Wild Robot, from a sketch to screen; Small town joys; Oh, Celine.

3 Things this week and the poem "this song"

Thanks so much for spending some of your weekend with Things I Wrote Down.

I hope you enjoy my short tour of a small Ontario town and my movie recommendations.

Here’s 3 Things this week and a poem.

1. Wild Robot, from sketch to screen

I loved seeing this post on X by the author Peter Brown, who captures, in three images, the miracle of creativity and how ideas can take a life by storm.

I first saw the trailer for the new animated film taking the world by storm when I took the kids to a Saturday matinee a few weeks ago.

I’d never heard of The Wild Robot. But it’s become my most anticipated film of the year. I’m going to see it this week. You should too!

2. Small town joys

Petra and I got a chance to steal away for a few hours and walk the main street of a nearby town. We popped into an independent book shop (Bookmarks the Spot) that’s been in business for eighteen years.

The owners live above the shop. It’s about 300 square feet, neatly filled with all the current books. You can order all the latest titles and subscribe to favourite authors to ensure you’re first to get their books from the seller. I became an instant fan.

Of course you can do this very thing online, so why be so analog? Writing and reading is so personal, it was a revelation to have such a personal touch. The owner was so knowledgable about all the titles and helped to quickly assess reading suggestions based on our declared interests.

We also walked down the street to Antique Allie, a local antique shop, whose owner is looking to sell the place after 50 years. The owner has a warehouse piled high with gems. Petra was in her glory. In the short visit she compared a few notes on technique for her latest reclaim project and got to talk intelligently with someone about a shared passion.

In search of coffee, Brenda (the owner) directed us to her friend’s shop down the street. Willow and Lace is an oasis for anyone who loves interior design or making spaces beautiful. We enjoyed espresso and a macaroon and dreamed about importing reclaimed wood and furniture with the owner who, in the matter of thirty minutes, felt like an old friend.

I was completely, irreparably charmed by the experience. If you need a Saturday activity in south west Ontario, head over to Mt. Brydges and check out these local businesses.

3. Oh, Celine.

I didn’t know.

Don’t hold it against me for not having a clue that Celine Dion was going through such an incredible health crisis. It was the Olympic Games in Paris and all the press around her big “come back” that alerted me to the fact. I haven’t really followed her career, even though she towers in the background of Canadian entertainment history.

We watched the documentary I Am Celine on Prime this week. Cynically, this is all a well-timed pitch for her new album, coordinated with a performance on the biggest global scale in Paris for maximum reach: the ultimate comeback story, leveraging the health condition for album sales. But then you watch the doc, and aside from all the marketing gimmickry, you at least believe her.

Three things:

1. It’s incredible to get a glimpse of the ultra rich and see the scale of their lifestyles. The documentary gives little windows into her home life in Nevada, and it’s pretty epic.

2. The vulnerability on display by Celine is astonishing. The crew has full access to a climactic moment where she has a seizure caused by her stiff-person syndrome (a one-in-a-million diagnosis). It’s brutal. You think she’s going to die. You hold your breath.

3. What do the children of the mega, ultra, super rich do? Her twins are chubby teenagers who seem to play video games all the time. They look really sweet. But when the world is truly your oyster, what do you shuck? That fascinates me.

If you need a good documentary and if you know a little about Celine Dion, it’s worth a watch.

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A poem

With so many words about a music icon, how could I not drop a poem here about music.

I dug this short verse out from the archive. It’s about the music that we can’t quite put words to. I hope you enjoy it.

this song

ready to dance 
on my 
lips I imagine 
the song

the music has not yet
come

has been playing all 
this time 

remains unheard

heavy, like feathers
I will sing it 

some day

not just hear it
in my heart