Stumbled onto a broadcast of Moulin Rouge last night, just as Ewan McGregor was meeting Nicole Kidman in Satine’s “elephant” for the first time.

“We’ll just watch this scene,” I told myself. Twenty minutes later …

I’ve done it before with this movie, the third in Luhrmann’s “Red Curtain Trilogy,” where I’d planned on watching a few minutes and looked up at the end of the film, wondering where the past ninety minutes got to.

I had forgotten just how light and playful and wonderful Moulin Rouge is. Ewan works hard to hold onto control when he sings, but I really appreciate the slight lack of polish. I was surprised that I found Nicole annoying in that scene, though. Her flitting around and high-pitched squeals set me on edge.

It helped me to turn off the television, though I made a pledge to pull the DVD off the dusty shelf sometime soon, and I’ve added the soundtrack to my iPod for the next while.

Related note:
Rewatched Strictly Ballroom a couple of weeks ago. It was Luhrmann’s first film and I highly recommend it. Super charming.

I’ve been a little preoccupied lately to really pay much attention to the internal soundtrack, but woke up this morning to the twang of this song, the first track from the Great Lake Swimmers’ latest album, Ongiara.

The song is about the Niagara Escarpment, a stretch of cliff and forest that runs along southern Ontario. UNESCO declared the area a World Biosphere Reserve in 1990.

I believe the word “Ongiara” is Native in origin, and it sounds like the word that was transmuted by the Europeans into Niagara.

This, framed for my dottir, which is temporarily hanging over my desk in the home office until there is a good place in her room for it.

In this week’s Channel Changer I reminisce about SCTV, and reference Marcello, who was played by Ottawa actor Tony Rosato.

Well, I had no idea that Rosato is in jail, and has been since May 2005. The CBC reports that, “He was charged with harassment after he complained to police that his wife Leah Rosato and their daughter had gone missing and had been replaced by imposters.”

The poor fella. I hope his legal situation gets resolved so he can get some professional help.

Weird that this news breaks on the day that I was remembering the “Cooking With Marcello” segments Rosato was so funny in. The bit with Robin Duke as the stuntwoman was priceless. He could sure mug for the camera, that Rosato.

This weekend, the 24th anniversary of the release of Strange Brew, CBC will air the Bob & Doug McKenzie Two-Four Anniversary, an hour long look at the hoser duo.

Get more details, along with next week’s “what to watch” picks, in this week’s Channel Changer.