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Sunday, April 15, 2007
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
water again
It's been a while since my last update on water issues in Alberta.
Fund Alberta water plan or face crisis: advocates
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 | 1:26 PM MT
CBC News
Alberta's water advocates are urging the provincial government to fund its water management plan properly — or face a crisis within the next 30 years.
The Water for Life strategy was created in 2003 to ensure the province has a safe and secure water supply. Critics argue the Klein government has never fully implemented or funded the plan.
Robert Sandford, chair of the United Nations water initiative in Canada, said water scarcity could limit Alberta's development in the near future.
Robert Sandford, chair of the United Nations water initiative in Canada, said water scarcity could limit Alberta's development in the near future.
(CBC News)
Robert Sandford, chair of the United Nations water initiative in Canada, said a growing population in Alberta, coupled with less snow and ice in the Rocky Mountains will make water the province's most pressing issue one day.
"Water scarcity could limit social, economic and environmental development in the near future," he said.
The best way to avoid that scenario is for the province to fully implement it's Water for Life plan, he said. "It has been evaluated worldwide and many people see the merits in it, but it needs to be funded," he said.
'A lot of work to do'
Water Plan - con't
water
air
Fund Alberta water plan or face crisis: advocates
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 | 1:26 PM MT
CBC News
Alberta's water advocates are urging the provincial government to fund its water management plan properly — or face a crisis within the next 30 years.
The Water for Life strategy was created in 2003 to ensure the province has a safe and secure water supply. Critics argue the Klein government has never fully implemented or funded the plan.
Robert Sandford, chair of the United Nations water initiative in Canada, said water scarcity could limit Alberta's development in the near future.
Robert Sandford, chair of the United Nations water initiative in Canada, said water scarcity could limit Alberta's development in the near future.
(CBC News)
Robert Sandford, chair of the United Nations water initiative in Canada, said a growing population in Alberta, coupled with less snow and ice in the Rocky Mountains will make water the province's most pressing issue one day.
"Water scarcity could limit social, economic and environmental development in the near future," he said.
The best way to avoid that scenario is for the province to fully implement it's Water for Life plan, he said. "It has been evaluated worldwide and many people see the merits in it, but it needs to be funded," he said.
'A lot of work to do'
Water Plan - con't
water
air
Sunday, October 01, 2006
film fest
Volunteered at the Calgary International Film Festival this week. Highly recommended - the films were amazing and being on the usher crew at the Globe was a lot of fun - it was a side of Calgary I really enjoyed seeing. The power of film never ceases to amaze me and it was great to get to hear the inspiring producers/directors introduce the films and answer questions afterwards.
My Highlights:
"...Mojave Phone Booth is a complex look at our culture’s increasing lack of human contact and the desperate need to be heard." - Amy Dykstra
"Manufactured Landscapes is a feature length documentary on the world and work of renowned artist/photographer Edward Burtynsky, as he travels the world observing changes in landscapes due to industrial work and manufacturing. Burtynsky makes large-scale photographs of "manufactured landscapes." Alternatively, places that seemingly is ugly to the human eye, such as quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, and dams. The film follows Burtynsky to China as he travels the country photographing the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution. Sites such as the Three Gorges Dam, which is bigger by 50% than any other dam in the world and displaced over a million people, factory floors over a kilometre long, and the breathtaking scale of Shanghai’s urban renewal. Shot in Super-16mm film by legendary cinematographer Peter Mettler, Manufactured Landscapes continues the narrative that Burtynsky’s photographs convey by allowing people to think about the impact that is occurring to planet Earth." - Stephanie Brown
Everything's Gone Green - screenplay by Douglas Copeland "Can you possibly find happiness, compassion, spirituality and romance in the 21st century? Would you achieve capitalist gains through non-ethical means? Are your traditional middle-class values quickly disintegrating? Canada's foremost "Generation-X" pop culture guru Douglas Coupland raises these notions through his first story written specifically for the movie screen. This is the second feature-length movie from filmmaker Paul Fox (The Dark Hours). Ryan (Paul Costanzo), a twenty-something slacker is tempted into a money-laundering scheme while struggling to discover the meaning of life in contemporary multicultural Vancouver. His older brother and hippie friend are turning profits in not-so-ethical and not-so-legal ways. His unemployed parents discover new organic anti-establishment opportunities. Even the beautiful woman he desires is more comfortable to be pampered by a big-time car thief!" - Ben Tsui.
Radiant City
"Urban sprawl is eating the planet. Across the continent the landscape is being leveled - blasted clean of distinctive features and overlaid with zombie monoculture. Politicians call it growth. Developers call it business. And the Moss family calls it home.Gary Burns, Canada’s king of surreal comedy (waydowntown), joins journalist Jim Brown on an outing to the ‘burbs in order to turn the documentary genre on its head. Cultural prophets provide insight on the spectacle. James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere, rails against the brutalizing aesthetic of strip malls. Philosopher Joseph Heath fears the soul-eating suburbs but admits they offer good value for money. And urban planner Beverly Sandalack dares to ask, “Why can't we walk anywhere anymore?” Burns and Brown rummage through a toy box of cultural references from Jane Jacobs to The Sopranos, and riffing off sitcoms and reality TV, they play fast and loose with a range of cinematic devices to consider what happens when cities get sick and mutate." - Jill Nunns
The Giant Buddhas
"Religious fanaticism led to the destruction by the Taliban in 2001 of two massive Buddhas carved into a cliff in Afghanistan 1500 years ago. Academy Award nominee Christian Frei (War Photographer) explores both the origins of the Buddhas and the implications of their destruction, in a beautifully photographed and thought-provoking documentary. The film interweaves several journeys, from the seventh-century Chinese monk, Xuanzang, to Afghan-Canadian author and actress Nelofer Pazira’s return to the site in Bamiyan, as well as the film-maker’s own odyssey. A diary reference by Xuanzang points to the possibility of a further undiscovered giant Buddha. Preliminary archaeological work to uncover this Buddha is shown, as well as a failed Chinese attempt to replicate the statues. David Courier (Sundance Film Festival) notes that “The Giant Buddhas is a stirring example of the power of cinema to enlighten as it defies the boundaries of culture and time.” - Alan Dyment
Buddhas of Bamiyan
Movies for the rental list this winter:
Little Miss Sunshine
Half Nelson
White Planet
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen
Volver
I am
The Companion
My Highlights:
"...Mojave Phone Booth is a complex look at our culture’s increasing lack of human contact and the desperate need to be heard." - Amy Dykstra
"Manufactured Landscapes is a feature length documentary on the world and work of renowned artist/photographer Edward Burtynsky, as he travels the world observing changes in landscapes due to industrial work and manufacturing. Burtynsky makes large-scale photographs of "manufactured landscapes." Alternatively, places that seemingly is ugly to the human eye, such as quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, and dams. The film follows Burtynsky to China as he travels the country photographing the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution. Sites such as the Three Gorges Dam, which is bigger by 50% than any other dam in the world and displaced over a million people, factory floors over a kilometre long, and the breathtaking scale of Shanghai’s urban renewal. Shot in Super-16mm film by legendary cinematographer Peter Mettler, Manufactured Landscapes continues the narrative that Burtynsky’s photographs convey by allowing people to think about the impact that is occurring to planet Earth." - Stephanie Brown
Everything's Gone Green - screenplay by Douglas Copeland "Can you possibly find happiness, compassion, spirituality and romance in the 21st century? Would you achieve capitalist gains through non-ethical means? Are your traditional middle-class values quickly disintegrating? Canada's foremost "Generation-X" pop culture guru Douglas Coupland raises these notions through his first story written specifically for the movie screen. This is the second feature-length movie from filmmaker Paul Fox (The Dark Hours). Ryan (Paul Costanzo), a twenty-something slacker is tempted into a money-laundering scheme while struggling to discover the meaning of life in contemporary multicultural Vancouver. His older brother and hippie friend are turning profits in not-so-ethical and not-so-legal ways. His unemployed parents discover new organic anti-establishment opportunities. Even the beautiful woman he desires is more comfortable to be pampered by a big-time car thief!" - Ben Tsui.
Radiant City
"Urban sprawl is eating the planet. Across the continent the landscape is being leveled - blasted clean of distinctive features and overlaid with zombie monoculture. Politicians call it growth. Developers call it business. And the Moss family calls it home.Gary Burns, Canada’s king of surreal comedy (waydowntown), joins journalist Jim Brown on an outing to the ‘burbs in order to turn the documentary genre on its head. Cultural prophets provide insight on the spectacle. James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere, rails against the brutalizing aesthetic of strip malls. Philosopher Joseph Heath fears the soul-eating suburbs but admits they offer good value for money. And urban planner Beverly Sandalack dares to ask, “Why can't we walk anywhere anymore?” Burns and Brown rummage through a toy box of cultural references from Jane Jacobs to The Sopranos, and riffing off sitcoms and reality TV, they play fast and loose with a range of cinematic devices to consider what happens when cities get sick and mutate." - Jill Nunns
The Giant Buddhas
"Religious fanaticism led to the destruction by the Taliban in 2001 of two massive Buddhas carved into a cliff in Afghanistan 1500 years ago. Academy Award nominee Christian Frei (War Photographer) explores both the origins of the Buddhas and the implications of their destruction, in a beautifully photographed and thought-provoking documentary. The film interweaves several journeys, from the seventh-century Chinese monk, Xuanzang, to Afghan-Canadian author and actress Nelofer Pazira’s return to the site in Bamiyan, as well as the film-maker’s own odyssey. A diary reference by Xuanzang points to the possibility of a further undiscovered giant Buddha. Preliminary archaeological work to uncover this Buddha is shown, as well as a failed Chinese attempt to replicate the statues. David Courier (Sundance Film Festival) notes that “The Giant Buddhas is a stirring example of the power of cinema to enlighten as it defies the boundaries of culture and time.” - Alan Dyment
Buddhas of Bamiyan
Movies for the rental list this winter:
Little Miss Sunshine
Half Nelson
White Planet
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen
Volver
I am
The Companion
Thursday, September 14, 2006
wapusk
So I was applying for a parks job the other day and one of the openings was in Wapusk National Park in Manitoba, which I knew nothing about. Then I looked it up on the Parks Canada website and wow, what an amazing place that had to be shared in case I wasn't the only one who hadn't really ever thought about it.
Speaking of great places I hadn't yet explored in Manitoba, I made a point of taking the long way back to Winnipeg last week and got to see Dauphin, more of Riding Mountain National Park with an incredibly tranquil morning hike on the beach ridges trail, and the beautiful Carberry Desert/Spirit Sands. Can't wait to get out on a canoe trip next year and swim in some of those amazing lakes...
good bokeh?
My current fascination and some good sites on the subject. Apparently there is good and bad bokeh and I'm not sure if I can really tell the difference between them but I do know that the blurry parts in a photo are like the spaces between the lines in a poem or a song...give them richness, shape, texture...
bokeh
bokeh
and more bokeh
Monday, June 19, 2006
Newfoundland Bound
...so i'm feeling like the luckiest girl in the world while planning for an upcoming trip to Canada's East Coast, focusing on Newfoundland. Not only do I get to participate in a very exciting conference Valuing Nature: Stewardship & Conservation in Canada 2006 but I'll get to spend the week beforehand visiting friends in Halifax, then hiking and sea kayaking in Gros Morne National Park(!!!!) and exploring the viking settlements (L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site) and french ports along the rest of the west coast of Newfoundland - all with camera and adventure shoes at the ready!
Aquariums and tides!!!
Apparently there is a bonus tour of a constructed wetland/salt marsh area near Halifax to add to the fun - does it get any better than that?
Can you hear the continuous clicking of the camera shutter and the whales a-blowing???
I have very fond memories from my last trip to this part of the world, over a decade ago (!) back in the honeymoon phase of my love affair with ecology and research and matters environmental, back when I didn't even own a camera (again, !!!!) for an amazing Marine Biology Course at Huntsman Marine Science Center in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Tidal flats, salt marshes, burning chip trucks, crazy adaptations for nitrogen excretion in those amazing little intertidal sculpin, incredible nudibranchs, stron-gylo-cen-tro-tus droe-bach-ien-sis and many latin fish names long forgotten. Didn't like the lobster (later learned it wasn't in season - can't wait to try fresh out of the ocean again!). I also remember being frustrated my doctor wouldn't clear me for diving back then (before I stopped listening to such nonsense) since everyone else got to go diving and check out the real deal...grrrrr......
Definitely time for some new adventures (and some new photos and maybe a new blog or two).
Lucky moi, pauvre Oilers...so close! I'll never forget my night at the Varscona and walking down Whyte Ave. after they won the first playoff series!
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Country Wedding
After 15 years of supporting each other through thick and thin, they decided to make it official on a beautiful day in May, surrounded by friends and family...
Their theme song: "Look at Us" by Vince Gill
Look at us
After all these yars together
Look at us
After all that we've been through
Look at us
Still leaning on each other
If you want to see
How true love should be
then just look at us
Look at you
Still pretty as a picture
look at me
Still crazy over you
Look at us
Still believin' in forever
In a hundred years from now
I know without a doubt
They'll all look back and wonder how
We made it all work out
Chances are
We'll go down in history
When they want to see
How true love should be
They'll just look at us
Friday, April 07, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
time for a swim...
i think maybe i'll go here in my dreams tonight and swim with the fishes for a few hours...
(btw the picture is from one of the links in the petra blog (not mine - havn't been to belize, yet!)
la marche de l'empereur
How's that for a perfect Valentine picture?
Hard to believe it took so long to get around to seeing March of the Penguins...though it was worth the wait.
I'm sitting here wondering how the experience changed the people who filmed it...can you imagine?
These creatures are so so so so so so beautiful and amazing in every way... Crazy to think that they might not be around today had they not managed to thrive in such an inhospitable climate (for people and their bellies).
Yipppeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Petra
got to visit the Petra: Lost City of Stone exhibit at the Glenbow this weekend...
which led to some interesting websites:
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Forgotten Wonders
which led to...
Natural Wonders
all the Wonders
Anthropology perspective
Nabatea
raingod
and some great photos...
trekearth
Monday, January 09, 2006
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Apoptosis
rhymes with???
"In biology, apoptosis (from the Greek words apo = from and ptosis = falling, commonly pronounced ap-a-tow'-sis[1]) is one of the main types of programmed cell death (PCD). As such, it is a process of deliberate life relinquishment by an unwanted cell in a multicellular organism."
...heard this one during a great talk at the SCL/CCFFR conference in Calgary this weekend, in the context of sub-lethal indicators of environmental stress in fish exposed to increasing salinity. Great speaker, fascinating story and amazing photos from California's Salton Sea and Qinghai Lake in China...
Qinghai scale-less carp: Tibetan cultural icon and all-around cool little fish...
"In biology, apoptosis (from the Greek words apo = from and ptosis = falling, commonly pronounced ap-a-tow'-sis[1]) is one of the main types of programmed cell death (PCD). As such, it is a process of deliberate life relinquishment by an unwanted cell in a multicellular organism."
...heard this one during a great talk at the SCL/CCFFR conference in Calgary this weekend, in the context of sub-lethal indicators of environmental stress in fish exposed to increasing salinity. Great speaker, fascinating story and amazing photos from California's Salton Sea and Qinghai Lake in China...
Qinghai scale-less carp: Tibetan cultural icon and all-around cool little fish...
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Monday, December 05, 2005
Illecillewaet (and the bare necessities)
one of my very favorite place names, along with Terwillegar...though some mistakedly think that Illecillewaet is a native word meaning "fast flowing", i was told by a certain smarty pants (after one too many inquiries about what fish might be found in the incredible snow fringed streams at the base of the climb up to the Dome at Rogers Pass) that it means "river without fish"...
so i'm ecstatic to report that i survived my (long awaited) very first backcountry ski adventure (yippppeeeeee!!!!). though the first day could pretty much be summed up by the word "awkward", and the second day up to Balu Pass by "awesome", my introduction to touring also included falling A LOT, skiing (or should i say falling with fluffier landings) on phenomenal deep powder, falling A LOT some more, endless beatiful snow covered trees, the sound of mountain streams (with which i narrowly avoided having intimate encounters on several occasions), discovering a latent talent for getting tangled in alder (and a disappointing lack of talent for getting untangled from alder), skiing in the dark (falling in the dark hurts just as much as falling in the light, in case anyone was wondering), a broken binding (nothing a little duct tape and a super handy strap-a-roo couldn't fix), pretty much constant song and laughter (what would the world be without 80's rock?), and one of the best meals I can remember (at least since my birthday!).
While touring around in Balu, I was thinking about the devastating avalanche that happened there two years ago that kept me out of the back-country that season (despite being all gung-ho after taking an avalanche course)... It all looked so peaceful and innocent in there - made the seriousness of avalanche danger really hit home.
Just might have to try it again sometime - and will definitely have to rent The Jungle Book to celebrate!
Bagheera: Now this takes the brains, not the brawns.
Baloo: You better believe it and I'm loaded with both.
ps - all photos are "borrowed" since it was all could do to keep up without trying to deal with a camera this time around...
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Hotel Rwanda
using this weekend with a cold to catch up on movies from 2004 (while I'm still only 1 instead of 2 years behind!)...another that leaves you completely speechless and stays with you...
word of the day...
Rhymes with Raven...after hearing the reference to "music mavens" a billion times on cbc i finally had to check the exact meaning.
MAVEN: A maven (also mavin or mayvin) is an expert in a particular field, usually one who is self-appointed and who seeks to pass his knowledge on to others.
Friday, November 25, 2005
million dollar baby
...very powerful movie, the speechless for a while afterwards and in your head for much longer, kind.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
A Few Words On The Soul
We have a soul at times.
No one's got it non-stop,
for keeps.
Day after day,
year after year
may pass without it.
Sometimes
it will settle for awhile
only in childhood's fears and raptures.
Sometimes only in astonishment
that we are old.
It rarely lends a hand
in uphill tasks,
like moving furniture,
or lifting luggage,
or going miles in shoes that pinch.
It usually steps out
whenever meat needs chopping
or forms have to be filled.
For every thousand conversations
it participates in one,
if even that,
since it prefers silence.
Just when our body goes from ache to pain,
it slips off-duty.
It's picky:
it doesn't like seeing us in crowds,
our hustling for a dubious advantage
and creaky machinations make it sick.
Joy and sorrow
aren't two different feelings for it.
It attends us
only when the two are joined.
We can count on it
when we're sure of nothing
and curious about everything.
Among the material objects
it favors clocks with pendulums
and mirrors, which keep on working
even when no one is looking.
It won't say where it comes from
or when it's taking off again,
though it's clearly expecting such questions.
We need it
but apparently
it needs us
for some reason too.
Wislawa Szymborska
Translated from the Polish by
Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh
Monday, November 21, 2005
Birthday Tradition
Just returned from seeing the latest Harry Potter...looking forward to watching it a few more times in my living room! and definitely excited to see the Narnian adventures...how fun would it be to make movies like that?
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