Christmas Eve Bike Ride!

This afternoon, with no snow to be seen and a temperature right around 8 C, I was able to make the bike ride to the comic store probably as late in the year as I ever have: Dec 24th!  I could've done without the 50 km/hr wind gusts that slowed me down at various points along the way, but overall it was a beautiful day for it.

Potentially Huge Climate Agreement Struck In Paris Last Week

The Paris Agreement on the reduction of greenhouse emissions could end up being one of those things that most people ignore while it's happening but which future generations consider among the most significant events of the 21st century.  Good on the world leaders for being able to make it happen!

At the very end of the article there's mention that

"All the countries agreed on demands from the US and European Union for five-year reviews of their emissions reductions – an exercise that had been resisted by China."

This seemingly trivial detail may turn out to be tremendously important, as it provides a framework for what's known as "inspection and adaptation" in the Agile software community.  The inclusion of a frequent, recurring process for seeing how you're doing, what's working and what isn't, allows you to adapt your methodology as you go along.  It takes away the necessity of getting everything just right from the start and empowers you to use whatever you learn along the way to do a better job.

On the other hand, it's particularly sad that the U.S. government is currently so dysfunctional that the agreement had to include wording to prevent the Luddite Republican party from vetoing America's participation in the deal.  Many Canadians like me were embarrassed by PM Stephen Harper's head-up-his-ass leadership over the past decade, but I can't imagine how awful the life of an intelligent citizen of the US must be these days with Donald Trump as the poster boy for one of the ruling parties.

Prime Minister Trudeau In The New York Times

Here's a pretty good article on PM Justin Trudeau from the Times, written by an expat Canadian who clearly knows his history.  And when he states that October's election was "nothing less than an existential struggle over what it means to be Canadian," he absolutely nails it.  Harper made a lot of us ashamed of our country with his pandering-to-the-wealthy, xenophobic, fear-mongering governing style that George W Bush would've approved of.  I don't profess to know how well Trudeau will do as a leader just yet but at least his espoused principles are much more in line with my own, something that clearly wasn't the case with his predecessor and his cronies.

December Biking

Somehow the original post about this got deleted today, so I'm just putting a Reader's Digest version back out here for my own personal records:

I got a bike ride in on Thursday this week, heading downtown for lunch with an old Canada Trust friend.  The temperature was just above freezing but it was sunny and clear, and it doesn't get much better than that in December.  I may even get another ride in this week coming up, as it's supposed to be slightly warmer still.

Last Bike Ride Of The Year?

Today I did the 25-km round trip downtown to the comic store, picking up 3 weeks' worth of comics (5 books) and getting in a substantial bike ride for the first time over that 3-week stretch.  Now that I'm no longer doing a weekly spin class, I really feel it when I get back onto the road after a layoff like that.  I can only imagine what it's going to be like in the spring when I've had several months off...

Anyway, today was a beautiful day for it: 10 C, sunny with a moderate amount of wind to cool me down whenever I needed it.  I don't know if I'll get any more opportunities before the snow comes for good, but if today was the final ride of 2015, at least it was a really good one.

Six Months Til Captain America: Civil War

I'm ridiculously excited about the May 6th debut of Captain America: Civil War.  I really liked the first Cap film, and then absolutely loved Winter Soldier, so I've probably got unrealistically high expectations about CW but I can't help it...  Captain America, when done right, has always been one of my favourite comic book characters, dating all the way back to him being in the first comic I remember buying.  So how can I not be jazzed that the next installment is now only half a year away?

9th Anniversary Of This Here Blog

While it certainly doesn't get the traffic that it used to, Kimota94's Place is still up and operating, 9 long years after I started it with a post entitled Misadventures in Blogland back on Oct 1, 2006.  A lot sure has happened since then:

• I've enjoyed 7 years of retirement so far, and have never regretted getting out of the rat race at 45 for even a moment
• I've written 8 books, starting off with 3 non-fiction before moving into the much more satisfying task of novel-writing
• Vicki has joined me as a retiree after about 15 years of off-and-on contract work
• Tammy's graduated from Western (and the Ivey School of Business) with an HBA, become an accountant and even lived in Australia for almost 2 years
• We've been fortunate enough to get the best cat ever, as Jonesy joined our family a little over 3 years ago
• I've finally tired of being a comic collector, deciding last year to begin selling off and giving away some of the 30,000 comics I'd accumulated over the course of 40+ years
• I've managed to keep in touch with the work friends who meant the most to me from both of my last two jobs, even after 14 and 7 years, respectively
• Life has gone on, as it always tends to do

Anyway, I'm not sure how much longer I'll continue to 'maintain' this blog, even at the reduced level I've sunk to lately, though it's already outlasted any reasonable prediction I might've made about its lifespan way back in October of 2006.  So that's something, anyway.

Blue Jays Win American League East!

My last post was about the Jays ending their 22-year playoff drought, and now, less than a week later, they've clinched their first AL East title since 1993.  It was very impressive to me that the team simply went about their business over the past week or so as all the talk about 'clinching' this and 'magic number' that began to heat up.  At one point Josh Donaldson (I think) asked one of the TV guys how many games they needed to win in order to clinch, and the commentator started to explain how the magic number involved a combination of Toronto wins and Yankee losses... only to have Donaldson say, "No, I don't care about other teams and what they do.  How many wins do we need?"  That speaks volumes about this edition of Blue Jays:  they focus on the job at hand and play hard every inning as if it were the most important inning ever.  I can so get behind a club with that kind of mindset!

With today's 15-2 win over Baltimore and resulting title clinch out of the way, the only regular season goal left to achieve for the team is finishing 1st in the American League, ahead of Kansas City.  They currently lead by 2 games, with 5 games to go, and Toronto holds the tie-breaker if the two teams finish in a dead heat.  If the Jays can finish 1st, they'll have home field advantage throughout the playoffs (for as long as they last) because the American League won home field for the World Series by taking this year's All-Star game over the National League back in the summer.  Considering how well the Jays played at home in 2015 (53-28), that could end up making a huge difference in how deep they go in their first postseason run since 1993.

Blue Jays End 22-Year Playoff Drought

I was beginning to think I might never get to see the Jays in the playoffs again, after seeing them live in Game 1 of the 1993 World Series (the last time they were in a playoff series).  However, an incredible 2015 season which saw not one but two 11-game winning streaks for Toronto has now culminated with the team clinching a postseason berth with their best performance since 1993.

Additions such as Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin and David Price to a roster that already boasted Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion has allowed the team to finally achieve the potential that so many have seen in them for several seasons now.  It's been a heck of a ride so far, even managing to push coverage of exhibition NHL games to the back burner during late September here in Canada.  I don't know deep they can actually go, but at least this year the Jays won't be breaking out their golf clubs after their 162nd game is over. 

Hour Of The Wolf Has Arrived!

The books sat in Atlanta, Georgia for about 24 hours, and then I was hit with duty charges that I wasn't expecting, but none of that matters now: Hour of the Wolf copies are finally in the house!  I'm happy to report that I have books to sell at last, so if you're looking for one, please let me know.

Life In The Serial Killer Capital Of The World

I wasn't actually living here in London, Ontario during the 50s through the early 80s, and now I'm kind of glad that I wasn't.  This chilling Guardian article details how our lovely little city was once the serial killer capital of the world, a distinction no city would ever want to hold.

Hour of the Wolf Is Almost Here!

Over the past several days, I've finished the print draft of Hour of the Wolf, ordered and received copies in the mail, checked them over and made a few minor changes, and then placed the big initial print order for the book.  I'm not sure how quickly they'll get here, though I'm cautiously optimistic that they may show up next week.  I'm using Amazon's CreateSpace print-on-demand service as my primary printer on this project for the first time, and so far each of my experiences with them has been very positive and quick.

As you can see from the left-side bar on this blog, I've added a couple of links to the new book.  It's all set up on CreateSpace and Lulu now, so anyone who'd rather get a copy through the mail can choose between those options and order it as of right now.  I'll also be putting a version up on the Kindle store, probably tomorrow, for those who like to read eBooks.

And of course, as soon as the printed copies show up on our doorstep, I'll be getting those into the hands of any interested parties.  Stay tuned.

Nothing Good Ever Lasts: Scene Points Edition

As Tammy pointed out to me this morning, it sounds like Cineplex is soon going to be devaluing their Scene point system!  Premium tickets will soon require 1500 points and VIP 2000 points, where both had previously only needed 1000 for a ticket.

For years now, we've been building up 100 points per General Admission movie that we paid for, and then redeeming 1000 points to attend a VIP screening (usually on opening weekend) for some big budget blockbuster like Avengers or Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  The economics of it worked wonderfully, as we'd spend between $70 and $110 on 10 General Admission tickets (depending on how many cheap Tuesday shows we went to) and then redeem our 1000 points for a show worth about $20.  I sort of knew that was too good to last, and now it seems I'll soon be proven right in that assumption.

If you've got points built up right now that you've earmarked for a VIP show, you may want to use them before Nov 4.  Unfortunately for us, that rules out Star Wars Episode VII (December), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 2016) and Captain America: Civil War (May 2016).  Bummer!

Introducing My Fifth Novel: Hour Of The Wolf

(Cover image by Mark Wagter, markwagterphotography.com)

More details to follow in August...

Awesome Post By A Mormon Lawyer On The 10th Anniversary Of Marriage Equality In Canada

This Mormon Press article is definitely worth a read, both for its thoroughness in discussing the balance Canada has struck for the past 10 years between ensuring religious freedom as well as the rights of those whom certain religious representatives often seek to subjugate, and for its calming tone toward our neighbours to the south on their own recent entry into the 21st century where marriage equality is concerned.

As Ms. Oviatt puts it, "a decade into same sex marriage, the moral fabric of Canada is as strong as ever [and] families continue to be at the heart of Canadian society."  Which of course comes as a surprise to absolutely no Canadian except those few religious extremists who lack the ability to see beyond the end of their own judgmental noses.

Uber Vs Toronto's Horribly Corrupt Taxi System

This Globe and Mail article details just how mind-blowingly bad the taxi licensing scam is in Toronto and makes a good case for why anything that destroys it, like Uber, is most definitely an improvement.

2nd Draft Complete!

As expected, it took me less than 2 weeks to complete the 2nd draft of my 5th novel.  I'm often frustrated by how unpredictable my pace can be when I'm writing the initial draft, but at least the rest of the process always flows much more smoothly. 

The updated version of the book is now in the hands of Ernesto for edits and my brother for feedback and corrections on the stuff he helped with.  Meanwhile, I'll be doing additional minor edits of my own, as will Vicki, and then all of that will be incorporated into a 3rd draft.  It should only take about another 4 - 5 weeks before I can place a big order and actually have some copies to sell.

Things are progressing well now! 

Finally Finished The First Draft!

It's been a long time coming, but tonight I completed the initial draft of my fifth novel.  It's still fairly unpolished, and has sections that I need to discuss with my brother Richard yet, but the entire story is now down 'on paper' and complete.  I know everything that happens, all of the characters' fates, and what it all means.  Always a really good feeling!

Details, such as the title and back cover blurb, will be forthcoming over the summer.

Brain Teasers Are Fun

Whenever I'm stupid enough to think that I'm smart, a brain teaser like this usually comes along and brings me back down to Earth:

There are 3 light switches on a wall in the basement.  One of them turns on a lamp that's up in the attic.  You can manipulate the 3 switches as much as you want, but you're only allowed one trip up to the attic to see if the lamp's on.  How do you figure out which of the 3 switches works turns on the lamp?

I thought about this for several minutes but couldn't solve it.  However, like all the best puzzles, once I saw the solution I realized it was perfect and that I could've (theoretically) come up with it, since there were no absurd assumptions or tricks involved.

Can you solve it?  Leave a comment with your solution if you have one.  I'll post the 'real' solution in a comment sometime later (though other solutions are certainly possible).

[This came courtesy of BoingBoing and The Guardian website.]

Calling Out America's Anti-Intellectualism And Its Cost

Here's a really great Psychology Today article detailing many of the ways in which the U.S. is embracing ignorance and paying a high price for doing so.

Edward Snowden: 21st Century Hero?

In the two years since Snowden first gained notoriety by releasing huge volumes of information about the National Security Agency's data-gathering techniques, I've had this creeping feeling that he may just become one of this century's most important heroic figures.  I've seen a couple of interviews with him, read a few articles about him, and now there's the New York Times op-ed that he penned last week... and everything I 've learned about Snowden makes me believe that he did was he did for the noblest of reasons.  It's hard to imagine any way in which he's benefitted by his actions, although I suppose for some, gaining celebrity would be justification enough.  I don't get that vibe off him, though.  As he says in the NYT article, he put his privileged lifestyle at risk and wasn't even confident that anything worthwhile would come of the risk he took.  I think it's possible that 20 years from now we'll look back at the revelations he provided into what the US government (and others) have been doing in the 21st century and realize just how critical it was that all of that spying came to light when it did.

I guess only time will tell how history will remember the man, but my money's on 'hero,' rather than 'villain.'

Joining The Costco Movement

Two recent discoveries have led us to finally get a Costco membership after years of resisting the urge.

The first was that I've been hearing Costco held up as an example of a big chain store that actually treats its employees half-decently, unlike Walmart (which I've always refused to shop at).  I'd always assumed it was just as lousy an employer as Walmart but apparently it manages to offer discounted prices while still allowing its workers to earn a living wage.  Yay for Costco!

Also, our local 'Great Canadian Superstore' has gone downhill considerably over the past year or two, especially in terms of keeping their shelves well-stocked with the items I'm most likely to buy (bread, wraps, bagels, various brands of frozen foods, etc.).  The joke in our household has become that we'd better not like anything we buy there too much or else they'll soon stop carrying it.  It's gotten to the point where about half the time I go there to get a fresh loaf of bread I come home empty-handed, either because there wasn't any to be found at all or because whatever was there had a Best Before Date that was only a day or two out from the present.  I eat a fair bit of bread but even so, I need it to last for at least a week!

All of which primed me for saying to Vicki this week, "If you're at all interested in getting a Costco membership, it's fine by me..."  Needless to say, it wasn't long at all before she came home with one!  One of her first purchases was a big roll of plastic wrap (like our sister-in-law Meena has!) that will hopefully put an end to me cursing the crappy Glad Wrap that tangles up in my hands and never clings to anything I put it on.  She also bought a whole lot of pork (tenderloin and roasts) that we'll be enjoying all through the summer, based on the size of it.

Next week, I'm going to see if I can find bread at Costco, though Vicki's already warned me that I'll probably have to buy two loaves at a time.  Even so, that'd still be better than not being able to buy any at the so-called Superstore.

Taking A Twitter Break

It might seem I've been taking a blogging break, given the dearth of posts here lately... but really I just haven't had much to say.  Life has been good of late, as it often is, and that makes for boring updates I think.

But the one little kernel of news I thought I should record for posterity is that I closed my Twitter tab in the browser several days ago and haven't yet felt inclined to re-open it.  I'm not a Twitter-hater in general, but it does certainly seem to skew quite heavily to the noise side of the signal-to-noise scale sometimes, and so I'm taking a break from it.  How long it will last, I can't say.  But so far I've been enjoying not knowing what everyone else is talking about, not reading the same tired, old attempts to be topical and cool, and not wasting even a single moment of my day skimming through the cruft, looking for something to reward my attention.

Pool Season 2015 Now Officially Open

With the sudden arrival of summer today (seems like just last week it was winter!), we bit the bullet this morning and began the chore of opening the pool.  As of right now, the winter cover is off, cleaned and ready to be packed away for 4 or 5 months; a lot (but certainly not all) of the algae and worms have been vacuumed off the bottom of the pool; the water that was oily black 8 hours ago is now light blue in the shallow end and nearly-light green in the deep end, thanks to 2 kg of chlorine having been added; and the water temp is up from 55 F to 60 F, courtesy of our 4-year-old heater that started up perfectly on the first try.  Tomorrow we'll do one more vacuum of the deep end and then unleash the robot on it to do numerous passes without any human guidance (we just have to clean out its filter on a regular basis as it gets clogged quickly this time of year).

Optimistically, if all goes well, I could see taking a dip by the weekend.  Of course, where pools are concerned, things rarely go all well.  But a guy can always dream, can't he?

Poopy Bird Deterrents In Place

After last year's successful foray against the annual poopy bird crapfest, we believe we've found a winning strategy and so of course we're deploying it again this year.  The strings are up, zigzagging across the (still-closed) pool, and hopefully they'll be enough to keep the migrating grackles from dropping the feces of their young onto our deck.  We'll know within the next few weeks, anyway.

Potentially Huge Breakthrough For Alzheimer's Discovered

This news out of Australia seems extremely promising: a team there has discovered a way to use ultrasound waves to break up the material that blocks the neurons in Alzheimer's patients and causes their memory issues.  Tests with lab rats saw improved memory functions in 75% of the treated animals, which is an amazingly good result.  Considering how devastating this disease is to so many elderly men and women and their loved ones, this could prove to be a game-changer, for sure.

Yet Another Study Finds No Link Between Vaccination Rates And Autism

Almost 100,000 children aged 2 thru 5 were included in the latest study, which once again found no link between vaccination rates for MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) and the occurrence of autism.  In other words, unvaccinated children are as likely to be diagnosed with autism as vaccinated ones are.  This is the same result that every study on the topic has found, with the exception of the one, discredited bit of 'research' that kicked off this whole anti-vaccination nonsense.  The great thing about science is that it's repeatable, and therefore by definition anything that isn't repeatable ain't science.  It's just too bad there's so many gullible parents out there who apparently didn't learn the first thing about how science works during high school, as they're now endangering everyone else around them with their stupidity. 

My Long Wait Is Almost Over

On this, the first day of Daredevil being available on Netflix, I  just ordered 2 tickets for Avengers: Age of Ultron for the night of its premiere, Friday, May 1st.  We're going to see it at the VIP theatre, reserved seats, and hopefully avoid having any of its surprises spoiled beforehand.  I'm ridiculously excited about this movie, just as I was for the first Avengers flick, and it didn't disappoint... at all!

Just 21 days to go now...

Still Biking At 52

I got my first bike ride of the year in today, pedaling my 2-year-old Rideau downtown to drop off my income tax return while it was -4 C (-8 C with the wind chill).  I had worried that too much of the way there would still be under ice or snow, but really the only portion like that was the final little park before the King Street bridge (right downtown).  I took a side street off Wharncliffe to bypass that section and made it to the bridge just fine.

I expect that every subsequent ride I'll make over the next 7 or 8 months will be warmer than today's, but it's still good to get that first one out of the way.  Or, as I always think to myself, "Not bad for an old guy." 

My All-Canadian Wife

A little less than 2 years ago, Vicki received her Canadian citizenship after living here for nearly 40 years.  Then, last June, her mother Elinor passed away after a year-long battle with failing health.  Not long after that, Vicki made the decision to renounce her U.S. citizenship, in part because Elly had been her strongest tie to the country of her birth, and in part because the time required to file U.S. income tax returns and other U.S. documentation each year was onerous.

It was a bizarre, convoluted process, including a trip to the U.S. consulate in Toronto last August that ended up being entirely wasted, but today we received the documentation in the mail making it official: Vicki is now 100% Canadian, having successfully relinquished her U.S citizenship.  She says she's a little sad about the loss but mostly feels good to be out from under the unique bureaucratic workload that America imposes upon its citizens living abroad. 

I told her that, after test-driving Canada for the past four decades, she shouldn't have anything to worry about.  After all: Canada's awesome, eh?

The New 52

Well, I've made it to another milestone, turning 52 today.  I had a wonderful day, starting with Vicki joining me for my Tuesday yoga class, and ending with the two of us watching one of the last House M.D. episodes together on Netflix (just 3 to go, now).  In between those two thrills, I also got homemade brownies, a new hoodie and T-shirt, take-out fish & chips for dinner, another awesome viewing of The Avengers on Blu-Ray and even a Rangers win over the hated Islanders (which I could've watched on TV but opted for the movie instead).  I don't think the day could've been any better, really, thanks to my lovely wife.

58 Days To Go

Blast From The Past

Vicki was going through some keepsakes today and came across this photo that Aunt Dorothy took of us back in the spring of 2000:

At the time, we were finally answering the question: What would Matt and Vicki look like if he didn't have a beard and she had blonde hair? Now, of course, Vicki is blonde every day, which is a real treat... but for the sake of humanity, I'm not inflicting my hairless chin on anyone at the moment!

Yes, Please!

Just 2 months and 5 days to wait now...

OK, here's the full poster, with more of the cast and all of the credits:

Alien Sequel Coming From District 9 Director?

This all seems a little out of left field to me, but Variety is reporting that District 9 director Neil Blomkamp is going to start work on a new Alien sequel. I liked District 9 well enough but it was pretty low-budget and I'm not sure that I'd trust its director with one of my favourite movie franchises, personally.  Not that there haven't already been some bad films in the series but... oh, who am I kidding?  Considering how much I adored Prometheus and the recent Alien: Isolation video game, I'll probably be one of the first in line to see this, whenever it comes out.

Another Example Of Bad Science Rears Its Ugly Head

This time it was fairly close to home, geographically-speaking, as it was the Toronto Star mistaking correlation as causation in their ridiculous story about the HPV vaccine.  Like the "MMR vaccine causes autism" bullshit that started with a British doctor's falsified data, this has the potential to cause all kinds of real harm as it drives gullible people away from life-saving vaccinations.

The inability of some members of our species to understand basic science is eventually going to wipe us out courtesy of Climate Change, so I guess 'small stuff' like this doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.  But it's still embarrassing on some level, if you ask me.

No Brother Of Mine Now Available In Printed Form On Amazon.Com

After a few hours of work by me over the weekend, along with some generous time from Carl Pettypiece to slightly reformat the cover, No Brother of Mine is now available to be printed on demand via Amazon.com. It's priced at $9.99 US there, which should make it reasonable even if you're paying to have it shipped to Canada.  And since it's a regular Amazon item, you can always get free shipping if you order enough other stuff with it.

I've wanted to get my novels onto another print distribution channel for a while, and this is my first step in that direction.  I'll be putting at least Old Wounds and Leap of Faith, as well as any future novels, out there for sure. 

Humans On Mars In The Next Decade?

I'm never quite sure how seriously I should take the Mars One mission, as it vaguely feels like some bizarre combination of prank, scam and pipe dream.  But they're now in the process of narrowing down the field of volunteers who've applied to go on the one-way trip to our nearest planetary neighbour, which definitely has the effect of making it seem at least somewhat more real.

So is it really going to happen?  Will we actually have human beings on Mars in about 10 years' time?  If so, wouldn't that inevitably be the Story of the Century, or at the very least, the most popular Reality TV program (on short time delay) of all time?  Who wouldn't want to follow the day-to-day activities of the first humans to live on another planet?!

Anyway, I hope it happens.  I'm not about to volunteer for the journey myself, as I'm pretty happy right where I am.  But I'd be fascinated to see a few others do it, if it's really possible.

Retiring The Blog Point Board

It's been up there at the top of this page for ages, but I haven't bothered to post anything involving Blog Points in years, so it's time to finally take it down and free up the real estate.

For the record, the tally ended as:

Vicki - 55 BPs
Hinckley - 43 BPs
Shane - 37 BPs
PeterJ - 30 BPs
Tammy - 23 BPs
Tim - 17 BPs
Boneman - 12 BPs
Croptop - 10 BPs
cjg - 6 BPs
AgileBoy - 1 BP
Man from Mars - 1 BP

Thanks to everyone for playing!

Sherlock Holmes As An Old Man

I'll be all over this particular interpretation of an aged Sherlock Holmes, as portrayed by Ian McKellen:



It looks awesome, based on the trailer!  Speaking as one Mr. Holmes to another, that is...

To Kill A Mockingbird Sequel (Sort Of) Coming In July

This story is really quite fascinating: Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, actually wrote a second novel back in the 50s but never attempted to get it published.  In fact, over all that time, she's remained a recluse and has never published anything else.  Now that old manuscript of hers, entitled Go Set a Watchman, has been rediscovered by Lee and she's shown it to enough trusted friends to believe that it's worth publication.  So it'll be released in July for all of us to enjoy, and apparently it features a grown up Scout (from Mockingbird).  How cool is that?

[Update later that same day:] Or maybe it's not so cool, after all.  Hmmm....

This Year's SuperBowl Made Up For Last Year's

Last year's 'contest' between the Broncos and Seahawks was over well before halftime, with Seattle making Peyton Manning look like an amateur early and often (starting with a safety on the first snap of the game, if memory serves).  It was a snoozer that we gave up on early in the 3rd quarter.

This year's big show between Seattle (again) and New England was much, much better.  It came down to the final few seconds, looking like the Seahawks were going to take the lead with less than 30 seconds left.  Then Russell Wilson threw an interception in the end zone and Tom Brady got his 4th SuperBowl ring just when it seemed certain that he'd be denied.  The final two minutes of game time featured a couple of unbelievable plays, the latter of which was the pick made by Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler on that final Wilson throw.  On that same Seattle drive, however, Butler managed to break up a catch attempt by Jermaine Kearse, resulting in the ball bouncing around but somehow never quite hitting the ground before Kearse reached out and pulled it in while on his back.  It was one of the most unusual and impressive completions I've ever seen, particularly given the significance of it, in terms of setting (final minutes in a close SuperBowl), yardage (long) and the fact that a second New England defender had a chance to knock the ball away, but didn't.

All in all, this year's was one of the classic SuperBowls.  Therefore it deserved some classic commercials, and apparently it got at least one (besides the cool Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer, of course):



Ah, Walter White... gone but certainly not forgotten!

Novel Update

It's been a few months since I put anything on this blog about my fifth novel, though I've posted brief updates on Facebook over that stretch.  The current status is that I'm nearly done the 8th chapter, though that still leaves me a little shy of the midway point since the chapters are tending toward shorter-than-usual this time around for some reason.  It's been going well lately, in general, but I'm still finding it difficult to get into the right frame of mind for writing all too often.  At this point it's definitely looking like a Fall release rather than a Spring one, as there's no way I'll get it done in time for April or May.

I did find my cover photographer nice and early this time around, however, and he's mulling over possible approaches to take already.  Unfortunately I don't have a good, representative cover image in mind yet, making it more like Leap of Faith (where it was Dana Chapman who came up with the specific look of the cover) than any of the first three novels for which I knew what I wanted before engaging the artist.

So things are progressing on the project, just slowly.

Boyhood Receives 6 Oscar Nominations

The 2015 nominations for the Academy Awards were announced this morning, and Boyhood, my personal favourite film of 2014, received 6 big nominations:

• Richard Linklater got 2 nominations, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director
• Ethan Hawke is nominated as Best Supporting Actor
• Patricia Arquette seems to be a favourite for Best Supporting Actress
• Sandra Adair is up for Best Film Editing
• and the film itself is nominated for Best Picture

This is a huge accomplishment for an independent film!  Considering how few people have viewed this little gem up to now (a tiny, tiny fraction of the audience for any of last year's blockbusters), and how many additional eyeballs this may bring to it, these nominations could go a long way toward expanding its fan base.

I somehow failed to write a blog post about Boyhood right after Vicki, Tammy and I saw it in Toronto last year, but I can say that it was one of the best movie-going experiences I've ever had.  I was emotionally drained by the end of it.  There's something surreal about watching the characters, especially the two children, age a dozen years over the course of a few hours.  I think the story itself could've been slightly more compelling, but that's a very minor complaint against an otherwise amazing production.  I encourage anyone who enjoys good movies to seek Boyhood out (I have a Blu-Ray copy that can be borrowed by anyone with the appropriate player, including a PS3 or PS4).

With the competition for all of the awards as fierce as always this year, it's possible that Linklater's classic will be shut out completely in terms of golden statues.  But here's hoping that isn't the case, and that it takes home at least a couple of them.  It definitely deserves the accolades.

How To Become A Writer

Neil Gaiman finally reveals the secret to it... (I've been going about it all wrong, it turns out!)

Rarified Air

It's not every day that I get to see my name in a list of acknowledgements that includes J Bone (the comic artist), John Cassaday, Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore, but today is that day:

This is the first page of the Dave Gibbons Watchmen Artifact Edition that I contributed a scan to, back in March of last year.  It's a monster of a coffee table book, only equaled in size by the Alien Illustrated hardcover that I bought in Las Vegas a couple years ago.  And it has my name it!  Sweet.

The DC Universe, 1970s Style

Just an amazing image, which apparently has been up in the lobby of DC Comics in New York City for decades. Surprisingly, there are at least a couple characters in this shot that I can't identify off the top of my head (click for a closer look):