C'est pas moi, je le jure!

Maybe you've realised that I don't usually get strong positive reactions to movies and so when it does, it's gotta mean something.
This movie did it. When I feel like I can't do a movie justice in my piddly little blog, I post some sort of professional write up. From the TIFF08 website:

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Philippe Falardeau established himself as a director to watch with La Moitié gauche du frigo, which won the Claude Jutra Award in 2000 and the Citytv Award for Best Canadian First Feature at the Festival. He fulfilled the promise of that film with the accomplished, much-lauded Congorama, and with his latest, C'est pas moi, je le jure!, he delivers a highly sophisticated, often hysterically funny work that may also be his most accessible to date. Set in 1968, the film focuses on ten-year-old Léon (Antoine L'Écuyer, in an amazing debut), an inveterate hellion whose favourite hobbies include failed suicide attempts, vandalism, theft, running away and breaking and entering.

The cause of Léon's behaviour is fairly obvious. His parents are a truly horrific match, prone to ear-splitting domestic squabbles that begin with smashed plates and conclude with paintings being ripped apart. As their relationship deteriorates, Léon's actions grow increasingly outrageous and self-destructive (a “visit” to a vacationing neighbour's house is particularly memorable), and the situation is only exacerbated by his father's remoteness and his mother's liberal, conspiratorial approach to child-rearing.

C'est pas moi, je le jure! is a touching and amusing meditation on changing mores and family structures. Léon's best friend Lea is being raised by her alcoholic uncle, and may be as troubled a child as he is. Like Léon, she is in search of an absent parent, and the era is not helping their adjustments – a schoolmate tells Léon that divorce is a mortal sin. In many ways a historical and political allegory, the film is a study of abandonment and an elegy for lost political innocence. Falardeau constantly reminds us that the choices the characters make would not be possible today. Léon's mother flees to Greece to start a new life, and Lea informs him that she has opted to live in a dictatorship. In this case, the children are more politically astute than their parents – and seem far more aware that there is a sea change taking place.

Brilliantly acted and executed, C'est pas moi, je le jure! is one of the sharpest and most entertaining films you will see this year.

-Steve Gravestock

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That write up doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of how amazing this movie is. Every single actor in this movie did a wonderful job. The director, Philippe Falardeau really lucked out and found the very best three children for these parts to be in the movie.
The movie was touching. It was witty and hilarious.
The director was on hand for an intro pre-film and Q&A post-film. Not only did this man have a wonderful sense of humour and Quebecois accent, Philippe Falardeau was nice enough to stay and answer a LOT of questions. While one can really examine each of the characters in-depth (as the director eluded to just how much more there is to each of the characters that I obviously understood - mind you, I think all directors have similar thoughts about their movies, I'm just not sensitive enough to get all the little character details) this film was so wonderful in so many ways near the surface hat you didn't need to dig deeper to love the movie.
I can't even express how much I enjoyed this film. Everything about this movie was fantastic, even the music. Can someone watch this movie and tell me what genre it is so that I'll know what kind of movie I like? Moments of this move made me think of Amelie, for example when the character switches from narrating as a voice in your head to narrating like a soliloquy directly to the camera. I smile just thinking about their accents and the banter between the children.
The film is based on the book with the same name and its follow up book, Alice court avec René by Bruno Hébert although the director did make quite a few changes. I'm interested in reading the book, but I'm afraid it won't live up to the film and after knowing which parts were added into the film, I just can't imagine the lives of these characters without these moments.
If you haven't figured it out yet, I loved this movie. There aren't any more screenings of this movie at the festival (unless it wins audience choice), but hopefully somehow more people will have the chance to see it in the future and I hope this movie gets some kind of special recognition.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff08.ca

Three Monkeys

Three Monkeys is a Turkish film which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this past May where Nuri Bilge Ceylan won the award for best director.
The quick rundown of the movie involves a family, where father goes to jail in place of his boss to get extra money for his family. The mother ends up cheating on her husband (with the boss) while he's in jail. The son is a little bit of a loafer, but find out about his mother's new interest and decides to hide it from his father. And there's another member of the family as well.
I thought the pace of the movie moved quite well until the father returned from prison - that's when I felt like it started to drag. I don't think anything in the movie surprised me, but there were parts to the movie that I don't think I fully understood the deeper meaning behind. For example: why were some scenes played backwards? I have guesses as to why in one shot sweat is rolling upward on the forehead on the son's head, but I don't really know for sure. You know what would have made it better? A Q&A. No, I'm not bitter, I just wish we had one. I think this was the first movie at a festival that hasn't had a Q&A. Oh well.
The movie was beautifully shot. The colours were a little muted, but I loved it. I guess you can say that it was artsy. I liked shots where the scene seems to be out of focus and then the subject moves into the shot completely in focus.
I don't really remember why, but I know that my immediate reaction to the film was indifference. I suppose that's better than instantaneous disgust (which does happen). My crappy memory fails me as per usual, but I would recommend this movie to others. I think I would have liked some of the themes to be flushed out a little bit more, but I do appreciate the deeper meaning stuff that I did get and the way that the film was packaged (plot-wise and camera-stuff-wise). I suppose that most movies that really touch me are those that have a personal meaning and since this movie didn't have that link, maybe that's why I was a little indifferent to it? I don't really remember. It was good though. You want a beautiful movie? Go see this one.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff08.ca

Adela

And so TIFF08 begins!!!!

Up first - Adela. A Filipino movie starring Ms. Anita Linda (a prolific Filipino actress) - well, the subject matter is very touching, serious and not the most uplifting. I will have to let you read about it for yourself.
As I can't bring myself to discuss the topic of the movie so I will discuss my thoughts on the production itself. As I was watching this 90minute movie, I wondered if the director/producer had a reason why they pieces together a whole bunch of pointless clips which didn't really seem to move the plotline forward. It seemed really slow and was distracting from the point of the movie. At one point I thought that the movie was subtle, but that's not really true either, because it's blatantly obvious what the message of the movie is. I only realized due to the Q&A with the producer (along with one of the writers and Ms. Anita Linda herself - making her first international film festival debut!) that there was a deeper meaning behind the movie. It is due the Q&As that make these screenings worth every cent. The movie seemed slow. Along with the long clips of background scenery, I questioned the choice of camera angle in many shots as well. It seemed like a very amateurly shot movie - which doesn't really make much sense because this isn't the producer's first movie by any means. I didn't want to be too judgemental as maybe this just happened to be the look of most Filipino films. From my Americanized movie watching eyes, it just seemed odd to have a shot where for the first part, you see the subject of the film in full view, and as she steps forward to talk to someone out of range of the camera, the camera doesn't pan around to continue to have the subject in the shot. Instead her face is blocked by a prop partition and you continue to hear the dialogue, but can only see her the side of her. How about the scene of a baby being born in just mere minutes and coming out looking relatively normal - just covered in a little bit of blood. Other strange shots include a seemingly lengthy clip of Manila Bay, then a choppy switch to a different view of the Bay and the subject walking into the frame, and then another choppy switch to yet another view of the Bay and the subject still walking, but from a different angle. It was distracting. As I mentioned before the Q&A cleared up some of my confusion about the movie. The choice in shots distracted me enough to give me an instantaneous reaction of disappointment of the movie, but when an audience member asked why shots were kept in the movie at the length they were, the producer said that he wanted the audience to feel the slow pace of Adela's life as she feels it. The world around her may move at a fast pace, but during the span of one day, not much occurs, time passes slowly and it can sometimes be pure agony. As soon as he said that, my thoughts about the movie changed. I still find the movie to be slow and would assume that many people would feel the same and wouldn't enjoy the movie because of it, but I get it and I accept it.
Even during the credits (pre-Q&A), I sat there thinking that they were longer than the film itself. For such a simple looking movie, there sure were a lot of people who were a part of it. I'm pretty sure, however, that the last couple pages of credits were messages of thanks to different people/companies/groups that donated time/space/effort/finances/etc to the production of the film. The producer mentioned that many of the big names working on the film did not ask to be compensated for their work on the film as they felt having the chance to work with Ms. Anita Linda herself was compensation enough.
I'm not sure if I would highly recommend this movie, but at the end of the day, I did enjoy it. It's not the "feel good movie of the year", but I appreciate the issues that movie touched upon (from the blatantly obvious to the deeper ones that I never would have known about unless they were brought to light by the producer's words). Even without understanding a word that Ms. Anita Linda said, it was clear by her body language and nuances in her facial expressions that she is truly a master of the screen. Okay, okay, the more I think about it, the more I like it. I don't think everyone will like it, but it's an incredible character piece with a subject matter that - I don't know how best to describe what it means, but I know I don't want to get into the details of it because I'm not strong enough to do it.

See the teaser for the film here.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff08.ca

Gotta think long-term

While waiting in line to pick up my TIFF tickets - which I was lucky enough to get all of my first picks (Box #9 was drawn and I was Box #29 - mind you, I'm not really sure if the movies I picked were big ticket items) - I saw a hoard of Ryerson Frosh run by. They grouped in Yonge-Dundas Square, chanted a couple things and ran away. I heard them chanting from a distance, and I hope that they did something at the scramble.
I miss having my own students. I'm a little biased, but I'm in the best profession ever.
I think I'm going to wander around the UofT campus in a little while and see what's going on there.

Wonderland

I went to Canada's Wonderland in the fist time in at least a decade.
I don't consider myself a fan of rollercoasters, but I'm become accustomed to going on them. When I was a little kid, my dad (I guess the daredevil in the family) would take us on the classics like Thunder Run, Klockwerks, Swings of the Century, bumper cars and all those kinds of rides. My brother and I would go on the octopus ride at the end of the night when there was no line, over and over again and swing our pod around as much as possible. I remember going on a ride which I think was called So Loco (or something like that) with my dad as well. I think these two rides are now gone and replaced with Psyclone and Behemoth - but I could be wrong). I was coerced into going on the Ghoster Coaster and HATED every moment of it. I also hated the big swinging boat (apparently called The Rage - but I'm sure this wasn't it's name back in the day).
I remember going with my family and some relatives who were from out of town and my dad went with my uncle (?!?) on The Bat. I think this might have been the first time that my dad had gone on a hard-core roller coaster (no one else in the family would - remember the Ghoster Coaster experience?) and I remember him saying that he enjoyed it. Time passed and our family didn't really go as much to Wonderland.
High school hits and teenagers love that stuff. In an attempt to be social, I go too and not wanting to look like a whimp (oh, the joys of adolescence) I go on a bunch of roller coasters. The only thing about them that I don't like is that feeling in your stomach you get on the first big hill. The other stuff is uncomfortable, but I'm okay with it. It took a couple of visits for me to build up the courage to go on the Skyrider, Dragon Fire and The Bat, but I have done them all. Of course the Ghoster Coaster isn't a big deal anymore, but I still don't go on anything similar to that big swinging boat and I don't go on Drop Zone.
So, this past Saturday, I make my big return to Wonderland pretty sure that I'm not going to go on the Behemoth because every time I drive by there, I see how big the thing is and I still don't want to subject my stomach to that gross sensation. So my friends are nice enough to let me work my way up to the Behemoth - we start with Thunder Run, then The Vortex (which really doesn't seem as bad as I remember), then Top Gun (which also doesn't seem as bad as I remember - although my ear/head still hurt afterwards from rattling back and forth)...I was starting to think that maybe I could handle the Behemoth. We go to Splashworks to cool off and this is where we realize that the days of yore when a full day at the Wonderland consisted on riding every single ride multiple times is no more. After looking at the clock, calculating how long we'd been waiting in lines and all the rides we still wanted to go on - it looked bleak. Half of the rides at Splashworks weren't even running and due to an accident the wave pool was just a big swimming pool. Sigh - oh well.
On the plus side - funnel cakes are still really tasty. Oh wait, there is a downside to that too...when did everything get SO expensive. I know stuff was always expensive, but $11 for a funnel cake? C'mon. Is there tax on top of that too?
Anyway, by the end of the day, I was thinking that maybe I would have the nerve to go on the Behemoth. But for some unknown reason, it shut down for a little while and by the time it was up and running and we were ready to go for it...they were suggesting a 1.5 hour wait time. Seriously? Also, it was around 15 minutes to closing time when we found this out and they were still letting people line up. That just doesn't seem right - I would have thought that they'd cut the line off at 9pm or something.
I did learn, however that I still do get that gross feeling in my stomach, so I'm not completely cured. For the briefest of moments on The Bat I got that feeling, but surprisingly it was the twisting and turning that really threw me off. I come off the ride feeling a little loopy - something that I've never felt before. Hmmm.
So in 8 hours at the park, we went on 8 rides?!? That just doesn't seem right.
Maybe next year the strategy should be: one day @ Wild Water Kingdom, one day @ Wonderland (no Splashworks)...and only on days that somehow I get a psychic vibe that the parks won't be busy.

Scramble!

I happened to use the scramble intersection at Bloor and Dundas the day that it opened up for service. I like it.
I think that the Yonge and Bloor and Bay and Bloor intersections get a lot of pedestrian traffic as well, but not as much at the Bloor and Dundas one does - so I'm not sure if they warrant getting scrambles. Spadina and Dundas can get a little hectic at times - does it matter that there's a streetcar lane there?

Boooooooo

I just cooked my purple beans. They were such a deep purple. Eggplant-ish. And after being dunked in boiling water, now they're green. The water hasn't drastically changed colour though. Maybe a tinge of green, but not too different. Lazy way to tell if the beans have been cooked enough, I suppose.
I think this could turn into a fantastic elementary school lesson.
I still wish the beans stayed purple though.

A wonderful day

This past Saturday, I had the most wonderful day. I ended up spending the day by myself, and it was amazing. Here's the run down...

1. Sleeping in. I let my alarm clock run its course but finally hauled myself out of bed so that I could get something accomplished. I didn't want the day to go to waste or anything.

2. Lazy lazy lazy. Taking my time getting ready. Little surf time in the internet. Watching a couple episodes of The Office.

3. Clafouti. Was tired of just hearing about other people enjoying this place, so I went to see what the big fuss was about. Couldn't find any pain au chocolat...frig. Sold out. I guess sleeping in does have its downfalls. Got a croissant figue and ended up speaking half French to the waitress by accident because it wasn't a "fig croissant". The croissant was extremely buttery, but very meaty. The figue part didn't blow me away. I want a pain au chocolat next time.

4. St. Lawrence Market. Still just as good as the first time. Behold my shopping list:
- corn on the cob
- peppers (red, yellow and purple...I know, I said I wouldn't buy it again. I was drawn in my the colours. I was thinking rainbow salad.)
- tomatoes
- salade (I figured out that the lettuce I miss is arugula and also
this type a friend called Lamb's Ear.)
- purple beans (That's right. They're a dark purple and the lady beside me who was also buying them said that they turn green after you cook them. I haven't cooked them yet, so I don't know if it's true. Regardless, they're really purple right now and really pretty.)

5. Buskerfest. Here, I enjoyed a couple different acts, sampled random foods (including a chick pea dish cooked in mustard seed and
veggies - different!), people watched and got some tank top tan lines (yuck). There were a lot of your typical buskers (or well, typical in my mind), but I'd never seen an acrobat hanging in the air from large helium balloons. She didn't do very much up there, but the visual was quite striking.




My favorite act and the only act that I specifically sought out was PULP - a duo dance team featuring Robert Muraine and Garvin Tran.
You may know Muraine from
So You Think You Can Dance Season 4 or those Ikea commercials. The popper and b-boy combo put on an amazing show. I have videos but they are too large to upload. Sorry. The music was hype...I felt like dancing too. I'd actually walked
by one of their shows already in progress, but the crowd was huge and I didn't want to strain to watch. I arrived early the next time and got front row seats. Muraine didn't do anything different from his various bits on SYTYCD and the Ikea bits, but seeing him dance up close and personal was still enjoyable. Their excitement, enthusiasm, innate sense of music and love of dance was killer. A-Mazing. The event was raising funds for charity, but of course buskers were excepting money for themselves too!

6. Balcony time. Using my lounging chair for the first time, enjoying the sun that Toronto hasn't seen in a long time and reading the free Toronto Star I picked up at Buskerfest. Fantabulous.

7. Genee Competition. With the finals of the competition held at the Four Season Centre for the Performing Arts, the Genee is the Royal Academy of Dance's big international competition. The calibre wasn't quite Prix de Lausanne, but the top dancers of the competition were basically there. The gold medal winner was obviously the winner and I wonder if he would consider going for the Prix. I didn't get any pictures, because we weren't allowed to take any. Interesting how it doesn't matter at the Prix, but here it's a big no-no! Along with a great night of dancing I found out a couple things:
- Rex Harrington needs to get over himself and stop being a sour puss (and is developing a paunch)
- I need to work on my dress collection (or lack thereof)
- I notice when people wear Louboutins.

Like I said at the beginning, I had a wonderful day.

I get me

I think I know myself pretty well.
I'm quite proud of everything that I've done in my life. I think I've done a lot. It's a strange feeling to feel "old". It's a new experience, but luckily it will only last in this setting for six more months or so.
I'm totally a loner. Boy do I like having my space. My friends, I like you all a lot and could hang out with you forever. Y'all could do your thing and I'm content just quietly being with you - that's fine. Acquaintances though - phew. SPACE.

TIFF08

It's coming...
I decided to be proactive this year and got a 10-pack. The one downside about this is that I have to figure out which movies I want to watch before people have written up synopses and reviews about them. How am I supposed to know what I want to see?
I need to do some research. Sigh.
Doing the "rush line" thing last year wasn't THAT bad...and at least by then I was only lining up for movies that I wanted to see.
We'll see how it goes.

If you're a celeb fanatic, I can only help you in two ways:
1. Brad Pitt is coming.
2. George Clooney is not.

Still starstruck

Every year in the summer, there's a skating competition which renders me starstruck.
Two things worth mentioning about this year's festivities:
1. Louis Stong is a funny funny man. He is also a legend. When a legend walks up to you in the stand (albeit, I was surrounded by other people who he knew) says hello (just out of politeness - he has no idea who I am) and then proceeds to sit beside you and then continues to go about his business, well, heart palpitations ensue.
2. Sitting on the stand with Karen Preston. During a specific event we are both in roles where we're wearing headsets and can talk to each other. There are two other people in similar roles. So the four of us are talking, talking, talking...not sure how it comes up, but I learned that Tonya Harding was really scary. Intimidating as all heck and just not the most enjoyable person to compete against. Karen would switch spots in the dressing room at competitions so that she would be further away from Tonya.
Being among legends and listening to stories firsthand makes me feel like I'm part of some super-club or something. It's crazy. So many people at these competitions are the big time...and I'm right there with them. I often want to pinch myself. I hope I never become jaded and lose my excitement for this sport.

Hopefully I'll make the most of it

Tomorrow is a free day. I haven't had a free day in awhile, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm not sure how much I'll sleep in (it's hard to predict these days) but I've got a couple things in my mind that I wouldn't mind doing tomorrow. Nothing pressing (except for one thing in the evening - which I'll give a report on after the fact), but all things that I think would be nice.
Among the list is going (back) to the St. Lawrence Market. A couple weeks ago, I finally ventured down there and while it was obvious that I was paying a lot more for the produce compared to a regular grocery store (I don't know enough about produce to know if it was worth the extra bucks or not) I really enjoyed the experience.
I believe the last time I went there was in Grade 9 for a field trip which was set up like a scavenger hunt of downtown which had a goal for us to get to know our city better. It was a very well created assignment, which I hope teachers still use because children who grow up in the suburbs probably don't know enough about the city and well, I still don't know much about it and how wonderful it is and how much it has to offer.
Anyway, back to St. Lawrence Market. I love markets and I find it really hard to go to one without being tempted to buy something (even if I don't need it). The colours, the smells, the energy, the people...it's hard to resist getting caught up in it.

Let me share with you my shopping list:
- green beans
- red peppers
- green peppers
- purple peppers (I HAD to get them...I've never seen them before! They were whitish green on the inside and the taste was different from other colours of peppers...not very much flavour, in fact and I don't think I would necessarily buy them again. Especially if there are red peppers instead.)
- salad (I don't know the name of the lettuce, but it's not iceberg. Growing up, I only knew of iceberg and romaine. These two along with spinach were the only types of greens that I knew of to be used for a salad. My first market in Neuch introduced me to a whole bunch of other kinds of lettuce - which I don't really know the names, as they were all called salade regardless of the type. I'm sure that I only bought this type of lettuce at the St. Lawrence Market because it reminded me of Europe. There's another type of green that reminds me of Europe as well, but I forget its name as well too. Maybe I'll see it at the market tomorrow and be reminded.)
- yellow zucchini
- green zucchini

The next couple of days, I had the BEST salads. I get the feeling that if I make it to the market again tomorrow, I'll have the same result. Either amazing salad for days or amazing fruit. Or maybe both. I'd like to go to the Liberty Village market Sunday morning, but I found that because I was so tempted at the ST. Lawrence market last time, there was nothing left for me to need to buy to make it worth me going out to Liberty Village. I'll have to try to be selective about what I buy each time.
I should also take some pictures this time. I need to pull out my digital camera more often. I guess in Europe, I felt like I had the "tourist" excuse to take pictures of everyday things, but here in Toronto, I all of a sudden feel too self conscious to do it. I need to get over myself.

As you've seen with my lack of posts on the blog recently, I've been pretty busy - so I'm really excited to take tomorrow and just be. I heard it'll be nice weather too.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

I finally watched Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. My reaction: HUH?!?
I knew that this movie probably would require a little bit of attention on my part to follow what was going to happen, so I'm not really sure why I watched it for the first time as background noise while multi-tasking. It's my own fault for not really understanding everything happened. I guess I theoretically understand it the plotline, but I didn't keep track of who got killed very well. I thought that some of the people who were alive at the end were supposed to be dead and I'm sure I'm missing one significant plot connection...but I'm not too concerned, I'll just have to watch it again. I'd seen Snatch before and as I was watching Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I thought that the two movies were very similar. You can probably tell that I didn't make the Guy Richie connection until I did a little research on the internet just a short while ago.
The final moments of the movie made slightly annoyed, but as it was happening, I was expecting it to unfold as it did.
I need to watch this move again, but I'm pretty sure once I pay attention to it, I'll like it. I won't LOVE it, but I'll like it.

The Dark Knight

For someone who's pretty critical of movies, I have to say this movie was amazing. I didn't watch the first Batman movie, so before the show started, I had friends tell me all about what I would be watching. I'm glad they filled me in.
The movie seemed long, but luckily not in a bad way. I have a bad habit of wondering how long a movie's been playing for so that I can guess if there's going to be a lot more plotline to cover or any twists that may happen or if the end of the story is near. There were a couple twists and open ended moments which work well for future Batman movie installments. At least that was my impression.
A little blurb by someone who knows about this stuff confirmed my hunches. I usually don't like when things are predictable, but I feel like this was done well enough that I'm not bothered by it. It kind of left it in a way that I want to watch the next movie to see if I'm definitely right. Or maybe the characters end in this one and it was just my hunches about their character development were right on and answered within the movie itself. Whatever. It was a good movie. Oh wait, I read the blurb again and it didn't confirm anything. I just read it too fast last time. I guess I will have to watch the next movie to find out what's going on or just ask to see what happens in the comics.
I guess maybe I should go back and watch the first one?
This was a gooooooood movie. Tastefully done. Action. Suspense. All the stuff that makes it a movie to definitely be seen on the big screen, but not too crazy that I needed to distract my mind so I wouldn't have to watch brutality on-screen. Good enough to get your mind imagining how scary it could have been (music was well done too), but imagination's enough. Sometimes better than seeing it for real. Costuming was nice too. For all of the hype, it (thankfully) did not disappoint.
I think all of the actors did a very respectable job. I don't know if it's up to Academy Award standard, but there were some incredible performances.
Dude, if you haven't already, watch The Dark Knight.

I gotta go out and see more movies.
The trailers were crappy. The only one that was of any interest was the next James Bond movie. I like the styling of the movie.
I need to remember to buy my ticket package for the TIFF08.

I learned something today

You can make good money working retail.
Associates at Cartier make 1% commission on everything they sell on top of their regular salary. There is some sort of quota system, but it's not too stressful to reach.
Apparently in the last week and associate sold a piece worth $1.5 million. Good paycheck.

Rumour has is that Matt Damon. is saying at the Windsor Arms Hotel, but I'm not sure if that's true. Apparently, an Asian woman from The Mummy 3 was shopping in Cartier (there was a BMW SUV waiting outside for her (the driver was a female cop hired for security). She left the store empty handed. I don't know if she's actually in the movie or if she's actually anyone of importance, but I know for sure that it wasn't Michelle Yeoh. Hmmm...after a little bit of looking, I think it might have been Isabella Leong. I am disappointed to report that she was wearing Lululemon pants.

Hazel

I went into Hazel today.
When the store first opened up, there was some pretty serious hype about it because it would be THE place for luxury goods and seemed to have a pretty perfect location as it's attached to the Hazelton Hotel - the newest hotspot for celebs and anyone who's anyone to stay at.
I also was interested in the store because one of the stylists for the store hired me at my first retail job. He was incredibly friendly (unlike most of the managers at the location), but quickly left for much bigger and better things. I know that he also has a personal styling company (although I'm not sure if he's put that on the backburner for the time being - I'm sure it's possible to do it freelance). So there's that personal connection there (even though it's not like it's personal in any way).
Anyway, the point is, I went into the store...and I was quite tentative about doing so. With all the hype, it just didn't seem like the place you could stroll into. Remember, this is snooty-and-weirdo-exclusive-for-no-reason Toronto instead of Milan or Paris or London or wherever where it's completely acceptable to go into stores where it's obvious you can't afford anything, but they still treat you like a million bucks.
It's a very small location and while it has beautiful items, I was incredibly disappointed. The merchandising and visual displays were atrocious. Absolutely horrible. Clothes were packed onto racks and shoes were casually placed about. I think that a store like this would do better if items were places into outfits a la Colette and other similar boutiques. I suppose, if you're shopping in a place like Hazel, you've got the undivided attention of the staff who can style for you and pick out outfits specifically for you, but it the boutique disappointed me immensely.
Another reason I was appalled by the store (I will never go back there again - nothing in the store really stood out to be as being that unique and inspiring) was that there was a family there who I'm assuming were staying at the hotel by their demeanor and discussions and with them was a child around the age of 8-10 years old who was barefoot, standing, jumping, no running around on the couches. The adults with him did not discipline him, nor did the staff members at the boutique say anything. Horrible.
My personal link entered the boutique with a rolling rack as I was leaving. Congratulations to him - it's nice to see that people can move up and do great things in the fashion industry.

Paris trip number 11 (I think)

You know how much I love Paris, so I won't bother to go into the nitty gritty details.
Paris was a super short trip, but wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
I discovered the 6th and Ile St. Louis and Ile de la Cite...sigh. I crossed lots of stuff of my list, but added even more on...sigh.
I continued the tradition and got my hair cut. It threw me for a loop, but it also saved me a lot of money. You see, I was ready to buy a bag. Since my haircut took way too long the boutique closed and I left Paris bagless. I will get it in the future. I promise.
Colette went above and beyond my expectations as usual. Whoever the buyer and visual display person is - they deserve a prize. And they also need to be my fashion consultant.
Repetto made me swoon.
I have come to appreciate Sonia Rykiel even though they still make those ugly rainbow striped things.
I would like new sunglasses and almost bought a really cheap pair from a stall, but waited too long and someone picked them up and bought them moments after I put them back on the table. I take it as a sign that I'm not supposed to have cheap items. On a related note, all designer sunglasses look good on my face.
Darn it, I'm starting to ramble. I wanted this to be a quick post.
Forget it, here are the photos.

There was some sort of Rugby tournament going on. And the finals were happening that day. Fans of the two teams took over the Champs Elysees. It was fun.





Why do I love this city so much? Why? Is it true love or just infatuation?






A picnic at the base of the Eiffel tower. I was surprised at how many people do this. I wonder if anyone picnics at the base of the CN Tower. I like picnics. Why do I not do all the cool stuff I did in Europe here in the city? It's possible, I just turn lazy or something.



Looking towards the Champs Elysees/Arc de Triomphe/etc. from the Tuileries. I could sit here for hours and watch the world go by.





Still in Tuileries. I want to own one of those balconies.







Louvre. I appreciate what's in it, but it's not my fav.





Place de la Concorde/Assemble Nationale/Hotel des Invalides...I will never forget my experience at Les Ambassadeurs. I am truly grateful for knowing someone to share that experience with.


And now, more moments from picnics by the Eiffel Tower.

Wake

Wake is a play written by Rachel Blair that played at the FRINGE festival this year. It's gotten amazing reviews, won awards and has subsequently been chosen to extend it run.
If you read my pseudo-reviews, you'll know I'm usually pretty indifferent about stuff. Actually, looking back at my TIFF reviews, I was very positive, so I guess that's what happens. I'll either love something or be completely indifferent (which often means that I didn't like it, but don't want to be rude). Okay, maybe that's not true either. I suppose I see the positive aspects of each of the pieces of which I'm indifferent towards so can understand why they were be good, but I just wasn't blown out of my seat.
Anyway, back on track and true to form, after watching this play, well, I LOVED it.

As written on the play's website and on the FRINGE website:
Wake is a touching and beautifully written drama which delves into the lives of three brothers who reunite for their father's funeral after a terrible crime tore them apart. Who is responsible for the event that changed their lives forever? How far do the bonds of family extend? Playwright Rachel Blair explores complexities of family and forgiveness.

Everything about the play was fantastic. The writing, the directing, the acting, the costuming and set design. Everything was seamless. I think I noticed a couple stumbles in lines, but it did not take away from the production. I really enjoyed the way that the story unfolded and how easily vignettes from different times and moments in the character's lives came together. The acting was superb, even the most subtle change in voice, posture and facial expression to highlight a time frame were not lost on the audience. Sets were changed flawlessly, like it was a well choreographed dance. So simple, yet so effective.
Congratulations to the whole team for this outstanding performance.
Too bad for those who didn't see it, because tonight was the last performance.


***********************
An anecdote to prove that I'm actually really shy. So after the play, I stood up, ready to walk out of the theatre. I turn around and Rachel Blair's sitting behind me. I know it's her because she went to my high school around the same time I did. I have no idea if she's remember who I am, but again, my shyness overcomes me and instead of congratulating her as I really want to, I just smile (I think I managed that, but I can't be sure) and walk out. I can tell you though that I do have an amazing speech in my head of what I would say to her if I had actually started a conversation. It's strange. I do so many things which contradict my shyness, but other times, I just can't get over it.

Outdoor movie

I've never been to a drive-in. At some point, I want to.
Tonight at Yonge and Dundas Square, there's an outdoor screening of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet. Hey, what's Claire Danes up to these days. All I know about Leonardo DiCaprio is that he's trying to save the planet. Is he the one that's making a whole eco-city?
Back on topic. The movie is part of the Outdoor Film screenings. I would love to take a picnic. Sit on a blanket, bring an extra one and enjoy the event.
The Princess Bride is showing next month. Maybe this is my chance to actually watch it.

Adam Growe's The Mom and Pop Shop

Another night out during the FRINGE took me to see Adam Growe's The Mom and Pop Shop.
This one-man comedy show takes place assuming that the members of the audience are attending their first pre-natal class. A frazzled Adam enters the room, letting us know that his wife (the real teacher) is running late. A father of three, he tries to stall...
It was exactly what I imagined it to be, nothing more, nothing less.
I didn't laugh out loud, but there were a lot of people around me who did, so I'm sure it was legitimately funny. I got the humour, it just wasn't funny enough to get me to, well, laugh out loud.
There was one joke that I found mildly entertaining but no one else seemed to get it (I assume, because no one laughed out loud). Adam was discussing that our parent generation (and prior, I suppose) had pregnant mothers not being too concerned about smoking and drinking (insert laughter here). He proceeds to warn us not to give our babies drugs (ha ha ha) and cough syrup (silence). I told someone I work with about this moment and as I was trying to explain to him why I thought this was supposed to be funny, he kept interrupting me and saying something about cough syrup having alcohol in it or something. I, personally, think it has something to do with the recent health report.
The show did have a nice arc to it. The ending was such that I didn't feel like I was just at a stand-up comedy act.
Would I recommend? Yikes, hard to say. I'm happy I went, but I'm wondering if there are better shows out there. I guess I enjoyed it though, so in that sense, I'd recommend it. I wasn't bored and that's a pretty big deal coming from me.