Stars on Ice, May 18, 2012

On May 18, I saw Stars on Ice, this was my second time. Last time it was just after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, where Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue had just won ice dancing Gold. This time, they had just won the World Championship for the second time.

Kurt Browning directed this show and it was a great night of skating. A lot of practice, dedication and work goes into becoming these accomplished athletes. I had the privilege of meeting Kurt, Scott and Tessa at the opening of the Lindt Chocolate store on May 17, Lindt is one of the sponsors of the Stars on Ice tour. They were all very friendly, accommodating and provided us fans with an opportunity to tell them how much we enjoy their work.

Kurt Browning at opening of Lindt Chocolate store
at Queensborough, New Westminster, May 17, 2012.

Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue, Olympic Gold and
two-time World Champions in ice dancing.

Scott and Tessa

Taking a Vacation in Your Own Town

Vancouver and surrounding areas has a lot to offer. Even after nearly 18 years here, I still have not seen everything. Following are some of my favourite pictures taken over the past 2 weeks.

The Lions' mountains as seen from Queen Elizabeth Park,Vancouver

Bridal Veil Falls, near Chilliwack

White Rock boardwalk

Burnaby is known for its Rhododendrons, which is the city's official flower.
Taken at Deer Lake Park.

Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge a cheap alternative to that other bridge
(Capilano Suspension Bridge).
This one is free and you see the same water.

"First Breath" wood sculpture at Steveston wharf.
Created by 3 artists with chainsaws in a 24-hour period. Amazing detail.

"The Avengers"



Loki, half-brother of Thor, played by the awesome Tom Hiddleston
Source: boxofficemojo.com

"Avengers assemble!" And assemble they did, to the tune of $486,369,000 domestically since "The Avengers" opening on May 4, 2012. The movie is quickly becoming one of the highest grossing films to date, just over one billion dollars worldwide.

I saw it on opening weekend, people in the audience whooped, hollered and clapped several times at key scenes. It is a rollicking good time.

The screenplay was co-written by Joss Whedon who also directed the movie, if you are familiar with Joss' work such as the television version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" you will know that his writing is witty, sarcastic and full of pop culture references - this movie is no exception. I have never had such a good time at an action flick since "Armageddon" where my friends and I hooted and hollered with laughter throughout but it wasn't supposed to be funny...I still don't know why we weren't kicked out of the theatre, one of the best movie-going memories ever!

I didn't expect to like "The Avengers" as much as I did, much of its success lies with Joss and the screenplay, like so many good/great movies, it all starts with the writing, and there is a lot of great writing. Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, delivers some of the most awesome one-liners. Tom Hiddleston is terrifically camp as Loki, half-brother of Thor. Truth be told, I have only seen the Iron Man movies so you do not need to be familiar with Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, etc. to enjoy this movie.

For the next installment, and there most definitely will be, all I will ask is that it must include Tom Hiddleston's Loki. I have seen the movie twice so far and contemplating a third viewing, it is that good.

Supermoon - May 5, 2012

A "supermoon" is the largest full moon of the year. Where the moon actually passes the earth at it's closest point. These are some of the pictures I took, trying out my new tripod. My camera is a Canon PowerShot SX200 IS and these were taken using the night time setting; zoomed in at 48x.

Taken at 9:17pm on May 5, 2012

Taken at 9:35pm on May 5, 2012

"Mad Men" Returns for Season 5 on March 25

Just 6 more days until the two-hour premiere of season 5 of the much-anticipated return of "Mad Men" on Sunday, March 25!! It has been nearly a year and a half since season 4 ended. How many shows do you know, which could be off the air for almost two years and still draw an audience? Not many. However, anyone who watches HBO, AMC and other cable networks, know that a one-year hiatus is the regular break between seasons. Below is a sneak peek of a few scenes of season 5.

"Snow White and the Huntsman" Trailer

This looks like a great movie! Films based on fairy tales seems to be all the rage in Hollywood right now. Hoping for a live-action version of 'Beauty and the Beast' - two television projects based on this classic story are under development for fall 2012. Wonder if a movie could be far-behind.

"Snow White and the Huntsman" stars Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth. It opens on June 1, 2012.

Separated at birth?

There was a time when I would know about new bands as soon as they hit the scene, however, as I don't listen to radio, that is becoming more difficult. At the recent Grammy Awards I 'discovered' the band called The Civil Wars and what struck me (besides me liking their song) was the resemblance of the male singer John Paul White to rock singer and former White Stripes leadman, Jack White.



The Civil Wars - Joy Williams and John Paul White
Source: http://thecivilwars.com/about.php

   

Jack White Source: Google Images

Okay, I did look for a picture of Jack White that looked most like John Paul White, but still...it's eerie. There is no relation, Jack's family surname is actually Gillis and he was born in Detroit, Michigan. John White was raised in Alabama. I'm a big fan of Jack White and a collaboration with The Civil Wars would be great. See their respective videos below. Even their musical styles are similar.