Village Gamer

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Amazon.ca has released its second annual ranking of the Top 20 Most Romantic Cities in Canada. They are:

1. Victoria 2. Guelph 3. Calgary 4. Saskatoon 5. Oakville (new) 6. Regina 7. Kingston 8. Kelowna 9. Nepean (new)
10. Burlington (new) 11. Winnipeg 12. Richmond Hill (new) 13. Edmonton 14. London 15. Kitchener (new)
16. St. Catharines (new) 17. Burnaby (new) 18. Thunder Bay 19. Richmond 20. Ottawa

This list was compiled by comparing Amazon.ca sales data of romance novels, sex and relationship books, romantic comedy DVDs and Michael Bublé CDs since Jan. 1, 2011, on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents.

A closer look at Amazon.ca’s “most romantic” data reveals that:

* Victoria proves brains are sexy too, not only earning the honour of all-around Most Romantic City 2011, but also as the biggest consumer of romantic books.
* British Columbia is home to the top spot but more than half of the most romantic cities (11 in all) are in Ontario.
* Canada’s metropolises (Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) fail to make the cut this year, bested by smaller challengers like Nepean, Oakville and Richmond Hill.
* Last year’s winner, Saskatoon, falls to No. 4, though still remains a healthy lover of romance novels.
* Crazy Love: Though not quite placing in the Top 20, Brantford, Ontario, holds the distinction of being the single-biggest per capita purchaser of Michael Bublé CDs.
* Kingston is the place where residents are most likely to curl up in front of a romantic DVD, with Calgary and Nepean as the close runners-up.
* Always the bridesmaid: Calgary is the most consistent consumer of romantic products, landing in the top three of every category surveyed – though never No.1.

The above data is interesting, but just for the record, the original press release from Amazon’s HQ in Seattle listed Calgary as being in British Columbia, so if you’re waiting on an order shipment…

Toronto animation school Max The Mutt™ has redesigned its Classical & Computer Animation & Production Diploma program. The updated 4 year curriculum focuses on character animation based on Warner Bros and Disney guidelines. With the school continuing to grow, Max the Mutt™  is opening additional facilities at 1139 College Street.

This Career College currently at 952 Queen Street West was founded in 1996 in a small studio by professional artists and animators. Max the Mutt’s founder, Maxine Schacker is an accomplished artist whose work has been exhibited in Montreal, Toronto and New York. She studied with world-famous Instructor of Drawing and Anatomy, Robert Beverly Hale, at the Arts Students League of New York.

As the success of the animation program grew, the school added programs in Illustration for Sequential Arts, and Concept Art for Animation & Video Games.  Most of the instructors at Max the Mutt™ are current, working professionals who teach on a part-time basis. All want to teach at Max the Mutt™ because of the serious, professional students, small classes, and ability to input the curriculum.

The new facility will house most of the courses for years 2, 3 and 4 of the animation diploma program and some of the 3 and 4 year courses for Concept Art students. Max the Mutt™ Productions Inc. will also be housed at this location. An additional benefit of the new location is an exciting art gallery. Max the Mutt™ plans to have ongoing shows of work done by students, alumni and faculty. A spring exhibition will celebrate the opening of the new facility showcasing work by the Max the Mutt™ faculty.

The updated 4 year animation curriculum includes a stimulating experience of working in a studio environment. Students from Max the Mutt™ will enter the industry with hands-on production experience, a skill that is extremely attractive to the industry.  The goal at Max the Mutt™ is to create and maintain a vibrant, ethical community dedicated to passing on skills to upcoming generations.