Tuesday, March 31, 2009

March 2009 Books and Movies

Love Monkey
Kyle Smith

Bad bad bad! Dated, stagnant plot with an unlikable main character! This was advertised as "chick lit" for men, but this book must be the reason the genre never really took off. The was a really brief television series attempt as well. After reading the book, I'm not surprised it failed too. I soldiered on but really, should have put the book down halfway through.

The Adjuster

One of the most creative, symbolic and beautifully shot films I've ever seen. I've taken a few university level film courses, and used a lot of what I learned while watching this film. It reminded me of two films simultaneously, Jean Luc Godard's Breathless and Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice. It's the type of film that just sucks you in, making you lean forward physically to pay that more attention. I've only seen it the one time, but I'm certain that it will lend itself well to multiple viewings with subsequent new takes on scenes. The ending is most interesting, and can be viewed both realistically and symbolically. An absolute must see, as is most of Egoyan's work.

Breaking Dawn
Stephanie Meyers

Well, it took me under a week to read this latest 700 page tome, so these books definitely hold my interest. Unfortunately, the plot was a little too transparent. Meyers has definitely set herself up well to continue the series. Bella's transformation was handled well, and the sense of bonding among the Olympic coven is touching. The Jacob storyline was extremely interesting, as it was in New Moon. I'm still not sure which was my favorite, probably a toss up between this one and the first book.

One Good Story, That One
Thomas King

An excellent collection of Native short stories. A prize winner in many categories, Thomas King is a stellar story teller. There are a thousand and one interpretations and hidden meanings. Especially notable is the story Borders about a woman who, when crossing the border to the U.S., refuses to identify herself as anything other than Blackfoot, even though there are Blackfeet on either side of the border. This book takes less than an hour to read, but will will leave a lasting impact.

(Amy, the book is on its way to you next!)

SuperBad

Ok, I think I've outgrown the stupid/funny movie genre. I'm just not feeling it anymore. Michael Cera was the one bright spot. It just drove me crazy that here was this fat, doofus male character who got the girl in the end, which in itself is a great antidote to Hollywood's usual boy/girl schtick, but knowing that if the gender were reversed the movie would never fly, h*ll they wouldn't have even made it! Seth Rogen was pretty funny, but the other cop was seriously annoying. There were some good jokes, but the period gag, made me gag, literally. It was so gross and pointless, and really brought Seth down in my estimation. Not my cup of tea...or detergent container of beer, that is for sure.

Eclipse
Stephanie Myers

Ok, ok, you got me, I'm a huge fan of these novels! Still think the excessive pitching, wooing and mooning about (no pun intended) is a tad retching, but the plot suckers me in every time. Hee, hee! I love vampire puns! My only issue with the story is that it took 400 pages to lead up to the big event, and then it was too short and a bit of a let down. Well except for the Jacob in the tent bit. That was fun. I'm now reading Breaking Dawn, and it's hard to put down. At 700 pages, I'm going to get a bit of a headache if I read continuously until I finish!

The Smart One and the Pretty One
Claire LaZebnik

Cute. Not overly good or bad novel about sisters, clearly indicated by the title. Ava is the smart dowdy lawyer, Lauren is the sex kitten spendthrift. The characters are fairly 2 dimensional, and not really that memorable. I really didn't care for Daniel. There was a fairly good subplot, with a few twists. The main storyline chugged along to its obvious conclusion. Not as good as Knitting Under the Influence, but good enough for a pass the time chick lit.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

First Run of Spring!

Em and I went for a run to Cherry Beach yesterday. Google maps say it's 3.2 kilometres, but I've learned not to always trust their distance estimates. Still, it was a good long run, one of the longer one's I've done outside. I still think the longest one was the one Google maps said was 3.9 km. I still have a ways to go before getting to 5K, and I also need to increase my speed. I definitely like running outside better than on the treadmill.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Running, not running, slow downs, technical difficulties...leading to my first bike ride of the season!

Today was a very interesting day. As far as being the first day of March Break, it finished off well, which was great.

But let's go back a bit.

Last Wed, tried to go for a run on the treadmill. Got an awful pain in my left shin and had to stop. I know about shin splints, but of course, didn't think it would happen to me. I was pretty shocked when I literally couldn't keep running. I knew it was something though, because I was thoroughly warmed up and stretched out thanks to a gentle Hatha yoga class 30 minutes prior.

Then my iPod shuffle died. Totally kablooie! Downloaded the restorer from Apple and still no joy. So I have to get a new iPod before I can go out again.

So, I decided to go for a bike ride. I knew that I would have to do a little work before I could hit the road, as my back tire nozzle was busted, and the tires were flat. So I took it to the bike shop, where there was a two hour wait for my teeny part replacement. So I waited at the bucks of the star and made a few phone calls. At about 4:30pm went back to the shop and $13.95 later, I was back on the road.

I went to my usual haunting ground, Tommy Thomson Park at the Leslie Street Spit. It was a balmy 4 degrees, and my butt is a little sore :), but it was glorious. I love my bike!

But I have to get back to running, if I'm going to do that 5K.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Too Cute!!!

I had a fun giggle at this, hope you do too!

Enjoy!