The Oura

Just over a week ago we got an exciting notice in our mailbox. Instead of the usual flyers and bills, there was something interesting to read. It was a notification of a filming that was going to happen on our street.

Peter’s first thoughts were of Sophia Loren, but I reminded him that she is 88 and not likely to be travelling this far for work. Then he focused on action-packed chases through our back yard, the actors nearly stepping on his zucchini and tomato plants. Or maybe a moose snorting along the sidewalk. A Hollywood aura; the perfect topic for a blog post. Yea!

On Monday when we looked out the window, there were no moose, but the street was lined with orange cones. Then, in the pouring rain, the trucks began to arrive. There were hundreds, well at least 25. I grabbed my phone and tried to saunter down the street, looking disinterested. I noticed a truck set up as an office, another one for wardrobe changes, and a food truck with a serving table, for food breaks. But I didn’t see much action.

The next day I decided that I needed to act more like a reporter so I could dig up the story for you, dear readers. I saw a guy standing at the food truck having a coffee. He was quite sexy and movie star-ish. I approached him, my hand on a pen in my pocket, ready for autographs. In my best reporter voice I asked him what his role was. He told me he was with wardrobe. Darn.

The next people I saw were a young couple – maybe the romantic leads in the movie? No. They said they were “gophers.”Undaunted, I asked what the movie was about. They replied, “Oh, it’s just a commercial.” Double Darn! But wait… who was the commercial’s sponsor? Maybe a big name like Molson’s or Tim Horton’s … with free samples? Actually the couple wasn’t sure. It might be a wellness product like a Fitbit or something.

I moved on to 2 business-looking men. Could they be discussing million-dollar contracts? No, they weren’t. They were discussing the number of complaints they had already had from our neighbours about the nuisance the filming was causing. The only real nuisance I could see was the occasional car driving down our street, which had to slow down. Did these neighbours have no sense of adventure?

I was getting annoyed. Where was the story here? What was I going to write about for the next blog post?

I went home and started researching on my laptop. First I discovered that this film company, radioaktivefilm, is based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since their beginning in 1993 they have done business in Poland, Lithuania, and Georgia, and so far the original studio has not been bombed by Russia. They have produced commercials for Aleve, VRBO, Jack Daniels, and been involved in the production of one feature film, Chernobyl, 2019. Then Toronto’s “Hollywood North” reputation led them here for this commercial.

But what was the commercial? I discovered the word ‘oura’ at the bottom of the mailbox flyer. Maybe this was a clue. After more searching, I found it – a ring. It comes in several styles. And it has a purpose: as a “smart ring.” It keeps track of more than 20 biometrics: heart rate, calories, stress levels, activity, sleep habits and more. The best feature seems to be that you can wear it 24/7. No need to take it off when you sleep or shower.

As older adults we might like to have a health device that we didn’t misplace on a regular basis, like we do with our cell phone or keys. But I have to tell you that the buttons the ring uses for setting or changing screens are Tiny. We definitely need our glasses to manipulate them. And no arthritis in our fingers either. Besides, the ring style is very modern. Somehow the Oura does not create the right aura for older folks.

Meanwhile, we are still waiting for the blockbuster movie to set up on our street.

Sue