Fossils and Ferry Rides

On our second full day in Drumheller, we made our way to the renowned Tyrrell Museum. Like a lot of Albertans, this may be my favourite museum in the world, so I was grateful for the chance to revisit it for the first time in over a decade. Glory had no memory of the place at all, really (as she was probably 4), so it might as well have been the first time for her.

I'm always glad to see the famed T. Rex skull called "Black Beauty".

It's also good to be reminded that hosting tourists is only a small facet of what the Tyrrell does, and that there is tons of activity happening year-round, some of it where you can actually get a glimpse.

Being around ancient enormous skeletons is a treat. Sure, our current fauna has a lot going for it, but does any of it have the panache or allure of giant carnivorous lizards with mouths full of serrated stalactites for teeth?

Plus, every time we go, I am bound to come across some species I am unfamiliar with, like this Estemmenosuchus, who reminds me a little of the Jack Kirby rendition of the Demon from DC Comics, Etrigan.

I can't tell you precisely why the dimetrodon (pronounced die-MEET-row-don, not dim-MET-row down like I've been doing since I was 9) is my favourite prehistoric creature, but I am pretty sure it has everything to do with esthetics, and a fin that puts '60s era Chevies to shame. Not really a dinosaur though; dimetrodon is a thecodont who precedes dinos by a fair chunk of time.

Most of all though, we love the dramatizations set up with the skeletons, whether saurian or mammalian.

I couldn't resist the opportunity to give Glory a couple of enormous horns through the miracle of intentionally bad composition.

The best new exhibit is focused on fossils found by people on worksites, including a new species of ankylosaur found in the oil sands, but they are expanding the Tyrrell even as we speak, and I'm sure the exhibits will be even more fascinating when we return. Hopefully there won't be as many years in between as there was this time.

On our way home we stopped at the Fossil World "museum" which is really a means of getting you into their gift shop. It's easy to forgive though, as a lot of the exhibits are quite good, and the animatronic sculptures are fairly well done, especially the T. Rex. For a fairly small-scale operation, he has a good range and variety of motion despite being fixed in place.

Other neat exhibits included a set of jaws from a megalodon, a prehistoric shark the size of a school bus (and just about to get a Jason Statham movie), as well as this intimidating smilodon skull.

Also, the gift shop itself is not too bad, with lots of opportunities to buy legit fossils and not just t-shorts and plastic dino toys.

Leaving Fossil World we headed north out of town to pick up Nitti from Cole's Pet Resort, which turned out to be a pretty good operation as well. AFter that is was back to the campsite to grill up some smokies and roast some marshmallows.

The next day was our first opportunity to have a bit of a lay-in, and we did, using up much of our morning on being lazy and getting a breakfast sorted. Unlike at home though, we could do this guilt-free as we were on vacation.

With much fo the day gone and the heat still a beastly 34 degrees, we decided to base most of our tourism this day on driving about. We began by crossing the same river seven times as we made our way to the Last Chance Saloon in Wayne, a former coal-mining town.

I have a soft spot for vintage advertising like this, even though i had never heard of the Stubby brand before. I came across a bottle at the Antique Mall in Edmonton this past weekend though.

Part of me would like to stay in the Rosedeer Hotel just once, as it is so unlike a modern hotel and they seem to have some neatly appointed rooms.

 Lastly, we drove one of two scenic loops around Drumheller. This one took us past the Little Church, which we are reliably informed by the signage can seat 10,000 people...six at a time.

Then we took a ride on the Bleriot Ferry, Alberta's only floating car conveyance. It was built in 1904 by the brother of Louis Bleriot, the first man to fly across the English Channel.

Not far from the ferry is the Orkney lookout. We didn't stay here long, as there was a fierce storm system moving in from northwest of us.

 Orkney is an archipelago in northern Scotland; I can't fathom the connection between a place in the North Sea and this scenic glacial riverbed. I suspect they are both picturesque, but in vastly different ways.

Sedimentation and Dramatization

The cough I had woken up with on Friday morning had by Sunday bloomed into a full-blown and miserable snotty head cold. The original itinerary had been to take it easy after the world cup, perhaps do a little sightseeing, but the day before, a chance brochure encounter had reminded us that the Canadian Badlands Passion Play was being staged, something we had talked about attending for years. So a restful day in the shade was simply not in the cards.

In the afternoon, we took a brief road trip north of town to Horsethief Canyon. This gave us all a chance to sightsee and Glory a chance to indulge herself with her proper camera.

Legend has it that purloiners of ill-gotten equines would elude pursuit down in this maze-like arroyo, only to emerge with different brands much further up the Red Deer river.

It is astonishing to reminded that such fabulous scenery is only a three-hour drive away, even though some of the topography looks like it wouldn't be out of place on either the surface of Mars or the cinematic Old West. Even more amazing is the fact that you could be driving through farmland less than a kilometer away and have absolutely no clue this amazing vista is as close as it is.

We didn't stay too long in th 35 degree heat, so after fortifying ourselves with some small pizzas and milkshakes at Bernie and the Boys Bistro, we made our way to the parking lot of the Badlands Passion Play.

Said play has been taking place every summer at the Badlands Amphitheatre, an old-style naturally formed amphitheatre with outstanding acoustics, for 25 years now. The venue itself is amazing to behold, with seating for over 2,000 and an impressive array of biblically themed structures.

There were at least 60 people in the cast, often all on stage at one time, and only the principles were miked but you could still clearly hear the words the extras were murmuring in the crowd scenes (which I am sure required tremendous discipline!). 

The scale of the amphitheatre also made it possible to add live animals, and having a horse-drawn Roman chariot go all the way from stage left to stage right was pretty thrilling. The Roman armour and vestments of the Pharisees were splendid examples of costumery.

Their crucifixion scene was fairly harrowing, and involved hoisting the crossbar into position with the lead actor attached, still miked.

As a musical that was trying very hard not to be Jesus Christ Superstar, the play was very well done, taking a Simon-centric approach to the story. Truth be told, with my eyes watering and nose running throughout, I spent a lot of the time listening with my eyes closed, with the hood of my sweater up over my hat to protect my neck from the sun, as it was still very hot when the show got underway at 4:00. Still, I found it to be a moving and compelling rendition of the Gospel story.

Truth be told though, anyone who appreciates an unusual venue or has any interest in theatrical production owes it to themselves to check out the Badlands Passion Play at some point. The scope, scale, and technical accomplishments of such a major production, away from a major population center, is as miraculous as the story it portrays.

On the other hand, they are staging Carmen at the same venue in August, and Corb Lund and Ian Tyson after that, so the idea of returning to see a more secular event has some appeal as well!

Not Exactly Roughing It

We have deployed Frankentrailer to the Alberta badlands in a long-overdue return to the Drumheller area. We estimate that we were last here in 2006, and at that time we camped in a tent, but that is not the most interesting change.

I've really enjoyed this year's World Cup matches for their unpredictability, mad upsets, and only one scoreless draw in the entire tournament. Even though the final didn't contain any of the teams I normally cheer for (England, Holland, most African teams) I still wanted to see it.  Alas, nowhere in Drumheller appeared to be screening it, let alone an all-ages venue that would let Glory watch! After a couple of futile email exchanges it appeared I would have to sort myself out. A thankful combination of hospitality and technology made this possible.

It turns out that  River Grove Campground where we are staying this week has complimentary wifi. The phone I upgraded to this spring came with a free projector, of all things. I downloaded the TSN app, fired up the tiny projector, and that is how we managed to watch Croatia's valiant but doomed effort against France this morning on the ceiling of Frankentrailer, while curled up in our sleeping bags.

There were more than a few breaks in streaming due to buffering issues or the wifi connection being momentarily lost. Thankfully, my self awareness regarding my position of privilege returned when I caught myself saying aloud, "I just want to watch a live sporting match from the other side of the world on the equivalent of a 40" television, while camping, on the ceiling of my 40-year-old trailer - is that too much to ask for?"

Probably, yes, in reality; but we watched nonetheless, and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. What a time to be alive, as they say.

It's a Little Bit Funny - Ant-Man and the Wasp, Reviewed

Wow, has it already been three years since I reviewed the first Ant-Man movie? At the time, I thought of it as well done but disposable entertainment, saddled by Marvel's tendency to use mirror-image villains.

The sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, is much the same, with one critical difference, but it feels even lighter coming on the heels of more moving and socially relevant pieces like Infinity War and Black Panther. Maybe that's okay though.

The house arrest mentioned by Rhodey in that later film is where the sequel picks up, with an officious federal agent (gosh I miss SHIELD being a thing) explaining to the daughter of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) that his hijinks in Captain America: Civil War mean he is confined to his residence for three more days, and on probation for another three years after that.

Faster than you can say "two weeks until retirement" though, Scott finds himself running about with scientist Hank Pym (an increasingly acerbic Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly). Due to quantum entanglement from his trip to the not-Microverse Quantum Realm, they need his help to rescue Mrs. Pym (Michelle Pfeiffer) who has been trapped there for thirty years.

Antagonism, however, comes from not one, but two individuals. The first is an unsavory black marketeer named Burch played by the always awesome Walton Goggins, who is smart enough to have figured out what Pym and Co. are up to, and eager to monetize it via the dangerous people he deals with.

The vital component he holds is also sought after by Ghost, a young woman out of phase with reality who we learn might die if she doesn't extract some energy from the Quantum Realm. Hannah John-Kamen spends most of her time in an ominous looking suit which a) is pretty badass-looking in a Splinter Cell kind of way and b) looks almost nothing like the shrinking suits worn by the title characters, but also doesn't give her a lot of room to emote. In her time out of the suit, she comes across as far more desperate and tragic than she does actually villainous, although you do get to witness her desperation putting her on the razor's edge being self-interested and evil.

She's no Killmonger, but please, Marvel, more like this! Not every adversary has to be a maniacal moustache twirler, and the last few outings (Michael Keaton's Vulture, Josh Brolin's Thanos, Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster) makes me wonder if they have perhaps turned a corner on this.

Paul Rudd is well cast as the well-intentioned but hapless ex-con and wanna-be hero, and he does a great job conveying his dedication to his daughter. They spend almost five minutes at the beginning showing the lengths he has gone to make house arrest playdates as engaging as possible, and it is absolutely charming. With Hope a far better fighter and more at home with the tech than he can ever hope to be, his imaginative approach to problem solving keeps him from being a mere passenger in a movie with his name on the title.

If you enjoyed the jocularity of the first film, have no fear: Michael Pena and his crew are back, now as the staff of X-Con Security consultants, the business they are using to go straight. All of the Marvel movies have laughs in them, but none of them mine their supporting cast for material like Ant-Man does, and there is a gag involving what exactly a truth serum is and does that had me in stitches.

On the action side, the intangibility of Ghost and the tactical shrinking of the Wasp makes for some great sequences, including one where Wasp gets judoed through a table WWE-style while her opponent phases it right through it.

As much as I love a good caper flick, I was glad to see they didn't go that route this time around. Instead, you have an interdimensional race-against-time rescue mission focused around a laboratory building shrunk to the size of a suitcase, and compromised by an ethereal combatant with her own agenda, a wanna-be gangster now on the hook to his would-be buyers, and Federal agents looking for not just Scott but Dr. Pym and Hope as well.

It all holds together pretty well, honestly, and as our last MCU entry until next year's Captain Marvel, it makes a swell sorbet, a light and tasty way to cleanse the palate between courses of stronger and potentially darker stuff. Be prepared for some fast and loose physics (say, how does a two-inch car keep up with traffic when it has such tiny wheels?) and as much technobabble as you got from Geordie LaForge on Next Generation. Honestly though, would you rather have them waste time No-Prizing it for you, or packing in more jokes?

Ant-Man and the Wasp is not going to change the minds of anyone who dislikes comic book movies on principle, but after Logan and Black Panther, what would? As a piece of summertime escapism, it does exactly what it sets out to do, while still connecting to the wider MCU (stay for the mid-credits scene!) (I found the end credit scene pretty funny as well, but is more shawarma-like, if you know what I mean.

If I have a bone to pick, it is with Marvel's marketers. Although they don't give away much of the plot (partly because, well, there isn't a ton there to give away), there are a ton of gads from the third act they used in the first full trailer. I mean. come on, man! When I find that djinni lamp and become boss of the world, the first change I'm gonna make is a global statue that no more than three seconds can be shown in the trailer from the last 30 minutes of any movie.

Even though you may have already seen some of the best parts, you can stil scratch your action-comedy itch very satisfactorily with Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Second Verse, With a Twist - Luke Cage, Season 2, Reviewed

Having the house to oneself Friday night and most of Saturday was a bit of a mixed bag; on the one hand, I missed my family (Fenya in Harbin, and Glory and Audrey visiting Rocky Mountain House), but on the other, it gave me an opportunity to watch the last five or six episodes of Luke Cage, Season 2 on Netflix, which worked out pretty well in the end.

The Netflix corner of the MCU is gone from strength to strength in its most recent efforts. Yeah, The Punisher left me feeling a bit disappointed, but only because of its aloofness to the other MarvelNet offerings, while The Defenders and the second season of Jessica Jones have been solid. Jeph Loeb and company seem to be content to run a gauntlet between serious cable drama and comic book fan service, and Luke Cage S2 delivers on both accounts.

Mike Colter continues to be the bedrock of the series as bulletproof brother Luke Cage, defender of Harlem, but even that foundation can be allowed to show cracks. Luke's doubts about how to make a difference while protecting those he loves, and his complicated relationship with his father give him a much needed vulnerability.

His father is played by the late, great Reg E. Cathey, who you might remember as councilman Carcetti's advisor on The Wire. His smooth baritone coupled with his preacher's conviction make him a delight to listen to, and compelling even when he is wrong. 

On the villainous side of things, Black Mariah (Alfre Woodard) and her right hand man and paramour Shades Alvarez (Theo Rossi) are looking to finance a quick transition to legitimacy by selling the arms business which has underpinned her family's criminal empire for decades. This leaves the door open for Jamaican yardie John 'Bushmaster' McIver, played to chilling effect by Mustafa Shakir, to settle his own familial score. And what role will Mariah's estranged daughter, Tilda (Gabrielle Dennis), play in the settling of his inherited score?

You could be forgiven for thinking season 2 was taking a turn into soap opera, or at least telenovela territory, but none of the connections feel contrived (well, not too contrived anyhow), characters behave in a manner consistent with their goals and previous behaviours, even when this plays out in unpredictable ways, and the theme of family is always there to tie things together.

Best of all, the pacing feels much tighter this time around, thanks to Luke not spending three episodes gutshot this time around. I still think all the Marvel/Netflix shows would benefit from ten episode seasons, however.

Showrunner Cheo Hodari Choker and his staff have found ways to portray the modern black experience without ever having to get up on a soapbox to do it. The soundtrack, another assortment of black talent, is still one of the best thing in the show, although nothing stood out to me this time the way that Charles Bradley or Bulletproof Love did last time around. The use of reggae as a Jamaican counterpoint to the jazz/blues sound of Harlem's Paradise works tremendously well, especially The Upsetters "Chase the Devil" ("I'm gonna put on a iron shirt/ and chase Satan from the Eart'").

Despite the seriousness going around though, they still find a few ways to keep it light and remind people that Luke Cage comes from the comics. D.W. Griffith for instance, has transformed from the white kid running his uncle's theater in Harlem and renting a room to Luke Cage to the streetwise video huckster now trying to turn a profit by merchandising Harlem's hero (I may have to go to the Edmonton Expo in September just to track down an "official" 'Sweet Xmas' hoodie...)

Misty Knight (Simone Missick) starts the season short an arm (c'mon Man, The Defenders was almost a year ago now!), but with just as much indomitability as last season. Her too brief team-up with Iron Fist's Colleen Wing made a lot of us comic nerds salivate for a Daughters of the Dragon series, or maybe a one-shot Netflix movie. More importantly though, Misty finally gets one of her signature features from the comic: a bionic arm.

Effects-wise, they have kept it on the cheap, which is understandable, but distinct, which is appreciated. It would be all to easy to put her in long sleeves and throw a flesh-coloured glove on it and play things as status quo, but having it attract stares and comments or cause collateral damage on the rare occasions where she loses control is a better play, especially in the long term.

Best of all though, the rehabilitation of Danny Rand, the Immortal Iron Fist (Finn Jones) continues apace, building on the goodwill earned during The Defenders. New Danny is far more relaxed, way less uptight, more...at peace with himself, and wishing the same for his friend Luke. Sadly, Jones is not any more convincing a fighter yet, but if they go the dancer's route like they did with David Carradine in Kung Fu, I will be content. 

Critically, however,, the whininess and petulance that was so unbecoming of Iron Fist seems to have been put aside, and he's gotten his zen on a little bit, which feels closer to the truth of the character, at least for me. With a new showrunner on the second season for that show, I find myself drifting towards guarded optimism.

Like Jessica Jones S2, Luke Cage is not afraid to play rough with its toys, changing relationships and ending lives in a way that feels unexpected in the source material, but plays very well in deluxe television. The streets get grittier and grimier, and all the while, you wonder when Luke might just have to buckle. By the end of the 13th episode, the pieces have all be rearranged, the status quo has been almost completely upturned, and we are left hungering for the next installment of tv's best superpowered soul food.