Thank You for visiting,

We shall meet again. Until then, I leave you with...

Intense, beautiful, magnetic, gets in your guts-musical-intensity-take-charge-of-your-destiny-&-the-world-can-be-conquered type of music!

Thank you for reading or just "googling" and entering our world.

Should I say :
- God Speed, John Glenn;
- So long and good night and good luck to you all, Edward R. Murrow;
- Until we meet again...- linoue, out!

TICKLEBEAR IS LEAVING THE BUILDING!!

It's been months since I've presented something here. 

It doesn't mean I haven't been active, 

but everything was done on my main blog, 

ticklebear4u.com. 

While I've enjoyed being part of a triumvirat, 

I will now keep concentrating my efforts on my own blog, 

flying solo!! 

I am not closing this blog 

as there are two other bloggers here too. 

They've also been discreet lately... 

Let's see what happens!! 

If you want to see me, 

you now know my [real] address. 

:)~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC (MONTREAL 2011)- PANZERA SAS's BEATLES TRIBUTE and JUPITER WINNERS!!, by TICKLEBEAR

well, 

the festival is now over, 

we know the winners 

and we had a last presentation by the people of 

PANZERA SAS, 

the BEATLES' TRIBUTE, 

which was a great way to close the festival.

:)~

as for this year's winners, 

let me remind you of my own results, 

and i'll then reveal the official winners:

ITALY, 

AUSTRALIA, 

FRANCE, 

CZECH REPUBLIC, 

ENGLAND, 

USA, 

CANADA, 

CHINA. 

for their part, 

the judges gave the gold jupiter to 

ITALY. 

the silver jupiter went to 

FRANCE. 

and the bronze jupiter went to 

AUSTRALIA. 

as you can see, 

i got the top three right, 

just not quite in the same order...

so, 

see you all next year 

for another great edition of 

L'INTERNATIONAL des FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC 

in 

MONTREAL, 

in 2012!! 

:)~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: FRANCE, by TICKLEBEAR

the last contestant in 

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC, 

is the french team, 

LACROIX RUGGIERI, 

a frequent visitor in this competition; 

and this year, 

their theme is 

"MAUDITS FRANCAIS", 

(damn frenchy), 

a catchy title!! 

this said, 

they also included some narrative into their presentation 

and you know by now how i feel about those... 

hence the minus half-star.

this said, 

it was fun, 

even impressive at times. 

something over the lake, 

i don't know what you call those, 

(neither in french or english...). 

a static installation that shoots fireworks in various circular patterns 

really caught my attention 

and i found this most effective.

their musical selection  was delightful 

and there was something for everyone's tastes. 

their CanCan was certainly entertaining, 

and they struck a chord with their various moods. 

elegant and festive, 

they celebrated french savoir-faire. 

well-done guys!! 

but even without the narratives, 

my rating remains the same... 

still, 

a great performance 

which i'm glad i saw. 

see you all next saturday for the results!!

:)~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: CANADA, by TICKLEBEAR

could i be a bit blasé about love? 

because "Eros and Psychée" failed to seduce me tonight. 

it was the presentation of the canadian team, 

BEM FEUX D'ARTIFICE. 

first of all, 

there was a narrative... 

a big no-no with me. 

the music selection was splendid 

but i feel they could have done more with that. 

never once was i wooed 

and i even saw people on the bridge leaving way before the end... 

a little bland, 

lacking energy, 

it was elegant and well timed, 

but my opinion is 

that this had not reached its full potential.

the delay between each scene was too long, 

it took a while for each scene to pick up any momentum

and somewhat grab your attention. 

the display over the lake was alright [at times], 

but on the other hand, 

up in the air, 

it was a bit "n'importe quoi"... 

sadly.

i don't foresee any prize for them this year, 

but i could be wrong... 

i am not a professional, 

after all... 

:/~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: USA, by TICKLEBEAR

let's make one thing clear here:

i love the movie "Wizard of Oz". 

i love fireworks. 

thus, 

you would think i would love 

ZAMBELLI FIREWORKS' creation, 

presented at 

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC.

unfortunately, 

their choice of soundtrack failed to built momentum, 

and to illicit an emotional response from me. 

it left me cold, 

much to my astonishment. 

i'm usually an easy sell for most visiting american teams... 

what happened?!?

i must say 

they had included some of the dialogues from the movies, 

not the most exciting thing to do for fireworks. 

other countries had included long narratives into their presentation 

and it never made for a good show, 

in my opinion. 

also, 

some of the songs weren't just right for this either. 

the fireworks were fine if you omitted the soundtrack, 

but since we have to take in account both visuals and sounds, 

their score is not too high... 

the fireworks weren't a total disappointment, 

but my reaction was... 

i never thought i'd say this: 

sure, 

they made a lot of noise, 

but the WOW!! factor just wasn't there for me, 

sadly... 

:(~ 

HUGZ

LES FEUX DE LOTO-QUEBEC, MONTREAL 2011: AUSTRALIA, by TICKLEBEAR

i knew i could count on those aussies to have a good time. 

the folks of 

HOWARD & SONS PYROTECHNICS 

simply dazzled us!!

their musical selection was refreshing 

as it was often punctuated by aboriginal music 

instead of relying on the usual standards we hear a tad too often. 

it lent to the whole experience a special flavor 

and i was riveted from beginning to the end!! 

their rendition of the music over the lake and up in the air was breathtaking, 

perfect synch and the overall impression was a thrilling one.

another serious contender!! 

the judges will be hard put to declare a winner here... 

i'm so glad i got to see it. 

:)~ 

HUGZ

PINKARNAVAL (MONTREAL 2011), by TICKLEBEAR

another parade in the city, 

PINKARNAVAL, 

this one was part of the 

JUST FOR LAUGH FESTIVAL, 

and inspired by the fashion designer 

JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER. 

it started late... 

which in my book costs them!! 

the rhythm was uneven, 

some things took forever to make an appearance, 

while others rushed by...

this said, 

the parade had its charms 

as it offered us a poetic portrait of the designer's contribution. 

i appreciated, 

given the fashion industry is aimed at near [artificial] perfection, 

seeing this was an all inclusive event 

because we could see people of all races, 

all ages and even some with [physical and mental] disabilities. 

nice because we all bring something to this world. 

some participants performed quite well, 

much to the crowd's delight. 

and Jean-Paul leading the parade was certainly a highlight!!

in conclusion, 

picking up the garbage minutes before the event was a nonsense... 

some security people were rude... 

a vehicule cut through the crowd to exit the site...

it could have been run tighter... 

but it remained a fun event to see nonetheless, 

leaving room for improvement for future events. 

:)~ 

HUGZ