A Great Canadian Story

These guys, brothers, Michael and Neil Fletcher in the Sudbury area were out in the woods with their dog the other day when they found a mature bald eagle caught in a trap. Like so many modern heroes, they made sure their handy device was ready to record and then took care of the problem.

Of course they had to take a selfie when it was all over. 

Stomp with the Harlem Globetrotters

We've all heard of the Harlem Globetrotters. Did you know they're celebrating their 90th year? 

Stomp is a 20+ year old percussion group that has performed to rave reviews around the world. Here they combine their talents in a wonderfully entertaining video. Enjoy!

Today's Boxer Fix

Holton Rower

Holton Rower is a New York-based visual artist who jokingly says he probably uses more paint than any other artist. He creates amazing pieces by pouring concentric pools of acrylic paint onto wood and allowing them to flow downwards.

The results are organic and always interesting. A video from 2010 shows the process:

Looks like fun, doesn't it!

Rushing the Season

Apparently the Christmas cactus in our breakfast room has not been paying attention to all the hype about starting the Christmas season too early. There have been buds and the occasional bloom on the plant for several weeks now and, at just under 6 weeks until Christmas, it's looking pretty festive.

This is the plant that Magnus brought for a house-warming gift 11 years ago.

Paris

Paris 11-13-2015

Autumn Illumination

Tuesday afternoon was so dismal and dark, but the tiny ornamental apples on these trees were shining away happily with their own interior light.  

The brilliant yellow shrub right of centre is Witch Hazel.

Wonderful way to brighten up a dark fall day.

In Remembrance

Thinking also of our Wounded Warriors

Honour the Fallen, Help the Living

Soldiers of Suicide plaque at the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa

Orly Faya

Last week we spent Halloween in North Carolina where almost everybody, kids and adults alike, enjoy getting into the spirit of the night.

Our little family went out as the characters/emotions from Inside Out, the movie in which Pixar shows us the emotions that live within each person, driving our speech, actions and decisions. Here's the trailer:

These are the five emotions from the movie: 

  Joy   Disgust  Fear

 anger   Sadness

Perfect! One for each of us to be for Halloween. There might have been a little face painting involved!

Don't worry, it all washed off easily. 

When I came across something on social media about Orly Faya, an Australian body painter/photographer, I knew I had to share it here. This takes face and body painting to a completely different level.

Inspired by nature, Faya paints people into landscapes and lighting, with astonishing results. Here's her intro for her Gaia Project which is being crowd-funded.

Another video:

The Science of Baking

I wish we'd thought of cooking science 40 years ago when the kids needed some good ideas for science fair projects.

Bubbles

Amazing expertise with bubbles. I wonder if the stage gets wet/slippery by the end of the show.