Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
The nominees are: Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents), Felicity Huffman (Transamerica), Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice), Charlize Theron (North Country) and Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
Prediction: My heart goes with Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) but it would be damn nice to see Judi Dench beat the 'kids' again.
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
The nominees are: Amy Adams (Junebug), Catherine Keener (Capote), Francis McDormand (North Country), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) and Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)
Prediction:This is one tough category to prediction, every nomination is a contender but I have to go with Catherine Keener (Capote) after making The 40 Year Old Virgin and Death to Smoochy she should be rewarded for perseverence.
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
The nominees are: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) and David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck)
This looks to be the year for Brokeback Mountain, but I'm putting my money on the underdog Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote).
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
The nominees are: George Clooney (Syriana), Matt Dillon (Crash), Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man), Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) and William Hurt (A History of Violence)
My Pick:Paul Giamatti deserves the win after two consecutive snubs for American Splendor and Sideways.
Achievement in Directing
The nominees are: Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain), Bennett Miller (Capote), Paul Haggis (Crash), George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck) and Steven Spielberg (Munich)
Prediction:Ang Lee should take this one but Clooney could be the dark horse. How does Lee go from directing crap like Incredible Hulk to this gem?
Best Motion Picture of the Year
The nominees are: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck and Munich.
Prediction:I'm a sucker for a good historical biopic so I love this years crop of films. Again money is on Brokeback Mountain but I'm going to go with Munich, Steven Spielberg shows why he is the best director today Geoffrey Rush is incredible.
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
The nominees are: Don’t Tell, Joyeux Noël, Paradise Now, Sophie Scholl — The Final Days and Tsotsi.
Prediction:I haven't seen any of these films so I have to go with the story that has the strongest impact on me and Paradise Now's portrayal of the Israel-Palestine conflict does that.
Best Documentary Feature
The nominees are: Darwin’s Nightmare, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, March of the Penguins, Murderball and Street Fight.
Prediction:After reading each of the plot outlines for each film, Murderball's portrayal of quadriplegics who play full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs,overcoming unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, seems the most intriguing. But, the envirourment is still a hot issue so both Darwin's Nightmare, dealing with the complete anilation of Tanzania's fishing industry by preditory fish introduced by European vessels and Enron both have strong chances.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Canadian an American Officials In Dispute Over Details
Canadians are disputing the U.S. version of an incident in Iraq that saw American soldiers fire shots at a car carrying four Canadian diplomats in Baghdad.
No one was injured, but the two sides differ on what prompted the volley of shots.
A U.S. military spokesperson in Iraq claims American soldiers "felt threatened" that the car might represent a potential suicide-bomb attack after the vehicle came too close and ignored hand and arm signals to keep a safe distance away.
"They felt they had to use warning shots," said U.S. Lt.-Col. Barry Johnson, spokesman for the multinational force in Baghdad.
"Clearly, these warning shots weren't aimed at the occupants."
A statement from the country’s military said the shots were aimed "at the front of the vehicle, away from the passenger area."
But Canadian officials argue that one shot did enter the passenger compartment and others struck the vehicle.
They also claim that the car did keep a safe distance away from the convoy and that they didn’t see any warning signals.
"Our officials are clear that they were operating within the rules," prime minister-designate Stephen Harper said in Ottawa.
"Obviously, we'd like to make sure we deal with this and avoid such a situation in the future. We're obviously very glad no one was hurt."
Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada’s chief of defence staff, has contacted U.S. authorities with concerns over the chain of events.
The vehicle was carrying the charge d'affaires to Iraq, Stewart Henderson, consular offical Michelle Cameron, an unidentified agent with Canada's spy service and another official, plus the driver.
They were on a routine trip through the Green Zone, a highly militarized part of Baghdad that includes the headquarters of the U.S. military and houses the Iraqi government and diplomats, when the bullets began to fly.
No apology has come from the U.S. yet, as it continues to investigate what happened.
"Nobody, our soldiers and our security personnel, certainly don't want to fire on innocent people, certainly not close friends and allies, said U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
Canada has a small diplomatic presence in Iraq at this point, but plans to establish an embassy there by the summer.
It will be interesting to see how the Americans will try to get out of this one without an adequate explanation or even an apology. Maybe the Canadians should be required to belt out "I am Canadian!" as they pass through the blocquade. Just my oppinion.
Later,
Kenaz
No one was injured, but the two sides differ on what prompted the volley of shots.
A U.S. military spokesperson in Iraq claims American soldiers "felt threatened" that the car might represent a potential suicide-bomb attack after the vehicle came too close and ignored hand and arm signals to keep a safe distance away.
"They felt they had to use warning shots," said U.S. Lt.-Col. Barry Johnson, spokesman for the multinational force in Baghdad.
"Clearly, these warning shots weren't aimed at the occupants."
A statement from the country’s military said the shots were aimed "at the front of the vehicle, away from the passenger area."
But Canadian officials argue that one shot did enter the passenger compartment and others struck the vehicle.
They also claim that the car did keep a safe distance away from the convoy and that they didn’t see any warning signals.
"Our officials are clear that they were operating within the rules," prime minister-designate Stephen Harper said in Ottawa.
"Obviously, we'd like to make sure we deal with this and avoid such a situation in the future. We're obviously very glad no one was hurt."
Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada’s chief of defence staff, has contacted U.S. authorities with concerns over the chain of events.
The vehicle was carrying the charge d'affaires to Iraq, Stewart Henderson, consular offical Michelle Cameron, an unidentified agent with Canada's spy service and another official, plus the driver.
They were on a routine trip through the Green Zone, a highly militarized part of Baghdad that includes the headquarters of the U.S. military and houses the Iraqi government and diplomats, when the bullets began to fly.
No apology has come from the U.S. yet, as it continues to investigate what happened.
"Nobody, our soldiers and our security personnel, certainly don't want to fire on innocent people, certainly not close friends and allies, said U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
Canada has a small diplomatic presence in Iraq at this point, but plans to establish an embassy there by the summer.
It will be interesting to see how the Americans will try to get out of this one without an adequate explanation or even an apology. Maybe the Canadians should be required to belt out "I am Canadian!" as they pass through the blocquade. Just my oppinion.
Later,
Kenaz
Wiarton Willie Predicts Early Spring
CREDIT: Frank Gunn, Canadian Press The current Wiarton Willie, albino weather-prognosticating groundhog in Wiarton, Ont.Wiarton Willie, Canada's best-known four-legged forecaster, is predicting an early end to a winter many Canadians are still waiting to see. The pudgy white woodchuck failed to see his shadow on Groundhog Day in the central Ontario town.
Shubenacadie Sam, Nova Scotia's most famous weather-forecasting rodent, also predicted an early spring. But a unanimous groundhog verdict was prevented when Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania saw his shadow.
Folklore has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, he'll flee to his burrow, heralding six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, it means an early spring.
The origins of the tradition aren't clear, but it's likely related to the fact that Groundhog Day falls midway between the start of winter and the beginning of spring. Some say it started with Candlemas, a Christian custom named for the lighting candles during the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary. According to an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year."
In Europe, the custom was to watch for hedgehogs emerging to catch insects. But when Europeans settled in North America, the lack of hedgehogs forced them to find a substitute. In 1887, German settlers in Punxsutawney, Penn., headed to Gobbler's Knob on Feb. 2 for their first, official Groundhog Day at that site.
Dozens of communities across North America have since come up with their own weather-predicting critters. It should come as small surprise that the prognosticating woodchucks didn't arrive at the same prediction -- they rarely do.
But in a year when Canada's traditionally fierce winter season has provided more whimper than bang, conflicting forecasts seem especially prescient. While most of Canada basks in unseasonably warmth, a blast of frigid weather has been ravaging Atlantic Canada.
The region was forced to battle rising sea levels, heavy snowfalls, and howling winds just days after reports of balmy temperatures forcing thousands of pregnant grey seals ashore on islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Normally, the seals would give birth on ice floes, but there's been a shortage of ice in the Gulf this year, forcing the seals to take to the islands.
Environment Canada has noted several weather anomalies across the country, with ice roads not forming in northern Saskatchewan, Winnipeg getting rain in January, ski hills being idled by a lack of snow and more rain than usual drenching Vancouver.
Later,
Kenaz
Famous Hamiltonian Landmarks:Hillfield Strathallan College
Hillfield Strathallan College
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Hillfield Strathallan College is a Canadian private school which teaches grades from Junior Kindergarten to twelve in Hamilton, Ontario.
Contents
History
Started in 1901, was then Highfield School for Boys, was the first private residential and day school for boys in the city. It was a prep school for boys planning to enter the Royal Military College of Canada. Many graduates played key roles in the Canadian military. A series of name changes, reconstructions, new construction, and amalgamations with other institutions have since occurred, resulting in a single modern co-educational facility. Alumni from all founding organizations attended the centential anniversary in 2001.
Timeline
* 1901 - Highfield School for Boys founded
* 1920 - Hillcrest School was founded, as replacement to a previous school burnded two years prior.
* 1923 - Strathallan School founded
* 1929 - Hillcrest School and Highfield School were merged into Hillfield School, with new premises.
* 1959 - The Highfield School program was upgraded and renamed to Hillfield College to reflect this (note: the word college is used as it is England, and doesn't include education past high school in this case)
* 1961 - Strathallan School was renamed to Strathallan College
* 1962 - The two colleges, now named Hillfield-Strathallan Colleges, were put under a single Board of Governors, which ran the colleges in co-ordinated but separate manner during a transition period.
* 1963 - The amalgamation was completed and for the first time, it operated completely as a single entity for the first time
* 1995 - The current site of the college was acquired
* 1999 - Major additions to the campus, included a new Montessori school
* 2004 - The plural in the organization's name was dropped, and it came to just be Hillfield Strathallan College
Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
The Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (HPYO) is the "Orchestra in Residence" at the school. About 55 young people aged 9 to 22 are a part of it. They have performed in various places, such as:
* Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, New York City
* Banff, Alberta,
* Moosonee, Ontario
* Huntsville, Alabama
* Northampton, England
Notable alumni
The following includes notable alumni from before mergers, reorganization, and renaming:
* Henry Duncan Graham Crerar (b. 1888 d. 1965) - Canadian General Officer Commanding the Canadian First Army on D-Day in World War II. He had also served as a lieutenant-colonel in World War I.
* Henry Myles Carscallen - RCAF Air Vice-Marshall.
Later,
Kenaz
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