#diefenbaker’s family

[theoriginofcarrots]

30 Years of Red Ships and Green Ships

Celebrating 30 years of Due South.

30 years of Fraser and Ray K (not yet but soon…). Also Dief’s great-great-grandaughter.

I missed the @ds30below ‘s fanart week; posting these a bit/too late but I hope it’s ok.

Charcoal pencil drawings on paper + a few digitally added effects

ALSO ON AO3 - onnakarot

[sammaggs]

1x06 Chinatown | Pay

The blog’s namesake. My favourite ❤️

[eranjayne]

March Mini Sessions!

The weather is getting nicer - time for March minis!

Can you feel it?!? Spring is coming!! Each day, I watch to see if the daffodils have started blooming in my front yard – I feel like they’ve been trying for weeks! But spring will be here before we know it and that means warmer and nicer weather – perfect for a quick family photo session! Each month this year, I’ll be offering at least ONE weekend date of 4 back-to-back mini sessions, at a local…

[variousqueerthings]

omg dude (gn) you got into due south? I've followed you for a long time bc mash, I love it when people I know from other fandoms get into my most beloved stuff <3 check out @ds30below btw if you're interested, it's an anniversary fest I run with a lof of fun stuff etc etc! and have funnnnn it's such a great show!

helloooooooo

yes, a bunch of mutuals have been going wild over it for a hot sec and it was Time!

I'm on episode 3 (not counting the pilot) and I have a lot of initial Thoughts to bring over from the discord onto this illustrious site, so i will use this ask as An Excuse:

Frasier is really introduced as an Archetype of masculinity, which is almost immediately subverted by his being completely without machismo -- his machismo is so in the negative that he goes around and becomes this Ideal of masculinity instead

the fact that his ethos is kindness, but it's not necessarily guileless. it is selfless in that he's not necessarily expecting to get returns on it all the time, but it's also -- to him -- often truly the most effective means to an end: if you're kind to others, people will often become kinder. this can be useful in the shortterm (if you give this kid a nice sandwich and don't threaten him with jail time and help him out a bit, he'll try to help with a case...) and in the longterm (this kid will stay in school and have a better future ahead of him, hopefully)

(i will get to ray btw, need to just get all the frasier thoughts out first)

frasier really embodies autistic swag. he takes things incredibly literally, he follows scripts (in this case, The Mountie Script, and also within that some kinda Code Of Gallantry), he's an incredible people-reader of the "autistic savant" type arguably (except there's more to him so the savant trope doesn't quite hold, which is good), his relationship with his dog Diefenbaker, the fact that although he is nigh-effortlessly kind of charming (because he's clark kent vibes!!! he's charming in a way as if he stepped out of a novel set 100 years ago in which kissing women's hands was the norm) he doesn't really make close friendships easily, because there's an Otherness to him that keeps him at a distance to others (except ray. WE WILL GET TO RAY STAY TUNED)

speaking of Distance, a lot of the aroaceness i've read into him so far (and we're literally only three episodes in!!!) really does feel like his autism is triggered by come-ons in the "this is not in my script!" kind of way. his charm is tripped up by the obvious step of "charming man is charming, I will shoot my shot," it's happened several times and every time he tries to extricate himself in the most awkward way possible. can't go on a date, you see. i have.. a dog. and no phone. um. ok. bye.

lot of thoughts on his hero-worship of his absent father and how much of his script comes from wanting to make his father proud

frasier also tastes things a lot of the time and ray thinks it's gross and i think that's something too. the doctor (doctor who) autism coded

OKAY TIME FOR RAY

he reminds me. of gonzo. he has the same transmasc swag. as gonzo. his shirts. his ties. that fuckn. OVERSIZED SO OVERSIZED MASSIVE STUPID JACKET. he's transmasc swag/fail coded in the same way as gonzo. he is gonzo

ray spends so much time in the beginning admonishing frasier for his consistent kindness to others, and the thing is. The Thing Is. he met frasier and (barring the immediate impression) decided to nearly immediately invite him to a massive family dinner. then he saved him from a bomb and got himself hospitalised. then he followed him to canada to help him. and that's only in the pilot! ray is so kind to frasier constantly. he's such an abrasive man to pretty much everyone except to frasier from day one

when frasier asked him to get a special pass for his wolf and at the end of the episode he did, and frasier was like: "i only asked you once and you got it 🥺" "of course i did, you asked me for it 😍"

just. nigh. constantly. kind. to. him. currently frasier's in hospital because he got stabbed and we had ray running to see him, forcing his way into his room, comforting him, sir you make fun of the way all the girls fall at his feet (and how frasier never notices) I think you are one of the girls!

MY MAN GOT HIM FLOWERS WHILE HE WAS IN HOSPITAL JUST BECAUSE??????? SIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (he also makes him take aspirin, he's giving real caretaker in this episode)

so far we know less about ray than about frasier, but im glad the show has him be mouthy, sarcastic, pessimistic, but he's not cruel or callous -- arguably he wants frasier in his life in order to challenge him on his cynical worldview, he's nourished and inspired by frasier's approach towards the world as much as everyone else

misc: I really like that the world being presented isn't necessarily kind, but the main characters (ray learning to be softer via frasier) are kind as a response. it's got some Coolness Factor Shorthand stuff going on ofc, but it is fundamentally a story about facing a relatively realistic world with kindness in order to make it better

I'm sad eric schweig was only in the pilot but the main thrust of the show does take place in chicago i guuuuuuuesss. his role in that pilot was great though, a lot of interesting stuff about taking away frasier's rose-coloured lens of the world, and especially canada, but he also gets what's his at the end, so he's not just there to "offer advice" (although there is a bit of that trope for sure, especially as he doesn't seem to have a name). great character, if I write fic where they go to canada he's definitely gonna be in there!

me and @gjdraws were talking about how ray clearly likes spoiling frasier -- he's the one with the money, he gets him the wolf licence, brings him flowers in hospital, carries aspirin for him.... I'm just saying we were robbed of a "ray takes frasier shopping and there's a montage" bit, considering how frasier only has two fuckn outfits in the first few episodes. who took him shopping??? there's no way he went on his own steam. that was ray all the way! private runway show

[marley-manson]

The wolf license at the end of Diefenbaker's Day Off is such a good Ray/Fraser thesis statement moment.

Fraser asks if Ray can get him one early on in the episode. Ray is like "Yeah, yeah, sure, leave it to me," while distracted by a basketball game at a bar, and Fraser's request isn't even entirely clear with the way he phrases it. Fraser can tell Ray's distracted and clearly thinks Ray's response is perfunctory rather than genuine.

The plot of the episode unfolds and this isn't brought up again until the end of the b-plot where Dief is caught by the dog catcher, and Ray presents the license right in time to save Dief. "Well he's mine now, because you sure as hell don't have a wolf license." "In fact, he does." <3

And Fraser's sheer delighted disbelief is just perfect. "I only asked you once, and you got it." "Of course I got it, you asked me for it, right?" It's not even a question for Ray, Fraser asked him to do something so it gets done. He 100% meant that "yeah yeah leave it to me" at the bar even if it didn't sound like it.

Like in terms of setting up their characters and the dynamic between them it's perfect. Ray is someone whose actions belie his words and tone. Not only will he do anything for Fraser, it's obvious to him that he would. He pays attention even when he doesn't seem like he is, he cares, and if Fraser asks him for a favour, that favour gets done, like basic cause and effect.

And Fraser is someone who's never had a person who was there for him the way Ray is. He's largely defined by the way his father put his job over his family and was never there for him, raised by his strict grandparents even though his dad was alive and well. As an adult he's a loner and a fish out of water, not just in Chicago but even back in the Canadian north, where his colleagues still saw him as an oddball.

He asks Ray for this favour not actually expecting it, especially not after one conversation. He expects to have to cajole Ray for a wolf license, or get one himself. But Ray gets it for him after one off-hand comment, and the framing of the license as episode bookends, as well as Fraser's reaction, make it very clear how deliberate this dynamic is as a significant aspect of their relationship and sets it up for further exploration down the line in episodes like North and Vault.

Honestly it's almost like Fraser starts making up for lost time in being able to depend on someone, the way he asks Ray for things after this, and relishes Ray's responsiveness lol. Like there's a joke about it in Chicago Holiday a few episodes later, when Fraser slyly says, "Sometimes when you stand still the world comes to you," as Ray brings him something he'd forgotten. Fraser takes to Ray's unwavering support like a duck to water.

Honestly it's no wonder I was immediately hooked when I happened to catch the last five minutes of Diefenbaker's Day Off way back in the day.

[alexandramrobertson]

An offline fan's history

I grew up in Canada, and my earliest memories of Due South are of watching it on the family TV with my mother. I was too young to understand the humour or most of the plot. I didn't know where Chicago was. But even then I knew the show was something special. Where else on TV could you see a man in a scarlet tunic running around the big city?

More than a decade later, I rewatched the entire series. Somehow, those episodes I watched over my mother's shoulder were burned into my memory. When I saw the sweat lodge in Fraser's apartment (Season 2, Episode 6), I realized "I've seen this episode before!" I wondered when Fraser was going to pull out the semaphore skills I remembered from my childhood (Season 2, Episode 17). And of course I remembered Diefenbaker.

I don't have much experience with fandom, especially online, or writing fan fiction. I mostly write original fantasy fiction. But when I realized that this year was the thirtieth anniversary of Due South, I wanted to join the fun with @ds30below. I'm excited to see the fandom's enthusiasm and creativity.

[lookturtles]

Alone and Lonely

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55957330

(500 words) by look_turtles

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom:vdue South

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Major Character Death

Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski<br />Characters: Turtle (due South), Diefenbaker (due South)

Additional Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: Benton is lonely. Set after CoTW.

An: Written for the anythingdrabble prompt: paperwork. fic under Read More.

Ever since his Grandparents died, Benton had felt lonely; he only saw his father a few times a year and Mark and Eric had their own lives. Then he found Dief and didn’t feel so lonely. He met Ray Vecchio and his loud Italian family made Benton feel like part of something special. Then he met Ray Kowalski and Ray filled his life with noise and movement and after a while

love. A love that deepened as the years passed and their lives became intertwined.

Benton woke up in his bed and reached over to pull Ray close only to be met with a cold blanket. Then he remembered that Ray was gone and it hit him hard. He rolled over onto his back and steeled himself to face yet another day without Ray. He often thought that he envied his Grandfather who died within a week of his Grandmother’s death. It had been six months and three days since Ray died and Benton felt the loss everyday.

After several minutes, he got out of bed and walked through his cabin. The cabin felt so big and quiet without Ray to fill it with noise.

He stopped by Spot the turtle’s tank and took him out.

‘Good morning, Spot.’

‘Morning. Miss Golden Turtle.’

‘I know. I miss him too,’ Benton said because Golden Turtle was Ray. He carried Stop to the kitchen.

He put spot on the counter and gave him an apple. He went over to the stove to make breakfast.

He preferred tea, but he made coffee and put Smarties in it to feel closer to Ray.

Suddenly he heard the hinges of the closet door in his bedroom squeak and his heartbeat quickened. He picked up Spot and ran to his bedroom. He hoped he was right.

When he went into his bedroom even though he was indeed right he still gasped. Ray was standing into front of the open closet door. He looked as young as when they first met.

He came up to Benton and grinned. ‘Miss me?’

‘I have,’ Benton said as he felt tears slide down his cheeks.

‘Missed you too,’ Ray said. He took Spot and set him on the floor, he then pulled Benton into a tight hug. Benton clung to Ray and breathed in Ray’s familiar spicy scent and felt Ray’s soft worn cotton shirt under his hands.

Ray’s lips felt warm and chapped when they shared a kiss. Ray broke the kiss and there were happy tears in his eyes too.

‘I would’ve got here sooner, but there was a lot of paperwork to do. Someone else wants to see you,’ Ray whistled and Dief ran out of the closet. Dief ran up to him and he kneeled down and wrapped his arms around Dief and buried his face in Dief’s soft fur. As his tears wet Dief’s fur he thought that he was no longer lonely because his family was back.

And he was indeed never lonely again.

[alfvaen]

Novel Sun

Time marches on…and while time was marching on through the month of June, I read a number of books. If you don't want to find out more about them, you should stop reading now.

Potential spoilers for Minister Faust's "War & Mir", Sharon Shinn's Archangel series, Django Wexler's Shadow Campaigns, and of course Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga.

Lois McMaster Bujold: Diplomatic Immunity, completed June 2

Getting into the home stretch on the Vorkosigan Saga Reread…by which I mean, getting into the latter-day books that I generally didn't enjoy as much. For one thing, the title does nothing for me. "Diplomatic immunity" has nothing to do with anything. It would make a better title for Jhereg than it would for this book. Is it worse than The Warrior's Apprentice? Yeah, probably. But anyway. The plot is not fudged by the mind-numbing coincidence which ruins Komarr for me, but it has a similar feel of trying to solve one mystery and then mostly tossing that aside because of a different mystery. Maybe this is a standard kind of thing for a mystery, or a thriller, but I don't know if I'm a fan of it. The underlying plot is (spoilers) mostly drawn from Cetaganda, the setting is extrapolated from Falling Free, and while there is plenty of excitement and tension, at least in the second half of the book, it's not quite enough to outweigh the other bits, and it leaves me nitpicking. (Is there any reason for the admiral in charge of the fleet to be a Vorpatril? Plenty of other Vor families exist… Also, the character going by the alias 'Dubauer' kept making me wonder if there was some connection back to the brain-fried guy from Shards of Honour, which there is not…) Also, Ekaterin and Roic are both present, but neither gets POV; I can see that maybe there's not enough for Ekaterin to do to give her her own POV, but there almost is. Anyway, it doesn't quite feel fully satisfying, and maybe some of these things are why, but it's hard to quantify.

Minister Faust: War & Mir, Part II: The Darkold, completed June 7

Once again I had almost completely run out of books by male "diversity" authors (and in general I seem to need more African vs. Asian, too) so after the last one I recalled that I hadn't yet gotten the second book in Minister Faust's "War & Mir" series. What with one thing and another, I ended up having to get my wife to purchase it on her Kobo the night before I was due to start it.

Minister Faust is not his real name; his real name is Malcolm Azania (one time he was running for MP and had to do so under his real name, and I didn't connect them for a few years) but I believe he originally used Minister Faust as an alias when he was hosting a local radio show (yes, local as in Edmontonian). I've met him a couple of times, most memorably when he did a presentation at a local con about why one should watch "Avatar: The Last Airbender", which I did, and it was great, so thanks for that. I've read most of his other novels, I think--Coyote Kings of The Space-Age Bachelor Pad, From The Notebooks of Dr. Brain (which I think he's re-released under a different title), and The Alchemists of Kush, though it looks like there's plenty of stories that I haven't read, and maybe more recent novels.

There is, handily, a summary of Book One at the beginning of this one; I usually like those because I frequently forget what happened because of how I tend to space out the novels in a series. I remembered that it started out in Edmonton, a local downtown mall got trashed, and there was something about the "Diefenbunker", a former cold-war bunker near Ottawa from the days of Prime Minister Diefenbaker, and some kind of hidden civilization elsewhere in the solar system and an arrogant princess type that our protagonist had to deal with.

This one goes through some dark places, as our main character is now a fugitive and separated from most of his resources, and with a boy to take care of. There's human vs. "Numan" racism, oppressive "company-store" indentured servitude, tragic character deaths…our main character is sorely tried. So it's not a cheerful book, but there are moments of triumph. Unfortunately, I suspect that (like some of the other books I've read this year) the next book in the series is delayed and not yet out.

Django Wexler: The Shadow Throne, completed June 13

Decided to go back to some epic fantasy (well, gunpowder fantasy, at least) for my next book, mildly thick, and return to the Django Wexler series I started less than a year ago (a pretty fast pace, for me). The first book took place in a fantasy north-African setting, with a colonial army forced to take the side of a decadent ruler over the religious fanatics trying to overthrow him. Somehow it managed to feel less problematic than that summary implies, because there's treachery within and without, and dark demonic forces that our protagonists are, of course, against. Said protagonists are Winter, the young commander who's secretly a woman (and a lesbian), and Marcus, the doughty captain, but a central character is Janus Vhalnich, a new commander sent down there to fail, but with an agenda of his own.

The second book opens with the three of them returning from overseas to the capital after their (spoilers: successful) campaign, and without the army from book one because Janus is in too much of a hurry. Not to worry, there are plenty of new secondary characters, starting with a new POV character, Princess Raesinia, sole heir after the untimely death of her brother; the reason Janus is in so much of a hurry is because the king is on his deathbed and not expected to last much longer. Raesinia is secretly working with revolutionaries who don't know her true identity, to try to counter the plots of Duke Orlanko, the sinister head of the kingdom's spies. Janus is appointed Minister of Justice, Winter gets sent undercover (where she has to "pretend" to be a woman) and Marcus is put in charge of the city guards, and soon it becomes clear that this is based heavily on the French Revolution. Which apparently makes Janus…Napoleon? And Orlanko, I dunno, Cardinal Richelieu? The magical elements are sparing but highly significant to the plot, and Marcus and Winter's backstories are also relevant. Occasional villain POVs are not too disruptive. There were several places where I got stuck on a page, mostly because it was doing description and I was just having trouble focusing on it. And plenty of times there were gaps between scenes where time passed but it wasn't immediately clear, so a little confusing. Minor points, mostly.

I'm not sure what the title's referring to, though. I don't know if the phrase was ever explicitly used in the book, though I may have missed it. Maybe it's just metaphorical, but it bugs me a little.

Sharon Shinn: The Alleluia Files, completed June 18

Looking now for a female author, not epic fantasy and probably not space opera (since there's more Vorkosigan coming up), I still had a few choices. I wasn't really feeling like urban fantasy, either, so I ended up picking the Sharon Shinn mostly because it had been waiting for quite a while.

My wife has read a liked a lot of Sharon Shinn, but I was kind of meh on the first Samaria book, Archangel, and it took me a while to get around to the second one, Jovah's Angel. I liked that one a lot better, though. So I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get around to this one. I've probably forgotten a lot of what happened last book, of course. But it's okay because it's been a hundred years and most of the people on the planet have also forgotten what happened back then.

The Samaria books take place on one of these lost colony worlds, whose inhabitants have pretty much forgotten that it's a colony world. (Sometimes this gives me Pern vibes.) Some of the inhabitants are angels--they have wings, and can fly, and they can sing to the god Jovah for some things (like rain, or food, or thunderbolts) and if they sing it right, then Jovah will give them what they ask for. Angels and humans can (and perhaps must? I'm not quite clear) interbreed, and their offspring can be either human or angel. Angel-human romances are a big part of the series.

Most of the action takes place on the island of Samaria, centre of the human colony, and most place names and personal names are very Biblical--this book includes a Tamar and a Jared, for instance. In the last book, the angel Alleluia made some discoveries about the technological underpinnings of their society, but was not ready to reveal them; there's a group called the Jacobites who believe that Jovah is not a god but mere technology, and they search for the "Alleluia Files", a lost record that they believe contains proof in Alleluia's own words. The current Archangel, Bael, does not like the Jacobites at all, and is secretly trying to wipe them out…but there are now settlements off Samaria, in the land of Ysral, where they welcome Jacobites, and are trying to embrace some of the technology rediscovered in Alleluia's time, such as motorized vehicles and the ability to record and transmit sound.

We follow the characters of Tamar, a Jacobite who soon ends up a fugitive; Jared, an angel who is mostly drifting through his life; and Lucinda, a somewhat sheltered angel who has been raised on an island between Samaria and Ysral and is just now exploring mainstream angel society. There's some harsh tonal shifts between Tamar repeatedly fleeing for her life, and Jared wandering through upper-class diversions before he stumbles upon her, and it doesn't always quite work, but for the most part it's a satisfying conclusion to the original trilogy. There are two more books, but I'm told they are further back in the timeline and concentrating on the angel-human romances rather than the rediscovery of technology, so I may leave those for now, since we have a number of other Sharon Shinn series to choose from. I've thus replaced it with Mystic And Rider as my next likely Sharon Shinn book.

Lois McMaster Bujold: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, completed June 22

The next Vorkosigan reread...I recall this as a fun book but not always satisfying, because there are some abrupt lurches in the plot which don't really work for me. As the title implies, we are focusing on Miles Vorkosigan's cousin Ivan Vorpatril, who has showed some signs in the past of wanting to settle down, and Byerly Vorrutyer returns from A Civil Campaign as his foil. His romantic interest is a new character, a woman named Tej of mysterious background, who Ivan is obliged to marry early in the book, after a he-investigates-her-she-stuns-him meet-cute turns into the-authorities-are-after-her. And then a bunch more characters from her past show up midway through the book and kind of take over the plot. Simon Illyan at least does get a good role in this one, and the climactic scenes of the book are pretty good, but it doesn't hang together as well as it should.

And that's all for June, because the next book I chose turned out to be another thick fantasy book, and will take me into July. I am embracing my Goodreads Challenge rebellion, by which I mean I'm probably going to lower my total to 90 for the year.

I did read another Love & Rockets ebook on my Kindle Fire, from the bundle I got a while back. This one, Luba And Her Family, has bits that I probably remember from some of the comics that I got (I do have some of the Love & Rockets Vol. 2 though I haven't read them very much), though there were some scenes from the comics that I remember that weren't in here so I have apparently read even further than this. It's all, or almost all, set in California, little or nothing in Palomar. A lot of it follows Venus, a preteen girl who is the daughter of Luba's half-sister Petra. We do also see Luba herself, and Doralis and Pipo and Sergio, and Guadalupe and Gato and Casimira, and even a little bit of Maricela. Oh, and Khamo flashbacks, which is interesting, since he's always been a bit of a cipher. Nothing of Heraclio and Carmen (who are probably still in Palomar or something). It's interesting, though there's little plot throughline, nothing like "Human Diastrophism" or "Poison River".

I put the Sugar book on the back burner again, and wanted to pick out another more interesting nonfiction book to read for a bit. I had taken a few of my late stepfather's last time we visited my mom, but some of them seem to have aged poorly. Wikinomics, all about online collaboration, it positively ancient, and More Good News, about climate change, was also a decade or so old. I'm trying Risk by Daniel Gardner (which has been reprinted under other titles as well, such as The Science of Fear), though I haven't gotten too far yet. He seems a little gosh-wow about evolutionary psychology, which I am so over, not to mention the "obesity epidemic", but there might be something interesting about cognitive biases. He also draws from the Thinking, Fast And Slow theories about the two types of thinking. And it even has a special afterword about the 2008 financial crisis! …So we'll see how it goes.

[oldfangirl81]

My brain really is always trying to connect Marvel to my other fandoms. But when you bring Gods, magic and the multiverse then anything becomes possible.

Fandoms: The Sentinel, Due South, Young Justice, Torchwood, Nimona, Warehouse 13, Lucifer, Stranger Things, 911 Lone Star, Hawaii 50, 911, Eureka

• Sentinel: Clint is sentinel whose strength is sight. But his abusive father still cost him a good chunk of hearing. Other events have left Clint completely deaf in one ear and partially in the other. In a world where ableism exists this makes it hard to find a guide. Until he meets Coulson/Natasha/Bobbi/Bucky/Darcy/Laura.

• Due South: Teenage Clint has been betrayed by Barney and Trickshot. The circus happened to be in Chicago at the time. Clint ends up homeless after being released/sneaking out from the hospital. He meets Diefenbaker on one of his adventures. This leads to Ray and Benton fostering Clint. Hawkeye still becomes an Avenger but he was SHIELDS best track in both urban and wilderness settings.

• DC: Young Justice Connor Kent tries to protect his team from an angry magic user. Instead of dying he is transported to the Barton farm a week before the snap. How would Clint's arc change if he had a superpowered teenager following him like a duckling.

• Torchwood: During Captain Jack's absence the rift gets odd again. Ianto and Toshiko get pulled in and spit back out in the sanctum sanctorum. Wong and Ianto bond over properly brewed hot drinks. Toshiko makes friends with a hacker online by the name of Skye.

• Nimona: What if Nimona brought a guest back with them in the form of a shape shifting Asgardian Loki. The God flirts heavily with Ballister to the annoyance of Ambrosius.

• Warehouse 13: Somehow Steve's shield becomes an artifact. Steve, Bucky and Sam take a trip to the warehouse in hopes of fixing it.

• Warehouse 13: During a new experiment to bring back her daughter HG Wells is sent to Tony Stark's lab while the man was explaining something to Peter Parker. To Clint's amusement HG flirts heavily with Natasha.

• Lucifer: Clint follows a suspect into Lux and stops her from taking a shot at Lucifer. When the cops arrive Clint has the awkward moment of seeing his ex-boyfriend, Detective Dan Espinoza.

• Stranger Things: Instead of exiting the upside down they end up in the sanctum. Much to Dr Stranger's annoyance but he does assist in helping them get back eventually. It takes effort because once the kids discover they are in a comic universe they want to explore.

• 911 Lone Star: When Steve was on his bike tour he met a Texas Ranger who he struck up a friendship with. Bucky, Steve and Sam were in town for the wedding incognito as "work friends". Because of this the gun shot wasn't fatal. Carlos doesn't know how to react to his Dad being friends with Avengers. And ones that weren't straight. I love a Jewish Bucky so he bonds with TK on several levels.

• Hawaii 50: Clint is taking a forced vacation in Hawaii. As luck would have it he's in a museum that Charlie's school was visiting when it was taken hostage. The bad guys are specifically looking for Charlie as revenge for something related to his stepdad. Clint stops them before the task force arrives. He quickly becomes family.

• 911: Bucky and Clint are trying a normal date at the Santa Monica Pier. They befriend a kid and the guy they assume is his stepdad. Then the Tsunami hits. Because of the extra trained adults Chris doesn't get lost. The school gets in hot water for calling Chris a liar for saying an Avenger saved him. The lawsuit goes down very differently, either because they get him a better lawyer who works with the union or offer Buck a job with Avengers HQ in New York.

• Eureka: Clint drops in on an old friend, Sheriff Jack Carter. Given all the shenanigans he's used to the town barely phases Clint. However Nathan Stark is not happy to have a member of his cousin's boyband hanging around Jack. His headache increases when several assassins, Bucky and Natasha, arrive to bug Clint.

[fleurcareil]

Central Saskatchewan: Great Sand Hills, Sask. Landing and Manitou Beach

Driving from Alberta into Saskatchewan was immediately clear from the road condition; similar to driving from the Netherlands into Belgium, the way my car suddenly started rattling left no doubt I had crossed the border! 😂 The convoy of cars that I had been keeping up with also suddenly dissipated, so I was all alone on a crappy road in the middle of nowhere while dark clouds were brewing on the horizon - welcome to Saskatchewan! 🙃

Driving here (on older roads, they do also have top-notch new asphalt) gives the sensation of being drunk on a rolling boat 😝, constantly going up & down from left to right... there's actually no potholes but I'm guessing the asphalt's ability to withstand the cold winter might make it more ellastic so that it sags all over the place... on some stretches my head shaked so hard, I felt like a bobblehead! 🤣 (less good for my stomach though)

When I finally made a right turn after 245 km on the same road out of Drumheller, it was as I had suspected on a gravel road; I was now squarely back on the Prairies! 🤩 The gravel roads are in good condition (although the Manitoba ones are even better), but the loose gravel does mean I need to be more focused to stay in the tracks, so it's tiring and slower.

I didn't take many pictures of the scenery as it's exactly the same as when I drove westward through the province 😁 (albeit that was a more southern route than now on my return), so please check out my earlier blog if you're curious how the Prairies looks like, basically one field after another. I did include below pic of what-I-presume is a blooming wheat field, as it looked really golden! ☺

My first stop in Saskatchewan was at the Great Sand Hills near Spectre, where the cowboy way of life is idolized in a pretty stone mural and an arch of old (mostly falling apart) boots.

The sand hills are a remnant of glacial lake deposits, similar to the Spirit Sands I had hiked in southwest Manitoba. Where this used to be a vast expanse of moving sand dunes, most are now stabilized due to vegetation, so there's only a few truly sandy ones left over (which are expected to be gone by the end of the century). Despite them not being so high as I had expected - when driving along the flat fields, I had already been wondering why I didn't see them miles away - the reserve protects a small island of native prairie ecosystem in the middle of farmland so that makes them valuable just as they are!

During a little hike through the dunes, the only thing you could hear was the wind rustling through the bushes and the bellowing of cattle 😀 which was very relaxing until a cow family suddenly came directly my way! The male was looking at me while advancing towards me so not knowing what to expect, I backed off... turned out they really just wanted to walk over to another patch of grass behind me, so off they went over the dune. 😁

An hour further east, I checked in at Saskatchewan Landing provincial park on Lake Diefenbaker for a two-night stay. The lake is a massive 225km-long (almost as long as the Netherlandsb is wide! 😮) hydro reservoir that feels like an oasis after descending from the grasslands plateau, as it's green & lush with vegetation. It explained all the boat trailers I had seen driving on the dusty prairie roads which had felt really odd! 😅

I had wanted to capture the sunset but ended up talking at length to a Canadian-Belgian couple who recognized my accent 😀, so I missed the pretty pink colours but instead I did see a mesmerizing full moon! It had just been a few days that India had landed on the moon so it was special to consider that there's now a piece of that country so far away (I congratulated my Indian friends)! ☺

The next day, I had planned and indeed did absolutely nothing all day!! 🎉 As you'll have figured out by now, this is not something I do often (last time was at Kouchibouguac in New Brunswick over 2 months ago), but it was supposed to be a real summery hot day so was excited about getting to the beach.... it turned out to be only 22 degrees, cloudy and with a lot of wind so my beach-bumming did not completely work out as I had hoped 🤨 but still had a glorious day of basically sitting at the campsite, sitting at the beach (with clothes on) and then back to sitting at the campsite 😂

On the way to the beach though (a 2k drive to the other side of the lake), I had to pay my respects ofcourse to an old bison rubbing stone, and also checked out the viewpoint which really shows how the lake creates this green ribbon in an otherwise yellow-brown landscape, aka an oasis!

Having had such a long lazy day (including eating a delicious raspberry cheesecake icecream 🤗), I already had all the veggies prepped for roasting on the fire by 6pm (which is very early as I usually only set up camp by 7) but it felt a waste to start the fire when it was still light, so I ended up having a late dinner after all 😅. Over my beers, I came up with the idea that I could create my own cozy "virtual fireplace" video that I can play on my laptop on cold winter days... what do you think?!? 🤣🤣

The next day, the air felt different and when I walked over to the lake to watch the sunrise, it was confirmed; the smoke was back and the sun was really struggling to break through 😒. Too much wind to paddle so I left early hoping that things might be better elsewhere.

Same scenery as the day before 😜 (never boring though!), but I did capture one more "golden field" as example of the absolute nothingness... in a way, Labrador and the Prairies have this flat, monotone landscape in common despite their widely different geography, climate and ecosystems; that of Labrador is a sea of trees and here it's a sea of fields... In contrast, Québec, Ontario, BC and the other provinces have a much more varied landscape of ocean, lakes, mountains, forest AND fields.

When driving, the road oftentimes looked black from insects which I wasn't sure what they were (not flies luckily! 😅), until the gentleman at the gas station explained while cleaning my windows, that they're crickets eating grasshopper eggs... as it had been a dry summer, there were lots of grasshoppers and as a result the crickets had a bumper year, great example of prey-predator cycles! PS. Unfortunately a few miles after the gas station, there was a lengthy stretch of roadwork & gravel detours, so that meant RIP for my short-lived clean windows...

I found a few days later a cricket who had hitchhiked in my trunk, so he/she was quickly booted out when I saw it - I had already searched for whatever culprit snacked on my paper towel and was relieved it wasn't a mouse 😜.

The gas station was in the town of Outlook, and I must admit it took me a while to remember why it sounded so familiar... just shows how 3.5 months off work can undo a lifelong of using Microsoft email! 😅

But the real reason I took the picture of the sign was that for a long while these signs had perplexed me... when I had driven westbound into Saskatchewan from Manitoba the signs appeared, all with a "1" behind a name, and confusing them with city boundary ones that are typical in Europe it seemed as if each village was being numbered, e.g. Outlook 1, Outlook 2... which seemed such an odd thing to do (but Québec does have similarly numbered hydro dams & associated villages, e.g. Manic 1 to 5)! Only what must have been at the 20th sign or so, I realized that it indicated the next village 1km away 🤣🤣🤣 it took me a while to realize there was never going to be an Outlook 2... what can I say... my brain is also on a break!! 😅

Lastly, when driving around, the dry summer that the gas station guy had talked about was apparent in either completely or partially dry fens, the little ponds that dot the landscape and are a source of water for the farmers... the dried fens have different colours than the surrounding fields (white of salt or green for younger vegetation) which gave pretty visuals.

Having left early, I arrived just after noon at Manitou Beach which has as unique feature an extremely salty lake, 3 times the salt content of seawater, so that it's aptly referred to as Canada's Dead Sea! 😃 I had to try it ofcourse, and yes, swimming was basically impossible in the disgustingly salty water as each time I tried to go underwater, it would just push me up 😲... a really weird experience! Once I started to dry, my arms and legs turned white from the salt deposits so luckily there was a shower on the beach to rinse it off. It's a groundwater fed lake that through evaporation results in high salt concentrations, which are attributed to cure a whole list of diseases... as I tend to be covered in cuts and bruises, it was almost painful as the salt would sting all open wounds!

On my walk back to the campground, I admired the various wood carvings that were on display from a contest a few weeks ago... at it's an annual competition, the village is full of wood carvings including random ones of chimpansees, Belle & the Beast etc... there must be a theme each year?? This year it seemed related to Canadian nature (although not sure the stingray and turtle live here, maybe on BC's coast).

I really enjoyed the floating so I returned to the salty water, but then at the spa where it was heated, even better! 🤗 someone mentioned to me they come here every winter... if I would live nearby and had -40C winters, I would sign up for a membership in a heartbeat! There's noodles (as used in aquarobics) to help you balance in a vertical direction as the feet want to float up all the time 😜, or you can just lie back with your head onto a noodles and float away... Divine!

Topped off the evening with a cheeseburger & onion rings from the food stand on the beach and then a campfire with a s'more... oh la la, it feels so good spoiling yourself 🤩

Wildlife: 7 gophers, 1 deer, 1000+ crickets

SUPs: none

Hikes: one at Great Sand Hills

Distance driven from last map: 1,668km

[jvstheworld]

Due South Re-watch: part 3

(Note to self: try to keep notes shorter and less vague)

•Sus guy being sus, who knew? Wanting to avoid having your picture taken is not sus, but faking your name, going on a hunting trip with a bunch of people who don’t know you and not killing any animals is. 

• Oh Diefenbaker, you cute wolf. He is the goodest boy and no one can change my mind. Even when he doesn’t do as he is told, he is still the goodest boy.

•Fraser doesn’t carry a gun because he isn’t licensed to carry one in the USA. He is in Canada and is a very good shot, as seen in ‘Mountie on the Bounty: part 2′.

•So that caribou from earlier paid off, ‘It drowned on dry land.’ Here we start to see pieces fitting together. We know about the dam destroying habitats and now we have animals drowning. Everything pays off, it’s what happens when you have a well thought out story with a good script. 

•Using Bob Fraser’s diary as a way of keeping the character a part of the story is a great idea. It allows the audience to get to know him but also allows Fraser to do the same. As hinted at earlier, they didn’t have much of a relationship so this is the only way Ben can learn about his dad outside of the legend everyone knows him as and that he himself has seen. We don’t always get to know what people are really like and what they are thinking, and sometimes we never get the chance. These diaries are Ben’s only chance. For now.   

• Ray is not a great cop, but he is more realistic than Fraser is. Despite the 41 cases he has to deal with he still chooses to help Fraser. First it was out of guilt for a very glib comment he made and now it’s because he likes Fraser. he visits him at the diner and they swap stories about their dead fathers out of a burgeoning friendship. Hell, Ray introduces him to his family because he understands that Fraser is alone, is probably homesick and wants to do something nice for him, even if that means subjecting him to the chaos that is the Vecchio household. But then Ray has an epiphany before they can really eat because actors having to repeatedly eat food for every take during scenes like this is not fun.

•The explosion in Drake’s apartment is one of the few times that Fraser misses something and it ends badly. His new friend is in the hospital because of that. It won’t be the last time they put each other in the hospital, sadly. 

•Okay I have to ask, the scene where Fraser is fighting and chasing after Drake, anyone else think he was kind of hot during that? Also don’t try to fool Fraser he knew Gerard was trying to bullshit him.

One more part to go!       

[sammaggs]

1x02 Diefenbaker’s Day Off | Bend

Much is made of Fraser’s rule-breaking as we get further into seasons 3 and 4, but right off the top we see he’s more than willing to bend the rules when it suits him. Especially when it comes to his family.

[eranjayne]

February Mini Sessions!

February minis are now available! Check it out!

It’s the month where we celebrate love, in all its ways, shapes and forms! So, why not celebrate the love in your life with a mini photo session! Each month this year, I’ll be offering at least ONE weekend date of 4 back-to-back mini sessions, at a local park or location. I know there are many of you out there who have young families (or partners!) that can’t sit still for a longer portrait…

[variousqueerthings]

okokok so because i was taking all these darn notes while watching s1 of due south I feel like I should share some of my favourite ones.

the full list went like this:

fraser gets hurt/puts himself in danger

some fraser quirks

fraser is kind

ray does things for fraser/is emotionally affected by fraser

fraser's guilt/shame/lack of introspection

magical realism

things they do together casually

institutions/organisations are callous/uncaring/corrupt

every time fraser is uncomfortably hit on/doesn't realise flirting is a thing

bob fraser and benton fraser

ray family lore

ray is a good investigator

misc notes

can't claim i caught every moment, but certainly... Patterns 👀

SO: JUMPING TO NINE JUST FOR THE HECK OF IT: every time fraser is uncomfortably hit on/doesn’t realise flirting is a thing

an accurate depiction of fraser's daily life

NOTHING IN EPISODE ONE

- EPISODE ONE: FREE WILLIE

- - - - hit on twice within moments of each other: Elaine: I should probably have your number just in… case Fraser: oh uh, I don’t- Ray: he uses smoke signals FC: I like your dog Fraser: he’s white FC: call me Fraser: ??????? (walks into a door) - EPISODE TWO: DIEFENBAKER’S DAY OFF

- - - - gets hit on by the female reporter, although she is technically trying to play him: "you see I can’t I… have a dog [bring the suit, leave the dog] … oh dear" - - - - later on tries to talk some courage into himself, while also pointing out that he can't cancel because he doesn't know who she is - EPISODE THREE: MANHUNT

- - - - WHILE he’s in hospital/getting his leg wrapped up, by the nurse - - - - note: also oblivious to Elaine, the other cop, and Julie all being into him (it is often unclear if Fraser uses "obliviousness" as a way of getting out of these situations) - EPISODE FOUR: THEY EAT HORSES

- - - - doesn’t know what a “come-on” is and everyone assumes he’s into her, even though he’s constantly just being very literal - - - - she asks him out on a date and he assumes (or gently brushes it off) as “to discuss testimony” - EPISODE FIVE: PIZZAS

- - - - the wife of the car salesman blatantly hits on him and he doesn’t realise - - - - woman wanting “test drives” with him, doesn’t realise until later it may be about more than test driving - - - - doesn’t realise he “asked out” frannie - - - - forces fraser on a date with her during a stakeout

NOTHING IN EPISODE SIX ALTHOUGH ELAINE DOES COMPLAIN TO DIEFENBAKER THAT FRASER SEEMS OBLIVIOUS

- EPISODE SEVEN/EIGHT: CHICAGO

- - - - is hit on multiple times at the BDSM club and doesn’t notice it happening once (also misread as a dom) - - - - DOES potentially see a dick and is shocked/mortified

- - - - elaine very obviously suggests that she wants fraser to ask her out (can’t keep someone waiting forever) and while everyone else (ray and christina) knows what she means, fraser simply says “no, that would be unfair” - - - - elaine in this scene is also unconsciously using fraser’s face for the ID, something ray notices - - - - doesn’t understand that one of the club-goers is hitting on him when he borrows handcuffs off her - EPISODE NINE: COP BABY MOUNTIE

- - - - all the waitresses surrounding him when he has the baby and aren’t interested in the baby – he doesn’t get it, but ray does (and is frustrated) - - - - the mailwoman chuckles about how she ought to get fraser to babysit for her NOTHING IN EPISODE TEN (?)

- EPISODE ELEVEN: REMEMBER

- - - - elaine asks fraser how refurbishing his apt is going, then presses on what he does at night with his new lamp and what he’s reading on his own... - - – - interesting alt direction, ray asks fraser “what do Mounties know about women?” in a dismissive way, not knowing about his past with victoria. This whole episode is very interesting in terms of “romantic love” with fraser seeming to look for cues from ray as to whether that connection could be deemed romantic: huey thinks the whole thing is a bit silly/probably quite pragmatic, and says it could be anyone, and louis has mainly had a string of relationships that didn't work out and is feeling a bit sad about it although he does add the "see, talk is bad, you talk and then before you know it you're married," which leads to ray's next Big Speech, and RAY!!!!! well ray is in the midst of coup de foudre as it were ("Right, and then what, what about love???"), he's adamant and clear and precise-ish about his opinions. also he's ray so ofc fraser would listen to him the most ray statements that we know fraser takes in because the script and/or camera makes sure to indicate he's actively listening: - - - - you just know when someone is the right woman for you and it can be connected to a near life-or-death experience even if you know nothing about one another - - - - you have to have that moment in your life when you know nothing will never ever be the same again" <- that does describe victoria (he doubles down on the "just knowing" idea when fraser asks "how do you know?") - - - - REAL love shouldn't be "prudent" -- "nobody who's prudent has any business being in love" (uh-oh) - - - - "you only meet the woman of your dreams once" -- he says this almost to himself at the window and when he does, the camera which was on fraser in the foreground paying attention to hewey, softens onto ray as fraser turns his head to listen in - - - - fraser points out that ray's love interest who may be a criminal missed him on purpose and ray is like "gasp this means!!! i knew it! she's into me!" (but in a sweeter way) and fraser says well now hold on, you've only known her a few seconds whilst concussed, which ray dismisses and goes "it doesn't matter if it's ten seconds or ten years, chemistry is chemistry" and he Knows her - funny that FRASER tries to get him to calm down and ray constantly dismisses him with things like "I mean how many times in a lifetime does this happen, has it ever happened to you (because he was sleeping when fraser told the story about victoria)" and then while fraser is stuttering he interrupts and goes "ofc not you're a mountie, what do mounties know about women" - - - - in this case special agent susanne is lying the Entire time, and there's a big rug-pull at the end just like with victoria, but it's in the other direction (that she's undercover). - - - - connected also: "she left me but she left me for the right reason. she loves me "but she's gone." "but that's what's right for us..." "but you might never see each other again" "that's what we need, ridiculous odds and just the speck of hope that someday we'll beat them" "i cant say i understand"

- EPISODE TWELVE: HAWK

- - - - the pathologist drives diefenbaker home because she thinks fraser is hot/charming – he may have been counting on it, unclear

- EPISODE THIRTEEN: EYE FOR AN EYE

- - - - all the old women want to patrol with fraser

- EPISODE FOURTEEN: THE MAN WHO KNEW

- - - - a random hot woman in a car asks fraser to get in and go to miami with her. Fraser is mildly perturbed and also confused about the logistics of how a young woman could possibly be known by only her first name in such a large city

- EPISODE FIFTEEN: THE WILD BUNCH

- - - - gets hit on by the woman who owns Maggie at the end. a gentle geeentle soft no

- EPISODE SIXTEEN: THE BLUE LINE

- - - - slightly to the left but mark’s publicist is desperate to sign him and he isn’t into the idea

- EPISODE SEVENTEEN: THE DEAL

- - - - many women join the church choir just to shoot their shot. He remains steadfastly earnestly “oblivious” until francesca arrives, then sings louder and louder to drown her out, then jumps off a balcony to escape her when she utters the word “sex” - - - - flirted with in the lingerie shop and can only blink (ray gives him a fortifying pat on the back) - - - - on the flipside ray is truly SHOCKED at how fraser can get away with looking closely at the “fine stitching” - - - - several women, old, young, cis, and trans are very happy for fraser to look closely at their shoes - - - - elaine patches him up and is very happy about it, although fraser isn’t tooo thrilled about her slightly-too-friendly bedside manner - - - - when frannie arrives in a sexy outfit he is. terrified

NOTHING IN EPISODE EIGHTEEN I THINK (i switched invitation and heaven and earth) BUT THIS IS THE EPISODE WHERE WE GET SOME CORE FRASER EVASION TECHNIQUES (or do we) -- WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HOW PUNTING THE "ISSUE OF FRANNIE" ONTO RAY MEANS THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE TO LET HER DOWN BUT CAN HAVE RAY DO IT FOR HIM........ - EPISODE NINETEEN: INVITATION

- - - - the secretary is clearly into him - - - - so is the woman in the queue at the post office - - - - the woman in the post office shoots her shot and fraser doesn’t bite - - - - the woman in the bridal shop who asks if she can “help” fraser – he is confused about how she could help him if she doesn’t work there - - – this whole episode is one big romantic farce/screwball comedy in which fraser desperately wants to escape, especially during the honeymoon suite scene - - - nonono that’s you and me, come on think – what is the most unglamorous, unromantic place you could take a woman? AW CMON THE GARBAGE TRUCK NOT EVEN FRASER’S THAT- HOLD ON BENNY!!!!! - - - - what is wrong with you ??? a man is trying to kill you! You’re supposed to hate him! A woman throws herself at you, you’re supposed to… you’re supposed to do something. - - - - I thought I was in love once…. (it’s easier to think you’re in love, than it is to admit you’re alone) --- GENERALLY this episode has some very interesting ideas about “love” and “romance” especially as related to fraser - EPISODE TWENTY/TWENTY-ONE: VICTORIA’S SECRE

- - - - SO OKAY THE THING IS! MOST OF WHAT I PUT OF THIS EPISODE IS IN A DIFFERENT POINT (fraser's guilt/shame/lack of introspection) BECAUSE VICTORIA HAS HIM WRAPPED AROUND HER FINGER -- HE'S MORE OBLIVIOUS TO HER INTENTIONS THAN TO THE FACT THAT SHE VERY LITERALLY WANTS TO SLEEP WITH HIM. does fraser know what's making him sleep with her? that's another question

(also see for episode "you must remember this")

- EPISODE TWENTY-TWO: LETTING GO

- - - - is incredibly uncomfortable about being touched by the physiotherapist and babbles facts to get over the discomfort. this is kind of played as her not trying to "hit on" him per se, but the touching itself is too much on its own – - - - she clearly does want to get with him, but keeps it juuuuuuust this side of unprofessional (in a TV sense)

NOTES ABOUT ALL OF THIS: in the not-knowing when fraser is genuinely unaware of being hit on, and when he uses that reputation as a way to avoid confrontation, something is said about fraser's issues with interpersonal conflict. he can do things for the greater good and be resolute in his ideals, but when it comes to himself he can struggle with being honest. he doesn't want to let anyone down, is one of his big problems

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 6.10 (after 1940)

1940 – World War II: Fascist Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom, beginning an invasion of southern France. 1940 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt denounces Italy's actions in his "Stab in the Back" speech at the graduation ceremonies of the University of Virginia. 1940 – World War II: Military resistance to the German occupation of Norway ends. 1942 – World War II: The Lidice massacre is perpetrated as a reprisal for the assassination of Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich. 1944 – World War II: Six hundred forty-two men, women and children massacred at Oradour-sur-Glane, France. 1944 – World War II: In Distomo, Boeotia, Greece, 218 men, women and children are massacred by German troops. 1944 – In baseball, 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds becomes the youngest player ever in a major-league game. 1945 – Australian Imperial Forces land in Brunei Bay to liberate Brunei. 1947 – Saab produces its first automobile. 1957 – John Diefenbaker leads the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to a stunning upset in the 1957 Canadian federal election, ending 22 years of Liberal Party government. 1960 – Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538 crashes near Mackay Airport in Mackay, Queensland, Australia, killing 29. 1963 – The Equal Pay Act of 1963, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex, was signed into law by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program. 1964 – United States Senate breaks a 75-day filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, leading to the bill's passage. 1967 – The Six-Day War ends: Israel and Syria agree to a cease-fire. 1977 – James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. He is recaptured three days later. 1980 – The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a call to fight from their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela. 1982 – Lebanon War: The Syrian Arab Army defeats the Israeli Defense Forces in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub. 1987 – June Democratic Struggle: The June Democratic Struggle starts in South Korea, and people protest against the government. 1990 – British Airways Flight 5390 lands safely at Southampton Airport after a blowout in the cockpit causes the captain to be partially sucked from the cockpit. There are no fatalities. 1991 – Eleven-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard is kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe, California; she would remain a captive until 2009. 1994 – China conducts a nuclear test for DF-31 warhead at Area C (Beishan), Lop Nur, its prominence being due to the Cox Report. 1996 – Peace talks begin in Northern Ireland without the participation of Sinn Féin. 1997 – Before fleeing his northern stronghold, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen's family members. 1999 – Kosovo War: NATO suspends its airstrikes after Slobodan Milošević agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo. 2001 – Pope John Paul II canonizes Lebanon's first female saint, Saint Rafqa. 2002 – The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom. 2003 – The Spirit rover is launched, beginning NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission. 2008 – Sudan Airways Flight 109 crashes at Khartoum International Airport, killing 30 people. 2009 – Eighty-eight year-old James Wenneker von Brunn opens fire inside the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and fatally shoots Museum Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns. Other security guards returned fire, wounding von Brunn, who was apprehended. 2018 – Opportunity rover, sends it last message back to earth. The mission was finally declared over on February 13, 2019. 2019 – An Agusta A109E Power crashes onto the AXA Equitable Center on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, sparking a fire on the top of the building. The pilot of the helicopter is killed.

[staceywacey]

Completely random, but my dog played Diefenbaker in the original pilot movie for Due South and I always get so excited when I see anything about it. :D If you watch it and you see a Dief with blue eyes? That was my Frankie. We adopted/inherited him because he aged out of acting, basically. The trainer wanted a home for him, with the understanding that he may need to be called back for projects. My cousin worked for him and said "Hey, I know the perfect family for this good boy." So we were taught some of his commands and asked to keep him practicing. That went on for a year- he was recalled once for a commercial and my cousin said he was so miserable that they sent him back to us and never called him back again.

Frankie would occasionally "pull a Diefenbaker" for the rest of his life. If he didn't want to listen to us, he would pretend to be deaf and look away. He was such a smart and funny boy. He passed in 2000 from cancer and I still miss him every day.

due south 3x01 has to literally be the funniest episode in the history of tv. imagine you’re on a trip to your hometown and your best friend calls you to let you know he won’t be able to pick you (and your wolf) up from the airport like he was supposed to, and to reassure you that you’re friends nonetheless. and you’re like sure i know. so then you come back and walk home from the airport, only that home is not home anymore (it’s been burned down. weird, but whatever). you still gonna see your friend. so you go to his workplace and everyone’s acting kinda weird but no one says anything specific. sure, whatever. so you go to your friend’s desk, call his name, and this random guy walks up to you, hugs you like you’re lifelong pals, and starts acting like nothing’s happened. you’re clueless, and he’s convinced that he’s, in fact, your friend (best friend, actually) and what’s worse, everyone else around there is convinced too. so you try to reason with this guy but he starts talking about duets, and then the phone rings and they alert you that your (supposed) best friend’s house is about to be burned down. so you alert him, even if it’s not technically his house and he’s not technically your friend, but whatever. you go there by car (same car your og best friend drove), trying to figure out who this guy is, while your wolf licks his ear. and then you save this guy’s “family” and you still understand nothing. and you spend the entire day trying to understand who’s doing all this burning, but also measuring this guy’s teeth and nose and he’s trying to convince you that he’s your friend (but he’s not? yet everyone else calls him that?). and then you do some more detective work, and then the car burns down, too, and this guy’s trying to tell you the truth but you’re so busy trying not to get killed that you don��t notice. then you both (+ wolf) jump into the water, and this guy just takes a bullet for you after telling you he doesn’t risk his neck for anyone (liar). and then the lieutenant finally explains everything to you, and you find out your og best friend is away taking part in an undercover operation and this guy is pretending to be him so he’s not in danger. so you’ve got to stick to this guy until further notice. and then you’re like well, and then your ghost dad says he approves this new guy, so you ask him out for dinner, all of that in the span of less than 24 hours. truly insane if you ask me.