The Adventures of Cat & Ghost

Good luck everyone!

letting go

"I no longer hesitated what to do. I resolved to lash myself securely to the water cask upon which I now held, to cut it loose from the counter, and to throw myself with it into the water. I attracted my brother's attention by signs, pointed to the floating barrels that came near us, and did everything in my power to make him understand what I was about to do. I thought at length that he comprehended my design -- but, whether this was the case or not, he shook his head despairingly, and refused to move from his station by the ring-bolt. It was impossible to reach him; the emergency admitted of no delay ; and so, with a bitter struggle, I resigned him to his fate, fastened myself to the cask by means of the lashings which secured it to the counter, and precipitated myself with it into the sea, without another moment's hesitation.” ~ from 'A Descent Into the Maelstrom' by Edgar Allen Poe (1845)

Bah, humbug? Not so fast...

"It is all well and good for children and acid freaks to still believe in Santa Claus — but it is still a profoundly morbid day for us working professionals. It is unsettling to know that one out of every twenty people you meet on Xmas will be dead this time next year... Some people can accept this, and some can't. That is why God made whiskey, and also why Wild Turkey comes in $300 shaped canisters during most of the Christmas season." ~ Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (1992)

Not trying to be a downer...but the good Dr. was/is a hero of mine, and well, this just made me laugh. Despite the ridiculously enormous tidal wave of consumerism that hits this time of year, and all the pushing and shoving that comes with it, spending time with family and friends can be very pleasant and heartwarming. It is for me at least. Despite having to work through the holidays, I am very much looking forward to spending parts of Christmas Day with my Mother, Father and Brother…opening presents and enjoying my Mom’s fantastic Christmas feast (I’m drooling already!). I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas (or Merry {enter you’re faith’s Holiday here}) and hope that you’re able to look into yourselves and find what it is that makes this time of year so special. Christmas is really a celebration of love and family…and for me, as I get older, the true meaning of this day is becoming clearer and clearer.

It is better to give than to receive, and I think the world would be a much better place if more people remembered that and carried that thought with them through the other 364 days of the year instead of repeating it like some Hallmark cliché only once a year. I’m certainly guilty of moaning about all the things I don’t have sometimes…but as tough as this past year has been, I feel blessed that I get to spend another Christmas with my family as well as having a small handful of loyal friends and acquaintances (some of whom I’ve met because of this very blog) who allow me to share my inner most thoughts and feelings with them, and who are generous enough to share with me their own. It means a lot.

I’m not an easy person to pin down…I don’t make it easy…but to those of you who have stuck around long enough to get to know me, even if just a little bit, I thank you, and wish you nothing but happiness and joy this Holiday Season.


Cheers!

The Starry Night

by Vincent van Gogh (1889)

If You’re Going To Be Drinking…

...know when to say 'when'. (The guy on the stairs is my favourite...like, was he the one who broke the step with his forhead? Too funny!)

More Pictures Here

Once

"Cool."


*****
{Boy...back to back 5 star films...but seriously, this film just blew me away and had me smiling (inside and out) from the first scene. The story of a struggling musician living in Dublin who meets and befriends an immigrant single mother, who also plays the piano…this film lives up to its growing reputation as perhaps the best film about music/musicians I’ve ever seen. The style of the film, which uses exclusively handheld camera’s and was made on a budget of around $100,000 makes it seem like a documentary. Huge kudos to director John Carney, a former band member with star Glen Hansard, who captured the beauty and magic that can happen when two (or more) people get together and make beautiful music. The friendship struck up between the two leads is so honest and so ‘real’…I can’t think of the last time a film produced such a genuine on screen friendship. Perhaps the fact that both actors aren’t really actors, but real life musicians and real life friends is the reason for this…but for it to be captured on film in such a way is truly remarkable. Plus…the music, which makes up at least half the film, is great. If you’re a musician, or a lover of music…see this film. Truly inspiring…and wholeheartedly human.}

Eastern Promises

"Forget any of this happened. Stay away from people like me."


*****
{A truly fantastic piece of filmmaking, Eastern Promises combines great performances with a compelling, riveting story of the dark underbelly of London’s Russian community and the role played by organized crime in the human sex trafficking trade. Viggo Mortensen is excellent as Nikolai, the ‘driver’ for the son of a high ranking member of the 'Vory V Zakone' or Russian Mafia, and Naomi Watts is completely believable (and completely gorgeous) as a midwife who accidentally finds herself caught up in a situation that is far more sinister than it first appears. I can’t say enough about the performances by virtually the entire cast (only Sinead Cusack’s performance, who played Watt’s mother, was ‘average’) and the direction of David Cronenberg…who, in his last two films (A History of Violence being the other) is developing into one of the best directors working today. The style of the film is very subtle, but seems to perfectly capture a side of society (and humanity) that we only hear about in news clippings. I’m sure upon further viewing, it will solidify its place among my favourite movies of not only this year…but of the first decade of the 21st Century. A modern classic. Go rent this film today! And on a personal note…I can’t get over how naturally beautiful a woman Naomi Watts is. Cronenberg’s style usually requires his actors to look very natural, and even without (or minimal) make-up, Watts just lights up the screen, especially considering the dark setting of the film. I’ve been a fan of hers since Mulholland Dr., but she just has the look of a 1920’s movie star…and the talent to match. Plus…she looks great in jeans! Wow!}

whiteout

the breaking point

I'm getting pretty close. Came home last night after working a long, arduous day…and just wanted to sit down and watch a movie in peace and quiet. But my good friends next door were once again getting their drink on and were…well…loud as fuck. This was at 12:30 am. So…seeing as how it was a Friday…I figured I'd let them have some fun and try to make the best of it. 2 hours later…with the yelling getting louder and the conversation getting more disorderly…I was about ready to lose it. So I started slamming doors in my apartment…just to give them a hint. No dice. So then I just screamed…"SHUT THE FUCK UP…ITS 2:30 IN THE MORNING…FOR CHRIST'S SAKE HAVE A LITTLE RESPECT!". All I got was a little laughter and more loud, boisterous conversation. I think they were too drunk to hear me. So then I gave the wall a couple of serious punches. They thought it was the front door.

Fed up…and at my wits end…I said fuck it, and turned on the stereo full blast, pointed the speakers at the wall…and left the room to stew in my rage.

15 minutes later…silence. And had it not been so late...I might have kept the tunes playing, cause I was actually getting into it. Blur's 'Girls & Boys' sounds pretty good blaring through walls!

So...not exactly the night I had in mind…not very relaxing…but now it was time for bed. Time on the clock…3:40 am.

6 hours later…

I wake up to the sounds of banging and loud voices. I mean...come ON, right?!? However, after shaking off the cobwebs I realized that…no…could it be…please tell me I'm not dreaming…THEY'RE MOVING OUT!! Sure enough…from the sounds of it…everything was going somewhere else. Pots…pans…tv's…boxes of white trash trash…and like an iron curtain being lifted…I felt a sigh of relief rush through my body like some sort of wonderful electric current. Nearly 9 months of dealing with this drunk and his buddies…and soon there would be quiet (or at least until the next asshole moved in!)

So…as one might expect, I was feeling pretty good this morning. I went back to sleep for another hour and a half…got up…had a shower…and, with a few hours before I had to be at work…I figured I'd go get something to eat and watch that film I had planned to watch the night before.

But then I got downstairs...got in my car....and it wouldn't start.

This is my life.

window shopping

I walked by another window today. Just misery and lethargy doing a dance on my motivation. Hopefully its not totally closed, but the way things are going, I feel one of those 'its happening cause its meant to happen' moments coming on…so I'm just going to let it be.

Work should keep me busy enough to forget. I am feeling better. Still going through tissues like a slot junkie goes through quarters (too much?) but I can feel the weight lifting. Nearly a full week…I tip my cap to you Mr. Flu Sir.

I don't know what it is. Is it a desire to overcome my many shortcomings or simply human survival instinct…but I really just want to be content…to feel that again…to not feel like the world around me is this fragile, frozen nightmareland. I can see why birds fly south for the winter…I bet its really hard to fly when it gets this cold.

Patience…a virtue indeed...

in benylin vision

just because

Too much cough syrup and anti-drowzy sneezy pills isn’t really doing it for me. Its keeping me up…but this state of numb excitement has me looking at the fireplace in blanket confusion. I’m going to read over this shit tomorrow…should I really post this?
Big day tomorrow. Well…aren’t they all? But tomorrow has the potential to be the first in a chain reaction that will result in something different for yours truly. Lots of different. Possibly. Yes, I could be more cryptic…but so long as its just a big maybe I’m not even going to allow myself to fully imagine the repercussions of this different manifesting itself and dragging my life in a whole other direction. I don’t want to jinx it…but alas, I fear I already have. Bollocks. Of course…I also said the same thing when I woke up (crawled out of the sick ooze) this morning…and look how today turned out. 4:07 am and I’m a raving pneumonia (absolutely no way I would have been able to spell that without spellchecker) case hopped up on my parents drug cabinet (they’re out of town and I’m watching the dog…). I’m getting those sick shivers like you get when you were drinking vodka the night before and are totally hung over and then someone mentions the word ‘vodka’ and it sends you racing back to that last vile swig you took some 6 hours ago. Only I’m thinking about cough syrup. Some guy is singing very badly on TV. Man I’m going to be a wreck tomorrow.

still in 'ruff' shape

This is starting to get a little ridiculous. I get sick from time to time…but this is going on 4 days now and I’m still having trouble standing for long periods and keeping the alphabet in order. I NEED to get back to feeling like I was feeling before this beast of a cold took over my life. I’ve tried orange juice…chicken noodle soup…cold medications…regular Tylenol…going to be early…staying up late...eating lots…not eating much…wearing a sweater to bed…what does a guy have to do to get some results? I even smoked a joint for the first time in quite a while thinking that it might help, cause back when I used to smoke, I barely ever got sick. It didn’t help...it did help make Dave Attell funny...but that's about it.

Anyway, there ain’t a whole lot going on with me these days. Well…actually, there is…but its all in the ‘development’ stages…so I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself…but suffice to say, it would really be beneficial if I could just blow my nose one more time…get all that gunk out in one huge honk…and be done with it.

smiling on the inside

His name is Panda Bear (Noah Lennox)…and his CD ‘Person Pitch’ is superb. I'm enjoying it so much I had to share. Sometimes you just get lucky and stumble upon something that brings a little light into your life right when you need it.

(don't) touch me i'm sick

I hear ya buddy! I picked up one of those 48 hour whirlwind monster colds sometime during the day on Thursday…you know the one…you start getting that tingling/tickling feeling in your nose and in the roof of your mouth…then you start sneezing…and sneezing…and sneezing…until your face looks like you just ran a marathon…only replace heavy breathing and a little bit of drool with snot running down your face as your eyes try to focus through the tears. I think I racked up like 40 sneezes in a row last night…I was a mess. I even woke up at around 5 in the morning having trouble breathing. That was kind of scary…for about 5 minutes. I haven’t been this kind of sick in a while…that all encompassing visible-sick-vapour-lines-emitting-from-my-body kind of sickness…its actually quite impressive how something can have such an effect on a body that was feeling as good as its felt in months only a few hours earlier.

So…now entering hour 30 of this wicked bastard, I feel like I’ve turned the corner, and now it’s just a matter of recouping the lost fluids (chicken noodle soup/orange juice) and getting a nice, long, drug induced sleep.

Nobody likes getting sick…but it’s kind of cool to actually be sick and have a solid excuse for feeling drained/mopey/sloppy/shitty rather than just feeling like shit for no good reason. The key is to rebound with a vengeance.

proof

Courtesy of SquareAmerica.com

fresh snow

(OK...its only December 1st...but I think it still applies.)