Quiz time!

This video clip contains sound bites and some accompanying text (I spelled Shirley and Elizabeth wrong) from twelve different movies. See if you can guess the movies they are from. Most of them are pretty easy but there are a couple that might stump you. Will anyone get them all without googling anything?

Eclipse – finishing what I started

My disappointment with some parts of the second book managed to keep me away from Eclipse for a grand total of about 48 hours. Despite being often genuinely frustrating, New Moon pulled me so far into the story that I can no longer resist it and will have to continue to the end no matter how many times I feel like hurling the book through the window.

It is nice to have Edward and the other Cullens (especially sweet Alice) back in town for the whole book this time. Unfortunately Jacob is also still around and becoming a bigger and bigger jerk by the second. My suspicions were correct. What I first thought was going to be a tale of pure love conquering all has degenerated into a sticky mess that leaves you feeling the need to take a shower.

Several things become crystal clear in Eclipse. Bella is not only a clumsy, irresponsible drama queen, but also quite selfish and nearly entirely oblivious to the pain she is inflicting upon Edward. It’s a good thing she smells so good to him because at this point I can’t think of any other reason why he should have fallen for her.
Jacob finally quits any further attempts to conceal his plan to steal Bella and becomes more and more rude, physically aggressive and more manipulative than an entire squad of cheerleaders.
Edward alone remains totally committed to Bella’s happiness in a way that neither of the two Pop Tart eaters could ever comprehend.

Edward spends most of the book trying to keep Bella alive and Bella spends most of the book trying to get away so she can be all warm and snuggly with her “friend”. Whenever she does come back to Edward we hear the usual lines about how perfect he is and how Bella could never ever be without him again but at some point along the way her actions begin to speak much more loudly and truthfully than her words.

Surprise, surprise, by the end Bella realizes that she is in love with BOTH of them but also FINALLY gets a clue that all of this might have been difficult for Edward.

In the end Bella once again officially chooses Edward. (Yeah sure whatever.)
I hope that Meyers has only added all this drama along the way to make the final undoubtable triumph of Edward and Bella all the more satisfying but I have serious concerns. To some, myself included, she may find that the hole she has dug herself into is just too deep and that when she finally decides to abandon the Bella and Jake thing, digging upwards just doesn’t work. It is going to take some serious magic to save this story.
I hope, more for Edward now than anyone, that she can somehow pull it off.


P.S. Apparently some people are rooting for Jacob. I would just like to say that everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. Also, if you are rooting for Jacob you are 100% wrong and have no soul.

Edward and Bella

Let's see, how long has it been since my last post. Just over four months I guess. Hey what better way to get back on it than to post about a completely random subject.
If you have no idea who the title of this post is referring to you probably want to stop reading right about... now. Maybe check back in another four months or so for my next entry.

For any of you twilight freaks who are still here I just thought I would post a few of my thoughts (actually it appears to be more of a rant) about this story.
Probably over a year ago I read Krissy's strong recommendation of Twilight on her blog. I was curious so shortly thereafter I bought Twilight and New Moon intending to read them right away but never got around to it. Recently I've started seeing movie trailers for Twilight being mentioned so I decided I'd better read the books before the film comes out in November.

I read the first book last week and really enjoyed it. At the end Edward and Bella had triumphed and are very happy together. So far so good.
I started the second book two days ago and finished it yesterday. But I almost wish I had never opened it. The first part was good, right up to the point where Edward leaves. One of the saddest things I have ever read. (Ya, it made me cry so what!)
Much later, when Alice shows up at Bella's house and the story refocuses on the Cullens and Edward I was greatly relieved. From then on to the end I was right back into it, rooting for Bella and Ed again.

It was just that bulk of the book in between that I gradually grew to hate. I wish that Jacob character never existed. I mean, of course Edward had gone, even though we all knew he desperately didn't want to go, but he believed it best for Bella. I can't fault Jake for trying but I just got more and more frustrated as he and Bella got closer and closer 'cause everybody knows Edward will be back somehow by the end of the book.
Bella never ceases her claim of complete devotion to the gone forever Edward and always narrates to us that her interest in Jake is purely friendly and only serves to help her hear Edward's voice now and then. However I began to grow more and more suspicious of their touchy feely cuddlyness and just wished Ed would hurry up and get back in the book before Bella got completely converted to the dark side.
I just could not put the book down. That is usually a good thing but not this time. I just hated Jake messing with Edward and Bella's destiny and couldn't stop reading until Edward was back in the picture.
The last chapter ends well enough, with Edward reclaiming Bella but then in the Epilogue Jake of course comes butting back in again and Bella, as always, leaves us wondering just a little bit about who it is that she really cares for the most.
Something just ain't right here.

After finishing the first book I had intended to get the third one as well but the second one was so frustrating for me that I had to check a few reviews of Eclipse before I bought it. It seems my suspicions are correct that the love triangle, far from getting sorted out, gets even more messy in the third book.
Bella, are you kidding me! What happend to all that unbreakable devotion to Edward. After all this, you're telling me I've been reading nothing more than an episode of "Friends". (I've never actually watched Friends but I hope you get my point)

My only hope for all this is that in the end, Bella finally decides that Edward is the only love she wants and needs and that Jake gets married to Lassie or whoever.

Even then it may be too late for my interest in this story. I had hoped that Bella and Edward had something more. Something immune from "I can't go on without him..... but hey that other guy's kinda cute."

Maybe I'm wrong. I haven't actually read the third book yet so if any of you think I've got it wrong and that Bella never really gets that confused I'd love to hear it. If not, I think I'm done with Edward and Bella.

Thanks for reading my official "longest post ever".

P.S. Thanks Marlan for letting us know about Stephenie Meyer's other book (The Host). I think I'll give that one a try instead, for now.

Christmas 2007

our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders
these twists and turns of fate
time falls away
but these small hours
these small hours still remain

Little Wonders - Rob Thomas

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Crowfoot Mtn. and Bow Lake

A few days ago I made yet another trip up to the Columbia Icefield with yet another Japanese couple and when we stopped at Bow Lake on the way I noticed that the always adequate but usually unspectacular Crowfoot mountain was looking its very best with a fresh thin coat of September snow and some nice low angle morning sunshine. A little extra contrast was provided by Bow lake and a couple of trees that were still in the shadows.
I know it's just another big rock but I really saw it that morning in a way that I had never seen it before so I thought I would show it to you as well.
Talk about reaching for a topic I guess eh!

Anyway, my trips up and down the Banff/Jasper highway will soon be done for another year. I guess there are worse places to work.

Babbling Brook (no not her)

I had a few minutes free of my clients up at Moraine lake today so I went for a walk and came across this little stream.
It was sounding particularly soothing and whatnot so I thought I would record a few seconds of video with my little camera to see if I could capture the feeling of the place and take it home with me.
As I feared though, the computerized version pales in comparison to the real thing. I guess you just had to be there, as they say.

Still, if you ever feel like you need a little break please feel free to click on this video for a full 14 seconds of free video-hydro-relaxation therapy.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Goodbye Summer

Nobody on the road
nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
the summer's out of reach
empty lake, empty streets
the sun goes down alone
I'm drivin' by your house
though I know you're not home...
(Boys of Summer - Don Henley)

If you have access to this song please play it now and listen to it while you read the rest of my post for full dramatic effect. If the original Don Henley version is unavailable the DJ Sammy version is also acceptable. Ataris version only as a last resort please. ;)

Just thought I'd let you all know that while you are just starting to enjoy the fall season where you are, we here in Banff are right back into winter already. There is snow on the mountain tops and I've had to scrape frost off my windshield the past two days already. This ten months of winter and two months of poor skiing we have here can get a little old sometimes.

I don't really have any exciting news or anything to tell but it's been so long since I made a new post that I figured I'd just complain about the weather to let you all know that I am still here. Thanks for stopping by.

Are you watching closely?

If the title of this post made you think of "The Prestige" then please give yourself a pat on the back from me.

Yet another picture of Lake Louise. But wait, before you click away please take a good look. This particular morning there was pretty much no wind so the lake was reflecting an almost perfect copy of the scenery behind it. Two for the price of one if you like. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is the original and which is the copy isn't it. This is actually not such a rare occurance at this lake especially in the early morning. You may also have noticed that this picture is taken at a little different angle than any I have previously posted of Lake Louise. Do you see the difference?

Speaking of Wolves...

On my way from Banff to Lake Louise to pick up my clients today I just happened to spot a black wolf jogging along the fence that keeps animals from coming out onto the highway. I couldn't believe my luck as I'd just seen four wolf cubs less than a month ago. (Now that I think about it I suppose there is a good chance that those cubs are related to this adult since I saw them all in the same valley not too far apart either) On average since I've been in Banff I see a wolf maybe once every three years so I guess I've just been lucky lately (as I wrote in my previous post I have only seen cubs once before). This sighting lasted the longest as the wolf kept moving along the fence for about four minutes before it finally disappeared into the woods. I was glad to have my camera with me and took a bunch of pictures but it was a little too far away for my little pocket camera's zoom. At least you can tell it's a wolf I hope.


Today was not a trip to the Columbia Icefield but to Yoho NP as well as Moraine Lake in Banff. Actually it's near Lake Louise but slightly less famous. I think it is the most beautiful lake in the Rockies. If you have an old $20 bill, not the one with the bird on the back but the version before that, you might recognize this lake as the one on that bill.

Never Cry Wolf

In an effort to have a few pictures to post every now and then I have been trying to carry around my camera with me as much as possible this year. Yesterday my battery ran out and I forgot to recharge it so I didn't take my camera with me today on my trip to Yoho NP just across the border in BC.
Wouldn't you know it we came across something that I have only seen once before in all the years I have been guiding.
Wolf cubs, four of them actually. Two were grey and two were black, so they definitely weren't coyotes. They were playing on the road just as we came around the curve. Of course they ran away as soon as they saw my van but they were curiously peeking at us from just inside the bushes on the side of the road surely thinking that they were now invisible. They soon wandered off into the forest and in the end not even one of my eight clients managed to get a picture but it would have been really cool to get a shot of them. Oh well, maybe I'll get another chance in another ten years or so.
By the way there was no sign of any adult wolves around but they were surely nearby making sure things didn't get out of hand.
Later in the day we also saw a pair of black bears but after seeing the wolf cubs who cares about some silly bears right?