compliments from back east

crew mantle of commandopera blog has written up a glowing blurb on VO and our blogger night at the opera. he'll also be joining us for opening night of norma. and yes, it does feel good to impress people.

"...While this company is over 50 years old (not significant in operatic terms) it operates with a free thinking elan thanks in large part to the combination of younger and older minds who run the theatre. There is no question to COMMANDOpera who has had a great deal of contact with the theater, the reality that every one’s voice is heard, and listened to. The commonly known West coast relaxed manner is well and alive. Ling Chan of the Vancouver Opera explained to me what was rather an obviously brilliant yet simple marketing strategy. Why not have a blogger’s table of local bloggers operate live from the theatre before and during intermission? What would the composition be of the table? The criteria was to have bloggers who did not blog on opera, but enjoyed a history of blogging in the region with a younger audience. I can only marvel at the sheer intelligence of the concept. The theatre reaches a guarenteed audience through the bloggers, who have established reputations in their own worlds. Their public would be generally hip, younger, and very clued in.

It just does not get better than that.

The Vancouver Opera becomes a place that is ‘in’ with a local audience that would never have offered a second glance. Why? Because the Vancouver Opera used the tools which most of society are familiar with as though a right hand. By virtue of utilising bloggers on glamorous opening nights, they make the opera accessible directly to that new, highly desirable demographic, but most importantly; comfortable...The lesson is clear. Be felixble in your marketing strategy, utilize what is right in front of you, and most importantly; recognise the relevance of the new media. There is little doubt to COMMANDOpera, other theatres will follow the example set here by the Vancouver Opera. It is really only a question of time..."

~ commandopera

operabot winners!

the operabot screening party was held at rainmaker studios this past tuesday evening and for those of you who missed out, it was a great screening in rainmaker's 50 seater HD theatre!



the 15 operabot submissions came in from vancouver, eastern canada and the US and can be viewed on our youtube. of course, nothing beats viewing the shorts on the big screen.


clockwise: laura charlton's the marriage of figaro, kristie nutter's madama butterfly, stephanie basque's madama butterfly, john landry's the marriage of figaro


clockwise: brad lamey's madama butterfly, christine cornell's madame boterfly and arron robinson, olaf miller & curt spurging's fragile (madama butterfly)

after the screening, guests got to enjoy platters of sushi and bevvies in rainmaker's staff lounge.


huge picture windows, 2 balconys with a view of downtown and yes, that IS a foosball table!

after careful deliberation between the judges, here are the winners for our first operabot contest!

first place: brandon cathey, art institute of colorado



second place: gabriela meijia and chris holbrow, vancouver



third place: arron robinson, olaf miller and curt spurging, vancouver



public vote: brad lamey, NBCC miramichi new brunswick



thanks to the judges, rainmaker studios for hosting the party and our sponsor, the georgia straight! and a BIG thank you to all the talented artists who made operabot such a success!

pop lockin' 'bots

tired. if my feet can talk, they'd be cursing me out. what was i thinking?! running around in 3 inch knee high boots like that for hours at the operabot party. obviously, a case of style trumping comfort.

hella exhausted.

updates tomorrow but for tonight, one for the road. because i love watching breakdancing and i'm still on a 'bot bent.



these guys are rad.

robot love

sean has me addicted to his battlestar galactica dvds, which i have been consuming at a back to back episodes rate the past couple of days. but to be fair, i have him addicted to my supernatural dvds. yes, we're both nerding out.

it seems the past little while, it's all been about the 'bots for me. vancouver opera put on a contest called operabot across canada & us for animators to create a short based on any of our upcoming operas. the contest closed november 1 on our youtube channel.

the past week, i've been putting together the operabot screening party which will take place tomorrow night at rainmaker studios. there will be a screening of the 15 submissions in rainmaker's 50 seater HD theatre, (i wish my work had a 50 seater HD theatre) prizes galore, schmoozing, bevvies and by god, there'll be sushi. should be good times.

so it got me thinking about all the robots we've known and love in the movies and tv shows. and i didn't realize there were so many robots that have entertained me.

i think my earliest memory of robots were c3po and r2d2 from star wars. and since then there's been androids/cyborgs/human hybrids of all makes and models, ranging from:

~ superhumanoid (bionic woman/six million dollar man)
~ kicking ass and taking names robot (you do not want to cross robocop)
~ but i want to be human just like you robots (little haley joel in AI)
~ seduce you and then kill you fembots from austin powers
~ the vampire slayer robot that spike built of buffy

but how many of them would you consider sex on legs? i mean, would you consider data a hot piece of android ass? or perhaps the borg's tubules, microcircuit fibers and exoskeleton does it for you? is it obvious that i used to be a star trek: TNG fan?

but i digress...

the fact that robots are so prevalent in so many shows and movies out there, it's not surprising that they've become hubba hubba hot. all to keep us watching, of course.

so back to BSG. in the updated version of the late 70's show, the cylons are no longer "walking chrome toasters" but have now taken on human form. and the main cylon, number 6, parades around in the skimpiest of outfits. as for the sleeper cylon, i can't wait to see what will happen with her when she realizes she is a cylon. it's pretty riveting stuff.

although i haven't watched terminator: the sarah connors chronicles, i plan to. shirley manson as a terminator? LOVE her. and summer glau from firefly as a terminator also? i'm surprised i'm not all over it already.



course, one can't speak of terminators without alluding to the big screen version. although i'm not one to call arnie a sexy robot despite the mr olympia physique, i think they picked a good one in sam worthington. (personally, i think he stole the movie from christian bale) i know i'll be watching the next installment when it comes out.



but the sexiest robots has got to be, hands down, the replicants of blade runner. that neo-noir movie was so slick. the costumes, the styling, the cinematography, the conflicts of the characters. the casting was just purr-fect: harrison ford as rick deckard, rutger hauer as roy batty, sean young as rachael and daryl hannah as pris. it's enough to almost give up being human.



course, we all know that despite having all that artificial intelligence, robots need love too. the all is full of love video shows a robotic bjork on the assembly line when she meets another robot and they share a passionate kiss. the music video won the 1999 mtv video music awards for breakthrough video and best special effects. the song with its clavichord and orchestra instruments offers the message that love is all around you; found even in the most unexpected of places.



robots teaching humans. that's cute.

chasing the blues away

it's going to be record-breaking rainy the next few days and all i want to do is curl up and stay in bed. can we just tell the outside world to just go away? if but for a little while.

i love the sound of rain lashing at my windows, especially when i'm about to fall asleep. but i hate being out there in it, especially when it's blustery cold outside. november rain gets me longing for the brightness of spring.

under the grey gloomy skies of fall, i find that re-watching romantic movies of the foreign kind are a good antidote. the french sure know how to create heart-lifting, melancholy and quirky love stories, such as amelie, jeux des enfants and paris je t'aime. i often walk away with a lopsided smile, tears streaked cheeks and bouyed by sentimental feelings of longing these films instill in me.



and i just love listening to french songs. it's not hard to get transported into a different frame of mind when you listen to singers such as juliette greco, francoise hardy and yves montand. and although we know of feist singing in english, j'adore the way she sings in french, as she does in la meme histoire for paris je t'aime.

sleepy bear

i think it's a sign of getting old. i love to sleep. i look forward to it. it takes a crane to get me out of bed. curling up in bed is such a wonderful comfort. one of my favourite things to do in the world.

but i never used to be like this.

in the heydey of my 20s, during which i partied way too much, i was of the mindset of, "i'll sleep when i'm eighty." i could party all night, rest my eyes for a couple of hours and then get up, go to work and work the full day. shampoo, rinse, repeat. two to three times a week. four weeks a month. twelve months a year. oh, for how many years?

i honestly don't know how i let myself be without the good stuff for as long as i did.

but now that i'm in my 30s, boy, am i trying my darndest to make up for lost time. i get about an average 6-7 hours of sleep on a week night, which is still considered sleep deprived. but on the weekends, i'll tack on another hour or two.

nothing beats fresh laundered sheets, a down duvet and fluffy pillows... sleeping on my back like a starfish or like a spoon, wrapping myself around a pillow.

this is why i love kurt halsey's artwork, especially his sketches on sleeping figures. halsey is one of the only artists that i collect. his pictures really do say it all...



"Influenced by my hopeless romantic and super sensitive mindset, I pay far too much attention to the little things in life and in the relationship between two people. In constant need of reassurance, explanation, closure, and attention, my paintings are made." - Kurt Halsey

beech, oak or walnut?

i know this may be a bit sinister and morbid, but i kinda dig it.

those italians have to do everything the sexy way. cofanifunebri produces a calendar each year, in the style of the famous pirelli calendars. but instead of displaying stylish nudes, cofanifunebri hawks handmade coffins, with this year's models dressed in kinky s&m gear. sex sells everything these days, so why not coffins?

not saying i would go so far as to drape myself alluringly on caskets inside of a roman gothic church, but i'm open to the idea because it's not a conventional vision. and i do have a dark side.

for me, i think my pictures are far more interesting being photographed in costume, with props or in character than just asking me to smile naturally into the camera.

ask anyone if they can name 5 designer labels or 5 sports cars and most can do it without hesitation. but how many can name even one casket brand? i guess with these calendars, cofanifunebri aims to be on the forefront of people's minds.

exit stage right or left. but do it stylishly in cofanifunebri's afterlife chariot.