GOLD!!!!!

I was nervous and excited.

I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I yelled at the players through the tv.

The 2nd American goal was heartbreaking.

I was hungry for that medal.

So was Canada.

I told myself no one wins our game on our turf but us.

In the end it was a fairytale.

It didn't seem real. It still doesn't.

Crosby, scoreless in three games, comes back with the winner in Overtime.

The country went mad.

I yelled myself hoarse.

The stadium was a blur of red and white, louder than a cannon broadside.

The crowds blocked off Yonge Street in Toronto.

They shut down transit in downtown Vancouver, 150,000 strong.

I cried when they played the national anthem.

I haven't been able to stop crying.

A historic day, a historic games, our games.

I've never honked my car horn more in my life.

I can't stop smiling.

It was only hours ago but it feels like it's been years.

Complete strangers stood on street corners and cheered each other on afterwards.

People drove around in their cars just to celebrate, flags hanging out the window.

A win at home is sweeter than the Salt Lake win.

Today was the best day because we played our game and because we won in our own backyard.

It was the most exciting game I've ever seen in my whole life and I have never been so proud to be Canadian.

Also, this vid pretty much sums everything up.

Bronze for Rochette!

Wow. What a brave performance by Joannie Rochette. She fully deserved her bronze medal and it was heartbreaking watching her try to hold it together on the podium after receiving her medal. I am so proud of her and what she was able to accomplish today after everything that she's been through.

The amazing part of this story is that she's only the fifth Canadian woman in Winter Olympic history to win a medal in women's figure skating.

Women win GOLD in Hockey Final!

I won't be able to stop grinning for the rest of the day! It was an amazing game and in the last ten minuts of the third, the US really put the pressure on. Szabados was absolutely amazing in net.

I was nervous the whole game but a lot more in control than I was for the 2002 Olympics Women's Hockey Final. There was almost no yelling at my computer screen and very little nail biting.

The Princess Bride - William Goldman

"This is my favourite book in all the world, though I have never read it."

A young boy is home sick from school when his father offers to read him a story from In short, this book has everything. To quote directly is has, "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." The story starts with Buttercup, a farmer's daughter and her slow but inevitable relationship with Farm Boy aka Wesley. But when Wesley goes off to seek his fortune and doesn't return, Buttercup is persuaded into an uncomfortable engagment with Prince Humperdink, while still pining for her lost love. But things take a turn when Buttercup is kidnapped and encounters the Dread Pirate Roberts.

I saw the movie first and imagined that this was one of those rare instances where the movie improves upon the book. I could not have been more wrong. This is one of the funniest and most enjoyable fantasy novels I've ever read. The complexity of the 'Morgenstern' plot draws the reader in and never lets go.

The level of humour in this book is unparalleled in any other book I've read. The history of Florin and Guilder is amusing and ridiculous. "There had been the Olive War, the Tuna Fish Discrepancy, which almost bankrupted both nations, the Roman Rift, which did send them both into insolvency, only to be followed by the Discord of the Emeralds, in which they both got rich again, chiefly by banding together for a brief period and robbing everyone within sailing distance."

As well, the characters are so distinct and well-defined. Each has their own quirks. Goldman certainly has a way with words when it comes to description. My favourite line happens to be "Queen Bella was shaped like a gumdrop. And coloured like a raspberry." How can you not grin at that?

My only complaint is that it takes a few pages to get to the actual plot of the story. First the reader has to get through the Morgenstern plot and listen to the narrator go on about his father.

I would highly recommend this book to people who like love stories, a certain level of ridiculousness and of course, swashbuckling.

Rating: 5/5

How Sweet it IS!

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have become the first Canadian pair to win gold in ice dance, the first North American pair to win and the youngest pair to win. They went into the free dance in first place and the performance was, in a word, amazing. They were light as air on their lifts, their landings.

I of course was biting my knuckles the whole time because their training partners, Charlie White and Meryl Davis of the US had finished an amazing skate earlier. And even after their gorgeous free skate everyone had to wait for two more pairs to skate before the results became official. But man oh man, hearing that anthem, seeing our flag and the entire 11,000 strong crowd singing was absolutely exhilirating.

The Sunday Rundown

I'm sorry about the lack of posts. I've been sick for the past two weeks and have only just recovered. While I haven't been doing much reading, I have been watching the Olympics.

Reading: I'm currently working on "Girl on Top" that I received as an early reviewer from LibraryThing. It's proving informative and humourous.









Watching:

Here's another clip from "Community", a hilarious show that references movies all the time. This clip was obviously inspired by Dead Poet's Society.



Listening To:

This is "Your Daddy Don't Know" originally by Canadian band Toronto. Here it's being covered by Canadian band, The New Pornorgraphers. Enjoy!

Happy Valentines!

This is an adorable valentine by artist Alexandria Neonakis and you can find her
deviant art page here.

2010 Vancouver Olympics

There's just over an hour to go before the Opening Ceremonies. Will you be watching?

Powers - John B. Olson

"The man let out a stream of words hot as coals as he struggled to his feet and glared down at her, eyes blazing. His face was a dark shade of purple-tinged red. He lunged toward her with clenched fists. Veins bulged at his neck."

Mariutza Glapion has been living in a swamp for as long as she can remember. One night she sneaks out to the road, a forbidden place and on her way home, senses something is wrong. She senses the Badness, hears a gunshot in the dark, finds her home empty, her grandfather missing. She finds him dying in a pool of blood and he makes a strange request. Forced to flee her home she encounters Jazz, a musician with strange powers of his own. Together they must solve the mystery her grandfather left for them to solve, all the while avoiding the Badness and the authorities.

I received this book as an Early Reviewer from LibraryThing and found the mythology of the world intriguing as Mari belongs to a small group of people called 'The Standing'. She has special skills and powers, is wary of cities and as a result, doesn't know how to survive inside one. Her dialogue has an earthy feel to it and her diction reveals her ignorance of technology and mordern society.

She's also very tactile when it comes to describing her world. Olson has some beautiful descriptinos that paint concrete images of the setting. "Smooth moonlight, soft and timid as a sleeping babe's breath, seeped through the forest canopy, painting Old Man Oak's mossy beard with twisting ribbons of silver and shadow."

Various terms and concepts associated with the mythology of Olson's world are introduced throughout the book but by the end I still wasn't sure what some of them meant. I only saw the 'Badness' as an amorphous blob and wasn't sure exactly how Mari's 'dikh' sight functioned. As well there were various references to the Bible which seemed contrary to a book I would classify as fantasy. Then I realized this book is classified under Christian Fiction and the core of the book relates to a story in the bible.

I found it difficult to orient myself at the start of the book. The combination of Mariutza's diction and the mythology of her world launch the reader straight into the unknown. It would have been easier to adjust had the POV not jumped into another character in chapter two. This jumping around occurs for the rest of the novel and included a POV for a character called Daniel Groves that seemed unneccessary. I didn't fully engage in the story until halfway through the book because at that point, the plot felt solid.

Also it was difficult to tell how old everyone was. At the beginning of the book I thought Mariutza was quite young but the farther the read the older she seemed to become. She acted like a child though that may only have been to show how apart from the world she really was. Then when she was with Jazz she seemed to age seven or eight years and appeared closer in age to him.

Rating: 2.5/5

Beaker's version of "Dust in the Wind"

Poor Beaker. That guy just can't catch a break.

The Sunday Rundown

Reading:

I have started "The Day the Falls Stood Still" and am loving it! I don't know too much about Niagara Falls so learning a little bit of history alongside a good story is great. It's frustrating though as I don't have a lot of free time to plow right through the book and hate putting the story down at the end of the night.

Watching:

I thought it was high time we had something classic for the week. Dino's quite deep in his cups during this performance. Watch as he tries not to lose it at the beginning of the song.



Listening:

Did you know that The Go Go's were the first all-female group that wrote all their own songs and played their own instruments? And this was only 32 years ago. Anyway, enjoy "Our Lips are Sealed"

Ex Libris - Anne Fadiman

"'Books are food,' wrote the English critic Holbrook Jackson, 'libraries so many dishes of meat, served out for several palates...We eat them from love or necessity, as other foods, but most from love." Charles Lamb and Leigh Hunt were described by a friend as savouring 'the flavour of a rare passage of poetry with an exquisite relish, as though it were a morsel of ripe and juicy fruit.'"

Anne Fadiman is a writer and within this slim volume details her love affair with books among 18 essays covering various literary topics from what people use as bookmarks to the ever evolving nature of the pen. She also writes on courtly versus carnal book lovers and the strange collections that accumulate in personal libraries.

I picked up this little beauty on a whim. I must also confess that it was the cover that first attracted me. I love books written specifically with book lovers in mind. This is the kind of read a bibliophile luxuriates in and returns to again and again.

I was a little apprenhensive about this book as essays aren't my favourite form of writing but Fadiman makes it work. Not only is her writing humourous but it's also informative. The essays are peppered with little tidbits about literature, authors, life, etc. In "The Literary Glutton", she mentions how her son's DNA is now inextricably linked with Goodnight Moon because he'd chewed up and drooled on the corners. From there she segues into why so few first editions of Alice in Wonderland exist. They have been eaten by their readers. Books, literally devoured.

As well, the variety of subjects keeps the pace quick and the material interesting. Fadiman admits to a strange collection composed entirely of polar exploration. It's these quirks along with her diction that make these essays a joy to read. This book is a beautiful but tasty snack for the literarily inclined. My only complaint is that this book is altogher too short! I can't say enough about Fadiman's writing. Every book lover should pick up a copy.

Rating: 5/5

Photopost - Ballet

10 Things you should know about the Oscars

The nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards are in and I'd thought I would provide a little background on the "little golden man" so many people have their eye on.

1. During the first ten years of the Academy Awards, the results were provided to newspapers the night of the ceremony so the might could be published the next day. In 1940, the LA Times decided to publish the results before the ceremony, resulting in the sealed envelopes we see today.

2. Upon winning, many people remark on the weight of the award. In reality, the statue weighs 8.5 pounds and is composed of 92.5% tin and 7.5% copper and is only plated in gold.

3. The Oscar statuette is done in an art deco style, holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The spokes represent the original branches of the Academy, Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers and Technicians.

4. The Oscar statuette is modeled on a real person. Cedric Gibbons, MGM's art director, supervised the design of the award but needed a model. His wife Dolores del Rio introduced him to Mexican film director Emilio "El Indio" Fernández. Fernández was eventually convinced to pose nude and the result is the current statue.

5. During WWII, in support of the war effort and because of the shortage of metal, the Oscars were made of plaster. Actors could then turn these in to the Academy for the real deal after the war.

6. Since 1950 all winners and their heirs are legally bound from selling their awards without first offering it to the Academy for $1US. If a winner refuses to sign this agreement, the Academy keeps the award. Prior to 1950, Oscars have been sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

7. Not everyone votes for every award. Technicians vote for the technical awards, Directors vote for Best Director but everyone votes on Best Picture.

8. Only three people in the history of the awards have refused their Oscar. In 1935, Dudley Nichols, a writer for The Informer, refused because the Writers Guild was on strike.

George C. Scott won in 1971 for Patton but said the ceremony was "a two-hour meat parade."

Marlon Brando won in 1972 for The Godfather and refused his Oscar because of the poor depiction of First Nations in movies.

9. In the 82 years since the ceremony began, some awards have gone missing and have even been stolen. Hattie McDaniel won for Best Supporting Actress in Gone with the Wind and when she died she willed her Oscar to Howard University. But the Oscar went missing during racial unrest on campus in the 1960s. So far, the Academy has refused to reissue the Oscar to the University.

Other Oscar winners Several Oscar winners had their statuettes stolen: Alice, Brady, Whoopi Goldberg, William Hurt, and Orson Weles. Margaret O’Brien got her stolen statue back after it went missing for 20 years.

10. Before 1950, child actors like Shirley Temple, have received miniature Oscars called Juvenile Awards. When Walt Disney won for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he recieved one regular size Oscar and seven little ones. Edgar Bergen, a well known ventriloquist, received an honourary Oscar made of wood with a moveable mouth.