How Cruel

You know, junk mail is a reality these days. It is pointless to hide from the onslaught of useless messages designed to clog your inbox and make you feel like un uneducated pervert. And then there are the virus messages waiting to release evil into your machine. I don't always catch those because I know (of) SO many random people in the world that anyone may be trying to contact me. But tonight I got this message and it is the worst. Why would somebody send you something like this? I can't wait to see what my next virus check reveals.

Raye,

You won't know me from this email address but I just had to confess that I find you impossibly sexy.

I have had a huge crush on you for the longest time.

You are really beautiful and I thought someone should tell you.

That's it. I just had to get it out.

-T

Then again, I don't get many (ANY?) anonymous love letters so maybe it isn't so bad. Has anyone else been loved from afar by T?

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air…”

This is me sitting on the deck at a friend's place on the seashore. Don't you just love the term: seashore. Time to sell sea shells...

Actually, this particular coast is not the open sea. It is really Shediac Bay - a part of the Northumberland Strait - on the coast of New Brunswick. As it turns out, my friend's family has a gorgeous home there so that seemed like an ideal place to max the relaxin after two weeks of hellish craziness at work. And I was right. Two days filled with napping, swimming, sunbathing, eating, and drinking. I got to meet some new people and found time to read some of my long-overdue research (of course I kept falling asleep!) All in all, I couldn't have asked for more. Until the trip out of town and my chance to take a picture with the GIANT Shediac lobster...

Now really, what more could a gal really want?

One Boat

Every once in awhile I take a picture that I really like because it happens to work out WAY better than I expected. It used to happen more often with my old film camera because the time delay of developiing would always yield surprises - not to mention nifty light effects.

This one was captured on Ramea Island, NFLD in the middle of the day. The boat was floating in the bay in a swath of bright sunshine. My digital captured it in this B&W format and I love it.

New Found Land

On my first day in Newfoundland I came across a man selling stuffed foxes onthe side of the road. What an introduction! Thanks to my amazing job I got a trip to "the rock" that included hiking in Gros Morne, walking the rocky shorelines, touring the western coast, sea kayaking in the rain and hanging (OK-getting stranded) on an island of the south shore. I would like to write more but I think the pictures will speak for themselves. The ones below are my favourites. They capture the reality of NFLD = lotsa rock surrounded by the ocean!

Shakespeare and the zsa zsa zu

Went to see Shakespeare by the Sea tonight. I love plays in the park. This year's performance was Much Ado About Nothing - fastly becoming one of my favourites. I know it is a simple play but I love me some Beatrice & Benedick. For me, it is those two characters that make the play what it is. They have the best speeches and funniest moments. They just go to show that you never know with whom you will find connection.

Later that night I was watching a "Sex and the City" rerun. It was the one where the gals head out to the Hamptons for a wedding and Carrie runs into Berger - her long-standing crush. The point of the episode is a discussion of the zsa zsa zu - that feeling you get in your tummy when you think about a certain someone. That little flip your insides do when you kiss a certain someone. And again, like Beatrice and Benedick, that someone may not be what you expect.

Both were fitting stories for me this week as I flit around with my own series of butterflies. And you never know from whom they will come. It's something special when someone touches you. That's what you call the zsa zsa zu!

Scoop - movie review

Sometimes a sweet diversion is the best form of entertainment. You don't always want a heavy meal of movie. Sometimes a frothy souffle of celluloid is good enough. And if that is the case, then Scoop is a delightful serving.

Woody Allen has never been one of my favourites but I do enjoy the feeling of whimsy his films occassionally possess. For me, the draw to Scoop came in the two yummy packages of Scarlett Johansson and Hugh Jackman. Originally I felt this pairing to be odd but Johansson has an incredible ability to remind you why ANY many would find her pleasing. In the case of Jackman you are reminded how fabulous the man looks in jeans!

The scoop on Scoop is simple. After Johansson receives a journalistic tip from the great beyond during a magic trick performed by Splendini (Allen) she sets off to prove that Jackman is the infamous Tarot Card Killer. Of course miscommunications, silly hi-jinks, and black humour commences. The proceedings are puncutated with the banter of Allen and Johansson and float along on a jaunty Tchaikovsky score.

In the end, very little is surprising or complicate. In fact, the straight-forwardness of the story is almost laughable. Still, you cannot expect a better treat then the dance the three actors perform around each other. And sometimes 90 minutes of fluff totally hits the spot.

Miami Vice - movie review

Loving Micheal Mann movies is seldom difficult. If you are at all impressed by complex stories, flawed and intriguing characters and stimulating visuals then he is your guy. Afterall, he gave us (as writer and director) Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Ali, The Insider, and Collateral in the last decade. He brought us DeNiro & Pacino on the screen together. He provided us with the Oscar-nominated performances of a softened Russell Crowe and a grittier Tom Cruise. And, most notably, he is the master of - let's call it - operatic violence. So when he decided to go all George Lucas and reinterpret his TV show "Miami Vice" I was game for the experience.

In truth, I was hoping that Vice would be alot like Heat but it is more like Collateral. The use of hi-def video puts the rough touch on many of the scenes but I admit it is not my taste. Between the grainy closeups, Mann has added sparkling shots of Miami and Columbia that are travel-channel worthy. The juxtaposition is jarring but sets up the riches versus realtiy struggle for the undercover team. As well, by keeping the film away from an overall glossy shine, Mann firmly establishes that this is not the 80s Vice. Then again....

It has been a loooong time since a movie revolved around drug trafficking in this way. The storyline is vintage drug war crime. However, the point of the story is a bit murky. After a panicked call from a past informant, Crockett (Colin Farrell) & Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) end up in deep cover trying to track the source of a Colombia-based operation. With each scene the set-up gets more complicted and the undercover rabbit hole gets deeper. Crocket jumps right in getting mixed-up in an affair with the exotic Gong Li while Tubbs plays the sidelines and tries to watch his partner's back. The movie follows a number of drug exchanges that reveal a network of Aryan brotherhood criminals, Ukranian mobsters, and power-hungry Colombians. But very little appears to happen in the film as it meanders through the action without any traditional story arc to ground it. The overall feeling for the audience is of being dropped into the life of these charaters and left to figure it out as it unravels.

On the plus side, Mann offers up his trademark finesse for violence. It begins with limbs being severed by a hail of bullets and ends with a wonderfully choreographed gunfight. This is not to say that the natstiness is glorified. What man does well is put you IN the action. It is visceral and flinchingly real. When a transport truck smacks someone the tragic red smear on the highway is highlighted rather than ignored. By taking this tone Mann emphasizes the disturbing and destructive nature of undercover work. It also offers the actors a chance to partake in some excellent takedowns that had the audience in my viewing audibly impressed.

Beyond this aspect is the casting. Taking over the roles of two cheezy icons cannot be easy but Mann has assembled a great pair in Farrell and Foxx. The hotness factor of these two men is undeniable and Mann offers the ladies plenty of shower scene goodness and lingering looks. Like most Mann films the relationships are central and that trend is continued here with both the professional and personal partnerships being plot point drivers. Unfortunately, neither actor is given much to do beyond the visual. Farrell has some horrible lines that land with big thuds. Foxx is given so little to do he becomes almost inconsequential. Tood bad considering both men have proven to have depth in the past.

When the cover is lifted, Vice fits the Mann model but is a weak example. All the pieces are present but they are not constructed as solidly as past efforts. As a diversion the film is buzz-worthy but it will hardly blow your mind.

A Change of Scenery

I moved into my new apartment this week. It is, admittedly, a little "hobbit=like" if you happen to be one of the 6-foot guys that helped me move. If you are me - it works out just fine. I LOVE my new place. It is a basement apartment in a private home and I couldn't have asked for a better deal. It has yellow walls that I find very cheery and lotsa space to fit my stuff. It is a bit short on the closet space but maybe that is because I have TOO many clothes! Check out the general living space below.

I am also pysched about my new neighbourhood. Although my apartment is actually nestled in a residental-family-land it is only a stone's throw away from Quinpool Road. This district of Halifax is best described as "eclectic". It is also where you will find my favourite Greek restaurant; the best fish'n'chips in the city; the infinitely fun Clay Cafe; the specialty movie theater; a greasy spoon that makes extraordinary milkshakes; an organic grocery store; a fantastic alternative book shop; the awesome Video Difference and more I have yet to discover. Can you tell I'm satisfied. Stop by anytime!

Atlantic Anniversary

Can you believe that I have been living on the east coast for a year already? Where did the time go? Interestingly, I am NOWHERE near the original path I commenced when I came out here. As it turns out I will likely be here for another year ... at least! And I have learned a few things about this side of our great country.

1 - own an umbrella ... a big one, like, size of a tent big.
2 - accept the humidity because it will never go away and you will look like Monica Geller in the Bahamas for months!
3 - swimming in the ocean can actually be fun and the beaches are gorgeous
4 - never try to out drink a newfie (and don't think you can best a caper either)
5 - If you come "from away" you will always be from away (this applies within the region as well in that if you are not from the rock you never will be; if you are not from the shore you never will be; if you are not from the island you never will be and if you are not from the cape you never will be)
6 - the chance to take pictures from "Look Offs" and drive over "Speed Humps"
7 - finding ways to avoid the Armadale Rotary (Roundabout?) in Halifax
8 - you will meet and be hosted by the NICEST and FRIENDLIEST people you will ever meet - seriously!