A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

I was born a bit too late. In fact, the tracks near my house were pulled up when I was a youngster. Walking along the old railroad tracks is a memory of my youth. I'm sure the right of way went back to the landowners after the metal bars and wooden ties were removed. It's pretty amazing how level, fairly staight transportation corridors used to criss-cross this continent! I can sort of understand a friend's fascination with that mode of travel.

The reason I'm mentioning this is because of an appreciation of one of my favourite movies. I watched it last night on a borrowed DVD. I'm not sure I know when I first saw this one.

Murder on the Orient Express was released in 1974. I'm positive I never saw it in a theatre as I was a freshman in high school. I may have first viewed this classic on video tape in Saudi Arabia. I used to buy illegal tapes made from 12-inch laser discs. So perhaps, I first watched this film in the mid-1980's. It was international just as I was becoming so.

Of course, I've always been appreciative of Agatha Christie's pen. Afterall, I was once Christopher Wren in a high school play.

This movie amazes me, still. There cannot be a better filmed segment where a train leaves the station as it does from Istanbul. I love the concept of returning to a time when there were no cell phones and Net connections. The acting is superb, but if you see the names of the cast you'll have little doubt too.

Labels: movies, train

I cannot believe we've been back for over a month and there are still photos I've not uploaded to Flickr. I did get all the 2006 Sri Lankan images online. I also completed most of the week in Hong Kong. I'm not sure why the process petered out although it could br something to do with being back at work!



The initial pictures from Hong Kong are available for viewing. For example, the photo above was taken on HK island. It was taken from the apartment where ex-colleagues live. I have decided I like this shot. On Flickr I put it in a newly created set with another forty plus photos. The group is called, Some I Like.

Labels: Flickr

Yesterday, I blogged a photo of green grass. It was my reaction to the stormy weather of earlier in the week. There were other effects from the recent pineapple express which pumped subtropical moisture right across the Pacific to our doorstep. People out in the valley experienced flooding. The news reports showed families going back into soggy, muddy homes. How awful!

Although the Fraser River is a block away, we've little to worry about here. The river has been tamed through New Westminster. We did experience extra water as the municipal storm drains couldn't keep up with the tremendous amount of rain. The pressure from uptown had to flow somewhere. Rather than drain, the water created this fountain at a manhole cover at 8th and Columbia.


November 6, 2006 - Thanks for emailing this to me, Kitka.

Labels: New Westminster

I periodically send out test messages to those in my email address book. People seem to be changing addresses less often. I chalk this up to a larger number of people avoiding their ISP's mail for a permanent online service. I did get a note back from an ex-colleague in Ontario. We had worked together in the United Arab Emirates a decade ago.

The photo to the right has not been altered. It was taken in front of our building on Carnarvon Street in New Westminster. The grass really was this green yesterday afternoon. I want to include a snippet of my emailed response.

"I am happy to hear that events went well on your visit here. We were away in September but I'm glad you ran into some good weather while visiting. Vancouver's weather can be great right through the end of October. As I'm typing, the sun has come out of hiding. It had vanished during the last four days. New rainfall records were broken. After moving here, I found the initial winters on this coast a bit depressing. It's because of the all the grey days. One does more than 'get used to it' and now I actually look forward to the wet months. It's better 'n traipsing around in snow."

Labels: New Westminster, weather

I imagine that even the most prolific of writers do not do so every single day. That's why creating a blog is a bit of an unnatural situation. Back in the fall of 2003, I made a decision that would impact my life indefinitely.

Well let's be honest, the future remains unseen. Without a doubt, I have surely impacted the last 167 weeks of my existence. Taking a few minutes every single day to write down something has been as much of a blessing as a burden, at least personally. Although no single entry has been vital, I cannot help but believe that the summation of all these musings do actually add up to something.

Even if unread by friends, I have committed feelings and ideas to a more lasting form than a fleeting thought. A great deal of life flies by quickly so having reference to some of it seems important. This could be important because of my present stage of life. Yet, I do not see others in my age category doing likewise. I have always considered myself special but shouldn't everyone?



I'm not one who'd be comfortable attempting to create poetry or literature. To me it seems as if those avenues of expression are uncomfortably useless and ultimately exchangeable. My words and pictures are a simple attempt at personal creativity and record keeping. Maybe.

Labels: blogging, literature

On Saturday evening we went with friends to see a newly-released Bollywood movie. As it was in limited release, we had to drive to a multiplex in Richmond, BC to see the screening of Umrao Jaan.

We've been around Indian movies enough to know what we were getting into. It had a runtime of three hours and felt it although I didn't find myself checking my watch even once. In this story of a famous courtesan, I was expecting lots of music. If anything, I was surprised it took so long to get to the first song. The movie didn't disappoint with stunning backdrops and amazing costumes. As expected, Aishwarya Rai was drop-dead gorgeous although she was crying in most every scene. I did hope on one or two occasions that another character would slap her and tell her to just get over it. Circumstances weren't kind to Umrao but millions of others suffered to a much larger extent during those years.

This epic was based on 1905 Urdu novel and was previously made into a movie in 1981. We've not seen that but have checked it off on www.zip.ca to see on DVD. Today, modern Indian cinema can put out higher quality visuals and sound than 25-years ago. I like how the camera now frames very tight shots and can linger on a single face for an extended time. Whether these techniques lead to better storytelling can remain a point of argument.

I found the movie was a positive experience. Internet bloggers are not being very kind in their reaction, but why should we believe any of them? When all is said and done, we really only take the time to see classical dramas and not the general, run-of-the-mill slop that Bollywood can generate. This film was worthy of our attention.

Labels: India, movie musical, movies, Tim, zip.ca

I was used to annual vehicle safety inspections. I suppose it makes sense to test whether everybody's cars are roadworthy. In theory this precaution could cut down on accidents. When I'm out on the road, it'd be especially reassuring to know the other fools out there have brakes that work.

So, even after a decade, it still strikes me as a little funny that it's not necessary in British Columbia. We're not scott free though as there is vehicle emission testing. In order to re-register, because I live in the Fraser Valley, my truck must be checked to ensure it doesn't pollute. Until a few years ago, AirCare was mandatory every single year. Of course, practically no newer vehicles failed the testing. So, now vehicles newer than 1992 have to be tested every second year. Of course the fees were doubled when that came into effect!

New changes are coming for next year and there's a possibility that the whole program may cease to exist beyond 2011. To see the pdf version of my report card, click the image.

Labels: cars