It’s been a big couple of weeks for Ottawa’s film scene. Last week Donkey, a home grown gangsta film by Adrian Langley, opened at the Empire Theatres in Rideau, plus Saw Gallery had its annual members screening. Next week the Ottawa Film Festival will feature the results of their 72 hour film challenge, worth going if only to see how filmmakers managed to incorporate the diverse criteria that included jumping jacks, a reference to Back to the Future, and shawarmas. However, this week the big news is Nuit Blanche, an... | Continue reading article

Good afternoon transit fans! We love talking about public transit. We actually launched Apartment613 in the midst of the transit strike last year – so complaining about public transit is really part of our blogging DNA. If you’re interested in a more smarty pants an actually intelligent discussion on the transit issues facing Ottawa you can now download the Journal of Public Transit in Ottawa online here. The Journal of Public Transit is a community reviewed publication offering independent analysis from interested writers, researchers and members of the informed public.... | Continue reading article

On Thursday evening Ottawa City council passed the 2010 budget – a full post on the subject is forthcoming. Some highlights: a 3.77% tax hike, reinstating the Crime Prevention Ottawa and scrapped recommended bus route cuts and reductions in stump removal and funding for tree trimming as well as approving a transit pass pilot program for Carleton and University of Ottawa students. The province of Ontario has agreed to foot the $3 million bill for the construction of a new 30-bed shelter for women and children.  The shelter will be... | Continue reading article

Flowers? Uninspired. Candy? Unoriginal. Dinner and a movie?  You’re trying to get your Valentine’s date in bed, not put them to sleep. You can do better. In collaboration with Sexual Overtones, we are organizing a little something special for you all on Valentine’s Day. Plus, by buying a ticket you won’t just be showing some love to your lovers or friends, but to Apartment613 as well:  net proceeds will go to our bandwidth fund to help pay our interweb and other expenses. This Valentine’s day afternoon, Sexual Overtones – Ottawa... | Continue reading article

It was a film-centric show this week on Audio Visual, as Executive Director of the Canadian Film Institute and Carleton professor Tom McSorley dropped by to talk about the CFI’s upcoming screening of Atom Egoyan’s The Adjuster. McSorley has written a new critical study of the film, Atom Egoyan’s The Adjuster, and the January 28 screening (that’s tonight!) will serve as the book’s official Ottawa launch. Egoyan, a Canadian filmmaker known for both his commercial Hollywood movies (The Sweet Hereafter, Where the Truth Lies) and his more personal artistic works... | Continue reading article

You can always tell whether a person is interesting if they take you out to see something a little different. Something that shows originality.  Something that demonstrates that they don’t judge and are open to trying new things. No, I’m not talking about taking you to a sex shop and pointing out all the toys they haven’t tried — I mean making date night more than just dinner and a movie. So for all you want-to-be-heartthrobs, here’s our suggestion for a mid-January date:  bowling and Absinthe. Or, in our case,... | Continue reading article

It’s the last weekend of 01/10, and hopefully the weird weather patterns will disappear along with this month. The forecast for this weekend, though, is mostly sunny, so there are no excuses for staying holed up at home. Tonight is the first jam-packed evening – there’s poetry, film, more film, and music of the Latin variety. The rest of the weekend follows in a similar busy fashion. One highlight: Andrew King’s Manhattan Project exhibit will be opening at the Wall Space Gallery on Saturday night, works that came out of... | Continue reading article

By Kym Shumsky, Ottawa trends watcher and blogger at Relishing.ca As the beleaguered nation of Haiti continues to suffer the fallout of the devastating January 12 earthquake, Ottawans continue to open their hearts and wallets. There is no lack of events, fundraisers, and small-change collection jars to drop a few charitable bucks into happening this weekend, but in case you needed some direction, here are just a handful of good ideas:

Can’t let a good thing go to waste! Today we’re recycling two of last year’s Valentine’s day post (with updates of course) to help you get in the mood. But don’t make plans yet: Apartment613 is also organizing an exciting event for Feb. 14th that you don’t want to miss! Details to come soon… Valentine’s Day, the sexiest of all the holidays invented to sell greeting cards, is coming up in a couple of weeks. For those of you stuck on your wooing plan-of-action, Apartment613 is stepping in as your... | Continue reading article