Tofino again!

We are off to Tofino for the Labor Day weekend. We are leaving around 7am tomorrow to catch an 8.30am ferry to the island with our friend Jon. On Saturday, more of our friends are making their own way - Laurie and Bob, Mark, and Colin and Jo. All in one car - that will be cozy! Some of us are surfing this weekend (which includes Steph, but not me), and the rest of us will do some walking I expect. Sadly, the weather once again forecasts rain. This will be the third time we've been to Tofino, and it has rained every time :)

We are leaving early on holiday Monday to come back. That is partly because the ferries are really busy and we could only get on an early one, and partly because we are going to see Crowded House in the evening. We got our dates a bit mixed up, but never mind. They changed the time and the venue at the last minute too. It was going to be at the Orpheum theatre, but because of the continuing strikes involving civil workers, the theatre is closed at the moment. So instead the gig will be outdoors in Stanley Park. That should be fun, although possibly a little damp if it is still raining. We'll see.

Have a nice weekend!

Mini Film Review Trio

I'm getting behind with this blogging lark. Not last weekend but the weekend before, we ended up seeing three movies in a row on consecutive days. We hadn't planned to, but got invites from various people so it turned out that way. Here are my opinions.


Ratatouille

This is probably the best CG movie I have ever seen. It looked totally gorgeous - flawless in fact. The animation is beautiful, especially the facial animation which blew me away. It's also a great story with a lot of good humour. I expected to like this movie, but not this much. I can't recommended this film highly enough - sheer genius. You must see it!


Sunshine

I like a good sci-fi movie, but sadly they don't make many so when a new one comes out I am always interested. So, is Sunshine a good sci-fi movie? Yes! Surprisingly good in fact. It manages to capture the feeling of isolation and vulnerability that made 2001 a good film, but combines that with a nail-biting suspense plot that builds continuously as the film progresses. The tension is thick in this film, and in a similar way to 28 Weeks Later I felt kind of exhausted after the film ended from the adrenaline and the stress I was feeling. I'm weird, but I like when a movie can do that to me. Oh, and the "sci" in this sci-fi movie is nicely done too - sort of modern technology plus, rather than crazy out-there stuff. Plausible for sure. If I have to criticize, the characters could have been a little more likeable, although I did manage to care about them nonetheless. Also, towards the end things get a little bizarre and stretch your suspension of disbelief somewhat. Still, if you like science-fiction then you'll probably get a lot from this movie like I did.


Stardust

Last but not least: an adaptation of a book by Neil Gaiman. I haven't read the book, and I knew nothing about this movie before I went to see it, which is always great. It's especially great when the movie turns out to be really good like this one. The nearest comparison I can think of is probably The Princess Bride, but it is basically a comic fantasy. It's probably a little darker than The Princess Bride maybe. Anyway, it's a strong cast and if you are English like me you'll appreciate spotting lots of British comedy actors in the movie. The whole film has a very English feel about it actually. The jokes are funny, the action is satisfying, and apart from a few cheesy or predictable moments, the film delivers. Going to see a movie you know nothing about that turns out to be a great movie is one of life's little pleasures. Why not try this movie yourself?

Superbugs 1 Anti-bacterial Soap 0

Whilst I am posting news articles that interest me, Steph pointed me at this one a couple of days ago. Apparently anti-bacterial soap is no better at cleaning your hands than the regular kind, and may actually be worse. This is something else I have generally always felt was true. I suppose it is all part and parcel of how modern life is far too obsessed with germs and how we should annihilate them. I blame big chemical companies for instilling that particular fear in us, so they can push their myriad of cleaning products. There's lots of good science to suggest that this unnecessary degree of cleanliness leads to allergies, asthma, eczema and digestive conditions, among other things.

Safer in the back

I always suspected tha the rear of a plane was the safest place to sit in the event of a crash. Not sure why - maybe it was the intuition that the rear of the plane is the furthest away from the end that hits things, or maybe because it is also furthest away from the wings (which are usually filled with higly flammable fuel). Anyway, recently I came across this article from Popular Mechanics. They examined data from all 20 US plane crashes since 1971 and crunched the survival statistics. Check it out.

Kayaking up Indian Arm

Steph has uploaded a bunch of kayaking photos (yes, Steph! Who'd have thought? :) ).

Some of them are from a disposable waterproof camera that we used several times this year, so they span quite a period of time. So we added a few to some older sets for Steph's parents visit and Deep Cove kayaking.

The rest are from a day trip that Steph and a bunch of our friends did last Sunday. They started at Deep Cove again and paddled up Indian Arm. It was around 33km in all which is impressive, and I think everyone had a good time. Check out the photos here.

I didn't go that day, as I've been having some problems recently with my right hip that has made it uncomfortable for me to sit a long time. I'll probably go to the doctors this week about that.

Mini Film Review: The Bourne Ultimatum

More of the same, which made me happy because I loved the first two movies. The camera was even wobblier this time around - perhaps a little too wobbly. I liked the fact that the film had a really minimal script, and did a lot without much dialogue. I particular liked the relationship between Jason Bourne and Julia Stiles's character - few words, lots of moody glances. Great fight scene too (as always). Oh yes, and the car chases down Italian streets made me a little homesick for Europe - everything's a grid here. Shame this is the last movie. And Bourne would obviously kick Bond's arse (though it would be close).

Back to nature (sort of)

Last weekend was a holiday weekend here in British Columbia, celebrating BC Day on the Monday. We were very lucky to be invited by our friends Tim and Carla to spend the weekend in Tim's cabin near Vernon.

We took the Friday as a holiday so we could have four whole days off, and drove up with Tim on the Thursday evening. The journey is about 6 hours by car, and was made more exciting thanks to Tim and Carla's cat Maggie which roamed loose in the car at times and tried to bite me and Steph :)

The cabin lies on the edge of Kalamalka Lake which is just south of Vernon itself. It's a gorgeous location. It's very comfortable, but what we didn't know before we arrived was that the cabin has no electricity or running water, so we'd packed a little inappropriately. Still, it was a surprise when we got there!

On the Friday it was just the three of us, but on Friday evening Carla arrived with another couple, Katrina and Ivan, who were good friends of Tim and Carla. They were very nice guys, and we all got along nicely I think. On Saturday, Tim and Carla's neighbour Mark arrived too. He was good fun, and told some excellent stories.

We pretty much spent the whole weekend engaged in arduous activities such as:

1. Eating large meals
2. Preparing large meals to eat
3. Drinking (anything we could, from mid-morning onwards)
4. Lying in the sun
5. Swimming in the lake

Sounds pretty tough eh? Well, it wasn't - it was sweet! There was also some sailing too, when the wind permitted. I thought I wouldn't get on too well without my creature comforts, but really the lack of modern trappings just made it all the more relaxing - no TV to distract or anything. Steph and I even spent a couple of nights sleeping out in a tent for the hell of it which was fun, especially when I woke up one morning to find the inner mesh layer of the tent surrounded by mosquitoes. It was like starring in GNATS! The Movie! Thank god they didn't find a way inside.

So yes, a good time was had by all I think, and us especially. One of the best holidays we've had here in Canada. I've uploaded our photos, and hopefully I will get my hands on some more as there were two other cameras taking snaps.

Mini Film Review: Transformers

+ The robots were pretty cool to look at.
+ Shia LaBeouf was great, but totally wasted. This guy has lots of talent, and a strong presence on-screen. He could be the next big thing if he can find the right movies (like not this one :) ).
+ Lots of bangs to keep you awake.

- Too many inappropriate comedy moments
- Too long - learn to edit, film-makers!
- Not sure if I was just sitting too close to the screen, but all the blurred motion and fast cuts made me dizzy at times.

OVERALL: Entertainment for a few hours, but quite forgettable. This film satisfied, but probably isn't going to make anybody's Top Ten.

Celebration of Light

This year, Spain, Canada and China held firework displays to music. Steph and I watched Spain and China from the beach at English Bay, and it was great - very loud. It seemed busier this year than last year too, especially for China's display. We saw Canada from our friend Jon's place - he had a barbecue with some other friends too. Jon has a pretty good view of English Bay from his flat in Kitsilano. We thought that China was by far the best fireworks display this year, but in the end Canada won the competition. There are more photos from the fireworks here.

A few photos from Steph's parents visit

These are pretty old now too - I haven't updated the blog in a while. Anyway, here are the photos.

More Tug-Of-War

Very belated, but I've uploaded a bunch more photos of the Radical summer barbecue, and in particular my double tug-of-war victory.