My Fabulous Tank

Above is the first shot I can find that I took of my 60-gallon tank. I took it in November last year.

This shot was taken today. The purple lil is growing up to the top and there are three little lilies coming up as shoots now. It is an ever-changing landscape and it fascinates me.

Remembering

I am very proud of us, the friends of Chris Adkins.

When Chris was diagnosed with cancer, we were there for him. We organized a benefit screening of a film and an auction at Vancity Theatre where Chris worked for years and we raised $10,000 for a "comfort fund" for him. It was a resource for him during the ensuing 4.5 years of his life and while he was alive a "salon" group and a "breakfast" group formed to party with Chris. Chris lived close to the Sylvia Hotel so it was easy for him to get there (even with help toward the end) where we could have drinks and snacks together without crowding into Chris' apartment.

The Sunday Salon group were a bunch of friends from Chris's time at the Arts Club Theatre (the 1980s). A lot of us who Salon together worked in the office or backstage and we had drifted apart but Chris brought us back together to have regular salons all during his last years with us. The Breakfast group dates to the same era and the Arts Club, but it is almost exclusively comprised of actors. Lucky for me, I was part of both groups and since Chris's death in December, both groups have met again at the Sylvia (the Salon group, this past Sunday), and we have vowed to keep meeting indefinitely.

What greater testament to a friend is there than the desire of all his friends to stay together forever as "Chris's friends." All through the 80s when I lost so many friends to AIDS (dear Rory, oh my God, and Peter, Chris C.), I felt horrid about the ending of community that went with each one. IN every case, friends rallied to be the support team, but with each death the ties that bound turned to ashes immediately. Perhaps it was because we all had another death to move on to. Perhaps it was to put the deaths "behind" us because they were awful deaths. Who knows?

But with every Salon and Breakfast, Chris stays alive in our hearts. I am so proud of us because I cannot help but feeling  that this is how it should be. You lose one but you gain a bunch.

SHERLOCK

This awesome fan film is a musical preview for Season 3 of the absolutely awesome BBC series Sherlock that begins to air next weekend.

Reflections on Golden Globes

There was lots to love watching the Globes this year:

• When I absolutely hate a work of art, I get a kind of high hating it. I love to riff on why I hate it and although it is not nearly as satisfying as loving an artwork, I find the pleasure of hating something mysteriously pleasant. Consequently, the highlight of my evening was listening to Bono win for best song. U2 has to be the most pretentious band ever formed and Bono is the most pretentious singer ever. It was thrilling to taste the bile in my mouth while he spoke. Oh for the old days when you could ship undesirables to Australia and forget about them.
• "And now, like a supermodel's vagina, lets give a warm welcome to Leonardo DiCaprio."  
• I had to leave the room during Jacqueline Bisset's acceptance speech. That was not pleasant like the bile fest of  Bono.
• When Reese Witherspoon came on, all I could think of was her comment to the cop arresting her: "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!" It only takes six words to lose respect.  
• Dianne Keaton, looking spectacular as always, revealed how little of her Annie Hall role was acting by being herself. Her speech was heartfelt and unsurprisingly clever; I am a fan. But the poor woman was doomed in this role. Woody Allan is a genius. He is another Hitchcock and  the most prolific and successful screenwriter ever I suspect, but he also caused moral hearts to chill when he married his stepdaughter. His personal life makes the apt honouring of his heroic career difficult.
• I cheered alone out loud for Jared Leto when he won his award for playing the character of Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club, but when he ended his speech by acknowledging and accepting his award for "all the Rayons in the world" I cried. That was classy.
• Emma Thompson was hilarious carrying her shoes and a martini. Gorgeous, talented, accompanied by her daughter; I love her. (Bono, you are such an asshole—you should take some notes from Ms Thompson about how to handle fame.)
• Alfonso Cuaron was hilarious when he told us that his thick accent had Sandra Bullock hear "I am going to give you herpes" instead of what he was trying to say: "I am going to give you (an) earpiece."
• Kate Blanchett's win and speech were both terribly satisfying. Her performance and Woody Allan's writing made her character in Blue Jasmine.
• I worship Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and her cameo cut-aways with Amy Pohler and Tina Fey were fabulous. (Take note Bono.)
• And finally, Leonardo DiCaprio, here is something you should know:

This is phyllo mania.

This is Philomena.

Detail

Click to enlarge.

The saying goes: "God is in the details" and this is how I see this series called Face to Face by New York Michael Mapes. When I look at the piece above (Dutch Female Specimen: J) I am filled with calm. This is a work I could happily own because there is so incredibly much to see. Heaven!

A psychologist recently interviewed me as part of a compliance study of people living on life-sustaining medications. In the ensuing interview, I was kicked off the study because, they said, I had (non-clinical) obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). I had no idea but it has altered my perception considerably; it is weird when one aspect of your personality is kind of taken away from you and labelled as a disorder or disease.

I believe Face to Face appeals to that part of my personality. I see a festival of order and control. I've been looking at everything very close up by magnifying it in Photoshop. There is order in the universe.

Doyin Richards: Dad

Doyin Richards is a blogger who calls himself Daddy Doin' Work (DDW) describes a typical husband/wife situation: one is late, the other covers all the domestic duties. In this case, DDW said he would cover braiding his oldest daughter's hair (Daddy Doin' Work's first daughter, or DDW1) while rocking his youngest daughter to sleep (DDW2).

Mr. Richards sent proof to his wife with a photo that he then pasted on this DDW Facebook page and these are some of the comments he received:

• "He probably rented those kids. They don't even look like him."
• "I would bet anything that you're a deadbeat."
• "OK buddy, cute picture. Now why don't you hand the children back to their mom so you can go back to selling drugs or your bootleg rap CDs?"
• "So do you do this for all of your illegitimate kids?"

From reader's he knew to be black he got these comments:

• "This would be so much better if those kids were BLACK!"
• "Look at this Uncle Tom. No chance he would be doing this if his kids were black."
• "I'm sorry, but I can't support a brotha who didn't marry a black woman."
• "Your MOM is black and you dishonored her by marrying outside of your race? You probably can't handle a strong black woman."

Through it all, Mr. Richards takes the high road:

I love being a dad and I love sharing my love of fatherhood with others. Shit, being a dad is one of the few things in life I'm actually good at. Of course I'm going to be passionate about this gig. My dream is that ALL people will embrace men who embrace fatherhood instead of wondering if they have ulterior motives. Remember, we're the good guys in this fight.

Read about this in Mr. Richards' own words here.

Meanwhile, at Shoe Lane

Maxine Peake as Martha Costello

Whereas I have been disappointed in the writing of Downton, I am giddy about Silk. Right after seeing the first episode, I went online to learn more about the series because I loved the writing and I really loved the lead actor, Maxine Peake.

Imagine my surprise when I found a lot of criticism about the show. I was stunned to find myself so out of synch with the critics and the public, but wait…. The critics are all lawyers doing something I hate: criticizing an art form for not being exactly like reality. Excuse me? Do they not realize that if courtroom dramas were like real life we'd be bored to smithereens? Have they not attended a criminal trial?

Artwork is not meant to replicate reality but like everyone who saw The Queen (with incredible writing by Peter Morgan and inspired acting by Helen Mirren), I revel in good writing and acting that attempts to present a dramatic version of reality. Silk is fabulously written by Peter Moffat whose words fit beautifully in the mouth of barrister Martha Costello (who is portrayed by the wonderful Ms Peake) and Billy, Shoe Lane Chambers' senior clerk (played deliciously by Neil Stuke).

Silk is easily my favourite show on TV. If you like Aaron Sorkin's writing (West Wing, The Social Network), you will love Silk. Sadly, the season is short so I have watched it twice. I await season two and I have read that season three is currently being filmed. Hurray.

Is there anything literary Britain cannot be the best at? I think not. I have been gobsmacked by their scriptwriters: The Singing Detective, I Claudius, Upstairs Downstairs, Sherlock and so many things from Merchant Ivory Productions. And now I can add Silk to this list.