If you see one movie this year …. then you need to get out more. However if you do only see one movie this year then let it be “Kung Fu Panda” Very hilarious and maybe not really a kid’s show. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
One of the greatest detectives of all time .. ladies and gentleman a man that needs no introduction.
A big thanks to Susan over at ColoradoDaze for sending some coffee beans my way this morning. I ran out and since we are leaving soon I was holding off buying until we came back. We did a coffee bean for Dijon mustard trade (apparently Billy cannot get enough of the stuff) and I am back to feeling wired and awake!
One of the beautiful things about YouTube is how viewing one video can lead you to viewing another related video and so on. If you keep this process up you can really deviate from your original starting position. Case in point tonight was a YouTube link that someone sent about a video parody Sarah Silverman did on the the Jimmy Kimmel show (her boyfriend) that was titled “I’m F%$#’ ing Matt Damon.” After about 30 minutes of going from one video to the next I wound up with a video highlighting a master on the cello, Rostropovich.
I have no idea how I made those links but I was delighted where I wound up. I think the cello is one of the most beautiful sounding instruments in the world (right next to the French horn).
Enjoy!
Rostropovich plays Bach´s Bourree - Suite No 3
From Wikipedia
A spit-take is a comedic technique in which someone spits a beverage out of his or her mouth when he or she reacts to a statement during a take. In a spit-take, the reaction is usually one of surprise. Danny Thomas is sometimes credited with popularizing its use in comedy.
I love a great well timed spit-take because if done well it can almost make you forget how patently absurd an action it really is. I don’t think in my life I have ever witnessed a real honest to goodness spit-take. It ranks right up there with the slipping on the banana peel trick.
From YouTube a couple of examples
Video 1 - GroundHog Day … very very well timed spit-takes
Video 2 - The Spit Take Mockery
Well probably “or” but little Carter is doing his best at artwork. Unfortunately he appears to have inherited his father’s artistic ability.
I am sure child psychologists would have a field day with this picture. He told me “Daddy I didn’t draw that very pretty” but I think it’s cool nonetheless. The thing in the top corner is the sun even though Nathan insists it is a “Pider” (spider in Nathanspeak).
Don’t despair Amma cause he is a good singer so he has some talent!
Forgot to post these pics from last weekend’s Father’s Day with the family.
Tonight at the square Craig from The Engleson Files was humming a catchy little tune that turned out to be the late 70’s hit “Cars” by Gary Numan
Happy Father’s Day from your son and your grandsons. I hope you get to kick back and relax a little today .. but then again being retired you can do that every day can’t you?
Carter and Nathan finally had their big party this weekend which is a tad overdue but when kids are 4 and 2 they have no concept of time.
We went to the JinZhou pool in the morning (happily no photos exist of this event). Carter had a great time as usual and Nathan really loved the water. He tackled the bigger water slides that even Carter doesn’t like and refused Mom and Dad’s help.
We then returned back home where Lao Lao (the boys maternal grandmother) had made a huge feast of jiao zi (Chinese dumplings) and bao zi (meat stuffed buns) among other dishes. The meal was a treat for kids and parents alike.
The boys were spoiled rotten by their friends with all the cool toys they got. There were so many gifts that we didn’t even manage to get the all out of the boxes today.
Alice got 2 ice cream cakes from the new Dairy Queen in our suburb and they were also a smash hit.
Nathan loves cake
So does Carter!
Ah heck .. we ALL love cake!
The gift opening was mayhem so this is the only photo that exists.
Lately Carter has taken a shine to Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang. In light of this I bring you The Cartoon Laws of Physics.
Cartoon Law I
Any body suspended in space will remain in space until made aware of its situation.
Daffy Duck steps off a cliff, expecting further pastureland. He loiters in midair, soliloquizing flippantly, until he chances to look down. At this point, the familiar principle of 32 feet per second per second takes over.
Cartoon Law II
Any body in motion will tend to remain in motion until solid matter intervenes suddenly.
Whether shot from a cannon or in hot pursuit on foot, cartoon characters are so absolute in their momentum that only a telephone pole or an outsize boulder retards their forward motion absolutely.
Cartoon Law III
Any body passing through solid matter will leave a perforation conforming to its perimeter.
Also called the silhouette of passage, this phenomenon is the speciality of victims of directed-pressure explosions and of reckless cowards who are so eager to escape that they exit directly through the wall of a house, leaving a cookie-cutout-perfect hole. The threat of skunks or matrimony often catalyzes this reaction.
Cartoon Law IV
The time required for an object to fall twenty stories is greater than or equal to the time it takes for whoever knocked it off the ledge to spiral down twenty flights to attempt to capture it unbroken.
Such an object is inevitably priceless, the attempt to capture it inevitably unsuccessful.
Cartoon Law V
All principles of gravity are negated by fear.
Psychic forces are sufficient in most bodies for a shock to propel them directly away from the earth’s surface. A spooky noise or an adversary’s signature sound will induce motion upward, usually to the cradle of a chandelier, a treetop, or the crest of a flagpole. The feet of a character who is running or the wheels of a speeding auto need never touch the ground, especially when in flight.
Cartoon Law VI
As speed increases, objects can be in several places at once.
This is particularly true of tooth-and-claw fights, in which a character’s head may be glimpsed emerging from the cloud of altercation at several places simultaneously. This effect is common as well among bodies that are spinning or being throttled.
A wacky character has the option of self-replication only at manic high speeds and may ricochet off walls to achieve the velocity required.
Cartoon Law VII
Certain bodies can pass through solid walls painted to resemble tunnel entrances; others cannot.
This trompe l’oeil inconsistency has baffled generations, but at least it is known that whoever paints an entrance on a wall’s surface to trick an opponent will be unable to pursue him into this theoretical space.
The painter is flattened against the wall when he attempts to follow into the painting. This is ultimately a problem of art, not of science.
Cartoon Law VIII
Any violent rearrangement of feline matter is not permanent.
Cartoon cats possess even more deaths than the traditional nine lives might comfortably afford. They can be decimated, spliced, splayed, accordion-pleated, spindled, or disassembled, but they cannot be destroyed. After a few moments of blinking self pity, they reinflate, elongate, snap back, or solidify.
Corollary:
A cat will assume the shape of its container.
Cartoon Law IX
Everything falls faster than an anvil.
Cartoon Law X
For every vengeance there is an equal and opposite revengeance.
This is the one law of animated cartoon motion that also applies to the physical world at large. For that reason, we need the relief of watching it happen to a duck instead.
Cartoon Law Amendment A
A sharp object will always propel a character upward.
When poked (usually in the buttocks) with a sharp object (usually a pin), a character will defy gravity by shooting straight up, with great velocity.
Cartoon Law Amendment B
The laws of object permanence are nullified for “cool” characters.
Characters who are intended to be “cool” can make previously nonexistent objects appear from behind their backs at will. For instance, the Road Runner can materialize signs to express himself without speaking.
Cartoon Law Amendment C
Explosive weapons cannot cause fatal injuries.
They merely turn characters temporarily black and smokey.
Cartoon Law Amendment D
Gravity is transmitted by slow-moving waves of large wavelengths.
Their operation can be wittnessed by observing the behavior of a canine suspended over a large vertical drop. Its feet will begin to fall first, causing its legs to stretch. As the wave reaches its torso, that part will begin to fall, causing the neck to strech. As the head begins to fall, tension is released and the canine will resume its regular proportions until such time as it strikes the ground.
McDonald’s and cake are all a 2 year old needs and/or wants. Some shots of Nathan today on his birthday.
In his party shirt seeing Dad off to work this morning
Getting a birthday hug from Carter
Not wanting big brother to put his arm around him
“I’ll let him but I won’t like it”
“Aaah what the heck .. he’s my big bro after all!”
Happy Birthday to our cute and cuddly little guy - Nathan ZhongJia Brown born June 9th, 2006. Mommy and Daddy love you very very much and can’t wait to see you blow out the candles on your cake tonight!
As you see in the picture Carter is decked out in clothing adorned with his favourite character - Spiderman. We have the flashy Spiderman T-shirt, Spiderman ball cap, Spiderman shoes, Spiderman gonch (can’t see ‘em but believe me that’s what he was wearing) and his latest toy - The Spiderman Scooter. He got the scooter for his birthday and absolutely loves it. His initial forays with his bicycle were successful but after a few falls he abandoned for the lower to the ground scooter. Luckily it is lightweight and folds easily cause he takes this thing EVERYWHERE.
If you think that is a long title imagine trying to fit it on a banner.
Yesterday at the .. ahem … “request” of our boss we “voluntarily” attended the Staff Sports Day. As with every production in China this was done to the hilt with an opening ceremony where we paraded around the track by school (middle, elementary, foreign national, high school). We also had several rousing speeches that reminded us of the “noble cause” to which we had pledged ourselves. The speeches were either a lowlight or highlight to cap off the long and arduous day.
The opening ceremony shots
If those don’t get your spirit goin’ then nothin’ will
Carter and Magnus kicked off the events with the 30 meter scooter race but no medals were awarded as it was only an exhibition event.
Nathan threw up on the bus ride to the school and was a little worse for wear.
But he was still a rose among the thorns
Despite getting the invitation to bring families we were quickly whisked off the center field as there was concern that the “foreign parents” would not be able to control their “foreign children” and would ruin the track events. Being banished to playing beside the parking lot
we decided to head to a nearby beach to hang out. Much to our surprise there were guys with horses that the kids could ride up and down the beach for a little more than a dollar.
Mama took Nathan for a ride even though he was reluctant to get on at first.
Carter expressed indifference to the whole thing
Magnus started a Wreck Beach type of nudity by saying “I want to take off my clothes and go in the water”. It wasn’t long before every kid decided to follow suit (or no suit as the pun may be). Everyone except for Carter (again) as he wanted to keep his shorts on. Nathan had no such reservations.
This is the only “G” rated photo I could find but believe me the parents snapped a lot of them.
