Skripper Time

10 Great Things About Summer

Okay.  It's been a while since I have posted - time has been flying by...weeks turned into months and suddenly I'm rounding August.  I sat on the couch today and started thinking about all the great things that I've done, seen, experienced and had enter the realm of Skripper during the past summer weeks.  So, here goes with my summery top 10 list:

1. Sugarland: Yeah, I'm a little bit country. I went to see Sugarland at the Molson Amphitheatre.  It was a raucous, joyful, belt-it-out kinda show that left me wanting more.  Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush so clearly, openly and obviously love their job and their music that they nailed the entire show.  Didn't hurt that they had a kick-ass set.  Rock on country singers!
   
   
    
   
2. Emilie Jane:  My sweet little god daughter arrived in the world and jumped in my heart.  I will enjoy spending as much time as I can with her before she travels back to Sri Lanka.  Doesn't hurt that her mother and cutest of big brothers are also around for me to enjoy.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Muskoka: Let's hear it for cottage country, docks, warm summer days, ice-cold drinks and reading books lying with one hand shading the sun from your eyes.  Oh, and don't forget encountering deer and wild turkeys on your morning run.
   
   
4. Eclipse: Vampires and werewolves.  I hate to love 'em, I love to hate 'em.  Seriously though, is there any better entertainment than sitting, eating buttery popcorn while watching the Velveeta cheesy teen angst that is Twilight drip across the theatre screen?  Ok, maybe a Sugarland concert - but there's a time and place for everything.



5. TMN and HBO Canada:  Thank-you for saving my summer television viewing.  Thank-you for Nurse Jackie and that great build to the season finale, and thanks for bringing the Entourage boys back. ARI - how I've missed you.
   
   
   
6. My Garden:  I love my garden.  This year it's a bit jungle-ish, but it brightens my day every morning and every evening.  Worth the effort every year.
   
   
   
7. Mitsubishi City Chase:  Team "The Sally Drapers" chased and were victorious.  Oddly enough, we finished far ahead of many of the teams who were running through the city.  We chose to meander and use our very intelligent brains to shave time off our events.  Highlights from this year - watching Sarah pour a shot into a glass that was balanced on her head, and doing an obstacle course in the 30 degree sunshine, only to learn that we had to do it TWICE.  Le merde. 
   
   
   
8. Air conditioning: Sorry David Suzuki...it had to be done.



9. My guy:  He likes me, I like him.  'Nuff said.



10. Everything that's yet to come:  Hey - there's still bits of July, all of August and some of September to go.  Sky's the limit:  a cottage rental with friends and family, couple of pool parties, ice-cream cones, front porch conversations, and some biking to work, along with some running for good measure.

Here's to you Summer of 2010 - so far so good.  Looking forward to seeing what you've got in store for the rest. 

Hachiko: A Dog's Story (or things that make me go 'weep')

In theatres March 2010 - which is now.  Already cried during the trailer.  Will likely need a saline drip to get through the film.  Dogs are amazing.  Photo of the G napping below, just because he's the greatest.

Invictus Movie Review: Clint Eastwood, Mandela, Morgan & Matt

 "Reconciliation starts here."

Tonight I had the pleasure (courtesy of my friends at Warner Brother Canada) to get a sneak peek at Invictus, the latest Clint Eastwood movie starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, that opens in theatres December 11th.  

Based on John Carlin’s 2008 book “Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation,’’ it presents the true and compelling story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, when the newly elected Nelson Mandela stood at the helm of a fractured country. Mandela, faced with a post-apartheid world of mistrust, confusion and hatred, latches onto the lagging South African Rugby team, and leveraging the power of sport, looks to the team to provide a catalyst for change, playing into the notion of "one team, one country".

Mandela (Freedman) taps Francois Pienaar (Damon), captain of the South African rugby team, the Springboks, to lead the slightly down-trodden team to win the World Cup (which is being played in South Africa) .  The story of how the rugby team attempts to do that is a slight sidebar to the overall theme of the challenge that South Africa faced in the early days of Mandela's administration.  FInancially, economically and politically challenged, the country and its people were, at the time, flirting on the edge of chaos.  "Invictus" is a short poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley, that Mandela had scribed on a scrap of paper during his imprisonment on Robben Island.  Invictus means 'unconquered' in Latin - and served as an inspiration to Mandela during his darker days.

One of the opening shots of the movie focuses on 2 groups of children playing soccer across the street from each other.  On one side, the Afrikaaner school, big brawny white boys toss the rugby ball back and forth in full school uniform on a perfectly manicured field, while across the road, skinny, tatttered black children kick around a soccer ball in a cloud of dust.  Mandela, recently released from jail, drives by to the utter delight of the black children who scream his name with faces pressed up against the fence, while on the other side, the Afrikaaners stand silently by.  Overly dramatic?  Perhaps - but I don't think so.  What I can tell you is that when I was teaching in Namibia in 1996, I took my volleyball team, which practiced daily in the dusty fields of the rural schoolyard, into the main capital of Windhoek where we were matched against (and got completely creamed by) a team of all-white kids, complete with shiny new uniforms and  polished gymnasium floors.  The social, racial and economic divide was very, very real at that time.

The movie does a good job of telling the story - although a a couple of times it does drag just a tiny bit.  Eastwood presents the narrative in a very understated way, and waits until half-way through the film to rely on a couple of slightly sappy pop songs to dictate mood and emotion.  As you might imagine, there's a climactic game that the entire film builds up to - but it's worth the wait. Freedman is quite good as Mandela, and Damon, with his platinum blond hair and Boer accent does a nice job as the South African captain.  You see hints into the toll of Mandela's commitment to his country - episodes of failing health, a broken relationship with his daughter - but mostly you see how adroitly he was able to express his vision, lead people towards positive change and empower the team around him.

All in all, I enjoyed it and would recommend it as good night out.  What is really did for me was remind me of my absolute awe, respect and admiration for the man that is Nelson Mandela.  His ability to lead, forgive and inspire a nation to do the same was (and still is) unbelievable.  Imagine spending over 27 years in prison, then emerging with a sense of forgiveness towards your captors, intact with a vision of uniting a country that was on the brink of a civil war.  One of my greatest disappointments is that Robben Island opened up to the public 3 months after I left Southern Africa, and it is on my list of must-visit places.  The last two lines of Henley' poem speak volumes about Mandela's approach to life:   I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.  Words to live by.

TIFF#4: Up in the Air - George Clooney saves the day

Hallelujah.  I've ended TIFF with the movie that I've been waiting for.  'Up in the Air' is the latest movie from Jason Reitman, and it has the same quirkiness, humour and depth of his previous festival films "Juno" and "Thank You For Smoking".  I've decided that I am a Reitman fan for life - and I'm even more so a fan because the Reitman family are generous supporters of TIFF.

This film is the one, and this is the only one, that I would recommend heading to the theatre to see.  Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga and Jason Bateman all give strong performances, but it is George, handsome, crinkly-eyed smile, salt and pepper sweetness George that carries the film.  The film follows the life and times of Ryan Bingham (Clooney), a corporate downsizer who spends over 320 days a year on the road.  Clooney is bang-on in the role.

Here's the thing about George Clooney.  He's worked hard to become the movie star (and he is a MOVIE star) that he is today. Toiling in "Facts of Life" and other small bit parts until he became DOUG ROSS (sigh) and then stayed true to E.R. until he had done his time.  He's so undeniably handsome that I almost don't want to like him because it's just too easy. 

But then there he is, with his fantastic head of hair, his head tilt and slight shoulder shrug and his slightly crooked grin and all of a sudden I'm punching my cousin in the arm at TIFF in the middle of 'Up in the Air' saying "OMIGOD I LOVE HIM".  George is an excellent example of a man who is getting better with age.

And he's great in 'Up in the Air'.  He's really good.  Lots of emotion in those dark brown eyes, some great one-liners and multiple outfits (turns out I like George in a suit, jeans and a v-neck as well as casual wear - but I digress).

So - get out and see the film.  Support Jason Reitman, because he's Canadian and he's really talented.  Enjoy George because he's delicious and delightful. 

And - for a great recap of some other TIFF flicks, visit my friend (and fellow TIFF goer) Heather's blog.