August 20, 2006

Jenie's Dad 2 weeks ago Jenie's dad was admitted into ICU with serious breathing problems. Last Sunday he took a turn for the worse and is now breathing through a ventilator. As a result Jenie flew out first thing Monday morning. Since then he has also come down with pnemonia. We have been and are continuing to pray that he will make a speedy recovery and be able to come home soon. I wont' be posting a regular update for a while, however, to anyone who is reading this - I would like to ask for your prayers regarding Jen's dad. Manoj

August 3, 2006

Age of the Superhero ... Quite a few months ago I was SO pumped about the new Superman movie coming that I was pretty much counting down the months and then days. Here it is over a month after Superman Returns came out and I still haven't seen it. With age comes different priorities- especially when you have a family. I still want to see the movie, however I've resigned myself to the fact that I may end up seeing this flick once it comes out on DVD. With so many superhero movies out it's interesting to note how the movies have started to influence the comics from which they were based on. I recently noticed the cover of an X-men issue with Wolverine on the front. What made an impression was that it was a great drawing of Hugh Jackman! In a recent issue of Superman, the artist drew Clark Kent to an exact likeness of the late Christopher Reeve - even after his passing and a new person taking on the role it's Reeve's image that dominates the worlds impression of the Man of Steel. With Superman out and news about the new Batman movie coming out - The Dark Knight, I've come across a couple of articles ranking superhero movies. So I figure, why not post my own list. So here goes: Superman: The Movie - Big surprise - right? This remains the benchmark for all superhero movies. Spiderman - I left the theatre feeling like a kid after this one. Batman Begins - This totally made up for the 2 disasters that were Batman Forever and Batman and Robin - and then some. X-Men - I've never been a fan of X-men, but this movie certainly peaked my interest ... however I have yet to read an issue. Spiderman 2 - Great follow up to the first. 3 looks to be a winner as well.

A True Hero... Those of us in Canada tend to come up with very few names when real life heroes are discussed. However every one north of the 49th would agree that Terry Fox is a true inspiration and hero. Terry Fox attempted what was then considered an impossible feat - to run across the country, with an artifical leg. I will always remeber the day he had to stop due to the cancer spreading to his lungs. The subsequent telethon that was organized in his name raised millions of dollars. Later in the mid-eighties, Steve Fonyo who also lost a leg to cancer, ran his own marathon across the country also raising millions for cancer research. Then came Rick Hansen and his Man in Motion tour which circled the globe to raise money for Spinal Cord Injury research. However Terry Fox ran his race until he could no longer run and over 25 years after his passing and The Marathon of Hope which raised money for cancer research, his name lives on in the annual run that bears his name. In recent years it has dawned on me that the attention given to The Terry Fox Run is truely lacking - for a young man who sacrificed his last days to raise money and awareness for a condition that can be utterley devestating. In my books Superman is the benchmark for all fictional heroes, however in the real world how can we not acknowledge that Terry Fox is a benchmark who is and will hopefully continue to inspire people.

Lots of pictures ... I've put up the viewer for the first of five, so click on 'View Album' to see the rest.

later,
Manoj