Another year and a wealth of brilliant movies and performances to celebrate. I really wasn’t sure what to think when I heard that Hugh Jackman would be hosting the show. But I have to say, within seconds of his opening performance, I realized that it didn’t matter what else happened from that point on, because Jackman’s opening was that good. He saved the Oscars. I had no idea that he was so talented and hilarious. For her part, Anne Hathaway was also delightful.
Many of my favourite performances were recognized last night: underdog Slumdog Millionaire (which I thought was just fantastic), Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (which as you all know is one of my favourite films of the year), Sean Penn for Milk (which Keira and I saw on Saturday and both agreed was absolutely brilliant- Penn is truly a genius) and of course, the absolutely darling Kate Winslet for her role in The Reader. I found myself bawling through more of the show than I care to admit. I also quite liked the format of the show this year. It had a more intimate feeling with the nominees all being seated in the front and I thought it was really special (and coincidentally, more emotional) the way that they mentioned each nominee individually and spoke about their performance.
One other note, while we’re on the topic of the films: I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button yesterday and I absolutely loved it. I really didn’t expect to, but I was thoroughly entertained by this film from start to finish. Its bittersweet reverse angle on the aging process is inescapably moving. Performances by Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Taraji P. Henson were beautifully honest.
So besides the films, the other reason to watch the awards is, of course, for the fashion.
Here’s a quick rundown of my favourite looks of the night:
Kate Winslet in Atelier Yves Saint Laurent by Stefano Pilati. Her gown was grey degrade satin and embroidered black silk tulle. This lady is all class. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I’ve been a huge fan since she played Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility in 1995. She is truly a brilliant actress and after several nominations over the years, I was pleased as punch to see her finally take a statue home.
Halle Berry in a strapless black and gold tulle Marchesa gown. Halle always seems to get it just right. She never looks like she’s trying too hard, she always looks absolutely stunning. Last night was no exception.
Angelina Jolie in an Elie Saab gown, Lorraine Schwartz jewelry, Ferragamo shoes and a Lana Marks bag. Although I consider myself to be a member of Team Aniston, I have to admit that Angie looked beautiful last night. Her gown is elegant and I am in love with her emerald jewels.
Jennifer Aniston in a silver Valentino gown. I thought it was refreshing to see Jen in something other than black. Her silver gown was flattering and gorgeous. Perhaps I’m biased because I often wear my hair the same way that she did (hat tip to JR), but I think it looks adorable. I like that she’s taking a risk- while I always think she looks great, Jen often looks the same to me. I give her points for trying something different this year.
Marion Cotillard looked exquisite in Haute Couture Dior and Chopard jewels. Although sequins and tulle can be frightening together, somehow she made this work to perfection. Maybe it’s because she’s French.
Who were your red carpet favourites? Total misses? What are your thoughts on the show? The winners?
Photos courtesy of Celebuzz
Life has been a little crazy over the last couple weeks. I realized this morning that I hadn’t even posted an entry about the Lykke Li concert, which was back on February 11th. On that Wednesday night my lovely date Angela and I made our way to The Commodore Ballroom (she walked, I limped). We were two giddy girls, so excited to see this woman perform live. After we checked out coats, it was drink time. Since the highballs that we’d planned on drinking cost upwards of a zillion dollars each, we decided to switch to cheap draft beer- which did us just fine.
While we were waiting for Lykke to take the stage (and talking through the opening band, which we weren’t fond of), we met up with my friend Leah. Leah’s always entertaining and definitely kept us laughing right up until the show started.
Then Lykke appeared on stage. Shrouded in loose, filmy black with a cowbell in hand for the melodic opener Dance Dance Dance – which she can, bouncing about with hip-hop-informed, shoulder-centric moves for much of the night. The 22-year old is charming, confident, and sings disarmingly pretty songs.
For her encore, Lykke performed, with genuine emotion, an exceptionally amazing live version of Tonight and an awesome cover of A Tribe Called Quest’s CanI Kick It? (which is one of my favourite songs in the world…so I was stoked!)
Such an effortless combination of talent and wiles are hard to come by, and easy to fall for.
Photo: Source
We looked like penguins
in the early morning
drifting to and from
that part of sleep
that still feels comfortable.
Curled close-
warm breath on my temple
The longest eyelashes,
the longest lingering looks
how your lips hit the tip of my ear
(like someone familiar)
And I find some kind of happy in all this.
I smile to myself.
I just read about ache being the feeling
that something vital is disintegrating…
that loving all the way might ache and sting,
but loving only half way leaves us with a hope
that could never live out loud.
“Being fun is way better than being beautiful. I would rather entertain people.” -Kirsten Dunst
I’ve pretty much been meaning to feature Kirsten Dunst in one of my personal style entries since I started doing them. I know there are a lot of haters out there, but I am a huge fan. She keeps things simple, but adds her own quirky touch. Kirsten’s innate and unfussy sensibility is a blend of sophistication and 70s panache, which creates a very modern look. She wears lots slouchy pieces- large tees and over sized sweaters and cardigans, dresses and adorable little high waisted skirts. She has been wearing these things far longer than they’ve been trendy. She adds to her look by wearing accessories like sunglasses (more often than not), scarves, cute beanies, belts and bags. There isn’t an ensemble on this page that I wouldn’t personally rock. In my opinion, she comes across chic in an “I’m not trying too hard” kind of way, which is my favourite way there is.
I’m kind of obsessed with the way that her red bag matches her nails, which match her lips to perfection in these next two photos:
**Photos are not property of Work In Progress. They have been taken from various websites. If your photo has not been credited and you would like it to be, please e-mail me.**
Filed under: Grouse Mountain, Vancouver events, dc, push.ca, snowboarding
Photo: Push.ca
The contest was all wrapped up as of 9am this morning. Here’s a final photo of all the teams (amazingly, still standing) after enjoying the ride for 48 hours.
The winning team will be announced on Monday night. The judges have a tough job ahead of them, that’s for sure. Take a look at the final blog posts here:
Boardroom
The Circle
Evolution
Showcase
*****
UPDATE: Congratulations to contest winners from The Circle! Dave Chamberlain and Colton Showers, representing The Circle snowboard shop in Whistler, showed DC, Push.ca and Grouse Mountain that they truly “Enjoyed The Ride More.” When asked about what he thought of their blog (before he knew they had won), Dave said that he felt that despite their amateur photography and blogging, they “probably had more fun than anyone else.”
Filed under: Grouse Mountain, Vancouver events, dc, push.ca, snowboarding
Happy Valentine’s Day! I have been up at the top of Grouse with the four teams trying to enjoy the ride most for 48 hours. The boys are certainly tired today, but still in great spirits- shredding, taking unreal photos, and documenting all the fun they’re having on Push.ca! The blog posts they’ve been turning out are fantastic and soooo funny (especially considering that they’re all running on very, very minimal sleep, if any). The lodge was pretty much crazy packed all day today- and it seems like there are many people jumping on the “48 Hour” bandwagon, even outside of our contest. I answered more questions than I knew the answers to, and gave out a gazillion stickers.
Let me just say, I’d hate to be one of the judges because all of these guys are so awesome and are doing an absolutely amazing job up here. The creativity that continues to flow from them, even after being on the mountain for more than 24 hours absolutely astounds me. Very impressive. It’s definitely going to be very tough to choose a winner. They are all super fun guys with hearts of gold and it has been a pleasure to kick it with them over the last couple days.
This afternoon, the kitchen was abuzz with the sound of chopping carrots and cheering as the guys competed to see which team could chop the most carrots in 30 seconds using a DC snowboard (why carrots? click here, and watch the Ikka commercial). Team Showcase was the big winner, chopping 11 carrots. Their prize? A brand new DC snowboard for each of them. Josh also wins the “sweetest gesture of the day” award for giving his old board away to a kid who had his board stolen at the mountain today. The kid, of course, was beyond stoked and we were beyond impressed with Josh’s stellar kindness.
We’re down to just about 11 hours left in the contest. You can bet that the guys will be pulling out all the stops in the final hours.
Make sure to keep reading the entertaining blog posts filled with epic footage and incredible photos:
Filed under: Grouse Mountain, Vancouver events, dc, push.ca, snowboarding
It’s Friday the 13th. 9am today marked the start of the “Enjoy The Ride More for 48 Hours” challenge that DC is running up at Grouse Mountain as part of the 48 Hours of Winter weekend.
The teams have been hitting the slopes, shredding the gnar, blogging on iMacs about their adventures and chilling out at DC’s Billy Mays kitchen in the chalet all day and will continue doing so right through until 9am on Sunday morning.
This evening was super fun times at the top of the mountain for those of us enjoying some eats and drinks at Altitudes Bistro, while loving the incredible view, and then hanging out in the kitchen, giving out stickers and dog leashes and od’ing on the crazy amounts of caffeine coming out of the espresso machine.
You can check in on what the teams are up to as they document all the highlights and fun they’re having right here on Push.ca!
It’s running me deep,
deep into the ground.
I lose grip- but there’s something
holding tighter than my strength.
It’s all I want.
The week is almost over
sadness comes- goes.
Smiles rise and do not fade-
until morning
Not a breathing soul but me.
Alone- even more than before.
I’ve been searching.
Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema
I have been discussing love and relationships and dating with my girlfriends more than usual over the last few days…ever since He’s Just Not That Into You opened in theatres last Friday, as a matter of fact.
He’s Just Not That Into You provides a bare bones guide through the strategic world of dating by getting rid of all the excuses and “what ifs” that come with the territory. As the lives of this interconnected group of friends in Baltimore illustrate, even smart, beautiful, successful women can become needy, desperate, delusional, and even a little crazy. Many more fall into the “making excuses trap.” The film dissects the signals we put out as we interact with each other via the internet and over our various phones and blackberries, in text messages and emails, and in person.
I have to admit that I walked out of the theatre feeling like a frustrated lonelyheart. It really seemed to me to suggest that the chase involved in finding that perfect person is pretty much a fruitless waste of time that causes only heart ache and misery. It spotlighted the mind games and the bullshit and reminded me of exactly what exhausts me so much about dating and gives me anxiety over the possibility of never actually finding my soul mate or living happily ever after. I left wondering if I was doomed to wander the universe alone for the rest of my life.
The film doesn’t peddle the fantasy that a happy ending is the inevitable climax of every meet-cute. For all its humour, it recognizes that love is ephemeral and elusive. This might be the most thorough, realistic chick flick of recent times. And to be honest, that scared the hell out of me.
Thankfully, as the film points out, there are always exceptions. Here’s hoping that I can find MY exception…
(where is my Ben Affleck, anyway?)
————-
A friend of mine sent me a quote last week that I love so much. Relating back to personal growth and relationships, this has become somewhat of a mantra for me recently:
“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement, there is life and in change there is power.”
Filed under: Grouse Mountain, Vancouver events, dc, push.ca, snowboarding
With Grouse Mountain open for shredding for a full 48 hours from February 13th to 15th, DC thought it would be sweet to take the “Enjoy The Ride More” concept to a whole new level.
Team riders from four shops — The Boardroom (Vancouver), The Circle (Whistler), Showcase (Vancouver), and Evolution (Whistler) — will be be riding at Grouse for 48 hours. While on the mountain, they will have to authentically show us how they “enjoy the ride more” by uploading photos, videos and blogging about their experience live on Push.ca. Teams will be expected to post something every four hours on the site. The shop team that can last the entire stretch and deliver the most creative blog posts will win a day of catboarding at Powder Mountain Catskiing in Whistler, a head-to-toe DC kit, plus spending money.
It’s going to be crazy!
Highlights of 48 Hours of Winter include:
· Skiing
· Snowboarding
· Terrain Parks
· The Yeti Snowshoe Series competition
· DC presents “Enjoy the Ride More!” contest
· Ice skating
· Midnight snow shoe tours (depart)
· Endless dining opportunities
· Theatre in the Sky’s ‘marathon of winter action sports’ films
· DJ spinning tunes all night long
· Air Grouse Mountain Ziplines
DC launched the Enjoy The Ride More snowboard campaign in November 2008. The campaign features professional snowboarders, Devun Walsh and Iikka Backstrom alongside TV infomercial legend Billy Mays. For those of you planning to head up the mountain to check out it out this weekend, be sure to stop by and visit me in the DC kitchen at the top of Grouse Mountain, where I’ll be hanging out all day Saturday. We’ll enter your name for product giveaways as you drink espresso and watch the Billy Mays infomercials. A couple of the other reps will be demoing the new and totally rad DC snowboards as well, so that’ll be a great opportunity to see how much you can enjoy the ride!
Check back for coverage of the weekend!
