That’s nothing – you should hear me play piano*

Posted on by boj Posted in Music

I played piano for about 4 years in my pre-teens. I have long fingers and as far as I can tell, that’s the only advantage I had. I could read music all right and had a definitive sense of mathematics. I could not, however, hear a few notes and then repeat them on the piano. Much less could I hum a random tune and then key it into the instrument. This frustrated me very much. Though I was a bit sad when I had to drop the lessons upon our move to Canada, I did not see it as a catastrophe. Do I ever intend to play the piano again? No.

Going to a piano recital is a bit of a blast from the past. I find it quite different than going to a string quartet or a brass band – instruments that I’ve never played. I ended up buying a CD at the Chamber Music Festival.
Ligeti
It is music of György Ligeti played by Lucille Chung with Alessio Bax backing up on the second piano. I am enjoying the CD quite a bit. It is a bit modern but still tons of fun.

* from The Queen is Dead by the Smiths

Getting ready to move

Posted on by boj Posted in General2 Comments

Chris and I are getting really excited about our new place. Chris’ mom and uncle were here and we took them to see the house. I had to drag Chris out of the backyard shortly after 10 in the evening because – well – people still live there.

Ever since then we’ve been even giddier about the place so we started arraigning the rooms. Here is the office:

Office

Figuring out how to fit our existing furniture is a bit of a trick. For living room, I used imaginary furniture we don’t own and probably aren’t going to buy any time soon:

Living Room

We’ve been researching different things, making lists and planning all weekend. There’s 50 days left!!!

Long overdue non comprehensive movie review

Posted on by boj Posted in Film

Here are a few movies I saw in the last little while…

Exils
Exils
We saw this movie on a whim at eXcentris when my aunt was visiting. I am quite glad because it is very good. The film relies on cinematography and acting and keeps dialogue to the minimum while still getting the point across.

Episode III
I am not even going to make a link. If you’re into it, you’ve seen it already. I’m not a Star Wars fanatic so I didn’t even mind seeing Episode III without seeing the II. The best part about it was that I went to see in the open-air theater in Cres. There is nothing quite like watching the x-wing fighter scene and then looking up to see more stars. Go Universe!

Sabah
Sabah
I haven’t gone to Bytowne for a bit. It was partially because I was so busy and partially because I became bored with the current film trends. I’ve seen so many same movies that I started to sigh at trailers for being boring and predictable. Sabah was an excellent movie to get me out of that funk. It is a very sweet comedy/love story. It is in the vein of “Bend it like Beckham” with all the commotion, tenderness and sweetness. Just sweet, sweet, sweet. Exactly what I needed!

Kamimaze Girls

Kamikaze Girls
Chris made sure we had ticket for this one (it was sold out for both Fantasia showings) and it was worth it. It almost makes me want to join a scooter gang.

Otakus in Love
Otakus in Love
This movie is absolutely fantastic!!! Go Fantasia! It’s got drama, violence, hilarious plot twists, comic book shop, art on rocks and a musical number. What more can you ask for?

Palindromes
I just came back from watching this film. I haven’t quite made up my mind about it, but I definitely enjoyed watching it.

Camping

Posted on by boj Posted in General

Campsite
St Andrew’s Lake Campsite

Camping was fun despite my worrying about the mosquitoes. We left straight from work on Friday. Picked up the canoes and got to the drop off campsite. We got back home on Sunday night so grubby I can’t remember ever being grosser. We still had a blast and can’t wait to go again. The mosquitoes were in full force and went after me, but somehow I managed to survive. I think I’m building up tolerance for Ontario bugs since I did not keel over and demand to go to the doctor after four bites like the last time we went to Algonquin. The scenery was beautiful and the campsite we stayed at the second night was perfect. Julia and I went for an evening paddle and followed a beaver around. A fox came into our campsite and we saw many pollywogs and frogs (and some in between). I saw some loons and a black and white duck with ducklings. I was practicing my paddling technique and doing pretty well. I want to learn how to stir the canoe next.

A Week in Europe

Posted on by boj Posted in General

My visit to Croatia was successful as I managed to do what I set out to do – spend time with family and close friends.

Croatia is slowly developing into an EU acceptable country. It was nice to see some, at least as far as I can tell without looking into it too much, positive changes. The absolutely awful dance school I attended closed, got gutted and turned into a funky Lounge Bar. They knocked out an entire floor and extended the building into the courtyard. The evil aura of the bitter dance and music teachers remained as some (but not all) waiters are jerks. Despite that, the decor is fantastic.

Barbara and I in Zagreb
Barbara and I in Zagreb

Island Cres was busy with tourists even though the season hasn’t even started yet. They’ve been fixing up the town for a while now and it is looking great. The infrastructure looks ready to handle an even larger number of tourists.

Lubenice beach
Lubenice beach