Unfortunately I knew nothing of The Railrodder until my father handed me a collector magazine the other day.
The Railrodder is Keaton’s fitting valedictory to the world or iron, steam, speed and slapstick. The epic of man and machine is seen in microcosm, everything stripped down to bare essentials – one man, a small, motorized speeder railcar, and a clean trajectory across 4,000 miles of track.
Although he is older now, face gaunt and lined, Buster is truly himself one last time, attired in his familiar suit and pork-pie hat, sallying forth across a silent landscape with only his wits and ingenuity (and a delightful musical score from Eldon Rathburn) to survive a multitude of pratfalls and perils. [From Films in Review Magazine, article not online]
The entire film is only 24 minutes long but in that short time it becomes a tribute to a Canadian film making (Gerald Potterton being the NFB Director who convinced Keaton to come to Canada), and certainly an amazing throw back to the silent film era with a score that flows in time with the railway theme.
Part Three
You can find some films on YouTube in pieces or you can buy “Buster Keaton Rides Again“, the NFB produced documentary on Keaton, which includes a The Railrodder – it’s also a great view of Canada, back in the 1960s.
More than anything though, this showcases an actor, filmmaker, comedian and director that is sometimes forgotten in the age of blockbusters and CGI. The fact that he ends his silent film career in White Rock, BC just makes it all that more precious to me, anyway.
When Dennis from The Beta News and Connected Internet contacted me about an ongoing segment/feature he writes I was more than happy to bear all. All of my desktop that is.
“Show Me Your Desktop” is an opportunity to find out more about bloggers around the world while getting a sneak peek at their desktops, where I’m certain all of our daily computing begins.
Dennis writes: Researching for this round of Show Me Your Desktop, my wife asked me how come I didn’t have many women in the interview series. This opened a whole new world for me. The world of Canadian bloggers…
A very important shout out goes to Philippe Sokazo, whose image I am currently using as my wallpaper. He’s a local artist and you can find some of his work on his Flickr or his website, Sokazo.com. He’s also a part of the Spirit of Stanley Park, which I’ll explore in depth in another post.
Seriously, how much is it to ask for some fan merchandise for women that isn’t full of bling? I don’t want pink, sequins or sparkles, just some items with the team colours so that I can represent. I’ve ranted about this in another post but that was before I laid eyes on some of the “new” gear in the Canucks team store online.
From Shop.NHL.com – “The purse is formed from 2 recycled aluminum license plates with tear-shaped, nickel-plated steel end caps and hundreds of Swarovski crystals.” Retail: $324.99
Women can like hockey, and they can be fashionable while showing support for their teams and by fashionable I mean wearing things that are complimentary to the female form, contain the team’s colours or logo, and come in all sizes for women (big and small… in all areas).
Word on the street is that the sports jersey section of The Bay downtown (the part that borders on Granville Skytrain Station) sells official-looking fitted women’s jerseys that are quite stellar.
I’m not a girlie girl although you will catch me wearing pink things and giggling like a schoolgirl on occasion. However, when it comes to hockey I know where the line is and that it certainly does not contain any sequins.
I’ve heard the rumours and I have to say, they’re all true. From the Hawk 6ix Pack (and the Hawk Dog Stand) to the Rainbow Rollers, I got my butt kicked by Mt. Washington today and I pretty much loved every minute of it. Sunny, cool, crisp, fresh powder and a ridiculously huge base makes “BC’s best kept secret” of a resort worthy of its title. Super long runs, hardly any crowds, polite staff and lifts that zip you up to your starting point faster than you can say “Vancouver Island Marmot!”
Ms Keira-Anne was nervous at first about how her mountain would present itself to her North Shore boarding’ friend. Needless to say, I had an amazing time and we still managed to take a billion and one photos and even record a video. (No, we didn’t park ourselves in the middle of a run for 20 minutes to shoot the video – it was right after getting off the Eagle Express chair lift).
It is a quick little rant, recorded half way through the day when we could simply no longer keep our mouths shut about the throngs of two-plankers that seemed to be aggressively taking over the hills. Unfortunately we’re too sun-kissed and in need of stretching tired muscles right now so we’ll try and post the video in the morning so for now, it’s simply a poll.
POLL CLOSED To view and vote on past polls, visit the Miss604.com poll page.
For months Duane was sitting there at the top of the Google heap when you searched “Vancouver Blogger“. He went entirely unnoticed til this guy decided to challenge him in the weeks leading up to Northern Voice. Soon after, Boris stealthily threw his hat in the ring and the plot thickened. If you’d like to help Duane in his quest to stay on top, link back to his blog as instructed here and you could win one of his HDR photography prints.
If you’d like to read about actual Vancouver stuff in a blog about Vancouver…. you know where to go *cough*. I kid, Google Schmoogle! I know what I have here and that’s all that matters. Besides, I think Sean’s way of approaching this just can’t be beat.
At any rate, please go help out Duane’s cause, it was his spot originally, he deserves it and YOU definitely deserve his breathtaking print prize.
