Seriously?

Those diss Gods aren't playing around. My laptop is showing signs that the end is near and is doing some really wacky stuff. Hold on little guy, hold on!!!

Clawing towards the finish line

It started with a tickly throat this past Tuesday. I hadn't taught a full class since January, so I thought it was just me overusing my voice. But, no. Sick.
Sinus cold. My muscles ache. My face hurts. My breathing is laboured.
The diss Gods are really making me work for it.

Another step closer!

~36 minutes. That's all it took for my committee to discuss my diss. After they were done, I thought they'd just finish their first round of suggestions/comments, and were just preparing me for the slaughterhouse, but they were done. Like, totally done. And everything that we discussed was awesome. All valid and aimed to make my diss better. I need to do a couple edits, but then it's off. Off to the externals and in six weeks the big meeting!
I can't believe this is happening. And it's pretty awesome.
I told you this would be a roller coaster ride!

The important thing...

Same task as last year, new batch of students. Here are a couple:

The important thing about measurement is that it puts things in perspective.
The speed in which life pulls you from an infant to a grown-up,
How deeply you can fall in love,
How much weight you lost to fit in the prom dress,
How time slips with a tick and a tock of a clock,
How the years of your life are not as infinite as kilometers.
But the important thing about measurement is that it puts things in perspective.

***************

The important thing about a cone is that it holds ice cream.
It has a circular base and a pointy top.
Its Surface Area is (pie x radius) x (radius + height).
Its volume is 1/3 Base x height.
It is a very complicated geometric figure.
But the most important thing about a cone is that it holds ice cream.

***************

...I'm absolutely exhausted, but the important thing about life is that I love what I do. 

Just keep swimming...

I should have posted an excited note that same day, but I was in a rush to live my life and forgot.
At 6.02pm EST on Monday night, I sent off Round 3 to the committee. I think my page counts have been document totals as opposed to a page count without the extras before and after. Anyway, I'm now at 224. Being one page off from Round 2 means that the end is near. Well, so does sending it to the committee.
BLAM-O!

Round 2

223 pages.
At least now I'm within an acceptable range. Who knows about the quality of the document itself, though.
I don't think I'll merrily skip to the TTC stop tonight. I'm looking forward to fresh air, but it's a busy week so I should probably grab a cab and get a smidge more sleep than I otherwise would.

Happy New Year!

Soon, we will end 2012 in the Gregorian calendar.
It's been another action-packed year, and I expect 2013 to be more of the same. I suppose I wouldn't want it any other way.
For all you gents heading out for a nice soiree tonight, here's a fun little video to help you keep things cool. =)

Completely drained

My goodness. There's just so much going on right now. Lots of mundane stuff. Lots of awesome stuff. Lots of tragic stuff. Personally, professionally, and within the community. I'm surviving, and I know my stresses are nothing compared to what some other folks are going through, so although I try to keep a perspective on things, it's me, so I am going through my stress patterns.
Anyway, hopefully at some point I will tend to this blog a little bit more regularly.

For now, I just want to post two things that helped get me through today.
1. Damn You Auto Correct! (Some of these elicited uncontrollable laughter. I was definitely needed.)
2. City Rising (I love my city, and watching this video was timed perfectly because I needed a little zen.)

CeeLo Green "All I Need Is Love (ft. The Muppets)"

I've got the shakes

I'm not sure if my hands are shaky because I haven't eaten anything substantial in over 12 hours or because I just finished a pseudo-draft of my thesis.
I wish I had a Meredith so that I could have a much needed 30 second dance party.
(Current thesis page count: 412 - uh oh.)

Ain't no SBB, but it's still A-OK

See, if you say SBB properly, it'll actually rhyme. =) I'm blogging as I sit on the train. I've only taken the train once before in Canada.
You know what, it's not that bad. The seats are comfy, you get free internet, there's a refreshments trolley that goes by. It would be better if it ran more frequently, but the price isn't atrocious. Oh and of course there isn't that lovely welcome announcement. I can still hear it in my head.
I mean, I don't really need to go anywhere that taking the train would make sense, but for the times that it does, I think I might consider it more often in the future.

If only I had twitter (and an iGadget)

Leaving work at 11pm. Fall air hitting my face. This song would’ve been the cherry on top: tinyurl.com/ybjgxj8 #GameOn #It'sThesisTime

Last skating video post for the day...

Yeah, so word on the street is that Kurt's going to reprise his Singing in the Rain program for his comeback competition. Awesome.

Another goodie...

I just can't resist posting another classic...

Still awesome

Need a break from whatever it is that you're doing? Watch either/both of these programs by Kurt Browning. Truly amazing.
Apparently he's going to be making a comeback as there's a Pro competition scheduled to happen where they've got some big names competing. Kurt's thrown his name into the ring and since I don't follow the Stars on Ice circuit, I don't really know what he's been up to. Not since the glory days when all of those shows of Champions on Ice, Stars on Ice, _____ on Ice, etc. and then all of those Pro competitions ruled the air waves have I really known what all of these pro skaters were doing, how active they are, and the calibre of their programs.
Anyway, these two programs are quite awesome, so I hope you enjoy them.

TIFF'12 roundup

It's taken me awhile, but I've finally posted about all of the films that I saw during TIFF'12.

I ended up watching nine films in total. Here they are in the order that I saw them:
1. The We and the I
2. How to Make Money Selling Drugs
3. Argo
4. The Central Park Five
5. Liverpool
6. The Thieves
7. Venus and Serena
8. 7 Boxes
9. 9.79*

None of my films were award winners. In fact, none of the films that made my short list won an award. Of the films that I saw, I'd say my favorite was The Thieves. 7 Boxes was also quite entertaining as was Argo.
As per usual, I had a great time at the festival. It was nice to see a couple celebs, watch some great films, see more people out and about, feel like part of the action, and all that good stuff. It's kind of funny that I barely watch any movies during the year, and then within the span of a week I'll see so many.

9.79*

The final film of my TIFF'12 experience was 9.79* (official website here, trailer here).
I like documentaries, so this was an easy pick for me. I also seem to like documentaries about sports and people, so I guess that further explains this pick. I guess over time, it's becoming a little bit more predictable to me which types of films I'll gravitate towards.
This film is about drug testing, the 100-metre sprint event form the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and the athletes (and other stakeholders) involved in the race. Filmmaker, Daniel Gordon, was able to get in contact with every single man who ran that race and find out their perspective of things.
Since I didn't follow the whole story from that event and I definitely don't know much about track and field and substances used to support these athletes, I think I went into this film with a pretty open mind and of course, you could argue that the filmmaker's story is biased, but I definitely left the film thinking about so many issues that were brought up in the film. The film is skewed in sympathy towards Ben Johnson and leaves you quite skeptical of Carl Lewis.
Those who are interested in what's currently happening with Lance Armstrong, may also be interested in this film. And also with the allegations of the Chinese swimmer from the 2012 London Olympics too.
The film itself was good. It didn't blow me away, but it was a solid, yet run of the mill documentary. I don't think I would pay to see it on the big screen, but it's perfect for a TV special. In fact, since ESPN is behind it, I'm sure it will appear on TV at some point.
Watch it if you get a chance. 

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

7 Boxes

I had this movie on my list of films to see, but by the time I went online to make my package selections, the screening was sold out. It was actually the first time I wasn't able to get a film that I'd selected as part of my 10-pack. Anyway, I decided to take the risk and get a voucher, hoping that I would be able to rush the film. I hadn't been unsuccessful with TIFF rush lines, but I guess this movie broke the streak. I was just a couple people back from the front of the line when they cut off the rush line and was really bummed. I tend to get relatively sulky when things don't go my way. In the end, it was probably good that I had the evening off because I remember being so tired that day. I had a screening in the morning. And then I went home and took a power nap which lasted too long and then I was groggy. And then I had another commitment I had to attend to early in the evening which I ran late for, and then I had to leave earlier than I wanted to try to catch the film...and then I didn't even get in. And that was annoying, but then I went home and went to bed early. Definitely needed.
Anyway, luckily, that wasn't the last screening of the film, so I still had one more chance to watch the film. Clearly, I wouldn't be writing this post if I didn't get in, and I'm glad I did because it was a great film. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone representing the film in attendance, so there wasn't a Q&A, but it was still a packed theatre. Obviously, the screening was rush and people were scrambling to find seats when they entered the theatre.
7 Boxes (trailer here) is a film from Paraguay about a teenage delivery boy getting caught in the middle of something. Suspense, mystery and a lot of chase scenes ensue. I think there was some funny moments too, but I'm sure they would have been even funnier if I understood Spanish and/or knew Paraguayan culture. I think there were a lot of layers to this film. I wanted to see it because I think heist/suspense/thriller kinds of films, but this also had a little bit of a whimsical quality to it too.
Anyway, I'm also writing this post so far after the fact that I don't have it in me to write with any more detail. All I can say is that it's a great film and a classic TIFF movie in that it's a film that I probably would never get a chance to watch otherwise. If you manage to get an opportunity to see this film, I would highly recommend it.

 - picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

Venus and Serena

I like learning about athletes and I like learning about celebrities, so Venus and Serena was an obvious pick for me.
I watched the final screening of this film and was quite disappointed with the turnout. The attendance was sparse at best. I wonder what the attendance was like at the previous screenings. The first screening was Premium, after all, so I think they expected a good turnout.
The film followed Venus and Serena Williams during 2011 while providing history about the childhood of the girls and their careers leading up until present day (in fact, there was mention of her recent win at the US Open, so I wonder when they actually officially finished this film).
I don't follow tennis very carefully nor do I know much about the Williams sisters, but I do know that they are successful players and entrepreneurs and come from a tight-knit family. I remember hearing something about their parents being very active members of their careers, but I didn't know much more than that.
I liked the film. After a tiring week, I needed a light movie, and this was perfect. We got to see Serena and Venus as people. We saw them in good times and in bad. And as a whole, I have very positive feelings towards the sisters and their family. I think this film would be perfect for TV and hope that it does get picked up.
Unfortunately, there was no one in attendance representing the film, so I couldn't learn more about the film, but I didn't really feel the need to. I thought this film, while not mindblowing, was a nice, neat package. And it looked well produced as well. There must have been some serious backing behind this film. I mean, obviously, they would need the support of Venus and Serena and their family, but this in itself is probably a big deal based on how strong the sisters and their team is. And in having their support, they probably were able to get others involved as well. For example, the fact that Wyclef Jean was in charge of the music probably as something. And he composed original songs for the film too.
So, good film. Nothing crazy, but worth watching if you happen to come across it. It's always interesting to find out about successful individuals and the dedication and conscious decision-making that goes into such success.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net

The Thieves

After reading TIFF's description of The Theives (official website here, trailer here), I knew I wanted to see this film. I basically walked into the theatre thinking that I was going to watch an Asian version of Ocean's Eleven and that was an awesome thought to me.
And it was an awesome movie!!!
Here's part of the TIFF description:
"Although he’s still smarting from when Macao took off with almost seventy kilos of stolen gold after their last job, Popie is ready to let bygones be bygones. He assembles his gang of usual suspects: a "wire team" consisting of the sexy and hilariously self-absorbed Yenicall and her hopelessly infatuated partner Zampano; con artist Chewingum; and lock-picking expert (and Macao’s former flame) Pepsee. Macao meanwhile brings his own motley crew into the mix: the crude and volatile Andrew, seasoned pro Chen, safe-cracker Julie, and point man Jonny. The job: to steal a $20-million yellow diamond called the "Tear of the Sun" from a high-security casino. The elaborate plan requires each member of the team to play a crucial role. But as the stakes rise ever higher and everyone tries to work their own angle —everything that can go wrong will go wrong."
Though stuck to reading subtitles (my one complaint, well two, is that 1. I don't understand Korean as I KNOW that I missed out on some humour as a result and 2. there was some atrocious Chinese being spoken in the film which really made me cringe) I still laughed out loud many times, I love "mission impossible"-type films and this one had plenty of twists and turns to it. I had no idea how the film was going to end and part of the way through I started getting confused who was doing what and who was on who's side. Oh yeah, and action scenes to add to my excitement too!
This was the director, Choi Dong-hoon's, first time at TIFF and I knew even before the screening started that it would be good. There were tons of Koreans attending and they were buzzing. We were told that the film has been number one at the box office in Korean for the past little while, so that's always encouraging. I attended the first screening of the film which happened to be at the Ryerson theatre and although it's a large theatre, it was rush. Like, seriously rush. As a ticket holder, I got there with time to spare and when I joined the line it had wrapped around to bloody Gould and Victoria. That's bananas! The director seemed pretty excited to be there and had a great enthusiasm and humour as he addressed the audience.
My oh my, this film is awesome. So incredibly awesome. People, you need to watch this film.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff.net