Helmet Head

Even though my blog stats say that the majority of my readers come here via Facebook, I know there's a handful or two of you who don't... sooo, I'll add my shameless little plug of self-promotion here, in case you're not a FB friend and have missed it.

I was called today by the Kelowna Fire Museum and Education Center, so they could let me know that my pretty pink helmet is being featured in this week's auction. Two helmets are auctioned off per week, and this is week three.

Personally, I'm uncertain how successful this auction will be, as I noticed that neither helmet up for auction last week was bid on. But ya never know... Maybe people have their eyes on certain ones and are just waiting for their turn on the auction block. Some of the other helmets are really quite beautiful.

While I titled my helmet "For the Girls", Jim refers to it as the "Lisa Simpson helmet".  Ha. (I guess because LS is a bit of a feminist, and he said it looks like something she'd do.) I was almost offended for all of a nanosecond when he first called it that, but I know he's just being jokey. He's told me numerous times how cool he thinks it is that I chose to paint it this way.

I did originally consider painting it with oranges n' reds, but then decided against it. I felt that the minority of female firefighters should somehow be represented. Plus, my heart just felt like painting with swirly, girly bright pinks. Although I did add a lil' red in there to make it more firefightery.

Looking at it now, I know I made the right choice. It really stands out as something special 'for the girls'. And, I have to admit that I was tickled pink today when I saw the museum doing a lil' shout-out on FB promoting "helmet number two", and encouraging folks to check it out, especially if they know a female firefighter. So that made me feel kinda nice. :)

Oooh... I really do hope that *someone* bids on it. Although bidding starts at two hundred doll hairs, and I dunno about you... but I'm not sure a lot of people have that kind of disposable cash these days. The two helmets that have been sold so far went for $200 and $225, so it doesn't look like a lot of competitive bidding wars have been going on. And the one that went for only $200 was one of my personal favourites of the bunch. I thought for sure it'd go for more.

Oh well, we shall see....

Either way, I think it's a super creative idea by the Kelowna Fire Museum as a way to raise funds, and I had a lot of fun participating.

Now I can't wait to get back to my latest painting... but maybe once this final(ish) draft for our distributer is done... and my contract work... and the rest of our cleaning/purging....

I guess I shouldn't be blogging, should I?

Roses and Thorns August 14 - 27: Part Three

Okay, I lied. I didn't end up cleaning much last night after all. I did a little spritzing, but that's about it. Soon after I was done blogging, Jim came home (he was having a beer with his brother next door), and then we got into this Outdoor Life Network show about the cops who work the beat in East Hastings... which I'm sure most of you already know is Canada's poorest postal code.

After my first trek through East Hastings about six or seven years ago, it stuck with me in such a huge way that I use to have reoccurring dreams about that area. I'd always find myself lost in a labyrinth of shifty alleys, eventually trapped at a dead end. Sometimes I would have to hide under soiled mattresses or behind dumpsters, trying to escape the zombie-like junkies, muggers and pimps that were around every corner. I haven't had that dream in almost a year or so now...

On the show, the officer said there are about 4000 - 5000 addicts living in that area! Gawd, I had no idea the number was *that* high! (Honestly, no pun intended...) It was a fascinating watch and yet so very, very sad. I actually recognized one of the homeless people from when we drove through that area last week. She wasn't hard to miss, as she is hunched way forward from the waist, as if her back had been broken and never healed properly. My heart really goes out to these people. What happened in their lives that has lead them to this tragic place? It really seems bleak....

Anyhow... I'm getting way off topic here. Of course now my thorns completely pale in comparison to what these folks struggle through every single day! And my roses blossom so huge.... I really have so much to be grateful for! I think we all do... 

'Kay, getting back to it....

Rose

Holding Jim's hand. Sounds dumb, right? But I feel I need to include it.... 

After finally escaping the house on Friday afternoon, Jim reached for my hand while wandering around Blockbuster, and for some reason I was surprised at how nice it felt. So that's what I said - "Why does it feel so nice to hold your hand?" Jim pointed out that it's probably because we haven't actually held hands in a week! The last time we walked hand-in-hand was when we were trying to find a place to eat in Van the Thursday before. 

I mean, it's not like we haven't had any contact at all in the last week - we hold and hug each other probably a dozen times a day. I don't think we'd survive rewrite hell if we didn't have those 'hold me tight' moments. But walking hand-in-hand is nice. I didn't realize how much I missed it.

Thorn

Friday morning before breakfast, I commented on my mom's FB status. It read "RIP Peter", so I asked, "Peter who?" That's when she called me with some graphic news that sat heavy in my stomach, ruining my appetite. Peter was a 39 year old man who had been murdered in my hometown. Since both my dad and sister had worked at the mall for years n' years, (where Peter also worked) my family knew him much better than I did. I only knew him to see him around. I should also mention that murders just don't happen in Pembroke. It's your stereotypical small town (population 14,000-ish) where nothing like this ever goes down.  

Most folks have immediately jumped to the assumption that he was murdered because he was gay. And while I don't want to draw any uninformed conclusions, well... let's just say I would not be the least bit surprised, especially since the man he was with was also injured in the attack. From my understanding, Peter was a good guy who'd give you the shirt off his back, so I don't see why else he would fall victim to such a brutal crime. Fortunately, the murderer Garry Decker, (who I hear is a military guy from Calgary), has been charged with first degree murder and attempted murder. I hope he rots!

Mom then disclosed some of the info provided in the news, and it completely made me sick. I think in a situation like this, ignorance if definitely bliss. 

So in addition to this thorn, I'd like to say that I'm very disappointed in the local media for revealing such graphic details and witness testimony that would better serve a police report than public consumption. I realize the saying goes, "If it bleeds, it leads" - but seriously, Pembroke reporters! Use some effing discretion! I don't even know the guy and some of the details of what the neighbours heard and saw made my blood run cold. 

That poor soul... Apparently his mother had also passed away only a week before. 

So much suffering in this world... First my blurb about East Hastings and now a murder... Sheesh, my R&T's are pretty dark this week.

Rose

My little balcony garden is really flourishing. It's growing all kinds of cayenne peppers and regular peppers, juicy tomatoes and even my eggplants have started to make an appearance. So exciting! It makes me smile whenever I go out there to water them.

My colourful morning glories are so lovely too! I know some people say they're real pain in the butt, but I think they're too pretty to be pests. I wish I could grow them inside year-round, and have them twist and climb my curtain rods. 

Thorn

I don't think I have any more thorns to report. And even if I do, after the yucky thorns I've already shared, why spend time trying to conjure up more crap that I've already forgotten. 

Oh wait! I got a couple slivers last week from the shed at our community garden. There. Enough with the bad news for this week.

Rose

Hmm.... I have a bunch more lil' rose buds to share, and can't choose. So here's a quick summary of other small blessings from the past two weeks:

- Since there were no rentals available, we had to drive our own car to Vancouver. Silvery (the stupid name we've given our car) survived the trip, and restored our faith in her. Good job, girl!

- I had a nice Corona break with Laura and Michelle the other week. The timing couldn't have been more perfect, as it landed the night between going through our script changes funk and jumping back into intense rewrites.

- I received another letter from Marc Emery and have started doing some online volunteer work and other organizing efforts. 

- When I went back home to Ontario, I finally got my Season 3 of Degrassi Junior High back from a friend who I lent it to in 2007. (Wow... I didn't realize she had it for so long!) So lately whenever we take a break from writing to eat, we've been getting reacquainted with my ol' pals from Degrassi. 

I say "my" pals, because Jim didn't grow up watching the show. He thought it had a shitty production value and bad acting - which it does, but that's part of it's charm! However, now I know that he's just as addicted to it as I am, because he makes me pause it whenever he leaves the room. Ha ha! Of course, he says it's because he doesn't want to miss making fun of anything... but I know that deep down he loves it! ;) 

Degrassi has been a welcome reprieve from Three's Company which has been getting stale lately. (We're up to re-watching Season 5 or 6, and it's getting pretty awful with their predictable misunderstandings.) Now nothing perks us up more than making fun of Wheels' terrible mullet, Jim imitating L.D.'s weird up n' down stare (which I hadn't noticed until he started acting it out. Hilarious!!), and how they always cut to the upbeat theme music after serious moments. ("Derek, your parents are dead." Do, do, do, do, do, do, dooo! Do, do, do, do, do, dooo! Okay, so it loses something on the page.)

Yesterday with dinner we watched the classic episode "Taking Off - Part One" where Wheels tries to hitchhike to surprise his biological father in Port Hope, and then the perverted vacuum cleaner salesman tries to molest him. Oh lordy, I haven't laughed so hard in I don't know how long! 

Degrassi, how I've missed thee! 

Roses and Thorns August 14 - 27: Part Deux

Okay, I'll try to keep these ones a little slimmer...

Rose
My second rose is... good news that I'm not allowed to share yet. :P

Sorry, I know I shouldn't be a tease. I was planning on sharing it, but then decided that I should probably wait until this next rewrite is finished and all the paperwork has been signed. Jim agreed.

The truth is, I already share more than I'm supposed to on this blog. Just check out our official DE blog, and you'll see what I mean. That blog has been around for years and it tells you absolutely NOTHING!! Ha. Although, when the time finally comes, it sounds like we're hoping to post some production video diaries, etc. That could be pretty cool. :)

Anyhow, like I was sayin', instead of being so elusive, I know I should use this rose for something that I can actually talk about... but the news we received on Tuesday was awesome enough that it deserves a placeholder -- even if it can't be explained in detail (or apparently at all...) Although I'm certain most people will already assume it by the time that I get to announce it, so in a way it hardly matters at all.

Thorn
Falling behind on housework. Whenever these big writing hurricanes hit, they always leave a path of destruction in their wake. It doesn't take too long for us to get things straightened up and clean again (thank goodness we don't have kids!), but it's still a depressing pain in the ass when you're stressed out with work, and the place looks like a bomb went off.

We're pretty good at staying on top of the dishes and kitchen for "morning us-es", but vacuuming, sweeping, dusting and spritzing easily falls to the wayside. Also, since we can only recycle cardboard at our apartment, the rest of the recycling bags starts piling up until we can get out to the depot. It was a bigger nuisance than ever this time, since I had started my 100 things purge pre-rewrite, so we had/have all these extra bags of old clothes, linens and other nonsense cluttering up the place.

Anyhow, we made a run to the recycling depot and Share yesterday to drop some stuff off, but there's still more vacuuming, sweeping, dusting and spritzing to do, and I'm not finished purging (although I've made some great headway).

Hmm... maybe I should be cleaning instead of blogging, huh?

Alright... this post will have to be continued in lieu of some serious Saturday night cleaning.

(P.S. Jealous?)

Roses and Thorns August 14 - 27: Part One

I seriously can't believe that it's already been two weeks. Wow! Where did the time go?

Rose
Our meeting with Telefilm. This rose should be a blog post in itself, but since I haven't had the time, it'll have to land in the catch-all bin. Anyhow, it rocked.

I didn't expect to attend, because I'm just a writer and these meetings usually only involve the producers and director. However, our producers wanted me there, so I happily obliged.

First, I should mention that before our meeting even began, an international sales distributer had contacted TF several times to say that he thought they should fund our movie. Apparently he's really excited about the story and feels that there are some great avenues to make foreign sales. So, with that rose pressed in our back pocket, we felt pretty good going in.

When it came to the meeting itself, AS had made a little presentation for Jim to use, which captured a few specific moments from other movies, such as Hearts In Atlantis to demonstrate tone and style (if you haven't seen that movie, I highly recommend it!), and A Beautiful Mind to capture how we'd like to show Donovan's obsession. I think those clips, coupled with Jim's animatics, went over great.

As for Jim himself, he spoke exceptionally well. I even noticed quiet grins on les producers' faces as he talked. When it comes to expressing his artistic vision, Jim is very articulate. But given the intimidating make-or-break circumstances of this meeting, I think the way he handled himself had everyone extra impressed. He totally kicked ass! He is going to be such an amazing director!

As for myself, I only made a couple points here n' there, just so it looked like I had reason to be in the room. Otherwise, I mostly just took notes.

Another petal on this rose was that Telefilm's story issues were completely in line with our distributer's. So as much of a bitch as those story concerns were when they were first raised only a couple weeks ago, because we had devised solutions for them earlier in the week, it allowed us to be totally on the ball for this crucial meeting. I guess everything happens for a reason. (We're also grateful that they had the same concerns, because if our distributer wanted us to change things that TF liked, our movie would not get made. End o' story. So, we're happy to have dodged that bullet!)

Anyhow, blah, blah, blah... this rose is getting way too long. Basically, the meeting ended on such a high note that I had to restrain myself from clapping. It couldn't have possibly gone any better. Afterwards I said that I'd be shocked if they didn't fund us in some capacity, even though we knew our competition was steep. TF only has a very limited amount of money left in this year's budget and there are 12 projects all wanting a piece of the pie.

Thorn
This round of making the changes to our script has been the hardest round of all, for two reasons:

As mentioned in an earlier R&T post, it's been very hard on Jim because we had to get rid of our unique twist. Of course that's been pretty tough on me too, but one of my super special talents is the ability to find the silver lining in (almost) any situation. Whereas it usually takes J a few days for things to process, which is totally normal.

So yeah, it's very hard trying to find inspiration to write when you're upset about what you're changing. And unfortunately, there's no pushing back this time. We are at a point in the game where we make the changes or we don't make the movie. We have no option but to suck it up and move forward, or give up and find day jobs. (Which at least presents us with a pretty easy decision to make: Suck it up, buttercup!)

The second reason why this draft was so hard was due to the INSANE turnaround. We've worked non-friggin'-stop since returning from Vancouver last Friday. We've had thirteen hours of meetings in three days, and have worked late into the night, every night. Basically our schedule has been - wake up early; write, write, write; meet for 3/4 hours to discuss tweaks; write like mad; maybe meet again around 9 at night to discuss the rest of the tweaks; write like mad some more; hand the draft in whenever it's done, which is usually sometime between 12:45 - 2:00; repeat.

You wouldn't think tweaking would be so time-consuming, but it is. There's often a tweak on every second page - mostly nit-picky things like remove this line, swap this word for that, etc. But there are a few instances where we have to reorganize entire conversations so the last points are brought up first, etc. and that can take a bit more time.

Anyhow, the shittiest aspect of all this tweaking is that we never get a chance to do a simple read-through/proof before we have to hand it in, so we're constantly second-guessing ourselves. Did we catch everything? (More or less. Although a typo or two always slips through.) Is there too much useless residue lingering from older drafts? (Probably...) Are some parts getting too obvious? (Yes!)

Happily, we have the weekend off until our distributer reads the latest version, so Jim n' I have the luxury of a lil' time to brainstorm a few solutions for our next draft - yes, NEXT draft - which will help smooth the edges a bit. We'll likely jump back into writing early next week once we hear back.

Okay, since my first two roses n' thorns were such biggies, maybe I'll close my laptop for now and get back to this post later. I've been sitting at the computer WAY too much lately, and need to give my poor eyes a rest. I think I need glasses.... but that's a thorn for another time.

F@*%

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I am getting very sleeeeeeeeeeepy

INT. GUMP HOUSE

Jenny lies asleep in bed.

                         FORREST (V.O.)
              Maybe it was because she had nowhere 
              else to go. Or maybe it was because 
              she was so tired, because she went 
              to bed and slept and slept like she 
              hadn't slept in years. It was 
              wonderful having her home.

I have to admit, I'm feeling a little like Jenny right now. Without the AIDS.

Holy hell, I'm tired!

Since my last 1:30 a.m. post, we've had about 10 hours of "tweak" meetings with one of our producers, and two more very late nights n' super early mornings.

I'll also add that Jim is a big advocate of the snooze button... which I am not. To me, snooze is some sort of bastard tool designed for lazy suckers for punishment. Okay, maybe it works for some, and I don't mind hitting snooze ONCE... but any more than that and you're not snoozing, your just breaking up quality sleep time, and jarring yourself out of some potentially peaceful dreams.

Yeah, I'm really not a fan....

But like I said, Jim loves it, so he usually sets our alarm at least thirty minutes in advance, so he can click it three or four times. And because he's only trying to be thoughtful, sweet guys that he is, he'll always quietly announce the exact time each instance the snooze goes off... even though I already know that the evil snooze breaks my sleep in nine minute intervals. Since I know he's only trying to be helpful, I always feel like I need to politely grunt an acknowledgement to let him know that I heard it/him... which for some reason feels like it takes a lot of effort to do. When all I want is to return to my dream of hanging out on the beach with my friend I haven't seen in ten years, or walking in thick foggy woods, or watching humming birds sleep down at the duck pond. (I've been having a lotta nature dreams lately... probably to compensate for not being outside in weeks.)

Anyhow, instead of blogging, I should probably be taking advantage of this time by napping before Producer Number Two gets back to us with all her tweaks. (She was too busy composing critical timelines n' figuring out financing stuff to partake in the most recent round of edits.) Unfortunately, I'm sure the coffee coursing through my veins is just enough to keep me mobile so I can drag my ass n' get through this day, but no doubt I've consumed too much to allow me to doze off. (I usually only have one cup each morning, but today demanded two.) This is really too bad, because depending on when she gets back to us and how many suggestions she has, we could have another very late night ahead before passing the latest draft off to our distributer tomorrow... who will then provide us with HIS tweaks.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

But when we're done, I swear, I'm gonna sleep like Jenny. And sleep. And sleep. And sleep.

Save Me, Magnolia

I'm often bugging Jim to play Aimee Mann's song "Save Me" on his guitar, because I really like singing along to it. So yesterday he finally memorized the chords because he's nice like that, so now he can play it for me on demand instead of only in front of the computer. ;)



After singing the song a couple times and watching the video, we both got a hankering to pop in Magnolia again. While I think Magnolia is a brilliant tossed salad of beautiful n' bold and sad n' strange moments, I recognize that it's probably not a film that everyone will dig. So please don't rent it on my recommendation and then proclaim that it's a "cinematic root canal" a la Kevin Smith. (Although it was Oscar-nominated for best actor (Tom Cruise), best song (Save Me) and best screenplay.)

I will admit that like most people, I was totally thinking WTF? the first time I saw the frog scene.  And yet, I love it because I think it's pretty brave to insert a climatic device that's so bizarre. I'm amazed that moment ever managed to survive development hell and actually got into the film. Crazy! I'd love to hear P.T. Anderson's commentary about it. Hmm... maybe I should see if there is a commentary when we resume watching the second half tonight.

Yes, second half... Did I mention that it's almost three hours long?!

So, on that note, I better go before it gets too late and it becomes a three parter.

Two More...

Here's another rose n' thorn I forgot to add when I was going through the laundry list yesterday....

Rose
Okay, this is dumb, but I think it's sort of neat...

On our bedroom window, there's a little rip in the side of the screen, which causes it to wrinkle a bit. Anyhow, about a month ago I noticed that depending on when I wake up, the light hits these wrinkles a certain way, so I'm greeted with the shadowy outline of a perfect heart.

The first time I noticed it, it sort of threw me. I was baffled as to why there was a big heart in the window. I couldn't figure out where the heck it was coming from, and was wondering what was shaped like a heart outside?

It only lasts for a little while until the sun moves.... but I kinda like it. And because I like being greeted with a heart every morning, I have all the more reason to procrastinate getting the screen fixed....  ;)

Thorn
Also about a month ago, Shaw sent us a free cable box thing to try out. I don't know what the point of it is, because it's not like it gives us digital cable, and any worthwhile channels cost extra. Instead, it's just an inconvenient pain in the ass and I think we should return it.

We usually only watch a little TV in the a.m. as we eat breakfast, and then we'll sometimes watch All In The Family before bed. (Oh, and SNL when it's not a rerun.) I think it's a stupid waste of money that we even pay for cable in the first place... but that's another thorn altogether.... Anyhow, this friggin' box messes with the channels, so that they are either blank or they're all switched around.

After half a dozen phone calls, someone at Shaw finally advised Jim that when you have a bunch of things plugged into a power bar, it occasionally interferes, so he has to reset the box by unplugging it. So every single morning - sometimes TWICE - Jim has to crawl behind the TV and unplug the stupid box and then plug it back in.

Even though I'm not the one doing the crawling (because I really can't be bothered), it drives me nuts that we're still using this stupid device. What a piece o' shit.

And that's all I have to say about that.... :P

Roses and Thorns July 31 - August 13

Please pretend that I wrote some sort of clever intro and inserted it here.

Okay, now let's begin...

Rose
I started Suzie's painting. It's inspired by "Power", but totally different. It's also my first oil painting in over a year, so it took a session or two to get used to the slippery texture of oils versus acrylics. Some might think that painting is painting, plain n' simple. But each type of paint requires a different technique. (Which is why I rarely ever use watercolours. I don't enjoy the technique and I also find that they are very unforgiving!)

Anyhow, as I've said before, it's always neat to watch how a piece of art gradually evolves with each stoke. And speaking of evolution, I find the timing of this painting's symbolism... well, timely. When I painted my first incarnation of "Power", my life was transforming - much like it is now. Then again, aren't we always in a constant state of transformation? Although I suppose some periods in life invoke a more obvious sense of self-awareness n' understanding of that growth than others.

Okay, since we're talkin' art, maybe I'll smell two roses at once here and add that I also finished my helmet and dropped it off at the Kelowna Fire Museum last week. Yesterday they started their lil' media blitz, and some of the other helmets they're auctioning off are pretty cool. You can check 'em all out right here.

In case you didn't see mine on FB, here's some pics...

I decided to do pink swirls to represent the minority of female firefighters, because we often think of firefighters as men, don't we? (And okay, I admit that I'm also partial to painting with pink.) Then in case it's not obvious, the blue and white design is intended to represent wings, because firefighters are like angels in a way... y'know, every day heros n' all that. Finally, I added the sparkly jewels because if I'm gonna paint a super feminine helmet, then why hold back? I might as well get a lil' glitzy with it.

Thorn
Our seriously shrinking bank account. Damn this glamourous movie-making lifestyle of ours!

Rose
A little more contract work just in the nick of time. Oh, how I love you Universe! Every dollah helps.

Thorn
An emotionally exhausting week as we hit a difficult crossroads with our distributer. Suffice to say, we have to lose a very special part of our story that was the original inspiration for the script -- our bookends/twist.

Now, my way of dealing with shit news is to find the silver lining as soon as humanly possible. I hate the sick feeling of rocks in my stomach, and I resent wasting precious time n' energy dwelling on why something sucks. While I think it's okay to recognize when something goes awry, constant worrying doesn't help anything. So when faced with an ultimatum, all we can do is choose whichever path moves forward. So in this case, we just have to suck it up and count our blessings, because the only thing that matters is that we still get to make a movie.

If anything, we should fully expect to encounter these sorts of challenges over the next two months. This is the most crucial phase when funding partners start climbing on board, and chances are we might be faced with more script ultimatums in the near future. Fingers crossed they're nothing major! Then again, I don't think a script tweak could be any more major than the one we're currently faced with. In which case, perhaps the worst is almost behind us?

Rose
Maybe I'll sum this bouquet of roses up as "social outings"...

* Jim n' I enjoyed a mellow float on the Shuswap with Michelle and Richard, and Richard's brother and girlfriend. We lucked out with lovely weather, even though they'd been calling for rain, and we even got to see a couple bald eagles perched along the way, which was pretty neat.

I had never done the Enderby float before. I think I liked it better than Penticton's tube float -- well, for the most part. We did the 4-5 hour leg of the journey, and I found it a bit long. I think 3 hours is probably ideal.

* Grandma's 80th birthday went well, despite the rain. I always like chatting with Jim's Aunt Pat and his Great Aunt Vonnie. I think Von is such a cute, classy lady. I hope I'm like her when I'm in my mid-80's.

* Spur of the moment, the other night I met up with Lara next door at Brandt's for a drink. Then just like the last time Lara n' I were out, out of sheer coincidence Rhonda showed up. So that was kinda cool. The conversations were also really inspiring, which was something I needed after our crappy news.

* Shayla's 6th birthday party was very nice. She's such a smart little girl. I was impressed at how she easily read all of her cards aloud by herself, and she's not even in grade one yet! I know that I couldn't read that well at her age. Hopefully she won't find herself too bored next year.

Libby, who you'd never know had endured another eye surgery earlier this week, was full of energy and running around being her cute little self. While cancer is scary and the fact that she had to lose her eye is very sad, at least everyone can still laugh at funny little moments like when she covers her one good eye and stares directly at you with her false peeper says, "Where did you go?"  Such a sweet monkey.

Thorn

Cat puke. Gawd, is it just me or are les chats hacking up hair balls all the time lately? It feels like we wake up to a slimy blob every second morning -- although I'm sure it's not really that often.

All I have to say is, c'mon guys, puke on the tiles! Not the carpet. Sheesh... Every friggin' time.

I will however use this opportunity to plug the best environmentally friendly pet puke cleaner that I've ever come across - Nature Clean Pet Stain and Odour Remover. Even if you don't have pets, it's great for other stains too. I once had a guest spill an entire glass of red wine on our light-coloured couch and carpet, and before they were done apologizing, this awesome spray had cleaned the mess right up. Magnificent!

Rose
I've been cooking some especially delicious meals this week, if I do say so myself...

First, I switched up our predicable Hunan Kung Pao by adding some peanut satay sauce. HKP is one of Jim's most requested meals. It was originally based on the stir fry at Earl's - only Jim thinks I make it better. (Probably because I make it with love. ;) Anyhow, the peanut satay sauce was a real tasty choice. I'll definitely add it again.

The next night I cheated by making a quick but very awesome Pad Thai, using the new President's Choice Pad Thai sauce. (I consider it cheating if the sauce comes from a jar.) I spiced it up a bit more with some Rooster chili n' garlic sauce. So, SO good! I'm kinda excited that I still have half a jar left - I could totally eat that every night!

The following evening, I pulled Jim into the kitchen to help me make sushi rolls. I had watched a couple YouTube videos, and thought it might be fun to try making them together. We used avocado, cucumber and mango as the filling, which was a delicious combo. All the ingredients were surprisingly cheap as nothing was over $3, and we have plenty of staples left over to make it at least 4 more times.

Then later in the week, our Urban Harvest delivery brought us all kinds of colourful veggies - including some nifty multi-coloured carrots - which I used in a delicious angel hair pasta primavera. Yum, yum!

Oh yes... we've been eating very well this week for a couple of po' writers. ;)

Thorn
Another cat mutilated in Kelowna. WTF?!? I didn't watch the video on Castanet as the headline pissed me off enough. Did anyone else watch the video? If so, did they blur out the dead cat, like on the home page? I didn't want to take my chances in case they didn't. Besides, I think it was in poor taste that they even showed as much as they did. No one needs to see that. F*cking sick. I gave my toonces some extra scritches after seeing the story... even if they do tick me off by puking on the carpet all the time.

Rose
I've finally made a few connections and have got the ball rolling with some activism stuff I've been wanting to do. I'm excited about some of the ideas I have, and the potential to put them into play. I'd go into it all here, but would rather save it for it's own post.

And that's it for another two weeks!

Totes Ma Goats

Mad Magazine once wrote that Saturday Night Live always features an obscure artist playing a popular song, or a popular artist playing an obscure song. But the first time our ears were filled with haunting baroque-style harmonies of the Fleet Foxes, it seemed that both the band and their songs were reaching out to us from obscurity and beyond. Their music sounds like it has travelled from another time, totally a 1960's throwback.

Upon doing a lil' research, it blew me away to learn that these guys were actually only in their early 20's! You'll notice that the 22 year old lead singer (who still lives in his parents' basement, btw) hides his baby face behind long hair and a full beard.

While Jim n' I love all their beautiful melodies and mellow lyrics, we often joke that their songs are always about his brother who lives on the mountain. Every song includes some sort of natural imagery, like mountains or hillsides, squirrels or birds, etc. The lyric we get the biggest kick out of is, "I hold a cornucopia and a golden crown for you to wear upon your fleece'd gown." Oh, those silly hippies!

Anyhow, this evening Jim pointed me to one of their music videos and I had a good laugh. While I'm sure it's not getting any kind of play on Much Music or MTV, (then again, what band is?! Aren't those so-called music channels now all shitty reality television?), it's definitely an interesting change of pace from what you might expect to see in a video these days.

I think I like this video because I love the Fleet Foxes (of course), and I love goats. And this video looks like they're putting on a concert for goats. Ha. Awesome! My favourite part is during those brief moments when the one goat looks like he's singing. Oh, I want a pet goat that sings!

When we have this song playing around the house, Jim n' I sometimes act out parts of it, like pretending to be the vagrant brother who is holding on to his last twenty dollars so tight. We always make serious faces and emphasize that line, "so TIGHT!"

Yeah, so we do kooky things for fun... at least we have fun! ;P

Anyhow, enough about us. Now, just sit back, relax and enjoy these talented young hippies and their goats. (I also encourage you to check out some of their other stuff as all of their music is really quite lovely. Mykonos and White Winter Hymnal are great 'starter' songs. I actually blogged about WWH last year.)




Penniless and tired, with your hair grown long
I was looking at you there and your face looked wrong
Memory is a fickle siren song
I didn't understand

In the gentle light as the morning nears
You don't say a single word of your last two years
Well you will be, you've reached the frontier
I didn't understand, no

See your rugged hands and a silver knife
Twenty dollars in your hand makes you hold so tight
All the evidence of your vacant life
My brother you were born

And you will try to do what you did before
Pull the wool over your eyes
For a week or more
Let your family take you back to your original mind

There's nothing I can do
There's nothing I can do
There's nothing I can say
There's nothing I can say
I can say 

Julia Roberts Converts to Hinduism

I really enjoyed the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Although I'm not sure if I'll love the movie in equal measure. So much of the book's beauty is the wonderful writing style that captures Elizabeth's thoughts, and I doubt it will translate as eloquently on film with the whole "show not tell" rule.

While I liked reading about all aspects of her adventure, I found that I especially soaked up the "Pray" chapters. I loved the way she described what was going on in her head and in her heart during the three months she spent meditating in an ashram in India. But I also acknowledge that the Pray chapters aren't for everyone. I have about 3 or 4 friends who admitted to getting so bored with them that they put the book on hiatus for a couple months. Ha. Diff'rent stokes.

So on that note, I thought this was an interesting article...

Julia Roberts converts to Hinduism

By WENN.COM

Last Updated: August 7, 2010 10:37am

Julia Roberts.(L. Gallo/WENN.com)

Hollywood star Julia Roberts has converted to Hinduism after discovering all about the religion while filming new movie Eat Pray Love in India.

The Pretty Woman actress stars in the big screen adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's travel memoir, which sees her travel to India as part of a spiritual pilgrimage to learn about yoga, meditation and life in an ashram.

Roberts, whose parents are Baptist and Catholic, was so captivated by the ancient religion, she experienced her own spiritual awakening during the shoot and returned home as a Hindu.

She tells Elle magazine, "I'm definitely a practising Hindu."

The actress reveals she regularly goes to temple to "chant, pray and celebrate" and even takes her husband Danny Moder and their three kids, three-year-old Henry and five-year-old twins Phinnaeus and Hazel, with her.

Roberts has also adopted the belief in reincarnation and she hopes her next life will be a "quiet" one.

She says, "Golly, I've been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life. Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting."

Tattoos, Whistling, Chewbacca and Grandma

Here are a couple things I came across today, so I thought I'd share 'em all at once.

First, check out the 13 creepiest anatomical tattoos. While some are no doubt 100% creepy, I have to admit that I think a couple of them are pretty neat. I especially like the muscle sleeve. Great shading!

The anatomical tat theme reminds me of an old roommate of mine. He was missing his pec muscle, so he decided to get a tattoo over the area to make it less obvious. (I always thought he looked fine.)

His tattoo of choice looked like his skin was ripped open with lizard scales beneath it. But as you might imagine, apparently getting a tattoo like that over bare bone hurts like a sunofabitch.

The second thing I want to share is A Little Whistle. I don't know about you, but I'll often break out into a little whistle whenever the mood strikes. I've always been a whistler. I hum quite a bit too. Although a couple years ago Jim pointed out that I always hum to myself when I'm nervous or if the moment is awkward. Ha ha! I honestly had NO idea I did this! Now I try n' catch myself. It's like a musical nervous tick. It's kinda hilarious. Although I probably shouldn't be announcing this in case I start humming around any of you someday...

But getting back to the whistling, Playlist.com has really been on a roll lately with some pretty fun mixes. And this one is worth a listen n' a whistle.



Third, this movie blog post written by guest blogger, Chewbacca, is something I came across on FB. I shared it with Jim this morning, and figured that if you're a Star Wars fan, you might get a small kick out of it too. Actually, I'm not even a Star Wars fan, and I still appreciate the humour... :)

Alright... that's it for a few days. I'm off to Sorrento for the weekend very shortly. It's Grandma's 80th birthday today, with a big surprise party for her tomorrow.

I think 80 is a pretty good milestone. Neither of my Grandmas made it that far. In fact, my Grandma K was only 64 or 65 when she passed away from liver cancer. That's pretty young in Grandma years!

While Jim's Grandma has her ailments and is pretty much blind, I think she's still got a lotta punch and a big personality. One of my favourite things about her is that she watches a lot of entertainment television, so she's very opinionated about whose who in Hollywood.

She'll ask, "What do you think of that Angelina Jolie?" And then she'll launch into reciting a lifetime's worth of tabloid fodder, "She's a devil worshipping bee-atch. Always dressed in black like that. She and Billy Bob wore those viles of blood around their necks! Who does that?! It's sick. She's sick. And you know her father is Jon Voight. He was hell on wheels in his day. He was a drunk and a hop head. So Angelina, now she's no better. She kissed her brother and then she went on and ruined that marriage with our Jennifer, etc..."

I know sometimes certain black-or-white opinions or rehashed old stories can grow tiresome, but I do enjoy it when she gets on a roll with her Hollywood reports. What other sweet little 80 year olds can talk trash like that? She's a hoot.

So, happy 80th birthday, Grandma!

And have a great weekend everyone else!

Mr. Johnny Cash

Jim was just playing Highwayman by The Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson) on his guitar this evening. I had never paid attention to the lyrics before, but I think it's a pretty neat song. When he was done, I had to listen to the real thing on YouTube.

Although I find listening to Johnny Cash's deep, deep voice a lot like eating potato chips. It's addictive. You can't stop at one.  So as soon as The Highwaymen faded into silence, I was craving a dose of Folsom Prison Blues. Since I YouTube'd it for myself, I thought I'd share it here.





Of course no post on Johnny Cash is complete without Hurt. I loved the original, but I think a little piece of me dies every time I listen to Cash sing it. (Ha! That makes it sound terrible, doesn't it? But maybe that's the feeling the song is supposed to elicit in a way.) Even Trent Reznor  said, "It's not my song anymore."                                                                                                                                                  

And here's the video itself. (Just ignore the first couple seconds of the "Fast Focus TV" promo screen. I couldn't embed the original.)

Ten Days In The Valley - (Yes, really. There's still more...) - Part Four

I rarely get on Jim's computer where all our pics are stored, so it's been taking me foreva to get this little hometown glory photo tour wrapped up. I don't want to leave this never-ending post unfinished, so I'm gonna continue with it, even if it takes me all year.

Okay, so let's see... we left off with the kids and the dogs. Alright, I guess that means I can move on to our surprise Canada Day adventure.

When we left in the morning, Josie was under the impression that Amy was dropping me off at a friend's place in Ottawa. En route to the city, I asked her to smile for a Canada Day photo. She immediately saluted. Wonder where she gets that from? 

Little did Josie know that Amy n' I had planned an exciting day for her.

You see, Amy told me a while ago that Jo has two 'goals'. One is to fly on a plane to visit me. (Awe!) The other is to spend a night in a hotel. So, we booked a room in Gatineau, and planned to spend the day visiting museums n' whatnot. 

I wish I had put my camera on video mode when we pulled up at the hotel and told her. But you get the idea...

Jumping.

Dancing.

Blissed out.

After taking a wrong turn, we accidentally ended up at the Military Museum instead of the Museum of Civilization. While guns and uniforms aren't exactly my thing, Josie was kinda into it since her dad is in the army. Here she is posing in the cute 1950's style kitchen.

Finally, after lunch we made it to the Museum of Civilization, which is right across the river from the Parliament buildings.

While I didn't manage to take a picture of it, I just wanted to mention that if you've ever been to the Vancouver Aquarium, at the entrance you may have noticed the large native statue of a black orca. Well, if you're on the third floor of the Museum of Civilization, you'll find it's white twin. I remember learning about the twin statues on a school trip in grade 8 and thinking, "Someday I'm going to see the black one!" like it was some sort of life mission. Ha. Anyhow, I finally got to see it last year, although I didn't get a picture of that one either because our camera died.Wasn't meant to be, I guess.

Okay, now moving on....

The Museum of Civilization features more than native art and tools. Within the same building you'll find a special travelling exhibit, the Canadian Postal Museum and the Children's Museum.

The special exhibit while we were there was on horses.

Here's a mosaic of stamps (of course) in the postal museum.

And then, probably the coolest place of 'em all, the Children's Museum. Where kids can make crafts, like funky Canada Day masks...

Or self-portraits.

They can travel to exotic places.

And in each new country, try all kinds of nifty things...

Once we had enough museuming for the day, we headed outside to pick a patch of grass to enjoy the fireworks.

But it started getting a little chilly out and we still had a long wait ahead of us, so we decided to head back to the hotel for a blanket.

But once back at the hotel, with new toys to keep us entertained and pizza n' pop in our bellies...

None of us were motivated enough to make the trek back to the museum to catch the fireworks show.

That is until we heard the thunder of fireworks echoing across the city, which had us leaping to our feet and running through the streets in our p.j.'s trying to catch a glimpse above the buildings. Well, one of us was in our p.j.'s anyway. (Hint: It wasn't me or Jo. ;)

Alright, I think I have one more post left and that should be it for my Ten Days in the Valley series, which is taking me ten weeks to post...

Reason Number 101 Why I Love Jim...

Because he's always so thoughtful.

Every night he offers to run me a bubble bath. And whenever I take him up on it, afterwards he'll have a big glass of ice water waiting for me in the freezer.

That's just one example I thought I'd share. (Mainly because I just got out of my bath, and am now drinking my icy water.) But he does a million little things like that every single day. Okay, maybe not a million... more like a dozen. Still, I think he's pretty great. And I'm pretty lucky. :)

Granpaparazzi

Back in February I mentioned the very cute fashionable seniors blog "Granpaparazzi", which was co-created by one of Jim's old coworker friends, Cassandra.

Cassandra had come across my FB profile picture of the cab driver we had (twice!) while visiting San Diego, and thought that her unique look would fit in well with all the other stylin' seniors on their site. She asked if I would submit my photo for them to use and also include a little write up. So I did.

A New York native with a unique flair for fashion, it’s no secret that this California cab driver marches to the beat of her own drum with her dramatic sparkly sunglasses, Venetian mask earrings and loud checkered shirt.

A style as distinct as her story, she reflects with fondness on how she made the brave move west to San Diego in the 1960’s, back when the city was much smaller, quieter, and rife with young sailors. In the years since, she has watched the city around her grow in leaps and bounds to become the buzzing metropolis it is today, all from behind the windows of her yellow taxi cab.

I haven't visited the site in quite a while, but I was thinking about it the other day, so I tried Googling it. In my search I also ended up coming across a blog review on "Beyond Robson", and guess whose face is featured?  Yup! Kinda cool, huh? :)

(Just a side note, while I do fall in love with little old men about three times a week, I'm not the Melodie who commented on the article.)

Anyhow, I just thought I'd share that neat little tidbit, and also give another plug for Granpaparazzi. If you adore the elderly like I do, then you'll enjoy their site.