Happy 80th Birthday Barbie!

My Aunt's 80th birthday was on Sunday. Sadly, we weren't there to celebrate. And as she has just got a new red convertible, it'll be even harder than usual to keep up with this crazy lady.

Enjoy the new wheels!!

This Cat's Got My Tongue and More

Tonight, I went to a stranger's home who I met on the internet. I know - I've broken all the rules.

Actually, I haven't been hanging out on dating sites and haven't been flirting in chat rooms. I met this stranger because of my desire to get a cat despite my allergies.

Huh? You ask.

Well, here's my story. About 3-4 months ago, I decided I really wanted a cat despite being super allergic to these creatures. YYZ was busy with her 3 new kittens and I wanted one too. I was determined to find one with whom I could live. That meant searching out a hypo-allergenic equivalent of the feline sort. That's where I discovered Siberian cats and their alleged hypo-allergenic nature.

Now isn't it clear how I ended up at a stranger's house? That's right, I went to meet a few of these furry felines to see if they could break me. That's right, super-allergy girl was in a house with 5 adult cats and 9 kittens - all Siberian - for an allergy test. I had an enjoyable 30 minutes talking to the breeder, scratching and holding the big guys and playing with the kittens. . I even got to hold my potential kitten - Aurora. I was hopeful as I was only just a bit sniffly


Only after I left the house, did the full on allergy attack happen. On my walk home, I sneezed non-stop for 10 minutes and found I was scratching wildly at my neck. That's when I knew. I knew that baby Aurora would not be moving in with me.

*sniffle sniffle

A long long road

Over the last few years, I've shared some video work that J has done. It's included everything from a music video for Dusk & Blackdown to product demos for to promo videos for a ballet troupe. So, it's time again to share something that is keeping him busy.

For the last few years, J has been working on a real cool road trip documentary. It's still being edited and searching for funding. However, there's a trailer and here it is.

Driven, Trailer/Demo from Jonathan Howells on Vimeo.

How many takes does it take?

I was curious as to how long it took to make a video like this one.



So, I did a bit of internet research and found another video on OkGo's website which told the story behind the video. It looks like they went to the internet for the solution and Donkey Kong for inspiration. I actually thought of Mouse Trap.




This is another video from the same guys. It made its debut years ago on YouTube, but I was glad to stumble across it again. Remember, the treadmill dance? Of course you do. Why not watch it again?

Canada Shines in Olympics Opening (well kind of)

As you all know by now, I'm Canadian and I'm a PROUD Canadian (in my Canadian way). That means a few things:

• I'll be the first to tell you if someone well-known is from Canada (i.e. Margaret Atwood, James Cameron, Tyler Brule or Kate from Lost)
  
• I'll also be the first to point out if something was invented in Canada (i.e. the zipper or the obviously named Canadarm)
  
• Of course, I'll be happy to explain the virtues of Maple Syrup, Poutine and Bannock
  
• I can explain the rules of curling (in fact my Mother, Sister, Brother-in-Law and my nieces are incredibly talented curlers) and know that the competition is called a bonspiel.
  
• Finally, I'll be quietly crossing every possible body part to ensure Canada succeeds at any competitive event, but knowing that usually we just can't rise to the occassion (we choke). Perhaps, we have a politeness gene that stops us from dominating.
  

It's important to understand what it is like to be a Canadian as we host the Olympics and I provide you my impressions of the Olympics Opening Ceremony. In typical Canadian fashion, we hire someone from *away* to direct our show. Yes, that's right we brought in an Australian, David Atkin, to define Canada as we take the spotlight.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stay up long enough to watch the ceremonies live. However, thanks to a certain Swedish site for connecting me with someone in the US who watched and captured the NBC coverage.

Anyway, as I sat down to watch the ceremonies, I was REALLY nervous. All of a sudden the wallflower (Canada) was taking centre stage and I was concerned we might suffer severe stage fright and REALLY screw up. What exactly I thought would happen? I'm not really sure. Perhaps, that the ceremony would be similar to Canadian TV. What you don't know any Canadian TV shows? That's hard to believe. Let me paint the picture: think LOW production values with dull storylines. No, actually lower and duller. If you dont' believe me, here a few that I'd watch as a youngster when nothing else was on the tube. King of Kensington (set in Toronto), The Trouble with Tracey (deemed worst sitcom of all time), and of course The Beachcombers (which was filmed a stone's throw from Whistler - home of the Downhill at the Olympics)

Now, can you see why I was so nervous?

My Observations
All and all, I thought the ceremony was beautiful, intimate despite the size of stadium and incredibly emotional. I loved the theatrical approach and the use of lights both on the playing field and on the audience itself. This was achieved by providing white capes to the audience which turned them in to a giant canvas. (wander here or here for some shots of the evening)

photo by: firebellyreed

As the ceremonies continued, I was progressively prouder to be a Canadian. I loved the welcoming section featuring the 4 First Nations from the Vancouver/Squamish area. The glass totems and costumes of the First Canadians were spectacular. The procession of the athletes with a special focus on Canada made me a little weepy.


Generally, the *journey* across Canada featuring different parts of Canada's landscape and culture was wonderful. I loved the fact that Donald Sutherland was the English voice of Canada. Then, Sarah McLachlan surpassed any expectation I would have had. (she is still one of my all-time favourite singers).








Wheat
Uploaded by praguelondon.


The photo above featured one of my favourite moments. Donald Sutherland introduced the prairies with a quote from Who Has Seen The Wind by W.O. Mitchell. The aerial dance by Thomas Saulgrain was accompanied by one of my all time Canadian favourites - Joni Mitchell. It was utterly dream-like.

The 8 Canadians (listed below) chosen to carry in the Olympics flag were all deserving recognition for their unique accomplishments and provided a rich weave of Canadian fabric.

• Donald Sutherland
• Betty Fox (Mother of the most inspirational Canadian who ever lived - Terry)
• Bobby Orr (if you don't know this guy, you clearly aren't Canadian)
• Anne Murray
• Jacques Villeneuve
• Barbara Ann Scott
• Romeo Dallaire (was really thrilled to see RD)
• Julie Payette

On a fashion note, I loved the white suits worn by all the background dancers and flagbearers. If you would like to know more about Olympic fashion, wander over to YYZ's post.

Image thanks to Firebellyreed

All this being said, I wouldn't be a Canadian without a big BUT. I would be remiss if I didn't mark a few of the cringe moments.

1. Where was the FRENCH? Honestly, I kept waiting for it in the cross-country poetic tour of our country. I didn't hear it ONCE. I loved the quotes and songs that were so carefully chosen from W.O. Mitchell (which reminded me of grade 10 English class) to one of my favourite Joni Mitchell songs ever. Donald Sutherland's distinctive and soothing voice made each quote come to life. Yet, still I waited for a few French quotes or at least ONE. I kept saying to J "what about French?". We're Canadian, not American. That means a country with two official languages. What is this? Turns out, I wasn't alone in this concern.
   
2. Why did we screw with our national anthem? I think the young woman who sang has a wonderful voice and her outfit was fab (as YYZ points out Dsquared designed it), but I hated the jazz version.
   
3. The Olympic Cauldron was to be lit in a very Canadian manner - that is rather than choosing just one torch bearer, they chose 4. Sadly, there was some malfunction and the 4th column didn't rise and left one of the torch bearers without a column to light. I suspect someone was swearing profusely at the malfunction. Ahh... Poor Canada.

Flames Abound
Uploaded by praguelondon.


Don't get me wrong the ceremonies were great and I was rather veklempt when I heard the words and sentiments of a relatively unknown Canadian poet. Yes, I AM CANADIAN ;)


Now I'm off to watch more Olympics and you can see I'm wearing my Canadian colours.

Babylon

On Saturday, J and I were intent on starting our Christmas shopping. However, we also wanted to take in a bit of culture at the same time. We were in luck. Hidden Art was on and we figured we could pass a few studios on the way down to the East London Design Show which was part of Hiddent Art. (If Hidden Art sounds familiar, I've mentioned it before as we've been we've been a few times before- I wrote about it back in 2007).

We ended up seeing 2 groups shows and the opening of Gerry Juddah's Babylon show at Flower Galleries in Shoreditch. We just happened on the show and felt so lucky to have stumbled on such a powerful show.











I'm not much of a writer or art analyst. Although, I do know when I saw these scultped paintings, I couldn't take my eyes off of them. As you maybe able to see from the photos above, each painting/sculpture shows what appears to be a miniture city (but blown out) and all the details of the cityscape. The stark colours (they were painted white, black or wine/rust) on such a detailed sculpture ensured one would notice the details of the city even more than if the city was painted in technicolour.

If you are in London, try to visit the Flower Gallery. It is definitely worth the visit. The Small is Beautiful Exhibit that was exhibiting upstairs was also a pleasant surprise. Plan to take enough time to explore both.

An Ode to Literature

I discovered this amazing video via our twitter feed at work which thanks to the lovely D and the other team members always has a wealth of fun stuff to distract you from your other duites. So check it out.

Here is a short video that should amaze anyone when you begin to think of the intricate work that went in to making it. I loved it and decided to post it here so I won't forget about it or lose it.

Here is what Creative Review said about it.

Using around 3,000 still images, Andersen M Studio has animated an extract from Maurice Gee's novel, Going West, for the New Zealand Book Council...

Now that you watched it you can appreciate it took 8 months to complete. Beautiful. Let's read books.