Tradition! Tradition! "That old black rum's got a hold on me!"

We made our yearly pilgrimage to the PNE on Wednesday.  People sneer at the PNE, but I think it's an extremely good value.  We paid $118 for us to get in and for the boys to ride whatever at will, and they have included all the rides in the ride pass this year, so they could go on the Hellevator or play mini-golf or whatever all for that price.  We had some food and drink and all told spent less than $200 for a family of four for a day's worth of fun and food and drink.  There is so much to do, we always run out of time.  There is something for everyone -- there was this great drum troupe playing in the street -- what energy and colour and skill they demonstrated!  There are the barns, of course, and the Superdogs and the Peking Acrobats, and this year there was a museum show about Genghis Khan (which we didn't see) and there is a concert every night included in your ticket.  That was the highlight for us -- we saw Great Big Sea and they were spectacular.  They are a great band -- very tight and talented.  It is amazing how many instruments they can all play.  They performed lots of the songs that we knew and we sang along and clapped.  My favourite was when they just sang -- no instruments.  The harmony was so beautiful.  It was a great venue -- outside and yet the sound was great.  So if you're looking for something to do -- the PNE is a great option.

(When William was little, he learned that Great Big Sea song "that old black rum. . ." and sang it heartily without knowing what it was saying.  He even sang it to his kindergarten teacher!)

Some Assembly Required

Yesterday we went to see the filming of a new tv show called "Some Assembly Required".  The premise is that a bunch of kids find themselves managing a toy company.  (I won't go into details, because the guy who warmed up the audience swore us all to secrecy.)  I have never seen a sitcom being taped so this was a fascinating experience for me.  Anthony and William found it interesting as well, but Mike was pretty much focused on how many times they had to do a take and trying to laugh with the same enthusiasm after he'd heard the same joke six times.

I am always excited and interested to see the set and this one was very colourful and attractive -- I think there were about six locations on the soundstage.  I was most impressed with the young actors and their patience and work ethic.  They listened attentively to the director and tried to do what he was asking and kept a positive attitude even though it is a very long day for them.  I don't know how old they were but they seemed mature beyond their years.

I always think this stuff is so glamourous but of course, it isn't, really.  When you see behind the scenes, all the sets are just wood and nails and Styrofoam and the people working there, crew and cast, are just regular people like you and me.  Except that maybe they've found a passion for something.  After I see this sort of thing, I always think how much more exciting it is to do a play.  You get to do the whole story at once and get a sense of your character in situ and feel like you're creating something whole and not little bits of something for which you can't really get a full sense.

I'll be really interested to see the show on tv.  We'll be listening for our laughs in episode two!

On a sad note, the great Canadian actor August Schellenberg died yesterday.  I always remember him in "North of 60", a show about a remote aboriginal community that was on the CBC in the 90's, I think.  He played King Lear at the National Arts Centre a couple of years ago -- now that would have been an amazing show to see.

Living Light

Have you ever heard of the phenomenon called "bioluminescence"?  Certain animals, particularly marine animals, produce their own light!  (Most of us have seen fireflies - they do it, too.)  The boys and I just returned from a few wonderful days on Hardy Island with some friends and we were able to witness this first hand.  As night fell, our host told us we should go down to the dock to see something amazing and he was absolutely right.  The shiny black sea was very still most of the time we were there, and the air was warm and it is far enough away from the hustle and bustle that it is beautifully quiet.  We dipped our hands in the water . . . and the water and our hands glowed.  Doug and Sam jumped in and swam and they literally shone with a green otherworldly light!  When you swept your hand through the water, you left a trail of sparkles.  Even the little black mussels who cling to the edge of the dock seemed to be sparkling.  It was like the stars weren't just in the sky -- they were in the water as well.  It's impossible for someone who isn't a poet to give you any idea how magical and amazing this is.  You have to experience it.  I can't explain exactly what is happening, but my understanding is that it is a chemical reaction produced by some small creatures (plankton) when they are excited or stimulated by movement (like our hands moving the water around).  It doesn't happen in fresh water - only in the sea.

I guess all the beautiful moon jellies we saw in Monterey are experts on bioluminescence -- because they were glowing with blue light, but the amazing thing about what we saw at Hardy was that we felt like we were part of the magic.

Nature always has a surprise for you -- just when you think you've seen it all.   You can't be cynical if you spend time in the natural world.  Even the smallest creature is a marvel.  One of the most memorable sights from our trip to the San Diego Zoo wasn't the big animals but a terrarium of dung beetles.  There they were working diligently with their choice material, all of them busily crawling about with what appeared to be purpose.  William and I noticed two especially determined beetles with what was to them a huge ball of dung.  They were trying to lift it from one level to another.  They would just get it to the edge of the shelf and it would roll off and defeat them.  After several abortive tries, they stopped and seemed to be giving up.  They just stood there motionless with the ball of dung between them.  But after a short rest, back they went to their task.  Finally their determined effort paid off and they achieved success.  Neither William nor I could see why it was important for them to get the dung onto that shelf, but who are we to question the motive of such resolute souls?