Notes for 7/25/2010

Without really intending to, it seems I took a week-long break from blogging! Should be back to normal now. Here are my weekly notes:

Sharon and I spent the weekend in Calgary, basically just to eat and shop (Charcut and Crate & Barrel, among others). As always, it was a nice change of scenery. The festival we checked out today, Kensington’s Sun & Salsa Festival, was great. There were so many people there! And there was plenty of sunshine too. You can see the rest of the pictures from our trip here.

Kensington Sun & Salsa Festival

Charcut

Fiestaval

Edmonton Notes for 7/25/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

FC Edmonton played Portsmouth FC on Wednesday in the second annual Edmonton Cup game. I was at the game, along with 8792 other Edmontonians. Unfortunately, FC Edmonton lost in penalty kicks.

FC EdmontonFC Edmonton

The annual Capital EX Parade took place on Thursday morning. The list of winning entries is available here. My favorite was the WestJet float:

Capital EX Parade

Notes for 7/19/2010

After a small accident yesterday I spent four hours in the emergency room, finally getting home just after midnight with fourteen stitches in my hand. Not surprisingly, that meant I didn’t post my weekly notes. Here they are:

My parents are in town this week. Looking forward to seeing them!

Edmonton Notes for 7/17/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

City MarketCity Market
City Market Downtown

The Way We Green Workshops

The Way We Green WorkshopA few weeks ago I was invited to check out a workshop for stakeholders of The Way We Green, part of the public consultation process for the project. It took place on a Thursday evening in a conference room on the top floor of the Holiday Inn Express downtown (great view). I arrived roughly halfway through the session, and found two tables of about ten people deep in discussion.

The workshop I attended was the last of four in the second phase. In the four workshops of phase one, which took place during the first week of June, participants identified what sustainability means for Edmonton and what key environmental challenges we face. In the second phase, participants discussed the policy options for eight broad categories: energy, water supply, food, ambient air, biodiversity, water quality, extreme weather, and waste management.

The table I sat with was just finishing up a discussion on energy when I arrived. Each participant had a sheet of paper with three or four sections to drive the conversation. There was also a moderator and a designated note-taker. Very shortly after I sat down, the group started talking about food. Everyone around the table had the opportunity to talk about why they thought protecting Edmonton’s local food system is important. They also completed the exercises on the sheet, which asked for a proposed goal, for their thoughts on what the City of Edmonton has done thus far, for a recommendation that the City of Edmonton should do more, less, or retain the status quo, and to identify any barriers to achieving the goal. Everyone in the group agreed that we need to do more to protect and strengthen Edmonton’s local food system (which I agree with), and highlighted public awareness as a major barrier (which I disagree with).

The Way We Green Workshop

I’m really interested in how the City’s public consultations work (and how they might be changing), so it was a great opportunity to see one aspect first hand. Even with all of the technology available to us, there remains a place for face-to-face discussions. I felt there could have been more discussion between participants at the workshop I attended, however, instead of just answering the questions provided. Another thing I noticed was that while there was diversity in the ages of the participants, there wasn’t much ethnic diversity. It’s important that immigrants and newcomers have a say in the strategic direction we take as a city (something that City staff acknowledged is a challenge when I mentioned it after the workshop).

More workshops are being scheduled for September, including some that will be open to the public. Forums and other information sessions are also scheduled to take place, after which the draft plan will be written and presented to City Council (sometime before February 2011). You can learn more about the project timeline here. You might also want to read the EcoVision Annual Report, which was published last month.

You can read my recap of last month’s expert panel here. Don’t forget you have until August 20th to complete the online survey. Stay tuned to TheWayWeGreen.ca for updates!

Alberta Venture’s Next 10 for 2010

The July issue of Alberta Venture features Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People for 2010. The list is as impressive as you’d expect, with Premier Ed Stelmach, Wildrose Alliance Leader Danielle Smith, MP & Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice, and MP & Minister of Foreign Affairs David Emerson all appearing. There are some well-known business personalities on the list as well, including Jim Shaw and Bob Black. A few favorites I’ll mention: Allan Scott, Ken Chapman, Chris Moore, and Mary E. Hofstetter.

Also featured in the issue is The Next 10:

They are not household names – at least, not yet. While our Top 50 list features some of this province’s heaviest hitters, a class of young Albertans are busy building their own reputations and asserting their place in the province through the passions they express through their livelihoods and interests. They aren’t yet widely known and their careers are still being formed, but these up-and-coming superstars have the potential to become power players in their own right. Theirs are names to remember.

Mack I’m honored to have made the list! I wasn’t expecting this, and the only heads up I received was a photo request from one of Alberta Venture’s art directors back in May. I didn’t know what it was for though. She asked for a headshot, and the timeline was short, so I just sent a few from my Flickr page. The one they chose shows me in Washington, D.C. waiting in line for tickets to tour the Washington Monument, snapped by Sharon right after I had returned from a coffee run.

Here’s the write-up I received in the magazine, courtesy of Duncan Kinney:

Mack Male is in your inbox, at your event, and in your social stream making the case for the numerous causes he believes in. For example, Male was able to rally support against the Edmonton City Centre Airport around the #ECCA hashtag on Twitter. He’s also a keen supporter of the recent open data initiatives in Edmonton and has given multiple presentations on the subject.

Short and sweet.

I’m in truly fantastic company on The Next 10 list. Sarah Blue, Stephani Carter and Brandy Burdeniuk, Terry Ermineskin, Don Iveson, Chima Nkemdirim, Brad Rabiey, Shayne Saskiw, Michael Woodside, and John Wright also made the list.

I would have written about this sooner, but it took me until last night to find an actual copy of the magazine! I checked lots of bookstores, grocery stores, and drug stores, finally snagging the one and only copy on the shelf at Save-On-Foods downtown. I know it shouldn’t matter, especially since Alberta Venture has done a pretty good job with the online version. Each article has a permalink (well a unique link, hopefully they are permanent), all of the photos are included, and comments are enabled. The layout could be improved, however.

I saw the July issue jokingly being referred to as the Twitter issue, as there are a few articles on social media in addition to the Top 50 and Next 10 (some members of which are on Twitter). Check it out! You can follow AlbertaVenture on Twitter.

Notes for 7/11/2010

Here are my weekly notes:

Mayfair Demolition

Recap: Refinery at the Art Gallery of Alberta

RefineryLast night was the Art Gallery of Alberta’s second Refinery Late Night Art Party. I was invited to attend for free in exchange for live-tweeting during the event, an offer that Sharon and I happily accepted. I can’t remember why we didn’t make it out to the first Refinery party, but we heard nothing but good things about it. Needless to say, we were looking forward to checking it out the second time around.

The doors opened at 8pm, and slowly but surely people started to arrive (apparently there was a line-up outside at the first Refinery party). DJ Justin Der (Shortround) helped set the mood on the main level. Two of the event’s featured artists, actors Amy Shostak and Arlen Konopaki, were asking guests to help them prepare for their improv show by writing favorite lines from Warner Brothers cartoons on little slips of paper. Sharon and I had difficulty remembering anything but the most famous lines, but we eventually came up with a few things.

RefineryRefinery

Our next stop was the new exhibition, The Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons. We both grew up watching Looney Tunes, so it was really neat to see the original character sketches and the evolution of the characters. It was also surprising to learn that they stopped making new cartoons in 1969! Everything we watched as kids was so old! Or timeless, I guess 🙂 Here’s a little about the exhibition:

This major exhibition features 165 drawings, paintings, animation cels and related art objects used in the making of Warner’s classic cartoons. The exhibition explores seven different themes from a chronological history of the cartoon studio to the evolution of Warner’s first cartoon stars, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck; and features a step-by-step breakdown of how classic cel animation was made and an in depth look at Warner’s most famous creation, Bugs Bunny.

We also spent a few minutes in the M.C. Escher exhibition adjacent to the Warner Bros. one. Just outside the exhibitions on the second level, local filmmaker Adolfo Ruiz was working with Refinery guests to create a group film. Everyone was invited to scratch, paint, and draw on 16mm film. The final product was displayed at 12:30am. Also on the second floor was the Warner Bros. photo booth! Here’s Sharon and I in front of the backdrop:

Refinery

One of my favorite things about Refinery is that the entire AGA was utilized. We eventually made our way to the third level, where local artist Sarah Jackson (one of our favorites) was drawing condiment portraits. Everyone received three of Sarah’s trading cards at the door, the idea being that you trade with others as you meet them, hopefully collecting all seven to win a prize. With the condiment portraits, Sarah would draw you as a “condiment”, like a salt shaker, or a cupcake. The line was long all evening, but Sarah just kept on drawing!

RefineryRefinery

Outside on the terrace, DJ Dane Gretzky was spinning records and drinks were being served. It was a beautiful night to be outside, and you could just catch a glimpse of the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival taking place in Churchill Square. At 10:30pm, Amy and Arlen performed their improv show using Warner Bros. as the theme. It was funny and entertaining, as expected! The AGA did a fantastic job with hors d’oeuvres and treats, created by Zinc. Over a dozen different plates of food were carried by servers throughout the terrace. There was also an ice cream bar!

RefineryRefinery

We also wandered through the TIMELAND: 2010 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art exhibition, and Sandra Bromley’s FIRE as well. If you haven’t checked out the newest exhibitions at the AGA, you should, they’re worth the visit.

RefineryRefinery

The crowd at Refinery was pretty diverse, which meant a few familiar faces and lots of new ones. I’m not sure how many people attended, but the terrace was pretty full for the improv show. Everyone was dressed really well too, so if you’re looking for an excuse to wear something new, Refinery is the party for you!

Thanks to the AGA for inviting us to check out Refinery. We’ll be back for future parties!

You can see the rest of my photos here. The AGA will be posting theirs on Flickr too.

Edmonton Notes for 7/10/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Free Ice Cream!
This Breyer’s truck was handing out free ice cream yesterday afternoon at Jasper Avenue and 103 Street!

City Market Downtown
The cooler, damp weather couldn’t keep people away from the City Market today!

Edmonton Capitals win for Homeward Trust volunteers!

Homeward Trust held its annual volunteer appreciation event tonight. Instead of the typical drinks-and-thank-you-speech outing, this year they decided to invite everyone to an Edmonton Capitals baseball game. Neither Sharon nor I had been to Telus Field since the team was still known as the Trappers, so we thought it would be a fun night. It was!

Edmonton Capitals

All of the Homeward Trust volunteers sat in section H, on the east side of the field. That meant we were in the sun for most of the game. After a few innings the heat got to us, so we decided to explore. We met Razzle:

Edmonton Capitals

And we discovered the specialty hotdogs at Telus Field. Sharon couldn’t resist the Perogy Dog with fried potatoes, bacon, onions, sour cream, and cheese:

Edmonton Capitals

We ventured back to our seats for the 5th inning and stayed for the rest of the game (thankfully it got much cooler once the sun disappeared behind the buildings). The Capitals won their ninth straight over the Tijuana Cimarrones, 14-5.

Edmonton Capitals

Baseball isn’t really my thing, but I enjoyed tonight. If you’d like to check out a Capitals game, tickets are just $10. Tomorrow night the Oilers top prospects will be in attendance, including Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle.

Thanks Homeward Trust!

You can see more photos here.