ANDREA AND GREG!!!

It was great to see my old U of A friend Andrea and her fantastic husband Greg again last night; they've been living in the UK for some time and made it out to Alberta to visit relatives and friends. Always a great pleasure! 

My Facebook Graffiti Archive: The Rebuttals

Here are drawings other, more talented, people posted on my Facebook wall with the Graffiti application. I can identify art by Sean, Andrea and/or Greg, and Jeff, posted by his wife Susan. My sentimental favourite is the wedding postcard, and I adore both "Who...SHAVING CREAM?!?" and the jaws laughing at my grave, but clearly Jeff's "Earl in S.T. uniform attacked by cute hamsters with blood-soaked weapons" is the most accomplished in terms of technique and irony.

Here's an idea: assuming Graffiti still works, maybe I should use it to post something on the wall of each and every one of my Facebook friends, even those I haven't met in person. Hmmm...

Women's Sports News!

...or, possibly the unlikeliest title for a My Name is Earl (J. Woods) blog post ever. But yesterday I met my friends Andrea and Greg and their kids Lena and Mitchell at the Legislature; they're here from the UK to visit friends and family. (As an aside, Lena's British accent cracks me up for some reason, particularly when she's displaying her knowledge of Star Wars trivia.)

During the course of our conversation I learned Andrea has started a new blog on the subject - women in sport, that is, not her daughter's accent. The Olympics have certainly given Andrea ample grist for the beginnings of her new mill! I wonder if she'll have anything to say about the Olympic fencer who refused to leave the field of battle because of a disputed call.

In any event (pun intended), visit Women's Sports News for Andrea's coverage of...women in sports!

The End of Year Eight

Over at Jeff Shyluk's Visual Blog, Jeff has posted a year one review of his website. Jeff made extensive use of Blogger's relatively new stats features, and I am therefore stealing his idea to post a quick year-end analysis of My Name is Earl (J. Woods). All stats begin in May 2010.

Audience
As might be expected, most of my pageviews come from Canada, with 3,982 pageviews since May. The United States comes in second, with 1,696. Not surprising. But I was surprised by the countries that fill the rest of the top ten:

Russia: 291
Netherlands: 217
Germany:
163
United Kingdom: 156 (presumably Andrea and Greg)
Latvia: 69
South Korea: 65
Slovenia: 44
Brazil: 39

I'd be very interested in knowing what appeal this blog has to someone from, say, Latvia, so I welcome any and all international guests to post comments.

Most Popular Posts
Board Games at the Bijou (presumably because this is at the top of my "Earl's Greatest Hits" list)
Journey to the Edge of Nowhere, Part V (gratifying; I spent a lot of time on this - I suppose this comes up for people searching for Leaf Rapids, Manitoba)
My Kingdom for Some Potato Skins (a mundane post; I have no idea why this is in the top ten)
Earl's First Attempt at Cooking with the New Oven (see above)
Journey to the Edge of Nowhere, Part VII (same as part V)
First Glimpse at Our New Home (mundane again)
Thanks, Kevin (fans of Kevin Taft must have liked this)
James Cameron (no surprise here; Cameron is famous)
Return to the Dungeons (D&D fans, I presume)
Superhero Speeches #1: The End of My Double Life, by Clark Kent (I'm glad this wound up in the top ten; I think it turned out quite well)

If I'm reading Blogger's stats page correctly, this blog has attracted 7,916 pageviews since May. I have no idea if that's a lot in the world of blogs, but it doesn't seem too bad to me, given the haphazard nature of my posts. There's no real unifying theme to this blog; it's mostly a collection of my random thoughts on pop culture, politics and daily life in western Canada. Writers thrive on readership like thirsty emotional vampires, so I'm doubly appreciative of everyone who visits.

I hope you and yours have a great New Year's celebration tonight, wherever you may be. And may 2011 be a banner year for you, yours, and everyone on our good, green earth.

Return of the C'lonials

Andrea and Greg brought their new baby Mitchell over for a visit last night, and a good time was had by all. Currently they're living just outside London in the UK, so it's a nice treat to see friends from faraway. Sylvia and I are hoping to visit London in 2011 or 2012 - it'll be cool to see the C'lonials in their adopted land.

Mitchell got along with Sylvia quite smashingly.

"I've had enough of your antics!" Usually this is Sylvia's line (to me).

Andrea and I interpret "The Scream."

Andrea, Greg and her family will be in Alberta for a little while yet, enjoying the slopes and visiting relatives. For more on their adventures, check out their blog, Attack of the C'lonials.

Thanks for the great visit, guys!

Weddings & Umbrellanappings

Last Saturday, Sylvia and I attended not one, but two wedding celebrations: one for one of her cousins, and one for my old friend Andrea and her beau Greg. Greg and Andrea were actually married in Germany back in December, but like the devoted friends they are, they've been travelling around the world to share their joy with their loved ones. Having known Andrea for over a decade and a half (!), I can say with confidence that Greg is a lucky guy, and even though I've only met Greg twice now, he seems to me to be a fellow of sterling character and most excellent good humour, a fine fellow indeed and a worthy match for Andi.

So congrats to both!

On a related note...




Attention Jeff and Susan Shyluk: Andrea kidnapped your umbrella. And now...



I have it! If you want to see your umbrella again, you must journey here, to Edmonton, with a shiny new Loonie and a willingness to play BRUCE LEE GAME!

BRUCE LEE GAME!

Visitors from Abroad

Andrea took this shot of Sylvia and I in our dining room. It was a great visit, and I'm glad that Andrea and Greg took the time out of a tremendously busy schedule to pop in.

Visitors from Abroad

Here, Sylvia poses with Greg, a hunky bloke from Australia. Strewth!

Visitors from Abroad

Here's the happy couple, posing in front of our recently-completed (well, almost) feature wall. Mirror tile is so groovy.

Visitors from Abroad

My friend Andrea MacLeod is in Canada right now, visiting from Germany, where she's lived for the past 11 years. Andi and I were in the U of A Star Trek club together, but she's far less geeky than I. She and her fiance came over last night.