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And speaking of traditions, and food, the two things that we do 'round here 'round now are tourtiere, which is the Quebecois pork pie, usually on the 24th, and mushroom risotto on the 25th, because this is my wife's favourite.
This year I also did a salad with beets and blue cheese. The wine (barely visible in the obligatory shot) was a Paul Jaboulet Les Terrases 06. This was followed by La Frenz's Montage 05.
And you must pronounce it "ri-SAW-to", like Gordon Ramsay. You must.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Okay, enough with the formalities. Holidays are for two things: ... oh, you thought I was going to say family, right? Ha. Well, actually, no. Maybe immediate family, like your spouse and your kid(s). I can give you that.
And hey, don't get me wrong, I don't mind family time at all. I actually like my in-laws. And, after 30-odd years, my own family isn't so bad either. I mean, I've finally gotten used to them. Sort of. But c'mon, let's be honest: what do you want to do with your days off? Yeah, I thought so.
You want quality time with your favourite person, who is you. Or possibly your spouse. Or your kids. Or Jack Daniels. Well, whoever it is, gather them around and pass some quality time together with movies. And what is better than Xmas for seasonal-themed movies?
Now, before we begin, let's just say no to "It's A Wonderful Life." Say What-Ever to "Miracle on 34th Street." And, do you seriously still like watching that weird stop-motion show with Rudolf and that suspect little elf with the oral fixation? Because dude, you're 30-something. WTF. C'mon!
No, there are two essential Xmas movies. These must be watched at some point during the holiday season. There is no excuse not to do so. If you don't, then your name is Ebenezer "Prince of Darkness" Grinch. (And you know what, that might be your name if you're watching that Rudolf special while simultaneously reading this.)
1. Scrooged, starring Bill Murray
Before Lost In Translation, Bill Murray did so have a dramatic career. And in my opinion, it started with Scrooged. His take on the Dickens "classic" (or so I hear), and it's a gooder. Funny, touching, great cast, it's got all you need for Xmas. Well, no explosions or gunplay, but almost everything. And when he has his epiphany at the end, I swear (and don't go telling anyone this, I'll deny it plus I'll beat you silly afterwards), every time it almost, almost, brings out a tear. Every time. Put a little love in your heart, y'all!
2. Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis.
This truly does have everything you need for Xmas, including Alan Rickman doing a turn as a wicked German terrorist (or "exceptional thief"). No tears, per se, oh unless you count the rendition of Let It Snow over the closing credits.
Dang, just a sec, there's something in my eye...
Oh yeah, the other thing is drinking.
Wait, three things: the other other thing is eating to excess.
Yup. Wouldn't be Xmas without.
Oh, the weather outside is frightful...
Prepare yourself. This will never happen again at any point in time, ever. Unless, possibly, you happen to have access to 1000 monkeys to let loose on 1000 WinXP machines.Okay, take a look on your left. The other day, I won 3 spider solitaires in a row! WTF, right? Crazy crazy stuff!Oh, and my 14 month old daughter used the potty for the first time the other day.But check it out, 3 wins in a row!
I just came up with a new word, "polygamize". A friend (Lee, Get In blog linked on the left) was just talking about a list of things that indicate when someone has Given Up. Wait, here:
Fashion Choices that say "I've Given Up"
- Sweat pants in public
- Flip flops in public
- Cutting your own hair
- Outwear that looks like it's made from a down comforter
- Going commando cause you've run out of clean underwear.
- Giant nose hairs
- Crusty pants
I replied that where he saw sadness, I saw Opportunity. As in, if I ever find a girl who covers points 1 and 5, I'm gonna polygamize her.
See, you thought I was going to say points 5 and 7, but that just ain't right.
Is it?
So there is this story circulating on Yahoo! about Tina Fey's husband talking about My AUW's scar on her left cheek. First off, dude, why are you talking about it? Listen: not that she needs to be, but she may be self-conscious about it, you know? And since she never talks about it, perhaps you shouldn't either.
Well, whatever. Tina, my AU love, if anything it adds cuteness to someone who is already a 10.
So the other night, we played with a cellist. Or more accurately, Erik and I jammed with a cellist, another singer, and yet another person. It kind of came about quickly, over drinks of course. Friday night we were out with a friend of mine (Kristina, singer, amongst other musical talents) and her sister who was visiting from Seattle, and sister's roommate. And to this moment I'm not totally sure how it came about, but Kristina claims that she was pushing Erik into jamming, because she knew I wanted to so bad. So he said sure. Which is all I heard, and all I needed to hear. I was on the phone immediately, booked the next night at 8 o'clock. Erik put out calls, messages, to the other guys. (No luck either way.)
Well the night progressed, and again I'm not totally sure how this happened, but the girls all got invited out to jam as well. Because Sis brought her cello as well as her banjo to Vancouver, I think is why.
Anyway, so the end verdict - it was fun. But it was Weird. While it was cool to be able to work on interactions between myself and Erik so well because we could really hear each other, it also illustrated how important - or certainly, how thoroughly integrated - all the other instruments are. The other guitar adds a real layer, and the bass - well, I just plain got lost a Lot that night, and I think it was the lack of Jason's bass. Whereas the drums provide the structure to the group, and the guitars fill the sound, the bass really is the glue that brings it all together.
But the cello, such a trip. There were times where it was so clear, and it was amazingly cool to hear. It just changed everything, and in a good way. My conclusion was: sometime, I need to hear the cello AND the bass together. Chris Walken wants more cowbell, I'd like to hear more strings.
And we didn't even break out the banjo!
And speaking of traditions, and food, the two things that we do 'round here 'round now are tourtiere, which is the Quebecois pork pie, usually on the 24th, and mushroom risotto on the 25th, because this is my wife's favourite.
