Outstanding Interview WRT Iran

I know I mostly use the blog to talk about the family adventure in Canada, but I did warn you all long ago that it may also be put to other ends. This is one of those times.

Spiegel (German media) interviewed the Iranian Foreign Minster, and its bloody amazing. Here is how the exchange opens...

SPIEGEL: Mr. Foreign Minister, you are the senior diplomat of the Islamic Republic of Iran. You represent a nation that prides itself on a cultural history stretching back more than 2,500 years. Don't you find it shameful that people are stoned to death in your country?

Manouchehr Mottaki: You come from a country that murdered millions of people during a tyrannical war, and you want to talk to me about human rights? OK, we can certainly discuss the laws in various countries and naturally we can, in a friendly atmosphere, debate the different legal principles.

SPIEGEL: It isn't a matter of legal subtleties. Stoning is a glaring violation of universal human rights. It's barbaric.

I don't know if these two are old friends, were drunk or being held back from actual biffo by their friends, but its a cracker of a read. Get the rest here...
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,714513,00.html

In the end, a rather excellent day

Although it started rough. Lillian rolled me out of bed at 6am after I had been up a touch too late the night before. Whatever. Coffee for me, porridge for her. Eventually Thomas joined us and then Jane not long after. Let the whinging begin.

To put it bluntly, Lillian has been a poo for the last week or so. A whinging, crying temperamental, argumentative poo. And yes, I know she is two years old, I mean all this relative to her typical whinging, crying temperamental, argumentative two year old behavior. Bring on the 1st day of school says I. Anyway, Lillian being painful is hard on Jane (Lillian is all about mummy these days), which puts her into a mood, which harshes my mellow and Thomas hates to be left out of anything. Thus the house becomes a big self-reinforcing cycle of grumpy.

At about 10:30am Thomas and I abandoned ship, getting some father/son time by walking down to the waterfalls. It was a nice day and a pleasant walk. On the way back we ran into some of our neighbors, an extraordinarily nice family with a little girl Lillian’s age and a boy that is a year older and bolder than Thomas. They were planning to take the boat (more than a tinny, less than a gin-palace) out onto the river today and asked if we would like to come along. Yes. Yes please.

It was a lovely summer day (tho clearly a fading summer) out on the water. They took us for a run up and down the river, showed us the waterfalls from a whole new angle and eventually we pulled up to a small island so they kids could have a drink and snack before splashing about like loons. The kids all had a wonderful time and the day’s previous grump was well and truly dispersed. The cherry on top was that the nearby space and aviation museum – located right on the edge of the river - was hosting an air show. While out on the water we were able to watch vintage WWI and WWII aircraft pooteling, or roaring depending on the vintage, directly overhead. Very cool.

We forgot the camera at home, of course. So no pictures :(

Iowa: I Almost Forgot to Post This

Seriously, this is about the trip to Iowa back in October last year. It has been languishing in draft form since early November. Between gearing up for another visit to the farm next month and the appearance of Halloween gear in the shops I have been prompted to finish it off.

As an aside, I was very chuffed by Thomas and Lillian’s reactions to seeing the Halloween gear at the local shops. The both got very excited and immediately started planning their costumes. Currently, ‘funny pumpkins’ (by which they mean ‘jack o lanterns’) are the planned costume.

Anyway, on the flashback...

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Anybody that has known me for long knows that my family is awesome. Everybody likes everybody else and coming back to the old family farm has been something to look forward to in a very big way. We play games (pepper, cribbage and carroms), we eat a lot of yummy food, we fly kites, we fish, we blow things up (fireworks) and we (by which I mean everybody but me) sings and plays music. It is awesome, and has been for the whole of my life. No matter where I have roamed, the farm has always been the focal point of family and home. It is where I proposed to Jane after her first week of meeting my family. And since she said ‘yes’ the farm has retained its unblemished record as a place of happiness.

This particular trip has been planned since we found about Jane’s posting to Ottawa. The idea was simple, everybody come back over Halloween so that nobody has to travel during the full madness of the Thanksgiving/Christmas ‘holiday season’ and the weather is still nice. Plus, it means I can take Thomas trick or treating in the postage stamp sized mid-western town of Garwin where my parents grew up. That day, dad carved a couple of pumpkins with Thomas and Lillian. That evening Thomas learned his two lines, dutifully repeated at every house.

“Trick or treat” and “Thank You”

I am pretty sure that many of the houses we visited were impressed with the very polite giraffe. We went around a couple of blocks and by the end of it Tom asked me to carry is candy bucket because it had become too heavy. It was, however, considerably lighter the next morning after Jane had gone through it with a mother’s careful eye, and her own rather voracious sweet-tooth.


Ready to go...


Added a couple days later for Barnes...

“…it's just like a serviced apartment, but bombproof.”

That is my vote for ‘quote of the week’ from Jane, describing the accommodation on her current overseas trip. Last time it was a holiday, this time it is for work. Being a diplomat is not all cocktail parties and gin on the balcony. These days, more often than not, it is a series of vaccinations with some anti-malarial drugs followed by some exotic compound living. Jane will be gone for 12 days, which is longer than the 8 days we 1st expected. The kids miss her, but are doing fine. They got to talk to her on the phone the other night and I enjoy a steady stream of brief email updates via her blackberry. Meanwhile, I have developed a cold. It is nothing too horrible. In fact I would say the worst thing about it is probably the timing. I have some cold/flu meds, and if nothing else being sick keeps me from staying up too late watching bad TV or playing video games the way I usually do when Jane is away. Cunningly, the kids have summer camp in the mornings, so I can rest or run errands as required between 9am and noon.

The only other news is that on Friday Tom completed a rite of childhood passage, giving himself a hair-cut with the craft scissors. I cleaned it up a bit with my meager skills, but will probably take him to the barber Thursday morning when Lillian is at summer camp. Clippers may be required. Sadly, Jane took the camera with her.

So, that is why I have been slack with updating my blog lately. There have been plenty of things to write about, but both the flesh and spirit are bloody weak and would rather crash on the couch and watch Fringe, or just go to bed. If I start feeling better before Jane returns, I'll try to catch up with a few more entries before the rush of traveling that will be our Aug/Sept.

And on that note, I am going to bed.


(A pre-haircut pic of Tom from earlier this month)

My wife went to Europe and all I got was this awesome haul of loot

My wife went to Europe and all I got was this awesome haul of loot
It is not easy to force one’s own mouth say “you go to Europe on holiday honey; I’ll look after the kids”. However, it seems the reward for doing so is great indeed. I suppose it didn’t hurt that North America celebrates Fathers Day the weekend of her return. In any case, I was on the receiving end of some powerful loving when my wife returned. For example…

A bottle of Lagavulin Distillers Edition. I don’t have scotch often, but when I do I prefer those of Islay island and would name Laphroaig is my baseline scotch. Lagavulin is where I go for something special, but this Distillers Edition rates as one of the two finest samples of Scotch to ever pass my lips. The other was a limited edition 18 year old Lagavulin (which I have never seen on sale anywhere) given to me as a gift by Matty Johnson. I am happy to sample other brands, but the gentlemen of Islay island, and at the Lagavulin distillery in particular, are very clearly honed in on my palette.

A new TV. It is important to understand that since arriving in Ottawa we have been using an old 20” CRT screen loaner TV from the High Commission. Said loaner is old and tiny, and just to make the point plain has a built in VHS player. I have made no secret of my intentions to buy a new TV that would see us through our return to Canberra and many years to follow. I did the research, figuring out the little technical questions why we wanted an LCD instead of plasma, and whether 120hrz is worth the price over 60hrz. More importantly, I figured out how to deal with the differing current (110 vs 220) and video signals (NTSC vs PAL) used in Canada and Australia. I did my research, and upon her return Jane gave me the green light to buy. Enter the Samsung LN40C610. 40” of High Definition flat screen goodness. It is wonderful. We jumped over an entire technology (plasma), so it’s a bit like having an AM radio for years and then being given a new iPod touch. In the fullness of time I will add home theatre speakers (including an iPod dock) bluray player and rocketpants, but for now I am rapt with the simple increase in size and definition (and working remote).

Next stop, Harvard.

Last Wednesday was ‘graduation’ for Thomas and Lillian from the Betty Hyde Nursery School. At the end of every school year, the three teachers randomly distribute the names of the children that won't be returning to the school in September and write a brief speech. These speeches are then read out during a family fun day held at a nearby park. It is all very emotional for the teachers, so they don’t discuss which children they got and every year at least one tears up while reading or listening to a speech. Below are the speeches for Thomas and Lillian.

Thomas – You’re the kind of guy who knows what he wants out of life. When we first met you, you seemed a little unsure of us – such a shy and serious young fellow. Now we know you were just taking in your new surroundings before diving in to enjoy them. Once you decided Betty Hyde was a pretty good place to be we got to know the real you. You were more than happy to share all kinds of fun and fascinating facts about your hometown in Australia with us. No matter what the topic though (sharks, dinosaurs, space travel), you can be counted upon to offer an interesting observation or two.

In January, when your sister, Lillian, started coming to school with you we got to see firsthand what a great big brother you are. You made sure she was safe on the climber and helped get her used to all the routines of the morning. At circle time there was always a spot for her to sit right beside you. She wasn’t the only one who wanted to be there either. How many times did we hear one of your friends say, “But I wanted to sit next to Thomas?” I guess that goes to show what a neat friend you are. We’ll all miss you, but we know the friends you make at your new school will feel just as lucky to know you ads we do.

Lillian – “Imp” or “rascal” I think might be the best way to sum up this wonderfully charming little 2 year old. “Pixie” and “Sprite” also come to mind! Lillian started to come to school when she turned 2 – joining her older brother Tom – and from the moment she walked into Betty Hyde she has made the school her own. Supposedly a toddler, but never once wanting to be considered one – Lillian is not afraid of anyone or anything. The more challenging and grown up an activity might seem the more determined Lillian is to be in there participating. Lillian isn’t afraid to muck it up with the best of them …the more ooey and gooey as activity, the better! Lillian stays for lunch every day with all the children that are at least 2 years older and foot taller than she is and yet she endures. Lillian commands respect from these older children and does not put up with any guff.

Lillian often has her teachers rolling their eyes and/or rolling in the aisles with laughter. You gotta love her – you can’t help yourself. There is no such thing as the terrible two in Lillian’s life – its all good. So look out Fern Hill – here she comes!

Fern Hill is the school to which both Thomas and Lillian are moving come September. Fern Hill is offering a non-academic summer program, which we will send the kids to a couple days a week. It will help to preserve my sanity and ease their transition to the new school before full time school resumes in September.

EARTHQUAKE!!

Well, it was more like '...earthquake? Really?'

LINKY

I was home with the kids when it happened. Initially I though there was a big truck on our street, but then the noise got even louder and there was same minor shaking. Thomas didn't like the noise, so he got a hug. Lillian slept through the entire thing. Jane copped the worst of it because they evacuated the building she was in as a precaution. Despite the epicentre being just 61 kilometres north of Ottawa, everybody is fine.

If anything the event has reminded me that I am well behind in my blogging. Barring further acts of natural sabotage, I'll try to catch up with a couple more entries over the weekend.