When only one of the professional carvers showed up for the Toonik Tyme 2012 ice carving competition, I volunteered to make a block of ice into a narwhal. When the tusk broke off, I improvised.
If you’re wondering what Toonik Tyme is, check out more from Ron Wassink’s recent blog post about it.
This year’s first real snowfall, meaning one that will stick around for a while, arrived October 2, 2011, so we decided to show you what an Arctic fall really looks like. This was filmed behind Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit.
(Available in 1080p HD if you can handle the bandwidth)
Iceland is probably the coolest place on the planet (no offence to everywhere else). For us, it felt like home, meaning everything we desire is reality there. For tree-hugging vegetarians, it’s a dream, believe it or not. Reykjavik, especially, was amazing for its selection of vegetarian and raw food restaurants, and the countryside is just so otherworldly, it’s hard to not want to stay.
We rented two cars (the first was a disaster and had to be returned, but I’m not going to name names; suffice to say, rent from a reputable national or international rental agency). With our second car, a VW Golf, we toured the southern coast as far as Vik, and returned to Reykjavik en route to the Blue Lagoon. Lots of gorgeous landscape, including the geyser at Geysir, the waterfalls at Gullfoss and Seljalandsfoss (great town for camping), the black sand beach at Dyrhólaey, and the famous volcano at Eyjafjallajökull (which caused air travel chaos in 2010). We didn’t get very far due to losing a day with the first car, but we made the most of it.
Soundtrack track “Tornado” by the fantastic Icelandic musician jónsi (with permission as per http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/band/faq.php#13).
Anjhela and I went to see a cool performance Friday night that we are able to share with you now. In this video, Cynthia Pitsiulak and Charlotte Qamaniq of Tumivut perform Inuit throat singing mixed with beat-boxing during a performance at their alma mater, Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada September 9, 2011. Shared with permission from Charlotte Qamaniq.
Iqaluit, NU - Cynthia Pitsiulak of Tumivut performs at a special concert sponsored by Alianait at the Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit September 9, 2011.
Iqaluit, NU - Cynthia Pitsiulak (left) and her throat-singing partner Charlotte Qamaniq-Mason perform with their band, Tumivut, at a special concert sponsored by Alianait at the Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit September 9, 2011.
Iqaluit, NU - Cynthia Pitsiulak (left) and her throat-singing partner Charlotte Qamaniq-Mason perform with their band, Tumivut, at a special concert sponsored by Alianait at the Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit September 9, 2011.
Iqaluit, NU - Charlotte Qamaniq-Mason of Tumivut performs at a special concert sponsored by Alianait at the Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit September 9, 2011.
Iqaluit, NU - Charlotte Qamaniq-Mason of Tumivut performs at a special concert sponsored by Alianait at the Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit September 9, 2011.
Iqaluit, NU - Cynthia Pitsiulak (right) and her throat-singing partner Charlotte Qamaniq-Mason perform with their band, Tumivut, at a special concert sponsored by Alianait at the Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit September 9, 2011.
Iqaluit, NU - Iqaluit rocker Joshua Qaumariaq performs as the opening act for Tumivut at a special concert sponsored by Alianait September 9, 2011 at Inuksuk High School.
About 30 kids attended a skateboarding camp run by the City of Iqaluit’s Recreation Department September 9-11, 2011. Ian Gauthier and Roger Besserve, two professional skateboarders from Ottawa and Gatineau, led the clinic, which was split by age groups. This video shows the older teenagers, who have enjoyed the skate park at the curling rink since it opened five years ago. Skaters featured are Isaac Idlout, Daniel Niego-Akavak, Lee Cloutier, and Nick Kolola. Video assistance by Roger Besserve, who shot the chase scene. “On and On” by Sinkhole used under CC licence.
Iqaluit, NU - Daniel Niego-Akavak of Iqaluit skates the half-pipe at Iqaluit skate camp 2011 while Isaac Idlout of Iqaluit waits for his turn.
Iqaluit, NU - Daniel Niego-Akavak watches fellow teens skate with Iqaluit skate camp 2011 instructor Ian Gauthier of Ottawa.
