Bond. James Bond.

James Bond, originally uploaded by knoopie.

We saw a movie last week!! It took 2 days but we saw Casino Royale, the new James Bond movie featuring the new Bond, Daniel Craig. I knew something was different when the opening credits features silhouettes of men beating the crap out of each other, instead of naked dancing chicks. For the record, Chris Cornell sang the opening theme.

The James Bond franchise has always been the David Bowie of movies (although that's kind of an insult to Mr. Bowie). He has survived so long because he adapts his musical style to the times - He reinvents himself but stays the same, if that makes sense. So does the Bond franchise. This time, the producers paid attention to 2 things, the first being Batman Begins, which was a 'reset' of the Batman franchise (and believe me, I have no problem ignoring the Joel Shumaker Batmans and I was never a big fan of the Tim Burton ones anyway). The second thing, and more importantly, is the Bourne franchise: both The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy had lots of fun, sweaty action without ever resorting to gimmicky gadgets or too-ludicrous stunts.

The sad thing is they missed the fact that Christian Bale and Matt Damon are a lot of fun to look at and Daniel Craig, well, is kinda ugly. But no matter: I never thought Sean Connery was good looking, George Lazenby was a non-entity, Roger Moore was cardboard, and Pierce Brosnan was nice-looking but not my thing (Timothy Dalton was a hottie but he didn't make it past 2 movies). The fact that Bond never was attractive to me (except in The Living Daylights, perhaps my favorite of all time) has never altered the fact that I unconditionally love Bond movies. Yes, even the really stupid Roger Moore ones.

So even though I find Daniel Craig very hard to look at, I must admit he is well-cast here as the proto-James Bond. He's just got his license to kill and he's a bit of a thug. The script actually sort of follows the book (which I haven't read since college) to even keeping a torture scene and all I can say is *owie!!* for Bond. Jon didn't like this movie because he didn't think it was a 'Bond' movie, but I liked it for just these reasons. Bond sweats, bleeds, makes mistakes, and even falls in love. The action is well-filmed and tense and not stoopid. They did keep a few tropes: the bad guy is a sweaty ugly creep of Northern European extraction (but is not trying to take over ther world for once). *I* loved this movie. I have always clamored for more serious Bond movies and I finally got one. Hooray! I hope they remake some of the other old ones.

Now that it's acceptable to have story arcs in TV shows and movies I would looooooooooove it if they built one for Bond (yes, the books had a story arc, if I remember correctly). Then we could get to On Her Majesty's Secret Service which is a great James Bond story but very few people have actually seen the movie.

What, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I took Brenden to the doc's yesterday and he has an ear infection plus conjunctivitis. He's on antibiotics and some children's Motrin at night seems to help him sleep better. He kept me up most of the weekend. Now it's my turn today - I have something nasty developing in my lungs. I'll go to the doc's today and beg for some cough medicine. It hurts bad to cough plus what ever I hack up is a nice murky green. Hope you aren't eating your morning donut, just now. We need to get this all cleared up because vacation is in 9 days.

Here's a meme via Nancy:


1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:00
2. How do you like your steak? Medium
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Wedding Crashers, I think.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Battlestar Galactica!
5. What did you have for breakfast? Coffee. Not much appetite right now.
6. What is your middle name? Linn.
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Caribbean.
8. What foods do you dislike? Anything with fruit cooked into it. I love fruit but don't bake it to mush please.
9. What is your favorite chips? Doritos.
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Music? What's that?
11. What kind of car do you drive? Saturn 4-door something.
12. What is your favorite sandwich? Cubano
13. What characteristics do you despise? Bullies. I can forgive just about everything else but bullies piss me off.
14. What are your favorite clothes? PJ bottoms and a tee-shirt! Me too!!
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? With the family? By myself? I'd stay here for a week or two: Gibney Beach. I'd just lay in some groceries and go swim and snorkel when I want and then come in and read books while listening to the ocean. If I had the family with me it would be the same island just something a little more accessible (and cheaper).

16. Favorite brand of clothing? The brands that fit. Still fond of Levi blue jeans.
17. Where would you want to retire? If I were a bazillionaire, my own island. Since I'm not, Oklahoma looks nice.
18. Favorite time of day? Only on weekends, the 2 hours that B naps. That's *me* time.
19. Where were you born? Kansas City, Missouri
20. What is your favorite sport to watch? Baseball! To quote an old boyfriend, it's 10 minutes of action jam-packed into 3 hours, but that's why I like it. I can put a game on then read a book and look up when I hear the crowd cheer.
21. Pepsi or Coke? Coke!
22. Beavers or ducks? Ducks. Otters, on the other hand...
23. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Morning but not by choice.
24. Pedicure or manicure? No.
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Brenden taught a little 15 month old girl how to push a button on a water fountain at the doctor's office. I'm just amazed that he's that social.
26. What did you want to be when you were little? An astronaut.
27. What is your best childhood memory? Swimming in the ocean.
28. Piercing? Ears
29. Ever been to Africa? No.
30. Ever been toilet papering? No.
31. Been in a car accident? Yes.
32. Favorite day of the week? Saturday.
33. Restaurant? Currently it's Logan's Roadhouse. Why? Because it's noisy and you can throw things on the floor. That would make it Brenden's favorite restaurant as well.
34. Favorite Flower? Tulips.
35. Favorite ice cream? Chocolate chip.
36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Popeye's. I loove their red beans and rice.
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Less than Spongebob. Never, really.
38. From whom did you get your last email? Someone who want to sell me something to increase my penis size.
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? I'll have to go with Amazon.com too.
40. Bedtime? 9:30 pm.
41. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? whomever wishes to do this.
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Ileana. Dad couldn't come with us because he was getting operated on. I can't remember the restaurant but I had fajitas.
45. What are you listening to right now? The tapping on my keyboard
46. What is your favorite color? Blue.
47. How many tattoos do you have? One. That's enough.
48. Favorite magazine? Popular Mechanics. No, that's not a joke.

Meowing for Juice

Easter, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Dad is out of the hospital and both he and Ileana are in better spirits. Dad was making William Wallace jokes so I know he was feeling better. After talking with the doctor who actually performed the surgery, they both feel more optimistic about his treatment options. If I heard him right, he'll be recuperating for 3 more weeks then visiting an oncologist. They'll be staying in Tampa for a while because access to medical facilities is easier there than in Oklahoma. I'm going to bring Brenden and Jon down sometime in June. They have a pool, so I know what B will be doing!

Speaking of, we had our first real conversation yesterday:

B: MeMeow! Mao? Mao? Mao?
Me: Sure, hon, I'll get you something to drink. (Puts sippy cup under water dispenser on fridge)
B: Nooooo! (points emphatically at fridge door, grabs handle), Eh, eh eh eh eh!!
Me: Okay, no water. What? (Opens fridge door)
B: (pointing at apple juice) choos! Choos!
Me: (giving in like a little wuss because that's the first time he said 'juice' ) Okay, hon, just a little. (pours small amount in sippy cup).
B: (grabs cup) A-shoo! (thank you!)

Sticker Boy

Sticker Boy, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I'm posting this photo because we need a good laugh!

The news isn't good - some of the lymph nodes were positive for cancer. My dad will be consulting with his docs today for a course of treatment. When she called me Ilu was understandably quite upset. So am I.

I'm back - busy catching up at work and I still don't have web access at home.

Anyhows, my dad is doing fine - his surgery went well and yes it involves the "C" word. The doc thinks he got it all plus it doesn't look like it spread to any other organs. The only question that remains is some lymph nodes surrounding the affected tissue. They were enlarged, but it isn't known because they were affected or simply 'reactive' (I assume meaning 'enlarged because of problem in area'). I'm waiting to hear from Ilu about the results from the pathologist.

I'm very glad I went - they both were quite happy I showed up. Waiting while someone is at the hospital is always the slowest, most horrendous and annoying wait possible and Ilu and I had a long one. We got to the hospital at 7:30 but dad didn't get called until several hours later. He didn't go into surgery until much later, and then there was recovery then waiting while he was given a room. In all fairness to the hospital once he went into the surgery we were given updates frequently on everything. Any way he got into his room at 7pm. Dad was feeling pretty groggy but in good spirits while Ilu was understandably frazzled.

I called Ilu yesterday and dad is up and about and hopefully getting out of the hospital today. I hope so. Hospitals have too many sick people in them to want to hang around there for too long.

Thanks, guys, for your sympathy. I'm going to Florida tomorrow to visit w/dad and spend time with Ilu while my dad has his operation on Thursday. Not much else to say, except they feel optimistic so so do I. Oh, yeah for my brother Ed:

Happy Birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
You look like a monkey
And you smell like one too!

Dad & Brenden

Dad & Brenden, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Hope everyone had a good Easter. Mine was mixed - besides news about poor Caboose, Ileana told me Friday my dad is going to have surgery soon - he's going to the Mayo Clinic today for consultation about the extent of the problem. I am joining Helly and a huge group of other people aboard the "Worried about Dad" cruise ship. That's all I want to say about this.

We had a nasty storm last Tuesday and I didn't realize until this weekend that we had no Internet service (that shows you how often I get on the computer at home). Apparently lightning hit pretty close to our house. Our neighbors lost some electical gadgets including their garage door opener.

I told you that to tell you this: I took Brenden on his first Easter Egg hunt Saturday and I got some photos but can't post them yet. It was set up in Sparkman Park, which is the park about 1/4th a mile away from our house. I put B in his kid carrier (I bought a new one - it's a backpack and can hold a kid weighing up to 50 pounds) and we walked over there.

The Kiwanis club sponsored this one, and I like how they did it - they found a good balance between competition vs. fairness. They divided up all the kids into age groups. In each age group's area they hid 1 golden egg, which was the 'grand prize'. All the other eggs were empty and plastic. After that it didn't matter if you grabbed 1 or 1000 eggs; every kid got the same little bag of candy.

So, when the whistle blew, all of us with little fry worked on encouraging our kids to grab eggs. Brenden picked up a handful and dumped them in some other child's basket. The mom of the other kid looked totally abashed. I was laughing and told her it didn't matter (maybe she didn't know the rules). So we ended up with a grand total of 2 eggs once the area was scoured clean. Brenden got distracted well before that happened and was trying to climb into the creek that bisects the park so I put him back in his carrier and we got his candy and walked home. He quit bitching at me when I gave him some of his loot. All in all it was fun but cold!

Sunday I raked and thatched our front yard. I chased B around for most of that, since I was unable to set the pool up for him because of the temperature. I did let him play with the hose for a while until he took his jacket off and sprayed it down. Our next door neighbor took some pity on me and let B play in her back yard with her son while I finished as much of the thatching as I could. I am surprisingly not sore! Weight training has its rewards.

Caboose

Caboose, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

It's been rough the last 12 months on animals in our family. Ralph, the norwegian swamp kitty, my kitty Vasquez, Ed's wife's doggie Ivan, and now poor Caboose. Rest in peace, guys and girls. You were all well-loved.

B and Me

B and Me, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Still smelling - what's more fun than blowing raspberries on your almost-2 year old's belly? Having your almost-2 year old blow them on your belly! Big old wet ones. I haven't laughed that hard in years!

Jon is going to work at the same company I do - he worked there before, almost 5 years ago. He will be doing support/training for an engineering software package.

Letter to Brenden month 22:

I don't know if it's the new day care, or it's simply time for you to start speaking, but your vocabulary has skyrocketed. I am still puzzling out your words. Here's some examples:

Shoo! - This is either shoe, or thank you, depending on context.

Noo! - This is either nose, or no, again depending on context.

Pay! - Airplane.

Ow! - Just what it means - ouch.

Keeedeee! - Kitty.

Tee! - Teeth

BeeBee! - either "belly button", or "mom, please open the garage door, I want to go outside" depending on context.

Heea! - "take this from me"

MaMao! - "I want something to drink, preferably milk" - a word you learned from Kitty.

DaDa! Daddy, or Mommy, depending on context. That's right, he refers to me as dada.


Speaking of the new day care, our next door neighbor wanted to quit her job to be with her son more. Her previous job? She worked at a daycare center. She was able to quit because she takes care of Brenden, plus some other occasional babysitting for other kids in the neighborhood. It works out great for all of us, so far. She's smart, kind, and patient, and works with Brenden on what I wish I could work with him on more - talking.

I love it because in the morning I can walk Brenden over to her house, even if it takes 10 minutes because B insists on investigating every blade of grass in between here or there. The types of trees that have seeds that act like helicopter blades recently went to seed so walks take even longer as I have to demonstrate to Brenden every seed's aerodynamic abilities.

Her son (Walker, and no Talladega Nights jokes from you!) is 4, and a pretty good kid. He's not a bully, but I see him get frustrated occasionally. I don't know how long this will last, but both Walker and Brenden are getting a little taste of what it's like to have a brother, at least.

Happy flesh-eating zombie cannibal or Chef Boy-ar-dee night?

Happy Cannibal, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I am well aware this isn't 'cute'. It is prety doggone gross, if you ask me Gross amuses me, however. Remember my pics of dead squirrels floating in my pool?

To my happy amazement, I can still smell. This round of steroids seems to have left my sinuses open. I am absolutely thrilled. My sense of smell isn't as strong, but that might just be because I'm used to smelling things.

Jon is currently in Moab, Utah enjoying a last-minute vacation w/some buddies. He starts a new job this coming Monday. The Drop Zone is alive and well, before you ask.