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Monday, February 27, 2006
got your back
i saw Brokeback Mountain on the weekend and it is intense. totally not what i was expecting. i assumed it would be really good considering the hype and that it consistently got rave reviews...but wow. Didn't see THAT coming. Heath Ledger's performance as Ennis Delmarr was amazing. His character arch is really heartbreaking, as you see him go through the start of a fierce love affair, force himself to deny that longing and throw himself into responsibility, contend with the bitterness of living a dual identity and dealing with the loss of that love. jake gyllenhall as jack twiss was also really striking...it was interesting to see how his character dealt with the same circumstances; in the end, jack twiss had a slightly more cynical and bitter edge to him, which was a huge contrast to the openness and optimism of his character in the beginning.
it was really remarkable. i think the main thing that affected me was seeing Ennis and Jack dealing with a love they could not live without, one that ruined them for anyone else. they needed each other to be whole, almost with this forceful desperation, and yet in the end it wasn't enough to save them. it's funny that i saw a movie like this at a point where i feel the most insecure about the state of all of my relationships.
i saw Brokeback Mountain on the weekend and it is intense. totally not what i was expecting. i assumed it would be really good considering the hype and that it consistently got rave reviews...but wow. Didn't see THAT coming. Heath Ledger's performance as Ennis Delmarr was amazing. His character arch is really heartbreaking, as you see him go through the start of a fierce love affair, force himself to deny that longing and throw himself into responsibility, contend with the bitterness of living a dual identity and dealing with the loss of that love. jake gyllenhall as jack twiss was also really striking...it was interesting to see how his character dealt with the same circumstances; in the end, jack twiss had a slightly more cynical and bitter edge to him, which was a huge contrast to the openness and optimism of his character in the beginning.
it was really remarkable. i think the main thing that affected me was seeing Ennis and Jack dealing with a love they could not live without, one that ruined them for anyone else. they needed each other to be whole, almost with this forceful desperation, and yet in the end it wasn't enough to save them. it's funny that i saw a movie like this at a point where i feel the most insecure about the state of all of my relationships.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
a note to my family, AJ, and friends...even acquaintances:
can we please, please see this:
thank you!
love
naomi
can we please, please see this:
thank you!
love
naomi
noteworthy
-if you've never snowboarded before, you MUST take a lesson. this will increase your enjoyment exponentially, and will prevent you from feeling helpless and cluelessly throwing your body down the side of a mountain.
-if someone has invented some sort of drug that will help me get off of a chairlift without falling, please contact me ASAP at 0_for_4@bluemountain.com
-need spiffy glasses? want them for cheap? go to LF Warehouse, 131 Sunrise Avenue, Toronto, ON 416-752-4433. They have "frame stylists" that will help you choose COOL frames that best suit your face. they carry a house brand and big names like gucci, chanel, burberry, baby phat, bvlgari, prada etc. and since it's a warehouse, you can expect to get around $100 off of the retail price. i really like my frames, but the look will probably ruined by my legally-blind-coke-bottle lenses =)
-need a casual but cool space to chill at? i went out (gasp, i know!) to Supermarket in Kensington and had a really really good time. They played breakbeats and acid jazz! and TLC's "What About Your Friends"!! woohoooooooo! it's small and relaxed and the crowd was made up of a good mix of people. i haven't tried the food but it looks decent.
-if you've never snowboarded before, you MUST take a lesson. this will increase your enjoyment exponentially, and will prevent you from feeling helpless and cluelessly throwing your body down the side of a mountain.
-if someone has invented some sort of drug that will help me get off of a chairlift without falling, please contact me ASAP at 0_for_4@bluemountain.com
-need spiffy glasses? want them for cheap? go to LF Warehouse, 131 Sunrise Avenue, Toronto, ON 416-752-4433. They have "frame stylists" that will help you choose COOL frames that best suit your face. they carry a house brand and big names like gucci, chanel, burberry, baby phat, bvlgari, prada etc. and since it's a warehouse, you can expect to get around $100 off of the retail price. i really like my frames, but the look will probably ruined by my legally-blind-coke-bottle lenses =)
-need a casual but cool space to chill at? i went out (gasp, i know!) to Supermarket in Kensington and had a really really good time. They played breakbeats and acid jazz! and TLC's "What About Your Friends"!! woohoooooooo! it's small and relaxed and the crowd was made up of a good mix of people. i haven't tried the food but it looks decent.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
channelling macgyver
listening to jamie cullum's "blame it on my youth"...kind of perfect for a slow, solitary saturday twilight.
anyways, a short post.
on imagination.
don't you find that we hardly ever escape into the fantastical, willingly, without obvious prods (like movies, books, shows, etc.?), and even then it is a passive encounter. is it because our stores of knowledge keep on expanding every minute so that we can only take things literally? are we living through metaphor and allegory enough? i feel my hold on imagination is a tenuous one, especially when i feel a bit bogged down with the literal, and it really scares me. i don't want to be the kind of teacher/caregiver that tells young children sternly, with a disapproving frown, that FOR SURE, purple flying fish with turquoise fins and a rainbow tail ARE NOT POSSIBLE!!!
ack! scary!!
even einstein said imagination is more important than knowledge.
remember when this
was NOT a helpful device used primarily during relocation but
this...
or this...
or maybe this...
or how about this...
or possibly this...
or if you wanted to be super fancy...
listening to jamie cullum's "blame it on my youth"...kind of perfect for a slow, solitary saturday twilight.
anyways, a short post.
on imagination.
don't you find that we hardly ever escape into the fantastical, willingly, without obvious prods (like movies, books, shows, etc.?), and even then it is a passive encounter. is it because our stores of knowledge keep on expanding every minute so that we can only take things literally? are we living through metaphor and allegory enough? i feel my hold on imagination is a tenuous one, especially when i feel a bit bogged down with the literal, and it really scares me. i don't want to be the kind of teacher/caregiver that tells young children sternly, with a disapproving frown, that FOR SURE, purple flying fish with turquoise fins and a rainbow tail ARE NOT POSSIBLE!!!
ack! scary!!
even einstein said imagination is more important than knowledge.
remember when this
was NOT a helpful device used primarily during relocation but
this...
or this...
or maybe this...
or how about this...
or possibly this...
or if you wanted to be super fancy...
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
barefoot in the kitchen
one of my most most most favourite FoodTV personalities is Ina Garten, the host and founder of Barefoot Contessa.
She is like a cherubic, approachable, twinkly-eyed and wise-acre version of MSO. She used to be a budget analyst for the White House but found her career unsatisfying. on a trip to the hamptons with her husband, she came across a specialty food store up for sale, and made the owner an offer on the spot. fast forward twenty years later, and barefoot contessa is a 3000 sq ft food emporium. ina sold her business to two of her employees but still continues to be associated with it in many ways. Also, when she is filmed interacting with her husband, it's so clear that she adores him. adorable =)
I want to check out her first cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook:
-the only negative thing about this cookbook seems to be ina's fondness for decadence; the reviews have touted this book as giving no acknowledgement for the safety of one's arteries. but hopefully i will be diligent about screening super-alarming recipes that call for FOUR STICKS OF BUTTER in a brownie mix (ai YA).
so maybe with the help of the rockin' cooks i already know, the jgct cookbook, the first barefoot contessa cookbook and this nigella lawson one that i got as a present,
i'll be able to make headway in the scary but hopefully worthwhile hobby that is known as SERIOUS-NO-KD-COOKING.
but, oh, KD, I shall never foresake you. Or your beloved brethren, instant ramen.
one of my most most most favourite FoodTV personalities is Ina Garten, the host and founder of Barefoot Contessa.
She is like a cherubic, approachable, twinkly-eyed and wise-acre version of MSO. She used to be a budget analyst for the White House but found her career unsatisfying. on a trip to the hamptons with her husband, she came across a specialty food store up for sale, and made the owner an offer on the spot. fast forward twenty years later, and barefoot contessa is a 3000 sq ft food emporium. ina sold her business to two of her employees but still continues to be associated with it in many ways. Also, when she is filmed interacting with her husband, it's so clear that she adores him. adorable =)
I want to check out her first cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook:
-the only negative thing about this cookbook seems to be ina's fondness for decadence; the reviews have touted this book as giving no acknowledgement for the safety of one's arteries. but hopefully i will be diligent about screening super-alarming recipes that call for FOUR STICKS OF BUTTER in a brownie mix (ai YA).
so maybe with the help of the rockin' cooks i already know, the jgct cookbook, the first barefoot contessa cookbook and this nigella lawson one that i got as a present,
i'll be able to make headway in the scary but hopefully worthwhile hobby that is known as SERIOUS-NO-KD-COOKING.
but, oh, KD, I shall never foresake you. Or your beloved brethren, instant ramen.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
mandate for the church
He must increase, but I must decrease.
-John 3:30
If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
-St. Francis of Assisi
Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.
-St. Francis of Assisi
He must increase, but I must decrease.
-John 3:30
If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
-St. Francis of Assisi
Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.
-St. Francis of Assisi
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
it's no secret...
that i love food. i think i have a fairly healthy relationship with foodstuffs, though there was a time during high school where eating simply filled a void and i didn't really appreciate the workmanship of cooking. a lot of my early memories are tied up with food: rare sundays where Ee would make spaghetti; late-morning congee with shredded chicken on cold winter days; adamant refusals of natto; cut-up fruit during recess; bento boxes admidst a sea of ziploc-encased sandwiches...
http://www.nordljus.co.uk/en/index.php?showimage=50
obviously the taste of food is the primary delight (oh, how i love the sharp tang of good hot and sour soup, that satisfyingly juicy first bite into a properly stuffed gyoza, the smooth goodness of pasta in a cream sauce; the intense saltiness of theatre popcorn...) but the colours and presentation of food is important, too (the flash of pink and white kameboko against the dark molasses-brown of udon soup; the fiery red of kimchi chigae; the soothing golden-brown of perfectly done pancakes/french toast topped with bright jewelled berries...). recently, i made a potato salad, and was remiss in my grocery shopping as i had forgotten to buy radishes for the salad. the potato salad was really good, but definitely could have used those thin slices of bright red to perk up the appearance.
http://www.shewhoeats.blogspot.com
so i guess it's probably no surprise that i'm now obsessed with FOOD BLOGS!! It's torturous to check these out, especially in the morning when i've had nothing to eat except for a measly yogurt cup. here are some of my favourites:
http://www.chubbyhubby.net/
http://www.nordljus.co.uk/en/index.php
http://www.deliciousdays.com/
http://cookinginjapan.blogspot.com/
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/
Happy viewing!
=)
that i love food. i think i have a fairly healthy relationship with foodstuffs, though there was a time during high school where eating simply filled a void and i didn't really appreciate the workmanship of cooking. a lot of my early memories are tied up with food: rare sundays where Ee would make spaghetti; late-morning congee with shredded chicken on cold winter days; adamant refusals of natto; cut-up fruit during recess; bento boxes admidst a sea of ziploc-encased sandwiches...
http://www.nordljus.co.uk/en/index.php?showimage=50
obviously the taste of food is the primary delight (oh, how i love the sharp tang of good hot and sour soup, that satisfyingly juicy first bite into a properly stuffed gyoza, the smooth goodness of pasta in a cream sauce; the intense saltiness of theatre popcorn...) but the colours and presentation of food is important, too (the flash of pink and white kameboko against the dark molasses-brown of udon soup; the fiery red of kimchi chigae; the soothing golden-brown of perfectly done pancakes/french toast topped with bright jewelled berries...). recently, i made a potato salad, and was remiss in my grocery shopping as i had forgotten to buy radishes for the salad. the potato salad was really good, but definitely could have used those thin slices of bright red to perk up the appearance.
http://www.shewhoeats.blogspot.com
so i guess it's probably no surprise that i'm now obsessed with FOOD BLOGS!! It's torturous to check these out, especially in the morning when i've had nothing to eat except for a measly yogurt cup. here are some of my favourites:
http://www.chubbyhubby.net/
http://www.nordljus.co.uk/en/index.php
http://www.deliciousdays.com/
http://cookinginjapan.blogspot.com/
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/
Happy viewing!
=)
