“How can we dance when our earth is turning,How do we sleep while our beds are burning”
- Beds are Burning, Midnight Oil (this song has nothing to do with anything, it just happens to be stuck in my head today…actually, it does tie into my Australian film weekend blurb, so all is well)

Results are in: I tied for first in my office Oscar nominee contest. And I am now the proud owner of a $5 gift certificate to Second Cup. Surprisingly, I didn’t tie with my former nemesis and I beat him by a Frances McDormand. Take that York film studies program! I actually tied with a random, but alls well that ends well.

Of course I’m sad because Ralph Fiennes didn’t get a nomination for The Constant Gardener and neither did Eric Bana for Munich. But here’s hoping they’ll both be in attendance so I can look at them on Oscar night. I cleaned up in the cinematography, art direction, and best actress/supporting categories but I had a harder time choosing the men based on grudges and unattractiveness factors. But I did call you, William Hurt. Kinda disappointed that Walk the Line isn’t a Best Picture contender, because it “coulda been a contender” in another year.

I also wish that Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels were recognized for Squid and the Whale. And I must say that I’ve never heard of the song “It’s hard Out here for a Pimp” but I’m sure that just like Hustle and Flow, I’ll hate it. And I’m surprised that Munich scored a Best Picture nod, not that I’m complaining. It’s one of those movies that has really grown on me, even though it had a lot of negative buzz in the beginning, especially about the ending. But I must say, it’s quickly becoming one of my favourite Spielberg films (not that there’s that much to choose from). And while it grows on me, I find that I like Brokeback Mountain less and less. I thought about going to see Match Point tonight, but I think I'll go home and watch Crash instead. Here’s hoping they bring back the interpretive dance numbers to film scores! Okay, not really.

And because everyone loves a list, here are the nominees for the uninformed:

BEST PICTURE
Brokeback Mountain - Focus Features
Capote - Sony Pictures Classics
Crash - Lions Gate
Good Night, & Good Luck - WIP
Munich – Universal
BEST DIRECTOR
George Clooney - Good Night, And Good Luck
Paul Haggis - Crash
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller - Capote
Steven Spielberg - Munich
BEST ACTOR
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk The Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, And Good Luck
BEST ACTRESS
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
Keira Knightly - Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk The Line
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Dillon - Crash
George Clooney - Syriana
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt - A History of Violence
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Match Point - Woody Allen
The Squid & The Whale - Noah Baumbach
Good Night AndGood Luck - George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Syriana - Stephen Gaghan
Crash - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Constant Gardener - Jeffrey Caine
Capote - Dan Futterman
Munich - Tony Kushner, Eric Roth
Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
A History Of Violence - Josh Olson
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Don't Tell - Italy
Joyeux Noel - France
Paradise Now - Palestine
Sophie Scholl - Germany
Tsotsi - South Africa
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room
March Of The Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight
ANIMATED FILM
Howl's Moving Casle
The Corpse Bride
Wallace & Gromit
ART DIRECTION
Good Night, And Good Luck.
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Pride & Prejudice
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, And Good Luck.
Memoirs Of A Geisha
The New World
COSTUME DESIGN
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
Walk The Line
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Death Of Kevin Carter: Casualty Of The Bang Bang Club
God Sleeps In Rwanda
The Mushroom Club
A Note Of Triumph: The Golden Age Of Norman Corwin
FILM EDITING
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk The Line
MAKEUP
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars: Episode 3 Revenge Of The Sith
MUSIC (SCORE)
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Munich
Pride & Prejudice
MUSIC (SONG)
"In The Deep" From Crash
"It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" From Hustle & Flow
"Travelin' Thru" From Transamerica
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Badgered
The Moon And The Son: An Imagined Conversation
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations Of Jasper Morello
9
One Man Band
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Ausreisser (The Runaway)
Cashback
The Last Farm
Our Time Is Up
Six Shooter
SOUND EDITING
King Kong
Memoirs Of A Geisha
War Of The Worlds
SOUND MIXING
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
King Kong
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Walk The Line
War Of The Worlds
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
King Kong
War Of The Worlds

“The western desert lives and breathes”

And in a mildly related topic, it’s the Australian Film Weekend February 10-12th in Toronto. I wouldn’t mind seeing The Proposition with Guy Pearce, Emily Watson, Noah Taylor, and written by Nick Cave. Dan, you're back at the TIFF, hook us up with some free passes? If not, an Arrested Development marathon will suffice.

Top 5 iPod Playlist of the Day of Random Songs Inspired by Films:
Stay- U2 (Faraway So Close)
Magic Dance- David Bowie (Labyrinth)
Red Right Hand- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Scream)
Blister in the Sun- Violent femmes (Grosse Pointe Blank)
Caring is Creepy- The Shins (Garden State)

"The time has come, a fact's a fact"

“I cannot turn to see those eyes, As apologies may rise, I must be strong and stay an unbeliever”
-Walk Away, Franz Ferdinand

I love Monday posts because I get to relive the weekend. Although this past weekend wasn’t anything special unless you count me throwing up for the first time in 3 years and watching 7 movies on Saturday either partially or completely. I am the life of the party.

“The sun won't swallow the sky”

I was full of energy Friday so the plan was that Shane was going to come over and we were going to drink and then head to Dance Cave. I had unsuccessfully tried to bribe Dirk into coming with us by offering him solar power and animal testing (or more precisely, beer) but he bailed claiming he had to get an early start Saturday. So Shane and I successfully played Scene It and then Shout About Music. I won the first game of Shout by a landslide, but the second, unfinished game went to Shane, after I became too drunk to be either quick enough or coherent enough to answer the questions.

“Statues will not cry”

We waltzed over to Dance Cave, got near the front of the line, but were then told that the doors were closed for the night at 12:45am. Unusual, so we went back to my place to watch Meet the Parents. I realized that I couldn’t even focus on the TV, intermittently passed out, and then threw up in the bathroom. Although I blame the pad thai I had for dinner because I really didn’t drink that much. And I plan on drinking at least twice that amount this weekend. After Shane left, I somehow made it to bed and woke up the next day on top of the contents of my purse and pepto bismol pills scattered around my bed.

“As you walk away, The Kremlin's falling”

Being incredibly lazy, I watched the 2nd half of Kinsey, Troy until Eric Bana’s character dies (I didn’t ruin it for you if you know your Greek history), Suspect starring Liam Neeson as a homeless mute accused of murder with Cher as his defense lawyer and Dennis Quaid as the man who loves her. After watching this I actually realized that not only had I seen it before, but I own it on VHS- not to be confused with Under Suspicion starring Neeson and Laura San Giacomo which I also own and had completely forgotten about until Dan refreshed my memory. Aaahhh my Liam Neeson obsession of the late nineties…. And then I watched parts of The Truman Show which is always on TBS and I always end up watching the Christof parts. And then I sat through half of In Cold Blood before it bored me to death, Pieces of April, and a good majority of Garden State. I had planned to go to Dance Cave but then Sofia and I got wrapped up in Pieces of April (which sucked) and declared ourselves too lazy to leave the house.

“Stalin Smiles, Hitler laughs, Churchill claps Mao Tse Tung on the back”

We did leave the house on Sunday to join Dan for The New World, which I liked until Colin Farrell was gone about an hour and 45 minutes in. I was then left pondering how unattractive I find Christian Bale. Then it was off to Dan’s for season 2 of Arrested Development. That’s pretty much where my weekend wrapped up.

“Mascara bleeds a blackened tear”

Top 5 iPod Songs of the Day that are Making me Motivated on a Monday:

When the Sun Goes Down- Arctic Monkeys
Lost in the Supermarket- The Clash
Walk Away- Franz Ferdinand
Oh My God- Kaiser Chiefs
LSF- Kasabian

“I love the sound of you walking away”

“I can't wait to go, Back into Japan..."
-What You Waiting For, Gwen Stefani

Wow. When I woke up yesterday morning, Japan was a distant possibility and I was still contemplating whether or not I would make it there. What a difference 12 hours makes.

Angered at the fluctuating price of Air Canada tickets and realizing how upset I was at not being able to go with ticket prices raising overnight, I knew that going to Japan was my new goal. So, just casually researching flights and trying to restructure my plans to go for less time in able to afford my stay, I found an even better deal. But I had to act fast since the longer I waited, the less options and seats were available. Problem number one was that there is a 13 hour time difference between Toronto and Japan so I would have to book a ticket without confirming dates with my future roommate Eve. Problem two was that my parents are in Florida and I couldn’t get a hold of them.

The first problem wasn’t so much of a concern because we had discussed general times when I would potentially like to arrive in Japan. The second problem was taken care of by 4 unanswered calls to my mom’s cell phone until she picked up the 5th time with me in a frenzy. I relayed the previous day’s events- the old lady I helped and the running out of gas fiasco. Then the important question: “So it’s cool if I go to Japan for the summer, right?” My mom agreed amid cheers from my aunt and Nana in the background. Hopefully they told my dad.

My manager came over just as I hung up the phone and informed me that my contract would be over as of March 31st due to all the changes that were going on in the office. That sealed my fate and I immediately booked my flight. I got a sweet return flight to Tokyo for under $1000, waaaay cheaper than I had even budgeting, so I instantly gained $100. I will be spending the summer in Fukushima, living with Eve. I leave May 9th and arrive the next day which is coincidently Bono’s birthday so you know how pleased that makes me. And I will be in Japan until Sept 27th when Eve and I will return together. I’m planning on getting a working holiday visa so I can work part time and supplement my travel and living expenses. I have mad skillz that can easily be translated into the Japanese workforce. Here is a picture of Eve's yellow apartment, which is soon to be my place of residence:


“Osaka, Tokyo, You Harajuku girls, Damn, you've got some wicked style...”

That’s my exciting news. Instantly I started racking my brain for what shoes I would bring, what U2 CDs I can’t live without (October and Joshua Tree for sure), DVDs I need (Bail Out!), and what books I could bring on the plane to keep me and my short attention span occupied. I also miss the U2 concert in Japan by a month. Figures, I go to Japan and miss them by a few weeks. I love doing random things that are spontaneous and this probably beats everything.

So without further adieu, my favourite Mark Twain quote which coincidently, an awesome co-worker and well-traveled ex-documentary filmmaker recited to me when I told her the good news:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you
did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the
safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover."

“What you waiting for!?”

“It's not my fault, I don't care, I don't regret a single thing”
-You Can Have it All, Kaiser Chiefs

I have the feeling this will be a long post.

Firstly, what seemed like solid plans to move to Japan are now in peril. Air Canada prices have gone up $350 overnight. It doesn’t seem like much but to someone who isn’t very good at saving money (like the 6 copies of Bail Out I bought) it’s a huge deal. And it seems like a waste that that money may be the only thing standing in my way. I’ll be stabbing pins in my Air Canada voodoo doll. So I’m watching the prices to see what happens. I’d prefer an Air Canada flight because I trust them and they have nice sandwiches. It’s one of my weird flying things. Otherwise, I may have to look into flight auctions and fly out of Buffalo on a US airline.

I’m also kind of angry today because I just drank a glass of lactose free skim milk that’s enriched with vitamins A & D by mistake. Stupid work milk. I need some Bono to calm me.

“There's more to this than passing by”

Yesterday was an eventful day, right from the minute I stepped out the front door on my way to work. Literally. Just as I left my house, I saw an old lady walking a dog slip and fall on the sidewalk. She wasn’t moving so I ran to her. She said it hurt to move and breathe, so I told her to stay still (my first aid training is paying off), asked her where she lives, dropped my stuff and ran to the house. No one answered so as I was jogging back to the lady, a man passing by had stopped to help her and Leanne had just left the house and was running across the lawn. Her head was bleeding from where she hit it and blood was dripping down her jacket. Leanne called 911, I called the lady’s neighbour- the person whose dog she was walking. She told us she was 80. The paramedics were busy because so many people were slipping and falling, so it would be a while. We brought her into our house, had a nice chat, and waited 25 minutes for the paramedics. She was a nice old lady who kept apologizing to us because we were late for work. All ended well because Leanne and I had a thank you card waiting for us at the door when we got home form work addressed to her “Guardian Angels.”

“There's more to this than meets the eye”

Leanne and I were on the way to The Keg to meet Kate and Leanne’s other friends for a good-bye party before Leanne moves to Chicago. Not only did we miss our exit off the 427, but we started running out of gas on the 401 (these are major highways, if you don’t know). Leanne drove along the shoulder with her hazards on and we were kind of freaking out because we didn’t want to stop on the highway. I called Kate. We made it to the Dixon Rd exit and thought we were saved because there were 2 gas stations at the intersection in front of us. But then we got a red light. The car sputtered and died in the left hand turn signal, across from the gas stations which mocked us. Leanne grabbed a gas can while I hung out in the car as people honked at us to move when they could clearly see that there wasn’t even a driver in the car. I decided that we were able to get off the highway and make it so close to the gas station because we had performed our good deed of the day in helping the old lady that morning. So perhaps I won’t be going to hell as quickly as I thought after all, or like Kate said, maybe now I’ll get to bring my favourite CD with me. Maybe I’ll find Jean-Luc there, since he’s still missing. I also drove down Bloor St for the first time because Leanne was drunk. That was fun.

“Leave, I'll tell you what its going to be like, No you can never hold my hand”

And on Tuesday Shane and I went to see Capote. I really liked it. I thought Philip Seymour Hoffman was fantastic as Truman Capote. There were a few great shots of the empty fields that really stood out for me. There was also a picture of Jesus that made us laugh because we were both thinking of slapping Jesus some skin. Capote drinks a lot of gin in the film which had us both craving gin and tonics- until we saw the titles at the end of the film which said Capote died due to complications of alcoholism. And I’m sure that seeing the film led to my drinking Tom Collins’ at The Keg, which I decided is my new drink of choice. The ending of the film drags out, but it’s supposed to, since the Capote is also waiting to end his book. I liked it and I think it works. I don’t know if I’d see it again. I think the only film I’ve seen this month that I’d watch again is Munich, but my intentions aren’t that pure.

“And you can have it all, if that's alright”

So I’m back to thinking about Japan and all the trouble I can cause/get into there. And possibly in other countries as I also discovered that a flight to Thailand is only $700 from Tokyo. Hopefully it works out. 12 hours ago I was mentally packing my bags and deciding what shoes I would bring. I really need a drink and Dance Cave right now.

Kate, we should see a movie this weekend before you head back to O-Town. We can go to the theatre or I have several DVDs that I haven’t watched lately (like Kinsey for the Sarsgaard).

“I saw you on the bus, I saw your shoes, They fell apart some time ago, I'll buy some more in five years”

OVERRATED: The fact that the unlimited jar of candy at work is not so unlimited because it’s empty.
UNDERRATED: My current hatred for Air Canada. I don’t think you can even imagine.

“If only they can know or understand”

“It might seem silly, for me to think childish thoughts like these”
-Hotel Yorba, The White Stripes

The song of the day was inspired by this cool 28 Days Later outtake/deleted scene where the cast sings Hotel Yorba in a car. I never get tired of this song.

“All they got inside is vacancy”

I had this terrible nightmare that Stephen "The Canadian George W" Harper and his Conservative demons won the election…oh wait. I’m awake and living a nightmare. Goodbye everything that was moderately decent about Canada, or should I just call us Little America. At least it’s a minority gov. Goodbye same-sex marriage too (probably). Oh well. More fights with protestors again (I did get into words with an anti-same-sex marriage campaigner in front of Parliament Hill last year…). One more reason to leave the country. And I’ll just stop complaining about things I don’t pretend to even know about.

I did get out and vote, even though I didn’t think I was going to. But I really liked the NDP candidate, Peggy Nash, in my riding so I’m glad I voted for her and she won. And Liza Frulla lost in her riding, which made me happy because she’s the reason I am more than likely out of a job, thanks to her big initiative at the Banff TV conference last summer. So what does all of this complaining have to do with anything?

“I had fifteen people telling me to moveI got moving on my mind”

For those of you who read this who are not Eve, I am thinking about moving to Japan for a few months (May-September) and living with Eve. I know, you’re shocked. But due to the fact that everyone else is deserting me in the city and I may be jobless, what the hell am I hanging around here for? So I’m actively looking into it, found a sweet airline deal, and am budgeting things out (A Working Holiday Visa is free you say?! Ride a bicycle, eh? Insult an entire country with my crazy antics and jerk-like personality- now you’re talking!)
I had originally planned on possibly just visiting Eve in Japan, but since the future is bleak (and not so bright that I gotta wear shades) I’m thinking of making it an extended holiday. I’m looking into job opportunities, or actually, Eve is looking into job possibilities for me. We’ll see if I can part with my DVD collection and Entertainment Weekly subscription for a few months (if you know me, you know this is a serious factor). Now the saving money test begins. If I walk into an HMV and don’t purchase anything, will my head explode? It hasn’t happened yet (I meant the walking out of HMV without a purchase. My head has exploded previously when I have tried to grapple with the mystery that is the erotic allure of David Hasselhoff….okay now I’m lying. We all know Tom Selleck would beat down the Hoff any day with his awesome mustache powers).

“Well it's 1, 2, 3, 4, take the elevator”

In other more disturbing news, as if the erotic potential of the Hoff wasn’t disturbing enough, I can’t find Jean-Luc Brossard. No, not the Olympic mogul skiing champ, but my goldfish of the same name. I mean, I can see his little tank, but I can’t find him within. It’s only about 2 litres of water and it has a lid, but he’s no where to be found. Leanne lifted out the plants because I was afraid to dislodge his bloated corpse and have it touch me, but there was no corpse to be found. We moved rocks, but no Jean-Luc. We looked on the floor to no avail. If he was determined enough he could have slipped out of a tiny, dime-sized hole in the tank lid and was possibly swallowed by the cat, but she doesn’t even eat people food, so I doubt she would eat her half-brother from another mother.

Sofia and I brainstormed things that could have possibly happened:
-he jumped out and was eaten by the cat
-he disintegrated into the ether
-he’s invisible
-he’s in another dimension
-he’s gone all Nemo on us and is looking for his dad, French Canadian singer Roch Voisine (who I thought was an imaginary person in my grade 4 French textbooks until I was in university)
-he blew up and his particles are floating in the water
-he evolved and walked out the front door
-he became a rock at the bottom of the tank

He’s probably dead. He was a year and a half old and has lived in such fascinating places as Ottawa, Toronto, and yes, even Thorold. He lived a good life and I will honour his memory and not eat fish or seafood related products for a week (although I forgot that we’re going to the Keg tomorrow for Leanne’s goodbye dinner and they do have delicious crab legs). I won’t eat fish today, then.

“I'm gonna do what I please”

Shane and I are going to see Capote tonight, so that should be fun. I’ve wanted to see this movie for a while but have put it off since I’m cheap and lazy.

Top 5 iPod Playlist of the Day in Memory of Jean-Luc Brossard (the fish, not the man):

Walk to the Water- U2
I love Rock and Roll- Joan Jett (he did love it so)
Going, Going, Gone- Stars
Complainte de la Butte- Rufus Wainwright (for his French heritage)
Confusion- The Zutons (how do you lose a fish?)

“I wonder how long it will take till we're alone"

“See where looking pretty cool will get ya”
-Bohemian Like You, Dandy Warhols (this song is great for Mondays…it just makes me feel good)


Weekend recap! And I just dropped melted cheese into my keyboard…

Former roommate and adoptive mother of Puivis, Natalie came to stay for the weekend and engage in various outings including but not limited to 2 concerts, riding a giant Korean tiger, shopping, boozing, and an Arrested Development marathon.

Friday, after bailing on work, we went to Kensington market for some shopping and a late lunch. I found 2 sweet shirts- one which I bought that was of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence and the other which coined our new favourite phrase= Slap Jesus Some Skin which unfortunately was only in man size. Met the boys- Dirk and Shane- at 8pm at the Red Room for what turned out to be multiple pitchers of beer before we went to see Hard- Fi in concert (super cool British band who I am always talking about here because of their Kaiser Chiefs-esque nature). Originally we assumed hard-Fi would be over by 11:30-midnight, but had found out that their set didn’t even start until midnight, thus putting a dent in our Dance Cave plans. At the Red Room we had 3 (maybe 4?) pitchers and food, sat and talked about all sorts of nonsense and Dirk even showed us his sweet penguin boxers.

After many a beer it was decided that the boys should try to get scalpers tickets to join us at the concert. They couldn’t get any so we stood outside the Horseshoe pondering options at 11pm. Then Dirk had what may be the most brilliant idea of his entire life, or so it seemed at the time- we would go to Dance Cave immediately, get our hands stamped, leave, only to return later, effectively skipping the entire queue outside. We hopped on the streetcar/subway, went to Dance Cave, danced for one song and then left. Pure genius. The boys went to Dirk’s for wine while Nat and I went to see Hard-Fi.

“No I havent heard your band, 'Cuz you guys are pretty new”

The concert was superb. They really reminded me of the Clash live. So cool. They were awesome and played all my fave songs, and even broke out a key-monica. After the concert, we cabbed it over to DC and waltzed right in to get our dance on. After effectively dancing, we were headed back to Dirk’s to get Shane’s man bag and my copy of Eurotrip (which I left there again) when we came across the giant Korean tiger on Bloor. Of course, the only thing we could do was climb it. And we climbed it good. Here's Nat riding the Korean tiger...

And myself and Shane:
Dirk also sang a version of “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child, customized to fit the lyrics “I’m a light tiger.” I inadvertently caught it all on video. Here he is astride the tiger:

“I guess it's fair if he always pays the rent”

Once we reached Dirk’s, it was time for food- pita and hummos, pepper popcorn, and the piece de resistance- a plate of bacon, thus topping the plate of pastrami offered the last time I was at Dirk’s. All for us were decidedly drunk so after demanding to wear ill fitting pants from Dirk we somehow all ended up in Dirk’s roommate’s bed. I think it all began from some innocent steamrolling of Shane who had claimed the bed, and the next thing you know, there’s 4 of us sleeping in a bed with Nat barely on the bed and crammed next to the wall, me wedged between Shane and Dirk. I really am impressed we all fit in that bed. It was quite comfortable for a while until elbows moved to places they shouldn’t be, so I made a nest out of laundry on the floor and slept there until Dirk vanquished his spot and moved to the couch. And once again, Shane ended up with the bitch spot in the centre.

“It's you that I want so please, Just a casual, casual easy thing”

Since we were so lazy by the time Nat and I got back to my house, we watched about 5 episodes of Arrested Development and went shopping. We had tickets to the Broken Social Scene concert Saturdya night and met up with Dirk to head over to Kool Haus. The show was good. I’m not a huge fan in general, but I was impressed by the show. The lineup featured Feist, Amy and another dude from Stars, Justin from Death from Above, Jason Collet, and an assortment of other Canadian indie stars. I also got cool video of Lover’s Spit and Anthems for a 17 year Old Girl, my fave songs. The blue pic is of BSS with Feist.

We were so exhausted we headed back to my place after for more Arrested Development. On a sad note, I forgot to set my VCR to tape Peter Sarsgaard on SNL. I’m so ashamed. Although I did manage to catch these clips for the Pirate Convention, the hotel Room, and my personal favourite- Peter Sarsgaard’s SARS guards (which I can’t find online). I’m just glad NBC repeats SNL all the time so I’ll catch it later or download it.

“See where looking pretty cool, Will get ya”

And Stars are playing in TO March 1st and Dirk and I are gearing up for that.

OVERRATED: All SNL episodes which do not feature Peter Sarsgaard as host (with the exception of the Colin Farrell/Scissor Sisters episode which is my favourite).
UNDERRATED: The understated humour of Peter Sarsgaard. He’s witty and you know it. he would totally slap Jesus some skin.

“And I'm feeling so bohemian like you”

Wow. A girl named Naomi who obviously has awesome taste just hooked me up with this link: Mr. T's Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool. If you thought Bail Out was good...

“Skip town. Slow down, Push it to the east coast, Step down turn around , Push it to the west”
-Dead Disco, Metric

I’ve decided that my role in prison would be the criminal who the others come to to get stuff for them. Like, “I need a toothbrush to dig my way to freedom” and I would get it in exchange for some cigarettes or something. Except I don’t smoke so we’d have to work out another deal for books or protection. I could be the smart ass sidekick of the stupid guy. And I would organize the re-enactment of famous prison scenes from movies, the crowning glory would be from In the Name of the Father when Pete Postlethwaite dies (yeah, if you haven’t seen it you’d know in the first 20 minutes that he’s going to die so I haven’t ruined it for you) and all the prisoners light newspapers on fire and hold them out the windows.

“Touch down, look around, Everyone's the same”

I also discovered that our crazy old friend Nick Nolte who was last seen looking pensive at the Toronto Film fest (check out my September posts for pictures) was in a movie called Runaway Barge which I can almost guarantee is better than Runaway Bride. These are the things that I learn from browsing on eBay. And also that Eric Bana had his own TV comedy sketch show some years back in Australia called, remarkably enough, The Eric Bana Show. He doesn’t strike me as being that funny. We’ll have to wait for his next movie Lucky You to come out in theatres with Drew Barrymore whom may or may not be wearing a bra if the Golden Globes this week were any indication.

And Eric Bana (whom I may or may not have a crush on when he has ‘70s style hair) is delightful in Black Hawk Down which I watched last night, having completely forgotten how many people are in that movie aside from him- crazy old Tom Sizemore who we last saw get arrested again for using a prosthetic urinary device to fake his drug tests, Ewan McGregor who does in fact wear pants through the entire film making it a first for him, Josh Hartnett who I have nothing good to say about him so I won’t say anything at all, Orlando Bloom whom I’ve never really liked at all, the other Ewan in Trainspotting, Jeremy Piven who rocks and William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs who we know and love as Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter, and Ron Eldard who I like to think of as a handsome man’s Tim Roth.

This is what happens when I don’t intend to write a blog entry for the day: I just ramble on. There will be no post tomorrow because Natalie is coming and the weekend is full of fun things. And I have to give a big shout out to Heidi for expanding my postcard collection almost entirely on her own. Thank You! You're my first German (postcard). No thanks to Eve who hasn't mailed me anything from Japan. Okay I kid because I love. (not really- so? where's the postcard?!)

I may attempt a grand 5 concerts in 6 days in March: Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, Coldplay again, and Hawksley Workman. We’ll see. I only have tickets to two of those shows so far. We’ll see how many I can scam for my birthday (March 29th!). And then Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in April.

And in case you’re wondering, Stevie Wonder didn’t haunt my dream last night like Groundskeeper Willie.

“And all we get is...Dead disco, Dead funk, Dead rock and roll”

Top 5 iPod Playlist of the Day:
Personal Jesus- Depeche Mode
I am Not Surprised- The Organ
Town Called Malice- The Jam
The List- Metric
Is This Love?- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

“We're asking for too much I guess”

“I went out walking, Through streets paved with gold”
-The Wanderer, U2/Johnny Cash

Not much happening today except for my lack of a work ethic. It’s a Lazy (Sunday) Wednesday at best. I feel like a nap.

The good news is I found an awesome new roommate, Joyce. She is going to see a Led Zeppelin tribute band in concert tomorrow so you know she’s someone I’ll get along with. There’s a movie/TV show being filmed across the street from my work. I have a view of it from my window so I’ve literally been watching all day to see what’s going on. A lot of standing around and doing nothing. Exactly why I should be in the film industry. *UPDATE* There is a woman in a floor length purple coat standing near the tripods and light rigs. She's either Dame Judi Dench or a random bag lady. And yes, those are two separate things. I'm not sure which one I'd prefer. The Dame just brings back bad memories of seeing Bob Hoskins naked in Mrs. Henderson Presents.
Speaking of the industry, congrats to Dan who got a long term contract with the TIFF. In a related story, when Telefilm takes us over (so to speak) I may get a new job at Taco Bell. I will then precede to get fired by singing the random Electric Six lyrics “Fire in the…Taco Bell!” all day. I didn’t need their taco money anyway.

“I went drifting, Through the capitals of tin”

I also ended up with 6 tickets to see Oasis March 20th at the ACC when I really only needed 2. I hope they get in a fight on stage and throw beer bottles into the crowd. The Arctic Monkeys are opening which also piques my interest. And on March 22nd it’s time for Coldplay, followed by Hawksley Workman on Saturday (perhaps, I’m on the fence). And then it’s my birthday which is sweet. I love scamming concert tickets for my birthday. It’s a long standing tradition since U2’s Elevation tour in 2001.

“I went out there, In search of experience”

I did have this terrible dream last night: I was in the subway and it started filling up with icy water. And I mean the actual subway or metro, if you will, not the delightful sandwich shop. I think it was because I had lent The Day After Tomorrow to a co-worker yesterday (yes, I actually own it on DVD. I loves Dennis Quaid in a way only Randy Quaid understands ). I think the remnants of my distaste for Jerk Gyllenhaal came back to haunt me in dream form. Of course, the dream was only made more horrifying because all of the action took place without any sound but instead to the sound of “Part Time Lover” by Stevie Wonder. I woke up with it in my head and it’s been haunting me ever since. Now I know if you don’t know me you’ll think I’m making this up for your amusement, but for those of you who do know me, you’ll know it’s all true. Remember: I am afraid of puppet wolves after all.

Oh you know he's getting ready to play "Part Time Lover"

Nat’s coming to visit Friday (not Thursday) so I know we will get into mischief this weekend. And I may find something to pass the time on Thursday night.

“I went out searching, Looking for one good man”

Top 5 iPod Playlist of the Day of Songs I would Perform for Stevie Wonder if He Asked Me To (or he'll haunt my dreams):

You’re the reason I’m Leaving- Franz Ferdinand
You Are Not Alone- Michael Jackson
You’re a Woman, I’m a Man- Death from Above 1979 (just to play with the gender stereotypes)
Mowtownphilly- Boyz II Men
The Technology Song- Kip from Napoleon Dynamite

Yes, all of these songs are taking up space on my iPod. And hopefully "Part Time Lover" is stuck in your head now. It's what he wants- Stevie Wonder- in his plan to haunt your dreams.

“I went with nothing, But the thought you'd be there too”

“Sometimes I think - I might be lookin' good But there's only one thing that fits me like it should”
-The Only Thing that Looks Good on Me is You, Bryan Adams


A man asked me if I needed any help putting my lipstick on on the streetcar this morning. I said no, even though he looked like F. Murray Abraham. You know, he won the Oscar for Amadeus? Okay, who am I kidding. Maybe 3 people reading this blog know who my obscure references are. F. Murray Abraham or not, I didn’t need any help putting my lipstick on. And I knew it was going to be a good day.

Wow. Craigslist is really working for me today. Since we are in search of a new, fun roommate I posted an ad and have had 6 responses in 40 minutes. Also stellar: I managed to ditch Eve’s mattress/box spring which was given to Nayeli, who then gave it to Sofia, who didn’t really want it, so I posted an ad for a free mattress on Craigslist and got rid of it in 15 minutes. Sweet.

“Put those patent leather pants in the circular file”

Not much happening: Natalie is coming for the weekend on Thursday, and now Dirk will be joining us at the BSS/Feist concert Saturday. Shane and I watched the Golden Globes together, eating chips in my bed since my bedroom is about 10 degrees warmer than the rest of my house (I kid you not). There was some heckling but not as much as you’d expect and no surprise wins for anybody. Although I did see Cillian Murphy and confirmed the fact that Eric Bana is only attractive in a retro ‘70’s hairstyle in Munich.

“Ya we stick like glue”

First 5 Random Songs that my iPod Chose for Me in Shuffle Mode (I couldn't make this stuff up):
Splish Splash- Little Richard
Brown Sugar- The Rolling Stones
Superfreak- Rick James
Stop Whisoering- Radiohead
Memphis Skyline- Rufus Wainwright

Ahhh eclectic at best…usually my iPod loves to play Bryan Adams when on shuffle…

“The only thing that looks good on me...is you”

“I see the stars come out of the sky Yeah, they're bright in a hollow sky You know it looks so good tonight”
-The Passenger, Iggy Pop

The Golden Globes are on tonight, and for people like me (obsessive compulsive film nerd) this is the biggest night next to the Oscars. So, here is a recap of the important (to me) nominations, ignoring all the TV nominations because no one cares (except I would like the Sutherlands to both win tonight). And I highlighted the ones I’ve seen because it’s another form of list-making.

Picture - Drama
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Good Night, And Good Luck
A History Of Violence
Match Point

Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Mrs Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
The Producers
The Squid And The Whale
Walk The Line

Actor In A Leading Role - Drama
Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
Terrence Howard in Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
David Strathairn in Good Night, And Good Luck.

Actor In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy
Pierce Brosnan in The Matador
Jeff Daniels in The Squid And The Whale
Johnny Depp in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Nathan Lane in The Producers
Cillian Murphy in Breakfast On Pluto
Joaquin Phoenix in Walk The Line

Actress In A Leading Role - Drama
Maria Bello in A History Of Violence
Felicity Huffman in Transamerica
Gwyneth Paltrow in Proof
Charlize Theron in North Country
Ziyi Zhang in Memoirs Of A Geisha

Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy
Judi Dench in Mrs Henderson Presents
Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice
Laura Linney in The Squid And The Whale
Sarah Jessica Parker in The Family Stone
Reese Witherspoon in Walk The Line

Actor In A Supporting Role
George Clooney in Syriana
Matt Dillon in Crash
Will Ferrell in The Producers
Paul Giamatti in Cinderella Man
Bob Hoskins in Mrs Henderson Presents

Actress In A Supporting Role
Scarlett Johansson in Match Point
Shirley MacLaine in In Her Shoes
Frances McDormand in North Country
Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain

Director
Woody Allen for Match Point
George Clooney for Good Night, And Good Luck.
Peter Jackson for King Kong
Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain
Fernando Meirelles for The Constant Gardener
Steven Spielberg for Munich

Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Crash
Good Night, And Good Luck.
Match Point
Munich

“I look through my window so bright”

As for the weekend, I spent it completely sober. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that, thanks to the fantastic people who have been in town as of late. But I was so tired and I had been looking forward to sleeping in (since I don’t sleep when I’m drunk) and reading books.

It was still a full weekend- on Saturday I ran (literally as I didn’t realize how late it was when I was talking to Dan) to see Munich. I’m a member of the anti-Spielberg movement- I find him predictable, overly melodramatic, and I find that he likes to exploit historical events and he peaked with Schindler’s List. But at least I know I’m biased. I gave the movie a “meh” after I watched it, and it wasn’t until the next day when I had had a chance to think about it that I finally decided that I enjoyed it. I even enjoyed Daniel Craig whom I normally despise. Although I did find myself in the Seinfeldian (is it wrong to make out during Schindler’s List? Discuss.) situation where I kept thinking that Eric Bana was really hot, even though I have never found him attractive before, and probably never will again (case in point, The Hulk was on TV last night and he was not very appealing in that. Or I could have been distracted by crazy old Nick Nolte. Sigh. Ang Lee, how you disappoint me so). And in the face of a massacre of people, perhaps I shouldn’t have been thinking about how good he looked. Then again, if Steven Spielberg is going to manipulate audiences, then I can think what I want.

“We'll be the passenger We'll ride through the city tonight”

Sunday, Dan and I decided to have a mini-movie marathon of Good Night and Good Luck and Transamerica. GNAGL wasn’t that compelling for me, and we chose to see it because everyone says you have to see it and I often conform to filmic peer pressure. I was more interested in the behind-the-scenes of CBS television than the actual McCarthy era. But that’s me and if you’ve ever taken an O’Brien or McKnight class like I have then you’ve covered the HUAC situation and McCarthy vs. Showbiz in depth. And I am also predisposed to detest George Clooney. Actually in my French class today my sentence of the day was “Je deteste George Clooney.”

Transamerica was funny. Even funnier when you think about how many people leave the theatre asking themselves if Felicity Huffman is really a man. It’s not that hard to imagine. She’s very good in the film although Dan and I had a hard time keeping a straight face at first. She also talks in the obnoxious drunk man voice (“Bail Out!”). And her son in the film is played by a guy from Ontario, so props. All in all it was a good story and wroth seeing. William H. Macy is a lucky man to go home to man-voice Huffman every night. “Hey Bill Macy” indeed.

Munich and Transamerica are the ones i would reccommend and are likely to see again, in that order. but we all know I'm only watching Munich again to see if Eric Bana is still hot. And to see Geoffrey Rush because he always reminds me of the crazy guy from Shine when he mumbled throuout his performance of "Flight of the Butterfly" at the Oscars.

“All of it was made for you and me 'cause it just belongs to you and me”

We also had a resume writing workshop at work today, so now I had mad resume skillz if anyone wants some info. I especially enjoyed the section where you match verbs to your skillz and create dynamic phrases. Of course, I kept picking words like tenacious, fit, shrewd, flamboyant, and farsighted so it did become more of a mad lib game. I’m sure I retained some knowledge.

Word.

Top 5 Playlist of the Day:
Golden Years- David Bowie
Heart of Gold- Neil Young
Golddigger- Kanye “Conway” West
Silver and Gold- U2
Fields of Gold- Sting

”So let's take a ride and see what's mine”

“’Cuz I have friends and that’s a fact, like Agnes, Agatha, Jermaine, and Jack, Forget about that and let’s go into the story…”
-Just a Friend, Biz Markie (dedicated to Mairin because the DJ didn’t play her request at Dance Cave. I Tim Robbinsed him)

Continuing where we last left off with Mairin’s visit…

Wednesday arrived and I took the day off work for some tomfoolery with Mairin. Our day was to consist of shopping. But where, you may ask? Why, Honest Ed’s of course!

We thought it would be a hilarious shopping trip, and we weren’t disappointed. As we entered the store, our senses were assaulted with ungodly knick knacks and kitsch. I was in the process of informing Mairin of the last time I was in Honest Ed’s and Dan and I discovered the Tupac incense, when what should we stumble upon? Incense. But this time in such artfully and tastefully decorated packages with semi-clad black women and titles such as “Brown Sugar,” “Black Magic” and “Ebony Musk.” Of course, we didn’t hesitate to purchase them, as only good things could come of this. And we were right.


We walked up the stairs- if you haven’t been to Honest Ed’s, it’s a multi-level junk fest that covers two buildings, features clothing in bins, and large pictures of people you’ve never heard of on the walls (Liberace and Celine Dion are the exceptions)- and wandered into the men’s department. We were about to purchase some shirts so we could create gifts for people when we saw what was in the neighbouring bin- Men’s tighty whities. That’s right, underwear. We grabbed a handful of packages and at that point decided that Dirk, Angus and Shane, as well as ourselves, would get some sort of gift package from Mairin and I.

The fun didn’t’ stop there as we browsed through the 99 cent pants and the girdles. Then we hit the jackpot in the DVD department. Mairin had just purchased a wolf pocket watch when she found the DVD Bail Out (aka W.B., Blue and the Bean), a movie starring David Hasselhoff and Linda Blair. We dug through the pile and produced as many copies as we could find, along with a copy of a movie starring Billy Dee Williams (best random relatable quote heard yesterday on Everybody Hates Chris: “I feel like Billy Dee Williams when he finds a case of malt liquor”). Thanks to the good people at Dollar DVD for providing such instant classics. Luckily, I found 6 copies- one for everyone!

We also openly mocked religion.

“Oh snap! Guess what I saw!”

After Honest Ed’s it was over to the Eaton’s Centre to the Pickle Barrel for, you guessed it, Half Yards of beer. We ordered our half yards and some food, broke out the recently purchased underwear and got down to business with some permanent markers. Earlier Mairin had purchased some Black History pamphlets which contained “facts” that were neither facts, nor were they correct. We did have quite a few stares as we were decorating the gitch, taking turns on the boys’ pairs, and making one for eachother. Somewhere around here we broke out with the obnoxious man voice. Example: "Bail Out!" Sample writings of weird inside jokes:

Mairin: Make Out with Me, a picture of Mr. Beefy smoking a pipe, her phone number which I expertly drew on the band of the underwear (sometime around here I also forgot how to spell Mairin's name), Sweet City Woman
Rachel: You call this bacon? The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades, Apple?
Dirk: The stuff dreams are made of, Manscaped to perfection, a picture of a strawberry
Shane: Easy like Sunday morning, Play Out of Control: Take off your Pants, Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems

I also wrote everyone’s name inside on the band and everyone has the word "wang" written somewhere on it (as it is the word of the month) and lightning bolts. Mairin has similar themed pictures of me, and I have all the ones of her...

By this time we had finished our half yards and moved on to giant goldfish bowl size bellini’s when Dirk joined us around 6:45, 3 hours after we had first sat down. Yes, it really did take us 3 hours to make 6 pairs of underwear (the other two were for Angus and Meredith who coined the term: “Chuck Norris doesn’t sleep. He waits.”), and the drunker we got, the sloppier and more slurred the designs became (case in point: Mairin wrote upsidedown on Shane’s). We were pretty trashed by this point, having been drinking since 3:45pm.

With the arrival of Dirk it was decided that we should go dancing and we went to the Eaton’s Centre so we could all purchase new outfits and dance in the stores; tasks we were all successful at.

Shane met us and it was off to a Thai restaurant for dinner so we could hand out our gifts and drink some more. Dirk, Mairin and I changed in the bathroom. Mairin and I had a rousing rendition of the song, “Shaving my Armpits” and talked through the paper thin wall to Dirk as he changed in the men’s room before joining us in the women’s bathroom so we could discuss eachother’s clothing choices.
On the way out, Mairin and I stole a poster for Body Worlds so we could give it to Dirk later in the evening to see if he fainted at the sight of the plasticized bodies as he had in real life.

Off to Labyrinth for cheap martini’s, we met Meredith and continued in the usual fashion of being drunk and hilarious for the next 3 hours. Nobody really got their dance on- Mairin, Meredith and Shane danced to Michael Jackson while Dirk and I held down the fort at our table. And then Shane and I went and danced to part of some terrible song before giving up. After 1am we walked over to Dance Cave, but alas, it was closed so we bid adieu to Dirk and Meredith. Also many more instances of obnoxious Man Voice.

Mairin and I modeled our new gitch on the subway as bemused passengers looked on. So sad that Mairin had to go back to the ‘Skatch. It was like having our own little corner of Ottawa in TO for a few days. Oh well. Wednesday was one for the ages.
I'm still recovering from last Friday onward. I fell asleep at 8:30pm last night. I can't believe the whirlwind that has been my life between Mairin and Eve's visits. I'm exhausted, and for the first time in a week, I'm not intoxicated, hungover, or feeling any alcoholic vibes. But it was all worth it. Now I need to rest for Natalie's visit next weekend.

Today’s Top 5 playlist:
Lover’s Spit- Broken Social Scene
Walk to the Water- U2
Better Do Better- Hard-Fi
The Blower’s Daughter- Damien Rice
Try Me- James Brown

(I know, kinda slow and sad today…)

“You, You got what I need”

“I would go out tonight, but I haven't got a stitch to wear”
-This Charming Man, The Smiths

Where do I even begin to describe the past two days…

I’ll do this in two posts because there’s lots of pictures!

Tuesday night Dirk, Mairin, Shane and I met at the Horseshoe Tavern for drinks with two of Mairin’s ‘Toon friends. Relatively overpriced beer, but lots of fun because of the aforementioned interview with Dirk in Dose. On my way to meet Dirk, I was on the streetcar and I happened to look down and see a woman standing on Dirk’s face on a torn page of Dose on the floor. I rescued Dirk and brought him to the bar with me where we then proceeded to cut him out in a heart shape and pose for pictures with him. And of course, the usual silliness which comes with beer and a tequila shot I had done before leaving the apartment.

I "Heart" Dirk

Mairin hearts Dirk

“A jumped-up pantry boywho never knew his place”

There were some bands on stage, but we paid little attention to them, except for Mairin who took a picture of shirtless, hairy, sweaty guy on stage. There were also sightings of Degrassi: The Next Generation cast members, not that I would have recognized them, which I guess is bad considering I work in the Canadian television industry and my company has a hand in that show. Oh well. Dirk had to leave us because he is a slave to the educational establishment and had class in the a.m., so we moved onwards to the Red Room for a pitcher and nachos. And more general silliness. I remember laughing, but can’t quite remember at what. I used to remember almost everything that happened when I was drunk (except for where I live and how to get there) but I think being drunk for 4 of the past 6 days has shot my memory. Oh well. That’s why I take pictures.

“This man said, "It's gruesomethat someone so handsome should care"”

From there we called it an evening and made our way back to the other end of the city. I took Wednesday off of work to go shopping with Mairin, which was one of the most productive days of my life in so many ways. How so? You’ll have to come back tomorrow. And I have to give Mairin a shout out, because every photo I took of her was flattering, except of course those ones where she tried to make unflattering faces...

In other good news, the Golden Globes are on TV on Monday and Natalie and I are the proud owners of tickets to the Feist and Broken Social Scene concert on Jan 21st, as well as tickets for the Hard-Fi concert on the 20th. It’ll be a good weekend indeed, and I have just enough time to recover from the past few weeks of partying.

“Why pamper life's complexities when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat?”

OVERRATED: Degrassi
UNDERRATED: Heart shaped photos of Dirk.

“He knows so much about these things”

I opened up my copy of Dose today while eating some Skittles, when lo and behold, what doth appear? An interview with Dirk, by Shane, complete with a rather good picture of Dirk. Here's Shane's article form the Dose website (alas, no picture online) which was about viewers' reactions to the election debates.

DIRK DRUET, TORONTO
Dirk Druet is a graduate student in the University of Toronto’s political science program. He spent the past four years working on Parliament Hill while finishing his undergraduate degree.

Over the shouting of several bystanders cracking wise, Dirk Druet was able to finally give some serious commentary on last night’s debates.

“(Stephen) Harper made his values clear, but I think the others were able to expose those values as backward and too aggressive,” he said. “(Paul) Martin was successful at defending his record as prime minister since 2003 and wasn’t rattled by the others’ attacks.

While the Liberal and Conservative leaders attacked each other, they were able to differentiate themselves on a policy level, instead of focusing on the scandals.

“I think it’s clear that it’s a two-horse race at this point,” Druet said. “I don’t think (NDP Leader Jack) Layton did a good enough job distancing himself from the other two and (Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles) Duceppe wasn’t concerned with presenting any kind of federalist views on the whole.” — shane mcneil/dose Toronto

I'm on my way out to see the aforementioned people and Mairin. Obivous mockery will ensue, so look for details and pictures in the next few days.

“All of the things that I thought were so easy Just got harder and harder each day”
-Calendar Girl, Stars

Today has been pretty much a blah day at work, with a few exceptions: I bought Red Eye and The Constant Gardener on DVD, I am looking forward to a day off tomorrow to go shopping with Mairin for genius things (like Kuffs on DVD for $5.99), and the good news that Natalie is coming to town on the 20th weekend to go to the Hard-Fi concert and, barring that the deal that I have going on the down low is successful, Broken Social Scene and Feist tickets the following day. Yay! Actively bid on a cheap flight to Japan (Eve, if I can get a good deal, I’m coming your way), and I also ate a Halloween box of Smarties while listening to Stars (I must reccommend their cover of The Smiths' This Charming Man, if you haven't heard it). Today has been productive at best.

Nothing else much going on, unless you count the talking Napoleon Dynamite pens and key chains I played with at Urban Outfitters.

“The pages keep turning, I’ll mark off each day with a cross, And I’ll laugh about all that we’ve lost”

And as I was making my way to HMV, a man whistled at me. I was wearing my winter coat and scarf with mildly unkempt hair so I turned to look to see if it was me whom he was whistling at. Sure enough, he was staring back at me. He was wearing fluffy, blue earmuffs which moves him into the “crazy” category, so I take it with a grain of salt. It was somewhat refreshing because since it’s been cold out, the insane haven’t been wandering around outside my office and complimenting me on my wardrobe choices or getting into fights with one another. There’s one reason I look forward to spring.

“But I can’t live forever, I can’t always breath, One day I’ll be sand on a beach by a sea”

My social calendar is filling up fast for the immediate future, leaving the end of February a barren and lonely wasteland. Sorry for the lack of photos today.

OVERRATED: “Try to avoid shaking hands with people”- as said by the talking Donald Trump doll
UNDERRATED: “It’s a Sledgehammer”- as said by the talking Pedro doll, which I just found out existed today.
Both of these are owned by my friend and co-worker which proves that people actually buy these things.

“I ran to the window; threw my head to the sky”

"Creeps keep crawlin', Drunks keep fallin'"
-Rocks, Primal Scream

Ahh, the weekend: bidding adieu to one friend, welcoming another, karaoke, three people in my bed, Wayne's World, two nights at Dance Cave, and 5 hours of sleep since Friday.

Friday was Eve's final day in Toronto to spend with us before she left for Japan on Sunday. We decided that I would meet Eve for some shopping and a late dinner as she go toff her train from Montreal. After some frantic shopping 30 minutes before the mall closed, we went to the Pickle Barrel for dinner. Since they didn't serve beer in pitchers and we wanted to get our drink on early before heading to Dance Cave, we went for the "large" beer which we told was about 2 pints. They called it the half-yard, and it was actually, a half yard tall.

Needless to say, that amount of beer did not mix too well with my feta soaked Greek Salad and the 2 hard-boiled eggs it came with (which I tried to pass off to Eve and instead just buried them under the lettuce because so I didn't have to look at them). Somewhere around a quarter of a yard of beer left, Shane called and said he was meeting us. Already quite intoxicated we informed him of the half yards. But alas, by the time Shane met us, the waitress had told us to go upstairs to the bar/lounge to drink where they did not have half yards. Oh well. When there's no half yards to be found, regular bottles of beer will suffice.

"Strip joints full of hunchbacks"

Back to Dance Cave with expired student ID cards to get in for free for the usual, including more beer and one Marty "McFly" for Eve to Dance with. I also lost my very soft and warm mittens which I purchased at Dollarama. Some point after we stumbled out at 2am, it was decided that the night was still young and we could do with some more booze at my place. Wayne's World drinking games gave way to just Shane and I drinking while Eve battled allergies. Moving to the more cat-free setting of my room- which is also much warmer than the living room- we continued watching Wayne's World gathered in my bed. Sometime around 5:15am it was decided to sleep, although I think only Eve actually got some sleep. I guesstimate and hour's worth on my part, not because there were 2 other people in my bed but when I'm drunk, I don't sleep. I just laugh. At Eve snoring. And have terrible dreams about what were possibly animatronic monkeys with very sharp teeth who made the same sounds as Eve's snoring (sorry Eve, I know it was the allergies, but you provided many a laugh for myself and Shane).

When Shane and I decided to stop pretending we were sleeping around 10am, we discovered that pay it Forward was on TV, and decidedly paid it forward by watching the movie while Eve slept on.
Goodbyes were said to Eve as it was time for her to return back to Japan for another 8 months. I'll miss you! Thanks for the Hello Kitty toilet paper, underwear, kleenex and the memories!

"Ain't no use in prayin', That's the way it's stayin'"

And if only that were the end of my weekend adventures. But the year Aught Six is full of occasions to drink. Case in point: Mairin's arrival from the Sask for a few days.

Mairin, Shane and I thought we'd meet Dirk and the Good Alana (if you don't know why she's the Good one and not the Bad Alana, then consider yourself lucky) at revival, when lo and behold, we arrived there only to see that they had their license suspended. Ditto for Mod Club across the street. There was only one thing to do: drink miniature vodka bottles (thank you Shane) and make our way to Dance Cave. And of course, we had all been drinking before we met up, and I had also indulged in a number of wine gums, although they contain no wine whatsoever. We found Dirk by yelling his name when we reached the area he should have been in. At this point in time there is nothing in my stomach but alcohol, baked goods, and wine gums. And then we snuck into the long line outside the Cave by the surprise, "Oh Good! Where have you been? We've been waiting for you!" as we took turns sidling up to one another near the front of the line. Alana met us there and the fun continued via more beer, Mairin humping people, and one incident where I thought it would be a good idea for Mairin to climb on my back. Of course, I was barely standing upright myself. You can imagine how that ended.

"Dealers keep dealin', Thieves keep thievin'"

At 2:30am when the Cave was over, we wandered the streets of Korea Town looking for food, when what should we stumble upon but a Korean Karaoke bar with private rooms. Many drunken songs were sung with the highlights being Hungry Eyes (no She's Like the Wind), Mmmm Bop, and several other gems that I can't remember. But I did capture some drunken video of the event.
You may think that was the end of the evening, but nay, for we found sustenance in the form of a diner where everything came with smoked meat. So at about 5am I had a plate of french fries with gravy for breakfast, technically. From there I arrived at home at 5:45am, after not being able to catch a cab from Keele and having a weird man ask me for cigarettes on my street.

This is just he beginning and I wil have more tales of adventures with Mairin this week.

"Shake it now now, get them off downtown"