Aurora Borealis in Victoria

We got a surprise when we walked from downtown Victoria in the night sky. It was a visual display of our Earth's magnetic field protecting us from our sun's solar storms: the auraora borealis.

Here is a handy infographic, from CPLabSafety, on the science behind the phenomenon. A more detailed infographic is here.

I had last seen a full aurora borealis in 1989 in New Brunswick. I had gotten up in the middle of the night and its rich scintillating curtain of colour was awesome to behold. These reminded me of that experience. 

It was a joy to share this experience with my wife. A moment in our lives where we stand, look, and observe something that enables living things to exist on this planet.

I hope that those who could observe this, did.

L'Apero Theme Nights - Italian

L'Apero Wine and Cheese Bistro has had some theme nights since they started last year. Here is what was on offer for their Italian themed night. 

Toro Japanese Restaurant

Toro is a top quality Japanese food experience. They are on View Street, between Douglas and Blanchard. The restaurant has been open for a couple of years now but I only tried it out in the last half year.

The below is an example of a lunch bento box. It contains new things I have not had in a bento box, like bao and eel. The quality in the choices made, different each day, will want me coming back for more. You have to be early though as they only make a limited amount of them.

Here is an example of a supper I ate here. Started with Goma-Ae salad (boiled spinach with sesame dressing).

Because it was cold out, the main I chose was the spicy seafood udon (prawn, scallop, squid, udon noodles with seasonal veggies) with egg added.

If you want a great experience of Japanese food in downtown Victoria, head to Toro.

A Look Back to 2023 and Ahead to 2024

The year 2023, for me, was one of change. I retired from my job of 33.5 years and moved into a non-working life. I hate to say retirement because I am starting classes in writing next week, something I am excited and nervous about which are good feelings to have to go into the future. Here is a look at things done, travelled to, read, listened to, attended, and watched.

Things done: Besides "retirement" there was a wonderful three week trip to Spain, relaxing trip to my wife's parents place with wine tasting thrown in, camping on Hornby, storm watching in Tofino, dinosaur bones and Ankor Wat at the museum, and a relaxing Christmas at my wife's parents place. Tried several new restaurants and revisited old ones. Also saw two performances: Duo Corvi and Charlie Ross's One Man Pride and Prejudice, both excellent. There was also a lot of work; downsizing "stuff", making a more robust will, errands, organizing, repair and maintenance of house, and helping friends. "Retiring" does not equal total relaxation, nor should it as it is a stationary stone that gathers moss. 

Non-Fiction Books Read: Only six non-fiction books read, two less than last year. Standouts were A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaiken and On Writing by Stephen King. Other notables were Landmark: Xenophon's Anabasis, Robert Silverberg's Worlds of Wonder, Sagrada Familia by Gijs Van Hensbergen, and The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers. Also read the magazines Archeology (Jan/Feb 23-Nov/Dec 23) and National Geographic (Dec 21-Jan 23). This year will mean reading more books about writing as I expand my knowledge about that craft.

Fiction Books Read: A whopping 23 books were read, nearly double what I normally read. This is good because a good writer should read a lot, and of different genres too. Standouts were all by Connie Willis (Doomsday Book, Blackout and All Clear). Notables were Agatha H, and the Voice of the Castle as well as The Siege of Mechanicsburg by Phil and Kaja Foglio, Passages and Remake by Connie Willis, The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (my first romance book), and Three Men in a Brummel by Jerome K Jerome. The rest were four Battletech short stories, Battletech: Decision at Thunder Rift,  Mercenary Star, and Price of Glory by William H Keith, Butcher's Moon by Richard Stark, Iron Heel by Jack London, Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mockingbird by Walter Tevis, Samurai Mysteries by Laura Joh Rowland; Samurai's Wife and Black Lotus, Shattered Sylph by L.J. McDonald, The Last Man by Mary Shelley, and To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis.

Comic Book Collections Read: Eleven comic book collections were read. Outstanding ones were the Sandman books (Preludes and Nocturns, Dream Country, Doll's House, Season of Mists). Notables were Lady Killer and Mouse Guard (Tales of the Guard vol 2 and 3). Others were Cyborg: Unplugged,

Essential Punisher vol 1, Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys, and Inhuman.

Music Concerts Watched: I discovered some music concerts on PBS, Knowledge, and music video channels. They were nice to have in the background while doing other things. There were also several that were awful, for various reasons (over the hill singers or not well filmed) which I will not mention. Here are the best of the bunch: Come from Away, Depeche Mode: Rock AM Ring, Dios de los Muertos, Elvis Presley: '68 Comeback Special, Linkin Park: Live in New York, Molly Tuttle and the Golden Highway, Queen and Adam Lambert, Sting: Vina del Mar, Willie Nelson: Live in Budokan. The rest were Alice in Chains: Unplugged, Band in Seattle; 30 min, 10 episodes, Billy Joel: Live at Yankee Stadium, Carol King: Home Again live in Central Park, Dolly Parton and Friends: 50 Years at the Grand Old Opera, Doobie Brothers: 50th Anniversary in Radio City Music Hall, Duran Duran through time, Kenny Rogers: 1983, Johnny Cash: Man in Black - Live in Denmark 1971, Roy Orbison: Black and White Night, Santana: Live at the Us Festival, Sting: Live at Olympia Paris, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Live at Soundstage, Willie Nelson: Last of the Breed, Willie Nelson: The Show Must Go On.

Podcasts Listened To: Lots of knowledge and/or insight was gained by listening to knowledgeable folks in 2023 with 363 podcasts. Going to continue into this year. Outstanding ones were Jordan Harbinger and the series The Flamethrowers. Notables were Gone Medieval, Not Just the Tudors, The Ancients, and select (about 40%) episodes of Ideas.  Others listened to were American History Hit, Betwixt the Sheets, Dan Snow History Hit, Debaters, and Rick Steves Spain.

Documentary Length Watched: I like to be surprised by documentaries for what I did not know before or at least made more aware of a subject. Here are the outstanding ones watched: Casa Suzanna, In the Shadow of the Moon, Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History, and Putin's Witnesses. Other ones seen were Georgia O'Keefe: The Far Away, King Tut: A Century of Secrets, Quest for Tonewood, Tupperware, Unzipped, Yvres St Laurent: His life and times, and Zora Neale Hurston.

Non-Fiction TV: Like documentary length features, I like to be surprised or made more aware by topics. Here were the standouts out of 143 programs and episodes of programs: A Nation Soars, Ancient Worlds, Professor Jim Al-Khalili (Beginning and End of the Universe, Gravity and Me, Joy of AI, Order and Disorder, Secrets of Quantum Physics, Secrets of Size), Return to Belsen, Sacred Rivers with Simon Reeve, Stuff the British Stole, Truth and Lies. 

Competition TV: What we prefer for competition TV in our house are shows that make you smile, not the vengeful nor vindictive stuff that is out there. We watched 150 hours worth. That includes America's Got Talent, Amazing Race Canada, Canada's Got Talent, Great British Baking Show, Great British Sewing Bee, Great Canadian Baking Show, Great Pottery throwdown, Project Runway, Race Against the Tide, Top Chef, and Ultimate Challenge Canada. I did watch three episodes of Traitors and although the mechanics of the show are very interesting the people were not.

Films in a Theater: Last year six movies were seen. Spider Man: Across the Multiverse was the outstanding one with special mention to the rest: Dinosaurs of Antarctica IMAX, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among Thieves, Godzilla Minus One, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, John Wick 4, and Wings over Water IMAX.

Fiction Films: Twenty eight movies were seen at home or on a plane. Standout was Everything, Everywhere, All at Once and Lion in Winter. Other notable films were: Big Night, Enola Holmes 1&2, Glass Onion: A Knives Out! Mystery, Spider Man: No Way Home, Star Wars Saga (Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker), and two filmed performances at the Stratford Festival (The Tempest as well as Caesar and Cleopatra).

Animated Films: Thanks to Adult Swim, many cartoon films were seen in addition to other sources. Standouts were Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, Harley Quinn Valentine's Day Special, and Justice League: Doom.

Animated Fiction TV: I like well done animated/stop motion programs and the standouts were Cowboy Bebop, Scavengers Reign, and Young Justice: Phantoms. Other notables were Rick and Morty, Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, and Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Fiction TV: A whopping 367.5 hours of fiction TV were watched, of which most were good but few rose to great and near perfection. At least in my estimation. Most were watched by just me over breakfast, lunch, and break days where I binged. This is something that has to change in 2024 so I can concentrate on school, reading, and writing. I will save TV for the stuff I like. The ones that were perfect or near perfect were: Daredevil S1 & S2, For All Mankind, Jessica Jones S1 & S2, Mrs Davis, Punisher S1, Severance, and Ted Lasso. The greats were: Cranford, Doom Patrol, Interview with a Vampire, Luke Cage S1, Luther, Mandalorian S3, Manhunt, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Picard S3, Whose Line is it Anyways.

There was 2023 in brief. Here is to everyone for a better 2024,

Dinosaurs at the Royal BC Museum

The Royal BC Museum has two dinosaur exhibits, one with the best TRex skeleton (Sue) and the other showing a few finds in the province of BC. Both are insightful and wonderful to behold. First some recognizable dinosaurs.

This is Sue, named after the fossil hunter who found it. Over 90% of it was found in mostly large pieces. There are several indications on the bones of past injuries that have healed and diseases it contracted. It also gives an excellent sense of scale that makes one marvel at the creatures of our distant past.

The Sue exhibit is here until the 7th of January.

The BC exhibit has "Buster" in the center. It is an iron lizard from the Sustut river. The room shows finds of the museum's staff of paleontologists. It also shows some of the joys and trials of the team in the field. This exhibit lasts until April 7th.

Ankor Wat at the Royal BC Museum

Recently my wife and I went to the Royal BC Museum to see the Ankor Wat exhibition. The items on display not only show the history and art of the site over time but also the "discovery" of it by the outside world. It has influenced the western world when it was discovered and continues to do so today.

Statues from Prasal Chen.

Buddha on the Naga, bronze, later 1100's.

Adorned buddha, wood and lacquer, 1600-1700's.

One of the exhibit rooms.

A replica of a stone wall at Ankor Wat.

Replica of a harp, made of jackfruit, rose and red woods, goat skin, and nylon microfibres.

Another exhibit display.

Lion and monkey guardians, 10th and 11th centuries.

Lintle from the 10th century made of sandstone.

A three dimensional view of the city of Ankor Wat, using lidar.

Hevajra in a shrine, bronze, late 12th to early 13th century.

Sadashiva, bronze 12th to 13th century, and Ganesha, bronze 12th to 13th century. 

In the 1860's, expeditions from the west arrived with artists and photographers. In 1863, France established a protectorate over Cambodia. This is one of the first western drawings of Ankor Wat that entranced the world.

The exhibit's last day is 14th of January. I recommend a visit.

Tofino - Chesterman's Beach

Chesterman's beach is always a treat to walk on in the morning, afternoon, and night. So much to see and feel while on its wild shore. This is particularly true when it is storm season and this time it was a little more so. Here are some of the pictures taken during this trip so take a walk with us through my pictures.

The view and feeling it evokes always have me coming back. Each step can bring a different view and the multitude of the steps can bring to your heart a journey.