Tag: movies

Welcome to the new routine

It’s not exactly Ovaltine
But welcome to the new routine
Whatja have to do to get a drink here?

—Bob Geldof, “The New Routine”

I’d sometimes feel a little prickly when people would ask what I planned to do when I retired. For one thing, how do I know, really, until I actually have that extra 37.5 hours per week? For another thing, I figured some of the things I expected I’d be doing wouldn’t sound interesting to other people.

Some things I’ve done:

  • Made a tiny apple pie (just as much work as a full-size pie, fyi)
  • Tried out Jean’s ebike to see whether I like certain features for myself
  • Finally switched out my Windows 10 PC for a Windows 11 one
  • Researched a suitable cat food substitute for a flavor that’s been discontinued

Are you not entertained?

I have a habit of overthinking regardless, but I hadn’t quite realized that so many things could be re-thought. Like, what time should I set the alarm? Does doing groceries once a week still make sense? How long should my workouts be? Do I have French press coffee every day now? (Answers so far: I’ll try adjusting it every three weeks or so to roughly match sunrise; no, every six days works better; slightly longer than before, unless I’m too busy or tired that day; and no, on busier mornings I’ll go with filtered coffee.)

We aren’t planning a big trip yet; just some small trips.

But, I have done a few local things that are more interesting to describe.

Fun with physics

Waterloo is home to the Perimeter Institute (PI) for Theoretical Physics, which Jean likes to take pictures of. They periodically have free public lectures. I hadn’t been in years, but decided to sign up for one called “How the Universe Ends”, by Dr. Katie Mack, both because that sounded interesting, and because I follow Dr. Mack on Bluesky (where she’s astrokatie), and I think she’s cool.

The Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in winter
Not a recent shot of the Perimeter Institute; it’s been quite nice and warm here lately!

The talks are now held at the nearby Centre for International Governance rather than at PI, which allows for more attendants. They also livestream them. Nevertheless, the event was still sold out.

It’s always mind-blowing (for me, anyway) to be reminded that our planet is just one of several big rocks rotating around one star among billions of stars in one galaxy among billions of galaxies that comprise an ever-expanding universe—and we’re not sure whether there’s only one of those.

The talk wasn’t about when and how the Earth will end (as that isn’t too much of a mystery), but the universe. There are several theories about that. Dr. Mack outlined four of them, all in a very entertaining fashion. (And for public health fans wondering, yes, she gave her talk while wearing an N95 mask.)

About a week after that, Jean and I went to the Princess Cinema to see a free movie sponsored by PI that Dr. Mack had mentioned in her talk: Particle Fever. This documentary was about the development of the Hadron Collider, which led to the discovery of the Bose Hickson particle. That might sound dry, but in fact, it was so fascinating! Even the woman introducing it (who was from PI, I assume?) commented that she was so surprised how good this movie was.

We knew that two people were going to be available to take questions afterward, but I hadn’t realized that the two people would be the film director and one of the physicists featured in the documentary. (I had thought it would just be generic physicists from PI.) Getting their insights into the making of this film was really cool as well. It took four years and, going in, they had no idea if the Collider would even work and, if it did, what it might uncover. The Hickson particle was discovered three years into filming, requiring a complete re-edit of the whole thing and another year of footage.

Feeding the world

Or, feeding a few beings in my little corner of the world, anyway.

I’m still doing cat shelter volunteering, at slightly increased frequency, though I haven’t picked a regular day per week, preferring to select based on what else is going on that week crossed with when they seem to need people most. Going there more often makes it easier to keep up with the kitty population and any changes in the care routine. I’m also getting to know a few of the other volunteers.

In the foreground is Shawnie, my little buddy. She used to be considered un-adoptable as she was so grouchy. Turns out she just had really sore teeth. Now she’s toothless and an absolute sweetheart.

Continue for more cat pictures…

Continue reading “Welcome to the new routine” →

Buying Canadian

Of course we didn’t like the tariffs, but it was really the 51st state / Governor Trudeau / not a real country / artificial line / not needing anything we have / US is subsidizing us talk that really pissed everyone off. It produced that very rare occurrence: an actually effective consumer boycott. Travel to the US really is down. So are California wine sales. And businesses relying on cross-border shoppers.

It’s a bit sad, as it’s not actually the hotels and restaurants, the vintners, and the duty-free shop owners that we have a beef with.

But what’s a foreigner to do? We don’t have a vote to grant or withhold. We’re not allowed to make political donations. It’s not exactly safe to go over there and protest. And I’m not feeling this is an administration that would be moved by a sternly worded letter.

So, we got our wallets. It’s economic warfare, and many are choosing to direct our meagre funds to products made elsewhere than the United States. Ideally in Canada.

I’m hardly perfect at it, but you do what you can. Since I’m not in this by myself, it’s not only up to me! And it turns out more is accomplished when we come together as a group to work together toward the same goal. Seems there could be some kind of lesson there…

In the meantime, I have discovered some great Canadian products. And I will share! In my favourite categories: food and entertainment.

Foodstuffs and sundry

Black River pure tart cherry juice bottle.

Black River pure tart cherry juice

Cherry juice is very delicious and apparently also a good anti-inflammatory. Black River brand is made with 100% Ontario cherries. It is a little expensive and somewhat caloric. But both problems are solved by serving it diluted with water, which is still delicious, but makes it cheaper and lower cal per serving.

Also worth mentioning (though I discovered it a while ago): Heartwood sour cherry sparkle, another delicious beverage made with Ontario cherries, this one already diluted with sparkling water. 50 calories a can.

Yoggu Coconut Yogurt

I wrote earlier about not yet having found a good non-dairy yogurt, but this is it—as long as you don’t mind a mild taste of coconut. It’s made in British Columbia and has only four ingredient, one of which is gut-friendly probiotics.

Lee Valley Tool jar opener

Some jars are just a nightmare to open, and Jean’s not always around to help. So he bought me this metal gizmo, which hooks and releases the seal. He also got me a rubber gripper thingie (made in England). With that combo, I can open jars with ease.

Jar opener gizmo.
Blue gripper thing for jars.

Good Leaf Greens

The first week of not buying American was tough in the lettuce aisle, because there seemed to be nothing but California lettuce. Over the next few weeks, though, more and more GoodLeaf Greens became available. These are grown in greenhouses in Southern Ontario. The stay-fresh packaging is really fantastic, and this stuff is good!

Arts and entertainment

I have most definitely have not given up all American TV shows and movies and books (and streaming services). But, I have recently consumed some good Canadian media as well…

TV series

Empathie (Emphathy)

This Québec series, available on Crave, is just a stunner. It’s one of my favourite shows right now. (Jean loves it also.)

Suzanne, a former criminologist turned psychiatrist, starts a new job at the Mont-Royal Psychiatric Institute, where she meets Mortimer, an intriguing intervention officer with whom she strikes up a friendship, and fascinating patients.

Right in the first episode, as we segue from Suzanne’s private to professional life, expectations and assumptions are upended. It only gets more fascinating as more of her past is revealed, and learn more and more about her troubled patients and dedicated but flawed coworkers.

Wholly original. You gotta see it.

North of North

The scenery is the main stunner in this CBC Gem / Netflix series, which was filmed in Inuktitut. But it’s also fun watching Siaja try to make more of her life than being a wife and mother. You can’t help but cheer her on. It is a comedy, but there are some heavy moments as well. Nothing you shouldn’t be able to handle.

Small, Achievable Goals

This CBC Gem series might not be for everyone. It’s a comedy in which two women of very different characters and slightly different stages of life are forced to work together to make a podcast. It’s particularly notable for its very open depiction of perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms. It’s funny and very feminist and I wish it had been available when I was first navigating the mysteries of perimenopause.

Book

Fall on Your Knees

Yes, that Fall on Your Knees, the Anne-Marie McDonald novel, set mostly in Cape Breton, first published way back in 1996. I have just finished reading that now.

I had avoided it partly because it’s quite long, but more because I thought it would be super depressing. Turns out, it’s not particularly depressing. Admittedly, a lot of pretty terrible things happen. It takes place in the past (late 19th and early 20th centuries), when things weren’t so great for women (unlike now, haha).

But for the characters, things just are as they are, and they have to cope, without falling into despair (although that happens on occasion). More often, though, they find original and often terribly misguided ways of dealing. It’s so interesting! I just found myself pulled along and wanting to continue reading, so the length wasn’t much of a problem, either.

The novel starts with the meeting of James, the piano tuner, and Materia, the daughter of one of the piano owners. Their ill-advised marriage sets all subsequent events in motion, and the novel continues through the lives of their daughters and grandchildren.

Movie

Drive Back Home

This is a road movie, based on a true story. It takes place in 1970, when things weren’t so great for LBGTQ+ people (unlike now, haha). Following his father’s funeral, a plumber from a small town in New Brunswick has to drive to the big city of Toronto to get his brother out of jail, after he’s been arrested for public indecency. Their mother insists that he bring his brother back home.

Some funny and some rather harrowing moments ensue. The movie stars the wonderful (despite not being Canadian) Alan Cumming and the also very good (and probably Canadian) Charlie Creed-Miles. It’s available to stream on Crave.

Pre-Christmas

It started with a bang.

Car with extremely damaged front end.

Two days before we were supposed to head north, Jean’s work car was struck by a flying tire on the 401, a major Ontario highway. This was both unlucky and lucky.

  • Unlucky: Getting struck by a flying tire
  • Lucky: Sustaining no personal injuries
  • Unlucky: Having to wait hours for a tow because of the location of the incident
  • Lucky: Was not a car we own, so ultimately not our expense nor responsibility

Handing off this responsibility did consume much of Jean’s next day after he was finally towed back home… Getting the police report in, getting the car towed the car elsewhere, etc.

But, we were able to leave as planned in our car the day after that. Automobile was chosen as the method of transportation this year because Air Canada’s fares have basically doubled, so even the “lower fare” period of early December wasn’t all that low.

It’s a long drive. We broke it up by stopping in to visit with Jean’s sister who lives in Sudbury, which was very nice. We also briefly saw one of Jean’s nieces, who is currently residing there while she plays for the local hockey team (and goes to school!).

Two young girls posing on ice with hockey sticks.
Not Jean’s niece. She’s somewhat older than these girls. But we didn’t take a lot of photos on this trip. This photo is by Oleksandr P on Pexels.com

The roads were mostly good, though we did get some blowy, slightly slippery snow near the end. We made it to Dad’s all right. Dad has just turned 89 and is still living on his own. He had a nice dinner prepared for us.

We then had two full days there, during which we managed to pack in a good amount of visiting:

  • We went over to see Jean’s other sister, catching up on family news over tea.
  • Jean met up with his brothers and most of their wives at a local restaurant.
  • A visit with old friends was a bit uncertain, as she was navigating her father through the hospital system. But he was discharged to his nursing home in time for us to be able to meet, which was great.
  • My brother, his girlfriend, and my nephew came over for a birthday dinner (both my brother and father celebrate around this time), which was jolly good fun.

We also got out cross-country skiing for the first time in years. We have some photographic evidence of that!

View of ski club buildings and trees.
The trails here are amazing. We did 5 km.
On cross-country skies in snow-capped tree forest.
The trees looked beautiful all along. Winter wonderland.
Me in front of Porcupine Ski Runners McNair Chalet.
No, it’s not named after me. But it is named after my parents, who have put in hours and hours of volunteer work here over the years.

The drive back went reasonably well also. Some slightly slick roads at the start, then a few somewhat intense flurries at the end, but we made it home without a bang.

Jean said that he felt as though he’d already had Christmas.

Continue reading “Pre-Christmas” →

Mercer and Arden, kids and the symphony, and more odd ducks

The only problem with having events scheduled for sequential Saturdays was that it was getting in the way of movie night. By the third week, we solved our dilemma by watching a movie on Friday night.

Radical, huh?

Anyone but You was quite entertaining. Very funny in parts. As long as you’re good with the whole romantic comedy genre, I say go for it.

But, on to the events.

The will they or won’t they tour: Jann Arden & Rick Mercer

Chronologically, this was first up. Not only for our series of outings, but also for Jann Arden and Rick Mercer, who began their tour of the country in Kitchener. Jann Arden is a singer/songwriter (and also actor and novelist). Rick Mercer is a satirist, comedian, and author.

The Will or Won't They Tour poster: Jann Arden & Rick Mercer.

How the two met was something Rick explained during their live “Night of laughs and intimate conversation”. He was in Calgary filming a bit for his show, Rick Mercer Report. Only the bit was a flop—wasn’t going to air. They had to quickly come up with something else. One suggestion he got was to have Jann Arden give him a tour of Calgary. And he was like, “Jann Arden? Great singer, but I think she’s a depressive!”

Continue reading “Mercer and Arden, kids and the symphony, and more odd ducks” →

Relationship lessons from movies

Without meaning to, we went through a series of movies about couples (before breaking the spell with Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, which is very sweet, and not in a bad way): You Hurt My Feelings, Anatomy of a Fall, Simple comme Sylvain / The Nature of Love, and Past Lives. These are the key questions each one seems to address.

You Hurt My Feelings

Is honesty the best policy?

The least artsy of this collection of movies, I suppose, it centres on a happily married couple, Beth and Don, whose relationship is shook when she overhears him honestly tell his brother-in-law that he didn’t like her novel, which is still working its way toward publication. Things become tense and initially, Don has no idea why.

Beth and Don are also having work struggles: Don is a psychiatrist with some unhappy clients, who feel that he hasn’t really helped them. Beth is stunned to discover that the students in her small writing class not only hadn’t read her previous book; they didn’t even know she’d written one. And their son is wilting under the pressure of their expectations, and is angry about it.

So yeah, it’s a movie about relatively privileged people and their relatively minor personal problems. But it’s snappily written, funny, and very well cast, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies as the lead characters. Jean and I both enjoyed it.

As to the question… Well, in life, as in the movie, sometimes you do want to blunt your honesty in order to be encouraging. But it can go too far. At a certain point, a relationship should be strong enough to handle the truth that you don’t, in fact, appreciate those V-neck sweaters you’ve been gifted with every year.

Anatomy of a Fall

Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?

OK, the question is from Hamilton, but it still seems apropos for this movie. The husband and father, Samuel, dies at the start of it, from falling out of his office window. His wife Sandra is the only one home at time. Their partly sighted son Daniel is the one who comes across the body, after a walk with his dog. We, the audience, don’t see what caused the fall.

Sandra lives, Samuel dies, but who tells the story? Initially, Sandra, mostly, as she’s trying to defend herself against an accusation of murder. Daniel also participates, and in doing so, realizes that he has decide what he believes is the truth about what he heard. But in one of the movies many twists—the nature of which I won’t reveal—even Samuel is able to give some input as to his state of mind at the time.

This was a fascinating one, and I came to my own conclusions about what I believed happened—but not because the movie spoon-fed them to me. The facts remain ambiguous to the end, a fact Jean found deeply unsettling.

Simple comme Sylvain / The Nature of Love

Do opposites attract?

Sometimes, for sure, and this movie, the most popular Québecois film of 2023, presents one such case. Sophia, a philosophy professor, is in a comfortable but staid long-term relationship with another professor when she meets Sylvain, a handsome craftsman hired to do some renovations on her country home. Sophia and Sylvain’s attraction is quick and deep and soon consummated. And consummated again. And again.

Though she initially tells herself it will just be a fling, ending things proves harder than expected and Sophia starts to wonder about the possibility of a long-term relationship with Sylvain. But they are very different, in education, background, wealth, interests… Each phase of their relationship is punctuated by a section of Sophia’s lecture in the course she’s giving about the nature of love (philosophically speaking).

That structure made me think of Le déclin de l’empire américain, though this film, directed by Monia Chokry, definitely has its own strong vision. Jean and I were both drawn in, and he was better at predicting how things would turn out. Fun fact: This movie beat Oppenheimer as Best Foreign Film at the César Awards in France.

Past Lives

Do you ever really get over your first love?

Easy question; of course you don’t! But few people have the trajectory with their first love as the one followed in this film. Nora and Hae Sung are childhood friends in South Korea. Nora’s mom, wanting her to have good memories of South Korea before the family immigrates to Canada, arranges for them to go on a “date”, the apex of which is them holding hands.

But with her family’s pending departure, the two friends are separated before any true, mature romance can bloom. Years later, though, they find one another on Facebook. The sparks still seem to be there, but so is the distance…

By the time Nora and Hae Sung finally do meet again, in New York, Nora is married to Arthur, a perfectly decent guy who is a good sport about the whole thing.

This is a very low-key, gentle movie—too understated for Jean, who gave up partway through. But I quite enjoyed this exploration of the paths not taken, of the forces beyond your control, and what you do with that knowledge. It was lovely.

Movies 2023

I really didn’t write about movies much this year, but I did see some, so let’s catch up…

In theatres

We most recently (on Boxing Day) saw The Holdovers—appropriate timing, as the movie does take place at Christmas. It’s a story about a boy’s boarding school where a few students, “the holdovers”, are not able to go home at Christmas. One teacher, played by Paul Giamatti, is tasked with watching over them.

The movie is directed by Alexander Payne, who also directed Sideways, which also starred Paul Giamatti. It’s similar to that movie only in that it’s also a character-driven story focused on male relationships. I did enjoy it, even though it didn’t particularly pass the Bechdel Test. Jean liked it well enough also, though he prefers plot-driven movies.

Whereas Barbie…

Continue reading “Movies 2023” →

The Menu

Jean was complaining that I hadn’t posted anything in ever-so-long—which is kind of true. I’m off for some Christmas vacation time now, so possibly a few posts will be forthcoming. I’ll start here, though, not because it’s most urgent or relevant, but just that it should be good for warming up the writing muscles.

Early in December, we left our house to go to the cinema and see a movie in person! Now, unlike some people, we have done this on a few occasions in these After Times. But I had not realized quite how long it had been since we had visited the Princess Cinema. So long that our membership cards had expired—in July.

We decided that a new membership was probably not a wise investment, even though you only have to see something like three movies a year to make it worthwhile. We just paid the non-member price to see The Menu.

The Menu begins with a small group of people waiting to board a boat to a highly exclusive restaurant on an island. At the centre are Margot, played by Anya Taylor-Joy of Queen’s Gambit fame, and her date Tyler (Nicholas Hoult). Margot wonders how the restaurant can be profitable with such a small clientele. “$1,250 a person” replies Tyler. Margot is stunned, but since it’s on Tyler’s dime, is game to go along.

Not being a devotee of the “foodie” scene, however, Margot finds the serving rituals and staff manner rather odd. To someone who does do the “foodie” thing on occasion (albeit not at $1,250 a pop), the emphasis on freshness and regionality (when the clients arrive, staff are literally fishing for the scallops to be served later), the open kitchen and extensive table settings, and the elaborate presentation of each course is kind of familiar—but in this movie, also a bit strange. The staff is so disciplined. The rules of dining are so strict. And aren’t locked doors a fire hazard?

And the bread course? I don’t want to spoil what happens there, but while kind of weird and off-putting, it also seems, maybe, possible?

But as hinted in the trailer, the movie then moves on from the merely strange to… rather horrifying. (No soylent green, though!) For the squeamish, I would say, that while there is violence, it was nothing I couldn’t handle—and I’m pretty squeamish. Though I possibly did close my eyes at one moment…

Class issues definitely come up, particularly centred on Margot, the one client in a different socioeconomic class than everyone else there.

And through all this, the movie remains pretty funny. You’re never lulled into thinking it’s a documentary. “Dark comedy”, they say. I guess that’s a good descriptor.

I found it all pretty riveting, from the mocking of foodie culture, to the dark turn, to the various plot twists. Jean was never bored, but he wasn’t sure until if he actually liked the movie. But finally concluded that he did (though he was also left wondering if he should feel guilty about love of fine dining).

I think it would definitely appeal to other foodies, to horror fans, to fans of dark comedies, or those who appreciate movies with originality.

A quick one about movies

Yesterday we went to see Everything Everywhere All at Once, in a theatre, and—wow! I was just riveted. It was one of the most original movies I’ve ever seen. And so funny! And even makes you think of about the big questions: the meaning of life, the universe, and… everything.

Jean, who is not as into surrealism as I am (did I mention I’m also rewatching Russian Doll?), wasn’t quite sure what to think. But I assure you he wasn’t bored, or complaining about lack of plot. And he agreed it was quite funny.

(Much to my annoyance, I forgot my CO2 monitor and so am not able to add Landmark Cinemas to my list of ventilation ratings. Being in a newer building, and given that the high-ceilinged theatre was not at capacity, I suspect the reading would have been fine. But it will have to wait til next time to confirm. This time, about 40% of movie attendees were masked.)

A few other movies Jean and I have watched at home recently-ish, and both enjoyed:

Trainspotting 2—No idea if this would hold any appeal to people who haven’t seen Trainspotting the first, but Jean and I enjoyed this “20 years later” revisit of the characters, with its clever callbacks to the first film.

Empire Records—The script for this 1995 flop kind of is a mess—a story intended to take place over two days was edited down to appear to all happen on one, and it’s not entirely coherent. But it is fun. And the soundtrack is great. And the cast and characters, especially the women, Renee Zellweger, Liv Tyler, Robin Tunney, are appealing.

Palm Springs—Also surreal-ish, this romantic comedy has a different but appealing take on how the couple ends up stuck together. Stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti.

The Long Shot—Romantic comedy starring Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron. Is Seth way out of Charlize’s league? Yes! But the movie absolutely addresses that point. It basically worked for me. And there’s sort of a wish fulfillment part in Charlize’s character running for President…

Coping with 2021

Feeling that I should blog about something, although it’s difficult with so much going on in the world, and so little going on in my life. I could certainly give my opinion of events, but science says that there’s actually no mental health benefit in ranting about an issue that is frustrating you, but that you have no control over. 

So guess I’ll try writing about the little things in my world that do make me feel better, at least for a while.

Writing about stuff I can’t do right now

Travelling to Europe. Attending concerts in person. Going to the movies, in theatres.

Continue reading “Coping with 2021” →

Christmas 2020

This year, like most other people, we weren’t able to do what we normally do at Christmas time. A chance to develop our new traditions, perhaps? Except… Will we really want to nostalgically recall anything from 2020?

So hey, best to focus on the now, and on the “what you can do” vs. what you can’t. In 2021 and subsequent, we’ll see if anything sticks.

Continue reading “Christmas 2020” →