The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program, southeast Alberta region, announced today the opening of a new travelling art exhibition at the Medicine Hat Public Library, 414 First Street SE. The Fantastical World of Jeff de Boer will be on display at the library until Feb. 24, 2010.
The Fantastical World of Jeff de Boer is populated by intrepid explorers, armoured warriors, robots, flying machines and mysterious ‘exoforms.’ He has spent a lifetime imagining the hero’s transformative journey through his art. The metal sculptures and schematic drawings presented in this travelling exhibition reflect the sculptor’s keen awareness of tradition and potential of technology to shape the future.
The son of a tinsmith, Jeff de Boer began working with metal at the age of five. He built his first complete set of armour before finishing high school. As a graduate of the Alberta College of Art and Design in 1988, de Boer garnered much early critical attention with his unique armour for cats and mice. There are wonderful and intricate examples of cat, mice and rat armour in this exhibition that humorously explore the relationship between predator and prey, as well as the relationship of opposites in nature. De Boer also reveals his interest in Asian philosophy and culture with a major sculpture from the collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts entitled, The Buddha in You.
The conception of de Boer’s highly refined sculptures often begins and develops through schematic drawings. This travelling exhibition presents work drawings related to his major commissions such as the RoboFamily at the Vancouver Science World. THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »
Monster Spectacular
The Medicine Hat Arena will be the host to a monster truck show, called Monster Spectacular, on May 14th at 7:00PM.
On May 14th, 4 Monster Trucks will crush cars and race around a track for all attending to enjoy. Stunt bikes are also included in the event and will no doubt perform crazy tricks that will make the crowd Ooo and Ahh. Do not forget to bring your ear plugs though, the loud engines of 4 monster trucks or a dozen or more stunt bikes can be deafening!
Tickets can be bought at the Medicine Hat Mall’s customer service desk, by phone at 403-502-8777 or online at tixx.ca.
Painting by Arthur Lismer from groupofsevenart.com
The Group of Seven were a group of Canadian landscape painters that was highly influenced by European impressionism. They banded together in the 1920’s to tackle the enormous task of painting lansdcapes in Canada, primarily around Ontario. At the time the landscapes were thought to be either unpaintable or unworthy of being painted. Initially the reception of their artwork was indifferent, but as time went on, they became recognized as pioneering artists in Canada.
The logic behind believing that some Canadian landscapes were unpaintable was largely due to the fact that the scenery around Ontario was so full of trees and hills that anything painted would inevitably end up looking like a large blur of paint. As pioneers, the Group of Seven developed techniques, which were frequently based on Impressionism, to create their art. Some of them had formal training as painters or designers, which can sometimes be seen in their art.
Later in the Group of Seven’s career, they expanded across Canada to gain inspiration and paint what they saw. They even ventured so far as the Arctic, where they became the first artists of European descent to portray the wintry landscapes in art.
The Group gained a few members over the years, becoming more like a Group of Ten, and by 1931, their influence had spread so far that there was no longer a need to be a ‘Group’. They disbanded, and later formed the Canadian Group of Painters in 1933, and now we are living in their legacy.
Prints can be ordered from the expansive gallery on the Group of Seven website. http://www.groupofsevenart.com/
Hedwig & The Angry Inch
Being more of a punk rocker than a theatre-goer, when I caught wind of this production happening in Medicine Hat, I couldn’t resist getting on board. Here’s the scoop…
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band (The Angry Inch) front by an East German transgender singer. The musical premiered off-broadway in 1998 and the film adaptation was released in 2000, starring and produced by writer John Cameron Mitchell.
The local production features 11 full songs, with the band on stage throughout the entire show, a band featuring a handful of local punk rock veterans (One Shot Left, Rex Stiff, Iverdale). You can guarantee this will be the heaviest rock musical to ever run in Medicine Hat!
When: March 12-13, 18-20
Where: Community Theatre Arts Centre (1221 10th Avenue SW)
Tickets: Adults -- $24, Students -- $19 (with valid student ID)
Tickets available online at http://www.ctacmedhat.com or by phoning Della Jesse at 403-580-3477.
I was recently at Sobeys buying some groceries which included chicken breast and ground beef. At the till, the cashier went to individually bag the two different kinds of delicious meat before putting them in a larger bag that had an assortment of other groceries. I said to her “You could probably just toss those into a bag with everything else.” to which she replied “I can’t, not supposed to.”
My question is, what could really happen if meat was not individually bagged? I get that the packaging for the meat might come loose and leak, but how likely is that? I have never had an issue before with leaky meat packaging, and the only other things often put into a bag with meat are cereal boxes, milk containers, canned goods, or maybe fruits and vegetables that generally have their own individual bags anyway.
My rational is that when I go home, I immediately take the meat out of the bags and put it in the freezer. Then what? The bags are too small to really do anything else with, so they just end up being trashed. I am sure mostly everyone else is of fairly like mind. Obviously putting food in the same bag as rat poison is a little extreme, but what is wrong with all perishable food in one bag, boxed or canned foods in another, and cleaners/deodorants in another. I would at least like the choice to say no to wasting more bags than necessary…
The Road Movie Poster - Wikipedia
The Road is a novel written by Cormac McCarthy in 2006. It is about a post-apocalyptic journey of a father and his son that spans the course of several months after an event that destroyed almost all life on Earth. The novel won a few awards including the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2006 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. The Road was even one of the books chosen to read in Oprah Winfrey’s book club in 2007, and more recently a film adaptation was released for it that starred Viggo Mortensen.
The film release was pushed back two or three times over the course of 2009. Taylor and I, who have both read the book, were eagerly awaiting the release and were crushed each time it was delayed. Finally on November 25, 2009, it was released. Unfortunately, this was only a limited release that was shown in under 400 theatres, and the film only made just under $12 million worldwide in the two months since its release.
The film seems to have skipped Medicine Hat completely and gone to the cheaper theatres, such as the Lethbridge Movie Mill. So make a day trip and go see it, and check out Red Dog Diner along the way.
SNFU - March 10
SNFU, another classic Canadian punk rock band, is scheduled to return to our city on Wednesday March 10th, this time to rock the infamous Royal Hotel. On top of their always entertaining performance, they will be showing an exclusive screening of the new documentary Open Your Mouth And Say… Mr. Chi Pig, an in depth look at SNFU’s colourful frontman. If you’re not familiar with Chi Pig, he’s well-known in the punk rock community for his theatrical style show, full of obscure props and costumes. He is truly one of Canada’s best performers and stills rock harder than most bands half his age.
Tickets for the show are $15 (only available at the door), with a door time of 6PM. Joining SNFU are BDFM from Calgary and Medicine Hat’s own hardcore outfit Helltrack.
http://www.myspace.com/snfuband
http://www.myspace.com/bdfm
http://www.myspace.com/helltrackca
(Warning: The following trailer has some coarse language)
This morning when I left the house to drive to work, I noticed a Peace Officer SUV stopped in the middle of the street. As I walked to my car that was parked along the island of the cul-de-sac, they backed up about 3 houses worth then took off. This in itself did not seem overly weird to me, so I continued on to work.
Immediately when I pulled onto Southview Drive from the street I live off of, near the Southview Community School, I saw a police car driving down the street, and further down Southview towards Dunmore Road, I saw another police SUV (not the same Peace Officer) going alleyways. As I came to the Southview/Dunmore intersection, I saw one more police car waiting for the lights to continue on and join the fray.
Four police officers on their own might seem coincidental, but when they are driving up and down alleys in a seemingly coordinated manner, it seems like there must have been something going on.
“Healthy Decisions in a Fast-Paced World”
Lunch Session to Help Steer ‘Hatters to Healthier Lifestyles
In continuing to bring issues from Medicine Hat’s Vital Signs to the forefront, the Community Foundation of Medicine Hat and Southeastern Alberta unveiled today the second session in a series of Vital Munches.
“Healthy Decisions in a Fast Paced World” will be the topic of discussion at the free lunchtime seminar, set to take place February 8, 2010 from 12 – 1:30 PM in the Honor Currie Room in the Medicine Hat Public Library. Attendees are welcome to bring their own lunch, and the foundation will provide beverages.
Panel members will include dietitian, food columnist and best-selling cookbook author (“The Big Cook”) Joanne Smith, and Ed Stiles, Certified Exercise Physiologist and owner/operator of Peak Performance Fitness Services.
“We are thrilled that Ed and Joanne will be joining us for this important discussion,” said Jennifer Thompson, Community Impact Coordinator. “Ed is very well known in the community for his insight into personal fitness and is dedicated to helping people improve their lives through exercise. Joanne’s experience teaching families to eat healthier through her work, column and cookbook will benefit all those in attendance as well. Ed and Joanne are both well respected and we are grateful that they are taking time from their busy schedules to help create a healthier community.” THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »
Photo by Robert Berdan
Although Robert Berdan worked as a Cell Biologist at the Universities of Alberta and Calgary for twelve years, then managed the Calgary Science Centre for five years, he has also been well-known photographer for thirty years and owns a web design company in Calgary. Cell biology seems a strange career path for such an creative person, but the variety in his work life most likely made his photography and design much better.
Berdan’s photos have been published in science journals, book covers, and IMPACT magazine, and have even been a part of a traveling exhibit with the Science Centre. Robert prefers to print his own photos using an inkjet printer that produces the astounding detail he is known for. The primary focus of Berdan’s photos is nature, and all animals that appear in his photos are wild, rather than captive or rehabilitated. I like that detail the most, I think. Every time I see footage of “wild” animals I think of a video I once saw of David Attenborough stumbling through a forest searching for a species of bird, that is so rarely seen… in an Australian zoo (so disappointing). Needless to say, it is quite impressive that Robert is committed to taking pictures of animals in their natural habitats. All of Berdan’s photos have been taken in either Southern Alberta or Georgian Bay, Ontario. Presumably the quality of the picture I posted here was not compromised by being viewed on a monitor as the only modifications done on them are those that would be done in a dark room (burning, dodging, dust spot removal, and colour enhancement through the use of masks).
In addition to his photography, Robert owns a small design company called Science and Art Media in Calgary. Apparently, Robert was the first person in Calgary to offer internet training in Calgary. so much for the stereotype of older adults being inept at learning internet skills. I am going to leave the commentary on the quality of the designs up to the two designers that run this site since I’m sure they will pounce on it as soon as they read this.
For those of you who are wondering about the Attenborough reference I have included the video to which I am referring, it is very cool even if it is in a zoo.
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