Canada's Genocide

"Unrepentant: Kevin Annett and Canada's Genocide" http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-6637396204037343133&q=unrepentant&total=204&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

This is a documentary ALL Canadians should see! I am often confronted with people who feel like what happened in the past is the past and why are we still paying for it today? However, that position is wrong and uninformed! First off, the blatant disregard and attempts to dismember First Nations people is not something of the past, it is very much part of the Canadian present! What is even worse is we, Canadians, continue to prosper off the continual suffering of First Nations people. And I have heard the typical responses about prominent historians and about how average white men are no more privileged than an Aboriginal man, and I call bullshit! I say get off your apathetic backside white privileged backside, put down the remote control, stop playing the fantasy games and start asking some questions, start reading material from the other side of the argument...what do you have to lose? and how much do you have to gain?
Watch this video, respond if you will, spend some time asking questions.

Ignorance and denial has served Canada well...NO MORE!

A puppets exploration of D(d)eath

Last night, some friends and I went to the Rotary Arts Centre to see a show titled, "Famous Puppet Death Scenes". I have heard about the show, on CBC, and was intrigued by the possibility that imagination has to roam on such a topic. Puppetry has a long history, globally. There are some accounts that the art form predates actors and goes back as far as 3,000 years! Here is a link to Wikipedia (not the most reliable, but a good place to start) about puppetry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppet

The performance lasted an hour and was hosted by a puppet named, Nathanial Tweak. I found Nathanial to be the most compelling character of the show, primarily because of his poised words surrounding the concept of death and our (humans) ultimate fear of death. There was a certainty that through Puppet Theatre there would be a cure for the fear of death. Personally, I am not afraid of death...that is not me saying I want to die, I just have finally reconciled that death happens, there is no predicting it, planning for it or denying it, so why not get to the business of living and let death be what it is. I've digressed. Nathanial touched me in a couple of places, one that we all do die and that there is a distinct possibility that our lives could come to an end by the end of the play. The other place that Nathanial went is to the place of Love and the impulse some of us have to state our love for one another, immediately. He was good at positioning this sentiment as not so much a need to love or be loved, but a recognition that our time living is, in fact, short and that length in of itself can't be measured or predicted. I know, for myself, I espouse a continual vocal reinforcement of how important others are in your life, that in the event I do die, none of my friends (or family) will doubt how I feel about them. And he asked to be loved for he was lonely behind the stage. Nathanials quick note of lonlieness intrigued me, because death and being close to death is a lonely place, and isolating space. Perhaps I read too much into his narration and hosting duties, but I found his articulation of death to be superb and to speak to the places where I've experienced death of a loved one and am keenly aware of how suddenly life extinguishes.
The play was certainly entertaining and required a suspension from reality...mostly because you could see the puppeteers and well you're watching puppets die! "...dying for us so we would no longer be afraid of death". For me some scenes were a struggle to understand, either because of a language barrier or complete confusion as to what the scene is trying to impart. Overall though, I understood the stories, enjoyed the creativity and marvelled at the strength of the artform of puppetry. I found myself imagining this ancient art and all the various forms it has taken throughout the centuries and in different countries and cultures. The power of storytelling has always held me captive and the use of art and imagination only furthers the captivation!
There is a website for the company that has created this play: http://theoldtrouts.org/index.html
I recommend reading the "history" component as you will find another reason to be proud of Canada and the increasingly creative population we have in this country. Also check out where they are performing next, hopefully close to you, because the performance is certainly worth the money!
Thankyou to The Old Trouts for imagining, creating and performing!

Miss Champagne Sparkles

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of, in some measure, knowing about Miss Champagne Sparkles, here is a picture of her: (I took liberty of taking the picture from her website, so thankyou to her photographer)



In case the face and name intrigue you, here is her website http://www.champagnesparkles.ca/

I had the opportunity to see Miss Sparkles perform at the Habitat back in April of 2007. A friend of mine had seen a poster for a Peep, peep, peep show featuring an opening act of the Kabuki Guns and the main dish being Cheesecake Burlesque Revue (by far the better of the two). So we wrangled up another friend (minus the rope and spurs) and went to the Habitat to see the performance. I had a great time watching the Cheesecake Burlesque Revue and for a moment became inspired to be a burlesque performer...reality is, I have no dancing background and had a significant amount of weight to loss. (not all is lost, I am losing the weight and I am currently in bellydancing classes, who knows? my future is bright). Recently I decided to google my blog to see what kind of hit it would get and both hits were about my review of the evening (not that I am any actual critic or anything, I just wanted to put out there how great it was to have burlesque in Kelowna and how great Cheesecake was--certainly less calories!)
Anyways, Miss Sparkles and M. Colada both responded to my post!!! I was blown away and quite excited! So I felt it was necessary to put it out my love for burlesque and for the ladies who do it so well and to update their information for any one who might be reading. Miss Sparkles, I am watching my comments section now!! *smile*
Anyways, I am not sure about venues...Habitat is a wonderful supporter of such acts as burlesque. I may be a bit tainted on my view of Kelowna (been here too long), but the overall sentiment is very conservative here. Now that the University of British Columbia has moved into town I have high hopes that the Okanagan - Kelowna - will be busted out its shell and desire a more eclectic and electicfying flavour!
My suggestion outside of the Habitat would be the Rotary Arts Centre, there is a lovely stage there and the seating is elevated so everyone can equally see the show...I also feel like the RAC is becoming and is more progressive.
I will spend some more time pondering this, especially if there is hope that the Revue will be back in Kelowna soon! It wouldn't be hard to sell out the show even! (or two? *hopeful smile*)

The Cheesecake Burlesque

Hmm, I think it would do me some good to back and review some of my older posts and I completely missed the comments that the performers from Cheesecake shared with me. Which is any of you wonderful ladies are reading this now, you're most welcome and I am SO happy you came to Kelowna! And now I wonder if you will be coming again?
I wish Kelowna arts culture supported more performances such as the ones Cheesecake does. Thankfully because of UBC-O, the Rotary Centre for the Arts now has a Distinguished Speakers series, which I believe to be brilliant. The community needs more venues to become informed and educated about their local and global community. And also "famous puppet death scenes" have finally made their way into the valley, after much critical acclaim and press...FINALLY!!
However, I want the burlesque back!
So with that I add the website for the Cheesecake ladies...yes, they are ladies, talented and beautiful marked with a great sense of humour!!!

Check them out: www.cheesecakeburlesque.com
www.champagnesparkles.ca

I would recommend keeping them busy and booking them...certainly worth every single one of your coloured Canadian dollars that is continually above parody these days!