There were two marine-related news stories in the last few days that fall into the category of "that doesn't happen here" or "it would never happen to us":
1) A fire aboard the cruise ship Star Princess - Ed and I have been on that ship for two of our three cruises, once for a Mexican Riviera cruise in 2003 and more recently for a Eastern Caribbean cruise in 2005.
2) A BC Ferry running aground and sinking, 2 passengers suspected drowned - while I'd never been on that route (but hoped too someday), I've been on numerous BC Ferries over the years. Whenever there are ferry accidents in other countries, I always used to think "good thing that never happens here" ...
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Films at the Metro Cinema
I've now gone to a couple of films at the Metro Cinema, "devoted to the exhibition and promotion of Canadian, international and independent film and video in Edmonton".
Tonight I went with some friends to see Christmas in August (1998), a Korean film. It shows how the owner of a photo shop copes with the knowledge of his impending death, and develops a relationship with a meter-maid who is his "best customer", yet never tells her about his illness - she is left wondering what happened when he is hospitalized and later dies. I thought it was very well done in showing the emotions in a mostly subdued way.
Last month we went to see Mirror (2002) by Hakan Sahin, almost a local filmmaker. Set in Zama City, Alberta, a tiny hamlet about 900 km northwest of Edmonton, this film tells the story of an immigrant who takes a job in a convenience store in Zama, filling in so the proprietor can go on a vacation. “The Student” meets a number of interesting characters living in Zama, from oilfield workers to truckers to the bored kids, and it was interesting to see what life is like in such a remote location.
The plot synopsis talks about how he is trying to deal with his brother’s death – it would probably have helped if the flashback segments in Edmonton that were in Turkish were subtitled into English. Neither I nor the friends I was with really understood how the brother’s death fit in …
We were unsure at the end whether “The Student” actually was killed by the hunters, or whether the showing of a mirror shattering was symbolic of something else (“the death of the self-reflective consciousness” as a friend put it).
Tonight I went with some friends to see Christmas in August (1998), a Korean film. It shows how the owner of a photo shop copes with the knowledge of his impending death, and develops a relationship with a meter-maid who is his "best customer", yet never tells her about his illness - she is left wondering what happened when he is hospitalized and later dies. I thought it was very well done in showing the emotions in a mostly subdued way.
Last month we went to see Mirror (2002) by Hakan Sahin, almost a local filmmaker. Set in Zama City, Alberta, a tiny hamlet about 900 km northwest of Edmonton, this film tells the story of an immigrant who takes a job in a convenience store in Zama, filling in so the proprietor can go on a vacation. “The Student” meets a number of interesting characters living in Zama, from oilfield workers to truckers to the bored kids, and it was interesting to see what life is like in such a remote location.
The plot synopsis talks about how he is trying to deal with his brother’s death – it would probably have helped if the flashback segments in Edmonton that were in Turkish were subtitled into English. Neither I nor the friends I was with really understood how the brother’s death fit in …
We were unsure at the end whether “The Student” actually was killed by the hunters, or whether the showing of a mirror shattering was symbolic of something else (“the death of the self-reflective consciousness” as a friend put it).
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Overnight snow...
...'nuff said (there was no snow on the railing or deck yesterday as Ed shovelled the deck last weekend and the rest had melted).
Update 1:45 pm - 17 cm says Ed, when he shovelled (thanks!), and still snowing lightly. It's days like this when you really wish that Edmonton didn't have a policy of not plowing side streets, this is going to get really messy if it melts and refreezes into ruts...
Update 11:20 pm - 25 cm they said on the late night local news, we even made the national news ;-)
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Even shorter snappers (film reviews)...
I made a bunch of notes when we were away on vacation in January, about films that I had seen recently, but obviously haven't yet got around to posting anything about them (except Wired to Win). So, here's my transcribed short-form notes on a few:
Overcoming (2005) - film about the Danish pro cycling team CSC managed by Bjarne Riis, during the 2004 season which was the first for Ivan Basso with the team (he came 2nd in the Tour de France that year as well as in 2005). It would be good for cycling fans, as it showed an indepth look behind the scenes (especially on the DVD special features), but it jumped around a lot such that it was really hard to determine the sequence of events (even I was confused, I can't imagine what non-cycling fans would think - or maybe they wouldn't be watching in the first place). The pace was slow at times, with not a lot of action, but I found the focus on Riis's team theories and strategy quite interesting (especially since I was reading an article about it in Cycle-Sport magazine at the same time). The best part though had to be the comment from Jens Voigt in one of the special features about his routine when he gets to a hotel room, turning on the TV is one of the first things he does and if there's a German channel then "life is great".
(I have notes on at least 5 others, maybe if I try to put up one every few days I'll get around to them all eventually - and I watched a few more films on the weekend too...)
Overcoming (2005) - film about the Danish pro cycling team CSC managed by Bjarne Riis, during the 2004 season which was the first for Ivan Basso with the team (he came 2nd in the Tour de France that year as well as in 2005). It would be good for cycling fans, as it showed an indepth look behind the scenes (especially on the DVD special features), but it jumped around a lot such that it was really hard to determine the sequence of events (even I was confused, I can't imagine what non-cycling fans would think - or maybe they wouldn't be watching in the first place). The pace was slow at times, with not a lot of action, but I found the focus on Riis's team theories and strategy quite interesting (especially since I was reading an article about it in Cycle-Sport magazine at the same time). The best part though had to be the comment from Jens Voigt in one of the special features about his routine when he gets to a hotel room, turning on the TV is one of the first things he does and if there's a German channel then "life is great".
(I have notes on at least 5 others, maybe if I try to put up one every few days I'll get around to them all eventually - and I watched a few more films on the weekend too...)
Ben Mulroney as an example of Canada's "Productivity Crisis"
The Globe and Mail had an article this week about Ben Mulroney (click on the link from Google, can't link directly as it comes up subscriber-only that way), on the occasion of his 30th birthday:
Which is kind of what I've always thought (though I don't seem to find him half as annoying as so many others) - you need a law degree to host Canadian Idol?
In short, Benedict Mulroney (his full name) is someone who has been groomed, at an expense of hundreds of thousands of U.S. and Canadian dollars, to take his place in the highest echelons of the post-NAFTA Canadian establishment...
Simply put, Ben Mulroney doesn't seem to be pulling the weight he was intended to pull. And now that he's 30, Mila and Brian need to invite him down to their digs in Palm Beach for a heart-to-heart tête-à-tête to ask: "What's it all about, Benedict? Is it just for the moment we live?"
Which is kind of what I've always thought (though I don't seem to find him half as annoying as so many others) - you need a law degree to host Canadian Idol?
Saturday, March 04, 2006
UK Girl Guides shed church image to attract minorities
Thought this British news article was interesting - not sure that in Canada Girl Guides has really had much of a "church image" lately (at least around here, most groups seem to meet in schools or community halls, though some are in churches), but GGC certainly is trying also to expand membership amongst ethnic minorities.
(I think the church image is fostered by the fact that Scout groups, to my understanding, have to be "sponsored" by someone, which often ends up being a church or other religious group ... not the same for Guides).
(I think the church image is fostered by the fact that Scout groups, to my understanding, have to be "sponsored" by someone, which often ends up being a church or other religious group ... not the same for Guides).
Bits and Pieces...
I've been busy working for a change, so haven't had much time to post here (not that there's actually tons of people reading ;-) ).
Last week Ed and I went to see Colin James in concert. I think only I saw him before at the Folk Festival, in one of his blues phases - Ed saw him (and drove him to the concert, and got his autograph) when he played at our Jazz City festival a number of years ago, not sure why I didn't go. He's one of those musicians that I've always liked but haven't been a super huge fan, so I wasn't really sure what to expect at the concert. Especially since I'd listened to his new CD in the car a few times, and while it's good it never really excited me.
The fact that he's been adaptable enough to go through so many musical phases or genres (CanCon rock/pop, blues, roots, swing/big band) has always impressed me. And second row at the Winspear Centre is always good for any concert though, so that was promising. We weren't disappointed...
Opening act was Colin Linden, good solo blues show and Ed said to me that it alone was worth the price of admission. Then came James and his band (including Linden), and I realized what an excellent live performer James really is ... recordings generally can't capture that aspect very well. The best example would be when he played "Keep On Loving Me Baby", a song that I always thought was very insipid and unoriginal (can listen here)- but very entertaining and dynamic when played live, I found out. Ed and I talked about how best to categorize or describe him overall, and came up with "bluesy rock" - there was lots of thanks, from both James and Linden, to CKUA radio for supporting the roots music scene in Canada (I'm sure the concert sponsor K-ROCK loved that, though as a listener-supported station it's not as though CKUA is taking ad revenue, or even likely listeners, away from K-ROCK).
Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening.
The week before, I went with some friends to see a play at the New Varscona Theatre in Old Strathcona (aka Fringe central every August). Live theatre in a small space can be really captivating when it's good - and this was a Stewart Lemoine play/Teatro La Quindicina, so it was good. Called "The Velvet Shock", it was about an opera singer in Vienna for a performance, with some intriguing twists and turns. So now I'm thinking I have to make more of an effort to get out to see some Fringe shows this summer...
Last week Ed and I went to see Colin James in concert. I think only I saw him before at the Folk Festival, in one of his blues phases - Ed saw him (and drove him to the concert, and got his autograph) when he played at our Jazz City festival a number of years ago, not sure why I didn't go. He's one of those musicians that I've always liked but haven't been a super huge fan, so I wasn't really sure what to expect at the concert. Especially since I'd listened to his new CD in the car a few times, and while it's good it never really excited me.
The fact that he's been adaptable enough to go through so many musical phases or genres (CanCon rock/pop, blues, roots, swing/big band) has always impressed me. And second row at the Winspear Centre is always good for any concert though, so that was promising. We weren't disappointed...
Opening act was Colin Linden, good solo blues show and Ed said to me that it alone was worth the price of admission. Then came James and his band (including Linden), and I realized what an excellent live performer James really is ... recordings generally can't capture that aspect very well. The best example would be when he played "Keep On Loving Me Baby", a song that I always thought was very insipid and unoriginal (can listen here)- but very entertaining and dynamic when played live, I found out. Ed and I talked about how best to categorize or describe him overall, and came up with "bluesy rock" - there was lots of thanks, from both James and Linden, to CKUA radio for supporting the roots music scene in Canada (I'm sure the concert sponsor K-ROCK loved that, though as a listener-supported station it's not as though CKUA is taking ad revenue, or even likely listeners, away from K-ROCK).
Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening.
The week before, I went with some friends to see a play at the New Varscona Theatre in Old Strathcona (aka Fringe central every August). Live theatre in a small space can be really captivating when it's good - and this was a Stewart Lemoine play/Teatro La Quindicina, so it was good. Called "The Velvet Shock", it was about an opera singer in Vienna for a performance, with some intriguing twists and turns. So now I'm thinking I have to make more of an effort to get out to see some Fringe shows this summer...
International Women's Day
I was looking for a new quote for my signature line on an internet forum, because "The nights were cold and dark and scary, can we live through February?" from a Dar Williams song isn't really applicable any more now that it's March (and besides, February actually wasn't too bad weather-wise until the last few days when we finally got snow that seems to be sticking around for a while).
I found this one by Louise McKinney, which seemed relevant given that it will be International Women's Day on March 8:
McKinney became the first woman elected to any government in Canada in 1917, when she won a seat in the Alberta Legislature after women gained the right to vote (although they were still not considered "persons" until 1929). I was the recipient of a scholarship named after her as an undergrad student at the U of A.
I found this one by Louise McKinney, which seemed relevant given that it will be International Women's Day on March 8:
The purpose of a woman's life is just the same as the purpose of man's life—that she may make the best possible contribution to the generation in which she is living.
McKinney became the first woman elected to any government in Canada in 1917, when she won a seat in the Alberta Legislature after women gained the right to vote (although they were still not considered "persons" until 1929). I was the recipient of a scholarship named after her as an undergrad student at the U of A.
