DUMBEST CELEBRITY QUOTES

When I read these in the paper today, I thought I just HAVE to share them. They are hilarious.

From Brooke Shields: Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life.
From George Dubyah: I have opinions of my own - but I don't always agree with them.
From Ivana Trump: Fiction writing is great. You can make up almost anything.
From Ted Turner: If I sold all my liabilities, I wouldn't own anything. My wife's a liability, my kids are liabilities, and I haven't sold them.
From Christina Aguilera: So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?

Vaisakhi - Cultural Celebration or Political Event?

The mayor of Surrey (which borders on Delta where I live), won't be participating in the Vaisakhi parade on Saturday, April 12th because she is very disappointed that the committee from the Dasmesh Darbar Sikh temple continues to put images of so-called martyrs linked to terrorist activities or acts of violence on parade floats and at the stage events.

Vaisakhi is a dual event for Sikhs worldwide: a harvest festival along with the commemoration of 17th-century events that gave shape to the birth of the Sikh identity. This year, the event is expected to attract over 100,000 people and is supposed to be a cultural celebration.

However, the temple trustee, Satinderpal Singh Gill states that the temple would pay tribute to "shaheeds," or "martyrs." Some of those they intend to honour are the assassins of Indira Gandhi and two other killers dubbed Jinda and Sukha, who gunned down a retired Indian army general. Photos of these killers have already been on display at the stage put up in the temple parking lot in readiness for Vaisakhi.

Also, a tent has been erected containing photos of mutilated bodies said to be victims of Indian government "Sikh genocide."

The temple's president, Sudager Singh Sandhu has openly defended portraying Air India bombing mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar as a marty with the excuse that it's no different from Christians putting up a picture of Jesus Christ in a church.

At last year's event, some in the crowd wore clothing bearing the logo of the terrorist group ISYF (The International Sikh Youth Federation), which has been listed by the US State Dept's annual Patterns of Global Terrorism, in 1999, as an active terrorist organization that aspires to carve out of Indian territory an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.

MLA Dave Hayer stated that "we should not be showing any support for any criminal, any terrorist, any person that promotes hate or violence."...We can celebrate peace, harmony, respect and democracy in our culture and our religion without showing killers as heroes." (Vancouver Sun, Apr.11, pgA7)

Other parades being held in Abbotsford (April 13) and Vancouver (April 19) will not include these controversial images. I wonder why the organizers in Surrey insist on making this cultural event a political statement.

Saturday Photo Hunters - TWISTED

Since I wasn't able to get a photo of my brain, I had to use my brain to find something else to enter. AND, for some weird twisted reason, these photos will enlarge if you click on them. Most of the time my photos won't enlarge and I have no idea why they sometimes will and sometimes won't. *shrug*

1. I'm hopeless at untwisting cords, especially all the ones under and behind my computer desk, so I got down on my hands and knees, twisting my body into a pretzel to get this shot.

2. Then I remembered I'd been very lazy after Christmas and had just loosely wound up the outdoor lights and tossed them in the storage room upstairs. At least I know where they are for next year.
3. Finally, I remember the tree that I saw just outside of Marlborough, England, in November 2006 and how its bare branches, all knotty and twisty, stood out against the greyish sky that day.
There you have it...my entries for the "Twisted" theme today. To view more photos on this theme,
check out tnchick's site.

Colours of Spring

After an early dinner tonight, I went for a walk to get some fresh air and exercise. I took a slightly different route and ended up cutting through a housing area to get to the slough where a duck couple were enjoying an evening snack. The male's dark green head contrasted with the tail feathers of deep purple, while the female's body ranged from off-white to a rich brown. I'm not sure if they had a nest around there yet, but they seemed to ignore me even as they waddled up onto land before returning to feast.

As I continued past this spot, I came upon a sweet little garden with a few daffodils that raised their bright yellow faces to the last traces of the day's sunlight. Some blue pansies struggled to survive in the rocky ground where the oak tree greedily sucked the nutrients from the earth. The red berries of the holly bush will not mature for quite a while still.
On the approach to the shopping center, the street was lined with pale pink, almost white, cherry trees in full bloom. The blossoms appeared to be soft and fluffy as they hovered like clouds on the heavily-laden branches.
It was a strange, out-of-body experience to stand beneath the trees and feel as one with the blooms.
On the way home, I passed the house with the giant camelia bush. Tonight it was full of flowers in an array of colours from pale to brilliant and deep pink, but there are still lots of buds waiting to open. This is just one small spot on the bush.
My next-door neighbour has some dark blue grape hyacinths in blossom right now and another neighbour across the street has a magnolia tree that is just starting to blossom. I'm keeping an eye on it so that I can get a photo of it in full bloom. I admire its pale pink to deep purple hues and simply must get a shot this year. I'll post the picture when I get it.

Even though it's still cooler than normal for this time of year, there was the unmistakeable smell of spring in the air tonight. Thank goodness, as we're all so tired of winter.

Warholize Yourself

Okay, Josie's telling us to try this, so I figured it'd be a good way to let you all know which of my "Star" selves most of you preferred.

And the winner is.............

DANA DELANEY!

Geez, I sure wish I really looked that good. Anyone want to come and do hair and makeup every day for me?

Okay, now I've had my 15 minutes of fame. Go ahead. Dare ya! You KNOW you want to Warholize yourself, too. :D

ABC Wednesday - L is for LERICI

My first real WOW moment when I visited Italy in 2006 was when we arrived in the town of LERICI. We stayed 5 days and nights, visiting the town and its surrounding countryside and neighbouring cities and towns, and boating across the bay to the Cinque Terre. Back in February, I wrote "C is for Cinque Terre here.

My friends in England will appreciate that English writers Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley lived some three miles north in an isolated old boathouse called Casa Magni and anchored their sailing boat in Lerici. Their closest neighbours were the villagers of the tiny hamlet of San Terenzo. Percy Bysshe Shelley was drowned on July 8, 1822 in the Bay of Spezia upon returning to Lerici from a journey to Leghorn and Pisa. His corpse eventually washed up on the beach at Viareggio, located approximately halfway between Livorno and Lerici. The popularity of Lerici with the Shelleys and with Lord Byron earned the Gulf of Lerici its nickname as the Gulf of Poets.

LERICI is one of the mariner communities which take part to the Palio del Golfo, a rowing contest held in La Spezia every first Sunday of August.

LERICI is twinned with Horsham in West Sussex, England, although Horsham no longer records this as an 'active' twinning on its official website.

This was the view that greeted me from my hotel room patio!

Roomie and I decided to take a stroll into the town center. Above the hills stood gorgeous Italian villas like the one below, surrounded by palm trees swaying in the evening breeze.

We arrived just when families were emerging with their children to take in the sunset. Children played on this merry-go-round while mothers, fathers, and grandparents lovingly watched over them.

The fountains were beautiful against the brilliant pastel colours of the ancient buildings.

Upon arriving back at our hotel, armed with a full-bodied bottle of red wine purchased at the local wine shop, Roomie and I settled down to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean.

This was our view towards the west.

The next morning we set off for the Cinque Terre and I got this shot of the castle from the vantage point of the top deck of the boat.

and finally, here are the "Lerici Ladies," as we dubbed ourselves, along with one of our guides. In this photo, we're perched on a crag overlooking the water in the town of Riomaggiore.

If you are interested in seeing a short video clip of the town of LERICI, done by our other guide Umberto, click on the youtube link below. Just watch the first 3.20 minutes because after that it's our other guide Richard showing his two houses just outside of Lerici that he rents out. Of course, feel free to watch that, too, if you're interested in seeing what it's like to live there. I hope you enjoyed this little tour of one of my favourite places in Italy. When we get to the letter "P" I'll write about that place. Stay tuned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vR1hCGOczE

ABC WEDNESDAY is brought to you by Mrs. Nesbitt. Go on over to see who else is participating today.

Last night I fell in love....

Falling in love is crazy; it's very physical; it’s when knees get weak and temperature rises. Love is calm, comfortable and mental.

Last night I fell in love. Well, it was a dream, but it felt so real.

I met someone through friends and there was an instant attraction. We chatted and he came to my place where we joked around laughing until we were both literally rolling on the floor.

I even saw his face. He was pleasant looking with a wicked smile and a teasing glint in his eyes. His thick hair was sort of dirty blonde turning greyish. He was of average build but tall at around 6 feet. He was a doctor. He told me why he decided to make medicine his life’s work, something about having sisters who were physically and mentally challenged.

In the next scenario, we were (separately) at some sort of function, and I saw him talking with other women but he did not come and talk to me. I was very disappointed, but realistically decided that I’d been mistaken about our previous connection.

The final scenario took place when I was helping out family and he arrived unexpectedly. I knew immediately that I was in love with him, but held myself back until he said he had something for me. He took me outside and presented me with a basket of hyacinths and lilacs.

I knew from the look on his face that he was in love with me and I jumped into his arms and held on for dear life. In my dream, I actually felt the warmth of his body and smelled the scent of his neck as we held on tightly to each other. That hug spoke to me of security, trust, and sharing that no words could ever express.




Then the alarm clock went off.




All morning during my drive into town for an appointment, I kept going over this dream. All the way home, I relived it. It was so real.

I’m feeling very lonely right now. I’m yearning for that feeling. Maybe it’s a prediction that I will in fact experience that kind of love in real life soon.

I hope so.

A Star Is Born

I had SUCH fun tonight goofing around with a function I found on Facebook! Below are photos of me as music/movie stars. Can you figure out who I look like? It is exactly the same photo of me with different hairstyles and clothes. I wish I could say it was my body in them all, though! So counting from left to right, left to right to the end, here's what I think:

1. Renee Zellwegger?

2. Tina Turner

3. ??

4. Liz Taylor

5. Salma Hayak?

6. ??

7. Jennifer Lopez?

8. Holly Golightly?

9. ??

10. Dana Delaney

11. Brigitte Bardot?

12. Jessica Alba?

13. Amy Winehouse?

14. Ivanka Trump?

So who do you think the others look like? Which one do I suit the best?

Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

And finally, for a bit of a laugh dedicated to all my American friends...

scroll down

keep going

you'll die laughing

So, do I look Presidential?

Isn't it amazing how a hairstyle can make a person look totally different! This was so much fun and I think I'll take the photos to my hairdresser and see what she she can do for me! If I could afford to have a personal hairdresser come and "do" me every day, I might go for some of those more intricate styles. As it is, I think I'll stick to my safe old-faithful.

A Piece of Paris at Granville Island

Josie and I had a great afternoon today at Granville Island. (Do check out this link because there are fabulous photos, much better than I could ever take.) Anyway, Granville Island is a small island and shopping district located in an area called False Creek directly across from the downtown core of Vancouver. It used to be an industrial manufacturing area, but is now a major tourist destination offering a public market, a marina, a hotel, the Emily Carr Institue of Art and Design, various theaters and shopping areas surrounding the last industrial outpost - a cement plant. There's also ferry service from the island to downtown Vancouver across Burrard Inlet.


We had a wonderful lunch at Monk's Oyster Bar. I chose the shrimp and spinach salad while Josie chose crab cakes and salad. Since we'd been so good choosing a low-cal main course, we splurged on dessert - Josie with creme caramel and moi with cheesecake! We took a stroll on the patio afterwards to admire the scenery before continuing on to the other end of Granville Island.

Granville Island hosts a variety of buskers and you can see them everywhere playing all sorts of musical instruments. Today, we stopped to listen to a First Native gentleman playing a variety of pan flutes. It was hauntingly beautiful music and Josie even checked out the price of his cds. We didn't buy any, though, because it was early in our exploration of the island.

Later, we saw a busker setting up near the Ferry Wharf and when we realised he was singing in French, we rushed to listen to him. His name is Joshua Minsky and I must say he was very easy on the eyes as well as the ears. We stayed quite a while, applauding politely when he'd finish a song. As some of you may remember, I used to teach FSL (French as a Second Language) and my ears prick up when I hear French, especially in song.

Josh began to study guitar at the age of 8 and after finishing college in 1980 he moved back to New York and began performing in clubs and restaurants, singing and accompanying himself on the guitar. In 1984 he moved to Europe, where beginning in Amsterdam and then moving to Paris in '85 he made his living by playing in various venues, based mainly in Paris but moving also between Nice, London, Zurich and Stockholm. In 1996 Joshua moved back to Vancouver. After a four year break from music he began playing and singing at Granville Island's Daily Outdoor Concert Series, where he can still be found.

He was so charming and delightful, we each purchased one of his cds. Josie bought Souvenir de Paris and I bought his latest one entitled Au Cafe Mazet. Rumour has it this cafe is where Jim Morrison of The Doors had his last drink before his rather untimely death and so Le Mazet has kept the reputation of being a drinkers bar. On the weekends it's very lively and caters to ex-pats, but I believe it's now closed for refurbishment. Josh wrote three songs on this latest cd and as I type this, I'm listening to the first one entitled "L'Ete" (the summer) as he accompanies himself on guitar. He has an intensely haunting voice when he sings slow ballads like "La Vie En Rose" but he also sings some fun and upbeat songs like "Le Soleil a Rendez-vous avec la Lune" (the sun has a rendezvous with the moon).

If you'd like to actually listen to Josh singing, check out this youtube video. It was shot by someone who was visiting Granville Island in Dec '06 and checking out the mussels. But you'll at least get a taste of why Josie and I enjoyed our few minutes listening to several songs by Josh while admiring the view towards the Burrard Street Bridge that links residential Vancouver to the downtown core.

When visitors come, we'll take them to Granville Island and go for lunch at Bridges Restaurant which is right on the wharf. We'll sit on the patio with their trademark yellow umbrellas and watch all the yachts go by as we sip margaritas and dine on fresh seafood. Yummy!

Hope you enjoyed the latest installment of Josie and Leslie's Excellent Adventures. For a look at a couple of last year's J&L's EA, click here (spring on the West Vancouver seawall or here (Ladner Village Market).

Y'all come back, hear! :D

Skywatch Friday

Be sure to check out Eden's one-month birthday photo below. She finally has her eyes open a bit more often.
As I was driving home from the hairdresser yesterday around 5:30 pm, I noticed Mount Baker standing out monumentally against the crystal clear and bright blue sky. I was really hungry so decided to eat first and then head down to Centennial Beach to catch some shots. I also needed to collect some sand, shells, and driftwood for a home decor project, so I'd kill two birds with one shot, so to speak. By the time I arrived around 6:45, the sky had taken on a paler blue hue, so the mountain didn't stand out quite so starkly against the brilliant blue I'd noticed earlier. However, this is what I managed and I will try to get some better shots another time.

I then turned towards the North Shore and got this shot of the snow-capped mountains. You can just see a hint of pink above the mountains, along with a few clouds scudding by.

As I left the beach area, I decided to stop and take some photos of Cammidge House, an old heritage home that has been restored to its former glory. Keep an eye out for a post on it later. Then as it was getting a bit too cool for my liking, I headed down the highway towards home. I glanced to my left (the west) and saw the sun just about to drop below the horizon. I reached over, grabbed my camera, turned it on, and held it beside me and just clicked. My eyes were on the road ahead - after all, I was doing over 100 klicks in the left lane. This is what I caught.

As I stopped at the traffic light just before turning west into my little village, I managed this shot.
I cropped it and played with the contrast a bit and came up with this. I rather like it.

Hope you enjoyed my skywatch pictures today. For more pictures, check out Tom at Wiggers World here.