Samsara

I won't begin to try and describe this film - an incredible documentary covering everything from Buddhist monasteries and the pilgrimage to Mecca to sex dolls to sand dunes to food factories to African tribes and lots of gorgeous cinematography with a haunting soundtrack. It made for an interesting afternoon viewing that's for sure and for cause to reflect on how privileged or over-privilieged we are in this part of the world. The Sanskrit word means "the ever changing wheel of life" and so it is...like the tarot card, the Wheel of Fortune can be at the top or bottom.

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In a weird way it had me check out "Samsara" perfume again at Shoppers Drug Mart..a weird non sequitur I know...I also have this strange dream or fantasy or walking through those beautiful windswept sand dunes - "Tea in the Sahara" anyone?

From the sublime to the very ridiculous as in ridiculously funny I went to the Second City Christmas show on Boxing Day - kudos to the cast for a fast paced and hilarious show. The sketch about the young Christmas tree being harvested - as a horror film reference while the clueless family sung "O Christmas Tree" was great. No worries - her "dad" got his revenge later in the show. Oops..did I spoil it? The battling snow shovellers a la Matrix was also great. I can't really separate out any cast member since it was a great ensemble effort as it  should be - witness the numerous re-tellings of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" - or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Of course our secret fear is always being chosen from the audience as a "volunteer" ..whew, escaped that!

As New Year's Eve approaches we have plans to dine at Fressen. The venerable high end veg spot on Queen is closing for a few months for a drastic re-vamp - can't wait to see what Mr. Gardiner was in store for us.

Cleaning house

I decided to get rid of a few things today, on the advice of my friend Richard and feeling that purging myself of old items makes way for new and better things.

A few of the items I purged were old journals and yes, I know you should hold onto those for posterity - for when you become a celebrity...:)  However, these many journals chronicled a time in my life a few years ago when I was unhealthily obsessed with someone - is an obsession every really healthy? I agonized over their every word and action, feeling like a teenager...I consulted friends and advisors and psychics to give me insight into his very soul. Would that I had paid attention to a couple of friends who had his number from the get go..a self absorbed individual who liked the ego strokes my attention provided. Lesson learned and therefore why I chose to clear the area of those painful writings. Yes, I do feel better ,lighter, wiser, wealthier.

I also cleared out some cookbooks I hadn't used in a while. I read some de-cluttering advice which I found very helpful, in essence, ask yourself "Do I Love It? Do I Need It? Do I Use It?" Wise words.

I had a couple of very fun experiences as of my last writing. Last night I went to hear Mboya Nicholson, a wonderful pianist from Edmonton, who studied with Ellis Marsalis at a cozy room in St. Paul's Church on Bloor. This was presented by Keita Hopkinson who operates Toronto Jazz Buzz - contact him - you can Google if you would like this salon experience in your own home. We were treated to Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake and Mboya's own composition in the hour long concert. Cozy.

I also attended a book reading by my yoga teacher Luba Lechyshyn - "Theft by Chocolate" at Choco Sol Traders. I got a chocolate high as I'm sure many others did - lots of samples of their delicious chocolate, raw and roasted cacao beans (loved those), hot chocolate and delicious readings by Luba. We had a great turnout and learned about chocolate. Luba's book - a mystery but without the murder of course deals with that intoxicating substance - her heroine is a bit of an addict and takes place at a museum which strongly resembles the ROM - Luba used to work there.

Tomorrow night is an RBC event in honour of "Jazzology" and their sponsorship of our show - there will be music of course from a few of our guests..I'll let you know how that turns out....