{"id":10489,"date":"2014-06-20T11:53:16","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T15:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=10489"},"modified":"2014-06-20T12:29:25","modified_gmt":"2014-06-20T16:29:25","slug":"head-north-this-weekend-for-internet-cats-kilts-jazz-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2014\/06\/20\/head-north-this-weekend-for-internet-cats-kilts-jazz-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Head north this weekend for internet cats, kilts, jazz and more"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Henri,<\/a>

Henri, Le Chat Noir. Photo via Facebook<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

It’s a crazy busy time of year, which gets even worse on the weekends. There’s just too much to choose from, which is a good problem to have, I suppose.<\/p>\n

There’s always a wide variety of events in and around the North Country at NCPR’s community calendar<\/a>. For this post, I’ll revisit a couple of Ontario\/Ottawa topics discussed earlier<\/a>, plus a few extras.<\/p>\n

All things Scottish will be back to roam the streets of Perth, Ontario on Saturday, featuring the world’s largest race featuring runners in kilts<\/a>. Sorry, registration for the run is closed. But it’s still a sight to see. And then there are the extras<\/a>, like lots of music, the shortbread contest, a medieval camp, a scotch tasting, a Scottish writer’s tent, and a haggis hurling contest.<\/p>\n

Not into kilts? Well, sticking with the off-beat, a previously-mentioned<\/a>\u00a0“Just for Cats” film festival takes place Sunday<\/a> from 2-8 p.m. at Ottawa’s Algonquin College. And there’s a special guest appearance (via Skype, that is) by Will Branden, the creator of\u00a0Henri, le Chat Noir<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here’s more on that<\/a> from Peter Simpson, “The Big Beat” arts reporter for the Ottawa Citizen:<\/p>\n

It all began as a tardy class project a few years ago. Braden, now 34, was at the Seattle Film Institute and had to complete a two-minute \u201cprofile of someone.\u201d He took too long to choose a subject, and was running out of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was housesitting and Henry\u201d \u2014 Henri is Henry\u2019s stage name \u2014 \u201cwas there. I had a piano, and a cat, and I thought maybe if I make this funny enough and I parody some French New Wave films we\u2019ve been watching, they won\u2019t really notice I didn\u2019t follow the assignment properly. And it worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Classmates asked him to put the video on Youtube so they could show it to friends. Now there\u2019s a series of videos, and a book \u2014 Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat \u2014 in its fourth printing, with a sequel on the way later this year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What a great outcome for procrastinating on homework. Check out more existential musings \u00a0on YouTube.<\/p>\n