the pod bay door

:: I saw 19 movies in January, easily a new record for films viewed in one month. It sounds like a lot, but I did see 8 of them in four days while I was sick with the flu.

:: On Friday morning in Winnipeg, my mom slipped while getting into her car on the way for a workout.

She thought she sprained her wrist, but after getting x-rays later in the day, learned that she broke the radial bone in her right arm. MOM! Be careful! Love, Your Caring Son!!!

:: Time seems to move at a faster speed when you get older. It’s hard to explain. Tomorrow is Groundhog Day. At best, six more weeks of winter. We’ve had a lot of snow in the past two weeks. Today, while returning home from dim sum, I slid into the back of another car while driving on 99th Street. Luckily, there was no damage to either vehicle, and the driver, a young woman, was gracious, polite, and very friendly, and told me that it wasn’t a problem. She was very sweet and considerate. I was angry with myself for not watching the road more closely. Lesson learned.

:: I discovered two nifty spell check applications tonight. ieSpell is for Internet Explorer, and works with text-based entry in blogs, web mail, forums, etc. It installs an “ABC” button (with a checkmark) in the IE toolbar, and also allows works with a right-click on the mouse. SpellCheck.net is a free online spell checker that lets you enter up to 20,000 characters before checking for errors.

:: Congratulations to my friends, Chris (in Castro Valley, California), and Jen (in Edmonton), on the recent arrivals of their firstborns.

I think it’s the “Feels like -53°C” graphic that makes me feel a bit chilly.

:: By now you’re probably heard or read the Oscar nominations. There were a number of pleasant surprises, including Keisha Castle-Hughes for Actress in a Leading Role, Whale Rider, Djimon Hounsou for Actor in a Supporting Role, In America, and Samantha Morton for Actress in a Leading Role, In America. Notably absent from big nominations was Cold Mountain, which I think deserved better. I was hoping for In America to get Best Picture and Director nods as well, but at least Jim Sheridan and his daughters, Naomi and Kirsten, were nominated for Original Screenplay.

Will there be any surprise winners? Charlize Theron deserves a win for Monster, an amazing performance. The three other acting categories might not go as predicted. Will Actor be a showdown between Bill Murray and Sean Penn? Will Sean Penn attend the ceremony? Is Renée Zellweger a lock for Supporting Actress?

I’ve yet to see City of God, which received four nominations, nor have I seen Whale Rider, two films I will view very shortly. Some of the nominated films, including The Fog of War, and The Cooler, have yet to open in Edmonton.

My Canadian pride is strong today, as Denys Arcand received a nomination for Writing (Original Screenplay), and his movie, The Barbarian Invasions, won a Foreign Language Film nod as well.

In the end, I hope Peter Jackson and LOTR: TROTK win big.

David Poland offers this commentary on the 2003 nominations.

Who do you think will win? Would would you like to see win? Do you care?

:: Good morning! According to Canada’s Weather Network, it is -40C in Edmonton this morning. -40 degrees is where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales meet; if it gets any colder today, say -42C, the equivalent temperature in Fahrenheit would be slightly higher.

The parka makes it debut this morning. Brrrrrr.

:: I went to Maria Dunn’s concert on Saturday night. She performed two sets of original tunes, with support from Shannon Johnson and Dawn Anderson. In 1992-93, I was a member of The Invisible Jug Band, with Maria, Dawn, and Duke Bronfman. I had a blast performing with them at that time.

In the intervening 10-11 years, Maria has developed into a brilliant writer of historical ballads and songs. She is becoming, if she isn’t already, one of Canada’s best storytellers in song. Maria researches the history of places like Edmonton, where she (and I) live, Alberta, Ontario, and other parts of Canada. She finds stories about fascinating individuals who may have struggled for a cause, and then writes a deeply moving and very original songs about them. She is a national treasure, and I’m proud to be able to say I once performed on stage alongside her.

Maria has released two albums to date: From Where I Stand appeared in 1998, and her second album, For A Song, received a 2002 Juno Award Nomination in the Roots/Traditional Solo category. Both are recommended. Maria is in the studio now, finishing her much-anticipated third album.

:: Spam to end by 2006?

:: Nathan Sawaya makes life size Lego objects, such as Han Solo in Carbonite, the Death Star, a rabbit ambulance, a head, a dachsund, and more.