Barn alleyway of my mind.....

Word Searches are back at Winchester Family Business

2011-03-11T20:08:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know I have been absent from this blog for way to long. AND it's been ages since I made any new word searches to help pass the "hellatus's" of my favourite show and yours, Supernatural!

But, the word searches are back. One featuring the Impala has just been posted on www.thewinchesterfamilybusiness.com so please wander on over and check it out!

All is calm on the BC coast

2011-03-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

So it looks like the waves didn't come and all is good on the West Coast again.

The big shake and the big wave

2011-03-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

First, love and concern going out to the people of Japan in this trying time. I don't personally know anyone in Japan, but I know quite a few people here who have friends and family in Japan and my sympathy goes out to them.

Next, for any one who is wondering how the west coast of BC is doing. As I listened to the news on the radio this morning, getting ready for work, there was an inteview with a fisherman from Port Renfrew (one of the coastal towns on Tsunami Advisory) he said he had see the water level rise by about a foot, and he had seen exaggerated wave motion, however, we have not see or heard any other news reports since then. It's now 10:50 am and I would hope that means that nothing bigger is coming down the pipe.

I will try to post if any more news comes out.

Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2010 - Day 2

2010-09-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 28

OK, another lesson learned. If you are only going to get 4 hours of sleeps (well, not quite but close) then there is a definite advantage to staying in the same hotel as the event. Fredric Lehne’s panel started at 9:25am. I missed the first 2 minutes. Sigh.

When I sat down Fredric was asking who had attended Jason Manns’ concert the previous night. He told us that Los Dos Diablos was his idea. He called Richard Speight and suggested it to him, to see if he would be interested because, he wasn’t going to tote his guitar on the plane unless he needed to (and I totally get that, why bring extra baggage if you don’t have to) and thus the musical interlude was planned.

So what happens? To Fredric’s dismay, a few minutes into their song the G string of his guitar breaks. It was enough to totally throw him off track. He said, while he was desperately trying to figure out in his head, how to migrate from G to the next note – he missed a complete verse of the song. I don’t think any of us in the audience were any wiser, but he said he was so embarrassed. (It’s OK Fred, we thought you were great).

What that did, however, was allow him to talk about how his “G-String” broke on stage. One poor soul got up to ask a question but also felt compelled to explain that g-string was also what folks called a certain type of underwear. I guess they just couldn’t tell that we all knew that already and was the reason why we were laughing so hard. Hee hee, no harm done.

Next up was Rob Benedict. I don’t know if it is just the way Rob is, or if he was putting a bit of “Chuck” into his Q&A, but he has the same sort of vibe. Which surprised me a bit, really, because being in a band, you would think he is used to performing in front of a crowd. Although, in his defence, I’m sure a crowd to listen to music is NOTHING like the Supernatural Fandom. GRIN. He talked about the episode "The Real Ghostbusters" and how they ran all those lines at the end and that, I believe he said, they were all written by Eric Kripke. None were ad libbed by him (but I could be remembering wrong, so don't quote me).

He also said (and I believe he mentioned this at another con, or in an interview) that he was more nervous doing the fake convention for the episode than he was coming to the real conventions.

Of course, he was asked about the whole Chuck/God thing. He said it was kind of funny because he didn't really get it from the script, but when he got to Vancouver to shoot the episode, the crew were all like, "so, your God huh." which kind of took him by surprise. However, he really likes how Kripke left it ambiguous.

Now we come to Matt Cohen’s second Q&A of the weekend. I was very happy that he had signed up to do two panels (he also did two autograph sessions). You know, it’s hard to talk about the folks involved in making Supernatural, whether you are talking about the stars or the crew, everyone is just so nice, and sweet, and genuine, and funny. I am starting to sound like a broken record. But it’s true and Matt is no exception. He joked about how he figured Jared’s workout routine obviously wasn’t working cause he was in much better shape.

He also talked about how he is more of a method actor. Having to actually live some things to understand them enough to be able to act them. He said how grateful he was to the fandom and how he loves the conventions because we happily gave him so much energy to work with. It was all so positive and fun.

CLIF!!!! Clif Kosterman came to talk to us! How cool is that. Tiny from Folsom Prison Blues and Jared and Jensen’s bodyguard and overall security dude. What a treat to have him here. He talked about how he got into the business, starting off as a teamster driving trucks, and the process he went through to be qualified to do security and just what he did to get himself known/recognized in the area. He actually auditioned for the role of Tiny, which happened before he became the boy’s bodyguard.

Part way through Clif’s panel, there was an unexpected special guest with a question for Clif. It was Misha!! They had quite the entertaining back and forth about how Misha is a much better actor and how he doesn’t need any special protection, because he’s so great. And Clif was agreeing, saying he knows but what can you do, however they boys have improved. All very funny.

After Misha left, Clif was asked about Jared’s house (btw, Jared no longer owns this particular house). He did actually live with J&J when they both lived in Jared’s house and how he is literally with them 24/7 while they are in Vancouver. And then it sort of sinks in – when does this man see his family?? He did say he likes it much better when they film in Langley as he doesn’t have to get up as early, but wow. What a commitment to your job. Certainly made me appreciate what he does so much more.

The next thing for me was getting in line to get Fredric Lehne’s autograph. It was included in my gold package and, since I had no idea if I would ever get the opportunity again, I purchased it extra. It was lovely. He shook my hand and we had a lovely short little chat, then he shook my hand again. Hee!! I shook hands with the Yellow Eyed Demon! He was very nice.

So, that being said, I was late for Samantha Smith’s panel – seems like an unexpected theme for me this Con.

What an absolutely lovely woman. I really think short hair suites her so much more than long hair. However, she doesn’t really look like Mary with it short. Her panel was fun. I think it’s very cool that she’s also such a big fan of the show too. Kind of makes her “one of us” in a way. One of the questions she got asked was about playing “scary Mary” as she calls her. As an actor, she enjoyed the challenge, but it’s not her preferred way of playing the character. She really likes playing Mary as the sweet, protective mother.

She was also asked about her thoughts on the discord between Mary and John. She feels that couples have disagreements all the time and she doesn’t feel that it was any reflection on Mary and John’s relationship. Also, with the scene with Sam in the panic room, she feels the real Mary would not have said the things Dream Mary did. She would never turn her boys against one another.

I’m pretty sure someone asked her about other projects she’s working on, but I don’t think there is anything at the moment.

Up next, Misha Collins. The man does not disappoint. Who else would start of his panel with a story about how he cut his finger and would then auction off the bloody band-aid?? The money was to go towards a collection for the poor woman from the previous night. Turns out she would have to take the train home (I assumed she flew to Vancouver and could no longer fly) and collecting donations to help with the expense. So yeah for Misha helping out and in a way that is totally him.

Notice the buttons and pockets

Then, half way through his panel he realizes his jacket is on inside out. Buttons on the inside, explained why he couldn’t find the pocket. Then, he realizes that he wore it that way through the photo op and none of the fans noticed either!!! He said we let him down, here he thought we had is back and nobody noticed the tag on the outside collar!!! We were all roaring with laughter.

So, off comes the jacket and he puts is bottle of water on his chair too, then sits back in to take more questions. Couple minutes later he stands up again, for reasons I can’t remember, takes two steps and states he’s embarrassed again. The lid on the water bottle was not on tight enough and now he’s got a big wet spot on his leg (at least it was on the outside of his leg).

He talked about The Random Act and how and why he got involved (and because of the lateness of this missive, we know that he did his run and raised over $94,000 – way to go Misha!).

Then we got to meet Demore Barnes. The Archangel Raphael. This was his first convention. He made sure we knew he was a convention virgin. Laugh! Which didn’t necessarily mean much, because he got tips from Misha on what to do. And he learned them well. I swear it was like he’d been doing these things for ages. Number one tip from Misha – never really answer our questions, and try to reply with a question because it drives us crazy. Demore was a very quick learner. He was hilarious.

He danced for us. One girl was bold enough to ask if his pants were leather (which I was curious about too – they had a shine to them that made them NOT look like black denim), he asked her if she wanted to feel them (crowd oohs), she did and said, nope, they were denim. Weird.

He was asked a raft of standard convention questions, which he didn't really answer. Pranks? No. Was he "warned" about the fandom? No, but he doesn't think we are that bad. He thinks we are all great. And he capped off his Q&A by asking if he could take a picture. Which he posted on his Twitter account. Guess what, I can see myself in his photo! Hilarious!

Location, location, location – next was Rush Hamilton, Supernatural’s Location Manger. He opted not to do a slide presentation because all it would be is a bunch of shots of empty fields!! Hee!

So, we learned a bit about the process they go through for scouting locations – they take tons of photographs! If they use a real home that belongs to someone, they usually try to put everything back the way they found it, but occasionally, the owners like the change and tell them they can leave it. I believe that is what happened in the set that was Lisa Braden’s house from The Kids Are Alright.

We learned that they were shooting no more than 6 blocks away from the hotel Friday night and, he said that someone had figured out the new code they used on the location direction signs for the crew and asked if whoever took them could bring them back. Apparently they disappeared very shortly after they put them up. I also learned that Mr. Hamilton is a hard man to photograph as he rarely stands still. :) It certainly was great to have him there though. I love learning about the technical side of the show.

With the panels completed for the day, I stuck around to watch the costume parade before heading out to get supper. Very nice costumes. Folks put a lot of hard work into them. There were a couple of Castiels, but the winner was a woman (already in a wheelchair with a leg injury) who dressed up as Bobby. It was very well done.

Last event for the day for Gold patrons was the dessert party. Again, Creation made improvements. The music was a normal decibel. We were able to actually talk to the special guests when they came to our tables.

First up were Matt Cohen and Demore Barnes. Demore said that this process was kind of like a wedding, where the bride and groom go around and talk to their guests. So he asked which one of them should be the bride? Vote was by applause and Matt was the lucky (?) winner, he got to be the bride. Really, the whole thing is more like speed dating. They get about 5 minutes per table before their handlers are telling them it’s time to move on.

Someone said that Samantha and Rob had gotten delayed while signing autographs and they’d be along in a bit.

I was at a table with 2 very nice ladies from Alberta and 5 nice girls from Japan, who barely spoke and English. The one girl sitting closest to me seemed to speak English the best and she tended to do the talking for the group.

First guest to my table was Demore and he sat next to me. Cool. He was having a great time at the Con and was very grateful for having been asked and for the warm reception he got from the fans. He asked the girls if they had come all the way from Japan, which was a yes, and then, before we knew it, it was time for him to go.

After a wait, long enough for one of the Alberta ladies to say she was too tired and head back to her room, Matt came to our table. Now in the mean time, the Japanese girl next to me, asked me to essentially “do the talking” as their English was not very good. Ha, I come to this and end up with a job! One I gladly took. GRIN. And, Matt sat next to….me! Cool again. He was running on fumes. He hadn’t slept much either. He stuck around with Aldis and Katherine after the karaoke and chatted with the fans for a bit, but he was loving it even though he was very tired. Again, this special thing that is Supernatural, he was very grateful to the fans, and we were grateful to him for agreeing to be a part of the Con.

Lastly was Samantha and Robert. They opted to travel to the tables together (and the whole wedding joke was brought up again) and when they go to my table, they sat on either side of me!!! I was holding the lucky horseshoe that evening. And even though I did agree to carry the conversation, it really wasn’t necessary. Samantha and Robert asked everyone where they were from and made simple enquiries that the Japanese girls were able to answer. I know we spoke briefly about something else, but by this point I my energy was flagging having been up 20 hours the day before and was fast approaching 20 hours again this day. Then they were tapped and off to the next table and I grabbed my bag and was off to my hotel, ready to get some much needed shut eye.

Besides, I had to get up to be to breakfast with Jared and Jensen the next morning!!

Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2010 - Day 1

2010-09-03T22:28:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe a whole year has gone by and the 2nd Salute to Supernatural Vancouver Con was about to commence. I was pretty excited because there were even more guests lined up for this year’s con than last year AND we were getting some of the crew out to talk to us. This was gonna be cool, we were going to hear about “how the show is made” kind of stuff. Wicked bonus.

Friday August 27th

Sadly, I arrived late. Last year I was lucky to have received money for my birthday that I saved up for the con. This year, no such luck. So I had to try to reduce my economic foot print. Because of that, I missed Katherine Boecher’s panel all together and most of Matt Cohen’s. Part of that was because I was travelling, part was because I seemed to have gotten an incorrect schedule of events and thought no one was going on until 2:30pm. Sigh, oh well, what can you do.

However, the last couple of minutes of Matt’s panel were good. A fan asked if he had been warned about “us” fans being crazy. He said, we weren’t crazy, he was crazy and we were nothing like him. He thinks we are great fans. That got a round of applause. And then he was done. Lucky for me, Matt happened to have a second panel on Saturday so more about him later.

Next up was Aldis Hodge. He’s such a sweetheart. I think he honestly is surprised we love him so much even though, he killed Sam... But, how could we not. He’s so nice and so much fun.

He talked about Leverage and answered questions about his character from that show. Video games were brought up. He was asked what he was currently playing and discussion revolved around being a geek for a bit. Oh, and the poor boy was cold. That morning in Vancouver it was cold and raining and apparently, when he left LA it was 105 degrees F - and he didn't bring a jacket. He warmed up though.

Then, I believe this came out of a question from a fan, but I didn’t hear the asker very clearly. Aldis has a hobby – watch making. At least he’s going in that direction. He has ordered a tool kit and looks forward to learning to take apart watches then put them back together.

Just before his time was up, someone asked if he had done voice work on, I believe it was Grand Theft Auto. Please forgive me if I got the game name wrong. But, she was right. He was very pleased she had noticed. It was also a great experience for him, being someone who loves playing video games, including that one, to have a chance to voice a character.

Then he was off and Richard Speight Jr. was up next. First thing Richard did was ask who had travelled the farthest. That inspired him to hop off the stage and start wandering through the audience interviewing folks to find out how far they had travelled. When he realized there was a guy in the audience, he was surprised. “Hey! You’re a dude!?! What are you doing here?” he asked.

Then he proceeded to go on about how this guy must be a spy because guys don’t’ come to Supernatural conventions. It was all very funny. (and as an aside, there was a noticeable increase in male attendance – very cool)

And I must say, Richard is a hard man to photograph. He does NOT stand still! GRIN

So, someone asked him if he, personally, had Gabriel’s powers what would he do with them, would he pull a prank on Jared and Jensen?

He thought about it and said, yes, he would make Jared really short (and mimed patting a little kid on the head) and he would make Jensen a New York Jew because Jensen has the look and the walk and he’d like to take it away for just a little bit.

Someone asked him about how he felt doing the “porn” scene from Hammer of the Gods. After a “hell yeah”, Richard explained that as he’s not a leading man, he never gets the girl, so when the script came in, he was pleased and went and told his wife, “Honey, I get to go to Vancouver again and I get to make out with two hot chicks”. He was surprised she wasn’t as excited about it as he was. Laugh.

Last up was Jason Manns, for his Q&A (his concert was later that evening). It was kinda cute. Usually he would have a chair on stage. Which makes some sense as, I am sure, that many times he does shows, he would be sitting. However, he first brought up his lack of chair when someone asked him a question he needed to think about before answering. He talked about his music and someone asked him about a project he was involved with called Rock Slyde. Then he was asked another question that he needed to think on, and he brought up not having a chair again. Then, in rapid succession, he got a chair AND a coffee. We all got a bit of a giggle and he was very pleased.

And to cap off his Q&A, he played a couple of songs for us, which was a nice teaser for what we were in store for his concert that night. Musically anyway, but I’ll get to that later.

Next was waiting in line time for everyone. Katherine, Richard, Matt and Aldis were doing autographs. So far I was pleased with the way Creation had the schedule going.

So, I now had enough time to go to my hotel (which I opted to stay at a different hotel this year) change and eat before needing to be back for Jason’s concert. It was really nice going for a walk after sitting and standing for the afternoon.

Now, here is some advice for you folks thinking about attending next year. The hotel I stayed at was about 5 blocks away. Not far, I could walk there casually in about 10 minutes. 5 minutes if I had to hurry. The room was very clean, but with the beds it was TINY, very little room to move around. The bathroom was huge in comparison. All in all, it was nice and the bed was comfortable. HOWEVER, it was on Granville Street in the entertainment district. And my room was on the street side. The businesses on this section of Granville were either restaurants, bars or sex shops. So when I finally crawled back to the hotel at 2am after the Karaoke party, everything was in full swing in this section of town. Nice thing was there was police everywhere so I didn’t feel uncomfortable walking to my hotel, but I had to go to sleep listening to the TV to block out the street noise.

So, I would recommend not staying there if you have any trouble getting to sleep. There are lots of hotels in that area, and many closer than 5 blocks that are cheaper than the Sheraton Wall with better benefits. My hotel had free wireless internet in the rooms.

So, lesson learned for me and if anyone reading this would like a listing of the surrounding hotels; drop me a message in the comments and I’ll happily give you a reference list. OH and I did do what I mentioned last year, about food. Course I’m also on a special eating plan right now due to trying to get my blood sugar under control, but, if any of you reading this are planning on attending and are driving and able to bring food with you. Or you are arriving and staying at a hotel that has a kitchenette, I highly recommend going to the grocery store and getting your own food. I found eating my own meals that I brought with me really helped me stay energized. And it cost a lot less to eat that weekend.

So, travel advice section over. On to Jason Manns’ concert.

I discovered Jason’s music part way through Season 3 when I saw some posts about “Jensen Ackles sings”. Of course I had to investigate and found Crazy Love that the two of them did. One thing led to another and now I think I have every CD he’s put out. As much as I enjoyed Steve Carlson, I was very disappointed that Jason wasn’t at last year’s Con.

So, I was very excited to see his name on the event schedule.

He did not disappoint me. He was so much better live. He has a wonderful voice and I could just listen to him for hours. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

So Jason comes out on stage with a drink in his hand. He says, “so you might notice something missing – my guitar.” He told us a story about a musician who was here, and he needed to borrow his guitar and there was another musician as well and they were called Los Dos Diablos (the two Devils), or something to that effect and they wanted to play for us.

And who comes out on stage but Fredric Lehne and Richard Speight Jr. Sadly I don’t remember the song they played, but Fredric had some changed lyrics he used that were Supernatural oriented.

Also, the G string of his guitar broke, which we found out in his Q&A the next day, that that really threw him off. I’m sure the rest of us didn’t notice, we were too busy laughing and enjoying their surprise appearance. And if he tries to deny it, don’t believe Richard. He can sing well.

That wasn’t the end of the surprises for this show though. Unfortunately, about half way though Jason’s set, a woman tried to get out of her seat and leave the room. She only made it out to the middle isle before she collapsed on the floor, in pain and having trouble breathing.

There were three nurses in attendance that rushed up and helped the woman stay calm and looked after her until the paramedic arrived. Good news was she got onto the gurney herself after they helped her sit up and we heard the next day that she was doing well in hospital.

Our unexpected intermission over, Jason carried on with a now shortened set list. The mood picked up again and we all enjoyed the rest of the set.

Next up was Karaoke. Now, last year they had it set up in a room where folks could drink, but it was a tiny closet of a space. I took one look and said forget it. I think folks might have complained to Creation because they set it up in the Grand Ballroom (where Jason just performed and the Q&A take place as well). No alcohol was allowed but that didn’t seem to deter folks. I still didn’t think I would hang around to listen, but I was in line to get Jason’s autograph, so I was going to get to listen whether I wanted to or not! Laugh.

So Matt, Aldis, Richard and Katherine all came out to participate. I am so glad I was there because it was an absolute laugh riot. While folks sang (some good, some not) the four of them either acted out the song or did backup dancing or sang and did those other things as well. I laughed so hard I cried.

It was an excellent end to the first day of the convention. Stay tuned for day 2.

Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2010 - Report Coming

2010-08-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well. I must say that this weekend was an absolute BLAST. The Salute to Supernatural Convention was bigger and better than last year. I got lots of pictures (and they were much better as I got a new camera) and thoroughly wore myself out.

I will likely repeat this in my coming reports but, I just want to say that Creation Entertainment did a great job with the pacing of this event. Last year was a bit....lumpy. I ended up missing out on getting my autograph with Jim Beaver due to needing to leave to come home.

This year, very smooth. Yes, you still end up waiting but what do you expect?

And the Con was even bigger this year. Last year Creation even said it was the biggest one with 14 guests. This year there was 16 guests. That included Clif Kosterman (he played Tiny in Folsam Prison Blues and is the boys body guard), Russ Hamilton who is the location manager and the fellow who is the art director (sorry, his name has slipped my mind).

So, as I work to pull the photos together and get my notes, look for my reports coming soon.

In Progress: Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2010

2010-08-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

I just posted this information in the general section over at the Winchester Family Business too. Just dropping by to say that the Vancouver Con is going great. I'm having a blast. Creation has made improvements to the flow of the event and it's all going very well (in my opinion anyhow). The schedule is rockin'.

I will have fullsome reports posted on my site but here are a few teasers. I am a fan of Jason Manns, so I was very happy to see that he would be in attendance for this Con. Plus, we got bonus musicians calling themselves Dos Los Diablos (I think). Turns out these two fellows were more familiar to us than we realized.

Richard Speight Jr, who is a blast, does a bit of a tour thought the audience during his panel. When he sees a guy in the audience he stops and says "Wow, there's a dude here?" and procceds to question him.

There was a suprise question asker at Clif Klosterman's panel.

And they moved the Keroke from the broom closet of a room from last year down into the main ballroom. Meant there was no alcohol, but with the stage...awesome.

Anyhow, more to come later. Now I must get back. Cheers

The Supernatural Vancouver Con 2010 is almost here!

2010-08-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Soon, soon! In a few days I'll be heading to Vancouver for the 2010 Salute to Supernatural Convention. I'm very excited. Just the other day Creation announce a pile of new guests who will be there. 16 in total!!! Including Clif - Jared and Jensen's body gaurd and the fellow who played Tiny in Folsam Prison Blues as well as Russ Hamilton, the Location Manager and John Marcynuk, Art Director and Co-Designer of Supernatural.

For the list of guests check out Creation Entertainment.

And then add to the excitement, the DVD and Soundtrack that will be coming out Sept 7th and then, our beloved show comes back on the air Sept 24!!

Woo Hoo!

Supernatural Season 5 Crossword now up

2010-08-09T09:37:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, my Supernatural Season 5 Crossword is now available for download from The Winchester Family Business.

Supernatural Season 4 Crossword is up

2010-08-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, the season 4 crossword is now posted at The Winchester Family Business.

Plus there are a couple of good articles thinking about what monsters we'd like to see in Season 6. I'm all for the Headless Horseman. What would you like to see?

Supernatural Season 6 Spoilers

2010-07-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in what is to come for Season 6, you need to head over to The Winchester Family Business and check out the interviews Alice Jester has from Comic Con.

I'm very excited - September 24 better hurry up and get here!

Superntural Wins Constellation Award

2010-07-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

Yahoo!! Supernatural has won the Constellation Award for Best Science Fiction Television Series of 2009.

Finally! Plus, I voted so I can say I helped the show get the award! WHEE!

Supernatural Season 3 Crossword now available

2010-07-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are interested, the newest crossword is up and ready for download at The Winchester Family Business.

Enjoy

Do Showrunners listen to fans?

2010-07-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

The answer is.....not really. But that is a good thing, honest!

There is a wonderful article over at The Winchester Family Business, that talks about this very subject.

I agree with her comments. I would think that, not only would the showrunners end up in the hosptial with a nervous break down if they tried to do what all the fans suggested on any particular show, but that the show would suck. First, it just isn't possible to please all of the people all of the time. So there will always be fans who are unhappy with what goes on.

Next, the showrunner and writers are professionals, and even though we fans may not like the direction, or choices they make, they know what they are doing (at least in terms of the technical side of story progression, etc). But, they are also, only human and can and do make mistakes, which I feel we should be more forgiving of (since we are talking about entertainment and not brain surgery). GRIN.

So go on over and have a read of Reality Check: Showrunners want to listen to their fans but can't. Excellet food for thought.

Cleaning up the Alleyway

2010-07-04T08:41:00.001-07:00

I'm in the process of changing the look on my page here. I want something that will have the horsey look but I also want to incorporate a bit more Supernatural into it too.

So, over the next little while you may do a bit of a double take and I change thing around.

Please have patience with me, I'm still learning how these web pages work.

Season 2 Supernatural Crossword

2010-07-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

I got the next crossword done and now the Season 2 Supernatural Crossword is up at The Winchester Family Business.

So if you have an extended Canada Day long weekend, are in an Independence Day weekend, or a just trying to get through Hellatus, give it a go.

Any and all feedback is welcome.

Supernatural Season 6 coming September 24th

2010-06-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

BREAKING NEWS......

I just got this off The Winchester Family Business site...

Supernatural's Premier Date

We still have a way to go but the end is now clearly defined! September 24th here we come.

Where does the time go?

2010-06-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been some time since I posted. I know, bad me.

Honestly, I needed the break. I managed to get myself pretty burned out from my mad gauntlet of work, school and equine expo. However, I have been recuperating and keeping a pinkie toe in via The Winchester Family Business where I have been helping fellow fans pass Hellatus with Supernatural word searches and crosswords.

So as I try to get back into the groove of posting here, please wander over to The Winchester Family Business and try a puzzle or two and enjoy the wonderful articles there about our favourite show.

The Winchester Family Business gets a new look

2010-02-23T22:23:00.000-08:00

In late 2008 I discovered a site called Blog Critics and there was a woman named Alice posting the most awesome reviews of Supernatural that I had found anywhere. I inhaled all of her previous posts and then eagerly awaited the news ones that started following each new episode.

In January 2009, Alice started her own site called The Winchester Family Business where she could then add screen captures to her articles and make them as large as she liked.

Me, I have the dubious honour of being the first person to follow her to her new site and post.

But others followed. And then she started posting news bulletins when she picked up bits of info about the show. And then came articles about how the ratings worked. And more folks posts messages.

Then one day, a second author was added, who started contributing articles. And Alice was getting interview opportunities with folks like Sera Gamble, and getting press pass access at places like the San Diego Comic Con.

The ball has been rolling ever since and today, there are 10 people contributing articles to the site. As well, The Winchester Family Business teamed up with Support Supernatural and Winchester Bros to form a Supernatural Portal called The Supernatural Crossroads.

Today Alice upgraded the site using new software to allow for the growth of the The Winchester Family Business. The site looks AWESOME. What a wonderful way to celebrate a year of Supernatural fun.

Congrats Alice.

Counting down until August

2010-02-23T12:47:00.000-08:00

The Salute to Supernatural convention in Vancouver happens the end of August, so you wouldn't think I could be getting excited about it this early (especially since I bought my ticket for this year at LAST year's Con).

But, I am. The news of the early renewal for season 6 has got me all giggly about going to the Con again this year.

And so, it also reminded me that I hadn't booked my hotel yet, so in the progression to August 27th-29th weekend, I made sure I did that today. The guest line up so far is looking good. Jason Manns will be there for the musical portion of the event. Steve Carlson is very good, but Jason was the Supernatural music link I discovered first (thanks to him getting Jensen to sing with him on his Crazy Love track) and I've wanted to see him live for a couple of years now.

For anyone intersted in attending, Silver, Prefered and General tickets are still available just go to Creation Entertainment or visit the link at the bottom of my blog.

Sigh, still a month and a half to go unti new episodes.

It's Official!

2010-02-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

OK, I've been very delinquent in posting here. My apologies to those who read my posts.

However, at least I am posting most excellent, awesome news.

Supernatural has officially been renewed for a sixth season!! Yee Haw!

You can find the information here on the CW's Blog or at my favourite website for Supernatural The Winchester Family Business.

Speaking of which, The Winchester Family Business has joined with Winchester Bros and Support Supernatural to launch this very cool Supernatural portal The Crossroads. Congrats!

Supernatural Wins

2010-01-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

Finally we are seeing Supernatural get some awards for it's awesomeness.

I came across this one in my inbox. I get the regular emails from Total Sci-Fi Online and they do their own reader's choice awards. Supernatural won for Best TV Show.

Also, The Winchester Family Business posted that Supernatural won a People's Choice Award.

YEA for my (and hopefully your) favourite show.

Killing Time - Supernatural Winter Hellatus

2009-11-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

What to do when your favourite show is on a break. A wicked, nasty, evil 9 week break.

Well I spend time over at my favourite Supernatural site The Winchester Family Business chatting with my favourite group of Supernatural Fans.

And then something extra special happens. Alice Jester (owner of afore mentioned web site) askes a few of us regulars if we would like to have a couple of our questions included with her's as Sera Gamble has agreed to do another interview with her.

COOL!!

So I gave Alice a couple questions and off they went. Sera answered both of them. I'm tickled to say the least. The interview in it's entirety is good too. No major spoilers and it certainly makes one wish the winter break was almost over. I want a new episode now!

Alice also did a really nice recap of the last episode, which made me want to cry again. That episode is going to go down in my personal history as the ultimate love/hate relationship. I really, really do love that epi, but damn it's hard to watch.

Abandon All Hope - The Review

2009-11-22T00:35:00.000-08:00

First, I'd like to apologize to those who have started following my posts here. My life just got out of hand with changes at work and I had no energy to post. Things have settled and I hope to catch up on the episodes of Supernatural that I missed, plus I would like to review books that I have read. I am a fan of Urban Fantasy (and I love the SuperN tie in novels too) and I'd like to share with folks, the books I have enjoyed.

Now, for Episode 10, Abandon All Hope.

Wow, what a positive episode title. It really sets the tone for the episode right away. I was all settled in ready to watch, or so I thought. I was woefully unprepared for the emotional ride I was about to embark on.

Show opens and introduces us to a new demon - Crowley. I like him. Actually, I love that the man who summoned him was all - last time it was a gorgeous girl.... and Crowley is all deal or no deal, I'm it.

I don't think I'll ever tire of Cas trying to sound like a "modern" human. Him trying to tell Dean the deal is "going down" made me laugh.

When we get to Crowley in his house, having a drink, the last shot of him before we see Jo really gave me the sense that he is aware of what is happening. Sort of a right on schedule look crosses his face before Jo rings the bell and does her "my car is broken" bit. BTW, Alona must have been FREEZING in that dress. I am pretty sure the lovely warm weather was gone by the time she had to do that bit.

Then, we see the smile again when the lights go out. Lucifer is making his plans painfully clear which, seems like the way it should be. But I've missed the "what are you up to" of a demon like Crowley. I hope we get to see him some more this season.

Now, when Sam and Dean try to trap Crowley, this is where I'm a bit confused. Which might be the whole point but anyhow. Sam and Dean have shown us a number of times over the seasons that they are good with the old bait and switch model of devil's traps. Dean catching the crossroad demon is a perfect example. So my first impression is that the rumpled rug was on purpose and they were acting nervous as part of their plan.

But. Then they got jumped and then Crowley shot his own guys. Sure it had a twofold effect, one it emptied the Colt without it being obvious that it was empty and two, it totally threw off Sam and Dean. Are the boys that out of practice that they actually screwed that up and were lucky that Crowley actually wanted to talk to them, or did Crowley's plan just trump theirs. I keep thinking of that sly smile our new demon friend had on his face prior to this going down.

Then it is reiterated, Lucifer is NOT a demon. Uriel said the only thing that could kill an Angel is another Angel. And for some reason, when the special knife didn't do anything to Cas, at that point it occurred to me that the Colt wouldn't either, even tho I realize those two weapons are not related. As far as we know. So Crowley boldly points this out to the boys before giving them the Colt. I would have thought they would have questioned it's effectiveness against Lucifer.

Could be that the boys put so much hope in the success of the Colt that they were blind to any other option? Could be considering what their lives are like.

I loved all the looks Sam and Dean kept throwing each other in this scene.

Then, back at Bobby's. Ellen and Castiel drinking shots. Grin. There can't be many people left on the planet who wouldn't have gotten that shout out to Lord of the Rings. GRIN

The exchange between Sam and Dean, however, is a bit....off. I've read a number of reviews done by others who are miffed that the boys seem to be back together as if nothing happened. Sort of "it was a mistake but we are passed it now" kind of deal. I don't think this is really what's going on here.

I don't think this is "everything is all better now" joking. I think Dean still doesn't trust Sam and it's a jab (hidden in a playful poke). I think that Sam is trying to ignore this jabs because he really does believe the two of them need to work together and so he seems to graciously accept the ribbing. But Sam is looking at the floor before he answers. The whole scene feels a bit stiff, which I think is on purpose. I think we are supposed to think they have just plopped back to "normal" and we are going to be blindsided down the road.

I also feel that now that they have decided to work together again, that they have, perhaps unconsciously, dropped back into old habits and patterns.

On to Dean and Jo and the "last day on earth" line. That was just the most perfect shut down. I laughed. That was just beautiful. I also really liked the Santana song that was playing. It fit that scene really well.

Sigh - everything else just goes downhill from here.

Empty town, way too many creepy Reapers, Cas getting nabbed by Lucifer, and then.....Meg and the Hell Hounds. Don't get me wrong, this episode was incredibly well done and is one of my favourites because of so many elements, but, Jo getting hit with what you just know is a fatal blow, to the call Dean makes to Bobby, to the bomb and Mother choosing to stay with dying Daughter. I cried. Just thinking about it makes me cry. Maybe it's because the day my Mom died she waited for me to get home first. Which is probably why it hurts so much to watch.

The loss is devastating, but this is the Apocalypse and quite frankly, one of the things we fans love about this show is that it goes where most other shows don't. So yea, it totally sucks that Ellen and Jo are dead now but the scenario really fits with where this show is going.

I think most of us were probably surprised when Lucifer actually dropped when Dean shot him. I was surprised it actually hurt him, but I knew it wouldn't last.

I saw some comments that mentioned how people were surprised that Sam didn't call out to Dean when Lucifer flung him into a tree. But, you know, I get the feeling that since the end of Season 3 when Dean made his whole speech about not letting the demons screw them over anymore and for them to stop martyring themselves is actually coming into play here. Sam is, to me, clearly concerned about his brother, but he doesn't have to give Lucifer any more hand holds than necessary. Plus I think Sam is extremely freaked that he is Lucifer's vessel. The only thing these boys can cling on to is that for either Lucifer or Michael to take them over, they have to say Yes. Neither Angel can take their vessels by force.

Cas makes a great exit from the ring of Holy Fire. I really hope that fire didn't kill off Meg too. I enjoyed the chemistry between Cas and Meg. She pushed his buttons and he walked all over her.

I was relieved when Cas arrived to blip the boys away, but Lucifer got a sly smile in there too. He's up to something.

And then the final scene. That just got the waterworks going again. In the absence of bodies to either bury or salt and burn, what have they got - a photograph. Good bye Ellen and Jo, you will be sorely missed.

Only 8 1/2 weeks to go until a new episode. SIGH

Abandon All Hope, ye who enter here.

2009-11-19T22:54:00.000-08:00

Holy Crap.

Eric Kripke, I love you and hate you all at the same time.
****SPOILERS**** If you haven't seen "Abandon All Hope", the newest episode of Supernatural, then read no further.

I start to cry again, when I think of this episode and the events that transpired therein. But I think this was a fantastic episode. No pain, no gain as it has been said.

But to loose two.......

Ellen and Jo were two who I'd hoped could come out the other side of this whole Apocalypse deal.

Heck, loosing one of them would have been bad enough but BOTH? I feel like someone I know has just died.

Ahem. Well. So I thought I was going to cover more of this epi, but no. Maybe later.

Heaps of Supernatural Goodness

2009-09-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

This show will be the death of me, I swear. Last night's episode, "Free to be You and Me" was, in a word, AWESOME.

I should have some sort of review up soon.

Supernatural - Good God Y'all Review

2009-09-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry I’m late with the review folks – real life intervened and I’m just getting caught up.

Rocking opening sequence. They can do montages like this to open every episode if they like – these are fun!

Poor Bobby. This is not an adjustment he’ll take easily. If this is permanent, I can see Bobby getting over it but, it’s going to take a bit of time.

Wow, those are some engravings on Sam and Dean’s ribs!

The holy cell phone. Laugh. Makes sense tho, Cas effectively blocked the boys location from himself too.

God resurrected Cas? Most likely, however, there is still some questions – Cas does not know for certain if God was actually the one who saved him and put Sam and Dean on the plane. A bit of Occam’s Razor – I think God is the likely answer but, we know how Kripke likes to play with us. Could be a big surprise once we learn the truth.

But, I want to know, if it really was God who put Cas back together, why didn’t he make sure he still had his powers? SIGH, I suppose there is a lesson here for Cas (and it’s good for story telling), but I wish he could have healed Bobby. I don’t’ like him tied to that wheelchair any more than he does.

Dean’s necklace – Wow, an EMF to find God. That’s kind of cool. And it ties into what Mary always told Dean about Angels watching over him.

Hmmm, him – you know, from the way Dean tells it, it sounds like Angels were watching over HIM specifically, not the whole family, just him. I could be wrong – I’ll just have to wait and see. Maybe we’ll get more of Mary’s back story too. Did she know something else? I think the hunting life never left her as completely as she would have liked.

And then to find out the necklace Sam got from Bobby to give as a gift, originally for John….well, there is a question too, how did Bobby end up with this necklace and why didn’t he know what it did. Doesn’t that seem a bit odd? I mean, I know Bobby is not omniscient but still, he researches everything. Why would he give a necklace to Sam to give as a gift when he didn’t know what it did? Hmmm, curious.

Dean doesn’t trust Sam – I get it. I understand trust issues (and story advancement) but man, it doesn’t make it any more comfortable to watch. And I know that I would not enjoy/respect the show if this was instantly fixed but I hope some signs of repair to their relationship happens fairly soon, like in the next 2 or 3 episodes. The boys need to work together.

Sam’s powers and the demon blood. I agree with many others have said, the blood was just a tool Ruby used, Sam’s powers are still there, they are just dormant.

Killing demons in this episode – right away I noticed there was no yellow “flash” when Sam killed those two in the store. That told me something was up. A friend of mine also said she thought it was too easy for Sam. And then we learn, they weren’t demons at all. Oh dear…..

This episode made me think of Croatoan too. Kripke said they would revisit this loose end this season.

Wow, War rides a red horse – a cherry Mustang – Boss 302 perhaps? I can’t quite tell. How AWESOME. I really love that the 4 horsemen are all driving muscle cars and can’t wait to see what rides the other 3 have. I also liked the way War was played. I did think he was a little easy to overcome though. That could be an assumption on my part that War is more powerful than Samhain or Lillith. Maybe he’s not. I mean, he’s manipulative but maybe not physically powerful. Thoughts? Otherwise, I really liked War and how he was played.

Dean offered Sam the Impala – huh? What this just a show of brotherly love? Yes, Dean doesn’t trust Sam right now but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his brother anymore.

Or is there some hidden reason?

Another website asked the question “which is more important to Dean, the Impala or the necklace?” My answer is the necklace. The reason I say that is because, in Lazarus Rising, when Sam gave Dean the necklace back he seemed very relieved yet when they got out to the car and Sam said, “I suppose you are going to want to drive?” Dean said, “Oh ya, I almost forgot.”

Forgot about the Impala?

Dean has been riding in that car his entire life. John had it since before Dean was born, so she represents a certain stability and familiarity in Dean’s life that he didn’t have after his Mom was killed. Everything was always changing except for his Dad, Brother and the Impala. But people change and Dean, well Dean has changed a lot and it could be that the beloved Impala no longer represents what she once did. You could almost view the car like a parent – her children have grown up and she may need to let them go. But I hope not.

Whereas the necklace, well that item is a whole different ball of wax. Could it have properties that “fit” with Dean? There seems to be a whole back-story on the amulet itself and clearly has different meaning for Dean. I hope we get more story on this.

And a small flash back to last episode and Dean’s comment about having a GED. Some folks have complained about this, like it means Dean isn’t smart or something. Well I disagree and actually feel it fits really well with the character. Last season in After School Special we got a snapshot of what Dean thought of school. Not much. But, I will also give him the benefit of the doubt – a job could have come up and John may not have been able to get Dean to a school to do final exams. Thus Dean would have had to finish school after the fact.

Or it could be that John, obsessed with the hunt, didn’t notice Dean’s grades until it was too late and had to find alternate means for Dean to finish grade 12.

Unless Kripke opts to enlighten us on why Dean didn’t graduate when he finished Grade 12, we will have to guess, but to me, I think it’s easy to see how likely it is that their hunting life could get in the way of Dean being able to finish school on time, forcing him to go back after the fact and finish up.

Supernatural - Sympathy for the Devil

2009-09-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm not going to review this episode as much as compile my thoughts on it. This is new for me so please be gentle and let me know what you think.

First, THUNDERSTRUCK. Not only was it the song chosen for the opening montage but that is exactly how this episode made me feel. GRIN

Sam and Dean, trapped by Lucifer and then..in a plane?? One that seems to be about to crash no less. How did they get there? Lots of speculation that it was God, but, could it have been Castiel? Maybe it was Anna? Hmmm, I wonder if we'll be told.

The prophet Chunk. Poor guy is really having a bad day. You know it's not good when you find an Angel's vessel's tooth in your hair. A friend of mine brought up an interesting question tho. Why did Chuck's guardian Arch Angel toast Castiel? Cas wasn't putting Chuck in any danger - or did I miss something?

Becky - You know, I love the meta. I don't think it will ever get old for me. At least for this show because they always do stuff so well. The whole slash fic writing stuff made me a bit squirmy because I just don't think the brotherly love needs to be taken that far, but, to each his own. I loved Sam's "Um, will you stop touching me?" and Becky's "No."

Bobby - I thought it was so awesome to see him arrive with the Impala and, quite honestly, I try not to analyze the show while I'm watching it. I want to get as much of the full effect of the episode as I can. So, I was so surprised when Bobby lashed out at Sam that the fact that he was out of character totally went over my head. The exchange was heartbreaking. But then to find out he was possessed. Actually, I was like a lot of other folk - why didn't Bobby at least have an anti-possession necklace, let alone a tattoo like Sam and Dean? You wouldn't think Bobby would be the kind of hunter to let his guard down enough to get possessed. Maybe this one will get an answer too.

I really like this new Meg. I'm hoping that she comes back for her meat suit because I'd like to see this actress carry on as Meg. Where is her storyline going? We haven't seen her since Season 2 - what has she been up to?

Zachariah - Oooh, Kurt Fuller is doing an awesome job making me loath Zac. He is the ultimate jerk. Actually, it's interesting to see that Zac isn't really in touch with the "human condition" either. He allows the seals to be broken, helps set everything up (mainly by doing nothing to stop what is going on) for Sam to break the final seal. Tries to restrain Dean from going to Sam and then assumes that because his goals and Dean's goals are now the same (kill Lucifer) that Dean's gonna go - oh alright, I'll help you.?!? Talk about oblivious. He seems genuinely shocked when Dean tells him to stuff it. Guess what Zac, this is your wake up call.

Finally seeing Castiel actually, truly kick butt. Through Season 4 I always felt that Cas was either restrained in his fighting or just not good at it at all, which to me seemed kind of odd as I had gotten the impression that he was the leader of him and Uriel. Perhaps I am wrong and he and Uriel were more like partners - of equal authority on their case. Regardless, I just felt that Cas seemed to get beat up pretty easily by the demons, until now. This is more how I envisioned Cas should be. Cas was laying the smack down. All while being as cryptic as ever. Same goes here too when asked who put Cas back together the implication seems quite blatant that it's God, but, Cas doesn't know. I think perhaps it could have been Anna? Or, maybe because Cas is helping Dean, who we now know is Michael's Vessel, Michael did it?   Another question to be answered, we hope.

Speaking of Angels, I wonder where Anna is.....

Lucifer - this was great. All the dreams, seeing his wife and then the question. Now, this is what I found very interesting. Demons, who are a product of Lucifer (he made the first one), can do a hostile takeover and possess anybody not protected. Lucifer, has not become demonic. He still requires his vessel to voluntarily accept him. After all this time, he's still an angel and yet he leads the demons. Hmmm.

Michael's Sword - talk about bringing Dean more into the mythology. Holy hanna! The vessel for the Arch Angel Michael. But WOW, this also ties in back to Season 1. Dean talking about Mary and how she told him angels were watching over him. Boy were they. Talk about a cursed family.   Dean the vessel for Michael and Sam with demon blood in him.

Sam, Sam, Sam. My heart aches for you, you poor lost little boy. Now, I'm with other folks who think Sam's powers have just gone dormant, but, if you think of good story telling, your hero's have to beat the odds or we don't seem to enjoy the story as much. Right now would be a good time for Sam to lose his powers because they'd be awful useful.

And I totally get where Sam was coming from all through last Season. He wants to be the one to save the day so Dean won't have to. Dean has saved him so many times, he wants to return the favour and it's all consuming. It's like.....I'm new to playing the World of Warcraft. My friend has finally convinced me to sign up. And while I have played games like this before, when I go on a dungeon run with him and our guild, I feel like a bit of a dead weight that they have to look after. My character is not as strong, so I have to hang back to ensure I don't get killed but, it's hard on the ego. I'd love to help but don't have enough power yet. So now that Sam had given in to Ruby and actually started to use his powers, he was finally strong enough to save Dean and make Dean proud. Because from Sam's perspective, he was always the little brother in need of protecting. He never saw his contribution to the duo as being equal to Dean even though he really was.   We are never good judges of ourselves though, are we?

And Dean. Get off you high horse sweetheart. Sam wouldn't have been able to break the last seal, if you hadn't started it all by breaking the first one. Pot. Kettle. Black.

However, I also see his point of view. It's going to be hard to rebuild the trust. Sam was so focused on asking Dean to trust his judgment that he kind of stopped trusting Dean in return. No wonder Dean feels so betrayed. But, I feel that right now, Dean is hurt and angry and it's clouding his judgment where Sam is concerned and once he calms down, I think he'll see that it wasn't entirely Sam's fault, the path he was on, and will be able to start working toward mending the relationship. But it won't happen right away.

And then to end the show with the brothers apart. I want to give them both a hug and get them to make up. Sigh.

Now I'm counting down until next week.

Thanks Supernatural - now I'm Twitter-pated

2009-09-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

So thanks to the cool Feedjit app I have on my blog, I get to see where folks are coming from and how they got to my page (of all places).

I noticed a trend recently - people were coming here from Twitter. Huh?

So I checked and thanks to The Winchester Family Business and Support Supernatural "tweeting" (is that right?) about my posts about the Vancouver con, I was getting a bunch more traffic.

Thus I felt that perhaps I should set up an account. So now I'm on Twitter. For good or evil, I know not. But if you are looking for me, look for Tigershire. My icon is the same as this page (my lovely horse sticking his tongue out).

I'm sure I'll comment once tonight's episode is over (Premier Supernatural Season 5 WOO HOO - ahem).

What I'd do differently - the Vancouver Supernatural Con...

2009-09-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

So, I've been mulling over my experience at the Salute to Supernatural Convention in Vancouver. It was my first one and I really had no idea what to expect. It was also the first time I have gone to anything away from home where I didn't know a single soul. So no real base of reference aside from the odd clip from other cons I'd watched on YouTube.

First off, now that I know the area, I might not stay at the Sheraton again. Sure it's a nice hotel, but I was really disappointed that what was at least a 4 star hotel, wanted over $10 a day (all funds in this blog are in Canadian dollars - I'm a Canadian, I live in Canada - find a currency converter) for internet access in the rooms, while the Best Western down the road was offering it for free.

I was also sorry the room didn't have a balcony.

The parking was alot too - $23 a day. Ok well, in fairness, that might be the going rate in Vancouver but for the price you pay to stay, you would think they'd give you a discount or something.

As for the Con itself - I was very happy that I paid the extra for the Gold Ticket. Now, that gets you 10 autographs. At this Con they had the most guests ever for Supernatural - 14. I think if they have more than 10 next year, I'll buy the extra autograph tickets. I have no idea if I will do the photo ops but I was disappointed that I didn't get Julie McNiven and Traci Dinwiddie's autographs. And Richard Speight's too. So now that I understand how the whole thing works...

Some of the fun stuff Creation puts together, I opted not to participate in as I didn't have a lot of money to spend, however, Creation is a big supporter of the Make A Wish Foundation and they generously opted to give the money they were gathering for that organization and donated it to the BC Chapter. I think I would like to have enough money on hand to participate in a few. It goes to a good cause and I can get cool stuff. It's win win.

And that is about it. So, nothing major. My first experience was pretty darned positive. I met some wonderful people and had a good time and spent most of the weekend laughing. What could be better than that?

Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2009 - Day 3 (Part 2)

2009-09-05T02:05:00.000-07:00

**YAWN**, sorry - where was I? Oh yes....

Jared was now joining Jensen for their joint panel.

By the way, all these photos are clickable, so you can see them larger. GRIN.

There is nothing quite like these two in action if you are looking for laughter. If I had had the chance, I was going to tell them that they are good for the soul.

Now, when Jared came out he asked where the mikes were. He said he was used to that format, so, out came the mikes for live questions. Jensen pipped in saying he didn't know he could have chosen that option. That leads me to believe that in spite of the occasional inappropriate question, they really do prefer direct interaction with the fans. All the better opportunity to mess with us as well. GRIN.

They talked about Paris Hilton and her guest appearance. Jensen talked about how, with him and Jared having worked together for 4 years now, it's easier to do fight scenes because they just know what to expect from each other. However, Paris was supposed to throw 6 punches at Dean. There was at least one near miss. chuckle...

Couple of things got repeated in this panel as from breakfast - like Jared telling us about his stunt double, and how he's getting married in a week but while he was shooting took a hit to the nose/face and now he's got major raccoon eyes. Apparently exactly what ever stunt guy wants for his wedding photos.

As the panel progressed I thought, wow, this worked really well and then the final question was asked. Someone asked Jared if he supported PETA. The whole energy in the room changed. You could tell that Jared was asking himself, should I or shouldn't I. He answered the question Yes. This prompted the woman who asked to carry on explaining that PETA supposedly has a 97% euthanasia rate (I say supposedly because I don't know myself, but this is what she was saying). Jensen was awesome, trying to make lite of it all joking that he liked it with hummus (PETA, pita, the bread....you get it). Jared however gave her a BEAUTIFUL answer. He said it's not about the company, because people's experiences with a company are all individual - what it's really about it raising awareness of the plight of animals because they can't speak for themselves. I'm pretty sure we gave Jared a standing ovation for that one. Jensen even said to him, "Good answer Jared." and then made another crack about liking roasted red pepper hummus.

Then they were away to do the autograph sessions. Now I have to back track a little bit here. The ladies who have the Support Supernatural web page had been running a fan campaign to hopefully raise $10,000 to donate to "A Dog's Life" rescue which is a charity that Jared publicly supports. They did better than the goal, going on to raise a total of $12,000.

I donated.

More than once actually but my first donation was the special one. I won a prize through that donation. The Dean Winchester "Windego" Minibust.

That is what I brought for Jensen to sign.

Really, I spent a long time trying to decide what to have folks autograph. I wanted it to mean something to me personally, and the idea of buying individual photos at the event just didn't do it for me. So, I was armed with the minibust for Jensen to sign and I thought perhaps I would have everyone else sign my copy of John Winchester's Journal.

I thought that until I walked into the Vendor's area and saw this picture. So the book went away and I got this picture signed instead.

Except for Jim Beaver, but I'll explain that a bit later. So while J&J were still signing, Richard Speight Jr. came out to talk to the rest of us.

He is a ton of fun. And he got to drop a pretty big spoiler bomb on us (this is a warning for you folks who want to remain spoiler free).

When someone asked him if the Trickster would ever be coming back, he paused, looked out over all of us and then said very calmly.....YES.

The cheers that broke out in that room coulda brought the roof down. Do the fans like the Trickster? Yes, yes they do.

He poked a bit of fun at the boys while they were autographing. Someone asked if he'd relate the story of encountering Jared's dogs again for folks new to conventions that might not know it and generally kept us chuckling the whole time he was onstage.

Then it was Jim Beaver's turn. He came out on stage dressed like Castiel. We roared with laughter. He said that he understood this was how you had to dress if you wanted to get women. Someone shouted out that we love him just the way he is, so on that note, off came the trench coat and tie, and then he unbuttoned and untucked the shirt.

In taking his questions, he talked about doing Harper's Island, his daughter Maddie and the fact that due to family obligations, he had to turn down the opportunity to officially become a series regular. As much as he would have loved to take the increase in pay that comes with being a regular, sometimes it's not about the money. I don't think that'll impact how much we see of Uncle Bobby though.

Then it was time for Jim's photo ops - Uh Oh. It was already 6:30 now and I had a ferry to catch to get home. It was going to be busy too I knew because the AC/DC concert had been Saturday night and you'd have all those folks to stayed in Vancouver for the day going home too. That meant I'd have to miss out on getting my autograph from him! But, wait....good news. One of the lovely ladies I met offered to take my Gold Pass card and get it signed for me and then mail it to me once she got home (to Winnipeg). She just emailed me the other day to show me the card. Turns out Jim took the time to personalize everything he signed because he could. YEA. I"ll post a pic of the card once it arrives. So, Supernatural Fans are the BEST.

So off I went, piled into my vehicle, turned on my GPS and hightailed it out of the hotel parking garage. I had no idea how long it would take me to get to the ferry. I had a reservation on the 9pm sailing. Turns out that was a very good thing. After chatting with my friend and passing her my gold badge for Jim to sign, it was 7pm by the time I got on the road. Thanks to the GPS, I safely and quickly navigated out of the downtown area and got to the ferry terminal by 7:45 - which might have gotten me on the 8pm sailing if it hadn't been full. I would not have gotten on the 9pm sailing either if I hadn't reserved as it was full already too. The 10pm was already 62% full too.

So, I grabbed a snack and waited to board. The sunset was lovely. It was a nice conclusion to an amazing weekend.

I had fun. I learned a lot and have a few things I'll do different next year but all it all it was a very positive and fun experience.

Hope you enjoyed reading my account of the weekend. Please feel free to leave comments and ask questions.

Thanks for reading.

Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2009 - Day 3 (Part 1)

2009-09-04T01:06:00.000-07:00

Drug resistances are interesting things. I have them and it means that when I'm really, really tired but want to get up and attend something while at the same time, I want to stay in bed - coffee does NOT help. Actually, caffeine doesn't help. Doesn't do a darned thing.

So as excited as I was (and hungry) to attend the Breakfast with J&J&J it was till a bit of a slog to get down there on time. Laugh

I had another wonderful seat. My table was one behind one of the "reserved" tables which meant I had an excellent view. Breakfast was what I would consider pretty standard fare, although I would have thought the Delta Wall would have provided a BIT more variety, like sausage AND bacon instead of just sausage. Hashbrowns would have been nice too....Oh, I shouldn't complain, it was tasty and really, it could have been mud and it wouldn't have matter as it was Jared and Jensen we had crawled out of bed to see.

First thing that got folks giggling was noticing the height difference between Jensen and Jared's mikes.

We were only allowed to take pictures for a couple of minutes when they came in and got settled.

That was when we realized there was no mike for Jim!!!

Needless to say, they all played that up quite a bit. The boys asked Jim questions and he pretended to answer into a pen. When the mike for him finally arrived, someone asked Jim what his t-shirt said. He said, it's all Greek to me (the shirt has something written on it in Greek). Jared, wonderful, no filter Jared, turns to him, looks at his shirt and says, so what is that Spanish? Jensen just closed his eyes and shook his head.

Well all keeled over laughing.

One of the volunteers came in early on with coffee for Jensen and Jared but none for poor Jim. However, somewhere along the way, either Jensen or Jim pulled a fast one on Jared and put a bit of gum over the sipping hole on the lid of his coffee. When Jared noticed and tried to pull it off, it was hot and sticky from the heat and steam of the coffee so it pulled up from the lid like spaghetti. Jared's comment was "I wondered why it tasted minty." Then, Jared puts the tissue with the gum in it on Jim's lap. Someone from the audience shouts at him "eBay - sell it on eBay." Jim replies, heck with eBay, who'll give me $500 for it right now?

To the left of the J's (meaning on their left) the wall on that side of the room is all glass and looks out over a small balcony with lots of plants, etc and Jared comments on it being a nice "faux" balcony. Jensen informs him that it's a REAL balcony, not a painted set backdrop. The two of them.....there are not words to describe how good these two are together. Acting or just goofing off they are perfect. I haven't laughed this much for so long in ages.

Jared let us know that one of the sets they used was a leftover from when the Watchmen movie was in town. That's very cool and I look forward to seeing the episode.

So I think only 2 questions got asked overall. We were all just laughing ourselves silly at the antics and banter of these three. They just kind of ran amok. It was great.

There was a huge chunk of time to kill before Jared's solo panel scheduled for noon. I used that time to get myself all checked out of my room and my vehicle all packed up. I knew I'd be on the clock to catch the ferry home so I wanted to be able to focus on the panels and then cut and run.

So, as I'm wandering back and forth between towers, getting all squared away and signed out at the hotel I see this parked out front. It is a Lamborghini Advance. Looks good in orange.

Time was getting close - I needed to get back in the ballroom for Jared's panel. But then photo ops took longer than anticipated. No Jared panel. :(

However, Jensen was on time. I'm sure he'd love to add that to his ammunition that he's always waiting for Jared. Grin.

One of the questions Jensen got asked was, essentially, did he have any other actors in specific he'd like to work with. He took it as an opportunity to embarrass his girlfriend who was in attendance. He went on and on about how wonderful she was and how he'd love to work with her. The he said, "Right honey?" And then turned back to us and said, "She's red."

Thanks to the Creation "moderation" system of questions, everything for Jensen was good.

We didn't get umpteen zillion requests for him to do the Blue Steel face for which I am grateful. It was fun when it was first done but hopefully it's been put to bed.

However, he did get asked about which death of his was his favourite and we got a cool story out of that. He said his favourite Dean Death was actually the car crash at the end of Season 1. Turns out, the way the scene was supposed to go was the car was supposed to flip over and roll but when the shots went off that would have launched the car onto it's roof and the truck was supposed to keep on driving by, instead the car came up under the front of the truck and got stuck. Personally I think what happened worked the best.

Then it was time for Jared to join Jensen. But it's 1 am and I need to go to sleep because I have to work tomorrow. I still have Richard Speight Jr and Jim Beaver to cover off as well so, I'll bid you all a good night and finish this later...

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2009 - Day 2

2009-09-03T00:54:00.000-07:00

A king size bed, all to myself. I learned how to
SPRAWL. It was nice. Besides, I was on vacation! I had a pretty good view from my hotel room (9th floor).

I meant to get a photo of this church at night because they lite up their stained glass window and it was gorgeous. And, for some weird reason - because I know this doesn't look at all like the church from I Know What You Did Last Summer - I think of that episode every time I look at this church.

Saturday - things got underway a bit sooner. After a couple of really good fan made music videos Aldis Hodge joined us.

Aldis was very funny. He has a girlfriend and he called her cell phone and had all of us shout hello to her when it started recording the message. I wonder what 1000 people shouting hello at you sounds like on voice mail?

He also has a facebook page and is on twitter. He's a geek just like us!!!!

He talked a bit about his work on Leverage. I don't watch a lot of television myself. I only have a very few shows I keep track of and this one had slipped by me, but you know - I'm going to check it out.

After some more music videos (and man, most of these were really, really good) Jake Abel came on.

He was wonderful. Didn't seem at all nervous even though he was very aware that his character not eagerly anticipated. A very charming young man, he told us about the make up process for when Dean finds Adam in the coffin. He said he took a picture and emailed it to his mother who informed him he should never, ever do that again. He also talked about studying Jensen in particular for the role of Adam and did some very good impressions of Jensen as Dean. He had us all laughing and eating out of his hand by the time his bit was up. I definitely was sorry his character didn't get to hang around for a bit.

When I got to get my autograph from him, they were no longer allowing personalization (but, since my name was on the picture I was having signed, some folks personalized anyway) I commented to him that it was my first convention too. So, he signed "Hooray for first conventions". Cool.

Next up was Steve Carlson. It was interesting to hear the story about how he and Jensen met. And, now that I know Jensen sings on one of Steve's albums, I'm going to have to search that one out and get it. Jensen may not think his singing voice is worth listening to but if that boy put out an album, I'd buy it. Steve has a great voice too. I'll likely be getting more than one of his albums.

Next Up - The Ghostfacers! Yahoo!

AJ Buckley and Travis Wester are HILARIOUS.

Quite frankly it was hard to get a decent picture of them too. Travis has itchy feet and couldn't sit still. He had to stand and move around. And since I have a poor old slow digital camera, I think only one of my pictures isn't fuzzy somewhere in the shot. These two have chemistry almost as good as Jared and Jensen. They play off each other so well.

About half way through their time, Travis said "oh well this will be on YouTube, right? And promptly got informed we were not supposed to be recording them. Then he pointed to the camera that was in use to put them up on the big screens and said, oh well your taping this right? So when they found out they were up on the big screen the both wandered down and had a good time with AJ and Travis to infinity.

These two were also supremely entertaining at the Dessert Party later that night, but more about that later.

Before they left the stage, they left a card and a picture with one of the fans, to give to Jared and Jensen on Sunday. I won't say any more about it until I cover off J&J's bit on stage. So, when I got into the autographs, Travis was one who personalized even though he didn't have to and I actually got to have a small conversation with AJ. He's from Vancouver and when he was signing my item, he asked where I was from. Of course he knows Victoria and he told me he lived on Bowen Island for a few years as a child. I've been there myself once.

Then we had an intermission and no minimum bid auction to help pass the time until Misha came out.

Here is another fellow I found hard to photograph as he has a tendency to move more than my camera can compensate for.

As much as I enjoyed listening to Misha, there was a lot of "inside joke" stuff that was slipping past me. I gather that Misha is on twitter and joked while he was at the Asylum 3 con in England that he was kidnapped and held hostage by the Queen. I could be wrong but I'm gather that was what was going on there. Well it looks like he sent out orders to Misha's Minions prior to his time on stage here, as there was some thing about eggs and black construction paper. Eventually he asked for everyone who got an egg to send it forward to the stage. About 3 dozen eggs of all walks of life showed up. Real raw eggs, plastic ones, chocolate ones, soft squishy squeezable ones. It was very weird.

Oh, and he bucked authority. When he came on stage he said, no written questions - get a mike and he would take live questions from the audience. This made folks cheer. He went on to say he caused all sorts of trouble back stage insisting on taking live questions. Probably a very good thing he didn't end up staying at the White House.

Once Misha was done, then the autographing session took place and then we had a couple hours to get supper before the Dessert Part for Gold Weekend passholders. Dessert was make your own ice cream sundae. So while folks got their ice cream, table by table, they did the Supernatural Centerpiece contest. A lady from Winnipeg who was at my table had created a very nice one that had Dean from Lazarus Rising coming up out of his grave. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera to this so didn't get a photo of it but it was very well done. She wasn't the winner but she got a couple of SuperN mugs as a consolation prize which was still pretty nice.

So our special guest were Jake Abel, who I could barely hear because they were doing something and talking on the mike so he was totally drowned out; Misha Collins, who we had a nice but way to short conversation with about where everyone was from - we discovered that everyone at our table was a first timer to a convention; Richard Speight Jr. who seemed to be taken away from us just as we started to chat; and AJ and Travis who were so very funny. Travis was singing along with "Don't Stop Believing" that the DJ was playing. Jim Beaver was a surprise guest but since he wasn't officially supposed to be there, he only visited a couple of tables. HOWEVER, he did get up on the dance floor and cut a bit of a rug before heading out.

It was a LONG day, so I didn't hang around for any dancing. I"m not big on crowds anyhow so it really starts to wear on me after a while, even when I am having fun, but once the celebs left, I opted to go and get some shut eye. After all, I had to be up to come have breakfast with Jared, Jensen and Jim!

Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2009 - Day 1

2009-09-01T22:43:00.001-07:00

Friday, August 28th, Vancouver, BC Canada - 1st Salute to Supernatural Convention held in Vancouver.

WELCOME.

Well, I think I felt welcome. To be quite frank, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. This was a pretty big deal for me. I've never attended anything or traveled anywhere, where I wasn't going to someone. There was always a familiar face waiting for me at my destination. So, even though Vancouver is not far from my home, and I have traveled there many times in my life, this was the first time I was going to an event (attended by 1200 people no less)where I knew NO ONE. But strangely enough I didn't feel intimidated in the least. Curious.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I actually traveled to Vancouver on the Thursday and did the advance check in (so glad I did).

Friday started off with Gabriel Tigerman (aka Andy) and his red shoes.
He was a delight. I thoroughly enjoyed his panel. He made a funny crack about how his friend now calls him Dorothy because of his red shoes. Hee Hee.

A note of interest here, btw. Creation had a new format for folks to have their questions asked. Due to inappropriate questions from the past (and I gather they were starting to come more frequently) boxes were set up with lots of paper and you could write your questions down and then the host would moderate by picking which questions to ask.

I actually feel that this was a very good solution as your name was announced as well as where you were sitting, so you could stand up and whichever actor was on stage, could see you.

Also, a bit of a surprise for me was the fact that video and audio taping are NOT allowed. We could take all the stills we wanted but no recording.

So, next was a trio of Supernatural ladies - Alona Tal, Julie McNiven and Traci Dinwiddie.
These three knew how to tell good stories too and were very funny and lively. Traci talked a bit about her upcoming projects including performing as Pasty Cline in a stage production. Julie mentioned she had wrapped this season of Mad Men and, she is of course, recurring on Supernatural and I cannot remember what else Alona is doing, but most of us know she's back along with Samantha Ferris (Ellen Harvelle) for at least one Supernatural episode this season.

Then we had the first round of autographs with Aldis Hodge (his panel wasn't until Saturday tho), Alona Tal and Gabe Tigerman (the other ladies were extras I would have had to pay for if I wanted them). This was the laid back day out of the three and I actually had a chance to sort of speak to each of them as I went through. All of them very gracious.

That night was Steve Carlson's concert which I attended and enjoyed very much. I had not heard his music before so it was a nice way to get introduced to his sound.

Finally, the surprise special event was Karaoke in which Alona, Julie, Traci and Gabe were all attending. I went up to see where they were doing this and the room was SMALL and the music was LOUD and I said, forget it. Not my scene. Besides, I was tired and so I opted to just head back to my room and get some sleep.

Any of you who've been to a convention like this before know that they play the music videos and run trivia contests and have charity auctions while folks wait to go through photo ops, etc and all of that was fun too. Some of the fan made music videos are just amazing.

However, by the end of the day, I did feel welcome. I had met a couple of interesting people, discovered that seeing the actors live reinforced to me that they are real people and not icons to be put on a pedestal, and any lingering anxiety I had about meeting these folks just flew right out the window. Somewhere in that day I found some self confidence I had been lacking before and just became comfortable with the whole deal. Who'da thunk it?

Oh and I did I mention I had an AWESOME seat? No? Well I did. Centre stage was an isle - I was four rows back from centre stage on the isle. I was about 20 or so feet away. It was PERFECT and thus, the reason why I opted to get next year's ticket already. WHEEEEE

Lots and lots of notes

2009-08-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I'm doing pretty good with this whole convention thing. I've been taking notes and lots of pictures. I have a really good seat. I'm centre stage, 4 rows back. It's perfect. GRIN

So, the hotel has had trouble with it's internet so I didn't get to post at all yesterday so any catch up will happen when I get home.

Today we had Aldis Hodge, Jake Abel, Steve Carlson, The Ghostfacers AJ Buckley and Travis Wester and Misha Collins.

All of them very funny gentlemen. Jake was wonderful as this was his first convention too. So he has now been officially welcomed into the Supernatural family.

AJ and Travis - holy hilarious. Those two play off each other so well.

And Misha - well, he is quite the character. And that is all I'm going to say about him for now. That and eggs. If you want to know about eggs you need to find a Misha's Minions site and see what you can find out about eggs and black construction paper. There was something of an inside joke going on and I'm going have to research it.

That's all you get for now folks - autograph session coming up in a few minutes. Cheers

Tag and Release

2009-08-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

I've been processed. GRIN. I have my lovely gold wristband on and my lanyard with my gold pass is safely in my room. I stood in line for about an hour and a half at the ADVANCE registration, but it's worth it. I'm now free to roam about.

I guess the response to the Con being held in Vancouver has been good enough that they have already got the date AND Jared's attendance confirmed for next year. I now have to seriously mull over the idea of buying next year's ticket now. Oooh boy.

But, so far the experience has been a good one. I bought a GPS and really enjoy it. I did a side trip out to Langley to look at horsie stuff (not that you care, as if you are reading you are interesting in what I have to say about Supernatural, but I got a hoof knife and a pair of nippers) that was about an hour or so away from Vancouver but then just pressed a couple of buttons and it led me nicely (via a route I have only taken a couple of times and not for many, many years) right to the hotel in downtown Vancouver. If you are traveling by car, I highly recommend GPS over a map book.

I did have one minor hiccup starting off this adventure. I went looking for my suitcase this morning. Scrounging around in the attic to find....nada. Then my poor lizard brain warmed up enough to remember that I got rid of it because the wheel was broken. CRAP.

However, a quick trip to the local Zellers (similar to Target for you non-Canadians) which was only a couple block away, and lucked out on a great deal. I did a pretty amiable job of packing my suitcase and then my vehichle before racing out to the ferry (where I squeaked onto the 1pm sailing). YEA. I made it.

Now, it's time for shut eye. Gotta be all rested up for tomorrow.

Hitting the Road...

2009-08-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm getting ready to head over to Vancouver for the Salute to Supernatural Convention.

I'm excited and nervous. I've never attended something like this by myself before. Being I'm kinda shy in situations like this - well, what is the saying...do something that scares you every day??? No problem there....

I am going to strive to take notes on what goes on. I've also never reported back on an event like this so we shall see how well I do. Lord only knows, the excitement and all could completely overload my brain. Grin.

But I'm expecting to have fun.

See you on the other side.....

A Hell of a Supernatural question....

2009-08-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

OK, I was reading an article over on The Winchester Family Business that was showing clips and covering music from Season 3. The opening montage, set to the unofficial theme song "Carry on Wayward Son" by Kansas, for the last episode No Rest For The Wicked gave me one of those lightning bolt type thoughts.

For all of Season 3 Sam is trying to save Dean from going to hell. Trying all kinds of things while Ruby slowly gets closer and closer. We find out at the end that if Sam had taken Ruby's help, he likely would have killed Lillith (because of learning to use the power of the demon blood in him) and kept Dean from Hell.

Well now we know (thanks to S4) that to free Lucifer (Ruby's goal) Dean had to break the first seal and Sam (maybe didn't HAVE to, but did) brake the last seal - by killing Lillith.

What would have happened if Sam had managed to use his mojo to kill Lillith before Dean went to Hell?????

Did that mean the 66 Seals were not necessary to release Lucifer? Or are the Winchester boys really that good, that if they had managed to kill Lillith before Dean went to hell they would have stopped ANY chance of Lucifer being freed???

In mulling this over, I suspect I've answered my own questions. Ruby, as she said herself "Um, Demon. Manipulative is kind of in the job description.", would have led Sam on about learning to use his powers and ensured he wouldn't get the chance to kill Lillith before Dean went to Hell.

Still, what if....

The hundredth time around....

2009-08-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

Well, OK I haven't watched the first three seasons of Supernatural THAT much.....at least not yet - GRIN.

I have watched them alot though and it's amazing how many times you can view something over and over and then suddenly something occurs to you.

So, I'm a regular groupie over on Alice Jester's site The Winchester Family Business and have been thoroughly enjoying all the wonderful articles there to help pass "hellatius" as well as gearing up for the Salute to Supernatural Con in Vancouver and the start of Season 5, so I started watching Season 1.....again.

Now, this thought would never have crossed my mind if it hadn't been for the Season 4 episode called Jump the Shark (you remember, the one with the third Winchester brother) and all the wonderful discussions and theories that get tossed around the posts on a site like Alice's. So it kind of prepped my mind for this thought. How the boys, or well actually I guess it was just Dean, reacted with a feeling of betrayal that John had, not only cared for another woman but that had resulted in a half brother they knew nothing about. You could almost say that John had "cheated" on Mary.

Now flash back to the Pilot. Sam and Dean finding John's motel room and getting in to see all his research - however, Sam comments that he's got salt on the floor to keep something out.

Keep something out......

Wait a second!! What if John was trying to keep the Woman in White out?!? Kripke has done some amazing tie ins from S4 all the way back to S1. In the Beginning being the prime example, but it might not be the only one. The boys certainly never worried that the WiW would go after them, right? But John, who might have been feeling guilty, feeling like he betrayed Mary's memory, Mary who he loved so much he sacrificed everything (including, to some degree the boys) for had, by this time, developed something of a relationship with Kate Milligan. Not to mention that Adam would have been around 13 years old at this point. Could it be that Constance, our Woman in White, had latched on to any guilt John had been harboring? The timing would have been right. Adam said that he finally met John when he was 12.

It certainly would work.

Course, the salt also could have been to keep the demons out since he was getting closer and closer to figuring out the whole situation with old Yellow Eyes and what happened to Mary. But the salt would have kept the WiW out too.

Curious, no?

Salute to Supernatural - Vancouver!!! 2 weeks to go

2009-08-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

So, I'm attending the Salute to Supernatural convention in Vancouver which happens in approximately 2 weeks.

I'm excited and terrified all at the same time. I splurged and got the Gold ticket. That means I get prime seating, the dessert/cocktail party and the breakfast with Jared and Jensen and Jim Beaver!

Too cool hey. I'm getting all nervous just thinking about it. And just to add to the pressure, I'm expected to report back to friends who are not able to attend. Like I'm going to be able to remember any of this. LAUGH! (I will do my best - promise)

It'll all be an amazing lead up to the Season 5 premier which will happen on Sept 10th. Whoo Hoo! Can't Wait!

I'm Done!!!

2009-08-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

School that is. I have been working towards my Equine Science Diploma over the past year and I just submitted my final paper tonight! WHEEEE.

For anyone out there looking for online horse courses, check out www.equinesciencecertificate.com

It's a program offered by the University of Guelph, one of the top rated universities.

School's out for summer......

Storm's coming....

2009-07-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

And you boys are smack in the middle of it. - Bobby Singer, Supernatural.

The buzz has started for Season 5 thanks to all the goodies revealed by Kripke and Company at the San Diego Comic Con this weekend.

The Winchester Family Business was on hand and will be reporting soon (link to that page is on my sidebar) and this link was also shared...

http://ifmagazine.com/new.asp?article=8414

And has all kinds of spoilery goodies if you are so inclined to check it out.

WHEEEE - September 10 can't come fast enough.

My heart is crushed

2009-07-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

I'm a horse nut. My profile photo should probably indicate that.

A member of my family lost one of her horses today. Two days before her horse was to return home from training and tragic and avoidable accident occurred for which the horse could not be saved. The horse was only 7.

My heart is broken and I grieve for the lost horse and the pain my relatives are going through tonight.

Good bye, big mare you are missed already.

I have a new nic-name

2009-07-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

So we got last minute order that our branch was moving floors. We should have moved today but there was way too much to clean up and we got a minor repreve until Wednesday.

However, I have been tasked with organizing everything and one of my co-workers has decided to give me a new nic-name.

She's calling me the General. GRIN.

Every little bit helps.....

2009-07-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to remind the folks to read my blog that the deadline for the current campaign by Support Supernatural for A Dog's Life Rescue is up on August 14th (because they wish to be able to make the announcement at the Salute to Supernatural convention in Vancouver at the end of August).

They are 73% there and have chances for lots of cool prizes. If you have a bit to spare, its for a great cause and 100% of your donation goes to helping the animals.

You can link directly to the donation site by clicking on the Support Supernatural banner here on my site.

"I get by with a little help from my friends." ~ Beatles

Supernatural's Impala - you ever wonder.....

2009-07-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

It has been said that the 1967 Chevy Impala is the unofficial 3rd lead in Supernatural. She's a beautiful dark beauty - black, 4 door, hardtop. But have you ever wondered what this gorgeous girl would look like in a new dress??

Last weekend I wandered out to the local fairgrounds for a huge swap and shop not realizing it was the "Vintage Car Collector's" swap and shop. Imagine my delight in seeing tons of classic cars all in one place!!!

And I came across this devilish beauty...

I cannot confirm if this is a '67 as was no one around to ask, but she's close.

Now imagine the boys saving people and hunting things in this car! I could see Demon!Sam criss crossing the US in this baby with Dean hot in pursuit in the black beauty too.

VRRRROOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Rock, Paper, Scissors – Winchester Style

2009-06-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

So as anyone who reads this blog knows, I’m a big fan of the TV show Supernatural and I’ve decided to try writing actual posts (instead of just random streams of thought) about things I notice about the show. Yea, so we’ll see how well this goes….

This is the inaugural post. Please be gentle with me.

I’m a regular reader and poster over at Alice Jester’s site The Winchester Family Business where great posts and discussions abound.

The other day while wandering through some older posts a thought crossed my mind. And even though I’d like to think it was a significant lightening bolt type thought, the reality is, it was more like walking down the street and suddenly noticing there’s a 20 story building in a lot you pass every day and thought was still empty.

Anyhoo, the reason for this post. Rock, paper, scissors. Sam and Dean use this game to settle the question of who gets to do (or gets out of doing) certain things.

The first time we see this used is in Heart from Season 2. It’s the first time Sam actually wants to stay with the pretty girl instead of letting Dean.

And what do we learn? Dean always chooses scissors. ALWAYS.

At first this just seems funny and the episode (and the series) carries on and most of us probably don’t think to hard about that scene again (except, perhaps for the funny bit in the bloopers).

Then, in Season 4, episode Jump the Shark, we have a nasty situation where one of the boys has to go down into the duct work of the house. Rock, paper, scissors is again employed as a method to figure out who gets the unpleasant job.

Or does it?

I started to think on what is actually happening when the boys are shown, in these two instances, playing this game.

Up until Heart, Dean pokes and prods Sam to “hook-up”. Sam comes close, once on his own in Hookman where he shows interest in Lori Sorrenson but Jessica’s death is still too fresh in his mind.

Then in Provenance, Dean prodded for Sam to take advantage of Sarah’s interesting in him, which, he did but Dean’s tactics changed a bit. First he teased him “Maybe you wouldn’t be so grumpy”, but then he changed and brought up Jessica; “I’m sure she would want you to be happy, right?”

I think that helped free Sam somewhat because he’s been quite resistant up to this point. At this point Sam was still reluctant to use people and is probably what kept him from jumping straight into bed with Sarah but it also allowed him to go forward and let go of Jess a little bit. Almost like having permission. And I’m sure Sarah’s “How archaic/I can make my own decisions” speech helped too.

So when we get around to Madison in Heart, Sam has moved forward enough that he challenges Dean for pretty girl sitting duty.

So if Dean has been trying to get Sam to hook up, why would he be challenging him? I think Dean was on autopilot and wasn’t thinking and Sam caught him by surprise. He just wasn’t expecting Sam to want to be with the girl. Sort of a mix of “really?” and “it’s about time” coming from Dean. Although, he wasn’t about to let Sam off after his jab about “always with the scissors” so they had to go two out of three.

You kind of get the impression that Sam doesn’t know Dean is giving him the win in though, but, he must because he chose the game. Right? And Dean agreed and he must have known what the outcome would be. So why play the game at all?

Then the game is revisited in Jump the Shark. Neither one really wants to go down into the duct work but Dean chooses this a decision maker. Why? He’s got to know he’s going to lose right?

So why even go through the motions? Why didn’t Dean just jump right down that air duct if he wanted to do it? Or if he was making sure Sam didn’t do it.

I find it curious and I don’t really have an answer. They seem to choose this when they want to guarantee the outcome.

Course I could be reading way too much into this.

Oooh, Cheesey!

2009-06-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, right now, as I type this, I have my very first batch of cheddar, or what is going to be cheddar, in my brand new cheese press.

For those of you who don't know, my mom passed on a bunch of skills to me involving food. So I know how to cook, bake, preserve/can, and now, make cheese! WHEEE.

So once the pressing is done (I have one more weight increment in the press that has to stay for 12 hours) then it'll need to cure for about a month. Cheese making is not a quick process but I"m excited to see the results!

I'll keep you posted!

Success!

2009-06-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

So, any of you who read this blog of mine know I am a big fan of the TV show Supernatural.

The fans of this show are some very cool people and two in particular have done an amazing job and running campaigns to raise funds for charities that the stars of Supernatural support. I think it's a wonderful way to show the actors how much we appreciate the efforts they go to, to help create the characters we love so much, and a worthy cause gets some much needed funds.

The current campaign is in support of A Dog's Life Rescue which Jared Padalecki officially supports. Being an animal lover myself and the fact that my horse is a rescue himself, I felt that I would like to do a bit more than just donate myself.

You will see on the right side of my blog, a banner that links to the website where you too can donate, if you so choose.

Supernatural has some of the coolest fans ever and this campaign helps prove it.

News most unexpected...

2009-05-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

So I'm a fan of both sci-fi and fantasy books and one of my favourite authors is Robert Asprin creator of the Myth Series.

I just finished his latest book, Dragon's Luck and read the "about the author" blurb at the end and was shocked to see he died a year ago (almost exactly - he died May 22, 2008 and it's May 16th today).

Not much could be found on the 'net about it except http://www.sfwa.org/news/2008/rasprin.htm.

RIP Robert Asprin - your stories will be missed. :(

Walking With Dinosaurs - Arena Spectacular

2009-05-10T22:01:00.001-07:00

Oh, I almost forgot. In the afterglow that was Star Trek, I almost forgot to say how awesome the Walking With Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular is. That is also a must see, if it's coming to your town.

The production was amazing and the dinos were excellent. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. Even tho these dinos are not "living" being in an arena with a life size, well animated T-Rex is awe inspiring and a bit unnerving.

Go see this one too!

The New Star Trek is AWESOME

2009-05-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

OH.MY.GOD.

I just finished watching the newest installment in the Star Trek franchise and DAMN. It has got to be one of the best movies I've ever seen.

All the callbacks to the original were done exceptionally well, the story was great, it was funny as hell, they picked new actors who, in my mind, are perfect and can carry on the roles of these well established characters.

Fan-freakin-tastic! This is the first time, in a long time, I have wanted to stay in the movie theater and immediately watch again. I will definitely be seeing this one in the big screen again.

The Powers That Be were looking for a way to reboot this franchise and I say they found it in spades.

Go. Watch. Now.

Please excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.

2009-05-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

Oooh, I know. I haven't posted in ages.

And I know you don't want to hear the busy excuse but really, I was kinda burned out, however, I ended up with 90% in my Equine Genetics class and the Healthy Horse (and Pet) Expo was a great success.

I also got the family's income taxes done and the company books up to date and to the accountant. So, it's not like I've been loafing around.

And now the reason for the title of this post. I just finished watching the second to last episode of this season of Supernatural. HOLY CRAP!

I kinda new this season had to end with the brothers divided but I didn't know how that was going to come about. Or how painful it would be to watch. And I mean in an emotionally painful way - the episode was fantastic even though it broke my heart.

BUT, one of the reasons I love this show so much is that, at the end of this episode, that could have been it until next season (thank god there is another season). This could have been a start to a very long and torturous summer. But it's not. We have one more episode. Although, I guess I should reserve judgement - I might not feel this way after seeing next week's season finale. GRIN

Healthy Horse (and Pet) Expo - Update....

2009-03-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

WHEEE! Virtually sold out! Vendor space that is. 19 presentations and a full house. This is going to be such a great event - if I don't run myself into the ground before it happens.

GRIN

I wish death had taken a permanent vacation.....

2009-03-13T23:42:00.001-07:00

I just watched the new episode of Supernatural called Death Takes A Holiday. It was really nice to see the dedication at the end to Kim Manners. Really nice to see that they dedicated the whole season to him. I didn't even know him and I wish he hadn't gone.

This episode made my heart hurt.

Funny how we humans like our entertainment. We love stuff that makes us feel. And when the it's done right, we feel lots.

I care so much about Sam and Dean, even though I know the don't really exist. Jared and Jensen aren't Sam and Dean. They bring elements of themselves to their portrayal of the characters and do it well enough that we believe they are real people but the cold hard truth is, Sam and Dean Winchester are fictional characters.

And I care about them so much. I don't want bad things to happen to them. I want them to be happy and have adventures. Part of me never wants the show to be over because it means that I won't get to see them do anything new (and thus I am thrilled that Supernatural was renewed for a 5th season).

My logical side finds this whole situation very curious. I keep thinking, why and how can this be? I don't have the answer.

All I know is that Sam and Dean are in trouble and part of me wants to help so bad and part of me is scared the writers are going to do nasty things to them.

This new episode, made me cry and scared the crap out of me. I can hardly wait until next week.

Full on headless chicken mode.....

2009-03-04T14:07:00.001-08:00

I must be insane. Seriously. Who voluntarily puts themselves through stuff like this? Crazy people, that's who.

Working full time, doing school part time (and not just any old thing - equine genetics, that's what) and organzing the 3rd Healthy Horse Expo and trying to get the event guide finalized so I can take it to the printer on Monday.

All this and I did the T4's for dad's business and got that squared away. And my income taxes and those of my family. And I have to get the books in order for the accountant.

I feel like my head's gonna explode and I haven't been to bed before midnight in over 2 weeks.

And I'm having fun. Thus the reason I must be insane. The Expo - it's gonna be AWESOME. I'm so excited. I also LOVE equine genetics. What a great class. So interesting. I enjoy my job too. And spring is here. I almost went for a quick ride after work yesterday ..... soon, soon it will stay light enough to ride after work.

Wheeee!!!!

Oh - and only one more week until new episodes of Supernatural. giggle

YEAH-HOO!!!!! CW renews Supernatural

2009-02-24T15:13:00.000-08:00

CW renews 'Supernatural', 'Smallville', more

http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/a147773/cw-renews-supernatural-smallville-more.html

Season 5 here we come!!!!

HEE!!

Why aren't YOU watching Supernatural?

2009-02-21T19:16:00.001-08:00

A friend and fellow Supernatural Fan found this great article. It's very good material for convincing others you know who aren't watching the show do try it out.

http://tvblog.ugo.com/index.php/tvblog/more/overlooked_and_underrated_supernatural/

SIGH, March 12th can't come fast enough.

Apparently I blinked

2009-02-20T13:58:00.001-08:00

Last night one of my neices came up and read to me. Just a little booklet she made in kindergarten about a monster who eats shapes (as opposed to the run Dick run stuff).

Where has the time gone? I could have sworn they were babies just yesterday. They are taking piano and singing lessons now too.

Pappa G - snap lots of pictures and take video when you can cause this is what you have to look forward to - the clock speeds up once they are born.

Multi-tasking fool

2009-02-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

That would be me. Man I have piled my plate high again. So, working full time, doing Equine Genetics part time, organizing the Healthy Horse Expo for March 28th, T4s, private income taxes and corporate income taxes.

My brain has melted and I still have tons of stuff to get done.

SIGH

I'm loving Equine Genetics. What amazing information. It's too cool.

The Healthy Horse Expo is shaping up to be amazing. We have a fantastic line up of presenters and a cool assortment of vendors. Should be AWESOME.

So, notations for the weird file. Today whist running to the bank on my lunch break I passed a garbage can that was on fire. I don't think I've ever seen that downtown, certainly not in the winter. Someone must have dropped a cigarette butt in the can. However, it was intereseting to note that everyone who passed it was calm and nonchallant and I saw a couple of folks empty their water bottles onto the fire to try to put it out.

Just another day in Victoria, aparently.

R.I.P. Kim Manners

2009-01-26T20:15:00.000-08:00

It has not been a very good week. First the Minister of Agriculture and Lands (my ultimate boss) dies suddenly and now this.

I feel like I've been punched in the gut. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am a huge fan of the TV show Supernatural. My fandom isn't limited to just the actors. I'm a fan of the whole show. I am so proud of the work that is done on that show by everyone involved, even though I don't know them.

Kim Manners was an executive producer and director on Supernatural. I loved every episode he did and I remember watching Jared and Jensen talk about him in the 2006 Paley Awards show. You could tell that they had a special bond. I think I feel for them the most. Kim was their favourite director and obviously a very good friend to them.

They often said how much the crew of the show was family. Love and support is winging it's way to all of them right now. They all have my sympathies. I'm grieving too.

Good bye Kim, you left too soon and are missed already. :(

Twitch, twitch

2009-01-18T00:20:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe it. Creation Entertainment announced a short while back that they would be having a Salute to Supernatural convention in Vancouver in August.

I did it. I bought myself the Gold Weekend Package and booked the hotel. I'm actually going to get to meet Jared and Jensen in person.

GAH!!! 'scues me. I need to go lie down again.

Welcome to 2009

2009-01-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

So far it's pretty darn soggy.

A short geography lesson - British Columbia (and basically the whole Pacific Northwest) is what you call a sub-tropical rainforest. Emphasis on the RAIN.

Snow for Victoria is infrequent at best. Usually we get a pattern of snow, melt, snow, melt, which, is hell to drive in because you end up with slush over ice IF it sticks around. Usually we stay warm enough that it melts and is gone leaving us with our usually wet but green Christmas.

This year has been different. We got a wallop from an Arctic front that dumped snow on us and then proceeded to stay cold enough for the snow to actually hang around for a couple weeks. We had a white Christmas and the last one was 1998 I think. It's been even longer that the whole country had a white Christmas (1971 to be exact).

But normalcy will reign (heh) supreme and sure enough - it's raining. A LOT. The newspapers are warning Vancouverites (cause they are getting it worse than us) to watch out for flooding.

Welcome to 2009, it's gonna be a wet one.

I should know better....

2008-12-17T12:19:00.000-08:00

This is Victoria after all, and we don't have the saying "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes" for nothing.

Since I last posted it went from snowing lightly, to snowing heavily, to raining, to sunny, to cloudy and right now it's overcast with no snow or rain but I'm sure that will change before I hit the publish button.

Welcome to Victoria, wear layers and a hat but be sure you are packing an umbrella and a decent sized bag for carring stuff.

OK, I spoke too soon.

2008-12-17T11:28:00.001-08:00

The temperature has dropped and the rain is rapidly turning to snow. Should be interesting.

OK, Time to breathe.

2008-12-17T11:03:00.000-08:00

I tell ya, one of these days I'm gonna learn not to put so much on my plate. But disspite that, I ended up with 90% in my Equine Bus Mgmt class. Turns out I did know a thing or two even though I felt like I was totally off base. GRIN

We got snow here. I know, I know, no sympathy from the rest of the world for poor Victoria. So folks here were totally unprepared (as usual) for the snowfall that happened on Saturday. It snowed off and on for the rest of the weekened and last night we were all prepared to get a big dump of snow on us today. They predicted up to 10cm. What they didn't expect was the cloud cover to warm us up to the point where it's pouring rain on us instead. That's actually a good thing. I have stuff I want to get done and it'll be much easier if I can drive instead of packing stuff on the bus. So most of the snow might actually be gone by tomorrow.

However, there is a huge nasty storm up in Alaska that is working it's way down here. It's expected to hit late Saturday afternoon and it's a "different animal" as the weathermen have said. To be followed by a cold front that means whatever dumps on us will be sticking around. We might have a white Christmas after all. I haven't had one of those in....well....13 year or so. Maybe longer.

Ah well, back to work. Just trying to get stuff cleaned up before I'm off next week.

More changes

2008-12-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I posted a while ago about a certain store that closed here in downtown Victoria and moved. Well it shut for good no long ago. Other places that were left over from my youth have closed down too. The local video arcade (called Jonny Z's)is gone. And a pub we used to frequent has also closed. Yes, G, Steamers is gone.

I don't know for certain if it's a sign of the current economic climate or if it's just a case that the tastes and wants of the people here have changed and these place just aren't relivant anymore.

It's kind of sad, just like it's sad that every single bar or club that I went to (not that there were many, but) all have different names and play different music.

It is likely because I am sentimental and enjoy things that remind me of good times had with friends that I miss these old places.

I guess I just need to have happy new times in whatever new comes along.

Let me....entertain you.

2008-11-15T23:17:00.000-08:00

The new James Bond flic is GOOD. Daniel Craig is a fantastic Bond. Quantum of Solace is worth seeing in the theater. Excellent action movie. I enjoyed it alot.

I am however, dying a slow death waiting for part 2 of the current episode of Supernatural. I kind of did myself in by watching the clips for next weeks episode and now whatever shred of patience I had is gone. This is going to be the longest week ever.

SIGH
**back to pacing**

Happy Day/Sad Day

2008-11-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I assume it's happy. My personal opinion is that good things are to come from Obama as President. Usually that means good things for Canada too. We are so heavily linked to our Southern neighbour.

Sad news because I just saw that Michael Critchton just died. Jurrasic Park was a movie that just blew my socks off. Special effects wise and story wise. 66 is just too young for anybody to go. Bye Michael, you'll be missed.

Please, no wearing masks in the bank

2008-10-31T22:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I went into the bank. As I'm standing in line waiting I start reading the various signage in attempt to amuse myself.

So then I see a sign posted reminding patrons that they shouldn't wear masks while using the ATM or if they come in to use the tellers.

Has society sunk so low that folks need to be reminded that walking into a bank with a scary mask on is a BAD IDEA??

I almost laughed out loud with the audacity of it all. Then I remembered the sign I saw on a bank in Florida, reminding patrons to leave their guns in their vehicles.

Obvious, obviously isn't.

Help - I'm ROFL and I can't get up.

2008-10-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Supernatural has done it again. Not only was the newest episode, Yellow Fever, fantastic and hilarious but the suprise clip at the end still has me chuckling.

Jensen Ackles is freaking amazing and I will never, ever hear Eye of the Tiger again and think of it as a song from the 80's. I laughed so hard I cried.

The story behind this whole thing is, apparently Jared (the practical joker that he is) was supposed to cue Jensen by banging on the roof of the Impala. So he just decided to see what Jensen would do if he didn't give him the cue. And that's how we got the above clip.

Thank you Jared and Jensen for being the jokers that you are.

Is it safe yet?

2008-10-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

No sooner did I get my OS validated (and nothing pisses me off more than finding out that I coulda had it done in 5 minutes by CALLING instead of waiting for the MS techs to email me back - over 3 days) then I got a nasty WORM on my system. Two days of fighting that but thankfully a system restore cleared it all up.

Then the power outage......they still don't understand what caused the cascade effect that knock out the whole of the lower island. Good thing it came back on so quickly.

But, I have Supernatural to help me forget my very frustrating computer woes. Last night's black and white episode was great. It was funny and light (for this show anyhow) and I just had a real good time watching it.

Now, back to the grind that is my week off. Only a few days left before heading back to work. :(

Dinner by candlelight......

2008-10-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a very interesting escapade last night. A HUGE power outage here on Vancouver Island. No one knows the exact cause yet but it left approximately 200,000 customers (think 3 people to a home and you are looking at around 600,000 people in the dark) looking for candles around supper time.

There were folks trapped in elevators, alarms going off, people calling the fire department because they were confusing smoking generators (that probably hadn't been used in ages) with actual fires, traffic lights down, just a recipe for disaster, right? Read Here

Not a single car accident was reported. We actually went out, not realizing the whole city was down, and were shocked at how everyone was doing 4 way stops at all the lights just like they are supposed to.

I also found it REALLY creepy. No lights on anywhere. The city was very quiet. I think it was a good thing that it happened around 5:30 when it was still light out. If it had happened later, in the dark, it might have been more of a problem.

The only real chaos it caused me was that I was trying to get my assignment finished for my online class. Nothing like being mid document when the power goes out. So even though it was back up in an hour, it crapped on my formatting, I had to redo a bunch of stuff and had to create one table from scratch again. I got it all done and submitted only and hour and a half late. I'm sure it won't be an issue. (fingers crossed)

Closer, closer......clooooser.......

2008-10-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

OK,
email - check (both outlook and gmail)
ms office - check (word, excel, etc - yea)
music player - double check, whew! I can listen to my tunes again

OS validated - ARRRRRR, not yet. But, I'm working on it.

So this means my computer is most of the way back up and running. And I am THANKFUL but it's been a head bashing process. I think a root canal might have been a more pleasurable experience.

SIGH

Tick, tick, tick

2008-10-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

First, as it seems it's pretty much what I talk about ALL the time now, the new episode of Supernatural was fantastic again. I am happy with the show and sad for the characters.

Next, I am now looking down the barrel at a week off. This is a good thing! I'm feeling a bit impatient for today to be over. I'm looking forward to finally getting my computer fixed and getting bucket loads of stuff accomplished at home.

And turkey. MMMMM, turkey. Happy Thanksgiving, btw.

< insert maniacle giggle here >

2008-10-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

As I was wandering around outside on my lunch break a city bus went by with an ad on the side for Supernatural. WHEEE.

My time saving device is wasting my time.....

2008-10-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

SIGH. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. My Windows OS has acheived new lows and I'm reformatting and reinstalling XP to try to make my PC funcitonal again.

Good thing my family has a spare laptop I can use in the mean time. Has been handy as it's taken me a week of trying stuff to figure out what is wrong and then fix it. Well, I"m still trying to fix it. I guess we shall see how this goes.

76%

SIGH

At least I'm not alone.....

2008-10-03T10:53:00.001-07:00

in my total geekdom.

I swear this season of Supernatural is gonna kill me. So far each episode has made my brain hurt. But in a good way, honest.

Last night's episode was no different. Hard hitting, fast paced, top notch acting and story. There's something, a story that actually moves along. Snail's pace story lines is why I can't watch soap operas.

This puzzle that is Supernatural is just so wonderful and fantastic that I cannot find better words to describe it. And it doesn't help that my home PC is busted. SIGH. Thankfully I still have a VCR so I can watch this new episode repeatedly while I work on fixing my computer.

And now for something completely different....

2008-10-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

well, not really. Here's a survey I snagged from MySpace....just for fun....

Name one fact about the last person who texted you? I don't do the texting thing

Do you watch The Hills? Whazzat? I guess that would be no then.

What do you currently hear right now? The clicky clack of keyboard keys

What’s your favorite thing to have on your bed? ME, cause it means I'm either sleeping (mmm nap time) or watching Supernatural (whee)

What's the last thing you ate? spinach and feta croissant

Can you sleep in jeans? Yes, really, I all need is to feel relatively safe and I can sleep anywhere, in anything.

What is something you just don’t understand? humans

Who was the last person you were in a car with? Me, myself and I

Is there someone on your mind that shouldn't be? No, but my mind should be on work and it isn't - is that close enough?

Do you care what others think about you? Since I am human, the answer is yes, but I try not to.

Do you think you'll be married in 10 years? Marriage is no longer the point

Did you have a good day? So far so good, it's not even 10 am yet

What do you look forward to in the next 4 months? Finishing my current class.

Is there a reason behind your myspace song? could be

When was the last time you laughed really hard? The other night listening to cast commentaries on my favourite TV show.

Do you like winter? Actually I do like winter, just not as much as the other 3 seasons.

Do you regret anything? Again, human, regrets go with the territory, but I try not to let them have too much of a presence in my life.

Do you enjoy late night phone conversations? Yes, actually, if we are talking about phone calls with friends, then I enjoy phone conversations anytime. But I am a bit of a night owl.

Do you like coffee? It's OK. I can live without it.

Last person you talked to? my coworkers

What mood are you in? A good one.

What color is your hair? Dark Brown

Is your hair curly or straight? Curly (thanks to my stylist at Aveda)

Who was the last person you talked to on the telephone? coworker

Do you have a best friend? You betcha - I'm sure he'll read this too. :)

Do you use smiley faces on the computer too much? see previous answer.

Have you ever changed clothes in a vehicle? Hasn't everyone at some point?

Who did you last go out to eat with? Where? Radar's Roost with my horsie buddy

Are you happy with life right now? yes

What jewelry are you currently wearing? SIGH, I am wearing my mom's wedding setting with my shiny new emerald in it. My cup runneth over.

Do you find tattoos attractive in the opposite sex? Depends on the tattoo and the guy

Could you go the rest of your life without smoking a cigarette? yes, have never smoked before and don't plan on starting EVER.

What was the last reason you went to the doctor for? Good ole annual physical, yesterday in fact. I'm all good!

Do you still talk to the person you last dated? Why would I want to do that?

Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to? Luckily, yes.

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason? Yea, I do, sort of.

Did you go out or stay in last night? Stayed in, it was a school night you know!

Does it bother you when someone lies to you? Of course, no one likes to be deceived. I can forgive though, depending on the circumstances.

Does it take a lot to make you cry? yes.

Holding hands or his arms around you? Each has its merits (although it's been so long I have forgotten the sensation)

Is eye contact awkward? depends on the situation but most times, no.

Do you believe in love at first sight? No, of course.....ooooh, is that chocolate? I'm in LOVE!

Do you say sorry first? If I'm in the wrong, I try to.

Who was the last person you cried in front of? It's been so long I couldn't tell you.

Do you ever turn off your cellphone? You betcha - it's the only way to get the voices to stop! :P

Better than chocolate.....

2008-09-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

I think, in all likelihood, I could give up chocolate as long as I got to watch Supernatural (and have my horse - grin).

Pretty amazing statement for a female to make hey?

Course, I'm an intellectual so that's part of it. I just watched Episode 4.2 "Are you there God? It's me Dean Winchester" again. 3rd time since Thursday.

This show fascinates me on so many levels. Funny, serious, great monsters and mythology, lots to look at (and I don't just mean the boys, there are lots of cool things to see in all the sets, etc), fantastic callbacks to previous episodes, great nods to Star Wars and other movies and shows....this show makes my brain happy.

Like the movies that I love and watch repeatedly, Supernatural has the same qualities plus the added benefit of being a whole lot more than a couple of hours of material.

Repeat viewing has its advantages. I found things that I didn't see the first time due to the shock of the unknown (which this show does repeatedly). Once I get over the whole "HOLY S**T" aspect of the episode, I can go back and actually WATCH it. All of the actors have levels of subtlety that involves being able to concentrate on them. Not to say that someone who likes to watch once and carry on won't like the show but really, it's designed for more thorough contemplation.

And that (as if you hadn't guessed) really....uh....floats my...boat?? For lack of a better saying. (yea, I'm wincing)

Paul Newman RIP

2008-09-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

How sad. I must go get myself a copy of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I think it's my favourite movie he was in.

Mind blowing TV

2008-09-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

Hah....hah.....holy s*%t.

Supernatural is just.....

Jensen Ackles has it right - this is the best season so far. More thought and repeat viewings of the new episode is required.

Is it 9:00pm yet?

2008-09-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

Less than 12 hours to go......

Sad I know.

Is it Thursday yet?

2008-09-24T09:13:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe I'm this impatient over a television show.....

Autumn is offically here.....

2008-09-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

I knew it was coming. The horse has been shedding his summer coat for weeks now but it was concreted for me yesterday.

As I came in to work the radio announced it was the first day of fall. Then I saw the city truck parked on the side of the road and the workers were taking down the hanging baskets of the lamp standards.

SIGH, putting them up is the sign of spring and taking them down the sign of fall. Tourist season is over for Victoria (thank goodness - working downtown is very trying during the summer) and now the city has returned to "normal".

You have been assimilated......

2008-09-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

Obsession is a curious thing. Actually, many states of mind are curious, but this one in particular because I'm experiencing it in spades lately.

So my obsession with horses is ongoing. It's been something that has happened for my whole life so I don't notice it myself anymore until someone points out the horses EVERYWHERE in my house, or the fact that I talk about them lots. GRIN, there are worse things to be obsessed with.

Currently though, I am obsessed with a TV show. Supernatural to be specific. SIGH

What is it about this show that has me hooked so completely? Yes, the actors who star in it are good looking, but I'm not the sort of person who can watch a show just for that. I am not a shallow person. I am about as far away from that as you can get (intellecutally)- to the point that I have been told that casual conversation with me has actually intimidated a few folks. I needed help picking up my jaw after I was told that. Me? Intimidate folks with my conversation? Boggles the mind.

So I dunno, why is this show different from other shows? What is it that causes this weird reaction in my brain that makes me so silly. I've watched the first 3 seasons over and over. I have a subscription to the magazine. I have joined a number of fan based web pages dedicated to the show. I have the tie-in novels and comic books and have read them all already. Plus I have the season 1 and 2 companion books with season 3 on pre-order. And the monster compendium. And I've read a bunch of fan fiction. And I'd really like to have one of the replica's of Dean's necklace. Oh and I have music that has ties to the show.

I mean, for some reason this show must cause endorphins or something to be released in my head right?

It's a mystery. Maybe one day I'll find an answer to why this show has taken up residence under my skin.

For now, I'll just amuse myself by re-watching the Season 4 premier until the new episode comes on, on Thursday. I've only watched Lazarus Rising 6 times now.

Supernatural - Lazarus Rising

2008-09-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

In the words of the dearly departed Douglas Adams, I feel like I've been hit upside the head with a slice of lemon.......wrapped round a large gold brick.

I...I...I....

I cannot pull words together to describe the episode. I just can't.

But I will definitely have to have repeat viewings. Too much to take in, in one sitting.

My eyes are still as big as saucers and my brain is still trying to process the pieces of this puzzle.

Kripke is God.

Watch out - crazed fangirl

2008-09-18T11:02:00.001-07:00

Patience is a virtue....patience is a virtue......patience is a.......mmmmmm Sam and Dean Winchester......

Huh?!?

It's gonna be hard waiting until 9 pm tonight for the season premier of Supernatural.

Sigh

Doggy Woggy

2008-09-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

And because Sourpuss asked, here is a photo of our dog who just had surgery.

I don't have a photo of him with his neck all shaved and his incision but I can get one if you want to see.

ROAR!

2008-09-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I've started working out again and I feel good. Shortly after having surgery 2 years ago, I began working out on a piece of equipment called a Power Plate. It's fantastic. Unfortunately the bloody things cost $10 grand US not including taxes and shipping so I can't buy one of my own....yet. But I have been fortunate enough to have access to one. Shortly before the Healthy Horse Expo, I had to stop because my life was in chaos and I just didn't have the energy to do it. The break has been good for me. My body really needed it. I have retained a lot of the conditioning and getting back into it has been easy.

So I worked out this morning, then proceeded to help my friend mend more fencing, move old crappy fence posts, haul bags of feed (at 20 kg each) and generally just feel strong. I love it. GRIN

Hope your Monday was good too!

Lest we forget

2008-09-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago today I stood in total shock in front of my television and watched as the second plane crashed into the twin towers in New York. Never had I witnessed anything like it before. The very thought brings tears to my eyes again.

Even being the breadth of a whole continent away, the outpouring of anger and rage slammed into me. I don't agree with the course of action taken by the terrorists but the malicious energy released by people who are feeling so desperate.....it scarred my soul.

So today we remember and some of us reflect on lessons learned from the event, but something always bothers me about today.

What about those who died at the Pentagon. It was hit too. And those folks who died in the plane crash trying to get control of the aircraft away from the terrorists.

All anyone ever talks about is the twin towers and those who died there. Everyone else is forgotten. Why? Why doesn't the media make sure EVERYONE who died is remembered?

So I will remember them and spare a moment to observe that so many were taken before they were ready. I won't say before their time because I don't really know if they were, but I am sure that everyone of the folks who died weren't planning on it.

Rest in Peace, your time here is done.

SUCCESS!!!

2008-09-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Our dog Finnigan has come out of his surgery with flying colours. Everything looks really good.

WHEW!

Waiting is the hardest.....

2008-09-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

So today one of the dogs is at the vet for surgery to remove a large cancerous tumour from his neck. The vet who is doing the surgery is very positive for a sucessful removal and no regrowth but it's hard to wait for news.

So, to anyone who reads this, if you wouldn't mind thinking sucessful surgery and healthing thoughts for our boy Finnigan (he's only 6), I'd be very grateful.

Never enough time.....

2008-09-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

So, my vacation is coming to a close. Back to work Monday and I have not gotten everything accomplished that I wanted to. I could use another week.

One of our dogs is going in for surgery on Wednesday to have a cancerous tumor removed from his neck. That has been a source of worry all week. My aunt also had surgery this week to have a piece of one of her kidney's removed. We were worried at first because the doctor was being pretty vague but the end result was not so bad and the surgery was done laprascopically so that was very good (since my aunt is in her late 70's).

Equine Business Management started on Monday - back to work and school for me. SIGH, busy busy.

Today I was up island at a gaited horse clinic. That was cool. I learned a bunch of tips that I can use with Leader. I will only be able to attend part of tomorrow's session but all in all, definitely worth my $20 auditor fee.

Oh, Monday is also going to see me back using the powerplate for working out. At least for a short while. Looks like the place is planning on selling them so I'll get in the sessions I can and hopefully that'll be enough spur me on to working out at home more. I hope.

Loafin, loafin, loafin....

2008-09-02T09:12:00.001-07:00

mmmmmm, I'm on vacation this week. Now I need to see if I can't get something accomplished around here. GRIN

YAWN ...smack...smack....thunk

2008-08-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

::lifts head up off of desk and rubs forehead::

Man, my brain is melted. I guess I got off lucky when I did the original classes for my Equine Science Certificate over 5 years ago cause I don't remember work and school being this draining. I suspect the problem is with having to come to work, GRIN. I just want to flake out, crank up the music and not think for a few days.

Perhaps I will get my wish. I am hoping to take next week off so I guess we shall see.

Course staying up past midnight a few days in a row isn't condusive to feeling energetic at work either - smirk.

BUT, last night my friend an I went for a ride. It was great, there was hardly anyone in the park, it was all cool, green and relaxing. I just chucked the bareback pad on, clipped the reins to his halter and off we went. Leader was feeling good and moving out nicely.

Which brings me to the point where I wonder why I bothered trying to find a saddle to fit him. I spent a grand total of about $2000 on this saddle, girth, stirrups, etc and darn it all if I don't fall back on riding bareback 90% of the time.

I guess I'll see how it goes. I just got him a new pair of boots, called Easy Boot Epics, which are lower profile and much less clunky than is Cavello Simple Boots so perhaps we can start doing a bit more work and thus a reason to use the saddle more...

It was so cute. My cousin was also out last night to check over Leader's feet and trim them up (She told me I'm still doing a good job with my trimming - yea) and as she worked on him he just put his head down and we stood forehead to forehead while she filed his feet. Sigh communing with Equus.

zzzzzzzzz...*snort*...blink....blink

Well, I guess I shouldn't hold on to that feeling too hard. Wouldn't want to be caught sleeping at my desk.....

Oh and G, have a Happy Birthday dude.

Little bit of this and a little bit of that.....

2008-08-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

SIGH. I feel like I've been through the mill. It's been crazy busy at work, which wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been trying to finish my Equine Behavior class at the same time. Unforutnaly my grade for my final paper suffered but, it's done, I passed and it won't affect my ability to get my Diploma at the end of all this.

Next, I finally got Fear Zero's albums. I had forgotton that they are local boys, sort of. They are from North Vancouver which is local enough for me. It was always one of those cases where, when I heard them on the radio, I'd go - yea, I gotta remember to get their ablum, but then promptly forgot. Well no longer! I managed to find one album locally. How crazy is it that only one store in Victoria had only one of their albums. Anyhow, I ordered the other ones from their website so I'm good. GRIN You want to sample some of their music...check out either their MySpace page or go to www.fearzero.com.

I also bought another album, this one is by Jason Manns. One of his songs is going to be a snippet on an upcoming episode of Supernatural (and my incessent trolling of news regarding the show led me to listen to his music and I REALLY like it).

WHEEEE!! Eric Lamaze and Hickstead got GOLD for Canada in individual show jumping. That is just AWESOME.

I'm looking forward to going to a Gaited Horse clinic in a couple of weeks. Will be interesting to see what I can learn to help me working with my horse.

And then I'll be back at the books doing Equine Business Management come Sept. 8th. This way I ensure that I stay moss-less. (snicker, you figure it out)

Hockey Night in Canada

2008-08-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well, turns out the cost for the theme tune for Hockey Night in Canada has become too much for the CBC to bear. There is currently a contest going on where Canadians (and people from other countries too I think) can submit their compositions for judging by all as a replacement.

I am having a hard time envisioning different music preceeding the hockey telecast but, that being said, I have gone onto the Hockey Night in Canada Challenge website and listed to some of the offerings. This one is my favourite so far...

So to my two regular readers....go now and vote....

Ya but....Isn' there....shouldn't there be....more?

2008-07-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

Holy!! Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is fantastic. I wish I was going to the San Diego Comic Con to get a low down on what comes next.

Guess I'll just have to scour the internet for info come the end of the month. :(

I'll definatly be ordering the DVD.

Joss Whedon does it again.....

2008-07-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

This is SO cool. Go and watch.....now....

And promote it!