This week is just begun and already I feel like I spent so much time doing things. Last week the Rotterdam International Film Festival started and I managed to see several films starting on Thursday. The film was called Illumination by a first time director. It was a lovely film with lovely acting, my favorite so far. On Friday after a extremely long day at work I headed back to Rotterdam for 3.5 more movies. The first was a short with Lance Hendricksen and Christopher Eccleston called Keep Right quite funny, the second was called Dead Mans Shoes which was also fantastically acted. The second was a German one called Ego Shooter and the last was a Danish one called Pusher II. Imagine, they director said that he has sold the franchise to Bollywood.. it was really not that good and I tired to imagine the whole thing happening in India. Oh well can't win them all. Sat of course I was busy with other things such as a great art exhibit by a Canadian friend in Utrecht and then the Web Fan Club day but more on that later... Sunday I got up fairly early and went back for another movie Clean. Canadian movie which got a nod for best actress at Cannes. Can't say that it was bad but it was lacking something called pace. In my humble opinion of course! Oh well there was about a 3 min live performance by Metric in the movie which was fantastic. What a cool band. So I have taken the next two days off from movies and will be back for the last 5-7 movies before the end of the week.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Friday, January 14, 2005
2005 resolutions
So the month of January is almost over and the world has gone mad.... Well not really but natural disasters can be such a slap in the face. At this moment I cannot even bring myself to watch the news about it or see the terrible photos and videos it is just to much. My heart goes out to all those affected by this directly. It is such a terrible thing how much mother nature can devastate.
Sensationalism is such a crock and horrible way to sell tragedy. It was just like the 9/11 thing. I remember walking into our apartment and seeing the second plane hit in real time and being absolutely floored that something like that could happen.. But in the ensuing weeks/months and years it just got worse, sickening American propaganda.
Why is it that people want to watch such horror and catastrophe and also why do we reward the news and television stations that present these things by actually watching them.
On the other hand it is very nice to see so many around the world donating money time and relief to those in need.
I wonder often what would happen if the news was only relevant to current affairs and perhaps even happy all the time. What would actually have happened to the last elections in the US if there was no media involvement whatsoever! Without the Iraq thing, the 911 thing would he even have a chance at getting into office? I have my doubts.
Anyway off on a tangent.. Life goes on. People still rubberneck at the first sign of someone else bathed in the flashing lights of some emergency service.
Give yourself a task, next time you pass some accident on the hiway try not to look, next time a siren drives by your window; don't look and wonder what poor unfortunate person has just lost their life possessions to fire or worse.
Make a resolution of helping someone the next time you have a chance to.. Even if it is holding the door open if you see someone coming to it.. Even if it take a extra second or two it just might make you feel better about the world, and the person who did not get the door slammed in their face better too.
I will quickly quote from the song 21st Century Living from Matthew Good , cause he is just so clever. "....our ambition puts a non perishable food item in a donation bin at Christmas and then pats itself on the fucking back cause it thinks it done something decent"
Anyway, lets try and be better people, nicer people and more tolerant people for 2005. Forget your New years resolution to get, fit, thin, quit smoking etc etc. I'll bet that if you are better, nicer and more decent person in your being that you will feel better, healthier and more positive towards the world and that life we have to share it with.
Sensationalism is such a crock and horrible way to sell tragedy. It was just like the 9/11 thing. I remember walking into our apartment and seeing the second plane hit in real time and being absolutely floored that something like that could happen.. But in the ensuing weeks/months and years it just got worse, sickening American propaganda.
Why is it that people want to watch such horror and catastrophe and also why do we reward the news and television stations that present these things by actually watching them.
On the other hand it is very nice to see so many around the world donating money time and relief to those in need.
I wonder often what would happen if the news was only relevant to current affairs and perhaps even happy all the time. What would actually have happened to the last elections in the US if there was no media involvement whatsoever! Without the Iraq thing, the 911 thing would he even have a chance at getting into office? I have my doubts.
Anyway off on a tangent.. Life goes on. People still rubberneck at the first sign of someone else bathed in the flashing lights of some emergency service.
Give yourself a task, next time you pass some accident on the hiway try not to look, next time a siren drives by your window; don't look and wonder what poor unfortunate person has just lost their life possessions to fire or worse.
Make a resolution of helping someone the next time you have a chance to.. Even if it is holding the door open if you see someone coming to it.. Even if it take a extra second or two it just might make you feel better about the world, and the person who did not get the door slammed in their face better too.
I will quickly quote from the song 21st Century Living from Matthew Good , cause he is just so clever. "....our ambition puts a non perishable food item in a donation bin at Christmas and then pats itself on the fucking back cause it thinks it done something decent"
Anyway, lets try and be better people, nicer people and more tolerant people for 2005. Forget your New years resolution to get, fit, thin, quit smoking etc etc. I'll bet that if you are better, nicer and more decent person in your being that you will feel better, healthier and more positive towards the world and that life we have to share it with.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Out with the old and in with the New
Happy New Year to those of you out there I have not yet greeted.
It seems that the Holiday season whizzed by in a flash and now I am back at my work thinking about all the new things to come this year.
I spent New Years and a few days before it in Berlin with some friends. It was nice to be in such a vibrant city, so much to see and do, even revisiting places that I have been years before. The Pergamon museum and the Egyptian museum in particular. The only complaint I have is that there is no convenient shopping centre, it is scattered and spread from one end of the city to the next. But oh well that is my own consumeristic heart talking.
The New Years Eve we had dinner at Christine's with a few of her and Andreas's friends and neighbors. One woman Beatrice, had lived a year in Canada and had traveled from Ontario to British Columbia on the train and then all the way to the far west coast of the Island Tofino, where she said it was one of the most beautiful places on Earth.. I have to agree. It it amazing there and with the ancient rain Forrest it is well worth the long trip over the Island to get there.
After Dinner we waited and watched as all chaos broke loose at 12. I experienced this before in Berlin, the hundreds of thousands of €'s being blown up in smoke, and that is just the unofficial ones. I wisely stayed inside this time and waiting out the rest of it. I had made plans to go and meet with my friends afterwards to a party. But by the time I got to Warschauerstr, the lineup was all the way out side the building and onto the street.. and for two hours to no avail could I get inside. So I went home. What a bummer. I got back around 4:30 am and went sulkingly to bed.
Sat was so quiet in the city as we made our way along the streets towards the centre, we were asked by a couple if we knew where the Jewish museum was... I said no but that I had a map.. the conversation when something like this.
Frau 1: your German is really good, most Americans have such a strange accent.
Me: Well thank you, but I am not American I am Canadian.
Man 1: Oh where are you from in Canada? Our Daughter lived there for one year.
Me: Oh really? I come from Vancouver/ Vancouver Island.
Man 1: Really? She also worked on Vancouver Island some place called Mill ... Something.
Me: Mill Bay?
Man: Yes that is it we visited her there.
Me: that is Amazing I grew up 6 km up the road, my parents still live there.
Man: Yes we also went to Tofino, it was so beautiful there, It is very special place on Earth. The most amazing thing was the rain forest I will never forget that.
Me: Oh yes I know, I was talking about it just last night with someone, and I used to work there for about 1 year. It is magical.
.....
Anyway we found their museum on the map and said goodbye. It is nice to be reminded of the beauty and wonders of your home when you have been gone for so long.
We walked down Frederichstraase past Check Point Charley and of course had a SB coffee and then found our way through the maze of huge soviet buildings and up Unter den Linden and to Alexanderplatz.
The rest of the weekend was mostly quiet with spurts of drinking and dining before we flew back to Rotterdam.
Why I wonder do I feel so connected with that country. It is really terrible sometimes when I come back to Holland and feel so disjointed and unhappy to be here, but hey it is a new Year and a new Start or so they say.
Tonight I will go and meet two friends, A Swedish guy and a German girl who met when we all worked together here years ago. They are moving to Sweden to start again. I must say that I feel a little pang of regret when I hear about other people moving away from NL. I guess my own opportunity will show itself when it is time.
It seems that the Holiday season whizzed by in a flash and now I am back at my work thinking about all the new things to come this year.
I spent New Years and a few days before it in Berlin with some friends. It was nice to be in such a vibrant city, so much to see and do, even revisiting places that I have been years before. The Pergamon museum and the Egyptian museum in particular. The only complaint I have is that there is no convenient shopping centre, it is scattered and spread from one end of the city to the next. But oh well that is my own consumeristic heart talking.
The New Years Eve we had dinner at Christine's with a few of her and Andreas's friends and neighbors. One woman Beatrice, had lived a year in Canada and had traveled from Ontario to British Columbia on the train and then all the way to the far west coast of the Island Tofino, where she said it was one of the most beautiful places on Earth.. I have to agree. It it amazing there and with the ancient rain Forrest it is well worth the long trip over the Island to get there.
After Dinner we waited and watched as all chaos broke loose at 12. I experienced this before in Berlin, the hundreds of thousands of €'s being blown up in smoke, and that is just the unofficial ones. I wisely stayed inside this time and waiting out the rest of it. I had made plans to go and meet with my friends afterwards to a party. But by the time I got to Warschauerstr, the lineup was all the way out side the building and onto the street.. and for two hours to no avail could I get inside. So I went home. What a bummer. I got back around 4:30 am and went sulkingly to bed.
Sat was so quiet in the city as we made our way along the streets towards the centre, we were asked by a couple if we knew where the Jewish museum was... I said no but that I had a map.. the conversation when something like this.
Frau 1: your German is really good, most Americans have such a strange accent.
Me: Well thank you, but I am not American I am Canadian.
Man 1: Oh where are you from in Canada? Our Daughter lived there for one year.
Me: Oh really? I come from Vancouver/ Vancouver Island.
Man 1: Really? She also worked on Vancouver Island some place called Mill ... Something.
Me: Mill Bay?
Man: Yes that is it we visited her there.
Me: that is Amazing I grew up 6 km up the road, my parents still live there.
Man: Yes we also went to Tofino, it was so beautiful there, It is very special place on Earth. The most amazing thing was the rain forest I will never forget that.
Me: Oh yes I know, I was talking about it just last night with someone, and I used to work there for about 1 year. It is magical.
.....
Anyway we found their museum on the map and said goodbye. It is nice to be reminded of the beauty and wonders of your home when you have been gone for so long.
We walked down Frederichstraase past Check Point Charley and of course had a SB coffee and then found our way through the maze of huge soviet buildings and up Unter den Linden and to Alexanderplatz.
The rest of the weekend was mostly quiet with spurts of drinking and dining before we flew back to Rotterdam.
Why I wonder do I feel so connected with that country. It is really terrible sometimes when I come back to Holland and feel so disjointed and unhappy to be here, but hey it is a new Year and a new Start or so they say.
Tonight I will go and meet two friends, A Swedish guy and a German girl who met when we all worked together here years ago. They are moving to Sweden to start again. I must say that I feel a little pang of regret when I hear about other people moving away from NL. I guess my own opportunity will show itself when it is time.
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