- -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- -

Art--Animals--Dates--Food--Links--Lists--Map--Movies & TV--Music--Nature--Places--Performances--Souvenirs--Structures--Timeline

Saturday 30 September 2017

Invictus Games Toronto


I Am Painting.

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 1 Dundas Street East
Date: Oct 2016
Website: www.invictusgames2017.com

  The Invictus Games are designed for war veterans to participate in sport and help them overcome their PTSD or deal with their physical injuries.  Prince Harry helped start the event and the first games were held in London, England.  This year they are being held in Toronto, Canada until September 30th.  The annual Nuit Blanche festival is also being held in Toronto on September 30th.

I Am in the AM.

  It seemed fitting that we received a sneak peak of the games during the 2016 Nuit Blanche festival in Toronto.  The I AM logo above is taken from the center of  the words Invictus Games.

Dundas Square Invictus Games.

  In Dundas Square we were able to add blocks to help form a big I AM on the ground and show our support for the games.

Armoured Vehicle.

  The Canadian Armed Forces were also in the square, offering a unique opportunity to see some of their equipment.

Light Armoured Vehicle.

  We were able to go inside an armoured transport vehicle.

Tank In Dundas Square.

  The highlight was a tank that had been driven into the square.  They were offering the opportunity to climb onto the tank.  Nuit Blanche is an all night event which runs from dusk until 7 AM the next morning.  Even though it was close to 4 AM we still had to line up for our turn on the tank.

Hard Rock Toronto.

   While standing on the tank we had a nice view of the Hard Rock Cafe.  Sadly, this location closed earlier this year.

Inside The Tank.
 Inside The Tank Brought To You By Dasani.

  We were also able to take a look down into the tank and see where the crew is jammed in while on active duty.

Tank Pointed At The Eaton Centre.

  Lastly, we had the chance to stand next to the cannon which was pointed towards the Eaton Centre.  It was fun to see this equipment up close.  We can only imagine the experiences inside this equipment for the men and women taking part in the Invictus Games.  We wish them well in their competition.


This location is near Dundas subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

Map of Our World
Yonge-Dundas Square

Post # 193

Wednesday 20 September 2017

The Murdoch Experience (Sullivan Studios Backlot)

Sullivan Studios.

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 66 Hymus Road
Date: July 2014
Website: sullivanmovies.com

  In 2014 we attended a two day event called The Murdoch Experience.  The event was designed for fans of the Murdoch Mysteries television show and the first day featured a tour of Sullivan Studios in Scarborough.  The show is about to air its tenth season so we thought now would be a good time to  share some of the filming locations that appear in almost every episode.  This blog post focuses on the backlot.


  Above is Station house No.4, which is where Detective Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) , Dr. Julia Ogden (Helene Joy), Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) , Constable George Crabtree (Jonny Harris) and the rest of the police officers work.  They have passed through these doors many times and often Murdoch is running out to hop onto his bicycle parked nearby.

Main Street Murdoch.

  The other areas of the backlot have been used many times throughout the years and have been shot from many different angles.

Main Street Murdoch (Reverse Angle).

  This is the same street as in the previous photo, but shot from the opposite direction.

Middle of Main Street Murdoch.

  This shot is taken looking into the archway in between the stores.

Jewellery This Week Only.

  The store signage is also changed as needed for different episodes.  This store could belong to a jeweller for one episode and then a bespoke tailor the next.

Brackenreid's Barber.

  Some of the stores could be entered into while other doors just lead behind the scenes.  The barber shop above was all dressed and ready for filming to begin.

Sullivan Street.

  One episode which makes great use of the backlot is episode 3 of season 6 called "Murdoch on the Corner".

Bank Of Toronto.

  In this episode the building above plays the Bank of Toronto.

The Main Square.

 Murdoch sets up a camera in a building on the opposite end of the square in order to catch a killer.

Murphy's Tavern.

  The camera is placed in the window to the right of Murphy's Tavern.  During our tour the Murphy's Tavern signage was set up.

Back Alley.

  Murdoch Mysteries is set in the late 1890s and into the early 1900s.  It is meant to represent Toronto, Canada during that period.  The sets have also been used for other television shows from the same time period such as Road to Avonlea.

Back Alley Rigging.

  In the alleyway above you can see the rigging that would hold lighting or other equipment.  This would help create just the right look for when someone meets their demise. 

Archway.

  Once they do, it won't be long until Murdoch rides around the corner on his bicycle or Crabtree shouts "You there!" as he joins the pursuit.  We will continue our Murdoch Experience in future blogs, but for now we will leave you with some more pictures of the Sullivan Studios backlot. 

Furniture Upholstery  Fire Escape.

Murdoch On The Corner.

Toronto Secretarial School.

Loading Dock.

Hats Whistle Cleaned.

Wolff & Flame Ale House.


Map of Our World
Sullivan Studios Backlot

Post # 192

Friday 15 September 2017

The Mask at Warner Bros. Studios

Squeeze Me Gently On Hennessy Street.

Location: Burbank, California, USA
Address: 3400 West Riverside Drive
Date: Feb 2014
Website:  vipstudiotour.warnerbros.com

  We have a copy of The Mask on DVD that we got for free inside a box of cereal.  The movie was also a box office success and starred Jim Carrey as Stanley Ipkiss.  When Stanley finds a special mask he puts it on and is transformed into... well, into Jim Carrey doing his stand-up routine.

Stanley's Apartment.

  When we visited Warner Bros. Studios, we were lucky to see some of the filming locations from this movie.  The first location is found on Hennessy Street of the backlot.  Stanley lives in the apartment pictured above.  It is the building with Hardware written on it and fire-escapes on the front.  When Stanley first puts on the mask he becomes a green faced cartoon-like character.  He ends up bouncing down a hallway and out the window of this building.  He is flattened when he hits the ground below.  A car honks at him for being in the street.  Stanley pulls out a tiny little horn which lets out one giant-sized windshield shattering " Bahooogahh!"

Warwick Hotel.

  Later in the film Stanley is once again wearing the mask.  This time he finds himself face to face with a street filled with police.  The building above played the neon lit Warwick Hotel.

They call me Cuban Pete.  I'm the king of the rhumba beat.

  When faced with this predicament, The Mask breaks into song and the police are surprised to find themselves losing control and dancing along.  The song he sings is Cuban Pete.  This song was previously made famous by Desi Arnaz of I Love Lucy fame.  All of the action takes place just beyond the dumpster you see in the middle of the road above.

I go chick chicky boom, chick chicky boom.

  At one point The Mask leaps into the air and slides down a light pole beside this theatre (right hand side of the photo above).  The dance sequence continues and finishes with a conga line before The Mask sneaks off once again.  Our golf cart also snuck off once again as we continued our tour of the studio.


See more locations from the Warner Bros. Studio Backlot.

Map of Our World
New York Street , Stanley Ipkiss Apartment

Post # 191

Sunday 10 September 2017

Roll On, Roll On Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan.

Location: Whitewood, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: Saskota Flyway
Date: October 2014
Website: http://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com

  When we told people we were going to drive from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Regina, Saskatchewan they all seemed to have the same response.  "That will be a boring drive".  After driving to Regina and back, we disagree with that statement.

A Different Angle Of Saskatchewan.

  Saskatchewan has a reputation for being flat.  While most of the province is quite flat, the Cypress Hills in the south west are higher than any point in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI or Ontario.  The photo above is a camera trick to make things look a little more "hilly".

Prairie Standouts. Lone Trees.

  Being flat makes everything else stand out.  We saw a certain beauty in the way the fields went on forever until a tree or a barn or a silo stood out against the horizon.

Barn & Silos.

  We saw lots of barns and silos.

More silos.

And more silos.

Three Barns.

And more barns.

Blue Sky In The Water.

  There was something beautiful about the colour of the fields and the colour of the sky.  Whenever there was water in a field beside the roadway it was a bright blue as it reflected the sky above.

Watering The Fields.

  In some spots it looked as if there was too much water and perhaps there had been some flooding.  We are not grain growing experts so possibly this was some farming technique?

Fields of Fire.

  Another farming technique that may be shocking to some travellers is the burning of straw.  It is not uncommon for farmers to burn extra straw in their fields after harvest.  This fire above looked pretty intense, but we trusted that they knew what they were doing.

Slow Saskatchewan Sunset.

  Another fire of sorts that we encountered was the setting of the sun as we drove westward towards Regina.  The sunset seemed to last for hours and the whole sky changed different shades of yellow, orange and red as the sun sunk ever so slowly beneath the horizon.

Good Morning Regina.

  The next morning we were treated to a sunrise that turned the sky shades of pink and purple.

Whitewood Grain Elevator.

  Some of the tallest things you will see as you drive across Saskatchewan are the grain elevators.  Almost ever town still has one whether it is in use or not.

Tower In A Field.

  We also noticed this tall tower.  It looked to us that at the top it may have a sprinkler system that sprayed over the crops.  Other possible uses for this tower might be to watch over the crops for pesky birds or to look westward and catch a glimpse of the Rockies.

Farm Equipment In The Field.

  Another thing we were not used to seeing is huge farming equipment working the fields.

Farm Equipment On The Road.

  Even more shocking was huge farming equipment coming towards us on the Trans-Canada Highway..

Golden Rolls Of Hay.

  We drove our return trip to Winnipeg past rolls of golden hay.  As we drove, we thought to ourselves that even though Saskatchewan may be flat, the experience really stands out.

Roll On Saskatchewan.


Map of Our World
Saskatchewan

Post # 190