This week is quickly becoming the Cait-giddiness week, as there's much to anticipate in the next little while. My beloved Folk Fest, which I've attended every single year of my life, is speedily approaching, meaning that in a couple of days the life of eating green onion cakes ad nauseum, dancing absurdly, and lazing around on a tarp whilst tapping my foot to gorgeous music awaits me. The acts this year are stellar, and several recent additions to the Canadian music scene will even appear on main stage, which I find particularly thrilling. My cousin Luke, his pretty voice, and lovely guitar are even bound for a stage with a few of his friends, something that my family is rather proud of; we plan on cheering for him in a very embarrassing manner, and throwing strange objects at him while he jams out. These four days of the summer are invariably among my favourites, and they afford me to fall in love with strange hippy folk, contemplate politics and life, exert myself in loads of card games and inflatale obstacle courses, hang out with a group of friends and family who I love deeply, and eat constantly. It's so encouraging to see others who care profoundly about the world around them, and who think intentionally about for what purpose they're living life. A lot of folkies are cooky, but I'm slightly cooky myself, and there's nothing quite as happifying as observing the dance of an elderly woman dressed in a gypsy skirt and decorated by henna designs. It's easy to feel kind of alone in being concerned about the strange things that I worry about, especially in a province such as Alberta, but I feel pretty comfortable with the thousands of Folk Festers. Many momentous moments in my life have taken place on the hills of Gallagher, Memories of sunburn, venturing around without my parents for the first time, pretending to be cool with friends, camping outside the gates to get a perfect spot for the tarp, winning the grand prize in the raffle, and Jess getting trapped in an outhouse will forever remain in that part of my brain reserved for the best festival of all.
Perhaps even more giddifying than the upcoming Folk Fest is the trip that I shall embark on in a matter of days, one that will take me to the centre of the universe, New York City. I'm meeting my lurvely friend Nicole there (after her time spent in France and Montréal) where we'll spend a dozen days enjoying the sights and sounds of the Big Apple. For my entire cognizance, New York has held a garnered my reverence and adulation, and I've always wanted to travel there, if not live there (I realize that I'll likely never reside in the coolest place on earth, but one can always dream). This city contains all that epitomizes weirdness, beauty, and ugliness, all of which I find fascinating. Over the dozen days that we'll be there, much art, city life, hopefully music, touristy sites, and great scenery will be taken in, as we stay with a bunch of nuns in Leo House. As aforementioned in the blog, Dick the Gnome will be accompanying me for the full duration of the journey, and he will hopefully appear in some pictures that I might post on Darwin at some point. Half the fun of anything, according to the ever-so apt psychologists, is in the anticipation of it; at least 40%, that is, and I anticipate things quite intensely. The countdown to New York is in full swing, and I imagine that it will be 12 of the best days of the entire summer, maybe even topping my inaugural experience of house-sitting. I think that my family thrives on escaping from the largely mundane landscape of Edmonton at least a few times a year, and since I missed out on Sanny Franny in July, my requisite respite from this beautiful place that I call home will be achieved through a jaunt in that beautiful place that I call NYC. I'm not quite the world traveller that many of my friends and family are, much to their chagrin, but this is my first true endeavour into the big wide world of the United States without my family, so with any luck Nicole has skills in restraining me from actions such as assassinating certain presidents of certain nations. I'll attempt to post a few updates on the trip on the blog, and send a few of you postcards (I know most people's postal codes, but if I don't hopefully you'll endow me with such knowledge). I suspect that I'll come back a changed person, wearing exclusively Marc Jacobs outfits and chain-smoking Marlboros. Scarlett will be my BFF, and I'll have developed an obsession with Woody Allen films. I will, however, not have a tan; if you expect such things from my encounters with the scorching sun, you have much to learn, my friend.
Things that YOU Should Do
- talk to God
- read a lot of books (especially Donald Miller)
- listen to CKUA and CBC
- watch The National, Colbert, Jon Stewart, and So You Think You Can Dance
- water some plants (perhaps talk to them too)
- drink iced tea
- buy pretty non-leather shoes
- bake cookies
- play tennis
- dance absurdly
- pet a dog
- have a super long shower
- skip down the sidewalk
Clubs I Want to Start Soon
- book club
- socialist Bible study
- film-viewing club
- video-making club
- Albert Hammond Jr. fan club
- nature apprciation group
- laughing club
- tennis club
Movies to See
- What the Bleep
- Science of Sleep
- Winter Passing
- Lonesome Jim
- Da Vinci Code
- Sorry Haters
- I'm Your Man
- Thank You for Smoking
- Peaceful Warrior
- A Scanner Darkly
- L'Enfant
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Shop Girl
- Pirates 2
- Marie Antoinette
- Cache
- Everything is Illuminated
- Brick
- Casino Royale
- Charlotte's Web
- Last Kiss
- US vs. John Lennon
- Conversations with Other Women
- Running with Scissors
- Only Human
- Time to Leave
- Snakes on a Plane
Happy Things from Aujourd'hui
- my dad drenching himself with a hose
- the clouds
- taking photos of jumping fun
- reading until my neck ached
- Uncle Fred's jokes
- listening to CBC radio
- my mom's explanation of puss and wound staples
- sticking my feet out of the car window
- my step-grandpa's susceptibility to the placebo effect, and love of yeast
- being comforted by the words of Danny Maciocia
- spending time with jazzed up bankers
- putting Eskimo stickers on my window for good luck
- planning Folk Fest tarp strategies
- mocking Bob Layton
- letters from Jack Layton
- Matt Costa's excellence
- my grandma's shorts and hugs
- ice cream cake
6 comments:
If you want to see "Little Miss Sunshine" (I see it is on your list of movies to check out) for free tomorrow (thursday) at the premiere, head to this site, and click on "view all screenings" and then select "rsvp" for Edmonton:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/lms-screening/index.php?movie=38
:-O
I see from a letter on a chair in my living room that a certain person that no longer lives here shares your party alliances! I didn't even have to snoop (or worse yet, *gasp* ask) to find that out.
I hope the big apple is as big and apple-y as you're anticipating!
What I find funny is that I'm one of your non-ndp voting friends and I still share a love for folk music, absurd dancing, disdain for certain U.S. presidents, and (though I don't know if you know this) making lists. Ain't it great that we can all get along?
(PS- I have to give up free tickets to Sunday at the 'Fest! AHHH! And I'm envious of you getting to see David Gray up there. Bah)
And you'll have to ignore the poor grammar in that third paragraph. For someone that enjoys listing I really botched up that one. :P
Spoonman: best tip-off ever! Also the most heartbreaking; I'm off at the Folk Fest tomorrow night enjoying the sounds of Bedouin Soundclash and Linda Ronstadt. Bummer of epic proportions! Alas, I'll have to see it when I return from NYC adventures, or maybe just give in and see it there (though I think I'll have to see World Trade Centre there too before we head off to Ground Zero). I'll have to share this info with fellow anticipators of the movie though; it looks simultaneously beautiful, hilarious, and insightful. Can't wait to see it at some point! Steve Carell is my hero.
Jill: Is there really a letter from Jack Layton? In your house? On the chair? Or is it from Ché? I'm assuming Jacky Jack. Soooo cool. Maybe the reverberations from the green and orange vibes will woo you over. Also, remember how on Saturday night I mentioned how people have stereotypes for a group of people (that are largely false) and when someone in that perceived group doesn't fit the stereotype, they make a new sub-group for them? Well that's clearly me! I do admit to smushing anyone who likes Stephen Harper into a group of people who I love but think are a bit silly. The vast majority of my Christian friends are fans of conservatism, and I love them loads. My closest friends from this group are all intelligent, super super fun, crazy, compassionate, and not conformists. I will say that a lot of the Conservative's policies are not any of these aforementioned things (not that political platforms should be super super fun... I'm not sure what that would look like). BUT clearly my overall thoughts about lefties and folkies being the fun ones with brains is total bunk. Though a higher proportion of them are fun and brainy (I couldn't quite be totally conciliatory).
You, Jill, are certainly a highly open-minded individual, with bunches of empathy for others (even those in far-off lands, and people who it might be difficult to love), and are truly fun-spirited. So I suppose you're in my sub-group of people who aren't Jack Layton's best friend who I think are radtacular, and from whom I have tons to learn about in everything from politics to gastroenterology to my walk with God. You're one of the members of the leftie-but-not-actually-leftie sub-group. Really though, there are cool people of every political stripe, and I just need to acknowledge that! It's hard though. It's easier to be disparaging about people who are different from me; I'm a hypocrite. Funny, huh?
As for lists, they really are splendid, and your enjoyment of them can be added to the list of our shared interests that delight me. Anyone who is happifed by t-shirts of halved spinning swing sets is über-cool in my books. And I'm soooo sorry that you'll be missing out on the fun this year! I'll make sure to film some of it, and make sure to remind me to burn you some CDs of notable artists when I get back later this month. It's such a crime that you won't be hanging out on the hill, but I know you'll have a blast this weekend while missing something that you totally would love (someday; you WILL grace Ghallagher Park during the four lurvely days of the Folk Fest at some point). Neighbours are, after all, very accessible to be dragged around to things. And you are indeed my neighbourly neighbour now! Yay!
the festival sounds good, which reminds me how much i'm looking forward to greenbelt this year. I love this festival, christian arts with plenty of great talks on world issues and many hippy type people too. you'd love it!
oh yeah, you should go and check out Moby's tea house if you are in NYC. I'd like to visit it one day, I think sometimes you can find the man himself in there. Another lefty with affections for christ
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