Confirmation @ Le Crystal‏

'I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk
in darkness, but have the light of life.' ~ John 8:12

Confirmation is one of the seven sacraments through which
Catholics pass in the process of their religious upbringing.
According to Catholic doctrine, in this sacrament they are
sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and are strengthened
in their Christian life. My nephew Anthony begun his journey
on Saturday.... and a small, intimate gathering of family
and friends celebrated @ Le Crystal.

The culinary offerings were exquisite, delicious and
mouth-watering. The wine choices were superb and the meat
sizzled to perfection... all with a touch of excellence and
white glove service.
One of life's greatest joys is the opportunity to be able
to celebrate our happiness surrounded by those we hold
dear... and make memories we will cherish forever.' ~ ©Frank Borsellino

* From Where I Sit!
May 31, 2014

* Le Crystal Reception Halls
5285 Henri Bourassa Blvd. W.
Ville Saint-Laurent, H4R 1B7
www.lecrystal.com

Dinner w/Desjardins‏

After many months of anticipation the evening arrived for our 'Dinner w/Desjardins'.
André aka Mr. Patterson, the distinguished gentleman and his lovely wife, late 50s' but
they look late forties. I have known them almost as long as Bombshell (her aunt & uncle).
A very smart man, who runs a multinational... and found a way for it to work for him
rather than he work for it, like I said...very smart.

Montreal is not just a good eating town, but an opinionated one, too, with deep roots
and a culture all its own. There's always a debate about where to get the best rotisserie
chicken or the most authentic poutine, that classic Québécois belly buster of French fries,
gravy and squeaky cheese curds. Or whether to go to St.Viateur Bagel Shop or Fairmount
Bagel Bakery for sesame bagels that are baked in wood-burning ovens and put New York City's
fluffy bread bombs to shame.... and the best 'foie gras' will always be where David and
Fred apply their craft.

The name conjures up a steakhouse, but actually there's history behind 'Joe Beef'. The
name is in fact that of Charles McKiernan, a legendary 19th century Montreal innkeeper
and working-class hero who offered food and shelter at his Old Montreal tavern (the building
still stands at the corner of de la Commune and de Calière). Stragglers, longshoreman,
beggars and outcasts were admitted to Joe Beef's Canteen in exchange or a bit of light
labor. 'Joe Beef' was a man of the people.'
The place itself isn't 'tres chic' but the reason one goes, isn't for fancy decor, place
settings and cutlery, but it's for the gastronomic explosion. And our palettes exploded!
Dinner at Joe Beef is like being at a dinner party, so tight are the tables, so genial
is the vibe. You chit-chat with strangers in the next tables, very easily…swapping stories
and enjoying more than a few giggles with your friends, as you would at a dinner party...and
last this night was no exception.
We enjoyed great wine from their private cellar... and for our dessert, 'Tourte au chocolat', Frederic (Fred) Morin came to our table, sat with us and we reminisced and caught up just
like old friends do.


* From Where I Sit!
www.fromwhereisit.co

* Restaurant Joe Beef
2491, rue Notre Dame O. @ Atwater
Little Burgundy (514) 935-6504

Life's Journey Dinner @ OTTO

Ladies & Gentlemen,

'Enthusiasm, if fueled by inspiration and perseverance, travels with passion
and its destination is excellence.' ~ Napoleon Hill

Once again another succulent soiree... No surprise the W Hotel slogan is
'Welcome to Wonderland', and OTTO is a perfect feather in that cap...the
women and men... who came to be inspired left enlightened.

Designed by architect Miguel Cancio, the visionary behind the uber-trendy
Buddha Bar and Man Ray in Paris, 'Otto' is all eye candy. Multi-colour stripes,
black on blonde wood. Long, cone-shaped chandeliers hang in a row, leading
to curved banquettes framed in what looks like giant bubble paper. For our
enjoyment music, from Frank Sinatra and Diana Krall were beautifully pulsating
in the background. Votive candles flicker throughout the low-lit space, which
makes the room feel more like a nightclub than a high-end luxury restaurant.
In a restaurant this trendy I would expect nothing less. The hotel literature
describes the cuisine as Italian fusion, like the décor, Otto's menu is a fusion
of styles thanks to our old friend from Cavalli, chef extraordinaire, Frank
Gioffre.
There's a little Italian, some French, a dabble of Middle Eastern, with a
number of upscale ingredients assembled into wonderful dishes. The foodie in
me was in ecstasy from our juicy grilled baby lamb chops, to our Shrimp Tempura,
the Mini burgers, to the Arugula salad, Yellow fin tuna tartar, to our Cavatelli
in a tomato and basil sauce…licking the plate level of unbelievable delicious.
The meat, pan seared Angus tenderloin, rare and flavorful, was the highlight
of the plate. The other main course of grilled red snapper was a fitting finale
to a spectacular meal that lasted hours.
'Otto' may be one of those expensive restaurants in town... but they offer the
best food and service, and all this eye-candy to boot. Score one for the kitchen,
plate presentations are stunning. Score two, ingredients are topnotch. Score three,
service was courteous, professional, as expected, and our servers, beautiful and
very accommodating…are as hot as the patrons, was like that little bit extra. Bravo!

'Remember tonight... for it's the beginning of forever.' ~ Dante Alighieri

Your Cruise Director
Food is my Compass
www.fromwhereisit.co
April 26, 2014

* Ristorante OTTO @ W Montreal
901 Square Victoria
Viger & St.Antoine & McGill
(514) 395-3180 Pasquale Ruffolo
www.ristoranteotto.com

Queen Latifah

Behind the moniker of hip-hop's first lady, Queen Latifah, is Dana Owens,
who was born on March 18th, 1970 in East Orange, New Jersey. She came
from a police family--both her father and older brother were cops, which
would later influence her rhyming style and life philosophy. Owens is of
both African American and Native American... and witnessed both sides
of Black urban life in the USA while growing up.

After a brief stint in a mediocre job, she soon found herself making
waves in the hip-hop music scene alongside 'Ladies Fresh'. At 18 she broke
through in the late 1980s with a style that picked selectively from jazz,
reggae, and soul traditions, from beats produced by 'D.J. Mark the 45 King'.
Her debut single, 'Wrath of My Madness', was released in 1988. A year later,
her debut long-player, 'All Hail the Queen', enjoyed favored reviews: an
old, wise head was evident on the top of her young shoulders.

She was nicknamed 'Latifah' by a cousin while she was in her teens, which
is Arabic for delicate and sensitive, but she has often been anything but
in her rhymes and the messages she sends out through them. One of the most
prominent female hip-hop artists on the scene for over a decade, Queen has
also made tremendous inroads in movies, television, and artist management,
with her company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, alongside her business partner
Shakim Compere.

Miss Latifah is the first female rapper to be nominated for an Academy
Award. Became the first hip-hop artist honored with a star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame on January 4th, 2006. Of all her roles to date, her personal
favorite is Cleopatra Sims from 'Set It Off' (1996). My favorites are...
'The Dilemma' (2011) w/Vince Vaughn & Kevin James + 'Just Wright' (2010)
w/Common + 'Living Out Loud' (1998) w/Holly Hunter & Danny DeVito.

* Movie Trivia: Queen was set to star in 'Monster's Ball' (2001) alongside
Robert De Niro with Sean Penn directing. Unfortunately, due to scheduling
conflict, because producers could not set up the film in time... it was
delayed and recast. Her role went to Halle Berry and DeNiro's to Billy
Bob Thornton.



* From Where I Sit!
www.fromwhereisit.co
February 15, 2014

Marcello Mastroianni : Italian Style

'Marcello Mastroianni is the epitome of Italian style. Thanks to his
devotion to basic black suits, French-cuffed dress shirts, and uncomplicated
black ties… he holds the unique honor of proving that breaking boundaries
can be done while adhering to simplicity and tradition.
He knew that the key to style wasn't wearing the most elite labels or most
expensive fabrics. For him, it was all about the fit… and didn't try to
make waves with outrageous colors or excessive detailing, but instead
focused on the cut of his garments. He proved that when the fit is right,
everything else falls into place, and his lasting legacy is an important
lesson: it doesn't matter what you wear, only how you wear it.
That is why his incomparable style doesn't stop at his wardrobe. He
crafted a complete look to ensure that he always wore the clothes and
that the clothes never wore him. His style was in his smile, his stare,
the tip of his sunglasses, the way he crossed his legs, his poise and
posture. No detail was left out, and his commitment to creating a look
that was truly all his own has made Marcello Mastroianni one of the most
difficult style icons to replicate.' ~ ©Frank Borsellino

Movie Review - 'Random Hearts' (1999)

The other night, on one of those pay channels… a movie about to commence... checked
the guide to see it was 'Random Hearts' (1999) starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott
Thomas. I hadn't seen it since it was released... it seemed a lifetime ago... so long
in fact I had no more recollection of the subject, plot or finale. I made myself
comfortable and proceeded to be enveloped by and reminded why Sydney Pollack was a quiet
master of cinema romance. He was brilliant at taking the love particles down the alleys
of timelessness, 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?' (1969)... suspense, 'Three Days of
the Condor' (1975), 'Absence of Malice' (1981) and 'The Firm' (1993)... absurdity,
'The Electric Horseman' (1979) & 'Tootsie' (1982)... and the epics 'The Way We Were'(1973)
& 'Out of Africa' (1985). He's had his misfires… I'm sure, but irrelevant to my
review... all in all, an impressive track record.
'Random Hearts' is based on a 1984 novel of the same name by American author Warren
Adler, who wrote the novel after being moved by the 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 disaster.
Our hero, Dutch Van Den Broeck (Harrison Ford - loving the diamond stud earring) is
an appealingly earnest police sergeant who works in internal affairs for the Washington
D.C. police. Our heroine, Kay Chandler (Kristin Scott Thomas, dressed and styled à la
Armani, is so incredibly beautiful) is a brisk, efficient New England, Republican
congresswoman who isn't taken seriously even by those working for her. In part, due to
the fact that she was grandfathered in the seat when her dad, a much-respected, long
standing congressman suddenly passed away. Their two lives and natures are as opposite
as day and night, but what they have in common is a horribly brutal plane crash in which
each loses a spouse. Problem is… neither knows why their partners were flying to Miami—or
if there might be any reason why they were seated next to one another. For a romantic
drama, 'Random Hearts' sure doesn't begin the way you would expect. The film eases us
into the worlds of its two principal characters a Washington D.C. internal affairs cop
and a New Hampshire Congresswoman, with a campaign and a teenage daughter to manage.
Their lives run parallel for nearly an hour of screen time, with Dutch investigating
a pair of crooked cops and Kay preparing for a tough re-election campaign. Drifting
through the background is the event that will bring them together: an airline crash that
claims the lives of Dutch's wife Peyton (Susanna Thompson) and Kay's husband Cullen
(Peter Coyote). With a languid silkiness, director Sydney Pollack lets the characters
develop independently before Dutch's suspicion that Peyton and Cullen were having an
affair sets Dutch and Kay on a collision course.
The pacing may be slow, but the set-up is engrossing and effective. The hint of
mystery behind the deaths sets all the gears of tangled intrigue into motion... the
machinery sharpened with the director's felicity with enthralling narratives. Pollack
and screenwriter Kurt Luedtke, a frequent collaborator, shuttle the charming stars
between a host of locations—the power curves of Washington D.C., the shimmering pastels
of Miami, the golden-brown autumn glow of New England. Then, something surprising
happens:
After a day together in Miami exploring the possible scene of their spouses' infidelity,
Dutch and Kay return home exchanging portentous glances throughout their plane trip.
Finally, in Kay's car at the airport, they surrender to their wanton desires... Harrison
and Kristin generate chemistry when they abruptly hurl themselves at one another. Doomed
liaisons between wounded, grieving souls in dramatic cinema -- case in point: 'Last
Tango in Paris' (1972)-- such films generally focus on the essential emptiness at the
center of the relationship. 'Random Hearts' delves into that kind of psychological pain...
keeps suggesting the potential for genuine affection between Dutch and Kay... something
besides the mutual despair and betrayal that connected them in the first place. As a
result, it feels like a 1940's weeper in the body of a European art film. Two things
I enjoy the most.

* From Where I Sit
www.fromwhereisit.co
December 26, 2013

'Bad Boys'

'The baddest of the 'Bad Boys', the guy who goes all the way back to before the beginning,
has been called many things: the Prince of Darkness, the Tempter, the Bringer of Light. As
portrayed in John Milton's 'Paradise Lost', he was the most beautiful of the Angels before he
rebelled...also the most arrogant. "Better to reign in Hell," he taunts, "than serve in Heaven."
Charisma incarnate, he gets all the good lines and almost all the girls. This fallen Angel,
a primal archetype, is undying: whenever men misbehave we think of him. Robert Lovelace
in 'Clarissa', the Vicomte de Valmont in 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses', 'Don Juan' in print and
in opera, the Willoughbys and Wickhams, wily and wicked, of Jane Austen.
More recently, in real life, fabled Hollywood lady killers like Jack Nicholson and Warren
Beatty come to mind, along with hot tempers Steve McQueen and Sean Connery, and men
for whom 'moderation' is moot-though this is often a consequence of youth, as with Johnny
Depp, Sean Penn, and Colin Farrell. Let's just say there would be very little art without our
attractive little Devils, and centuries of stories would be boring.
The world has always loved its 'Bad Boys', but it wasn't until the movies that we got to
revel in them. Suddenly, in the 1930s, the libertine, gangster, outlaw, scofflaw, public
enemy, serial seducer, bank robber, and sexy barn burner had faces. And what faces!
James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart as bootleggers, the young Clark Gable as a meanie
in black leather, Paul Muni and George Raft as mobsters. Darkness, temptation, light the
black-and-white film of early Hollywood caught it all in deep shadows and grey velvet,
combinations of smoke and pearl. And then there was that gleam, which you cannot get
in Technicolor, those dangerous gleaming eyes with lashes you can count.
Odd how we so often root for the 'Bad Boy', wanting him to succeed, or at least to get
away. Why? Because he's the one with the energy. And though William Shakespeare
wrote that "ripeness is all"… energy is everything. It is light and therefore illumination;
it is movement and therefore change; it tests the boundaries of freedom.' ~ ©Finnegan Bond ± Taipan