Be As You Are

Just found these wonderful capri pyjama bottoms at Winners. They're made by a cool company out of DC - Be As You Are.

I love what the tag says:
When you think of a slumber party, what do you think of? I think of a gaggle of girls chatting it up over popcorn and a movie - all wearing super cute capri pants. But maybe that's just because I am a pair of super cute capris and I want to be included in everything.

My capris say "There's plenty of fish in the sea" - like the boxers above. Can't wait to wear them. Maybe I'll buy a martini T-shirt online to go with?

Hot Docs

I am liking the selections on the early list of Special Presentations at hot docs. Films by Errol Morris, survivors of Alive (the Andes crash) and Sandrine Bonnaire's directorial debut. Very interesting stuff.

Although I idolize Dr. Seuss, I am NOT interested in seeing Horton Hears a Who until it's out on video. Why are Canadians (Jim Carrey, Mike Myers) always involved in Dr. Seuss on the big screen? Did you know Dr. Seuss was born the same year as my grandmother, AND he lived on Howard Street in Springfield, MASS (Rich & I lived on Howard Street in TO)

Lots of great videos are now available to rent so it's my chance to catch up before I see my next movie in theatres: Run, Fat Boy, Run with Simon Pegg. My next rentals are: No Country for Old Men, American Gangster, and Gone, Baby Gone. Which are your favourites?

Doc Challenge Judging Details

I checked Purolator and our package 9060053402 was received by IDC Producer Doug Whyte in St. Louis, Missouri. As films come in, they check paperwork and digitize the films to go in their on-line judges’ screening room. Round 1 Judges (30 documentary professionals from across the world) watch and rate all of the films (122 teams from 16 countries). The 12 top rated films from Round 1 will premiere at the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival in Toronto in April. Finalists will be notified by the end of march to make travel arrangements. The Round 2 Judges (3 influential international documentary professionals) will select the Grand Prize Winner from the 12 finalists and announce it at the Hot Docs screening. Each finalist will receive two free passes to Hot Docs (~$1,000 value) and the Grand Prize Winner will receive $1,000.

They're accepting late films until March 13 - they'll put them on the IDC website but not enter them in the judging. They are also accepting behind-the-scenes footage so they can make a Making Of film...

IDC 2008: WE DID IT!

Last night Erin and I finished our IDC video and got it into Purolator just under the wire to meet the competition deadline. We missed the FedEx cut-off of 7:30pm at the local depot and I called Purolator and they were open till 9:00pm. Only the woman on the phone gave me the wrong info and we drove to Yonge and Adelaide and found no location. The odyssey continued at the next nearby Staples Business Depot where Sandra at Purolator helped us complete the paperwork and get our essential store-generated timestamp. 8:45pm on March 10, 2008. HOORAY Team haikugirl! WE DID IT!!! AMAZING!!!

Videos must be less than 8 minutes long or they're disqualified. Ours is 7:06:18 including credits which is okay. And it reflects the genre and theme and includes the required time element. We think you'll like our film too, Team Profluence and friends. THANKS TO EVERYONE - friends and family - for your messages of support during an exhausting weekend. Erin and I were at for 36 hours straight (basically since my last post). I got only 45 minutes sleep Sunday night sometime between 5:00am and 6:00am. We were editing in tandem at the Ryerson Lab and using my new G RAID external hard drive with 1 TeraByte (TB) of space. That's 1,000 GigaBytes (GB) or 1,000,000 MegaBytes (MB) people. Enough to store a lifetime of photos and music (or at least a big feature film edit). It's so sleek, silver and sexy - and the perfect complement to my MacBook Pro and Final Cut Express - it makes me feel like a real filmmaker!

I am also lovin' the groovy music on the new album by Sia called some people have real problems. I am groovin' out on it right now after hearing and buying it yesterday at Starbucks. I especially like Track 10 - Soon We'll Be Found but really the whole album is great. I'm glad I didn't let Richard buy it on emusic.com because the album artwork is so playful and charming. Check it out and let me know what you think.

After we submitted our film, Erin and I went to The Rivoli to celebrate with martinis and dinner. She had yummy soba noodles and I had delicious STEAK, mashed potatoes and a delicious medley of grilled vegetables. We must plan more martinis with Team Profluence when (god willing) everyone is reunited at hotdocs in April.

IDC's a WRAP!
Thanks to Erin for her help
Watch for photos soon...

Less than 30 hours to go!

Less than 30 hours remain in our weekend filmmaking competition the International Documentary Challenge. Saturday we wrapped our 3rd successful day of shooting after 2 great interviews and 2 awesome Bacchus rotis. The SNOW was UNSTOPPABLE! At least 30cm (12 inches) overnight and all day. Every 3 hours when we moved Erin's car we had to spend 10 minutes cleaning it off the accumulation was so bad! It took me over 30 minutes to walk from the Dundas West subway in all the snow to our first interview shoot. En route I saw a crime scene on Roncesvalles and got Lost in the Barrens trying to navigate the back alleys of the neighbourhood. If I froze to death at least they'd find my footage. Back at home at night I made some delicious broccoli soup (this weekend, it's all about the food!) and a few phone calls then settled down to capture footage but was falling asleep in front of the computer. Spent a moment chatting online with my friends in Team Profluence in New York and am sending positive vibes to Team Whoretoculture in DC. GOOD LUCK EVERBODY! SEE YOU IN TORONTO!!!

Sunday morning and I'm using OneZone, the largest WiFi zone in Canada, at my old familiar Starbucks at College & Yonge before I meet Erin at Ryerson to keep capturing and start editing. It's crunch time babies and we are gonna rock the edit lab! Our genre is ART and our theme is CHANGE and our goal today is to whittle 11 hours of tape into a compulsively watchable, award-winning short doc!

Team haikugirl ROCKS
AWESOME interviews and art
shooting in the snow

STITCH!

Next Thursday I'm going to see STITCH! - a 45-minute a capella opera for 3 women and 3 sewing machines. Written by Alison's friend Juliet Palmer. Very excited to see this in an old converted factory space Lennox Contemporary at 12 Ossigton Ave. Read the Toronto Star Review and consider joining us or see it at another time during its limited run March 12-16, 2008. Tickets: $10 matinee, $20 evening performances. Advance tickets: tel. 416-973-4000 Click here for online ticket purchase and visit www.theatrecentre.org or www.urbanvessel.com for more info. GIRL POWER!

I used to drive a
sewing machine but now I'll
hear the opera

The Doc Challenge is ON!

This morning I logged into the secure IDC website and found out our genre assignments. I am taking the rest of the week off to work on this project with my new film partner Erin. Wish us luck and check back for updates!

Attention haikugirl! The 2008 International Documentary Challenge has commenced!! Following are your documentary film genre choices and your theme for the 2008 Doc Challenge:

Genre Choices: BIOGRAPHY/CHARACTER STUDY or ART

Theme: CHANGE

You must choose one of the genres listed above, Your chosen genre must be the predominate genre of your film. You can mix genres, but it should be obvious to the judges and the audience that your main genre is one of these:

BIOGRAPHY/CHARACTER STUDY
A full account of the facts of the life of a particular person, or closely related group of people (Biography) or an exploration of a single character's personality and current life situation (Chracter Study).

ART
Focuses in some way on art and/or artists.

Find all genre definitions on the IDC website.

The assigned THEME must be present at some point in your film. It can be either the entire focus of your film, or it can just be addressed briefly (as in one interview question, if you happen to have interviews.) Once again, it must be obvious to the judges that at some point your film addresses the theme of CHANGE.

Also, don't forget the required TIME ELEMENT. To ensure the films were made within the required time frame, each team must prove the date the film was made by adding a time element to the film or credits. Feel free to be creative, but make sure that it is obvious to the judges. If the judges have a hard time determining the time element, the film will be disqualified. An example of an accepted time element is having your main subject (if you have one) holding a newspaper and the date is large enough to read. This can be done in the credits of the film so as to not affect the flow of the film.

Don't forget to fill out all of your paperwork!!

Your finished film must be postmarked by Monday, March 10 with a store-generated label to be considered on time and eligible for awards. Outside of the US Fedex is your best bet.

Autism: The Musical

Another snowstorm, another Doc Soup screening. Missed last month's screening of Up the Yangtze because of the massive snowstorm but plan to see it in theatres. This month: Autism: The Musical. This delightful doc follows a group of California kids with autism and how they scripted and performed a musical in 6 months. The work that Elaine Hall is doing with The Miracle Project is truly inspiring. A revealing, all-access portrait of participating families and their challenges. The five principal kids were very endearing and the parents were very candid about their lives and issues. I especially loved Henry (who has Aspergers) a hilarious charmer with an encyclopedic knowledge of dinosaurs. The Director Tricia Regan is equally adorable. She admitted she can't help choking up when she sees the film and her biggest thrill is to watch people experience it at screenings. A surprising 1 in 150 children will be diagnosed with autism in the U.S. this year (in 1980 it was only 1 in 10,000 children). Shot and edited with love, this doc shines the light on a growing issue, one that society can no longer ignore. See this with your family and laugh and learn together when it airs on HBO March 25

Movie and Martini lovers UNITE!

Met Les Boys (Keith & Fidel) and Ivana & Antonio & baby Matteo for dinner at the Pure Spirits Oyster House (adjust your audio settings!) in the Distillery District on Sunday Night. Dinner was good but the service was uneven and the martinis were cloudy so kudos to Fidel for letting the manager know. After that, service picked up and our bill went down - hooray! It was so lovely to see everyone. Ivana looks FANTASTIC after giving birth only 12 days before. We have to start planning the festivities for this year's TIFF 2008 which marks 10 years since Ivana and I met the original Les Boys (Keith, Joe & Shawn) in line at Roy Thomson Hall at TIFF 1999. What a wonderful milestone! Such wonderful friends! Come to think of it, our friendship predates both of our weddings - here's to friendship, martinis & movies!!

Hilarious blog

A friend tipped me off about the blog stuff white people like. HILARIOUS! Especially the reams of online comments. I definitely agree with today's post (Multilingual Children) and enjoyed reading Michel Gondry, the comments about Barack and people threatening to move to Canada. If only haikugirl could achieve over 5 million hits (sigh!)

NFB screening - thank you friends!

Thanks to EVERYONE who came to the screening of IDC videos at the National Film Board on Monday February 25th. Most of the audience were Marathon Women fans including 3 of the film's STARS (Mary, Hardish & Karen) and my co-director/producer Tamara. Thanks also to the lovely representatives of JeansMarines Men's Auxiliary (Gary, Dennis and Ray), my wonderful Rich, Jan from Vancouver, Marci & Greg, and Lesley and Angie who all came to show their support. I really appreciate it dear friends!

Interesting to see all 9 shorts from the Toronto area, including 3 of the 2007 finalists and 6 others never before screened.

State of Mind by Team Plasticine

Sumo Robot by Team Balidog

Forty Years, Hockey Nights by Team Trawna

The Bells of Old York by Team Moveable Feast

Marathon Women by Team haikugirl

Milk Matters by Team Pura Vida

Selling Faith by Team Toronto

Chantal Mukandoli: A Testimony by Ellipsis Productions

Outside The Box by Team 72Hundred

Really enjoyed "Forty Years, Hockey Nights" about diehard Leafs fans keeping the FAITH that their team will take home the Stanley Cup. "The Bells of St. James" reminded me that across the street at St. Lawrence Hall we had our wedding reception 6 years ago. Also reconnected with a friend who is now a Hot Docs Programmer. And of course we had to have a beer after. Shot of the gang at the Friar coming soon...

OSCARS - Two Degrees of Separation

There are two degrees of separation between me and a 2008 Oscar Winner. Cynthia Wade won for her documentary short Freeheld about a dying female police lieutenant who is fighting to leave her pension benefits to her domestic partner. Cynthia was a cinematography prof for my friends Ted and Dana at The New School University. What a thrill for Cynthia - congrats! And hers was the category announced by soldiers in Iraq and presented by Tom Hanks which is very special (not like Diablo Cody who picked up her Oscar from lame-o Harrison Ford!)

I'm really excited that Falling Slowly won Best Song for Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. We saw them live at the Danforth Music Hall in November and it was a magical performance. I also thought Jon Stewart was sweet when he let Marketa come back to deliver her acceptance speech after the music cut her off. You go girl! (Marci's web research after the concert said she's 19, he's 37 and they're together.)

Overall I liked the Oscars - heard from several people they thought the show was boring. I thought the red carpet was boring this year but the show was okay. Some of those presenters are sure looking old tho' -

Oscar Watch & Marathons

After dinner Saturday night with the M-Club at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar, woke up to start watching all-day "Road to the Oscars" coverage, beginning with a great edition of Sunday Morning on CBS including a humorous comparison of the Oscar race to the 2008 Election. Most of my Oscar picks mirror the popular choices but I also like comparing "who will win" to "who should win". I agree with most of the Independent Spirit Award winners - and can't wait to see the fashions on the red carpet later today. In just a few hours, I'll be comfortably in my basement in my cone of silence watching the red carpet fashion parade on the new big screen. Hope you are able to catch all the festivities.

Then the excitement continues tomorrow night with the screening of Marathon Women at the NFB. Enjoy and send me your Oscar picks and pans!

Congratulations to the anonymous haikugirl reader who just completed a mountain marathon (see Comments). Don't worry - I'm told irritability is a common side effect of dehydration - my own Marathon Recovery was pretty manageable. Enjoy this encore link to the Flora London Marathon "day after the marathon" video and keep running!

Family Day was a real Family Day

Our first Family Day in Ontario was marked by the arrival of my brother Sam in Toronto. Sam (aka Semeon) has accepted a position with Phybridge in Oakville. He is excited about his new position as Vice President of Technology and jumped right into working this week after flying in from Calgary late Sunday. He has a long commute from our place (1 hour and 20 minutes) on the subway and GO train, so the hunt for suitable 905 lodging will begin soon. Best of luck Sam and Welcome to Ontario!

The Number 23 and All Bets are ON!

Number 23
kinda spooky, kinda weird,
kinda lame ending

Saw this on Pay-Per-Vu and it was alright - a decent rental. Virginia Madsen looks pretty hot for most of the film and Jim Carrey does a pretty good job. I won't spoil the ending but it was pretty wimpy.

Out to Morton's on Friday night (to quote my lovely husband "Feb 15 is the new Feb 14"). A mighty dinner and bill but then he lost a bet (everyone knows it wasn't Katie Holmes with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III, it was Michelle Monahan, soon to be in Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey). We made another bet on Saturday night while watching our Las Vegas Marathon on the PVR. Rich said: it's that guy from Survivor 2nd season and I said Whaa?? Anyway, Rich was right (this time) - it WAS Colby Donaldson playing a dog lover with a giant great dane (this is on Mystery channel folks so it is an old 2005 Las Vegas episode). I would never have remembered the guy's name (my Mom would - she's a die hard Survivor fan) so I had to IMdB him (like Larry Birkhead, whom Sarah just spotted at The Cove Atlantis) but I AM impressed that Rich plucked the reference out of nowhere. So he's getting dinner at the Keg (York St) this month. Congratulations Rich!

Yay reds and friends! Boo ExpressVu :-(

I love reds bistro. I love those mini sirloin burgers. The snack platter and cod and flank steak with onion rings were also awesome! Tonight I met my friend Keith at reds and we shared apps and caught up and it was sooooo relaxing and fun. Then I met Rich at home and we watched what we had recorded on our NEW PVR - very exciting to be able to pause, get a snack and go back to the tv.

Too bad I almost lost my mind on Sunday dealing with the bozo installer from Bell ExpressVu. At 8am two men rang my doorbell and then walked around to the back to check the satellite on the roof. They seemed nice and professional but they needed a longer ladder so they called for someone else. At 1:00 the guy with the longer ladder shows up. At first he was just quiet but then he proved to be a real jerk. I'll call him Igor because he might as well have been in Eastern Promises which I finally saw the night before. Viggo was great in the movie. Igor was a complete ***hole in my life. He wouldn't confirm the work he was going to do, he interrupted and wouldn't listen. He even was swearing while trying to install his own cable. After getting it to go on the roof, he was going to run it all along the outside of our house when I had said I wanted it through the inside. He said: "I don't fish. Get constructor. I'm satellite installer, not constructor." "You mean contractor?" I asked. "Constructor, contractor, all the same, I no fishy." I said my husband would fish it through I just needed it inside. His continual interrupting and limited language skills meant he was stubbornly going to do it his way and wouldn't hear of anything else. He kept drilling holes in my house without asking and when I objected, he said I could cancel the job, someone else could finish. When I agreed to that, he started to take down all the stuff from the roof that he had spent the last hour and a half putting up - "it's my cable, it's my box". I was livid. I was pleading. His tone escalated and so did mine. I told him to stop right now and asked to speak with the supervisor. Only he couldn't get him on the phone and I couldn't get through to Bell. He just kept retreating to his truck and smoking and refused to look me in the eye. I was in tears with the frustration (Richard was unfortunately not around this afternoon). Dori, bless her heart, came to check on me and she called it: the guy wouldn't listen because I was a woman. Finally, the original guys showed up around 3:30 to finish the job. They calmed me down and explained everything and literally saved the day (and the account) and got things working by the time Rich came home. They were so much more helpful and caring and cooperative than "Igor". Thank you Tigram!

Sunday was certainly my worst customer service experience EVER. It's nice to have a PVR but it's hardly worth what I lived through. I logged complaints with Bell and they gave me a small credit but who cares - it cannot repair the post traumatic stress from this horrible, misogynistic man. They should not be inflicting this lowlife on anybody. SuperBowl Sunday is also a top-five contender for the Worst Day Ever award since, in addition to "Igor", I also cut my thumb with a knife (nice gushing blood for my guests) and gashed my knee on the stairs. Thanks to Dori and Ivana for their quick-thinking first aid treatment for my thumb and to Luisa for all her help in the kitchen. Merci les amies!! I'm on the mend. And of course, HUGE thanks to Antonio for all his amazing hard work on the shower downstairs. It looks awesome! I'll be posting an update on that shortly.

my PVR's HOT!
too bad Bell ExpressVu meant
my Sunday was shot

Juno

SEE JUNO!!!! The female contingent of our film club saw it on Fri. Jan. 25 and enjoyed it very much. I LOVED this movie. Ellen Page (from Halifax) is 20 and plays 16 year-old Juno, a pregnant teen who decides to give her baby up for adoption to a happy young couple: Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman. This was the second movie I saw in 2008 that involved a composer (Hugh Grant in Music & Lyrics and Jason Bateman in this). I bought the soundtrack and am inspired to write my own homemade songs, for her it seems as easy as baking cookies. Kimya Dawson of The Moldy Peaches writes most of the tracks on the soundtrack and I love her poetry and simple melodies. It puts a giant smile on my face every time I hear it and it lets me cruise along sidewalks and in elevators with a knowing grin (doesn't that always freak other people out??) My Oscar Prediction: Diablo Cody will win Best Original Screenplay for this gem of a movie but Ellen Page (as talented and deserving as she is) will likely lose to Julie Christie for Away From Her. Juno is a smartmouthed teenage girl and you wonder what makes her say all those funny, crazy things and she and the movie wouldn't be as unforgettable if she didn't say all those amazing things. Fresh, funny and totally satisfying - I want to encourage you to SEE THIS MOVIE (then post your reviews or comments here!)

P.S. Did you know her hamburger phone is the hottest selling item on eBay right now?

Juno is awesome
the soundtrack is wonderful
I hope you love it

SAG Awards

Saw most of last night's SAG Awards. The Screen Actors Guild is always a strong predictor of Oscar results and last night's winners are making me reshuffle my own Oscar picks. No Country for Old Men won for Best Ensemble Cast and Julie Christie won for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role for Away From Her. Daniel Day Lewis's performance in There Will Be Blood was hailed as "the performance of the century". A bit extreme but he gave a nice speech and dedicated his award to Heath Ledger. Will definitely be tuning into the Oscars on February 24th with my scorecard in hand. Meanwhile, SuperBowl Sunday is coming to my new big screen TV this weekend! Go Patriots!

Oscar Nominations and more...

The Oscar nominations were announced live this morning sometime after 8:35am. I think the Academy did a good job recognizing the best work of the year with only a few surprises. Delighted for Ellen Page that she was nominated for Best Actress - quite an achievement for such a young woman. I think Best Supporting Actress will be Cate Blanchett but I think it should be Saoirse Ronan - she played evil so well in Atonement I hope she gets it. If both she and Ellen get the Oscars, they must break some combined youth record! I think they will honour Viggo Mortensen with Best Actor because Eastern Promises got no other major nomination. I think Juno will get Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay will go to either Joel and Ethan Coen or Sarah Polley for Away From Her - what an honour for her! PT Andersen annoys me (sorry Jan) so I am not pulling for him or Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood. Thrilled that Ratatouille got several nominations including Best Animated Feature - that was one of my favourite Christmas presents. Enchanted has 3 out of 5 Best Original Song nominations but I think it should go to Falling Slowly from the beautiful movie Once featuring Glen Hansard of the Frames with Marketa Irglova. Congratulations and Good Luck to all the Oscar nominees! Please send me your comments and predictions! (the printable list makes it easier to review and ponder before the February 24th show)

Funny to see the stars at Sundance in the cold raving about the chance to wear jeans and down parkas - it's getting colder here in Toronto so we could definitely set their fashion trends. Sam spent an icy weekend visiting us but we did buy a gorgeous 46" Samsung LCD HDTV on sale at BestBuy. SWEET!

This morning's telecast seemed disappointingly blurry - even on both HD TVs. No one else I talked to seemed as disturbed as me but the broadcast seemed more like web quality even though I was watching an HD channel. No matter - it's always an exciting 5 minutes.

Very sad and shocked to hear of Heath Ledger. So young and full of promise - a terrible loss.

haikugirl's new blog!

I finally got a YouTube account to upload and share my 2 short videos. Haven't uploaded Marathon Women yet so it can still be submitted to festivals. Check out my own growing director's reel at haikugirlmovies.blogspot.com

Speaking of festivals, haikugirl's friends at Profluence Productions had their short doc Blind Faith accepted as part of the Official Selection at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, Montana. Congratulations Team - that's such amazing news! See you in Toronto after IDC again we hope.

Why I Missed Walmart Nation

Last night Pavlina and I were all set to head to Riverdale Collegiate on the streetcar in time for the 7pm screening of Walmart Nation, only to have our streetcar diverted at Gerrard and Broadview by a police barricade. We arrived on the scene around 6:30 - thank goodness we weren't there earlier. The police had closed Gerrard and wouldn't let people through. Normally we would have walked north and continued east on some side streets but good thing we didn't because one of the gunmen disappeared on foot north of Gerrard. If it was my movie screening, I would have been more determined to see it, but by this time, we were only motivated to go home. The northbound streetcar appeared on Broadview and we grabbed it.

I Hate Air Canada

Announcing the launch of IHateAirCanada.ca. So many of us are sick of flying Air Canada. This website is a way to let the airline know that they need to change their ways.

As the site says: Canada: Love the country. Hate the airline. I certainly agree - those bozos at Air Canada made our simple post-marathon trip home from DC an ordeal. However, I recognize that living in Toronto means we have a greater number of happier airline choices than people in other parts of the country.

Check out the website
Buy the cool merchandise - and
Fly WestJet instead

Samba Dende

My filmmaker friend Dana (who was on Team Profluence Productions (blog: Actualities) and did the Blind Faith video at last year's IDC Challenge) is in Brazil working on a doc with the band Samba Dende. Check out her blog: http://sambadende.blogspot.com/

I don't know portuguese but I can say it in spanish: Buena Suerte Dana! (Good Luck)

Golden Globes and Wii

R and I went to my friend Dori's house for dinner and we had an amazing Spanish stew and played Wii with her kids and father. Her son's feet must've hurt because he was kicking our a**, but we all had a wonderful time.

Checked into the Golden Globe results because there was no show, only live announcements. Atonement seemed to clean up (whatever) and I was particularly happy for David Duchovny and Jeremy Piven, both of whom are outstanding in their roles that are SO L.A. Longford (a British HBO mini-series) also had several wins (Jim Broadbent and Samantha Morton) and the website trailer makes it look rather interesting.

Also checked out the Australian Open on TV before bedtime. Lovely to see the women players. Maybe someday we'll plan a trip to OZ in January and take advantage of the warm weather to attend the tennis. Plus, it's 11:00pm here and it's 3:00pm the next day there - how cool is that?

Awards and more...

Here's a shot of Rich with our friend's Emmy - Congratulations Frank! An amazing achievement.

Speaking of achievements, the Golden Globe champagne dinner and awards ceremony is cancelled on Sunday so they're just going to announce the winners in a telecast. The recent People's Choice Awards took a similar approach and did not hold my interest (even though Queen Latifah made a valiant effort as host - of nobody)

I wonder how long the writers' strike will continue - and what movie prospects we might have for the next TIFF.

For The Bible Tells Me So

Fans of haikugirl: profuse apologies for the massive delay in updating my blog. SO SORRY!! Please scroll down to see a few new posts and photos - Happy New Year and ENJOY!

Wednesday night my dear friend Keith joined me for the sold out screening of For The Bible Tells Me So at the old-timey Bloor Cinema, part of my Doc Soup series from hot docs. It focuses on 5 families who handle the realization that one of their children is gay and includes interviews with former presidential candidate Richard Gephart and the first openly gay Anglican bishop Gene Robinson. Very powerful and interesting film that premiered at Sundance and is shortlisted for an Academy Award. Keith and I were quite emotional by the end and so was Producer/Director Daniel Karslake who shared wonderful stories about the making of the film, including his trip to Toronto to film Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

After Q&A, we headed to the charming Toba Restaurant for a delicious angus beef risotto and delightful Australian shiraz/viognier Innocent Bystander which is anything but!

Here's to more movies and wine in 2008!

haikugirls' 2007 Movie Picks

My top movie list for 2007 has some notable exceptions. Since I opted out of violence and gore you won't see the big award contenders American Gangster, Eastern Promises, No Country for Old Men and Sweeney Todd on my list. I will see them eventually, but only when I'm ready to plug my ears and cover my eyes for long periods in my basement screening room.

2007
not the best year for movies
my list of top picks:

1 My favourite movie of 2007 was Marathon Women by me and Tamara (natch) but because it's not a feature I guess I might have to provide another pick... so:
1 In Bloom - my highlight of TIFF and the best entry in this year's Evan Rachel Wood filmfest (as opposed to the Don Cheadle filmfest in 2005) Haven't seen this haunting film get distribution yet (maybe because of the sensitive subject matter) but Gus Van Sant's Elephant made it to screens so we'll have to see.
2 In the Shadow of the Moon - interviews with the handful of men who've walked on or orbited the moon. with interesting behind-the-scenes stories of the space program and the personalities behind it (Neil Armstrong declined to appear) This film was beautiful and poetic way to begin the Hot Docs 2007 festival along with the opening night invitation-only GALA party at the Design Exchange (DX). I actually felt like a real director and schmoozer
3 Bourne Ultimatum - non-stop action + awesome locations + hot leading man = perfect recipe for a summer blockbuster. This was right around the time I recognized that Matt Damon is a highly bankable box office star which was exactly a week before the rest of Hollywood recognized it and crowned him with that honour.
4 Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, sweeping historial drama, girlpower movie, what more can I say?
5 Enchanted - another princess movie! Amy Adams RULES and this was totally charming! (Just saw her again in Junebug and in a recent GAP ad)
6 Charlie Wilson's War - Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman are all great in this true story about the covert war in Afghanistan. Funny, timely and with a great script by Aaron Sorkin. One of these people will get an award, mark my words.
7 Chacun son Cinema - 33 iconic directors pay hommage to the Cannes filmfest - my perfect ending to this year's TIFF
8 Superbad - Superbad was supergood. Saw it right before all the seriousness of TIFF. The anti-blockbuster blockbuster.
9 Music and Lyrics - okay I think this came out on Valentine's Day in 2007 but I didn't see it till Christmas on the Movie Network and it was totally charming! I am a sucker for both Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore and the POP Goes My Heart video is absolutely HILARIOUS (both at the opening but moreso over the closing credits when they add pop-up videos - GENIUS!)
10 Across the Universe - loved the talented cast of young actors and the reinvention of so many great Beatles songs (missed it at TIFF but caught it at Varsity)
Honorable Mentions:
-Lars and the Real Girl - definitely fun. Delightful to see with the stars at the fest.
-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - haven't seen this much talking in a western since Unforgiven but I have to include this because it was shot in Winnipeg and my brother was an extra. I think Brad gave a great understated performance that was overlooked by the Golden Globes. Casey Affleck also does very well. It's long but held my interest. Worth seeing on a snowy afternoon if you've got 3 hours to spare.

WORST Movies of 2007

1 The Host (should be renamed The Worst). I know I should have had this on last year's list (cause it was at TIFF 2006) but I think it was only in theatres in summer 2007 and I only saw it on DVD this Christmas. Don't understand what all the tremendous hype was about. I couldn't stay awake until the end so I don't even know what happens. Too bad I actually bought the DVD.
2 Married Life - painful at this year's fest - the director was needlessly fawned over - lame
3 Atonement - BOHRING, BOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHRING, and Annoying, and then when Vanessa Redgrave shows up at the end INFURIATING with a capital IN. When people told me, "it's like The English Patient" I should have remembered that I was like Elaine in Seinfeld watching The English Patient (i.e. drove me crazy, squirmed and huffed and rolled my eyes a lot, kind of like my reaction to Lord of the Rings)
4 Oceans Thirteen - a sequel gone bad. I'm one of the few who likes Oceans Twelve more than Oceans Eleven but the third one was just lame. Maybe they stole part of the script from The Host?
5 National Treasure Book of Secrets - the first is compulsively watchable; the sequel has no soul. I was really looking forward to this but was disappointed. Awesome locations + contrived, predictable plot = missed opportunity

Runner Girl

Since the marathon I've only been running 5K every weekend. On Sunday, December 30th at 9:30am I ran the Running Room Toronto Resolution Run in the Distillery District and did my best time ever for 5K! (37 minutes) Participants got a free nylon jacket for registering but I prefer the pink Nike one I found at Winners so that's what I wore.

Back at Pilates in the new year (just a 3 minute walk from home at Pegasus Studios) and I felt a twinge in my knee :-( I think I'm developing an IT band injury because I haven't been stretching properly post-run. Must keep stretching and icing because I definitely want to keep running!!

haikugirl made trax!
speeding through Distillery
in new running gear

Noel 2007

Our Christmas 2007 was nice and quiet. I worked half the day on Dec 24th then headed home to get ready for dinner. Slipped out to the family mass down the street at St. Brigid's at 5:00pm then back to serve my delicious Leek and Potato soup with Black Truffles and Truffle Oil.

Our Christmas tree was lovely. We got it late (Dec 18) but it was the perfect shape and so soft to touch and hang decorations. We traditionally go to the man at the corner store nearby so he gave us a deal as returning customers ($60). Not as great a deal as at IKEA (free because the $20 you spend for the tree is really a $20 credit in store) but better than the $100 my Uncle Wes said fresh trees cost in California.

On Christmas Day we slept in, opened presents then had a visit from Mary. After a late lunch (mussels with frites - both excellent), we enjoyed Chicken Val d'Ostana for dinner. Later on Dori and her family stopped by and brought their Wii game. Lots of fun to play and watch. They even created a custom Wii persona for me.

Afterward we watched one of my Christmas presents: the animated movie Ratatouille - a rat who runs away and becomes a chef in Paris. Loved it!

Which reminds me, I need to post my Top Movies of the Year.

CTV Christmas Party

Now that Rich works for CTV, this is the first year he could bring a spouse to his Christmas party. I was excited to go on a wintery Thursday December 13th and the party was amazing!!


The theme was Zhivago - A Celebration of Life. Outside there were horse-drawn sleighs and inside there were four themed rooms, each with tons of different food and drinks. When we walked in they handed us a Black Russion (vodka and kahlua) and then we happened to stand just outside the prep room so servers would walk by us every minute, each with a different new plate of delectable hors d'oeuvres: tuna tartare, roast duck on cranberry toast, caviar in phyllo cones, chicken, beef, mushroom bites - all delish.

Next, there was a candy room where the chandeliers were made of lollipops and you could fill gift bags with candy to take home (my favourite were the pop-eye cigarettes). Then we moved into the largest room where there were hundreds of people and several food stations. There was live Russian entertainment onstage and with my new Sony 10x Optical Zoom camera (my fantastic advance Christmas present from my wonderful husband) I could get a clear picture of the performers from 30 feet away!

We even saw the CEO of CTV Ivan Fecan. All the food was delish: coriander tuna on potatoe fennel mash with red pepper relish; creamy beef stroganoff; salmon filet with veggies and caviar! We couldn't even get around to it all. Finally we retired to the quieter Russian Tea Room where we hung out on pillow-covered banquettes and enjoyed the end of our evening together with all our friends.

Truly a memorable and impressive affair. Thanks for inviting me Rich!


Zhivago party
Black Russians and seared tuna
Thank you CTV!

Enchanted

Last night November ended on a total high when we went to see Enchanted. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS MOVIE - GO SEE IT!!!! It starts with a few minutes of old-timey animation a la Bambi and Snow White, but be patient. Embrace the hokiness and revel in the singing because suddenly it transitions to live action in modern-day New York and it is 100% charming, irresistible and fun - a real post-feminist fairytale. Mothers take your daughters (age 5 and up because it gets scary later) and sing along. Amy Adams is the ultimate princess Giselle whose naivete and goodness are irrepressible and infectious. You too will be cheering for true love's kiss! Definitely one of my top 10 movies of 2007. And I'm saving another spot for Jerry Bruckheimer's National Treasure Book of Secrets. Who cares if its another Disney holiday money grab? I can't wait!!!

One of a Kind Show

There's lots to sample and buy at the One of a Kind Show and Sale this year. After taking the LRT from Union Station and getting off at Spadina, the connecting TTC shuttle bus takes you right to the front door. And the lights and chandelier at the Princes' Gate are gorgeous. Saw my friend Kelly, co-founder with Joelle of KanvasInk which creates paper and online designs and also ran into Janet who was sourcing artisans for her company orangefish. Bought a few gifts but mostly I bought specialty food items, including dips and cakes. Christmas is coming - Mmmmmmm... See you in December!

Marathon Recovery

People have been asking about my post-marathon recovery. This video from the London Marathon shows better than I can describe how people look and feel after running a marathon. SCROLL DOWN to see it (the music & video will automatically play)

Normally my recovery is pretty fast, because of the Gu gels I take on long runs and the process I follow afterward. We didn't have time for that after Washington because we were heading to our Celebration Dinner. And flying home on Monday, those bozos at Air Canada made us walk down stairs into a shed to disembark from the plane (hadn't they seen this video?)

After 2 days of general stiffness and walking funny, I finally did this:
Step 1: Draw a shallow ice cold bath and extend your legs in it for at least 5 minutes (wear a T-shirt on top to stay warm in the tub)
Step 2: Draw a full hot bath with Epsom salts and sit in it for at least 10 minutes (drink water to hydrate and stay in longer if you have time)
Step 3: Finish with the hottest possible shower with highest possible water pressure and be grateful that God created hot showers.

Then you're ready to face the day! This worked all summer after my Saturday long runs before heading out to weddings, parties, anything. And the morning of my return to work I was walking normally again, right into the lovely surprise reception my manager threw for me at the office. So SWEET! Her daughter even drew me a Congratulations! banner for my cubicle.

I also heard warnings about the post-marathon blues. I wasn't blue - I was just annoyed. With everything. The lineup at Starbucks, missing the subway, fumbling for my keys or the phone, the phone ringing in general, the lack of quality movie releases out there - whatever! I think most of the lingering effects from this have passed. I am also told that irritability is a symptom of dehydration. My frantic schedule at work and the prospect that Christmas is only 31 days away gives me other things to focus on.

One Minute Film Festival

I was hoping to go to this on Thursday but I now have other plans. The One Minute Film & Video Festival (www.minutefilmfest.com) started as a dare between lapsed filmmakers and is now an international event that has been happening since 2003. You can view the top 60-second films this Thursday November 22 at the Bloor Theatre. Maybe I can submit a film to next year's competition? The theme of secrets looks very interesting and some of the filmmaker bios are pretty funny.

Congratulations Frances!

Our JeansMarines running friend Frances posted an awesome finishing time of 4:23:42 at the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday, November 18th. There were 15,000 runners (many of whom registered after Chicago was cancelled mid-race) and it looks like a great day was had by all. Way to go Frances - you ROCK!

DOC SOUP - C'mon, step it up!

I signed up for Doc Soup, a monthly screening series through hotdocs. Our first film was No End In Sight a haunting doc about the Iraq War told through the stories of top government officials. Disturbing how their recommendations were continually overlooked by the administration.

My second film next Wednesday is Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)

I just wish they would stop showing films about war. At hotdocs in April, they already screened some documentary films in competition at Sundance 2007. I love hotdocs Director Sean Farnell and hope he will come back from Doc Leipzig or somewhere else far away with some fresh new screening titles because I won't be able to take war, war, war all season long...

If someone wants to see Manda Bala, add a comment and let me know.

WE DID IT IN WASHINGTON!

Running the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC on Sunday was an AWESOME experience! We had a perfect day to accomplish a mighty goal and we are both so proud!! THANK YOU to everyone for all your support before, during and after the race. We flew home on Monday with our shiny new medals and returned to work Tuesday.

Richard was a SUPAHSTAH and did the 26.2 miles in an impressive 4:45:11 (faster than Al Gore when he ran it a few years ago but slower than Oprah.) I was over 2 hours slower than Richard clocking a time of 6:48:37 but as everyone I tell says: WHO CARES, YOU FINISHED. Check MM's Finish Results here. Lynn and Hardish were just behind me. Congrats to all the JeansMarines who made it to the end!

The day was filled with many beautiful memories...

Finding my running partner Hardish at the start line amidst 20,000 people... Running up and down the hilly terrain in Virginia for the first hour before going through the trees of Rock Creek Park and crossing Key Bridge over to the mansions of Georgetown... The energetic high school bands that kept us entertained along the way... Digging in to get to the bridge at mile 19 before it closed... Seeing Hardish's sister Baily and my dear filmfest friends Les Boys: Shawn, Joe & Chris along the route, along with THOUSANDS of supporters with their cowbells and banners... Seeing the funny slogans on the posters: Your feet hurt cuz you're KICKING A** and Pain is temporary - Pride is FOREVER! We even composed a few haiku enroute (will post once I remember them all!)... Seeing people running for fallen comrades or children, many with photos on the backs of their shirts... Running past family homes and then all the glorious buildings and monuments on the Mall (AND stopping to take photos along the way (Rich can't believe I was doing that even with the threat of the bridge)... Getting through the last 6 miles slowly because a) we were bored and b) we knew the medal was within our grasp... Sprinting to the finish because I heard a marine say: "Go and get it" and I DID!... Wearing my medal with pride on the plane ride home and every day to work because I know how many months it took to earn it... Smiling and nearly crying when my manager organized a SURPRISE welcome back reception for me at the office, complete with balloons and a banner across my cubicle illustrated by her daughter --Thanks Jenny and everybody on the L&D team, it was SO NICE of you - I was truly touched!!!

The online race tracking features are truly amazing. Sorry for the hundreds of emails the system sent you if you signed up for tracking (it should only have been 7 with updates for mile 5, 10, half (13.1), 15, 18, 22, and the Finish. You can still see me move through the course (press Play on this Map Track link and watch my dot move along with the elevation). Both our families were able to follow us along the route as if they were there and see where we were when the winners crossed the finish line. Rich's mom sent us printouts at various stages - thanks! - a lovely souvenir for the scrapbook... PLUS the continuous text messages let my local friends know exactly where I'd be on the route so they could be there to cheer me on. My emails will stay in my gmail account for posterity as well as the link to my finisher's website.

Can't believe it's all over... a bit anti-climactic, really. I'm looking for things to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays now. Before the race I never thought I'd run another marathon but now I think I might, not sure how soon. Next year I'm already planning the Big Sur Half Marathon in November 2008 so Wes and Marcella reserve your guestroom now! So maybe this time next year you'll be reading about our exploits on the west coast?

Check back later this week for more post-race posts and official race photos from haikugirl...

Congratulations!
Richard ran the marathon
faster than Al Gore

(this link connects you to videos of the finish line from the Washington Post - find the 4:45 block and look for Richard in a white shirt and cap, raising his hands as he crosses the finish)

THANK YOU for your support!

The calls and emails are pouring in and I feel like Bartles & James (those old guys from the wine cooler ads in the late 80s): "We thank you for your support!"

THANK YOU, thank you to our wonderful family and friends for all your warm wishes and cheers - we can't believe that race weekend is actually upon us. After 39 weeks of training (nearly 9 months for me - over a year for Rich) we're flying south to run our butts off at the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, October 28th. Rich (a.k.a. "the star") expects to complete the 42K (26.2 miles) in under 5 hours. MMP (a.k.a. "haikugirl", a.k.a. "the tortoise") plans to cross the finish line in about 6 and a half hours. That's right, almost a workday of running with lunch and bathroom breaks slotted in. Sounds ridiculous to some of you (especially those who've done a marathon in under 4 hours - Keith & Riz you are SUPAHSTARS!) but that's my pace and I'm sticking to it. Then hopefully I will make the bridge and get my medal and a hug from a marine (see photo below!!). Mostly because I said I would and won't take no for an answer from anyone at this point. (You should have seen me run after the bus yesterday - he finally opened his door and let me on: VICTORY!)

BIG HUGS to all the JeansMarines who are heading down to DC to run or walk this race. Apparently there will be over 50 of us. I want to send SPECIAL ENCOURAGEMENT to my running partner Hardish and our running inspiration Mary H who are nursing injuries and fighting on, determined to race: YOU GO GIRLS! Remember the marine motto: Semper Fidelis (always faithful) and the unnoficial one: no one gets left behind. (Did you know there are no female marines - only marines? ;-)

Want to feel part of the marathon action? Sign up for remote runner tracking and receive live split times and finish results via pager, text message or email. Or, you can check our bib numbers after the race on the RESULTS page of the Marine Corps Marathon website marinemarathon.com. My bib number is: 30410, Richard's is 30409.

You can also send an e-greeting card from the Marine Corps Marathon to encourage a runner or congratulate a finisher. Use my gmail address at haikugirl.com) - see post below for samples.

LOVE TO ALL - TALK SOON - haikugirl

P.S. I posted some marathon haiku on the MCM discussion board. Check it out!

haiku on the road
takes us to the finish line
one step at a time

MCM Greetings

You can send runners Congratulations/Encouragement E-Cards from
the 2007 MARINE CORPS MARATHON !!!

Here are two AWESOME graphics (and awesome haiku):

haikugirl: it's time
weeks of training culminate
in a strong finish



visualize the prize:
you will get your MEDAL and
HUG from a MARINE!

YouTube: Project Direct

You Tube has a filmmaking project and I have a new mission in life:
Direct a unique 2-7 minute film which includes these 3 elements:

1. A character facing a situation above his/her maturity level.

2. The line of dialogue:
"I demand an explanation for these shenanigans. What do you have to say?"

3. The passing of a photograph.

Watch the video with Jason Reitman for more info.

Submissions are due November 9th. (Just in time for my trip to Winnipeg!)

"If you win, you're going to a major international film festival where you'll attend surprise industry events, meet with executives from Fox Searchlight Pictures, and show your film at a private event. You'll also see your winning short broadcast on the home page of YouTube in countries all over the world, and you'll win a $5000 debit card." (YAY debit!)

Visit Project: Direct on YouTube for details.

2500 years of herioc running....

So good old Pheidippides ran the distance from Marathon, Greece to Athens back in 490 BC then collapsed and died from exhaustion after announcing the Greeks' victory over the Persians (conflicting stories about exactly what he said: "Niki" (victory) or "Rejoice we conquer"). The modern marathon is even longer than he had to go (he did 40K, the modern distance is 42K or 26.2 miles)

Here are more links with marathon stories and marathon history

FYI: The route for this weekend's Chicago Marathon was closed at the halfway point due to the heat - I hope the weather is kind to us on October 28 in DC. One of our JeansMarines completed the full marathon in 5:12 despite the heat - way to go Frances (bib 21471)! At 56 you beat my former classmate Dan from Calgary, who did 5:40 at age 43 (bib 22077). Check the website to search for their race results.

How to annoy runners...

Yes runners can be annoyed. Now that I am a runner (or as Frances likes to say "a long distance athlete") I thought I'd share this comic. Especially since my friend Ted Fisher commented on a previous post "if bears wearing track shoes were chasing me" he could maybe make it 3 miles. Ted they're stealing ideas from your head (or my blog).

Before Hardish and I feel too smug, we have our last big training run this Saturday. 35 kilometres - over 21 miles. It's the farthest we've ever run. It should take us about 5 and a half hours. Hard to imagine doing any activity for that long. Pray it's a good weather day...

WE DID IT IN TORONTO!

It was a great feeling to finish the half marathon (21K) on Sunday. Richard did it in 2:16:22 (chip time) and Hardish and I held hands and crossed the finish line together at 3:08:59. Check it all out at SportStats.ca or scroll through the half marathon results and find our names (at 3810 for Rich and 5139th place for me out of 5364). I was actually 435 out of 461 for my age group which means 25 more people my age finished behind me. So there.

The winner John Kelai of Kenya ran the fastest marathon ever on Canadian soil: 2:09:30 WOW! The full marathon in less time than we did the half. We watched the elite runners pass by us on their way home (we were still heading out) and it was nice to share the course with them even for a few seconds...

Richard and I are wearing our finishers medals at work today. Thanks to Pavlina for her photos!!!

Now focus shifts to our full marathon (42K) in DC less than a month away. Just found out they changed the course for 2007 so the first half is very hilly. We will do some hill training here, and then WE WILL DO IT IN WASHINGTON!!

Sunday's Half Marathon Race

Tomorrow is race day! Here is the course map and directions for the half marathon course (21K). We start at 7:00am and Richard estimates his half marathon finishing time to be about 2:30 - Hardish and I expect to finish within 3:15 (so we should be crossing the finish line at 9:30am and 10:15am respectively). We have to meet our fellow JeansMarines at 6:00am near their offices across from Roy Thomson Hall and we'll head over to the start at Metro Hall together. Then after 3 hours we'll get our finishers medals and find breakfast somewhere.

We'll have to miss tonight's Nuit Blanche - Toronto's annual all-night arts party - but the plus is we may be able to take the subway to the race as it's supposed to be running all night long (normally the subway closes at 2:00am Saturday and doesn't start running again until 9:00am Sunday).

You should be able to check my time using my bib number: 7959 on the Race Results page of the torontowaterfrontmarathon.com site.

If you're looking for inspiration, check out stories of the Groundpounders - 5 retired marines who've run every Marine Corps Marathon since the inaugural in 1976.

Race Expo: Yarms & Dreaming of Rome & Big Sur

Friday I met Rich at the Race Expo at MTCC. Massive lineup but it was a bunch of high school students waiting to check out the Universities Fair. We bypassed them and headed upstairs where we saw Frances - a JeansMarines alum who is running Chicago next weekend. We sailed through bib pick-up and chip activation and then saw John "The Penguin" Bingham and Coach Jenny Hadfield co-authors of the book Marathoning for Mortals which JeansMarines issued to us when we joined. I asked John a question about the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington and he gave us some great race tips. They cheerfully signed my book (John's running 5K Sunday and Jenny's doing the half) then Rich scored a Fuel Belt and I got accessories from The Runners Shop where I had recently bought my new runners. Rich had to go and I lingered to pick up a cool runnning jersey and yarm by Robena. The pattern I chose isn't on the website but the maker was wearing it - it's bright red and orange with flowers and white stripes, kind of a cross between flame'n and white flowers on red. It is really bright and cheery. I was considering buying the jazz jersey instead but I already have a lot of blue running shirts. And you can tuck the yarm in the pockets on the back of the jersey so it will be great to put on when I'm out after a run!

This morning it was blissful to sleep in till 9:30 (normally we would have been running for over two hours already) and I've been sifting through the race flyers I picked up at the expo. Dreaming of running the Maratona di Roma or the Big Sur International Marathon next Spring (the cut off is an agressive 6 hours so I might not be able to complete that anyway). The Loch Ness Marathon sounds interesting - too bad it's next weekend - another year maybe? So many marathons... so little time.

Be impressed. Be very impressed.

I just got home after running 32K!!! My biggest distance ever! Hardish and Amee and I - WE ALL DID IT! And we were only supposed to do 31K and managed to do that in under 5 hours (4:55 to be exact). So those of you who've been following my progress may recognize that:
a) 31K is 19.37 miles
b) the bridge in the Washington marathon is at mile 19 and
c) they close the bridge after 5 hours
which means that WE WILL MAKE THE BRIDGE!!!! Because we've already done it!

And my recoveries are getting faster (i.e. I can still walk upright today without cringing). I could also choose to walk the remaining 11K (6 miles) left in the marathon after the bridge because I will still finish the race and get my medal. Which is a very heartening concept after 34 weeks of training. Only 5 more weeks to go!

Also, next weekend we fall back to 21K which is actually our half marathon race (13 miles) on Sunday Sept 30. And I did that distance today in 3:08, fulfilling my anticipated goal of 3:15 for the half next Sunday. I think this calls for a haiku:

Go haikugirl go!
run a great half marathon
8 days from today

I'm back

My dear friends and blogwatchers. Humble apologies from haikugirl. September has been crazy in life and work, and blogging fell lower in the priority list than sleep. Now it's 3:30am and I thought I'd catch you up on what's been happening...

RUNNING: During the filmfest I did run my 80K in 10 days. Last Saturday was 27K and tomorrow we run 31K so our half marathon (21K) next Sunday, September 30 is actually a fallback run. I never thought I'd read that in print so you may be as stunned as I. The 27 took about as much time as the 24 the previous week because we were more disciplined and stuck to more consistent speed (close to 8K an hour). Based on our time last Saturday, we are more confident about making the bridge at mile 19 in Washington so there was much to celebrate. Last night (Thursday) we were out at the newbie BBQ for JeansMarines. It was a wonderful event and heartwarming to meet everyone's partners. Definitely put us in the spirit for our upcoming races.

TIFF: Saw a total of 9 movies at TIFF this year (had to work screening times around my agressive running schedule). Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg won the Toronto-City Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. I didn't see it because he drives me crazy - even though as a former Winnipegger I am supposed to like him (I gave last year's Brand Upon the Brain 1 out of 5 (but 5 for foley). Perhaps I will see My Winnipeg eventually as an hommage to my old home town. I also plan to see David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, which won the Cadillac People's Choice Award and is already out in theatres. I also want to see Run Fat Boy Run which is coming soon as a laugh before my upcoming races. I have added new posts with the rest of my TIFF movie reviews so please scroll down.

WORK: My runs take so long that it's like another part-time job (12 hours/week with travel and prep time) and the pace at work has picked up dramatically in September. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and hope my Dad can visit us in Toronto.

haikugirl is back!
running and blogging take time
Thanks for your patience...

Chacun son Cinema

Chacun son cinema was the perfect way to end the fest! Went at 5:00 to the Elgin after a long week's work and got into the VISA Lounge (downstairs), had a Stella, got my favourite seat upstairs, and saw this wonderful hommage to Cannes' 60th Anniversary to wrap up my TIFF festival experience. Like Paris, je t'aime last year, I enjoy these compilations of short films. This one included 33 short films by 33 wonderful directors, some of whom are my all-time faves (and no Guy Maddin!) People have been talking about David Cronenberg's short (the title alone says it all At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World) and I thought it was okay but my favourite was Walter Salles' film 8944 km from Cannes featuring 2 Brazilian rappers outside an abandoned theatre talking about the Cannes Film Festival. It was hilarious!! Thank God for the English subtitles for the Portuguese. I also liked the one by the Coen Brothers with Josh Brolin ("What is lay reggles du jou about?"), Nanni Moretti (Diary of a Moviegoer), and Elia Suleiman (He was so deadpan and looked like an older Robert Downey Jr. I was recounting the exploits to a friend and that made me laugh even more!) Many were recognizable by the director's style (Amos Gitai, Wong Kar-wai, Atom Egoyan). I would love to have this on DVD so I could just go to the ones I really liked and watch them over and over. A perfect way to end the week and gear up for my 27K run on Saturday morning. MMMM

Married Life

This was the weakest film I saw at TIFF this year. Rachel McAdams seemed out of her depth (and plucked from the wrong generation) to star in this film. Chris Cooper was good and Patricia Clarkson is always fantastic. Pierce Brosnan was his usual dreamy self. Someone said his hair was not from the era and it might have looked too Remington Steele. Other than that, it was kind of like A Simple Plan meets Match Point (and fans of haikugirl know that A Simple Plan is her most despised movie of all time, which is more objectionable than simply being a bad movie, which is just a bit of a failure.) A Simple Plan was insulting and baseless. Unlike my married life, this one and its characters just seemed tired and going through the motions. The set designer was the true hero of the picture. But it was nice to see all the stars. Wait for the video. Mm

The good thing about this screening was seeing our friends Mike and Suzanne from New Jersey. They have been coming for several years and we met them in our seats at The Elgin (they like the right side near the front too!) I will post photos soon but it was lovely to reconnect with them. See you next year!

Vote for MMP or NO MMP: You Decide!

Got an email from a colleague who was walking down Yonge Street this morning and saw a sign on a lamp post that says "Vote for MMP" in big bold letters. "Hey," she said to herself, "I know MMP, but what's she running for???"

Had to email her back to confirm that the only running I'm doing is my marathon training. (Survived 24K last Saturday btw). Here's the scoop on THE OTHER MMP:

MMP stands for Mixed Member Proportional, the voting system we have to vote on in the upcoming Referendum on October 10th, the same date as our Ontario provincial election. There are buttons that say Vote for MMP and there are buttons that say NO MMP. Naturally, I need to collect both buttons! And so my fellow Ontarians, get informed and get out there and VOTE on October 10th for MMP or NOT!

Lars and the Real Girl

This film was a delight and the press conference was even funnier. Ryan Gosling plays Lars who "meets a woman on the Internet" - she's a blow up doll but he treats her like she's real and the whole town plays right along because they want Lars to be happy. It is charming to see this film and in the press conference the cast talks about the reverence everyone had when Biance was on set. The earnestness and playfulness are inspiring. I loved seeing the director and cast at the screening at Ryerson. MMMM

This was the night we had arranged to meet Les Boys for dinner at The Keg York St. It was a real reunion since they had not seen Keith in years. Great martinis and wine, great steaks and great company. Next year is our 10 year anniversary and Joe and Shawn are starting to plan already! Vive Les Boys!

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Elizabeth was gorgeous and gripping and great. Cate Blanchett embodied the role and the character is so strong (GIRLPOWER!), it was a delight to watch. Director Shekhar Kapur was there for Q&A and warmly shared lots of stories about writing and filming this epic and some of the creative licenses he took. (i.e. some historical events were out of sequence, England's defeat of the Spanish Armada took 3 months, not overnight as it seemed in the movie) "but then, I would have used up all my budget... and we'd all be speaking Spanish".

Shekhar wants to make a third film but only if Cate is willing. She had to be convinced to do this one. In one movie magazine it says: "Clive Owen is doing it, and Geoffrey (Rush) is coming back again so I thought, I'm just being churlish if I say no to this." This summer I learned about the word churlish from my UK running partner Hardish so I knew exactly what Cate meant. I think Elizabeth is probably my favourite film at this year's fest for its sheer spectacle and the inspiration of this enduring character. MMMM

The Assassination of Jesse James

Saw this movie at 11:00am Monday at the Elgin and liked it. It's more of a psychological drama than a western (read: a lot of talking) and Brad Pitt is perfect in the role. Possible nomination. I think Casey Affleck also does a good job and really the story is about him and how he wants fame and recognition. The director was asked lots of comments in Q&A about what the film says about celebrity then and now. There are interesting parallels. The film was shot in Alberta and Winnipeg and I was scanning crowd scenes looking for my brother Steve who was an extra. I thought I saw him but he'll have to see it to know for sure. The train robbery at night was dreamily shot. MMMm

Le Deuxieme Souffle

This is a 2 and a half hour French gangsta epic shot beautifully with perfect casting. The director Alain Corneau was on hand for questions and was so sweet. It was like a film noir class in 10 minutes. Saw the press conference on Bell Expressvu (channel 307) and Monica Bellucci looked beautiful as always. In the film - set in the 60s - she was blonde and looked alot like Sharon Stone in Casino (but more curvy, confident and resolved). Very violent with a lot of fast-paced, dense dialogue. See this if you'd always wanted to see a film like Godfather II, but in French. MMm

Then She Found Me

Director Helen Hunt was on hand for the second screening of Then She Found Me at the "beautiful and historic Elgin Theatre". This film was funny and touching: Helen Hunt as the baby-obsessed schoolteacher, and Colin Firth as the wacky single father of one of her students are delightful together. Bette Midler's turn as April's birth mother is note perfect and Matthew Broderick is the despicable ex you love to hate. She said she has interest in North American distribution from ThinkFilms so you should be able to see this funny film sometime this winter. Enjoy it - especially the cameo. How many women can say "Salman Rushdie is my OB GYN."?? MMMm

Then She Found Me is
delightful and charming
just like its characters

In Bloom

Saturday night's film was my favourite so far. In Bloom by Vadim Perelmen was beautifully shot, brilliantly constructed and the premiere was replete with stars: Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Amurri, plus the Director, Screenwriter and Production Designer. From the opening frame, the DOP and Director created this amazing, surreal world for the characters to inhabit and the performances they delivered were outstanding. The audience was almost in shock after the ending and - like Mulholland Drive - it's the kind of movie that begs for a second viewing so you can go back and piece together all the director's thoughtful choices and echos.

As of Saturday night, there was no North American release date for In Bloom and we were the very first audience to see it EVER. The Director and cast were gracious during Q&A (Uma couldn't stay but Evan's friend Marilyn Manson was also in the audience to support her and Evan answered my question.) See this when it comes out - I'll be seeing it again! MMMMM

The women In Bloom
are gorgeous and the film is
utterly brilliant

Ed. Note: This film was renamed The Life Before Her Eyes and only released the following year.

Disengagement

Went with Mary and Pavlina to see this Amos Gitai film. They are veterans but this was my first of his. Juliette Binoche and the director were both there. I appreciated the film despite its slow pacing and enjoyed the sparseness of it. Her adopted brother joins her in Avignon for their father's funeral (she is quite provocative in some sexually charged scenes with him in the flat) then she follows him to Israel where she goes into the occupied territory to meet the daughter she abandoned at birth. Meanwhile her brother is leading the army to remove the settlers. Very emotionally charged. MM

Then we went to dinner at Vaticano in Yorkville. Got to run 24K Saturday morning.

The Plan: Movies + Cocktails

Even after thorough consultations with my TIFF buddy, we didn’t end up with a single movie together...Quel dommage! I am boycotting The Stone Angel (forced to read this Can con classic in high school - never want to hear from Margaret Laurence again) so I'll be at Married Life instead. Gotta find a hip and convenient place to meet for drinx that will put us somewhere in between Scotiabank and Ryerson for our screenings later on Monday: missed out on Run Fat Boy Run to see Lars and the Real Girl (which NOW magazine says should be the sleeper hit of the festival)

Note: Run Fat Boy Run is off sale for my 10-pack of tickets but tix are still available through the online box office. What's up with that???

Tomorrow the madness starts! Can’t wait!!!

The night before TIFF
Martini glasses chillin'
Stars will rock the house!

TIFF Final Picks

Got the results of my TIFF submissions and I'm very excited. Looks like I scored the GIRLPOWER Opening Weekend: from Juliette Binoche to Uma to Helen Hunt to Monica Bellucci to Cate Blanchett... then Ryan Gosling on Monday (after dinner with our TIFF reunion gang) and Rachel McAdams and Pierce Brosnan on Wednesday. It's gonna ROCK!

haikugirl is stoked!
got most of my first choices
GIRLPOWER rocks TIFF!

Thurs Sept 6 - RUN 10K
Fri Sept 7 - Disengagement with Juliette Binoche
Sat Sept 8 - RUN 24K then In Bloom with Uma
Sun Sept 9 - Then She Found Me (cuz Alison scored tickets online - YAY!) then Le Deuxième Souffle with Monica Bellucci & Daniel Auteuil
Mon Sept 10 - Elizabeth: The Golden Age with Cate Blanchett then Lars and the Real Girl with Ryan Gosling
Tues Sept 11 - RUN 6K
Wed Sept 12 - Married Life with Rachel McAdams & Pierce Brosnan
Thurs Sept 13 - E-Learning Forum at the MaRS in the day then RUN 13K in the evening
Fri Sept 14 - Chacun son cinéma - 30 directors pay hommage to Cannes' 60th Anniversary with 3 minute shorts
Sat Sept 15 - RUN 27K

Box 66 and Superbad

Box 66 wins
29 is halfway through
We'll see what we get

Saw Superbad last night and kept laughing out loud right from the opening credits Enter the Site and view the Intro to check out the vibe. The young leads (Jonah Hill as Seth and Michael Cera as Evan) are terrific but I think Christopher Mintz-Plasse steals the show as McLovin. Seth Rogan (Knocked Up) and Evan Goldberg (of SNL fame) co-wrote it and star as cops. It takes you back to all the painful, outrageous and touching moments of high school. Jules - Seth's love interest played by Emma Stone - is like a real-life version of Violet from The Incredibles (one of my favourite animated features), her long dark hair falling over a single blue eye. Hilarious, clever - see it! Note: It did get an R rating "for pervasive crude and sexual content, strong language, drinking, some drug use and a fantasy/comic violent image - all involving teens." So it's no High School Musical but that's its charm.

Heading out to run 13K (a fallback week) which should take me over 2 hours.

Superbad is good
Trying to use Nike plus
isn't that easy