Sat 29th
David Cohlmeyer and the Toronto Chefs.

Met with David and followed him around all afternoon with the camera, meeting the chefs from the finest restaurants in Toronto. Each and every one has a good word to say about David and the service that he is providing for the community with his "special" creations.

Sun 30th
Howard Jerome, Michael Clark, and the Pow Wow

Brunch with Howard and Michael Clark. Discussing Michaels new camera concept. A camera that will freeze a moment in time using 37 cameras and 150 motors. Michael has used the Internet to locate special surplus motors that reduced his cost on these motors to under $5 per unit. The Retail cost is over $150 US. It seems there must be a plethora of used parts out in the market place that have been used in beta testing and have found their way onto the surplus market. I wonder how much I would have to know before I could access this huge resource?

After our brunch and a collective catching up on many ideas of common interest, we each went our own ways. Howard to the Convention Centre , Michael to finish a commercial that maintains his survival level, and myself down to the powwow at the Convention Centre.

I met several elders and made some new contacts at the POW Wow. There were clans from all over the World coming to participate in doing dance and re-meeting friends from past pow wows. I interviewed three little boys that were there to do the "grass dance". They had all participated before and this is one of the highlights of their lives. And well it should be. The costumes or "regalia" as Jason referred to their clothes were most extra-ordinary. I later managed to video them in a presentation. When our little interview ended, little Jason gave me a big hug, at his invitation I might add. It was wonderful seeing such openness and genuine human understanding in such a little boy. Later I met his grandfather, an elder of the Seneca tradition, and his grandmother. Jason from Florida was moving in with them to learn the Seneca language. I asked grandfather if it was going to be possible to capture some of the language on video in order to share it with others. He said that it was on the advice of his elders that no such process be used. It was necessary for repetition to be used and that the process must be maintained as an oral tradition. It must be acknowledged that this is important understanding, even if I do not understand the distinction on a personal level yet. When one learns to hear, you must learn to hear on all levels. Video only captures two. Video and audio. This is a good teaching.

I visited with some of the media outlets including a magazine Aboriginal Voices, a radio network, the CESO Aboriginal Services, and learned of an open talent search for Canada’s Wonderland for next June 21st at Canada’s Wonderland.