Hello friends. I'm sorry for the long hiatus. There have been a number of things going on in life, as they tend to do, that have distracted me from the blog. More to come.
I'm almost a month late but TIFF was, as always, two weeks of daily activity. This being my 11th festival as a volunteer (I can't even remember how many I've attended since high school), it's all starting to become a routine. Not to say that's a bad thing, but I think I've grown into the festival to the point where the glitz and the glam have become a bit...normal. And not as exciting as it once was. Still, the hope is to see some good films. Here's the 2016 list:
Bleed For This - This was the pick for the volunteer's pre-festival screening. A biopic about a champion boxer from the 1980s who survived a horrific car accident and spinal injury. He endured serious rehabilitation (he refused to have his neck fused because it would completely rule out the possibility of boxing again and chose to use the "halo" instead) to not only walk again but get into the ring again. Certainly not a film I would have chosen on my own, but I'm glad I got to see it. Miles Teller doesn't really look like Vinny Pazienza but I think he got his voice and mannerisms down. He also bulked up. A lot.
India in a Day - A complete crowdsourced film, the director and producers asked people in India via Google to film their lives on one day and upload their footage. An amazing look at everyday life in India that they're going to distribute on YouTube for free. The day after my screening, it was Canada in a Day, where Canadians were asked to do the same thing. I couldn't participate, but I'm intensely curious as to what they come up with.
Short Cuts Programme 3 - For the first time ever, I went to see some short films. My motivation was that one of my coworkers has a friend whose film was part of the programme. There were 8 short films, some of them extremely "artsy", but the film I was there to see, Second to None, was a stop motion animation about the second-oldest man in the world that was some of the darkest humour I've seen in a while. Try to find it if you can.
Weirdos - My Canadian content for the festival. A gorgeous black-and-white film about 2 teens in 1970s Nova Scotia on a road trip. The soundtrack was fantastic (classic Canadiana) and the acting was impressive. Having the spirit of Andy Warhol in the film was superfluous but so fun.
I, Daniel Blake - This one made me sniffle. The Palme D'Or winner at Cannes this year, it's about an older gentleman from Newcastle trying to navigate his way through the ridiculousness of the UK's welfare system. After having a heart attack, he's cut off from disability insurance due to an unforgiving assessment process. His only recourse is to seek unemployment benefits, but in order to get it he needs to prove that he's looking for work. Since his doctor and physiotherapist have not cleared him for work, he's stuck. Along the way he meets and befriends a single mother with 2 children also stuck in the system. Tragically funny at times and really sad to think that this is the reality for a lot of people.
Birth of the Dragon - My (sort-of) Chinese film of the festival. A biopic about Bruce Lee, which pretty much says it all. It was certainly not what I was expecting, and the acting and plot left a lot to be desired. But the kung fu sequences were seriously amazing.
La La Land - This year's People's Choice winner. I love musicals, and what's not to love about a modern musical set in LA and starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone that has the feel of a 40's song and dance movie? It was a surprising choice as the winner (a lot of us thought Lion would win) but it was a feel good film, even though it was kind of sad at the end.
Between these and my shifts, another busy fest, and yet different from all the other fests so far, in that I didn't see all of these films alone. Well, I did see most of them by myself, but I was able to bring someone along with me for the first time. Someone I met recently and have been able to get to know and have discovered that he doesn't quite share the same love of films or the fest as I do. But that's okay. It's still kind of early in the process. I'm sure you want to hear more but there isn't a lot to tell. Yet.
Stay tuned.
"I say goodbye to all my sorrow, and by tomorrow I'll be on my way"
Monday, October 10, 2016
Friday, July 01, 2016
Timing
Each and every time I go to New York, I make a point to do something I've never done before. This allows me to go back each year and not get bored. This year, due to certain circumstances, I stayed outside of Manhattan for the first time. Downtown Newark is not without its charms, I'm sure, but let's say I was ready to just dump my stuff in the room and figure out what I was going to do in the city.
Next new thing I was doing was taking the train from Penn Station to Penn Station. Yeah, I don't know why they couldn't have been more creative, but whatever. Those who know me know I'm a planner, so of course I checked the schedule before I headed out. And, as typical of me, I cut it kind of close. Like, really close. But not so close that 2 people couldn't ask me if this was the train to New York or not. I don't want to be rude or anything, but the sign is right there. Plus I always find it amusing when people ask me for directions in cities that are not my own.
Ritual #1 is to see a Broadway show. I had wanted to see "Waitress", mostly because I loved the movie and because I like the music of Sara Bareilles. Alas, it was sold out (well, it was sold out at the TKTS booth). What else? I fast forwarded through my memories of the Tony Awards, and I remembered "She Loves Me", which is based on the same story as "The Shop Around the Corner", which of course became "You've Got Mail". Zachary Levi as the lead male? Score! I never watched "Chuck" or even "Heroes Reborn" (I couldn't bear it, the first season of "Heroes" was so good and then it all fell apart), but he's a good actor and singer. Jane Krakowski is usually in it too but that day she was off. Whatever, it was good enough for me to buy a ticket. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was playing at Studio 54. WHAT?!? I had no idea they turned it into a theatre. After a nice dinner at a Greek restaurant, I casually wandered over to the theatre. The first impression I had was...DARK. The walls were black and trimmed in a dingy gold. It was so creepy. I kept imagining the debauchery that took place there in the 70s. Don't...touch...anything...
The show was really really cute. Jane Krakowski's understudy seriously reminded me of Andrea Martin in a blond curly wig. The female lead had an amazing voice. All I know about her is that she was on a few episodes of "Supergirl" (I never watched that either). After the show, I strolled through Times Square and performed Ritual #2 - get a night photo of Times Square.
Some day I'm going to string together all of my annual Times Square photos to see how it changes over time.
I dawdled a little to much, and as a result I nearly missed the train back to Newark (it wasn't the last train, but I would have had to wait 45 minutes for the next one). It was full of young people, which in my advancing years tends to fill me with dread. But as we were disembarking one of the boys let me pass, which gave me some hope for the future.
Now I'm home, and in a twist of fate I read a news report that yesterday an 8-year-old boy nearly drowned in the pool on the same ship I was on. The ship, which had just left New Jersey, had to turn around and go back. The boy was medevac'd to the hospital, and the ship left again at 2 in the morning. Having just been on that boat, I had an incredibly hard time figuring out how the boy could have been left face down in that pool for 10 minutes before someone found him. But then, I realized that the only way this could have happened, and so close to the port, was that it occurred during the mandatory muster drill that everyone had to attend. We would go to our designated emergency gathering point and watch a video about how to put on the life preservers, etc. All of the guests had to be there, and it seemed like every member of the crew was also there, wearing green reflective vests and showing people where to go. This was only time the pool deck would have been empty. Except for one person, it seems. From what I read, the boy is still in critical condition. A grim way to start a vacation, and if my friends and I had left 2 weeks later, it would have been our vacation.
And the irony of someone drowning while people were watching a safety video was not lost on me.
"Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again"
Next new thing I was doing was taking the train from Penn Station to Penn Station. Yeah, I don't know why they couldn't have been more creative, but whatever. Those who know me know I'm a planner, so of course I checked the schedule before I headed out. And, as typical of me, I cut it kind of close. Like, really close. But not so close that 2 people couldn't ask me if this was the train to New York or not. I don't want to be rude or anything, but the sign is right there. Plus I always find it amusing when people ask me for directions in cities that are not my own.
Ritual #1 is to see a Broadway show. I had wanted to see "Waitress", mostly because I loved the movie and because I like the music of Sara Bareilles. Alas, it was sold out (well, it was sold out at the TKTS booth). What else? I fast forwarded through my memories of the Tony Awards, and I remembered "She Loves Me", which is based on the same story as "The Shop Around the Corner", which of course became "You've Got Mail". Zachary Levi as the lead male? Score! I never watched "Chuck" or even "Heroes Reborn" (I couldn't bear it, the first season of "Heroes" was so good and then it all fell apart), but he's a good actor and singer. Jane Krakowski is usually in it too but that day she was off. Whatever, it was good enough for me to buy a ticket. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was playing at Studio 54. WHAT?!? I had no idea they turned it into a theatre. After a nice dinner at a Greek restaurant, I casually wandered over to the theatre. The first impression I had was...DARK. The walls were black and trimmed in a dingy gold. It was so creepy. I kept imagining the debauchery that took place there in the 70s. Don't...touch...anything...
The show was really really cute. Jane Krakowski's understudy seriously reminded me of Andrea Martin in a blond curly wig. The female lead had an amazing voice. All I know about her is that she was on a few episodes of "Supergirl" (I never watched that either). After the show, I strolled through Times Square and performed Ritual #2 - get a night photo of Times Square.
Some day I'm going to string together all of my annual Times Square photos to see how it changes over time.
I dawdled a little to much, and as a result I nearly missed the train back to Newark (it wasn't the last train, but I would have had to wait 45 minutes for the next one). It was full of young people, which in my advancing years tends to fill me with dread. But as we were disembarking one of the boys let me pass, which gave me some hope for the future.
Now I'm home, and in a twist of fate I read a news report that yesterday an 8-year-old boy nearly drowned in the pool on the same ship I was on. The ship, which had just left New Jersey, had to turn around and go back. The boy was medevac'd to the hospital, and the ship left again at 2 in the morning. Having just been on that boat, I had an incredibly hard time figuring out how the boy could have been left face down in that pool for 10 minutes before someone found him. But then, I realized that the only way this could have happened, and so close to the port, was that it occurred during the mandatory muster drill that everyone had to attend. We would go to our designated emergency gathering point and watch a video about how to put on the life preservers, etc. All of the guests had to be there, and it seemed like every member of the crew was also there, wearing green reflective vests and showing people where to go. This was only time the pool deck would have been empty. Except for one person, it seems. From what I read, the boy is still in critical condition. A grim way to start a vacation, and if my friends and I had left 2 weeks later, it would have been our vacation.
And the irony of someone drowning while people were watching a safety video was not lost on me.
"Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again"
Friday, June 24, 2016
Cruising Along
For anyone who's not familiar with cruising, I can imagine the top 3 impressions you could have about a Caribbean cruise: a lot of eating, a lot of drinking, and too much sun. Well, that's entirely possible, but it'd be mostly up to you. In reality, there's enough going on to keep you from doing any of those things.
Cruise ships have become small towns in the middle of the ocean. The one I'm on can hold around 4800 passengers. This doesn't count the crew, which can sometimes be as large as one for every two passengers. So what can a small town in the ocean offer? Here are a few things I've seen and done this week:
Even with all that, there were still a few things I didn't try, like the iFly skydiving simulator, or the Flowrider surfing simulator, or watch the Broadway show (I've seen We Will Rock You before), or eat at the Japanese restaurant. I was also pretty unsuccessful at bingo. But it was fun all the same.
So another cruise is coming to an end. One day to spend in NYC and it's back home again.
"I'm slowly drifting away, wave after wave, wave after wave"
Cruise ships have become small towns in the middle of the ocean. The one I'm on can hold around 4800 passengers. This doesn't count the crew, which can sometimes be as large as one for every two passengers. So what can a small town in the ocean offer? Here are a few things I've seen and done this week:
- Watched dolphins and flying fish swimming alongside the ship
- Rode a gondola 300 feet above sea level on a moving boat
- Saw a caberet show and a virtual concert
- Watched a robotic bartender make a cocktail
- Had a really good massage and facial at the spa
- Watched a larger man attempt the flying trapeze
- Saw part of Game 7 of the NBA finals on a giant screen on the pool deck
- Ate a lot
- Drank a little
- Got just enough sun
Even with all that, there were still a few things I didn't try, like the iFly skydiving simulator, or the Flowrider surfing simulator, or watch the Broadway show (I've seen We Will Rock You before), or eat at the Japanese restaurant. I was also pretty unsuccessful at bingo. But it was fun all the same.
So another cruise is coming to an end. One day to spend in NYC and it's back home again.
"I'm slowly drifting away, wave after wave, wave after wave"
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Entering the Triangle
It's been a busy few days, stopping in Sint Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Haiti, and the end is nigh as we sail for two days back to New Jersey. But this is the part I've been waiting for. We are about to enter the Bermuda Triangle. Bucket list, check!
The Triangle is bounded by Bermuda, San Juan, and Miami. According to the position map, the ship should start passing through it tonight. I know I sound really morbid, but it just fascinates me. Plus I'm incredibly confident that everything will be fine. We're not on a plane or a small sailboat, after all!
Speaking of experiences, we had an amazing one yesterday at Wonderland, one of the specialty restaurants. The theme is pretty obvious, and the menu is unusual, as expected. The waiter customized our meal based on our preferences, and everything was delicious. Best part was when the waiter described one of the dishes as "frog's eyes". My friend started to panic a little, but he was just kidding, it was made of olives.
I'm pretty exhausted, so I'll do the recap tomorrow. You know, assuming I make it out of the Triangle and everything.
"I know that I'm running out of time, I want it all, and I'm wishing they'd stop trying to turn me off, I want it on"
The Triangle is bounded by Bermuda, San Juan, and Miami. According to the position map, the ship should start passing through it tonight. I know I sound really morbid, but it just fascinates me. Plus I'm incredibly confident that everything will be fine. We're not on a plane or a small sailboat, after all!
Speaking of experiences, we had an amazing one yesterday at Wonderland, one of the specialty restaurants. The theme is pretty obvious, and the menu is unusual, as expected. The waiter customized our meal based on our preferences, and everything was delicious. Best part was when the waiter described one of the dishes as "frog's eyes". My friend started to panic a little, but he was just kidding, it was made of olives.
I'm pretty exhausted, so I'll do the recap tomorrow. You know, assuming I make it out of the Triangle and everything.
"I know that I'm running out of time, I want it all, and I'm wishing they'd stop trying to turn me off, I want it on"
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Rockin' and Rollin'
Everything is vibrating. Especially the "window". I forgot about this part of cruising. Who knows why everything is shaky tonight. They said the waves were only going to be about 6 feet or so...
Today was Bermuda, our first port. I was on a shore excursion on my own this time. Looking out of the "window" in the morning revealed the most dreary scene imaginable. As feared, it was pouring rain when I disembarked. People were snapping up the plastic bag ponchos at $2 a pop. Luckily for me, the last thing I remembered to grab on my way out the door at home was my umbrella. A number of the beach and water related tours were cancelled, but my tour went ahead.
The tour was really good. Lots of interesting facts (did you know that Michael Douglas is half-Bermudian?), lots of amazing scenery. We were able to basically cover the length of the country, which at a grand total of 21 miles wasn't too strenuous. Not a lot of time after we got back to the pier to do any shopping, though. I guess I'll have to wait until St. Maarten.
Another day on the high seas tomorrow.
"Hold, hold on, hold on to me, 'cause I'm a little unsteady, a little unsteady"
Today was Bermuda, our first port. I was on a shore excursion on my own this time. Looking out of the "window" in the morning revealed the most dreary scene imaginable. As feared, it was pouring rain when I disembarked. People were snapping up the plastic bag ponchos at $2 a pop. Luckily for me, the last thing I remembered to grab on my way out the door at home was my umbrella. A number of the beach and water related tours were cancelled, but my tour went ahead.
The tour was really good. Lots of interesting facts (did you know that Michael Douglas is half-Bermudian?), lots of amazing scenery. We were able to basically cover the length of the country, which at a grand total of 21 miles wasn't too strenuous. Not a lot of time after we got back to the pier to do any shopping, though. I guess I'll have to wait until St. Maarten.
Another day on the high seas tomorrow.
"Hold, hold on, hold on to me, 'cause I'm a little unsteady, a little unsteady"
Thursday, June 16, 2016
A Virtual Window
The gentle swaying. How I've missed it.
I can't say where I am at the moment, only because I don't know. I guess the only location I can give is "the Atlantic Ocean". I'm on the Anthem of the Seas, one of the newest monstrosities released into the wild by Royal Caribbean. It isn't the biggest one (read: this one doesn't have a Central Park running through its midsection), but it's still big enough that I feel confident I'll be able to work off the calories just walking from the restaurant back to my room.
This is my 4th cruise, and I have to say this is a pretty nice ship. Everything is shiny and state of the art. They have a bar tended by robots! They have a skydiving simulator on the top deck! They have bumper cars and a food truck! They have wifi! But the accommodations have definitely improved. The room I have is a standard interior room, with the one difference that it has a virtual balcony. They mounted a huge TV screen on the wall that shows a real time image of the outside of the ship. So when we were pulling out of the pier in New Jersey, I was able to watch us pass by the Statue of Liberty without having to run up to the top deck.
The age in which we live.
And so now we're chugging our way southeast. A full day of sailing tomorrow, which can only mean one thing. Time for some bingo.
"I got this feeling inside my bones, it goes electric, wavy when i turn it on"
Monday, May 02, 2016
Changing State
You know I'm a nerd. If you didn't, you'll know it now.
Quickie science note: it takes a lot of energy to change water from liquid to vapour. I won't get into it, but just trust me, it's a lot. I've discovered that I behave the same way as water.
I am totally fine being in one state. I could probably maintain it indefinitely. If there's something I have to do, usually something I don't necessarily want to do, it takes a lot of energy to get me to the point where I start to do it. And then, once I've started, it kind of keeps going on its own.
I've been thinking about this fact for a few months now. I'm not sure where the energy came from, but it got me onto the computer and writing these words. And now it's just flowing out.
In sort of related-unrelated news, my high school's 50th anniversary is coming up next week. Not being on social media has saved me from the likely constant updating of old photos on Facebook and nostalgic tweets. I did venture onto the page a couple of times. The memories came flooding back like a tidal wave. I looked at our photos and thought, holy crap, we were children. At the same time, I haven't really physically changed too much, apart from hairstyles and clothes. So really, have I changed states?
I do hope so.
"Once I was 7 years old, my mama told me 'Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely'"
Quickie science note: it takes a lot of energy to change water from liquid to vapour. I won't get into it, but just trust me, it's a lot. I've discovered that I behave the same way as water.
I am totally fine being in one state. I could probably maintain it indefinitely. If there's something I have to do, usually something I don't necessarily want to do, it takes a lot of energy to get me to the point where I start to do it. And then, once I've started, it kind of keeps going on its own.
I've been thinking about this fact for a few months now. I'm not sure where the energy came from, but it got me onto the computer and writing these words. And now it's just flowing out.
In sort of related-unrelated news, my high school's 50th anniversary is coming up next week. Not being on social media has saved me from the likely constant updating of old photos on Facebook and nostalgic tweets. I did venture onto the page a couple of times. The memories came flooding back like a tidal wave. I looked at our photos and thought, holy crap, we were children. At the same time, I haven't really physically changed too much, apart from hairstyles and clothes. So really, have I changed states?
I do hope so.
"Once I was 7 years old, my mama told me 'Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely'"
Sunday, January 17, 2016
The Disease
It's been a sad start to the year, hasn't it? A lot of amazing people have passed away from the same disease: cancer. I still remember my first experience with David Bowie. Funnily enough, it was from the movie "Labyrinth". I remember watching that movie over and over, and not finding out until later on that he was a singer before he was an actor. That movie kind of freaked me out a little too.
Alan Rickman was just about the most amazing movie villain ever, in my opinion. But I really did like him best as a romantic lead. This weekend I watched "Sense and Sensibility" at least 4 times (they were repeating it on TV a lot).
Then, this past week, I found out something else. A good friend of mine from school is battling breast cancer. This hit me in a way I did not expect. I've known older family members, my parents' friends and my friends' parents who have fought the disease, some more successfully than others. Still, it shocks me a little when it's someone around my age. Not that it's less tragic for an older person (or a younger person, for that matter). Maybe it's just all of the cases of death by cancer that I've been hearing about that made this case more significant to me.
As far as I know, she's doing okay. I have yet to see her but it's always a slightly awkward situation, where I don't want to disturb but still want to support. No matter, I'll find a way. Because what's really important, anyway? Well, this is where I find out.
"When the nurses they came, said "It's come back again", I wasn't expecting that"
Alan Rickman was just about the most amazing movie villain ever, in my opinion. But I really did like him best as a romantic lead. This weekend I watched "Sense and Sensibility" at least 4 times (they were repeating it on TV a lot).
Then, this past week, I found out something else. A good friend of mine from school is battling breast cancer. This hit me in a way I did not expect. I've known older family members, my parents' friends and my friends' parents who have fought the disease, some more successfully than others. Still, it shocks me a little when it's someone around my age. Not that it's less tragic for an older person (or a younger person, for that matter). Maybe it's just all of the cases of death by cancer that I've been hearing about that made this case more significant to me.
As far as I know, she's doing okay. I have yet to see her but it's always a slightly awkward situation, where I don't want to disturb but still want to support. No matter, I'll find a way. Because what's really important, anyway? Well, this is where I find out.
"When the nurses they came, said "It's come back again", I wasn't expecting that"