*Poke, poke* Ex Machina

"Hey, James!" Poke, poke.  "Wake up!"

Theresa treats James like a toy.  If she's there, then he should be ready to play.  Celina tried to stop her, but she is relentless.

Was so relieved that when he woke up he wasn't screaming.

Theresa says she still feels a bit responsible / guilty about James coming early (she'd heard the due date and said it would be better if he came before Mar 1, then he could go to school earlier and be done faster...)  I told her it's alright -- see, James is fine now... (not that it's been a cake walk... and I'm not sure I'd want him to start earlier etc. )

She looks at me like I'm crazy... or more likely, "he's doing fine, but look at you!"  I know, I know, even if I feel better, I don't look it.


Anyway, it was a tiring day.  James wanted to eat every 2 hours so little else was done, but I managed at least to get his medicine down.  I think he's better for it.  (Much better than yesterday's screaming, and spit up right after the meds -- I was too worried about overdosing to give him more.)

Paul and my attempted a date afternoon / something normal (like before) and it sort of worked.  We watched Ex Machina through the EPL portal and were only interrupted a few times by you-know-who.  I know it annoys Paul a lot to be interrupted, but at least the interruptions were brief this time and we finished the movie!  (We both liked it though we had different interpretations about the meaning of the ending.)

(Left: "Bunny, protect me!")

When you see this face (below) (and not just the crying /screaming version) it certainly doesn't seem quite so bad.

Mmmm...mmm...mamm...

He said "Mom" right?  (:P Wishful thinking.)

Rain. And Roll?

It's been raining so much and it's all wet.  I rig up my redneck downspout as good as I can and hope for the best.  (Who never remember to anything it when it's nice out?)

Try to also rework the living area for the play pen (thanks, Shauna!)... But things are so messy, I can't actually make it fit... multi-stage it is (again)!

Meanwhile James has been practising...








Come on, don't be shy.  Try again.

Our Dinner with Andre

There have only been a few times Paul has said "wow" about a movie (that I've been around to witness).  My Dinner with Andre was one of them.

He liked how natural it was.  And he wondered why we haven't heard about it before*.

I'm not sure that I "got it" though many points it made me think: about becoming a robot, about feeling things, also the panicky bit about science...

We laughed at first how for the first hour nothing seemed to happen and we were on edge.  Paul said he fully expected that to even out all that inactivity there'd be a storming of the restaurant and a hostage situation (that doesn't happen).

Instead, it continues and at the end, I'm a little confused, but also feeling like a whole bunch of things have happened in my head.

I'll have read the script I think to revisit it.

"I'm adequate to do any sort of a task, but I'm not adequate just to be a human being." ~ Wally Shawn My Dinner with Andre
* It was an episode of Community that got me looking for it.

Bonding

Visited Dad.  Again, I'm surprised at how relaxed it is.  He doesn't try to feed me too much or bug me about things.  And, I get to help him.  This time, it was to successfully set up the DVD player... so he can watch his beloved 007. 

Yep, with Mom gone, he can indulge in a James Bond marathon of any length of his choosing. 

I wonder, since these discs from Angela, Jack, and Jeff have Chinese subtitles, if he'll get a shock at finally knowing what's being said... then again, how much dialogue is needed to understand a Bond movie (it's about the guns, explosions, and girls, right? :P)

Anyway, we consider what might be different if the settings were set to Mandarin versus Cantonese subtitles.  I watch a bit with him: Thunderball.  They translated the theme song lyrics - that's impressive. 

(Though a ball of thunder 雷球 is pretty much nonsensical either way - or does it make sense if I actually watch the movie?)

Love is a Gnu (and other things from the week)

Mom left for China today.  I went over Friday to help settle things.  It was a chain of reminders (nagging) to dress warm, eat healthy.. and, most of all, to check in on Dad (even if he's grumpy about it).  I guess I nagged her too (Do you have your note?  Did you pack your medicine?). 

The rest of the weekend was gardening and cooking with a little bit of relaxing. 

(Right: Quiche Charts the next latest thing?)


We countered Mary and Max (the beautiful-but-also-so-sad stop action animation movie that put us on the "Eric Bana-naman" train of thought) with a lot of Canadian spy silliness called InSecurity. Its theme song has me hooked.




Also listened to a couple more chapters of Love is a Canoe. Not sure if I'd recommend it, but it certainly has some interesting characters to think about.  At the very least one character is an editor.  I can pretend I'm learning about the publishing industry. 

Dirk Gently and Carry a Big Shtick

Paul has always defended the short British comedy series.  Green Wing (his favourite): 18 episodes.  The Office (British version, of course): 14 episodes.  Things don't get stale.  There's no jumping the shark.  But even he thinks Dirk Gently was just too short: 4 episodes, 1 series.  There was still plenty to explore!  But that was that. 

We watched the 4 episodes over the week after discovering the DVD while browsing at the library.  It was silly, it looked great, and it was just enough like what we remembered the books to be (though apparently - not exactly). 

It got us talking about comedy again.  I'd like to think I've developed "some thing" since my Lessons in Humour, but still, I don't do a lot of analysing.  I wanted to call this series comedy.  But Paul countered comedies are about the gags, so what are these things that are about plot, but happen to have comedic element?  "Romantic Comedy", I suggested?  But that seems to only cover romance stories... so maybe "Comedic Drama"?  Is there something called "Light Comedy"? 

Wikipedia helps a little with articles on both Film Genre and Comedic Genres.  But I'm still going with "if it makes me laugh it's comedy".  (Unless it's tragedy...)

Skyfall - Rewritten

I borrowed the latest Bond installment, thinking it would be my chance to make good on the "Take Dad to Skyfall at the movie theatres" Christmas gift that unfortunately never happened (too busy, then it went out of theatres - even the dollar ones).  But, with the library return date looming, Paul and I watched it last night with no Dad in sight.  Ugh.  Not that he would have wanted to come over or anything like that...

Anyway.

Pros: Gorgeous Adele vocals for the theme song (which triggered a trivia session re: past Bond themes). Awesome look, exotic locales, explosions, good back story and character development.

Cons: Felt about a half an hour too long.  Maybe even the very last half-hour could be cut out?  And, while I was filled with suspense (yes, I'm gullible), Paul wasn't quite convinced. 

My rewrite: How about a 5 weeks earlier?  Sure Bond can't die, but that doesn't mean you couldn't pretend to try and introduce doubt.

Paul's idea: A spin-off -- The New Adventures of Bond and Kilkenny (the old gardener guy).

Yeah.  I think Paul's could work. 

Nonstarter

"Is this doing it for you?" 

I cringed.  Oh, Benedict, how not sexy you are in this movie. 

Paul had humoured me to watch it.  But though Starter for 10 has some really funny moments, it's still mostly a cheesy romantic comedy. 

Note: The awfulness of Benedict's character extended way beyond the hair -- and for that he (the character) deserved the black eye. 

Work and Recreation

We followed up Shakespeare with something a little less challenging for me: Parks and Recreation.  Somehow, this American series made it across the pond and has Andrew and Beccy's enthusiastic endorsement.  Paul and I are giving it a try and so far, I like it -- The Office, with better lighting, and Pollyanna as the main character, and plenty of wackiness.  But, you know, not like real life. 

In real life, in a real office, my auto-pilot was on and I ended up on the wrong floor -- certainly not surprising (eyes are open, but awake?).  But, it did reveal an unexpected new-office-benefit: An extra flight of stairs.  Yay, a bonus bit of exercise I don't have to plan!

Once on the proper floor and the right office, though, an unexpected new-office-guilt appeared: Olivia's office ceiling leaks. 

Some Things to Hyde and Reusing

Did the sunshine go away with Jackie?

We've had such bad storms.  Last night, my babies (the plants) were out unprotected from the twoonie-sized hail!  We could hear them beating on the sides of the walls and windows (um... the hail).  But what to do?  I didn't have protection ready and even if I did rush out, I'd just get hit too.  (Some mom I turn out to be.) 

Paul called me away from the windows (and my weather cursing), back to Jekyll.  The television miniseries' modern spin on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had finally caught his interest.  Catherine had recommended and lent it to us.  It had my attention from the start with the strange timeline and fast action.  Admittedly, Gina Bellman (well, her character) did take a lot of getting used to. 

Another storm severity indicator: Number of large tree branches felled. 

I saw one from our elms this morning on our sidewalk and dragged it off to the side.  Yikes!  It was probably good I wasn't out there. 

Finally made it out to the Reuse Centre to do some volunteering.  There have been changes including new volunteers must be part of a group.  While I don't agree with the policy, it was nice to have some company.  The other girls there were friendly and I had the nice feeling of being not completely alone, but at the same time not involved in anything complicated. 

Back at home, I showed Paul my loot: Different versions of TriBond (one of his favourites)!  And then told him about Bible TriBond - the version so crazy I didn't think we'd actually play and thus didn't bring home.  Oh, he lamented how it was "the one that got away".  I just might have to go back for it...

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

It took five years, but I finally watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog! 



Yes, so behind, but compared to me experiencing other pop culture waves, I'm practically ahead...

Anyway, the songs were so fun, and episode 1 was rather goofy and sweet.  And then it was so sad... so, so, sad... eventhough I'd been warned (and Paul reminded me it wasn't real). 

In short: I loved it.  Paul liked it, enough.  The kids also loved it... So we'll probably have to start work on a "Bad Lamb" submission video to The Evil League of Evil.  I can't believe Coconut would want to be truly evil - I hope it's passing phase.

Update: Paul did not like it enough to watch / listen to the "actors' commentary", Commentary!.  Um... in retrospect, I'm not sure I needed to either, but it was still pretty fun.

Brits Talking and Updates through the Wireless

"... fondle slab..."

What?!  What's going on?  Andrew continued to talk and eventually, when a break came in the conversation, I asked about it.  And then he showed me.  Ah!  A touch screen tablet!  Oh, those funny clever Brits.

Our weekly Google Talk call to the UK was a little bit different this time with Jackie on our side of the laptop connection.  Beccy and Andrew were happy to see she was doing fine* and reported everything was o.k. over there.

She talked about a recent finding (Marmite is not available in the Brit's Store here) and our morning activity of visiting neighbourhood garage sales.

The latter was even more fun than usual for me -- as she talked to the garage sale hosts (and anyone else around), I would pick my way through the treasures... I enjoyed how Jackie's relaxed and friendly manner made everyone perk up and I was amazed at how easily she could / would talk to strangers.  It also took eyes and pressure away from me trying to make a decision.  Finally, after too long, I made a big purchase at one: Spoons!  Four tiny ones baring marks from Bermuda, Windsor Castle, and London**, and one with a golden beaver figurine posed in front of a maple leaf!  My excitement for them was baffling to the UK contingent, but that was o.k.

The talk quickly turned to the flood in Calgary and the photos we saw online.  The landmarks Paul and I had only recently saw / discovered and took pictures of were submerged / surrounded by water.  It looked incredible and horrible.  It definitely won't be part of Jackie's visit in these weeks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
* I wondered to myself just how hard it must be to have always one son so far away...
** No matter I haven't been to all of them -- perhaps they could be inspirational / prescriptive like the postcards I find at the Reuse Centre.

Including some things that are difficult to find

Picked up Jackie from the airport.  She enveloped us both in a huge hug and started to cry.  She was just so happy... and, it turns out, she's been on coke all day to stay awake -- the drinkable kind. 

Unfortunately we didn't have much to show her of good weather.  We drove her home while bits of rain fell from the grey skies. 

After handing over the two things Paul had told her she should bring over (Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and flannels -- things that couldn't be properly found here), she went to sleep.  I really hope she likes her room.  I'm having second and third thoughts about it...

Since it was still early for us, Paul and I watch The Last Unicorn - one of my favourite childhood movies.  I remembered certain scenes and completely forgot about others (there are songs?!).  There were gaps in the movie that I thought I must have forgotten, but it turns out those bits were just not there. 

Anyway, I still loved it.  Parts of it were cheesy, but parts of it still made me cry. 

Paul, had some comments for the soundtrack (performed by America), but wasn't moved.  Oh, to not have loved unicorns as a child!  Not all was lost, he now had "unicorn" to look up in Brewer's and that's something.

Chuck Klosterman made me do it.

Something so pop culturally significant to show up in one of Chuck Klosterman's essays, must be something I should try to watch.  No, not Star Wars (though it's been featured too, and someone keeps bugging me about it*), Heathers. 

Paul and I sat through it, cringing (remembering pop culturally significant doesn't necessarily mean good or that I'd like it) and then laughing at some witty remark or surreal moment.  The movie wasn't bad, just dated and made me ask "Why was it so popular?"  Perhaps, I've been spoiled by Mean Girls.  Despite both similarly examining, in an entertaining way, female social dynamics in high school, it's slicker, funnier, with a family friendly message and easier to swallow humour make it much easier to talk about and recommend than the dark and twisted one from the eighties.  Both, however, were pretty thought provoking...

Anyway, I guess I'm glad I watched it.  There were some really good quotes** from it, and now I know where "What is your damage?" comes from. 
--------------------------------------------------

* But think how that makes me a perfect guest on "I've Never Seen Star Wars".

** My favourites are here in case you haven't watched it and don't want anything spoiled: 

Veronica's Mom: When teenagers complain that they want to be treated like human beings, it's usually because they are being treated like human beings.

Veronica Sawyer: Suicide gave Heather depth, Kurt a soul, and Ram a brain. I don't know what it's given me, but I have no control over myself when I'm with J.D. Are we going to prom or to hell?

Veronica Sawyer: I just killed my best friend.
J.D.: And your worst enemy.
Veronica Sawyer: Same difference.

The Time of B.C.

Or _All Distractions_

There's nothing like an intesnse celebrity crush to examine just what kind of a person you are.  The google searches, the finding of the tumblr pages, the swooning over The Voice.... All are part of the the rationalisation: It's a perfectly good use of time to learn more about someone who is a respected actor, takes part in charity work, is smart and has interesting ideas (see a tumblr devoted to just that: http://benedictsbrain.tumblr.com/)...

Also, with all that extra crush energy and motivation, one can look for his less mainstream (but still incredible, meaningful, moving, etc.) work that might have been otherwise missed, such as the short film Inseparable* (I needed tissues for this one).



I've read comments on how his good posture make them want to be a better person, while fully ignoring the questionable morality of some of the characters he's recently played (the Angel Islington, Smaug, Jon Harrison).  I guess on this front, I may wish to have better posture, but it hasn't translated into something real yet.

Yet, despite the excitement, I know it's all just a distraction.  But at least it's a fun one**. 


* Commentors have speculated this was meant to be a trailer / show piece to interest investors into producing a full length film. However, like any good short, it's seems all the important parts are there. Though, it is fun to think about what the full feature would be like if this was the beginning or middle and not the end. 

** Is blogging a distraction too?

Consomme-ing Movies

Industrial Secret
by Gavin Gunhold

The oil companies don't want you to know
That the average car will run on
Consomme,
If you can figure out a way
To get the parsley out of the carburetor.

From A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag by Gordon Korman

 Paul's not very fun weekend continued. I tried to make his "meals" interesting with options: Five different jello flavours! Powerade and Gatorade! But, they all distinctly lack umami. You can probably imagine just how excited he was for some beef consomme.  Unfortunately, because consomme has high sodium content, he needed to ration the portions. 

To help improve morale, I brought home a bundle of DVDs from the library and he got to pick what  to watch.  Not sure if he knew just how much discussion could come out of both of them. 

Shutter Island

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller that at times seemed like it might become a horror.  The visuals were great and Leonardo Dicaprio was really captivating.  Admittedly, it wasn't Inception (released in same year with more award acknowledgements), but it was still really good.  By the end, I felt like I needed someone else who has also watched it or read the book to help interpret it all.  Or maybe I just need to read the book? 

Invention of Lying 

The movie had an interesting premise: Imagine a world where people didn't know how to lie.  When Ricky Gervais character "invents" it, crazy antics ensue along with some good moral questions.  This sounded great on the box... but perhaps I was just too skeptical when I saw its treatment.  At the heart of it, it's a romantic comedy, which may also have worked against it for me. 

The diet will end soon, and things should return to normal.  But all these DVDs... will have to make some time to watch more of them (or not). 

Vacation Luxuries

Wake up!  Get out bed!  Paul sprung out ready to go.  I rolled.  (Really? The baby crying in the night didn't disturb him at all?). 

He continued to sing and was probably ready in "seconds flat", but I had only just made it to the washroom.  I unwrapped the shower the cap curiously and laughed at its ordinariness.  Then I remembered: This is all luxury!  To have a special disposable cap to protect one's hair from clean,  temperate water was actually rather decadent. 

The water, surprisingly powerful (as if it wanted to push me to the other side of the tub and stop me from turning it off), was practically a miracle itself... as with everything else in the hotel. 

As it was Victoria Day (a holiday), we didn't expect downtown to be any different from yesterday.  Instead, after a very hearty breakfast*, we took the advice of a fellow bird-enthusiast photographer at Prince's Park and visited the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Nature Centre. 

We drove through an area that looked older but updated.  Warehouses had been converted into trendy looking antiques boutiques... just as Jeffy had said.  A bit further, making us wonder if we missed the turn, a sign told us we were there. 

I had fun walking through the Nature Centre, looking closely at the mural and stuffed birds to help identify ones I'd seen at home. 

(Left: The American robin depicted with a wide open mouth... intentional? :P)

Then we walked out to the actual sanctuary...  And didn't see that many birds at all.  Granted, they probably had better things to do than to parade around for us.  We could hear them. And we could hear the people.  This was a popular place. 

We spent a couple of hours enjoying the walk on the trails.  We found some wildlife and took pictures. 

I probably could have stayed longer -- it was a peaceful place -- but with it being our last vacation night together, there were things to do! 

Back to the city centre we went with the warehouses and boutiques turning into skyscrapers when I see a huge head! 

It's a good thing I wasn't driving -- all my attention was drawn to the sculpture.  I couldn't believe its size and tried frantically to figure out the "trick" of how it was made. 

So much public art!  That's one thing (of many on the list that had formed in my mind) of things I was envious of Calgary... even if it was a bit of a driving hazard.

Paul kept driving and we made it safely back to the hotel for a quick rest and early dinner. 


(Right: A Coconut substitute.) 

(Left: A modest meal heated up / made from the cooking facilities in the suite.)

(Below: A little off rotini.)













And we were off again! 

Q: What is the activity we only seem to have time for when we're on vacation? 
A: Watching a movie in a movie theatre!

O.k. truth be told, I'm not so keen on movie theatres, but Paul does seem to like the experience.  We'd managed to find ourselves with the time and means to go and see something we were both interested in.  Plus there was the excitement of being among the first: Star Trek Into Darkness had opened just this past week!

The movie was exciting to watch.  But some bits were a bit obvious.  Intense as it was, my disbelief still managed to poke through: How was it that everyone was practically a superhero?!  And then there's the coat!  Yes, he looks great in a long coat, but how did it make sense in the story for him, in the middle of a chase scene, to grab a random long coat that ended up fitting perfectly?!  Anyway, the main result from watching this is that my celebrity crush is back in full force.  Ack, stupid, yikes! 

Back at the hotel, as tradition dictated, we snuck up to the top floor to scope out how the rich and famous lived.  Unlike the Luxor, it wasn't that hard... nor as spectacular (a wasted view with large windows covered up by curtains). 

Back in the room, things got heated -- back to figuring out the movie!  Fingers flew across the  keyboard and we searched online:

 

1. Did anyone else see plot holes? 

2. What were they referencing? 

 

But mainly,

3. Did anyone hear what we both heard?**  Nope, it seems no one else did. 

_______________________________________________

 

* I really tried to stick with healthy choices, but the oatmeal had failed so horribly the second day.  It was glue-like and tasteless -- I could see that if anyone tried that as their first oatmeal, they would never go back.  It didn't improve much even after I liberally used the syrup grenade and added bran flakes for texture.  And so, that's my justification for this breakfast:

 

 

** (Spoiler Alert) As in, did anyone hear "My name is Kaaaaaa"?  And wonder why everyone else was gasping?

Sew Retro

Paul and I have finished watching the Bee!  We both agreed the best person won and again everyone was just so gracious and lovely.  The final minutes of the show gave a brief "Where they are now" wrap up that made it seem like everyone who took part managed to have something good come out of it.  Stuart - who Paul seemed a bit hooked on - was holding joint sewing workshops with Tilly and Lauren.

I've since borrowed a retro sewing book from the library: Sew Retro.  A quick flip through shows simple projects along side photos and illustrations of sewing history.  We'll see how far I get with this one... (an actual complete project?)

The Rest of the Weekend

Projects, Flowers, and the Strange Lack of Swearing

Me: I wish this visit wasn't so rushed...
Christa: Yeah, if I was here longer we could do some projects.

In between getting groceries and the concert sound check, there was a short visit from Christa.  I hurriedly put the groceries away as Catherine and Jaclyn gave a whirlwind grand tour of the house -- pointing out all the interesting "features" they've noticed (likely the result of alterations and updates in its 65 years). 

Christa's keen decorator's eye would likely have interesting project ideas, but dare I ask?  How different would they be from the ones I'd formed (and how much more expensive)?  And what about Paul?*

* Catherine's dad is also a Paul - I could imagine Christa saying, "What about Paul?" And does what she does in her own home - what ever she likes!

She brought flowers both as a housewarming and an anniversary gift.  How sweet!  I was embarrassed, thinking how it should be me giving her flowers since it was so close to Mothers Day. 

It ended up working out beautifully like a trade.  I happened to have this lamp (gold roses on black porcelain, probably from the same era as the black and gold unicorn) that needed fixing and she really, really liked it (and could fix it).  Perfect!  (My Paul sighs in relief that it's out of the house, her Paul...?)  And then we were both off. 









Sunday was something completely different. It was quiet.  I stay in to hide from the pollen and manage to get some chores done. 

In the evening, Paul and I end up watching Local Hero.  A rather whimsical and touching movie about that included a very young Peter Capaldi.  It was so strange to see Malcolm not yelling or swearing or in control, instead he was soft spoken, awkward, and kind of cute. 

I hope this wasn't what happened after he was turned down :P