Blog of the Little Bonsai

Personal Blog of Steve Baumber

Two weeks later and we're two bikes richer. Rosemary and I went bike shopping and got a reasonable deal on two Kona mountainbikes to replace the ones that were stolen. We then, in a heady mix of consumerism and money madness, bought a DVD player. Mmmmm, DVD's. I'm taking a voice class to see if I can improve my theatre voice, and it's fairly good. I was hoping for more excersises and voice strengthening things, but the class seems more about finding the "voice" of the speech or whatever that you are speaking. Still, good stuff and we're using Shakespeare sonnets to practice. It's the first time I've seriuosly worked with Shakespeare and a good experience to have someone guide you along how it can be presented properly, iambic pentameter and inflection, etc. Canuck fever grips our wee city, and I'm glad we don't live downtown anymore! Noisy hockey fans spilling out on Robson Street last night. Yikes. Was in Victoria last weekend to see Tayt, Lila, and Sierra. Christie Shaw and her new man Lock joined us for dinner and we had a typically fantastic Tayt-cooked dinner of grilled salmon and asparagus, with tasty greek-style potatoes. Sierra is the sweetiest baby on the planet, and it was a good evening of catching up with old friends. Off for a run in our old neighbourhood, and some strolling around downtown, 'cause it's a beautiful day. Don't let it get away... posted by Steve @ 10:30 AM	4.26.2003
Is it wrong to really want to see this thing go off? Somewhere VERY deserted mind you. I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons ... posted by Steve @ 10:16 AM	4.10.2003
Okay, against the better judgement of some and Mike N's passionate observation that it was total crap, Ryan and I went to see "The Hunted" on Tuesday night. Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro. How can one go wrong? Fairly easily it would seem... Sure the story is a rip-off of First Blood, but the killer is a man wrestling with the idea of humanity's choice to prey upon itself, and the trainer is a man wrestling with confronting his role in the deaths of thousands at the hands of those he trained, and the subsequent destruction of the people he trained. Two characters with a lot of depths to explore, and two excellent actors to pull it off. However, the script was often lacking, and the filming lacked any style at all. Okay, no style. No interesting angles, no atmosphere. And as Mike had said, no character development, just stupid endless chase scenes when I was much more interested in what was going on inside the characters. Some good moments and good knife fighting, but what a waste of talent. The director should have his eyebrows mussed. Especially for, once again, making a movie that shows Canada as a snowy wilderness filled with trappers and white wolves. Tommy Lee Jones' character's isolated cabin retreat was six hours drive from Vancouver. You mean 100 Mile House? Salmon Arm? Vernon? I'm amazed if some Americans can find the state next to them on a map with bright colours and arrows pointing at it. Ah hell, I'd be amazed if they can point out their home state. Or their own country. On the brighter side, the trip to Seattle was fun, so I'm not really anti-American. Just anti-ignorance. Some would argue it's the same thing, but I digress. Saw Uncle Mike and rode in the big boat. Saw BL's grave and almost made it Jimi Hendrix's, but alas there wasn't enough hours in the day. Went to the Experience Music Project though, and had a look at some killer guitars and killer guitarist paraphenalia. Now that the cops have taken Dad from the house in Bahgdad, all the kids are partying. Looks like a house wrecker to me... posted by Steve @ 8:10 AM
Um, well, not much to say. I have a new tune on the website, a Radiohead cover. Not great, but at least I'm finally risking to put my voice on the web. RM and I are heading to Seattle this weekend to visit Brad and hopefully my Uncle Mike, and make the pilgrimage to BL's grave. Neuf and Sum Yu wer in Van the other day and so we went and stuffed ourselves with Chinese food and cheesecake. And yea, I'm running again. RM continues her training for the half marathon in May. She rocks the hills and kicks the flats. No new bikes yet, but many considerations. Director's workshop was good, but the end product was nothing special (or is that me?). Anyway, I got new headshots done by Pink Monkey studios - I highly recommend them to anyone needing professional photos done. Those casting directors will be positively busting down the door. I guess I should throw a few on the website for scrutiny. Presenting to five people is worse than presenting to 100. Here endeth the sermon. posted by Steve @ 7:40 PM	4.03.2003