Thursday, October 25, 2007

Favourite Things

Okay, so a few people have said I'm not posting enough anymore... Fine, I agree and I'll even admit that I'm lacking in the ascerbic wit department lately. So, in an effort to appease Michelle, the 'Blogger Extraordinaire', I give you my top 5 lists (in no particular order).

Alone-time Activities
  1. Playing the flute, guitar, and piano
  2. Curling up with an awesome book
  3. Photography
  4. Writing
  5. Beating Guitar Hero on Expert... almost.
Activities Whilest Commuting
  1. Applying makeup on the bus, without poking my eyes out with the mascara wand or eye pencil
  2. Solving killer sudokus and logic problems
  3. Reading
  4. Listening to music, trying to drown out the other, less considerate ipod users on the bus
  5. Sleeping... yes, I sleep on the bus, and no, I've never missed my stop, ever!
Songs
  1. Disenchanted - My Chemical Romance
  2. Country Roads - John Denver
  3. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - Bach
  4. Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
  5. Mario Takes a Walk - Jesse Cook
Books
  1. Anil's Ghost - Michael Ondaatje
  2. Dracula - Bram Stoker
  3. Microserfs - Douglas Coupland
  4. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
  5. Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
Movies
  1. Big Trouble in Little China
  2. Ghostbusters
  3. The Goonies
  4. The Court Jester
  5. Return of the Jedi
Recipes to Cook or Bake
  1. Chicken Bengalia
  2. Chocolate Miracle Whip Cake
  3. Spaghetti & Meatballs
  4. Curried chickpeas with apple and rice
  5. Christmas Sugar Cookies

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Culture, anyone?

I had a couple of tickets given to me for the Jesse Cook concert at Hamilton Place last Saturday. Originally I was going to take my mom with me. That said, she was working all weekend and by the time I got home from the mall, she was out cold. So I ended up taking my sister with me instead.

I warned her ahead of time that the majority of the music would be completely instrumental. By the time the intermission rolled around, all the music to that point had been purely instrumental, and she turned to me and said, "when is there going to be singing?". The singing came in the second half of the concert. I was really hoping to hear "Fall at Your Feet", but didn't hold my breath, seeing as they'd already performed 2 songs with vocals. Towards the end, they wanted people to get up and dance, and even told them to get up on stage and dance if they wanted to. It was like one big salsa/flamenco/conga line party up there.

After a huge standing ovation an encore, and then another standing ovation, Jesse Cook and the rest of the musicians came back out for a second encore. It was the most amazing performance I've ever witnessed. I got to hear "Fall at Your Feet", completely acoustic, with no microphones either. The entire theatre was silent, and it was an incredibly breathtaking experience.

Shockingly, my sister, the pop-tart music lover that she is, actually enjoyed herself... once the singing and dancing started.