Downward Spiral

And things in my apartment building, which I pay a large amount of money to live in, continue to degenerate...

Flashback

I am pretty sure that I can't get enough of this song.

On Philip Marlowe

So, I'm working on my third Raymond Chandler in so many days... I finally requested the few novels of his that I hadn't yet devoured from the EPL and am spending much time losing myself in the wealth of words that man so graciously gave to the world.

Below is a passage I read this morning on the bus to work… I was almost completely thrown over by how perfect a passage it is. Philip Marlow is waiting to meet his client in a country-club bar when a beautiful woman walks in and stuns all the attendant men into silence.

“I stared. She caught me staring. She lifted her glance half an inch and I wasn’t there any more. But wherever I was I was holding my breath.”

I love how with such a careful hand Chandler tells me how his lead character is swooning over a woman he’s not yet met, while maintaining Marlowe’s absolute and indisputable masculinity. This latter achievement is especially important, as Philip Marlow is pretty much the epitome of manliness. He is strong, physical, and assertive when he needs to be, smart, funny in a sarcastic fashion, honest, and surprisingly moral. Naturally,  he doesn’t swoon. He holds his breath, which is more than he’s done for any of the other dames he gets tangled up with. I know it won’t work out for ole Marlow because this lady is already married to the man he’s just been hired to find. But I’m curious to see if he’ll steal a kiss or two before the end of the case.

As a side note, I was just thinking about who would make a perfect Philip Marlowe on the big screen... I know Humphrey Bogart has played him, which is alright, but so has Elliott Gould, Danny Glover, and James Caan. Who made those decisions!? So, the first actor who comes to mind for ME is Clive Owen, of course. And, who is apparently already been tapped to play Philip Marlow in a screenplay by Frank Miller that is currently "in production"? Clive Owen! Yesss! I mean, YES PLEASE! Now, all that's left to do is hope that the movie actually gets made!

Roomies

One minute, she's Scary Spice, the next

just a sweet little pillow-hogger. Sigh.

Bagheera looks like I took a tube of lipstick to half his fur, but that's just the sun bringing out the red in his fur... so handsome :-)

Left Foot

How kids in Edmonton wave to passing traffic. 

Cupcake Fever

I have a very specific idea of what the night ahead is going to include. There will be some window shopping, there will be some good eats, and above all, there WILL be a cupcake. Maybe two. After the hour and a half work meeting I just sat through, I have very well earned the bliss that only a cupcake can award.

Just consider my expertly-wielded nunchuks and my menacing expression (which you can't see, but I'm sure you can imagine) a warning to any and all who threaten to interfere with these plans. 

Highly Relevant

I was floating around in the blogosphere when I came upon the site of one Natalie Dee http://nataliedee.com/. She makes very funny things, one of which had me doubled over in giggles a few seconds ago.

Year of the Flood

I am really excited for the release of Margaret Atwood's new book. Even though it's precursor, Oryx and Crake, was never at the top of my reading list due to the uber-depressing subject matter (I'm no fan of post-apocalyptic futures), Year of the Flood sounds really interesting and I'm probably going to pick it up on its release date. Until then, I've been tiding (heh heh) myself over with visits to the website:

http://yearoftheflood.com/ca/

Wake Up!

The amount that I love this song cannot be measured by human means.

LoveLi

Shine On

For those days you just don't feel so special...

Copstash Standard

Yesterday, as I was walking to City Centre Mall after work, I crossed paths with an East Indian mother pushing a stroller with a two year old in it while badgering her eleven-year-old to get away from the fountains. I couldn't help but notice that said eleven-year-old had enough hair above his upper lip to be described as the young-adult version of a full moustache! This led me to wonder two things: 

1. How do you spell moustache?  and...
2. Is it considered a good thing by an eleven-year-old boy to have a substantial representation of facial hair? I mean, is it cool? Or is it embarrassing? When this kid walks down the hallway at school, does he get those nods of approval that only the cool can dole out, or does he get held upside down in the boy's toilet for swirly after swirly? 

Sign-ian Slip?

The first time I saw this sign I thought it said "PLEASE SOD OFF" so now every time I pass by it I giggle quietly to myself. 

Up On the Roof

Work is a little taxing today... much to learn this week, as I take on Rotation 4 for the first time. I like learning new things, in theory - but man, tackling new information is exhausting! That, and I'm approaching my third month back with the government and that familiar restlessness is slowly taking form. Times like these lead me back to one of my all-time favourite songs. I've loved it since I was a kid, when it took me out of my world and into another more wonderfully solitary one.

Enjoy!

Pretties

I woke up earlier than my alarm this morning, and after a quick potty break was about to dive back under the covers for another blissful 45 minutes of slumber when I my eyes were treated to the most beautiful sunrise coming through my window. It was one of those types of sights that is so unbelievably gorgeous you literally cannot move your gaze away without feeling wracked with guilt for taking nature's natural beauty for granted and knowing in some mysterious way that at some point in the subsequent hours of the day you will be smote down by god, having been deemed unfit for life. So, no going back to bed for me.

Then, on my way to work, I passed by some very pretty flowers, and again, pretty sure that if I didn't take a pic it would be the last time I'd ever see a pretty flower AGAIN, I made a fool of myself in front of the construction workers and city maintenance men wandering around near City Hall looking for something to do, and snapped a couple of shots. Love the lovely colours on what is, for all intents and purposes, a Monday morning.

Copyright!

I am making this following list of my very favourite girl names in order to prevent my brother and his very sweet and extraordinarily lovely girlfriend Abra from stealing "my" names for use on their own currently-imaginary future children. I've already lost two names to my cousin Erin, and in one fell swoop (Olivia Claire IS an adorable little girl, though, so no hard feelings), and I can't let that happen again! In no particular order after Grace, here are my five favourite girl names that I am considering for my future female offspring:

1. Grace
2. Ivy
3. Madeline
4. Anne
5. Lily

Girl, Interrupted

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, I felt ridiculously embarrassed by how self-pitying I came across in my long-winded blog entry of a few weeks ago. My subsequent regret at prying open the ole emotional vault and letting it all spill out like icky entrails led me to decide that my sole recourse was to put the whole mess under lock and key. But, hey, where's the fun in that? I hope that you can forgive me for my earlier self-indulgence, and that you'll please keep reading. And, comment every once in awhile, even just a hello, so I know that you're out there tuning in when you're able and/or interested.

Bleeding Love

This love thing is trickier than I thought it would be... 

(Frog) Prince or Pencil Sharpener?

To distract Nikoli from the unforgivable torture of having to wait for his mom to buy him some socks so that he could play in the McDonalds PlayPlace I gave him my camera to fiddle around with. Along with several unflattering photos of yours truly, he snapped this one of my little pencil sharpener. Nice work, kiddo!

So long, summer...