Monday, April 30, 2007

Christmas in Wonderland


Dinner tonight at Old Spaghetti Factory (WEM) provided additional entertainment as we watched the filming of a scene for the movie "Christmas in Wonderland" which is in production right now at West Edmonton Mall. The scene (performed by a couple of stunt doubles Jodi Stecyk and Troy Dorchester, filling in for actors Chris Kattan and Preston Lacy) involves a race through the mall on small motorbikes with some well placed mishaps on the way; culminating with a spectacular crash through a glass window overlooking the Waterpark - and a wet landing.

I found it very interesting to see first hand the amount of work and effort that goes into a production like this, especially the amount of time that it takes to set up for a scene that is actually only a few seconds long.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Stupid Is As Stupid Does...


I've been trying to figure out what to say about the Stéphane Dion/Elizabeth May "Deal" that hasn't already been said on other blogs and then I saw this. I think it says it all!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

The Children of Petawawa

Having both been a soldier and a parent in my life the stories from CFB Petawawa, where it is reported that many children are "on the brink of suicide," have weighed heavy on my heart.

A Canadian childhood is supposed to be full of fun and carefree times, an opportunity to explore your world in safety and discover who it is you would like to be when you grow up. For the children of Petawawa, where many of Canada's Afgahnistan related deaths and injuries have had the largest impact, stress, anxiety and fear is more dominant. Their flags at school fly at half mast often, once for 49 days straight!

It's been reported in the news that the children are afraid of being called out of class in case they find out their mother or father are dead and that others hide in their homes with all the lights off, reasoning that if they can't be found when a military official comes to tell them their parents are dead, it won't be true.

We expect our soldiers to be brave (and they are), but thats a little too much to ask of their kids. These children need help - and I am happy that it appears they will now be getting it - but I am at a loss to understand why the support took so long to get into place when we knew this would happen.

Part of supporting our troops is making sure we look after their children and keep them safe until they return. It's the least we can do.