voulez vous couchez avec moi?

I started watching my favorite movie today... A big tough guy like me? What would it be? Yup! You guessed it! MOULIN ROUGE!

I am a visual person, so the colors, lights, sets, the blending of medium... loves it!!! I saw this movie in theatres and I fell in love. I ended up seeing it two more times in the theatre and bought it the first day it came out on DVD.

Besides the visual amazingness, the music is great, and the story is even better. It seems like such a simple thing. Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl is a hooker. Don't seem so shocked. It worked for Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. But this one goes a step further. Besides the romantic storyline, this is a deeply emotional and spiritual story. It deals with Freedom, Truth, Beauty, and Love. These are four principles that carry this movie along. Within the twisted lives of our heroes who seem to be trapped and opposite they find the freedom through each other and their art. The whole story lives and pushes forward with lies and deception, however the Truth is always just around the corner and we see that is what ends up winning. Beauty is found in the music, the lights, the dance, the passion, the character, and the goodness of their hope. And above all else, there is love. We get to see the difference between what jealousy will do and how love conquers it.

The story line echos and overlaps and copies itself throughout the movie. The story starts off with a writer writing a story about a story which he is writing which is a story that is happening the echoes the story. Confused... yeah. It can be. Watch this movie though and you will go crazy and it will make so much sense!

the big 3 - OH!

So I turned 30 the other day. I haven't really considered it. I am not avoiding my age. Yeah it sucks that I can't eat what I want and abuse my body with all-nighters and 3 rugby games in a day, but I am ok with that. I don't feel that old (as I say that, I have this nagging pain in my back that makes me get out of a chair slower than Homer Simpson) and I don't look old, so I am all good.

However, I am worried that I am not wiser than I should be. I have been through a lot and experienced many wonderful things. However there are many things that I have experienced that are not so wonderful. Now thats ok too. I mean we take the good with the bad and we learn from both, but I wonder...

Have I learned enough from the bad? Have I matured enough in my 30 years and 9 months on this planet to not make the same mistakes? I feel I have, but I know that I am not the most mature guy there is. I still retain that "boyish charm!"

You guys can watch that for me!

auto-pilot...

I am on auto-pilot today. I am so tired. As I type this my eyelids are slowly closing like a lazy sunset on a Saturday afternoon. My eyes are starting to cross and the words are slowly becoming fuzzy and then black. I was up at 5:10am this morning and I don't know how I made it out of the house. I know that at some point I did make it out of the house because the below zero temperatures did wake me up temporarily as I trudged to the bus-stop.

But from there, I know that I slept until I got to the metro and in zombie-like fashion I got off the bus and make my way down to the metro platform and onto the awaiting subterranean train. From there I slept another 30 minutes to my stop. I got up and got off the metro and plodded my way to work, waking briefly due to the cold once again. Once upstairs I got my stuff settled and then I went to boil some water, where my coworkers found me in a semi-standing position awaiting my watched pot. It took a while, so I got the chance for a mini power nap.

So now I am sitting here... trying to be creative and awake. My mind and body are dreaming of duvets and plump pillows, the warmth of a recently vacated bed, and having someone who won't mind my morning breath and snoring to spoon with.

if I were Beyonce...

Here is one more sign that pop-music is just... I don't even know how to describe it. I cannot tell you how much I dislike this song. It sounds like I don't have much to say... but I do.

(For those of you who like this song, you are completely entitled to do so. My wife enjoys this song and i would never dare cross her. So you are in very good company. However, I think this is one of the worst songs ever!)

So allow me to launch into my tyrade!

I have never heard such a bunch of whiney tripe in my life. Basically Beyonce feels that if she was a boy she could sleep in, drink beer, chase after girls, and scratch herself however she wants. And then somehow if she was a boy she would be able to redeem the whole male race by listening.

Now, I now I may not be listening to this song properly, but excuse me if the rich, attractive girl is in such a tough spot that she wishes she were a boy. Good for her if she is standing up for all the women who have been wronged by men, but please... really...? A whiney song? Thats how you're going to fix it?

If Beyonce was a boy she would be called BOYonce. If she was a boy her singing career would have never taken off and she would be sans her hubby Jay-Z. If she were a boy she would be a lonely guy with a fat ass.

Sorry if this comes off as insensitive, but this song just bothers me...

If you dare watch the video, here is the link:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=EpND5kz8AQk

pushed around

Sometimes you get put in your place. It sucks to realize that you are completely powerless in some situations. No matter how big or how important you are at some point you will be at the mercy of someone else and there is nothing you can do about it. What do I mean?

Well lets say you got and appointment at the doctor or some other highly paid professional individual. His rules states that if you don't cancel at least 24hours before, you have to pay 50% of what it would have cost you. If they don't show up, you're the one left holding the bag. Or how about this situation? You call up your phone company because you have moved and you need to have your line installed/activated. "Not a problem sir," they tell you, "We will be able to have a representative at your location between this Tuesday at 1pm and Friday at 4pm." Can you really afford the time off to watch a guy press a couple buttons and be on his way? But you really have no choice.

No real deep meaning today. Just pure frustration at being the little guy that has to follow along as best as he can. Its really frustrating!

PS The above picture is not actually in regard to this topic, but it could like like it.

tough time sleeping...

My wife and I are trying this new sleep thing with our little one. This new technique if you will is really tough on him and us. Its only a day or so old, so we will see how it ends up. We were used to the baby crying and we pick him up and tap him and hold him and do whatever we can to get him back to sleep. It wasn't easy, but there were things we could do and they worked. And to be honest I liked the idea of being able to help. I liked being able to hold him and feel like we were bonding. There was something in it for him and for me. Now, we let him cry in his crib. We are right there, talking with him and patting him to try and calm him down, but its rough. The cries of your son are so heartwrenching and you just want to fix it for him.

So we are going through this tough time now, but I am sure that my little guy will be able to pull through it without any major problems. So I am with him at around 1am and I am laughing uncontrollably at his attempts to get to sleep. He had just finished crying and now we has doing every random thing you could possibly do. He was dragging his hands across the bars of his crib, enjoying the sound. He would roll from side to side. He was banging his hands on the mattress and then on his legs. He even ended up talking to himself (it was just babbling, but I know he is talking. He understands himself). He would even look at me and smile as if for approval. I was laughing out loud at one in the morning!!!

I love that kid. I can't wait to get back home and see him.

Nine Pics of LIMA!!! 9 of 9

Yes, it is the last of the Lima pictures that I am putting up and blogging about. Don't cry... Or if you do cry please let me know in advance so I can come over and take a picture! This little girl was crying at the zoo. I don't know why... who doesn't like the zoo. Maybe she had been denied some ice cream or a little stuffed monkey. Oh well. She was tremendously cute though!

If you want to see more shots from Lima or any shots, please let me know and i will describe exactly what I was thinking, feeling, and doing the day I shot it! Pictures somehow allow me to remember entire days from a singular captured moment! Talk to you soon I hope!

Nine Pics of LIMA!!! 8 of 9

Have you ever wondered what two turtles humping looks like? No you know exactly what it looks like. My last few hours in Lima were spent at their local zoo. It was fun to see a host of local wildlife as well as some international favorites. I feel sorry for zoo animals, but enjoy the opportunity to see them. I am conflicted... But one thing about zoo animals is that they get ridiculously horny. Being caged up does something to an animal and they just want to do it! Maybe they get bored and need something to take their minds off their captive status. But to see two turtles go at it in slow motion was pretty funny and embarassing. Their shells really get in the way and they slide off frequently!

Nine Pics of LIMA!!! 7 of 9

This happens to be one of my favorite pictures of my whole trip. There is nothing too spectacular about it. Its pretty standard... sunset, lights, ocean, cityline... yeah. There are probably a whole bunch of photos just like this on flickr or smugmug. But this picture speaks to me. I had had a long day of walking and seeing the sites. I had gone to a photo exhibition that was as powerful as it was beautiful as it was depressing. I had just come from taking a bunch of skateboarding pictures at a park and people watching. The cab had dropped me off here because he didn't know where I wanted to go and I was frustrated of pointing it out on a map. But thankfully it all worked out... I was here... at this spot. Looking out at the beauty before me. Awestruck and thanfkful that this was where I ended up. I set my camera up on a mini tripod and tried a few exposure lengths until I got this shot.

Nine Pics of LIMA!!! 6 of 9

Even though I did not see too much of this up close and personal, this picture screams Lima to me. I saw Lima as a beautiful, rich, and vibrant city. I saw breathtaking landscapes, inspiring architecture, and gorgeous and friendly people. This is the other side that we were advised not even to go into. Even though it may not have been "safe" for gringos to go into and take pictures with big cameras, its still like the rest of Lima. With the houses built right into the mountain, I couldn't help but continually look and be fascinated by it. Though the architecture would be considered blah and boxy, the colors, the height, the proximity of the buildings, and my imagining the roads and paths that lead all the way up are really enough to be burned into my mind for life. And I am sure that the people in there are just as gorgeous and friendly as anywhere else... I wish I could have gotten closer... I am thankful for a telephoto lens!

Nine Pics of LIMA!!! 5 of 9

While I was in Lima we were treated to a rather large military parade. It wasn't in our honor though.... just in case you were wondering!!! As we were dodging the parade routes and blocked streets we stumbled across this statue just outside of the main square. I dont know what it commemorates or honors, but it is obviously meant to be noticed and has something to do with dancing. Dancing is by far one of the preferred past times in Lima. Since the statue is bright red it is immeadiately noticeable and cries out to have its picture taken. I laughed at the little boy in the bottom right poking his head out and adding a little more personality to this shot!