]]> http://lunarbovine.com/blog/2011/12/merry-christmas-from-winnipeg/feed/ 0 http://lunarbovine.com/blog/2011/12/need-a-wider-blog/ http://lunarbovine.com/blog/2011/12/need-a-wider-blog/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:00:35 +0000 jcobill http://lunarbovine.com/blog/?p=2046 Caught some deer out by the airport as we drove out to pick up Mom from work – and got a great panorama of Winnipeg while I was at it. Sorry if I’m reinforcing stereotypes – it’s not all fields, airports and grain elevators.

When we first pulled up outside, I commented that the building looked familiar, and when I mentioned it to the volunteer inside she confirmed that it is in fact modelled after the success of the beautiful state-of-the-art facility in Winnipeg – a trend that Winnipeggers can be proud of starting.

No luck meeting the dog for us – from all the publicity during the move last week, they were fresh out of dogs for the day. But that didn’t stop us from mauling the kitties for a while in the playroom. Pumpkin and Blackie (inspired names for an Orange and Black cat) were particularly enthralled by my chin rubs – and flopped down to barricade the door so we couldn’t leave. Too cute.

We’ll be back, and maybe I’ll take some photos – the web didn’t turn up much beyond this spooky blue dog pic.

Years later I’ve managed to get over the trauma enough to attend Natasha’s first Ottawa Fringe pick – “Question Period: The Musical“. One of Natasha’s co-workers was in the chorus, so you can call my review biased, but we had a great time! It was fun and funny, and there were lots of opportunities to dance in our seats along with the musical House of Commons to their catchy bilingual-rap musical interpretations of the budget speech and senatorial addresses. The audience were very receptive to the witty writing and I laughed a bunch of times throughout the play. The timing and pace were spot on, and the performances felt natural and well thought-out.

The house was packed the night we were there – they sold out the show just after us, too.

I think that with all the hype for the show, you could make the case that it would have benefited from a bigger, more bombastic musical score and singing arrangements, but this was a fringe show and for a first-time writer/director to come out swinging for the fences like this – I think he hit a home run. I think the play has legs and as it picks up a cast of experienced performers it’ll do well in other fringes. Definitely check it out if it comes to your town on the fringe circuit!

• Saw Terminator 4 – really cool action, so-so storyline. The “Terminator Mythos” was really cleverly intertwined in the previous movies, but this one didn’t really advance the story at all. Christian Bale just shouts a lot, and some giant robots that sound eerily like photocopiers stomp on things. Vwweeeeet, STROMPH.
• Natasha and I went to “Art in the Park” in the Glebe – it was really great seeing all the amazingly talented local craftspeople and artists. I saw a lot of stained glass, robots, and bronze sculptures that I liked, but I didn’t come home with any. The prices were quite steep.  Someone could make a heap of cash re-selling prairie art here.
• I had another ortho adjustment – this time not painful at all. The changes are more and more subtle as we get close to the end. I’m probably going to have them on till fall though. Drat. Everyone got to watch me maul the heck out of a sausage at Nigel’s birthday – embarassing. I hate eating in public.
• We had no less than three visitors from Winnipeg pay us a visit in the past two weeks. That was awesome. Everyone’s welcome to swing by, anytime!
• The “biking to work” routine has really set in. I’ve done a bit of math and figure I’m getting close to saving my bike’s value in bus fares, but it goes way beyond that – I’m really enjoying my route in to work and the sense that I’m a part of the community as I bike past the same gardeners and animals and moms with their tots every morning.
• I learned how to play “The Hockey Song” during an impromptu jam session on the weekend. Luckily Stompin’ Tom kept to to four or five really easy chords.

We’ve swept our empty floors and returned our keys… we’re officially unemployed and homeless drifters.

Here’s Natasha and I in the Fortress of Cardboard: