16 April 2008, early morning
I watched Through a Blue Lens at DIGIN to DOCS this past Monday. This is the second film in the series being shown at Bloor Collegiate. The film was shot by a group of police officers working in Vancouver’s infamous Downtown Eastside. The cops and the addicts have a very good rapport with one another, which makes for an interesting movie. The addicts let the officers shoot them in some pretty rough shape, and they are very frank about their addiction, their prior lives, etc. It’s a very gritty look at addiction. One lady explains how she ended up with this huge open sore on her arm: basically she picked away at it so much when she got high because she thought bugs were crawling all over her. And once it was all open she started shooting up in it. It was like a nastier larger version of the sore in Requiem for a Dream. And she had more scars like that all over her body. It scared me straight. (Also, the cops were at her place because her boyfriend had just shot himself in the head in front of her.) This was 10 minutes into the film, tops. And the movie just keeps going from there. Through a Blue Lens is a great documentary, well worth watching.
I couldn’t stay for the discussion that followed, which kind of sucked. They had a good line-up of people.
The official Through a Blue Lens web site. Michael has a writen about the film as well.
Movies
10 April 2008, early morning
I used to make fun of Mezan all the time for the stupid money he spent on jeans. Then one day I went to Delphic on Queen and spent a stupid amount of money on jeans. After that, I had to stop making fun of him — about the jeans, anyway. I’ve been wearing a pair of Julian Red California jeans pretty much non-stop since I bought them last November.
These are unwashed (raw) denim jeans; you are supposed to break them in before washing them. Breaking in jeans simply means you wear them a lot. The general consensus is that you should wear the jeans all the time for about half a year: that’s a long time to go without washing your jeans, but who am I to question the denim experts. Raw denim jeans are stiff as cardboard when you get them, they are so full of starch. The indigo on the jeans will also rub right off onto anything White. The idea with jeans like this is that you will loose indigo wherever the jeans crease, so over time the jeans will fade based on how they fit your body. When you wash your jeans the indigo fades evenly. So, after washing your jeans, the areas that you’ve creased will be a fair bit lighter than the areas you haven’t. You should end up with jeans that look like they were distressed just for you.
There were fewer than a dozen days I decided not to wear the jeans out, usually when there was either torrential rain or a snowstorm to worry about. I ended my denim experiment 40 days early, after wearing the jeans for 142 days. There is all sorts of discussion online about how to actually wash your jeans: I simply through them inside out into my washing machine on the gentle cycle with a little bit of Tide Cold Water. When the machine was going to do its spin cycle, I took the jeans out to fold them neatly in half, and then placed them back inside the machine along the inside edge: I didn’t want them to get whipped all over the place. The Julian Reds actually kept most of their indigo. They’ve faded a bit since I bought them, but are still fairly dark in colour. There are spots that have lost more colour, behind the back of my knees, and the tops of my thighs, where my iPhone fits in my pocket, and my wallet in my back pocket, but i’d say this is pretty subtle.
I’m not sure if I should have waited longer or not. I can say it feels good to wear clean clothing.
Update Jul 8th 2008: They’ve actually faded a lot since I wrote this post. These are solid jeans, well worth the 200 bucks I paid for them.
[1] Life
4 April 2008, early morning
I saw the Woodhands again last night. They were playing a set at the Wrong Bar to celebrate the release of their new CD, Heart Attack. I’m listening to the CD now, and it really is quite enjoyable, but you really need to see the boys play live: they are amazing. Dan and Paul are both very skillful musicians, and there is clearly a good chemistry between them — they both play off one another during the course of a song. This show I actually got to see what Dan gets up to when he’s on stage: I had a good view of his set up and what he does while playing. Sadly, I still have no clue how he makes all the sounds he does. There is some multitasking going on that I just can’t grasp. The dude can play a Keytar: I think that’s enough reason to see the band live. Paul rapped a verse from Triumph — fuck yeah — and he didn’t mess up like the last time I saw him do a verse from California Love. (Although, I actually think his messing up at the last show actually got the crowd even more hyped up.) As before, Paul played the shit out of his drums. The crowd was dancing and it was good. The show last night was awesome.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the opening act, Machetes, a 4 girl band that reminded me of something vaguely British, though I suppose that isn’t very descriptive. The girls looked like rockers, and rocked like a mother fucker. I can’t describe how disappointed I was to learn they didn’t have any music for sale. I’ll have to find out when they’re playing live next. Seriously, I was really disappointed they didn’t have a CD. Also, the lead guitarist had purple pants on which looked hype.
[1] Music | Life
3 April 2008, early morning
I sold my 17-40mm f/4 L on Monday. I haven’t been weeping over the loss yet, so it was probably the right thing to do. Some lenses and cameras will hold their value much better than others. I owned the lens for a year and a half, and it sold for about $70 less than I bought it for. It costs more to rent the lens for a week at Vistek. The dude who bought it could probably sell it for what I sold it to him for. To contrast, if I wanted to sell my Rebel XT, which I paid close to a grand for when I bought it, i’d probably get around $500 — tops. Some things by their nature won’t hold their value, and electronics is one such thing. With glass, there is probably an advantage going with Canon or Nikon over their third-party counterparts, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina. (The fact the lenses are generally better quality is a bonus.) I probably should sell more of my camera gear: I have way too many bodies.
[1] Photography
1 April 2008, early morning
Cathy used to work at a small software company with a fellow, Darrin Rose, who decided one day to become a stand-up comedian. I’m not sure how you make that leap, but it seems to have been a good choice on his part: he’s quite funny. Rose, along with Graham Chittenden and Jeff McEnery put out a CD called the Very White Album. Cathy, Patrick, and I went to the CD release party last night at the Gladstone. All three dudes were quite funny. (The opening acts were funny too — bonus!) This was actually the first time I’ve been to a comedy show live. I need to do this more often.
[1] Life
29 March 2008, lunch time
These are my orange shoes. I bought them over the Christmas break. I’m wearing them for the first time today. It looks sunny outside, so it should be A-OK. I haven’t had white sneakers in a while now.
[3] Life
27 March 2008, early morning
Cathy and I went to a fund raiser for a theatre group our friend Yeena is connected to in some way. It was taking place at the Wrong Bar, which is out in Parkdale. Parkdale doesn’t seem to be quite the same place it was a few years back. The Wrong Bar is a really nice venue. It’s very spacious, with space for a stage at the back. There is a single bar in the middle of the venue. The front is wallpapered in this gorgeous felt lion print wallpaper, that reminded me quite a bit of the Rorschach inkblot paint job at the Drake. The two of us bought some beer, sat on a very tall bench, and waited for Little Foot Long Foot to start their set. There was a silent auction taking place, so while waiting I bid on a Spa package for Shima. Little Foot Long Foot’s set was quite good. It’s a two person band: there is a guitarist singer and a drummer. The place wasn’t that busy, which seems to be the case for a lot of these shows I go to. There is a lot of good music happening in Toronto, but I get the sense it goes largely ignored. It’s a shame. I bought the bands CD which I’m listening to now. I bid once more on the Spa package, and then Cathy and I called it a night. You need to walk way up Lansdowne to catch the Lansdowne bus back North up to Bloor.
[4] Music | Life
26 March 2008, early morning
The Canon 28mm f/1.8 USM
I bought a Canon 28mm f/1.8 USM from some fellow in Chicago. Now, buying something from a random fellow over the internet is usually cause for concern, but in this case things worked out well. (I correctly assumed a PhD student has better things to do than scam strangers on the Internet.) I found the listing on RangeFinderForum, which seems to be a good source for gear without all the scams. As I’ve mentioned before, buying lenses used is usually a safe bet.
I have been looking to get this lens for a while now. I take a lot of photographs indoors, and none of the lenses for my Canon are well suited for this. My 50mm f/1.8 and 85mm f/1.8 lenses both end up being a bit too telephoto on my Rebel, making it hard to fit more than a single person in the frame, while my 17-40mm f/4 lens is a bit too slow to use indoors. The 17-40mm f/4 works well with a flash, and i’ve been happy with the shots I’ve got with the combination, but the lens is gigantic, and coupled with a flash it turns the Rebel into a beast of a camera. The 17-40mm is really best suited for shooting out doors: for landscapes and city shots.
I’m happy with the 28mm thus far. My first real set of photos from the lens were from Shima’s Persian New Year party at our place. There’s a good mix of stuff there to get a sense of what the lens spits out. I think the 28mm is a good approximation of a normal lens on my Rebel. The lens reminds me very much of my 85mm lens, in both build quality and image quality.
My plan is to sell the 17-40mm and keep my three primes: the 28mm, 50mm, and 85mm. I like the 17-40mm f/4 a lot, but I really don’t use it enough to make it worth while. I feel like i’m wasting the lens, using it the way I do.
[1] Photography
24 March 2008, early morning
The Spring equinox was on Thursday. It’s the tail end of March. This would be great if not for the fresh snow on the ground. And the sub-zero weekend weather. When people make fun of Canada, this is totally what they are laughing about. I’m so sick of the Winter. It is making me crazy. (And by crazy, I suppose I mean full of rage.)
[3] Life
18 March 2008, early evening
I watched Cheating Death last night, a documentary about a Toronto street thug Gyasi Ferdinand who turned his life around after an almost fatal shooting. The movie is narrated by Gyasi, who explains how he went from a regular 13 year old to a drug dealer over the course of a few years. It’s an interesting film. The version we saw was quite short, but still managed to cram a lot of information in. I enjoyed the soundtrack, which featured several Solatair instrumentals. The film was screened as part of the DIG IN to DOCS documentary series. Following the movie was a discussion with Gyasi Ferdinand, criminologist Dr. Karim Ismaili and Staff Sgt. Frank Besenthal.
The official Cheating Death web site.
15 March 2008, late morning
I’ll have to write up something longer about the inaugural Babylon Telecom event, but for now just know that I wasn’t lying when I said it would be hype like DJ Hype. The whole event reminded me a bit of Matt’s old weekly night Inner City / Outerspace at IV Lounge. There were a lot of familiar faces from his past events. I’m listening to We Love’s EP right now, and it is good.
[2] Life | Music
10 March 2008, mid-morning
Despite a warning from Mezan I decided to watch the Protector: it’s a really bad movie. Shima and I started off watching the US release, but switched to the original Thai version once I realized there were two versions on the DVD we rented. We should have stuck with the US version I think: the original movie is 20 minutes longer, and features some horrible English dialog — really, really bad stuff. The film’s plot is stupid and the acting is really atrocious. All of that said, it’s probably worth watching the film in fast forward just for the fights. There are some really good action sequences in the film, in particular the single-take fight in the illegal restaurant. It’s also great watching Tony Ja enter a scene by taking two dudes out with his flying knees of fury. The Protector is clearly a big budget film, I just wish they spent the money better.
The official The Protector web site.
[2] Movies
9 March 2008, late evening
Shima and I watched About a Boy last night. It’s a Hugh Grant film from a few years back. Grant plays a dude who pretends to have a son so he can lay the mack down on vulnerable single mothers — hilarity ensues. About a Boy is pretty funny. It’s a quirky romantic comedy. It reminded me of Love Actually a little bit, in that the film isn’t quite as clean cut as your typical romantic comedy. The film also stars Rachel Weisz: Meow.
The official About a Boy web site.
[1] Movies
9 March 2008, early evening
I finally saw Blade Runner with Matt. This involved trekking out in the Arctic weather we had yesterday, but was well worth the trip. The movie was good, and I got to hang out with Charlie, who both remembers me and enjoys my company: excellent. Blade Runner is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. In the film, Harrison Ford plays a cop tasked with tracking down some rogue androids. The movie is filmed like a film noir: the music, dialog, and plot have a very 1950s crime film feel to them. The version I watched was the recently released directors re-cut: like Alien, it doesn’t look like Ridley Scott mucked around with too much. Matt said the film is fairly similar to what he remembers. I quite liked the movie; it’s definitely well worth watching.
The official Blade Runner web site.
[2] Movies
2 March 2008, late morning
I watched Darren Aronofsky’s third film, the Fountain, with Mezan and Carvill yesterday. There are three story lines in the film: in the present day, where a scientist is trying to save his dying wifes life by searching for a miracle cure to brain cancer; in the past, where a Spanish conquistador is searching for the tree of life for his Queen, and in the future, where a dude is traveling through space in a sphere with a tree. It’s basically a love story, with some science fiction mixed in. The dude is always played by Wolverine and the lady by the lovely Rachael Weisz. It’s an interesting film. I liked it a lot. Visually it’s quite stunning. I thought both Weisz and Jackman did good jobs playing their respective characters. The Fountain is well worth watching.
The official The Fountain web page.
Movies
28 February 2008, early morning
I watched the French film Kings and Queens last night. I watched the first hour or so with Shima: she couldn’t stand the film and stopped watching about half way through. Kings and Queens is a serious-ass art-house film. I enjoyed it, but if you don’t enjoy slow, disjoint, meandering movies I recommend you stay away. The movie is a little hard to describe, with basically two loosely intertwined stories. The movie begins with a woman telling the audience that she is to be married for the third time: her first husband died (before their son was born), her second husband and her weren’t compatible, and her husband to be is a wealthy kind man who she loves very much. As the movie moves forward, you realize that her description of things isn’t quite accurate. The other story involves a man, Ismaël, who has just been checked into a sanatorium, but is certain there is a misunderstanding. The movie is full of flashbacks. These flashbacks usually fill in the details of an event mentioned by the characters in the present: more often than not these flashbacks contradict what the audience has been led to believe up to that point. Kings and Queens is an interesting movie. It’s definitely a movie you need to watch twice I think to really appreciate. The movie stars the lovely Emmanuelle Devos, who was in Gentile. The more I think about the film, the more I like it: this is usually the sign of a good film.
Kings and Queens on Rotten Tomatoes.
[3] Movies
27 February 2008, early morning
Mezan made Carvill and I watch Mountain Patrol over the weekend. It was something like the 11th time he had rented it, and he really wanted to watch it this time. His usual MO is to rent a film and then return it unwatched, thereby depriving someone else of the enjoyment of watching the movie, for one week at least. Mountain Patrol is a very cool film. It takes place in a remote corner of Tibet. (I get the feeling all the corners of Tibet are remote.) A reporter from Beijing arrives in a small town to interview a group of villagers who have set up a posse to hunt down poachers who are hunting antelopes. The captain of this group is a hard boiled dude, who leads his men and the reporter out into the wilderness in pursuit of a poacher he has been chasing for years. Howard — who showed up midway through the film to chat — commented that the film had a Moby Dick feel to it. It’s certainly a very bleak film. The cinematography is beautiful. There are lots of great landscapes to see. The actors all do a great job as well. All in all it’s a very enjoyable film.
The official Kekexili (Mountain Patrol) web site.
Movies
26 February 2008, early morning
The new Terminator show is great. If you liked the first two movies, I can’t imagine you not liking the new show. The show features a bunch of familiar faces: hot lady from 300 and Imagine Me and You, the Cheerleaders gay friend from Heroes, Summer from Firefly, and, most recently, Brian Austin Green from 90210. He shows up in episode 5. I thought to myself, “Damn, that dude totally looks like Brian Austin Green.” In fact, it was Brian Austin Green.
[1] Television
25 February 2008, early morning
I watched the romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe last night with Carvill and Limin. The movie is about a dad, Ryan Reynolds, explaining to his daughter, the little girl from Little Miss Sunshine, how he met his (soon to be ex) wife. The big gimmick in the movie is that he won’t tell his daughter which of the many women that appear in the story is her mother. The movie is basically a series of long flashbacks. The scenes that don’t work well in the film are those set in the present, between Reynolds and the little girl. I’m not quite sure how you could fix them though. Rachael Weisz was in the movie — meow. (There are actually several familiar faces in the film.) Definitely, Maybe was enjoyable enough, which is more than I can say for most romantic comedies I’ve seen.
It feels good to be watching so many films again.
The official Definitely, Maybe web site.
[2] Movies
23 February 2008, mid-morning
I just finished reading Sophie’s Choice. It began far funnier than I thought it would be. There was also a lot of sex. Still — my god — how depressing.
Comics and Books
22 February 2008, early morning
Shima and I watched The Colour of Paradise last night, another film by Majid Majidi. This film also features children prominently. The Colour of Paradise examines the relationship of a blind boy and his (uncaring) father. The movie begins with the father arriving at the boys school for the blind (late) to pick him up for the summer, and goes on from there. Both the child and the father deliver very strong performances. There are two scenes of note that really stand out in my mind, but as is usually the case when I write about films, I don’t want to say what they are. The camera work is great. Majidi also does a great job of trying to get into the head of a blind boy, and as such the sound work in the film is also really well done. I liked Children of Heaven more, but The Colour of Paradise is certainly a good film. (One thing i’m not sure I like is the ending.)
The official The Colour of Paradise web site.
[1] Movies
19 February 2008, mid-morning
Shima and I watched I for India a few days back. The movie is about an Indian family living in England, who communicate with their family back home via 8mm film and reel-to-reel audio tapes. The movie begins with the family moving to England in the late 70s, and follows their life through to the present day. The film was shot by the families youngest daughter. It’s an interesting look at the life of an immigrant, and that “you can never go home again” feeling that seems common to everyone I’ve met that lives abroad. I like films about the immigrant experience, so I suppose my opinions on the film are biased.
The official I for India web site.
Movies
15 February 2008, mid-morning
I finally watched Children of Heaven last night. I have wanted to see it for ages. The Iranian film begins with a young boy loosing his sister’s shoes, which he had taken to be mended. The boys family is poor, and can’t buy another pair of shoes, so the boy and girl conspire to keep the loss a secret by sharing the boys sneakers. It’s a simple and sweet film. It’s basically a children’s movie, though I feel it has a lot more substance to it than that. I think the film is worth watching if only to see the last race sequence, which is surprisingly exciting. It ends on a strange note: a happy ending you don’t feel that good about. It’s hard to describe. Children of Heaven is well worth watching. It’s a great movie.
The official (maybe?) Children of Heaven web site.
Movies
14 February 2008, early morning
I watched Persepolis with Limin, Vinnie and Shima. The movie is based on the graphic novels of the same name, which narrate the early life of their author, Marjane Satrapi. Almost the entire contents of the first two novels makes it into the movie. Clearly, due to time constraints and the nature of the medium, some elements aren’t as fleshed out as others; and of course, with animation, you can sometimes quickly express something that might have taken several panels to do in a comic. The only thing I noticed that was different in the film — though I need to confirm this — is the inclusion of a section where Satrapi discusses her depression and a suicide attempt. Shima thinks this was in the book, but I can’t recall it at all. I could see her going back and adding elements to the story she was too shy to write about initially. The movie — perhaps because of its pace — feels more like a documentary than an autobiography. I suppose the books in their own way are also a brief history of Iran. The art work is excellent.The movie captures the aesthetic of the book: the simple figures and high contrast blacks and whites. The movie uses what looks like watercolor or graphite shaded backgrounds in addition to the books simple black and white ink ones. The animation was amazing. The movie is great: if you have a chance to see this in the city you live in you really should. I had very high expectations for this film and it met them all. The movie’s ending made Shima cry — and Shima knows how the book ends!
The official Persepolis movie web site.
[1] Movies
13 February 2008, mid-morning
Sometimes I wonder who actually benefits from Winterlicious and Summerlicious. I’ve been to several restaurants during the events and am usually pretty disappointed with either the meal or service. ByMark is probably a superlative restaurant, but I can’t imagine going back after the lackluster time I had during Winterlicious. Similarly I have mixed feelings about Monsoon. I can’t even recall the name of the fusion place on Wellington my friends and I went to, it was that lame. There are a few places I’ve been that actually did a wonderful job during these events: Canoe, Jump, and Tundra come to mind. Those are places I’d go to again.
I went to Centro again on Monday for Winterlicious. Shima’s friend got reservations. You may recall that the first time I was there, I thought the place was amazing. This time — during Winterlicious — it was OK: the service was alright, but you could tell the waiter was frazzled; food didn’t come out all in one go; steaks were over cooked; etc. I can’t imagine anyone else at the table would go back if there only experience of the restaurant was that night. I still think that first time I went to Centro was one of the better dining experiences I’ve had in the city. The difference between my evening on Monday and my evening a year or two ago is so stark.
What’s the point of Winterlicious? Who wins? Patrons are offered up sub-par food in over crowded restaurants by on edge waiters and waitresses, while being told they are participating in a fine dining experience. Restaurants are going to get two sets of patrons: for people like myself who are inclined to eat out at places they probably shouldn’t, this event rarely ever sells a place; people who are out because it’s a deal also won’t come back again. As a restaurant I suspect it is very rare this event earns any new business. (Presumably they make money on volume or something like that.)
[4] Restaurants and Bars
