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Showing posts from 2017

Suggested Servings of Fruit, Part 2

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I just finished eating a bowl of cherries. I can't remember the last time I bought cherries. Today's anomaly was 100% because of this: I've written before about being influenced by children's programming into eating more fruit . Apparently it isn't just kids shows that work on me. Musician and vegan Macka B's "Medical Monday" and "Wha Me Eat Wednesday" videos are currently working as a regular reminder for me that there's a whole world of healthy food out there. Like so many people, we discovered Macka B when his video about cucumbers ( cucumba! ) went viral. If you somehow missed it, treat yourself to it and several others below, then treat yourself to some fruit and/or veggies. Also, you can  follow Macka B on Faceboook .

New Video for The Knight's Errand

Thanks to Brian T. Schultz and the Storybook Land Theatre 2016 company for putting on a fantastic production of The Knight's Errand, hosting me when I came out to South Dakota to see it, and letting me use the footage. :) The Knight's Errand - A Play for Young Audiences from Marilyn Anne Campbell on Vimeo . Learn  more about The Knight's Errand (The video is also on YouTube, if you prefer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUGhj8m0cIw )

TIFF Kids 2017 Feature: "At Eye Level"

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Let's cut to the chase - I highly recommend the German film At Eye Level ( Auf Augenhöhe ) and it's only got one more screening at this year's TIFF Kids; tomorrow (Sunday April 9, 2017) at 3:30 pm. Suggested for ages 11-13 by TIFF Kids programmers, it's unfortunate that the marketers who put together the trailer and chose the visual look for its title screen seem to be trying to sell it as some kind of wacky family comedy: There's humour in it, certainly, but this is a lovely relationship film - not just in terms of the blossoming father and son relationship, but in the way it presents friendship as well. Mostly male friendships, which range from being strained within the confines of a group home for children to being thoughtful and compassionate, though still far from perfect, in the adult world. One of the most beautifully understated arcs is how young Michi (Luis Vorbach) changes how he relates to other kids, including his former roommate Justin (Marco L

TIFF Kids 2017 Feature: "TRIO - The Hunt for the Holy Shrine"

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TRIO - The Hunt for the Holy Shrine is a high-quality adventure film that owes a lot to Indiana Jones. Recommended by TIFF programmers for ages 10-13, this subtitled Norwegian film follows four friends (I assume they started out as a trio in the Norwegian TV show of the same name, and the team gradually expanded) as they race to solve the mystery of Saint Olav's lost shrine before an internationally-known art thief and her henchmen get there first. Like most movies of this type, enjoying The Hunt for the Holy Shrine starts with a healthy suspension of disbelief. The biggest for me was that the tablet owned by Lars the techie is able to do absolutely anything he wants it to do (where do I get the helicopter flying app?). But it's all in good action/adventure fun, and it's worth forgoing realism for the sake of a good teen treasure hunt. The production values in this are high, making great use of a variety of locations. From sweeping shots of picturesque fishing v

Attending the Storm (working title)

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by Marilyn Anne Campbell Stageplay: Theatre for Young Audiences, 10 minute play, 1M/1W It's 1850 in Mimico, Upper Canada. Eleven-year old Janice needs to memorize a play for school, but her father doesn't agree with her choice of literature. Janice's only other option is to write a poem herself, which seems like an impossible idea until help comes from the skies. A Play in a Day Attending the Storm  was written for the 2017 "A Day, A Play" writing game hosted annually by Write Local Play Global to mark the World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People (March 20th). Participants received instructions and elements that had to be included in the morning and had 24 hours to submit what was meant to be a 500 word play. Mine ran a little long (but since there are no winners in this game, they accepted it anyway). The Pigeons of Mimico The theme for 2017 was "Where do I come from?" which I decided to use as a prompt to set my play close t

"Model Citizen" on Wattpad

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  It's been a long time since I've used my Wattpad account , but I recently rediscovered this social site dedicated to the sharing of original writing. It felt sort of strange to just be skulking around reading though, so I uploaded my odd little short story  Model Citizen  to the site. Model Citizen  was published in the first issue of the YA speculative fiction lit mag Inaccurate Realities back in 2013, but if you missed out on reading it then you can now check it out in its entirety online: Read Model Citizen on Wattpad Of course most of what's posted to Wattpad are unpublished works-in-progress, as the site has a heavy emphasis on getting feedback and developing as a writer. I have been thinking about uploading one of my Nanowrimo novels that's just sitting around collecting digital dust, but I'd definitely want to spend a little longer re-familiarizing myself with the site before I decide whether or not to do that. Are you on Wattpad? What sort of wo

Urban Maple Syrup Harvesting at the Humber Arboretum

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So, this is what I've been up to lately. Working at the Humber Arboretum as a Communications Assistant, which includes such onerous tasks are running around the woods learning about maple syrup harvesting while making this video:  My favourite part of this was that I smelled like wood smoke for the rest of the day. I think it's an important thing, to smell like wood smoke every so often.