Some Thoughts on the Oscars

People always think I'm joking or exaggerating when I say that Oscar night is my favourite night of the year.  I'm not, though, I swear.  I wanted to write this post Sunday night after the show, but soon realized keeping my eyes open long enough for the best picture announcement was not going to be an easy feat.  It's not that I was bored (of COURSE not!).  It's just that my body is finally getting used to the concept of getting up at 7am every morning - which I think is a positive development.  Here are my opinions on the evening, with pictures!!! (By the way, I took these pictures from the NYT.  I think this might be illegal.  Or maybe not, since I'm not making a profit from them.  Anyway, please don't sue me!).

1)  Hugh Jackman:  When I first heard Hugh Jackman was hosting the Oscars, I was like, WTF??!!  Isn't that Wolverine/the sexiest man alive?  I thought it was written in stone somewhere that the ceremony had to be hosted by a some sort of comedian.  I must say, though, that I thought he did quite well as host.  I especially enjoyed the opening number featuring tribudies (you know, tribute + parody) of nominated films.

2.  Slumdog Millionaire:  This is a beautiful film, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy watching it.  But did it really deserve to win best picture?  I can think of at least seven or eight better 2008 movies.  The story is a little cheeseball in my opinion.

3.  Acting Award Presentations:  Don't hate me, but I liked the new format.  In particular, Robert DeNiro's heart-felt tribute to Sean Penn was quite moving.  I also liked how they finally clued into the fact that people care more about acting than directing, and announced best director before lead actor and actress.

4.  Sean Penn:  I was so happy when Sean Penn won for Milk.  If you haven't seen the movie, I suggest you do so as soon as possible.  Josh Brolin and James Franco are also fantastic in the film.  

5.  Kate Winslet:  I haven't seen The Reader, but was happy to see Kate finally win a long-deserved oscar.  That's saying a lot, too, considering how much I wanted Anne Hatheway to win.  I just really, really like her.  I like to think we could be friends (if we ever met, which is unlikely, I know...sigh...).

6.  Finally, a note on fashion:  What was with all the white and off white?  The red carpet this year reminded me of the walls in my parents' house.  Not that I have a problem with any of these dresses, really (well, except for Jessica Biel's and possibly Mylie Cyrus').  

I'm Really Not This Cynical...

Why is it that whenever I see an advertisement for this movie I feel like vomiting?  Oh I've read the books, believe me.  Couldn't put them down.  Before I discovered the Confessions of a Shopaholic series, I never fully understood the conflicting wonders of masochism.  I'm all for living vicariously through the charmed lives of literary protagonists.  Hell, I'm even for chick lit and Cinderella stories in all forms (I know I sometimes talk like a bra-burning feminist but at heart I'm a hopeless romantic who secretly dreams in vain of motherhood).  

There is without a doubt an addictive quality to the books.  The reader gets so that she HAS TO KNOW how Becky gets out of this or that mess, and so she keeps reading day and night until the book is finished.  However, am I the only one who noticed that nothing truly bad EVER happens to Becky?  I mean, I could deal with the Luke Brandon romance; I can handle Luke being extremely wealthy and he being the perfect match for her because he can buy her all the designer shit she could possibly dream of.  I can handle that she has the cutest little family imaginable and an extremely supportive group of friends.  I can even handle that among her biggest problems are having to sell all her designer shit to pay off her debt, and having to decide whether she wants a society wedding at the Plaza or a sentimental wedding in the English countryside.  But why does she also get to move to Manhattan and have an absolutely perfect series of careers?  I mean come ON.  Her first (and supposedly "worst") job was writing for a magazine.  At age 25, for Christ's sake.  I would literally chop off my right hand if it meant I could have a semi-interesting job.  In fact, I would chop off BOTH HANDS if it meant someone would pay me to write.

Cinderella is likable because she does literally go from rags to riches - the happiness she experiences at the end of the story is directly proportional to the misery she suffers at the beginning.  Becky, on the other hand, already has a charmed life.  She needs addiction counseling, not a prince.  The overall level of happiness she experiences in life is more gag reflex-inducing than inspirational.

Recipe: Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

It dawned on me the other day that some of my favourite blogs (such as this one) are those that feature recipes.  I'll be honest and admit that I rarely actually make these recipes.  Mostly I just enjoy staring at the pictures and/or dish name and/or ingredient list.  Anyway, it seems fitting that I should occasionally include recipes in my own blog - so you too can dream of how the food you could make might taste.  Or actually try making it.  Whatever works for you.

If you've ever been over to our place for dinner, there's a good chance you've eaten this title dish.  It just so happens we made it last night when we hosted a dinner party, so I suppose I have goat cheese stuffed chicken on the brain.  Overall it's a pretty "safe" option, as I'm pretty sure everyone who eats meat eats chicken.  It's also incredibly tasty without being heavy like pasta or controversial like fish.  The original recipe was taken from the Williams & Sonoma Bride and Groom cookbook (received as a wedding gift over two and a half years ago....scary).  Anyway, for a party of four you will need:

- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

- 4 slices prosciutto 

- 1 package goat cheese

- 8-12 sage leaves

- 3 large eggs

- 1 cereal bowl full of bread crumbs

- 1 cereal bowl full of flour

- salt and pepper

- extra virgin olive oil

Rub chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

Carefully slit the chicken breasts (down the thickest side), making a small "hole" big enough to fit 2-3 sage leaves, 1 slice of prosciutto, and however much goat cheese you can stuff inside.  

Stuff said ingredients inside chicken breasts (prosciutto first, followed by the sage, and finally the goat cheese).

Assemble 3 cereal bowls full of flour, whisked eggs, and bread crumbs.  Coat chicken breasts with flour, then egg, then bread crumbs (order is essential) by dipping them in the bowls.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan.  Cook chicken breasts in frying pan.  Be careful not to overcook (seriously, it ruins the taste).

Usually we serve the chicken with some version of potatoes.  Roasted parisian with olive oil and rosemary are my favourite, but alas they don't seem to sell parisian potatoes in Kingston.  Last night we served it with mashed potatoes and Greek salad.

25 Random Things About Me

Due to yet another week of illness and its accompanied lethargy, I find myself at a loss for substantial things to write about.  Thus you will have the (mis?)fortune of reading my version of the famous "25 random things about me" that's been making its way around Facebook lately.

1.   I am always cold and hate the winter.  In the summer, my hatred is transferred to air conditioning and people who crank it up unnecessarily.  Yes, I am aware that I am living in the wrong country.

2.  I am addicted to http://goop.com/.  

3.  I love yoga and Eastern philosophy.

4.  I prefer fiction to reality.  So much so that I often get the two mixed up.

5.  I love traveling, but also returning home after trips.

6.  I have the sweetest, kindest husband in the whole world.

7.  Sometimes I worry that my fair share of luck in life was used up when I met and married said husband.  I fear that I will never have a good job let alone an interesting career.

8.  My favourite place in the world is my grandparents' cottage on Howe Island.  Soon it will be sold and the idea of not being able to go there anymore breaks my heart.

9.  My musical tastes were heavily influenced by my father and grandfather.  I love everything from classic rock to old style jazz.

10.  I love baking cookies and desserts, but rarely ever do so because I find it difficult to refrain from eating copious amounts of batter during the baking process.  By the time the thing is actually made, I usually feel too stuffed ad guilty to have some of the finished product.

11.  I miss school so much it hurts.

12.  After a few years, my mind has a tendency to block out anything bad that happened during a particular period of my life.  After much contemplation, I've decided this is a good thing.

13.  I love wine.  If Steve and I open a bottle, we usually end up drinking the entire thing in an evening.

14.  Movies are like therapy to me.  I own over 200 DVDs, at least 10 of which I watch every couple months.

15.  I love the no-hard-feelings debate variety of argument, but hate malicious gossip and petty bullshit.

16.  I have tried to become a vegetarian and go on detox cleanses more times than I care to admit.  None of these attempts lasted more than a few days.

17.  I can't get enough gangster movies and Grand Theft Auto.

18.  I have a love-hate relationship with sleep.  I know I need it, but there's just not enough hours in the day.

19.  The only TV shows I watch regularly are on early in the morning or late at night (Canada AM, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report).

20.  From mid-February until around May, I check the local forecast on The Weather Network approximately 30 times per day.

21.  I hate drinking plain tap water, and always need at least a wedge of lemon or lime to go with it.

22.  If give $1000, I would spend it all on 1 luxury item over 20 more practical purchases.

23.  One of my biggest pet peeves is bragging (overt and subtle).  If you tell me how great you are, all I'll know is that you want me to thing you're great.  It says nothing about your true capacity for greatness.

24.  I'm not a morning person.  Even though I get up at 6:30, I'm never actually "awake" until around 9.

25.  My favourite time of day is when I take my dog Stella for a walk (unless it's freezing cold out).  It always involves either good music or good company, and is a great way to follow up supper and/or end the evening.

If You Can't Be an Athlete, Be an Athletic Supporter

Yesterday someone asked me what I had planned for the weekend.  I thought about it for a minute then answered something I very rarely get to say:  "Watching a whole lot of sports".  It's not that I don't like watching sports, so much as I just don't have the time.  My free time is extremely valuable to me, and taking three hours of a weekday evening to watch a hockey game on TV is simply not an appealing enough option.  

But a free live Kingston Frontenacs game on a Friday night in the Empire Life box?  That I can get behind!  I went last night with work colleagues, and though the evening could have gone either way a number of times, I'd say it ended up being an overall success on all counts.  Though I understand that the Fronts have been royally sucking this season, there was certainly no evidence of that last night.  They beat the London Knights (apparently one of the top teams in the league) 3-2 in what was an incredibly exciting game.  I even jumped out of my seat when the Fronts scored to win with only 4 seconds left in the game!

You see, until I married Steve I never really thought too much about hockey.  Despite the common belief that all Canadians grow up both playing and worshiping the game, it simply has never been part of my life.  My Dad (the primary watcher of sports in my house) preferred football, a habit that was to be honest something of a relief to me and my mom, as the season is much shorter and the games less frequent.  Likely due to my abnormal childhood, I have today come to prefer the game of football to that of hockey.  There's less cold, less ice, less showy fighting, better looking players (well, if you can get passed the shiny tights).  The fact that there are fewer games also makes it more exciting (i.e. as opposed to the Leafs playing the Sens for the eighteenth time this season...whoopdy-doo...).  I don't actually watch football all that much either, but the Superbowl is always exciting.  It's definitely the overall aesthetic of the game I find appealing - I don't really care who wins, but will be cheering for Arizona because it's hot there.

Which brings me to my absolute favourite sport...the only one I will go out of my way to watch: tennis.  Tennis has always been big deal for everyone in my family.  The fact that Steve also loves it was one of the things that originally brought us together (on our first date we watched the last Agassi-Sampras match in the 2002 US Open final).  The two finals for the Australian Open are also being held this weekend.  Actually, the women's has already taken place but I have not seen it yet, as it was on at 3:30 this morning.  We'll be watching when it's re-played at 8pm, and I pray to god I don't accidentally hear who wins before hand (I hope it's Safina, and am predicting she will win but only after Serena forfeits the game due to some sort of injury.  Of course she will only do this if Safina is winning to begin with).  The men's, a classic Federer-Nadal match, will be held at 3:30 tomorrow morning, and Steve and I are planning on getting up to watch it.  I'm predicting Nadal will win, but I hope I'm wrong.  I have SUCH a big crush on Federer.  He has such a graceful, classy way of playing the game and watching him makes me happy.

My Favourite Movies of 2008.....

....in no particular order.

The Oscar nominations came out last week.  As I enjoy movies perhaps more than I enjoy anything else in life (well, you know, within reason), this yearly announcement is kind of a big deal for me.  Last year I learned that non-blockbuster movies ARE released in Kingston (months late and only if they are nominated for an oscar, but it's a start) and have been reveling this abundance of good movies over the past few weeks.  Of course, however, there is almost always a sizable discrepancy between my personal favourites and those movies nominated for best picture.  The latter category reads as follows:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Frost/Nixon

Milk

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

I have seen four of these movies (all but The Reader) and agree all are excellent films.  Here's my list, with commentary:

Vicky Christina Barcelona - I have a huge crush on Scarlett Johansson (have for some time).  I wouldn't go so far as to say that I like every movie she's in, nor would I say that she is the only reason I love this sultry, beautiful movie.  But she sure helps.

Grand Torino - See previous entry for review.

Frost/Nixon - You know, the one where Richard Nixon and Jack Frost team up to save Christmas?  (Ok I didn't come up with that.  But ten points for you if you know who did!).  Fantastic movie.  Come Oscar night I'll be rooting for either this one or.....

Milk - Another movie I have reviewed here.  I guess I'm really into recent history films this year.

Rachel Getting Married - Probably my favourite movie of the year all things considered.  I saw it again at the Screening Room and liked it even better the second time around.  It's such a cool, unique movie, and Anne Hatheway is superb.

Review: Grand Torino

I went through a phase as a teenager where I watched about every Clint Eastwood movie available at our local Jumbo Video.  That's saying quite a bit too, as that Jumbo Video had by far the best selection of old movies I've ever seen (I was seriously disappointed when I moved away and discovered not all video stores are equipped with any movie you could ever want).  Unfortunately, the selection has gone dramatically downhill since DVDs took over, but I still have my memories.

Anyway, needless to say seeing Clint's new movie, Grand Torino, was an absolute must.  I actually saw it last weekend, but have been extremely preoccupied with various things this week and lacked the time and energy to do anything requiring extended concentration (yes, I know I'm lazy).  Despite my initial reluctance to write, however, I actually really enjoyed the movie.  It's very well done, and actually quite funny in parts.  Clint plays a curmudgeonly old man who doesn't take too kindly to the fact that his neighbourhood is being taken over by Asian immigrants.  His racism is diluted, though not eliminated, throughout the course of the movie, as he befriends Sue and Thao, his two young neighbours.  When the two youths become the target of a local gang, Clint takes it upon himself to show the punks who's boss.

True to the preview's claim, this movie is certainly "prime vintage Eastwood", featuring everything from Dirty Harry-esq attitude to Any Which Way But Loose-esq humour.  The film was undoubtedly written for Clint, and is driven almost entirely by the actor's image.  Perhaps this narrow focus is why it was overlooked for oscar nominations.  Whatever.  I think it's absolutely perfect the way it is.