March 2010 Books and Movies

Hot Tub Time Machine

Silly premise, funny movie. I love me some John Cusack any day, but the 80's time travel theme was great. Completely distracting (which was needed) and had something for everyone, whether you are 20 something or 40 something. Oh, and it was filmed in Whistler, so the cinematography was beautiful.

Four Feet Up

An excellent documentary about child poverty in Canada, particularly in Nova Scotia from the child's perspective. Charming and heart-wrenching, it directs attention to the government's promise of 2000 to end child poverty in Canada. Nance Ackerman is a consummate artist, check out her other art forms as well. Well worth seeing, it's free to view at the NFB as is the following film.

Hannah's Story

A great documentary about a 10 year old Winnipeg girl who started a charity for the homeless. Hannah is very engaging and has really made a difference in the lives of homeless in Winnipeg and all across Canada.

The Invention of Lying

This movie should be funnier than it is. A world where no one lies is funnier than when someone "invents" lying. There were some really great moments and Ricky Gervais is quite good, but when they got to the preachy "man in the sky" stuff and the hokey ending, it lost it's appeal. Good airplane fodder (which is where I saw it) but not much more.

The Blind Side

Excellent film and very worthy of the best actress win by Sandra Bullock. I haven't seen many of the other contenders films but she was just amazing in this one. A white southern woman takes in a young black man, almost 18, having spent his whole life in the foster system. He's perfect for the left tackle position in football, but has never had any training. He gets so good, he's scouted for all the best college teams. Apparently it's based on a true story. It's really heartwarming, even though the viewer does feel manipulated from time to time. I cried buckets and enjoyed it a lot.

Annie On My Mind
Nancy Garden

Quite possibly one of the best books I've ever read. I've read a fair bit of gay literature, but this is the first in the young adult genre. The subject matter (a burgeoning lesbian teen relationship) was treated with dignity and with due respect to the time period it was set in, the 80s. Although there was injustice, it was one of the first novels of its kind with a happy ending. I highly recommend it to anyone, with any level of interest. It won't disappoint.

Bobby McFerrin

Quite possibly the best concert I have seen. From start to finish it was novel, participatory and utterly enthralling.

Here are some standout moments:

Demonstration of the universal power of the pentatonic scale

Ave Maria with audience participation

A condensed version of the Wizard of Oz

The audience participation was absolutely stellar, from a choir of the entire audience to a smaller choir on stage to modern dance with improvised music.

He invited the Canadian a cappella group Cadence up to sing a number on their own, and to do one with them. To be honest, they weren't as good as another British a cappella group I know, but it was fun to see Bobby interacting with other musicians.

A great show, I would definitely see him again and again.

My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding

Absolutely fabulous. Great story, funny songs, (A History of Gay Marriage in Canada, Don't Take Your Lesbian Moms To Meet Your Girlfriend at Hooters) intimate space and good acting. I'm glad to hear the show was extended until April 11th. With all the rigamarole it took to actually get to see it, I'm really glad I did in the end. See it if you have the chance.

Regina

Although sad circumstances made this trip possible, I was glad to finally see Saskatchewan and it's Queen City, Regina. Below are some pictures.



The stunning Saskatchewan Legislature. This has become one of my goals, to see all the Canadian Legislative buildings. I've now seen 7 (Charlottetown, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Regina) of them!



Beautiful downtown Regina from the steps of the Legislature!



Really cool twin towers in downtown Regina.



The only legislature to be on it's own man-made lake. Lake Wascana and the surrounding park is just beautiful.



Hotel Saskatchewan. Another goal of mine, to see all the railway hotels. It's a difficult list, because there are the CP Hotels, bought out by Fairmont, the CP hotels bought out by other companies (like the Hotel Saskatchewan) and the CN hotels, like the Queen Elizabeth in Montreal. There are also stand alone hotels that are very old and linked to the railway, such as the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg.



Last but not least, a beautiful prairie sunset. (A bit cold though!)

I'm looking forward to another trip in the warmer weather, to explore other parts of this beautiful province.

February 2010 Books and Movies

Three in a Bed
Carmen Reid

Hands down, the worst Carmen Reid book I've read so far. Enough to possibly turn me off her work for good. This time, the protagonist, Bella is a career woman who is desperate for a baby. She secretly gets pregnant, drinks and smokes throughout the entire term, and of course, has a baby with no problems. She herself isn't able to adjust as perfectly to motherhood, and then there's a little infidelity thrown in for good measure. Needless to say, I didn't like the plot and the whole book felt completely indulgent, like she was trying to tell the world how bad pregnancy can be. Definitely not for me. I had so much trouble finishing this book that I had to renew it 3 times and only managed to read one book this month. May have something to do with my crazy busy schedule though... :)

Laila Biali

Went to see the Laila Biali trio (Laila Biali - piano, vocals; George Koller - bass; Larnell Lewis) at the Glen Gould Studio Theatre tonight. It was pretty great. I love that she covers popular music in a jazz style. Tonight she did Sarah McLaughlin, Feist, Imogen Heap and Joni Mitchell, along with a few standards and original tunes. My only teeny complaint would be that she wasn't very diverse dynamically. All the selections seemed to start soft, build in the middle then end with soft "tinkling" (for lack of a better word) piano. Larnell was incredible though, and I still love her vocals. I can't believe I used to watch her at the Rex. Looking forward to her two new album releases later this year!

Fitness Goals

Today I went for my first run since my 5K at the end of September. It's absolutely shameful (as useless an emotion as that is) that I've let it lapse as much as it has. I haven't been a total sloth, I've done some walking, mostly home from work, which is 4K away and, before it got to cold, biked to and from as well.

I did 2s and 1s with a final minute sprint followed by upper body weights, crunches and push ups. It was very difficult to get moving but felt really good when I'd finished.

I've come to three conclusions after this morning's workout.

1. I've lost a lot of the gains I worked so hard to achieve. I've put on weight, I've lost muscle mass, endurance and energy. It's depressing and demoralizing.

2. I am FAT. This is not a bad word. The only reason I've put it in bold here is that I've got to stop kidding myself. My whole life I think I've seen myself as skinnier than I actually am. I'm the total opposite of the women on "How to Look Good Naked". If I were to do a Gok line up, I'd probably ruin it for him and the show by putting myself in the line where I thought I belonged and then be too big for that spot! Last night, I was playing Wii Fit at my sister's house, and after the body scan informed me that I was in the obese range based on my age, weight and BMI (it's really sad, your Mii character balloons out to reflect your reading) it wasn't the greatest feeling. True, I have a lot of muscle mass but I also have a lot of fat. I carry it mostly in my upper stomach, directly where the pounds pile on when I've been over-eating and exercising infrequently. I know I'm supposed to practice body self acceptance, but if I'm really honest, I just don't like the way I look these days. That and the fact that I have mountains of clothes in my closet that I would wear, if I wasn't quite so apple shaped. It's not that I want to be a size zero, in fact nothing is further from the truth, not to mention that it's just not possible for me. I just want to be more hourglass than apple.

3. I'm going to try to get back to my previous level of fitness by running three times a week, do more weight and strength training, go to Yoga (another thing that has lapsed dreadfully) and run the Sporting Life 10K in the spring.

Hopefully I won't be sidelined by injury or illness and I'll be able to pick up a few co-conspirators along the way.

The Bad Plus

Tonight J took me to see The Bad Plus at the Glenn Gould studio. They are a free jazz trio (piano, bass, drums) out of the U.S. Midwest. It was an experience to say the least. While I admire their great musical skill and really appreciated certain brilliant musical elements and experimental ideas, a lot of the performance left me twitchy and uncomfortable. They really stretch the boundaries of music and their instruments. They are definitely a band I would have to listen to a lot more of to really appreciate their unique styling. I am glad I went even though it certainly isn't a concert I would have chosen to attend. It stretched my boundaries and got me talking passionately about the elements I liked and didn't like afterward.

January 2010 Books and Movies

Sherlock Holmes

A little over CGI'd and definitely a Guy Ritchie film (slo mo a dead givaway) but all in all, a fun movie. Robert Downey Jr. was fantastic and it's nice to see him out of rehab. The story didn't follow any of those in the books, but they set it up for a sequel nicely, as expected. It really wasn't one I needed to see in the theatre but pretty good anyway.

Did the Earth Move?
Carmen Reid

Another Carmen Reid book. I have to say, I just hate the tag line her editor came up with for her: "A fabulous read. A sexy read. A Carmen Reid." It's so cheesy. Anyway, on to the actual book. It was pretty good actually. I liked the plot, specifically the way she turned things on their head with the main character being 10 years older than her love interest and the unplanned pregnancy storyline about her 20 year old son. I found I invested in the characters a lot more than her other books and was pleased with the pat outcome. A good beach read, light and fun.

Invictus

Unbelievable film! Nelson Mandela is such an inspiring person, so a movie about him, played by Morgan Freeman was just out of the park. I thought the accents were very believable, and although I don't care much for rugby, the story of South Africa winning the World Cup and uniting a country was riveting. I have no idea if this is what things were really like, but the cinematography was incredible and the depiction of the townships heart wrenching. A definite must see.

A Wonderful Dinner

Last night, Pat, the chef extrodinaire and Em, his excellent sous-chef, created one of the most delicious meals I've ever eaten.

Appetizers were a vegi pate, duck confit and a tofu mousse on rice and wheat crackers followed by an incredible beet, ginger and garlic salad dressed in olive oil. The soup was creamed butternut squash and was a meal in itself! The main course was really interesting. Ricotta pie in a chicken crust, which was really interesting. He cut the chicken really thinly and put it in a little muffin tray to form the crust, then filled it with the ricotta mixture. They were served along side leeks spaghetti style and baked sweet potato rounds. The piece de resistance was dessert, of course! A trio of creme brulees, green tea, lavender and lemon pepper. The last was my favorite for sure.

We were stuffed and it was a lovely evening of great food and company!

New Inspiration

I've been struggling lately with directions, paths to take and the road not followed. Today I went to a really amazing dance workshop (which was more physical theatre based than dance) taught by a woman who trained with Jacques LeCoq in the 60s. I've trained with a number of LeCoq students, but not someone who was at his Paris school when he was there full time. It was quite amazing. I haven't done any physical theatre work (besides the teaching I do) in some time, and it's been a really long time since I've gone down a corporeal expressive journey. It helped me remember what I love most about physical theatre, and that I do miss it. I didn't fully realise, until this evening, how doing that workshop put me in a better mood. The kicker is, I don't have time in my life for music and theatre and a full time job. So again, useful information, but what am I going to do with it? One lifetime just doesn't seem enough.

Fiddler on the Roof

Great show! Harvey Firstein was absolutely fabulous. I wish I could have seen him as Edna in the original Broadway production of Hairspray. He didn't really sing so much as talk through his songs, but the effect was really awesome. Sitting up in the nosebleeds wasn't so fun, but the show has literally been sold out every night of its run, so we were lucky to get tickets. Great trio for the song Matchmaker, loved it!

December 2009 Books and Movies

Up In The Air

Great movie! George Clooney is his usual yummy self, and the premise, a man who is completely detached from others, is intriguing. I loved Vera Farmiga, I can't believe I'd never seen her in anything else before. She's absolutely stunning. Jason Bateman did a good job directing, although he was totally channeling Steve Carell's Michael Scott when playing Craig Gregory. I also liked Anna Kendrick, apparently she made no impression on me at all when I saw her in the Twilight series. The frequent traveller comparison bits were just hilarious!

Up All Night
Carmen Reid

I generally like Carmen Reid for a light chick lit read, but this one wasn't very good unfortunately. The story was a bit whingy and worst of all, there was a gaping plot hole! Not an important part, but a bit irritating non the less. I didn't invest in the main character (perhaps because she was a mom, and I'm not) but liked the humanization of the ex-husband through his interaction with their children. Meh. Give it a miss unless you are really addicted to Carmen Reid.

Three great concerts, one fab weekend!

Tallis Scholars

Amazing 10 voice (including one male alto!) specialist group of Renaissance polyphony.

Here's a clip.

Dianne Reeves

I have fallen madly in love with a new jazz singer!

I'm so in awe, I'm posting two two clips here and one of them is even an xmas tune! Listen to Roy Hargrove's gorgeous fluglehorn on You Go To My Head.

Trace Element

This is a great new band worth keeping an eye on. Two of it's members are in their 4th year at Humber and pooling their allotted recording time to put out a debut LP. Great sound, great compositions, very cool.

Great weekend for music, looking forward to many more of the same. :)

November 2009 Books and Movies

Yikes, well, another month has gone by, and all I've managed to see/read is one movie. I'm glad I'm out living life, but am really looking forward to the break and maybe reading one of the zilions of books lying in stacks around my home.


New Moon

Number two in the Twilight saga, this was my least favorite book. The movie was much better than the book. A very buff Jacob was very much worth the price of admission! :) I still think Kristen Stewart is the most wooden romantic ingenue ever, but I did enjoy the story. They stuck pretty much word for word to the book, and it was always action packed. The wolf CGI was pretty slick, and the cinematography of the west coast was beautiful. If you are a fan of the series, go see it! You'll get over the sparkly vampires, eventually... :)

Royal Visit

Today I played a gig with the Royal Regiment of Canada for HRH Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The Prince was presenting new colours to both the RRC and the Toronto Scottish Regiment. Colours are flags, but read a more detailed explanation here. It was a super big deal, because it hasn't happened since 1962, which was before the maple leaf was even Canada's flag. There was a closed reception after the ceremony, where I got to shake hands with the Duchess of Cornwall. I really liked that she was wearing both the UK poppy as well as the Canadian one.
The more interesting story was, I was just about to meet Prince Charles when his bodyguard was getting ants in his pants about the crowd. He asked the lot of us to move back then specifically said, to me, "ma'am can you please move back". I was being crushed between two people, so I said, politely, that I couldn't move back. He then returned (quite rudely, I might add) "well you're not trying very hard, shall I give you a push?" then proceeded to direct the Prince to the other side of the audience. Well, I guess, as JT says, it's a lot more interesting of a story than, I shook his hand. LOL!

The whole experience was pretty awesome (and I'm not much of a monarchist), even if I froze my tail off and couldn't stop shaking by the end of the ceremony and could barely march off on my two blocks of ice for feet! :)

October 2009 Books and Movies

Ok, this is super lame. In the entire month of October, I've seen one movie. Yikes! Well, at least I'm out doing stuff, living life, but I'm feeling spectacularly uncultured at the moment...

Zombieland

What a freakin' fantastic flick! If it weren't enough that Jesse Eisenberg is in this, it's really funny too. It's pretty gory, so be warned. Woody is great as usual, and I also really liked the girls, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. Can't recommend it enough, go see it!

September 2009 Books and Movies

A First!

This month has been so crazy busy, I wasn't able to complete a single book or see a single movie to blog about. Clearly, got to make more time for myself! :)

U2 Concert!

I equate going to U2 much like a 14 year old goes to a Jonas Bros concert. I get giddy and excited, scream a lot and sing every word to every song. Seriously though, it was an amazing concert, the best one I've seen so far. Pop Mart and Elevation were awesome too, unfortunately I didn't get to see Vertigo.

Here are the pics!

The stage pre-concert is nothing compared to during. I didn't even know it was a rocket ship until someone hit the lights!



Open roof, really added to the concert!



People, people everywhere, 60 thousand of them!



I <3 Larry, ever since I was 12!



Greatest band evar!



Now, it's a rocket ship!



Bono, the consummate front man.



I could have sworn the CN Tower lights were in sync with the music.



Some very cool video.



It was just amazing, and most people I know who went felt the same. It's definitely a bucket list item, go see U2 in concert if you get the chance!

Feeling Restless

Yesterday was mostly relaxing.
Today was exhausting but fun.
Right Now I am tired.
Tomorrow I will be apprehensive.


I want some reassurance.
I wish life wasn't so complicated.
I hope my health continues.
I need an receptive outlet for my need to bestow affection.


It's strange that I get all my info from the computer.
It's awesome I live in a time and place where women are nearly fully emancipated.
It's scary that people have children for the wrong reasons.
It's stupid to waste time on useless emotions.


I love my home.
I like to get interesting mail.
I hate spam/spam bots.
I can't turn my brain off certain topics.