How: Type the answer to each of the following questions into flickr's search box. Copy and paste the URL of your favourite image that comes up into the mosaic maker. Woo!
QUESTIONS! Go!
1. Looking back on 2008, what might the theme have been? 2. If 2008 was a movie, who would play you? 3. What was your greatest gift of 2008? 4. What is your New Year Resolution, or, what are you committing to this year? 5. If January could be represented by one song, what would it be? 6. What do you wish for your body in 2009? 7. Name one new thing you would love to try in the New Year. 8. What do you long for 2009 to bring? 9. If that happened, how would you feel? 10. Where would you love to vacation in 2009 if money were no object? 11. What would you like the theme of 2009 to be? 12. If 2009 was a book, and the title was 5 words or less, what might the title be?
I was going to do a top 10, but I really haven't seen that many great movies that were released this year... I guess this is what grad school does to you. So, here is my top five:
5. Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Hilarious. Ridiculous. True. 4. WALL-E. Adorable. Touching. Robotful. 3. Rachel Getting Married. Wry. Lovely. Layered. 2. Slumdog Millionaire. Visceral. Harsh. Gorgeous. 1. Iron Man. I said it then: "I think this is going to be my favourite movie of the year." And it is. Batman did not even come close. And I love Batman (apparently not enough to put it in my top five list, however). Exhilerating. Funny. Awesome. And there are still so many great movies I want to see, that could have been on my list if I had seen them earlier! Milk! Man on Wire! Young @ Heart! Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay! Pineapple Express! And more! I love movies.
I went to Aberdeen Centre (my favourite!) and wandering around for something to eat before Beard Papa cream puffs (I tried the Green Tea filled one today. I like the vanilla better, but it was still delicious) came across the best thing ever! Well, not, but still amazingly exciting and delightful. Strawberry Cones! Since 1983 in Japan! What is Strawberry Cones, you ask? Ice cream? Frozen Yogurt? No! Best pizza & pasta!
I tried the Salmon and Camembert pizza. With a kind of bechamel sauce base. It was delicious! They also have one with potato and tuna... And it's right next to the Beard Papa. Japanese versions of European food FTW!
I'm home. I've missed it so much, and I'm so glad to be back for a couple of weeks, but the mountains have been completely obliterated by the clouds and snow, and it means I don't really feel home yet.
It feels so weird. I know they're there. I want them back. I want my blue city, not this white one.
I looked at some clips and the trailer on youtube, with thoughts of posting something, but I don't want to ruin a single glorious moment of this film. Just go. I was embedded in this film from the very first frames - my response was immediate and visceral. Slumdog Millionairetells the story of Jamal, a "slumdog" in Mumbai who somehow manages to make his way to the final question in the Indian "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". It is about the ways people take care of and ruin each other, but at heart it is a love story. Still, be aware of the fact that while it is an absolutely exhilarating and satisfying film, there are many very painful, very harsh moments. I don't know why these surprised me, but they did, so be ready to feel and react.
My favourite movie since Iron Man. This is one to go see in theatres. Now.
So, typically I'm a little bit allergic to American Apparel. I decide that I want a new t-shirt, so I go in, can't find anything, everything is too small, it's too loud, I feel lame and old, and on and on, and I leave dispirited with nothing to show for my time.
Today, however, I wandered in because a friend was looking for a Christmas present for another friend. I saw this t-shirt. I fell in love with it. I love typography! Happy Christmas to me!
I'm taking a class next term, Resources for Young Adults. As part of the class we have to do a reading log. I'm starting now, and I'm putting it together as a blog. Woo. livefastreadyoung.blogspot.com. I've posted once about Skim, an amazing graphic novel.
Also, we have to watch movies, so I'm going to watch Chasing Liberty, with your favourite and mine: Mandy Moore. I might watch it right now. Yay for winter break!
Again with the shapes. Watch the opening scene of this film and you will know what I mean.
Lindsay and I went to the video store and searched high and low for a movie that was the perfect mix of comedy and drama, something good that would not be depressing. When we finally asked the guy working there for some advice, that was how I worded what we wanted, "Good, but not depressing." He started naming titles, most of which I had seen. He even mentioned The Visitor, to which I responded, "Um. That one is actually kind of depressing."
Eventually we ended up with this one. The Band's Visit (also known as Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) is a charming movie about the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, who arrive in Israel and promptly find themselves lost. The film charts the night they spend in a small Israeli town, spread out among a few locals who have taken them in. Visually, the film is stunning. It is completely pared down, and beautifully showcases the incongruity these Egyptian musicians carry with them through the landscape.
Simultaneously slow and hypnotic, The Visitor pulled me into the lives of its characters. The film reminds one that countless heartrending stories are happening every day, every hour, all around us. Professor Walter Vale stops in at his long-vacant New York City apartment and finds Zainab and Tarek, two illegal immigrants who have been living there for months. The film is about the impact they have on one another.
While the performances are strong, the most noteworthy part of this film is the cinematography. I became aware of how the world is made up of shapes, and how New York City is made up of lots and lots and lots of shapes. This sounds like a simple realization, but the way the scenes were shot made it feel profound. Each image was both familiar and completely new. This duality - the fact that so many things are themselves and their opposite - seems to be the heart of the movie. I was left feeling ambiguous, both achingly sad and somehow content. Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.
The only reason I am writing now is that I haven't in a while, and I am trying to write a paper. I am writing said paper, slowly but surely. It is 5000 words... which feels long. Especially in the days of twitter. I am treating it like a whole bunch of mini-essays. I have started a word document for each section of my paper and aim to write at least 384 words in each (I have 13 sections as it stands right now).
It sounds like not very much, but even that is a stretch sometimes.
I am writing about Teen access to sexual health information in libraries. At least I'm interested in my topic.
I've been "nominated" for the Kreativ Blogger Award by Danette. I like having the word nominated in quotation marks like that, it makes it look like I actually mean "sentenced to death".Anywho, the rules are:
Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
Random thing 1 - After spending seven years (eight? eight) in French Immersion over 13 years ago, there are still certain words that come more easily in French than English. Among them: baleine for whale, and pamplemousse for grapefruit. Also, I have a tendency to say bonjour and comment ca va? instead of hello and how are you.
Random thing 2 - I love fat more than sugar. Whipped cream wins over everything.
Random thing 3 - I like Mandy Moore. Especially her hair. Random thing 4 - I took a class in Bollywood cinema once. It was the best.
Random thing 5 - I graduated with a degree in Film Studies but never saw Citizen Kane. (Gasp.)
Random thing 6 - The next things I want are chopsticks, a giant noodle bowl, and a soup spoon.
I loved it. I loved the documentary feel throughout, the fact that all music was diagetic, the fact that the camera rested on moments that twinged in me.
Rachel is getting married. Her sister, Kym, fresh out of rehab, is making amends. Kym is the kind of person who sucks everyone into her vortex of drama, and who needs attention at all times.
It is my favourite kind of film - depressing and hopeful at the same time.
If you want me to fall in love with you, get yourself some Buddy Holly glasses. More on that later.
Friday night was a delightful night of sushi and musical interludes with the library girls (and boy). At the beginning of the term Alison saw that I liked Feist via my facebook profile (oh facebook, you do help make friends in real life!). As Alison is a very smart lady, she had bought two tickets for an upcoming Feist show before she had any friends, with the plan to use them to lure people into her web of awesome. I was the lucky luree.
So the show was Friday - at a giant stadium (I haven't been to a stadium show since I was fourteen and I went to see No Doubt and Weezer). It was really great! Feist was amazing as per usual with her ridiculously lustrous vocals. It was quite awesome to watch her on stage with a guitar being all rock-goddess-y too. She was such a little nymph - full of raw feminine. She is very fun to watch. Even better, there was a cool projection/shadow puppet-type show going on along to all of the songs, and parts of it were amazing! I loved that there was always something to see as well as hear.
photo by Jessica Babineau
Hayden opened - and as we were watching (he has really developed nicely as an artist), I turned to Alison and asked: Do you ever develop musician crushes when you go to shows? Apparently only once.
I, however, am notorious for it (if only in my own head). I have an awful predisposition towards musicians, especially when they are on stage. At almost every show I go to there is at least one person on stage to whom I am eternally devoted for the night. I am not a groupie. I don't go find them after or anything. But anyways.
The logical progression to this story is that I, of course, had developed a crush on one of the band members. The guitar player. The one with the vest and the Buddy Holly glasses. This was from half a stadium away.
The rest of the group had been talking about going to see Cuff the Duke play at the Seahorse, and I had been skeptical of the ten dollar cover charge. I actually haven't gone to see a band play in a small venue where there won't be enough seats for a very long time. Plus, I had never even heard Cuff the Duke, although I have heard people wax poetic about them more than once. So I probably wasn't going to go. Until I found out my (pseudo)boyfriend would be there. Nothing gets me to a party faster than the possibility of true love (ha).
So I went.
It was amazing! The power of music and cute boys.
Cuff the Duke were really fun, and there was lots of clapping and sing-a-longing, which I love. But what I loved even more were the opening band: The Wooden Sky. Eff. They wrote and sang songs that I would love to sing. It's like when you read a novel or story, or see a movie, and you want more than anything to have created it - that's what it was like listening to them. It made me really want to be part of a band. A lot. So if you want to start a band... I want to sing. I'm sorry, I tried not to, but I do. So if you also want to be the lead singer, it probably won't work. Anyways, that was unrelated.
So yeah: I think I will be buying an album for the first time in years.
My last name is Friesen. I've never really loved it. Apparently it may have come from von Riesen at some point, and I think that sounds really nice, and thought about changing it back to that for a time...
I have a white board outside my room where I can post messages, and people can leave me notes and drawings. I love having it. Recently I came to my door that someone had changed my name from Angela Friesen to Angela Free/Zen.
Find a sauna. Take a bottle of cold water in with you. Sit in the sauna until you're really really hot. Open the water bottle and poor bits of the water onto your head. Shiver delightfully. Repeat.
Whenever I send myself an email (not for fun, although I should - when I send myself a document to print, or something like that), I add a nice little note to myself - something along the lines of the title of this blog post.
Um, if you really want to make yourself homesick over Thanksgiving, when everyone else you know has gone home for the weekend, watch a movie set in your hometown.
I enjoyed Everything's Gone Green (screenplay by Douglas Coupland), but the experience was bittersweet. I spent the entire time being like, "Look how pretty it is!" There were all kinds of beautiful mountainous vistas ("Look! There's water! And Mountains! In the same place!") and trees and the number eight and the Grouse Grind and glass buildings... I had forgotten how beautiful it is. And how open.
I guess when you feel closed in by a place you don't notice how open it actually is physically.
If you have never seen Waiting for Guffman please go watch it right now. You should have tomorrow off, that would be the perfect time.
I'm on campus for Thanksgiving, and so are a bunch of students, so I decided to host an evening of fun entitled "Nothing says Thanksgiving like Chinese food and a movie." The best part of my job is that I get to do "programming" - which just means I get to have events with food involved and they will give me money to pay for stuff. It took me ages to decide on a movie to show, and finally I had a flash of inspiration. Waiting for Guffman.
Among the most likeable, nay, lovable films I've ever seen. Everyone who asks me what movie we're watching is like, "What's that?" My response: "A most hilarious comedy about a small town theatre group who invites a New York City theatre critic to come see their show. " I don't think I actually phrase it that way, although I live at a University where that would be entirely acceptable.
So yes. I am grateful for movies, chinese food, friends, family, books, love, white sheets, wood, trees, leaves, TV on DVD, brunch, water, breathing, apples, colours, lavender oil, pillows, and on and on.
The Master of Library and Information Studies program is located within the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie. As such, I am enrolled in two management classes this term. What's strange is that I'm actually finding them really inspiring.
I learned all about a management theory called "Servant Leadership" yesterday. It is all about: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth of people, and building community.
So am I.
It was really nice to learn that there are ways to approach work, and "management" (a scary term for me) from such a perspective.
I bought a copy of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" today. Up next - "How to Win Friends and Influence People".
I stole this from Xine. Although I guess you can't steal memes. Huh.
Three Names you go by: 1. Ange 2. Ella 3. Baboo
Three Things That Scare You: 1. Staircases with open slats and/or no hand rails 2. Walks home alone after dark 3. Electricity
Three of Your Everyday Essentials: 1. Coffee 2. Ballet flats 3. Laughing
Three Things You Are Wearing Right Now: 1. Pyjama top 2. Pyjama bottom 3. a smirk
Three of Your Favorite Songs Right Now: 1. Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilera 2. Late in the Evening - Paul Simon 3. Unsquare Dance - Dave Brubeck
Three Things You Want in a Relationship (other than Real Love): 1. Openness 2. Touch 3. Friendship
Three Truths: 1. The new is the true 2. The old is the true 3. Love
Three PHYSICAL Things about the Opposite Sex that Appeal to You: 1. Strong hands 2. Sparkly eyes 3. Genuineness
Three of Your Favorite Hobbies: 1. Reading 2. Photography 3. Walking
Three Things You want to do really badly right now: 1. Find my black jacket!! 2. Be in the black when it comes to money 3. Do well in school/stay balanced
Three Places You Want to go: 1. Japan 2. Montreal 3. Bali
Three Things You Want to Do Before You Die: 1. Accept 2. Love 3. Be
Three Ways that you are stereotypically a Girl/Guy: 1. I like makeup a lot 2. I have a hair straightener 3. I cry at movie previews
I think I'm going to try to make Friday afternoons "my time". I have had a crazy two weeks. This program has a heavy course load, and I spent the first week feeling entirely out of my depth. The second week has left me feeling a lot more stable, but still a little uncertain about how ready I am for everything that's coming at me. I left class today feeling the need to be with myself, and to do something other than go home to check countless emails and plan my weekend's work schedule. I decided to go downtown.
The first place I stopped was Attica Furnishings. I wandered around the main floor feeling poor and covetous, and then made my way to the second floor. Across the room there were large poster-board things printed with quotes, all pertaining to one word: modern. I don't know if you remember my style statement (not that you should), but it is Organic Modern. Those are my two words. So these quotes all made me stop and be very aware of myself.
What's really modern now is an amalgam of what makes us comfortable and joyous, what inspires and what soothes. Modern is pared-down but not brutally minimalist, complex in concept and evolution but simple in expression. It's thought provoking yet ultimately a very personal solution for living in today's world. - Donna Warner, Editor-In-Chief, Metropolitan Home
Reading this statement made me fully aware that I hadn't been bringing my self to everything I've been doing. To anything I've been doing, really. I've felt so out of my element that I've completely forgotten about bringing my tastes, my senses, my aesthetics, my passions, my self to everything I do. I want to focus on that a little more.
I've been playing this game with everyone I meet to help me remember names... it's not really a game, but it is fun. It involves me being introduced to a person or group of people, then asking - "So, blank, what's your favourite thing ever?"
It's actually very helpful and icebreaking...
Some of my favourite responses: - Being the first one awake when camping. - Sex and food. - PEI potatoes. - [insert name of person's significant other here]. -"Music" (when obviously their real answer was sex, but they felt inappropriate saying it out loud). - The ocean.
I love churches. I don't count myself as religious (although spiritual would probably be a good term), but I love being inside churches. I love the wood, and the open space, and the way the stained glass windows block out the world while still letting in the light. I think I will be spending some time there, just sitting.
Last night there was a concert in the chapel, featuring kind of indie folky artists that, as a friend put it when trying to convince the entire cafeteria to come, "the hipsters like". The first band was The Olympic Symphonium, who were introduced with the words "contemplative, zen folk". I think the word was contemplative... it may have been a different word, with a similar meaning. They were pretty fantastic. Gorgeous melodies and instrumentation. They reminded me a little of Iron and Wine.
Then came the headliner, Catherine MacLellan, from PEI, whose voice is stunningly gorgeous. Sumptuous and a little adorable.
The chapel is set up so that the pews are sideways, with everyone facing into the centre aisle. Candles were lit all up and down the rows, and for a little while I was just watching the flame move as if in time with the music. I was so relaxed and happy. The last song was a sing-along (I love sing-alongs), "I'm gonna set this heart on fire and bring this world some light."
My day glowed today. It was so lovely. Outside there were torrents of rain and wind - the word hurricane was mentioned - but I spent the day being cozy and active.
There is a gym on campus. Today is the second day in a row that I went to it. I did active cardiovascular things for thirty minutes and then spent ten minutes stretching and doing little yoga thingies. I gave myself a few minutes to lie flat on my back in shavasana, and I felt blissful. There's that word again. It was delightful.
For some reason I've been super into moody girly music lately. I'm not sure why - I haven't broken up with anyone or anything.
Today I've been listening to this Missy Higgins song (Where I stood) on repeat. I recognized it as soon as a friend played it for me yesterday - we placed it as having been on So You Think You Can Dance last season - but I think one of the Australian blogs I follow may have mentioned Ms. Higgins at some point in the past, because I recognized the website too.
Maybe it's because it's raining. And I'm missing the part that comes before the end.
Whoah. Moody is right (but mostly awesome and thrilled with where I am, I swear).
A few days ago I went for my first Halifax sushi. I was told to go to Hamachi House, as they had the best sushi in the city. I went. It was delicious. And ridiculously pricey. Fancy dinner pricey (well, not quite, but you get the idea).
Miso soup costs (wait for it)... $3.50.
I won't be eating miso soup until Christmas. I will miss it, but I can't justify spending that much on it.
That said, it truly was delicious. We got there, and somehow it was announced that I was from Vancouver and had scrupulous taste when it came to sushi. The waiter said that lots of people thought the food was amazing. He mentioned the Winnipeg Ballet, and that they said it was the best sushi they had ever had. I scoffed (Winnipeg, sushi, bah). Eventually, though, I gave it second place in terms of favourite sushi places. Hamaei (oh how I miss you) is still my favourite, but the fish was perfect and fresh, the rolls tasty and interesting (they add flakes from tempura to the spicy tuna and salmon rolls! So good!). The soy sauce was weirdly salty (I know, it's soy sauce, what do I expect?). Still - when y'all come visit me in Halifax, this is one of the places we will go.
Midnight's Children is the next book I have to read. I did a book trade, but not one where books were physically exchanged by anyone. A friend at the library agreed that he would read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay if I would read a book he suggested. He first said The Brothers Karamazov, but retreated after he saw the look on my face.
So I finally have a copy. We went on a tour of campus yesterday, and I held everyone up by buying the book. As we were leaving, I said: Never take me to a bookstore. Good advice, if you want to be anywhere else anytime soon.
Had a really great day yesteryday. We went for a beautiful hike, and out for dinner afterwards. I was told we were going to a pub, and I commented: Oh, this will be my first pub. In Nova Scotia.
It was delightful. But not what I was expecting. I shared the Digby Scallops wrapped and baked with apple wood smoked bacon and served on greens with citrus butter. I almost died. Scallops and bacon can be horribly disgusting, but this was ridiculously fresh and tasty.
And I had my first lobster! Well, since getting here. I had a lobster clubhouse. It came with a mountain of fries. That makes up for the lack of mountains here (I had a local mountain pointed out to me from a lookout yesterday. Do you mean that hill? Mound? I could not in good conscience call it a mountain.)
I love the library. I chatted with Xine, and she seemed scandalized that I hadn't been to the library yet. So I went. And it made me feel eight thousand times better about the world (not that I was feeling bad, just tired of my own company).
Weird things though: the DVDs are all labeled along the top of the spine, thus concealing the big, pretty, designed title that I'm used to looking at. AND! The dvds are only three day loans. Three days! I'll have to get used to that.
So, no camera yet, but I've decided to give everyone a taste of my new life. Via macbook camera "photobooth". Do you know how hard it is to take pictures with that thing, when they aren't of yourself? First, my main room in 365 degrees, then, a picture of the "quad". I feel so collegiate. The campus is eight thousand times prettier than UBC insofar as buildings go, but minus the mountains and ocean view.
So yeah. It's a little bland at the moment. My room needs some va-va-va-voom, I think. I wish I had my sewing machine... Making curtains by hand sounds meh. I also want to find ornate frames to put around the mirrors I've got. I wish I knew someone with a car.
I've been listening to this song on repeat for days. I love it. I have christened it song of the summer, 2008. Funnily enough, New York agrees with me.
I was wandering around youtube looking for instructions on how to best put eyeshadow in the crease of one's eye, when I found Lauren Luke. She is apparently one of the most popular youtubists (don't know what the correct term should be), and she is so charming and lovely to watch. She has a whole slew of video tutorials featuring gorgeous makeup.
The BBC did a little featurette on her that I found so adorable. I love when she refers to herself as "us". I also love that she's totally normal-looking and down to earth but at the same time absolutely gorgeous.
Any recommendations for digital cameras that take really nice pictures and won't break the bank?
I'd love to get a digital SLR, but I think it is a bit out of my price range. So: if you have any suggestions for either DSLR or point and shoot, let me know. Please and thank you.
I am a huge Woody Allen fan. Even when he's bad, to me he's good. Thankfully, in this instance, he's just good. I'm finding his new movies so interesting in that he's moved away from Manhattan and is instead writing cinematic love letters to European cities. Barcelona was my favourite city when I traveled to Europe, and this film showcases why, with its gorgeous architectural shots and cityscapes. The cast is also gorgeous and fabulous. I have always loved the way Scarlett Johansson looks (wow), but her acting skills can sometimes leave something to be desired. In this film I can see why Allen likes working with her so much. She comes across much more naturally than in the past, and I love to imagine him directing her - I think their dynamic must be hilarious. Penelope Cruz, though, steals the film.
I love these modern films Allen is making, the ones where he isn't front and center (or even present on screen). They seem so much more accessible - and beautiful - than his other work.
Loves it.
4/5 stars.
Now: Instead of Halifax, can I please move to Spain?
So I've said my first goodbyes. Which feels really weird. For the past two weeks people have been asking, "Are you feeling nervous? Excited?" My response was a shrug. Not really. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not feeling too much of anything. I think I'm a little bit in denial, and that is starting to crack as I say goodbye to more and more people.
It started with Xine after work the other day. She was leaving, and I was loitering in the stairwell chatting, and all of a sudden I had the realization, "Oh wait. This is the last time we're going to see each other for at least four months." So I forced her to hug me, even though she's not a huggy person. It was delightful. And sad.
Today (my second to last day at work) a few people said goodbye because they won't be there tomorrow. I realized how much I'm going to miss it. The West Van Library has been a really fantastic place to work, and I've been there for over five years.
Hmmm. So I'm still not feeling altogether strongly about the fact that I'm leaving, but I'm having brief moments of realization that things will change drastically, in just five days.
I wish teleportation would hurry up and be invented, already.
My brother and I drove around town listening to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and it really felt like summer. We agreed that it is one of the best albums of the 90s, and I think that the music video for Everything Is Everything is one of the best videos ever.
I'm totally into my old music right now, because I have to finally upload my CDs before I head out across the continent. Yay for Wu-Tang Clan, Danny Elfman, and Hole.
I took the first season of The West Wing out of the Library last week. I have finally emerged, blinking, from my cozy den of television glory. Life seems a little bit grayer now that I have left my good friends at the White House. They are all so funny, and smart, and kind, and lovely, that I really miss them. I know they're television characters, and not real, but still... I love them. Will you marry me, Josh Lyman?
The only upside of leaving them behind? There are still six more seasons to watch. Yay.
That was the heading on the mapquest directions I sent myself to get from my house to Shiang Garden and then to Ikea. I love Richmond. It's true. So again, yes, again: dim sum. This time with pictures.
Richmond is yellow. The colour of egg tarts and Ikea.
Shiang Garden. Classier than the last place, no?
A really delicious fried thing involving ginger, century egg, and prawns. I don't usually like ginger all that much, but it was just the most perfect hint of flavour. Lovely.
Can you tell it was delicious? Fried flour rice roll with soya sauce.
I'm going to miss Richmond. Almost as much as I'll miss Vancouver. I love that it exists. Please don't sink into the ocean after an earthquake, Richmond!
I have no idea what my room in Halifax is going to look like, so I decided, for the first time in my life, to buy white sheets. I love the way they look, and I figure they go with everything. I've been on the lookout for months. At first I thought I wanted just all plain white, but plain white duvet covers don't seem to exist, so I found this lovely one at Ikea. It is a textured pattern. This photo is very close up, so the pretty shapes (like cells!) are fairly small, pebble sized. I really love the pattern. Very organic modern.
He is an amazing photographer, and I love him, and you would like him a lot if you met him, so you should go check it out. The photo above is taken from his first photography post, and he has another website where you can check out other photos. Do it!
I'm still working on him to get an Etsy page. But yay! Big e-steps, daddio! I'm so proud of you.
A few years ago I took a trip to Los Angeles with my favourite girl, and we had a splendid time. I want to go back. This week I am craving amazing burritos, red sunglasses, and, most of all, The Getty Center. In the so-called "City of Angels", this really is how I imagine heaven, if it exists: It's so peaceful and full of light and art. I was genuinely in awe. It is probably my favourite place on earth, so far. If you're in LA, go. It's free. Go.
An off-shoot of heaven will hopefully be exactly like Universal Studios. Minus the lines.
I also had my picture taken with Betelgeuse. Unfortunately I look worse than he does, so I won't share it.
I may or may not have spent thirty dollars on an eye shadow the other day.
I spent a lot of time cruising around makeupalley.com. Any time I'm in the market for makeup (or any beauty products) I try to go on there to see how people have reviewed whatever it is I'm thinking of buying. People on there have their own language, and one of the first terms I deduced the meaning of was HG. Holy grail. As in, this is the best blanketyblank I have ever used and I will keep buying it for the rest of my life. Before yesterday, I had never had one of those moments.
Enter Shu Uemura eye shadow in ME Brown 850. (Choir of angels sings here.) It has an overall rating of 4.9/5. I somehow discovered it on the internet and decided I had to have it, so almost two months ago I went to the Shu Uemura (I love saying that name) counter in Holt Renfrew and asked about it. They put me on a waiting list. A waiting list. It came in on Sunday, I picked it up. It cost thirty dollars (with tax). I was a little overwhelmed. I brought it home. I put it on. Holy cow. Holy grail. It is the most perfect eye shadow I have ever worn. A shimmery taupe with the faintest hint of violet that brings out the green in my eyes. When I put it on, it makes it look like I have naturally beautiful, shimmery, colourful eyelids. Tasteful. Lovely. All the boys will like me.
Ahem.
Alright, so it probably won't change my life, but it does make me feel nice. And, while lots of people my age easily spend $30 in a bar every night, I rarely do. So I don't feel too bad for spending it on an eyeshadow once in a while.
These photos, by Stephanie Sinclair, are so intriguing. A mix of mundane and gorgeous, they profile the F.L.D.S. (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints) community, a subject I find endlessly fascinating. Found via an article on Jezebel. Unsettling and telling is right.
I feel a little overwhelmed by all the awesomeness of this weekend. No camera, sadly, but still, awesome.
Saturday: Go Fish, a little fish shack on the seawall between Granville Island and Kits beach, with the most delicious beer battered fresh fish with lovely chips. A long walk along the seawall to Mario's for really deliciously rich chocolate ice cream (but I wanted two flavours. They won't do it with one scoop, and two scoops was six dollars!! No way!). Then back to Xine's house to watch a girly movie. In this case it was Definitely, Maybe. Cute. Interesting dynamic between father and daughter. I liked that it was a romantic comedy about a dude. 3/5 stars.
Sunday: Poppy seed bagel with smoked salmon cream cheese and a cup of coffee with Xine at Solly's. I love Solly's. THEN! Lunch with Sally at Szechuan Chongqing, which was fully delicious. I went at Lesley's behest, and it was delightful. She recommended the crystal shrimp dumplings, the deluxe tan tan noodles, and the fried canneloni with soy sauce. So much carbohydrate! So satisfying! The shrimp dumplings were huge and delicious, the noodles were the perfect spiciness, and the canneloni were the most perfect texture. Yum! Sally's first dim sum!
Walking along Commercial Drive, there was a tiny grey kitten in the middle of the sidewalk. A little girl was playing with it, and a man and woman stood behind her. Sally and I couldn't help but stop. "Is it yours?" I asked. She shook her head. For a minute I thought it was abandoned and alone, and I wanted to pick it up and take it home. "Who's is it?" "His," she said, pointing to the man. Sally held it for a second, and I petted its sweet tiny head. We kept walking, cooing about how much we both wanted a kitten, about how it had been so small that it couldn't even be called a kitten, but a kitty. Just looking into its perfect kitty eyes and touching it's little head touched a place in my heart that I wish were touched more often, and I said so. Saying it aloud made me feel silly, but it's true. It's the one reason I'm slightly sad that I'll be living in a residence next year: no pets. I've never had a cat, and I've always wanted one. A short haired grey girl-cat named Tsunami. I think I'll be a good cat-mummy one day. Sigh sigh.
... I leave in three weeks. I'm fitting in all the awesome Vancouverness I can (especially when it comes to Asian food; I'll go for dim sum at least once more, probably twice). Sigh sigh again.
Every book on writing I have ever read names The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, as the Holy Grail of books on writing (they'd probably all get mad at me for having the phrase "book[s] on writing" in this sentence twice). I bought a copy a few years ago, and it's great. Full of perfect tips for clarity of expression in writing. I recommend it highly. So highly that I now have a second copy, but that is more to do with the fact that this version is GORGEOUSly illustrated (by Maira Kalman). I saw it on the shelf and had to have it. I try to live by the adage, "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." More often though, I like for things to be both; here's one for that pile.
So I started googling (I love the word google as a verb) movie recommendation websites, and came up with whattorent.com. I enjoyed it because it opens with a kind of personality test of what kind of movie experiences you like. I lean more towards "drinking wine while watching depressing foreign films" or something like that, so the movies it has recommended that I haven't seen are: Chunking Express, Volver, Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter, Cradle Will Rock, The Five Obstructions, Citizen Kane, and Quills.
That said, I'm going to watch a comedy tonight. Tootsie. Somehow I've never seen it. Could be because I was about eleven months old when it was released.
So this is a little bit uncharacteristic for me, but I was totally psyched when I saw a preview for Death Race when I went to a movie recently (Hellboy II, 3/5 stars, visually stunning but a little lacking in emotional depth). I turned to my dad and whispered, "This movie looks absolutely ludicrous and awesome." The cast is amazing!
Also, I know Batman is out, and I know I haven't seen it yet. I've decided I need to trek out to Richmond to see it in Imax (and maybe get cream puffs), so I have to wait until next week. Sigh.
So I spent an hour or so going through my photo library, editing out all the not great photos. I got rid of over 2000 or so, and simultaneously realized how hot I was when I was young and blonde. So I decided to give you a glimpse of my self-involved, self-portrait loving self (lucky ducks!).
Me circa 2004?
me again circa 2004?
I took this amazing photography class in 2005 at UBC, and the theme of the course was "the constructed image".I had a series of images that were all related to books. They are a tiny bit pretentious, but I still really like them, and am a little bit proud of them. I need to start making ART again! (And yes, I like Cindy Sherman very much, thanks for asking.)
And then I decided to take a picture of me today. Actually I took 66 pictures, and this is the best one: My hair is getting close to bombshell length! It's the longest it's been in years! I'm so excited!
I think I might be addicted to books. And noodles. I need the ocean. I want to know everything. Almost.
I love love. And loving things. Like love. And like.
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