ode to oscars past

dear friends,

last night i found myself couchlocked with my cold watching the oscars. granted, i would have watched regardless of whether or not i was ill, but i would have at least feigned work. anyway, i was thinking that the movies and who wins or loses doesn't really matter because no viewing of the oscars will ever be as good as 2003's dress up oscar party/ turkey curry buffet at the little yellow house.

sometimes when i tell people about the oscar-extraveganza--- the handmade red carpet, the ball gown i bought at winners for $15, the blue soup and mini gerkins-- they look at me with that familiar "you are a giant nerd" look, but i think all who were there will attest to the fact that it was super badooper fun.

anyway, the creative genius behind the event is now a teacher in london, england and due to the time difference could not watch without sacrificing her work, so i promised to blog the highlights of the speeches, which apparently are lacking in the general oscars coverage. well, ms. muffin this is all i got (it was not a year of great speeches, but these were the highlights):

* sidney lumet, who recieved a lifetime achievement award (usually a total snoozefest), thanking the movies... because he could not possibly thank all the people he worked with, all the people who inspired him, and all the people he stole from.

*the winner of best original song, who sang his acceptance, because he was not allowed to sing his song (it was performed by antonio banderas [barf] and carlos santana

* the winner of best foreign language film for "the sea inside" [also known as the saddest movie in the history of ever] who thanked the academy for giving him the job of making sure his oscar stayed in one piece for the rest of his life

* clint eastwood, winning for best director, saying when he saw sidney lumet (who is 80) he thought "hey i am just a kid"

* jamie foxx... when that man talks about his grandma i weep. best paraphrase, my grandmother and i used to talk all the time and we still talk in my dreams. i can't wait to go to sleep tonight, we have a lot to talk about...

so there you are, perhaps next year we need to find a way to revive the t-c buffet,
cam

ps- "turtles can fly" has possibly replaced "the sea inside" as the saddest movie in the history of ever because as i so crassly put it "i knew how the euthenasia movie was going to end"

i must have voted for pedro!

dear friends,

i must have voted for pedro, because all my wildest dreams are coming true. or, at least one of them. i have been accepted at princeton, fully funded [although i do not have all the details yet].

and, i found out from an email from my mentor [and now probable supervisor] expressing delight, a phone call from a dear friend, and a really nice email from a famous sociologist who liked my paper on a canadian culture war, all within the span of a couple of hours [although potentially not in that order ;)]

i think i may explode with glee,
cam

ps- and i now feel justified in purchasing that $60 tank top at pre-loved yesterday

metaphorically speaking

dear friends,

a quick note to share two outlandish comparisons with y'all....

outlandish comparison #1 (courtesy of k8)

context: i have purchased 2 new purses and k8 has been easing her way into shopping by going on several outings, some in montreal where she has not yet made a purchase (my peer pressure is no match for her pragmatism and insistence that things a) fit and b) are not pink... but i like to call her picky) and some in ktown with her optimus-brother. in ktown she did in fact make a purchase, which she attempted to leverage as evidence that she did recently buy something. while optimus-brother purchased some sort of professional attire, she purchased mosquito netting (ode to S&R home of all good things!)

outlandish comparison: "mosquito netting is an accessory"- k8

when proded further "how so?"

outlandish metaphor: "mosquito netting are the purses of the night"

the logic: i'm not sure about this, you will have to ask her... i don't see how things can be accessories if they don't come in multiple colours.

although! sidebar: truthfully,truthfully blind item guessing game... [which is totally based on gossip provided by a certain visitor to the icrm who heard it from someone who you might be suprised to know attentends her institution of higher learning]...

which fomer queen's celebrity currently working in advertising in toronto
has already decided what he is wearing on the first warm day, and has purchased
a bike as an accessory?

and, now back to the outlandish metaphors:

outlandish comparison #2

context: in a conversation about weddings, heather expresses the sheer brilliance of a friends' 2 piece dress/ pants at the reception strategy. now i am all about unpretentious weddings and think you should wear whatever you want. i have no problems with getting married in your pjs if that's what floats your boat... but in my opinion WHITE PANTS NEVER! it is a conversation that has been had many times, and i know i am not alone in believing that no one in the history of ever has looked good in white pants. heather disagreed and tried to sell the merits of white pants in the summer as "part of an outfit". while she acknowledged that it was extremely hard to pull off, she said that some people could do it... to which i responded with

outlandish comparison: "i am sure 1 in 100,000 people could drink javex and live, but that doesn't mean that should risk it"

which really as k8 pointed out can be boiled down to :

outlandish metaphor: "wearing white pants is the equivalent of drinking bleach"


me, where white pants... no thanks, i'd rather drink bleach
cam

turtles can fly

dear friends,

i highly recommend turtles can fly which is currently playing at cinema du parc if you are in montreal. but prepare to be traumatized. the characters in the movie are primarily children, including a boy named sattelite who will win your heart and the only female character who will break your heart. ask me and i will show you the corresponding hand gesture.

in appreciation of reading week adventures,
cam

countdown to the arrival of hez!

dear friends,

in just a few hours ms. heather, formerly of the little yellow house, currently of mcmaster's masters in globalization program, will make her triumphant return to the icrm/montreal.
as she is a common friend of both current icrm residents, her arrival is especially anticipated. good times will surely follow. and, hopefully this time will not= bad mussels.

ok, must work now...
cam

happy bday k8!

dear friends,

today is an icrm birthday. cel-eb-rate good times c'mon!

happy birthday k8!
cam

oh how i swoon

dear friends,

tommorow i will be reunited with my true patriot love joel plaskett. i did name this blog after one of his albums. it has been far too long (picture it: april 2004 the grad club). in the words of either sofi or hilary or their joint girl crush "he makes my womb ache".

those in the greater montreal area are encouraged to attend. those who have confirmed their attendance include kool and the entire gang: known also as: sofi, possible journalist friends of sofi, tania, priscilla, optimus-kingston and scientist friend, taben "of i accidently phoned her while dancing to sweet dreams fame", k8, and moi. those who have expressed interest in attending: assorted sociologists including liam (and nicole) and k8's airport boss/recipient of "where is my sister phone call" mark. this makes the only holdout lukas who is in town for an icrm reunion/ mcgill institute for the study of canada conference. and to that i say more hip, less hip replacement neville. but also, more joel for me.

swooooooooooooooon,
cam

april in tucson?

dear friends,

rather exciting news tonight... a call from the university of arizona indicating that they like me, they really like me and want to pay me to come to their school. they will also pay for me to visit them for a weekend in april.

in the words of avril, "why'd you have to go and make things so complicated" much to be considered. but it is good to have some options.

also-- if you go here you can make your own fun hearts and lisence plates

the grand canyon stateswoman?
cam

happy valentine's day

dear friends,

remember i love you.

truthfully,truthully
cam

ps- 3 days until joel plaskett. *swoon*

google and giggles

dear friends,

just had to share that the most hilarious google search that resulted in a visit to my blog is "sex leads to dancing".

it is an ever-pressing concern i assure you,
cam

oh the trouble we got into last night [new trouble]

dear friends,

yesterday was icrm "irresponsible consumption day", and this icrm president/resident did her duty. first up, some shopping. the damage: one bright pink multi-layered long sleeved t, one red v-neck sweater, one adorable purple hat for baby hope, one easter dress sz. 18months, one pair of baby jeans with pink belt, one baby t-shirt also pink, one baby jean skirt, one pleated dark denim skirt grown up size, one fuzzy brown turtleneck sweater, one pair of black kitten heel shoes, one pair of bright pink satin rhinestone encrusted flats. mission accomplished.

after the shopping there was dinner. yummy tuna steak and wine. then off to thompson house a little tipsy. in the name of irresponsible consumption i lost track of drinks... somewhere between one and two handfuls of vodka and crans, a mailbu and coke for old times sake, some tequilla shots. i had the music in me. there was dancing. there was probably even dancing like a spazz. they turned on the lights, we all went back to t's house for some drink macgyver-ing and trivial pursuits.

so in the end the following is what we remember/ are still dealing with:

- sara had a giant knot in her hair
- tanya puked and may not move for 24 hours. also, after many years of friendship she and tequilla will never be the same
- i accidently speed dialed a friend while dancing to the eurythmics sweet dreams
- i did not get in until 5:30am [and k8 did not send out a search party, confirming that all members of the icrm family are in fact grown up]
- my iron stomach has returned

and so the saga has been blogged (s-h-double b)
cam

you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have...

dear friends,

on the whole today is a mixed bag:

good things:
- skipping office hours to sleep in
- doing really well on sociology of family take home exam
- having lunch with tanya
- buying copy of canadian living slow cooker special magazine
- plotting shopping adventure for tommorow
- chinese new year dinner with priscilla and co.
- eventually watching the oc

bad things:
- the insane wind/snow combo
- having my mittens and my cart stolen at the grocery store
- learning that john's meat market and delicatessen in kingston burnt down
- having to tape the oc for the first time ever

next up. the first ever truthfully truthfully resto review,
cam

maybe this is why i seriously watched this movie thrice this weekend

dear friends,

nothing says avoiding work like an online quiz. thanks to priscilla for this one

back to drawing ligers and contempating correlation and causality,
cam


Napoleon Dyanamite


Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?
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oh, the trouble we got into saturday night

dear friends,

for a full report on what i did saturday night, please consult optimuscrime.

danger bay,
cam

every move i make? every breath i take?

can you see me?

dear friends,

tek-nah-lo-gee is fascinating and creepy. apparently thanks to keyhole and their new sugar daddies google, everyone can see everyone else via satellite. or at least their rooftops. i found this out from luke, who is also responsible for the above illustration.

a plan is being hatched to write "icrm rules" in white paint on the roof. all who are super stealth are invited to come over to help.

bemused and befuddled,
cam

ps- isn't it funny that kate can actually say big brother is watching. i think so.

you've got the music in you

dear friends,

it's the beginning of a new month. time to mark on my calander all of the shows that i want to see.

tommorow- josh ritter and jill barber for $5 at petit campus [post desperate housewives of course)

february 15th- the kings of convience at el salon

february 17th- the plaskett *six degrees of swoon* and ron sexsmith and many others as part of bluebird north's song writer's circle.

february 18th for 30 minutes at place-des-arts metro, the diskettes celebrate their joining of the steve kado economy [check the awesomness of the poster]

february 26th- rival shows:

option (a)- the futureheads-- because, afterall the hounds of love are calling

-or-

option (b) bedouin soundclash, general rudie, and others-- because queen's memories, and sociologist band members

-or-

option (c) an opportunity to see the wooden stars reunited

lightening bolts indicating dilemma!

so, montreal kids, former montreal kids who still visit, and non-montreal kids who are planning to visit... who is in for what...

cam

madness in my house in the middle of my street

dear friends,

today has made me think that down is not up, up is not down and that perhaps the world has lost its centre. that is perhaps a wee bit dramatic... however a couple of things today have left me feeling the same way i feel after a) watching david lynch movies or b) trying to figure out when six feet under starts on showcase [in addition to starting sometimes at quarter after and sometimes at twenty after they air two identical episodes in a row and it is impossible to tell whether you are catching beginning, middle or end... and it changes weekly]. i like linearity [even if it is a figment of my statistical imagination because it happens so rarely in social science] and conistency. i like patterns, predictability and am genuinely freaked by the following:

- first, today i actually understood what regressing to the mean means. in fact, i was even able to apply it in conversation. [aside: sorry, to the optimuscriminals for implying that little lindra might end up with a red swingline stapler if both her parents get ph ds... but i was struggling to think of a reason why luke shouldn't get a ph d. and furthermore my thoughts on this certainly are not a case of misery loves company]

- and second, i downloaded this r and b version of the darkness' "a thing called love" from copy right? and it has made me slow down all of the darkness songs in my head and speed up all the r and b songs i know to darkness speed.

i tell you it is the path to madness.
cam