... or else.
Parliament Hill
If you were wondering why it has been so quiet here, it's because we were out of town for a while. A dear friend of mine was getting married and we were past due for a family visit so - after our visit to Vancouver for Jade's EEG and time with my new niece and her family - we boarded a plane for Ottawa.
Although I've been back to Ottawa several times since I moved from there (fleeing the oppressive humidity, smog, traffic, and line-ups) it had been over a decade since I'd visited Parliament Hill. I wanted to take a walk down memory land and I wanted the kids to see it, too.
My parents came to pick up the girls later in the afternoon, freeing Fawn and me to visit with friends. We met up with some in-town and out-of-town friends at a pub in the Byward Market and later took a evening stroll toward the Parliament Buildings, stopping at the Peacekeeping Monument along the way.
The cooling evening was a pleasant reprieve from the heat and humidity of the day. As we looked over Major's Hill Park and the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal, we could hear music and see lights emanating from the Parliament Buildings.
Spotlights forced their way up into the humid night sky...
... while bugs sizzled and smoked on the lights themselves.
I wanted to visit the "Cat House". No, I'm not referring to a brother. Nor am I referring to the House of Commons.
It's one of the Hill's best unkept secrets that, to the west of the Centre Block, there is a house for stray cats. The cats have a long history on Parliament Hill.
The cat house doesn't just house cats, though. Other visitor are common.
We made our way back to the front of the Centre Block where a fantastic light show was taking place. Lights projected from the Capital Info Centre on Wellington danced across the stone face of the Centre Block.
Although I've been back to Ottawa several times since I moved from there (fleeing the oppressive humidity, smog, traffic, and line-ups) it had been over a decade since I'd visited Parliament Hill. I wanted to take a walk down memory land and I wanted the kids to see it, too.
Guards from the War Memorial.
Fawn in front of the Chateau Laurier. (Did you know that the original furniture for the Chateau Laurier went down with the Titanic?)
The kids in front of the not-always-eternal Eternal (Centennial) Flame.
My parents came to pick up the girls later in the afternoon, freeing Fawn and me to visit with friends. We met up with some in-town and out-of-town friends at a pub in the Byward Market and later took a evening stroll toward the Parliament Buildings, stopping at the Peacekeeping Monument along the way.
The cooling evening was a pleasant reprieve from the heat and humidity of the day. As we looked over Major's Hill Park and the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal, we could hear music and see lights emanating from the Parliament Buildings.
Spotlights forced their way up into the humid night sky...
... while bugs sizzled and smoked on the lights themselves.
I wanted to visit the "Cat House". No, I'm not referring to a brother. Nor am I referring to the House of Commons.
It's one of the Hill's best unkept secrets that, to the west of the Centre Block, there is a house for stray cats. The cats have a long history on Parliament Hill.
Windows on the west side of the Centre Block.
The cat house doesn't just house cats, though. Other visitor are common.
We made our way back to the front of the Centre Block where a fantastic light show was taking place. Lights projected from the Capital Info Centre on Wellington danced across the stone face of the Centre Block.
It was a good night and a nice way to be welcomed back to Ottawa.
More Ottawa entries to follow.
Where, oh where, has my little dog gone?
Nanuq
I hadn't slept well the night before. The house felt a little too empty. 21 hours had gone by.
I methodically walked through the underbrush in the greenbelt.
Whistle.
Listen.
I stopped to examine some tracks. They weren't his.
Too big.
Whistle.
Listen.
It didn't make any sense. A well-trained dog, Nanuq only leaves the yard when he's commanded to, or if he's following me or Fawn. He's nearly nine. It's so ingrained in his character that I can't imagine him wandering off on his own accord.
Oh, that's interesting.
I notice that there's a patch of matted grass. Like a deer would make. A large one. Maybe Nanuq chased a bear or other animal. There's a trail of matted grass leading to the bedding site. I backtrack on the trail.
Moose. Older tracks, though. No sign of Nanuq.
Whistle.
Listen.
A new theory starts to form in my head.
We have foxes and coyotes around our place. Nanuq loves to chase them, but he always comes back. Maybe a fox came into our yard. It has happened before. Maybe he chased it. Maybe he was injured. Critically. Maybe he went to lie down somewhere and passed away. Alone.
I had called the vet clinics to see if someone had found him and taken him to one. "Yes, he's here!" the first clinic told me.
"He is?!!?" I replied.
"Yes, his name is Max, right?"
"Uh, no. His name is Nanuq."
None of the other vet clinics had seen him either.
I don't like to think about it, but the injury theory makes more sense than Nanuq just wandering off on his own. He just wouldn't do that. It's too out of character. I don't like to think about it, but it feels like something I should be prepared to accept. I prepare to accept it and continue to search all of the little hiding places in the greenbelt where a dog might curl up and die.
Whistle.
Listen.
I know that if he's dead he won't be able to respond. I whistle anyway.
Did someone encourage him to leave the yard? Try to take him for a walk? Who would do such a thing? Did they shoo him away later? Is he locked up behind someone's fence? Inside their house? They wouldn't be able to call us. His tags went missing a while back and we hadn't gotten around to replacing them. It's not like he ever wanders off, right?
Right.
Whistle louder.
Listen.
It makes no sense. He always comes when called.
I think about the last time I saw him. It was quarter to one the day before. I was climbing on my bike, ready to race off to a workshop at Mount McIntyre. Nanuq looked at me excitedly.
"Sorry, bud. Not this time."
Normally I would have taken him, but the workshop was six hours long - too long to leave him waiting outside - and if I didn't go fast, I would be late. With the onset of arthritis, he hasn't been able to keep up like he used to.
His ears drooped and he moped. He understood. I sped off and gave a quick glance back to make sure he wasn't following me. That was the last time I saw him.
I chided myself. Maybe he followed me. I didn't expressly tell him to stay.
I searched my route for tracks.
Those are about right, but it's a high-traffic area. Lots of dog tracks. Let me check a little further along.
I checked the trail, but it had rained and dried since. I checked a sandy portion of the trail and identified the tire tracks from my bike - two distinct treads - but didn't see any dog tracks.
Maybe he got hit by a car. No blood on the road, but there isn't always blood.
I checked the ditch. Nothing.
So many ravens over there. Are they gathering around a carcass?
I walked over to investigate. The ravens flew away. There was no carcass.
Whistle.
Listen.
It didn't make sense.
Not long after I got back, I got a phone call.
"Look on the City's website," Lorie said. There are two dogs on there.
I had called By-Law Services earlier and gave them a description.
After a little searching, I found the page she wanted me to look at.
It was Nanuq. He had been found at the Canada Games Centre.
It made total sense. It was totally in line with his character.
I hadn't expressly told him to stay. An intelligent dog who understands more than just black and white, Nanuq must have taken my glance back as an "are you coming?" He chased me but couldn't keep up. I was riding too fast. Determined, he went to where he thought I was going - the place I usually go when I race down Hamilton Boulevard with a backpack on. And then he waited outside for me to come back out.
Smart, stupid dog.
He wagged his bum excitedly but hung his head sheepishly when he saw me.
He has a new tag.
I'm glad he's back.
The Mountie: He Ain't No Dudley Do-Right
While Vancouver's Granville Street was buzzing with vendors and people celebrating Canada Day, my brother-in-law and I ducked into the eerie quietness of of the movie theatre. We were there to see the late showing of "The Mountie", a filmed-in-Yukon movie and Canada's answer to the Western genre.
According to the Globe and Mail, the director tried hard to get the video to open on Canada Day. He shouldn't have. Including me and my brother-in-law, there were five of us in the theatre. The movie premiered in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, with openings in other Canadian cities on July 8th.
Here's my review...
It's about freakin' time that Canada had a gritty Western to contribute to the genre. (Gunless - the only other Canadian Western I can think of - is a comedy and a complete success on that front, in my opinion.)
Reviewers and viewers alike will rant and rave about the camera work and the scenery, but I won't. The Yukon landscape can be absolutely mind-blowing. They had a lot to work with and I think they fell short of capturing just how mind-blowingly stunning it is. But I'm biased. I live there.
The entire movie is shot in a style that makes the Yukon seem dark, wet, and cold. It's a style that lends itself well to a dark, gritty movie, but it becomes monotonous after a while. By working with a palette of colours and moods, the landscape could have been used as a much-needed release valve for the tension the movie imparts.
The entire movie is filled with tension right from the start. While it works for some movies, I truly believe The Mountie could have benefitted from some lighter moments. I love a movie that takes you on an emotional roller-coaster ride. The Mountie is like a roller-coaster that only goes up; it's fun at first but without that release, the tension-building action loses its effectiveness.
Based on the reviews I've seen so far, most of the criticism is of the plot. In my mind, if you're looking for a "hero goes into town, finds a bunch of bad guys and deals with them appropriately" Western, then The Mountie more than fits the bill. If an original plot (or a fun twist on an old one) is what you need, go rent Gunless.
I'm trying to decide if the movie needs more character development or less. The hero has a past, but we learn very little about what that past is. It seems a little superfluous, really, and might have benefitted from no character development whatsoever - and then it would have been a true "hero goes into town, finds a bunch of bad guys and deals with them appropriately" Western.
I love that the hero isn't an invincible "kicking butt and taking names" kind of guy. He's more of a "taking names and then getting his butt kicked again and again and again before kicking butt" kind of a guy. That worked very well for me.
The hero really is pretty one dimensional, and I blame that on the writing. The movie won't win any awards for scriptwriting, but lead actor Andrew Walker pulls it off. Comparisons will be made to Clint Eastwood and deservedly so. Andrew Walker isn't a Clint Eastwood copycat - He's the new Clint Eastwood. (I should note that my brother-in-law, when he saw who the lead actor was, calmly commented "Oh, I played football with him." Small country.)
I think the casting was superb and my only criticism of the acting was that lead baddie actor George Buza's accent could have used some more work. Oh, and while the Robert Service poetry was a nice touch, it should have been read by someone with a little more gavitas than a little girl.
The score was lovely and the music worth listening to all on its own.
It's hard to make a movie that's set in the wilderness. I am often disappointed when I see movies of people wandering the "remote woods" over heavily traveled trails or old roads. On this front, the camera work and directing in "The Mountie" raised the bar on wilderness filming. It feels like the characters are in the bush and you're right there with them.
All-in-all, it's a low-budget movie that takes itself very seriously. A few minor changes could have made this B+ movie into an A-level Western, but it's too late to make those changes now.
If you're not a fan of Westerns or Yukon scenery, don't bother with "The Mountie" - there's little in it for you. If you are a fan of Westerns and/or Yukon scenery, then it's worth watching and maybe even adding to your collection.
And I have my fingers crossed that the director will take another run at the genre or inspire others to try their hand - because I'd love to see more Canadian Westerns.
According to the Globe and Mail, the director tried hard to get the video to open on Canada Day. He shouldn't have. Including me and my brother-in-law, there were five of us in the theatre. The movie premiered in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, with openings in other Canadian cities on July 8th.
Here's my review...
It's about freakin' time that Canada had a gritty Western to contribute to the genre. (Gunless - the only other Canadian Western I can think of - is a comedy and a complete success on that front, in my opinion.)
Reviewers and viewers alike will rant and rave about the camera work and the scenery, but I won't. The Yukon landscape can be absolutely mind-blowing. They had a lot to work with and I think they fell short of capturing just how mind-blowingly stunning it is. But I'm biased. I live there.
The entire movie is shot in a style that makes the Yukon seem dark, wet, and cold. It's a style that lends itself well to a dark, gritty movie, but it becomes monotonous after a while. By working with a palette of colours and moods, the landscape could have been used as a much-needed release valve for the tension the movie imparts.
The entire movie is filled with tension right from the start. While it works for some movies, I truly believe The Mountie could have benefitted from some lighter moments. I love a movie that takes you on an emotional roller-coaster ride. The Mountie is like a roller-coaster that only goes up; it's fun at first but without that release, the tension-building action loses its effectiveness.
Based on the reviews I've seen so far, most of the criticism is of the plot. In my mind, if you're looking for a "hero goes into town, finds a bunch of bad guys and deals with them appropriately" Western, then The Mountie more than fits the bill. If an original plot (or a fun twist on an old one) is what you need, go rent Gunless.
I'm trying to decide if the movie needs more character development or less. The hero has a past, but we learn very little about what that past is. It seems a little superfluous, really, and might have benefitted from no character development whatsoever - and then it would have been a true "hero goes into town, finds a bunch of bad guys and deals with them appropriately" Western.
I love that the hero isn't an invincible "kicking butt and taking names" kind of guy. He's more of a "taking names and then getting his butt kicked again and again and again before kicking butt" kind of a guy. That worked very well for me.
The hero really is pretty one dimensional, and I blame that on the writing. The movie won't win any awards for scriptwriting, but lead actor Andrew Walker pulls it off. Comparisons will be made to Clint Eastwood and deservedly so. Andrew Walker isn't a Clint Eastwood copycat - He's the new Clint Eastwood. (I should note that my brother-in-law, when he saw who the lead actor was, calmly commented "Oh, I played football with him." Small country.)
I think the casting was superb and my only criticism of the acting was that lead baddie actor George Buza's accent could have used some more work. Oh, and while the Robert Service poetry was a nice touch, it should have been read by someone with a little more gavitas than a little girl.
The score was lovely and the music worth listening to all on its own.
It's hard to make a movie that's set in the wilderness. I am often disappointed when I see movies of people wandering the "remote woods" over heavily traveled trails or old roads. On this front, the camera work and directing in "The Mountie" raised the bar on wilderness filming. It feels like the characters are in the bush and you're right there with them.
All-in-all, it's a low-budget movie that takes itself very seriously. A few minor changes could have made this B+ movie into an A-level Western, but it's too late to make those changes now.
If you're not a fan of Westerns or Yukon scenery, don't bother with "The Mountie" - there's little in it for you. If you are a fan of Westerns and/or Yukon scenery, then it's worth watching and maybe even adding to your collection.
And I have my fingers crossed that the director will take another run at the genre or inspire others to try their hand - because I'd love to see more Canadian Westerns.
