A $100,000 winner

Below is a link to a short film that won a $100,000 prize in a competition put on by LG Electronics.

It's on this blog because this film, Nuit blanche (or white night) was produced by my cousin's daughter Stephanie and directed by her boyfriend Arev.

Hundreds of entries were submitted in four categories. The winners in each category then competed for the $100,000 grand prize - which Nuit Blanche won in the narrative category.

This is a huge victory for these two in a very competitive field. They plan to put the prize money towards their next film. The National Film Board of Canada has actually approached to collaborate with them. This is wonderful news for these two striving for success in an extremely competitive and tight industry.

Hope you enjoy this very artsy film with wonderful special effects.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tifuN6P7go

The Countdown is on

.. and we're getting close!

Addition: for my sister Dale - The torch on the shores of the lake in her little town:



Too bad it came out so small here, but for a better view go here: http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-photos/#photoScrollHref

In a couple of days they may have a video posted of the event as well.

Canada loses a musical icon

It's a sad day when you wake up and hear that one of your country's greatest folk singers and musical mothers has died.

Kate McGarrigle, mother to Rufus and Martha Wainwright,passed away overnight from a rare form of cancer at the age of 63.

The McGarrigle sisters were born in Montreal and raised in one of my favourite Laurentian Mountain ski-towns, Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts. They recorded 10 albums in French and English, and their songs have been covered by artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Billy Bragg and Emmylou Harris.

I was lucky to see them live on several occasions in my earlier days within small pub-like environments, which is perfect for their style of music.

For a smile in rememberance you should view the Logdriver's Waltz. The National Film Board's video here at http://www.nfb.ca/film/log_drivers_waltz/ The song is an old traditional Canadian folksong.


Kate (left) with her sister Anna (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

Cropped Leo/Door picture

As per my post below, I just had to crop this photo of Leo. I absolutely love it and think he looks a bit like a rabbit here.

Door

It's great to have an insulated basement bedroom/office. However, when the desk is next to the entrance/exit of the non-insulated part of the basement and near the leaky/drafty door to the outside it can get its share of cool drafts.

The challenge this past week-end was to find a door that could fit the unique size of the entrance/exit, be strong enough to hold a cat door and have windows. (If I need to close a door to a room, I like to have windows so I don't feel so isolated from the rest of the house).

Jim and I explored the usual home renovation/hardware stores but didn't find anything affordable that fit the bill so we took a jaunt down the road to Habitat for Humanity's Restore and found this beautiful vintage piece that Jim installed for me.



The wonderful thing about this door is that the bottom middle window pane is gone so that'll be used as the cat door! They'll have no problem going thru the door when it's closed :-)

Between the stairs down to the basement and my newly renovated room, I've made some adjustments to organize my stuff and separate the room from the unfinished part of the basement by hanging some curtains I had used in my old condo. I bought a great shelf unit at a post-christmas bargain price - - and behind one of the curtains, you'll see a great little item that I found that I'm using to store my off-season clothes.







Next steps are to:

a) add a door handle to the door;
b) install a curtain over my main closet area (I'm using unused brass pipe that was left in the house when I bought it as curtain rods),
c) continue to organize my office;
d) hang some wall art/photos, and
e) finish the wiring

Enfin! - A story in pictures

.... Now to organize my stuff!

Happy New Year

Hoping that 2010 brings everyone lots of happiness and personal fulfillment.

For me it started at blogger friend Anne Marie's house. Six of us munched on appetizers, played a great word-game game called Apples to Apples and then Wii Sports Resort. After the New Year came in we jumped into the hot tub under a light falling rain before heading off for a good night's sleep. In the morning we munched on a Mexican style breakfast and played more rounds of Apples to Apples.

I'm home now and doing a bit more work on the basement. Tomorrow the painting will commence.