What is the name for the little temporal isthmus between Christmas and New Year's? That no man's land of crumpled wrapping paper, leftovers, hangovers, and feeling slightly sick from eating your way through all the Christmas chocolates. (Because you know they have to be gone before New Year's, right?)
What to do? Well, you could haunt the coffee shops where bitter barristas discuss their bosses' marital problems: "Honestly, sometimes when I get here in the morning it's like they're going to kill each other with knives."
You could spend more money in the slugfest of Boxing Week sales.
Or you could regain serenity and your sense of smell at Allan Gardens.
By the way, M bought us a proper music stand for Christmas. I don't want to tell you what we've been doing with the music until now.
It was the official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival and Winner of the Award of the City of Rome at the Cannes Film Festival.
For most of his life, Ignacio Carillo travelled the villages of northern Columbia, playing traditional songs on his accordion, a legendary instrument said to have once belonged to the devil. He eventually married and settled in a small town, leaving the nomadic life behind. But after the traumatic death of his wife, he vows to never play the accursed instrument again, and embarks on one last journey to return the instrument to its rightful owner. On the way, Ignacio is followed by Fermin, a spirited teenager determined to become his apprentice ... Hardened by a life of solitude, Ignacio tries to discourage Fermin from following in his footsteps, but destiny has different plans for him.
For someone who has sworn not to play any more, Ignacio plays quite a lot. He plays in competitions; he plays to an illegitimate child he has fathered in a remote village. He plays accompaniment while two people duel on a bridge.
In between, there is some old-school music instruction:
"How did I play?" Fermin asks his taciturn teacher.
"Terrible."
In their travels, Ignacio and Fermin encounter a cultish drumming school in the jungle where the end of practice is signalled with:
"Enough. It is time to be baptized with the blood of the lizard."
Naturally enough, Fermin wants to be baptized too. He's getting a little annoyed with his chosen guru:
"Why did you put me down? Why did you deny my talent? Why didn't you teach me? I know why. Because you're a bitter old man who hates those who play for love and not for money. You swear to never play again, till they offer you money. And then you claim it's the accordion that plays you. Liar!"
But of course the truth is more complicated than that.
From Alida in Kingston, a link to an accordion version of ACDC's "Highway to Hell," Ukrainian style. Maybe it really is the Devil's instrument? Thanks, Lydia!
A holiday flash mob from the Seaway Mall in Welland, Ontario. I've seen lots of these but for some reason this one made me cry. Thanks to Terri Favro for the link.
(If you double-click on the video it will pop out and give a wider view.)
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