp your in... either apologies and move on... or enjoy!
In looking at our travel documents (yet again) this morning, I was amused by some of what I read. In our ticket holder/travel wallet there was a fun list of Some Activities To Consider During Your Travels Through Europe, here are some that we might consider (or not!):
Make gargoyle faces
Pretend to understand a language
Take soccer too seriously
Miss your stop on purpose
Give every fellow passenger a nickname
Buy touristy things
Sound French
Invent blisterless wooden clogs
Drink wine
Read the inside of a ticket holder
Wake up not knowing what country your in
Stand in awe
Get lost
And this some info that was in our train-related wallet:
You need to check in at least 30 minutes before your train's departure. This will give you plenty of time to go through passport control and the security screening as well as have time to grab a capppuccino and a pastry.
You must register licensed firearms and all oversized or heavy luggage items such as bicycles or large musical instruments. (If you're a cycling cellist, you will need to use this service.)
We are sorry but no animals, except for seeing eye guide dogs, are allowed on Eurostar trains, however small and friendly.
If you love your bag you'll use a tag. You need to label all your luggage before you board - it's a security thing.
While it seems the actual traveling part of traveling is not so much fun these days, at least this humor gets us off to a good start.
It's been a pretty typical week with posts about Dancing With The Stars and American Idol... and here we make a pretty odd transition to a book post about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust...
... and arguably (or not!) the most famous memoirs of all time, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. If you keep track of what I am reading via my sidebar icon, I am sure a few of you thought this was a curious book choice. But the reason I read it lies in the name of the last book I read... Amsterdam. While I am sure I knew it at some point (again my mind tends to be cluttered with stuff like who danced a samba on DWTS two seasons ago or the lyrics to a one-hit wonder from the 1980s), it wasn't until I started researching our upcoming Europe trip that I recalled that the Franks lived, went into hiding, and were ultimately captured by the Nazis in Amsterdam. The Anne Frank House is the most visited destination in the city and it is certainly at the top of our list.
Like many of you I am sure, I first read a version of the diary in school. But it is certainly worth a re-read. As an "adult" I have a better knowledge of WWII and the Holocaust... and likewise, more definitive versions of the diary have been published. I'm guessing the "school" versions of book likely do not include Anne's budding sexuality or, even a surprise to me, a very short discussion of the female anatomy.
While the memoir would have been amazing just from a historical angel , this is still a very personal story of a young girl (written from age 13 thru 15) who, under extraordinary conditions, still has many of the same struggles as any teenager... tenuous relations with her parents (particularly her mother) and sister, a budding romance in the secret annex, and wondering what life would bring her.
While we know how it all ends (Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen, just a month prior to the concentration camp's liberation), there is still considerable tension in the story as the Annex residents dodge some close-calls... and as the pages dwindled, there was still this foreboding sense that it will just end.
Anne writes "I still believe in spite of everything that people are really good at heart" ... while heartbreaking, also quite an inspiration... the diary is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit... with Anne's words and story living on and on...
2008 1-2-3-4-5 Reading Challenge: + 341 Pages (Total: 3,474 pages - Finished: 4/14/2008)
-179 pages ahead of pace (-200 change in pace since last book).
We're in the homestretch of American Idol, but just like a marathoner I seem to "hit that wall" right about this time each season. I don't know if it's I'm just tired of the show... or the contestants are tired of the show... probably a bit of both.
With the exception of Syesha's "A Change Is Gonna Come" nothing much captured my attention, but I'll get into it later... but allow me this digression... that Sam Cooke classic, largely due to it becoming an Idol regular, has become one of my favorite all-time songs. If I had any skill creating/editing videos, I would have come up with Obama montage with that song as the back-drop... though given my Democratic nom preference I imagined mega-mixing it with Hillary and "I Am Woman."
Ok, now what was I saying about being indifferent to last night's show...
My usual performance picture "borrowing" source wasn't waiting for me this morning... so I'll present you with this group shot of the Final 4. My overall order was probably Cook, Archuleta, Syesha, and Jason... Todd's order was just as you see below from left to right... and honestly it wouldn't take too much convincing to make me agree with that either.
David C ("Hungry Like The Wolf" / "Baba O'Riley") - Given the trajectory of the Idol winners, I am guessing David Cook would not too terribly disappointed not to become the 7th member of that group. Given that alleged 500 songs available for choosing, it did seem odd to go with Duran Duran... granted a classic Duran Duran, but really? Likewise, both were "spin-free" which has been where Cook has been most impressive this season, so why not go for a "moment" on at least one of the songs? Again, my conspiracy theory is figuring out a way not to win the show.
David A ("Stand By Me" / "Love Me Tender") - Cook may not have to worry about that, if the seemingly never-ending tween screams after Archie's performances are any indication of who will win this year. I had no complaints about Archie's vocals last night, but they just left me a bit bored. It's not that I am expecting anything shocking and different from Little David, he is, as Randy said, consistent and consistently good.
Syesha ("Proud Mary" / "A Change Is Gonna Come") - As noted above, Syesha almost stole the night, but she totally lost me when she got to the sped-up (or as Ms. Turner refers to it, the "rough") portion of "Proud Mary".. the whole Tina spin and subsequent dance moves just had me "ohhhh girl, don't go there." And the Syesha that becomes her own worst enemy whenever she speaks of herself also overshadowed any of her vocal prowess... whether it was taking on Tina, speaking of looking forward to the tour so she can meet all her fans, or the biggest cringe of the night... likening her journey on Idol to the civil rights movement... yikes!
Jason ("I Shot The Sheriff" / "Mr. Tambourine Man") - Pretty much the last time we saw a halfway decent showing from Jason was three weeks ago during Mariah Carey night. The dreadlocked one has been slowly backing out of the room with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Neil Diamond... and pretty much shut the shut behind him last night with an incredibly messy Bob Marley song and skipping a whole bunch of lyrics on the Bob Dylan. One could have given him the benefit of the doubt in being outside his comfort zone, but telling Entertainment Weekly last week that he was "ready to go home" leaves little debate that last night he was purposely tanking. Again, I understand the not wanting to win strategy, but I think this did himself no good on the "being professional" front and it certainly wasn't respectful if anyone else gets the boot tonight. Jason obviously has a fanbase and I'm not completely sure they'll let him go... which is bad news for Syesha... or even, as Ryan reminded us (this often being upset/shocker week from past seasons)... one of the Davids.
BTW, this will be my last Idol performance review post of this season... we like to bump our vacations up against Memorial Day weekend... we'll be around for next week's performance show, but then hitting the road (or, I should say, the air)... so that means catching the last elimination and the finale after the fact. Thanks for reading yet another season's worth of Idol posts!
Tonight DWTS will celebrate its 100th episode and, ahead of the results show, they are doing a special All-Time Top 10 Dances clip show... so I couldn't stop myself from coming up with my own list.
In coming up with this list, I got some very nice help from the Wikipedia U.S. DWTS page, but the scary part is that I did remember something (i.e. the dance, song, or outfit) about each of these dances. Sometimes I wish my brain would leave enough room for me to recall where I put my car keys rather than retaining the fact that Joey Fatone did a tango to the Star Wars theme (btw, that dance is not in my top ten).
Now I could have easily filled my Top 10 with all Mario Lopez and of late many dances with pro Mark Ballas, but I spread the wealth across the pros and seasons. Season 1 doesn't make an appearance. Back then, the show was considered pretty much a joke... but now "stars" are begging to get on and arguably it keeps getting better and better quality-wise.
Some of my favorite couples don't even make an appearance here. It could be my faulty memory (likely!), so honorable mentions to: Joey Fatone & Kym Johnson and Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough.
To not totally clog this post up with YouTubes, I will put embedded videos of my Top 5 favorites "after the jump"... and, first up, YouTube links to dances 6 thru 10 "in no particular order" -- well ok, they are ordered by season, but I just wanted to play Samantha Harris and say that!
Season 2: Stacey Keibler & Tony Dovolani - Samba - "Bootylicious" (YouTube link)
Season 3: Drew Lachey & Cheryl Burke - Paso Doble - "Thriller" (YouTube link)
Season 4: Laila Ali & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Mambo (YouTube link)
Season 4: Mario Lopez & Karina Smirnoff - Freestyle - "It Takes Two" (YouTube link - thanks Linda!)
Season 5: Melanie Brown & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Paso Doble - "Free Your Mind" (YouTube link)
Top 5 Faves
(YouTube embedded vids "after the jump" - apologies, in advance, if they "are no longer available")
Season 6: Kristi Yamaguchi & Mark Ballas - Mambo - "Hey Baby"
Season 5: Sabrina Bryan & Mark Ballas - Cha Cha - "Don't Cha"
Season 4: Apolo Anto Ohno & Julianne Hough - Cha Cha - "Push It"
Season 3: Mario Lopez & Karina Smirnoff - Mambo
Season 2: Drew Lachey & Cheryl Burke - Freestyle - "Save a Horse, Ride A Cowboy"
Had a nice weekend, but with the clock starting to really tick ahead of our Europe trip starting to really try and figure out what still needs to be done/purchased/etc, so probably time to start making lists.
Last weekend (not this past) one, there were a few big purchases... of course, there was the camera and also some clothing and footwear purchases. Didn't have any good non-jeans casual pants, so picked up a pair of cargo-ish khaki pants and also some "dressier" sneakers. Todd being international travel expert tells me that nothing screams "American" like white sneakers... so picked up two pairs of Skechers... a tan/brown pair that have sort of a European flair to them (or at least what I think is as much) and a black slip-on pair for a more slightly dressier look.
I am trying not to get my hopes up too much, but the weather is improving in all of our destinations cities this week. In the past few weeks, I would look and there seemed as if there was nothing but clouds, rain, and cool conditions. This week, it's all sun and 70s... so I hope that is a where things are trending weather-wise. I am not naive enough to think that we won't encounter any precipitation (after all it isn't Phoenix), but I just am praying for at least a handful of good weather days along the way.
This past weekend, it was more stuff for the camera -- a camera bag and another memory card, which should allow me to take an insane amount of pictures... though of course, I am still wondering if it's enough. I also picked up some more novels (not that I didn't have plenty on hand), but figured I'd need something more on the light/drop-able side as I am guessing the only time I will be reading is when we're in transit... though not sure that will even happen on our train trips. I am pretty sure this year's reading goal, which is already flagging, will hit "unattainable" status by the time our trip is over. But as they say in France (or not), c'est la vie... I'll take travel over reading any day!
Yesterday, we wrapped up a week long visit with Rocky's "Aunt" Lucy. It was fun having another dog around... though a bit sad initially since Lucy and Toby were such good buddies, but I think the tenuous relationship between Rocky and Lucy improved this past week. He is certainly a bit "much" at times, but they worked it out. I am glad we found this "pet resort" that provides all-day play sessions. It would have been tough leaving (though we would!) knowing that Rocky would be cooped up all alone while we were away -- but here we know he will be cage/kennel-free and doing what he does best -- play, play, play -- all day long.
So next weekend, it'll be the last preps... with a break to celebrate Mom's day... and then it'll just be a couple of days and we're off. I still can't quite believe we're going... and I am sure it won't hit until we start the serious packing (the night before, of course!) and head off to the airport.
Flight of the Conchords Soar on U.S. Chart - The pseudo-fictional New Zealand folk duo debut at #3 with their debut album... guessing Ashlee Simpson at #4 is not amused. (4/30/08)
China Marks 100 Days Until Start of Beijing Olympics - Yikes! It's coming up quick! (4/29/08)
Adam hedges on charity donation; James knew gay porn would come out - Finally some news about the two of the biggest "out of the house" stories from 'Big Brother 9.' (4/29/08)
'Idol' Singers Who Sing First May Not Last - Heck, I forget some of the early performances were from the same show... and now statistics show "kicking off" the show is the most frequent "kicked off" slot. (4/21/08)
Work is not being very agreeable today, so don't have much for ya!
However, while I was waiting around for all hell to break loose (well, sorta kinda) I was reviewing my rotating W&C banner collection... and decided it was time to make some changes... add something new and say goodbye to others.
I don't know why it took me so long to get around to it... but a prime candidate for a banner of its very own was... Dancing With The Stars! Below is a mini-version of it, if you want to see the full version... just re-load this page until you see it above... or else head over to my banner gallery... right now, the DWTS banner is right at the top.
To keep it "current"... and a tad ironic... the banner doesn't contain any "stars"... though DWTS fans may agree with me that the pro dancers are now as much the "stars" as their celebrity counterparts. Granted the pros do come and go from season to season, but I included my favorites: Maks, Julianne, Mark, Edyta, Kym, and Derek... and I really loved that graphic of Carrie Ann, Len, and Bruno.
Alas, it was time to bid adieu to two banners. Heading into "retirement" are my Las Vegas and Reality Show banners. Since it prominently featured the cast of the now canceled NBC "drama" of the same name, it was time for the Las Vegas banner to go. I'm guessing it will be re-incarnated with a focus on the actual city and its entertainers. The Reality Banner was showing its age as well... while it featured some of my favorite (and still current) reality hosts... the 15 minutes for Bobby Jon, Charla, and Janelle having come and gone... these banners live on in retirement in the banner gallery as well.
No one can ever accuse Dancing With The Stars of not being a tad gay every now and then (ok, definitely more than "every now and then" and definitely more than a "tad")...
But it was "instant classic" status on this week's results show with regards to the musical act/professional group dance number!
Pretty much half drag show (sorry ladies, but it's meant as a compliment of sorts... really!), half leather daddy/S&M scene....
I think only Tony (far right, for you non-DWTS viewers) could qualify as a ummm... errrrr... dominant.... but probably wise for me to just shut up now and save it for my gay porn fan fiction blog.
Beside the gay appeal of the show, another reason I love DWTS is the cheese factor... something that host Tom Bergeron warmly embraces (making it even better)...
So the "outfits" were only the start... since it was for a group paso doble (!!)... to a live performance from... Def Leppard (!!!)... singing their classic hit... "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (!!!!!).
Loved. It.
UPDATE: Here's another shot of the guys (Louis, Mark, and Tony) in a "behind the scenes" photo that I just caught over at the DWTS site on ABC.com.
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