Free Arts and Culture Events

Did you know that there are many free art and culture events happening this weekend? I suspect you didn't because I only found out from Collective (Gulp) and didn't see it any of my other email and RSS listing subscriptions.

It's all part of Culture Days and it's happening across Canada. There will be performances and exhibitions as well as participatory and learning opportunities. In Ottawa, heavy hitters like the NAC and Arts Court are involved.

This is a link for a search page that lets you look for events by region and category.

This is a link for the Ottawa results.

Spooky Stuff at Value Village

As part of an excellent suburban adventure yesterday, we went to the Bank Street Value Village. I bought a toy guitar and took some pictures.

Is it just me or does Hallowe'en start earlier every year?

A Paper Towel Mystery

At my workplace there are two places you find paper towel. The washrooms and the kitchenettes. In both places they use the exact same paper towel, but in different dispensers. I'm not mystified that they use different dispensers, but there is a fundamental difference between them that I do not understand.

The kitchenette dispenser:

The men's room dispenser:

Do you see what I'm talking about? The washroom paper towel dispenser has a lock on it.

Why does the washroom paper towel need protection, while the kitchenette paper towel doesn't?

Uses for Binder Clips - Showing your Canada Day Patriotic Fervour

Explaining Roller Derby

If you are a serious fan of this blog, you may have noticed over in the sidebar, in David's shared Google Reader items, the announcement that there is big Ottawa roller derby action this Saturday night at the Sandy Hill Arena.

If Manon and I didn't have a previous commitment, we'd be going. We are serious fans.

I even have a rudimentary understanding of how the sport works and if you are in a restaurant with me, I will be happy to explain it to you using water glasses to represent the pack and salt and pepper shakers to represent the jammers.

If you do not have a chance to dine with me before you go to the roller derby, you might want to try this 2 minute video.

There are some questions I hope to learn the answers to before or during my next roller derby:

• Why would a jammer whose team has a commanding lead end a jam before the two minutes are up?
• Does a jam end if the other jammer passes the lead jammer?
• What's the deal when a jammer gives her star helmet cover to a blocker?

A clematis grows on Lebreton Street

When I bought my house in February 1993, one of the things that I liked about it was that it had virtually no yard so I wouldn't have to do a lot of yard work.

In the spring, after the snow melted and leaves came out, I discovered that I had several flower beds, an apple tree, a cherry tree, two grape vines and several other trees. Over the years, I've left the trees pretty much alone and put in a few flowering perennials.

Along the fence, I thought it would be great to have irises and clematis. The irises worked out very well. But every time I shelled out for a clematis it would go up a few inches and then die. I tried four or five times before deciding that my soil's not deep enough or it's just not right for clematis.

But now Manon gardens here and look what has reached the top of the fence:

Propeller Dance - Shedding Light - Friday and Saturday

Tell your friends and buy your tickets to Shedding Light, Propeller Dance's annual performance showcase and silent auction.

Last year's Lift sold out and was named the best dance performance in Ottawa by Ottawa Xpress. Shedding Light

Friday, June 11 and Saturday, June 12th; 7:30pm

Arts Court Theatre, 2 Daly Ave, Ottawa ON

Tickets - $25 (Students or Low Income - $15) Box Office - 613-564-7240 info@artscourt.ca (2 Daly Ave, Ottawa, ON )

Silent Auction - doors at 6:30pm; payment by cash or cheque only