a broken lull.

i just caught N*E*R*D's "she wants to move" on musique plus. and i like it. it's a cross between the pop of In Search Of... and the harder, condensed stuff on the Neptunes' Clones album. i'll probably grow tired of it by the time the album, Fly or Die, drops march 23rd.

nice video, though.

Posted by Anonymous | 12:04 PM |

enjoy your freak day, you freaks.

me, i'm gonna go for a walk later today with the roommate and her aunt's big dog. then i'm going to work; my last day for a bit. i have tomorrow and tuesday off. so that's good.

i told you about my friend whose boyfriend got in a car accident a few weeks ago, right? well, he's still in a hospital in montreal. he's been doing really well this past week, talking about being genrally awake. a good thing. she's been going over to see him a few times and wants to go tuesday but she's doesn't have anyone to go with this time and is kinda edgy about driving alone in montreal. so i'm going. i was looking up things i could do while she was with her boyfriend - and i have nearly no money. so i checked out the Cinema du Parc schedule and, lo and behold, Bertolucci's The Dreamers is showing at 2:30 in the afternoon. perfect :)

but first she has to call the doctors tuesday to see if she can come down.

and as of right now i'm not even scheduled to go into work wednesday and thursday. i don't mind. two coworkers below me are already scheduled. so if they don't call me in i'm getting paid anyway :) thank you, unions. i'm hoping they won't see the mistake they made and forget about me for those two days :)

Posted by Anonymous | 10:37 AM |

wow. i just woke up from the coolest dream.

i don't really remember where it started but i think i was at my mother's house, or something that looked like our first house, back when i was a kid. but the biggest part of it took place at this coliseum-type place. it was a huge mall. i was with a friend from work and then we ran into another friend. we shopped and shopped and loaded the cart up. then it was time for the big show so we went to this huge opera-like theater (which was part of the "mall"). there were multiple levels in this thing and it wasn't all straight forward. the places down in front were all taken, of course, so we sat at the back for a while. oh yeah, this was a Radiohead show :) but it was one of those one-off things they do. this one had moving walls (theater walls!) and the guys ran from one stage to the next for each song/movement. it was quite elaborate. but we spent, or i spent, most of the beginning of the show trying to find a place where we would be able to see all the stages. not an easy task.

anyway. so back at the wall. we're sitting there. me with the cart. at one point i lose my friend. she went to get us some seats with friends she knows. i also have another friend in the place but i can't see her. the place is huge.

as i'm sitting there in the dark, the wall is beginning to fill up with people. i'm sitting there and it's mostly dark by now. then this one girl from work - we know of each but we don't work together - comes by and sits down next to me. she doesn't seem to have anyone with her either. she's looking for a seat. so she sits down next to me, actually kinda acknowledges me too which is cool. so we get to talking and stuff, and since people are filling up we're bundled up close to one another. that's nice. she seems to like it too. she kinda keeps to herself in real life with people she doesn't know on a personal basis, me included - we exchange hellos and shit but nothing more than that. she doesn't stop for me :) but in the dream she kinda opens up and we flirt. not too much but we flirt.

that was a nice dream.

there's also another bit where i go looking for good seats and stumble upon empty yellow beach with the biggest couch and most of the band is on this other "island" right in front of it. i call up my friends to come but expect the guys'll move to another stage as soon as the song is over.

so that's it :)
a really sweet dream.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:16 AM |

oh my god. 4 pm is the time the great-looking girls come out!

i've never said a truer statement than that.
shit. i was just out running some errands and ran across this great-looking girl who looked like she was around 36-year-old at the grocery store.
we crossed paths a couple of times once we were inside and i kept catching her throwing glances over at me.
then we ended up at our cash registers at the same time right along side one another.

she was amazing.

i dunno what it is about me these days but i do feel more confident.
and i have the new, growing beard. i don't want a full-blown beard but i think i'm hitting the right length today :)

and to make this day even better, i went to the mailbox today since, lo and behold, the amazon.ca tracker said my package was "out for delivery" this afternoon!! i wasn't expecting it until tomorrow at the earliest. so i stopped by the mailbox on my way to my errands ... and found two boxes inside!!!

yep. both the amazon and mymusic orders had arrived. i wasn't even expecting the mymusic order until next monday.
this shit is crazy.
not only have i stumbled upon this great site, it has almost every cd i want, it's highly affordable, and it's quick too !!

so, for the record, the following have made me that much richer, music-wise:

The Wrens - The Meadowlands
Cody ChesnuTT - The Headphone Masterpiece
John Vanderslice - Cellar Door
Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
Richard X - Richard X Presents his X-Factor Vol. 1
Elbow - Asleep in the Back (us bonus track)
Britta Phillips/Dean Wareham - L'Avventura

it's crazy because i've been after most of those for a long-ass time and now i just click a couple of times and i get them at my door and i don't have to get poor because of it.
i love it.

Posted by Anonymous | 4:44 PM |

24: Day 3: 3:00 am - 4:00 am

don't forget -- tonight is the last episode of 24 for the next five weeks.
best line about the break comes from bartcop:

Tonight's 24 is the last episode for five weeks.
Can Kim go that long without being kidnapped by a cougar?

have fun.

:: well. we're done for the next five weeks. i thought there'd be a bigger cliffhanger than this. it looks like they tried but it was kinda predictable that Gael would get a face full of virus. Michelle did kick some ass, though. that was impressive. but now i don't know if they do this kind of stuff just to makes us like every character they forgot to write about for the past couple of months. but Michelle did kick some ass.

and there was a first moment this season for me - finding a scene between Jack and Kim touching. after fighting it a bit at the start of the season, i've succumbed to it and the girl annoys me now. but -- the moment where Kim asks Jack that, yeah, killing Nina was necessary, right? the look and the pause on Jack's face told everything. that was impressive.

oh yeah, and now Sherry's found her match in the police detective. man that guy is good. everything was unraveling quite quickly for our favorite killer/liar. anything she said could be checked later on. having the maid hear and see her mercedes was a nice touch. and did Julia really spill the beans? i'm not sure at this point but the detective was pretty dead-on if she didn't tell him everything. i gotta say i've been feeling this storyline for the past couple of episodes. and they captured getting caught in a lie nicely.

Chase and Kim seem to have made up temporarily.
btw, does Chase even care about his kid?? lol. of course he could have gone to her while we were watching something else but we haven't seen him with her once. we could've seen him once with her and maybe Kim. but then again, who really cares about this superficial plot? it seems to have been thrown in to get sympathy for Kim (no more!, i say :)

the big surprise of the night, for me, was the reveal that the man who wants to do this little explosion knows Jack very well... :) (btw, what the hell does that hotel have to do with anything? just a warning?) i'm sure everyone was racking their brains at that point :) i have no clue who this man (or woman) is, nor do i wanna know right now. but this could be really good. (hmm, i'd figured it was someone out of Jack's past -- but could it be someone who's present in his life right now? i want it to be Kim so he can kill her at the end of the season :)

i can't wait for the nine-week rollercoaster to start moving up that hill. it will be one hell of a ride.

Posted by Anonymous | 6:36 PM |

uh.

i'm not sure how i feel about the Big Fat Obnoxious ending.

it's bittersweet, to say the least. i mean, money puts a smile on people's faces. definitely. but what the family went through was horrible.

and Steve kept referring to "the show, the show, the show" was great because it made the series even better than they'd expected. and he kept laughing like it was all okay because of the money even though Randi's father just mentioned that money was not a good enough reason to put a family through this kind ordeal. thanks but that doesn't help, Steve.

having the video recap after the wedding was a nice touch, though, since it did give time to the Coys to let the shock out of their system a bit and see the reality of Randi's true intentions for her family.

so that was sweet. but the finale seemed amazingly cruel right up to that point.

btw, i thought the final twist was gonna be that Randi's family was in on it and were giving Randi a hard time, and if they were successful (somehow. dunno how you gauge that) they would win more money for everyone than what was promised to Randi.

but i liked the twist they got with Steve not going along. that was cool.

Posted by Anonymous | 2:14 PM |

good morning, everyone.

i'm waiting for confirmation emails from amazon and mymusic about the status of my orders. hopefully they'll have every item i ordered in stock.

today The Digital Bits finally unveil The 5th Annual Bitsy Awards!

as of now only the front page's up but hopefully they'll put in the whole thing pretty soon (i believe they're out in california so it should be up in a couple of hours tops).

take the Turner Classic Movies' "31 Days of Oscar Quiz".
here's what i got:

YOUR CAREER CHOICE IS:
FILM EDITOR

Meticulous, inventive, cerebral, analytical - these are some of the words that describe you based on your responses. With those qualities, you'd make an ideal film editor. Also, your expertise in mastering new technologies and trying new ways to express yourself suggest a hidden talent for storytelling.

[ via the moviejuice blog ]

Posted by Anonymous | 9:44 AM |

well, i finally dove in and just click on my first order of many new albums. after much browsing for coupons and calculating shipping prices from various online sellers, i was finally able to find the best way to drop the prices on these fine items.

hopefully amazon.ca will be sending me these very soon:

The Wrens - Meadowlands
Cody ChesnuTT - The Headphone Masterpiece

took advantage of the free shipping when the order reached over $39. also added a $5 coupon on top of that.

and hopefully mymusic will also be able to deliver on these pretty soon:

John Vanderslice - Cellar Door
Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
Richard X - Richard X Presents his X-Factor Vol. 1
Elbow - Asleep in the Back (us bonus track)
Britta Phillips/Dean Wareham - L'Avventura

now let's see if they can ship all of these asap -- the Richard X didn't say how many days 'till they could ship it and the Elbow said "1-3 days" instead of the others which had "within 24 hours". we'll see.

thank god i spent all my music money for now 'cause this could be very addicting :)

have a good night.

Posted by Anonymous | 9:22 PM |

RETURNER | RITAANAA :: Takashi Yamazaki :: 2002

well, this one wasn't as good.
if you like your movies to have one-dimensional aspects of Terminator and Independence Day, then this is the movie for you.

there are some good scenes, especially some great visuals (the dirty grey/brown of the future has a nice texture to it; most of the film, actually, has a great washed-out quality that the dvd transfer makes shine).

Chungking Express' Takeshi Kaneshiro has a great character a-la-Neo, but the dullness and lack of originality of the script make sure none of it takes off after the first half hour.

this is an almost by-the-numbers sci-fi/action movie with cool set designs and cinematography.

Posted by Anonymous | 12:55 PM |

the RIAA as extortionists. so says a New Jersey mom in an innovative lawsuit hitting the courts.

sweet......

Posted by Anonymous | 10:07 AM |

SO CLOSE | CHIK YEUNG TIN SAI :: Corey Yuen :: 2002

woo-ow.
i was not expecting this film to rock as much as it did. seriously.
from what i'd read this was a film along the lines of Charlie's Angels, with teases of lesbian scenes and action sequences stolen from various movies. i was expecting it to be some fake-perky, one-dimensional action film geared towards the male audience.

but that was so not my experience!
this is a extremely fun film (although not in a "perky" (urgh) way) with a story all its own and some amazingly natural action sequences.

see, in Charlie's Angels, the actions scenes actually stop the movie dead in its tracks by telling us how cool the next step is gonna be, which it rarely is. there's a pretense to the whole thing. we are supposed to be dazzled, we are supposed to enjoy this (and for the record, i did not). but in this film, there's none of that. it's a story about two sister assassins and the complications they face with one particular job.

the film is fun and light, but light like an anime. it has a romance that doesn't bog down the story and although not tragically heart-wrenching, is actually a bit touching.

and the action sequences.
they're not huge set pieces. but i did find myself shocked and amazed by most of them. how so? i don't know. i guess it's because Corey Yuen doesn't tell you when something big is gonna happen. it just happens during a fight and there you go. it's not Crouching Tiger with magical wire acts. it's not out of this world. it just stays between the realm of reality and anime.

now -- the lead actress. Qi Shu.
what an amazing performer.

what a stunner. yes, she's cute (amazingly cute), but her performance anchors the goddamn film. on the one hand she kicks ass so naturally and she has this light air about her, but then she also gives this depth to her character, a sorrow that doesn't feel forced or pretentious. you can feel it just looking at her. it's quite a performance.

ooh, something else that doesn't make this a dreadful Charlie's Angels knockoff (where the hell did they get that comparison?) -- this film is not about girl power. there's nothing girl power-y about it. it's just a film about two female assassins and a female cop. the fact that they're female is never brought up -- not even once during the whole film. again, think anime. they've got girls in every other story and they never make it a point to tell you that. and when one of the actresses kicks some ass, it's never about a girl kicking ass. it's about trying to get out of a situation or doing their job.

well, there you go :)
as i was watching the film last night i was trying not to think of how i would write the review. i sometimes think about how i can write about certain films while i'm watching them. and with this one i was actually able to steer myself off of that idea and actually enjoy the film itself.

Corey Yuen directed The Transporter, and i didn't like that film one bit. i didn't feel involved in it nor did i care about the main character. well, i don't know what he ate or drank while he made this film but it fucking worked. i was expecting a cardboard cut-out of a action film with this one, with been-there, done-that action pieces; but what i got was this three-dimensional anime-style film, with engaging performances from every character.

i guess what i'm trying to say is that there was not a bored mind in sight :) done.

Posted by Anonymous | 9:28 AM |

well, i actually found two films i wanted to rent -- it's Hong Kong-time, people (it's quite cool that this one video store, although the most mainstream of video store chains, actually has a fair amount of cool foreign movies. and it's asian catalogue is starting to grow. that's how i learned about these two films):

So Close :: Corey Yuen :: 2002
Returner :: Takashi Yamazaki :: 2002

i'm not expecting masterpieces here but something to take me somewhere else for a couple of hours. and from the reviews i've read, i should at least have some fun watching them.

Posted by Anonymous | 2:31 PM |

hello, all.

having a good morning yet?
i know i am.
this is my weekend off. it's always a nice feeling to wake up to a weekend off. and to make it all even better it's snowing outside.

today is Canada Day in the NHL.
here are the teams playing tonight:

Montreal vs Toronto
Calgary vs Ottawa
Vancouver vs Edmonton

. . . . . . .

oh yeah, so yesterday i went out and ran some quick music-related errands before work. although i couldn't find any Talib Kweli albums (weird; i'm sure i saw some the previous times i was at hmv) i did end up with some really cool choices:

The Distillers - Coral Fang, Erykah Badu - World Wide Underground, British Sea Power - The Decline of British Sea Power, Iron & Wine - The Sea & the Rhythm (they actually had this ep at my store along with the first album, and it was cheaper than when i saw it in montreal)

and i finally got my copy of The Office - The Complete First Series (second one's already coming up - in april, i believe)

. . . . . . .

"i want something good to die for"

yeah. Songs for the Deaf rocks. hard.
i rediscovered it tow days ago and it hasn't left my computer since.

so today i'm gonna run a few errands, which i'm sure you're gonna read about as soon as i come back :) sorry about that but i can't help it; sometimes i just get excited :)
later.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:20 AM |

ha. this is a great idea!

next tuesday (feb 24th) help out in Grey Tuesday by posting DJ Danger Mouse's Grey Album on your site in protest to EMI's ass-sucking activities.

[ via heart murmur ]

i thought i'd have more news items to post this morning, but no, this seems to be it :) have a nice day, all.

oh wait - i do have some news!!

the incredibly sexy (and i'm a guy) James Badge Dale ("Chase") is gonna be on the godawful Sharon Osbourne Show today (i believe it's today). i saw the promo for it yesterday and it was one of the ugliest sight ever -- James didn't even have time to sit down when Sharon was all over him, groping his chest from behind. uh. gross. James was a trooper and took it kinda smiling but it was the weirdest moment i've seen from a host, i must tell you.

but i'm glad to see James getting some exposure. i don't like it 'cause i would've wanted to have kept him to ourselves (same with the actress who played Claudia; i hope she doesn't become some "it" girl. she should, i love her; but i don't like to see artists i love blow up and getting ripped to shreds as the mainstream suddenly gets on the train).

ah. he was in Hack in 2002.
fuck me, i saw his first movie (of two) -- Lord of the Flies back in 1990. our english teacher showed us that in high school. ha! :) i got a history with Chase :)

Posted by Anonymous | 11:02 AM |

fuck. i missed this but Conan apologized to the people of Quebec (and Canada) on his show last night.

very cool.
now move on.

Posted by Anonymous | 2:23 PM |

Dean drops out of Dem race.

but he's staying in the fight to take back the White House. very cool. this is one nice move on his part. i would've liked him to be the Pres but it looks like Kerry is getting the nomination so this is the best thing Dean can do now. i only hope that Kerry sees this and gets Dean on as Vice-Pres. they could be undefeatable.

ps. i'm gonna be watching last night's 24 this afternoon.
comments will come afterwards.

Posted by Anonymous | 12:46 PM |

IN THE CUT :: unrated director's edition :: Jane Campion :: 2003

there's a wonderful hazy new york quality to the whole film. Jane Campion uses long takes, sparse dialogue, and minimal performances from her actors. and Dion Beebe's beautiful cinematography (aided by a stunning transfer on the dvd) also helps ground the picture up.

it's not Sea of Love; it's more of a drama than a straight up thriller. it won't keep you on the edge of your seats. and it's not Body of Evidence either because the sexual drama parts of it are more grounded in reality than anything having to do with softcore porn. so a plus to Jane Campion for that.

it has to be said, though, that once you get to the end, there's a crappy conclusion waiting for you. it seems to come out of an entirely different movie, as if the ending to another script got mixed up with their script on their way to work one morning.

there's also one unnecessary character thrown into the mix to fuck you up as to the identity of the killer, but that's beside the point. as i said, it's not really a thriller. it's more of a character study on desire.

ooh, i gotta mention my boy Mark once again who does a bang-up job. this was the first time i'd seen him outside of You Can Count on Me and i didn't know how he'd fare as a non-loser. well, he's simply amazing. somehow managing to make a new york cop character look and feel interesting without sacrificing any integrity and without playing the charm card like most actors would do. i can't wait to see more of his films.

Posted by Anonymous | 12:14 PM |

You are trance!

[ link via oh manchester ]

Posted by Anonymous | 9:49 AM |

24: Day 3: 2:00 am - 3:00 am

please share your thoughts on the episode.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:35 PM |

Melissa Auf Der Maur interview from The Guardian.

excerpt:

When the Smashing Pumpkins' final world tour came to an end in December 2000, Auf Der Maur had been on the road for two years and needed to live "a non-planned-out year". She spent it in New York's Chelsea Hotel, dabbling in light-hearted, one-off bands and planning her solo album. She's now back in Montreal. "Obviously I was very concerned about the American political situation," she says. "It's an absolute must that we get rid of that president. I felt like a hypocrite because I complained about it non-stop and my American friends were saying, 'Well if Canada's so great, why don't you go back?' I'm a very proud Canadian. It's a very underrated country but I think that's what keeps it special."

[ thanks to the montreal city weblog ]

Posted by Anonymous | 11:19 AM |

INTOLERABLE CRUELTY :: Joel Coen :: 2003

this is another one of the Coens' warmly lit, quirky screwball comedies that they do so well.

i seriously don't have much to say about the film because, as usual, i dozed off in the middle of it, and also because the story is not the focus here, it seems. it features a style only them are able (or care) to pull off these days. it's this lighthearted cynical dissertation on love, done like one of those old Capra movies, it seems, but with a cynical, twisted heart this time. right along for the ride is another fine, fine actor, one George Clooney, who is very well-suited for this kind of self-aware style of acting.

even though it's not as inspired as my favorite Coen films (Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski), this film does have its share of great moments. trust me. if you're a fan, you'll definitely dig.

see, i told you i didn't have much to say about it.
but it's the Coens. how can you pass them up when there are so many people making movies these days that don't even seem to give a damn about films anymore?

ps. if you look closely, there's a really cool cameo in it for you :)

Posted by Anonymous | 9:07 PM |

boy. i haven't had much to talk about these past couple of days but this morning i feel as though i'm bursting at the seams :)

okay. i didn't feel like talking about this when it happened because i was just too pissed off, but yesterday things turned around and now i feel better about it.

thursday night Triumph went on Conan. if you live in Canada, you know what i'm talking about. if not, you probably don't.

so Triumph decides to go to Quebec city and try to find ignorant french bastards. the editing process gives us four quebecers who don't speak english, which gives Triumph a boner, it seems. they keep giving us french-canadians who don't understand Triumph and stand there looking confused and dumb. and it goes on. and on. and on. until it ends with Triumph telling one of them to learn the fucking language. as in english.

see, english Canada understands the can of worms this opened up. americans, not so much. for outsiders this might look like some rivalry, an issue to get some cheap laughs out of. but it's not. it's a sore and sensitive subject that most of us are trying to get over.

i don't blame Conan or the show for this. if there's blame to be laid, it's on Triumph that it falls. i do sincerely believe that no one did this to hurt anyone. i do believe no one understood the depth of this issue. it is racist.

i couldn't believe it when i saw it. as a french-canadian quebecer, i was beside myself for the next two days whenever it was brought up. i love Triumph but this was just insensitive. they should've asked someone from Canada about it before going ahead. Triumph does his thing. and i respect that. but it was highly insensitive.

but then yesterday i stumble upon this Globe and Mail article and everything just melted away.

Conservative Party leadership candidate Stephen Harper, in Quebec City yesterday, also condemned the comedy routine. "This is the place where our country was founded nearly 400 years ago," Mr. Harper said. "We can all make jokes about each other but you don't start telling people in Quebec they have to speak another language. That's completely unacceptable."

and this seriously warmed my heart:

Matthew Finlason, 28, of Toronto, and Meredith Henderson, 20, of Vancouver, were waving signs with slogans such as "Toronto loves Quebec." and "We don't need your freedom fries."

Mr. Finlason said he came to demonstrate outside the theatre because he thought the offending sketch on Thursday night's show "made it appear to the Americans as if all of English Canada hates the French, and we don't hate the French."

"For this show to attack Canadian culture and French Canadians is an attack on all Canadians," he said.

and finally Ed the Sock weighed in:

"This is just miscalculated. It's clear that they didn't really understand the cultural sensitivities in Canada."

seriously, that one article warmed me up inside and made everything alright again, because the people i care about understand us. every one of us.

I Love Canada :)

. . . . . . .

... so yeah. yesterday i'm at work, right? so i go online and check out some sites. then i stumble onto this shit. the craziest shit. it's about 24. and a villain that's set to appear... yep, in the next episode. lol. crazy shit. so yeah. i know the actor. not personally, but as an actor. it's the craziest thing because he's from Quebec. apparently he and Kiefer have been friends for a couple of years after doing a film i never heard a thing about. so yeah, he's gonna be the villain. i didn't read the article straight through because i didn't wanna spoil it for myself but my guest is that he's the big bad villain of the season. that would be cool.

i'm not gonna link to the article :) i don't wanna spoil for ya that easily :)

. . . . . . .

anyone catch SNL last night??? fuck! Drew Barrymore and Kelis.
i didn't wanna tape it 'cause the show's been sucking for, like, ever now, and especially last week. but it looks like they were just keeping the best scripts for Drew.

i came home around 12:15 and i swear the show was amazing until the very end. you're usually lucky if you even get a funny pre-host intro. but this sketches was incredibly funny and inventive until the end! amazing.

and Drew was a natural. i could not believe how at ease she seemed :) very funny.

and the Kerry-Bush-Clinton was the funniest, and gutsiest, thing, with everyone doing a perfect job. they finally found most of their balls.

and Kelis. argh. what can i say? i do not understand why this girl is not a superstar yet. i don't care, actually, i'd much rather keep her amongst ourselves. the girl can just sing. i only saw the second song she did and she didn't do any Christina, she just sung the song, in this most quiet but sure way. hmm. delicious.

last night i fell in love. it's Kelis :) i'd already had a tiny crush on her from seeing her in her videos, but last night it was in the flesh. she just glows. and when she smiles...? ah. i melted. go back and watch the cast goodbyes at the end, and check out Kelis. she just glows. Nas, you're a lucky bastard.

. . . . . . .

i had a dream last night...

i just had the most beautiful dream.

you know what i dreamt about? a bear. lol :) yep. somehow me and the roommate had a small cub with us. she got up to 6 feet when she stood on her two legs, though. anyway. she was nice :)

we were gonna move into our new apartment in a couple of days and so we went and had a look at it. we had the key. i was the first one there, along with the bear :) as soon as i unlocked the front door, though, i noticed a light switching off inside. i immediately opened all the doors to get inside as soon as possible to catch whoever was there and let the bear in :) there was this guy there. he didn't try anything funny or run out or anything. i was cool about it. i think we talked for about half an hour. lol :) then my friends came in. i asked one of them if he could check out the bedrooms at the back, i'd heard a noise these earlier. sure enough the guy's girlfriend was there :) some furniture was still left and it looked like they were crashing. dunno if there were the previous occupants or what. the girlfriend was more stand-offish than the guy, though. lol. she didn't make a scene. she seemed to understand the situation but i informed that we'd be moving in sunday, in 3 days. she didn't have to get her shit out right away (i was a nice guy :) but we'd be moving in sunday. she said she had some evidence that says they'd also be there sunday. for some reason. anyway. i ended our little chat by saying that my roommate was a lawyer. lol. which she is in real life. i've always wanted to throw that in in real life but i haven't had the chance yet :P

Posted by Anonymous | 9:48 AM |

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

it's a pretty uneventful day for me this year as i don't have a girl to call my sweetie. but i'm honestly okay about it.

the weirdest thing is that friday the 13th passed without me noticing it until someone mentioned it today. lol

Posted by Anonymous | 11:38 AM |

YOU CAN COUNT ON ME :: Kenneth Lonergan :: 2000

wow.

see the power of this film -- i just had to immediately email my brother and tell him to rent this film (along with Lynch's The Straight Story).

Mark Ruffalo, you are the reason i'm gonna rent In the Cut next week.

i'm not gonna say much because words really do fail me but needless to say i'm really glad i didn't know what it was about outside of it being a family drama (not the Disney kind). an amazing film.

everyone's just outstanding and it just flows. and if that last scene isn't the longest good crying scene i don't know what is.

shit.
i'm done.

Posted by Anonymous | 3:49 PM |

Happy One Year Anniversary to my little blog.

i forgot about it as the day passed yesterday.

in it's first year, i hope the blog saw me evolve a bit. talk more openly about myself (and not just about which album i purchase :) it's a goal i set myself in the span of the last year and i think i started to achieve it a little bit.

aside from that, what else? hmm. not much. i love this blogging world and i'm happy to have found it and become a part of it just about a year ago.

i have nothing to add :)

Posted by Anonymous | 10:41 AM |

THE STUNT MAN :: Richard Rush :: 1980

this is one quirky little film isn't it??
fuck me. it definitely came out of leftfield for me. i only heard about it film last year when the dvd was released to much praise and relief by film fans everywhere.

there's this insane quality about it that confuses the mind. lol. it's amazing. it's a Monty Python-type confusion that just engulfs the whole thing and swallows you whole. it's a circus act (with the amazingly talented Peter O'Toole at the helm) where you never know what's up and what's down. it's a seriously gratifying piece of work.

Steve Railsback gives one fine performance. he's got this deadness in his eyes that just brings you back to reality every other scene. on the one hand you've got these flights of fancy of the film world and then you're brought right back down to the nitty gritty just by a stare or an emotion that reminds you that the main character is also a fucking ticing timebomb.

it's an amazing piece of work. i'll say that much about the film.

i highly recommend this film to anyone who particularly enjoys film, fiction, and the filmmaking process.

Posted by Anonymous | 9:47 PM |

sometimes you're just lucky.

after a disappointing run to the used record store (i swear that's where i saw Ludacris' Chicken -n- Beer...), things managed to take a turn for the better.

errands like these usually end up with a couple of desperate buys but i wasn't feeling like that today.
here's what i got:

Kanye West, The College Dropout
Super Furry Animals, Phantom Power
Grandaddy, Sumday

i did really good.
yay.

Posted by Anonymous | 4:33 PM |

highlights from 'VH1 News Presents: Presidential Pop Culture Quiz':

When asked if elected president would he have the power in him to reunite
the Fugees with Wyclef:

I would try, believe me. I'm a huge John Forte fan, I'm a big Lauryn Hill
fan. It'd be a great crew.

lol. man.
that's the good Dr Dean talking.
did these guys get the questions in advance? if not, you guys need to put this man in the Oval Office right fucking now :)

Posted by Anonymous | 2:22 PM |

24: Day 3: 1:00 am - 2:00 am

post your thoughts and comments.

:: first off -- Nina is a genius. pure and simple. the virus thing was the outstanding surprise of the season so far. too bad Chloe was able reverse it in time. Jack's smile - when he tells Nina they were able to stop the virus, she doesn't believe him but he says he doesn't care what she believes - made my fucking day.

Sherry just got scary. i always felt she was slimy, and good at it, but last night she was geniunely scary. we finally got a glimpse of her dark art, one she so finely wields.

and Chloe is now finally starting to make sense (excluding the mundane revelation at the end about who the father is; unless Chase had this baby with Nina, there's no way i'm caring for this storyline).

all in all it was a nice episode. two huge surprises and no huge missteps. i also loved the atmosphere on the cargo plane. this episode felt like it was actually going somewhere.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:02 AM |

okay. so you do you know what the definition of "insane" is? okay. do you know the one for "INSANE"?

if you hate music, and consider yourself a serious terrorist, the folks over at Coachella just made your life sooo easy -- here are most of the folks you can expect to get rid of on May 1 and 2, 2004:

Radiohead, Pixies, Kraftwerk, Wilco, International Noise Conspiracy, Sparta, Desert Sessions, Laurent Garnier, Hieroglyphics, The Rapture, Stereolab, The Future Sound of London, ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Peretz, Death Cab for Cutie, Kinky, LCD Sound System, Sahara Hotnights, Electric Six, The Stills, Phantom Planet, Q and Not U, Stellastarr*.

The Cure, The Flaming Lips, Air, Belle & Sebastian, Basement Jaxx, Paul Van Dyke, Bright Eyes, Atmosphere, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Cursive, Le Tigre, The Crystal Method, Dizzie Rascal, Ferry Corsten, Mogwai, Ash, 2 Many DJ's, Muse, The Thrills, Elefant, Broken Social Scene, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Prefuse 73.

the only people missing from this trip are The White Stripes so i'm thinking this easy target thing might be Jack's idea for future world domination. not sure yet. we'll see how it goes.

good luck to all the bands.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:51 PM |

the 2004 Grammy Awards.

quick impressions for as long as i can stomach the show.

Prince opening the show, with "purple rain", was classic. bringing Beyonce on was kind of a good idea but she's way overexposed and the vocal summersaults and bad hair don't help much. i loved Prince's guitar work.

surprise of the night for me - Quentin Tarantino comes on as an announcer! (btw, i can't wait for The Aviator to come out so we can finally safely watch an awards show without having Gwen go up to announce awards. is that the same outfit she's been wearing for the past four months??) huge geeky props to Quentin for his "hey beyonce, come on down!". lmao.

how come the Grammies have incredibly cool live performances now but they still nominate people like Sting and Aerosmith? gotta open up your ears, there's other music being made out there (and i'm not talking experimental shit, just in "pop", the only nominees that made sense were Fountains of Wayne).

they should've let the New Beatles go on for a song or two more. and Pharrell on drums?? fuck yeah. the Grammies rule for that one.

The White Stripes do "seven nation army". again. but then segue into a song i don't remember ever hearing (haven't listened to Elephant as much as i'd liked). Meg has never looked as stunning as this, with that amazing black bustier. wow. and Jack fucking rocks!! rock on, folks. these are The White Stripes.

Christina -- thanks for screwing up my favorite song of yours, "beautiful". the deconstruction thing was an abysmal idea. fuck your technique. stop showing off. we know you can sing; you would've won way more fans had you sung it like Linda Perry showed you to.

Outkast wins for best rap album (fucked up Grammy nomination rules: i'm pretty goddamn sure Under Construction and Phrenology both came out in 2002). after about a minute of a camera frantically looking down the aisle, Andre comes out (probably from backstage), takes the mic, says 'thank you' and leaves :) now that's a classic moment.

Justin wins. i didn't catch the category but "cry me a river" is playing. it's the bestest moment of his life. ever. serious. oh well. he's supposed to be playing "senorita" with Arturo Sandoval later on (btw, how come we saw clips of these performances at the start of the show??? didn't we? isn't the show only five seconds off?).

Celine, stop it.
i was seriously prepared to listen through her tribute song to Luther because i thought the song, about his father, could have some resonance in me. but damn if the woman's singing doesn't recall every fucking song she ever did ever since Titanic. and you were upstaged by a twentysomething who seemed to be singing a bit too low at times. that girl at more soul than you, the apparent veteran.

9:04 pm -- i'm turning it off.

9:15 pm -- Christina, your fake tits are coming out of your dress. you won for "beautiful". nice. she thanked Linda. nicely done.

Posted by Anonymous | 9:07 PM |

well, i'll set aside my thoughts on Conan's all-important Canadian visit long enough to set my vcr and tell you this -- Triumph is coming to town :)

i just came back from a quick run at the used record store. it'd been a couple of weeks since i last went and i managed to pick up two albums i'd been looking for for a while now (but not buying 'em at the normal stores because i didn't feel that passionate about them yet):

Ludacris - Word of Mouf
Sean Paul - Dutty Rock (goddamn you, hit singles!!)

Posted by Anonymous | 3:49 PM |

whoa.
here's one really lame lineup over at Conan in Toronto (thanks to frank at chromewaves):

Tu 2/10: Mike Myers, Ron James
We 2/11: Michael J. Fox, Ken Capling, Nickelback
Th 2/12: Adam Sandler, Stompin' Tom Connors
Fr 2/13: Jim Carrey, Eric McCormack, Barenaked Ladies

yep. that's Stompin' Tom Connors.
and Nickelback. lol... shit.
how much more superficial and stereotypical can you get about canada, really?
what, Celine Dion wasn't available? what about Brian Adams? 'cause, hey, we listen to them every day up here.

that's one hell of a scratch-deep reflection of canada right there. you could not get a lazier lineup. you could not. even if i paid you good money to try, you could not get a more stereotypical view of canadian culture.
whatthefuck? those are all pretty well-known States celebs. there's no curiousity about our culture. it's like saying the icelandic music scene is only comprised of Bjork and Sigur Ros. how lame is that?? what are they trying to do? hope people will watch for Nickelback and then hit them with facts about Toronto and Canada? people watch late night tv anyway.

i know i'm getting worked up for (mostly) nothing, but still...
who the hell worked on that series??
i'm fucking pissed. lol

see, you get Broken Social Scene, Peaches, The New Pornographers, Rufus, The Stills, The Dears, The Stars, etc and etc. that's what i'd call a good lineup.

sigh. it seems like next week is not gonna be the week we help the americans understand us a bit more.

and Adam Sandler better have one damn funny bit for him to be on that lineup during canadian week.

...
Nickelback???!!!!!! really?
for fuck's sake.

even //we// don't like their crap.

Posted by Anonymous | 6:45 PM |

there is now absolutely no need for me to go outside for the next two days :)

see, Blockbuster was good to me. very, very good. i was almost like a kid in a candy store. the only thing missing was a plethora of cool films on dvd. but even if there wasn't a multitude of films to choose from (even i'd already made up my mind about which films i would be getting), there were some surprising dvd's i hadn't noticed last time i was there.

Blockbuster has a cool reward system where when you rent one or more films from their "older" films library (ie. 6 month-old films, or just about), you save money. and the more you rent at one time, the more you save. and since these are all one-week rentals, there's really nothing standing in the way of you renting more than one or two films at a time, now, is there?

the problem is, i had two films in my hands and wanted a third and final one to top it all off and call it a day. but the program jumps from 2 rentals to 4. lol. yep. and i jumped in :) here's what i got (some little gems in there) for a measly $10 (for one full week!):

You Can Count on Me :: digitally obsessed . dvd town . dvd verdict
Scarface, 20th anniversary edition (widescreen) :: dvd verdict
Baby Boy, special edition :: digitally obsessed . the digital bits
The Stunt Man :: dvd town

Posted by Anonymous | 5:26 PM |

bah. i got a cold this week. called in sick wednesday because i woke up with a scratchy throat and i wanted to take care of it (took advantage of this ruse to wacth both Seabiscuit and American Splendor). thursday i went in feeling kinda alright. but i got it with the biggest energy drop once i was actually at work. i was a walking zombie. thank god the department i was doing was easy. yesterday was another matter. i felt rather low. i called my friend/coworker up to see if she knew if i could get a vacation day instead of going into work. she said no. she also filled me in some more about why she hadn't been to work the past two days (last week her boyfriend called her up at work, in tears. seems his meds hadn't worked well. she rushed home and they spent the weekend up north to see his doctor).

well, her boyfriend had gotten in a car accident this wednesday coming home from work. he was at the other hospital's emergency room and the cops called my friend up at work and told her to drop everything and come straight away. two hours later he was rushed to a hospital in montreal where there were specialists waiting for him. seems he'd gotten caught in his burning car. that must be hell. seriously. how freaky can that be? anyway. he'd been pretty much out of it since then and scheduled for his operation yesterday. apparently, everything went super fine. but, understandably, my friend hasn't been in the best state since then. last week she lost four days of work. this week she was down by two. so she was going in yesterday. i knew i was also going in when she told me that.

so i went in.
once again i was a semi-zombie but i took some tylenols and only fruits and vegetables for dinner. i actually felt a whole lot better during the evening. i think i spurred my system on to fight this thing. and i slept very well last night. today i'm gonna get some stuff for the cold (it even tastes like a sickness when i cough :) urgh).

. . . . . . .

the roommate is once again out for the weekend.
those of you in the Ottawa area can catch her around the Rideau Canal today or tomorrow.

what does on do when he has over two full days off with no roommate? party - no. go out with friends - nope.
you rent movies, dummy! or i do, at least. losers do.

so today i'm planning on going all the way across town to the Blockbuster and renting To Die For (now i'm not sure if i haven't seen it, actually. i started remembering parts of it yesterday at work but i'm not sure if i ever saw the whole thing. i know a friend of mine had the laserdisc back when it came out) and You Can Count on Me. i'm on an 'older' movie bent right now. movies i missed out on and that i can rent for one full week. finding buried treasures among the crap.

last night i thought i could do a Mark Ruffalo festival since i was renting You Can Count on Me and In the Cut is coming out next week, but there's nothing really exciting in his filmography, is there?

oh, and on the trail of Seabiscuit i thought i could rent Gary Ross' Pleasantville. dunno if Blockbuster is carrying the dvd, though.

. . . . . . .

next week is Conan in Toronto.
and he's actually gonna have canadian celebs on. i just thought he'd get normal celebs but no. Mike Myers, Michael J Fox (Scrubs is now apparently on tuesday nights. fuckers.), Jim Carrey, Barenaked Ladies, etc. oh well. it's cool because it's Canadian Power but these seems like the most obvious choices. these are good but hopefully he'll have some more indie or cooler choices (Broken Social Scene, etc. Conan always has interesting musical acts on).

Posted by Anonymous | 11:43 AM |

lmfao - go take a peek at the Maclean's cover.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:44 AM |

SEABISCUIT :: Gary Ross :: 2003

like everyone else, i loved it. what can you do?

and i hate cheesy, predictable disney films. although it's a feel good type of movie, it's not a disney film. it's not sappy. it tugs at the heart strings, but it doesn't do it in a predictable, cookie-cutter kind of way. the hero doesn't have to win at the end. the story's not about that. it doesn't trick you into all sorts of sentimental corners. of course you know the story, but ... ah: what this movie has that so few movies have these days, and it has it in spades, is heart. and that's where the truth, and the power, of this film lies.

as everyone will tell you, the magic happens between the frames. it's not in the story. it's not in the plot details. it's in the actors, and in the wonderful storytelling (and the beautiful Randy Newman score). what Gary Ross did with this film is he let it ebb and flow. the two hours and twenty minutes are extremely well spent. i didn't even want it to end! i wanted it to just go on and on.

i dozed off in the middle of the film (my fault, not the film's; i was dead tired) for a good twenty-five minutes. for me to then wake up and manage to be so moved by it (seriously - i went into tiny uncontrollable spasms and sobbed - twice, for fuck's sake!) is, i think, a testament to the strength of this film.

(and you gotta give it up for William H Macy. give the man four minutes and he gets you all excited in no time :)

. . . . . . .

AMERICAN SPLENDOR :: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini :: 2003

this is one sick, twisted biography. and i loved it!

i loved the misery, and even though Harvey appears to be an affable character, you can see that there's a highly intelligent character behind it, with a sharp wit, conscious of most of what is happening to him. he comes close to wallowing in his own misery a couple of times but the directors never let it become a self-pitying, or narcissistic, portrait.

i loved how they managed to successfully tie in both fiction and non-fiction into this tale of Harvey Pekar's "miserable" existence. i loved the tone of it, the humor. these guys got it right. they got the scathing humor and the raw honesty of its main character. it's all here. i never did manage to care for Ghost World. these guys should've made it. now i hear that they're getting Young Bride of Frankenstein on track. good for them! with this, and Peter Jackson's King Kong, it seems the right people are finally getting their due in hollywood. i guess good work and great taste can pay off.

i don't have much to say about the film in particular, other than i enjoyed it, laughed out loud at 1 in the morning, and liked Paul Giamatti's performance as Harvey. it was a gamble, though, to put the the real Harvey and Paul's character nearly side-by-side from the very beginning, but it doesn't take long before you fall for Giamatti's performance and forget about the challenge of his task.

aside from what i felt was a rushed ending, this film deservedly goes into my top three favorite films of 2003.

Posted by Anonymous | 9:26 PM |

24: 12:00 am - 1:00 am

i haven't seen the episode yet but you can post your thoughts and comments on here.
i'm planning on watching it tomorrow. i'll be back with my thoughts afterwards. i'm going to bed.

:: alright. Jon Cassar is back on as director. we love him. you can relax, you know we're in good hands when Jon, or anyone of the creators of the show, is writing and directing an episode.

this one was alright. it feels as if they're moving into a new direction and this was part of the transition process they need to go through. after all, this episode marks the middle of the season.

i thought Nina had switched the virus. but she couldn't have a small bomb that looked like the virus on her since she'd been watched by Jack and Hector for an hour or two. so Amador has the virus, and Nina's buyers' money. she'll need some kind of protection. is she out on her own now? i kinda missed how it ended for her after the helicopters came down and shelled the place down (nice action sequence, btw). so if she's out running in the hills alone, she'll need protection from whoever (haha, we don't know who that is yet, do we?) the buyers were.

now the hunt follows Amador.

and what's with Chloe's baby? hmm. Frank mentioned a black market ring. i think he's right.

and what was up with the frequency bug? for a few seconds there it looked like Chloe was responsible, but then Chase was back on and we didn't seem to have lost any vital info. just a scare? probably.

was Kelley dead? i couldn't figure out if that was blood on his curtains or just bad decorating taste. i actually like the new Palmer storyline, much more so than the one with Anne.

btw, i'd really like to know who his emprisoned son is. i have a feeling we're gonna find out soon enough. this is not over.

i'd like to direct you over to Melia's excellent 24 Addict blog for some 24 inside jokes hidden in the shows.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:08 PM |

does anyone know where i can get the version of Enrique Iglesias' "Not in Love" with Kelis?
allmusic doesn't mention that Kelis is on the album version (then again, they're not always 100% on these things).

i caught the video yesterday and it blew me away. first, that Kelis was on something new; second, that she was on a new single by someone as international as Enrique; and third, that the song was really really good. it's the first song on Enrique's last album, 7.

it's a song that is so good, way better than the sum of its parts have any reason to be.

okay. so as far as i've been able to confirm, the song used in the video is "Not in Love (Remix)" featuring Kelis. there was also a spanish version done. okay, so -- where are these available?

Posted by Anonymous | 9:01 AM |

this is what everyone will be talking about for the next 2 days -- Justin exposed Janet Jackson's right breast during the Superbowl Half-Time show when he tore up (re: took off) part of her dress and the incriminating boob flopped out (no one's talking about how not a good look that is for a breast. i guess it's more about finally seeing one of Janet's breasts; but if you're gonna go down as low as showing your titties on international television, at least make sure it's worthwhile and not just for some hollow shock value. this will follow you. and not in a good way).

CBS is pissed off right now (or at least acting pissed) about the whole stunt and say they knew nothing about it. Justin is now backtracking:

"I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl...it was not intentional and is regrettable."

look. i only saw it happen during a news show so i was only able to see it for a split second. but -- what i remember seeing was Justin cautiously reaching over and then tearing it up. and, if you look for more than a second at any pic of the offending boob, you will clearly see that there was also a red bra under the breastplate, which JT also so very effortlessly tore off. this was planned.
whether CBS was aware of it or not.

this sadly smacks of BritBrit-Madonna desperation/one-upmanship (but just a bit less desperation because of JT's involvement. but Janet -- come on. you're better than that. why do you have to rely on showing your breasts (Rollingstone cover a few years back) to get some publicity? it's not like you were in trouble and down to your last option. people respected you. and why the lip-synch??

when did performers all suddenly become softcore porn actors? i know i know. i'm not some prude, i know sex sells everything. but it does seem like someone permanently lowered the bar on these things.

(btw, i do blame Britney's recent bouts of desperation for this.)

Posted by Anonymous | 10:35 AM |