C Note(s)

Wow. I've had craptastic week. Even though it was only 4-days in length it was a banner week for the ages... I needed a laugh desperately. I sure got it. I watched the SIFF movie, The Grand Seduction , at the Kirkland Performance Center last night.   A great movie with a stellar cast, which I was lucky to see the premiere during SIFF. I haven't laughed so much throughout a movie for a long time. In fact, I'll have to see it again to catch all of the conversations as audience was laughing so much. Surprised to hear everyone breaking out in applause at various times during the movie. Very uplifting, well worth the price of admission. Gordon Pinsent and Brendan Gleeson's parts were my favorite characters, both superbly played by these talented actors. And Taylor Kitsch in the role of Dr. Lewis was the perfect straight man. Thankfully, I can NOW forget that terrible movie, Battleship, that he managed to helm aground. See what I did there?   Congrats to writers Mich...

Sometimes, I feel like the Metallica song, "Unforgiven". So when presented the opportunity to select this Japanese remake of the Clint Eastwood version for one of my six-pack of SIFF movies, I said hell yes! In the theater, we were challenged by the host. One half was to research, locate, and re-do a Western movie into a Samaurai movie... my half was to research, locate and re-do a Samaurai movie into a western. Challenge ACCEPTED! In the mean time, here's a review that I boosted from another writer for Unforgiven . Westerns have traditionally borrowed from Japanese legend (The Magnificent Seven reworking Seven Samurai etc.) so now it's time to repay the compliment with this handsome translation of Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winner from Korean-Japanese film-maker Lee Sang-il. Set on the northernmost island of Japan at the dawn of the Meiji era (the time period matches that of the original), the narrative unfolds as before; a bounty offered on the heads of two...

Seattle, WA - Seattle International Film Festival Uptown Cinema, Razed The Bar . Ryan Worsley's docudrama about the beloved Funhouse was good! The stylized cinematography was peppered with interviews of icons of the Funhouse such as the co-owners, staff, former bands that played there, etc. Having attended a grip of punk concerts there, I could attest or at least agree to the words spoken about this building and bar as a 'person'. I did enjoy the history of the building from Tex's Tavern, to Zak's to eventually the Funhouse. The addition of the reason why the bar was destroyed was not clearly defined as corporate money of 'x'. Easy targets like Starbucks, and multiple family living (condo) were thrown under the bus, but slight dig could've been illustrated more, in my humble opinion. Overall, good solid movie! I was even misty-eyed watching the footage of the final show there, but cleared quickly when the background music of punk was superimposed as ...

Last night started the 2nd year of my annual tradition (?) of screening several movies during the Seattle International Film Festival. I've known about for years, even a short stint in managing travel during the 2001 SIFF (that's even a longer story!) However, I had zero to little interest in it. I had no good reason either way. Last year, my dear friend, Cindy, invited me to be her movie buddy for SIFF. I accepted because I had no honestly good reason to refuse. We ran around the city tracking down movies that we wanted to watch, others were forgettable but that's the point! Some of these films will hit the mainstream. Most do not. Through the movies, misadventures, and mischief, we had a blast. So, it goes without saying, she invited me to repeat the feat. It continues to teach me: Despite how 'busy' you are - slow down and cherish the time with friends, family, and loved ones That as you grow older - invites should bear more weight than when you were y...

Not sure why the Universe has presented a couple of times recently, but crisis management seems to be on its' mind. A few weeks ago I shared with a young lady my top 5 near-death experiences or disaster related stories. She sat there in the bar booth with a look of astonishment - how did you stay calm? This week during my weekly American Red Cross Emergency Communications Weekly Net Meeting we didn't have Net Control [think a 'boss] While everyone was calm, we quickly realized that the primary, secondary and tertiary Net Control were not present. I calmly stepped up, and became Net Control. Then during an American Red Cross Chapter Meeting, our speaker was Colin Downey, Director of Communications for Western Washington. He launched into his harrowing experience with the Oso Landslide. Again, he was calm. Where do we get that perceived 'calmness', you ask? It's not really calmness, folks. Trust me, it's anything but that! However it is crisis mana...

Carina Muldez Bayne 02.02.48 - 12.17.97 Happy Mother's Day to all those mothers out there. Especially to the ones I know: Alicia Ulrich, Ashley Smith, Audrey Escherich, Phyllis Lines, Carrie Buckel, Catherine Rocha, Chandra Martinez, Cheryle Still, Cheyanna Flower, Cindy Buckingham, Cristina Waters, Danielle Dawn, Ginny Hoyt, Gretchen Maliska, Heidi Vazquez, Janelle Rees, Jo Rorberg, Renee Payne, Josie Powers, Julie Gish, Tammy Escherich, Kristine Santiago, Luz Bayne, Mari Odette-Kanotz, Maria Chieruzzi, Traci Briggs, Megan Lovett, Rachelle Maurer, Renee Prengel, Sami Smith, Shyla McKinzie, and Sidney Nettleton. If I forgot someone, I do apologize! It's an extensive list so please know you should be on it. My mom? Greatest woman I ever met. Although, I didn't realize it until after her passing. It's not like I wasn't grateful, proud of her, honored her, and more, I didn't realize it was the tallest order for me to locate yet another woman like her. Espe...

HM! Do you have a friend that constantly has a saying on his or her lips? For example, I'll spout out keep digging daily. SPOILER ALERT : I'm researching how to trademark that saying. A co-worker / friend ran up on me on Monday to share that his hockey team that started with a 0-9 record, kept fighting, kept digging and now... at the top of the standings! I was impressed! I easily hand over congratulations, but not easily impressed. I reflected on the hella amount of times, when my back's against the wall, the chips are down, the vise of stress crushing my soul, and yet, I stared down adversity in the face only to rip away victory from the jaws of defeat. I lost count - it's that many! If you're someone I call friend, then invariably we have had an adventure (or misadventure) or two or three, that we have encountered a pivotal moment of choice - to continue or to stop. With a tattoo and a company name to my name of keep digging, it would be hypocritical of m...