Scores of scores ... and recordings

Internet Music Score Library Project has thousands of classical scores

A young Canadian composer studying law at Harvard University has created an online music score library for thousands of pieces of classical music.

Edward Guo is revolutionizing how sheet music is distributed with the Internet Music Score Library Project (IMSLP).

Guo was 18 years old, studying law and composing music on the side, when he first got the idea. He recalls how little sheet music was available when he was a boy first studying music in China.

The IMSLP makes it possible to download classical scores, from Mozart to Beethoven to Tchaikovsky, for free. About 100,000 works are available online on wiki media software.

Guo has made no money from the IMSLP project and says he is just one of a team that makes the scores available. He said he gets personal satisfaction from the thought that so many people have access to beautiful music.

The best place to live in Canada

Capital region gets top spot second year in a row

For the second year in a row, Ottawa-Gatineau has been named the best place to live in Canada by MoneySense magazine.

The magazine ranks 180 Canadian cities and towns by factors such as house prices, crime rates, employment, climate and health care. It includes all municipalities with populations of more than 10,000.

"I am delighted that we have again been confirmed as the best city to live in Canada by an independent third party," said Mayor Jim Watson.

"As a beautiful G8 capital, we’re are not only a safe, clean and vibrant community with an excellent quality of life, we are rich in culture and heritage and surrounded by a beautiful natural setting offering many recreational opportunities," he said.

Several provincial capitals also scored well in the survey. Victoria, B.C., came second, Fredericton, N.B., sixth and Winnipeg, Man., 10th.

Suburbs near big cities also did well with Burlington, Ont., coming third and Repentigny, Que., ninth.

Big cities finished in the middle of the list, with Toronto ranked 88th and Montreal 123rd out of 180 surveyed.

The top 10 on the list are:

• Ottawa-Gatineau.
• Kingston, Ont.
• Burlington, Ont.
• Fredericton, N.B.
• Moncton, N.B.
• Repentigny, Que.
• Brandon, Man.
• Victoria, B.C.
• Winnipeg, Man.
• Lévis, Que.

For your next party, rent Liechtenstein !

You've heard of renting a palace, renting a mega yacht, even renting an island. How about renting a country? For $70,000 a night with a two-night minimum and a very strict cancellation policy, you can rent Liechtenstein. Yes, the entire country.  You can rent the country for a conference, a party - whatever you drum up for you and your 900 closest friends.

Now, if you're forgetting your high school geography, Liechtenstein is a tiny Alpine country - population 35,000 - tucked between Austria and Switzerland.

So what to do with your own nation? Well, how about starting with a wine tasting at the prince's estate while watching your own fireworks show. You want to make this a very personal experience? You can rename the city streets and town squares as you wish and even print your own temporary currency with your face on it.

Now, if you do decide Liechtenstein is the perfect place for your party, please don't cause too much of a ruckus. The nation has only a handful of police officers and no military.