Still need addresses!

Hey Class of '81!

Please email your current mailing address to Kari Parke at SJR parkek@sjr.mb.ca to receive a letter with more reunion details.

Check the Reunion evite for updates or post your comments at the sjr81 blog.

A History of Violence

Cronenberg in Cannes
Snapping shots for Premiere mag
movie was intense

Saw A History of Violence on DVD last night. Pretty intense. A clutch grabbed my heart when it started and didn't let go until the closing credits 95 minutes later. This is a violent film but it is compelling and has great performances. MMMM out of 5.

The DVD Special Features really gave insight into Cronenberg's style and approach as a director and it was fun to watch him work. His experience shines as we see him effortlessly create a relaxed set and manage to direct without being controlling. The short piece about their premiere at Cannes was enjoyable. And in one deleted scene, Ed Harris gets blown away by a shotgun and is lying there with a massive hole in his chest. Cronenberg comments: "Well, normally I would have had him take a gun out of his chest but I already did that. It would be like an hommage to myself. Which I am not above, by the way." That cracked me up. And William Hurt sounding exactly like Maria Bello's Uncle Pete from Philly was funny too.

Anyway, watch it and let me know what you think.

Reflections on Oscar

Oscar Night '06
Gangstas, Cowboys and Bacall
No surprise with Crash

That about sums up my reflections on Oscar Night 2006, Sunday, March 5th. I was worried for Lauren Bacall and wondered if she would make it through her introduction. She should have had a buddy like Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep who co-presented for Robert Altman.

Of course the surprise of the night was Best Original Song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp". Jon Stewart did a great job improvising on that one. Overall, I was pleased with him as host for the evening. I was nauseated the next morning by Seamus O'Regan's dismissal of Reese Witherspoon's acceptance speech as "too earnest". I used to like him on Canada AM but now he annoys me. Alison S is right - he is a poor interviewer, especially at 7am.

I wasn't completely surprised about Crash. It was a great way to acknowledge a massive cast and position a movie internationally 2 days before it's DVD release. I even enjoyed seeing it again on The Movie Network recently - I had forgotten some of the nuances and was reminded of the fall and redemption (or redemption and fall) of each of the characters. I think it's interesting that it takes a Canadian to shine the light on U.S. domestic problems so effectively. Too bad no one will do that for us.

Jon Stewart was fun
Hooray for Oscar Winners
George and Reese and Paul

Check the AMPAS official site Oscars.org for a complete list of winners and the official site of this year's telecast Oscar.com for the latest fashions and trends.

The Zen of Starbucks cups

Found a great quote on my Starbucks cup today (The Way I See It #53):

Be exceptional. Make tremendous efforts to be extraordinary. What a privilege to be here on the planet to contribute your unique donation to humankind. Just make sure you do so...
-Shelby Lynne, musician

Shelby says she's just "a running fireball full of shit and emotion" who believes each song she writes "needs to be individually great - better than great. There's no room for mediocre in my thinkin'. My standards are pretty high."

I don't believe in mediocrity either. Make it an extraordinary day.

Visit the sjr81 blog

I created a companion blog to this site. Visit http://sjr81.blogspot.com to see the latest reunion discussion.

Be sure to forward the e-vite link to anyone we've missed and check back for the latest RSVPs!

Reunion e-vite

Now it's official. This week SJR finalized the date for the 2006 Homecoming and this morning Hardev called to discuss the Class of '81 Reunion plans.

Now the e-vite is live so please save the date in your (electronic) calendars and be sure to join us in Winnipeg on September 1, 2, and 3, 2006! Wouldn't it be nice to exceed the 80% turnout rate that the Class of '80 achieved last August? I personally want to see all those people I haven't thought about in 25 years...

Where are you Class of '81?
And what are you doing September 2nd?

Enron and Flight Plan

Picked up these 2 movies from Blockbuster to watch Saturday night. The guy around the corner from us went out of business so we have to go further afield to rent movies now.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is an interesting exposé of the Enron scandal. Lots of interviews with the author of the book of the same name and several others who were at the company at the time (surprisingly several women). It's stunning to see the Enron execs incriminate themselves as they reassure not only investors but employees to keep their stock while unloading their own. A fascinating portrait of hubris and treachery done with more flair than Michael Moore. MMMM

Flightplan - not so cerebral. The movie trivia is more interesting. Jodie Foster is okay. Peter Sarsgaard is good at being bad. Bad guy Sean Bean takes a turn at being the good guy pilot. MMm

Caché

Saw Caché (Hidden) at the Cumberland Friday night with Mary and Pavlina. This French film was at TIFF 2005 but we couldn't fit it into our schedules or get tickets. Overall, I liked it but parts of it really bugged me. Nevertheless, it does spark a lot of discussion and theorizing.

Caché stars Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche as a married couple who receive a series of videotapes showing their tony French apartment under surveillance. The tapes are accompanied by violent but almost childish drawings. At first they dismiss is as a prank by one of his fans (he plays a famous TV talk show host a la Bernard Pivot) but the tapes persist and it adds to the conflict in their already-strained marital relationship (we never see them kiss or touch - only argue).

Now, if this story took place in a major North American city, most of us would have gone to the police after the first tape. Somehow Auteuil refuses to contact them but lies to everyone telling them of course he's gone to the police. In fact, he goes off solo to confront the person he suspects (someone from his childhood that he wronged). Would any one of us ever show up ALONE at a low-rent apartment to confront a stranger we suspected of terrorizing us? Of course not. This is why this film starts to get infuriating, like my most frustrating movie of all time: A Simple Plan.

As frustrating as this movie can be, it is chilling and thought-provoking as we start to connect the dots and concoct our own theories about who's behind the tapes. And the stark way Michael Haneke shot and directed this adds to the suspense. See it, but you'll have to suspend your disbelief if you are a CSI fan like me. MMMm

Straight Dude's Guide & Brokeback to the Future

First there was The Straight Dude's Guide to Brokeback:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10342237/

Then there was Brokeback to the Future. It's pretty funny to watch this video. I can't believe someone would take the time to go through all 3 versions and splice together these scenes.
Make sure your sound is on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfODSPIYwpQ

Star Sighting at Starbucks

This morning I was getting my traditional Grande Non-Fat Extra-Hot Extra-Foamy Latte at the Yorkville Starbucks (Bay & Cumberland) when I saw Clive Owen walk in behind me. After I ordered I turned to tell him: "I loved you in Closer and thought you should have been Bond." He said "Thank you" and ordered his Grande Skinny Cappucino. He looked his typical rugged self but pretty good for 9:00am and was wearing a white down parka and jeans. Seeing him certainly cheered up my morning.

What's been keeping me up at night

I have been working on an e-learning project with people in the Office of the Provincial Controller (OPC) in the Ministry of Finance (MOF) - former colleagues when Modern Controllership Training was still in that ministry.

It's been a long, hard road. We started last June with a plan and didn't get humming until November and December 2005. Now we are almost finished building the course and it has grown to 100 pages online. The toughest part was getting all the content together in enough time - the main SME or Subject Matter Expert was still giving me pages to add on Thursday. Definitely not cool but my consultant/developers (former colleagues from Sun) have been amazing at turning around the endless changes.

The e-learning course looks amazing and when we launch this coming week (after a pilot with representatives from other ministries) we hope it meets the goal of helping all 25 ministries to complete their procedures at year end.

Olympics in HD

It was quite something to see the Opening Ceremonies live from Torino on Friday night in glorious 16:9 HD. The spectacle was so imaginative and surreal. And hearing Pavarotti sing was very moving - I thought Nessun Dorma was a good choice. The only problem is, it looked like he was lip synching like Ashlee Simpson on SNL because the sound and picture were not synchronized. On Saturday's coverage, it was the same story - and just as distracting. But only on English CBCHD. The French SRC had it synched. I know it takes coordination (Richard says HD poses even more problems than a normal TV feed) but HEY. You got the contract so make it work! I will update this post if I see CBC has resolved the problem. Stay tuned (or post a comment if this is a problem for you!) I remember watching the Opening Ceremonies from Nagano in 1998 (obviously pre HD) and the Japanese hosts organized a worldwide relay with different groups singing Beethoven's Ode to Joy. It was unbelievable how everything was perfectly synched and nobody missed a beat (I remember Peter Mansbridge marvelling at this on air too). And now 8 years later Canada seems to be struggling with the new technology. Guess we'll have to wait and see how this turns out...

ed. note: by Sunday Feb. 12 they had this bug worked out. Even Don Cherry was in sync ;-)

Alison's 40th

Alison and her husband Paul hosted a perfect party - a wine tasting evening in celebration of her 40th birthday (officially January 29th). Her parents, in-laws and several friends came from Montreal. Paul even flew in Alison's sister Lisa and her family (husband Mike, daughter Lucia and baby Henry) from London, England as a surprise! I'm sure it was as big a thrill for Alison to see her extended family as it was for her kids Ethan, Emily and Sophia to hang out with their cousins they don't often get to see. The evening was so SMART:
Spectacular organization
Memorable wines (5 to sample - everyone had a different favourite)
Amazing food (the birthday cake was divine)
Riveting conversation (especially about movies & music with David XXX Ray)
Terrific party!

Alison and Paul
Awesome hosts with super wines
Thanks for a great night!

Looking forward to Alison's birthday dinner later this month with les Filles...

Good night, and good luck.

After a relaxing Pilates class at the Yoga Sanctuary, I walked across the street to the Carlton (the original multiplex - now people have home TVs bigger than these screens) and made the 7:40 screening. 93 minutes later I emerged, thoughtful and smiling. Loved this movie! Great cast, Cool black and white, Cool jazz (I went out later that week to buy the soundtrack.) David Strathairn is so good as Edward R. Murrow. Too bad he'll lose to Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote on Oscar night. George Clooney did a great job co-writing, directing and producing. Bravo George! Who cares if Angelina doesn't want you as godfather. This movie was an especially perfect alternative to a night at home watching the other George (Dubya's) State of the Union.

Le sofa est arrive!

We finally arranged to have the sofa delivered. They were supposed to come Friday, January 20th but apparently they were still dismantling the giant sectional and could not deliver it until Saturday around noon. (I had to phone them 2 hours after they were supposed to be here to find this out but HEY I'm only the client....) So today on a snowy Saturday they showed up and took 5 pieces of leather sofa down to the basement (they still had to remove the back door, Richard cringed when they scratched his paint job). And then they began to reassemble it. It took these 2 guys an hour and a half but it looks gorgeous. Jan was our guest from Vancouver for part of the weekend and she agrees that the contrast stitching looks cool and the new favourite seat in the house is the chaise end of the sectional - with a perfect view of the HDTV.

ex-Montrealers Unite!

Saturday night we had 15 people in our home: 10 adults and 5 kids. This was the first test for the new basement and according to Tomas (Dori's son) "the basement is perfect." Phew! He was impressed with the open space ("good for playing hockey") and of course the new TV. Emma and Luiza forged new friendships and "les boys" Gabriel and Alexandre were in fine form. David C (our Top 40 under 40 lawyer) brought hors d'oeuvres and was an amazing sous-chef helping me prepare all the ingredients for my jambalaya (mmmm). Shelley must have spent 3 days chopping every vegetable known to mankind which meant we had plenty to dip in delicious eggplant dip (from Sun valley) and more to enjoy in the refreshing salad. Tom B provided another amazing dessert: homemade Black Forest Torte. (mmmmmmm) Gina (with her arm in a cast after a spill in Florida), Linda, Jeff and Bruce rounded out the guestlist. A wonderful evening of food, wine and friendship.

Anticipation... frustration

Last year, you read about the trials of our basement reno. In 2006, we thought we would finally move ahead and start using the space more often (hence the incentive of our TV purchase) so I bought a new leather sectional to complete our "basement loft". Yesterday I came home early from work to take delivery but the two guys couldn't get it into our basement. (They actually reminded me of the demented movers we used in November 2002 - not strong problem solvers.) After removing the door and tilting it, part 1 of the couch got stuck in the stairwell. Tossing and turning tonight in my bed I felt they should have tried removing the legs or some other way to maneouver it in the space but like I said, thinking out of the box was not their strength. Basically they seemed bitter about doing the things they needed to do (i.e. taking the door off its hinges) and didn't even come with their own tools (I supplied the measuring tape, screwdriver and hammer.) We thought of putting it upstairs and moving our current sofa and love seat down but we weren't sure they would fit in the stairwell either. And then I'd be paying these bitter guys extra to do it all. Richard and I will need to go back to the store and check out our options. A real drag since we are expecting 15 people (friends and their kids) for dinner on Saturday. I think Simon at work jinxed me because he kept saying about my delivery "it's not coming, it's not coming" and now he's right. Stay tuned for the next chapter...

Mary's Birthday Dinner

Tonight Mary Long invited a few of her closest friends for dinner at Pure Spirits Oyster House in the Distillery District to celebrate her 40th birthday. It was an absolutely wonderful evening from start to finish. The food and company were divine. We started with a round of Cosmopolitans for our toast to Mary then fresh oysters followed by soup or salad and a choice of mains. I had the salad with beef tenderlion and portobello mushrooms (very tender and tasty) and ended with dessert and chocolate espresso martini (pretty intense). Mary opened her presents and got to visit with everyone throughout the evening. We finally closed the place at 1:00am. I agree with Carol: 40 is the new 30. Happy Birthday Mary!

Birthday and Brokeback with Les Filles

Tonight we celebrated my birthday with Les Filles (Sarah, Pavlina and Alison). We met at Winners and took the streetcar east to Gio Rana's, 1220 Queen St. E at Leslie. It's an old bank ("a strip mall style bank" as Alison noted) and there's no sign outside - just a big nose over the door like at his other location near Yonge & Eglinton. The place filled up quickly even at 6:00 on a Friday and we got started with beers and then a yummy Shiraz. Scrumptious appetizers and sides and my main (ossu bucco with Cremini mushrooms) was so tender it fell off the bone.

No time for dessert because we decided to try to see Brokeback Mountain at the Beach cinemas a short cab ride away. We got there and grabbed coffees but the only seats available were in the front row. Pavlina and I bailed and found single seats further back but Alison and Sarah didn't want to move (despite the annoying people around them). It was a heartbreaking movie and the performances were very strong. Heath Ledger deserves every prize he wins - muttering like a young Brando in cowboy boots with a convincing accent that belies his natural Australian one. Jake Gyllenhal is also very good as are the supporting actresses Michelle Williams (Heath's new partner) and Anne Hathaway (sporting a Farrah-like blonde hairdo - a sharp contrast to her natural rich brunette in Ella Enchanted and Princess Diaries).

I kept thinking about the movie the next day - it's not so much a gay cowboy movie as it is a movie about nurturing your relationships and being true to yourself. These guys probably couldn't have been together because of the era, and so they settled for the standard choices of marriage and kids and only came alive once or twice a year when they got together. Although most straight men won't see it, they should. And the Alberta mountain scenery is gorgeous. MMMM

Merci les Filles for
Osso bucco and Brokeback
Ang Lee is redeemed

P.S. Anne Hathaway is also starring in The Devil Wears Prada which will be released in June 2006. Les filles will go to the movie ensemble and then we will review both the film and the book at The Pilot (since we're a bit behind in our book club meetings) ;-)

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And thank you for the warm birthday wishes. We ended 2005 with a relaxing Christmas and a low key New Year's Eve/ birthday celebration. As usual, we spent much of each day on the phone talking to family and friends. Santa was very good to us this year. Christmas started early when we took delivery of our new 32" Sharp LCD TV on Tuesday, Dec. 20 (after they cancelled delivery once we finally got satisfaction from our salesperson because the customer service line was useless.) We got a bunch of our fave DVDs including Kill Bill vols. 1 & 2 and some great CDs (thanks Rich and Steve!) Thank you also to Uncle Wes and Marcella and Mom and Dad in Calgary and Winnipeg for your Christmas packages. Richard gave me a Bose Sound Dock for my iPod - it looks cool and sounds great. It kept me company in the kitchen while I was cooking Christmas dinner. No turkey this year - just a veal chop with scalloped potatoes and vichy carrots...mmmm... And of course a great wine from Uncle Wes and Marcella. New year's is also quiet - just watching the celebrations from Nathan Phillips Square and Niagara Falls. Who would imagine we would spend so much time in our basement but it's great to be finally using the space after starting the reno last spring. There are always things to work on (the bathroom!?) but it is teaching me patience and a new acronym: GEPO (good enough, push on).

Richard and I look forward to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2006 and wish you the same.