Day 380 - Film Roll B & Cesar Millan

It's amazing what a bit more sleep can do for one's constitution! I felt so much better! Thank you! Today was our second marathon day of films, although we were leaving early to head home. To go to another show! Well, at least I was!

Our films started at 0900 again & we were in the big theatre. We headed out just past 0830 to make sure we got a good seat. Luckily we also got a good parking spot! Our film roll went as follows:
1. Rush Hour Dream - 5 minutes long. This was the first film made by the Latin American/German fellow. He is a businessman who falls asleep on the train to work & wakes up in a dream on top of a mountain with a paraglide getup inside his briefcase. So he paraglides down to work. Very cool!
2. Last Paradise - 37 minutes long. This was another of my favourites. Mr. Neeson was the film maker, from New Zealand, and his film told us about the birth of adventure sports in New Zealand. We traveled back in time to when these adventurers were much younger & how they came to be today. We saw AJ Hackett, the inventor of the bungee jump, and the footage of him illegally jumping off the Eiffel Tower (!). We saw kitesurfing, surfing with jet skis & jet boats... It was a fantastic film! We saw Mr. Neeson on the street later today & I wanted to compliment him on his wonderful film, but he seemed to be in a rush. Next time.
3. L'eau Qui Fait Tourner La Roue - 19 minutes long. This film showed us the story of an old man who runs a sawmill, as well as his electricity from the energy of the stream that runs through his farm. He had quite a sense of humour & although he moved a little slower in his old age, he still spent his days working in the sawmill. It was quite interesting to say the least.
4. Treasure of the Lisu - 30 minutes long. Taking place in rural China, we were told the story of a Grandfather who makes a traditional stringed instrument by hand. He wants to pass the tradition along to his children & grandchildren, but they have little interest in learning. It was a very educational film, but also quite sad, as I feel regret in not learning the crafts my Granny used to do - knit, crochet, baking 'her' dishes, sewing, canning... all those things Grannys do so well!
5. Living The Dream - 3 minutes long. A super short film about a die-hard rock climber. He lives very 'basic' & takes us on a journey of the moment he wakes up to the moment he climbs. This includes trying to start his old car, it failing, and then he skateboards with his dog to the climbing spot. Cute film.
6. A Cry From The Top Of The World - 46 minutes long. Certainly not a feel good flick. We were told the tragic story of the climbers who perished on K2 in 2008. The events that would turn into warning signs that were dismissed & the 11 people who lost their lives. Bone chilling & petrifying, this wasn't a favourite, but nonetheless, a story well worth telling. Still makes me shudder.

We took a break for lunch at this point. I'm glad, as that last film was pretty crazy. I used to want to climb Everest one day. But after that, I'm over it. I'll respect the mountain from base camp. Thanks. We met Karen & her friends, Carmen & Wayne, & had lunch at Magpie & Stump. We had just ate there two days ago, but Karen had her heart set on Mexican cuisine. Fine by me, I enjoy it! Jaco doesn't eat lunch, so he was even easier to please! We talked about our favourite films & why or why not, along with a wide variety of other topics. Such as - grocery shopping & the attitudes of shoppers, cat skiing safety & safety inductions, cruise ships, snowboarding, old cars... It was a great way to spend lunch! We nearly missed our afternoon films from all the talking! We raced back to the theatre & managed to catch the films just in time. Here's what we watched:
7. Salt - 28 minutes long. No, it's not about Angelina Jolie. It's about a photographer who ventures to Lake Eyre in Australia. He spends several months camping on this lake. The imagery is fabulous. Beautiful skies - both day & night, humour & plenty of solitude, this was another favourite. The simplicity & the beauty of pretty much nothing - I was happy to have experienced Salt.
8. Daredevils: The Human Bird - 48 minutes long. This was the last film we watched before leaving Banff. We missed 3 films. This film is one of 4 in a series on humans who do crazy things. You can google or YouTube for The Human Spider, The Ice Man & Skywalker. The Human Bird was about a young 30-something fellow who does Proximity Wingsuit Flying. What's that? Think of a flying squirrel or a basejumper. Either one is pretty crazy! This guy jumps out of a helicopter & 'flys' down the side of the Matterhorn. Yeah, the one in Switzerland. He flies within 5 feet of the surface of the mountain. It's crazy & not for the faint of heart. Yeesh.

On that adrenaline rush of a note, we left for home. I had a ticket to Cesar Millan tonight. Jaco wanted to accompany me, but the tickets were double the price & he didn't want to pay that much. I had an early-bird discount. (The only time I'm early - when I can get a good deal!) I also thought he was flying home today, so I would have taken him to the airport & then left for the show. But now he's staying longer! (YAY!) So, off I went to the city.

I didn't sit where my ticket stated, as I was late (!) & the show had just started. I managed to sit in a better seat, with the row all to myself. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! Cesar was hilarious! I had n idea he was so funny! I was in stitches for the better part of the night! He did a great job imitating dogs, puppies & their crazy owners. Of course, I learned a fair bit too, so that was great! I've got a long ways to go to get my girls in order! Oh well. One day at a time!

He had several local people bring their dogs on stage & explain what the issue was. In a matter of mere minutes, he had a dog that was obsessed with food lie down next to 3 plates with steak, chicken & salmon & IGNORE the plates! He also had a dog obsessed with dog toys (balls) (Hello Valentina!) & in a few more mere minutes he was able to put the ball between the dogs legs & lay a 'chuckit' across the dogs legs. The dog just looked around & could have cared less! Amazing!!!

I was pretty pooped by the time I got home, what a weekend! Here's to a good night's rest & a relaxing day tomorrow! Sleep well!

xxxxMJV&O

 Explaining how to get your puppy started on the right paw!

Food obsession 

 Ignoring temptations!

Getting over the toy obsession