One of the few times I really wish I was living in Toronto is when I read about IdeaCity.  This annual event brings together such an interesting, engaging mix of Artists, Politicians, Architects, Entrepreneurs, Nobel Laureates, Professors, experts in their fields and they come together for a three day event to talk about the world of ideas. The potential for a meeting like this is huge.

This is such a great idea it really makes me jealous for people living in Toronto.  The best speakers on a myriad of subjects.  Hopefully this idea will make it to Vancouver one day.

From the website:

“ideaCity, also known as ‘Canada’s Premiere
Meeting of the Minds’, is an eclectic gathering of artists,
adventurers, authors, cosmologists, doctors, designers, entertainers,
filmmakers, inventors, magicians, musicians, scientists and
technologists. Fifty of the planet’s brightest minds converge on
Toronto each June to speak to a highly engaged audience. Only 497 are
privileged to attend.

Produced and presented by Moses Znaimer, ideaCity
is not themed around any one topic, issue or business. There are no
scripted speeches or, breakout or parallel sessions. Rather, everyone
is in one place and in on the same narrative. With extra-long schmooze
breaks between sessions, and legendary parties each night, attendees
have an unprecedented opportunity to mingle with such notable speakers
as Conrad Black, Barbara Gowdy, Michael Ignatieff, Douglas Coupland,
Pamela Wallin, Pete Seeger, Robert Kennedy Jr., John Ralston Saul,
Daniel Libeskind, Clayton Ruby, Romeo Dallaire and the late Peter
Jennings.”

This looks like a very promising documentary by Adam Curtis.

“Human beings will always betray you. You can only trust the numbers�

Watch all three parts of Adam Curtis’ BBC documentary The Trap: What Happened To Our Dream Of Freedom

Part One:

From Google Video

Part Two:

From Google Video

Part Three:

From Google Video

This just sounds like such a great idea.  Years ago I contemplated hooking my laptop up to a projector and watching movies outside at night, this concept take it to the logical conclusion. 

Making this idea mobile means its dynamic and adds more depth to an interesting idea, nothing ground breaking here, just an organized use of current technology.

http://www.guerilladrivein.com/

The five senses is a truly lovely film. It takes a look into the
lives of several people, most of whom are somehow the
embodiment of a sense. Yet the fact that they are so
involved in a particular sense prevents them from
experiencing life fully.

Sight is embodied in a young woman who bakes designer
cakes. The cakes are visually stunning, but she has very
little regard to how they taste. Sight is also the sense of a
young man who voyeuristically watches men hook up in a
park, but doesn’t himself experience physical fulfilment.

Hearing is embodied in the bittersweet story of a doctor
who is losing his hearing, and is concerned with hearing
this favorite sounds one last time. Smell is personified by
a young man who is convinced that love has a smell, and
seeks out his former lovers in order to sniff them and see if
they still love him. Touch is a massage therapist who
seems to use her practice to regain the intimacy she once
had with her now deceased husband. And finally, taste is
embodied by the Italian lover of the cake baker who is
constantly cooking, because it is his only real way of
communicating with her.

These people’s lives occasionally intersect because they
all live work, or otherwise have ties to the same building.
Their stories are woven around a larger story of a missing
little girl. We get to know these people through short
chronological glimpses into their lives that string together
into a non-linear narrative. The device is similar to that
used by Atom Egoyan, but the element of time is not
distorted. In the end, not all of the stories are resolved,
which is actually good because it keeps us thinking and
allows us to revisit the characters and imagine a number of
plausible endings.

The film has a beautifully austere formality about it. It
meanders through its stories at a very thoughtful pace, and
looks at them from a bit of a distance. We see very
profound emotions before us, but experience them
intellectually.

I can see that this film is not for everyone, but is great for
those interested in a well crafted, thought-provoking
experience.

Here is a link to some reviews of the film. Another great film by Canada.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/five_senses/

This movie better be funny, who am I kidding, we all know its going to suck, it does have Walken in it though.

http://www.ballsofjustice.com/

We Canadians continue to define ourselves by what we are not. Namely,
that we are not American. But comparing the two countries is like
comparing apples to oranges, or maybe eagles to beavers — one eats
carrion, the other chews wood. Take that as you will.

You can make your own judgment when you go to see Away from Her, which
screens this weekend at the Pacific Cinematheque as part of Canada’s
Top Ten, The Best of the Year in Canadian Cinema. Chosen by a panel of
industry professionals, writers, directors and programmers, some of the
films variously take as their subjects: the loss of culture in the high
Arctic (The Journals of Knud Rasmussen); the dissolution of a marriage
due to dementia (Away from Her); environmental devastation in
contemporary China (Manufactured Landscapes); and genocide in Africa
(One Day in Kigali).

Such films stand in direct contradiction to the top-10 U.S. box office
champions — Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Cars, X-Men:
The Last Stand, The Da Vinci Code, Superman Returns, Ice Age: The
Meltdown, Happy Feet, Over the Hedge, Casino Royale and Talladega
Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The Cinematheque describes the
contrast this way: “With prancing penguins, swashbuckling pirates and
spandex-clad superheroes dominating the U.S. box office, Canada’s Top
Ten stands as a vivid reminder of how different Canadian films are in
comparison to those of our southern neighbour.” The intent is clear.
We’re more serious, more adult — whereas as they wallow in fantasy, we
deal with the brutal realities of the world.

http://www.thetyee.ca/Entertainment/2007/02/23/SmarterThanAmericans/

A great left leaning forum! Summed up by their slogan “Your Voice”.

http://enmasse.ca/forums/index.php

Here is the top ten list for 2006 from Pacific Cinematique.