What In The Sam Peckinpah...?

I have been a movie fan ever since I was a little girl and my parents gave me my weekly allowance and sent me off to the matinees on rainy Saturday afternoons. My friends and I would would load up on popcorn and Coca~Cola, sit in the back row and settle in to watch the latest Audrey Hepburn flick. I once dyed my hair black because I wanted to look like Audrey Hepburn. I looked more like Moe in The Three Stooges.

But, I digress...

In my opinion, the movies being produced lately have been particularly disappointing.  Maybe I am slowly descending into that generation of folks who remembers when movies used to actually be good ~~ anything by Alfred Hitchcock, for instance -- "Psycho", "Dial M for Murder" or "Vertigo" -- or movies that relied on good acting, rather than explicit scenes, or full frontal nudity.  Or actual dialogue rather than the "F" word in every sentence.  Or, perhaps, an actual plot.  I dunno, call me crazy... an actual story would be nice.

Recently I finally watched "The Kids Are All Right".  I wanted to like it because it was highly recommended by so many of my friends, and it received a 94% good rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critique, "Worthwhile as both a well-acted ensemble piece and as a smart, warm statement on family values, The Kids Are All Right is remarkable." Really? The only good thing about that movie was the performance by the fabulous, anemic-looking Mia Wasikowska who also played Alice in "Alice in Wonderland" with Johnny Depp, and Jane in "Jane Eyre", which probably no one has seen, and which is a great movie. "The Kids Are All Right" was billed as a comedy, but it was bleak and gut-wrenching, one of the worst pieces of cr*p movies I have ever seen, along with "The Hurt Locker", Precious", "Avatar", "The Fighter", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Black Swan", "The Blind Side", "The Social Network", and any number of other movies that have been nominated for Academy Awards in the past few years. What on earth is going on?  What are they putting in the popcorn?

There have been a few good movies in the past four or five years, "Doubt", "The Changeling", "Gran Torino", "The Wrestler", "Wall-E", "Up", "Revolutionary Road", "Rabbit Hole", "The Visitor" (my personal favourite), Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger", but for the most part it has been pretty slim pickings.

Movies used to be a fairly inexpensive form of entertainment, but now it costs a fortune for two people to go to a movie.   And folks could enjoy a movie without squirming through scenes that left us feeling awkward. Of late there seems to be a spate of movies with scenes of explicit lesbian love-making (not that there's anything wrong with that...) and it feels artifical and exploitative. Do we really have to push the envelope to be entertained?  When I watched "Black Swan", all I could think was what a wonderful movie that might have been under the direction of someone like Alfred Hitchcock or Sidney Pollock, or even the lyrical Clint Eastwood. They would have made it into a classic. It had all the raw potential, but fell far short of the mark. When a movie relies too much on shock value, that's all folks remember. The nuances of the plot and the actors' performances are forgotten.

C'mon, Hollywood, if you're going to take our money, please give us a product worth paying for.

You Live Where...?

As of today, May 17, 2011, Vancouver has become the most expensive city in the world in which to own real estate, ahead of London and New York. Although I knew Vancouver was an expensive city, I had no idea it had become that expensive.  Mostly the price of owning a home has been driven up by off-shore purchasers, leaving us poor Vancouverites on the outside looking in.  There is one neighbourhood in particular that I love to stroll through and admire the wonderful old Edwardian homes. The neighbourhood is called Shaughnessy, and it is the center of Vancouver’s old money. The homes were built by people who made their fortune in British Columbia’s timber, sugar, mining, and other industries. A few years ago Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell lived in one of these homes while their son was playing hockey here in Vancouver. Here are some of the other gorgeous homes. *sigh*

And yes, people actually live in these homes; can you even imagine? If you’re ever in Vancouver, be sure to take a tour of this wonderful neighbourhood. And then be sure to look for me, I’m the one living in the shopping cart under the Granville Bridge.

Kidding ... kidding ...

You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet...

Cruise ship season has begun here in Vancouver, and yesterday there were several cruise ships in port with 20,000 tourists disembarking to visit Vancouver. I happened to be downtown while they were here, and I overheard several folks remarking on what a gorgeous city Vancouver is. I felt like saying to them, "You ain't seen nothing' yet. Wait until you get away from the downtown area..." So, for those of you who are planning a trip to Vancouver, or just a stopover during a cruise, I thought I would show you some of the must-see places you should visit while you're here. My favourite spot in the Lower Mainland is the lighthouse at Point Atkinson, which was named by Captain Vancouver in 1792, apparently for a "particular" friend of his. I wonder who she was.

The park is exquisite but even more beautiful is the view from the lighthouse.  I never get tired of it.  The park surrounding the lighthouse is 185 acres of old growth rainforest with ancient trees 200 feet tall and 500 years old. In 1994 Point Atkinson Lighthouse was designated a National Historic Site. A few years later the light keepers were phased out and it is now automated. As well, Point Atkinson is part of the territory being negotiated in treaties between First Nations and local, provincial and federal governments to settle longstanding disagreements about land, resource, social, and citizenship rights. ~~ West Vancouver Museum and Archives

The drive from downtown Vancouver to Point Atkinson is about half an hour, along gorgeous Marine Drive, a winding road that has been compared to the famous drive between Monaco and Cannes.  Some of the most expensive homes in Canada are along Marine Drive, selling for between $10,000,000 and $20,000,000.  That's a little beyond my price range, but the view is free.  However, If you don't get the opportunity to drive out to Point Atkinson during your visit here, your cruise ship goes right past it as you leave Vancouver and sail off into the sunset.

Welcome Back...!

I'm more than a little peeved with Blogger. I had 18 lovely comments on my post yesterday, and when Blogger restored my blog, 16 of them had been removed before I had a chance to read them. I have been toying with the idea of moving to Wordpress, and I set up an account there -- just in case this happens again. But at least the blogs are restored, so I suppose we must look at the bright side. If by any chance you link to my blog and get re-directed to Wordpress, well, I am still here on Blogger for the foreseeable future. But ...

In the meantime, have a wonderful Friday the 13th, folks. Don't walk under any ladders.

Cheers!

Jo

Overwhelmed...

Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed. Do you ever feel that way? It seems that all the news, both in private life and the outside world seems to be negative, it's raining all the time, and just generally one feels as if all the joy has taken a rather lengthy vacation.  Well, that's how I have been feeling lately.  I need some sunshine -- desperately.  My  friend Russell took this wonderful photo of a gorgeous little cardinal, so I have decided to do a painting of it.  We don't have cardinals here in Vancouver, and it is the most gorgeous bird I have ever seen.

For me, painting is like meditation; it nourishes my soul, and that's just what I need right now.  I went to De Serres Art Supplies and bought the perfect shade of red, called madder red deep -- isn't that a fabulous name for a paint colour?  I can hardly wait to use it.  I'll show you my painting when I'm finished.  Watch this space.

Have a great day, everyone!

I Wish Them Godspeed...

I was really saddened to hear about the separation of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver after 25 years of marriage. And not long ago Bruce Boxleitner and Melissa Gilbert separated at 16 years of marriage. I have never personally experienced a divorce, but I can imagine it must be just about the most painful thing anyone has to endure. A death has a certain closure to it after a period of time and a grieving process, but a divorce is a type of death too, that just never stops. It becomes prolonged and drawn out, with no closure in sight.

Someone once said that it takes a few minutes to get married, and 20 years to become divorced. There is a certain truth to that, especially where there are children involved. Most children love both their parents equally. They don't see their parents through the eyes of the marriage, but through the eyes of a child. So it upsets me when I see children being torn apart by the fracture of their parents' relationship. However, I think it is inevitable in almost every divorce; the children are the ones who lose the most, in ways the parents cannot even imagine.

There rarely is any such thing as an amicable divorce. That's the true definition of an oxymoron -- amicable divorce. People like the Schwarzeneggers and the Boxleitners put on a brave face for the public, but we are all aware of what is really going on behind the scenes. It's heartbreaking, to say the least. The pain must be unimaginable. I feel really sad for anyone who is going through that awful process, and I wish them Godspeed.

Happy Mother's Day...!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there, or to anyone who has, or has had, a Mom. I have dozens of photographs of my mother, but this is my favourite because she was caught off guard having her picture taken by Foncie, the famous street photographer in Vancouver. This picture is now in the Foncie's Photos exhibit at the Vancouver Museum. I think my mother would get a chuckle out of that.  She has that expression that my brothers and I came to recognize so well.  "What, may I ask, are you doing...?" in her South African accent.  Well, usually we were up to no good, but she seemed to like us anyway ... most of the time, that is.

Being a mother is not easy, and you definitely need a sense of humour.  I remember when I was about three or four years old, I happened upon some of the little neighbourhood boys having a -- shall we say -- contest, to see who could pee the farthest.  Being the good sport I was, I wanted to join in, but I didn't have the right apparatus, and I was really puzzled.  Why didn't I have one of those?  I felt I had been gypped, and I was very curious about them.  When my mother discovered us, she sent all the little boys home and took me into the house, sat me on the chesterfield and said, "Wait until your father gets home!"  I sat there for two hours, filled with fear and dread.  Finally I heard my father's footsteps on the back stairs, and some mumbled whispering in the kitchen, and then my father roared with laughter.  I had never heard my father laugh so hard.  My mother broke down and started laughing too, and for ten minutes the two of them roared hysterically while I sat trembling on the chesterfield.  Finally, I got up and went back outside to play and the whole incident was never mentioned again.  The only lesson I really learned is that if you're a parent you have to laugh because childhood is innocence and insanity, and you can't take it too seriously.

I think Mother's Day is for children, not for mothers.  It's the one day of the year when the kids can fumble around in an attempt to make breakfast, or buy a completely unusable gift, or make a funny little card, or do something sweet that they would not otherwise do the other 364 days of the year.  And it's the one day of the year when mothers should never say, "What, may I ask, are you doing...?"

Happy Mother's Day...!

The Happy Dance...

Sometimes it's the smallest things in life that can make us happy, isn't it? Well, this is me today, as of 12:01 p.m.  Without going into great detail, nothing major is happening, just a small little thing that will have me doing the dance of joy.  I hope you have something joyful happen to you today too.  If you do, be sure to do a little dance.  I'm going to...!

Of Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax... Front Row Seats

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
And cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings."

~~ Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

There have been so many interesting things going on in the world lately, I hardly know where to begin. Ever since I was a child, I have always been interested in current affairs -- political, social, cultural -- whatever. We are fortunate to have front row seats to the interesting events of the day.  I have learned that the things that interest me are not always necessarily the things that interest other people, but isn't it fun to be able to discuss them as they are unfolding?  A future king takes a bride, and we are witness to the best man, the groom's brother, as he quietly whispers something personal to the groom, and the groom's shoulders shake as he chuckles.  We are witnessing a charming, spontaneous moment, and two billion people are asking, "What did Harry just say to William?"

Just a few days ago we all had front row seats as the world's most odious terrorist died a coward's death in a filthy, squalid house, hiding behind his wife.  In life he terrorized the world, responsible for the deaths of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.  No sooner did the whole world breathe a sigh of relief, when a bogus quote, falsely attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King, went viral and everyone felt guilty for feeling relieved.  Well, folks, it's okay to feel relieved that a monstrous terrorist has been eliminated.  No one wants to dance on someone's grave, but to feel relief that he can no longer do anyone any harm, well, that's okay.  Even Dr. Drew said it's okay, and if Dr. Drew says it's okay, that's good enough for me.

In Canada we had front row seats to an historic federal election.  The polls closed at 7:00, and by 7:01 Stephen Harper, the man everyone loves to hate, had been re-elected with a majority government; two opposing parties, Liberals and Bloc Québécois  had been eviscerated, and the socialist NDP party had become Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. You could hear a collective gasp across Canada as everyone said, "What just happened?" All of this was live and in living colour...

There are so many things we are fortunate enough to witness as they are happening.  It makes us all part of our global community, and we can discuss them and debate them with each other from across the world.  I think it's wonderful.  You may not always agree with my opinions, and vice versa, but we can enjoy the conversations, and sometimes we learn something from each other's point of view. 

Now, a note to the Vancouver Canucks:  I want front row seats when you bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada this year.  That would be witnessing history.

Congratulations to the Americans...

They caught the son-of-a-b*tch and he was respectfully buried at sea, according to Islamic law.  Do you think he is cavorting with 63 virgins now? No, he's fish food.  How appropriate, considering there's something fishy about the fact that the Pakistanis have been harbouring this man for so many years -- hiding him in plain sight.

There were eight children killed on the hijacked planes on 9/11, five children on American 77 ranging in age from 3 to 11, and three children on United 175 ages 2, 3, and 4. Babies...!  When I heard that, I was disgusted. Any man who would allow children to be killed in the name of terrorism is a coward, and in my opinion all bets are off as to what happens to him.  We can say a prayer for his soul, and then pray for healing.

Congratulations to the Americans for their tenacity.  Let's hope this is the beginning of the end, and not the end of the beginning...