Happy New Year!

Back in the olden days, when I lived in Banff, I was lucky enough to be able to watch fireworks usually twice a year. Once on July 1st for Dominion Day, oops sorry, make that "Canada Day" (whatever that is supposed to mean), and once more on New Years Eve.

As small town fireworks go, I think Banff's are pretty good. Nothing like the mega-fireworks I saw once in Japan but definitely somewhat awesome. One thing that makes the Banff fireworks better than most, if only in one particular aspect, is the fact that they happen in a small town which is immediately surrounded by large mountains on all sides. This results in a huge echo effect and makes the mildy spectacular visuals sound like so much more. Each boom lasts for several seconds as it bounces between the peaks and into your ears multiple times.

Also, they launch them from the recreation grounds which are right beside where I lived so I just had to step outside and I was right there. As I filmed this particluar display I noticed many small pieces of glowing paper falling from the sky all around me and when I returned home I did indeed find several bits of fallout in my hair.

The fireworks in this clip were on neither July 1st nor December 31st. They were on September 1, 2005 for a kind of celebration that happens only every hundred years or so. If you remember or can guess the occasion please post it in the comments if you like. (There is a big hint at about 3:36 into the clip.)

They are much more impressive in their original video size. Shrinking the video to put it here has robbed it of much of its visual splendor but the sound has suffered less I think. Even though the shock waves I felt that night did not even make it on to the video tape you can still get a fairly good idea of what it sounded like, echoes and all, if you listen through a good set of headphones.

I know it's nothing like the real thing live and in person but I thought I'd post it anyway. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Eve... in Japan

Christmas is very big in Japan but they definitely have put their own spin on it. They're very big on decorations and especially lights "illumination" as they call it but it's mostly done by businesses rather than individuals at home, to help promote the spending I guess. There is much eating of cake (not fruitcake) and one of the most bizarre things about Christmas in Japan is that KFC (yes that KFC) has by far its biggest day of the entire year. I have no idea why but that's the way it is. (BTW this absolutely does not apply to any other fast food chain, in case you were wondering.) You actually have to reserve your order days ahead of time and don't even think about just walking in and ordering a three piece with coleslaw, they'll just look at you like you're from another planet with a "don't you know it's Christmas day" face.

Anyway, before this gets too far out of hand I actually just wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas songs with you. This song just happened to come out the year I first went to Japan, 1983. It was wildly popular then and to this day is probably the biggest modern Japanese Christmas song ever.

I have included the Japanese lyrics written in our alphabet so you can follow along phonetically if you like. Even if you don't understand the words, it's just good music I think.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing it to traditional Christmas music, just to all that new stuff we have to put up with in the malls and on the radio these days. In the realm of modern Christmas songs, I think this one more than holds its own.

Here it is,

Christmas Eve by Tatsuro Yamashita



ame wa yofuke sugi ni
yuki e to kawaru darou
silent night holy night

kitto kimi wa konai
hitori kiri no Christmas eve
silent night holy night

kokoro fukaku kimeta omoi
kanaeraresou mo nai

kanarazu konya nara
iesou na ki ga shita
silent night holy night

mada kienokoru
kimi e no omoi
yoru e to furi tsuzuku

machi kado niwa Christmas tree
gin iro no kirameki
silent night holy night

ame wa yofuke sugi ni
yuki e to kawaru darou
silent night holy night

kitto kimi wa konai
hitori kiri no Christmas eve
silent night holy night

My Six Favorite Christmas Movies

May I begin by saying that, when it comes to Christmas movies, I generally prefer the old school approach and the classics over the modern stuff. Having said that, the first two films on my list are of the latter variety. Also, TV specials such as Charlie Brown and The Grinch have been left out only because this post is about movies.

6. The Santa Clause – A modern Christmas movie with enough substance that it doesn’t need to rely solely on its Christmas theme for survival. I find this movie quite funny without resorting to potty humour and pop culture references like so many modern movies do. Add in a cocoa making elf named Judy, steel cutting tinsel and a touching ending, hey what’s not to like?

5. Christmas Vacation – Speaking of potty humour, yeah you know exactly which scene I’m thinking of without me even mentioning it don’t ya. Hey I never said I don’t enjoy the silly stuff now and then. Super-sonic snow saucers, exploding storm sewers and the usual Griswold shenanigans make for a few laughs that just by chance happen at Christmas time. This movie fills a particular niche like no other does; you just need to be in the mood for it.


4. Miracle on 34th Street – The original 1947 version. A great Christmas story with cute as a button little Natalie Wood and the real Santa Claus. The scene where Santa meets the little Dutch orphan girl gets me every time and is probably the most unexpectedly and instantly moving Christmas movie moment I have ever seen.

3. A Christmas Story – A more recent but definite classic. This movie IS Christmas from a child’s and especially a boy’s point of view. We all know it too well by now so what can I really say, except that I will watch it again, probably two or three more times, this year.




2. One Magic Christmas - Surely the least famous and least watched movie on this list. Filmed in Ontario it definitely has that made in Canada look and feel. This film has a dark side and is not always fun to watch but that is part of what makes the transformation at the end more satisfying. This movie also has a Santa, probably one of the most realistic ever, but it is not about the Santa side of Christmas. It is about the real spirit of Christmas, about love and giving, not getting. It's about forgiveness, not revenge. You may have already seen it, but if you haven’t I hope you will.

1. It’s a Wonderful Life – Although I never saw this movie as a kid I have since come to love it and think that it’s probably the best Christmas movie ever made. It has the always great Jimmy Stewart and the completely lovely and extra awesome Donna Reed.
No appearance by Santa, elves or even reindeer and one might argue that it's not really about Christmas at all. The story of George Bailey's lifetime of self sacrifice and of putting others always before himself, of how he comes to think it was all for naught and is then shown how much it has really meant to all he loves, and finally of how he receives the kindness he had always been the giver of, well what can be more Christmas like than that.

Tagged by Tanis

For this tag I am to post the fourth photo of the fourth folder in the pictures file on my computer. Hey, it sounds like it might be fun and not much work so here we go.

This ended up taking me back about 5 years (circa AD 2003) to near the beginning of my digital photo taking epoch. I had my first digital camera, a trusty Canon PowerShot S110
which is built like a tank with its all stainless steel body and still works like a charm but only takes photos of 2.1 mega-pixies or whatever they're called and has a shutter lag specially calibrated to be nearly always equal to or greater than the time it takes for an amazing shot to become yet another "dang it, just missed it" waste of memory card space. Not exactly ideal for the type of event I am about to introduce you to. Now, how about we finally get to the lucky photo, here it is. This is a photo of Paul Tracy's race car being worked on by his team mechanics at the 2003 Vancouver Champ Car race. Now I suppose I could just leave it here and be done but since I've already opened the folder and my memories of the day maybe I'll just take this opportunity to share a bit more of one of my most awesome weekends. Who is Paul Tracy you ask?

This is Paul Tracy. One of Canada's best ever big league race car drivers and the one who won this race in Vancouver and also the Championship in 2003. (Not only is he a brilliant driver but as you can see he can also sign autographs and eat cookies at the very same time.)

Here is his car all in one piece and on display.
Here is a very short and lame video clip of his car in motion.
(It's about all my little camera could muster.)


Next is another driver of note (Sebastien Bourdais) who was racing in Vancouver for the first time in his rookie season. He would go on to win the next four championships in 2004, 05, 06 and 2007. This year he moved on and up and raced in Formula One for the Torro-Rosso team. Funny enough he was the only driver who actually spoke to me that weekend. When I wished him "good luck in the race tomorrow" he actually looked at me then sincerely and appreciatively said only "thank you" but I felt very privileged and important none the less. This was just after he finished signing his autograph for the kid and just before he finished his banana.

So, yeah, I've actually conversed with a current F1 driver. Am I cool or what?

I also managed to get in a photo with the winners of the Indy Girl contest.

However this Indy Girl was nicest and therefore my favorite.

Overall it was a great weekend full of brand new sights, sounds and thrills, for me at least.

Sorry Tanis that your simple photo tag became this monster but I guess I was kind of glad to have a chance and an excuse to share just a bit of this awesome experience.

If any of you who reads this would like to continue this tag I will be looking forward to seeing and reading about your "fourth photo of the fourth folder" in the near future.

Edward and Bella – The Movie

just push Play



Yes, I went to the Twilight movie. You got a problem with that? Luckily for me my local multiplex keeps the theaters quite dark even before the movie starts so it is unlikely anyone recognized me going in, therefore no one should ever find out I went to see it. Also, this state of permanent darkness makes it impossible to read those free movie magazines that are available in the lobby.

It was a school night so the theater was not anywhere near full but there were still more than enough giggling, squealing and swooning-out-loud girls, who just HAD to discuss in their best outside voices every little thing that happened on screen, to make watching extremely frustrating for everyone else. Of course I knew this would likely be the case so I had already resigned myself and just tried to let all the distractions slide.

The actual film was perhaps not simple but it unfortunately was quite ordinary. It was definitely recognizable as the story of Twilight but it didn’t really have any of the magic and some of the characters seemed quite different from the book. Most of the minor characters were actually OK. Charlie, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Emmit and Rosalie were fine. I was a bit disappointed that Rosalie was not a bit more beautiful because in the book she was out-of-this-world gorgeous. I didn’t find movie Rosalie to be “all that” at all and in fact found Alice to be much prettier, which ultimately works for me because I like Alice much more anyway. Jasper of course had a minor role but always acted as if he had just been dropped off in Forks from some other planet and wasn't sure about what to think about anything.

My biggest disappointment was with Edward and Bella.

Edward of the book was always in control. He was confident, smooth, always knew what to say, and had an overall suaveness that came from years and years of experience. Movie Edward seemed more like a regular 17 year old displaying at times a bit of dorkiness and general non-perfection that naturally comes with going through high school your first time, not your twentieth time.

Oh yeah, since I like to include a photo or two in my posts let me complain about one more Edward related detail….. his CAR! In the book he drove a sleek, fast, silver Volvo.
The image I had in my head was something like this, the S80, classy and elegant yet obviously a serious motor car when it needs to be.

What he drove in the movie was this, the C30 (Volvo’s entry level model)

The first time I saw it on screen I couldn’t believe it was Edward’s car, surely it was someone’s grandmother on her way to her knitting club. It was not to be, it was indeed Edward driving it.
I can picture it now, the producer calling up Volvo and ordering "whatever you have that’s silver and cheapest." (Heck as long as it's silver the fangirls won't know or care right?) That is exactly what they got, silver and cheapest. Come to think of it, it looks a lot like my silver Civic hatchback, good for me, bad for Edward.

I’ll give Edward credit, he did some impressive driving in it none the less, although the little silver bug did look a bit silly trying to look tough and cool doing one of those reverse-180°-forward getaways that we often see in movies or on the Rockford Files.

And finally Bella. Bella, Bella, Bella…
I know she wasn’t exactly the cheerleader type in the book but movie Bella took it all to a whole new level. She never smiled, always had a look and mood like she wanted to be anywhere but here and she never really made me believe she ever came to love Edward much at all. Overall a bit too cold and distant to be the Bella I knew.

I know you should “never judge a book by its movie” so it’s also unfair to expect a movie to deliver what a book can. All this considered I was only mildly satisfied with Twilight – The Movie and was mostly disappointed. I can only give it five stars out of ten.

P.S. The music up top (Claire de lune) you hopefully listened to while you were reading is from one the nicer moments in the movie. I won't spoil it any more than that but it was a nice moment in which movie Ed resembled most closely book Edward.