“‘What’s wrong?’

‘Your father and I have decided that we don’t believe in anything any more.’

‘You what?’

‘What I just said.’

‘Jesus, Mum, you phoned me up on a Monday morning to tell me you don’t believe in anything.’

‘Yes.’

‘You mean, like, God? And religion?’

‘Both.’”

— Generation A, by Douglas Coupland

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Douglas Coupland books: disliking them on one hand for their often sloppy writing style and overblown plots and loving them on the other for their consistent ability to posit integral questions about the modern world in a quirky and funny manner. My last stab at a Coupland release, JPod, epitomized this characteristic and, after reading it, I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t buy any more of his novels again. Now, with Generation A, I find myself putting my foot right into my mouth because, quite simply, it is a great book with all of Coupland’s strengths and only trace amounts of his weaknesses.

The name of the novel is taken from a collegiate graduation speech quote by Kurt Vonnegut, renaming Generation X as Generation A and explaining that each generation is as equally full of possibility and tragedy as the last. Coupland chooses the tribute well, acknowledging an author that he has no doubt been inspired by while simultaneously addressing his groundbreaking 1991 novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. While the title is certainly meant to evoke Coupland’s best known book, the writing itself also accomplishes the same effect by utilizing the same framed narrative approach and the viewpoints of a handful of archetypal characters.

Generation A revolves around five individuals from across the world (Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and France) that are all stung by bees, an insect that has gone instinct in Coupland’s near-future. The ensuing plot tackles not just environmentalism however but instead addresses the deeper ramifications of a homogenized world (not unlike our own) with instant digital communication and a culture dictated primarily by Western ideology. The five characters begin telling one another stories that reflect the concerns of the modern generation, dealing with the significance of issues including fame, the pharmaceutical industry, mass-media, religion, individualism, cultural hegemony and even the meaning of death and love within this context.

It may sound lofty but it’s not. Coupland’s greatest strength has always been his ability to impart intellectualism to any audience, fulfilling the goal of literature without making knowledge of post-secondary theories and criticism a prerequisite. Generation A performs this job better than any of his novels and fails to drop into the pitfalls of the author’s similarly important books which often placed the importance of end results over overall writing quality. Although the prose does become a bit uneven by novel’s end, Generation A is still the best written work by Coupland since Girlfriend in a Coma, offering all of the commentary while still hosting fully realized characters and a style that draws on his strengths and rarely becomes choppy. Ultimately, Generation A reads like a novel by an author that is truly passionate about the subject matter and the writing demonstrates how careful Coupland and his editors were to produce a work that didn’t have its importance weakened by poor or uneven prose.

While Margaret Atwood may receive more CanLit praise for her (supposed) ability to channel the near-future, 2009 alone has shown just how out of touch  the author of The Year of the Flood has become in comparison with the less lauded Coupland. With Generation A Douglas Coupland has demonstrated why he became famous in the first place and, more importantly, why we should continue to care about his novels in the years to come.

— Reid

One of our favorite things to eat when camping is canned apple sauce on pancakes. Every year we make some sauce to use through the winter as well as on our spring & summer camping trips.

This year, I picked the apples myself at Hansen’s Orchards at Greenbluff, WA. I chose a blend of gala & Macintosh apples. The gala is very sweet & the Macintosh tart. It made really good sauce.

In addition to the sauce, I wanted to make some cider. I made my own press out of scrap wood from the jPod build. The pressure of the press caused the press to catastrophically fail (it was impressive). So I re-purposed some steel from a basketball hoop that I cut down in front of our house when we moved in last year. That proved strong enough. I could take 3″ of apple pulp and press it into about 1/2″ with my new steel press.

We processed everything on our two camp stoves to keep the house cool.

Here is a video & a few photos of the process:

Je vous souhaite la bienvenue, ici, chez nous, chez vous, nous n’avons pas la culture d’entreprise, mais l’entreprise de la culture.

Meeting, happening, même combat !

Vous faites partie de la famille, abandonnez votre thérapeute, Dieu et votre amour propre, nous, nous vous aimons pour ce que vous êtes, ce que vous faites.

Je dois avoir la gueule de l’emploi et un petit quelque chose en plus de spécial ou alors, les fosses communes sont toutes équipées de machines à café.

Souriez, vous êtes officiellement mort, un CDI dans le portefeuille et une hypothèque de la maison du bonheur dans les promesses de fidélité.

Maintenant, les infarctus précèdent les calvities.

Caché dans une petite boîte trop parfaite pour être vraie, j’en construis d’autres pour vous tous, avec l’espoir que vous adoriez votre prison.

Je divertis le peuple en me faisant de l’argent : où est le mal ?  Tant que l’on ne me transfère pas vers la hotline ou le service après vente.

Il y a des vices acceptables, voire rentables, alors les plus scolaires d’entre nous préfèrent les participations aux bénéfices de l’industrie des pixels à l’argent sale des paradis artificiels.

Le crime, c’est tout de même mieux depuis son salon ?

L’obésité ou l’overdose ? Tout est une question de promotion !

Je me log chaque matin naturellement d’un air supérieur entre l’automate et le pantomime, pendant que tu pointes la misère sociale sur ton bleu de travail, derrière une machine qui ne peut penser sans toi.

Parfois, je me dis que l’esclavage c’est comme la mode, à force de suivre le mouvement, on pense l’incarner.

Peu importe les coups de fouet, du moment que l’on peut les revendiquer le premier.

Des régiments d’individualistes, vivant leurs ambitions par pack de six bureaux, dans un open space respectant les règles d’hygiène, mais pas celle de l’intimité.

Nous avons tous les mêmes diplômes.

Mais forte heureusement, en phallocratie, les droits de la femme ne font pas les salaires de la femme.

Pour rester dans les annales de l’entreprise certains font des dépressions, les autres des enfants.

Je préfère mes névroses souvent imaginaires, parfois obsessionnelles, à la monotonie de cette folie remplissant mes déclarations d’imposition.

…

Tous pensent réfléchir différemment, mais ils agissent de la même manière, dans le même sens, vers le même but.

Mais moi, j’ai des projets, je suis ne pas comme les autres, je combats le système de l’intérieur, un jour vous verrez !

En attendant, je fais semblant, j’achète quelques machins, je possède quelques trucs, pas grand chose, toujours dans la limite de mon découvert, pour ne pas attirer les soupçons, je prends un crédit, je file droit.

Je crois en ce que je télécharge, en toute légalité.

Certains ont des croisades humanitaires ou pédophiles, les autres des croyances nécrophiles ou mythomanes, moi, j’ai juste un besoin d’exister, je ne suis pas pareil, je me suis mis au bricolage.

Les jours d’ennui, j’hésite entre faire un don ou une OPA.

Un petit décontractant après le travail, entre collègues ou seul, un remontant dans ma voiture chaque matin en voyant le bureau se rapprocher dangereusement, un petit coup de pouce une fois la porte des toilettes close.

Moi, depuis le troisième bureau sur la gauche, celui avec le portrait de famille décomposée et ma figurine Green Lanterne achetée durant mon temps d’inertie sur E-Bay entre la première pause cigarette et le dernier mail groupé glorifiant un con et sa webcam, moi, je sauve le monde, demandez à mes euphorisants remboursés mais génériques, je combats l’horloge du lundi 08H00 au vendredi 17H00.

Je veux me faire un nom en perdant mon identité, dites bonjour à l’absurde banalité.

N’oubliez pas de mettre votre nom au feutre sur votre badge, prenez une viennoiserie et attendez la première vague de licenciement économique, en silence, gêné, comme à votre arrivée dans l’ascenseur.

]]> http://jpodbuild.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/adventure-03-traditional-family-camping/ Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:38:48 +0000 jpodbuild http://jpodbuild.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/adventure-03-traditional-family-camping/

For about the past 60 years my family has been taking an annual camping trip as a sort of mini family reunion & our friends. The locations have varied over the years as one generation passes the baton to another but the camping is always memorable.

This year, the camping trip was relatively close to home (no pun intended). Farragut state park, ID hosted this year’s family & friend gathering. Senior Management & I were lucky enough to have our work schedules work out so we could attend again this year. The family & friends have larger RVs than our little jPod so a traditional campground was called for. When we arrived, I realized that this was the first time the jPod has actually seen a “typical” camp ground.

We arrived on a Friday night in the middle of a torrential rain & hail storm. It was getting colder (40 degrees Fahrenheit). Yet we had a long extension cord & a space heater. The heater ran for about 2 minutes & it was too hot in the jPod for a normal human being. Senior Management loved the temperature.

One new feature to the jPod since my last post is the addition of the slide out Camp Chef Oven. I managed to get it installed before our departure & it worked really well. Senior Management cranked out some tasty meals from the back of our little jPod.  As the pictures (below) show, the galley is functional but not completed.  I’ve focused on camping & teaching recently.  Winter work will be done on the jPod.  Winter is rapidly approaching too (it was 16 degrees last night).  I have added some pictures to the Galley part of this website that indicate some progress with the camp chef oven.

It was interesting being the smallest RV in the campground. We kept getting inquisitive looks & subtle pointing & whispering. I’ve heard the stories of teardrop owners who were trying to sleep in their tear while curious campers stopped by & examined their rig (thinking no one was there). I expected this bold camper attitude. Only one man was brave enough to come by & look. I was happy to show him around & we traded stories for a while.

There may have been other observers while we were gone hiking for several hours on Saturday.

Saturday night we had a mini DOG (dutch oven gathering). We had some amazing cornbread, scalloped potatoes, chicken & wild rice, & a cherry chocolate pudding. It was amazing.

Sunday morning, we packed up our things and got back home so I could prepare to teach for another week.

It was another great trip.

Here are a few pics:

Douglas Couplands “jPod” als audiobook. Ich hatte wirklich ganz schön Spaß – und man erkennt so verdammt viele Typen wieder.

I had a few days off of work this week so the jPod got a little work.  We’ve had a camping trip planned since last year that we’ll do in a couple of days.  I made this trip a bit of a deadline for some work on the jPod.  I’ve been pre-warping a piece of plywood for the inside of the galley hatch for about 2 months.  Finally the time came to install it when I was cleaning up the garage.

The galley hatch got wired, insulated & skinned.  It was a bit of a crazy process but eventually worked.  My goal is to have it finished with the same finish I used in the cabin & lights installed in the next few days.  I’ve posted some updated pictures under Galley.

We’re supposed to get our first frost this week & that means that I need to get some other finish work done on the jPod before it is too cold to do.  So I’ll be working on the galley, cabin cabinets, & floors.  Then I’ll wire the whole thing together after the frost & it will be done.

The end is in sight.

Just watched Everything’s Gone Green which struck me as perfect indie quirk. It lacked the terminal cuteness of many of the young uncertain life films; pleasantly devoid of frat scenes, schools, bars, etc. Our main character, Ryan, who looks like, and this will sound awful, a cross of a young Jeff Goldblum and a young Steve Buscemi, is fired from one dead end job but hears the news that his parents have won the lottery. It is a false win but on phoning the winner line he ends up with a new job interviewing lottery winners. And much more happens of course.

The script by Douglas Coupland is smart and thoughtful with all of the man’s trademark cultural observations and though a little removed at times always somewhat forgiving. Much like the interview below where he talks about the human desire for looking like everyone else as an expression of regaining the animal nature, of wanting to be part of the flock.

Its kind of a precursor to the short lived brilliant series JPod and another love letter to Vancouver. The female lead has the job of working in the movies shot in Vancouver and her job is to dress it up as other cities. She points out a botanical superstar, a specific palm that is brought in everytime they are trying to elicit south of Oregon. A few times in the film this plant drifts by, and it is like seeing a famous movie star.

Its just a great example of a not a great but a very good and satisfying locally placed film with real people and interactions. It is absorbingly genuine the way most films just don’t seem to be. Maybe that’s partly because one writer managed to stay in control.

Looking for a great weekend read? Like gaming, technology, understand contemporary cubicle culture and appreciate the randomness of life?

On my way home yesterday I stopped at Ricky’s Pancake Hut for a cheeseburger, fries and Coke. It’s not what I usually order, but for a short while I wanted to pretend I was living inside an Archie comic – don’t we all feel like that at some time or other?

Page 107. Jpod by novelist Douglas Coupland.

Highly recommend it for geeks with a sense of humor.

I’m going for his Generation X or Microserfs next.

This blog entry documents the third day of our Lolo Trail trip & the jPod’s first off-road adventure with Nathan & Erin, Carl, and our family. If you haven’t read about the trail & our first two days on it, visit: Part 1 and Part 2

Day 3

Eggs & Potatoes

Day three started with a great breakfast.  Breakfast foods are my favorite foods in life.  However, breakfast is perfected when camping.  Our camp breakfast was a collaborative effort by Erin, Nathan, Senior Management, and me.  We made eggs, potatoes, huckleberry pancakes, & coffee.

The “cougar bait” played in the grass all morning as we packed up our things.  Then it was time to drive.  From Howard’s camp, we drove up onto a ridge.  It was beautiful and often had views off of either side of the motorway.  We paused so Senior Management could shoot a picture out the window of a doe we found wandering in the woods.

At one point, we stopped to go look at two mountain lakes which we were above.  It was at this time that we met some people on their ATV and swapped stories.  While we were all chatting about this and that, two bucks wandered in from the trees.  We think that they were after something in our area because they would come by us and then turn back from a different angle to get to our area.  I sprung into photographer mode & started shooting photos.  These were mule deer and had little fear of human contact.  I was able to get some of the best photos I have ever taken.

Once the moment had passed, we continued our drive.  The scenery changed drastically as we entered mountain sides of burned trees.  They haven’t recently burned but stand as a witness to a forest fire in the past.  It was a strange landscape of charred trees & mountain wildflowers.  Somewhere in the charred forest, we began our descent to the valley floor.

Along the way, we stopped to pick some huckleberries and met some other travelers coming in the opposite direction.  This is when the teardrop effect of the jPod took hold again.  I gave a tour of the jPod to them & Carl claimed to have sold it to them.  In fact, I have had several interests in the trailer.  I am almost motivated to build another one for someone.

The Lolo Motorway gave way to a wide dirt road and finally we reached pavement at Powell Junction (see map).  We stopped to take stock & to eat some lunch at the Ranger’s Station & then we went in search of Carl’s promise.

On day one, Carl had mentioned a “secret” hot-spring off of highway 12.  No fee was required.  Senior Management & Erin (who are both naturally cold blooded) perked up & made the decision on day one that we would visit this “secret” hot-springs.

Off we drove in search of these hot-springs.  Carl has sworn us all to secrecy about the exact location of these pools.  Yet I will say that any conventional GPS will have it clearly labeled on its map.  We hiked in to these springs and sat in the pool.  The girls really soaked up the heat.  I was good for about 10 minutes and then had to get out.  I was hot before getting in so the hot water didn’t help.  What I really enjoyed was the mountain stream that flows below the hot-spring.  It takes the breath away at first but was exactly what I needed after three days of travel.

As we were leaving our little “secret” oasis in the woods, we came to find that clothing was optional at this hot-spring when another hot-spring seeker stripped to his pores and waded into the water.  I still laugh about this part of our story because, in my mind, I can still see everyone else’s reactions to the realization that they were suddenly in the presence of a nudist.  Thankfully, in my mind, I cannot see our nudist friend.  Life has simple pleasures and seeing stifled shock on one’s friend’s faces must be one of the most rewarding of these simple pleasures.

As we drove home, I glanced at one of the pamphlets I picked up at the ranger’s station.  It offered a brief description of the various trails in the Nez Perce National forest and spent some time describing the Lolo motorway.  At the end of the pamphlet there is a quote from Frank Andrews (a Nez Perce descendant).

“We, the surviving Nez Perces, want to leave our hearts, memories, hollowed presence as a never-ending revelation to the story of the event of 1877.  These trails will live in our hearts.

We want to thank all who visit these sacred trails, that they will share our innermost feelings.  Because their journey makes this an important time for the present, past and future.”

I couldn’t agree more.

This blog entry documents the second day of our Lolo Trail trip & the jPod’s first off-road adventure with Nathan & Erin, Carl, and our family.  If you haven’t read about the trail & the day one report, visit it here:  Part 1

Day 2

Camping at Rocky Ridge Lake

The morning of day two was a bit cooler than the previous day.  After spending several weeks in 100 degree weather, I welcomed the 60 degree range but still didn’t want to get out of bed.  The queen sized memory foam mattress in the jPod held me for a long time.  Finally, Senior Management with the two dogs (i.e. Cougar Bait) emerged from the jPod.  When we got up, we found Carl’s truck but no Carl.  He apparently went missing.

He came wandering into camp a few minutes later with huckleberries in his stomach and the story of meeting a bear who was also picking berries.  Relieved that it didn’t follow him back to camp, we set our minds to making breakfast.  For Senior Management this meant getting the rice cooking & some eggs.  For me it meant going out into bear country to gather huckleberries.  Once I had about 1/2 a cereal bowl full of berries, I came back to camp & we ate a tasty meal of huckleberry rice with sugar & milk, cantaloupe, coffee, & an egg.  Now that is camping!

When we opened the galley to get to the cooler & food, I found some water had leaked in & stained the counter top.  This was mildly frustrating for me because I knew exactly what had gone wrong.  At one point in the build, I had removed part of the the galley hinge to do some work on the roof trim.  When I reattached that part of the hinge, I forgot to reseal it with some silicone.  Luckily, I packed a case full of tools, including silicone, and repaired the galley hatch that morning.

After breakfast we took our time packing up & preparing for more travel on the trail.  To compensate for the bouncing of the jPod the day before, Nathan & I aired the tires on the jPod down to 14 psi.  Eventually, we had all our gear ready to go & left just as some other people were arriving.   As we traveled down the trail, we would occasionally stop to find dry firewood.  For some reason, none of us brought dry wood or a saw.  Why?  We don’t know.  To make our situation more desperate, the torrential rains the night before had completely soaked any wood we found.  We collected it anyhow and hoped for the best.

Our progress on day two was slower than day one.  The road was much rougher & we had to pass a few people.  Luckily, passing had to take place in some situations where there was enough road for both parties.  We passed a crew of horses, motorcycles & one truck.  The trail is very narrow so getting those people by us without backing up required good timing (which we had).  We held Cal, Nathan & Erin up on this day.  This is when the shocks would have really helped.  We eventually aired down the tires to 12 psi and that really helped.

For lunch, we visited one of the many fire look out towers.  The road up was just rock and slow going (3 mph or less) but the view from the top was spectacular.  Nathan used his secret crime skills and correctly guessed the combination to the door lock on the fire look-out.  We were able to tour it a little before the people who had booked it arrived.  Then we had to bug off.  It would be a really nice place to camp.  All reservations must be made on-line for these towers before visiting them.  Of course when we were standing at the top of the world (approx. 8,000 ft) at a fire tower the Internet is a ridiculously remote & insignificant part of life.

For lunch, Senior Management & I made sandwiches.  We had planned on tomato sandwiches but the tomatoes took a too much of a beating in the back of the jPod.  I had PB&J instead.  It was a great lunch and from there we drove on to the next advertised camping location on the map…Howard’s Camp.

Along the way, we passed the Devi’s Chair.  It is a series of granite columns which rise up out of the mountain hillside.  Nathan and I climbed to the top to get a look around while the others stood below to keep the Cougar Bait company, to shoot pictures, and to give Nathan and me some helpful tips (i.e. “Don’t fall”, “Don’t die”, “Careful”, etc.).  Devil’s chair isn’t very tall from the up hill side but the downhill side is considerably taller.  The view is amazing.  Once our little stop was over, it was back on the road for another few miles.

The road improved on the way to Howard’s camp so progress was finally made at more than a snail’s pace.  Upon initial inspection, Howard’s camp looks like the side of an unfinished highway.  Gravel pits & pretty dirty.  We decided to leave the Lolo Motorway to travel to a lake for the night.  In the morning, we would come back and finish the Lolo Motorway.  About 1/4 mi. down the road through Howard’s camp, the camp suddenly transformed itself into a lush landscape.  So, we stopped there for the night.

Senior Management prepared another amazing meal while fighting off the thick mosquito population.  Carl & Nathan attempted to get a fire going with our wet wood.  It sort of burned for several hours but produced little heat until we went to bed.  Then it burned really well and I’m sure it gave off lots of heat for no one to enjoy.

Howard’s camp is named after General Howard.  Howard camped in the same spot when chasing Chief Joseph & the Nez Perce to Canada.  Apparently, Joseph was doing a proper job of trying to stop Howard.  William Connolly, a private in Howard’s group, wrote the following lines at Howard Camp:

“…our American horses were not used to the fodder of the native Cayuse.  We carried no forage.  If we should change upon one of the little mountain valleys where there should be grass, we found it either trampled down by Joseph’s ponies or destroyed by some other way.  Many is the time we have cut bark from the tree for our horses.”

We saw no damaged trees but I still like the imagery of Joesph leaving a swath of destruction behind him.  This is a quality which indicates his strong leadership & care for his people.

As we fell asleep on the night of Day 2, I had no idea what stories we would live the next day.  I also didn’t know that day 3 would allow me to shoot some of the best photos I have ever taken.

Read Part 3

Life as a teacher is spooling up rapidly.  In the last few days before going back to work, Nathan & I planned an impromptu trip to the Nez Perce National Forest to drive the historic Lolo Motorway.  Nathan had done quite a bit of research on the trip before we ever decided to go.  I have read all about the Lolo trail for years because part of the trail was used by Lewis & Clark during their trans-American journey of discovery & it was used 60+ years later by the Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce when trying to escape the American military by fleeing to Canada.

Parts of the modern trail were improved or established in the 1930s thanks to the work of President Franklin D. Roosevelt & his commissioning of the Civilian Civil Service Corp.

The green box is where the Lolo Trail is found

The trail is also featured in one of my favorite off-road guides for the state of Idaho (see it here) – although this book only features part of the drive that we did.  Our journey was approximately 25 miles of gravel, dirt, & large loose rocks.  It is also the first off-road experience for the jPod.

This is the first of three blog entries on this journey.  They are divided by day since it is easier to read in shorter segments & to see the photos of each day.  There are three days total and this is the very first.

Day 1

Lolo Trail Map

Our traveling party consisted of Nathan & his wife (in their black Jeep with a roof-top tent), Carl -a mutual friend (in his white 4×4 truck), and the jPod crew -Senior Management & I + our two little dogs -Zoe & Ella  (i.e. Cougar Bait).

We left Spokane, Wa and traveled south to Lewiston, Idaho (named for Meriwether Lewis).  The road into Lewiston is a steep grade into a river valley.  Appropriately enough, Lewiston is across the river from Clarkston, Washington (Named for William Clark).  Lewis & Clark passed through the same valley they now occupy.  I’ll bet they were surprised to find two towns already in the valley which were named after them (he he he…).

We fueled up in Lewiston and pulled out the maps to decide which route we wanted to take to the Lolo Motorway.  Once decided, we left Lewiston & made for the dirt.  If you reference the map (above), we took the route from Greer to Weippe and then the dashed line to road 500 (the Lolo Motorway).

Once on the trail, I started watching the jPod’s ability to handle the bumpy rock filled road.  As I suspected, it was bouncing around quite a bit.  I do have plans to install shocks on the jPod but haven’t done it yet.  This trip confirmed my need for them when off road.  It seems that general road driving is not a problem but the springs really push back when off-road.  Carl was driving behind us and radioed to tell us that the jPod was leaving the ground from time to time. Too exciting for me so I slowed up a bit.

In the late afternoon of day one, it began to sprinkle a little bit.  I was excited about the prospects of sleeping in the jPod with the rain pounding on the roof.  My wishes were met that night & I slept like a log.

On our way up to Rocky Ridge Lake -the camp site we had chosen off of the map, we stopped to find huckleberries along side the road.  Not only were they there but they were large & ripe.  Out of the vehicles we all came & picked some huckleberries.  Upon arriving at Rocky Ridge Lake, we found the huckleberries to be more plentiful than on the road & larger (about the size of the end of a finger).  Breakfast plans were immediate & obvious.  No matter what we made, we would make food with huckleberries.

As far as meals are concerned, Senior Management turned out some spectacular zucchini patties with marinara sauce & Havarti cheese.  It was too dark to take a picture of it once it was done.  Plus, it really didn’t stay on my plate too long anyhow.

Before the sun set that night, I had two tasks to complete while Senior Management made supper.  First, I had to level the trailer.  Nathan, Carl, and I managed to do this in short order (see the photos below).  Then I needed to make light.

I quickly wired up the jPod to the Jeep.  My long-term plan is to be able to charge the jPod battery off of the Jeep while in transit.  However, I have neither a battery for the jPod nor the wiring installed in the Jeep.  My solution was quick & dirty.  I ran the wiring harness, which I plan to permanently install in the Jeep, from the battery of the Jeep, around the Jeep, to the tongue of the jPod.  Thus, we had light on our first night.  It was great to have that much light.  Although we did have to turn out the lights to change because we still don’t have any curtains.  I may be a teacher but I feel no need to educate everyone that much.

The next morning when we awoke, Carl’s truck was still in camp but Carl was missing…

Read Part 2 Here

Summary of Adventure 01:

Pulling the jPod

At last, the jPod has made its first excursion as a vehicle for camping (North Idaho – as readers decided by the poll on this website).  In an earlier post, I stated that I wanted to have the jPod weather tight by July 24.  This deadline was set so that Senior Management and I could use it as our quarters the weekend of her cousin’s wedding.  It was a VERY wise move.

The families stormed the house where the wedding was to be.  At one point someone counted over 80 people at the house.  This was not for the ceremony.  This was just family & a few friends the day before the wedding.  Needless to say, privacy was difficult for some to find but not as bad for us.  We parked the jPod in an old pasture and set up camp.

The first day it was parked there, I gave about 40 tours of the jPod.  The outside does look nice and it attracted sight seers & neighbors.  Even though the inside of the trailer is not yet complete, there were countless comments about how it looked really nice.  This was good to hear after spending the previous week slaving away in 100 degree weather and late at night to get it done.

Multiple people asked me if I manufactured these trailers as a business.  My answer was always the same “I made this one!”.  Senior Management’s Grandmother loves camping and seemed to be pleased with it as well.  She toured it while I was away so I didn’t get to hear her thoughts about it.  She did ask me questions about it all weekend before she saw it so I know she had a strong interest in seeing it.  I was looking forward to her feedback.  I am glad she got to see it.

Overall, I think I gave about 60 tours of the trailer and many more told me they looked at it while I was away.  This made privacy difficult but tolerable.

Senior Management climbs the mountain

On Saturday, a whole group of us went hiking on Mt. Schweitzer.  It was a great hike & very pretty.  This type of nature is exactly why we built the jPod so I am pleased that we’ll see more of it.

On the first night, Senior Management and I made an observation about the jPod…we slept well.

I knew there would be some changes or priorities that I would shift after spending the night in the jPod.  I didn’t expect the feeling of anticipation I had when preparing to sleep in it for the first time.  I had the thought “I hope I don’t hate this” pass through my head.  Luckily, it was everything I expected & more.  It is really a lot of fun without much worry for setup & keep up.

Assessment of the jPod after the First Trip:

1. The bed is much larger than ours at home.  The jPod can hold a queen sized bed while we sleep -or try to sleep- on a full at home.
2. The windows & vent let in plenty of air & light.  We both agree that some curtains would be nice.
3. Electricity in the jPod would really be nice.  It gets dark in there at night.  When the budget allows, I’ll put a marine battery in & we’ll have power.  The wiring is close to done but no urgency until we can afford the battery.
4. A way to keep the doors open must be developed.  I used the Harsh Environment polymer hinges.  They are smooth as silk, quiet, & seal up really well.  The only quirk is that they won’t let the doors open all of the way.  So I need a method to keep the doors open.
5. Finish my cabinet & shelf inside.  We went into the jPod knowing that it wasn’t complete but now we can really see the wisdom in some storage space.  Our things were strewn everywhere for a lack of cabinets.  That will come.
6. The jPod pulls like a dream.  I was very pleased with how smooth the jPod traveled.  Most of the time, I couldn’t tell it was back there.  The springs do get a bit excited when crossing larger bumps (railroad tracks, large potholes in dirt roads, etc.).  If I intended to use the jPod only on pavement, I’d consider this more than acceptable.  However, our intention is to use it off road where there will be plenty of bumping & jostling around.  I am looking at some small shocks to temper the springs a bit.  It isn’t awful but I know it could be better.
7. Insulating the walls & ceiling was the right decision.  It was about 95 degrees the entire weekend.  The outside of the jPod was no exception.  However, the inside temperature of the walls & ceiling were about 80 degrees.  The insulation works better than I thought.  I left the doors open and took a nap in the jPod in the middle of the day.  It was great.
8. I can’t wait to have the galley done.  Being able to cook that close to the trailer & have everything already stored will be awesome.

So there it is.  Trip #1, as determined by my site visitors, is now under our belts.  I am happy with the outcome & can’t wait to get more work done on the jPod & to go again.  Here are some pictures of our first trip:

In an earlier post, I stated my goal of getting the entire jPod weather tight before July 24 (Our first excursion in the jPod was this past weekend.  You can read my report on our first trip here).  Thus, I have worked night and day (quite literally) to achieve this goal.  The good news…I made it & the external phase of the jPod is complete.  I need to put a few more coats of paint on the doors & I’m done.

The bad news…I have a lot of updates to make to this website.  I have added over 100 photos to the Body:External & Body:Internal pages.  Plus I have changed or added write-ups on the build processes.

What do I have to finish?

The Brightside paint takes 17 hours to dry.  The jPod body has 3 coats of paint on top of 3 coats of primer & then 2 coats of epoxy.  However, I have noticed that it takes longer than 17 hours for the paint to truly harden up (probably about 30 hours).  This is why I only put one coat of paint on the doors for this past weekend’s trip.  So, the trailer was weather worthy for the weekend but I still want a few more coats of paint on the doors.

This goal would not have been met without my friend Nathan & Senior Management’s help.  They both worked several days with me in 100 degree weather to cut aluminum, trim, paint, seal, glue, and do all of the other things that were needed to meet my deadline.

I have added a new poll to the side of the website page.  Help me decide if a pinstripe or a vinyl graphic would be best on the outside of the jPod.

Check out the updates on the  Body:External & Body:Internal pages.  Here are a few teaser photos:

Inside walls are finished

Outside not done yet but getting there.

I love anything that:

1. Douglas coupland writes(books)
2. anything related(eg. the actors who played in jpod)

NOT because I’m creepy. Because I’m a loyal fan and because it’s so awesome.

So naturally I followed him on twitter… (I HOPE HE DOESN’T (or anyone related) READS THIS because really… it’s kind of lame). One of his tweets were something like “why can’t you find cheap double sided tape in vancouver” and I told him to go to daiso as it is $2(I have some myself and it is AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE thanks S). I read his twitter and he went to daiso! How freaken awesome is that.. my favourite author not only read my reply but he went there ^-^-^-^-^-^__^_^__^_^_6_^_^

Spent two hours at the Daiso “All-Japanese / Everything $2″ store today. Brain exploded. Like being in Tokyu Hands.

- DOUGLAS COUPLAND

Enough loser talk for one day.

p.s. I convinced VNGO to buy “the gum thief” to read on the plane and I’m really curious to see if she liked it. What am I saying… of course she will.

The last 10% takes 90% of the time.
The last 10% takes 90% of the time.
The last 10% takes 90% of the time.
The last 10% takes 90% of the time.
The last 10% takes 90% of the time.

This sentence has been repeating itself in my mind for hours during the past few weeks.  Why?  Because I am sanding again.  Living in the Northwest created a bit of a temperature obstacle for me when it came to finishing the outside of the jPod.  It was simply too cold to do it until mid June.

I am highly motivated to get the jPod’s exterior sealed up in the next couple of weeks.  Senior Management and I will attend her cousin’s wedding and we’d like to use the jPod as our living quarters.  Doing this would keep us out of the family’s way as they prepare for a wedding.  Plus, it gives us a test run of the trailer in safe conditions.  I have watched my poll on the jPod website and the North Idaho Panhandle seems to be winning.  This is where the wedding is so we’ll make good on this.

Here is a brief outline of my progress towards finishing the exterior of the jPod.

• Added bolts to the fenders
• Finished skinning the Galley hatch
• 2 coats of epoxy on the Galley hatch
• prepped the cabin doors for epoxy
• sanded forever
• Applied another primer coat to the jPod
• sanded, epoxied, & primed the door jams & galley seal surfaces
• Sanded the primer
• Applied the Brightside Exterior finish

Nathan volunteered to help apply the Brightside Exterior paint today.  His help was invaluable.  Brightside is not like any paint product I have used before.  It is made to be used on the exterior of boats.  I applied a thin layer of the paint to the trailer with a foam roller.  The roller left thousands of bubbles in the finish.  Nathan followed my rolling with a paintbrush & tipped all of the bubbles.  This left light brush-marks in the finish.  However, as we worked we noticed that Brightside doesn’t lie when they say that their product will self level.  It did and there are no brush marks showing.  After only one coat of paint it looks awesome.  It takes 17 hours to dry so there will be no work on the jPod until noon tomorrow but the wait is well worth it.

Looking back on this project, so far, I must say that an aluminum sheeted finish would be much faster than using the epoxy.  However, I love the look of the Brightside Marine paint.  If I were to do it again… I don’t know which finish I’d choose.

There are some pictures added to Body: Exterior which documents the process.

Here’s a teaser:

Close Up of the galley Hatch

Böcker som sedan blir TV-serier finns det säkerligen hundratals av, men att hitta guldkoren är alltid svårt. Framförallt brukar böckerna alltid vara bra mycket bättre och genom formatet så blir de djupare och persongalleriet mycket mer rikt och intressant. Besvikelsen brukar alltså vara stor ifall man inte börjar med att se TV-serien och därefter läser boken.  Den här gången gjorde jag tvärt om och det var faktiskt ett lyckodrag. Upplevelsen blev starkare och mycket mer angenäm!

Ifall du läser recensionen av boken så läser du att det var en kul bok, men som inte klarar sig rakt igenom. Det är främst på slutet av boken som den tappar, men däremot är början helt brilliant. Klarar sig gör däremot TV-serien under hela första och enda säsongen och den utgår i stort sätt bara ifrån boken. Fast vid andra halvan av TV-serien så börjar den ändra sig och går utanför ramen. Det är då boken dippar och serien blir superduperbra!

Jpod består fortfarande var samma härliga gäng som i boken. Alla har fortfarnade samma skruvning och skådespelarna gör ett fantastiskt bra jobb med att vara skruvade. Man känner igen dem från boken helt enkelt och huvudpersonen Ethan, som spelas av David Kopp, är precis så menlös och nördig som man vill ha honom.  Han pappa är nästan ännu mer knäpp än i boken och Kam Fong, fixarkinesen, är en perfekt fixarkines.

Tyvärr blev aldrig serien längre än en enda säsong, så man känner ett sug efter att ha sett serien som inte försvinner. Det hela slutade nämligen med en perfekt cliffhanger som hade kunnat fortsätta hela säsong två och fortfarande vara underhållande. Det kändes verkligen inte som om serien hade körts slut, men tvärr tror jag målgruppen inte följde den på TV, utan laddade hem den.

Så, nu rekommenderar jag dig att läsa min bokrecension, köpa boken (och läsa den) och därefter se TV-serien för den kombinationen blir galant!

Jag håller just nu på och slukar Douglas Couplands härliga roman jPod. Har väl kommit lite mer än halvvägs och hittills är den grymt skön och jag skrattar högt flera gånger per sida. I ett roligt inslag beskriver huvudpersonerna sig själva som om de vore auktionsföremål till salu på eBay.

Så ja, jag ger väl mig på ett eget försök:

——————–

Studenter > Liten och nätt > Fast kropp > Öppen för förslag

HELT OKEJ KILLE

Objektnummer: 9876543210
Aktuellt bud: 934,61 SEK
Tid kvar: Förhoppningsvis lång
Auktionen startade: Nyss
Utlöpstid: Inom kort
Historik: 6 bud
Högsta bud: fläskiga_farbrorn
Objektplats: Lite här och lite där. Mest framför datorn i Limhamn.
Fraktas till: Någonstans varmt, helst (dock ej helvetet).
Säljare: avh88

Beskrivning:

Lagom TREVLIG och mestadels GLAD kille som lystrar till namnet André säljes. Hyser ett STORT INTRESSE för allt vad MUSIK OCH MODE heter. Besitter GODA KUNSKAPER i såväl det svenska språket som personlig hygienskötsel.

Den relativt digra meritlistan rymmer bland annat en FÖRSTAPLATS i skolmästerskapet i längdhopp på högstadiet (5,07 meter i lätt motvind), ett SOLOUPPTRÄDANDE med “Blinka lilla stjärna” på Lisebergs stora scen samt ett par sekunders förbiflimrande som LYSANDE STATIST i Jan Troells guldbaggebelönade “Så vit som en snö”.

(Intressant trivia är att han under inspelningen av “Så vit som en snö” spenderade oroväckande mycket tid i Rickard Wolffs knä. Huruvida detta är orsaken till att Wolff idag stoltserar med en make med samma vackra namn och unga ålder som auktionsföremålet är dock oklart).

Har INGA SYNLIGA SKAVANKER. Under höljet döljer sig dock en irriterad tarm och ett antal allergier. Men matar du bara honom mycket fibrer och håller honom undan från nötter och skaldjur och illaluktande tanter så kommer du GARANTERAT FÅ STOR NYTTA av honom (ludna pälsbeprydda saker funkar, så länge det inte är köparen det gäller). INGA GROVA KRIMINELLA HANDLINGAR är dokumenterade och INGA AVVIKANDE SEXUELLA FETISCHER är hittills upptäckta. Levereras i befintligt skick.

Säljes på grund av platsbrist och tappat intresse. Bifogar bild och ser framemot en intensiv budgivning.

Emilie Ullerup as Ashley Magnus in Sanctuary. Photo by Jeff Weddell and courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel

When we were children, most of us probably spent at least one night looking for monsters under our bed or in the closet. Fortunately, they always turned out to be imaginary. As an adult, Sanctuary’s Ashley Magnus risks her life searching for very real monsters. An expert in advanced weapons and technology as well as hand-to-hand combat, she is the daughter of Dr. Helen Magnus, head of the Sanctuary, a global network of facilities dedicated to studying and, if necessary, capturing and detaining creatures called abnormals. As if Ashley does not have enough on her plate, she takes on even more when her father, John Druitt, comes back into her life. It has been quite a head trip for our leather-clad heroine, as Emilie Ullerup, who plays Ashley, explains.

“Ashley already had a huge journey in the two-hour [Internet] pilot,” says the actress, taking time out for a chat while shooting the first season Sanctuary episode Warriors. “My character went from living her life as she had through her twentysomething years to being hit in the face with the fact that she has a dad and he is, or was, a monster.

“So overnight her whole world changes and becomes a scary place for a young woman who has never had to deal with anything, really. Emotionally, she’s cut off and focused on her lot in life, which is every day she gets up and might die because she’s going to go fight monsters. Then, all of a sudden, her dad shows up and forces her to think about what she’s doing. I think that’s what took up a lot of her time in the web pilot, but her journey has since changed with these 13 [first season] episodes that we’re doing.”

Ashley and her estranged father John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl) have a somewhat unconventional reunion. Photo by Jeff Weddell and copyright of the Sci Fi Channel

The two-hour Internet pilot for Sanctuary was filmed in early 2007, but its creator Damian Kindler along with his fellow executive producers, Martin Wood and Amanda Tapping (Helen Magnus), began prep months before, and that included, among other things, Ullerup’s audition for the role of Ashley. “When I originally went in to read I knew nothing about the project other than the three scenes that I’d been sent,” she recalls. “I had that first audition and received a callback relatively soon afterwards. The second time around was pretty much like the first, except after I did the scenes, I think it was Martin Wood who said to me, ‘The show’s stunt coordinator Bam Bam [James Bamford] is here. We’re going to put together a little something for you and we just want to see how you do.’ I said, ‘OK, let’s go.’

“James came in and he and I did a very simple hand offensive [move] and I walked out of there feeling good. A couple of hours later I got a phone call telling me, ‘You’re good to go,’ and I was super excited. We shot the trailer that summer [of 2006] and then seven months later we began filming the web pilot. For me, that meant a whirlwind of learning the fight sequences and putting it all together. I had never had any fight training before in my life, so it was a matter of rehearsing a scene and then walking on-set dressed in leather and high-heels and trying to pull it off. I actually did everything myself, but we had a [stunt] double on-set who would also do the fights in case there was something that I couldn’t sell properly. Bam Bam brought in great stunt performers who I was able to practice with and get a feel for having five people around me that my character would have to take down. So I had all these things working in my favor.”

Along with the onscreen fights, another of the more memorable moments for Ullerup when filming the Sanctuary pilot  is where Ashley learns that John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl) is her father. He and Helen were born in Victorian England and were part of a group of scientists called The Five. Back then, Helen discovered that an injection of a serum derived from vampire blood would give all five of them extraordinary powers. Druitt gained the ability to teleport, but the drug’s side-effects turned him into a homicidal killer. This drove him and Helen apart, but not before they had conceived a child. When Helen and Ashley next saw John it was in the present day, much to their surprise.

Ashley and John Druitt "enjoy" some father-daughter time together. Photo by Jeff Weddell and copyright of the Sci Fi Channel

“I went into that scene where Ashley finds out the truth about her father having made up my mind that it wasn’t going to be something that we glossed over easily,” says Ullerup. “Once we started filming that day, the cast and crew didn’t know what to expect with that scene and we took it in a direction that was a little deeper and darker than perhaps anyone had anticipated. It made it so much better for all of us, though, because our characters really connected, and in the process it got frightening, too.

“I remember doing a scene with Chris and I was actually terrified of him that day, which worked great. The scene was quite magical and Martin Wood – I don’t know if he would want me to say this – but he had tears in his eyes. He and the other guys sat behind the cameras and they all started crying with us. We were exhausted beyond belief after 12 hours of doing all that emotional stuff, but it was just a really super day. That’s why we’re all so pleased to be back here. We knew we already had something special, and now we get to play with it more.”

The Sanctuary pilot received such a positive response from viewers that the Sci Fi Channel decided to bring it to TV. Its 13-episode first season was shot during the spring and summer of 2008 and debuted last October. The program’s new venue necessitated changes to the pilot, which was re-shot, and as the story unfolded, the characters’ lives once again experienced upheaval.

Mom and daughter team in action - Ashley and Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping). Photo by Jeff Weddell and courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel

“Ashley’s world has been turned upside down this season, mostly just in terms of she’s been introduced to the idea of free choice and free thought,” notes Ullerup. “Yes, she’s had that in the Sanctuary, but she’s always been told what to do by her mom and never questioned it. However, with the introduction of her father, he tells Ashley that there is such a thing as choice and that she should think for herself and not simply aim, shoot and kill. So there’s a lot going on with her. I’m not sure where it’s all headed because there are so many different ways it could go, but there’s definitely a great deal of darkness in my character’s life.

“At the core of everything, Ashley loves her mom; she’s the only one who my character could trust up to now. This has provided me with plenty of [acting] challenges because I, personally, come from a very stable family, so trying to draw on not trusting your parents and not knowing who they really are is very strange to me. So I’ve had some big days with both Christopher and Amanda, lots of emotional pulls and tugs as well as a lot of anger and resistance, more than, I think, in the Internet pilot, which is really a thrill for me.”

Like the web pilot, the TV incarnation of Sanctuary uses a tremendous amount of green screen in its production, which allows its writers to set stories around the world. Also, Martin Wood, who directed the web pilot, has directed several of the TV episodes, and his presence behind the camera is much appreciated by Ullerup.

Ashley and Sanctuary's resident techno-whiz Henry (Ryan Robbins) infiltrate a facility run by a shadowy organization known as The Cabal. Photo by Jeff Weddell and courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel

“Martin knows exactly what he wants all the time,” says the actress, “and that’s huge help, especially when you’re working with green screen, where we enter a world of not knowing. Even on the day of filming, we don’t know exactly what’s happening around us, but Martin is great at making sure that we at least know the broad strokes of where everything is. He’s great about taking us aside and informing us of our environment, and that helps us figure out what’s going on inside ourselves. There are days when I’ll be on-set and do something that I think works. Again, though, Martin knows what he wants and he’ll come up to you and say, ‘Listen, that was very good, but can you try it this way.’ As a result, the entire scene is transformed. Martin knows how to speak to actors, and that’s not always the case with a director.”

In the aforementioned Warriors, Helen and Ashley along with Helen’s protege, forensic psychologist Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) cross paths with The Cabal, a powerful shadowy organization that views abnormals to be a serious threat to the future of humankind. This episode also reunites Helen and Ashley with another family member.

“This story is basically about a fight club for abnormals, but it’s definitely not a voluntary one,” explains Ullerup. “It’s being run by The Cabal, who are looking to create the strongest, fiercest, scariest abnormal ever and are testing their candidates in the fight ring. We  become involved when one of Will’s friends is kidnapped, so we go looking for him and stumble upon this club. At the same time, we find Ashley’s grandfather [Gregory Magnus, played by Jim Byrnes]. My character thought he’d been dead for many years, so now grandpa gets tossed into the mix, too. This is a big episode insofar as family ties and raises the question of can Ashley trust mom? It turns out, though, that Helen had no idea that her dad was still alive either, but it’s still more confusion for her and Ashley and their relationship becomes a bit more tarnished.

Ashley and Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) on the hunt for an abnormal in the season one Sanctuary episode "Nubbins." Photo by Jeff Weddell and courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel

“For me, the thing that’s been big this season is character development, which includes Ashley dealing with her own issues as well as other characters,” continues the actress. “Because she’s sort of the go-to gal who knows the town and all the contacts, I’ve been able to play opposite some really cool abnormals. I mean, I’ve had scenes with an abnormal we call ‘Squid Man,’ who’s this crazy looking guy with prosthetic tentacles hanging all over his face. So that’s been an odd sort of challenge.

“What also stands out for me acting-wise on Sanctuary is getting to do so much of the physical stuff. There are some episodes where it’s needed and others where not so much. Sometimes I wish there were more stunts and fights, but I understand there has to be a balance. It’s not a fight show and we need the story to drive the fights. So overall for me as an actor, I’ve been able to do the emotional scenes as well as physical ones. I’ve also had the chance to be in the background and watch other people play and see their characters develop. I just think it’s a very well-rounded way of telling a story.”

Ashley and Henry are caught in yet another tight spot. Photo by Jeff Weddell and courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel

Prior to being cast on Sanctuary, Ullerup got plenty of Sci-Fi and Fantasy experience working on such shows as Battlestar Galactica, Blood Ties and the Canadian made jPod. “I was so green when I did Battlestar,” says the actress. “It was my very first audition and I was lucky enough to book it. I had never been on a [film] set before, so I had no clue where I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to do, other than I knew my lines and I was in my costume. Most of my scenes were with Katee Sackhoff [Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace], which was really exciting. She and I gelled very well and it was an amazing first experience. Everyone on Battlestar was terrific and it was a fantastic way for me to see how a well-oiled machine works.

“Then I went on Blood Ties. I did their pilot episode and it was a whole different type of set because it was smaller and new and you just got that sense of energetic first-time jitters. I worked with Kyle Schmid [Henry Fitzroy], who’s a fantastic actor and all-around nice guy. Our scenes together were relatively intimate and before we began shooting, Kyle said to me, ‘This could be awkward, but I don’t want it to be, so let’s just have a laugh and have fun,’ which we did.

“And just before Sanctuary I did jPod, which was originally a book written by Canadian author Douglas Coupland [executive producer] and then turned into a TV series. Unfortunately, it only lasted one season, which was a terrible shame because we went out with 15 Leo Award nominations and the series was also nominated at the Monte Carlo International Film Festival. I played a computer animator [Kaitlin Joyce] who was striving to climb the ranks, tended to ignore people and was sometimes a bit not-so-nice. It was a great show to do over the summer, and to then come to Sanctuary and be cast as yet another very different type of character is a real treat.”

Our heroine Ashley enjoys a rare moment of down-time. Photo by and courtesy of Sanctuary 1 Productions/Anthem Visual Effects

In Sanctuary’s first season two-part finale Revelations, Ashley is taken prisoner by The Cabal and undergoes a treatment that turns her against Helen and the others. Discovering that she has inherited her father’s teleportation power, Ashely steals a vial of vampire blood that her mother needs to cure a virus that The Cabal has unleashed on the abnormals. In the final moments of Revelations, Part 2 it looks as if she has gone over to the dark side. Like the show’s fans, Ullerup is curious to see what is next for Ashley when season two of Sanctuary premieres this fall.

“We were shocked to see where we thought our characters were going and where they ended up,” she says. “In the world of Sci-Fi anything is possible, and in the world of green screen even more is possible. We’ve gone to so many places and seen so many new things, and that makes it easier to stick with your character because nothing is ever the same. It doesn’t become routine when as an actor you’re challenged to explore new places with your character. It keeps it fresh, and I’m looking forward to more of that next season.”

Steve Eramo

As stated above, all photos copyright of Jeff Weddell or Sanctuary 1 Productions/Anthem Visual Effects and courtesy of Sanctuary 1 Productions/Anthem Visual Effects or the Sci Fi Channel, so please no copying or unauthorized duplicating of any form. Thanks!

I was gonna write this a while ago, like, after the 2nd or 3rd episode, but I got sidetracked, and lazy. So I’m doing it now!! Just after I’ve watched the 9th episode of a 10 episode series. 10 episodes!! It’s not enough… Thankfully I have Dr Horrible which I’m pretty much watching/listening to everyday lol, and 2 guys a girl and a pizza place. Will satisfy my Fillionitus. Theres not enough JDM about though… not easily available anyways… JDMSchool means a daily injection of JDM goodness.

The titles. Love it.

Must… get… back… on…track… Castle is like a combo of Diagnosis Murder, Murder She Wrote and CSI. Which for me, is BRILLIANT. Cos I love the cheesy murder mysteries they show on daytime TV, this isn’t one of them, but because its combined some of my favourite elements. And its got the bonus of having Nathan Fillion in it. Granted, I decided to watch solely because of his part. But I always love it when things turns out to be really entertaining, like Castle.

The first episode introduces the characters well, Richard Castle, the world famous, best selling novelist is asked to help on a murder case which copycats murders from his novels, which he uses as inspiration for his next set of books. (He’s having a case of writers block when the series starts.) After the case is solved, he starts shadowing a detective for ‘research’ purposes for his new book. Danger, intrigue, chemistry. It’s all there. It’s pretty cliched, but cliche isn’t always a bad thing, not when its done right. And in Castle it so is. And I LOVE that Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion are both Canadian. Me likes Canada. (I have Jpod to thank for that lol.)

If you are a fan of those jolly murder mystery tv shows, like Monk, Diagnosis Murder, Murder She Wrote etc, try this out. You won’t be sorry. And if your a fan of Firefly/Serenity/Nathan Fillion, you should already be watching.

I never watched Moonlighting much… but I get what they mean.

A number of things have been going on this week over at the CBC Book Club.  There were a few things I wanted to share with you and maybe get you excited about the group.  I hope these few things will entice you to get involved.

The first exciting news to come out of the CBC Book Club this week was the top 10 list of funny books.  Everyone was welcome to suggest funny books and Hannah compiled to list to get the top 10.  Some of the books I suggested made it on to the list and I must say that I’ve read books 1-8.  So, here it is, the CBC Book Club top 10 funny book list:

1. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Friend by Christopher Moore
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
3. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
4. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
5. Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler
6. JPod by Douglas Coupland
7. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
8. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
9. The Bachelor Brothers’ Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
10. TIE: Village of the Small Houses by Ian Ferguson and The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis

I was a little surprised to find Catch 22 and A Confederacy of Dunces on the list.  They didn’t make me laugh as much as the other books did while I was reading.  I guess it just shows the different tastes we have in books.  I’ve never read anything by Bill Richardson so I’m interested to read that one and the Ferguson brothers are quite funny so I’m sure Village of the Small Houses will be humours.

It was also announced that they’ll be giving away 2 Sony Book Readers.  Just like the one I won a month ago.  To be entered all you need to do is send questions to the author of this months book selection The Man Who Forgot How to Read by Howard Engle.  I also got an email from Hannah asking me about my thoughts on the book and sent her my response.  I’ll post our conversation later this week.

The most exciting news this week was that we are going to be discussing Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki.  This is a graphic novel I’ve wanted to read for some time now and I actually ordered the book just a couple days before the announcement was made.  I hope it brings about some good discussion.

Which is worse?

Finding a book you love and then hating everything else you try by that author, or

Reading a completely disappointing book by an author that you love?

I must say I’m truly stumped on this one.  It’s probably because I’m way to judgmental when it comes to reading.  So, if I love a book a lot I tend not to read anything else by the author for fear that it will be terrible and thereby taint the book I love.  And if I don’t like a book by an author it’ll take a lot of convincing to read something else by them.  I guess I just don’t know why I would want to put a book I love into jeopardy by reading something else and maybe not liking it or disliking something else and torturing myself because if one was buy what are the chances I’ll like something else by them?

But then you get favourite authors who write with varying degrees of greatness.  Take Douglas Coupland for example.  I love Douglas Coupland and enjoy his writing.  Some of his novels I enjoy more than others – jPod (loved) Miss Wyoming (not so much) – but that doesn’t mean totally disliked the novel.  And there are other examples of this I could talk about but I’m sure you get my point.  I didn’t enjoy the book as much as ones I’ve loved but I also wouldn’t say it was terrible.

I guess this is another answer I’ll have to chalk up as one I just don’t know the answer to.

Now that I’ve gone back and read the question after that very long rant I guess I’ll really answer the question (oops).  I would have to say it would  worse to find a book I love then hating everything else they read.  That’s why if I love a book I generally don’t read anything else by that author.

Cette semaine, au programme de  l’observatoire des sociétés mourantes :

Mardi 20 : Teaser en série (10) JPOD

Jeudi 22 : Teaser en série (11) Là-Haut

Samedi 24: Me, myself & I : Depuis que la dérision a tué le ridicule

Prenez le temps, avant qu’il ne vous prenne

Foutraquement…

SS

SOUNDTRACK: DANKO JONES-Never Too Loud (2008).

Danko Jones is a hard and fast rock band, with a one track mind and a straightforward sound.  They deal in excessive cliches (album titles include: Sleep is the Enemy, We Sweat Blood, Never Too Loud, etc) and play mostly short songs.  And despite all that apparent negativity, I enjoy them beyond reason.

Their first full length was a compilation of their early EPs, and it was full of outrageously short songs about big dumb sex (a bunch of the tracks were under two minutes).  Danko’s voice sounds a but like Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy, to give a frame of reference.

Never Too Loud, despite the name, actually changes their style a little bit.  He throws in a ballad (!), and he’s got one song “Take Me Home” which reminds me an awful lot of Kid Rock.   And songs like “King of Magazines” and “Forest for the Trees” similarly slow the pace down (Forest for the Trees is even 6 minutes long!).  But despite all that, Danko still rocks hard.

And yes, I admit that lyrically the disc isn’t ground breaking (“Still in High School” tends to sum up a lot of the themes here), but I don’t care.  Sometimes it’s fun to just rock out.  And Danko rocks with the best of them.

[READ: October 14, 2009] City of Glass

Douglas Coupland is from Vancouver.  And this book (and the revised edition) is like a love letter to the city (although he describes it as a personalized guide book).

When he first published this in 2000, Coupland had been experimenting with things other than novels, but this was the first book he released that was primarily photography (not his own, mind you).  He mixes photos of Vancouver landmarks as well as stock photos to illustrate the varied and multicultural life of Vancouver.

He also includes alphabetically titled texts in which he writes about a paragraph or two or three about the topic.  Most of these are personal insights into the city.  It’s not a work of fiction or even a collection of essays.  It’s more like love notes about this city.

Topics include: Backlot North (how B.C. comes after only Hollywood and New York as a primary filming location); Cantonese (the influx of Asians to Vancouver is astonishing); Greenpeace (founded there); See-Throughs (it’s not named the city of glass for nothing); Whales (there’s a special connection with the beluga–which I got to see when I was there) and of course, Grow-Ops (Vancouver has some of the strongest pot on the continent).

I’ve had the fortune of going to Vancouver and staying with a friend for a few days.  Getting the insider treatment of this cool city was certainly wonderful. I went to a number of interesting places, all right around the time that this book first came out.  I don’t really remember the details of my trip anymore, so I’m not sure if I went to many of the places specifically mentioned (except for Grouse Mountain of course), but I like to think I got to see a lot of the excitement.

Gushing about a city you went to on vacation is kind of silly, but I feel that Coupland’s excitement is infectious.  This quote more or less says it all: He writes that he spent his “twenties scouring the globe thinking there had to be a better city out there, until it dawned on [him] that Vancouver is the best one going.”  This book may not convince you of that, but it may get a few extra people to visit.

The revised edition doesn’t really change all that much.  A few new categories are added (The Big One, The Storm, Top 100 Surnames, North Shore Mountain Biking).  But then a few categories are removed from the first book too (and a few are in the new book but in different locations or with different titles).  The pictures all look a little brighter and cleaner, which is nice.  The biggest change comes in a few of the pieces (many are left untouched) in which he either updates an issue or changes its focus somewhat.

I was a little disappointed that not every section was updated.  Not because every section should be updated, but for instance, there’s one (Wildlife) in which he said (in 2000), “Last summer a black bear cub ambled down my driveway….”  It’s the same in the 2009 book.  Surely he could have just changed that to “A few years ago,” right?

So, if you’ve got the first edition, I’m not sure that it’s worth getting the revised edition   The pictures are better, sure, but I’m not sure that’s enough to justify the purchase.  If you don’t have either, I’d suggest getting the new one (although you can get a used first version at Amazon for about $3).

Either way, if you like Coupland (the writing is fairly short, but it is full of Coupland’s wit) or if you like Vancouver, this book is definitely a keeper.

The revised edition was also useful because it clued me in to the fact that Coupland has made some films (I knew about the series JPod, but did not know he had made a documentary (Souvenir of Canada) and a feature film (Everything’s Gone Green).  So thanks for that.  Now if only I can find them down here.