U2 360º Tour, Vancouver, BC

All photos courtesy of Chris and Christie, our companions to the show!

A couple weeks ago, Amber and I splurged (actually, we splurged back in July when we bought our flights, reserved our hotel, and got tickets off our friend Chris) and flew to Vancouver to see one of our all-time favorite bands perform the final concert of their 2009 tour. I must say, U2 puts on a killer show.

As we had general admission tickets, our friends got in line about an hour before we arrived at BC Place. We joined them and got numbers 822 and 823 written on our hands in black marker meaning we would be admitted 822nd and 823rd to the building.

U2's stage is circular and has a larger catwalk ring around it. This means that some fans get into the inner ring and others are on the outside. Our line waiting paid off and we wound up about 5 people back from the stage. There were two bridges that swung between the mainstage and the catwalk so the band moved around a fair bit.

We were really close. In fact, when Bono reached over the railing and sang "I reached out for the one I tried to destroy" from Until the End of the World, he was reaching right for us. We almost had his sweat drip on us (gross). And no Aimee, he didn't hold our hand.

Larry doing his thing on the catwalk (we were pretty much on a first name basis).

The Edge and Bono jamming just to the left of us.

This is what a lot of people's view would have been up in the bleachers. We were inside that outer ring.

I was really proud of myself for not having looked at the set list from previous concerts on the tour. So every song was a surprise for me - and a delight. This is what the 2 hours of sound, light and emotion looked like on paper:

Breathe (2009)
Get on Your Boots (2009)
Magnificent (2009)
Mysterious Ways (1991)
Beautiful Day (2001)
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (1987)
Stuck In A Moment (2001)
No Line on the Horizon (2009)
Elevation (2001)
In A Little While (2001)
Unknown Caller (2009)
Until The End of the World (1991)
Unforgettable Fire (1984)
City of Blinding Lights (2004)
Vertigo (2004)
I'll Go Crazy - Remix (2009)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983)
MLK (1984)
Walk On (2001)

One (1991)
Where The Streets Have No Name (1987)

Ultraviolet (1991)
With or Without You (1987)
Moment of Surrender (2009)

A few things struck me during the concert. First, everyone at a U2 concert would probably be really cool to visit with. The people in line with us, the people around us in the pit, they were all really cool people with great political ideas, experiences and an appreciation for the spiritual. There was a camaraderie as Bono held out the microphone and let the audience sing the entire first verse of I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and as he closed One with Amazing Grace, everyone joined in.

Secondly, the songs carried so much more meaning live than they do on the albums. I could see the expression on Bono's face and the energy in the musician's performance that added so much to each song. They had big smiles on their faces and just had a great time letting the audience participate in these offerings they had for us (and God).

Third, as I was going into the concert and I marveled at the stage structure for 90 minutes before the opening act came on. I had read and heard a lot of criticism about U2's carbon footprint because of the tour. They have three of these stages that take dozens of transport trucks to carry around to every third venue, often for just one show. The band has several planes (we saw one parked at the airport) to transport them. The show itself is a massive energy user with all the sound and light and even mechanical features. Add to that all of the extra travel by fans (we met some from Edmonton and the States, we and a dozen people we know came from Calgary, and Chris and Christy came from Regina). My buddy Chris told me that the tour was ultimately carbon neutral and that's good, but even if it wasn't - this is an amazing thing to spend energy on: unifying people to rejoice and lament and experience a rare occasion of excellent spectacle.

I have tickets for their recently announced Edmonton show in June, 2010. Should be awesome in the outdoor venue. Can't wait!

Vancouver, 21st Century City

As you can read in the post above this one, Amber and I travelled sans children (big thanks to Alanna and Kyle) to Vancouver to see U2 perform on October 28. I've been to Vancouver a handful of times, most recently this summer when we spent a few hours at the Aquarium. I even lived in Maple Ridge for a season when I was 2. I hardly expected to be impacted by the city in the 20 hours that we spent there.

Upon landing at YVR Airport, we went up an elevator and boarded the SkyTrain. For just $3.75 each, we were comfortably shuttled to downtown Vancouver in just over 20 minutes. Compare this to Edmonton where a shuttle costs $15/person and a taxi would run $48. In Calgary, a shuttle costs the same and a cab would cost about $35 (because the airport is within city limits). We used the SkyTrain to return to the airport from downtown too.

Then there was the vibrant downtown. There were people everywhere and cool shops too.

The water really makes the city though and waiting in line outside BC Place on the edge of English Bay, it really felt like this city was on the right track.

Too bad housing prices are prohibitively expensive (even more than Calgary!).

Spring Brook Farm

This past summer in New Brunswick, I again had the privilege of visiting my childhood friend's farm. Jean-Pierre and I were little buddies when we were pre-schoolers because our parents were good friends. Along with my grandmother, he and his family represent for me my origins and a sense of home as they are geographically static and constants in my whirlwind upbringing and life.

At Spring Brook Farm pigs and chickens are raised with great care. The products are sold mainly at the Dieppe Farmer's Market that was established in large part due to the efforts of Jean-Pierre's father. I had a couple opportunities this summer of tasting the meats and indeed they are exceptional.

The farm is very intentional and passionate about spreading the ideals of eating well (not that I disagree with them at all). In this world, they are almost voices crying out in the wilderness.

An example of their great practices is this chicken coop. Every day or two, they drag the building ahead with a tractor giving the chickens fresh grass to eat and leaving behind droppings to fertilize the soil. It takes just about a week to see the soil return to a rich green state after having heaps of free range chickens claw up the ground.

I'm envious of their lifestyle as I'd love to raise my kids on a farm as opposed to suburbia.

My Watch Stopped

This morning, at about 5:40 am, my watch of 11 years stopped for the second time.

Amber bought me this Lorus Sports watch for my birthday back in '98, our first year dating. I've had it ever since. Before this watch I had a series of Casio digital watches that would last about 2 or 3 years and then conk out - and it was cheaper (and more fun) to buy a new watch than to replace the battery.

Six years later, when we lived in Montreal, the battery died and I went to a jewelry store and ten bucks later, it was ticking again. Five and a half years later and it has happened again, almost like clockwork.

In Guatemala, I dropped my watch and the glass cracked pretty badly. I bought a couple cheap Casio ripoffs in the market (why wouldn't they make pretend watches of a better brand?), but they would only last a couple days. So, I took my watch to a local jeweler and for Q50 ($7) he replaced the glass and seal and it was like new (except that it would let in some moisture when it rained (which was all the time)). I dropped it about a month later and had to do it all over again.

So, here's to keeping a good watch for as long as possible. Cheers!

Uldège

My latest film project (which was begun while another current one is still under construction) is a collection of interviews of people speaking about my pépère (grandfather), Uldège Robichaud.

This summer I conducted eight interviews and I hope to do another eight to ten before next summer is over (if I can get to New Brunswick again). My father helped me out quite a bit, so I'll add him as a producer or something in the credits.

It's a project that I'm enjoying a lot. I'm discovering that pépère was a remarkable, hilarious and extraordinarily generous man, much more than I had expected.

3800 Kilometres

Drove 3800 km this summer: Calgary to Kispiox to Squamish to Calgary with stops in Prince George, Smithers, Hazelton (Two Mile), Vancouver, Abbotsford, and Revelstoke).

I managed to sneak listening to Neko Case's "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" about five times in the car - it wasn't Amber's favorite, but I couldn't get enough.

The kids were absolutely awesome - except Acadia throwing up a couple times, that wasn't so awesome for anyone.

I drove most of the way, but Amber did take the wheel at some crucial points like between McBride and PG - that stretch can break a man.

And of course it was great to see everyone in BC from Amber's family to my sister and her family to my cousin and her new family and Tey and his family. It was pretty stress free, even the wedding! Right, congrats April and Gabriel! And thanks for inviting us to your party nephew Kai!

Pugwash after 15 Years

I worked with six of these fine people years ago.

This past summer, I visited the summer camp that I spent summers '89, '90, '91, '92, and '94 at. The last three of those, I was a staff member where I counseled junior, teen and blind campers, taught silk screening, rang the bell, washed dishes (the only guy among several girls), snuck out at nights, learned video editing (thanks to Frank Spangler), played taps and reveille on the trumpet (when Peter would let me) made sand sculptures, canoed and kayaked, played guitar at campfires, participated in skits, led in water follies activities, taught computers (on really, really old Macs), cleaned cabins and bathrooms, and most profoundly made some great friendships.

The Seventh-Day Adventist Camp at Pugwash was a great place to grow up. I actually went on my first date there when I was a camper. A girl asked me out to the banquet. When I was a camper, my mom volunteered so I and my sisters got to hang out at the camp for 5 weeks.

It had been 15 years since I drove away from Pugwash in 1994 and moved to Alberta. It's remarkable how little the place has changed - I noticed there were fewer people, a few new buildings, and the rose bushes by frisbee golf hole 6 have been cut down, but other than that it hasn't changed a bit.

My son even found a girl to drag him around.

Berries

This is a post long overdue . . .

While in New Brunswick, we were treated to my fathers berry patches, bushes, and trees. We picked blueberries, raspberries, currants, strawberries, cherries, and some things I don't even know what they were called. Berries are almost all primary colors when they are ripe and they look so good against the green backdrop. How could their Creator not have meant for them to stand out against their backdrop only once they are ripe.

Wordles

I stumbled upon wordle.net today and it ended up consuming about two hours of my afternoon. It essentially is constructs word art by associating the size of the word with the number of occurrences it has within a particular text. What you see above is a compilation of the first 472 entries of this blog.

Click on the images for larger versions.

The Lord of the Rings text.

All U2 lyrics.

The Early Christians book.

The Cleanse

Last night, I took my final two capsules a month long, natural colon cleanse and organ detoxification regimen from Renew Life. It involved taking two tablets in the mornings thirty minutes before breakfast and two other capsules three hours after supper. There were some other recommendations like drink more water, eliminate dairy, wheat, and sugar while adding some strange grains, exercising, etc., but I wasn't about to give up eating cheese.

Over all, I think it went quite smoothly. I recommend it - it won't hurt at the very least as it is quite gentle. I didn't feel hypervitalized, but I did feel better knowing toxins were leaving my body more efficiently. Can't beat the price either - only $35.

First Snow

My feelings exactly.

We had a few wisps of snow on roofs yesterday morning and nothing on the ground, but this morning, the snow continued to fall and the sky stayed grey and the temperatures didn't cool and the furnace stayed on and I stayed inside.

I'll wait 2 weeks before putting snow tires on in a feeble attempt at extending autumn.

The Whole Night Sky*

Tonight I stole my son to go star gazing with some junior high students from my school. My colleague, Mr. Schneider, managed to gather a few astronomers with their impressive telescopes in our back field at the school. He gave a short talk and presented about 10 minutes of a video about God and the majesty of the celestial bodies.

The sky managed to stay clear enough despite a drifting haze from the burnings of pine (because of pine beetle infestation) in Canmore. What I saw in the heavens was absolutely astounding. The four main features are pictured above:

• Earth's Moon
• Jupiter and its four main moons (Io, Europe, Ganymede, Callisto)
• M13 Hercules Star Cluster
• Ring Nebula

If Blaise didn't get cold and tired, I would have stayed out for hours staring at the sky. Truly glorious.

*So, the title comes from a song from Bruce Cockburn's The Charity of Night album, but the blog really shares nothing with the song aside from the moniker. Plus it's cool to put a star next to the title. I should note too that I didn't take these pictures. Maybe one day.

I took this photo in New Brunswick and was pretty proud of it.

Happy Bike to Work Day

I cycled to work today for the 6th time this month. When I woke up, the radio announcer said it was walk, bike or take public transit to work day (or in some places it's called curb your car day). I thought, now I have even more of a reason! I'm cycling tomorrow and Friday too this week.

My commute isn't too far and we even bought a house specifically so my commute wouldn't be long and so I could cycle on occasion. We live 8 km from my work so it's not too bad - 22 minutes there and 27 minutes back (more hills and against the wind). I average 22 km/hr. Since we have only one car, it's handy for Amber when I cycle too (and I don't have to bum rides from other teachers).

I geared up my bike a bit more on Sunday after stopping in at MEC (the first time I've been to the Calgary branch since the Bike trip in July, 2003). Since I go in before it's fully light out on Fridays, I picked up a set of lights and an ankle reflector. I also needed some standard bike care equipment, so before I knew it I had 6 items when I meant to get 2. But it's cool.

The one real hassle of biking to work is having to maintain a wardrobe at the school. It's quite time consuming to get changed before and after school (though I save time throwing on my shorts and jersey at home).

The best part of cycling to work is how amazing I feel. I drink more water. I have so much more energy. I'm more cheerful. It's pretty awesome.

Blogged about 400 Flicks

So in less than 2 1/2 years I've managed to watch 400 movies and write a few thoughts about each one on my blog. I'm glad I'm doing it for a few reasons. It forces me to write and try to write critically. As I watch films, I think about what I'm going to take away from it. I eye the editing, camera operator, writer, actors and directing more than I would if I knew I wasn't going to write about it later. I also have a comprehensive list of the best films I've watched over the past couple years.

I only wish I had gotten started earlier.

Bon Cinema!

Air Guitar Champ 2009

Air Guitar World Champion 2009: Sylvain "Günther Love" Quimene from OMVF on Vimeo.

I think the whole world should rock out.

Prince Edward Island

Traveled to Prince Edward Island yesterday. I made a quick visit about 4.5 years ago in the winter to visit some friends, but otherwise I hadn’t been in more than 20 years (I think). The bridge is less than 45 minutes away from my father’s house.

Our first stop was Green Gables. I wasn’t keen on paying $7.80 to walk the grounds of a fictional character, so I didn’t. Plus, it's not like Megan Follows is wandering around. Amber’s sister April went in and we hung out on the lawn with the kids. April confirmed that I didn’t miss much.

We continued our trip to North Rustico where Amber had determined that there was a festival happening with lots of activities for FREE. (Yes, I’m cheap) (One of my spiritual gifts is voluntary poverty) We ate at a local pizza joint called Amanda’s Restaurant. I tried fried clams for the first time. The festival was a great discovery. The kids did a treasure hunt, had their faces painted, won prizes, painted oyster shells, played in the sand, enjoyed a children’s performer and the playground. Blaise even got on stage during the performance on his own to get a secret code name from Michael Pendergast (he's the nephew of Father Pendergast according to a guy I sat next to).

We returned to Prince Edward Island National Park to see Cavendish Beach. The beach itself isn’t as nice as our local one de l’Aboiteau, but the red cliffs and dunes are gorgeous.



Instead of eating supper with the family, I spent an hour at Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Some amazing stuff for sure – and some sad stories too, like the one about the tallest man and the people who traveled around as freaks.

What is still amazing to me is the Confederation Bridge that spans 12.9 kms from NB to PEI. I think it is just one of the most beautiful structures ever built.

Le Pays de la Sagouine

We visited Le Pays de la Sagouine on the weekend. It’s an Acadian heritage park with dramas, live music, cooking demonstrations, kids activities, tours and historic buildings. It is located in Bouctouche on the east coast of New Brunswick.

Our tour began with a ½ hour account of the history of the Acadians complete with a demonstration of how to play the spoons and the reason for the quinquennial Congrès Acadian.



We then walked the boardwalk to the little island that houses a village on stilts. We tried poutine rapée, listened to some Acadian tunes, watched a drama put on by the chicaneuses, and toured the little shops and demos.



It was wild hearing the strong Acadian accent being used in a public forum – I’m used to it in private conversations, but publicly it’s pretty hilarious with all of its idioms and contractions.

New Toy: Nikon D90

My gracious wife granted her grace on this extravagant purchase after we reviewed a few of my friend Justin's pictures that he had taken in Guatemala. I went to Black's Photo and got the Nikon D90 with a couple lenses: 18-105mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR and the 50mm f1.8D. I've been clicking pictures ever since.

bee in calgary

cherry over citadel

getting pushed by grandma

settlers

pepere's beans

the fingerpuppet stands alone

Blaise cranks out moves at 4.5 frames a second

Hopewell Rocks

A mixture of clay and gravel stand against time, wind, and pounding waves to support giant figures complete with evergreen hair. 

A wonder of the world in the Bay of Fundy.

Proximity

My Mémère (grandmother) feeds some feral cats on her front porch. Some of the other wildlife take advantage of the free food too. This skunk and raccoon have very little fear of humans (they won't let us pet them, but they don't run when we're just a few feet away) since they've been feeding on cat food and scraps.



She also has bird feeders set up above the cat food. I see humming birds, blue jays and lots of small birds out the front window. The jays are super messy and mean.



My father has flowers planted in manicured beds around the house and garage and in the yard, but near the garden he has let the wildflowers flourish yielding black-eyed susans, daisies, queen anne's lace, and a bunch of other flowers I can't name. They are absolutely stunning.

Cakes by Salomé

Fortunately for us, my sister Salomé has been in town to make amazing cakes for our children's birthdays. My son turned 4 a couple days ago and this was the cake he got.

Salomé used to work at a bakery and I think she should start her own cake decorating company. I could be her, um, promoter on my blog?

She made giraffe for my daughter back in April.

Plage de l'Aboiteau

It rained for the first few days we were in NB. We made it to the beach about a week later. 

The beach 15 minutes away is a provincial park in Cap-Pelé. It is shielded on one side by a sand dike and has a long and beautiful sandy beach that runs into the water for a few hundred metres that you can walk out to at low tide - perfect for little people.

Blaise kept himself busy with sand toys and Acadia slept. I didn't bring anything to do, so I burned - and I enjoyed it.

Wine Touring in Acadia

Yesterday, along with my family, I toured three wineries in the local area here in New Brunswick. We did a 2 hour loop passing through Dieppe, Memramcook, Sackville (the name gave Dean and I hours of entertainment), and Baie Verte.

Our first stop was at La Cave a Vin Boudreau in Memramcook. It is run by a couple named Paul and Rose-Marie who began planting their vineyard in 2000. We sampled seven varieties of wine and made a quick visit to the the tiny grapes (there were lots of mosquitos, so we didn't stay there too long). I found the wine to be very flavourful, but not too full bodied. I picked up a couple bottles to take home - a nice Seyval (white) and a Leon Millot (red).



Just down the road about 10 km is the Belliveau Orchards and Bourgeois Farms. There were no grape wines, but a large variety of fantastic fruit and berry wines. I found this to be the most enjoyable one since these products seem to fare the best in this cooler climate. The flavours were more familiar to my palette too: apples, pears, cherries, raspberries and blueberries. We sampled four kinds here - the best being the pear wine.



We picked up enough wine here to warrant a box. How am I going to get this home?



We drove through Sackville and almost to the Nova Scotia border and into Baie Verte to the Winegarden Estate. Amber and I had visited this vineyard four years earlier. It is run by a German family who began the operation since the mid-eighties. They have a large variety of red, rose, white and sparkling wines as well as liqueurs and desert wines.

Amber's favorite was the strawberry rhubarb wine which was a very mild and scented wine. I liked the maple wine - amazing aftertaste and a fair burn in the middle.

I had to pick up the two favorites and the Acadian Rose.

4-Year-Old Logic

Papa: Blaise, go get your sweater.

Blaise: Papa, you know Mama knows best.

Papa: Who told you that? Go get your sweater.

Blaise: No one, that's just the way it is.

Papa: Well, you know both Mama and Papa know best, not just Mama. Go get your sweater.

Blaise: Both you and Mama?

Papa: Yes, but we can be wrong sometimes too. Go get your sweater.

Blaise: Well Papa, you're wrong now.

Back in Touch

I'm in New Brunswick for July. 

As I lay in bed I hunt a lone mosquito. I spy both a skunk and a raccoon as they eat cat food off the front deck. I gaze upon hawks, herons and hummingbirds. I hear the rain pelting the window. I feel the cool wet grass on my feet. I sense the wind rustling the leaves. I pick strawberries and cherries. I wait to rise as the morning birds greet me. I watch a nearly full moon shine on the river. I paddle against the tide and then drift with it back home. I eat supper in the open air. I pee in the field. I dodge slugs and worms as I run. I drink water from the well. I savour deep breaths.