The Oranges

The final film that I saw during this year's edition of the TIFF was The Oranges.
I suppose my theory that earlier screenings during the festival have a better chance of having Q&As is proving to be true. I'm going to have to keep that in mind for future festivals.
You can read the synopsis of the film here. Anyway, this first was, ummm...okay. It had some funny one-liners and such, but it seems relatively uneventful. It was enjoyable, but I didn't love it. It was cute, but it wasn't groundbreaking. I feel like this film had a lot of potential. From the beginning of the film, just the style of the movie, how the characters spoke and their interactions with one another, even the type of music they used, I thought that it would be similar to Juno.
It was okay, but it just didn't extend itself to the extent that it could be. I don't think this review is doing this film any justice. Which is too bad. It was pretty cute. I'm just tired, I suppose.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

Trespass

I picked Trespass (official website here) because I'm a sucker for 'heist'-type movies. Well, I was a sucker for picking this movie.
It was horrible.
I never seem to give negative reviews on this blog about anything. I always try to find something good about everything, but I really can't with this one.
It was ridiculous. It was so forced. It was so wacky. It was so frenetic. It was so weird.
During the screening, people were laughing at all the wrong times. I figured everyone else in the screening also didn't like the movie, but then as I was leaving, I heard someone say that they really loved the movie. So then, maybe I thought I was taking the film too literally. As soon as I got home, I actually went online to check whether or not the film was actually supposed to be a parody. When I found some reviews that blasted the movie, I felt better about my judgement of the film.
The crappy part is that I'm sure it's going to get at least a limited release in theatres because of the big names that it has in the film.
There was no one representing the film to introduce the film at the screening or do a Q&A. Too bad, I would have loved to hear what they had to say.
Oh my gosh, I completely do NOT recommend this film.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

Laryngitis

I've lost my voice. It's a teacher's worst nightmare.
What was a nice little cold decided to attack my poor overexposed larynx.
Now that I think back, I can kind of see the progression of how it happened. Coughing on Tuesday morning while I was teaching and using my voice to its full capacity. Tuesday afternoon, throat feeling tired, but unlike what usually happens after a busy day in the classroom.
Wednesday daytime, voice is super sexy and raspy. Chugging warm liquids and styling some scarves. Seems to be getting better as the day goes on and head to my evening class with strategies of how to get the class talking more than me. It's torture, but I survive.
Thursday morning. No voice. Nothing. No sound what soever. It's still such an interesting phenomenon for me. It's not painful, although everyone I try speaking with says that it sounds painful. I am physically speaking the same way that I would any other day, and the same amount of air is coming out, but there no vibrations going on. It's such a strange sensation.
So, it's a virus so there are no drugs I can take to get over it faster. I'm just taking on as many home remedies as I can handle. I hope they don't cancel each other out somehow. I've been told to let my voice rest. Don't speak if possible.
The rest of Thursday was spent trying not to talk, but it's kind of impossible in my field. I wasn't teaching, but when you're around people, you kind have to talk. And there were various meetings and events that I really couldn't just ignore. I did show up 'fashionably late' to one event because I knew that the beginning was a mingling-type situation, so I thought if I could skip that part, it might work out better.
I took this morning off. It was nice to sleep in, because I need it and just haven't been able to afford to do so. So that's a blessing in disguise, but I was supposed to be doing something very important this morning, so I'm frustrate that I had to cancel. And I'm lucky to be working with a very understanding colleague on another project so that freed up part of this afternoon and Monday. So, my strategy is to be a hermit as much as possible for these next couple of days. As I don't have the habit of talking out loud to myself, it's the only way I can possible attempt to not use my voice.
I just desperately want to get my voice back again for Tuesday. I've got a cracking lesson planned that I'd really like to execute.

Undefeated

Another movie, another documentary. Undefeated (official website here) follows the Manassas Tigers' run to win their first ever playoff game. The storyline is pretty close to athletes preparing for a big competition, so obviously I would love the film. And I did.
Not only are we following the team as they search for success on the field and learn more about the personal lives of some of the team members, but we're also finding out about the coach of this football team. Coach Bill Courtney is as much a star of the film if not the star. I am in complete awe that he volunteers his time to coach. There are some teachers who are paid to do their job who don't do half of what he does for those kids.
And as you would think for a film about a team from a rough area of town this film is less so about doing well in the game but more about how these young men develop their identities, pursue their dreams, and strengthen their character. I forget the phrase that the coach kept repeating to his team, but ultimately it was about how the way you handle defeat really defines you.
The Q&A with directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin as well as special guest Coach Bill Courtney was great. They answered a wide range of questions relating to the film's content to the filmmaking process. All three of them had create personalities that showed their passion for the film and the subject matter.
I don't know if this film will get wide-release (probably not? Do documentaries get wide-release?) but I'm sure it'll get picked up at some level. Maybe a limited release in select cities or for DVD or TV. It has to. It's an amazing story.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

Killer Elite

Killer Elite (official website here) is a big, Hollywood blockbuster movie with big name celebrities and is getting wide release. All of this means that I shouldn't have selected to watch the film at TIFF and just waited to see it in theatres, but I'm a sucker for hitman movies. I love those silly movies that involve characters plotting someone else's demise. I like finding out the sneaky and creative ways that do the deed. In the same vein, I like heist movies.
So, Killer Elite was good fun. These movies aren't supposed to be cerebral or anything, but there are crazy action scenes and that's all that I'm really looking for. If you're the type of person that judges a movie when you see a character jump off of a bazillion-floor building or run from bullets without getting hurt, this isn't the movie for you.
Apparently it got some bad reviews and the director, Gary McKendry addressed them in the Q&A. He talked about how he just wanted to make an over-the-top film 'for the boys', because at the end of the day, boys love films with lots of things exploding and big fight scenes. Ahem - some girls like them too.
The Q&A had a different kind of tone than most of the others ones that I've attended. There was a lot more conversation about the process and questions about this being his first feature film.
So, the film was entertaining. That's probably how I would best describe it. There was one flaw, though. The film is set in the 70s and they drive cars that were around back then, most of the men are sporting classic moustaches and relevant attire...except for Jason Statham's character (well, and his leading lady and Robert De Niro's character as well). So that struck me as really odd, but it wasn't so bad because dressed in present-day garb, he's pretty good to look at. Ha.
The film is in theatres now or soonish (sorry, I don't actually keep track of these things) so if you like these kind of films, go watch it. It's pretty much everything you'd expect this kind of film to be.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

Monsieur Lazhar

Monsieur Lazhar is a film about immigration, communication, and education. I'm starting to hit the wall about writing these reviews because I'm so worn out, but that doesn't mean that I didn't like the films. It just means that I think that the TIFF write-up and any other reviews that you can find on the internet can do a much better job than I can in this current state. So I think I'm going to skip the synopsis part of my write-ups and see what I can fit in to a short one-liner.
Anyway, The one word that I would use to describe this film is subtle. I does touch upon some interesting issues, but either I'm too dense to get what they were trying to say or maybe they just didn't make as big a deal out of the issues as they could have. I would have like more of the issues front and center and flushed out a bit more. Basically, I the film finished and I was expecting more. It was nice, but I think that there was so much more potential there.
This film was by the same director as the film that I watched (and loved) a couple years ago, C'est pas moi, je le jure!. There are definite similarities between the films. Children who really capture the audience, some tough issues and quirky characters and somehow an Amelie-esque feel to the film. I wonder if I say that about all films that are in French. But something about the simple nature of the films, and the style of the dialogue reminds me of Amelie. And the cadence of the speech...which, yeah, I guess could be just the fact that it's in French.
There was a Q&A with this film, but I didn't really get much out of it. The director, Philippe Falardeau, once again shared how he worked with children on-set, he answered questions with humour and even imbedded humour in a scripted pre-screening introduction with one of the children from the film. The young boy was great int he film, but I thought the young girl (who wasn't at the screening) was superb. I would have liked to hear her talk about her experiences.
So in the end, although the synopsis caught my eye and of course the fact that it related to teaching, schools and education, it wasn't the portrayal of the story that really made me enjoy the film. It was good, but as I previously said, I thought it could have done more. But I think this is a personal preference thing. People all around me loved the film and the audience gave the team that was at the Q&A a warm round of applause. So yeah, the real reason this film is great is the cast. I thought each member of the cast did a wonderful job in their role and their emotions, interactions and delivery of their lines really made me enjoy the film.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

In Darkness

There have been may films about the atrocities against the Jews during World War II. In Darkness is a feature film, based on a true story of Leopold Socha, a sewer worker, who, as a result of his profession and knowledge of these underground tunnels becomes a hero just as Oskar Schindler of Schindler's List did.
This film felt a tad bit long. I think there were moments in the first half of the movie that could have been cut out (the runtime was 145 minutes), but as the film continued, it just got better and better.
What stood out in this film? I'm not sure. I loved Schindler's List, but I can't think of something in particular that I loved. Well, there was the amazing score John Williams. I didn't notice this film's score to be be something extra special (I would assume, because it's a week later, and I can't seem to remember the music in detail), so I guess it can't be that. In Schindler's List, there was the girl with the red coat. In this film, there was a girl in blue boots. The cast was very good in both films. The subject matter, was of course, very powerful. I guess there wasn't one thing that I can pinpoint as to why this film was incredible, but it definitely was.
One thing to note is that instead of 'Hollywood' actors playing the roles and speaking in English, this film used Polish actors speaking in Polish and German. This was one of the director's, Agnieszka Holland's important pieces of the film. Apparently she was approach a couple time to make the film, but she hesitated, not really wanting to go back to this topic and also to not do a typical Hollywood blockbuster take on it.
Before the screening, director Agnieszka Holland introduced her film and brought many people from her team along with a couple actors up on stage. It seemed like a very long intro to me, as I thought we could just as easily met these folks afterwards during the Q&A...but there wasn't one. After the film, the director came back onstage (to a standing ovation), and once the audience had taken their seats again, she brought up that little girl with the blue boots onstage. I've forgotten her name, but she wrote a book about her experiences and this was of course an inspiration for the film. A few words of thanks and then they walked off-stage and the lights came on. I wonder why they decided not to do a Q&A?
So I'll definitely recommend the film. You'll get all of the same emotions that you would watching Schindler's List. Schindler's List is an award winning film and this one, although I have no idea if it's going to get picked up for wide-release, it's just as emotional. Of course there were many moments where emotions were running high, but there was one stand-out moment in which the entire audience gasped. Incredible.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

First Position

I think anytime you have a documentary following competitors preparing for a major competition, you're going to get a good result. The film will inherently have suspense, have the audience be rooting for their favorite - I've yet to see a film with this kind of premise that I didn't like. Jig, from Hot Docs 2011 was the most recent film that I saw that followed competitors preparing for an event and it was fabulous. Coincidentally, TIFF version of a leading-up-to-a-competition doc was also about dancers, but instead of Irish dancing, the topic of the film was ballet.
First Position (official website here), was one of the few films that I was 100% sure I wanted to see. My process in picking films is to go through every single film, read the programmer's notes, and just cut out the ones that don't catch my eye. After the first round of cuts, I'm usually left with about 50 or so films. Amongst those films, I'll make note of any films that really catch my eye and I definitely, definitely, definitely want to see. I think this year I ended up with 2 or 3 films in this category. Last year, Waiting for "Superman" made it into that category.
Anyway, the film followed six dancers as they prepared for the Youth American Grand Prix. As to be expected from a film of this genre, there was a variety in the backgrounds of the dancers. The rich dancer. The poor dancer. The not-the-typical-body-type dancer. The has-a-sorta-stage-mom dancer.
Also like most of these films, there wasn't anything groundbreaking about the film. Sure you learn a little bit more about ballet (or whatever the topic is), but the dedication, sweat, pain, tears, passion, adversity, triumph and the rest of the stuff that come with it. That's nothing surprising.
The one potential flaw with this film is that each of the dancers is a success story. I'd read a review before I watched the film was 'ruined' this ending for me, so I guess I'm going to ruin it now for everyone else (although, if you're enough of a die hard, you'd already know how these dancers did at the competition anyway). Usually you expect at least one character to 'lose' and then make a speech about how they're not going to to give up their dream and/or they've had a good run and they're happy with what they've accomplished either way, but in this film everyone ended up succeeding. At least for the meantime.
In the Q&A with first time filmmaker Bess Kargman, she addresses this criticism and says that her intention was to follow special characters. She used to be a dancer so she picked these dancers to follow because she could see that each one of them had an 'it factor'. So really, she picked winners right from the beginning.
So why it this film so amazing? It's the subject matter, it's the amazing dancing, but it's probably more the characters which makes the film great. Bess did a great job picking characters (there were a couple more dancers that she followed, but she only ended up using these six...not sure why - although the rest of them have bit parts in the film) who not only had great back stories, but also had great personalities to follow. I'm sure that the characters weren't always "on", but some really great moments were captured in and included in the film. Some very funny moments, I might add.
So yeah, I'd recommend this film.

- picture courtesy of www.firstpositionfilms.com

Here's to another great festival

I've decided that tonight was my last night for TIFF for this year. There's still a weekend's worth of films still left to see, but I've had a good run with the ten films that I did watch. Although there was one that I actually didn't like, (and I can usually interpret or analyse the heck out of a film until I start to like it) two were so-so and the rest I enjoyed. This year was my busiest in terms of non-TIFF stuff during TIFF, and I am battling my obligatory beginning-of-the-school-year cold.
I have a very busy couple of months ahead, so I think it's best if I take it easy this weekend and not get tempted to watch more films. Let's wait and see if I break or not.
As I said, I had a pretty good success rate with my films this year. And as always, I've had a good experience, but there were some things that I noticed from this year that I hadn't in previous years. Screenings were not very punctual. In previous years, I would join the ticket holder line 30-45 minutes in advance and not even be close to the beginning of the line. It was what I had to do to ensure that I would get a good seat. this year, I would stroll arrive to the theatre 10 minutes before the scheduled start time, not have a bad position in line, or even just stroll right into the theatre five minutes before the screening would start and not even bother with the line at all. I can't imagine that I selected films that were much less popular than ones that I'd selected in previous years, but rush lines seemed short or non-existant. I was able to buy a ticket for one of the screenings that I was going to rush, and joined a rush line 10 minutes before the scheduled start time of another and the line was probably only 20 deep. I used to show up to rush lines one hour before screening and still be concerned that I couldn't get in.
Volunteers seemed less organized and/or assertive and this mainly came out in line-up confusion. At AMC, corralling in a different theatre than that in which the screening will take place isn't a new idea, but boy, were there glitches. And I shouldn't have been able to go all the way to the theatre at the TIFF Bell Lightbox before being told that the line-up for the screening was downstairs and outside of the building. And it was five minutes before showtime...why was the line still outside. Even more entertaining was that when the line was finally let into the building, we had to snake our way through the cordoned area set up just outside of the theatre...for a line. So why did we have to line up outside in the first place? And when we were basically just entering the theatre, just bother having us snake through? It was strange.
But, as always, seatmates were cheerful and friendly (unless they were in the industry - and then it was touch and go), those introducing the films were enthusiastic and there was a nice vibe in the city.
All in all, it's been a great festival and hopefully I'll have a chance to write-up about the rest of the films that I saw soon.

Whores' Glory

Whores' Glory (official website here) is a triptych about prostitution in three locations around the world: Bangkok (Thailand), Faridpur (Bangladesh) and Reynosa (Mexico). We get an inside look at a brothel in each location, meet some of the girls/ladies who work there, some of the folks who are in charge of the girls/ladies, and some of the folks who are customers.
This is the third film that I saw at the festival and all three have been documentaries thus far. I'm figuring out that I like documentaries because I like to learn. I like to understand and I like to know about different components of our world. I specifically like to know about people, their stories, their lives and why they do what they do. People are fascinating.
Brothels and prostitution don't really come up as topics in every day conversations. It's not something that's commonplace in my environment. It really is another unknown that I honestly can say that I have no judgements about. I don't know enough about it to make any judgements about it. I may know what pop culture says about it, but that doesn't make me feel like I actually know anything about the topic.
This documentary did a great job of giving me the chance to hear from people whom I probably will never have a chance to meet and seeing their world. It was amazing what the filmmakers were allowed access to, and just how candid everyone being interviewed was. It wasn't always that I was shocked at what they were saying and their perspective of reality. I mean, I suspected as much to be true, but as I said before, these topics just aren't talked about on a regular basis in my environment so it's pretty stunning to hear so much of it in a concentrated piece.
Not all of it seemed 'sad'. As I thought, some of it seemed to be just another way of life. But, as the film progressed things got more and more grim. The reality of some situations, and hearing the girls speak about their realities was pretty heart-wrenching.
This was a film that would have had a great Q&A. To find out more about the topic, to find out more about the process and how the production team was able to, well, get access to it all. Here's where my thoughts of a strategy for knowing which screenings to attend didn't quite work out. The director was supposed to have attended, however, he just won an award at the Venice Film Festival for this film and so, Venice beat out TIFF. This, I will accept.
Luckily, the film's website is a great place to find out some more information. It is well worth a read.
This film is also well worth a watch.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope

Another film, another documentary.
At Hot Docs this past year, I watched Morgan Spurlock's POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. It was entertaining. Not the most amazing piece of work that I've ever seen in my life, but definitely entertaining. I was pretty sure that watching Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope would be equally as entertaining. I was right.
The fun started as soon as I arrived to the theatre. Stormtroopers lined the sidewalk. They kindly moved aside to let me pass. Going up that long escalator in the Scotiabank, I had a prime view of all of the different characters who were standing on the accompanying stairs to welcome us to the show. I think I only recognized 10% of the characters. There were more characters wandering around the hallways upstairs. Some posing with other festival-goers for photos, others just hanging out. I was expecting a couple folks in line to be dressed up as well, but I guess those folks go to the actual Comic-Con instead of just going to a documentary about it.
The documentary did a great job of profiling some classic Comic-Con attendees. Aspiring illustrators, aspiring costumers, figurine collectors, a legend from the comic book collecting world, and a pair of nerdy fans who are ever-so-deeply in love. Interspersed between the storytelling of their time leading up to the convention and time at the convention were interviews with some big names in the biz (I assume so - I clearly know nothing about this 'biz') as well as some great snippets with other attendees.
The documentary tied the scenes together through comic-esque drawings. Freezing real footage which morphed into drawn images, zooming out to a page of the comic book of the doc and panning to the next panel and zooming in to reveal the next vignette to be told.
There were at least a dozen folks (including Stan Lee, whom everyone around me was freaking out about - meh. No big deal. Although, he does seem to have a lot of charisma, is a great speaker and comes with his own well=dressed security guard) onstage for the post-screening Q&A. This was the world premiere, so I guess this was the place to be. I think that's going to be my strategy. I love the Q&As and the first screening of the film is at least the TIFF premiere, if not the North American premiere or the world premiere, so chances are there will be someone from the production in attendance and willing to speak about the film and/or answer some questions about it.
Again, this film wasn't ground breaking, but I sure enjoyed it. It's neat to get an inside scoop into Comic-Con and hear about some real-live stories. To follow adventures, root for the characters and of course smile when they give you the 'where are they now' update that (of course) takes place during the end credits.
It's definitely a fun film to watch.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

Girl Model

Here we go!!! I'll be seeing at least 8 films this year, and I'm pretty exhausted from life, but at least I'm not sick like I was last year. Fingers crossed I don't get sick any time soon.
So, to my first film of the festival, Girl Model (official website here). This is a documentary about a former-model turned scout, her work in Russia scouting girls for the Japanese market, the Russian girls who hope to become models and make it big not only for themselves, but for their families back at home in Russia, and then the experiences of these girls in Japan - a very foreign locale.
So, my take on the film - umm...what the huh?!? I still haven't figured out what kind of movies I like. Is it ones with a happy ending? Ones that throw your for a loop? Ones that make you think? Ones that are predictable?
The film highlighted some obvious ideas: the younger the better, the skinnier the better, models can be naive, models and their families could be relying on the girls for success and a new life, agencies are crafty, etc.
I know that I don't like films (maybe I should be more specific and say documentaries) that don't examine an idea in depth. Not only is this one of those documentaries but I also feel like it was just so wishy washy, confusing and even the filmmaking part of it didn't seem particularly intriguing. I mean, it wasn't particularly artistic, creative...it wasn't...errr...special.
See, I know that when Thom Powers introduces a film, he has say good things about it, but he really pumped up this film saying that it was the first documentary that he picked to be in the festival. He just "knew" that early on in the year that this film was something special. I wish I understood what he saw in this film.
I'm mighty glad that we had a Q&A with the producers and one of the more experienced models featured the film. There weren't many questions from the get go. Maybe the audience was as confused or disappointed as I was. And then, after the filmmakers gave a wishy washy answer to a question, I was about to give up complete hope. Maybe they were just completely wishy washy in general. But then, as they kept talking, they started 'revealing' more. Their wishy washiness in answering questions seemed to be because they were trying their best to be as diplomatic with their answers as possible. Basically, that part of the industry was just as confusing to them as it was to us and they were just as aghast as we were about some of the realities but for some reason needed to be careful how they dealt with it. The model didn't really have anything super enlightening to say, but in a way, her confusing and roundabout answers further solidified the notion that the industry is confusing and not fair, but aspiring models, especially ones who are so desperate to have a 'better life' just accept its weird ways, that it's an industry with some strange characters and that it's a pretty tight-knit, defensive and secretive community.
And once the lightbulb in my and the rest of the audience's head went off that there was actually more to the story that the filmmakers were hesitating to telling us, all of a sudden everyone had a question to ask. And just as to be expected, there was only time for one more question. It was a great question to tried to further get the filmmakers to voice their actual views on the issues and to help us better understand what the heck was going on with this world, and since it was clear that we figured out 'what was up', they opened up a little more to basically say, 'yeah...it's messed up'. And they also talked about a bunch of things that they'd encountered or filmed that gave you a better sense of just how wacky the world is, but I have no idea why these episode just weren't included in the final cut of the film.
So the film wasn't stellar, but thank goodness for that Q&A. I wonder if it was supposed to be a film that seemed like it was telling this on-the-surface (but wishy washy) tale, but that you were supposed to be so unsatisfied by the film that you were supposed to realize that there's more to it that the filmmakers just couldn't actually portray. I don't know...it seems like a lot to ask from an audience.
Sigh.

- picture courtesy of www.girlmodelthemovie.com

Friday afternoon ponderings

As I wander around campus and see the Froshies doing their thing, I wonder...
Do people look at me and see a weathered and grizzled graduate student or a sprightly and eager frosh?
The fact that I'm not wearing a fluorescent coloured t-shirt as part of Orientation Week festivities is a giveaway, but once that's all over, is there anything about how we present ourselves superficially that distinguish us?

Insider information

I don't get a chance to go into the ROM very often anymore. Other items on my portfolio are needing to be first priority, so I can only pop into the ROM when I've got extra time.
It's not that I have tons of time in my schedule right now, but I was able to squeeze in the annual departmental meeting in today (well, I took the one-hour lunch 'break' to run down the street to go in to school and get some work done - sigh).
BUT...as always, there are exciting things at the ROM.

1. Maya is coming in November!!! The lead curator for the exhibition, Justin Jennings, came in to chat with us and his enthusiasm was contagious. It's clearly going to be a great exhibit (which will be going to the Canadian Museum of Civilizations afterwards) and his talk brought me back to some of the stuff that I remembered learning about in Grade 8. Yeah, our school had a trip to Mexico...that's how we rolled. Anyway, the sites that we went to all of those years ago aren't going to be featured in the exhibition because they're too recent. This exhibition is looking back at pre-Spaniards stuff. It's not only that the topic that Justin was presenting about really great, nor was it that he was an exceptional presenter, but the fact that he was SO excited to share his love of the topic, his excitement for this exhibition...you couldn't help but be excited too. He was clearly geek-ing out as he was presenting some of the artifacts and details of their culture. Like a kid in a candy store.
It just further illustrated the importance for a teacher (speaker/presenter/etc.) to be passionate about the subject that they're teaching. Passion and genuine enthusiasm for a topic can get you a long way. I hope that my passion for my subject matter comes across when I teach. I'm pretty sure it does. In fact, I'm very aware of how giddy I got when I gave my intro talk about Calculus each time I taught that course. Sure, my students were laughing (at me), but I knew that they knew how excited I was about the topic and how much I wanted them to be excited too. I'm looking forward to getting that kid-in-a-candy-store feeling starting next week (roller coaster car is still going uphill...)

2. findthebabybison. Duuuuuude...when this finally goes public, it's going to be soooo goooooood. I wanna spill the beans so bad!

Must stay focused!

I've finally managed to get back to transcribing those interviews that I did in the Spring (and was supposed to transcribe by May), and was getting into the groove of it, but now there are fighter jets doing loop-de-loops and other fancy tricks right outside my window. Blargh.
It's funny that there's a whole line of Porter planes waiting on the tarmac for the show-off to finish its gig before they can take off.

Gooooooo!

Box 32 FTW?!?

My spidey-senses are tingling

I can feel it. The new year is coming and it's going to be a busy one. Big opportunities, big excitement, and big stress.
I can hear that clicking noise of the roller coaster as it's going up that first hill...and I'm not quite ready to put my arms up to fly.

Huzzah

Today is a special day for so many reasons. Here is one.
If you read this after the fact, this is what you missed.

IE's MP3 Experiment 8

I am jealous of their glow-stick festivities.
I can't be too upset, I still had mucho fun at the version that I attended.

Ew.

It's sticky here in the city. Ew.
I think I'm supposed to be grateful because apparently it was super gross last week, whereas today's actually not that bad. Fine.
My week in Paris had unfortunate weather as well. It rained every single day and probably hovered around the 15 degrees Celsius mark.
I guess that's what I get for complaining about getting sunburnt in Switzerland. Oh, how I miss that dry, cat-lying-in-the-sun, crazy altitude, heat.

Paris, tu me manques

It's Sunday morning, and I took one last tour around Paris. It's quieter on a Sunday morning, but there is always people out and about. I went to the Champs Elysees and they're setting up for the derniere partie of Le Tour de France. It would have been fun to stick around to watch them do laps around that wide street.
This has been a wonderful trip. It's been three years since visiting Europe the last time, and I know that I'm privileged to even have had many opportunities to board a plane, but I still wish I could do it more often.

Semantics

I was late for dance class tonight.
Well, first, I have to say that I took two dance classes here in Paris. It's the first time that I've been here and done something that wasn't 'for tourists'. It's not that I'm desperate to dance and don't want to loose a week (or two) of exercise while on vacation. In fact, I walk a bunch when I travel, so I am definitely keeping active. It's just that I thought it would be kind of interesting to see what dance classes in another city are like.
Anyway, the classes that I took, were very different from one another. Different teachers, so different styles. Variety is good every so often. And I realized, that when trying to figure out a teacher's style for dance, watching the movement isn't enough. I actually do need to rely on the auditory cues that accompany the movement. Hearing cues in a non-native language isn't quite the same. It's like I lost one of my senses when I was trying to follow the class.
I digress. as I said, I was late.
When signing in, I was told that the studio in which the class would take place was either on the 2nd floor or just 'that studio right there' (we were at the main/street level). Apparently the instructor was probably outside having a smoke, so I was supposed to just keep my eye out for him when he came back.
So, I take the stairs to go upstairs and look around the different studios to see if anything looks appropriate for my class. Just seeing a pointe class in action, I figure the class isn't upstairs, but on the main floor instead. I head back downstairs and see the previous class finishing up. Ah, this looks right. But no one else is waiting to start the next class nor do I see a teacher anywhere. Do classes start late here?
Finally, I figure maybe I should go back upstairs and double check the situation. Upon hearing some music that sounds promising, I open the studio door and ask the occupant of the studio about where the mystery class was being held. He tells me it's upstairs.
The lightbulb goes off. Over here, the 2nd floor is two floors above the main floor. They start counting at zero, not one. I had forgotten about that - Doh!

Midnight in Paris...in Paris

I just watched Midnight in Paris...in Paris. Sweet.
I also watched it at the Odeon cinema which is featured in the beginning montage. Doubly sweet.
I wish I knew a little bit more about people from the literature and art scene but I still enjoyed the film. So it wasn't my most favorite film ever. It definitely wasn't a language problem because I watched it VO. It was cute, but it didn't really move me in any way. I didn't feel like all of the characters lived up to their potential, although Dali got a bunch of laughs.
Still, it was cute to watch a film about Paris in Paris.
If I wasn't so tired, I would be wandering the streets right now and taking in the moment and enjoying life.
I mean, it's midnight afterall...there are amazing things happening in the city.

The battle of the macarons

The ultimate battle: Pierre Herme vs. Laduree.
I just happened to have three macarons from each Maison today. For a mid-morning snack, I went to Laduree. I chose Fraise Mentholee, Goyave, and Framboise-Anis. As soon as I bit in the first one, oh man, I was in heaven. There's something special about those little pastries that just, I don't know. It's pretty incredible.
For a mid-afternoon snack, I went to Pierre Herme and chose Mogador (fruits de la passion et chocolate au lait), Infiniment Rose, et Menthe et Petit Pois.
In my (not-so) expert opinion, it seems as though the biscuit of the Laduree macaron is more delicate than that of the Pierre Herme macaron. It's like the Pieree Herme macaron is a wee bit more solid and chewy whereas the Laduree macaron really crumbles with your first bite (or a firm grasp).
Laduree seems to have a bit more of a classic flavour selection. Lots of fruity flavours, and then classics like chocolat, pistache, and caramel a la fleur de sel. Pierre Herme also had classics, but were often more whimsically named: infiniment caramel and infiniment chocolat, for example, but then a couple more unique combinations (like the Menthe et Petit Pois that I'd tried and the Asperges Verte & Huile de Noisette or even the Huile d'Olive & Vanille.
Which one's better? I guess that's a personal preference. I say, why choose one over the other? Be like me and have both! I already promised the guy at Pierre Herme that I would go back tomorrow and give him the verdict on the Rose flavoured macaron (I was telling him that I usually don't like flower flavoured pastries, but he says that it's one of the best of the Maison. Does that mean I have to return to Laduree again too?
I know, I lead a hard life.

Warning signs

I know I've spent too much time 'appreciating' French fashion when I start thinking that items in Hermes seem reasonably priced.
The funniest part about my trying to knock some sense into me was that I didn't think I should buy anything because I don't think I have enough room in my suitcase nor carry-on for the lovely boite orange that the purchase would come with. Ha ha ha ha ha!
And if you think I'd leave that box and just take the merchandise as is to conserve space, you'd be crazy.

Reality TV everywhere!

I watched Secret Story last night. I used to catch it every so often when I lived in Europe. It's the French version of Big Brother and what sets it apart from the other versions of the show is that each member has a 'secret' and housemates are trying to figure out what each others secrets are.
When I get back to the city, I'll have to catch up on the current season of Big Brother US. I would also watch Big Brother UK (which was also rather amusing) back in my days in Europe and also more recently through the internet. I'm not sure that they're going to have anymore season of the show.
Anyway, reality TV is popular all over the world it seems. I wonder if this trend is here to stay?

31, rue Cambon

I finally visited 31, rue Cambon. It might not be quite as expansive and flashy as the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs Elysees but it is classy and chic. Just like the Chanel brand.
I mean, in LV, going up the escalator to the 2nd floor really feels like you're traveling to another world, which you kind of are because I'm always blown away by the clothing. This time, I decided to try on a really cute coat from the previous season. It was amazing, of course. White with a yellow and black pattern. It looked amazing with the all-black outfit I had on that day.
Anyway, back to Chanel. Similar to LV, I was drooling over the clothing. It's truly spectacular what those folks do. The fabrics, the structure, the craftsmanship. Wowza. Oh, that that closet of classic tweed jackets. Drooool. Just like dining as a fine restaurant, the service is incredible. The whole experience of shopping in a boutique is just so agreable.
I wonder if I will ever purchase anything from Chanel. I definitely treat myself to nice things on rare occasions, but Chanel has never been in my realm of possibility. There are certain design houses that I will consider, but I could never justify Chanel. Maybe in the future...

Degoutant

Vu en L'Avenue des Champs Elysees: La queue a entrer LV etait plus courte que la queue pour entrer dans A&F.

Writing from the beyond...

Just kidding.
So I survived the jump.
The freefall was bananas. I don't know how to describe it. It wasn't like anything that I had thought it would be. I don't remember the first 5-15 seconds of it. I remember only getting nervous when I saw everyone else jump out of the plane (we were the last to go), then I remember sitting on the edge of the door, I remember the moment that we jumped (well really, I just kind of tumbled out) and then there's a void of memories for a little while.
My guy was kind enough to have us do a backflip out, so I think that added to my confusion.
Nonetheless, as I said, it was amazing. The freefall was crazy, and as soon as the parachute was deployed, I knew that I wanted to do it again.
I found out that when you're falling at a speed of 180km/h, you can't hear yourself scream. And your mouth gets dry rather quickly.
I'll post more about it later. And about everything else that I've been doing.
Obviously, I'm having a wonderful time out here.

Good golly - today, I jumped out of a plane.

Jump day

Today seems like a good day to jump out of a plane, non?

A return to Chanel

In 1997, I went to Europe for the first time. I stayed in Leysin, Switzerland for most of July to take a French course and then ended the trip with a 5 days in Paris. This trip played a big contribution towards me wanting to return to Europe and start my career there as well as to further travel the area.
The preceding sentence sounds kind of funny in my head. I've been thinking in French for the past couple of days, so I think I'm starting to mix up my English words and even stranger, the voice that I hear in my head has a Swiss accent. I've never had that before.
Anyway, during this trip in '97 I went on a day trip to Geneva. We walked around the city, were the ultimate tourists, took lots of pictures and had a grand old time. It was raining that day.
We were walking by all of these fancy shops and I announced to the group that we should go into Chanel. At the time, I had never been in such a store before and never considered doing so. I just thought, well, I'm in Geneva - it's Chanel, I'll never have the chance to be in a store like this again, I want to see what it's like. Everyone else protested, but I convinced them to go inside with me. We were wet from the rain, very young looking and clearly not ready to purchase anything in the store.
I remember walking around the store in awe. I didn't dare touch anything. A saleslady followed me. Literally. When I went upstairs, she was two steps behind. Although I was under her watchful eye, I decided to touch (gasp!) a piece of clothing. I wanted to know how much something in a store like Chanel would cost. I looked at the price of a skirt. I had a mini-freak out. I quickly retreated from the store and the saleslady stared me down some more.
Clearly it was an experience that I wouldn't soon forget.

Almost 15 years have passed and I returned to that same Chanel store. By now a seasoned fashion house browser (definitely not a seasoned customer...another 15 years?!? Ha.), I calmly greeted and thanked security as he opened the door for me (what service!), took a look at all of the wonderful items on display (still dreaming of a 2.55), giggled to myself about the customers in the store and the price tags of their outfits and accessories and then made my way up that same staircase from all of those years ago.
I marveled at the beautiful clothing, took a look at the price of a skirt (and was still shocked at the amount that I saw) and giggled at the lack of shadow that followed me around this time around. I suppose the last time, we were the only ones in the store whereas this time there were many other customers to tend to. And maybe I'm less of an anomaly than I was back then?

Clearly, it was an amusing visit for me and a nice trip down memory lane, which as you all probably know, I love.

I also learned something else from my recent visit to the shop. Chanel boutiques will also markdown items by 50% during sale season. Strange.

Hot weather everywhere

I hear it's hot in the city. It's hot here too.
The temperature itself isn't too crazy, but the altitude makes the sun mighty fierce.
I got my annual ridiculous sunburn and I was trying to stay in the shade and indoors as much as possible.
It's just too hard when you want to walk around town and take a dip in the lake.
It's such a strange feeling being back. I don't feel like I ever left. The train ride into town felt like I was taking the daily 510 streetcar to school.
If only it were true.

Back to old routines

Shortly after my arrival, I headed to Denner and bought a chestnut yogurt and Rivella. The creamy yogurt (3.5%) was lovely. Yes, it's not quite as creamy as the yogurt that I got from the fromagerie (that stuff was crazy) but still really amazing.
Life is good.
I'll write about my trip over (teaser: Executive Class!), adventures in Munchen and such soon.

Creepy or not so creepy?

I was asked to do one of those full body scans at the airport today. After beeping when going through the regular scanner, the GTAA (I mean, Toronto Pearson) worker told me I had two options. And then proceeded to tell me that I would be going to the full body scanner. Weird.
I was told it wasn't an x-ray scanner, so that made me feel vaguely better. I did ask to make sure there would be not crazy gusts of air or anything as I was wearing a skirt. Hey, call me completely naive, but I remember being very much caught off-guard when going into that bomb detector at the base of the CN Tower.
I wasn't allowed to stand with my natural stance, but instructed to place my feet on the assigned spots (wider enough than shoulder width to make me feel more self conscious than I was already feeling). And then, the awkward, put-your-hands-in-the-air thing was great too. Anyway, me being me, I wanted to see what kind of image the scan produced. Apparently, the person that was looking at my scan (walkie-talkie distance away, because apparently they're not supposed to see who I am and don't have any indicating data about my identity) said there was still something of question on me. It was only at that moment that my scan popped up on the screen and my accompanying Toronto Pearson worker and I critiqued the scan wondering why there was a big red blob on my hip. (By the way, the scan just looked like a gingerbread man cutout.)
My metallic looking (but actually made of plastic) buttons were the only thing that the Toronto Pearson worker could think of. Still not completely convinced, in the end, I did get a localized pat-down. I'll bet she was super impressed with my rock hard oblique. Glad to know that even with all of this fancy technology there are still glitches.
So a very ex

BYOB(lanket)

I'm quite excited for this summer's line-up of free outdoor films.
Here are some of the locations are super convenient for me AND have films that I love:
David Pecaut Square
Harbourfront Centre
Yonge-Dundas Square
I think I will be spending many a Wednesday evening in August at David Pecaut Square (was Metro Square - see, I told you there's a lot of cool things happening there!)

My first auction

I think this was the first auction that I've attended. I'm not including the auctions for charity that take place at school and I'm also not including silent auctions.
I thought for my first foray into the auction world, I should go with something pretty splashy. Thus, I attended Waddington's - An Important Auction of Dresses from the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales.
This past Wednesday, I wrote of attending the viewing to suss out the situation and to see the dresses in person. I'd actually seen them before, back in 2007 when I visited Kensington Palace and they were on display there. Still, they are beautiful and looking at evening gowns isn't too hard on the eyes.
At the preview, I chatted with two of Waddington's staff. In my previous post, I talked about the sincerity and welcome that one gave me. Enough to dismiss an reservations about attending the auction the following night. The other staffer was pleasant enough, but when I
chatted with her about the history of the dresses and the consignor, it seemed a little bit more forced. Maybe it would have helped if I had done my homework. Turns out the consignor, Maureen Dunkel had decided to part with the dresses (partly) because she's facing bankruptcy. While I don't doubt this fact, I'm not completely willing to think ill of her like some of the online accounts seem to want you to do. It's good press, right? I was told that the timing of the decision coincided with the announcement that Will and Kate were engaged and that Maureen thought that this chapter with Diana is ending as Will and Kate's chapter is starting. The date of the auction had apparently been decided prior to the announcement of Will and Kate's North American tour.
The venue of the auction was rather simple. Waddington's is moving to a new location soon, so as a first time attendee, who knows if the current room is usually a little bit more refined, but I doubt that's the case. I suppose simple and understated isn't a bad thing.
That seemed to be the theme of the entire night. Sauf les robes and some well dressed attendees, it was a pretty tame night.
The 14 lots came and went and all but one went under or at the bottom end of the estimates. The "Travolta"-dress went for $800 000. This price, however, does not include the commission and taxes, which means that buyers will be paying about 30% more than their bidding price.
Duncan McLean acted as the auctioneer for the night and at times seemed to be pleading with the bidders to get in the action. Most bidders (if not all - I couldn't tell for sure, because the bidders were
ridiculously discrete and I wasn't seated at a good vantage point to see who was doing what) were in attendance or at least had someone doing their bidding for them through the phone. There was a table set up with phones and computers for Waddington's staff to take bids from those who were not in attendance, and although each time I looked over, they seemed to be whispering into their phones, I didn't see any hands waving.
Of course I don't know for sure how many people were actually there to observe. Obviously, I had no intent in bidding, and I could gather that there were many other people there in the same mindset. I did see a couple folks who had evidence that they were registered bidders, but again, if they were getting in on the action, they were doing it very subtly.
There was lots of press and media presence. It seemed like it was a big deal. And there was media coverage leading up to the event as well, but I wonder why they didn't go for the estimates. And I wonder if Waddington's is disappointed with the turn-out or final prices. Mr. McLean made comments about how short the auction was and how the prices were a steal.
Of course I don't know who ended up with the dresses and for what purpose they bought them, but maybe we'll find out in due course. Perhaps a museum will acquire one/two/a few or maybe someone will just enjoy seeing the dress(es) in their closet.
The mystique. The intrigue!

So the auction was a neat experience. No crazy bidding wars at this one, but there are more auctions to come, so maybe I will experience a frenzy of bids at a future event. There are two this week that sound kind if interesting! There is way too much going on in the city.

I wish I were more tech-savvy

Although I know how to post pictures, videos and do the most basic html codes ever, I kind of wish I could do more. I like the colour scheme and template of my blog, but I wish I could tweak it just a little bit. I've tried to tamper with the coding of my template, but it doesn't seem to work in any way. I don't want to make any significant change or anything, just improve an already great looking (in my opinion) page.
I'm wondering if it's time to move to another hosting site. I started at livejournal an then found that I enjoyed blogger a little bit more. Just today, I looked up WordPress and tried to see its pros and cons.
Blogger has new templates that allow for more user customization, but I do like my current background (colours and pictures). Also, I haven't printed out my blog for my book yet. I'm scared that if I leave this current one, as it's an older style, I won't be able to go back if I don't like the newer ones.

The Luminato Mp3 Experiment

As I eluded to in a previous post, I attended The Luminato Mp3 Experiment. I love Improv Everywhere and often post their missions on my blog. I like to spread the IE love. I think it would be pretty amazing to be an Agent in one of their missions, but they're based in Manhattan and although they have done a couple missions elsewhere, they have a base list of agents to draw from and again, the location doesn't help matters.
There was a local group that tried to do similar missions, but not quite to the same aplomb. I decided to give them a chance and tried to join a flash mob dance mission, but it was a little awkward. I'm not giving up though. I did do a pseudo-flash mob at the end of February, but I'm not fully satisfied with my flash-mob experiences. I know that there will be more opportunities in the future, and I fully intend to be a flash-mob veteran.
Although I love the scripted IE missions, I am happy to participant their other missions, in this case, the Luminato Mp3 Experiment. IE has been doing them for a couple years now in NY, but other cities are now also able to take part (yippee!). Same goes for their scripted No Pants Missions, but I'm not brave enough to take part in that one.
The premise of the Mp3 Experiments is that everyone downloads the same audio file, loads it onto a personal audio device, agents synchronize their watches, meet at a predetermined spot at a specific time and start playing the audio file at a predetermined time. The agents then listen and act/dance/sing/complete the 'whatever' they're told to do through their headphones. As with all of the missions, agents are not supposed to tell non-agents that they are part of a mission.
If you couldn't already tell, I was really stoked to be able to participate in this mission. Participation did have its challenges, however. The first, getting a personal audio device. Sure, I live in the era of MP3 players, i-gadgets, and the like, but I don't own such a device. I barely have a cell phone and it is a hand-me-down. I'm not a luddite, I just don't feel the need to have these specific devices. I don't find it terribly important to be able to privately listen to something while in public. A friend laughed at me when I told him that I like to listen to the world instead, but it's true. So, the most difficult part about becoming an agent for this mission was having the equipment to do so. There were many people whom I was able to borrow audio-devices from, but as I was planning for the mission, I couldn't help but think about accessibility issues. Definitely a by-product of my field, I pondered what the organizers took for granted, who they might be alienating, and what they could have done differently to make the mission more accessible. As this was the first time that I seemed to be 'excluded' for such a trivial thing, my mind started racing about these issues. Yes, I know that this example is a little far-fetched, but it is proof that things are more meaningful when you can make a personal connection to it. I was able to think about issues that often arise in my field in a different way. Wow, I really digressed this time.
So, with a borrowed MP3 player and headphones in tow, I journeyed over to the assigned meeting point of my birth month group. I had no idea
how many people would turn up for this event, nor what kind of demographic it would be but I guess that's just another surprise of it all. I'd say the average age of participants was 20-35 with of course some tykes and more mature folks sprinkled in for good measure (a-ha...what did I say about accessibility issues! Just kidding.).
It was lovely to hear the familiar voice of Steve welcoming us to the mission. We eased into the mission by stretching individually and then doing some activities that had use interact with some other agents. I wonder if Steve plans the flow of these missions so that we slowly develop our comfort level instead of jarring us into doing zany tasks. As in, having us do things individually in our own space, then find out who else is participating, sharing our space by having us minimally interact, then developing the amount of interaction, and then having us do more and more non-normative things. I must the be only person who reads into missions.
Agents were divided up into two group based on birth month and each group started in a different location. We did some tasks in these groups in these separate locations. The location that I started in was in a park that was accessible to the public, but far enough away from the busy traffic that drivers may notice people in coloured shirts doing something, but not entirely sure what was going on. There was construction around the are, so I think it didn't get as much foot traffic as it usually would.
So, to bring us into a more public space we walked through the streets on our way to a second location where we would meet up with the
other group. Before we went on our way, we were told some of the ground rules of the mission, in that we needed to blend in and act like we weren't doing anything special. We were told that if we had disguises, it might help us to blend in. So we gave ourselves finger-moustaches.
Our journey to the next meeting point was well organized. We had police escorts, Luminato volunteers watching over us, and a girl with a multi-coloured hat leading the way. It was quite impressive. It was during our walk when it became obvious to me that there were a lot of us participating, and also a lot of people not participating. The looks of those who happened to stumble upon our mob or those in their vehicles who were equally intrigued at what was going on. No one approached me to ask what was going on, but my lip- and body language-reading skills told me that they had no idea what was happening but loved it all the same.
So these are all pictures that I took during the mission. I wanted to take more, but it would have meant not participating in the mission to its fullest extent. Some previous Mp3 Experiments ask agents to bring certain things that they may need for the mission. In this mission all we needed was a device that could take a picture. Some examples of activities that we were asked to do were: have a thumb-war with another person, have a square-dance, take naps on the floor (I would have loved an aerial shot of this), freeze in place, give high-fives to non-agents, play follow the leader with a non-agent, take pictures of other agents, play human twister, and play freeze tag.
The two groups converged in Metro Square (seems to be a hotbed of action these days - are they trying to make it a place for things to happen?) and kind of interrupted an event that was taking place
onstage. We played more games, took more naps, and even got to watch ourselves in the jumbotron. This picture was taken around the same time that the picture from my teaser post was taken. As a green-shirted folk who was stuck in the middle of the bulls eye (oh, yeah - we played human darts too) for a wee while, I figured I would snap a couple pictures while waiting for the rest of the colours to create the outer rings.
I must have started my track a couple seconds after many other folks, because throughout the mission, I seemed to be doing things towards the tail end of everyone else. This was not very convenient for the portion of the mission in which we played tag.
The mission lasted for about 40minutes. Sounds like a long time, but it was over too quickly. Although I enjoyed myself immensely, after the fact, I was a little disappointed when I realized that most (if not all) of our tasks were ones that had been used in other years. As I've seen highlights of other Mp3 Experiments, I would have liked to do something a little different that really would have given me a chance to be impressed with their creativity. This is not to say that I didn't appreciate the event and that I didn't enjoy it. Of course I did! I enjoyed everything about it (except for being tagged before I knew what was happening - doh!). I liked being an agent, I liked having a dance-party, I liked playing games, I liked taking naps, I liked doing crazy-walks, and I liked seeing the reaction of non-agents.
So, Mission complete and I can't wait for the next one!

Neil Patrick Harris vs. Hugh Jackman

I'm not sure why it took me so long to watch highlights from the Tony's. Here's one of the highlights.

Lost in a cloud

It's kind of unnerving when you finally look up from your computer after being caught up in your work, to look out the window and enjoy a great view and then you see nothing. There is a ridiculous fog out there.

Stoked

I've been eying a well-established auction house that's in my area, thinking that at some point, I'd like to attend an auction. I think it would take quite a long time for me to feel comfortable about the process and be knowledgeable about the products for me to place a bid, but I've very intrigued with the whole idea.
Like most people, I have some idea of what an auction is like. Of course there are auctions for flowers/produce/livestock and then there are auctions for art/jewellery. My stint in Europe helped spark my interest and slight understanding of the world as the Brits seems to be quite into auctions and I would happily watch Bargain Hunt anytime that I could catch it.
For me, it's not the idea of potentially buying an object that interests me so much as understanding and appreciating the art of the auction. How viewings are set up, the knowledge and skill that's required of the auctioneer, the strategy and emotion of the bidder...it must be the people-watcher in me coming out. I should be an ethnographer.
Anyway, I attended a viewing today and wasn't really sure what the climate of the auction-house would be like. You never know with these kinds of things. I was pleasantly surprised to see how laid-back it seemed to be. I mean, there was a definite dignified feel to it, but I was expecting a little bit more, I don't know, pomp and circumstance to it all. Maybe it's just like that at Christie's.
I chatted with someone on their team who kindly walked me through the process without making me feel inferior. She enthusiastically invited me back for the auction and I most definitely will take her up on her offer. I suppose it's all good customer service as one would hope to receive in any service industry, but that doesn't always seems to be the case. Although it was clear to her that I will definitely not be placing a bid at tomorrow night's auction, I think she saw that I was truly interested in the world and that who knows, I could be a purchaser in the future. Or a consigner. Or even just spread positive words about their auction house.
Never underestimate the power of good service.

A return to the TSO

I can't remember the last time that I went to a concert at Roy Thomson Hall. It was either a Yo-Yo Ma concert or a Christmas/New Year's concert in the style of Andre Rieu, complete with gaudy outfits and bad ballet dancers.
Since returning back to Canada, I've only been to one classical concert. It's embarrassing. I'm not entirely sure why I haven't attended more. I think that for awhile it had to do with me not wanting to attend a concert by myself as I was in a phase of weird, social insecurity, but that's been blown out of the water so although I enjoy going to events with others, I'm willing to go on my own if I really need an outing and/or there's an event that I really want to attend.
I also thought that it might have been something to do with budget constraints, but with tsoundcheck still in full swing, I can't really use that as an excuse. I had attended a concert or two as a tsoundcheck member when the program first started up way back in the day and I remember how back then, you had to buy tickets on-site and you couldn't select your seat, you just took whatever they gave you. That always stuck with me, and as I'm so particular with seating (and everything else - an admitted control freak), it wasn't really my cup of tea. Perhaps this component of the program has contributed to me staying away.
Luckily, times have changed, the price has gone up (just minimally) and if you call in (instead of selecting your seat on the internet), you can get a little bit of choice in the matter.
I think the other unfortunate thing about tsoundcheck is that it's not available for all concerts. I'm not interested in every single concert that the TSO has to offer to that's probably held me back as well.
I also managed to fall off of their members' mailing list, so not having a constant reminder of what I'm missing out on probably didn't help matters.
Recently, the stars aligned and I found a concert that I wanted to attend, had tsoundcheck tickets available, allowed for some choice of seating...I couldn't say no. As soon as I arrived on-site, I scolded myself for not returning to the attend the TSO sooner.
Roy Thomson Hall is gorgeous, the TSO is wonderful and if you're seated on the Main Floor, it's pretty much impossible to have a bad seat. One thing that I did notice and that didn't seem familiar was the strange muted volume of the orchestra. Was the hall always so strange? I'm hoping that it was just where I was seated and that I was under the overhang of the Mezzanine. I hope it's not just the general acoustics of the place.
The concert itself was great. It was part of the "Rachmaninoff & the Impressionists" series and the main draw for me was Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43. That piece gets me every single time. The only other piece in the programme that interested me was Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Broomsticks and hippos danced happily in my head.
I appreciated the intros given by Maestro Peter Oundjian. He gave us the background for each piece, some historical context and key points to listen for. The main thing I got from his talk: the Dies Irae theme is everywhere.
Coincidentally, Gabriela Montero, the pianist whom I'd heard in the last classical concert that I've been to was the soloist at this concert. Her interpretation of the Rachmaninoff was lovely, but I was also excited for you parlour trick to come. Now knowing that Torontonian audiences will give a standing ovation to anything and everything (I disagree with this practice. I think it lessens impact of a standing ovation that's truly warranted), I knew that Ms. Montero would be obliged to improvise. Unfortunately, many of my fellow concert-goers were not quite as knowledgeable as I was (nor did they bother to read the programme) and at least 20% of the audience that was in my line of sight left the hall during the numerous curtain calls. Luckily, Ms. Montero didn't prolong the ovation to ridiculous lengths and started explaining what she'd be doing for her encore as some folks were still making their way out the door. They all realized that the concert was still ongoing and many stood in the aisles as she continued to entertain the audience.
The first audience suggestion was Gershwin's Summertime and she did a lovely little medley based on the main motif. It was impressive, but it solidified my already brewing thought that she does have a pretty standard skeletal structure that she follows within each style.
The second audience suggestion was a lot more local. After squashing a Latin American classic, she coaxed the audience to suggest a song that was a little bit more Canadian. I'm glad that the suggestion of the National Anthem didn't take, but instead she went with the theme from Hockey Night in Canada. It took a little bit of time for someone to try to sing the melody for her (actually, there was one audience member who did a great job, but when the attention was drawn to them and they were asked to repeat their singing, they got terribly shy and the hall went absolutely silent) and she had actually started to play an inaccurate version of the melody until a TSO member saved the day. A talent that I can't seem to master, this violinist played the entire tune by ear. It was a classicized version completed with vibrato, but the melody was definitely in tact. The audience took great glee in his efforts and even more glee when Ms. Montero immediately turned it into a tango. Now that's a great parlour trick to have up your sleeve!

So, the moral of the story is that I had a great time and that I need to make concert outings part of my regular rotation.

Need to update

I think I've done some pretty fantastic things in the city this past little while. I need to write about them, but for some reason I never get around to it. Or often it's so much after the fact that some of the things I wish to share about my experience are obsolete.
I was about to start a post about a recent event with photographic evidence, but I can't find the cable that connects my camera to the computer. Egads. It's strange, I usually get into a frenzy when I can't find something where I think it's supposed to be, but this time I didn't. I think it's because I can't imagine misplacing the cable and there is a chance I left it at school, if I get to school tomorrow and can't find the cable, then I will go into a frenzy. Well, I won't at school because I can't frenzy in front of other people (too embarrassing) and there's no sense in frenzying where the cable definitely cannot be found. Basically, it will be a relatively unproductive day at school tomorrow if I can't find the cable. Boy, do I hope that I can find the cable.
I think I'm going to write about my return to the TSO now and worry about writing up my MP3 Experiment experience later. As part of the Experiment, we had to take pictures and that's what I'm wanting the cable for. In the meantime, here's some photographic evidence that I was at the event. I'm the one in the green t-shirt. *Snarf!*

iblahblah

ivivva is not new, but I don't particularly understand why it's necessary. Their mommy company, lululemon said that feedback from customers asked for iblahblah, but I can testify that I regularly see pint-sized, athletic (and non-athletic folk) wearing the clothing, so I think they could have made due charging little ones adult-priced clothing. I know that the price point is vaguely more affordable and that I should be vaguely impressed that iblahblah clothing isn't trying to rip off their customers but the idea still gets me (clearly, if I'm calling it iblahblah). I'm sure I'm going to have to eat my words at some point because I have no doubt that it'll be a big success even for non-yoga enthusiasts (hello, lulu!).
I just find it funny that they try to make a big deal about all of the special features that their product offers...ummmm it's all the same thing as their mommy company has. It seems unnecessary to promote it. And the fact that they try to market it for the active-folks...well, even if it's the basis for their conception I would like their companies (lulu and ivivva) to acknowledge that many (most?!?) folks who wear their products do so for non-active reasons. If they made comments about how their products are sleek, comfortable, flattering, trendy and some other great marketing adjectives, I would be less cynical about their stance.
Nonetheless, I'm interested to see just how big ivivva will get and how quickly. Although I will probably continue to make snide remarks about it, a Canadian success story is never a bad thing.

Two sightings in the city

These two sightings made me both happy and sad.

Sighting 1: Canvasco bag
It's been four years since I've seen another Canvasco bag other than the one in my possession. I've been reveling in the fact that I've been such a unique individual (or at least, unaware of my lack of uniqueness) in the city, but alas, it seems that I am unique no more. I believe the lady was sporting a large Urban bag from the Cow line which looked amazing. I wanted to stop her and squeal in synchronized glee, but it probably would have been more effective and less terrifying (to her) if I was toting my own large Urban bag (of the Canvas line). I'm wondering where she got it from? I didn't loiter long enough to hear if she was speaking in English with her companion or with a non-North American accent. After moving back to the city, the first couple people that I saw toting Freitag bags were not native North Americans (I was bold enough at the time to ask them where they got their bag)...but of course now the popularity of Freitag has blossomed so it's not quite as much of a novelty as it is a 'cool club'. *Grin* Also, it seems as thought they're discontinuing the Cooper, which means that soon, I will own a vaguely unique-ish piece. This is a small consolation for knowing that there is another Canvasco toting individual here in the city. In more Freitag news: uh, oh. I thought my next Freitag purchase was going to be easy. My heart's been set on a Hazzard, but this will complicate things.
Anyway, I wish I had asked her about her bag, or at least complimented her on it. People like to be complimented.

Sighting 2: SOMA chocolate's 2nd location
The original Distillery District's location was just enough out of the way that I only indulged once a year and the trip out to the shop was often caused by the need to purchase a gift for someone else. The new King Street West location is exciting (yum!), yet terrifying for my currently svelt (ha!) physique. Googlemaps says that it's a mere 900m away from my doorstep. Can you burn off a truffle in 900 steps?

Dance trends 2011

Seems as though all the cool kids on SYTYCD this season are doing penchées and tilts. 180 degrees or oversplits of course.
This is definite fodder for a drinking game.

Fishing in the city

I just read this article on BlogTO. I kind of like the idea.
Although it's an artificial environment, it's a wonderful opportunity for folks who aren't able to go fishing in a natural habitat. There are many people in the city who have never seen/visited a forest environment.
I like that people can go fishing. Forgive the lack of animal-friendly sentiment in my thoughts, but I also like that the fish are gutted on-site (which would be better if people could observe this process - maybe they do). I like that they have the option of eating the (fresh) fish on-site, and I like the fact that recipes are provided.
I was even lamenting for the past couple of days about my challenge of finding a shop that sells Micro-Tom tomato plants downtown. I have three amazing, custom-made planters on my balcony, and I've left one to be filled with Micro-Toms and basil. I've found that most of the places that would sell something like this are within driving distance and/or closer to the suburbs. I know I'm exaggerating a bit and I've really just limited my search area to the downtown core, but you kind of get my drift. And yes, I know that my dilemma is much more trivial in the grand scheme of accessibility life experiences/opportunities, but still, I like to make personal connections when I can.
Anyway, this is something that I would be interested in attending. It's been going on for nine (!!!) years already and this is the first time that I've heard about it. Also, could you imagine how lovely it would be to watch all those doggies frolicking in the pool next week? Or to be a doggie and be surrounded by doggie friends in the pool? Toronto is amazing.

Why?!?

I loathe the fact that this is an American Apparel ad. Don't try to make me like your company by creating this great bit.

Lookie...I can embed videos! Although let's be honest, I just cut and paste and then change the size to fit my page. Still, I'm so technologically spiffy!

Reciprocal agreements

I have a major perk from one of the places where I work. I'm able to gain free access to many museums, art galleries and even other attractions all over the place. Most of the places are in Ontario, but this reciprocal agreement also extends to other parts of Canada and even other countries. It's wonderful.
Anyway, I walked by the AGO today to ask about the Abstract Expressionist New York exhibition and apparently, even with my perks I would still have to pay $10 to see the exhibition. The nerve!
Well, I'll just visit the MoMA and see what they have to offer without the $10 fee, thank you very much.

Oh internet, dear internet

When I moved downtown, friends advised me to get the crazy-fast high-speed internet that the building that I was living in was privy to. I didn't listen to them. I ended up getting the cheaper route. I didn't care about the super high-speed internet. I was happy with the service that I got and I liked the extra pocket change. My friends thought I was crazy. to have given up such an opportunity.
Now that I'm in a different building, but still privy to the same crazy-fast internet, I still did the same price shopping before selecting whom I would give my business too, and ended up with said 'crazy-fast high-speed internet provider. I enjoy the service, but it doesn't seem mind-blowingly different from what I used to have.
I've just received a memo that my provider is jacking up the prices. To provide some context, typical price for high-speed internet in the area is ~$50/month. I'm getting it for a wee bit less. Also, there are only really two potential providers that I can use in my building.
So, as a loyal customer they will be upping my rate to $60/month. This is still for the crazy-fast high-speed internet. This change is because they have started a new series of plans. They didn't want to completely screw over existing customers, hence the (relatively?) minimal price increase. But, I could switch over to their new plan and get basic high-speed internet for a measly $38/month or even the medium high-speed internet for $50/month. New customers wanting the same crazy-fast high-speed internet that I current have will have to pay...wait for it...$100/month!
So, to switch, or not to switch. I wonder if I would even notice the difference? I don't download a lot of things on a regular basis, but I do enjoy streaming TV shows so that I can keep up-to-date on useless reality television (read: Survivor, Top Chef US/Masters/Canada, SYTYCD, Big Brother US and UK, Strictly Come Dancing, Project Runway, etc.) and other more substantial shows (read: Community, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy, etc.).
I tend to go on movie watching phases. If I feel like I need a dose of film, I'll watch a bunch in a row, but then I get tired of looking for online sources and forget about it for another month or two. I even have phases for TV shows. After a recent conversation with friends, I'm currently on a Top Gear trend. I know nothing about the cars, and I usually tune out when they talk about stuff under the 'bonnet', but it is a rather entertaining show. And nostalgic. I used to watch it in Europe all the time. At this rate, I'll end up watching EastEnders or something. There's a bunch of real-estate, SAS and bargain hunting/selling shows that I would try to catch as well. I digress.
Point is, times are changing, prices are on the rise and I need to decide if I'm going to make any moves in the my internet situation.