Archive, August 2006

25 Aug 2006

Venting Current mood: cranky Category: Life WARNING: This post will pretty much be a detailed examination of the things that are pissing me off today. If you're not in the mood, don't keep reading. First off - and this is an ongoing peeve, just exacerbated by having been almost killed this morning - what is with the drivers in this province? I admit, freely and with pride, that I am one of that minority that actually follows the posted speed limits. Am I old, infirm or scared of driving? NO! The fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter how stupendous a driver you are, the faster you are going, the less time you have to react to the unexpected. Like those of you who don't know what the little blinky lights on the corner of your vehicle are for. I am caught in a dilemma though - because those of you who want to do 90 in a 60 zone are courting accidents by cutting through traffic to get around me and taking your eyes off the road to curse and flip me off as you go by. Like the guy who wanted past me on Groat Road this morning and then had to get back in the left hand lane before the turn off to River Valley Road. If you happen to be reading this, oh macho guy in the giant red truck (and you know who you are, I'm sure), you didn't miss my car because you're such a great judge of distances - it's because I stood on my brakes and prayed the car behind me could stop in time. Jerk. So I was in a stellar mood this morning when I got to work - wheeeee, I'm still alive. I work part-time in a department of about 50 doing clerical work which of course includes ordering supplies, changing toner, teaching them how to use Word and all those little things. I generally go out of my way to try and make their lives easier and I generally get at least one person who doesn't appreciate it. This morning I say - if they don't get their training, too freaking bad. Buncha pampered primadonnas. These are supposedly intelligent, educated people and it's like running a daycare for incorrigibles with no disciplinary tools. Aargh. And finally, I thought this didn't bother me at the time, but it's still in my head, so I guess it did. The other night while in line for a play, the attractive guy next to me started up a conversation. It was actually pretty interesting until he confessed that he was just hoping I could introduce him to the girl on the other side of me. Now, this has happened to me before when I'm out with friends, but I didn't even know this girl! I don't know why that should make it worse, but somehow it does. What is with guys? Why don't they just go and talk to her? And if they're too nervous (or whatever) to do that - why do I look like someone who won't mind being used and never like the girl they want to talk to? I think that's it. Everything else is just garden variety irritants that normally don't get to me, but I'm a bit on edge today. Hard to tell, huh? :-P Well, if anyone's made it this far, I thank you for your support. Ciao. BTW It's not in the list, but I'm listening to Shuyler Jansen's "Hobotron" and Chris Wynters' "Skywriting".

22 Aug 2006

Dancing Superheroes Current mood: whimsical Yup, you read that right - dancing superheroes. I went to see "Dragonfly: Identity IV" yesterday at the Fringe. I haven't seen I-III, but I don't think I was at two much of a disadvantage. I went into it thinking it would either be great or totally suck and I'm still not sure which it did. No, it didn't suck, but it was odd. Basically, we have two characters, Dragonfly who is telepathic and The Sentimental Thief who is empathic. It seemed a bit arbitrary to call them superheroes, but perhaps that makes more sense if you've got the backstory. It seems like the perfect love, she's the head and he's the heart, but it turns out that he's a bit ethically shifty (not entirely without blame, we're led to believe) and she can't let it slide. It's a pretty straight forward kind of plot - the oddness comes in because it's a dance performance, so the love scene and fight scene are actually danced. I'm not a dancer nor an afficianado, so I can't comment on the proficiency, but it seemed a bit awkward to me. Who knows? On the other hand, she pretty much starts out the thing by whining that all she wants is "a nice boyfriend with lots of hair!" I can sympathize with that. Ciao.

21 Aug 2006

Fringe-y Current mood: working Why isn't there a "Theater" category? Hmmm.... Anyway, here's my review of the Fringe so far. I went with Thing 1 and Thing 2 on Saturday to see Darren Hagin's latest offering "Neo-Nancies: Hitler's Kickline" and was not disappointed. It was a bit weird to see Darren, not only as a boy, but with stubble! I wouldn't have recognized him right away except for the accordian. It's a great story, based on the life of the Swedish woman who starred in a lot of the Nazi produced movies and her gay songwriting collaborator. I don't know how much is "truth" and how much is just for the story, but it hangs together nicely. As always with Darren's stuff, it's viciously funny, but there's maybe a bit more grit to this one as well. The only caveat is, if you're offended by same sex relations, don't go; it's reasonably graphic and annoying to the audience when you get up to leave half way through. Last night, I went to see "The Importance of Being Earnest". Yes, I've seen it before and I'll probably see it again. It's one of my favorite plays, so funny! This production was nice, if a bit stilted. The actors playing Algie and Aunt Augusta get kudos for carrying the whole thing through. And amazingly, at least to my untrained ear, the accents managed to hang in tolerably through the whole adventure. Not a theatrical triumph, but nicely done and certainly a success in terms of Fringe attempts. Ciao.

20 Aug 2006

A Scanner Darkly Current mood: busy Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities I took Cathy out the other day for a belated birthday shindig and we went to see "A Scanner Darkly" at the Princess. (Well, at the Princess II which is where I seem to end up lately. Do I just have basement tastes or what?) I'm not as dedicated a fan of Philip K. Dick as of others, so I like this movie. (Unlike other books, I greatly enjoy them when I'm reading, but I find I'm fuzzy on the details afterwords. This means I can't remember the small details that vary in the movie which is usually what makes me upset with movie adaptations!) I can't tell you how they achieved the animation, but I thought it was great. For one thing, after about 10 minutes of watching, you start to feel like you're chemically altered, so it blends right in. And for another, it seems to mask the complete lack of acting ability I believe to be exhibited by several of the cast members, so that's great. I find that Dick's books are similar to a lot of anime, in that they sort of start in the middle of the action. You have to just rally your patience and go with the flow into enough details amass to figure out what's going on. Many of my friends refuse to watch because of this, but Cathy seemed to do ok, so whatever tricks Linklater used, they worked. All in all, this was a movie that I didn't mind spending the money to see. Yeah! Now I'm off to the Dragon Boat Races. Ciao!

18 Aug 2006

More on the bear Current mood: sore Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities So, I meant to post this earlier, but I managed to pick up another bug or bad food or something. I gotta start eating at more upscale restaurants or something. Anyhoo... I don't know how long this link with last, but it kind of explains the bear picture a little better. http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=8a9af037-538d-430b-a40d-77e067346c78 My 30 seconds of fame and all based on a stuffed animal. It was kind of funny though, for the rest of the weekend, I kept hearing people say, "Look, it's the bear!" Nobody said, "Look it's the girl with the bear", but I guess you take what you can get. Cheers!

14 Aug 2006

Edmonton Folk Fest Current mood: mellow Category: Music Well, I just survived another year of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival and it was a dandy. I could talk about the weather: soaking wet, sunburn and hail bruises all in a space of four days! I could talk about the company: my awesome mom and best-est friend Thing1. But really, it's all about the music, right? First, I have to talk about Hawksley Workman. I've been a fan since I first saw the video for "Jealous of Your Cigarette", but this is the first time I've seen him live. He's just as wild, creative, talented and sexy as I could have hoped for. I waded through one of the feeding frenzies to get him to sign the bear, and I have to say that he has a marvelous smile. My only small complaint is that in his mainstage and three workshops, it would have been nice if he had done more material with less repeats. However, he did do "Tarantulove", so really, I'm happy! The new (and thankfully local) standout was Michael Joseph and the Ridges. Michael makes nice musical choices, Darren has a great voice and Joel plays lovely guitar - I'll be watching for their gigs in town. Since they only have one album, we heard several songs multiple times (with more reason than Hawksley!) but since they helped with a kick ass jam on Honky Tonk Woman, it would have been nice to hear more of their takes on other material. David Gray. Well, he just rocked. We didn't get off the hill until 1am and I would have stayed as long as he kept playing. Wow. You can see the whole list of performers at www.edmontonfolkfest.org but some other stand outs for me were: Geoff Berner, The Wailin' Jennys, Teddy Thompson, Sarah Harmer (yes, even without Danny Michel) and Chumbawumba was cool, if a bit rabidly political for my taste. Right. I've got to go and sleep some more now! Ciao.