Movie Monthly: Tough Coming Of Age Stories
Fish Tank (out on 12 March) is one of those gritty working class, Brit flicks that makes few concessions to the demands of commercial cinema. Set in the grimy hinterlands of contemporary underclass England, it's a rite of passage drama about a bored and stroppy teenager Mia whose transition into adulthood begins when her mum brings a new man home to their grungy, high-rise flat.
10 Things That We Will Remember About The 2010 Vancouver Olympics
Ten things that we'll remember about the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.
Mid-Games Poll Reflects Lack Of Support For Costly Olympics
CBC News has just released results from an opinion poll taken midway through the 2010 Olympic Games. The poll, conducted by Environics, asked people two questions.
And Now The Big TV News Story... In Photographs
One of the things I was told, on applying for media accreditation as videographer at the 2010 Olympics, was that there are strict rules about where you can film. Basically, as an independent journalist, there are very few places that you can film: the Olympics Opening Ceremony? Most definitely not. Live sports events? Sorry, no. Fans partying? That would depend on what area they are in...
Two Bike Polo Videos
Added a couple of bike polo videos to YouTube. One is just over a minute and a bit of silliness from the Victoria Winter Mixer, a tourney that took place last month. There were two Hanson Brother teams in the competition that eventually ended up playing each other. The gloves came off at the end...
In Search of the Olympic Spirit
Biked down with baby on board to Concord Place to catch some of the Olympic spirit yesterday. Crowds were out enjoying this February heat wave, but few diversions at the Canadian houses.
Video: Dancing In The Street (Robson Street, Vancouver)
This flash mob dance event was being promoted before the Olympics on the hush, hush. Word seemed to have travelled far and wide, and as you can see there are thousands taking part.
Cultural Olympiad Consultant Bashed By Riot Police
I wasn't at Saturday's Vancouver 2010 "Heart Attack" which saw police clashing with "protesters", but I saw that local digital media consultant Kris Krug, who I know through using Drupal (this web site is built on it), got caught in the cross-fire when he was taking photographs.
Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll at the Vancouver Olympics
As the Olympic torch made its way across Canada, one of the, er, running jokes in Vancouver was that the torch looked like a huge, poorly rolled joint. Wags were commenting that it was full of the famously strong "BC bud" that is grown in large quantities across this fecund province, and hence whereever it went people would chase it deliriously trying to catch a little puff.
Video: Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony Protest March
I didn't see much of the 2010 Olympics Opening ceremony on Friday, apart from a few snatches caught on the web - punk fiddler Ashley Macissac showing his virtuosity, K.D. Laing's stirring rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, and lots of smiling, waving Olympians in their team uniforms.