"Anvil! The Story of Anvil" a hit film

I'd never heard of the Canadian heavy metal rock band Anvil. That was until this morning, when I was listening to my local NPR station in Seattle (KPLU) and one of the band members presented a prize on the air during the weekly Sunday Puzzle with Will Shortz.

Unfortunately, my laptop died while in the ferry line back to Whidbey Island early Sunday morning (I'd just flown in from Zurich the night before), so Googling would have to wait until I arrived home.

Anvil is in fact a heavy metal band from Toronto, and the subject of a recent documentary titled Anvil! The Story of Anvil (love the original title). Here's the opening of a recent feature in the LA Weekly about the band and the film:

A funny documentary has endlessly quotable lines. An even funnier documentary has endlessly quotable lines delivered in a Canadian accent. Sacha Gervasi’s Anvil! The Story of Anvil, a chronicle of the forgotten Maple Leaf metalers and their last-ditch effort for commercial and creative success, has given the band its second wind twice: first, as a sleeper hit that made the film-festival rounds, including Sundance, last year, and now as a nationwide release. So don’t feel too bad if you don’t know much aboot Anvil just yet.

I doubt if I'll be purchasing any of their music, but look forward to seeing the documentary. Coincidentally, it's playing just across the water from Whidbey Island in Port Townsend, at the wonderful Rose Theatre. June 5-11 at 7 PM. I may take the ferry over!

Anvil photo by Brent J. Craig

New ID requirements to enter U.S.A.

As part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), on June 1, 2009 Canadian citizens
entering the U.S. by land or water must have one of the following:

Passport;

NEXUS card;

Free and Secure Trade (FAST) card;

Enhanced driver's license or enhanced ID card from a province where a US-approved program has been implemented;

Secure certificate of Indian status (when this certificate is available and approved by the US).

Canadian citizens 15 years of age or under are only required to present proof of Canadian citizenship (an original or a photocopy of a birth certificate or a citizenship card). Canadian citizens 18 years of age or under who are traveling with a school or other organized group, under adult supervision with parental/guardian consent, may also present proof of Canadian citizenship.

US citizens traveling by land or water from Canada to the US must have a passport, passport card, state "enhanced" driver's license or a trusted traveler ID like the NEXUS card.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a video on its Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) website to show US and Canadian citizens travelers how to benefit most from their new WHTI-compliant documents.

Washington State Ferries in Anacortes, WA from Sidney, BC on Vancouver Island. Photo by Sue Frause.

Canadian author Alice Munro awarded Man Booker International Prize for 2009 ($107,190)

Canadian author Alice Munro was announced as the winner of the third Man Booker International Prize on May 27, 2009. The coveted prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language. The prize is worth 60,000 UK Pounds (approximately $107,190 CAD).

The winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel; there are no submissions from publishers. The 2009 panel included Jane Smiley (chair), Amit Chaudhuri and Andrey Kurkov. Past winners include Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe (2007) and Albanian writer Ismail Kadare (2005). The latter went on to gain worldwide recognition for his work.

The Man Booker International Prize echoes and reinforces the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction in that literary excellence will be its sole focus. It's significantly different from the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction in that it highlights one writer's overall contribution to fiction on the world stage. In seeking out literary excellence the judges consider a writer's body of work rather than a single novel.

Watching for grey whales in B.C.

"METRO VANCOUVER -- It’s hard to imagine a 30-tonne mammal existing under anyone’s radar, but that is largely the case with a dozen or so grey whales that now call the waters off Vancouver home each spring. “They’re hard to see,” confirmed John Ford, a whale scientist with the federal fisheries department. “They have no dorsal fin and don’t raise their body much out of the water. They’re hard to detect.” Ford said in an interview from his Nanaimo office that grey whales frequent the waters of the southern Strait of Georgia between March and May towards the end of their northerly migration and are evidence of a healthy population estimated to number 24,000 in the north Pacific."

Read the rest of the story, Grey whales make stealthy home in waters off Vancouver, in The Vancouver Sun.

Vancouver Whale Watch of Steveston, B.C.
Photo by Sue Frause

Reconnect with your cowgirl/cowboy at a "Couples Bootcamp" in British Columbia this autumn

British Columbia's Elkin Creek Guest Ranch has put together a fun Couples Bootcamp weekend in early autumn, Sept. 24-27, 2009. Designed to "rekindle romance, encourage teamwork and add in a taste of unexpected adventure," the unusual getaway promises to whip any hum-drum relationship back into shape.

Participants will be guided by cow boss Ian Bridge Dennis Moore and his team of wranglers at the 28,000-acre Elkin Creek Guest Ranch. Couples will participate in a program built around the authentic working ranch. Activities include learning how to saddle up; ride horses; and rope and handle livestock. All done as couples teams! When off the range, couples can choose from a number of outdoor activities such as river kayaking, canoeing, fly fishing, mountain biking, hiking, windsurfing or just cuddling up and enjoying the fresh mountain air.

The three-night package is priced at $675 USD (based on a $1.22 exchange rate) per person and includes three nights of accommodation, gourmet meals and the Elkin Creek Guest Ranch’s complete Couples Bootcamp program and activities.

Located in the Chilcotin Mountains, an eight-hour drive from Vancouver (or a one-hour flight), Elkin Creek Guest Ranch is between Chilko Lake and the Brittany Triangle (at the edge of Vedan Lake in the shadow of Mount Tatlow). This year, the ranch is open May 12-Oct. 31, 2009 and in addition to the Couples Bootcamp, they offer a variety of experiental and accommodation packages.

Cowgirl boots in Oklahoma
Photo by Sue Frause

All hail, Caesar! Canadian drink turns 40

Forty years ago, bartender Walter Chell at the Owl’s Nest Bar in the Calgary Inn (now The Westin Calgary) invented the Caesar cocktail. The concoction celebrated the opening of a new restaurant called Marco’s.

The original Caesar cocktail recipe was similar to the Bloody Mary cocktail, with one major exception – clam juice was used instead of tomato sauce. A traditional Bloody Mary is made with tomato juice, vodka, tabasco sauce, worcestershire sauce, lime juice and seasonings. It's served in a salt-rimmed glass and garnished with a celery stick and lime wedge. Walter Chell changed the Bloody Mary cocktail into a Caesar with the addition of mashed clams blended into the tomato juice. South of the border in the U.S., a cocktail that's very similar to the Caesar is called a Clamdigger. Both recipes use tabasco sauce as a main ingredient.

Over the years, the Caesar cocktail has remained Canada’s top selling alcoholic cocktail beverage. It's been estimated that more than 250 million Caesars are sold each year in Canada. It's also known as a Bloody Caesar, Canadian Caesar or Salted Caesar.

No, it's not a Caesar, but a Bloody Mary in Key West, Florida. Photo by Sue Frause.

Make a big splash in Vancouver's first salt-water, heated outdoor hotel swimming pool

Pan Pacific hotels are among my preferred places to book a night or two, and the setting of the Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel is one of the most stunning.

Overlooking Vancouver’s Harbour, its views include the North Shore Mountains in the distance and the cruise ship terminal below. The hotel's outdoor pool and terrace also enjoy the same views, making it a popular spot with guests over the years.

With warmer weather (hopefully!) headed our way, it's time to soak up some sun. The Pan Pacific's newly renovated pool has reopened as Vancouver’s only salt-water, heated outdoor hotel swimming pool. Located on the eighth floor, the terrace also includes a Jacuzzi and saunas and offers bar and pool-side dining service.

The benefits of salt water pools include less irritation to the eyes and smoother skin. According to Pan Pacific hotel manager Stephen Peters, they switched to salt water "because it is refreshing, clean, healthy and less toxic to the environment."

To celebrate the opening of the new salt-water pool, Pan Pacific Vancouver is offering BC residents a special package from May 1-September 30, 2009. Summer in the City, Fun For the Whole Family rates start at $244 CAD per night.

Everybody in the pool!

And the winner in British Columbia is ...

Gordon Campbell in Nanaimo, BC (2007)
Click on his name for election results
Photo by Sue Frause

Villa Marco Polo Inn - Victoria, BC

The award-winning inn is located in the Rockland area.

The 1923 built home features four suites and a spa.

Alexandria, Persia, Silk Road, Zanzibar. Which suite??

The Persia Suite's exotic garden-like tub room.

Suites include flowers, robes and chocolates.

Breakast in this sunny room or the dining room.

Enjoy the reflection pool, fountain and statuary.

Villa Marco Polo Inn
1524 Shasta Place, Victoria (Vancouver Island)
250-370-1524
Photographs by Sue Frause

Dutch Royal Family in Vancouver May 9, 2009

Members of the Dutch Royal Family will be Guests of Honour at the Vancouver Art Gallery for the opening of the most significant collection of 17th century Dutch art ever presented in Canada. Their Highnesses Princess Marilène and Prince Maurits van Oranje-Nassau, van Vollenhoven will formally open the exhibition Vermeer, Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art: Masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum at the Dutch Masters Ball on May 9, 2009.

Princess Marilène and Prince Maurits are part of the "new generation" of young Dutch Royals who pursue careers and only rarely represent the Royal House in an official capacity. The couple married in 1998 and have three children. There is a Canadian connection, too: Prince Maurits is the eldest son of Princess Margriet, who was born in Canada. In 1945, Queen Juliana sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada in appreciation for Canada’s wartime hospitality and in gratitude for the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers in the liberation of the Netherlands. The Netherlands continues to send tulip bulbs to Ottawa to commemorate the nation’s close bonds with Canada.

The Dutch Masters Ball will begin with a champagne reception and official exhibition opening ceremonies. Following a special toast to the Royal Couple, guests will enjoy a formal dinner, live music by The New Dutch Academy from The Hague, a limited auction of luxury items, and dancing to the sounds of Vancouver’s own Dal Richards.

The exhibition opens to the public on May 10 and runs through Sept. 13, 2009. It features 128 works of art, including some of the finest paintings by celebrated masters such as Hals, Rembrandt and Vermeer. There is also a selection of drawings and decorative arts.

The Rijksmusem Amsterdam
Photo by Arie de Leeuw

Mine The Bird: Kentucky Derby winner

Globe and Mail, May 2, 2009 - 9:40 PM EDT:

After Mine The Bird splashed to an unlikely longshot victory in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, the phones of two Torontonians began to ring off the hook. Woodbine horseman Dave Cotey, who picked out Mine That Bird as a yearling two years ago and bought him for $9,500 (U.S.), lost his voice after seeing the race, but still managed to field a flood of calls on his cell phone after the race. And anybody who called co-breeder Peter Lamantia of Toronto was greeted with a loud cheer: "Home of the Kentucky Derby winner!"

Click here to read the rest of the story.

A shore bird off Willis Island in the Broken Group Islands, BC during a Blue Planet Kayaking adventure in 2008. Photo by Sue Frause.

Window on Canada: London Heritage Farm

Tea at London Heritage Farm in Steveston, BC
Photos by Sue Frause