Sunday, October 31, 2010

October 2010 Books and Movies

Funny People

A little bit funny, a lot of melodrama, just waiting for it to end by the last half hour. It was like two story arcs just missing each other. The Adam Sandler storyline is pretty lame compared to the Seth Rogen one, but I suppose the two complement each other. It's definitely a renter, which I suppose is why I watched it a year late downloaded to my computer, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you have a bit of time to waste. It's way too bloody long and you have to wait an age between good moments. Meh. It has a really good ending (last 5 min) though, sort of validates the 2.5 hours of your life you just gave up. :)

RED

Great action flick about retired CIA agents trying to stay alive while dodging a ordered hit from higher up. Some of my favorite actors are in this (Mary Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren) and the non stop action is very entertaining. I even liked Bruce Willis, because he was doing a more funny and human version of his typical action persona. Really fun, either go see it or rent it!

Fubar II

In contrast, the sequel had much higher production value and a better plot. The boys go to Fort McMurray to work on the oil rigs but with the same headbanger mentality. I found myself laughing a lot more. It was also interesting to see the cast 10 years on. Many of them looked very different. I even got an @mention on Twitter from the dude who plays Dean, which was pretty cool.

Fubar

Because Fubar II was out in theaters, J made me watch the first one, so I would know what was going on. It's about a couple of western Canadian headbangers (think Strange Brew hosers) doing absolutely nothing, because that's what they do. It was made on a very low budget, which made it hard to understand the audio at times, but there were some really funny moments.

A Spot of Bother
Mark Haddon

Great book about an English family made up of retired parents, the mother having an affair, grown children, one approaching her second marriage with a child from a first marriage, the other, gay, recently broken off from his partner. Their relationships are at times tenuous and other times joyful. The twist is, the father goes off the deep end, and is trying to do so in a polite, dignified manner. As the book moves to it's conclusion, Katie's wedding, all plots are neatly resolved, with funny scenes. It's extremely well written and well packaged as a light, interesting read. I think I'll try Mark Haddon's other novel as well.

Whatever Works

Slow to start and better suited for serious Curb Your Enthusiasm fans than myself, but in the end, a pretty good film. Larry David is is usual curmudgeonly self and the plot twists are classic Woody Allen. Actually this is the first film he's set in New York in quite a while. The filming has a grainy 70s cop show quality and gives a real picture of the city. Patricia Clarkson (whom I love) is absolutely fabulous. In fact the casting is great all round. Definitely worth a look.

Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married
Marian Keyes

You can definitely tell that this is one of Keyes early works. I think it was her first novel, but I'm not entirely sure. It's rough, but you can still see her signature style of mixing heavy topics with comedic relief. Lucy is a supremely annoying doormat, but you develop more sympathy for her as the book goes along. The heavy storyline is about alcoholism, a topic quite familiar to the author, as I've mentioned in other posts. Not her best, but most certainly a good taste of what's to come, which for the most part, was brilliant.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Hmm, things didn't go as planned...

I lasted one whole day. Brutal I know, but in my defense, there were a lot of other things that came into play.

But for an update, Dad doesn't have cancer thankfully, Mom is doing better, and is at home (hence the change of plans and break from routine) and my RA seems to have calmed down some and I'm feeling better about most things.

Instead of sticking to a timed routine, I'm going to try and incorporate at least three things in a day. I've bought by monthly yoga pass, which is a good start. I haven't made good on the other things, except for cooking and admin, but I do feel I've been productive.

I've also found a couple of amazing things on the internet. For the first time, I think in my life, I was affected by a television commercial directly. It's a free on-line exercise program specifically targeted at younger people with RA. Unfortunately, it's only for U.S. residents, but maybe they'll expand into Canada.

While trying to determine if there was such a thing in Canada already, I stumbled upon this brilliant blog. It's a great find, and awesome to see that there are others out there just like me. We were even diagnosed at almost the same age. I'm looking forward to reading more from Sara, both on her blog and in her comic at MyRACentral.com which, incidentally, is also a really great site.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Pricilla Queen of the Desert

Absolutely fantastic! It's as if a Buddies in Bad Times production had gone mainstream. The only downside were the Aussie accents. To be fair, it's a really hard accent to pull off. The costumes and technical theatre elements were unbelievable. Seeing the movie makes it a bit easier to follow, but it's not necessary. Great fun, go see it!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Ups and Downs

The move is complete, I'm on my year off and have a whole world of possibilities ahead of me.

BUT... (not to sound all complain-y) I'm house poor again, my RA has kicked up again (my right wrist has been consistently flaring for over three months now), my mom just had a medium heart attack and my dad is waiting on test results to determine whether or not a growth behind his knee is cancerous, not to mention that it's apparently a secondary tumour. It's a lot. So much so that I've been super stressed, losing track of time and days, not remembering simple things and generally screwing up to the point that other people think I'm a flake-o-la. Which is frustrating.

I'm trying to look on the bright side, maybe I wasn't able to defer my year off for a reason. To be able to get well and help others who aren't well. I've gotten a private teaching job, that I hope will translate into others. Maybe I will be able to realize my dream of going on a major trip on this year off. I'm definitely going to sign up for another one, as it's definitely something to look forward to while working and gives you a much needed break. I'm certainly enjoying not working, but the lack of routine is killing me. Now that the move is more or less done, after Thanksgiving, I'm starting a new weekday routine.

8:00am - Wake up/Small snack for workout fuel
8:30am - Run/Walk (good time to use gym if needed, most people at work)
9:00am - Weights/Stretching
9:30am - Shower/Breakfast
11:00am - Practice (Wed only - practice QOR pieces emailed on Sunday)
12:00pm - Snack and Chores/Admin
1:00pm - Yoga
2:00pm - Lunch
3:00pm - Chores/Admin
4:00pm - Cooking/Baking/Dinner Prep