Fifty people, one question... and the present moment

Fifty People, One Question: London from Fifty People, One Question on Vimeo.

I feel as if I should watch this video every day.

When I started watching, I thought, "Oh, everyone is going to say Hawaii or the like." As the first Brit hemmed and hawed, I nearly stopped watching - "Okay guy, you need to wake up in a place with better hairstylists."

But then he said the loveliest thing and my heart melted.

And kept melting with each new face. I just never expected the variety of answers this question would provoke.

In my sometimes-cynical way, I reckoned that this question was really about how happy you are in your life. I knew that unhappy people would certainly want to escape their life, but I hadn't thought about what the happy people would say. So when I heard, "In my own bed", I was left speechless. And not just from one person either - numerous people answered the exact same thing.

Because it's not only about happiness - it's also about being in the present moment. That video caught me while I was floating - ungrounded - and then it brought me back to the beauty of now. I am grateful to have found it.

On a final note, I too would like to live on a planet of cheese.

Pushy grandmothers

There's a radio ad running on CJAD that cracks me up every time. It's for a local podiatrist and it consists of two women talking. It begins like this:

"I know I'm only her grandmother, but I noticed that Allison's foot turns in when she walks..."

Perhaps this is a stupid question, but where does one find non-meddling grandmothers like this? Do tactful grandmothers exist? Does anyone have proof?

My Italian grandmothers thought it was their God-given right to meddle in pretty much everything. They had an opinion about... well, everything... and they gave it to you whether you asked for it or not . Also, they didn't believe in personal space.

Need examples?

My paternal grandmother, Adelia, when I was a teenager, regularly liked to gauge the development of my breasts herself. I leaned over to kiss her hello, she lifted her hand to cop a feel. No one thought this was weird. You certainly didn't put up a fight.

My maternal grandmother, Ida, when I was teenger, decided that my favourite pair of khaki shorts made my back end look too wide. She aired her opinion but when I insisted on wearing them anyway, she just dumped bleach on them in the wash. The family thought this was cute. And funny.

If it were my grandmother in the radio ad, she would be yelling - and probably take the opportunity to note that my mother obviously wasn't feeding me enough either.

Thanks nonnas!

Kung fu and Pauline Kael

Here's a confession that will baffle you.

I like fight movies, but kung fu, not gun fu and not that Steven Seagal stuff either. Chow Yun Fat is alright and all, but I much prefer the likes of Tony Jaa in Ong Bak, Jackie Chan in Rumble in the Bronx, or Jet Li in Fist of Legend.

Yes, the tea-drinking, non-meat eating yogini loves da kung fu. In fact, you should have seen my face when I saw the trailer for Ninja Assassin. Ex-cite-ment! I even giggled when I read the rating: Strong, bloody, stylized violence.

It just is, okay?

In my defense, I offer my love of the the human body and its many beautiful lines as an excuse. Many discount fight movies as gratuitous violence, but the choreography and physical feats often woven into the tales can take on the beauty of dance. Also, most of them feature far more developed scripts than current Hollywood blockbusters.

I like the dance of limbs - and not so much the bloody noses and broken bones. Does that make sense?

I was thinking about fight movies when I came across this interesting National Post piece about Pauline Kael, "the most passionate, stimulating and argument-starting critic in the history of film".

The one line that really stuck with me is something Kael said to a friend near the end of her life, "When we championed trash culture we had no idea it would become the only culture."

Do kung fu movies fall into the category of "trash culture"?

The thing is, I don't really care.

Watching kung fu movies makes me happy. They stimulate my senses and raise my heart rate. Kung fu movies are like a massage of the senses. I walk away from them feeling all adrenaline-y and I don't mind saying so, especially because Kael also said, "Trash has given us an appetite for art".

Watching kung fu movies feeds into my love of going to the movies, as does watching other (less-violent) favourites. They do not prevent me from enjoying more artistic films.

Doesn't an interest in culture mean taking in lower forms, as well as higher forms? And do kung fu movies necessarily have to be considered as trash?

Psst! Ninja Assassin is released on November 25. Who wants to go with me?

Women detector

Remember that men detector cartoon I shared with you in July?

I found the source - AND - there's a female version :)


See both cartoons in full size here.

Men Detector

If only...

He's just not that into you

For one of our Saturday night dinner/movie soirées, Powell brought over He's Just Not That Into You.

The movie wasn't particularly compelling - or enlightening. There's a strong performance by Jennifer Connolly and I'd watch Bradley Cooper peel potatoes, so it was somewhat entertaining on occasion.

The thing is, I'm not entirely convinced by the whole theory backing this film.

Alex, played by The Mac Guy, introduces the audience to the "he's just not that into you" concept. Although I am mostly in agreement with what he says, at the end of the movie he only figures out that he's into Gigi after she's walked away from him.

I want to amend the concept to: "He's just not that into you, unless you're not that into him, and then maybe he might change his mind".

Is that not snappy enough though? Too long for a book title?

XKCD.COM

I know... it's too big. But just click on it to see the full cartoon. It's about pirates!

Death of the rom-com

I recently saw the trailer for a new Matthew McConaughey rom-com called The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. I believe the French have the perfect adjective for this film - minable. The trailer showed too much, the plot seems too cutesy, and there's no doubt in anybody's mind that MM and Jennifer Garner will find themselves in a picture-perfect wedding on a tropical beach, orchids in the hair, cute dog with a bowtie, etc.

Obviously, I can't help feeling that this is just another in a long line of movies marking the end of the beloved romantic-comedy genre. What 27 Dresses and Failure to Launch left gasping for oxygen, The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past seems intent on killing.

This genre may be giggled at today, but it has produced some stellar classics like When Harry Met Sally and Roxanne. In your heart-of-hearts, you know there's going to be a happy ending - but the writing is so flawless, the plot so cannily revealed, that your heart aches at the very possibility of everyone's wishes not coming true.

Where is that pitch-perfect writing? That careful construction of plot? Seems like most rom-coms assume that showing you a few shots of Matthew McConaughey without a shirt - or Katherine Heigl in a sexy dress - is enough. 

Most rom-coms today are fantasy-driven, relying on dashing heroes, romantic landscapes, and a splashy ending to make their mostly-female audience ooh and aah. The denouements are overly dramatic and tend to unfold before a rapt audience of bar-goers or Internet cafe-gamers who will burst into applause when the heroine finally relents and forgives the very-apologetic hero with a very-wet and very-public kiss.

I get chills just thinking of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan finally surrendering to the obvious on a dark street on New Year's Eve. The intimacy of it. The feeling that you're watching a private moment is goosebump-worthy.

But I don't get that feeling so much in the movie theatres anymore.

Where is the anticipation? The suspense? I want that moment when I sigh and think, 'How are they ever going to get past all this and fall in love?' All I seem to think is, "If James Franco flicks his hair one more time..."

Shipbuilders' Magazine

A friend and I went to see the Titanic Artifact Exhibit today at the Centre Eaton. It's a fascinating experience for the modern mind. Staring into the eyes of Titanic victims. Looking at artifacts plucked from the deepest and darkest depths of the ocean. Marvelling at the opulence of another time. Discovering that there were automatic flush toilets in 1914 (because many immigrants had never used a toilet before and wouldn't know when to flush). Finding the squash courts on the ship blueprints.

It all seemed so long ago - and yet so familiar. Especially the similarities between the tragedy of the Titanic and our current economic mess.

Allow me to explain.

1. Icebergs. The White Star Line was so eager to launch the Titanic - considered to be the summum of the shipbuilding art - that they cut corners in order to more quickly start generating profits. Binoculars for the watchmen were misplaced, not enough lifeboats on board, warnings were ignored, etc. The Titanic was primed for disaster from the beginning. Fast forward to 2008. Banks and corporations were in such a rush to generate more profits - especially with that cash-cow war in Iraq - they continued to amass more debt and eventually fell into the liquidity trap. They ignored the warnings and OOOH! is that an iceberg!? Once again, some refuse to learn from history, and we are all doomed to repeat it.
2. Shipbuilders' Magazine. As the White Star Line was building the Titanic in 1911, Shipbuilders' Magazine labelled this mammoth of the sea as "practically unsinkable". Isn't it interesting to think that there was a magazine about shipbuilding in the early 20th century? Shipbuilding was a huge industry in that era and the magazine is a testament to how important it was. Was. The shipbuilding industry has shrunk since then, having been replaced by aeronautics, etc. So isn't this fact of history also a testament to the human ability to adapt? As we read about the bailouts for the Big Three, can we not find some comfort in the fact that even if car manufacturing is eclipsed - like shipbuilding was - that we will continue to find new opportunities to explore? As long as human ingenuity persists, we will develop new skills, new industries, new ways of making life more comfortable.

Before you go, watch this cool animation of how the Titanic sunk. James Cameron narrates. And don't worry - Leonardo DiCaprio is never mentioned. Thankfully. 

So You Think You Can Dance - Canada

Before tonight's last performance show, I just want to say that I've loved every moment. But let's revisit one of my favourite moments before the party's over.

I miss you Arassay. I miss you Vincent. Maybe Nico can comfort me...



The dancing starts at :49 seconds. Try not to giggle when they bleep "bitch".

Most over-used lines on television

(which, unlike ‘DOH!’, have lost their charm through repetition)

• “Take it back to the lab and see what you can get.”
• “Detective, do you have children?”
• “Hurry! Please! Fast! Fast! Hurry!”
• “How have things been between you and your wife/husband lately?”
• Family member: “You have to get the man that killed my wife/child/mother/dog.” Official (usually David Caruso): “We’ll get him. I can promise you that.”
• Intern intubating patient, sweating profusely: “I can’t do it! I can’t visualize the cords!”
• “The body was found by a jogger.”

Did I miss anything?

Wasting precious time

Being a member of the marketing/advertising community, I have a very low tolerance for bad ads - especially ones that shamelessly manipulate our emotions with the basest of tactics. One tactic that particularly upsets me is the "stop wasting your precious time" approach.

The straw that broke this camel's back was the TV commercial for McCain Roasters. You know the one where a business woman is preparing roast potatoes while at the office? She's ripping open tiny salt and pepper packets to season the potatoes she chopped while putting together a PowerPoint presentation (or similar), and there's a voiceover making exasperated noises about 'who has time to spend all day preparing roast potatoes?'

Yes, the absurdity of the situation is supposed to be funny, but I gnash my teeth every time it comes on. Not only does it anger me that a perfectly intelligent woman is depicted as being too brain-addled to peel a potato in less than eight hours, and that this product creates more waste in the name of convenience, but I hate how advertisements are constantly telling us to save-time-don't-waste-time.

Advertisers are not worried about us savouring every moment of our time here on earth. They want us to save time so that we can keep running and keep buying their products. These commercials keep us tiny guinea pigs running ever faster on our increasingly-shrinking wheels, and the whole cycle exhausts me.

Now excuse me while I peel the biggest pile of potatoes just for the pleasure of getting my hands dirty.

Video - Tricot Machine

Stop complaining! It's pretty outside! Watch this video. It will make you feel better. Maybe even inspire you to knit.

Sesame Street does 30 Rocks

Thanks to Steve (i.e. Shorty)!

George Stroumboulopoulos

Anyone else ever find themselves suddenly attracted to George Stroumboulopoulos? It's come on quite suddenly... inexplicably... and I don't know how to handle it.

(we'd look cute together, admit it)

It happened the other night during The Hour when he got all self-conscious about wearing a something-other-than-black shirt. He kept touching his belly as if worried that he'd look *poochie* on television, and it was very endearing. He's a Habs fan, did I mention that?

(so dark, so Mediterranean, so many vowels...)

Seriously, what do I do about this?

Ms. Julie does Global TV

Now if you missed Ms. Julie being interviewed by Jamie Orchard on Global TV this past Friday, November 14, here is the link.

I... she... we are on during the last 10 minutes. Having watched myself on screen (with the volume turned way down), I must admit that my resemblance to TFey is astonishing. If only Tina knew...

Tina Fey and Sarah Palin on SNL

Check out more Saturday Night Live clips here. If you want to reach about how NBC innovated with the creation of Hulu, read the Wired article here. To complain that Hulu can only be streamed in the United States? Turn to your pet, spouse, or favourite potted plant.

Photo meme

Take a picture of yourself right now. Don’t change your clothes, don’t fix your hair…just take a picture. Post that picture with NO editing. Post these instructions with your picture.

Palanca, post-yoga, post-yoga, pre-bath. Steve! Why am I doing this?

Some musical notes

If you still don't know about Matthew Barber, do yourself a favour and click here. 'Timeless' still gives me shivers even after all these years.

And on a completely different note, there's also Albert Hammond Jr. I love the sound of GfC, and the video is waaay cool. Do the opening notes remind you of Alfa Rococo? Me too!

Sports Night

Lawdy, where have I been? No Internet connection at home. Trying to catch up on lost sleep. Making pesto. And watching too many episodes of Sports Night, Aaron Sorkin's other well-written and fast-talking drama/comedy.

In watching it, you will recognise the narrative, tone and even some of the faces - Joshua Malina and Janel Moloney - that later appear on The West Wing and Studio 60. The ever-resplendent William H. Macy even makes a memorable cameo.

Oh, but there's no Amanda Peet - sorry!

It's entertaining stuff. Really. The only hiccup I occasionally experience is watching Peter Krause being awkward and not-cool and conservatively dressed and so not Nate. I long for the edgy, hot restlessness of Nate Fisher, don't you?