The Manlius Formation

Haven’t read the Declaration of Independence recently? It’s worth a look. Reading it this year strikes a special chord given the absolutely shameful state of affairs in the New York state senate.

The first six grievances listed in the Declaration deal directly with the fact that there is someone (King George) standing in the way of our legislative bodies to govern. Now we’re standing in our own way.

Our forebears made immeasurable sacrifices to secure the ability of the states to govern themselves. If they saw the goings-on in the NY state senate today I’m not so sure they’d think their sacrifices were worth it.

During my recent trip north I learned a little about Canada Day, which is being celebrated today. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know much about the history of Canada’s origins, but thanks to an article in the paper at the hotel, I learned a little something.

Way back in 1867, the British Parliament passed the British North America Act, which organized the four original provinces into a confederation. This was done mainly to counter the Manifest Destiny practiced by the rabble-rousers to their south.

Over the years, various other acts were passed, granting more and more power to the Canadian parliament, until the 1982 passing of the Canada Act. The Canada Act finally granted Canada full control over its constitution, although Queen Elizabeth II remains the Queen of Canada, and Canada remains part of the commonwealth of nations (UK, Australia, Jamaica, etc) who share the Queen as Head of State.

So on this grand day, I say thank you to the nation that gave us the Ski-Doo (so-named thanks to a typo of the name “Ski-Dog”), the green plastic garbage bag, and Alex Trebek.

In honor of the day, a photo of the Best Mom Ever tending to her charges…

It’s getting close to my bedtime, so I won’t drone on - I just wanted to post a few photos from the weekend.

Thomas spent the second segment of his “week of birthday celebrations” eating ice cream cake:

On Sunday morning, Kath and I took the kids for a walk around Rockland Lake. It was FREEZING, and the wind was a-whippin’ something fierce - there were whitecaps rolling onto the shore! Here they are in one of the warmer moments:

After an excellent early supper with Nanny and Poppy, we all headed over to Laura’s for an egg hunt. We all got to meet the Easter Bunny - except Ed, who always seems to not be around when the Easter Bunny shows up. Curious.

Last, but not least, my mom with Justin, the latest addition to the extended family:

This is one of my favorite times of year. Is it because spring is nigh, and the birds are chirping? No. Because the days are longer, and the sun shines from early in the morning until late at night? No. The reason is simple: the four-hour extravaganza created in 1956 - Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments.

Sure, Charlton Heston was a horrible actor.^[1] Sure, Moses may not have had the bottomless supply of metaphors^[2] and the silver tongue^[3] he wields with unchecked abandon in the film. Sure, Joshua probably didn’t flit around on ropes like Errol Flynn. But there’s something about this epic creation that keeps me glued to the TV for hours.

Now, I enjoy How the Grinch Stole Christmas and other similar holiday-time TV happenings, but none nearly so much as this.

I hereby declare The Ten Commandments to be the greatest historically-themed epic of all time.

So let it be written. So let it be done.

1. To say nothing of his politics [back]
2. ”Blood makes poor mortar.” [back]
3. ”The man stupid enough to use you as a footstool would not be wise enough to rule Egypt.” [back]

I don’t know about you, but I’m all set for 2009, aka the BEST YEAR EVER. But first, here’s a look^[1] at how we wrapped up 2008:

After opening our presents on Christmas morning…

… we set off on “Holiday Grand Tour 2008.”

(more…)

1. I have fewer photos than I’d like because we spent so much time enjoying ourselves that I often forgot stop to capture the moment! [back]

Well, it’s almost 10pm. It was a fun and exhausting (in a good way) day. Most of it was spent baking cookies and listening to Christmas music. We also got in some prime sledding time until it got too warm (yes, too warm).

The kids have been put to bed,^[1] Santa has carefully (and quietly) placed their presents under the tree, and we patiently await the morning festivities.

Merry Christmas.

1. The kids are still at the age where once they fall asleep nothing short of dropping a lion and a wildebeest in bed with them will wake them up before they are good and ready. I sense we’re on the brink of a change, and I think next year’s magical appearance of gifts will be tricky to pull off. [back]

The boys and I engaged in our annual gingerbread house construction today. I continue to marvel at the different ways their brains work.

Daniel’s side of the roof was a study in order - the colors, the placement, the types of candy - all arranged in a discernable and regular pattern.

Thomas’ side of the roof was… well, lets just say that if Jackson Pollock worked in gingerbread Thomas might be accused of plagiarism (or the visual equivalent).