Just a few weeks ago, I decided to try an “Intro to Sewing” course at The Sewing Studio, courtesy of a great deal via Groupon. Only a couple more classes left and I will have not only a drawstring bag and zippered pouch to show for it, but I will also have made a skirt! Hopefully, one that I won’t be embarrassed to wear this coming Spring. It’s coming along quite nicely so far and actually looks “real”. Hehe. :)

The devil’s tools indeed!

With my lovely staff pass hanging around my neck, complete with a headshot of me from my latest birthday, I was able to rush an unlimited amount of “Press & Industry” screenings, as well as get up to 10 advanced hard tickets to public screenings. Woot woot! Since all of my shifts were from the late afternoon to around 11:30pm and my freelancing schedule was pretty clear, I was able to squeeze in around two films a day. I did try one day with three-films-before-shift (9am, 12pm, 2pm) but getting up at 8am after going to bed at 1am doesn’t suit me like it did when I was in my 20′s. :) Neither does all the standing and walking and running and standing and sitting and…

So let’s see, I saw around 17 films in total, with the most notable standouts being:

• The Trip, an almost-entirely ad-libbed road trip comedy with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, complete with duelling Michael Caine impersonations. :)
• The Illusionist. Not to be confused with the 2006 movie starring Ed Norton and Jessica Biel, this lovely animated film features almost no distinguishable dialogue but rather a lilting score and memorable characters. Coming from the makers of The Triplets of Belleville, I expected nothing but delight.
• Jack Goes Boating, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut, as he also stars with the always endearing Amy Ryan in a quiet, sweet story of two lonely souls finding comfort in each other.
• Everything Must Go, starring Will Ferrell. If you liked Stranger Than Fiction, you’ll really like this. As much as I love Will’s goofball antics, he’s almost better when he tones it down. He’s a great “everyman”.
• Bunraku with Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, and Japanese star, Gackt. A highly stylized Samurai-Western, almost like a life-sized pop-up book. Fun, fun, fun!
• Henry’s Crime, an unexpectedly humourous take on a robbery caper, starring Keanu Reeves, James Caan and Vera Famiga.
• and of course, the People’s Choice Award winner, The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. Refreshingly full of quick witty banter (love it!), great casting and scriptwriting. An easy Oscar candidate.

I’m a bit surprised and disappointed that I didn’t get to catch a lot of foreign films this year. I know I saw more of them as a TIFF volunteer because sometimes you’d be asked to be an inside usher for some random film during your shift, making your odds of it having subtitles that much higher. But those odds also go for being asked to usher an awful, slow-moving artsy fartsy film. Or a surprisingly beautiful one.

This year was also quite different for me since I was no longer able to work at the Varsity Theatres, where I first volunteered, captained and eventually worked the festivals. They have now reduced the Varsity theatres to only two TIFF screens, therefore With the opening of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, a new year-round home for everything TIFF-related, many of the venues and even featured hotels were relocated to bring more focus to the lower downtown area. Sucks to be the chichi Yorkville retailers, haha. I think the new neighbourhood change is way, way better. Now, there are basically 4 or 5 modern venues all within walking distance of each other, with lots of restaurants and other city features filling the gaps. I’m sure visitors to the fest, both public patrons and press alike, appreciate the change in scenery. I, for one, loved that I could walk to my shifts at the busy AMC, near the ever-bustling Yonge & Dundas Square. It also made it much easier to catch the crazy Midnight Madness screenings at the massive theatre at Ryerson University, just around the corner. Martial arts masters and zombies unite!

It was quite a change this past season from any of my previous five years with TIFF. I was a bit apprehensive about the new environment and position on Day 1, but it grew on me, with the help of super-efficient yet laid-back staff of coworkers and enough public screenings to keep you on your toes. As always, my 11 days at TIFF 2010 introduced me to a new bunch of friends, a multitude of great flicks and reminded me of how invaluable good insoles are in making the most tiring 8-hr shift end in a run to Midnight Madness. :)

Can’t wait ’til next year!

Work in progress: A little brown dog sweater in a lightweight acrylic yarn. I’ve been feeling a bit ambitious lately, trying out a double cable knit pattern. So far, it’s working out nicely.

/facepalm

As it turns out, the outage wasn’t just our building. When Bella and I got outside, you can see little clusters of people out on the sidewalks, obviously office workers from the nearby buildings. I looked up and down one of the major streets and at least 4 intersections were without functioning traffic lights, at least in the north-to-south direction. We walked a little further southeast and took an east-to-west glance and the outage went another 4 blocks. Being lunchtime, the sidewalks were slowly filling up with people, more so than usual. You could hear police and firetruck sirens, impatient car honking, and even helicopters! Probably just news crews, but all the noise, you’d think people were looting or something. If it weren’t so hot and humid outside, Bella and I would’ve just hung out in the shade somewhere. But, of course, all the good spots were already taken. We came home instead. Took a deep breath and marched back up to our 4th floor condo. We even ran into two guys moving out, carrying a mattress down the stairwell. “So, it’s just had to be today, huh?” I joked to one of them. As Bella and I squeezed passed them, I added, “At least you’re going down and not up.” “Yeah, thank God.”

It’s amazing how things come to a halt when the power goes out. Without lighting or access to computers, several businesses are forced to stop, although the restaurant patios filled up quickly. Once we got back inside, I got caught wondering what to do in the meantime. No power. No internet access. No TV. Can’t surf. Can’t play World of Warcraft. Can’t watch TV. I thought about playing a game on my iPod Touch, but the games I’m into right now all require wi-fi access. I’m really surprised at how bothered I am that I can’t tweet about what’s happening.

So before I forget this little moment in time, I opted to write my thoughts out offline and upload as soon as the power’s back. Now let’s see how far I can get on this laptop’s 79% battery power.

(UPDATE: Power came back on at 1:03pm.)

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

Please note: There is no mention of “Arial” or “Comic Sans”. ;)

Download it from Squid Spot

Way to go, Canada! You continue to make me even prouder to be Canadian. :)

I was never in the market for a Netbook or eBook, but this is a really impressive piece of hardware. Much like the very first iPhone or even the MacBook Air, it is probably a much different experience when you get something that sexy into your grubby little hands.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to be running out to get in line for one. It’s not something that I feel I “need”. I have a trusty 15.4″ MacBook Pro and a cheap cell phone that work fine for me right now. Perhaps if I had only a desktop computer and wanted something more streamlined and portable than a MacBook Air, for the base price of $499 (US), it’s an amazing device. Oh and the accessories, like the keyboard dock, are pretty slick. ;)