A walk and a super supper/movie date. Thanks, Bill!

Unknown Mami's Sundays in my City is the meme of choice today.  Many thanks to Claudya for encouraging us to share our cities.  I love Vancouver and love to record the fun we have here.

In the early afternoon yesterday, Black Jack and I took a short walk.  There were some young cormorants on the sculpture, Brush with Illumination.

 This one flew from the sculpture, and although I'm not an expert on landings, thought..

 there was something awkward in the way s/he approached the water.

Only a few weeks ago, some cormorants were missing the sculpture entirely and crashing miserably into the water when they attempted landings.  They are doing much better now, but these photos perhaps suggest a little more practice would smooth out the water landings.

 Often, there seems to be one seagull keeping company with the cormorants.  I can't look at a seagull without thinking of Tupper but sadly, she hasn't been seen since October 12th.  

 We both miss her.  This seagull appeared to be very comfortable with the cormorants.  Perhaps they grew up.. 

 together under the Granville Bridge where many seagulls, pigeons and cormorants nest.

 There has been lots of wind and rain lately, but some colour remains..

 in the trees and hedges along False Creek and in David Lam Park.

On our way home, and just a few doors from our apartment, we noticed this cat. 

 S/he turned to give us..

 a cautious stare but rejected all thought of a more intimate conversation with Black Jack :)

Later, we walked with Bill along Pacific Boulevard on our way to Harrison Galleries.  Black Jack tried to convince us to stop at our favourite pet-supply store.  Denied that pleasure,

she thought we might be more tempted by the dog treats kept at the pharmacy just a couple of doors further along the street.  Poor Black Jack.  We were on a mission.  And poor Bill..  I seem to have missed his head in this shot :)

We hadn't walked through Helmcken Park for a long time, and some of the sights.. 

felt brand new to me.

Bill pointed out the "sculpture" on this small tree.

I loved the details, though I know absolutely nothing about tree growths.

I'm hoping the tree is  healthy in spite of its decorative features.  

Zoomed in for a bit more detail.

I looked up as we walked along Homer Street and admired these flowers.

Crossword almost completed and treats enjoyed at Harrison Gallery's café, I took this quick shot of some Bush Tits as we walked home.

Supper at our favourite Mexican restaurant, a bike ride over the Burrard Bridge, and then a movie that shook me to the core (I don't think I've ever used that cliché before to describe my response to a movie) left me feeling exhilarated and so very alive.  No photos from that part of our day except for these three screen shots.  The movie is called Whiplash.  Here's the trailer.  The funny part to this story is that we had chosen a Bill Murray comedy, but when we arrived at the theatre, every movie except "Whiplash" was sold out.  We almost went home as the title didn't conjure up much in the way of pleasant associations :)  I'm so glad we didn't.  Once inside, Bill remembered that we had seen an intriguing preview to the movie a couple of weeks earlier.  As a retired band teacher, I related strongly to the story of a talented and obsessed drum student and his equally driven but abusive music teacher, oblivious to all but his own warped agenda.  There is no offensive language in the trailer, but the movie had many, many four-letter words and just as many politically offensive comments.  A good amount of that was necessary to portray the characters but I do think the sheer quantity of profanity could have been lessened by about half with no reduction in emotional impact.  I will be surprised if the two leads do not win oscars for their performance.  Below, Miles Teller, as the tortured and talented..

 young jazz drummer, performs a solo so convincingly, 

I felt drumming (even more than acting) must surely be his chosen passion in life so I did some googling and learned that he does play the drums and he did devote 3-4 hours a day for several months to study with a self-taught but very successful rock drummer (I do wonder why they didn't seek out an equally brilliant drummer with a stronger background in jazz). I guess the mind-bogglingly intense drum solos that kept us on the edge of our seats combined that hard work with some amazing cinematography.  As for J.K.Simmons in the role of music teacher, he was brilliant.  So brilliant, that I hated him.  So brilliant, that the film came close to the genre of "horror" for me.  Should you have the time or inclination to see it, the one thing I believe I can promise is that you will be engaged throughout.  Indifference, I think, would be impossible.  I will add only that in my opinion, dishonesty, bullying and abuse have no place in the options available to a teacher, no matter the subject, no matter the student, no matter the intent.  Period.  And that is even more true when presented with the gift of a fragile and raw, natural talent. The movie didn't change that attitude, but I do see the potential for a variety of responses from viewers;  some may walk away with what I consider to be a mistaken notion of what it takes to nurture genius.  I hope not!   

My brain was still racing as we left the theatre, so the crisp ride home was a perfect opportunity to let a few of those spinning emotions work their way out of my mind and into the spokes of our wheels :)  Thanks for stopping by to let me share the joy of a memorable day.  Claudya's meme would be a great next stop if you are feeling inclined to visit more cities and have some fun along the way.