Creative Discontent

One more reason

Alida — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:27:46 +0000

One more reason why it’s great to be a Canadian during these games: CTVolympics.ca. Yes, I was a little peeved at CTV last week when they continually showed footage of the fatal luge crash (come on, I did not need to see that), but in the days since, I’ve realized that, in other [...]

True North Strong and Free

Alida — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:21:44 +0000

Yesterday was a good day to be a Canadian, but beyond that, it was a good day to be a Canadian artist.

Nights on the town

Alida — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:42:32 +0000

The other day, I participated in a focus group that was part of a study commissioned by a theatre company in Calgary, to explore theatre-going trends and opinions in the city. The focus group that I was part of was one of three types: people who have been to the theatre within the [...]

Best of all worlds

Alida — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:01:26 +0000

I'm on the brink of several new adventures, both career-wise and otherwise, and I'm looking at the steps ahead and finding ways to dream big. As I'm stepping out into a career as a freelance producer and consultant, what does it mean to dream big — and more than just dream big, to plan big? To lay the foundation for whatever success I want to see come my way? To create a starting point that can lead to something big — or to something smaller?

The Coffeehouse that serves no coffee

Alida — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:16:05 +0000

But in the meantime, I suppose I need to get myself out there as a freelancer, don't I?

Let’s get back to business

Alida — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:18:35 +0000

Well, Christmas is over, and I had absolutely no contingency for any sort of regular updates during the last month of school and over the break, but it’s time to get back to posting regularly. For that matter, it’s time to get life back into a routine of some sort, even though I don’t [...]

Happy New Year!

Alida — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:12:26 +0000

We have a thing for death on New Year's Eve, apparently — the last two years have been seasons one and two, respectively, of Dead Like Me, and we also have Pushing Daisies, which we didn't get to tonight, but which we'll be watching in the next couple of days.

Crème and Caramel

Alida — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:10:24 +0000

This cracks me up: I work at Starbucks, and you may have seen that our new Christmas drink this year is a Caramel Brulée. Spelled that way. At least, in the U.S. it’s spelled that way. I was looking through the signage for it a few days ago and discovered that the spelling on Canadian [...]

Take the Name

Alida — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:04:28 +0000

I bear witness as an artist, as a Christian, as a person of faith. I take these names — do I take them in vain?

Through the wardrobe

Alida — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:24:45 +0000

I've talked before about adaptations and maintaining the integrity of the work, and there are certain movies or adaptations that I won't see because I enjoyed the original too much to risk being disappointed by an adaptation that falls short. If the story is misinterpreted or characters don't look the way I think they should or the overarching themes are viewed differently than I've always seen them (not to mention the disturbing propensity for adaptations to change the endings of the original work), it can turn the experience of a beloved story into a bittersweet (perhaps more bitter than sweet) shadow of what it should be.