the pod bay door

:: 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.

:: It’s about to get really cold around here. It’s -17C right now, and a lot of snow is falling. And the temperature? Last night, the long range forecast had a high temperature of -37C and a low of -44C for mid-week. I’m on the Weather Network’s Edmonton page at the moment, and the forecast have been revised somewhat since yesterday. The low temperatures are now expected to be in the -32 to -37C range. *whew* I’m more concerned about the snow, which is forecast to continue falling until Tuesday, and makes driving treacherous. Ah, the joys of being Canadian!

:: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced its Orange British Academy Film Awards nominations this week. Leading the pack are Cold Mountain with 13 nominations, and LOTR: TROTK with 12. Girl With A Pearl Earring received 10 nominations, and Lost in Translation received 8. Interestingly, despite 13 nominations, Cold Mountain’s Nicole Kidman was not nominated for Actress in a Leading Role. However, Scarlett Johannson was nominated in that category twice, for Lost and Girl. Sean Penn also scored a double nomination for Actor in a Leading Role, for Mystic River and 21 Grams. The complete list is here.

:: Speaking of Cold Mountain, I saw it last night, and thought it was brilliant. After reading a few reviews, I went to this movie with few expectations, almost waiting to be disappointed. Some critics felt the film was slow moving, and that Kidman and Jude Law lacked chemistry. The movie is an episodic story of a Civil War deserter, Inman (Law), who leaves the south near the end of the war to return to Cold Mountain, where the woman he loves, Ada (Kidman), waits for him, in hopes that he is still alive. The Civil War scenes are brutal and realistic (movie depictions of any war scene have changed since Saving Private Ryan moved the bar way, way up.)

The chemistry between the actors is real, and the episodic nature of the movie, which gives the movie its length, does not detract from the richness of the story, but adds to it by introducing a number of fascinating characters, keeping us interested in the story. In addition to solid performances from Law and Kidman, Renée Zellweger is excellent as Ruby, a drifter who comes into Kidman’s life, at the time she is slowly spiraling downwards, following the death of her father. The aforementioned fascinating supporting characters are portrayed by some of our best actors, including Donald Sutherland, Ray Winstone, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Giovanni Ribisi, Eileen Atkins, Brendan Gleeson, Kathy Baker, Natalie Portman, James Gammon, Jena Malone, Lucas Black, and Cillian Murphy, from 28 Days Later.

This is a long film, 2 hours and 28 minutes, but I was never bored. Cold Mountain worked for me. My Blogcritics.org review is here.

:: A visit to my doctor yesterday confirmed that I have a flu bug, which, oddly enough, may have been the cause of my eye problem last week. I picked a lousy time to get sick, during one of the two busiest teaching weeks of the year at work. I feel like I’ve abandoned my colleagues. It feels more like a head cold than anything else, but I am bored and it is hard to concentrate on anything other than watching tv. So the only time I’m venturing outside is to rent movies. I watched Out Of Time last night, and thought it was quite good, a decent thriller involving arson, murder, and coverup afterwards. Denzel Washington continues to make good movies. Also, it’s nice out – 7C today (44.6F), and sunny (in contrast to the Eastern half of the continent, freezing in sub-zero tempertatures right now), and I’d rather be outside than inside.

:: The Edmonton Journal today published a letter written by my pal, Georges Giguere. The “friend’s automated Telus voice mail” of which he writes, was mine. While I never thought the sound of the voice was that bad (and has been changed, anyway), the letter is a good one, and sums up how he and many others, including myself, feel about the continuous and unabated assault on our senses by All Things Technological in today’s world. Sadly we must get used to it, because it will never subside. Fascinating then, that the cassette recently celebrated its 40th anniversary of existence, and despite all rumours to the contrary, is still going strong in most parts of the world. I bought my first cassette recorded in the late 60s, and cassettes I recorded then are still playable today. Can’t say the same for 5 1/4″ floppies, can we?

Back to bed…

:: I reported earlier this week that my right eye was causing me some discomfort. I visited University Health Services on campus on Thursday morning, and the physician prescribed eye drops and eye cream. He noticed an abrasion on my iris, which I am aware of from visits to an optometrist in Edmonton some time ago. So I’m not sure if that’s the problem. It feels like there is a tiny pebble under my eyelid. Anyway, by yesterday morning, it began to feel better, and I had a good day. But at home last night, it started hurting again, and I had major difficulty trying to fall asleep last night. Of course, it’s the weekend, meaning seeing a specialist isn’t going to happen. So I’m going to debate what to do. I may go to Emergency at the U of Alberta Hospital, but that could mean sitting there for the rest of the day.

That’s not all. I started feeling tired and weak through the day yesterday, with a touch of a sore throat, stuffy nose. All the symptoms of an impending cold. Timing couldn’t be worse, next week is our heaviest teaching load of the year. So this boy is going to try to take care of himself this weekend, and eat lotsa good, healthy food, and double up on the Cold-FX.

:: The Directors Guild of America has announced its nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2003. One notable absentee is Anthony Minghella, for Cold Mountain. Overall, it hasn’t been the best year for film. Sales of tickets in the USA dropped for the first time since 1991.

:: With the Spirit Rover firmly in place on Mars, the US will now move its search for WMD to the red planet itself. Meanwhile, The Beagle isn’t doing too well.

:: The Writers’ Union of Canada is “aghast” over cuts to Regina’s public library system.

:: I’m a bit cranky tonight. Last night while falling asleep, my right eye began bothering me. This morning I woke to a burning feeling in said right eye, and it has yet to subside. I know, I should have it examined.

:: From The Guardian, here is a list of 101 things to do in 2004. Anyone notice the error in #21? I see “metrosexual” is already considered very last year, according to #31, and that among the choices men will have in terms of new kinds of masculinity includes “Cheddarosexual”, which means lactose-intolerant urban male. I will not do #62. I want nothing to do with #32. #26 reminds us we’re all getting old. I’ll do #99 next week.

If you need to revisit 2003, do it with a smile by reading Dave Barry’s 2003: A Dave Odyssey. Happy New Year to all who visit my site. Many thanks, have a great year.