“Don’t you think when you first come here, you come because this is the capitol of everything possible?”
Two great cities. Two amazing films. One hell of a traveler’s itch.
A collaboration of short films rolled into one about finding love, losing love, and about the cities that we love. Released in 2006 Paris Je T’aime is the first of the Cities of Love segments followed by New York, I love You, released in 2008. The films’ concept follow the lives of local Parisians and New Yorkers in showing us what (may be) the real deal of the respective cities. Each short film is about eight to ten minutes long and at some point intertwines with the rest of the other short films creating a story quilt of a city.
In Paris Je T’aime the shorts are created via its 18 arrondisements (originally 20, however 2 of the shorts did not blend in with the rest). In the 5th arrondisement, we follow young man sparking an interest to a young Muslim woman while in Le Marais (4th arrondisement) a young man believes he has found his soulmate through another young man who works at a print shop. Both shorts develop a sense of ‘love at first sight’ theme that goes beyond borders on rules about love.
Some romance are darker and deeper: In the 12th arrondisement we are lead to a married man who is falling out of love with his wife but made a decision that will change the course of their marriage. We then follow a young couple in the 10th arrondisement where a young blind man believed that his actress girlfriend falls out of love and breaks up with him.
A not so star-studded, Hollywood-flooded film it makes up for its collection of amazing directors: Coen Brothers, Alfonso Cuarón, Wes Craven, Vincenzo Natali, it is no wonder the collaboration is critically acclaimed.
As you wander through arrondisements, chapters of peoples lives, and a platter full of Paris’ beauty, you wonder, ‘Who wouldn’t fall for the city of lights?’
“They say a lot of things about Paris…they say it’s a place where people come to discover something new about their lives. They say it’s a place where you can find love...“
Like its Parisian version, New York, I Love You delivers stories through its boroughs. Unlike its Parisian version, it is not a big slice of apple pie; I guess New York figured, “They already know what we look like!”.
The film version focuses more on its real apples: The New Yorkers themselves. You think you know them? Not until you see the characters in their (literally) intertwined lives.
Take a look at “Camille“, a young and struggling musician finds a muse through a woman he has yet to meet, but will they ever? In “Love of Violets” a lady checks into a hotel where she befriends a bellboy to find a lot of similarties of him in her. In “Prom” a young man gets his wish fulfilled on a special night while on “Alchemy” a cassanova learns his lesson that sometimes his suave just doesn’t work.
In a city of millions one way or another these city slickers will cross paths. Don’t take your eyes off the screen because you’ll miss at where they did somehow. Unlike the former film, this version is more fast paced – a typical American style of film. Had it been set like its European version, which has a slower pace, then it would have been a snooze fest. But then again, New York itself is a city that never slowed down.
A great concept and I await the release of other versions in the Cities of Love series. What could be next? Wikipedia says that Rio, Shangai, and Jerusalem versions are in the works already and that Moscow, I Love You was already released in Russia in 2010. How about Madrid? Well, have you seen ‘Kilometro Cero’?
After seeing both films, it isn’t hard until you find yourself looking online for a plane ticket to come back to the first city you fell in love with. Perhaps they’re Paris or New York too.
In a city that never sleeps, everyone needs some quiet. And New York City has no shortage of it, if you know where to look. Central Park is a very busy place, especially on weekends, but the vast majority of people visiting the park, visit the southern half. That is, after all, where all the “sites” are. At least that’s what people think, but it’s the north end of the park that’s the quiet end. Even on a busy, summer weekend, very few people go to the North Woods. It is the quietest spot in the park, and not many people even know it’s there. It’s easy to forget you are in New York City, which is something most of us New Yorkers need from time to time.
Moving north, the Bronx is another underrated place for some seclusion. To most, the Bronx brings images of poor, unsafe neighborhoods, but the Bronx is home to some of the most scenic spots in the city. Just north of the Bronx Zoo (a great trip in its own right) is the New York Botanical Garden. The greenhouses attract visitors, but if its an escape you want, wander the grounds. You’ll find some of the most picturesque spots along the Bronx River which runs through both the garden, and the zoo. Van Courtlandt Park is another beautiful retreat. A spot full of wooded hiking trails that are easy to navigate, and even easier to get lost in.
There are far more places to go to get out of the city without getting out of the city. Some of which intrigue me, but unfortunately I have yet to visit. Places like the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Forest Hills Park, the Elevated Acre, Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. The list goes on and on. I love exploring the city, and do so all the time. It’s best way to find things you didn’t know existed, like a little secluded spot in the middle of the Big Apple. Maybe I’ll run into you while exploring the city. Maybe I even inspired some of you to check out the outer boroughs bex time your in New York City.
Behind the glass display, tiny intricate figurines will bedazzle your eyes as the naked eye closely watch how such micro statues are made with such details. Colours of pigment are commonly used for a dimensional look, though sometimes the colouring are caused by aging when the figurine is made from ivory. Ivory is made from the tusks of Walrus or Narwhal and is common to be found in Inuit Art. The artist will sand the tusk to a size so small and micro that sometimes it takes awhile until you get the big pucture. “Sometimes, they’d have a contest up North, where they’d make things like these and the smaller they are the better,” says Jane, of the people who maintains the museum. Across from these tiny figurines, a few pieces will intrigue a person, Jane explains that these are replicas of an Inuit game called Cribbage, a difficult and somewhat confusing type of European card game. Entering the next room, a large sculpture made of whalebone, ivory, clay, stone and inlay greets the visitor, a composition made by Manasie Akpaliapik where his works are based on Inuit myths, songs and stories that reflect concern with balance between the earth and life that is necessary for us to survive.
Canada’s growing influx in immigration especially in Toronto infuses the melting pot of our culture. We as a society acknowledges culture from all over the world; from Chinese to Indian, Native Africans to Pacific Islanders, European to South American – but we fail to notice background of the Inuits of Northern Canada. Canada’s Inuits have been around longer than any Immigrants to Canada yet there is still the struggle for people to understand and appreciate the Inuit people. Walking out of the Museum of Inuit Art and Gallery gives a new perception of the cultures that these amazing group of people have contributed to Canada since thousands of years ago – and still counting.
Toronto:The Unknown City delves into the lesser-known spaces and stories of Hogtown, offering tantalizing tidbits of local lore, offbeat facts, and surprising anecdotes that will captivate visitors and locals alike. From sealed-off public spaces to lost railways, tales of true crime to behind-the-scenes movie gossip, this book is packed with revelations. There’s also a guide to one of the world’s most eclectic dining scenes, plus celebrity stories, sports snippets, a backstage tour of the threatre and music worlds, fabulous shopping tips, and much more. Titillating and tempting, Toronto: The Unkown City lifts the veil off Canada’s largest metropolis to reveal the mysteries, marvels and monstrosities that lie beneath.
It is undoubtedly Canada’s funniest comedy. When Corner Gas came out on Canadian television six years ago, the cast of Corner Gas had no idea that their lovely show would even last one season. Located in the fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan, the show consists of a great collection of casts: Brent Leroy, the owner of the show’s infamous corner gas; his bestfriend Hank Yarbo, Dog River’s most likely candidate ‘village idiot’; Wanda Dollard, opposite Yarbo as the candidate for the town’s smartest person who coincidentally works as a clerk at corner gas; Brent’s mother Emma who often has to deal with her husband Oscar’s shortcomings (a runner up to Hank); the town’s two officers Sergeant Davis Quinton and Constable Karen Pelly; and the town’s newcomer Lacey Burrows who moved from the big city (Toronto) to re-open Ruby’s Cafe beside Corner Gas, completing an ensemble that truly promises a laugh out loud Canadian style.
Little or less is known much about the life in the Canadian Praires and having a comedy sketch in rural Saskatchewan is like a dose of a new medicine. How do people in the Prairies live their everyday lives? How crazy do they get when things aren’t as accesible around in the middle of nowhere? And what excactly is a gopher? The show uncovers a beautiful scenery of Saskatchewan and the lives of the people in a small praire town. Fictional Dog River is located in Rouleau, Saskatchewan, a once sleepy town which closest biggest city is Regina, it has gathered attraction to tourists ever since the show aired. Tourists now flock to the area to visit the site of Dog River and possibly see some of their favourite characters on set. Corner Gas definitely put Saskatchewan on the map. 
