BT Edmonton Blogs

Anvil cloud!

This would have been a little un-nerving!  Mim and some friends were near Devon on August 21st when they noticed the ominous clouds that began building higher and higher in the sky.   Mim says about 45 minutes later there was a nice straight rain.   What they did not know until later:  A Tornado Watch had been issued.     Can you see the anvil shape (the flat top) in that cloud?    BTW, that is a cumulonimbus cloud.   It “can” cause a tornado.

DID YOU KNOW?     These clouds typically form at about 4 kilometres up.   And check out how high it can tower:  the typical height is 6 kilometers — but the big nasty, dangerous ones can be 23 kilometres tall!   Yikes.

HERE’S A CHALLENGE FOR YOU.   BE WEATHER WISE AND CAMERA READY!   UPLOAD YOUR FRESH AIR PHOTO TODAY.    YOUR PIC WILL BE FEATURED ON THIS BLOG, AND AIR ON BT DURING OUR “PRIME TIME” — THAT’S AT 7:10 IN THE MORNING.

Okay. So some would say it’s mean and down right awful to scare the pants off people as a mascot…but let me promise you – this mascot gets whats coming to him in the end! I laughed pretty darn hard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnR0wFmAbTY

Canal Flats, BC

The August long weekend was a great one for Danielle, and she has sent us just one awesome image from BC!   This is Canal Flats in the East Kootenays.   After a few minutes, the horses wandered over and had a visit – allowing the humans to pet them.   Nice!    Canal Flats is located just off Highway 93/95 at the southern end of Columbia Lake in the Kootenay River Valley, between Skookumchuk and Fairmont Hot Springs.

DID YOU KNOW?    Wayyyyy back in 1808,…Canal Flats was originally named McGillivray’s Portage by David Thompson.    Fast forward 81 years ((1889 .. I’ll do the math for you)),…that;s when a canal was finished that connected Columbia Lake with the nearby Kootenay River.    And then in 1913 ((24 years later math whiz! )) – the name Canal Flats was officially given to the post office.

DID YOU KNOW?   I am waiting for YOUR photo.   A sunrise, sunset, leaf, tree, rain, rainbow, animal framed in the afternoon sun,….your husband framed in the afternoon sun …  NO WAIT, on second thought .. YOU can keep THAT one.   UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO TODAY!!!

This is me.

Last year.

Hanging out.

Eeeeek!!!

And this is me a few years back…

the photo a tad bigger….

Hopefully – you get the idea….

Eeeeeek!!

And all to support the Easter Seals!

It’s SEE Magazine’s Paul Matwychuk’s last day in studio to review the Fringe. Today he chats about Victor & Victoria’s Terrifying Tale of Terrible Things and Afterlife.

Kootenay Lake

Have you ever been to Nelson, BC?   This is the view of Kootenay Lake from the edge of downtown.   Simon was at this very spot on the May Long weekend – a trip he made from Alberta on his motorcycle.   Kootenay Lake is the largest natural lake in southern British Columbia .. cradled within the Selkirk Mountains and bordered by the Purcells to the east.   The city of Nelson is as beautiful as it is historic!   Folks there have restored 350 heritage homes and office buildings, making Nelson is one of the finest Heritage cities in Canada.   Scenes in the movie Roxanne were shot at the beautifully restored Nelson Fire Hall.

DID YOU KNOW?   Kootenay Lake bears a vague resemblance to a bow and arrow with the 100-kilometer-long Main Lake being the bow, and the 30-kilometer-long West Arm being the arrow.

DID YOU KNOW THAT I NEED ‘YOUR’ PHOTO?   FRESH AIR PHOTOS AIR ON BT EVERY MORNING AT 7:10.   AND, AS YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY REALIZED,…THEY ALSO EARN THEIR OWN BADGE OF HONOUR BY APPEARING RIGHT HERE ON THIS BLOG.

West Coast charm

Wowszah!   Welcome to beautiful British Columbia.   And how wonderful is it  that Mary-Lou and her husband Garry were thinking of us when they were !!    This island of tranquility is actually Hornby Island.   From Nanaimo go north, take a ferry and you are in north west rainforest and magnificent warm water.   As soon as I saw this photo, I was clicking on the website looking for camping spots.   The island is very popular, and at times, experiences water shortages.   Read all about it!   http://www.hornbyisland.com/

INVITE US ALONG ON YOUR HOLIDAY!  ..OR NOT.    BUT WE WOULD BE JUST AS HAPPY TO SEE PICTURES – ANYTHING SHOWING MOTHER NATURE OR HER CREATURES WILL DO.   UPLOAD YOURS TODAY!

When I was a kid – I loved going down the slide (psst … I still do!).   Seems a certain software giant understands the love of the slide — for kids of all ages.  This is the latest video making its rounds that conjures up the phrases:  “don’t try this at home”  .. AND ..  “No way – is that REAL??” 

See for yourself — and then watch the other clip I have provided.   I hate to burst your bubble, but ….

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwh4ZaxHIA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Etvsquad%2Ecom%2F2009%2F08%2F11%2Fmicrosofts%2Dslide%2Dad%2Dreal%2Dor%2Dfake%2F&feature=player_embedded

Below is a link to an interview with Lance Ulanoff.   He is former editor of PCMag.com and now writes an award winning column for the website.

http://www.breitbart.tv/so-how-did-they-fake-megawhoosh-slide-jump-video/

Send me any weird wacky or wild videos — I’ll get to the bottom of it!

You’ve still got the weekend to take in those last few Fringe productions you’ve been hearing about. Here’s what I thought about the last few I had a chance to see…

The Skinny Presents…Adventures in X-Ray Theatre! (Stage 3 – Acacia Hall) — Absolutely hilarious. This is the stage version of channel surfing through the last 30 years of pop culture. The Vancouver-based trio of Jackie Blackmore, Michael John Unger and Darren Williams take on everything from Star Wars to Metallica in an irreverent, twisted, audience-gripping hour. These are the type of actors you’d love to take for a beer after the show, as you get the feeling they’re probably just as funny (and random) off the cuff. If you’re at all intrigued at how nipple tassles tie in to A Space Odyssey, do not miss this show. Adventures in X-Ray Theatre! gets 5 Fringe green onion cakes out of 5!

Support Ho’s (Stage 9 – Telus Building) — Edmonton-based Northern Sabbatical Productions presents this new comedy centred around a weekly breakfast meeting between four friends. Well technically three friends, as the plot develops around one “Ho’s” decision to forego those Friday breakfasts in light of a new opportunity. The hour-long production has the feel of a British sitcom, and manages to keep a solid pace with cleverly-written dialogue and effective one-liners from well-developed characters. Just a heads up – I may have been the youngest member of the audience (and one of about five dudes). Along those same lines – TURN YOUR CELL PHONES OFF, PEOPLE! The cast was more than gracious (and totally professional) as cell phones interrupted them at THREE different points! Support Ho’s gets 4 Fringe Mexican burritos out of 5.

pornStar (Stage 7 – Yardbird Suite) — It takes guts…and so-called “chops”…to pull off an entire hour-long performance by yourself with nothing more than a table and telephone receiver as props. That’s exactly what Winnipeg-based Anne Wyman does, playing several different roles as she develops the story of a right wing-reared librarian who finds herself the star of an unauthorized sex tape. pornStar takes on sex (big surprise) and sexuality, religion, politics and death. Wyman does an admirable job jumping back and forth between characters, but I couldn’t help feeling like pornStar tries to tackle too many topics without delving deep enough into any. pornStar gets 3 Fringe Funky Pickle slices out of 5.

Happy Fringing!

rpj.

We’ve been looking forward to it for weeks – the big day where one lucky BT viewer would win the keys to a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab for a year, courtesy of Sherwood Park Dodge. Thursday, I had a chance to “swap sneakers” with Bridget Ryan and head out on remote.

You can click on the video link below to see Don Davis’ reaction when his CD (drawn at random) told him the truck was his. Of course, I’m excited for Don. But I’ve got to admit – the real rush for me came when the dealership’s owner Scott Held handed me the keys to a brand new Viper! We never left the parking lot, I never got it out of first gear – still, I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos.

Keep it locked to BT weekday mornings from 6-10am. You never know when it’ll be YOUR chance to win!

rpj.