For exercise, I run. I got started running outside, of course. When the weather is nice, running outdoors is refreshing, invigorating and uplifting. Really, it is. Especially if you've been dealing with man-made stress at work for eight or nine hours. A good run under a blue sky reminds you that beauty exists, and that your body can do something more than sit in a chair.

But, in Minnesota, the weather just isn't conducive to running outdoors all that often. Well, at least if you're as interested in comfort as I am, it's not. Additionally, while I love my neighborhood, it just doesn't have many options for a good three-to-four mile route. About two years ago, I started running on a treadmill when the weather, or boredom with my route, made me hesitate to run outside.

To make the treadmill run less boring than an outdoor run, I started watching DVDs during the run. In particular, I started watching "Star Trek: Deep Space 9" from the beginning. Let me tell you, it's actually easier for me to run for 30 minutes in front of a good story, with a real warm-up and a real cool-down surrounding it.

Anyway, I'm now watching episodes in season seven. The series has been as good as I remembered. But one thing I had forgotten was how many episodes in seasons six and seven had the character of Vic Fontaine as portrayed by James Darren.

For those of you who don't want to follow the link, I'll sum up: Fontaine was a self-aware holographic character who was a lounge singer in a nice Las Vegas club. The episodes in which he appeared (and in one excellent episode in which he did not) featured Darren singing songs which I guess would be called "Swing Standards." Some of them: "Come Fly With Me," "That Old Black Magic," "It's Only a Paper Moon," "I'll Be Seeing You (in All the Old Familiar Places)."

Well, as I watched those episodes again, I realized how much the music added to the stories, and how much I really, really liked the songs. Consequently, my latest amazon.com purchase included This One's From the Heart, an album of those standards, from which the songs in DS9 were taken. It's been a great purchase. I just might have to buy some similar music from the originators of the standards: Sinatra, Como, and others. But, in fact, I love the smooth interpretations Darren sings. And since they are part of those DS9 episodes, I will probably prefer his versions anyway.

And that's another example of how one thing leads to another. Streams of consciousness are a natural part of my thinking, because, really, life is a stream of events which are interrelated, with some effects stemming from causes one would never expect. Running, leading to buying a crooner's CD? It happens.

Oh, and yes, James Darren is not exactly foreign to science fiction TV. He starred in The Time Tunnel.

Related Links Vic Fontaine James Darren. This One's From the Heart The Time Tunnel

Though I'm quite familiar with the Internet and how it works, I'm still somewhat amazed at the opportunity it provides for the creation of value where it did not exist before. Way to go, gentlemen.

Also impressive is how quickly a Google search picks up the new domain name. And how it can find the reference to the site in Lucas's blog!

By the way, Ask.com still doesn't know about it. But if you've got Google (or Google has you!) that's what really counts.

Twenty-three years ago today, it was the first day of Final Exams for my second semester in the Masters program at Purdue. I didn't have any exams that day, so Adam decided to be born, four weeks early. I was already inclined to place "family" higher on my priority list than most other things, but this event certainly helped start my fatherhood out on the right course.

A few things I will always remember about that week:

• After leaving the hospital that day to go back to Married Student Housing to try to study for my exams, I turned on the car radio. The song which was playing: "Let's Hear it for the Boy." FEver since then, I've always thought of Adam when hear that song.
  
• I did better on the finals I had that week than I had done on any of the other tests I had taken previously at Purdue. It makes no sense -- I certainly didn't feel like I was more focussed.
  
• Sherry got to stay in the hospital for four or five days. In those days, insurance paid for whatever the hospital said was necessary. There were so few babies in the maternity ward (I think Adam was the only one for a while) and the nurses knew they would be sending a first-time mom back to a student father -- they wanted to keep mom and baby a few days to let everyone get some needed rest.
  

And now, Adam's working full-time. The wedding date has been set for June 21, 2008. He owns a home. He's one of my favorite people. And he still helps me keep my priorities straight.

Well done, son. Happy birthday!

This weekend, I got an idea for the "Father of the Bride" toast I could give at Leah's wedding reception.
Leah is currently sixteen years old, and not even close to getting married. But I got the idea nonetheless.
Since it's possible she might some day read this, I have to leave out the details. But it relates to something she once gave me, and I now have it stored safely with some memorabilia so I can find it again in, say, ten years.

And what about a toast for Sarah's wedding reception? Have I gotten that far? Not yet. I have thought for years that Sarah and I ought to write a father/daughter wedding duet, and sing it at her wedding. I remember mentioning it to Sarah once -- I wonder if she remembers.

Yet, it's Adam who will get married first. Hmmm, I wonder if people still do those toasts? A co-worker of mine says his daughter did it last year. Once they have all the other stuff planned, I'll have to ask Adam and Marisa about it.

On the other hand, it might well be that I'll be too choked up to give a toast anyway. Last week at choir we practiced a piece for which Sarah sang the solo in 2000. I remembered the song well because the first time we performed it, I couldn't really sing once the solo began. I just listened to Sarah and realized I was too caught up with pride to be able to sing.

Can I imagine being able to speak at the kids' wedding receptions if I couldn't sing during a normal church service?

Old softie!

Now that I know that worked (see the entry just below this one), I simply have to embed a Spiderman 3 preview. Finally, a clear indication that the filmmakers did not completely screw up the Venom story line.

If you don't like ANY spoilers, don't watch this trailer. But if you have been worried, as I have, that they were really screwing up Venom, the trailer helps assuage your fears.

Mood:  bright

Long, time; no post. So what shall I do to usher my return?

I have to try this cool link/imbed thing.

I'm quite excited about the new Mario game about to arrive. Here's a video preview.

Did it work?

Mood:  happy

Transitions; they keep happening! What a great 16-year-old Leah will make! Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we host her birthday party. How excellent!

But wait! There's more!

Congratulations to Adam -- and Marisa! On March 7, just yesterday, they got engaged!

The smiles on all of the faces in the house were amazingly big and bright.

Our family is growing up. And growing!

• Shawshank Redemption
  
• Titanic
  
• Troy
  
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith
  
• Planes, Trains and Automobiles
  
• Casablanca
  
• Aliens
  
• The Italian Job
  
• Deep Impact
  
• Fight Club
  
• Bachelor Party
  
• West Side Story
  
• X-Files Season 1
  
• Stargate: Atlantis Season 1
  

Oh, and then I also have Hoosiers sitting on the pile. It's that time of year again.

Opinions, anyone?

Yes, yes, I know. I own too many DVDs.

The opinion I was looking for relates to which of the above I should watch next.
Any opinions on that topic?

Hint, the chances I will ever see Bachelor Party are pretty slim. Though I hear there is this one scene...

Title	Rating	Type	Date	Actors	Notes
Jesus Christ Superstar	91	M	2/24/07	Ted Neely Carl Anderson Yvonne Elliman	What can I say. Excellent music. Great setting. I always want to see it during Lent, and it never disappoints.
My Fair Lady	89	M	2/24/07	Rex Harrison Audrey Hepburn	Such clever lyrics. A fine message about language. If only Eliza had found a man good enough for her.
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	91	F	05/06 07/06 02/07		They got it right. The children were perfect – especially Lucy. The world was small enough, and the inhabitants fanciful enough, and the Queen evil enough.

I watched "Jesus Christ Superstar" on my own. I had company for the others.

Sure, we wish we had been at Leah's performance of "Beauty and the Beast." The storm canceled that. Time to "make lemonade," if you will. We got to build Magic decks, and create scrapbook pages, and do homework -- all while watching movies.

And, if you can believe it, I kept from singing during "My Fair Lady." It was tough, but I did it.

Since I was alone for "JCS," I sang. Plenty!

No one could join me for lunch.

Bad news at work.

Drawing all the wrong cards in Magic.

Can't even win a game of solitaire.

You know what that means?

Tomorrow has to be better.

Right?

Of course it does!

"This, too, shall pass."

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Happy Friday, everyone.