Interesting, moving, sublime

Transcribing/transcoding tree rings into music.

Cooking win

Butternut Squash, Tart Apples, Cider, Veggie Broth, Green Lentils and even more Red Lentils, pepper, ginger, spices, slow cook over 4.5h, mash up = tasty, tasty, tasty stew/soup!  Woo!

Paging Dr Fur…

It was FC 2012 last weekend, blasting into its inaugural year at the SJ convention centre.  People, places and fur – and for me it was the best con I’ve ever had.  Long-ish report ahead!

Woo!

First place award from the judges and audience choice awards for our skit!  Very excited right now.  Great con — right now I seriously need a massage, a good footpaw rubdown, some hydration and a whack of good sleep..

 

Announcing the 2012 China Study Tour

Sometimes I laugh at how quickly I got into kung fu.  I actually started almost by chance, a happenstance mention by a gaming friend of mine that he was going to take some kung fu classes.  I’d always wanted to do some sort of martial art, so I asked if he’d mind if I join him, and he was cool with that.  He chose the place, some school he found locally.  Little did I know at the time the luck of starting in Sifu Lam’s school, not only for his amazing depth of knowledge but also his absolute desire to share it and his care and interest he had in all his students.  As for me, not a couple of months later I was practicing nearly 16 hours per week.

In 2002 I was again fortunate to accompany Sifu on one of his study tours to China, for training shaolin at Songshan, and then wudang fist at Wudangshan.  It was a trip packed with training upon training, along with visiting some of the most beautiful spots in China.  When the chance presented itself to return in 2005, I leapt at the opportunity once again, and it was equally amazing, more amazing locales and great training including learning some Bagua.

Now, ten years later after my first trip, Sifu Lam is again offering up a study tour, and I AM SO GOING AGAIN.  Training at the Shaolin Temple, training at mount Wudang, and this year an additional foray to visit the terracotta warriors at Xian – this trip promises to be epic.  Equally epic is the fun and camaraderie of a group of martial arts enthusiasts heading off for training in the most clichéd yet amazing places in the world.  I am so looking forward to this.

My chronicles of the first trips can be found here:  Kannik’s Shaolin.  Information on the 2012 Study tour, along with registration, can be found here:  WLE Study Tour 2012.  I am putting this up here to invite all you with an interest in martial arts to come along if you can.  It’s a great trip, we have lots of fun, and best of all we TRAIN hard and TRAIN some more, I love it.  Even without training it’s a great trip to visit two of the sources of infamous martial arts.  Come along!

11 on its way

Ok.  I know I say it every year that the year went by fast.  This year didn’t just go by fast; it broke the sound barrier a few times over.  And I have agreement with many others, so it must be true!  Anyway, wow, this year was zipped by.  As has become my tradition at the turn of the numbers I stop to look back at the previous year to take stock, see the paths traveled and celebrate what was before turning to dance into the oncoming year.  Let the film roll…

As always, long post ahead.

Nice to be Known

One of my coworker’s children sent out an email to all of us in the office today, listing our names and “What does your name mean?” — all of this her creation.

Next to my name it was listed:  “Gentle, loving, goofy, dilligent.”

I can live into that!

Les Aventures de Tintin

Tintin.  Growing up in French immersion I was fortunate enough to be exposed to the series of graphic novels (which, as an art form, predates the existence of the popular graphic novel in north America by decades, if I remember correctly) from an early age.  I enjoyed them immensely, they were amusing, could be a little witty, and the adventure was, well, ADVENTUROUS.  Great memories.  When I was in Paris I bought I have Tintin paraphernalia to hang on my walls while a small Tintin rocket sits on my desk near me.

So it was with great interest when I heard Tintin had been optioned for movies by Jackson and Spielberg.  And also some trepidation.  The trailers didn’t look too bad though, if a bit uncertain in the rendering style.  Sunday was the day to go see it.  So how did it turn out?

The good news is I don’t need to go down to LA to punch Spielberg in the face.

Hour of the Wolf

I am familiar with you now.

And now, snow

With these waning days of my vacation home the snow did finally come, delightfully covering all, with picturesque white laden trees, chilly temps and sweet winter goodness.  It is even snowing right now as I type… hooray!

It has been a great vacation, one that has sped by quickly, spending time with Dave and Kat, climbing at Coyotes (ah, yes, pinchers and pockets and slopers, oh my!  Sore forearms for days…), seeing James and Kel and great times at home with my parents.

Went to visit the Royal Ontario Museum yesterday, mostly to check out the new addition by Liebeskind but by excellent coincidence they are having an exhibit on the Maya that I also got to check out.  Last time I passed by it was just when the steel was going up for the new addition.  I have seen photos of the completed structure, and I’ve even heard a lecture by Libeskind about it, so I was excited to go and check it out for myself.