CaptainOrange

One of my “update” style posts. We are going to get into a hodge-podge of activities. Puppets Hmmm... I think that bear may be putting on a layer of winter fat :(   A few months back, I was contacted to do some shadow puppetry for the Remai Modern  art gallery. I try and choose to involve the library whenever possible, so I arranged to do it via SPL . I get paid less for the gig this way, but I also get paid for the development and preparation time, so it more than balances. Also, it raises the profile of the library, which I love.   I decided to do a show that we had previously developed which we call “The Hat Trilogy.” It is a mixed puppetry version of three of Jon Klassen’s books : I Want My Hat Back, This is Not My Hat, and We Found a Hat. They are excellent and entertaining children’s picture books. It was originally Claire’s idea and she directed the original showing of it at the library. So, it’s general form is pretty much thanks to her (and, of...

My body aches all over from two long days of driving. I could have survived this alone, but when I went to make coffee this morning, I discovered only decaf!!! If that doesn't sound horrifying, you may accidentally be reading the wrong blog. The Hall of Mirrors symbolizes my mental state after only decaf this morning. Today was our day to explore the Mall of America (MOA). Not being much of a shopper, this was a mostly disappointing experience for me. However, Anwyn and Leo found some nice jewellery and Leo and I enjoyed getting some new shoes. Perhaps my expectations should have been adjusted. After doing some reading, I discovered that the MOA is less than 1/2 the size of the West Edmonton Mall. I guess they left out the half of the stores that were interesting to me... except for this LEGO display ;) My zoom lens only captures the foot of the 30' tall LEGO Transformer on display Although everyone was exhausted, the girls eventually woke up enough to enjoy the N...

Last year when I bought my Vibram Five Fingers (VFFs) (their website) , I was nervous that it was one of my radical, rash and rushed decisions. As an 'artistic' individual, sometimes those are the best ones and sometimes I rue-the-day. It was a slow start for me to get into shape running in a totally new style, but by the end of last summer I was getting the hang of it . Naturally, Leora and Anwyn loved my shoes. I'm always looking for ways to encourage the girls to be more active. So when I started running with Anwyn's school-mates to train for the Bridge-City Boogie (a 5km fun run), I hit upon an idea to try and inspire them. They are both pretty good at saving their allowance and always have several hundred dollars in their bank accounts. Anwyn, who usually has twice her sister's savings (or mine, for that matter), said she would be willing to buy herself a pair ($110 after tax). I agreed and offered to repay her $30 (the price of a new pair of sneakers) plus ...

I did my campus-tower-home run in my Vibram 5-fingers for the first time about a month ago (and several times since). Let me tell you, I was nervous. My last major run in them, the 10km with Jaime last month, resulted in 3 days of serious stiffness in my calves and not a little whining. I recognize that (re)training my lower legs and feet is a process of undoing 37 years of unwitting damage. Atrophied muscles aren't going to strengthen and flourish in a month or two. However, I do feel that I am well on my way. I have started to think of running barefoot as a type of physiotherapy class taught to me by my own feet. I have found three distinct running styles while I am barefoot. When on grass, I jog with a typical "heel strike" method. Such as you would do all the time in running shoes. On harder surfaces, I run landing on the padding between the arch and my toes. This is what really gets the calf muscles working. When my muscles are feeling sore, or I am at a slower than ...

Ancient CCorner-friend, Simon was flying across the country and decided to stop in and see what had changed in Saskatoon. Thanks to Anita and Facebook, several of us got together at Lydia's for veggie burgers, nachos, poutine, beers and coffee. I invited everyone for the impending City Walk. Let's just say there may have been some 'loose shoes' in the room. I hope some of them manage to lace up for the event. Ani took some photos, which she will hopefully cough up at some point and link for the rest of us. Thanks for the invite, Anita ***update*** The photos have been up for a looonng time now. I've just been goaded into grabbing them from facebook and putting a couple here. Thanks again, Anita :) Geof, Me, Anita, Simon Chins R Us

City Quest 2008 is upon us. Grab your backpacks, fruit-bars, a bottle of water and a good pair of shoes. The date for this year is Sunday, August 3. Call or email me if you want to take part. You need not come for the entire day. Any distance is appreciated for the company. Departure time is estimated at 4am Lead-up and Break-down for last year. Or you can go straight for the pictures of last year and the year before...

After sampling the mouthwatering food and suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous entertainment we brushed the pigeon dropping from our shoulders, shouldered our equipment and set off on the next leg of our journey. Most of this day will center on the region referred to as the ' West End '(wikip). We walked from Granville "Island" ( tsk, tsk, (click my added icons for some extra basic geography) ) down Davie st .(wikip) I thought it all happened as a happy coincidence, but with Anna at the planning helm of our vacation 'Enterprise', I have no idea which courses were plotted and which were the result of unstable wormholes. In short it was (for me) a happy coincidence to find myself strolling along such fertile valley of humanity. Q says that our race " is always suffering and dying ", but Davie Village points out quite clearly that there are a number of things Q failed to mention ;) It was there that Anna got in touch with her sensitive side. We...