"Gotcha Day" Celebrations and a Video

Today, as I already noted, was out 10th celebration of "Gotcha" Day.  Sarah, now 11 and ready to begin Middle School in September, joined us at the Sackler and Freer Galleries of the Smithsonian to look at Chinese art, then we went home and watched the videos of our original meeting, and then went out to one of her favorite Chinese restaurants, the Hong Kong Palace.

"Gotcha" Day, Ten Years Later

Ten years ago today, at about 1 pm China time (about 1 am DC time) in the Beijing Meeting Room of the Grand Sun City Hotel in Changsha, Hunan, China, Tam and I met our daughter for the first time. Chang Xiao Chao, then 14 months old, is now Sarah Grace Dunn, 11 and off to Middle School in September.

The official adoption took place in Chinese government offices the next day, and her American citizenship dates from her first setting foot in the US (in LA, unfortunately), but July 2 will always be "Gotcha" Day, the day we were united with her.  Along with her birthday, it's a key date we celebrate, and the 10th anniversary is particularly meaningful.

"Who are these strange-looking people?":

Homage to Harryhausen: All the Great Monsters in One Clip

I'm so glad I found this on the weekend the latest Transformers movie opens since it reminds us of the days before CGI, when we had to live with stop-motion animation of rubber creatures: AND WE LOVED IT.

Ray Harryhausen may not be a household name among the masses, but it certainly is among animators: in the Disney/Pixar classic Monsters, Inc. the fancy restaurant is called "Harry Hausen's." Harryahausen is, apparently, still alive at age 91, according to the Wikipedia link just given and the  official website here. 


If you grew up in the fifties or even the sixties you saw Earth vs. the Flying Saucers or The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad (dueling skeletons!) or various movies in which the rubber monsters were more credible than in those Japanese Godzilla flicks, you know Harryhausen's work if you don't know his name. Somebody's put together the ultimate tribute critter mashup.

I'm Baaack ....

Do the title in your best Schwarzeneger/Terminator. With our decision to include Sarah's face more often it becomes much easier to put our pics and videos here and elsewhere. I also have left this site latent too long. It's summer. There will be a vacation, though destination still being determined since our plans to go to Joplin were, literally, blown away. We'd be in the way out there. But if you come here you'll find me here a lot more often. Stay tuned.

Coco at Mason Neck

A very good early summer day with family and dog along the Potomac:

Sarah Moves on to Middle School

Highlights of Sarah's "graduation" (promotion/awards ceremony) at the end of fifth grade: the end of elementary school and on to Middle School! She won a music award, a citizenship award, and a medal for overall conduct and such.

About a Picture Policy Change

When I first started posting to this blog and YouTube five or six years ago, I was extremely cautious about showing Sarah's face on public Internet sites like the blog. I kept all but the most anonymous YouTube videos private, and though I invited many relatives, back then only Tam's sister and one or two cousins ever made use of it: they were uncomfortable with the password protection or whatever.

But Sarah isn't six anymore, and while there are still plenty of dangerous folks out there, she'll be in Middle School in September and has some rights to decide her own levels of privacy. All but the most private videos will now be public, which allows me to embed them here, post them to Facebook, and all that. I will not embarrass her, but I will no longer hide her pretty face from the world. Videos to follow.

The Brower Kids' TV Debut

 My cousin Shannon's kids, Daniel, Bailey, and Emma, who lost their Dad recently on top of the tornado, adopt a puppy left homeless by the storm, and get their TV debut on a Springfield, MO station:

The Joplin Tornado

A day after my last post, the Joplin tornado struck. Since then my cousin Mike Bower has died of a stroke at the age of 42, leaving three kids; my old church and school are destroyed and my town has become famous for all the wrong reasons. My cousin Shannon passed on this link:

My Dad's 100th Birthday

My Dad, Howard C. Dunn, May 21, 1911-May 12, 1976, would have been 100 today had he lived. I've already posted on Facebook but will do a longer post here sometime soon.

Christmas 2010

I imagine most of you reading this blog already are on our e-mail or Facebook lists, but for any who aren't, you can read our Christmas letter here.

Holidays

I'll be blogging again over the holidays. It's just that we're so busy, occasional Facebook is all I've had time for.

The Wired Family Room

I was talking about technology earlier. I looked up from my computer and saw the accompanying view: four screens on for a three-person family. The TV is presumably on for the dog. So I pulled out my phone (fifth screen) and took the picture. I put it immediately on Facebook but, for old times' sake, put it here as well.

A Farewell and a Reunion

Remember the movie The Big Chill? This weekend was something like that. One of my oldest friends, Bruce Carter, a friend since undergraduate days, died on Columbus day. Bruce, an avid athlete in great shape, died of a massive heart attack, totally unexpected, so it was a shock to those of us in a lot worse shape than he.

The memorial service was this weekend in his native Bristol, PA., north of Philadelphia. Many old friends, including some who live nearby but I never see and others farther afield, gathered to remember and tell stories. I told the story of how we once traded Bruce's dog for car repairs, a story I must record here sometime soon.

It was an emotional day, full of memories. And after many tales of long ago road trips, the drive up and back (though Tam drove) left us drained, so today is a crash day.

Sometimes when I remember the 1960s and 1970s, it seems pretty recent. Then I look up and see my daughter and her friend playing "Super Mario Strikers" on the Wii on a wide screen TVm and remember how fascinating "Pong" seemed when it was introduced. I love the resources technology makes available and the force multiplier effect, but sometimes I do feel my age.

Anniversary Weekend

This past weekend was our 17th wedding anniversary, and on Saturday we went over to St. Michaels, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay. Sarah hadn't seen the Eastern Shore before, and we had a good crabcake lunch and a wonderful day in the Bay air.

We were, however, sorry to see so many people out with their dogs; if Coco could tolerate the presence of other dogs, he could have gone with us. But he can't, so he didn't.