BT Edmonton Blogs

Quit Grousing!

Many people have cabins tucked away in the woods far from telephones, traffic and tension.    Mick & Candy have an escape about as far north as you can go in Alberta:  ”Check out this Spruce Grouse that was hanging out near our cabin on North Leland Lake“.    I wonder if it was the red comb over her eye that caught Mick and Candy’s eye.

DID YOU KNOW?    The Spruce Grouse is a large chicken-like bird.    The male has mostly black feathers – leading me to believe that this is a Ms. Spruce Grouse (say THAT 5 times fast).    And here’s something really cool:  to help them walk in the snow they grow “snow shoes” in the fall.    They are short extensions that increase the surface area of their toes.    They shed their little ’shoes’ in the spring.    As you can see – they have camouflage down to a fine art.    When they sense danger – they can stay incredibly still for a lonnnng time, and then all of a sudden take off!    That behavior has earned them the nickname “fool hen”.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spruce_Grouse/id/ac

SPEND A LITTLE QUIET TIME IN THOSE GREAT OUTDOORS WHERE THE ONLY SOUND IS OF THE BREEZE, THE CRICKETS, AND MAYBE YOUR SHUTTER AS YOU CAPTURE OUR NEXT FRESH AIR PHOTO.    UPLOAD YOURS TODAY!

We are one step closer to knowing who will take home Oscar hardware late next month. The 84th annual Oscar nominations were announced early Tuesday morning.

This year brings a key change in the Oscar rules: a shift in the voting structure allows for the number of best picture nominees to vary between five and 10.

On that note, nine films were nominated for Best Picture:
War Horse
The Artist
Moneyball
The Descendants
Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo (which leads with 11 nominations)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

 Best Actress nominees:
Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
Viola Davis (The Help)
Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Merryl Streep (The Iron Lady. Not that movie was not nominated for Best Picture.)
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)

Best actor nominees:
Demian Bachir (A Better Life)
George Clooney (The Descendants)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Best supporting actress:
Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Best supporting actor
Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)
Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Nick Nolte (Warrior)
Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)

Best original screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
Midnight in Paris
A Separation

Best adapted screenplay
The Descendants
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best foreign language film
Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsieur Lazhar
A Separation

Best animated feature
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

M-u-s-t get in to the feeder!!!

Those of you who have bird feeders in the backyard might grumble a bit when the furry fiends start stealing seeds.    Paul witnessed a bit of a crime himself:  ”While at Hawrelak Park in early January, I took a cool photo of a little bandit trying to break in to the bird food”.    Most times squirrels are a welcome addition to your backyard, but not when they scare or chase birds away from their birdy-buffet.    One expert tells me to feed the birds suet blocks and safflower seeds because squirrels don’t eat either.    Below, I have included some things you should not do (but might be tempted to do) – when it comes to repelling the little rodents.

DID YOU KNOW?    DO NOT:

•Hunt:  Shooting squirrels is illegal in many areas, and you might injure birds when aiming for squirrels.
•Poison:  Poisoning seed or setting poisoned bait for squirrels could kill birds(& other creatures) that sample the bait.
•Cats:  Do not release a cat to hunt squirrels.  The cats are as much of a threat to the neighbourhood birds as they are to your feeder guests.
•Grease:  Adding grease to a pole or hanger to make it too slippery is ineffective.  It can also coat the animals’ (& birds’ feathers)–causing illness and vulnerability to predators.

For more info click here:  http://birding.about.com/od/birdfeeders/a/squirrelprooffeeder.htm

“30 Rock” star Tracy Morgan was rushed to hospital after falling unconscious at the Sundance Film Festival.

Morgan seemed disoriented when he received an award at the Creative Coalition Spotlight Awards in Utah. According to TMZ, he was escorted out of the building a short time later, where he fell unconscious.

The comedian was rushed by ambulance to the Park City Medical Center. While a spokesperson for the hospital said that no drugs or alcohol were found in his system, “unnamed sources” (according to the Hollywood Reporter) say he was out of control “yelling and falling”.

Morgan has diabetes and received a kidney transplant two years ago. His publicist denied that Morgan — a recovering alcoholic who was arrested twice for driving under the influence in 2005 and 2006 — appeared intoxicated at the festival. He released a statement explaining, “from a combination of exhaustion and altitude, Tracy is seeking medical attention … He is with his fiancée and grateful to the Park City Medical Center for their care. Any reports of Tracy consuming alcohol are 100 percent false.”

Morgan’s was with co-stars  Jesse Eisenberg and Melissa Leo at Sundance for the screening of their flick ”Predisposed”.

Arctic Fox

Rick lives on the shore of the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyaktuk.    He writes:  “Wild life?   A few years ago this would be a rare sighting from a distance.  These days while walking the streets of our town you can get within a few feet of a red fox.    I was about 4 feet away when I took his picture”.

DID YOU KNOW?    A female fox is called a Vixen.    A male fox is called a Reynard, a Dog or Tod.    Babies are Cubs, Pups, or Kits.    A group of foxes is called a Leash, Skulk, or Troop.    Most foxes hunt alone and hunt mostly at night.    As you can see with its pretty and warm, fluffy, long coat – the Red Fox is popular with the fur industry, and has been since the 1830s.    The red fox has a long body and relatively short limbs.    Its tail is longer than half its body length and when standing, the tail touches the ground.    Typical colouring of the red fox is evident in the photo that Rick took in Tuk — its chin, throat and chest are white and paws -black.

SEEN ANY CRITTERS LATELY?    CAMERA CAPTURE ONE – OR OF A SCENE SHOWCASING MOTHER NATURE, AND WE WILL AIR IT ON BT AND PRESENT IT ON THIS VERY BLOG.    OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY!

Sunrise of serenity

This scene must have stopped Christeena in her tracks.    There are many reasons I love watching the sky as the sun rises.    The colours can be vibrant and bright or blended with the prettiest of pastels.    And the sky has such incredible dimension!    Christeena shows us some tricks of the photography-trade by including all the important elements without overdoing a single one.

DID YOU KNOW?    I was doing a little search – looking for advice on how to take better winter pictures.    The number one suggestion that came up again and again was to find an object “other than the sun” to use.    An object can be a tree or a silhouette of a person .. something that adds value to the photo and attracts the eye.    And if you are brave enough, brave the elements!    Jack Frost paints a pretty picture of his own – it’s up to you to capture it on camera.      http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunset-sunrise-photography.html    

YOUR ASSIGNMENT, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT IS TO FOCUS .. ON ANYTHING THAT MOTHER NATURE OR OLD MAN WINTER MAY HAVE CREATED.    UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO TODAY, SEE IT ON BT AND THIS BLOG – TOMORROW!

Alberta

I have seen this vista myself north of Airdrie, and I love Rod’s story about how he drove by many times and was one day inspired to stop:  ”This was taken one March morning when we were travelling from Red Deer to Calgary.   I had passed the exact same area earlier in the fall.   At that time there was a farmer out combining the field, the mountains were in perfect contrast, and the gas plant was also in the picture.   I thought; what a perfect postcard for Alberta’s main industries, but at that time I did not have my camera.   Since then, I have travelled QE 2 many times - looking for that “perfect shot” again, but this was the closest I have come”.

DID YOU KNOW?    When you think of the discovery of oil in Alberta, you might think “Leduc” back in 1947.    But around 1910, an Okotoks farmer named William Stewart Herron discovered gas at Turner Valley, southwest of Calgary.    And then in the early 1930s, oil was uncovered beneath the field’s gas wells.    In 1923 and 1939 international oil companies Imperial Oil and British American Oil built refineries in Calgary.

IT MAY TAKE A WHILE TO SINK IN, BUT ONCE IT DOES WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO GRAB THE CAMER AND SEIZE THE MOMENT!    ON OUR MAIN WEBPAGE CLICK ON ‘CONNECT WITH BT’.    UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO AND PREPARED TO AMAZE YOUR FRIENDS, RELATIVES, AND VIEWERS OF BT.