i stood in the snow for 10 minutes

a little something i put together. it's 5 minutes long.


in the snow for 10 minutes from chinalily on Vimeo.

productive

i spent a solitary christmas day tidying up the AV cables and editing/sifting/purging my belongings.

my main concern with cables are:
- they need to be off the ground for ease of vacuuming/swifering
- they must be more than 4 inches away from the baseboard heaters

so i used some green gardening velcro tape to wrap my cables. amazingly, i spent almost 2 hours on this ensuring the the weight of the looped cables didn't cause speakers to topple, etc.

and behold...





and since i was back there, i detached the shaw cable from the tv. i haven't had cable for about 7 years and was excited to have it back so it was disappointing when i turned on the cable to the local news (citytv, i think) and found it way too flashy and noisy. after 5 minutes i turned it off.

after about 1.5 weeks, i remembered i had cable and turned it on again but couldn't find anything interesting on the basic cable package.

so, goodbye cable.

the white stuff

taken on my patio yesterday...

it's the tops

for those of us who like to compile (and read) these things, here's my top lists for the year.


. FILMS. . .
#7 Orz Boyz
#6 Still Walking
#5 Synching Blue
#4 Heima, a light documentary about Sigur Ros
#3 The Savages
#2 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
#1 Lives of Others (ok, i know this film came out in 2007 but i only watched it this year)


. MUSIC. . .
#5 Black Mountain: In the Future
#4 Ladyhawk: Shots
#3 Fleet Foxes: s/t
#2 Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid
#1 Radiohead: In Rainbows


. EATING OUT. . .
#6 2 chefs/aurora/medina
#5 Trattoria
#4 Chambar
#3 Grub
#2 Pied-a-Terre
#1 Boneta

this might be my favourite picture from 2008:

...

yes. i'm back.

in other news, it's like a winter wonderland out there.

no, i'm not talking about canada's wonderland. and i don't think anyone deserves a canadian passport unless they experience a truly mediocre disneyland knock-off like canada's wonderland either.

but i digress.

snow = i rock my "they're not ugg" boots ALL THE TIME




also, i was doing some cleaning and rearranging of furniture when i came upon this:


it says "44" then below it "291." i don't recognize it. please let me know if you've accidentally left pharmaceuticals at my condo.

busy week coming up = merde

this week may require some consumption of the red bull. here's a breakdown:

monday to thursday - go to work, be focused and get stuff done

monday PM - audio record a VAFF team's voiceover for the intro that will play before each film at VAFF.

tuesday PM - using audio recording and specific number of logos, create the intro.

wednesday PM - create movie files that will play at edgewater casino's 3 giant screens during VAFF parties. create another set of movie files that will play at the tunnel nightclub's 6 screens.

thursday PM - videographer for VAFF until at least 10pm

friday AM - taking day off work to do some possible ELTEE filming in the morning until noon

friday PM - videographer for VAFF

saturday - videographer for VAFF

sunday - videographer for VAFF

monday - taking day off work to recover

democratic hair parting

this morning i made the momentous decision to allow my hair to decide its own part.

usually, i take out my big white comb and path it through my hair to create a perfectly straight part.

but today, i thought i would let my hair choose the part. here's how i did it:
1) bend over at the waist so that hair is hanging down. pretend you're touching your toes. i know, most of us can't, that's why i said pretend.
2) flip (or actually whip) your hair back.

that's it.

let the part fall where it may. the results were not hideous so i went to work with this.

oh and can you create a 30 second commercial in 7 days?

so vaff received some sponsorship in the form of a 30 second commercial shot to be shown during a CityTV show called AZN Lifestyles which airs wednesdays and sundays.

i was asked if i could come up with a commercial in like, oh, 7 days.

my first reaction was: wtf! 7 days!! do i look like a full-on ad agency?

then i realized what a great opportunity and said yes right away. of course, when i say yes, i'm also really saying yes for rob, too. poor rob.

then came the hard part: coming up with an idea.

i begged rob for help on this since he's the ideas guy and he didn't disappoint.

for those of you who have seen the commercial, i've already changed it about 5 times this evening.

.
.
.
.
also, please note my DISCLAIMER: although i'm super thankful to rob for coming up with the idea, this isn't the type of stuff i do. i like the mood and tone stuff.

but oh well, here we go......

link to 30 second commercial

casey and rob's scene


diana, terry and me... for the all asian girl scene

food stuffs

the past week has been pretty exciting in my food world.

korean food___________
across the street from Seb's on broadway near fraser is a new korean restaurant that replaces the korean tofu soup restaurant that i had wanted to try but never did.

the new korean restaurant serves skewers, bulgogi, bibimbob, bbq eel on rice, etc.

besides the deliciously prepared food are some other wonders:
1) the entire interior of the restaurant is covered in orange tarp.
2) the middle of the restaurant has these large cauldrons of their version of miso soup.
3) the menus are written on big, old soup pot lids
4) the chairs are blue plastic stools

be warned, the place gets packed by 6:30pm.

oh, also, we were able to order makalee which is rice wine and it tasted home brewed and was waay cheaper and tastier than the soju. btw, the makalee is not on the menu. it was advantageous having rob there to order this drink.






cheese and olive party___________
this past saturday, rob and i attended the swankiest party we've ever been to. the location was a remodelled 1950s house in the dunbar/southlands area.

it was like stepping into an issue of dwell magazine.

and then there was the amazing selection of cheese to be had. the hostess sourced the best and most exclusive cheeses then presented them along with fruit, breads, and olives.

something that surprised me was how friendly this mostly affluent crowd was. everybody smiled as you walked past them. every single one.

you know how people say money doesn't make you happy? well, if i had the money to live in this house, i think i would rather happy.

new max richter album

listening to his music instantly turns me into a romantic of the extreme type and i suddenly have the desire:
- relocate to paris, london or new york
- learn to sew
- have kids
- live in a high-ceiling loft with all white walls and spare vintage furniture
- learn to take photos using vintage cameras and make a living at it
- lose about 20 lbs
- go grocery shopping in a cute bike with a basket on the front

my current life is pretty fantastic but i also have these crazy romantic tendancies which, i think, are fueled by surfing too many design blogs written by women who have these fantasy-etsy lives (see here).

checkout max richter's website, it's so beautiful.
24 photos with samples of up to 1 minute of each song on the album.

24 postcards in full colour

hanging with dad and the fam

during the long weekend, i spent some much needed time with my dad and family.

my dad did some tai chi healing on me, showed me some exercises to do and gave me some seeds from his garden.






then, for thanksgiving, we all babysat ethan. look at rob's mad babysitting skillz

another project underway

with VIFF out of the way and rob feeling better than a piece of used saran wrap, we're committing all our energies to a new project that has sprung out of the cauldron of creative ideas that is rob's head.

we're making a film about people who run an indie rock recording studio.

cinematic influences we're looking to include:
- Last Days
- This Charming Girl
- Day Night Day Night

the crew will be rob and myself. rob is the director and i'm main camera.

we started a blog for the film which is called:
Everything Louder Than Everything Else

we'll be posting all sorts of production notes and notices and communications with the actors. it's going to be so much fun.

VIFF: the final report

# of films watched = 19
# of films i'm glad i watched = 10
# of walkouts (emotional or actual) = 4
# of films with rob in them = 1

# times i saw straw guy = 3
# times i was asked if i was japanese after watching a japanese film = 2
# times i bought popcorn = 2


the worst: Night and Day - i'm still angry i had to sit thru this piece of crap.

the best: Synching Blue - even though i didn't initially give it my highest score (transcendental), the more i thought about the film, the more i loved it.

the most inspirational: Louise Bourgeoise - 90 years old and still passionate about sculpture, creating and art. i should be making films every weekend.

films that made me cry
- Night and Day (cry with frustration)
- I've Been Loving You So Long
- Orz Boyz

films with blow-jobs, 3-way gay sex, hand-jobs or porn
- Synching Blue
- Serbis
- mime-mime,
- Blind Pig That Wants To Fly
- Night and Day cuz it was a total wank-fest of overdone dramatics.

other notables:
film where the korean lead character is visiting paris and is inexplicably wearing a "capilano suspension bridge" tshirt - Night and Day

film with the best pre-film entertainment - The Desert Within where a mariachi band played at the front of the stage before the film started


also, read what rob had to say about viff

VIFF: Night and Day

my rating: walk out - except i was trapped in the middle of the row and rob was there

my blurbie:
i had to close my eyes because reading the juvenile dialogue was making me more and more angry. i hate that i lost 2 hours of my life this horrid piece of melodramatic poo.

i should have known better. i've watched 2 other films by this director and thought they sucked but went cuz rob likes his stuff.

i'm so upset i want to write a letter to hong sang-soo and tell him that he should stop making the same movie over and over and over again about immature korean men and smart women who can be clingy, set at the beach, about relationships between adults that resemble the stupid mistakes of 9 year olds.

i need booze. lots of it. right now

i'm not a real film geek and other stuff

this week so far, there have been 3 (three) whole days on which i did not watch a film at VIFF.

at a screening this weekend, the film introducer asked people to raise their hands if this was their first film, if people have watched more than 10 films, 20 films, 30 films, 40 films, 50 films, 60 films, and i shit you not, 70 films.

there were at least 3 people with hands still up for 70 films. wtf.

.................
in other news, i skipped 4 Nights With Anna tonight since rob has a nasty sinus flu and so i picked up chicken noodle soup, apple juice, green juice smoothy, crackers, and fruit from capers.

capers is very expensive.

i purchased a small container of maple glazed brussel sprouts because rob loves them. a small container containing about 14 of those little things set me back $7.38. that makes the heirloom cherry tomatoes at $4.99 a steal.



you don't even want to know how much their organic turkeys are selling for.

.................
also, i just cancelled our trip to victoria for this weekend's victoria marathon. rob is in no shape to run a marathon and in the past month alone, i've managed to run approximately 20 minutes on a treadmill. twice. so i'm not really ready to run the 8K either.

but that's cool, that means we can stay home and have a nice thanksgiving dinner with my family.

.................
and lastly, i had a day of great hair. look, the proof! it was even more impressive during the day. just imagine it a little more wavy yet not puffy.

VIFF: Blind Pig That Wants To Fly

my rating: walk out (and i actually did walk out this time)

my blurbie:
my first dad grew up in indonesia and so i was intrigued by Tony Rayns' glowing review of the only film from indonesia and had to go.

but it was a BIG PILE OF POO.

it was the worst implementation of ambient, going nowhere style of film. wong kar wai is a master of this genre but the director of this film needs to be punished for creating this boring and useless waste of an hour.

it would take too long to explain the horribleness in detail, instead, if you have the stomach for it, you can ask me in person.

VIFF: I've Been Loving You So Long

my rating: awesome

my blurbie:
kirstin scott thomas speaking french and playing the role of a woman who has just been released from jail. she moves in with her sister who is married and has 2 adopted girls and tries to start her life over again.

i loved that the hows and whys of KST's character is slowly revealed throughout the film; it kept me wondering and guessing throughout. the ending was a little heavy but forgivable.

this was beautifully shot, strongly acted and well directed although the music kinda sucked; the acoustic guitar was heavily utilized.

VIFF: Days In Between

my rating: awesome

my blurbie:
Days In Between is one of the MOST DEPRESSING films i've ever watched. and even though i feel like i need to take anti-depressants, i still loved it.

german and gorgeously filmed, it's about a married woman with a kid who is emotionally distant from her husband and child and has this f'd up adulterous relationship which is the catalyst for more bad decisions. this woman was the perfect example of an ice queen.

i interpreted the multitude of shots of her nicely weathered leather workbag that she took everywhere with her was supposed to represent her emotions which is like excessive baggage that she carries around with her but that are outside of her.

this film would have sucked if not for the great cinematography, acting and direction.

VIFF: Louise Bourgeoise - The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine

my rating: transcendental

my blurbie:
documentary about a 90 year old french sculpture artist living in new york for the past 50 years.

an honest and vocal subject plus great editing plus okay music EQUALS an amazing cinematic experience.

which is saying something because the film started 40 minutes and 2 different projectors later. but the mostly artsy crowd waited patiently and a rather cute venue manager chatted up the crowd during the wait. one woman even asked him to tell us his name.

because i'm totally ignorant about art history and all that, i really appreciated the artist (partially) explaining her work and the seeds of those emotions and ideas. the footage of her work at the Tate, Guggenheim, etc was just stunning.

some great quotes from her include:
- sculpting is an aggressive act
- the purpose of sculpture is self-knowledge

VIFF: A Christmas Tale

my rating: (was meh) walk out

my blurbie:
french movie about a dysfunctional family during christmas starring catherine deneuve. can't go wrong right? WRONG!!!

this was a self-indulgent, video poetry piece of crap. every cliche arty device was used:
- talking directly to the camera
- using crazy music at weird moments
- characters that no one liked
- characters that didn't know why they were always sad
- an unloving mother
- accepted infidelity
- reading prose from a book

ok, so these things seem pretty tame but when it's implemented with a fake artsy hand, it becomes a big pile of poo.

i feel bad that i dragged friends to watch this tonight.

VIFF: When Life Was Good

my rating: awesome

my blurbie:
i've seen 2 previous versions of WLWG and the version i saw this past thursday night blew me away. terry did some major editing magic.

it's a relationship film about people in their mid 20s who deal with hilariously ridiculous people in the entertainment industry including a director who doesn't speak (i.e. my rob).

the screening at the ridge was sold out!! and the cast and crew sat in the middle and had a blast listening to their hometown embrace their work. i filmed the Q&A session which had the entire cast standing at the front of the ridge. it was super sweet.

afterwards, there was a cast and crew and friends party at a super swanky mansion near southlands. holy frack was it nice. i left early cuz i had to go to work the next day (today) and rob got home around 3am.

what a night.

VIFF: Wonderful Town

my rating: okay

my blurbie:
this is the type of film i should love. cinematic looking, slow moving, and ambient. but i just couldn't get into this film about an architect from the big city (Bangkok) who is sent to a beach resort to oversee a resort development and ends up falling in love with the young female who runs the hotel.

i should even love the twist at the end that reveals that this town is anything but wonderful. but i didn't.

overall i thought it was poorly done and was mostly bored by the whole thing.

VIFF: Synching Blue

my rating: awesome

my blurbie:
this film is for advanced arty-fartsy types. here's why: zero dialogue, no plot, lots of scenes of activities that encourage the growth of hair on your palms, porn videos, and scenes that seem to go nowhere. it was gorgeously shot on film.

but i absolutely loved it.

there are 2 characters in this film: an asian guy with no apparent occupation except to masturbate frequently throughout a given day and a caucasian woman who was a synchronized swimmer but now works as a janitor at the local swimming pool.

half way through the film do these 2 finally meet up and have a relationship, of sorts.

the director was in attendance and here's some rather neat things he said:
- cinematic time and space are his characters
- he purposely disconnects people, their actions, their lives, and story because he would rather the audience participate with their own interpretations

so cool.

VIFF: Serbis

my rating: awesome

my blurbie:
a film from the Philippines, Serbis means "service" and it refers to male prostitutes who hang out at porn houses waiting for clients (primarily men) to show up and ask for their services.

this particular porn house is run by a family with lots of troubles of their own. the matriarch is suing her husband for infidelity but her children lie about the affair because they don't want the law to officially recognize these illegitimate children which would result in an inheritance grab.

there are lots of other family dramas going on but that's the main one.

there's plenty of non-discreet shots of oral sex and intercourse. hey, this film is about a family running a porn theatre, what do you expect?

shot in beautiful high-def with a cinematographer's eye, i thoroughly enjoyed this movie despite some bad dialogue and direction.

VIFF: mime-mime

my rating: awesome

my blurbie:
a japanese woman directed this film about a slacker woman in her early 20s who works part-time and avoids her family and has occasional sex with her former teacher.

interestingly, this film starts with this woman giving her former teacher a blow-job. but there's no gratuitous nudity or showing of body parts.

i think it was good mumblecore with lots of ambience and awkward family scenes. the director was in the theatre and she looked like she was 20 years old herself. she said that she took a part-time job to make the film.

i'm pretty impressed and although the film was a little uneven, i liked where she was going and how she filmed it all.

..............................

so at mime-mime, the guy sitting beside me was all friendly and chatting up the woman sitting on the other side of him and said hi to me. he was telling the woman that he volunteers at the 'english clubs' for some japanese and korean language schools in town.

i could tell he wanted to ask if i was japanese but i made sure not to look in his direction much so as to prevent further discussion.

so, here's the thing: this is the SECOND GUY who, at a japanese film screening, seems to be wanting to be friendly to me and ask me if i'm japanese.

i am so not impressed by this approach.

also, this dude was breathing rather loud.

yuck.

VIFF: Dancing with Time

my rating: meh

my blurbie:
a documentary about 4 german ex-ballet dancers in their 70s who are brought together to put on a dance piece. i thought it sounded cool. the doc was structured with the performance piece inter-spliced with interviews of the 4 dancers.

but i never felt that we really got to know the dancers. and so i never got emotionally attached/involved with them at all.

the part i liked most in the film was when the 4 were doing the basic movements in ballet and the close ups of their feet showed how much our bodies remember certain things.

VIFF: Sweet Food City

my rating: walkout

my blurbie:
so i didn't walk out even though rob whispered that he wouldn't mind leaving. this was horrible horrible wanna be autuer shit.

let me start with the sound: all the sound was reproduced afterwards which can sound fine IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING. in this movie, the girl's footsteps sound like men's shoes and they weren't synced up. the dialogue was all redone and it sounded like the actors spoke too close to the microphone.

then there's the visual quality. THERE WASN'T ANY. clearly shot on the cheapest consumer brand camera, all the whites were blown out and all the blacks had no detail. my eyes were burning. and the cinematography? really bad; don't be fooled by the nice film still above.

when i came home, i re-read the film outline in the VIFF book and it sure sounds wonderful: "brilliant use of cinematic space" and "director who thinks in 3D." the main girl's story took up half the screen time, the other half was made up of indiscriminate, random, unrelated (except they happen in her ghetto complex) scenes of poor people being bored, kids with no pants on, and many minutes of cute kittens sleeping.

here's a line i though was special: "a real man should smoke"

about 10 minutes into the film, all us non-mandarin speakers were wondering where the subtitles were. if you squinted and looked at the bottom of the screen, you could see the subtitles were just off the screen. suddenly, during the scene when the girl is putting on her bra, the film stops and the projector menu comes up and we all watch as the projectionist adjusts the film image so we can see the subtitles.

wtf.

VIFF: Three Monkeys

my rating: awesome

my blurbie: by the same turkish director that made Climates and Distant; both films i have not seen but read many good reviews about. Three Monkeys did not disappoint.

every single frame of the film was cinematic eye candy for me. EVERY ONE.

it's a heavy duty dramatic film about a father who accepts the bribe of his employer (a politician) in exchange for confessing to accidentally running over someone. during his year in jail, his wife cheats on him with his boss and his 18 year old son fails college exams. when he gets out of jail, a contest of raised voices and burrowing stares between the family members ensue.

despite it looking freaking fantastic, i had trouble believing some of the character's motivations.

VIFF: JCVD

my rating: okay

my blurbie: sold out screening. saw some peeps there (martyn, ken) and settled in for a super saturated/filtered yellow green looking action drama. there's this very-long-no-edits shot that makes fun of jean-claude van dame's roles in films.

i liked how the director was this 20 something dude from taiwan who was throwing darts at a dartboard with the word hollywood on it. jc's monologue near the end of the film was truly impressive and showed his range as an actor and proved he's not just a martial arts machine.

even though this was a nice concept film, i found the plot and the acting inconsistent and somewhat poor.

VIFF: Still Walking

my rating: transcendental

my blurbage: despite the horrible film still, i went to see this movie. the director's previous film, Nobody Knows, was great although i have yet to see it. but i didn't need to worry because holy freaking god was this movie excellent. echoes of Ozu's generational divide and gorgeous cinematography and great natural acting and believable writing and superb pacing make this film a MUST SEE.

the second (and last) screening is this wednesday (oct 1) at 6:40pm.

VIFF: party

after watching Orz Boyz, i caught up with Rob, Terry and Casey who were about to go to a party at Insight's renovated theatre on Main Street. they managed to sneak me into my first ever film fest party.

oh man, is it nice in there with over a hundred lipstick red leather club chairs that can be configured in any way possible. last night, they had them in small groupings with 4-5 chairs in each to facilitate conversation.



and there were platters of deliciously prepared lebanese food from Nuba and not expensive booze ($5 per drink). PLUS, i noticed an actor from BATTLESTAR GALATICA!!!

ok, so she has a minor part but still. her real name is Jen Halley and she plays Diana Seelix who started as a deckhand and became a pilot later on. in real life her hair is super long and she's very tall and skinny. so cool.



and then i spoke with matt dentler who is big in the indie film community as he was the head of SXSW up until this year. he was nice and very tall.



and i wish i could say i saw/talked/gawked/shook the hand of don mckellar but he didn't show.

VIFF: Orz Boyz

my rating: awesome

my blurbage: this movie met my expectations from the film still and more! at first i was put off by the largely taiwanese audience that kept on laughing at every cute little thing but when the film gradually morphed into more dramatic tones, they quieted down. it's a beautifully shot and naturally acted with simple dialogue film about two boys (12 and 9) who seem very unattended by their parents.

the playfulness of childhood was really well conveyed in a scene where the boys plugged in 15 fans and wore swimming goggle and flippers and pretended they were taking off into space. the slow motion was a really good choice for this scene; i felt drawn back to a time when it was all about your imagination and fun. this scene was transcendental for me.

the ending was a little disney-manipulated-emotional and, yes, i succumbed but also a bit resentful that the device was used. but i'm so glad i watched this film.

VIFF: What The Heart Craves

my rating: meh

my blurbage: i knew i was taking a chance on this one because i've watched this director's first film, Soup, One Morning and wasn't particularly impressed. however, the film still plus Tony Rayns' seal of approval convinced me i should give this director another try. but it kinda sucked. for me, i found it be a bad japanese mumblecore piece about young adults and relationships and angst. i particularly found the female character in the film still above especially confusing.

VIFF: my rating system

i like how fatal strategies is trying something different when rating movies or music.

i feel inspired to do something different this year for all the VIFF films i'm catching so here's what i'm contemplating.

i'll offer an overall score based on the following:
- transcendental (i.e. into great silence, edge of heaven)
- awesome (i.e. ploy)
- okay (i.e. the elephant and the sea)
- meh (i.e. secret sunshine)
- walkout (i.e. mr. cinema)

then some blurbage about the film or director.

Claire Denis_director

i stumbled upon a review of Claire Denis' new film "35 Rhume" which played at the Toronto International Film Festival.

i immediately searched (in vain) for the listing on the Vancouver International Film Festival website. luckily, Happy Bat, had a copy of Denis' "Friday Night" from 2002.



last night i watched the movie and tonight i'm listening to the director commentary.

essentially, Claire Denis is making the type of films that i've been picturing in my mind; films that are ambient, atmospheric, melancholy, full of intense undertones, and have almost no dialogue.

the camera zooms in on and caresses the characters' hands, legs, mouths, and flirtive glances. she delights in the little movements and small gestures.



listening to Denis talk about an intimate scene and what it means to her has, literally, put me on the verge of tears.

i'm utterly inspired.

VIFF

i picked up the Vancouver International Film Festival catalog today and have finalized my list of films.

this year's catalog is kinda neat looking. here's the cover.



one thing i'm already thinking about is to remember to bring the catalog with me EVERYWHERE while VIFF-ing.

if you are a film geek then it's a must-have accessory not unlike some people who insist on carrying their phones/blackberries in a holster attached to their belts; belts that tend to hold up slacks with pleats. oh yeah, that's right, i said it.

and, perhaps, carrying a catalog around might deserve the same stigma as the holstered phones. SO BE IT. look at all the films i'm planning on watching.


Sep 25 - What the Heart Craves
Sep 26 - Orz Boyz
Sep 27 - Still Walking, The Desert Within, JCVD
Sep 28 - RR, Three Monkeys
Sep 29 - Wonderful Town, Sweet Food
Sep 30 - mime-mime
Oct 01 - Serbis, Syncing Blue
Oct 02 - When Life Was Good (this is the film that Rob acted in. it's gonna be a big party. everyone is invited. the screening is at the Ridge)
Oct 03 - A Christmas Tale
Oct 04 - Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress & the Tangerine
Oct 05 - I've loved you so long, Days in Between
Oct 06 - The New Year Parade
Oct 07 - The Blind Pig
Oct 08 - Four Nights with Anna
Oct 10 - Night and Day

that's 21 films!


i'm hoping my weakness for being easily swayed by good looking film stills won't result in too many bad choices this year. look at this gorgeous one from The Desert Within.


ALSO THIS: i've succumbed to my own vanity and signed up to twitter. it might come in handy during the film fest.

saturday

our dryer broke the day before rob left for toronto. 7 days later, rob returned with a large suitcase full of dirty clothes. so we hung the wet clothes out in our patio. i'm pretty sure i'm breaking a rule in the building by doing this.




as we were hanging the clothes, i surveyed the failed 2008 summer growing project. the issue was that i wasn't watering the plants everyday. the soil tends to dry up rather fast in those containers. i tried not to accept the guilt being projected by those dried up plants.



this morning we went to a total of 2 stores before purchasing a washer/dryer combo unit. in terms of research, i went to my fav site www.consumersearch.com where they aggregate all reviews into a tidy recommendation. this website allows me to access the work generated and studied by maximizers yet i spend very little time thinking about it and thereby permits me to maintain my satisficer status.

ok, so here's the scoop on what i'm talking about: Barry Schwartz wrote a book called The Paradox of Choice in which he "argues the controversial thesis that eliminating consumer choices can greatly reduce anxiety for shoppers."

i'm sure GR will correct me on this but basically because there's so much choice and options available that people understand this truth and seek to find perfection in their purchases; these people are maximizers.

Schwartz's position is that satisficers realize there are lots of options out there but are happier because they purchase items without the worry that they're missing out on some good deal.

and i'm pretty happy with our purchase made with very little investment of my time.


here's a video of him giving at talk at TED