Finking Friday …
Courtesy: Abdldad
“I fink, therefore I fam…”
Lots of news for this Friday.
The last mission for the space shuttle took off from Cape Canaveral this morning. To the cheers and tears of millions of watchers. The end of an era.
A friend made mention of this topic on his blog and I got a fleeting memory that ran through my brain of a much younger me standing in a daycare center many moons ago when the first shuttle took to the air on the back of a special built 747 that lifted it into the air for a first run at flight.
Later on in my life I got to travel to California as a teen-ager to visit friends out at Edwards Air force Base and one day I got to see the desert landing strip for the shuttle.
I have also been to Cape Canaveral many times in my childhood to tour the grounds and the shuttle launch pads. When I lived in Orlando, if the shuttle was taking off, especially at night, you could pull off the road and the flash from the takeoff would over power and light up the night sky as far as the eye could see. I got to see a few of those launches from the roadside.
The space program will never be the same again. An era is coming to an end.
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The Royal Tour of Canada has come to an end. And it was a huge success. Millions of people got to see the royal couple and Quebec did its damnedest to make a scene but in the end the assholes who picketed were mostly ignored. I think Canada comes away from this with big press all over the world. It was a win win scenario.
Now we will see just how daunting the visit in the U.S. will be and we will see just how relentless the paparazzi will be in chasing the couple all over Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.
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Tonight was the first of the two U2 concerts here in Montreal. I was on my way out to my meeting tonight on the orange line, and the cars were packed from one end to the other. Stops were taken longer than the usual 30 seconds for doors open to doors closed. They were packing them in on the way up town.
The local Montreal traffic division had hoped that people would leave their cars at home and stick to rail and bus to get to the hippodrome, and it seems to have been a huge success. I was riding on the train listening to the concert on my phone, watching people traveling to the concert at the same time.
I got to the meeting and met my sponsor and we chatted a bit. It was a good night. A good time was had by all, and he dropped me off at the metro on the way home so I didn’t have to wait for a bus to get to the station.
It seemed that as soon as the concert was over with, the skies opened up and it poured cats and dogs. I was watching the late edition of the news and saw that they were getting soaked on air. The rain eventually moved south over down town. Which cooled things off quite nicely.
Another day, Another sober day alive and well.
Sometimes I feel insignificant in the greater scheme of things.
Onwards and upwards…
The Duchess of Cambridge Catherine
The beginning of timeless photos of beauty
Catherine
Duchess of Cambridge
30 June 2011
Fallout …
Courtesy: Suitep
What an incredible few days it has been, on many fronts. What a weekend it was for Mr. President. A very gutsy man with balls of steel and a resolve just the same. Who knew from Adam what was going on in his head over the weekend seeing him traveling in the U.S. and yukking it up at the Correspondents dinner on Saturday night.
And who knew what Sunday would bring … I just cannot imagine.
I am sure that Mr. Obama’s stock has risen over the past few days. This kill shot was something that I think will translate into better numbers and even help him in the long run for re-election. At least I hope that is what happens. That’s all we need is for some jamokey republican asshole to win an election, God forbid.
At this point I think the White House is channeling some Ricky Ricardo when he says to Lucy “You got some ‘splainin to do!” Pakistan is not going to skate away with this gigantic intelligence flub. Someone was protecting Osama. Someone must have known he was there, I mean it’s pretty clear from all the information that has been released about this event.
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We have had a Royal Wedding, The beatification of John Paul II in Rome, the killing of Osama bin Laden and an election here in Canada. The fallout from the election is huge. The Orange wave came to Quebec and took the province by storm. There were incredible losses for the Bloq. The Bloq leader lost his seat in an upset, and in the end resigned from his position as party leader, not to mention the Bloq lost party status in the House of Parliament. You must have at least 12 seats to be afforded party status, and the Bloq lost in a bloodbath last night. So the Bloq is all but kaput. So much for that referendum.
Mr. Layton won a huge number of ridings here in Quebec. Many freshman young M.P’s are going to Ottawa, and we are so proud of the huge wins by the NDP. Not to mention with 102 seats won, for the first time in history the NDP wins the coveted title of Official Opposition Party in the commons. I mean the room went nuts when Jack Layton walked out to greet the party. My vote made a difference.
The Conservatives won a majority. As I have read on other blogs tonight, the earth did not shift on its axis, we will all survive this. And in the end we hope the government does what it said it will do. Canada needs to work to protect the people of Canada, we need more jobs, a secure financial sector and we need to solidify our place in the worlds eyes.
I questioned the ability of Mr. Ignatieff to win anything that’s why a lot of voters went with Jack. The Liberal party was decimated last night. The leader of the party as well, lost his seat and resigned from the party this morning. A leadership convention is coming. There is rumbling about Justin Trudeau, can he step up, if he is tapped as the heir apparent? Can the magic happen? Justin won’t say what he is going to do to that end just yet. At least he won his riding for the Liberal party, beating out the Bloq incumbent.
We saw history happen last night. The total collapse of the Bloq and the Liberal party. I heard it mentioned on the news coverage about Canada moving towards a two party system in Parliament. It seems the voters were over all the drama and political bullshit and we all voted for change and hope. The voters have spoken. Now the parties MUST rise to the occasion and do what they have been mandated to do.
A good chunk of Quebec went orange, with hints of red and blue here and there. Mr. Layton’s crop of young bloods have got some serious shoes to fill.
So much to look forwards to in the coming months.
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Here on the home front we are in the final weeks of classes. I have class tomorrow night and then a final and essay due on Thursday night, which I still have to write yet, then my final interview to come next week on the 9th.
It rained today. But numbers were nominal for the meeting. Lots of new faces and the conversation was nice and lively. We are pleased with what we have for today.
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So what do we know ???
- The Princess got her man
- Obama got Osama
- The NDP won big in Canada
Life goes on and we will all survive. The world is a safer place because the face and person of evil is dead and is floating at the bottom of the Arabian Sea, Thanks be to God.
The era of Osama is over.
Well Done Mr. President. We are so very proud of you…
The Week that was and what will be …
Here is a complete family photo. Images released from Britain of the royal wedding party.
The week has come and gone we are down to the last week of class with final exams and essays due in the next week. It’s almost over and I need to get through one more writing exam in French and my final interview to come the week following. I have an essay and final exam on next Thursday.
The week was a success and ended on a very high note with the Royal Wedding on Friday morning. I worked two phone shifts this week. One on Thursday which was uneventful. Thank God we have a computer that works in the office.
Thursday night I stayed up all night watching live coverage of the wedding from here in Montreal. I had to work a shift on Friday afternoon which meant that I did not get much sleep going into Friday. I think I finally got to sleep around 7:30 in the morning on Friday and I had to be up by 11 to get on my way by noon on the train out of town.
It was a very hazy day – when I got to the office You Tube was streaming a rebroadcast of the wedding so I got to see the portion of the day that I missed because I was sleeping.
The Friday shift was again uneventful. I didn’t get may calls so I used the time wisely farming and watching You Tube videos all afternoon. I worked until 6 and came home. I was pretty beat. We ordered pizza in and chilled around the tv until midnight when we both turned in.
Oh, on the way home from working my shift I ran by the Circuit City, I think that’s what it’s called I had to buy some cable to run from the computer to the speakers in the bedroom, because we pipe in Coast to Coast on Friday and Saturday nights.
Cable is expensive, and I also bought a new pair of Logitech speakers because the ones we have were shot. I have to say that they work quite well, the sound is crisp and clear, much better than our old speakers.
I got a good night’s sleep and today we watched some tv, SNL is on now and I will hit the sack in a couple of hours.
Tomorrow I will hit a meeting and get into the books to study for a while.
Tonight You Tube is streaming the Beatification of John Paul II from Rome from 1 to 4 am. I may watch for a little bit.
So that was the week that was.
More to come, stay tuned…
Kate Middleton wedding dress a success
By Claudine Zap, Buzz LogFri, 29 Apr, 2011 10:18 AM GMT+00:00
Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty
The rumors were true: Miss Catherine Middleton’s dress was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.
The veil is long, sheer, and modern. It showcases her hair, which she is wearing down. Kate is wearing The veil is made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.
The veil is held in place by a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen. It’s a simple but very elegant look. She is wearing a train. The sleeves are long and lace. The front appears to be cut in a V.
According to the press release, “Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work. Miss Middleton worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress.”
Kate was successful at keeping not only the look of the dress top secret, but the identity of the designer as well. Quite an accomplishment, considering every detail of the wedding was closely followed by a global media circus.
The princess bride wasn’t keeping dress details just from the public; she was keeping them from her husband-to-be. Prince William finally saw the gown after many of the wedding watchers. Kate went to great lengths to make sure he did not catch a glimpse of it until she met him at the altar.
William’s surprising uniform choice honors servicemen
By Martin Rogers Yahoo! StaffFri, 29 Apr, 2011 7:11 AM GMT+00:00
(Photo by Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage)
LONDON – Prince William has opted for a surprising choice of uniform for his wedding to Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on Friday.
Britain’s future King will walk down the aisle wearing his bright red tunic from his honorary position as colonel of the Irish Guards, a regiment of the British Army which has spent the last six months deployed in Afghanistan, where three of their members were killed in action.
William has not served directly with the unit, but was afforded the honorary title of Colonel due to his growing status as a senior member of the Royal Family, where he is second in line to the throne.
It was widely expected that the prince would instead get married in his formal Royal Air Force uniform, the service in which he is currently employed as a search and rescue helicopter pilot. Bookmakers Paddy Power even stopped taking bets on that choice, after more than 90 per cent of gamblers placed money on the specific outcome.
However, St James’s Palace officials confirmed that William had instead taken the step of using his highest ranking uniform, partially to honor those servicemen who lost their lives in combat. The ensemble will give him a truly regal look and will be the height of grandeur and propriety for the grand occasion.
His outfit contains a crimson and gold sash and gold sword slings, which are to be worn when officers of the unit are in the presence of a royal. He will not, as speculated, wear a sword, but will wear a Garter Sash with the Wings of the Royal Air Force, plus military medallions the Garter Star and the Golden Jubilee Medal.
William’s dazzling tunic is distinctive in that the buttons are arranged in groups of four, featuring logos of the Harp of Ireland topped by the Crown Imperial motif of the British monarchy.
Another option for William would have been to wear the uniform of the Blues and Royals, the army regiment which he was commissioned into after graduating from the Sandhurst military training academy.
Instead, that uniform will be worn by his brother and best man Prince Harry. Harry’s gear will come complete with aiguillettes – official decorative tags – a cross-belt and a gold waist belt with sword slings, but also no sword.
His attire will be adorned with badges of the Wings of the Army Air Corps, the Golden Jubilee Medal and the Afghanistan Campaign medal. Harry spent 10 weeks serving in Afghanistan until February 2008, before his tour of duty was revealed by a German newspaper and he was brought home.
The Wedding Day April 29, 2011
Photo Courtesy: Maria Testino
The first photo released just today for the wedding program.
“We are both so delighted that you are able to join us in celebrating what we hope will be one of the happiest days of our lives,” write “William” and “Catherine” in the program. “The affection shown to us by so many people during our engagement has been incredibly moving, and has touched us both deeply. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone most sincerely for their kindness.”
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LONDON – Prince William and Kate Middleton have received the titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Buckingham Palace said Friday.
William’s dukedom is one of three titles bestowed by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II to mark his marriage to Middleton at Westminster Abbey. The titles also apply to Middleton.
William also became the Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus, which means Middleton will become the Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus.
The second Duke of Cambridge, Prince Adolphus Frederick, was the seventh son of King George III. Defying the Royal Marriage Act, he married his mistress, Sarah Louisa Fairbrother, an actress and a commoner, in 1847. Since the marriage wasn’t legal, his children were all illegitimate.
The palace announced the titles in a statement Friday.
