Archive for the Category ◊ Videoclips ◊

25 Jun 2009 Juice Whistle
Author: Gail |  Category: Europe, Videoclips  | 2 Comments

My host in Bratislava, Matej, playing the “juice whistle”. He says there are a million names for this instrument, but this is what he came up with for English.

Right now Matej is somewhere along the Trans-Siberian Railway! Last week I was on a mission in Vienna to find him the latest edition of Lonely Planet’s guide for the Trans-Siberian Railway because it’s cheaper than buying it in Bratislava. (It took some pavement-pounding on Tuesday, but in the end it was mission accomplished!) A couple of days before I went to see Matej, his visa for Russia was approved and he was planning to set off on his trip two days later, but thankfully (for me) it was postponed because otherwise I might not have seen him at all. Matej took some time to bake me a birthday cake (I’ll upload that photo along with the rest of the birthday food pics — of which there are MANY) and he even made me dinner! What a guy! I’m excited for him, he’ll be travelling for two months with a tent and staying in rural villages along the way. As much as I enjoy modern tech gadgetry, Matej’s journey is the one I’d choose if I had two months.

24 Jun 2009 St. Peter’s Square & Basilica (video)
Author: Gail |  Category: Europe, Videoclips  | Leave a Comment

Still going through the photo collections, so here’s some video for now:

12 Jun 2009 The Carillon Tour Preview
Author: Gail |  Category: Music, Out + About, Videoclips  | Leave a Comment

I’m posting this on the run, so the full photo album will be added later.

Last night I was lucky enough to tour the Metropolitan United Church’s carillon, courtesy of their carillonneur, Gerald Martindale.

www.metunited.org/node/14
www.metunited.org/node/468

The staircase is NOT for claustrophobics!

the staircase is NOT for claustrophobics!

The Metropolitan United Church of Toronto has the largest pipe organ in Canada:

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More photos tomorrow, after I recover from Relay For Life!

08 Jun 2009 If I Were The Pope I Would’ve Kissed The Ground
Author: Gail |  Category: Aviation, Flying, USA, Videoclips  | One Comment

Sunday, May 31

It wasn’t windy when we left Cherry Ridge Airport, but after returning from a stop at Mount Pocono Municipal Airport the winds picked up tremendously and we were landing in a crosswind. (Look at the windsock with 11 seconds to go.)

Our first attempt at landing turned into a touch-and-go and this was the second attempt. If this was a couple of years ago, Alan wouldn’t have attempted it, but he’s come a long way as a pilot and I had every confidence in him that we’d land safely. David would’ve been so pleased! (They flew a lot together in Civil Air Patrol.)

When we taxied by the airport, there was a line of pilots cheering — it was pretty funny. Rick said the people in the airport gave Alan a standing ovation!

01 Jun 2009 This Woke Me Up
Author: Gail |  Category: Videoclips, Volunteering/Charity, Working Life  | 2 Comments

I arrived home from the weekend in Pennsylvania at 09:00 after driving since 01:00 and — miraculously — made it to AND through my very first working day at The Firm. If I can remember 10% of the people I was introduced to it will be an even bigger miracle. I felt fine until I got on the streetcar to go home, then I was ready to keel over!

Until I watched this video on my iPod, that is… WOW. A few years ago I went on a binge of watching BASE jumping videos but had to stop because it was too addicting. Not that I wanted to BASE jump, but it was fascinating to watch video after video of thrill-seekers hurtling to the ground.

After a much-needed snooze I plan to tackle my bloated email inbox, languishing after days of scarce internet access. I have so many people to thank for sponsoring me in Relay For Life; I’m blown away by the generosity shown by my friends!

25 May 2009 Music Monday: Monday Monday
Author: Gail |  Category: Music, Videoclips  | Tags:  | Leave a Comment

Because I have more than 700 photos and umpteen videos to process from the weekend, which I’m still recovering from, PLUS a bizarre day today — most of which was spent observing the judicial processes in Ontario provincial court — I will leave you with a video of the Mamas & The Papas from 1966 singing their ode to Mondays.

How was YOUR Monday?

24 May 2009 Carassauga 2009: Dance Videos
Author: Gail |  Category: Culture + Society, Videoclips  | Leave a Comment

I’ve uploaded a few dance videos, now I’m going to pass out from a busy Saturday. I can’t remember how many venues we went to, but there are many stamps in our festival passports and a stack of videos from the performances we attended. Here’s a selection:

From Poland, we have a gypsy dance:

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14 May 2009 Flying Air New Zealand Anytime Soon?
Author: Gail |  Category: Consumer, Raconteurism, Travel, Videoclips  | One Comment

Cheeky! via Tripso

One of the best flights I’ve ever had was on Air New Zealand. It was Christmas Day, and I was flying Sydney to Auckland. I’d had a really stressful time at the airport (thanks to Australian Immigration in Cairns a few days before, a story for another day), but the four-hour flight to Auckland made up for it.

It was Christmas, so the plane was decorated like a Christmas tree on the inside, the flight attendants wore earrings like ornaments, the pilots were dressed like Santa Claus, the menu was top-notch (New Zealand lamb), and I sat next to Russell Crowe’s mate from school, which made for interesting in-flight conversation. (Crowe hadn’t broken into the U.S. film scene yet, but I’d seen “Romper Stomper” in Australia and I knew who he was.)

Partway through the flight, a bunch of Japanese passengers decided to play card games, which became so heated — cash and coins flying through the air! — the flight attendants had to make everyone sit down again because it was making the plane unstable.

It was after that flight that I decided Christmas Day is a great day to fly ;) Other Christmas flights since then included Vancouver-Amsterdam, Vancouver-London, and Vancouver-Chicago, but thus far none have topped the one on Air NZ.

10 May 2009 Tamil Protest Video: Toronto, May 10
Author: Gail |  Category: Culture + Society, Politics + Economy, Urban Life, Videoclips  | Leave a Comment

via Torontoist on Twitter

When I was driving home later than usual from The Brides’ Project, I had to continue along Lakeshore because the police had blocked off the ramp to the Gardiner Expressway. Now I know why.

Check out the full Torontoist article or the Toronto Star for more photos and information.

10 May 2009 Happy Birthday Natalia!
Author: Gail |  Category: Friends, Videoclips  | 3 Comments

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I’m so glad Natalia had a birthday party on Saturday night, because I unexpectedly spent most of this weekend volunteering, and having a celebratory break in the middle was very welcome! In fact, I think I’m still recovering a bit from it… (more…)

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