Moving Again

"Without a vision of the future there is nothing to lead us forward."

These words were spoken during a lecture in my management consultiing class on Thursday night and they hit home. In one sentence I can sum up what was missing from my life in the past year. I had lost my concept of a future for myself. I did not have a direction. I did not have a vision and so I was lost in the darkness that is just being "here". In the past few weeks a view of the future has been emerging in my brain. I applied for graduation. I conceded that being close to my family - especially my nephew and niece - is important to me. I discovered some new professional paths to explore. And so I have regained my vision and for the first time in ages I have shaken free of some of my inertia and begun to move again. It feels great.

TIFF Sniff*

So the Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing causing me to stay up too late watching red carpet coverage on STAR! TV. It also makes me sad to realize that my boy Ben Affleck (looking better than he has in ages!) is IN the city and I am not. Oh the injustice.

Shoot 'Em Up -movie review

There are moments in movie-making when you just get to see something that takes entertainment to the far corners of what it can be. A film that really refuses to be serious, demanding, or even realistic. A film that invigorates you with style, action and sexiness. A film that aspires to be nothing but an 80-minute rocking adventure that never stops. And this year that film is Shoot'em Up Shoot'Em Up is exactly what it says it is. The film runs for 82 minutes and fills every frame with a hail of bullets. Each scene endeavours to create more creative and elaborate gun fights. Gunfights in a factory. Gunfights in stairwells. Gunfights during a car chase. Gunfights while skydiving. Gunfights during a wicked hot sex scene. Gunfights without a gun! This may sound silly, redundant even, but if you can release your grasp on reality and enjoy the Looney Tunes hyperbole of it all then it is intensely satisfying.

The "story" follows a reluctant hero who ends up playing saviour to a newborn infant that is the target of assassins trying to cover-up a nasty T-cell breeding scheme. See? Craziness! But technically the film is impeccable. What could have been a B-flick yawn is a rock'n'roll-fueled rollercoster. The lighting and set design are inventive and effective. To be fair, the movie is MY kind of film as many of the technical elements were done by people who had worked on other films I enjoyed immensely (the editor from Blade 2, Out of Sight's production designer, sound guys from Underworld).

The chosen actors are impeccable for their roles. Clive Owen is perfectly cast as a rugged and reluctant hero with a penchant for carrots and creative gunplay. Few actors can blend his charisma, cool and charm in such over-the-top surroundings. Leading the chase against the Clive is a Paul Giamatti - exchanging his loser image for a bit of creepy instead. Third in the mix is Moncia Bellucci as a hooker with a very special talent and a very golden heart. And so the three collide in a series of near escapes and by the end of it all the justice is dispensed, the future looks bright and the body count is high.

The Next Generation

I received this new picture today of the next generation in my family. It is interesting to not be the bottom rung of the family ladder anymore. It is also fun that they are all so amazingly cute, adorable, sweet and all those other adjectives used to describe children when you love them very much!


Who they are (clockwise): Taggart (my nephew), Maebe (my niece) & Mathilda (my cousin Meaghan's girl which makes her my first cousin once removed - I think!)

Model Tag

This my nephew in his second Sears modelling gig. He is clearly demonstrating the awesome fun of the Dora plane ... OK - he's actually pointing at the toy next to him like IT is more interesting but he can't be doing everything perfect.

You can see the actual ad at Sears online.

Why Matt Damon Rules!

Matt Damon is definately one of the greatest actors of his generation. He is undeniably talented and attractive. He is ripe with star power and balanced with real-life humbleness. And then you see the movie Eurotrip (shut up! it is a fun movie!) and it contains the BEST Matt Damon cameo of all time.

Check it HERE!

When was the Last Time you were Awake for 24hrs?

If you are me, that question would be answered with "this weekend" and in spite of the tiredness it induced it was great fun and totally unexpected. I love those moments in your life when things just keep rolling and all you can do is try to keep up. The past week was a busy one - I was on the road training staff and that can be exhausting. As it turns out my travels took me to Edmundston, NB for a couple of days. What a cute little town it is. It also has a video store with the BEST sales (3 for $15) on previously-viewed movies so I was a very happy camper.

After all the training was done I had my 8 hour drive on Saturday back home. I got up at 8am and was on the road by 9 - a big feat for me, especially on a weekend! My plan included a pit stop in Shediac to visit an great friend with a fabulous place on the beach. What a wonderful day to spend outside on the coast. OK - it WAS a little bit sweaty but I was playing bocci ball so I was being (sorta) active! After some laughs and some beer it was time to hit the road again - don't worry I was responsible! It was very tempting to stay and enjoy the sure-to-be-excellent food and the beach bonfire but I had elswhere to be!

So back to HFX in order to slip into a dress, do some makeup and head over to a wine & cheese party for the night. What a great event. The premise is that everyone brings a bottle of wine but keeps the identity hidden. So you spend the night trying wines with no notions about them. This allows you try things you might not normally and get monumentally drunk without thinking about it. The atmosphere was perfect and the crowd was in for a good time. I could not have had more fun. But of course it can't stop there so I had to host a little post-party to keep things interesting and keep me awake until the next 8am. Thus ... my 24hrs. WHEW!

Reality Bites

Just an FYI that my apartment is a "... den of slack" and I am SO unproductive there it is crazy. It is like my brain melts and falls out of my ears when I get home. This is not to say that I dislike my apartment - I actually really like my hobbit-hole as my personal space - but man, I cannot work in it! I need to find an inspiration space. I need a go-to location to be useful. I wonder where that could be?