How I Spent My Oscar Night

This was for the history books..MY history book, that is. I'm still a bit...what the Brits would call "knackered" from it all.
First, I went to the Azure restuarant at the Intercontinental Hotel for dinner. I invited mi madre because she is the one person that truly deserves this. I won this prize at an Asian Spicy Food Festival last summer..that's what happens when you have an open mind, folks! I enjoy all kinds of cuisine as long as it's veggie. In fact, becoming vegetarian and now vegan has really opened my mind to all kinds of possiblities when it comes to cooking and baking. I've tried ingredients I would have never dreamed of trying when I was younger.
So back to the Azure..what a meal! We arrived at 5pm and left at 8pm...3 hours for dinner! I've never had a chance to consume such a leisurely and delicious meal before. Every dish and every bite I tried was amazing..everything was perfect, the taste, the texture, the presentation. They need to give that chef a raise! Now I probably won't be able to eat at any other place...they've made me a snob! lol This is the first time in my life that I've experienced what a tiny minority in this world experiences (the wealthy) and I loved it! It makes me wish that was my life! It does seem unfair to me that most of us have to go through life paying for bland, unhealthy, fattening crap called "fast food".
Anyway, for what it's worth we had a great time being served by an all male team of waiters and busboys (I geuss that's what they call the guys who remove dishes). For some reason, fancy restuarants pretty much always have waiters that are male...no females are hired. I saw a documentary which explored that issue ("Waitress") and the French restuarant owner they interviewed could'nt give a good answer..it's just tradition. I geuss you could say sexist tradition.
Although in my case I feel more comfortable surrounded by guys then girls..problably because I grew up with brothers and their friends. In fact, when I'm in a roomful of women, that makes me really panicked..which was what happened at the Bloor Cinema washroom when this woman was staring at me. She said she liked my stockings..I said "Thanks" then walked over to the window for the fifth time. Yeah, I really don't socialize with other females, much...I'm too wary and paranoid because of past experience with catty bitches.
So back to dinner! lol : P It was sublime, it that is'nt clear by now. I ordered Ontario green salad to start, a main course of veggie gnocchi and to finish it off Earl Grey tea and Grand Marnier chocolate tart with candied orange as garnish. Absolutely lovely...everything was organic and bursting with flavour. I don't know how they did it but everything was sauteed, roasted, pureed, baked to perfection. Damn! Now I wanna go back! And the waiter was helpful because he suggested I take home some dishes since my gift card had to be used in one visit. So I got chai cheesecake and a tempura entree. This was truly a one of a kind experience for me but I do hope it won't be my only time I get to experience this level of dining.
After that we went to the Bloor Cinema for the Oscars. We were just in time for the show to start..too late to see the red carpet fashions. Oh well, they always show the highlights the next day. Apparently from what I heard this morning on Jian Ghomeshi's radio show..the show was terrible. I thought it was entertaining but that maybe because everyone in the theatre was laughing and having a great time. There was some trivia and prizes..it was fun just to see people duke it out for a toaster from Honest Ed's. : P Honestly, I was ready to fight for it but then I thought naw...I'd rather get a toaster oven. lol
Anyway, I'm glad Natalie Portman won..she deserved it for her role in Black Swan. She completely immersed herself in the character both physically and psychologically. She did ballet training for months..which is NOT easy. I should know... and she did everything possible to give this film emotional impact and she succeded in my opinion. Which is frankly, all that matters.
I thought the other prizes were also justified and Melissa Leo dropping the f-bomb was worth the price of admission (actually it was free becuase I'm a Bloor cinema member but that's besides the point...) : P
And of course, we were the most dressed up people there. Fine by me, it was not an evening to dress like a slob. Once in a while you have to take pride in your appearance like they used to do in the good old days (the 30s-early 60s). Well, good for fashion anyways. : P
C'est Tout!

Food For Thought

There's been a lot of discussion going on about diets and healty eating so I thought I'd include the article below. It's about how government policy has a big influence on what we eat and the current health crisis we have (obesity, diabetes, etc). Very well written..it was published last week in a local alternative paper. I also saw the documentary "Food Inc" last night and to be honest, it gave me nightmares! It was'nt just seeing animals getting tortured and slaughtered although that was definitly part of it. What also scared me was how much government and the agriculture industry (which consists of just a half a dozen of corporations) controls the fod system and what we eat on daily basis. It's terrifying to know that so much power is given to selfish individuals who only have their own best interests in mind. There was a story about a mother who lost her child to E-coli and is now trying to get a bill passed to prevent this from happening to other people. You can't geuss how difficult that's been...she has'nt even received an apology from the company that is responsible for poisoning and killing her son. It's so tragic and it just highlights the fact that you can't trust anyone but yourself, especially when it comes to issues like health and nutrition. You can't most of the bullshit that's out there because it's sponsored by industry. It's like I read in "Skinny Bitch" (great book) know what the facts are and make up your own mind. Use your head and don't just go along with what they tell you to believe.Honestly, I would not be surprised if the agenda of the ruling class is to keep people stupid and fat. Because that's exactly what they're accomplishing. With government subsidies for junk food and a mediocre educational system. Actually mediocre is putting it nicely...I did'nt learn fuck all in school. Pretty much all of my knowledge has come from doing my own research, my own reading and my own will to do so. I think it's worth it to not be an ignorant ass. School seems designed to do this because they try to kill your curiousity and thirst for real education. Don't let that happen and stop eating garbage. I may not have all the answers but I just know that's part of the solution to this messed up society.

Go to: http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=173535&archive=29,23,2010