Frozen Stop

My apologies if I’ve seemed distracted this week. I’ve been so distracted in fact that yesterday’s post didn’t drop until after suppertime (quick show of hands – who noticed?).

As you may well know, The Winter Olympics are happening right now, and it also doubles as the premiere international hockey tournament. Think of it as the FIFA World Cup, but with rounds of curling peppered in. Canada is once again in the mix for the tournament gold, but nothing ever comes easy for this team…so tuning into games makes for an intense (and sometimes stressful) few hours.

Take yesterday for instance, when I was quietly happy that a busy afternoon was preventing me from seeing the women’s team play for gold. All reports I was hearing was that the ladies couldn’t catch a break. Then my afternoon opened up, and wouldn’t you know it, I witnessed a few breaks!

The women have inspired their nation with their determined play, and this afternoon it’ll be time to see if the men can follow their lead I. A tough draw against The Americans.

Like I said: Distracted.

Of course, Team Canada fans are always open to new members joining our ranks, so feel free to pull on a red shirt and have a seat in a few hours to pull for the boys from the north. If we’re lucky, we get to do it all over again on Sunday!

And hey, look at the bright side – it’s not like you’re missing much at the multiplex!

For your listening and reading fulfilment, I give you…

The whole gang was back in action at The Row Three Cinecast this week, the LEGO argument that started here, and continued here, goes into its third round here!

More from the Halfyards – Kurt sat down with his whip-smart young’ns to discuss David Lynch’s DUNE. I really should get around to watching that movie one of these days.

Across the pond, Fandango Groovers celebrates its fifth blog-a-versary this month. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – in this day and age, such dedication is rare. Drop by the space and wish Andy well.

This week, I started following a site based out of Australia called The Movie Scrutineer. It’s the brainchild of a lass named Margot Manon who this week posted a rather nifty piece about the way the films we love are shot.

Quite often, sex scenes in film serve very little purpose except to titillate and add a splash of colour to the plot. Once in a while though, a sex scene in a film is crucial to the story. Alex Withrow rounded up ten such incidents this week, and explained why they are so much more than doses of T&A.

Over at The Frame, Jandy has written an examination by the way we judge films once they become “Oscar Winners“.

Speaking of Oscars, Kate caught up with the live action shorts this week. If you’re in an Oscar pool, the shorts can be the difference between walking away with the kitty, and getting a free tub of Turtle Wax. She runs them down thusly.

One film from last year I’ve been meaning to revisit is THE SPECTACULAR NOW. Reading Heaton’s short, sweet, and thoughtful post on the film this week has only heightened my desire to return to it soon.

 

Finally, for a Tweet of The Week, Sasha James has an instant pick-me-up guaranteed to make your day better:

 

 

Enjoy

14 Replies to “Everybody’s Talkin’ 2 – 21 (Chatter from Other Bloggers)”

  1. Hi 😀 Thanks for sharing my article, I really appreciate it. Just wanted to point out my name is Manon, not Margot. While both names are French of origin you’ll see the difference :p

  2. Thanks Ryan. I’m hoping to catch a bit of the USA/Canada game today at lunch since they’re starting at 11 a.m. I’ll be pulling for the U.S., though my expectations aren’t super high. Canada tends to win most of the time.

    1. Buckle-up, Buttercup…it should be one hell of a game!

      Nobody in Canada has taken the yanks lightly for years, and USA has an especially stellar team this year. I have no idea how this game will turn out, but I wager it’s going to be a close and intense sixty minutes.

    3. Yes, but that’s not really the point. While Soccer has firmly established its World Cup through most of the last century, hockey hasn’t been able to get a grip on a best-on-best tournament.

      For starters, it took until the 1972 Summit Series to get the Canadian pros in on the action. Prior to that it was rag-tag minor leaguers and the odd free agent playing against finely tuned machines from countries like Sweden and especially the USSR.

      Since the Summit Series, the NHL has tried to keep the best-on-best tourney going, but couldn’t get any consistency to it. Beyond it going through a few name changes (The Canada Cup became The World Cup), it was sometimes every three years, sometimes every four, sometimes pushed to six, with a curious eight-year span coming between the last two.

      Since ’98, The Olympics have been the world’s premiere hockey tournament. NHL’er or not, the world sends their best…and a Canadian win has never been assured.

      Tune in buddy – it’s some of the best hockey you’re like to see.

    2. Heh. But you get yours up every week, and I often get behind for weeks at a time. I have a system now, though, to get through my reading list. I think I can keep up. Maybe. 🙂

  4. Thanks for the link love, my friend! Lightbox is still playing the shorts, so I suggest you get your butt over there and watch them. DO ITTTTTTTTTT. I promise you won’t regret it. I’d say Live Action should take precedence over the Animated shorts, even though both are strong. The Live Action Shorts were just really moving and cool, and tense, and funny. They had everything.

  5. Sorry Ryan, While I am enjoying the Olympics on the whole, the hockey does nothing for me. really dull sport.

    Thanks for the link.

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