The Dark Knight continues to smash its competition and records in its 4th weekend in theaters. Over the past weekend, TDK remained in the #1 spot for a 4th weekend, a feat that was last accomplished by Lord of the Rings back in 2003. What’s even more impressive is that TDK is able to do this smack in the middle of summer blockbuster releases. LotR did it in the fall/winter, when few blockbusters are released.

The second Batman installment by Nolan took in over $26 million this past weekend, pushing it past Shrek 2 into the 3rd spot of all time boxoffice grosses, with a total of $441.6 million. It is only a little over $19 million short of overtaking the #2 spot long held by the original Star Wars. Experts predict that it should overtake Star Wars sometime before next weekend is over.

However, TDK is not expected to retain its #1 spot at the box office next weekend, with the release of the much anticipated comedy Tropic Thunder and the Star Wars Clone Wars animated flick.

The Dark Knight continued to dominate at the box office this weekend, holding on to the #1 spot for the 3rd weekend in a row. Batman and the Joker managed to fend off the second Mummy sequel by raking in almost $44.5 million. Unfortunately it did not surpass the previous record holder, Spiderman 3, which had accumulated $45 million during its third weekend. As of Sunday night, this placed The Dark Knight at #8 in the all-time box office gross with $393 million.

On Monday it also surpassed the $400 million mark, making it the fastest movie to reach that milestone. The record was previously held by Shrek 2, which took over 43 days to reach that mark. This means that The Dark Knight, having reached the $400 million mark in just 18 days of release, did it 60% faster.

My wife and I attended the opening of Carnivale Lune Bleue on Friday night in Kars, Ontario. Lune Bleue is a trip back in time to an authentic 1930s carnival, complete with a freakshow, a circus performance, a ferris wheel and games of chance.

We arrived around 6:15pm in the heart of Kars, where we lined up before entering the grounds. We had to wait for a ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for 6:30, but that was running a little behind schedule due to a tardy mayor. As we waited, we were entertained by the grounds Master of Ceremony who was completely dressed from head to toe in 1930s garb, which included an old fashion cone bullhorn.

The ribbon cutting ceremony finally concluded around 6:40pm, after which we were whisked onto the carnival grounds. It was a little disappointed to find that a number of attractions weren’t ready yet. The Thrills and Skills tent which was supposed to house a 1930’s carny arcade was completely barren. There was no games of chance; no knocking down of milk bottles, no ring tosses, no shooting gallery.

The first attraction that we visited was the Ten-In-One tent where I eagerly awaited the start of the authentic freakshow Carnival Diablo. This sideshow has been in existence for the last 14 years, entertaining crowds across Canada. We were first introduced by the master of ceremony who called himself Nikolai Diablo. The first trick was a skit that derived from the russian roulette game. Diablo invited a member of the audience to hide a 9 inch long spike under one of 4 paper bags. Diablo, seemingly not knowing which bag had the spike,proceeded to smash 3 of the bags with his hand, always picking an empty bag.

We were also entertained by the strongman Mighty Leviticus who bent an iron bar between his teeth, served as a human dart board and suffered at the hands of Diablo in an electric chair. Also on the stage was Istvan Betyar, a world renowned sword swallower. The crowd gasped and clapped as he swallowed a 24″ french corkscrew sword, and simultaneously swallowing 2 broadswords. Diablo himself also entertained the crowd by seemingly swallowing razor blades, performing a fire eating act and piercing his tongue with a shark hook and then proceeding to lift a basket of rocks with his tongue.

45 minutes after the show began we were escorted into another tent, The Big Top, which is the original tent used in the first ever world performance by the Cirque du Soleil. We beared witness to a human circus, the Cirque Maroc. The acrobats in Cirque Maroc are all alumni from the Cirque du Soleil and Ringling Brothers. We were amazed by watching these acrobats performing breathtaking feats which included high wire acts, a couple of trapeze performances, a contortionist performance, a hoop show, all wrapped around a story filled with dances and a lot of comedic moments. These performances were flawless in their execution and left the crowd amazed and wanting more.

After the 1 hour long show, we briefly walked the carnival grounds. We skipped the Tropical Terrors tent which was holding the Great Snakes of the World Show as my wife has a big fear of snakes. I admired the ferris wheel, which is an authentic 1917 Eli Bridge ferris wheel. I only admired it from afar as the lineup for the ride was long and we were both a little tired.

On our way back to the car we also passed the carousel, another authentic piece of a 1930’s carnival. The vintage carousel dates back to 1938. Near the gate exits also sat a 1930s bus, the Clairvoyant Caravan, where you can have your fortunes read by either a Tarot reading or a palm reading.

The carnival also includes the Congress of Wonder, a tent filled with authentic early 1900 carnival artifacts, an outdoor restaurant entitled the Cookhouse, a High Striker and a Coin Toss.

As much as we enjoyed ourselves, I’m not sure the 60$ a ticket price is fully worth it. At 120$ for a couple, I find that price a little steep for what you get. This is not a cheap outing for a family of 4! I think it would have been more sensible if the price was in the 30$ to 40$ range. I’m sure at that price range the carnival would attract more people. We can’t really complain though, as my wife was given the tickets for free at her workplace.

All in all, I enjoyed our night out at Carnivale Lune Bleue.  If you enjoy carnivals/fairs, and you can afford the high ticket prices, this is one that you shouldn’t pass up. Just don’t do like we did and forget the bug spray!

The Dark Knight is still breaking records in its second week of release. It has grossed more in 10 days than any other Batman movies’ entire silver screen run. At this rate,TDK will come close to wrestling the title of most financially successful movie of all time from Titanic.

TDK has become the fastest movie to reach $300 million in an amazingly short 10 days. The previous record holder was Pirates of the Caribbean 2 which took a full 16 days to reach that mark. It also broke the record for highest grossing 2nd weekend, pulling in $75,166,466, surpassing the previous record holder Shrek 2, which had $72 million.

So far, The Dark Knight has raked in $313,781,677 domestically and over $355.5 million in international releases. This last number is sure to grow as the movie has not been released everywhere internationally.

Experts are forecasting that this Batman sequel will reach the $400 million mark at 18 days of release. The previous record being Shrek 2, which took a full 43 days to get to that number.

For a list of other records that The Dark Knight has broken, see my previous article The Dark Knight Smashing Records.

OC Transpo, the public transportation company that operates in Ottawa, is attempting to launch a trial project that would allow pet owners to carry their pets on buses in pet carriers. I’ve had pets all of my life and currently have 4 cats. I am also very much against this new project.

The main issue I have with this project is room. I live in the suburbs and very often I have to look at 4 or 5 95 buses pass me by without stopping. They don’t stop due to the fact that there’s no room in the bus. On the route home from Place d’Orleans, the major hub of that suburb, the only local bus that ends up taking me close to home is often full because it only runs every 30 minutes (when it shows up). Allowing pet owners to carry their pets in bulky pet carriers would only make things worse. We’re already squished in like sardines as it is. Supporters of this pet project claim that a handful of other cities in the country have allowed pets on buses for years. I’m sure if these supporters would look at these other public transportation systems, they would see that they don’t suffer the overcrowding that we have. With rising gas prices, ridership has also increased, making the problem even worse than it was.

Before looking into allowing pets on buses, OC Transpo should address the lack of buses, their maps/runs and their schedules. I’ve moved into a new part of Orleans that has grown by 6-8 thousand people in the last 2 years but the schedule and number of buses that run have not changed to reflect this growing area, Also, there’s a ‘major’ stop about 1 km from where I live, the Trim bus station, yet I have no local buses that go to that station. I must take a bus to Place d’Orleans, a trip that takes 30 minutes, so that I can catch a 95. Instead, OC Transpo should have a local bus that goes to Trim station, which would cut a good 20 to 25 minutes off travel time each way.

Some folks have written in the local paper saying pets should be allowed except during peak hours. This would be a logistical nightmare. How do you kick off poor little Ms. Smith and her pet poodle off a bus she got on during off peak hours (let’s say 3:20pm) who’s long ride ends up going into peak hours? Do you just kick her off at a random stop and wish her luck at getting home? This makes no sense.

There’s also some people who have severe allergic reactions to pet dander. Should they have to suffer because someone can’t afford to take a cab to their vet appointment? Now some supporters of this proposition state that people with pet allergies already ride the bus with people covered in pet hair. This statement is absolutely ludicrous. Newsflash! Those who have pet allergies aren’t allergic to pet hair, but pet dander. A person having a few stray pet hairs on their clothes will not cause someone with allergies to have a reaction, save for an extremely small minority who have an acute allergy to pet dander. Those people probably already avoid taking public transportation. Now carry a pet on a bus, there’s a lot more dander flying around, which would cause even those with mild allergies to react.

Then there’s the issue of noise. I know a lot of pets (3 of my cats included) that meow or bark constantly when in public or a moving vehicle. I’m sure there’s nothing else one would rather look forward to after a long hard day at work than to get on an overcrowded bus with dogs barking and cats meowing. Ah, such a wonderful symphony of headache inducing noise.

OC Transpo should also conduct studies to see how many more new riders this project would bring in. A dozen new riders a month? A hundred? I somehow suspect that the number would be quite low, as those who would benefit from such a new policy probably already take public transportation. How many people would stop taking the bus because of this policy?

That being said, I am not against all pets on public buses. There are some people who suffer from a physical disability that require a pet, such as the vision impaired. At my old place of residence, I often took a bus with a very nice gentleman who used a seeing eye dog on the bus. These pets are highly trained, will not bark or bite and are there to aid someone who really needs the help. I have absolutely no issues with those types of pets being on buses. I do however have issues with someone getting on a bus with a ferret due to emotional reasons (see the article Ferret barred from Ottawa buses).

As a responsible pet owner, I knew the financial responsibilities that were attached with owning a pet. If one doesn’t have a car and can’t afford to take a cab ride to their vet appointment, then perhaps you shouldn’t own a pet to begin with. Else, when you’re taking Spot to his next yearly appointment, make sure you factor in the cost of a cab into the vet bill. I also suspect that most people who would end up taking their pets on a bus is not solely to go to vet appointments, but to bring their pet with them as they go visit friends or family.

OC Transpo has a lot bigger issues than looking at allowing pets on buses. These issues should be investigated and addressed before allowing pets that would take up much needed room on overcrowded buses. And if this proposition does go through, I do hope that riders who bring their pets onto a bus have to pay a fare for their pets. After all, the pet carrier takes as much or more room than a person, so it would only be fair that they have to pay a fare for it. I know there’s no chance in hell of that ever happening, but one can only hope.