Cycling in Ottawa

Trying something different, I picked up a handle bar mount for my DJI Action camera, so here’s video of my 24 KM bike ride down Ottawa’s Rideau River Eastern Pathway from Sussex to Hogs Back Falls, then along the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway, crossing over the Hartwell locks, then through the Arboretum, along the Rideau Canal Western Pathway, and back into Lowertown.

The audio is pretty terrible, so I’m thinking about possible solutions to that.

An articulation of love

Nine thousand, one hundred and thirty-one days.

Three hundred months.

Twenty-five years.

Friends and family gathered on a beautiful February day; around -5°C, overcast, in front of a partially-melted German ice castle at Winterlude to share our wedding with us. We were erm… serenaded by loud Chilean music for most of the ceremony, but honestly, I don’t really remember the music.

I remember the walk to the officiant, trying to keep pace with Tracey, seeing our family and friends, trying to remember my vows while looking into Tracey’s eyes, listening to Tracey’s, the applause when we were declared husband and wife, the TV camera person who butted their way into the crowd (which resulted in a hilarious call from Tracey’s ex-husband the next day).

In some ways, it feels like yesterday, or a lifetime ago.

Every single day, I count myself most fortunate to have Tracey in my life. She’s the person that got me out of my shell, to be open to socializing with people (and (how to do so), to (hesitantly) try new things, encouraged me to figure out what I wanted to do with myself. I’m a better person because of her being in my life.

She’s my best friend, the person I look forward to seeing so we can talk about our days, and the person I respect the most. She is tough, caring, pragmatic, funny, beautiful, smart, and truly my better half.

Halyma Performing

We’ve had many adventures over the years, from bike camping, so many belly dance and bollywood performances, walks all over the place, to shooting film, fundraisers for charity, camping and canoeing in Algonquin park in all four seasons, and others. I look forward to whatever the future holds for us.

How do I define love? You would think that after all this time I would be able to point to something and say, “See? Love!”, but it isn’t that easy – love is so many things. Love is paying attention to each other. Love is listening to listen. Love is staying curled up in bed. Love is the anticipation to seeing each other when we get home. Love is feeling each other’s skin. Love is ordering pizza after the other has had a bad day. Love is watching a musical – or a horror movie. Love is those walks in the rain. Love is doing something silly because it makes the other laugh. Love is finishing sentences, or whole thoughts. Love is a knowing look of communication in sync. Love is super-green.

Realistically, I could sit here all week, typing out things that reflect my love of Tracey to me, but let’s leave it to it’s basically everything about her. To say I lucked out is like saying observing a proton decay is common place.

I frequently will tell people my only advice on relationships is to marry your best friend and talk about everything. It seems to be working for us.

We’ve been together as a couple over half my life now, I wouldn’t have it any other way, and look forward to the next twenty five years together.

2022 Shows and Movies Watch List

I’ve been tracking what I’ve read for some years now, and have been keeping an eye on what a few friends have been watching, as well as Kottke’s famous media diet posts, and I got to wondering what my media consumption was like.

So, I started tracking it (no spreadsheet, just a note). There’s no monthly breakdown for shows as they would sometimes get spread across months.

Anything that was a re-watch is in italics. It’s likely I missed one or two, of course.

I’ve tried to indicate where I/we saw something (AppleTV, Amazon, Netflix, Shudder, etc). Generally, if a movie isn’t indicated, it’s something I picked up on iTunes (yes, I know it’s been renamed, but iTunes is more recognized for now).

In December we signed up for Disney+ for a month to see what was there (we did this in 2021 as well), and by the time the month was over, I was really done with Marvel stuff, and Star Wars to a lesser degree. Andor was the only thing I’d say was a “must-see” there.

Overall, one of the hardest things for me now I think is that it’s just not remotely possible to keep up with the rate new movies and shows are being released at all for me anymore. I have no idea how anyone actually has time to see everything they’re interested in that comes out; my to-watch list, similar to my “to be read” list keeps growing and growing.

How to do you manage it?

Shows

  1. Doctor Who S11 [purchased]
  2. Brooklyn 99 S5 (3/5) [Netflix]
  3. Ted Lasso S2 [AppleTV] (4/5)
  4. Foundation S1 [AppleTV] (4/5)
  5. Wheel of Time – gave up on series after episode 3. [Amazon]
  6. The Witcher S2 [Netflix] (3/5)
  7. Invasion [AppleTV] (3/5)
  8. Brooklyn 99 S6 [Netflix] (3/5)
  9. Dickenson S2 [AppleTV] (4/5)
  10. The Afterparty [AppleTV] (4/5)
  11. The Expanse S5 & S6 [Amazon] (4/5)
  12. Severance [AppleTV] (5/5)
  13. The Morning Show S2 [AppleTV] (3/5)
  14. See S2 [AppleTV] (3/5)
  15. Resident Alien [Purchased] (DNF)
  16. Suspicion [AppleTV] (3/5)
  17. Mythic Quest S2 [4/5] [AppleTV] (4/5)
  18. Upload S1 & S2 [Amazon] (4/5)
  19. Firefly [4/5] [Purchased]
  20. Slow Horses [3/5] [AppleTV]
  21. For All Mankind S2 [AppleTV] [4/5]
  22. Stranger Things S3 & S4 (last half) [4/5]
  23. For All Mankind S3 [AppleTV] [4/5]
  24. Dickenson S3 [AppleTV] (3/5)
  25. Loot S1 [AppleTV] (3/5)
  26. What We Do in the Shadows S3 [Purchased]
  27. The Sandman [Netflix] (4/5)
  28. The Rings of Power [Amazon] (3/5)
  29. Lucifer S4 E8+ and S5 [Netflix] (3/5)
  30. Five Days at Memorial [AppleTV] (5/5)
  31. The Peripheral [Amazon] (4/5)
  32. Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (Netflix) (3/5)
  33. Star Trek: The Next Generation [Purchased] (S1 not completed by end of year)
  34. Mythic Quest S3 [AppleTV] (4/5)
  35. Wednesday [Netflix] (4/5)
  36. Andor [Disney+] (4/5)
  37. ObiWan [Disney+] (3/5)
  38. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law [Disney+] (4/5)
  39. Willow [Disney+] (2/5)
  40. Hawkeye [Disney+] (3/5)
  41. Reservation Dogs [Disney+] (3/5)
  42. Ms Marvel [Disney+] (3/5)
  43. Moon Knight [Disney+] (2/5)

Movies:

January:

  1. The Proposal – 2009 (3/5)
  2. Stargate – 1994 (4/5)
  3. Last Night in Soho + Extras
  4. Last Night in Soho Writer & Director Commentary w/ Edgar Wright & Krysty Wilson-Cairns
  5. Ghostbusters: Afterlife + extras
  6. The Matrix (4/5)
  7. The Matrix Reloaded (4/5)
  8. The Matrix Revolutions (3/5)
  9. Underwater (4/5)
  10. The Matrix Resurrections & Extras (4/5)
  11. The Eternals (3/5)
  12. Black Bear (4/5)
  13. The Carmilla Movie (4/5)
  14. Spy (4/5) dumb fun
  15. Whip It (4/5)
  16. Office Space (5/5)

February:

  1. The Hating Game (2/5)
  2. A Perfect Host (3/5)
  3. Ammonite (3/5)
  4. Nine Days (4/5)
  5. Palm Springs [Amazon] (5/5)
  6. JawBreaker (4/5)
  7. No Time to Die (4/5)
  8. Antlers (4/5)
  9. See for Me (4/5)
  10. Rose Plays Julie (3/5)
  11. Don’t Say Its Name (3/5)
  12. Beans (4/5)
  13. Bombshell (3/5)

March:

  1. Ginger Snaps (4/5)
  2. Atomic Blonde – Director’s Commentary (4/5)
  3. The Adam Project [Netflix] (4/5 dumb fun)
  4. CODA [AppleTV] (4/5)
  5. Scott Pilgrim VS the World (5/5) (introduced to niece)
  6. Spiderman: No Way Home (4/5)
  7. Ready Player One (4/5)
  8. Final Destination 2 (4/5)
  9. Final Destination 3 (4/5)
  10. Final Destination 5 (4/5)
  11. The Thing (2011) (3/5)
  12. Tron Legacy (4/5)
  13. The Witch Director’s Commentary (4/5)
  14. Volcano (4/5)
  15. Into the Storm (3/5)
  16. In Fabric (2/5)

April:

  1. The King’s Man (2/5) – too long and boring
  2. MoonFall (2/5?) (Amazon)
  3. Psycho Goreman (3/5) (Shudder)
  4. The Bunker Game (2/5) Shudder
  5. Prometheus (4/5)
  6. Choose or Die (3/5), Shudder
  7. Till Death (3/5) Amazon
  8. The Martian (4/5)
  9. Girls Against Boys (4/5)

May:

  1. Alien: Covenant (3/5)
  2. Free Guy (4/5)
  3. Safety Not Guaranteed (4/5)
  4. Alien (5/5)
  5. Aliens : Directors Cut (5/5)
  6. The Lost City (4/5)
  7. The Sadness (4/5) Shudder
  8. The Cellar (3/5) Shudder
  9. Wargames (4/5)
  10. Tomorrow, When the War Began (4/5)
  11. Tragedy Girls – Director / Writer commentary
  12. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  13. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  14. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
  15. 6 Underground – Netflix (3/5)
  16. I Survived A Zombie Holocaust – (4/5)
  17. Black Friday (3/5)
  18. Mortal Kombat 2021 (2/5)

June:

  1. Demonic (4/5)
  2. Hanna -2011 (4/5)
  3. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (4/5)
  4. Everything Everywhere All at Once (4/5)
  5. Raw (4/5)
  6. Carrie 2013 (3/5)
  7. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (3/5)
  8. Slash/Back (4/5)

July:

  1. Seeing Red (3/5)
  2. How to Talk to Girls at Parties (4/5)
  3. X (4/5)
  4. Mr Right (4/5)

August:

  1. Alien : Resurrection (3/5)
  2. Dune (2021) (5/5)
  3. Rampage (3/5)
  4. Thirteen Lives (4/5)
  5. Top Gun: Maverick (4/5)
  6. Rush Hour (4/5)
  7. Ghostbusters: Afterlife (4/5)
  8. Three Thousand Years of Longing (4/5)
  9. Jurassic World Dominion (3/5)
  10. Chick Fight (3/5)

September:

  1. Shadow in the Cloud (1/5)
  2. So Vam (2/5)
  3. Thor : Love and Thunder (3/5)
  4. A Ghost Story (3/5)
  5. Dual (3/5)
  6. Nope (5/5) (and extras)
  7. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (5/5)
  8. Unhuman (4/5)
  9. Emily the Criminal (4/5)

October:

  1. Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (4/5)
  2. San Andreas (4/5)
  3. Bullet Train (4/5)
  4. Fall (4/5)
  5. The Lost Boys (4/5)
  6. Blade (4/5)
  7. Blade 2 (3/5)
  8. It Chapter 1 (4/5)
  9. Free Guy (4/5)
  10. It Chapter 2 (4/5)
  11. Blade 3 (4/5)
  12. The Bubble (2022) (Netflix, 4/5)
  13. Underworld (4/5)
  14. Underworld: Evolution (3/5)
  15. Underworld Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2/5)
  16. Titane (4/5)
  17. Underworld: Awakening (3/5)
  18. Underworld: Blood Wars (2/5)
  19. Resident Evil 1 (3/5)
  20. Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse (3/5)
  21. Resident Evil 3: Extinction (3/5)
  22. Resident Evil 4: Afterlife (4/5)
  23. Resident Evil 5: Retribution (2/5)
  24. Resident Evil 6: The Final Chapter (2/5)

November:

  1. Gone in the Night (4/5)
  2. Barbarian (5/5)
  3. Unstoppable (2010) (4/5) and extras
  4. Free Fire (4/5) and extras
  5. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (1/5)
  6. Testament 1983 (4/5)
  7. Smile (4/5)
  8. Spirited (2/5)
  9. Dune 1984 (5/5)
  10. Dune 2021 (5/5)
  11. Cyrano (2/5)- a beautiful, brilliantly acted movie *ruined* by the singing
  12. The Northman (2/5)
  13. Enola Holmes 2 (4/5)
  14. Byzantium (4/5)
  15. Grettel and Hansel (3/5)

December:

  1. Prey (4/5)
  2. Amsterdam (3/5)
  3. Hellraiser (1987) (4/5)
  4. Hellraiser (2022) (4/5)
  5. The Banshees of Inisherin (4/5)
  6. No Exit (4/5)
  7. The New Mutants (2/5)
  8. Treevenge (new Xmas Eve tradition?)
  9. Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special (3/5)
  10. Fire of Love (4/5)
  11. Werewolf by Night (3/5)