Let’s get right to business. The charming Cat Deely got herself a first Emmy nomination this week! Woo! She is a really great host and a sparkling personality on the screen. Props also go to Tom Bergeron for his nomination. Last week, the forgettable Ashely and Chris were both sent home. Maybe it was just a weak partnership or something, but I never saw any magic between them. It is interesting that they haven’t broken up a single couple yet, perhaps they have changed it so that no couples will be broken up? That seems a bit unfair to someone who has a crap partner.

Guest judge this week is Jesse Tyler Ferguson! How fun. Mitchell in the house (from Modern Family). I hope Cam shows up and declares to the crowd that Mitchell is (once again) cheating on him with choreography. Anyways…choreographer Sonya Tayeh is our other guest judge tonight. The couples will each dance two routines tonight, which means I am going to be writing a lot. Go grab your favourite dance-inspired cocktail (Shirley Temple, par example) and let’s get to it.

Sasha and Alexander: Paso doble by Tony Meredith and Melanie Lapatin

Last night’s True Blood, “I’m Alive and on Fire,” was something of a letdown after three weeks of AMAZING. It naturally had to be (how could you keep that up?), though it was still disappointing when not much happened (and doubly disappointing to crash to black at 9:50 exactly). We did, however, get to further experience the tragedy of Bill Compton, gain some insight into our embittered witch friend, and watch one of the horrible denizens of Hot Shot die. Plus, there was a Wet Torso Contest, so I guess it’s not all bad.

I Will Slay All the Sea Monsters

No sooner has Claudine gone up in a cloud of faerie dust than Sookie is insistent that Eric get back to his cubby, lest the fae be lurking about. Puppy Eric is apparently more interested in keeling over. Just when I think he’s on his very own trip to Fairy Land, he sort of snores and wiggles his arms around and gets back up, blood all over his face because blood never washes. He slurs that he wants more and keeps approaching Sookie long after she tells him to quit it. He flicks back her side pony tail (guess he’s a right biter). As he comes in for the bite, Sookie whisper-yells, “Don’t, Eric, you’ll kill me.” Puppy Eric’s head snaps back. Wounded, he explains that he could never hurt Sookie. The fangs retract. Relieved, Sookie tries to lead him to the cubby, but Eric’s not having it. He keeps pinching her butt (“beautiful butt,” he clarifies) and running away at vamp-speed. Finally, Sookie gets it, “Eric, you’re drunk.” Drunkety drunk drunk drunk would be more accurate, but I guess that’s close enough. Drunky Eric is like, “Duh, Snooki.” Despite dawn approaching, he’s upping grab ass to tag. “Chase me,” he implores, taking off at vamp-speed. Sookie chases him into the credits.

Ho, boy. Last night’s True Blood, “If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin’?” had a whole lot of only a few of things: horrible Crystal in horrible Hot Shot, approximately 1000 new faces from Puppy Eric, and rape. Talking about it, threatening it, seeing it happen. If you know me, then you know that’s my line, so I don’t know how I am going to deal with the fallout. I’ll probably comfort myself with the triumphant return of Alcide.

This is . . . my house?

Out by the side of the road, the camera makes sure to lovingly pan up from Puppy Eric’s bare feet (called it!), revel in his naked torso, and come to rest on his handsome, confused face. Fangs out, he wonders anew why Sookie smells so good, but this time he’s a little more descriptive: “Like wheat (sniff) and honey (sniff) and sunshine.” Sookie: “You know perfectly well why I smell . . . the way that I do.” She punctuates this with a pert little nod, like, this topic is no longer open for discussion, and I marvel at the idea that Sookie/Anna Paquin was ever considered a weak link on this show. We couldn’t be luckier to have her, folks. Puppy Eric, however, pays no never mind to the naysayers and leans into the car to, I don’t know, take a big whiff. Sookie hits the gas, makes it all of a couple of hundred feet while watching Puppy Eric in the rear view, then stops when she doesn’t see him anymore. Forsooth, Sookie. Try to remember that time he punched a giant dent into the front of your car. Was that her car or was it Bill’s? If it was her’s, you know he got that fixed up, too. Do you think it’s significant that her car and her house are yellow? Is it related to her sunshiny-ness? Item reserved. So Sookie’s looking around when Puppy Eric reappears and pounces on her through her open window. Sookie screams us into the credits.

Last week, Miranda and Robert (he of the woo!) were eliminated. This wasn’t really a shocker, though I do think there are some girls left that weren’t as talented as Miranda (Ashley and Caitlynn among them). Still, I don’t think Miranda was destined for the top 4 or anything, so it isn’t a big deal.

Guest judges tonight are Carmen Electra and Travis Wall (a former competitor on SYTYCD). Carmen is a bit of a let down after the great K. Chenoweth, but who could top that singing wonder? No one.

Guys’ Group Routine: Choreographed by Justin Giles (who is new to the show).

Well, I was way off last week. 4 people were sent home, none of them being those that I predicted. The bottom three couples were Ryan and Ricky, Iveta and Nick (Iveta of World Championship ballroom status), and Missy and Wadi. Somehow, Nigel and Co. found it fit to keep Ryan and Ricky! The worst.

Right off the bat, we get to meet our judges who include the annoying Lil C who wastes no time in talking about his “buckness”. Dumb. They also include the FABULOUS and tiny Kristin Chenoweth. Olive Snook (and Glinda), for the eternal win.

Sasha and Alexander: These two have a contemporary routine by Dee Caspary. They are dancing a very emotional piece. I think it shows off both of their strength as dancers. It gets a bit weird at the end when Sasha crawls into the prop piano and then sort of plays from within it. It is odd. Overall, the dance was strong. Nigel has no criticism for Sasha, but tells Alexander that he needs to connect with his audience a little more (a la Chenoweth). Chenoweth herself tells a humorous story about her experience as a dancing tulip when a frog (dancer) peed on her.

The Ottawa International Animation Festival’s industry event TAC is now accepting proposals for its 2011 Pitch THIS! Program, presented by 9 Story Entertainment. This year’s event will be held at the Fairmont Château Laurier on September 21 and 22, the first two days of the Festival.

"Nothing beats pitching to industry execs in front of hundreds of people to bring the potential of your project quickly into focus! For us it was the confidence boost we needed to go after the opportunities that arose from attending TAC." - Warren Brown, Producer of BIGBOX SINGSONG (Pitch THIS! 2009)

Pitch THIS! gives two producers the opportunity to steal everybody’s attention by revealing their new project to everyone in the TAC audience, which includes over 350 potential buyers, financiers, partners and industry leaders. Two of the most promising ideas will be selected by the TAC committee for a chance to WOW the conference’s panel of broadcasters and industry leaders for 10 minutes. Both producers and audience members alike will receive valuable feedback from a panel of broadcasters.

If “She’s Not There,” was set up, then last night’s True Blood, “You Smell Like Dinner,” is rapid payoff. Sure, a lot of it is just pushing forward everyone’s season arcs, but it feels less like soapy wheel spinning (secrets and lies) and more like actual things happening. Say what you will about True Blood; this show can cram a helluva lot of plot into an hour. Check it: Tara’s back, Crystal’s back, Bill flashes back, Eric flashes back, Sookie runs all over town trying to figure out how not to be Eric’s, and Pam gives some really good advice. Also, Louis Pasteur? Total vampire. Someone update that entry, STAT.

Two Sookies Enter, Only One Can Leave

Despite how we left things, with Eric advancing on Sookie fangs out and Sookie’s robe in his hand, Sookie’s hurrying down the stairs of Stackhouse Shack while tying her robe and denying that she will ever be Eric’s. Alright, let’s just get this one out of the way upfront, so we can concentrate on the proceedings: WHAT KIND OF AN IDIOT DOESN’T WANT TO BE ERIC’S? SIGN ME UP! Ahem. Right, so, Eric zips down the stairs and tells it like it is: Sookie’s blood tastes like freedom and sunshine. While vampires may not realize it or why, that’s what they smell when they smell her. Sookie asks petulantly if Eric is threatening her (get a clue, Sook). He explains that on the contrary, Sookie’s going to need protection, and, straightening up to his full height of GIANT, he can offer that protection. Sookie will take her chances and flounces off to the kitchen, but Eric’s not going to rest his case quite that fast. He also, as you may recall, owns this house. Sookie snaps back that the house doesn’t come with her inside it, and Eric fires off that if that is the case, he “grossly overpaid.” I still think it’s gross that Eric considers Sookie transitive property or property of any kind, really.

Hey, remember Tuesday Recipes? Well, I'm bringing 'em back. The credit for this one should actually go to Lauren (in addition to Nigella, of course). She served 'em up right at a party, and I've been going crazy over them ever since. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups (18-ounces) assorted unsalted nuts, including peeled peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans and whole unpeeled almonds
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maldon or other sea salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine and spread them out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

HOLY SHIT! Truth: I yelled that while HBO Canada was giving me the 14A warning. Nothing had happened yet, but I was really excited, you guys. Fortunately, last night’s Season 4 True Blood première, “She’s Not There,” had “holy shit” in spades. It’s been over a year since Sookie stepped into the light with Claudine, and it has lead to a lot of delicious new developments for every single one of our beloved characters. Also, Eric tries his hand at growling. Result? Excellent. Now let’s do bad things.

WAIT: Before this season started, I read a number of things about how True Blood can get back on track after Season 3. I wasn’t aware that it went off-track in S3, but apparently people weren’t as into vampire politics as I am. Too bad, fools. Russell Edginton is a genius creation. Denis O’Hare, hats off to you.

Call for Submissions
Saving Face: Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Portraiture
September 13 – November 13, 2011
Living Arts Centre Gallery
4141 Living Arts Drive
Mississauga, ON L5B 4B8
905.306.6161

The Living Arts Centre invites artists to submit works for Saving Face, an exhibition about contemporary portraiture in Canada and its relevance today. Portraiture is constantly reinventing itself.  Within the expanding boundaries of art media, countless functions for reproducing human likeness exist – preservation, the deconstruction of identity, homage, etc.  Yet despite this expansion, portraiture is often associated with tradition. Saving Face asks artists to re-evaluate the portrait within a contemporary framework. Drawing from the history of the genre and integrating media both old and new, the exhibition will identify contemporary Canadian portraiture and reveal new trends in its practice. Artists working in all media are encouraged to submit up to two works for consideration. Cash prizes will be awarded.

Exhibition jurors:
Alejandro Arauz, multi-disciplinary artist & educator, University of New Mexico
Steven Schwartz, Director, Engine Gallery, Toronto
Cole Swanson, Curator, Living Arts Centre Gallery, Mississauga
SUBMISSION INFORMATION:
$25.00 application fee (cheques made out to the Living Arts Centre, cash accepted)
artist statement (max. 100 words)
current CV
2 image submissions of current work (jpegs on CD at 72 dpi), including a word document listing title, medium, size, date, and artist’s name for each submission
* Artist’s name must be clearly labelled on the submission CD*
SASE (self addressed and stamped envelope) – please ensure correct postage for return of CD (The Living Arts Centre assumes no responsibility for images sent without return postage)
Email submissions will not be accepted.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Monday, August 8, 2011
Please send submissions to:
Saving Face Juried Exhibition
c/o Exhibition Curator, Cole Swanson
Studio Arts
Living Arts Centre
4141 Living Arts Drive
Mississauga, ON
L5B 4B8
For more information, please email curator Cole Swanson at cole.swanson@livingarts.on.ca or call 905.306.6161.

span-o (the small press action network - ottawa) presents:

       the ottawa
       small press
       book fair

spring 2011 edition
will be happening Saturday, June 25, 2011

in room 203 of the Jack Purcell Community Centre (on Elgin, at 320 Jack
Purcell Lane).

General info: the ottawa small press book fair
noon to 5pm (opens at 11:00 for exhibitors)
admission free to the public.

and for information on this or other small press book fairs across Canada,
be sure to check out http://www.smallpressbookfair.blogspot.com/
____________________________________________
GuerillaLIVE #28
A night of performance
Friday, June 24
Patrick Gordon Framing Studio
160 Elm Street
7 p.m. to midnight

No cover / cash bar / catered by ArtIsIn Bakery
Guerilla magazine
102-145 Clarence Street
Ottawa Ontario K1N 1B7
Canada
____________________________________________
Cumberland Heritage Village Museum, located in a picturesque rural setting just 25 minutes from downtown Ottawa has scheduled the following activities for weekend family outings without leaving the city:
* Blacksmithing Workshop on Saturday, June 25, with sessions at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.: The village blacksmith presents a beginners’ blacksmithing workshop and participants will be encouraged to strike while the iron is hot! New blacksmiths will turn unremarkable pieces of metal into unique usable works of art to take home.
* Young at Heart on Sunday, June 26, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: The museum will be offering free admission for guests 65 years of age and older. The Young at Heart are invited to explore the museum’s gardens and enjoy the village’s relaxed atmosphere during tea services at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The cost to participate in the Blacksmithing Workshop is $10 / person. Registration is required by calling 613-833-3059. Cumberland Heritage Village Museum is open to the public Wednesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit www.ottawa.ca/museums for regular admission rates and more information.

Last week, this show wasted all of our time by not eliminating any of the dancers. Dumb! This week, we have a fun guest judge in Debbie Reynolds (she sang in the rain, in case you didn’t know). Apparently, this week four dancers will go home. Exciting!

Ricky and Ryan: These two have a “sexy” jazz routine choreographed by Mandy Moore. Not that Mandy Moore, sadly. Ryan is not doing much to win me over this week…she seems annoying. Ricky is impressive with his athleticism in this routine, but Ryan just looks like prop. The judges have nothing but praise, and Nigel awkwardly says that the routine had the sexual chemistry of he and Mary Murphy. Debbie Reynolds wins me over early on by claiming that Ryan really gave it her all by coming out of both her top and bottom (wardrobe malfunctions). 

Caitlynn and Mitchell: We didn’t get to see Mitchell last week because of an injury, and this week they will be dancing a contemporary routine by Stacey Tookey. They have prop armchairs in their routine, which generally doesn’t bode well. As I suspected, the time spent in the chairs is a waste. After that, they suffer from what I saw last week in another couple, where they don’t have the emotional core in their dance. It is technically quite good. After the routine, Caitlynn is bleeding because apparently Mitchell punched her during the dance. Hilarious. Good for her for just dancing through it.

The Lexicon: an occasional feature in which we identify movie/TV lines worth repeating.

Source: Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), Arrested Development, "Key Decisions" (S1, E4)

Usage: Shit happens.

Welcome to a new show being recapped here at (Cult)ure, So You Think You Can Dance!  It is time for teenaged and 20-somethinged dancers to amaze us with serious skill, and time for me to prove, yet again, how little I know about dance. My history with this show is pretty brief, with me only having watched one full season in the past. What I remember from that season is some really entertaining dances and one “banoodles” choreographer named Mia Michaels. I am sure the show won’t disappoint in bringing us these two things again.

I didn’t watch the audition rounds, so I am meeting the dancers tonight. Let’s get to it!

Judges:  Our panel tonight consists of two regulars, Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, and one guest, Megan Mullally. Yes, Ron Swanson’s on-screen ex-wife AND real-life wife  (I may never recover from that one) will be joining us tonight. Consider yourselves lucky. Mullally spent time in ballet academies in her younger days, and has also done several Broadway plays. 

It is being reported the Jackass star Ryan Dunn has passed away following a car accident early this morning. Dunn was a talented performance artist, stuntman, and comedian. 

First appearing in the earliest CKY videos, Dunn shot to stardom along with friend Bam Margera in MTV's Jackass television series.  Dunn also co-starred with Margera for five seasons of Viva la Bam, and most recently starred in the hit film, Jackass 3D, which grossed $170 million last fall.

(Cult)ure Magazine sends our condolences to Ryan Dunn's family and friends. 

I just finished reading "Sorry Women, Summer Films Are for Boys," Dorothy Woodend's latest on The Tyee. Though we don't always agree, I'm a big fan Ms. Woodend's work. I went into this article with the suspicion that I wouldn't agree and not just because I'm a fan of the latest X-Men. Essentially because I'm a man-boy (or is it a boy-man?) at heart.

My best friend and I have a movie philosophy that amounts to "explosions Friday; art house Saturday." We're members of the Bytowne and love it there, and we're faithful patrons of the World Exchange Centre, a theatre more likely than the rest in Ottawa to pick up smaller films. But by the end of the week, you're not always in the right mental space to go deep or thoughtful or heavy. Sometimes you just want to watch things blow up real good.

Then I got to this caveat:

I was perusing the latest Fast Forward Weekly (a Calgary-based alt weekly) when I came across Danny Austin's Super 8 review. Check the description/subtitle/abstract/whatever you want to call it:  "Finally, an original movie hits screens."

What's that you say? An original movie? Sounds like someone read a little article about this year's crop of original summer movies! 

I mean, you know, probably not. But because I am the queen of specious shout-outs, I shall claim it. Shout out!

The Lexicon: an occasional feature in which we identify movie/TV lines worth repeating.

Source: Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen), Gossip Girl, "Summer Kind of Wonderful" (S2, E1)

Usage: Awkward conversation ender. It's your new "end scene."

POSITION AVAILABLE:
ADMIN INTERN

Odyssey Theatre, Ottawa’s premiere professional mask summer theatre, is offering a ninemonth Arts Administrative Intern position to a University or College graduate. The position could be extended up to fourteen months. This job is perfect for someone who is interested in exploring the world of arts administration, and/or gaining new administrative skills, which would be transferable to other fields.

Odyssey Theatre is a dynamic, award-winning company that runs a successful open-air theatre in Strathcona Park. Our company produces a unique style of theatre that successfully blends various theatrical forms, including such arts as Commedia dell’Arte, mask, physical theatre and clown. We are currently celebrating our 25th season, and have many exciting plans for growth, including producing an indoor winter touring season.

Reporting to the General Manager and the Artistic Director, the successful candidate will be responsible for assisting with Odyssey’s: Marketing strategies and materials; Fundraising; Grant writing; and General office duties.
The successful candidate must possess the following skills: excellent written
communication skills; initiative; strong organizational skills; oral communication skills; intermediate computer skills preferably with some experience on an Apple operating system (Microsoft Word, Excel); and a background in the arts would be an asset.

This is a full-time position (from July 4, 2011 – March 30, 2012), $425.00/week, 40 hours/week.

The successful candidate will receive training and mentorship in marketing, fundraising and strategic planning, while being provided with networking opportunities. As well as gaining an excellent knowledge of the arts, after completing the position, Odyssey’s Administrative Intern would be qualified for numerous exciting positions in the not-forprofit, private and government sectors. This position is also a fantastic stepping-stone to a career in the arts and to succeed as an arts administrator.

Please submit a cover letter and resume by June 10, 2011 to:

Dana Uzarevic
General Manager
Odyssey Theatre
2 Daly Avenue
Ottawa, ON, K1N 6E2

Or by email: info@odysseytheatre.ca