Category: Family

What's not to like?

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

We just had dinner with my brother at Jump; he had a 16-hour stopover on his way back from Chicago. It’s too bad his job forces him to travel so much, but on the plus side we get to see him every few months as he flies to/from somewhere in the midwestern US.

Food review: Cragganmore: good*; spinach salad: good; ricotta ravioli: good; bottle of zinfandel: good; Lindt molten chocolate cake: gooooooood.

* when I say “good” you have to imagine Joey from Friends, specifically the trifle episode

[tags]jump cafe[/tags]

b Profitable

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Here’s how today went:

  • Got haircut
  • Rousted Nellie out of bed and got some breakfast (well, brunch; it was after 12 by this point) downtown at b Espresso Bar. I like it there
  • Stopped in at Henry’s to see if they have the wide-angle lens we’vebeen looking for. They do. We shall go back soon and see if they’ll take our old camera on trade
  • Went to the condo sales centre. We just wanted another look at the model suite similar to our unit, but Nellie was convinced they wouldn’t show us if they knew we’d already bought, so we pretended to be in the market for a new condo. We had a look around, and also got an updated price list. This was interesting, as the one remaining unit like ours listed for $53,000 more than we paid, and our particular unit’s much better (much higher, 400 sq. foot balcony, higher ceilings, better finishings, etc.). Nice to know that 3 years of waiting has paid off fiscally…so far
  • Watch Montreal lose to the Islanders
  • Tried to nap
  • Bought groceries
  • Worked on paper for MBA course
  • Wrote this

.:.

After giving the Arcade Fire‘s Neon Bible several listens, I’m convinced it’s at least in the same ballpark as Funeral and has the potential to be just as good, if not as…I don’t know, epic. It has two brilliant songs, “Intervention” and “Antichrist Television Blues”; are they as good as “Neighbourhood #1” and “Rebellion (Lies)”? I’ll need a few hundred more listens to know for sure.

.:.

How cute is my wife? Tonight, while I finished up a paper for school, she watched Pretty In Pink in the other room. Wait, wait, that’s not the cute part (in fact, I find everything about that movie fairly repulsive, especially Molly Ringwald). Here’s the cuteness: when I took a break and went into the bedroom to watch a bit of the Raptors game, she slid a piece of paper under the door that said, in huge letters, “Je t’aime”.

Awwwww.

[tags]b espresso bar, henry’s camera, spire condominium, arcade fire[/tags]

Which reminds me: Le Gourmand is selling whisky-filled chocolate now…

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Guinness Marmite? My brother is going to lose his mind.

.:.

Bought three DVDs today. Well, I didn’t really buy them; I sort of won them, kinda-like. Anyway, here’s what I picked up:

  • Brick
  • The Departed
  • Heat (special edition)

Between the special edition sound level and my fancy-pants stereo, I can actually hear what the hell Jon Voight’s saying in this movie. Speaking of Heat, every time I watch it I’m amazed by how many good actors are in it: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Natalie Portman, Dennis Haysbert (President Palmer!), Amy Brenneman (Judge Amy!), Ashley Judd, Ted Levine (Buffalo Bill!), Mykelti Williamson (Bubba!), Wes Studi (Magua!), Diane Venora, Danny Trejo…plus Jeremy Piven (Ari!), William Fichtner, Hank Azaria (Moe!), Henry Rollins, Tone Loc and Xander Berkeley (Mason!) in bit parts. Amazin’.

[tags]guinness, marmite, brick, the departed, heat[/tags]

A gurgling stomach is "one of the signs" of My Lunch's imminent return

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

First of all, some big news: my oldest brother is now engaged!!! Everybody pop over to his blog and say congratulations to TimmyD and She Who Must Not Be Named.

Needless to say we’re extremely happy for both of them. We adore SWMNBN, and love how happy she makes my big brother, so we couldn’t be more pleased. Huzzah!

.:.

We tried a new place for Winterlicious last night: The Savoy. T-Bone joined us once again, along with her friend AS. We had a MUCH better experience this time than we had at 1055. My wine (can’t remember what it was…something Tuscan) was really good, my starter salad was excellent, my mushroom risotto wasn’t bad (I don’t like mushrooms, but even then…pretty decent) and my creme brulee was just right. The service was also very good, and best of all our table was in an enclosed booth, so the four of us felt very private and cozy during our meal. To top it off, it was actually cheaper than the typical ‘licious meal — $25 instead of $35 — so we definitely felt like we got our money’s worth.

The Savoy could very well become a neighbourhood joint once we move into our new place.

.:.

I seem to have buggered up my knee somehow. Tried to run on it Sunday afternoon and had to hobble to a stop after 45 seconds. This happens occasionally; hopefully a day with the knee brace should fix it up. But of all the weeks not to be able to exercise: Winterlicious week. Deadly.

.:.

This post on the Showcase Sideshow blog makes an interesting observation: the quality of Mexican directors right now is pretty impressive. It’d be pretty tough to find a better trio of films than Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro), Children Of Men (Alfonso Cuaron) and Babel (Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu) in theatres right now.

.:.

Holy blessed mother of hotpants, this Washington Post story takes climate change denial to a whole new level of silliness:

Hardison, a parent of seven here in the southern suburbs of Seattle, has himself roiled the global-warming waters. It happened early this month when he learned that one of his daughters would be watching “An Inconvenient Truth” in her seventh-grade science class.

“No you will not teach or show that propagandist Al Gore video to my child, blaming our nation — the greatest nation ever to exist on this planet — for global warming,” Hardison wrote in an e-mail to the Federal Way School Board. The 43-year-old computer consultant is an evangelical Christian who says he believes that a warming planet is “one of the signs” of Jesus Christ’s imminent return for Judgment Day.

His angry e-mail (along with complaints from a few other parents) stopped the film from being shown to Hardison’s daughter.

The teacher in that science class, Kay Walls, says that after Hardison’s e-mail she was told by her principal that she would receive a disciplinary letter for not following school board rules that require her to seek written permission to present “controversial” materials in class.

Seriously…if you’re the school how can you discipline a teacher for that? You’ve opened the door for teachers to be disciplined for discussing anything, since there’s always some nutbag parent who’ll get their knickers in a twist. Teaching evolution? Sex ed? Geology? Astronomy? Prepare to be disciplined. Hell, if a kid’s parent works for Verizon they’re even likely to complain about the math.

[via Cinematical]

[tags]engagement, savoy restaurant, winterlicious, climate change, inconvenient truth, frosty hardison[/tags]

The Guns Of August

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I’m currently reading The Guns Of August by Barbara Tuchman, about the run-up to WWI. It’s fascinating reading — more compelling, as a back-cover blurb says, than fiction — and brilliantly written. To understand just how much of war, and so much of subsequent twentieth-century history, rests on nuances of a general’s personality or on pettiness of politicians…it’s frightening and humanizing at once.

After this I think I’ll re-read A Short History Of WWI by Jim Stokesbury (to cover the bulk of the war itself) and then Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan. Then I have to find a WWII equivalent of The Guns Of August; I find the buildup to war the most interesting facet.

.:.

The afore-mentioned Jim Stokesbury was my uncle; a writer and professor of history at Acadia University, husband to my father’s sister, he died over a decade ago following an car accident. I was in university at the time, barely 20 years old. As time goes by I miss him more and more.

I’d only see him once a year, usually; on Boxing Day my father’s side of the family has a reunion, at which the routine is always the same: arrive, catch up with relatives, eat a great deal, and finally play Trivial Pursuit. Jim, being a history professor and a smart man in general, was fearsome at the game; being a sharp wit, he was equally fearsome if he set his mind to teasing you. I never thought of any of my aunts or uncles as being my “favourites”, but I suppose had I he would have been one. He made several model airplanes (building them was his hobby) for me when I was younger, his beautiful house overlooking the Annapolis Valley was always fun to visit, and he was always quick with a dry quip. Even as a kid I admired his mind; most of my childhood was spent trying to be as smart as my brothers and my parents, but for one day a year I’d want desperately to be as smart as my uncle Jim.

Now, as I read The Guns Of August, written in a readable style which surely informed my uncle’s, I find myself missing him more than ever. I want to email him and trade snarky comments about Joffre, or ask him whether the hunt for the Goeben really shaped Middle Eastern events for the next 90 years. I want to see my dad open his latest book on Christmas morning. I want to beat him at Trivial Pursuit.

Now, nearly twelve years after his death, I’d settle for a dry quip.

[tags]the guns of august, paris 1919, james stokesbury[/tags]

Stuffed like a gourmet turkey

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Nellie and I just had a scrumptious feast: 3 kinds of swiss chocolate, 2 kinds of cheese (including an amazing smoked English cheddar), herbed focaccia, a baguette and strawberries (all from Pusateri’s), crackers, olives (which I don’t like, but Nellie digs) and a Tomasi Amarone that I gave her for Christmas last year. It was all deeeeliiiiiish.

[tags]best ploughman’s lunch ever[/tags]

Final thoughts on our holiday trip

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It seemed like we were gone longer than nine days. Some parting notes & elaborations:

  • First of all, travel: flying on WestJet kicked ass. Both legs of the trip were on time, smooth, entertaining (seriously…the staff is actually friendly and quite funny at times) and free of incident. Our rental car and hotel room were the same, a claim my brother could not make.
  • Spending time with my family is, as always, the thing I look forward to the most. I only get to see my family once or twice a year at most, and wish it were more, so the visit — especially over the holidays — is always rewarding. Endless games of crib with my dad, silly laughter with my brothers, delicious treats prepared by my mom, gentle ribbing with my sister-in-law and SWMNBN and lots of playtime with my fantastic nephew and two nieces.
  • Speaking of my nephew and nieces, my oldest brother and I agree: my other brother and his wife have raised the three best kids we’ve ever seen. I saw plenty of not-so-good kids on this trip, and it made me appreciate even more the job their parents have done.
  • The time Nellie and I spent with my brothers and their lady friends for dinner a few days ago was especially memorable as we had yet another great meal at Da Maurizio and found a new wine bar (which I’m pretty sure was called Mosaic wine bar, though I can find no trace of it online).
  • Halifax now feels so different than when I lived there…perhaps it’s because I now have money and can afford to visit nice places, or perhaps it’s because those nice places have sprung up in recent years. Perhaps it’s because friends like MLS live there now. I don’t know…for the first time since I moved to Toronto I felt like I could live in Halifax again.
  • Finally, according to my siblings, I apparently still come across as surly. I’m a little surprised at that; I’m genuinely very happy. Sarcastic and introverted, sure, but I love every minute I’m awake. I just don’t want people — especially my family — thinking I’m depressed or despising everyone. My life, compared to most of the planet, is remarkably easy; to paraphrase David Cronenberg, the reason I can be so dark is because I’m so well grounded in what’s light.

And that’s it. I’m glad to be back home after nine days away, but already I’m trying to figure out how to see my family next year.

Here’s the flickr picture set.
[tags]westjet, family, halifax, da maurizio, surly[/tags]

The Farewell To Meat tour continues

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

We just got back from dinner at Da Maurizio — and after-dinner drinks at Mosaic* (sp?) — with my brothers and the ladies who love them. Dinner was, as always, impeccable. Sweet saucy shrimp, pumpkin-filled ravioli and duck breast in a citrus sauce, and a stuffed chicken breast.

It was great to spend time like this with my brothers et al. We do it too rarely, so I’m happy when we do it at all.

* Mosaic is apparently a joint effort between Da Maurizio and Seven wine bar.

[tags]halifax, da maurizio, mosaic wine bar[/tags]