MI-5

Sometimes the television Gods smile down upon us and grace us with quality programming. With all the crap on the tele right now, it's refreshing when you stumble upon something so good it leaves you salivating for more. I must admit that I don't watch a lot of dramatic shows because the quality is ...well...just not that good these days. It's not that there there are no drama's out there, but I'm not wanting to watch dramatic shows that are a blend of comedy/irreverant satire. I just want good old classic drama shows that are smartly acted, written, suspenseful that make me sad when the hour is up and leave me wanting for more.

So imagine my surprise when I accidently stumbled upon MI-5 (a.k.a "Spooks" in the UK). I should have known it was going to be a gooder because it's British Drama and it's televised on PBS, my favorite channel for quality programming. But I had NO IDEA I would go all mad love over it.

Where do I even begin? First of all, and i'm not going to lie...the good looking guy sucked me in. I have hearted Rupert Penry Jones since his commanding (read: sexy) performance in the BBC adaptation of Persuasion. And in researching the show, it appears that the first couple of seasosn, the show starred Matthew McFadyen (see picture in post below), another Austen film alumni. How thrilling.

But sexy guys (and he his sexy), however tempting and enticing, are not enough to keep me glued to the show. And for the record, I'm not normally into suspense type shows involving secret agents and espionage and counter terrorism. I like happy romantic stuff or trashy reality t.v. But MI-5, based on the British Intellegence Organization, has challenged my notions of what I enjoy.

This show kept me glued to the screen, sitting on the edge of my sofa, holding in my breath wondering what was going to happen next. And the thing with this show is that it's not always as you predict. In fact, in one episode, it can result in a happy ending and they are the hero's of the hour. In another, it could all go wrong or a main character can die. You just don't know. And it's fast paced and intellegent, but not so that it swoops above your head in a cloud of confusion. And while it helps to watch previous episodes for underlying arcs, each episode is more or less stand alone and so it's not difficult to jump into.

So anyways, I needed to let the world know that great shows do exist and to watch MI-5 (Sunday's on PBS...and quite possibly on other stations like BBC or A&E but I don't know as I have peasent basic cable).

Most Romantic Picture Alert.

Is this not the nicest couple pic ever? S'rsly. I know it's just a movie promo (Pride & Prejudice) but still, this is really nice. When I get married, I want a pic just like this (and it would work since I want to have a fall wedding and a Jane Austen inspired regency wedding).

Squee.

Random ramblings.

Hello my faithful followers. Welcome back! I apologize for not posting anything recently. I was on a bit of a blogcation. Every once in a while I suffer mental exhaustion where I just have nothing to say, or something to say and no energy to say it. I think I take laziness to a whole new level in October! I've also decided I just can't post about the military every day like I planned. It's taking away from the chaos and joy that is my blog. So my intentions of doing a tribute each day to Rememberance Day just isn't going to happen, although if I do find something incredibly awesome, I will post it!

Without further ado, let me ramble on in my happy little way that I do.

1) U2: I happily purchased pre-sale U2 tickets! But I have to tell you, that well oiled machine called U2 has a weird sort of caste system of purchasing tickets. It's completely infuriating. As with most artists, you have opportunities to buy what are called pre-sale tickets; that is, tickets that go on sale before being released to the general audience. And the way it usually goes is that maybe a few days before, you have fan-club members who get the first piece of the pie. Then they have a special time for radio released pre-sales. Finally, they get released to all, usually a few days after. Going back to the fan-clubs, usually it's one or two words that only they know. But if you are a fan, you get tickets.

Now with U2 on the other hand, it's a whole different system. Fan club members do get tickets. But it's on a tiered system. What tier you fall on depends on when you joined. And you get your own user code. So your code only activates based on the pre-sale time you can log into based on your fan club tier. It's entirely frustrating and stupid. I get why they do it, but still...so ....frustrating.

It's a good thing I LOVE U2.

2) Wii Fit: Guess who got a Wii Fit? Guess? C'mon...I'll give you a hint... she's the fatty typing this blog. Now let me be perfectly clear that I am not technologically adept. The last video console I owned was a Nintendo 64. And let's also be clear that coordination and fine motor skills often come into question when I walk, never mind exercize. Clutsy be thine name.

But as discussed, I'm preciously plump. And I'm tired of being that way. But realistically, I also hate the cold during winter and I don't always have an opportunity to go to the gym, which I also don't care for. So why not create a mini-gym in my house, and one that is fun while we are at it? I have my little mats, my treadmill and elliptical, my videos and now I have this. But this is fun AND it keeps track of your progress! Score on all levels. And let me tell ya, if I can waste hours in front of a tv, why not waste it on video games? It's win win all around.

I have the Biggest Loser Wii game so I will have mini-Bob Harper yell at me. Excellent. Because we all know how much I LOVE BOB HARPER! *Squee*.

Now I just have to avoid the plague that is Rock Band. I think I'm still suffering from carpel tunnel syndrome after playing it at Karen's last weekend.

3) British Music: I'm going to have a post on this later at some point, but let me just emphatically state that I love music that originates from the United Kingdom. Stay tuned....

4) Flu Rant: Ok, I'm going to get this rant out and be done with it. I'm tired of flu paranoia. I'm tired of 50 hour round the clock news coverage on people freaking out because they have to stand in line for 4 hours. I'm tired of hearing that if we don't get this H1N1 vaccination, we will all go down in a heap of misery. And I'm tired of government bothcing this issue up. And I'm tired of pharmaceutical companies dragging their asses on producing vaccinations. And I'm tired of not being able to sneeze without someone giving you the stank eye. And I'm tired of being told I'm sneezing wrong. Sorry if I don't want get snot on my sleeve.

I get it. I get that the flu sucks. I get it that H1N1 sucks. I get that we are all confused about what to do, where to go, what they symptoms are and confused if you have the swine flu or the regular flu or a cold or allergies or the plauge. I get it all. I'm just tired of the paranoia surrounding this and hearing about it and hearing people complain about whatever.

Just shut up everyone!

**Update: I just saw on-line that they are coming out with a U2 Rock Band. Crap. Do I really need four obsessions to collide in such a way?

Military Poem: In Flander's Field

This poem is an institution in Canada. In fact, i'm willing to bet that adult over the age of 20 can recite this poem verbatim. I have my thoughts about the Poppy as symbol which I am saving for a different blog. But in the meantime, really read the words and reflect on what it means to you.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead.

Short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

Tribute Video: Paint It Black- The Rolling Stones

IWO JIMA

Here are some interesting facts behind this famous picture:

• There are six Flag Raisers on the photo. Four in the front line and two in back.
  The front four are (left to right) Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block. The back two are Michael Strank (behind Sousley) and Rene Gagnon (behind Bradley).


• Strank, Block and Sousley would die shortly afterwards. Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon became national heroes within weeks.


• The pole weighed over 100 lbs.


• Iwo Jima was the first place an invader's flag ever flew over Japanese home territory.


• This flag is now in the Marine Corps Museum, Washington, D.C.

And here are some intresting facts about the Iwo Jima Memorial:

• The flag raising photo caused an immediate sensation. Just two days after it was first seen in the US, Senators rose on the floor of the US Senate calling for a national monument modeled on the picture. The California State Legislature petitioned the Federal Government to build a grand monument. Thousands of ordinary American's wrote the President appealing for a monument to immortalize the picture they loved.
• Felix DeWeldon, an ambitious sculptor, had a clay replica of the picture sculpted within 72 hours of seeing the picture.
• Hundreds of artisans would work 8 years to create the Iwo Jima Monument.
• Erection of the Statue began September, 1954.
• The Memorial was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on November 10. 1954.
• Each figure is 32 feet high.
• The flagpole is 60 feet in length.
• It's the world's tallest bronze statue. It's stands 78 feet high.
• A cloth flag flies from the pole.
• The cost of the statue was $850,000 (1954 Dollars.) No public funds were used. Private donations picked up the tab.
• The inscription reads:
  "Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue."
  

Cadence

I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free. ~ King David.

Taking Chance

I won't lie. I love military theme movies. Anyone who watches military movies will know that in every military film, someone dies. Generally, the plot goes as follows:

• Introduce character by showing him with loving family (usually newly married wife)
• Show him bonding with his band of brothers
• They go into battle
• He miraculously dies saving his buddy
• Flash forward to buddy going to wife's home and she collapses in his arms and they both cry.

However, the one thing you never see, hear, or even discuss is what happens from the death at the battlefield to the time the body arrives home. And I am certain that most people never even think of all the honor and glory that goes into that process.

My friend Joanne recommended that I watch the HBO movie called Taking Chance (starring Kevin Bacon). It is based on a true journals by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, USMC. (<- click to read...well worth the read).

Point of Clarification: She did not gently recommend the movie. She rented the movie and then physically brought it over to my house and insisted that I watch it that night with implied threats of what would happen if I didn't watch the movie. (Her husband is a two-term US army veteran so I take all threats seriously..lol).

I can't even begin to express how much I love this movie. I STRONGLY recommend that everyone watch this movie. In fact, I think it should be required as part of the high school curriculum.

Although it was robbed of an Emmy award (because academy voters tend to go for dramatic star-filled heart string movies over movies with subtlety and nuance), it deserves a place of honor in your film catalogue.

I felt like I was watching a watercolor being painted. I felt like I was witnessing the most honorable of human actions with the quietest of dignity. Does anyone ever think of what happens to the body from field to funeral? Do you think about how you feel about a soldier who dies.

So I will leave with a preview and a synopsis. And then you MUST run out and get the movie.

In April 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, USMC, came across the name of 19-year-old Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, a young Marine who had been killed by hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Strobl, a Desert Storm veteran with 17 years of military service, requested that he be assigned for military escort duty to accompany Chance's remains to his family in Dubois, Wyo.Witnessing the spontaneous outpouring of support and respect for the fallen Marine - from the groundskeepers he passed along the road to the cargo handlers at the airport - Strobl was moved to capture the experience in his personal journal. His first-person account, which began as an official trip report, gives an insight into the military's policy of providing a uniformed escort for all casualties. The story became an Internet phenomenon when it was widely circulated throughout the military community and eventually reached the mainstream media. 'Taking Chance' chronicles one of the silent, virtually unseen journeys that takes place every day across the country, bearing witness to the fallen and all those who, literally and figuratively, carry them home. A uniquely non-political film about the war in Iraq, the film pays tribute to all of the men and women who have given their lives in military service as well as their families. An HBO Films presentation of a Motion Picture Corporation of America and Civil Dawn Pictures production, Taking Chance marks the directorial debut of two-time Oscar®-nominated producer Ross Katz ('Lost in Translation'). The screenplay is by Lt. Col Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.) and Ross Katz, based on the journal of the same name by Strobl, who also serves as military consultant. Strobl, who recently retired after serving 24 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, developed the original story with the strong support of Phelps' parents, John Phelps and Gretchen Mack. The executive producers are Brad Krevoy ('A Love Song for Bobby Long'), Cathy Wischner-Sola and Ross Katz; the co-executive producer is William Teitler (HBO's 'Empire Falls'); and the producer is Lori Keith Douglas ('The Notorious Bettie Page'). HBO Films vice president Jenni Sherwood is the executive in charge of the production.

Tribute Video

So I had this great idea planned for a blog today, but I'm having a bit of an architectural crisis going on at my home (water leaking from the upstairs tub into my downstairs furnace room/hall closet) so I just couldn't get the energy to post something thoughtful and insightful.

I decided to post this great You Tube Video to express what I cannot.

* Music is from my favourite band of all time, 3 Doors Down, collaborating with my favorite singer of all time, Bob Seeger. Song is called Landing in London from 3DD album 17 Days*

When You Go Home.

Quote: When you go home, tell them of us and say, for their tomorrow, we gave our today.

I have a friend who is in the Canadian Army. And while our friendship stemmed from the most unusual and funny of circumstances, he is a friend all the same.

And I'm not going to lie. Everytime I hear on the news that another Canadian Soldier has passed away, a part of me prays it's not him. It is the simple reality if you have a friend or a loved one in the military....for a brief second, you stop, pause and pray when the news comes on.

I would like to say that it is a relief when I find out it's not him. But that is simply not the case. Because the reality is that I realize that somewhere there is a person grieving for the lost of their friend and loved one. There is no solace in that.

It's easy to remove one's self from the war and argue the merits of our engagement in said war. But what should never be argued is that when a soldier dies, that loss for the friend, spouse, parent or child is our loss too.

If a country and the freedoms it posesses' are based on ideals, then someone must stand for and represent those ideals.

We take for granted that we will always be able to wake up at our leisure, go about our day, and come home. We take for granted that we can speak freely, express our opinions and desires; that there will be a venue to do so and listen to those opinions.

But for many citizens of the world, that's just not a reality. I can argue the merits of a conflict, and the excuses behind them. But what I can never argue is that the rights we are afforded should be an option for all the worlds people. It's not up to me to tell them to take that option, but the option they must have none the less.

And our military, for good are bad, are the ultimate symbol of those ideals. Soldiers represent our voices. They represent our dreams. They don't just protect our physical selves. They protect our spiritual and mental selves too. Our freedom is not perfect. We as a country will never agree. But the fact that we don't have to is a testament to the brave men and women of today and yesteryears who stepped up to the call to protect our ideals we so cherish.

It is instinctual to want to protect those you love and hold most dearest, like your friends and family. But how many of us will be willing to put our life on the line to make sure all Canadians will be able to do the same?

And I will leave you with my final thougths: Remember tomorrow what is sacrified today. Thank the soldier who goes about his way.

*Dani's note: This is the kick off to military week! I can't wait to hear your thoughts. *