Not THAT Big Apple!!!

This time I really am leaving today.  

I'll be back on Tuesday with lots of pictures and reviews!

I found this photo here.

New Picture

You may have noticed the beautiful new picture now serving as a backdrop to Magic Lantern.  This very painting hangs on the wall of my loft, faithfully promoting optimism and creativity, and giving me an incentive to get out of bed in the morning.  It was painted by a talented local artist named Tammy Shane, who I'm told was kind enough to paint a new magic lantern just for me when the one I originally fell in love with was sold.  (I first saw the painting at the Rio Can Starbucks back in November, and it quickly shot up to the top of my Christmas wish list).  Ms. Shane does beautiful work, and I highly recommend you visit her website and/or wander over to Starbucks and view her work in person (it was back on display when I was there today).

Above is another of her paintings I like.

 

Cherry Blossoms!

I am in love with these photos of cherry blossoms (found, most appropriately, at The Cherry Blossom Girl).  When I was really little, my mom used to read me a story about cherry blossoms in Japan.  I don't remember the name of the story or anything of the plot, but to this day whenever I see these beautiful flowers I'm reminded of how the story made me feel: kind of strange and weirded out, to be honest...but still appreciative on some level of what I knew was a good story.  In fact, this memory is probably the earliest I have of appreciating something that isn't all warm and fuzzy.  The blossoms themselves, however, leave one feeling full of life and beauty.  I suppose it is the balance of eerie plot and comforting aesthetic beauty that makes the story stand out in my memory.

Review: The Reader

A mixture of excitement about NYC and nostalgia over my preferred method of procrastination during my undergrad days led me to embark on a near-weekend-long SATC marathon.  Luckily, the men I was with (whose names I promised not to disclose) also enjoy the show more than they'll ever admit, and had no problem with me monopolizing the TV.

For various reasons, I'm not going to review SATC.  Mostly, I find that people generally have firmly established opinions on the show (whether or not they've actually sat through an episode) so anything I could say would either bore you by echoing your exact beliefs or intensify your objections to the lifestyle in question.

Instead, I'll review The Reader (also known as the movie that finally got me to turn off the Sex).  The film tells of a man, Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes/David Cross), who at the age of fifteen is seduced by a mysterious, much older woman named Hannah Schmitz (Kate Winslet).  One of the main components of their affair is her desire that he read aloud from great literary texts.  Years later Michael encounters Hannah again as a law student, when he is required to sit in on a war crimes trial of female Nazi guards (Hannah being one).  It's pretty obvious from about fifteen minutes into the movie that "big shock" will be Hannah's illiteracy.  Sure enough it rears its ugly head during the trial, when she proves just how humiliating she considers her secret to be. 

 The film's ending (or the entire film, for that matter) is at once sad, heartwarming, and predictable; overall I'd say I enjoyed the movie.  It's a little heavy on the cheese in parts, and the theme is way overdone (yes, the Holocaust was unthinkably horrible), but it was interesting to see it played out from the "German guilt" perspective.  Kate Winslet's performance is definitely Oscar-worthy, but I still think Anne Hatheway should have won.

Bottom line:  Good movie, but not for those turned off by depressing stories or cheesetacular plot lines.  See Rachel Getting Married for a more 21st century version of a depressing movie.  

I Just Want to Feel the Day

Feel the day, feel the day.  I just want to feel the day today.  (What song is that from anyway?  It's stuck in my head and I can't place it).

It's Friday and I'm beyond tired.  I'm trying to draw energy from these photos and cultivate the emotions they embody.  For some reason they remind me of yoga, which I haven't done nearly enough of lately.   

I found these photos at Daisy Chain.

Like a Bird On a Pillow

For some reason, I'm extremely drawn to silhouettes...

Just as I can spend all evening reading and admiring Design*Sponge posts (which is, incidentally, where I found this photo) I could spend all night - and probably half the morning - sleeping in this bed.  It's difficult to pinpoint the best part of this bedroom.  It could be the silhouettes, but the seemingly large window and consequent abundance of natural light and greenery are also very appealing.  For that matter, the tray on the bed suggests the possibility of food, which is always a huge plus in my books.  Perhaps a late morning breakfast of coffee, poached eggs, and whole grain toast with homemade strawberry jam... 

Start Spreading The News...

I'm leaving in a week and a day for New York!  I find myself yearning to watch my favourite Sex and the City episodes, and have compiled these and all my NYC-based movies (The Squid and the Whale, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Taxi Driver, etc) in hopes there will be time to watch at least some of them before leaving.  

I've been several times before, although not for many years, and am excited to experience the city from a new perspective.  Of course I'm looking forward to all the usual things - shopping, Broadway, museums, great restaurants, etc - but there's one lesser-known NY attraction I just can't get out of my head.  I first heard of this remarkable beverage  here several months ago, and have been dreaming of it ever since.  They say you can find anything in New York, but who would have thought there ever could be such a thing as a Toasted Marshmallow Shake?  I can't stop thinking about how good it's going to be!  Seriously, I'm often up half the night imagining how it must taste.

I plan on rushing over to Stand the second we arrive in New York and getting one!  Look for a full review upon my return...

Another Perfect Bathroom

As far as I'm concerned, anyway.  Look how pretty!  I found this photo here.

"The Internet is a Series of Tubes"

My absence from Magic Lantern this past weekend was the result of a tri-generational excursion to the big city.  Saturday morning my mom, grandma, and I hopped on a train and headed for Toronto for some delicious food and fabulous shopping.  We stayed at my favourite hotel in the whole wide world, The Intercontinental Yorkville, and admired all the gorgeous, unique clothing found in nearby boutiques.  For me, the highlights were purchasing $800 worth of clothing for $350 in a sale off-season (yes, I'm one of those people who brags about good deals...), and the incredible supper we had at Era Aura Sunday evening.  

As the train left at 6:30, we were forced to dine freakishly early and ended up with the restaurant to ourselves.  Years ago this would have bothered me immensely, but recently I've come to enjoy the exclusive feeling of a near empty restaurant.  My parents have raved about Era Aura for years, so my expectations were sky high.  Normally I'm weary of such hype (self-induced or otherwise) and secretly braced myself for disappointment.  As soon as the bread came, all my doubts melted away:  it was warm, straight out of the oven, and drizzled with olive oil and rosemary.  Breaking my own rule of sticking to a single slice of pre-dinner restaurant bread, I ended up having three.  For dinner I ordered salmon risotto in a rose sauce with...wait for it....you'll never, ever guess in a million years....strawberries!  It sounds weird, I know, but this has got to be the cadillac of unlikely taste combinations.  The arborio was done to perfection, the salmon tender and flavourful, and the sauce creamy without seeming too heavy.  Even the temperature was perfect.  Despite filling up on bread, I ate every last bite!  My only regret is forgetting the camera at home and being unable to share a photo of this delectable dish with y'all.  Here's one of the restaurant instead.

Photo courtesy of the Era Aura website.

Such a perfect weekend was an ideal pre-curser to a longer trip in a bigger city...but more on that later...

(P.S. Don't even ask about the title of this post.  It's a long story).

Anyone Else Feel Like Laughing?

One of the funniest things I've ever seen can be found  here.  Oh South Park!

More Cupcakes

I baked these last night at about two in the morning using this recipe.  They were a success, but I ate way too much icing way too late at night.  The sugar high lasted until about four and the crash hit right around the time I got to work.  On the plus side, I was able to experience what late night baking feels like - it's certainly something I'll never forget!

K.D. Lang!!!

Tuesday came and I was still on cloud nine from the Neil Young concert.  Perhaps because of my good spirits the work day passed faster than usual, and before too long I found myself sitting in traffic on my way to pick up Steve.  (Par for the course for a week day.  But it's Kingston traffic, meaning the you only ever sit for three minutes max).  It was whilst sitting in said traffic that I somehow managed to win the radio contest I mentioned a couple posts back.  I won't get into details, but the pizza was delicious!

Anyhoo, I must have been on a roll because when I opened my phone to call the radio station I noticed I had a message.  It turned out to be from my mom, wondering if I was interested in the extra ticket she had for the K.D. Lang concert.  A concert two nights in a row?? Hell yeah!!!  I must admit I wasn't all that familiar with K.D's music before Tuesday night, but I think I can now officially call myself a fan.  The opening act was a talented, beautiful young woman named Meaghan Smith, of whom I am now also officially a fan.  Her upbeat, playful lyrics perfectly complement her voice, which is at once sweet, clear, and soulful.  Plus, she makes fabulous fashion choices and seems like a lovely person.  If we ever met properly, I'd like to think we'd be friends.

Ms. Smith set the mood perfectly for Ms. Lang, who I must admit has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard.  As I mentioned previously, one of the first songs she sang was "Helpless", and though I probably would have preferred hearing Neil sing it, she did do a beautiful, original version of the song.  The highlight of the evening, however, was certainly when she sang the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah".  Her voice is so strong and haunting - I literally had goosebumps all over my skin!

Neil Young!!!

One of the first conversations I ever had with the man who is now my husband was about Canadian music.  He was (and still is) a self-professed connoisseur of the "genre", and after naming a few of his own favourites: The Hip, Leonard Cohen, and, (god help us all) Gordon Lightfoot he inquired about mine.  For me, the choice was clear:  Neil Young OF COURSE.  To my surprise, Steve was not all that familiar with Neil's music.  But I played him some Harvest and some After The Gold Rush and some CSNY, and was soon successful in converting him.  (To be fair, I in turn have developed an appreciation for Gordon Lightfoot - all except for Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald... that song is just pure torture...ugggh).

Anyway, for a long time one of my foremost goals in life was to see Neil Young in concert.  It's true.  The vast majority of my life goals (the specific ones at least) revolve around experiencing various kinds of art.  Call me sad, but that's what makes me happy.  So there.  About two years ago, I joined a Facebook group called "Kingston Needs Neil Young At The K-Rock Centre".  For two years I pined away hoping, praying, that Neil would come play for the good people of K-town in our beautiful new hockey arena/concert venue.  And whaddya know?  He came!

The show was all I hoped it would be:  Fan-freakin-tastic!!!  He played some rockin songs and some mellow songs.  Normally I feel Neil is more in his element with his mellow-to-in between songs ("Harvest Moon", "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere", "Old Man", "Heart of Gold", "Helpless", etc).  But boy, when he ended the final encore with "Keep On Rocking in the Free World" the energy in the room was unparalleled.  Everyone was literally on their feet dancing in the stands!

The only thing I found remotely disappointing was the lack of "Helpless".  Ironically, I got to hear it the following night at another concert, sung by a Canadian songstress of whom I find myself becoming increasingly appreciative...

I'm Still Here!

It's been a couple days since I've written, and the guilt of neglecting the blog I so diligently updated throughout the month of March is catching up on me.  I do, however, have some pretty good excuses for my absence, including but not limited to:

 - Easter

- Old movie marathons

- Neil Young on a treadmill

- Neil Young in concert

- Lasagna 

- K.D. Lang

- Winning a radio contest (ok, I only won a pizza - but am happy my seemingly useless wealth of music and pop culture trivia finally proved useful)

- Trying in vain to defeat the army of ants that has invaded our house

I figure at least a few of these things are worthy of their own posts...

Ok, uhhh...

So, last night I went to see the new Seth Rogan comedy Observe and Report.  I was really, REALLY tired and felt like laughing, so it seemed like a good choice.  I'm not really sure where to go next with this review, so I'll give you a few examples of actual scenes from the movie:

Scene #1

Seth Rogan's character Ronnie (the loser mall cop) and his love interest Brandi (the pretty blonde make up counter woman pictured above) somehow end up going on a date.  She proceeds to knock back countless cocktails and shots of tequila.  She then notices the prescription meds Ronnie pops every four hours for his bipolar disorder.  Impressed by how hard he parties, she convinces him to hand over the pills and begins to snack on them like they're M&Ms.  They go back to her place, where she apparently passes out.  This does not stop Ronnie from climbing on top of her and having his way.  Just as exactly what he's doing is about to sink in, Brandi "wakes up" and murmurs "don't stop mfer" (or something to that effect).

Scene #2

Ronnie and his mall security second in command, Dennis, go on an extremely random, extremely hard core bender while on the job, partaking in the use of just about every drug imaginable.  They go on a crazy rampage, destroying mall property and severely beating up a bunch of skateboarder kids. 

Scene #3  (Movie's climax)

Ronnie has been fired (for reasons I don't really have time to get into) but returns to the mall for a coffee.  The flasher who has been terrorizing the mall throughout the movie shows up.  Determined to prove to himself and others that he's a worthy figure of authority, Ronnie chases the flasher (in all his overweight, full frontal glory) through the mall.  He eventually makes his way to the department store make up counter, and is about to approach a horrified Brandi.  Ronnie pulls out a gun and shoots the flasher.  Nothing in the way of blood and gore is left to the imagination. 

Don't get me wrong - I'm never offended by anything.  I enjoy everything from the risky humour of South Park to the ironic blood, violence, and hard drug use of Pulp Fiction.  But this movie is...well......different.  Honestly, I'm not really sure what to think.  I laughed more than a few times throughout the movie, but most of the time it's just plain sad.  I understand that themes such as mental illness, severe alcoholism, and even date rape can and should be dealt with in dark comedies.  But this comedy is just soooo dark.

I mean, the movie itself is well done per say.  It will unquestionably become a cult classic of sort if nothing else.  It's just that everything is so random and weird - not so much the subject matter itself as the manner in which it's presented.  I would certainly recommend it for all who are not easily offended, but make sure you go in knowing what to expect.

Review: Something Blue

Yes, it's true that I pretended not to like Something Borrowed.  But you know I secretly love candy coated chick lit that enables wistful (almost always) female readers to live their fantasy lives vicariously through glamourous protagonists.  Under the guise of popping into Starbucks for a tall latte, I somehow managed to sneak over to the Chapters side, where I simply could not resist picking up Something Blue, the sequel to Something Borrowed, also by Emily Giffin.

Many of Something Borrowed's characters appear in Something Blue, but the novel is narrated by Darcy, ex-best friend of Rachel, the central character in the first novel.  Told from Darcy's perspective, readers are initially offered a version of the former novel's plot (i.e. Rachel sleeping with Darcy's fiancee and Darcy's own affair and consequent pregnancy).  The story then moves to focus on how Darcy manages to find happiness after losing everything.  The first half of the novel (well, the whole thing actually) is more than a little predictable, but in a comforting, enjoyable way.  

If anything I probably enjoyed Something Blue more than its predecessor, largely due to the fact that I prefer Darcy to Rachel (I know you're supposed to like Rachel more, but she is SUCH an annoying little goodie two shoes!!!).  I am nowhere near as hip and popular as Darcy, but feel a certain connection to her rampant materialism and superficiality.  Sometimes I only wish I could be as actively beauty conscious as Darcy is at the beginning of the novel.  I love looking at beautiful people, and even aspire to be one myself. Unfortunately the bare minimum is usually all I'm capable of in the morning (yeah, I'm not a morning person at all).

Bottom line:  This novel is incredibly addictive, and when I wasn't reading it I wished I was.  It's obviously brain candy, but the story itself is heartwarming, and offers a welcome escape from the harsh realities of the world.  Read it.  You won't regret it.  

More Inspiring Designs

...in beautiful climates.  The two go hand in hand, if you ask me.  

Today is snowy and cold (cruel April!) but these photos proved effective in cheering me up.  Behold my dream bathroom, and still another adorable bike in a gorgeous setting.

I found the photos here, but they are originally from Found Style by David and Amy Butler.

Easy As Pie

Well, I did it folks.  I actually made a pie from scratch.  I had been wanting to do this for quite some time, but was burdened by a crippling lack of confidence in my previously untested crust making abilities.  For some reason, I was under the impression that one had to be a Paris-trained pastry chef (or Nan) to produce a successful crust.  By some miracle, however, mine DID turn out!!!  (I was just as surprised as you are, trust me).  Perhaps the situation was helped by the fact that my kitchen used to belong to Nan (and is thus filled with good pie making vibes and such).  Alas, I never could convince Nan to officially teach me how to make pie, which could partly explain why mine did not taste quite as good as hers.  Instead, I turned to the internet for guidelines, borrowing recipes for filling and crust from here and here, respectively.  Both are excellent and easy to follow.

As it so happened, I was also very camera happy during the pie making process.  Let me share with you the fruits of my labours (pun intended).

Here's the crust.  I was still somewhat skeptical at this point, but thought it looked alright.

Here it is with the apple filling, sans top crust.

My pathetic attempt at cutting pretty designs on the top part of the crust.  Oh well, it's not about looks.

The finished product.  If you decide to try the recipe, bear in mind it may take less time than the recommended 50-60 minutes.  In my oven it took about 35.

Review: The Golden Compass

Before watching The Golden Compass, I had heard that it is a kids' movie featuring Nicole Kidman as the evil villain, and some people consider it anti-religious.  Normally I'm not really one for kids' movies (unless it's something I watched repeatedly as a child and I'm feeling nostalgic).  Yet something about the film's reputation intrigued me, and when a friend offered to lend it to me I jumped at the chance.

The Golden Compass is a truly beautiful movie, the animated and real life images flowing together in an exquisite manner.  The cold, snowy arctic scenes are particularly pleasing to watch, even for those of us who would prefer it if real life winter were eliminated entirely.  

The film takes place in a parallel universe, in which all humans are constantly accompanied by "daemons", magical animals that represent their souls.  Lyra, the little girl protagonist, is an orphan and ward of Jordan College (Oxford).  Here she accidentally learns that her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), has discovered a substance called "dust".  If further investigated, the dust would discredit the teachings of the Magesterium, the religious governing body.  It soon becomes clear that the Magesterium is also responsible for the disappearance of many children throughout the land; religious officials (including Nicole's character, aptly named Mrs. Coulter) have shipped them up north in order to sever them from their "daemons" and consequently impair their ability to think for themselves.  After Lyra accepts an invitation to travel up north with Mrs. Coulter (who has apparently taken quite a shine to the girl) the college master bestows upon Lyra the golden compass, which gives her the ability to see things as they really are.  Lyra thus learns the truth and, armed with the compass, sets out to find the kidnapped children.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  Sure it's technically for kids, but the exciting story and gorgeous animation, costumes, cinematography, etc make it delightful to watch.  I can see how very religious people might be offended by the film (the Magesterium is obviously presented in an extremely negative light) but whatever.  Anything that tries to make any sort of statement is bound to offend someone.  And besides, isn't it good to teach kids to think for themselves?

This is Not Turning Into a Flower Blog...

I promise.  I'm just really into flowers lately.

I saw these photos today on Design Sponge.

They made my day.

  

Does Anybody Remember LIFE???

These images are by Denise Grustein.

I was caught in my first April shower today and it was a truly marvelous feeling.  Soon the world will be alive with colour again!  Bring on the May flowers!