Pencils and paper are packed! Wish me luck as I am traveling up to Seattle this weekend for my first Court of Master Sommelier exam. I will be spending two full days (8 a.m.- 5 p.m.) learning about wine and wine service and then take a 70-question exam on Monday.
About the Court of Master Sommeliers: Established in 1977 to promote excellence in hotel and restaurant beverage service. Though its members worldwide come from diverse backgrounds and experiences, they share a proven mastery of the art, science, and history that informs a sommelier's work.
- Caved into cravings and ate margarita pizza at 10:30 a.m.
- Organized my room while listening to a new iTunes playlist then reverted to some Fiona Apple
- Went on a Target shopping spree buying every hygiene/cosmetic item I swear I can't live without (and a few cute tanks)
- Indulged in more salty carbs
- Watched two indie romance movies (Peter and Vandy is good... other one was...meh)
- Drank more Diet Coke than water
- Took a cat nap in the afternoon sun
- Didn't answer my phone
- Promised myself I'd workout, but didn't feel guilty that I never got around to it
- Fought off temptations to go rescue a cat
- Browsed Etsy
And I did it all with unwashed hair and no makeup.... today was all I could have ever asked for :)
This weekend was the epitome of spontaneity and that means many blog posts are coming out of it.
On Friday we pulled up the schedule for the Ashland Independent Film Festival, saw a 12 o'clock showing, got in the car making it just in time to be let into the Varsity Theater to see Obselidia.
Synopsis: Believing he's the last door-to-door encyclopedia salesman in the world, George decides to write The Obselidia, a compendium of obsolete things. George believes that love, among other things, is obsolete. In his quest to document nearly extinct occupations, he befriends Sophie, a beautiful cinema projectionist who works at a silent movie theater. Sophie believe that nothing is obsolete as long as someone loves it. When they interview a reclusive scientist who predicts 80 percent of the world's population will be obliterated by irreversible climate change by the year 2100, the two must fact the question, if the world is going to disappear tomorrow, how are we going to live today?
I couldn't have written anything I agree with more than this review from Variety, "From the striking title cards to the beautifully composed visuals and unusual collected items that litter the protagonist's home, Obselidia has the look of a hand-crafted piece, something meticulously sculpted or painted in an artist's studio."
After the showing, Diane Bell, writer and first time director, got up in front of the audience for Q&A. Previously a yoga instructor in Barcelona, Diane moved to Los Angeles to pursue writing. After feeling dissatisfied writing Hollywood horror movies, Diane started working on Obselidia with inspiration from encyclopedias and climate change. Filmed in 17 days, on an extremely low budget of $500,000, and casting literally off the LA street, Obselidia was a Sundance Film Festival selection. This showing in Ashland is only the second festival the movie has been involved in, but plans to participate in film festivals in Texas, Florida, and in Diane's home of Edinburgh, Scotland are next up for the indie film. Hopefully the film gets picked up so more can enjoy its message, but if not, Diane and her husband, Chris Bryne, talked about taking the film a more viral route.
While leaving the theater, a woman asked me what movie I saw and I responded with my favorable recommendation of Obselidia and how impressed I was with my first visit to the film festival. She too saw the film and said it was movies like that which bring her back year after year to the Ashland Independent Film Festival. Next year, attending the film festival will not be a spontaneous event in my Friday, but rather a planned out trip to catch as many wonderful films as I can.
Obselidiawill have one last showing at the festival tonight at 6 p.m. I cannot urge you enough to go see it. For more information go to http://www.ashlandfilm.org/.
If you miss its last showing tonight, or want to follow Obselidia success, join the facebook fan page.
Pencils and paper are packed! Wish me luck as I am traveling up to Seattle this weekend for my first Court of Master Sommelier exam. I will be spending two full days (8 a.m.- 5 p.m.) learning about wine and wine service and then take a 70-question exam on Monday.
.jpg)
