Exit Through the Gift Shop

Whoa!  I need to write while it's fresh on my mind.

I just watched "Exit Through the Gift Shop".  It's about Banksy...
But no, that's not really true... it's really about street art...
...no, no... that's not entirely true either.  It's about both of those things + Thierry Guetta a.k.a. MBW a.k.a. Mister Brainwash.

Such is the conundrum of "Exit Through the Gift Shop".  Who is it even about?  How did it all go down?  And how does everybody involved feel about it now?  Needless to say, it's very meta.

It was one of the best movies I've ever seen in many ways.  It really made me think and it was not at all what I expected.  I was craving a documentary, went with a suggestion from my sister, and it DELIVERED!!!  Thank you, sista, and thank you, Banksy.

Please see this film.

Now onto my next doc - "Hoop Dreams".

Entourage: Concluded (and long overdue post)

Diligent Sugar & Gravy readers – I owe you a post. 16 days with no updates is absolute sacrilege, so without further ado…

A NEW POST!!!

I mentioned in my last post that I'd write about the series finale of "Entourage" slash the last season in general, which is good because I just re-watched the last ep, so it's once again fresh on my mind.

For those of you who don’t know, Entourage ran on HBO for 8 seasons.  Each season varied in length, but most fans (if not all) were pretty horrified to find out that the 8th and final season was going to be only 8 episodes long.  6th season, in my opinion was AMAZING, but 7th season was somewhat lackluster… not because there wasn’t enough going on, but just because it was hard to see the gang sort of independent from one another, never mind Vince going through a whole bunch of ups and downs (mostly downs), which was not so fun to witness.  However, I stayed optimistic and just hoped that 8th season would really deliver and wrap up the show in a neat little package, tied with a bow… you get what I’m saying.  So I guess the thought was, how are you going to do that in only 8 episodes?!

The truth is, in my opinion, that they rushed this season.  I don’t know why they had only 8 episodes, or whose decision that was, but it was a whole lot of stuff to happen in 8 episodes and felt unrealistic.

HOWEVER, in a superficial way, I was incredibly satisfied with how it all wrapped up, realistic or not.  What I wanted for the characters happened… I just wish that it had been in a more real way.  I mean, it’s not TV, right?  It’s HBO.  But it’s also not “Six Feet Under”, it’s “Entourage”.

As for the series finale itself?  It was a grand slam!  Once again, realistic or not, loose ends were tied, there was a happy ending, all characters ended up where they were supposed to, and it just felt good.  And I appreciate that.  Ari’s final scene in the office with the opera music playing?  BRILLIANT.  It was just wonderful!  Upon a second watching, I was moved to tears.  Bravo!!!

Then there’s the movie… well, it’s obviously not just a rumour because that little cliffhanger with Ari at the end is an opening if I’ve ever seen one.  I can’t wait to see the boys on the big screen.  Bring it on, and make it a damn good one!  I’d also love if they had Fergie sing the movie’s theme song… I’m not totally joking either.

Niko Niko

I've talked about restaurants in New York and Toronto, but I have yet to post about a resto in my beloved Kitchener-Waterloo.  And it does have restaurants to boast about - the new(ish) Oliver & Bonacini's at Conestoga Mall (try the lamb burger!!!), Wildcraft, Ben Thanh..... but none is worth boasting about more than:

NIKO NIKO!!!

Niko Niko is a cozy, completely unpretentious Japanese restaurant in downtown Kitchener, close to the intersection of King & Queen.  Unfortunately (but not unsurprisingly) it doesn't have a website, but you can take my word for it: it's the best sushi I've ever eaten in my life!!!  I've been to a lot of Japanese restaurants, and plan on going to one in Japan at some point in my life, but what I'm saying is that I've eaten a lot of sushi in my day.  I love sushi, but Niko Niko has taken my standards to a whole new level.  It's not just sushi; it's art.  Each different kind of roll is creative and unique and isn't just some side dish to your bento box.  It is the dish.  Any roll comes with miso soup and salad.  The miso is spot on, and the salad is your typical greens and tomatoes, but their wasabi-infused dressing makes it anything but typical.  I've sampled a number of the rolls, but what I always end up eating is the signature Niko Niko roll, and I usually share a Love Love roll with my bestie, and classic Niko Niko partner, Monica.  She's the one who introduced me to the resto and it almost feels wrong going without her.  I barely ever have.

In fact, I'd estimate that I've spent over $1,000 at Niko Niko over the years..... I wish I was kidding.

So what makes me post about Niko now?  Well, a fire about 6 or so months ago occurred at a store or restaurant near Niko Niko and as a result my beloved resto closed down for nearly 5 months.  Although I don't live in KW anymore, I've been in the city at least 3 times over those 5 months and every time I hope that it's open again... but it never is.

Until this past weekend.  When Monica told me the news, I almost started to cry.  We headed there as soon as we could and were met almost by cheers from the staff.  We learned from them that we weren't the only devastated ones; apparently there's a whole Niko Niko cult.  I'm not surprised to learn that.  As a result of the 5 months of a closed-down Niko, they upgraded their menu, added a few new items (but didn't take any away - thank God!), spruced up the bathrooms, and got a well-deserved face lift.  The place looks great, and I'm frankly thrilled to have my fave resto back!  

So do yourself a favour and check Niko Niko out whenever you're in KW.  You won't regret it.

Next post - I'll weigh in on the last episode ever of "Entourage".

To Build A Home

SO inspiring:

 

And works really well with what I haven't been able to stop listening to today:

NO NAIL BITING CHALLENGE

What's the key to achieving goals?

Declaring them on Sugar & Gravy.

Aside from graduating from university with a BA in Honours English and getting my G2, I think one of my best achievements in the past few years was quitting biting my nails.  I had been biting them for as long as I could remember and was frankly sick of the way they looked, the pain, and the embarrassment of having such nasty nails.  I decided to stop biting them, and I did.

Unfortunately, it hasn't lasted.  I don't know if I just let myself get back into the habit or if work-related and certainly emotional stress/distress lately have driven me to bite them.  Either way, I'm sick of doing it all over again and must break the habit!!!

SO - I solemnly declare to quit biting my nails once again!!!  Please join me on this journey.

Videos that make me happy!

I just spent too much time going through videos I've favourited on YouTube and as a result would like to share...

Videos that make me happy! (just a few)

I love this guy. Not only is he skilled on the piano and geetar, but there are TWO of him, AND his accent (Norwegian?) is adorable on the English theme songs. Oh, and he has the cutest l'il smile!




I used to be OBSESSED with this video. I love Immi.

This is the first Adele-related thing I ever heard/saw and I fell in love the moment I heard/saw her.

Rough Aunties

I've been wanting to blog about this film since I saw it, but I needed to let it sink in for a bit longer before I could sit down and write. Even now I'm hesitant to talk about it because I'm not sure I can do my feelings justice or articulate just how incredible an experience it was to watch it.

Note: I consider myself no movie critic or reviewer, so this is just me articulating my thoughts and feelings on a film I saw. Take it for what it's worth.

"Rough Aunties" is a documentary about an organization called Operation Bobbi Bear, which was founded by Jackie Branfield in the early 90s in South Africa. The organization is made up of many hard-working staff and volunteers, but the movie focuses on 5 women in particular, who are called the Rough Aunties. The organization exists to rescue and uphold the rights of sexually abused children, minimize their risk of HIV infection, and help them towards wholeness.

The documentary doesn't involve interviews nor narration, but simply observes these women as they work, whether it's a group raiding the home of an abused child, a woman and child one-on-one talking about the child's experience of sexual abuse, or the Rough Aunties together discussing their passion for what they do, and also their frustration with what they see and how hard it is to deal with some of the things they are witness to. This laissez-faire documentary approach really allows the women to speak for themselves.

What stood out for me was the strength of the Rough Aunties. All of them were very serious about their work and, from what I saw, absolutely incredible at what they do. Some of the things the viewer sees/hears are devastating; who wants to hear about a sweet, innocent child being abused - verbally, sexually, emotionally, physically??? However, these selfless women sit with the children, help them express their stories, and work to take (some of) their pain away, then having to release some of that pain themselves. Just watching the film was hard for me, so the thought of dealing with that on a daily basis is just beyond my imagination... I wish I was that strong, and I'm just so in awe of these women who are helping these children. It's absolutely inspiring!

Another thing that stood out for me was the approach of the Rough Aunties in their one-on-one's with children. Each Auntie was different, of course, but what they all did was have physical contact with the children... they hugged them, held them close... Not to get really heavy here, but I feel like in North America there's such a reluctance to be in physical contact with other people in therapy/social work, etc. I don't know much about it all, but for whatever reason it's deemed inappropriate or harmful. In the film it seemed that the children didn't want to let the Aunties go; that hugging them gave the children all the strength and joy in the world; that they felt cared for and safe and comfortable. I thought that was so beautiful, and I really respected that approach.

Lastly was the way the Aunties themselves handled the situations. They took in all this horrible information from the kids; hearing their horrifying stories and learning the details of their abuse. You could tell they were just emotionally spent after one-on-one's, but they didn't compartmentalize their emotions. Of course they have to keep their emotions in check to some degree, but their passion fuelled their ability to help, so they didn't hesitate from showing anger or sadness about the many cases of abuse. Of course, they didn't show that to the children, in order not to upset them, but among one another they shared their stories in a therapeutic catharsis; acknowledging their feelings about it, sharing them with one another, relating, and then, I suppose, perhaps letting a little of it go. They also laughed with one another, cried with one another, and created amongst one another a community of shared passion and experience, continuing to strengthen their abilities to achieve their organization's mission.

So those are my thoughts, for what they're worth. Please watch the film as I think it's an important one to see and really well done!