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| «Spiderphile» |
En ce moment, je dirais «Spiderphile». Cependant, ce n’est que le début de l’histoire …
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| No, I am not high. |
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| Arrrrrr! |
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| The Red Skull! |
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| Scratch another one off the bucket list. |
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| Pooh Gets Stuck. |
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| La Ville de Châteauguay |
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| The Knights Who Say Ni |
Three choices: return home to settle down; keep calm and carry on; or what’s in the box. What would you choose?
Batman had said, “no matter what, you are still you.”
A few gems from Game of Thrones: The Exhibition:
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| The King in the North |
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| Mad King Igor Targaryen |
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| Pensive Paul Baratheon, King of Westeros and the First of His Name |
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| Tyrion’s Armour! (and other nobodies as well.) |
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| Dragon Eggs! |
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| A Treasure Trove of GoT Goodies! Check out those fingers … |
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| A Lovely Dress for a Wedding. A Red Wedding. |
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| Map of Best Coffee Shops in Westeros. |
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| The actual head of Sean Bean. Great actor. You will be missed. |
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| Yours truly and Cédric Villani |
Tonight I was lucky enough to encounter someone whom I admire very much; if not a personal hero then as close to one as there can be: Professor Cédric Villani, recipient of the 2010 Fields Medal for his work on the Boltzmann equation, and author of one of my all-time favourite books, Topics in Optimal Transportation. This book provides a beautiful exposition of the Kantorovich functional and Kantorovich duality, subjects that have profoundly influenced the direction of my research and my life. I was actually a little nervous, as the people I typically admire for their talents in one area turn out to be … disappointing … in other areas of life – Orson Scott Card comes to mind. Thankfully, Professor Villani turned out to be nothing short of charming, intelligent, and friendly in his public discussion with the French artist Bartabas on the subject of creativity, including interactions with the audience. He even gave a five-minute explanation of his work on the Boltzmann equation. As if that wasn’t cool enough, I think I also finally have the simple example I need to finish off the draft of my paper.
I met Nick and Bryn through a bit of happenstance and “the Canadian way”; if someone needs help, and all other things being equal you can help, then you help. It turned out to be a wonderfully pleasant experience; they are my kind of Canadian. Young artists – Nick in music and Bryn in theatre – they were able to bring a little piece of home to this weary Canuck expat simply by being their cheery, friendly selves. They were also consummate guests – cooking dinner, cleaning up, sharing interesting conversation, but also speaking in whispers when needed. My favourite moments were listening to Nick practice at night while I lay in bed drifting off to sleep.
Nick played an intimate show at a Parisian venue called Pop In with his good friends and fellow Canadian artists Jenny Berkel and Dave Simard. It was just the sort of show I used to see all the time back in my younger days. It took me back there, to those times, to hopes and dreams and thoughts of what might come to pass, and what actually did. I don’t know much about music, but I do know good music does that for you; it makes you feel. What particularly makes Nick stand out – aside from talent – is the adorable banter between songs. You simply have to the check this guy out to know what I mean.
You can get Nick’s albums here. The best part? HE’S SELLING CASSETTE TAPES! How cool is that? I made him promise to send me one. In the meantime, I bought the digital versions of his albums, and truthfully, I’ve been playing them constantly for myself and my friends. Give ‘em a listen. I highly recommend it.
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| The Invincible Iron Nose |
Iron Man 3 is the Army of Darkness of the Iron Man franchise. You could easily imagine Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark saying, “gimme some sugar, baby.” The film focuses on Stark as he battles nightmares of nose-adorned faceplates and “Gandhi”, and struggles in his relationships with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts and … a little boy (but not at all in a creepy way). The rapport between Downey Jr. and the little boy, Ty Simpkins, really works; in fact, I could watch a whole other movie with just the two of them bantering and nary an iron suit in sight.
Is it the best movie you’ll ever see? No. But it sure is a helluva lot of fun. Go see it.
Hey you. Yeah you. Montreal. Toronto. Sydney. Melbourne. Enjoying your weather? Hope so. This has been Paris in April:
Despite what the locals say, I call it “summer”; beautiful blue skies, warm weather (for me), and they even let you sit on the grass (I’m looking at you Melbourne). Not bad. Not bad at all.
THIS. This is why I love you Joshua P. Budman, you magnificent bastard.
Josh is one of my best mates, always makes things fun and interesting, and is just an all-around awesome dude. He’ll always have your back, even if you do stupid, fun, dangerous stuff like go play in traffic. Seriously, we played in traffic (one of those “only in Montreal” moments, I suppose). If you already know him then you know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you don’t then you really, really should.
Check out a preview of his one-man show Jewbacca (final version to be performed at Montreal Sketchfest, May 20-26) on Friday, May 3rd at Montreal Improv!
