Here’s to 2014 being the best year yet! Are you a resolution person? I am, and my list is long but divided into smaller goals to hit along the way. One of my first is putting up a big 12 month wall calendar so I can see all of 2014 and plan ahead (I think this is me growing up…a little 🙂 One of my first goals is handing in the manuscript for my next book to my editor at Gallery/S&S. I’m late, sigh, but I am on track now to have it done the end of this month. That means it might get published this year!

Cheers! And here’s to 2014 being a truly fantastic year!

Chris

I’ve been re-examining some shows I watch and the thought occurred that in some cases there doesn’t appear to be a good reason for some characters to be in a relationship other than for the benefit of us, the viewer. The prime example for me is on The Big Bang Theory. Why would anyone live with Sheldon let alone be friends with him? The show is hilarious because of him and the constant monkey-wrenches he throws into things, but doesn’t that mean he’s more of a plot device than a character? And even if that’s the case, does it matter?

Then there are the couples on Modern Family. Of the three, none of the relationships seem obvious to me. Claire and Phil…why? He’s a child. What is it about him that she finds attractive? Cam and Mitchell both play neurotic to such a degree that I feel that relationship should just implode. Not even sure about Jay and Gloria. The age difference is huge.

I don’t have any answers here, and I fully recognize that these shows are insanely popular which is why I’ve been studying the characters and their interactions. It seems, at least in these two cases (both being comedies) characters as plot devices instead of actual characters not only works, but excels.

Talking with Canadian history teachers on the beach at Dieppe, France

This was taken during my recent trip to France as the historian for a Canadian high school teachers’ educational tour. We focused on Canada’s participation in WWI and WWII although we also looked at British and US battles and the life of French civilians under occupation. The tour is sponsored each year by the June Beach Centre Association

http://www.junobeach.org/Centre/index.html

It was a fantastic trip! I’ll wax melodic about the wine, food, and, culture later, for now though, I am still in awe of what was accomplished by the soldiers, airmen, and sailors that were part of the liberation of France in 1944. Much, much more to come!