Mandi, Kelly & Me at Kelly's wedding....













At the Reception...

Blood Diamond

It is so difficult to describe such a powerful film. Blood Diamond is potent and moving; everyone needs to watch. There is so much emotion and reality weaved into every bit of it. Blood Diamond makes you think, not just about what is happening in Africa, but what is happening in jewelry stores all over the world. This film goes beyond the diamond trade and deep into the lives of ordinary African citizens, trying to make a future for their children.

Leonardo DiCaprio is brilliant. It is no wonder he is up for a Golden Globe (against himself). He certainly deserves it. Djimon Hounsou is amazing as the African father fighting for his family. Each character, including the reporter played by Jennifer Connelly, goes through an emotional change and life threatening situations. All the while, their lives revolve around one big pink rock. Blood Diamond keeps your heart and mind racing.

Night at the Museum

What a fun movie!! Craig and I just came from watching Night At The Museum. For those of you who don’t know, it’s about the night watchman at the Museum for Natural History and what happens to him. It was so funny. But with actors like Ben Stiller, Robin Williams and Owen Wilson, that’s not surprising. Even Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney & Bill Cobbs are in it. Night At The Museum is family friendly, with lots of laughs for the adults. It’s a great date movie. I know the critics haven’t been terribly kind to it, but I think it’s definitely worth seeing.

PS: Happy New Year!

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

I think this is my all-time favourite poem. I was reading it today and felt like sharing it. Below is a link to bartleby.com, where you can find more work by William Wordsworth.

A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.

No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Rolled round in earth's diurnal course,
With rocks, and stones, and trees.


http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww150.html

Beautiful Lies

Emilie Richards’ Beautiful Lies is categorized as a romance novel. I don’t usually read romance novels. This one was given to me as a gift. I was in the mood for something lighter; since this has been sitting on my shelf for five years, I figured now would be a good time to pick it up. It was definitely not was I expected and I’m not sure if that was a good thing.

I expected this ‘romance novel’ to contain, honestly, more sex. On rare occasions, I have read other romance novels. From those three or four, there is usually a lot more sex scenes (of varying degrees) mixed in with some kind of adventure. The characters in Beautiful Lies had sex, but after the kissing and a little groping, the reader was left behind.

Is that why I found the book a bit boring? Perhaps. The story was fairly interesting. A twist on the star-crossed lovers. Not predictable. But everything just sort of happened. The events were described in great detail, but you didn’t really feel like you were there, as with many other stories I’ve read.

Maybe a little raunch would have balanced things out.

The Da Vinci Code

Yesterday I watched The Da Vinci Code. It was incredibly boring. Unexpectedly boring. It was a little too true to the book. Admittedly, it is difficult to accurately transform a book into a movie. Things are left out; a book can be as long as necessary, but a movie needs to fit into a certain timeframe. I don’t know if Ron Howard understood that in this case. The movie was too long. There were good parts in the action and dialogue, just too far apart. The Da Vinci Code could have been a great movie, but over reached the mark.

Persuasion

Have they made a movie of Persuasion? I think this novel of Jane Austen’s would make a lovely film. It is filled with complicated characters, as well as absolutely simple ones. There are great locales and interesting relationships. Best of all, Anne Elliot is simply brilliant.

I love Anne. She is independent, opinionated, but sensitive to the feelings of others. Yes, she was persuaded in a wrong direction by her mother-figure, Lady Russell, when she was only 19. Eight years brings many insights. In those eight years, Anne learns romance and the ways of men and women. The language is thick, but the feelings are still the same. Happiness is brought to those who deserve it. Others learn life lessons. Exciting events and quiet intimacies make Persuasion a fabulous story.

Ella Enchanted

I just saw Ella Enchanted last night for the first time. It was the cutest movie! I want to go out and buy a copy. I know it’s silly for me to be sucked in by this nouveau fairy tale, but I couldn’t help it. I think Anne Hathaway is fabulous, so I just had to watch!

It’s loosely a Cinderella sort of story. There’s a wicked step-mother and step-sisters. There’s a fairy godmother and a handsome prince. Midnight, of course, is a special time in this tale. But there are major differences. Ella’s father is well and alive. Ella travels to find her fairy godmother to get her to take back her “gift”. She also doesn’t swoon at the sight of Prince Char. Ella tells him what she thinks about the state of the kingdom and his politics. We get to watch them fall in love; it’s not just marriage after one dance. So many things are working against Ella and Char, but their love conquers all. Sappy, I know, but I was really in a mood for a movie that just makes you feel good!

The Frontline Radio

Check out my cousin, DJ Ree, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2-4pm. He's a great DJ. I'm not just saying that. It's a good site too if you're a soca fan. Check him out today between 4-6pm.

The Frontline Radio

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The Unauthorized Autobiography
The Beatrice Letters
The End

That’s it? It’s over? I can’t believe it! I don’t want to.

During these past weeks, I’ve read the last few books involved in Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events. First I read The Unauthorized Autobiography. Then my attention turned to The Beatrice Letters. I couldn’t wait to dive into the final book in the series, The End!

The supplementary materials were good. I read the books in the above order, because that was the order of their publication. I wouldn’t say they were fabulous. You don’t really learn that much in The Unauthorized Autobiography. Yes, you learn a little more about the nature and practices of the V.F.D., which is good. You also learn why Mr. Poe isn’t more helpful. That made me a little upset, but also feel a little better to know that he wasn’t a villain. In the end, I would say it didn’t really unlock any of the major secrets in the Baudelaires’ lives, but it does give another perspective to the Unfortunate Events in the children’s lives.

The Beatrice Letters is a little confusing. It probably would have made more sense if I read it after The End but, oh well. It’s not like I can go back in time. It really does tell you more about the relationship between Lemony Snicket and Beatrice, past, present and future. It’s definitely worth it to read. It lets you know that The End is not the end of the Baudelaires’ story.

The End was wonderful. It did answer many questions in the lives of the Baudelaire children. Naturally, it left many questions still unanswered. It was an appropriate ending though, to the way the series was written. If it was a nice, neat ending, with everything wrapped up for us, it wouldn’t quite be Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. The End brings the children closer to their parents and further away at different points in the story. I really enjoyed it and hope there is more. I know that this is supposed to be the end of the series, but it doesn’t mean that Snicket (Handler) can’t write further supplementary books…or start another series altogether. While I’ll refrain from obsessing, I’ll definitely keeps an eye out for future word on the lives of the Baudelaires.

Wedding Photos from Allen

My cousin Allen took some wedding photos and just put them up on his website. I think they're great!

The Lakehouse

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves have a great chemistry. They played wonderful characters in Kate and Alex. The Lakehouse is the sweetest movie I’ve seen in a long while. Though they are sweet, Kate and Alex don’t get sappy. No cavities, thank you. They accept their situation and don’t try to figure out the “why” of what is happening to them. Instead, they let the situation and relationship grow.

The Lakehouse takes long distance relationships to a whole new level. Though there are doubts over time, it shows how powerful and all-consuming love can be. Yes, you can find themes like that in most “chick flicks” but this story is unique. It is an original idea. Something I’ve been looking for. It was nice to watch a movie that wasn’t a remake, a sequel or regurgitations of the familiar. In The Lakehouse you find something new. Though it is surrounded by the romance of the story, you find something that gets you to think.

The Princess And The Whiskheads

Russell Smith’s The Princess And The Whiskheads was simply fabulous. I loved Princess Juliana. She is such a believable female character. She is not a superwoman, nor is she a damsel in distress. Juliana may be the most beautiful woman in the land, but she has faults. This balance of virtues and faults are what make her relatable.

One of the funny things about trust is that it can be both a virtue and a fault, depending one how it is used. Princess Juliana trusted her advisors and the other nobles of the courts. She trusted them to treat the people fairly. She trusted them to do what was in the best interest of the kingdom. Then on her first venture into the city, she saw that horrible school. An ugly building, unfit for children, baring her name. She was horrified. One walk into the city and she learned so much.

The male characters were also quite interesting, especially the suitors. There is Lord Lucas, a handsome noble, who clearly wants to rekindle their childhood flame. Lord Bostock, the poet among the strapping nobles, also pursues the princess, as honestly as he can. Then there is Jan, the charming, mesmerizing peasant, a whiskhead. Juliana feels for them and they desire her. Will she end up with one of them? Who captures her heart? They are all present at the end of the tale.

Though the book calls itself a modern fairytale, I wouldn’t necessarily read it to young children. Let’s just say that there are a few “may not be appropriate for younger audiences” scenes. They are tastefully written and fit in well with the stories. However, if you’re reading this to a six-year-old, you might want to skip the word nipple (a couple times). It does have that fairytale sensibility though, making it a pleasure to read.

Hey Nostrodamus!

What a simply amazing story! I could barely put Douglas Coupland’s Hey Nostrodamus! down. It became one of those books that you think about all day. I’d be at work and find myself thinking about Jason Klaasen and where his life was heading. Jason was an amazing character. The whole story absorbed me. It was spiritual, even a little religious, without being the slightest bit preachy. I don’t like stories that are over saturated with religion. A story should be able to stand on the strength of its characters, not religion.

There was so much growth, change and trauma. Death ran throughout this novel, affecting the lives of this ‘family’ of people in North Vancouver. It was definitely a traumatic beginning and emotional all the way through the story. It starts with a high school shooting. I’ve actually had this book for about a year or more, but I just couldn’t summon up the will to read it. On the dust jacket, it tells you about how the story begins (though it doesn’t really mention the rest). With recent events, however, I felt it was time to pick up Hey Nostrodamus!. I’m really glad I read it. The story isn’t exactly a “feel good” sort of thing, but it does leave with some kind of satisfaction in Heather, Jason’s adult girlfriend and Reg, Jason’s father. There was realization and there was love with both these characters.

I’m glad about the warning, though. I needed that blurb about the book to tell me that people were going to die in a very tragic way. It kind of reminded me of a great book I read about two years ago, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I think it’s actually on The Globe and Mail’s paperback best seller’s list. I knew it was about death, which you could guess from the title, but it didn’t give you any clue as to how a particular character died. Reading it was shocking. At least Coupland gave me some sort of preparation.

Hey Nostrodamus! is just an excellent piece of fiction. If you want something that really reflects the way things have been in the world (at least the western world) in this generation, pick up this book. The characters are tangible and believable. They are the family next door. They are the people you meet in line at the toy store. There are dark, scary, depressed and lonely. They are also filled with love and possibility.

Photos So Far

This is what I could get so far in terms of wedding photos on my blog. I think you're just going to have to see the hard copies for people who are really interested. But it's okay. I'll see you soon :)

Wedding Photos… Finally -b-

Signing our lives away... I mean, to each other...
Below, everbody at the wedding. Above, the best man holding everything!
Parents and Brothers


We have the best looking wedding party ever!

I Love My Bouquet!!!

An amazing background... We think so anyway.

Wedding Photos… Finally -a-

Me with my Maid of Honour, Pam. Craig with the Best Man, JP.

Below, us at the entrance to University College at the University of Toronto. We love this picture!

Craig with our friend, Dan.

Me with Dan's girlfriend, the lovely Mandi.

Oh, we're posing again.

Wedding Photos… Almost! x2

I'm having a bit of a problem with the wedding photos. Apparently there is a limit to the size or something.... I think I might actually have to create a photoblog or something like that. I'm not sure what to do... Just in case I can't decide what to do for a while, here is another photo. I think we had a pretty attractive wedding party

The Turn Of The Screw

The Turn Of The Screw is definitely the most macabre of James’ stories. It’s good versus evil; living versus dead. It shows the power of trust and belief. The characters are so tangible; you almost think that you could go to Bly and help. Of course, you might just end up running away in terror.

The way James describes the emotions of the characters is amazing. You feel the fear, bravery, anger and possible insanity of the whole situation. Is the Governess crazy? Does she really see ghosts? The way she exactly describes Quint to Mrs. Grose makes the reader think, yes she does see him. She sees Miss Jessel too. The Governess must protect her young charges, Miles and Flora, from these malicious spirits.

If these ghosts are real, do Miles and Flora want to be protected? From there behaviour throughout the stories, it seems not. They want to play with the spirits of their former friends. The children also seem to be absurdly perfect. The have the pretty smiles and the gorgeous hair and the endearing eyes. They are almost ghost like. Their visage has something supernatural about it, casting a spell on the servants who live in the house with them. The Governess also finds herself under their spell. Though, it seems, she sometimes breaks free and becomes suspicious of their every word and action. Especially after she sees Flora’s behaviour at the pond, with Miss Jessel looking on.

Though I think they are brilliantly created, I’m not sure about how I feel towards these characters. Mrs. Grose seems to believe the Governess’s tale of spirits too easily. Yet, without her belief, it would make the Governess appear to be losing her mind. Mrs. Grose gives her validation. Perhaps, Mrs. Grose is just a simple woman believing the words of an educated lady. The Master is oddly distant. It is fine not to care about his niece and nephew, but to refuse contact with the house all together? The house does belong to him. What does that mean? Did he play a part in the deaths of Quint and Jessel? Maybe the unworldly beauty of Miles and Flora are too much for him. He needs to stay away from their unnatural splendor. The Governess also bothers me. She just seems too sure of herself.

I had to read the end a few times. I read over the last page three times before I fully grasped what happened. I knew I read it right the first time, but I thought I had misunderstood. Is what happened to Miles caused by the spirit leaving him and taking his own spirit away? Or did the Governess do something to him in her effort to win Miles from Quint? Was it one of those, if I can’t have you, no one can, kind of moments? It is still difficult to believe that was the end of the story. It was certainly a dramatic finale to a harrowing tale. It also seems quite fitting as to the story’s flow. I suppose I was hoping for a happier ending. Of course, after Daisy Miller and The Altar Of The Dead what else was I expecting?

Wedding Photos… Almost!

I’ve been getting requests to post some of our wedding photos. Here’s one. I have to reduce the file size before they go up. I promise to put some more up soon.