Heart Mountain

I woke up at 05:00 AM this morning as I had set the watch alarm last night. I really didn't feel like going but then I thought if I do not, I will regret that later. So I grabbed my stuff and sneaked out as I didn't want to wake The Lady. I got out and that was when I realized I had forgotten the damn sunglasses but i could not go back for obvious reasons! 

Anyways my destination today was Heart Mountain where I had two failed attempts earlier due to the weather condition (Look here and here if you think that might help you to have a better hike). I was in the parking lot early and of course the first one. By almost 06:28 AM I had already started walking. It was a bit chilly in the beginning and I was trying to remember the previous hikes by looking for the signs but the last two time I was here everything was white and now green! 

I passed the two spots that I had reached in the previous two failed attempted and the path got really strenuous and that was when I thought hiking this mountain in winter, especially the last winter is stupid and very dangerous particularly if it is a solo hike and that was what I had done!

I saw plenty of these beautiful blue flowers in my hike today but was not able to take a better shot

No one was ahead of me but the footprints and other signs made it very easy to just follow the trail. I was up at the end where there was a small cairn had been built at about 08:20 AM. The view to the north where you can see Bow Valley and everything is amazing but the south side of the mountain leads to a path which goes down and then ends up about 500 m. away from where I was at but I didn't take that. I spent around 15 min. to discover everything, rest a bit and take a few photos and then headed down. 

I started seeing people coming up after a few minutes. By the time I was back to the parking lot around 10:10 AM. it was already full and there are many EARLY BIRDS who wanted to use the best of this beautiful Alberta day and hike Heart Mountain or maybe take the creek. 

Overall it was a good hike and I enjoyed that but it also made me very tired. It is either because I'm getting old or maybe lack of enough hikes is the cause of it. This actually was the first descent in 2014 which I could go all the way up and finish it. My knees are hurting a lot now, when I try to stand up and also when I was descending. I'm hoping it goes away by resting.

(Photo: View from the top of Heart Mountain which looks at Lac Des Arcs and town of Canmore in the back. Compare it to the last hike's photo. It shows the elevation difference)

Workplace Stories (14): The Certificate

It had been a very long time that I wanted to do this course and eventually one day I talked to the Screamer and explained to him the reason why I wanted to do that. I told the Repulsive Turd that there was this Continuing Professional Development which was mandatory through APEGA and he kind of bought that but said that the company would not approve of that. However he said I might want to talk to H. R. I got in touch with the H. R. lady and she said that she would have to talk to the Management!

I forgot to say that the Screamer said that the company had been advised by the head office to cut the expenses! I was about to say that a company which is in such shit situation which can not pay a $1500 course is not a place to work! Anyways I waited a few days and eventually I was notified by the H. R. lady that the management had agreed to take the course but instead of attending, I would have to take the online course. It was not a big issue although getting out of that fucking nasty office for a week, would have been a bless, had it been approved! Then the fucking Screamer advised me to reduce the cost of the course somehow and I cut the cost of the material which helped(!) the company to save an approximate total of $550 to $600. The material was available through previous purchases of the company.

I registered online for the course and shortly after I received a confirmation e-mail saying that I could go and start the courses at this web address. I, immediately after reading the e-mail, realised that the spelling of my last name was incorrect. How they could do that as I never registered over the phone and it was all printed material communicated through the web, I still don't know! It took me at least 3 to 4 e-mail exchanges to be able to have the correct name. Then when I went to start the first course, I noticed that I could not get in. It made me sending another message or two and took a bit more to be able to start studying! isn't that fucking daft!?

So here I am and studying the material alongside the available lecture-like modules and at the end of the period, when we have to submit our bi-weekly time-sheet (may be time-shit!) I asked the Screamer how many hours of study he wanted me to put and his answer is " You're not supposed to study while at work " I just said OK and left!! What a fucking asshole! So I put nothing and went about my own business, studying the whole set of modules once more before they get expired. 

I also found issues in the modules, such as grammatical errors or missing prepositions as well as technical issues that I e-mailed the organisation guy and got responses.
Eventually it was the time for exams. I tried to book exams through both telephone and e-mail and after conversations over the phone, the idiots booked me for another city!! I don't know whether the guy was drunk or on dope but that was what she did! I had to contact again to get re-booked for the city of my residence! At the examination day I was there almost on time and after the preliminary form completion and other similar administrative stuff and shortly before starting I realised that a few examinees have tablets and laptops and using them to access the materials for the open-book examinations! This had never been advised to me! Had I brought an electronic device such as those ones, I would have been able to finish the examinations faster and with less stress and mistakes. I had 5 examinations and after I finish the first one, I handed that to the old gentleman, the examination coordinator and was given the second one. Shortly after the second examination was started, which was an open-book one as well, the guy walked up to me and whispered: You didn't get enough for the first one! You failed that! I nodded but was going to say: Thanks! I really needed that encouragement and motivation! That definitely boosted my spirit and I will finish the rest with much confidence! But of course I didn't! I wrote other four examinations one after another and every few minutes he came to me to give me the good news! He did that for the next two ones and I realised that I had passed them. I didn't wait for the result of the last two and went back to the office.
I received the official result (transcript) in a few weeks and I realised that I had passed 4 out of 5 examinations. So I booked for the only one left and the booking showed 3 months gap! I studied a few times for the examination but I eventually got bored and left it. So when I went to the session for the second time I was completely out of picture. I tried my bast and got a few refreshments by searching in the book and eventually answered all of the questions.
This time it took another month to have the result back and happily this time I passed but with the teeth of my skin! I got 78% and the official transcript showed all of the examinations with their passing score. I handed the transcript attached with my invoices, a total of a little more than $1200 to the Screamer. He didn't say much surprisingly and gave it back to me signed. I, in turn, gave it to the accounting guys and hopefully I get the money in a week or so. The drawback is because I didn't practically attend the course, I am not eligible for the certificate, I guess but we'll see. Even if I do not get the certificate it worth spending time and the effort.Question here whether anyone could say what organisation it is?!
I have not heard yet from the HR woman. She was supposed to get me to her office and have me signed a paper which says I would have to pay the course fee back if I leave within a certain time! Can you believe this? What an organisation! Jerks! 

Lilac Festival

There is this Lilac Festival in Calgary that apparently has been going on for a long time. This year we decided to check it. So went to 4th St., SW around the area of 25th Ave. This neighbourhood is among the ones which was heavily damaged in the last June's flood. Many of the businesses were closed for months, including the local Shopper's Drug Mart, Earl's and few others. I guess it took almost 6 month to Shopper's to reopen. The others were not in much better. There was a small bakery which made Puffs. That one never re-opened. I guess there's another business in its place. 

Anyhow this years festival was a kind of help to the local business to try to get back on their feet and the crowd was amazing. I guess the majority of the benefits went to the restaurants and food truck and similar food providers because every where you would go, you saw people getting something down! 

There were also street dance and some music but of course all amateurs at low quality and even high school kids. Apart from a few, I did not see many people paying much attention to the musicians! The centre of focus was on food and then shopping! 

We did not try anything because there was not something special which caught our eyes but people were in lines for Doughnuts, Corn on the cob, Hot Dog and all kind of healthy food that you might not find any other time of the year. In fact it was the food truck heaven. There is this restaurant in the neighbourhood that we wanted to try last weekend and it was closed, an East Indian one, they had a small place for themselves at the side of the street in front of their place. There two men and one woman. The men were so scary that they reminded you of the Dark Ages headsman! No smile with dark and dirty cloths and gazing at you like you are the next one who's going to be executed! The woman did not look much better. They had samples of their food which were asking $2.5 for a tiny portion, probably the size of a small saucer! I just backed off and happily there were not many people going there either. I have read many stories of poor customer service of East Indians and experienced a few but this would have been probably the worst, had we gone to get something! Will I go again to the festival next year? Absolutely not, if everything is the same. 

(Photo: I bumped into this couple and I tried to get a photo. This girl apologized her because she thought she was blocking my camera but I told her that I was taking a photo of the guy in turban because I liked his outfit! The Sikh guy was a nice one, most probably one of the many who either were born here or came when he was a little kid but his brain apparently had stopped working years ago as he thought he was so special and unique! All of the Sikh Punjabi guys believe so! I wonder when they will claim their land here in Canada just like the way they did in India and called it Khalestan! The fact is they have a good chance here in Canada unlike in India. Here all they need is to grow their population, something that they are very good at and build a few more temples and then call for referendum. Over there the Indian Army will beat the shit of all of them like they did when they occupied the Golden Temple in Amritsar! 

I went too far and I will probably have to talk to these guys later but I asked the guy if this colour meant anything and I added that I knew Orange was their sacred colour. He denied but showed me another colour at the inner side of his cloths, some creamy yellow but I didn't hear what he was saying because we were close to a small group of singing girls that you can see them in the photo. When we went back home and I was transferring the photos to the computer I got the idea: His turban and robe-like dress was specially made for the festival because they were both Lilac!)

Phone Interview in May

I had one interview, better to say a phone interview, last week. It was not promising because I haven't heard anything from them yet. The interviewer was a recruiter with strong British accent who made me ask her to repeat her a few times. besides that I was not at a comfortable place and had to run here and there to be able to stay away from the people around. 

It is understandable that companies cannot just hire someone to do their hiring needs but the interviewer should have a technical background or should be accompanied by a person from the employing department to be able to fully assess the candidate. She was just reading the questions and probably making notes. I did not have many good answers, I have to admit, but I usually dislike phone interviews. This is my 4th phone interview out of a total of 7 that I've had in the past 10 months or so and all have gone in vain. I felt almost very comfortable in 3 of them and I was confident but I didn't get any result from them either. 

Godzilla 2014 Sucks Big Time!

I start this post with these two sentences:

Do Not Waste Your Time and Money on Gozilla 2014. This Movie is True BULLSHIT from Beginning to the End!

We had 4 movie discount cards from the bars that The Lady had purchased this month. Each couple of bars are good for a free movie unless it is shown in 3D. For 3D movies you have to add $3 which is fine. We spent the first two on Neighbours which is a comedy and we laughed and enjoyed. The next two was spent last night on this bullshit new version of Godzilla. A true waste of money and time! After just 35 minutes I could not stop looking at my watch!

This movie has gathered a bunch of actors and actresses with different background. First there is this guy from Seinfeld, the dentist Tim Whatley who has his role for the first half an hour and then dies ridiculously! He shouts a few times and cries a few other times and that is it! Then we have this Japanese actor Watanabe whose role in Letters From Iwo Jima is never forgotten. Here in this movie all he does is gazing at a corner with wide open mouth and eyes! At times he says something that is hardly understandable because his strong Japanese accent overcomes his poor English! There are two women, one with a British Accent and one American who are both horrible and there is this guy a tall typical muscular American guy who delivers a terrible performance as well! So this is about acting which all suck! 

The story is even worse! They create two more monsters that this Godzilla guy, this time fights them to save the City of San Francisco! So basically similar to Terminator who was a bad guy in Terminator 1 and a good guy in Terminator 2, Godzilla is now the hero for the people!! Special effects and sounds are horrible as well. Godzilla tries its best to scream but doesn't deliver much awe or shock! I don't know what else to say but stay away. 1 out of 5 stars for the movie and that is because these guys tried but failed. I really like the 90s Godzilla. It is a fantastic movie and I even bought the DVD later but you cannot even compare this new version to the old one.
(Photo: I didn't want to use any photo from the movie but the story of Godzilla itself is fine and enjoyable. That is why I am using one of the models here)

Fort Calgary

The Government of Canada has this new wonderful program for the new citizens that they are given a pass which entitles them to discounts and free admissions to a few of the attractions around the country. The Lady received one a few weeks back and based on that we decided to use it for the first time yesterday. 

And what a coincidence it was when we chose to go to Fort Calgary: We had a two wonderful hours plus it was the 141st birthday party for the RCMP. so we joined the celebration. 

The admission to the fort is $12 which worth it for someone who is into the history of the City and likes watching and reading and occasional listening. We were lucky that the birthday party was going on. We got the chance to take photos and have a little chat with the retired officers especially one who had served in B. C.

Fort Calgary is the birthplace of this city. We were told by one of the retired gentlemen, the retired members of the RCMP, that the high fence around the fort was once taken down to use the wood and lumber for building dwellings and that was the start of a city that we live in today. Of course there is a whole lot more history behind that but 1875 was the beginning of the City. There is also lots of history about the North West Mounted Police which later was renamed to Royal Canadian Mounted Police because as I stated earlier the city's beginning was from the fort which is similar to a military force base. 

Only two out of many buildings of the developed fort are left today: The one which the exhibitions are in there and another one at the other side of Elbow River and is a restaurant and under renovation. 

(Photo: Today's Fort Calgary by Elbow and Bow Rivers. The main building and the restaurant are seen but this is the plan for the place. This entire plan which includes Fort Calgary renovates and develops what is called the East Village)

A Short Trip to Eastern B. C. (Golden and Field)

This weekend, which is almost finished, we wanted to have a trip to Montana and enjoys its beauty although we had known the weather and condition. The Lady changed it in the last minute and we ended up in Golden first. The weather was all wet but the road is nice and not busy specially after Banff. Most of people don't bother going to far. 

We had out lunch in a nice little restaurant called The Island and then headed for Kicking Horse. I have to say I was quite shocked by the amount of destruction these people have made to beautiful nature. I wouldn't might a small restaurant of cafe and chair lift, similar to what is seen in Grouse Mountain but these bastards has made condominiums but mascaraing the forest! The resort was dead due to the weather. The lift was not running and the road and mountains were hidden under fog. We though parked beside where I guess was a snowmobile rental place in winter and did a short hike in the forest. The hike did not make more than 1 hour. The path was muddy in most places and light rain was upon us. We then headed back to the town to get ourselves a place to sleep. We decided to stay the night in Travelodge. It seemed off the highway and we just wanted to sleep the night and leave the next morning so we were not looking for a fancy place but now it seems it was a bad decision. The guy receptionist was a nice, helpful and welcoming guy but the place had a temperature problem which soon became a problem for The Lady. I got one extra blanket and turn the heat on but that didn't help much. 

We had shut the heat off because of its irritating noise and I had a problem with the damn pillow so I got only maybe up to 3 hours sleep, at the most! This part I know is not Travellodge's fault. I have to be comfortable in my bed to be able to get a good sleep or extremely tired. None of the condition existed. So I didn't sleep enough! Breakfast was not good. At least they could have boiled egg similar to their location in Calgary which we tried in 2010 but there were only small packed-jam, coffee, apple, banana and a waffle making machine. The Lady made herself a waffle but I could not eat that because it is made of White Flour. So I made myself a small sandwich with Whole Wheat Bread and had it with my coffee. There was a girl who were supposed to do both the job of receptionist and caretaker but looked like she didn't give a shit. She was out smoking cigarette and playing with her genitals (sorry her phone! It's as bad as that in the public) and then later on two other women joined her doing the same thing which appeared to be the ones who clean and reorganize the rooms! 

The hotel's premises looked nice to me. It would be a great place to stay in summer. They have ti-pees, beach volleyball court, barbecue tent and everything else necessary for summer fun but with that kind of attitude shown by the staff, especially the girls, I would definitely go somewhere else next time I'm in Golden area. 

We then headed for the Glacier National Park. We wanted to go to a park with the same name in Montana. We postponed that and went to a park with the same name in B. C. The road and park is beautiful as usual. Our goal was a Bear Creak Falls in the park but we realized the area going to the trail was closed. I however pulled in the parking lot and we saw nothing but information boards, pick-nick benches and inclined garbage cans. The Lady suggested to leave due to the rain and official closure of the trail and we headed back the opposite way. We decided to take out chance this time in Field. We wanted to hike Laughing Falls Trail buy in the Tourist Information Center we were told that the road was closed sue to excessive snowfall and avalanche danger! So we head back and went home! 

Although we had a bit of variety by getting out of home and trying something new, it was not a very good idea. The travelling season in Canada is very short. I don't remember May being this much wet but British Columbia is like that, most of the time. We had lots of snow in Calgary this year. It seems the same scenario was played almost everywhere else: Waterton National Park, Montana and now Yoho National Park they have not been fully operational yet due to the weather but we will go back later and we will enjoy! 

(Photo: We saw these beautiful Mountain Goats in Glacier National Park grazing beside the highway and then going up the rocks where they belonged) 

Grotto Canyon

It had been quite a long time since I had a good hike but I certainly did not want to start a strenuous one today so I picked one that I had already studied and gathered its information: Grotto Canyon. The main challenge as usual was finding the trail and trail-head and not getting lost after that! So I headed west on TransCanada Highway and turned to Bow valley Trail after a few ten kilometers. The trail-head, according to the information I had gathered was supposed to start in a parking lot adjacent to Grotto Pond but I passed the pond and saw nothing! At the same time I had extreme pressure, sorry to say this, from the salad I had had last night at about 10:05 PM. My breakfast was only a McDonald's coffee. I was thinking what to do all of a sudden found a portable toilet by the road. I made myself relief and then then made a u-turn. I told myself: Whatever it is, it should be around that pond. So I pulled into the parking lot and there it was; Grotto Canyon Trail! I hit the path at exactly 10:00 AM and the hike was a bit of disturbance for the first half an hour because of the irritating noise from the nearby ore processing plant, Bymag. By the time I reached the stream and canyon the noise started fading and was replaced by beautiful sound of the stream and occasional bird songs. The water level was not high so I could easily leap or jump over the rocks and find my way. I realized there were also paths at both sides of the canyon which I could have taken them and from there look down the scenery but decided to be in the river's bed. The path is beautiful and luckily there was no soul in the entire time. I just was by myself enjoying the nature. The only dark part of the hike was the nail I saw rock climbers had put in the walls of canyon. That is not so cool but I also I understand they enjoy that activity.  

I finally reached a some sort of wall that water was dripping down from it and it was beautiful. Looking at my right side there was a path going a bit up on a ice and snow. I decided to check that out and put my anti-slip soles on. I walked up the snowy path and the sound was telling me there was a waterfall under the accumulated snow and ice! I got around and was able to see the actual waterfall under the ice! So beautiful. I assume it is a year-round waterfall and is called Grotto Waterfall but I could be wrong too. 

Grotto Waterfall

Now I can understand why some people like to do this hike in the winter. It will be amazing to walk on a sheet of ice and look around the canyon. I will so this in the winter and now that I know how to get there, it will be easy. The rest of the hike continues in the path until you reach a vast area covered with rocks and looks like a river which has recently hit by drought. The signs of last years flood can be see here. All sorts of branches and trunks. That's where you are supposed to see the sandy little hill with the cave inside. The cave opening could be easily seen but also it was obvious that everything had recently been damaged by the flood. Looking form a little closer I think I saw the cave is destroyed in a way that you could not get in. Only the opening is left. Nevertheless I was too tired to climb up and check that out closely. That was due to lack of recent activity which had been caused by a damn Gout Attack. The one which has not left me completely and I'm afraid it will be direct impact in my future hiking and Ice Skating. I will write about that later. 

After seeing the sandy hill and its cave I only took a few more steps to north and decided to go back. I encounter a few guys on the way back and there were also a small group of three teenage boys who were trying to learn Rock Climbing by looking at the books and trying the available carabiners. 

Then a few minutes later I realized a leash and water bottle on the ground beside the stream and look around and there was nobody. I touched none of them and continued on walking until I saw a guy with a dog coming toward me. For a second I though it was The Screamer and I tried to recognize him! I still had doubts but I have not gone to the point to start making excuses! When I got closer and he rose his hand as a hello sign, I realized that was not him. I guess he was wondering why I had my eyes glued on him and although we both were wearing dark sunglasses and could not see each others eyes, it was obvious. 

I reached the parking lot at about 12:30 PM and that made the hike an approximately 02:30 hours. At the end I have to say it was a nice hike and a very easy one and it must definitely be done in winter again and whether it is being done in winter or summer it should be done on an easy day because the trail is narrow and does not have capacity for many people. Too many people on the trail at the same time not only causes damages but also deteriorate the quality of hike.

(Photo, top: Grotto Canyon's stream or river, if that's what you like to call it, has a different colour compare to other streams that I have seen so far but that could be because of the sandy beds that the water is passing through, maybe)

Plantain

One of the imported food, or maybe I should call it vegetables, among many, as Canada does not produce much, is Plantain. This tropical vegetable/fruit looks very much like Banana in a way that many unfamiliar people might even know the difference. Plantain is bigger and its skin is darker. When you are peeling it, the skin comes off harder and the smell is completely different from Banana's. There is no resemblance in smell. So if you keep it close to a blind-folded person, there is no way it could be said that is a fruit which looks Banana very much. 

Plantain is one of the important foods in South America. It is similar food to Rice in Asia and Potato in North America: The important source of Carbohydrate. Looks like people in South American nations simply fry it or boil it depending on the ripeness, before eating it which makes it a comfort food! In Asian countries simply pour some rice to a pot and add water and salt and that will be it. Similar. I saw Plantains in green and yellow colours plenty of times but never intended to try. This time we got one and I realized that, as it was mentioned, the preparation is very easy. As Plantain is not as sweet and appealing as Banana, people usually add sugar or other sweet stuff to it, at times drizzled. 

What I did was simply peeling the skin off and frying it. I just put the lid on and let it core-cook for a few minutes. The result was not bad but I have to say I was not impressed. I could have added sugar or other similar stuff but the fruit/vegetable by itself was unhealthy enough for me: lots of Carbohydrate! I guess it could be added to the other meals as a side items and enjoy but I'm not crazy for it! 

(Photo: Fried Plantain, soft inside and crispy outside. I could have chopped it to smaller pieces) 

Quinoa Thin Cake

I was looking for something rather than Quinoa Salad that is usually made with this grain and I realized that people make so many different dishes with it. Thus decided to try this one: Quinoa Cake with Yogurt Sauce. The following ingredients were gathered:

a.    2 tablespoon Whole Wheat Flour.

b.    1 and a half teaspoon Baking Power.

c.    1 and a half cups Quinoa.

d.    3 cups Water. (Here pay attention that the volume of water is twice as Quinoa's)

e.    4 clovers of Garlic, minced. 

f.     1 small Onion, chopped. 

g.    3 cups of chopped Spinach. 

h.    1/4 of teaspoon Lemon rind.

i.     3 Eggs. 

j.     1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese. (For that I purchased a small slab and grated that myself. Not so fucking lazy not being able to rub a small piece of cheese to a metal tool!)

It's obvious that I've replaced garbage and nonsense items such as all STUPID purpose flour and other canned trash with acceptable ingredients!

To make this great meal follow these steps: 

a. Combine Quinoa and Water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until cooked. Set aside and let cool.

b. Fry Onion, minced Garlic Cloves in enough Olive Oil. Reduce Heat.

c. Add Spinach and mix with the Garlic and Onion and cook until no liquid remains. 

d. Combine the Whole Wheat Flour, Eggs, Baking Powder, Lemon Rind and Parmesan Cheese very well and set aside for a few minutes. 

e. Pour the mixture of the fried vegetables into the bowl of Flour and else and mix very well.

f. Make desirable size of cakes and fry them in a pan. I made them thin to be able to have the ready faster but the direction I found say they should be fried at one side and then kept in the oven and then taken out and fried on the other side. This step is necessary if you make thick cakes because the Flour, Eggs and Powder should come together and hold the rest of the ingredients. For the first set came out really good and delicious. The second set that I kept in the refrigerator for the next day had problem at the beginning and and didn't come together really well. I guess that was because the ingredients lose their attributes over the night but then covering the frying pan during frying help me to have the same result. 

One last important thing for the meal is its sauce which requires:

a.   2 cups Yogurt (I used homemade and really light one which came out really nice in the sauce)

b.   3 Green Onions.

d.   1 tablespoon freshly squeezed Lemon Juice. 

e.    Salt.

f.     ground Black Pepper. 

Add the Lemon Juice to the Yogurt. Chop Green Onions and add together with Salt and Pepper. Wix really well and add in a drizzled fashion to your cakes. It would be so tasty. The colness of the sause and the warmth of the cakes help the meal to come down to a good temperature. The sauce also enhances the flavour of the cake. 

(Photo: Quinoa thin cakes made at home. You can see the texture and feel the little crunch that you would get, if you had a bite. This type of meal which is made with different ingredients is called Kuku in Persian cooking)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I was curious as to see what this Planet of the Apes movie was about a few times that I had seen the cover of the DVD case. It didn't seem very appealing to me so I ignored it. It seemed a cheap B Movie to me until this movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes came to the theatres in 2011. We watched it and liked it. In my search for reasonably-priced movies in HMV, Wal-Mart and Superstore, once I came across the DVD but I realised a bastard had stolen the disk and just the case is left! Then I saw it again in another Wal-Mart location and bought it. All I can say is magnificent movie. Awesome play by the actors, good story, incredible visual effects and good directing. I have to mention that Superstore used to be a good source to find good movies, not very expensive. The two locations that I normally go to and that is maybe once a month or even longer have done renovation and remodelling and removed most of the movie and electronic stuff. I guess that didn't have much of profit for them. Wal-Mart is not bad but we go to Wal-Mart only for fruits and vegetable and you have to go during the week otherwise you'll see all sorts of maniacs, crackheads and assholes as well as you have to stay in long lines! HMV is good but you have to be patient in there. The good thing about HMV is it is not crowded and you do not have to stay in lines for a DVD or two. 

I also learnt later on that the original Planet of the Apes was made in 1968 and Charlton Heston has a lead role in it while Tim Burton made one in 2001 and that is the one which I have seen its DVD. I will probably watch both as soon as I got the. Heston has a major role in one of my all time movie, Soylent Green and Burton is my favourite for his Batman, the very first one in 1989. 

Anyways the only dark spot in the movie was one the apes pushed back the police on Golden Gate Bridge. The officers run away and then a helicopter appeared and a guy on a machine gun started killing them. They overcame that. No problem here and then they simply crossed the bridge and went to Red Woods. No back up for the police, no army guys! And it shows that the apes are running to fog which could be facing forces at the other side. But it's OK. Another part of the movie is coming soon, I guess in July under the name Dawn of Planet of the Apes. We are going to watch that for sure and this time in 3D!

(Photo: This scene is selected from the movie when the apes have broken out of their confinement and taken themselves to the streets of San Francisco. The one in the middle, holding no javelin, looking down, is Caesar, played by the British actor, Andy Serkis. Awesome Act)

Spring in Calgary

It was raining almost all day last Fri. and then late evening it turned to snow and except for a few minutes, it has not stopped! The first month and a half has passed in spring but we barely have seen any leaf yet. 

I wanted to get some activities and decided to go to Bowmount Park. Checked in in the map and then decided to follow the G. P. S. but the damn machine didn't have it so I drove alongside Bow River on Memorial Dr. and ended up in Edworthy Park. There were a few people there. I then remembered I had biked this park, only it's northern bank part years ago, I guess it would have been summer of 2003 probably. The snow was falling but it was not cold, only -2 degrees Centigrade. I had a walk for about an hour and then headed home to prepare something for dinner.

(Photo: Canadian Geese are grazing at the bank of Bow River in Edworthy Park. I bet they are as confused as many others. Didn't probably expect this!)