As you know, I am a proud Canadian. But I am also a proud American. I was born at the Fort Hood army hospital in Killeen, Texas, where my dad served in the U.S. army.
As I stood on the sidewalk reading words I never thought I would, my heart absolutely swelled inside my chest. It's a wonder I didn't burst out crying right there at the bus stop.
For today's Through the Opera Glasses, I dedicate this song to all of the Americans who have bravely voted this bill into existence.
I also dedicate this song to the Americans who have fought against this bill.
"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." - Matthew 25:45
As you may know, my husband works for Blockbuster and we enjoy his one and only perk - free DVD rentals. Especially the new releases, which staff are encouraged to watch one week before they go on sale, so they can inform customers about the films.
My husband is a film buff extraordinaire. He don't need no encouragement, girlfriend. He watches everything. This weekend he watched Astroboy and The Fourth Kind, among other things.
Yesterday I piled onto the couch with The Pack - my husband, the Alpha Male; yours truly, the Alpha Female and our dog Xena - and settled in to watch the second instalment of The Twilight Saga, New Moon.
Both Brad and I enjoyed it, which we can't say about the first one. It's rare for an origin story to be the weakest of a film series, but that's definitely the case with The Twilight Saga. The change in directors most assuredly helped. Chris Weitz made character-driven About a Boy as well as the suitably sinister Golden Compass, and his handling of the love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob in New Moon brings the strengths from both previous films to the fore in this one.
What I enjoyed most was the exploration of a particularly female lament throughout history. Bella has two love interests who insist 'It's not you, it's me', breaking their previous promises never to hurt her, by wounding her deeply. The men in her life make decisions on her behalf despite her protests about how she actually feels.
Given the particular problems these two men in the love triangle are dealing with, their desire to protect her from themselves makes sense and gives the love triangle more pathos. I do so love romantic triangles where each participant is attractive to the audience, where there is no clear bad choice.
What I was truly looking forward to, however, was the supporting role of Aro, played by Michael Sheen. I couldn't help but laugh when I read this review of New Moon from Rolling Stone:
"Late in the film, a real actor, Michael Sheen shows up as the mind-reading Aro, of the Italian Volturi vampires, and sparks things up. You can almost hear the young cast thinking, 'Is that acting? It looks hard.' So Sheen is quickly ushered out, and New Moon begins swanning toward certain box-office glory." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
LOL! Burn.
Here's the trailer that showed more Volturi and less beefcake. Enjoy.
'It's a wonderful night for Oscar! Oscar, Oscar! Who will win...?'
Last night's Oscar broadcast, another red carpet. My second favorite night of the year, after Christmas Eve. Besides all the film industry celebration, of which I can never get enough, besides all the sacrifice suddenly being worth it for the artists and craftspeople who heft the statuette in their hands, the red carpet event at the Oscars is my favorite thing of all.
Here are my personal favorite gowns from the 2010 walk towards the 82nd Academy Awards.
1 - My favorite: Penelope Cruz took my breath away in this dramatic, deep red Donna Karan creation.
2 - Sandra Bullock shimmered in this feminine velvet gown with exquisite lace, by Marchesa.
3 - Anna Kendrick glowed in this ultra-feminine frothy blush-pink gown by Elie Saab.
4 - Helen Mirren sparkled in this soft-gray Badgley Mishka gown.
5 - Luciana Pedraza, wife of Crazy Heart producer Robert Duval, impressed me with this understated blush-pink slip gown.
6 - Jane Seymour radiated joie de vivre in her brilliant red, sculpted-bodice, strapless sheath.
7 - Cameron Diaz gleams in golden Oscar de la Renta.
Shaun Majumder from This Hour Has 22 Minutes - a Canadian current affairs and political satire program modelled after a news broadcast - which preceded Jon Stewart's similar The Daily Show by three years - caught up with hockey phenom Sidney Crosby back in November when Crosby was in Halifax to carry the Olympic torch.
Photo by Paul Darrow
Canadian politicians and celebrities know the cast of 22 Minutes can ambush them at any moment. So when Crosby recognizes Shaun Majumder, you can see he's preparing himself for anything.
What he gets is an amazingly accurate prediction for how the Olympics will turn out for him.
Champion of the Arts - I write historical and paranormal fiction, as well as poetry. I love to showcase creative works by artists of all stripes. Blogging from Nova Scotia, Canada
Posts
