I just finished a week of volunteering as a group leader for Vacation Bible School at my church. I love VBS! As I was getting some posters ready for a craft segment, I commented to my co-worker Charlene, "Either this is really cool, or I'm a big Luther". I meant to say, "loser", but Charlene sure got a laugh out of my Freudian slip. She said I was definitely a "big Luther"!

Natasha told me a joke today that she found when she was looking for information on how to change a stubborn lightbulb. Pastor Bruce Ehlert had already told me this joke when I was considering changing churches, but it is a good one:

How many Lutherans does it take to change a lightbulb?

CHANGE?!?!?

I am excited to see that I was correct on some of my guesses regarding Spiderman 3: Venom appears and Harry does become the Green Goblin. I can't believe that they are going to have four villans by including Mysterio, too! Best of all, this might not be the last installment. My one misgiving is that Topher Grace does not remind me much of Eddie Brock (Venom's alter ego).

Convention attendees get look at Spider-Man 3
Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, July 25, 2006

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Spider-Man 3 isn't due until next summer, but about 5,000 fans got an early look at the film Saturday at Comic-Con, the country's largest comic book convention.

Director Sam Raimi, producer Laura Ziskin and key members of the cast -- Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard and Thomas Haden Church -- came to the San Diego Convention Center to answer fan questions and unveil never-before-seen, unfinished footage of the much-anticipated movie.

So is this the final installment of the franchise?

"There will be some conclusions, though I wouldn't say it's necessarily the end," said Maguire, whose words were nearly drowned out by thunderous applause.

"We're going to leave it open-ended. If there are stories worth telling, then we'll tell them."

The brief teaser footage blended live-action scenes with animation and computer graphics. It showed Sandman, a new villain played by Church, and offered a quick glimpse of Venom (Grace), Peter Parker's spider-like nemesis.

"He's more of a doppelganger to Peter," Grace told the crowd.

"It's kind of a case study in if someone very similar to Peter got the same powers but didn't have a good upbringing."

Raimi also revealed that Harry Osborn (James Franco) would become a third villain, taking on some of the powers of his father, the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), who was killed in the first Spider-Man film.

Actor Bruce Campbell, a Raimi-film regular, also makes an appearance in Spider-Man 3, the director said. He'll play a new character, who fans believe will be the villain Mysterio.

As the director of all three Spider-Man films, Raimi has been immersed in Spidey's world for more than six years.

A longtime fan of the comic books, Raimi said it's been a "super-dream" to make the movies, but also a "great responsibility to tell the story of this character that kids look up to as this great hero."

"Certainly you don't want to make anything that isn't worthy of their admiration," he said.

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2006

Speaking of ancient times ...

I resolved to read the entire Bible in 2004, and suceeded. One of the things that I learned that year (that I was not expecting to learn) is that there are quite a few weird and wacky things that occur in the Bible that never get seem to get chosen for the Sunday morning reading. One such example is Deuteronomy 25:11-12.

"If two Israelite men are fighting, and the wife of one tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man, her hand must be cut off without pity." - Deuteronomy 25:11-12 NLT

(Base your confirmation speech on that one!)

Who would do that? I have never been in the situation myself, but I highly doubt that would be my reaction.

Secondly, was this such a rampant problem back then that they felt the need to include it in the Bible? Women were not even allowed to eat with men, but apparently, crotch-grabbing was the most amusing way to pass the time while wandering the desert for 40 years.

We've all been told not to run with scissors, but who would want to? Why did scissors in particular become such a big deal? Scissors were invented in 1500 BC in ancient Egypt. Were there a lot of Egyptians who ran home, saying, "Look what I bought today at the marketplace!", and tripped?

This past Saturday, Teresa, Christine, and I went berry picking at The Strawberry Ranch. We found out that The Strawberry Ranch is regularly less expensive that both Moon Lake and The Berry Barn, plus the Strawberry Ranch is currently offering $1 off because it is their 25th anniversary! The Saskatoons are especially nice right now. I couldn't believe how big and plump they are!

Strawberries were $7.50 and Saskatoon berries were $6.50 for a four litre pail. I really had fun, then went home and made some strawberry and Saskatoon berry jam and strawberry lemonade concentrate. I also plan to freeze some Saskatoons to make pies later on.

TERESA'S FUN FACT: The city of Saskatoon was named after the berry - not the other way around.

CHRISTINE'S FUN FACT: Saskatoon berries are related to apples. They both have the same remainder of a blossom on the bottom and their seeds look alike.

However, we were joking that it is almost like a border crossing to go there! As you drive up, you are directed where to go and there is a posted list of regulations. As you leave, they make you open up your trunk to ensure you have only what you say you have.

Lucky for us, they do not make you open up your mouth, as Christine and I did a little bit of sampling before we got to the check-out. Take that, Strawberry Ranch!!!

I just saw the teaser trailer for Spiderman 3, due out in May of 2007. As most of you know, I am a lifelong Spiderman fan, so this is SO exciting for me!!!

From the trailer, it appears that they are introducing Gwen Stacey, Sandman, and Spiderman's black alien symbiote costume. This costume ultimately leads to the the creation of the vigilante villan Venom, so I'm wondering if he will be in 3, or it will be a clifhanger to a fourth movie or a spin-off film. I suppose it would be too much to hope for to see Spiderman 4 ...

Harry Osborne is back, but not as The Green Goblin, as I had hoped. As the story goes, Harry takes over his father Norman's criminal identity to try to eliminate Spiderman, who he believes is his father's killer. Unlike the original Green Goblin, Harry knows Spiderman's secret identity.

Excelsior!!!



(When the movie is over, refresh the page to set up Spiderman again.)

Another for the category of "Why do people say the things they say?" ...

This weekend, a friend left an answering machine message for me that began this way:

"Oh! Hi, Karen! This is ____."

Why sound surprised? She called me!

I attended my cousin Richelle's high school graduation this week. As I was heading home, I realized that I no longer had my camera. I thought it was lost for good, but it had ended up in my uncle's truck ... which is strange, because I never ended up in my uncle's truck. However, I didn't find that out for awhile, and in the meantime, I attempted to retrace my step by returning to my Grandma's. She sent me to the events centre, and the events centre staff sent me to the high school.

At the high school, I got in line to see the vice principal behind a student who had forgotten his diploma under his chair. I had nicknamed this student "Pimp Cane" the night before, based on his flamboyant graduation attire, and I was sort of excited to see him again. As Pimp Cane left, I told the vice principal, "I think I left my camera at the graduation last night".

He asked me, "Are you serious?"

I replied, "Yes".

Again: "Are you serious?"

Me: "Yes".

This got me thinking ... why do people say that? Let alone twice? What was he expecting me to reply?

"No ... I have a mental illness that makes me want to report stolen items to get attention from total strangers."

(But on the other hand ... you might pick up a lot of free cameras that way ...)

The vice principal then proceeded to ask the secretary three times in a row whether she had my camera, even though she replied, "no" each time! Speaking of mental illnesses ...