Tag Archives: Ottawa

Why am I so affected by this past weekend?

The PolyBlog
September 26 2018

Over the last 24 hours, I have struggled to put into words, even in my own mind, why I feel affected so strongly by this past weekend. On the face of it, there are no particular traumas direct enough to affect me:

  • I didn’t experience the storm that ravaged Ottawa — I missed the rain before 4:15 p.m. as I was at work, and by 5:15, I was at home with Jacob hanging out and playing board games by flashlight, no real issues;
  • One of the tornadoes hit our “area” and in theory it *could* affect me, but it wasn’t MY neighbourhood, proximity is more tangental in that it hit close to Jacob’s school.
… Read the rest

Building my memory bank

The PolyBlog
April 19 2015

Just after the Easter weekend, I posted an update about my tough weekend (An emotionally difficult weekend). Mostly what I described was how I felt disconnected from my roots since my mother died, and that I felt a bit lost. Lots of my friends chimed in, some with support, some with their own stories of loss, isolation, disconnection, even potentially feeling like an orphan despite being an adult. Some suggested ways to reconnect with the community or my own new family, although disconnection probably wasn’t quite the right sentiment that I was trying to describe. It isn’t like I feel isolated, no family, no friends, but rather more like an inexperienced sailor who has sailed out into the ocean but who now notices that he can no longer see the land that originally oriented him to his point of origin.… Read the rest

Ottawa PopExpo 2014 Part 3 – James Marsters

The PolyBlog
December 12 2014

I had a chance to see James Marsters aka Brainiac from Smallville aka Spike from Buffy/Angel back in May for the ComicCon and passed on it — he’s not on my A list to see, and I wasn’t that interested the first time. However, he was here again, I was free, why not? I’m really glad I did because he was highly enjoyable. Most of what he talked about was Buffy or Angel, but he responded mostly to whatever questions were asked, fairly relaxed and laid back, the sort of guy you see and think, “Hey let’s grab a beer and chat”.… Read the rest

Ottawa PopExpo 2014 Part 2 – Robert Picardo

The PolyBlog
December 10 2014

I like Picardo from Star Trek: Voyager where he played the Emergency Medical Hologram. The character is excellent, and the smaller configuration to the large hall worked well for Picardo’s panel. He immediately started answering questions, talking about his experiences first on Stargate and then on ST:VOY.

  • One of his favorite scenes: “Message in a Bottle” where he meets another EMH, and describes how he has expanded his programming to allow him to have sexual relations;
  • Did he make suggestions to the ST writers: He did, including that when he was alone in sick bay, maybe he could listen to opera — one of the most emotional art forms — and yet when the writers incorporated it, they had him singing to it too (which was not part of his suggestion).
… Read the rest

Ottawa PopExpo 2014 Part 1 – Intro

The PolyBlog
December 10 2014

I went to ComicCon last year here in Ottawa with regular tickets, and upgraded this past year to VIP seats (much much better experience). But I hadn’t tried out PopExpo yet…it isn’t quite big enough yet to really draw big stars, and although there were several stars that were coming who were on shows that I watched, including Allison Mack from Smallville (she cancelled) and Nicole de Boer (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Dead Zone), I was planning to skip it. Instead, my wife surprised me with VIP tickets, and off I went.

First up, you need to know what I mean by “not that big yet”.… Read the rest