May 22nd, 2011

Newfoundland

Posted in life

My trip has been generously full of surprises and discoveries. It was exactly what I wanted. It makes me happy that I can say I’ve been to the east coast of Canada! I feel pretty lucky also that I had the chance to meet genuine and nice Newfies along the way.

I like lists, so here’s the list:

  1. The corners of St. John’s are really interesting. A lot of them are rounded and you get a different perspective of the streets just by standing in a different corner.
  2. I came across lots of kitties roaming free on the hills of downtown St. John’s. Some of them are just chilling on the front steps, others are crouching in corners beside the houses.
  3. The houses in downtown are just as picturesque as people portray them to be. I went on a house-hunt to look for the brightest paint job. It was probably a tie between a bright bright yellow one and an almost neon green one.
  4. Accents. I’m totally in love with their accent. There’s something genuine about it.
  5. People. Strangers smile, wave and say hi to me. In one town, there was an elderly man who waved at me with a big smile when he noticed I was taking pictures outside his home.
  6. It felt so nice to drive for kilometres without seeing another car. This happened to me two of the four days I was on the road. Made me not mind driving in the rain, having the whole road to myself.
  7. I stumbled across a local record store and met a guy named Andrew James O’Brien. He works there and also makes music! I bought his cd and it was exactly the music I was looking to find for the road. I find it pretty coincidental that his album is called “Song for the Searchers”
  8. People don’t mind leaving their blinds open here
  9. Yes, I tried the Pineapple Crush. It’s decent!
  10. The Newfies are fans of the Canucks! I’ve seen the jerseys for sale in multiple stores.
  11. The only way to get to know a city is by walking it
  12. I’m so glad I brought my winter jacket, rain boots and umbrella with me. I’ve used all three of them at various times during the trip. Most notably using them at Cape St. Mary to see over 100,000 birds flying around a cliff.
  13. The sunrise here is incredibly early. I got up at 4am to drive there. It was totally worth it and might just be the highlight of my trip.

Here are my photos from this trip:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150608820760137.689823.533315136&l=68f30a4ef0

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May 8th, 2011

Mr. Minus Linus

Posted in letters

Dear Mr. Minus Linus,

Let today be the beginning of what I hope to be a wonderful long friendship between us. Even though I was tempted by Mr. Bromptom earlier in the day, I think you are a fine choice for me and you ride so gently. I hope you will withstand all the bike stealers around town. I promise to keep good care of you and hope you make yourself feel at home in my apartment.

Sincerely,

thirtyonekm

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May 1st, 2011

National Parks Project

Posted in general

Last night I had a chance to go to the premiere of the National Parks Project at the Tiff Bell Lightbox. After numerous failed attempts to see it – including an incident of going to Golden Griddle (a 24hour diner) just to use their TV – I was definitely stoked to finally watch it on the big screen. National Parks Project is a Canadian collaboration between thirteen directors and a slew of musicians that are paired up to visit the national parks in each of our thirteen provinces and territories and spend a few days there to make a short film. It has a similar idea to films like Paris, je t’aime and New York, I Love You.

There are many moments in the film where the directors leave you with only the sounds of nature, or quiet atmospheric music accompanying the stillness of the surroundings. As I was watching the two-hour and seven minute feature, I recognized what is that really excites me about this project. It is the simple combination of five of my favourite things: indie music, art, film, nature, and of course, Canada. Once in a while I’d come across music that really hits me and I get all these uncontrollable happy-highs by imagining myself lying on a large field of green listening to the music. Watching this film really magnified this effect and captured the essence of why I love Canada. These directors and musicians travelled to these beautiful national parks, they let the nature sink in, and they combined art and music into a short film.

To those that came into theatre expecting the film to have a structure like Planet Earth, with factual narration like a science lecture, they would have likely been disappointed. While I didn’t really learn any more about the national parks coming out of the theatre, I certainly felt more connected to myself and how I feel about the beauty of this country. It is an inspiration continuing to seek and appreciate the small things in life. This film is a great segway to my trip to Newfoundland in a few weeks.

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April 29th, 2011

Growing up

Posted in general

It’s true, I am a 5-year old boy.

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April 25th, 2011

Are you lightning?

Posted in photos

Are you lightning?

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