Apparently it is time for my the every-coupla-months update on what I'm filling my head with. Lots of artsy-fartsy photos to decorate the place with too, and there should be more of those as the land comes alive once again.
Watching:
Capitalism: A Love Story by Michael Moore. As always, I'm a year or two behind the buzz on these things, despite being a big fan of his documentaries. I thought this one was a bit of a mess, which is what I expected given the scope of the topic he tackled...but with lots of poignant moments and his signature touches that mostly still resonate.
Rip: A Remix Manifesto -- Really sharp documentary about intellectual property, mostly focused on music, which suited me fine. Free to watch in HD on the NFB site, although I got my copy at the library.
Mary and Max. I love claymation, and although this was visually compelling, the story was a disaster -- one of those movies with no identity, just a random assortment of scenes cobbled together. I was truly mystified by generally positive reviews and found myself agreeing with the one from the Globe and Mail: "...mixture of artistic sophistication and emotional crudeness cancel each other out...."
NHL Playoffs, which have been pretty exciting so far. We don't have cable, so it's online streaming for me...CBCs feeds have been good. Helps that the Canucks are winning. My predictions (from before the start) for the first round: Vancouver over Chicago in 6, San Jose over LA in 5, Detroit over Phoenix in 5, Anaheim over Nashville in 6 (although I like Nashville, and am enjoying seeing them beat the Ducks). In the East, I'm likely going to be getting slammed for picking upsets in all the wrong ones: NYR over Washington in 7, Boston over Montreal in 5, Tampa Bay over Pittsburgh in 7, Buffalo over Philadelphia in 6.
Reading:
Heaps and piles of picture books with Ezra, cycling through about 20 a week from the library, many times each. It's been fun to get back into picture books.
After our multi-month The Mysterious Benedict Society bedtime-reading marathon (three monster-thick books), we took a break with the rather silly Willoughbys, and have now dug into The Penderwicks. There are three already written, and they've got a wonderful sense of warmth and innocence -- old-fashioned stories.
My mom has recommended Swing Low by Miriam Toews for years already, and I finally got to it last week, starting after supper and finishing late that same night. I found the father-daughter stuff so poignant, and the dichotomies and tensions between how he felt (trapped in his own head), and how he lived -- so differently at home and at work. Lots of stuff to stew on there from my own past and present. I felt convicted at times, which is good, reflecting on incidents when I feel warmly toward my kids, yet say something critical instead (or saying nothing, more often). I was also reframing my own constructs about what mental health really means in my own life...recognizing ups and downs and coping mechanisms, especially coming through this winter. Lots of good conversations have come out of it already.
This is going back a month or two already, but I got totally into Mennonites Don't Dance by Darcie Friesen Hossack. Andrew and I went to see her do a reading in Penticton, so I crammed the night before -- need to go back to read the favourite stories again. I bought a copy for my mom, which she reviewed, and that led to a fascinating response from the author (who happens to live in Kelowna).
To complete the trifecta on this theme, I've been enjoying The Mennonites by Larry Towell again -- my third time taking it out of the library. Amazing photography...masterful, even.
Earth, a very silly book by Jon Stewart that had me laughing to the point of tears.
Listening To:
Pat Lepoidevin's live album from his last show at the Streaming Cafe...looking forward to seeing him again there this week.
New album from Alela Diane, which I'm lukewarm on so far.
I had no idea that you could create your own playlists on the CBC site. Very cool! I'm always looking for places to discover new music. Better still if it's homegrown talent.
Mel, that CBC3 site is pretty slick -- you can just listen to their stream too, but the real strength is in the size and quality of their music database. Playlists are pretty fun, and super easy...
Thanks Liz! I've neglected this poor blog over the past year or two, but I'm happy that it still limps along -- I'm always glad for posts later, and it's nice to know others enjoy checking it out too.
