Billy Burke's New Video "Removed"

Billy Burke is the actor who plays Bella Swan's dad (Charlie Swan) in The Twilight Saga. He was born and raised in Bellingham, Washington so he's what you might call a 'local'.  He debuted his new song called "Removed" in April along with his new website. I like this song, bluesy-country-rock. This morning, he launched the video for the song.  As Billy explains on his website:

I had the good fortune of being visited by my close friend and up and coming filmmaker Devon Gummersall. He and I both thought it might be a sweet opportunity to shoot some unplanned, guerilla style footage for an impromptu video for “REMOVED”. My super-cool wife and best pal Pollyanna Rose agreed to play with us and thus, we set forth on a one day into night excursion to see what we could come up with. As you’ll see we started out on the deserted streets of Shreveport (Louisiana) and ended up literally, in the closet of the house we were renting.

The video isn't ground-greaking but it complements the song well. Plus we get a peek at what that part of Louisiana looks like, in case 'Breaking Dawn' will be filmed there.

Twilight Convention May 14-16, 2010

Did I mention that it was a busy week? This past weekend, I attended my first ever convention of any kind and, of course, it was the Twilight Convention which was held at the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel - the same hotel where Robert Pattinson (Edward) and Kristen Stewart (Bella) stayed along with some of the other cast. This was the first Canadian city to host the official Twilight Convention - as it should, since two of the movies 'New Moon' and 'Eclipse' were filmed here.

About 500 participants attended each day, Sunday was the busiest day as it was standing-room only and had people squeezed into the Grand Ballroom. We had reserved seats for the weekend, and a great centre view of the stage and guest.

I have hundreds of pictures - don't worry, won't be posting all of them :) Here is one picture for each guest who attended this weekend with a brief caption. It was a lot of fun and we are making plans for next year already. All the guests were engaging, interesting, gracious and gave thoughtful answers to the questions posed by their fans. For more in depth coverage of the question and answer session visit Mandy's Mind.

Bronson Pelletier (Jared)

Lori Joffs & Shelley from Twilight Lexicon, first Twilight fan website

Kiowa Gordon (Embry Call)

Jodelle Ferland (Bree in Eclipse)

Cameron Bright (Alec, Volturi)

Daniel Cudmore (Felix, Volturi)

Catherine Hardwicke, director of 'Twilight'

Peter Facinelli (Dr.Carlisle Cullen)

Stars on Ice - May 14, 2010

This was a busy week for me in entertainment, when it rains it pours as they say. I go for months without much happening, than BAM! my social calendar is filled up. My week started with the Eagles concert, which was amazing. On Friday night, it was Stars on Ice.

I have not seen live figure skating since the 1980's and this show was a real treat for the eyes. The skaters included Kurt Browning; Scott Moir & Tessa Virtue, Olympic gold medal winners in ice dance; Joannie Rochette, Olympic bronze medallist; Jaime Salle and David Pelletier, Olympic gold medal winners in pairs in 2002; Jeffrey Buttle; Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon (ice dance 2002); Cynthia Phaneuf and Shawn Sawyer.

The artistry and choreography were amazing, these athletes are inspirational.

One of the group numbers.

Jaime Salle & David Pelletier

My faves - Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir - simply sublime

The Eagles

Sixteen years ago, I moved to British Columbia (Vancouver area) from Ontario. Soon after settling into life on the westcoast, it became apparent that I was somewhat lost in translation.

True story - I was watching the news with my aunt and a story came on regarding cross-border shopping, which at the time (1994) Americans were coming to shop in Canada as our dollar was so low (approx. 73 cents). The reporter asked them why they were coming to Canada, they replied some shopping and to see the eagles. My eyes popped out of my head as I exclaimed "The Eagles!!! Oh, my I have wanted to see them my whole life. When are they here? How long are they here for?" My aunt calmly replied that they would be here for a few weeks. "A few weeks?! Are they here to rehearse?" Aunt: "Rehearse for what? They come back every year to the same spot near Brackendale." Me: "They come back every year? They must be very popular here." Aunt: "People come from all over to see them. They spend hours observing them and taking pictures." Me: "Observing them? Taking pictures, sounds like a zoo. Wouldn't that be rather distracting when practicing their music?" Aunt: "Music? What are you talking about?" Me: "The Eagles, the band!" Aunt: "The band? Never heard of them, I'm talking about the birds."

This was followed by fits of laughter from both of us. My aunt thought she had a serious birder on her hands. My mind is trained for entertainment, not bird watching. In years since, I have seen eagles and they are visually stunning to see up close, magnificent raptors. Of course, this story has been told and retold a few times and each time we end up laughing.

Well, finally on May 9, I will go see the Eagles (the band) - Long Road Out of Eden tour. They have sold out 3 shows in Vancouver.  There will be thousands of us observing and taking pictures of them while enjoying their music.

Grey whale wanders into downtown Vancouver - CTV News

This afternoon a Grey whale wandered into the downtown waters of Vancouver. False Creek is a small body of water which is fed by the Pacific Ocean (English Bay & Georgia Strait). Apparently this 40-foot mammal thought he/she would do some shopping in Yaletown or serve to intimidate the Chicago Blackhawks who are in town for game 3 of the NHL Playoffs. The Vancouver Canucks' mascot is an Orca after all.

CTV has a great video of the whale swimming from Science World under the Cambie Street Bridge back out to sea.

BC Place Stadium Roof

May 4, 2010, a day which changed the skyline of downtown Vancouver forever. The largest air-supported domed roof in the world, BC Place Stadium, which hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 21st Winter Olympic Games, was deflated today to make way for a new retractable roof. The new roof is slated for completion in 2011. Below is a timelapse video which shows the stadium through the years including the lowering of the roof this morning. (Photo: courtesy Metro News Vancouver)