| Wednesday, September 12, 2007 |
| All is full of Bjork....and barns and movies and other fun stuff! |
 Wow. Some weekend. It was quite full of beauty for both the eye and ear, and I for one am a happy camper. As you can imagine, there were loads of people at the Virgin Festival, but in spite of the many lines we had to go through we had a grand ol' time! That's me enjoying a tasty Bud (all they had was that and Old Milwaukee - yuck!) with my darling Pete, who has come up from Rochester to come with me to every Bjork show since her Post tour. It just wouldn't be the same without him!
S he put on an absolutely incredible performance, it's just so overwhelming to hear the strength of her voice and how perfectly she hits every note, as well as plays with all sorts of different vocal sounds while running around stage! The passion she puts into every song just leaves me tingling. As you can see, she also puts on a show with whatever she's wearing, no comfy jeans ever to be on her for a concert. She can be pretty outlandish with what she wears, but somehow pulls it off. This explosion of gold she wearing, for example, just seemed like an extension of her own volatile energy, as she turned into this gold blur zooming from one end of the stage to the other. I love how no matter what she wears, she always has bare feet so that she can jump around :)
There were a lot of people who stayed for her performance, as she was the last set on Saturday, and then went wild begging for an encore. It was awesome!!! A profusion of lasers and confetti accompanied her return to the stage, I really hope I didn't hurt anyone in front of me with how loud I screamed ;)
On Sunday I was craving a more quiet day, so I went to the St. Lawrence Market with my mom, one of Toronto's best known farmer's markets that also has antique dealers there on Sundays. Fun!!! I haven't been there in years and I just love snooping through old things with my mom because she gets as excited as I do :) Except for  maybe buttons. She doesn't get the buttons lol. But I was very good, I didn't buy any, as right now I need to think about moving, not hording, but if I happen to have time next Sunday I might pop by to see this one seller who had the most lovely glass buttons, which I have a particular weakness for. It's just so hard to find nice ones in good condition, and these were all like new! I did find one treasure though, that I just couldn't resist....a beautiful handmade purse!! It's made out of wood and looks like a little barn, complete with little windows and animals, and a lovely tree on one side. As you can see, it has a little flap you can open on the front and inside there is a little mirror, besides which it's signed "Made especially for you dear heart....by Margie" You can see a few more pics of it here on my flickr page. I'm sure it must be one of a kind, although my brain is already churning with the thought of how lovely it would be to have a whole collection of little house bags. Maybe a little pink one with flower boxes and a white picket fence? Or a wee ginger bread house? The possibilities are endless! It makes me wish it hasn't been quite so long since I last used a jigsaw....  |
posted by tatjana @ 9:52 p.m.   |
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| Saturday, September 08, 2007 |
| I'm film festing!!! |
Growing up in Toronto, September means only one thing - the Toronto International Film Festival. The stars, the buzz, that certain excitement in the air....I spent most of my teenage years bemoaning my inability to attend due to lack of money and time. But last night I got to attend my very first festival film! Woohoo! It was great. It was one of the movies I was not able to pre-buy tickets for, so I got to rush, which means you need to just line up and see if there end up being tickets left over. I was a bit nervous at first, because there were loads of people in line, but the day was saved when I was hollered at by my super-movie-buff friend Matt, who was near the front of the line! Yay! As it turned out, I didn't even have to wait til they let the ticketholders in, because a couple people came to the line trying to sell extra tickets they had. It was quite the stroke of luck, because although the line was for several movies, the people looking to sell all had tickets to the one I wanted to see. I swear, sometimes I think I must have a horseshoe up my butt ;)  So what did I see?? The Orphanage, a Spanish horror/thriller about a woman who returns to the orphanage where she was raised to start a home for children needing special care. It's the first feature length film by director Juan Antonio Bayona and was produced by Guillermo del Toro of Pan's Labyrinth fame. It was fabulous!! Soooo creepy. I will not give anything away, but what happens is that shortly after arriving with her husband and little son, her son begins to make certain imaginary friends.... The film is full of stunning sea-side shots and haunting images, many of which will stay with you long after the film is over. So definitely not for the faint of heart! Belen Rueda was incredible, I can't even imagine how a person could manage to play out all that emotion, particularly since you see far more of her than any of the other actors, and she often carries the whole scene on her own. It can't have been easy, expecially since the director revealed to us (at the Q & A after the movie - pic below) that they had spent much of the filming finding different ways to trick and frighten her, sometimes in the interest of the scene, and sometimes....not. Lol! It did sound like they had quite the time making the film, though.  I am awfully glad I got to see it, but it will be the last of it's kind I will be seeing at the fest, I think. I'm not sure yet what else I may be rushing, but the films I've got tickets for are all much more of the hopeful/romantic/wistful type. I've been kind of needing more of that these days ;) So far I have tickets to see Chaotic Ana ( Caótica Ana), another Spanish film about a young girl who lives in a cave on Ibiza with her father, selling her colourful paintings, until one day she follows a French woman to an art school in Madrid and her adventure begins. That one will be on Wednesday, I can't wait! And then there's yet another Spanish movie (I swear I picked them based on the plots!!) called Dans la ville de Sylvia, as it takes place in Strasbourg and is partially in French (also called En la Cuidad de Sylvia). There is one more film I will be seeing, the one I decided long ago I had to see. But I will need more time than I have at the moment to tell you about it ;) As it is, I have to run to take a shower and make my way to the Virgin Festival, which is taking place on our own little Toronto Island and which I am only going to so I can see my most beloved Björk!! I haven't seen her since the concert she held just before my departure for Germany, 4 years ago. It almost seems like she is here again to see me off :) And to make it all the more fun, my darling friend Pete has come all the way from Rochester to see her too! He is the biggest music lover I know. We met through the Björk mailing list almost ten years ago, when he was just a babe in the woods (barely 16!) and was oh so nervous about meeting these people he had only met on the internet (horror of horrors!!) and would be on his own in a great big foreign city! But never fear, we took good care of him, make sure he got back to the hotel where his parents were nervously waiting and have been dear friends ever since :) And aside from that, he is just the biggest cutie ever, so I'll be sure to get some nice picks of us to show you (and if I can manage, of the magnificent Björk as well). Wish me luck!  |
| posted by tatjana @ 7:43 p.m. |
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