Colour My World
When I was like 18, my brother and I were roommates. One of the many dumb things we did, besides refer to Bruce Willis as “Spruchay Spillis” for an entire year and take photographs to document how disgustingly dirty our apartment became, was engage in a battle of outgoing voicemail message oneupmanship.
“Paul can’t come to the phone right now because he’s painting his toenails.”
“Sally can’t come to the phone right now because she’s getting a pelvic exam”
“Paul can’t come to the phone right now because he’s learning to read.”
Anyway, for some reason, the one that really sticks in my brain is the time he changed the voicemail to say that I couldn’t answer the phone because I was colouring. Because I thought to myself, is there some SHAME in colouring? It’s like drawing, but with less responsibility. Also, more colour. It is one of the few times as an adult I can use wax crayons to express myself and not be thought of as on the verge of some kind of episode. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING A COLOURING ENTHUSIAST.
Anyway, it seems the team at Edmonton Public Libraries would back me up on this. They’re offering free .pdf downloads of colouring pages created by Edmonton illustrator Crystal Driedger (who has plenty of colouring freebies on her own site as well). They are super cute, super plentiful and they are excellent for both children, and regressing adults. Enjoy!
Hot Tub Time Machine
By Paul Poulsen
Hot Tub Time Machine has a title that you it tells you EXACTLY what to expect in the film. Much like Snakes on a Plane, you know what you’re getting into with Hot Tub Time Machine.
There’s a hot tub and it serves as a time machine. No further explanation necessary.
The question then becomes, “Is the best thing about this film its title?” Surprisingly (to me, anyway) there’s actually a pretty entertaining movie to go along with the snappy name.
The plot isn’t anything horribly original. Three middle-aged friends are stuck in shitty jobs and shitty relationships and decide to relive their glory days by visiting a ski resort where they spent some of the best days of their youth. The main character’s nephew gets dragged along for the ride and acts as the voice of reason throughout their fantastic voyage.
The resort is not what they remember but they decide to make the most of it by getting drunk in the hot tub. When the haze clears the next morning, they slowly come to the realization that they’ve somehow traveled back in time to 1986. The group quickly decides that they must try to perfectly recreate their original experience so that they don’t trigger a butterfly effect that would cause harm to the future. However they’re quickly overcome by the temptation to right past wrongs.
Hilarity ensues.
There are a lot of elements that are reminiscent of Back to the Future. However, the presence of Crispin Glover permits me to think these things were lovingly referenced instead of blatantly ripped off.
There were definitely things I didn’t like. The love interest seemed paper thin and anytime there’s a time travel movie, there are a hundred little plot points that you could nitpick, but at the end of the day there were quite a few laughs and a good little story that focuses on the importance of friendship.
650,000,000 edmontonians out of 1,000,000,000
Hot Tub Time Machine doesn’t open until March 26th but you can get free passes by visiting http://eventful.com/campaigns/hottub/edmonton. I signed up and had my tickets emailed to me within 30 minutes but I’ve heard of other people taking up to 12 hours to get theirs. I went to the City Centre screening and the theatre was only about 70% full.
An alternate solution for Edmonton school closures
Re: Edmonton schools face possible closure
From: A Better Edmonton
The City of Edmonton keeps growing and growing. Unlike many cities, there are no meaningful geographical limits to this expansion. Edmonton isn’t bordered by the ocean or mountains, just miles and miles of limitless, wide open spaces. This terrain makes growth easy. Just decide were you want to build something and build it! The only problem with this growth model is that it’s unsustainable.
While the population of Edmonton is increasing, it’s not increasing at such as rate as to justify the physical growth of the city. It’s much cheaper, easier and faster to build new than it is to work with what you’ve already got.
This creates a lot of expensive problems for the city. When there are new subdivisions built, there are certain things the city must provide. Things like utilities, paved roads, traffic lights, police, fire stations, public transit and schools. These things all cost money.
What happens to the old things that are no longer needed? Nothing, really. The city apparently just ignores them and hopes a solution will present itself. Instead of fixing old schools, they build new and allow old ones to fall into disrepair until they’re no longer good for much of anything. Law enforcement and fire/rescue are spread thinner and thinner so they can patrol and serve new neighbourhoods. New bus routes are added at the expense of existing routes. This type of municipal thinking and spending is harmful, lazy and expensive.
Since there’s no physical barrier that stops developers from building further and further away from the existing core, council should impose an artificial limit to the size to which the city can grow.
Does a developer want to build 60 new houses? The city should instruct said developer to find an existing piece of land in the city and redevelop it. There is already infrastructure at this location, there are already buses that service the area and police and fire departments are already in place. Oh, and there are already schools that can serve the new development. Even if the school is so decrepit that it could no longer serve as a place of learning, it would still be more cost effective to tear it down and start over than it would be to build a new structure in a new neighbourhood with new infrastructure.
Chris Isaak and his Magical Mirror Shirt
Paul writes: “The brilliant figure at centre stage is Chris Isaak singing “Blue Hotel” during his encore. He was wearing a suit made of mirrors (awesome) and that’s why he basically looks like a washed out ball of light.”
Let's start calling Chris Isaak "Mirrorball." (Photo: Paul Poulsen)
Chris Isaak: Resplendent
My thought process when evaluating a concert consists of one question: Did the headliner bring it? After attending the Chris Isaak show at the Jubilee Auditorium last night, the answer to my question is a resounding “Oh, it was brought.” I was completely entertained on all levels. (more…)
EastwoodFest, Woo!
Ain't no party like a 118 Avenue party.
When you think of summer parties you think of barbecues in the backyard, patios, Whyte Avenue, various festivals, and 118 Avenue.
What? You don’t think about 118 Avenue? Maybe you should.
Granted, it may not be the first place you think of (or even the second, or third) when trying to come up with a place to enjoy Edmonton’s short summer. But there’s a revitalization going on, don’t you know.
This past weekend saw Eastwoodfest take over the 118 Avenue area, 82-87 Streets.
As roving reporter Paul tells us… “The turnout was actually not bad. Not bad for what’s by and large considered Edmonton’s ghetto. The crowds in the pictures (above, below) look especially sparse but I credit that to the way the event was set up. The avenue was shut down from 82nd street to 87th street with booths, events, food, etc… lining both sides of the street as well as a line of booths set up right in the middle of the road.”
“The upgrades to the avenue itself look good. New sidewalks, lights, pavement, etc… (That’s all part of ongoing City efforts.) And there are a few new or renovated businesses that are doing their part to transform 118th. It’ll be a long process but I think that in five years, 118th will be a hot spot in Edmonton.”
You head a little west down the Avenue and you hit spots like The Carrot, an artsy, volunteer-run, coffee spot that’s part of the push to makeover 118.
More from the Edmonton Journal here. Mostly I mention the Journal story because they have a quote that “…life’s good in the hood.”
Eastwoodfest equals fun.
