Rain, rain...

I have a strange confession.  I like the rain.

Seriously.

I like it when we get rainfall warnings and torrential downpours.  I love splashing in puddles...with or without my son.  I love hearing it on the roof or my windows.  I even like driving in it.

I don't like the days where it kind of rains.  Where its grey and overcast and blah.

I like the heavy duty, soak you to the skin, don't bother straightening your hair kind of rain.  I love the way my city smells when its over...clean, refreshed and ready for the world.  I love the sea of umbrellas as people navigate their way through the precipitation.  I love shaking the rain off of my umbrella and stomping my boots to get ready for the day.

Rain?  BRING IT!

Thank God I live in the Lower Mainland.

Fashion is not for the faint of heart...

I think if I had all the time in the world...you know, didn't have to work for a living or any of that stuff, I would dabble in fashion design.

And jewelry design.

And cooking.

And light automotive repair.

Okay, I'm not so good at the focusing thing, but I WOULD love to be a fashion designer.

I remember making clothing for my Barbies when I was young. I made tiny ball gowns, accessories, costumes etc.

I made my grad dress in grade 12, much to the chagrin of my grad date as I was sewing up until 2 hours before the dance.

I love to sew, create, play with clothing and fabric, but these days, I just don't have the time or the room.

Stupid apartment living.

Lately, I have been getting my fashion fix from Project Runway Canada.

I am quite impressed by it actually. It has its own personality and the designers do some great stuff. I don't really understand why Iman is hosting...I would have thought someone like Linda Evangelista would have been a better choice, but Iman isn't too bad.

My current favourite designer on the show is Biddell.

He is a self-taught designer. From skater gear to bridal gowns, Biddell’s self-described “Street Couture” has been featured in boutiques in Calgary, Vancouver (El Kartel has carried his line), and Victoria. He describes his aesthetic as loud and clean—clothes that get noticed.

I LOVE his stuff-so fun and crazy. I am going to have to track down his stuff. Its fierce baby...fierce.

GO BIDELL GO!

A-List-Defective Yeti

One of my favourite bloggers is Defective Yeti. This blog is penned by Matthew Baldwin, a brilliantly erudite writer from Seattle, Washington with a fabulously biting sense of humour.

His posts range from random poetry, to photoshopped sillies, to posts on his autistic son "The Squiggle".

His blog post from a few days ago doesn't even come close to showing his writing chops, but I appreciated the title and the content. Its a regular "series" by him...well regular in that he has done the "Bad Review Revue" a few times...but nothing you can set your clock by.

I give you...Defective Yeti! Explore him...read him...send him treats (well, I don't know about the treats..I know I like treats, but he may not feel the same way. Just send me treats then)

The Bad Review Revue

Captain Sunshine

There are times when I am down, when I feel that nothing will take me out of the deep blue funk that I am in.

Lately, most of those times have been while I am at work (Seriously. My boss is a giant cow. I actually call her something else that begins with a c usually, but i don't want to offend virgin eyes). My office atmosphere is quite relaxed, so I play a lot of music while I work. NOTHING, but NOTHING brings me out of my funk better than...
NEIL DIAMOND!!!!!

I love Neil Diamond. I really do.

He is a crazy, glitter encrusted performing dynamo. I would LOVE to see him in concert. Sadly Nearly Neil is the best I have been able to get-and he's pretty darn good-but hell...he's no Neil...he's NEARLY Neil.

I just pop on a bit of "Hot August Night" or The Jazz Singer or even the good old Greatest Hits, and I am GOLDEN!

Neils newish album 12 Songs is a bit of a departure from good old "Song Song Blue" and "Forever in Blue Jeans", but I have really been enjoying it lately. It doesn't drive me out of my funk like his some of other albums as it is much more intimate and pared down, although the song Delirious Love is one of my favourite songs in YEARS. Basically just him and his guitar. Fantastic!

As a shout out to Hot Lunch and High Fidelity (one of my favourite books and movies) I am going to do a Neil Diamond list. Its my "top five get sasskitty out of her crappy mood using the magic of Neil's songs" list.

5. Delirious Love


4. Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show


3. Sweet Caroline (seriously...who doesn't love this song? BAH BAH BAH)


2. Forever in Blue Jeans


1. Holly Holy


Rock on Neil! Keep them sparkly shirts coming!!!

Here comes the BOOM!

I went to see Shoot em Up last night with my football coach and Mini girl.

Holy doodle.

I give you a smattering of the play by play that occurred in my head during the movie...

"WHOA!

Bloody Hell

Did he just...WITH A CARROT...OW!

HOLY CRAP Clive Owen is HOT!!!!

WHOA!

What the...

AGAIN with the carrot? Who KNEW carrots were that deadly!

WHOA!"

(note on above picture. Yes...that is a carrot in Clive Owen's hand. It is AMAZING what that man can do with a carrot. And I SO DO NOT mean it in that way!!!)

This movie is SO John Woo meets Quentin Tarantino meets Looney Tunes.

To quote my coach "This movie was excessive. But with extra x's. It was XXessive!"

It was definitely XXessive.

This movie took the action genre to a whole new level. They went too far..and kept on going. And because they kept on going, it made it fun and truly enjoyable. The body count was INSANE, the premise was just downright ludicrous, guns were blazing EVERYWHERE, the bad guy was BAD (Paul Giamatti is BRILLIANTLY evil...EEEVIL), the sex was HOT and the movie didn't stop.

And seriously. Is anyone cooler than Clive Owen? No...no there isn't. And SERIOUSLY! He is so FREAKING HOT! But I digress....rrrowr....

DO NOT go to this movie looking for a plot. There is no real plot. The plot makes no sense. I swear Michael Davis was on acid when he came up with this movie....i can imagine the pitch session to the producers...

"Okay, so there is this hero. Mr. Smith. The movie opens up with him delivering a baby during a gun fight. Then it follows Smith-who is TOTALLY the angriest man alive- through the city protecting the baby from some really bad guys, but he shoots them all. Lots. And he kills a couple of guys with a carrot. In fact, he eats lots of carrots- he's kind of like Bugs Bunny-in fact, we are going to have some veiled Looney Tunes references. Can we cast an actor that looks like Elmer Fudd? No? Okay...anyhow...so there is this lactating hooker with a heart of gold that is going to be the love interest/wet nurse for the baby. Her name is DQ. Get it? GET IT? I know...brilliant huh? And then Mr Smith shoots lots of people. LOTS OF PEOPLE! In one scene, he is going to be shooting people while skydiving. There will be lots of shooting and people dying by shooting. In LUDICROUS ways. BANG BANG! Its going to be AWESOME! AWESOME!"

But let me tell you...I had a BLAST. Pun totally intended.

MANY people will hate this movie. It is completely violent to the extreme, Clive Owen is NOT naked which sucks, and it is almost completely without plot. But if you want to go and shut off your brain, listen to some good heavy metal music, laugh and see things go BANG...this is SO THE MOVIE FOR YOU!

Four guns up out of five.

BOOM!

Dancing on the Edge of Insanity

Last night I went to see Nick and Juanita by Tara Cheyenne at the Dancing on the Edge Festival. AMAZING! I may be slightly biased as I know Tara and think she rocks, but her performance was one of the best I have seen in years. She combines Dance and Theatre effortlessly and seamlessly so that a "theatre snob" like me would go and say "wow, what a great theatre piece" and a "dance snob" would go and say "wow, what a great dance piece". Sadly, this is her last performance here, but she will be performing it again soon I am sure, and a tour is planned. If EVER you see a poster for one of her performances (last year's bANGER was phenomenal) GO SEE IT!!!

Prior to the show, I saw an actress I had been in a show with about 5 years previously. I shall call her PumpKin.

Below follows our interaction...

I am on the phone. PumpKin waves and smiles. I get off the phone and walks up to PumpKin to be friendly.

SK: "HI PumpKin! Great to see you" (I do NOT move in for a hug as I hate the whole 'all actors must hug all the time thing').

PK: "OH MY GOD! ITS YOU!" and leaps on me for a hug. Note...she does not use my name as it is obvious she does not remember my name. I see her at least twice a year.

PK: "SO...what are you doing? What have you been up to? Are you not LOVING this festival? Have you been to lots?"

SK: "Um...well...this is my first show. I know Tara. How about you?"

PK: "Well, I am embarrassed to admit that this is my first show too, but I am sure it will be FANTASTIC! So...what are you doing?

SK: "Well...um...some acting. I am the Executive Director of a small non profit that provides support to children with disabilities and I..."

PK: "OHMYGOD! That is so great? Do you love it? I know you must love it! Do you love it?"

SK: "Uh...sure...its...um...not really what i set out to do, but it works for now. How about you?"

PK: "Oh...well...I am STILL acting-feast or famine you know...I am doing a little thing here and then am off to rehearsals in Calgary. And then...well...who knows. Right? Am I right? Sometimes I wish I had made a choice like you, but I just can't, you know?"

SK: "Ur...um" At which point I punch her in the throat.

Okay, I didn't. But I REALLY wanted to. REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to.

Actors are dorks. They all need to be hoisted on their own petard. Seriously. Where does she get off. SHE is still acting....grrrrr...I really should have gone for the throat punch. Sigh...my chosen profession is filled with self centred morons. THIS may be why I took the break...i knew there was a good reason.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Back for good....

I have an embarrassing admission.

I am rather fond of Take That.

Yup...thats right...the 1990's boy band from the UK.

I am a dork.

Now, I am also a Take That purist...none of this NEW Take That sans Robbie Williams (Robbie Williams...yum). Only the golden oldie era of Take That.

In honour of Take That and their clean cut yet trying to be coolishness I give you...

Back for good...

awesome....

A Moment of Noise

Last night I attended the memorial for my friend, T-Paul Ste Marie. T-Paul is a legend in the Vancouver counter culture community-a beat poet laureate, swank hipster, rockabilly, psychobilly, firebreathing performer. Born too late, or too early, he wandered Main Street with his died black pompadour and tattooed arms with a cigarette pack in his sleeve and a smirk on his face looking like Jack Kerouac's long lost soulmate. He did NOT suffer fools lightly and loved people unconditionally. We met while acting in Tony and Tina's Wedding. He was larger than life, and through that largeness, had the ability to bring everyone together, as was evident by the impromptu memorial last night.

The Cafe Deux Soliels was packed with people of all shapes, sizes and background. A bunch of us who had done TnT sat together, looking on at the freaks and geeks in attendance. From aging hippies, to tattooed bikers to 65 year old overweight men in blue overalls, we were all in attendance to celebrate the life force that was T-Paul Ste. Marie. He certainly did not go gently into that good night.

Instead of a moment of silence, we had a moment of noise for the crazy, wacky, beat poet, emcee, freakshow passion monkey that T-Paul was. He would have loved every ear drum blasting moment of it.

T-Paul lived every moment to the fullest. I challenge you all to do the same, if not for him, then for yourselves because we never know which day may be our last.

I give you...T-Paul with his moment of noise-his signature performance piece "Invocation".


Rest well T-Paul. You will be missed but never forgotten...

HOORAY FOR WAYNE!

Last night was the final episode of Project Catwalk 2007 hosted by the ubiquitous Kelly Osbourne.

Big ups to winner, and my personal fave to win...WAYNE AVELINE! This extra from a Spice Girls movie (so not making this up) was the designer with the most personality and style in my opinion. His tailoring was impeccable, and the three final catwalk collections, his was head and shoulders above the rest and included a dress and bodice both sculpted out of aluminum!


YAY WAYNE!!!

Shameless pat on the back for me

I am dancing with joy.

I just found out a grant I had written to pay for a summer student has been approved for the FULL AMOUNT! I had been living in fear that I would be doing all my work AND all the work that she would be/had been doing. oy...

WOO FREAKING HOO!

YAY ME!

In celebration, I feel that I should do no more work today and surf the web for fabulous things...

like this...

Yes, it is David Hasslehoff. No, he isn't vomiting..

I give you...

The Hasselhoffman-Episode 1!

By the power of Greyskull...

This Saturday the fiance and I wrested ourselves out of our sickbed to attend Hot Fuzz with a squadron of our friends. We had been looking forward to this movie with breathless anticipation for months, and we were not disappointed.

Hot Fuzz is a British police action/comedy film written by Simon Pegg (who also stars in it) and Edgar Wright (who directs it), who were the ROCK STAR team behind the love story with zombies, Shaun of the Dead. Also making appearances are Nick Frost, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton and THE EQUALIZER (also known as Edward Woodward).

The movie tells the tale of Nicholas Angel, a London Super cop with an arrest record 400% higher than any other officer on the force. He's so good, he makes everyone else look bad. As a result, Angel's superiors send him to a place where his talents won't be quite so embarrassing - the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford. However, as a series of grisly accidents rock the village, Angel is convinced that Sandford is not what it seems. It's time for these small-town cops to break out some big-city justice and the BOOMSTICKS!

It was loud. It was stupid. It paid homage to some of the worst Hollywood blockbusters ever (can we say Bad Boys II and Point Break? I knew we could). It was filled with some great cameos and my sides hurt from laughing so hard by the end of it.

I didn't like it as much as Shaun of the Dead, but I would still give this movie two BIG TIME thumbs up. Don't go if you are expecting intimate stories and moving cinema however. Only go if you are looking for some good quality explosions, obscure cop movie pop culture references, and some off beat humour like only the brits can deliver!

I am filled with joy

Any moment now, you will all hear a squeal of delight.

That will be Hot Lunch realizing that Olivia Newton John's masterpiece Xanadu has been made into a musical on Broadway.

XANADU ON BROADWAY!

I also note that Ms Newton John has a new CD out! Well golly gee thats just SUPER!

I am filled with warm fuzzy joy.

I give you...

Xanadu...

A-list-Joe Mimran

Overheard today by me...

Hey Sasskitty! Your ass looks fantastic in those pants! Are they new?

Why yes they are oh fabulous coworker of mine! They are from Joe, designed by Joe Mimran, the guy behind Alfred Sung, Club Monaco and Caban who now does trendy affordable clothing for the Great Canadian Superstore a la Issac Mizrahi and Target. AND they were only NINETEEN DOLLARS!

I think this is insane ! I can't believe I spent 19 dollars on a pair of pants that make my ass look this good!

Well done Joe Mimran! Well done!

John Cusack rocks my world

I love John Cusack.

I have heard John Cusack described as "the thinking woman's Brad Pitt". I don't know that I would go THAT far (come one...Brad Pitt in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith? RRROWR!!"), but I do think he is QUITE fantastic and sexy. I see movies simply BECAUSE of John Cusack (America's Sweethearts anyone?)

What's not to love? Lloyd Dobbler...In your eyes...Say Anything? One of the greatest moments in movie history, and it just would NOT have been the same without John Cusack.

The affianced and I saw a John Cusack movie on our second date in fact. Being John Malcovich-yes, a really odd choice for a date movie, but I think it set the right tone for our relationship.

This morning while getting ready, I chanced upon Must Love Dogs starring...you guessed it...John Cusack. Also in the movie are Diane Lane (she is fantastic and gets more gorgeous all the time! you GO girl!), Christopher Plumber, Dermot Mulroney, Elizabeth Perkins and Stockard Channing.

I was totally hooked! It was funny, endearing, and...well...had John Cusack! I'll admit...I am a total sucker for romantic comedies, so I had a bias, but this one was really enjoyable. I'll have to watch the whole movie as opposed to random bits. Not the typical romantic comedy either...actually reasonably intelligent, and even the dogs are cute.

I have decided that over the next few months watch Cusack's entire oeuvre in order...which means I need to start with Class, starring Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy, but hey...could be fun in a retro, vintage kind of way, right? The fiance is off to the sunshine coast for a few days in March. Maybe I'll watch them all then. Anyone up for a Cusack slumber party?

In honour of Johnny boy, I completed the quiz below. The results are not that surprising considering he's playing a character created by Nick Hornby. And I DO have a kick ass record collection. And alot of mixed tapes (which are CD's now, but who's counting).


Which John Cusack Are You?

A-List-Cultural Cruise

As I have mentioned, one of my resolutions is to write more. For years I have mumbled about writing. I really enjoy it, but honestly, I have the stick-to-itiveness of a...well...extremely non sticky thing. And, as previously mentioned. I get REALLY distracted by shiny things

Last year, some other would-be writers and I decided to BEAT writers block and unstick-to-itiveness and create a writers group.

The Draft Dodgers were born.

The Draft Dodgers is a group of HIGHLY talented writers who get together and...well...

Drink wine.

We all wrote...mostly. But we really enjoyed getting together and TALKING about writing more than anything.

Then one of us moved to Greensboro, North Carolina.

Alarming.

Another one of us is moving to Ontario.

Scary.

But we will persevere! The Dodgers are more committed than EVER to keep the dream alive!

Hence...this blog was born. To keep me writing and to keep me in touch with my lost fellow Dodgers!

And now...another blog is born...

Meet...Cultural Cruise!

The author is a member of the Draft Dodgers and is an A-list sassy chick with GREAT hair and scads of talent! Check her out...her computer is behaving badly (she is on the hunt for a new one), so posts are sometimes brief, but she has got the chops kids!

Welcome to the blogoverse baby!