Hall of fame

this is Jeff.
Jeff is one of the most incredible people i have ever met. i fell in love with him instantaneously. not as in "i really liked him and you would too" fall in love. more like "would you like to run away with me to the caribbean tonight and live on coconuts and moonlight" fall in love. that kind.

i'd often heard of people meeting and falling in love at first sight and spending the rest of their days together in marital bliss(oxymoron?) but until this fateful night, it was all just phenomenon.
then Jeff comes along and it's wtf just pulled my pulsing, hot blooded heart from my chest, into my throat, and out onto a platter with a euphoic splash and a little sign that says "consume rapidly"...

Jeff's story is amazing.
he's a an extremely talented dancer. one night a few years back, while attempting an inverted tango (dancing upsidedown suspended from the ceiling) in front of a packed audience, the wires snapped and he crashed to the ground breaking bones, some in his back, which left him paralyzed.
a few years and a lot of determination later, he was walking again.
when i met Jeff, it was at the "Passion" exhibition of a friend, Tony Hauser which celebrated an array of extraordinary Canadians. Jeff was one of them.

so i'm standing there, platter in hand, believing in god again, when i hear the faint voice of my friend Tony penetrate the blissful amouric mist, tripping me mid stride, telling me alas... he's a vegetarian...
vegetarian in the form of a long term relationship that wasn't about to end anytime soon... oohh!

i felt his words step out before me like the padded body of Lafleur flinging me through the air in slow motion landing spread eagle across the floor as the pulsing platter of love sailed un-noticed swirling this way and that, through the crowd, down the stairs, out the revolving doors, into the street, where it was promptly flattened by a taxi cab.

i never got to confess to Jeff, and today i found this photo as i was cleaning up my desktop. so Jeff, wherever you are, you've made a believer out of me. not in god(though i did keep all those promises)... in love!

moot or hooey?

It's reported that more than 10,000 marriages a year now are directly traceable to romances which begin during coffee breaks.

let me guess, you're a gemini...

this year I was fortunate enough to be a jury member for the Gemini awards. even more fortunate, was being invited to the awards themselves as well as a few choice parties and events surrounding the big day. wasn't sure what to expect. knew a grand total of two people, and one of them was an old boyfriend I'd left naked in a hallway in a flurry of feathers a gazillion years ago so wasn't sure how that was going to go…

stayed at the beautiful, historical Hotel Saskatchewan and barely had time enough to unpack my bags before being whisked off to an event. the incredible vibe in the room was unlike anything I'd experienced at any film event in Vancouver. maybe because it wasn't a film event. I had to keep reminding myself that this was TV. there's such a crossover of people in the two industries it can get a little confusing.

met some incredible, talented people, everyone asking
"what brings you here?"
(gulp!) "jury member, but not for any of the categories up for awards this weekend"
was so grateful the category I'd been a juror for had already been announced in the big smoke the week before. next question
"what do you do?"
"well, I have a day job which really doesn't have anything to do with anything that's happening here, and um, I make films and act."
"nice, what kind of films do you make?"
"dark comedies."
"oh really? give me an example of what you'd write about"
"well, one might say I have a bit of a morbid sense of humour but I really think it can be funny when say, someone slips on a rotting corpse or…" (huge pause)
"ok then. Nice talking to you"…

clothes say a lot about a person, so when I came upon a couple of women dressed in flamboyant dresses and coats, I just had to stop and introduce myself. I spent the rest of the evening laughing my face off with Phyllis Ellis
and Louise. they didn't mind my dark side at all. Phyllis later won a well deserved Gemini for best comedic performance, and after the previous crazy night it was pretty obvious why.

the writers, Paul Bates et al, from The Hour came up with the opening sketch and the buzz around the room afterwards was incredible! The Best Geminis Ever etc…
watching the host, George S, zip back and forth across the stage and through the audience it was clearly evident that this man was extremely good at what he does.
at a party the night before, he seemed (a bit surprisingly so) a little less impressive than what was presented on The Hour. (sorry, until I can deal with my elephantitis there'll be no details)
however, about thirty seconds into the conversation he stepped in a little closer and zap, I thought he was going to kiss me… (reality check)… I thought I was going to kiss him… (snap) ok, but there was this charisma thing that just made me feel so at ease.
I got it. that's what it was. this guy just oozed charisma!

Regina was an impressive city. everyone I spoke with, from the staff at the hotels to the servers at the events, were friendly and welcoming. one taxi driver said this was due to the size of the city and the fact that if you pissed someone off they'd most likely know where to find you and send guido over with a large wrench to rearrange your dental work.
all in all it was a great time spent with some amazing people, and I certainly hope to cross paths with a few of them again some time in the not so distant future.

moot or hooey?

before Regina was named Regina, the city's name was "Pile of Bones"