Here's an iPhone photo of the Christmas wreath on my front door, this past Saturday morning. We are still blanketed with lovely white snow, so it will be a perfect white Christmas this year. Click on the photo to see it at higher resolution.
Listening to: All My Bells Are Ringing by Lenka from The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs.
Dear friends and family,
It's been an interesting year with Chris starting high school, our move into a new home and my completion of an Ironman triathlon in Australia(!). I hope that you are all well and I look forward to catching up with each of you soon.
Sadly my father Bruce, battling cancer for the last few years, suffered a stroke in March and passed away in August at the age of 73. My triathlon in Australia at the beginning of December was timed to coincide with a family memorial service in Perth.
I'm treating this photo as a Christmas image owing to the presence of the colour red... It was taken a few minutes after I completed my Ironman race in a time of 10:46:01, about an hour faster than I had expected and good enough to place 15th out of 70 in my age group! Chris earned his wings as an "Iron Spectator", spending just as long waiting to see me flash past nine times.
All the best,
Ben
Listening to: I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Stuhr Remix) by Kay Starr from Christmas Remixed - Holiday Classics Re-Grooved.
Chris and I had a cozy little Christmas morning together and then he was off to his mother's for the week. He'll actually be back on Friday afternoon because we're flying down to Florida early on Saturday morning. Time to start packing, gathering passports, etc!
I've been spending my time this week with friends, which largely boils down to seeing films together. I've seen The Good Shepherd with my friend Brian and Dreamgirls with Sheryl and her sister-in-law, while Sunday night I saw Night at the Museum with Chris. I've also been working out to shed those Christmas pounds.
The Good Shepherd was a thought-provoking and complex fictionalisation of the birth and early years of the CIA, as illuminated by life of Edward Wilson (played by Matt Damon). It had a great cast, with Michael Gambon, John Turturro and William Hurt standing out for me. Angelina Jolie was solid in her supporting role too, but they couldn't quite quench her sensuality... Matt Damon's subtle performance was hard to assess as Edward Wilson was such a reserved character. The film's structure turned on Wilson's unblinking, and ultimately self-defeating, focus on duty and secrecy. From a historical perspective it was depressing to see how callous and self-obsessed the American elite, as represented by the Skull and Bones "secret society", were and no doubt still are.
Dreamgirls was a different story altogether. Also a long and tangled tale, the music and performances were riveting and ultimately uplifting. Great costumes and choreography too. And who knew Eddie Murphy could sing? Beyoncé Knowles did well enough, but there's no doubt that the stand-out performance, both vocally and emotionally was by new discovery Jennifer Hudson. Ironically, just like her character Effie, Jennifer's voice probably has too much personality for a pop career. The slimmer talent and figure of Beyoncé will no doubt continue to hold the spotlight just as her character in the film did.
Listening to: Clear the Area by Imogen Heap from Speak for Yourself.
Christmas Eve is here; I've spent the day "cocooning" with Chris. We went out for a morning walk, watched some films on TV, and then went out again for a walk up to the movie theatre to see Night at the Museum. With Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday this year it was very quiet on the streets.
Now, after a nice Tikki Masala dinner and some more TV Chris is snuggled in bed, falling asleep to Christmas music streaming across our wireless network from my Mac to his. (Bit of a high-tech twist there.)
Night at the Museum was a entertainingly slight film. I was surprised to see Chris choose it as his tastes tend to run more towards Borat. Night at the Museum was very much a "family" film, even though it was close to two hours long. The premise is that every night all the figures and creatures in the museum secretly come to life through the power of an ancient Egyptian plaque. Ben Stiller, as the new night watchman, must figure out what's going on and keep them in check. The film was effectively Stiller and a swarm of fairly conventional computer effects, but he kept the laughs coming and the audience's sympathy. There were a lot of entertaining cameos though, Owen Wilson as a miniature cowboy and Steve Coogan as his Centurion rival were notable, but Robin William's Theodore Roosevelt seemed a bit flat.
Well it's time for me to turn in as well. Tomorrow morning, in the words of Eddie Murphy's "Donkey"character in Shrek, "I'm makin' WAFFLES!"
Listening to: Be Near Me by ABC from Look of Love - The Very Best of ABC.
Catch-up post again... Last Friday we took custody of Sheryl's dog Barkley while she is away for a week of cruising in the Gulf of Mexico. He's been a good guest again, except for the first night when he peed at the foot of my bed. I heard him walk into the hall and then back in to my room several times, so I think he was trying to locate the "proper" place but was nervous about going down the stairs in the dark because his eye sight is failing.
Saturday we drove out to Cobourg for a Christmas visit with my parents, as they are leaving shortly for two months in the Florida Keys. My brother and sister's families will be joining them at Christmas, but I won't be going down with Chris until just before New Year's Eve. It's going to be a quiet holiday here...
Before driving out though I took part in the second annual Toronto Santa Speedo Run. This is a charity fund raiser that consists of a 2.5K fun run through the snooty streets of Yorkville. Wearing nothing but a red Speedo swimsuit! It was several degrees below freezing, and I felt more exposed than even the temperature could account for. There were about eighty runners, and we raised over $14,000 for the Hospital for Sick Children's Toys and Games fund.
After spending the night in Cobourg we came home for a Sunday afternoon neighbourhood Christmas party. It's the only time we all gather together so I was happy to be there. Chris hung out in the basement with a frequently refurbished plate of nibbles and watched Cars with the other teenagers. That's when the "spirits" entered my body. A neighbour appointed himself glass-filler and when I reflected on it afterward, as I clung to the arms of my sofa, I realised that I'd probably had six or seven generous glasses of wine...
Monday was another party, this time with my friend Adrian, at a modeling agency's Christmas party at The Social Bar on Queen St. West. Very little spirits this time as I was driving and it was a cash bar...
Listening to: Feel It by Jakalope from It Dreams.
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