Hide and Go Seek

About a year ago the Tuna household decided to get a GPS as a family present. Part of the reason for the purchase was practical and responsible and grownup: it is very useful in getting us around busy, unfamiliar areas. We've had a great deal of fun with the technology (thus far we've failed at giving it a name we all like), and have gone so far as to have it on when driving around town. We like to make it mad when we purposefully go the wrong way. We swear it says recalculating with increasing disdain the more we mess up. We have experimented with different voices and nationalities: American Jill is a bit bossy and cranky sounding and British Emily has a softer, quieter voice which is a bit too sleepy to make us pay attention. Right now we're on Australian Emily, who seems to possess the right balance of chipper without being too annoying. The technology also has a wide variety of other functions, including MP3 player (never use it), Oxford dictionary (for those writing their term paper in the car), and helpful phrases in a variety of languages. One day TeenTuna was mucking around with the phrases, and as I was about to pull into my driveway, the technology announced "Now arriving at home....Would you like fries with that?" How did she know?
The fun reason we bought the GPS was to have a little fun and go geocaching. Geocaching is a somewhat new (10 years, maybe?) activity that combines the techy-geeky GPS with a bit of old fashioned hide and seek. All you have to do is go to a geocaching website, find out what treasures are in your area (you'd be absolutely amazed at how many there are in your own hometown), input the coordinates into the GPS and off you go!

The first time we tried it out (knowing next to nothing, because who reads directions?) we set out for a walking trail in town. We wandered for awhile, keeping track of the technology as it announced how many hundreds of feet we were away from our target. We quickly learned it's easy to get to the general area, but the last 25 feet are a killer. We stumbled across our very first cache quite by accident. It wasn't the one we were looking for, but it was a cache all the same, and we considered ourselves experts. HA.

We went off in search of the next cache (technically the one we were looking for to begin with) which was supposedly along the same path. The technology claimed we were all around it. So we started to comb through the field. We combed and combed and combed and combed. We searched through bushes and briars and logs and brush piles. Sitting on a fallen tree, we had to admit that we were stumped.

One of the challenges of geocaches is to do it in secret. In other words, you don't want anybody to know or see what you're doing. This can be difficult, depending on the location of the cache. As this was a fairly popular paved trail, people were often walking by. At one point, two women asked TeenTuna if she needed something. Being caught totally off-guard and not having a good story prepared, she said, "I lost my shoe!" When she told me this, I looked at her in disbelief. "And they believed you?" I asked. TeenTuna shrugged and we kept searching, and eventually found it, about an hour later.

Since we first started our treasure hunting, we've learned a lot. Like, bring a compass. And paper and a pencil. Some caches include word or math puzzles to figure out the clue, and believe me when I say patience is the key. We did a multi-stager (go here to find the next clue, now go here, now go here), and everything was ridiculously easy until we hit stage five -- a puzzle clue. We were out in the blazing sun in an open field trying to figure out which sign they were referring to for the puzzle, and then trying to figure out what the puzzle might be. Frustration factors vary from day to day and person to person, and I tend to be the one not willing to give up, no matter how long I have to stand there and stare at something. After about an hour we were hot and tired, so I wrote down the text from the sign word-for-word and line-by-line, and we decided to go get lunch...where I sat and stared at that piece of paper for another 45 minutes. And. Figured. It. Out. Victory was sweet that day, with a side of fries.

While on vacation in Hatteras, NC, we did some more geocaching. At one point we were out of the car near the main road. We knew we were "all around it" (our usual state of so close, no cigar), and I was hesitant to wander in people's yards. Suddenly a pickup truck slowed down. "YOU'RE REALLY CLOSE" he yelled. Busted, we stopped and looked. TeenTuna yelled, "WELL, WHERE IS IT???" That would be the day we were introduced to nano-caches: tiny containers about the size of a bolt, and often magnetic. With their hint, we managed to find it, once TeenTuna climbed on my back to reach it.

Caches can be all different sizes -- as big as ammo boxes or large tupperware containers, down to plastic film cannisters and nanos (do you see the cache in this picture? It's there). The goal really isn't for the treasure inside (although they can be fun), but to just find it, and record your information on the log to let the owners know you were there. Another huge bonus is get get outside, wander aruond and explore. We've found trails and landmarks we never knew existed; sometimes in our own backyard.

This past summer when I spent several weeks in England, I made sure to take a pile of possible geocaching sites with me. It doesn't matter if it is a bustling metropolitan city or a remote hiking path, they're everywhere. During our "off-week" (away from chaperoning duties) we traveled to the Cotswolds and hiked up and down and all around the town.

We found treasures at the "deer jump"

and the four-shire stone

The sheep were baaaaad at giving directions

and sometimes we learned that walls

had secrets of their own.

There were also important pieces of information that we often ignored, and later regretted. Especially that one crucial paragraph that warned about the cow pie-filled bog.


Behold the cow pie.



Behold the bog.




Behold the two idiots who decided after crossing a huge cow pie-filled bog, finding the treasure (it was a great hide) and crossing back again, what we really HAD to do was get the camera and go back in one more time for a photo-op. We may have sacrificed our shoes and socks to the Gods of the Cotswolds, but I have to tell you it was a blast that we'll never forget.

So no matter where you are, even in the farthest reaches of the Upper Peninsula of Northern Michigan (where I was last weekend), there are treasures waiting to be found.

Be on the lookout for signs

Be all the necessary tools. In this case, a Finnish translation guide


And if the clues from the Oldest Resident in the town of Oskar don't stump you,
you just might be lucky enough to find yourself a treasure.

Now you see it....



Now you don't.



Happy hunting.

Hide and Go Seek

About a year ago the Tuna household decided to get a GPS as a family present. Part of the reason for the purchase was practical and responsible and grownup: it is very useful in getting us around busy, unfamiliar areas. We've had a great deal of fun with the technology (thus far we've failed at giving it a name we all like), and have gone so far as to have it on when driving around town. We like to make it mad when we purposefully go the wrong way. We swear it says recalculating with increasing disdain the more we mess up. We have experimented with different voices and nationalities: American Jill is a bit bossy and cranky sounding and British Emily has a softer, quieter voice which is a bit too sleepy to make us pay attention. Right now we're on Australian Emily, who seems to possess the right balance of chipper without being too annoying. The technology also has a wide variety of other functions, including MP3 player (never use it), Oxford dictionary (for those writing their term paper in the car), and helpful phrases in a variety of languages. One day TeenTuna was mucking around with the phrases, and as I was about to pull into my driveway, the technology announced "Now arriving at home....Would you like fries with that?" How did she know?
The fun reason we bought the GPS was to have a little fun and go geocaching. Geocaching is a somewhat new (10 years, maybe?) activity that combines the techy-geeky GPS with a bit of old fashioned hide and seek. All you have to do is go to a geocaching website, find out what treasures are in your area (you'd be absolutely amazed at how many there are in your own hometown), input the coordinates into the GPS and off you go!

The first time we tried it out (knowing next to nothing, because who reads directions?) we set out for a walking trail in town. We wandered for awhile, keeping track of the technology as it announced how many hundreds of feet we were away from our target. We quickly learned it's easy to get to the general area, but the last 25 feet are a killer. We stumbled across our very first cache quite by accident. It wasn't the one we were looking for, but it was a cache all the same, and we considered ourselves experts. HA.

We went off in search of the next cache (technically the one we were looking for to begin with) which was supposedly along the same path. The technology claimed we were all around it. So we started to comb through the field. We combed and combed and combed and combed. We searched through bushes and briars and logs and brush piles. Sitting on a fallen tree, we had to admit that we were stumped.

One of the challenges of geocaches is to do it in secret. In other words, you don't want anybody to know or see what you're doing. This can be difficult, depending on the location of the cache. As this was a fairly popular paved trail, people were often walking by. At one point, two women asked TeenTuna if she needed something. Being caught totally off-guard and not having a good story prepared, she said, "I lost my shoe!" When she told me this, I looked at her in disbelief. "And they believed you?" I asked. TeenTuna shrugged and we kept searching, and eventually found it, about an hour later.

Since we first started our treasure hunting, we've learned a lot. Like, bring a compass. And paper and a pencil. Some caches include word or math puzzles to figure out the clue, and believe me when I say patience is the key. We did a multi-stager (go here to find the next clue, now go here, now go here), and everything was ridiculously easy until we hit stage five -- a puzzle clue. We were out in the blazing sun in an open field trying to figure out which sign they were referring to for the puzzle, and then trying to figure out what the puzzle might be. Frustration factors vary from day to day and person to person, and I tend to be the one not willing to give up, no matter how long I have to stand there and stare at something. After about an hour we were hot and tired, so I wrote down the text from the sign word-for-word and line-by-line, and we decided to go get lunch...where I sat and stared at that piece of paper for another 45 minutes. And. Figured. It. Out. Victory was sweet that day, with a side of fries.

While on vacation in Hatteras, NC, we did some more geocaching. At one point we were out of the car near the main road. We knew we were "all around it" (our usual state of so close, no cigar), and I was hesitant to wander in people's yards. Suddenly a pickup truck slowed down. "YOU'RE REALLY CLOSE" he yelled. Busted, we stopped and looked. TeenTuna yelled, "WELL, WHERE IS IT???" That would be the day we were introduced to nano-caches: tiny containers about the size of a bolt, and often magnetic. With their hint, we managed to find it, once TeenTuna climbed on my back to reach it.

Caches can be all different sizes -- as big as ammo boxes or large tupperware containers, down to plastic film cannisters and nanos (do you see the cache in this picture? It's there). The goal really isn't for the treasure inside (although they can be fun), but to just find it, and record your information on the log to let the owners know you were there. Another huge bonus is get get outside, wander aruond and explore. We've found trails and landmarks we never knew existed; sometimes in our own backyard.

This past summer when I spent several weeks in England, I made sure to take a pile of possible geocaching sites with me. It doesn't matter if it is a bustling metropolitan city or a remote hiking path, they're everywhere. During our "off-week" (away from chaperoning duties) we traveled to the Cotswolds and hiked up and down and all around the town.

We found treasures at the "deer jump"

and the four-shire stone

The sheep were baaaaad at giving directions

and sometimes we learned that walls

had secrets of their own.

There were also important pieces of information that we often ignored, and later regretted. Especially that one crucial paragraph that warned about the cow pie-filled bog.


Behold the cow pie.



Behold the bog.




Behold the two idiots who decided after crossing a huge cow pie-filled bog, finding the treasure (it was a great hide) and crossing back again, what we really HAD to do was get the camera and go back in one more time for a photo-op. We may have sacrificed our shoes and socks to the Gods of the Cotswolds, but I have to tell you it was a blast that we'll never forget.

So no matter where you are, even in the farthest reaches of the Upper Peninsula of Northern Michigan (where I was last weekend), there are treasures waiting to be found.

Be on the lookout for signs

Be all the necessary tools. In this case, a Finnish translation guide


And if the clues from the Oldest Resident in the town of Oskar don't stump you,
you just might be lucky enough to find yourself a treasure.

Now you see it....



Now you don't.



Happy hunting.

What's Wrong with this Picture?

I have never had any sort of desire to drive out to the middle of the field and jump into a giant floating bread basket powered by the whims and winds of mother nature. I've seen too many unfortunate accidents from the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade, thank you very much.

You WILL have fries with that. Resistance is futile.

Run, run as fast as YOU can!

I HATE TCHAIKOVSKY!!!


GODZILLA!!


Not technically a parade balloon, but you get my point.

Despite my general bemusement of killer floating cartoon figures and my fear of Oz-inspired transportation devices, I still suppose that a a hot air balloon ride must be like a peaceful journey that allows you to float in blissful tranquility over the madness of the earth. (before your impending doom)


I never thought of it as a sudden death overtime match.
~~picture duly and immediately removed due to a rather nasty comment I received from the designer of the banner who is evidently very, very, very proud and rightfully protective of his work and creativity. Here we really don't disagree, because I too think it is truly a wonder. I mean, WHO KNEW it was so action-packed? Please, click on the link below and be just as impressed.~~

So I have to ask, 2009 Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival, is this what you're all about? Sure based on your incredibly long titled event, I would expect there would be both airplanes and hot air balloons, but simultaneously? I had heard that the hot air balloon festival was spectacularly beautiful but I had no idea it was an extreme sport.

Thanks BCFoFASaBF for broadening my horizons and expanding my mind. I think I'll celebrate with a bowl of cereal.

Sincerely,

What's Wrong with this Picture?

I have never had any sort of desire to drive out to the middle of the field and jump into a giant floating bread basket powered by the whims and winds of mother nature. I've seen too many unfortunate accidents from the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade, thank you very much.

You WILL have fries with that. Resistance is futile.

Run, run as fast as YOU can!

I HATE TCHAIKOVSKY!!!


GODZILLA!!


Not technically a parade balloon, but you get my point.

Despite my general bemusement of killer floating cartoon figures and my fear of Oz-inspired transportation devices, I still suppose that a a hot air balloon ride must be like a peaceful journey that allows you to float in blissful tranquility over the madness of the earth. (before your impending doom)


I never thought of it as a sudden death overtime match.
~~picture duly and immediately removed due to a rather nasty comment I received from the designer of the banner who is evidently very, very, very proud and rightfully protective of his work and creativity. Here we really don't disagree, because I too think it is truly a wonder. I mean, WHO KNEW it was so action-packed? Please, click on the link below and be just as impressed.~~

So I have to ask, 2009 Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival, is this what you're all about? Sure based on your incredibly long titled event, I would expect there would be both airplanes and hot air balloons, but simultaneously? I had heard that the hot air balloon festival was spectacularly beautiful but I had no idea it was an extreme sport.

Thanks BCFoFASaBF for broadening my horizons and expanding my mind. I think I'll celebrate with a bowl of cereal.

Sincerely,

Special Delivery

Four years ago, in a land far, far, away (OK, not so far, but it sounds better, right?) the littlest nephew made his family debut. He was killer cute like his mother and had his father's long curly eyelashes. Based on years of experience, I knew the eyelashes in particular were a real danger: powerful enough to melt your heart and turn your steely resolve to Hershey's syrup, even when your little brother was being a total pain in the ass and not eating his breakfast.



He was a long-waited for baby, and when he finally decided to show up, he fit into his family as seamlessly as if he had always been there. "He's so big!" we'd exclaim. "He's such a happy baby!" we'd cry. "He has a wet nose, so he MUST be healthy!" we'd laugh excitedly. "What? Nobody told me I had a brother!" Woof!!


He grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and before we knew it, he was talking a million miles a minute, eating applesauce and macaroni and cheese like he owned stock, and became a perfectly wonderful little boy, as if he was special-ordered from the perfectly wonderful little boy company.

But as perfect as you are, and as happy and cute and wonderful and lethal with those killer eyelashes, I love you just as much for your other side. You know what I'm talking about: the impish grin, the hysterical personality, the being just a little too smart for your own good, the working SO hard to pull one over on a family whose specialty is to pull one over on someone else. I love the fact that you are a total boy and could whip my butt in Double Jeopardy if the category was CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT IDENTIFICATION. I love it that you love all the "cheepies" on the farm and can't wait to hold them again. I love it that you love to read books and sing great songs like Manamana and Put the Lime in the Coconut. I love it that you love the sounds of words, and for awhile everything we ate was delicious. I love it that you say a Japanese blessing at the end of a meal, and when I can't say it too (because you say it too fast) I blurt out GHOSTBUSTERS and you laugh. I love it that you still can't tell a knock-knock joke to save your life, but we both crack up every time we try. I love it that you have taken your parents and aunts and uncles and grandparents on a wonderful ride for the last four years, and although I never know what to expect when I see you next, I'm certain it will be fun.

So, keep it up. Keep living and loving and laughing and filling the world with your specialness. And if we're both really lucky, your dad will be silly enough to ask "Hey, what do you have there?....."

...and you'll be just enough of a smart-ass to show him.

Happy Birthday Number Four!

Love,

Special Delivery

Four years ago, in a land far, far, away (OK, not so far, but it sounds better, right?) the littlest nephew made his family debut. He was killer cute like his mother and had his father's long curly eyelashes. Based on years of experience, I knew the eyelashes in particular were a real danger: powerful enough to melt your heart and turn your steely resolve to Hershey's syrup, even when your little brother was being a total pain in the ass and not eating his breakfast.



He was a long-waited for baby, and when he finally decided to show up, he fit into his family as seamlessly as if he had always been there. "He's so big!" we'd exclaim. "He's such a happy baby!" we'd cry. "He has a wet nose, so he MUST be healthy!" we'd laugh excitedly. "What? Nobody told me I had a brother!" Woof!!


He grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and before we knew it, he was talking a million miles a minute, eating applesauce and macaroni and cheese like he owned stock, and became a perfectly wonderful little boy, as if he was special-ordered from the perfectly wonderful little boy company.

But as perfect as you are, and as happy and cute and wonderful and lethal with those killer eyelashes, I love you just as much for your other side. You know what I'm talking about: the impish grin, the hysterical personality, the being just a little too smart for your own good, the working SO hard to pull one over on a family whose specialty is to pull one over on someone else. I love the fact that you are a total boy and could whip my butt in Double Jeopardy if the category was CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT IDENTIFICATION. I love it that you love all the "cheepies" on the farm and can't wait to hold them again. I love it that you love to read books and sing great songs like Manamana and Put the Lime in the Coconut. I love it that you love the sounds of words, and for awhile everything we ate was delicious. I love it that you say a Japanese blessing at the end of a meal, and when I can't say it too (because you say it too fast) I blurt out GHOSTBUSTERS and you laugh. I love it that you still can't tell a knock-knock joke to save your life, but we both crack up every time we try. I love it that you have taken your parents and aunts and uncles and grandparents on a wonderful ride for the last four years, and although I never know what to expect when I see you next, I'm certain it will be fun.

So, keep it up. Keep living and loving and laughing and filling the world with your specialness. And if we're both really lucky, your dad will be silly enough to ask "Hey, what do you have there?....."

...and you'll be just enough of a smart-ass to show him.

Happy Birthday Number Four!

Love,

TunaNews Take Two

After six years (SIX!) I thought a wee redesign was in order. There is nothing scarier than scrapping your previous made-up HTML code and starting over. Hopefully you like it. I think it is a little cleaner and easier to read. I'm also hoping those who said the blog was showing up as a blank page (I have no idea why) now can see for themselves that I've been a fairly lazy contributor to the noise of the Internets.

I checked out screen resolution. I set mine at 1152 x 864 and it looks lovely. The blog also works well at 1024 x 768, but it may be necessary to scroll a bit to the right to see the edge of the right column of links. Sadly, at an 800 x 600 resolution, it just doesn't work so well. For that, I'm sorry, and I suggest you read my witticisms through an RSS reader.

I need to weed my links, but decided I would get to that later. For now, look around, and feel free to let me know what you like or what you hate. Props for the header logo goes to CoolText Graphic Generator (and yes, it is very cool). The basic template ("Lonely") was found at Blogspot Template but be warned, there isn't much left of the original design (not that I didn't like it, it just wasn't Tuna-y enough).

I'm sure I'll run across several things I still need to fix or forgot to include (or get rid of), but for now...party like it's 2009.

Thanks for reading.

TunaNews Take Two

After six years (SIX!) I thought a wee redesign was in order. There is nothing scarier than scrapping your previous made-up HTML code and starting over. Hopefully you like it. I think it is a little cleaner and easier to read. I'm also hoping those who said the blog was showing up as a blank page (I have no idea why) now can see for themselves that I've been a fairly lazy contributor to the noise of the Internets.

I checked out screen resolution. I set mine at 1152 x 864 and it looks lovely. The blog also works well at 1024 x 768, but it may be necessary to scroll a bit to the right to see the edge of the right column of links. Sadly, at an 800 x 600 resolution, it just doesn't work so well. For that, I'm sorry, and I suggest you read my witticisms through an RSS reader.

I need to weed my links, but decided I would get to that later. For now, look around, and feel free to let me know what you like or what you hate. Props for the header logo goes to CoolText Graphic Generator (and yes, it is very cool). The basic template ("Lonely") was found at Blogspot Template but be warned, there isn't much left of the original design (not that I didn't like it, it just wasn't Tuna-y enough).

I'm sure I'll run across several things I still need to fix or forgot to include (or get rid of), but for now...party like it's 2009.

Thanks for reading.

No Better Reason Than April 8th

Today the one and only TeenTuna, formerly TinyTuna and always my amazingly fabulous daughter turns 15. Sometimes it seems like yesterday, sometimes it seems like a lifetime. All I know is I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Birthday Melanie -- may your life be full of music, dancing, laughter, songs, celebrations and all those things you can only see with your heart.

No Better Reason Than April 8th

Today the one and only TeenTuna, formerly TinyTuna and always my amazingly fabulous daughter turns 15. Sometimes it seems like yesterday, sometimes it seems like a lifetime. All I know is I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Birthday Melanie -- may your life be full of music, dancing, laughter, songs, celebrations and all those things you can only see with your heart.

The Situation Room

Shortly before the Academy Awards, I was channeling my inner Roger Ebert and sharing my thoughts on many of the movies I had seen during my annual movie blitz before the Oscar Derby rolled around and I lost again. My emails went something like this:

Changeling - Liked Angelina Jolie more than I expected to, but it was depressing.

Milk - Sean Penn was amazing. He was so uplifting, but this world as so far to go, it still seemed depressing.

Doubt - Amazing. And depressing.

Rachel Getting Married - Anne Hathaway surprised me in a good way, but wow. Depressing.

Revolutionary Road - Holy unbelievably depressing movie, Batman. Saw this right after 'Rachel Getting Married' and wow. And ugh. I need to find a happy place, stat.

Duchess - Beautiful costume drama. Depressing circumstances. Life, I guess.

Wrestler - Micky Rourke. Great character who wanted to be different but really only knew how to live a self-destructing life. Depressing.

On and on it went. It seemed to me that the 2009 Oscars had found its theme, and it needed to be sponsored by Prozac. One of the few films I saw that was definitely NOT depressing was Happy Go Lucky, a film about a woman who is happy. And go-lucky. ALL THE TIME. To be completely honest, I sat through more than half of the film utterly confused and wondering what on earth was wrong with her before I broke my "no reading reviews until the movie is done" rule and went in desperation to find out what I was missing.

What I was missing was the utterly foreign concept that she was happy. All the time. It didn't what the situation was, she always maintained a happy-go-lucky demeanor. Critics praised her for deftly pulling off a difficult, seemingly one-sided role. Despite the fact that I misinterpreted "happy" for "certifiably insane", once I looked at it through wiser and more objective eyes, I had to agree.

Looking back on the other films, I discovered that while I was mired in the sea of cinematic depression, I had missed an important character trait that existed in all these movies, and that was strength. These films featured characters that portrayed many different aspects of strength: physical strength, strength of conviction, strength to fight the system, strength to carry on despite the rules of the prevailing culture, strength to want to fight for a better life.

On first viewing, I missed this nearly every single time, because I was so focused on the situation. In most of these films, the result was not a happy ending, and oftentimes there was no discernible ending at all. The meek did not inherit the earth, the underdog did not miraculously emerge as victor and the tortoise, who may have been still pushing along, had long since lost the race by the time the credits rolled. Depressing, right?

It's easy to get lost in the tangled web of circumstance and lose sight of the bigger picture. Every situation, be it good or bad, is only one of the many thousands of scenes we will experience in our lifetime. The question is, do we let situations define our character, or do we recognize our strength of character and let that work to define, refine and even change our situation?

I'm not anywhere near enough of a cock-eyed optimist to believe that a simple attitude adjustment will turn everything from cloudy skies to sunshiny days. Whether it be in film, literature or one of the local newspapers that has not yet folded, at the moment there are plenty of situations that can only be described as depressing. It's so much easier to sit back and moan and wish for the good old days (which frankly, really weren't good old days either. They were just old days when we were complaining about something else). But rather than paint our current situation with a big black brush of depression, how much better would it be to live and recognize our own strength of character? If life is an ongoing story, a happily-ever-after ending might be nice, but isn't realistic and isn't even necessary. All that's really required is to recognize the strength we already possess, and use that to define our character and change the scene.

The Situation Room

Shortly before the Academy Awards, I was channeling my inner Roger Ebert and sharing my thoughts on many of the movies I had seen during my annual movie blitz before the Oscar Derby rolled around and I lost again. My emails went something like this:

Changeling - Liked Angelina Jolie more than I expected to, but it was depressing.

Milk - Sean Penn was amazing. He was so uplifting, but this world as so far to go, it still seemed depressing.

Doubt - Amazing. And depressing.

Rachel Getting Married - Anne Hathaway surprised me in a good way, but wow. Depressing.

Revolutionary Road - Holy unbelievably depressing movie, Batman. Saw this right after 'Rachel Getting Married' and wow. And ugh. I need to find a happy place, stat.

Duchess - Beautiful costume drama. Depressing circumstances. Life, I guess.

Wrestler - Micky Rourke. Great character who wanted to be different but really only knew how to live a self-destructing life. Depressing.

On and on it went. It seemed to me that the 2009 Oscars had found its theme, and it needed to be sponsored by Prozac. One of the few films I saw that was definitely NOT depressing was Happy Go Lucky, a film about a woman who is happy. And go-lucky. ALL THE TIME. To be completely honest, I sat through more than half of the film utterly confused and wondering what on earth was wrong with her before I broke my "no reading reviews until the movie is done" rule and went in desperation to find out what I was missing.

What I was missing was the utterly foreign concept that she was happy. All the time. It didn't what the situation was, she always maintained a happy-go-lucky demeanor. Critics praised her for deftly pulling off a difficult, seemingly one-sided role. Despite the fact that I misinterpreted "happy" for "certifiably insane", once I looked at it through wiser and more objective eyes, I had to agree.

Looking back on the other films, I discovered that while I was mired in the sea of cinematic depression, I had missed an important character trait that existed in all these movies, and that was strength. These films featured characters that portrayed many different aspects of strength: physical strength, strength of conviction, strength to fight the system, strength to carry on despite the rules of the prevailing culture, strength to want to fight for a better life.

On first viewing, I missed this nearly every single time, because I was so focused on the situation. In most of these films, the result was not a happy ending, and oftentimes there was no discernible ending at all. The meek did not inherit the earth, the underdog did not miraculously emerge as victor and the tortoise, who may have been still pushing along, had long since lost the race by the time the credits rolled. Depressing, right?

It's easy to get lost in the tangled web of circumstance and lose sight of the bigger picture. Every situation, be it good or bad, is only one of the many thousands of scenes we will experience in our lifetime. The question is, do we let situations define our character, or do we recognize our strength of character and let that work to define, refine and even change our situation?

I'm not anywhere near enough of a cock-eyed optimist to believe that a simple attitude adjustment will turn everything from cloudy skies to sunshiny days. Whether it be in film, literature or one of the local newspapers that has not yet folded, at the moment there are plenty of situations that can only be described as depressing. It's so much easier to sit back and moan and wish for the good old days (which frankly, really weren't good old days either. They were just old days when we were complaining about something else). But rather than paint our current situation with a big black brush of depression, how much better would it be to live and recognize our own strength of character? If life is an ongoing story, a happily-ever-after ending might be nice, but isn't realistic and isn't even necessary. All that's really required is to recognize the strength we already possess, and use that to define our character and change the scene.

Ashes to Ashes

Now that we've finished gorging ourselves with pancakes and paczki's and parades, the penitential season of Lent has begun with that big bang known as Ash Wednesday. And for the first time in quite awhile, I opted to pass.

It's not that I'm anti-church. It's not that I dislike somber music. It's not that I'm against self-reflection. In fact, I'm heartily in favor of all those things. Bring it on and give me the whole enchilada of forty days and forty nights woefully sung in the key of d minor. The saddest of all keys.

What I don't like is the smudge. What I don't like is walking in and hearing that I'm lower than a worm and a sinner before I was even born. Wii-Fit games aside, how can it be that I'm an epic failure before I've even started the race? I've decided that I'm tired of King James and his band of merry men jumping the judgmental gun at my expense. Give me a chance to screw up first, please?

Not that it's not going to happen. Of course it is. I'm a walking, talking self-fulfilling prophecy and I'm willing to own my flaws. I even reluctantly accept the entire ashes to ashes and dust to dust premise because I know there's no way of getting out of that one either. But somewhere along the line during Lent it seems there is a disconnect between what we are called to be and what we are being called. Wicked and wretched...party of two.

And even if I did go along with the whole "sinner in my mother's womb" idea, does anyone really think that giving up french fries is going to help? Or candy? Or meat on Friday? Does that sort of sacrifice make me less horrible and more Holy? Is a Jolly Rancher really what's standing in the way of my spiritual journey? Why is a cow my religious scapegoat?

Before you get angry, please let me assure you that I'm not making light of the season of Lent, or of anyone who chooses to participate in any or all of the many and varied rituals. There are an infinite number of paths during this spiritual season, and rest assured, if you are walking with confidence in your journey, then you are exactly where you should be doing what you should be doing.

But as for me, this year I'm passing on the smudge. I'm passing on the wickedness and I'm passing on the wretchedness. I'm passing on the epic failure and being a sinner since before the dawn of time. It's bad enough that I'm a pro at beating myself up and tearing myself down. I don't need Lent double-teaming me and making it worse. There has to be a better path for me.

I rediscovered a short but powerful song by Melissa Etheridge that says it all -

We keep thinking
Life is what it's not
We keep building
this impossible facade

Why do we keep trying
to turn people into Gods

when God Is In The People

If I spend my days full of self-loathing I'll never recognize the wants and needs of others. If I spend my days with my head bowed in shame I'll never see look up to see the love and the humanity in the faces of all those whose lives touch mine. This Lent I don't want to willingly allow any more black marks to mar my existence. I want to spend my time with open eyes and ears and heart rediscovering the hope, beauty and joy that is found in life, in people, and in me.

I think then, I just might discover God.
Smudge-free.

Ashes to Ashes

Now that we've finished gorging ourselves with pancakes and paczki's and parades, the penitential season of Lent has begun with that big bang known as Ash Wednesday. And for the first time in quite awhile, I opted to pass.

It's not that I'm anti-church. It's not that I dislike somber music. It's not that I'm against self-reflection. In fact, I'm heartily in favor of all those things. Bring it on and give me the whole enchilada of forty days and forty nights woefully sung in the key of d minor. The saddest of all keys.

What I don't like is the smudge. What I don't like is walking in and hearing that I'm lower than a worm and a sinner before I was even born. Wii-Fit games aside, how can it be that I'm an epic failure before I've even started the race? I've decided that I'm tired of King James and his band of merry men jumping the judgmental gun at my expense. Give me a chance to screw up first, please?

Not that it's not going to happen. Of course it is. I'm a walking, talking self-fulfilling prophecy and I'm willing to own my flaws. I even reluctantly accept the entire ashes to ashes and dust to dust premise because I know there's no way of getting out of that one either. But somewhere along the line during Lent it seems there is a disconnect between what we are called to be and what we are being called. Wicked and wretched...party of two.

And even if I did go along with the whole "sinner in my mother's womb" idea, does anyone really think that giving up french fries is going to help? Or candy? Or meat on Friday? Does that sort of sacrifice make me less horrible and more Holy? Is a Jolly Rancher really what's standing in the way of my spiritual journey? Why is a cow my religious scapegoat?

Before you get angry, please let me assure you that I'm not making light of the season of Lent, or of anyone who chooses to participate in any or all of the many and varied rituals. There are an infinite number of paths during this spiritual season, and rest assured, if you are walking with confidence in your journey, then you are exactly where you should be doing what you should be doing.

But as for me, this year I'm passing on the smudge. I'm passing on the wickedness and I'm passing on the wretchedness. I'm passing on the epic failure and being a sinner since before the dawn of time. It's bad enough that I'm a pro at beating myself up and tearing myself down. I don't need Lent double-teaming me and making it worse. There has to be a better path for me.

I rediscovered a short but powerful song by Melissa Etheridge that says it all -

We keep thinking
Life is what it's not
We keep building
this impossible facade

Why do we keep trying
to turn people into Gods

when God Is In The People

If I spend my days full of self-loathing I'll never recognize the wants and needs of others. If I spend my days with my head bowed in shame I'll never see look up to see the love and the humanity in the faces of all those whose lives touch mine. This Lent I don't want to willingly allow any more black marks to mar my existence. I want to spend my time with open eyes and ears and heart rediscovering the hope, beauty and joy that is found in life, in people, and in me.

I think then, I just might discover God.
Smudge-free.

Oscar - Last Three

Best Actress -- I have to admit it's pretty cool to see some of the legends that were past winners stand up on stage and praise the work of tonight's nominees. It's pretty amazing and I LOVE the fact that it's not scripted. Or, maybe, less scripted. Cheers for that.

Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) - 3
Angelina Jolie (Changeling) - 2
Melissa Leo (Frozen River) - 2
Meryl Streep (Doubt) - 4
Kate Winslet (The Reader) - 7

and the winner is ... Kate Winslet

BSTuna
Copssister
Geek36
GreenTuna
JPowers
Kyara
Odie

Top 3 - After 22

Anne - 13
GramTuna - 13
Kyara - 12
GreenTuna - 11
JPowers - 11


Best Actor -- Another category difficult to call.

Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) - 1
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) - 1
Sean Penn (Milk) - 5
Brad Pitt (Benjamin Button) - 3
Mickey Rourke (Wrestler) - 6


and the winner is ... Sean Penn

Geek36
GramTuna
JPowers
Katjam
Donna


Top 3 - Penultimate Position

GramTuna - 14
Anne - 13
JPowers - 12
Kyara - 12



The Big Kahuna -- Best Picture

Benjamin Button (3)
Frost/Nixon (0)
Milk (0)
Reader (2)
Slumdog Millionaire (11)

and the winner is ... Slumdog Millionaire

Anne
Copssister
Geek36
GramTuna
GreenTuna
Jpowers
Katjam
Kyara
Odie
RobdeGreat
Donna




And our final Tally



FIRST PLACE - THE OSCAR GOES TO - GramTuna (15)

SECOND PLACE - Anne (14)

THIRD PLACE - JPowers (13), Kyara (13)

.....AND THE REST......
GreenTuna - 12
Donna - 11
Geek36 - 10
Copssister - 9
KatJam - 9
RobDGreat - 9
Rob - 8
Sherry - 8
BSTuna - 6
TeenTuna - 6
Brittany - 5
Odie - 5

Oscar - Last Three

Best Actress -- I have to admit it's pretty cool to see some of the legends that were past winners stand up on stage and praise the work of tonight's nominees. It's pretty amazing and I LOVE the fact that it's not scripted. Or, maybe, less scripted. Cheers for that.

Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) - 3
Angelina Jolie (Changeling) - 2
Melissa Leo (Frozen River) - 2
Meryl Streep (Doubt) - 4
Kate Winslet (The Reader) - 7

and the winner is ... Kate Winslet

BSTuna
Copssister
Geek36
GreenTuna
JPowers
Kyara
Odie

Top 3 - After 22

Anne - 13
GramTuna - 13
Kyara - 12
GreenTuna - 11
JPowers - 11


Best Actor -- Another category difficult to call.

Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) - 1
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) - 1
Sean Penn (Milk) - 5
Brad Pitt (Benjamin Button) - 3
Mickey Rourke (Wrestler) - 6


and the winner is ... Sean Penn

Geek36
GramTuna
JPowers
Katjam
Donna


Top 3 - Penultimate Position

GramTuna - 14
Anne - 13
JPowers - 12
Kyara - 12



The Big Kahuna -- Best Picture

Benjamin Button (3)
Frost/Nixon (0)
Milk (0)
Reader (2)
Slumdog Millionaire (11)

and the winner is ... Slumdog Millionaire

Anne
Copssister
Geek36
GramTuna
GreenTuna
Jpowers
Katjam
Kyara
Odie
RobdeGreat
Donna




And our final Tally



FIRST PLACE - THE OSCAR GOES TO - GramTuna (15)

SECOND PLACE - Anne (14)

THIRD PLACE - JPowers (13), Kyara (13)

.....AND THE REST......
GreenTuna - 12
Donna - 11
Geek36 - 10
Copssister - 9
KatJam - 9
RobDGreat - 9
Rob - 8
Sherry - 8
BSTuna - 6
TeenTuna - 6
Brittany - 5
Odie - 5

Oscar Oscar Getting Closer

Best Director. If Danny Boyle for Slumdog doesn't win, it will be a HUGE upset.

David Fincher (Benjamin Button) - 1
Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) - 3
Gus Van Sant (Milk) - 1
Stephen Daldry (Reader) - 0
Danny Boyle (Slumdog) - 11

and the winner is ... Danny Boyle

Anne
Copssister
Geek36
GramTuna
GreenTuna
JPowers
Katjam
Kyara
RobdeGreat
Sherry
Donna



Top 3 -After 21

Anne - 13/21
GramTuna - 13/21

Kyara - 11/21

GreenTuna - 10/21
JPowers - 10/21

Oscar Oscar Getting Closer

Best Director. If Danny Boyle for Slumdog doesn't win, it will be a HUGE upset.

David Fincher (Benjamin Button) - 1
Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) - 3
Gus Van Sant (Milk) - 1
Stephen Daldry (Reader) - 0
Danny Boyle (Slumdog) - 11

and the winner is ... Danny Boyle

Anne
Copssister
Geek36
GramTuna
GreenTuna
JPowers
Katjam
Kyara
RobdeGreat
Sherry
Donna



Top 3 -After 21

Anne - 13/21
GramTuna - 13/21

Kyara - 11/21

GreenTuna - 10/21
JPowers - 10/21

Oscar Dead Guy Montage

Queen Latifah is classy and looks beautiful on that set.

I have to complain a tiny bit that it's hard to see the screen and the names the way this set is configured. I always wish there was a "bet the last dead guy in the montage" category. My bet is Paul Newman. And of course...I was busy doing something else, so I missed it.

Four categories to go. There is still some room for movement, especially in the Best Actor and Actress categories. Stay tuned....

Oscar Dead Guy Montage

Queen Latifah is classy and looks beautiful on that set.

I have to complain a tiny bit that it's hard to see the screen and the names the way this set is configured. I always wish there was a "bet the last dead guy in the montage" category. My bet is Paul Newman. And of course...I was busy doing something else, so I missed it.

Four categories to go. There is still some room for movement, especially in the Best Actor and Actress categories. Stay tuned....