Things I learned this weekend:
1. Brackendale, British Columbia is the eagle capital of the world. Usually, when heading to Whistler, I’m either on a motorcycle (during the spring and summer) or in a car (winter), and have never noticed the sign that Brackendale is famous for its eagle population. How could I have missed this?!
I was on a training ride for the Whistler GranFondo, and noticed all sorts of landmarks that escaped my attention before, either because they’re covered with snow or because I can’t take my eyes off the road. Cycling, though, lets you pay attention to the scenery, and the Sea to Sky has that in spades.
Do the Brackendale eagles have their own website? Yup. The Brackendale eagles have their own website. Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park is just north of Squamish. I’m sorry to report that I did not see any eagles. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out next time I cycle through… which will be all too soon.
2. A Colt Is My Passport, directed by Takashi Nomura, is a very stylish noir flick. Joe Shishido plays the least paranoid hitman of all time. The Nikkatsu Action films are a scream: the stylish recreations of Western noir and crime flicks, as well as Seijun Suzuki’s bizarre experiments in celluloid.
If you’re into gangster flicks that are heavy on style and light on traditional plot structure, try Branded to Kill.
I was introduced to the work of Seijun Suzuki, and this whole genre of Japanese cinema, by Dr. Leigh Smith.
