The Toastmasters year closes tomorrow. We held our Annual Meeting tonight at Freely Speaking Toastmasters and elected a new set of officers. One new person was elected to the board, replacing the one person who stepped down, but everyone except the VP Education and the Webmaster changed roles. I am the outgoing Secretary and the incoming Treasurer, and I also continue as the Webmaster.
I can’t believe that I’ve never taken the train down to Portland before. It’s easy, it’s inexpensive, and it’s about as quick as driving without the hassle.
The photo is from the set of photos that I posted to Flickr for motsscon XXII, on which more later.
I rode on a Segway today, for the first time. It was a lot of fun: a two-hour of Portland’s waterfront with nine other motsscon people. I could have done without the 80°F heat though.
It took a few minutes for me to find my balance and to feel comfortable. After that, it came pretty naturally.
Highly recommended.
Today, I did something that I’ve never done before. I visited my US Senators’ offices, with a handful of others, to help stiffen their spines on healthcare reform.
It started by accident last night when Mira mentioned on Facebook that she was going to visit Rep. Jim McDermott, Sen. Maria Cantwell, and Sen. Patty Murray’s Seattle offices today to talk to them about the “public option”.
McDermott and Murray were already supporters of the public health insurance option. Cantwell’s position was murkier and she came out in favor of some kind of lame “co-op” compromise earlier this week. Mira and her friends had no difficulty in setting up meetings with McDermott and …continue.
I’m heading down to Portland tomorrow evening for Motsscon XXII, of which more later.
It seems no-one thought to set up a map of the events and restaurants, so I spent half an hour in Google Maps creating a custom map. It was surprisingly painless and the suggestions for businesses near an address really helped.
Update: 10 minutes after writing the above, Google Maps crashed Safari 4 while trying to print the map.
Sequel to Murder at the Mendel. Teenage prostitutes are being mutilated and murdered in Regina. Joanne Kilbourn and her family become entangled with some of these “disposable” girls, in a case that touches too closely to home.
In the previous novels, her children were important secondary characters. Here they become central to the story, each in their own way.
Greenstage continue their Shakespeare in the Park this year with performances of King John and Comedy of Errors at a number of Seattle-area parks over the summer. Emma and I enjoyed their Twelfth Night at Seward Park last year. Best of all, it’s free!
The play starts at 7:00pm. Come at 5:00 and have a picnic with us near the Amphitheater. Bring food that’s ready to eat—the Seward Park PCC is less than a mile away. There’s some seating but you might want to bring your own chairs.
If you come even earlier, Seward Park is worth a trip in its own right. Old growth forest trails and a 2.5 mile lakefront walk.
Please …continue.
Joanne Kilbourn has moved to Saskatoon after the events of Deadly Appearances, and renewed her childhood friendship with Sally Love. Sally is now a famous artist and the focus of controversy: a huge fresco that she painted for the Mendel museum of the penises and vaginas of her former lovers is being picketed. As events turn ugly, Joanne will learn more than she ever wanted to know about Sally’s and her own history.
Bowen writes knowledgeably about art and artists and frustrated ambitions. Joanne’s long, entangled history with …continue.
Up is another gem from Pixar. A shy little boy Carl Fredricksen meets the exuberant Ellie, who also hero worships Charles Muntz, noted explorer of Paradise Falls. They grow old together and Ellie dies before they can achieve their lifelong dream of an adventure. With nothing left to lose, Carl attaches 10,000 helium balloons to his house and floats off to South America in search of Paradise Falls, inadvertently taking Russell, a Wilderness Explorer, with him.
The movie appealed just as much to the kids at our showing as the adults. The storytelling is first rate, combining humor, adventure, love, and …continue.
Andy Boychuk has just become the leader of the opposition party in Saskatchewan when he is murdered. His advisor, Joanne Kilbourn, sees him drink the poison. Her own husband was senselessly murdered a few years earlier, and Andy was not only her boss but an old friend, so it’s difficult for her. When she decides to write a biography of Andy and learns unexpected things about him, her health mysteriously begins to fail.
Joanne is a middle-aged widow with children, who has spent her life working behind the scenes in Saskatchewan …continue.