Now that Gossip Girl is finally, finally back (unlike, say, Glee), we can hopefully staunch our rivers of tears and let the show get back to the things it does best: scheming, complicated sexual dynamics, and dire stupidity. Though "The Hurt Locket" wasn't GG at its best, it was a nice warm up for the full tilt run toward the season finale (don't leave me again, show! I mean . . . ).

Scheming

Chuck's running around all over town (even missing out on Anna Karenina-role play with Blair) in search of mystery lady from his father's grave (the last ep was about two weeks ago for the UES). Or, as Chuck puts it, "I think that whore might be my mother." In an episode that was actually kind of boring, you know Ed Westwick's exquisitely expressive face* made me choke up a little over that one. We finally meet her, and Elizabeth's got the right weird face (sadly lacking in expression), a weird accent, and half a locket containing a picture of her holding baby Chuck. Or maybe some other Bart baby. I am going to be très disappointed in this show if she turns out to be Chuck's mom after all. I will be happy if this means Chuck gets more to do, though. When was the last time we saw him menace anyone?

TWoP has a photo gallery up about why The Vampire Diaries is so addictive (don't they know I already wrote all those posts for you in pursuit of what makes the show awesome?), but let me save you the trouble of clicking through with these three words: the Brothers Salvatore. I like Elena, I love Bonnie, Caroline's cool, and mad props go out to my dearly (sexistly) departed ladies Vicki, Lexi, Bree, and Grams. But the Brothers Salvatore make the show. Thanks to the writing and the wily performances of Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, Stefan and Damon are never who you think they are.

At first blush, Stefan's the earnest, brooding good guy and Damon's his dangerous, bad boy older brother. While Stefan can be earnest and does brood (specifically with his forehead,  Damon would tell you), he's also far more dangerous than Damon could ever hope to be. Damon kills to feed or to protect himself: he's motivated entirely by his emotions. He views humans as a lesser life form, and it comes across in his every action.

Stefan, on the hand, tries to simultaneously embrace the benefits of being a vampire (longevity, super speed/hearing/strength) while rejecting that which sustains him (human blood). The wistful way he spoke of all the different jobs he's held for as long as he could didn't betray a longing to return to his human form: it spoke of someone determined to get as much as he could out of the life he chose. He's not self-loathing like Edward or Bill. He accepts, and he moves on. But you know what it takes to do as much accepting and moving on as he has? Motherfuckin' sangfroid, which he has in spades. Unlike Damon, Stefan readily forms human attachments, and his determination to protect them (not himself) from things that go bump in the night (although sadly not from Bumpits) leads him to some pretty dark places. We've seen him stake and flame-throw other vampires without hesitation. What will he do if another human ever threatens Elena? How far would he go? He's smart, funny, passionately in love, and loyal to both people and place. He's also an icy dispatcher of foes and not above poisoning his own brother. He's a study in contrasts.

Why limit your gallery openings to one night a week?

GCTC's FRITZI gallery presents:
Eric Sze-Lang Chan (eepmon)
March 4 ~ April 11
A visual art dialogue with “blood.claat"
Meet the Artist Reception (free)
Thursday March 4   6-8pm 1233 Wellington Street West (at Holland Avenue), 2nd Floor Level

Brian Jungen: Thursday, March 4 at 6 pm
Brian Jungen will discuss his artistic practice. A bilingual question period will follow.
Brian Jungen creates thought provoking sculptures through the reconfiguring of familiar objects. His work comments on a range of issues, from mass production and globalization to the consumption of Aboriginal imagery through museum practices. He first came to prominence with Prototypes for New Understanding (1998–2005), in which he reconceived Nike footwear into objects that suggest Northwest Coast Aboriginal masks. Since then his work has been exhibited extensively in Canada and internationally including at the Vancouver Art Gallery (British Columbia), Tate Modern (London), the New Museum (New York), the Biennale of Sydney (Australia), and Vienna Secession, (Austria).  The National Gallery of Canada collection currently holds four works by Jungen including Peoples Flag, 2006; Vienna, 2003; Vernacular, 1998-2001; and Shapeshifter, 2000.
In the National Gallery's Lecture Hall. Free admission. 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa

American author/actress/socialite/designer Gloria Vanderbilt is establishing a literary prize for Canadian short-story authors. The prize is dedicated in the memory of her son Carter V. Cooper, who committed suicide in 1988. So, she's responsible for real life hottie Anderson Cooper, fictionally related to hottie Nate Archibald, and giving to the literary community in Canada? Gloria Vanderbilt is some kind of magic.

CALL TO ARTISTS
Blink Artist Collective is currently accepting submissions for the 2010 exhibition season. Blink Gallery can be found in Header House, a small, stone NCC heritage building in Major's Hill Park, across the bridge from the National Gallery. Blink will be mounting another exciting series of one-week shows from June to September, which will feature the work of Blink artists, as well as showcase a variety of guest artists. Blink is encouraging artists of all disciplines to apply.
Please apply with a non-refundable application fee of $25.
Please go to www.blinkgallery.ca and look for the application form - all the necessary information for application can be found on the form.
For any questions regarding application go to: karina_kraenzle@sympatico.ca
All submissions will be juried by Blink.
DEADLINE - March 15, 2010
Please mail applications to:
Blink Gallery for the Arts Inc.
PO Box 53070
RPO Rideau-centre
Ottawa, ON   K1N 1C5

The New York Post's NYPD March 3 blotter includes the following little gem:

Brooklyn

He just wigged out.

I'm a big believer in making your own fun. If the Daily Show has taught me anything (oh, how it has), it's that the news can play a big role in said fun-making. All you need are a few headlines. Such as: 

"Victoria dancers sparkle in the limelight"
Misread that as daylight, and you might think Stephenie Meyer attacked Victoria.

"J'ai tué ma mère fails to win César"
So not only did Xavier Dolan's film lose, it also came home to face a very disappointed parent Montreal Gazette.

Not a lot to choose from from Hollywood this week. If you're a die hard* Kevin Smith fan, you may want to check out the heinous looking Cop Out, which would have you believe that road hauling should be played for laughs. Are funny lynch mobs next? You also have the remake of The Crazies, starring Timothy Olyphant. Anything featuring the triumphant return of Olyphant in law & order mode or with a moustache gets a pass in my book. Theatres in town are being a bit daring with World Exchange Centre picking up Helen, in which Ashley Judd stars as a professor coming to terms with her depression, and To Save a Life, in which a former friend's suicide rocks to boy who seemingly has it all, premiering at South Keys. 

Over at the Bytowne, you must check out The Young Victoria, one of the 10 best movies of 2009. You can also see The White Ribbon, if you're into Michael Haneke, or La Donation, un film québécois about a dying doctor searching for someone to take over his small regional practice.

At the Mayfair, you must check out Red Cliff, which plays at times like a John Wood parody, but he still rocks action sequences harder than most. You haven't live until you've seen what Tony Leung will do after you shoot him with an arrow. There's also original The Crazies, classic Some Like it Hot (possibly the best last line in a movie ever), The Horse Boy, Thundercast are Go!, Black, and new midnight movie The Room on Saturday night. 

Friday

THE OTTAWA ART GALLERY PRESENTS
Friday 26 February at 12:30 pm
In the context of the exhibition "Exploded View," Jennifer R. Angus will present and discuss her work.
Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue

Research Fellowship Lectures: General Idea
Friday, February 26 from 2 pm to 5 pm
Three presentations by Fellows from the 2009/10 program focus on the Canadian artists' group General Idea. The Research Fellowships Program encourages and supports advanced research. The Fellowships emphasize the use and investigation of the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, including those of the Library and Archives.
In the Lecture Hall of the National Gallery (380 Sussex Drive). In English with bilingual discussion. Free admission.

OAG | GAO : Subjecting Figures (from the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art)
The official opening will take place on February 25 at 5:30 p.m.
Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue

Spring Thaw Craft Fair is looking for vendors for an upcoming event at the Routhier Community Centre on Guiges Ave. The event takes place on Saturday March 27th from 10am-5pm. We're searching for about 20-25 vendors. The tables are 6 feet long, and you are welcome to share a table and the fee ($30) as long as you can make the space work for you.
Please e-mail the following information to kate@operationcomehome.ca
Name
Company Name
Contact Info (e-mail and phone)
Brief description of your product and some sample photos.
Kate Greenland
BeadWorks Staff
613-230-4663
www.operationcomehome.ca
kate@operationcomehome.ca

I've had absolutely no interest in Pirates of the Caribbean 4 until this news: Ian McShane Will Be Blackbeard. Since McShane is underrated and thoroughly badass, I choose to believe until presented with evidence to the contrary that this sequel will be awesome. After all, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley won't be in it, so that's two reasons to go see it. 

Call for Artist Submissions.
Bloom n' Art 2010:  A festival of Art and Nature
Deadline for Submissions:  March 15th, 2010
Beyond the House will be hosting the second edition of our art and garden festival on July 17th and 18th 2010.
This juried outdoor art festival is held at our display gardens 40 minutes south east of Ottawa.
An artist's information package and submission form can be downloaded at:
http://www.beyondthehouse.ca/bloomnart/artist/Invitation2010.pdf
We look forward to welcoming both new and returning artists to this year's expanded festival!
cindy@beyondthehouse.ca

I haven't blogged about the last few episodes of Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures because my initial supposition, that the interweaving timelines would rob the show of any real dramatic tension, turned out to be true. For example, the question wasn't if Ming would have a miscarriage but when. The show seems to be getting that as the last three episodes haven't addressed the present day in the slightest.

Last night's episode, which dealt with the 2003 SARS crisis, put Fitz then Chen in isolation and Ming in quarantine in her apartment. Gee, I wonder if any of them will die? Even after Fitz signs a DNR, it's not a question of if he'll survive. It was cool to see Chen break down the glass barrier between their rooms after a hallucinating Fitz barricaded his door and started ripping off his equipment, but, yeah, Chen will get him back. 

Since Chen and Fitz seem to retain their status quo in the present, I've realized that the only interesting character is Ming. We know next to nothing about Chen's past and Fitz is only concerned with his past with Ming, but Ming's the fascinating one. The potential villain I pointed out? He's Ming's older cousin who raped her when she was 13. Remember how we've only met Ming's dad? Her mom wasn't around growing up, and last night we learned that she was a married woman who wouldn't leave her husband for love. Somehow, she was able to carry to term and leave Ming with her father to be raised. (And then returned to her husband? How does that work?) I do know some of what will happen next with Ming, but her inner world, in part because it's Fitz and Chen's fantasy sequences that we're regularly treated to, remains a mystery. Fitz and Chen can posture and joke and write all they want. Ming's the real deal. 

It does appear that our comments system is back up and running, so get to commenting! Should you experience problems commenting ever again, please drop us a line at info@culturemagazine.ca.

I don't mean to trivialize what happened, but that's exactly what he said. Watch:

EW's Michael Auseillo, King of Scoops (or Two Scoops Magoo if you're feeling it), has revealed that the CW has renewed Supernatural for a sixth season, along with The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, 90210, and America's Next Top Model. 

I watch three of those shows (quick, guess which ones!), so that's good news for me. Not so good news for the bitchy Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki of this feature from April of last year, wherein Ackles claims that they'd have to back up a Brinks truck to get him to do a sixth season and Padalecki whines about having to do photo shoots and getting famous. Alright, that's tough love from me, but, since most of my Supernatural tough love is reserved for the writers, I can stand to spread the wealth a little. 

Meanwhile, that leads me back to trying to figure out where the show is going to go with a sixth season. Again, I encourage the writers to take me up on a "Sam and Dean fix the world" season. It could be just the uplift the show needs. Besides, who is reading the Winchester Gospels after Armageddon? Is there reading in New Jerusalem along with all the farming (as Jehovah's Witness pamphlet covers have long foretold)? I mean, probably, but I still want the writers to follow up on the idea from "The Real Ghostbusters": reading the books will help raise up a new generation of hunters who choose the life rather than get sucked into it by tragedy. Wouldn't that be nice? 

Excellent news, fang-bangers: TwiCon got booted from its location in downtown Toronto thanks to this little thing called the G20 summit, so they relocated to Landsdowne Park. Say, what? Yup, Ottawa was on the radar, and now it's the place to be June 25 to 27 for TwiHards, TwiMoms, and people who like Sam from True Blood. He's going to be here, and, as your ace vampire reporter, I'm going to have to be there. It's the least I can do. Just like showing you this photo from Eclipse.  You're welcome.

The Causeway Foundation is currently seeking donated artistic and photographic images for its 2010 Holiday Card Campaign.
This annual campaign raises money to support a local organization, Causeway Work Centre. Causeway is a community economic development organization that provides a range of employment and educational programs to individuals with mental health issues and/or disabilities, and those who are homeless or at risk of becoming so.  One hundred percent of the funds raised by the Holiday Card Campaign support Causeway.
The annual sales of Causeway Holiday Cards surpass 17k each season and are well received at various Ottawa sales venues and provide wide exposure to local area artists. 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the Holiday Card Campaign.
Instructions for submissions:
Include two or more scanned images of drawings, paintings or photographs that depict the nation's capital's architectural and/or cultural icons. The images should be in colour and have a Christmas holiday season theme.  To view examples of previous card submissions, visit http://www.causewayfoundation.org or contact the Causeway Foundation office at 613-725-3494 x108.
Send your submissions to: info@causewayfoundation.org by February 28, 2010. Successful candidates will be notified by email and/or telephone.

If you have been trying to comment and noticed the system isn't working, don't feel alone: we noticed, too! We're working to resolve the problem as soon as possible and will let you know when it's up and running again.

Slim pickings for standard Hollywood fare this weekend. You've got Valentine's Day, which looks like someone plucked three scenes each from a pile of rom-coms and stuck them together rather than figuring an entire movie out; Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which gets no points for incredibly long title and also revolves around three teens who find out they're demi-gods who need to retrieve the bolt from the lightening thief; and The Wolfman, because werewolves are hot right now, and no one noticed that Benicio Del Toro isn't aging well.

Over at the Bytowne, you can check out The Last Station, for which Helen Mirren received an Oscar nod,  and New York, I Love You, because even the Bytowne's not resistant to splashing something with a big heart over St. Valentine's Day.

Finally, the Mayfair has prepared a smorgasbord of love and love-hate movies (notably Audition in the latter category), though you'd do well to start with tonight's Painted Lips and Lolly Licks: Sexy Film Festival.