Word is that director/brother-in-law Casey Affleck is looking for buyers for the possibly-but-unlikely-to-be real Joaquin Phoenix documentary about Phoenix's transition from actor to hip hop musician or some such. I am beyond trying to figure this cat out. I'm sure the movie will explain everything, but what explanation would we really want to hear, anyway?

"It's real." Okay, then record something.  Commit to the music.

"It's fake." Psych? Thanks for wasting our time, but Robert Downey Jr.'s our movie boyfriend now, so what are you going to do?

If you've seen any advertising for this summer's Christopher Nolan/Leonardo DiCaprio thriller Inception, you can be forgiven for wondering what this movie is about it. In fact, both Nolan and DiCaprio have been incredibly tight-lipped about things like, oh, the general plot or even the characters that appear in the movie. Shocking, then, when Warner Brothers released this plot description:

Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible—inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime.

And then Ellen Page does something, I guess. Gets implanted, maybe? Or maybe she's a thing that Cobb loved and lost. Whatever, DiCaprio plays a character, that character has a job and a plan. Good start.

The word is that someone, somewhere finally got around to greenlighting Hobo With A Shotgun as a feature, which is pretty much the best news ever if you've seen the trailer (a (Canadian!) contest winner that was including in the full-length Grindhouse). Actually, let's watch it right now, shall we:

The New York Post's NYPD March 3 blotter includes the following little gem:

Brooklyn

He just wigged out.

Okay, I'll have an actual Tuesday Recipe for you later, but first you must head over to the National Punctuation Day site and scroll down to learn more about National Punctuation Day Baking Contest. If there are two things I love, they're proper punctuation and baking. As my favourite punctuation mark is a semicolon, that's what I'll bake. The dot is the easy part . . . do I carve the comma out of another shape? I guess so. Also, this day gives me an excuse to figure out what tipsy cake is.

Hollywood Reporter reported (heh) this morning that Taylor Kitsch has been cast as the lead in John Carter of Mars, an adaptation Edgar Rice Burroughs book series, which Disney hopes has franchise potential. I'm all about a) Taylor Kitsch and b) fame coming his way (and not just because he's in my fantasy studio), but do me a favour and click on the HR link. Because what is that? Is that a bad photo of Taylor Kitsch? I did not know such a thing was possible! He looks a bit like Hugh Jackman (never good), and I don't know, exactly. Tired and a little ruddy. I didn't know there was a lighting/clothing/make up situation in which he could look like anything less than an Adonis, so I'm a little confused by the very existence of the image.

Friday

Byward Market: La Petite Mort Gallery presents "Unload" - A collective creative dumpfest." Also known as a five day group exhibit from this Friday until the 18th (surely that is six days?). Vernissage tonight from 7 to 10 p.m.

SPAO is proud to be a stop on the Karsh Trail this summer with SPAO's Red Wall Gallery presenting the exhibition "Likeness." Contemporary photo-based artists explore the portrait as a mode of representation in this celebratory group exhibition. Vernissage tonight from 5 to 9 p.m., show runs until September 12th. 

"Celebration," an art show by Canadian visual artists of Slavic heritage, is presented to you by the Canadian Association of Slavists.* This show is being held at Carleton University in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences (Congress 2009). Over 25 artists will display their works in the show which is curated by Terry Sametz (member of the Foyer Gallery).

The artworks will be displayed in both the Carleton University Bookstore (1st floor of the University Centre) and the Baker's Grill (4th floor of the University Centre). The show runs from May 22 to May 31 and is open to the public from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily. Join the over 8000 Canadian and International delegates to Congress 2009 Humanities and Social Sciences in enjoying this unique exhibit.

*Who knew? 

Olga Novoa has a show on at the YOW Art Gallery (the domestic/international holdroom) at, you guessed it, the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. It starts Tuesday, April 7, and runs for 12 weeks. I'll be able to check it out when I'm there later this week, wandering around in confusion, going, "There's an art gallery in here?" You can check it out right now if you're not going to be flying this spring.