The show was one of her "check-in" episodes and featured me in the closing segment along with a photo of Brian and me.

I was grateful to be included and it was a treat to see Brian and myself on TV together for the first time in our 14+ years as a couple. Lots of you have written asking me to post it, so here it is... It was taken on a night that represents great memories for us.

The reason I've been giving this so much recent thought (aside from the fact that I tend to ruminate on this sort of thing; always have; probably always will), is that I'm trying to make sense of the relative disconnect between who I am as a person, living my everyday life and those shadow images that float through some conception of my public life.

This line of thinking brought to mind a passage I've long loved from Carl Jung, writing in Concerning Rebirth (1940):

"Every calling or profession has its own characteristic persona.  It is easy to study these things nowadays, when the photographs of public personalities so frequently appear in the press.  A certain kind of behaviour is forced on them by the world, and professional people endeavour to come up to these expectations.  Only, the danger is that they become identical with their personas -- the professor with his text-book, the tenor with his voice.  Then the damage is done; henceforth he lives exclusively against the background of his own biography... The garment of Deianeira has grown fast to his skin, and a desperate decision like that of Heracles is needed if he is to tear this Nessus shirt from his body and step into the consuming fire of the flame of immortality, in order to transform himself into what he really is.  One could say, with a little exaggeration, that the persona is that which in reality one is not, but which oneself as well as others think one is."

Aside from the novels of Jules Verne, Mark Twain and so forth, my favourite books tended to be about American and world history.  And the single topic of which I could never get enough was the American Civil War.

So, it has been with great fascination that I've been following the blog Disunion on the New York Times Opinionator page.

You might enjoy the way it brings that crucial time period into focus -- and accomplishes in such a sweeping and intimate fashion what all great writing about history should; that is, helping us attain a deeper understanding of the volatile world in which we currently live.

First of all, I need to thank all of you who sent me Happy Birthday wishes today. I deeply appreciate the sentiments.

I also want to acknowledge and thank those who have written in the last little while asking for updates on the Journal page of this site. I apologize that it has taken me so long to update my journal and it is important to express my gratitude to all who have been so patient and kind with me.

This past couple of years have been quite challenging on the family front. Although Brian and I are better than ever and getting ready to celebrate 14 years together, we’ve had to say goodbye to deeply beloved family members who have battled horrendous illnesses with courage and blazing spirits.

I intend to write much more about this later.

As to my birthday today. I woke this morning itching to kayak around favourite parts of the Gulf Islands National Park (I’m lucky enough to live surrounded by its unsurpassed beauty), but the day started with a relentless downpour. So instead we bundled up and hiked down through the deep woods and had a wonderful breakfast at the beach. Then we ran Cole until he was ready to drop and hiked the long way back home.

I’m sitting on the back deck as I write this post, watching as the sky clears and end-of-day light breaks through the Douglas-firs and red cedars. A bald eagle pair is circling up over the crown of  a storm-snagged old-growth fir and I’m sipping a celebratory beer (an icy local IPA), counting my many blessings.

I know that tomorrow I’ll be back in my office, returning to work on my next book, facing the blank page. I also know that there’ll be firewood to stack, garden beds to mulch, a long, intense yoga practice to lose myself in…

And there’ll be more Journal entries to write.

From my heart, thank you for hanging in there and continuing to visit my site. I strive to always remember how important you all have been to my life.

Cheers and Namaste,

Bob

Since my last post was about the TV show, Defying Gravity (where I had a recurring role), thought I'd give this link to to the episode where my part was expanded.

The link is to the CTV broadcast in Canada, which was posted on ABC's Defying Gravity web page.

Defying Gravity - Season One, Episode 109 - "Eve Ate the Apple"

My part begins at around 16 minutes, although I recommend watching the full episode...

And for those who were following the series, you'll know me as the Beta Team leader at the first act climax of Episode 103.

As I've written here before, working on this show was lots of fun, mainly because I got to play make-believe with a bunch of very talented people.

So... enjoy!

P.S. And if you like this show, be sure to share those feelings with ABC (and/or CTV, BBC, etc...). Although there have been plenty of rumours that it's been cancelled (at least on ABC in the U.S., where they stopped broadcasting at episode 108), my understanding is that the show's ultimate fate remains up in the air.

Recently learned that the series I was cast in, Defying Gravity, was picked up by ABCin the US. The show will also be broadcast on CTV and SPACE in Canada, BBC in Britain and ProSeiben in Germany.

It premiers on Sunday, August 2nd.

I have a small part in episode 3 (which first airs on Sunday, August 9th) and episode 6. And then my character/part expands for episode 9, with great involvement in a key element of the plot.

This was a very cool experience, working with incredibly talented, good people - cast and crew - and I'm looking forward to more.

Tune in, tune in, tune in! And if you like what you see, let them know!

Just returned from a wonderful summer holiday -- a splendid cross-continent road trip from my home here in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, to Prince Edward Island, by way of my old Hoosier stomping grounds and then returning all the way across Canada.

Brian, Cole and I had quite an adventure.

Tons of family, long hikes through the woods, extensive beach combing, two or three beers (Sleeman's Honey Brown with a big chunk of lime has been this summer's fave, though in general I tend to be a loyal fan of Phillips IPA), and there was a lot singing, cutting up and rolling-in-the-grass laughter. My family - blood, in-laws and extended - is an unmitigated hoot and I am blessed to be surrounded by so much love.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I don't drive much in my everyday life, so it's great to get out on the road a bit. I'm already plotting doing the same (or similar) cross-continent journey by bicycle; that would truly fulfill a life-long dream.

Also, many of you know that I am a voracious reader. Well, when I go on road trips I enjoy listening to books, mainly novels. Heard several on this trip and of them all, I highly recommend Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. Also, the favourite I read (in the traditional print-on-paper sense - and not while driving!) was Joseph Boyden's second novel, Through Black Spruce (I'm also a huge fan of his first novel, Three Day Road , having devoured it in one stretch the week it was released in hardcover).

Have a good one.

I feel quite fortunate that I live in, arguably, the best "active transportation" city/region in North America. I love seeing so many people here use their bodies to get around, run errands, go to and from work and school, and so forth.

Integrated with great public transportation, this is the future, unfolding right now.

The program was created (and the video hosted) by Annie Leonard, who does a wonderful job.

So, watch the video, The Story of Stuff. Simple animation and a powerful message, reaching the generation that will have to clean up the mess their parents' generation was duped into causing.

And, on another page of the same site, a follow-up of simple suggestions: Another Way

It has been a busy and productive time in my creative life. So, a couple of things:

I've been working on this literary novel -- The Preservationist -- for a couple of years; and I'm polishing what is, hopefully, the ultimate draft. I'll post more details as publication approaches.

More immediately, I'm putting the finishing touches on the pilot script of a one-hour TV drama I created. It was previously titled Fighting Gravity. I named it that, oh, probably five years ago when I first outlined a version of the story. However...as I wrote in my April 30th post, I'm now playing a recurring character on the TV series, Defying Gravity!

While the delicious coincidence of this makes me smile...my project obviously needs a new name.

And what is this (now untitled) project of mine? Well, in general I don't believe in talking much about works in progress, but I can give you this much: It's a family/political drama set in a highly fictionalized bodybuilding world. When this show gets made (and there is every indication that it will), this will be, I suppose, my final word on the sport.

I'll write more about this as it unfolds, but as of now the final draft of my script (when I finally finish in a couple of weeks) is headed to a major production entity in conjunction with one of the premium cable networks.

Can't say any more than that...for now. But stay tuned.