movies

things i'm in love with

it's friday (ok, i lied it's saturday, but my weekends are all wonky, so give me this).
in gearing up for my first Christmas away from home, i'm learning what that means for getting myself into a Christmas-y mood, without spontaneously bursting into tears. and what i've learned is that it means immersing myself in videos and tv shows and other internet-y things. so here we are again. things i'm in love with this week (another short version).


a friend of mine posted this on faebook, and i was reminded how much i love the perks of being a wallflower.

no matter how many times i see this one, i just can't. that's so raven. 

i can't seem to stop watching misfits lately, and as is true to my nature, once i get hooked, i need to know everything about everyone involved in a show/movie/band, etc. when i read that robert sheehan was in a duologue video, i had to go find it. and, of course, i find it's one of my faves from them - push it.



anddddddd finally a feel good. because who doesn't like: basketball; bradley cooper; channing tatum; and 2 year olds doing trick shots. just sayin'. 

happy weekend everyone.... hope it's spectacular.

things i'm in love with

happy friday! this week's been a long (and fairly emotional) one. it's been exhausting, to say the least, and i needed this weekend more than some i've needed before. on that note, just a small list of things i love today. not because i don't love lots of things, but just because i have a list of things to do longer than my body (and i'm tall), and i can't focus on any one thing longer than a television sitcom (22 minutes - not even an hour long!).

just a reminder that i should watch fantastic mr. fox again soon. one of my favourite movies in life.

my new favourite website - the dictionary of obscure sorrows... a beautiful site dedicated to words and the psycological interior which they mirror. in the author's own words, "A compendium of the aches, demons, vibes, joys and urges that roam the wilderness of the psychological interior. The author’s mission is to harpoon, bag and tag wild sorrows, then release them gently back into the subconscious."
and this beautiful video which gives you a sneak peek of the heartbreaking beauty that is the writing on this site. 

i'm sure lots of you have also been reading this, but forty days of dating comes to an end today. it's a fantastic look at relationships, people, and why we do the things we do. it's been not just an interesting story for me, but also provided me with bits of inspiration, and things about relationships and love that i think we can all relate to. and, if you haven't started reading, you come at a good time - the last day means you don't have to wait every day for a new entry, like all us suckers did. ho hum. love is something, isn't it?

david lynch's advice to a fan.... amazing.

see. told you it was short. sorry friends. have a GREAT weekend. 

hunting beer at the rio

it's no question that i love beer. i love all kinds of beer - light ones, heavy ones, cold ones, room temperature ones (that are meant to be that way, of course). flavoured ones, straight ones. i like my hefeweizens and my lagers, and my summer beers, and my reds. but i mostly love craft beers - ones that are brewed in small breweries, experimenting with flavours and fermentation periods, and all the stuff that makes each craft beer unique. i frequently take brewery tours on vacations (nearly every vacation i go on, i seek out the brewery to tour and see it in action).
so when i saw that a documentary on craft beer and cultural exploration was playing at the Rio theatre - a movie theatre i had been dying to get to since i've moved here - i was all cards in.
i had no idea what i was in for. 
the rio theatre is a movie venue in the east end that also functions as a stage for improv shows, and as a music venue - part of the reason i had been itching to get there. originally, i found an ad for improv against humanity, and was stuck like glue. 
so finally, when my schedule aligned with the beer event and documentary, i made the trip. 1 skytrain stop away, for a night of beer and culture. 
we arrived and paid our way in, to be greeted with a quick beer ticket handoff. i knew i was in heaven. the evening - organized by CAMRA - included a free beer with each ticket, in order to facilitate tastings with 33 acres, storm brewing, parallel 49 and r&b brewing. between 2 of us, we grabbed our 2 cups - a lager ale blend from 33 acres, and a vanilla stout from storm brewing - and sat to taste. those serving the beer did them justice - explaining the process and characteristics of each beer they were serving to eager recipients. 
the crowds line up during the 15 minute beer intermission.... for more beer. 

the film itself was a look inside the life and tasting of michael jackson - a legend in craft brewing. often thought of as part of the resurgence of craft brewing, and the grandfather of craft, the film was an incredible look into a short period of a man's life, whose passion was not beer, but in fact social connections, and the people who make the beer themselves. 
while the documentary wasn't of hollywood production by any means, it was an intimate picture of a man who did what he could for something he was passionate about, and people who he was passionate about helping. he loved the art, and the connection that beer provided within communities, and he did those people justice every day by aligning people's needs and wants with the beer community he knew existed, and yet hadn't been unearthed by a broad spectrum of people. 
what started for director JR richards as tasting segments for the rare beer club, turned into intimate moments with a wonderful man, whose passing from parkinsons provided reason for making these moments into a full length documentary. 
in a final cheers, the film wrapped up. never have i been in the audience of such a wound crowd, who spoke to the screen, with respect and affection (and perhaps a few beers in their belt). it was fun, and casual, and everything you would want a beer documentary evening to be about. i may have even cried a bit. 
so glad i went... and hope there are more events like this for the rio theatre and CAMRA. 

and, because, how can i let this entire entry pass by without a decent MJ reference. people.... did you think i would let that one go?

2012 in summary: moments to remember

last year i looked at all of the small things that meant big things along the way. this year is no different. there were a lot of big moments.

via
a few of those big moments were... 
best moment of joy: being able to stand beside one of my best friends in the world, and support him in his marriage to a really kick ass chick. no question. 
hardest moment of pain: not a lot of people know, but i spent a large majority of 2012 not really speaking with my sister. not that i think family items and issues are something that should be spread and shared to strangers across the web, but in our finally sitting down to talk, and hash things out, i was reminded of how painful 10 months of missing her was. and it was not lost on me, how important family relationships are to my life.
favourite memory of laughter: as ridiculous as it sounds, my favourite moments of laughter were those simple moments with friends - beading workshops with some ladies that hurt my gut from laughter, moments between jeff and i that no one else could possibly understand, in which we were both without words (even if we wanted to speak) over something so ridiculous, and a Christmas celebration with friends that left my cheeks hurting from smiles. and though so many amazing and hilarious things happened this year (when you stop laughing, you start crying - and it's so much better to laugh), i can recall those three moments perfectly - and they still make me laugh.
largest lesson taught/learned: that sometimes, we have to do what's right for us. it may not fit into other's plans (in fact, often it doesn't), but we have to do it. because our heart says we should, and our bodies need it. i spent 2012 hearing my head tell me to stay in place, things will be fine - with my heart pulling at me, telling me the opposite. i finally listened to my heart. and it's made for happy decision making. 
hardest goodbye: my uncle passed this year, and left a family broken hearted. we were torn between relief - in that he was able to dance again, and play music, and be his beloved self in heaven - and pain. 3 sisters (my mom and aunts) who lost a life long companion, and 7 nieces and nephews who are without their playmate and friend - lost an uncle. we all miss him whole heartedly... and life just isn't the same without him.  
my uncle's goodbye - collage of his acheivements 

favourite hello: i'm sure everyone has gathered that my lovely boyfriend's name is jeff. he was my favourite hello, because he was a reacquainted hello. we went from being friends long ago, to being sort of friends (but more the kind who you say hi to when you see them around) as he was friends with my sister, then he moved to  BC and though i saw him on one of my trips, we stayed sort of friends. then he moved home, moved to toronto, and we spent time together. and the rest is history. It wasn’t a new hello… but it was an important hello, in a different way, to a long time friend. And my favourite one of the year.
most important movie to me this year: the perks of being a wallflower. though i only watched it recently, it meant things times a million. it's words reflected so deep within me, and i felt so much more in a movie about a kid in high school, than i felt in movies i watched all year about people my age. it meant everything at that exact moment.


 “it's much easier to not know things sometimes. things change and friends leave. and life doesn't stop for anybody. i wanted to laugh. or maybe get mad. or maybe shrug at how strange everybody was, especially me. i think the idea is that every person has to live for his or her own life and than make the choice to share it with other people. maybe that is what makes people "participate.” you can't just sit their and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. you just can't. you have to do things. i'm going to do what i want to do. i'm going to be who i really am. and i'm going to figure out what that is. and we could all sit around and wonder and feel bad about each other and blame a lot of people for what they did or didn't do or what they didn't know. i don't know. i guess there could always be someone to blame. it's just different. maybe it's good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, i think that the only perspective is to really be there. because it's okay to feel things. i was really there. and that was enough to make me feel infinite. i feel infinite.” 


most important book for me this year: the great gatsby. every year there is one - and this year, there was no question that this one spoke to my needed peace in life at that very moment. 

‘he smiled understandingly – much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced – or seemed to face – the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.’


favourite song of the year: i'm torn... and because it's my blog, i can do what i want. this is a tie - between two songs that i've seen performed live this year, which solidified their place in my heart. they are two songs that meant so much to me - for their meaning and their emotion perfectly paired with the music they float alongside with. deer tick's 'goodbye, dear friend', and first aid kit's 'emmy lou'. loss paired with hope. pain paired with longing. and i feel as though these two songs perfectly capture what 2012 was - both painful and wonderful...

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.” ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower


what memories are you leaving this year with?