Govt: What have I been up to? Wellll, I've been working my butt off on Filmfodder, trying to turn it into something viable. So far, so good, but there's a lot more to do. Fortunately, it's still enormously fun for me, which is a great sign.

In the "real" world, I'm still working at ZDNet. I'm taking a year-long leave of absence from Emerson to pursue this opportunity, but I'm already putting plans in motion to return to school next summer.

Engaged? No, nothing like that. But I am happily taken.

And you? Still corrupting the government from the inside?

I'm not corrupting the government from the inside, TRUST, I'm trying to purify it. *tee hee*

And, speaking of "big" government, I finally got to see the man, himself, one Jesse Ventura, IN PERSON! He was down here at the Government Center appointing some new judges. Everyone was fluttering and twittering about with excitement - even the normally staid judges. Jesse creates a stir wherever he goes - even those who "pooh-pooed" his win fall all over themselves to see him. It is QUITE the show.

ARGO and MOUNTAIN, doesn't California have enough problems without the two of you creating further havoc?

And, congrats! to MOUNTAIN that her writing has garnered such attention.



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Govt, what else would one expect from members of this Forum?

Congrats to Mountainphile.

Note to self: 2001 Resolution - Get feedback on one's own creations.

Where's the next installment of your dramatic story about the artwork, XEDOUT?

After my villainness decides to come back from attending the Spring 2001 collections.

I'm working on a new idea at the moment too. I have a semi-finished draft of the first installment.

[This message has been edited by xedout (edited 10-27-2000).]

Hello back from Scotland - a truely amazing country in every way! I hope you've all been well. The landscape is breathtaking, the towns exceptionally well-kept and clean, a general air of prosperity presides. I expected much more wilderness and dark gloomy forests, so was a little disapointed at first, but that quickly past - we had so much to see! Landing in Edinburgh, we almost immediately drove up into the Highlands - first Dundee, the old whaling port, into whose shipyard have gone many of the trees - which had a wonderful presentation about the Antartic Explorer Robert Scot and his ill-fated trip, which ended getting him stuck in the ice for two years - then Aberdeen, called "Granite City" because everything from street to houses is made of the same grey granite - Inverness, the Capital of the Highlands, because it is the only major city for miles and miles around, close to the very cultivated and ship-ladden Loch Ness - if Nessie has ever lived there, she surely moved to another, quieter Loch long ago...

From Inverness, we drove all the way up to the most Northern Point of the British Mainland, where a lighthouse stands that the grandfather of Robert Stevenson built. The Highlands are vast empty mountains covered with heather, where nothing is - really nothing, and long winding roads that lead through the hills. One occasion where I was grateful for my cellular phone. ;-) Suicidal sheep jump on the road infront of one's car every now and then.......Near Inverness, there is the battlefield of Culloden Moor, where Bonnie Prince Charlie lost big-time against the British in 1745. A kid, really, no older than 25 years, raised in Rome, without much Frensh support, who had never set foot on Scotish soil before that adventure.......well. The outcome was clear. It was amusing to see the difference in attitude of the visitors on the two decisive battlefields - in Culloden Moor, every Scotsman wore a dreary face, and noone spoke to us - when, on the other hand, on the field of the Bannock Burn near Perth, where Robert the Bruce whipped the English in 1314, everyone smiled, laughed, said "Hello there, girls" (even two chirpy grandmas in their early nineties ) so that was fun. ;-)

Glasgow, which hosts a fascinating collection of art assembled by one Burrell,an Industialist with plenty of money, and perhaps surprisingly, even more taste in artwork, sculptures, etc which spanned the ages and the continents. Chinese art, Egyptian Greek art, Persian Art, Roman Art, etc... In Edinburgh, which is very reminiscent of London in many ways, there was an excellent National Gallery of Art, which boasted Titians, Rubens, Boticellis, Rembrandts, Cranachs, and many lesser-known but beautiful paintings..........I recommend it to all. Those interested in literature can follow the path of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.....the vistior centers are usually excellent, interactive and multi-medial.

Many beautiful castles, with furnitures from all ages, embroidery, tapestries which were a feast for the eyes. Unfortunately the Reformation swept through Scotland with a vengeance, so very little of the lovely old churches and Cathedrals are still standing - that was very different in Ireland. But the castles and town houses made up for that......it is a very worthwhile country to visit, all in all, with very friendly people, a fascinating history (I bought so many books that I'll have enough reading fodder for the next half year at least) and a breathtaking scenery....

But it is still good to be home!!

JM115


[This message has been edited by JM115 (edited 10-28-2000).]

JM115: Allow me to be the first to welcome you back! Great seeing you here again.

As for Scotland, where you say, "The Highlands are vast empty mountains covered with heather, where nothing is - really nothing, and long winding roads that lead through the hills."

Just give me those Highlands and you can have all the rest of Scotland. * nods with all due propriety, solemnity and appreciation ...
then, suddenly realizes that as a grey alien, it might kinda sound like he's divvying up the planet just a wee bit! *

BBF

Welcome back, JM115. Seems your trip went very well, glad you enjoyed it so much. We can temporarily change this forum to a travelogue with all the recent trips being described.

Before we go on to Part 2, here are a couple photos that belong to Land Cruise - Part 1 - Private Varnish

Interior of the private car "Virginia City"

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Car party snacks

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pegasus_x: Your photos are verily evocative. The first one makes me wonder whether if I ever travel by train on vacation in as fancy a locomotive as yours, would they let me on wearing a Buffalo Bills t-shirt and sweats, or would I have to bring formal wear? The second one makes me wonder, okay, there's almost enough food for me set out there on the table ... so what's everybody ELSE going to eat, eh?

And ... Oh yeah, whatever happened to those photos you took of the "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY" train cars, you know, the ones we use for Project experi ... * catches himself * ... um, never mind, you probably don't remember having taken those pictures in the first place. * innocent nod *

Packing a suitcase full of food so as not to starve to death on the train,

BBF

The return of Season 7. Space starts it off on Wednesday! Probably the usual two runs (repeat again for December) and then go back to the beginning in January.

BBF, those were the snacks set out in just *one* of the private cars. Each car had it's own spread so there was plenty more to eat.

(I thought you never went anywhere without a goodly supply of pemmican.)

[This message has been edited by pegasus_x (edited 10-29-2000).]

Land Cruise - Part 2A - West of Winnipeg

Our connections on this trip were quite painless as each departure left from the same station where we had arrived. The day after arriving in Winnipeg on the special train, my husband and I left the private varnish parked on one track and boarded VIA rail�s "Canadien" sitting a few tracks away. The cars on the "Canadien" are every bit as classy as the private cars we had ridden. For example, this well appointed dining car.

Bound for Vancouver, we enjoyed the wonderful scenery of the Canadian Rockies in spite of clouds and rain. The rain actually enhanced some of the features such as Pyramid Falls which spilled down alongside the tracks.
Pyramid Falls, taken as the "Canadien" rolled past

The 2 day trip terminated in Vancouver. The weather was much better so we purchased a day pass for the city�s efficient transit system and rode SkyTrain end-to-end.
Vancouver skyline from SkyTrain

We also scooted across Burrard Bay on a SeaBus ferry named the "Burrard Otter" just for the heck of it. We walked around downtown Vancouver and were greeted by a uniformed "city ambassador" who recorded our impressions of his town on a hand-held device about the size of an Etch-a-Sketch. This device displayed questions in a LCD window and had buttons to press to reply to the questions.
Our Vancouver "City Ambassador"

We sought out the Hudson Bay Company hoping to buy "voyageur-style" goods but the "citified" version of this store is a far cry from the old trading post days. No moccasins, no mukluks, no pelts. It was just like any modern department store. (My husband has been to the town of Churchill on Hudson�s Bay where a *real* HBC is located. Do you note any envy here?)
Headed for the Hudson�s Bay Company store (yes, I am in this picture)

Land Cruise - Part 2B - West of Winnipeg

Later that same afternoon we boarded the Talgo. A train designed in Spain which runs between Vancouver and Seattle. Very nice, quite modern. However, Amtrak needs to do some work on the roadbed to showcase this svelte train properly. A bumpy ride is not the way to win commuters� hearts.
Talgo equipment for the Amtrak "Cascade"

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Talgo interior

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View of Puget Sound from the Talgo

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Our first night in Seattle was spent in the Monaco Hotel where bowls of goldfish in the lobby greet the guests. A note in the room apologized that our room�s resident goldfish was out having his/her annual fish-ical check-up. Next morning we were picked up by my husband�s youngest sister and we spent a couple enjoyable days with her and her family in Sammamish (formerly part of Redmond).
"O-fish-al" greeter at the Monaco Hotel in Seattle

- - - - - - - - - -
(next: Part 3 - The Coast Starlight Dimmed)

Peg, there are many varieties of the Hudson's Bay Company. The best ones are in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The HBC here is not good - upscale Walmart sums it up best. It's a different branch of it, I guess. The Bay is a big store that owns lots of other stores - i.e. Zellers (a discount store that competes with Walmart). Eatons was good til it went under last year. Sears (which the Bay owns or did own) bought a bunch of them and are re-opening them in November under the old Eatons name. Not here though, so far. Almost every major city except us.

Your rail car sounds nice. I'm used to the ones in England and the Eurostar. Nowhere near the 4-star hotel on wheels you were on.

Wow, great travelogues from PEG and JM. I'll have to assume, PEG, that you're the person in the pic with her back to us - right?

I await the new season...

Hello all! I�m so glad to see so many familiar names still here. I hope you are all doing well and have had an excellent summer. I have to admit that my enthusiasm for the X-Files has diminshed quite a bit over the past few months. I didn�t realize until today that the season premiere is next week. But I am ready to resume my position as a die hard fan and reserve an hour on Sunday nights for Scully and her new partner. I can now watch it at the same time as the East Coasters. We lost our local Fox Station so I was �permitted� to request (for a nominal fee) the NY & Los Angeles Fox stations on my satellite dish.

JM115Your trip to Scotland sounded beautiful. Coincidentally, I watched a Scottish film today in which the accents were so thick, they provided English subtitles! I�ll admit it - I had to read them to understand a lot of what they said. BTW, I�ll be happy to tape the episodes for you again.

Hubby & I have had a fun filled summer. We bought our first home (ah..the joys of having a garage), acquired our first dog (a totally sweet white & golden retriever mix named Spirit who came from Alaska) and commenced working on our first movie together. Yes, we are making a low budget, DV movie. It�s um...well, sorta hard to describe. It�s a horror movie but its got a really good dramatic story and er... we think its pretty damn funny too. I would be very honored if you would like to check out our trailer here: www.psychosheep.com. It is, of course, still a work in progress. JM115 I don�t want to sound paranoid but perhaps those �suicidal sheep� were not as innocent as they seemed. I�ve done a lot of research into this area and believe me, it was very lucky that you made it out of Scotland unharmed.

Nice pictures, Pegasus! (I like how these forum setups are so accomodating.) I�ve always heard that the train was a beautiful way to see this part of the country but I had no idea the rooms could be so luxurious. I�ve only flown over the Vancouver/Canadian Rockies area but I remember being blown away by the scenery.

govt, if you can do a "view image" on your browser and make the photo larger you should be able to see my long braid.

Hi PiperX. Great to have you back!

Note to all Trinity thread posters. My "closure" post is finally up over there.

Great to visit the various locales via JM and Peg's mini-travelogues. I've surfaced from my week's vacation to the Pacific Grove/Monterey area. I'll give more details later. In the meantime ... whoohooo ... how things do pile up!!! No helpful grays turned up to clear up the work on my desk while I was away Guess they were too busy getting ready for Halloween.

Piper - good to see you back again. congrats on the new digs and website.

govt - can't win 'em all - 7 and 1 is still respectable. Chargers still have a perfect score - 0 and 8!

To those to whom I owe emails ... they are on their way ... slowly, but I should be getting caught up.

During my trip, other than using mountainphile's zippy laptop in SF, I only had access to a comp with a 28.8 modem ... *shaking head wondering how the net ever made it at those speeds*

More later ... good to be back ... can't wait for 11/5 @9pm!

argo

Here's a drive by post:

Argo and Mountainphile, hope you guys had a blast. I'm sure that CA will survive. After all, I'm currently not in that state, so any additional mischief you caused was balanced out by my absence.

PiperX, the trailer is really great. This looks like a fantastic project, can't wait to see the finished project.

It's good to see you back. I'm glad everyone is making the transition over, we've got a permanent and secure home here and it's great that the gang is coming together, just one week 'til the new season, when we'll have tons to gripe, er, converse about.

Peg, those are some great pictures, looks like you had a blast.

JM, welcome back! Sounds like you had an exciting trip. Beware of those crazy sheep, though. Sounds like I'll have to make a trip to Edinburgh, I loved the museums in London!



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