Welcome! Welcome, to Julia's Astounding and Astonishing Awards Extravaganza

Ho! Ho! Ho! Tis the season for awards, it seems. Gather round, come in! Come in! Come out of the snow, the heat or whatever ails you. Here in Halifax it's chilly, Christmasey and hustley-bustley. Let the staff take your coats. Gather up your sparkly clutch bags. Let's walk into the auditorium for the awards ceremony.




The lights dim. The curtains open. Heather strides onstage.





She's handing out the Christmas Spirit Award.









"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time;
a kind, forgiving, charitable time;
the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year,
when men and women seem by one consent
to open their shut-up hearts freely,
and to think of people below them
as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave,
and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."

- Charles Dickens

"Here are the rules for the Christmas Spirit Award," Heather says:

"You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award.
The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.
Link back to the person who gave you the award.
List 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space!
Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But keep the Christmas cheer going!
Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment. Also, link back to the person who gave you the award."

Oh, thank you, Heather! ((hug)) I'm very honored to receive this. I'll list my five things at the end of the ceremony, when I pass the awards along.

Right now I'd like to share a little piece of what lives in my heart all year round when anyone says the word 'Christmas':




Let's welcome Thomma Lyn now, who's presenting the Brillante Weblog Premio 2008 Award.








"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted."

- John Lennon

((Hug)) Thomma Lyn! Thank you so much. Your Tennessee Text Wrestling is a place for soothing reflection, as you invite all your readers to hike up the mountain with you, to look around and marvel at the glory of nature. And the poetry from the masters you share with us is a balm for my creative soul. So I'm very humbled by your award *blushing*

In honor of the spirit of this Brillante Premio Award, enjoy this art piece by Bob Miller, exploring the colors and waves of light through prisms and mirrors. Take a moment to enjoy the brilliance that lives inside each one of us.
















Great Attitude and/or Gratitude

"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring."
- George Santayana

Thomma Lyn invites Wylie Kinson and Ann from Fractured Fiction to join her at the podium.

"Blogs which show Great Attitude and/or Gratitude," Thomma Lyn says. "Wylie, you're a perfect example. Your pop culture pulse crackles with attitude - it's where Julia gets a lot of her late-breaking entertainment news. And your gratitude for the important things in life, like your own family hikes through the woods, or philosophical talks on a long car trip - these shine out in your blog like heavy curtains thrust aside to let in the sun."

"Thomma Lyn," Wylie says, giving her a playful nudge. "You know Ann's contagious enthusiasm for books dwarfs my passion for all things cutting edge and fabulous. Ann shares splashy book covers and makes everyone add to the TBR Mountain Range. And she posts hilarious captioned pictures from Icanhascheezburger that make Julia spew her morning coffee through her nose. What better attitude is there than that?"

"Stop it," Ann says, shoving Wylie into Thomma Lyn. "Julia - get up here already and wheel this lemonade cart outta here!"

((hugging Thomma Lyn, Wylie and Ann)) Thank you so much! Come on - let's go get a glass of this stuff and watch Mikhail Baryshnikov show Attitude and Gratitude at getting the chance to perform in A Chorus Line:














"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."

- Confucius

Joanna D'Angelo from missmakeamovie takes the stage. "I'm here to present the I Heart Your Blog Award. I invited Julia to join our group blog this year and we've enjoyed many heartfelt comments-conversations over all things filmic, political and especially about the heart it takes to be an artist. Come on up, Julia." She passes me the award - here's another ((hug)) for Joanna.

I've enjoyed blogging with the missmakeamovie women so much, Joanna. Everyone knows how passionate I am about ballet, and my passion for film runs neck and neck with dance. My need for non-mainstream film/TV and books is fed daily at our blog. I got my first peek at the Flight of the Conchords from a missmakeamovie post. I'm extremely honored to accept this award from you, who manages to continue your own filmmaking career while tirelessly promoting Romance on Facebook and scheduling our blog posting schedules. Thank you so much.

Let's watch


this clip















from I Heart Huckabees featuring Jason Schwartzman and Mark Wahlberg. It's another peek into the heart of me.

Kailana takes the stage next. She's handing out the You Make My Day Award.








"If you don't have a smile, I'll give you one of mine."

- Author Unknown

Kailana is a busy, busy fellow Maritimer with an enormous appetite for books. Not only does she read, she spurs herself through themed reading challenges that boggle my mind at the scope of them. She started her own after her dog Sandy passed away, so I signed up for my first reading challenge - her Four-legged Friends Challenge. Because I had to find books that featured an animal as a main character, I got a refreshing detour from my usual reads. And I discovered an author I now love - Mercedes Lackey.

"Yeah, yeah - enough, already," Kailana says, ducking into the wings to drag me back onstage. "Take the darn award, would ya?"

((hug)) for you, Kailana. Thank you for this - I've mentioned to everyone how much your Blog Advent Tour meant to me last year when my heart was aching with the loss of my gram and soon after, my father-in-law. You made my day every time I clicked another link in the tour, to another post about Christmas. So I'm very touched that you're passing this along to me.

Here's a bit of fun that makes my day:








"Wimps lift weights, cheerleaders lift people."

- Author Unknown

*applause* as Toni and Karina walk up to the podium.

"My little ole blog serves up life's daily journeys," says Toni.

"And mine dishes up the skinny on a Boston city gal's dramas and dreams," says Karina.

"My fabulous life is filled to the rim with trips to Christmas tree farms fraught with edge-of-your-seat plot twists," says Toni, gesturing me to join them once more at the podium.

"And mine is overflowing with tales of romance, office intrigue, spiritual awakening and sexy boots," says Karina, handing me a martini glass beckoning with a Blue Monday.

"Just how fabulous are you, Julia?" they ask me in unison.

Kissing them on the cheek, I raise my martini glass in salute to them both, and then to you.

Darlings - if I were any more fabulous I'd be under glass at Tiffany's. Thank you Toni, Karina...and to all of you for making my blog so very much fun! And because I'm so fabulous, I'm going to indulge in a sweet little treat. Care to join me...?



*fanning self*

*sipping my martini*

Now - to pass on the awards. I'll begin by returning to Heather's request for 5 things I love about Christmas:

1 - The National Ballet of Canada's production of The Nutcracker

2 - homes lit up with Christmas lights

3 - Christmas trees

4 - Auntie Noel's lobster bisque which she makes with love for all of us each Christmas Eve

5 - Blackadder's Christmas Carol

Now, because this is a multi-awards presentation, I won't keep to the suggested amounts for passing them along. Most of them request 5 or 7 recipients. The Attitude/Gratitude Award asks for 10. For this event, however, I'll keep all awards to 2 nominations each.

This year's Christmas Spirit Award goes to:

Kailana and
Marg

The Brillante Weblog Premio 2008 (nearly 2009!) Award goes to:

Sans Pantaloons
Shelley Munro

The Great Attitude and/or Gratitude Award goes to:

Mimi Lenox
Sandy Carlson

The I Heart Your Blog Award goes to:

Claudia
Gautami Tripathy

The You Make My Day Award goes to:

Amy Ruttan
Bobbi

And the I'm Fabulous Award goes to:

Jennifer McKenzie
Patty Szymkowicz

Poetry Train Monday - 42 - Where I'm From

I found this wonderful poetry template at Candid Karina's and couldn't wait to do one of my own. Here is Karina's beautiful version. Here is the template if you'd like to try it yourself. I played with the form slightly but followed the content of the template.



















Where I'm From


I am from ballerina jewelry box
from Capital Records 45's and Grandpa's fiddle
his stomping foot a-dideley-dideley-dideley-dye.

I am from the packed-up house
the rumbling seat in the truck with Daddy
his hands on the steering wheel tapping to Maggie May's mandolins.

I am from the piles of crisp leaves he raked to the steps
so I could jump and land and laugh
the granite bedrock edging the sea where we climbed and ran
the silent snowfall and the tug-swoosh of the sled
over the buried street.

I am from crouch, focus and shutter click
from fingers pressing piano keys
from Great-Grandpa Meuse's old photo postcards from out west
Grandma Doucet's bread rising under the tea towels
Mom picking up smoothed rocks from the beach to turn over in her hands.

I am from the stubborn Acadians and the teasing Mi'kmaq.

From Come tell Mommy what's the matter
and Hello, Sweet Pie.

I am from shh so quiet in my ear
I had to be quiet to hear it
standing still in the aisle of the packed church.
I'm from piling into the car and Dad driving
to the woods, to the beach, to the ocean.
I'm from entering these wonders of Creation like cathedrals
hearing prayer in the waves and on the wind.















I'm from the marshes of Poitou
from a morning twelve generations back
sailing from France with hope, with skill
unwavering and unstoppable.
I'm from river trout sizzling in the cast iron fry pan
from baked beans simmered for hours
blending the tartness and the sweet.

From the wolves howling
in the frozen moonlit night
chasing Grandpa's horses as they
pulled the sleigh through the dark spruce
towards home.

From the despair of my uncle lost
in the snow-laden woods with a friend
logging road to follow at dawn
hut where a man fed them peanut butter sandwiches
the look on my grandfather's face
when he saw his son alive
friend's dad clipped his boy in the head
my grandfather pulled his boy into his arms.

From the wind that came up
while my sister canoed with Dad
his calm instructions to paddle hard
her sense of danger helping her girlish arms
to dig into the choppy water with the oar
her adult body climbing onto the hospital bed
Dad struggled to let go of his last breath
her hands cupped his face
you don't have to paddle anymore
you can see the shore
go to the shore Dad.

I am from the mirror carving of The Bluenose
Dad knew I would want
his landscape shots I used to skip past
and now linger over.
Our Family Tree which my grandfather bought
but never filled in, now mine
the generations recorded by my hand.
The perfect photo deliberated, showing
the essence of me
my parents, my grandparents
my husband
his parents, his grandparents.
And the collage beside each face
showing the passions that drove us through our days.


Copyright - 2008 - Julia Smith

Crazy 8's Meme

Karina at Candid Karina tagged me for this Crazy 8's Meme:

8 things I'm passionate about

1 - ballet (I know...crazy...)
2 - film
3 - the Victorian period
4 - art
5 - sci-fi/fantasy genre
6 - sword-fighting scenes
7 - poetry
8 - easing people's day-to-day troubles (it's usually as simple as listening to someone for a few minutes)

8 things I want to do before I die

1 - visit Portmeirion, in Wales, where The Prisoner was shot in the 1960's.
2 - feel chills erupt as I watch Gerard Butler play my vampire, in a film based on my book.
3 - walk the red carpet of my film premiere.
4 - attend the Oscars as a nominee.
5 - watch the former Kirov Ballet, returned to its true name of the Mariinski Ballet at the Mariinski Theatre in St. Petersburg.
6 - visit the Hermitage Museum, also in St. Petersburg.
7 - go hillwalking in Scotland.
8 - own my own longsword.

8 things I often say

1 - "Beep-beep! Beep-beep!" (to my dog Xena)
2 - "Hello Little Girl! I love you - yes, I do!" (to Xena)
3 - (after my husband asks me if I've had my green tea when my head is bothering me) "...no..." You'd think by now I would realize that at some point during our every-afternoon-while-I'm-at-work phone call, he's going to remind me about having green tea. But every time he asks me I have to sheepishly admit I hadn't thought about it yet, even though my head is killing me.
4 - "This is the best/funniest thing...ever!"
5 - "Whatya watchin'?" (to my husband, every time I walk into the living room.)
6 - "Love you." (numerous times per day to my honey)
7 - "I'll be over in a minute." (to my husband, referring to getting off the computer, usually several times over an hour-and-a-half to a two-hour period. He just laughs at me.)
8 - The F-word, at some point every time I have a migraine. Not very often at other times.


8 books I've recently read or am reading

1 - Heart of The Nile by Gabriella Hewitt
2 - The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
3 - In My Wildest Fantasies by Julianne MacLean
4 - The Cat Who Sang For The Birds by Lilian Jackson Braun
5 - Firebird by Mercedes Lackey
6 - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
7 - The Bond That Ties Us by Christine d'Abo
8 - Love Me Wild by Renee Field

8 songs I could listen to over and over

1 - Why by Annie Lennox
2 - Natural Blues by Moby
3 - You Look So Fine by Garbage
4 - Perfect Day by Lou Reed
5 - One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) by Frank Sinatra
6 - Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66
7 - The Boy With the Thorn in His Side by The Smiths
8 - Desert Rose by Sting with Cheb Mami

8 things that attract me to my best friends

1 - creative, artistic people. My friends inspire me. They write, make films, paint, take photographs, sing in operas, make quilts, act, dance and draw.
2 - lifelong students. My friends are usually taking some course or other, or just pursuing their craft, constantly refining it, discovering new ways of perfecting it.
3 - highly spiritual people. My friends come from different faith backgrounds, yet all seek to understand the sacred mysteries.
4 - compassionate people. My friends would stop and help a fallen runner in their own race.
5 - edgy, witty people. My friends share my dark sense of humor. Lots of zingers and laughs. Often at our own expense.
6 - intellectuals and total geeks. My friends and I walk the fine line. Luckily we're very tolerant of each others' quirks.
7 - movers and shakers. My friends are on political committees, run associations, start companies and then volunteer here and there and everywhere.... They make me tired...
8 - obsessive people. OCD doesn't always have to count as a minus. I'd say most of my friends have some obsessive quality that helps them get their art out of their heads and into the world. I could use more of it, actually.

8 people I'm tagging:

1 - Amy Ruttan
2 - Wylie Kinson
3 - Red Garnier
4 - Christine d'Abo
5 - Leah Braemel
6 - Olga
7 - Jill
8 - Annette

Spirit of Christmas Award

Ho! Ho! Ho! (clump clump of my boots, knocking the snow off them.) My Christmas Freak persona is never one to act the demure gentlewoman. I guess it was obvious to Toni at In The Midst of This Season that I basically divide the calendar year into Just After Christmas, Waiting For Christmas and CHRISTMAS.

Toni awarded me the Spirit of Christmas award. According to Santa's Community Blog, where this originated, "this award is for those who talk about and show the spirit of Christmas in their blogs.

What is the Spirit of Christmas you ask?

Quite simply it is those that have a generous and giving nature. Those who care about others. Those who have a kind word to say or a broad shoulder to lean on in the times that others need that. Those who display the 'Spirit of Christmas'."

I'm going to pass this award along to five other bloggers who have been just as freakish about Christmas as me. Is it a strange coincidence that they display kindness, generosity and a loving nature every day as they post on their blogs and leave wonderful comments in the blogosphere?

I really should have brought everyone's attention to Kailana's Advent Blog event before this, but luckily you can follow the links and immerse yourself in fantastic posts about Christmas all over the world. This has really been one of the highlights of my season this year. Big hug to you, Kailana!

Karina posted this lovely example of her overflowing Christmas Spirit. She expressed everything I feel about the holidays, too. Sure, it can be a bit 'stressmas'-y sometimes, but it's like everything else. It's up to you to step off the merrygoround if you're getting too dizzy from all the to-do's. Christmas should be merry, and if it's not, stop. Take a deep breath. Chill. The only thing anyone should be doing at this time of year is reconnecting with the spirit of peace and goodwill toward our fellow travellers through life.

Akelamalu posted her childhood Christmas memories on November 19th. Already in Christmas mode like a true Christmas Freak. Just have a look at her sidebar decorations if you don't believe me. She also held two Christmas Carol Quizzes which I missed because of everything going on with my gram. But being the stop-and-smell-the-roses person, I fret not over it. I just enjoyed seeing the answers and realized I would have been stumped!

Sandee posted 13 wonderfully wise quotes about Christmas for her Thursday Thirteen this week. She approaches life all year round with a wry sense of humor which shows in every blog post. Christmas gave her fantastic material to work with! She pokes fun at life taken too seriously, which gives anyone who visits her blog a chance to relax and have a laugh. Thank you for that, Sandee.

Finally, this post was a guest blog post over at Shelly Munro's month-long guest extravaganza, but it is vintage Christine d'Abo. And it followed my sequence of Christmas preparations exactly! Which made me howl with laughter and recognition.

Merry Christmas to all the Spirit of Christmas nominees with a special hug from me to you.

Merry Christmas to everyone - may you always feel the wonder of childhood every time you gaze at a lit and decorated Christmas tree. Peace to all.

Interviewed by Miss Frou Frou

I first bumped into this blog event over at Candid Karina. I devoured every juicy tidbit, and raced over to see what intoxicating answers Miss Frou Frou would have for her interview.

I then submitted my name to Miss Frou and voila! My first blogosphere interview. Here's how it all works:

A blogger interviews you, and you post the answers on your own blog. Then you invite readers to volunteer to be interviewed, and you interview THEM, and they post it on their blog, and so on, and so on...just like the old Faberge shampoo commercial.

I'll just take a little sip of my drink and flick my hair idly, and gaze off into the distance as I ponder Miss Frou Frou's first question:



Miss Frou Frou - As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Have you ever seen the Michael Apted series of documentary films, '28 Up', '35 Up', '42 Up'? I find them completely engrossing, especially since I studied early childhood education and find children forever fascinating. In these films, people are interviewed in 7 year increments starting at age 7, and the startling thing is how much of the original personality remains in each subject. If I were to look at what I was doing when I was 7, I'd be setting my dolls up in a row on the couch so I could tell them stories. Or I'd be constructing elaborate storylines for my Barbie family, some that stretched over a 2-week story arc. Or I'd be wrangling my little friends, sister and cousins to act out social play: "Ok, you be Nellie Olsen, I'll be Laura Ingalls, you be Mary, and you be Miss Beadle. Now, let's play that Laura and Mary are coming to school and Nellie's going to be mean, and then when Laura gets mad they get in trouble."

Miss Frou Frou - And what happened to that aspiration?

The desire to tell stories is something I'm going to have forever. I'm focusing on writing books and poetry at the moment, but I've put that social play/wrangling to use when I went to film school. I really enjoyed writing screenplays. I've acted at school, I've done some editing - everything to do with putting a story together, I love. I even take my photo albums seriously - I always rearrange them so they tell a story visually. I find working on my photo albums very relaxing.

Miss Frou Frou - Who was your first crush, or the first crush you're comfortable sharing?

My first serious heart-stopping crush became my first boyfriend. When I started high school he was in choir and drama with me, and for some insane reason he seemed to return my interest. Even though he was a year older, was totally charming, had no lack of female interest in him, for some reason he kept flirting with me. I remember singing in a concert once when he'd been sick and couldn't sing with us, but sat in the audience. He stared at me and I stared at him the whole time. I kept thinking, 'Am I imagining things? No, I really think he's looking at me...'

When I got a wild idea to work out a comedy sketch about Romeo and Juliet (talk about your subtle plans, eh?) he actually agreed to write and perform it with me. Soon after that we just seemed to be pairing up. With the crowd we both hung out with, it was rather hard to tell at first, because we did things in groups all the time. But after awhile, we started spending time just the two of us. And then he gave me my first kiss. So by then I knew for certain - he was my boyfriend!

I'm still close to that group of friends and I see him whenever we can all get together. For some reason, he always introduces me to people as 'my old girlfriend.' We went out for all of five months! But secretly it's nice to know he keeps that persona for me in his heart, because he's my first love, and that is a role only played by one person. For me, it's Philip Savage.

Miss Frou Frou - If you didn't need to earn a living, and could do whatever you wanted to do, regardless of income, what would it be?

I would immediately start making films!! And obviously continue to write, of course. And travel around to all the home venues for all the great ballet companies all over the world, with my sister. And go to film festivals.

Miss Frou Frou - If they were going to make a movie of your life, who would you cast as you, and why?

Hmm. That's a toughie. Who could be me? You've gotta love a best friend that says I would be played by Natalie Portman!







My sister said Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson's voice/ 'Rhoda's sister)


















My husband said a combination of Kate Bush and



Sophia Coppola



















Miss Frou Frou - You can cast other people as well if you want to!

Ok, let's see. My husband is easy - he'd be played by Tim Robbins. They already have the same eyes, same nose, same smile - everything.





















My best friend would be played by someone who combines the looks and essence of Elle MacPherson and



Judy Garland.




















My sister would be played by Melissa Gilbert.



















My cousin would be played by someone who combines the looks and essence of Jaclyn Smith and



Kelly Preston.


















My other cousin would be played by Chris Noth.
















My mom would be played by someone who combines the looks and essence of Rita Hayworth and










Shirley MacLaine



















and Barbra Streisand.


















My dad would be played by someone combining the looks and essence of Gene Hackman and







Mickey Rooney.


















My aunt would be played by Blythe Danner.







My uncle would be played by Jerry Lewis.















Miss Frou Frou - Silly one to finish... are you a scruncher or a folder?

Definitely a folder. It's much easier to make piles of stuff when you fold things.


Thank you so much for my interview, Miss Frou Frou! Now dear readers, whoever would like me to send you your own set of questions, let me know in comments and we'll 'do lunch.'